The Official Graphics Card and PC gaming Thread

Yup. Cities XL 2011 it was. Thanks

 

Rich: Still the same raid card, but with 11 drives instead of 8 now I believe. Some of the drives are the same 1.5TB Seagate 7200.11s, I think the new additions are Samsung Ecogreens. One of the Seagates failed after a low-temperature disk seizure incident (don't run your fileserver in an unheated garage people!) but luckily the other drives survived, so the data remained intact, once the drives were re-heated on a radiator for half an hour or so.
As it happens he now also has a backup server, with at least 8 samsung drives (that may also have been expanded) using the windows RAID system. Not the most flexible system out there but it does work, ish.

For me, once my exams are over in 7 weeks' time, I'll be working to alphabetise and content-sort my backup drives. Managed to get everything neat and tidy on the current drives (e.g. TV1 A-Di, TV2 Do-M, TV3 N-St, TV4 St-Z) but the backup drives are still a mess, and also no longer sufficient to hold all the data, so they will likely be supplemented with a couple of new 2TB disks now they've come down in price. The WD Green collection is slowly growing
It's quite amazing to look back over my storage history, in the space of only a decade or so.

Group 1, 1999/2002 - 2004
Seagate 13GB, IBM 16GB (P-ATA) - What my first PC came with, and the storage upgrade it got a few years later. The IBM was a substitute for a 60GB new drive, which wouldn't fit in the case - too many platters!

Group 2, 2004-c. 2008/2005
WD1600BB, WD2000JB (P-ATA) - 2000JB lost in the Qtec apocalypse of 2005!

Group 3, 2005-2009/current
WD2500JD x2 (S-ATA) - first of this pair still operates as my server's OS drive, due to be replaced by an SSD before it turns 6!

Group 4, 2006-c. 2010
WD360GD-FNA0, Seagate 7200.9 250GB (S-ATA) - Raptor Brought out of two year retirement (with the data and OS install still intact), to man the OS drive for RMS-Phoenix. The 250GB Seagate is still a backup external drive for some personal data, hasn't seen much use after the demise of the 2-port Icybox last year.

Group 5, 2006-2007/2010
SP2504C, HD400LJ, WD5000AAKS x2 (S-ATA) - only one surviving member of this class, the WD5000AAKS-65TMA0 (OEM return grade) Mirage, currently the sole drive in RMS-Princess. The 400GB samsung is losing sectors, and the other two drives fell foul of a faulty molex splitter in early 2007, thankfully when empty at the time. The WD of this pair was due for RMA due to a faulty logic board.

Group 6, 2008-2010/2011
WD5000AAKS, WD360GD-FLC0 (second hand), HD753LJ - second raptor ran as my OS drive for a year or so, as a much quieter version of the previous raptor I had. The newer 500GB SE16 was sold to a friend a year or so back, as I only needed one, so kept the quieter example. The 750GB F1 was retired earlier this year in favour of a much quieter and bigger WD20EARS, the ninth example.

Group 7, 2008/2009-current
Seagate 7200.10 750GB, WD10EACS (CG), WD10EAVS (CG), WD10EADS x3 - bought in a staggered period over a few months, the Caviar greens all form the backup drives, having been retired from server use with the arrival of the 2TB drives. The 750GB started off as a tertiary for my PC, but as it was found unnecessary, it went into the server, following the caviar greens into backup status.

Group 8, 2009-current
WD15EADS, WD1001FALS, HD753LJ - The 1.5TB CG was also replaced when the 2TB examples arrived, owing to lack of space if the 5.25->3.5" bay was removed (to save weight). The 1TB Black remains in my gaming PC today as a games/high speed drive. The F1 came from a friend's external box he was upgrading at the time. Also with the backup group.

Group 9, 2010-current
WD10EACS (GP) x4 - bought second hand out of a friend's fileserver, these drives were used for a year or so until the 2TB arrivals. Despite the enormous load cycle count from 24/7 use in a prior server for 2 years, no issues with any of them so far.

Group 10, 2010/2011-current
X25-V SSD, WD20EARS x8 - The SSD preceded the 2TB drives by a few months, replacing the 1TB caviar black which had run the OS drive for a few months after the raptor's retirement.

Group 11, 2011->
WD20EARS x1 so far, to be joined by others - the 2TB drive that replaced the 750 F1 in the gaming PC.


Drives by manufacturer
Seagate - 3 (total 1.013TB)
IBM - 1 (total 16GB)
OCZ - 1 (but we'll try to forget that) (total 32GB)
Samsung - 4 - 1 failed, 1 destroyed (total 2.15TB)
Western Digital - 29 - 1 failed (and destroyed) 1 destroyed (total 31.93TB)


Now, quite enough storage talk in a graphics thread!

 

What product are we talking about here?

 

Yeah same here. Not familiar with the member posting nor what they are speaking about. A little detail would be just fine and dandy

 

He's a spammer. If you hover over Jade link, I think you'll understand why I think this

 

Yeah I think you're right. I don't often see spammers come after me in particular though!

 

Indeed. Rather unusual post.

 

Oh no I've seen spammers go after people before. I just didn't think it was one.

 

His/her grammar reminds me of a bot. Vague as can be, and of course, the spam link.

 

Hey guys, what would be the simplest/cheapest way to to run a component cable to my Samsung 2433BW? The VGA port that I have free. THere has to be a way. I plan to run a Wii to my monitor, and the audio cable to my stereo. Surely a conversion box would not be needed...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001309

 

component to VGA adapters should be fine. VGA reads RGB signals. I don't think any adapter boxes would be required.

 

The thing is, all I'm finding on ebay, are HD-15 to component cables. Very similar to VGA. I've bought an HD-15 to HDMI connection. It was not compatible with the PC's VGA out. I guess the real question is, would the Samsungs VGA connection, be compatible with an HD-15 interface?

I really wish they left the VGA standard alone. It's quite confusing. If the shoe fits, than it should be able to be worn!

I guess what I can do, is attempt to connect an HDMI device, via the HD-15 to HDMI converter cable I have. Perhaps my Blu Ray player. And see if the Samsung picks up on it. If it will accept the HD-15 cable, than it will accept the Component converter cable I'm looking at on ebay

 

VGA's a very old standard that's been adapted to fit all kinds of systems. Starting off at 640x480 it's been adapted to fit larger and large resolutions up to the cable bandwidth limit of 2048x1536 as well as aspect ratio changes. It's no surprise it's not too straightforward. HDMI is a digital standard, I'm not sure what its analog capabilities are. DVI-I is a hybrid standard that can carry either signal type, so is better equipped to deal with adapters to component etc.

 

I don't wanna use the DVI port on the monitor. That's in use by my primary computer. Switching it to VGA would be fuzzy/undesirable

I think this guy may have the right idea. But I still firmly believe, that there must be a way to convert Analog VGA to Analog Component without an expensive box. Though the one he uses is only 40$ shipped. I am looking at such a cable, But I'm uncertain how my monitor will display the Wii's resolution. Will my monitor stretch it? Will it display it in a 640 x 480 box? I just don't know...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ch0ekwciOw

 

i made one of these years ago, a relatively simple guide to follow. Soldering skills required.

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/vgacable.html

or you can buy on already made

http://www.amazon.com/VGA-RCA-Component-RGB-Cable/dp/B000FM3EQ0

also going to need a set of these couplers.

http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=120&sku=40648

 

I have a video cap card. I'm gonna entertain that idea.

 

the end result will be stuttery.

 

I've used the card before, It wasn't too bad. Recording was iffy though. When I recorded there was at least a 1 second delay in audio. People do it all the time, why do you say that?

 

you are running your Wii through it? i assumed that's what you meant. if it was ive done it many times with the end result being a stuttery mess. if you've had better luck with it more power to you.