I still don't see any need to get Vista for the time being or the near future (next 2-3 years). SPECIALLY for UO players (if UO is your bread and butter).

I'm with you on that "Dell issue" Keller. I've never owned one, but haven't heard anyone really bring up anything negative about them. They aren't like Gateways or Compaqs that I've religously heard complaints about and if any of my friends had any, I'd never help troubleshoot them 'cause they were always pieces of crap.

i am 5 for 5 with outstanding dells. if either one of the first 4 sucked then the 5th one would have been falcon

my opinion is based on ownership of a dell laptop which comes with a ton of crap preloaded keeps advising me to update everything under the sun including hardware I dont even have installed and customer service is great especially if you speak indian or pakistani! (sorry not sure what language that is exactly)

Hi Warsong,

Save yourself a lot of hassle and go with Windows Vista HP/32b (Home Premium 32-bit). Always go with the current/latest OS available for the computer you're buying... which is Vista. Vista has been out over a year now, has a service pack under it's belt, and is the current future going forward.

DX10 has plenty of games for it now, yes... mostly FPS games now. But a year from now, most games will support DX10 or require it. Vid cards now (unless you buy an old one now that's been sitting on a shelf for a while) are DX10.

XP is the past. XP was released in 2001 and everyone then swore that XP was the worst OS known to man, now seven years later it is the greatest thing since sliced bread... even with XP just receiving Service Pack 3, XP is still a 7 year old OS. Seven years from now, Vista will be the "new" XP and people will forget how much they hate it now & love it then. Even though Windows "7" is about 2 years (more or less) from now.

Step into the current now, don't buy into the past.

About the whole Dell thing. It's just like buying a car. There is always someone that hates one company/make/model or another. Chevy vs. Ford. Honda vs. Toyota. BMW vs. MB. Honestly, they are all good... but once in a blue moon some customer somewhere is going to get a lemon and swear that company off forever. Case in point... I have hundreds of corporate, commercial and residential clients. About 80% of them use Dells... only 1 client (out of all of them) has sworn to never, ever buy a Dell again (now they only buy HPs); the others like Dell. The other 20% of non-Dell clients use Acer/Gateway/eMachine (Acer owns all of these 3 now), HP, IBM, Lenovo, Sony, and so on.

If crapware (aka trialware) on a new system is a big concern, look at the Dell Vostro small to medium business line... it doesn't come with any.

Dip is right... the question is how much money you have. And to add on to that... how much you know. Some people like building their own PCs, some people enjoy learning... most don't, most people just want a boxed appliance that does what they want it to do without knowing anything about what goes on inside so long as it works. "Ignore the man behind the curtain." Key is what kind of person are you? Then ask yourself how much you want to spend to do what you want.

If you know how, have help (plenty here on UOF or on other tech forums), or want to learn... there is great satisfaction in building your own, and you can build it the way you want. Building your own... used to be cheaper. Getting a custom build at a local shop... used to be cheaper. Not anymore. Big manufacturers buy in quantities that most stores can't compete with, and there are very low margins on hardware. Also unless you know enough about PCs... can you warranty/support your own build? Will the local shop still be there 2 months after you have one built? If so and you have the money... build your own. Places like Buy.com, Newegg.com, TigerDirect.com have great prices; and some local shops are true gems (ask around your town about reputable shops).

Someone mentioned Falcon. Awesome gaming systems. Pretty pricey though... like Alienware. You get a lot of bang for a lot of buck. If you have the money though, there is nothing like a semi-custom, bleeding edge gaming rig. Even the big companies are into this now, like... Dell's XPS and HP's Blackbird.

Another route to go is... buy a basic mainsteam box (a $400 to $800 low to mid-level CPU) from a 1st tier maker (Acer/Gateway/eMachine, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Sony, and so on)... that way you have your box, build, and warranty. Then go out locally (Best Buy, etc.) or online (Newegg.com, etc.) and bump up what needs bumped in that new box.

Examples... if the new box has a video chip for vid, then buy a real video card for it. An audio chip, buy a real audio card. Max out the RAM with bigger, faster RAM. Stock HDs & optical drives are usually good for the few years... unless you want something special. That's it. Company box bumped. This is usually the most bang for the buck.

Batteries not included. Your mileage may vary. No wagering please. Hope that helps.

As a long time Dell user (over 10 years now, both at home and at work), I do have to wonder what the "Don't get a Dell" attitude comes from.

When I lived in the states, the customer service was never short of outstanding and I have had only one issue (laptop batteries) with the computers themselves, which was handled very quickly and efficiently once it was discovered.

The service in the Netherlands is a little bit lacking (to the point where I call England or USA for any help I might need), but still better than a lot of other companies I've dealt with in the past.

Honestly, if you aren't making your own system, I would (and have) recommend Dell in an instant.\

edit - and the laptop issue (must admit to having had it myself) was solved simply by uninstalling the offending program, which is part of the "installing windows" procedure anyhow, so I didn't consider that an issue.

All companies put their own junk into an OS. Installing any new non-linux OS (and even with some versions of linux) involves a significant amount of uninstalling.

I don't want to argue with Nok, as he seems more in-the-know than me, but wouldn't adding onto a pre-built system void the warranty in most cases?

Thanks Nok and everyone else for their opinions.

I does help. Money I have, the know how not so much. Too afraid to really dig in and try my hand at building my own.

Guess I am leaning to just biting the bullet and going with vista. Like it or not it is going to be the future. By the gods, I dislike microsoft, but I am a game junkie, so I am stuck.

thanks again for everyones opinions, I really like that I can post here and have a calm, adult discussion without it devolving into the sewer, like some other forums.

Hi Kellerman & Warsong,

Nah, asking the question and bringing up a point is a good thing. And this is a good question.

The answer... no. Not for the average user. Most upgrades that can be done via an expansion slot, memory slot, device bay, or plugged in (like additional fans and better power supplies)... are allowed under most warranties.

Now overclocking (tweaking your hardware like the CPU, the systemboard, etc.) is usually not allowed... unless it is specifically allowed for your particular model. Check to be sure, don't assume.

Anything that involves clipping, trimming or soldering will void a warranty.

Many years ago, a PC manufacturer or two tried to void warranties based on user upgrades (they wanted users to upgrade through them only... at a premium). They got sued and lost for not allowing customers to upgrade to a competitive product for fear of losing their warranties and not being allowed to use features (expansion slots) that they had paid for.

Now if you are the asset manager for your company's IT department, and you're rolling out 5000 new, leased laptops... the rules are different.

You're welcome. This is UOF, there are a lot of sharp users here... and know how to make their points. If not, no cookies and a bunny bop to put us back in line.

Some suggestions:

• Go by your local bookstore or news stand, and pickup a couple of PC magazines to read through... the articles and the ads.
• While you're out, go take a look at what is on the shelves at Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, Wal-Mart and your local computer mega store.
• Also online, check out the sites of the big makers and the big online retailers... Amazon, Buy.com, Newegg.com and TigerDirect.com (they sell the big name PCs too).
• And takes notes... compare makes, models, and prices.

This will give you an idea of what is out there, what it costs, and more importantly... what you want and don't want.

Don't fight the future, you will be assimilated...

exactly the way i feel about it. great post by the way.

I was assimilated years ago! But everynight in my dreams, I journey to unimatrix zero.