Need advice on something

[T-Bird]

My computer crashed the other day. It was a Dell with an intergrated video card. I bought it to play mostly older games like Diablo 1 and 2, icewind dale games, starcraft, warcraft 3. the gothic games etc. The problem was that I had XP (which ran these games fine) on my old machine. I'm a hardcore gamer when it comes to older games.

So now I'm forced to buy a computer with windows vista. Two questions:

Will these games work on a Vista OS?

And will either the geforce 6150 se or 8200 support either of these games?

I know that these are crappy cards, but like I said, I am not looking to play newer games.

I was thinking of getting either an Acer with an 8200 or an emachine comp with the 6150 se...any advice?

Thanks

[jlreich]

I have Diablo 2 and the LOD expansion installed and working just fine in Vista home premium 64bit. I have Diablo 1 but never tried it. Don't have any of the other games.

The video card is not going to be the issue. On-board video should be able to run most or all of these games. Vista is the issue. It will be hit and miss as to which games will run.

As far as which machine to get I would always prefer an Acer over an E-machine. If I remember correctly Gateway bought up E-machine about a year or so ago, but I haven't heard of them being any better because of it.

On the other hand Acer is known to be a good bang for the buck brand on just about any type of product they make.

[Paul Komski]

So now I'm forced to buy a computer with windows vista.
Dell (up till recently anyway) was still selling vista business machines with WinXP pre-installed and with both XP and Vista installation disks.

Double-check with your retailer but if you go the extra little bit and get Vista Business or Ultimate you should be able to downgrade to WinXP as an option (http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=543). AFAIK you use any valid key and phone MS for a product activation.

[jlreich]

I get the Dell small business promo emails to help keep up on what's out there and they still have machines that come with XP preinstalled as a downgrade from vista business.

I would anticipate this being the case for business class machines for at least the next year or two, probably more. So many businesses don't want to give up XP and really have no reason to. If MS were to force the issue I think they would be sorry they did. ;)

If 7 turns out to be as successful as it looks to be it might soften the blow, but even so XP just works. Particularly in large businesses, if it ain't broke...

[Paul Komski]

I would anticipate this being the case for business class machines for at least the next year or two.
I agree and I also hope so. Dell do a lot of on-line business and, even as a domestic or SOHO user, it is worth looking at their business sections and not just the home section - the only catch for the unwary (over here anyway) is that the prices are not inclusive of tax in the business section. I think Dell have improved their act out of all recognition from a few years ago and the only problem I have with buying on-line is that delivery can be almost immediate or may take a few weeks. Returns are also not as easy as dropping in at your local store (if you have one local).

[classicsoftware]

Plenty of people offer the Windows XP downgrade option....

[Paul Komski]

Plenty of people offer the Windows XP downgrade option....
True - as in the link I posted earlier - but you must have an appropriate version of Vista to allow this.

One has to pay more !!! in order to be able to downgrade !!! typical M$$$ !!!

[classicsoftware]

True - as in the link I posted earlier - but you must have an appropriate version of Vista to allow this.

One has to pay more !!! in order to be able to downgrade !!! typical M$$$ !!!

The downgrade was designed for business who need to keep all of their PC's setup as a unit. A law form that has 700 clients can't have mixed O/S's. It makes support more difficult. That's why the downgrade was on the business OS.

Windows XP Pro ---> Windows 2000
Windows Vista Business ---> Windows XP Pro

[Paul Komski]

That's why the downgrade was on the business OS.I wonder if that is inference or fact. Surely, in any case, there must always be overlap between Domestic and Small Business and Medium Business and Enterprise Users.

Not all businesses using Vista use the business edition and there are domestic users that use both business and ultimate editions. Etc, etc. I still think it daft to have to pay more for an OS in order to have a downgrade option - regardless of the thinking involved.

The truth, I am sure, is that MS was forced into making concessions by the slower than anticipated take-up of Vista - especially by businesses. And in my experience of local small businesses (1, 2, 3 PC businesses) they have in the main been and remain vocal about not getting Vista if it can be avoided.

The indisputable truth about M$$$$$ is that they have always been about show and profit and never about caring for or supporting the wider public and Bill has been and still is uncomprehending that his restrictive practices have hindered development. Well that at least is and has long been my overriding opinion and if anyone thinks that the organisation back-tracked along these lines to help its customers in some sort of philanthropic sense is surely deluded.