Getting new computer, need to know what to get.

[Hephaestus]

DON'T GET THE VISTER

So XP pro then?

Get Vista, it's not as bad as you might think. I'm fairly happy with it.
Besides, XP will be gone soon, and then you'll be mad that you didn't get Vista.

Also @ Reactor: the gtx 280 is out, but i've seen some better cards.
Such as this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161236

It won't be gone, it just won't have any updates. We don't really need any updates anyway.

[Ad Bot]

[Reactor Worker]

#1: Get Vista 64 bit if you want to actually use the machine your buying all these parts for to the fullest.

#2: The GTX 280 performs better than the ATI card you mentioned. Still, if you wanted to save money the ATI card would be a good bet.

[jungemann]

I knew that I would want 64 bit because if I am correct 32 bit can only detect 4 gigabytes of ram right?

[Reactor Worker]

I knew that I would want 64 bit because if I am correct 32 bit can only detect 4 gigabytes of ram right?

Less actually if you include other factors.

[Bisjac]

yah 3.4g or something. and 64 can use 128g

i cant imagine what home user could need 128g ram for. that's some serious multitasking

[jungemann]

Should I get two screens? Or one?

[Bisjac]

people think multi screens are cool, but they suck for gaming.
multi GPUs will split on them.
and for a single card, its power is just split in half, regardless of what the game needs or what the browser and messenger in the second screen needs.


remember i make that pic of my settings that had 6 screens, looked really funny with thew windows all over.
but i would never game without "Quad-SLI" and " single display mode" settings selected
that would be a waste of a rig not to.

[jungemann]

Then my next question is, should I get high def or not?

[Bisjac]

HD? like high def?
computer monitors are of better quality then any tv,
they are beyond "high def" in a televisions sense of resolution and refresh rate,

if you were thinking of buying one of them tvs that claim to also hook up to a computer, i wouldn't.
even plasma tvs make computer games look like stuff.

[jungemann]

Ok, do you have any suggestions on what I should get for a screen then?

[Bisjac]

they all the same i think lol.
go for widescreen, 19inches. best bet.
any bigger and even on great computers high end games cant play on highest settings.
you would need a great comp+1 or something.
i could only name like 6 video cards that exist that i would attempt on resolutions bigger then 1440x900 (for games like crysis, age of conan, oblivion all maxed)

i like samsung, good brand and cheap. but really don't matter

[jungemann]

Ok, thanks for all the help, I have got a decent idea of what I should get. The only thing is that I am not sure what would be the best setup for $2500, so if anyone could gather up everything I should get that would be very convenient and would probably do a better job than what I could do.

EDIT: I was talking with my cousin and he said that a lot of programs don't work with the 64 bit Vista, is this true?

[Bisjac]

no.
because there was a 64 xp also.

[Bisjac]

some apps were made to only run on 32,
but in 64 vista it creates 2 program folders




what you heard is people complaining about outdated software or small 3rd party developers having these issues.
but its been long enough, most companies got their stuff together now.
that (x86) use to say x32, but some other program i recently installed renamed it lol.

i haven't had a problem yet



note: vista x86 is 32bit, and lesser then ultimate

[Reactor Worker]

BTW, I got a 22" monitor and I am having no trouble using it with my 8800GT. Sure, I only play at 1280x768, but it's not just about resolution, having a bigger screen is great for viewing images and forums.

Also, almost all current games (crysis not included) can be played at really high resolution on high settings with today's cards.