Advice on a new Windows PC...

NielsenE

NielsenE

Active Member
So I'm a happy Mac user, but at times I do get a hankering to play some of my older PC games. My laptop that I used to use to get me over that fix is dieing rapidly and I'm looking to replace it...

Probably going to go with a desktop, since I don't really have a need for a portable gaming rig. I had heard some disparaging comments on getting older (but not ancient) games to run under Vista and some sites recommended sticking with XP... But some other sites seem to report that Vista is happily running their older titles (aside from the ones that weren't happy until XP either... (sob FFVII.... I miss you)

Anyone have any anecdotes about gaming under Vista to help me figure out what system I should get?
 
I spent many, many years in software and I think buying any machine running Vista would be dicey right now. MS (like most software companies) has an awful lot of time-to-market pressure and they push stuff out the door that's less than robust.

My current employer has out and out told us "No Vista" until our IT folks can be sure MS has the major bugs fixed.

You can still buy machines with XP on them from Dell, for one.

Just my fraction of a Euro's worth...
 
Generally I agree (I've been a s/w person forever) and I don't trust Vista at all. However it is getting harder to find XP preloads... Neither Dell nor HP seem to offer anything other than Vista... The only vendor I've heard of before, that still offers XP is Alienware and while I am looking to buy a gaming rig, I don't really need their overpriced components/cases/lighting/etc.

And since I'm not looking to do anything other than game on this box, the security aspects of vista don't bother me.... no s/w development, no on-line commerce, etc will be done on the windows box...
 
LucyDiamond said:
Dell is offering some desktops with XP from their website.
Click to expand...

Ahh I was missing that "Still looking for XP" box on their sidebar... But alas, the options they allow on those machines seem quite limited... In fact the video cards are worse than what's in my 4 year old laptop.... Now while I don't need a lot to drive older titles, still that seems depressing...

Guess this could be a good thing... I don't really need another computer.... more money for dancing.... if nothing happens to hit the right sweet spot of function/preformence/price.... its all the easier to resist...
 
Most of the dell mid and low end notebooks from the small business tab are XP by default.
For an occasional usage machine that may be superior to a desktop.

I thought you could dual boot windows on recent macs?
 
One of my COs was a confirmed Mac man, but for his work he needed to run Project. His solution, which he was completely happy with, was a Mac app that runs a virtual computer running any OS. I think it's called "Virtual PC". With it, he could run his OS X and then in a window be running XP at the same time -- XP playing in its own sandbox, so to speak.
 
There are a handful of new games out that are Vista-only, but since you want to play your older games getting an XP box shouldn't be a problem.

IMO: roll your own.
 
DWise1 said:
One of my COs was a confirmed Mac man, but for his work he needed to run Project. His solution, which he was completely happy with, was a Mac app that runs a virtual computer running any OS. I think it's called "Virtual PC". With it, he could run his OS X and then in a window be running XP at the same time -- XP playing in its own sandbox, so to speak.
Click to expand...

I have any architect friend who does something similar; he can run windows or XP on his mac to use AutoCad
 
DWise1 said:
One of my COs was a confirmed Mac man, but for his work he needed to run Project. His solution, which he was completely happy with, was a Mac app that runs a virtual computer running any OS. I think it's called "Virtual PC". With it, he could run his OS X and then in a window be running XP at the same time -- XP playing in its own sandbox, so to speak.
Click to expand...

I do this as well using a product called Parallels desktop. The newest version (I think 3) includes accelerated graphics support (up to direct X9 I believe). I had been traveling with both a Mac and PC for quite a while, but in the past 9 months haven't taken the PC out of the house. There is also a solid product from VMWare for the MAC. Both are around $80 (and avail online and carried in Apple stores). There may be demo versions available online. The other option is Apples bootcamp which is free. It allows you to install XP or Vista on the Intel based Macs, and then select which OS you want when you boot.

The VirtualPC product was acquired and retired by Microsoft a few years back.

Regards,
Scott
 
NielsenE said:
Sure but MS isn't getting anywhere near my daily use computers :)
Click to expand...

How about in a virtual machine?

But that's probably not so good for gaming.

And it has the same issues as the build-your-own: retail windows licenses are quite expensive. Unless you can re-use one from a machine you are taking out of service, you almost might as well buy a low end computer that comes with it.
 
Actually windows is in that odd and shrinking category of software that costs money but not thousands of dollars. Most everything else I use is either free or so expensive that I'd never contemplate using it outside of work - and even then, by the time we got approval to buy for example matlab I'd already done the urgent tasks with a no-cost alternative.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Dance Ads

Advertise on Dance Forums Reach dancers, teachers, studios, event organizers, and dance-friendly brands. View ad options
Back
Top