My current PC has reached the biblical age of 3 years. It's an HP Pavillion system, and I haven't been as happy with any system I had before. I didn't have to re-install the OS even once (I did my best to keep the system clean and uncluttered), and the only thing I upgraded was graphics. I could run games like Fallout 3 at full or E:TW at near full features on my GF8800GT w/756 MB (Age of Conan would not move beyond "medium", though). I'm pretty much limited to a resolution of 1280x1024, though, and the system has noticeably long loading times with some newer games.
However, the system's case is pretty full now (the 8800GT is siginficantly larger than the previous card in there), so heat and subsequently noise is quite an issue by now, and it's worse when playing something that's either CPU or gfx heavy (or, worse, both).
Hence I consider retiring this system to offline and low end duty (word processing, old wargames, DOS stuff etc.) and getting me a new HP Pavilion. I want to be on the safe side for when it'll be time to switch to Windows 7 (i.e. a year after its release), so I'm looking at the following Pavilion system:
m9463de
Intel Core 2 Quad w/ 2.67GHz Q9400
4GB RAM
2x 500 GB HD
Windows Vista Home Premium ( :bleeding: )
NVidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB
I'm mostly worried about the gfx card; I think I'd rather have a GTX260 or 280 card. :(
Or I hold out a bit longer till the hardware reqs for W7 are known.
QuoteFor the Premium Windows 7
* 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
* 1 GB of system memory
* 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
* Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
o WDDM Driver
o 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
o Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
o 32 bits per pixel
* DVD-ROM drive
* Audio Output
* Internet access (fees may apply)
Quote from: Grey Fox on March 24, 2009, 03:03:18 PM
QuoteFor the Premium Windows 7
* 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
* 1 GB of system memory
* 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
* Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
o WDDM Driver
o 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
o Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
o 32 bits per pixel
* DVD-ROM drive
* Audio Output
* Internet access (fees may apply)
Weren't the originally published Vista reqs also pretty low?
(Though I tend to turn off all the graphical bells and whistles of the windows user interface.)
Don't know about Vista but Win7s beta scaled pretty good (ie : ran on Eee-PCs)
I´m hearing some good things about the new GTX 295 card. :)
Why not wait until Win7 is out later this year?
Or, you know, get a Mac. :)
I'm getting a new one with Win 7. I am excited.
Quote from: Syt on March 24, 2009, 03:14:47 PM
Quote from: Grey Fox on March 24, 2009, 03:03:18 PM
QuoteFor the Premium Windows 7
* 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
* 1 GB of system memory
* 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
* Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
o WDDM Driver
o 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
o Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
o 32 bits per pixel
* DVD-ROM drive
* Audio Output
* Internet access (fees may apply)
Weren't the originally published Vista reqs also pretty low?
(Though I tend to turn off all the graphical bells and whistles of the windows user interface.)
make that X4 and it should be working fine by the time Win7 reach the market ;)
Both Vista and XP has ridiculously low minimum specs that were supposedly great in beta (for Vista anyway) and it didn't really transformed into real life performance.
Call me paranoid, but I'm worried about Win7.
My rule of thumb is to get something that works great in Vista, and it should run great with Win7.
1 GB of memory and 40 GB hard drive with 15 GB available? And they say Harry Potter is fantasy...
Besides, call me paranoid, but I don't like the bit about Internet access being required to run Windows 7. And Audio Output? Just why would any OS need audio output to run?
I would wait until Windows 7 has launched to take a final decision. Now isn't a good moment to buy a new PC if you plan to install the new Microsoft OS.
Quote from: Barrister on March 24, 2009, 05:00:40 PM
Why not wait until Win7 is out later this year?
I'm not a first day adopter of O/S. Usually too many issues to be worth it. I waited till SP2 before moving to XP.
You want a newer vidcard in that. If you're already building a new system you can as well skip one generation.
Syt.......about the graphics card. My eldest boy bought a computer recently (I paid half and also loaned him some money :lol:) and he opted for the Nvidia 9800 card, otherwise he would have been broke for ages. Meanwhile, I recently upgraded and have twin 260s (or maybe 280s, I forget) in my new machine. anyway, we both run our various games at the highest graphics level with no problems. He likes call of duty 4 and assassin's creed, which are both fairly demanding.
His new machine seems to run very cool and quiet, which no doubt helps, but at the moment his graphics card seems fine for any of his needs.
Oh, he uses 1280x1024 res btw.
Quote from: Syt on March 24, 2009, 03:00:29 PM
I'm mostly worried about the gfx card; I think I'd rather have a GTX260 or 280 card. :(
The choice should depend on resolution you like to play mainly.
Dude... no. Don't buy a prebuilt system from Dell or HP or somebody. Build your own. You'll save money and get a better end-product. We'll help you with the build. :)
Quote from: Caliga on March 25, 2009, 05:26:25 AM
Dude... no. Don't buy a prebuilt system from Dell or HP or somebody.
My experiences are mixed - e.g. Fujitsu-Siemens sucked (both I had), and the HP system was great.
I did check the smaller shops, though (some offer complete systems that they assemble themselves), and came across this one:
Intel Core2Quad Q9450
1 TB Samsung HD
4 GB DDRII 800
GeForce GTX 280, 1024MB GDDR3
Asus P5Q-Pro Mainboard
3R Zion Design Tower
Enermax Power Supply
It comes without OS installed, but I have my old WinXP (free student license) that I could put onto it. I don't think XP could make use of the full hardware, though, so I might be forced to shell out another 100 EUR or so for a Vista license which I'd run for a year or two before making the switch to W7.
For 250 EUR less, I can get a similar system, but with a GTX260 instead of the 280, and a different (smaller) case.
I'm currently browsing an Austrian site that lets you mix/match components you want/like.
What's the consensus on AMD Phenom X4 9950 processors? :unsure:
Ok, I settled for:
CPU Intel Core4Quad Q9550 (4x 2,83GHz) So. 775
RAM 8192MB RAM DDR2 800MHz
GTX280 1024MB PCI-E 16x
1000GB HDD S-ATA II 7200rpm
DVD-RW
DVD-ROM
CardReader
Thermaltake ARMOR
750Watt Power supply with reduced noise
2 years of warranty
With OS (Vista 64bit) it's still cheaper by a few hundred EUR than less well equipped "brand name" PCs.
Well, yeah.
I'm not a fan of top of the line cards (or CPUs for that matter). I'd rather upgrade more frequently.
I tend to get a top of the line motherboard and then upgrade the CPU/cards/memory over the life of the system, yeah.
Quote from: Iormlund on March 26, 2009, 07:46:55 AM
I'm not a fan of top of the line cards (or CPUs for that matter). I'd rather upgrade more frequently.
Yeah, I was like that. These days I consider it more or less a zero sum thing - 3 x 200 or 1 x 600 (not counting interest).
I like not having to worry about this things for a while. I'm lazy.
Quote from: Caliga on March 26, 2009, 08:18:07 AM
I tend to get a top of the line motherboard and then upgrade the CPU/cards/memory over the life of the system, yeah.
I'm getting a ASUS P5N-T SLI Deluxe Ed now. Hope it's a good one. I don't know much about motherbords. :unsure:
I have also decided on a new monitor:
24" 1920x1200, 5ms, 300cd (same as my current which I'm comfortable with), dynamic contrast 3000:1 (currently have 500:1). The model is a small brand (AOC), but it gets good customer reviews while costing under 250 EUR. Interpolation for lower resolutions seems also fine (which is important when playing some of Matrix' games with fixed resolutions).
A pleasant surprise - instead of the GTX280 I got the GTX285. I won't complain.
The case is pretty, though maybe a bit on the r0xx0r 1337 kiddie side:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.legitreviews.com%2Fimages%2Fnews%2F2008%2Fthermaltake_mx.jpg&hash=e28f1e65d7ef33f76fad87b6febcc03df5db07cc)
It's laid out to give easy access to the 5 1/4 slots and the HD rack right beneath them, so I will move over my old PC's HDs this weekend. I'm still undecided about getting a bluray drive; I will have to check first if there's much bother with copy protections when trying to play them on the PC.
I'm sorry Syt, but that case is atrocious. :bleeding:
At least it has nice innards. :console:
Quote from: Barrister on March 31, 2009, 10:51:08 AM
I'm sorry Syt, but that case is atrocious. :bleeding:
At least it has nice innards. :console:
It has a good price value, though. And I don't see the blue glowing fan side, because it's on the far side from where I sit. :P
Don't listen to the Mac boy, Syt. I like the case.
I still plan to pick up an Antec 900 when ever I stop spending all my money on Paintball gear.
Wish I could get a Cosmos 100 http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=18&product_id=2700 (http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=18&product_id=2700) but it's simply too big for my desk.
Looks slick.
That case ... a bit excessive. :lol:
Quote from: Malthus on March 31, 2009, 12:58:58 PM
That case ... a bit excessive. :lol:
It's my alternative to getting a sports car. Only I can't go cruising for jailbait downtown, wearing a Hawaii shirt and gold chains, with my PC.