New PC build

[xenophobe]

Not just graphics. That's the DirectDraw (2D) and Direct3D parts (although I think they did away with DirectDraw in DX10).

Yes, I know. I was trying to explain it simply to someone who didn't know and told him were to find more info. :p

[LouSiffer]

Yes, the cards will work fine under XP running DX9....I typed it poorly, but, my points are this:

Xeno come off like an ass about it. He could have been polite and said " I think what you mean" or " I think you are mistaken"....nope....I get a " sorry, you dont have a clue" .

Secondly, why spend more on a DX10 card if you are going to use XP and have no plans to change to Vista when you can buy a DX9 card that will respond the same and save money? Sure, someone will say the DX10 will do do this a little better running at DX9, but, in reality, its a change that is probably not noticeable.

Thirdly, just go to www.ibuypower.com . Its hard to build a gamer PC yourself cheaper than you can get from these guys plus once you add in their warranty, saving the $100-150 building it yourself isnt worth it.

I used to be into PC gaming, but, it just cant compete with the consoles out there for graphics and stability. I have the XBox 360 and PS3. The 360 is shaky due to the fact its a Microsoft product....but, its online play is great. The PS3 is like a tank and never crashes, but, its online setup is not as nice as the MS deal. I think with time, Sony will be as good , if not better than MS. They have had to eat alot of mud lately and are tired of it.-Lou

[Soap]

The case is in route should be receiving it late today or early tomorrow.
Its the last piece I'm waiting on, purchased a Li Lian PC-7 black case from newegg to throw all the goodies in.
I've been building for yrs and I still get anxious like a kid.
I love this stuff.

[Soap]

The DX10 cards work fine under XP. They just won't support DX10. They will be forced to use DX9, which as everyone is saying, is not much of a sacrifice at this time. So you should be fine.

Ooooooh, thank you for clearing that up.

[Soap]

Operating System: Go linux

If I do, it'll most likely be Gentoo or Suse.
My first experience with Opensource was redhat 5.0.
Practically no desktop mainly and mostly shell commandline driven.
What desktop interface I was able to get out of it was very limited.
Opensource has came along ways since then.

[marcus]

To verify and to make sure I'm understanding this DX10 card compatibility disscussion with XP. Not one single DX10 card whether a 8600 series or 8800 series will NOT run with XP, right? If thats true I find that hard to believe, because all the reviews of people (newegg) are running them with XP with no problems. If no DX10 card will NOT run on XP than XP is becoming obsolete nearly overnight, right?

Explain this to me clearly, please.

The DX10 cards work fine under XP. They just won't support DX10. They will be forced to use DX9, which as everyone is saying, is not much of a sacrifice at this time. So you should be fine.

[Soap]

To verify and to make sure I'm understanding this DX10 card compatibility disscussion with XP. Not one single DX10 card whether a 8600 series or 8800 series will NOT run with XP, right? If thats true I find that hard to believe, because all the reviews of people (newegg) are running them with XP with no problems. If no DX10 card will NOT run on XP than XP is becoming obsolete nearly overnight, right?

Explain this to me clearly, please.

[Spivonious]

DirectX is a program interface for rendering graphics. If you want more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectX

Not just graphics. That's the DirectDraw (2D) and Direct3D parts (although I think they did away with DirectDraw in DX10).

There's also DirectSound (sound), DirectInput (mice, joysticks), DirectPlay (networking), and DirectShow (video/animation, I think this was removed in DX9).

While we're talking about video card manufacturers, never buy from Sapphire. Their RMA process stinks (you pay shipping plus a service fee) and their cards are unreliable.

Finally, Lou: DX10 cards work just fine in XP. You just can't use DX10 features. If DX10 cards couldn't run DX9 (or older versions) then they wouldn't be able to run 99.9% of games out there. This includes Nvidia's 8000 series, and ATi's HD2000 and HD3000 series.

Personally, I have my eye on the HD3850, since it is presently the best bang for the buck and I have no need to play my games at 1900x1200 with 4x AA.

[Freyr]

Oh man, have I ever been down this road.

Don't trust a single thing manufacturer specs tell you. That's the grand learning from multiple experiences

Also, I've had horrible experiences with thermaltake. Their customer support is shit, they charged me for shipping when their fucking LCS pump broke in three days of owning it, and they didn't send me back the fucking resovaur tank!

The 8600's do more then enough to get the job done too, btw. Everyone is going off on the 8800's, but I have two 8600GT's in SLI, and they kill UT3 at full graphics.

Operating System: Go linux

[xenophobe]

OK, I understand that this may get a few people going, but what does Direct X do?

DirectX is a program interface for rendering graphics. If you want more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectX

[dangerous_dave]

OK, I understand that this may get a few people going, but what does Direct X do?

[xenophobe]

Thing with DX10 is you cannot download it, you cannot Windows update and download it, it is embedded in Vista.
Dx9 you can download separately as a redistributable file.

DX10 has been hacked to run on XP, however I wouldn't trust it.

DX10.1 will be implemented in the next generation of GPUs, which will be out early next year.

And the difference between DX9 and 10 is barely noticable, very few graphical effects implementations which require a keen eye to even notice. If you don't know exactly what to look for, you'll never notice the difference unless a developer makes a point to grandstand a specific improvement (Like Aero? DX10 only?) I don't remember

Well, the way the desktop is rendered with Vista is different than XP.

As for the difference between DX9 and DX10, it's mainly in particle effects, and DX10 is basically considered invalid.

Why's memory gone from $250 for 2GB down to as little as $40? since Vista came out? Memory manufacturers built up supply for the hyped demand that Vista required. When it was time, demand proved otherwise, and prices tanked.

That's not why. It's because everyone is manufacturing DDR2 6400 right now.

Look at the prices of SDRAM or RDRAM... they're significantly higher than DDR2.

Right now DDR3 is super expensive, but the cost will come down when everyone starts making it in great quantity.

[audiophile]

I love WD's they have been very good to me.
I'm going the SATA route, SATA HD and SATA burner.

Funny, I've only used WD, no problems. Recent build I strayed and went Seagate for perpendicular recording hype, drive died in 2 wks.
The replacement was (go figure) dead on arrival.

Punished!

[audiophile]

An ass? Umm.... you're just not being clear then.

You're saing that XP will never run a DX10 based card. That's not true. Any DX10 card will run in a non-DX10 system, but you will not be able to run DX10 mode/features (without a hack of some sort).

All nVidia 8800/ATI 3800 series cards support DX10, but you need to be running on a Vista system to use DX10. They will run just fine in a DX9 only system.

Yes, that was all quite confusing, and appeared to sound like, a DX10 card will not work in an XP system.
Far from the truth, I have a DX10 card (BFG 8800GTS OC2 640MB) which is fully capable in my XP system. And it is faster at games than it would be in Vista (for now) I just can't install DX10. Wow, am I missing out.
Crysis looked fanfukintastic, DX10less.

I will not install Vista either cause the hype is most definitely overrated

Thing with DX10 is you cannot download it, you cannot Windows update and download it, it is embedded in Vista.
Dx9 you can download separately as a redistributable file.

And the difference between DX9 and 10 is barely noticable, very few graphical effects implementations which require a keen eye to even notice. If you don't know exactly what to look for, you'll never notice the difference unless a developer makes a point to grandstand a specific improvement (Like Aero? DX10 only?) I don't remember

Why's memory gone from $250 for 2GB down to as little as $40? since Vista came out? Memory manufacturers built up supply for the hyped demand that Vista required. When it was time, demand proved otherwise, and prices tanked.

Dell for instance, had changed to Vista only, but soon realized their mistake. Can get XP on any system now if preferred. Probably same for all other manufacturers.



As far as arguing which OS to get now? Thats a hard choice. Jump on the bndwagon now, or wait like many do. Won't hurt either way. There is a new service pack coming for XP now, that by accident increased performance in several desktop applications significantly. It's perfectly stable too, has been well debugged given it's lifetime. I haven't seen Blue screen since very early in XP rollout.



And had no issues with my BFG products. Had an old G4, after years the fan died due to smoke/debris cloggin it. I called em to acquire a new fan. They sent me a new, better card. LOL
Have a BFG 8800 now, and very pleased for the smokin deal I got it for.
EVGA and XFX are comparable, I'd go with whichever is on sale.

all IMO lol

[Argos]

Whys that?

They're cheap pieces of turd. I've had three, all three took a giant shit soon after buying them and had to be returned. I know other people who've had the same problems. Spend the extra $ for something a little better.

Go with an EVGA.