I'm starting to realize how pointless, upgrading your computer is. (gaming too)

[2is]

You talk like it's a console port...without even knowing the engine...classy

You talk without knowing I was asking a legitimate question BECAUSE I'm not familiar with the engine, or the game for that matter. I know its a FPS but that's about all I know about it, so I'm asking.

You know what they say about people who make assumptions?

 

[VirtualLarry]

With time comes Wisdom. And with Wisdom, well, you'll learn to ignore Lonbjerg, like we all do.

 

[OCGuy]

But does it kill your computer becuase there's just THAT much going on or becaue its shit code?

Have you played ARMA 2? There is so much going on that it will put you in awe if you give it a chance. Here is the Alpha trailer for ARMA 3, and it looks like whatever test setup they are using is having trouble, and these are neutured graphics.

(Full Screen HD for best effect)

http://youtu.be/I0untAgEncI

 

[2is]

I have not. I do see there's a demo available. Is it a MP or SP demo?

With time comes Wisdom. And with Wisdom, well, you'll learn to ignore Lonbjerg, like we all do.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep that in mind for future reference.

 

[Tempered81]

Here is the Alpha trailer for ARMA 3

http://youtu.be/I0untAgEncI

I always liked this 1500 AI ARMA movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KK6Fo3Y0AU

 

[Obsoleet]

I'm happy with my Q9450. I don't do a lot of content creation with it, video/photo/3D- but I do use it well. It's a streaming device, gaming, does my video conversions.

The relevance of my PC in my day to day life has started to die since it peaked in the 90s with adoption of the internet. Now, I'm more interested in the consumerization of technology (iPads and such) rather than the hobby of a faster PC.

For me, overclocking and upgrading was simply to reach a usable state for less money. Today, things are so fast I feel that my Q9450 is overclocked for no real reason.

I haven't gotten to a point where my desktop PC is eliminated from my life, replaced with a laptop or iPad entirely but I'm getting closer and part of that is due to my needs still requiring abilities only a desktop PC can do effectively.
Gaming, Handbrake, VisualStudio are all pretty integral to my life.

While the desktop will be with me for a while longer, I am looking forward to the increased irrelevancy of the GPU market in particular as APUs increase in speed. I'd say this and the iPad scene are where I'm most interested- thus less focused on upgrades.

 

[bleucharm28]

This is simply a hobby and just like every other hobby; everything comes down to money spent. The return value is whatever you feel justify to your beliefs. Lately I've been wanting build a mini itx pc as a backup computer. Do I really need a back up computer? No. But...I just bought myself a mini itx gaming case. /sigh

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Lmao. Phruck AMD lol

 

[tuffluck]

i agree with the OP more than not. i had an e6750/5770 build that ran BFBC superbly (game of choice), and i had that rig for 4 years and only upgraded the video card. tried BF3 because my friend had a similar rig and said it played well. well, it played fine, but took forever to load servers. it would take about 8 minutes or so, then when i finally joined the server would change and the process would repeat.

i decided to upgrade and got some fantastic deals on my 2500k/7850 build. all in all i was out of pocket $625 after $50 rebates and ebaying my old stuff for $150 total ($800 spent originally). not too bad, but i must say now i enjoy OC'ing my system more than actually playing BF3 or any other game, and for that, i feel silly. i think i would have just been as happy with my old rig playing BFBC occasionally, and i would have been $625 richer.

not all is a waste though. it's current and it was based on very good deals, so i don't feel too dumb. as long as this rig lives for 5+ years, i don't really see myself ever buying/building a PC again. but that's 5 years away, so who knows what will change.

 

[thelastjuju]

I insist that most "enthusiasts" here are all motivated by what other people will think of their purchases, probably more to demonstrate their purchasing power more than anything else. They want to be able to show others they can keep up with all the latest trends sites like Anandtech are promoting their way, and they use it to justify their superiority over others who cannot.

Hence why the vast majority of these overbuyers just cannot resist listing their specs in their signatures.. even though its irrelevant to 99% of discussion.

 

[Makaveli]

Hence why the vast majority of these overbuyers just cannot resist listing their specs in their signatures.. even though its irrelevant to 99% of discussion.

I disagree with this part.

I like being able to see people sigs so I know if they even own the hardware they are discussing.

plus seeing the type of computer they are using will sometime help you to understand their point of view in certain circumstances.

Also when someone post a problem they are having and looking for help do 20 people have to come in and say list your specs please?

I'm sure alot of people also just do it for Epeen.

But i'm someone with my sig listed and I really don't care what anyone thinks about my computer.

Then again I've never lived my life looking for approval from others, i've always been the type to just go my own path and run with it.

 

[blckgrffn]

I disagree with this part.

I like being able to see people sigs so I know if they even own the hardware they are discussing.

plus seeing the type of computer they are using will sometime help you to understand their point of view in certain circumstances.

I'm sure alot of people also just do it for Epeen.

But i'm someone with my sig listed and I really don't care what anyone thinks about my computer.

Then again it just be me I never lived my life looking for approval from others, i've always been the type to just go my own path and run with it.

Yup, this++. I think a sig can say a lot about someones context and viewpoint on issues, and judging someones taste in hardware is always in style

 

[Yuriman]

I insist that most "enthusiasts" here are all motivated by what other people will think of their purchases, probably more to demonstrate their purchasing power more than anything else. They want to be able to show others they can keep up with all the latest trends sites like Anandtech are promoting their way, and they use it to justify their superiority over others who cannot.

Hence why the vast majority of these overbuyers just cannot resist listing their specs in their signatures.. even though its irrelevant to 99% of discussion.

I'm very content with my Q6600 rig much like I'm content with my 1994 Honda Civic. A few small upgrades and it does what I want comfortably and cheaply.

There's always a market for excess.

 

[Axon]

Or just a market for people who like to tinker. Additionally, if you had a P4 and then upgraded to IB, you just got a current machine.

Ultimately its up to the individual to determine how they spend their cash. Every so often I get the upgrade bug and I spend on parts. Then it dies down and I don't buy anything.

 

[Zebo]

As long as you have a SSD, any intel CPU with memcontroller you're good for years, besides video cards, which are still going forwards at great pace. Albeit slower this generation.. It's just not like the past where upgrade was like necessary to play stuff every other year.

I think the next big thing will be monitor tech. Frankly LCD is pretty poor wrt motion and OLED will fill that void.

 

[Zebo]

I'm very content with my Q6600 rig much like I'm content with my 1994 Honda Civic. A few small upgrades and it does what I want comfortably and cheaply.

There's always a market for excess.

What's funny is that CPU has more power than probably 90% of PCs out there and we look at it as an antiquity.

 

[zephyrprime]

Well, unless you do it for power-consumption reasons. Newer chips do draw less power, at least at idle.

That's the worst reason of all to upgrade. The amount of money you save per year is very little. Do you know how much power is used in the production of new equipment? TONS. If you want to save the environment, you're sooo much better off just recycling or driving even 1 gallong of gas less per year. If you really want to go all out, start using a wood burning stove instead of fossil fuels.

 

[Makaveli]

That's the worst reason of all to upgrade. The amount of money you save per year is very little. Do you know how much power is used in the production of new equipment? TONS. If you want to save the environment, you're sooo much better off just recycling or driving even 1 gallong of gas less per year. If you really want to go all out, start using a wood burning stove instead of fossil fuels.

So true and good point!

 

[sm625]

Power consumption is no joke. 3 PCs each pulling 220 watts costs about 10 cents an hour. If those computers dont sleep correctly, and if flash gets left running, then they're going to pull that much power 24/7. That is, believe it or not, over $800 a year. I'm sure there are at least 2 million pc's running right now unused for at least the last 30 minutes that have a flash app going. If those apps were simply minimized, the total power consumed would drop by 20% or more. (I wrote an ahk script to do this on the kid's pc.])

I think any P4/conroe/athlonXX pc that gets used every day should be replaced by a $300 pentium notebook if it is fast enough, which it would be for most users. We're talking about going from 90-180 watts to probably 15/25 watts at the wall. That's about 50 cents a day or $150 a year. lol it pays for itself in two years and is most likely faster too...

 

[blckgrffn]

Power consumption is no joke. 3 PCs each pulling 220 watts costs about 10 cents an hour. If those computers dont sleep correctly, and if flash gets left running, then they're going to pull that much power 24/7. That is, believe it or not, over $800 a year. I'm sure there are at least 2 million pc's running right now unused for at least the last 30 minutes that have a flash app going. If those apps were simply minimized, the total power consumed would drop by 20% or more. (I wrote an ahk script to do this on the kid's pc.])

I think any P4/conroe/athlonXX pc that gets used every day should be replaced by a $300 pentium notebook if it is fast enough, which it would be for most users. We're talking about going from 90-180 watts to probably 15/25 watts at the wall. That's about 50 cents a day or $150 a year. lol it pays for itself in two years and is most likely faster too...

?

http://www.handymath.com/cgi-bin/electric.cgi?submit=Entry

Seems high, but I pay ten cents per kw/hr. fifteen and you are getting there.

My 1090t pulls 200W from the wall under DC load, so you must have some pretty massive web surfers and about six flash sites open or something

Now, if you have an electric water heater well... yeah. There are lots of ways to save power.

I get the point made above, however. Which means I am going to go ahead and unleash the new 2600k rather than worry about the 20W power differential.

 

[thelastjuju]

I disagree with this part.

I like being able to see people sigs so I know if they even own the hardware they are discussing.

plus seeing the type of computer they are using will sometime help you to understand their point of view in certain circumstances.

Also when someone post a problem they are having and looking for help do 20 people have to come in and say list your specs please?

I'm sure alot of people also just do it for Epeen.

But i'm someone with my sig listed and I really don't care what anyone thinks about my computer.

Then again I've never lived my life looking for approval from others, i've always been the type to just go my own path and run with it.

Does that mean you agree with my first part?

Because they go hand in hand really.. :sneaky:

Think about why its so much more common that its those who over-buy that are the same ones listing their specs .. its highly indicative of someone wanting others to envy what they have.

That's the worst reason of all to upgrade. The amount of money you save per year is very little. Do you know how much power is used in the production of new equipment? TONS. If you want to save the environment, you're sooo much better off just recycling or driving even 1 gallong of gas less per year. If you really want to go all out, start using a wood burning stove instead of fossil fuels.

True.. I actually consider a lot of the "energy efficiency" nonsense to be nothing more than even more marketing gimmickry they have thrown our way. I mean look at these "green" hard drives for example.. they run at like 2-3 watts less than their non-green counterparts, yet they sell like hotcakes because "green" technology has becoming trendy.

If anything, PC's have become more energy efficient, but its got nothing to do with the type of "green" marketing strategies designed purely to drum up sales.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Not really sure what the OP's point is here. We're all glad for you for this revelation and all, but what's the thread accomplishing? I still enjoy gaming and upgrading as much as I always have and I'm sorry you don't find the same enjoyment anymore. Wishing you the best of luck in finding a new hobby.

It's not that the enjoyment is gone, the need is gone. I still like building and overclocking computers but there hasn't been a real dire need for me to build a new system for myself in 5 years. I realize my Q9550 isn't as fast as a 2500k for example but I still think it runs everything I need it to run very adequately.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Power consumption is no joke. 3 PCs each pulling 220 watts costs about 10 cents an hour. If those computers dont sleep correctly, and if flash gets left running, then they're going to pull that much power 24/7. That is, believe it or not, over $800 a year.

I think any P4/conroe/athlonXX pc that gets used every day should be replaced by a $300 pentium notebook if it is fast enough, which it would be for most users. We're talking about going from 90-180 watts to probably 15/25 watts at the wall. That's about 50 cents a day or $150 a year. lol it pays for itself in two years and is most likely faster too...

My current rig, which is in my sig, I don't know how much it draws yet, but it must draw a bunch.

I used to run two Q9300 @ 3.0 rigs, with GTX460 1GB OC cards, running DC, and a quad-GPU monster, with four 9600GSOs (and a low-power AMD dual-core CPU).

I moved the quad-GPU cruncher (which takes 400W under load) to a relative's place, so it's not in my apt anymore. I still have one Q9300 @ 3.0, with a HD4850, running Milkyway@Home 24/7, and then my main X6 1045T @ 3.51 rig, with two GTX460 cards, which I did have running BOINC/DC stuff for a while too.

I just got my power bill, and it was ~$130. It's been that high for three months. It was $150 during the winter, when I was heating my apt with the quad-GPU cruncher and my main rig. I even had to leave the windows open part-way in the Winter.

I've stopped running DC on the two GTX460 cards, which should save some power, I haven't run the AC much the last month, and the quad-GPU cruncher is gone. Why is my power bill still so high?

I wonder about the power draw of this X6.

I also have a HTPC with a BE-2400 low-power dual-core and 2GB of DDR2, and a WD Green drive, which stays on 24/7, but is generally at idle. But that hasn't changed over the last year or so.

-

So between the HTPC, the Q9300 @ 3.0 quad-core with HD4850 (running DC 24/7), and my main rig (CPU running DC on six threads, GTX460 cards idle), and maybe a little AC during the warm weather, I'm paying $130/mo. I pay $0.15 per Kwh. So that's $1560 for electricity per year. Ouch!

 

[Makaveli]

Does that mean you agree with my first part?

Because they go hand in hand really.. :sneaky:

Think about why its so much more common that its those who over-buy that are the same ones listing their specs .. its highly indicative of someone wanting others to envy what they have.




True.. I actually consider a lot of the "energy efficiency" nonsense to be nothing more than even more marketing gimmickry they have thrown our way. I mean look at these "green" hard drives for example.. they run at like 2-3 watts less than their non-green counterparts, yet they sell like hotcakes because "green" technology has becoming trendy.

If anything, PC's have become more energy efficient, but its got nothing to do with the type of "green" marketing strategies designed purely to drum up sales.

Yes I do agree with the first part.

I just wanted to add for me people having specs in there sig is actually useful.

But there are others that your post would fit like a fat kid on cake

 

[Olikan]

That's the worst reason of all to upgrade. The amount of money you save per year is very little. Do you know how much power is used in the production of new equipment? TONS. If you want to save the environment, you're sooo much better off just recycling or driving even 1 gallong of gas less per year. If you really want to go all out, start using a wood burning stove instead of fossil fuels.

if people are so consern about power concumption....

there is always notebooks