Building a new rig

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scalliano
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Building a new rig

Post by scalliano »

I'm currently in the process of acquiring the components to build a new gaming PC, but I'm in a bit of a quandary regarding the OS. My current system is running Win7 x64 Ultimate and I'm wondering if I should stick with that or go for 8.1.

Win7 hasn't failed me yet. In the 4½ years I've been using it, I've never had to even so much as reformat and the amount of BSoD's can be counted on one hand, so I'm nervous about 8.1 as I've heard a lot of scare stories, but then Win7 is a few years old now and probably only has a few years left.

Thoughts?

(inb4 linux lolz)
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phantombeta
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by phantombeta »

I'd say go for 8.1.
I can count the BSoDs I've had with it with one hand too. (I think. Pretty sure I had a few related to my faulty RAM, but that's not Windows' fault)
Some programs are incompatible, but that's what the Compatibility Modes and VMs are for.
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Hellser
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by Hellser »

I'd say Windows 8.1 - just get Classic Start Menu and you're set. I was nervous about switching to it as well, but it's done its job so far. Also, Windows 8.1 has a few cool features; if Windows can't start after so many times, it'll try to repair it self. If it can't, it'll offer you to reset Windows back to 'original conditions' - essentially a reformat without reformatting.

It WILL take some time getting used to, but I love it so far.
Nevander
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by Nevander »

I'm inclined to disagree. I'd say stick with Windows 7 until you can't any longer. I myself stuck with Windows XP until they "dropped support" for it. Windows 7 and 8 are pretty much the same thing, except 8 is just worse on many levels. I hardly ever update my machine (I'm almost five update batches behind) and I never have problems, and I'm on Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Honestly if you are a smart surfer and just a smart PC user in general you won't need to worry about anti-virus or security updates that badly. They always tell you to make sure Windows is updated, make sure it's updated, yada yada. Pfft. And yea, stay away from Linux. It is not meant for gaming one bit.
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Blox
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by Blox »

I hope you're getting some good parts.
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edward850
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by edward850 »

Also remember: You can always get Windows 10 for free within a year of its release if you buy either 7 or 8(.1). It looks like it's gearing up for release later on this year, as well.

Basically, it doesn't matter which one you get, because you can get the latest from either. :P
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Lord Smash
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by Lord Smash »

Get Windows 9
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edward850
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by edward850 »

Why would you ever want 95 or 98 in 2015? :V
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scalliano
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by scalliano »

Blox wrote:I hope you're getting some good parts.
Asus Maximus VI Intel Z87 motherboard
5th gen Intel i7 4790k quad core 4.0Ghz CPU
2x nVidia GTX 970 4GB GPU's
16GB Corsair DDR3 RAM (2x8GB)
Corsair 1000W PSU
2x 2TB SATA HDD's
2 SATA DVD-RW drives (considered a BD drive but decided against it as I prefer to sit on my arse on the sofa when watching films)

Cheers for the feedback everyone, starting to warm to the idea of 8.1 a bit more. The offer of a free copy of 10 seems quite cool, though.
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Blox
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by Blox »

scalliano wrote:Corsair 1000W PSU
But how good is it?
Thankfully there's quite a decent chunk of good reviews on that area.
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Nash
 
 
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by Nash »

Another vote for 8.1 - it's faaaaaaast
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Caligari87
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by Caligari87 »

Nevander wrote:And yea, stay away from Linux. It is not meant for gaming one bit.
Except Steam now has over 1000 games for Linux (including several AAA titles like Civ V and the Metro series), Valve is actively pushing for more, GOG has recently added Linux support, WINE (and by extension PlayOnLinux) currently has over 3900 Platinum compatibility ratings (and another 3400 Gold), for running Windows games/programs on Linux, and both major graphics card manufacturers AMD and nVidia are helping develop Linux graphics drivers (proprietary and open-source) for better performance and compatibility.

Don't write Linux off for gaming.. It's pretty damn good already and just getting better every day.

8-)
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by DoomRater »

edward850, in response to 'Get Windows 9' wrote:Why would you ever want 95 or 98 in 2015? :V
Oh that slays me

As someone who's been giving Windows 8.1 a fair shake on a tablet (arguably, the format it was meant to shine on to begin with) and running 7 on desktop, I don't see a reason to prefer either. I really wanna give 10 a try soon though.
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Caligari87
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by Caligari87 »

DOSBox covers really old stuff, but I actually wouldn't mind having a small mini-PC on my desk with Win95/98 for some of those older games that just don't seem to work right on newer OS even with VMs and emulation and compatibility (Myst for example). Just one of those little $100 PC-on-an-HDMI-stick or matchbox-PCs or something. I think it would be cool.

8-)
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Re: Building a new rig

Post by DoomRater »

Personally I'd get a 98 system running just so I can make kickass animated boot screens. I'm sure I could find a bunch of DOS games to run on that as well as some 98 games that wouldn't run well in any other case.
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