PC talk

[JRD]

fully-open, corridor-free world

Oh yeah...  ;D ;D ;D

[spaceboy]

oh yeah.  I'm liking the sound of seek and destroy - sounds like one of the 16 online players is designated to be destroyed.  I think it'll be great either way - part of the pack trying to flank and destroy the target, or the lone wolf trying outrun, outsmart, and outrace the pack.

I know I'm most likely to get the PS3 version, but I may have to go PC (or both).  We've got quite a few interested OWG racers here and going online with a crew from here would be epic.  Could you imagine the discussions on the forums the next day?

[Art Blade]

indeed... intriguing :)

[PZ]

... I know I'm most likely to get the PS3 version, but I may have to go PC (or both)...

Oh my gosh... are you serious?

[spaceboy]

Yeah, mostly.  Well since the PC version is apparently due "to follow" according to that article, I'm getting the PS3 version for sure (my son and I will both enjoy it I'm sure).  BUT if it's as fun as I'm expecting AND we can get a group of OWG racers online AND my PC can handle it.  Then I'd definitely want to get the PC version as well.

[PZ]

Wow... I just don't think of spaceboy on a PC, kind of like me... ;D

[Art Blade]

send him the list of components you used, PZ, so he can build his own rig... and spam us with screen shots  :-X ;D

[PZ]

hey, that's an idea spaceboy, you want to build your own rig?  Costs only a fraction of what a pre-built system costs - according to the specifications I received from the guy on a hardware forum, the rig I put together is better than the top of the line Alienware gaming computer and costs half as much!

[spaceboy]

heh, we'll have to see on that.  What do you charge for labor and shipping?

spending like that has it's original cost, plus the cost of "well, we spent X on that [fill in the blank] of yours"

[PZ]

lol, building the PC was loads of fun actually - I didn't even consider it until I posted a question on a Gamestop PC hardware forum asking recommendations on a good pre-built computer.  Someone replied back asking if I considered building my own - I replied that I'd not done so in a couple of decades.  He said that if the parts fit these days, you are basically good to go so I took the chance, went to newegg, ordered the parts and actually made it w@&k much to my amazement.

On the other hand, I know exactly about the secondary cost you were referring to! [probably costs more than the initial PC equipment layout...]

[Art Blade]

I'm still quite sure that I'm not going to build one myself... I reckon all I would manage is I'd fry myself and set off the smoke alarm. Or break the pins off of the CPU, stuff like that. My second last PC nearly made my heart stop when something in it exploded two times. The one before that was hosed too...  ;D

[PZ]

You're showing your age with the CPU pin comment Art [that's OK though, I was the same], the i7 doesn't have pins in the traditional sense - it simply slips into the heat sink assembly and a quick flip of the lever and you're done.

Although I must admit that if you've already experienced smoking electronics, opening a PC case is something that you might want to avoid!  ;D

[JRD]

I have a tendency of thinking of PCs like conscious, stubborn machines that insist in not working the way I want them to on purpose... and PCs have a tendency of flying right off my window under these circumstances.
So I better not try to build my own PC  :P

[Art Blade]

hahahaha, yeah... PZ, nice comment about me showing my age LOL so you see I had my share of rummaging around in an open PC. Actually I successfully upgraded my vid card twice and RAM wasn't an issue either (I know someone who rammed in those RAMs back to front... nice flash and disgusting stench and man, those faces of the people who were watching that and when they found out the PC was hosed for good... ahahaha, gross)

and yes, JRD, I had my moments too, when I wanted to kick a rig right out of my window too :)

[retiredgord]

Ok fellas..here's my question.
I've an older Dell computer with the following set-up:
Xp version 2002 with the Sev pack3
Intel [R]  Pent (R)D CPU 3.00 GHz
2.99 GHz 2.00GB ram
NVIDIA GE Force 7800 GTX with 256 MB
SB X-Fi Audio [BCEO]
Would I need upgrading to run FC2 and some of the other games?  If it might be better just to get a  newer system then I may w@&k on that part.  Thanks for your input

[Art Blade]

the only thing I'd upgrade there is the vid card. Since you already got a nVidia, get a newer one. I think a good and not very expensive card would be GeForce GTX260 (896mb ram)

[JRD]

Nope... your PC is great. As Art said, maybe a better graphic card.
512 will do, 1GB for the future  ;)
Be sure to format your system and start from zero.. it does make a huge difference on performance (make sure you have the latest drivers though).
Good luck... let us know

[Art Blade]

ah, JRD, you think of an old windows installation? Indeed a good idea to take that into consideration... only I don't agree on a full disk formating (at least then you can keep other stuff that is not windows).

Instead of a format disk, you should first a run a full defragmentation, then slap on a new windows installation. Delete the old windows first so the new window doesn't have the opportunity to reuse old folders (even if renamed) to prevent windows from keeping cocked-up stuff.

Use the dos shell. Can be done with the installation CD, there are tools on it that allow you to do that; I think it is called something like repair / diagnose / dos shell something like that... too much time since I last did that. I got new PCs instead LOL

[PZ]

Here's something that helps prevent fragmentation of your boot drive:  When doing a fresh install and you have a single drive, partition it into two logical drives.  Put the windows installation on one of them (eg, C: - 15gb should be plenty).  Once the installation is complete, move the swap file to the other fresh partition (e.g., D:).  Install any programs onto the D: partition (and move your documents folder to the D: partition while you're at it).  If you use Outlook, there is a trick to getting the outlook.pst onto the second partition as well.

If you use your C: partition only for the OS and the D: partition for all other disk use, it keeps things clean and running smoothly.  I've done this practice for some time, and my PCs rarely have the speed problems associated with age.

The last problem is the windows registry.  As you use windows, install/uninstall programs, settings, etc., the registry grows remarkably with the legacy junk it contains. (Think again if you believe that an uninstall removes everything).  There is a freeware utility called ccleaner (c=crap) that helps keep your registry slim and clean.  Exercise care though, examine everything that it recommends removing.

[Art Blade]

good advice.

Something simpler to do is preventing your registry from growing crappy: Stop the habit of installing and uninstalling every piece of software you come across. Decide if you really want it, then keep it :) Typically those game demos and trial versions litter your system.

[JRD]

You guys are correct... defrag and cclean are excellent tools, gives good results in performance and are not so risky or time-consuming as a disk format.
I sometimes (say once every 2 years, maybe more) format my  PC and lap top.
By doing so I force myself to organize my files and throw away useless crap I'm keeping on my PC like downloaded stuff, scrap files I don't need anymore (Corel files, .doc files etc).
Whatever works best for you retiredgord ;)

[Art Blade]

this here is something peeps need to see with their own eyes to make them believe... expert and constructive, helpful and advising friendly and... oh YEAH this site is almost too good to be true :)

[PZ]

Here's a new main board for all of the high performance fans:

http://www.evga.com/articles/00531/

[fragger]

Thanks for the link, PZ - drooling now ;D