New computer ordered

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 7:39 am

So - seeing as my gfx card started going belly up on my "normal" (gaming) computer, I guess it was time to start buying a new one. After all it was about 3 years old and while I could have just replaced the card - I itched for a new computer.

So now- my order is in the mail and if the configuration is accepted, it'll be a shiny new I7 920, 12GB RAM, some GeForce gfx and so on. Going to move my sound card over into the new one, and possible the old hard drive as well.
I also plan on buying a Solid State Disc to put in there, but whether it'll be right away before starting to install everything - well - that's the question. SSDs are a bit expensive still, but dang, they're nice.

Looking forward to it now, and have a brand new retail copy of Windows 7 Home Premium standing on my shelf (bought it cheap via Amazon), but perhaps that'll go to the laptop and I'll buy an ultimate version for the other.

Financial crisis my [insert body part here] - I do mine to keep the economy going :laugh:. In fact my electronic budget have been many times higher this year then usual, with me also buying a (cheap) laptop (via work, saves taxes), a new LED Samung TV (which cost me much more then this new computer) and a Samsung BluRay player.
Somebody got to keep the wheels turning and consumption going

Anyway - no real reason to post this - but just blew out some money on new toys - so felt like posting

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 8:12 am

Just curious, but as I noticed that you are moving to use Win7, do you have any knowledge how older games will run on it? Have been considering changing to Win7 myself when I buy new laptop (probably soon), so just curious.

Oh, and if you don't know, and no-one else here doesn't either, then I guess you will be our test monkey here

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 9:50 am

Not really - but I've been on Vista for the last couple of years, so for me the transitions shouldn't be too large. But I also moved to x64 bit in the same move, so that might have been a factor as well.

And out of the games I've played previously I've tried on Vista x64 it was mostly only KOTOR-2 which I never got to run.
Most older games I play usually run via DOS-Box or runs fine enough.

Most things I hear about Win7 from people at work then they are mostly positive (unless anti-MS anyway), and we're migrating to Win7 at the moment at work as well meaning it looks to be a stable platform. (I've not migrated myself until a big launch is coming up next week)

Nightmare · Post by **Nightmare** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:02 pm

I bought Win7 Pro for really cheap (since my student email is still valid), which is supposed to have XP compatibility mode which I assume works with games. I don't think Home has it, though.

I've yet to install it, but when I do, I'll probably install KotOR 2 since I'm in the middle of a playthrough with the TSLRCM. Since the game didn't work with Vista, I suppose it'll be a nice test to see if it works with 7.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:23 pm

Xandax wrote:Not really - but I've been on Vista for the last couple of years...

In the words of a famous catchphrase from the old British comedy series, The Goon Show, "You silly, twisted boy, you."

Good luck with your new computer.

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 11:35 pm

fable wrote:In the words of a famous catchphrase from the old British comedy series, The Goon Show, "You silly, twisted boy, you."

Good luck with your new computer.

Hey - I've actually not had any problems with Vista. Besides not running KOTOR2 it's been way more stable then WinXP ever was. Just a matter of buying decent hardware

Funny .... I'm actually looking forward to getting the new computer and not just to game, but to get some new toys to play with. It's a good thing to be a nerd

Tricky · Post by **Tricky** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:42 am

Xandax wrote: Funny .... I'm actually looking forward to getting the new computer and not just to game, but to get some new toys to play with. It's a good thing to be a nerd

"Computer says no."

Good look with the new toy Xandax. Few things can make a nerd as happy.

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 1:29 pm

Wheee - just got the new computer. Great service from the place I ordered it. I had messed up my order (typically, wrote the wrong phone number) but after some problems were sorted out - they drove it out to me here at 20:00 and delivered it - that's service.

So - Windows 7 simply flew into the harddrive - easy install, now downloading DA:O again, but EA download is slow so still 40 minutes to go.

Yummy ... 12 GB RAM, but sounds like a jet. Need to look at buying some low noise coolers to replace these out-of-the-box ones. And then come weekend, I'll split it open and install my sound card in it, voiding warrenty and what not

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:03 pm

Care to give us detailed information about your new computer?
Mostly specs...

After you have done that, we can all become green in envy...

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:08 pm

It is black, and makes a lot of noise and .... oh specs, right....

Well - it isn't "high end" enough that is should make people "green with envy" ... I don't game that much so didn't want to go completely overboard. I just wanted a decent gaming machine.

is a Core I7 920, 12 GB RAM, GigaByte UD5 motherboard, GeForce 275 GTX graphcis, 500 GB harddrive (planning on SSD in the new year) and going to move my X-Fi sound card over and some random DVD drive and what not.
It is a decent enough machine, but I could have gone overboard with tripple SLI and all sorts of stuff - but ..... then I'd also would have to pay twice as much

But dang it has been hard to live without it when it was bussy at work. Gaming is how I clear my mind from work, and without that - the last few weeks have been really stressful

Almost any other activity and my mind wanders back to work.

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:20 pm

Strange... My father bought more or less similar computer couple of weeks ago (okay, a bit less RAM and a bit worse graphic card) and I haven't seen any computer as silent as that one.

What kind of coolers it has at the moment?

Loki[D.d.G] · Post by **Loki[D.d.G]** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:45 pm

How much did the entire rig cost you Xan?

By the way speaking of SSDs, do you really think it is worth it? They are still pretty pricey and all you'd get from them is faster access times as well as more reliable performance. The read/write speeds can be matched by a RAID 0 array, no?

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 4:39 pm

Kipi wrote:<snip>
What kind of coolers it has at the moment?

Dunno - I suspect is just no-names. They were included, so they'll do the trick for now.

Loki[D.d.G] wrote:How much did the entire rig cost you Xan?

By the way speaking of SSDs, do you really think it is worth it? They are still pretty pricey and all you'd get from them is faster access times as well as more reliable performance. The read/write speeds can be matched by a RAID 0 array, no?

All in all, the setup cost me about 1200€ (9.000 DKK) ... that's about 163ish ordinary Big Mac menus at McDonalds to illustrate

The people who've tested the SSDs at works are all praise for them. The read/write might be matched by having multiple fast disks in a raid setup, but well - then you need to mess about with raid setup, increase fault tolerance due to multiple disks having to perfom constantly and what not. Windows running on a SSD with data on traditional harddrives is performing quite well for the people at work who's testing them out in our development machines. It's cutting their disk IO time way down compared to the rest of us.
Not to mention the benefits in noise, heat and what not generated.

The SSDs are now down in a price level where I'd personally look much harder at them. A quality SSD from Intel costs about 290-300€.

Of course it is a nice to have and not a need to have, but well - I don't have a car to pimp out

fable · Post by **fable** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 5:55 pm

Xandax wrote:Yummy ... 12 GB RAM, but sounds like a jet. Need to look at buying some low noise coolers to replace these out-of-the-box ones. And then come weekend, I'll split it open and install my sound card in it, voiding warrenty and what not

12 GB RAM?

What application or game needs that much? Well, aside from anything Microsoft issues, I mean. Or do you plan to run three isolated instances of DA:O simultaneously?

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 1:07 am

fable wrote:12 GB RAM? What application or game needs that much? Well, aside from anything Microsoft issues, I mean. Or do you plan to run three isolated instances of DA:O simultaneously?

It only cost me about 120€ to increase from the standard 6 to 12, so it wasn't as much a matter of what I need now, but what might be handy a year down the line and - well - 12 GB must be better then 6

Also - people said the same years ago when I started using 4GB for my home computer, and look where the standard is now

@Loki:
Regarding SSD: AnandTech: The SSD Relapse: Understanding and Choosing the Best SSD
This article is pretty deep.

Loki[D.d.G] · Post by **Loki[D.d.G]** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 12:36 pm

Yeah I read that. As well as his original SSD Anthology. That made me decide not to get an SSD and instead stick with dense platter hard disk drives instead. When they get much more affordable when they are now, I'll definitely be going shopping for one.

Anyway, planning to OC that rig of yours? People can push 4GHz on air cooling alone

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 4:14 am

Loki[D.d.G] wrote:Yeah I read that. As well as his original SSD Anthology. That made me decide not to get an SSD and instead stick with dense platter hard disk drives instead. When they get much more affordable when they are now, I'll definitely be going shopping for one.

Anyway, planning to OC that rig of yours? People can push 4GHz on air cooling alone

Naa- I don't bother with overclocking, then I'll rather just buy the hardware to begin with

Loki[D.d.G] · Post by **Loki[D.d.G]** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 10:08 am

Xandax wrote:Naa- I don't bother with overclocking, then I'll rather just buy the hardware to begin with

I see. Well, I was hoping you could share some valuable tips as I was looking to try my hand at overclocking an AMD processor soon. Wish me the best of luck

Tamerlane · Post by **Tamerlane** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 2:23 am

I have spent the last year seriously considering upgrading my PC but settled for a console instead. This way I can play games whilst the significant other can study to her hearts content... All she needs is a decent net connection and a word processor.

I will miss out on EVE Online and Football Manager though...