Big Brandon DC
Beta member
- Messages
- 2
Good afternoon everyone. First off, I am very much a newbie and I apologize in advance if my post seems redundant or otherwise trivial. After reading numerous threads I was prompted to ask for advice from members more knowledgeable than me.
I am in the market to purchase a new PC for which I plan to use primarily for internet browsing, scanning and displaying photos, PVR and general TV viewing, playing mp3s, and watching DVDs. I'm not a gamer, so features relevant to that aren't in consideration for me. Given the financial investment, I'm willing to go heavy on security features (firewall, anti-virus, etc) so I'm curious as to any suggestions anyone can offer. For most of you here, I'm sure that's pretty tame stuff - but I'm looking to have my computer serve as a complete media center so I can move it to my living room. I'm reasonably confident that a machine using Windows XP Media Edition 2005 and paired to a 32" Winbook LCD TV & PC/HDTV monitor is right for me. In addition, I really like the Epson Perfection 3490 flatbed scanner for the aforementioned digital archiving.
The PC I am 99% sure is right for me was found at Micro Center. I stopped in mid-December and was told that a new Sony model had arrived. To date, I have been unable to locate any reviews on this particular set up and would love to hear any opinions/feedback on it.
Sony VAIO VGC-RA940GN9
mobo = Intel 945P Chipset
processor = Intel Pentium D Processor 820 (Dual-Core)
processor speed = 2.8 GHz
RAM installed = 2.0GB PC-4200 Cual Channel DDR2 RAM
memory configuration = (4) 512MB DIMM
hard drive = 400GB
multimedia drives = 16x DVD-Rom and 6x DVD+R
video card = nVidia 6600 or 6800 (I can't read my notes)
sound card = Intel High Definition Audio Chipset
TV Tuner = GigaPocket MPEG2 Realtime Encoder Board with TV Tuner (NTSC)
revelant software = SonicStage Mastering Studio, PictureGear Studio, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Premiere Standard Edition, DVgate Plus, InterVideo WinDVD
price=$1279
So, if anyone can direct me to any additional resources for the Sony VAIO or any of the aforementioned components I would greatly appreciate it!
I'm primarily concerned with the processor speed since I've been reading a lot about 3.2 and 3.4GHz ones. I understand that this one is dual-core, so the trade-off (as I understand it) is to be able to have more operations running simultaneously.
Lastly, I was hoping that someone could clarify something for me. I heard that Windows XP Media Edition 2005 is based on XP Home rather than XP Pro and, therefore, has fewer security features than XP Pro. I am willing to accept this provided that my intended security program purchase (either Zone Alarm Instant Security 6.0 or Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2006) is good.
Thank you all in advance for your help - I really appreciate it!
I am in the market to purchase a new PC for which I plan to use primarily for internet browsing, scanning and displaying photos, PVR and general TV viewing, playing mp3s, and watching DVDs. I'm not a gamer, so features relevant to that aren't in consideration for me. Given the financial investment, I'm willing to go heavy on security features (firewall, anti-virus, etc) so I'm curious as to any suggestions anyone can offer. For most of you here, I'm sure that's pretty tame stuff - but I'm looking to have my computer serve as a complete media center so I can move it to my living room. I'm reasonably confident that a machine using Windows XP Media Edition 2005 and paired to a 32" Winbook LCD TV & PC/HDTV monitor is right for me. In addition, I really like the Epson Perfection 3490 flatbed scanner for the aforementioned digital archiving.
The PC I am 99% sure is right for me was found at Micro Center. I stopped in mid-December and was told that a new Sony model had arrived. To date, I have been unable to locate any reviews on this particular set up and would love to hear any opinions/feedback on it.
Sony VAIO VGC-RA940GN9
mobo = Intel 945P Chipset
processor = Intel Pentium D Processor 820 (Dual-Core)
processor speed = 2.8 GHz
RAM installed = 2.0GB PC-4200 Cual Channel DDR2 RAM
memory configuration = (4) 512MB DIMM
hard drive = 400GB
multimedia drives = 16x DVD-Rom and 6x DVD+R
video card = nVidia 6600 or 6800 (I can't read my notes)
sound card = Intel High Definition Audio Chipset
TV Tuner = GigaPocket MPEG2 Realtime Encoder Board with TV Tuner (NTSC)
revelant software = SonicStage Mastering Studio, PictureGear Studio, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Premiere Standard Edition, DVgate Plus, InterVideo WinDVD
price=$1279
So, if anyone can direct me to any additional resources for the Sony VAIO or any of the aforementioned components I would greatly appreciate it!
I'm primarily concerned with the processor speed since I've been reading a lot about 3.2 and 3.4GHz ones. I understand that this one is dual-core, so the trade-off (as I understand it) is to be able to have more operations running simultaneously.
Lastly, I was hoping that someone could clarify something for me. I heard that Windows XP Media Edition 2005 is based on XP Home rather than XP Pro and, therefore, has fewer security features than XP Pro. I am willing to accept this provided that my intended security program purchase (either Zone Alarm Instant Security 6.0 or Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2006) is good.
Thank you all in advance for your help - I really appreciate it!
