Champion_R

WMP9 is a great steap up from 7.1. Even compared to MPXP, 9 is a great improvement. Unfortuneatly not all the features are available on 98/ME/2k but I'd still upgrade providing your system is faster than 500mhz. http://www.winsupersite.com have a list of what new features it has and the XP only ones too. I highly recommend Windows Media Player 9 to anyone.

Should be only another month and the GeForce FX will drive graphics prices down. I'm waiting for the prices to fall to pick up something to replace my crappy MX200.

The new keyboard layout is pretty lame IMHO. One of the keyboards with the new layout is the MS Multimedia keyboard. The removal of the right Winkey is stupid and the new F lock "feature" where F lock must be enabled to use the function keys is stupid. I think this is a steap backwards. Recently I brought the MS Internet keyboard cos it's still got the normal layout and the keys feel good to type on. I'm happy with it. P.S. Anyone else reckon that the Logitech keyboards aren't tilted up enough even with the clips on the bottom. That put me off buying them.

Quote: A 1.6ghz Athlon XP and an ATI 9700 Pro should run the new DOOM 2 without a hitch. DOOM 2 will rely heavily on the GPU first then the system CPU second. Sorry to say this, but I'd bloody hope an XP 1600+ and Radeon 9700 Pro can run Doom2. It was designed for a 486 SX/25 and a VLB graphics card. P.S. I know that you meant Doom 3 but I just couldn't resist.

Try a google search and see what that turns up.

Thats what I suspected. Really it depends on the price difference between the 8500 and 8500LE. If it's only a few bucks then I'll grab the 8500.

Simple file sharing hides the permissions tab. In some cases it's easier for people to share folders without having to configure NTFS permissions.

Quote: I would format the hard drive first then do a clean install. Actually, I'd recommend a zero fill. When I switched Motherboards, I found that my new one had trouble reading the hard disk. Also what module is the BSOD caused by. It will usually say what driver and an error message.

Quote: ALOT. It's much easier and faster to do Bios flashes from a floppy. Much easier to transfer smaller filers. Much cheaper too. Hmmmm, BIOS flash slipped my mind. As for small files, I just use the LAN.

Log on as an Admin and take ownership of the drive. Then add yourself to the drives ACL or permission list and grant full control. P.S. Taking ownership is done by going to drive properties, clicking advanced and then the owner tab, select yourself from the list and then ok.

If the IDE controller has changed without a fresh install, instant BSOD. I forgot to boot from CD when I changed my M/B and was presented with a nice BSOD relating to the boot drive or IDE controller.

Quote: when was the last time you absolutely had to use a floppy?! LOL I don't even have my floppy drive in my computer. That shows how much I use it

Quote: When using the best OS available I feel it is only natural to use the best file system too - NTFS. FAT & FAT32 should be condemed to the same fate as the OS's that spawned them - as mats for your coffee mugs. I totally agree, especially with simple file sharing where the permissions are hidden from novice users, thus feeling no different to FAT. There is no reason why FAT should be used unless dual boot is being used. FAT has had it's day.

Quote: I do agree with you though that MY 3DMark scores should be higher than they are. I dont know, maybe I just have a piece of $hit computer.....lol. At any rate, I am happy with the Radeon. Have a good Christmas. Maybe the PC2100 is holding you back, Prehaps a fresh install of windows, it could be anything. Also I wouldn't use 3dmark to describe a computer as crap. I recently upgraded my Celeron 633 to a XP 1700+. Both systems are/were using a GeForce2 MX200 card. I gained about 400 3dmarks when I used the XP. But in the real world my games feel so much faster and in general everything is better. Don't base your computer on a 3DMark score. P.S. I've also heard rumors that 3Dmark is more optmised for nVidia hardware.

9700Pro is the fastest card on the market but for how long is a big question with the GeForceFX coming out next month.

All my drives use NTFS. 4GB file limit sucks and FAT is too unreliable for my liking. NTFS permissions are also handy to have.

My hardware monitor is ISA and I suspect most others are ISA too. Also I agree that remaking the MX440 and Ti4200 AGP 8X is just a marketing ploy. You would be suprised how many people fall for it. Also the MX440 8X version is clocked slightly higher.

Quote: I think Medal of Honor's use of the Quake 3 engine is a good choice, but the programming behind it seems poor. For example the game runs quite slowly on my PC, where as other Quake 3 engine games run much better. I can Return To Castle Wolfenstein, Jedi Outcast, SOF2, and Alice all at either 800x600 or 1024x768 with all details maxed out. No AA or AF. But with MOHAA, I can't even have it run very smoothly at 640x480 with 32-bit color, and medium details. It may have alot of good features but the team that developed it certainly has less expertise with the Q3 engine than the other folks did. But then again Rogue, Raven, and Gray Matter, all made other games off an id Software engine.... I seem to think MOHAA is more CPU dependant. When I had my Celeron I was lucky to get 20fps in 800x600x32 lower detail. With my XP 1700 I get 50fps+ in 800x600x32 high detail with the same old crappy GF2 MX200.

Dunno if I'd count Diablo II as a RPG but it's a great game.

Quote: As far as any increase will ever go with the GF4, I'm sure it won't amount to much - the GF4 was designed for DX7 after all. The GF4 MX series are based on DX7 but the Ti series are based on DX8.1

My explorer.exe is using 12MB on Windows XP. 15MB isn't unreasonable. Also are you new to XP and/or added more memory to your system recently?

Is assign VGA an IRQ enabled in BIOS?

I remember some of the older nVidia drivers caused a memory leak with this game under 2k/XP. But an ATI card is being used here. Prehaps they had the fault too.

Biggest Piece of sh*t card. Even with my new setup I only get 1320 3dmarks. Still yet to clock it up tho. Still proberly won't break 2000 3dmarks.

Quote: I completely disagree; they always should not be loaded. It's more about security -"Champion_R". In this case we were discussing performence not security. Also most of the default services don't pose a security risk as long as common sense is applied.