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Topic: Will a DVD ROM Player Work on my New PC? |
Al Gershen
From:
Grants Pass, OR, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 12 Oct 2000 10:19 pm |
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Hi Group:
I recently bought a used 1998 HP Pavilion 8250 PC (266 MH Intel Pentium processor) and I'm wondering if I add a CD Rom player into one of its open bays, will it produce decent video on the computer?
I'm concerned that the processor's speed isn't fast enought to produce smooth video. This is what a salesman at Staples suggested to me while trying to sell me a 1 GH PC.
When it comes to computers, I'm always behind. Same with pedal steel guitars....I've been playing my Fender 1000 since 1964.
What are your experineces using a DVD Rom player on your PC's?
I look foward to your replies.
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Regards,
Al Gershen
Grants Pass, Oregon. USA
Fender 1000 (1957),
Fender PS 210 (1972) &
Gibson Electraharp EH-820
(1962)
Pictures of PS 210 &
EH-820 at http://www.rvi.net/~aldg
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John Gretzinger
From:
Canoga Park, CA
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Posted 13 Oct 2000 5:12 pm
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Al -
The 266 is slow by today's standards - 733 is a mid level machine now.
You can run a DVD on the 266, but I'd expect it to "skip" occasionally. You really want to be above 300 for it to work well.
Check and see if RanTek Computers is in your area - Randy used to have a shop here but he moved up you direction. He can put you into something quite reasonably.
jdg
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MSA D-10
'63 Gibson Hummingbird
16/15c Hammered Dulcimer
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Everett Cox
From:
Marengo, OH, USA (deceased)
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Posted 13 Oct 2000 6:18 pm
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Al-- Right, the 266MH is not really enough. The video/graphics card (or chip) in your machine is also critical to the performance. And, to a lesser degree, your display monitor and amount of RAM are also factors.
Full screen video puts a heavy load on all these components.
I don't know, off-hand, what the HP has but a decent tech should be able to guide you.
*****Just checked the spec's on the HP8250 and, unless it's been modified, the CPU is a rather basic Celeron with no secondary cache and the video consists of an on-board chip with only 2MB of memory. What this means is that you almost certainly would need to put in a graphics card to get acceptable results. (One with good 'acceleration'.) I would suggest you consider one with TV in/out capability. The ATI All-In-Wonder card is pretty good. They are expensive but are sometimes seen on eBay at around 50-100
--Everett[This message was edited by Everett Cox on 13 October 2000 at 08:23 PM.] |
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Al Gershen
From:
Grants Pass, OR, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 14 Oct 2000 8:01 am
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Hi John Gretzinger and Evertt Cox:
Thanks for your input.
I bought this PC for $350 (the model was introduced by HP in April 1998) so I can attempt to do the following:
1. I just bought a 19" HP M90 Monitor on eBay for about $350 including shipping (my wife wanted a larger screen).
2. I'll auction off the 15" monitor that came with it. It's probably worth about $50.
3. I just bought another Hard Drive (15 MB) last night at Office Depot for $90. I'll now have two hard drives in the unit.
4. I'll have to buy a DVD ROM for the unit.
5. I'll then consider upgrades for the processor (to get it over 300 MHz), the video card and maybe more RAM.
Hey, by the time I'm done, I might have been better off getting somthing else.
Again, thanks for your advise.
Regards,
Al Gershen[This message was edited by Al Gershen on 14 October 2000 at 09:03 AM.] |
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