Want a new pc, any suggestions?

I used to enjoy sl. Now I can barely move. I'm pretty sure it's my computer that is being nasty to me. I've done the driver updates, I've cleared my cache. Even reinstalled SL. Nothing is working.

I think it's time for a better computer, one that can handle SL.

Anyone have any suggestions on what type to purchase?

Thanks,
Kaiah

I'm not a PC fan, but Dell makes solid PC hardware that is on the resonable side of pricing (I'm a Mac user, but kottam their prices are ballistic, so anything not a Mac is reasonable in price!). They've got 17" laptops with solid mem and video mem for under 1K. They also have solid desktops as well (LCD included). Check out their website and see if it vibes with the change in your pocket.

/BB/

I have a "universal formula" for buying computers that I recomend to everyone. It has been consistant since the old Apple II days.

If you buy the "cheapie" model... you are going to get screwed. They are priced at this range to get them off the shelves for the next generation.

If you buy the "Latest and Greatest"... you are going to get screwed. R&D costs money, a cost they pass along to you.

Start off with the "latest and greatest" and go backwards a couple steps. Usually you will get a computer with enough power to run all the latest games, but will still be useable 2 or 3 years from now.

I'm personally a fan of Clevo laptops, but they are a bit pricier than you'll find at Dell for entry level systems. Pretty comparable with Dell's XPS systems though for 'serious gaming.'

Favorite Clevo resellers:

http://www.pro-star.com/
http://www.sagernotebook.com/

Basically the same computers, but sometimes they have different options/models and slightly different pricing out. I just pre-ordered Sager's new 5760, Intel Duo 2ghz with an nVidia 7900 GTX and 1920x1200 17" widescreen (the screens on these laptops are simply awesome). 2622.50 after 100 off for pre-order and upgrading to 2gb of memory and 100gb 7200rpm SATA drive instead of 80GB 5400rpm.

Of course, that's assuming you want a laptop. Could probably put it together cheaper in a desktop, but I like my portability.

There have been some good threads on the subject, I seem to recall one trying to make a thousand dollar budget and one trying for a five hundred dollar budget. Unfortunately I don't know which threads and the search engine doesn't allow for very effective searching.

Torley might remember, I think maybe he made a comment in the thread. I believe the threads I am thinking of were in the technical forum.

yup yup.. say 3ghz p4 1gb ram and anything from a radion 9800 up (not to up on Nvidia numbers anymore)
thats my system anyhow youd get it chep these days and its working great!

Hey, that's what I always do! Maybe that's why I can play SL on this 2002 computer.

coco

If you have to get a Dell, don't get a cheap one. Besides being poor performers, they usually have too many proprietary parts. If you can't swap out the motherboard or power supply, its going to go obsolete fast. Cheap machines are perfect for users who want the basics. Gaming machines need to be futureproof.

Im thinking of buying a new pc as well, but im gonna wait just a little bit my sony vaio still runs great and its from 2001

Windows Vista is coming 2007, so im waiting for that, that way new features will come as well!
If you can't wait, i guess buy one that has a label that says "Windows Vista Ready"
that way it can run on the new OS when it comes out next year.(you still have to buy the OS when it comes available).

Good luck! also Graphic cards really matter! get a good one!

Just my 2 cents, if your performance has suffered JUST since the recent update I'd suggest you wait. IF as you say, you have been able to enjoy SL before.

Every update is a crapshoot for me, sometimes I crash constantly for days after an upgrade, sometimes I'm fine. I have not yet tried out MY computer w/ the most recent update so don't know what's gonna happen.

But after a number of updates I have come to stop immediately blaming my computer

I recently put together a new system for SL and other things. It would have cost about $700 after rebates if I had bought everything this month -- I'm actually out of pocket less than that because I already had a case with power supply, DVD+-RW and hard drives, and a copy of Windows XP home that hadn't been installed yet.

What I bought:

Pentium D 805 (2.66GHz x 2) -- came in a special deal from Micro Center with a free motherboard - $150
2 x 1GB RAM - $130
ASUS 7600GS video card with 512MB RAM - $160

What I already had (and about what it would have cost):
XP Home - $100 (I'm eligible for academic pricing, but it's only a LITTLE more for the rest of you if you buy an OEM copy at the same time as system components)
DVD+-RW - $40
80GB hard disk - $50 (heck, you could probably get a bigger drive for that price; I had the 80GB because there was a special deal on them for $10 after rebate a couple of months back)
Case and power supply - $50

Not top of the line, but respectable... and it runs at 20-30 fps with all the eye candy turned on, unless you go someplace REALLY crowded like Bad Girls. And that's WITHOUT overclocking the 805, which can evidently get spectacular results. (But I'm not really interested; getting an extra 20% frame rate at the cost of perhaps more crashes isn't a good tradeoff in SL, though it might be great if you also play Doom.)

My midline Dell system is still doing fine with SL at the 2 year mark, with the simple addition of 1G of memory. I'm sure I could use a better video card--I have a GeForce 5200 128MB, but it gets the job done. As long as you've got a decent processor, the most you need to do is maybe get a better videocard or more memory. I'm fairly hardware disabled, but I managed to open up my case, yank out the old memory cards, and jam in new ones, and it made a huge difference.

Option 3, build your own with premium parts at half the cost of the "latest and greatest" model.

Ohhhhhh. Shiny!

try Alienware the serious gamers computer,and dayum dont they look cool

hunny suprised me with a HP Media center PC

2.0 GB memory
300GB hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce 7300LE Graphics card
with wireless keyboard and mouse
17 inch flat panel monitor

I love it, it's so much faster and i don't lag in Second life the graphics are so much better than my old computer, it took me awhile to get use to the graphics on flat panel monitor, i have been using a standard monitor for years lol..Good luck to you

Both Alienware and Dell have new systems that offer quad SLI. Note, that while Alienware does a fantastic job in putting a system together, it takes a while for them to start building them. They have a LOT of orders. They just started building mine after 2 months.

Its my prefered option. If you can build it yourself or can find someone local who will build one for you, its probably the best option. Personally, I build my own and it costs a fraction of what you would pay for a comparable pre-built computer.

yep, I priced my machine at alienware $3000 bucks. Home built $1400.....

I don't know where you live but often you can have a system built better and cheaper than any off the shelf system.

http://laboratorycomputers.com/index.html

http://www.discountelectronics.com/index.php


Laboratory make costom systems and Discount specializes in used Dell lease returns and also has some Apple junk on occasion.

Alienware systems have a pretty box but cost about 2x of what you could have the exact system built anywhere else.

From previous experience I trust Alienware to build my system more than anybody else. The five or six people I have seen build computers who said they knew what they were doing obviously didn't Some of these folks were supposedly proffesionals. It IS cheaper tho by far. My Alienware cost just under 10 grand.

Dell Enhances Its Commitment to High-Performance Computing With Planned Acquisition of Alienware Corporation

Alienware Will Operate as a Wholly Owned Subsidiary Under Existing Management

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/pressoffice/en/2006/2006_03_22_rr_001?c=us&l=en&s=corp

10 grands?!?! 10000?!?!?! I'm sorry, you have been ripped off.

Thank you all for the suggestions, I appreciate it

I've got quite a few ideas brewing in my little head now *laughs*

~Kaiah~