Folks, I can no longer play my XP games in my old Dell Dimension 8200 (which we ordered brand new from Dell in Nov. 2001) because the video card is failing (the game such as 80 Days crashes now when it never crashed before/onscreen message about possible device failure when PC restarts after game crash), also I've new AG's that I now have plus these upcoming AG's I'd like to get so I'm thinking of getting a new desktop PC (tower only - will use CRT monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard from old Dell Dimension) from EcollegePC. As of now I'm looking at either these (specs below) from the Value Series:

Intel Dual Core E5300 2.6Ghz CPU - will add 2.8 GHz D.C. E6300 CPU;
•ASROCK G31M-S Mainboard
•2GB DDR2 PC6400 Memory
•500GB SATA2 7200RPM HDD
•22X LG SATA DVD+/-RW w/Nero
•384MB Intel® GMA 3100 Video - will add 1GB GeForce 9600 GT PCI
•10/100 Ethernet Adapter - will add wireless B/G PCI adapter
•6-Channel HD Audio
•Black Foxconn Mid Tower
•ISO400 Power Supply - will add 500 watt Antec Earthwatts PSU
•6 USB 2.0 Ports
•1 Year Parts and Labor Warranty
$299; adding the items on the right jumps the price to $503.

Will these specs be adequate for using my 500 GB Iomega Mini external hard drive and Photoshop CS 3 (for windows) on this PC?

ad a discussion going about this new PC for some time now at MysteryManor.net, so I'm asking for opinions (esp. of InlandAZ) here at JA.

On this new PC I planning on playing AG's, I'm trying to future-proof this PC for as far as I can go regarding AG's that may start requiring quad core processors given several yrs from now.

If I get this new PC with Windows 7 (32-bit), will all my Windows XP games (Thief series, MS Flight Simulator X Deluxe, DOSbox 0.73, VPC, VMware Player) run ok in Windows 7?

Now, if I took out the 2.8GHz Core Duo E6300 CPU and added the 2.6 GHz quad core 2 Q8400, the price will be just under $600 (actual $599)

The reason I'm thinking of going with Win 7 is b/c my PC-savvy nephew told me today that even with all its updates, Windows XP is sort of buggy, and since I tend to always have a problem with my PC from time to time, it's best for me to get Win 7 b/c Windows 7 fixes the problems for me.

Also I was forgetting about the Win 95 - Win XP Compatibility modes that Windows 7 has - I hope this works better then it did in XP?

Hey cruise 02!!

Just my 2 pennies.

The setup, as described, not too bad, not "future proof" though. Not really saying anything bad. Just need a bit more muscle is all. I've thrown this together. See what you think.

case: case

cpu: cpu

power supply: power supply

motherboard: motherboard

memory (x2): memory

hard drive: hard drive

video card: video card

dvd drive: dvd burner

operating system: Win 7 Pro


Total cost, after shipping: $902.96



I realize that this is probably more than you may be willing to spend, but I think this will meet your needs, and then some.

The Pro version of Win 7 contains "xp mode", which will allow you to run games & apps in XP.

The video card. There are a ton of debates about nvidia vs ati. It's all personal preference actually. ATI, as of now, are the only manufacturers with a direct x 11 card.That will probably change before too long. Even though the card I listed is direct x 10, you would not have any problems. Direct x 11 exclusive games will probably not happen for quite some time, so you will be ok.

The motherboard. A good motherboard, made by a good company, with a lot of options. There's also a slot for a second video card, should you decide to go down that road later.

There's a thread here on Win 7 & games. You should check it out!

Yes, this is far and above the budget, CHAOS. K, as I told you at MM, either of the two configurations you mention will more than meet your needs for a long time to come. And as you know, we've tried to tell you there is no such thing as "future proofing" a PC. All you can do is get the most you can within your budget and hope to get as many adventure gaming years out of it as possible. As far as your question about Windows 7 and games, once again, no one can answer as to whether all your games will play or not. It will be on a case-by-case basis, just as it was when XP first came out. Several of us have a thread about Windows 7 and gaming here and the list is slowly growing as to our gaming expreiences. I'm keeping the same thread going at MM. In general, our experiences with games have been pretty positive. You still have all the answers you need in the lengthy thread you have going at MM. I'm simply repeating the answers we have given you there many times.

But it's always good to get more opinions from people like Inland and Jenny here at GB.

Not a problem Drac! Just thought I'd pass it along!

More opinions are always better than too few, Chaos!

True!

Thanks, all - now am waiting to see what Jenny100 and (especially) InlandAZ say about these specs I picked in my post above.

About the CPU: Don't want AMD, thanks, though - really want the Intel quad core - will consider customizing this PC and ordering it from Newegg if I can get a better PC for my money than at EcollegePC as I'm beginning to think that Newegg offers more options than EcollegePC when it comes to customizing your new PC.

Good idea - will see if I can get this version of 7.
Am a NVidia fan. Wish to stick with NVidia - by the time AG's start requiring DX 11, I'm sure NVidia will catch up to these games.
Again, good idea - will look into this.

Might AG's start requiring SLi (2 linked Video cards) in the future (say 5 - 7 yrs from now)?

Or perhaps (at a later date 3 - 4 yrs from now) buy an ATI Radeon vid card for these adventure games that don't support NVidia (if this ever happens) and insert this in the second slot of the motherboard?

Cheers!

I'd put more memory in it. 2GB doesn't seem like much for a computer that's going to be used for gaming or Virtual Machines. I'd put 3GB or 4GB in it. The site you want to order from only lists 2GB or 4GB. With 32-bit Windows I think the most you'll be able to use is around 3.5 GB, but it's still better than 2 GB.

I found ***these reviews*** for the Asrock G31M-S motherboard. It seems to be an older board, though overall the reviews look decent. Maybe Chaos or Inland can tell you more about whether that motherboard seems to be a good low cost board. I'd put a pretty high priority on getting a good motherboard because it's one of the hardest things to replace.

Since you're trying to keep costs down and don't want to build your own, the rest of your configuration looks OK to me. But I'm not really an expert.


I doubt it. Highly unlikely.


No, you can't have one of each. The drivers don't get along.


I never had this problem with XP on my older systems. But it may be that the XP drivers for newer hardware don't work well.

Ok, Jenny - will do.



Again, Ok - will do. BTW, I might have what you call an "expanding budget" - my mom might chip in with the cost and I'll reimburse her over the next several months.

Can you be a bit more specific about the "expanding budget" ? Might help a bit in recommending something for you.

Just emailed my PC-savvy nephew together with a link to this post. I want to get the best gaming/graphic design (for Photoshop/Bryce 3D) but mostly gaming PC I can get.

What's wrong with using your great new Mac Book Pro for the Photoshop/Bryce 3D applications? Those are the kinds of things where the Mac really shines. I can see where you need a new adventure gaming PC, but that new MBP would be an awesome choice for the more demanding software. I don't know about Bryce, but I know the nearly $700 Photoshop you're talking about works on a Mac.

What is the maximum you can afford to spend?
$700? $800? $1000?

Are you specifically looking for a computer that's been configured on the ecollegepc.com website? Or do you have someone who could help you put the computer together yourself?

It seems that the people helping you on the Mystery Manor forum came up with the setup you listed (in your first post this thread) in order to keep the price down, but now you've decided you want a little more after all, and can maybe afford a little more. What is it that you need it to do that you don't think it will do?

Here are the requirements for Bryce 6
http://www.daz3d.com/i/software/bryce/requirements?_m=d

The computer in your first post satisfies these requirements and then some hardwarewise, though they don't list Windows 7 on that page.

Maybe instead of paying extra for a computer with higher specs, you'd be better off saving up for a nice big 24" monitor for your artistic endeavors.

Cruise02 also has a brand new Mac Book Pro with all the bells and whistles. Shouldn't that computer be able to run Bryce and Photoshop? That would leave the new PC to be able to run Adventure Games, which was the original intent - which has always been a moving target.

b/c I'm waiting for my mac-savvy nephew (the one in Michigan) to get me a mac version of Photoshop. I've emailed him about why it was taking him so long to get it and he says I need a 64-bit version of mac photoshop and it's a bit of a challenge for him to find it. About the Bryce 3D I have I d/l for free from Daz3D and after I got my mac I went back to Daz3D for a mac version of the free Bryce (Bryce 5.5) but they didn't have one. But if you can find a free mac version of Bryce 3D, I'd welcome your assistance in getting it.

P.S. Being that Bryce 6 is only $100 (don't know if I'll need the bonus pack or if it can help me create really strange looking buildings/cars/household objects or not) but the bonus pk is only about $20 - $25. CTTOI, I might consider saving up my money for Bryce 6 for mac, too!

I did a search on Free Bryce for Mac and got a bunch of hits. I don't know if any of them would work for you though. Since you have that spiffy new Mac, I'd wait for the nephew to come up with the Photoshop and concentrate on getting a great new PC for your adventure gaming.

No, none of these hits helped me at all. Why do they say "Free Bryce 5.5 for mac" in the listing but when you click on it it turns out to be false? This upsets me to no end!

Ahh well...I guess I'll just have to save up my money after getting that new PC...CTTOI, with Bryce 6 being only $100, I can get this in several of months after buying the new PC - put away $50 1 month, $50 the following month, and the third month, Bingo - I can buy Bryce 6 for mac! With the exp I have to gain by using Bryce 5.5 on my new PC, the wait will be worth it.

I absolutely agree. Use that Mac for what it is really good at!

There really nothing wrong with the configuration at all considering the price. It's more than adequate for gaming.

As Jenny stated, additional memory would be something to think about.

As to future proofing there's really no such thing.

Thanks all - now am waiting for my PC-savvy "Pennsylvania" nephew to get back to me regarding the email I sent him, as well as December so I can put another chunk of money away for this PC, and after I discuss it with my nephew then I'll ask Mom about how much I can spend on this new PC.

Did you folks know that I'll have a 500 GB Iomega Mini external hard drive hooked up to this new PC (I think it's formatted NTFS for XP - don't know if it'll work ok in Windows 7) and if the specs mentioned in my first post in this thread plus the 4 GB memory and the motherboard mentioned by Chaos would be adequate for this external hard drive plus all the other things I've mentioned that I'm going to be doing with this PC?

I don't think you need to worry about your external hard drive working. They usually work automatically on everything from a 5 or 6 year old computer to a brand new one, as long as you have XP or later.

I am wondering whether it would be better to have XP than Windows 7 -- *assuming* you want to play your old games on it as well as your new ones. How many of your older games require a 3D video card? Those might not work so well in emulation. The oldest adventure games should work in Virtual PC (or DOSBox) because they don't need a 3D video card -- so with the oldest games it wouldn't matter if you used XP or Windows 7. The later games which require a 3D card might work natively -- or they might not. Windows 7 is still a bit of an unknown regarding the bulk of older games.

Anyway, you might want to check the specs of your older games to see how many require a 3D video card -- and of those that do, check for information on whether they work on Windows 7. Draclvr and others have been testing Windows 7 and reporting results in ***this thread*** but you may have some that aren't listed there. For those you might need to do an Internet search to see what you can find.

Just read through the "Windows 7 and games" thread. It looks like people were having the most problem running older and even some XP games in Windows 7 64-bit, and a lot of other programs won't work in win 7 - so I'm setting my heart on 32-bit Windows XP. But how do I convince my PC-savvy nephew of this when he's the one who's been pushing me to get Windows 7 in this new PC? But then, he doesn't play games on a computer anymore now that he's 22, has a job, girlfriend, involved in Civil Air Patrol stuff (he's a captain).

Does anyone know if you can order a PC (tower only) without the OS from Newegg?

Tell him that your main reason for buying the computer is playing these old games you have -- and that you're concerned about backwards compatibility with Windows 7 because most of your games haven't been tested in Windows 7. Tell him you want to maximize your chances for playing as many of your old games as possible on your new computer.

You can always buy Windows 7 later, maybe a couple of years down the road if you want it. Or set up a dual boot with both Windows 7 and XP. But for now, XP better suits your needs.

Microsoft is providing critical security updates for XP until 2014 --> ***link***

I couldn't agree more, Jenny. Windows 7 will be an option for quite a while. And a dual boot option is always a possibility. For cruise02's specific needs, I'd go with the 32-bit XP and keep Windows 7 as an option for the future. Her nephew is a Mac guy first and not an adventure gamer second. But he did get her into that excellent Mac Book Pro.

I love my dual boot! Well, triple boot for now until my 32-bit Windows 7 RC expires.

Well, if I get this new PC from the EcollegePC site, the only misgivings I have is I won't be able to get that motherboard specified by Chaos, and it I order the PC from NewEgg, will I be able to get the tower only and Windows XP (or without the OS if XP isn't available)?

Does NewEgg put better quality hardware in the new PC's than does EcollegePC - I wonder?