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[Tuxman]

Alright, so I'm getting a new computer. Its OEM, sadly, because my financial supporters (Parents) are not willing to place their money on my computer-building skills.

That being said, here's the specs.

Its called Gateway FX6840-23

I suppose what I'm wondering is if anyone knows how much bloatware I'll find on it and whats the best way to get rid of it. Or any thoughts about it.

Can imagine playing Dwarf Fortress. 100 frames... always....

[Mictlantecuhtli]

FX Design w/ Race Car Styling
Daring and distinctive, this FX system's design boasts the streamlined looks of an injection-fueled race car. Accentuating its high-performance appeal is a black glossy case with red accents and lighting effects. Are you ready to roll?

I found this to be the most entertaining part. Who cares if a computer case is glossy and aerodynamic? You're not launching it into space for christ's sake.

Otherwise, it looks like a very solid rig. Much better then what I've been going with for the last 6 or so years. You'll have to get rid of all the useless security suites, though. Especially Norton. I'd just wipe the whole drive from the start and start with nothing but a vanilla, 8 gig of ram, 1 TB harddrive. Seems like a much better way to start off then "ACTIVATE YOUR REGISTERED VERSION" times infinity.

[Astramancer]

The PC Decrapifier works more or less as you would expect, based on the name.

[ToonyMan]

Damn I wish I had this much cash to drop on a computer.

[Dwarf]

You could also get your computer built instead of assembling it yourself. I imagine it'd still be cheaper.
If you really want it for DF foremost, I'd probably shell out a bit more to get an i7 980X.
Or invest in an ATi HD5970 (or nVidia GTX 580) instead of that meh-ish 5700-something if you're into high-end gaming.

[RedKing]

Trying to figure out where to drop my $500 or so for a major overhaul of my desktop, and could use some advice. Here's the three configurations I've come up with, based on what's on sale at Newegg:

#1:
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core   
w/ Corsair H50 water cooler                  
A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 RAM         
BIOSTAR TA890GXB MicroATX motherboard            
ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24x DVD burner               
Antec 650W power supply

#2:
AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core
MSI AMD 785G ATX Motherboard
Kingston HyperX 2GB DDR2 1066 RAM
Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 1TB SATA 3GB/s internal HD
LG 24X DVD burner w/ LightScribe
RAIDMAX case w/ 450W power supply (garbage, only getting because it's part of a bundle)            
Antec 650W power supply                  
Corsair H50 water cooler

#3:
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Hex-Core
ASUS 785G MicroATX motherboard
Kingston HyperX 4GB DDR2 1066 RAM
Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 1TB SATA 3GB/s internal HD
LG 24X DVD burner w/ LightScribe
COOLER MASTER ATX Mid-tower case
COOLER MASTER 550W power supply


#1 definitely gives me the most performance, but I don't get a new HD, which is a major bummer.

#2 is a great bundle deal saddled with a shitty case and underpowered PS, which I have to buy seperate, plus the cost of a cooler that can handle a 125W CPU (and based on specs, most decent air-cooled ones now are the size of a toaster...was inspired by Japa's mention recently of his H50)

#3 is an intriguing compromise. I get a new 1TB HD, and a six-core Phenom II, but the RAM is a bit slow. And in some ways, six cores and 4GB of RAM is like having a third nipple--dunno that I'll have anything that can use it. And I'll be trusting in the stock cooler for the time being. 

There's also the question of backwards compatibility. I need to extract all my stuff off the old ATA/100 HDs, and it's not clear if some of the newer boards would even allow me to. I should add that I have an existing Apevia case which is solid and I'd prefer to just reuse that.

[alway]

Don't expect it to play DF at 100 fps or better always. Having played DF on RIT's top of the line i7 Alienware computers in the Game Dev lab, I can say without a doubt that DF will not continue to run at 100 fps on anything. Although granted that was a 2 decades old fort with 150 levels, a horde of demons, and probably at least a thousand dead.

[lordnincompoop]

Best way would be to reformat and reinstall on that suckah.

Otherwise the CCleaner, Decrapifier and Revo Uninstaller work well.

[Ephemeriis]

I'm going to have to throw my support behind the whole "reformat and reload" sentiment we've got going here.

It really is the easiest way to make sure you've got a standard, vanilla install of Windows with nothing strange going on.

We order business-grade computers from Dell and at least part of the increase in cost is the lack of bloatware installed on the things.  You're supposed to be able to roll them right out into production.  We don't do that.  Every machine that comes into the building gets reformatted and reloaded.

Nuke the thing from orbit.  It's the only way to be sure.