Mixed Topic- iWeb opinions, thinking of taking PC gaming back up.

[Dom]

After being flooded with emails by old friends from PC games Im thinking of helping them form a clan for a get-together sometime next yr when all their game subscriptions run out and to all get back together old time sake.

Im thinking of using iWeb to make/Run a site and maybe link my blog & start doing podcasts for the clan announcements, news on new games ect general stuff like that. Been pricing up alienwares and found a heck of a good desktop for gaming which i'll be able to afford after my mac without much trouble. Quadcore 3.2ghz processor 2tb hard drive liquid cooling 2.5 ghz RAM DDR3 or something really crazy specs its the latest area 51 I think ALX or something its a beast. 3,500$ to buy or something.

Thinking next year Im not gonna have time for playing games like I do these days due to the course being a hard one at college, Using the mac for wifi connection for work at college and to make life easier taking notes in-class rather than pen to paper. also for podcasting and other stuff it'll be ideal. So Im defiantly going for a macbook pro and the above alienware next year. I need to know if I buy a crazy desktop like that am I moraless safe for a good 4-5 year ya think to not have to buy a new computer? I mean in terms of it keeping up with the new games coming out. Im thinking of getting Skype aswell whats it like?

Thinking of dropping the hours on gaming to a bare minium to set up games with you guys on live and pc gaming with my buddies, If lads from pgl do pc gaming to all the better I can get involved that way to. I was wondering If I could also maybe link my site to PGL cus most PC gamers I know have a 360 and probs 99.9% of them would love to get in PGL for the laid back gaming. Most clans me and my old buddies use to be in were basically told "Attend the games, or get lost" when it comes to games with the clan ect.

I'll be hosting pc games on a schedule dependant on my college time table thruough the week. for example:

Mon RTS nite 6-7PM
Tue FPS nite 6-7PM
Wed MMO nite 7-9-10PM
Thur FPS nite 5-7PM
Fri RTS nite 6-7-8PM
Sat MMO nite 6-7-8PM
Sun - Free

Bit of a weird schedule I know its just a mock example but games arranged with my clan ANYONE from PGL would be welcome to join in on the games for practise, or in-clan league tournaments and such would be cool to mix things up, I'd be able to run my site alongside the lads who run pgl organise lil tournaments my clan v a group of pgl lads and things like that. Mini tournaments/leagues in spare time and practise matches on weekly bases.

So if anyone here who uses a mac could let me know a bit more about iWeb and how the podcasting thing ect works would be good as Im kinda going in blind in one sense just going off knowing macs are good for that sorta thing, Looked around and not been able to find one site showing demonstrations or anything lol.

If one of the main dudes reads this get back to me about the league/tournie thing, Would be nice to know in advance if its a good or bad idea/ cool to mix things up.

[Dom]

Just messaged a few people, allrdy got 4-5 of them in 30 mins up for it and one or two willing to help me run the site, do the podcasts and even run a radio channel

[namehater]

do you know anything about building your own pc? for $3500, a lot of that money is just going to the Alienware name, I would almost garauntee you could build that system for less than $2500

i thought about buying an alienware pc a few years ago because i thought the cases were badass, but my buddy worked as a computer tech at a local radio shack, he told me that they were actually pretty poor quality, lots of plastic and such on it

[Dom]

Not really bothered on the money side of things man, Its a beast its got everything i'll need theyre insane performance wise and I love the cases they look cool, the new ones are alot better have you seen em?

Oh Btw was wondering, If I got a friend to make me layouts, templates and all the buttons I need ect could I simply add all the links and text ect in iWeb?

Btw namehater, I spent 1600£ on this current pc SIX YEARS ago lol... So whenever I buy a pc I just splash out cus I know I wont need a new one for AGES.

[namehater]

no, i havent looked at alienware for quite awhile, i build my own pc's now, but if you got the money layin around, more power to you

it also helps that building pc's is a little bit of a hobby for me

[Dom]

Hehe They used to be my hobby to man, But ever since i stopped being a IT geek and started to hit the gym It aint my thing nemore, I just want a beast sent out to me without having to fiddle on hehe theres some insane cases out there with all the neon liquid cooling tubes with see thru casing, looks insane, but costs alot anyhow so thats why im going for a alienware.

[Dom]

Say namehater I thought bout what you said ,Ive decided to go for a Alienware Notebook instead, Knocking me back just under 3K$ estimating around 1850£ which is what I'd pay for ANY make high performance PC and Desktop. The notebook is a beast. What do you and any others checking this forum think about this:
(I have made some tweaks to the spec to before, knocking me back another 150, at 2,000£ on the dot. Figured whats the points in spending a arm and a leg for a 2tb hd desktop version cus i wont even use 10% of that space lol.


The Build:.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7400 2.16GHz 4MB Cache 667MHz FSB
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 1024MB
Dual 512MB NVidia® GeForce™ Go 7950 GTX - SLI Enabled
Genuine Windows® Vista Ultimate
17" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD with Clearview Technology
160GB 7200 RPM SATA
Stealth Black (Colour/casing)
Network card :Internal Intel® PRO Wireless 3945 a/b/g Mini-Card
AlienCare 1-Year Free Phone 24/7 and Collect & Return
Integrated Bluetooth® Device
Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal Professional - 12 month subscription Included
Alienware® Ozma 5™ Headphones


Decided to go for a NoteBook along side the MacBook Pro im after. So on the desk I'll be left with just the two notebooks side by side one for gaming, One for work. I am AWARE that alienware notebooks shouldnt even be called a laptop cus theyre massive and most of em are heavy, I just care about it before portable, pickup-Able and being able to just take it to a other room and being able to play without messing on lifting and carrying a keyboard, mouse tower and monitor lol seperately. Saves time, And According to what ive heard. Alienware notebooks actually run games really well and shouldnt be thought of as a lesser version of the desktops. Some of them like this someone said tis just a portable version of the desktop version which just came out ect performance wise.

So If someone could let me know if the laptop is good and if I wont have trouble running the most up to date games like BF 1425 or w/e i dunno the full name. I'd be gratefully. Any comments/ suggestions much appricated as it'll help me make touches on the final product I'll end up getting.

The Macbook Im getting im going for the 1500 pounds version its a 180GB HD I think it is, 17inch screen MacBook Pro, Going for it in Black.

[namehater]

definitely looks stout! ive heard that the battery life on alienware laptops sucks, so plan to leave it plugged in all the time, i know my hp media laptop sucks a lot of juice and its not half the system your lookin at

[lovekeiiy]

The Alienware looks a lot like my laptop, LOL

It's an Alienware m5100 with 1G Ram, 120G HDD, dual DVD burners, build in camera, 17" LCD screen, full keyboard and ten key, a Nvidea Gforce Go 6800 ultra videocard, P4 3.6ghz w/ hypertech, no build in wifi or security device. Very expensive at the time.

I like the computer. It's really a desktop in a portable case. Battery life sucks big time. It's about 45 minutes without the PCMIA card plugged in. Drops to about 25-30 minutes with the card. I don't do PC gaming very much, but it does run Sid Meyer's Railroads very well with all the high settings.

I won't get into some of the issues I had with customer service. The one thing I didn't like is that they just put a HDD image on it and shipped it me. That wouldn't have been a bad thing, but it was not optimize for this computer setup. It ran like crap. Froze the first time I booted it. Would lag a lot trying to run various programs and even just booting the system. I had to format and reinstall everything because of a different issue with the 360, and it's ran like a champ every since. Another thing, but it doesn't bother me, the thing is very heavy. It's atleast twenty pounds.

I don't know how much experience you have the laptops, but be warned, anything you upgrade and need to replace will be four to six times more expensive to the desktop equalivalant. I would suggest no camera because it really not that good of one. Also don't get the internal wifi. Externals get better range.

Hopefully that helps.

[namehater]

is that a pic from hurricane katrina?, the blue masking tape on your surround sound wires is classy btw

[Peench]

Originally Posted by namehater

is that a pic from hurricane katrina?, the blue masking tape on your surround sound wires is classy btw

Nah, he's in a temporary setup for now. I don't know how you do it LK - I would go crazy going from my big screen down to that little monitor! That's some serious incentive to finalize your main theater!!

[lovekeiiy]

that's actually my bedroom. I cleaned that crap up. Most of that mess was old computers I needed to go through that I had been using for parts when crap went out; I would take old computers from work when they were giving them away. I was able to get two working computers, and gave them away to people who did not have computers and very little money. The rest of the crap was train stuff and wires. Now it's one of those three drawer roller cart topper things. So now there are my extra game stuff--game pads, batteries, cables--on top of the cart. The box that gamecube is sitting on is moveed next to the subwoofer. I don't have room in my closet. The box has books and practice questions for the LSAT. The closest has clothes and all the empty packaging boxes from the gaming systems, and games from the older systems.

The blue tape is funny. But it works good and doesn't take off the paint and leave gunt on the walls when removed; it shouldn't since it's painters tape.

[Dom]

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...g?t=1184073159

This was where I used to play on mi xbox/ pc till my bro got his own xbox 360, I now play on a Dell LCD widescreen monitor - 24inch. Its not best size but the size of my room is a frigging cubible LOL so its spot on for what I need really. Panasonic Vieras are class, one in that room, one in the living room

For Jay and silent bob fans...
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...g?t=1184073350

[BiffCo]

Damn you Englanders... Everything looks so neat!

I was actually set to jump the pond for three months this quarter (Study Abroad program), but decided to hold off until next year when I can save some money and take that with me. My buddy's over there now. I don't know exactly where but he's go pics of his flat on twango: London Pictures. Seeing those pics makes me wish I would have said screw it and just went.

Here's to England next year.

-Brad

[lovekeiiy]

this is what I currently game on. That's my office, where I use a 20" inch widescreen Dell LCD monitor



I use to play in the family room. This is what that room currently looks like. Also, there is the Alienware laptop sitting on the autamen. You can see part of the powerbrick for it too on the floor.


This use to be what I gamed on. That's a 55" HDTV



And as bad as my current temp setup is, it's better than this temp setup I was on when I first got booted out the family room. That is a 14" SDTV that we got back approx 1990: