So, many of you have noticed my new gaming rig specs (bottom of profile) or the way I've been updating my profile avatar with pictures of my new machine.

With a lot of help from my room mate and a significant investment on NewEgg, it took us three evenings to get everything assembled, dialed-in and modestly overclocked to 3.33GHz. The Core i7 is everything it's cracked up to be; I could easily run this sucker at 4GHz with just a little bump in voltage, and the Xigmatek Dark Knight CPU cooler keeps my processor at sub-40C temps even during gaming.



I can not say enough good things about the Antec 1200 case. It's big enough to hold the 10.5" video cards (like my EVGA GTX 285) and a big heat sink. I comes with many big, quiet fans and it has a tray under the motherboard mountings for easy cable management (with zip-ties already built-in!).

So, the new machine runs Dawn of War 2 at 1920 res and Ultra settings and leaves me enough system bandwidth to use Xfire Video Capture, etc. Empire: Total War, the reason I had to build a new system, runs at High settings at 1920 res -- if I want Ultra, I'm going to have to run it at 1680 res or get a second video card in SLi.... and that's not going to happen while I'm running Windows XP Pro with it's 32-bit limitations on RAM addresses.

The real secret weapon of my new system is a little 60GB solid state drive from OCZ. My Windows install and a few choice games (Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, Empire and DoW2, right now) are on the super-fast SSD while storage and other, lesser games go on my 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black HDD.

And no, I am in no hurry to buy Vista. Maybe when Windows 7 (DOS 13, anyone?) comes out I'll consider upgrading, and going SLI and plugging in more RAM. My DFI mobo supports up to 24GB.... hmmm.

Right now, the only upgrade I'm considering is adding a side intake fan to the case, perhaps a Scythe S-flux, as that GTX 285 gets HOT when I play Fallout. Ambient case temps stay nice and cool, but I think another 120mm...

So, I have only just started playing the game, but SPORE is already receiving a high rating from yours truly! So far I give it 4/5 flagella.

The biggest problem I've seen so far is EA Downloader. When it prompts you to install this program, it warns you that without it, "patches and other content cannot be delivered to your computer." That kind of scare tactic language doesn't sit right with me.... especially since that simply isn't true, unless you are hinging the phrase on the word "delivered."

What's more, the EA Downloader can cause SPORE to crash when you evolve, and the game doesn't do a good job of auto-saving itself for you.

Ctrl+S is your friend. Save early, save often, and save for half damage!

- [Xfire] Artaxs

So, today begins the Trickster Triathlon promotion for Trickster Revolution.

http://www.xfire.com/cms/xf_trickster_revolution/

Sign up for the Live Chat, join the official Guild, and play the game to win. It's pretty simple and the prizes include iPods and DS's.

So, as another matter, I'm hoping to find a truly awesome Trickster video to include on the event page. If you have used Xfire to upload a good quality video (with sound) from Trickster Revolution, let me know about it!

There's no contest or prizes here for videos, but if we like your video we might put it on the Trickster event page where thousands of Xfire users will see it.

Thanks!

- [Xfire] Artaxs

Play it. It's good. Also get a Wii. And get fit. With Wii fit. Wii fit also serves some other really amusing purposes. Let me know if you find out what they are.

--Artaxs.

p.s. PC Gaming Rules.

So, have you bought The Orange Box yet?

Portal is the best game of the year, and it comes with The Orange Box, or you can download it from Steam for a mere $20.

It's a first-person-comedy-puzzle-game and it features innovative gameplay, awesome Source Engine physics and some of the funniest black humor I've ever heard in a game.

The ending comes complete with a song by Jonathan Coulton, and it's so fantastic that I *pity* you if you have not earned it by beating this 3-hour long masterpiece of a game.

...and that song has been stuck in my head for 3 weeks, and I still love it.

Help! The cake is a lie!

-Artaxs

June 7th, Xfire is hosting the 5th of our popular series of Debate Club mettings. As a recently converted Nintendo Fanboy (recently, as in, I just got a Wii and I love my DS Lite) I am really looking forward to this one. Wii Sports and Twilight Princess FTW!

After each Debate, we go through the Open Debate Room transcripts and select the best and brightest debaters to join The Two-Handed Sword. Members of the Clan get VIP Invites to our future debates -- pretty cool, huh?

Xfire and Stride Gum have teamed up to bring you the best in eSports entertainment throughout 2007!

The tournament finals are being held June 19th to the 21st, and you can play with the pro teams in your favorite FPS games. What the heck are you waiting for?!? Go sign up nowz!!!1!