The Steam discussion topic! Joy and happiness, right here, folks.

Nice command center indeed, those mounts are nice and affordable too. Would add that to my set up if I wasn't afraid of tearing up the walls.
 
[quote name='CheapLikeAFox']Nice command center indeed, those mounts are nice and affordable too. Would add that to my set up if I wasn't afraid of tearing up the walls.[/QUOTE]

They don't hook onto the walls instead they clamp onto your desk.
 
[quote name='52club']
Another suggestion is to use a desk mount from monoprice to really make your set up nice. I've got a 22" and 23" in a dual monitor set up with some monoprice desk (http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10828&cs_id=1082808&p_id=5402&seq=1&format=2) mounts. This really cleared up some desk space.

[/QUOTE]

You have my desk! No, wait - I have your desk! Actually, mine's Birch and yours is Beech. Yes, I'm that much of an IKEA nerd that I know the differences between the two wood types. You know they stopped making the Jerker? (see? IKEA nerd.) A travesty!

Thanks for that link to the monoprice mount - I've actually been thinking about wall-mounting everything and switch to a stand-up desk with a swing-up desk surface (I've got one of those from IKEA, too). Regardless, I didn't know monoprice had mounts, so I'll be looking to them for one whichever way I end up going.

And yes, big LCDs are awesome.
 
CES lookin pretty rockin, great time to buy a new computer. The i5 looks like a great affordable option. I just got a laptop that is kicking these steam game's asses so I've been enjoying all the games I got on sale. Specs you ask? k.

Sager NP8662
2.8Ghz P9700 Intel C2D
GTX 260m
4GB DDR3
15.6" 1680x1050
320GB 7200RPM


and before you ask about desktop, I don't have space for a desktop, 1bdrm apt with the GF doesn't really work =D
 
[quote name='52club']
IMG_1541.jpg
[/QUOTE]

oh man see i think a setup like that would be sweet but i'd just be way too embarassed of it to go for it... i'd have to hide it all in a closet or something
 
[quote name='Koggit']oh man see i think a setup like that would be sweet but i'd just be way too embarassed of it to go for it... i'd have to hide it all in a closet or something[/QUOTE]

If you guys like that you would love mine.

Even better... At work I have dual 30inch Apple Cinema Displays. :D
 
[quote name='yeah-yeah']You have my desk! No, wait - I have your desk! Actually, mine's Birch and yours is Beech. Yes, I'm that much of an IKEA nerd that I know the differences between the two wood types. You know they stopped making the Jerker? (see? IKEA nerd.) A travesty![/QUOTE]

Every night when I'm sitting alone in my room, I'm wishing for a Jerker. What's a jerker? Dunno, but I bet it's not as great in real-life as I'm picturing it in my head. :)

Are they real birch and beech, or are they just plywood with veneer? Just curious. Real wood is expensive (and sometimes hard on the environment...) but darn is it neat! My appreciate for wood comes from my appreciation for acoustic guitars. :)

Anyway.

[quote name='aznguyen316'] Specs you ask? k.

Sager NP8662
2.8Ghz P9700 Intel C2D
GTX 260m
4GB DDR3
15.6" 1680x1050
320GB 7200RPM[/QUOTE]

I'm with you, got a slightly newer version of yours. Mine's a Clevo something or other equivalent to the NP8690. i7 processor, 280M, 15.4" 1080p display.

I'm one-upping you now, but in five years I'll probably have the same one and you'll have something better than we could even imagine right now. :)

Hopefully I'll be able to upgrade this one a little in the future... More memory, bigger hard drive, better graphics and processor... not sure how much is possible to change on it, but it's a lot more upgradeable than most laptops, that's for sure.
 
[quote name='Jesse_Dylan']
I'm with you, got a slightly newer version of yours. Mine's a Clevo something or other equivalent to the NP8690. i7 processor, 280M, 15.4" 1080p display.

I'm one-upping you now, but in five years I'll probably have the same one and you'll have something better than we could even imagine right now. :)

Hopefully I'll be able to upgrade this one a little in the future... More memory, bigger hard drive, better graphics and processor... not sure how much is possible to change on it, but it's a lot more upgradeable than most laptops, that's for sure.[/QUOTE]

DUDE! You did one up me, but it's soo great to see another Laptop gamer =) not to mention a Sager/Clevo user. How you liking it? I would have loved to get the 8690 but I was on a budget and I'm very happy with mine. I was thinking when you mentioned playing at 1080P that things would be turned down, but you have a sick laptop right there man. Grats on the purchase! I'll have to look you up on steam and see what games we have in common. I'm practically begging my sister to play some games with me lol

to answer your questions, yeah our machines are more upgradeable than most laptops. You'll most likely be able to upgrade your gfx to the ATI5000 series, maybe even the nVidia 300's. There's room to grow for the i7 CPU's too so you're set. I'm kind of gimped on my processor, as my max I can get now is already set - a quad core 2.5Ghz I think which is still great and will be fine for 2 years at least with games on max/near max. I can put a 280m into mine as well.

*more edits*
You got any gaming peripherals yet? I recommend at least a mouse and mouse pad.. My personal preference is Razer mice, I have a DeathAdder and love it
 
[quote name='Jesse_Dylan']Every night when I'm sitting alone in my room, I'm wishing for a Jerker. What's a jerker? Dunno, but I bet it's not as great in real-life as I'm picturing it in my head. :)

Are they real birch and beech, or are they just plywood with veneer? Just curious. Real wood is expensive (and sometimes hard on the environment...) but darn is it neat! My appreciate for wood comes from my appreciation for acoustic guitars. :)
[/QUOTE]

'Jerker' is the model of the desk. I think there's a veneer on it, but the core isn't plywood - way too heavy.

Jerker Love: http://adam.pra.to/content/jerker/

And look at this awesomely awesomeness:
http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2006/09/work-highs-and-lows-this-height.html

My Takamine has Koa back and sides and a solid cedar top, so I can relate.
 
Sure!

Yep, and I love it. I've only had a little chug so far with, can ya believe it, a few strategy games. King Arthur and Dawn of Discovery I think are it so far. Most things run at full detail. I realize in the future I'll be needing to either turn down the res or turn down the detail, but I can deal with that. I need to be mobile, so a laptop it is, and I plan to run it into the ground. :)

My only complaints are:

The touchpad sucks (drivers could probably fix this). I wouldn't game with it, but it would be nice if I could stand it.

The fingerprint reader is wonky and practically broken. Again, maybe drivers could fix it, but why include something if it's not up to the quality of the rest of the system?

And finally, the audio could be better. Apparently there is wiring shared going to the speakers and audio out with the microphone in, thus leading to reduced frequency, particularly in the bass department. Fixed with an X-Fi card and plugging headphones into that, but the X-Fi won't run through the speakers (which are probably good speakers).

This is pretty unacceptable, in my opinion. They should follow ASUS' example and put a woofer on the speakers and for God's sake get the wiring right. It's a multimedia laptop. Why was audio not a priority?

And, finally, it's not necessary, but I think the temps (which are more than adequately low) could be lowered a little if I re-apply thermal paste to the CPU and GPU.

Other than that, best computer I've ever used, period. Not a single crash in the month I've had it. It's insane.

Sorry to talk your ear off, but that covers my experience basically in its entirety. :)

[quote name='yeah-yeah']'Jerker' is the model of the desk. I think there's a veneer on it, but the core isn't plywood - way too heavy.

Jerker Love: http://adam.pra.to/content/jerker/

And look at this awesomely awesomeness:
http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2006/09/work-highs-and-lows-this-height.html

My Takamine has Koa back and sides and a solid cedar top, so I can relate.[/QUOTE]

Nice! Is your Tak a fingerpicker? (Edit: I couldn't let it go without mentioning my favorite guitar, a Martin 00-18V. Very simple spruce/mahogany with ebony fretboard and bridge, but wow. I plan to keep it for life. My other lover is a Nehemiah Covey jumbo of maple/spruce, so they're kind of like opposites. Another life-timer. I feel lucky to have found them. And my fleet of Composite Acoustics. PS, koa is gorgeous! I'd love to try out a koa-topped guitar sometime. I've never played a koa guitar of any kind.)

Ha, I guess there are a lot of Jerker fans, huh? :)

This thread is funny. We're all over the place from guitars to furniture to laptops. :)
 
The Steam sale united the CAG PC community which is a great thing.

The one downside of the Jerker with the desk mounts is I had to place a couple of pieces of wood in the clamp since the thickness of the desktop doesn't meet the minimum of the mount. It isn't something that shows even, but just initially was a PIA.

I would like to see a pic of the dual 30" screens. I wanted to go bigger, but instead I'm going to hold off for a three monitor set up, with hopefully my main monitor being between 26"-32". However, I will be waiting for the new ATI cards to drop in price, so maybe in a year.
 
Jesse, you certainly didn't talk my ear off. I ENJOY discussion like this, just hope it's not off-topic.. but I noticed some sound issues too on mine, but it was with the microphone. It was weird and worked then stopped working and showed I had two, and it took me awhile to figure out, but I think it's working now. I had a Dell Studio XPS - multimedia laptop all the way and the speakers on that compared to mine now, blow these away. I do some occasional music play on the speakers but I almost always game with my headphones as I got a pretty nice pair. My compaint is the headphone jacks are on the front and my headphones require an 3.5mm adapter so it sticks out toward my chest hehe

what temps are you seeing? The 280m and i7 are both powerful so heat will be an issue.. just be glad you don't have the Asus 51j, BSOD issues AND heat problems. My GPU hasn't hit over 75C yet without extra cooling although I'm not an Anti-Aliasing guy. Didn't your Sager build come with Arctic Silver 5 standard? Mine did and it seems fine, but I have a tube of MX-3 waiting for when I feel like replacing the paste.
 
Yeah, these are really unfortunate audio problems. Such high-quality computers, it's so sad to have $$$$ling little issues like that. It's entirely solved with an X-Fi and external speakers or headphones, but that just shouldn't be necessary. :(

Yeah, my temps are a little high, but you're right, they're nowhere NEAR what those poor ASUS folks have to deal with. My processor runs up to 75-83 fairly regularly. Using benchmarks I get my GPU up nearly to 80, but in actual gaming, I'm not sure if it's cracked 75.

It does have AS5, but the issue is that, apparently, they tend to over-apply the stuff. So I've got a tube of MX-2 (I think??), as I heard it's dreadfully easy to spread and is a bit better than AS5. Curious about the MX-3 you mention. Maybe mine is not MX-2. Maybe it's MX-3 or something else entirely.

My junky old desktop seems to need... SOMETHING... for the processor fan there. I've kept the case open and had a desk fan pointed 24/7 on it (yes really), but I have a feeling it's a paste issue. :) So I thought I'd practice with that. I have some extra AS5, too. Then hopefully I'll be talented enough that I'll be pretty dextrous in doing the paste on my Sager and get some cooler temps.

haha are you sure I'm not talking your ear off? I actually had to take a deep breath after typing all that out furiously. Fingers of fire! I need some MX-3 on my fingers.

Overall, Sager's cooling is awesome (I expect the cooling system in your rig is probably exactly the same) and I've had zero issues. I can't resist the urge to lower temps, though, even if just a touch. :) I wanna make this puppy last as long as possible. I truly don't see myself shelling out for a new one very frequently. I'm loving the heck out of this one tho.

[quote name='52club']The one downside of the Jerker...[/QUOTE]

I fully realize and totally appreciate this Jerker love, but every time I see the name, I chuckle a little.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about temps man, when they're nearing 95-100C then worry! The MX-3 I mentioned is the newer paste, but the MX-2 is still very good stuff and I think people do prefer it over AS5 now for the reasons you mentioned (it's not conductive either so if you make a mess, you're generally okay). After tests I think the MX-2 still performs better than the MX-3 lol. I actually ordered MX-2 but I think they screwed up and sent me some MX-3 instead hehe. Also got some Arcticleaner so I just might do it since I enjoy opening up and messing around some.

oh yeah my complaint is the HDD gets warm. 55C average while the max op temp for it is 60C.. yikes!
 
I got some Arcticleaner too. :)

Yikes, that's kind of scary about the HDD. I'll watch my temps on it (I have not been paying much attention to it!) and let you know what's "normal" for my system. Maybe running hot is normal for yours, but I dunno... I'll do a defrag or something and see what the HDD temps get up to.
 
Can anyone connect to Steam right now? I'm getting message 'Could not connect to steam network.... Either the steam network is down... etc2' I'm new to steam so is this normal?
 
[quote name='Jesse_Dylan']I got some Arcticleaner too. :)

Yikes, that's kind of scary about the HDD. I'll watch my temps on it (I have not been paying much attention to it!) and let you know what's "normal" for my system. Maybe running hot is normal for yours, but I dunno... I'll do a defrag or something and see what the HDD temps get up to.[/QUOTE]

oh yeah it's a known issue with my system... but do see what your temps are at.
--
I'm on steam now as well, just played a quick game of CSS with my sis.. sometimes that happens and you have to delete the client.blob file and steam will auto redownload what you need. google it
 
It's weird how often that can fix things.

I forgot to mention earlier that I too wish Steam had demos for more games. I've taken to just assuming there is probably a demo elsewhere for something if Steam doesn't have it. I suppose they don't want to test and troubleshoot all those demos, and maybe there's a reason they don't provide linkage to external demos as well.

But still.
 
[quote name='Jesse_Dylan']
Nice! Is your Tak a fingerpicker? (Edit: I couldn't let it go without mentioning my favorite guitar, a Martin 00-18V. Very simple spruce/mahogany with ebony fretboard and bridge, but wow. I plan to keep it for life. My other lover is a Nehemiah Covey jumbo of maple/spruce, so they're kind of like opposites. Another life-timer. I feel lucky to have found them. And my fleet of Composite Acoustics. PS, koa is gorgeous! I'd love to try out a koa-topped guitar sometime. I've never played a koa guitar of any kind.)
[/quote]

I think it was supposed to be as there's no pickguard, but, well, all those pick scratches give it character. It's a beaut for sure, but I don't play nearly enough.

1992ltd_sm.jpg

Product page: http://www.takamine.com/?fa=detail&mid=2201&sid=352

I fully realize and totally appreciate this Jerker love, but every time I see the name, I chuckle a little.
Click to expand...

There isn't an IKEA item name that *shouldn't* make you chuckle a little.


This thread is funny. We're all over the place from guitars to furniture to laptops. :)
Click to expand...

Better that than yelling at each other. But we could do that, too: MY DESK CRUSHES YOUR DESK! YOUR GUITARS SUCK!
 
My biggest complaint is that the Achievements system isn't stream-lined. Some developers actually incorporate with-in the game's menu system (see: Osmos) which is nice, but most don't.

To view achievements while in game you have to:

Shift+Tab, click Community Tab, View My Profile, Find the game and click "View Stats". It's very obtuse and hidden. You should simply just hit Shift+Tab and then click an "Achievements" tab.

Also there doesn't seem to be any stats displayed for when you achieved said achievement.
 
[quote name='yeah-yeah']In case anyone missed Crayon Physics Deluxe during the winter sale, the developers are having a birthday sale where you can pay whatever you want for the game:

http://www.crayonphysics.com/[/QUOTE]

It is interesting this happened after the $10 price point during the Steam Sale. If Steam would have had it for $5 I would have picked it up. Instead I waited, now I get to name my price which will not be as generous as $5. It kind of makes me wonder who controls the price point in those sales along with how much of a cut Steam takes on each transaction.
 
[quote name='52club']It is interesting this happened after the $10 price point during the Steam Sale. If Steam would have had it for $5 I would have picked it up. Instead I waited, now I get to name my price which will not be as generous as $5. It kind of makes me wonder who controls the price point in those sales along with how much of a cut Steam takes on each transaction.[/QUOTE]

Ya I thought $10 was way too much for it. If they would have simply done $5 I might have bought it and if I wouldn't have I wouldn't short change on a pay what you want sale. Now though ill probaly grab it and put something like a buck in because what always happans with these type of sales is I install it, play it, uninstall and then forget I ever bought it meaning I never recall to install and play it again. I just cant justify paying too much for something like that! So hard copy or steam is the only way ill pay more then $5 for a game.

Edit - I have 1 or 2 things I need to take care of real fast. Ill update the front page shortly.
 
Just a little heads up to anyone that sees the new Borderlands DLC and runs to get it. If you dont play online with friends DONT GET IT! Apparently most of the Underdome battles have been built around team game play and as a solo player can be damn near impossible to beat(not to mention can take hours). Its too bad too since it would have been nice to get a chest to store items.....
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Just a little heads up to anyone that sees the new Borderlands DLC and runs to get it. If you dont play online with friends DONT GET IT! Apparently most of the Underdome battles have been built around team game play and as a solo player can be damn near impossible to beat(not to mention can take hours). Its too bad too since it would have been nice to get a chest to store items.....[/QUOTE]

I've heard that too. Perhaps if you have a good group of 4, then I can see it being fun, but not for long.

Also, Borderlands DLC has SecuRom 5-machine activation, EVEN on the steam version. FYI.
 
[quote name='ChernobylCow']My biggest complaint is that the Achievements system isn't stream-lined. Some developers actually incorporate with-in the game's menu system (see: Osmos) which is nice, but most don't.

To view achievements while in game you have to:

Shift+Tab, click Community Tab, View My Profile, Find the game and click "View Stats". It's very obtuse and hidden. You should simply just hit Shift+Tab and then click an "Achievements" tab.

Also there doesn't seem to be any stats displayed for when you achieved said achievement.[/QUOTE]

It would be nice if all games would allow you to track achievements like TF2. Better than shift-tab, press ESC and view achievements. What do you mean by stats displayed? Like "% players who also completed this achievement?" Or else usually in game and as a pop up, it'll show you what you just immediately completed.

The new Borderlands DLC, I hear it's still buggy, like game breakingly buggy. Better to steer clear until those issues are fixed.
 
The best feature about steam is being able to reinstall games on different computers and where ever you may be. Countless times I have found myself traveling or elsewhere and wishing I could play something but realizing I did not bring the disc with me. Now I don't need to worry about it as I can just access my games from steam and play anywhere.

Well I guess technically this is my favorite thing about digital distribution, but I will give Steam some credit for it as well. Not having to insert the disc is pretty sweet.
 
The feature I like best is having everything in one place, with no discs needed, and I can move them from PC to PC very easily (just download them). I avoid games with activation limits on steam, so that type of issue isn't a problem for me. I would love Steam long time if I was somehow able to register all of my pc games on steam, regardless of where I got them. I really hate discs for PC playing, but if disc copies go on sale for a ton less than digital, it can't be helped.
 
[quote name='Ryukahn']The feature I like best is having everything in one place, with no discs needed, and I can move them from PC to PC very easily (just download them). I avoid games with activation limits on steam, so that type of issue isn't a problem for me. I would love Steam long time if I was somehow able to register all of my pc games on steam, regardless of where I got them. I really hate discs for PC playing, but if disc copies go on sale for a ton less than digital, it can't be helped.[/QUOTE]

That would be the freaking greatest thing to ever happen to Digital distribution outside some kind of law being passed that guarantees us rights to things we buy in digital formats.
 
[quote name='Ryukahn']I really hate discs for PC playing, but if disc copies go on sale for a ton less than digital, it can't be helped.[/QUOTE]

When disc copies that are Steam activated go on sale for a ton less than digital, it's awesome. If you don't have FEAR 2 and want it, go to Gamestop right now. It's $20 while the Steam price is still full price. $50 or something. I got it a few days before Christmas, and it was :drool:
 
[quote name='Chuplayer']When disc copies that are Steam activated go on sale for a ton less than digital, it's awesome. If you don't have FEAR 2 and want it, go to Gamestop right now. It's $20 while the Steam price is still full price. $50 or something. I got it a few days before Christmas, and it was :drool:[/QUOTE]

Staples has F.E.A.R 2 for $9.99.
 
[quote name='Megazell']Staples has F.E.A.R 2 for $9.99.[/QUOTE]

oh rly now...interesting. any good? I didn't care for the first much. Played it on 360.
 
[quote name='aznguyen316']oh rly now...interesting. any good? I didn't care for the first much. Played it on 360.[/QUOTE]

I liked the FEAR series. I got each part - 1, expansion and 2 as a gift since it came out. The person that got them got them all from Staples.

Fear Combat is free and legal for all to play.

The story is good and the action is intense...I love to play online and kill players with melee combos.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Question of the day!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Most of the big DD services sell things other then video games. Namely TV shows and movies. Do you think steam should stick only to video games? Or would you enjoy seeing them expand into movies, comics, TV shows and other such items?[/QUOTE]

They should stick to video games. There is no reason to try and compete with other DD services that provides movies and whatnot, as those places will have a far superior library, making the steam library pointless. Not to mention it would cost them money to host the stuff that they could be putting towards more games.
 
[quote name='Ryukahn']They should stick to video games. There is no reason to try and compete with other DD services that provides movies and whatnot, as those places will have a far superior library, making the steam library pointless. Not to mention it would cost them money to host the stuff that they could be putting towards more games.[/QUOTE]

I have no desire to see my fav TV shows like Dexter or Big Love on Steam, however I would love to see video game related stuff available on steam? For instance what would you say if it was stuff like Penny Arcade or Seasons 1 and 2 of the Guild? Both are game related so I think its pretty cool.
 
I'd like to see comics and maybe movies if anything, but I'm content with Steam the way it is.

They could make a killing with dirt cheap 1080 flicks and I doubt downloads would be too big of a deal considering their beefy servers. Though I'd hate to see them put up a bunch of crap movies and have those clog up weekend deals. Though comics definitely sound awesome.
 
[quote name='Hydro2Oxide']I'd like to see comics and maybe movies if anything, but I'm content with Steam the way it is.

They could make a killing with dirt cheap 1080 flicks and I doubt downloads would be too big of a deal considering their beefy servers. Though I'd hate to see them put up a bunch of crap movies and have those clog up weekend deals. Though comics definitely sound awesome.[/QUOTE]


That would be my biggest worry! That every weekend we get some movie instead of game for a sale.
 
Steam should definitely stick to selling just games. I'd never buy movies/TV from steam because I would probably just rent/watch instantly via netflix. It would just be a needless move and wouldn't do them any favors. Besides, it would take them forever to get all the contracts sorted out with the movie companies and the movie library would be really, really crappy for at least a year.

What I would like to see from Steam is a way to RENT PC games. This would be a GODSEND as that's a huge negative of PC gaming. You can hardly ever try before you buy unless there's a demo (which are becoming more and more rare these days). Having a few options say, 2 days/5 days/7 days for in between $3-$7? All they'd have to do is remove access after the time period ends. After that, the person would be more than able to decide if they want to buy/wait for a sale/pass.

Of course I could see this being an issue with publishers/developers as people would just pay for a week's access to a newly released game and complete by the end of that week instead of paying for the full price for it (but that's how a lot people play console games, so that's kind of moot), and it also might make it easier for pirates (are pirates able to crack the steam protection and distribute via torrent? I don't know for sure...).

What do you guys think? Is that feasible or am I just looking for pie in the sky?
 
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