How much to spend on Vista?

[Eric]

I'm considering buying a new PC which I will probably want to get or end up
getting with Vista on it.
My current PC is about 5 years old.
I will probably want to get a 64 bit machine, ie AM2 MB.
I will surely use it to play a variety of games, and possibly movies, and I
want to fit it in a budget. I don't have much money at the moment so the
more I decide to spend the longer I may have to wait.

I need to decide:
Should I try to fit a system under $500? $1000? $1500?
Is it worth it to get Vista Premium, or just stick with Home Basic? Is
Ultimate really worth the money?
Should I get the 64 bit OS, or run the 32 bit OS on 64 bit hardware? Does
the 64 bit OS run 16 bit apps? Does it have issues running 32 bit apps?
Does it rely on a compatibility flag like XP did, which a lot of people
complained didn't work for their apps? Should I just set up a dual boot?
Is it worth it to get a new flat panel monitor, or just use my bulky old
17"?
Should I look into square flat panel monitors, or the widescreen variety?
Should I get the latest video card, the cheapest one with 512+ MB RAM, or
just the cheapest 256+?
Do I stick with IDE HD, or switch to SCSI? SATA? something better?
Do I just get 1 GB RAM, or do I need 2? 4?
How much do I add for MS Office, or should I try out the Open Office app?
What is the minimum power supply I need?
Should I get a DVDRW drive or just use the DVDR and CDRW drives I have?

 

[Frankly, my dear]

I'm considering buying a new PC which I will probably want to get or
end up getting with Vista on it.
My current PC is about 5 years old.
I will probably want to get a 64 bit machine, ie AM2 MB.
I will surely use it to play a variety of games, and possibly movies,
and I want to fit it in a budget. I don't have much money at the
moment so the more I decide to spend the longer I may have to wait.

I need to decide:
Should I try to fit a system under $500? $1000? $1500?
Is it worth it to get Vista Premium, or just stick with Home Basic? Is
Ultimate really worth the money?
Should I get the 64 bit OS, or run the 32 bit OS on 64 bit hardware? Does
the 64 bit OS run 16 bit apps? Does it have issues running 32
bit apps? Does it rely on a compatibility flag like XP did, which a
lot of people complained didn't work for their apps? Should I just
set up a dual boot? Is it worth it to get a new flat panel monitor,
or just use my bulky old 17"?
Should I look into square flat panel monitors, or the widescreen
variety? Should I get the latest video card, the cheapest one with
512+ MB RAM, or just the cheapest 256+?
Do I stick with IDE HD, or switch to SCSI? SATA? something better?
Do I just get 1 GB RAM, or do I need 2? 4?
How much do I add for MS Office, or should I try out the Open Office
app? What is the minimum power supply I need?
Should I get a DVDRW drive or just use the DVDR and CDRW drives I
have?

Prabably.

 

[ray]

I'm considering buying a new PC which I will probably want to get or end up
getting with Vista on it.

It's difficult to find one withou.

My current PC is about 5 years old.
I will probably want to get a 64 bit machine, ie AM2 MB.
I will surely use it to play a variety of games, and possibly movies, and I
want to fit it in a budget. I don't have much money at the moment so the
more I decide to spend the longer I may have to wait.

I need to decide:
Should I try to fit a system under $500? $1000? $1500?
Is it worth it to get Vista Premium, or just stick with Home Basic? Is
Ultimate really worth the money?
Should I get the 64 bit OS, or run the 32 bit OS on 64 bit hardware? Does
the 64 bit OS run 16 bit apps? Does it have issues running 32 bit apps?
Does it rely on a compatibility flag like XP did, which a lot of people
complained didn't work for their apps? Should I just set up a dual boot?
Is it worth it to get a new flat panel monitor, or just use my bulky old
17"?
Should I look into square flat panel monitors, or the widescreen variety?
Should I get the latest video card, the cheapest one with 512+ MB RAM, or
just the cheapest 256+?
Do I stick with IDE HD, or switch to SCSI? SATA? something better?
Do I just get 1 GB RAM, or do I need 2? 4?
How much do I add for MS Office, or should I try out the Open Office app?
What is the minimum power supply I need?
Should I get a DVDRW drive or just use the DVDR and CDRW drives I have?

These are mostly questions that only you can answer. For anyone else to
give advise, we'd need to know, at a minimum, what you want to do with it.
A summary of your financial situation would help as well. For example - it
would be pretty stupid to go into debt for something like this if all you
do is surf the net and play games.

 

[Beck]

I need to decide:
Should I try to fit a system under $500? $1000? $1500?
Is it worth it to get Vista Premium, or just stick with Home Basic? Is
Ultimate really worth the money?
Should I get the 64 bit OS, or run the 32 bit OS on 64 bit hardware? Does
the 64 bit OS run 16 bit apps? Does it have issues running 32 bit apps?
Does it rely on a compatibility flag like XP did, which a lot of people
complained didn't work for their apps? Should I just set up a dual boot?
Is it worth it to get a new flat panel monitor, or just use my bulky old
17"?
Should I look into square flat panel monitors, or the widescreen variety?
Should I get the latest video card, the cheapest one with 512+ MB RAM, or
just the cheapest 256+?
Do I stick with IDE HD, or switch to SCSI? SATA? something better?
Do I just get 1 GB RAM, or do I need 2? 4?
How much do I add for MS Office, or should I try out the Open Office app?
What is the minimum power supply I need?
Should I get a DVDRW drive or just use the DVDR and CDRW drives I have?

Choose Home Premium over Basic. Basic is very basic.
Get 64bit, it will give you an amount of future proofing
If you want to play games and movies get the best graphics card you can
Go for widescreen monitor unless you are happy with your monitor at the
moment.
Get as much memory as you can for your money.
Try out Open Office, its free so you have nothing to lose
The power supply depends on the motherboard used.

Obviously the more you spend, the better specced machine you are going to
get. You need to look at what your needs are and work from there. If its
just for internet and email then go for a low end machine. For gaming or
business apps, then go for mid range or higher.

Get some advice on which companies in your country are the best with good
after sales service and reputation and see what they have on offer. Don't
go for the first one you like but shop around. If you see two similar
specced machines you like, try a bit of pricematching on the companies and
see if you can squeeze a better deal out of them.

On the other hand if you really want to personalise your machine you could
try a company who build to order then you can specify for yourself what your
machine will be like. Don't be afraid to get quotes and don't be afraid to
ask them for recommendations. Not all companies will try and sell you the
most expensive machine.

Finally, once you have decided on a budget, stick to it and don;t let anyone
to convince you to spend more than you need to. If you have a tech savvy
friend, take them shopping with you to check out what is on offer and take
their advice.

 

[Joey DoWop Dee]

It's difficult to find one withou.

Right now Dell offers, in the Small Business Dept., Optiplex desktops with an
option for XP or Vista. I don't know if the option exists elsewhere; I don't
see it on any of their home/home business machines.

I just grabbed a new Optiplex with XP before they disappear entirely.

 

[Adam Albright]

I'm considering buying a new PC which I will probably want to get or end up
getting with Vista on it.
My current PC is about 5 years old.
I will probably want to get a 64 bit machine, ie AM2 MB.
I will surely use it to play a variety of games, and possibly movies, and I
want to fit it in a budget. I don't have much money at the moment so the
more I decide to spend the longer I may have to wait.

I need to decide:
Should I try to fit a system under $500? $1000? $1500?
Is it worth it to get Vista Premium, or just stick with Home Basic? Is
Ultimate really worth the money?
Should I get the 64 bit OS, or run the 32 bit OS on 64 bit hardware? Does
the 64 bit OS run 16 bit apps? Does it have issues running 32 bit apps?
Does it rely on a compatibility flag like XP did, which a lot of people
complained didn't work for their apps? Should I just set up a dual boot?
Is it worth it to get a new flat panel monitor, or just use my bulky old
17"?
Should I look into square flat panel monitors, or the widescreen variety?
Should I get the latest video card, the cheapest one with 512+ MB RAM, or
just the cheapest 256+?
Do I stick with IDE HD, or switch to SCSI? SATA? something better?
Do I just get 1 GB RAM, or do I need 2? 4?
How much do I add for MS Office, or should I try out the Open Office app?
What is the minimum power supply I need?
Should I get a DVDRW drive or just use the DVDR and CDRW drives I have?

You'll get far more responses if you limit each post to one or two
questions. Asking twenty questions in one post often means you'll get
ignored. There is no "best" configuration for everybody. You seem to
want all the top flight features, yet not be willing to budget for all
the goodies you'd like to have.

For most people a 64bit system is a mistake right now, especially if
you're going to install Vista. The main reason is a lot of hardware
vendors haven't released drivers yet and I'd wager 64 bit versions for
Vists will follow 32 bit versions.

 

[Unicorn]

It's difficult to find one withou.

Dell sells them..... Gaming machines with XP cause they have no Vista
drivers for them.

Matt

 

[David B.]

$500 is not going to get a good (or even decent) gaming machine, look at
close to $1000

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[Eric]

You'll get far more responses if you limit each post to one or two
questions. Asking twenty questions in one post often means you'll get
ignored. There is no "best" configuration for everybody. You seem to
want all the top flight features, yet not be willing to budget for all
the goodies you'd like to have.

For most people a 64bit system is a mistake right now, especially if
you're going to install Vista. The main reason is a lot of hardware
vendors haven't released drivers yet and I'd wager 64 bit versions for
Vists will follow 32 bit versions.

I did get a good response or two. I am looking to build a gaming machine
and I can wait for the drivers. I just don't want to get a 32 bit CPU and
have to replace it in a year or two with a 64 bit one, or get a 64 bit OS
that will have too many issues running my 32 bit apps if there's nothing
great that requires 64 bit anytime soon. I already have one machine I can
run at the same time if I have to wait a bit for everything to run perfect
on the new machine. I want another machine that is going to be solid for at
least another 5 years, and I would hope a lot of new apps are going to be
heading to 64 bit. If some new great games are coming for 64 bit I'd like
to be ready to run them.

I spent about $1000 each on my last 2 PCs about 5 years ago. One of them
died. I think the CPU fan failed and killed the CPU. I tried swapping
every part but the CPU with the good machine and couldn't get it to work.
So now I want a new gaming machine at the best price I can find, but with
enough hardware that I shouldn't have to upgrade it for another 5 years or
so. I think it will be closer to $1500 if I get everything I want in it. I
can't decide if it's better to find $1500 in the budget for a PC that will
be good for 5 years, or spend $500 now and have to spend another couple
hundred each year upgrading it. If the cheapest thing I can find is good
enough for now, and I can swap out the same parts or better for the same
price or better over those next few years I may just go that route. The
cheapest thing on the market right now should be better than my 1 GHz
machine with 512 MB RAM and a 64 MB GeForce2...

 

[ray]

Right now Dell offers, in the Small Business Dept., Optiplex desktops with an
option for XP or Vista. I don't know if the option exists elsewhere; I don't
see it on any of their home/home business machines.

I just grabbed a new Optiplex with XP before they disappear entirely.

I didn't say it was impossible - merely difficult. IMHO it would be a good
option for sellers to offer without vista until sp1 at least.

 

[Eric]

Choose Home Premium over Basic. Basic is very basic.
Get 64bit, it will give you an amount of future proofing
If you want to play games and movies get the best graphics card you can
Go for widescreen monitor unless you are happy with your monitor at the
moment.
Get as much memory as you can for your money.
Try out Open Office, its free so you have nothing to lose
The power supply depends on the motherboard used.

On versions, is it better to get the highest I could possibly need? If I
got Basic/Premium, does it cost a lot to later try and switch to
Premium/Ultimate?

If the best graphics card is a big price jump, I might be better off getting
a cheap graphics card and upgrading it later...

Do games and applications make much use of the widescreen flat panel
monitors, or are they basically just something you'd want if you watch
widescreen DVD movies on it?

For memory I think I'd try to get as much as I can afford on one stick if I
build my own to leave more room to upgrade. If I look at a system like from
Dell, they'd probably sell 1 GB as 2 sticks so you'd end up replacing both
to upgrade.

I guess I'll have to do a lot of research on power supplies if I build my
own system. I've tried sites that let you select your own MB/CPU and other
pieces individually and it appears they'll let you select any PS with it
that might not have sufficient power.

Obviously the more you spend, the better specced machine you are going to
get. You need to look at what your needs are and work from there. If its
just for internet and email then go for a low end machine. For gaming or
business apps, then go for mid range or higher.

Get some advice on which companies in your country are the best with good
after sales service and reputation and see what they have on offer. Don't
go for the first one you like but shop around. If you see two similar
specced machines you like, try a bit of pricematching on the companies and
see if you can squeeze a better deal out of them.

I plan to get a price quote from one or more internet sites (Dell? Newegg?)
and take it to the local store to compare. Last I checked, Dell didn't have
any systems on AM2 MBs. I'd like to find a site that will let you select
your own parts, which will verify that those parts will work together (ie
sufficient enough power supply). It might be nice if they put it together,
but I am capable of assembling and installing everything.

On the other hand if you really want to personalise your machine you could
try a company who build to order then you can specify for yourself what
your machine will be like. Don't be afraid to get quotes and don't be
afraid to ask them for recommendations. Not all companies will try and
sell you the most expensive machine.

Last time I just read articles on MBs and selected one particular model,
then went to the local computer show and bought from the first vendor that
had it. I try to pick out the good stuff even if it costs a bit more,
rather than buying the cheapest system with an Intel Celeron or some crap.

Finally, once you have decided on a budget, stick to it and don;t let
anyone to convince you to spend more than you need to. If you have a tech
savvy friend, take them shopping with you to check out what is on offer
and take their advice.

I am tech savvy, but it's hard to decide which pieces to sacrifice to fit
under a budget that I might be better off upgrading later.

 

[Beck]

On versions, is it better to get the highest I could possibly need? If I
got Basic/Premium, does it cost a lot to later try and switch to
Premium/Ultimate?

Get the version which best suits your needs from the beginning. Its cheaper
to get the correct version initially rather than buying a cheaper version
and upgrading.

If the best graphics card is a big price jump, I might be better off
getting a cheap graphics card and upgrading it later...

Yeah you can get a cheaper one and see how it performs, you can upgrade at a
later time.

Do games and applications make much use of the widescreen flat panel
monitors, or are they basically just something you'd want if you watch
widescreen DVD movies on it?

I am not a PC gamer but I do think that PC games make use of widescreen.

For memory I think I'd try to get as much as I can afford on one stick if
I build my own to leave more room to upgrade. If I look at a system like
from Dell, they'd probably sell 1 GB as 2 sticks so you'd end up replacing
both to upgrade.

Its probably cheaper for them to sell as one stick rather than 2x512mb

I am tech savvy, but it's hard to decide which pieces to sacrifice to fit
under a budget that I might be better off upgrading later.

Right if you are building your own, you have a couple of options. You could
build from scratch or upgrade the one you already have. If you upgrade the
one you already have then you can bring the costs down by using your case,
psu, motherboard, memory and dvd/cdrw and hard drive. Although if you plan
on getting 64bit you would probably need new motherboard.

Thing is though if you build your own there is no guarantee of compatbility
with Vista at this time. If you buy a pre-built machine with Vista on it you
know its going to work. Also sometimes buying prebuilt from Dell or whoever
you choose can work out cheaper than building your own as they buy in bulk
and get discounts

 

[Joey DoWop Dee]

I didn't say it was impossible - merely difficult. IMHO it would be a good
option for sellers to offer without vista until sp1 at least.

I wasn't correcting you; I wanted to point out one of the few places left,
AFAIK, where you can still get XP on a new machine.

I'm surprised more mfrs. aren't offering XP as an option for the time being.

 

[BSchnur]

I'm surprised more mfrs. aren't offering XP as an option for the time being.

It is possible there is a bit of armtwisting there...

http://www.crn.com/weblogs/unblog/blog.jhtml?id=197008429#197008429

 

[Scott]

I'm considering buying a new PC which I will probably want to get or end up
getting with Vista on it.
My current PC is about 5 years old.
I will probably want to get a 64 bit machine, ie AM2 MB.
I will surely use it to play a variety of games, and possibly movies, and I
want to fit it in a budget. I don't have much money at the moment so the
more I decide to spend the longer I may have to wait.

I need to decide:
Should I try to fit a system under $500? $1000? $1500?

VoodooPC has great deals (prices as low as $4600.00 USD).

http://www.voodoopc.com/showroom.aspx?productid=1100

;-)

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Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
NOTICE: In-Newsgroup (and therefore off-topic) comments on my sig will
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[Scott]

Right now Dell offers, in the Small Business Dept., Optiplex desktops with an
option for XP or Vista. I don't know if the option exists elsewhere; I don't
see it on any of their home/home business machines.

I just grabbed a new Optiplex with XP before they disappear entirely.

How does an Optiplex compare to a Dimension?

I didn't realize they'd sell an Optiplex to "Home Users".

--
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A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
NOTICE: In-Newsgroup (and therefore off-topic) comments on my sig will
be cheerfully ignored, so don't waste our time.

 

[Scott]

For most people a 64bit system is a mistake right now, especially if
you're going to install Vista. The main reason is a lot of hardware
vendors haven't released drivers yet and I'd wager 64 bit versions for
Vists will follow 32 bit versions.

I strongly disagree. Just because your PC has a 64-bit CPU doesn't
mean you have to install a 64-bit OS.

32-bit Operating Systems run as well (and sometimes slightly better -
or so I've read) on a 64-bit system.

Besides, virtually everyone selling new Vista boxes with 64-Bit CPUs
are only including 32-bit versions of Vista (likely for the very
reasons you cite above).

So go for a 64-bit PC with 32 bit Vista. That will give you the
option of installing a 64-bit OS later on (or now if you wanted to
dual-boot).

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A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
NOTICE: In-Newsgroup (and therefore off-topic) comments on my sig will
be cheerfully ignored, so don't waste our time.

 

[Scott]

I'm considering buying a new PC which I will probably want to get or end up
getting with Vista on it.
My current PC is about 5 years old.
I will probably want to get a 64 bit machine, ie AM2 MB.
I will surely use it to play a variety of games, and possibly movies, and I
want to fit it in a budget. I don't have much money at the moment so the
more I decide to spend the longer I may have to wait.

I need to decide:
Should I try to fit a system under $500? $1000? $1500?

I'm no expert, but based on my experience......

If you want a gaming box, you're looking at a *minimum* of $1000.00.
Maximum PC published a story on building your own decent gaming box
for under $1500.00 a while back.

Is it worth it to get Vista Premium, or just stick with Home Basic?

You mean Home Basically-a-slightly-dressed-up-XP? I certainly
wouldn't.

Is Ultimate really worth the money?

It depends on your needs. Go to http://www.windowsvista.com. They've
got charts showing you the differences between the different versions.
If you need or want the features in Vista Business, then Ultimate
makes sense, if not it doesn't. The "Ultimate Extras" (so far) are
really nothing special. For example, Dreamscene is highly overrated.

I got Ultimate I used to have Vista Pro but wanted Media Center etc,
so Ultimate made perfect sense in my case.

But even for the average Joe, I'd go with no less than Home Premium.
Honestly, Vista's biggest visible "feature" is Aero and it's not in
Home Basic.

Should I get the 64 bit OS, or run the 32 bit OS on 64 bit hardware?

I've got a 64-bit OS running mostly 32-bit software, but I got lucky.
The big issue is drivers.

You'd be better off with a 64-bit hardware and a 32-bit OS for now.
Unless you're gonna have 4GB of RAM or more and are running stuff like
CAD or databases then you're not going to notice a difference (so I've
read).

Does the 64 bit OS run 16 bit apps?

The real question is, who runs 16-bit apps in 2007?

Does it have issues running 32 bit apps?

Not that I've noticed.

complained didn't work for their apps?

You can set apps to run in "XP SP2 compatible mode", I've only done
that with a few. So far, so good.

Should I just set up a dual boot?

You'd need to buy another copy of Vista if you're wanting to dual boot
more than one version (if that's what you mean).

That sounds like a waste of money to me.

Is it worth it to get a new flat panel monitor, or just use my bulky old
17"?

Go to a computer store and see for yourself. Personally I love my 19"
LCD but I don't see why my 8-year-old 19" CRT wouldn't work just as
well. It's just prefer LCDs.

Should I look into square flat panel monitors, or the widescreen variety?

Personally I wish my LCD were windscreen. Again, be your own judge.

Should I get the latest video card, the cheapest one with 512+ MB RAM, or
just the cheapest 256+?

From what I've read, you'd be better off with a less expensive 512MB
video card than a more expensive 256MB video card. Supposedly the RAM
is more important than the GPU but....

You'd want the latest and greatest if you want to run new DX10 games.
I'm not a gamer, so I don't care.

The DX10 cards cost more than some computers....

Do I stick with IDE HD, or switch to SCSI? SATA? something better?

Most new desktop PCs these days come with SATA drives. I've not seen
any new ones with IDE. As far as SCSI goes, that's pretty much a
server thang.

Do I just get 1 GB RAM, or do I need 2? 4?

As the saying goes. "There's no such thing as too much RAM".

Get as much as you can afford. Vista runs good on 1GB, but much
better on 2GB. But again, get as much as you can. If you can afford
4GB go for it.

How much do I add for MS Office,

Visit some of the online OEMS' web sites for details.

or should I try out the Open Office app?

Try OpenOffice.org now and see. It's perfectly adequate for the vast
majority of users. But Office 2007 got da bling bling.

Read some reviews of both. Google it.

What is the minimum power supply I need?

Again, go to an online OEM's site and see what they offer. They're not
going to sell you an underpowered PSU.

Should I get a DVDRW drive or just use the DVDR and CDRW drives I have?

Ok, it sounds like you're not the Dell/Gateway/HP kinda guy.

So visit some of the smaller "boutique" sites. They're you'll see
options for PSUs with wattage and so forth.

I got my current box from ABS Computers [ http://www.abs.com ].

If you're not heard of them, they are a division of Newegg.com
(although strangely, it used to be the other way around).

ABS and similar shops (velocitymicro.com, sys.com, ibuypower.com etc)
will sell you a box customized as you are describing (i.e. they give
you more options than Dell, HP etc).

If you want even more options they are out there. One OEM I know of
off hand that lets you pick everything from the speed of the RAM to
the brand of the SATA cables is Monarch Computers (but from what I've
read they may be going out of business -If they haven't already-).

There are many many more like Monarch out there though.
--
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A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
NOTICE: In-Newsgroup (and therefore off-topic) comments on my sig will
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[Scott]

ADHD sucks.

I got Ultimate I used to have Vista Pro but wanted Media Center etc,
so Ultimate made perfect sense in my case.

What I meant to write was.......

I got Ultimate. I used to have XP Pro but wanted Media Center and bitlocker, etc,
so Ultimate made perfect sense in my case.

--
Scott http://angrykeyboarder.com

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
NOTICE: In-Newsgroup (and therefore off-topic) comments on my sig will
be cheerfully ignored, so don't waste our time.

 

[koolery]

http://www.ewiz.com/ this is a good site to start a pc for vista.