Hey guys,

I run a small website and we are hoping to expand. We've just recorded and published our first podcast. We mainly discuss videogames from a non-journalist viewpoint and we also review The Mummy 3 this week. So please, give it a shot and let us know what you think.

You can get our podcast from here: http://www.piratesoup.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=387

Hope you enjoy
Merx.

Ok, lets put one thing into perspective. This is the games industry, like any industry it runs on money, all decisions have money factored in somewhere.

So unless Sony have payed them LITERALLY more cash for exclusive than GTA 4 game sales and future DLC sales at the highest estimate on the 360, this is fake.

What sort of company, especially Take Two, who is struggling, would make a decision like this before any sort of financial hard evidence that what they are getting in an exclusive deal is better than multiplatform.

Silly fanboys.

Hey guys.

Recently built a new pc with an IP35-Pro motherboard with an optical out. So Ive hooked it up to my Samsung surround amp, the same one I use for my TV and 360, and it sounds absolutly fantastic, films sound way better than they do even on my 360.

However, no games support optical surround sound, even if you set it to 5.1 it dosnt sound proper. Take CoD4 for instance, if I set it to 5.1 in the ingame options, it does have surround sound like the 360 version, proper speaker splitting, but its way off center and sounds wrong. Basically the front aint the front, it sounds like the speakers are getting confused.

But it does split it for like films, perfectly, just playing a DVD through Windows Media.

I know what the problem is, all games are still geared up to the old "1 jack per channel" creative type surround speakers. Nobody seems to support optical yet.

If I shove it in forced 5.1 on my amp but leave it on 2 speaker in games, it does split it to an extent, but it still dosnt sound like proper speaker seperation, the back 2 speakers seem joined and some sounds you expect to be coming from the rears (ie stuff behind you ingame, like an explosion) still come out of the front.

Any ideas for any sort of emulation software to trick my sound into thinking its going through the jacks?

And no, the software that came with it dosnt help and I have the very latest drivers.

Many thanks in advance.

Merx

Well yeah, but then if you develop one to look and perform better over the other one, its going to come out later. So do PS3 fans, for example, want a better looking and faster running game thats been out for 6 months on the 360? Or vice versa.

Thought not.

www.shinyplastic.com/archives/12-15-2004-reviews-dell-dimension-8400-review.php

Looks like you might be able to upgrade your graphics card without the BIOS saying no. BUT, I personally would still take it to the tech guys or a small shop and ask their opinion, especially with the power supply.

Once you open the box of any computer part, you cant take it back if its "wrong". You can only get an exchange/refund if it blows up or is faulty.

Anyway, take care and best of luck.

Not a problem mate.

Hmmm. See its hard to say, cus I fit a 5200 card to my nannas pc the other day when giving her my old one and it says it recommends a 400w power supply for stability. Now that will be under load, but obviously, you will want to be playing games too.

See the thing is with Dell, they cut alot of corners to make the PCs an attractive price. And unfortunatly, here is an example. If its only got a 300w power supply, I could say upgrade to any of the budget cards of either ATI or Nvidia (figure out which slot you have, an AGP slot or PCI-Express). But they will all say in their manual that they recommend a 400w power supply, maybe more.

If your graphics card is stable at the moment then thats ok. But if you got another budget card, like, anything from the 7200 range or even 8200 or whatever the equivalent card for ATI is, Im almost certain its gonna need 400w.

I really cant say mate. I would look at any of the *200 cards from nvidia, as nvidia from 7 series up are a bit better than ATI. But that 300w power supply may mean your computer either a) crashes and reboots or b) the power supply goes pop.

If your power supply goes pop it could take other bits of your pc with it. Also replacing it could be a nightmare if your dell system is one of those "dell stuff only" systems.

Also I cant garuntee your bios wont be locked, since alot of Dells are.

Best thing to do, is take it into an indipendant PC shop, or "the tech guys" at PC World and ask them if a) your bios will be locked and b) what card could you recommend with that 300w power supply. Somebody with hands on who can read all the labels and check the bios will give you the best advice. And, if something goes wrong, you can say its their fault :P

Thanks for that i may just save a bit more and get sum thing end of next week then.

I am all ways playing CoD4 like it a lot and the online play..

I have Crysis i liked it but thats about it

halilmehmet

Yea if you can stretch to it, the 8800 GT by Gainward, especially the "Golden Sample" version, is rapid. It beats 8800 Ultras in benchmarks.

And like I say, I run CoD4 SP and MP and even in MP when its a small map and everybody is running about ive never once noticed any slowdown even when maxed out. Hand on heart, fantastic card.

The Corsair 620 watt is a great supply. I love mine.roulettethedog

Ill second that, mine is great.

To upgrade from an 8600... The next cheapest one is sorta the 8800 GT 512. If you can stretch to around the 170 mark and get a Gainward, XFX or BFG... well. I have an 8800 GT and the only game I cant max out is Crysis. I can run CoD4 in full with 4x aa and 8x AF with no slowdown.

World in conflict, everything up, 4x aa 8x AF.

WoW. Everything again, 8x AA 16x AF 80-140 FPS

I have the gainward 8800 GT

hope that helps.

Older Dell computers, particularly those from the Pentium II and III times, are notable for using proprietary power wiring on their power supplies and motherboards. While the motherboard connectors appear to be standard ATX, and will actually fit a standard power supply, they are not compatible. Not only have wires been switched from one location to another, but the number of wires for a given voltage has been changed. Thus, the pins cannot simply be rearranged.

The change affects not only 20-pin ATX connectors, but also auxiliary 6-pin connectors. Modern Dell systems may use standard ATX connectors. Dell PC owners should be careful when attempting to mix non-Dell motherboards and power supplies, as it can cause damage to the power supply or other components. If the power supply color coding on the wiring does not match ATX standards, then it is probably proprietary. Wiring diagrams for Dell systems are usually available on Dell's support page.

Taken from ATX page on wikipedia.

Honestly mate, I dunnu what to surgest. I havnt really got much knowledge about PSUs and those that are in manufacturer PCs. Im an actor by trade and build PCs as a hobby :P.

Id say jump over to the avforums.com and ask in one of their computer hardware sections. Its where I go when Im not sure about something. Faster replies too.

Best of luck.