newbie questions on b/u blu-ray

[berdman]

Thanks guys....

[Hectic]

AGREED! I'll usually get new releases @ Best Buy (they usually have the same price as Amazon for a week or so on new BR's), but otherwise I go to Amazon to get anything else! (Or sometimes my local Moviestop)

[Lunarpancake]

also...buy your blurays off Amazon.com they have the best deals BY FAR.

[Hectic]

Hah, Hah, Hah!!! Sorry, but I couldn't help but LOL when I read your previous post berdman. It reminds me of the call I got when I was doing computer repair and someone asked me to come and fix their ejectable cup holder. You're OBVIOUSLY a total newb. Of course you need some type of blu-ray drive in your computer to read/copy blu-rays, just like you'd need a DVD drive to read DVD's. I suppose someone else's idea about building your own system for less $$$ is a bit beyond your skill set.

Don't mean to be raggin' on you berdman, but in all seriousness, the higher your computer specs, the faster your machine can rip the blu-ray. If you don't have a fast machine, expect your blu-ray copying to take more than 12 hours...maybe even longer! A few months ago, I bought a new processor for my computer, upgrading from a AMD X2 5600 dual core to a AMD Phenom X4 965 quad core and it almost tripled my speeds when it came to blu-rays. Once I get my tax refund $, I'm going to do a few more upgrades myself(motherboard, RAM, video card). I do the vast majority of my computer part shopping on Newegg.com, so I'd suggest giving them a look.

Here are my system specs, just so you can get an idea:
- OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
- CPU: AMD Phenom X4 965 BE quad core
- RAM: 2x 2GB G.Skill DDR2 1066 (4GB total RAM)
- Motherboard: AS Rock A780GXE/128M AMD 780G Chipset
- Hard Drives: 1x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB & 1x Seagate Barracuda 300GB
- Optical Drives: 1x ASUS BC-06B1ST BD-ROM & 1x Samsung SH-S203N DVD Drive
- Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB (I'd recommend getting a Nvidia card though)
- Sound Card: Creative SB X-Fi PCI-E

[berdman]

OK...thanks again

[Complication]

Yes, you would need either a BD-ROM or BD Writer drive to rip Blu-Ray movies. Standard DVD drives don't know what a Blu-Ray disc is.

[berdman]

New computer

Ok, After your help, I researched some machines and chose this new computer listed below, brought a new blu-ray disc to try it out... "The Hangover" (funniest movie of the decade) but when I put it in the computer (Blu-ray to Blu-ray) to b/u, it simply didn't recognize it, no error messages nothing, just sat there...tried a regular DVD it worked fine. I tried looking thru the forums for help but I couldn't find anything. Do I need a blu-ray reader for the machine.

Thanks again



Processor Brand
Intel®
#
Processor
Intel® Core™2 Quad
#
Processor Speed
2.5GHz
#
System Bus
1333MHz
#
Cache Memory
4MB on die Level 2
#
System Memory (RAM)
8GB
#
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To
16GB
#
Type of Memory (RAM)
DDR2
#
Hard Drive Type
SATA (7200 rpm)
#
Hard Drive Size
1TB
#
Graphics
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500
#
Video Memory
Up to 1759MB shared
#
Audio
High-definition 7.1-channel (8-speaker configurable)
#
Speakers
None
#
Network Card
Built-in 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN
#
Wireless Networking
None
#
Recordable DVD Drive
Yes, double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
#
Recordable DVD Drive Speeds
8x DVD+R DL; 8x DVD-R DL; 16x8x16 DVD+RW; 16x6x16 DVD-RW; 5x DVD-RAM; 48x32x48 CD-RW
#
Direct-Disc Labeling
No
#
Digital Media Reader or Slots
Yes, digital media card reader
#
Available Expansion Bays
External: 1 (5.25"); Internal: 1 (3.5")
#
Available Expansion Slots
2 PCI
#
USB 2.0 Ports
10 (4 front, 6 rear)
#
IEEE 1394 Ports
0
#
S-Video Outputs
None
#
Keyboard Description
USB multimedia
#
Other Control Devices (mouse, etc.)
USB optical mouse
#
Operating System Platform
Windows
#
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
#
Software Included
Microsoft Works 9.0; Nero 9 Essentials; Adobe Acrobat Reader 8 and more
#
ENERGY STAR Qualified
No
#
HDMI Output
Yes
#
Blu-ray Player
No

System Info:

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7600 Build 7600
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name ERD-PC
System Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
System Model CG5270
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8300 @ 2.50GHz, 2499 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 0302, 8/10/2009
SMBIOS Version 2.5
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.1.7600.16385"
User Name ERD-PC\ERD
Time Zone Central Standard Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 7.97 GB
Available Physical Memory 6.42 GB
Total Virtual Memory 15.9 GB
Available Virtual Memory 14.2 GB
Page File Space 7.97 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

It does not specify the RAM speed. I would think that you need DDR3 for that bus speed but haven't looked at it in a while. It is odd that the hard drive speed is only 5400rpm. Is this a laptop?

[CBR929]

How much are we talking $$ ?? I would check out and build it yourself for a whole lot less $$$$ Look under barebones on the left.

[berdman]

No...it's a Gateway Desktop with AMD Phenom™ II X4 805 ( 805 is no longer being offered by AMD) Quad-Core Processor Model: DX4300-11 ........after looking at some reviews I'm starting to like the HP Pavilion p6230y Desktop PC which has the 810 processor.What do you think ??

Thanks

[Complication]

It does not specify the RAM speed. I would think that you need DDR3 for that bus speed but haven't looked at it in a while. It is odd that the hard drive speed is only 5400rpm. Is this a laptop?

[90312]

I don't have Blu-Ray capability but I'm sure it will be great!

[berdman]

It is a 64bit OS.....will it do a good job with the blu-ray??

[90312]

Be sure to get a 64 bit OS or you'll waste a bunch of RAM.

[berdman]

I've been looking.....how does this one look?

#
Processor Brand
AMD
#
Processor
AMD Phenomâ„¢ II X4
#
Processor Speed
2.5GHz
#
Screen Size (Measured Diagonally)
NA
#
Screen Size (Measured Diagonally)
NA
#
System Bus
4000MHz
#
Cache Memory
6MB
#
System Memory (RAM)
8GB
#
Type of Memory (RAM)
DDR2
#
Hard Drive Type
Serial ATA (5400 rpm)
#
Hard Drive Size
1TB
#
Graphics
ATI Radeon HD 3200
#
Video Memory
512MB
#
Audio
High-definition with 7.1-channel Surround Sound support
#
Speakers
None
#
Network Card
Built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
#
Wireless Networking
None
#
Recordable DVD Drive
Yes, double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
#
Recordable DVD Drive Speeds
8x DVD+R DL; 8x DVD-R DL; 16x8x16 DVD+RW; 16x8x16 DVD-RW; 5x DVD-RAM; 48x32x40 CD-RW
#
Direct-Disc Labeling
No
#
Digital Media Reader or Slots
Yes, digital media card reader
#
Available Expansion Bays
3 (3.5"), 1 (5.25")
#
Available Expansion Slots
2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16
#
USB 2.0 Ports
8 (4 front, 4 rear)
#
IEEE 1394 Ports
1
#
S-Video Outputs
1
#
Serial Ports
None
#
Parallel Ports
None
#
Game Ports
None
#
Keyboard Description
Multimedia
#
Other Control Devices (mouse, etc.)
Optical mouse
#
Operating System Platform
Windows
#
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium
#
Software Included
Adobe Reader; Cyberlink PowerCinema 6 and more
#
ENERGY STAR Qualified
No
#
HDMI Output
Yes
#
Blu-ray Player
No

[berdman]

Wow ....thanks for all help and info