Curse

EF2NYD · Oct 14, 2006, 03:47 AM // 03:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesh

But this post... Please go and find some facts to back this up, cause it's crap. My brother is using a 6600gt 128 mb, and he runs GW all settings max, 4xaa, and 1600x1200 on a 21" CRT. GW is not a hard game to run, and there was absolutely no performance drop with Nightfall. As far as using a 7600 over SLI 6600s.. of course. I would definitely go for a 7600 over 2 older cards like the 6600 series.

I've played GW with a 6600GT for more than a year, I think I'd know the capabilities of it. Sure you can get max frames in explorable areas but as soon as it hits PvP or cities, FPS plummets.

Quote:

No. Dell and Gateway have some of the worst tech support I have seen in my life. I've dealt with them personally, for ANGRY CUSTOMERS. It's not fun. If you have to deal with anyone over warranty issues, I find Sony and Compaq/HP to be the least bitchy. Apple is obviously way up there as well, but they don't make machines than can run GW. =p

I worked tech support and didn't have problems with Dell or Gateway. You just have to know what to say and they're great. Sony is horrible because you have to pay money for a driver CD they don't package with their computers. Their Vaio line is probably the worst offender in problems.

As for outdated Dells and Gateways, we received some 100-200 machines from them with full SATA drives.

People have run GW on Apples without problems.

P.S. This topic should be closed since the OP already made up her mind and all threads after her post are very off topic, including this one.

Mushroom · Oct 14, 2006, 02:34 PM // 14:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by lord_shar

The worse mistake I've ever seen a retail PC salesman make was selling a customer a new sound card and informing him that it was an easy drop-in install. That customer came back fuming when he found out that the saleman had misrepresented the skill level required for the install.

Yes, assembling PC's from the ground up is easy for some of us, but we should never assume that it's a cake-walk for everyone else.

That is why whenever somebody asks how hard installing something is, I try to get a feel for what their technical ability is. If they want to install a card, I ask if they are comfortable opening the computer and then loading the software. If they are not, I then frequently offer them a USB alternative, or ask them to bring it in. We normally charge no more then $10 to install a card and load drivers.

I actually find assembling computers to be rather simple. The really complex parts of the job are deciding what components to get, and troubleshooting when things are not working right.

If you are going to custom build a system (or have one custom built for you) there really are a lot of choices involved. LGA775 or AM2? Dual 2, Pentium D, or Celeron for Intel. Sempron or Athlon or Athlon X2 for AMD. Asus, MSI, AsRock, ASI, or company XYZ for motherboard? Which chipset even becomes an issue sometimes. Standard PCIe, Combo (AGP & PCIe), or do you choose SLI or Crossfire for dual cards? On-board sound, or do you want the Turtle Beach, Audigy or X-Fi? Then you get to choose which video card, ATI or NVidia. YOu may even contemplate getting a TV Tuner card, which one? A cheap one, one that is Media Center approved, HD ready, or an exotic like the All-In-Wonder?

And which Windows? Do you stick with XP Home, choose Professional for more RAM, or go to Media Center Edition? For that DVD Burner, do you spend the extra money for LightScribe? The case with or without the window? What colour case?

A lot of people actually get intimidated when it comes to having a computer built, because there are so many choices. Many people simply want a box handed to them. Or have a company like Dell give them a choice of only half as many items, spelled out in advance.

This is why I tend to reccomend people finding either a good "consultant", or a builder who will work as a consultant. When somebody comes in the store and wants a custom computer, I always ask them:

1. What do they want to do with the computer.
2. What is their budget.

That can immediately steer me to what they need. If it is for browsing the internet and light game playing, I will aim them to something with on-board graphics. If they tell me they play games like Sims 2, Doom, or GW, I immediately steer them to a system without on-board video, with 1 or 2 PCIe slots. Motherboard and CPU choice is a matter of the budget. If it is $1,2000 or under, I almost always reccomend AM2 because of the cost. If it is above that, it can go either way, depending on the customer's choice.

And I agree with what most in here say about telephone support. I have done that job before (AT&T Worldnet), and absolutely hated it. I quit after 2 weeks, because I was getting in trouble for doing more then I was supposed to do (used my brain instead of reading from the book). I have long refered to them as "Phone Monkeys", because all most of them do is look up the problem in a book and read the answer. I normally simply ask to be sent to Second Level Support, since by the time I need to call for help, I have gone beyond what the First Level folks can do.

Domino · Oct 14, 2006, 02:52 PM // 14:52

I had always built my own systems (price hunting on Newegg for hours was not uncommon) and I've come to one conclusion:

You can save money building your own system. LOTS of money. But like everything in life there is a flipside to that coin. The burden of hardware conflicts, fine-tuning your system, and basically setting everything up is put on your shoulders.

I can't tell you how many hours I spent, my system in pieces on the living room floor... sorting out IRQ conflicts, finding which memory stick had burned out, or trying to flash my CMOS. Basically after years of this, I decided to look into a pre-built system.

I have an Alienware M9700 laptop, 2.4 gigahertz, 1 gig of DDR, and two GeForce 7900 SLI cards.

I can play Guild Wars at 1920x1600 with max settings and FSAA at roughly 60 FPS, even in crowded districts.

Granted, the system wasn't the cheapest, but I like not having to worry about tweaking settings to make a game run "just right" anymore. As far as I'm concerned, that was well worth the investment.

If you want to have a serious gaming experience, I'd go with Alienware. Like I said they aren't the cheapest, but those guys know what they're doing when it comes to customized desktops and laptops.

I think it's all a matter of how much time you have. Some people like myself work 40-50 hours a week and don't have time to deal with hardware conflicts and driver issues.

Tachyon · Oct 14, 2006, 02:58 PM // 14:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Domino

If you want to have a serious gaming experience, I'd go with Alienware.

Sorry, but over here we have a phrase for that! That phrase is "You're talking bollocks mate"!

I could put together a PC that would out perform any Alienware POS for half the price! Laptops are a different kettle of fish though, yes it's very possible to build your own laptop but it's very different and a lot harder than building a desktop PC. However, Alienware still rip people off no matter what format the PC is.

Domino · Oct 14, 2006, 03:34 PM // 15:34

That's basically what I said... no one is denying that you can build a better/cheaper/faster desktop than a pre-built Alienware.

I'm saying the trade-off is that there's less hassle.

I got an Alienware laptop, however, because I believe they have some of the nicest laptops I've ever seen. I don't care what anyone says.

Mushroom · Oct 14, 2006, 03:45 PM // 15:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azagoth

I could put together a PC that would out perform any Alienware POS for half the price! Laptops are a different kettle of fish though, yes it's very possible to build your own laptop but it's very different and a lot harder than building a desktop PC.

Laptops are a totaly different kettle of fish. If I was to reccomend a laptop for gaming, then yes I would probably steer people towards AW, or some other company that specializes in "Desktop Replacement Laptops". For units like that though, you expect to pay a lot of money ($1,600+), and there are very few companies that even make them.

Whitebook computers are very good, but they are a pain in the butt for consumers to get them. Even we have a problem getting bare whitebook units. We ordered 5 of them earlier this year, and since then even our supplier has stopped selling them.

But I do not recommend the "high end" desktop makers, unless you happen to need a lot of units (10+) and need them all to be 100% identicle. The price Vs. Performance scale is simply nuts. You end up paying 50-200% more, simply because of the name attached to the product.

And Alienware simply is not as good as it used to be. The Alienware of today is not the Alienware of last year. Now they are simply Dell with a fancy case and more expensive options.

jesh · Oct 14, 2006, 06:24 PM // 18:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by EF2NYD

I've played GW with a 6600GT for more than a year, I think I'd know the capabilities of it. Sure you can get max frames in explorable areas but as soon as it hits PvP or cities, FPS plummets.

I worked tech support and didn't have problems with Dell or Gateway. You just have to know what to say and they're great. Sony is horrible because you have to pay money for a driver CD they don't package with their computers. Their Vaio line is probably the worst offender in problems.

People have run GW on Apples without problems.

P.S. This topic should be closed since the OP already made up her mind and all threads after her post are very off topic, including this one.

What? Do you want me to FRAPS a video for you or something? Give me any area in GW and I guarantee my brother's computer won't slow down at those settings.

As far as tech support, me and my coworkers have dealt with them day in and day out- I used to work at a CompUSA tech shop. I think I know what I'm talking about here, I was there for about 10 months. As for Sony and not including driver cds.. do you mean restore discs? Most of those are on the secondary partition, and you have the option to create your own. Yeah it's a problem for people that don't do that, but I can't say I feel too sorry for them. Drivers you can download off of websites.

I don't claim to know everything about Apple computers, or even close. As far as I know, the only way to run GW on an apple is with Bootcamp, which isn't supported by Apple, and is something that a novice to computers definitely shouldn't try.