Lifelike Pundits: My New Computer

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« If this is true | Main | This Has got to be worth at least 2 points »

August 16, 2006

My New Computer

My new media center PC will arrive any day now. This is what I got:

HP Pavilion m7680y customizable Media Center TV PC

* Genuine Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
* Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor E6600 (2.4GHz)
* 1GB DDR2-667MHz dual channel SDRAM (2x512)
* 160GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s & NCQ Hard Drive
* LightScribe 16X DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
* 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, video
* 802.11 b/g Wireless LAN PCI Card
* Dual NTSC TV tuner with PVR, FM tuner, remote
* NVIDIA GeForce 7300LE, w/ TurboCache
* Integrated 7.1 channel sound w/front audio ports
* HP Wireless Keyboard, Wireless Optical Mouse
* Microsoft(R) Works 8.0/Money 2006/MSN Encarta Plus
* 56Kbps Data/Fax Modem for dial-up Internet access
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

And it was CHEAP!

$1,138.33

To be sure, I could get some celeron processor disaster, but the new Core 2 Duo from intel smokes every chip on the market.

PCs with new 'Conroe' chips decisively outscore AMD-based rivals in our tests.

PC World tests show that PCs equipped with Intel's new Core 2 Duo processors, formerly code-named Conroe, set new high marks for desktop performance--they're the fastest we've seen by far.

With this chip line, which formally launched on July 27, Intel decisively reclaims the power desktop crown from competitor AMD.

Posted by Aaron at August 16, 2006 05:16 PM

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Comments

Aaron, best of all, you didn't buy a Dell.

Posted by: Dodo David at August 16, 2006 06:40 PM

eggsackly

Posted by: paul at August 16, 2006 07:22 PM

IT IS REALLY REALLY SUPER DOOPER FAST!!!!!!

What do you do with it?

oh just check mail and surf the Internet.

Posted by: at August 16, 2006 08:06 PM

Only downside of that system is the video card :(

"NVIDIA GeForce 7300LE, w/ TurboCache"

see the "3"? that's the important number.

the lower the number, the less-advanced the feature set supported.

However, if you're not a gamer, or in art design and such, that won't matter to you much...

Posted by: tj at August 16, 2006 08:26 PM

You're right, TJ.

And my computer was just delivered!

The 7300 was the card that came with it. I decided to go with the DDR2 677 ram and the better C2Duo chip (6600) than to spike up the vcard cost by 300.

Still, it supports 256 MB of video memory (though not dedicated).

The motherboard supports SLI configuration, so I should be able to upgrade to a beast if I need it.

Posted by: aaron at August 17, 2006 01:43 PM

So from whence did you purchase this wonder? Directly online? While I am going to continue nursing my 7-year old Pavilion on for another 6-12 months if possible, before I pull up stakes and move outta Ohio - I'd like to get myself "computerized" a little more elegantly.

Posted by: Gayle Miller at August 17, 2006 04:56 PM

oh - sharing memory? Obviously an on-board video chipset, then.

Start saving for that video card - system performance increase will be dramatic.

Posted by: tj at August 17, 2006 09:52 PM

I did not get mine yet. I also ordered the E6600 and 677 MHZ DDR2 RAM. However, I am reading that the 533 MHZ RAM is better suited and that going with 677 MHZ actually decreases performance when used with the Core 2 chips. This has something to do with matching the speed of the ram with the speed of the FSB. Did you hear about this? How are you handling it? Did you overclock the RAM?

Posted by: The TinRam at August 23, 2006 11:38 AM

For some reason when I first made this comment it did not appear properly.

Posted by: The TinRam at August 23, 2006 11:43 AM