Need Advice on Selecting a Blu-Ray Disk Drive and Blu-ray compatible Graphics Card. This is what I have: Brand/Model: 2005 HP Pavilion a1510n Processor: AMN Athlon 64 Processor 3800+ Hard Drive: 200 GB (free space 117 GB--most of my porn is on external hard drives) Optical Drive: DVD +/- RW LightScribe Double Layer 16x Drive Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Graphics Expansion Bay: 1 (available) Windows XP (Media Center Edition 2005) Media Player: Power DVD 9 Ultra (supports DVD and Blu-ray) This is what I want to be able to do (that I currently can't): (1.) Watch Blu-ray movies on my pc. (2.) Back up my massive digital porn collection on blank Blu-ray disks (since it takes too many DVDs to do this). (3.) Optional: Blu-ray LightScribe compatibility would be nice in case I ever decide to start using LightScribe. What Best Buy told me I'd need for the basics: (1.) An updated graphics card that supports Blu-ray. (2.) Another optical drive that supports Blu-ray to be installed in my expansion bay. The advice I need from you: (1.) Recommendations for a reasonably priced, high-quality, powerful, and reliable graphics card. (2.) Recommendations for a reasonably priced, high-quality, powerful, and reliable Blu-ray optical drive. I'm not a gamer, so I don't need excessive power. But I want plenty of power to handle my needs (as specified above). Since I'm not a techie, I plan to order the parts and then have a computer service actually install them on my computer.
Follow-up questions. Would it make more sense to just buy an up-to-date pc that's already Blu-ray compatible (as well as DVD/CD)? After all, I was going to spend money on a new graphics card, a new optical drive, and then on a computer service to install them. Also, there would be the potential for compatibility problems. If I decide to get a new pc, is transferring data from my current pc to my new one something easy enough for a non-techie to do? The only problem is that I'd hate giving up Windows XP (I'm not really sold on either Vista or Windows 7, though I favor Windows 7 over Vista). Plus, off the top of my head, I'm not sure if my external hard drives are compatible with, say, Windows 7 (although I don't see why they wouldn't be compatible). I feel lucky that my current pc is still alive and kicking after 5 years. I usually don't have such good luck with my pc's.
#SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03
Posted - Jan 24 2010 : 1:59AM
I wouldn't put a lot of money into the old computer. It has a single core CPU, of an obsolete socket type. You could put a $50 graphics card with the ATi Radeon 4650 chipset in it, and be able to play a lot more HD video than you're probably currently able to, but I don't even know if that would be worth doing, if you're having to pay someone to do it. I don't know much about blu-ray burners, other than that they seem to be very expensive. Are you sure using blu-rays for storage makes more sense than hard drives? Gigantic hard drives are awfully cheap nowadays. Your external drives will be fine on a Windows 7 machine. Windows 7 is excellent, in my experience. Moving data from the old machine to a new one will take thought and planning, but is doable.
Thanks for the reply, Harri. You included a lot of helpful information in your post. Regarding Blu-ray storage versus external hard drive storage, with me, it isn't an either/or situation. I want my backup systems to have backups. As far as protecting my data, my four main areas of concern are: (1.) Equipment failure (especially hard drive failure). (2.) Hacker attacks (that suddenly wipe out all your files). (3.) Theft (people breaking into your home and stealing your computer, external hard drives, etc.). (4.) Fire (sudden, devastating house fires that destroy most or all of your stuff). With a Blu-ray burner, though the initial investment is a little pricey, I can then economically make lots of backups of my most precious files on blank Blu-ray disks (which, as you know, can contain more than five times as much data as DVDs) and then hide sets of them in lots of different locations (which would be much more economical than attempting to do this with multiple external hard drives). I.e., it's the difference in price between an external hard drive and about six blank Blu-ray disks to contain my data. The main strategy in this instance would be protection from theft (even if they stole my computer and external hard drives, my data would still be safe on well-concealed Blu-ray disks). Yet, I still keep my data duplicated on three external hard drives (with one of them not connected) so if one should suddenly fail, I still have the same data on two other external hard drives. And if the data on the two that are connected gets wiped out by a hacker attack, then my data would still be safe on the one that's not connected (as well as on multiple Blu-ray backup copies). And as far as fire protection, I'm planning on buying a fire-proof safe and keeping one set of backed up Blu-ray disks and the unconnected external hard drive in it. Regarding Blu-ray playback on my computer, my main motivation for wanting to do this is to be able to make higher quality screenshots (than can be gotten from most DVDs) of my favorite scenes available on Blu-ray. You see, I've always liked still pics more than video. I do like video, too, but not nearly as much as still pics. The highest quaility screenshots that I've seen are almost indistinguishable from photos. Harri, you mentioned the ATi Radeon 4650. Would that allow me to read/write Blu-ray disks? Would I still need to purchase a Blu-ray optical drive for the expansion bay? And Harri, if I do decide to buy a new pc, do you think you can talk me through how to do a data transfer? Or would it be better to just let Best Buy do it (since they don't charge that much for this service)? What little porn I have on my C Drive, I could transfer to my external hard drives before taking my old pc (along with the new one) to Best Buy for data transfer. One other thing, Harri. New pcs automatically come with Norton, Zone Alarm, etc. I prefer using Kaspersky. If I buy a new computer, can I specify for them not to include any pre-packaged computer security software? If I can't, I guess I could always remove it before the data transfer. And finally, that's encouraging, Harri, what you said about Windows 7. Thanks.
Long and Cursive road to the Ivory Pagoda in the province of Loraine 4076 Posts 12/03
Posted - Jan 24 2010 : 4:16PM
The ATi Radeon 4650 that Harri was talking about would only improve your graphics/video. You would still need to purchase a Blu-ray player to play Blu-ray discs. With a new computer and software, it depends on where you buy it for what it comes with. Best Buy, if I remember correctly, will ask you what anti-virus you want on your computer. I don't know what you would want to transfer to the new computer, It will be a different OS altogether than what you have now. Your external drives should work with Windows 7. I am assuming they are USB drives? In my opinion, I would upgrade, but only when you want to move to Blu-ray. I don't see the need for that, but to each their own. External drives work fine for me. I think it would be better to buy a system with the blu-ray already installed rather than trying to retrofit your old system.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” - Kierkegaard 2684 Posts 8/09
Posted - Jan 24 2010 : 5:03PM
I agree w/Harri. Not sure it's a good idea, if you are really interested in a system that focuses on HD multimedia, that you try and upgrade a 2005 year system. By the time you did, it'd be pretty much a new PC. How much is your budget for a new system? Also, one component you might be overlooking is your LC monitor (1080p). Despite what some people say, not all monitors are made equally (I've done a lot of imaging stuff in the past and can appreciate subtle differences in image quality & capabilities). Other system specs don't matter if your LCD monitor can't display/convey them. Nice thing about LCD monitors are you can buy them separately from 'puters.
Yeah, I had a feeling that would be the case.I'm thinking about buying a computer from Hewlett-Packard's website (in particular, the [Sorry, the link is too long - 250 characters max]).Things like my iTunes music library (about 2,000 songs), my e-mail, all of my FireFox and IE bookmarks (I have a tremendous amount of bookmarks), my favorite applications/programs like Power DVD 9 Ultra, capture express, Kaspersky, etc.Yeah.More and more, I'm coming to that conclusion. At this point, the only things that make me hesitant are the data transfer issue, the possibility of some of my current programs/applications not being compatible with Windows 7 (which, depending on the program, might necessitate spending more money for compatible software), and the temporary loss of continuity.
Yep.About $1,000. Maybe up to $1,200.Good point. In December 2008, I bought a Dell LCD monitor (which I really like). It came with a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) cable that's not compatible with my 2005 pc (but presumably would be compatible with a 2010 model). Hence, I've had to use a more old school Video Graphics Array (VGA) cable instead. However, the DVI cable is supposed to optimize display performance (which is precisely what I'm trying to do).I might be able to get excellent results with my Dell LCD once I hook it up to a new computer that's presumably compatible with the DVI cable.
I just read a few of the customer reviews about Xmarks. Some of them were saying that the software was really good when it was Foxmarks, but that now as Xmarks, it's different and not so good. Is it possible to just copy (or export) my bookmarks to one of my external hard drives and then, from there, move them to my new computer if I decide to buy one? If this is possible, could I also do the same thing with my e-mail?
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” - Kierkegaard 2684 Posts 8/09
Posted - Jan 24 2010 : 9:27PM
I don't really have much experience w/HPs and more with Dells. If you plan to do a lot of HD video encoding on your new system, you might wanna check out Dell's Studio XPS 8100 [ invalid url ] w/Intel's new Core i5/i7 platform. I am still a fan of the old Quad Qxxxx models, but the new i5/i7 CPUs (i.e., i5-750) have shown to significantly (+10%-20% to comparable Qxxxx) improve performance video encoding.
Thanks for the suggestion. I will take that computer under consideration along with the hp computer I was looking at. I'm also giving more thought to what you said about not overlooking the monitor. Off the top of my head, I'm not sure if my current monitor is 1080p or not. I'm going to check. If it isn't, then I'm going to purchase a Dell monitor that is.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” - Kierkegaard 2684 Posts 8/09
Posted - Jan 26 2010 : 5:09PM
^ I watch a lot of movies on my computer, but not Blu-Ray stuff, so when it comes to HTPC Blu-Ray systems (like your prospective) I don't know as much as other components (i.e., Blu-Ray ROMs & burners, HDMI) As far as monitors, the CRT monitors used to be nice in that there weren't many major differences in performance & technology compared to LCDs. One thing that might help you is to read articles like LCD buying guides (this article from AnandTech is a little dated 2008 - but has a lot of current concepts and helps you understand what the specs mean) and a more recent version (but only focuses on one company). Another thing that helps me that I do before I buy something of this magnitude is to look at a site like Newegg, even if I am not buying from them. I do this cause 1). they have a lot of the most recent released hardware versions available anywhere 2). they have a great user rating/comment system 3). offers competitive pricing, so you know that the price they quote will probably be the lowest among all retailers (for individual components and not many sales) and get a sense of value. Specifically, I tend to narrow down the items (e.g., different LCD brands and models) and exclude a lot of the poor rated models. Then I tend to focus on the models that are rated well, but have a lot of numbers of reviews (like in the hundreds as opposed to in the low double-digits). I know these models with high ratings (at least 4-eggs or around >50-60% of 5-eggs) and high number of reviews are really good models. I usually end up with a list of a few specific models that fit this criteria and then I start to read some reviews posted (both good and bad) to see if there any specific reoccurring gripes associated. I usually develop a sense, but I'll use other personal misc criteria that sometimes helps me settle upon 1 item/model (if needed). This isn't an exact science, but since using this method of researching I haven't been disappointed, especially, compared to just randomly picking a model in a store. You can even use this method if you aren't buying from them, cause you can do that and then you can find a comparable model/item from the vendor/manufacturer you choose to buy from. Also, it'll give you a good idea of what is out there, what to look for, and what type of value to expect after doing this. P.S. I forgot to add in one important step in my Newegg research method. Right after you narrow down the hardware category (Before the "Then I tend..." sentence), if you are looking for specific specs or features/capabilities (e.g., USB ports, SATA vs IDE, amounts of cache, form factors, etc etc), you can filter models by clicking on the "More Options" link in the bottom left hand menu which gives you a lot more options. Sometimes I am looking for hardware that with certain specs, features/capabilities, or criteria. Do this often eliminates much ambiguity of trying to find out this info under each model description. Edited by - BYOB_Kenobi on 1/28/2010 6:58:04 PM
My past is a foreign country. Most things are different there, including word usage. 503 Posts 12/06
Posted - Jan 27 2010 : 9:20PM
If you decide to purchase a complete new system and are concerned about conversion, file and application transfer etc. I would suggest this. Get a USB KVM switch (about $20 from TigerDirect) that will allow you to share a monitor, USB mouse, and USB keyboard between two computers. Keep your old PC (and even your mouse and keyboard) and just buy a new monitor and PC that meets your new specs. Get a removable hard drive (I have four of them, all LACIEs) and use it to transfer data, etc. as needed or as you have the time. I have USB2 attached hard drives, so all I need to do is unplug the USB cable from a hard drive on 'old' system and plug it into USB port on 'new' system. This way you can avoid "the one foot in the boat, one foot on the dock and the boat is drifting away problem."
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” - Kierkegaard 2684 Posts 8/09
Posted - Jan 28 2010 : 7:21PM
Max couple more things 1). Robert gave great advice. You definitely should keep your old system. They are handy if you need to do diagnostics (need verified working PC components to swap out) or backup sys. About transferring files to new system (from old), I echo Robert's method. Although the USB direct connection sounds nice in theory (and probably works for some people), I have had nothing but problems and have found using a small external hard-drive the most efficient, reliable, fastest, & headache-free method to transfer large amounts of files (more than would contain on a CD-R or DVD-R). 2). If you do end up needing to get a new HD monitor and have narrowed your list down to < a few models, I would recommend just doing a quick search on Google with each model name and "review" (i.e., search string = "xxx999 review"). This usually brings up 3rd party reviews run and posted by websites that test this stuff (like Anandtech), which will validate/QA your researched picks by professional reviewers/IT experts. These methods I use saves me a lot of headaches in the future and money.
Yeah. That's the way I plan to do it.Kenobi, that's a good process and one that I'll use. I also plan to follow that up with physically going to a store and actually seeing what the display (when turned on) looks like in person (but I'll buy online, of course, for lower prices).
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” - Kierkegaard 2684 Posts 8/09
Posted - Jan 30 2010 : 9:20PM
^ Checking them out in person is probably one of the better things you can do. I know a lot of stores don't even have them on or display anything, but if you happen to go to a store where they are hooked up and have access to the net, I would recommend test driving them and looking at two things 1). display a picture with a significant amount of black in the back ground (a common quality of a bad monitor has problems showing levels of black (gradients/shades of black IYW) look messed up) 2). go to youtube or some action demo and play a video clip of fast moving objects (this will allow you to assess any susceptibility to motion artifact/ghosting) - this is a common problem and presence of motion artifact varies greatly between models (even within brands) good luck Pontus! let us know how you make out
