Re: Why I Don't Use Computers for Audio Very Much

On 23 Apr, 19:52, "Richard Crowley" <rcrow...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Arny Krueger" wrote ...

I've never seen a major brand machine with hardware that was nonstandard,
other than perhaps the case.

My experience appears to be pretty much the opposite.
The "name brand" systems tend to have proprietary
cases, power supplies, motherboards, etc. which make
updates/replacements much more difficult or impossible.
Or maybe it is just the models that our corporate purchasing
people are selecting?

It'll vary from one make to another, so yes it's what your company is
selecting.

Yes, "strongly resemble", but frequently not interchangable
with generic parts. Cases/MB/PS have non-standard mounting
hole spacing/locations. Non-standard connectors, etc. Whether
this is because it is cheaper/easier for them to assemble the
custom pieces, or whether it keeps customers coming back to
the mother-ship for parts/repairs (or both) the effect is the same.

When it's done well (we have various generations of HP/Compaq small
form factor desktop PCs at work, by the hundred) it makes the PC an
absolute joy to work on, from a point of view of replacing failed
components, or swapping parts between two identical machines to locate
the source of the problem. Typically if someone's computer starts
acting up and it looks like it might be hardware, I'll swap their hard
drive into another of the same model of base unit. It takes me less
time to open up the machines and swap drives around than it does to
reconnect all the cables on the rear panel. In that sort of an
environment, it's absolutely the way to go. Even if the servicing is
expensive, if it's done well, it's probably still worth it. Outside
that environment, it makes rather less sense.

That said, last time I opened up a Dell computer, to fit an extra hard
drive for someone, I was quite impressed with what I found. I didn't
pay enough attention to the PSU to tell whether it was non standard,
but the case and motherboard certainly wasn't standard. I forget the
exact model of processor, but it was one of the later P4s with a
horrendous reputation for heat dissipation. Before opening the
computer up, I was suprised by how quiet it was. I don't mean it was
especially quiet, but it was far better than I was expecting, given
what I knew about the processor. It turns out that inside the case was
a CPU heatsink that couldn't have been much less than a litre in
volume, with a 120mm fan on the front, dedicated air inlets on the
front panel, foam covering the air inlets (removable or not, I don't
know) and various guides inside the case to direct the airflow exactly
where it needed to go. Unless you're a very dedicated self-builder,
this is above and beyond what you can expect to get by assembling
generic parts, particularly in terms of the attention to airflow.

I should point out that I haven't had wide experience with recent Dell
PCs, and I don't have many other points for comparison, so I'm not
trying to recommend Dell in particular, just pointing out that self-
build doesn't get you quite everything.

-Nick

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Dell Dimension 3100C
    ... Dell has its motherboards manufactured to spec, ... Hard drives, CD/DVD-R/RW drives are standard. ...
    (alt.sys.pc-clone.dell)
  • Re: get part info
    ... Dell uses Dell motherboards. ... XPS models have nVidia designed motherboards and chipsets. ... Most of the new machines have one IDE channel that can handle two drives. ... As for parts like DVD drives, Hard drives, etc...it varies and can never be ...
    (alt.sys.pc-clone.dell)
  • VIA 8253 UDMA ICRC errors
    ... >Does anyone else have a problem lately with VIA-based motherboards and relatively ... any combination of the following gives me a load of UDMA ICRC ... >I have tried using two different 160G hard drives from two different vendors ... >from CD causes an immediate error, installing from ftp at about 300 Kbytes/sec ...
    (freebsd-current)
  • Re: PRIMARY HARD DRIVE RUMBLE
    ... Some OEM supplied motherboards even though similar in brand to retail mobos do not have this feature. ... install the Speed Fan program and see what it provides. ... Many drives offer Acoustical settings (a trade off between ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: VIA 8235 UDMA ICRC errors
    ... Check cable connections, replace the cables, download and use ... I've tried replacing pretty much everything, including power supplies, drives ... Thank you for your advice, and the same goes to Doug White. ... >> broken, bad hardware (but it works with other motherboards), something that is ...
    (freebsd-current)