I was hoping to get a new computer when Win 7 went public later this year but on Monday my old XP system decided to suddenly die. Power supply bit the dust and sort of messed up the motherboard and video card. Oh well, such is life, it lasted almost 5 1/2 years. Would still be using it today probably if I would have been paying attention.
It was an older Gateway 500 series, P4 2.6Ghz, 2GB ram (came with 512MB), 80GB HD CD and DVD and a diskette drive. Would you believe it sold as a Gaming PC. Well it was replaced yesterday with what you might call an upgrade. Got another Gateway, LX6810-01. Check out the specs, it isn't the latest, fastest or best computer out there but for the money, which is less than half of what I paid for the one it's replacing, it's not bad and I get a whole lot more computer. http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668232.php
So now that I have a Vista Home Preimum 64 bit system wiith lots of memory and a good processor to play with how about a few pointers on what I should look out for. I turned of UAC. How about it working with Stardock programs, anything I should be aware of? I spent last night getting the ObjectDesktop Ultimate programs downloaded through Impulse. Sure glad they came out with Impulse, made setting up the new system very easy.
I guess now those Theme Manager Suites I've been doing will be set up for Vista.
I agree...jojo25 was probably only trying to offer alternatives. We shouldn't burn him at the stake...after all, that was a punishment reserved for witches and.....um....er....some other folks .
Really good suggestion about the format and clean 7 install. That's a truly great time to do a "Spring Cleaning"....but make sure drivers are available for all your stuff, and that you have a really good backup of your stuff before you start.
Philly: .... I really hope you have a great time with your new computer...and that it'll be nothing but fun for you!
thank you wizard for seeing it the way it was meant to be...i think the only reason people are flaming me is because of my post about a master skin...and i guess it will keep happening until they all forget what i did even though i didnt mean any harm by that post either...once again THANK YOU WIZARD for seeing things the way they are meant to be seen....i love this place so much and i have been here for about 5 years...i have came to this site EVERDAY for 5 years and just recently started posting in the forums and what not trying to offer any help or CONSTRUCTIVE CRITIQUES that i can and TWO posts now and it seems like everyones got it out for me...not quite everyone but many who are fans of the master skinner that i critiqued...ill say it agin i love this place and dont want to be seen as an ASSHOLE cause im really not. ask onyone on here whom i talk to frequently if im an asshole and i guarantee they will say im far from it...sorry about posting critiques on skins and sorry fro trying to help out philly...i never meant to make you feel bad about your purchase, i simply must have misread the post, i am not on this site to hurt anyones fellings or make anyone feel any less of a person
Hey joj cheers mate
I didn't ever remember what have you said in that post. Whatever you said, it was yesterday and this is a brand new day. Enjoy the sunshine dude...
And I agree that you just tried to be hallpful here and thats a good thing... No one will ever consider that you are being hurtful because you are definately not.
Don't worry for Phily, he is a very good person.
Just tell him few jokes and he will be laughing mad like this
So your joke no one for Phily...............?........
thanx superman for words of enlightenment...now to go find good jokes
Just back to say thank you all very much for your help and good suggestions. Don't be surprised if I email or PM you asking just how I do those things you suggested.
Someone posted that with Vista there is a learning curve, very true statement. Using XP there was a level of confidence that I knew what I was doing, not so with Vista, but I'm learning. Could be also that the computer and Vista is learning what I want to do. Yeah I know,, that was a rather silly statement.
no thats not silly...vista does "LEARN" what you do the most so those apps will be easily opened...the only major thing i learned about vista is to ALWAYS install programs by RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR...taht will be of a big help...sometimes programs dont wanna run correctly if you dont do that. another thing is to get rid of that annoying ass UAC...it will drive you crazy if your not to patient like me...i hope it goes good for you...you said your running 64 bit too? let me know how that works out...i am wanting to upgrade to 64 bit
Edit:Good job,jojo,you beat the Wiz!
Hey jojo25, well so far running Vista 64 bit, for me at least, is no different than running 32 bit XP. What I mean by that is nothing jumps out and tells you that you are running 64 bit, just a new computer running everything much faster. I must say though that so far all I have done is get all the Stardock progrms loaded and running. I haven't even tried my printer to see if it workr or If I need to go get new drivers for it.
ok well keep us posted
Perhaps new drivers would be needed.
Ah, yup on the new drivers for the printer, loaded and printer working.
very nice Pc., now it is time to try out some heavy Dreams for your monitor.., let test that video card
Okay TYCUS I am will to give it a try. Give me some suggestion of Dreams to run.
oh well., i can't tell you which one since i haven't bought the complete vertion of Dream, but do you remember Dream Machine? i saw the video preview and looks awsome so far
Well my streaming live video of baseballs games sure is nice on the new computer.
Been playing with the sidebar and getting extra gadgets for it, lots of them out there.
One thing that I have not been doing with the new computer is turning it off, or turning it on either, been putting it in sleep mode. I wonder if I can extend the life of the computer that way?
no., infact, some times it will even get worst.., you will find your self with problems liek your system wont wake up after sleeping mode...., it is better to use it less hours (that's good for your wallet $$$..) or just dont turn it off., i've heard that a always On PC will leave even more than a daily turn On-Off...
I've never had any problems waking it back up and I did away with hibernation. I have read of problems with that but with laptops mostly.
I am not sure this way would you extend its life or not. Just place it at dust free space and don't let it get too hot. And for warranty period at least you can be tension free. So enjoy and do your work on it. Did you recovered all your files from your old hdd.
Turning a computer off will prolong its life.
Oh yes....
Do as I say, not as I do....
That's a cunning fact... but it's well caught.
hehehe
First off, sorry to hear about your pc! And a huge congrats on your new machine! That's great!
you did nothing wrong jojo....and you're a good contributor round here....just chill mate....
sry you lost the system, however I hope you learned something about the PSU. the FIRST thing I would do after your warranty expires is upgrade the PSU in the new system. I'm sure the 400w is fine for now, the problem is proprieters like HP, Dell etc... are only going to spend as much on a PSU as they HAVE to in order to get it through the warranty period. Basically, they will use the cheapest PSU they can. if not a good quality PSU it too may die and die young. protect yourself and get a good brand name 400-500W from someone like PC Power & Cooling when that warranty expires.
honestly Philly, I am sure you are happy with the computer, it does have pretty nice specs especially for someone who does not game.
However I have to agree with jojo for my personal preference. I have never owned a proprietary system, I got tired of dealing with my sisters HP's problems years ago and decided that when I bought computers they would be custom built by me. No offense intended but I cannot understand why anyone buys pre-built systems for several reasons. Though in the end it comes down to either they are not interested in building their own, which is understandable personal preference, or they just don't think they can learn how which is false, anyone can build with a little direction.
they are simple to build
everything is under warranty from the manufacturer, most components for 3-5yrs, and a lot of video card manufacturers are going to lifetime or even double lifetime warranties.
you can configure EXACTLY as you want, not being limited to what the proprieter offers.
not having to worry about opening the case and voiding a warranty, unlike propietary systems where the slightest problem means off to the nearest authorized dealer to avoid voiding the warranty or even shipping the computer back to the manufacturer which in itself can cause damage if not properly packaged and damage caused during shipping is not covered under warranty leaving you to file a claim with the shipper, which means insuring the package for what it would cost to replace it.
among other various benifits of building your own
and the number one reason I personally won't buy pre-built...
the proprieters get the same warranty from the manufacturer that you do if you purchased the components and built yourself, Yet all they give you for a default warranty is 1 year, they charge you extra for "extended warranties" of 2+ years. So they are charging you for something they get for free. Not on my dime thanks, I can easily RMA and replace a faulty component for MUCH less that $100+ for an extended warranty.
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