Post your gaming setup!

[DeltrusDisc]

Gahhhhhh.

I can't wait to get mine. >_<

Asera requires I get a DAS Ultimate S. lol

[noteworthynerd]

The more I look at the Ivy Bridge rumors and new AMD and NVIDIA cards the more I wanna redo my build entirely, but I just got done doing a lot of upgrades around Christmas - if only I knew back then what I know now (it's crazy how much I've learned in 2 months).

Anyone ever have any luck selling custom rigs on Amazon? =P I'm getting my tax return back in the next few days, and coupling that with any money I could make by selling my current build (either as a whole or in pieces) would get me a pretty sweet PC when Ivy Bridge releases I reckon.

Also, on the mechanical keyboard front: Are they really as amazing as people say they are?

[Adappy]

Also, on the mechanical keyboard front: Are they really as amazing as people say they are?

It's nothing life changing, but it is a more enjoyable experience IMHO. The main thing I like about the red switches in my K60 are the fact that they trigger long before they reach the bottom of their travel, meaning if I want to spam a button in a game I don't have to constantly mash the key all the way down but just need to lightly tap it repeatedly.

[BicycleMafioso]

The more I look at the Ivy Bridge rumors and new AMD and NVIDIA cards the more I wanna redo my build entirely, but I just got done doing a lot of upgrades around Christmas - if only I knew back then what I know now (it's crazy how much I've learned in 2 months).

This is always the case. But you are also unlikely to actually need the additional benefit in CPU power, and GeForce cards aren't due to June as it looks.
New, better stuff is always around the corner, and within six months, what you have may be old as Netburst.

Upgrade when you need to, to what you need to. NexTopia (I heard the term used somewhere) is bad enough of a feeling as it is, to let it control you. :P

[lsmf5]

q6600 ocd at 3.00 ghz
g31 lga775 mobo, about to be replaced by a biostar tpower 45
2gb 800mhz ram
powercolor 5870 pcs++
titan fenrir updated cooler.
3 sata hdds

32 inch hd Samsung tv running at 1980x1080
19/20" HP monitor
15" Xerox monitor

soon to be adding a crucial m4 128gb hopefully

[Biernot]

Also, on the mechanical keyboard front: Are they really as amazing as people say they are?

For typing: Hell yes, without a doubt.
With a decent mechanical keyboard, every key has exactly the same responsiveness (same actuation force, same actuation way, etc.). This is important if you want to type fast, because then you don't have to press the button till the bottom. This requires less force and less finger movement, and with practice it produces less "dead" strokes (when a key doesn't register because you put not enough force on it). This also has the side effect, that typing is less "painful" when you do not have to bottom out every key to make sure it registers (bottoming out puts certain force against your finger tips).
Also with a mechanical, the keys go down easily even when you press them at a bit of an angle. While this is partly a general "quality" issue with cheap rubber dome keyboards, it is also based on the design of the key switches. Mechanical switches produce less friction.
A third point, at least with some of the switch types, is the tactility. You feel when the key has registered without needing to press until it does not move further. With some switch types you even hear it (Cherry MX Blue, IBM Buckling Spring).

For gaming: depends.
While gaming, you bottom out the key most of the time anyway, so the "tactile" component of a mechanical is not of advantage. But to have a generally very high quality keyboard is never a bad thing. (Nearly all mechanicals are way above the build quality of rubber domes)


P.S.
Since about 12 years, until today, i used a high-quality rubber dome keyboard (ugly but very sturdy Cherry G83). I was satisfied most of the time with the keystroke and general quality and never even thought of a mechanical keyboard until recently. But now that i type this on my new toy, i couldn't go back to rubber dome for the life of it. You have to feel the difference to really appreciate it.

[Tikaru]

Case: COOLER MASTER ATX Mid
Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth 990FX
CPU: AMD FX-6100 Zambezi 3.3GHz
HS: Thermalright Silver Arrow
RAM: 16GB 1600 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series
GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
PSU: 1000W CORSAIR HX Series
HDD: 750GB Western Digital Caviar Black 7200
Keyboard: RAZER Anansi
Mouse: RAZER Naga Epic
Headset: Sennheiser HD280 Pro

I'm still waiting on the motherboard, but it should be here by Friday.

[Creeto]

Case: Thermaltake, I don't remember the name. It's an older case.
Mobo: ASUS EVO AM3 870
Monitor: Acer 22'' LCD X223w
CPU: AMD Phenom ll X4 955 Black Edition Deneb OC'd to 4.1Ghz
Heatsink: Tuniq Tower 120
RAM: 8GB G.SKILL 1600 DDR3
GPU: GIGABYTE Radeon HD 4850 1GB And ASUS Radeon HD 4850 1GB in Crossfire
PSU: Silverstone 650W
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 60GB
HDD: WD Caviar 500GB
Keyboard: Liteon Standard Keyboard
Mouse: RAZER Naga

[noteworthynerd]

Upgrade when you need to, to what you need to. NexTopia (I heard the term used somewhere) is bad enough of a feeling as it is, to let it control you. :P

Fiiiiiiine, I suppose you're right. >=(

And regarding the mechanical keyboard: I think I'll hold off for now, maybe I'll include one of those in my next build (unless my current keyboard dies before then, I've been using it for quite some time).

[googz]

Case: COOLER MASTER ATX Mid
Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth 990FX
CPU: AMD FX-6100 Zambezi 3.3GHz
HS: Thermalright Silver Arrow
RAM: 16GB 1600 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series
GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
PSU: 1000W CORSAIR HX Series
HDD: 750GB Western Digital Caviar Black 7200
Keyboard: RAZER Anansi
Mouse: RAZER Naga Epic
Headset: Sennheiser HD280 Pro

I'm still waiting on the motherboard, but it should be here by Friday.

You sure that cooler will fit in that case?

[Tikaru]

You sure that cooler will fit in that case?

It barely fits. I greatly underestimated its size when I ordered it, and I nearly sh*t myself when I opened the box and saw how massive it really was. I had to remove the side case fan to get it in there, but I still have four other powerful case, so it worked out in the end.

[GG you got me]

It barely fits. I greatly underestimated its size when I ordered it, and I nearly sh*t myself when I opened the box and saw how massive it really was. I had to remove the side case fan to get it in there, but I still have four other powerful case fans to fill in.

Hey sounds like a good excuse for a "necessary upgrade" to a 200 dollar case. Here let me help you shop.

Who doesn't love upgrading? lol

[Tikaru]

Hey sounds like a good excuse for a "necessary upgrade" to a 200 dollar case. Here let me help you shop.

Who doesn't love upgrading? lol

After dropping almost $200 for a new mobo, my wife would kill me if I spent another $200 right away for a case :P

[masterpiece]

Also, on the mechanical keyboard front: Are they really as amazing as people say they are?

Yes and No. I have owned cherry red black and blue mechanical keyboards and cant stand using a non mechanical keyboard. Mechanical keyboards are just so much more fluent and feel amazing compared to a non mechanical keyboard. With blues you know exactly where the key actuates and on reds and blacks the linear feel (as long as your not bottoming out) feels like your typing on clouds. The lifespan of mechanical keyboards is also insanely longer than membrane keyboards. On the other hand I do not believe that they at all improve your gaming. The speed at which you can move your fingers limits your gaming much more than the problems of a membrane keyboard (Unless your pressing an insane amount of keys per second with your left hand, which usually doesn't happen in most games.) So overall I recommend buying a mechanical keyboard if you want it purely for the feel and reliability but not if you want it to improve your game.

Lastly although the Razer Black Widow is the cheapest option I would recommend against it. I had that board for a year and 5 days then the circuity somehow fried. One day it just wouldn't turn on and since the warranty was only 1 year I took it apart to check out the internals. Also the key caps are made of a cheaper material than most mechanical boards. Spend the extra money and go for another mechanical board that WILL last you forever.

[Cyanotical]

Yes and No. I have owned cherry red black and blue mechanical keyboards and cant stand using a non mechanical keyboard. Mechanical keyboards are just so much more fluent and feel amazing compared to a non mechanical keyboard. With blues you know exactly where the key actuates and on reds and blacks the linear feel (as long as your not bottoming out) feels like your typing on clouds. The lifespan of mechanical keyboards is also insanely longer than membrane keyboards. On the other hand I do not believe that they at all improve your gaming. The speed at which you can move your fingers limits your gaming much more than the problems of a membrane keyboard (Unless your pressing an insane amount of keys per second with your left hand, which usually doesn't happen in most games.) So overall I recommend buying a mechanical keyboard if you want it purely for the feel and reliability but not if you want it to improve your game.

Lastly although the Razer Black Widow is the cheapest option I would recommend against it. I had that board for a year and 5 days then the circuity somehow fried. One day it just wouldn't turn on and since the warranty was only 1 year I took it apart to check out the internals. Also the key caps are made of a cheaper material than most mechanical boards. Spend the extra money and go for another mechanical board that WILL last you forever.

i would say that the feel is the whole purpose of buying a mechanical, i dont think that things like Nkey roll-over and extra macro keys really apply to gaming, there are 105 keys on a standard keyboard, and even with a low 200hz polling rate, you wont be able to press a key fast enough to make a difference, whether or not it is mechanical

but, when you consider that on a PC you really only have two inputs, keyboard and mouse, for a proper gaming setup, you really need to focus on them, an awesome computer is nice, but a dell can be more fun to play on when the input and output experience and tactile feel is better

[muffinss]

Case: COOLER MASTER Haf 932
Mobo: Asus P8P67 WS Revolution
CPU: Intel 2500K @ 4ghz
HS: Noctua nh-d14
RAM: 16gb Gskill Ripjaws DDR3 1866mhz
GPU(s): 2x AMD 6950 in Crossfire (Sapphire)
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD
PSU: Corsair AX850
HDD: 2x Western Digital Black 640gb
SSD 1: Corsair P3 128gb
SSD 2: Corsair Force GT 120gb
Monitor: Dell U2412M
Keyboard: Corsair K90 and Deck 82 Ice
Mouse: SteelSeries Sensei
Speakers: Klipsch promedia 2.1
Head Phones: Corsair Vengeance 1500 and Audio Technica ATH-AD700
DVD Drive: LG DvD Burner

[DeltrusDisc]

After dropping almost $200 for a new mobo, my wife would kill me if I spent another $200 right away for a case :P

Return Le Chassis, it will lower the cost of said $200-cost chassis. :P

[Tikaru]

Return Le Chassis, it will lower the cost of said $200-cost chassis. :P

I've had it for almost a year now, can't return it :P

I do plan on getting this one in a couple months though.

[DeltrusDisc]

Nice choice! The Trooper has gotten a lot of praise.

[Drunkenvalley]

So I'm going to return my HD 7970 and hope I get a better one, as well as return the powersupply due to coil whine. Thankfully, the latter is easily replaced quite quickly, since Corsair won't even stop to look at my powersupply before sending the new one.