[Lord Traith]

This topic is for the discussion of PC hardware... Usually these questions/insights get stuck into some other topic like the OTT, which is really no place to keep track of this stuff...

If you have any questions about hardware, have something new to share, or just want to find out, theoretically, what the most expensive PC you could build would be, then post here!

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To start us off, here are some pictures of nVidia's latest and greatest, of which, currently, next to nothing is known... All we know is that it is a Dual-GPU gaming solution, which means that, basically, if you were to put two of these babies in SLI, you'd have, so they claim, the equivalent of FOUR videocards!

Insane...

[Sargus]

Kinda a general question, but...

My laptop is kinda dying, and the hinges are kinda cracking... A minute ago the screen just kinda flopped to the ground. So I think it may be time to shop for a new one (laptop, that is).

Any suggestions? It's been awhile since I've bought PC hardware or anything.

I have a student discount from Texas Tech at Dell.com (I think it's a pretty good one), so I'm thinking about going that route...

[Lord Traith]

Sargus, on Jan 19 2008, 09:13 PM, said:

Any suggestions? It's been awhile since I've bought PC hardware or anything.

I have a student discount from Texas Tech at Dell.com (I think it's a pretty good one), so I'm thinking about going that route...

I would definitely recommend Dell. I recently did a bit of shopping around with a friend for a laptop, and there is a lot of junk out there.

Regarding Dell, I'd also recommend taking a look at Dell's business line. Depending one what you want to do with your laptop, you may find a better deal/alternative to one of their home models.

Also, the Lenovo is a good laptop. Definitely check those out.

Finally, my biggest piece of advice for people looking to buy a laptop is to NOT SKIMP. You cannot buy a good laptop on a budget. If you want something good, that will last, you'll need to put out the extra dough. If you see a desktop PC for $1000.00, a laptop equivalent will cost several hundred dollars more.

When you narrow it down to a few, post 'em here. I'd love to see them!

[bertuzzifan]

Meh, was playing around at the Dell website, and you can get a pretty hawt Inspiron 1420 (tricked out with a few required upgrades) for a mere $1300. Not too bad, all things considered. We're talking Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250, 3 GB of RAM, 250 GB HD and a 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8400M GS. It's a nice one, that's for sure. Your discount should knock that down to under $1200 at the most, in theory.

Or, as much as it pains me to say it, just spring for a Macbook. They're solid machines with quality hardware.

[Sargus]

bertuzzifan, on Jan 20 2008, 02:36 AM, said:

Meh, was playing around at the Dell website, and you can get a pretty hawt Inspiron 1420 (tricked out with a few required upgrades) for a mere $1300. Not too bad, all things considered. We're talking Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250, 3 GB of RAM, 250 GB HD and a 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8400M GS. It's a nice one, that's for sure. Your discount should knock that down to under $1200 at the most, in theory.

Or, as much as it pains me to say it, just spring for a Macbook. They're solid machines with quality hardware.

I should mention that I only REALLY need the machine to write, both here at school and on the road. Gaming and stuff is secondary, as I'd rather build/upgrade a desktop PC for that stuff. Thus, things like battery life are way more important, though I still love the features like nice DVD playback and stuff.

So that said... Do I still need bells and whistles?

And for that reason, I don't feel the need to spring for a Mac. Besides, I use my roommate's Mac often, and honestly don't like the OS/interface as much as Windows... I'm sure that's just 'cuz it's what I'm used to, but I'd rather not switch when I have no read need. I'm not into heavy film editing or anything. I just need a word processor

[Ecky]

Sargus, on Jan 20 2008, 10:56 AM, said:

And for that reason, I don't feel the need to spring for a Mac. Besides, I use my roommate's Mac often, and honestly don't like the OS/interface as much as Windows... I'm sure that's just 'cuz it's what I'm used to, but I'd rather not switch when I have no read need. I'm not into heavy film editing or anything. I just need a word processor

And there is the fact that you would have to switch every program that you own over to the Mac version. Costing you even more!

[bertuzzifan]

Sargus, on Jan 20 2008, 03:56 AM, said:

I should mention that I only REALLY need the machine to write, both here at school and on the road. Gaming and stuff is secondary, as I'd rather build/upgrade a desktop PC for that stuff. Thus, things like battery life are way more important, though I still love the features like nice DVD playback and stuff.

So that said... Do I still need bells and whistles?

The Inspiron is Dell's "non-gamer with good battery life" machine. The upgrades there are primarily to "future proof" your machine. If you cut some corners with a slightly worse processor, smaller HD (160), 2 GB of RAM you could cut it down to under $1000 before your discount, but you run the risk of less longevity from the machine. I wouldn't consider the graphics card anything negotiable, as it'll -stink- from your system RAM. That rules out the Inspiron 1525 as a viable option.

[Sargus]

bertuzzifan, on Jan 20 2008, 12:33 PM, said:

The Inspiron is Dell's "non-gamer with good battery life" machine. The upgrades there are primarily to "future proof" your machine. If you cut some corners with a slightly worse processor, smaller HD (160), 2 GB of RAM you could cut it down to under $1000 before your discount, but you run the risk of less longevity from the machine. I wouldn't consider the graphics card anything negotiable, as it'll -stink- from your system RAM. That rules out the Inspiron 1525 as a viable option.

Ok, makes sense... Though heck, I'm currently working with a 25 GB HD and 512 megs of RAM, so just about anything would be a good upgrade at this point It's an Inspiron 1150/

Also... I haven't had a chance to check yet, but could I save money if I put XP on the system instead of Vista, or is Vista gonna be the required standard? My school just recently (like... today) started giving students a Vista upgrade on the cheap anyway, if I ended up wanting it.

Anyway, thanks... I've mostly gotta prep my bank account to take a sizable hit before I can bring myself to order the thing.

[bertuzzifan]

Most (if not all) of the major manufacturers are shipping their rigs with Vista now. You could reformat the beast and install XP if you wanted (and have an old copy)... but you're getting Vista on pretty much any new laptop you buy.

[Lord Traith]

For those who are interested in maybe building their own PC, February's PC Gamer magazine features a "How-To" for building a great gaming machine. Everything from the purchasing of the hardware, to installation is covered. And, as a bonus, if you buy the DVD edition of the mag, you also get their "How-to" walkthrough videos that show you step-by-step how to do it, in real-time.

[bertuzzifan]

You should totally pick up one of these, Sargus. Mostly because they're cool and cheap. And they do what you need to do.

[Sargus]

bertuzzifan, on Jan 21 2008, 02:18 AM, said:

You should totally pick up one of these, Sargus. Mostly because they're cool and cheap. And they do what you need to do.

Haha, you know, I may actually have to consider that... Just 'cuz it's crazy enough to own.

[bertuzzifan]

Sargus, on Jan 21 2008, 01:26 AM, said:

Haha, you know, I may actually have to consider that... Just 'cuz it's crazy enough to own.

A co-worker of mine has it... he actually installed XP on the thing, although it comes with its own OS. The thing rocks pretty hard, actually. It jumped from novelty to amazing hybrid tech in my books.

[Colonel Link]

My Toshiba Satellite A135-S4527 was a pretty good deal. Genuine Intel® CPU T2080 @ 1.73GHz (2 CPUs), 1014MB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipset Family, 256mb (not very good for gaming, but I can run HL2: EP2 and Portal on it).
It comes with Vista Home Premium, and it runs pretty well on it. But I went back to XP, and it runs twice as fast. It only cost $650

This post has been edited by Colonel Link: 06 February 2008 - 04:53 PM

[Kite]

Okay this is weird.

This one costs more but seems to have a lower speed than
this one.

Is there something I'am missing here?

This post has been edited by Kite: 11 February 2008 - 10:19 AM

[Lord Traith]

Kite, on Feb 11 2008, 04:18 AM, said:

Okay this is weird.

This one costs more but seems to have a lower speed than
this one.

Is there something I'am missing here?

Sometimes manufacturers just do that... Sometimes they'll find a way to make a better chip for less, and sell it for less.

Take nVidia's 8800GT for example. It's half the price of the 8800Ultra, but the performance difference is minimal...

[bertuzzifan]

Kite, on Feb 11 2008, 03:18 AM, said:

Okay this is weird.

This one costs more but seems to have a lower speed than
this one.

Is there something I'am missing here?

Yeah, I got nothing on this one. Looks just like bad pricing to me.

[Kite]

So would 2x 2 GB sticks of RAM work with my current 2 GB for 6 GB of RAM? I figure there wouldn't be a problem.
Also what's a good motherboard for a socket 775 Intel CPU?

This post has been edited by Kite: 12 February 2008 - 07:01 AM

[Lord Traith]

Kite, on Feb 12 2008, 12:54 AM, said:

So would 2x 2 GB sticks of RAM work with my current 2 GB for 6 GB of RAM? I figure there wouldn't be a problem.
Also what's a good motherboard for a socket 775 Intel CPU?

Nope. The maximum amount of RAM that Windows XP/Vista can handle is 4GB. I can't remember which you're running, but if it's XP, 2GB is more than sufficient at this point... If you're running Vista, however, I'd definitely recommend the 4GB.

As for a socket 775, it really depends on how much money you want to spend. Look for anything made by Gigabyte, Asus, or eVGA. Once you find a brand you like, just look at boards that suit your needs.

For instance, here are some features you may be interested in:

-Dual Gigabit LAN
-Built-In Wireless 108.11 X
-On-board 7.1 Audio
-Heatsinks, rather than fans, on the chipsets
-# and type of SATA ports
-Whether you have nVidia or ATI, a SLI or Crossfire-enabled board

etc etc

It's really hard to recommend a board to someone because there are so many variables, and choosing a Mobo is like choosing a pair of shoes... I can recommend a brand, but you still have to find one that fits...

[DS-181-5]

Lord Traith, on Feb 12 2008, 07:53 AM, said:

Nope. The maximum amount of RAM that Windows XP/Vista can handle is 4GB. I can't remember which you're running, but if it's XP, 2GB is more than sufficient at this point... If you're running Vista, however, I'd definitely recommend the 4GB.

Actually, you can use more than 4GB if you're running a 64-bit operating system.