Getting the drivers ready for Civ3

[dainbramaged13]

monk, u are crazy
i hvae an hp it is complket++++inaccessible, no agp slot, only space for 256 mb ram... they really gypped me for a year-and a half-old comp

all the (new) gateways ive seen are incrediibly easy to work with, and usually come with good motherboard specs.

i dont know dells or compaqs so i cant say

[monkspider]

Really?
I appologize, but my Girlfriend has one that is exceedingly upgradable. My aunt has one as well that seems to be fine. I have a Gateway, and it is almost comically impossible to upgrade, and my friend's Dell is virtually impossible to upgrade as well.
I'm sure my girlfriend's and aunt's may be not be indicative of the entirety of HP's computer products, but from my experience, I have yet to witness any problems with them.

[monkspider]

My gateway has no AGP slot, no extra bays for CD-Rom or DVD drives. It only has a tiny PCI slot that can only hold video cards that are about the size of a postage stamp.
My friend's Dell seems to be similarly hopeless in terms of possible upgrades.

[Jaybe]

PC Choices

Wow, guys, I really appreciate all the (conflicting) advice!

I printed out your responses. I now have a handle on appropriate questions to ask, which should keep me busy for the next 3-4 weeks!

(Or, I could just be really patient and wait for the Mac version.
After all, while it may suffer somewhat in performance, it IS a much better machine). It's those DLL Library problems and system re-installs that make me want 'KISS' it. See what a little knowledge can do to you?
Understand, I come from a graphics layout/desktop publishing background (see my profile).
Really, I would rather NOT wait.

[dennis580]

Yea this is why the PC sucks as a gaming platform. Just too much hassle, trouble, and expense. If TBS games ever start getting ported to consoles I will be finished with PC gaming for good. I can only hope that the PC as a gaming platform will continue to die off.

I have my PC about 2 and a half years(400 AMD2 with 128 RAM and a Voodoo card and I have never downloaded new drivers or upgraded it.

[Sabre2th]

I can only hope that the PC as a gaming platform will continue to die off.

Continue to die off? If anything, it's getting better. The only thing holding back PC gaming is the software. Computers can do pretty much everything consoles can do, plus a heck of a lot more.

I have my PC about 2 and a half years(400 AMD2 with 128 RAM and a Voodoo card and I have never downloaded new drivers or upgraded it.

This would explain why you think the PC platform sucks.


On Topic:
Jaybe: I have a Dell and it is much better than any HP I've ever seen. Gateways aren't as bad as some say they are, but they certainly don't compare with my Dell. I haven't used Compaqs too much, but I do know that I don't like Mac. At all. They're not worth it.

I highly recommend getting a PC. If you can't build your own, get a Dell, but I must stress that it's not always the brand so much as what you get inside. More often than not, the basic package sucks. You should pick and choose what you want and upgrade accordingly.

[Sarxis]

What a joke! Someone even thinking that the PC is a dying game platform.

I think the only reason why consoles do so well is because there is a lower standard of taste in the console community. That's why they can pretty much 'bulk' up production of games that are of low quality, and then say that consoles are successful (at $60 a game, they'd better be... uh hum.. successful).

Of course, I have seen some really good console games lately (well, at least decent), but the fact remains that there is MORE community around many of the various PC games, and there are a lot of PC game types that consoles can never touch (TBS, RTS, MMOG and others).

[Sarxis]

double post

[Ozymandous]

Originally posted by monkspider
My gateway has no AGP slot, no extra bays for CD-Rom or DVD drives. It only has a tiny PCI slot that can only hold video cards that are about the size of a postage stamp.
My friend's Dell seems to be similarly hopeless in terms of possible upgrades.

Hmm, don't buy a Dell because you bought a bad version?

Wrong answer.

I have bought two Dell PC's in three years, each with an AGP slot and 4 PCI slots each. While this wasn't as many slots as some PC's have it was more than enough room for the NIC card, modem and soundcard for the PC with a slot left over.

Compare this to the P.O.S. HP system my girlfriend had that was 1/2 the size of my Dell (her's was a "micro-tower" that had EVERYTHING except the video card and hard drive as proprietary equipment that you had to talk to HP when you wanted to upgrade or replace.

If you want a smal, CHEAP, PC with NO drivers available to download then buy a HP or Compaq. If, on the other hand you want a PC that you can replace the operating system on and still get the drivers (HP & Compaq can only use the restore CD, their modems and sound cards have the same drivers that even WIndows 2000 doesn't recognize) then get a Dell.

I have yet seen a Dell PC either that I, or any friends or relatives own, or the old systems that we have at work (switched to Cpmpaq, egad, bad choice!) crash so bad that they couldn't at least be re-formatted and working perfectly in an hour or two. You cannot say that about the POS HP and Compaq systems I have seen.

Monk, if your friend had a bad experience with a Dell what kind did he have? Did he know anything about PC's?

No offense, some HP and Compaq systems are ok, but the vast majority of them that are sold to "average" consumers in stores like Circuit City, Best Buy, CompUSA, etc, are very cheap and are made to fail in less than two years. They are like the old Packard Bell series, you find a good one occasionally, but who wants to buy 9 bad systems in hoping to find one decent one?

(edit: forgot to add system specs for my PC in case people are curious.

P3 1 GHz processor
20 GB hard drive (later upgraded)
4 PCI slots
2 USB ports
2 PC133 RAM slots, currently fitted with 2 128 MB sticks (also on sale at Best Buy)
ATI Pro 16 MB video card (swapped out for a Vodoo 3000)
Soundblaster Pro integrated sound card
Intel Intergrated NIC for those fun LAN games
56K modem
50+ speed CD-ROM
2 year on-site warrenty (heh, lazy with my home system).

Base cost: $620 after $150 sale and free shipping.

I used the 17" monitor speaker, Iomega zip and old video card from my old system to boost my new one better but you can get a complete system for still under $1000. My girlfriend got an upgraded version of my same system with monitor, speakers, 32 MB ATI Raedon DDR card for $1400 total cost.

As I said initially research what you want and don't just go by price because you could pay more in the long run for the decision you make today.)

[dainbramaged13]

monk, when were the pcs bought. i must admit the gateeays i have seen are about 6 months to a year newer than my hp

[Rakki]

everyone has their own preferences when it comes to buying their own computer.. of course, people who have bought a Dill/Comcrap/Hpee and the things worked would no doubt vouch for it with all their heart yada yada yada.

But building your own is the only true way to go.... that way you get the bits that YOU want and not what some bean counter figures you'll put up with. Particularly those damn things that have half the computer's hardware integrated onto the moterboard (video, audio, network, and godknowswhatelse) so you need a freakin' bios flash to upgrade drivers..... those are nothing but trouble in the long term.

Might cost a bit more to build your own, but at least you'll know exactly what your 'puter is capable of !

[Colonel Kraken]

There's one option that none of you have mentioned. Get a Computer Shopper magazine and purchase a computer through one of the mail order/online computer manufacturers. Most of them are very reputable and use NO proprietory hardware. Nearly all of them use OEM versions of off the shelf hardware. Most of them will list out exactly what each piece of hardware is on their machines. They even let you go online and custom build a machine, even choosing thngs like which motherboard you want!
These companies are VERY affordable! Much better than the big 4.

An example is Cyberpower computers. Check it out here:
cyberpowersystem.com

Click on Customize Systems. You get drop down menus for nearly every component on the machine. Great prices too!

[Ozymandous]

Originally posted by Anunikoba
What a joke! Someone even thinking that the PC is a dying game platform.

I think the only reason why consoles do so well is because there is a lower standard of taste in the console community. That's why they can pretty much 'bulk' up production of games that are of low quality, and then say that consoles are successful (at $60 a game, they'd better be... uh hum.. successful).

Of course, I have seen some really good console games lately (well, at least decent), but the fact remains that there is MORE community around many of the various PC games, and there are a lot of PC game types that consoles can never touch (TBS, RTS, MMOG and others).

I agree, the PC is not a dying platform.

Consoles do so well because they have ONE standard. You get a system with exact specifications that never change. Even if the console technology is years old you cannot upgrade.

Since consoles have only ONE standard they are easy to build games for and easy to optimize games for. When companies can do this the graphics can be amazing, but this doesn't mean the consoles have better grapphics it just means they are better otimized.

Yet PC's can do much more than games. If you buy a PC and never upgrade the drivers or components then of course you'll fall behind the technology curve. Try as you will a console game still cannot match a PC for some kinds of games that require a mouse and keyboard controller. Play the original Diablo for the PC and then try it for the PS1. Big difference.

Console games also cannot be modified by their fans. When was the last time you saw web pages dedicated to modifying a console game, you don't.

PC's and consoles both have their uses but neither is better than the other, IMHO, just like the MAC and PC have differences but both are strong in their repescted uses as well.

[dennis580]

LIke I said The PC as a gaming platform is just way too hassle, trouble, and expensive and that's why I hate it.

TBS games are the only reason I still play games on my PC, but if TBS games ever started to get ported to consoles then I would be thru with the PC as a gaming platform..

I predict the PC as a gaming platform will be virtually dead in 2 years. PS2 sales are already closing in on 20 million and thier it's almost certain that thier will be a price drop next month and with a AAA KILLER APP like MGS2 sales will explode.

[Earthling7]

If the PC dies as a games machine, I die as a gamer. I shall not be investing in a console. No!