Operating System Question

[Maikeru-sama]

When you all are getting Laptops/Desktop computers for home, are you getting them with a 64-bit OS or a 32-bit OS?

I am going to buy a new Dell, but I am unsure if I should get a 32-bit OS or a 64-bit OS.

I know if I get the 64-bit Windows 7 OS, my printer may not work but are there any other issues I should be aware of with a 64-bit OS before I decide to get a PC that comes with one?

This PC will be used mainly for work-related stuff. I will be putting quite of bit of Microsoft Enterprise Software on here via Virtual PC, for testing, training etc etc, so that is why I was thinking about going with the 64-bit OS and that seems to be where things are going anyway.

[Meat-O-Rama]

64 bit OS will still run 32 bit programs, so no worries there.

I personally would go with the 64 bit as it is a bit more future proof.

[Anjinsan]

Go with the 64bit. No brainer.

[Sam I Am]

That is the 64 million dollar question. (pun intended!)

It's definitely time to start the move to 64bit, but especially when using some older software and hardware, it's caveat emptor. (buyer beware)

If you're worried about your printer, Google your printers brand, model, and Windows 7 64bit to see if anyone else has had any issues.

[Maikeru-sama]

Thanks for the feedback.

My printer is rather old and needs to be replaced, so I have no problem with that if I need too.

[Sam I Am]

64 bit OS will still run 32 bit programs, so no worries there.

I personally would go with the 64 bit as it is a bit more future proof.

This is not always true. My father calls me whining all the time because his ancient apps don't run on Win7 64 even in compatibility mode.

He told me two days ago he wants to boot Win7-64, WinXP-32, and Win98. As soon as I heard him say Win98, I hung up on him. :laugh2:

[Yeagermeister]

This is not always true. My father calls me whining all the time because his ancient apps don't run on Win7 64 even in compatibility mode.

He told me two days ago he wants to boot Win7-64, WinXP-32, and Win98. As soon as I heard him say Win98, I hung up on him. :laugh2:

Virtual pc :D

[Yeagermeister]

Mick - if there are vista drivers for your printer you can use them with 7.

As for 64 vs 32...I use Win7 64 and I don't see any big difference. As soon as we slow down a bit I plan on wiping my machine and loading Win7 32 bit.

[Heisenberg]

Windows 7 64-bit is good stuff. Plus, if you have 4 GB of RAM, it won't all be useable on 32-bit. There's no reason these days not to go to 64-bit.

[dback]

One thing you can try to do is set your printer up as a generic postscript printer. Just about every printer since the 80s will print PS. If you did this, you will likely not be able to use any fancy features built in. My advice, buy a new printer.

With the 32-bit OS, you are limited to 4GB of RAM.

[Maikeru-sama]

What are you guy's thoughts on this Dell PC for $1500?

Dell Precision T3500
OS: Windows 7/64-bit
Processor: Quad Core Intel Xeon/W3530 2.80GHz, 8M L3, 4.8GT/s
Memory: 6GB, 1333MHz, DDR3 SDRAM, ECC (6 DIMMS)
Video: 256MB ATI FireMV® 2260, 2MON, 2 DP w/ 1 DP to DVI Adapter
Hard Drive: 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache

I have a Dell Precision T3500 Core 2 Duo and have been very happy with it. Do you think this price is too much or is the price inline with what you think you would pay?

[dback]

What do you plan to do with it? Programming? CAD?

[Maikeru-sama]

Yes.

Through my job, I have an MSDN Ultimate Subscription. I plan to put MS Virtual PC on the new computer, and install apps such as SQL Server, MOSS, several versions of Visual Studio.Net, IIS, Biztalk etc etc on it for continual training.

Right now I have a Web/Database Server but it is fairly old (2003ish) and I want to get rid of it.

[dback]

I see no need to get the FireMV card. Look for a computer with an ATI 5000 series video card. They support more than two screens, will have better driver support, and are not obsolete. Your CPU is fine, the 8MB cache is great!!! I know that those large SQL queries really benefit from this cache.

You should really fork up the money for Windows Server 2008 R2 to use some of its nice features.

[Maikeru-sama]

I see no need to get the FireMV card. Look for a computer with an ATI 5000 series video card. They support more than two screens, will have better driver support, and are not obsolete. Your CPU is fine, the 8MB cache is great!!! I know that those large SQL queries really benefit from this cache.

You should really fork up the money for Windows Server 2008 R2 to use some of its nice features.

I already shut the screen down where I built the Dell. I think that was the only Video Card they offered.

I haven't purchased anything yet, so I will go back tomorrow and rebuild the PC.

When I started my new gig, one of the Principal Consultants told me he does his training (he is a Sharepoint expert) via Virtual PC, he says it is more efficient as you don't have to have a dedicated server or pay for hosting but you have to have a decent PC to do this.

[dback]

I already shut the screen down where I built the Dell. I think that was the only Video Card they offered.

I haven't purchased anything yet, so I will go back tomorrow and rebuild the PC.

When I started my new gig, one of the Principal Consultants told me he does his training (he is a Sharepoint expert) via Virtual PC, he says it is more efficient as you don't have to have a dedicated server or pay for hosting but you have to have a decent PC to do this.

If you are planning on running more than two or three VMs at once on this machine, it may be better to up the memory now. I believe this series uses the triple channel memory so you could bump it up to 12 GB (6x2GB), your choice of course. I love using VMs, they make life so much easier.

[PBJTime]

What are you guy's thoughts on this Dell PC for $1500?

Dell Precision T3500
OS: Windows 7/64-bit
Processor: Quad Core Intel Xeon/W3530 2.80GHz, 8M L3, 4.8GT/s
Memory: 6GB, 1333MHz, DDR3 SDRAM, ECC (6 DIMMS)
Video: 256MB ATI FireMV® 2260, 2MON, 2 DP w/ 1 DP to DVI Adapter
Hard Drive: 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache

I have a Dell Precision T3500 Core 2 Duo and have been very happy with it. Do you think this price is too much or is the price inline with what you think you would pay?

Just a thought. I have built my own PC's in the past, but for the sake of time and convenience, I went and purchased this one at Best Buy, for just about $1000. http://reviews.bestbuy.com/3545/9965745/asus-essentio-desktop-amd-phenom-ii-x6-processor-8gb-memory-reviews/reviews.htm

It is a beast of a computer for the price, and handles my gaming and photo editing needs with ease. The processor is just slightly below the intel in performance, but you also have 6 physical cores. However, I'll admit that I'm not sure how relevant it would be to your needs.

[theogt]

What are you guy's thoughts on this Dell PC for $1500?

Dell Precision T3500
OS: Windows 7/64-bit
Processor: Quad Core Intel Xeon/W3530 2.80GHz, 8M L3, 4.8GT/s
Memory: 6GB, 1333MHz, DDR3 SDRAM, ECC (6 DIMMS)
Video: 256MB ATI FireMV® 2260, 2MON, 2 DP w/ 1 DP to DVI Adapter
Hard Drive: 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache

I have a Dell Precision T3500 Core 2 Duo and have been very happy with it. Do you think this price is too much or is the price inline with what you think you would pay?Not sure I'd ever pay $1500 for a personal computer these days.

[67CowboysFan]

Not sure I'd ever pay $1500 for a personal computer these days.
Not when you can put your own together for a lot less.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=31&srkey=barebones%20kit

[Heisenberg]

Not when you can put your own together for a lot less.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=31&srkey=barebones%20kit

I'll always build my own. I'm very partial to shopping from http://www.newegg.com though. You can build a kickass machine for very little money if you get the right stuff. Normally, that means not getting the absolute top of the line, but maybe the 2nd best. You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference side by side, but your wallet will thank you.

[Sam I Am]

In the past, $1,500 was what I spent building mine. That said, the system I built was built for high end gaming at the time. To buy one of similar specs at the time would have been a high end AlienWare with a price tag closer to $3,000-$3,500.

It usually included a $500 video card, two SCSI drives, a hardware raid card in RAID0 for the highest possible read/write and at least 4GB of memory and the fastest CPU I could get. (bang for the buck, the newest CPU was never a good deal if purchasing Intel anyhow)

I usually spend at least $250 on the motherboard so that it was upgradeable CPU and memory wise not to mention you usually get the newest and fastest technology.

The upgrade factor is one of the best part about building your own vs buy a proprietary box. It would save you truckloads of money compared to what you would spend buying a second computer off the shelf down the road when a small upgrade would have been all you needed.

My last PC I only spent $1,000 on. (E6600 dual core CPU at 2.4Ghz, 4GB, (2) 250GB SATAII)

Thats because today I don't game like that anymore. (though I do have BFBC2) I've been debating if I want to build my next one. Of course that doesn't matter now. I just upgraded my current one with a new video card for BFBC2. Gigabyte Nvidia GTX640 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125333&cm_re=nvidia_gtx_460-_-14-125-333-_-Product). I built this system over three years ago and with a slight upgrade, it still runs all the newest games. This is the benefit I speak of that you just can't do with proprietary systems. I spent $229 and it is almost as if I bought a new computer.

Money savings and the ability to upgrade with ease (which results in more money savings) is what makes building your own so much better. Not to mention if you build it yourself it doesn't come with any bloatware.

[Sam I Am]

I'll always build my own. I'm very partial to shopping from http://www.newegg.com though. You can build a kickass machine for very little money if you get the right stuff. Normally, that means not getting the absolute top of the line, but maybe the 2nd best. You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference side by side, but your wallet will thank you.

I shop almost exclusively Newegg also. I agree about not being top of the line. Way to much markup. This is where shopping smart and leaving a good upgrade path is essential. As prices drop and the need more more resources come, then you drop a few bucks and boom. Fast and better PC on the cheap.

[dback]

The only thing that sucks about Newegg is they do not accept purchase orders. At Texas Tech, you can only spend $5000 per year per (non-Dell) vendor without getting consent from the purchasing department, which is almost never. We have a contract with Dell so TTU wants you to spend with them as much as possible.