And the mask comes off.

[FloatingFatMan]

Lol okay ya that's true.

Shhhh!  If the wrong person catches wind of that statement........Then rule 34 would apply in the form of Margaret Thatcher with some kinda Rule 34 embodiment.

Actually, some of us on Union used that as a running gag.  My char, being a shapeshifter, could turn herself into Maggie Thatcher, wearing very little... Best not to irritate her, y'know? ;)  Well, not unless you want claw your own eyes out and your brain to shoot its way out through your ear and run for it...

[Shadowe]

Actually, some of us on Union used that as a running gag.  My char, being a shapeshifter, could turn herself into Maggie Thatcher, wearing very little... Best not to irritate her, y'know? ;)  Well, not unless you want claw your own eyes out and your brain to shoot its way out through your ear and run for it...

I still remember the time she showed up as Margaret Thatcher... In full Mistress of Iron leather.

My poor toon needed therapy.

[FloatingFatMan]

I still remember the time she showed up as Margaret Thatcher... In full Mistress of Iron leather.

My poor toon needed therapy.

And instead, got his sister Sam tromping through his brain! :p

[Harpospoke]

You do realise XP is completely out of support now, right? No security patches, nothing.  Also, you're going to start coming across lots of apps that just won't run on it anymore.

Oh sure....I was reminded of that a lot when it stopped.   It was almost like alarm bells were going off on my PC!   :D

But everything was going along the same as before until I recently reformated and reinstalled XP.   Now suddenly things stopped working.  I can only assume this is related to XP being non-supported now since I never had those things happen the other times I reformated.  (Like Skype won't work for me now!)

This, coupled with a potential for a new rig due to a possible return of a certain game I used to play, is making me look into it.    It seems Win 7 is the way to go.

[Ohioknight]

Lets see, his bio would go something like this:
Mr. Oliver Limpit, a mild-mannered accountant for a large health care conglomerant, with the help of really questionable/morally ambiguous science and the love of Trichechidae Trichechus, became O--the Humanatee!

As the lone sentinel of the Florida shore, O dispenses marine justice with a swift swat of his well-trained flipper.
Ever vigilant as he munches the tender sea grasses, shoal grass, manatee grass, turtle grass, widgeon grass, sea clover, and marine algae of his aquatic protectorate.

Nooooo, Du gong! -- Doc  tor  Dugong!

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=venturefans.org%2Fw%2Fimages%2Fthumb%2F6%2F6c%2FDugong.png%2F250px-Dugong.png

[FloatingFatMan]

Oh sure....I was reminded of that a lot when it stopped.   It was almost like alarm bells were going off on my PC!   :D

But everything was going along the same as before until I recently reformated and reinstalled XP.   Now suddenly things stopped working.  I can only assume this is related to XP being non-supported now since I never had those things happen the other times I reformated.  (Like Skype won't work for me now!)

This, coupled with a potential for a new rig due to a possible return of a certain game I used to play, is making me look into it.    It seems Win 7 is the way to go.

Well, Microsoft own Skype, and have discontinued it for all unsupported OS's.  Really, that's just the beginning of things you're going to see happening.

[Arcana]

It does make it difficult to make the case that people just misunderstood one word he used when he backs it up with a bunch of other words that also suggest he didn't approve of alts.   Even if he just has a terrible grasp of the English language you would think his poor choice of wording would occasionally skew in the other direction on that topic.   When it always leans one direction, odds increase that these were his true feelings on the matter.

Only when context is ignored:  Take the word "terrible:"

Sometimes we make Alts because we are bored. That is a terrible reason because our focus gets split among two characters. Even if you go back to your main, that level 10 rogue will always be looking at you from the character select screen, reminding you of that Saturday night where all your friends were busy and you had nothing better to do than roll an alt. If you decide to level that character to max, you should have a reason in mind. Good reasons are things like "My raid needs a tank or healer," "I have a lot more fun in PVP with this guy than my main," "This play style fits me better, and will be my new main character." Bad reasons are things like "I want to see how this top-tier talent actually works," "This class is what everyone is playing, so I might as well too," and of course, "I'm bored but still want to play, perhaps a new class will shake off the doledrums."

Good reasons for making an alt: I discovered I liked something better ("this playstyle fits me better"); I want to make something that will be situationally better sometimes ("I have more fun in PvP" and "My raid needs X").

Bad reason: I have no choice ("I want to see how this top-tier talent works"); I think my choice is wrong ("everyone is playing, so I might as well too"); the game isn't appealing to me anymore ("I'm bored.")

In this paragraph Matt unambiguously provides context to the entire article.  FROM A GAME DESIGNER'S PERSPECTIVE there are good reasons for your players making a lot of alts, and bad ones.  The good ones are: the players genuinely enjoy the variety.  The bad ones are: the players feel compelled to do so because the game limits them in some way that forces the creation of alts.

Not remotely coincidentally, these arguments are exactly the same arguments the players themselves constantly presented to the devs as the basis for making game design decisions.  If this article was written by a player, asking the devs to focus on the "good" reasons why he made alts and not on the "bad" reasons why he made alts, I don't think anyone would have been parsing his words and accusing him of secretly hating alts altogether.  They wouldn't be saying that anyone who uses those words must be hiding a dislike for alts that is leaking through to his semantic choices. 

The article ends on this note:

Alting is fun for a lot of people, and for those who don't care at all about endgame content, alting can BE the game for those people. To that I applaud you. Many of you are what kept City of Heroes alive as long as it was. I'd love to hear your rationales and reasons behind creating alts in other MMOs. Do you get them to the level cap? What then? Do they become a burden when events or new content occurs? How do you remedy that?

You don't need a ouija board to guess at the implications of some of the single words Matt uses, when his whole sentences convey the idea unambiguously. 

[Arcana]

Oh sure....I was reminded of that a lot when it stopped.   It was almost like alarm bells were going off on my PC!   :D

But everything was going along the same as before until I recently reformated and reinstalled XP.   Now suddenly things stopped working.  I can only assume this is related to XP being non-supported now since I never had those things happen the other times I reformated.  (Like Skype won't work for me now!)

This, coupled with a potential for a new rig due to a possible return of a certain game I used to play, is making me look into it.    It seems Win 7 is the way to go.

If you're buying a brand new rig, odds are it will have Windows 8 or 8.1 preinstalled unless you're building your own from scratch.  If it does, I would recommend trying it out for yourself before scratching it down to Windows 7.  When half the population loves it and half hates it, you can't be sure which group you will fall into.  There's no harm in trying it out for yourself first and deciding first hand.  Particularly if you decide you like 8.1 Update 1, which is the version that is closest in UI to Windows 7 (you could also get something like Classic Start to get the start bar back as others have pointed out). 

If you're buying an OS directly yourself, then its more important to choose the right one to not waste money, and there I have my recommendations and others have theirs.

Although in any case, I suspect that the Win7/Win8 schism is going to be mostly resolved by Windows 9, which probably most Win7 and Win8 people will be upgrading to over the next year or three.  The trajectory of Windows 8 is such that its very likely Win9 will be much more of a metro-sprinkled Windows 7 with a better Windows 8 core and enhanced integrated features, which is probably what Windows 8 should have been in the first place.  So you'll be reexamining your desktop choice again pretty soon anyway.

[JanessaVR]

Actually, Dell and Toshiba are still selling Win7 computers.  We just bought 3x Dell PCs with Win7-64 Pro on them.

[Power Gamer]

Actually, Dell and Toshiba are still selling Win7 computers.  We just bought 3x Dell PCs with Win7-64 Pro on them.

Any suggestions? I'm gunna need something when we get the game back.  ???

[HEATSTROKE]

Any suggestions? I'm gunna need something when we get the game back.  ???

build it yourself..

[Cailyn Alaynn]

Any suggestions? I'm gunna need something when we get the game back.  ???

Personally, I'd recommend against pre-built computers. Really, it depends on how skilled you are with hardware, and how much money you have to spend.

[amrobinson]

Only when context is ignored:  Take the word "terrible:"

Good reasons for making an alt: I discovered I liked something better ("this playstyle fits me better"); I want to make something that will be situationally better sometimes ("I have more fun in PvP" and "My raid needs X").

Bad reason: I have no choice ("I want to see how this top-tier talent works"); I think my choice is wrong ("everyone is playing, so I might as well too"); the game isn't appealing to me anymore ("I'm bored.")

In this paragraph Matt unambiguously provides context to the entire article.  FROM A GAME DESIGNER'S PERSPECTIVE there are good reasons for your players making a lot of alts, and bad ones.  The good ones are: the players genuinely enjoy the variety.  The bad ones are: the players feel compelled to do so because the game limits them in some way that forces the creation of alts.

Not remotely coincidentally, these arguments are exactly the same arguments the players themselves constantly presented to the devs as the basis for making game design decisions.  If this article was written by a player, asking the devs to focus on the "good" reasons why he made alts and not on the "bad" reasons why he made alts, I don't think anyone would have been parsing his words and accusing him of secretly hating alts altogether.  They wouldn't be saying that anyone who uses those words must be hiding a dislike for alts that is leaking through to his semantic choices. 

The article ends on this note:

You don't need a ouija board to guess at the implications of some of the single words Matt uses, when his whole sentences convey the idea unambiguously.

Before Incarnates came out, alts were the game. At least for me.

For everyone else, even if you only ran one character at a time, once you hit 50 you started another.
If you played for years, you ran through a fair number of alts.

Personally, I loved to come up with new character ideas, and match costumes, backgrounds and powersets to them. I didn't actually run all of them, but most.

And when a new powerset came along that I liked, I had to make a new character to try it out.

I also found out that characters I fleshed out and ran casually, I tended to go back to again and again. The few I ran in a min/max mode (running with the same few people and consistently aimed for max xp in minimum time) I never touched again once they hit 50th.

They never really grew in my imagination as real characters.


Sadly, this ends my reign as Lord Minion.

The Powers That Be (jealous of my fame, no doubt), have conspired to strip me of my exalted title, and reduce me to the rank of mere Lieutenant.

In the future, I will settle for my other title.

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.idx360.com%2Fwarlockinc%2Flordspittle.png

[HEATSTROKE]

Personally, I'd recommend against pre-built computers. Really, it depends on how skilled you are with hardware, and how much money you have to spend.

I had limited skill when I built this PC.. you will need money however..

[Power Gamer]

Personally, I'd recommend against pre-built computers. Really, it depends on how skilled you are with hardware, and how much money you have to spend.

build it yourself..

Fair enough.

I have enough savvy to put it together, but not enough to know what goes with what off the top of my head.

I guess I'm asking where I might look to get an understanding of which components are compatible with each other.
Just a nudge in the right direction, plz. Tyvm.

[Pep Rally]

This is a good start.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw

Depending on how much you want to spend, this is a good guide broken up into price ranges:

cpu:   http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106.html

gpu:  http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

Check google to see cheapest prices. Usually newegg is best for everything(look for rebates) except maybe Microcenter for their CPU/Motherboard combo deals.

If you are gonna go cheap, I'd probably get the  AMD FX-6300 cpu(overclockable), then the most expensive AMD video card you can afford in the R7/R9-series.

[Tyger42]

Personally, I'd recommend against pre-built computers. Really, it depends on how skilled you are with hardware, and how much money you have to spend.

Building it yourself is still the better option, no doubt, but prebuilts have closed the gap quite a bit...

[Takinalis]

Screw MTV. I want my CoH!

[HEATSTROKE]

Fair enough.

I have enough savvy to put it together, but not enough to know what goes with what off the top of my head.

I guess I'm asking where I might look to get an understanding of which components are compatible with each other.
Just a nudge in the right direction, plz. Tyvm.

Copied from another post and edited... and I am sure others can add more....

Look Here

http://www.anandtech.com/tag/guides

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-your-own-pc,2601.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWkH_8b1Q9Y


First off let me say this. Building your own system is not as daunting a task as it might seem. I build my first system last year and I had little to no experience with computer tech at all. Hyperstrike, New Chemicals and Father Xmas were very helpful to me in giving me some advice so now its time to pay it forward.

I am not going to try and tell you every detail on what parts to use. Your projected use and budget will dictate that. Also what can influence what you buy are sales. I found a lot of things I wanted on sale which opened the door for other things I wanted. What I will suggest are some general things that I think will help without getting overly technical..

First thing you should so is this.. watch these videos over and over and over. I found them to be invaluable. I watched them until I was confident I understood the process and what to do. I found this to be the greatest help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWkH_8b1Q9Y

I would try and stick with name brand parts. I stuck with products from Intel, Corsair, Asus, Msi, Samsung etc etc.. Even if there seemed to be a better deal with something else I felt more comfortable sticking with the better quality brands because I had more confidence in the ability to get help with product if needed.

Now a brief word on parts..

1) Case. Pick a case with good airflow and cable management that will allow you to expand your system. My old computer always got hot. I thought the case I bought was really nice because it looked cool.. and the thing had the worse airflow I think was possible.. It would overheat and get really really loud when the fans kicked on.. and they were always on because the case had bad airflow.. Blinking colored lights look cool.. but dont matter in the long run. VERY IMPORTANT.. Make sure that the case will allow you to expand.. add video cards.. add fans.. add hard drives.. etc etc.. and make sure your video card will fit with room to spare.. (if you get a new more powerful card later you might need more room... Cooler Master and Corsair both make good cases..

2) Motherboard.. there are a lot of these.. I think the most important thing again is to make sure you get something that works with you CPU of choice. I wanted to make sure that I had enough USB ports PcI slots.. enough slots for expandable memory etc etc.. Intel,Asus. Msi all make quality motherboards

3) CPU.. there is always the AMD vs Intel debate.. I choose an I5.. I decided to stick with Intel.. I didnt want the cheapest and I couldnt see what I would get from the I7.. I choose the 3570K version which I could overclock but I didnt..

4) CPU Cooler.. You will need something to cool your CPU.. and there are several ways to do this.. usually either by a fan or liquid.. I chose a self contained liquid cooler with a radiator by Corsair because I was concerned about heat because of the last system I had. These are generally more expensive. I also wanted quiet.. There are very good fan systems by CoolerMaster, Noctua, Zalman and others.

5) SSD and Hardrives.. I chose to use a 128MB SSD as my boot drive and a 1 TB hard drive for storage. I prefer this set up. Windows and programs that need a little speed sit on the SSD.. Other stuff and videos, pictures music sit on the 1 TB.. If I had to do this again I would have picked a 256MB SSD as a boot drive.. which I might do as an additional hard drive later and load all my games onto that Drive by itself.. I love the SSD.. boots and shuts down faster. Corsair, Samsung and other make quality SSD.. Hard Drives.. Seagate and Western Digital make solid ones..

6) RAM.. Most people will say 8 MB is enough. I was fortunate that when I bought my motherboard and cpu they were running a special with 8MB ram for free.. I wound up buying the 8 anyway getting 16 MB for the price of 8.. buy Ram in Pairs... if you want 8... buy two of the same sticks of 4..if you want 16.. buy two 8's or 4 x 4 (which is what I did )

7) Power Supply.. THIS IS IMPORTANT..  DO NOT SKIMP HERE !!!! You want to have MORE power than you need so that your Powersupply doesnt have to work hard and so that your system can be expanded later without replacing it.. Building to about 50 to 60 percent of a PSU's capacity is advisable to achieve maximum efficiency and yet leave room for future expansion.also dont get a cheap no name power supply...Look for units with "80 Plus" certification. I also choose a modular supply where cables I did not need were removable to improve cable management..

read this and to help you choose

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2025425/how-to-pick-the-best-pc-power-supply.html

8) Extras.. to consider...

Do you need a soundcard.. probably not.. unless you want the BEST sound.. the onboard audio on a quality MB is usually pretty decent..

Bluetooth Dongle.. easy buy.. they are cheap.. I didnt use it much at first but I can transfer data from my smartphone and use bluetooth wireless speakers now..

Wifi Card.. this is pretty obvious to me..

OH almost forgot...

I went Windows 7 because it was cheaper than 8.. and glad I did after reading all the issues with 8...

DVD drive.. simple.. get something decent.. I got this.. simple. cheap.. works...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204


Other advice..

Understand that STATIC IS BAD  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The video talks about that..

I bought a cheap tool kit that came with one of those straps to help discharge static...

Make sure you have good lighting.... no liquid near this computer obviously... and no small children should be nearby.. your two year old thinks its funny when he runs off with daddy's screwdriver when seating the motherboard.. but trust me its not...

Take your time.. build it right.. my build took three hours.. I read through my manuals (keep them close when building )and watched the videos one more time.. I also kept my phone handy on the side with the video ready in case I got stuck (I didnt)

Dont rush.. go step by step...  and ENJOY The process... I will never buy another PC again...

[Power Gamer]

Thanks HEATSTROKE, Pep Rally this is exactly what I needed.  :D