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After 10 years on the same rig, it's long past time for me to get a new computer. I've decided on a laptop rather than another desktop for reasons 
It'll need to be able to run Civ 4 (duh) and it would be nice if it could run Civ 5 BE (just in case).
I've got no idea what is current in terms of hardware and I'm well behind the curve in terms of OS. From what I've gathered, Win 8 sucks and Win 7 is ok. Is Linux a viable option?
Any advice is appreciated (but may or may not actually get followed  )
fnord
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Windows 8 is not terrible, it's just a big adjustment from the Windows 98/XP/7 progression, where the jump to the next OS was pretty intuitive. And Windows 10 is coming soon.
Linux is for hard-core computer geeks who write their own games, since very few games are ported to it.
I have a Toshiba laptop with an i5 processor and no graphics card (the i3/5/7 family have built in graphics capability). It runs Civ4 just fine, and would probably be decent but not great with Civ5. I think it cost around $350.
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Thanks for the quick feedback. 
(May 15th, 2015, 10:51)DaveV Wrote: Windows 8 is not terrible, it's just a big adjustment from the Windows 98/XP/7 progression, where the jump to the next OS was pretty intuitive. And Windows 10 is coming soon.
I'm looking at purchasing on Tuesday so I don't think I'll wait for Win 10
Win 8 being not terrible is good. I suspect it would be a pain to set up something else like Win 7.
Quote:Linux is for hard-core computer geeks who write their own games, since very few games are ported to it.
Does WINE not allow Windows games to be played on Linux systems?
Quote:I have a Toshiba laptop with an i5 processor and no graphics card (the i3/5/7 family have built in graphics capability). It runs Civ4 just fine, and would probably be decent but not great with Civ5. I think it cost around $350.
I'm willing to spend a bit more than $350 if it'll get me something that will allow me to play games on other than the minimum graphics settings. Would something based on an i7 do the trick? Are there other chip families I should be looking at?
My current rig is a single core single processor jobbie and I have not been keeping up with developments over the last 10 years.
fnord
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There's supposed to be a free upgrade to Windows 10 coming.
I think you need to buy a licensed copy of Windows to run it on Linux, so then what's the point of Linux?
My graphics requirements are pretty modest, so someone else could give you better information about that aspect.
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(May 15th, 2015, 11:10)DaveV Wrote: There's supposed to be a free upgrade to Windows 10 coming.
Cool, though that doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement of Win 8. 
Quote:I think you need to buy a licensed copy of Windows to run it on Linux, so then what's the point of Linux?
 If that is correct then there isn't much point.
Quote:My graphics requirements are pretty modest, so someone else could give you better information about that aspect.
I've been getting by on minimum settings for a long time now. I don't technically need much in the way of graphics but it would be nice if I can get shinier graphics, so long as it doesn't involve spending ludicrous amounts of cash.
fnord
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Is gaming the only reason to use the laptop beyond the basic web browsing/videos/music/emails/documents? In that case it's an i5 you want, i7 is overkill, and a good graphics card. But you need to check what i5 it is, the mobile versions are obviously much more weedy than having a desktop processor in there.
Current games (All): RtR: PB80 Civ 6: PBEM23
Ended games (Selection): BTS games: PB1, PB3, PBEM2, PBEM4, PBEM5B, PBEM50. RB mod games: PB5, PB15, PB27, PB37, PB42, PB46, PB71. FFH games: PBEMVII, PBEMXII. Civ 6: PBEM22 Games ded lurked: PB18
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(May 15th, 2015, 15:03)Krill Wrote: Is gaming the only reason to use the laptop beyond the basic web browsing/videos/music/emails/documents? In that case it's an i5 you want, i7 is overkill, and a good graphics card. But you need to check what i5 it is, the mobile versions are obviously much more weedy than having a desktop processor in there. \
Yeah, mostly gaming/web surfing yada yada.
Do you mean i5 + graphics card is what I want? Or is i5 sans graphic card good enough? I'm ok with spending a bit of coin if needs be.
fnord
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i5 comes with integrated graphics that isn't completely horrible. Enough to run civ even.
But that laptop? I'd give that a miss...
Current games (All): RtR: PB80 Civ 6: PBEM23
Ended games (Selection): BTS games: PB1, PB3, PBEM2, PBEM4, PBEM5B, PBEM50. RB mod games: PB5, PB15, PB27, PB37, PB42, PB46, PB71. FFH games: PBEMVII, PBEMXII. Civ 6: PBEM22 Games ded lurked: PB18
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(May 16th, 2015, 10:11)Krill Wrote: i5 comes with integrated graphics that isn't completely horrible. Enough to run civ even.
Something a bit better than "not completely horrible" would be nice.
Quote:But that laptop? I'd give that a miss...
Why is that? It looks ok to me. i5 processor, big screen (for a laptop), DVD drive, lots of memory.....I don't see a downside. So what am I missing?
fnord
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