Microsoft Vista. Vista is absolutely the very very best you can get IF your productivity is too high. If your productivity is TOO high, Vista will fix that problem and slow you back to pre-computer days along with the swearing, exasperation, mulitple sighs, banging on the keyboard and non-stop barrages of $%#@!!!! Microsoft that we all miss so terribly much. I know it's not THAT bad but we cannot stand it. Yes we work on any Vista machine, with competence. Yes we know. Vista is on everything. Well, Microsoft is finally listening to business and geeks and is coming out with Windows 7 due in the first quarter of 2010. We can't wait.
Windows XP Home and Pro are no longer available. There are ways to transfer your existing XP to a new computer, but it takes some doing. You will have to dump your old computer because you can only install one Windows XP per computer. Toshiba computers are the only ones that tend to give us trouble, but if you give us a heads-up we can research this for you.
With computers, the technology is racing ahead. It used to be that buying Name Brand systems such as Dell, HP, Compaq, Toshiba, Gateway, eMachines, IBM were the way to go. We don't believe that anymore. With the technology changing so fast, it doesn't make sense to plunk down $1000 or more on one-size-fits-all system that are supposed to work for all variations of users.
With Name Brand systems you are buying overhead. Marketing, huge factories, lots of support staff, usually located in countries such as India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Panama. Their tech support staffs help you by running through a script and spend so much time going through a process of elimination. We have a decided advantage in being a born geek.
We recommend you buy a system that is suited to your particular needs.. They have the latest PCI-Xpress Video Cards with 256, 512 or 1000MB of DDR3, 4 or 5 RAM , SATA II Hard Drives, Dual-Layered DVD Burners. Try to get Lite-On CD/DVD drives because they are actually SONY only for less money.
We recommend ASUS or Intel motherboard with at least 10 USB 2.0 ports, a 10/100/1000 Network adaptor, Firewire, Wireless and Bluetooth capablity with at least 6 SATA connectors.
For super-fast Hard Drives, we recommend Western Digital (10000 RPM) 150GB or the newest 300GB Velocitor Raptors. Why? Speed rules. 10,000 RPM really makes a difference.
Don't have $300 for a 300GB Raptor? Don't worry. Seagate has a 500GB, 750GB and 1TB hard drive that utilizes 7200.11 technology. 7200.11 drives utilize perpendicular heads with 32MB of cache on the drive. They are the second fastest drives for the retail user. They also boast a 1.1 million hours MTBF (Mean Time Before Failures).
Seagates come with a 5-Year warranty. Nothing better in my book. For notebooks I recommend Seagate or WD Scorpios. I don't know which as right now. I have had failures of both, but which one is better? I am not sure.
You know and we know that you just don't backup the way you wish you had the time for and it's only right before a major interview, project or you are about to leave town that your hard drive willl crash. I personally recommend everyone utilize a RAID system. RAID 5 is fast and provides an easy way to backup data. Essentially you have 3-6 Hard Drives and one of them is used as a parity drive. If any one of the drives fails, you simply (correctly) identify the failed drive, remove it and insert a new drive and boot up your system. The Operating System rebuilds the data that was on the drive from the existing drives.
When it comes to Power Supplies, don't scrimp and buy a cheap unit. Get at least a 500w Power Supply, preferably a 650w or better. It is always better to have more than you need because if add another hard drive or video card or additional fans, not to mention another DVD drive you will need more power. Bigger is always better.
Get a case that makes easy to access all of the components inside as well as cool the components efficiently. I recommend either an Antec or Thermaltake case. My favorite is the Antec Nine Hundred Gaming case. I use it for more than just gaming. There is a huge fan on top that pulls heat out of the enclosure and there are two 80mm fan in the front that pulls air in and one on the backside for exhaust.
Video cards are one the most important components in a computer. Video cards have Graphics Processing Units (GPUs)on them that have almost twice as many transistors as the processor (CPU) on the motherboard. There are only two major video card manufactures left. Nvidia and ATI. ATI is now owned by AMD. Nvidia is my favorite except for Vista. Make sure you supply you get DDR3 as opposed to DDR2. A 256MB video card with DDR3 will blow the doors off a 512MB DDR2 video card.
If you are a 3D-Animator, AutoCad user, game modeler you DO NOT want a 3D-Game video card. What you want is a 2D Professional series video card. Your card requires Open GL with excellent 3D Texture capability.You also need a system that has multiple cores on the processor for rendering your models.
If it sounds confusing and it is, call us. We will be glad to assist you and we really don't mind answering your questions over the phone. One of our capablities is providing support over the internet by connecting to your computer. Remote Assistance is part of Windows XP and can be found under Help and Support. We can assess your needs in your home or business and offer solutions that will fit your budget.