Re: ot- buying a new name-brand pc with xp

[peregrine@xxxxxxxx]

 Here's an option to consider, Leslie, along with those you're already considering:



http://tinyurl.com/7vp9rd



Note that the XP Pro "downgrade" is specifically mentioned. I've dealt with TigerDirect a lot, and they are great, but other companies mentioned before have equally good reputations.



To get something to do the work you've described, I'd add to this plenty of RAM and a graphics card well under $100. Like one of these:



http://tinyurl.com/8zby64

or

http://tinyurl.com/n6czx



Putting together a system like this yourself, you may be able to afford to splurge on a good 19" or 21" monitor. Your eyes will thank you for that. One problem with your existing setup may be a monitor that never did deliver really good resolution, and now it's just worn out. Back in 2000, I opted for much cheaper hardware than I really needed (... if I had to guess at your "native" settings for that vintage monitor, I'd say 1024 x 768 was typical and the maximum color depth available would depend on the amount of VRAM ... Many times, I've reduced color depth to 256 colors to optimize the resolution on VRAM-starved systems). With frequent use, I'm convinced that a monitor with poor resolution takes a heavy toll on your eyes. So spring for the bigger monitor, find the optimum resolution for that monitor and maybe move it away from you a few more inches to give your eyes a break from close-focusing.



Speaking of eyestrain, and adding obligatory Xy-content, I'm also a firm believer that XyWrite's default white-on-black is easier on the eyes in the very long term than any of the alternative so-called word-processors on the market today.



Good luck!

Jeff


From: "Leslie Savan" https://mail.google.com/mail?view=cm&tf=0&to=lsavan@xxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: ot- buying a new name brand pc with xp

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Patricia, Jon, Harry, et al.



Thanks, everyone, for your advice on my monitor problem and on buying a new

computer. I'm going to return the new monitor to Staples, probably today,

but of course I won't buy anything there since they're unlikely to have

anything in XP Pro.



Everyone's advice seems to boil down to a desktop XP Pro, as Patricia

suggests here:



> You can get a Vista box with "downgrade" rights to XP Pro. Most

> of the refurb XP boxes are sold woefully underpowered. You need

> to be sure you can add RAM to at least 1 G and add a discrete VGA

>  card with at least 256 Mb RAM. XP Pro will crawl in anything less.

>

But before I shop online, a few questions:



1) In stores and online, I see that a lot of machines have XP Home--but I

should definitely go for Pro over Home?



2) This VGA card: Is this something I order from the company and they

install it before shipping, or is this something I buy separately and add on

my own?



3) I've been looking around online and I'm completely overwhelmed. Can

anyone help me narrow down a few desktop choices (under $1000 with monitor

and keyboard), preferably, I suppose at CDW, which Jon said had some of the

better tech support, or Micro Center, where the closest store to me is

Paterson, NJ.



And, btw, I've (pretty much) decided on a desktop rather than a laptop,

because laps seem more expensive, since I'd have to buy a larger monitor to

work with. (And as alluring as netbooks seem, from what I've heard here and

elsewhere, there are too many kinks yet to be worked out.)



Lastly, and the least important: Since I packed up the new monitor, I've

been working on the old one: m working on my year 2000, 16" Dell CRT that

came with the ME. With all the fiddling on the new monitor, I lost whatever

original settings came with the system, and now the legibility is even worse

than the poor legibility that drove me to start this whole search in the

first place. (That is, the legibility is blurry on Windows; but Xywrite

looks beautiful on this oldie, as ever. Still, the text on this old one at

least has consistent thickness of letters--so thanks everyone for pointing

out the mismatched res problem.)



By trying out many combos of onscreen adjustments with different resolutions

and font size on this old screen, the best I've come up with is: 1280x800

TruColor Bit 32, and a font size that reads "125% normal size (120 dpi)."



Would anyone out there know what "native" settings should go with this year

2000, 16" Dell CRT that came with the ME? Since I'm using this system only

until I get a new one, please don't waste too much energy on figuring it

out. But if anyone knows what to do offhand, I'd appreciate it.



Thanks all,

Leslie




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