TheFirstMonk

Lol, you got to be kidding me.

No offense to us gamers, but I don't think performance enhancers are really necessary for something that does not require heavy physical exertion. At most, we rely on hand-eye coordination, which can be improved in other legitimate ways. (I hear Fatality runs because he claims it keeps his reflexes sharp.)

It's not like we do this -----> when we play.

Just saw a short preview of this clip on the news. I was pretty sure it was going to end up here too.

That journalist was whipping those shoes pretty hard. If he had more than a 2 round clip, he probably would have kept firing.

"This is a farewell kiss, you dog." - quoted by one of the commentators in that youtube video as to what the guy was saying. And Dana Perino, press secretary, apparently got hurt too. Not quite the reception Bush was looking forward to from Iraq as he exits the White House...

Yeah, I remember the "**** in a Box" song with Timberlake, but I just didn't get why he has like 5 seconds of screen time as the janitor. He does sing a bit near the end, but I didn't see why his presence was necessary. I understand that they probably put him in there for fun, but it'd probably make more sense if he was paired with Samberg to do another song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffRGcvjAT94

Has anyone tried this for the boathouse finale? I remember playing this campaign with a couple gc members, and we always had trouble surviving (except for that one time we hid in the closet in the house). They'll probably patch the game later to prevent this exploit, but it looks like it works for now. Just posting this in case someone has trouble (other than me) in beating the Death Toll campaign on Expert.

Lol, yeah I watched this a couple days ago.

Their singing style is what makes me laugh, not so much the lyrics. The Timberlake cameo is kinda random though.

Thanks for the suggestions. I rechecked that I connected a 6 pin connector to the video card (I did) and made sure it was attached firmly. There's only one connector that I can see on the card, and only one is required in the manual (I'm not using Crossfire or it would have required 2 connections).

I also checked in my manual to see if there was an onboard graphics card on my motherboard; there wasn't. I also rechecked my 24 pin and 4 pin connectors like Norgman suggested, and they're all in there tight.

I installed all the drivers for the devices that had exclamation points next to them in the Device Manager (except for the "standard graphics adapter," i.e the Radeon HD 4850), so those should not be variables anymore. I'm going to try updating Vista, but that will require me to install antivirus first (to avoid infection) now instead of the graphics drivers. I'm also going to have to figure out how to make a direct connection between my old and new computer since my wireless adapter on my old computer is not 64 bit capable; it only has 32 bit vista drivers available on the Internet, which doesn't help me much.

So, my plan now is: find a way to make a direct connection between my 2 computers to access the Internet for my new computer to update Windows Vista, while a different adapter is ordered through the mail. Until that new adapter gets here, I'm probably going to be stuck tinkering with my new computer instead of actually using it.

Thanks for the help though. I'm going to keep searching and losing sleep; so many, many possibilities as to how to fix this problem according to the Internet forums.

Hey all,

I built my computer, and I booted it up last night. I installed Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit with SP1 without a problem. I set everything up in Vista, such as username and password, and I was able to shut down and boot up normally. Unfortunately, I can't seem to install the ATI drivers for my Radeon HD 4850 correctly. I installed the Intel Chipset INF drivers first from my motherboard support disc, then I installed the most recent ATI drivers for Vista x64 from their website. After installation, the computer asks to restart. I hit okay, and it gets past the Windows loading screen with the green meter that shows progress. Instead of booting to the welcome page where I type in my password and username, I get a blue screen; I try seeing what it says, but it always switches in under a second. I have to restart in safe mode and go to system restore to an earlier point. The blue screen only shows up after I install the ATI drivers and restart.

This morning, I made a clean install of Windows Vista again (with formatting), but I haven't installed anything else yet. What do you guys think the problem is? I don't think it's my memory; I only have 2 GB installed for now until I update Vista so I can use 4 GB. I haven't updated to the latest version of BIOS yet either, although I planned on doing that after I install my antivirus software.

Some of the devices in device manager have exclamation points next to them (including the "standard VGA adapter," which is probably my Radeon); I think one of them is for my USB mouse, another is for a USB flash drive I'm using to transfer programs from my old computer to my new one (small programs like CCleaner and cpu-z), etc. I'm thinking about trying to disable the audio since some people say that their 4850 has audio that interferes or something. I don't think I have onboard graphics turned on, although I can't seem to find that device anywhere, so it could in fact be on. I know that there was a hotfix for the 4850 in the summer or some time ago, but I don't know if I should install that and then install the newest drivers (?).

It's not the PSU; there's more than enough to power my computer. I don't think it's due to overheating either since I haven't done anything intensive with it, and I haven't had the computer on for more than an hour.

My specs:

PC Power and Cooling 750W PS

Intel Core 2 Quad q6600 CPU

Sapphire Radeon HD 4850

Patriot 2GB ddr2 1066

ASUS P5Q SE PLUS motherboard

Seagate 500GB HD

LG 22x DVD Burner

I'll post more info if I eliminate any other possibilities. I'm going to try installing the chipset drivers from the ASUS website and then retry installing the ATI drivers, but I don't think that will solve it. Thanks again for helping me build my computer, guys. Hopefully, I can get past this driver installation mess and actually use my new computer...

It's a good thing that people are spreading this news to show how ridiculous her letter is... she might have moved on to libraries.

"Books aren't supposed to be free."

WEP- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy

WPA- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Protected_Access

I don't know much about WEP and WPA myself except that as dweezil says, I know that WPA is stronger than WEP.

Yeah, I just heard about this earlier in the evening. My dad told me, and I laughed (in a kind of bitter way).

I was surprised that they arrested him, but I'm not surprised at the possibility of corrupt action by the governor. I believe he was previously accused of shady campaign contributions earlier this year (?), among other things. Like I said, it wasn't really startling that he was charged with wrongdoing.

And I think Dick Durbin recently wrote a letter on behalf of Gov. Ryan, asking for early release or something to that effect.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/georgeryantri...-112508.article

After this debacle with Blagojevich, I doubt Ryan has much of a chance now.

Second trailer for Watchmen:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/

Kind of ambivalent at this point. Rorschach's line, "An attack on one is an attack on all of us" I don't recall from the book (there's another line at the beginning of the trailer with the Comedian that I believe is added, but it doesn't bother me as much), which leads me to believe Snyder took it from NATO:

"The [North Atlantic] Council agreed that if it is determined that this was an attack directed from abroad against the United States, it shall be regarded as an action covered by Article Five of the Washington Treaty, which states that an attack against one ally is an attack against them all."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/am...-us-669200.html

No doubt Snyder seems to want to invoke a post - 9/11 atmosphere in some way, although I hope he doesn't force it like he did in 300.

POSSIBLE SPOILER: I also hope he understands the comparison between what happens in the book and what has happened in real life events of recent memory is what makes that line "An attack on one is an attack on all of us" ridiculous, at least in an ideological sense, which is something I think Alan Moore would have pointed out. Considering that it's just a trailer, it's possible that Snyder does know the fallacy of that remark and that the film may reflect that. END POSSIBLE SPOILER.

Still, it looks like he's tried very hard to preserve visual aspects of the comic book (minus Nite-Owl's flabbiness) for the film, so he should be given credit for that. I'm sure most of us are waiting to hear how much of the dialogue is faithful.

Don't worry, Tracid. I'm not on that list either.

You can be on my list though...

COOL PEOPLE THAT PLAY L4D AND ARE NOT ON VOODOO'S LIST:

TheFirstMonk

Tracid

Anyone else who is cool and plays L4D.

Thanks for the tips, guys. I did do a lot of touching the metal part of the case since I don't have a fancy anti static mat and such.

I've installed everything (physically) at this point and made most of the connections to the power supply and to the motherboard. There's one or two connections that I still haven't done (a front USB cable that seemingly connects nowhere, an HD that has a third slot that I don't know what to do with, etc.), but I'll figure it out eventually.

I'd like to turn on the computer soon after I make all the physical connections to find out if anything is defective. The problem is that I don't have an OS disc right now (I have a 32 bit Vista one, but I'm waiting for the 64 bit Vista disc that's coming through the mail). Is it possible to configure the BIOS and not install an OS right away? Or should I wait for the disc before turning on the computer? If I do turn on the computer and enter BIOS, can I shut off the computer safely after configuration (I've never updated or changed my BIOS settings on previous computers, so I don't know much about this)? Manual says I can shut off the computer by pressing the power button for more than 4 seconds as a "soft off" mode.

On a related note, I'm looking at this to help me configure my BIOS settings:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-bl...-setting-it-up/

I have an Asus P5Q SE Plus motherboard, in case that's important information. I've read the manual, but there seems to be a ton of options that I don't really need or need to change. Here's some that I think would be important:

1. Boot up order- 1st device would be DVD drive, second would be HD?

2. Change voltage settings for memory- mine are for Patriot DDR2 1066 with 2.1v and a timing of 5-5-5-15. Or should I leave this to "Auto," so that it detects the appropriate settings?

3. SATA configuration-AHCI enabled (I'll be running a Vista of some sort, either 32 or 64 bit)

I can't think of any other options that are extremely necessary for me to change. Can you guys think of anything? I won't be overclocking, so I assume I won't need to mess with a lot of the voltage options and leave those at default.

Also, in what order do you update/install stuff? For example:

1. Start up and configure BIOS.

2. Save changes and exit BIOS. (Shut down?)

3. Install OS

4. Update BIOS through Internet (risking infection or virus through router) or update OS first?

5. Install various programs like anti virus or memory test/ core temp programs, etc.?

6. Install drivers for video card, monitor, etc.?

I'm not really sure how to approach installation after option 3, so any clarification on what your experiences are would be really useful. I left out when to test memory or core temperature programs, so that could help too.

Thanks for the help so far. If I run into any problems at startup or BIOS, I'll have to ask you all for your help again. Fingers crossed...

Hey,

Got all my parts for my new PC. I was looking at tutorials online, like these:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-bl...ng-it-together/

http://www.davescomputertips.com/articles/..._computer_2.php

http://www.build-your-own-computer-tips.com/

I've also been watching some youtube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_quer...q=how+to+build+

I was wondering what kind of tutorials you guys would suggest, like online tutorials I could follow. I've read through the ones I've posted and watched some parts of the youtube videos, but I thought about checking with you guys first before I tried putting it together. Thanks for any help.

Cool. I'm pretty sure I still have a copy of XP somewhere. I might try your method instead.

So theoretically, if I were to clean install using the retail upgrade version of Vista Home Premium 32 bit, and then request a 64 bit disc of Vista Home Premium from Microsoft using the key from my retail upgrade copy, they would send me a disc free (although with shipping and handling)? And I would just pop in the 64 Bit disc and upgrade?

That's the impression that I get from this:

http://forum.soft32.com/windows/Retail-32b...pict363820.html

I bought most of my computer parts, and they should be here in the coming days. If assembly/ installation goes horribly wrong, I'll probably send it all back, but I think I'm learning a lot of stuff from you guys and from what I've read online.

That's awful.

I bought only two things online on the Thursday BEFORE Black Friday just to avoid situations like that. Really unnecessary for someone to get hurt (or worse) shopping.

Heh, I played Versus Mode for the first time late Friday night. Fun stuff.

Got off to a rocky start as Infected, but I think I'm getting the hang of them now.

I guess I'm a Silent Bob from the updated list; I do have a mic, I just don't really use it a lot (not even in Counterstrike).

That's 3 personalities covered...guess I'm a noob for now until I learn to shake those bad traits.

Heh, thanks for that link, Preacher. Per gigabyte, that deal is better than the 500GB, but I didn't buy it because I'd be pushing my budget. Very tempting though...

I was looking for a cheap Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit to buy and found this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...6-488-_-Product

Is this a good purchase? I read that the OEM version does not allow any upgrades of the computer in terms of hardware, and it is non-transferable, meaning it can only be installed on one machine. If it's not a good idea to buy it, does anyone know where I could get a good copy of Vista Home Premium?

Also, does this method still work?

http://www.software4students.ie/How_To_Cle...VD-article.aspx

I'm not advocating that I should try something like this *cough* , but I was wondering if it still works (according to the article, it does, but I feel better asking tech experts here. )

Thanks for any help.

Heh, imagine that "GPU" contraption on the paintball range...

*Opposite team charges*

"Fire Ultimate Paintball Cannon!"

Battle ends in 5 seconds. Multiple bruises on opposing team member's bodies.

Thanks for the link to the Seagate HD; I've seen a couple 500GB versions and had no idea what to pick, lol.

And thanks for the information on the CPU vs GPU argument. I think I understand it better now. As for your experience with the q6600, I'm wondering how it handles without overclocking. I'm afraid of voiding a warranty or something and generally do not want to push its limits for performance. I know the q6600 is the older type of quad core with more heat issues than the q9000 series, but that doesn't bother me so much. Would it still handle well without overclocking, or would I have to overclock eventually within the next 2 years (since I don't want to upgrade for at least that long) to keep up with the newer CPUs?

Thanks for the help so far. Sorry if these questions seem irritating.

Lol. I like the last part- "Reloading!"

And single player is just for getting familiar with the maps, anonymo; multiplayer is where we all hang out.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Even if you feel down (like me) in general, there's got to be some things to be thankful for. Enjoy!

I think I'm more of a Dancing Dan by accident, but I do have some traits of Norman No Melee, like the fact that I shoot Hunters off of pinned Survivors most of the time. I also ended up in the "Dedicated To" category and needed some extra healing by teammates when I played with Shaft and Peeku today. In my defense, I had never played any maps other than the ones in the demo until now...and I didn't know we were playing on Expert until someone mentioned it.

Heh, yeah, I did notice that the Antec Sonata had a 500W power supply, but I thought that it wouldn't be enough to power what I wanted. I think I saw a picture where someone swapped it out for another one in their build, so I thought I would do that.

I was going to buy that Cooler Master for sure since I read reviews for it after you suggested it. It seems to run really cool and silent like you said. I saw a deal for this though: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811146041

The reviews I've read online pretty much recommend yours over this one, but the NZXT was cheaper and the only major problem with it that I've read is that the fans are not as good as the Cooler Master's (in terms of the number and placement of fans). I might regret the purchase later, but I wanted to limit my budget since I'm pretty sure I'll screw up the first time around building this thing; I actually spent hours on and off thinking about which one to get. I would definitely pick that Cooler Master case though if I get to build a second one (hopefully, I'll learn something from the first one).

I saw that Seagate HD that you recommended on the newegg website before a couple weeks ago, and I was going to buy it earlier until I saw the description about how it's made for surveillance and DVR. It seems like a really good product, but I don't know if I can use it for gaming and such based on how it's described. I hope it can be used for gaming because I'm still willing to get it; I'll wait until Black Friday to see if it goes on sale or something.

Thanks for the advice on what components to pick. I'm feeling a little more confident about the whole project, although I have serious reservations about my ability to pull this thing off. Here's hoping...

EDIT: Forgot to say some stuff. I'm wondering about what quad core to get; I listed the q9400, but I'm not too sure anymore since I could save some money in the short term. Is there a big difference between the q9xxx series and the lower ones like the q6600 or q8200?

Also, I read online that at lower resolutions for a game (say, for example, a 15inch monitor), the CPU is the limiting component, whereas at higher resolutions, the GPU is. I don't know if that's really true. What do you guys think?