I'm ordering a new computer from ibuypower and I was wondering if you guys could take a quick look at the specs and see if it looks alright.

Case: Xion Dazl Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply

Power Supply: 750 Watt - Corsair CMPSU-750TX Power Supply

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8600 (3.33GHz)

Processor Cooling: Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink

Motherboard: Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45

Memory: 4 GB DDR2-800 (2 x 2gb)

Video Card: Radeon 4870 512mb

Hard Drive: SATA II 500 GB Hard Drive

CD/DVD Drive: LG 20x Dual Format/Double Layer DVD+R/+RW + CD-R/RW Drive

Sound Card: 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard(don't use stereos, so I never saw the need for a fancy sound card)


Also, would it be possible do use the Vista Ultimate disc I received with my laptop on this computer? Can't you put it on multiple computers, you just have a limit to how many?

I don't think you need a 750w PS...could save a few bucks there.

Unless you have a special license, you can only have Vista Ultimate on one computer, IIRC.

If you try to put it on another it won't activate, you have to go on the phone and explain you want to use it on a new computer, in which case they deactivate the old one's activation I imagine.

Load Ubuntu on it instead. I have pretty Aero Glass effects on mine, plus better security features than UAC. <3

**** Ubuntu. No reason to learn a whole new operating system if you're a casual user. Also, open-source is highly overrated, but I suppose that's kind of their lifeline.

I don't use Aero anyway. I just don't want to shell out another $90+ for home basic or premium.

I agree with JLee, unless you actaully are planning to run dual 4870's Crossfire in the future.

Kieran, you can always try to find a slip streamed version of your OS on BT. When you activate it, just say your computer crashed and you are re-installing it. Don't mention anything about hardware changes etc. They have no way to check those things. I've done it about 4 times personally using a slip streamed version of windows xp pro with my laptop license.

The Windows security model is arguably much better than the one utilized by UNIX.

What exactly is a "slip streamed" version?

That's a mistake. You should be using Aero for the GPU acceleration.

Every copy of windows will only work with the machine it came with, or installed on. So for example, since you already have an existing copy of Vista installed, that copy is now locked down to only that computer based on its hardware components. However, if you have a slip streamed windows, it is essentially a "virgin" copy of it and you will be able to install it on any other machine even if the license is already in use. All you need to do is install as normal, and when you activate it, claim that it is the same machine.

Out of curiosity, will my laptop still work? Will I just have to avoid getting online with it or something? Also, since I don't use bittorrent, can I just use some of the programs and instructions found on the internet for creating a slip stream disc?

Hahaha wow I don't remember making this post at all.

It's still true though.

That's only true for OEM versions. And even for OEM versions, you can still call in and get a manual activation.

For slipstreaming, you want nLite, or vLite for Vista.

Cool spec I guess. Have not bought a new computer for ages, my Dell laptop has ensured I won't need a new one for a while :). Besides Im saving up for and Xbox 360 and a car :).

A. Start using bittorrent
B. Get vLite which does what you want.

Found out today I can't use my version of Ultimate(or at least the authentication code?) anyway since it's 32 bit and I need 64 bit.

btw, what exactly are all the "bells and whistles" in Ultimate? As a gamer, what does Ultimate offer than Home Premium doesn't?

It's like Home Premium and Business put together, with "Ultimate Extras" thrown in (aka a bunch of useless junk like a couple games).

Drugs are bad, mmmkay?

As a gamer, why do I need the features from Business?

Ultimate also includes BitLocker (A hard drive encryption utility), whereas the other versions of Vista do not.

You really don't need the features of Business for gaming purposes, but Ultimate is meant to be an "all-inclusive" version. Really from a gaming perspective, no version of Vista is better than others. You can compare the versions here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/default.aspx

If all you're going to do on the PC is game a bit, browse the web, I'd really recommend Home Premium if you decide to purchase a new copy (full or update) of the OS, as from that point on there's a lot of features built in that are unnecessary. One additional thing to keep in mind is that you can buy any version of Windows Vista, and upgrade it to an improved version online, without buying new media.

As for installing a single copy of Windows on multiple PCs...

Each copy of Windows XP and Vista require activation after installation. Once Windows is installed, you have up to 30 days to activate it. During the activation process the product key is paired with information based on the hardware components of the computer on which Windows is installed. It uses the hardware pairing to determine if a single copy of Vista is installed on multiple PCs. You can use the OS without problems for the first 30 days, after which Windows will try to force you to activate, by preventing the OS from functioning until you do.

There are ways around the activation process, some easier and more effective than others. A simple google search will yield the appropriate instrucitons. There can be consequences to this

You don't need anything other then Vista Home Premium. It has what you need, and isn't as bare-boned as Basic is.

Ultimate and Business don't offer much except for cool 3d Aero alt-tabbing...

Uh, Home Premium has that also... it's just part of Aero.