The beast PC

k_161

hi can someone please help me?

my father asked me to make a list of the best PC components out there....and i dont know what to pick he just whant a home PC NOT for gaming.......but it stll has to be strong and well least for a couple of years and obviously well be able to run windows vsta in the near future

so can some one with more experience please post the components her(motherboard.....hard disk....etc) i would really appreciate it.

PS:money not a problem...but nothing too extreme:P.oh and i LOVE the new look

Thanks and remember the BEST.

niceguyrichy

well you should really tell us what the comp is gonna be used for

if it's just browsing and Word, then he doesn't need anything very much at all
if he uses a lot of hungry apps but no games then you might be looking intel over amd, so the more details you can give the better we can help

Dark Lord

if hes looking for something to run vista on the recomended specs, hes got a long wait ahead of him since some of the parts arnt even available yet.

swimtech

According to the latest information available from here:

Windows Vista at Microsoft

you will need a discrete graphics card that fully supports DirectX 9 in hardware - but Vista will also be shipping with DirectX 10. Currently, there are no graphics cards that support DirectX 10 in hardware - but drivers that no doubt support DirectX 10 functions for present day and some older cards will be released. Vista's operation will be helped by this capability in the GPU - and will enable the full beauty of the interface to be seen and used properly.

Vista will also support Dual Core processors - which I would recommend for speed and smooth operation.

Also recommended is 1 Gigabyte of Ram (the absolute minimum recommended is 512Mb, but digging into the section for IT Professionals reveals the 1Gb recommendation). For folks at my job, which number in the hundreds, I and others came up with the recommendation (we just did this Friday actually) for 2Gb as a "standard" because they run Novell, Antivirus, and a couple other applications in the backround all the time - as do most home office users - the needs are similar.

As a matter of fact, here are the basic specs we just settled on for the "standard" office machine at work, purchases starting now, running XP today, Vista in '08, MS Office, Antivirus, Novell Client, and other needed software packages as needed by each department:

2.8Ghz Dual Core Intel processor, 64 bit enabled (820 or better today, 9xx series when available)
2.0 Gigs ram - 2 dimms full, 2 dimms open
ATI X600 PCIe 128Mb video card
80G hard drive

Hope this helps...

This machine is anticipated to be useful for the next four years with minimum modification.

Dark Lord

just dug this up on microsoft watch.

2004s projected average system specs where...

"Longhorn PC feature a dual-core CPU running at 4 to 6GHz; a minimum of 2 gigs of RAM; up to a terabyte of storage; a 1 Gbit, built-in, Ethernet-wired port and an 802.11g wireless link; and a graphics processor that runs three times faster than those on the market today."

as of april 2005 its more like "
At this year's WinHEC, Microsoft offered up only the most basic of guidelines as to what PC makers should do to make their PCs "Longhorn-ready." During a session at this week's show, Mark Croft, a group product manager in the Windows product management group, told PC makers that most existing mainstream 32- and 64-bit CPUs from mainstream manufacturers should run Longhorn.

While dual-core CPUs will run Longhorn better, "Longhorn does run on mainstream processors," Croft said.

The only other Longhorn PC requirements that are set in stone are 512 MB or better of RAM and, support for the new Longhorn Display Driver Model (LDDM) in order to handle the operating system's new graphical features."


but thats only to make it "ready" not fully functional.



and, i found what i was looking for in the first place.


taken from bit-tech.com...


"A Tech Strategist within Microsoft, Nigel Page, has gone on record to discuss the hardware requirements for Windows Vista, due out next Christmas.

What he's said is kind of shocking.



System breakdown


Graphics: Vista has changed from using the CPU to display bitmaps on the screen to using the GPU to render vectors. This means the entire display model in Vista has changed. To render the screen in the GPU requires an awful lot of memory to do optimally - 256MB is a happy medium, but you'll actually see benefit from more. Microsoft believes that you're going to see the amount of video memory being shipped on cards hurtle up when Vista ships.

CPU: Threading is the main target for Vista. Currently, very little of Windows XP is threaded - the target is to make Vista perform far better on dual-core and multi-core processors.

RAM: 2GB is the ideal configuration for 64-bit Vista, we're told. Vista 32-bit will work ideally at 1GB, and minimum 512. However, since 64-bit is handling data chunks that are double the size, you'll need double the memory, hence the 2GB. Nigel mentions DDR3 - which is a little odd, since the roadmap for DDR3, on Intel gear at least, doesn't really kick in until 2007.

HDD: SATA is definitely the way forward for Vista, due, Microsoft tells us, to Native Command Queueing. NCQ allows for out of order completions - that is, if Vista needs tasks 1,2,3,4 and 5 done, it can do them in the order 2,5,3,4,1 if that's a more efficient route for the hard drive head to take over the disk. This leads to far faster completion times. NCQ is supported on SATA2 drives, so expect them to start becoming the standard sooner rather than later. Microsoft thinks that these features will provide SCSI-level performance.

Bus: AGP is 'not optimal' for Vista. Because of the fact that graphics cards may have to utilise main system memory for some rendering tasks, a fast, bi-direction bus is needed - that's PCI express.

Display: Prepare to feel the red mist of rage - no current TFT monitor out there is going to support high definition playback in Vista. You may already have heard rumblings about this, but here it is. To play HD-DVD or Blu-Ray content you need a HDCP compatible monitor. Why? Because these formats use HDCP to encrypt a video signal as it travels along a digital connection to an output device, to prevent people copying it. If you have just standard DVI or even an analogue output, you're going to see HD scaled down to a far-less-than-HD resolution for viewing - which sucks. This isn't really Microsoft's fault - HDCP is something that content makers, in their eternal wisdom, have decided is necessary to stop us all watching pirated movies. Yay."

k_161

ok thanks guys.he told me that he wants a strong PC that will run demanding applications.
so im thinking some thing like ....
1-P4 3.2Ghz
2-1 or 2 GB DDR pc400 RAM
3-[color=#0000ff]nvidia[/color] 6600 256MB PCI-E
3-a good PCI-E motherboard ??
4-SATA hard disk

Al_Vampyre

That sounds about right, although I would seriously consider getting a dual-core processor. Dual cores are much more common now so I think we'll start to see a lot of programs coming out in versions that support SMP instructions and I would also go with 2Gb rather than 1Gb of RAM especially if the demanding apps are things like photoshop

Vikingod

I would definetely go with something in the dual core variety. I would look toward AMD here, as the performance/price is much better currently. Get the 3800+, its cheap now and a really nice proc. As far as a mobo goes, really any of the NF4 variety are great, maybe an asus or DFI (I'm not saying to spend $200 on a gamers board, but the two make great quality mobo's, and driver support will assuredly be there).

wee017

Motherboard: ASUS P5N32-SLI
CPU: Intel 820
Graphics: nVidia 6800
RAM: Corsair XMS 2GB
HD: WD 10,000 RPM 150GB Raptor SATA HD
Power Supply: Enermax Liberty 620W
Case: Lian-Li V1000

Sandok

I disagree with the RAM... For a mostly media PC the kind of ram will make no difference. The timings won't make any difference compared to the size. So go for cheaper ram

And why a SLI mobo when a good media PC needs 1 good vid card (AIW from ati?)

Raptors are again overkill for a media PC... he said NOT gaming so just any HD with NCQ or something... Sata or sata 2

Etc... I'm soon gonna make a new media center yet powerful pc once DX10 cards start hitting the shelf

k_161

Thank you

Lowfat

Ya you really don't need expensive ram. Corsair Value is what I use and i couldn't be happier for the price.

franciscomprg

hi
i live in angola nd i want to buy a new portable
having in consideration the prices i have chosen a few ones nd if someone could give me an opinion about the best choice to make i'd apreciate
-acer aspire 1694LMi
-asus A6VM-Q008H PM740/15.4/1GB
-Toshiba Satellite M70-164 PM750/1GB/15,4
PS.here in angola there aren't as many choises of pcs like in the US so these were the best I found in reasonable prices

GeneralClaymore

There are 14 LCD montiors out that does support HDCP. Mine is one of them and others I dont remember, but firingsquad has a list of HDCP supported montiors.