So I'm a moron

**myquitehead** · 12-07-2005, 07:31 PM

This is a long thread, if you are going to reply on the computer side of this post, please be willing to spend some serious time thinking about the issues, unless you want to just laugh at me for being stupid, you can do that all you like.

After years and years of flawless computer usage, and bragging to my friends about how my computer is sparkling clean. I CLICKED THE STUPID LINK. So now I have to advance my plans of purchasing a new copy of windows.. we won't go into specifics there

Anyway, I'd like some outside advice on windows -- and some possible new hardware.

First off, I remember there being talk about how Windows keys are now bound to only one compuer once you update online, because they record your computer hardware. And once you bind a key to a computer, it can't be moved, right? If so, is there a version that allows you to install on 2 computers with the same key? What's the price difference?

Secondly, I'm trying to figure if it's worth just saying screw it, and upgrading my system now, isntead of a year down the line like I had intended. Right now I'm working on a Asus KN8X Deluxe, AMD Athlon XP 2800+, 1gb corsair ddr, and an evga 6800gt. I know that's still fairly good, apart from the processor.

But my Power supply is lower quality, my processor is bottlenecking my gpu, my ram is fairly standard, my heatsync/fan sometimes makes a bit of noise -- and now my windows is Shot.

Since it's Christmas and all, the cost to me would be relatively light if I farmed out certain pieces as presents. What I'm wondering is, is it worth it right now? Keeping in mind that I was planning on getting a 2nd computer for the network -- just a year from now.

This is the kinda system I'm looking at, if I upgrade:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
The prices I'm showing are AFTER REBATES.

Thermaltake XASER, Armor Series V8000BWS Black Full Tower - $150
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811133154

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium (just picked cheapest/decent compatible Asus board)- $160
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131540

eVGA Geforce 7800gt 256 pci express - $289
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130247

Antec truepower 2.0 TP2-550 - $100
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817103932

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego - $233
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819103539

Corsair XMS 2gb DDR 400 - $215
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145575

MS Windows xp pro sp2 OEM - $150 (grumble)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16837102062

== $1336

PLUS CALIFORNIA INTERNET SALES TAX, and shipping.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the hardware I have extras of in my possesion already. I am very willing to listen to suggestions of replacements for certain parts that may be better/cheaper than what I have listed, and still serve the same purpose.

Now has anyone got a clue if it would be okay to upgrade now -- meaning dual cores aren't going to be essential in the next 3 years. Or would it honestly be a waste of money to get this system because I'll need to upgrade too soon afterwards?

That looks like a good start to this train of thought I'll add more if I find that I've left out any thoughts.

Thanks for any help you guys offer

**DumberDrummer** · 12-07-2005, 07:35 PM

What link did you click?

**myquitehead** · 12-07-2005, 07:39 PM

The link that installs the multiplying aim virus that spams your computer. I know I could clean the thing pretty much back to normal.. but the key here is I don't have another updatable copy of windows, and if anything were to go wrong... I just don't want to risk losing my data. So this situation just encourages me to move foward on my upgrade plans, which also gives me a 2nd computer for storage/downtime etc.

mimo2005 · 12-07-2005, 08:13 PM

why buy xp when vista is to be released soon ?

**myquitehead** · 12-07-2005, 08:17 PM

Despite the rough start Vista is sure to have, I was going to, but my installation didn't last as long as I'd hoped. So I don't have a stable OS right now.

**Grove** · 12-07-2005, 08:53 PM

Bit off topic but mimo ... when is Vista coming out ?

mimo2005 · 12-07-2005, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grove4Life

Bit off topic but mimo ... when is Vista coming out ?

Still Saying Second Half of 2006
Microsoft has said it has not determined when it will release Vista to manufacturers, but it has stated it is on track for the general availability of Vista in the second half of 2006, according to a spokesperson from Waggener Edstrom, Microsoft's public-relations firm. Vista's release date will be driven by the product's quality, she said in an e-mail response to questions.

**myquitehead** · 12-07-2005, 09:06 PM

http://software.silicon.com/os/0,390...9151834,00.htm

NOW BACK TO TOPIC

**Grove** · 12-07-2005, 09:10 PM

Heh. Thank You

Chevy · 12-08-2005, 01:01 PM

Ok ... here's my take:

1 - One license, one pc. One COA, one pc.

If you buy OEM, then it's forever tied to that machine.

If you buy retail, you have the right to uninstall then move to a new pc.

Cost: OEM averages about $85. Retail about $145.

For the motherboard - take a hard look at the MSI K8NEO-Platinum ... sweet board, about $130. Socket 939 and dual core ready.

**myquitehead** · 12-08-2005, 02:51 PM

Nice info , thanks Chevy.

How about..

What is the difference that makes the

eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB

so much cheaper than the

eVGA 256-P2-N518 Geforce 7800GT 256MB?

mimo2005 · 12-08-2005, 03:00 PM

the difference should be in these 2 sections :

Core Clock Speed

Video Memory Clock Speed

you have to read both specifications in the box .

Tumbleweed36 · 12-08-2005, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myquitehead

----------------------------------------------------------------------
The prices I'm showing are AFTER REBATES.

Hi,

I will just make some general comments about some of your components.

Thermaltake XASER, Armor Series V8000BWS Black Full Tower - $150
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811133154
Very nice case

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium (just picked cheapest/decent compatible Asus board)- $160
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131540
To save a few bucks with most of the same features, take a look at the ASUS A8N-sli Deluxe

eVGA Geforce 7800gt 256 pci express - $289
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130247

Antec truepower 2.0 TP2-550 - $100
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817103932
Best power supply on the market for the money IMO

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego - $233
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819103539
I have one of these running on the board I suggested you take a look at. This is simply a great CPU and well worth the cost.

Corsair XMS 2gb DDR 400 - $215
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145575
If money is tight, one rarely has challenges with present usage that demands the use of 2 gigs of ram on most applications. I would go for one gig if it were mine, but if you want to splurge, this is great ram.

MS Windows xp pro sp2 OEM - $150 (grumble)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16837102062
I think you can do better than this price for OEM - Might want to search a little more.

== $1336

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the hardware I have extras of in my possesion already. I am very willing to listen to suggestions of replacements for certain parts that may be better/cheaper than what I have listed, and still serve the same purpose.

Now has anyone got a clue if it would be okay to upgrade now -- meaning dual cores aren't going to be essential in the next 3 years. Or would it honestly be a waste of money to get this system because I'll need to upgrade too soon afterwards?

That looks like a good start to this train of thought I'll add more if I find that I've left out any thoughts.

Remember, you will never get agreement on these. However, I love to do these personal opinion threads. Good luck!

Thanks for any help you guys offer

**myquitehead** · 12-09-2005, 09:14 AM

Yea I'm going to try to find a retail for $145 like Chevy suggested.

From the prices I can find, the ASUS A8N-sli Deluxe is also $160, haha. I was looking at the premium because it looks like it has an exhaust for the chipset, and I'd read the nf4 gets rather hot. The Deluxe does have a higher rating, why's that?

The Ram I'm not sure on, I'm either getting 1gig or 2gigs, depending on how I feel about spending the money when I see the final price tag.

Now the biggest issue for me - the graphics card. Is that extra 100 bucks worth it for that better card?

Or, with SLI, would it be better to buy 2 of a slightly cheaper card? Would that end up with better performance? Or should I just got for the good one, and hope to afford another one somewhere down the line

Tumbleweed36 · 12-09-2005, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myquitehead

Yea I'm going to try to find a retail for $145 like Chevy suggested.

From the prices I can find, the ASUS A8N-sli Deluxe is also $160, haha. I was looking at the premium because it looks like it has an exhaust for the chipset, and I'd read the nf4 gets rather hot. The Deluxe does have a higher rating, why's that?

If the premium and Deluxe are within $15 in price from each other (they are less than that at times, but sometimes more), then go for the premium IMO. For some reason, the gamers like the Deluxe better, but I don't actually know why, but I suspect that is why the deluxe gets a higher rating.

My guess they like it better because there is less to mess with because the Premium offers several options that would not be important (raid combinations, etc) to a gamer, because they like it simple and fast rather than feature rich.

The Ram I'm not sure on, I'm either getting 1gig or 2gigs, depending on how I feel about spending the money when I see the final price tag.

Now the biggest issue for me - the graphics card. Is that extra 100 bucks worth it for that better card?

Or, with SLI, would it be better to buy 2 of a slightly cheaper card? Would that end up with better performance? Or should I just got for the good one, and hope to afford another one somewhere down the line :grin

Again, IMO, they have yet to convince me that sli has it all over on the single great card. What happens normally (I did this), is that one gets the board because of the feature (and future thoughs), and then one buys a better card hoping someday to expand. I find that this rarely happens. I know now that my setup will probably just include a decent single card and I won't bother with the sli. If you get two cheap cards just to use the sli, you will probably be disappointed in the performance. I base this somewhat on what customers tell me, but for me, I am and will continue to use a single card.:

**myquitehead** · 12-09-2005, 12:39 PM

Yea sounds like we are on the same page. Another thing is about the price diff in the types of 7800gt's.

The $380 dollar model has a 15mhz slower core clock speed, and a 30 lower memory clock speed than the $300 model. Is that worth $80 more? I'm a little confused why they would make 3 models of the same card with barely any differences, that I can see. The $289 dollar model even has identical specs, as far as they are listed, a card with no visibile differences is $80 cheaper why?

**myquitehead** · 12-12-2005, 01:58 PM

Ok some family crap has made it even more necessary that I get a second computer. Anyone have any last tips?

12-07-2005, 07:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
myquitehead TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 572 OS: XP Pro Sp1	So I'm a moron This is a long thread, if you are going to reply on the computer side of this post, please be willing to spend some serious time thinking about the issues, unless you want to just laugh at me for being stupid, you can do that all you like. After years and years of flawless computer usage, and bragging to my friends about how my computer is sparkling clean. I CLICKED THE STUPID LINK. So now I have to advance my plans of purchasing a new copy of windows.. we won't go into specifics there Anyway, I'd like some outside advice on windows -- and some possible new hardware. First off, I remember there being talk about how Windows keys are now bound to only one compuer once you update online, because they record your computer hardware. And once you bind a key to a computer, it can't be moved, right? If so, is there a version that allows you to install on 2 computers with the same key? What's the price difference? Secondly, I'm trying to figure if it's worth just saying screw it, and upgrading my system now, isntead of a year down the line like I had intended. Right now I'm working on a Asus KN8X Deluxe, AMD Athlon XP 2800+, 1gb corsair ddr, and an evga 6800gt. I know that's still fairly good, apart from the processor. But my Power supply is lower quality, my processor is bottlenecking my gpu, my ram is fairly standard, my heatsync/fan sometimes makes a bit of noise -- and now my windows is Shot. Since it's Christmas and all, the cost to me would be relatively light if I farmed out certain pieces as presents. What I'm wondering is, is it worth it right now? Keeping in mind that I was planning on getting a 2nd computer for the network -- just a year from now. This is the kinda system I'm looking at, if I upgrade: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The prices I'm showing are AFTER REBATES. Thermaltake XASER, Armor Series V8000BWS Black Full Tower - $150 http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811133154 ASUS A8N-SLI Premium (just picked cheapest/decent compatible Asus board)- $160 http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131540 eVGA Geforce 7800gt 256 pci express - $289 http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130247 Antec truepower 2.0 TP2-550 - $100 http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817103932 AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego - $233 http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819103539 Corsair XMS 2gb DDR 400 - $215 http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145575 MS Windows xp pro sp2 OEM - $150 (grumble) http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16837102062 == $1336 PLUS CALIFORNIA INTERNET SALES TAX, and shipping. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The rest of the hardware I have extras of in my possesion already. I am very willing to listen to suggestions of replacements for certain parts that may be better/cheaper than what I have listed, and still serve the same purpose. Now has anyone got a clue if it would be okay to upgrade now -- meaning dual cores aren't going to be essential in the next 3 years. Or would it honestly be a waste of money to get this system because I'll need to upgrade too soon afterwards? That looks like a good start to this train of thought I'll add more if I find that I've left out any thoughts. Thanks for any help you guys offer

12-07-2005, 07:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
DumberDrummer Cymru am byth Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Oregon Posts: 5,385 OS: Windows XP Pro SP2 My System	What link did you click? __________________ Living with Louie dog's the only way to stay sane _____________________________________________ ... and with those words so begins my lifetime of longing for the devil's warm embrace

12-07-2005, 08:13 PM	#4 (permalink)
mimo2005 Manager, The Relaxation Room/Analyst, Security Team Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 11,142 OS: xp	why buy xp when vista is to be released soon ? __________________ TSF has outgrown its server, again. Please help "Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi sed saepe cadendo"

12-07-2005, 08:53 PM	#6 (permalink)
Grove Professor/Moderator, TSF Design School Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 2,383 OS: Windows Vista SP2 32bit	Bit off topic but mimo ... when is Vista coming out ? __________________ ========================================== Get Help: TSF Security Forum \| HijackThis \| MB's 5 Step Process Get Clean: AdAware SE \| Spybot S&D \| CWShredder \| Ewido \| CleanUp! Get Protected: SpywareBlaster \| SpywareGuard \| Windows Updates \| IE-SpyAd If TSF has helped you, please consider making a donation to help keep the board running.

12-07-2005, 09:10 PM	#9 (permalink)
Grove Professor/Moderator, TSF Design School Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 2,383 OS: Windows Vista SP2 32bit	Heh. Thank You __________________ ========================================== Get Help: TSF Security Forum \| HijackThis \| MB's 5 Step Process Get Clean: AdAware SE \| Spybot S&D \| CWShredder \| Ewido \| CleanUp! Get Protected: SpywareBlaster \| SpywareGuard \| Windows Updates \| IE-SpyAd If TSF has helped you, please consider making a donation to help keep the board running.

12-07-2005, 07:39 PM	#3 (permalink)
myquitehead TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 572 OS: XP Pro Sp1	The link that installs the multiplying aim virus that spams your computer. I know I could clean the thing pretty much back to normal.. but the key here is I don't have another updatable copy of windows, and if anything were to go wrong... I just don't want to risk losing my data. So this situation just encourages me to move foward on my upgrade plans, which also gives me a 2nd computer for storage/downtime etc.

12-07-2005, 08:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
myquitehead TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 572 OS: XP Pro Sp1	Despite the rough start Vista is sure to have, I was going to, but my installation didn't last as long as I'd hoped. So I don't have a stable OS right now.

12-07-2005, 09:06 PM	#8 (permalink)
myquitehead TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 572 OS: XP Pro Sp1	http://software.silicon.com/os/0,390...9151834,00.htm NOW BACK TO TOPIC

12-08-2005, 01:01 PM	#10 (permalink)
Chevy Retired Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Notlob Posts: 5,452 OS: Vista Ultimate My System	Ok ... here's my take: 1 - One license, one pc. One COA, one pc. If you buy OEM, then it's forever tied to that machine. If you buy retail, you have the right to uninstall then move to a new pc. Cost: OEM averages about $85. Retail about $145. For the motherboard - take a hard look at the MSI K8NEO-Platinum ... sweet board, about $130. Socket 939 and dual core ready.

12-08-2005, 02:51 PM	#11 (permalink)
myquitehead TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 572 OS: XP Pro Sp1	Nice info , thanks Chevy. How about.. What is the difference that makes the eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB so much cheaper than the eVGA 256-P2-N518 Geforce 7800GT 256MB?

12-08-2005, 03:00 PM	#12 (permalink)
mimo2005 Manager, The Relaxation Room/Analyst, Security Team Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 11,142 OS: xp	the difference should be in these 2 sections : Core Clock Speed Video Memory Clock Speed you have to read both specifications in the box . __________________ TSF has outgrown its server, again. Please help "Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi sed saepe cadendo"

12-09-2005, 09:14 AM	#14 (permalink)
myquitehead TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 572 OS: XP Pro Sp1	Yea I'm going to try to find a retail for $145 like Chevy suggested. From the prices I can find, the ASUS A8N-sli Deluxe is also $160, haha. I was looking at the premium because it looks like it has an exhaust for the chipset, and I'd read the nf4 gets rather hot. The Deluxe does have a higher rating, why's that? The Ram I'm not sure on, I'm either getting 1gig or 2gigs, depending on how I feel about spending the money when I see the final price tag. Now the biggest issue for me - the graphics card. Is that extra 100 bucks worth it for that better card? Or, with SLI, would it be better to buy 2 of a slightly cheaper card? Would that end up with better performance? Or should I just got for the good one, and hope to afford another one somewhere down the line

12-09-2005, 12:39 PM	#16 (permalink)
myquitehead TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 572 OS: XP Pro Sp1	Yea sounds like we are on the same page. Another thing is about the price diff in the types of 7800gt's. The $380 dollar model has a 15mhz slower core clock speed, and a 30 lower memory clock speed than the $300 model. Is that worth $80 more? I'm a little confused why they would make 3 models of the same card with barely any differences, that I can see. The $289 dollar model even has identical specs, as far as they are listed, a card with no visibile differences is $80 cheaper why?

12-12-2005, 01:58 PM	#17 (permalink)
myquitehead TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 572 OS: XP Pro Sp1	Ok some family crap has made it even more necessary that I get a second computer. Anyone have any last tips?