New laptop

[Colonel Mitch]

Just realsied tho ive told most of you about this i didnt post it and chalex asked about it.

New laptop is here: http://www.btotech.com/product.asp?pf_id=asus%5Fg73jh%2Da1

Arriving tomorrow morning

Core i7 720 quad, 1.6Ghz - 2.8 Ghz turboboost (2.9Ghz auto overclocked)
8Gb DDR3 ram
1TB 7200 RPM HDD
ATi 5870M 1GB DDR5 Graphics
Full HD LED screen
Blu-ray

Watch this quick vid from asus for the awesomeness :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN8HEKd49_8&feature=related

[Chalex4]

Looks crazy good. Not exactly the most portable thing, but it's probably more powerful than my big PC lol.

[Calneon]

Those videos mean crap, but yeah it could be very nice. I'm very happy with mine though for half the price of that, plays all games on low/medium and is a lot lighter to move around I bet :P.

[Colonel Mitch]

Those videos mean crap, but yeah it could be very nice. I'm very happy with mine though for half the price of that, plays all games on low/medium and is a lot lighter to move around I bet :P.

Im sued to having a big laptop so its all good.

Also i just linked that vid for the awesomeness and the cooling demo.

I did alot of research first before ordering xD

[Colonel Mitch]

To quote C&C..... Reinforcements have arrived.

Came home from lunch today to find this waiting for me :D

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t333/piers1989/2010-08-18-164124.jpg

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t333/piers1989/2010-08-18-164133.jpg

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t333/piers1989/2010-08-18-164141.jpg

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t333/piers1989/2010-08-18-164159.jpg

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t333/piers1989/2010-08-18-164203.jpg

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t333/piers1989/2010-08-18-164531.jpg

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t333/piers1989/2010-08-18-164559.jpg
Havent instaled any games on it yet as its going to be reformatted.

But the speakers are pretty good :)

Burning backup dvds now before the reformat to vista =]

Also goin to see if i can setup the 2 hdds as software based raid 0, tho i dont think windows is happy to install on a software striped drive :(

[nikoli]

hom nom nom 1 question can it play crysis?

[Colonel Mitch]

hom nom nom 1 question can it play crysis?

Yes.

[Calneon]

Burning backup dvds now before the reformat to vista =]

You're going from Windows 7 back to Vista?

[Colonel Mitch]

You're going from Windows 7 back to Vista?

Yep.

(Its commonly known that I cant stand 7 :P... Ive found ways to remove / restore features but itll take me about 6 hours to do it and im gunna be reformatting anyway so vista eternity x64 it is

[ez64]

Yep.

(Its commonly known that I cant stand 7 :P... Ive found ways to remove / restore features but itll take me about 6 hours to do it and im gunna be reformatting anyway so vista eternity x64 it is

Wuss :D

Wish I had a gaming laptop and not an industrial cooker for a pc

[Target]

Zomg the laptop looks win and that mouse look pretty awesome aswell :D

[Calneon]

I honestly thought Vista was a good OS, I was happy to use it for two years. When I upgraded to Windows 7 a few weeks ago, I fell in love with it (though maybe because my old Vista installation was already dying). I don't understand what you don't like about it.

[VoX]

Most likely for the same reasons as me, the taskbar. Seriously, how can something that makes me take longer to do stuff be better? Once I've got it somewhat how I like it, it's essentially Vista again =/.

[Colonel Mitch]

what vox said. my main quibble is the taskbar. i can make it almost the same as vista but the quick launch integration thing i hate and the stacking windows on it.

also wmp12 is gash and a pain to downgrade. and other than that its effectively identical to vista

btw iev had to re-update to 7 coz the software that works the buttons for keyboard lgithing, overclocking and screen settings is coded to detect OS and refuse to install if its not 7 which is most gay. Tried unpackign it and stuff but even the installer inside teh msi demands 7.

[Isphera]

That looks awesome. Very nice.

[Calneon]

The taskbar you can change to be almost exactly the same as Vista. Why are you using WMP anyway, there are so many better programs out there. Seems like such a small issue not to upgrade, that the quick launch bar works in a slightly different way.

Anyway, waiting to see some benchmark scores :)

[Vicious Horizon]

The taskbar is pro. It allows me to open three windows of somethign without it raping my taskbar.

Also, I like a clean desktop, so I drag the icons onto the taskbar - YAY! I am now one click away from my favourite games and apps.

[Colonel Mitch]

The taskbar is pro. It allows me to open three windows of somethign without it raping my taskbar.

Also, I like a clean desktop, so I drag the icons onto the taskbar - YAY! I am now one click away from my favourite games and apps.

Vista does this too, define raping taskbar?

[Colonel Mitch]

The taskbar you can change to be almost exactly the same as Vista. Why are you using WMP anyway, there are so many better programs out there. Seems like such a small issue not to upgrade, that the quick launch bar works in a slightly different way.

Anyway, waiting to see some benchmark scores :)

if theirs 1 little thing that realy annoys me and no positives why would i want to "upgrade".

Also i like wmp11. Its a resource whore, but otherwise its fine.

Will bench it tongiht :)

[Calneon]

if theirs 1 little thing that realy annoys me and no positives why would i want to "upgrade".

Also i like wmp11. Its a resource whore, but otherwise its fine.

Will bench it tongiht :)
The benefits are basically in the background where you don't really notice them. Little performance tweaks everywhere where MS learnt from mistakes it made in Vista. Also little things such as desktop background slideshows are awesome (I have over 100 backgrounds that change every hour), the explorer took a bit of getting used to but now I find it much better, you have libraries you can set up yourself, and favourite folder links. The ability to drag windows to the edge of the screen and have it auto resize to half the screen is great for when you want to have two windows open at once, you don't have to move them manually. Homegroups make it easy to share folders across two Windows 7 PCs (i.e. my laptop and PC). Also, everything just works with it.

[VoX]

The benefits are basically in the background where you don't really notice them. Little performance tweaks everywhere where MS learnt from mistakes it made in Vista. Also little things such as desktop background slideshows are awesome (I have over 100 backgrounds that change every hour), the explorer took a bit of getting used to but now I find it much better, you have libraries you can set up yourself, and favourite folder links. The ability to drag windows to the edge of the screen and have it auto resize to half the screen is great for when you want to have two windows open at once, you don't have to move them manually. Homegroups make it easy to share folders across two Windows 7 PCs (i.e. my laptop and PC). Also, everything just works with it.

Everything I've underlined I've either got in Vista, or Vista does it perfectly well and easily enough.


VH - Raping the taskbar is moot, big enough screens alleviate it, and you can't seriously have that many windows open it rapes the taskbar and still be able to concentrate all of them/need them all. If it really is an issue, you can set Vista to use purely icons and be just as confused as with Win7.

[Vicious Horizon]

If you get confused by pictures, go back to Year 1 and 2.

I often have many windows open, for file transfers, different applications running, multiple internet browsers open, and it all makes massive long lines that I just dont need along the bottom of my screen, and it annoys me.

[Colonel Mitch]

Vista when fully up to date and with a couple of registry twearks is sjut as good as 7 is in the background. Also the side expansion feature isnt interesting to me, i either put things on another screen or sjut haev 2 minimised windows next to each other so i can stil get to the desktop where i often drop and drag files.

Libraries ill admit would be sueful if you wanted it, but the way I file everything i dont.

and teh homegroup thing is a joke xD - especially when u have a server runnign active directory and a network share :P

Also I like the ability to have a VIDEO as the background.... OH WAIT 7 CANT DO THIS (and even after tweaks / porting 7 still cant do it properly)

In general (Can't believe im guna say this...) /AGREE WITH VOX :O

and I ahvent found anythin that works "bette" on 7 than in vista. Every time you open my computer on 7, if tehirs a cd in teh drive, it locks up Explorer till it spins up the disk- this didnt happen on vista.

[Calneon]

Vista and 7 are basically the same OS, just 7 is a bit more optimized and 'finished' than Vista.

[Vicious Horizon]

I've always had the Computer locking up on Vista.

It's because or your inability to accept change, and to adapt to newer, more useful technology that is the source of your contempt for Windows 7.

You've just been scienced.

[Colonel Mitch]

I've always had the Computer locking up on Vista.

It's because or your inability to accept change, and to adapt to newer, more useful technology that is the source of your contempt for Windows 7.

You've just been scienced.


Erm excuse me.... ive had vista as my main OS since Beta 2, and had 7 since the Beta.....

I liked vista and just hated the UI changes in 7.

In what was is 7 more "finished" than vista?? and when i installed 7 on my pc it used MORE ram than my tweaked version of vista and was slower to respond to things....

[Colonel Mitch]

Benchmarked at standard settings on the factory gfx driver from the start of this year (the current distribution is experimental and not compatible with the 5870m, but a new one should be released with 10.8)

If i can find a version of the driver between 10.1 and 10.7 i should see a performance increase, but in wow at least i pleys it better than my pc........ (and i know it shudnt i dont no why but it does)
http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t333/piers1989/laptopstandardbench.png

[VoX]

I've always had the Computer locking up on Vista.

It's because or your inability to accept change, and to adapt to newer, more useful technology that is the source of your contempt for Windows 7.

You've just been scienced.

PEBKAC

So taking twice as long to do things on the taskbar is useful technology?

[Chalex4]

So taking twice as long to do things on the taskbar is useful technology?

What things? I live W7 and the new task bar. The new show desktop button (bottom right) is also made of win.

[VoX]

Opening multiple steam convos or explorer windows are all under the same icon, you need to open it out to see which one's which, not sure if it can be changed, but then if it is changeable, it's then essentially the same as Vista.

Can get that button on Vista too, although when I tried it it wasn't that useful (For me that is, I assume for some people it's a godsend, although there is the "Show Desktop" quick-launch in Vista/XP too).

[Calneon]

Opening multiple steam convos or explorer windows are all under the same icon, you need to open it out to see which one's which, not sure if it can be changed, but then if it is changeable, it's then essentially the same as Vista.

Can get that button on Vista too, although when I tried it it wasn't that useful (For me that is, I assume for some people it's a godsend, although there is the "Show Desktop" quick-launch in Vista/XP too).
Yeah, you can make it like Vista.

[Colonel Mitch]

Opening multiple steam convos or explorer windows are all under the same icon, you need to open it out to see which one's which, not sure if it can be changed, but then if it is changeable, it's then essentially the same as Vista.

Can get that button on Vista too, although when I tried it it wasn't that useful (For me that is, I assume for some people it's a godsend, although there is the "Show Desktop" quick-launch in Vista/XP too).


Anyone heard of Win+D ?

Also when u make it like vista it still links diferent windows of the same program together, so doesnt maintain order on teh taskbar, and ends up pushing your quicklaunch icons across the taskbar which just looks stupid.

[VoX]

Yeah, you can make it like Vista.

Then why bother upgrading?


Not trying to flame, just genuinely confused here.

[Calneon]

Then why bother upgrading?


Not trying to flame, just genuinely confused here.
Because the taskbar is not the only thing that changes...

[Chalex4]

I guess we can really battle this one out at i40 :p.

[VoX]

What else changes? The only thing I can see as in improvement that you can't get in Vista is the libraries system, and I can't really see myself using that (Although I'll admit to not really trying it.)

[Calneon]

What else changes? The only thing I can see as in improvement that you can't get in Vista is the libraries system, and I can't really see myself using that (Although I'll admit to not really trying it.)
As I said in a previous post, a lot of small things in the background that aren't immediately obvious to somebody who only looks at things on the surface.

[VoX]

But the thing is Vista is easily fast enough for me, although my install is nearing 1.5 years now so is slowly being bogged down. I'll most likely borrow a disc off Mitch and run a dual boot for a while, trying to use 7 properly, and then go from there and see what I think.

[Colonel Mitch]

As I said in a previous post, a lot of small things in the background that aren't immediately obvious to somebody who only looks at things on the surface.

LIST SOME OF THESE THINGS???

Vista runs just as fast as 7 for me, and uses Less ram, and takes less time to open explorer windows

[VoX]

Bugger it, need to re-format anyway, am DLing Win7 trial from Digital River (Legal) and will give that a shot.


Question is this; I currently have everything on separate partitions (C for Windows, E for Progs, F for docs, G for music) and other than grabbing stuff with a game save manager (Anyone got a link to one?) what will I need to re-do? I'm assuming most programs will need to be re-done, but I can point documents at the right folder and Winamp to the files. Anything I'm missing?

[Calneon]

I've never done partitions, I really don't see the point. Though I'm sure you can move documents around like you do in Vista (right click properties). As for game save manager, I backed up everything with this http://gsm.duncsweb.com/. Though I also backed up my whole documents and most game saves are stored there anyway. If you're keeping your documents on a separate partition, I don't think you'll really need it.

Also, don't forget you can get 7 for £30 for being a student, you just need a .ac.uk email. One thing I forgot to backup was my FRAPs folder, I lost over a thousand screenshots over the past few years, which was annoying.

[VoX]

Many thanks :)


Is that Home Prem or Ultimate? I used to be able to get Ultimate for £50 but for some reason it's no longer got a price on the RM store =/