Windows Maingear Nomad laptop

[kallisti]

I just did something I never thought I would do--bought a PC computer.

My niece plays SWTOR. Wanted to be able to play with her. Didn't want to take up hard drive space by installing Windows on my rMBP.

Opted to just buy a dedicated Windows gaming laptop, the Maingear Nomad 17 Ultimate (I'll use it for other games as well).

Hasn't arrived yet. Has Windows 7 installed. Never owned a Windows computer before. Not planning on using it for anything other than gaming.

Good idea to install Norton Antivirus? Things I should do when I get it to make it more secure? Again only plan on using it for gaming, keeping my Mac for everything important in my life. Not going to use this for surfing or email.

What settings do I need to change out of the box?

 

[saturnotaku]

Don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but I hope you have better luck with your Maingear machine than I did. I ordered a massive gaming notebook from them a few years back, and the QC was awful. Poor build quality, and a screen with multiple dead pixels. Ended up getting a full refund and bought a better machine for less money from Mythlogic.

As far as Windows 7 goes, use Microsoft Security Essentials. Don't pay for an antivirus program. There's not much else you need to do as far as tweaks go, unless you want to mess around with the visual settings.

 

[Dirtyharry50]

Don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but I hope you have better luck with your Maingear machine than I did. I ordered a massive gaming notebook from them a few years back, and the QC was awful. Poor build quality, and a screen with multiple dead pixels. Ended up getting a full refund and bought a better machine for less money from Mythlogic.

As far as Windows 7 goes, use Microsoft Security Essentials. Don't pay for an antivirus program. There's not much else you need to do as far as tweaks go, unless you want to mess around with the visual settings.

I very strongly recommend Microsoft Security Essentials as well because it works, is very lightweight and does not impact performance for gaming unlike Norton and others and best of all, it is free.

 

[saturnotaku]

does not impact performance for gaming unlike Norton

That actually hasn't been true for several years. Norton is probably the lightest of the paid AVs I've tried, lighter than even MSE. But not enough to where I'd want to pay for it, mind you.

 

[malman89]

MSE is totally fine. If you want something else for reassurance, just get one of the reputable free options - like Avast (personal preference) or AVG.

 

[kallisti]

Thanks everyone. All very helpful.