Online is nearly always better for buying stuff.

In fact the only things come to mind as being better bought in reality are houses and cars.

And ice cream. 

to a third party retailer, I did ask the amazon online support for help with the process, but their answers didn't look like they even understood my questions. 

24" ViewSonic HDMI 1080p

(and a teaser)

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/7241/image003ex.jpg 

than a huge monitor is 2 huge monitors. n1 :) 

Oh, new map in the pipeline (ie finally VISed)? 

One of my old ones just broke, so I need a replacement, and have absolutely no clue what models to look into.

Obviously, I'm into programming, gaming, and a bit of design, so I can't get a model with fucked up colors or lots of lag. (My second screen is an old 17" crt, so I still have a gaming/colour fallback.) The bigger, the better. What models do I need to look at? Can anyone recommend some model that works great for him? 

Asus over Samsung. The two Asus LCDs I have seen are really good, mine is a 24" 1080p with a 2ms response time. The two Samsung I have seen, this one I am looking at now has a dead pixel (only 1 TBF) but the one I got last January was dead by April..... 

Crazy processor prototype - paving the way to an in-advertant Skynet scenario all the more...

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Intel-Cloud-Cores-Processor-CPU,news-32351.html 

Case: Fractal Design Define R2
PSU: Corsair 650TX 650W
Motherboard: MSI P55-CD53
CPU: Intel i5 750
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H50
RAM: Corsair 2x2GB, DDR3 1333MHz
+ 1 x additional Noctua 120mm 700rpm 6,9dba case fan

Going to migrate over my old harddisks, audiocard and videocard. Hopefully I get my package before Christmas :) 

Say I was hypothetically going to get a new computer soon (I need to get the whole lot, the only thing worth keeping off this old one is keyboard/mouse and audiocard ;)), and wanted a decent package that could run current gen games okay, any suggestions?? Gotta be available in the UK of course...

Thinking of something like this with an extra gig of ram: http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=DRSSX002&l=en&m_30=322642&oc=D00SX02&rbc=D00SX02&s=dhs 

GT220?!!!

Not a very good gaming GPU.
If you cant be arsed to build one yourself (which is always the better option) try:

http://www.desktop-option.co.uk/index.php?cPath=13_18

I got mine from there 2 years ago - good value for money. Pay by Direct Debit or Paypal though (heh - I payed by transfer and it delayed shipping by 2 weeks)

Or just get one from

http://cclonline.com

Buy it in bits and build it yourself.

A Radeon 5770 is a Directx11 card with reasonable performace and a �110 price tag.

CCL have some ready built PCs aswell, I would recommend them, have bought many things from them in the past and the service and prices are good.

Problem with Dells and HPs, Compaqs etc is that most of the hardware is OEM - your GPU might not support new drivers as they come out, unlike if you buy retail versions. 

Jago has already bollocked me for thinking of anything with a 220 in it.

I know naaarthing about such things and I'm not going to try building one.

<ShambIer> http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06b/12454-12454-3329740-64546-64546-3999459-4032770.html
<ShambIer> +
<ShambIer> http://www.dabs.com/products/xfx-geforce-gtx-260-576mhz-896mb-pci-express-2-0-dvi-63VR.html?refs=422790000

This is another option - retail GFX card too.

Bear in mind that a lot of these specialist site systems come without OS and shit, like I just saw a decent looking one on that Desktop site but by the time it's upgraded to similar spec to the HP it's �100 more. 

from my faince and me! :DDD

New case:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/613

New PSU:
http://www.corsair.com/products/hx850/default.aspx

New cooler:
http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/intelcooling/mugen2

New RAM:
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.php?/memory/corsair_xms2_dhx_pc2-6400_4gb_kit/1

Yay!!!
Gonna try and OC my current Intel C2D 6750, but I dont think my mobo will allow voltage tweeking so it probably wont go that far.
The case, PSU and cooler are in preparation for new mobo/CPU/RAM some time next year, or whenever it becomes worthwhile to upgrade.

But the next thing will likely be a new DX11 GPU some time next year, when Fermi comes out (if that ever happens)...... 

Yo. Hit me with headset knowledge. Listening to Biff's L4D2 drawl, I think I need to get one. Actually I only really need the mike bit, would be listening to the game on speakers but want a decent mike to talk into. Cheap and easily available in a real world store pls, ta. 

That might be a mistake as you'll get speaker noise in the mic ... 

Just get one of those cheap desktop mics and tape it on your headphones MacGyver-style. 

yeah, willem said it, but i'll chime in as well. nothing is more annoying than listening to someone one a mic without earphones. you not only get an echoing effect sometimes, but you hear everything all the sounds from their game as well. 

nothing like a group of def people taking on a zombie army

i was thinking more fear and loathing in Las Vegas negke, the scene when he wakes up from an all night trip and he has the tape recorder strapped to his chest and the mike taped to his chin with a collender helmet 

Logitech USB desk mic is good. Not super cheap but not all that expensive either, and should be widely available.

I always use headphones anyway, but I'd still say get a separate mic as it gives you the flexibility to use it with any speakers or headphones. I don't like headsets.

While I kind of agree with these guys regarding using speakers + mic in games, it's not *that* bad for everyone else (at least hearing the game noises isn't so bad, the feedback does suck if it's there). 

What about a lapel mike?? Could that work?? I haven't got �500+ of speakers (admittedly accumulated over the years for �300-) for nothing ;). Having said that I've got a nice pair of headphones that might work, hmmm. 

As for echoes and noise, the main problem is that, if you don't set the voice chat to only work with a key bind, it will automatically switch on the mic whenever it detects a sound. Obviously, using speakers will make it also catch ingame character voices as well as loud ingame sounds. I've seen that a couple of times - it's when players have that voice bubble icon practically all the time (though it doesn't always have recognizable effects - fortunate if such people have the mic boost option disabled). 

Let me get this right:

If I had a mic and used my speakers as normal AND bound the mic to a key, then it would only pick up the sounds (my posh British voice + potentially annoying game noise echoes) when I pressed that key??

But if I was using headphones I could keep the mic permanently on and it would only pick up my voice (plus assorted belches etc etc)?? 

Yep. The mic has to obey the laws of physics so if you're wearing headphones, it won't be able to pick up sound waves from the game. :) 

I went and bought a cheap mic from PC World :S, to use alongside my headphones. First impressions are that it's shit, almost completely quiet unless my mouth is 0.01mm from it, and that's with everything maxxed. Bleh. 

depending on your audio card, you may be able to boost the gain on your mic. i remember a creative card had a +20db boost setting buried in the control panel somewhere.