Originally posted by noquarter

 

---

Originally posted by Rallycart
Here we go:
Motherboard: 75bucks http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128376
CPU: 63 bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103210
GPU: 100 bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130518
RAM: 49 bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148163
 
That is just slightly under your budget. Gives you a dual core processor, although not an AMAZING one, but at least something, 2 gigs of DDR2 800 RAM (And for like, 30 dollars more, you could get 4 gigs), and a 9800GT. Nothing cutting edge, but WAY better than what you have now.

---

 

Yea this would run everything out there just fine. But for your CPU I would get the Athlon II X2 245 $66 instead of the Athlon X2 5200+, the Athlon II X2 245 is a lot faster than the 5200+. Other than that this is the best way to go right now on a $300 budget as long as you reuse your PSU, HD, case and DVD drive.

 

I am pretty sure that the Athlon II X2 245 takes an AM3 board though. So that ups the cost unless you get a micro board, and who wants that. Then, many of those are limited to DDR3, which is going to add costs again. I stuck with an AM2 board for cost effectiveness.

I would say that you need to spend at least 500 bucks. It really depends on how much of your old system that you can cannabalize, but around 500-600. Obviously, if you spent a bit more than that, you could get better and better, but to play well on current age FPS's, 500 minimum I would say.

Originally posted by slingblade9

About how much would I have to spend to get a pretty nice setup?

What is your definition of "pretty nice"? Compared to your old comp, this is pretty damn good, heh. However, some people would be disgusted by it as being a few years out on date. Do you mean to be able to play most/all modern games easily? Do you mean that be using all current tech? (not meaning the best, just from this generation of tech) Or do you mean just better than what I listed?

Here we go:

Motherboard: 75bucks http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128376

CPU: 63 bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103210

GPU: 100 bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130518

RAM: 49 bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148163

That is just slightly under your budget. Gives you a dual core processor, although not an AMAZING one, but at least something, 2 gigs of DDR2 800 RAM (And for like, 30 dollars more, you could get 4 gigs), and a 9800GT. Nothing cutting edge, but WAY better than what you have now.

It is a really hard call. You REALLY need a new CPU. And your MB only takes DDR1, and for a new CPU, odds are oyu would need a new MB anyway. So, you would need a new MB, new CPU, and a new graphics card. More ram would be good too, or at least an upgrade to DDR2, but that can wait compared to the other stuff...

My advice? Find a 70 dollar motherboard, 100 dollar CPU, 100 dollar GPU, and scrape up an additional 20 bucks, and spend 50 on some new DDR2 RAM. That would be my advice.

Originally posted by Cleffy

My imaginary build pwns rallycart's build and it doesn't leave anything out.

Your "some AMD" CPU for 60 bucks is going to be crap, sorry, lol. And the 4850 is hardly going to beat out the 260gtx either. And they have the same amount of ram. So how, exactly is it going to "pwn" it? :P And yes, yours has more items. However, anything outside of what I specified can be taking from the old comp. The powersupply is the only thing that MIGHT not be re-usable, but most will support what I listed.

Video card: 260 GTX, 199 bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433&cm_re=260_GTX-_-14-130-433-_-Product

CPU: Intel q9550, 255 bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041&cm_re=q9550-_-19-115-041-_-Product

MB: Intel P45, 105 bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130184

RAM: 4 gigs of DDR2 800, 90 bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

That is 655 bucks. You could go with a cheaper CPU, but I would stick with this. Salvage everything else from your old comp.

Grats. I am on day three. Still no response at all, and I even sent in a second ticket. Maybe on the weekdays then? Sucks burning all this double exp time...

Originally posted by Gabby-air

lol to me they looked like concept art tweaked to look like actual in game screens, plus is it me or is there a orc in one of the pics?

That would a be a super mutant. Really? You could not figure that out? lol.

Originally posted by greed0104

Originally posted by Rallycart

I see a lot of RMT talk as the reason Blizzard is "evil". Really people? You REALLY think that two pets that are cosmetic means Blizzard is worse than SoE? lets forget about their games completely. They sanction RMT via Live Gamer! Blizzard sells pets? Big deal. I can buy gold, items, and characters LEGALLY on EQ2, Vanguard, and maybe some more. And lets not forget about their TCG's that they have for each of their games...

 

Evil is a strong word, greedy would be a better one. I'm not against RMTs that offer fluff, but 10 dollars for a tiny non-combat pet? That's just insane.

Cost doesn't really matter though, because if you feel that it is too much, which you do, then you don't buy it. It is not needed. I also think it is crazy to spend 10 bucks for it. But you need to remember that some people are paying 500+ dollars for Spectral Tigers... At least it is a stable, controlled cost. Look at the loot cards from SWG. They can be pretty damned expensive because they are supply and demand, and the players control the cost.

I see a lot of RMT talk as the reason Blizzard is "evil". Really people? You REALLY think that two pets that are cosmetic means Blizzard is worse than SoE? lets forget about their games completely. They sanction RMT via Live Gamer! Blizzard sells pets? Big deal. I can buy gold, items, and characters LEGALLY on EQ2, Vanguard, and maybe some more. And lets not forget about their TCG's that they have for each of their games...

Is there some kind of reason you think Activision Blizzard is worse? Because, as far as I can tell, you didn't actually say why. I still dislike SoE more than Blizzard, by miles. So I am curious.

Originally posted by Joker2240

Originally posted by Rallycart

The textures are a bit muddy, and nothing really "pops" out at at me. However, as these are the first screenshots, they are not too bad overall, because it will get MUCH more polished. Hopefully with shading and lighting enhancements, as well as high res textures. Hopefully the make a good game of it though. However, I have always loved the perk system, and if they can make a good transition for that to MMO format, it might do well. We just have to see.

Hopefully they will, however we will see how the courts rule. They are still being sued.

It wont matter either way. Interplay is almost 100% going to lose to Bethesda, as they did not raise the funds, or have a working alpha in time. However, once they lose it, Bethesda gains it, and will hopefully finish it. That is a big hopefully though. :P

The textures are a bit muddy, and nothing really "pops" out at at me. However, as these are the first screenshots, they are not too bad overall, because it will get MUCH more polished. Hopefully with shading and lighting enhancements, as well as high res textures. Hopefully the make a good game of it though. However, I have always loved the perk system, and if they can make a good transition for that to MMO format, it might do well. We just have to see.

Man.. If I did a rage quit for every time the client or patcher screwed me over on an MMO... I would have no MMO's to play. Even the "mighty" WoW has many problems in this area. Hell, I needed to do a full uninstall, and manual file removal and THEN install from the discs all over again because even the downloadable client wouldn't work one time. The patching would error out at a certain point on a file, it would want to revert, it would revert, claim that repairing it was too much of a task (too much to fix) and start patching from 3.0 (WotLK install point) and patch up to 3.1xxx and then bam, error. Time to start over. Repeat til you puke.

Originally posted by haelikoth

pretty good move for MIcrosoft, but sadly, the pirates and modders will prolly find a way around it at some point.

as for my views on piracy, modding and stuff. i believe piracy is indeed stealing if you're downloading something you didn't pay for. making copies for personal use/backup purposes of legally bought items tho, imho shouldn't count as piracy.  modding for me varies depending if the manufacturer explicitly said that you can't mess with their stuff. like how some MMOs will ban you if they mess with the game client files, while some games open to mods (source engine stuff).

Modifying a software client that you don't "technically" own (you do, yes, but once you connect it to thier servers, they have the reight to refuse you) is very different than modifying the hardware on a physical item that you have bought and own. However, it still falls under the software arguement that I just said. Once you try to connect to thier servers, and use their stuff, all bets are off. You should be able to mod the crap out of your X-box, but Microsoft (and any other company) SHOULD have the right to block/ban you from using thier services with a modified box, because that is their property. The box, and it's contents, however, are yours to freely modify.

Originally posted by Magnum2103

You guys make absolutely silly agruements.  No matter how you look at it it's wrong.  If you copy cash money and attempt to use it (just like you are using a copied game) then you'll go to jail once they find out it's counterfeited.  It's the same exact thing.  You can use the painting agruement too, but it actually is illegal to copy a painting and claim it's real (especially if you attempt to resell it).  You don't think money was spent by the game company to make the game because you don't have a physical disk and box in your hand?  Coding costs money, you have to pay programmers.  The same goes for musicians who make music.  What's especially bad at pirating games via Xbox is that many of the games have a demo you can test whether it's via downloading on Xbox Live or in a video game store like Gamestop.  There is no reason you should have to download an illegal full version of the game to "test" it if you want to buy it or not.

Borrowing is okay because you actually purchased a physical copy of the disk and box.  You can't offer it to your friend and play it yourself most of the time without the disk.  That means that you have to at least finish the game or put it on hold before you can allow your friend to play it.  You also (likely) aren't making your friend pay to rent the game from you (which the developer gets no money from and you profit illegaly from) or make them view a bunch of advertisements on their site before you can borrow the game.  You have the legal right to trade or resell the purchased copy of the game.  Most "companies" that participate in piracy do so for profit.

Counterfeiting money is VERY different, as it impacts other people, and that money is not real. Eventually, someone is going to lose out on that. On top of that, it impacts the economy by adding more money into the system. That is a VERY silly comparison. Same with the painting idea, because you would be ripping someone off. They would lose money on it, because it does not have the value you told them it had. You would also be doing that to make money. No pirate pirates games to make money.

And yes, programmers need to be paid and blah blah. However, they have already been paid. Regaurdless of if I pirate the game, that money is spent. And, as I said, odds are that I would not have bought it anyway, so they are not out anything. I gain, and they lose nothing.

Also, you mention something about paying rent for the game? What is this about? No one charges me to download games, and I don't charge anyone else. And advertisements are everywhere. If the site that is hosting the torrent files makes a bit of money, who cares? They are not the one pirating OR the ones getting the games for free. They are the middleman.

And there are not companies that participate in piracy for profit. Unless you mean the street sellers that sell DVD's for dirt cheap, which is not what we are talking about. No one is selling anything. I DO have a problem with someone selling a pirated item. However, I have never paid for a pirated game in my life. Maybe you have done something wrong in the past.

Didn't you know? Everything is a WoW clone. Find the right guy, and he will tell you EQ1 is a WoW clone.

EVE is WoW in space. Fallen Earth is WoW in the post apoc. AoC is WoW will tits and gore. Anarchy Online is WoW in the future.

I have heard them all. It is all depending on who you talk to. A normal, competent person will tell you that there are no clones other than private servers. A clone is a copy, and no other game copies anything. Not even Alganon.

Originally posted by Gameloading

It's not stealing, You're not taking anything away. You're just making a copy of it. Taking a picture of a painting is not stealing the painting.

I see a lot of people complaining about the piracy. I wonder how many of those people have ever downloaded a song off the internet.

The complaint it seems is that downloading a game of the internet is bad because the developer won't get paid for it. So if I borrow a game from a friend instead of buying it, I won't be paying for the game and thus the developer won't get paid either.

Is that bad too?

 

 

This is the same arguement I will often make. Someone will tell me how bad it is to pirate, and that I am stealing. I say that I am not stealing, as they dont lose anything. They then say "Would you go into a store, and steal a TV?" No, of course not. That had a cost to produce, ship out, and sell. The company actually paid money to make that individual item. The retailer had to purchase it, and hopes to make a profit on it. If I steal it, they are actually out a certain amount of money. However, when I pirate something, it costs them nothing. They did not need to produce the disc and box for me, they did not need to ship it, and they do not need to give me support. They also do not need to expend server expenses on me, because I cannot use their online gameplay.

Then, many people will then go on to say "Well, they WOULD have made money if you had bought it. Instead, they made nothing, and you got the product. They have now not earned anything, whereas they would have if you could not have pirated it." 99% of the time false, sorry. Nearly every game and movie I have pirated I would have NEVER bought. I was curious about it, so I pirated it, played it for 2 hours, and uninstalled it. I download a movie, watch it, and say "Wow, this was crap. Glad I didn't buy it".

However, if the game is good, I will usually buy it. I know, everyone says that. But it is true. Because I am a nice guy, and want to give them money? No. Because I want to play it online. In nearly all games these days, the main game takes place online. The Call of Duties are good games, but when it is only a single player game... Still good, but VERY short. Little to do. Borderlands is a cool game. But running through it alone time and time again? Not that fun. Grouping to destroy things? Fun.