Ok, so here's the skinny.

About 4 months ago, I talked to Squilliam about building a new PC and he said the best bet was to go with this custom built job from Acer for 400 bucks. Really nice prebuilt. Had 3gb onboard ram, great motherboard, "on board" shitty graphics card, and 250 watt nothing powersupply. Also Vista 32bit. The goal, of course, was to upgrade the system, all legally(no stealing windows, I'm not down with lying, stealing, scum, no matter what their ignorant justifications.)

So, upon buying this computer, I found that it ran great. 3ghz two Core processor, super fast. I was hesitant to "upgrade" and fuck it up, so I kept it as was, until about a month ago, I decided to buy a graphics card that wouldn't need any dongles, so I wouln't have to upgrade the powersupply, and I did so, but I was dissapointed with the results. I could max out World of Warcraft, but I was having to turn The Witcher down to bullshit specifications to "play" it.

I said "fuck it all" and spent a ton of money on it the other day.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130370

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009163

I bought those items, being a new monitor(HD 23inch), new graphics card(the one newegg said was the best customer choice for high end gaming), a monster hell of a power supply(49amps on a single rail), and some badass gaming ram.

I also bought a backlit gaming keyboard and a G6(or whatever) logitech gaming mouse. Yes, yes, I know.

Win.

Well, first thing, my case wasn't big enough for the graphics card(or the damn powersupply), so I had to take a damn hammer to it(which I was certain would break the computer, pending a breakdown, it obviously didn't), then the power supply cords wouldn't fit in it(there are a zillion'fuckin'million). Then I cut my thumb bad in frusteration, then the card was too big for the flicker on the slot(that snaps it in), and every other thing that could have possibly gone wrong, but I got it all hooked up and it looks like this.

So yes, my computer is a resounding success. I'm able to play Crysis on 1080p resolution, with all the settings universally turned up to high, and my computer stays pretty cool. Cooler than an Xbox 360, at least, and I'm not the best person at computer building, as my cut up hands and shoddy wire placement, and hammering on my case shows.

I havn't clocked Crysis on high, but it looks like its going at a steady 45+ fps the whole way through(I played it for a while), and it looks better than KZ2, yessir(I haven't tried Very High yet, but I may just for shits and giggles). The computer recommended medium which I get at least 60 fps on(I can just tell 60 fps, can't we all), but it looks way better and plays better than most console games on high.(That card takes 2 6pin dongles to power, so yes, it isn't a toy).

The PC does have some problems as a gaming console, but the feeling you get when you build one(mostly) yourself, is great. I don't even give a shit about Crysis, but it's fun to build a computer and I can show off Crysis to my awed friends and family, who bow before my superior Star Trek like technical know-how. I live in Mississippi folks, I'm a God here.

I can play any computer game that has come out right now, on my computer, on high settings, at over 30 fps. That's my benchmark, and I enjoy it. That is my computer story.

Those cables are messy! You will improve the heat flow in your rig (really) and generally make it easier to upgrade if you tidy them up a bit!

It's not like it's the Ark of the Covenant or anything, but that jumped out at me.

Otherwise that is a very nice rig.

So how much was your original computer? Gratz on Crysis.

It's a small case, and that particular power supply has way too many cables. I have them all jammed up in the casings on the right hand side, but there is just no more room. It is the number one complaint of that power supply on newegg. Thank you for the compliment. I spent lots of time and money, and even though it isn't the best, I am proud.

I'm sorry I know nothing about upgrading computers, but I do know if you can run Crysis on full settings you have one hell of a computer.

400 dollars. Acer Aspire something. Had 3ghz regular ram, 3ghz 2 core processor(don't remember what kind, the non pentium kind, lol), card reader, firewire usb slots on top, nice dvd burner and huge hard-drive. Was a great deal. Easy to upgrade too. Also, I was told by Squilliam about just the base Acer computer(which is quality shit, tbh): can't build one that cheap(that is as good) and buy Windows Vista legally. :P

oh not everything went wrong my brother just bought stuff to make a new computer and then he finally getss it all built then the motherboard was a pos(it didnt work at all after the first day) and it over heated and melted some wires

There is a Very High, but it scares me. It looks so f'n sweet on high, lol, I'll chance it one way, but for now I'm content with playing through it on high.

Anyway, one cool thing is the card came with Fraps(lets you record yourself playing games). Also, it came with a very good overclocking program that lets you manually set your fan speed for differently ventelated computers. I moved mine from 40 to 60 percent, and set a macro for 100 percent when I play any games.

Modern PC's are awesome. back in the early 90s, it was a bit of a pain custom building pcs (esp if you have a fudgy IDE controler card that is playing up.. or a controler that didn't auto detect the drive and the drive settings weren't on the sticker on the top. grr my pet hate), now everything is nicely, and cleanly, labeled, color coded etc.

also they are fun to build as well :)

Yeah. I had this computer for a while, so I knew that if anything was going to f up, it would be either the new stuff I added, or something I broke installing the new stuff.

Anyway, guys, I heart this thread. I'll sleep now, but be back to talk more about it tomorrow!