New Computer

[pianodan]

My current computer is 4 years old. It still works just fine, and I've kept up with upgrading the things I can upgrade, but it's been long enough that little things aren't working like they ought to any more

Comments

[cynic51]

Do you actually have a use for a blu-ray burner? It seems like a lot of extra money when all you really need is a player.

[pianodan]

It's easier to stomach buying it as part of a big purchase than independently. And I like the idea of being able to back up 25 GB worth of stuff to one disc.

[zeuropa]

Are any of the games or other programs you want to run meant for XP? You might consider Win7 pro or Ultimate, so that you can get XP compatibility mode.

Note that I've only heard about it, haven't tried it, as everything I run seems to be Vista & Win7 compatible. There will soon be a compatibility center: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/partner/default.aspx - they FAQ says it will launch with Win7 (10/22). So you might check that out and look at your software before you pick a version.

Another note about XP mode: there's other specific hardware requirements - RAM, hard drive space, processor, but it appears you meet them all (always good to double-check for yourself, though).

[pianodan]

That's an excellent point, and I wish I'd thought of it before I went ahead and made the OS order. Here's the thing though - the upgrade coupons go away as soon as Windows 7 releases, so I HAVE to order before that compatibility center goes online.

Still, I'm sure there will be hardcore fans working on solutions for any older games I desperately want to run. And I can always upgrade to pro or ultimate later if I have to. Upgradability is a big part of why I'm building my own this time, after all.

[fisherman]

At least it's not Vista! I've been using Windows 7 for months from my developer account and it's a totally-not-crappy OS. (Although I still use Ubuntu for everything but gaming and Netflix.)