Been out of the loop for awhile on what is the best affordabe new video card.  I currently have 2 9800GT's running in sli mode and getting tired of the somewhat limited support of sli (doesn't work very well in starcraft and I end up just turning sli off and running 1 card).  MY CPU is 3.0ghz duo core, I also will be playing civ 5 but it seems to run just fine with my current setup.  So is it even worth upgrading to a new video card and I would like to keep the cost between $200 - $250 shipped.  Thanks for any help 

Can I just rip songs from CD's I own and put into itunes?

You said buy off itunes.  Just to be clear you can load any compatible music (mp3 included) into itunes to sync to your ipod/iphone without buying anything off itunes.

Thanks that is actually what I was asking 

Just got an iPhone 3g and was wondering if there was a way
to put music onto it other than having to buy off of iTunes?

We have a small local network here at work (5 computers connected thru a router) and 1 of the computer's (my boss's) is extremely slow connecting to my computer, but is fine connecting to all the other computers on the network.  My boss's computer and my computer are both running winxp.  I can connect fine to all the computers on the network including his.  We have diabled all anti-virus software on both computers.  Where do I begin troubleshooting this?

Quick question is there a key that will select an enemy target, as opposed to clicking on them?  Sometimes it is hard to select the enemy target when you have 2 melee guys up close to the target.

Also, it's a bit disappointing that they don't split out the scores for people that use their own created golfer and those that use the Pros. I want to see how my guy stacks up to other people, not other people ripping up the course as Tiger.

Well I certainly didn't rip the course up playing as Tiger (+22), but I do suck!  And yes I play tour pro difficulty.

Ya know what, it might have been the Amateur one. I did it with my brand new created golfer and finished 1 under or so and I did the one at TP and was like 7 over, which surprisingly put me in the top 50 and I got that achievement.

by the way, when I put your gamertag in, it said there was nobody on XBL with that gamertag. Can you recheck it?

I think there is a space before the 1, so buckeyeshane 1.  If that is not right I will add you once I get on tonight.  Not sure what time as I have a 10 month old and the wife will not be home till after 9:00pm est.

Something I forgot to mention, that really brought the game down to Earth a bit for me, is that the first online Tourney I saw, the leader was -24 after day 1. They need to make it so that the golfers have to use their created golfer and the stats get set to a max of a 5 or 6 avg or something.

Was that the amateur tourney or the tour pro tourney.  I know last night the amateur tourney scores were exceptionally low (like what you are saying here), but the tour pro tourney at torey pines in the rain was more in line with the way it should be.  I can't remember what the leader score was all I know is that I finished at +22 using Tiger!  One thing I noticed though while playing was that at the start of each hole it would show the hole stats (eagles, birdies, pars, bogeys, bogey +) and the bogey + was always blank, so I don't know if this is a bug or I was the only one getting double and triple bogeys?

If you still have a code for the spyglass course I would very much appreciate it.  I bought this yesterday at Gamestop without a preorder and the manager refused to give me the code since I didn't preorder even though he had codes.  Thanks in advance.

I have a 260 and justg reinstall Crysis to see how it did. 1680x1050 all maxed smooth and pretty. How do I see my fps ? Ill post what it shows if someone tells me how to see them lol.

console command first ~
then type r_displayinfo=1

I've read lately compatibility problems with SLI are becoming rare with better drivers. I'd say as long as your not having problems just stick with the SLI already installed and get your money back for the other card.

Yeah I ended up RMAing the 260 back to newegg for a full refund, pretty much because everything I throw at the 9800gt's runs well without problem, even crysis at 1920x1080 at the high settings I avg 30fps.

Everything I've read says the 9800gt sli is going to be slightly faster/same as the 260.  I'm fine with frame rates I'm getting in Crysis with the 9800 gt's and nothing else out there is going to push them like crysis does.  The only thing that has me wanting the 260, is to get away from sli and possible compatibility problems but I've yet to run into any problems (and this is also really the only negative I've read about sli).  So I'm thinking I'll just return the 260 and when the time comes to upgrade there will more than likely be something faster out there.  Thoughts?

You missed 1 release for the PC, Battleforge

Just wanted to bump this as the 260 is coming today and not sure whether to open it or not??  I'm leaning towards returning it, as the most demanding game I have is crysis and it seems to stay above 25fps on very high detail (no aa) @ 1920x1080 with the 9800gt's in sli mode.

Well I did all the windows vista updates (including sp1) and now it shows in the details that I have 4gb of memory along with 2 9800gt in sli 512mb cards, where before it only showed 3096mb, which is 3mb??  And it does say that it is the 32bit operating system.

I had the same issue, for what it's worth, I called dell and they shipped me the 64bit version for just the cost of shipping.

Thanks I guess i'll try giving them call, hopefully i'll get someone that speaks english (not holding my breath though). 

When I got the computer thru dell outlet it only listed 1 9800gt 512mb card but when I got the computer Friday I looked inside the case and to my surprise there were 2 9800gt's in sli.  Before the computer arrived newegg had the nvidia 260 core 216 on sale for $199 so I purchased it and it will arrive on Moday, but now I'm thinking of returning it.  Should I??  Which option would I be better off with??  I can sell 1 of the 9800gt's on ebay and put the other in my old computer and then also sell the 8800gt I pull out of it (this should net me around $150), so in essence the 260 will only end up costing approx $50.

That might be why then - Microsoft knows that it's an OEM version of Vista, instead of one that can be used on any PC. Or something.

All I know is that on my Vista Ultimate disc, it tells me that it's only the 32-bit version, and I stumbled upon the same link that disarm found. I didn't end up using it though, as I borrowed a 64-bit disc from somebody else, and reinstalled with my CD key.

Yeah it's definately an oem disk, so I guess if I can't get 64 bit for free than I'm not going to spend $100 to get it, especially with Windows 7 not too far away.  Will windows 7 come in 2 flavors (32 & 64) or will it be just one?

It did come with vista ultimate! So I can get vista 64 for basically shipping cost?

click here for the details on upgrading to 64-bit...

Thanks I went there and typed in my product key and it said no offers available.  When I right click on Computer and select properties the info screen says I have Windows Vista Ultimate??

it's mentioned at [url-=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/64-bit.aspx]this MS page[/url] that copies of Vista Ultimate should already include the 64-bit versions.  did you get any kind of Vista installation disc from Dell?  if it's an official copy of Vista from MS and not just a 'system restore' disc, then it may already contain the 64-bit software...

It's a renistallation dvd that says windows vista ultimate 32bit sp1, but it's not an official microsoft disk, the product key is no the side of the pc.

It did come with vista ultimate! So I can get vista 64 for basically shipping cost?

click here for the details on upgrading to 64-bit...

Thanks I went there and typed in my product key and it said no offers available.  When I right click on Computer and select properties the info screen says I have Windows Vista Ultimate??

Finally, if for whatever reason you happen to have Vista Ultimate on that PC of yours, you can actually order for free (short of shipping) from Microsoft the 64-bit version of Vista to install yourself. I think that Vista Ultimate only came with the 32-bit disc or something when it first launched, which is why you get it for free from them or something.


It did come with vista ultimate! So I can get vista 64 for basically shipping cost?

It sucks that I don't have access to all 4gb of ram, but I don't know that spending another $179 (why do I see a version of vista 64 for $99 on newegg??) to get the 1gb I'm missing out on is going to give me any benefitial gains at the moment.  I got this system thru dell outlet for $799 (E8400, 4gb ram, dual 9800gt's in sli, 500gb harddrive).  I'm just a little surprised that dell would sell a system with 4gb, 2 9800gt 512mb cards and vista 32 knowing that only 3gb  of the 4gb would be useable.  It's also my understanding that you can't upgrade vista 32 to vista 64 correct, as in you have to buy a full blown version of vista 64 and start with a clean slate?

So what are the benefits of having vista 64 over vista 32 barring the discussed memory limitations

Thanks for the quick response, so should I consider upgrading to vista 64??

So vista is only showing 3gb of memory because I have 2 9800gt cards (512mb each)in sli and those are taking up the other 1gb??

Just got my new computer from the Dell outlet, which has 4gb of ram installed w/vista 32.  Is it true that vista 32 only recongnizes 3gb of ram??  If so why would dell sell a computer with 4gb of ram and vista 32??

Another question would I be better off adding another 9800gt to the system for sli or purchase a single nvidia 260 and sell the 9800gt that comes with the system on ebay for approx $75??

What processor did you get? For the life of me, i don't see any specific processor.

Sorry it's the E8400 (3.0ghz core duo)

Is the processor going to last me awhile??

Ok, back home from work, since it's slow tonight. (ugh, I need to work more, it's been slow quite a bit, lately)

That seems like a pretty decent put-together for the price, although I'm dissatisfied with their ram selection.

As far as upgrading the gpu.. yeah, they do claim 750 watts on the psu, so you should be good to go... the systems are sold with either single or dual video cards, so I'm running on the assumption that they package the psu with enough connectors to get the job done, rather than installing adapters every time they need to build a box with two cards in it.... they're gaming systems, so I'm assuming they sell a lot of them with the 2-card option. And 750 watts is plenty for everything short of triple-sli/crossfire.

Atomic

Curious.. what caused you to buy a dell instead of building your own? Convenience of the package? (I admit, there's something to be said for not having to assemble it yourself... I just always end up dissatisfied with the options.. ram, hard drive selection... (and pricing)... Plus they invariably push a ton of software onto the box that I neither want, nor use.

I noticed you're getting Works 9... but have you ever checked out www.openoffice.org ?

Well I chose the dell because if I were to build my own I would also have to get a case, power supply, operating system, etc.. on top of what you had listed above and I've never built my own system before and I have a 7month old son and I don't know that now would be the time to try my patience with that.  As far as getting works 9, it's an outlet computer so I can't configure it.  I really want this system to last me 4-5 years, and now I'm wondering whether I should have waited for the i7's to come down in price??  Curious what is wrong with the memory?? 

Thanks for the responses, I was trying to decide on a new system or try to limp along awhile longer.  I purchased this from the dell outlet store for $799:

 WT795  Base,DRUID,WFD,E8400,630I 
1 3E476  Information,Equipment 
1 54981   
1 CU031  Module,Mouse,2BTN,Optical Black,Logitech,DI 
1 CY373  Module,Dual In-line Memory Module,4GB,4X1GB,800,CL6 Dimension 
1 D025F  Module,Assembly,Cable,Serial Ata,Optical,630I 
1 D047H  Module,DVD,16X,Sata,Half Height,Dimension,HLDS 
1 D661C  Module,Label,Intel,Desktop Core Duo-conroe,Core Duo Kentsfield 
1 DJ426  Module,Keyboard,105,Us Europe Universal Serial Bus,Black Dimension 
1 DW234  Module,Accessory,BOX,630I English,Dell Americas Organization 
1 F6405  Module,Information,No Raid, Dimension 
1 F735C  Module,Software,Quick Fix Engineering,WXPPSP3,Consumer Desktop 
1 FK244  Module,Software,DT-ICLNR Dell Americas Organization 
1 FM738  Module,Bezel,Extreme Performance System,630,Black 
1 GM113  Module,Software,VU32 Dimension,English,DAO No Docs/diskettes 
1 GM493  Module,Label,Microsoft,WindowsVista Os,Premium,Dimension 
1 GR879  Module,Hard Drive,500G,S2,#1 Lead Free,SGT-GLXY 
1 J206C  Module,Software,Dell Connect 2.1,Dell Americas OrganizationEMEA,Brazil Customer Center 
1 KW181  MOD,SW,DSPRT-CTR,2.0 
1 N537F  Module,Software,VU32SP1 Digital Video Disk Drive,MUL5 Dao/bcc 
1 T013C  Module,Software,Works,9 English 
1 TW781  Module,Dvd+/-rw,16X,Half Height,Dimension,Hitachi Lg Data Storage,2 
1 X393H  Module,Card,Graphics,9800GT Scalable Link,Interface 
1 XX199  Module,Media,Digital Video Disk Drive,Resource Dvd Extreme Performance System,630 
1 Y573C  Module,Software,Roxio,10.2 Dell Edition 
1 YP132  Ship Group,DRUID,630I,United States,Dell Americas Organization 
1 989-2477 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year 
1 990-8029 1 Year Limited Warranty and Next Business Day,Desktop 
1 985-7920 Type 3 - Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year 
1 950-9797 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3 
1 960-8700 Warranty Support,Initial Year 
1 3E476  Information,Equipment 

  I can upgrade the video card later if need be (I believe the dell xps 630's have 750W power supply's), but it should be sufficient for now.

Title says it all, would upgrading from a 8800gt to a 9800gt in Pentium 4 system be worth it??  Also if my power supply can handle the 8800gt would it be able to handle the 9800gt?

Thanks, I just missed an NBA 2K8 on eBay for $11.50 with free shipping!

If you are still interested in NBA 2K8 (Xbox 360) I can sell it to you for $12.00 w/free shipping.  PM me if you are interested.

Actually, I meant College Hoops 2k8.  I really want the college version.  Do you have it by chance??

I do, but don't want to sell that one.  Sorry.

Eco

Thanks, I just missed an NBA 2K8 on eBay for $11.50 with free shipping!

If you are still interested in NBA 2K8 (Xbox 360) I can sell it to you for $12.00 w/free shipping.  PM me if you are interested.

Yeah let me know, I lived in Columbus for about 6 years while going to OSU

I'm near Warren Ohio about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland

What part of Ohio are you from?

Would I lie to a fellow Ohioan???   

You aren't from Michigan are you 

I'm running it on an E6600 with an 8800GT and I've got everything maxed out.  It runs smooth as silk for me.  You may not be able to go to ultra settings with that setup, but I would think that you could easily do high or medium with no issues.

Ok Thanks, I just purchased thru steam, I'm holding you accountable if it doesn't run well