wulvfen

Rruarfff!!! Hiya' all. Here's the deal. Coming up on 2 years successfully using Win 7 PRO [64 bit] OEM on my relatively 'new' system with minimal problems. Now I have the option to update to Windows 10 [FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME]. I'm cheap and don't want to spend money if I don't have to. All of my software/firmware/hardware has been installed/setup with my Win 7, and I don't want to screw things up or be forced to reinstall a bunch of stuff because it's not compatible with something. [i was a Win XP user before this, but I can't get some of my older XP games/stuff to function correctly on Win 7 due to driver/software/etc issues, even in compatibility mode and I don't want the same thing to happen by upgrading to Win 10]. So I'm looking for opinions/info/kudos/bitches/etc. from users and non-users about Windows 10 as compared to Windows 7. I'm doing my online research about it, but hearing opinions directly from users/modders on topics is always of greater benefit than solo searching. Your input is valued, here's my system stats; Processor: Intel i7-4770k CPU @ 3.5 GHz RAM: Kingston- 4 x DIMM 32 GB DDR3 Dual channel @ 1600 Motherboard: Asus Z87-WS LGA 1150 w/ Gen3 4-way, SATA-6 Gb/s, USB 3.0, lots more Video Card: MSI Lightning nVidia GTX 770 w/ 2 GB Hard Disks: Samsung Pro 256 GB SSD, WD Caviar Black 2 TB HDD Power Supply: Corsair Gold 950 watt (SLI/Crossfire ready) Case or Enclosure: CoolerMaster Full ATX 690 II Monitor: Philips 46 inch HDTV & Samsung TFT-LCD 22 inch widescreen Audio Equipment: SoundBlaster X-Fixtreme 5.1 audio card, w/ Tactics 3D Sigma Headphones Input Devices: SteelSeries- Merc Stealth keyboard, Diablo III mouse So, what do ya' figure people?Update, Ignore [for now], Wait 'til they fix any bugs[usually a year, right?].Am I gonna have to buy a touchscreen? THX Ooops...NO 46" HDTV anymore [damn it was awesome to play on], it was 6 years old and blew under the strain about 4 months ago. Have to replace it one day...

RraarrRR! Check out this Steam Community guide for a primo Fallout 3 game setup if you're using Win 7 or 8: [You'll find it under--- Fallout 3-Game of the Year Edition > Guides > BenWah's Guides] "Ultimate Fallout 3 Setup & Mod Guide, Windows 8 & 7" by Ben Wah IMO, Superb Advice, Information and Assistance for the game...

Hruff! The very first time I played FO3 [about 3.5 years ago, vanilla game, normal mode] I didn't even get through Springvale to Megaton before I got ripped apart by 2 wild dogs. After my character was "reborn" from my death, I almost made it to Megaton after getting chewed up by a couple of giant ants I foolishly engaged near Springvale School, only to get shot in the back by a raider from long distance. Died again. Was so paranoid after that it took me nearly 2 days of game time sneaking, freaking, hiding and running to get to the Megaton gates. I had been thinking much along the lines of " I've played a few FPS/3rdP games, I'm not bad at them, starting out should be a cakewalk ". WRONG! I was so use to "linear" style shooters [start at A, limited/directed areas to work thru, get to B to advance to next "level/map"] that the "open world" concept totally trashed my supposed combat tactics I had "developed". I'm now an "Open-World" games addict and find it somewhat boring playing "Linears", finding the restrictions on where you can go and what you can do in game a bit of a snoozer. Don't get me wrong, I still play them for variation [currently have a BioShock 2 game on the go when I need a "break"], but there's nothing like getting "smacked around" by some "reality". Hell, if it was not for the Pip-Boy map and objective pointers, I'd probably still be wandering around, completely lost... LOVE IT!

Haaruff! Got it fixed as I was typing my reply. Nice. Have Fun!

HAaaRRrroooOOO! It sounds like the fonts have been altered I've had similiar problems with DarNUI before, very much like what you're describing [never had to use windowed mode, so no help there]. Try installing any mods that alter the menu xml's first, and then install DarNUI second to last, THEN install/use UNI-HUD last, "Gophers" godsend compiler of menu xml/HUD altering mods. Make sure your resolution/graphics are set for what you want BEFORE you do so. ergo-- something like--[set your graphics], then install MCM, Project Nevada, DarNUI, then UNI-HUD. CHECK your "Fallout.ini" file in your Documents/My Games/ [game name, either your FalloutNV or Fallout 3 folder, whatever one it is you're playing] to ensure that the DarNUI Fonts are installed. There's a good chance the .ini fonts have been altered due to the resolution changes. DO NOT alter any files in the games installation directory, just the one in the Docs/My Games/ folder. DO NOT alter "Fallout-default.ini" or "Fallout-prefs.ini Just the "Fallout.ini" Open the Fallout.ini with notepad, Do [Control+F] and type in the word "Fonts" [no quote marks], LEAVE the Fonts Header line alone and DELETE the fonts section below it, REPLACE it with the ENTIRE fonts section provided by DarNUI, save, close, and you should be good to go. If it's Fallout 3 you're playing and you are using FOMM, DarNUI is already fomoded and will do all this automatically for you. New Vegas requires a bit more manual work [as I have suggested above], but DarNUI has included instructions and there's a pdf file somewhere out there with complete details. That's how I do it, works everytime for me [many crashes/screwups, many reinstalls/fixes] I get wordy, hope I have not confused you, and I seriously hope I could help you out here.

Rufff! Answered in LL forums. It seems it doesn't matter. FOMM will create a fomod using 'Create from Folder' function either way and fomod it correctly for activation and installing to the proper locations. I've tried both methods, same results seen. No problems. THX for looking at my query

AaaROOooO! I'm curious as to know whether the FOMM 'Create from Folder' function requires a data folder inside the 'Titled' mod folder that one wants to fomod? To whit...let's use SCR Resources as my example... Following the guide, the end result prepped for the 'Create from Folder' function looks like this; SCR Resources / meshes, textures, sounds, SexoutCommonResources - Vegas Chokers.bsa I, HOWEVER, would place everything into a data folder INSIDE the SCR Resources folder before using the 'Create from Folder' function, like so; SCR Resources / DATA / meshes, textures, sounds, SexoutCommonResources - Vegas Chokers.bsa This is not the first mod I've seen that doesn't have this DATA folder in it once it's prepared to be fomoded, others do, so...? Does FOMM 'Create from Folder' function automatically do this [or put the folder/files into the data directory without it]? In the past I've NOT done this DATA folder thingy and things have installed into the MAIN FNV directory or were messed up. NOT ALL, but some. THX

Ah Well, I live and learn. I am [now] more aware as to what a better build I could have put together. Heavy Sigh! Next build. I do know that it is serious overkill in many aspects but I have my reasons. I have become extremely interested in not only using mods created by others, but in mod creation myself. I've SLOWLY been learning how to use various tools and programs to do so on my own [i read/view tutorials, don't worry]. I'd love to learn the whole gamut eventually [areas, buildings, items, flora, fauna, characters, animations, navmesh, scripting, yada-yada], and create mods like some of the beauties out there for people to enjoy, so serious modding is in my future. Right now, I barely can use FNVEdit. Also, a friend of my with his own small media company is going to teach me graphics/audio/design programs, so I expect to be putting my build to actual working situations. We're long time gaming buds [more than 2 decades] and both creative, he's a musician/media artist, and I guess I'm more conceptualization/plan drafts and drawing/sketching. [He's offering me some part-time at-home work if I can learn how]. I'm actually considering going to school/classes for some. I've even have people saying I should, and get into games design/work. Thank you for all the info, me likee much. Made mistakes, that's how you learn sometimes. Best thing tho', I learn.

Hi to all. Thank You! As I now understand it, the 4GB enabler is a game engine/system memory modifier that helps out Bethesda's buggy Fallout engines. OK, I'll use them. Have before with no problems, wanted to know more about them as regards TTW. [Love the idea of travelling back and forth between the Wastelands]. Even at it's best [maxed upgrades/system tweaks/game tweaks/etc], my old rig running a lightly modded game was "stutter, stumble, stagger" with more than a couple of companions in the middle of nowhere, combat was almost like watching a series of still pictures in sequence. As for modding anew, POPULATIONS! It's been 200+ years and people will.....you know.....[which is why CotW is a must for me, thx luthienanarion] Gads how I hated the vanilla games dearth of humanity. In the wastes, sure, but the so-called established settlements/towns/etc. just made me sad. [Not that my old rig could have handled it if they were there]. Now that I've got a system that can handle the traffic..... I'll be experimenting for awhile, there's several mods I've been wanting to tryout but couldn't really run before.

Hiya fellow forumers Got a new rig!!! I now have some questions about utilities/tools that will be needed for modding my Fallout games. I have both FO3-GOTY and NV-Ultimate Ed. and I plan to install Tale of Two Wastelands. Got another post in the Hardware and Software forum about the same thing [ New Rig - Games/Tools/Utilities ] but my questions are more individually games related, SO....my rig Asus Z87-WS Motherboard [LGA 1150] Quad Core w/ Gen3 4-Way (SLI/Crossfire) Intel i7 4770k CPU @ 3.5 Ghz Kingston RAM -32 GB DDR3 Dual Channel @ 1600 MSI Lightning nVidia GTX 770 GPU w/ 2GB Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD WD Cavier Black 2TB HDD LG BlueRay/HD DVDRW LG Dual Layer HD DVDRW SoundBlaster X-FixTreme 5:1 Audio card SoundBlaster Tactics-3D Sigma Headphones Corsair Gold ATX 950W Power Supply Coolermaster 690 II ATX case Windows 7 Pro [sP 1] 64 Bit [OEM] OS- as Admin Philips 46" HDTV as Monitor SteelSeries Merc Stealth Keyboard SteelSeries Diablo III Mouse All my games are installed to my HDD, outside of my Program Files into a new Games Folder I created in my efforts to avoid the UAC. I've been using mods sporadically for a couple of years now with some success, and plenty issues, partly due to the incapabilities of my old computer [and my still fumbling attempts at using editors/merges/bashes] However, with my new rig, I'm uncertain as to what is needed in the utilities/tools/fixes catagories for either game, if anything. I'm fuzzy as to what the 4GB enabler does exactly? Is it an operating system modifier [i think so]? Does it just allow older rigs to run the game better [like it did with mine] [same question as before]? Or is it a games engine/ini. modifier? See my confusion.....I think I just asked the same question 4 ways. Therefore, with my new rig, the big questions are - Do I need the 4GB enablers for either Fallout if I install Tale of Two Wastelands? Do I need any other specific "tools/utilities/mod" for game/system operation improvements? Do I install TTW and then mod the games, OR vice-versa? [using TTW/compatible mods]? Any input on requirements for the above system would be greatly appreciated. I'm doing Skyrim too.

ermacos, thx for the speaker links. Filed for future use, need to put together some more monies. As for the video card, I didn't build my rig myself but had it built by Wytek.com. Local to me, additional warranty/service/parts benefits because it's local, but in order to stay within my budget, I chose the in-store's available 2GB version. It's quite sufficient for now, I can SLI at some point, I expect to have to upgrade in the not so far future. The 4 GB version was earmarked by me, so I didn't overlook it.

AAAaarroooOO!!! Hope this post is in an appropriate forum concerning new hardware and the software requirements for different games. If not, be kind and redirect me please. I'll happily move my queries. Got my new rig up and running, here's my beasty [i call it "Warg"] Asus Z87-WS Motherboard [LGA 1150] Quad Core, SATA 6GB, w/ Gen3 4-Way (SLI/Crossfire) Intel i7 4770k CPU @ 3.5 Ghz Kingston RAM - 32 GB DDR3 Dual Channel @ 1600 MSI Lightning nVidia GTX 770 GPU w/ 2 GB WD Cavier Black 2TB HDD Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD SoundBlaster X-FixTreme 5:1 Audio card SoundBlaster Tactics-3D Sigma Headphones LG BlueRay/HD DVDRW LG Dual Layer HD DVDRW Corsair Gold ATX 950W Power Supply Coolermaster 690 II Full ATX case OS - Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit [OEM]- Running as Admin. [Hit my budget cap of $3000 CDN. Have to save for decent 5.1 speakers now] -Already owned- Philips 46" HDTV as Monitor SteelSeries Merc Stealth Keyboard SteelSeries Diablo III Mouse It's NOT Overclocked [as yet, will learn that] and I consider it to be [currently] Overkill for my immediate needs, but not so much so in the near future. I've got fresh installs of several moddable games, and my questions concern what tools/utilities are suggested/required for them. I've been trying my hand at mod using for about 2 years, mostly FO3 & FNV, a little Oblivion on occassion, so I've got the basics figured out for installing script extenders, mods, load orders, utilities, tools, patches and such. [still suck using editors though, like FNVEdit {Yes, I have the manual, just have to "practice, practice, practice". It's all about how much time I get to myself to "play"} ]. My old rig could not play any newer games, my new rig can, WOOHOO!!! I've got a crapload installed, more coming and I desire info on what's what as pertains to modding them. My OS, drivers, and various firmware/software/applications are installed on my SSD. At first, my games were installed on the SSD as well, but I had to move them to my HDD when they hit 110 GB because I need the space for other programs and I'm installing more games at a later date. Right now all my games are installed outside of my Program files [to my HDD- (F)/Games2/etc. I created], especially my online and Steam games, as I am trying to avoid that UAC issue thing. I verified all my games/caches after the move. Right now, the games I'm specifically curious about are; Fallout3 GOTY, Fallout New Vegas Ultimate Edition, and Tale of Two Wastelands I use BOSS, FOMM, and FNVEdit to mod my Fallouts. [Had problems with Wrye Bash, probably me] Both Fallouts are installed and I intend to install TTW asap. I love the idea of "crossing the Wastelands" between the two, and i hear good things about improved game stability. During my modding attempts, I've had plenty of freezes, CTDs, locked load screens, stutter and so on, some of which could be directly blamed on my old rigs incapabilities. I want to mod both Fallouts. I know if I install TTW, I need TTW/compatible/no conflict mods. I know to READ the Readme's & follow the instructions.....BUT -Do I need the 4GB enablers for either/both Fallout games? I'm curious as to whether they're used because it's a OS or games engine.....um.....uh....."limit"? "thing"? "modifier"? "issue"?.....or is it a "fix" to allow old systems to run the games better [which is what I think it is, because I used them and they helped a lot, but I didn't have TTW installed at any point] CORRECT me if I'm wrong! PLEASE, I vant to gnaw.....AkkkK! Still got Halloween brain, sorry. -What about patches/bug fixes? [Yeah, yeah, I know, read all readme's] -Do I install TTW, then mod the games, or mod the games, then install TTW? Does it matter [much]? SKYRIM-Legendary Edition! I can FINALLY play Skyrim!!! I SOOOO couldn't before. I see high recommendations for various mods. I have no Skyrim tools/utilities experience other than some minor research and reading so far. SO; -What is the best Mod Manager for Skyrim? I only really see NMM for the game, unlike the Fallouts which has NMM, FOMM, and others to choose from. Would you give me your opinions on NMM? As I mostly modded Fallouts and Oblivion, I've never used it at all. Is there an alternative? I'm NOT opposed to using it at all, I just have not done so. -TES5 Edit? Please confirm this is the FNVEdit equivalent for Skyrim, Yes? -Merge/Bash patch tools? Or other desirable utilities? I just re-read my post, geez I get "long-winded" for simple questions. That'll do for now. Any and all input gratefully accepted.

Howlins to my fellow forum personas! SO sorry I havn't responded to your comments for so long! My sister had to have an operation and I've been at her farm taking care of the horses and cattle for her for the past while. [All's good, no complications, just a matter of her recovery now]. I'll be in and out for a bit, with the neighbours help and my being there on the weekends or when I'm not working, we're good to go. I'll try to keep on top of any posts so please continue to opinionate in my direction. Thanks to all the great advice, info, etc., I, once again, have revised my revision to yet another incarnation as a further development of my....oh yeah, the new build; First some additional details as to the purpose of my build. Probably should have had this in my OP to begin with; OVERCLOCKING- NO - With a good build I don't see my needing it. Gaming- I'm not an extreme gamer, mostly a solo, but I play 3-5 times a week for up to 4 hours at a time on average. I have friends who want me to join them online for mmorpg and multi-player co-ops/arenas and I want to run the newest everything on Ultra-Maximus-Freakin' Insane settings with a gajillion mods and have my new rig yawn from boredom. HOWEVER, the future use of this rig will be involving a variety of some serious graphics, design, video, animations, CAD, 3D, CGI, music and other ram-heavy, number crunching programs and tools. In addition to my developing a keen interest in modding, I have a musician friend who runs his own little media company and is willing to teach me the how to's of the software, etc.. It's more about video/graphics/animations/renders for me than the music, love music but I'm more of a visual artsy type for my own amusement and what I want to learn. SO, what do you peeps say to this build? [Parts locally available]; ASUS Z87-WS LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $295 Intel Core i7-4770 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770 - $395 CORSAIR AX860 860W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready - $200 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM - 2 sets @ $140 ea. = $280 SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $245 Western Digital WD Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM - $230 GIGABYTE GV-N770OC-4GD GeForce GTX 770 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready WindForce 3X 450W Video Card - $475 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card powered by THX TruStudio Pro - $180 ASUS-BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-ray CD/DVD Writer - $90 Rosewill N900PCE Wireless N Dual Band Adapter IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n PCI Express Up to 450Mbps Wireless Data Rates Support 64/128 bit WEP, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK, 802.1X - $45 Corsair Carbide Series 500R Black Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $120 Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 - $30 Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver AS5-3.5G-$8 < $2500 base price I will also be adding the following, which I already own; -Lite-On DVDRW SHW-160P6S DVD/CD dual-layer writer -3.5 " Floppy drive [ Yes, a FLOPPY drive] -9-in-1 media card reader I will be installing Windows 7 Pro SP1 [64bit] for my OS [another $125]. Still need a good set of headphones and a microphone to match the sound card. Say around $200. Any preferences about that topic...[kalikka?]. Your opinions about the above build, oh online personas? THANK YOU!

Wow kalikka that was fast. Just love getting all these bites and chunks of chewy goodness. It's the little things that get said that are really great. I don't know much about brands [re.- EVGA vs. Gigabyte vs. Asus etc.] or series [re.- Green vs. Black etc.] so NICE! RAM- so I could put in 2x PAIRS of [8GB sticks] for a total of 32GB, OR put in 2x PAIRS of [4GB] for a total of 16GB, OR as my design 1x PAIR of [8GB] for a total of 16GB, leaving the 2nd channel empty. Good to know for my future upgrades. I'm sticking with 16GB for now, because I'm starting to work with CAD and graphics programs. What's better to do for performance/function, use 1x Pair [8GB]=16GB & 1 channel empty OR, 2x Pair [4GB]=16GB, using both channels? SILENCE- Yes! My Gateway gets pretty damn noisy nowadays [i'm pushing it hard...hard...hard...], but it 's because of overheating and overworking the HDD, so I really want to keep my build running cool. Knowing about 'silent' products is grand [ergo your "green" comment] and I didn't really think about fan noise, so good on that. COOLERS-As for water coolers, the Asus "Formula" mobo [the 2nd one lower in my OP] has an integrated system a computer water/liquid cooler can be attached to. Kinda 'cool', but I like my primary pick better for expansions. So should I get a cpu cooler if there's less air cooling due to a different case/less fan airflow? GPU- I know little about video cards other than I prefer nVidia [for various reasons] and basic info about specs, sli, etc., so I couldn't say what's good or so-so as to heat, noise, quality of product and so on and so on...I chose the EVGA basically because of the integrated cooling feature, but I want a reliable, durable, quality product [don't we all?] SOUNDCARD-You are a font of audio info. I really know nada about soundcards, and even less about brand types, so thank you for clearing that up. Changing the soundcard is not a problem for any reason, but what about the specs/capabilities of the integrated onboard audios in the mobo's, which are; Asus "Extreme" - Realtech ALC-1150 [8 channels] Asus "Formula" - ROG SupremeFX Formula EGAD! It's almost 1 a.m., I gotta go get some sleep before work at 6... talk [er...type] atcha later

AarooOOO! Haapppyy Howlin's erupt from my throat! Hey to all again. Due to yet another unexpected turn of fortune Ive been able to increase my build budget by 50% to a max of $3000 Canadian Loonies. Yowzah! [Oh...Damn...I think I wet myself] Therefore I went for an Intel 4th gen. build, generally concentrating on gaming purposes. I chose my parts due to the increased capabilities and for future upgrading. Here's my current design; CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K SNR, 600ohm audio SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Western Digital WD Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model F3-2400C11D-16GXM EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2765-KR GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support w/ EVGA ACX Cooler Video Card Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Champion (70SB135400000) 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card with Sound Blaster I/O ASUS Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Blue LED Fans-1x 230mm front fan, 1x 230mm top fan, 1x 230mm side fan, and 1x 140mm rear fan All parts researched and available online at - newegg.ca. With various CURRENT promos, rebates, etc., the cost for parts inc, shipping [to my address] and all taxes is $2436.00 cdn. Now then, anything I should know about what I've chosen? For example, is the power supply enough? What about a cpu cooler? Future possible upgrades would be another video card for sli/crossfire, more ram, or another burner, maybe a second ssd [just thoughts]. Are the parts all compatible? I think they are, but it IS my first build. Of course I still need the OS- Win 7 Pro [i'll wait until Microsoft gets their s*** together and fixes Win 8 for consumer use. I think it sucks] Oh yeah, I was also looking at this other ASUS mobo, but It didn't have as many expansion slots. Would it work for my purposes with the above hardwares? What about upgrades, ie. sli/crossfire, 2nd ssd, etc.?; ASUS MAXIMUS VI FORMULA LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX gaming board with double-sided ROG Armor, 23C-degrees cooler CrossChill and 120dB SNR, 600ohm audio It'll save me a few bucks too, but that's not why I like it I like the Cross chill feature, I hate it when my computers overheat and I could leave it air for now and upgrade to a water cooler unit if needed. Both mobo's have onboard lan/wifi/bluetooth, so I don't need a wireless card. I want the sound card, but for info's sake, do I need it? I don't know much about the integrated audio on the mobo's I chose, so some input on their capabilities would be nice to learn. I've got a Lite-Scribe dual-layer/dvd 24x burner that's 6 years old, came with the Gateway I'm still using. Can I add It to the list for my build [2 burners]. OR, can I drop the blueray and replace it with the dual-layer, OR, should I just get something new, ie. the blueray? Do I need blueray? RAM! I would think I would know this, but... The mobo say dual channel support, and I cannot figure out how the hell to get 32GB of ram via dual channel, but I see it in quad-channel Do I buy 2 sets of dual channel ram? [ie. (2 x 8GB=16GB-dual channel) x 2= 32GB total. The mobo's have 4 slots. OK! I think that'll do for now. PLEASE peeps, help me out with the depths of your knowledges. THX

kalikka Nice! THX again for expanding on your prior info.. Not going to be using speakers very much, already got a decent set of stereo plug-ins w/ a sub woofer, but my current headphones are a backup pair w/ no mic. and I desire a set w/ one for future online sessions w/ friends once my computer is built. As for mic. recording, just need something good/great for voice dialogues and, optionally, voice acting character dialogue for other mod authors. That said, I'm thinking a good set of headphones w/ a mic. for gaming/online purposes [my local BestBuy has a nice set of SteelSeries full-covers for $90]. Also just a nice plug-in mic. [via sound card] for recordings [maybe $40 for some good clarity/quality.] I've run some voiced companion mods in my FNV game, most are pretty good, but some have had "tinny" voices, like through a bad cell-phone connecton, and I'd like to avoid that if it's a hardware/firmware/software/capabilities kind of issue In addition, while the primary purpose of my build is game/games related, it is also required to function as my home network hub and occasionally as my work station and family entertainment uses, which means there will be times it's being used for streaming/viewing/using media via HDMI/audio hookups to either of our 2 TVs, although that's going to be a pretty rare event. But as it will occur, and for the prior reasons, I'm thinking a good sound card and firmware/software. There's a quote [i forget who by.....me, the input vacuum.....damn memory retrieval system....must be the.....or maybe the....oh, yeah the quote.....] "The greatest treasure any one can possess is the abundant wealth of information" Thank you for sharing coins with us from your hoard. I pretty much know what I need for me to progress sound wise, but if you or any body else have any afterthoughts.....

kalikka Great of you to share all this wonderful audio info with me/us. THX! Particularly love the links, that's going to help me a lot. Not looking to blow myself out of my chair while vibrating the room, but I do want quality sound through headphones and would like to be able to do quality voice dialogues/edits for modding. As such, I'm trying to find the right sound card for my system build. BTW, does the sound card affect microphone/recording quality/pickup? I'm thinking it does, but all my prior systems have used integrated programs, so idk.

hoofhearted4 SuhWeeet info, thanks a lot. My sig. sez it all, I love learning stuff about stuff over stuff concerning stuff which....oh yeah, your info. You are correct, I meant an AS Rock MoBo and thanks for the links to the sound card discusions. I've been all over the web looking up stats and benchmarks and comparisons, but personal experience and opinions from others is still the best. Appreciate your views. Now I got a crapload of info to digest, process, and assimilate, and a computer redesign to look at. As I said in my OP, it's gotta do me for a while and I want to be able to upgrade [at least some] to keep it at best performance.

Rennn I'm an nVidia user, in my opinion they are simply better overall. As for the 660 GPU it's not set in steel, just a card that's proven and part of a package deal w/ the power supply. I'm fully open to suggestions and personal input concerning the newer GPUs', for instance the 760 or 770 GTX series, but like my OP sez, I really don't know brands/types or what's the best 'bang for the buck' so well. For example, on the parts picker site, I see lots of GTX 770 GPUs', some by EVGA, some by Asus, others, so what to choose? It's still a bit confusing to me..... hoofhearted4 So if I got this right, you suggest upgrading the processor to the Intel Core i7-4770/[k] Haswell 3.5 Ghz LGA 1150 84w Quad [only $50 more for me] and getting a Z87 MoBo, like the Asus Rock Extreme 4 LGA 1150 [only $30]. Totally do-able, I definitely want to be able to upgrade my system should the need arise. Any more precise info to share as to what's what? Just to note - I'm not an extreme gamer, but I play almost every night for 1-3 hours. I'm not an online gamer [yet, I got friends bugging me to get this built so I can run MechWarrior and join them], but I want to be able to play my games modded and on ultimate settings, without stutter or lag [ yeah, I know sometimes there is just nothing you can do about it, as it's a game issue] but mostly because this machine I'm on just is too old for the new stuff to even run on. [Gateway 5082 GT w/ an nVidia 8600 GT GPU and 4GB RAM. Stumble, stagger, trip, fall.....] [Edit] - Oh yeah, I'm using a Steel Series Merc Stealth keyboard and a Diablo III 7-button gaming mouse, gotta get some decent headphones/mic. yet, AND this is all gonna be viewed thru my Philips 46" 1080pi LED TV [until it blows out, the screens starting to 'dark line/dark spot' in places, which the Mrs. hated, so I bought a new 55 incher for the living room]. Changing a spare room into my computer room/den and I'm gonna wall mount it.

THX hoofhearted4 A Haswell CPU? Do you mean the newer '2011' pin set, like for the i7-4770/[k] chip set? Do I change the MoBo? What MoBo? Could you be more specific please as to what you are referring to? What's the story about next year and the Broadwell sets to come? I'm getting conflicting data about just how good a Haswell is for gaming, as some like, some don't. Sorry if I'm re-hashing but I want to understand and get it right.

AaaaRooooo!!!!! ALLRIGHT!!! Finally got some money together to do my first computer build, as opposed to buying retail. The extreme high end of my budget is $2000 [Canadian], but I really want to get it down to around $1500 without sacrificing too much for capabilities. I've been working with 'Wytek Direct.com', a company located here in town that does custom work. The reason I'm going with them is that if I get them to build it for me, I get a decent warranty for the product and if anything goes wrong, I can take it directly to them for service. Here's what Wytek and I have come up with so far; MoBo - Asus Rock Z77 Extreme 4 ATX LGA1155 CPU - Intel i5-3570k [3.4 Ghz] Quad core RAM - Kingston ? [no model given] 2 x 4gb = 8gb [@ 1600 mhz] HDD - Seagate 2TB Barracuda @ 7200 rpm SSD - Sandisk 120gb GPU - nVidia GeForce GTX 660 CD/DVD - LG Blu-ray/CD/DVD-RW [24x] LAN - TLWN851ND Wireless N 300 Sound - Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-e Case - CoolerMaster ATX Haf 932 [blue]-I like blue stuff Power - Corsair Bronze 750 watt Heatpipe - CoolerMaster EVO 212 Fan add-on - Coolermaster Megaflow 200mm [blue led of course] Artic Silver Thermal paste OS - Windows 7 Pro Current Price = $1930 for everything inc. taxes I've probably overbuilt to some degree, but I want this computer to still be upgradeable/viable for the next, say, 5 years or so. The primary function of this build will to be able to play the latest and greatest games, as well as a personal desktop AND I'm getting into modding, both as user and author. I don't know a lot about BRAND names, so I would like all of your knowledges and inputs as to any changes I should consider or make. I'm thinking of some changes to the above build, which are; CPU - Change to Intel i7-3770k [i want to be able to overclock if needed, therefore the 'k' model] CD/DVD - I have a Lightscribe Lite-On DVD-RW SHW-160PS [24x] dual-layer burner. Do I need a Blu-ray device? I'm considering it because games are getting so big that it takes 3-5 dvds to do a disc install nowadays and Blu-ray can stuff it all on one I don't have any Blu-ray tech, not even a Blu-ray movie so do I need it? I know Sonys' PS consoles are using Blu-ray discs for their games. Is Blu-ray going to come to PC games at anytime soon, if at all, or can I just install my Lite-On instead and save some 'Loonies'? HDD - Currently a 'Seagate' model, but I'm seeing comments that say one should choose a different brand based on quality. Suggestions? RAM - Kingston. I've used Kingston ram on previous upgrades, but again, I'm hearing one should use a different brand, like Corsair? [Again, I don't know brands] Sound - Asus Xonar DX 7.1. I don't have surround sound speakers/headphones, but I've got some games now that require a sound card. I want to do voice acting dialogue for myself and other authors.[Decades of RPGing at LEAST 2x a month, lotsa characters in my head crying to get out]. Should I change it? Any advice or other thoughts for me peoples?

Hello all Been gone for a couple of months due to a major computer meltdown [i really hate electronics at times]. I've finally gotten my "Talkie-Toaster-Oven" computer back up and running and am now reinstalling my FONV with all the bells and whistles [FOMM, NVSE, etc., etc., etc.]. I've just installed and ran FNVEdit. All's good except that when I ran FNVEdit, I got a list of mods that were previously installed to my game prefixed by the phrase - Note:Active plugin list contains nonexisting file "[Mod name]" NONE of these mods are installed, just about everything had been deleted/wiped, so I can't figure out why this list is showing up. Just the base game and all DLC's are currently installed, so I know it's referencing old data but where is this list located? I'm pretty sure it's not going to cause me any problems, and I will be installing some of these mods again, but right now I'd like to remove them so they don't show up every time I use FNVEdit. I've searched my TTO-computer as best I can but I can't find anything. I've previously uninstalled-reinstalled-rebuilt FONV before [several times really] but this is the first time I've seen this notation show up. My previous installs used "FNVEdit 3.0.26 Experimental" and as I'm always updating/upgrading I'm now using "FNVEdit 3.0.29 Experimental" to work with. BTW, FNVEdit is an awesome tool and I love it, I'm just curious as to what's happening here. Any ideas people?

Uh...one more thing concerning FNV-Enhanced Shaders. Included is a d3d9.dll that says it needs to be installed with the rest. Is this the same as the d3d9 Perf fix on the download site, [which I think is a performance fix for FNV versions before 1.4]? Or is it something specific to Shaders and totally required for use? I just don't want to install something uneccessary and I'm pretty sure I don't need the d3d9 perf fix [ which is for ATI GPU's, I believe ]. I use Nvidia, which has better drivers in my humble opinion.

Once more, THX Xaranth "The greatest treasure a being can possess is the wealth of information", and you are indeed a wealthy being. I try to live by the code I state in my signature, and you help me achieve it every time I read your comments, so I kudo you again. I know I'll have more questions [ receive 1 answer = more questions to ask ], so til next time..... Edit- Ooops....went to give you a kudo pt. and ended up taking it away.....re-kudoed, hope you got it back. [only 1 kudo from 1 member to another, eh? No multiples allowed?]

Lovely! Forgot to add in my post that I have CASM-MCM [love MCM, great mod] and have used it very successfully. CASM cut my CTD's/crashes to 10-20% the prior overall amount I was experiencing, the most notable being the near elimination of corrupted saves, for me anyway. [Referring to past FO3/FNV games I was playing] Downloaded Performance Of The Gods a little while ago, but I haven't used it yet [wanted advice about the best, hence this post]. Will certainly give it a go. Do you also "Tweak" your games ini's files, etc. in addition to using PotG, [ie like with NV Configator, or manually]? What about "cleaning" mods, like Clean Up New Vegas, Clean Deluxe NV, or Cleaner Vegas, which are suppose to help with FPS? Do they remove/disable things other than what PotG does? [it looks like they affect the same items, just less of them, or only 1-2 items]. I've also seen some comments about altering the NVSR ini file MaximumFPS = setting to a higher value. What's your take on that? Will that negate the effect it's supposed to have on the game? I've had issues with bug fixes, notably MMUE/MMUE POP, and if I don't need them, one less thing in my load order. I'm about immersion, but performance is key to my game experience and happiness, so a little less reality won't bother me. It is a game after all, not real life. [although if I suddenly found myself ported into the Fallout world, well.....] And again, Thx Xaranth, you are a tome of info and I enjoy reading your comments. Always helpful.