My farewell to extreme PCs

[Captain Ned]

For your current Windows XP machine, I'd make an image of it with Acronis 10, then convert the Acronis image over to VMWare (built in feature with Acronis 10 or 11) and then just use the free VMWare Player on your workstation, problem solved. The player even has USB host support so moving things between your host computer and your VM XP (your current install) should be fairly easy/seamless. You'll just have to tell that Windows XP system to reactivate windows, not an issue.

Great, as I already have True Image 2010.

[derFunkenstein]

I have a pretty good system worked out. I have a friend who stays cutting edge, and he sells me his old stuff for dirt cheap. I got a GTX 460 five months ago for $60. Two and a half years ago, I paid him $400 for the box in my sig, except with a 9800GTX+ instead of the 460. Thus, I stay pretty well along the curve for next to nothing.

Thus, my advice is to make a friend who stays cutting edge and get their hand-me-downs.

Totally living up to your forum handle, raiding the corpses of these machines and all.

[lvuman]

Anyone else annoyed with MAC OS LION. Recently upgraded to a Macbook Pro with LION only to find out it doesn't support power pc apps anymore. Now I have to pay big bucks to upgrade my software. Should have kept my old system with SNOW.

[Welch]

Nope, I don't have to worry about the bad apples .

[derFunkenstein]

Nope, I don't have to worry about the bad apples .

I hope you wrote that because you realized his signature is link spam.

[Captain Ned]

Nope, I don't have to worry about the bad apples .

I hope you wrote that because you realized his signature is link spam.

Doesn't fit the usual pattern and final warning PM has yet to be received. May be spammer in the end, but could still correct his/her errors.

[aurnob]

I myself have felt this feeling. Everyone else on this forum will know it for sure and its the fact that most games are now console ported and that cutting edge graphical factor is gone, that was the thing that used to keep me going as well. The rate of advance in the early to mid 2000's was amazing and there really was a point of upgrading to the next gen when you saw the advent of the Source engine with HDR, Rainbow Six, Crysis 1 etc.

I can remember I had a 7300GT circa 2006/7 and even though Rainbow Six was a console port utilising the UT3 engine, it looked amazing and ran at around 10fps on my rig. Being 15 at the time and only having 300 in my bank account, without a thought and the most random of impulses, I went out and snagged a X1900XTX at the time off ebay for 300, everything in my bank account. After I did it, was like wtf did I just do, but it was a beast of a card and I loved being able to play Rainbow and Crysis at 20-30 fps for one (me being out of the know, didn't realise my single core was a massive hindrance).

But yeah, that general feeling is gone and I understand what the OP is saying, hopefully with the advent of the next gen consoles, it shall arise once again.

And I myself have found joy in peripherals now, ie keyboards, speakers, headphones, monitors, sound systems, etc

[Welch]

Oh so true aurnob.... come to think of it, some of us may feel like that (not saying I do 100% yet) because the games themselves just aren't what they used to be. I mean ya the hardware advances were so quick and amazing, but so were the software! Games like Call of Duty (original) and HL2 were mind blowing for their graphics and features like you said, the birth of HDR (ohhh yea, lost coast ). Those huge advancements in graphics just aren't quite there, I guess we have gotten bored with the current generation of games and what they bring to the table. I mean the games look "Good enough" that I don't think too many game developers are truly stepping up and going outside of the box on engine or rendering designs, not in the same leaps and bounds of yesteryear anyhow.

Oh yeah, and welcome to the forums Aurnob

[aurnob]

Thanks for the welcome, long time reader of TR, this topic hit home with me so I had to post