wosifat

I did a post similar to this in the PC forum, but no one responded.  And, oh yeah, I'm after the quests, so I'll start a topic.  Apologies if I'm in the wrong, but anyway, here we go.
I'm in the process of building a modest gaming system.  I bought the parts with my tax refund, but cut the budget when I thought I was replacing my clutch (as of this writing, I may be replacing a transmission on another car, which requires more money, but that's another show.)  The budget cuts left me putting together parts to have a working computer rather than one potent enough to run taxing games (I'm still more of a console gamer anyway and have a 360.)  This and the fact that I never could figure out what video card to get left me settling for a motherboard with onboard video to start with (specifically an ASUS M4A785M with an ATI Radeon HD 4200.)  Fine to get a working computer, and I really didn't have any particularly taxing games waiting on it.  The most intensive thing at the time was Trine.  Then right after I ordered the system, Games for Windows Live started their sales and I picked up Batman: Arkham Asylum.  The system will run it (somewhat, I play at 800x600 with medium settings.)  Then, I decided to get GTA IV.  I had it on 360 and fell in love with it, only I sold the system I had at the time, and all the games I had with it.  Right now, the 60GB drive I have on the current system has about 14GB and change left with the games and demos I have on there, and I have trouble bringing myself to delete stuff.  So, whatever I can get on the PC (that has Achievements,) I'll get on the PC.  Thus, the purchase of GTA IV.  Only it doesn't run well at all.  I have it at low settings,and it not only looks ugly, but still chugs.  I've heard it's just not optimized well for the PC.  I know the best thing to do is to buy a video card, but it's not really in the budget at present (and I still haven't decided on which one to get.)  I've been considering overclocking the system in the interfum, but I don't know how.  Anyone know of a good resource for info on the subject?  Oh, yeah, and if you can recommend a decent graphics card, that'd help, too.  I'm looking for something low to midrange, maybe $150, but I'd like to find something fairly capable for under $100 if possible.  I'm thinking something ATI with 1GB of memory.  Don't know how important DirectX 11 is, or how many stream processors or pretty much any of the technical stuff.  I only have one PCI-E 2.0 slot on the board.

My knowledge of old-school arcade games is rusty now, but here are a few I'd like to see make the trip.
-Some of the old multi-player Konami beat-em ups (X-Men, Simpsons, etc)
-Some Capcom fighters, like Darkstalkers, the earlier Marvel fighters and the D&D beat em ups (other names escape me at present, but surely there are some that don't have the name "Street Fighter" in the title).  And I still want to play the original Street Fighter again, even if it sucks...
-Sega needs to get involved.  I want Manx TT Superbike and Sega Super GT eventually, but Space Harrier, Bonanza Bros  and Hang On will do in the meantime.  Maybe Gain Ground.  Remember reading the machine but not having tokens to actually play it.
-SNK needs to be involved as well.  How many arcade games did they put out?  Samurai Shodown, Metal Slug, please and thank you.
-What's an arcade without a pinball machine and some SkeeBall?  Trade tickets for exclusive decorations and trophies?  And how hard would it to get that air hockey table to work?
That's all I can think of at present.  As I said, my knowledge of the olden days fails me.  Here's hoping that even if none of the above listed games see the light of day in the Game Room, what they do give us is still awesome.

So, I'm in the process of building a modest gaming rig.  Here are the specs at this point:
- Cooler Master RC310 mini tower case
- Cooler Master RS-460-PSAR-J3 460W Power Supply
- ASUS M4A785-M Motherboard with onboard ATI Radeon 4200
- AMD Athlon II X2 245 2.9GHz Dual Core Processor with stock CPU cooler
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 7200RPM 160GB SATA 3.0GB/s Hard Drive
- (borrowed DVD ROM from my old computer, Toshiba, I think)
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM
Haven't decided on a proper video card yet, and right now I don't have the money to buy one.  Right now, the most graphically demanding game I'm playing Batman: Arkham Asylum on 800x600 at low detail (still tripping me out that I have a computer that can run anything from the current generation of consoles, even from last year.)  The GRID demo will run, but I haven't played it much as it seems impossible to steer worth a crap with a keyboard.  The Just Cause 2 demo won't run, and the Street Fighter IV benchmark demo chugs at an average of around eightish at default settings.  I can crank it down to thirty with low detail on the background and fighters, but I only get a wireframe for a background.
So, I'm considering overclocking.  Before it seemed too scary, but I think I may try it eventually.  But I'm wondering if I should with the stock CPU cooler (by the way, when I was nervous about getting the build juuuust right and actually reading the instructions for the CPU, it said that using aftermarket coolers would void the warranty.)  Could anyone give me advice on whether or not to attempt an OC, and maybe point me to a guide?  Thanks in advance.
PS  There some stuff in the motherboard's manual about auto-overclocking settings for the CPU and GPU, but I'm not brave enough to mess with them just yet.
PS (I forget where it's PPS or PSS, but another PS)  I KNEW I forgot something!  The Specs on the memory!  G SKILL 2GB DDR2800 memory module and a Crucial DDR2 800 memory module.  Why two different brands?  I was going with four gigs, but went with two to save money.  When I was assembling, I couldn't get any video.  One theory was a bad RAM stick, and the Crucial was what I could find at Office Max that was compatible.  When I finally got the computer working, it saw both sticks, so I have 4GB of RAM, which is probably the only reason the computer runs the games I'm attempting as well as it is right now.

Thanks.

So, I'm going around the ship talking to the crew.  And I talk to Kaiden, and when I end the conversation, he says he "needs time to process my response, but that he'd love to (or something like that, don't remember the exact quote.)"  But I'm going after Liara and I don't wanna flirt with Kaiden.  I start over from the save and try the conversation again, and it looks like that's the only option available for ending the conversation!  Is there anyway that I can talk to Kaiden without flirting?  If I have to avoid talking to dude, I can live with it...

" I just used the Xbox 360 controller to play it on the PC. The keyboard controls looked messed up. "

Seriously...

Just wanted to give an update.  I am now typing this on the new computer.  Thanks to all who gave input.

" No one wants to talk about bass players."
What about Marcus Miller, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Ron Carter?
As for the game, I don't know.  I've been holding off on getting any of the instrument genre games, but kind of thinking about DJ Hero and Beatles Rock Band with just a used copy of the disc and a cheap used guitar controller.  But I don't have it to blow a few hundred on this unless there's something truly groundbreaking, as most of the instrument game novelty has gone.  Will the game be worth the extra to buy another music game, or will the money be better spent on an actual guitar and a better game?

" Yeah you will want a CPU cooler. I use this. Stock coolers aren't very good since processor companies know they generally get swapped out anyway. Using a nicer CPU cooler will prolong the life of your CPU and they are really easy to install also. Just a few screws, some thermal paste and you're done. Also, I'd recommend not using the stock thermal paste that comes on you're cooler. Grab some at a computer store for about $3. "