Nah, I wouldn't want to drop the resolution - if its running well at 1024x for you, then that's excellent.

I just meant that, regardless of the resolution, make sure you try all the settings (well, except ultra :)

When I first set it up I just assumed I couldn't run it well in high quality because the game recommended 'medium' for my setup - and from what I read on the web, medium was best for 128 meg cards. However, at least at 800x600, setting it to high had no performance hit. 

that completely depends on who's building it on both sides. Most people could beat Dell or something, but you must be having a laugh if you think you could build a better system than Scan or overclockers 

http://forums.hexus.net/showpost.php?p=282141&postcount=14

here's a post by moi that outlines two computers i'm considering, any advice? 

i've said things to the contrary to various people and forums for a week or two already, but i've decided to take the plunge, as no company out there seems to be willing to give me the option to choose the components i actually want. After some consideration and a lot of question asking, this is the spec I have ordered:



AMD Athlon 64 3500 (Socket 939)
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum (Socket 939) Motherboard
2 X Crucial Ballistix PC-3200 512MB DDR RAM

Coolermaster Wave Master - Black
OCZ PowerStream 470W Power Supply

Leadtek WinFast A400TDH GeForce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3 TV-Out/DVI (AGP)
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA 8MB Cache
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 200GB SATA 8MB Cache
NEC ND3500 16x DVD�RW Dual Layer ReWriter

Viewsonic VX910 X Series 19" TFT Monitor with DVI
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS 7.1 THX
Creative MegaWorks 5.1 550 THX� Speakers
Logitech Cordless Desktop MX



If this thing lives up to my expectations, I think i'll be having some fun soon. I really splurged to create a fairly future-proof system. Lots of things in the spec shouldnt need changing any time soon. 

very nice system starbuck, your obviously richer than me. :P 

I am taking a break from building my PC -- so far it has been nightmarish at the very least.

I am only 10% done with it and stopped because outside of setting and resetting the CMOS1 jumper (which came with a jumper cap), I have no fucking idea which other jumpers I need to set and how. The manual talks about them, but doesn't say whether I need to set them or not (it did say so for the CMOS)

I hate you all for letting me think it would be relatively easy to do this =( 

There is no one in #terrafusion I can talk to right now =( 

well, when i installed my motherboard, i didn't touch any of the jumpers, beyond resetting my cmos. so i don't think you need to worry about that. unless the manual specifically says to do something, just leave it be.

the only jumpers you'll need to worry about are the ones on your cdrom and whatever drives. they need to be configured properly so that they are in either slave of master... don't fret so much! you'll get through it. :) 

Thanks necros maybe I will just let the rest of those be. I am seriously freaked out right now :o

Are you in #terradusion right now? 

Hey all. I have this motherboard: ABIT "IS7" i865PE Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU

I'm at the part where I'm trying to install the processor and heatsink/fan (this one: ALPHA Heatsink/Fan for Intel Socket 478, Model "S-PAL8952M81") and I've hit a bit of snag.

The heatsink calls for me to secure it down to 4 holes in the motherboard surrounding the socket, but the Retention Module Base that came pre-installed with the motherboard is already using those holes and seems to be fastened in with some kind of plastic piece. Let me know what I should do here. Thanks

PS I asked this on a hardware forum, but I'm asking here in case some of you diehard hardware people can help me with it 

you apply heat to the plastic piece, bend it down and remove it.
The way that people seem to suggest is using a hair-dryer, but that sounds a little scary to me. 

=) 

I was going to create a new one but it was here all along! Question:

I use a Wacom Intuos 3 at work with a 6"x8" drawing surface at work. I guess I like it (except that i never use the buttons on the tablet itself) but what should I get for home use?

Is Intuos really that different from Graphire in terms of sensitivity, or precision?

Are there better brands than Wacom?

How much of a difference would a larger drawing surface make? (I usually just zoom in in PS when I need to.) 

and as someone who tends to doodle a lot. I don't genuinely use it. I find its small drawing space very limiting and not very sensitive at all with photoshop. It behaves a lot better in some other programs however. Like alias sketchbook and corel painter.

i've considered stepping it up and moving to an intuous (when im not broke) also due to being left handed when I use the style all of a sudden i lost a large portion of my shortcut keys i'd be using with my left hand on the keyboard.

I am curious to hear from those who use the upper end models all day long. 

I still don't have a graphics tablet, and although I've never wanted to use one at work, I would like to try doing some painting at home.

The wacom Intuos seems a bit expensive, and I'd like to know what is as good/better for less money. Is there anything? 

and as someone who tends to doodle a lot. I don't genuinely use it. I find its small drawing space very limiting and not very sensitive at all with photoshop.

That's me 100% too and I totally agree. I hardly use my graphire 2. 

Depending on your intended use and the amount of time you will use it, go for one as big as you can afford with all bells and whistles, up to the size of your monitor screen. If you're not tight for desk space then 9 x 12 min, 12 x 19 max.

If you're not tight for desk space OR money, the Cintiq! 

I tried a Graphire and hated it.

I don't know if the Intuos line is any better in terms of sampling rates (the amount of times the mouse/pen position is scanned) but it's lower than a standard mouse, and thusly when you try to draw curves they're jointed and not smooth. Even if you draw at a fair speed - not nearly fast, and not achingly slow... apart from that, I totally hate that it registers the pen before it even MEETS the tablet - within like .5 of an inch you can start drawing and moving the cursor/brush on thin air - it really fucks with me.

It's too bad because a tablet would be a great asset, but I don't see myself getting one anymore. 

Phait: That was probably a small size (A6 or something) tablet if you couldn't draw a nice curve? About Intuos: The sample rate, resolution and pressure levels are twice as good for the Intuos3 as for the Graphire4. This means you can draw a lot more accurate. Intuos3 also has tilt sensitivity, btw. 

I've got an old Wacom Graphire 2 A6 which I've had for a couple of years, and it suits me fine. I use it for texturing and stuff in photoshop, as I hate doing freehand drawing with a mouse.

I've thought about upgrading to one of the Intuos ones as soon as I can afford it, but I wouldn't want to go to anything bigger than an A5 size. I tried out a mate's A4 sized one at work, and I just got pissed off with having to move my entire arm all the time. It's all in the wrist when it comes to smaller tablets! 

Any wacom tablet rocks totally in my opinion, very solid hardware, I've had my Intuos1 A5 for almost 6 years now and it still works perfectly, it's definatly the best 300 euros I've spent in my life.

I think graphires are fine too if you don't plan on using it alot, I use some every day at school, and althought I'm more comfortable on my A5, I still find A6 is enough space to do pretty much anything (many very talented digital artists use only A6).
As for larger than A5, I have an A4 intuos3 at work, and honestly, even though it is nice for some specific things (like drawing really clean lineart), most of the time I just find it a tad too large, and prefer my A5 at home.

Conclusion: if you're planning on using it alot, try investing in an A5, otherwise, graphires are just great for every day random doodlings.

Phait: I have no problem drawing curves on graphires, and the whole point of the tablet is that it DOES register the pen before it touches the tablet, or you wouldn't know where the hell you are on the screen, silly, it obviously only draws when you touch the surface. It obviously takes a little while to get used to. 

I thought these things were about 300 quid last time I looked. Turns out you can get a wacom intuos3 A5 for a far more reasonable 115 quid (25,000yen). Maybe they are much cheaper in Japan, but seeing that price makes me want to buy one right away!

Hmm, just checked the UK price and they seem to still be around 200 quid. UK sucks :( 

I'm hungry for calamari. 

So, I have a broken graphics card. I can't fix it or return it, it's totally shagged. I need a new card then it seems.

My current system is an athlon 3700(?) with 1gb ballistix ram, a MSI agp motherboard, yes agp. The card I have at the moment is a 6800gt and I'm looking for a cheap replacement that will give me similar or better performance. Any suggestions?

I probably won't be changing to PCI-express this upgrade as I am really strapped for cash.

P.S. I heard the BFG GeForce 7600 GS OC 512MB is good, is that the truth or a filthy lie? 

oh and please bear in mind I'n in the UK and posting cheap american component sites (newegg) only make me sad.