Jump to content
toblix

Buying A Computer

Recommended Posts

Finally, after all these years, I've ordered a completely new computer. Some of the stuff I got today, the rest will be delivered next week. Building computers is totally awesome!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

All sorts. I'm throwing a little bit more money at it than I usually do, just because I get such a great deal. I'm expecting to play all the games I'm looking forward too at great speeds.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was trying to hit a point closer to childish joy of getting a fantastic new toy than listing specifications. The important thing is that it will let me play every game released for a while, and they'll look and play spectacular. Ly.

Company of Heroes, for example, was very fun, but I got to a level where the computer simply could not handle everything that was going on. That was probably the point at which I decided to start looking at computer components again. It's a bit early, considering I was really aiming for the Bioshock release, but with Vista and everything... it was just time.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Please don't tell me you're using vista ;(

I am, actually. The only question is how many bits. I guess it depends on the driver situation (32bits is looking the most tempting).

I'd like to do the right thing and boycott Windows altogether, but I didn't buy a $3000 computer to play Tux Racer. I hate Microsoft and Vista with a passion for their raping of consumers, but I'm ignoring this so that I can play DX10 games. I'm such a fucking whore.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Vista's great. I made a new dual boot system recently, tentatively installed Vista and XP... and I haven't booted into XP once! Good stuff!

To counter Toblix's weird-arse insistence on not revealing his specs... (??)

Here's my new computer:

Intel E6600 Core2Duo 2.40GHz

2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, EPP

Gigabyte 965P-DS3

XFX 8800GTS PCI-E 320MB

400 Gb Seagate ST3400620AS Barracuda 7200.10

and

Vista Home Premium

I'm loving it! :woohoo:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
To counter Toblix's weird-arse insistence on not revealing his specs... (??)
I would, but now you've brought attention to it, and it would just seem wrong and awkward.
Here's my new computer:

Intel E6600 Core2Duo 2.40GHz

2GB (2x1GB) CorsairTwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, EPP

Gigabyte 965P-DS3

XFX 8800GTS PCI-E 320MB

400 Gb Seagate ST3400620AS Barracuda 7200.10

and

Vista Home Premium

Nice.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very similar specs to what I've got on the back burner Thunderpeel. Meant to overclock quite nicely too, that processor.

Vista isn't bad, but I think I'll be sticking with XP for at least six more months for day-to-day use as the software scene isn't quite where it should be yet. For example, Photoshop CS3 runs markedly slower on Vista than it does on XP (especially when working with layer-filled web designs), and the word on the street is that the Nvidia Vista drivers perform roughly 15% worse than their XP counterparts and probably will for a while.

I also find Vista's new default font horrific, as when I turn Cleartype off -- a necessity for the sake of my vision -- it becomes extremely rough due to what they call Cleartype optimisation, which is in fact the chopping out of bits of fonts to compensate for where Cleartype would ordinarily over-thicken them. :tdown: :tdown:

Pretty good otherwise, though!

Edit: Man, shows how much I visit this sub-forum. This thread was highlighted as new. ;(

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm probably going to get a new computer as well, or at least upgrade it. Bought S.T... oh for fuck's sake... Stalker yesterday and it just runs way too slow.

I've always been an ATI user (currently X800 GTO), but I think this time I'm going to get a Geforce 8800 GTS (320MB) as NVIDIA seems to have better Linux support (I really want Beryl). I'm not getting Vista though, sticking with Ubuntu + XP dual boot.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

sigh. I'm upgrading my PC too. Static electricity fried my mobo and since it's a couple years old, it's probably just worth hunkering down and getting a core 2 duo.

Still, I'm tempted to get a MacBook...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

When I saw one friend of mine buy a MacBook recently, I decided that the next computer I'm going to buy is going to be a laptop. I think I'd prefer a MacBook or a MacBook Pro. After testing it a bit, it really is as good as everyone keeps saying.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'll actually be ordering a MacBook this Tuesday, so I might post a trip report to encourage both of you when I get it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've also been thinking about getting a MacBook, but this time I'll just upgrade my dekstop PC with more/faster memory, a new processor and a new video card. The next time I have that kind of money to spend on hardware, I may also get a MacBook.

I've actually already got a portable computer(-ish thingie) -- replaced my cell phone with a Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox T830 and so far I'm pretty happy with it -- it's got almost everything you'd want from a device of that size: 3G phone, good calendar (Windows Mobile 5), camera, SD card slot, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, USB host etc.

now only if it would sync with Linux/Thunderbird.... (and seems like it might soon)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I've also been thinking about getting a MacBook, but this time I'll just upgrade my dekstop PC with more/faster memory, a new processor and a new video card. The next time I have that kind of money to spend on hardware, I may also get a MacBook.

If there were any exceptionally demanding games coming out for the PC that I wanted to play, this is probably the route I'd go as well. Seeing as that's not the case, I feel like a laptop would be a great purchase for me. I just accept the price since I'm sort of fed up with Windows, and using OSX has been a wholly positive experience for me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Upgrade complete:

Athlon XP 3000+ (1.8 GHz) -> Dual Core Opteron 185 (2.6 GHz)

ATI Radeon X800 GTO -> NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 320 Mb (overclocked to 575 MHz core)

1GB Crappy Memory -> 2GB fast CL2 memory

I started with the graphics card at first, but it didn't have much effect. Then I upgraded the CPU, then memory, and still the effect was a lot less than I expected.

Thankfully then I discovered that the GeForce was running at PCI Express 1x instead of 16x, because it was in the second slot (didn't fit in the first one). Today I sawed off half of the chipset radiator (or what do you call those?) and moved hard drives around to make room for the card in the first slot and make it run at 16x -- that made about 2-4 times performance change!

1) In Company of Heroes, the performance test jumped from avg. 40 FPS to 140 FPS.

2) Stalker became very playable.

3) 3DMark06 jumped from 3794 -> 8820

I wish I had done that (saw off half the chipset cooler) earlier, maybe I could have skipped the CPU and memory upgrade altogether.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Upgrade complete

Wow, nice step up there!

I'd really like to get my hands on a 8800. My X800 is feeling pretty old, but it'll have to do for much, much longer still. With "chipset radiator", do you mean the heatsink?

I just got my MacBook and I'm beginning to set it up. I ripped the 80GB hard drive it came with out and plunked in a nice 200GB drive from Toshiba, so it's currently installing OS X. Hopefully I'll be able to get dirty with it this evening, but I'm as happy as you can be after having stared at install screens for the past half hour. Formatting was pleasantly fast anyway.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Wow, nice step up there!

With "chipset radiator", do you mean the heatsink?

Yes, thanks, that's the word I was looking for :)

I guess my motherboard (ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe) is old enough that they thought video cards would never get that big.

Anyway, after sawing half that thing off, I'm finally happy with the upgrade because even the most demanding games seem to run just fine now. Of course, Intel would probably be better ATM, but I just didn't feel like replacing everything... even though in hindsight, that could have actually been both cheaper and easier... and I would have had another almost complete second computer... now it's just random pieces of hardware to sell at a ridiculously low price or put in a box and shove under the bed or something...

damn ... I'm getting depressed now :(

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Speaking of Macbook Pros, I really fancy one of those for non-game nonsense (ie: can be taken to work too) but they seem to be a bit too expensive for me to want to bother with right now. Are there any cheat codes or tips for getting them cheaper without going second-hand?

If not I'll just fuck off the temptation for now, although I'll wait for the refresh with superior LED-based screens (supposedly and likely).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Speaking of Macbook Pros, I really fancy one of those for non-game nonsense (ie: can be taken to work too) but they seem to be a bit too expensive for me to want to bother with right now. Are there any cheat codes or tips for getting them cheaper without going second-hand?

If you're not going to play any relatively demanding games on it, you could get a MacBook. Half-Life 2 supposedly runs fine on medium settings (even though the graphics card doesn't have dedicated memory). Processor wise, there's not a huge difference between the two, so it's basically a question if you want a decent GPU in your machine or not. It's still pretty pricey though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×