Getting new computer, suggestions?

[Neomage]

Well, it's official. My computer has crapped out on me. I give this pos 3 more weeks untill it dies completely. About the only things it can run are Firefox and Open Office. Luckily, I have a nice chunk on money saved up(~1k), and I will be getting a new one soon. Now I'm asking what exactly I should get.

Operating System

For OS, I know I will not be getting macintosh. Perhaps it is because I have gone through 5 iPods with terminal hardware problems, mabye it s because I didn't like the interface of the macs I have used, but this one is ruled out.

I belive that leaves Windows and Linux. If I do use Windows, I will definately use XP. In the past, I have used Windows as my favorite OS, but I am thinking I may change to Linux. From what I have been hearing, once you get past the initial interface changes and differences, it runs really smooth. I have some questions about it though:

1) It seems obvious that FFXI will run on it, but what about the vast majority of other games I have? Sim City 4, The Sims 2, The Elder Scrolls series, Age of Empires series, Starcraft, Civilization series, Aces High 2, and basicly other RTS/TBS/Sims.

2) I have heard that I will need to convert alot of my files from Windows friendly to Linux friendly. Mainly, I am conserned about my iTunes songs and savefiles from some of the longer game series(I.E., Elder Scrolls) not working on Linux. I would like to be able to transfer my old characters and games to my new computer so I do not have to start over.

3) Anything else I should be conserned about?

Physical Computer

Alright. In the past, I have used Compaq Presarios mostly, a few Packard Bells here and these, but apparently there are many others out there. Gateway, Dell, and others seems to be rather stable computer companies. Is there one in particular I should chose? Mostly, I just play games, watch movies, and do HW on word docs and stuff.

Graphics. I have a nVidia 6600 now, pretty old I know, but should I stick with this? Is there another type of graphics card I should use? What about sound?

Erm.... yeah. Thats it really.

[Mhurron]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

FFXI won't run under Linux. For just about anygame you're going to be stuck with WINE.

If you're iTunes are DRM'd aac files (bought on the iTunes store) I don't believe you'll get them converted over, if they're just plain mp3's you're fine. Regular files don't need to be touched.

You'll get a better system if you build it yourself.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

Why did you put Macintosh there if you don't want one? >_>?

• Compaq is HP.
• Packard Bell is NEC.
• Gateway is eMachine is (soon to be?) Acer.
• Dell is... Dell...

Get a Fujitsu notebook computer and forget games. =b

[Lucky7]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

I voted for other. You should build a machine on your own instead of buying something off the shelf. Go to newegg or some similar e-store and buy the pieces. Anyone can put a PC together.
Mac is a great machine. OSX (Leopard version coming this fall) is the best OS I've seen (even compared to Ubuntu). It is best for stuff like music, movies, education/school, but awful for gaming. There are very few companies that develop software that runs on Windows/Mac out of the box. Usually you have to wait for them to port the game to OSX and it usually takes months. So if gaming is your thing don't go mac. Some people will point you to Parallels or VMWare, but be careful. Even though these virtual machines alternatives are very powerful they are not able to play many of the games in the market today. At work a friend has a MacPro desktop with dual-quad CPUs (top of the line). We tried to run FFXI Benchmark3 and it failed. We also tried CS:Source and crashed.
If you go Linux I suggest Ubuntu as the distro since is the friendliest out there. I don't like Debian, but thats just me. You will end up using Wine or some other Windows emulation. Likely to face the same challenges of the Mac.
For gaming you need to go Windows. I will definitely suggest XP and not XP-64 (sucks ballz) and definitely not Vista. Go to google and search for "<game name> vista problem" and I'll bet you'll find many issues no matter what game you are thinking off. Try FFXI and you'll see that there are issues known by S E.

Good luck!

[Murphie]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

You really are better off building your own, especially if you're very particular about specs. Which it sounds like you are.

Any music bought from iTunes will have to be copied to disk and recopied to your new PC if you want to keep it. Otherwise, you should be able to switch your music over with no problems. I'm surprised though, to hear you've had so many iPod problems. I've been using mine every day for two years, and it hasn't given me any problems. A friend had a battery failure on his Nano, but Apple replaced it with no questions asked.

[Neomage]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

Alright, thanks guys. I think I have an idea about what to do now.

[Feba]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

Personally, I'd make it myself, although if you're not up for that I'd get a dell.

And I agree with Starving Artist, dual boot is the way to go. Use Windows for gaming, and *nix for everything else. A side note, FFXI doesn't run in WINE now, but it's possible (unlikely, but still possible) that they DX9 upgrade will change that, so it might be worth waiting a few months if you can stand it.

For your other games, look up 'wine hq app db' on google, the appdb has a bunch of games listed, along with how to get them working, how well they work, etc. There are also some games that are available natively, such as id software's games (Quake, Doom, Wolfenstein) and a bunch of free games (look up 'linux gaming', or something like getdeb)

[Neomage]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

Personally, I'd make it myself, although if you're not up for that I'd get a dell.

And I agree with Starving Artist, dual boot is the way to go. Use Windows for gaming, and *nix for everything else. A side note, FFXI doesn't run in WINE now, but it's possible (unlikely, but still possible) that they DX9 upgrade will change that, so it might be worth waiting a few months if you can stand it.

For your other games, look up 'wine hq app db' on google, the appdb has a bunch of games listed, along with how to get them working, how well they work, etc. There are also some games that are available natively, such as id software's games (Quake, Doom, Wolfenstein) and a bunch of free games (look up 'linux gaming', or something like getdeb)

Ok, so I have the computer ready to order, but the thing is by default it comes with Vista. I heard alot of stuff about Vista not working with everything, though I still have the XP recovery CDs from my current one. So, when I get it, should I install XP over Vista, or has Vista been patched enough now so it works?

[Mhurron]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

Recovery CD's probably won't work.

I have no problems with Vista.

[Feba]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

recovery CDs depend on your manufacturer. Some of them just use a parititon on your computer's hard drive to reinstall windows from the info there, some companies just put 'recovery cd' on a windows install disk and call it that, so yeah.

[Caramis]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

instead of just using click and order from dells website there is one thing you need to try... call them... two reasons..

first and more important is a lil unknown fact is sometimes if you get a good sales person dell will cut deals.. you could possibly talk them into better prices or a few free extras..

one of my friends sisters and her husband work in the sales dept for them and they both tell me to call in and order to discuss a lower price.

second while your on the phone ordering you also could possibly talk them into sending the system with xp installed instead.. i believe the other will be more likely but its possible.

I have used dells for years, warranty and service wise ive never had a problem, but, i know people who swear they will never buy another.

one thing i like about dell is thier support. if i have an issue with a part under warranty i can usually send it off and have it fixed and back to me in less than 3 days.. once i had to send off my laptop.. sent it out at 4pm.. and had it back fixed by 11am the next day.

I can state that if from a lil experience. i have used different os disks back and forth between different dells and other manufacturers, sometimes youll never have an issue other times youll have a ton.

a friend of mine that plays this game as well bought a new laptop in jan and it came with vista, (before the vista patches) he couldnt play the game on it.

he had to wipe the hard drive, used one of my xp os disks, installed xp on it, then installed vista for a dual boot system. week later they fixed the vista/ffxi issues. or well most of em anyways.

if you decide to run with xp off one of your other os disks, before you do anything look up the drivers on your system because some drivers either arent the same or not compatable at all with a different os. then if they are all compatable download them and save them to a disk.

it will save you time in the long run.

anyways thats my two cents hope it helps..

also take a look at Acer.. Dell gets some of its equipment from Acer to build its systems.

but like most say, best thing to do honestly is build your own, im sure enough people in this community would be more than happy to give ya tips, advice and help if possible.

[Effedup]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

Build your own system, it's much easier to upgrade a home built system down the road, and you get much more customization options. Dell has decent options when designing a system through them, but it ain't nowhere near what you can do on your own.

Personally, I hate Vista, so I'm biased, but I say go XP. Vista eats resources alive, and while one can argue that Vista actually handles games a little bit better (it's a little bit better at prioritizing process and threads as concerns CPU usage when gaming), to me, the unwieldy nature of Vista is far more detrimental to the total experience than the way XP handles things.

However, if your system is going to be Vista from Dell, then stick with it. Trying to downgrade from Vista to XP is a royal pain in the ass on a non-home built system. For one thing, your recovery discs are not going to work (in most cases, they are directly related to the hardware/software that is in your computer, so if you change something that isn't a really small thing, you'll get more use out of them as drink coasters or frisbees). Secondly, (and even more importantly), some devices have driver's that are either/or...in my tech shop, they took a Toshiba Laptop and tried to downgrade it to XP, and in doing so, lost ALL the drivers for things like touchpad, the function keys, the onboard audio, and a lot of the other motherboard based stuff. Looking for drivers was an excercise in futility, since Toshiba designed the hardware to run on only Vista based laptops, there WERE no XP based drivers available. All in all, the laptop was now useless, so we RMA'd it, but it was good to know for our customer's sakes (and unfortunate, since when the Vista machines launched all of us looked at the specs and drooled over how good XP would run with the hardware).

Like Caramis said, try talking to the Dell peeps and ask them point blank the feasability of using XP in lieu of Vista, but in all honesty they are probably going to tell you no way. Microsoft has contracts with all the major manufacturers, so in a lot of cases they are simply not ALLOWED to continue installing XP on PC's for the consumer market. (It's no coincidence that ALL manufacturer's switched over to Vista on Jan 30th when it was released to the public, they simply had no choice if they were to continue to have a business relationship with Microsoft and get their OEM licenses for pennies on the dollar).

If you aren't comfortable building your own system (which in all honesty, is easier nowadays than it has ever been before, I've been building my own systems since the Pentium 2 days and that truly SUCKED sometimes), then explore some local mom and pop places and have them custom build you a system. You'll probably spend a little more, but you'll get XP, and you also get the luxury of hand picking any component you want. You can buy phone and online Tech Support 3rd party now, so even if the support issue through a mom and pop isn't as comprehensive as it would be through a major manufacturer, you won't be left out to dry.

Just my opinions...good luck to you in whatever you ultimately decide to do ^^

[Lunaryn]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

Good god, why are you even considering Packard Hell in that list? I wouldn't take one of those off your hands if you paid me (okay, not true, but I'd strip it for the most-likely-stable parts and donate the rest to Free Geek and pray that most of it gets recycled instead of reused).

Of those listed, Dell is the most tolerable to my mind, but I do have to second the build-it-yourself approach.

As for OS, there are various reasons to consider avoiding Vista. You'll need Windows in some form to run FFXI. If dual-booting, I recommend installing GNU/Linux or *BSD first, setting up partitions to give ample room to both operating systems. Windows will automatically take the whole drive to itself if it isn't partitioned in advance. Note that if you install the boot loader into the boot sector instead of the MBR (boot sector is recommended if dual-booting), you may not be able to boot said OS until after you install Windows, as HDDs no longer ship with any data in the MBR, and GNU/Linux distros leave it alone when installing to boot sector so as not to interfere with Windows.

(Once Windows is installed, you can use the Disk Management section of the Computer Management tool, mark the GNU/Linux or *BSD partition active, and reboot to get there. Consult said OS' bootloader documentation on how to add the Windows partition to its bootloader. You can make Windows' bootloader do this instead, but it's usually way more complicated...)

[Feba]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

lunaryn: actually from what I've seen, it's better to install windows first, and then have linux repartition the drive.

[Jei]

Re: Getting new computer, suggestions?

What are other things you'll use your computer for?

If you can trouble shoot computer problems by yourself (like how to connect printers....) you shouldn't get the prebuilt brand-names computers. The only good thing about them is the technical support which I've never called even once in my life.

about OS, if you're doing movie editing or 3D stuff, it's worth considering Vista just for the fact that it supports over 4g of ram.