My Shiny New Rig

[MikeW]

Apparently WinXP 64 bit edition supports up to 128 GB of memory! Makes my 4 GBs seem kinda piddly, now doesn't it? But that is kind of strange, because I've heard that the 64 bit version of Vista only supports 16 GB... apparently one of my sources is wrong, or MS is just really stupid.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP_Pr...nal_x64_Edition

 

 

Here is a microsoft link that confirms 128 gb

 

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/overview.mspx

[Eldmannen]

X-Fi or not, you most likely wouldnt be able to tell the difference from an integrated on-board audio chipset.

 

You can say you preparing for future, but in a month or two, your computer is old and there are new badass stuff to drool after.

Quad-core ZOMG!!!!11 DDR3 ZOMG!!!111 nVidia GeForce 10000 ZXTXGTX 3D Pro eXtreme Fatal1ty FPS+ XP ZOMG!!!!11

[lokoike]

X-Fi or not, you most likely wouldnt be able to tell the difference from an integrated on-board audio chipset.

You wouldn't know because you don't own an X-Fi board, now do you? Running a separate sound card not only takes strain off your other components, but it also produces a significantly better sound, whether or not you choose to believe it. I suppose you believe that nobody can tell the difference between 800x600 and 1600x1200 screen resolutions either, right? note the sarcasm

 

You can say you preparing for future, but in a month or two, your computer is old and there are new badass stuff to drool after.

Quad-core ZOMG!!!!11 DDR3 ZOMG!!!111 nVidia GeForce 10000 ZXTXGTX 3D Pro eXtreme Fatal1ty FPS+ XP ZOMG!!!!11

Hmm... just a moment ago you were saying that I spent too much money on hardware that I would never use to its full potential, and now you're telling me it will be obsolete in a month. Which is it, Eldmannen? Is my computer too good, or too crappy?

 

Nothing will last forever, but I can say with confidence that my computer is far more "future-proof" than whatever crap you're running. Sorry if you don't like it, but then it isn't your computer, is it?

[zaphirer]

Nothing will last forever, but I can say with confidence that my computer is far more "future-proof" than whatever crap you're running.

 

 

S939 is Future-Proof? Why no AM2?

[lokoike]

 

S939 is Future-Proof? Why no AM2?

Here, read this.

 

At the time I was buying parts, there just wasn't much selection in AM2 mobos. I figured I'd be better off with a really good 939 mobo than a cruddy AM2 mobo. I'll deal with DDR1 until DDR3 comes out, and then I'll make the upgrade.

[zaphirer]

I guess so. In the near future, probably around Christmas time, I plan on upgrading my PC... S939, most likely. I doubt very much I will be getting AM2 for my next rig. Maximum PC did some benchmarks on the FX-62, and apparently, it's fast, but not exactly mind-blowing... not enough of a difference to sweep major changes in the industry.

 

Slightly on-topic: I don't really like AM2, but this rig is still I.N.S.A.N.E. Check out those specs! Only thing I don't like the the somewhat 'wimpy' power supply.

[Eldmannen]

Of course you could notice the difference between 800x600 and 1600x1200.

But most integrated sound chipset are of really good quality nowadays, sure if you're doing music and use it with external studio components then an high-quality sound card is needed. But you are probably not likely to notice any difference between a built-in soundcard and an X-Fi, it sounds pretty much the same. Someone would notice a huge difference between 16 and 256 colors, but not between 100 million colors and 100 billion colors.

 

Your downloads wont go faster if you use an network card than if you use a built-in network chipset.

 

 

Yes, I said some people have too much money to spend. But I do have to say, that it is an kickass machine.

Cant say its bad.

But technology goes forward very fast.

 

And yes it is better than whatever I am running, since my computer is several years of old.

[lokoike]

Of course you could notice the difference between 800x600 and 1600x1200.

But most integrated sound chipset are of really good quality nowadays, sure if you're doing music and use it with external studio components then an high-quality sound card is needed. But you are probably not likely to notice any difference between a built-in soundcard and an X-Fi, it sounds pretty much the same. Someone would notice a huge difference between 16 and 256 colors, but not between 100 million colors and 100 billion colors.

I realize that my integrated 24-bit sound is very good. But I am fairly certain I would notice a difference upgrading, due to reviews I have read by people who chose to take the same route. And I've heard that the X-Fi offers unparalleled gaming audio, something that integrated audio has a much harder time reproducing. Most likely my CDs won't sound any different, but when there are multiple sources of sound of high quality sound (such as newer games), that is where the X-Fi really shines.

 

If nothing else, at least one can be certain that you would never have to worry about choppy sound anymore, since the X-Fi has it's own powerful dedicated processor (APU?). For now, the integrated is fine, but getting a standalone sound card is certainly a potential on my future upgrading list (more so than the second video card, actually).

 

Oh, and I have no intentions of getting a separate NIC, since my mobo already has dual gigabit eithernet.

 

@ zaph: I <3 the case on that rig, zaph! My favorite color! Nice specs, too!

[zaphirer]

On the topic of audio, I never noticed a difference between my friend's audiology and my integrated... however, it does offload some of the workload off of the CPU, which does count for something... he gets maybe 5-15 extra FPS in BF2...