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falling off the back of the technological wheel

shadow boxershadow boxer The Finger Painter & Master Ranter
its criminal

I have a compaq presario laptop... 1.1ghz Duron, 256mb ram and S3 Twister onboard video... which of course does not support Hardware transform and lighting...

no Homeworld 2 for me... brand new shiny genuine CD full of Homeworld goodness... and I cant even see the cinematics...

I guess theres always a downside to a game/developer who makes good eyecandy...

to say I'm a little pissed off is an understatement...

and people wonder why I love Macs...

this kind of bollocks just doesnt happen with a Mac...

sigh...

*mopes*

Jack... make sure that friggin 'new' video card of your supports Hardware transform and lighting...
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Comments

  • shadow boxershadow boxer The Finger Painter & Master Ranter
    I mean really... what sort of future are we going to have ?

    one where the market is totally polarised...

    you either play games on a freakin console...

    or you go hyparhardcorr... and get a l33t gamarz Ax... and update it every fortnight at five hundred bucks every time

    it sucks...

    you'd think by now they'd build hardware with such humungus and open architecture that you could upgrade your shit with selling a kidney...

    or we'd reach a point where the power/speed curve would start to plateau... so old machines might have half a chance of keeping up.

    this constant obselecence makes for mountains of waste, frustration and stress

    and what for ?

    a few more polys ?
    a few more dots ?
    a couple more shades ?

    its an addiction... an ugly arms race. progress is one thing... falling off a cliff is another...
  • I learned long ago that on board videocards are EEEVIL.
    they support nothing, and run like...well...very poorly. Can't run alot of games because they are horrid little contraptions.
    do yourself a favor, and check your MOBO for an AGP slot (Its brown, about 3-4 inches long) if not, your a victim of the pre-built PC rage.
  • shadow boxershadow boxer The Finger Painter & Master Ranter
    oh... perhaps I didnt mention its a presario laptop... very 'enduser' pile of shite..

    in fact... fuck it...

    who wants it ?

    $666USD plus shipping and its yours

    Compaq Presario 715
    duron 1.1ghz
    20 gig HDD
    14.1in TFT (no dead pixels)
    56k modem
    S3 twister onboard video (32mb shared)

    running Win2K at the moment, with a host of 'borrowed' graphics and office software, stable as buggery, very little tinkering or third party bullshite

    tiny ammount of cosmetic wear on the case

    good machine for what it is...

    I'm going to buy a 'proper' PC ( if such a thing exists ). I should have done so long ago to run CAD and 3D apps.

    I guess I can live with one more ulcer and a few thousand less hairs on my scalp...

    sigh...

    heh... well heres a start... this a reasonable case ?

    [url]http://www.circotech.com/comacowama.html[/url]


    and yes.... all you PC headz can rub it in if you wish... the dark side of the force is beckoning... much as I hate to admit it... eh...another Jedi falls...
  • shadow boxershadow boxer The Finger Painter & Master Ranter
    ok... I guess I should pick what shade of red I want my Sith light sabre to be...



    What I need :

    something capable of doing some reasonable CAD work, building data for CNC prototyping. Not high end crash analysis stuff for cars or its ilk... more along the lines of tupperware injection moulds for a rough example

    something that may even cope with Maya or Lightwave et al for making 3D stuff for screen

    What I'd like :

    -sexy case, I have a thing very well made aluminium cases, If its one thing I hate its knuckle stripping pressed steel horrors.
    -gaming l33tness and being able to run HOMEWORLD TWO !
    -massive rammage (ok so that phrase is terribly 'wrong' but you know what I mean)
    -some amateur 'sound in' stuff... so I could perhaps indulge in some phat beat makage

    and last but obviously not least

    budget :

    $ 2000 USD


    so.... my friends

    mobo ?
    CPU ?
    vid card ?

    what does this poor fallen, broken jedi buy to make his journey to the dark side complete ??

    (I kinda like the alienware boxes but I'm worried I wont be able to get enough bang for my bux... they look sexy but I'm wondering if I cant save quite a few shekels with a cheaper case etc)

    ~~~~

    oh sweet buhda I feel [I]dirty[/I] . I'm talking about PC's as if I like them... in fact... oh my....[I]eeeeewwww ![/I]
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    You can do it with 1k. :D

    More info later.
  • BekennBekenn Sinclair's Duck
    That case looks like it should do the trick, though I'd want to see the specs on the power supply before saying that for sure.

    Motherboard: [url="http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socketa/a7n8x-d/overview.htm"]Asus A7N8X Deluxe[/url]*
    Proc: Athlon XP 2800+ or 3000+ (depending on how much you're willing to spend)
    RAM: PC2700 or 3200, I'm thinking [url="http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/xms.html"]Corsair[/url]
    Video card: [url="http://www.ati.com/products/radeon9800/radeon9800pro/index.html"]ATI Radeon 9800 or 9800 Pro[/url]**
    Sound card: None (m/b has good integrated audio)

    The rest should be pretty simple.

    * Includes integrated surround sound that doesn't suck; very good quality, actually.
    ** Do [i]not[/i] get anything GeForce, as GeForce cards [url="http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/hl2_performance_preview_part1/"]suck[/url] [url="http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/hl2_performance_preview_part2/default.asp"]with[/url] [url="http://www.gamespy.com/previews/may03/halflife2pc/"]Half-Life 2[/url].
  • you can build a top of the line PC for 1 grand man...

    I'll let Sanfam pick the parts...hes good at that.
  • C_MonC_Mon A Genuine Sucker
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Bekenn [/i]
    [B]
    ** Do [i]not[/i] get anything GeForce, as GeForce cards [url="http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/hl2_performance_preview_part1/"]suck[/url] [url="http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/hl2_performance_preview_part2/default.asp"]with[/url] [url="http://www.gamespy.com/previews/may03/halflife2pc/"]Half-Life 2[/url]. [/B][/QUOTE]
    Are those test's done with the new drivers? nVidia said something about they got some HL2 drivers in development that will really make GF better at HL2. Still ATI's cards are better at the moment at everything.
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Bekenn [/i]
    [B]That case looks like it should do the trick, though I'd want to see the specs on the power supply before saying that for sure.

    Motherboard: [url="http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socketa/a7n8x-d/overview.htm"]Asus A7N8X Deluxe[/url]*
    Proc: Athlon XP 2800+ or 3000+ (depending on how much you're willing to spend)
    RAM: PC2700 or 3200, I'm thinking [url="http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/xms.html"]Corsair[/url]
    Video card: [url="http://www.ati.com/products/radeon9800/radeon9800pro/index.html"]ATI Radeon 9800 or 9800 Pro[/url]**
    Sound card: None (m/b has good integrated audio)

    The rest should be pretty simple.
    [/url]. [/B][/QUOTE]

    Um...go with the Athlon XP 3000+ [b]400MHz FSB[/b]

    The 2800+ only has 333MHz FSB. The 3000+ has both 333 and 400MHz FSB. And the Mobo supports 400MHz FSB. So you get much more improvement then it might seem becuase of the FSB change.

    Yes...I know all this becuase I am about to upgrade my system...the parts are in the mail...thats exactly the Mobo I've ordered with the 3000+ 400MHz FSB and 1GB or ram...everything else is coming from my existing system ;)
  • [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by C_Mon [/i]
    [B]Are those test's done with the new drivers? nVidia said something about they got some HL2 drivers in development that will really make GF better at HL2. Still ATI's cards are better at the moment at everything. [/B][/QUOTE]

    The new drivers DO boost proformance...
    By giving you crap texture quality. :mad:
    if you go GeForce, get the GeForce 4 Ti 4600, cheap, and better then alot of the FX series. for a budget, get the ATI 9600 Pro, or the 9500 Pro if you can find it.

    do NOT get the 9800SE, its a crippled card with only 4 pipelines, as oppsed to 8 on the 9800non pro, or the 9800 Pro
  • shadow boxershadow boxer The Finger Painter & Master Ranter
    hmmm.. well the stuff presented so far seems to be the goods...

    mind you... I'd like to have a digital audio in... an optical or something, so perhaps I can come from my minidisc into a good sound mashing app... I have an urge to go all chemical brothers and make some phat beats..:D

    (when I'm not doing other stuff of course)
  • BekennBekenn Sinclair's Duck
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Random Chaos [/i]
    [B]The 2800+ only has 333MHz FSB. The 3000+ has both 333 and 400MHz FSB. And the Mobo supports 400MHz FSB. So you get much more improvement then it might seem becuase of the FSB change.[/B][/QUOTE]

    I thought about mentioning that, and I certainly agree it's a better choice, but the price difference between the 2800+ and either of the 3000+ models is pretty large, and he did say something about being on a budget. That said, the 2800+ still gives great performance, despite the massive drop in price, but if you're going to go 3000+, definitely go 3000+ @ 400 MHz FSB.
  • shadow boxershadow boxer The Finger Painter & Master Ranter
    I think I solved the digital audio problem... sideways..

    [url]http://gear.ign.com/articles/435/435472p1.html[/url]

    400 smakkas USD is pretty mean but still...

    oh...

    and this is a 'from nuthin' build... I need a monitor and so forth in the bundle... out of the $2000 USD
  • BekennBekenn Sinclair's Duck
    Ack, that's a tough one to recommend. Thing with monitors is, this is probably the one component that varies most depending on the sensibilities of the person who's buying. Myself, I have an [url="http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPF-Iiyama_Vision_Master_Pro_510_22_in"]Iiyama Vision Master Pro 510[/url]. Bought it something like two years ago, never caused me any trouble, great monitor, but... $1000. You may want something a little less pricey. Also, gotta keep in mind that CRTs like this one are big. This one, at 22", weighs something like 65 lbs (~30 kilos).

    Flat panels look neat and weigh substantially less, but they tend to be more expensive than their larger cousins, and don't have the same kind of color quality. Great for office or home-office use, not as good for professional graphics work; probably also not as good for gaming, but I'd look for a second opinion on that.

    Short version: I can't help you much here. The choice of monitor is just too subjective.
  • BekennBekenn Sinclair's Duck
    Oh, I did forget just one last piece of equipment. You're gonna love these:

    [url="http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=712"]Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1[/url]

    I use the [url="http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=101"]ProMedia v.2-400[/url] set, myself, and I can say without reservation that they are the best PC speakers I have ever experienced. I'm not quite sure why the Ultra 5.1 set no longer carries the THX logo; possibly the licensing was too expensive, I don't know. But if the Ultra 5.1 set lives up to mine, then there'll be no going back for you. Excellent, excellent speakers. If I didn't already have the v.2-400s, I'd purchase the Ultra 5.1 set myself.
  • shadow boxershadow boxer The Finger Painter & Master Ranter
    Heh... speakers are not really a problem

    when I buy some more... they will be from here...

    [url]www.vaf.com.au[/url]

    nuff sed

    they rock hard

    I already have a set of DC-X, so it will be a matter of adding what I want to them... sub, centre channel, satts etc

    monitor issues for me are eyestrain as much as anything. If I want press graphics then I use a pantone swatch or process colour chart. For on screen stuff ? Who gives a ferk... with forty billion different combos of colour generation hardware and software... 'rough enough' is ok...

    so I'm leaning towards TFT's. I'd love an Appple Cinema... but of course they cost an absolute bomb...
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    yeah...apple's monitors are good :)

    Those Cinama displays give you a nice 170 degree top/bottom and left/right view angle. I worked with someone who had one this summer. You could lean over the top and read it perfectly clear!
  • shadow boxershadow boxer The Finger Painter & Master Ranter
    Asus A7N8X Deluxe Mutha board
    AMD 3000 Barton core 400FSB
    3 x 512mb Kingston DDR400 memory
    Two (x2) ViewSonic p95f black case 19"
    Aluminium case
    Power supply
    ATI Radeon 9800 pro

    thats it so far... what am I missing ?

    given I already have speakers

    incidentally I'm 50 bucks overbudget already and I backflipped on the monitors cos two 19 inch monitors are ALOT of real estate for the price.. roughly double the size for half the price of one TFT
  • shadow boxershadow boxer The Finger Painter & Master Ranter
    bollocks...

    obvious when I write it out as a block... no hard drives... no CD drive... no floppy even..:D

    lol

    *begins search*
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    Hmmm

    Get $80 back by dropping 1 of those ram chips and put it into the HD...

    You can always add a 3rd mem chip later when you have more money ;)

    With that Mobo, you want at least 2 ram chips though. The nForce controller has 2 independent memory adressing which allows the equivlent of quad speed with DDR mem ;)
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    I *heart* iRiver

    I bought a SlimX 350 a while back, and it has proven amazing. I love all of the little thoughtful things iriver put into designing it. :D
  • It's probably been said, bu you won't need $2000 of you build it yourself, and use NewEgg. After watching the E3 HL2 video, I went out and bought myself a PC capable of running HL2 with some pretty graphics, for about $1200. You could go a couple hundred below that and still have a respectable PC, too.
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    Re: falling off the back of the technological wheel

    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by shadow boxer [/i]
    [B]its criminal

    I have a compaq presario laptop... 1.1ghz Duron, 256mb ram and S3 Twister onboard video... which of course does not support Hardware transform and lighting...

    no Homeworld 2 for me... brand new shiny genuine CD full of Homeworld goodness... and I cant even see the cinematics...

    [/B][/QUOTE]

    Definately avoid the Onboard video in the future, otherwise that machine shuld run HW2, i'm running it on a 1.3ghz Athlon and it runs great.
  • JackNJackN <font color=#99FF99>Lightwave Alien</font>
    Re: Re: falling off the back of the technological wheel

    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Entil'Zha [/i]
    [B]... that machine shuld run HW2, i'm running it on a 1.3ghz Athlon and it runs great. [/B][/QUOTE]

    Happy to hear that... soon as I have a mobo and some ram and a case to stick it in, I can run it...

    Next problem is affording the game...

    :p
  • BekennBekenn Sinclair's Duck
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by shadow boxer [/i]
    [B]Asus A7N8X Deluxe Mutha board
    AMD 3000 Barton core 400FSB
    3 x 512mb Kingston DDR400 memory
    Two (x2) ViewSonic p95f black case 19"
    Aluminium case
    Power supply
    ATI Radeon 9800 pro

    thats it so far... what am I missing ?

    given I already have speakers

    incidentally I'm 50 bucks overbudget already and I backflipped on the monitors cos two 19 inch monitors are ALOT of real estate for the price.. roughly double the size for half the price of one TFT [/B][/QUOTE]

    That looks like a very nice setup so far; nice display choice, though I imagine it gets expensive with two of them. Still, a dual-monitor setup is a thing of greatness.

    The rest of the components are more or less trivial. For the HD, you'll probably want something in the 7200 RPM range (10000 RPM is nice, but really, not all that necessary -- don't drop below 7200). Size is of course the main concern here. You'll also want a DVD drive. You can probably take or leave the floppy as you see fit; there are times when it's convenient, but you'll rarely have to actually use it.

    Also, better make sure that case comes with adequate fans.
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    i love my A7N8X Deluxe, How is the Radeon? i haven't used an ATI for a while, i just picked up a cheap GeForce4 mx for now. but i've been looking at the ATI's.

    As far as drives, You might give one of the new SATA drvies a try if you've got the A7N8X Delux, they are only about $30 more than a traditional IDE drive.
  • ATI ROCKS these days, great hardware, great drivers...etc etc etc...

    Hard to believe, but they simply blow Nvidia out of the water right now
  • BekennBekenn Sinclair's Duck
    The Radeons are excellent cards these days; you won't go wrong getting one of them.
  • Radeon is veddy excellent. I bought a Radeon 9700 Pro by Sapphire, and it was faulty, so I replaced it with a 9800 Non-Pro which happened to be on sale for $50 cheaper than the 97P on NewEgg. The faulty card is something very rare, especially for Sapphire, which makes a damn good card, and I'm just unlucky, so don't worry about that.
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by shadow boxer [/i]
    [B]hmmm.. well the stuff presented so far seems to be the goods...

    mind you... I'd like to have a digital audio in... an optical or something, so perhaps I can come from my minidisc into a good sound mashing app... I have an urge to go all chemical brothers and make some phat beats..:D

    (when I'm not doing other stuff of course) [/B][/QUOTE]

    SB: The motherboard supports that. But you have to buy an optional back panel unit.

    I don't know how where you get it. But the mobo manual says it's available. But it doesn't come with the mobo. There is an S/PDIF out built into the backpanel. But to get S/PDIF in you have to have this optional addon. The mobo has an internal connector for it, but you need the interface that goes into that connector ;)

    I looked on ASUS's website and didn't see anything about how to get the optional parts that aren't always included.
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