WhiskeyRomeo

What settings did you use in the graphics.cfg file? I just experimented with 1400x1050 and it ran fine for me. Simulation { resolution = {1400, 1050}; bpp = 32; fullscreen = 0; aspect = 1.333333333; Did you remember to use fullscreen = 0? I cant imagine why you want to change from 16:10 to 4:3 aspect ratio but you can at least test it out if you want. Like =FV=MAD said the 1680 is horizontal and 1050 is vertical. Have you tested 1680x1050 and fullscreen = 0 ? If you're not happy with 1680x1050, IMO, you'd be better off using 1600x1000 aspect 1.6 and fullscreen=0.

What power supply do you have? Most important is how many 12v+ amps does it have? You'll have to consider that to decide what video card it can support.

No you do not. RAID is traditionally used on servers and workstations but also found on some high-end PCs. Its most valuable for media tasks like video & audio editing, for example, and less useful for general purpose or gaming PCs.

With only 1 other person flying in your server it should have run more smoothly for you. What type & speed (down/up) internet connection are you using? What Network Settings Speed option are you and your friend using? Try the different Speed settings starting with xDSL 128/128 and both using the same setting.

Im pretty sure Valve didnt say anything like that. They did chide MS for making DX10 not able to run on XP. Since a lot of gamers "feel" the same why Troffmeister feels - and "know" what he knows - its no great surprise Vista has been slow gaining traction in the gaming community. The good news is that Valve games run well under Vista, and Valve will have its games supporting XP and Vista for the foreseeable future. The Steam Stats shows Vista up to about 7% of users but of that only 2.3% actually have a DX10 GPU installed. And only 3.6% of users have a multi-monitor setup. Only 1.16% of users have SLI/CF systems! 16% use a widescreen monitor. Almost 7% still use DX7 video cards. Can anyone spot the trends?

This list has games, plus all other programs that might be of interest. http://www.iexbeta.com/wiki/index.php/Windows_Vista_Software_Compatibility_List The wiki is compiled by Vista users and updated fairly often. It lists games/programs in 3 categories: -> Works -> Has problems but they can be solved / minor unsolved -> Heavy Problems, Currently Incompatible Like any wiki it's only as accurate as the individuals contributing. Some have the ability to research all the options (available program patchs, work arounds, higher versions that work, etc) and skill using the Vista Program Compatibility Wizard and compatibility tools. Sometimes people have listed programs / games as having problems only to have others come along with updated details on how to get the program running under vista. And of course there are games & programs that haven't been listed just because there is no one using that particular software among those that contribute to the wiki. So if you see your games & programs on the problem list now keep checking back. Those problem lists keep getting smaller. It also pays to check the websites & support forums for your games / programs because that info is usually more accurate and up-to-date. One common trend is for software developers not to make Vista patches for older programs because they can generate income pushing people toward newer versions of the program.

Actually there is a way you can park planes on the carrier. Just set up an AI flight (planes or helos) in the Mission Editor and have them "land" on the carrier. After landing they will move to parking. The aircraft need to be the right type for that carrier.

That linking is called "Crossfire". Just like linking 2 nVidia cards is called SLI. Crossfire and SLI require different motherboards. Striker, P5N32-E and P5N-E are examples of SLI MBs. Examples of Crossfire motherboards would be P35 chipets: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6 or abit IP35 Pro http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=Property&N=2010200280&PropertyCodeValue=705%3A9908%2C717%3A27337%2C717%3A19337%2C717%3A28997%2C736%3A7588&bop=And&CompareItemList=N82E16813128046%2CN82E16813127030 I do not think 2x ATI 2900XT HD in Crossfire will be a good choice. Without knowing what games you plan to use or what future games you'll buy its impossible to say that 2 ATI 2900XT HD will beat 1 8800Ultra or even beat 1 8800GTX. It would be better to compare 2x ATI 2900XT HD with 2x 8800GTS. Both cost about the same. In todays games the 2x 8800GTS usually beats 2x ATI 2900XT HD although you can find certain games where the ATIs do better than nVidias. On average, across most games nVidia is better than ATI at the moment. And at the moment 1 8800 GTX will usually beat 2x 2x ATI 2900XT HD @ 1600x1200 resolution. Top chart shows single card performance over 7 games tested at the THG website. 2nd chart shows Crossfire / SLI performance over the same games. 1x Nvida 8800GTX=2281 & 2x ATI HD2900XT CF=2099 & 2x 8800GTS SLI= 2472 THG single video card charts: http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=857&model2=706&chart=278 THG CF/SLI video card charts: http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_sli2007.html?modelx=33&model1=867&model2=807&chart=338

Kentsfield is the Intel code name for the Core 2 Quad CPUs. So Kentsfield = C2Q. So it looks like that Asrock 4Core Dual mb will support a C2Q 6600. If you're trying to keep your DDR RAM and AGP video card this might work for you. Google turned up some reviews of the board - 1 using Q6700 and 1 E6300: http://www.ocworkbench.com/2006/asrock/4coredual-vsta/g1.htm http://www.pro-clockers.com/review.php?id=207&page=1 It seems a little bit like dropping a Porsche engine into a Mini body. You can do it - but are you sure its a good idea? Be sure to carefully check ALL the items you want to move over to make sure they will work together.

Water cooling will not solve the problem of having your computer in a hot environment. ShadowXP's nice watercooling setup only cooled the CPU. You can get more expensive watercooling setups that also cool the northbridge and video card. But the other system parts besides the CPU and GPU that are heat sensitive, the power supply, RAM, voltage capacitors/regulators (and more motherboard components) and hard drives, don't benefit at all from water cooling setups. The key to cooling is passing enough "cooler" air over the hot components to transfer heat and then move the heated air out of the case. When the "cooler" air on the outside is already very warm the transfer inside the case doesn't work as well letting heat build up faster. If it's 35C in your room (about 95F) it could easily be 45C in your case and some of the actual components might be even hotter. If there is any type of air flow restriction / air flow shadow caused by large video cards, flat ribbon cables, case partitions, etc., it's possible there could be hot spots. CPUs and GPUs have overheat protection. If they get too hot they order the CPU or GPU fans to spin faster. If that doesnt work they start slowing down automatically. The better motherboards have "health monitoring" options. They measure the CPU and motherboard temps and if they get too high the system can alert you. So when the computer tells you its too hot you'll know its time to take a break. Asus has PC Probe II software to do that. Now that you are thinking about over clocking and we know there are environmental concerns I'm going to toss another motherboard option at you. ASUS P5N32-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI @ ~$205. Right between the Striker Extreme and P5N-E SLI. It doesnt have many of the bells and whistles the Striker has but is similar in almost every other respect. It also has more overclocking options than the P5N-E. And it has the "health monitoring" options that the P5N-E doesn't have. Now as bad as heat can be on PCs - problems with the electrical power probably do more damage than any other cause. Spikes, surges, brown outs (sags), line noise and power outages can put your PC at risk. A decent UPS (uninterruptible power supply) will clean up most power problems and provide a few minutes of backup battery time to do a safe shut down in case the power doesnt come back on right away. About the worst case scenario would be to be in the middle of a hot & heavy PC workload (like gaming) and have a power outage that stops the CPU and GPU fans and lets temps spike all over you system. And then have power return with a hefty spike or surge. Good UPSs also filter the data line from the cable/DSL modem and can even auto-shutdown your PC while you're away. A couple UPS examples. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2013140072+1123414387+4027&StoreType=7&CompareItemList=N82E16842102085%2cN82E16842102034%2cN82E16842107112&bop=And

Just a correction to 3Sqn-Fudd's note. The Striker is a nVidia 680i chipset, not Intel P965. The P35 boards are good choices being the more modern Bearlake chipset. Just about all the motherboards you'll even think about getting will take the Penryn CPUs when they do start showing up for sale. But if you're even thinking about SLI any time in the future the nVidia SLI chipsets are the way to go. We don't often recommend SLI setups but its nice to have the option if you find a real need for it in the future. (1) QX6850@$1100/Striker Extreme@$300/8800Ultra@$600 = $2000 (2) QX6850@$1100/Striker Extreme@$300/2x8800GTX@$525x2 = $2450 (3) E6850@$325/Striker Extreme@$300/8800Ultra@$600 = $1225 (4) E6850@$325/Asus P5N-E SLI@$125/2x8800GTX@$525x2 = $1500 (5) E6850@$325/Striker Extreme@$300/2x8800GTX@$525x2 = $1625 (6) E6850@$325/Asus P5N-E SLI@$125/8800GT2@$250 = $700 (7) Yorkfield@$999/BearlakeX-38@$250/G92 9800GTX@$650 = $1899 If you sat down and played Lock On on each of the first six systems above you couldnt tell the difference by playing the game. They'd all "feel" the same. But for future games like BioShock, Crysis and other 2008 releases #6 wouldn't be the best choice. #2, #3,#4 or #5 would be the best choices available now. #7 will be the best choice but not available right away.

A year ago a ~3Ghz C2D CPU (X6800@2.93Ghz) cost more than $1000. You're getting a slightly faster C2D now for about $320 or so. A year ago I got the E6400 (2.13Ghz) for $225 which would overclock easily 3Ghz. But I have had it running for over a year now @ E6700 (2.66Ghz) speeds with a FSB overclock from 266mhz to 333mhz for a 1333 effective FSB speed. I saved about $325 over the cost of a E6700 (about $550 then) which was just about the cost of a really nice 20" widescreen LCD. If you were happy about the E6850 bang for the buck the Asus P5N E SLI is an even better bang for the buck choice. You save about $175 over the Asus Striker Extreme and lost almost no performance. "So the Striker Extreme doesn't quite live up to our admittedly lofty expectations, but the P5N-E SLI more than exceeds what we typically ask from a $120 motherboard. For the most part, the board is every bit as fast as the Striker. You also get a decent array of BIOS options and just enough onboard peripherals." Read the full review P5N-E SLI and Striker Extreme @ http://techreport.com/reviews/2007q1/asus-6x0i-mobos/index.x?pg=1 Well there are SOME difference between the P5N-E SLI board Troffmeister got and the Striker Extreme board you're looking at. The Striker has fancy blue LED and tiny LCD screens. It has a bigger copper heatsink and "more BIOS tweaking & overclocking options than any sane person could ever need". It does have a few extra SATA ports (6vs4), an extra e-SATA port (2vs1) and a slightly better audio chip. The SLI channels are x16 vs x8 for the P5N-E. And it does come with a free game and a keychain. Thats what you get for an extra $175. What you dont get is an extra $175 worth of performance. The $125 motherboard performs just about as well as the $300 bard. And even in SLI rigs:

The QX6850 is made for over OC'ing fanatics. It comes with an "unlocked multiplier" which can help to get higher over clocking results. How high you want to go depends on what you want to spend on exotic cooling (Peltier/Tec and water cooling for example) that can get you overclocks above 5Ghz. People that overclock PCs that way don't play games at the highest possible OC'd speed. They back it off a lot to use the PC on a daily basis. With the more ordinary aftermarket air cooling that most people use they get something closing in on 4Ghz. But "your mileage may vary". In this Anandtech article "Bring it on, QX6850 Overclocking" the QX6850 they had didn't make it past 4Ghz. http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3042&p=1 The E6850 can be over clocked too (which Kuky already pointed out was "kind of" an already overclocked E6600). With the right cooling, motherboard and RAM it won't be far behind the QX6850. Maybe within ~10% which probably means 3-5 FPS in games. Thats a very good question. The easy answer is $900. The rest of the answer (for gaming) might be just a little bit faster gaming. For a game like Lock On the QX6800 and E6850 will run Lock On at just about the same FPS. As far as we know that should hold true for Black Shark as well. The same is true for any other games that dont support multi-threading on dual or quad CPUs. Here is a game that does support multiple core CPUs. So for this game the answer would be the $900 extra dollars gets you about four extra FPS in the game. Here is a great article that compares all the top CPUs (AMD & Intel). I think it will help you sort out the price vs performance questions of the 3.0Ghz E6850 and QX6850. "Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850: Four Cores at Three Gigahertz" http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2extreme-qx6850.html The next you may want to ask: What does the price difference between the Asus Striker Extreme $300 and Asus ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium $210 mean? The answer should be - about 1-2 FPS in games. Another good question to ask would be: What is the best way to spend $3-4K over the next 2-3 years to get the best gaming performance over that time? IMO the answer to that is to spend $2-2.5K now to get the best "bang for the buck" performance and in 18 months spend $1-1.5K to get an upgraded CPU and video card to drop into the system.

On the other hand..... Google did turn up some Specs that make it look like ASUS P5N-E SLI has the AI booster. http://www.hothardware.com/printarticle.aspx?articleid=944 Special Features ASUS EZ DIY (Q-Connector, CrashFree BIOS2, EZ Flash2) Intelligent Overclocking Tools (AI NOS, AI Overclocking, ASUS AI Booster Utility, O.C Profile) Overclocking Protection (ASUS C.P.R.) ASUS Music Alarm ASUS MyLogo3 ASUS Q-Fan 2 Uses 100% High-quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors GreenASUS - RoHS compliant Silent Pipe Cooling

Hello Troffmeister; I couldn't find the same AI Booster references in the P5N-E SLI manual as were in the Striker and 680i manuals. The only OC'ing reference I saw was that you could store multiple OC'ing profiles in the BIOS. I'd suggest looking around the ASUS forums to see if you can find out more info there. Over clocking draws more power and creates more heat. If you were to overclock your CPU 20% to 3.6Ghz you'd draw about 90watts extra under load. Taken to extremes, yes it can shorten the life of the CPU or motherboard components. But with a good CPU cooler and decent case cooling you're only talking about shortening the component lifespan a small percentage. With a little care to avoid common system killers most systems have a life span over 10 years (thats physical life span - not useful lifespan).