I need PC Buyng advice

_Paul · 03/27/2011, 01:46 PM

As I type (on my netbook) my XP desktop machine is in what are most likely it's death throws. I am hoping it doesn't take all my data down with it.

I need a replacement rig fast, capable of decent gaming for a few years. I'm looking at THIS one with Win7 64bit Home Premium. I'm open to suggestions to upgrade the graphics card from one of the available options (but don't want to push it over about £1200).

Any opinions on this spec, potential problems, suggestions?

Most appreciated.

Arkhan Asylum · 03/27/2011, 01:54 PM

That looks good, but I am an AMD man myself. I have a Phenom X6 1065T black edition, and I overclocked its balls off. It may turn out to be cheaper if you go the AMD route... but that machine is pretty nice. It all depends on if you have preference or not. I go AMD + NVidia. Always.

I have similar RAM. Same brand, but a bit better. The XMS3 stuff is great though. My non-obnoxious gaming PC,and my music making PC use that RAM. Its solid.

The video cards a bit pisspoor. It is not really for gaming. I have a GTX 480. If you want gaming to go nicely, you'd probably want at least a GTX 460.

If you're set on that one, my only suggestion would be a better video card.

_Paul · 03/27/2011, 02:09 PM

I could probably go up to the Radeon 6950 on that one.

_Paul · 03/27/2011, 02:22 PM

I've been given this bit of advice:

Quotehttp://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-176-OE&groupid=43&catid=1444&subcat=

Change the options as follows -

Graphics card - ATI 6950.

SSD drive ocz vertex 60GB

Windows Home 64bit.

Total price - £1089

The i7 950 is old architecture so don't buy it. It will be replaced around xmas time.

The 2500K - is the new sandybridge architecture so go with that - Quad CPU overclocked for you at 4.6ghz. Beats the 950's 4ghz hands down and then some.

Only has 4GB of ram so look to get another 4 or better still give them a ring to say you want 8GB in it should only cost another £40.

Ask them to install your operating system on to the SSD drive.

_Paul · 03/27/2011, 02:56 PM

AH! I think it's my external HD causing my PC to slow to a crawl. This is both good news and bad news as I have a ton of stuff on there I don't want to lose.

It also means no excuse to buy a new PC.

SignOfZeta · 03/27/2011, 04:17 PM

Quote from: guest on 03/27/2011, 02:56 PMAH! I think it's my external HD causing my PC to slow to a crawl. This is both good news and bad news as I have a ton of stuff on there I don't want to lose.

Why do people not back shit up? Its just...baffling to me. They know it can be done, some people even know how to do it, but basically nobody does, ever. Its really strange to me.

Surely Windows must have some clone of Apple's Time Machine built into it by now. Just buy a big external drive, plug it in, set it up to auto back-up, and don't ever touch it or use it for anything else but a mirror for your other drives.

_Paul · 03/27/2011, 04:21 PM

I'm running recovery on it, I just hope I can get back all the PCE Gamer and wibble stuff.
Luckily I keep the website and game graphics that I do on the C drive and back that up to CD regularly...also I still have the old external that much of the stuff is still on, just not the most recent.

Arkhan Asylum · 03/27/2011, 04:24 PM

Windows has had "time machine" stuff since before Apple came up with that overpriced retardation.

_Paul · 03/27/2011, 04:28 PM

Funny thing is I back a lot of stuff up ONTO the external, expecting my C drive to be the one that pops first.

VestCunt · 03/27/2011, 04:48 PM

Quote from: guest on 03/27/2011, 02:56 PMAH! I think it's my external HD causing my PC to slow to a crawl.

Is it a USB 2.0 connection? Are you running programs or system files off of it? A esata, firewire, or USB 3.0 card and a compatible HD or enclosure may be your solution.

Arkhan Asylum · 03/27/2011, 04:52 PM

I don't use external drives. I buy one of those SATA docks and shove internal drives on them.

_Paul · 03/27/2011, 05:30 PM

Quote from: VestCunt on 03/27/2011, 04:48 PM
Quote from: guest on 03/27/2011, 02:56 PMAH! I think it's my external HD causing my PC to slow to a crawl.
Is it a USB 2.0 connection? Are you running programs or system files off of it? A esata, firewire, or USB 3.0 card and a compatible HD or enclosure may be your solution.

I think a new HD will be the solution. When I say a crawl I mean 40 minutes between pressing a button and something happening. If I get a new PC I'll just use an external for backup I think.

Quote from: Psycho Arkhan on 03/27/2011, 04:52 PMI don't use external drives. I buy one of those SATA docks and shove internal drives on them.

That's more technical than I understand

Arkhan Asylum · 03/27/2011, 06:18 PM

They are neat docks that can hold multiple drives. You just shove the drives that would normally go inside your computer onto these things instead.

That way you can put them in a PC too later if you want, or if you need to just recover data off of one.

External hard drives ARE internal drives, they're just stuck in a box with cables coming out. You can pry them open and remove the drives and put them inside computers. The commercial external hard drives are just hard to get open for a reason. They don't want you in there touching stuff!

_Paul · 03/28/2011, 12:27 PM

I have come to the conclusion that the only reason I am using an external is because I'm too lazy to save all the crap on my drives to CD/DVD. I have, however, learned my lesson.

(And thank the maker for data recovery software)

Nazi NecroPhile · 03/28/2011, 12:34 PM

It's true that hard drives will fail eventually, but that's what RAID is for. Hard drives (internal or external) are better for backups, as you can set 'em to backup automatically, meaning you'll never need to worry about forgetting, which is great for morons like me.

_Paul · 03/28/2011, 12:36 PM

Here's a thought...IF I decide to upgrade my PC, do you think there will be any major issues running the 64bit Win7? I'm too scared that a lot of older software & Emulators won't work on it.

Nazi NecroPhile · 03/28/2011, 12:48 PM

Most 32 bit software should run just fine, but you'll need to pray pretty hard to get a bunch of 16 bit software running. Fret not, though; you can run a virtual version of XP within Windows 7 if you step up to the Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate versions.

Opethian · 03/28/2011, 12:52 PM

or you could always fire up the old DOSBOX

_Paul · 03/28/2011, 02:16 PM

Has anyone had problems with any specific emulators on a 64bit system that I should be aware of? I would be far more content knowing that Magic Engine, Mame, Fusion etc all work fine.

Also, anyone successfully running stuff like Adobe CS2, Audacity etc on Win7 64bit?

Arkhan Asylum · 03/30/2011, 10:37 PM

I run 64bit windows exclusively.

Ootake, BlueMSX, Mednafen, Magic Engine, Nesticle, ZSNES, it all works fine.

Most of the emulators have features that disable Aero (to reduce that goony latency that you cant even fuckin notice).

Dont worry. I test PCE homebrew on 64bit Win7. You will be fine.

Diablo 2 works too. So, YEAHHHHHHH!

SignOfZeta · 03/31/2011, 02:20 AM

Quote from: guest on 03/27/2011, 04:24 PMWindows has had "time machine" stuff since before Apple came up with that overpriced retardation.

Time machine is free so...I'm not sure what you are talking about saying its overpriced, and whatever Windows has it doesn't matter because obviously very few people know about it or use it.

The brilliant part about Time Machine is that a) you'll bother to buy an external drive and set it up because its so cool and b) there aren't any options so you can't fuck yourself (like so many people often do) by not backing up often enough or completely enough. Its either on or its off. Your root drive is either totally backed up (in which case you are totally protected) or its not backed up at all (in which case you are totally fucked). There is no fudge factor.

I can literally throw my Macbook in the Detroit river tonight, buy another one tomorrow, and have an exact duplicate of everything on my system in exactly the same place with a couple of clicks, all files, all settings, all drivers. There is nothing revolutionary about it whatsoever technology-wise, but psychologically people actually use the fucking thing, and thats why its unique.

Now we just need a way to get people to stop getting fingerprints all over the fucking screen when they point at shit. Damn that pisses me off.

Nazi NecroPhile · 03/31/2011, 11:30 AM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 03/31/2011, 02:20 AMTime machine is free so...I'm not sure what you are talking about saying its overpriced...

Perhaps Ark was thinking of the overpriced and crappy Time Capsule.

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 03/31/2011, 02:20 AMThe brilliant part about Time Machine is that a) you'll bother to buy an external drive and set it up because its so cool and b) there aren't any options so you can't fuck yourself (like so many people often do) by not backing up often enough or completely enough. Its either on or its off. Your root drive is either totally backed up (in which case you are totally protected) or its not backed up at all (in which case you are totally fucked). There is no fudge factor.

I can literally throw my Macbook in the Detroit river tonight, buy another one tomorrow, and have an exact duplicate of everything on my system in exactly the same place with a couple of clicks, all files, all settings, all drivers. There is nothing revolutionary about it whatsoever technology-wise, but psychologically people actually use the fucking thing, and thats why its unique.

So 'brilliant' equals 'dumbing down existing tools to the point that an idiot can use them'. I guess that sums up the Mac experience, eh?

SignOfZeta · 03/31/2011, 08:00 PM

Quote from: guest on 03/31/2011, 11:30 AM
Quote from: SignOfZeta on 03/31/2011, 02:20 AMTime machine is free so...I'm not sure what you are talking about saying its overpriced...
Perhaps Ark was thinking of the overpriced and crappy Time Capsule.

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 03/31/2011, 02:20 AMThe brilliant part about Time Machine is that a) you'll bother to buy an external drive and set it up because its so cool and b) there aren't any options so you can't fuck yourself (like so many people often do) by not backing up often enough or completely enough. Its either on or its off. Your root drive is either totally backed up (in which case you are totally protected) or its not backed up at all (in which case you are totally fucked). There is no fudge factor.

I can literally throw my Macbook in the Detroit river tonight, buy another one tomorrow, and have an exact duplicate of everything on my system in exactly the same place with a couple of clicks, all files, all settings, all drivers. There is nothing revolutionary about it whatsoever technology-wise, but psychologically people actually use the fucking thing, and thats why its unique.
So 'brilliant' equals 'dumbing down existing tools to the point that an idiot can use them'. I guess that sums up the Mac experience, eh?

Relax. It's a computer, not a dick measuring device.

Anyone can back up their shit on any OS that is remotely modern. It's not something that is for experts. It's just a routine thing like closing a drawer after you open it. It's not a measure of one's L337-ness. The banality of it all is precisely why people don't do it. Apple made a backup system that was fully automated with the only settings being on/off and which drive you are using. Therefore it's vastly more likely to actually get used and to be used effectively. It prohibits you from doing dumb shit like backing up to a partition on the same physical drive, or leaving out files you think you don't care about until you don't have them.

Maybe I'm a dumb-ass, but I'm a dumbass who still has all his files (dating back to way before TM was invented), which is more than I can say for %99 of all computer users.

Nazi NecroPhile · 04/01/2011, 11:35 AM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 03/31/2011, 08:00 PMRelax. It's a computer, not a dick measuring device.

I'm.... uncomfortable.

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 03/31/2011, 08:00 PMAnyone can back up their shit on any OS that is remotely modern. It's not something that is for experts. It's just a routine thing like closing a drawer after you open it. It's not a measure of one's L337-ness. The banality of it all is precisely why people don't do it.

I'm guessing you've never used Window's backup, as it's dead easy; it may not be as elementary as a simple on/off switch, but you hardly need a MCSE sheepskin to set it up.

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 03/31/2011, 08:00 PMApple made a backup system that was fully automated with the only settings being on/off and which drive you are using. Therefore it's vastly more likely to actually get used and to be used effectively. It prohibits you from doing dumb shit like backing up to a partition on the same physical drive, or leaving out files you think you don't care about until you don't have them.

You do know that you can exclude files, folders, and volumes from backups, right? In any case, making backups is easily done on any modern OS; and while it might be slightly easier on a Mac, I'd wager that the vast majority of Mac users still don't bother.

SignOfZeta · 04/01/2011, 01:09 PM

Quote from: guest on 04/01/2011, 11:35 AMI'm guessing you've never used Window's backup, as it's dead easy; it may not be as elementary as a simple on/off switch, but you hardly need a MCSE sheepskin to set it up.

QuoteYou do know that you can exclude files, folders, and volumes from backups, right? In any case, making backups is easily done on any modern OS; and while it might be slightly easier on a Mac, I'd wager that the vast majority of Mac users still don't bother.

Seriously, do you actually read other people's posts or are you just some automatic, IT ideology tirade? Did I not just say those very things? I'm pretty sure I did. I'm looking up there and...yeah, I said those things.

Mac users are not non-Windows users. Its very very hard to not be a Windows user in today's world. I use Windows all day at work, every day.

On the flip side there are plenty of recreationally didactic mofos with an axe to (for some reason) grind when it comes to Macs, many of whom have jack shit for real experience with the current state of OSX and what its like to actually live with one every day.

Its like the guys who would say, "When is Capcom going to learn to count to three!? Hork hork" in reference to Street Fighter, in like...1999, years after Street Fighter III and its two upgrades came out. Macs no longer have proprietary monitors, printers, RAM, serial sockets, etc. They come with multi-button mice, they can runs Windows on a separate partition (for example, Win7 64-bit on this very machine I'm using right now) There is even a shell, so you can be all L337 h@x0r with tons of typing. And they aren't even that overpriced when compared to similarly well made systems from other OEs. (ie: You can get a Dell or HP for 1/3 the price of a Macbook stats-wise, but that's only because Apple doesn't make any machines that shitty and the other OEs pay a large portion of the bills with trial ware. Even the most base of Apple's machines is on par, construction-wise, with the medium to high end models from the other OEs, which aren't much cheaper.)

And really, this wasn't supposed to be Apple flame bait. I was just saying that there has to be some sort of utility for Widows that apes Time Machine. If there is, I suggested using it. I didn't say the guy should go out and buy a Mac, or any new machine. He probably needs at least one hard drive though.

Nazi NecroPhile · 04/01/2011, 01:44 PM

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 04/01/2011, 01:09 PMI was just saying that there has to be some sort of utility for Widows that apes Time Machine. If there is, I suggested using it.

And then went on to say that Window's backup tool was irrelevant and that Time Machine is brilliant and more likely to be used because its simplicity. I disagree, as neither is particularly difficult to use and neither is 100% idiot proof (you can fail to backup needed files in Time Machine).

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 04/01/2011, 01:09 PMI didn't say the guy should go out and buy a Mac

True, you merely preached about how awesome they are. I think they're just computers, but that's probably crazy talk.