Looking for a new PC

Installed the Seasons EP Saturday afternoon ... surprised I could play the game. Neighborhoods take longer to load, but lots load easily. The gameplay is actually smoother than when I first loaded Pets.

Went to two malls yesterday (Sunday) hoping I could upgrade my PC ... but most shops still didn't have Core 2 duo. Some that did won't take credit card payments. I actually have enough money to buy a new PC but I don't like bringing that much cash with me. Besides, I prefer earning reward points from my credit company.

Complink did have the processor and they accept credit card payments. They just didn't have the motherboard, memory chip and video cards I wanted. I could end up buying the processor from them and buying the rest from PC Express, with PC Express doing the assembly for a fee. Their service fee's a bit higher than some shops, but I am partial to PC Express because that's where I bring my current PC for repairs ... they usually have the latest models when it comes to parts, and their tech people tell you which parts should really be replaced. Other shops in the mall would try to sell you more stuff than necessary.

I find it interesting that Ayala Town Center prices are cheaper than Festival mall prices. My friend bought a dual core from Festival Mall's Octagon Computer Store ... for the same price she paid she would have gotten a core 2 duo OR her monitor would be LCD instead of CRT. Actually, the sales person at Octagon didn't even know half the specs my brother and I asked.

Anyway, I decided to wait for PC Express to tell me the parts I wanted are available (hoping that would be this coming Saturday or Sunday). I ended up buying Glamour Stuff and Family Fun Stuff from DataBlitz. A month ago I'd never consider buying the Stuff Packs. Just didn't want to end up empty handed after an afternoon in the malls I guess.

Saw that Flushed Away was still showing at Festival Mall so my brother and I watched it instead of 300 - as we may not be able to watch it in any movie house next week. The Ayala movie houses had already replaced Flushed Away with a newer movie.

An Expansion Pack and a Stuff Pack

Bought "Seasons" 2 days ago ... can't help it.

Got the Holiday Stuff pack too ... it bums me that a lot of the halloween and christmas downloads available from the exchange are included in the pack ... what's the point of registering your game to avail of the online perk of free downloads from the exchange when the EA guys will make those objects available in a future CD? Not much of a perk, is it?

I've installed Seasons in my PC just now but haven't run it yet (chose to register the game online first). If the game won't work, then I'm buying a new processor tomorrow. That means a new motherboard and maybe a new video card.

I have installed the base game and the Seasons EP in an office PC ... so I have already seen how the game works. Got me excited to play it at home. My home PC's specs is higher than my office PC's ... but I've got all EPs installed, so I don't know if Sims2 will still run with Seasons added.

Never thought I'd be one of those saying this but ... it's not Vista that drove me to upgrade my PC ... it's the Sims 2 EPs!

My Old PC

"Seasons" is out, and I still haven't upgraded my PC. My computer is already slow running Pets ... there were times I've actually fallen asleep waiting for the game to load or save a large or fully populated lot.

Thing is, Core 2 Duo is fairly new, and history tells me to expect that better and faster processors than what's available now will be released soon ... so I'm holding off on buying that new processor and motherboard.

Ahh.... Patience is a virtue... I wish had more of. Upside is: by the time I've upgraded and bought Seasons, the expected patch is available. He he he!

... wonder when a "Seasons" web page theme/style will be available ...