# Off-Topic Discussion > The Lounge > Tech Talk >  >  Getting a new computer, but I need some advice on what to get....

## Jdeadevil

I'm going to PC World on Sunday but I don't really know what to get. What do you recommend I get?

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## Ynot

it really depends what you want to do with it....

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## Adam

I would shop online...

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## Mes Tarrant

Yah (to Ynot's comment).

Shopping online is great but going to a store has its advantages. You can actually touch the computer.

I have vowed to get a mac first chance I get.

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## Jdeadevil

> it really depends what you want to do with it....



Games....Games....And Games....  ::shock:: 

(And speed)

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## Ynot

then get a multi-core system with heaps of ram and a high-end graphics card

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## ninja9578

Windows XP, games run faster on XP and it is unlikely that there will be any Vista-only games any time soon.

A high end Mac would be a good idea.  At least 2GB of RAM and 2 cores, if you plan to not have to buy another computer in two years, 4GB of RAM and 4 cores.

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## Grod

Get Vista.
Prepares

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## Mes Tarrant

> Get Vista.
> Prepares



 ::chuckle::

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## ninja9578

DirectX comparison:


OpenGL comparison:


Looks to me that for games Vista looses match-ups a lot more than it wins.  You said you will use it for games, get XP.

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## grasshoppa

Macs suck. 

See Source: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse....gi?u=macs_cant

One of his best articles IMO.

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## Jdeadevil

Ahhh! I don't know what people are talking about. What's a core?

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## Ynot

multi-core processors mean you have more than one processor (contained in a single physical chip)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-core_%28computing%29

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## Jdeadevil

Right, I'v got the computer. It's well good, I have to wait untill Christmas day though.  :Sad: 





> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Processor 4000+2.2GHz, 1GHz HT, 1MB CacheGenuine Windows Vista (R) Home Premium1024MB RAM Memory250GB Hard Drive

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## Adam

> Right, I'v got the computer. It's well good



Urm, my 3 year old PC is almost as fast, who said it is _well good_?

Also what's the graphics card in there? Pleaaase don't tell me you got an integrated graphics card, or you will be playing no games on there lolz

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## Jdeadevil

Yes well, captain Adam, I coudn't be bothered going all the way downstairs to get all the specifications. So if you plan on yelling at me......... *Runs downstairs in a panic*

Lol no I got a pretty good graphics card.

Don't be an ass, I'm happy. And you jump on me with all this shit like "Your new computers SHIT"

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## Adam

What graphics card did you get?

If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for it? Did you get it from PC world?

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## Jdeadevil

Sure did. But it was like in a package so I don't really know what it was by itself.

Let me go have a look (expect editing of post)

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## Carôusoul

> Yes well, captain Adam, I coudn't be bothered going all the way downstairs to get all the specifications. So if you plan on yelling at me......... *Runs downstairs in a panic*
> 
> Lol no I got a pretty good graphics card.
> 
> Don't be an ass, I'm happy. And you jump on me with all this shit like "Your new computers SHIT"



you got owned XD

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## Adam

And the other answers? I just found this which would have been AWESOME! In fact I think I might get it now!!!

For £700

Full Specification

    * Intel® Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor(2.4GHz,8MB Cache,1066MHz)
    * Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
    * Digital / Analogue TV Tuner PCI Card
    * New MESH Midi-TowerATX Case + 550W PSU
    * PCI-Express Mainboard - SLI nForce 650i SLI(C55) - Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad-Core - ATX
    * 4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory -( 4x 1GB )
    * 500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive with 16MB Buffer
    * LightScribe Super Format 20x Dual Layer DVD Writer +R/-R/RW/RAM
    * 256MB nVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS - DVI, HDTV, TV-Out
    * 19" Widescreen LCD TFT Display with internal speakers
    * 5.1 High Definition onboard sound card - 6 Channel Cinema sound
    * Logitech S220 - 2.1 Speakers with Subwoofer
    * Logitech Cordless Keyboard & Cordless Optical Mouse
    * Free Microsoft® Works® 8.5 + 60 Days Microsoft Office Trial
    * Free Cyberlink Video Editing Suite - 7 titles (oem)
    * 2x IEEE1394 Firewire (onboard)
    * 1x Gigabit LAN (onboard)
    * Multi-format Memory Card Reader (ATX)
    * Free Upgrade to 1 Year On Site* - UK Mainland Only (Repairline Ltd Warranty)



SHIT THE FUCKING BED!!!!  ::shock::  ::shock::  ::shock::

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## Adam

> Yes well, captain Adam, I coudn't be bothered going all the way downstairs to get all the specifications. So if you plan on yelling at me......... *Runs downstairs in a panic*
> 
> Lol no I got a pretty good graphics card.
> 
> Don't be an ass, I'm happy. And you jump on me with all this shit like "Your new computers SHIT"



I didn't say it was shit, read my post... I asked who said it was well good? I didn't say it was shit. It is a good PC - I have similar.... I wouldn't say mine was shit.... Although I have upgraded mine since I bought it.... Calm down - I am not trying to flame you.

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## Jdeadevil

Oh now come on, I only had about 475 pounds to spend, yes, I have to pound symbol on my keyboard

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## Carôusoul

> I am not trying to flame you.



I am.


You shoulda gona at least quad-core  jd.

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## Jdeadevil

Stop it, I got what I got. Is that atleast fair?

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## Carôusoul

How do you mean "fair"?


You've still misspelt "raise" in your sig.

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## Adam

For the cost you got a good one! Damn you JD!!! I am nto trying to piss you off!!

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## Adam

> I am.
> 
> 
> You shoulda gona at least quad-core  jd.



For £500 I don't think he could have?

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## Ynot

ffs, this is the kid's xmas present
leave it alone

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## Carôusoul

> I am nto trying to piss you off!!



I am.



So what kind of performance are you expecting out of it?

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## Jdeadevil

I'm not talking about it anymore.

Edit - Richie it's a bit ironic of how you say everyone fails.

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## Carôusoul

> ffs, this is the kid's xmas present
> leave it alone



Point taken.

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## Grod

Good, you got Vista.

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## arby

> Good, you got Vista.



It's PC world. Of course they gave him that crud =P

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## Jdeadevil

Great, more insults on the things I like.

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## Adam

Vista is awesome! Well I love it - does everything I need it too, and looks purty  ::D:

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## Jdeadevil

Oh yeah, and the monitor is awesome. The screen itself is made out of glass.  ::D:

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## Carôusoul

> Oh yeah, and the monitor is awesome. The screen itself is made out of glass.



It's not flatscreen?

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## Jdeadevil

It's Wide Screen. And I think it is Flat Screen. Unless both can't be possible.

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## PatienceMarie

It depends on what ya like!!

To be honest, I like just a regular PC with Windows on it so I can update it however I please.

I am not a dell or a Mac fan AT ALL. It seems every Dell laptop I ever got broke down, and I am too dumb to figure out how to work Mac.

Do some research, look at the programs that come with it, and figure out what you want best!!  ::D: 

-patience

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## Jdeadevil

Well keep in mind that Macs are pretty shit, I don't know why they are but when I used them at school I just felt like asking why it's "good". Don't you just hate the one button mouse?

I realize now that the only reason they were classed as good is because they were new.

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## Ynot

> Macs are pretty shit, I don't know why they are but when I used them at school I just felt like asking why it's "good". Don't you just hate the one button mouse?



OS X is a little bit different from an Apple II running Logo & Turtle....

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## Grod

> OS X is a little bit different from an Apple II running Logo & Turtle....



I'm pretty sure the computers at his school aren't Apple II's. 

The two button apple mouse has been an option for years...

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## Grod

> It's PC world. Of course they gave him that crud =P



Did you see this?
*
Ynot*
ffs, this is the kid's xmas present
leave it alone

Wrong anyway.

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## Mes Tarrant

Didn't I read from one of you people that Vista is terrible for games?  ::eh::  You may need to downgrade, JDea. It needs a loooooooooooot of RAM. It works really well for Adam because he has a pile of it.  :smiley:

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## arby

> Didn't I read from one of you people that Vista is terrible for games?  You may need to downgrade, JDea. It needs a loooooooooooot of RAM. It works really well for Adam because he has a pile of it.



Yeah, I'm running on 2GB here and I turned off AERO because it was lagging up pretty much any program with a few embedded windows. I don't even want to imagine what would happen with 1GB

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## ninja9578

Yeah, I showed graphics about Vista and games.  Sounds like your new computer will work just fine.  You may need to upgrade RAM in the future, but don't worry, RAM is fairly cheap.

Umm.. Macs have shipped standard with a two button mighty mouse for several years now.  For non-technical users "better" is just a preference.  The people that told you Macs were better were probably technical people or programmers that consider things like security, integration, developer APIs, and memory handling.  Macs are "better" at all of those.

Those people that say PCs are better make me laugh because they are referring to the combination of Windows and the PC.  Windows Vista runs better on Mac hardware than PC hardware  :tongue2:   (PC World, November)

Arby mentioned Aero, the glasslike window engine.  Mac had the same thing in Panther (i think) and had hacks into it until Tiger and they never lagged at all, even on very little RAM.  My PC, which couldn't run aero runs Compriz on Linux at full speed, which is far more advanced that anything aero does.

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## Jdeadevil

> Yeah, I'm running on 2GB here and I turned off AERO because it was lagging up pretty much any program with a few embedded windows. I don't even want to imagine what would happen with 1GB



Right, how do I get XP? Someone tell me, please.

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## Ynot

most OEM's offer XP instead of Vista
ask PC World

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## Grod

> Right, how do I get XP? Someone tell me, please.



But you want Vista.

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## Ynot

> But you want Vista.



not with a gig of ram and a graphics card that has 256mb of onboard ram, leeching another 256mb of system ram if needed, he doesn't

btw,
I think this is the PC
can you confirm that?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/pro...rmationSection

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## Jdeadevil

Yep

Why doesn't it show what monitor I have on there?

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## Grod

> not with a gig of ram and a graphics card that has 256mb of onboard ram, leeching another 256mb of system ram if needed, he doesn't
> 
> btw,
> I think this is the PC
> can you confirm that?
> http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/pro...rmationSection



Oh, word. I didn't see that it was only a gig. I didn't think they let you go under two.

Definitely get more than a gig of RAM if you get Vista. I'd say get at least 2 more gig sticks. Don't worry though, RAM is very cheap and very easy to install. You should also ask for a couple of RAM sticks off of ebay for Christmas.

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## Ynot

> Yep
> 
> Why doesn't it show what monitor I have on there?



no idea

the guts of the system are fine (rams a bit low, but hey)
the graphics card, however, is not so good

Nvidia Geforce 7500LE
The LE stands for "Light Edition"
and is not a gaming card

Apparently the 7500LE is a re-branded 7300GS with a bit more ram
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce...eForce_7500_LE
That makes the card 18 months - two years old

chances are you will only be able to play games on the lowest quality settings (obviously depends what you're going to be playing)
but, for &#163;100-&#163;150 you can get a better card

and for another &#163;50 or so, you can double the system ram if need be

something to work towards, maybe

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## Grod

He only asked to stop bashing it 3 times.

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## Ynot

> Maybe you should stop. He only said it 3 times.



I'm giving him options
which is more than anyone else is doing in this thread

I've already said the hardware, by and large, is fine
the graphics card, however, has the potential to eat 1/4 of his ram
what he _needs_ is a lightweight OS - otherwise he's going to run out of ram, and be paging in & out the whole time

what he does not need is windows vista

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## Jdeadevil

The rubbish thing is, I have no money left. My family arnt exactly the richest people in the world, me and my dad split the money on 500 quid, I got 250 of saving up my EMA which is a tenner a week. And two bonuses adding to 90 quid.

So I can't really go messing around with buying new hardware.

Plus, my dad doesn't know how to buy things off the internet. And I simply am not old enough.

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## Ynot

see how it goes

the important thing is get XP on there in place of Vista
XP is 6 years old with a mature driver set
your hardware will be more than adequate for this

you will probably be able to run games quite well in XP with the graphics set on low

Then it's really up to you

Keep saving £10 a week, and in 2 months you can invest in a better graphics card
something like this
http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4KPG

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## Grod

Get Vista, but you need more RAM. It's quite cheap.

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## cuddleyperson

hmph i HATE it when computer stores don't tell you the brand or more information on the hardware. Say like what brand that RAM is and what is frequency thingy is ( well when it says like 667 or 800 or 1066). ALSO CAN ANYONE SEE IF THIS THING HAS PCI OR PCI-e slots? It says 2 PCI slots, any mention of PCI-e....nope.

Hey JD just wondering, what kind of games do you want to play?

Also i'm tempted to see how much that computer costs if you buy the pieces seperatly from say aria or overclockersUK, do you want to see?

Lol in the last two weeks i swear I've learnt so much about computer components. I'm buying a new one in the summer so i went on a tech forum to like ask questions. I learnt stuff!! ::D:

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## Jdeadevil

Ahh, thanks for asking. I actuually plan on playing stuff like Command And Conquer 3 and StepMania, I don't really go for stuff like Far Cry. Maybe Unreal tournament because it's cool, but not the really big stuff.

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## Siиdяed

> He only asked to stop bashing it 3 times.



3 times a day!?!?! The guy's an hero...wait, we're talking about _computers_?

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## Ynot

> 3 times a day!?!?! The guy's an hero...wait, we're talking about _computers_?



Bah, I can beat that
you never been unemployed?

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## Jdeadevil

Yes, I am, now.

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## Grod

> 3 times a day!?!?! The guy's an hero...wait, we're talking about _computers_?



Wait, what? ::?: 

I'm confused...

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## Volcon

I dont know...

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## Jeff777

Get a vaio notebook with windows vista

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## cuddleyperson

> Get a vaio notebook with windows vista



oh yeah JD you should( no idea what one even is..), Jeff's dad brought one recently..... he is very happy with it.

AHHH what is the motherboard!?!?! It doesn't tell you, it says it has 2 PCI slots, are they PCI-e or just PCI and and what speed 4x,8x or 16x!?!

Man i wanna know, JD when you are allowed to take it out the box, can you like look inside the case and just tell us what any stickers on the motherboard say, some kind of name of it or something.

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## Jdeadevil

Ahh sorry dude, got to wait untill Christmas Day.  ::lol:: 

And hey, at least it will run subliminal messaging properly. It just flashes on and off, I can't read it but I can see it!

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