Rooster90

I already had a good inkling the Commander position wasn't coming back, I don't mind that too much. But I liked the way squads were set up in BF2 at lot better. 6-player limit instead of 4. Password locks instead of arbitrary locks. An actual squad leader that everybody spawned on, took orders from, and followed. Created a much closer sense of teamwork than BC2 where you spawn on anybody and pretty much anyone could give orders (that nobody followed). I come from a competitive FPS scene, so I have a different experience from some. When I'm just pubbing I'll try and crank the gfx as high as my PC can handle without getting too framey. But if it's a serious match, scrim, or practice, everybody turns their gfx down low so we get solid 50-60 fps or more. That way everybody is operating at an optimal, competitive level. As for BF3 pushing the graphical standards by eliminating DX9, I view this as a very, VERY good thing. How long has it been since a really, really popular game decided to push the limits on todays PCs? Probably not since HL2, Doom 3, or BF2 for that matter. This may finally be the game that will motivate large numbers of PC gamers to upgrade or buy new systems so that the graphical standards can be raised for all games in the future. DX9 is old tech. Like, Windows XP Service Pack 1 old. It's about time a big dev steps up to the plate to raise the bar. Games have been stuck in a graphical rut for 3-4 years. Nothing phenomenal has come out since the current gen consoles were released.

I'll still be pre-ordering this one regardless. BF3 is my number 1 "must-buy" title this year. So many hours lost to BF2 and BC2.... However, I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high either. Sure, its pretty and they've been talking up (sucking up) a lot to the PC crowd... but words are meaningless without action. While they've taken some good initial steps, they still have yet to release any REAL information about multiplayer. 64 players, prone, and jets. All good things, but we haven't really seen how it plays yet, just SP campaign videos. A campaign I may not ever even play. How will classes be managed? Will the weapons actually be balanced from the start? Will medics still have MG's while engineers have SMGs? How will squads work? Will there actually be squad leaders like BF2? A command structure? Spotting? Will customization and weapons actually continue as you rank up or will you run out of things to do at level 25? What will the MP gametypes be? Those are just a few questions left unanswered about a game set to release this fall. I could probably think of a ton more questions. I'm sure it will be a great game, but I've yet to see anything that will convince me this is a true sequel to BF2 and not BC3 with prone, jets, and bigger maps. Hope for the best, expect the worst.

Batwing: I think I agree with you on all points except your last. Seems a little harsh/inconsistent. A person shouldn't be punished for something unexpected if they took all the aforementioned precautions to make sure everything was in order for the night. The only time I could see that as necessary is if it was a more "linear mission", like the Ghost Recon missions or something. TAC Dom, not so much. If somebody gets a BSOD or their internet crashes, that is hardly their fault and no indication of their maturity level for the mission. Sometimes its impossible to plan ahead who's going to be squad leaders and what-not, but a leaders briefing at least 20-30 minutes prior to game-time should be required as well. It's the leader's job to know EXACTLY what the objectives are, the Commander's intent, and at the very least a rough idea of how they're gonna execute. They should also discuss things such as ROE, rally points, how to react to downed soldiers, comms discipline, etc. That way, the leaders all have a clear idea ahead of time instead of just "winging it". Time should then also be given for leaders to disseminate need-to-know information to their soldiers. IMO.

Wish I could've been there. Maybe next week. My PC is due to ship on Monday, so hopefully it will get here by next Friday or Saturday. Communication is almost always an improve. However it's unfortunate that the missions themselves sound buggy. :/ Better luck next time hopefully!

Boo ya! I was one of the winners for the PCG World of Tanks Giveaway! Too bad I dont have my PC here yet.... :/ Here is what the giveaway was if you didnt know: http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/04/15/world-of-tanks-winners/

Sound like a great addition. Hopefully it'll still be there when my PC is back up. Hopefully it'll help slow down the game and reduce the amount of Rambos out there. Should be a great tool to teach people to fire first, then revive. Talked a little with Frenchie about it the other day. So many people are so quick to rush out into a danger zone to drag or revive their buddy that they end up becoming casualties themselves. Return fire, eliminate the enemy, that's mission number one in combat. Once it's safe, then go and help your buddy. Thats my two cents anyhow.

Thats actually a first. We were thinking more Gollum, but hey. XD

Well, if you ever have an interest in looking for new/weird stuff, I take pride in finding the obscure. I have a wealth of music to share, haha.

We tend to listen to a lot of metal that is either drone-like, or very long-winded. A lot of post-metal. I'd say the average song-length we're used to these days is around 6-8 minutes, but slowly climbing. One of my favorite songs is about 17 minutes long. Like I said, not for the feint of ear or those not accustomed to black metal. EDIT: Example of the type of music I'm in to. Not quite the same genre, more doom-metal than post-metal, but they share similar influences and have a blackened tinge to it. http://stereogum.com/669061/altar-of-plagues-feather-and-bone-stereogum-premiere/franchises/haunting-the-chapel/

Just got done mixing my friend's song. We started recording it back in February and have been slowly working our way towards release. Let me know what you think! Note: Not for the feint of ear nor an impatient listener. This track is about 7 minutes long (and only part 1 in a 3 part EP we're working on). Don't be fooled by the first couple minutes. This is metal, heavily influenced by black metal (particularly Agalloch and Wolves in the Throneroom). Enjoy! http://soundcloud.com/rooster90/architect-of-the-void-master

So... I know they haven't gotten to changing any aesthetics, but this basically looks just like windows 7. The features it seems to be adding look like they could be added into a Win7 update/Service Pack. Are there any good reasons to upgrade to 8 from 7 yet? I like the Mount .ISO feature but I don't torrent software or games that often, if it all. These changes seem to be mostly exterior changes, and I typically don't use Aero anyway....

They're probably getting heavy traffic, causing errors. Today is release day.

Great podcast! If you need a youngin' to pick on, I'm always down to try a podcast. Radio voice material right here, haha!

Looks like a fun build! Pretty close to the system I just ordered. We'll have to compare our benchmarks sometime. I'm expecting my system to arrive sometime around the 25th.

I've been running AMD's the past two computers I've had. They're affordable, reliable, and most are good for overclocking. However, lately their performance is meh. I wanted a real performer this time and AMD is just too far behind the game these days. They may have had a hexcore out first, but Intel's hexes are better, some of their quads are better than their hex, and Intel has an 8-core now too. The Bulldozer might bring AMD back into the game, but they've got a lot of catching up to do for high-end performance systems. No AMD for me this time around, sorry.

And if you look at my spec list, my mobo is a B3. So no worries here. Thanks for the concern though!

SirSmoke: You must've missed my very last line in my specs post. The 2GB is the cheapest option i could chose on that site. They didn't have the memory i wanted. I'm getting 8GB of Ripjaw X memory. I think I'm covered, lol.

I saw that, but aren't revision 3 (B3) versions of the chipset unaffected?

Yeah, I wish there was a way to split my Steam directory. When it all gets here, I may experiment with moving (or duplicating) just the ARMA2 stuff onto the SSD. It may be possible to do this since I don't necessarily need Steam to launch it (Arma2 Launcher ftw!). The only snag I foresee are when patches are released. I would have to dl the updates via Steam, then duplicate the update onto the SSD. Or something. I know people have tried to install new updates to their Steam version manually w/o Steam, but I'm not sure how complex that would actually be. @Batwing: I originally had 2 ATI 5770's in this build. After talking with some of the ATI fellows here, Zeno included, I decided to steer clear of ATI due to driver issues with a lot of games. Was going to go to a more comparable 480, but the website I built it from had a deal where it was a free upgrade to a 560 from a 460. Did some research on the 560 and as far as new mid-range Nvidia cards go, the 560 is more than worth it's price in performance. This opened up more money to spend elsewhere on the system, including much better liquid cooling, more fans, a better case, and a bigger PSU. To reiterate from an early post, this is just a base to build up from. Why spend big money on the latest and greatest now when in a few months time they'll be the same price as the mid-range card I just bought? Besides, going from the computer I had, I'll probably think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Old computer: OS: Windows 7 32-bit CPU: AMD 7800+ BE Dual Core 2.8 GHz (3.1 OC) RAM: 4 GB DDR2 (2x2GB, could only utilize 3.25 of it) GPU: Nvidia GTS 250 1GB DDR3 HDD: 450 GB PSU: 650W Corsair No cooling, only 1 exhaust fan was operational in the back. Had to remove the side panel of the case in order to keep it at a proper temperature, exposing the hardware to dust. Absolutely horribly ventilated case. Not slacking on cooling and air-flow this time around, burned through 3 PSU's overheating. EDIT: Here's a video showcasing a very similar build with 4GB less RAM.

Yup, way ahead of you there Viper. Just asking hypotheticals since I've never had a master/slave drive setup before, let alone one with an SSD. I would never plan on installing my games and applications onto the SSD. I'm pretty good at managing my disks. I defrag at least once or twice a month and clean out all the garbage off my drives every 3-4 months. If necessary I'll do a complete reformat every 1-2 years. So when I download/update my drivers I would actually want to save and install those onto the SSD and not my standard HDD, correct? Outside of my OS and my drivers, are there any other important files that I should be aware of when managing this type of setup? I have a pretty good idea of what not to put on it (Games, Steam, Music, Videos, all/most applications) but I'm inexperienced as to what should stay on the master/boot drive. Also, (and this might be a horribly stupid question) when I do get it and download Steam and start installing back my games, I would want to download my Steam app to my bigger HDD from the start and install it onto that drive and not in the SSD, correct? Again, this is all new to me, not sure how the whole master/slave system works.

Yeah, they actually no longer train to stick IV's in CLS anymore. They did when I first did it in AIT, but I was told they no longer did that. Idk why, but I'm a little relieved, lol. I sucked at it. XD

Ordered my new computer today. Not looking for intense scrutiny, but rather I want to ask: What exactly is the benefit of running your OS on a SSD? Obviously my boot time will be much faster. But how exactly does it boost my system performance overall? If my games and applications that I use all the time will be on my slave/data drive (since there's plenty of space for them) wouldn't the read/write time of that drive bottleneck any sort of performance boost gained by the SSD? Or is there something I'm missing? New Rig: CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-2600K 3.40 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified) COOLING: Asetek 550LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Advanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) (Dual Standard 120MM Fans (Push-Pull) HDD1: 80 GB Intel X25-M 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk HDD2: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD MEMORY: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (timing: 9-9-9-24) MOTHERBOARD: MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) Intel P67 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 4x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI [b3 Stepping] MOUSE: Razer Deathadder 3500 DPI High Precision 3.5G Infrared Gaming Mouse OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Professional (64-bit Edition) POWERSUPPLY: 850 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-850TX 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready SOUND: Creative Labs SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 24-BIT PCI Sound Card VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card (EVGA Superclocked) Thanks for all the tips/opinions/advice everyone! (I may upgrade the RAM later on down the line to a higher clock speed, but Newegg has a pretty good price on that pair right now. I know Viper, I didn't use triple channel w/DDR3. But the price of going that direction outweighed the actual performance increase. I have friends with 4GB of DDR3 and they like it just fine.)

Yeah, it's just some standard first aid training. (CLS: Combat Life Savers). Plus my regular monthly drill that weekend. Preparing for our annual 2 week training in May. New computer specs (as of now): CAS:CoolerMaster HAF 912 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Adjustable HDD Cage [-52] (Black Color) CD:Sony 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive [+3] (BLACK COLOR) CPU:Intel® Core? i7-2600K 3.40 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified) [+84] CS_FAN:Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9] FAN:Asetek 550LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Advanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) [+18] (Dual Standard 120MM Fans (Push-Pull) [+9]) HDD:80 GB Intel X25-M 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk [+132] (Single Hard Drive) HDD2:1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+93] (Single Hard Drive) MEMORY:2GB (1GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory [-88] (Corsair or Major Brand) MOTHERBOARD:[CrossFireX/SLI] MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) Intel P67 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 4x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI [b3 Stepping] [+73] MOUSE:Razer Deathadder 3500 DPI High Precision 3.5G Infrared Gaming Mouse [+47] OS:Microsoft® Windows® 7 Professional [+135] (64-bit Edition) POWERSUPPLY:* 850 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-850TX 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready [+126] SOUND:Creative Labs SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 24-BIT PCI Sound Card [+48] VIDEO:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+165] (EVGA Superclocked [+54]) Don't be alarmed by the 2GB of RAM. I chose the cheapest one I could, gonna get these put in instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231426&cm_re=ripjaw_p67-_-20-231-426-_-Product

If this thread is on the wrong part of the forums, by all means move it. Hey guys, just letting you all know that I'm not disappearing forever. I'll be gone this Tuesday - Sunday for some military training. On top of that, my computer decided to blow up on me today, which could extend my hiatus indefinitely. I'm pretty sure my PSU just got fried, but I'm not 100% sure. It was pretty dusty in there, could've caused a short anywhere. So I'm stuck on my iMac for now until I decide to get a new computer. Been talking about it for a while, now seems as good a time as any. Catch you all on the flipside!

Wow, that was a really fun time getting our asses kicked. XD Hope you guys finished that third ammo cache, looked like there were loads of insurgents still out there by the time I left. It was a privilege to lead my boys in Alpha (Doppel, scorpion, GHOSTSERGEANT, Goon). Thanks to Romeo and his gunner for that crucial CAS when we needed it, it really did make a difference on the ground. First time leading a squad, I hope I didn't do too bad of a job, lol. I was getting really drained towards the end and we kept getting separated, etc. Partially us squad leaders' fault, comms seemed to drop to a lull after that second ammo cache. It was a great challenge and a great game overall Frenchie! We fought hard one block at a time and that AI was brutal. But man I'll be damned if it wasn't fun. GG guys!