New PC

[Guest Open_C]

..

[Chrissy Bee]

What is the graphics card? It's pretty easy to get a graphics card with 256mb that still runs like an absolute dog.

[ikri]

Try http://www.arbico.co.uk/

 

Relatively cheap systems, the value packages generally come with onboard graphics but they can be customized to add a more powerful card (plus a load more options).

[Rob W]

we've used evesham pc's for years - similar to Dell but a slightly better build quality

[wacko]

I think Google Earth is bandwidth-limited, not video-card-bound.

 

To be honest, with your specific requirements and a retail copy of Vista, you might want to go to the local computer shop and have them build you a machine. It will fit your specs better than an off-the-shelf box.

[Adam]

build one yourself, its piss easy. What cpu is that dell ?

 

Here is something i have just pulled up, could probs save money on the graphics as that may be more than you need. You already have a copy of vista right ?

 

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/4028/pcpng.png

 

 

[wacko]

I built a PC once and found it to be not so piss easy as had been recommended by others (I'm not incapable of sliding a card into a slot, but I'm not patient or careful enough for anything more advanced, to be honest).

 

could probs save money on the graphics as that may be more than you need.

 

I already have a copy of Vista but it's OEM and therefore tied to my broken old PC >_<  Are there supposed to be two graphics cards in your basket there..?

Building PCs is a pain. I got sick of it years ago. You can get the bloke in the store to do it for you. It won't cost much, because he can do it 5 times faster than you or I.

 

Best way to buy a computer if you know what you want. If something goes wrong, you can just take it back to the shop to get it fixed instead of it being sent back to the manufacturer for two weeks. OEMs have a nasty habit of skimping on things like PCI slots and PSUs to keep the GHz and GB up and the $$ down.

 

When you say an OEM version of Vista, is it a crippled version or do you have a proper install DVD?

[Lenny]

I built a PC once and found it to be not so piss easy as had been recommended by others (I'm not incapable of sliding a card into a slot, but I'm not patient or careful enough for anything more advanced, to be honest).

 

could probs save money on the graphics as that may be more than you need.

 

I already have a copy of Vista but it's OEM and therefore tied to my broken old PC >_<  Are there supposed to be two graphics cards in your basket there..?

 

You can run dual graphics cards on a motherboard that allows it, however the motherboard in that picture only has one PCI-E x16 slot, so I'm not sure why 2 are marked....

 

I have an OEM copy of Vista on a DVD and I've used it on more than one machine.

[Chrissy Bee]

 

I have a full Vista install DVD, but I understood that the OEM edition was tied to a machine (by obtaining some kind of hardware signature which it reports to MS on authentication, and then binds the serial to that signature)...?

 

I've heard rumours that if you phone them up they'll let you transfer it to a new motherboard.

[Guest Lazlo]

 

I have a full Vista install DVD, but I understood that the OEM edition was tied to a machine (by obtaining some kind of hardware signature which it reports to MS on authentication, and then binds the serial to that signature)...?

 

 

 

I've heard rumours that if you phone them up they'll let you transfer it to a new motherboard.

 

It is true to a certain extent. On activation ms takes a snapshot of your mobo/mac address/hd number etc. As long as you don't change everything there's a good chance you can either just install with your product key and go, or at the worst you can phone them and argue the toss all you have changed is your mobo. If you have to phone it seems to be one of those things whether you get a sympathetic operator or not.

 

It's always worth a try.

 

 

[wacko]

 

I have a full Vista install DVD, but I understood that the OEM edition was tied to a machine (by obtaining some kind of hardware signature which it reports to MS on authentication, and then binds the serial to that signature)...?

 

 

 

I've heard rumours that if you phone them up they'll let you transfer it to a new motherboard.

 

It is true to a certain extent. On activation ms takes a snapshot of your mobo/mac address/hd number etc. As long as you don't change everything there's a good chance you can either just install with your product key and go, or at the worst you can phone them and argue the toss all you have changed is your mobo. If you have to phone it seems to be one of those things whether you get a sympathetic operator or not.

 

It's always worth a try.

 

 

Gah! I forgot about all that activation rubbish. Haven't had to do it in years. Even though I have a couple of legit XP discs, I almost always install iffy versions because they work better, and the OEM has usually installed heaps of guff on the machine that's almost impossible to remove (e.g. Norton Internet Spunkworks).