Fjordmonkey

I had the same issue, but after downloading the update drivers from http://www.star-force.com/protection/users/, installed them and voila. No problems what so ever in Vista. Even gave me slightly better fps than with Vista. Go figure.

Loudest thing I've heard has to be a compressor-stall on an F16 while it's in a hardened shelter. It had just gotten in from a flight, and SOP is for the pilot to go to 85% thrust before pulling the throttle to cutoff once it gets back to the shelter and we'd done the few checks we needed to do (pins, check for leaks/anything unusual). You hear the engine spool up, giving you a taste of about 126 decibel inside the shelter (thank whatever gods may listen for earplugs), and all of a sudden you hear a strange warbling sound for half a second before an allmighty BOOOM sounds. The plane belched a gout of flame about 6 to 8 feet beyond the nose, the pilot visibly jumps in his seat, sparks fly out the back (quite a few of them, too) before you hear about the same sound as you get when you roll a bunch of nuts and bolts around in a steel bucket :P Scared the bejesus out of both the Crewchief, the pilot and myself (CrewChief Assistant)

My current desktop

Can we please just drop this whole issue? Take it back to where it belongs, either on PM's or into a hole in the ground?

I can recommend the Gigabyte GA-P965-DS3, which is capable of using both the Core2Duo's and the Quad Core-CPU's from Intel. Running one of these myself, with an E6300. So far it's been as solid as a mountain, and unless the prices has changed lately, it should be a little bit cheaper than the P5B (which is also a very very good board).

Awesome paintjob! Anyone able to make this into a paint for the Hawgs in Lock On? Pretty please with sugar on top?

Yep, Flaming Cliffs still uses StarForce III. I suggest getting hold of the CD-version which uses the keyless SF system. I can also add that I've never had any issues with Starforce 3 unless I've messed with it. That goes for both the Keyless and the Keyed (download-version) of the software, and for both XP and Vista =)

The constant feeling of being both watched and unwelcome in the Zone makes the game very much worth it. Oh, and a little word of advice... If you're easily frightened or jumpy, do NOT play the game in the dark, alone, with headphones on AND have black cats when you're in the underground areas. There's marks in my roof where the mouse and keyboard hit.... Plus, of course, that me going AAAAH! when the cat jumped me made me press down on the mousebuttons, which fired off my weapn...which brought every soldier and mutant in the area come running with weapons/claws/teeth/whatever ready to tear up some poor hapless Stalker. Namely me....

Running Vista at home pretty much flawlessly (some bugs due to old software that goes "huh?" if not configured correctly in terms of compatability-mode etc, AND the UAC is off. Permanently). Will I go back to XP? Nope, I like the look, feel and handling of Vista, although I will admit to having to spend time with it to really like it. Just like I did when I swapped from Win2K to XP.

All Vista-versions include DX10, and yes, they have changed the old Audio-codec system. Directsound doesn't exist in DX10 (there might be emulation), and it is replaced by the OpenAL-system instead. Which plays merry havok with 3D-sound in games, even games that have this built-in. I've done some preliminary testing in Red Orchestra which even has support for OpenAL, but I have yet to get the RealTek Azalia-chipset that I have to give me quadrophonic sound without activating a room-effect for it. If I do that, the sound sounds like cardboard. You can, as far as I know, install DirectX9c on Vista as well, but I SEVERELY doubt that will do you any good at all, since even with DX9, Vista does not support EAX/Directsound.

Seeya around, Pilotasso! I recommend getting either a very good pair of shoes, or some damper-soles for the ones you already have. Does wonders in combating sore feet :D

Leafer, as far as I know the Complete edition of IL2 contains Forgotten Battles, Aces Expansion Pack, Pacific Fighters and the PE-2-expansion. In other words, it will be a 4.05m-version. Does not contain 1946, but it's a good buy nonetheless =) Hours upon hours of fun there. Do you have a link to where you saw the package?

In the coming months, I'll invest in a Noctua NH-U12F for my E6300, and then do some serious overclocking. Already have two 12cm Noctua-fans in my case, with a third 12cm fan pulling air in through the sidepanel. Also thinking about modding the front of my Centurion 534-case to fit another 12cm in the two free 5 1/4 inch wells I have, just to add to the airflow going through (the airflow through the botton front 12cm fan isn't good enough, in my opinion, thus the mod). Current hardware-setup is: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 mainboard Crucial DDR2 PC5300 1024mb CL5 RAM (looking at upgrading to a faster type) Intel C2D E6300 1.86ghz CPU (Stock cooler for now) Powercolor Radeon X1950Pro 256mb GDDR3 Vidcard CoolerMaster Centurion 534 Silver/Black (might swap this one out for an Antec Performance One P180 instead)

This is DEFINATELY something I'll download and use! Excellent work!!!

Having just installed this beauty today, I have to give about 15896.8 thumbs up, more smilies than it's room for and about 20 cubic meters of beer. Absolutely stunning. Took a flight in the old one first, and the difference is staggering. Excellent work, can't wait for more updates =)

Glowing, I am seriously finding a very real need to have a stack of keyboards close by every time I see your vids, or install bilge-pumps/drainpipes on my chin because of drooling. The english language lacks the superlatives to accurately describe this vid, but...Dayumn! Excellent, brilliant work!!! And if I wasn't already getting Black Shark before, this vid would definately do it for me. Someone give that man a beer or 80!

The Drool-factor is off the scale here :D I take it that the Eagle is Walmis' creation?

Ran into a bit of a problem with the stock CPU-cooler, as it stopped during the night. Have ordered a Noctua NH-F12U as a stopgap until I get the Reserator 1 Plus, which should keep things happy for a while. Still haven't dug my Lock On-disk out of the archives, so I'll have to get that done this weekend to test things.

Recieved and built my new system yesterday evening. The Vidcard is simply HUGE! Have not tested Lock On yet, but will do that tonight. Tried Oblivion and Dark Messiah of Might & Magic, ran both at 1600x1200 with every option set to high, and HDR activated. Both ran smoothly. It will be interesting in the extreme to see how Lock On runs on it :D

WinRar can be picked up from http://www.rarlabs.com

I'd like a pack for the pink one as well, just for the hell of it and because I think it was kind of cool :D Love the green one, though =) Brilliant work.

Damn you, EscCtrl!! :D You've inspired me to go out and buy me a new system as well. Close match to yours, except that I'm going for the EE6300 and an X1950PRO from Powercolor. My old P4 2.4ghz Socket 478 AGP-system with a massively overclocked Radeon 9550 256mb will be phazed out once and for all, as it's served me loyally for close to 5 years now. Also looking at getting a Reserator 1 Plus from Zalman, just because I know that the EE's are overclockable to high heaven. Have a friend that's running an EE6300 at close to 3.5ghz stabile on the GA-965P-DS3, with watercooling. It'll have to wait until December, though.... /salute

Glad to hear that, Esc =) How about some screenshots from your new rig? Curious as to how it came out =)

Damnit, Ice! I've ruined yet another keyboard by drooling all over it! Excellent work =) Rep inbound :D

About applying paste on the underside of the CPU....well...I'm not sure. The paste is there to help with thermal conductivity, i.e. heat-transfer from the CPU's heatsink and the main heatsink/fan assembly of the CPU cooler. True, the underside of a CPU can get hot as well, but NOT as hot as the top. Another thing to think about is that many types of cooling-goop contains minute metal/silver particles. Which are electrically conductive. Which will then be situated directly onto the pins of the CPU, which MAY just cause a short, which agan can fry your CPU. I would be extremely careful with doing this. The fact that there is no real reason to have heat traveling from the underside of the CPU and down onto the CPU slot and/or motherboard since there is no cooling to those areas, also makes me curious as to why the MoBo-producer says that you should put goop on the socket/underside of the CPU as well. There is a great debate about whether or not to have paste/goop on the underside of the CPU. True, it is needed if you are going for a Ultra-high-end Vapochill LS-system (Damn nice, but both noisy and hideously expensive) just since the LS won't allow the system to start before the CPU is pre-chilled to -10c, but that's about it. To sum it up: There's no real reason to do it, but if you do, follow Fudd's advice: Be VERY careful.