Some House Cleaning Here at 8ots

02.17.09
A few updates around the website today: 
- I've recently upgraded my personal gaming system to a Core i7 setup.  Details can be found at The Hive. 
- The latest LAN party was good fun.  We had 5 vs 5!  That's our largest turn out over the last 3 years.  Thanks to all who attended.  Check out the pictures in the LAN section.
- The new Spring 2009 8ots Desktop Models have been posted.  You can find more information in the Services section.
- I've added an 8ots web services status portion to The Hive.  This is a good way to track the status of the Vent server, ftp server, etc in real time (or as fast as I can update the status :)

Pricing models for other 8ots services will be posted over the coming month.  I'm still working out the details of certain repair services. 
Happy belated Presidents day!


 

PAX.mate Acoustic Absorption Mat - New 8ots Article

02.12.09
Looking for a cleaner look inside that messy case?  One way to spruce up any case is with some acoustic mat sound dampening material.  It serves two purposes: it deadens case noise and looks good doing it!

Read our thoughts and implementation: HERE.


 

Windows 7 Beta Available
01.09.09
Microsoft has released the public beta of their next operating system dubbed "Windows 7."  Here are the direct links to the downloads:

32 bit Version:  Windows 7 Public Beta 32 bit
64 bit Version:  Windows 7 Public Beta 64 bit


 

What PC and Console Games to Look Forward to in 2009
01.05.09
After the holiday rush of games, things can get a little stagnant in the gaming world.  Examiner.com has put together a nice list of games to keep an eye out for in the coming year.  Catch the list HERE.




New 8ots.com Content
01.03.09
There are a few new additions to the 8ots.com site as of late:

- We have updated the main page with a direct link to the services area.  This is to better serve our IT services customers.
- The Pax.Mate design article will finally be posted on 1/12/09
- The next LAN party has been tentatively set for 1/31.  Email if interested!




Upcoming 8ots Content
06.04.08
Its feast or famine here at 8ots!  Here are some things coming in the following weeks:

  - Articles: A look at Crysis performance with SLI, recent patches, and the latest drivers
  - LAN Party:  Lan 10 is just around the corner!  More info on the LAN Page.
  - New 8ots Fall PC Specials: Should be out by the end of August.


Age of Conan Hits the Mark
05.30.08
I don't know what it was, but something attracted me enough to Age of Conan to actually give it a try.  I'm not sure if it was a yearning to finally stop the billing on FFXI, an itch to jump into an MMO while it was new, or the blood and nudity aspects of the game.  A combination of all of those things, AoC is a fun, fast paced MMO with a twist: you actually attack your targets with button presses and button combo's rather than auto attack.  This may sound like a trivial little change, but this attack method alters the entire game play model and is enough of a change to keep me coming back for more.  The "destiny" storyline is decent, graphics are good, music is borderline very good, and the game play mechanics are not bad for a recently released game.  I'm going to stick with this MMO until they work out the bugs and, after 2 months or so, will re-evaluate.  So far, its worth the hours I've put in.
Server:  Stormrage - PvP
Class:     Demonologist
Name:    Lyrus


eVGA 780i - Worth Slightly More than the Box it Came in
05.29.08
Recently, I upgraded my main rig to a new quad core system.  Some pieces were carry-overs from my previous build while others parts are brand spank-me new.  The system parts list is as follow:
- Lian Li PC-A08 Case
- Coolermaster Real Power Pro 850w
- eVGA 780i SLI
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
- Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
- 4 GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500 [5-5-5-15]
- 2x 8800GTX's in SLI
- X-Fi Fatal1ty PCI
- 2x 150GB RaptorX's in RAID 0
- 750GB WD Data Drive
- Sony DRU-820A DVD+/-RW

All in all, a fairly hefty upgrade from my previous PC.  Hardware wise, the pieces all fit together nicely: There is plenty of room and airflow in the case.  Vista Ultimate 64bit installed fine and most driver installs were problem free.  Over the last 2 months I've battled with the following issues:
- SLI "stuttering" in some games
- Display driver crashing to the desktop: The infamous "nvidia display driver nvlddmkm.sys has stopped working" issue.  *UPDATE* Solved by a combination of driver updates (175.16 and above) and a DDR swap.
- Random crashes in Windows Media Player no matter which display driver used *UPDATE* This issue was finally handled in a BIOS update on 5/28.  Bios P05.
- Overclocking FSB holes and instability.  Some FSB speeds work better than others regardless of final clock speed / voltage.  For eg: 1750FSB (~437MHz x 4) is much more stable than 1725FSB (~431MHz x 4) even though it results in a higher CPU clock.

Even though I've resolved some of these issues over the time that I've used the board, this chipset is not a good upgrade from the 680i board for SLI.  The performance is good, but the issues are a bother.  Here's a good rule of thumb if you need / want SLI with an Intel CPU:
- Use a 680i board for Dual Core CPU's
- Use a 790i board for Quad Core CPU's
Even though DDR3 on the 790i is still a considerable amount more than DDR2, its worth it to spend the extra cash so as not to deal with the issues associated with a 780i board.


 

Final Fantasy XII - A Reason to Keep that PS2
11.09.06
Picked up a copy of FFXII for PS2 on Halloween.  After about 19 hours of playtime, I'd say that this game was worth every penny of the 50 skins I laid out for it.  Again with the Pro's and Con's:

Pros
1)  Graphics - Fantastic for PS2 standards; about par in comparison to other systems.
2)  Storyline - Unlike FFX, not all the characters are immature adolescent cock suckers... which makes the story much more inviting.
3)  Transportation - For once it's actually easy to get around the world of FFXII!  Airships, teleport moogles, and teleport stones make for a quick jump to many common areas.
4)  Hunts / Side quests - There are numerous side quests in this game including the ability to hunt "notorious monster" style creatures.  This is a fantastic addition to an already good game.
5)  Load times - For a PS2 game, this is as good as it gets.  There's no noticeable loading during action / battle scenes and when the game does load, (when zoning) it's quick.

Toss Ups
1)  Battle system - While innovative, it strays heavily from the traditional RPG turn based format.  Most people LOVE the new active real time battle system.  I prefer, and usually look forward to, a creative turn based system.  FFXII's system is kept interesting with button mashing "Mist Abilities" sessions called Quickenings and Summonings, yet this real time system takes away from the sometimes complex strategy involved with a turn based system.
2)  License System - At first, I loved the new licensing system.  In FFXII, you master techniques, learn spells, gain access to equipment, and boost stats through a method of acquiring licenses.  Every time you defeat an enemy, you are awarded a certain number of license points (LP).  Each license costs a certain amount of LP.  Usually, the better the license, the more LP's it costs.  This is all fine and dandy if the character actually learned the technique / spell / etc when he or she acquired the license.  Do they?  Hell no.  Acquiring the license only enables the character to learn the specific abilities... you still have to purchase or do a quest for the actual spell / weapon / etc. before you can actually use it!  With all the level grinding, I have enough LP to purchase level 7 black magic spells, yet I've actually only come across level 2 spells.  U S E L E S S.

Cons
1)  Music - The music is just fine for a normal RPG.  Yet this is no normal RPG, this is the MOTHER of RPG's; the Final Fantasy series!  Where's my battle music?!?  Where's Nobuo Uematsu?  Who's the ass hat manager at Square Enix that decided that this music was "good enough?"  One of the main reasons I play through these games is for a chance to hear the wonderful music as the game progresses.  So far, this game has very little, if any at all, memorable musical pieces.
2)  Camera - Don't... even... get... me... started.  I'm not even going to comment on a game that does not have one single option to tweak or configure camera controls.

Despite a few short comings and a larger than expected learning curve, FFXII is worth holding on to that PS2 a little longer.


 

Top 10 Commercials that are Excellent Because of Their Music
11.08.06
I've compiled a list of the top commercials over the last few years that were very good commercials due to the music featured in the clip.  They range from touching or funny, to entertaining.  This list is definitely not complete and is entirely subjective, yet these commercials were good enough for me to remember searching for them in the first place.

10)  GMC: "Ideas"
9)  Diet Coke: "Sparkles"
8)  VW Jetta: "Syncronicity"
7)  Budweiser Select: "Galvanize"
6)  Mercedes: "Noah's Ark"
5)  Gears of War: "Mad World"
4)  Stoli: "Frozen"
3)  Heineken:  "Green Space"
2)  Air Jordan: "XXI"
1)  VW Golf: "Singing in the Rain"


 

I Got Stuck on the Battlefield

 10.18.06
Where to start... I snagged the Battlefield 2142 Demo and settled in for a night of futuristic fragging... or so I thought.  Rather than putting together a small review I'm going to list the Pro's and Con's of my first 3 days with the game. Lets start with the Pro's:

Pros
1)  It Installed
2)  Decent Music / Sound Effects - I like the "heroic" themed music. Makes me feel like part of the A-team.
3)  Nice Explosions - The explosion physics, particles, and vehicle destructions are great.
4)  Improved Aviation Vehicle Controls - Flying vehicles are much easier to control than in BF1942.
5)  Good mouse durability test...

Cons
1)  L O A D I N G - Here's a small list to display the amount of waiting you'll be doing in this game:
- Like any FPS, the maps and models load upon start of a match.
- If you happen to change your video settings, even slightly, the "shaders" have to "optimize," whatever the shit that means. This is a brisk 8 minute wait.
- The MENU loads. I just love a game that, when is starts up, loads the menu... not the game... the fucking M E N U. It's not like its a 3D, high resolution, movie style menu.  It's a kill-yourself-boring grey backdrop.  The Chronicles of Riddick had a fantastic, innovative, fully 3D menu and did I have to wait for it load? Shit no.
2)  Widescreen support? NEGATIVE ghostrider. - What drunken developer releases a game in 2006 that does not have native widescreen support?
3)  Soldier Movement - Picture this: It's 2142 and you have a bionic suit, the latest military gear, and hover technology... and you can't run more than 19 inches without being 100% out of breath. When your not running, your crawling... slower than a tired snail moving uphill in winter.
4)  Futuristic Weapons? NEGATIVE again sir. - It's 136 years in the future and your shooting at hover tanks with something unimaginable... bullets!  No laser guns, pistol sized rockets, plasma rifles, or even "special" bullets. Even the vehicles have simple canon / rocket / machine gun weaponry identical to present day fare and don't even get me started on the piss poor, tragic, malfunctioning aiming system. Almost every vehicle suffers from aiming lag and it takes painfully long mouse strokes to move 3 degrees left.
5)  Help I'm climbing a 1 degree incline and can't get up! - In the future, everything is powered by a 1.4 liter, 3 cylinder Geo Metro engine. Driving any wheel based vehicle is clunky, but bearable until you do anything along the lines of turning, going up a tiny hill, or running into a wooden fence. All 3 circumstances turn my 30 ton war machine into a toddler on a tricycle trying to pedal up the driveway. This makes for an incredibly frustrating and hair ripping experience perfect for testing the durability of my G5 mouse by slamming it repeatedly as I am stopped dead by a 1 foot high FENCE made of fucking twigs.

I could continue on how much I enjoyed this game, but I'm too busy waiting for the menu to load.


 

iTunes 7 - Beta Tested by a Ferret?

 10.04.06
I was feeling particularly brave earlier today and "upgraded" iTunes to the new version, 7.0.1.8. After a seamless installation / upgrade I was greeted by a somewhat more refined looking iTunes. I chose one of my favorite tunes and clicked play. I got about 11 seconds of wholesome music and then, SKKKKIIIIIIIPPPP!!. Just a glitch, I thought. Another 30 seconds and it skipped again. Knowing that iTunes uses QuickTime as the backend player for music, I changed my source settings from the default DirectSound to WaveOut. This helped considerably... but not completely. I played with some other settings to no avail...

Next, I did something crazy; I plugged in my ipod. After 2 mins of wiping the crust from my eyes, I looked for the ipod icon in iTunes. All I found was my library and a big where the ipod icon is supposed to be. After re-plugging in, rebooting, trying different USB ports, and cursing... I figured there might be something awry with the ipod itself. I fired up my laptop, launched iTunes 6, and plugged in the trusty 20 gig-er. After 20 seconds or so the ipod showed up exactly where its supposed to be; in the left hand menu. After a little laugh, some more cursing, and a bottle of Molson, I banished iTunes 7 and went back to iTunes 6... which seems to have exactly the same functionality as the latter version. I win.


 

Company of Heroes and Alcoholism

 10.03.06
I installed the Company of Heroes Demo over the weekend to see what all the fuss was about.  After configuring the graphics options for 1920x1200, I started the tutorial... or so I thought.  What I actually saw was a flipbook slide show of what the intro might be like.  After trying a few different graphics settings,  I found that the "Post Processing" option was the cause of my super fast 2 FPS.  A quick search on the net revealed that this was an issue with SLI.  After sorting that out, I breezed through the tutorial and started the first mission which went something like this:

Commander:  SOLDIERS, WHEN WE REACH THE BEACH, USE COVER AND GET TO THE FRONT LINE!
Me:  Holy sheep shit... there's gun fire and explosions everywhere... I could get into this.
Commander: STORM THE BEACH AND GET TO THE FRONT LINE!
Me: Wow, most of my 6 person squads are down to 1 or 2 people in this mess...
Commander:  MOVE IT SOLDIER!
Me:  (As my people who are getting mowed by machine gun fire) How in the hell do I group these remaining soldiers together to form a new squad??
Commander:  GET TO THE FRONT LINES, NOW.
Me:  Damnit, only 2 squads actually made it to the line, one with 5 soldiers, one with 2 engineers... and what is the P O I N T of these 8 stragglers who I cant fucking group together?  I seriously can't make a new squad out of 8 soldiers that originally came from a different squad??!
Commander:  YOU CALL YOURSELF A SOLDIER?!?
Me:  .... Yeah ok, eat my floppy SHIT commander and FUCK THESE CONTROLS AND THIS GAME, IM DRINKING.

/sigh.  I gave it another go last night and had slightly better success.  I actually completed the "training" mission and went on to finish the demo.  There are a lot of improvements here over other RTS's but there are some things that make me stray away from the full version.  One of those might be, lets see... the inability to group together units into a new squad??  Some things drive me to alcoholism.


 

F.E.A.R. Combat is Better Than You
08.22.06
Just Downloaded the new 1.07 patch for F.E.A.R (http://whatisfear.com).  If you have never played the game, the single player alone is worth the price.  The new F.E.A.R. Combat is FREE to download from the site above and includes all multiplayer aspects (plus some new ones) of the original F.E.A.R. multiplayer.  I tried out some of the new games modes... most are fun.  Better yet are the new maps.  I played for over 90mins tonight and had a blast mowing through people in CTF on some of the new maps.  More than worth it to give this one a look.


 

Asus P5N32-SLI SE Overclocking "Woes"
08.22.06
Picked up a new E6600 Core 2 Duo to replace an Athlon X2 4400+ over the middle of last week.  As hard as I've tried, I've "only" been able to get 300fsb out of this board / chip combination.  I know the chip has some more headroom as it is running 2.7 at stock voltage but this nforce 4 SLIX16 chipset seems to crap out around the 300~302 FSB mark; even with 1.6v on the northbridge!  Don't get me wrong, this is a fast, stable board... just a little lacking in the OC department.  More to come as I tweak further...



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