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Thread ID: 126506 2012-09-01 06:16:00 Hardware help required please Myth (110) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1298285 2012-09-03 02:22:00 That motherboard is getting a bit old in the tooth . What CPU are they running in it.
The vid card mentioned may be a mismatch, spec wise for an old Athon CPU ????
Are they wanting to make it a hi-end gaming PC, any reason they wanted that particular vid card ??


Asus, Leadtek, Gigabyte vid cards you mentioned. All good brands, so ignore any price diff as long as its a good brand.
Even these 'good' brands have in the past sometimes used crappy components
Go for the one with the longest store warranty (some stores will not give the full manufacturers warranty)
1101 (13337)
1298286 2012-09-03 05:07:00 Here ya go :thumbs:

OEM versions of Windows 7 are identical to Full License Retail versions except for the following:

- OEM versions do not offer any free Microsoft direct support from Microsoft support personnel

- OEM licenses are tied to the very first computer you install and activate it on

- OEM versions allow all hardware upgrades except for an upgrade to a different model motherboard

- OEM versions cannot be used to directly upgrade from an older Windows operating system

Imagine Non-OEM/full doesnt have these limitations.
stratex5 (16685)
1298287 2012-09-03 05:11:00 OEM versions cannot be used to directly upgrade from an older Windows operating system

Who doesn't do a fresh install anyway?
icow (15313)
1298288 2012-09-03 05:17:00 Yeah, i got this from the microsoft community forums. stratex5 (16685)
1298289 2012-09-03 06:24:00 OEM seems pretty rubbish. You can't do anything good with them. ChazTheGeek (16619)
1298290 2012-09-03 06:40:00 You can save $100+ on your overpriced OS. icow (15313)
1298291 2012-09-03 06:49:00 Well yes... ChazTheGeek (16619)
1298292 2012-09-03 07:14:00 I always buy OEM, then when I upgrade I sell the OS with the old computer and buy a new OEM copy for my new machine. It's a lot easier to sell a whole PC with a legitimate OS than without or as parts anyway.
However depending on how rigidly the supplier follows the rules you can't technically buy an OEM copy for an existing machine, it has to be sold with hardware and specifically is meant to be pre-installed by the system builder (I think we avoid this issue mainly because we are our own system builders). You could get an upgrade edition for a similar price though, and it can be used for a clean install if necessary with a bit of effort.

It might be worth posting the whole system specs, the intention of the upgrade, and the rough budget, if you would like us to advise you our opinions on your clients best options. It would be a shame to have them spend a bunch of money on oudated hardware and have it not do what they wanted. Also the 560 is a good card but there are newer options available that might suit also.
dugimodo (138)
1298293 2012-09-03 07:34:00 I personally think those that are advising my client are going into overkill for the game they play

Here is a list of the hardware requirements:
Recommended

Operating System: Windows 98 | ME | 2000 | XP | 7
CPU: 2 GHz
Graphics device: 3D-hardware accelerator graphics device with 128 MB RAM
DirectX: 9.0c or higher
RAM: 512MB RAM
Hard disk space: 2.5 GB
Internet connection: DSL or faster

Client has
Athlon 64 x2 4800+ .
1GB RAM - Ram meets recommended easily (although maybe 2 x 1GB wouldn't go astray)
Windows XP 32bit
500GB H/D
Graphics I think is integrated only - no card. I am thinking of suggesting this: www.ascent.co.nz Nice cheap card, will do what they require easily and definitely meets the spec
Myth (110)
1298294 2012-09-03 22:52:00 Pairing the clients machine with a GT560Ti is a waste of money IMO, that CPU will really bottleneck the card, so the GPU will be lucky to use half its power....I more suitable GPU would be something like the 768MB 460 or SE version....you could save the client over $100 easy! SolMiester (139)
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