random_n00b

I used to use PowerStrip for locking refresh rates back when Windows XP was brand new and the likes of refreshforce hadn't been invented yet, and before that I used it to crank the brightness on my old half-baked monitor. It's one incredibly handy utility. As for the VGA->Component conversion, I can't say that I really know. I would guess that if you know your TV's resolution and horizontal & vertical refresh rate capabilities that you could enter them into the advanced settings in PowerStrip, but I would think that the signal needs to be in NTSC to work with the TV (unless that funky conversion piece you have already converts the RGB signal to NTSC). Personally, I'm somewhat lazy and would just buy one of those funny cables/adapters that ATi sells and be done with it.

Wow - those new drivers definately make a big improvement on 3DMark05. Bumped it up from 1216 to 1577 (some 30% or so). Kinda funny that my card managed to beat out the top 5950 Ultra score by 27 points. Also to note is that the 5950U still sells for three times the price of the 9600XT where I made my purchase (even the 6800GT is something like $50 CAD cheaper). Doom3 went up around 2fps as well, and UT2004 seems a little smoother (I don't know how to make it spit out a number like with UT2003's bench program, but the numbers in "stat fps" are better). All in all; an excellent driver set.

3DMark just took a big dump on my 9600XT http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=44536 I'll try those beta drivers once (if) Omega gets his version of them out. Can't be without that custom version of Radlinker. And it was kind of neat to see the 3DMark01 creature all grown up now and attacking that balloon ship (even if it was at 5 fps).

Really? I can't fly the Cicada worth beans. The SPMA is nice, but it'll take a while for me to get to use it well (took me forever to get the Goliath tank to shoot where I wanted it to). The Paladin tank is extremely cool, and the shield is amazing for defending a node, but for its size and health it really shouldn't lose to a Goliath tank so easily in a shootout. And they also happen to be completely useless against another Paladin tank

Seems like the Raptor got a smidge of a boost as well. Also love how the artillery is called the "SPMA". Anagrams, anyone?

In the last five years I've had Windows, I've only done a semi-fresh install* once. And that was because of Windows just bluescreened upon starting when I upgraded the CPU, RAM, and Motherboard all at once. In fact, I still have the original five year old install (upgraded from Windows 98 -> XP -> XP SP1) sitting on a drive with only a power supply missing to get it booting again with the old mobo/cpu (*me hopes to win DH's new draw*). You just have to know how to make Windows purr. *It was a clean install on an empty partition, but nigh everything was copied back - nearly all files and most of the registry - resulting in not much more than a driver wipe.

I like it, but it'd be nice if the font was just a smidgelet bigger. It's certainly a lot more professional looking than the old one. ...now just to skin these forums.

Kenger, if you still know the site you got this stuff from, could you send the link to me in a PM please? I would like to see how my Proxomitron filters would hold up against that kind of stuff.

I always thought that the base towers in Torlan were pretty high up, though they're surprisingly easy to get to. Those, however, look like much more difficult spots to get at. I accept the challenge, but I really could use some sleep first...

I'd take that $35 and put it towards a really good mouse. Personally, I haven't had a problem with my $2 mouse pad from Staples. I've had it for five years, it won't be replaced until the fabric completes its separation from the rubber bottom, and it will be replaced with another $2 mouse pad.

The main thing I need is temperature monitoring, as I've "downsized" the cooling somewhat to cut the noise. However, now that ATITool can monitor temps, all is well. There really isn't anything special about the overdrive panel that other utilities can't do - it just irks me that it should be there, but isn't. Now what would be really nice would be if Speedfan could do ATi temps. ...and I still don't understand the greatness of this new "Catalyst Control Center".

I haven't played CTF-FaceClassic with anything but bots yet, but the actual CTF-Face on UT99 was always a favorite for Computer Science LAN games. And Double Domination, though it seems that nobody on the Internet plays it, is amazingly fun with a few people on Unreal Championship (XBox). As for the single player mode... I set the difficulty too high, started losing badly, and gave up because multiplayer - especially ONS - is just more fun.

I was sort of hoping that this thing would enable the Overdrive panel, which is missing for some reason with my Sapphire 9600XT. This is weird, because ATITool can both read the temperatures and adjust the clock speeds on the card just fine. Of course, my Overdrive panel is still missing, and this thing is one INCREDIBLE ram hog for something that doesn't do anything new (it's around 80MB Physical + 100MB Virtual). I think I'll stick with the regular control panel for settings, Radlinker for application profiles, and ATITool for temperature monitoring. Oh. And it adds a pointless link to itself at the top of pretty much every context menu in Windows Explorer, which makes the menus twice as wide as they'd normally be. Real nice.

I have a Hewlett Packard monitor that died in less than two years. It really depends on how well the thing was made. (and yes, I said have. It has quite a furry coat of dust on it right now)

Either a router or a good piece of software like Netlimiter (Not free, but I hear that it works really well). If you have a spare piece-of-crap computer and the knowledge, then a Linux router would probably be your best and cheapest option. Also, if he's using Windows XP/2000, you can lock down the startup sections of the registry with read-only access, so the only time the P2P programs are open are when he opens them. None of that start with Windows and suck your bandwidth crap. And for the spyware, give him some good programs like Ares, Shareaza, Soulseek, eDonkey, and Azureus (pay attention to the installers on Ares and eDonkey, though). For good measure, give him Firefox or a really good set of Proxomitron filters too (either one of those can really make the Internet a better place).

I like the out-of-line-of-sight hit sounds in a way. Good to know if you're hitting something when you blindly fire the flak cannon over the hill.

I like it, but I'm only using it to force player and chat colours (Red/Blue for chat, green (or white in the console) for everything else), and a little bit of the hit sound. Everything else in the default configuration, I found annoying - hit sound too loud, stats screen that doesn't show those little bot designators ([HOTEL] etc), tutti-frutti log screen. The team stats in the top corner are an interesting idea, but for non-competititve play it seems quite useless. Especially when you see it listing a bot's health and stuff. Anyways, I voted to leave it on, because it can be customized so completely. The problem is that I don't think most people know that you can hit F5 and do all that. If I didn't know, then UTComp would definately receive my vote for removal.

When the server is full of people shouting "O M G TEAMS", people who won't give you a ride and just take off with all the vehicles, and when there's a ton of bots or lag on the server then yeah, it's not too exciting. On the other hand, when there's a team effort going on and people aren't whining, then the game is a blast. You should really be on the server when a bunch of people from the top area of this page are on.

Soft shadows, anyone? Complete with 128X Antialiasing. Taken on a plain ol' Radeon 9600XT. Stuff this in your autoexec.cfg and hit F12. The screen will spaz out for a few seconds while it renders. The only problem is when there are heat haze or bumpy glass effects on screen. Odd artifacts result. Too bad you can't actually play the game like this - screenshots only.

Ahh. The redeemer is gone! Praise the lord and hallelujah! Not sure about the removal of the tanks though. Perhaps a levi-like respawn delay would've been better, but I'll have to give this map a whirl though, first. On a side note, those textures in that screenshot look awfully blurry. My Radeon 9600XT just arrived today, and I'm in heaven. The visual quality on that thing couldn't be better!

These guys were doing the whole lot. Foul language, racial insults, and sending people to the tubgirl site. I had mentioned that the language was to be clean on this server, and this message was interpreted as meaning that I am 26 and living at home. I, personally, am not offended by what these guys were saying, but the server policy is as it is: keep the language clean. To what extent is this policy enforced?

Just wondering, but am I the only one who can't see the ground in half of the map? The only way for me to reliably get around is by riding in someone else's vehicle, or else I usually drive or walk straight into the canyon. And the map has a severe problem with spawn-killing as well. Somebody got the bender I was riding in stuck on the rocks, so I just sat there firing blindly... It almost makes me cry to think of what someone truly evil could do with a tank at those nodes.

Actually, the one thing that I really do like about that map is where they put the redeemer. It keeps people from continuously using it *cough*arcticstronghold*cough*, without removing it entirely.

People love pain. EDIT: oh. and that wonderful green smoke

Watch the video: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/ut2004/p...ew_6104933.html That artillery thinger looks badass.