Sapphire Jane

Sounds like a plan Exx. I'll try to be there for all I can.

Paladin, it has always been a pleasure teaming with you. You are a great player, not only in the sense of mechanics but in the sense of player interaction. You were never arrogant, egotistical or boastful as some players I've met in the game. You are great, you know it, we know it, but you don't have to tell people about it. That impressed me about you - you have class! Nor were you ever condenscending to us not-so-great players - you were nurturing, honest and helpful in so many ways you may not be aware of.

Until the final darkness falls, I'll be there and hope to see you.

There are no MMOs out there that even remotely interest me so when CoH dies, my MMO playing days are most likely over. I tried CO but it was meh. The other MMO genres don't interest me.

Thank you Zwilly and all at Paragon Studios for giving me a home away from home, for giving me an extended family who I've grown to cherish for the last 5 years, for giving me a place to go when real life needed to go away for a time. To some it may seem silly to grieve for the loss of a game, but for us players it was more than that. I never thought I would be so emotional about a game being discontinued.

Thank you Zwilly for being a part of the Moonfire TF (Virtue server) I was forming and showing me the old "Pocket D" afterwards. Not the best Moonfire I'd ever done, but fun nonetheless.

This feels like knowing the world is going to end and trying to figure out what I want to accomplish before it does. So I will be there until the "fat lady sings" and darkness falls upon Paragon City, the Rogue Isles and Praetoria.

Best wishes to the dedicated employees of Paragon Studios.

Thanks Timeshadow for a great read. I don't play my PB much as I am unhappy with the build and her squishiness. I posted to my friends on our private channel asking for help.. a mids build.. anything to improve. I dislike it so much, I was ready to reroll. But before doing so, I decided to put what I thought would be a better build into mids, however, I skipped dwarf form this time. Just building for human/nova.

Played her this evening, her attacks performed well, but she died way too often to suit me.. just reminded me why I dislike playing that toon. So I respec'd to my new build.

With the exception of Dwarf Form, my build is right on track with what you have for human/nova form. I took the fighting pool for a little more def/resist.

She still needs her slotting finished, and is at lvl 48 now, so I still have 1 power left to choose. Reading your post and the posts of others, now that choice is going to be a bit tougher than I thought. But if this build doesn't work for me, I have respecs left.

Again, great guide to use for comparison purposes or for ppl that want a tri-form build. I had nearly given up and rerolled my PB into a troller.

As with the ones you made examples of... yes, I would like to see the Tarzan go away when I click on my Integration toggle... it should be more like build-up or hasten animation in my opinion. But at least I only have to use that once or twice while playing my regen.

However, I recently made a Female Shield/FM tanker, and when I took taunt... holy cow, I was surprised at the taunt scream. It's the same as the integration scream... or extremely close if it isn't the same. It is extremely annoying when being used by a tanker. Hearing it only a few times when powering up Integration is fine.... but a tanker taunts quite often and it's driving me nuts... and I can't change it. The animation itself it okay, just looks like a cat swatting at something, but the scream has to go....please.

Also, please change Clear Mind back to the animation it was before. I don't like the new one looking like Speed Boost but with no sound. And I'm not the only emp that has voiced this opinion.

Thanks for listening Castle.

Thanks Blast. I was hoping to be able to transfer the stuff without having to reinstall everything. Since the Office documents are just that - documents and data files, once I reinstall Office, all I would need to do is copy the databases/documents, etc. - is that correct? Since the program itself would install all the stuff it needs to run, it should be able to access the data. Same thing with my photos, vids, etc. - just install the program and copy the data files? Can I do the same with my CoH - just copy my personalization files - screen shots, AE arc, saved costumes, etc.?

But I did have a thought when I finally went to bed last night - not sure it would work though. If I were to change the location of the cohupdater from c: to d: - would that work? Just a thought.

I stayed up until CoH downloaded cause I couldn't wait to get in and see everything. OMG - I had no idea what I was missing. This is the first time I have seen water shimmer and reflections in it. I was awestruck. I set it on the highest graphics setting and went to zones where Rikti raid was happening...wow..just wow. Lag was nearly non-existent. Zoning was quick and painless.

Needless to say....I is a happy camper.

Hello guys. Well....got my computer back today. He replaced/upgraded most of the stuff Xmas suggested. I had him put Windows 7 on it, which increased the cost by $100 - I figured I may as well do it now, plus the fact that Vista still wouldn't start which makes me wonder if the motherboard was actually bad. He did replace the case because he said it was just too tight - case cost $60. Total cost was $620. I kept my harddrive, DVD, and card reader.

Now.... and I feel so stupid about this. He found that the HD was partitioned which he said that Acer usually does. He installed 7 on "C" and left the rest of my stuff on "D". So when it boots up, I have a choice of 7 or Vista, but of course Vista doesn't boot. He said files may have been corrupted when the mobo went out. But I'm kinda thinking they were already corrupted since it wouldn't boot up - which is the reason I took it in in the first place. So who knows which went first.

So here's my stupid question for the day.... how do I use the programs I have on the "D" partition? Can I transfer these programs to the "C" partition so that the launch from 7? I thought it would be a simple thing of going to "D" and opening the exe file...but nooooooo. I thought I could just create a shortcut of CoH (the cohupdater) on my desktop and it would automatically go to "D"...but noooooo. When I did that and clicked it to start CoH..it started downloading the game... 2.8G of it. The same thing with the "test" cohupdater. And to my way of thinking, this download will not include all my personal files in CoH. Or is this not a download at all and it is copying from "C" to "D"?

Now, if I just copy them to "C", I'm concerned that not all the stuff that makes the programs run will be accessible.. such as registry files, dll files... etc.

Should I just take it back to him and let him transfer the stuff and reformat that partition? Since 7 is such a clean install on the "C" partition, I would kinda like to keep it that way and not gunk it up with files that change daily, but "D" needs cleaned up and Vista removed.

And I'm bummed cause I missed out on the first day of the anniversary celebration - didn't get my temporary title.

I knew there was a logical explanation, just didn't know what it was.

Now then, I went to ibuypower and did the build on the Gamer Mage D235 as Xmas did, however, I was able to delete the keyboard and mouse for a price of $756 + $65 shipping = $821. Sounds like a sweet deal to me.

However, I have since talked to the tech. We discussed the Xmas' build and other issues. He said he can rebuild my current machine. He can replace the motherboard, CPU, PSU and add the 5770 card for around $400 and, if need be, he will replace the case, so the total cost may be around $500. These are items suggested to me when I originally posted for upgrading this system. And he can have it ready by Monday. Since this machine isn't extremely old, and all other components are in good working order, I hate to just can it. Downside of doing this is it will still have Vista.

I would love to be able to do both and use the old machine as a back up. I have $850 available to do one or the other, but not both. Am thinking I may get the old one fixed and put the rest of the money away for a new system later.... or vice versa, get the new system (while the price is what it is) and upgrade the other one later.

I do have one question on Father Xmas' $750 build. According to ibuypower, the minimum power supply needed for the Radeon 5770 is 600 watts, but the one in your build is 430 watts. Why the difference? Is that just the preference of ibuypower, or is the 660w required by the card?

Anyway, that's where I am. At least I have narrowed it down with you guys help.

Oh, Blast - about the $50 - come to Virtue and get it!! You already know my global.

Okay...here's what I'm thinking about doing...in fact I'm in the process. I'm going with Father Xmas' $750 build. Actually, with all the components plus standard shipping, the cost was less than $750.

I have picked up my computer and taken it to another tech that I have used in the past that doesn't charge major body parts for his services. I only took it to the first company because that's where I bought it. I left the Newegg shopping list with the computer.

This guy will charge approximately $60-70 for the rebuild AND the data transfer. If he can reuse my case for the rebuild, that would be a savings of $69.99 which offsets his fees. If he is able to use any of the current components - DVD drive, card reader, etc., that would be an additional savings.. if not, then I'll go with Father Xmas' build. The tech was not in at the time, but will call me when he has evaluated everything. I'm hoping beyond all hope that I can get it back by Tuesday.

So let me know what you think about this solution.

The keyboard and mouse I currently have are replacements to the original systems, so they should be just fine. If not, they aren't expensive to replace. The speakers I got with the system are still in the box, never used them - I use a headset since the system is in a common area of the house.

I also reran the ibuypower build and got the same result as Blast. Then you add the $65 shipping for a total of $998 plus it wouldn't ship until May 3rd.

I assure you, I'm not a ditzy blond but after reading my posts, it sure sounds like it. I'm just ignorant of today's computer technology as I haven't kept up with it like I used to.

And on a positive note - I won $50 today in the lottery that I can put towards the rebuild.

Intel H55/H57 Core i3/i5 Configurator Case ( iBUYPOWER CX-5B59 Mid Tower Standard Case - Black/Silver )
iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction ( None )
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion ( [6-Port] NZXT Internal USB Expansion System )
Case Lighting ( None )
Processor ( Intel® Core™ i3 530 Processor (2x 2.93GHz/4MB L3 Cache) )
Processor Cooling ( [Free Upgrade] Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ 120mm Radiator [SOCKET-1156] )
Memory ( 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand )
Video Card ( ATI Radeon HD 5830 - 1GB - Single Card )
Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by ATI or NVIDIA )
Motherboard ( MSI H55M-P31 -- Intel H55 Express Chipset Supported w/8-ch HD Audio, Dual Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA, USB 2.0, 1 PCI-E 2.0 x16 MB )
Motherboard Add-on ( None )
Power Supply ( 700 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready )
Primary Hard Drive ( 320 GB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive )
Data Hard Drive ( None )
Optical Drive ( 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
2nd Optical Drive ( None )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( None )
Meter Display ( None )
Floppy Drive ( None )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
Netbook / Notebook Bundle ( None )
Operating System ( Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) - 64-Bit )
Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard - Black )
Mouse ( iBUYPOWER Internet Mouse - Black )
Monitor ( None )
2nd Monitor ( None )
Speaker System ( None )
External Hard Drives [USB 3.0/2.0/eSATA] ( None )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
Power Protection ( None )
Headset ( None )
MP3/MP4 Player ( None )
Video Camera ( None )
Warranty ( Standard Warranty Service - Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )
$958.00

$958.00

Yeah, I figured the Acer's were inadequate for what I want to do.

Okay, I went to a couple of sites - Cybertron and ibuypower. ibuypower seemed to have more flexibility than Cybertron. The cost of this system is actually more than I want to pay, but I can't see where to cut costs and still get what I need or would like to have. The shipping is $65, so the total price would be $1,023. That's a couple hundred more than I wanted to pay, but maybe I won't have to upgrade it for a while.

Maybe someone can look at it and tweak it a bit for me. But then I still have to transfer the data from my other HD, which tested okay by the tech. I'm not sure how to do that without the other system, and the tech will charge $149 to do so.

The system below did not have an operating system in the base price, so I had to add it. That kicked the price up a bit.

Again, thank you for your input and patience with me.

You can view the configuration below. Follow this link to edit or reconfigure this system:
http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Configurators.aspx?mid=542&t=w&c=23084,
Configurator: Intel H55/H57 Core i3/i5 Configurator
CaseiBUYPOWER CX-5B59 Mid Tower Standard Case-Black/SilveriBUYPOWER Labs - Noise ReductionNone-iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion[6-Port] NZXT Internal USB Expansion System-Case LightingNone-ProcessorIntel® Core™ i3 530 Processor (2x 2.93GHz/4MB L3 Cache)-Processor Cooling[Free Upgrade] Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ 120mm Radiator [SOCKET-1156]-Memory4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module-Corsair or Major BrandVideo CardATI Radeon HD 5830 - 1GB-Single CardVideo Card BrandMajor Brand Powered by ATI or NVIDIA-MotherboardMSI H55M-P31 -- Intel H55 Express Chipset Supported w/8-ch HD Audio, Dual Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA, USB 2.0, 1 PCI-E 2.0 x16 MB-Motherboard Add-onNone-Power Supply700 Watt -- Power Supply-SLI ReadyPrimary Hard Drive320 GB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s-Single DriveData Hard DriveNone-Optical Drive24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black2nd Optical DriveNone-Flash Media Reader/WriterNone-Meter DisplayNone-Floppy DriveNone-Sound Card3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard-Network CardOnboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)-Netbook / Notebook BundleNone-Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 7 Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....)-64-BitKeyboardiBUYPOWER USB Keyboard-BlackMouseiBUYPOWER Internet Mouse-BlackMonitorNone-2nd MonitorNone-Speaker SystemNone-External Hard Drives [USB 3.0/2.0/eSATA]None-USB Flash DriveNone-Power ProtectionNone-HeadsetNone-MP3/MP4 PlayerNone-Video CameraNone-WarrantyStandard Warranty Service-Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical SupportRush ServiceRush Service Fee (not shipping fee)-No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business DaysSubtotal*$958.00 (plus tax & shipping)

Build it myself....nah, don't want to. I'm fine with switching out cards, power supplies, drives and simple stuff like that. I'm just not comfortable about building it myself, plus I would prefer the peace of mind of getting a warranty. I'm sure the cost would be less to do it myself.

I've been to various sites building systems, but they are not falling within the price range I would like. Plus, most of them won't ship out for nearly 2 weeks unless I'm willing to pay a huge fee for rush delivery.

As Bill said, this is not just for gaming. I work on this computer using other applications and I'm sort of in a "I need it now" mode. I have things I need to work on but without access to my database, I can't do it. So I really need something soon.

And Blast is right, the tech isn't really doing me any favors. I'm guessing he's not a gamer and doesn't really want to spend the time to help. Don't get me wrong, he's a good, qualified tech, I just don't think he gets it. But they do have a gaming computer set up that I couldn't touch unless I hit the lottery. Quite frankly, I wasn't that impressed by it.

Anyway, I'm thinking about getting the Acer X3810, but I'm concerned about the integrated graphics card (Intel Graphics Media Accelerator x4500) - not sure how it will perform. Any help there would be appreciated. The specs say it has a PCI Express 2.0x16 graphics card support (low profile) - does that mean there is a slot for a dedicated card, but it has to be a low profile one? If so, does ATI make something that will fit there?

Thanks for all the feedback...I'm just a little exasperated right now.

Sigh...this is becoming a chore.

Following are the specs on the 2 Acer computers the tech suggested. Each of these has the mini-tower which has no room for a dedicated graphics card. Personally, I do not care for these compact towers.
This information came directly from Acer's website.

ACER X1301 - $499

• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium

Processor

• AMD Athlon™ II X3 Processor 425 (3 x 512KB L2 cache, 2.70GHz)
  or AMD Athlon™ II X2 Processor 215 (2 x 512KB L2 cache, 2.70GHz)

Chipset

• NVIDIA® GeForce® 9200

Memory

• Up to 4GB (2GB installed in each of two memory slots) DDR2 SDRAM
  
  User upgradeable up to 4GB (one 2GB memory card in each slot)*

*This one has 4GB installed already
Storage

• Up tp 750GB* SATA hard drive
  
  Variable-speed Super-Multi drive
  
  Multi-in-one card reader supporting optional CF+™ Microdrive, CompactFlash® I/II, Memory Stick®, Memory Stick PRO™, MultiMediaCard™, Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC), Secure Digital, xD-Picture Card™
  

Video

• Integrated NVIDIA® GeForce® 9200 graphics
  
  VGA and HDMI™ (High-Definition Multimedia Interface™) ports
  
  Low-profile PCI Express® 2.0 x16 graphics card support
  
  Acer® P205H 20" wide-screen LCD (select models only)

Audio

• Embedded high-definition audio with 5.1-channel support
  
  Speakers integrated into LCD
  
  Headphones, microphone and five audio ports

Interface Ports

• RJ-45 LAN
  VGA
  Headphones
  Microphone
  HDMI™ (High-Definition Multimedia Interface™)
  eSATA
  Four-pin FireWire® (IEEE 1394)
  Two PS/2®
  Five audio
  Nine USB 2.0 (five front, four back)

Card Slot

• Multi-in-one card reader supporting optional CF+™ Microdrive, CompactFlash® I/II, Memory Stick®, Memory Stick PRO™, MultiMediaCard™, Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC), Secure Digital, xD-Picture Card™

Communications

• Gigabit LAN

Included Software

• Acer® eRecovery Management
  Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
  CyberLink® PowerDVD™ (trial version)
  eSobi™*
  Google™ Toolbar
  McAfee® Internet Security Suite (60-day trial)
  Microsoft® Works 8.5 (full version)
  Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2007 (60-day trial)
  MyWinLocker®
  Nero® 9 Essentials*
  Oberon Gamezone
  
  *OEM, not full-featured, version.

User Interface

• USB keyboard and optical mouse

Drive Bays & Expansion Slots

• Drive bays: none
  
  Expansion slots
  One low-profile PCI Express® 2.0 x1
  One low-profile PCI Express® 2.0 x16

Dimensions

• 3.9" (100mm) W x 13.9" (352mm) D x 10.4" (265mm) H

Power Supply

• 220 watts

Compliance

• PC2001

Limited Warranty*

• One-year limited warranty*

__________________________________________________ _____________

ACER X3810 - $699

• Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium

Processor

• Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q8300 (4MB L2 cache, 2.50GHz, 1333MHz FSB)
  or Intel® Pentium® Processor E5200 (2MB L2 cache, 2.50GHz, 800MHz FSB)

Chipset

• Intel® G43 Express

Memory

• Up to 6GB (2/2/2/0) DDR3 SDRAM User upgradeable up to 8GB (one 2GB memory card in each slot)

Storage

• Up to 1TB* SATA hard drive
  
  Variable-speed Super-Multi drive with Labelflash™
  or
  Variable-speed Super-Multi drive
  
  Multi-in-one card reader supporting optional CF+™ Microdrive, CompactFlash® I/II, Memory Stick®, Memory Stick PRO™, MultiMediaCard™, Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC), Secure Digital, xD-Picture Card™
  
  *When referring to storage capacity, TB stands for a thousand gigabytes. Some utilities may indicate varying storage capacities. Total user-accessible capacity may vary depending on operating environments.

Video

• Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500
  VGA and HDMI™ (High-Definition Multimedia Interface™) ports
  PCI Express® 2.0 x16 graphics card support (low-profile)
  20” wide-screen LCD (select models only)
  Analog/digital TV tuner with remote (select models only)

Audio

• Embedded high-definition audio with 5.1-channel support
  Two integrated speakers
  Third-generation Dolby Home Theater® audio enhancement
  Headphones, microphone, five audio and optical SPDIF ports

Interface Ports

• RJ-45 LAN
  VGA
  Headphones
  Microphone
  HDMI™ (High-Definition Multimedia Interface™)
  Four-pin FireWire® (IEEE 1394)
  Two PS/2®
  Five audio
  Optical SPDIF
  eSATA
  Nine USB 2.0 (five front, four back)

Card Slot

• Multi-in-one card reader supporting optional CF+™ Microdrive, CompactFlash® I/II, Memory Stick®, Memory Stick PRO™, MultiMediaCard™, Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC), Secure Digital, xD-Picture Card™

Communications

• Gigabit LAN
  V.92 modem

Included Software

• Acer® Arcade Deluxe
  Acer® eRecovery Management
  Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
  CyberLink® MediaShow*
  CyberLink® PowerDirector™*
  eSobi™*
  Google™ Desktop
  Google™ Toolbar
  McAfee® Internet Security Suite (60-day trial)
  Microsoft® Works 8.5 (full version)
  Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2007 (60-day trial)
  MyWinLocker®
  NTI Media Maker™* Windows Live™ Essentials
  
  *OEM, not full-featured, version.

User Interface

• USB keyboard and optical mouse

Drive Bays

• One internal 3.5"
  One 5.25"

Expansion Slots

• One PCI Express® 2.0 x1
  One PCI Express® 2.0 x16

Dimensions

• 3.9" (100mm) W x 13.9" (352mm) D x 10.4" (265mm) H

Power Supply

• 220 watts

Compliance

• PC2001

Limited Warranty*

• One-year limited warranty

__________________________________________________ ______________________

Following is a gaming computer he tried to spec out for me. Note the cost is a bit higher... I think I could have done this myself. But I'm assuming if I purchase thru them, the cost of data transfer will be waived. However, when I looked at the site, what I found with these spec was priced at $699... but I may have looked at an incorrect build, but looked the same to me.

Cybertron Gaming PC - 4GB DDR2, 500GB, Nvidia 9500gt graphics card, hdmi, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

$859.99

Display Type: Not Included

Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200, 2.5 GHz, Socket 775

Memory Type: Dual Chanel DDR2
Memory Size: 2x2GB
Total Memory: 4GB
Memory Speed: DDr2 800 (PC2-6400)
Memory Slots (Total): 2
Memory Slots (Available): 0
Maximum memory supported: 4.0GB

Interface: 2.5" SATA II
Capacity: 500 GB
Speed: 7,200 RPM

Optical Drive Type: DVD/RW Dual Layer Lightscribe
Optical Drive Class: DVD/RW DL
Interface: N/A
Supplemental Media Type: Media Reader
Audio Description: Integrated Audio
Channels: 5.1

Graphics Description: PCI-Express x16 Graphics Card
GPU/VPU: nVidia GeForce 8500 GT
Video Memory: 1GB
Video Interface: DVI HDMI

Communications Description: Integrated LAN Support
LAN Chipset: Realtek RTL8111D
LAN Data Transfer Rate: 10/100/1000Mbps
LAN Description: Integrated
LAN Port Type: RJ-45
LAN Ports: 1

Power: 400 watt

Mouse Type: Optical
Buttons: 2
Scrolling capability: vertical
Connection type: N/A

Keyboard type: Premium
Connection type: N/A
________________________________________________



With a price tag of $860, not sure I want to go there. I may just not understand the difference in the builds, but the $699 looks like a better deal to me, if the onboard graphics card will handle Ultra Mode without lag issues.

Any and all help on deciding what to buy would be appreciated. Like anyone else, I want the best "bang for my buck" without spending more than I can actually afford. I was hoping to keep the cost at around $700 or less.

Thanks for the input Back Blast. Yes, I am looking at getting one of the Radeon cards. The tech is looking into that so he can just add it.

I really only have one concern and that is about purchasing another Acer computer. The failed system is 1 year and 5 months old, and I don't want to have to get another one again in a year and half due to the motherboard issue. However, we have Acers in the office which are 4-5 years old and we haven't had any issues with them. If I can purchase a 1 year extended warranty on the new system, I will just to ease my mind about it.

The old system I'm using as a backup is a Dell Dimension 2400, which I guess I've had about 6-7 years with no issues, other than I can't upgrade it anymore. Well, I did have to replace the power supply due to a surge protector failure.

I will be stopping by the techs office shortly and see what he has to offer and will post it.

Oh, and I really miss that computer. Did a LGTF last night and fighting the hami and Honoree was like watching a slide show. LOL And this is Hami raid night on Virtue...so I guess I won't be going.

I just wanted to update the guys that helped me in determining what I would need to upgrade my system.

Well, apparently my computer read the forums and decided that I would have to do more than upgrade...it forced me to have to purchase a new system. On Friday, 4/16 the system started acting weird then finally would not boot... no grunts or beeps, just the slight hum of the drive running. Oh, and the warranty ran out a few months ago.

So I talked to the tech today...my mobo is apparently history, all other system components checked out okay. The cost to repair approximately $500, with no guarantee that the same thing won't happen and that the new components will get along with the old ones, which will cost more tech time trying to iron out.

At the cost of $500 to repair, and still having to upgrade other components, I'm opting for a new system at around $699 plus the cost of a dedicated video card. The tech has been informed of what I need..he checked out CoH requirements while I was on the phone. The new system has a decent onboard vid card, but I told him I want a dedicated card... no more onboard cards for me to play CoH. One problem with this system is that it is a mini tower which may not leave room for additional upgrades.

The new system will have Windows 7, which the tech tells me is nothing more than a revamped Vista, fixing issues people complained about. Don't have all the specs yet, but it will have 4G RAM, 750G hard drive, can't remember the processor, the onboard card is an Nvidia GeForce 9200. This system is priced at $499. The $699 has more ram and more hard drive space, and I believe it is a quad cord.

At this writing, he is working up a couple of options for me. Once I have all the specs, I would like to post them here and get a recommendation from one of you guys. Since this tech is not actually experienced at playing CoH, I would prefer one of you guys to check it out and advise me.

Since I have other duties which I use my computer for, I have to get it replaced ASAP. There is more to life than CoH.... so they tell me. lol So funding for the new system has been taken care of and I'm not limited to the $300 budget I originally gave. I have the best boss in the world - he is allowing me an advance to purchase the system.

For now, I have to play on my old system and deal with the lag, but at least I can play some. That system is already maxed out as far as upgrades, but is fine for a backup. I think a MS Raid would be out of the question though.

You guys are awesome, I can't thank you enough. I will keep you updated as I upgrade my system. Maybe I will see you in game sometime.
Now to find the time to check things out...sigh...it will cut into my play time but will be worth it to enjoy more of the game. lol

At the present time, I could only spend about $300 for upgrades. With that limited budget, I would have to decide which needs to be upgraded first. The others would have to wait until more funds are available. I don't want to scrimp on upgrades now just so I can get them all, would prefer to do what I can at each stage so I don't have to do it again later. But I would like to have them all done prior to GR going live.

So this is what I am thinking as to the order in which to replace components, and I may be wrong as I don't know how to build computers. Replace the Power Supply first so that I have the slots available for the video card and upping the RAM to 4G. Then the video cards and the CPU chip (which is greek to me but I'll figure it out).
Feel free to correct me and recommend the proper order in which to replace components... I won't be offended.

Next question... once I obtain the parts, I should have no problem replacing them should I? I have changed out parts in my computer before, ie: video cards, power supplies.. but I have not changed anything to do with the CPU. I just want to be sure I can do this myself without messing things up.

Also, I have contacted ACER regarding updating the BIOS. It appears there are 2 updates available for my system. I am awaiting a reply as to whether I need to update these.

You guys have no idea how much I appreciate this.

Thanks for the info. Sounds to me like just buying a new system would be more cost effective than upgrading parts. Although, this system is just a little over a year old and is actually a decent system for other applications I use. I hate the thought of just abandoning it for a new system, or just purchasing a new system to play a game. Just doesn't seem practical to me. Amazing out quickly computers become outdated, however, I don't believe the salesperson was listening when I told him what I needed for this system. It was prebuilt, so I didn't choose the components. I just told him what was required of the system and he said he made sure that CoH would run properly on it.

I didn't realize it was an onboard video card, but I haven't looked inside the computer since I've had it. As far as the RAM goes, I realized I would need to bump that up when I saw what I had.

I'm not totally inept about computers, but as far as how the components work together for the best performance were unknown to me. You guys have given me some much appreciated information to consider.

Upon the advice of Father Xmas, I ran the CoH Helper program and the HiJackThis programs in hopes that someone can tell me what I need to update/change on my system to improve my graphics so I can play the game in the recommended graphics mode so I can experience all the great graphics the game has to offer instead of having to settle for minimum just to be able to play without major lag issues.

Following is the CoH Helper file:

---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.1.1.8---
DxDiag gathered at April 2, 2010 14:09 (-04:00)
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.090805-0102)
System Manufacturer: ACER
System Model: Aspire M1640
BIOS: BIOS Date: 01/29/08 14:43:24 Ver: 08.00.15
Central Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2160 @ 1.80GHz (2 CPUs), ~1.8GHz
Memory: 1790MB
.Net Memory Report: 985MB out of 1790MB available
Page File: 2597MB (1190MB currently in use)
C Drive: (ST325031 0AS SCSI Disk Device) 54068MB out of 114371MB (47%) free
D Drive: (ST325031 0AS SCSI Disk Device) 113723MB out of 114107MB (99%) free
E Drive: (HL-DT-ST DVDRAM_GH15N SCSI CdRom Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 10
DirectX Diag version: 6.00.6001.18000 (32-bit version)
Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce 7050 / NVIDIA nForce 620i
Manufacturer / Chip: NVIDIA / GeForce 7050 / nForce 620i
Video Memory: 889 MB
Driver Version: 8.17.0011.9562
Driver Date: 11/20/2009 10:34:54 PM
Driver Language: English
Sound Device Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Driver File: RTKVHDA.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5497
Driver Date: 10/16/2007 10:39:18 PM

WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: ACER
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: MCP73
Motherboard Version: NVIDIA MCP73
BIOS Manufacturer: American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS Name: BIOS Date: 01/29/08 14:43:24 Ver: 08.00.15
BIOS Version: ACRSYS - 20080129
BIOS Release: 20080129000000.000000+000
Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1024x768
3D Resolution: 1024x768 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: Yes
Maximized: No
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 75Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: No
Physics Quality: None
Maximum Particles: 100
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No
Anti-aliasing: None
Anisotropic Filtering: None
Texture LOD Bias: Crisp
Water Effects: None
Bloom: 1.000 (turned off)
Depth of Field Enabled: No
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: No
Shader Detail: Lowest
World Texture Level: Low
Character Texture Level: Medium
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 0.500
Entity Detail Level: 0.500
Shadows Enabled: No
Gamma Correction: 0.677
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of Extra Player FX Enabled: No
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: Yes
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: Yes
Audio Mode: Performance
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 0.038
Music Sound Volume: 0.040
Show Advanced Graphics Options: No
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.000
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: 58355 bytes/second
Current Game Version: 1600.20100114.10T
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files\City of Heroes
Mod files in the Data directory
.\texture_library\GUI\Icons\Powers has 108 files
.\texture_library\MAPS\city has 1 file
.\texture_library\MAPS\Safeguard has 9 files
.\texture_library\MAPS\sewers has 44 files
.\texture_library\MAPS\static has 34 files
.\texture_library\V_MAPS\Outdoor_Missions has 9 files
.\texture_library\V_MAPS\Static has 16 files

Following is the HiJackThis file:

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 2:18:39 PM, on 4/2/2010
Platform: Windows Vista SP1 (WinNT 6.00.1905)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v8.00 (8.00.6001.18882)
Boot mode: Normal
Running processes:
C:\Windows\system32\taskeng.exe
C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe
C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\SweetIM\Messenger\SweetIM.exe
C:\Windows\System32\mobsync.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\ArcSoft\Connection Service\Bin\ACDaemon.exe
C:\Program Files\Motorola\SMSERIAL\sm56hlpr.exe
C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\avgtray.exe
C:\Program Files\HP\HP Software Update\hpwuSchd2.exe
C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmpnscfg.exe
C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqtra08.exe
C:\Program Files\Kodak\Kodak EasyShare software\bin\EasyShare.exe
C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqSTE08.exe
C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqbam08.exe
C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqgpc01.exe
C:\Windows\system32\wuauclt.exe
C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe
C:\Program Files\Skype\Plugin Manager\skypePM.exe
C:\Program Files\City of Heroes\CohUpdater.exe
C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\smart web printing\hpswp_clipbook.exe
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
C:\Program Files\Skype\Toolbars\Shared\SkypeNames2.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.yahoo.com
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.yahoo.com
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
R3 - URLSearchHook: AVG Security Toolbar BHO - {A3BC75A2-1F87-4686-AA43-5347D756017C} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
R3 - URLSearchHook: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\PROGRA~1\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
R3 - URLSearchHook: SweetIM ToolbarURLSearchHook Class - {EEE6C35D-6118-11DC-9C72-001320C79847} - C:\Program Files\SweetIM\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\mgHelper.dll
R3 - URLSearchHook: Zynga Toolbar - {7b13ec3e-999a-4b70-b9cb-2617b8323822} - C:\Program Files\Zynga\tbZyng.dll
O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost
O2 - BHO: &Yahoo! Toolbar Helper - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\PROGRA~1\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O2 - BHO: HP Print Enhancer - {0347C33E-8762-4905-BF09-768834316C61} - C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\Smart Web Printing\hpswp_printenhancer.dll
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O2 - BHO: AskBar BHO - {201f27d4-3704-41d6-89c1-aa35e39143ed} - C:\Program Files\AskBarDis\bar\bin\askBar.dll
O2 - BHO: WormRadar.com IESiteBlocker.NavFilter - {3CA2F312-6F6E-4B53-A66E-4E65E497C8C0} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\avgssie.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {5C255C8A-E604-49b4-9D64-90988571CECB} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In SSV Helper - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: Zynga Toolbar - {7b13ec3e-999a-4b70-b9cb-2617b8323822} - C:\Program Files\Zynga\tbZyng.dll
O2 - BHO: ShowBarObj Class - {83A2F9B1-01A2-4AA5-87D1-45B6B8505E96} - C:\Acer\Empowering Technology\eDataSecurity\x86\ActiveToolBand.dll
O2 - BHO: Windows Live Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll
O2 - BHO: AVG Security Toolbar BHO - {A3BC75A2-1F87-4686-AA43-5347D756017C} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - C:\Program Files\Google\Google Toolbar\GoogleToolbar_32.dll
O2 - BHO: SkypeIEPluginBHO - {AE805869-2E5C-4ED4-8F7B-F1F7851A4497} - C:\Program Files\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Notifier BHO - {AF69DE43-7D58-4638-B6FA-CE66B5AD205D} - C:\Program Files\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\5.2.4204.1700\s wg.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Dictionary Compression sdch - {C84D72FE-E17D-4195-BB24-76C02E2E7C4E} - C:\Program Files\Google\Google Toolbar\Component\fastsearch_B7C5AC242193BB3E.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: SWEETIE - {EEE6C35C-6118-11DC-9C72-001320C79847} - C:\Program Files\SweetIM\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\mgToolbarIE.dll
O2 - BHO: HP Smart BHO Class - {FFFFFFFF-CF4E-4F2B-BDC2-0E72E116A856} - C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\Smart Web Printing\hpswp_BHO.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Acer eDataSecurity Management - {5CBE3B7C-1E47-477e-A7DD-396DB0476E29} - C:\Acer\Empowering Technology\eDataSecurity\x86\eDStoolbar.dll
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {0BF43445-2F28-4351-9252-17FE6E806AA0} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\PROGRA~1\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: SweetIM Toolbar for Internet Explorer - {EEE6C35B-6118-11DC-9C72-001320C79847} - C:\Program Files\SweetIM\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\mgToolbarIE.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Ask Toolbar - {3041d03e-fd4b-44e0-b742-2d9b88305f98} - C:\Program Files\AskBarDis\bar\bin\askBar.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Google Toolbar - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - C:\Program Files\Google\Google Toolbar\GoogleToolbar_32.dll
O3 - Toolbar: AVG Security Toolbar - {CCC7A320-B3CA-4199-B1A6-9F516DD69829} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\Toolbar\IEToolbar.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Zynga Toolbar - {7b13ec3e-999a-4b70-b9cb-2617b8323822} - C:\Program Files\Zynga\tbZyng.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SweetIM] C:\Program Files\SweetIM\Messenger\SweetIM.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ArcSoft Connection Service] C:\Program Files\Common Files\ArcSoft\Connection Service\Bin\ACDaemon.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SMSERIAL] C:\Program Files\Motorola\SMSERIAL\sm56hlpr.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\QTTask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG9_TRAY] C:\PROGRA~1\AVG\AVG9\avgtray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HP Software Update] C:\Program Files\HP\HP Software Update\HPWuSchd2.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Skype] "C:\Program Files\Skype\\Phone\Skype.exe" /nosplash /minimized
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [WMPNSCFG] C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\WMPNSCFG.exe
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - Global Startup: HP Digital Imaging Monitor.lnk = C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\bin\hpqtra08.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Kodak EasyShare software.lnk = C:\Program Files\Kodak\Kodak EasyShare software\bin\EasyShare.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Skype add-on for Internet Explorer - {898EA8C8-E7FF-479B-8935-AEC46303B9E5} - C:\Program Files\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Skype add-on for Internet Explorer - {898EA8C8-E7FF-479B-8935-AEC46303B9E5} - C:\Program Files\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL
O9 - Extra button: Show or hide HP Smart Web Printing - {DDE87865-83C5-48c4-8357-2F5B1AA84522} - C:\Program Files\HP\Digital Imaging\Smart Web Printing\hpswp_BHO.dll
O13 - Gopher Prefix:
O16 - DPF: {1E54D648-B804-468d-BC78-4AFFED8E262F} (System Requirements Lab) - http://www.nvidia.com/content/Driver...reqlab_nvd.cab
O16 - DPF: {49232000-16E4-426C-A231-62846947304B} (SysData Class) - https://wimpro.cce.hp.com/ChatEntry/...ds/sysinfo.cab
O16 - DPF: {8100D56A-5661-482C-BEE8-AFECE305D968} (Facebook Photo Uploader 5 Control) - http://upload.facebook.com/controls/...Uploader55.cab
O16 - DPF: {E2883E8F-472F-4FB0-9522-AC9BF37916A7} - http://platformdl.adobe.com/NOS/getPlusPlus/1.6/gp.cab
O18 - Protocol: linkscanner - {F274614C-63F8-47D5-A4D1-FBDDE494F8D1} - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\avgpp.dll
O18 - Protocol: skype-ie-addon-data - {91774881-D725-4E58-B298-07617B9B86A8} - C:\Program Files\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll
O18 - Protocol: skype4com - {FFC8B962-9B40-4DFF-9458-1830C7DD7F5D} - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\Skype\SKYPE4~1.DLL
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: avgrsstx.dll
O23 - Service: ArcSoft Connect Daemon (ACDaemon) - ArcSoft Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\ArcSoft\Connection Service\Bin\ACService.exe
O23 - Service: AVG Free WatchDog (avg9wd) - AVG Technologies CZ, s.r.o. - C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG9\avgwdsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Google Software Updater (gusvc) - Google - C:\Program Files\Google\Common\Google Updater\GoogleUpdaterService.exe
--
End of file - 9502 bytes


I hope someone can help. Thanks!