Gaming Rig and Windows 7 64 Bit

So, I've been away after 'The Girl Who Murdered Morpheus' prequel. Worry not for now I am back on track. Actually, I had been playing hide-and-seek with my supervisor of my mini-thesis. It was something like witch-hunting but well, I'm the best when it comes to disappearing. Truth is, academic and conventional writing bore me to death, sometimes I think all those assessment papers I wrote were out of touch with reality. Things we write on academic papers are often idealistic and far-fetched... But then again it's important for our future?

Sometimes I have this thought that I wanna be a hippie and live in the woods with animals and eat the products of nature, away from technology, politics, boring people, and all those worldly bullshit. But then again how can I write once I live in the woods? So automatically the idea is out of question.

Anyway, actually I was gone because I was busy tinkering with my new computer, replacing my old, rundown laptop with the marvel of new hardwares. It had been a few years I left the world of PC gaming because laptop computer is such a flawed device and its upgradability is very limited (save a few brands) so I decided I should wait till the technology gets cheaper. Then voila! RAM, processors and graphic cards are dirt cheap these days!

The specs of the new rig:

CPU: DualCore Intel Core i3 560, 3333 MHz (25 x 133)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 GDDR5 (1GB)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3L  (4 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 2 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
RAM: Corsair Value Select VS2GB1333D4 4087 MB  (DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM)
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.1.7600 (64 Bit)
HDD: Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 ATA Device  (500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Cost: RM 2500++

I know this is pretty boring, unless you're a bit of a geek or planning to buy a new computer. But here's a bit of advice, for those familiar with computer hardwares. I bet it is questionable, why did I choose a dual-core processor, Intel Core i3 560 when I can get quad-core based Core i5 or Core i7, or the cheaper AMD processors. In choosing the best processor for your system, you must have a clear purpose in mind. As for me, my purpose is for gaming and a bit of not-too-intense graphic designing and editing. Thus, a 3.33 Ghz dual-core processor is sufficient enough for me because most games are GPU (Graphic Processing Unit) intensive rather than CPU intensive. While for Adobe Photoshop CS5 which I often use, it doesn't use that much CPU and Core i3 is actually more than enough for moderate Photoshop purpose.

That's why I choose Geforce GTS 450 as my graphic processor, a budget graphic card with considerable performance. It mostly supports Ultra-settings for current games. Oh, and it supports stereoscopic 3D too! *Jakun*

So, unless you plan to use the computer for heavy graphic use or other CPU based processes, stick to cheaper processors. Most games now use only two cores of your CPU, save a few games which are multi-thread based. CPU-wise, applications and programs use more CPU. There are exceptions though, for one, Grand Theft Auto 4 since this game is CPU intensive. It's the only game I can't set to the highest settings at the moment (since I don't plan to overclock the system just yet).

About the operating system. Right now I'm using Windows 7 64 Bit... Which is a really bad decision! I've always been a Forever Alone XP User. Anyway, first, here's a few good things about Window 7 64 Bit edition:

1. Your computer will be able to support more than 4GB of RAM. If you stick to 32-bit system, the maximum memory it can support is 4GB, well actually less than that because the memory is used by BIOS, drivers and other stuff, so approximately for 32-bit system, the maximum RAM it supports is about 3.25 GB. That's quite a loss!

2. More applications are developed for 64-bit systems, so it is considerable for future use.

3. It utilizes your quad-core processors to maximum use. Why buy when you can't use it to its full function?

4. Because Bill Gates say so.

What's bad about Windows 7 64 Bit:

1. Driver supports. Most drivers I used are perfectly usable but say goodbye to your older drivers (You'll need it if you use custom drivers packs).
2. Older games compatibility. Although there is improvised 'Compatibility Mode' by Windows, some older games refuse to run. In my experience, Postal 2 AWP Mod, err actually all Postal 2 games failed to run.
3. Random crashes for some games. Some games which you played on Vista or XP will not work as you expect; such as Crysis or Star Wars The Force unleashed. Some games don't even run or run with low FPS.
4. 64-bit doesn't always mean faster performance. Since some applications were specifically build for 32-bit system, using them in a 64-bit system actually makes them a bit slower.
5. Slower on low-specs computer. Don't even try if you have less than 2GB RAM. It's plain stupid, even if you can make it fast by turning of Windows services.

So, as a conclusion, I'm installing Windows 7 32-bit this weekend. 64-bit is okay but it's not the right time yet. At least until more applications and games need it, I'll stick with 32-bit system. In fact, I'm gonna install Windows XP SP3 to the other partition (dual boot) so I can use older applications and run older games.

Like I said, I'm Windows XP Forever Alone guy.

I'm sure I bored you guys to death now, yes? That's all for my occasional geek-rants.

Gigabyte Geforce 450 1GB GDDR5