(NWN) Help me with Computer Stuff plz

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

I'm truly nothing of a computer nerd, and have really very little technical experience, but I'll start running my mouth off anyhow...LOL.

So my mom and I wanted to upgrade our computer, and we just ended up buying a new system entirely...which is good for me We got a new Sony Vaio, Pentium 4 80 gig hard drive, 512 megs of ram, dvd rom, cd-rw, and some memory stick thing (for cameras... i dunno it was just part of the machine.)

A lot of people have said that XP sucks, but really... I have had so few problems with it that I am nearly in love with it. The computer has hung up like three times in the month that I've had it--and only once did I have to restart it. On Win98 on my other machines something froze at least once a day and once a week i got a blue screen of death and had to completely turn off the computer to get it to work again. WinXP also takes about 30 seconds to start up--i was amazed the first time i did it.

I also LOVE how quiet the fan is on this machine

Now for the uninitiated here... is Win2000 the same as WinXP?

And for you computer newbies...just listen to the other people

 

[drothgery]

I am going to buy a computer. I want it to absolutely rock while playing NWN. I know that GeForce 4 graphics cards are the best but I heard that CPU limitations decrease the advantage of having one. I want to know: what the best set-up I can get without becoming superfilous <sic>?

In addition I want to know what a reasonable price for the components would be as I don't want to get ripped off.

Specifically I want to know about

Processor
RAM
Graphics Card
Sound Card
Monitor
Anything else important

Thanks people!

Before giving recomendations (which will likely run counter to most people in this thread), I'm going to ask a few questions.

1) What's the system you're replacing? If it was fairly high-end two years ago, it may be a lot more cost effective to upgrade your old box.
2) How much are you willing to spend, excluding shipping, in US dollars?
3) Will you be buying parts and building your own system, or buying a complete system?
4) Is there anything from your old system that you think you want to keep?

 

[drothgery]

Re: Re: (NWN) Help me with Computer Stuff plz

Keep in mind if you get a Geforce4 you want the GF4 Ti (the Ti part is very important), DO NOT get a geforce4 MX, they aren't even as good as a Geforce3.

Eh. In older games, a GF4 MX usually beats a GF3, and a GF4 MX has slightly better image quality. But more importantly, a GF4 MX is quite a bit cheaper than any GF3 or GF4 Ti, so depending on your budget, it might be a good choice. I mean, I'd rather have a GF3 than a GF4 MX, but if your system budget dictates a budget video card, it's far from a bad choice.

 

[Leopold]

you want honest opinions on what to get? Ask the experts here:

http://www.hardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=40


The [H]ardFolks will answer ANY question you want out there, give you the pros and cons on each and 10-1 are in the same boat you are in. Ask the [H]orde and they will answer.



Fellow [H]ardness Supreme..

 

[Vargo]

you want honest opinions on what to get? Ask the experts here:

http://www.hardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=40


The [H]ardFolks will answer ANY question you want out there, give you the pros and cons on each and 10-1 are in the same boat you are in. Ask the [H]orde and they will answer.



Fellow [H]ardness Supreme..

One warning: Follow that link, and it's like opening the Necronomicon. SAN loss guaranteed.

Also, if you're female, don't let them know... Something like 60-70% have horomonal outburst problems.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Re: Re: me too!

I checked with Electronic Boutique (sp) last night and they said June...Have you heard something I haven't??

EB and others routinely make up release dates so they can take preorders. There is no official release date for NWN yet.

 

[tleilaxu]

Re: Re: (NWN) Help me with Computer Stuff plz

Before giving recomendations (which will likely run counter to most people in this thread), I'm going to ask a few questions.

1) What's the system you're replacing? If it was fairly high-end two years ago, it may be a lot more cost effective to upgrade your old box.
2) How much are you willing to spend, excluding shipping, in US dollars?
3) Will you be buying parts and building your own system, or buying a complete system?
4) Is there anything from your old system that you think you want to keep?

1. I am living in Hong Kong and my computer is in the States. I have been using my girlfriends' which is a P2 (forget how many mhz) with 16mb RAM.
2. I am willing to spend at least $1000 and want to get a computer that will be sweet and will last me for a several years (one that will still be upgradable two or three years from now)
3. I don't know enough to assemble myself. How much would I have to learn? I was considering buying the parts and paying for assembly.
4. Nope. wait, the keyboard.

 

[CrusaderX]

NWN Update!

The official updated NWN system requirements have just been posted today, as a matter of fact. You can find them at the following link:

http://www.bioware.com/games/neverwinter_nights/game_info/system_requirements/

 

[drothgery]

Re: Re: Re: (NWN) Help me with Computer Stuff plz

1. I am living in Hong Kong and my computer is in the States. I have been using my girlfriends' which is a P2 (forget how many mhz) with 16mb RAM.

Okay, so there's nothing to salvage.

2. I am willing to spend at least $1000 and want to get a computer that will be sweet and will last me for a several years (one that will still be upgradable two or three years from now)

Really, you need to figure out the maximum you're willing to spend, not the minimum. Then spec out a system that costs about $200 less than that.

Building a good lower-midrange system at Dell.com, I ended up with a system that ran $1300 (prices may vary for non-US customers), set up like
CPU: 1.9 GHz P4
RAM: 256 MB DDR
Disk: 40 GB hard drive, 16X DVD, 24x/10x/40x CD-RW
Video: GeForce 3 Ti200
Monitor: 17" flat-screen CRT
Speakers: standard w/subwoofer
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Live!
OS: XP Home
Other software: MS Works Suite (MS Word + MS Works), 90-day trial of Norton Anti-Virus

Gateway runs about the same. Getting the parts and assembling them yourself is slightly cheaper, but only if you've already got a retail copy of Windows to use (because I'm not going to advocate piracy, and OEM versions of Windows are normally only licensed to be used on the system they came with, and if you're playing games, you're running Windows so no Linux advocacy from the peanut gallery, okay?).

3. I don't know enough to assemble myself. How much would I have to learn? I was considering buying the parts and paying for assembly.

I don't know; the two computers I've had (my current box and the one it replaced) were bought as complete systems from Dell. But my understanding is that isn't all that hard.

 

[turtle]

thanks for the advise everyone. does anybody have more advise for me? i hate spending large amounts of money before sounding the whole plan out...