I run a Linksys Wireless G router that's using the DDWRT opensource firmware.  Basically for the cost of the router you end up with Enterprise level configurability and protection.  Works great, it's surprisingly easy to install and setup/use.

Sarkazmo

That's kind of a loaded question... it's all about person preferences.

Personall, although I didn't join for a long time, I like WoW and have a good time playing it.

Eve:  (PAY) Massive is an understatement.  There are NO realms.  EVERYONE plays together.  But you're talking about space so there's room, heh.

Anarchy Online: (Free or Pay)  Enormous amounts of content, two realms.  Good stuff.  Sci Fi.

Atlantica: (Free) Turn based strategy combat, fantasy.  Works and plays well.  A different sorta fantasy setting, alternate Earth.

Requiem: (Free or Pay) Horror MMO.  Pretty much a horror rip off of WoW.  It has it's good and bad points.  Tech/fantasy/horror setting with some interesting twists like Nightmare Time.

City of Heroes/Villians: (Pay) Super hero/villian MMO that's easy to get in to and play.  You're character always looks the way you want because you don't worry about equipment and such, it's all about your powers.  Playing the bad guy is a blast too  :)

You can either stick with what you like or try something different.  There's just so many choices.

Sark

Originally posted by streea

Just wanted to thank everyone for their advice. I decided to go with the Creative T20 speakers. For the keyboard, I typed some on the Logitech gaming kb and just didn't really like the feel of it on my wrists. Next to it though was the Saitek Eclipse II, which actually felt right, so (after checking a few reviews) I decided to pick it up. With tax it put me a little over my budget, but not too badly.

How do ya like the T20's????

I'd have recommended the Saitek in the past but I've had two Saitek keyboards just up and die on me for no reason.  Went to bed and it was working, turned on my PC the next day to find it dead.  :(  I hope you have better luck.

I'm glad we were able to help you out.  Enjoy.

Sark

Originally posted by Precusor

Just get a single 9800..

Why get a 9800 when he has two 9600's???  Buying a 9800 would be a total waste of money considering that what he's got is better than a single 9800.

Your setup is fine for Darkfall and the majority of other games out there right now.  Don't upgrade anytime soon, it would be a waste of time and money for very little in return.

Sark

Originally posted by butter1011

My Dvd/cd drive just up and stopped working, i uninstalled the drive and reinstalled it, the thing won't open or read disks. I carry my computer around alot (desktop) could I have damaged it?

Optical drives aren't exactly robust when it comes to physical durability.  There's a small hole on the front of the drive, right below the tray somewhere.  Straighten a paperclip and stick it straight into that hole.  That''ll pop the tray open.  If there's a disc stuck in it at least you can get it back.

Optical drives are cheap.  Newegg.com always has a couple drives for under $30 shipped.  Sounds like it may be time for a new drive for ya.

Give us an update on what's happening with your drive.

Sark

Klipsch speakers are amazing and they're also VERY expensive.

Best Buy has the Creative T20 speakers for $90

As for a KB, I'd recommend the Logitech G15 Gaming KB for $100

I know that's more than you got in gift cards but look at it as getting some really good stuff for about $50 outta pocket, depending on taxes in your area.

Sarkazmo

Lemme guess, you have a video card with about 512megs of ram on it?  There's the 'missing' ram.  Video adaptor ram is taken into account first by the OS.  Then system ram.

Sarkazmo

What components have you NOT replaced?  What're you using that's leftover from the old system?

Sarkazmo

Originally posted by Hades_Warpig

Right now I have:

CPU: AMD Athlon X2 5400+

GPU: 8800GTX

You're running a very nice system right now.  The performance increase you're going to get is not as great as you would imagine.  It's NOT going to be like a night/day difference.  Stick with what you've got for now and see what's coming in the nearish future for hardware.  How much RAM are you running now?  Which OS are you using?

If you're running a 32bit OS like XP, XP Pro, or Vista (I hope not... oh god not Vista...) then you should be running 4 gigs of RAM to get the most out of the system.  No need for more as these OS' can't use more than a total of 4gigs.

If you're running a 64bit OS like XP 64, Vista 64, or Linux you should run 8gigs if you can (or more in some cases)

Enough RAM in a system to allow the OS and programs to breathe as easy as possible makes a HUGE difference in how a computers speed utilized.

If your OS is an old install (XP or VISTA) then formatting and reinstalling of the OS can speed a system up greatly.

Background processes:  The more programs that're running the background (web browsers, mp3 players, even just Explorer windows) will sap system resources left over for the games you're wanting to run.  Vista is REALLY bad about this as it loads more background processes than's needed to run the universe.

Defrag your hard drive!!!!  OMG will this kill your performance.  Fragmented data on the hard drive make a huge difference on the computer's performance.

I dunno, it's up to you, but I'd not go beyond the above for now.  I think you'll be disappointed in the results.  If you've got money to burn then get each new video card that comes out.  I prefer sanity... no matter how good a piece of computer equipment is, it'll be garage sale material in 5 years.  In 10 years it'll be used to level a wobbly table or keep a door open by being used as a wedge.

Enjoy.

Sarkazmo

P.S. BTW, you're gonna need a new Power Supply as well... and probably new RAM... so you might as well get that fancy case you've always wanted... and those glowing fans... and that new monitor... and remember the G9 mouse and DasKeyboard...

P.P.S.  It never stops...

I don't use a headset... I couldn't find one that wasn't a comprimise of one sort of another.  I use a set of Shure SCL2 in ear monitors and a good mic mounted to my monitor.  The SCL2's come with 3 different kinds of inserts for your ears in three sizes each so you can get the fit and feel that you want.  They sound AMAZING.  I use them for gaming and listening to music.  They naturally block out about 90% of the sound around if not more.  Even on low volume settings a plane could crash next to you and you'd not notice if you had your eyes closed... or didn't end up on fire.  Heh.  Mine were about $80 when I got them a year or more ago.  Since then Shure has replaced this model with newer monitors.  $80 is about as cheap as you can get into Shure in ear monitors but they go up to around $500 or so.  If you're well off you can get custom made ear inserts made by an audiologist and NOTHING will fit better.  I play mostly FPS games so hearing what's going on around you and being able to pinpoint the source of a sound in match/competition play and the Shures have never let me down... Hell I even sleep with them in while listening to MP3s.  Extremely well made, amazing sound, very comfortable.  As close as you'll get to plugging sound directly into your brain.

www.shure.com/

Sark

CPUID is an EXCELLENT utility that all users should install on their computers!  It's small, free, and gives one just about all the info you will need in finding out just what's inside that mysterious box called computer.

Once the manufacturer and model number are known for the motherboard simply go to their website and see what RAM will work with that board.  Not all RAM is the same, even if it's the same type ie: DDR2 or whatever.  If the board requires low voltage spec RAM then you'll have issues if trying to use RAM that does not conform to that specification.

Good luck with your friend... and tell him to get some protection for that computer.  There's tons of great anti-virus and anti-malware programs that'll clean it up for free.  Whatever you do don't use any discs he gives you or open attachments from emails he sends you...

Sarkazmo

I've not had any issues with ASUS components but I do have an issue with their online support.... not to put too fine a point on it but their online support SUCKS!

The XFX 9600GT card I bought for my girlfriend's system, that I built her, arrived DOA.  It went back to NewEgg (I highly recommend them) and was replaced with an MSI 9600GT with better specs and a free copy of The Witcher for only $5 more.

Palit has become my new fave for graphics cards.  I got a Palit 9600GT w/ 1gig of ram for my system and I love the hell outta it!  VERY well made, solid performance, great value, and extremely stable.

Good luck with your ASUS woes.

Sarkazmo

Err on the side of caution.

Whether it 'needs' it or not, it certainly won't be hurt by running cooler.  On the other hand, if it does overheat, then damage can occur.

Your choice but a fan is cheap and takes very little wattage to run.

Sarkazmo

EDIT: and i just tested AA in Lineage 2, and noticed ZERO Difference in graphics. I was going from "none" to "x4" and noticed no change in spell graphics or regular running around graphics.
 

Depending on the resolution that you're running at, the 'jaggies' that AA takes care of will not be as apparent.  Lower resolutions will show them much more readily than higher.  If you want to test the effect of AA find an area that has a lot of 'straight' lines such as wide staircases, regular architecture and the like.  Diagonal lines are where you see the most difference with AA.

As far as the stuttering that was described in previous messages, this could be due to a number of issues.  It could be that the hard drive is heavily fragmented and needs defragged which is easily fixed.

It could be that there's a latency issue between the client and server that's causing the apparent graphical lag due to requests not being fulfilled until the last moment.

There could be applications that're running in the background that are using an inordinant amount of CPU or causing lots of disc access that's delaying reads for the client.  Bring up the program manager and shut down programs that're not needed when running the application that's lagging.  Shut down tray apps... browsers, whatever else you have up and running at the time.

It could also be an issue with your video driver.  Get the latest video driver from www.nvidia.com as there were some performance issues with the drivers released a few months ago but the newer ones solve those problems.

I hope that something here helps you with your issues.  Please let us know how it's working for you.

Sincerely,

Sarkazmo