Tag: lord of the rings

New Video Card

On By Michel McDonaldIn ComputerLeave a comment

In 2006 or 2007, now I’m not quite sure when, I got money for helping Darrin and his brother refurbish a house that was left to them by their mother when she past away.  I did a lot of work and didn’t get paid until the house sold.  I believe I got $2000.

When you get $2000 and you have an old computer what do you think you do with that money?  You buy a new computer!  Well, since I build computers I didn’t buy a computer, I bought all of the guts to build a new one.

Well, first I bought the hard drive from Tiger Direct but then when I went to turn my computer on nothing happened.  I think the mother board was too old for that hard drive.  The computer I was trying to install the new hard drive to was one that I built in 2004.  So I figured it was only a few years old, it should work.  But it didn’t because technology had already surpassed that computer.

So, I was forced to buy all new stuff so I just put the old hard drive back in there and gave it to Darrin.  I bought myself a new case, motherboard, cpu (w/heatsink), dvd burner and video card.  New computer!

A week ago we went to San Diego to visit Chips brother for his 50th anniversary party.  My computer did an update (which I could only assume was a Windows update) and suddenly I’m getting these strange blue screens (of death aka BSOD).  I didn’t worry about it because I didn’t want to stress on anything while we were gone so I put it in the back of my mind.  When we came home I was having the same problems.

Someone told me that I might have gotten a virus but I’m not convinced that is true.  I don’t visit websites on my desktop, I only visit websites on my Chromebook, I use the desktop for my Microsoft Money program and playing Lord of the Rings Online.  So there is no way I could have gotten a virus from visiting websites because it never happens.  I don’t even read emails on that computer.  My desktop is strictly for video games and Microsoft money, that’s it.

I got a couple of BSOD and accidentally allowed Microsoft to report the issue.  I have a jerk reaction to click no but for some odd reason I clicked yes.  When the report was sent a browser window popped up explaining to me that the issue was with my video card software or hardware.  Then suddenly another BSOD.

After that last blue screen I was done with being in regular mode so I went into safe mode.  I figure if I could download the driver update I might be ok.  How wrong I was.  I downloaded and installed the update and my monitor didn’t come on.  I plugged my monitor into the chromebook and everything I look at on the chromebook showed up on my monitor.  Ok so it’s not the monitor.  I plugged it back into the desktop and it turned on.  BSOD.  I turned it on again and the monitor wouldn’t even turn on.

So that is where I am at now.  I haven’t had a desktop in a week and I’m starting to go through LOTRO withdrawals lol.

This is my current configuration.  Well, I can’t turn it on so I can’t tell you the full details now can I?  This I do know.  I have:

  • MSI K9N4 Ultra motherboard – AM2, Nforce4 Ultra, 2*DDR2, Gb Lan, 5.1ch Audio, 1.
  • Gigabyte Tech GeForce 7600 GS 512MB DDR2 PCIexpress video card (I dug the boxes out of my closet)
  • Windows XP
  • I’m not sure about my CPU but I think it’s an AMD Sempron, don’t know the speed.
  • 1GB DDR2 memory

So this is what I’m looking for.  Any brand video card with 1GB DDR2 memory, PCIe.  I’m looking at Tiger Direct again for this new card and this is the one I have chosen.

Visiontek Radeon HD 4650 Video Card – 1GB DDR2, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFireX, (2) Dual-Link DVI, S-Video (Refurbished) – it’s $36.99 which is what I can afford.  My other video card was over $100 in 2007 and I just can’t afford to spend that kind of money right now.  I’m going to be paying for shipping which means I really can’t afford to spend any more on it.  So… is it a good one?  I won’t have the money to buy it until August so hopefully it will be on sale by then and they will hopefully still be in stock lol.

I think it’s a good video card but I’m no expert so I would love some feedback.  I’m choosing 1GB because I play Lord of the Rings Online and sometimes I get a lot of lag and I’m hoping that more memory will help that but you tell me, will it?  I would love some feedback on this.

So… until August lol.  By the way, I am not hung up on Tiger Direct so much that I want to wait 7 to 21 days for it to ship to me.  If I have to go to the computer store and pay a few extra $’s then I will.  As long as it’s not over $50 that is.

Acer and Samsung Chrome Netbooks Announced

On By Michel McDonaldIn Computer, CR-48, Google Chrome3 Comments


I saw the news this morning on Twitter from Editor for PC Magazine Lance Ulanoff:

Google: ACER introing netbook-sized ChromeBook #$349. Samsung’s ChromeBook: $429 for Wi-Fi Avail June 15. #io2011

I was way off on the price.  I figured that since the Google Chrome OS is a browser-based only computer that they would sell a Google Chrome OS Netbook for $150-$200.  I never thought they would sell as high as they are.

Chrome OS Site also reports the specs for the Samsung netbook along with other pictures of the netbook from different angles.  The Samsung Chrome OS netbook will sell in WiFi only for $429 and 3G for $499.

I have been using my CR-48 Google Chrome OS netbook since mid December when they first started shipping and I love it.  I still use my desktop computer but only for things that I can’t use my CR-48 for like photo editing with Gimp, balancing my checkbook via Microsoft Money and playing Lord of the Rings Online.  My CR-48 has basically become my default computer for everything else, as it was supposed to be for the pilot program.

I cannot say that I agree with those prices because you can get a netbook for the same price with Windows installed and be able to install software that you want on it to do everything my desktop computer can do.  The Google Chrome OS is internet only.  You can get the internet on a Windows netbook so why pay that much money?

It’s a great operating system, I just don’t think it’s that great that you would pay $500 for it.  I think that they will go down in price eventually so I would wait until they are a more reasonable price.

My DSL Usage

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, LOTROLeave a comment

This May, AT&T DSL users are going to get a DSL cap (in their arse) of 150GB or 250GB for U-verse users. I thought I was going to be in trouble because I like to watch a lot of tv shows and movies on my computer and I’m also on the internet all day long so I never really had a gauge on how much internet I have been using until now.

I’ve been looking at my DSL usage every month to make sure I don’t go over 150GB because once you go over they start charging you $10 for every 50GB. The first thing that came to mind was EverQuest. When I was playing EverQuest, I was on that game for up to 16 hours a day. It was the first thing I did when I woke up and the last thing I did before I went to bed. I was a hardcore gamer. But I haven’t played it since 2008 so no problems right?

Well, I’ve been wanting to get back into it the last few months but not with EverQuest, this time with a free game but would I be screwed if all of a sudden I started playing a game that uses up a lot of internet?

Here’s my test. I started playing Lord of the Rings Online 1 month ago on 3/19/2011 and I’ve been playing practically every day since. Here in this graph you can see my data usage in mid February through mid March as 17.29GB download and 6.26 up. That was with just regular internet being on Twitter, blogging, looking at Hulu and YouTube videos, facebook, email etc.

Now look at this last month from March 17 through April 16. Not a lot of difference is there? It only went up by 3GB and the upload actually went down by 3GB which I wasn’t expecting.  I don’t really understand why my upload is so high, I mean, I never send files to anyone.  The only uploading I ever do is when I upload an image to my blog and even then it’s only a few KB here and a few KB there.  I don’t even upload videos to YouTube so that confuses me.

(I’m sure someone will explain it to me and I will feel stupid lol.)

Now keep in mind, I’m not on this game 16 hours a day. I can’t, my carpal tunnel doesn’t allow it. I mean, I’m having pain now just from typing this. I usually get on at around 10 or 11am and play until 3 to 4pm or when my hands start to hurt.

I get off the game not just because of my hands but because of my shows.  When I was playing EQ I would miss my shows every night because we were a raiding/family guild and they expected me to be on every night.  I would have to record my shows so that I could watch them later but I can’t do that anymore since the Digital Cable can block certain signals from recording.  The only way for me to do that now is if I had a DVR which I don’t so I play during the day and reserve my nighttime for my shows.  I don’t want a game to rule my life which is one of the many reasons I quit playing EQ.

So this was a good test to see how much DSL data I use every month with a game at the hours that I play.  I’m very satisfied that I won’t have to worry about going over my 150GB/mo.  I mean, I don’t care about $10 if I go over but I don’t want that hanging over my head and it won’t because I don’t use enough to ever have that problem.

As far as me playing Lord of the Rings Online, I absolutely love it.  I’m not as much of a hardcore gamer as I used to be and that’s a good thing.  Actually I start getting bored after awhile.  Yesterday I was falling asleep because I was bored with the area that I was in since I had been there for a couple of days.  I had to leave and go somewhere else to wake me up.

This game is really fun and relaxed and even though I’m already hooked on it, I don’t think it will rule me because of my hands.  So that’s a good thing.  My hands are like a timer for me.  When they start hurting, it’s time to sign off and go watch tv.

My Desktop Computer Blew Up

On By Michel McDonaldIn ComputerLeave a comment

I never thought this would ever happen to me but the power supply in my desktop computer blew up today.  The last couple of times I had it turned on, it shut off without any warning.  When I had my previous computer that would happen while I was playing EverQuest but it would reboot.  I was told that was a memory issue so I assumed this time it could either be memory or power supply but I wasn’t sure.

My computer has been off all day yesterday and today and I figured today I would look in the back and see if the light was on for the internet wire and it was turned on so I started thinking, if the power supply was bad then why is there power going to that light?  So I flipped the switch off then on then off then on again and the light was still on.  I pushed the power button and the computer turned on.

I was playing Lord of the Rings Online for at least 2 hours and all of a sudden it just made a popping sound, the computer screen went black and my brain went into panic mode.  I pushed my chair out of the way, fell to the floor and rushed to unplug the power cable.

Now, I have a bad back and I’m overweight which means I don’t get around too easily.  It takes a lot for me to get back up off the floor but I was up instantly.  It must have been adrenaline that got me back up on my feet.  I mean, I’m not that fat, I’m only 100lbs overweight but still, it is hard for me to get back up.

I called Darrin to tell him not to worry about getting me a new power supply then like 10 minutes later this happens so I called him back saying never mind, I do need a power supply.  He mentioned that it might have blown out the motherboard which I had already been thinking about but didn’t want to admit it because that’s how much more money?  About, what $150-$200?  As it is the power supply is $45.

Ok so if it’s also the motherboard then who knows what else might have been affected that was plugged into the motherboard like the memory, video card, cpu, heck even the hard drive and dvd burner.  This could have fried my entire computer.  Or maybe not, we’ll have to find out when I get a new power supply.

I have a Win XP laptop but the screen doesn’t work but even if it did I don’t have enough hard drive space for Lord of the Rings Online and it doesn’t work with my monitor.  So for now I have my CR-48 to keep me in touch with the world via email, websites, Twitter, Facebook and my blog.  Thanks once again Google.

If I get a new power supply and it works but my computer doesn’t come on then I will know it’s because I fried the motherboard.  If so then I will be screwed.  I will have to get a new computer if that is the case.  It’s not going to be easy to save the money for a new computer, that’s why I’m still using an old computer.  It’s funny I say old because I built it in 2007.  Holy crap!  Technology sure doesn’t last very long does it?

Update: Good news, when Darrin came home from work yesterday, he picked me up at the house and we went and got a new power supply, actually a better power supply with 2 fans on it.  We asked about the motherboard and the guy said that the power supplies have a safety built in so that if something happens to it and it surges like it did then it won’t fry the motherboard or anything that is plugged into the power supply like the dvd burner, floppy disc drive and hard drive.  So all is good.

My House in Lord of the Rings Online

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, LOTRO2 Comments

I have been having so much fun playing my hobbit in Lord of the Rings Online the last couple of weeks.  I even bought a house for 1 Gold.  Although, I had to get my farming skill up to the highest it could get in order to make the money to buy the house but it was fun to farm.  It really didn’t cost me that much to farm and I didn’t have to kill anything to get any of the ingredients either (which is another form of farming).

So my house is a standard house with 2 rooms, you can see the main picture has me standing in front of the house then the 2 little pictures of the living room and bedroom.  No need for a kitchen or a bathroom since I would use my cooking skill just standing anywhere and video game characters have no reason to use the toilet, this isn’t the Sims after all.

I have to keep paying the game 50 silver a week to maintain the house but it doesn’t take that long to make 50 silver, actually it’s very easy and I have plenty of it.  I can even pay 5 weeks in advance so if I know I’m going to be away from the game for long periods of time, I won’t have to worry about my house being abandoned and having everything in my chest auctioned off.

The only point to having a house is for the extra storage, the chest.  Also you get a discount on the merchants in the zone that the houses are in.  Other than that it’s purely for show.  It’s fun to have and to decorate and to invite your friends over to look at.

One of the issues that I have with this game is that when I exit in a well populated area then when I get back in the game, all of those graphics make the game crash.  So if I log in to the game in my house then there aren’t all of those graphics to crash me.  I can log in, leave the house and go play.  So that’s a very good advantage of having a house, for me anyway.

Lord of the Rings Online

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, MMORPGLeave a comment

I was first introduced to the world of MMORPG video games in late 2001 by my cousin who had played EverQuest since beta.  He wanted to play with me and so he bought me the game at Fry’s Electronics for $10.  I played for 6 years and quit for personal reasons.  Believe me, I didn’t want to quit but things were going on here at home that was a direct result of my neglect thanks to me being on EQ for up top 16 hours per day.

I haven’t played an MMORPG game in about 4 years now and I really miss it.  A friend of mine who was my EQ guild leader introduced me to Lord of the Rings Online ironically in 2007, the same year I quit playing EQ.  I only played it for an hour with him then I never played it again because I was too freaked out that things here were going to go south again.

Since I’m home alone for about 12 hours a day now, I figured it wouldn’t do any harm if I started playing LOTRO.  So without emailing my friend to ask him what server he was on, I just got on and created a character and started playing.  A week later I emailed him and found out that he’s not even on the same server.  So I have a choice, I could either delete my character and all of my progress and create a new character on his server or pay $25 to move my character to his server and that’s what I did.

I had already bought a horse with real life money and I couldn’t justify deleting that character or even playing on 2 regular characters on 2 different servers so I just bit the bullet and transferred.

My character’s name was Rego on the Riddermark server but since that name was already taken on Silverlode, the new server, I had to change the name so I chose Xanapus.  It’s not very original but I couldn’t think of anything else on the spot.  He is a Hobbit Burgler and his trade skills are Crafting Yeoman; Cook, Farmer and Tailor.  And his hobby is fishing.  I figured the fishing and farming would help in cooking, the tailoring is just bonus.

I really love this game because it gives me the feeling of being in the world of The Lord of the Rings.  There are many differences between LOTRO and EQ such as the never-ending zone.  When I was in EQ and went to go from let’s say Butcherblock Mountains to Lesser Faydark, I would have to go through the “zone” which took time to load.  Sometimes fast depending on my computer speed and/or my internet speed.  In LOTRO there is no zoning.  All of a sudden I see words on my screen saying I’m in such and such place.  There is a jolt sometimes when that happens and I tend to spin out of control when it freezes me up but I recover.  The only time I zone is when I go into a building.

Quests are much different in LOTRO too than in EQ in the way that they have a Quest window and a Deed window which allows you to see what quests you have going and what your progress is so you know what you have to do to complete the quest.  I have done quite a few quests and deeds in the shire since my character is a hobbit.  I am only level 13 but I hear when I get to level 15 I can buy a house.  One of my hobbies is Fishing and they have certain fish which are mountable and I have already mounted 10 for the walls of my future house lol.

Yes, I do plan on buying a house in this game because they really aren’t that expensive.  I would have to do a lot of farming and selling what I make to be able to make up the money to buy a house and to keep it up but I’m willing to put in the effort.

I’m having fun in this game and even if that fun wears off I won’t regret playing because I’m doing it because it’s what makes me happy.  Yes I have other things that need attention in my life but my brain needs this too, not just those other things.  I can play this game during the daytime when I’m alone then at night pay attention to Darrin so he doesn’t feel neglected.

My Recent Blog Absence

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

Well I’m sure my fives of tens of fans may have noticed that I haven’t been writing very much lately.  I guess I’m getting bored with the whole thing.  I have so many things going on… ok that’s a lie, I’m bored out of my skull which means I have absolutely nothing to talk about anymore.  It’s like my brain has seized up on me.  Writers block if you will.

Or maybe I was abducted by some aliens who took away the part of my brain that allows me to function.  Maybe I need to make myself a hat out of aluminum foil to block the signals.  Or maybe just get unbored and get my mind on other things to give me new things to obsess over.

Actually, I did start playing a game called Lord of the Rings Online for free with a few premium features.  I’m not paying for the monthly subscription because I just can’t afford it so I have given them $8 so I could buy a few things that I wanted like a horse.  But that will be a post in itself that I will write tomorrow or in the next week.  Let’s face it, I’ll get to it but I can’t promise when.  Yeah, I’m sure you’re on the edge of your seat even if it’s because the person whose seat you are sitting in refuses to get out of first.

Yes I will have some pictures, first impressions and tips for new players wanting to learn trade skills.  What not to do to get into trouble, not that I haven gotten into trouble which is why I can tell how to stay out of it.  Ok so my advice will probably be horse manure since I’ve only played the darn game for a week so you don’t even have to listen to me at all lol.

I do have 6 years of first hand experience  in EverQuest which was one of the very first MMORPG games so I think I might be taken a little seriously but I doubt it.

Anyway, I will get right on that LOTRO post quite soon, soon as I wake up maybe?  Wait and find out.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, MoviesLeave a comment

When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out in 2007, I read it for 8 hours a day for 4-5 days.  I was just so into it that I couldn’t tear myself away.  What I love about these books is that they are so easy for me to wrap my brain around it despite the disabilities that I have to reading.  The Harry Potter books are truly what gave me a passion for reading so when I see a Harry Potter movie after I’ve read the book I get very emotional about it.

I was watching the commercial for this in the living room and you would’ve thought that I just lost someone by the way I was crying lol.  If you haven’t read this book then I don’t want to spoil it for you but someone dies in this movie and someone else loses an ear.  Yes, I was crying over an ear too lol.

I’m afraid to go see this movie in the theater because I know I’m going to be making a scene.  When we went to see Lord of the Rings Return of the King, you could’ve heard 1) a pin drop and 2) me crying.  I am such a big baby, I don’t know why.  I get so wrapped up in the characters that it makes me emotional.

Part 1 of Harry Potter and the Deathly is in theaters on November 19th.  I might have to bring my sunglasses and a box of tissues when we go see this because I have a feeling I’m going to be crying so I’ll need the sunglasses to hide my red eyes as we’re leaving lol.

Countdown to Lego Batman

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, PSPLeave a comment

There are only 2 more days until Lego Batman is at Game Stop.  That’s Tuesday morning.  Hmm, since I’m blogging this at 9:30 at night, tomorrow is Monday and I will probably get the phone call at lunch time on Tuesday, that should mean there is only a day and half left.

I pre-ordered this in May so I’ve waited all summer for this so I guess you can say I’m pretty excited the day is finally coming.  I really love the Lego series of PSP games.  I have Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones so now I’m adding Lego Batman.  I really hope they don’t stop after this, that they give us more in the Lego series.

I’m hoping for Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Spiderman, Superman and or the Justice League.