Looking for a new Desktop PC

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http://www.sorcerers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=47075 I also bumped the topic.

All processor function whit 32 and 64 bit. Old programs however may be to old for 64 bit. When you buy new, go for the 64 bit, since it best for future upgrade. Microsoft 7 will be the perfect step to go 64 bit.

 

I've been using 64 bit Vista for 2 years now, no major problems. There is one problem though, and only one.

If you want to use unsigned drivers, like 3rd party drivers that MS hasnt certified for whatever reason, you need to basically perform certain hacks to get them working. Now more than likely this wont apply to you, because even old and obscure drivers tend to be certified. Its only drivers made by enthusiasts on the web for a specific purpose that dont have the clout to be certified. For instance, I want to use my XBox360 controller with my PC, to do that I need a 3rd party driver that lets me remap the buttons. That wont work in 64 bit vista by default, unless you use certain hacks (dont worry about what they are unless you want to use 3rd party drivers, they are nothing dangerous really).

Other than that, no problems. No game problems, no stability problems. Older games like Baldurs Gate and Diablo II work fine, as do newer games like Crysis.

 

I don't know about Vista, but in Win7 there are 2 separate "Program Files" folders, one for 32-bit programs, and one for 64-bit ones. As you can see from my posts within the Win7 Beta thread, I have installed several older games (IIRC, StarCraft was 1998) and minus a few issues (possibly caused by beta videocard drivers), everything ran fine.

 

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but it's important enough and relevant to your choice of OS.

As I briefly mentioned in RBP yesterday (well, this morning ) Windows XP crashes if it tries to boot from a PCI-E graphic card. I'm not sure if it happens with all video cards or if there are other factors in play, but I had this problem and a quick Google search turned out a scarily large number of people with exactly the same error. This was fixed in SP2, but the major problem is that it will also happen when you start the installer for XP. There are only 2 ways around it: either install the OS using a regular PCI card (or even AGP if your motherboard has that slot, though that's highly unlikely) and then upgrading to SP2/SP3 before switching back to the PCI-E card, or have an XP CD that already has SP2 or SP3 slipstreamed. Both solutions are for the tech-savvy and not entirely straightforward. I was lucky enough to have all the necessary software and was able to do the latter on my laptop, and once this was done everything worked like a charm. If your copy of XP already has SP2 integrated (newer versions will, unless you're using an old retail copy like I was) then great, otherwise your only option if you don't want to go through switching cards or slipstreaming is to install Vista or Windows 7.

 

64-bit Vista if fine, everyone just loves to whine about it. I have not had any problems with it and I have been using it well over a year now. So do not worry about it.

 

the best machine?

my current system is aging and ill have to upgrade soon.

my current is a Dell 530 MT server with dual 2 gig xeon cpu's, and 2 gigs of sdram

i have 2x scsi 160 gig HD's

at some point the only upgrade i will want to do, is back to 2 dual Xeons and scsi with a raid adapter.

but for playing the bio-ware games and other role playing games it runs just fine.

for me, when i upgrade it has to be evil, wicked, mean, and nasty as a gaming rig.

so anyone got any ideas about the best gaming rig that could be built?

like the best mobo/cpu, drives, sound/video, memory, case and power supply, monitor, and speakers.

just curious.

 

Heh....how much money do you have? You can get a sick machine for around $6000...