New Computer thoughts..

[Fatzo]

well i figured id put this up here... since alot of you are more knowlegable about the newest computer tech that is out there.... first off i have a personal prefrence towards both Intel processors and Nvidia graphics... i am using DELL's website (which i am sure will draw some critisizim from the masses ) to gauge my purchasing possibilities .... i have no more than 1,500 to spend.... and thats pushing it as is.... so here it goes --

http://www.dell.com/content/products/pr ... l=en&s=dhs for refrence ---

im trying to figure out how much "better" core 2 as opposed to the quad-core... it seems the chip cache is superior on the quad-core... but is it worth it ? i am not looking to run 2 monitors running two totally different games off of this potential machine.... or anything else insane like that.....

secondly, the video cards --- i know the 8800 GT cards have been out for at least a few months if not alot longer --- i recall the name ... unless i am mistaken... id hate to invest in two of these cards only to have somthing signifigantly better come out in a few months

i know i could probably piece together my own system from scratch cheaper than it would cost to buy from Dell --- even with my discount .... their 12-months no interest option is tempting ... because i could easily pay it off monthy over a year ...whereas buying up front parts for a new pc --- well i have about 600 dollars available for that -- yet with the way things are going right now , id prefer not shelling out that kind of money all at once

feel free to comment or make suggestions --- again , i dont want to burst anyones bubble , but i absolutley refuse to buy anything made by ATI --- or any of those AMD .... antholon whatever chipsets that are out there.......

thanks fellas

[Fatzo]

o i also should have added what i currently have --- to see if it makes practical sense to upgrade yet...

yes its a DELL -- and yes i customized it myself all the way down to the holes i drilled in the side of the case to maximize airflow.

Pentium 4 (HT - 800mhz bus L1 NOOB cache) 2.8 ghz

2.5 gb of the DDR2 ram at 500 mhz

Nvidia l33tcakes PCI express 6600 , 256mb card.

SATA harddrives ....

the rest is generic enough and not worth mentioning....

...it is ALMOST 3 years old and still works like a charm ... but.....im concerned about newer games --- ill use Oblivion as a benchmark - i am able to run most of the streamline graphics settings at max.... but its the smaller , yet more detalied details that i cannot max out or else it will run laggish.... such as the view distance of grass.... shadows.... superb lightning... etc.....

im sure i could squeeze another year out of it .... but summer is comming , which means more game time fore me... and i have always wanted a third computer to have access to here ....there are times that it would come in handy

[ashsagoon]

I'm AMD and ATI so I really can't help you. Building your own PC will save you a ton. Dell I just won't talk about. You should look into the HD 3870x2 (dual core video card) but I don't know if Dell offers it. The nVidia 9000 series is out (and way overpriced), you should probably look at a 8800 GTX though over a GT, not sure on Dell's pricing but retail it's not much more and gives quite a bit more.

[Lokey]

What is the motherboard you're currently using?

I can't think of too much excitement you'd get beyond swapping in a core duo (like an e6x00, I think they're still 775 pinout) and an 8800GT. Possibly change the ram (which is dirt cheap at the moment).

Quad core is for your epenis only I think Wake me up when games do dual core, let alone quad.

[Fatzo]

i pulled up my dxdiag file for refrence

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 5/4/2008, 01:09:21
Machine name: SPAM !
Operating System: Windows XP SPAM ! Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
Language: SPAM ! (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: SPAM and CHEESE !
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A09
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 2558MB RAM
Page File: 702MB used, 2466MB available
Windows Dir: C:\SPAM !
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found (p\/\//\/ed)
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.11!1eleventyone 32bit Unicode

not 100% sure on the make/model of the motherboard.... aside from me pulling the coever off..but i have had too many drinks this evening to be attempting that

the computer will turn 3 years old this june....

dont mind my random edits ..... the important information is clearly readable

[Zysek]

Yes, I know others hate Dell, even before you mentioned it. I just ordered my first lap top from Dell. They had a 40% off sale for three days last month. (They were trying to get rid of the 15 inch monitors.) I played with the wish list/builder and got the fastest/newest everything except for the hard drive. (This being my first lap top, I couldn't see spending an extra $800 for brand new technology.) When I placed the order on April 22, the estimated ship date was May 21. It shipped yesterday.

Let's see. This is from the order recieved email. Warranty and such info deleted.

XPS M1530,
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T9500 (2.6GHz/800MHzFSB, 6M L2 Cache)
4GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
15.4 inch Full Hi Definition Wide Screen WUXGA TrueLife LCDwith Camera
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
250G 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-card
Finger Print Reader
15.4 inch Blue Wide Screen WUXGA TrueLife LCD with 2.0 MPCamera
Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor

I'll let you know how it plays NWN, since that's probably the first thing I'm loading.

[VagaStorm]

XPS M1530,
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T9500 (2.6GHz/800MHzFSB, 6M L2 Cache)
4GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
15.4 inch Full Hi Definition Wide Screen WUXGA TrueLife LCDwith Camera
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
250G 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-card
Finger Print Reader
15.4 inch Blue Wide Screen WUXGA TrueLife LCD with 2.0 MPCamera
Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor

Thats sweet are you planing on runing XP or Vista on it? If you use XP, you should be avare that it will take a bit of tweaking to get it to use more than 2GB memory. Not sure about XP, but some of the 2003 servers will not take more than 3GB at all.

[Zysek]

Unfortunately, only Vista was offered. Hubby was leaning over my shoulder the first few times I ran through the "Build your computer" tool and I heard the Vista-tirade from him. We'll see what happens.

In other news, last night I went to the after-hours Best Buy sale and bought a 1TB* internal hard drive for $189.99. It came to just under $200 with tax.

*I believe that's spelled "Tetra-Byte".

[Alkapwn]

Thats sweet are you planing on runing XP or Vista on it? If you use XP, you should be avare that it will take a bit of tweaking to get it to use more than 2GB memory. Not sure about XP, but some of the 2003 servers will not take more than 3GB at all.

Windows XP64 can handle 4gb just fine which you would need anyway to run on that system optimally

[Fatzo]

mmm maybe an upgrade to vista in itself could increase my current computer preformance....

agreed on the videocard tho .... *cheers for the 8800 Gtx

as far as my ram -- i know the motherboard can only handle up to 667 .... id hate to waste the other chips that are currently in there

Zysek --- i like the way that laptop sounds !

[Amoenotep]

when i built my pc last year i bought xp64 with a free upgrade to vista when it came out the next month....i still wish i would have went for the regualar 32bit xp pro. something tells me it would be doing better.

i put together:

400gb 10k rpm SATA hd
DVD/CD R/RW
AMD athlon X2 5400+ dual core
2gb OCZ gold ram ddr2 800
8800gts 640mb vid nvidia/EVGA
19in flat LCD monitor from viewsonce with 2ms refresh
MSI K9N neo mother board.


i run fast and quick, but sometimes i end up tripping on my vista

[frogofpeace]

I have a M1530 a step down or so from zysek's (2.2 Ghz core 3.6 Gb ram), and I like it a lot. The power brick burnt out, but I called tech support about 6 PM and had a new one in my hands THE NEXT AFTERNOON; I was somewhat impressed by that. My 4th Dell - the second one was kind of crappy, cheaply put together, but no complaints since then. I'm not a computer guy, I might go as far as to drill holes in the side, but mostly, I want sonething that's generally reliable, and that has a reasonable chance to be fixed if it's broke, and I think I have that.

'tripping on my vista', good way to describe it lol. I haven't had big problems with Vista, as far as I know, but every now and then something ... odd will happen. I try think of it as Bill Gates being friendly

[Zysek]

Well, I "tripped on my Vista" on Monday.

Son of a friend asked if I still played NWN. I admitted I was playing just single player stuff on my new laptop, so I got motivated and loaded NWN.

Or tried to.

The loading went fine. I tried to launch the game and was informed "This game has known issues with Windows Vista and has been blocked." After my WTF moment, I clicked on the "Check Bioware's site for possible help." Of course it was the link to the pay for help support page. Ha.

I logged into Bioware with my account. (See? It really does pay to register your game...) I followed the FAQ to the questions about Vista. The Bioware page suggested using the update button on the game first. If that didn't work, then download the "critical files". Of course, the update didn't work and I had to get the critical files.

I pat myself on my back now, because I figured this all out by myself. (I married a computer geek so I wouldn't HAVE to learn it all.) I have successfully logged into the NS servers; but since haven't really played yet, I can't say how well the new machine plays yet.

Yet.

See you all in game soon. Hopefully I'll be on in the evening hours East Coast time zone. TTFN.