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Buying a new computer...


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Due to my current gpu being dead, I must buy a new computer. I need a computer for using Unity, the game engine, playing, maybe trying Skyrim Special Edition, if everything is okay, updating my main mod for Skyrim SE, and activities of this type.

I spent hours and hours looking for the "perfect" laptop at the "perfect" price and I eventually came up with this one, which matches my requirements, in terms of quality/price ratio: http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00221957.html

Does anyone have experience with Asus laptops? Are they reliable? Do they last more than five years?

Thank you for your advice! :)

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Wow. looks like a nice machine. :) You will love the SSD. Makes boot times amazingly quick. (my machine with the O/S on an SSD, is up to the desktop, from pushing the power button, in less than 30 seconds..... I run Win 7 though. Win 10 tends to boot a bit quicker.)

That said, it is still a consumer-grade machine. So, five years may be pushing it. all depends on what you do with it, and how you treat it. (those that basically sit at your desk all their lives will certainly last longer.....) I think typical life for those is 3-5 years.

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40 minutes ago, HeyYou said:

Wow. looks like a nice machine. :) ...

Thanks! :D

 

5 minutes ago, garnet18 said:

It's cool. For reliability, Asus are good, anyway the extend warranty is desirable. The only minus is Win10 :huh:

Agreed. I could buy a computer that has no os, but, I'm really tired of installing oses and drivers and waiting for the updates and dealing with things that do not work as they should. I don't trust W10 at all but at least I'll save three days of headaches! ;)

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Snappy Driver Installer makes getting your drivers REALLY easy. And it's free..... Just have it skip video drivers. Get those yourself.

You can turn off a bunch of the 'spyware' features of win 10, and I HIGHLY recommend it. It's in your privacy settings. Gotta kinda dig for 'em. Might give you the opportunity at initial setup, but, not sure how the OEM's do it. (I am generally installing from scratch, from a disk....) Win 10 really isn't all THAT bad... I still prefer 7, but, updates on 7 are truly stupid, and take FOREVER for the first round or three. No clue why. There are some 'fixes' advertised on the web. (installing a selection of them manually), but, that's rather hit or miss. Sometimes it works, and following updates are fairly quick, other times... not so much.

That said, I am not sure if Win 7 Pro is even available for sale any more.... And win 10 pro is around 200 bucks american.... So, depending on the discount you get get for not having an O/S, may or not be worth it. One bonus of installing it yourself though, is you won't have all the bloatware the OEMs seem inclined to install on new machines..... I have a tendency to just rip all that stuff right out, on day one. :) Most of it is pretty useless, and it takes up resources I would much rather dedicate to whatever it is I want to be doing.

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1 minute ago, HeyYou said:

... I have a tendency to just rip all that stuff right out, on day one. :) Most of it is pretty useless, and it takes up resources I would much rather dedicate to whatever it is I want to be doing.

That's my big joy when I get a new computer that have an os installed: rip everything I don't want out! :devil: And, there is a shell prompt in W10 that allows us to uninstall about 95% of the apps that are installed by default, including the store! Quite radical and probably not recommended. There is a more reasonable tutorial out there: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4689-apps-uninstall-windows-10-a.html

As for the settings, I have experience in re-configuring them. ;)

 

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1 hour ago, garnet18 said:

Is a long list.

The first, you must get rid of Cortana :dizzy:

When I saw this after upgrading to W10 , I was :sick:. Fortunately it was an laptop used in emergency.

What about the "SmartScreen" thingy? It seems more of a nuisance to me than anything else. People using some very legitimate software, like Unity, have been confronted with this thing that said Unity, or games made with Unity, were malware. Apparently, to stop  SmartScreen from yelling, you must buy a license from Microsoft so that the software be officially recognised and removed from the filter. It feels like a shake down. I generally get rid of it during configuration.

Edited by ladyonthemoon
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1 hour ago, ladyonthemoon said:

What about the "SmartScreen" thingy? It seems more of a nuisance to me than anything else. People using some very legitimate software, like Unity, have been confronted with this thing that said Unity, or games made with Unity, were malware. Apparently, to stop  SmartScreen from yelling, you must buy a license from Microsoft so that the software be officially recognised and removed from the filter. It feels like a shake down. I generally get rid of it during configuration.

Smart screen filter actually isn't too bad of an idea. Blocks websites with a bad rep as well. It's the ONLY thing I leave on in that particular round of settings. But then, the folks I build machines for don't do much in the gaming area in any event.....

One thing about Win 10 that I find HIGHLY annoying, is automagically installing a bunch of crap, that I then have to remove. News, Facebook, Twitter, Candy Crush? Etc. I mean seriously Microsoft, WHAT are you thinking? If I want 'free' bloatware on my machine, I will install it myself. Don't shove crap down my throat that I will never, and have never, used.

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I've eventually chosen another computer, less powerful, less expensive, but that has no OS and have drivers available for Wndows 7! It's a MSI GS60 6QE. I have the Windows 7 discs already but I'll need to buy a USB 3.0 hub because this computer has only two of them.

Okay, forget it, this one doesn't have a dvd player... :(

Edited by ladyonthemoon
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Found it!

https://www.msi.com/Laptop/GE62-6QF-Apache-Pro.html#hero-overview

  • no OS installed,
  • Windows 7 drivers available (yeah!!! :dance:),
  • ram: 8gB DDR4,
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M 3gB GDDR5,
  • SSD 128gB offered,
  • Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6/3.5 gHz,
  • 15.6" 1920x1080 anti glare "TRUE FIREPOWER",
  • 1 x USB 2.0, 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type C Female (I don't know what that is and what it's used for); I might need a hub,
  • thin but not crazily thin: front 27 mm, rear 29 mm,
  • price: barely 1,100 €.

All this feels good to me, I don't need more if it must last only three or four years; I just hope my favourite retailer will be able to get one. :)

1 hour ago, HeyYou said:

External DVD player??

I'd rather not to... ;)

Edited by ladyonthemoon
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2 hours ago, HeyYou said:

You'll get over it. :D Just start thinking about all the neat things you want to do when you it in your hands, up, running, and MODDING! :D

Yep!

  • installing Windows 7,
  • installing a dozen drivers plus half a dozen utilities,
  • waiting for Windows updates,
  • installing all the software I'm using (17, not counting my games),
  • waiting for the Windows updates,
  • migrating the App and Programs Data,
  • waiting... oh wait!

Total: three days at least!

After that, launching Unity first and setting it up, then downloading Skyrim Special Edition and taking a look at it. :)

After that, installing Ubuntu alongside Windows and see how Unity works under Linux. If it works well, I might use that version to make games instead of using the Windows one.

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Grab Snappy Driver Installer. Get the O/S installed, run the tool. Have it install all drivers EXCEPT video. Download those directly from the manufacturer. If it gives you the option, have the installer perform a "Clean" install.

Updates on Win 7 are still incredibly stupid. Have a look at this thread for some help with that.

We install three updates in offline mode. (computer not connected to the net AT ALL) It goes a bit quicker that way, I don't have the exact three updates, I think that thread covers it though. After that, updates run reasonably quickly.

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31 minutes ago, HeyYou said:

Thanks for the infos! :salute:

I already have downloaded all the drivers. They must be installed in a certain order, so I'd rather install them manually. As for the Windows updates, they seem to have been fixed some time ago, since I no longer wait forever to get them. Well, it's still some waiting but I'll manage. :angel:

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When we do Win 7 installs at work, (Win 7 Pro, 64 bit, SP1) If we DON'T do the three updates, it can take a day or more before updates actually DO anything. Bear in mind, this is ONLY on a FRESH install.

Drivers need to be installed in a certain order? I am real curious as to just WHY that would  be necessary..... as there shouldn't be ANY overlap in files...... I have never had a problem just letting Snappy do it's thing. (and I have been using it for a while now. :) ) It doesn't always do well with video solutions though.... aside from the intel integrated stuff.

I am looking at doing some upgrades here, when my tax returns come in too. :) I am thinkin' more RAM, and a better vid card. :D New CPU/MB would be a bit more than I wanna spend right now.

Yes, I am suitably jealous of your new machine. :toast:

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10 hours ago, HeyYou said:

Drivers need to be installed in a certain order? I am real curious as to just WHY that would  be necessary.....

I don't know either but MSI insists on that; being the company that build the machine, I think it's preferable that I listen to them. See here, scroll down and click on "drivers" if necessary: https://www.msi.com/Laptop/support/GE62-6QF-Apache-Pro.html#down-driver

:)

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11 hours ago, donnato said:

So, HY... when I install my new SSDs and lose everything... I should DL Snappy to a thumb drive so I can do an off line install.  Sorry Lady, didn`t mean to intrude but this issue is important.

By the way, congrats on your new lappy.

Yep. :) I love it. :D And, Thanks. :D

7 hours ago, ladyonthemoon said:

I don't know either but MSI insists on that; being the company that build the machine, I think it's preferable that I listen to them. See here, scroll down and click on "drivers" if necessary: https://www.msi.com/Laptop/support/GE62-6QF-Apache-Pro.html#down-driver

:)

Ok, that seems perfectly reasonable. You are quite correct, follow the manufacturers guidelines. Probably make your life easier in the long run.

 

Also, for folks using SSDs, be sure and set your advanced power settings to NEVER turn off the harddrive. When idle, the drives like  to do maintenance on themselves. Keeps them happy. :D

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