DirectX10?

[Zephyr952]

So obviously DirectX10 is supposedly the best correct?

Allright, why do I need Vista (which I have only heard bad things about) to use it. Also what am I missing out if I choose to purchase my new gaming laptop with XP on it therefore opting out of DX10 for an operating system I prefer greatly over Vista.

Any information someone could suggest about whether I should spring for Vista for DX10 or if I should stick with my gut and get XP.

Thanks!:mrgreen:

[VanCrackin]

I have Vista. At this point in time the only thing that dissatisfies me about it is how much ram it eats up. Haven't noticed many bugs, except that its firewall can be a bit annoying when I want to run new programs. Asks me like 5 times if I can trust the program. Also does it for programs it should be familiar with occasionally.

You are going to probably buy it sooner or later,

[Zephyr952]

You are going to probably buy it sooner or later

True as that is seeing as its the only option for most computer purchases to have as an OS, but does that mean I should just get it because (and I hate this) XP is being supported less?

[Nerror]

Vista doesn't use a lot more ram than XP does. What it does is utilize idle RAM, unlike XP, to make things faster. With SP1 for vista coming in a month or two, I'd say go for vista if you're getting a new computer anyway.

WAR won't support DirectX 10 (at release anyway), so if you already have XP installed, you might as well stick with that unless you have another reason for going for Vista. It's unlikely WAR will benefit from more than 2-3Gb RAM, and XP can handle that just fine.

[VanCrackin]

Really? I remember reading a while back that the concept of Vista was to keep ram from being unused so it was utilize as much as it could. (Edit: Didn't see you put that in your post.)

In order to keep your machine up to speed that XP was, you are going to need roughly 2x the amount of ram (Of course this depends on how much your machine had in the first place). If you are getting a new computer I assume you will easily have the specs for it, but I would suggest at least 2 gigs of ram. Anything less than 1g you might as well forget it.

Also, Vista's ReadyBoost can be quite nice.

[oakae]

I have Vista. At this point in time the only thing that dissatisfies me about it is how much ram it eats up. Haven't noticed many bugs, except that its firewall can be a bit annoying when I want to run new programs. Asks me like 5 times if I can trust the program. Also does it for programs it should be familiar with occasionally.

You are going to probably buy it sooner or later,
Yea it isn't too bad. I would just get it now. Get 3 gigs of ram if it's Vista 32bit or 4gigs if Vista 64bit. I would get 32bit for now since it's more problem free.

DX10 also makes games run around 10% slower. Since DX10 is still pretty new, the graphical difference in most games between DX9 and DX10 isn't that drastic. The way Microsoft explained DX10 being Vista only is because the graphical system is built into the Vista while in XP it's separate.

[VanCrackin]

True as that is seeing as its the only option for most computer purchases to have as an OS, but does that mean I should just get it because (and I hate this) XP is being supported less?

I would suggest buying it. Either that or buying a mac. :)

[8igdave]

There is nothing wrong with vista. You keep hearing out of date opionins from people who do not use vista because they dont like it. They then go round tellig people not to use it.

At the start there were quite a few problems. In the start of xp it was abizmal. Now the new service pack is coming out and with it will bring dx10.1 and a thing to do with direct sound, which i cannot remeber enough details on to comment about.

DX10 is a new way of processing the information and will allow it to be more effeciently processed. I havn't read about dx10 in over a year now though so cant remeber it fully. The reason currently why it is less efficent is because currently moer opeople have dx9 cards then dx10. This means they cannot change the mechanics of how the game is coded because then it would cut out a huge proportion of their market. Instead they add dx10 effects without changing to much of the coding and it causes a performance hit. Probably wont be for a few years before we see dx10 being refinded and used to actually benefit performance.

[Zephyr952]

I would suggest buying it. Either that or buying a mac. :)

Lol @ the mac joke! (I pray that is a joke haha)

You keep hearing out of date opionins from people who do not use vista because they dont like it.

I feel that this statement is true especially with the statement that the whiners are always the loudest. Otherwise I really do appreciate the input and I feel I can make a much more informed decision about my upcoming computer purchase.

Maybe I could get a few more suggestions. I will possibly be purchasing the Area-51 m15x from Alienware fairly "geared up" with approximately the "512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800M GTX" since it will probably be a tiny bit different in 4 months when I purchase this laptop for Warhammer (and other work related tasks, its the only way I can justify the purchase haha.)

Anyway does this sound like a good plan? Money is a lesser issue and I need a laptop as opposed to a pc because of my mobile work/gaming needs.

Thanks for the replies guys I really appreciate the wisdom!:mrgreen:

[8igdave]

Please dont buy alienware. They rip you off to the extreme. last time i checked they sold the Qx6800 for £900 when it costs £600! They charge about £400 per GTX yet i got mine for £240

If you really dont want to build your own pc. Cyberpowerpc.com or .co.uk would be better probably.

Alienware are the biggest rip off merchents in town.

[oakae]

http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529667905.php
This recently caught my eye. $1600 is a very good price for the specs of this gaming laptop.

[8igdave]

OOO i missed that it was a laptop, didn;'t relise it was a 8800M GTX. I skim read to much.

Arg i wish i could remeber the other sites to do proper gaming laptops. Would it not be better to get a desktop and a normal laptop?

[Zephyr952]

Hmm, I shall shop around more for better gaming laptop sites.

As much as I would prefer to go all out on a gaming PC I must have a laptop for school/work. I am currently in my 3rd year for my Computer Programming and Graphic Design (Game Design) degree. I felt with Warhammer coming out and my current laptop showing its age, it was time for a new one.

Any suggestions on good cost effective gaming laptop sites would be greatly appreciated!

[8igdave]

Hmm, I shall shop around more for better gaming laptop sites.

As much as I would prefer to go all out on a gaming PC I must have a laptop for school/work. I am currently in my 3rd year for my Computer Programming and Graphic Design (Game Design) degree. I felt with Warhammer coming out and my current laptop showing its age, it was time for a new one.

Any suggestions on good cost effective gaming laptop sites would be greatly appreciated!

Well pc spec wize the Alien ware ones are great. They are just very very expensive and rip you off. If you can find the same thing else where it will be cheaper id imagine. However i cant remeber of the sites i used to know off the top of my head right now to help.

You want to get the fastest hard drive you can. the most powerful graphics card you can and also 3gb of ram 4gb may be a bit ott for a laptop. Of corse for war that laptop is OTT as well but i presume its not the only game you will be playing on it.

[Zephyr952]

Well pc spec wize the Alien ware ones are great. They are just very very expensive and rip you off. If you can find the same thing else where it will be cheaper id imagine. However i cant remeber of the sites i used to know off the top of my head right now to help.

You want to get the fastest hard drive you can. the most powerful graphics card you can and also 3gb of ram 4gb may be a bit ott for a laptop. Of corse for war that laptop is OTT as well but i presume its not the only game you will be playing on it.


Yep I really am going all out on this laptop since it has to last me several years. I do alot of work on my laptop so the faster I can get it running the better plus I will be gaming on it but specifically Warhammer is what I will be playing.

*edit* Out of curiosity how much would you guys suggest spending on a gaming laptop total?

[XShrike]

So obviously DirectX10 is supposedly the best correct?

Allright, why do I need Vista (which I have only heard bad things about) to use it.

Microsoft made DX10 an exclusive to Vista as a way to sell it. If you have a videocard that can use DX10 but, only have XP. I have heard there is supposed to be a way to force XP to let you use DX10.

[Zellgadess]

Get Vista when it offers something that XP does not. At this point in time... it does not.
XP still has long lifespan left it in, SP3 is coming out soon. No it wont put DX10 on XP.

With games like Crysis and Bioshock, you can get the same visual effects with Dx9... faster then dx10. Go figure

[Gaussian]

Out of curiosity how much would you guys suggest spending on a gaming laptop total?

Generally I find it easier to come up with a budget, then find the best combination of hardware that you can afford with that budget. Kinda hard to do it the other way around since how much you should spend depends greatly on what kind of specs you'd be happy with.

[Zephyr952]

Generally I find it easier to come up with a budget, then find the best combination of hardware that you can afford with that budget. Kinda hard to do it the other way around since how much you should spend depends greatly on what kind of specs you'd be happy with.

Good point I will keep that in mind.

[8igdave]

Yep I really am going all out on this laptop since it has to last me several years. I do alot of work on my laptop so the faster I can get it running the better plus I will be gaming on it but specifically Warhammer is what I will be playing.

*edit* Out of curiosity how much would you guys suggest spending on a gaming laptop total?

In a not so old pc magazine i read they had something like 6 or 7 differnt gaming laptops all tested. The 8800M wasn't out at the time but they were all in your price range, some with sli and some with raid. wish i knew where it had gone. I will have a dig around if i get time tomorrow.

gaming laptops start from £1000 and go up into the £3000s. There doesn't appear to be much of a limit for how much you can be ripped off for a gaming laptop.

I personaly would never buy one. id get a dell 17" vostro with a 8600m GT and a core 2 duo of say mmm 2ghz and 2gb of ram and use that for a laptop with the odd gaming spree when im out and dont have a gaming pc at hand :p

[Zephyr952]

Maybe you can reply to this comment on one of the other 2 threads (the mtech or the gaming laptop one) but I am really curious as to anyone's opinion on the m-tech laptop http://www.discountpcsales.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=MTECHD900C

I am thinking of confining myself to a 3k$ budget in order to prevent myself from going overboard (I almost allways buy more than I truly need if I don't).

Anyways if someone could check out these laptops and let me know if its too good to be true or not I would be greatly obliged.

[8igdave]

you beat me to my edit. I added a bit more in bout what id spend lol.

[Zephyr952]

haha good to know

but the problem is again that this is my sole computer I use for everything. I spend only a few hours at night and weekends at home and primarily have more time to "game" while I am away from my house along with the fact I need the mobility for a mobile workstation so a gaming laptop suites my needs perfectly (despite the overpricey ness haha)

so yah I have decided to confine my budget to 3k$ and doing my best to find the most bang for my buck. So far the best site I have found (through Walker's post) is the m-tech laptop http://www.discountpcsales.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=MTECHD900C

[Nerror]

You should consider the new octocore nehalem laptop with tri-sli and 24" monitor (http://oldcomputers.net/grid1101.html). :cool:

The runner up, the Dell XPS M1730 Gaming Laptop (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,2260174,00.asp?kc=ETRSS02129TX1K0000532), costs US$4500.

Edit: Hah, I found my first ever computer (http://oldcomputers.net/vic20.html)! I was 9 or 10 or so. :p

[8igdave]

Comodor! haha :)

My first PC was a dos pc and it was huge :|

[Gundrik Rikbolgisson]

...or just wait for Windows 7 which comes out in ~ 3 years. :cool:

[Daedarin]

You should consider the new octocore nehalem laptop with tri-sli and 24" monitor (http://oldcomputers.net/grid1101.html). :cool:

The runner up, the Dell XPS M1730 Gaming Laptop (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,2260174,00.asp?kc=ETRSS02129TX1K0000532), costs US$4500.

Edit: Hah, I found my first ever computer (http://oldcomputers.net/vic20.html)! I was 9 or 10 or so. :p

OH. Commodore Vic 20. My first computer as well. Oh. I must wipe the tears away from my eyes when I see this baby. Next was c64 (best gaming computer ever) and then the Amiga 500, which I still have in working order.

[8igdave]

...or just wait for Windows 7 which comes out in ~ 3 years. :cool:

I really hope they think of something better in the mean time then windows 7 lol.