Diary of a Slightly Eccentric Euro Man

Just a quick update to let all my subscribers know that the new system is working like a dream.

The processor runs at an average of 37c and the graphics card runs somewhere between 50 – 55c when playing the game. I have had a few warnings of pending doom from the software running the fans but it is because the fan speed is to slow and not due to an imminent failure. Read the rest of this entry »

Another big box store visited and a $500 hole in the credit card. I bought a graphics card, motherboard, case, 500w power supply, 4200 x2 AMD and 2 GB matched ram. One hour to put it together, half an hour to install xp and 2 hours downloading and installing updates. I copied the game across from the old drive and fired it up for the big test.

Success at last, the game is running at a solid 60fps with no glitches, all the graphics settings are turned up high and the display has never looked so good.

A big thank you goes out to the manufacturers of all the items for bringing tranquility back to the household. Hopefully that is the end of the saga for now although I do have to upgrade it to Vista. Pray for me.

Ok I tried to save the day with a PNY GeForce FX 5200 from a big name store. Imagine the dismay when I found it had a previous owner. I carried on with the install and fired the machine backup. It booted and took only a few minutes before the drivers were downloaded. The game was running again in a matter of mere moments. It all looked good to me so I switched off and waited for the real test when the night’s gaming started.

One hour later I hear murmurs of discontempt. Looking at the screen was like looking through tissue paper and the framerate was so slow you could make a cup of tea between actions. I guess we know why the card was ‘previously owned.’  I will take it back tomorrow and try again in another store. Now if somebody has a cure for world of warcraft addicts then let me know. I may need it soon.

Oh dear the machine my wife uses for WOW is broken and I have the feeling life will not be worth living if I do not have it repaired by nightfall. I know it is a graphics problem so I am going through the steps of replacing the card and trying again.

I have two older cards which both worked in the machine but the game was unacceptably slow. It does point to the hardware though or at least a driver issue with the newer card. I guess a trip to a local store to buy a replacement is in order. Hopefully it will work,we have had a lot of issues since the latest warcraft patch and life for some has been more difficult with the extra unreliability. Hopefully peace will return soon or at least the clanging of swords.