Buying a new PC/MSN help

[Seahawk]

With 12GB you might be able to even get by with disabling the paging file on Windows, you'd seriously have a light speed system then, since the CPU hardly ever goes to the hard drive. Most people try doing it without enough memory.........a ha hah ah ha the stories I've heard =P.

The registry is not the D drive, it is locked up in some deep dark dungeon in the Windows system folder somewhere. It doesn't really take up much space, but crap entries from stuff you've uninstalled will stay behind and when booting up the system will try loading files and applications that don't exist, slowing it down. Depending on the OS the D drive might just be some automatic backup.

And PS1 emulators are simple =P. The old abused Pentium 4 my parents have at 2.2Ghz, 512MB(!) of RAM, 80GB hard drive, and no video card plays 100% just fine XD.

If you have any spare keyboard and mice, you can opt out and not get a keyboard/mouse with the new computer to save a few bucks. Just make sure that old keyboard/mouse plug into USB ports, or your new computer will have PS/2 (not playstation 2) ports (ancient purple and green connector).

Anyways good luck with whatever you decide to do =).

[Tails]

Paging file? What's that? (like high performance?)

I know in the D drive it has registry in like a note pad, I guess that's it?

Well that and this computer is only 100 gigs on the HD. :P See why now?

I got mice, though by the time I get this, the one I got will be broken (bad with mice) but no keyboard. My mice i get now is USB ports since that's all my laptop takes, sadly.

I appreciate it!

[fenrir1887]

I thought I ought to respond. That's all.

[StarfoxFan2009]

Besides, our mother (HackNSlash) got a new computer a couple of days ago. it has a nice touchscreen with Windows 7

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Tails

Paging file? What's that? (like high performance?)

I know in the D drive it has registry in like a note pad, I guess that's it?

Well that and this computer is only 100 gigs on the HD. :P See why now?

I got mice, though by the time I get this, the one I got will be broken (bad with mice) but no keyboard. My mice i get now is USB ports since that's all my laptop takes, sadly.

I appreciate it!

That's ok, PS/2 port is obsolete, just thought I'd mention it in case. When I went home for Christmas I forgot my mouse and keyboard, so I just plugged in the old ones from the Pentium 4. They worked fine. But whatever.

Since Windows loads up way too many applications to fit inside the memory of most systems, a lot of data is sent to the hard disk, which is slow. Windows isn't the best memory manager, so even if you do have enough RAM it might default to the hard drive anyways. Go look it up for more info, this was a crappy explanation =P.

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paging_file]Paging - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

[Tails]

So basically.. It's like stuffing too much into a locker and you have to put some of it in smaller, tighter, and hard to put in spaces, right?

That kinda explains when I first got this I didn't have problems with it shutting off, It started happening like a year after I got it on here Earthbound 0 would shut off.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Tails

So basically.. It's like stuffing too much into a locker and you have to put some of it in smaller, tighter, and hard to put in spaces, right?

That kinda explains when I first got this I didn't have problems with it shutting off, It started happening like a year after I got it on here Earthbound 0 would shut off.

It's more like if you had a bunch of lockers, but you can only use stuff that's in your locker, and you can't change lockers, so you have to ask someone to get something from another locker for you, and give them something from your locker in exchange. Kinda. If that makes sense.

The problem gets worse as you install/uninstall stuff over the years and junk files build up in the OS.

[Tails]

Oh yeah, know what you mean.

[HackNSlash]

There is some advice I can give. When you are online regularly, maintenance is a MUST. Things like disk cleanup, defrag and scan disk should be done WEEKLY, not when you feel like it. Also, besides a good antivirus program, a good antispyare program like Spybot (it's a freebie)is useful, you'd be surprised at how many websites sneak cookies on your computer that tells them where you go and what you do. Webroot Window Washer helps keep system files clean (believe it or not, you do NOT need old log files), Cleanup ( another freebie ) helps get rid of cookies and temp internet files that again, you do NOT need. A good registry cleaner is also a good idea, I recommend Tweak Now, ( a freebie ) or if you want a good one that is pay to use, PC Bug Doctor is an excellent one. By taking care of these things weekly, I manage to get at least 5 good years out of a computer and a lot of times, even more. Only once, since Windows 3.11, ( yes, that's how far back I go on computers) have I had a comp last me less than 5 years and it was a piece of junk Dell. I do a lot of stuff on my comp besides gaming and mine keeps up with me. I play in graphics programs, listen to music, chat and watch and or burn movies, and have no probs as long as I take care of my maintenance. So, when you get your new one, do maintenance weekly. Look at it like housecleaning, it needs to be done.

[Tails]

I try to do cleanup, defrag every two weeks. Since one week I work I am rarely on, and the next week I am on 24/7 just about. If not once a month.

wow 3.11, Windows 95 is as far as my Mom/myself go back to. Glad to hear that my hatred to Dell others feel too.

[fenrir1887]

MY mother is HackNSlash and you should know she's never had a computer that lasted less than 5 years. StarfoxFan 2009, my brother, would agree.

[Tails]

Ok seriously, she just said that and you're repeating? Ugh.

[Kong]

I still think your the computer you are describing is overkill. Like I said before, I am cheap and always try to go with the bare minimum possible. You will like this machine, it just isn't how I personally would spend my money.

quad-core means it is like having 4 processors but actually you only have one. It used to be very easy compare processors. You just looked at the numbers. The numbers are almost meaningless now without looking at a table.

32bit Vista and I think all 32bit OS's can not recognize more than 3.5 GB of ram. Motherboards also have a limit of how much they can recognize. 12GB is ALOT. I do not know the limit of Windows 7 64bit or of your motherboard but before getting 12GB make sure they can support them. Just because HP is willing to sell it to you does not mean it will work.

My laptop has 3GB of RAM and has never given me a problem. I have never used more than 3.5. You can get away with much less.

I would say do not get the extra memory at all but Seahawk is right $160 for 4GB is very cheap. It is possible to buy the extra 4 or 8 later when the prices have gone down even more and add them yourself. They just snap in. Very easy.

Lightscribe means that your DVD burner can print a label on special DVDs. The label is just plain text, no fancy fonts or graphics. The special DVDs are more expensive. Save the money and get a regular DVD burner and a permanent marker. And use a thumb drive instead of a DVD burner when you can.

Get a good anti-virus. I use Antivirus Software, Anti-Spyware and Internet Security | F-Secure It is very good. Better than norton and avg.

I said this before, probably any problem you have on your old computer can be fixed by cleaning the fan and reinstalling Windows.

Windows 7 is better than Vista and XP. Especially on a computer as fast as the one you are considering.

64Bit OS are the future but in the present they can sometimes be hard to use. Not all software is 100% compatible yet.

[Seahawk]

I read Kong's post so I decided to do some more research on your conceptual machine.

I agree with Kong. I still don't think you need 12GB, and memory prices are dropping all of the time. You can get by with 8GB, and probably even less. Although with your specific computer the lower end is 8GB, but see my notes later in the post. The new Windows 7 64-bit machine at my parent's house that I'm posting on right now has only 3GB of RAM and is fine for playing and submitting high scores. It's also does PS1 emulator, and plays Radiant Silvergun (very intense for MAME) on MAME full speed. Even my main computer at that college dorm can do it.
And as Kong said you can buy more RAM at any electronics store.

Ok, so then I went over to the HP site and built your computer again. I'll try to organize all of the info so it causes the least confusion possible.

With exactly your specification, the computer cost $1,479.98.

I then tried tweaking it a little, choosing the HPE-170t series instead of the 180. I hit recommended configuration, not base configuration. With this there is an option for aIntel(R) Core(TM) i7-860 quad-core processor, same cache amount, but clocked at 2.8 Ghz instead. I put the RAM at 8GB. Everything else is the same. The price was $1,379.98.

Then I went again and built a HPE-150t series, recommended configuration. I built it to the exact specs as the above described 170t, price was $1,349.98.
With this same machine, if you drop the CPU to 2.66Ghz and RAM to 6GB, price is $1,169.98.

Of course, dropping more stuff will result in more savings.

And Kong, the lowest CD drive sold on all models has Lightscribe on it, so there is no way to get rid of this. Just letting you know.

Hope this helps more ^^/.

[Tails]

Originally Posted by Kong

I still think your the computer you are describing is overkill. Like I said before, I am cheap and always try to go with the bare minimum possible. You will like this machine, it just isn't how I personally would spend my money.

quad-core means it is like having 4 processors but actually you only have one. It used to be very easy compare processors. You just looked at the numbers. The numbers are almost meaningless now without looking at a table.

32bit Vista and I think all 32bit OS's can not recognize more than 3.5 GB of ram. Motherboards also have a limit of how much they can recognize. 12GB is ALOT. I do not know the limit of Windows 7 64bit or of your motherboard but before getting 12GB make sure they can support them. Just because HP is willing to sell it to you does not mean it will work.

My laptop has 3GB of RAM and has never given me a problem. I have never used more than 3.5. You can get away with much less.

I would say do not get the extra memory at all but Seahawk is right $160 for 4GB is very cheap. It is possible to buy the extra 4 or 8 later when the prices have gone down even more and add them yourself. They just snap in. Very easy.

Lightscribe means that your DVD burner can print a label on special DVDs. The label is just plain text, no fancy fonts or graphics. The special DVDs are more expensive. Save the money and get a regular DVD burner and a permanent marker. And use a thumb drive instead of a DVD burner when you can.

Get a good anti-virus. I use Antivirus Software, Anti-Spyware and Internet Security | F-Secure It is very good. Better than norton and avg.

I said this before, probably any problem you have on your old computer can be fixed by cleaning the fan and reinstalling Windows.

Windows 7 is better than Vista and XP. Especially on a computer as fast as the one you are considering.

64Bit OS are the future but in the present they can sometimes be hard to use. Not all software is 100% compatible yet.

I was gonna come on and post what my Mom said but you guys basically said what she said. xD

She said computers have a 3 year limit before they go past their time, and reccomended me getting a much cheaper one. Sadly I do not like Windows 7 64 bit (I'd prefer 32 bit) so I may see if I can just load vista on it.

I'll use 8GB then since all I want is to have a near unstoppable powerhouse on my hands. Processors is like the intel stuff right? So having 4 times could make Ru run faster than normal? Like 150% instead of 100?

Great advice, I never knew they had a limit. I really don't want 64 bit at all as stated above and by you in other threads.

I never burn DVD's actually, so I got the lowest I could.

Noted about F-secure.

I remember the fan tidbit, but don't remember the reinstalling windows thing. When I DO get a computer (back to the drawing boards btw) I am reformatting this after taking my fave things to the other computer and using it as a dummy laptop.

Originally Posted by Seahawk

I read Kong's post so I decided to do some more research on your conceptual machine.

I agree with Kong. I still don't think you need 12GB, and memory prices are dropping all of the time. You can get by with 8GB, and probably even less. Although with your specific computer the lower end is 8GB, but see my notes later in the post. The new Windows 7 64-bit machine at my parent's house that I'm posting on right now has only 3GB of RAM and is fine for playing and submitting high scores. It's also does PS1 emulator, and plays Radiant Silvergun (very intense for MAME) on MAME full speed. Even my main computer at that college dorm can do it.
And as Kong said you can buy more RAM at any electronics store.

Ok, so then I went over to the HP site and built your computer again. I'll try to organize all of the info so it causes the least confusion possible.

With exactly your specification, the computer cost $1,479.98.

I then tried tweaking it a little, choosing the HPE-170t series instead of the 180. I hit recommended configuration, not base configuration. With this there is an option for aIntel(R) Core(TM) i7-860 quad-core processor, same cache amount, but clocked at 2.8 Ghz instead. I put the RAM at 8GB. Everything else is the same. The price was $1,379.98.

Then I went again and built a HPE-150t series, recommended configuration. I built it to the exact specs as the above described 170t, price was $1,349.98.
With this same machine, if you drop the CPU to 2.66Ghz and RAM to 6GB, price is $1,169.98.

Of course, dropping more stuff will result in more savings.

And Kong, the lowest CD drive sold on all models has Lightscribe on it, so there is no way to get rid of this. Just letting you know.

Hope this helps more ^^/.

You know Seahawk, I'm very glad you're posting more.

How is Windows 7? Any bugs?

So, do youn think I should get the last one you mentioned? If so that should take me 2 months ma to get the cash. I do prefer a 1TB HD. I wanna actually not worry about memory for once.

[Seahawk]

Regarding your hard drive there is no problem. Bigger is better, up to cost limits, which today is for 1TB hard drives. You never know when you'll need the storage space. Although you seem to have a plan worked out, to use it for music and video. This is good, because with one 1TB you could probably store whatever you want with no or minimal compression. I record music from my game systems and holy smokes music sounds amazing when stored as an uncompressed .wav file. It makes mp3s sound like crap. Also over Christmas I got a recorder card for my computer. It records as uncompressed .avi file. I didn't think I would record such big movies but the as soon as I put it in my computer my mom asked me to record and convert all of the old home movies on VHS to digital format. I only got around to recording one of them. It was 1 hour 40 minutes long, which came to a 121GB file ony second hard drive. Along with that I record youtube movies on it. So yes, take all the space you can get =).

(on a side note I have total respect for VHS format now XD)

Another thing, if you want to use more than 4GB of RAM you *have* to get a 64-bit machine and OS.

Windows 7 is not bad. From my unprofessional point of view, it seems pretty much the same as Vista. It boots up really fast, although my parents' machine is only a few months old so maybe that might be a reason. It's also 64-bit, I haven't run into any issues with 64-bit/32-bit compatibility on it. It is hard to compare speed because the CPU on it is a 2.6Ghz AMD dual core whatever, my Vista is a 2.4Ghz Intel Dual core whatever.

As for which computer you choose, you decide that. I don't know exactly your needs =P. Although if you want my opinion, I think the last one will suit your needs just fine for the moment. If it somehow doesn't you can just buy more parts/upgrades for it.

Oh, and I suppose it's about time I started posting, been lurking for 2.5 years without saying anything XP. Feel free to ask more questions.

[Kong]

Windows 7 > than Windows Vista.

32Bit can not recognize more than 3.5GB of RAM. If you want 8 then you have to get 64Bit. If you want 32Bit then you have to get 3.5GB or less.

Processors is like the intel stuff right?

Yes

So having 4 times could make Ru run faster than normal? Like 150% instead of 100?

No. You can't go faster than 100% unless you are holding down the fast forward key in games (end key) in that case yes a better computer will be able to fast forward faster and the computer you are talking about will be able to reach well over 1000% on most games. The Internet will not be faster unless your old computer completely sucked.

About 64Bit. I was not trying to say do not get it, I was saying in this case bigger numbers is not an automatic win. 1. I haven't tried 64bit in about 3 years. 2. When I did I couldn't use most of the software that I need. Example I couldn't use any Adobe product like Photoshop, Fireworks, Flash, Dreamweaver. I am sure that Adobe has caught up with the times in the past 3 years. 3. I need more obscure software than the average person. 4. There is a good chance that you will not have a problem with 64Bit. Before deciding you should check if the manufacture of software you can not live without says it is compatible with 64. 5. I tried Vista 64 and not W7. It is possible that they have better backwards compatibility now.

[Winnebagel]

Originally Posted by Kong

Windows 7 > than Windows Vista.

32Bit can not recognize more than 3.5GB of RAM. If you want 8 then you have to get 64Bit. If you want 32Bit then you have to get 3.5GB or less.

Yes
No. You can't go faster than 100% unless you are holding down the fast forward key in games (end key) in that case yes a better computer will be able to fast forward faster and the computer you are talking about will be able to reach well over 1000% on most games. The Internet will not be faster unless your old computer completely sucked.

About 64Bit. I was not trying to say do not get it, I was saying in this case bigger numbers is not an automatic win. 1. I haven't tried 64bit in about 3 years. 2. When I did I couldn't use most of the software that I need. Example I couldn't use any Adobe product like Photoshop, Fireworks, Flash, Dreamweaver. I am sure that Adobe has caught up with the times in the past 3 years. 3. I need more obscure software than the average person. 4. There is a good chance that you will not have a problem with 64Bit. Before deciding you should check if the manufacture of software you can not live without says it is compatible with 64. 5. I tried Vista 64 and not W7. It is possible that they have better backwards compatibility now.

I use Windows 7, and I like it. It is overall the same interface as Vista, but many bugs have been fixed, and you have new options like pinning/unpinning things from the taskbar.

As far as 64-bit, I haven't found it to be much better than it used to be. There are still a host of programs that have not made the jump to 64-bit. I often find that if I use the 64-bit IE browser, I get dead links on many video formats, and other sites. I end up using 32-bit FireFox for most things since it recognizes pretty much all players and programs.

[fenrir1887]

Sorry, I wasn't in the den when my mother posted, so I didn't see that until I posted. I wasn't trying to repeat. I actually like her new computer, and the one I have is her old one and it's only ever used for the emulators, that being how bad the video card is.

[Tails]

so, when I loaded 4 GB on this computer and it was freezing.. is that why? I loaded too much? If So.. 2 GB memory is going into this comp ASAP. Still want a desktop though.

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Regarding your hard drive there is no problem. Bigger is better, up to cost limits, which today is for 1TB hard drives. You never know when you'll need the storage space. Although you seem to have a plan worked out, to use it for music and video. This is good, because with one 1TB you could probably store whatever you want with no or minimal compression. I record music from my game systems and holy smokes music sounds amazing when stored as an uncompressed .wav file. It makes mp3s sound like crap. Also over Christmas I got a recorder card for my computer. It records as uncompressed .avi file. I didn't think I would record such big movies but the as soon as I put it in my computer my mom asked me to record and convert all of the old home movies on VHS to digital format. I only got around to recording one of them. It was 1 hour 40 minutes long, which came to a 121GB file ony second hard drive. Along with that I record youtube movies on it. So yes, take all the space you can get =).

(on a side note I have total respect for VHS format now XD)

Another thing, if you want to use more than 4GB of RAM you *have* to get a 64-bit machine and OS.

Windows 7 is not bad. From my unprofessional point of view, it seems pretty much the same as Vista. It boots up really fast, although my parents' machine is only a few months old so maybe that might be a reason. It's also 64-bit, I haven't run into any issues with 64-bit/32-bit compatibility on it. It is hard to compare speed because the CPU on it is a 2.6Ghz AMD dual core whatever, my Vista is a 2.4Ghz Intel Dual core whatever.

As for which computer you choose, you decide that. I don't know exactly your needs =P. Although if you want my opinion, I think the last one will suit your needs just fine for the moment. If it somehow doesn't you can just buy more parts/upgrades for it.

Oh, and I suppose it's about time I started posting, been lurking for 2.5 years without saying anything XP. Feel free to ask more questions.

Sweet, Nice about the compressor/VHS thing.

Do you think I should wait then get 64 bit? Or just get it now?

Originally Posted by Kong

Windows 7 > than Windows Vista



32Bit can not recognize more than 3.5GB of RAM. If you want 8 then you have to get 64Bit. If you want 32Bit then you have to get 3.5GB or less.

Yes
No. You can't go faster than 100% unless you are holding down the fast forward key in games (end key) in that case yes a better computer will be able to fast forward faster and the computer you are talking about will be able to reach well over 1000% on most games. The Internet will not be faster unless your old computer completely sucked.

About 64Bit. I was not trying to say do not get it, I was saying in this case bigger numbers is not an automatic win. 1. I haven't tried 64bit in about 3 years. 2. When I did I couldn't use most of the software that I need. Example I couldn't use any Adobe product like Photoshop, Fireworks, Flash, Dreamweaver. I am sure that Adobe has caught up with the times in the past 3 years. 3. I need more obscure software than the average person. 4. There is a good chance that you will not have a problem with 64Bit. Before deciding you should check if the manufacture of software you can not live without says it is compatible with 64. 5. I tried Vista 64 and not W7. It is possible that they have better backwards compatibility now.

Sometimes mine spikes up to 105% on this computer. Then the comp gets very very HOT.

The reason I ask about the net is.. when I am on high performance CollecToons loads faster, then i can get Holy Rare's better, but with a chance of messing up my comp. I'd like to have that speed on my new computer and not worry about shut down.

You remind me I want photoshop CS2 as well.. :P

yeah so stuff like my emulators, RU, CT, some game sites I should check before upgrading.

Gonna go that this weekend and also put up some more of the customizations and see which one is best for me.

[Seahawk]

I think you should just go ahead and get 64-bit now. In my experience it doesn't change anything. I'm pretty sure 64-bit processors can execute most tasks in 32-bit mode as well. They should run just fine. As I said my parents' 64-bit machine runs RU, the ps1 emulator, and MAME just fine. MAME even has a 64-bit version of the program that runs games faster.

As for other emulators....they should run fine. The only exception that might be different is zsnes because that is coded in assembler. But your new computer should be able to run bsnes instead which is more accurate anyways. In fact bsnes should just replace all other SNES emulators you may have.

I'll put up all of my emulators on a flash drive and test them out on the 64-bit computer when I go home this weekend, and give you more reliable results.

[tanc24]

I haven't read much of this thread, so I'm sort of coming into this blind.

I own a 64 bit Vista PC and all emulators run fine. The only problem I have is with my Flash player. The most recent version of Flash isn't compatible with a 64 bit system. At least, to my knowledge it isn't.

I am told that you can eliminate this problem by running Internet Explorer in 32 bit mode, but I've tried and tried and have not had any success. As a result, I can play many Flash games and Flash videos but not all of them, which is a tad frustrating.

[Kong]

Originally Posted by Tails

so, when I loaded 4 GB on this computer and it was freezing.. is that why? I loaded too much?

No, Windows just wont recognize the extra. It does not cause a problem. However your motherboard also has a limit in how much it can recognize per stick and how much total. Going over these limits can cause odd problems.

yeah so stuff like my emulators, RU, CT, some game sites I should check before upgrading.

RU and CT are websites which means you just need a browser. AOX works in 64 bit. Last I heard Flash did not work in IE64 and java was complicated in IE64 but you could just run Firefox 32 inside Windows 64 and they work fine. That could be outdated info though. You will not have a problem with RU or CT either way. Like I said, I haven't tried it in 2 or 3 years and when I did my biggest problem was I couldn't use any Adobe products at all.

[Tails]

I know I was told by the computer store my comp can only hold 3.5 but I can do 4 since 500 of it goes to Vista.

Firefox 32, is that just Firefox 3 or something totally different? On my off week I plan to research more on this and post my findings. Firefox 32 seems right up my alley.

[Kong]

Originally Posted by Tails

I know I was told by the computer store my comp can only hold 3.5 but I can do 4 since 500 of it goes to Vista.

Either you misunderstood or he didn't know what he was talking about. Not true.

Firefox 32, is that just Firefox 3 or something totally different?

IE comes in 32 and 64 bit flavors. FF is only 32. FF will run on Windows 64 and do all of your Internet stuff for sure. IE64 had issues with Flash and Java when I last tried it. They likely have fixed that by now.