All just my own opinions, of course! :)

http://www.silverblades-suitcase.com/tutorials/htm/33.html

Thanks a lot mate!

Very informative...and entertaining.

I recently got myself a new pc, according to your specs and I`m really, really happy with it. :-)))

Eonite,
hey, always divulge information with a chuckle, ya know? ;)

Woot, glad that worked good for ya!  :)
and yeah ain't it jsut a BIG improvement?!

Quote -

and yeah ain't it jsut a BIG improvement?!

You mean your tutorial? Absolutely!

ps. ...although I kind of missed the typos ;-)

lol I meant the new PC ;)

well I'm trying to avoid the typos, takes me twice as long though, pfft! :p

I would say though, if you have an operating system like XP, keep that and wait for Windows 7 which is being released 22nd October. Otherwise you are paying extra for Vista which is being superseeded in a few months. 

I have Vista, so I am not partial to XP, but its common sense :) 

Jon

This is the beginning of June...so, you could lose over 5 months if you waited, when you could be doing stuff in the mean time ...and that's assuming WIndows 7 won't be a screw up on launch and require 6 months for Service pack 1 to fix! ;)

Fact of life with Microsoft: never buy their stuff until Service Pack 1 for it is out!! lol, always safer to get what works from them.

and you need 64 bit systems, thus, Vista, as XP64 is a dead dodo and has issues, like it or not.
Vista = direct upgrade path to WIndows 7 and much the same thing! :)

I have being testing Windows 7 since the beta, and it is rock stable. No problems at all. I would be surprised to see many problems, I don't think Vista Ultimate at its high price is a good option just for an operating system you are going to use for 5 months? 

A free upgrade to Windows 7 from Vista is only available to oem's. 

As you are suggesting what is good for a NEW pc build, I thought at least people should know Windows 7 is just around the corner. 

And anyone can download Windows 7 RC which is rock solid and doesnt expire to next year, meaning they have a free operating system 32bit or 64bit which they can use for 5 months until it is released. Then you have saved people both time and money.

Jon

 Well, I never had a PC before. Have been a long time Mac user (and still am).

The reason I "switched sides" was Vue. Was using Vue on a Mac for some time and ran into many of the bugs that Artpearl decribed (I really understand his frustration).
So I had to decide wether to stop using Vue or to run it on Windows. Given the fact that I had heard many frightening stories about Microsoft the decision was not easy.
But then your various posts on PCs as well as your positive attitude towards Vista gave me confidence.
And finally I took the step and bought myself a PC along with Vista 64.
To be honest, at the time when I went home and had the machine assembled by a friend, I did not expect anything to really work
...but much to my surprise things went fine from the beginning.

When I installed Vue and ran it for the first time I could not believe how smoothly it was running (compared to the Mac version) and after an hour or so when Vue still had not crashed I knew this was the right decision.

Ok, I must also say that my Mac has only 3GB of Ram with a dual 1.8GB CPU, so my PC is actually a big improvement.

Thanks again, buddy :-)

Quote -  Well, I never had a PC before. Have been a long time Mac user (and still am).

The reason I "switched sides" was Vue. Was using Vue on a Mac for some time and ran into many of the bugs that Artpearl decribed (I really understand his frustration).
So I had to decide wether to stop using Vue or to run it on Windows. Given the fact that I had heard many frightening stories about Microsoft the decision was not easy.
But then your various posts on PCs as well as your positive attitude towards Vista gave me confidence.
And finally I took the step and bought myself a PC along with Vista 64.
To be honest, at the time when I went home and had the machine assembled by a friend, I did not expect anything to really work
...but much to my surprise things went fine from the beginning.

When I installed Vue and ran it for the first time I could not believe how smoothly it was running (compared to the Mac version) and after an hour or so when Vue still had not crashed I knew this was the right decision.

Ok, I must also say that my Mac has only 3GB of Ram with a dual 1.8GB CPU, so my PC is actually a big improvement.

...so much for penguinista disinformation (and fruity ;-) cultism).

Does anybody really believe that if Windows had so many problems as some people tell, 90% of computer users would continue to use it?

Bye!!! (...and welcome to the dark side...)

I agree with Alexcoppo: if you read all that is written on Mac-fan forums, you get the idea that a PC with Vista will fall to pieces upon first use.
With Vue, this is actually just the contrary. A fellow French Vue user installed Vista 64 on his 8 core, 16 Gig Mac Pro, and discovered that Vue runs far better on it than on Mac OSX. Preview renders are even 4 to 6 times faster than on Mac OS and Vue seems to handle the large amount of RAM far better on Vista 64.

As for your tutorial, Siverblade, I think you will have to update it every 6 months or so :-)
I see that you recommend large drives vs a small fast / storage combo . I have a Velociraptor on my graphics machine and it was an improvement, even though it is still quite expensive (the 150 gig version is probably a more reasonable deal). SSD drives will hopefully get affordable some day and be a good option for a system drive.

I too am tesing windows 7 RC1, its nicer than xp, and more stable I would say, and when something does go wrong it sorts itself out.

grand tutorial also silverblade :)

Well, it has taken near 20 years for Microsoft to get a stable Operating System equal to my beloved Amiga's reliability, lol, so I'm by no means impressed with "Microsnotters" ;)

Vista is very good, don't get me wrong, I'm just boggled it's taken the PC world so long to get nearly as reliable as a MAC or Amiga. 
Vista on a recent PC, with 4 gigs or more of memory is superb, can't recommend it enough :)
And Vue just runs soooooo much better on such a 64 bit rig it's honestly like going from a 486 to a Pentium 4, night and day difference.

I understand folk love MACs, or PCs, or Amigas or whatever, we all love our faves, but the simple fact is, Vue does run, as folk note, so damn better on a 64 bit PC...or recent Intel-based MACs with Vista ;)

I love Vue, but accept others love Bryce or Carra, heck I loved Bryce once upon a time, and sitll think it's a damn good app :)

Bryce was vital, IMHO, to making 3D art what it is today for ARTISTS, rather than keep it hidden behind a blizzard of psychotic menus, windows etc that drives you crazy, and far too expensive for ordinary folk to own (which many of the "Big" apps were and still are, which Vue should avoid, but that's another topic for another thread me thinks)

Offrench,
Oh I've been interested in solid state drives for a while! :)

In an ideal world, that's what I'd have my operating system and program files on, as they run so much damn faster off an SSD drive...but...yes, SSD are too expensive, their storage is still a bit small, and though they have incredible life spans, they still have serious issues with read/write to the same sector over time wearing that bit out.
I'm sure in not too distant future, that will change,ad those and hologprahic drives will replace hard disc drives.
Potential lifespans of SSD drives in actual use is like 15+ years!!!! As well all know, an ordinary hard drive is very likely to plain out die on you after 3 or 4 years :/ WHich often really screws you up, destorying months or years of work and oten takes days or a week to recover form, if not more, even with back ups.

I did notice quite a difference on start up on my 64 bit art rig, even when comparing freshly installed/set up PCs, because it has a newer, better motherboard (faster/wider bus ?) and new hard drives have a cache on them, plus other factors I'd guess.

I have two PCs, my net/game rig (the one I'm on now, dual core XP PRO, 32 bit), and my art rig. This gaming rig (secondary render machine) was a big steup up compared to my Pentium 4 art rig when my old game rig died, (I can't even remember the stats of my old game rig now Pentium3 iirc?)
Then my Pentium 4 art rig died, and I stepped up to the 64 bit one and that was an even BIGGER jump in power!
I feel spoiled, what a huge improvement they have been! :)

Hopefully, when the CPU/motherboard dies on this game rig, I'll upgrade it to a 64 bit one, and see if I can upgrade my 2nd Vue6 Inf licence, (mutters about if that option will be available then! lol), so I can run it on the "game" rig, so I can use it as a secondary render machine.
The 2 PCs are networked so I can't install my Vue7 on both of 'em. Wish E-on would change that policy of locking a licence to a single PC running at one time: most frustrating and backward IMHO.
Same with multiple CPUs now, having multiple PCs has become almost de rigeur, and will be common in time, especially with the ways PCs and "clouds" are going (cloud computing, go read up on it, very interesting!)

You are right it will need updated all the time...one day it will have HAL9000 on it, real time Vue animation too, I'm sure !! ;)

Hardware changes so much. Doesn't seem that long ago I was sawing off bloody rivets in the STUPIDLY designed cases of one PC, to fit a bloody soundcard in that was the size of today's video cards, video cards which have at least 4 times as much memory as my old PC had back then!!! roflmao!

Man that's one thing I like nowadays: good cases, old ones were a damned nightmare at times. Often had to use files, pliers and saws to cut, bend etc, to fit parts in or out, or even use epoxy glue or wood to hold bits in, no kidding.
And don't get me started on Compaq's and Hewlett -Packards which were the worst offenders!! :cursing:
Ah, the drama of fixing PCs back then, hehe.

Alex
well microsoft did one thing right: make computing affordable and easy for the masses. :)
It's no damn use making something much more expensive, or far too complex for ordinary olk to buy or use.
but at the same time, the mad power hunger, and rigidity of Microsoft made a complete slothful mess of their possibilities.
Linux is one hell of a better OS in many ways, because it's been open, letting folk in to critique and improve, like it or not, that is a much better way than having stodgy, slothful  oligarchies

MACs have truly intergated OS and systems, now thats' what made the Amiga a total killer, if the Amiga had continued, it would have left PCs and MACs in the damned dust, lol. Alas, to allow the freedom, PCs opened a huge can of worms ot potential bugs, faults and security flaws...well, just like real life one can say, hehe.
Democracy has the most freedoms and innovation, but lets all the nutters and depressing dirty secrets come to light! :p

Dark side? man I've been lurking in the shadows of the dark side since I was a kid!! evil grin hehe!

PS
sorry for big font size, easier for me to read and typo fix! ;)

Quote - I too am tesing windows 7 RC1, its nicer than xp, and more stable I would say, and when something does go wrong it sorts itself out.

grand tutorial also silverblade :)

Yes, I was a Beta tester too and have been using Windows 7 for some time now. As mentioned, RC is out now and is FREE from Microsoft to use until next year. Then I am sure SP1 will be out sometime in Summer or late 2010 most tech writers are saying.

I am a BIG Mac user and use Boot Camp with Windows 7 RC right now. It works just fine with Vue 7.4 with no issues I have seen so far. I must note however that I have not gotten some of the issues with Vue 7 others have had under Mac OS 10.5 Leopard. In fact, their latest build, 10.5.7 is solid for me so far.

Either way, you are good to go and Windows 7 RC now and then you can decide to buy the retail version this year or wait until next year when the RC license runs out and closer to the SP1 (or at least updates).