Tuesday, February 15, 2005
video game addiction
About 4 months ago I moved from my home office into my company's new office in Encinitas, and had to take my work computer with me. My old computer was a sorry POS but really didn't want to go out and buy a new rig, so I took what I had and started replacing parts. Had a decent MoBo and a P4 1.8 so I stayed with those, then had some fun. New heatsink and fan. Power supply. Hard drive. Memory. Cables. CDRW. Case. Video card.
I wasn't ready to plop down 200 bucks plus for a new video card that probably wouldn't work with my old MoBo so I found an old ATI Radeon 9000 Pro with 128mb ram for $45 at circuit city...I see these cards at other places for 75-100 bucks so I have no idea how I got away with it. I was soooooo happy...I could play real video games now! Before all I could play was a tron based bike game...armagetron...which is still one of the most fun games in the world. If you ever play, look for "Player one" on the breakfast server.
People who put computers together will know that this isn't the best rig in the world, but for the money it's pretty damn good. Some things I did splurge on though...like the power supply and the UATA/133 controller.
First purchase after the video card was a new game...so I did some research, and found the "game of the year" for 2003, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Typical RPG based on events in the star wars universe from way, way before the movies. I got addicted. The storyline, different plotlines you could follow, gameplay, and especially the fact that decisions you made would send you towards the dark side or light side of the force just drew me in.
Rhiannon likes to watch me play. Silly, I know, but damn that's a great fiance. She started playing it and had a blast.
So now, the new one, affectionately named "KOTOR II" is out, Rhiannon got it for me on Friday for valentine's day. They were out of stock at the Best Buy in MV, so that dear, sweet, wonderful woman of mine drove all the way out to El Cajon, in the rain, in rush hour traffic, to get me a video game.
And I've been playing it every second I'm at home. This weekend my average time of "going to bed" was around 5:30am. My sleep schedule's messed up, I've been late to work the last two days. When I fall asleep I have dreams with numbers floating above people's heads (in battle, it shows how much health is taken from you)...
And one of the character choices looks exactly like mikey.
Yeah, I'm a geek, but at least it's not counterstrike with a headset.
And once I've settled it I'll tell you all the epic saga of trying to upgrade my video card.
-z
I wasn't ready to plop down 200 bucks plus for a new video card that probably wouldn't work with my old MoBo so I found an old ATI Radeon 9000 Pro with 128mb ram for $45 at circuit city...I see these cards at other places for 75-100 bucks so I have no idea how I got away with it. I was soooooo happy...I could play real video games now! Before all I could play was a tron based bike game...armagetron...which is still one of the most fun games in the world. If you ever play, look for "Player one" on the breakfast server.
- SuperMicro P4SGA
- Intel P4 1.80 (OC'd to 2.37)
- Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu heatsink and fan - $20
- 512mb PC2100 KCR (Kingston Crappy RAM) - $65
- WD 120gb HD - UATA/133
- Ultra ATA/133 controller - $50
- Sony 52x24x52x CDRW - $20
- New Floppy Drive! - $6
- Antec TruePower 430 power supply - $83
- ATI Radeon 9000 Pro Video Card - $45
- Antec SLK1600 case - $15 after rebate
- Assorted case fans and round cables - $15
- Dell M991 19" monitor - Used - $50
People who put computers together will know that this isn't the best rig in the world, but for the money it's pretty damn good. Some things I did splurge on though...like the power supply and the UATA/133 controller.
First purchase after the video card was a new game...so I did some research, and found the "game of the year" for 2003, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Typical RPG based on events in the star wars universe from way, way before the movies. I got addicted. The storyline, different plotlines you could follow, gameplay, and especially the fact that decisions you made would send you towards the dark side or light side of the force just drew me in.
Rhiannon likes to watch me play. Silly, I know, but damn that's a great fiance. She started playing it and had a blast.
So now, the new one, affectionately named "KOTOR II" is out, Rhiannon got it for me on Friday for valentine's day. They were out of stock at the Best Buy in MV, so that dear, sweet, wonderful woman of mine drove all the way out to El Cajon, in the rain, in rush hour traffic, to get me a video game.
And I've been playing it every second I'm at home. This weekend my average time of "going to bed" was around 5:30am. My sleep schedule's messed up, I've been late to work the last two days. When I fall asleep I have dreams with numbers floating above people's heads (in battle, it shows how much health is taken from you)...
And one of the character choices looks exactly like mikey.
Yeah, I'm a geek, but at least it's not counterstrike with a headset.
And once I've settled it I'll tell you all the epic saga of trying to upgrade my video card.
-z
Comments:
the whole time i am reading this post, i am thinking, z is such a geek.
and then you said it. dude. peas and carrots, i'm telling ya.
hope you got rhiannon something good for vday, she totally deserves it!!!
Post a Comment
and then you said it. dude. peas and carrots, i'm telling ya.
hope you got rhiannon something good for vday, she totally deserves it!!!
