Thread: Computer Suggestions for My Lifestyle?

Any computer can do basic word processing, that doesn't require any power at all. Since you mentioned games I would recommend XP to Vista. Vista has a lot of problems, and from what I've heard most games require twice the horsepower on Vista than XP. Vista also uses DirectX 10, which has little backwards compatibility so Direct 9 games won't work. More and more games are going to OpenGL so make sure your card can handle that as well as DirectX.

If you want really want Vista then I'd backtrack on your Mac statement. PC World stated that Macs run Vista faster than any PC, but again, I'd rethink Vista.

1GB of RAM seems kind of low and won't be fast for very long. 2 would probably be the minimum that I would suggest, especially if you play games.

Originally Posted by ninja9578

Any computer can do basic word processing, that doesn't require any power at all. Since you mentioned games I would recommend XP to Vista. Vista has a lot of problems, and from what I've heard most games require twice the horsepower on Vista than XP. Vista also uses DirectX 10, which has little backwards compatibility so Direct 9 games won't work. More and more games are going to OpenGL so make sure your card can handle that as well as DirectX.

If you want really want Vista then I'd backtrack on your Mac statement. PC World stated that Macs run Vista faster than any PC, but again, I'd rethink Vista.

1GB of RAM seems kind of low and won't be fast for very long. 2 would probably be the minimum that I would suggest, especially if you play games.

lol - testament to what I know about computers; I thought 1GB Ram was a lot.

So, since I fervently want to avoid the mac until it has a monopoly on computers, I should go for a new comp with XP, hrm?

HP..? Compaq..? Toshiba..? Asus..?
~

I think IBM sells exclusively XP and Linux computers, Dell sells Vista, XP, and Linux. I think most other retailers require that you downgrade.

Whatever you do -- don't get any form of Linux. The users even more arrogant and annoying then Mac fanboys.

Probably in the next couple of years games will be Vista only, but everyone here will tell you don't get Vista but XP would be fine (now).

Note that Vista is a lot easier to use and simpler for the average person.

In terms of Asus, Compaq and all that, they are all basically the same.

Yes, definitely get above 1 gig of Ram, if you go with Vista I think at least 2 gigs are required.

Aah, nice to see near-religious evangelism still going strong in the OS wars....

Originally Posted by Grod

Whatever you do -- don't get any form of Linux. The users even more arrogant and annoying then Mac fanboys.

Of all the legitimate reasons not to go Linux, annoying users is probably the least important


I wouldn't advice Linux either (not as the main OS in any case),
because you want a gaming machine


Linux (via Wine) can play ~80% of all windows games, but it can be fiddly
so I wouldn't advice it


Go XP

Originally Posted by Grod

Probably in the next couple of years games will be Vista only, but everyone here will tell you don't get Vista but XP would be fine (now).

Highly unlikely


Game companies are not stupid,
they are not going to drop support for the largest market share (XP)
use your head
it's the same reason they're not actively supporting Linux – Market share


Btw, the only game to be released “Vista Only” to date is Shadowrun
and it sold so badly the game studio went bust


Also, as a side note,
Any “Vista Only” functionality is artificial
DirectX-10 has already been backported to XP
(funnily enough, by the Wine guys, but I'd show my prejudice if I expanded on this point)

Originally Posted by Grod

Note that Vista is a lot easier to use and simpler for the average person.

personal preference
I'd say it's always “easier” to use a system you already know, rather than a new system




anyway, I'll leave with this....


dual booting & virtualisation
marvelous stuff, really


Go XP as your main OS
and you can try any other OS you want as a secondary OS
(hell, get a big enough disk, and give 2 or 3 different OS's a try)

I'd also suggest XP as your main OS. I have found that vista makes even word processing a chore if you use the default application. I found myself using word pad instead of word. Then I got open office =O.

You should be much happier with XP though.

Originally Posted by Ynot

Aah, nice to see near-religious evangelism still going strong in the OS wars....

It's me, what did you expect.

Originally Posted by Ynot

Of all the legitimate reasons not to go Linux, annoying users is probably the least important

Joking -- though true, he said he didn't like Mac because of the annoying users, and IMHO Linux is far worse.

Originally Posted by Ynot

I wouldn't advice Linux either (not as the main OS in any case),
because you want a gaming machine


Linux (via Wine) can play ~80% of all windows games, but it can be fiddly
so I wouldn't advice it


Go XP



Highly unlikely


Game companies are not stupid,
they are not going to drop support for the largest market share (XP)
use your head
it's the same reason they're not actively supporting Linux – Market share


Btw, the only game to be released “Vista Only” to date is Shadowrun
and it sold so badly the game studio went bust


Also, as a side note,
Any “Vista Only” functionality is artificial
DirectX-10 has already been backported to XP
(funnily enough, by the Wine guys, but I'd show my prejudice if I expanded on this point)

That's why I said not now, I'd say at least 2 more years. Pick up any game now, and it will usually be XP and up only. Even before Vista came out.

Originally Posted by Ynot

personal preference
I'd say it's always “easier” to use a system you already know, rather than a new system




anyway, I'll leave with this....


dual booting & virtualisation
marvelous stuff, really


Go XP as your main OS
and you can try any other OS you want as a secondary OS
(hell, get a big enough disk, and give 2 or 3 different OS's a try)

Yes, go with XP now.

Vista really is easier, it only took me a day or two to get used to.
Then why switch at all(anything), if you're used to the old way?

( Joe now knows this kinda stuff, he is proud he knows how his comp works because now he knows how to build a new one when he wants to, ell he has ideas anyway..)

OK so gaming is the only real thing that makes the computer need a bit of umph.

Vista or XP your choice, if you have XP and you like it, stick with it. I have XP, never even seen Vista, so your choice. The only problem is right now some games and especially the graphics cards are having issues with Vista and drivers( kinda what makes them work). That will be sorted, but probably not for a few months or more while companies make stuff more compatible.

OK if you go with Vista then 2gb+ DDR2 ram, if XP then 1gb would be ok, but you may as well go with 2gb as RAM is cheap and it's needed for games.( thats the common RAM these day, DDR is ancient, DDR3 pricey and not very compatible)

Processor probably a mid range core 2 duo( i'd say Intel are better then AMD) or the q6600 2.4ghz. Now that's four cores, so like two dual cores. There are like £150 which yes is expensive i suppose but it would make it "future-proof" for quite a while

Graphics card, it depends what games we are talking. If your games are say 2+ years old then like a 7600GS, maybe even 6600GT card will be fine. If we talking the new games ( excluding Crysis and other games with have ridiculous requirements) then a 7950GT or up, 8800GT is a very very good card for the price, again it is £100+plus but its almost as good as the £300+ 8800gtx and again it will keep the computer up to date for a few years.

Motherboard, ok make sure it has PCI-e slots, x16 is best). Make sure it can fit 4gb ram, maybe 8gb. This is just in case you wanna add more RAM for a little boost down the road. A decent motherboard is usually around £50-£70. You can get really good like £120 ones, but they are for using two graphics cards together, basically stuff i doubt you need.

LOL well thats the main parts of your machine, just throwing in some ideas. Also if your buying a new monitor, i suggest a 19-22" Widescreen, just so its big n shiny. But if you go 22"+, a good graphics card is needed more because the screen size is bigger, so the 8800GT is a shiny option.

In the summer/autumn im getting a whole new comp, gonna make it SHINY!!

Whats your budget?

Originally Posted by cuddleyperson

OK so gaming is the only real thing that makes the computer need a bit of umph.

well, not the only by any means
but certainly the most usual

Originally Posted by cuddleyperson

Make sure it can fit 4gb ram, maybe 8gb. This is just in case you wanna add more RAM for a little boost down the road.

32bit OS's can only access a 4gb address space
(2^32)
that means ~3.5gb of ram
anything above that, and the OS won't "see" it
you'll need a 64bit OS to use more than 3.5gb ram

oh yeah.....

lol budget so i don't get carried away.

Oh if your building it yourself, there's a forum called techforums(Lol). Away those guys over there REALLY know what they are talking about, just tell them your budget and what you want it to do and they will tell you what to buy, they are way helpful for saving money. Just get past the arguments they have between different companies and ask when you don't understand a term being used, which for me is very often.

I found this for £700 - I was so tempted to get it for myself

Full Specification

* Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor(2.4GHz,8MB Cache,1066MHz)
* Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition
* Digital / Analogue TV Tuner PCI Card
* New MESH Midi-TowerATX Case + 550W PSU
* PCI-Express Mainboard - SLI nForce 650i SLI(C55) - Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad-Core - ATX
* 4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory -( 4x 1GB )
* 500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB Buffer
* LightScribe Super Format 20x Dual Layer DVD Writer +R/-R/RW/RAM
* 256MB nVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS - DVI, HDTV, TV-Out
* 19" Widescreen LCD TFT Display with internal speakers
* 5.1 High Definition onboard sound card - 6 Channel Cinema sound
* Logitech S220 - 2.1 Speakers with Subwoofer
* Logitech Cordless Keyboard & Cordless Optical Mouse
* Free Microsoft® Works® 8.5 + 60 Days Microsoft Office Trial
* Free Cyberlink Video Editing Suite - 7 titles (oem)
* 2x IEEE1394 Firewire (onboard)
* 1x Gigabit LAN (onboard)
* Multi-format Memory Card Reader (ATX)
* Free Upgrade to 1 Year On Site* - UK Mainland Only (Repairline Ltd Warranty)

EDIT: Damn you're in Canada lol

Originally Posted by Adam

Whats your budget?

$1000ish CAD
~

What's the advantage in getting two graphics cards?

Originally Posted by Grod

What's the advantage in getting two graphics cards?

For gaming with Nvidia cards - SLI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface

*edit*
there's also the more obvious use of 2 cards
more monitors
but CP's post was dealing with SLI (multi-core graphics)

I'd suggest buying a computer online from an American dealer no matter what type you buy. It'll be about 25% cheaper =P

Just taking some of the popular models from american sites... This will let you play Crysis. (which is the most resource intensive game on the market.)

Originally Posted by arby

I'd suggest buying a computer online from an American dealer no matter what type you buy. It'll be about 25% cheaper =P

Just taking some of the popular models from american sites... This will let you play Crysis. (which is the most resource intensive game on the market.)

So... with that machine, you can run pretty much any game out?

Originally Posted by Grod

So... with that machine, you can run pretty much any game out?

quick google brings up crappy reviews of the graphics card in that machine

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...00gt-benchmark

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/t259229.html

guess they skimped on the graphics to keep it below 1000

other hardware looks fine

Originally Posted by Ynot

quick google brings up crappy reviews of the graphics card in that machine

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...00gt-benchmark

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/t259229.html

guess they skimped on the graphics to keep it below 1000

other hardware looks fine

Ah, true. I didn't bother checking the quality of the card, I just saw that it was an 8000 series with 512 RAM.

But that shows the sort of machine you can get for your budget. Shop around and you could probably find something on sale that's a little better for the same price. Or, for an extra 100$ or so you could buy a better card.

oh one thing, if we are talking Crysis, you NEED the 8800GT( better and cgheaper then the usual GTS). the new 640mb GTS or the GTX to get any reasonable frame rate at high settings.

The 8800GT is around £150 which is reasonable for it's performance compared to the £350 GTX. Two GTs even beat a GTX for the most part.

Also you may find you get a better deal if you buy stuff totally separate then go with a package. Also don't bother too much with SLI. SLi is having problems with performance anyway and one 8800GT is fine for Crysis. Your just going to upgrade to the better cards when they come out( new ones coming feb-march), so it's cheaper then buying two cards then having to replace both later.

My uncle recently bought a vaio notebook with a windows vista operating system. Pretty fancy, and fast

Vista rocks, no?

Originally Posted by Grod

Vista rocks, no?

haven't got it, heard many games have compatibility problems, drivers have problems, it hogs RAM....

but others say it's still a fine OS, not sure, I'll get in the summer maybe when more technical problems with games and cards are hopefully fixed.