Back_Blast

Father Xmas has some good guides on hardware that should prove informative. The main one is here. While the focus is on building your own, the information should still prove useful in picking components from CyberpowerPC, IBuyPower, or similar. I build my own so I can't say good or bad about those places. Anyways, you can always post up specs you're considering for comment here.

And to adress the question about overclocking. If you don't know what it is, you're better off staying away from it. Overclocking is running the system, mainly the CPU, at a faster speed than it is rated for. BUT you need a bit of know-how to do it correctly as there is some risk of frying your system if you do it badly.

Hoo boy. Ok, so the network card is all ok in Windows but says the network is out of whack. I'll suggest first undoing whatever modifications you've made and reset things back to default.

A few things to try:
Reseat the cable on BOTH ends, not just the computer side.
If possible, plug the cable into a different port on your router.
Since you indicate you have other machines, try plugging one of them in directly with the cable and see what they say. Since they use wireless, be sure to turn it off so they have to use the wired link to connect.
Try a different network cable.
If possible, try replacing the network card.

For the sound card, making sure it's seated properly and all is a good idea. I'm gathering that it doesn't even show up as an 'unknown device' in the Device Manager?

Oh, and just to be sure you realize this, all drivers you use need to be 64-bit versions. You're on a 64-bit OS and your drivers need to match. I'm not sure it would even *let* you install 32-bit ones, but just in case, don't even try.

Some pictures that may help:


Google image search FTW!

Well they should definitely both go in either the white or black clip slots. The clips should be all the way engaged. And for extra measure I will usually (gently) rock/wiggle the memory in the slot to make sure it's seated very well. The manual does indicate that the memory you bought should work. So if it's incompatible, it's for another reason.

But before you send it back, conacting G. Skill seems a good idea. They may have some ideas.

Well searching says that issue is most likely a driver problem. The question is which one. I'll suggest following these instructions. This will run the driver verifier in Windows. If it finds a bad one, you'll get another BSOD, but this one should tell you the culprit driver that caused it.

Might also try updating your video drivers. They aren't badly out of date but they aren't the latest either. Might help. And you could try having the updater verify your game files too. But if you can copy down the error code and any other useful info from the BSOD, that would definitely help.

Card description will normally say what sort of power connector(s) it needs. PCIE power comes in 6 and 8-pin varieties and cards typically need one or two connectors. Requirements vary by make and model. In addition to the right connector(s), you also need the right amount of wattage in your power supply. The more top tier the card, the hungrier it tends to be. So you'll need to have a look at your PSU and see what it's capabilities are. The bad news there is that name-brand computers almost always have minimalist PSUs, just enough juice to run the system on it's built spec with little room for upgrade. So for a card like what Hyperstrike suggests, I'd bet you need a new PSU to match.

Judging by your specs, it should certainly be a PCIE 2.0 slot. Your former card is a Radeon 4850. So that should be your starting point for a replacement. Upgrade-wise, a 5770 or 6770 would be a low level upgrade. Above that would be most anything in the 58xx or 68xx range. I personally use a 5850 and it runs the game maxed out very well. If you want to go Nvidia instead of staying AMD, something in a GTX 4xx or GTX 5xx would be your best bets. Whatever you get, make sure it's compatible with your power supply and will fit in the case. So do your research before you buy.

The key stats for the game would pretty much be CPU, memory and video card. Your budget will determine how much you can get. I would expect most anything from Alienware to run the game well or better.

The top Intel CPUs are the Core i7s and their lesser kin in the i5 and i3 ranges. The top AMD CPUs are the Phenom II line.

For memory, 4-6GB should be plenty depending on your other needs. Be sure to get a 64-bit operating system, btw.

For video, you absolutely DO NOT want any sort of 'integrated video' or Intel-based video. You want a 'discrete' video chip. These will be Nvidia chips or AMD Radeon chips. Top range Nvidas are the 5xx and 4xx chips. Top Radeons are in the 6000 and 5000 ranges.

These are all general guidelines. Feel free to ask more questions and post up any configurations you're considering for comment.

Can you tell us the full specs of what you have? That will help with suggestions and possibilities. Also, budget for this?

The slash command is like a master kill switch. So yeah, it would have done the job.

And I should have said though it matters little here, that the x16 also refers to the number of lanes the slot has, which does affect speed too. But as video cards are normally all x16, it's a minor point for this discussion. I need to proofread better...

Ok. The 2.0 refers to the version of PCIE standard the slot or card is. There actually is a 3.0 standard now though I don't know that it is actually in the wild yet. I know the standard exists but I haven't looked lately to see if any manufacturer is producing it yet. The standard mainly governs the data speed or bandwith of the slot with higher version = more speed. The x16 refers to the physical size/length of the slot. x16 slots are the longest. *Generally speaking*, the standards are backwards compatible and a higher version slot can handle lower version cards and vice versa. The lower standard being used will determine the speed things flow at. Now many, if not most all, of the top-end cards do take two slots. However, that just means the card is a 'double-wide', and needs two slots in the case. It still only requires one PCIE slot to plug into but if you have any sort of slot right next to the PCIE slot, that one will become unavailable for use. The reason they're so fat is because of the cooling apparatus on the card to keep the GPU from melting is large and needs the extra case slot to fit. So when considering upgrading, that is something you'll have to take into account. The new cards can also be kind of long, so be sure you have room in that direction too. Do your research before you buy to be sure what you want will actually physically fit. All that said, assuming it will physically fit, the card you link should work. Just know that it is PCIE 2.0 and if your slot isn't, then there's a small chance you'll have issues, and if it does work, it won't necessarily work to it's full potential since it will be slowed somewhat by the slot.

Well I can say for my MM, this happens 100% of the time on the Lambda. Don't think I have yet to see it not happen. OTOH, it never happens on the BAF and rarely happens anywhere else. I think I have yet to do a Lambda with him where I didn't have to ditch the pets and resummon.

You could try shutting off all non-CoH and other nonessential processes. Basically all the stuff in the Running Processes section. I also see it looks like you've installed stuff from Vidiotmaps. You might remove that and see if it makes a difference. It shouldn't be your issue but it could be worth a try.

Well the 11.6 drivers have been problematic for folks so a rollback couldn't hurt. 11.2 seems a popular choice from what I've read. Beyond that, I assume you've updated the game to the latest version. You might also try verifying your game files and/or a remove and reinstall of the client. Could just be a corrupt game file causing that particular issue.

I loaded the 11.6b hotfix last night. Still locked up after an hour or so. My lockups are almost always on mission exit. It will get to about 75% of the bar and freeze there. But it's just the game that locks for me, not the whole PC.

Ok, so it thinks \ is ] and ] is [ while not recognizing [ or =. Bizarre. If you set the bindings as you describe, does anything happen when you press the \, ], or [ keys? Have you tried using the /bind command to set them the way you want? What kind of keyboard do you have? Do you have any sort of remapping or helper program running that can alter how keys are interpreted? Any other program having key weirdness? Does your system correctly identify your keyboard? Are your language settings for the keyboard correct?

Lots of questions yes? It certainly sounds like the game is misinterpreting your key presses or is getting incorrect or garbled inputs from the keyboard somehow. You might also try removing and reinstalling the game or at least having the updater verify your files.