Also, now that I come to think of it.  I think the only reason why MMO's and games alike have preset move types and animations is because of the controller/keyboard/mouse limitations.   If they were to bring real live action motion controls into the mmo world, where your movements base your actions.   Think of The legend of Zelda Skyward Sword but improved more and with even better motion accuracy, I think it would completely change the way we play games.  There would be no need for levelling as the real purpose of levelling is to get stronger preset skills where it's up to you to find the rotation that fits your needs.  Instead you physically act out each of the motions so it becomes real skill = power instead of gear+skill+level= power.

I think this just might into a random thought thread, post your random thoughts and views.

Ok so I'm sitting at work bored out of my head.   During this time i'm thinking of what game I should play that would be unique and fun, then it occured to me.   What if they made a game in which the only way you can complete it, is by killing yourself in the end.   Of course if I actually gave it any real thought I would easily see the lame boredom in it and the flaws, but as a random thought it kind of blew my mind.

Originally posted by niceguy3978

Originally posted by jacklo

Did you inadvertently pull the cable from the switch to your motherboard out. Very easily done on the motherboard end.

I made sure that everything was connected.  I never even got to close the panel on the new case..lol.  I didn't want to get it all closed only to take it back apart.  I just got everything connected and plugged it in.  Then when it didn't power on I checked all the cables.   

You need to compare the colors to the motherboard manual, NOT the colors of the board and the case wires.   Only the manual will show you what goes where and you need to look closely to the power connectors for + and -

DO NOT connect ANY of the male tips with a screwdriver to figure out what goes where, doing this will cause a short and you're only asking for trouble.

Originally posted by Ridelynn

I do sometihng similar with Fusion for our workplace's Windows clients. Much easier when they virusbomb their computer to just hand them a fresh VM with all the software preloaded than to try to clean it up and fix it.

When you do make the transition, pull your GPU out of the server: you won't need a gaming class GPU in there, and it will just suck out power. You can re-use that puppy in your new smaller rig. If you don't have an integrated video on the unit (which most every new Intel chip does), then throw in the lowest power card you can in there: it doesn't take a lot of video card to make Windows work, you just need it to play games on. Even if you aren't concerned with power, there's still the heat that an unnessecary GPU creates, even at idle is a lot more than integrated makes.

You can really make due with a smaller CPU - VM's are all about RAM and drive access, as they don't share RAM across workplaces well. They don't share hard drive access well, a couple of moderately active VM's can seriously send a HD well into a queue (especially if any of them are hitting swap, or the host is hitting swap).

But they do share CPU power very well. Unless you have a lot of high transaction databases or someone is trying to stress test CPU's, most any off-the-shelf CPU is fine for VMs. If you can allocate them enough RAM so they don't hit swap, and limit it to one or two per physical drive, then they will run fairly speedily even on low horsepower CPU's and share across cores very well. For example: I have a dual core that's running 8 VM's just fine right now. I have another quad core that I'm having to rebuild because it has four moderate activity VM's that are choking the only hard drive in the unit, and I need to split a couple off onto their own drive.

If your planning on putting 8 VM's on a RAID6, that may be a mistake unless you have a high end RAID controller. The RAID6 will be fine to back them up on, but you may see performance issues if all your VM's start to crank up at the same time.

Did you read the specs that I gave for the machine?  lol.   It has a dedicated raid card that runs in pci-e x8, and I avoid where possible to use a swap file or page file.   I plan on upgrading this machine with 32 GB of ram eventually.   I do agree I need to get another system for gaming but right now this one runs perfectly fine for the little gaming that I do.

Originally posted by Quizzical

What do you mean it "look like" that one?  If it says Corsair GS800 on the side, then you're set.

lol, weren't you the one that tried telling me I should get a different power supply then that one.

Originally posted by Ridelynn

Is there a good reason why you are trying to merge your NAS and your gaming rig?

It seems like it would be more cost effective to put the NAS off on it's own rig - an ultra-low power CPU, minimal RAM, and mostly just the HD's. That way you could leave it running 24/7 for file access without being a huge power hog, as well as pulling it out of your gaming machine (which needs to reboot for driver updates, will crash from time to time due to crappy games, etc).

Similarly with your Hypervisor: Yes, a gaming machine will run virtual machines well, but it won't necessarily do VM's and game well at the same time, especially if you are already pushing the hardware with the hypervisor. You run the risk of impacting the performance of your virtual machines with your games (and vice versa), as well as reliability.

If it's "mission critical" you don't game on it - it's a huge liability. The cost of the hardware is something you write off, and is a minute part of the total investment. I don't think you should try to mix it with a gaming rig - it's just bad news waiting to happen.

The only mission critical part of my vm's is the phone system, since I am not yet using this machine for any business situation.

I am one that dislikes having to move hardware, having everything in one chasis makes moving it a lot more simplistic.  Yes I have an older machine that could handle being a NAS, but the network storage I need is only for the other people that live here which won't be congesting the drives as much as I would be.  So running it on my main machine I can have full access without congesting the network for other people around here.   I would prefer to run ESXi on one of my machines but the only other machine I have capable of handling it, doesn't have any expansion ports for a realible network card that's compadible with it.   Energy efficiency isn't something I'm concerned about as well.

On a further note it takes about 15 seconds for my PC to boot from POST and I have scripts to auto start my VM's after I log in and I have remote access to the system from anywhere in the world and an alert system that emails me if the system stops responding.

Don't get me wrong, when I start hosting game servers and start going into a more production type environment I will not be gaming on the machine as it wouldn't have the resources it needs to survive.  At that time I would be building a second, much smaller unit to handle my gaming and run ESX off of the main system purely for a VM environment.

Before anyone asks why so much for a home system.   As I've stated before there is a plethora of devices in my home that require network access, as the only IT person around here I'm often stuck fixing everyone's problems and I do not have the time for it on top of monitering what they are installing and etc.   Running these VM's as I do I can predeny stuff from accessing their machines and stop them from installing software that could harm their machine and keep me busy for 10 hours to fix it.   So far it's working as intended as I have not needed to fix anyone's machine since Christmas where I would normally be doing it every week or more.

How about a sandbox with an optional to follow storyline.   A pve element that caters away from the pvp element of the game.   Kind of like incursions in eve online although not so fail worthy.

A great sandbox would be able to give you as many options as possible to create the game experience that you want.  A forced story driven sandbox wouldn't work because not everyone wants that, but to have a secondary PVE storyline you can choose to follow would fall perfectly within what a sandbox wants to achieve.

Originally posted by jdnewell

Doh didnt notice i forgot to link the processor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103940

Thats the one I had picked out. Missed the case not having any fans either =/. Guess thats the reason for it being cheap. just something I threw together in a couple of minutes for him.

Case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147060

CPU Fan:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103075

With the items I linked above ( new case, linked the processor and a cpu fan)

Total $688 with $30 mail in rebates= $658 after rebates.

Your problem is you're using AMD products...   Intel and Nvidia you can still get very decent stuff that can do FAR more then AMD ever wished for the same price.   Try finding budget i3's and a GTX 560 fermi or something along those lines even if you need to go back to the GTX 400 series. 

A very important side note.   When it comes to PC components, you get what you pay for!    If you want cheap, then expect to replace that machine within a year if you have hope of properly playing any newer things that come out.    Always buy hardware that can be further upgraded, never buy hardware that you max out the first time you use it.  Doing so will only cripple yourself and your wallet in the future.   Leaving room for improvement will allow you to save loads of money and make upgrades much easier and quicker.

Originally posted by skeaser

Why not a 2600k for better O/C? The 2600 O/Cs like a champ (up to 5.0GHz stable, in my experience). I won't leave it there because it just feels wrong but I run 4.2 frequently.

I run 4.2 with my 2600 and it idles at 23C, my hard drives and SSD idle at 10C and my GPU idles at about 23C as well.  No liquid cooling, just many well placed fans.    Under full load, nothing goes over 45C, the gpu MIGHT rarely go over 50 for some unknown reason I couldn't care about.

Sorry about the lack of replies, I've been rather busy and kind of been forgetting to check on my older threads.   The reason I skimped on the gpu was because as much as I can overclock the one that I had gotten which turned out to be the Gigabyte 570 GTX with three cooling fans.   It is capable of running everything on max/ultra with 60 fps via Vsync.

To further clarifiy, I do use Linux operating systems, but I prefer windows for simplicity and reliability with guaranteed support and fixes if they're required.   I run VMware server where I run my phone system, domain controller, untangle, Network Security system, databases and etc.   Yes I know Linux is awesome and all, but when setting up all these things I prefer to run as quickly and simply as possible, why give yourself extra work if it's not needed kinda thing.

I got the i7 2600 because it cost me only $200 and I didn't feel at this time that I needed the 2600k due to the only difference being OC limitations.   Although I spent a lot of money on my machine, I tried to stick with what I need over what I want.   I have over 30 devices at home that uses my home network, 4 laptops, 3 desktops, phones, ipods, consoles, etc. 

As for the guy who recommended 10gb ethernet, yes that's a great idea however for it to be truly utilized my system would have needs to get requests that require more then 100MB/s which is highly unlikely given it's still just a home environment.  Hell even at the office where we have 50 workstations and people constantly accessing all our data we still merely run on 1gbps flawlessly.   Not only that but I'm not going to fork out the money to buy a 10gbps switch, then the cards needed to utilize it.

If there is anymore questions, feel free to keep posting :)

Originally posted by spizz

An OS change to x64 would be no problem, but I dont want to change my running system currently. Maybe in some months I will do that. Until this time I will try this tweak here and see how it runs.

You want 64 bit features but don't want to switch to a 64 bit system...   Do you think about half the shit that comes from your fingers?     Not meaning that as a flame but seriously, you either get them or you don't and modifying a 32 bit system to forcefully accept 64 bit architecture features is probably the dumbest thing you could do.   Never to mind you're going to exhaust 10 times the amount of energy and time instead of just doing a quick backup and format of your hard drive.   Think about it.

If you run Windows 7 x32 you can use the same key and install x64 without issues.   Don't waste your time with half retarded "hacks".     There is a substantial amount of benefits going to a 64 bit system, it's not just about using more ram.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit

Posted link to save myself a bunch of typing.

Originally posted by chryses

I was just messing around with taking screenshots today.  For those that haven't seen max settings these are taken maxed out.

Some city shots inside and out with some scenary from the taxi service you take between areas.  The companion is the one without a helmet.

Its my wife's character which is a Bounty Hunter.

 

 

 

Thank you for posting these.   I am now glad I didn't waste my money on a game that has such an ugly interface and last gen graphics.   Yea people can tell me all they want that graphics don't matter, well lemmie tell you.  I wouldn't date an ugly fat girl if I had the option of a victoria's secret model... 

Originally posted by Harafnir

Anyone and his slightly retarded aunt can make an expensive rig... The trick, the kind of little tidbit that show some actual knowledge is to create a really good rig at a good cost. Throwing money into the air, anyone can do that.

Considering I am saving myself about $10,000 in software licensing and another possible 10k in hardware required for a server environment to run what I'm in the process of running on my computer I think I've done quite well in that department.  Because I've stuck with a single processor and kept it simple I do not have the enterprise license limitations.   Most corporations run a similar setup just with far more ram, duel cpus or more but because they are corporate they have to pay per core and amount of ram for their windows/vmware licensing.
 

I honestly am not sure if this rig will be strong enough for all that I want to do with it, it should be but only time will tell...   Because I got a standalone raid controller, that takes the burden of running a software raid that can bog down your cpu and with that powerful graphics card there will be hardly any overhead for my cpu.   Think of the raid controller like a graphics card but made just for processing data between your hard drives instead of your cpu doing it.

Originally posted by duelkore

Nice rig.  I think the psu is pretty weak for all those drives.  Why not a 580?  I think the point of a nas is the simplicity and convenience.    I like not having to remember what computer has what movie and if that computer is on.

Network attached storage devices are used for more then just knowing where your stuff is.   It will be my backup machine for all of the devices in my house, which is about 6 different computers and a shitload of other things.  On top of that I will be hosting a domain controller as one of my virtual machines on that computer which all of the systems capable of utilizing it will be running their profiles from that location.   Instead of everyone being locked to being forced stuck with their profile on one machine, they could login to any machine in this house and have the same access to their stuff and the same desktops wherever they go.  That also includes outlook settings and PST files.

Yes a server motherboard with duel CPU's would be a benefit for me, but once again I need to worry about licensing limitations with VMware and windows.  As well I don't feel like spending 5 grand on Xeon processors and even more money on ECC ram to accomidate that board's memory Dimms.  This is why I stuck with a well made home computer running enterprise hardware.

Originally posted by Quizzical

Originally posted by duelkore

800 seems real low.  Lets not forget case fans, roms, usb devices, and capicitor aging.

Case fans rarely take more than about 3 W each, and sometimes take a lot less than that--such as if you're running them slowly.  The USB 2.0 standard only requires a USB port to deliver up to 2.5 W.  USB 3.0 bumps that to 4.5 W, but USB 2.0 or earlier devices (which includes nearly everything except for a handful of external hard drives) have to stay within the 2.5 W limit.  Anything that comes with a long cord (e.g., keyboards or mice) isn't going to come remotely near that 2.5 W limit, either.

For most systems, in determining how much power you need, I say take the TDP of the processor and video card, and estimate 100 W for everything else.  That's usually a huge overestimate for everything else.  For this system, I'd pull the hard drives out of the "everything else" and toss in 100 W for the hard drives and RAID controller.  That's probably still a huge overestimate.  A quick and dirty approximation would give:

Processor:  100 W

Video card:  250 W

Storage:  100 W

Everything else:  100 W

Total:  550 W

There's enough generous overestimates built in there that I'd regard it as unlikely that he ever pulls 500 W from it, and not entirely shocking if he never pulls 400 W (though he could readily do the latter if so inclined).

Unless, of course, he's going to stick waterblocks on everything and overclock it as far as it will go.  In that case, 800 W might be cutting it tight.  But at stock speeds, it's plenty of power.

Thank you for answering all these questions for me and saving me typing lol.

As for the poster about the Quad-SLI.  There is no god damn reason why that's ever needed unless you're a high level graphics designer and maybe radiologist that needs that kind of power for rendering, compiling and processing.   Having 4 cards doesn't mean 400% power boost, it would be more like maybe 250% if you're lucky.  You would be better off having maybe a tri-sli but duel should be more then enough with a dedicated phys-x card although that's not even really needed.

I don't plan on overclocking unless it was truly needed, I voted for the Corsair GS PSU due to my infatuation with glowy things and that PSU has built in LED's and I didn't really think I needed more power then that PSU offered.   I have a bunch of extra peripheral to sata power connectors for the extra drives.   Although I never did think about the possibility of choking the PSU's voltage supply, although with it giving so many sata and peripheral connecters I didn't see anything to worry about.

Originally posted by Kabaal

Um, Merry Christmas?

lol, Merry Christmas to you too

Corsair Force Series GT 180GB Sata3 SSD
16 GB GSKILL dual channel DDR3-1600
I7-2600 CPU
Gigabyte GTX 570 1.2 GB memory  917 Mhz core clock, 1.8 Ghz shader, 1.99 Ghz Memory  *Changed to keep manufacturer of mobo*
18 TB storage with 8 3TB drives in RAID 6   *Edited due to my general typing incompetance, said 15 but is 18*
Intel PT-1000 server pci-e network card
Corsair Gaming Series 800W PSU
Cooler Master HAF X full tower.
Gigabyte Tech P67A-UD5-B3 Motherboard  *Changed due to unavailability of the EVGA board*
ARC-1882IX 8x PCI-E SAS RAID controller

I have been debating whether I should upgrade my motherboard to quad channel memory and a socket2011 intel extreme processor but I'll do that at a later date when I need that extra power.

Before you guys rip on me saying that's far too much for a gaming rig.   I also run VMware server, hosting different virtual machines that remain running and the system is my NAS as well.   I figure it's easier having everything in one station instead of having a bunch of external components to move around.

The unfortunate thing is that my mobo doesn't have enough PCI-E lanes to run everything at full speed, so I'm stuck in x8.  *USB 3.0 turbo disabled as it uses 8 PCI E lanes*

Well I was completely taken off guard with how fantastic the starting feel of Final Fantasy 14 gave.   I had been meaning to play the game since I got a beta invite last  year but never had the hardware for it until recently.    I had seen many reviews about the game and those reviews alone almost made me not play but knowing the IP as well as I do I had still been curious

On any note.  There is a current deal right now with square enix, $13.99 and you can get your own copy of the game as well.  The only downside is that the subscription comes from having to pay monthly for your character which is like $3 a month per toon and the first month is free so it's not too bad.

Anyway, I started playing the game and I was taken completely by surprise with how fantastic they had made the entry cinematics and with the detail they had done them.  So far it has a true feel of a single player game when you start, which in my opinion is great as it gets you more involved personally in the lore and the game itself and naturally upon adventuring you would meet people and grow from there.   The beginning tutorial isn't very in-depth but it does get you to understand your controls quickly and easily although combat does take some getting used to at the start as you can attack while moving and must have patience with getting hot keys to work and keeping your target.  There is a bit of room for improvement but I am completely satisified so far with the game.

I'm sorry I couldn't write an extensive review as I only got a few hours of gameplay in but I can tell you that so far the game really pulls you in and makes it feel like you are playing a game you can get truly involved in.  Unlike wow that kind of slams you in the middle of a bunch of chaos, hands you a sword and says.  "Here, go kill something and level up then figure out what you need to do from there."   FF14 places you in a starting zone with a little bit of a cinematic to get you involved softly and tries to give you the urge to discover your purpose in the game and where you want to be.    Levelling isn't super fast like leaving a zone then "DING", honestly I didn't even notice or care for my character's level.  I was far too distracted with the story and the gameplay itself and trying to master how to move my character and attack with precision while role playing my archer class and actually moving and having strategy an archer would have.   Not just stand at x location and spam your buttons, but run around, hide behind trees and do what you can to survive while staying far from the target.

Anyway I've typed far too much, I hope others find this game as awesome as I do so far.  As long as you got a bit of patience to understand the game and it's mechanics, I see no reason why it can't be loved.

I do agree with what you said, I was aiming to get him to try and find any other possible issues before moving to replace the PSU.   Of course it still should be done regardless, but if there are bigger things at work within his system they should be found and dealt with.

I'm still curious about how his caps are though, if the computer is overheating like he says there might be possible capacitor damage.

P.S I would never disclaim Nvidia for the work they do and the products they develop :P