I believe I know why your earphone jack lights up red, it is because it is also an optical audio port which uses a red light over fiber optic cable to move surround sound audio digitally.



First, it's Xcode not XCodes. Second I doubt it will be released for anything other than a mac anytime soon. It is an IDE centered around programming for a mac using many mac specific libraries which most likely won't ever be available for any other platform. As a third note, it is most definitely not the only good thing about a mac, there are many other good things about macs.

Do elaborate.

let's not turn this into a mac vs. pc war.

ya, I looked into it and it seems that macs are probably still out of my price range. for future reference though, if you ever want to get a mac product, you should get it through Apple Developer Connection store and not through an educational store. The catch is it costs $99 to join and you can only buy once from the store. And you really only benefit if you get a higher end mbp ($500 off of 17" mbp, possibly more if you still get a free ipod touch and sell it, the extra copy of OSX and the t-shirt).

well, mainly I'll be back in the states in about a week and my current laptop has seen a lot of wear and tear surprisingly. wireless might be shot due to overheating. It's a 15" but it's totally not portable thanks to a certain 12 cell batter that juts down and not out. i was considering either:

get a laptop w/ average gaming capability, portability, most importantly must have cpu to run engineering software (Kerm you probably know what i'm talking about maybe), doesn't have a ridiculously heavy large battery that makes it impossible to fit into a standard laptop bag >.< So ya, basically like your laptop magicdan considering a tablet, but haven't seen much of a reason for it yet (i actually like pen and paper as strange as that sounds)

OR

build a really good gaming machine w/ for the same price, maybe less. get a second hand netbook for portability needs. might even not get a netbook if none of my courses have online hw/assessments. now that i think of it, my portability needs are actually lower due to class structure.

Is it still cheaper to build your own desktop? And should you always get a latest socket chip? these are eyewatering (first quadcore!) http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010340343%2050001028%201051746439&name=Socket%20AM3

Liazon, to answer your question in the original post, yes, Windows 7 will be and indeed is already available through MSDN Academic Alliance. I am running the RC on my quadhead desktop, and I'm looking forward to upgrading to the full Ultimate Edition of Windows 7 when it is released.

It already is one.



Where the hell did you get a 12 cell laptop battery?!



Netbooks are cool, very tiny (my old one fit into my pants cargo pocket), but they can be quite fragile. Tablets are a step up, but unless you actually use it as a tablet, it's a waste of money. If you want a laptop that can run engineering software (AutoCAD, SolidWorks, etc.), you're not going to find a sub-14" laptop that's going to do the job too well.

Personally I went the second route when I got to college (built a strong desktop & bought a tablet, when the tablet died I bought a netbook).



Yes, it is MUCH cheaper to build your own computer (or buy one off of eBay; due to the recession, they are INCREDIBLY cheap.) However, do not get a phenom; instead, buy a Core i7 920; slightly more expensive, but way more powerful.

Phenom IIs are OK for the money. Not a bad choice at all. Otherwise, yeah, get an i7. Cheapest Phenom II is $140, cheapest i7 is $280 - definitely not "slightly more expensive" Also, i7 motherboards will cost more than AM3 ones. BUT the i7 is definitely the better CPU, it is just a question of if it is worth it for whoever is building (for me, definitely, for others, maybe not).

Who said a Core i7 920 is $280?

newegg...

Does anyone have a recommended build for ~$800-1100? I noticed prices are dropping but inventory seems a bit scarce Or should I wait for new hardware that might come out soon this fall?

Google Product Search has them cheaper...

Also, by "build", are you referring to just the tower or the whole shebang (monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc.)?

Also, I am a tool for my idiotic title message.

Yeah, $250 from EBAY. I'd stick with a real store that actually has a return policy, especially with the price difference of $30.

whole thing lol

*Ahem* $219.99 from eBay.



SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM $25.99

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $44.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM $56.99

ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail $179.99 $20 rebate

SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $129.99 $10 rebate

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ... - Retail $99.49 $20 rebate

Logitech EX 110 Black USB + PS/2 Standard Cordless Desktop Keyboard & Mouse Kit - Retail $29.99

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail $99.99 $10 rebate

ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $209.99 $15 rebate

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail $279.99

Total: $1157.40 + s/h - $75 in rebates = $1082.4 + s/h

Wasn't the whole point of your new computer to get a Laptop?

This would be the only thing I would change from your list. I'm not a fan of cordless mice/keyboards unless you really need it to be cordless. Otherwise, it tends to just be a pain. Also, I tend to go for better mice and keyboards, especially if game playing is in order.

The other thing that I would caution is that if you want to play the latest and greatest, you may want to go with a 22" 1680x1050 LCD instead of the 21.5" 1920x1080. The 4870 will last quite a bit longer that way, but you would sacrifice screen real estate. The 21.5" would be better for general usage and for games until the single 4870 is no longer powerful enough. I would go with the 1920x1080 21.5" myself, but just note that a new video card may be needed in ~9 months for new games (assuming you want to max IQ)

ya at first I was looking for a replacement for my laptop which got a bit banged up, but magicdanw brought up a good point 'cuz I wasn't really thinking about what set up would be more useful for me.

@kllrnohj and Ultimate Dev'r:
How much of a performance drop if I opt for cheapest phenomIIx4?

IT WILL BE MASSIVE.

Srsly though, a phenom'll get the job done.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-940,2114.html

to save some $, I think i'll get

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.213770

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208701

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151175

Is 700W enough power for that?

Oh, easily. It probably only pulls maybe 300-350w at 100% load (if that). But, its not the watt rating that matters, its the quality of the PSU. There are far more important things that just the sticker, such as if it can sustain that load at operating temperatures (you'd be surprised how many fail something as basic as that), does it produce clean power (dirty power can reduce the lifespan of your components), is it efficient, are the voltages steady and within tolerance, etc...

I'm not familiar with Cooler Master's PSUs at all, but the Corsair line is among (if not the) best out there. So I will echo UD's previous recommendation of the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 And since the combo only saves you $25 and the Corsair is $15 cheaper (after MIR), why not get the better PSU?

I'll second that- I used that combo for a while. It got the job done, but there's better out there, particularly with mice. I'm very happy with my G5 and Sidewinder X6, but they're probably a bit out of your price range.

I might go with that combo but get a different mouse, since that keyboard is serviceable.
Something like the MX518 is a great choice for a mouse.