P4: Gritty Reboot

I am very "Eww icons" when it comes to my desktop. I can't understand how people work with desktops covered in icons. Spotlight on Mac FTW (though the Win7 start menu is a runner up, I'm on XP so I can't use it) Executor is a fine XP replacement.

Alright, so here's what I got Case - Anything will do, just the things to look for are mainly airflow and size (big enough for your board [ATX form factor is mostly everything] and small enough for the space you are going to be putting it in.) I am a fan of Cooler Master so if you find one of those go for it. PSU - Pay attention to the required wattage of each of your parts, from the sounds of it you'll need quite a bit of power. I would avoid cheesy sounding brands like LIGHTNING XTREME POWAH; stick to Antec, Cooler Master, or Corsair or another brand you recognize. Motherboard - With motherboards, it's usually just a matter of quantity: make sure it has all the PCIe and RAM slots you'll be needing, and pay attention to the socket type (most online stores will mention which processor lines are compatible) RAM: I've had good luck with Corsair, but I've had good luck with generics also. Again check out compatibility with your motherboard. As far as quantity goes, 6-8 GB will be plenty and sounds like will fit your budget. Processor: Sounds like your i7 is all picked out. If price becomes an issue, though, AMD's Phenom II quad- or 6x- line are beastly for the value. This should come with everything you need to install it, including the fan. Disc drive: I usually just find one lying around the house. But if it's in the budget, Blu Ray drives can be hand for under $100 regularly on Newegg and such sites. HDD: Brand is important here. Stick to name brand, no less than 7200 RPM. Looking at your budget, I'd go for 2 terabytes, shouldn't set you back more than $80 USD. Most everything should be SATA nowadays, but check to be sure. Video card: That 6950 looks like a great value; I'd stick with that or equivalent. As far as sound card goes, the integrated one on your mobo should suffice unless you're an audiophile. Monitor/keyboard/mouse is pretty much up to taste and price, of course. Let me know if there is anything else you need help with.

Welcome Mr. Luis

$1607 USD? iMac with student discount is $1599! But jesting aside, all you need you listed above, really. Case, hard drive, ram, mobo, processor, disc drive, video card, psu, keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, and you're all set. I can offer up some recommendations in a bit.

Gamecube is uber-comfortable but the C-stick was a little wonky. Uh Classic Controller is nice, and I like my Logitech Rumblepad for my PC, though I wouldn't call it "the best" by any means.

Hocking, have you by chance got a widescreen monitor? I could not for the life of me get Just Cause to run in any wide format.

I watched Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones last night. It was well-filmed and acted, but it took a turn to be your typical afterlife navel-gazing flick. It was The Last OK Movie I Saw.

That's what I said 7 years ago when I downloaded Steam: "I'm just gonna use it for Half-Life 2, I'm not gonna buy anything else." Now, I'm living on the streets, I lost my job, my wife, my kids, and I leech electricity off the light poles in the park to keep my rig running, panhandling for any extra coin I can get to buy more Steam games. So yeah, good luck with that.

That P4 does have great taste, I must say. Glad you liked it.

I don't actually like the game all that much, but my wife loves it, and co-op makes most anything better. I already have beat the game with her but this would be a nice way to get all the DLC.

From the sound of it, graphics settings?

Eyeballing Magicka, Bit.Trip Beat, and Borderlands GOTY.

Trying to listen to the new 'Deth tune but the dang game sounds keep getting in the way...

:U

Portal 2 mapping contest winners were announced. You can download and play the winning maps, along with a few hundred others, here. http://forums.thinkingwithportals.com/downloads.php

Gosh darn it that's what I get for not reading Yant's entire comment. I hang my head in shame.

Don't know if this has been brought up, and I'm not about to sort through 24 pages to find out, but here every soft drink is known as Coke. Sometimes, soda is an acceptable term as well. My father is from Michigan and calls it pop.

Crysis 2 could be a great game, Yant, and I don't think that's the thrust of the complaints against it. It is possible for a game to be, at its core, fun and engaging, while still having flaws that jade its quality a little bit in the eyes of PC gamers, or any gamers for that matter. I don't think anyone's arguing that Crysis 2 isn't fun--at least, I am not. I think that it is a valid complaint to say that it lost the sandbox appeal of the first game due to its consolization, without knocking the other aspects of the game.

And the warm, fuzzy feeling is back!

Wow, didn't mean to derail the thread XD But just to be like you guys: Barney?

I think most of the well-reasoned Crysis 2 "hate"--not that there wasn't nerdrage, because there was and always will be some--was more directed at the more confined spaces versus the vast, relatively open-ended setting of the first game, allegedly an intentional design decision to work within consoles' memory constraints.