Architecture

I think Microsoft has artificially kept the price of Win7 higher to force sales of 8.1, which is a shame. I personally am holding out on doubling my RAM until autumn; I'll probably swoop in if Newegg has some good sales. And Jon, I've no basis for comparison, but switching from an HDD-based system to a Samsung 840 Evo was night and day. I go from completely powered off to desktop in 15 seconds, and I hear 8.1 boots even faster than that. It essentially removed the extensive load times for Half-Life 2, and even new games like AC4 feet snappy and responsive. I'm pretty sure Tomb Raider was basically a load-free experience, from my perspective. You can certainly get away with a smaller SSD, but the experience spoiled me to the point that I'm about to spend a shit-ton of money to buy another, much bigger drive. Also, it makes no noise at all. The loudest component of my build, by far, is the WD 1TB HDD.

Buuuuuuuuuump. My boss just introduced this to the office. Big mistake. Every time you walk past my coworkers' monitor, this is open. We're all intently clicking and scrolling on colorful circles.

Overclocking has been incredibly simplified over the years. I spent a few days reading about it and after a night's tinkering, I had a stable build running a full 1GHz faster than stock. Also, Haswell chips run plenty hot, especially when under a load (ie: gaming). Getting the 212 EVO will drop his CPU temp by 15-20° C. Necessary? No. a decent investment? Sure.

Speaking of dust filters, is there a good place to acquire some screen material to line the exhaust and intake holes on my case? Corsair uses a breathable fabric, but only over a portion of the ventilation holes. I want to cut it to size and mount it inside the chassis to help prevent excess dust from making its way into the box.

You should also probably have one of these on hand, just in case:

A DVD burner will run you $15, you should just buy one.

You'll get no opposition from me on that front.

See, this instills a fear in me that the actual game will be a horrible bait & switch like Sons of Liberty.

WORD OF WARNING, THAT GIGABYTE CARD IS FUCKING HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE. I have the 760 as well, and it's just shy of 13" long, so make sure you have enough space in your chassis. I would also stick with the 250GB SSD at the least--I opted for a 120 and now it's Titanfull. I actual plan to pick up a 500GB SSD shortly for nothing but game storage. I have a 1TB HDD, but I'm loathe to install games on it because I've been spoiled by Samsung SSD speeds. You might also consider spending a fistful of dollars more and step up to the i5 4670K. It's got faster stock speeds and also features an unlocked multiplier, meaning you can overclock her should you feel the desire. I'm currently sitting pretty with a 4.4GHZ 4670K. Though if you plan to increase the multiplier, make sure you've got a better cooling option lined up (the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is great for the budget-minded PC gamer). If you're tight on budget, consider dropping the WD drive for a minute as you can always install it later. But yeah, that's a solid build with enough juice to run circles around both new consoles.

I'm waiting for a PC version. I could Redbox the PS3 version, but after seeing it in person, I wasn't moved enough to turn it on when my roommate wasn't playing it.

GMG comes through again with another 25% discount code. It doesn't work on Watch Dogs, but will work on Dark Souls II and Wolfenstein: The New Order. 9HZ09L-D4RYEU-FIW8BE

I'm actually cooling down after a 20-mile bike ride. I'm weighing in somewhere around 161 these days, down from 289 at my (known) zenith. (I was too afraid to get on a scale before I started exercising.) I don't have much to add other than being healthy makes everything else better and allows us to over-indulge on occasion. When I get the cravings for barbecue or pizza, I am confident that I can gorge myself on a single occasion as long as I keep my diet in check and maintain an active exercise regimen. Hopefully my complex's pool starts getting cleaned for the season so I can switch to swimming when it becomes too unbearable to bike any longer.

Singularity is $7.50 right now on Amazon, I might scoop it up.

So I'm trying to read that Leigh Alexander piece, but boy is it intolerable. Her writing is just as bad as everyone else's in the "enthusiast press." It's too bad Ebert didn't view games as art--I would have loved to read his take on the industry.

I hated Saints Row 3 so much.

This game is very cool.

The surreality of the world and the puzzle mechanics make it more of a game than most "walking simulators." I have enjoyed peering off the edge of a geometric cliffside onto the pools of neon goo below while synth pads buzz and whir intermittently around me.

I've played about 90 minutes so far. There is plenty of aimless wandering, but the game is so visually stunning that it hasn't bothered me. There's always something new to see and the geometry is imaginative and beautiful. The puzzles I've encountered so far have been decipherable, but do require some spatial logic to pass. I have no idea how long it is or if the puzzles get to the point of feeling cheap, but I've already gotten my money's worth.

This looks fantastic. I should probably download this ASAP before Nintendo shuts him down.

The Giant Bomb video that went up today did little to raise my anticipation for the game. A prettier GTA with press-X-to-hack mechanics does not entice me. I can wait for the year-end Steam sale when it's $25.

http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/amy-hennig-has-left-naughty-dog/1100-4873/

I do not have the energy to address your write-up wholesale but suffice it to say that I essentially disagree with everything your wrote. The opening scene is meant to be awesome. It's meant to get you pumped. Awesome people doing stuff in space, yeah. It's also meant to efficiently set up the strained morale of the Enterprise's crew. Kirk is painted as a cocksure captain with an unearned swagger. His crew is insubordinate. Personal relations are clouding professional ones. If the first film was getting the band together, then the sequel is about earning trust and building lasting relationships. Pike's death is there for gravitas: the sudden loss of the father Kirk never had. It gives our hero purpose, and it gives our narrative a spine--Kirk will catch Pike's assassin, regardless of cost. Khan is meant to be sympathetic--he's an enigmatic terrorist with a hidden malevolence. Admiral Marcus is a stand-in for General McChrystal, hawkish Cold War politicking and the Military Industrial Complex at large. Scotty isn't on the Enterprise because Kurtzman & Orci needed him aboard the Vengeance at the start of the third act. There are plenty of criticisms you can levy at this film--what happened to the science in my Trek?--and I agree that the ending is a bit bloated, but this is a smartly-constructed script. I'm sure Syd Field, rest his soul, would agree.

If you really want to get into it, I can break down your critique of Into Darkness point-by-point, but I did not have the time at work to launch into it and personally don't see what purpose it would serve other than fueling my ego. But to complain about something Kirk's revival via Khan's blood because it wasn't telegraphed to the audience is incorrect--McCoy mentions its regenerative properties after injecting some into a dead tribble after Khan's apprehension on Qo'noS. I also think both villains have astoundingly clear motivation and while I am not a huge fan of Orci & Kurtzman's work at large, both of their Trek scripts have been pretty damn smart and tightly plotted, all things considered.

I only owned it on PS3, so I might buy it and yet again give it a shot. Maybe my qualms with the feel of the weapons doesn't translate to the PC version?

Frenetic, your takedown of Star Trek Into Darkness is pretty misguided and you seem to have either missed the intent or misinterpreted the information being presented to the point that you assert things that simply aren't true. It's also laughably odd to say that studios would wish to disassociate themselves from Black--at one time the highest-paid writer in Hollywood, famous for his action-packed tentpole scripts--who took a hiatus from the film world of his own accord.