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Fluffysheap · 10-03-09, 08:24 AM

I'd probably get XP and then upgrade to Windows 7 later. Everybody hates Vista although, in reality, Windows 7 is not going to be that different. Unless you have some DX10 thing you want to use right now though, there's no good reason to get Vista. You can still find XP and OEM versions of XP are pretty cheap.

640GB is a small drive by today's standards, but it depends on what you do. I have 3TB total but then, I also use my PC as a media server. A friend of mine has 500GB and only does games and the web and his drive is still half empty. If you mostly care about games 640GB will be OK.

It's hard to upgrade RAM nowadays... it's not like the old days where you could just stick in more RAM and have it work. Now all the RAM in a system has to "match" so you pretty much have to take the old RAM out when you put in new. I tried to upgrade from 2GB to 4GB and I even made sure to get the same part number of RAM, but it wouldn't work because the manufacturer had changed the voltage rating on the memory without changing the part number!

Whether to get 2GB or 4GB depends on what you are doing. If you just want to run games and you don't plan on doing any funny business, then 2GB is probably enough for now. But if you want to do something like leave your web browser open with a couple dozen tabs while you play, or use non-game apps that are big memory users (photoshop, modeling programs, whatever), you'll be happier with 4GB. Even though any one program in a 32-bit system is limited to 2GB of memory, the extra RAM will allow you to multitask better. Plus, the OS takes up half a gig nowadays. But most importantly, RAM is cheap - to go from 2GB to 4GB will cost you $30 and save you an upgrade a year from now when it starts to matter. The downside is that, without 64-bit OS, you can't use the whole 4GB. (Well 32-bit Linux can, and Server 2003, but you're not going to use either of those for games!)

One last thing, be sure to get a good power supply. This can have a significant impact on your system stability and upgradability. Overall, power supply quality is improving in the sense that a medium-priced PSU can now be as good as a really good one from a couple years ago; but a cheap power supply will suck as much as ever.

Edit: Awesome! I look like Popeye now!

10-03-09, 08:24 AM	#29
Fluffysheap Bosun Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 63 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	I'd probably get XP and then upgrade to Windows 7 later. Everybody hates Vista although, in reality, Windows 7 is not going to be that different. Unless you have some DX10 thing you want to use right now though, there's no good reason to get Vista. You can still find XP and OEM versions of XP are pretty cheap. 640GB is a small drive by today's standards, but it depends on what you do. I have 3TB total but then, I also use my PC as a media server. A friend of mine has 500GB and only does games and the web and his drive is still half empty. If you mostly care about games 640GB will be OK. It's hard to upgrade RAM nowadays... it's not like the old days where you could just stick in more RAM and have it work. Now all the RAM in a system has to "match" so you pretty much have to take the old RAM out when you put in new. I tried to upgrade from 2GB to 4GB and I even made sure to get the same part number of RAM, but it wouldn't work because the manufacturer had changed the voltage rating on the memory without changing the part number! Whether to get 2GB or 4GB depends on what you are doing. If you just want to run games and you don't plan on doing any funny business, then 2GB is probably enough for now. But if you want to do something like leave your web browser open with a couple dozen tabs while you play, or use non-game apps that are big memory users (photoshop, modeling programs, whatever), you'll be happier with 4GB. Even though any one program in a 32-bit system is limited to 2GB of memory, the extra RAM will allow you to multitask better. Plus, the OS takes up half a gig nowadays. But most importantly, RAM is cheap - to go from 2GB to 4GB will cost you $30 and save you an upgrade a year from now when it starts to matter. The downside is that, without 64-bit OS, you can't use the whole 4GB. (Well 32-bit Linux can, and Server 2003, but you're not going to use either of those for games!) One last thing, be sure to get a good power supply. This can have a significant impact on your system stability and upgradability. Overall, power supply quality is improving in the sense that a medium-priced PSU can now be as good as a really good one from a couple years ago; but a cheap power supply will suck as much as ever. Edit: Awesome! I look like Popeye now!