New Desktop System Question...

[Lin Evans]

Hi Guys,

I'm considering a new desktop and looking at the ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) desktop with 32 gig DDR3 RAM, Intel 4th Gen i7 CPU with 3.4GHz speed and turbo boost to 3.9 GHz. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 with 3GB DDR5 (dedicated), SonicMaster 8 channel MaxxAudio, a 1TB 7200 Sata Drive, 6 USB 3.0 ports, 4 USB 2 ports and, unfortunately, Windows 8 which I will "try" to replace with Windows 7.

Anyone have any experience with this system? Good or bad comments appreciated.

It appears to be a solid system with sufficient case size to handle cooling, etc. I know there have been questions about ASUS and quality control so I keep that in mind.

I want to be able to edit video and of course continue with PTE shows. The video card is much more than sufficient to handle about anything I could conceive of with PTE. I will probably end up with a fairly large 2560 x 1440 display and I will keep my old XP system with my 8800 GT card to be sure I don't create shows which won't run on less than optimal machines.

Best regards,

Lin

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Lin

Any reason for only 1 HD, what size power supply? When I ran my spec past the PCS forum it was suggested I change my HD 1 to 1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE, my HD2 is as yours. Couldn't really find out why, something to do with speed, it is more expensive but I eventually plumped for it.

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1.

PS my old PC will be on its way to pastures new Monday, served me well until September this year. :(/>

[Lin Evans]

Hi Eric,

The entire system is essentially "as is" so no customization choices for me. The specs at the source "BestBuy" don't list the power supply size, but since it's more or less a "brand name" system. I assume it's adequate. It's definitely a gamer system, but because it's relatively inexpensive for all the bells and whistles (about $1400 USD) it's probably less expensive than building one to my own specifications. With a total 10 USB ports and such, I suspect the PowerSupply is probably fairly healthy.

If I were building my own, I would prefer a large solid state drive for C: which would make booting much faster and I would probably put a secondary internal 4 terabyte 7200 rpm sata drive in. But having priced building one to custom specs, I think it's less expensive to go with the "canned" system and my resources are severely limited.

I'm not even certain of the brand HD they use, or how much of it is partitioned for C: versus storage. (Edit - Only 149 gig dedicated to C My old system still works fine, but my HD is over six years old now and I suspect it won't be good for too much longer which is why I'm considering this new system. I've looked at custom building a Hewlett-Packard and I don't think I can match the specifications of this one for less than about $1600.

Best regards,

Lin

[davegee]

Lin,

My current M/C and the one before it are Off-the-shelf Gaming PCs.

The spec is generally what someone doing what you are doing requires.

My current PC has a 3Gb card and it's magic.

The one it replaced is now my "music" PC and looks like it will last as long as the current one.

My next one (if there is one) will have the SSD as a priority along with the best card available at the time and 32Gb or more of RAM.

But definitely "off-the-shelf" - I have no complaints.

DG

[Lin Evans]

Thanks Dave,

I "think" everything will be fine. I only hope that I can install WinDoz 7 to replace Windows 8 without too many hoops to jump through. I know it will be infinitely better than my existing old Dell and the video card is right up there - about the fourth down in performance among the nVidia cards. I like the idea of having the extra speed of USB 3. Right now I only have USB 2 and I plan to buy some 4 terabyte external media to back up my shows, videos and photos. I just checked my existing "Program Files" folder and I think the 149 gig C: partition will be quite adequate. At first I was afraid that it would be tight, but apparently even with the literally hundreds of application programs I have installed, I'm using less than 30 gigabytes in the Program Files folder.

It really will be great to use some of the newer software which doesn't work with XP and to be able to do video editing without waiting overnight for rendering - LOL. It's amazing how long my present system has lasted and been relatively trouble free. I occasionally get a blue-screen which requires a re-boot. That "could" be an omen so it makes me a bit nervous. I leave the system on 24/7 and I don't know how many hours the HD can run before the bearings freeze up. I think it shuts down until needed, but still......

It will be a huge task migrating all my existing software to a new system, but it has to be done sooner or later.

Thanks,

Lin

[jt49]

Keep in mind that hiberfil.sys may become very large in your case!

On most machines today, OS and software are placed on an SSD.

Regards,

jt

[goddi]

Thanks Dave,

I "think" everything will be fine. I only hope that I can install WinDoz 7 to replace Windows 8 without too many hoops to jump through....

It will be a huge task migrating all my existing software to a new system, but it has to be done sooner or later.

Thanks,

Lin

========================

Greetings Lin,

I am wondering about you plan to replace Win8 with Win7. I am not wanting to start a "which is better than...' thread. But I am just curious about your feelings that you apparently want to avoid Win8. I am bringing this up because I recently purchased a laptop with Win8. I was dreading the fact that maybe some programs would not run in Win8. But, to my surprise, all of my programs from my Win7 desktop PC were installed onto the laptop and I've had no problem with them. If you are not liking the Win8 'design', I, too, was apprehensive. But I found that, since I never used the Start window in Win7, all I do is click on the Desktop square on the Win8 Start window and get to the Desktop that looks just like Win7. I, in fact, like Win8 to the point that I am considering upgrading my Win7 desktop to Win8. Now I really have apprehension with this process (and the potential pitfalls), but I want to try it sooner or later.

So, just wondering why you would go through the trouble of replacing the Win8 with Win7. And your new desktop sounds 'sweet'!!!!

Gary

[Lin Evans]

Hi Jt,

I'll probably just disable the hibernate mode and use the "sleep" mode so I don't think that will be a problem. I've never cared for "hibernate" anyway and usually just allow the sleep mode to function when I'm not on the system. I almost never power down my desktops. This system doesn't have an SSD but uses a SATA 7200 rpm disk drive for the C: and D: partitions.

Best regards,

Lin

[Lin Evans]

Hi Gary,

I was a developer back in the stone age of computing and I still use one of my commercial programs as a data management tool. It is strictly a DOS tool but runs well under Windows on my Windows 7 Pro notebook. I think Windows 8 has done away with a true DOS prompt emulation with Win 8 - correct me if I'm wrong about that.

I can index eight indices each containing about two million records in about fifteen seconds on my own data management software. To do this under Windows with something like Access takes hours even on a very fast machine. I don't want to give up a very good data management tool to the comparatively crude, Windows systems data management - I have over 260,000 lines of code and numerous utilities in this software which are very useful and too important for my own use to start over and try to build a similar system with SQL, Access or similar environment.

Best regards,

Lin

[Barry Beckham]

Funnily enough I have also been looking at a new computer build for my better half and the spec I came up with is remarkably similar to yours. I don't want an off the shelf one filled up with all the stuff they pile on. Just a new PC and W7 is all I want, the rest I will do myself. (Oh and an extra large start button so I can see it OK )

However, I am going for a 250 gig Solid State Hard drive as the main C drive and then 2 other 2TB drives. I have seen a SSD in action and they do seem to be the way forward, very fast and 250gig is more than enough for the C drive if kept for OS and programs only.. I almost had one fitted in a new PC 2 years ago, but they were still too expensive. A friend here took the plunge some months ago and I am impressed with his SSD.

The two other drives will be one for all work created, nothing stored on the C drive and one for immediate backup. That set-up has worked for us for the entire digital revolution without fail.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

(Oh and an extra large start button so I can see it OK )

You can save yourself some money with a dot of tippex, will last a lifetime :lol:/>

Yachtsman1.

[Barry Beckham]

:lol:/>

[goddi]

Hi Gary,

I was a developer back in the stone age of computing and I still use one of my commercial programs as a data management tool. It is strictly a DOS tool but runs well under Windows on my Windows 7 Pro notebook. I think Windows 8 has done away with a true DOS prompt emulation with Win 8 - correct me if I'm wrong about that.

I Best regards,

Lin

==============================

Lin,

I see you have a special reason or need to run DOS. In the 'old days', I remember using it and having a need for it. But, nowadays, DOS is a distant memory. I really have no idea about Win8 and 'true DOS emulation'. But I ran across this site that might be a program that might allow you to do what you need to do in Win8. Just for kicks, take a look at this site for DOSBox:

http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Main_Page

"DOSBox is an emulator that recreates a MS-DOS compatible environment (complete with Sound, Input, Graphics and even basic networking). This environment is complete enough to run many classic MS-DOS games completely unmodified. In order to utilize all of DOSBox's features you need to first understand some basic concepts about the MS-DOS environment."

This site seems to say DOSBox is compatible...mostly at least:

http://www.microsoft...sid=Windows%208

And here is a YouTube that shows DOSBox and Win8 installation:

I don't know if this fits into your needs but it looks interesting.

Gary

[Lin Evans]

Hi Gary,

I'll have a look at that - it might be useful. Unfortunately, I still have a number of clients who refuse to give up the data management and inventory control software I developed and sold them back in the mid 80's if you can believe it !!! I still get support calls now and then and have to be able to pull up the software in real time to help them. It's been so many years I've forgotten some of the procedures I wrote myself - LOL. I have to go back to my notes and pull up the old software to answer questions about 28 year old software. I was hoping someone would have written something new and better for the art gallery inventory business by now, but I suppose it's such a niche market that older gallery owners still are more comfortable with my old commercial software than with trying new things. Some things never die it seems ....

Best regards,

Lin

[coopernatural]

Lin,

Just 1 thing I would suggest.In addition to the supplied system HD,install another fast dedicated physical HD (not on a partition)and use it exclusively for your video work.

Have fun.

Davy

[Lin Evans]

Hi Davy,

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll try to do that if there is a spare internal bay for a drive.

Best regards,

Lin

[JudyKay]

What iteration of i7? I have an ASUS machine very similar to your specs bought about a year ago at Best Buy. There is always the latest and greatest which is spectacularly expensive. I have a 1.5 TB HDD and an additional 256 GB SSD--I recommend a bigger SSD depending how you use it. Don't skimp--and with a SSD you may have the hassle of keeping data off your C: drive. Keep on eye on power supply size because the system you describe may max it out and with little room for growth.

I am completely happy with mine and I work it VERY hard. I do NOT like Windows 8 but discipline myself to use it anyway. It is OK. My screen is 1920 X 1080 and I sometimes use a separate 2nd same-size screen. No problems at all. Your humongous screen will eat up videocard power, but it's not likely a problem.

Mine is "canned" but the best I could get at the time. You get the most bang for your buck. I do not like all the garbage-ware stores put on a computer, so I just reformatted the hard drive and started over. Then it was squeaky clean. Didn't take long at all. Win 8 offers more formatting choices than Win 7 - and you have to get it right, but you probably know all about that.

2cents worth

jk

[Lin Evans]

Hi Judy,

Thanks! Actually the only information I've been able to get about the CPU is "Intel® 4th Generation Core™ i7" 4770 - because of the Thanksgiving "Black Friday" crowd, I was unable to talk to anyone who actually knew much about the system which is only available via the web. It doesn't come with an SSD but I "think" the motherboard has provisions for installing one. Also they didn't specify the power supply size, but if I need to do so I can always upgrade that as I have done on my old Dell 530. I shoehorned a 750w power supply in so I could upgrade the integrated GPU to an nVidia 8800 GT card several years ago. The old 8800 GT works fine as long as I don't try to push it beyond the maximum of my attached 1600x1200 Nokia 445Xi CRT.

Looking at the available power supplies from the ASUS site, I suspect that the installed one is around 550 watts which is probably marginal but sufficient for the "as installed" system. I have read numerous reviews on the installed GeForce GTX 760 and even though it's actually designed for a 1920x1080 gaming machine, all users with experience with higher resolution displays have reported that they have had no problems maintaining 30 fps gaming with 2560x1440 displays, so I hope it will be more than sufficient for my intended use with PTE animation.

I will probably try Win 8 and see if it will suffice before attempting to install Win 7 Pro.

Best regards,

Lin

[Lin Evans]

Hey Tom,

I'll check that out once I get the new system....

I wish I didn't HAVE to buy a new system, but after about seven years the old one is definitely getting long in the tooth and maybe not long for this world....

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that a few galleries are still using my DOS software. I think it's because I customized it for specific users until that became too much to keep up with. One gallery in Taos, NM is in the process of changing hands and "may" be the last one still using my ICP (Inventory Control Package) software. Perhaps the new owners will find something to replace it with and my "tech-support" will finally die - LOL. Not that I mind, but I'm not going to be around forever....

I'll definitely look into Start8. My only experience with Win 8 has been to play with it in the store displays. Hopefully, with a little time I'll be able to get used to the interface. I will always miss not being able to use the DOS prompt commands which make entirely too much sense for doing copy and sorts. There just is no convenient way, at least that I have found, to be able to conveniently do things like copy only the exe files from one folder to another. Or only look at the .jpg files. The "wildcard" features of DOS simply have not been improved on in any way with Windows in my opinion. I still use these old commands to quickly create multiple layers of folders, delete or copy only specific types of files and even to search a complex folder for a partial file name, etc. The same things apply to things like word processing. I can work faster and more efficiently with WordStar on my Kaypro 4/84 than I can with Microsoft Word 2013 !! Of course all the features are not available, but making bold, italics, underlines and such is soooo much faster with keystroke commands before and after than with the stop typing, pick up the mouse, highlight the word or sentence click on the appropriate icon, etc. I guess I'm just old-fashioned, but I think in "some ways" we've gone backward with the GUI interface.

Best regards,

Lin

[goddi]

Hi Lin,

Start8 and Fences makes Windows 8.n much easier to use. Start8 saves a lot of grief for $5. I don't miss Windows 7.

Am I the ONLY one NOT buying a new PC this year?

Almost 30 years of software support? Have you been in contact with http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/ ?

Tom

=====================

Greetings Tom,

I don't mean to hijack Lin's posting, but, since you mentioned 'Fences', I'd like to ask you a question about it. I use 'Fences' extensively on my Win7 desktop PC. I want to upgrade my Win7 to Win8. I am afraid of losing all of my 'Fences' configurations. I know I can make a snapshot and restore my Fences but I was wondering if you went through that process. I know all my programs work in Win8 but the process of upgrading a Wom7 Desktop to Win8, with Fences, makes me a little apprehensive. I don't want to mess anything up. I assume my Fences will appear in the Win8's Desktop with no problems???? Did you have any problems, if you did this same process???

Thanks... Gary

[goddi]

Hi Gary,

No problem. I have not migrated Fences from Win 7 to Win 8 but it looks like it's really easy....

Tom

=====================

Greetings Tom,

It seems there should not be a problem with Fences when updating to Win8. I'm familiar with the snapshot process. I'd take a snapshot just before upgrading to Win8, just in case.

The big question is whether to upgrade to Win8.0 or to Win8.1. From my reading of Microsoft sites, you will lose all applications if you upgrade directly to Win8.1, but not if you upgrade first to 8.0, then upgrade to 8.1 (when going from Win7 to Win8). But this is certainly not clear. Microsoft likes to leave minefields for us. I know the best way is to reinstall all applications when making a major Windows upgrade, but I've got just too much stuff to go through that process.

Thanks...

Gary

[JudyKay]

I have the i7 3630QM and GTX 670. So your system would be faster than mine. I typically might have Lightroom and Photoshop and Outlook and Chrome with a couple dozen tabs open and a half dozen other programs running, and nothing has ever hiccuped yet. I watch almost every show available here or at Beechbrook and so far everything is pretty much as smooth as butter.

I miss DOS days. Sort of. Maybe just miss the "old days" when life seemed slower and simpler than now. I'd love to pitch my iPhone and use an old black rotary dial phone. But on the other hand...

I remember the joy of my Tandy 1000, little green cursor blinking expectantly. Making my own menu system as a batch file--it got complex and fun [echo. echo. echo.]. Then BASIC--college Linear regression program [END IF]. Then C, all manner of wonderful things [printf("Hello Lin")]. Then html - web design[</body> ]. Then SQL - complex databases with VB clients [sELECT TRIM(' MyStuff ');]. Now...PTE [PanSpeed=1;12000;0;0;1;]

Know how fast my "pan speed" is in the kitchen when it's supper time?

jk

[Lin Evans]

Hi Judy,

That's good news. After seeing what is happening with the ongoing "jerky video" thread, I'm even more inclined to keep my old system going even after purchasing the new one simply to test my various shows to be relatively certain that they will play smoothly on legacy systems as well.

It seems that the world of video has revealed substantial differentiation in our forum user's hardware. Eventually perhaps these problems will be resolved, but right now it seems that we can't rest assured that our shows containing video will necessarily be perceived by all as we see them because of the differences in hardware, drivers and such. This issue is made even more troubling by the fact that 4K video is on the horizon.

I remember only a few years ago that some of our French users such Patrick were experiencing grave difficulties even with fairly mild animations. I recall an instance when I created a show which I tried to demonstrate different types of snowfall. Patrick was seeing my softly falling snow in a few places as actually rising rather than falling. It was because of the relative antiquity of his hardware, but it brought the problems of the limitations of hardware into sharp focus for me.

When Igor uploaded the two version ( 1080p and 720p ) of Bert's video, I immediately saw the weakness of my present system made manifest. My old nVidia 8800GT, which was state of art when I purchased it, simply can't keep up. Neither version was even remotely usable for me, yet those with optimal systems were seeing either perfectly smooth playback or mild stutter on the 1080p version. Now I absolutely know that I will have to upgrade.

Indeed, I share some of your nostalgia for old times. I began with an Apple II, graduated to CPM and made my first sales by converting dBase II, WordStar and VisiCalc for users of Systel Word Processors (which were actually just nice little CPM computers in disguise) so they could use their $5,000+ dedicated word processors for general computing. This eventually evolved into founding a software development company and was one of the reasons I left teaching at the university to pursue a career in the computer industry.

I would like to hear more about your "pan speed" in the kitchen - LOL. Cooking has always been a total mystery to me. Since my wife passed away three years ago I have actually learned to cook Butternut Squash, and I can now actually boil water without burning the pan. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks??? HA!

Best regards,

Lin

[nobeefstu]

Hi Lin,

I like it !!

Seems ASUS makes/offers this G10AC version in several hardware flavors.

Their site lists the many possible hardware selection/configurations ... but not specific to a model number. The Support tab does have a User Manual available to atleast read up on in the waiting period.

http://www.asus.com/us/Desktops/G10AC/#specifications

[Lin Evans]

Hi Stu,

In the configuration offered by both BestBuy and B&H Photo, at least, it seems like a pretty nice combination of both CPU and GPU power with some nice features.

I bought a 30 inch 2560 x 1600 CTL 3001 Ultra 30 display and it took a while and a call to ASUS to be certain that the GPU was a separate card rather than integrated into the motherboard. I was uncertain from the description whether or not the GPU had the necessary dual link DVI port, but after finally finding a closeup image of the back apron of the system on the ASUS website I discovered that it is indeed a separate nVidia card and that it has a dual link DVI port so it should be satisfactory. The display has multi-resolution capabilities so should work fine with this card. It is far from the "best" 30" displays available - not terribly accurate on color, per PC Magazine, but for $499.00 for a high res 30" display with a three year warranty the price was just too good to resist. I have enough other displays which are spot-on accurate that I figured with high resolution I needed the size to be able to read fine print - HA!

At first I was going to order the ASUS from BestBuy, but may do so from B&H instead because the price is slightly lower and I don't have to pay the high city tax on it so will save about $100. It comes with a one year parts and labor warranty so hopefully will make a nice system. It was good to hear that Judy Kay has had good luck with hers. I have so many older systems that about a half dozen are in storage. It's almost impossible to even "give" them away because even school children want the latest and greatest these days - LOL. I think I will try to keep this one disconnected from the web to minimize the probability of any malware getting on it and just dedicate it to PTE and processing photos.

I was somewhat surprised when I called ASUS tech-support for pre-purchase questions that the tech had a difficult time actually finding this model so we were on the same page. I actually had to point him to several URL's before he was able to find it on their own website. I guess they have so many combinations and new offerings that it takes a while for things to filter down from sales to support. Thanks for that link - that's one I hadn't seen!

For anyone else interested in a pretty great deal on a high resolution 30 " display with lots of bells and whistles, here's a link:

Link to Pretty Good Deal on Display I Think

Best regards,

Lin