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Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Coach Sport posted:

I have a G73 too, and am perpetually trapped in driver update hell. I seriously am never buying an ATI video card ever again after all the horrible, horrible problems I have had trying to update my goddamn drivers, no matter how technically superior the hardware may or may not be it just is not worth dealing with the crappy installer they use. I travel once a month or so which makes the laptop a little bit handy, but I should have stuck with a desktop :(

There was also the grey screen of death issue with the Radeon mobility 5870, where it'd regularly freeze and require rebooting any time it had to do anything graphically intensive. They released a vBIOS update that fixed it a while back, but before that the laptop was pretty much useless for high-end gaming, which is the entire reason it had such a high price tag! At least it doesn't run in to overheating problems.

Goddamn you are preaching the truth. The drivers for their mobile cards are an order of magnitude below whatever the desktop drivers are. Be forewarned if you decide to explore ATI mobility options, as I didn't find this opinion expressed anywhere obvious when I was putting things together earlier this year. When they work, it's great, but when they gently caress up (and they will gently caress up) it's a nightmare from which there is no escape.

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Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Srebrenica Surprise posted:

Saving it until programs need it, but using it in the meantime to cache programs you frequently use. That way, programs launch faster as you're not hitting the hard disk but straight from RAM.

This. I have a RAM monitor and I would feel compelled to go through the task manager and shut off everything non-essential whenever I wanted to play even the least-demanding games I own because I would see 40-50% of RAM in use at all times. It was totally not necessary. Will doing so give me 2-5FPS more in Crysis? Sure, but it's not a big deal for any other game.

I wanted to chime in on Windows 7 for a moment. The rig I'm typing on now is my first personal Windows laptop ever. I was raised on Macs since the days of OS 7/8. I remember using Windows machines around that time and enviously eying the library of games (some that we played at SCHOOL of all places) until around the time OS X came along. No matter how you cut it, OS X was a pretty huge step up in presentation of the whole experience revolving around computers. At least now if I couldn't play the games I wanted on my computer, I could at least look drat good while I browsed the internet.

As time went by Apple did a lot of really good (and bad) things with OS X, but no Windows release ever captured that flawless presentation that OS X did... Until Windows 7. It hands-down blows OS X out of the water for me. The UI is slick, the drivers automatically install more often than not, and poo poo just works. In my opinion (and it's certainly not an expert one) this is one of the best OS releases on any platform to date. If you're on the fence about upgrading: DO IT.

Now, on a totally unrelated note: if I have a wireless XBOX 360 controller, do I need a USB-to-wireless adapter to use it? If the answer is yes then gently caress it, I'm just gonna use a wired one.

Red Baron fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Dec 26, 2010

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Athropos posted:

It's awesome because like it's been said, it automatically configures the buttons like they would be on the 360.

But if I'm playing an old school emulator game or a dpad heavy game like Super Meatboy I'd rather use a playstation style controller.

Can you not get the "new" style XBOX controller (with the dual-mode d-pad?) in a wired format? I wouldn't be surprised, but I hadn't heard anything either way so far.

E: looks like that's a negative. May have to look into a wireless adapter after all, since that d-pad sounds nice.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Athropos posted:

But really, the quality of your mouse is more important than the quality of your mousepad.

Truth

I swear I'm gonna stop posting in a second, but I just got my RAT 9 mouse in the mail yesterday after waiting since about August to get it. Briefly, it loving rocks. It's solid, adjustable in a retarded number of ways, and the software for it actually doesn't blow! (I'm looking at you, Logitech SetPoint gently caress YOU.) The mouse comes with three different palm rests, three different pinky "rests" (one of which is a ballin'-rear end wing which you all should use) and can be made very wide so people like me who want a loving mat to rest their hand on can be happy.

However, the single best feature I've enjoyed so far is the "sniper" button. You can adjust the settings so when this button is pressed the DPI drops by a set percentage. This is perfect if, like me, you like to play at the most spastic levels of sensitivity and DPI most of the time, but still relish taking an enemy's head off with a well place sniper round. I honestly wish I could toggle my sensitivity on the fly in ALL games I play now. For anyone looking for a new mouse, I highly recommend either the RAT 9 or the RAT 7. The RAT 7 is the RAT 9 with a cord instead of two batteries and a wireless stand, if you're one of "those" people. I was previously using an MX Revolution, and this is a pretty solid upgrade in many ways. It does feel a little weird at first, so if you can see about touching one in person if you think you might not like it unless it's just right.

VVVV It's actually smaller than my MX Revolution was if I compress it all the way. When you get it out of the box it's in a kind of middle-ground, but can be shrunk a little more. I have relatively small hands (for a male, 23) and it would just be a little too cramped all the way down.

Red Baron fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Dec 26, 2010

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Click here for the full 800x449 image.


A picture of my RAT 9 (more or less as big as it gets) next to my iPhone inside an Otterbox case. I've got the left wing pushed out as far as I can, and slid as far forward as it goes, the wing on the right side, and the highest palm rest on the next-to-last position. There is actually a "soft touch" rubber palm rest that I keep switching back and forth to, but it's about a quarter inch lower than what I have on there now.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Node posted:

When you have the thing in one piece, do you like it? I have a wireless razer mamba and I loving hate this thing.

Yeah, I love it. What I really like most is that I can change the shape drastically enough to make it feel like an entirely different mouse if I want to. So far it's worked wonderfully and I've enjoyed every minute of using it.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
About partitions:

I have three HDDs in a RAID 0 setup, but I'm thinking about partitioning off a smaller section of the whole to install OS X because my parents are just in love with it and I'm the default troubleshooter. Unfortunately, since I use Windows 7 it's not always easy for me to figure out what they're having issues with, so having my own "sandbox" to mess around in would be awesome.

Will I be able to partition off a small bit of the three drives without losing my data? If the answer is going to involve a backup, I may just purchase an external drive for backups as well as to hold that operating system.

Also: Is there an easy way to tell if OS X will even run on my system? I suppose I'm mostly worried about the GPU.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
So can someone recommend to me a mouse pad that I can buy at like walmart or target that's not a total waste of my money?

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
What's a good wireless keyboard that's nice to type on? I just need something to throw on my lap when I kick back and need to type up documents or pretty much use the full keyboard for anything. I have a G13 so I don't need a full gaming keyboard, but I don't know what to look for outside of those kinds of keyboards. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
While the topic of good quality headphones is out and about, I want to ask a question or two about amps. I hear a lot of talk from some people I know about how there isn't a point to even using higher-end headphones if you're not using one of those desk amps or something. Honestly I'm not really sure what they mean, because I feel like my headphones work just fine.

Am I missing out on something here by not having an amp? Does anyone have any suggestions for a good one?

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
Is there some agreement on when SSDs will be the go-to over traditional drives? I would guess when price-per-GB is equivalent or close, give or take some room for the additional speed. I'm not looking to upgrade for a few years at least, but I want to make sure I can see the change happening when it does come around.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
Twinsticks, ha, I scoff at your simple controllers!

Behold...



http://www.alphagrips.com/features.html

Twinsticks, ha :smug:

Call me when you get a trackball.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
Is it possible to use Keepass while within another program? Like when I'm playing Crysis 2 can I use Keepass to fill in my login information for me?

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
Just a heads up for anyone in the same boat as me...

If you own a G13 and you also run Windows 7, and are using Logitech Gaming Software v7.0 if you update to SP1, you will lose functionality from your G13! So if, just hypothetically, you updated to SP1 to install the new Crysis 2 patch and now can't use your gamepad, don't spend all day looking for an answer like I did! Just save all your profiles somewhere nice and safe, uninstall the v7.0 software and get a copy of the legacy (3.06?) software! (And then rebuild ALL of your profiles you want to use!) I'm sure they'll update it any day now.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

HotCanadianChick posted:

Keyframe is wrong, this is the most comfortable mouse ever.

It's the truth. I have one and while it looks absolutely garish, you can change the width, depth, and height of the mouse on the fly and customization like that just gets me all rock hard. It's also stupid comfortable, too bad I can't say the same for my mousepad.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
I had an intermittent issue where the DPI setting kept dropping to the middle setting but after I dusted hardcore that seems to have gone away.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Essobie posted:

For the RAT mice, is it possible to change the 'on the fly DPI switch' to just be programmed to do something else? Same with the "precision aim" button? Or are they straight up hard-coded to be those two useless* features?

I still love my Logitech MX518, but ever since I found out it has some error correction on the hardware side that makes you do straight lines vertically and horizontally, I have constantly been on the lookout for the next thing.

*I never, ever want to change sensitivity and feel doing so removes the ability for muscle memory to start helping you out with twitch movement.

AFAIK those buttons are just like that. The DPI one would be nice to remap, but I actually like the red button. I'm pretty bad at FPS though so how it helps me might not work for you.

Lurchibles posted:

I'm also curious. Which RAT mouse is the best for the money? The cheapest one doesn't seem that great, and the most expensive one is a bit much. Is there a "happy middleground" model? :D

The 7 has all the poo poo and is wired, the 5 is most of the poo poo but just a slightly lower max DPI, so unless you really crave that I think the 5 is your best bet.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Jet-Poop posted:

The DPI rocker is kind of useful if you want a higher sensitivity in games and a lower one in Windows. I have never used the snipe button and never will, but I don't think it's re-bindable. I'd love to use it as a push-to-talk button.

Okay, I never thought of using it for that, but PTT would be an awesome use for that button. While it's not rebindable in the provided software, I don't see why it wouldn't be changeable from some other approach. The provided software does let you change the actual functioning of the button, so it's not just a hard-coded approach. (Well, you can change how much it drops the DPI, not necessarily remap it, but I don't see why you wouldn't be able to do that.)

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Jarate posted:

I wasn't being entirely serious! It's not just for that game, it's just the one I chose to make an example out of. I'll definitely be building something around the $800-1000 range, nothing terribly fancy.

I definitely appreciate the responses, though! I love you goons.

gently caress.

Ignore them, this thread has absolutely zero humor. Good luck with the Steam sales, they've already destroyed a fair majority of my tax return!

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
Let's be clear on one Logitech point that I hardly ever see brought up:

- Hardware from Logitech is SOLID GOLD.
- Software from Logitech is SOLID poo poo.

I can count on one hand the number days my G13 software hasn't crashed repeatedly. Not to mention that the G13's legacy software (read: outdated) works head and shoulders better than the new, supported software.

Their software always, always makes me wonder just how they went so wrong.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

K8.0 posted:

Don't be a dumbass, onboard audio lacking the power to properly drive good headphones is a real thing.

So why not just buy a headphone amp and be fine forever instead of a card that you'll install and then have to remove and hope you can install it again? If power is the only issue, that seems like a better solution.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

CHARONS BOAT RIDER posted:

Really, really don't buy an ATI card if you can help it.

Edit:

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/

You shut up, I hate myself and I like my video cards and their drivers to reflect that :colbert:

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
All this talk is well and good, but every time I try to install ATI drivers (and I mean every. single. time.) I get an "install package error" and then this loving yellow/gold color causes my screen to go into epileptic fits if I leave Cat AI turned on.

I'm not saying it wouldn't happen with nVidia, I'm just saying it's a bitch and it's happening with ATI. (And ATI has no idea wtf is going on either. Their customer service was pretty abysmal thus far. nVidia could be the same way for all I know, but I've never used their cards.)

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

4000 Dollar Suit posted:

Wow, that thing got rid of like 50 different ATI .dll files and registry entries, that's gotta count for something.

I'm not 100% sure but I think Driver Sweeper got rid of a file that prevented me from installing some windows update thing. I had to use my Windows 7 DVD to restore the operating system (but leaving my files obviously) to fix it.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Copper Vein posted:

This is how it's done, bros.



Sup G13 buddy! (It rules.) I wouldn't mind having a USB version of the original XBOX controller simply because I preferred that one (still do) over the 360 version, but alas, I cannot find one. :(

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Arcsech posted:

Yeah, that would suck. Not that the keyboard can't be improved for gaming, I'm hoping that's what the G13 will be (I've got one on the way now).

The only thing I want from the G13 is better application of the "joystick" mode for the thumbstick. Having it bound to just WASD is nice, but true analog movement would be nice. (I just started playing AC:B so I'm doubly noticing this.) While the option to have it be in "joystick" mode is always there (IIRC) it doesn't work like that unless the game supports an actual joystick, since it doesn't map in using a standard control pad or something like that.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)

Copper Vein posted:

G13 stuff

Oh, absolutely. The easiest way would be your option #1. I forget exactly what the "driver" (or whatever it's called that handles input from the XBOX controller. X-something-something. Whatever it is the G13 uses something else.) is called but enabling the joystick to work in that capacity would be the easiest way to emulate the analog functions, although as you point out many games have issues handling both mouse and thumbstick input.

Regardless of the lack of analog stick ability, the thumbstick is a literal stroke of genius and I can't even use games with WASD on the G13 anymore. It's just so much more natural to use the stick for navigation than to use the WASD keys. (Plus then you get four extra keybindings!)

Also, I give Logitech a lot of poo poo for their software, but the latest release of their gaming software (which controls the G13's keys and application profiles) has treated me right so far.

Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
Are there any good turn-based RPGs for PC in the vein of games like Final Fantasy? You know, lots of plot, some world maps, lots of artfully designed towns and characters with stats and levels and magic and weapons to obsess endlessly over?

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Red Baron
Mar 9, 2007

ty slumfrog :)
Thanks, that looks like exactly what I was after! I know the PC isn't really a turn-based kind of wonderland, but sometimes I just want a break from real-time all the time.

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