posted February 23, 2012 01:34 PM
Many are under the assumption that parallel ports and serial ports are a long gone feature. However that is not entirely true.
We can add a card to machine with no ports. If buying a new machine we have better choices.
I just built two machines with parallel and serial ports. One uses a gigabyte motherboard and the other an ASUS motherboard.
One is Intel I7 2600K cpu, win7 64, 8 gig ram, blue ray dvd, power supply, case, with all the latest in high speed usb, and 100/1000 Ethernet, dvi hdmi out and 1 gig video and high speed Solid State Drive for ~ $800 bux.
The second has all that and using the Intel video instead of a separate video card.
These machines are so fast that opening corel x5 is as fast as the mouse click. I mean it is instant.
Other CAD software renders 3D art as fast as that too. The speed of operation is stunning. A 3d rendering that took 25 seconds on the core duo machine is as fast as the mouse click on the I7. Surfing the internet is screaming fast as well. The 1000 speed Ethernet shows a definite speed increase.
This is the first time in years that I feel it is fully worth the expense and effort to get a brand new machine rather than update an older one. I built the first one because of a need. The speed of operation was so obvious and impressive I just had to build a second. I compared the new I7 cpu machine with and older core duo side by side to a few friends. Clicking X5 at the same time on both machines. The I7 was instantly ready. One friend immediately ordered one for himself.
The I7 2600K CPU is not the top of the line from intel. But it is such a fast chip that spending more for a slightly faster cpu is up to the users budget. This chip also features the Intel video processor with it. There is no need to purchase a separate video card. Although some do just to get extra video output.
So in the end if we are needing a new machine we can meet our needs with serial and parallel ports plus have the fastest computer we ever operated.
The ASUS P8P67 board did not have a video out so I added a video card. But it does have both parallel and serial ports. P67 means no on board high speed video.
The Gigabyte Z68 AP has high speed video processign plus a hdmi out so no extra vid card was needed. It has the high speed graphics on board. That is what the "Z68" means.
Both have SATA 6 and usb 3 and 1000 speed Ethernet. Be sure to get SSD that is at least a level 3 in speed. This is very fast data transfers.
The K on the CPU name means it is unlocked and ready to take advantage of turbo abilities. That means if your CPU is loaded up with heavy usage it will temporarily auto speed up to a faster speed to take up some the load.
In summary for about $800 bux we can have the latest greatest high speed machine and have our ports to operate our older hardware. We can run our legacy hardware and have the latest in technology too. What more could one ask for?
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5273 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted February 24, 2012 01:25 PM
Curtis, Curious about SSD Drives as I do plan on switching to one or two soon. Are you running you OS and Programs all off of one drive or are loading Windows on a standard drive and the programs on the SSD. All my Gamer Buddies are doing that(OS one, Games on SSD) but if a game takes a dump no big deal but if my Business computer takes a dump.. Major deal.
All my Client files will still be saved on a Mirror Raid Hot swapped weekly.
posted February 25, 2012 01:54 AM
I am not a gamer at all. So i have no idea about gamers... The graphics intensive stuff I do is 3D.
SSD for all the programs and OS.. second regular drive for all the data.
you will need at least a 120 gig SSD.
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5273 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted February 25, 2012 01:45 PM
Thanks for posting this, Curtis. All of my machines have a few years on them and I wondered if upgrading would make much of a difference. Apparently it will.
My mind wanders. And that's not a good thing, 'cause it's too small to be out there alone. Posts: 3129 | From: Tooele, UT | Registered: Mar 2005
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