To actually answer your questions first:
The monitor is just great, 2ms response, awesome contrast ratio, nifty built-in feature that allows you to change resolution and a three year warranty - I love it! Looks like very good value for money.
On the issue of 4 gb: If you're going to be able to use every single megabyte of those 4gb you'll need to run a 64-bit OS and have a motherboard with a chipset that supports memory remapping. So if you're trying to establish wether or not you can actually harness all the 4gb's, look below:
When looking at memory in systems (be it desktop or notebook) there are three questions to ask that will tell you the maximum amount of memory your O/S will be able to use:
1. What O/S Edition have you installed?
a. 32-bit Windows is limited to a maximum of 4GB and cannot see any pages above 4GB.
b. 64-bit Windows can use between 8GB and 128GB depending on SKU.
2. What address range can your processor actually access?
a. Typically that’ll be 40-bit addressing today for x64 (Intel EM64T/AMD64), but older processors may be limited to 36-bit or even 32-bit
3. Can your system’s chipset map memory above 4GB?
a. Mobile chipsets on sale today cannot (but that may change with time)
b. Newer workstations (which use chipsets developed for single or multi-proc servers) usually can.
Windows can remap memory from below 4GB to above 4GB and use it there, however, that relies on the three points above:
1. Can Windows access memory above 4GB?
a. 32-bit – NO
b. 64-bit – Maybe (due to chipset limitations)
2. Can your processor access memory above 4GB?
a. If it’s recent then it might, and if it’s either AMD64 or EM64T it’s almost certain
3. Does your chipset allow pages to be remapped above 4GB?
a. Probably not – and that’s what’s catching people who install 64-bit Vista to work around point 1 – they find they still cannot see above 4GB
The computer hardware is great but the gaming mouse, pad and the keyboard is a no thank you in my book. Sorry if seem like a real arse now Zagz mate but I'm just giving my opinion.
First of all, I've tried the new Razors and they're way to small, they don't fit my hands and just feel to much like plastic. I'm not sure I like the looks of them either for that matter, but that's just me. I just want to recommend the new
IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 from microsoft. It's smart, extremly comfortable and fits in my huge palm. It is also used by alot of professional gamers too if I'm not mistaken.
Second - The pad. Which is great and really is the way to go if you're into FPS-gaming but I don't really like the intense colours on it. I can imagine that it would be quite distracting the first week you sit by your comp. I prefer a more neutral colour, something from
Q-pad perhaps?
Third - The keyboard. This is really just unnecessary. But fine, I'll buy the whole illuminated - it's cool thing but, as I've used a keyboard for quite some time now I don't really see the point in having it lit up, except for the esthetic over-all look, when I never look at it anyway.
I don't think I can give you any cooler suggestion but if I'm going to give one as a fps gamer to another, get one where you can have bindings or just a really comfortable one.
Fourth and last - Headphones and Wireless Connector. Nice stuff this, the Zalman's are golden and the fact that they support surround is just phat mate, I don't think I've read a single bad review about those headphones. Another good pair of phones are the
Sennheiser HD 555 ones - which I use. They are just perfect in every way. Although, they don't support surround sound, that I know of
.
The wireless connector from Belkin is really smart, I like the looks and I can imagine fits right in on a desktop or plugged into your comp. Really a nice alternative to those horrid antennas you usually get if you buy an internal pci-card - which also just takes up more space!
Zarx
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