Computer/OOTP help, please

ForeverRoyalKC · 01-19-2019, 09:28 PM

Hey everyone,
Several weeks ago, I had expressed to everyone here that I wasnt able to play my new OOTP 19 because I have a Hewlett Packard computer with Windows Vista and the game kept crashing almost immediately.
I have the opportunity to get a computer to run '19 on. I wanted to ask you guys your opinion if you think this computer should run '19 without any hitches. It's a

Gateway slim, powered by AMD E-2500 APU with radeon graphics moving at 1.40 GHz. 4 gigs of memory, 500 gig hard drive with Windows 10.

Please advise as I can get this computer pretty quick! Thanks!

gabeeg · 01-20-2019, 01:53 AM

First, I have no experience with this CPU personally, but am familiar with the series. I would definitely not suggest it for playing out games except maybe in 2D...even then I think it would be frustrating. The CPU is a dog slow dual core with built in dog slow GPU. It is a low end and older SOC (system on a chip) really not meant for much more than email and internet. Maybe someone else will pipe in with actual experience with a AMD E-2500 based system. I just wanted to make sure you got a response before investing in it and to do some more searching for opinions.

ForeverRoyalKC · 01-20-2019, 10:33 AM

Yeah, I play the 2D style. I like to listen to the PBP. I've never had much of a desire to watch the actual animated players.

kryakyu12 · 01-20-2019, 11:29 AM

I used to have a laptop with this series of CPU that I ran OOTP on (a Lenovo 205S IIRC, with the previous gen CPU). It ran, but was slow. Never played out a game in 3D mode on it, and I suspect that it would not have worked (I was on Linux, and it was the first year of 3D mode).

I would suggest that, if possible, you make sure the disk is an SSD, or replace it with one if you can. Doing so is non-trivial (as you would need to reinstall Windows), but will vastly speed up everything on the machine (including OOTP).

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
-kr-

BaseballMan · 01-20-2019, 11:34 AM

Now days i would not even touch a a laptop with less than 8gb
of memory.
Aftyer you've simmed many years in your league, i'm not sure if 4gb can keep up. I would turn off almanac and maybe baseball cards as well.

The Game · 01-20-2019, 01:36 PM

So far i am overall happy with my HP. I play 2 leagues that are both over 8 GB in size with over 125 yrs of history each. i dont know if having less than 8 GB will be an issue eventually or not. i keep OOTP loaded on my X drive.i am having one issue of missing screens from laptop to pc version that no one has an answer for.

NoOne · 01-20-2019, 05:39 PM

that should be fine... i bet your older pc is probably okay too... likely something causing a hiccup.

4gig of ram is enough, but you'd be wise to find ~8 or more at this point in time. not too big of a deal, if you do nothing but ootp... it absolutely won't make a difference whether you have 4 or 8gigs of RAM as far as playing the game.

maybe with a gigantic league?

point of reference -- 30t league, R,R,SA,A,A,AA,AAA minors - basic size league and ~1.5gigs-2gigs or so loaded into ram. you have clearance with 4 gigabytes for jsut about any context. not all of that is 'players' etc.. so a league twice the size isn't necessary twice as large footprint.

oh, not likely, but if the ram is the same and you have an open slot, you can cannibalize ram fro old laptop if not in use. -- not likely... ram has likely changed in some way since you bought the old pc tha tit wouldn't fit or incompatible with anew pc... also amd vs intel will matter too.

========

suggestions to shop: look for a similar cost but with a SSD drive. you will appreciate the faster load times in anything you do, including and especially bootup.

128gig drive can be more than enough for a basic PC... if you don't store stuff, or in past always had 80% of drive open, realize you are perfect for a smaller SSD. 128gigs will give you ~80-100gigs free to use for ootp and other apps/games.

your old hardrive can be reused, if needed. these are laptops? keep the old one runnign and share the harddrive... put things like moveies and non-apps/games there... save ssd for important things that can make use of the speed. (even a blueray doesn't peak higher than a normal HDD speed.. and mostly way under peak at any moment anyway)

if desktops, just plopit into new pc... or can make it portable with a cheap dock with usb connection, if oyu don't want to let laptop run 24hours for access to network drive.

if you can't find a comparable item with an ssd, no worries, it's not going to prevent you from playing or using any app. but, it's noticably faster. unlike unused ram, you always benefit. (extra ram above what you need provides zero benefit)

==================================

anyway about old PC:

check Virtual Ram -- google -- make sure you have enough. windows managed ram.. it's just a "pagefile" on your harddrive... if you've reduced this or turned it off, it would be wise to turn it back on... "system managed" is fine too. (option for system managed vs. custom... use system managed)

programs that just conk out are most likely due to a lack of memory of some sort. this is standard windows operating procedure. in your case it isn't likely ram since you have 4gigs, but maybe vid card memory? with an integrated card, you sometimes have an option to increase how much ram it is sharing with the system.. this would most likely be in bios.. hit "del" or whatever screen says when you turn on PC to get to bios.

could turn off some features and try again. turn off 3d completely, unless you are planning to watch in 3d etc... reduce quality of crowd to lowest possible... set FPS in game to 60 or as low as it goes.. even find a 3rd party software like dxtory or MSIAfterburner to reduce FPS to ~20-30.

24 is what you see at the cinema... that's full motion. 24fps... not 60, not 180 etc... your eye shouldn't tell much of a difference for this game... shouldn't experience any visual tearing, here.

reduce any graphics settings in game etc etc.. if you can't load the game to get to those settings, they reside in various INI and CFG files you can edit by hand.

check performanc monity and see how much RAM is available -- ctrl-alt-delete then select task manager.. then res mon tab... or type resource monitor into searhc etc etc...multiple ways to get there... anyway... if you hve <2gigs availabe or even 2.5... you might be running out of memory while using ootp... you can use resource monitor when you load the app to see what's going on relative to ram too. eliminate a possible cause..move to next potential cause etc etc.

ForeverRoyalKC · 01-20-2019, 08:07 PM

All I do is run a single MLB season (year to year), 2D play by play and that's it. I dont run multiple leagues, I dont run the 3D animated players. I am pretty strip down basic. To be honest, I wish I stuck with my '18. I had zero problems with it.

NoOne · 01-21-2019, 11:21 AM

i would double check minimum specs, because i think your current pc is enough too. you may not need to buy anything. could check "compatibility" options too, if i didn't mention that above.. try as window 7 or anything other than vista for grins. change back if not a fix.

i don't know your entire intent and situation.. if a new laptop is in the cards no matter what... just ignore me

only playing devil's advocate. maybe tech support can help you troubleshoot where it is having a problem, which can help you fix it without trying blindly with all the crap i listed.

Edit: there's a way to import the 2019 roster into your 2018 ootp

must match # of players, first. you must re-use playerIDs and TeamIDs etc. copy paste other info to replace original '18 players with '19 players. as long as teh team names are the same and same divisions, they should be in the same order... may even have same teamID's in rare circumstances...

you may need to do some work on teamIDs if they aren't all the same or in same order. if there is any difference in # of players per team, you may need to copy/paste tail end of roster to make it kosher.

if any new columns exist in 19, just lop them off. keep same format as 18. if it didnt' exist then, it can't be copied. remove entire column with right click.

ForeverRoyalKC · 01-21-2019, 11:46 AM

Pretty much most of this advice is being blown right past me as I am not computer savvy. When I first posted about this on another thread Lucas and Orcin told me that my Windows Vista probably isnt updated and the OS and drivers are no longer supported by the manufactures. Same goes for the software and firmware being updated.
I get none of this as it is all foreign speak. I wouldnt know firmware, OS or drivers if they bit me in the backside.
Can someone tell me in layman's terms what I should look for and need in a new / used computer??

kryakyu12 · 01-21-2019, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverRoyalKC

Can someone tell me in layman's terms what I should look for and need in a new / used computer??

I'll give it a try... For a new computer, it would be: is the disk drive at least 128Gb, does the screen look good, and is it running windows 10 home or pro (not windows 10 S).

Almost any new computer these days should handle OOTP as long as the disk drive has enough storage (some low-end laptops don't have enough space for windows, let alone any applications). I would think that OOTP would even work on the Gateway you had been looking at, as long as you disabled 3D mode and are patient with it.
If you do go with a used computer/laptop, it becomes a bit more difficult, since you would now have to consider what kind of CPU and GPU it has. Anything with an Intel i3/i5/i7 and 4GB of RAM should be fine. I am not sure about the AMD models, which are going to be cheaper for the same performance.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

Cheers,
-kr-

ForeverRoyalKC · 01-21-2019, 04:07 PM

THANKS, everyone! I appreciate so much opinion and guidance. Wife and I will use these for reference in what we will finally decide to do.

eriqjaffe · 01-22-2019, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BaseballMan

Now days i would not even touch a a laptop with less than 8gb
of memory.
Aftyer you've simmed many years in your league, i'm not sure if 4gb can keep up. I would turn off almanac and maybe baseball cards as well.

FWIW, OOTP is (still) a 32-bit app, and 32-bit programs can only address a maximum of 2GB of memory regardless of how much the OS has available.

jimmysthebestcop · 01-27-2019, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverRoyalKC

Hey everyone,
Several weeks ago, I had expressed to everyone here that I wasnt able to play my new OOTP 19 because I have a Hewlett Packard computer with Windows Vista and the game kept crashing almost immediately.
I have the opportunity to get a computer to run '19 on. I wanted to ask you guys your opinion if you think this computer should run '19 without any hitches. It's a

Gateway slim, powered by AMD E-2500 APU with radeon graphics moving at 1.40 GHz. 4 gigs of memory, 500 gig hard drive with Windows 10.

Please advise as I can get this computer pretty quick! Thanks!

This is an absolutely abysmal processor. Stay away from it at all costs. This is like processor meant for a tablet with a mobile OS not a full blown computer. I've seen these processors stutter while streaming 1080p video on youtube.

Read everything in this thread felt a lot of the information here was pretty bad.

If you have a budget I can recommend a computer for you. Especially if you are near Microcenter even better.

Depends if you want a desktop or a laptop also. 3rd/4th gen Intel i5/i7 processors and complete builds are extremely cheap on ebay. Desktops you can throw a GTX 1050 TI in as it doesn't need to hook up to a PSU and they make them as mini cards as well.

Most of these systems can even be bought with 8gb of ram already. 240gb ssds only go for around $30 brand new on ebay these days.

All desktop i5's are quad core without hyper-threading while the i7's are quads with hyper-threading.

The laptop market is different. They make dual core i5/i7 so you have to check. you absolutely want 4 cores. If you have enough cash to spring for hyperthreading even better. Laptops are trickier but dell, hp, lenovo "business class" laptops have a huge used selling environment. These aren't the same ones you buy off the shelf at bestbuy and staples. These are the ones huge fortune 500 companies buy and replace every 3 years. Intel is about to enter 9th gen so 4th gen laptops are priced pretty aggressively used right now. 2 core, 4 threads is still the most popular laptop format for processors.

The only AMD processor you ever want to buy are the new Ryzen processors. If you want to custom build a desktop you can make a budget rig with the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G or the AMD r5 1600. If its in the budget I would recommend the AMD Ryzen 5 2600. Some companies to have pre built units that you can buy.

I can gladly recommend you any solid purchases depending on your budget level and skill. If your close to me I'll even build it for you. If you need help on a laptop I recommend one. Even fix it up and ship it to you no problem.

NoOne · 01-27-2019, 11:58 AM

i bet you can piece together somethign for 300-500 for a desktop that will last a ~decade.

most want a laptop though. i'm content with a wireless kb + mouse from my couch. the pc is hidden. can't move around, but i don't care to while using a pc. i can't look at those tiny screens. i've hooked my pc to tv's since 1998 or so. ntsc converter back then. 36" -> 46" 720p -> 60" 1080p -> ???? ...20 years of progress!

either case:

SSD -- don't get a HDD. worth every penny.

don't go too cheap on cpu, but it's not as big of a piece as most people build it up to be. i5/i7 for sure... if it's a few generations old and marked down, that's golden too. there are rarely large jumps year-to-year on their released cpu's.

i'd recommend intel over amd, but at the lower price points i think amd is better? rely on real data and not my opinion

it can be different per any 2 chips you compare.

take your time... you absolutely do not need to know much to do research.

https://www.userbenchmark.com/

is a great website. there's a review site i like .. .think it's legit-reviews? can't find the bookmark. think .uk site. the focuse may seem to be high end stuff there, but plenty of good reviews and articles on budget pc and laptops amongst the $1500 GPU's with the freezer built onto it to keep it cool, lol.

go to multiple sources for pricing.. take your time... newegg, amazon, cyberpowerpc, etc etc.

whittle it down to ~3 choices in your price range and make a wise decisions. you can google any component, you can find benchmark comparisons of those components in real-world contexts in many cases and make a good decisiosn without understanding anything technical.

it takes 30s with this, and 24s with that and costs this much different... how often do you do "that" and is it worth it? next decision, rincs/repeat.

----

i just bought a gpu recently.. i spent at least a week looking over various tiers of quality and cost -- a casual week. i googled a ton of stuff i had no clue about or was ~10+years behind on knowledge etc.

i had no real useful knowledge to start when looking over these parts. i did have relative experience, and i understand that's a big difference, but i promise if you do this each time you buy a pc, the next time gets easier. even if it's all new vocabulary and slightly new parts (like hdd->ssd).

ForeverRoyalKC · 01-28-2019, 06:28 PM

Hi again...

Here is a description of one I have been offered. I need opinions asap as he is waiting to sell it.

Dell Inspiron 570 desktop computer set up this machine is powered by an AMD Athlon IIx2 which is a dual core processor running at 2.80 GHz it has eight gigs of memory and a 250 gig hard drive it’s running windows 10 it has Microsoft office other features include a DVD burner Wi-Fi front side sdcard reader HDMI it comes with keyboard mouse all the cords to make it work and a very nice 22 inch wide screen Dell brand LCD monitor with powered speaker bar this is a complete set up perfectly working and ready to go.

Bottom Of The Sixth · 01-28-2019, 08:24 PM

I also currently have a HP notebook however, I am running Win7.

My first computer was a Dell Desktop and I'll never get another Dell product.

If you despise Win 10, and many do, Win 7 is still a good option. You can get refurbished machines for a couple of hundred bucks that will handle OOTP.

ForeverRoyalKC · 01-28-2019, 08:27 PM

I've never used Windows 10 to know whether I like it or not. I am just curious if the above used computer set up will be compatible with my '19 without crashing.

kryakyu12 · 01-28-2019, 10:49 PM

That CPU is almost 10 years old, I think (and at the low end if I am reading the article right). Don't know about the graphics, either, and may not meet the minimum requirements, unless there is a separate graphics card in the system. OOTP might still work (slowly), but that system does not seem to be worth much.

-kr-

ForeverRoyalKC · 01-29-2019, 12:32 AM

I guess I'll just keep searching.

01-19-2019, 09:28 PM	#1
ForeverRoyalKC All Star Starter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Hop, skip and a jump from Pomme De Terre Lake, MO. Posts: 1,172 Blog Entries: 3	Computer/OOTP help, please Hey everyone, Several weeks ago, I had expressed to everyone here that I wasnt able to play my new OOTP 19 because I have a Hewlett Packard computer with Windows Vista and the game kept crashing almost immediately. I have the opportunity to get a computer to run '19 on. I wanted to ask you guys your opinion if you think this computer should run '19 without any hitches. It's a Gateway slim, powered by AMD E-2500 APU with radeon graphics moving at 1.40 GHz. 4 gigs of memory, 500 gig hard drive with Windows 10. Please advise as I can get this computer pretty quick! Thanks!

01-20-2019, 01:36 PM	#6
The Game Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Inside The Game Posts: 30,936	So far i am overall happy with my HP. I play 2 leagues that are both over 8 GB in size with over 125 yrs of history each. i dont know if having less than 8 GB will be an issue eventually or not. i keep OOTP loaded on my X drive.i am having one issue of missing screens from laptop to pc version that no one has an answer for. Attached Images __________________ Go today don't wait for tomorrow It isn't promised, all the time you get borrowed Don't live your life for other people Don't bottle your emotions till they crack and fill a couple just sorrows Take your mind and refocus go get a paper write your goals out Throw your middle fingers to all your haters "Stay Strong"

01-20-2019, 05:39 PM	#7
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,227	that should be fine... i bet your older pc is probably okay too... likely something causing a hiccup. 4gig of ram is enough, but you'd be wise to find ~8 or more at this point in time. not too big of a deal, if you do nothing but ootp... it absolutely won't make a difference whether you have 4 or 8gigs of RAM as far as playing the game. maybe with a gigantic league? point of reference -- 30t league, R,R,SA,A,A,AA,AAA minors - basic size league and ~1.5gigs-2gigs or so loaded into ram. you have clearance with 4 gigabytes for jsut about any context. not all of that is 'players' etc.. so a league twice the size isn't necessary twice as large footprint. oh, not likely, but if the ram is the same and you have an open slot, you can cannibalize ram fro old laptop if not in use. -- not likely... ram has likely changed in some way since you bought the old pc tha tit wouldn't fit or incompatible with anew pc... also amd vs intel will matter too. ======== suggestions to shop: look for a similar cost but with a SSD drive. you will appreciate the faster load times in anything you do, including and especially bootup. 128gig drive can be more than enough for a basic PC... if you don't store stuff, or in past always had 80% of drive open, realize you are perfect for a smaller SSD. 128gigs will give you ~80-100gigs free to use for ootp and other apps/games. your old hardrive can be reused, if needed. these are laptops? keep the old one runnign and share the harddrive... put things like moveies and non-apps/games there... save ssd for important things that can make use of the speed. (even a blueray doesn't peak higher than a normal HDD speed.. and mostly way under peak at any moment anyway) if desktops, just plopit into new pc... or can make it portable with a cheap dock with usb connection, if oyu don't want to let laptop run 24hours for access to network drive. if you can't find a comparable item with an ssd, no worries, it's not going to prevent you from playing or using any app. but, it's noticably faster. unlike unused ram, you always benefit. (extra ram above what you need provides zero benefit) ================================== anyway about old PC: check Virtual Ram -- google -- make sure you have enough. windows managed ram.. it's just a "pagefile" on your harddrive... if you've reduced this or turned it off, it would be wise to turn it back on... "system managed" is fine too. (option for system managed vs. custom... use system managed) programs that just conk out are most likely due to a lack of memory of some sort. this is standard windows operating procedure. in your case it isn't likely ram since you have 4gigs, but maybe vid card memory? with an integrated card, you sometimes have an option to increase how much ram it is sharing with the system.. this would most likely be in bios.. hit "del" or whatever screen says when you turn on PC to get to bios. could turn off some features and try again. turn off 3d completely, unless you are planning to watch in 3d etc... reduce quality of crowd to lowest possible... set FPS in game to 60 or as low as it goes.. even find a 3rd party software like dxtory or MSIAfterburner to reduce FPS to ~20-30. 24 is what you see at the cinema... that's full motion. 24fps... not 60, not 180 etc... your eye shouldn't tell much of a difference for this game... shouldn't experience any visual tearing, here. reduce any graphics settings in game etc etc.. if you can't load the game to get to those settings, they reside in various INI and CFG files you can edit by hand. check performanc monity and see how much RAM is available -- ctrl-alt-delete then select task manager.. then res mon tab... or type resource monitor into searhc etc etc...multiple ways to get there... anyway... if you hve <2gigs availabe or even 2.5... you might be running out of memory while using ootp... you can use resource monitor when you load the app to see what's going on relative to ram too. eliminate a possible cause..move to next potential cause etc etc. Last edited by NoOne; 01-20-2019 at 05:45 PM.

01-21-2019, 11:21 AM	#9
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,227	i would double check minimum specs, because i think your current pc is enough too. you may not need to buy anything. could check "compatibility" options too, if i didn't mention that above.. try as window 7 or anything other than vista for grins. change back if not a fix. i don't know your entire intent and situation.. if a new laptop is in the cards no matter what... just ignore me only playing devil's advocate. maybe tech support can help you troubleshoot where it is having a problem, which can help you fix it without trying blindly with all the crap i listed. Edit: there's a way to import the 2019 roster into your 2018 ootp must match # of players, first. you must re-use playerIDs and TeamIDs etc. copy paste other info to replace original '18 players with '19 players. as long as teh team names are the same and same divisions, they should be in the same order... may even have same teamID's in rare circumstances... you may need to do some work on teamIDs if they aren't all the same or in same order. if there is any difference in # of players per team, you may need to copy/paste tail end of roster to make it kosher. if any new columns exist in 19, just lop them off. keep same format as 18. if it didnt' exist then, it can't be copied. remove entire column with right click. Last edited by NoOne; 01-21-2019 at 11:29 AM.

01-20-2019, 01:53 AM	#2
gabeeg Minors (Single A) Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 50	First, I have no experience with this CPU personally, but am familiar with the series. I would definitely not suggest it for playing out games except maybe in 2D...even then I think it would be frustrating. The CPU is a dog slow dual core with built in dog slow GPU. It is a low end and older SOC (system on a chip) really not meant for much more than email and internet. Maybe someone else will pipe in with actual experience with a AMD E-2500 based system. I just wanted to make sure you got a response before investing in it and to do some more searching for opinions.

01-20-2019, 10:33 AM	#3
ForeverRoyalKC All Star Starter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Hop, skip and a jump from Pomme De Terre Lake, MO. Posts: 1,172 Blog Entries: 3	Yeah, I play the 2D style. I like to listen to the PBP. I've never had much of a desire to watch the actual animated players.

01-20-2019, 11:29 AM	#4
kryakyu12 Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Outfield seating, cheering the home team Posts: 378	I used to have a laptop with this series of CPU that I ran OOTP on (a Lenovo 205S IIRC, with the previous gen CPU). It ran, but was slow. Never played out a game in 3D mode on it, and I suspect that it would not have worked (I was on Linux, and it was the first year of 3D mode). I would suggest that, if possible, you make sure the disk is an SSD, or replace it with one if you can. Doing so is non-trivial (as you would need to reinstall Windows), but will vastly speed up everything on the machine (including OOTP). Good luck with whatever you decide to do. -kr-

01-20-2019, 11:34 AM	#5
BaseballMan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 6,405	Now days i would not even touch a a laptop with less than 8gb of memory. Aftyer you've simmed many years in your league, i'm not sure if 4gb can keep up. I would turn off almanac and maybe baseball cards as well.

01-20-2019, 08:07 PM	#8
ForeverRoyalKC All Star Starter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Hop, skip and a jump from Pomme De Terre Lake, MO. Posts: 1,172 Blog Entries: 3	All I do is run a single MLB season (year to year), 2D play by play and that's it. I dont run multiple leagues, I dont run the 3D animated players. I am pretty strip down basic. To be honest, I wish I stuck with my '18. I had zero problems with it.

01-21-2019, 11:46 AM	#10
ForeverRoyalKC All Star Starter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Hop, skip and a jump from Pomme De Terre Lake, MO. Posts: 1,172 Blog Entries: 3	Pretty much most of this advice is being blown right past me as I am not computer savvy. When I first posted about this on another thread Lucas and Orcin told me that my Windows Vista probably isnt updated and the OS and drivers are no longer supported by the manufactures. Same goes for the software and firmware being updated. I get none of this as it is all foreign speak. I wouldnt know firmware, OS or drivers if they bit me in the backside. Can someone tell me in layman's terms what I should look for and need in a new / used computer??

01-21-2019, 04:07 PM	#12
ForeverRoyalKC All Star Starter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Hop, skip and a jump from Pomme De Terre Lake, MO. Posts: 1,172 Blog Entries: 3	THANKS, everyone! I appreciate so much opinion and guidance. Wife and I will use these for reference in what we will finally decide to do.

01-27-2019, 11:58 AM	#15
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,227	i bet you can piece together somethign for 300-500 for a desktop that will last a ~decade. most want a laptop though. i'm content with a wireless kb + mouse from my couch. the pc is hidden. can't move around, but i don't care to while using a pc. i can't look at those tiny screens. i've hooked my pc to tv's since 1998 or so. ntsc converter back then. 36" -> 46" 720p -> 60" 1080p -> ???? ...20 years of progress! either case: SSD -- don't get a HDD. worth every penny. don't go too cheap on cpu, but it's not as big of a piece as most people build it up to be. i5/i7 for sure... if it's a few generations old and marked down, that's golden too. there are rarely large jumps year-to-year on their released cpu's. i'd recommend intel over amd, but at the lower price points i think amd is better? rely on real data and not my opinion it can be different per any 2 chips you compare. take your time... you absolutely do not need to know much to do research. https://www.userbenchmark.com/ is a great website. there's a review site i like .. .think it's legit-reviews? can't find the bookmark. think .uk site. the focuse may seem to be high end stuff there, but plenty of good reviews and articles on budget pc and laptops amongst the $1500 GPU's with the freezer built onto it to keep it cool, lol. go to multiple sources for pricing.. take your time... newegg, amazon, cyberpowerpc, etc etc. whittle it down to ~3 choices in your price range and make a wise decisions. you can google any component, you can find benchmark comparisons of those components in real-world contexts in many cases and make a good decisiosn without understanding anything technical. it takes 30s with this, and 24s with that and costs this much different... how often do you do "that" and is it worth it? next decision, rincs/repeat. ---- i just bought a gpu recently.. i spent at least a week looking over various tiers of quality and cost -- a casual week. i googled a ton of stuff i had no clue about or was ~10+years behind on knowledge etc. i had no real useful knowledge to start when looking over these parts. i did have relative experience, and i understand that's a big difference, but i promise if you do this each time you buy a pc, the next time gets easier. even if it's all new vocabulary and slightly new parts (like hdd->ssd).

01-28-2019, 06:28 PM	#16
ForeverRoyalKC All Star Starter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Hop, skip and a jump from Pomme De Terre Lake, MO. Posts: 1,172 Blog Entries: 3	Hi again... Here is a description of one I have been offered. I need opinions asap as he is waiting to sell it. Dell Inspiron 570 desktop computer set up this machine is powered by an AMD Athlon IIx2 which is a dual core processor running at 2.80 GHz it has eight gigs of memory and a 250 gig hard drive it’s running windows 10 it has Microsoft office other features include a DVD burner Wi-Fi front side sdcard reader HDMI it comes with keyboard mouse all the cords to make it work and a very nice 22 inch wide screen Dell brand LCD monitor with powered speaker bar this is a complete set up perfectly working and ready to go.

01-28-2019, 08:24 PM	#17
Bottom Of The Sixth All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of Lincoln Posts: 1,254	I also currently have a HP notebook however, I am running Win7. My first computer was a Dell Desktop and I'll never get another Dell product. If you despise Win 10, and many do, Win 7 is still a good option. You can get refurbished machines for a couple of hundred bucks that will handle OOTP.

01-28-2019, 08:27 PM	#18
ForeverRoyalKC All Star Starter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Hop, skip and a jump from Pomme De Terre Lake, MO. Posts: 1,172 Blog Entries: 3	I've never used Windows 10 to know whether I like it or not. I am just curious if the above used computer set up will be compatible with my '19 without crashing.

01-28-2019, 10:49 PM	#19
kryakyu12 Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Outfield seating, cheering the home team Posts: 378	That CPU is almost 10 years old, I think (and at the low end if I am reading the article right). Don't know about the graphics, either, and may not meet the minimum requirements, unless there is a separate graphics card in the system. OOTP might still work (slowly), but that system does not seem to be worth much. -kr-

01-29-2019, 12:32 AM	#20
ForeverRoyalKC All Star Starter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Hop, skip and a jump from Pomme De Terre Lake, MO. Posts: 1,172 Blog Entries: 3	I guess I'll just keep searching.