[backwoodsshooter]

4.3 overclock is all I am going to get if I want it to be steady.

Oh well. Been playing some Arma and started Eve Online. I really want to get some time playing Eve to see if I will continue once my free trial is up.

 

[Qball50]

4.3 overclock is all I am going to get if I want it to be steady.

Oh well. Been playing some Arma and started Eve Online. I really want to get some time playing Eve to see if I will continue once my free trial is up.

I'm anxious to see how my rig does handling the flight sims my son uses. Right now, it's sitting at my office all ready to go. It was pretty interesting getting the fresh Windows 7 install to recognize the driver for the Intel SSD drive. It recognized the drive, but I had to get creative to get the Windows Installer to allow the SSD Driver to load during the OS install.

But I got it done, downloaded and installed all the updates and drivers, and now it's sitting there and waiting for my son's birthday this coming Saturday.

However, he's more excited about my wife and I taking him and two of his friends to the range for some shooting Saturday than he is about this computer. That's good because I am too and the computer is mine to play on as well.

 

[Qball50]

I unplugged our old computer last night and plugged in this one I just built. My son downloaded Arma II and started playing it while all of his DCS modules were downloading. It took about 3 seconds for Arma II to download. DCS was a different story however. I think it took longer because it's just such a huge file transfer. While DCS was downloading, he played Arma II and the graphics and speed at max settings were incredible. Today, he started flying on DCS and showed me what it looked like while flying an F-15. Unbelievable is the only way I can describe it. The difference between the old computer, which was no more than two years old (store bought HP desktop) and this one is astounding.

My son told me a couple of weeks ago that he'd like to get a new joystick and he would pay for it with his own money he has in savings. I told him to let me do some research on it. I got on the internet and discovered that the "Holy Grail" of flight sim joysticks is the old Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2. I knew I used to have one a long time ago. Microsoft discontinued production of it in 2003. I thought to myself that it would be nice if I would have kept it when we moved in 2005. I was sure I didn't. I was in the closet Friday morning and glanced up on the top shelf and saw this dust covered joystick sitting there. I reached up and pulled it down and brushed the dust off the body to see what it was. There it was staring at me. The words Microsoft Force Feedback 2. I couldn't believe I still had it. Yesterday, I told my son that I found a new joystick and presented him this old dust covered one and I knew what his reaction would be. He laughed and brushed it off that I was joking. That was until I showed him the truth about it and what the hardcore flight sim guys on the internet were saying. He changed his tune after reading some of the flight sim forums discussing this old joystick.

Anyway, this turned out to be a successful build with no problems at all other than getting the SSD driver loaded during the Windows 7 install. I did have a minor issue getting one of the USB 3.0 case cables plugged into the MB because of the huge Titan Z graphics card being in the way. But taking a Dremel and grinding down one side of the USB plug making it flat, solved that issue. All in all it went well and now only time will tell if any hardware issues materialize. I checked the CPU temperature last night while my son was playing Arma II in multiplayer mode with a friend of his. It was hovering around 32 - 34 degrees celsius. Not bad at all.

 

[Inglis]

I would like some advice about computer components. I bought an old desktop computer that my son and I are planning to upgrade to a gaming computer. He wants to wait for a while until some new components are available, but in the meantime he would be using the computer (as is) to access the Internet. The problem is that the computer does not already have a wi-fi adapter. Does anyone have a recommendation about which type/brand/model is best? His room is approximately 60 feet from the router.

Thanks.

 

[MuShu Gordon]

I would like some advice about computer components. I bought an old desktop computer that my son and I are planning to upgrade to a gaming computer. He wants to wait for a while until some new components are available, but in the meantime he would be using the computer (as is) to access the Internet. The problem is that the computer does not already have a wi-fi adapter. Does anyone have a recommendation about which type/brand/model is best? His room is approximately 60 feet from the router.

Thanks.

I've got a Netgear thing that I plug into the USB port of my desktop to access the internet. Bought it at Wal Mart for like $40 or so. It handles more data transfer than the internet puts out so it works well for me.

 

[Qball50]

I would like some advice about computer components. I bought an old desktop computer that my son and I are planning to upgrade to a gaming computer. He wants to wait for a while until some new components are available, but in the meantime he would be using the computer (as is) to access the Internet. The problem is that the computer does not already have a wi-fi adapter. Does anyone have a recommendation about which type/brand/model is best? His room is approximately 60 feet from the router.

Thanks.

Like MuShu said, get a USB WiFi adapter. The brand name really doesn't matter. They are small, plug and play, and easy to use. No need to open the case up to pop in a WiFi card. You can get them at any office supply store or electronics store such as Best Buy.

 

[mekender]

I would like some advice about computer components. I bought an old desktop computer that my son and I are planning to upgrade to a gaming computer. He wants to wait for a while until some new components are available, but in the meantime he would be using the computer (as is) to access the Internet. The problem is that the computer does not already have a wi-fi adapter. Does anyone have a recommendation about which type/brand/model is best? His room is approximately 60 feet from the router.

Thanks.

I have found that the USB sticks like the ones others are suggesting tend to be hit or miss in terms of signal and reliability, I just got one of these for my son's PC:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A0VCHQE

But it is a PCI-E card so that may not work in older machines that do not have that slot.

 

[cranbiz]

I have been running a Netgear wifi adapter for years. Still works great.

 

[MuShu Gordon]

I have found that the USB sticks like the ones others are suggesting tend to be hit or miss in terms of signal and reliability.

I must have exceptionally good luck then. Almost my entire family switched over to the sticks at my recommendation. My internet speed is like 30Mb DL/5Mb UL and the little stick will far outpace those speeds. YMMV though, everyone has good and bad experiences with almost all products. What I like about this community is that we don't just say, "Meh, those suck," we actually back up our claims or offer another idea. Such a good group.

 

[backwoodsshooter]

****Sigh****, I like Windows 7 but it was on the fritz for me. So what do I do....

Install Linux. Ubuntu 15.10. Spent 3 days trying to get it installed and I tell you it should have only taken a hour. IF only I would have enabled IOMMU in my BIOS from the get go. Talking about feeling like an idiot.... But anywho, Linux is going to be a fun learning curve for me. But don't be worried, I got a spare HDD that is getting Windows 7 on it so I can dual boot. Just cause really.

But so far I have been able to install steam lol. Tried doing TeamSpeak 3 but I shut it down as I didn't want to be up all night scratching the surface on command and stuff