Hi,
wow Really great story! Thanks.
The fourth generation I7 CPUs mostly focus on the graphics part and in other
terms only gains 7 % more performance over the third generation. So it
doesn't really matter weather you have a 3. generation chip or not
especially if you're using a deticated graphics card.
I don't know the specs for the fifth generation, but I expect it to be cool!
I've always been a fan of Intel since the 8086. grin
Regarding Windows. Hmm I'm very satesfied with Windows 7 even though I'm
running windows 8.1 on afew of my machines. It's not that I don't like
windows 8. It's more that I don't feel I get much interesting new stuff from
it.
best regards
Brian
-----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
From: Kelly Pierce
Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2014 4:18 AM
To: PC Audio Discussion List
Subject: Re: Is Integrated Sound Adequate?
Hamit,
The Dell XPS 8700 purchase was two years in the making. I had a
Pentium 4 computer that I bought in 2004 running Windows XP. I was
unimpressed with Windows 7 when it was released in 2009 and soon heard
about new technology that would be the next generation of innovation
in personal computers. Specifically, this included USB 3, flash hard
drives, and faster processors from Intel. In September 2011, my
computer stopped working. Thank god for external backup drives. I
decided to wait until the upcoming windows 8 so I could have a
computer with the latest technology. I bought a used HP D530C from
Chicago Surplus Computer for $85 to tide me over until the next
generation of computing arrived. As we all know, the initial windows 8
rollout was a disaster, particularly for the screen reader user. The
interface was too futuristic for most. Microsoft regrouped and
delivered the vastly improved Windows 8.1 last fall.
To my delight, Intel opened a store here in Chicago in late November
to display products from its vendors and inform the public about its
processors. I learned there how a computer choice starts with the chip
and learned about the fastest chip for desktop computers. I searched
around and found that a local outlet of a computer superstore chain
was selling a customized version of the Dell 8700. The computer had a
256 GB solid-state drive along with a 2 Tb regular rotating hard
drive, loads of USB 3.0 jacks, 24 GB of RAM along with the fast Intel
4770 chip. It was everything I wanted and much more. I raced to the
store on December 26 with a bad cold to snatch it before it was bought
by someone else.
Now, the Intel 4770 is no longer the fastest. It has been surpassed by
the 4790, an incremental upgrade. The next big boost in performance
will be with the next generation of Intel processors that will be
released either later this year or in the first half of next year.
When this new generation of processors is combined with Windows 9, we
can enjoy the next generation of desktop computing. We are now in a
transition period between the Haswell processors and Windows 8.1 to
the new generation of Intel processors and Windows 9. If you can wait
until next year, you will likely be pleased at the performance you can
obtain for the money.
The Roland Duo Capture audio interface can be bought at a number of
outlets that sell professional audio equipment. I believe I have the
model before the current shipping version. Mine cannot support
recording from an iPhone or iPad while the current shipping version
can. The eBay offering sold for a more than 80 percent discount than
the current shipping version. The drivers for it though support
Windows 8.1.
If I were to pay full price, I would actually purchase the Roland Quad
Capture audio interface. It is just $70 more than the full retail
price of the Roland Duo Capture and has a few more worthwhile
features. It has a maximum capacity of 192,000 samples for recording.
The Duo Capture’s upper limit is 44,100 samples. Both support 24-bit
audio though. Useful functionality for the blind computer user is the
Auto-Sens function that intelligently sets optimal input levels for
both of the unit’s pre-amps. Roland Quad Capture is the audio
interface personally used by Bill McCann, the founder and President of
Dancing Dots, on his machines. When I spoke with Bill earlier this
year about the two audio interfaces, it seemed I was more impressed
with the Auto-Sens functionality than he was. Yet, how could I
disagree with the wise master, who has set his own levels on audio
devices for decades, for his exquisite audio choice given that he
handles and listens to these devices every day.
Talk to you later.
Kelly
On 7/5/14, Kelly Pierce <kellyt...@gmail.com> wrote:
Petro,
A driver needs to be installed on the computer each time it is plugged
into a USB jack. This likely would be once for a home-based computer.
The installer for the driver has one button that cannot be recognized
by JAWS in Windows 8.1. It took a sighted person less than 30 seconds
to find the button on the screen and activate it with the mouse
though. Once the driver is installed, all of its properties can be
adjusted with JAWS. In addition, all the controls on the unit are
tactile and are either toggle buttons or volume sliders. When the
toggle buttons are pressed, they are depressed so a blind person or a
sighted person in a dark location can tactilely feel if the button is
activated.
I hope this has been helpful.
Kelly
On 7/5/14, Petro Giannakopoulos <petro...@clear.net> wrote:
Is this Roland unit plug n play? No software and does it have controls on
it?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kelly Pierce" <kellyt...@gmail.com>
To: "PC Audio Discussion List" <pc-audio@pc-audio.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2014 1:56 PM
Subject: Re: Is Integrated Sound Adequate?
Steve,
It all depends on the kind of system you have and the fussiness of
your ears. At the end of last year, I bought a Dell 8700 computer with
the Intel i7 4770 processor, the fastest chip on the market at the
time. It had built-in HD audio. When the Dell pre-amp was configured,
the audio sounded as good as the M-Audio 24/96 sound card I bought 10
years ago with the highly regarded Casio drivers. The computer came
with separate jacks for a quadrophonic speaker setup as well as 5.1
audio in addition to the regular jacks for traditional stereo, line in
and microphones. Computers with less sophisticated microprocessors
may not have as many options or HD audio.
That said, I want one sound card for the screen reader and one sound
card for audio playback and recording. To that end, I bought a Roland
Duo USB audio interface for $37 on eBay. It normally retails for $200.
Dancing Dots recommends this audio interface to its customers using
Windows computers. The company is the leader in accessible music and
audio production by the blind. The audio from the Roland interface
sounds real and lifelike and instruments are more distinct than the
integrated sound card. This should be no surprise as the audio is
processed outside the machine in a different cycle from the computer.
Try as they do, Intel and Dell cannot deliver in a mass-market product
the quality that audio focused companies have been doing for years. If
you just listen to spoken word audio and popular music, the integrated
card could be acceptable. If you like listening to classic jazz
performances, classical music, or instrumental music and deejay or
stream capture or edit audio on your PC, then a second sound card or
an audio interface is needed. For a lousy $37, including shipping, why
is anyone anguishing and spending precious brain cells on such an
obvious decision.
Kelly
On 7/5/14, Sunshine <sunsh...@abe.midco.net> wrote:
can you give us a sample of this cards sound quality?
On 7/5/2014 4:16 AM, Brian Olesen wrote:
Hi,
About $ 700
Best regards
Brian
-----Oprindelig meddelelse----- From: Sunshine Sent: Saturday, July
05, 2014 10:15 AM To: PC Audio Discussion List Subject: Re: Is
Integrated Sound Adequate?
how much does the sound card you use cost ?
On 7/5/2014 3:10 AM, Brian Olesen wrote:
Hi Steve,
The audio on one of the better motherboards today is fine for most
use. But when we speak hifi quality high bit rates, and real good
sound you'd still need a deticated sound card with better cerkitry.
I use a pretty expensive audio card from RME called Babyface which
sounds amazing, but i'm fully sattesfied with the build in sound card
of my laptop for everyday use.
Best regards
Brian
-----Oprindelig meddelelse----- From: Steve Pattison
Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2014 2:29 AM
To: PC Audio
Subject: Is Integrated Sound Adequate?
Hi all,
I'm planning to buy a new computer. With the rapid advancements in
motherboards and hardware generally I'm interested in people's
thoughts
about whether it's still better to buy a dedicated sound card or have
we
now reached the stage where using integrated sound on the motherboard
is
adequate? I bought my current PC in July 2008 so it is about six years
old. I'm currently running a Creative sound card.
I've never used integrated sound on the motherboard on my home PC
before. Also I don't need the most expensive sound card available but
I
don't want it to be too basic either. One feature I would like is the
ability to provide some type of virtual surround sound as I have
limited
space where my PC is located and only room for a two speaker system.
I appreciate there is no right or wrong answer to this question but I
thought this list would be a good place to ask because there are bound
to be a lot of people who are a bit more fussy about audio quality
etc.
Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you.
Regards Steve.
---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus
protection is active.
http://www.avast.com
