Not Again…

Back in March, I had built a $1800 beast of a computer. At that time, I had the best rig of anybody that I knew – Core 2 Duo chugging along at 3.0 GHz, an nVidia GeForce 8800 GTS driving a 22″ widescreen LCD, all plugged into an nForce 680i SLI motherboard. Essentially, everything was bleeding edge, save for the fact it didn’t have DX10 and Vista yet. Every game that was out at the time ran with maxed out settings – but now, over half a year later, I have finally gotten Vista, and the system is brought to a screeching halt by something called Crysis. Well. Not completely.

The 320MB 8800GTS is not enough anymore. I have to back off on the AA and anisotropic filtering settings, as well as tune down the resolution for certain games. The biggest offender is the aforementioned Crysis SP demo. And it’s just a demo for hell’s sake – I have to set the resolution at 960 x 600, turn off AA completely, shadows on medium, volumetric effects on medium and everything else on high. The maxed out settings means everything is at “very high,” not just “high.” The game still looks better than every other game I own running on maxed out settings, but that untapped potential disturbs me. Looking on the bright side, people who own 8800 GTX’es still can’t get the game to run completely maxed out. In fact, nothing of this graphics generation can even handle the game in all its glory, at least not hardware people can buy.

So it’s back to those damn Excel spreadsheets that I used to build the first one. Upgrading is gonna be a bitch, and the old parts are all gonna go to random people I know. In the end, people like me are just chasing waterfalls. But someone’s gotta do it. Anyone wanna buy me a G92 based graphics card for Christmas?

Breaking Down.

It always happens at the most inconvenient times. Last year, my computer took a major shit when I was doing my college applications. This year, my brother’s computer gave up the ghost when he was working on a week-long project. To rub more salt in the wound, it was the damn hard drive that malfunctioned, all because the vacuum seal on the side popped open and let all the air in, consequently making all of the headers and high RPM platters inside collide and go boom. They should NOT use a damn sticker to seal the hard drive up.

This leads to one important point – back up your damn data, people. That “it could never happen to me” mentality only leads to great tragedy when one of your computer’s parts decides to become an hero (sic) and kill itself. I have all my homework stored on 2 computers and no less than 3 different flash drives. All the random pictures I get off the internet are sitting alongside my music, games and other crap in a dormant hard disk inside my desktop. It’s always a good idea to learn how to pop open your computer’s case to have one of these, or if you’re too lazy, shell out the extra $50 and get an external enclosure for the drive. I hook up and upload data to this idle disk once a month, and this practically ensures that the drive will last for years and that all my data is safe and sound.

What really bugs me is that many people still have the mentality that their data is safe as long as they hit the save button. After all, the OS backs up your shit in .temp files anyway, so it’s always there, right? If it was, that would be absurd. Parts aren’t built to last forever, otherwise, the companies that make them would be bankrupt. Starting from scratch sucks ass, so you never want a huge project going to shit along with your computer.  A flash drive costs all of $20 for 1GB, so bring lunch instead of eating out for a week and buy one.

They invented data backup solutions for a reason.

Damned iPods.

They’re NOT the most functional thing in the world. They do what .mp3 players are supposed to do: play music. And that’s about it. There are better PMP’s out there, yet no one gives a fuck cuz’ the thing’s so damn shiny. No one cares that these things are locked down to iTunes, that the music that you download off iTunes is locked to your computer or that they like to die on a regular basis. As for the former two issues, they’re just marketing and DRM problems; companies doing what they have to do to maintain an edge in a ravenous market environment. They piss people off, yet people eventually learn to live with them.

As for the occasional death, welcome to the age of disposable electronics. The damned things are sealed shut, so if the battery dies, tough luck. If the hard drive is dead, you’re basically screwed. LCD messed up? Good luck finding (and affording) a replacement, you might as well get a new one. Link port on the bottom had its delicate connections broken? Try not to yank the USB cable out of it so quickly. Luckily, the POS that I bought from the Apple store a year ago didn’t have any of these issues. It functions right… Just not FULLY. The damn connectors within the headphone jack got loose or gunked up (I can’t tell), and either the left or right side of the headset won’t work properly. And EXACTLY one year over the warranty that they give. And RIGHT after they release new iPods.

When this thing craps out, the LOGICAL thing to do is to not buy another iPod as a replacement. However, I feel like I’m going to end up purchasing another one. Not a more sensible choice like a Zen or a Sansa or (dare I say it) a Zune. Not something with a drag-and-drop media placement that doesn’t require clumsy software like iTunes. Why? Because it’s not SHINY. Because their physical interfaces aren’t exactly as good as the iPod (full circular wheel is a lot better than the “up-down” track pads). I’ll go back to the iPod for familiarity and comfort with the product.

It’s retarded. It’s insanity. It’s absurd to keep purchasing a product that has a track record of breaking down EXACTLY when the warranty expires (just like my 3G iPod). Those little white headphones piss me off. The way the back of the device scratches up pisses me off.  Hell, iTunes pisses me off. But like many of the other Mac shit that I end up buying, it’s only because of the small things that it gets  right in between the periods of great tragedy/sadness/justice. And ironically, I’m writing up this entry on a MacBook (which I expect to die as soon as more than half the hard drive is consumed).

I swear. The Apple logo has something to do with it. Much like its Windows brethren, it SCREAMS “Give me your money.”

Freeman is Free (not counting the $49.99).

So after an entire day with The Orange Box, I must say I am thoroughly impressed. Valve has never failed to deliver in the past, and it sure as hell delivers with this package. Even the PC-DVD case for this game is bright orange. It was the first thing that caught my eye when I ventured into the Gamestop on 34th and Broadway. From the moment I saw it to the moment it finished installing, I was anticipating nothing but greatness. And greatness it was. I’m not going to say anything that you can get from an average video game magazine, but all I can say is, for the fifty bucks that it’s going to cost you, it’s one hell of an experience.

Enough talking about it, if you haven’t gotten it yet, time to haul your ass to your local game store and drop the fifty on it. Worth every damned penny.

The Beauty of the Beast.

What is a computer to you?

For the average student, it is a word processor and internet machine. For the businessman, it is a crucial tool for every day operations. For a multi-million dollar (or maybe less) company, a group of them make up the infrastructure upon which it relies. To me, it is all of these, and more. Most people never have the pleasure of opening up their computer’s case. In fact, the vast majority of the populace has never even seen the dusty insides of their machines. In the rare instances that they do, the view is baffling, with messy wires, fans and a full assault of dust bunnies. But in most cases, these are your every day computer users; blissfully unaware of the workings within their machines.

However, I am one of those who open the computer more than they open the manual. For those who know, the computer is a work of art. Not just a tool, but a solid compilation of precisely engineered and machined parts, put together with exacting care and detail. I’m fortunate enough to have a windowed case, allowing me to display the careful attention that I put into wiring every last cable as I built my machine from scratch. There is no cheap plastic case; only forty pounds of solid cast-aluminum. It’s a flashy machine, with lit fans, cathodes (turned off in the picture) and fancy heatsinks; yet, it’s not overboard like the Alienwares or those plastic “gamer” cases that you see everywhere in computer stores. The simple elegance of a finely cut metal case gives it a touch of class; a rare quality amidst the throng of generically-manufactured machines. But appearances aren’t everything.

Once the side panel comes off, everything changes. Neatly tied and sheathed cables run along the floor of the case and along the walls, cleanly and inconspicuously feeding into and out of their respective parts. Wide IDE cables are carefully and stylistically folded in an origami-like fashion. A solid and powerful motherboard plays host to the menagerie of parts, steadily feeding each and every one. A massive heatsink cools off a 90% overclocked Core 2 Duo processor; right over the anchor-like GeForce 8800 graphics card and next to the two 1GB RAM modules. There’s a power supply and a few hard drives/DVD drives in there too, but no one gives a crap about those.

This is the result of months upon months of research and anticipation. Seven months ago to this day, this machine was realized. It was one of those landmark moments in a geek’s life; top of the line parts, hot off the shelves, about to be assembled into one of the beastliest gaming machines of its era. Of course, seven months later, it’s time for a refresh in hardware. Another 2GB of RAM, perhaps a second video card or even a whole new graphics update, a new processor, beefier hard disk… It’s a pretty long laundry list. But even then, the old parts are still near top-of-the-line. They’ll just go as hand-me-downs to lucky friends and family. Who can complain? They ain’t payin’ for them.

Shopping.

Have you ever heard someone make a comparison of the shopping habits of men and women? The most common one that I hear is “Women take their sweet time in the store; men go in, get what they need, and get out.” I hear this comparison a lot, and I see it proven just as much as I hear it. Whenever I go shopping with the girls that I know, they just go into whatever store and spend an eternity in there. USUALLY I adhere to this stereotype.

However, I get in touch with my feminine side whenever I pay a visit to a game store or a computer store. In these places, I go through the same decision making process that girls go through whenever they shop for, say, shoes. From the moment I step into the store, a magnetic force pulls me towards the section where they keep the PC games or hardware. I could be in a totally strange store that I’ve never been in before, and I could find exactly where they keep the goods without even asking. It’s like a sixth sense, much like the one that women have when they look for the latest style. At that point, it begins. My eyes wander from one title to the next to the next, never able to settle on any single box. As if guided by some alien force, I begin to pick them up, examining almost all of the titles that grab my interest, even the ones that I already have.

Of course, this indecisiveness needed a solution, so I ended up coming up with a method to cure it. I end up with six or seven titles in my hand whenever I begin walking from the games section to the cashier. In the two or three minutes it takes to walk the distance, the neurons begin firing like machine guns, trying to come to a decision. If I’m lucky, I end up with two or three titles that I want to get by the time I’m on the line to pay. The same thing happens in any store where they sell computer hardware. I’m lucky I don’t get kicked out for loitering in these geeky havens for so long.

Maybe I should get a job in these places. But then again, that might not be a good idea; I might end up taking random things home out of sheer geeky impulse.

Vista.

Everything negative about Microsoft’s latest OS has already been said, and even in this case, some fool’s going to find some problem about it to bemoan. There’s always gonna be the Mac or Linux fanboy who has some bone to pick with Microsoft. What’s even more surprising is that some PC “enthusiasts” are complaining about it: hardware doesn’t work, software is incompatible… Isn’t part of being a hardcore PC geek figuring out ways to MAKE it work? But enough with what everyone has to say.

I’ve never been one to listen to public opinion. Much to the despair of the rest of my geek friends, I went out and bought a copy of the dreaded OS to see what it was like myself, mainly based on the thought that it would bring about a better gaming experience. I mean, if you use a PC for internet or word-processing, you should just stick with Windows 2000 or something. Vista is too hardcore for you and your hardware. Right now, with the advent of stuff like laptops and smart-phones, the only reason why anyone would even need a powerful desktop PC is for gaming.

The first thing that really struck me was the packaging. I could spend all day playing with the pull-out disc tray. After hours of distraction, it was time to install the damned thing (to yells of “YOU WASTED YOUR MONEY!”). Doing a clean install using an upgrade version was a piece of cake. There’s a little workaround that you can find online somewhere. I didn’t feel like keeping my old XP settings and files – the OS was already badly fragmented. Now came the fun part: getting all the hardware to agree with Vista.

How surprising. EVERYTHING worked. All my nForce 680i Drivers loaded up without a hitch, the latest Forceware drivers for my GeForce 8800 GTS gave my display the 1680 x 1050 clarity it deserved and I found drivers for practically everything else within a half hour. Mind you, I have a pretty exhaustive collection of hardware. The next part was installing all my software and (most importantly) games. Here’s where Vista shows a bit of departure from XP. Of all my productivity software and utilities, only Nero 7 Essentials refused to install itself. Oh well. One piece of disc-burning software isn’t going to hurt.

However, now comes the more painful part. There is an ENORMOUS trade-off when it comes to games. Many older, and some newer games refuse to work with the new OS’s architecture. These incompatibilities often stem from a DirectX 9 problem, as Vista run on an entirely new driver model and DirectX 10. Hunting for a few DirectX 9 based .dll files fixed a lot of these inconsistencies, yet a lot of my older games just fail to run, as well as some recent titles, such as Raven Shield and Dark Messiah. I was disappointed that these games wouldn’t start, even though titles as old as Quake II were supported on Vista. Maybe some of these kinks will be hammered out in Service Pack 1, due out in January ’08.

I did mention a trade-off earlier in terms of gaming. The incompatibility was the cost. The payload came in the form of DirectX 10. Any serious gamer will know what I’m talking about (and no, serious does NOT mean “OH MY GOD, PLAYSTATION 3!”). Take, for example, games like Bioshock or Lost Planet (see previous entry). Under DX9, the games look pretty nice, especially running on an 8800 GTS. Turn on DX10 in the settings, and it goes to an all new level of eye candy. In Lost Planet, every individual strand of fur on the protagonist’s parka can be seen. Bioshock’s DX10 options enable crazy lighting and water effects. I’m maxing out settings with mid-range hardware and the frame-rate just keeps on going – the new graphics API is just that efficient.

Bioshock and Lost Planet are just the tip of the iceberg. More DX10 titles like Crysis and Hellgate are just around the corner. nVidia is still working on newer revisions of drivers for the GeForce 8 Series to squeeze even more performance from the hardware. DX10 itself is undergoing constant revision. There’s never been a better time to be a gamer; especially a gamer that’s running a copy of Vista. I think a few antiquated games not running is worth the crazy visuals that the new API has to offer.

I’ve had this Vista installation for about a week. I’ve yet to have any sort of complaint about it. Call me a Windows fanboy for all the glowing comments about Vista, but I’m typing this whole entry on a Macbook, which is my preferred tool for recording and graphics editing. I’m a serious gamer. I’m a PC enthusiast that likes to force things to work when they don’t want to. I’m a graphics whore that can’t stand last-generation visuals. That’s why I went through the upgrade. For all you Vista haters out there, it’s time to get over it: the OS finally has some footing compared to when it first came out, and Windows is STILL the premier gaming platform.

If you’re an avid PC gamer, you have no excuse not to upgrade.

Abundance

For the first time in my life, I’m financially independent from my parents. No longer do I need to ask them for the fifty dollars that I need for the latest PC game. No longer do I need to have them breathing down my neck about money and how I spend it. Of course, the first thing that your standard Asian nerd would do is spend it on video games. Over the past month, I’ve gotten five games. Never before have I ever done such a thing. At first, it felt good; I could get whatever game I wanted at a moment’s notice. Being able to play Bioshock and Lost Planet on a newly purchased copy of Windows Vista was intoxicating.

However, something was amiss. The rate at which I bought all these games detracted from my overall experience in each one. I didn’t fully get to enjoy the wonders of Halo 2 for PC before I got Guild Wars. I didn’t even get past level 3 in Guild Wars before I bought Lost Planet. It hadn’t even occurred to me that I only got past the second level of Lost Planet before submerging myself in the world of Bioshock. And before I even fought my first Big Daddy, I was shitting bricks while running from Ganandos in Resident Evil 4. It became evident that I was buying the games for the hell of buying them rather than playing them. It was a shocking revelation.

I think that these games are priced the way they are in order to deter people from buying many of them at once. How can you possibly enjoy a game fully when your attention is being divided among several heavy-hitting games? I went through the process of uninstalling all except one of the five games that I bought last month. I’m going to finish Bioshock a hundred percent of the way before I go back to Lost Planet. Before my next game, they will all be finished. Hopefully. A word from the wise: Don’t buy more games than you can finish; it’ll take something away from the feel of each and every game that you got.

Although… it’s going to be hell to play through all of those games within the span of a week or so – Half Life 2: The Orange Box comes out on the tenth… I can’t wait.