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As long as the ram is two 1gb sticks from a known manufacturer, I don't see any bigger problems. Of course, there might be some things that'd have better choices still.

And for the mouse, I'd suggest you go try what a Logitech MX510/518 feels like to your hand.

 

Seems like a good system. Don't expect it to be cheap though
You might want to pay some attention to which DVD drive you get. I've noticed a decrease in quality, as more and more people seem to complain about their drives either not reading a perfectly good CD/DVD, or creating errors on a large proportion of CD/DVDs they write. I'm not sure how brands stand at the moment, but I do know there's only a few optical drives you can get now that are guaranteed not to start misbehaving at some point.

 

Thanks again for the advice. That build mentioned above clocked in at just under NZ$2,000 which is less than the best NWN2 compatible build I could find from Dell. NZ$2,000 is about what I have set as a budget, because I don't buy a new PC very often so I do want to future-proof it to a certain extent, as well meet that all important NWN2 capability. Although I will need to get some additional wireless-related stuff as well if I am going to realise the goal of having a wireless networked house.

Next question then is: when will PCs start shipping with Vista, and should this be a consideration to me when deciding WHEN to buy the new PC?

 

If you buy a PC from Dell (or some other seller), it probably makes sense to wait two more months, so it will come with Vista preloaded. If you buy parts, and make it yourself (or have a shop put it together for you) you'll have to pay separately for the operating system anyhow. So, in this case, there is no point in waiting.

I'd be kind of leery about Vista, anyhow. If I understand correctly, it still has problems with drivers, it is possible some older games won't work on it (in particular, I wonder about BG and maybe IWD). IMHO, there is no point in being one of the early adopters, and have to deal with all these problems. Better to wait a year or two till all ( or most of ) the bugs are ironed out.

 

Hmmm...

On a side note, I was just thinking of AMD's answer to Intel's Core 2 Duo.

It's being called the 4x4, and features 2 dual core CPUs on a single mobo, just like a server. But maybe my math skills are just messed up, but shouldn't it be called the 2x2? Or is AMD trying out the, "Let's give our CPUs odd names to confuse people into thinking that they run faster..." thingy again?

What's going on here?

 

Most of the existing games/software do not make use of two processors at this time. So what's the point of having four of them?

 

The more cores you have, the more applications you can have running at the same time. Take my taskbar for example...I rarely have it small enough for only one row. It's usually 2 or 3 rows high, and completely full of open windows. If my laptop had a multi-core CPU, the slow-downs I see on a regular basis, once I have over 6 or so windows/programs open, would be a lot less...if not gone completely.

Also, if the technology exists, then developers will begin to take advantage of it. A multi-threaded game for example would run a *lot* faster on a dual core (or quad core in a year or so).

 

Update:

OK, here is the PC that I have just put a 10% deposit on, so that means this is the one I am going to get:

Intel Core 2 Due E6400
Windows XP Media Edition (with free Vista upgrade coupon)
2 x 512mb DDR2-800
MSI p965 Neo-F Intel 965P ATX motherboard
Seagate Barracuda 160gb 7200.9 SATA HD
Geforce 7900GT 256mb GDDR3 PCI-Express video card
LG GSA-H10A 16X Dual Layer DVD Rewriter
Raidmaz Sagitta Midi Tower Black Gaming Case 520W PSU
1.44mb Floppy Drive (woohoo!)
Logitech Media Keyboard Elite USB
Logitech X230 2.1 speakers
Viewsonic VA1912WB 19" Widescreen LCD

So, that's done. Will take a few days for them to build so I should have it by next weekend.

Thanks for all the advice that you have all provided. I was able to have a much more sensible conversation with the guy at the computer shop than I would have been able to a month ago. Cheers!

Now I have no money left for Christmas presents.....

 

Harbs, that system looks pretty good on the inside...but there's one problem: the *outside*. That case looks like a f***ed up transformer. If it was me, I'd opt for a SilverStone case. But to each his own I guess.

 

The other cases they had looked worse. And the other cases had the USB ports right at the bottom, which is a bit inconvenient. It's only going to sit on the floor under the desk so I don't really care what it looks like. Nobody is ever going to look at it.

 

Nice computer, HB. It should be plenty fast.

 

Holy Silicon Batman! This new computer is amazing. A combination of the modern specs, plus the fact that the new computer is not yet overburdened by spyware and several years of crappy downloads mean that this thing works like lightning.

It only takes a few seconds to start up and applications open instantly. It's heaven to use. Thanks for all the advice!