pissedoffsol

Well, my laptop is kinda holding me back from some things I want to do... namely, I want to get a 24-30" widescreen display, and my video card in my laptop tops out at 1440x900. I don't want to open it up and replace stuff. I like it just the way it is, and will still use the laptop as is for other things, and toying on my network and such... but i'd like to get a bigger display, namely because i work from home 4 days a week, and i find myself being anti-product when i remote into other machines that are set for larger displays. scrolling to scroll in a remote window sucks.

So, i've been thinking about going back to a tower pc as my main system instead of the notebook... something pretty sick. like, a 512 pci-e car with dual dvi's, 1tb of space, 2gb of ram... dualcore, something along those lines.

But, with vista right around the corner, i'm wondering if i should just wait for it to be released, rather than having to eventually buy it later anyway.

what do you guys think?

build a new machine now, and buy xp and later vista
or hold off for vista's release, and build then.

i'm not looking for free software here folks, or the options that exist. I have to keep my system legit for work.

reikoshea

vista is supposed to be under 250, so just get the system now and upgrade later.

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TurboMirage

yeah just buy it now

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CRX-YEM

fuck vista, I gaurentee it will suck. buy the desktop of your dreams and just run winxp. I'd suggest using linux but I don't think we'll be able to convince you yet, hell it took you years to witch to mozilla/firefox

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lsvtec

Werd to that.

B you really should give it a shot. There shouldn't be anything that you are doing (beyond really new Games and if you are gaming on a laptop, you need to be kicked) that you can't do on Linux. I have been a dual booter for 4-5 years now and I stopped using Windws for anything but games a year ago.

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endlesszeal

I'd say wait. Not for Vista, but for Direct X 10 cards. If you're going to plunk down serious cash for a video card, you don't want it to be outdated within 2 months, actually 1, I think. The new video cards are supposed to be using GDDR4 RAM and be Direct X 10. It wont really matter if you don't game and most games won't take advantage of it until maybe a few more months or so down the road, but again $300+ isnt worth it for card that will be outdated so fast.

Back to Vista, I don't see any real advantage's over XP. I looks prettier? The GUI is a lot better, but performance wise, it hasn't been able to beat XP yet.

pissedoffsol

i'm not a gamer... i play solitare and poker... thats about it.

the only reason i need a good card is to support the hi-res of the display i want. Dx9 vs 10 won't mean shit to me i don't think.

Perhaps i'll throw nix on the laptop after i get a new tower... but for work, I need to be on widows. switching boot ups all day will be a huge pain in the ass. i hate re-booting.

endlesszeal

Yeah I kinda figured you weren't a gamer, but the move to the new RAM will benefit anyone, especially with HD videos (ATi). Another thing, the majority of new waves of cards should come with HDCP, as now, only certain ones do and mostly are OEM cards for system builders. Hopefully, with the new cards, they will come with a die-shrink and more energy efficient, hopefully.

Needless to say, the cores will be a lot better than the current ones. And the cards should come out 2nd week of Nov.

Besides, RAM prices right now are outrageous, but what can you do? If need one, you need one.

brc80

Along the HDCP line, dont forget that your monitor must support it as well.

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jeffie7

I would wait if you're not hurting too bad right now.

Longer you wait the cheaper anything computer wise will be, plus you wont have to buy TWO microsoft products

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ScrapinSi

if you want multi OS, just install unix on a virtual PC... You can even share the NIC with it.

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vmware

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Upgrade now, I highly doubt Vista is going to come out on time. Look how many delays it has gone through already.

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pissedoffsol

so i'm thinking about something like this:

Detailed Specifications for System Sabre G67 Intel Based Gaming Tower Desktop PC 038598 at TigerDirect.com

obviously i won't be buying that, but its a good model of what i think would be a good system for me.

i'll probably go to 2 smaller main drives and a larger storage sata, like 500gb, maybe 1tb if i have extra money for it

i already have a dual layer burner lying around, so i won't need any drives.

thoughts?

endlesszeal

thats a pretty good model to start with... how much is the budget btw? also, just to let you know, some of the companies are letting you buy a rig and get a free coupon to upgrade to vista later when its release so they dont lose the holiday sales because people are waiting to upgrade to vista later in Q1 of 07.

if you're going to heavy multitask, i would look at the intel quad-cores or even the amd 4x4 that are heading this way very soon :-D.

as for the video card, i would only get something that would support whatever screen size you're trying to run, probably in the 300ish range like the 7950GT or the X1950PRO (the ATis are giving better bang for the buck right now) instead of blowing a whole bunch of money and having it obsolete soon... if youre not going to game, i dont even see a need for a 512mb card.

pissedoffsol

i want to run a 30" single monitor, so i need a dual dvi-out card.
probably this:
Samsung SyncMaster 305T 30-inch LCD Monitor Announced

i'm not too concerned with budget just yet... haven't priced anything out yet.

pissedoffsol

since its for my home office, i can write it off, so price isn't a big deal to me

endlesszeal

either of those two cards would do even the cheaper cards can do those resolutions like the 7900gs. and most of all the newer middle range or higher cards come with dual dvi dual links.

if budget isnt really a concern i would do this:

CPU: Intel Quad-core = $999. Could be overkill, but it will handle anything and will be good for cpu intensive tasks like video-editing. The Intel E6600 would be a more reason cpu with 2.4ghz and 4mb of cache at $350.

Motherboard: ASUS P5B Deluxe = $225. ASUS enough said. One of the best boards out there with loads of features. Overclockers dreams = stablility.

RAM: Corsair 2X1 GB XMS DDR2800 = $250. Good memory.

Video Card: 8800GTS = $450. Nvidia's newest next-gen card with DX10 and improved power consumption. Will be leaps and bounds over current gen cards. Its also HDCP compliant. Hi Def porn FTW. The 7590GT is a very good current gen card for $260.

Case: Cooler Master Stacker = $240. Excellent air-flow with plenty of room to go. The Lian-Li cases are also very very good cases and start around $100.

Power Supply: OCZ 700w GameXtreme = $120. Solid PSU with plenty of power for all those power hungry parts.

Hard drive: WD Raptor 74gb x 2 in RAID 0 = $300. Fastest solution besides going to SCSI. 320GB Segate x 2 = $180. Very good cheap storage solution that is SATA and perpendicular recording.

Monitor: Dell 30" LCD = $1300. Many pro reviews say it rivals Macs own Cinema or even better it.

pissedoffsol

yeah, the dell lcd is cheaper, but the sammy comes with a 3-year warranty, unlike dells which you have to add on yourself if you really want it, and thats not small price to pay.

that, and i'm done giving dell my money and I'm a huge samsung fan anyway.

i really don't need a quad core :P i'm not doing anything too intensive.

ideally, i'd like to get a sick graphics card that also has a tv tuner on it so i can watch tv while i work :P

lsvtec

And if you are running Windows don't get the Quad core yet because their (Microsoft's) scheduler sucks. Every hardware review I have seen for the quad core mentions that most CPU intensive tasks are slower on the quad core than the dual core under windows. The Windows scheduler moves threads betweeb cores often enough that cache locality becomes a big problem.

Also, unless you are going to be a major overclocker or you have a spouse or friend that works for intel, the EE isn't worth the money, go with the next step down.

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reikoshea

Good system, and really no speakable markup (meaning i couldnt make that system any cheaper).

i say have at it. As for the 30" LCD, it seems a little excessive, but if you need a single large display, that is a good one.

Ive switched to dual 19" acer flat screens and i love them. plenty of room to work on code and retest. I think i would prefer them to a single large display.

The processor he's getting isnt the EE, but i agree he should probably go the next step down (for money's sake). that 6700 is a $500 chip where the 6600 is a $300 chip.....hmmmm

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pissedoffsol

a 30" display shows 4MP.
dual 19"'s show 2MP.

its twice the area to work with, and twice the resolution. plus, its way easier to wall mount the single 30 in front of my desk

pissedoffsol

i did some reading on the board... and it requires omse weired ram that i can't find in ddr2 800...

i can't find anything in 1.8 volt that is ddr-2 800. its all 1.9 or higher

endlesszeal

I believe those are the timing and voltage required to boot into BIOS. After that, you can run whatever you want. Check the manufacture's site or forum to double check.

You can either:

1) Cross finger and try to get into BIOS to relax timing and adjust voltage
2) Get generic RAM with less speed and voltage to boot and switch with performance RAM.