Memphis_Bill
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Posts
10557 -
Joined
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Quote:I know how alienware *was,* I can't say how they are. The liquid cooling bit I was looking at is specifically addressing maintenance - there's no reservoir, it's sealed already, etc. Performance is going to be OK, its main bonus (from what I got from that one review) is noise level.Originally Posted by Nogard_T
2. form what i THINK after reading both(je and Bill) posts that Alienware is not good(je) but LCLC might be good(Bill)
See, here's my thing - the boutique PC makers (pre-Dell Alienware, Falcon NW, etc.) are going to piece together a great system, absolutely. But I can do it myself (and honestly so can you - anyone can.) And for me there's a side consideration - I enjoy doing it. Some people love working on their cars, from changing the oil to rebuilding a classic (or hot rodding something.) I enjoy working on PCs the same way.
*You* (generic you, not just the OP) have to decide how much your time is worth. Not just in the building, but research into and selecting parts - and being your own tech support. If a part goes bad, *you* have to find out what part, figure out the individual warranties on individual components, and deal with the individual companies. (It's part of why, for instance, I tend to go with seagate drives. Both they and WD have great support - but I've had to use them far less with seagate. Same with why I like MSI and, more recently, Asus - they're easy to deal with, and I've only had an MSI board go bad due to external factors.) And I've had parts turnaround in a couple of days (Corsair, actually, or WD) to something like six weeks (Viewsonic - I could have replaced any part in that monitor myself in under an hour, had I *had* the parts. I've worked on LCDs before.) Conversely, the old ATI (Radeon 7k series card) irritated me so much dealing with their support that I decided not to buy from them again - a decision I'll re-look at, potentially, now that AMD has them.
If you'd rather have someone else at hand to do the "This part is tested with this part, they work, here are the drivers, updates are on our site, and if something goes bad, call us?" Go with a system builder. -
Thanks, fatherXmas.
Video card - No problem updating. Again, my main thing is that I'm not paying $400 or more for a card - hovering around $200 is fine. (Of course, if I want to stick with XFX - who's been reliable for me for a good 3-4 video card updates now - they seem to only have the older ones. Looking at evga, it seems hit and miss as to if it'll keep working or not. Then I swing into brands I've never dealt with either at all, or regarding video cards with.)
Memory, I'm actually only semi-picky about brand. And with a closed (no window, thanks) case door, the things can have lights, flash, copy the times square scroll for all I care, I won't see it
I've got Corsair in one system, OCZ in the other, and haven't noticed a difference in reliability. Main reason for Corsair on the Intel build is going through its QEV list, that set was listed. Starting to go through lower latency stuff gave "not in stock," "obsolete" and the like. It was pretty much "This is the only 2 piece 4 Gb kit available from this list" (1156 side.) I am a little more picky (or gunshy *shrug*) on the 1156, as I haven't done an Intel build in.. hmm... let's just say "a long time" (as in pentium 90-ish days.)
As I kind of hinted, I'm not actually worried about SLI or crossfire support. I just don't find myself using it. Things start getting slow, I pick up a newer card (Assassin's Creed, IIRC, was what finally did it for me on this system.)
Parts lists tweaked some (And those links updated - for some reason, using yours they came up as empty. >.< ) Still, looking at (AMD) $387 now vs (1156)$504. Difference mostly eaten up by what I saved / rebates I'll get back on the power supply.
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About that water cooling system:
The asetek sytem is basically a preassembled, (mostly) sealed system. They're designing it as a drop-in OEM piece, and they rate it at 50,000 hours without needing maintenance.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/388
Or their direct link, which has this to say:
Quote:So it appears they've tried to pull the maintenance portion *out* of the liquid cooling concerns.Low Cost Liquid Cooling
Based on its proprietary IP, Asetek has developed a small, integrated devicethat offers not only the value proposition for the OEM and ODM, but also for the end user:
- Fast and foolproof Installation at the OEM, as it is mounted the same way and with the same means as current solutions.
- Integrated pump, reservoir and cold plate in one compact device that is smaller than a traditional heat sink.
- Very few joints, which eliminates potential leaks.
- Sealed and charged for its lifetime, with no worries about leaks or liquid evaporation.
- Industry standard maintenance-free lifetime of 50,000 hours! (certified by independent lab).
- The possibility of daisy chaining cold plates can provide cooling for multiple components, such as 2x CPU or CPU plus graphics.
- Building block principle. The solution can be tailored to accommodate different form factors, performance and noise levels. Possibility for system board cooling, for instance, cooling several components on a graphics card.
Also, Tom's Hardware review of the sytem a bit ago going into an HP blackbird 002. And I'm seeing it offered in several OEMs, including in workstation class PCs. (Which makes it a bit harder to find actual *reviews* of the system - most links in my search are either press releases that it's offered, or systems offering it, or links to other copies of one of the above!)
(The other note is - re: je_saist, Dell is also buying parts in quantities that (s?)he can't, and getting good size discounts *that* way as well, quite likely, in long term contracts don't forget. Not just in "deal of the week" parts. No, not defending Dell or Alienware, or putting down je_saist, just pointing that out. The pricing mentioned is around the same for what I mentioned as a price, without windows, in my thread about the system I'm piecing together.)
Edit: As far as the OP's questions - yes, that would run COH in ultra mode. I don't see a lot of headroom on tha tpower supply for future upgrades, and I don't buy alienware because I think they look tacky and I'd be staring at that case for 3 years.) - Fast and foolproof Installation at the OEM, as it is mounted the same way and with the same means as current solutions.
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Quote:Yes, first month of play included.Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Huh... Doesn't that come with a free month in it? Because a $10 whole purchase is still less than a $15 monthly feel.
Ooh... and borderlands is on sale today too. -
Quote:See, here's the thing. SCR, yes, but the information is (a) already in game and (b) already displayable *if* you know how (slash command and civilian names.) Having it more easily accessible couldn't hurt. (Yes, I know, not opposed to per se, I saw.) I couldn't see it eating up that much of a programmer's time... depending on implementation.Originally Posted by Catwhoorg
Its not something I am opposed to per se, but I do think there are better uses of a programmers time.
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You can get both times via civilian - and I believe slash command, as well. So the info is certainly in game to access.
Heck - add it to the power monitor window - "real time" and "game time." -
Hmmm...
Leaping, IMHO, seems like it'd be pretty useles. I mean, barring jumping off the tallest skyscrapers intentionally, does anyone actually *notice* falling damage past the first few levels?
Triage sounds potentially interesting.
Teleportation - Change Dimension... well, people already complain about the intangibles and cages now. Don't see it being taken much. (*I* take them on occasion, admittedly.) -
Of course, GR may well draw more people in (or back, for those who only come back for issues, expansions, and events.)
That said, the game is very small team/solo friendly. -
Did you download and install the latest video drivers for your card? (As opposed to whatever basic ones ship with Windows.)
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Very nicely done.
And yeah, hope there's something in-game
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Well, since my current gaming rig is now upgraded (CPU wise) almost as far as it can go (it can take up to a Phenom II - but the one it can take isn't stocked anywhere any more, and anythign higher/newer is unsupported,) it's been time for me to start looking into building a new system. When I built this one, about 3 1/4 years ago, I planned to be able to upgrade it for a while - bought an SLI-capable, wireless-ready board that could handle AMD's AM2/AM2+ processors and pretty much whatever I could throw at it.
I probably overspent. I used the wireless, yeah. Then replaced it with an 802.11n spec card. Which was later removed when I could directly cable myself to the router. I've never thrown SLI in here. I've upgraded the CPU once (from an Athlon x2 4000, 2ghz dual core to a 5600, 2.8ghz dual core.) Bumped the video card up from a Geforce 7900 to a 9800. Haven't had power problems, and it's generally been pretty good - it'll be getting moved to act as my MCPC when the new system is built.
Current spec:
Antec Sonata II case
600w power supply (Antec Trupower trio)
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe (Wireless edition) mainboard.
AMD Athlon x2 5600 65w dual core, 2.8ghz CPU
Zalman 9500 cooler
DVD-RW
1xSeagate 250Gb SATA drive (system)
1xSeagate 500gb SATA drive (media/data)
4 Gb DDR2-800 RAM (4x1Gb) - yes, I could expand this farther.
Hauppage WinTV HVR 2250 (dual tuner TV card, recent addition.)
Win7 Home Premium 64 bit
So it's still a perfectly capable system - but it's time to look for something with some growth. (Plus... hell, I just like building them.)
Foundation components
These are the things that I doubt will go down in price, or that it doesn't really matter what board or CPU I go with.
Cooler Master Cosmos case - I like this case. I may go with another. I considered the CM 690, which is a nice case (and about 1/3 the price.) After looking at it, though, and as much as the side power/reset buttons would be, I think (since the case sits up next to my desk,) I decided against it. Despite all the nice cooling and airflow considerations, the killer for me was the USB connection up top. I don't want stuff either sticking up off the top - or falling into the ports.
Of course, I might still go with a Stacker 830 (also coolermaster) - I've liked it for a while, it's great on cooling, and it falls right between the two others I was considering, price-wise, at the moment (sale.)
Corsair power supply - THey're newer to the power supply business, but this has great reviews, Corsair's been in the component business for a while - and what finally got me getting this as opposed to the (same price, 700w) Cooler Master (no longer on the list) was a sale. The $160 power supply was down to $90, and there's an additional set of rebates. Yes, please! Already on its way to me.
Drives - not much to say. Still a dual-drive solution, system vs data/application. I'd love to throw an SSD in here, but I'm not paying $400-$800 for far less capacity (and a slightly fiddly technology, still.) Maybe later.
Geforce 260 - Well, it'll run Ultra mode and given my 9800 handles my other games pretty nicely - no sweat. I'm not paying $400+ for a video card.
The only iffy thing with it is the video card, really - if I want to run SLI, I can only do it with one of my selected configurations.
Now for the choice... I will, at some point, end up doubling the RAM on these, both are showing 4 Gb right now.
AMD based components
This hasn't changed since I threw it together initially. AMD's nice and stable with their sockets, I'll probably be able to throw a six (or more) core chip in this in two years when I feel like upgrading... but the Phenom's more power hungry than the Intel, and has lower performance. Good cost, though. Just under $500 for these.
Intel socket 1156 based
This one HAS gotten changed. I used to have a Maximus III in here (mainboard) at double the cost - but looking at it, and thinking about my current mainboard, I stepped down to one that's less than half the cost, but still has everything I need. Great performance in this CPU, lower wattage (so lower power, and cooler running, just from my current system's experience.) But, for me Intel's a gamble. I know it won't run the 6 core chips due in 2010 (those go to the pricier 1366 sockets.) And as often as Intel changes sockets, I don't know what upgradability will be like in three years. OK, probably not as bad as I worry about, but still, it makes things more complicated and less stable. This does also preclude me going SLI (the board seems to just handle Crossfire,) but as mentioned - I dont' go SLI even when I have the capability, typically.
But at just *over* $500 - less than $50 difference between the two - it's not such a "duh, go AMD" no brainer solution for me. I suspect, unless AMD pulls something out of their hat,a nd soon, I'll be going Intel this round.
What's not shown:
Monitor. Yes, I'll be picking up another 21" widescreen, probably an Acer to match my work monitor, and moving the current Viewsonic to be the "tv." $169, unless I find a sale.
OS. It'll be Windows 7. Just haven't decided yet if I'm going with the family pack - which I might, 3 upgrade licenses for home premium for $150, upgrading the work system at the same time - or an OEM Win7 Pro 64 bit. Probably go with the 3 licenses and unlock the pro stuff for the work system separately.
Power-wise, most of the calculators I went through brought me up to a hair over 500w. So the 650 (which does give good voltage on the various rails, from what I've been reading) gives me a bit of headroom for later use.
Comments, thoughts? -
Quote:Has been for quite some time, TBHOriginally Posted by The_Foo
Building your own computer is actually very easy these days. No jumpers to set for IRQs or the like any more. So *very* nice.
(Starting this process myself, ATM. Have most of the parts selected, first bits getting shipped - nice having a $159 power supply for $90, and then getting rebates on top of that. )
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Quote:Paragon/NCSoft didn't. Retailers that overstock or close locations sell (etc.) their stock to overstock stores like Big Lots, who turn around and sell them at the prices you see. NCSoft didn't have a say in the process past the initial sale to the first retailer.Originally Posted by Ninus
My real question is: why in the heck did Paragon/NCsoft/whoever flood the wholesale clearance market with Collector's Editions when these Boards have been begging for them for years? I really would like to know the answer to that one. Meh, probably was just some product brokering deal or somesuch. Still a pity.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Judgebanks
Still curious to know if anyone knows of a way to scale the UI so that the map isn't taking up so much space.
See the blue button in the lower left corner? Click it. It disconnects the map from the menu up top. You can now move and scale it independantly. (Lower right = red button = closes the map.)
I tend to keep mine in a small space in the upper right hand corner.
Edit:
Also, yes, you ended up on farms from the description, which is just not an indicator of the rest of the game. You'll find - if you take advantage of your character slots and *don't farm* - that the game's challenge will vary, not just with AT and difficulty selection but powerset in some instances, as you work your way through the game. For instance, a Mastermind - a generally very powerful redside AT - is going to absolutely *hate* the early to mid 20s for one reason. Scrapyarders. Specifically, demolitionists. Their AOEs *shred* masterminds. Melee ATs who have started feeling untouchable can get a rude shock when they run into rogue Vanguard units and some Cimerorans, where the "low DPS" Squishies just shrug and (generally) handily defeat them.
Now, a large group tends to cover each others weaknesses and (can) spread out aggro. And as mentioned - sounds like you were on a team that was farming, which means that among other things the melee wasn't dealing with Vanguard (for instance) but specific enemies they knew they could mow through with no issues, barring everyone falling asleep at the same time. Roll something new, start over from level 1, and if you do find yourself pulled to a farm - exit and find a regular mission team. -
Hmm, Victory character artwork...
More recent:
Radianne (rad/rad) -
Carolina Jessamine (plant/thorn)
Hyperborean Wraith (ice/psy)
By B. Mckinney - Link due to size.
By Paneseeker:
With Dreamon (Mind/fire)
Link due to size.
With Deadly Diana:
Deadly Diana (Thug/Poi)
Irresistable Force (Earth/FF)
And to keep from overwhelming with just images, the rest are links -
Kheld trio (mine's Vi on the left.)
Dreamon by Brandon Mckinney
Violet Flame (standing, Warshade, mine) and Illume Starshot - two khelds
Three friends by imagesbyalex - Ir. Force in the middle.
Violet Flame by Sorah Suhng
Therra Vindicta (elec/elec brute
Hot Purrsuit - fire/fire blaster
Clair de Lune by Juggertha
Sanguine Phantasm MA/Regen stalker
Memphis Bill - Victory version, Fire/EM
Clair de Lune by Celticbolt (yes, she got transferred here.)
Sangrenia (Widow) by Playworkart -
Quote:I don't actually see that happening (barring introducing the battalion or whoever mutated them in the first place.) It doesn't actually make a lot of sense to have special spawns. Story-based ambushes, perhaps, of other Rikti and Lost, perhaps Vanguard as well, sure.Originally Posted by NightErrant
Which raises an interesting point... perhaps Rikti could have their own Kheldian style special spawns?
I'd see two factions of Rikti with more of a storyline as opposed to powers branch, perhaps. (Traditionalist/Restructurist, obviously.) Let it give the "other side" of the story of the Rikti war, not as the outside observer (Paragon/Rogue Isle humans,) but as a loyal (and indoctrinated) Rikti who comes to find out the information on his or her own and makes a choice whether to believe the information or not - try for peace, or try to continue the war. -
No, not an ultra-mode GR post.
I've been critical of the VEATs for some time - rather vocally. Not as a HEAT vs VEAT thing or whatever, I just had this overwhelming dislike as I played through them.
Well, I went through something similar with MMs quite some time ago, and having not played my VEATs for a bit and getting some distance, wanted to really see *why* I have such a harsh reaction to them. (Especially in light of finally having a crab past the branch point and enjoying it.) Not least since I went back to work on my Bane some more, finishing Scirocco's two arcs (40-45) and wasn't all that put off by the character.
From what I'm seeing, it's two things.
1. The lvl 24 respec. It, to me, feels like having to unlock the VEAT twice - once overall by getting a vill to 50, and then once again at 24 for each VEAT. I still think this should have come earlier, but - in all honesty, I can live with it. So this isn't a major consideration, just a personal, and minor, mechanical dislike. Not enough to really make me have the reaction I've had to the VEAT. Which brings me to the other one -
2. The storyline. I admit fully to being a lore-*****. I enjoy storylines, I enjoy digging into backstory - and not just with COH. Hell, it's part of why I like DA, of all zones -so much story *potential* there. But I remember hitting 30 on my Widow (I think it was 30, at least,) hitting the 1-2 mission story point, and having my reaction be "WTH?" Coming on the boards and seeing "Yeah, the next one's like that, too, and then there's a one mission one" was a huge letdown. I've said before - I was disappointed enough I nearly deleted that character then and there. (And let's not get into the rather... *forced* statesman fight. If it'd end with Kalinda's speech, I'd think it'd make a perfect ending to it.)
As I'm looking over my playing of the various VEATs, I realized that second - the disappointment in the "epic" (story-bound) part of EAT - had seriously tainted my enjoyment of the ATs as a whole. Now, yes, my Bane still feels squishy to me more often than I'd like, my Widow took several respecs to come to a point I was reasonably happy with her capabilities, but Khelds took a bit to work through as well and I love playing those, never having the same reaction (even with full strength Voids.)
"So what," you might ask - eh, valid. Just personally interesting to me, thinking I've found out just why I've been so *unhappy* with the VEATs. Going to finish my Bane's run (41-50) and work up the crab (25 still) with just ignoring the VEAT arcs completely and seeing if it changes my attitude toward the ATs themselves on a mechanical and just "fun to play" basis. I'm sure the "I'm skipping the storyline" will still be in the back of my mind, but I'm curious (more than anything) to see if I find the ATs themselves actually fun without that affecting it quite so much. -
Quote:Potentially nothing, climate permitting. We have, after all, had "naked" Rikti Conscripts and infantry. However, obviously as an EAT (well, I assume) they'd give some standard costume set.Originally Posted by NightErrant
I am curious about Rikti Civilian Clothing... What does the common Rikti wear? Robes?
I wonder if they'd disallow wings (other than tech) and the like, though. -
Quote:/this. It is, after all, the definition of "Epic" the devs work with when it comes to EATs (both H and V.)Originally Posted by NightErrant
Many many ATs possess abilities replicable by other ATs.
The reason for Epic ATs is not just the combination of powers, it's the story opportunities.
While I'm not so hot on the Rikti EAT for much of that reason (so much of the lore is already exposed other ways in game,) I wouldn't argue with seeing it. Expect Incarnate next, though (as that's been getting worked in already - see Croatoa, and prior dev statements) and, personally, I'd like to see the (long-before mentioned) Coralax and BotBS.
(>.> see EAT at Posi's in sig.) -
Quote:I'm *hoping* you read past what you quoted... where my actual opinion on the suggestion is.Originally Posted by beyeajus74018
LOL, I'm only a 6-month vet. Never even heard of coh before last year, let alone 2005....=P
(which is exactly why it should still be available, for whackjob booster pack item anything to do with it collector's like me)
I have the CoV boxed set, found it on ebay for $5, but it's the euro one so i can't apply the code for the arachnos cape/symbol...should have read the fine print, ahh well...
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Quote:Well, for the COH CE, I paid $20 for it. Which was either even or less than the regular edition. (picked it up at wal mart, it was the only edition it had.) the COV CE was, IIRC, $90. (Depending on where or when you got it - again, I saw it later at $35, and at big lots for $10.)Originally Posted by Rebel_Scum
If such a thing went on sale, the price should be what the difference was between the normal and collector's editions. Which was $10, I think. Cause any other price would be seen as unfair in one direction or the other.
Charging - let's call it $30 - would certainly not be a good idea, not least because the actual *editions* came with physical items (heroclix in both, a PVP comic in COH, a concept art book and the now-defunct CCG in the COV box) that would no longer be available. So, honestly, it wouldn't be unfair in the least. (As someone who picked up the COV CE when it came out, and started in I3 with the COH DVD edition - I've had the goodies for years, more than enough to get any difference worth of cash for my enjoyment. I don't feel it'd be unfair at all.)
Besides, you'd get two capes, a power slide, chest emblem and a badge (same badge, different wording.) Would you pay the $30 or more difference for less than the wedding pack gives you? The usual $10 is perfectly fair. -
Running it very well, actually.
Win7 Home premium 64 bit. -
Quote:I'll note that power supplies don't *have* to be expensive... and may just be on sale now. >.> (just snagged a corsair 650w, normally $159 at $90, and have another $30 in rebates as well over at newegg. Gives the planned build a good bit of headroom, actually.)Originally Posted by Hawkeyed
So us poor people that don't have a strong power supply, my little old 8600 GT card will have to do with the max regular settings.
Darn -
Search for any of FatherXmas's posts in this very forum, and follow his links in his signature. He has two builds (not sure if/when he'll update them, but they're reasonably current.)
Edit: Link to his guide. Last update in july. Parts lists in the signature.
(Edit2: As a side note, working up a system for myself for next year - basic parts, $637, though I splurged on the case@$200. Depending on which way I go with MB/CPU/RAM, the rest is running $490 - $625, and I may get a less expensive MB for teh second system (1156 based.) So, $1127-$!260, with areas that can be reduced.) -
Also, if you're used to other MMOs where everyone's outside killing 10 fruitbats, collectiong 25 pieces of chewed bubblegum, running errands (usually by actually running,) you won't see that here. There are a (very) few outdoor hunt/patrol missions, but for the most part, any team with a mission is in an instance.