Members Thunderbroom Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 Edit: I decided to merge my recent computer-related threads. For those that don't care to read all of this stuff, the three threads were about whether or not to go with dual 19" Widescreen Monitors, the possibility of moving installed programs from an XP to a Vista machine and which wireless network device to use on my old PC that I'm giving to my daughter. I've edited the computer layout below to reflect the computer I intend to order this week. After researching, it seems that the add-on sound cards don't really have much if anything on the integrated sound on new computers. I'm thinking of adding a Soundblaster Audigy 4 Pro (with breakout box) at some point because I really liked the original Audigy that I had years ago. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them. After much thought, I am going with a Gateway as none of the others I looked at (HP, Dell) come close right now on performance/price. I'm not interested in building a computer. Genuine Windows Vista Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jazz Ad Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 If they are installed programs it's impossible or rather very risky for the stability of your system. I wouldn't recommend it, it's a very safe way to {censored} up your registry.If they are standalone apps you just have to move the directory from the old place to the new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted November 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 I currently have dual 19" Flat-Screen CRT's on my office setup. As mentioned in another thread, I plan to get a new computer by year's end. My old (current) desktop will go to my daughter. I was thinking of keeping the dual CRT's and giving her the 19" wide-screen HD flat panel that comes with my new one. Then I got to thinking...my old computer is not compatible with the HD of the new monitor and thus won't take advantage of the HD side of it so maybe I should just keep it and give her one of the old 19" CRT's (I'd give her both but she doesn't have room). Now I'm thinking of going dual 19" Widescreen HD Panels. Is anybody running a dual widescreen setup? I can add a second panel for $229. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted November 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 If they are installed programs it's impossible or rather very risky for the stability of your system. I wouldn't recommend it, it's a very safe way to {censored} up your registry. If they are standalone apps you just have to move the directory from the old place to the new one. This is what I was afraid of. Since the old computer will be going to my daughter, if I have to use those apps, I can just use her computer. It's probably time that I bit the bullet and purchase Adobe Creative Suite 3 anyway. I'm several versions behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bluescout Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 There are generally no standalone apps (of any large substance) anymore on PCs. The installation process includes putting files in many places as well as settings in the registry. The best you could do is write down your key or serial numbers and try and find someone that has a disk you can use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 What they said. Especially with Vista the way it is, a lot of programs have released newer versions to combat quarky or nonworking software on Vista due to some code changes. Using one of those "program mover" programs would just screw things up as they said, plus it may not even be the version you need. I might recommend writing down your CD keys, but chances are if you're that far behind, they won't even work on a current downloadable version. Doh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudbass Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 And I wouldn't take anybody's word for it that your old programs will run with Vista anyway. Lots of people are finding out the hard way that they won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted November 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 And I wouldn't take anybody's word for it that your old programs will run with Vista anyway. Lots of people are finding out the hard way that they won't. While I realize that Wikipedia isn't the most accurate source for info, my guess is folks edited the Vista Compatibility entry based on first-hand knowledge of the software working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudbass Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 While I realize that Wikipedia isn't the most accurate source for info, my guess is folks edited the Vista Compatibility entry based on first-hand knowledge of the software working. You're just going to have to try it and see I guess. I've read stuff about printers not working, scanners not working, digital cameras not working, video card driver problems, legacy programs not working (especially games). Lots of folks are taking Vista off of their new computers and putting XP on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rummy Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 Ok, you're confusing the hell out of me. What's with HD? Most monitors, including LCDs and CRTs are capable of displaying 720p and 1080i standards as long as your video card supports it. To run two LCDs, or CRTs, you have to have a video card that is powerful enough to run both at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted November 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 Ok, you're confusing the hell out of me. What's with HD? Most monitors, including LCDs and CRTs are capable of displaying 720p and 1080i standards as long as your video card supports it. To run two LCDs, or CRTs, you have to have a video card that is powerful enough to run both at the same time. Maybe I'm reading too much into the montor's description. Gateway calls their widescreen monitors "high-definition". I don't see the same on the Dell site. Guess their really the same, huh? Here's the video card:NVIDIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ranjaman Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 You're just going to have to try it and see I guess. I've read stuff about printers not working, scanners not working, digital cameras not working, video card driver problems, legacy programs not working (especially games). Lots of folks are taking Vista off of their new computers and putting XP on. It's mostly games and older hardware that won't work properly on Vista, if you have new, Vista-certified drivers you'll be fine. btw why 3 gig of ram, why not take 4 1024 Mb sticks ? As for transfering programs, I wouldn't even attempt it.Just write down your license keys and download proper installers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 Since you're getting a new computer, keep in mind that Vista is built to run widescreen natively. I don't know why they're calling them HD, it's just a marketing thing. Having said that, dual wides are the {censored}. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rummy Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 Oh, you're set with that video card. It SHOULD comes with two DVI to VGA conveters, but if not, you will need two of those in order to run your CRTs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 You're just going to have to try it and see I guess. I've read stuff about printers not working, scanners not working, digital cameras not working, video card driver problems, legacy programs not working (especially games). Lots of folks are taking Vista off of their new computers and putting XP on. Most people I know aren't having much trouble. I used vista for months and didn't have a ton of problems. I did the first few weeks, but I used it since day 1. The driver situation for all the major brands seems to be ironing out, and since I assume he's buying a pre-built from Dell, that will be a non-issue. I was also on x64 vista too, which makes a difference. I'm back on XP now, but the ONLY reason is because I could not get PeerGuardian, or an alternative, to work under it. I will go back once it gets released. At first I was like "man this sucks, I want xp back". Now that I have xp back on, I realize it really wasn't all that bad and, pretty nice actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted November 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 Oh, you're set with that video card. It SHOULD comes with two DVI to VGA conveters, but if not, you will need two of those in order to run your CRTs. So, would you recommend using the two NEC 19" Flat CRT's that I have or go with the dual Gateway 19" Widescreen LCD's? Also, is there a reason that the new Gateway Widescreen won't work with my old computer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rummy Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 What they said... unless you want to make an image of your current computer. But, that won't work with the new hardware... BTW, 3 gigs of ram? Damn, you are prepared for anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted November 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 btw why 3 gig of ram, why not take 4 1024 Mb sticks ? Because the upgrade price seemed out of whack. I upgraded from 2 to 3 for $60. The upgrade from 3 to 4 is $160. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted November 10, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 BTW, 3 gigs of ram? Damn, you are prepared for anything! Then why's ranja pushing me towards 4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rummy Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 Well, of course i'll recommend widescreen LCDs! The images look better, take up less space, and eat up less electricity. Plus, they're cool! As long as your old computer isn't 5+ years old, you should have no problem running the Gateway widescreen with it. However, you may not have all the resolutions available for you, again dependings on your old video card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rummy Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 I know Vista eats up more memory than XP, but I think 3 gig is more than enough, especially if you're not a gamer. I do wonder why they chose 2x512mb config rather than three sticks of 1gigs. That makes a different, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 It's mostly games and older hardware that won't work properly on Vista, if you have new, Vista-certified drivers you'll be fine.btw why 3 gig of ram, why not take 4 1024 Mb sticks ?As for transfering programs, I wouldn't even attempt it.Just write down your license keys and download proper installers. If it's not too expensive, try to upgrade to either 4gb of 2-1gb dual channel sticks, or just stick with 2-1gb dual channel sticks. 2GB will be plenty, and you have room for upgrade later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ranjaman Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 Ok, you're confusing the hell out of me. What's with HD? Most monitors, including LCDs and CRTs are capable of displaying 720p and 1080i standards as long as your video card supports it. To run two LCDs, or CRTs, you have to have a video card that is powerful enough to run both at the same time. LCDs have a native resolution, so in order to properly display HD standards, you have to have a minimum res of either 1280x720 or 1920x1080. That 8600GT has PureVideo HD support, so that'll be fine. I'm running dual-widescreen right now, from my laptop, on a Radeon 9200. It's only 1280x800 though and no HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 Thunder, you're making this more difficult than it needs to be. There's not much magical about the new monitors. They look a lot nicer for sure, don't have ghosting like the old ones (and you should most def run dualies ). Also, the convertors that were posted will absolutely take care of you. You could go run that on some old P1 machine using the VGA convertor and it'll work just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudbass Posted November 10, 2007 Members Share Posted November 10, 2007 What they said... unless you want to make an image of your current computer. But, that won't work with the new hardware... BTW, 3 gigs of ram? Damn, you are prepared for anything! With Vista 3 gigs of ram is a good idea. It's slow, bloated and resource hungry. The only reason I can see for moving to Vista is the improved security, but I think the improvement is temporary. I don't think it will take hackers long to crack it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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