How long with 32bit last?

[Kezzer]

So hopefully i'm off to uni in september and i'm going to need to get another PC, a shuttle in this case and preferably want to get a laptop so i can do work out and about and so forth.

The question is, how long will 32bit last? Will it be worth getting the highest spec (AMD) 32bit shuttle system for when i go away? We're talking about SN45 series, 3200+, a GB of corsair, 9800XT/TVD 256MB, DVD-RW etc.

Would this last a good while for when i'm away?

I'd also get a laptop but there's no need for a good one since it'll only do word processing and so forth.

What do you think?

[Grey M@a]

Kezzer I will bet anything that 32 bit is around for a few years yet. Although PCI express is coming out with the 64 bit bus, think back to the days when AGP came out to take over PCI's world. You still had PCI graphics cards for instance flying around for another two or three years. So you have no worries of 32 bit going anywhere fast.

As for the laptop how much you wanting to spend on it? I must admit though. I got my laptop for uni and since I have left uni its just used as a seti box or games server now Gimme a shout if you want any other info.

Cheers

Fox

[Kezzer]

Ah the laptop is only going to be for word processing although i saw some 64bit ones for £820 which looked nice although the power consumption on them must be quite great.

Well i can't afford a lot and going 64bit might cost more than i can afford but the system specs for the shuttle were looking like:
Shuttle SN45G
AMD Barton 3200+
1GB (2x512MB) Corsair
9800XT/TVD
Herc Prophetview 19"

By august they should've gone down in price quite a lot. I was just seeing if it's still worth getting a 32bit system for uni that has to last quite a while. New graphics cards will be coming out soon so i could get something better.

[Grey M@a]

LOL dont get the latest kit for uni, trust me if you are doing anything computing related at university you wont be learning anything state of the art to be honest most likely you will be stuck learning 2 - 4 year old methods, not very helpful I now but thats what you will be doing. The kit you have mentioned, if its just for uni work and gaming that should do the trick

[Kezzer]

Ah that's ok then. I don't usually have time for games and not many of them amuse me nowadays apart from older ones. Also i'm into programming so you don't need a high spec system for that. A s'pose that system will do me just fine, forget the 19" herc, i'm a 1280x1024 kind of person anyway

Still it would be interesting to see how many people jump into getting 64bit straight away. Look how many years it took for 32bit to get, i s'pose we're looking for the same kind of wait on 64bit. Also the way graphics are developing is a bit of in a wrong direction imho. PCI-X? They haven't even made 8x AGP transfer data at the speed of 8x yet, 21GB/sec or something like that. Why not just stick to current technology and develop it to it's fullest?

[directhex]

386es were released in, what, 1993? 1992? it wasn't until 1998 that 16bit was properly being dropped, and not until 2000 that a proper 32bit os used the mighty 32bit power available.

[Kezzer]

So do you think they'll release anymore 32bit shuttles as (AMD) aren't releasing anymore 32bit processors

[directhex]

i can't see them releasing many more amd32 shuttles (perhaps one or two) - but it'll certainly last, as proper 64bit apps won't becme mainstream for years

[Kezzer]

So should i get the SN45G or the SN41G2? Apparently there's problems with the SN45G such as the power supplies are faulty and there's problems in resetting the CMOS but it also doesn't have the onboard graphics which i won't need. The SN41G2 however has the onboard graphics, sexier look and lack of problems whilst it still performs great. *ponders*

[Alex]

I don't usually have time for games and not many of them amuse me nowadays apart from older ones.

If you're not really into gaming, is there really much point spending that much on a 9800XT GFx? Why not go for something cheaper and save yourself some money?

[Kezzer]

'cause by time i've got it HL2, STALKER, Far Cry will be out, i also (eventually) will play Planetside.

[revol68]

'cause by time i've got it HL2, STALKER, Far Cry will be out, i also (eventually) will play Planetside.

obviously not a gamer then he he

[Kezzer]

I wait for the good games

[5lab]

if you're heading to uni then buy a cheap pc and spend the rest on booze. you'll honestly have a MUCH better time at uni if you do.

[Butuz]

Thats true

32 bit will last for years to come - AMD's 32 bit line will end, and intel will be in a little bit of a pickle, because AMD's 64bit offerings are so versitile.

At the end of the day the A64 is faster then the A XP, and the SN85G has a more powerful, quieter PSU, built in 5 in 1 media bay, and SATA built in. Thats enough to swing it for me!

Butuz

[Kezzer]

Well i've managed to definitely get myself a summer job. So i might just be able to go for 64bit