quote:

---

Originally posted by Saltah'na:
Why do people insist on having dual graphics cards anyways?

---

quote:

---

I've got Vista Ultimate on this thing right now, I got it for $20. So I might wait until Christmas to look into 7. But do any of you guys know if there will be separate 32 and 64-bit versions?

---

quote:

---

Overcompensating for having to wear glasses?

---

7 years and 2 months too late.
 

---

Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
 
You had eye surgery or you went blind...

I kinda dig you as a blind internet Master- linda like that guy in Blind Fury, only with a braille keyboard.
 

---

Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
 
You registered in August 2002. Any crack about nerdage after that is null&void. This, I command!
 

---

Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
 
Now you're talking like Serpentor?

I now see you as a blind frankenstein mix of the greatest Star Trek minds ever- created in a secret lab by someone that looks depresingly like Dr. Phil and operating from your secret lair in your mom's basement (but you have a cool Cobra-head throne to post from, so it's not a total loss).
 

---

Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
 
Please tell me you are not building a C.O.B.R.A throne in lego.
The issue at hand was powergaming, not to be confused with nerding. Having a good gaming-rig hasn't been nerdy since around 1996 and the first serious 3d graphics-card wave, as it became attractive to marketers and consumers and by necessity lost its stigma.

Since the general level of computer-savvy has risen greatly in the world population the last ten years, you'd need to have considerable computer knowledge and matching hobbies to be considered a "computer nerd" today. Even networks have become common today, especially in homes with more than one user.

Self-restraint is a virtue, of course. No ordinary gamer could possibly have use for four linked graphics cards of the latest generation, and you are still subject to software bottlenecks that have nothing to do with memory bandwidth or gigaflops.

If SETI could utilize the GPUs and RAM of the current gaming generation, we'd have hot dog stands on Alpha Centauri by 2015.
 

---

Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
 
For the updates, you have to go to the control settings for Windows Update and select the "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them"; I had to change this on my girlfriend's laptop as it would randomly restart on her with updates.

Also, as of Vista SP1 (they're on SP2 now, looks like) RAM > 2GB is supported with 32-bit.
 

---

Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
 
Vista 32 bit still only has a max of 4 gb, it'll tell you if you have more, but it won't use it. I noticed that the computers at school all have 8gb of ram, but they're using Vista32. So there's a load of money down the tube for them.
 

---

Posted by OverRon (Member # 2036) on :
 
I built myself a similar gaming rig back in February.

Phenom II X4 940 3GHz (O/C'ed to 3.4GHz)
8GB DDR2
ATI Radeon HD 4870x2
22" W/S LCD monitor (with an old 15" one hooked up to the second DVI slot)
Logitech MX Revolution
Speedlink Medusa 5.1 Headset
Vista Ultimate x64

I was waiting for the AM3 Phenom 9x5's, but decided against it, as the price difference between DDR2 and DDR3 was substantial. I prefer having 8GB of slightly slower RAM with a bit of money left over compared to breaking the bank with 4GB of DDR3. That and the fact I wanted a new PC right away, not a month later, when the AM3 CPU's were going to be released.

Speaking of the CPU, I love the overclockability of the Phenom II's. Was able to crank it up from the stock 3GHz to 3.4GHz with ease. Haven't had much experience or success with overclocking in the past. But seeing the impressive figure's being knocked around, about the overclockability, I tried it and it was perfectly stable.

One thing I was surprised at, was how well Vista was once I'd got everything up an running. All I've heard about Vista was how bad it was, and how it just hogs your resources. The only issue I've had with it, was the whole automatic reboot, whether you want it too or not.

All-in-all, satisfied with the result, it can play Crysis at max settings with a decent FPS. Although WoW, has issues with my GFX card, with an FPS in the 20's.
 

---

Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
 
Yeah, I've noticed that the most complaints about Vista were with computers that couldn't really handle it. Comparatively, my system is a little slower than the ones mentioned here, but still pretty adequate:

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53GHz
2GB DDR2 PC6400
EVGA GeForce 8800GS
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L

It was a pretty good system when I built it, which was August 2008. I have the capacity for 8GB of RAM, which I haven't taken advantage of yet. At any rate, I can run Vista no problem and run lots of programs with hardly taxing the processor. The only thing I've noticed is that GTA IV tends to run a wee bit slow but certainly doesn't hinder gameplay enjoyment.
 

---

Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
 
Fabrux: For GTA IV, make sure Antialiasing and far-away shadows is either very low or disabled, worked for me. Also, be DAMNED sure to switch off the "automatic movie recording" feature that records the last ten seconds of gameplay all the time, it is the source of more stutter and bluescreens than any other GTA-feature, super-believe me.

I finished it a few months ago, won't be playing it again for a long time, maybe until Rockstar Games comes around to releasing the two expansions for PC, which should be around 2016, or the year communist China falls, whichever comes first.
 

---

Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
 
You should put GTA IV on the shelf and look into Saints Row 2 for PC. It's way better than GTA. Any game that lets you control a septic truck to spray people with high resolution turds gets an A+ in my book.

Oh and OverRon, don't even bother with overclocking, you get a minor performance boost at the cost of shortening the life span of the cpu. My mobo came with a real time OC program and I just leave it as is.
 

---

Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
 
You assume my copy exists in other than digital form....
 

---

Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
 
Ah I see, well SR2 is still better.
 

---

Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
 
I bought this last December for a mere $500 (of course not counting the gifts I received).

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300
Intel DP45SG Motherboard
4 GB Patriot DDR3-1333 RAM
Antec Sonata III Case with 500W power supply
Seagate 500 GB Hard Drive (gift from two friends)
Radeon X1950XTX 512 MB Video Card (gift from another friend, he didn't want it, and I didn't want to spring $200 on a video card, hey it still works nicely....)
2 LG DVDRW.

On the wishlist for this machine:
Creative X-Fi Sound card (I currently use the integrated sound card at the moment)
New Video Card (maybe a Radeon 5850 when it comes out)
1 TB Hard Drive (probably Seagate).

My previous machine which I bought 6 years ago is still around and kicking. It is a P4 3.0C with 2 GB of RAM and now serves as my media centre hooked to my LCD TV. Unfortunately, I can't play Blu-Ray on that machine because it is simply too slow. Once that machine kicks the bucket, I may spring for a new media centre machine with a Blu Ray player.....

One question for anyone: do you know if Windows 7 supports hardware acceleration for discrete sound cards? I know that Vista did not do that (sound processing was handled by the OS itself), was wondering if they went back on the new Windows.
 

---