Buying a new pc... help requested
mistymage:
I have $600 US to spend. I want a desk top that will play Sims 2 and all its expansions. I'm tired of the graphical glitches such as "I aint got no body, she aint got no head!" and "Look, the bedspread is stretched to the road!" or "As the hourglass spins".
I do have an OS disk but prefer it already installed.
CD/DVD burner a must.
Dual disk drive would be nice.
Prefer tigerdirect but, with glowing recommendations, will consider other sites.
My pc is being given to a son so hardware upgrades to it are not going to happen right now.
Direct links will be greatly appreciated.
J. M. Pescado:
Quote from: mistymage on 2009 January 13, 04:59:44
I do have an OS disk but prefer it already installed.
No, you don't. First, if you buy from a company that installs for you, they will install SPYWARE on it. Second, if you buy from such a place, they will sell you a crappy computer.
Quote from: mistymage on 2009 January 13, 04:59:44
CD/DVD burner a must.
How many old computers do you have? CD/DVD drive technology has not changed in ages, so it is trivial to cannibalize a drive from a dead computer, saving you $20-50.
So, as a rule, expect to drop anything between $150-250 on a CPU/Motherboard combination, maybe $100 for a video card, another $100 or so for RAMs, and maybe $100-150 for drives. This will get you a high-end machine good for 2 years or so. Monitors not included, but there's nothing wrong with the one you have, yes? Monitor technology hasn't changed in years, so monitors don't go obsolete, they just become broken. If yours isn't broken, it's still good. Keyboards, meeces, same story, this hasn't changed in longer than many have been alive. My keyboard is probably older than most people here. So you don't need any of that, anyway.
Therefore, you will need: One motherboard/CPU, I recommend one of the Intel-based CPUs (I have an E8400) as the AMDs lag behind in performance still, 3 GBs of RAMs (more will do you no good because Win32 cannot use it effectively), and I've had satisfactory results with my aging but still current ATI X1950. Be warned that if you are non-technical, trying to install Windoze XP on a SATA drive can be a source of grief. Naturally, under no circumstances should you consider giving money to Microsoft.
mistymage:
Quote from: J. M. Pescado on 2009 January 13, 08:36:27
Quote from: mistymage on 2009 January 13, 04:59:44
I do have an OS disk but prefer it already installed.
No, you don't. First, if you buy from a company that installs for you, they will install SPYWARE on it. Second, if you buy from such a place, they will sell you a crappy computer.
I'd rather spend a small amount of time deleting off the spyware rather than trying to track down drivers for every little thing on my pc. BTDT and it was a pain. I'm not even sure I'm using the right drivers for some things but my computer is working so I guess the ones I used were close enough.
Quote from: J. M. Pescado on 2009 January 13, 08:36:27
Quote from: mistymage on 2009 January 13, 04:59:44
CD/DVD burner a must.
How many old computers do you have? CD/DVD drive technology has not changed in ages, so it is trivial to cannibalize a drive from a dead computer, saving you $20-50.
I only have one dead pc but it will be getting resurrected.. my shuttle will live if my husband ever remembers to take it to the pc guy. A hard drive replacement didn't quite fix it so now it needs someone who knows what they are doing to go through it and get it running again. Meanwhile he (husband) told me to just buy a new pc that will play my game. I mentioned the burner because we do have an older running pc (Windows 2000) that has only a CD drive.. it has a floppy drive too. It works fine for the 76 yo. but is a bit slow.
Quote from: J. M. Pescado on 2009 January 13, 08:36:27
So, as a rule, expect to drop anything between $150-250 on a CPU/Motherboard combination, maybe $100 for a video card, another $100 or so for RAMs, and maybe $100-150 for drives. This will get you a high-end machine good for 2 years or so. Monitors not included, but there's nothing wrong with the one you have, yes? Monitor technology hasn't changed in years, so monitors don't go obsolete, they just become broken. If yours isn't broken, it's still good. Keyboards, meeces, same story, this hasn't changed in longer than many have been alive. My keyboard is probably older than most people here. So you don't need any of that, anyway.
All I need is the tower with the best graphics card for Sims 2, enough memory and storage to not need to add on to it for a few years and, I wish, with XP on it (but I can do a re-install over Vista.. it is just so tedious to gather all the drivers to do so, and doesn't always work). And some speakers but those can be grabbed when we go grocery shopping. My monitor has speakers built-in but I want a little louder sound on occasion.
Quote from: J. M. Pescado on 2009 January 13, 08:36:27
Therefore, you will need: One motherboard/CPU, I recommend one of the Intel-based CPUs (I have an E8400) as the AMDs lag behind in performance still, 3 GBs of RAMs (more will do you no good because Win32 cannot use it effectively), and I've had satisfactory results with my aging but still current ATI X1950. Be warned that if you are non-technical, trying to install Windoze XP on a SATA drive can be a source of grief. Naturally, under no circumstances should you consider giving money to Microsoft.
I was hoping someone could point to a specific desktop that would do what I need.. run the Sims. Or hand hold me and point out each component via URL that is needed (but building a pc from scratch just doesn't sound like my idea of fun).
My husband pointed out that tigerdirect does have barebones Shuttle pcs for sale. I would love to have a second one because they are a great and teensy* way to play my game. But I would need someone, again, to point out what to buy to get it from "It turns on." to "Yay, I can play!". I miss my Shuttle because it has dual graphics cards and room to expand its RAM. Even as old and slow as it was playing Sims 2 and all the eps up to Vacations, it never had glitches.
*Think the size of a bread toaster.
nekonoai:
I cannot stress enough the need for maximum ram. For XP that's about 3 gigs. It completely got rid of all my graphical glitches.
J. M. Pescado:
Quote from: mistymage on 2009 January 13, 12:37:25
I'd rather spend a small amount of time deleting off the spyware rather than trying to track down drivers for every little thing on my pc. BTDT and it was a pain. I'm not even sure I'm using the right drivers for some things but my computer is working so I guess the ones I used were close enough.
Stop installing tons of things into your PC, and this won't happen. There is no other way to purge spyware of this level that is faster than simply reverting to a clean install.
Quote from: mistymage on 2009 January 13, 12:37:25
All I need is the tower with the best graphics card for Sims 2, enough memory and storage to not need to add on to it for a few years and, I wish, with XP on it (but I can do a re-install over Vista.. it is just so tedious to gather all the drivers to do so, and doesn't always work).
You should ALWAYS reinstall, period. No questions. Really, the only drivers you generally need are Network, Video, Sound, and sometimes the chipset.
Quote from: mistymage on 2009 January 13, 12:37:25
I was hoping someone could point to a specific desktop that would do what I need.. run the Sims. Or hand hold me and point out each component via URL that is needed (but building a pc from scratch just doesn't sound like my idea of fun).
This is a no-shilling zone. We will not be tricked into shilling for your site.
Quote from: mistymage on 2009 January 13, 12:37:25
*Think the size of a bread toaster.
Never buy those. Expandability is zero, they are physically unreliable, and they suffer from major heat dissipation and serviceability issues. Most of their parts are proprietary to fit into their unusual form factors, and therefore, harder to find drivers for. Pain in the ass.
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