My Gaming Machine

Top 10 Windows Vista Tips and Tricks To Increase Your Gaming Performance

2011-01-15T03:10:00.000-08:00

Find out how you can achieve blazing fast gaming performance in your Windows Vista with these 10 tips and tricks.

Although Windows Vista is a great operating system with tons of great features and application, when it comes to gaming, its performance is still lagging behind Windows XP. One of the reasons is that most of the current games are not designed for Windows Vista which utilizes the new DirectX 10 technology. Another reason is that Windows Vista has a lot of activities running in the background that interferes with the gaming resources.

In this article, I have compiled 10 useful Windows Vista tips and tricks to help you improve your gaming performance.

1) Upgrade your hardware

This includes the RAM, CPU and graphics card. For gaming in Vista, make sure that you own a dual core CPU, 2 GB RAM and a DirectX 10 compliant graphics card.

2) Disable System Restore

Vista's System Restore helps you to backup your files and provide a restoration in the event that the OS crash. Although a useful feature, it can slow down your system to a great extent. To disable it, click on Start -> Control Panel -> System and Maintenance -> System and remove the tick next to any drives that you have protected.

3) Turn off hibernation

If you don't use the hibernation feature, you can disable it and recover around a gigabyte of hard disk space. To do this, open up Run and type "powercfg - H off"

4) Disable the Sidebar

While this is a great eye-candy, it takes up a lot of resources. To disable the sidebar, open Control Panel -> Windows Sidebar Properties. Uncheck the "Start Sidebar When Windows Start".

5) Move swap file to another drive/partition

Swap file is a temporary file used to store data for future use. If you have another drive, you can speed up Vista a bit by moving the swap file to that drive. Or if you are using only one drive, you can set up a partition to store your swap file.
* Click on Start -> Control Panel -> System and Maintenance -> System
* Choose Advanced system settings from the top left hands side
* Make sure that the Advanced tab is selected
* In the Performance section click Settings
* Click on the Advanced tab
* In the Virtual Memory section click Change
* Uncheck "Automatically manage paging file sizes for all drives".
* Click on the partition you want to use as a swap partition, select Custom Size, and set the new sizes of your swap file. The recommended size is 2.5 times your RAM size, and my choice is to set the Initial Size and Maximum Size values equal, to get a fixed size swap file.
* Click on the primary partition, check "No paging file" and click Set. This is to prevent Vista from placing a swap file on your primary partition.
* Restart the computer

6) Add 3D sound

The DirectX 10 architecture changed the ways sound is processed in gaming. If you are playing Windows XP games that use hardware 3D audio effects, most likely you will not hear any sound at all. To overcome this, you can use Creative's ALchemy tool. Download and install the ALchemy tool from Creative website. This tool will pipe any DirectSound calls in Windows XP games to OpenAL to give it a full 3D audio hardware support.

7) Turn off Vista's Indexing Engine

The Vista's Indexing Engine is a useful tool that allows you to search for files easily. However during gaming, it is running in the background and takes up resources that affect the gaming performance. To turn it off, go to Control Panel -> Indexing Option. Click Modify -> Show All Locations to remove any drives or folders that you don't want to be indexed.

8) Change your Startup program

To prevent any unused programs from loading during the boot up process and take up your system resources, you can change your startup program by typing "msconfig" into the Run box. Click the startup tab and uncheck the box next to any software that you don't want to run during startup.

9) Use Ready Boost

This is a new feature in Vista that uses an external USB flash drive as a cache to store frequently access data. It is said to be able to increase the performance up to 10 times. Insert in a USB 2.0 flash drive into your USB port. In the window that pops up, click on the ReadyBoost tab. Select "use this device".

10) Disable SuperFetch

Another new feature of Vista that utilizes all your free memory to store frequency accessed data. While it is a good feature, it is actually causing more harm to your game performance. Your game needs a lot of free memory to load maps, process AI and so on, while the SuperFetch is constantly taking up free memory to store data. To disable the SuperFetch, open Run and type "services.msc". Select "Stop/Disable SuperFetch", and then reboot the computer.

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2011-01-13T23:14:00.000-08:00

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2011-01-13T10:33:00.000-08:00

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2011-01-05T00:18:00.000-08:00

Call Of Duty Black ops

2011-01-04T23:59:00.000-08:00

Review: Treyarch takes over the reins from Infinity Ward with the newest shooter in the Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops. But can they fill the large shoes left for them? In a word, yes.

Today marks the release of a minor title, an indie game developed on a shoestring budget, with no real expectations. If you believe that, we should totally play a wager match together. After months of hype, and following one of the most drama-filled situations in recent history with Infinity Ward, Call of Duty: Black Ops has been released. Thanks to the appeal of the subject, the pedigree of the name, and the monstrous success of the last game in the series, Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops was destined to be a massive hit from the moment it was announced. But would it be any good?

Activision could have sold Black Ops on name recognition alone. It could have released a terrible game and still made money on the pre-orders, but it would have damaged the most successful third-party property in history. After the falling out between Activision and Infinity Ward, the level of scrutiny on the franchise has been at an all time high. But the behind-the-scenes drama isn’t important right now. If you are curious about the telenovela surrounding the Infinity Ward and Activision split, you can read more about it here. Or just wait for the multiple lawsuits to begin. But for now, it is Treyarch’s big day. So with the video watching, did Treyarch manage to succeed with the shadow of its predecessor looming so large?

Yep, they sure did.

Call of Duty: Black Ops does a few things very well — mainly by not doing anything at all. Rather than reinvent the wheel, Treyarch looked at what worked and what didn’t with Modern Warfare 2 and its last title, Call of Duty: World at War, then made changes — some subtle, some innovative — but for the most part the game looks and plays like the previous games in the series. In a good way. The multiplayer is as strong as ever and some of the new features have added a layer of depth that will keep fans playing for a long time, while the campaign delivers one of the most intense stories you will ever see in a video game. So basically, Black Ops lives up to the hype.

The Cold War

With just a little bit of work, the story of Black Ops could easily be adapted into a Hollywood movie. It has the action elements down, plenty of twists and turns, and it touches on enough historical events without subjecting itself to the limitations of history, to make it appeal to a broad audience. World at War contained some compelling characters, interesting scenarios, and intense scenarios, but there wasn’t much of a story. It was WWII—you fought the enemy and advanced; beyond that there wasn’t much to it. On the other hand, the Modern Warfare titles took a more fantastic story, with invasions, nuclear detonations, and the start of World War III. Black Ops falls somewhere in between.

You play as Alex Mason, and in a change for the series, you are a fully realized character, voiced by Sam Worthington, with a very specific story. Unlike previous entries, you do not switch between characters (with a few brief exceptions), and you are not just “that guy”, bouncing between events because you are trained to be there like all the characters in a WWII game. Instead, Mason is at the center of a mystery involving a series of numbers that relate to his long career as a soldier, which has included some some of the most difficult, and secretive missions that occurred during the Cold War. Beginning with the Bay of Pigs, Black Ops weaves in and out of Mason’s career as a soldier, a spy and an assassin, and takes him everywhere from to Vietnam; from the Ural Mountains to Star City, Russia.

Mason has seen the worst places in the world, and along the way he has made allies and enemies with people that live in the shadows. One of those people is Viktor Reznov, the one-time Russian Sergeant who acted as your guide through the Russian settings in World at War. Voiced by Gary Oldman, Reznov and Mason form a friendship through mutual adversity, and the pair work together despite their ideologies, in order to stop a new enemy. Giving away more would do more of a disservice than it would help illuminate the game, but the story is well thought out, and the finale nicely wraps everything up.

Joining Worthington and Oldman in the cast are Ed Harris, Ice Cube, Topher Grace, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and more. Treyarch approached this game like a studio would approach the sequel to blockbuster movie. There are no corners cut on the scope of this game, and each level contains moments that make you want to simply stop and look around. When mixed with real events and real people like President Kennedy, Castro, and many more, the story is arguably the best in the Call of Duty series, and one of the best FPS shooter plots ever told.

Black Ops is perhaps the most mature game ever made. While there are no hookers to beat up ala Grand Theft Auto, there are also no comedic moments to offset some truly brutal scenes of violence and carnage. This is not a game for kids, it is a game for a more mature audience, and should be treated as such lest it becomes another exhibit in the case against violent video games. If this game were a movie, it would be a hard R.

Because Hollywood loves to try and make money off of things that already made money, it wouldn’t be all that surprising that someone tried to make Black Ops into a movie. It would be ironic though, since Black Ops is already pretty much a movie that just happens to be a video game.

The gameplay is what you would expect, in a good way

The of the campaigns is as solid as you might hope from a Call of Duty game, and the new additions, like the crossbow with exploding bolts, gas grenades, and a handful of other additions keep the game feeling new even though it will be very familiar. The missions are varied and interesting, and while sometimes you will be involved in stealth missions, the majority of your time will be spent fighting for your life as the enemy closes in on you, or you suddenly find yourself on the frontline of a major battle. Black Ops continually mixes it up, and each level has something unique to offer.

Black Ops offers a satisfying campaign that will last you between seven and nine hours, longer if you increase the difficulty, and odds are you will want to play through more than once.

The look of the 1960s

Black Ops looks amazing at times and generally maintains some stellar graphics throughout the campaign, which is important because the look and tone play a huge part to the storytelling. The character animation, both in facial and body movements, are top notch, and the sound is also well done for the most part, with a few exceptions. Oddly, the multiplayer graphics are not quite as impressive, especially compared to Modern Warfare 2, but they are still solid. The music is nothing spectacular, but it is not obtrusive either, and it is generally overpowered by the sound of gunfire and explosions any way– although the sounds do seem off at times. It might be a syncing issue.

It is easy to take the graphics on games like Call of Duty for granted. They are the leaders in the gaming industry, and stellar graphics are expected. Perhaps this is unfair and it takes away from the accomplishments of the designers. Black Ops looks amazing, and the look quickly helps to build the atmosphere of the story.

It isn’t all gravy

While the story, graphics and settings are generally amazing with a few exceptions, there are a few technical glitches that mire the exceptional campaign. The levels are always linear, so it is generally easy to find your way around, but sometimes the mission objectives can be unclear, even contradictory. A few objectives will ask you to take a location, but your teammates will simply sit there as the position you are meant to take is literally surrounded by enemies. Sometimes you just need to take the “Leroy Jenkins” approach to the game and charge in to see what happens.

Treyarch also loves to toss you in situations where you are not able to wait it out, instead you must fight through to get to the next point. If you don’t move, the enemies will simply keep on coming endlessly. It adds to the sense of intensity, but it also can become frustrating when you are unsure what exactly you need to do.

There are also several instances of AI befuddlement, where your teammates will wander around aimlessly, and take cover until you advance well beyond them. It is also good that they are invincible, since they tend to wander in and out of gunfire now and then. The enemy AI are equally simple, and most will stay exactly where they are, no matter what, except to maybe move a few feet to the side.

Thankfully, these glitches are minor and are more quibbles than problems. The campaign is so good that when something goes wrong, it stands out like a spotlight in the dark. While you can be assured that you will see a problem or two along the way, you can also be sure that you will quickly forget about it as the pace of the game pushes you ever onward.

And now, the multiplayer

While the campaign might be worth the price of admission, a good chunk of the people that buy the game will buy it just for the multiplayer. Putting aside every question about how it plays, what the leveling is like, and all that, the answer to the one question that most fans of the series will want to know is yes—it is good enough to succeedModern Warfare 2.

To delve into true geekology here, Black Ops definitely feels like a Treyarch game, but it builds itself on the foundation of Infinity Ward’s designs — even more than usual. While fine wine connoisseurs might be able to tell the difference between a 1999 and a 2007 pinot noir, first person shooter geeks can tell the difference in developers by the subtle differences. Medal of Honor and Call of Duty play very similarly, but most that have played both games would not mistake the two anymore than someone would confuse the gameplay of Halo for BioShock. The same is true for Infinity Ward and Treyarch’s shooters — albeit the differences are subtle.

Treyarch’s games tend to move at a slightly more frantic pace than IW’s, both online and off. There is also a different feel to the guns, both in the way they sound and recoil, not to mention the damage they deliver. The level design is also set differently for a different pacing, and little things like the damage grenades do are also slightly different. It isn’t a good or bad thing, just a signature, or a style, like two bands playing the same song. Black Opsis not Modern Warfare 3, but it is a worthy alternative that takes enough from its predecessor to justify replacing it.

The competitive multiplayer is essentially identical to the previous games in terms of gametypes. The standard multiplayer deathmatches and objective-type games are all present, as is the new wager mode.

Wager mode is perhaps the most obvious addition to the Call of Duty franchise, but the most significant might be the CoD points. When you play through a game, you earn experience points to level up, as always. In addition to those experience points, you also gain CoD points, which are earned both from completing challenges and simply from time spent playing. These points are used to unlock items and add-ons, including weapons, camouflage and killstreaks.

When you reach a pre-determined level you usually unlock an item like a new weapon. But now with the CoD points, you unlock the weapon but still need to purchase it with those points in order to equip it. While at first that might seem like you are doubling the amount of work, it can also lead to a far better level of personal customization. In Modern Warfare 2, if you wanted to create a silent class, you needed to wait until you reached the level to unlock the proper perks, then you needed to complete the weapon challenges to earn a suppressor. Now with the CoD points, you can unlock only the things you want and either save up for things you will have access to later, or simply spend them on things like killstreaks rewards, which you can now also customize to your preference. The more you play it, the more you will feel how deep it goes, and people who love prestige will likely find this a huge boon to keep the game feeling fresh.

The wager mode is an entirely type that also uses these CoD points, but it does so by having you gamble them. When you enter a wager mode, you bet the CoD points, and when the game ends, the top three players of the round are awarded those points. There are four different types of wager games: “One in the Chamber”, where every player has a single bullet (and you earn more by killing an opponent), their melee attack, and three lives. “Sticks and Stones” starts you with a crossbow, a ballistic knife and a tomahawk only. “Sharp Shooter” randomly selects the weapon you have, then changes it after a set period of time. “Gun Game”, arguably the best of the bunch, starts everyone with a pistol, and for each kill you are awarded a more powerful gun—the winner is the first to advance through 20 levels of weapons.

With the competitive and somewhat aggressive nature of the Call of Duty community, the wager matches should appeal to fans of the series. Even better, the next time you get taunted by a mouthy 13-year old kid with a vocabulary of racism, just challenge him to a wager match and take his lunch money.

The levels are varied, but there is something for everyone. The detail to each map is fairly incredible in parts, and the majority of the levels will have several paths to take, on multiple levels. Snipers will be able to find areas to hunt, while close combat fans can haunt the tight corners, leaving the mid range players to act as a balance.

Treyarch has always excelled at map design. Where Infinity Ward tended to make maps that conformed to a similar style—generally a large area with three major ways to go from side to side and multiple paths leading off those three main paths, Treyarch’s maps tend to be more varied. Again, that isn’t really a good or bad thing but some people might prefer one style over the other, and Black Ops maps naturally conform more to the Treyarch style than the Infinity Ward design.

There is one issue with the multiplayer that some will like and others will despise. In what seems to be an attempt to keep the game moving quickly and offset campers, the spawning is unpredictable. You will frequently have people appear behind you, and you yourself will might suddenly find yourself surrounded by enemies. It seems like a deliberate plan by Treyarch to speed the games up, but expect complaints.

As with all heavily online games, and Call of Duty especially, if something is off balance, there will likely be a patch. So while a few things stood out as mismatched — certain guns being more powerful than others and things like that — Treyarch knows its community, and you can expect any balance issues to be corrected.

Beyond that, if you have played a Call of Duty , then you know what to expect. The gameplay is as good as it gets, and the games are fairly evenly balanced. There is a steep learning curve for new players, but the addition of a practice mode– where you can play the with AI-controlled bots filling in for online players — helps. The gun selection is robust, as are the add-ons and perks. Little inclusions like camouflage and adding tags to your weapons are nice touches, but in general it is the same game that millions of people play, just new and shinier.

Brains!

Making the trip over from the World at War online is also the zombie mode, a co-op scenario where you and up to three other people fight off waves of zombies. There are three game modes, the first is set in a theater, while the second and third are played with special guest characters in unique locations. No spoilers here, it is worth the surprise.

The zombie mode is something more of a diversion than a genuine addition to the online game, but it is a great diversion, and one that you will keep coming back to. Assuming more maps are released as DLCs, the zombie mode should continue to be a small, but well-played piece of the game.

Conclusion

Call of Duty: Black Ops lives up to the hype — at least as any game that has ads with Kobe Bryant, custom Jeeps worth $35,000, and a fanbase in the millions could. It builds on what worked with all the previous entries, Treyarch and Infinity Ward alike, and gives enough to be fresh, while retaining the core elements and keeping itself familiar.

A few technical glitches including wacky AI and unclear mission objectives mar the game, and while the online is fun, it is nothing new. Treyarch may be an innovator, but it doesn’t invent. If you have never been a fan of the Call of Duty series, or just hated World at War, Black Ops is unlikely to win you over.

Black Ops is a moody and mature game with a campaign that is strong enough to make the game a hit, but when added with a polished multiplayer, the game becomes one of the best values of the year. Expect to be playingBlack Ops for a long, long time- at least until we see what the next Call of Duty has to offer.

Score: 9 out of 10,

Gaming Devices Corner

2011-01-04T02:34:00.000-08:00

An often neglected component while building a PC is the cabinet, which incidentally is one component that's going to stay with you for the longest duration. CPUs and graphics cards will come and go but your enclosure will ideally remain the same. So it's important to pay attention when looking for one and not skimp on it.

Buying the right cabinet will ensure all your shiny new components will be able to breath easily thereby extending their lifespan and also avoiding any long term faults that may creep in due to inefficient cooling or ventilation. Not only this, choosing the right cabinet ensures future upgradability, so when the time comes to add some more hard drives, a bigger cooler, faster graphics card or maybe some extra cooling fans, you're ready for it.

To make your buying decision easier, we have segregated them into different price brackets and suggested some of the best cabinets in that category. We hope this gives you a better idea of what's currently available in the market.

In our multi part series, we'll first have a look at some kick-ass gaming cabinets or enthusiast level cabinets. So how would a chassis qualify as a gaming/enthusiast grade? Well, before picking the best ones we had to set some ground rules, so here are some of the basic requirements that ideally must be present for a cabinet to qualify.

Good ventilation (provision to add at least four fans)

Four HDD bays is a must (more the merrier)

Should be able to accommodate at least two graphics cards

Lots of cable management options

PSU should ideally be bottom mounted

Finally, it should be a head turner (Duh!)

Now, let's take a look at various gaming cabinets available in different price ranges.

Under 5K

CoolerMaster CM690 (With side Window) - Rs. 4,600

The CM690 still remains one of the best v.f.m cabinets till today and will appeal to gamers and enthusiast alike. Some of the highlight features include support for up to seven 120mm fans (two are bundled), removable HDD racks, holes for cable management, and a lot more. A few hundred bucks more and you get a side window, which if you ask me is totally worth it.

Thermaltake V9 - Rs. 5,200

For a little over 5K Thermaltake has a very good offering in the form of the V9. Just like the CM690, you'll find many similar features like a full mesh design, dust filters for the intake fans, tool less design and a generous side window. But for the extra money you put in, you also get a large 230mm top exhaust fan as well as a Red LED front intake and one in the rear. There are also some strategically placed holes for better ventilation of the HDD and the graphics card, which we feel are a nice touch.

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Best Gaming Processor

2011-01-04T02:27:00.000-08:00

The following information will help you understand the world of CPUs, and will assist you in choosing the best CPU for your gaming needs.
Picking the latest, fastest or most expensive processor on the market won’t always result in the right CPU for your particular system. Some processors are designed to work with certain motherboards, so the CPU you choose will limit the type of motherboard you can get.

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is one of the most important components in any computer system. The CPU could be described as the brains of a computer. It contains the logic circuitry that performs the instructions of the software you run. The performance of your games and other applications will be directly related to this tiny little microprocessor.

The Major Players: Intel and AMD

Two companies dominate the CPU market, Intel and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices). Both companies make a range of different processor models. For example, Intel have the Core i7 and Core i5 processor models, while AMD have the Athlon and Phenom series. The Intel versus AMD debate is always a popular one.

The Best CPU for Gaming

If you’re a basic computer user and you don’t require all that much power, you may want to consider a budget-line processor. Intel and AMD both offer budget processors.

Intel have their Celeron range of budget processor models, which has been around for years. The Celerons of today have dramatically different inner structures than the first Celerons that hit the market years ago. Another budget option from Intel these days would be the Core 2 Duo models. As for AMD, these days the AMD Athlon 64 X2 processors would be considered budget models and go for very cheap.

For gaming, you will need a more powerful CPU. If you wish to play the latest 3D games with good performance, you’ll want to invest in a capable CPU. Currently, the Intel Core i5 and Intel Core i7 are the most popular processors and are also the ones that I recommend for gaming. If you want to go with AMD instead, consider the AMD Phenom X4 models.

Deciding between AMD and Intel can be a difficult decision. Although, if you're a gamer I would recommend an Intel processor at this particular moment time. They seem to slightly out-perform their follow AMD rivals these days with their awesome Core i5 and i7 processors. But in this market things change very quickly, and next week AMD could have the best offer and I will be recommending them instead. So it's really up to you to decide between the two.

Understanding the Speed of CPUs

The speed of a CPU is measured in either megahertz or gigahertz, and is referred to as the CPU’s clock speed. It’s not very easy to compare the performance of Intel and AMD processors. An Intel processor running at 3 GHz is not equivalent to an Athlon processor running at 3 GHz. This is because AMD processors can run at a slower speed and yet match the performance of faster-clocked Intel processors.

As a result, AMD has named its CPUs on an equivalent Intel rating, not based on their actual MHz value. This helps to compare AMD and Intel processors. For example, an AMD Athlon XP 2100+ runs at 1.73 GHz, yet it matches the performance of a 2.1GHz Pentium 4.

Cooling Your CPU

These days, the best CPUs produce so much heat they require a cooling system. Processors commonly run with a fan attached to the top to cool them down. When you buy a CPU, the stock cooler that comes with it can be replaced with a better aftermarket cpu cooler if you want improved cooling. If you're going to be overclocking your CPU, then chances are you probably need to get a better cooler.

The Future of CPUs

Competition in the CPU market is tight between Intel and AMD, both are working hard to release the fastest and most powerful chips. The current trend in CPUs are quad core CPUs, and AMD and Intel both have competing quad core processors on the market.Who knows what the future may bring? One thing's for sure, CPU technology is only going to get better like it always does. To think how fast they may become in the future is frightening.

Conclusion

Choosing the best CPU for gaming can be a confusing task. Hopefully this article has shed some light on how to go about choosing the best gaming CPU for your needs.

Source:BUILT.GAMING.COMPUTERS.COM