I just meant for SCII.
By the way, Win7 64 runs just fine with 2 gigs of ram.
I used to do it all the time. It doesn't use that much dude :D.
I just upgraded to 4gb, but I can't really tell the difference most of the time :)

I have Windows 7 32bit, and in my system properties it says: RAM: 2.00 GB, Useable: 1.75 GB. So I'm guessing that with 2 gigs RAM and 32 bit Win7, only 0.15 GB of RAM will be used.

It probably combines your ram and virtual ram in taht calculation.

Yea the 4 gigs is just going to give you more overhead.
I have 12 gigs and I don't notice a difference from 4 when I'm running it at 1333mhz. Obviously, when I bump it up to 16000, there's a difference.

Overhead is nice though. Particularly for me, where I use a lot of RAM hungry software, and especially for my music software RAM is important. In Big3's case, he could probably get away with 2 gigs, but I'd suggest he go with recommended specs for his games, and not minimum, at least in the RAM department since it's so damn cheap anyway.

Am I missing something? I've got flash drives with 4GB on them.

I'm not sure what you're asking.

jump drives =/= computer RAM

There's some memory modules stuck into your computer as well.
These store your data, temporarily, so your PC won't have to use the hard disk for everything it does. So when you start a programma, e.g., word, it will be stored (at least the most commonly used bits) in your memory. If your computer had to do everything from your hard disk, it would be really really really slow. A harddisk is very slow compared to your internal memory :).

Nowadays they have harddisks that work on the same principle as memory does. You won't believe how friggin' fast your PC is when you put those disks in your computer :D

I wish I had a SSD.

They're getting cheap mate.
Just wait for it.
I'll get one as soon as they drop under $75 for 60 gigs.
Won't be long.

Yea, I just checked prices and a 64gb at $99 doesn't seem bad at all.

Major hard drive failure
 

I didn't update my anti virus software for a while and my hard drive got killed.

I lost all my music and all my band stuff, it's mega bad.

Kids, always backup you stuff!!!!

I assume you had a spearate hard drive for your porn stash though..?

I think 4 gigs of RAM is the normal nowadays and if it isn't then it should be.

You really have 12 gigs of RAM? that seems highly unnecessary. There isn't enough multi-tasking in the world to warrant that.

Ever tried heavy multitrack audio editing? :D.

Negative

so 12 gigs is normal for that type of stuff?

12 gigs is actually overkill for my needs. Even in a project where I have like 10 different synths running, 50+ different instances of plugins, tons of samples being sequenced, etc... I still don't top out.
The only reasons I got 12 gigs was because I wanted to run in triple channel mode with more than 6 gigs, which is either 6 or 12 or up, in multiples of 3 physical sticks at the usual 2 or 4 gigs per stick... and also because I won't have to worry about adding more RAM for a very, very long time. The type of RAM I bought is gaming performance RAM that overclocks to 1600mhz stable, so I have a lot of options and overhead. Also, if one or more of the sticks go out, I still have remaining RAM that will beast mode in the interim.
I built the PC myself, and it's a beast that can--and will--handle anything I throw at it for a lot of years. I basically future-proofed my PC. I don't like the idea of having to upgrade an entire system every several years.

Naah, it's a bit overkill but memory doesn't get cheaper when it gets older older and 4gb wouldn't be enough in some cases.
Same goes for HD video editing. You're not going to manage to do that with 4gb of ram. 8, at least. And preferrably an SSD ...

what is SSD? I have seen that mentioned in custom builds but top end ones.

Solid State Drives?

yep, you install your vital programs on it and stuff loads fast.

Exactly.
You just buy a 64gb SSD drive, install Windows, office, photo editing software, whatever you want on it. And you put your files on a 'regular' hard drive. Well unless you've got a laptop obviously. Speeds stuff up an awful lot. Basically, the programs are there immediately. You click the word icon and it's there before you can let go of the mouse. Literally. Not even a quarter of a second. Programs that usually start quite slow like adobe audition or adobe photoshop now start in two seconds :D.

that's pretty damn sweet. I will keep that in mind when I build my next set up.

That's an SSD versus probably the fastest booting regular HDD I've ever seen :D.
Usually a regular HD takes at least 5 seconds longer :D.

But the boot time isn't what matters, what matters is the speed at which applications start

Please note: Photoshop CS5 would probably take around 15-20 seconds to boot on your or my PC

pron comes and goes, no need to hoard it...

How's that plug in? USB?

Also, are there limitations as to what can be stored on these drives? I'm going to go research but I feel like i'd want to install all my temporary programs (like games) and stuff I'd only use for work and therefore not frequently (video editing, Microsoft Publisher, ect.)

Nnnno, you just use it like you juse any other hard drive.

Why would you want an SSD then? It's not going to help you play SCII :D.

But it does increase space, right?

Yes... But it's a lot of money per megabyte and it's sort of useless buying an expensive SSD drive in an old, slower PC :D.

if you want something to increase space just get a regular HDD , you don't need a SSD.

The SSD is more for vital programs.

You also pay more for a smaller amount of space as well.

Jup.
Let me point this out again; You probably will only need a videocard for SCII :D
And you can buy any HD for extra space. SSD is definitely not what you want if you want more storage :)

lol I just noticed the time stamp we both posted at the same time but maybe you were a few seconds faster.

This forum doesn't do seconds :D.

OK I think I'm about ready to buy some beginner hi-fi stuff.

DAC/AMP: Audinst HUD-mx1 @ $95

Headphones: Sennheiser HD600 @ $250

whaddya think?

I thumbs up that headphone amp, but I've never used Sennheisers before. This is going to be a question more for s_k, as I'm more into the whole "I'm comfortable with my setup" thing.

I don't use a headphone amp, and I do a lot of mixing with a 99 dollar pair of JVC's. I have no complaints. (and it's not because I'm not an "audiophile"... I notice the limitations, but I'm just used to working around them.)

So what are you planning on using them for, general listening?

general listening and I may start messing around with FL studio. I figure this setup should last a while, until I want an amp or something down the line.

Having an iPhone is a bit of a pain in the dick if you don't want to pay £1 for a 30 second clip of a song.

I downloaded AVS audio converter so I could convert my existing songs to ringtones for it. But it leaves a voice stamp which is no good. Does anyone know of anything that I can convert music to this "RING" format so I can happily have someone phone me without "AVS music" being said first?

So I downloaded this audacity site and been messing around with laying some tracks down but i cant figure out how im going to be able to post what ive done if i wanted. I downloaded a contverter to try switch the files over to mp3 but that didnt work. Course I could have been doing it wrong but does anyone know the steps to take to get this done? Computer savvy I am not :(

You should be able to export the song, when it's finished, as an mp3.

Whenever I try to export the it says the site does not ecport Mp3 files directly. It says you have to download the Mp3 encoder called LAME which i did but its not working either or im not doing something right.

Ah, well then if you can only export as WAV, then yea you'll want an audio converter. You should be able to find plenty free ones around the web. Free Audio Converter: free audio converting software

Just make sure you're converting from WAV (if that's what you export) to MP3 with the bitrate you want. There may be some settings in Audacity that you may need to attend to first, though. You may want to read the help file. I don't use Audacity, so I don't know off hand.