PC Curb

When i first heard about this, I thought what the hell? why would anyone want to put any added stress on their PC? After doing a little research and speaking with a few friends of mine, i gave it a go. Using Prime95 stress testing software, I was able to see how hard my PC runs. It was possible to adjust the settings for a mild run, up to torture level. This alllowed me to test my CPU’s cores, ram and ability to manage heat. If you want to try this out and see how hot your system is running, you can download Speed Fan. It is a great program to view your case temperature, CPU temperature, CPU fan speed etc. You can even try leaving the torture test running for awhile to heat your room up on a cold day, it works…

Prime95 and Speed fan can be downloaded for free from the following links:

Prime95

Speed fan

CPU-Z

Crysis is not only a stunning visual package, but the game provides excellent gameplay along with a good, solid storyline. Crysis is based in the year 2020 where aliens have invaded the planet. An archaeological team on a remote tropical island is captured by a north Korean team, and the US special forces are sent into the field to locate and rescue the scientists. Equipped high-tech nano suits boosting strength, speed and armour, you’re parachuted into a sprawling tropical jungle to face intelligent enemies of a different kind that are tearing US and Korean forces to shreds.

Missions are allocated throughout the game, but how you go about it is entirely up to you. There is no set path to how you complete missions as long as you cover the objective.

The map consists of a variety of different terrains allowing you to complete your missions uniquely each time. This provides endless replay value.

The weapons and vehicles in the game are well thought through. Almost every vehicle in the game is accessible providing a more realistic and exciting spin to the game.

Crysis is very demanding when it comes to graphics and processing. When the first screenshots of the game were released gamers and editors were blown away with the graphics and attention to detail. More surprising, after the game was released, people realized their system couldn’t cope with the high system requirements. The multiplayer ability allows to to verse other online or network of PC (LAN). Overall Crysis provides thrilling visuals and is a great action packed FPS. (PC CURB Rating) ****

System requirements:

Minimum:

OS – Windows XP / Vista
Processor – pentium/celeron/athlon 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 – 7600 256 MB
Hard Drive – 12GB

Recommended:

OS – Windows XP / Vista
Processor – Intel Core 2 DUO @ 2.2GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Memory – 2.0 GB RAM
GPU – NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS/640mb or similar

A large LCD monitor and neat desk are the best features of this setup. Despite the nice monitor, it appears to be very elevated so there is potential for strain on the neck. Placing it on the desk would help eliminate this.

Click to enlarge.

Safety is an important issue concerning people when transferring funds online. No one wants to be scammed and lose any money. However, there are many things you can do to to increase the safety of your transactions and protect your account from scammers.

For sending and receiving payments online, Paypal is the best option and probably the most popular. Paypal is free to setup and easy to use once verified. It is highly used within the buying and selling cmmunity at eBay but that is not surprising considering eBay owns Paypal. Users can make secure transactions with their credit card or direct bank balance to avoid keeping any funds in their paypal account. Just like the eBay system, Paypal users build up a reputation the more safe transactions they acquire. This can be useful if a user ever needs to file a dispute against another member to recover funds.

Despite being the best payment processor online, some people still hate it. Most of these people are just unhappy that it isn’t available in their country or their funds have been ceased for ussing a VCC (virtual credit card) etc. However, any action that is taken, is done so in the best interests of the Paypal community.

There is always a chance you will lose your money no matter what payment processor  you use. The internet can be a dangerous place and you have to be extra careful when handling money because you never know the identity of the person  you are dealing with.

Pretty sweet dual monitor setup here. Peripherals and speakers look quite good and colour matches the monitors and the case.

Click to enlarge.

After trying this software out for the first time today I am very happy with what it can do. After installing a 15mb program I have been able to make numerous changes to the look of my computer, mostly noticeably the taskbar. Here is a before and after shot of my taskbar:

This and several other mods can be implemented all with the install of Windows Blinds. Although I downloaded this program for free, it infact a trial version (30 days). The full version is available for $19.95 which you can purchase from their website.

Personally I find it really annoying when programs charge to use them. This is a reason why we at PC Curb tend to review freeware software, as it is open to a larger audience. Despite this it is worth the download, even if you just want to test it out. For a full screenshot of what my browser looked like check here: before – after .

Free Download

Guitar hero 3 legends of rock is now available on PC. It features the same game play as the console versions along with songs and story line. The game includes a Gibson Xplorer usb guitar, which is compatible with the PS3 and 360 consoles, so you can rock along with your mates. It will be interesting to see if the game includes some special PC only features, such as song downloads or other mods for the game. The game is valued at $129.00 and is available from all good retailers.

For most people, price is the biggest factor to consider when building a new PC. People are looking to have high quality computers but are scared of the high prices. We’ve done a little research on the web and realised there isn’t much information (eg. tips and ideas) on how to build a fast, cheap computer that will play the latest games. How much your able to spend determines what brands and parts are used in the construction of the PC. And for some, personal opinion and brand loyalty play a huge part in the decision. Here we will show you how to build a Gaming PC for the cost of a PlayStation 3.

Intel System:

• Generic ATX Case, most provide adequate cooling, and power supply. ($49.00)
• Intel Core 2 duo E4500 2.2Ghz 2mb Cache, will overclock well with after market cooler. ($145.00)
• Palit Nvidia 9600GT 512mb, good choice for price. ($249.00)
• 80 gb SATA Hard drive, adequate disk space. ($55.00)
• 2gb ddr2 800mhz generic ram, good ram for good price. ($50.00)
• Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L, quality all round motherboard. ($115.00)
• 20x SATA DVD Burner, best choice for price. ($37.00)
• Total cost of $700.00 (price may vary from place of purchase).

AMD System:

• Generic ATX case, most provide adequate cooling, and power supply. ($49.00)
• AMD Athlon64 X2 Dual-Core 5000 2.6ghz 2×640 Socket, quality item. ($139.00)
• Palit Nvidia 9600GT 512mb, good choice for price. ($249.00)
• 80 gb SATA Hard drive, adequate disk space. ($55.00)
• 2gb ddr2 800mhz generic ram, good ram for good price. ($50.00)
• Gigabyte GA-M52S-S3P, perfect choice motherboard. ($105.00)
• 20x SATA DVD Burner, best choice for price. ($37.00)
• Total cost of $684.00 (price may vary from place of purchase).

These PC set ups will cost you no more than a PlayStation 3, and will out perform the game console by far. Price doesn’t include assembly of the unit and we advise professional installation if you are not capable of doing it yourself. Note; Price doesn’t include a Operating system, and if you don’t have a valid copy of windows XP/Vista you may need to purchase one. (Prices sourced from ZIP Computers)