[Bubba]

New PC on the way, will probably go for Windows 7 ***

Is 64 bit worth the ballache?

Since there doesn't even seem to be a proper x64 version of Firefox, I suspect not....


*** Yes Slack--Line I know. As a concession to the way of the Penguin I will be turning my oldest over to Linux so I can have a real play with the stuff as a desktop PC.

[Tris]

What hassle? With Win 74 bit I have had no hassles whatsoever. Both x86 and x64 apps installed with no issues!

If you have more than 3gb ram in your machine, then there's no point going with anything else apart from 64 bit...

(Win XP 64 bit was pretty shit in comparison)

EDIT: to say more than 3gb not 3gb or more

[Jaspersharpe]

I put Win7 64 bit on my new machine and it works a treat.

I hadn't got a clue what I was doing, it just worked. 

[Jim]

64 bit bubba. its 2010

[Bubba]

Shows how much I know - I was under the impression that on a 64bit OS you had to have all apps in 64 bit flavours 

My excuse is that I've not had a new machine for 6 years so never had to waver from XP 32 bit before.

I'm getting 4gb RAM so it sounds like a good idea.

[Tris]

If you have 4gb and install a 32 bit desktop OS (Windows), you will only be able to see/use 3gb. If you want to make some use out of that spare 1gb, I'd go with 64 bit (Win 7 not XP) and you can use the full 4. (an extra 1gb really does make a lot of difference)

[Bubba]

Good, that's settled then.

Only downside I can see so far is that my favourite Photoshop plugins won't work in 64bit Photoshop.

[dontfollowme]

Are you self building Bubba or buying off the shelf?

[Bubba]

Cheapo off the shelf job from ebay.

Supplying my own OS.

[Tris]

Good, that's settled then.

Only downside I can see so far is that my favourite Photoshop plugins won't work in 64bit Photoshop.

I have Photoshop installed with ColorEFX/Silver EFX plugins. It actually installs 2 versions of Photoshop (CS4). I have 2 links in my start menu -  a link to 32bit Photoshop (with plugins) and a 64 bit link (without plugins). Easy!

[Paul B]

I'd echo all of the above. The only thing I had issues with were the drivers for my MS keyboard and mouse. They didn't offer 64 bit versions so all the shortcut buttons didn't work, how rubbish is that?
Anyway a month or so ago it updated and lo and behold they all work a treat.

[Bubba]

You read my mind Tris - it's the Nik stuff I was talking about. Seen that fix on their site so all is good.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

[slackline]

*** Yes Slack--Line I know. As a concession to the way of the Penguin I will be turning my oldest over to Linux so I can have a real play with the stuff as a desktop PC.

 

[dave]

What hassle? With Win 74 bit I have had no hassles whatsoever.

74bit?    does jim know about this?

[tomtom]

Really, should it not be 64 bits ?   

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

So spill the spec, I'm in the market for a new PC, looking at cheapo Dell quad cores/4gig on the outlet (£300) or might wait for another Medion deal from Aldi. Hit us with a linky to the one you went for.

[Paul B]

I was going to recommend the Acer M3800 that I bought a month or so ago but I've just checked and the price has shot up. I can't see why as they now don't come with a free win 7 upgrade and nothing else has been changed 

[Jim]

price of ram has gone through the roof recently

[Paul B]

well I guess it explains it although I'm sure its the same stock as they had 300 odd when I bought it and now only 7? Not a great time to buy from ebuyer then!

[Bubba]

So spill the spec, I'm in the market for a new PC, looking at cheapo Dell quad cores/4gig on the outlet (£300) or might wait for another Medion deal from Aldi. Hit us with a linky to the one you went for.

I went for this.

[Tris]

What hassle? With Win 74 bit I have had no hassles whatsoever.

74bit?    does jim know about this?

Oops, freudian slip

Really, should it not be 64 bits ?   

<slack--line mode>No because it is an abbreviation</slack---line mode>

[Jaspersharpe]

So spill the spec, I'm in the market for a new PC, looking at cheapo Dell quad cores/4gig on the outlet (£300) or might wait for another Medion deal from Aldi. Hit us with a linky to the one you went for.

Watch out for Dell's Outlet prices not including VAT or delivery (although it appears they're doing free delivery at the moment). I found ebuyer to be much cheaper for a similar spec PC once the VAT was factored in.

Not needing quadcore, I got this. It's great.

Prices have gone up it seems as the total package I went for (monitor, external HD etc) has gone from £420 to £490. Still a bargain in comaprison to PC World etc but a big hike.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Bubba's link didn't work for me but I think it's this machine...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300349753142

CORONA QUAD Q9400 GAMING PC COMPUTER 500GB 4GB 9500GT

    * Case: Corona Black Midi ATX Case with 450w PSU 2 Bay with Front Audio and USB
    * Dimensions: Length - 410mm, Width - 180mm, Height - 350mm
    * Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 2.66ghz 1333Mhz 6mb Cache SKT775
      Processor Interface : SKT 775
    * CPU Cooler : Intel Retail Boxed
    * Memory: Major Brand 4gb DDR2 800 PC6400 CL6.0 Memory Module
    * Hard Drive: Branded 500gb Sata 7200rpm 16mb Cache HDD
    * Graphics Card: Nvidia 9500GT 1024mb DDR2 Graphics Card VGA DVI HDMI
    * Motherboard: Asrock G31M-GS 1333fsb Intel G31 Chipset S/V/L M-ATX SKT775
    * Max Memory Support: 8gb DDR2 800
    * Motherboard Expansion Slots: 1x PCI-E 16x, 1x PCI-E 1x, 2x 32-bit PCI
    * Network Card: 10/100/1000 Realtek RTL8111DL
    * Audio: 5.1 CH Windows Vista Premium Level HD Audio (Realtek ALC662 Audio Codec)
    * Optical Drive: 20x Lightscribe DVD Writer with Buffer Underrun Protection
    * Power Supply: Branded 450w 24Pin Power Supply Unit
    * Special Features:
          o Case gives good air flow to the components.
          o We use only quality branded products.
          o All systems come with all the driver CD's.
          o Unique Chassis design.

Looks good.

[Bubba]

Not sure what happened to the link but that's the one - I went for Quad Core mainly for running Adobe CS stuff and the mobo/graphics card have pretty good rep.

I looked into building a similar spec from scratch myself, both from a barebones, and from the case upwards and the cost would have significantly higher - when you factor in the time it takes, why bother?

[slackline]

I looked into building a similar spec from scratch myself, both from a barebones, and from the case upwards and the cost would have significantly higher - when you factor in the time it takes, why bother?

Fun.
The challenge.
Satisfaction of having built it yourself (was dead nervous turning mine on the first time, half expected it to go sound like Rice Krispies and go fizz, pop, bang).
Ensuring components are all up to the same spec (e.g. the MTB has a front-side bus of 1333Mhz, but the RAM is only 800Mhz, although obviously this allows scope for upgrades).
Specific components over generic branded items (e.g. I went with a very quiet PSU on mine, plenty of other branded ones to choose from, but I wanted one that was quiet).
And perhaps the most important factor....being a sad geek 

After I had all the bits it only took < 1 hr to fit them all together.

Not knocking buying a pre-built system at all, just some reasons why someone (e.g. geeky me) might bother to build their own.

Good graphics card in that system btw, its what I plumped for myself mainly 'cause it was a bargain with 1Gb RAM and only cost £36!