PC

[Riz_RS4]

My first computer cost nearly £2600! [img]images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img]

Intel Pentium 90Mhz
16mb Ram
4x CD-Rom, Multispeed
1Gb Hdd
Windows 3.11 For Workgroups
Office 4.3 Pro
16-Bit Soundcard
ATi 4mb PCI VGA card
17" Monitor
Speakers, Keyboard, Mouse etc

It was top of the range! [img]images/graemlins/bowdown.gif[/img]
Well expensive back then [img]images/graemlins/033102bad_1_prv.gif[/img]

[Taipan]

Sam,

Why don't you keep your current laptop for mobility purposes and get a good desktop for home use (gaming and music) ?

Of course, you'll find high-end multimedia laptops for gaming, with 15" screen, GeForce4 Go 64meg video card, DVD-CD burner combos, Wifi etc., like the Dell Inspiron 8500 or the Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100. But it'll be in the £ 1,500-1,700 range, not including a large external monitor. And any extra upgrade, inc. Ram or larger hard-drive, will come at a hefty price due to proprietary slots/connections.

But with a desktop and a neat 19" trinitron-style monitor, plus 4.1 speakers and real-size keyboard (can't game well without one), you'd reach another level of immersion.
Plus all the confort of having it all plugged-in all the time (ie no need to plug/unplug the power + the mouse + the keyboard + the ADSL cable + monitor + printer + speakers, etc. every time you leave and return home).

If you're serious about the gaming, have a look at these multiplayer competitions where hundreds of teenagers pack in a single amphi to compete on Counter-Strike or Warcraft III : not a single notebook ...
Either big towers or the new "must-have", the Shuttle desktops [img]images/graemlins/rocker.gif[/img]. And everyone is using full size keyboards plus large monitors.

Eric

[PhilT]

Cool [img]images/graemlins/rocker.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[Riz_RS4]

[img]images/graemlins/rocker.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]

[Taipan]

OK, I have to do my coming out [img]images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] : I've been a video/amiga/pc gamer for more than twenty years. That's more than my smoking cigarettes. I'm that addicted... [img]images/graemlins/rocker.gif[/img]

Eric

[Riz_RS4]

[img]images/graemlins/biggrin3.gif[/img] I`m not that old yet but also tend to play video games too [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/tung2.gif[/img]

Best car game to date:
GT3 A-Spec & GT3 Geneva-Tokyo Concept

New GT4 is due out end of this year, there`s a really good interview with the Games maker in the latest EVO mag! [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/tung2.gif[/img] top stuff!

[runrowsam]

Eric, I thought about the desktop idea, but my trouble is financing! However, you're right, for about £1000 I could have an absolute beast of a machine for home, and this hunk-o-dump for work purposes. I'll see what the finances allow.

Gran Turismo is a legendary series of games, but I do have a soft spot for GTA Vice City. There's something about the shere lawlessness of it that makes it so much fun! Where else can you beat people up with a golf club, shoot cars off of bridges with an Apache gunship, and do all sorts of amazing stunts on bikes?! Need For Speed Porsche Challenge was a trooper of a game too if you ask me [img]images/graemlins/rocker.gif[/img]

Rock on
Sam [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img]

[kennyboy]

My first computer cost nearly £2600! [img]images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img]

Intel Pentium 90Mhz
16mb Ram
4x CD-Rom, Multispeed
1Gb Hdd
Windows 3.11 For Workgroups
Office 4.3 Pro
16-Bit Soundcard
ATi 4mb PCI VGA card
17" Monitor
Speakers, Keyboard, Mouse etc

It was top of the range! [img]images/graemlins/bowdown.gif[/img]
Well expensive back then [img]images/graemlins/033102bad_1_prv.gif[/img]

Yeah, I remember a spec (& priced paid) like that with my old Evesham. Brought my Dell laptop just over 2yrs ago; 750mhz 192 ram. Now, its not good enough to play C&C Generals on it.

[Taipan]

You bet !

Command and Conquer "Generals" is probably the toughest game out there for PCs.
You'd need a GeForce4 TI 4600 128meg or a ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128meg (count 250£ at least, and up to £400 for the major brands), plus 512mo of Ram and at least a P4 2.4ghz to enjoy all graphical features at max level.

But frankly, it's a P.O.S game with a nauseous taste of propaganda ... ("we're the good guys, arabs and chinese are the bad guys") [img]images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img], so you ain't missing anything.
Typical repetitive sequel with only graphical enhancements, nothing else vs. original game; a pure marketing/PR machine with zero gaming breakthrough. Blah...

Eric

[Bushy]

If anyone's interested, we are also a major systems reseller for Autodesk (AutoCAD, Inventor, Architectural Desktop etc.) and PTC (Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire etc.)

So how much for the AutoCad LT2003 upgrade then mate?

[FatBoy]

Hi Bushy,
What do you use LT for ?
Is it purely 2D work or do you "try" to work in 3D ? [img]images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Paul

[Nige_RS4]

My pennies worth .... buy a 17" TFT monitor rather than a 15" as they are limited to 1024 x 768 res. TFT prices have crashed recently, and there's a good site here offering re-furbed sony TFT's at silly prices with a 3 yr sony warranty.

Nige.

[Bushy]

Hi Bushy,
What do you use LT for ?
Is it purely 2D work or do you "try" to work in 3D ? [img]images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Paul

I use LT just for minor mods to 2D layouts and printing really

I prefer to use Silverscreen Solid Modeller for 3D

I also use Artlantis for rendering

Cheers for your PM's on this subject too