PC build thread

[flex wood]

You could also install Windows 7 x64 if you'd prefer to stick with 7. Back when I had 7 I thought copies of the OS came with both 32 and 64-bit DVDs? Maybe that changed.

I wouldn't know. To keep costs down I had my buddy burn me 7 so I have 27 days until they steal my wallpaper, decide to crack it or go legit.

[isiolia]

You could also install Windows 7 x64 if you'd prefer to stick with 7. Back when I had 7 I thought copies of the OS came with both 32 and 64-bit DVDs? Maybe that changed.

I wouldn't know. To keep costs down I had my buddy burn me 7 so I have 27 days until they steal my wallpaper, decide to crack it or go legit.

There are separate DVDs for 32-bit and x64. At least, that's what I've always had with images at work and OEM copies I've bought.

While not really terrible for most home users, 7 x64 Home Premium does have a 16GB RAM limit, if you do decide to buy a copy. Personally, I haven't had issues with 8/8.1 that I wouldn't have had with 7, but it does take a little to get used to.

[flex wood]

You could also install Windows 7 x64 if you'd prefer to stick with 7. Back when I had 7 I thought copies of the OS came with both 32 and 64-bit DVDs? Maybe that changed.

I wouldn't know. To keep costs down I had my buddy burn me 7 so I have 27 days until they steal my wallpaper, decide to crack it or go legit.

There are separate DVDs for 32-bit and x64. At least, that's what I've always had with images at work and OEM copies I've bought.

While not really terrible for most home users, 7 x64 Home Premium does have a 16GB RAM limit, if you do decide to buy a copy. Personally, I haven't had issues with 8/8.1 that I wouldn't have had with 7, but it does take a little to get used to.

Yea my friend that helped me put it together is staunchly opposed to 8 saying it's more difficult to different but the thing is I've been using for the last couple of weeks on my houses laptop and it seems fine to me. I think I'll just go legit and snag 8.1 in the next week or so. Who knows maybe it'll be cheap on black Friday.

[flex wood]

Is it possible to run a dual monitor set up where one stays my desktop so I can pull up guides and use my web browser? I play on my 42 inch TV through an hdmi and have access to a couple free monitors so its something I'd like to try and set up this week.

[fastbilly1]

It is very possible, but can be tricky to make work. Back in the XP days (2004) I use to run a movie on one monitor and game on the other. Granted back then, a Gig of ram was considered overkill.

[ZenErik]

I don't have a multi monitor setup, but one of my friends does. I would assume that if regular full screen doesn't work, you can use windowed full screen for a lot of games. That would definitely work. Perhaps someone with more knowledge on the subject will set things straight.

[fastbilly1]

I don't have a multi monitor setup, but one of my friends does. I would assume that if regular full screen doesn't work, you can use windowed full screen for a lot of games. That would definitely work. Perhaps someone with more knowledge on the subject will set things straight.

That is the last resort scenario.

[isiolia]

Full screen windowed on games that support it does work, albeit with a performance penalty at times. Otherwise it's pretty standard/logical for the game to capture input and all that. I usually only worry about it with MMOs though. Alt-tab for occasionally checking a FAQ or something works well enough otherwise.

[tintinmayo]

full screen game on one monitor while desktop is on another works on games that allow you to set which monitor to output to, and provided that you're using the extra monitor as a desktop extension instead of a mirror. I don't know which games exactly have this, but the option is present on a lot of emulators, pcsx2, dolphin, and mame for instance.

[ZenErik]

How long do GPU generations last? Not that I'm thinking about upgrading or anything. Just curious about when I can expect a GTX 800 series and what kind of bump in performance that might entail.