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I’ll keep this post simple… Battlefield: Heroes. The next game in the Battlefield series. Its simple, its downloadable, it’ll run on any pc, and the biggest news of all, Its FREE!!! The release date isn’t set at this point but, it is set to be released in 2008. Here is a video with more information.
I just wanted to tell you all that I have created a Call of Duty 4 clan, and we now have our own COD4 game server. So for all of you COD4 gamers out there that would like to frag with us, the IP address for our server is 72.36.235.190:28960. We also have our own Ventrilo server as well. The IP address for it is: 74.86.198.192:5353. Feel free to drop in anytime and game with us.
If you are interested in joining the clan, stop buy our forums at hbpforums.com and apply. Or maybe you already have your own clan, and you are looking for a server of your own. Well, LRC-Gaming.com has very good, affordable servers. Currently they are running at $1.00/slot. I couldn’t find anything cheaper.
See ya on the Battlefield!!!
Well its time for Microsoft to finally release Service Pack 1 for Vista, after a long wait and multiple push backs. Well just as XP SP2 caused problems for a number of applications, so will Vista SP1. Luckily, Microsoft has been nice enough to throw together a list of these apps, 12 in all, for us to check out before we update.
Click here for the list.
All of these programs will need updates from the manufacturers so they can be used after SP1 is downloaded.
New on Battlefield.ea.com is Battlefield Heroes. There isn’t much info released yet, however the team over at EA seems to be following the Team Fortress 2 format and are going with the whole cartoony feel. The official site is Battlefield-Heroes.com. Check it out for all the up-to-date information on this sure to be exciting game.
At this point I have written through three steps of building your own pc, and had other related posts detailing different steps involved. Well now, I will be actually walking through each step, with pictures involved. I am building a PC for a friend and will post all the pictures in a step by step format here on the site as soon as I get them all loaded and edited. So keep your eyes peeled and check back soon for more info.
-TheYoungGuy-
Firefox 3.0, now in its Beta 2 phase, has had drastic improvements. Mozilla is using the new Gecko 1.9 rendering engine that improves the overall layout and functionality of the browser. Again, being in the Beta 2 phase, Firefox 3 is still being worked on and improved. Other improvements include security improvements, ease of use, more personalization options, and the overall performance of the browser is improved. Set for official release in May of 2008, the new browser should definitely seal the deal for a lot of people who are still on the edge between Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla Firefox.
Tags: Firefox 3.0, Firefox Beta 2, IE 7, Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox
So I had a really eventful day today. Long day at work working on countless computers just to come home to a HAL.dll error on my own system at boot up. AHHHHH!!!! Well 3 or 4 hours later, I finally got it fixed with the help of a good friend of mine. So I’m here to tell you all how to fix this if you ever run into it.
So I booted to a c:\windows\system32\hal.dll error. If I remember correctly it said to reload the file. Here is how I fixed the problem. Believe it or not, its really simple.
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Tags: HAL.dll, Recovery, Repair Windows XP, Windows boot error
One of the key elements to running a blog these days is have a good RSS feed for others to subscribe to. I ran across this site, rssHugger.com, designed to help promote your blog. Its a great way for Bloggers and readers to come together and help each other out. Bloggers use RSS feeds to summarize their posts to make things easier for readers to browse through while they are looking for the topic of choice. And by subscribing to feeds and using viral marketing bloggers build their readership. rssHugger is truly a great tool and I recommend it to anyone that is looking to help promote their blog.
So you have all the parts needed, right?!?! If not, please start from the beginning and read Step One. As mentioned in the previous post, Build Your Own PC: News, there are certain guidelines you MUST follow when building a PC. Along with those guidelines, please remember to read all manuals for each piece or hardware involved for any and all safety precautions.
In this step, the first thing you must do is find a static free environment to work in. I use my kitchen table. Make sure you have all the tools necessary to build. Most likely this is just a Phillips Head screwdriver. If you have a anti-static mat, which I highly recommend. Place it on the table and lay your case on top of it. Im assuming you will have the area cleaned and layed out neatly before we move on.
**BTW - I can not be held accountable for any mistakes that are made or parts that are damaged during the building process. If you have doubts or questions, its best to stop now. Feel free to contact me on our forums, www.hbpforums.com, or email me TheYoungGuy@gmail.com with any questions**
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Tags: Build your own PC, CPU, DDR, DDR2, Hard Drive, Memory, Motherboard, Power Supply, PSU, RAM
As discussed on Cybercoder.net and Garryconn.com, on a Radio Blog Talk video, the Kodak Z1275 digital camera is perfect for the every day user thats not trying to break the bank on a camera. Its very versatile and with 12 megapixels it will amaze you. Also it has High Definition video capabilities as well. It has a 5x zoom and 64MB of internal memory. You can and should add in an additional memory card (SD/SDHC/MMC) of at least 1GB. This camera will make a great gift for anyone over the holidays or just something to pick up for you own personal use.
Check out a video that was shot with this camera on Radio Blog Talk, and see just how clear and versatile this camera can be.
Thanks to Cybercoder and GarryConn for the inspiration to read about and review this camera.
Tags: Camera, Cybercoder, Digital Camera, Garry Conn, Kodak, Z1275
Sorry for the outdated post about Firmware update 2.00, however the PS3 firmware update 2.01 is now available. Below is a list of updates the new update will provide.
* Improved stability for certain applications which include Internet Browser and Information Board.
* Stability of the upscaler for PlayStation format software when played on PS3 models that are backwards compatible has also been improved.
* Stability has been improved when playing some PS3 format software.
* New Remote Start feature (added in Firmware update 2.00) has been improved to avoid an unintentional power on.
If you own a PS3 and have yet to update your system, do so ASAP!!!
Tags: 2.01, Console, Firmware, Motostorm, Playstation, Playstation 3, PS3, Update
Firmware update 2.00 is out for the PS3 and its not everything we were hoping for but still a great addition. The ability to have access to games remotely via your PSP is not available yet, however you can start your PS3 remotely from any location in the world via Wi-Fi connection. This ability gives you access to any video, music and photos that you have stored to your Playstation 3. Photo albums and playlists are able to be created now as well. You still can’t view the XMB during games, but you can personalize it using themes and view news using the new information board.
Trend Micro Web Security is also a new part of the PSN allowing for more security. Trend Micro has been nipping at the heals of Norton and McAfee for the last few years. Definitely a trusted security application for millions of people.
I just bought Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and let me be the first to say, this game is great. As for first person shooters go, I don’t believe it could be more realistic. I have not finished the game yet, as I have just made it into the C-130 firing down on little helpless soldiers. Thats a blast.
There is constant radio chatter, you are always given good direction and the game is fast paced. You don’t have time to think, it must be instinct. COD4 is the way to go for realism. I have always been a fan of the Call of Duty series, but Activision has out done them selves here. Its great. I advise any FPS gamer to go out and buy this one, soon! I can wait to get into the Multiplayer gaming on this one.
If you are a PC gamer then there is no way you haven’t heard of Crysis. This is one of the most anticipated games ever. It has pushed PC graphics to a new extreme and is bound to send a lot of people to the store to upgrade their PC. Test out your rig by downloading the Crysis Demo Here!!!
View more about the game and the now famous Crytek engine here.
Here is the Official List of System Requirements from Crytek and EA for Crysis.
OS - Windows XP or Windows Vista
Processor - 2.8 GHz or faster (XP) or 3.2 GHz or faster* (Vista)
Memory - 1.0 GB RAM (XP) or 1.5 GB RAM (Vista)
Video Card -256 MB**
Hard Drive - 12GB
Sound Card - DirectX 9.0c compatible
After finally having the opportunity to play this game, I offer you all my unbiased review. As you all may know, the game looks and even at times feels a lot like the popular Battlefield series. However, don’t be mistaken Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is much more goal oriented. For the Battlefield fans out there trying to get their feet wet with this new game, the controls take a little getting used to but you should feel comfortable. There are a lot of vehicles that you will find very similar to those in BF2142. The Strog (alien invaders) have a battlewalker-like vehicle that has battle turning firepower. Some of the helicopter like vehicles are fairly easy to control after a few rounds in them. Overall gameplay is fun and challenging.
Graphically the game isn’t new. It looks a lot like your typical DirectX 9.0c FPS. Nothing that really blew me away. However it is a lot more seamless than the Battlefield series. The storyline is, well simple… storylines in FPS games are never to detailed because as soon as you begin the game you have forgotten about it altogether. One very good point about this game is it runs very well on mid-grade machines with the settings turned up to high. As an FPS gamer, you should already know that lag is the difference between victory and defeat.
So I advise anyone looking to continue on from the BF series and migrate here, don’t expect the gameplay to be the same, give it some time and you will see this game is a much more team oriented than Battlefield. Give it a few days or weeks depending on your gaming habits and I guarantee you will like it. And for everyone else, once you become comfortable with the controls and the pace of the game, you too will frag like no other.
So are you all ready for the next section in the “Build your own PC” series. I will be writing the next section to this series in the next few days. After section two, you should all have the parts necessary to build your new system. In section three, we will cover how to install these parts into your case. As stated before, there are certain guidelines you MUST follow when building a PC. Please reference step one for these guidelines. I will mention them as we go, but will not cover them in detail so please read over them. So are you ready for step three? Keep your attention here on Hardware Blog Portal. The next post in this series will be coming to you soon.
-TheYoungGuy-
Posted on HBPForums.com by ThunderChild65:
“Ok guys you all know that I just got the Limited Edition Bio-Shock for the PC. First off I’d like to say it’s a great game. It takes some real getting used to. The game is a little slow at first but it picks up soon. It has a simple story line that is easy to follow. One great thing about this game is that it utilizes DirectX 10, for the latest graphical and sound experience. This game is unique because it allows you to use genetic powers that are written into your D.N.A. I thought that was cool however, most of these powers we have already seen in games such as Psi-Ops and Break Down. The actual weapons are simple hand guns and sub-machine guns and a shot-gun for those close encounters as well as a grenade launcher for more aggressive and tougher enemies.”
“Most of the enemies are the same. Theres not really a wide variety here, but to be fair the enemy A.I. is really advanced. These guys aren’t stupid, you can easily out smart them but they will get you buy surprise a couple of times. All in all it’s a good game. on a scale of 1-10 I give it a 7.”
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Thank you Thunderchild65 for the great review.
Anyone else that has purchased this game, we would love to hear your comments. Stop by HBPForums.com and let us know.
Madden 2008 is due to hit store shelves tomorrow, and the demand is high. I would not be surprised if this is the best year for Madden in terms of sales. While the graphics have not changed much since last year, there are some much needed tweaks to the game. There are new player weapons to utilize on offense and defense. And the infamous hit stick has been revamped to increase impacts. The look of the players has changed as well. Now more realistic.
Another addition to Madden 08 is Showcase Mode. It replaces Madden Gamer Level from 2007. You compete in multiple activities to win trophies, and then wager them online against other players. Superstar mode has returned, still with the limited camera view we all love or not. Franchise is here as well. You can take your team through 3 decades of game play while trying to create the ultimate dynasty. Online play is available as well.
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For all of the WWII FPS fans, you may remember a few years back before the Battlefields and the Call of Duties of the world, there was Medal of Honor. Yea, believe it or not its still around and EA is really trying to regain some ground with their new title Medal of Honor: Airborne. With some cool new features like the ability to jump into any area of the map that you want and carry out a non-linear mission, this years MOH:A may resurrect their presence in the First Person Shooter world. At least among War shooters. However with the new Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare slated for release shortly after MOH:As September 4th release, there may be a lot of heads turned away. So if you are one of those MOH fanboys, or girls, this may be your crowning moment.
For anyone that is looking to speed up load times in Firefox, here ya go….
1.Type “about:config” into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries:
network.http.pipelining
network.http.proxy.pipelining
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests
Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.
2. Alter the entries as follows:
Set “network.http.pipelining” to “true”
Set “network.http.proxy.pipelining” to “true”
Set “network.http.pipelining.maxrequests” to some number like 20. This means it will make 20 page requests at once. I do not recommend setting this number any higher as some websites have auto ban functions that ban ips for more than 20 requests to the same page in an hour.
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Grand Theft Auto IV is being delayed until the second quarter of next year for both the PS3 and the XBox 360. Rumors are flying about the PS3 being the reason for the delay, or more so Rockstar not realizing the complications in creating such a detailed game for such a great system. So unfortunately we won’t be getting our hands on the last in a great series of games yet. As we wait however there are plenty of other great games to pass the time. So keep your eyes out for more trailers and screenshots as Rockstar tries to keep our attention, and prevent us from getting mad.
We have a new laptop gaming king and its made by Alienware. Not surprised? Neither am I. Alienware has always been at the top with their gaming PCs, most of which standout with exceptional paint jobs. Well it seems they have changed their approach a bit. With the new Area-51 m9750, Alienware as toned down the visuals of the actual computer and focused on the performance alone. Not to say it doesn’t look good with what Alienware likes to call “Stealth Black” paint job, it still looks sleek.
This machine is nothing to snub your nose about though, the performance will blow you away. With the Intel Core 2 Duo T7600 processor running at 2.33 GHz, 2 GB of RAM, an nVidia GeForce Go 7950GTX SLI, dual 160GB hard drives rated at 7,200 rpm and an SLI-enabled graphics chipset, this system screams. It has taken over the top spot from Dells XPS M1710, for now. The only possible negative aspect of this laptop is the price tag, $4,708 direct from vendor, can drive a lot of people away.
So you have decided what your budget is and what category you fall in! If not, please refer to Build your own PC: Step One. In this step we will cover the parts that will need to have ready when it comes time to begin the build.
No matter the category you place yourself in, the type of components remain the same. First you will need a case, the actual shell everything else will be installed into. Your case choice will differ depending on what type of PC you intend to build. The main things to consider when buying a case are how much space do you have to place the actual PC, are you going to be using liquid cooling or air cooling, do you have a need for front mounted USB/Firewire/Audio jacks, and does the look of the case itself matter to you?! If I was buying a case for gaming, I would look for a full tower case that has good air-flow and enough space for the components that I intended on installing. If I was building a PC for everyday use, I may not need such a large case with as much expandibility. I would mainly focus on having something simple with at least one intake fan and one exhaust fan and some front mounted USB slots for a attaching a digital camera or MP3 player or other device if necessary.
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There are certain items in which you will need to understand in order to build your own PC. I will go over these items in mild detail so you can get a good understanding of them when its time to choose which to buy.
CPU (Central Processing Unit) - This is the main brains of your PC. There are different brands that you can buy, Intel and AMD being the 2 best. Intel has released its Core 2 Duo series of dual core processors that will process a lot more threads than single core procs, and AMD has their Athlon X2 series of dual core procs. The Intel procs have been running circles around the AMD procs lately but your decision should be based on performance for what you need. Intel has also released a new series of quad-core processors recently that they claim to be the best of both worlds. Its up to you.
I am in the process of writing Build your own PC: Step Two, so please be patient. It should be out tomorrow or Saturday. In the mean time, I am very curious as to what you all think about the blog. What would you like to see me review or write about? Let me know on Cybersforum.
Dell keeps besting itself and all others out there with its XPS series of desktops and laptops. The new XPS 720 is no exception, this thing screams. With an Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme QX6800 quad-core CPU that is overclockable to 3.7GHz, an nVidia nforce 680i SLI motherboard, a pair of nVidia GeForce 8800 Ultra video cards, and 2GB of Corsair Dominator EPP RAM there isn’t much that can stand in its way of total domination.
If you have around $6,000 to spare, and your in the market for new rig, you need not look farther than the Dell XPS 720. The only possible downside to the entire thing is the shear weight of the system itself. Its heavy. So make sure you have a partner to help carry it around, but with all the weight come unbelievable brute force. Can you handle it?
So you want to build your own PC! Like I mentioned before, it really is very simple to do as long as you follow the few guidelines that come along with the build.
These guidelines are as follows:
Speaking from a hands on point of view, I can say both Sony’s DSC-50 and 55 digital cameras both deserve to be recalled if they haven’t already. I work in part of rather large corporation that services computers, televisions, cameras and more. Among the items we service the most are these 2 cameras. The lens tends to fail and retract on its own causing an error on the screen telling you to turn of the camera and restart. You can do that if you’d like, but let me save you the time. It doesn’t work. Bring it on into us and let us service it. So if you are in the market for a good digital camera, personally I would recommend you steer clear of these 2 from Sony.
Recently released info across the net has let us all know that Call of Duty 4 is in the making. Once again, to be released on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, this new page in the extremely popular series has a twist. Its full title is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Yes thats right, no more World War 2 warfare. At least not for now. View the new trailer HERE.
An absolutely beautiful new graphics engine has been developed for use in the soon-to-come game Cysis for PC. I stumbled across this video on gametrailers.com and feel its necessary to share with you here. The new DirectX 10 enabled graphics engine is phenomenal to say the least.
If this is really how the game play will actually look, then you can count me in for a purchase of Crysis and all the necessary hardware that it will take to create this type of gaming pc.
See the high-definition video here.
Microsoft is releasing a new version of their 360. Its black, has a larger HDD, and has an HDMI port. According to rumors around the web, it will be released in late April in limited quantities. Check out more details at Cybershardware.com
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