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Jim Hill wrote:
> I have seen these discussions in the past and I've just deleted them with my
> jealous under tones. However, now I'm ready to go for two. What is the
> current wisdom:
>
> 1) Win95 or NT?
> 2) which video card(s)?
> 3) minimum PC processor speed?
> 4) Dual processors recommended?
> 5) Please provide any idiosyncrasies you have conquered.
This all depends on how much you're willing to spend, and what you trade. if
you only track a few issues, you'll be able to get by with far less than if you
want to chart hundreds of them at a time. As well, I haven't had a chance to
try the heralded v.5 of TS, but I would expect that it will be less greedy than
the current version.
(1) NT will cost you more, but it's a true 32 bit OS. I've heard some good and
some bad things about this OS. I use Win95 myself, and have never ran TS on NT,
so I'll have to defer to others here. I'm interested as well in knowing how
well this works.
(2) Number Nine Imagine 128 series 11 is very nice - put this together with a
Viewsonic P815 and you've got a superb setup. However, Omega says that Imagine
128 cards aren't compatible with TS, and even though I've had no problems, this
has to be taken seriously. The important thing here is to find something which
will give you the resolution you'd like at at least 24 bit (preferably 32), with
a good refresh rate (80+). You'll have to pay attention to the specs of the
monitor as well as the card here. You'll also be happier if you spend a little
extra dough and get a premium monitor (especially if you have to look at the
sucker all day), instead of those run of the mill ones that normally are
packaged with low and intermediate priced systems.
(3), (4) - Pentium II's are pretty cheap these days, so as long as it is in your
budget, this would be the best cost-effective way to go, which will do the job
quite well without buying something you'll regret in 6 months. Memory is
probably more important, though. If you can manage it, 128 megs would be worth
getting, although you can get by with less (again, depending on your computing
needs). SCSI is seriously worth considering as well, if you're willing to put
out the extra money.
I've found that it's probably better to overbuy a bit where computer hardware is
concerned. If you're going to be plunking down some serious cash, it's
important to get something you'll be satisfied with for awhile.
Regards,
A.J.
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