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Buying in two weeks!!

Post Date: 2010-07-07
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sona View Drop Down
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Posts: 24 		  Quote sona Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Buying in two weeks!!
    Posted: 07 Jul 2010 at 12:17am
I was wondering if anyone could advise me which monitor I should buy. Basically the question is, what's the best gaming monitor I could buy for around $100-300? I researched about the Ms, resolution, panel tech, and the signal input but I still couldn't find a perfect monitor for my new pc.

The games I'll be playing are StarCraft2, Assassin's Creed:Brotherhood, Diablo 3, Final Fantasy 14, and such.

Oh it would be also nice if someone could look over my spec and make sure it won't explode or anything. I think I have enough power and cooling..

Thank you for the help everyone. :)

The desktop I'm planning to buy is in like two week, the specs are:

Ticket Number: 420511
Total Price with Instant Savings: $1,973.00

Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=420511

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master Elite 310
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series  (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Digital Storm Certified (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Highly Recommended)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1.5TB Seagate Barracuda (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA EVGA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 1 Year Hassle-free Hardware Service
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WardTheSteak View Drop Down
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Posts: 605 		  Quote WardTheSteak Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 07 Jul 2010 at 4:35am
Your config looks good, and none of those specs you listed really matter for monitors anyways because every company just bloats the specs tremendously.  I'm really not sure what would be the best for your range, I have the asus ms238h and its pretty good it's got a nice picture.  But, obviously for better picture quality you need a higher resolution, this monitor is 1920x1080, but that or 1900x1200 is the highest resolution I think you can get for your budget. 
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teaiewold View Drop Down
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Posts: 216 		  Quote teaiewold Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 07 Jul 2010 at 6:04am
the only thing i see that you could change and keep the price pretty much the same was to get rid of the 1000w PSU and switch it for a 750w one because you should be able to run the system easily with the 750w. you also might want to change your OS to win 7 pro 64 bit for the xp compatibility.
 
if you plan on going SLI later you'll want the 1200w or more psu.
 
i'm also a fan of SSD's so here's something i did but it will cost a couple hundred more bucks.
 
 
as far as monitors go i'm still researching that myself.
 
 
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Dragoonseal View Drop Down
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Posts: 2247 		  Quote Dragoonseal Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 07 Jul 2010 at 7:09am
I think you're selling yourself short with that case selection and lack of SSD, which is easily included in a $2000 budget. So something like this:

Ticket #420555, Price: $2002

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (40GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Extreme Performance) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 1 Year Hassle-free Hardware Service

OS/apps on the SSD, games/music/movies/pictures on the HDD.
Lilim
Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz
HAF 932 - Dual SLI Nvidia GTX 480s
3x Intel X25-M G2 (80GB) SSD RAID0
R.I.P. Sinbad the cat (November 16, 1996 - April 18, 2011)
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!ender_ View Drop Down
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Posts: 4219 		  Quote !ender_ Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 07 Jul 2010 at 9:45am
as far as monitors, its really annoying but as was already stated the mfgs lie thier pants off so youre best bet is to do some face to face research and testing and POUR over the return/refund info before you buy, this way if you end up hating what you get, you can back out.
depends on where you live but you can check out whatever is close to you or if you like a specific brand, ie LG or samsung, you can check online and look for nearby authed resellers
 
to guide you a little, look for these specs:
1920*1080
refresh rate of 75+
DVI connection
viewing angle of 160 or more, higher = better
max of 5 ms (response)
 
all the contrast, color, and brightness info is just crap, its not regulated or 3rd party tested, so they can just make up whatever they want, which is why it is best to see them in person
 
in my personal opinion, personally, my personal assessment, is that:
samsung and lg have the richest/sharpest pictures in real life
i think the difference between 60 and 75hz is very noticable
make sure when youre looking at monitors in a store that you take the source image into consideration, ask if you can play with one of the monitors before you buy it so you can see it show different pictures/videos
keep an eye on how dark the blacks on the monitor get, this is usually a sign of quality and will make your darks darker and bring more real life contrast to your picture when using it at home


Edited by !ender_ - 07 Jul 2010 at 9:52am
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sona View Drop Down
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Posts: 24 		  Quote sona Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 07 Jul 2010 at 8:51pm
Thank you so much for such great input guys! I'm a full time student and part time worker so i'll try to find a time to go out on a monitor search before I buy the desktop :)     ( a reason for that is if I can get a monitor for cheap, then I can use the rest of that money to upgrade my desktop )

P.S. Are SSD that much better than normal Hard drives? is it reallly necessary for gaming?
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Dragoonseal View Drop Down
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Posts: 2247 		  Quote Dragoonseal Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 07 Jul 2010 at 11:26pm
Originally posted by sona

P.S. Are SSD that much better than normal Hard drives? is it reallly necessary for gaming?

An Intel SSD has 80-100 times faster small file read/write performance and at least twice the sequential (large) file read performance of any conventional HDD available. They're also completely silent and automatically maintain themselves to keep up performance. So yeah, they're really that much better than conventional HDDs, once you've had one you'll never go back to conventional HDDs for anything other than media storage.

Overall games do not benefit from a SSD's faster speeds very much, you don't spend much time on loading screens and even then numerous games are highly CPU/GPU bound regardless, so you can freely install them on the normal HDD and you won't be missing much. You want the SSD for OS/apps, for a ridiculously snappy and responsive system that can handle any kind of multi-tasking without slowdown and making you wait to get HDD control back.
Lilim
Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz
HAF 932 - Dual SLI Nvidia GTX 480s
3x Intel X25-M G2 (80GB) SSD RAID0
R.I.P. Sinbad the cat (November 16, 1996 - April 18, 2011)
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sona View Drop Down
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Posts: 24 		  Quote sona Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 08 Jul 2010 at 2:30am
so is the 40gb SSD enough? or should i get a better one?

Ticket Number: 420682
Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,078.00

Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=420682

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series  (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (40GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Extreme Performance) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1.5TB Seagate Barracuda (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA EVGA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 1 Year Hassle-free Hardware Service
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teaiewold View Drop Down
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Posts: 216 		  Quote teaiewold Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 08 Jul 2010 at 3:03am
only problem i see is you're not taking the free t-shirt :)
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Dragoonseal View Drop Down
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Posts: 2247 		  Quote Dragoonseal Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 08 Jul 2010 at 3:48am
Originally posted by sona

so is the 40gb SSD enough?

Definitely.

The OS/apps are surprisingly small. You'll have about 37GB usable (SSDs reserve some space for wear leveling and maintenance), the OS and page file will take up anywhere from 14-20GB, leaving you with 17-23GB for apps. Apps are usually pretty tiny, every single file on my PC minus my game folder and the Windows folder is only 2.5GB, what really takes up the space are games/media, so put those on the conventional HDD.

Originally posted by sona

Ticket Number: 420682
Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,078.00

Looks good. Hahaha
Lilim
Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz
HAF 932 - Dual SLI Nvidia GTX 480s
3x Intel X25-M G2 (80GB) SSD RAID0
R.I.P. Sinbad the cat (November 16, 1996 - April 18, 2011)
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sona View Drop Down
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Posts: 24 		  Quote sona Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 08 Jul 2010 at 6:54pm
haha oh ya the t-shirt :P.    Thank you for Dragoonseal! The first game ill be playing with my new rig will be starcraft2, they replaced my favorite unit the Dragoon :(    
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sona View Drop Down
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Posts: 24 		  Quote sona Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 09 Jul 2010 at 2:02am
I'm sorry for the double post but I got another question.. the Intel is releasing new processors so some processors will be cheaper soon. Should I wait until i buy my rig?  or.. is the i7 930 not affected ^^;

article:     http://www.neoseeker.com/news/14318-new-intel-chips-include-cheaper-hexa-core-processor/
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Posts: 605 		  Quote WardTheSteak Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 09 Jul 2010 at 2:05am
I wont touch Star Craft 2 with the whole requirements to show your first and last name in the forums and stuff now.  Forget Blizzard.
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Dragoonseal View Drop Down
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Posts: 2247 		  Quote Dragoonseal Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 09 Jul 2010 at 2:39am
Originally posted by sona

I'm sorry for the double post but I got another question.. the Intel is releasing new processors so some processors will be cheaper soon. Should I wait until i buy my rig?  or.. is the i7 930 not affected ^^;

article:     http://www.neoseeker.com/news/14318-new-intel-chips-include-cheaper-hexa-core-processor/

I can't get that url to come up. I'm guessing it's about the upcoming 970 hexa-core? I haven't heard anything about 930 price drops so I wouldn't be worried.

The 920 (predecessor to the 930, basically the same exact thing) never came down in price the entire time it was out before it was discontinued, and the 930 has stayed the same price as well.
Lilim
Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz
HAF 932 - Dual SLI Nvidia GTX 480s
3x Intel X25-M G2 (80GB) SSD RAID0
R.I.P. Sinbad the cat (November 16, 1996 - April 18, 2011)
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sona View Drop Down
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Posts: 24 		  Quote sona Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 09 Jul 2010 at 2:51am
I thought I was ready to buy my desktop and my new monitor but my friend recommended me a gaming laptop....

 I just have 2 questions. Thank you in advance everyone!!

1. Can this laptop play the upcoming games (AC:Brotherhood, Crysis2, SC2, Diablo 3, Brink, etc) at high graphics settings? If not, could you post laptop rig that can?

2. if it's possible could someone show me a "desktop version" of this laptop? A desktop with the most similar performance so I can relate to it better. :)

Ticket Number: 421008
Total Price with Instant Savings: $1,875.00

Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=421008

Specifications:
Chassis: Digital Storm x15 8690 (Weight: 7.38 LBS)
Display: 15.6 inch HD+ LED Display with Enhanced Super Glossy Surface (Resolution: 1600 x 900)
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7-720QM Clarksfield 1.6GHz (6MB Cache) (Quad Core)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 at 1333MHz (Extreme-Performance) (NOTE: Requires i7-720QM or Higher Processor)
Inputs: USB 2.0 Ports / Gigabit Ethernet LAN / V.92 Modem / 1394 FireWire / 7-in-1 Card Reader / eSATA
Main Storage: 500GB (7200 RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA Laptop Hard Drive)
Extra Storage: - No Thanks
Raid Options: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD/CD 8x Multi-Drive (Writes and Reads DVDs, CDs)
Wireless Access: Intel 6300AGN 802.11 A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
Features: Integrated Video Camera / Bluetooth
Outputs: HDMI 1080P / DVI Port / SPDIF Audio / Headphone / Microphone
Video Card(s): ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 1GB
External TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Protection: - No Thanks
Office Suite: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
Carry Bag: Standard Carrying Bag
External Cooling: NoteBook Cooler
External Keyboard: - No Thanks
External Mouse: - No Thanks
External Speakers: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Full Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Labor & 1 Year Parts Warranty
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Dragoonseal View Drop Down
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Posts: 2247 		  Quote Dragoonseal Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 09 Jul 2010 at 3:03am
A gaming laptop is an oxymoron. They don't even have a mouse for Pete's sake. Disappointed

Laptops are meant for mobility and ease of use, not CPU or GPU heavy tasks. Take note of the "Mobility" or "M" prefix on the CPU and GPU selections. Not only does this mean they are much smaller and compact than the normal desktop versions but they are also vastly less powerful. A laptop Mobility 5870 does not have anywhere near the GPU ability of a desktop 5870.

So no, it won't be able to play upcoming high demand games. A laptop of comparable ability to a desktop will cost vastly more than the desktop, and laptops can not reach the same upper level of ability as desktops either.
Lilim
Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz
HAF 932 - Dual SLI Nvidia GTX 480s
3x Intel X25-M G2 (80GB) SSD RAID0
R.I.P. Sinbad the cat (November 16, 1996 - April 18, 2011)
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sona View Drop Down
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Posts: 24 		  Quote sona Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 09 Jul 2010 at 3:07am
hahaha ok, I hate slow computers anyways. thanks again :) I'll be sticking it with the desktop.
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