Video Card Thread (Mostly Gecube x1950xt)

That ultimately depends on your lifestyle. If you're a "boring" person like me and spend all your time playing games on your PC, watching high-def and going to lectures then, you don't spend very much, it's literally whatever you choose to spend on eating. You could potentially spend loads on going out to clubs and getting slammed on a regular basis like some people, and you could potentially spend loads on upgrading your PC like I did. Remember, during the academic year of 2006/2007, I purchased:

Upgrade from 24" to 30" Dell - net cost £280
P5N-E SLI, E4300, 2GB DDR2, Toughpower 750W, A8R-MVP, Freezer 7 Pro, X1600 Pro, HR-03 for X1900XT: £640
500GB WD, 250GB Samsung, 400GB Samsung Hard drives, three external hard disk enclosures, Antec 900: £420
Sennheiser headphones, Razer mouse, Saitek keyboard, Logitech Z-2300 2.1 speaker set, Logitech Z-5500 Speaker set: £370
Countless boxes of Mountain Dew, Jolt etc. for LAN parties: c. £150
Piles of case fans and fan controllers, c. £150
Network access tunnels for FTP Torrent access through uni network: c. £40

This hurts considering during the summer before I went away, My new PC and 24" monitor were bought at a total cost of c. £1890.

However, this did not all come from a student loan, it was partly off the back of an existing positive bank balance from a summer job, and financial boost from my parents. On the student loan alone, you could probably spend about half this much, live well, and get away with as much money as you started with.

 

Well I see I'm a page behind and we're all putting our student finances together. So what you saved on the booze, you put into the silicon, is that what you're saying Sam? Looks like you can't talk Shaff into economizing on the case - it's about going for STYLE.

And Dinc and Goodswipe are getting squared away on virus protection. That makes some sense to use a no-name virus program that a virus hacker wouldn't bother about.

Anyway, shaff, thanks for looking up that "Death from Above" COD4 gunship. AC-130 Spectre gunship - "Hercules" Sam called it - Sam was right as he usually is. Now let me ask you guys, I know we're somewhat up in the air, but the specs on the plane says we're doing 300 mph (480kph.) Does it feel in the game that we are moving that fast above the guys running below as you look down in the TV camera?? Wouldn't your view be changing a lot faster than that? Think about it, you're moving 528 feet per second, or almost 2 football fields every second (for you limies, two cricket stadiums a click ) Imagine pointing down with one of the guns at a group of non-blinking white figures running on a field - the enemy. Now count "one one thousand" that's one second, and your cross hair is 2 football fields further - there is no way we were going that fast. I think they slowed it down by a factor of half that speed. Am I wrong?

So dinc, no bunny hopping in front of a bunch of Nazis in a real war. I have to agree with you on that one! So tell me about Airborne. You say you like how they move. That's a main reason for the 3850. As soon as the new card goes in, I'll be able to play the Airborne demo which has been on my hard disk for a year. How is the game overall?

Curb your tongue mate.

A new counter strike - oh yeah? hadn't heard! One of my favorite CS maps is the one - I forgot the name - frontier? - with the stream in the beginning - a hostage map. The stream and the boulders, trees and flowers, are genuine Half Life 2 source engine quality, like those screen shots I posted.

Btw, Sam, did you ever get to that viewing point? I hope you're saving as you go. A month from now I'm going to remind you again. I stayed up until 3:00 am doing the dogems, I mean, doing the STRIDER BATTLE!! That was awesome. :O

I played on hard - totally gave up on shooting the Hunters or using the bow, or even the RPG. The only thing that worked for me was to RUN THE LITTLE BA*TARDS OVER - they make that nice "wheeeep" sound so you know you've crumpled another one.

-Rich

 

Heh, that's exactly it. As far as shaff economising on his case, I can't talk, because I also spent a considerable amount on my case.

I'm going to tackle it again today. I haven't got past the Autogun yet, keep going out or being invited to TF2 games...

 

So you're all playing TF2!! No doubt about it, I'll have to download it through Steam and see what all the buzz is about!

I emailed Miles yesterday with some of Dincs' Far Cry 2 links, and the BIA link, and the nude Alyx link. I asked him if I had remembered right about the names of his other two buddies on the TF2 team - Aireal and Moby - before they switched everybody to finishing up Half Life 2 so they could publish it in 2003. He has remained long-distance friends with them, and Moby came down to LA where Miles now lives and they went to a one-week fine art workshop together. (That's what Miles really wants to do - fine art painting. But for now, video game animating.)

I told Miles about this forum and how you, Sam, called TF2 "the most barmy MP FPS game, a total hoot."

So you're still at the white van. Well, when you get past the friggin' swamp gun, please do a full save lol.
-Rich

 

WHOOOO CRICKET CRICKET CRICKET

 

Hah, Abuzar, you picked up on that little cricket crack, did you? Lol

But really, there was no way the gunship was cruising at two football fields per second, am I right??

-Rich

 

I'm pretty sure you are right Rich. However, am I not right in thinking that a Hercules can be flown at a velocity far less than 300mph?

 

Yeah, it's just a lot of fun.
I really like how it's a straight forward cartoon "battle-simulator".
Without me getting annoyed about "unrealistic things" too. XD
Not to say there aren't any annoying things about TF2, there still are very much.
As for example some things are overpowered and things like that, not nice...
But it's a great game to start with anyways, it better be after 9 years of development. lol

Just the whole style of it is just hilarious too.
You should also watch the movies they made for it like these:
http://orange.half-life2.com/tf2.html
That's an older promotional site, with some trailers and wallpapers and such.

Or here they have all videos:
http://storefront.steampowered.com/...c=NL&adv=0&term=team+fortress+2&category1=999
That's pretty much the same you can download through steam to put in the media-library there.
You should really download them in (semi?-)HD, they're totally worth it.
Some are some trailers that show and explain the game a bit.
And most other ones are like "Meet The Class", for each class/character individually.
There are still some to come, they release most things one by one there.

 

I think this sums up the game quite well...
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/7403/tf22mi1.jpg

 

OOOH, THEY'RE GUNNA HAV TUU GLUU YUU BAK TUUGETHAR!
IN HELL!!!

XD

 

Hah, you guys are funny. Nice pic Sam - they got revenge on ya, did they? Wow Dinc - glue him back in hell?? Poor Sam Yeah I've seen a bunch of those videos - the videos are really fun. I like the big Russian guy, the heavy, with the gattling gun that costs $400,000 to fire for 20 seconds: "Some people think they are smarter than me." "Maybe so, maybe so." "But I have not met guy who can outsmart bullet" "HahaHAHAHAHAHA!" Yeah I'm gonna get it!

Sam, and Abuzar and all you guys whom I misinformed, regarding the AC-130 Spectre. They're not moving slower than 300 mph. Well, MAYBE the plane can go a little slower than that - that's maximum velocity and cruising velocity might be less. But that's not the point, and here's why: they're not firing straight down from the bottom of the plane like I had assumed.

They're not shooting from the bottom of the plane looking down, they're shooting from the side of the plane, which is tipped over in a turn. Look at the bottom picture here, and my comments in red. I googled, and COD4 is absolutely authentic!! Wow!!


I did a little bit of reading - in VietNam they hunted supply trucks with these things, which are also known as the Hercules Spector. At that time they didn't have the TV cameras they have now. But they DID have electronic sensors which could pick up the truck engine electronic static through the foliage from as high as 8000 feet over the jungle. (A couple of planes were shot down with AA (anti-aircraft) fire from that altitude.)

Now look at an actual current video from the war zone.

How to pacify terrorists from an AC-130 flying gunship

That's exactly like COD4 - Death from Above. Absolutely realistic - way to go Infinity Ward - sorry I doubted you guys for a minute

Notice the delay from when they shoot to when you get the visual of the shots, about a 2 second delay. The bullets are going about 1000 mph I think (from memory correct me if anybody really knows the exact speed) which is about 1500 feet per second, which puts the planes a lot closer to the target, about 3000 feet, probably similar to how it is in COD4. The altitude of the plane would depend on how tight of a turn it is executing. In the picture, I'm guessing roughly a 45 degree angle line of firing. So using some elementary trig, if the long side of the right triangle is 3000 feet, then the plane is about 2100 feet off the ground, and about the same distance, a bit less than a half mile horizontally from the target. If you're flying close air support, and you don't expect much AA or SAM (surface to air missile) batteries, no need to be that high up.

But notice in the video, one guy pulls a weapon from the truck after the first round of fire, probably some kind of SAM and he starts to target the plane. Notice the guys on the plane getting really panicky - "He's aiming. SHOOT HIM!" I would be panicky too! They also try to get some other dudes to lob a missile over there, but those guys say they're out of range! That's the real thing in the video - you don't see that on the evening news. Awesome!!

Jeezuss!! Just watched it again. That second part of the video is the same exact situation being photographed from another gunship - you see the same exact guy from behind as he targets the first gunship and you hear the second gunship talking to the first "We got em - the guy who was shooting at you." Then he follows some runners and at one point he says "I've got an azimuth limit, roll out." I think he's trying to get the pilot to tip the plane a little more - he can't get the guy who is just under his cross hairs. Notice how as you look down, you are circling around the targets. I don't know if COD4 actually does as much circling - I'll have to play that part again.

Man, terrorists, let me clue you bad guys in. You really don't want to be messing around covering and uncovering weapons in an open truck with two kick-ass gunships circling overhead!

So once again, I humbly apologize to Infinity Ward. The COD4 episode is right-on accurate. Good for you guys!! Notice in the YouTube the guy saying: "Ok Kill em. Yeah, that's it, smoke em." Just like in COD4.

Damn! That's a Bad *ss airplane! Screw college I'm enlisting!

AC-130 Gunship

Here's one more video of the plane - with a small piece of footage a quarter inch back from the end, just after a close-up of the pilot, showing the AC-130 in a turn shooting 45 degrees down at ground targets (like the photograph above.)

:O

-Rich

 

For once that picture wasn't from me, just googled...

 

Sure Sam we believe you. Show us YOUR pictures: "Total humiliation!" "Revenge from 2 guys at once - never happened before!" "Heavy has blocked you from picking his character again unless you know what ochen horosho means - never happened before!" Hehe.

 

I had an awesome picture before, but I can't remember where I Saved it...

 

I shall not buy budget cases (the 2nd of the 10 PCommandmants), the first being THOU SHALT NOT BUY A CHEAP QUAILTY PSU

i didnt seem we were goin 300, but TBH its the best mission i have done on a game PERIOD. OH OH maybe not i love the sniping mission on top of the hotel with the wind.

now im stuck on getting to the bottom of the hill with the S.A.S getting to the new LZ within 4 minutes.

 

and boozer.....CRICKET = SLEEEEEEEEEEPP

where as FOOTBALL (aka "soccer") = SEX

 

Ha ha! Boozer, that's a good name for him - that's what I'll call him from now on. But of course being a yankee I was talking football = football. How long is a soccer field? The same 300 feet? Cricket = sleep? Baseball also has its slow moments, building up the tension to those hot plays. I confess I've never seen a cricket game - do you guys even do that anymore?

The sniping with the wind - not easy, not easy. I went back at veteran and did better, but the first time - I think I needed about 8 attempts before that arm blew off!! (I swear the last time on veteran I think I blew his head off - but of course that is not acceptable because he's needed later in the game. lol)

Getting to the LZ? What worked for me was to call in an air strike every 20 seconds or so and work down the hill by heading all the way to the left, and jumping the fence at the last minute. And I stopped worrying about the team. I ended up way ahead of them. They'll make it by themselves. (And of course don't forget to actually get on board the plane like I did a couple of times - duhh.)

 

Soccer or 'football' to us british is probably the most boring game I know. An hour and a half (usually more) of a game to finish up with the score being typically less than 5 between both teams? Pah.

Back to COD4, liked the sniping mission. If you're on veteran though, wait til you get to 'Mile high club' - hehe, all hands to the swear jar!

 

yeha i only play games on their hardest

so i jumped into vetran. im using the ASs but there are to many waves of them. i get the the broken chopper withthe MG on it, and always get killed, cant get past that .

and by that time i have a minute left.

and sam.......ur being block and delted form my msn and FB >8-{.....


im not gonna argue about footy with ya, thats an msn thing lol, but its not about getting a million goals, that why when even one is scored they are special, then scoring 50 a match. each one means something.

 

Well, regarding your first commandment, I know that Sam will back you up, Shaffaaf, on the value of a good psu - he's got me convinced after that fire that he had. That's why nothing more in store for this existing case, with weak allied 500 psu, other than 2 gigs ram, and 3850 gfx.

Sam tells me that I would have to upgrade the psu if I started investing in quality parts, like a new mobo. So I'll keep the same mobo. Then when I do the new build, I might eventually give this one away to a family member. One guy I have in mind played the original Half Life on his laptop, courtesy of the Valve family member guy, Miles, and Frank liked it a lot, but he has never advanced game-wise since '03. Miles also got him the original Call of Duty - where they start out by driving up in a truck pretending to be Nazis (or was that the first MOH?) He'd go nuts over COD4, and with the 3850 it's going to play even smoother than it does on my x850xtpe - and it plays pretty good right now.

Commandment number 2, a good case. For starters, a case needs to be able to handle ventilation or water cooling tweaks, for sure. But looks - clear side panel? - snazzy color? Of course you're right - the case is the physical embodiment of the computer - it's what you look at when you look at the hardware. Like having a car that looks good, besides driving good. So how much is a lot of extra bling worth? $100 more? Maybe so, maybe so. I think I read once where Ray (waymon) posted that he thought he would invest in a full tower next time - is that what you're planning to do, shaff?

Hey guys, boozer shaff sam, dinc mike ray core2kid, travis, et al. What's a good figure that I should plan on for the next build, for just the case - $300? If vertical space isn't a problem, should I get a full tower?