PC Discussion Thread - All PC related in here.

[redpride 0]

I've avoided vista like the plague since it came out.

[-Snafu- 77]

Hi, I've just bought a laptop (well, I just helped my girlfriend buy a laptop, but I still made it as good as possible for as cheap as possible).  I found a really usefull page that goes through the various graphics cards you can get in laptops for comparison- these are absolutely the most important part of a gaming machine.

She ended up getting her laptop from this site , can't remember the exact specs but it was better and cheaper than the equivalent VAIO, HP or any other online site I've found in the UK.  What I did was try to find one as close to the budget as possible on each site and compare the specs.  

She got the laptop about a month ago, for about 800 quid.  It's got a ATI Mobility Radeon X1450 (and a 17" screen) and runs ARMA .... to an extent.  It's playable but not pretty, haven't tried the new 1.08 patch on it yet though.

*EDIT*

I forgot to mention - AVOID VISTA LIKE THE PLAGUE.

There is NO reason to get it on a laptop.  There are no directx 10 mobile graphics cards in any laptop currently being produced.  All vista will do to a gaming laptop is slow it down.

Thanks for all your advice, problem is I went away and got one, the Sony VAIO VGN FE41S. It has a pretty good spec and it's components are highly recommended in that guide you linked me to.

Well it came with VISTA pre-installed and it does slow it down when playing games, I've been toying with the idea of uninstalling it and putting in XP SP2. That possible? Any good and clear gudies for that?

[redpride 0]

Well it came with VISTA pre-installed and it does slow it down when playing games, I've been toying with the idea of uninstalling it and putting in XP SP2. That possible? Any good and clear gudies for that?

Yeah I still don't get why they choose to stick you with Vista when buying a new PC..Scares people away from buying pre-built and more motivating to build your own.

Installation guide..

http://tweakhound.com/xp/installxp/installXP1.htm

[an_enlarged_stomach 1]

Guys, I have a huge problem.

I have an essay about math to print.

Um, I finished it yesterday and was about to type it today when the whole PC got a blackout.

Also, my upstair computer does not have a printer, so I can't work there. The problem is, that the essay is due tomorrow.

Yeah, I wil type at the local library, but I have a question.

What is wrong with my PC now?

The moniter is still working, but the motherboard is screwed.

The only thing that is alive is the little light at the on button.

I want to post a pic of it, but my camera is with my dad right now.

Can someone please help me?

[chipper 0]

emailed it to urself then print it out in the school library tahts wut i always do

[redpride 0]

Call the WAAAAAAHMBULANCE!

Just tell your teacher that your dogs ate your PC.

[abs 2]

Why not just move your downstairs printer to your upstairs computer?

Abs

[SpeedyDonkey 0]

Guys, I have a huge problem.

I have an essay about math to print.

Um, I finished it yesterday and was about to type it today when the whole PC got a blackout.

Also, my upstair computer does not have a printer, so I can't work there. The problem is, that the essay is due tomorrow.

Yeah, I wil type at the local library, but I have a question.

What is wrong with my PC now?

The moniter is still working, but the motherboard is screwed.

The only thing that is alive is the little light at the on button.

I want to post a pic of it, but my camera is with my dad right now.

Can someone please help me?

[Espectro (DayZ) 0]

Does it beep or anything when u turn it on?

Try removing one of your memory blocks.

If that aint working, move ya printer to the other computer, and move ya hd with it as well.

[echo1 0]

Quote[/b] ]Why not just move your downstairs printer to your upstairs computer?

Abs

Quoted for truth

The description of the problem is kinda vague. What do you mean it got a "Blackout"? Did it just randomly die in the middle of something? And what does it do when you turn it on? Does it make any beeping noises? Do you hear any Hard disks or CD drives working?

[Infam0us 10]

If I were you, and that essay was that important take out the HDD and plug it into the other PC!

[redpride 0]

Whatever happened to those days all of us actually had to take the time to write out on paper each and every word on our essays and the only "spell checker" at hand was a dictionary? Things come much too easy these days, breeds an ungrateful generation.

[Infam0us 10]

Whatever happened to those days all of us actually had to take the time to write out on paper each and every word on our essays and the only "spell checker" at hand was a dictionary? Things come much too easy these days, breeds an ungrateful generation.

Its called the future?

[froggyluv 2130]

Guys I've gotta Vista question. When I download a zip. or rar. file Vista won't allow me to extract directly into c/program files/atari/arma like Xp did. It states 'access is denied' or 'path not found'.

I believe this might have something to do with administrator settings but can't locate where that might be.

Any suggestions?

[echo1 0]

I had this problem trying to edit the config file for an old game, I think you have to go the properties of the program files folder, and deselect the Read Only Tag, and make sure it applies that to all subdirectories. The alternative is to unzip the file to another folder then manually copy it to the addons folder....

If that fails, do what I do (long before Vista came out) - install all your games to a seperate folder on your hardrive (eg. C:\Games\

[froggyluv 2130]

Nice one ch_123! The 'read only' didn't work but moving my Atari to C drive did the trick.

Last problem, my cpbo won't associate with my files nor directory. I thought this would have done the job.

[echo1 0]

Dont fully understand you there, are you trying to get CPBO to associate with PBO files? Look up folder options (its called something else in Vista, and I cant remember what) and changed the association with PBO files to cpbo, and if that doesnt work, try moving the cpbo file around or renaming it and then try the folder options trick again.

EDIT: This tells you how to access the folder options in Vista

[froggyluv 2130]

Bangon again ch_123  

I moved it directly into c drive; right-clicked and clicked"open as administrator' and it finally worked.

Thanks again.

[dm 9]

Now, I'm SURE there were two threads discussing this problem, but after an hour of searching, I've found nowt (other people also recall seeing it, and also cant find it...)

Since installing the Cat 7.5's with the hotfix, my ATI tray tools no longer save the clocks in the different profiles.

I KNOW someone out there posted the fix, because I remember reading it. It involved something in the registry, but I cant recall for the life of me what (or find the freaking thread)

If anyone knows, that'd be handy

Oh, and google is the fucking useless crock of shite it normally is too, since 50% of the results are online shops and the other 50% are all the guru3d site. Any help is much appreciated.

[wex-q 0]

New computer in a few weeks, any comments?

ASUS P5B-V G965 SOCKET 775 VGA ATX

INTEL CORE 2 DUO E6600 2.4GHZ 4MB 1066MHZ S-775

CORSAIR 2GB DDR2 PC6400 XMS2 XTREME (2X1GB) HEATZINK

BFG GEFORCE 7950GT 512MB OC DVI HDTV PCI-E

WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR SE16 400GB SATA/300 16MB

COOLER MASTER EXTREME POWER ATX12V 2.0 500W

HAUPPAUGE WINTV NOVA-T 500

WESTERN DIGITAL CAVIAR SE16 400GB SATA/300 16MB

Sorry for yelling

[echo1 0]

Graphics card is ok, an 8800 GTS/GTX would be better though, especially considering the power of the rest of the system. Building yourself or buying?

[wex-q 0]

Building myself.

When saying 8800GTS, do you mean the 320 or 640? Because that config there is pretty much my budget maxed out + a little more, so it's getting pretty tight.

Perhaps I could squeeze in a 8800GTS 320mb, but is it worth stepping up from the 7950 512MB to 8800GTS 320mb?

[echo1 0]

320MB is the best value for money, 640MB model is only slightly faster if a few games. Yes, the 8800GTS is better, its faster and has DX10. As for upgrading from a 512MB card to a 320MB card? The amount of RAM that a graphics card is generally irrelevant. Once it has at least 256MB its all good

[wex-q 0]

Ok, thanks, I'll consider it, but it all depends on how much money I can get

[theedge_jinx 1]

I'm getting a new gfx card now. Since I have a mobo with only AGP and no PCI-E I'm buying an AGP card.

I want feedback on which card you think will perform better with ArmA:

XFX GeForce 7950GT 550M 512MB GDDR3, AGP8X, 2xDVI-I/Tv-Out, 550/1400Mhz

or

HIS Radeon X1950PRO 512MB GDDR3, AGP8X, 2xDVI/Tv-Out/HDCP, Retail

Which card to get?

I have noted that the nVidia card is about 100 Euro's more

but that doesnt necessary mean that its better or faster.

Please advise, over.