New Build part #2

Ok so the new motherboard I'd ordered arrived today, nothing fancy by today's latest and greatest standards.  Yet I chose this motherboard not only for it's price but because of the perks it included that you'd normally expect from a higher end board.

Here we have the AsRock M3A770DE Motherboard, it's a AM3 motherboard which matches the socket for my planned AMD Phenom II X4 965 as well as having a IDE connector (my DvD Drive is IDE) it includes 4 internal SATA headers, 2 internal USB headers, and  2 PCIe 2.0 (x16 & x4) connectors along with 3 PCI slots and a PCIe 1.0 slot.  There is no onboard video which isn't needed since I'm installing the GT 520 out of my current machine and the space normally reserved for that connector has been better used on 2 rear powered eSATA connectors.  This boards Bios also includes a nifty overclocking feature which I hope to make use of in the future.  The down side of this board though is one of the SATA headers is already used to connect the front mounted SATA port to the motherboard.  With 2 SATA hard drives coming from my current PC this will only leave me one port for expanding internally, I wonder if I should start pricing a nice SSD to install my operating systems on?

Cost?  $59.99 with Free Shipping from Chief Value (You probably haven't heard of these guys.) compared to $61.55 from Amazon and $64.98 from Newegg.

I went ahead and unboxed the board and installed it into the new tower but first I had to do some modification for the Waterblock and pump.  Notice the Big Orange mounting plate for the AM3 mounted Air Cooler from the top pic?  Nope you don't because 4 screws out and 4 screws in later and it was removed to make room for the mounting bracket for my Antec water cooler that will take the air cooler's place.  As you can see once the cooler plate is mounted to the CPU the hoses to the radiator will not be blocking the PCIe 2.0 X16 socket (Green) which is a good thing as that is where the video card will mount. 

Here you can sort of start to get the idea behind the cable management system built into the case, all the cables for the front USB ports, the front SATA port and the Power and Reset button come in the bottom of the case now right below where they are connected to the motherboard.  I have plenty of room to pull the extra cable back, bundle it up and tie it to the conveniently placed anchor points on the back of the Mother board mounting tray but as of yet I haven't.  Once I get the Hard Drives, and Power Supply Unit installed I will tidy this up, mainly I'm waiting because I'll be tying off as many cables together as I can into as small a bundle as possible, waiting means I can make sure I can route the cables off as needed and tie them into one bunch, with individual cables branching off as necessary, instead of 2 or 3 bundles.

All of the other parts for the case, and water cooler that I'm not currently using or won't use such as the Intel mounting brackets for the water cooler, are conveniently stored with the case in that card board box you can see in the empty hard drive bays. 

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New Build In Progress

My PC just won't handle Star Wars: The Old Republic or Lord of the Rings: Online very well I get horrid frame rates even though my Video card is more than adequate.  Although I can defiantly play these games, the experience at times can be almost painful, there's nothing like being in the middle of combat and your already slow 20 frames per second drop to 2-3 frames per second.  I my case it became apparent that the weak link in my system was the CPU.

Solution?

Lets work on a budget Build and see what kind of difference we get.

Partial Current System Spec.
Intel Pentium D 3.0ghz Dual Core
Window 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
3.0 GB of DDR2 RAM
Zotac GeForce GT 520 1GB of DDR3
700w Power Supply

Many of the parts of this system such as the Card Reader, DvD R/W, HDD's, Graphics Card, Sound Card and Power Supply I plan to keep as they have been added in the past year or two or are functionally equal to parts available today, in the case of the hard drives, having 320, and 250 GB internal as well as a 160GB external I don't feel the need to upgrade them.  Other parts I plan to ditch almost entirely.

New Build Plans.

AMD Black Edition Phenom II X4 965  3.4ghz Quad Core (over clocked to 4.0ghz)
Antec Kuhler H20 620 Water Cooler
16 GB of DDR3 1600

Now Granted it's obvious I'll need a few other parts, such as a new Motherboard since I'm swapping from Intel to AMD processors, but it's not nearly as expensive to do a major upgrade as most people think.  By watching for Sales, and doing careful price comparison my upgrade is costing under $400 and I should have as good a machine as some of those expensive "custom" build gaming rigs out there.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking at a budget build.

1. What Parts can I retain
2. What Parts must I replace
3. What optional Parts can I add to my build
4. Where can I get the most Bang for my Buck

1.  Often if you can keep on using your Media Drives, Hard Drives, and Optical and even in some cases your Video and Sound Cards are fine to retain.  This can save a ton of money when looking at a new build, don't spend what you don't need to.

2.  What Parts must I replace, in my case any upgrade would have required at the minimum replacing the Motherboard and Processor.  Since I was going have to replace those, I considered how to get the most out of the new parts I'll be ordering.  In my case it was adding a Water Cooler and a Case with better cable management and air flow

3.  What optional Parts can I add to my Build?  If your budget allows it then by all means throw in a SDD or a new high end video card or Two if you want to do Crossfire or SLI.

4.  Where can I get the most Bang for my Buck?  Well everyone knows about Newegg or Tigerdirect, they run some excellent sales and they are a good place to look.  But don't tie yourself to those dealers, there are others out there and sometimes you can find better deals on the parts you want.  Check out Microcenter if you live near one of their locations, their prices are very competitive, but be warned if you don't live near one of their stores, they won't ship many components such as CPU's and Motherboards.  Another tactic I used was to find parts I liked on Newegg or Tigerdirect then search for those parts on Google and check their shopping results.  I typically got a list of 20-30 different companies selling the part I wanted and I was able to price match them by price after shipping.  Remember not all Deals wind up being Deals after shipping costs.

Now on to the good stuff, I've gotten a few parts in already, and let's take a look.  I'm splitting up the order over time so as to not stress my budget anymore than I have too, so I'll be doing doing a few posts showing the build progression. 

Case

NZXT Gamma Classic Series Case, Price?  $43.01 after shipping from Amazon.  It may seem cheap but this case is extremely well rated.

CPU Cooler

Antec KÜHLER H₂O 620 CPU Water Cooling system.  Price?  $49.99 with free shipping from Bestbuy. 

I went ahead and unboxed everything and started prepping the case for when the Motherboard arrives, I checked the fit of the CPU Cooler and checked for clearance for the extra top mounted fan slots the tower provides.  As it turns out the radiator on the cooler, blocks one of the fan mounts just enough to limit me to one top mounted fan.  

I also popped off the front bezel and re-routed those wires you see as well as front mounted the fan that came with the case.  This will save me time later when I go to install the Motherboard and gives me a chance to go ahead and get a little more familiar with the case itself.  Having a case where I can remove both side panels and with design for cable management in place is a big plus also notice the tubes for the water cooler, this case has a cut out on the Motherboard mounting panel for accessing the back of the CPU block on the motherboard for mounting a water coolers mounting bracket. 

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Changes...

Why do people who log into a virtual world often so adamantly oppose changes?  It doesn't make sense to me.  The world we actually live in is changing all the time, it is part of what keeps life interesting, and what makes us able to look forward to the next day.  It provides that element of hope for a better future that we all need to survive.  Yet in our gaming lives we seem to want as little change as possible, and then complain when the game becomes stale and stagnate.   Get with it people!

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Hold the Fruit pt. 2.

A person I work with recently mentioned they purchased a new Apple PC.  Considering the cost I can only assume it was a iMac.  At the price they quoted ($1700), I can only assume it is the model that comes with a 2.7ghz i5 processor, 4gb of RAM, 1TB HDD, and a Radeon 6770m with 512mb of dedicated video memory, as it was the only configuration I could find on the Apple site near that price ($1699). 

Frankly and much to their ire I told them they were ripped off.  Their usual arguments were "Apple doesn't get Virus, it won't even let me go to a threatening site!", "Mac OSX is better than Windows!", "Apple has better Hardware!".

All of these arguments are false, I tried to point out the history with Mac Defender, and how Apple was instructing their staff not to assist with infected systems, I tried to point out that OSX has proven less secure than Windows at multiple security conferences and sponsored hacking competitions in the past few years, and how for the cost, Apple PC's are greatly underpowered, when stacked against similarly priced PC's running Windows.  Granted I'm not the biggest fan of Windows either, but largely your choices are Mac OSX or Windows.  Sure you can get either, then wipe and install Linux but we're talking turn key out of the box here. 

So here's my advice for all of you out there pondering the purchase of a new PC. 

1. Research - Not only the different options in OS, Hardware etc. but what you will be using the Computer for.  Gaming?  Go windows.  Web Surfing?  any OS is fine.  School?  I'd advise going with Windows again as some schools networks for online education do not work well with Macs.
2. Browse -  Browse all your favorite Tech Stores, and when the guys that work there show up tell them to get lost, you've already done your research, not find a system you feel comfortable with.  They are there to make $$$ and will push products at the request of high profile manufacturers, because it nets them a better relationship and thus more $$$.
3. Compare -  Find a PC you like, search for it not only in your local Stores but online before you dedicate to purchasing it.  Often you'll find a better deal elsewhere.  
4. Protect -  I don't care if you are using Windows, Apple, or Linux get an Anti-virus.  They don't just protect against Virus' theses days, a quality AV program will also help block malware, and adware.

For the cost of a new iMAC I can build a PC running OSX as a "Hackintosh" (a PC running OSX) far cheaper than I can purchase one from the Apple store, with much better hardware specs.  This cost difference is especially true when you look at being able to pick up OSX for around $30 at your local Best Buy.  Granted you won't have support, but if OSX is so great why should you need it? In the event you do need it, there are copious amounts of support available a Google search way as it is.

And above all else, Steve Jobs isn't some divine being, Steve Jobs and Apple got rich stealing technology from the Open Source Community, integrating it, claiming patents, then suing and bullying any competing company that attempted to integrate similar technology into their platform.  That's it, that's all it's done for the most part, all of their most touted innovations were found in Open Source years prior to Apple incorporating it.

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Hold the Fruit.....

As you can probably guess from the title this one's going to be about Apple, and why I don't get it.  What is it by the way, for me "it" is the somehow miraculous climb to pop culture phenom they've become, and why, at least to me it make no sense.

Let me be fair here, I will say that I'm not biased against Apple because they are "popular" I'm not one of those people who hates something because everyone else loves it.  I simply can't see anything special about Apple's offerings.

Let me air out my laundry list of complaints.

1. Proprietary Boot Chip - You can't install OSX on a non-Apple product without a ton of work thus the name for such a beast "Hackintosh".
2. Numerous law suits by Apple over technology they stole then patented. - Yes this is a very true statement, Multi-touch comes to mind quite readily. 
3. Rigid control 3rd party development and compatibility.
4. The extreme lengths Apple will go to in order to maintain appearances that aren't true.  Mac-defender anyone.. read about it they instructed their tech support to deny it's existence.
5. Sub-par Configurations of their hardware yet they charge premium prices. 

Now to explain these, and why I feel it makes Apple's computing systems not worth the $$$.


1. Proprietary Boot Chip.  What's the deal, they have the boot record not as a section on the Hard drive, but on a separate chip.  This limits me to Apple hardware unless I want to build a "Hackintosh" which while doable is a total pain to set up by comparison.  I also like the option of not having to rely on one manufacturers hardware.  I can do my own custom build to suit my needs not what HP or Dell decides is "Best for me".


2.  Numerous Law Suits over Apple Stolen then Patented Technology.  What are the big "perks" for Apple owners?  The App Store, Apple didn't have it first numerous Linux users had them well before Apple, the Dock, nope borrowed from Arthur OS, ahh Multi Touch for the iPhone!  wait.. Apple patented that in 2009 yet with the power of the internet we can find it being demonstrated at a TED convention in 2006, and Microsoft had their "Milan" computer which supported Multi-touch demonstrated in 2007 and admitted it had been 5 years in the works.  Doesn't look to me like Apple was creating this technology, yet they claimed patents on it and have sued Motorola over it, but you don't hear about all the suits against Apple for it's patents.


3. Rigid Control over 3rd party Development and Compatibility.  Yes I can hear it now "But that helps prevent virus' from infecting Apple products!".  Guess what skippy, no it doesn't the only thing that can prevent virus' intrusions is the end user.  If you get get a virus on your computer it is 100% your fault for not having a good anti-virus program, and not practicing safe browsing habits.  The truth is the only thing keeping Apple products from being plagued by malicious software is market share.  Virus' writers want to do the most damage with the least amount of code, that's the entire philosophy so why target around 10% of the market when Windows has around 88%.  Truth be told Mac OSX is one of the least secure operating systems on the market, coming in last place in several security competitions. Last one I read up on, a remote "hacker" took control of a Apple Macbook in under 3 minutes, using the same method he used to win the competition as he did the year before.  Apple hadn't patched it even though they knew of it.


4. Apples desperate desire to save face.  Mac-Defender put them in the spotlight, it showed that OSX was as virus proof as they tried to convince everyone.  What does Apple do?  Instruct their tech support not to assist customers with the issue and to deny it existed.  Seriously is that what you expect for paying the prices Apple wants for their hardware?


5.  Sub-par Configurations.  Ok you've got two choices in laptops laid in front of you.  Both have equal RAM and Processor Speeds, the same Video technology, the same size screen etc.  One is a Macbook the other a Laptop from Asus.  The Asus laptop comes with a Blueray player that doubles as a DVD/CD reader/writer, a larger hard drive, and Windows.   The Macbook, it has OSX, Thunderbolt, and a $1000 higher price tag.   Seriously $2500 for a laptop that doesn't even play DVD's?  Oh but it's got Thunderbolt a technology no one else has really adopted yet, making it practically useless for the end user.  Where does Apple get off charging these prices for their little Apple logo on the box?  There equipment configurations are sub-par at best and modifying their equipment is almost impossible so what gives?  And how come people will continually pay twice the price for half the product?


I'm sorry but for me Apple's only good product is the iPod and not the fancy touch screen one's.  I'll stick to my iPod Nano thank you very much.  For raw computing I'll stick with Linux and Windows.  Windows for my gaming and Linux for just about everything else, I get the best of both worlds this way.  Linux provides me with a more secure Operating System, that's rarely the target of the script kiddies pumping out virus' (and yes I have a anti-virus program even for it), and Windows allows me to enjoy all my favorite games on their native platform. 

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Where's the "New" in new games?

I've said this before, but where's the new in new games?  It seems Hollywood isn't the only group running out of idea, we are seeing a constant rehashing of the same old same old in the gaming industry.   This isn't a new trend, series have been around for ages, Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter etc.  But there's another side to it.  EQ, EQII, WoW, LotRO, Rift, and countless other games are consistently rehashing the same old level and grind game model.  When are we going to see something new in terms of game play.  Is it that the technology isn't available or are companies trying to milk what's been a popular platform for everything it's worth.  I don't have the answer but I do have the desire to see something new.  I want to see more dynamic game play, a situation where one person can effect the game world.  There are tons of ways this could be done within the existing style of games people are playing.  Have a chance of you killing a raid boss trigger a counter attack by his minions on a town, make contagious diseases actually happen on purpose instead of as bugs.  Heck start the zombie apocalypse, speaking of zombie apocalypse that reminds me of something.  Many years ago EA introduced a new dungeon to Ultima Online called Kaldhun, one of the unique features of this dungeon was that if someone PK'ed another player a reverent was spawned that could only die when the person who did the PKing was killed.  Why can't we see a game that does something like this in the PvP areas?

It's an interesting idea for games like LotRO, where the PvMP area has spawn in addition to Monster Players and Regular characters patrolling the PvMP zone.  Wipe all the regular spawn and replace it with revenants, it would definitely make things more interesting.  Even in UO where the idea originated, wipe all spawn off the Felucca Facet (the only PvP area in the game) and have it slowly be populated by revenants.  The higher the population of revenants the obviously better certain players are at PvP.  They could even be coded to hold the same notoriety as the player they were based off of.  When a Blue or Innocent dies, a Blue Revenant spawns, it would only attack opposed notorioty players.   Eventually it would make PvP more difficult for the "Evil" people but it could also work against the PK Hunters, as evil notoriety revenants could be spawned as well.  This is the type of thing that would make playing a game more interesting if you ask me... what are your thoughts?

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Technology for the Gamer

Technology for the PC Gamer, what really defined technology for the PC Gamer, is it a cutting edge graphics card, a fast multi-core CPU, tons of RAM?   What really makes up a "Gaming Rig", I don't have an answer.  The problem is technology is moving faster than game developers can keep up, this whole faster is better idea has caught hold with the tech industry, where at one point improvements came out as software pushed the limits of hardware.  Do you really need an overclocked Hex-core CPU with 32 GB of RAM to play WoW, and when is enough, enough or are we just waiting til the tech industry hits a wall where we simply haven't invented the technology to make the technology faster. 

Moore's Law states:

The number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively will double approximately every 2 years.

This trend has held true since the 1960's, and continues today, while Hex-Core (6-Core) processors finally reached affordability on the market in the past year, with AMD's offerings available for as little as $160 or so, they had been around quite a while, as a matter of fact Dodeca-Core processors were being reviewed back in 2008, and for if you really want to dig you can find refereces to AsAP 2, a custom built processor currently residing somewhere on the University of California, Davis campus that has a whopping 167 cores, each running at 1.2ghz, and that information was released in 2009, so in this day and age 2011 does that mean that 334-core units are either being worked on or are already in testing somewhere?

While this is amazing in and of itself to think about, why do we as gamers need even Hex-core chips?  With the vast spectrum of PC's on the market it's difficult enough for game designers to decide if they want to optimize their software for Dual Core or not, try sitting down at a design meeting and deciding if you want to create a game that can't run efficiently on less than a Quad-Core, from what I've seen they usually attempt to make the game run well on as broad a spectrum as possible.

Graphics cards these days seem to be leading the way though, Deca-Core GPU's aren't uncommon now, and their memory architecture is allows for better data rates, though both are optimized for Graphics only, but we see other system components catching up a few years later.  DDR3 which has become the new standard for system memory used to only be found on Graphics Cards, how long before we are slapping DDR5 into slots on our Mother Boards and cranking up to 100+ GB of RAM for under $100?  I'm looking forward to it, to be quite honest. 


While I don't think we necessarily as gamers need cutting edge technology, to indulge in our hobbies, it's not a bad thing either.  One thing we can count on is when that next big game hits we'll be ready for it.   I also do think that all game developer are doing the right thing by trying to keep system requirements fairly low as as a general rule.  I know I'm using a rather low end machine for my gaming (by today's standards), and yes at times it shows during my game play.  But I can't quite justify wanting cutting edge hardware either especially since there is very little in terms of backwards compatibility with many components from where I'm at to where I'd like to be.   For me to do a real upgrade to get close to "Cutting Edge" wouldn't be extremely expensive if I cut a few corners and leave out "Optional" component's like Blue-Ray etc, as a matter of fact I could build a more than capable PC for about half of what it costs to purchase a comparable one from a Custom PC builder but that doesn't mean I should.

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