I'm thinking when I get my tax rebate, blowing about $100 on pointless upgrades.

Possibility 1: Drive revamp: two SATA DVD burners to replace my IDE DVD burner and CD-RW. Also, a new card reader which takes SD-HC.

Positives: Good drives will stick around forever (my present drives are from 2005 and 2003). Eliminates fighting with scarce IDE cable slots (I have three devices competing for two spaces). Like LightScribe in principle.
Negatives: Not hugely sexy.

Estimated cost: $85 or so.

Possibility 2: Add 4Gb of memory.

Positives: More memory than I'll ever need, major ****-substitute factor to claim you have 6Gb on your machine.
Negatives: Requires 64-bit OS to exploit (one peripheral I own is not supported for 64-bit), may have compatibility issues (if the present RAM is 1.9v, will only 1.9v RAM play well, or will 2.0 or 1.8 work without exploding too?)

Estimated cost: $90 or so (depending on rebates)

Possibility 3: HD3650.

Positives: Drooling over the HD video decoding features, presumably will wipe floor with 7600GS, DirectX10 for what good it does.
Negatives: Will HD video decoding work with my setup (Vista, Leadtek HDTV tuner, WatchHDTV software)? Likely adds an annoying fan. The biggest budget buster of all.

Estimated cost: $110 or so.

Opinions?

Quote: Originally Posted by Hak Foo Possibility 3: HD3650. Positives: Drooling over the HD video decoding features, presumably will wipe floor with 7600GS, DirectX10 for what good it does. Negatives: Will HD video decoding work with my setup (Vista, Leadtek HDTV tuner, WatchHDTV software)? Likely adds an annoying fan. The biggest budget buster of all. Estimated cost: $110 or so. Opinions?

Eh?
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-RX26T256H Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Not as good but close enough?

I'd probably go for the graphics card upgrade. Lightscribe is appealing in theory but the disks are expensive. And while bragging rights are cool that extra 4GB is really quite pointless.

You can pick up a passively cooled 8600GT for $73(open box). It's HD decoding qualities are just about on par with ATI(I'm pretty sure their HQV scores are just about the same). Whether or not it works with your other stuff I'm not sure though.

I thought the thing about ATI was they gave you the accelerated decoder in the driver pack, but nVidia made you pay 20 bucks for the privelege. That's why I was considering ATI.

Upgrades are never pointless... I am thinking about a new SATA DVD drive myself.

E

Quote: Originally Posted by Hak Foo I thought the thing about ATI was they gave you the accelerated decoder in the driver pack, but nVidia made you pay 20 bucks for the privelege. That's why I was considering ATI.

That's true. I'd forgotten about that. But there are no fanless 3650's and the only one listed on Newegg is ~$100. So in the end they're about equal.

Plus nvidia kicks ati's ass!

Quote: Originally Posted by eascarface That's true. I'd forgotten about that. But there are no fanless 3650's and the only one listed on Newegg is ~$100. So in the end they're about equal. Plus nvidia kicks ati's ass!

I used to really like nVidia cards-- from the time I replaced a Radeon 7000 with a 5600XT to when I got my 7600GS, but it seems like they're losing some of the good-driver lustre they once had, and the general weak nature of the lower 8-series cards (it's like they pulled another Geforce FX-- and stopped caring once they ticked the "DirectX newest supported" box).

I notice, for example, the display calibration tool I loved in Win2000 does not exist in the Vista drivers, and they want you to download a seperate utility to monitor temperatures, when it was built in in the past (nuts to that, HWMonitor FTW!)

And the idea of paying $20 for video decoders just rubs me really wrong, especially considering there's basically ONE commercial app on my standard system config, and that being the copy of Windows itself.

I realized there's another path I could consider: Rather than replacing "perfectly good" optical drives, I could (in theory) reduce the contention for the IDE socket.

I see two routes for that:
-IDE on a PCI card
-USB-IDE convertor

Either way, I'd probably dangle my IDE superfloppy off it. The problem with the former is that IDE seems a waste of a PCI slot (when I could at least throw my ancient SCSI card in instead), and the problem with the latter is that I can't find a convertor cable with an "internal USB header" head, only a "back of case USB socket" head. It looks like that would only set me back about $10, if it was available, comparing similar products. I'd prefer not to do a solder job because it's tight around my USB sockets with delicate parts, and I don't want a sloppy insulation job shorting out my $70 HDTV card for the sake of a $9 superfloppy.

Quote: Originally Posted by Hak Foo I used to really like nVidia cards-- from the time I replaced a Radeon 7000 with a 5600XT to when I got my 7600GS, but it seems like they're losing some of the good-driver lustre they once had, and the general weak nature of the lower 8-series cards (it's like they pulled another Geforce FX-- and stopped caring once they ticked the "DirectX newest supported" box). I notice, for example, the display calibration tool I loved in Win2000 does not exist in the Vista drivers, and they want you to download a seperate utility to monitor temperatures, when it was built in in the past (nuts to that, HWMonitor FTW!) And the idea of paying $20 for video decoders just rubs me really wrong, especially considering there's basically ONE commercial app on my standard system config, and that being the copy of Windows itself. I realized there's another path I could consider: Rather than replacing "perfectly good" optical drives, I could (in theory) reduce the contention for the IDE socket. I see two routes for that: -IDE on a PCI card -USB-IDE convertor Either way, I'd probably dangle my IDE superfloppy off it. The problem with the former is that IDE seems a waste of a PCI slot (when I could at least throw my ancient SCSI card in instead), and the problem with the latter is that I can't find a convertor cable with an "internal USB header" head, only a "back of case USB socket" head. It looks like that would only set me back about $10, if it was available, comparing similar products. I'd prefer not to do a solder job because it's tight around my USB sockets with delicate parts, and I don't want a sloppy insulation job shorting out my $70 HDTV card for the sake of a $9 superfloppy.

IDE to SATA Adapter

IDE To SATA

That would sovle the issue, the one is 20$

Quote: Originally Posted by eascarface That's true. I'd forgotten about that. But there are no fanless 3650's and the only one listed on Newegg is ~$100. So in the end they're about equal. Plus nvidia kicks ati's ass!

The 3650 is a 55nm respin of the 2600, so it should be cool running and quiet regardless of whether it has a fan.

As for Nvidia vs. ATi...my crossfire 3870s pwn all

Quote: Originally Posted by s1ugh34d IDE to SATA Adapter IDE To SATA That would sovle the issue, the one is 20$

I saw a bunch of convertors at like $8 already (or the eBay special-- 98 cents plus $82 shipping from Hong freaking Kong).

I hate postage costs, and I hate that there's no halfway decent shop locally to find this stuff.

The other thing I dislike about the SATA-> IDE route is that they *all* require external power. The USB->IDE devices seem to be bus-powered.

It astonishes me that nobody makes a P35 board with two IDE channels though, because it's not like SATA optical drives have been such a compelling breakthrough as to justify replacing good PATA ones.

Edit: o.O the 3650 can be had for $82 now (about 91 with postage) eWiz.com Sapphire ATI Radeon HD3650 512MB DDR2 2DVI/HDCP PCI-Express Video Card, Lite Retail

Quote: Originally Posted by Hak Foo I saw a bunch of convertors at like $8 already (or the eBay special-- 98 cents plus $82 shipping from Hong freaking Kong). I hate postage costs, and I hate that there's no halfway decent shop locally to find this stuff. The other thing I dislike about the SATA-> IDE route is that they *all* require external power. The USB->IDE devices seem to be bus-powered. It astonishes me that nobody makes a P35 board with two IDE channels though, because it's not like SATA optical drives have been such a compelling breakthrough as to justify replacing good PATA ones. Edit: o.O the 3650 can be had for $82 now (about 91 with postage) eWiz.com Sapphire ATI Radeon HD3650 512MB DDR2 2DVI/HDCP PCI-Express Video Card, Lite Retail

I have a zip 100 drive that looks fairly similar to the bezel your sig mentioned.

Yea SATA is the upcoming standard. But one IDE channel supports two DVD/CD drives, is that too little?

It is.

Two opticals, one superfloppy or other device (i. e. if I ever go and remove the data from my 40Gb backup drive) = 3 IDE devices.

I gave up on finding a bezel for a LS-120 and bought a Caleb IT instead (144Mb on a floppy, comes WITH a bezel and two cartridges for like 10 bucks). I will be running it via a SATA->IDE adaptor when one arrives in the mail.

Went for the 256Mb HD3650. I figure if 256M is enough for a lot of 8800GT cards, it's probably enough for a 3650. Other things than memory size will limit my gaming at 1920x1200. (I wish they'd make games with 960x600 resolution)