The last thing you bought?

Good to hear, indeed, that it's just the power cable.
Unlike you, Bamul, I never upgraded my PC cover/box thing, 'caue I never needed a bigger one, and the one I have works just as well as any new case. The only thing that's a bit annoying is that I don't have any USB ports on the front side, all ports are on the backside :sad: I visited my brother's house last December for a LAN party. We were about 13-20 people total as far as I can remember, and everyone had some sort of new casings for their computers. Several of them, had these gigantic beasts in a shiny white color or black tactical appearance so they looked like something a SWAT-team would bring with them on any mission into a house. With watercooling, flashing LED-lights and lots of holes for additional air-cooling etc etc.
And then I came, with my old old old and small beige-white case with green stripes on the front and a lot of dust on top, and they all laughed :lol:

They were actually almost a bit impressed, that a "modern gamer" like me actually still had that old case. It was almost so retro that it looked cool

 

Newer isn't always better.

 

Like Nuclear said, newer isn't always better - if you have all you need, there is not much point in upgrading as the costs just pile up, so I'd stay on that path if I were you. My current case doesn't have liquid cooling and honestly the concept seems daunting to me (my GPU doesn't get that hot, besides I personally think liquid cooling is just a costly hassle with all that refilling). It is definitely the largest and most expensive PC case I've ever owned, but it didn't cost me that much; if we look at most of the other stuff that's available in the gaming range, 50 or 60 quid is really not that bad - at least for UK prices.

 

Speaking about computer parts giving out: I think my CRT monitor is soon going to kick the bucket. Whenever there's a white page, the color of what is suppose to be white gives of a pink hue. Besides that, if there's, say some text, on the white page, some streaks of pink come off the lettering. Sometimes the streaks appear green also. Strange. I'm not sure what I'll do once the monitor gives out. Look for another CRT or go for an LCD.

 

I bought 3 games at one of those notorious, boring, old people hang out thrift stores. They are:

Spec Ops: Platinum Collection (after reading some reviews, I've found out that many people think this game sucks)

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (awesome)

Gangsters 2: The Mobster Sim (this one looks interesting)

 

I had a very similar issue with my old PC and it turned out to be the GPU in the end, not the monitor. So it's worth considering that possibility.

 

In my case it was the faulty cable. I swapped it out with a spare one and had zero problems with objects on my screen casting shades and whatnot.

 

Hmmm, interesting factors -I would have never considered those . I wouldn't think the problem is because of my GPU -though, I never know as seen and proven by your case. In fact, I just recently upgraded my graphics card near the end of last year from a 4870 to a 5870; but then again, I bought it off of ebay.

As for the cable: it also could be the solution to my dismay. Thanks for the input, guys. I'll continue to hold out to see how much worse it gets. If, eventually, it gets to a point to where I can no longer outlast the strange phenomenon, I'll try the power cable first. I wouldn't feel like going through the process of getting another GPU -especially since I barely got this one- so I'll probably go ahead and upgrade to an LCD instead. Fortunately, though, I've only been able to notice the strange aurora of colors on regular computer activity; not while I'm playing a game .

 

Then it's probably only similar on the surface but actually a slightly different issue, since the one I had also made things look strange in-game. But yeah, you should definitely try the less expensive things first - like a new power cable. If that doesn't help, then just borrow someone else's monitor (or if you have any other ones in the house then try those) before deciding to buy a new one just to make sure that's the root of the problem.

 

I found Mass Effect and Elder Scrolls 4 at the thrift store today. And surprise, Metro 2033 was also there. I would have probably saved it, but, unfortunately, it's a steam game and all I would be purchasing is something with no value.

 

Hopefully someone finally busts Valve's ass for taking away customer rights. If I'm not mistaken, they've had trouble in Germany regarding this before - that not letting players sell the DRM-locked games they own is exploiting some loophole in law. A while ago I've also heard that a European commission of some kind has been campaigning for years against Steam and digital video game stores in general, arguing there should be a common European market for video games without region-locking or regional pricing.

 

I found out the hard way about steam locked games. I had bought a bundle of used games off of Ebay -if I remember correctly, they were Left 4 Dead 2, COD Modern Warfare 2, AVP 2010, and some other one. Well, as you could imagine, non of them worked. I feel sorry for the person who picks up this used version of Metro 2033. Business-wise, having a DRM, such as Steam, makes sense; but it really pisses customers off.

Imagine a DRM-free game and only one person, in the world, decides to purchase the game. Afterward, once the game has been installed on their computer, they re-sell the game to someone else and the cycle continues until everyone has a copy of the game.

Now that I come to think of it, are there any console games that are restricted by region lock regulations too? If not, then fuck these companies.

Edit:

I'm not familiar with video game laws; but, obviously, game companies want their products to be purchased, brand new, at a store that will produce revenue. Now, over here in the US, there are store that specialize in selling used video games -they sell new ones as well, but I believe half of their market is in re-selling used games. If a store is allowed to re-sell a used game, and the creators of the game do not receive any money in return, then why is it illegal to pirate a game? It's basically the same thing, right? In both ways, the game devs make no money; and it's the same scenario, only expressed in a different manner, like I mentioned in the second paragraph. Now, someone selling a used game to someone else -say their friend- I'd imagine game devs aren't going to give a crap because a transaction that small won't make a noticeable impact on the margins. That, and being able to track something like that is difficult to do. Then there's online business such as Ebay. A bunch of used games being sold and the makers of those games aren't making anything off of it. I know this derails the situation in Germany, but in a way, there's some sort of relation.

 

The main difference between a pirated copy of a game and a used disc is the DRM. The used games you can buy in store are usually shackled by some sort of DRM - be it the fact that you need put to the disc in to actually play (that is the case with many older PC games and practically all console titles) or an activation-based DRM that allows you to sell the product and keeps it active for the next user after you deactivate the copy installed on your computer. On the other hand, a pirated copy has no DRM and can be copied pretty much infinitely.

That's why publishers hate pirates so much. In a world that survives on exploitation through wage labour (speaking about Europe and North America predominantly here, as I know forced labour is still used in many other countries), the pirating process does hurt the developer too in a way, or at least deprives them off potential profits, but most studios are much less aggressive towards pirates than their publishers. Some devs don't take any disciplinary/legal actions anymore (see: CD Projekt) whilst some, even fewer, actually help pirates to keep the pirated versions of their games fully updated (see: Dennaton Games).

 

That's why one should download the "cracked' patch version of a purchased game. No more worrying about putting in the CD all the time (at least for PC). But what you said answered my question about console DRM. Though, back in the day, when something like the Atari 2600 console came out (I think late 70s) , I doubt that including a DRM security features was a concern. One still needed to insert the cartridge into the console.

I understand; but what I was leaning toward is why it's considered illegal to pirate a game versus someone purchasing a game and then selling it to someone else. The recipient of the game -whether it be through piracy or from a friend- contributes, in no way, to further help the developers in any financial way. Not that I'm really concerned about it -It's just a question that popped up in my head. But at least it doesn't seem like piracy isn't too much of a concern hwell:.

 

A used physical copy of a game (perhaps with some sort of light DRM) usually will only let one person play that game without paying anything to the publisher and developer, but a pirated copy can be copied as many times as you like so one version uploaded online can be downloaded by many people. Moreover, paying for a used copy at a games store still supports the publishers in one way or another, as they usually have marketing and other agreements with the most popular gaming shops. Conversely, pirating a game usually gets no one any money anymore due to access to the Internet and how piracy has evolved.

Though as recently as the early 2000s, things looked quite differently even in parts of Europe (especially Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Iron Curtain). In Poland most people owned strictly pirated physical copies of movies and games, bought at marketplaces that were all over the country - even in the busiest parts of the capital city (that's how it used to be even around 10 years ago, just before I moved to the UK). You can still find them, but they are much less numerous and you will no longer find them in the main parts of city centres because they began stamping down on that. But yeah, even back then, that sort of business usually benefited only the street vendors.

 

Spoiler

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hindsight-S...x-Leather-Flip-Phone-Cover-Case-/121658469419

 

This is so brilliant, the way that the picture gives off the deep depression that the poor stormtrooper delved into after missing his opportunity to pursue a dream career in the Imperial Army through finding the droids they were looking for. No one really considers the amount of emotional trauma those poor guys experience due to their position in the hierarchy as stupid cannon fodder. :lol:

 

I found these, at a used book store, for $2 each.

Spoiler

It wasn't until I got home that I read the backs of each of them and discovered that Thief Gold is basically the same as Thief Dark Project. Thief Gold has a few extra added levels. I would have probably only bought Thief Gold if I had know this (I'm still happy of my purchase, though). Oh, and I don't like the box design of these games. There's no place to correctly store them :lol:

Also, a friend of mine has finally bought Metro 2033 and Last Light (redux to be exact) after having bugged him about these games, for years. He hasn't played them yet, but he said he'd give me his opinion on them as soon as he started a game.

 

Must be nice. Only jewel cases in this country back when Thief was released + licensed copies didn't exist until 200X

 

I've ordered this, it's gonna be on my car's hood: http://www.ebay.com/itm/151467604890

And this guy, gonna be on my car-keys of course:

Spoiler

It's an Imperial Gunner, they operate the Death Star lazer-weapon and possibly other weapons on it. You barely ever see them in the movie, but yet Disney decided to give them some attention, and they're actually pretty cool. Creds to Disney so far.

And this, of course. It's pretty funny considering Toyota was founded by a guy named Toyoda
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-Toyoda-S...ticker-Decal-Vinyl-4x4-20x10cm-/301558320276?

Oh, and last but not least; one box of childhood, please:

Spoiler

Yes, I'm back into my Star Wars phase