PC advice

[kieranhardy]

Hi guys,

I am looking to buying a new pc as this one is now nearing 5 years since it was bought (originally was a display item at Comet so has probably had quite a long time 'in use'!)

I have never bought a new pc before and have constantly been putting it off because i don't really know what in particular to look for.

I am assuming windows 7 is the way to go, i know i wont touch vista. A decent size ram of 3-4 is ok i'm assuming. Hard drive space i'm pretty ok with but when it comes to graphic cards and processors, it's all foreign to me!

With windows 7 i have a few questions with regards to compatibility.

I have had the same internet on this pc since the beginning, still have the disk too. Will the internet installation cd be compatable with windows 7?

Will photoshop 7.0 be compatible?

I've had a look at the msts under vista/windows 7 area but i couldn't seem to find a thread for installing msts with windows 7, just the vista thread, is the process the same? If i do manage to install msts fine is there anything i should be made aware of with regards of installing add ons, trainstore etc.

I was sent a link to this pc, is this what people would consider a good pc?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/239775

Cheers in advance!

[Tonysmedley]

Kieran,

It all depends on for what you want to use your new PC . Train Simulator is an old program which does not run much better with modern high speed games computers.
However, a processor (CPU) with a high speed for each channel and high quality memory are useful for Train Sim ( modern CPUs with several channels- duel and quad channel etc. - may have more than one channel but that channel speed may be less than a single channel on a lower quality CPU; Train Simulator can't make use of more than one channel. modern games do.

Tony

[john13]

Hi Kieran

Bewildering isn't it! I'm just in process of changing my PC ( going on 8yrs old....) so I can sympathise.

A few points;

Don't worry about 'internet' ( I'm assuming that you mean Internet Explorer? ) This will either be pre-installed or a choice available to download. You can choose between the various available internet 'surfing' applications, eg IE8, Chrome, Firefox etc. There are probably advantages with each, but I can't recommend any particular one.

As I understand it, Win 7 is what 'Vista' should have been. Any advice on installing for Vista should be OK for Win7. The tricky bit is the 'User Account Control' feature which tries to help by preventing uncontrolled changes to the system ( such as a rogue program being installed when you're not looking) but gets in the way of some programs.

As Tony wrote, the slick new multi-core processors won't do much for old programs but should run them OK. There may be issues with really old programs. Unless you have particularly demanding needs for video, most newer graphics cards will seem good. You might get some impressions by googling "xxxgraphics card namexxx review"

Be aware, when you finally get hold of the new box, that you'll need to decide what to do about antivirus software. Lots of new PC's come with trial offers, some internet providers offer 'free' AV packages, and there are several well regarded free packages too. Whatever you do, make sure that this aspect is sorted out before connecting to the 'net. Your new PC will almost certainly want to go off and get loads of software updates right away.

Cheers

John

[kieranhardy]

Thanks for the replies so far,

With the internet it wasn't so much about the browsers, i use chrome myself rather than IE. But it was installing the modem onto the new pc i was curious about. You must apparently install the software before plugging in the modem. But the disk is quite old (infact it has wanadoo on it, orange took over them years ago!) so i wasn't sure if it would all be compatible with windows 7.

I'm very unsure about the pc on the link i posted on the first post as one person says its good yet my sisters fiancée said it was out of date which confuses me as it seems quite current?

Cheers,

[gswindale]

Presumably that is a broadband modem rather than dial up?

I would take a look at the Orange website to see if they have any updated drivers for the model in question (and failing that try the actual modem manufacturers). If there is nothing for Vista/W7 (a possibility if the disc you've got is branded Wanadoo), then assuming you have your login details to hand, why not pop down Tesco (or alternative store) and pick up an ADSL router (Tesco have a Belkin one for £40 at present). Then, simply plug that into the phone line and the network port of your computer, read the manual on the disc and away you go.

[kieranhardy]

It is broadband yeah,

But i've just noticed two things that have seriously annoyed me with windows 7.

1. My modem is apparently not compatible with windows 7.

2. My external hard drive (buffalo HD-CE500U2) doesn't seem to be compatible with windows 7 64x.

What is the point to an 'improved' OS when little i have is compatible with it? It's a bit useless having an external hard drive with backed up data if i can't even transfer it to another pc, i only bought it in 2009.

[gswindale]

the hard drive is probably OK - I presume it's an USB model? It maybe that some of the supplied software may not work correctly, or requires to be installed in compatibility mode for Vista.

I've got an old maxtor 500G hard drive that I've had for about 4 years running fine on W7 - simply plugged the power & USB cables in and connected it up to the PC and away I went.

[john13]

Hi

You may be OK with the modem too. I'm just in process of setting my Win7 box up and - so far so good. It seems to have found my broadband connection automatically ( just had to put in the router password). If you get stuck, or if you want to check out beforehand (probably a good idea ) you could try your ISP's forum on http://www.thinkbroadband.com/ for help.

Cheers

John

[kieranhardy]

Out of curiosity though, what type of windows 7 are you both using? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

My hard drive MAY work on 32 but it almost certainly will not run in 64. Which will now limit my choice to sod all as the majority of pcs ive looked at either come with windows 7 professional or premium which seem to be 64.

Cheers,

[Tonysmedley]

You can always change the OS on your computer. XP is still available tom the best of my knowledge.

Tony

[kieranhardy]

Sadly that wouldn't be an option for me as i don't have an XP cd, plus paying out for the pc, new monitor then possibly a new hard drive (i don't think i should need to buy a new modem, surely my IP should sort that out?) is much more than i was intending to spend, adding the price of an OS on top would make it far too much.

Add to that i could possibly need a new camera if this new pc doesn't solve an issue i'm having with my eyes!

[john13]

Hi

(Win 7, 64 bit O/S 'Home Premium' aka entry level with fewest features....)

As I understand it, you should be able to use the hard-drive in a USB caddy such as;
http://www.usbnow.co.uk/Hard_Drive_Encl ... _info.html for example. Note that I have no experience of these as yet - just one of the first google hits I looked at

I have an older IDE drive which I'm planning to use in this way - it's currently got most of my digital pictures on it as well as MSTS stuff. The caddy provides the USB to disk connection, the PC sees it as an external drive...... Just have to make sure you get the right/most appropriate one - some are USB powered, so add load to the PC's power supply, others have mains connection, so add a few more yards of cables to get tangled in.

I think there was a previous thread about re-using hard disks some time last year..... may be worth a look.

Which ISP are you with? and what modem have you got? If your ISP has email support - ask them about set-up for a Win7 box.

Cheers

John

[ianmacmillan]

I can use my 2.5 external USB drive and a 3.5 external on my new W7 64bit laptop without any problem.
Windows even found an error on one and fixed it.

Just tried an old hard drive caddy and it worked.

If your drive does not have an external power supply plug it into the rear socket and remove any other USB device.
There is a limit to how much power a USB controller can supply.

[LeeEAS]

Having just bought a new PC I can say that both my external harddrives work fine under Windows 7. (Freecom Classic 500GB & Samsung Story Station 1TB)
One thing I should really do is format them as NTFS as they are currently the old FAT32.

My main problem with it are several of my games including Railroad Tycoon 3 which is not compatible with Windows 7.
I have managed to get MSTS working, but its actually slower than on my XP PC, so I may have to start using OpenRails to get around the problems, including the resolution as MSTS does not support 1920x1080 widescreen.
The main thing is that RailWorks runs smooth now at around 65-75fps normally.

The PC you originally posted looked fine to me, but as mentioned, it depends on what you want to use it for to whether it's suitable.

[kieranhardy]

I thought i had managed to find the ideal pc last night (of course last night it was £12 cheaper ):

http://www.chillblast.com/product.php?p ... 363&page=1

Complete with monitor it doesn't seem a bad deal but having just read your comment with msts and the resolution issue it's now put me off the monitor.

My ISP is Orange and after emailing them they state the modem will work when i have not only looked on the compatibility site for windows 7 and been told it wont work on either 32 or 64 bit, i have also seen other people post about trying to get the modem to work and it doesn't work well.

They provided us with the modem originally so surely it's up to them to provide one that works if they want us to use their internet?