CraigHB

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Yea, hehe, somtimes those little oversights will really get ya :)

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

I got the Linux kernel working right. I was configuring the wrong driver. I went, "DUH!" when I finally realized what I was doing wrong. Can't believe it took me so long to figure that out, oh well.

Reply to what's the purpose of the new poll? "favorite race" in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Yea, I agree. In DL, the Yor are my favorite. In DA, the Thalans are my favorite. Don't know about TA yet. I voted for the Thalans.

Reply to Unable to download in Beta Reports GalCiv2 Forums

Yea, that one got me two. This first time I saw TA in SDC, I thought, "wow, it's released already." It's not released yet, that's some sort of dummy placeholder that shows up when pre-release is not selected. It doesn't actually work.

Reply to What is your opinion on the game? in Beta Reports GalCiv2 Forums

What switch? The beta switch was thrown on TA quite a while ago and Beta3 of TA was released last week. Personally, I'm waiting for the official release. In any case, I'd have to say that GC2 has been my all time favorite. I'm sure TA won't dissapoint.

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Yea, I have a love-hate relationship with Linux. To be honest, if it wasn't "free", I probably wouldn't use it at all. But, it does have some value. There's a few very handy utilities that don't really have Windows counterparts. I run it on my personal server and it's great for that, firewall, connection sharing, email hosting, etc. Also, it's useful for working with my TiVo system since TiVo is Linux based. You can handle upgrades and maintenance with a Linux computer. Well, I'll just k

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]two obvious questions: have you updated your BIOS? and i know you have the P31 model, is it rev 1 or 2? (just curious to keep an eye our for differences between the two versions).[/quote] I updated to the latest BIOS as soon as I was confident everything was working right. It came with F1, it's at F6 now. Don't know what the hardware rev is. [quote]PS: i love Gigabyte's Engrish[/quote] Yea, hehe, I'm always cursing those Chinese when something doesn't work the way I wan

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Core2 is the best thing to happen to overclockers since the Celeron A[/quote] That Core 2 is amazing. What a great product. [quote]need to read up on what OC'ing involves before i try it myself.[/quote] The Gigabyte BIOS makes it really simple with a bunch of automatic overclock options in the "Intelligent Tweaker" section. Since I was just checking stability, I ran up only the host clock, one setting that ups the CPU core frequency, Front Side Bus (FSB) frequency, and

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

I think they must have mis-boxed my CPU. It's running stable right now with a host clock of 433 MHz which puts the CPU at 3.5 GHz and the memory at 1040 Mhz, all with stock voltages. That's a 30% overclock...wow!!! The best system I had before that could make about 20% on stock voltages so this is an awesome build. I'm not going to run it that high normally, but with such a huge margin, I'll probably run a 15% overclock. Very nice, can't wait to benchmark this sick puppy. BTW, CPU t

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Bwahahaha, if you're used to seeing a 10F difference between idle and full load, prepare to be horrified. [/quote] Hehe, experience is the best teacher, isn't it :)

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]If it's a bad power supply, why can't you just buy a replacement for it? Is there more issues other then a bad PSU? [/quote] The OP discussed this earlier in the thread. It just took him a while to come to the obvious conclusion, it was time to put together a system for himself. It's pretty much the the issue with any big maker system. They tend to use the cheapest volume discount components they can get.

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]The Thermalright SI-128SE is a really nice unit,[/quote] Yea, that's the ticket right there. If they dont' improve the design, I'll bail on the stock HSF next time. Since I already have this one installed and working, I'll just live with it. However, that's a price point against Intel. The stock AMD cooler works fine and a good after-market cooler isn't that cheap. [quote]Compare your temps at idle

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]maybe it'd just be possible to copy the backplate? i was searching around for stuff like this yesterday and found a few posts in various forums - didn't bookmark anything of course. [/quote]There may be after market units that use a better mounting system, I haven't looked. Anyway, it's together and working so I don't think I'm going to mess with it. Motherboards are designed to withstand an amount of flex, but it would be better if the bowing wasn't there. Worst case, it does throw ou

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

I don't know, maybe. Both the AMD and Intel HSF units exert a lot of pressure on the CPU. The motherboard has to support that force. AMD motherboards have a beefy backplate that takes the brunt of it. It seems Intel boards don't so the board gives way. You'll see what I mean if you look at it endways with the HSF installed. The bowing at the CPU socket is quite obvious. The AMD design is worlds better and I'm surprised by such an oversight on Intel's part. Though, it could be on Gigabyte

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Better sooner than later, in case something's bad and you have to RMA it. I'm holding off until I can get all my parts at once (case and video card are out of stock) because I don't have a spare PCIE video card to test it with, for that reason.[/quote] Yea, I know what you mean. There's always a certain amount of pressure to get things tested and working because of the time constrains on RMA, can't let things sit around too long. Fortunately, I have an extra chassis w/power supply a

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

I went ahead and ordered my parts a few days ago. Don't know exactly when I'll get to building the system, but I'll have the parts on-hand anyway. That NewEgg is so fast, they just showed up at my door. Did you open your Core 2 Duo box yet? Man, that HSF is monsterous. I can't imagine needing anything more than that. It comes with a solid grease on it, not gum so I don't think there's any issue with using it. That giant thing look's like it's going to be highly precarious to insta

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Nice, hope everything goes well!

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

I haven't had any problems with software bought on eBay myself, but if you want pirate software, it's very easy to find and get, no need to pay for it. I'm running a genuine copy of Windows XP on my normal system, but I do have a pirate version I use on an old test box I have laying around. Microsoft is pretty thorough about checking for valid keys in their products so you will likely run into problems getting updates with an illegitimate copy of Windows or Office. Personally, I've found clai

Reply to Is it normal to suck at first? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]But I'm wondering that meaby some of you little bit experienced players could share me information about the balance between the "money planets" and the "production/research planets".... Just in general, how many money planets you generally need to back your economy?[/quote] For sandbox games, you can generalize your planets or specialize them. Either way works. I build mostly econ buildings, followed by factories, then labs. Your economy is going to dictate most of what you do in

Reply to FURIOUSLY MALCONTENT in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Yea, hehe, no matter the bugs or issues, it's hard to stay away. GC2 is just such a great game. I already have a key for TA, but I'm going to wait until it's officially released. I want to experience the finished product first time.

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

One thing that deserves mention is an important difference in Windows Product Activation for the OEM and retail versions. Mainly, it has to do with how upgrades are handled. The OEM version ties itself to the motherboard and will fail to activate if the motherboard is changed or possibly, the motherboard BIOS updated. You have to call Microsoft to get a new activation. That's generally not a problem and it's not like you have to buy a new copy of Windows everytime you change the motherboard,

Reply to FURIOUSLY MALCONTENT in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Fighting bugs, in this game, should mean killing Thalans, not battling game glitches. [/quote] Hehe, you funny :) Anyway, I've been having really good luck with 1.8d. No major problems to speak of. You might try playing Dread Lords in the meantime. I'm revisting it after a few Dark Avatar games and appreciate how much faster and cleaner it runs. My el cheapo CPU is much happier with it.

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Congrats! The wife gave me the go-ahead on my order. I don't think I'm going to order right away though. I have to wait until stock arrives on the video card anyway. Also, I'd rather wait till after the Holidays. Things are going to be a bit hectic with travel and guests. One thing about working on a computer, you want to do it when you have a) no rush, and b) no distractions.

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]i think i might go for the Radeon for at least a few months.[/quote] That's probably a good way to go. You get better value with Radeon. I don't think there's good value in a mid-range GeForce card. Their high-end cards are great though. [quote]i checked out the RAM on your wish list; it seems identical to the corsair RAM i'm planning, but after rebate the deal i found comes out to $47 - might be worth a look-see.[/quote] That particular memory is actually on the app

Reply to computer technology chat in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

I'm excited for you, nothing better than getting a fast new computer :) I was finally able to link to my wishlist. Here's what I'm looking at [link="http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=6450371"]WWW Link[/link]. I was looking at the new Spider platform from AMD. It looks pretty interesting. However, at this point, parts are still too expensive considering performance isn't a whole lot better than a Q6600 Core 2 Quad platform. De