So how fast is your computer? And Win XP questions. (1 Viewer)

[CRyan]

Well, I have a specific question in mind actually. Wondering how fast a 1 ghz and above is at certain "everyday" tasks.
I am using Win XP and had intentions of building a new PC. However, I really do not NEED one if you know what I mean, but it would be nice of course to be running at 1.4ghz.
I was using Win Media Player to burn a CD for the first time and realized just how slow it was. I guess it converts to WAV first then burns it and it is SLOW on my 450mhz machine.
So what is your best guess on how long Media Player takes to convert a 4 minute music file on your machine? I would say it took just over a minute and a half per song on mine.
Also, can you not make any adjustments within Media Player for burning. I could not find the ability to remove spaces or to even change the burning speed. Even when it got to burning, it took much longer than normal.
Oh well, thats it. So how fast does your computer convert MP3's to WAV in Media Player? Impress me so I will feel the need to just go ahead and buy a new one.
C. Ryan
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[RicP]

Oh well, thats it. So how fast does your computer convert MP3's to WAV in Media Player

Ugh...it doesn't. I can't even imagine how God Awful that must sound. A lossy compressed MP3 re-expanded to PCM, that can't be good.
On the other hand, my PC can rip and encode a 256kbps MP3 in about 44 seconds for a 4-5 minute song.
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Ric Perrott - My DVD's

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Sorry, I have no idea either. What am I doing here? Oh, I was poking around the Intel site. They had a demo last Sept. of a CPU that was running at 3.5 Gigs! If that isn't enough, PCI slots are now inadequate and the next AGP slots will go up to 8x.
Glenn

 

[CRyan]

Oh and it would be helpful to know what speed your computer is of course.
C. Ryan

 

[Iain Lambert]

Unless there is something weird going on, I suspect the limiting factor is how fast Media Player wants to cut the disc. Have you tried using something halfway decent to burn your CD with? Download the 30-day trial version of Nero, and try using that. It can cut CD Audio straight from mp3 on the fly, and will simulate runs at any speed your writer can use so you'll avoid creating too many coasters.

 

[CRyan]

Oh yeah. I have Nero 5.5 and Roxio's burning suites. I have not reinstalled them under XP yet. This was more of a question for computer speeds than burning help.
I was just using the burning question to get a real world idea of how much faster a 1.4ghz machine can be than mine in "everyday" tasks.
C. Ryan
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http://www.elitestoragedesigns.com/RyanOAR.bmp

 

[Rob Gillespie]

The actual burn speed is unlikely to be affected by your processor (not unless you've got a 133mhz artifact). Burn speed, even on the latest writers is still limited to x24 max. Most burners out there don't go above x12. How well your system copes with CD burning is going to be limited by IDE bandwith more than anything else. If you're burning at high speed and running lots of other stuff at the same time, the IDE channels can get 'choked', forcing everything to slow down some. Having the source/destination drives on separate IDE controllers always helps, but is not critical (usually). Printing always seems to chuff up my system too.
However converting MP3 to WAV requires a certain amount of processing power, so in theory, yes, a faster processor would help there.
Nero can convert MP3 to WAV and burn to CD on-the-fly. Nero is one of the best CD burning apps out there (despite the somewhat rudimentary interface), certainly better than anything Microsoft have to offer.
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"There is evil there that does not sleep"

 

[Matty B]

Both Roxio and Nero covert MP3 to WAV on the fly. I would guess that my computer (Athlon 1.33, 450 Megs of SDRAM) converts a 4 minute MP3 to WAV format in about 4-5 seconds in Roxio. Something is SEVERELY wrong if your computer is taking 4 minutes. I haven't tried burning XP yet, I use 2000 I haven't moved over to XP and dont know that I will. 2000 just feels so much more business like! Anyway, www.pricewatch.com for all your parts needs. You can pick up an Athlon XP 1500+ with motherboard and fan for $169. That would be a TREMENDOUS speed upgrade for you. And WAV-Mp3 is a math intensive process as well as Mp3-WAV.

 

[CRyan]

Ok. I must not have been very clear in my first post.
I have Nero 5.5 and Roxio. Both are great and they do convert "on-the-fly." Instantaneously as far as I can tell - takes NO time at all.
Win Media Player, however, converts them first (one at a time) and then burns. This process takes FOREVER on my PC. So I figured I would see how other computers fair with such a task. Also, it seems that you cannot change the burning speed within meddia player. It goes slow even when burning, so I assume it is not utilizing the fastest available speed.
They kind of droppeed the ball on this one. I mean the utility could have been great. Using one program to port music to both CD's and portable devices would have been convenient. However, this is just no feasible since you cannot select speeds and the conversion process is so SLOW. How can you have burning software that does not allow to select burning speed? Wierd.
Mostly, MY 450 will do what I want and an upgrade is simply not necessary. However, whenever are we just satisfied with that? I have been pricing parrts at Newegg for the past few months and it is tempting. However, I am still looking at around $350 even using most of the components from my current PC.
C. Ryan
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http://www.elitestoragedesigns.com/RyanOAR.bmp

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Media Player is real bloatware. I honestly wouldn't be concerned about it, especially since Easy CD and Nero are doing a better job.

 

[PhilM]

I got a 1.4 Atho running at 1.67 roughly on an old asus a7v 133 mobo. right now i'm hitting on average 2 to 4 seconds per song. (usually the average would be 3 to 4 min at 192.)
my mem is 384 mb at 133 mhz(crucial cl-2)and ibm deskstar 75 gxp 30 gb on promise 100 ata. (this is all under XP/2000, with mp3decode software)
under linux its a different story. blink of the eye fast.

 

[Scott Kriefall]

Converting (decoding) MP3s to WAV format shouldn't require much processor power -- the conversion shouldn't noticeable affect burn times on a P3-450 or comparable system.
But if you're looking to put together a new system, I'd recommend an AMD Athlon based system with an Athlon XP 1600+ processor (about $125), a Shuttle AK31A motherboard ($90), and 512MB PC2100 DDR RAM (about $80). Another $20 or so for a decent heatsink/fan, and then anything else you want to replace -- new video card, perhaps?

 

[Jason Merrick]

You can change the burn speed in XP, check out Link Removed.

XP's built-in CD burner is a big plus and eliminates the need for third-party packages such as Easy CD Creator--if you have simple CD-burning desires. But it won't design jewel case inserts and disc labels, for example, and the wizard hides certain settings, such as those for controlling your drive's burn speed, but you can change the speed by using Windows Explorer. And its handling of UDF-formatted RW discs (such as those created by Roxio's DirectCD) is also confusing. Windows can read DirectCD-formatted discs, but it can't write data to them. In other words, you must reformat DirectCD-formatted RWs to add data to them under Windows XP.

 

[CRyan]

Thanks for the replies.

Scott, XP converts all of the files before burning, and it does take forever. It is not immediate like Nero for example. I lan on putting a new system together using the ECS K7SA MB. Cheap and fast. Not sure what speed CPU yet though. Still have to decide on case. UGH.

Thanks Jason for the tip!

C. Ryan

 

[Michael Silla]

C.Ryan
If you are considering putting an Athlon XP based system together, you might want to look at one of the KT-266A mothernoard solutions. Please forgive my ignorance but is the Mobo you mentioned a KT-266A board?.
Three weeks ago I put together a Athlon based system, pretty much parting out my old computer's peripherals to make this new one. I ended up settling on the EPoX 8kha+ KT266A board. Is has been both fast and reliable for me, much more so than my old Abit VT6X4 board.
Anyhoo, I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.
Michael.

 

[CRyan]

Thanks Michael for your 2 cents. Actually, the ECS board uses the SIS 735 chipset that has been rated one of the fastest boards currently available. And it is $57 with onboard LAN. Can't beat it. However, it has had its share of problems. Though, I built a 900MHZ Athlon for my parents and it is rock solid. Not too mention fast! Easiest build I have ever had.
Thanks,
C. Ryan