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Post by DandyMountfarto on Nov 2, 2008 14:43:46 GMT
ahh yeh - massive heatsinks on the 3d cards. didnt think about that.
you can get x-fi cards for pci-e for about £35 - thought about it myself. they also come with optical output too if yourre using a decent theatre kit.
i had planned on hooking up my pc to my projector along with my consoles and eventually adding one of those lg blu-ray/hd dvd combo drives but the missus has scupered that plan cos she dont want a pc sat in the living room! women...
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Post by funkydoodycool on Nov 2, 2008 14:52:45 GMT
I could get the PCI-e Xfi, the only thing I need to find out is does it support my Platinum front panel for my current Xfi. If so, its a definite purchase... as long as the warranty labels on my PC are easy to peel and replace I did think of connecting the PC to the TV, but a 32" TV and 720p isn't as good as a 22" monitor at 1680x1050, so the monitor wins! I have 4.1 analogue speakers on the desk, so they'll be quite alright - I often use headphones with the PC anyway.
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Post by DandyMountfarto on Nov 2, 2008 15:01:06 GMT
dont know about the front panel thing. i had a x-fi extreme gamer card in my old pc (which i really really wish i hadnt sold now!!!) didnt support front panel boxes so i would guess these ones wouldnt. part of paying for the special fatal1ty editions i guess.
seeing as my new pc is gonna be shoved in a corner upstairs somewhere i guess ill just have to be content with my old 19" crt lump! sturmovik was quite amazing on a 70" screen - almost like being sat in the cockpit! with a few fans blowing it would have been like feeling the wind on my face!! lol
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Post by funkydoodycool on Nov 3, 2008 21:01:51 GMT
Lol 70"... I got my PC today. It didn't work at first, I'd boot it up, but nothing came out of it but a beeeeeeeep that lasted about 10 seconds, then off for 2, then on for 10 etc. So I opened it up (those warranty labels are REALLY easy to peel) and pushed everything into place that should be. A couple of things had come unseated in transit - and one thing, the firewire port, had come unplugged altogether! Well, its all sorted now, and I'm typing on it... as I type. I've spent the best part of the day trying to get the wireless network working stable enough to download some game patches (its amazing how buggy games appear in a 64 bit OS with no patches!). That done, I've played some WoW, Far Cry, and FEAR, all at the very highest settings at 1680x1050, and quite frankly its amazing. My previous rig played them all, but in middling settings. The upgrade is really something. And not just the details, but somehow the cards just produce a more "real" image. Anyway enough waffle, as if you all care anyway I'm off to play WoW.
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Post by DandyMountfarto on Nov 5, 2008 13:10:19 GMT
im tempted to jump to XP 64bit - what issues will i encounter with drivers and games, anyone?
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Post by funkydoodycool on Nov 5, 2008 17:09:45 GMT
Can't say for XP 64bit, although any drivers I've found are also available for XP64, so should be similar to my experience with Vista x64.
Games run perfectly well. The only issue I've had so far is WoW asking me to move my installation directory before updating. I ignored the warning, and it updated and plays fine. Everything else runs fine, once patched up to date. Certainly everything on Steam runs very smoothly.
The absolute only problem I've had is with my network - it took an hour to copy 300MB from one computer to the Vista one, and the internet connection is intermittent at best. This from reading is likely to be fixed by buying a new router that can handle the networking protocols that Vista utilises.
I've read up an awful lot on Vista 64 before purchasing it, and omst of the buggy drivers and the like have been sorted over the last year or so, so you shouldn't have a problem except for some older hardware, my laser printer is the only thing I have that doesn't work in Vista x64.
One thing to bear in mind if thinking of upgrading, is you can't upgrade from a 32 bit OS to a 64 bit one. You will need to back up, format, and do a fresh install. Which never hurts from time to time anyway!
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