TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: System Requirements From:"Sandy Harris" <sharris -at- dkl -dot- com> To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com Date:Wed, 10 May 2000 10:52:23 -0400
"Brierley, Sean" wrote:
The best reply, other than my own -:), I've seen. But I disagree violently
with parts of it.
> PhotoShop is the most system-intensove programme there, by far.
>
> Get 128MB minimum of RDRAM, if you can, otherwise 133MHz SDRAM.
Bang on so far.
> Get an overclocked Celeron processor
Not for production use! Overclocking involves running them at speeds above the
manufacturers spec. Saves money, voids warranty. It can also cause various
hard-to-diagnose problems. I've seen lots of postings from people whose o'clocked
systems ran fine in most apps but failed with CPU-intensive code.
> (you can clock them to 1GHz with cooling<g>)
I hadn't heard you could go that far, but it is believable.
> or a PIII above 700MHz.
Athlon is faster at same clock speed, likely cheaper.
> Hard disk space is cheap, so get a 27GB HDD if it's IDE.
> However, I recommend getting a SCSI subsystem, which comprises a 64-bit
> PCI SCSI Card (80-pin) U2W or SCSI 3. If you can do that, a 10GB 10,000rpm
> SCSI Hard Drive would be a good choice.
I'd reserve SCSI for the servers. Paying for a controller card so I can use more
expensive disks does not strike me as sensible in most cases. Use the money on
more RAM or better video card or monitor.
> If you are connecting to the NET via a modem,
Consider alternatives! For my use, the biggest difference between the machine
I had 5 years ago and what's on my desk today is the upgrade from modem to ADSL.
Second is the monitor. Faster CPU, more RAM and bigger drives are less noticable.
> spec an external one because they have a brain and don't rely on
> the computer's main processor. Avoid Winmodems like the plague.
It need not be external; there are internal real (not "Win-") modems.
This is especially important if you ever expect to run another operating system.
The Winmodems come with software for 98. Nearly all of them are useless on Linux
or other Unices, BeOS, ... Many don't work on NT either.
Buy a Winmodem only if it is at a price that lets you consider it disposable.
Expect to replace it next time you upgrade the OS.
