Likely getting a new machine in the next couple of months: advice sought on potential

[dragon wench]

Thanks Galraen!
I did inquire about the firewall, and the Kaspersky suite includes one, so no worries there. Kaspersky is actually a very good AV, one of the best apparently, so that should be fine.

In terms of other upgrades, a techie friend of mine actually called just as I was browsing over the components, so he was able to help me put the system together. I ended up keeping the upgrades somewhat minimal, because with a lot of this stuff, it is better to wait, since prices fall and quality improves as time goes on. But I did order:

*additional RAM, they'll put in a total of 4 GB, and configure it to 3.5 GB, which is the maximum XP will hold
*Creative Sound Blaster X-fi Xtreme Audio card
*XP Pro OEM
*As mentioned, Kaspersky Internet Security Suite OEM
* First Year Express Warrenty



I am so very excited....
My old (six-year-old) Dell has been really excellent... but it's time to upgrade. I can't wait to try out games like: The Witcher, Mask of the Betrayer and LOTRO. I'm also looking forward to running a fully-modded/textured Morrowind, without my machine slowing to a total crawl... *very happy sigh*
It should be arriving next week sometime... I feel like a 5-year-old awaiting Christmas...

[Kipi]

I'm not too familiar with Kaspersky Internet Security Suite OEM, but I would suggest F-Secure instead. Firewall, virus detection and removal etc. All in one packet. And F-Secure tend to be (IMO) one of those rare programs that find almost everything and can remove it as well. And automatic update is included, so you don't have to worry about your security not being updated.

Also, what I have noticed is that if for some reason the main security program can't find certain virus, you can always search with the name of the virus from F-Secures website, and there is definately a tool for removing.

So, I suggest F-Secure.

[dragon wench]

Originally Posted by Kipi

I'm not too familiar with Kaspersky Internet Security Suite OEM, but I would suggest F-Secure instead. Firewall, virus detection and removal etc. All in one packet. And F-Secure tend to be (IMO) one of those rare programs that find almost everything and can remove it as well. And automatic update is included, so you don't have to worry about your security not being updated.

Also, what I have noticed is that if for some reason the main security program can't find certain virus, you can always search with the name of the virus from F-Secures website, and there is definately a tool for removing.

So, I suggest F-Secure.

Thanks Kipi!
Kaspersky is a lesser known product, but it comes very highly recommended, and quite a few tech-oriented people I know rate it as the best out there. So, I have no worries on this front. The Kaspersky suite comes with AV and spyware detection/removal, plus a firewall, so I think I'm pretty well covered where protection is concerned.
However, if for some reason I have problems with Kaspersky, I'll definitely keep F-Secure in mind.

[Ulfang]

Kaspersky are well recommended in the techie community I think. We use it at work and I work for an ISP. It's pretty well known ... and Russian

I use AVG at home as it's free and have a seperate firewall and have never had any problems. Just steer clear of Norton

[dragon wench]

Originally Posted by Ulfang

Kaspersky are well recommended in the techie community I think. We use it at work and I work for an ISP. It's pretty well known ... and Russian

I use AVG at home as it's free and have a seperate firewall and have never had any problems. Just steer clear of Norton

Yes, my impression is that it is a huge techie favourite. And I figure, since it is Russian, they'll have excellent experience dealing with some very nasty malware, keyloggers etc. since so much of it comes from there.


Right now I use Antivir, and before I used Avast, since they are also free, and I've had excellent luck with both.
But, since I'm getting a brand new system like this.. I'm feeling pretty protective, or maybe that should be "paranoid."

I detest Norton, so don't worry, I wouldn't go anywhere near them.

[Ulfang]

Originally Posted by dragon wench

Yes, my impression is that it is a huge techie favourite. And I figure, since it is Russian, they'll have excellent experience dealing with some very nasty malware, keyloggers etc. since so much of it comes from there.


Right now I use Antivir, and before I used Avast, since they are also free, and I've had excellent luck with both.
But, since I'm getting a brand new system like this.. I'm feeling pretty protective, or maybe that should be "paranoid."

I detest Norton, so don't worry, I wouldn't go anywhere near them.

Be paranoid ... overly paranoid ... it's the safest way

[gilly88]

just my two cents is to get the 8800gt it is better faster cheaper however it has less ram so its worse for high res games but 8800gt is a better choice also alot smaller!

[Siberys]

Originally Posted by gilly88

just my two cents is to get the 8800gt it is better faster cheaper however it has less ram so its worse for high res games but 8800gt is a better choice also alot smaller!

The 8800gt is an ungodly horrible card choice. It has limited memory capacity, a much lower processor power than some of it's predeceasing numbers, and it consumed nearly an extra quarter of electricity to make it function right. An 8800GT and a GeForce 8600 is like the difference between a toy made of lead rather than a toy made of safe non-toxic products.

[gilly88]

Originally Posted by Siberys

The 8800gt is an ungodly horrible card choice. It has limited memory capacity, a much lower processor power than some of it's predeceasing numbers, and it consumed nearly an extra quarter of electricity to make it function right. An 8800GT and a GeForce 8600 is like the difference between a toy made of lead rather than a toy made of safe non-toxic products.

However in every test the 8800gt beat the 8800gts which is why nvidia said that a card like the 8800gt is a card that doesnt come out often because it works so well for such a small card

[dragon wench]

Hmm....just saw this thread had received a bit of a bump.

I have had my new machine for several months now, with the 8800 GTS installed... Simply put, the thing blows me away. It's an incredibly powerful card with lots of bang for the the buck.
I can run both Lord of the Rings Online and The Witcher at *full maximum* settings with no lag at all, and they both look fantastic.

I should mention though, that in terms of RAM issues, I am using Windows XP Pro, which is far less of a memory drain than Vista.

But, yeah... I'd recommend the GTS to anyone, fantastic value for the price!