Syndef on 7/10/2008 at 00:45
Yup. Turning the head of the lamp makes a big difference. But I'm curious about how and why you use three computers at once.
BrokenArts on 7/10/2008 at 02:36
Quote Posted by IndieInIndy
Gyah! My eyes! The light... It burns! It burns!!
Good grief, Bikerdude, what kind of self-respecting computer geek can stand that much illumination?
Need light to study, solve problems, not play Thief. I bet he dims the lights for gaming.
bikerdude on 7/10/2008 at 12:29
Quote:
Yup. Turning the head of the lamp makes a big difference. But I'm curious about how and why you use three computers at once.
Starting from the left, is my Dell D420 Vista/Xp/Linux, which I use for testing/browsing - it has a intel gfx card so is ideal for testing vanilia thief problems. The main pc in the middle is my hardcore gaming rig, for doing almost everything, then the macbook on the end for testing/fixing mac related problems. And I have the media pc in the sitting room for doing boring crap like downloading torrents - its currently seeding MissionX updates.
Quote Posted by BrokenArts
Need light to study, solve problems, not play Thief. I bet he dims the lights for gaming.
I turn all the lights off for thief :sly:
biker
BrokenArts on 7/10/2008 at 15:13
Me too. ;)
deathshadow on 8/10/2008 at 00:59
My current thief gaming setup is also my main workstation - I work in both photoprocessing for print media, layout and for web design... and in all those cases LCD's pretty much get down on their knees in front of the donkey... at the same time I need to be aware how my work looks on a normal LCD, I need to test multiple resolutions, and often need to have more than one browser session open at once... Solution? Multiple Displays.
(
http://battletech.hopto.org/images/workstation/workdesk1_Oct2008.jpg)
Inline Image:
http://battletech.hopto.org/images/workstation/workdesk1_Oct2008_thumb.jpg(
http://battletech.hopto.org/images/workstation/workdesk2_Oct2008.jpg)
Inline Image:
http://battletech.hopto.org/images/workstation/workdesk2_Oct2008_thumb.jpgI've also been finding it nice to be able to run 3ds max on the LCD while also running dromed on the primary, while having up the various online tutorials and guides on the right display.
The left display is a 24" Envision, 1900x1200 native. The center display is one of the IBM 21" displays with the trinitron tube, running at 1600x1200, while the right display is a 21" Eizo also running at 1600x1200. Right now I'm quad-booting between Vista Ultimate x64, Ubuntu 8.04, Haiku and OS X 10.5.5.
The machine itself is a Q6600 overclocked to 2.7ghz while undervolted to 1.1825v, resulting in ten degrees cooler operation than stock and 3:2 memory timings, 4 gigs of RAM (soon to be upped to 8), Audigy 2 ZS Platinum, 640 meg eVGA GE8800GTS factory overclocked to 600mhz driving the center display, while an el-cheapo Ge8400GS is driving the outer displays. In addition to the 3 tb of mass storage in SATA drives, I've got a pair of 18 gig Seagate Cheetah 15K RPM U320 SCSI drives handling boot/swap, and a 2 meg transcend 266x CF card mounted for readyboost.
All that is in an older xClio case with a 250mm side fan (yes, that's a 10" fan)
(
http://battletech.hopto.org/images/ge8800GTS/thebeast.jpg)
The speakers
were a logitech Z760 5.1 system, though I've replaced the guts on the satellites with Celestion internals for better high frequency response and put the guts from a Klipsch KSW-12 into the subwoofer. (Took some wiring chicanery and trace-cutting to bypass the normal logitech subwoofer amp to use the Klipsch one instead).
For mouse I'm using a Logitech Trackman Marble+ - accept no substitutes. 'Mice' suck - once you adjust to the thumbball style trackballs you can never go back... and it causes less wrist strain. Much less that it's a lot easier to spin about 180 degrees by just tapping the ball into a spin than it is to move the mouse, pick it up, move the mouse, pick it up (uhg, how the **** do people play like that?)
On keyboard we have an IBM Model M. Mine's one of the blue logo T1's circa 1984 designed for a 370 terminal, though it's had a guts swap with a later 1990 model so it's PS/2 compatable. The 370 model is a bit crisper on the 'click' in the buckler spring mechanism. I've actually built up a stockpile of parts so I can continue to use model M keyboards well into the next decade.
For headphones I've got a set of Radio Shack $30 'portables' which I choose for a number of reasons. First, they are one of the few sets I've found lately that actually has a cord on it that's thicker than a hair and might actually stand up to the headphones being USED. Second, the headphone is cabled as a european connect - aka one wire into the left side, the wire to the right being run through the headband. Third, they sound better to my ears than ANY of the $200+ fancy headsets I've tested - they are on par with my old Koss Studio monitors.
There's also a Thrustmaster Afterburner II joystick setup - I used to have a cougar, but had to sell it off a few years back to make rent. Doesn't really apply to playing thief, but it's more than enough for Falcon 4 / FS X.
I do often end up late at night having to turn off the LCD, since even with everything minimized it emits too much light compared to the center CRT on which I'm playing Thief.
Oh, and the pictures are so bright because it's daytime, and I took down the black drapes since I was doing 'day work' and to get clearer pictures.
Andarthiel on 11/10/2008 at 03:20
(
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn202/Andarthiel/DSC_0408.jpg) http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn202/Andarthiel/DSC_0408.jpg
That's my little beast of a PC(it's got some nice specs) right there and for the record since I've switched to LCD(BenQ 22' Widescreen) I have never wanted to go back to CRT same goes for optical mice. Ball mice are so horrible.
I haven't noticed any oddities with black on my LCD, it displays all colours very well.
The only thing my PC needs is bigger Hard drives, I've got so much junk I need to put on them.
Sorry for the slightly blurred pic, my camera doesn't have a good megapixel count.
BrendaEM on 18/10/2008 at 18:04
Has anyone checked out the Pannasonic Elite plasmas? They are made for deep blacks. They could be the ultimate Thief display, 50 inches, with a price to match.
From Home Theater, "These blacks approach the threshold accuracy of the professional-grade instruments we measure them with."
IndieInIndy on 20/10/2008 at 14:31
"Black", "plasma", and "professional-grade" don't really belong in the same sentence. The only reason professional colourists will touch plasmas is that they are larger than LCDs -- they need large displays for use in viewing rooms, and LCDs are too small. There's a long list of negatives for plasmas, like dark reproduction, voltage limiting, power, heat generation, etc. Size is pretty much the only positive. Granted, the next generation is better, but plasmas still have a long way to go before they merit a "professional-grade" appellation.
The best new tech I've seen gives you black, but only for black. Anything above black is a bright grey, and there's nothing in between. The units tend to dither between black and grey. This is only visible in high-contrast pictures with mid-range colors and very dark shadows, then you can see the dithering -- although "shimmering" might be the better term. For Thief, this would be an eye-straining view.
If you're set on getting a plasma for your taffing pleasures, I'd recommend you give the picture quality a good looking at in person before buying. Odds are good they'll only let you look at it with video clips that carefully avoid showing off the bad qualities of plasmas. Plasmas definitely rate as a "try before you buy", but good luck at finding someone who'll let you try.
Rekrul on 24/12/2008 at 18:51
Quote Posted by Thief13x
Finally, I have to tuck my laptop screen down so my fingers can reach the keyboard but the screen doesn't block my view of the crt moniter:D
Your laptop doesn't have a connector for a separate keyboard?
About the LCD vs. CRT debate...
I've only used an LCD monitor briefly, but I prefer CRTs for one main reason: Native Resolution.
LCD monitors can only display a single, fixed resolution. Any resolution you select in Windows, or a game, that doesn't match the LCD's native resolution will be scaled. Smaller resolutions will be enlarged and larger resolutions will be reduced. Depending on the difference between the resolution you select and the LCD's native resolution, this can produce some ugly results.
More than that, the scaling of the image can produce a noticeable lag in games. The normal solution is to run the game at the LCD's native resolution, however not every game will allow you to select a resolution that matches the LCD. Even if it does, the native resolution might be so large that setting the game to the same resolution causes the game to run more slowly.
My 19 inch CRT died recently (about 3 months past the warranty!) so now I'm using a 16 inch Dell Trinitron that I brought home during the last bulk trash pickup. I have two other 15-17 inch monitors in reserve, plus another one that works, but I need to take it apart since one of the settings buttons doesn't work. I also have a little 14 inch one for emergencies.
CaptSyn, if you live anywhere in the New England area, I'd gladly take that monitor off your hands!
Snakebite on 25/12/2008 at 08:30
Hmmm. Never tried to play Thief on a LCD. You made me think twice before wanting to sell my CRT for an LCD. I liked the idea to play Thief on video projector. Sounds like fun. I will try it as soon as I get my hands on one.
A thing I dont like about CRT is that when light hits the screen you cannot see anything right; or nothing at all. In the other hands LCD have the angle problem. Perhaps we should start a thread where we can find names/types of "display devices" that gives the real Thief experience.
