Apartment!

[neotoma]

I got approved for the apartment! weeee!

I'll get the keys on July 8th, and hopefully move some of my things in that day.

The next day, Saturday July 9th, will be the big move. I'm asking for people to help me move my stuff. The apartment is in Germantown *and* on the fourth floor, so I realize some people will flop over trying to run up and down all those stairs, not to mention just getting out to the far end of the Metro system.

Thus, a poll...
[Poll #516468]


I'm also asking advice on what kind of computer to get. I'm looking for something that's good with graphics, as I plan to get a tablet to doodle with, and to buy garment-drafting software. I'd also be using it to play CDs and DVDs since I'm too cheap to buy a CD player at this time -- and burning CDs too. Something with an AMD chip by preference, since my brother works there, and I should buy their product, if only out of family loyalty.

Comments

[monsterbrain.livejournal.com]

If I lived anywhere near you, I'd be there with my station wagon and a defibrillator.

Moving is hard work. Wish I could help. :(

[axiom_of_stripe]

having checked my calendar, i've been reminded that that's the weekend of the bonspiel in cape cod -- i'm going to be out of town. i'm sorry!

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

How about computer advice, then?

[wikdsushi.livejournal.com]

If I were close enough, I'd turn up with a minivan and a cooler of water and Gatorade. :( Grrr, Oklahoma has to be so far away from everyone.

Good luck with the move and the apartment! *hugs*

[amberdiceless.livejournal.com]

Can't help with the move, I'm afraid, but here's my recommendations on the PC:

If you want AMD, get an Athlon, not a Sempron. I have it on good authority that the Sempron sucks compared to its Intel equivalent (no offense to your brother. I've had a number of AMD systems and always been pleased.)

I'd strongly recommend you check around your area and find a well-established small computer business to build it for you, rather than going through Dell or Gateway or the like. You may pay a bit more (though that isn't always a given), but you'll probably get newer, better-quality components and exactly the stuff you want, not whatever comes standard, in both hardware and software. Just check their warranty policy first, if tech support is a big concern for you.

As far as specs go, get as much memory as you can afford; that will serve you well regardless of what you use the machine for. I've got a full gigabyte on this monster, and I believe current systems will support up to four gigs. A large hard drive will probably be in order if you intend to stow a lot of MP3's or other large files in it; what constitutes "large" varies from person to person, though. I've got an 80-gigabyte drive that I doubt I'll come close to filling up in the next five years, but I suspect my husband could easily fill that much with his MP3's alone.

Since you're planning to use it for design, make sure you get a separate graphics card, not integrated graphics. If the design program you're looking at is 3-D, you may also want to ask what's available in the way of higher-end 3-D graphics cards. Ditto for the sound card, since it will also be your CD player. If you already have decent PC speakers, you may not need to buy a new set, but if you do, ask for a demonstration first.

Optical drives: A combination CD-RW/DVD drive and a plain vanilla CD-ROM would probably cover you. If you want to burn copies of DVD's, though, or make huge data disks, you'll want a DVD burner, which I can't really comment on since there are so many competing standards it confoozles the heck out of me. Strongly recommend two optical drives, whatever combination you go with; in my experience, they're usually among the first things to break down, and it's so much easier to transfer data around, install stuff, etc. when you have the extra drive.

CRT monitors are still cheaper than LCD's, but some of the LCD's are affordable enough now that they may be worth looking into if you have limited desk space. Do take a good hard look at whatever monitor you decide on before you buy it; I almost got saddled with a flimsily-built, washed-out disaster of a monitor because I just glanced at it and confirmed it was working in the store. Luckily one of the settings controls didn't work, so I was able to trade it in for a much better one.

[amberdiceless.livejournal.com]

(Continued...I am Computer Geek; Hear Me Ramble!) :)

Don't let anybody sell you a computer that doesn't have both a floppy disk drive and a parallel port (some companies will try) even if you're going to be using USB devices. They're pretty cheap and they come in handy at the darndest times.

If the tablet is a big consideration, then first figure out what kind of tablet you'll be getting and how it connects to a PC, and then be sure your PC has the right kind of ports (USB, FireWire, wireless network, whatever) conveniently placed. That would be easier than having to settle for a different tablet than you want, or install a port on the PC later on.

Also bear in mind that Longhorn (the next Windows) is supposed to come out next year, so if you're likely to consider upgrading, you may want to discuss Longhorn readiness; it will be able to handle stupid hardware tricks like 64-bit computing and dual processors. But that kind of thing is still pretty expensive.

Software: A firewall and antivirus are an absolute must. If the machine you choose doesn't come with those installed, I recommend ZoneAlarm and Avast! AntiVirus, both of which are effective and free. For general-purpose computing, Microsoft Works and Norton Systemworks pretty much cover the bases, and Works often comes standard.

This is a pretty good time to be buying a PC; Windows XP has been around long enough to be well-tested and reasonably debugged, and will remain widely used and supported for at least several more years. Also, RAM prices are supposed to be bottoming out within the next month or two.

If you want some really in-depth information on what's available, or if you want to go with a large PC vendor instead of a custom build, pick up the latest issue of PC World and check out their ratings toward the back of the magazine. They won't steer you wrong.

Oh, and if you're still using Windows 98, be prepared: XP is a nice crash-resistant, customizable OS, and it can be tweaked to mimic the 98 interface pretty closely if you're comfortable with that--but it's idiot-proof like you wouldn't believe. :p

Let us know what system you wind up with and how it works out for you! :)

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice. I'd never have thought about gettting two optical drives, but it does sound like a good idea.

I'm definitely going to use it for garment drafting, so you might see some wacky wacky knitting or sewing patterns from me soon.