Re: Which Game Console do you prefer and why?

[MONSTAR]

Ok sounds good. $ 109 isnt to bad for 500gig. Ive only got the 40gig model and about 18gig free so shouldn't take as long as yours.

Have you got PLAYTV?

I borrowed it off a friend to record the WGC 2 weeks ago but didnt have enough memory. It used 15+gigs to record 2.5 hours!!!!

[WebHead]

Yeh , PlayTV wasn't an option before. I can't imagine getting it anytime soon, maybe next year.

[Schuy1]

So they can name the PS3 the Y2K?

Schuy how do you find the little cube speakers? Ive gone a different direction with large front left & front rears (Wharfedales) which can get awesome sound and bass even without a sub (I do have a Yahama 180 watt ported sub though).

Yes Rus, I like the little Bose cubes - they give a very accurate & big sound without drawing attention to themselves! - they almost disappear in my room.

My lounge can still look like a lounge and NOT a recording studio.

To get the proper 5.1 (or 7.1) sound, you still need an active sub - that is what reproduces the .1 sound channel.

The little cubes also come with a bass module to take the really deep L / R front bass - so, in effect, I have kind of 2 subs in my system.

I still get people commenting how they can't believe "the great wall of accurate sound" they are hearing - some even ask "where are the speakers?" .....

I'm NOT saying they are the best or anything like that - just that they give "way above average" sound in a compact physical / small footprint package. Very "wife" friendly too!

Dr. Bose is COOL

[aussieracer]

Apparently the PlayTV works on PC as well with the right drivers.

I used to think I'd upgrade the HDD in my PS3, but 80GB is enough. I only use the space for game installs. I use a 500GB portable HDD to play movies and stuff on the PS3. And everything else fits perfectly on my 3TB of space on my PC

[MONSTAR]

WOW 3TB!!! The huge

I use a 32gig memory stick yo watch my movies

[WebHead]

But if you HD breaks you lose so much information in one go.

[MONSTAR]

??

[WebHead]

Let's say you have all your information on 1 terrabyte drive instead of 4 250GB drives. If your drive breaks/fails, you lose everything. But in the other scenario, you would still have 750Gb of data.

[Rus-Evo]

Let's say you have all your information on 1 terrabyte drive instead of 4 250GB drives. If your drive breaks/fails, you lose everything. But in the other scenario, you would still have 750Gb of data.

Good point, even my older Mobo's were capable of supporting multiple drives..... but the cost of 3 250gb drives is surely about two times the cost of one 750gb drive. So your solution is safer but you pay for it right?

[WebHead]

Sure, but if your information was truly that important, you'd raid your hard drives or at least run backups frequently. Plus the reality is that hard drives these days are extremely solid, so seem to be one of the most reliable parts in a PC these days.

For me, I only keep backups of things like my photographs, since they are irreplaceable. Everything else, like downloaded music, etc, You can always collect those again.

My next machine I build, I'm gonna make the jump to a solid state drive.

[Rus-Evo]

Yeah photos and documents are the only "must-not-loose" items. Of my 640gb drive in my PC, something like 460gb is leached media.

Im currently nearly at full on that disk, need to get another drive when Im working again.

I think I will use my media PC as a backup PC.....is that doable. Also what are the off-site options for my photo collection? My sister has all of hers on an Ipod as well (which isnt exactly "off site").

[WebHead]

Off site could just be another building on you premises, if you have a toolshed in the backyard for example. Or some other suitable storage place. Otherwise, you need friends, deposit box, post office box. Online backups are also useful. I've loaded my gmail account up with emails I sent to myself, attaching important documents to them just in case. You can keep a USB drive in your drawer at work maybe.

Honestly I don't keep any offsite backups, it wouldn't be so bad starting some things afresh.

Edit: The other trick is the photo compilation CD for your mum and dad - that's another backup right there.

[Rus-Evo]

What about bulk online storage? Is that a thing? My photos are 2.5 gb.

[aussieracer]

I have four hard drives to reach that 3TB and I carry a lot of my favourite stuff on my 500GB portable drive. So I'm not too worried about losing everything. I also bought a K62 Lancool (Lian Li) computer case. It has four case fans and plenty of dust filtered ventilation which dropped the operating temps of almost all my components by 10degC. It's important to have a fan blowing right over the HDDs for longer life.

[MONSTAR]

I need a new PC but dont want to spend big $$$.
The PC i have now cost me $600 to get built. Can anyone give me a list of parts to get from case to be turn on? Ive got monitor and crap. Just need new stuff in a tower

[Schumacat]

Assuming they are compatible with your new PC, you can reuse the following parts :
Hard Disk
RAM
DVD/ CD Drive
Power Supply Unit
And sometimes, even the Motherboard ( mostly if you on AMD )

And the usual stuff like Keyboard, Mouse and Monitor .

[aussieracer]

I spent just over $1000 on my computer, minus the screen, keyboard and mouse. That was last year and I considered it to be more powerful than my PS3. It's no slouch. But now I'm seeing games coming out on the PS3 that I can't imagine are close to being possible on my PC. Remarkable what they can do on the PS3. But it's still worth the money on good PC parts. It's my home for pretty much everything other than games (movie, tv shows, music, programs). It's practically a media server, and I expect it to run without a hiccup. Gaming is 90% on PS3, but every now and then I like to LAN with my mates with RTS and FPS games. And it's just nice when the computer just does what you ask it to do instantly.

[MONSTAR]

My PC is getting slow so its about time i updated i think

[Ignatius]

- 1. Wii. I really love it. Sure, it can't pull out great graphics or outstanding physics but that controls, if they are well implemented, can be a blast to play. For example, I see it perfect for FPS (play Metroid Prime Corruption and you'll see what I'm refering too, and looking forward to Red Steel 2). Adventures like Zelda, Resident Evil 4 or Mario Galaxy come to show what how fun can this kind of controls be. Plus Super Smash Bros Brawl, Super Mario Bros Wii, Little King Story... which are somehow a return to the old school in gaming. Shame on third party games, they are not on the same level as Nintendo's ones, but this is about to change, I think.

- 2. PC. I use it as often as Wii, specially for realistic car simulators (GTR2 being my favorite to date), graphic adventures (Grim Fandango *sigh...*) and great RPGs like Mass Effect.

[Rus-Evo]

My PC is getting slow so its about time i updated i think

What do you use it for? That would drive your upgrade path. So tell me that...I will advise you......then Webhead will correct what I advised you

[MONSTAR]

just surfing the net and downloading movies, music. Not into PC gaming as i have a PS3. I reckon i could build it myself. Ive installed a motherboard and HD's. id just get someone to wire thhe things up that i dont know how to do.

[WebHead]

- 2. PC. I use it as often as Wii, specially for realistic car simulators (GTR2 being my favorite to date), graphic adventures (Grim Fandango *sigh...*) and great RPGs like Mass Effect.

I know we have talked about this before mate, but we never finished our discussion.

Assume I asked you which adventure games you recommend. You would say, Grim Fandango, and I would say 'already played it, loved it, what else do you recommend?'. Can you give me a list. I need a fix! Classic/old is fine.

[WebHead]

My PC is getting slow so its about time i updated i think

What do you use it for? That would drive your upgrade path. So tell me that...I will advise you......then Webhead will correct what I advised you

Correction already Rus!

The first question should be: What are you running at the moment? If you don't know, go to run in the start menu and type 'dxdiag' and tell us your processor, etc.

@ Bender
Edit: Actually, everytime I read your posts now, I try to imagine Bender's voice, just for fun!

[Ignatius]

- 2. PC. I use it as often as Wii, specially for realistic car simulators (GTR2 being my favorite to date), graphic adventures (Grim Fandango *sigh...*) and great RPGs like Mass Effect.

I know we have talked about this before mate, but we never finished our discussion.

Assume I asked you which adventure games you recommend. You would say, Grim Fandango, and I would say 'already played it, loved it, what else do you recommend?'. Can you give me a list. I need a fix! Classic/old is fine.

Sorry, I thought I had answered you! My mistake. I'll try to do now as well as my English lets me.

This are the graphic adventures that I recall as the best I've ever played:

- Grim Fandango
- The Longest Journey saga. First one is traditional graphic adventure, long and with a very, very epic plot. Second one, called Dreamfall, is more of an extremely well written plot, great and long in game engine cinematic scenes and conversations. The problem of the last is that gameplay is short and easy but, if you love good stories, it's quite good.
- Sam & Max saga: the first one is an old time classic, one of the many of LucasArts. The second one is done by seasons and chapters, it is a bit easier as long as I remember but it has really funny dialogues, although it's a bit too much based on pop-culture for my taste.
- Runaway saga: this one is less known, but it's really good. Very traditional point and click adventure, funny dialogues with hand drawn backgrounds, cell-shading characters, and sometimes hard to beat. Runaway 3 was recently released packed with the first and the second one, at least here in Spain.
- Day of the Tentacle: very old, but brilliant.

Other games that in my opinion are not so great, but you might enjoy are Syberia I & II, the Atlantis saga (First person adventure with pre-rendered graphics, VERY slow, but with a good story to enjoy) and... well, I can't remember anymore right now, I'll tell you if I forgot something important.

The games that I still have to play but I know that they are good are: The Monkey Island Saga (yes, I've never played it), A Vampire Story (this is quite new) and the oldie The Dig.

That's all for now, I'll send it to my English teacher to show him that I actually write some stuff at home

[WebHead]

Thanks Ignatius!

Grim Fandago: Done
Longest Journey: Done, and patiently waiting for the 3rd installment
Sam & Max: Done, until halfway through season 2. On that episode with the silly youth vampires. Haven't played it for a little while now, might try it again. Thought Hugh Bliss was hilarious in season 1. Never played the very first lucasarts one.
- Maybe it's time to give Runaway a try, I've been a little unsure for a little while.
- OK, maybe Day of the Tentacle deserves a look.
Syberia: Tried it, got bored. Nice settings though.

Thanks, there are some titles there to keep me busy.