This weekends fiasco.

It's a Saturday and everything was going great, me and the misses went to see some fireworks where we met her parents and nephew, it was a good night. I got back to check my facebook and that's when it all went pear shaped.

It started when someone commented on my status which was "Thank god I don't pay for online services that require a good internet." As the internet was running like shit due to everyone downloading.

Then the comment by the misses' brother was "Don't you think its a bit rich that you blocked access for EVERYONE ELSE but then moan when you have two days of EQUAL ACCESS, especially since my dad pays for it. You had all the time to talk about it but you botched on facebook instead what a man"

OK, he's obviously got something a bit wrong here, for 1 he wasn't here for 2 months, it was the 3 days and everyone had access to the internet. The only thing he got right was that his Dad pays for the internet

My reply " lol Whatever, it wasn't blocking everyone actually, it was preventing the router from crash and I can't talk to anyone as they're all too stubborn to listen. With the settings you have on these stupid torrent shit it's no wonder a 20mb internet feels like dial up. Everyone's got over it anyway and the relief on everyones faces when you left was quite astonishing. There's a lot of things people keep from you, you're own family, oh dear. And it's funny how you comment here instead of talking to my face, man."

He obviously got his facts seriously mixed up and totally wrong in every way and all this has led to him now crying to his Mum and making her chose sides, this is a 31 year old we're talking about here, he did live in the same house but now he's running of like a coward and he has the cheek say 'what a man' to me.

So, yeah that was the eventful weekend that I had, could've been better if he didn't have to blow EVERYTHING out of proportion. No wonder he has so many enemies.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim specs!

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim specs have been released and it looks like just about anyone will be able to play what I think will be GOTY.

Minimum Hardware Requirements:
OS: Win XP/7/Vista (32 or 64 bit)
CPU: Dual Core
RAM: 2GB
GPU: DX9c video card w/ 512MB RAM
Internet Access for Steam activation

Recommended Hardware Requirements:
OS: Win XP/7
CPU: Quad-Core Intel/AMD CPU
RAM: 4GB
GPU: DX9 vid card w/ 1 GB. GTX 260/Radeon 4890 or higher
Internet Access for Steam activation

GTA V has been announced!

All I can say, this is awesome news and can't wait to see the trailers.



http://www.rockstargames.com/

Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Live Action Trailer

Possible game of the century?

Team Fortress 2 halloween map.

The other day I was playing on a server which changed map to Manor Event and to my surprise, it's a very cool map and perfect for halloween. It offers a scary feeling about it and every now and then this Horseless Headless Horseman just appears out of no where and I just went, what...the...F%&k. It was pretty awesome and targets an individual then slices the victims head right off. I recorded a video below of this map. Enjoy!

American Reunion

Really like the sound of this movie, basically it will star all the original characters from the first American Pie (1999). Hopefully, it'll be awesome, unlike the other American Pies that haven't been that good at all and I really enjoyed the first one, one of the funniest films ever.

American Reunion will be out April 2012!

My favourite Facebook games

Facebook, the largest social networking site is not only for socializing or sharing pictures or whatever, you can also play games on there. Some that are totally crap and others that can be really addicting.

My favourite ones are the following:

1. Lexolous - Word Game - Basically, it's Scrabble and if you like Scrabble then you should defiantly try this out.

2. Farkle - Again, you'll instantly recognise this dice game if you've played Yahtzee but even if you haven't it's dead simple and anyone can play it.

3. Texas Hold 'em Poker - For anyone who likes to play poker, this game is simply brilliant whether you're a fan of poker or not, it's still great fun.

There are a tonne more of games that you can instantly play if you have a Facebook account, these are just the ones I play most of the time.

What is my sign?

I'm a capricorn, born 3rd January, should've been the 1st apparently but I was late. Sorry I took so long Mum.

English name: The Sea-goat
Planet: Saturn
Capricorn sign knows what he wants. Capricorn sign has good manners. Capricorn sign adores success and power. Capricorn sign does not allow emotions to blind him. Capricorn sign may fall ill because of anxiety. Capricorn woman loves beauty. Capricorn man is a strong with gentle heart.

Hmmm...Interesting, sounds about right.

You can find out yours here. http://whatismysign.net/

What is your star sign?

Blog Revived.

Not posted for a good while now, mainly because I was busy with work and was simply too tired to write one. I will now hopefully be blogging some more and at least once a week.

So, I got a job but today will be losing it as they've not got enough work so have had to get rid of some people, unfortunately, one of them is me which is understandable because I'm one of the newest.

That's basically what I've been doing these last 7 weeks, building fridges for places like Tesco's and other stores. It was boring and offered shit pay so I'm not too bothered about leaving plus it's not like I have to pay for a car or a place of mine, only thing that annoys me is the fact that I might have to go back on the Jobcentre which sucks big time.

Now that I haven't got a job (after today at least) I will have to find something to do. Before I would do a little casting over at Justin TV, finish my map which is now at the finishing stages and god knows what else, oh that's right search for another job, how fun.

Official Wii U Specs

Taken from http://e3.nintendo.com/hw/#/about

Launches: - 2012

New Controller: - The new controller incorporates a 6.2-inch, 16:9 touch screen and traditional button controls, including two analog Circle Pads. This combination removes the traditional barriers between games, players and the TV by creating a second window into the video game world. The rechargeable controller includes a Power button, Home button, +Control Pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons. It includes a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, a microphone, stereo speakers, a sensor strip and a stylus.

Other Controls: - Up to four Wii Remote™ (or Wii Remote Plus) controllers can be connected at once. The new console supports all Wii™ controllers and input devices, including the Nunchuk™ controller, Classic Controller™, Classic Controller Pro™ and Wii Balance Board™.

Media - A single self-loading media bay will play 12-centimeter proprietary high-density optical discs for the new console, as well as 12-centimeter Wii optical discs.

Video Output - Supports 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i. Compatible cables include HDMI, component, S-video and composite.

Audio Output: - Uses AV Multi Out connector. Six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI.

Storage - The console will have internal flash memory, as well as the option to expand its memory using either an SD memory card or an external USB hard disk drive.

CPU: - IBM Power®-based multi-core microprocessor.

GPU: - AMD Radeon™-based High Definition GPU.

Other: - Four USB 2.0 connector slots are included. The new console is backward compatible with Wii games and Wii accessories.

Crytek to Develop TimeSplitters 4 for the Next XBOX

Videogamer.com have revealed that Crytek is developing TimeSplitters 4 for the next Xbox. This means that Microsoft will most likely announce their next Xbox at E3 2012.

"Specifications for the new machine have not been finalised, but Crytek is using Microsoft's DirectX 11 as the current basis for next-generation development. Tessellation, multithreaded rendering, and compute shaders are the three headlining features for DirectX 11."

More info can be found here

Lets just hope it's true, not only for the next Xbox but for TimeSplitters 4 which is such an entertaining game, especially it's multiplayer. Me and I'm sure many others have got great memories of this game.

Favourite Parts of E3

This years E3 wasn't anything special, the WiiU didn't wow me and the conferences were quite boring. Luckily, we had games like Skyrim which made my jaw go through the floor and BF3 which didn't have the same effect but was still well worth the watch.

Skyrim, jaw droppingly brilliant, I think I must've watched the demo about 3 -4 times, it's that good. The dragons I think are the main talking point for this game and why not, they are the best dragons I've ever seen in a game and they look awesome. These are non-scripted free roaming creatures that can appear from nowhere. For example, during the demo gameplay, they were walking with these huge giants and mammoths then all of a sudden a dragon swoops down, picks up a giant and throws him across the field. What also impressed me about this game was duel wielding, you can now duel wield weapons and spells. Why this is good is because when duel wielding spells, it makes them much more powerful if used at the same time.

There's so much more to talk about with this game and this is just the tip of the iceberg, can't wait to see more and of course play. Definite day 1 buy!

Tags: GameTrailers.com, E3 2011: Comprehensive Interview, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Release date:
11.11.11

Pre-order Skryim here:
(360) Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
(PS3)Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
(PC)Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Short Story About The Laptop and The Bug.

Me and the misses have got a laptop which is now dead, unfortunately, it had gone through some rough times and one those is when it had a visitor. A little bug and no, it wasn't software, it was an actual real life bug/insect and what it had done was crawl behind the screen. So, we sat there waiting for it to come out but it never did so what does the misses do, POKE IT, splat. Great, now it's stuck behind the damn screen which later formed a line across the screen.

So, we get onto Dell about using their online chat service with a guy on the other end helping out. This was all good, however, trying to explain what had happened wasn't as easy as it should have been. We kept explaining that it wasn't a bug ON the laptop but a bug behind the screen. He was like 'OK then, let me take over your computer to see what the problem is'. Like an idiot I did, to see what he did, oh that's right nothing. He was even about to open the pictures folder but we hit escape before he did. WHAT an idiot, clearly didn't have a clue what he was doing.

After finally getting him to understand he said 'Oh right, we will send someone out and we'll replace the screen'. THANK FUCK FOR THAT. We got it sent away and about a week later got it back with a surprisingly better screen, nice high definition screen with a glossy finish. Shame I didn't take any pictures. Oh well. At least I'm not the only one.

My advice would be if you've got a bug crawling around behind your screen, don't press on it and someone looking for a laptop to not get one from Dell.

Some of The Weirdest Things I've Ever Heard of.

Now there's an endless list things weird but there's a good amount that stick out from the rest that make you go what...the...fuck...or just leave you speechless.

Here are a few things I find extremely weird.

Marriages, you might be thinking how a marriage can be weird, well it can and one of the weirdest is about a guy who married a video game character. Yep, it's true, a man called Sal9000 married the video game character from Love Plus called Nene Anegasaki. There's others like the guy who married his pillow. Then there's the guy who married himself and the list goes on.

Fetishes and paraphilias, now these can get extremely weird and there's a substantial amount of weird ones like Formicophilia which means you get sexual pleasure of an insect crawling across your body, there's also Plushophilia which is stuffed animals, Inflatophilia which is inflatable animals and toys. Robot fetishism which is thought of having sex with a robot, dendrophilia which means you have a love for tress. Here's a weird one, Necrozoophilia a sexual attraction to animal corpses, there's also Mechaphilia a sexual attraction to machines like cars, bikes, bicycles...then probably the weirdest is the attraction to ghosts called Spectrophilia.

Hedone: The free-to-play FPSMMO

Just saw this game that someone had posted on the Gametrailers forums and it looks very interesting. It will be released on Xbox Live, PSN and PC. The PC version will have micro transactions and the consoles will have direct downloads.

The PC requirements are below.

• Resolution - 1280x1024
• CPU - QuadCore Intel Core 2 Quad, 2+ MHz/AMD Athlon II X4, 6+
• Graphics - GeForce 8800+ (512MB)
• RAM - 2GB
• Game Settings - High
• Initial Hard Drive Space - 5GB
• Target Player Count - 16
• Operating System - Windows 7, XP or Vista

Some more info here

Metro: Last Night Debut Trailer

Doesn't really show you much except some images but will be looking forward to seeing more of it.

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Debut Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Nintendo Wii 2 Specs Leaked.

Whether this is true or not, the Wii 2 specs have been leaked and if they are true this will be one quick little machine featuring Blu-ray also. The image below show the leaked specs.



I'm actually excited to see what Nintendo will reveal as they've already announced a new console.

Found this on 3news.co.nz

The Most Epic Half Life Trailer

It well and truly is an amazing trailer, the animation is really cool and Valve should definitely think about employing this guy.

Half Life Trailer by James Benson


Just imagine if the whole game was like this.

Trollface is Everywhere!

Literally, everywhere! Me and my girlfriend went to a small town called Biggleswade to search for jobs and we seen trollfaces everywhere, on road signs, shops, advertising boards and god knows what else. My girlfriend thought she was going a bit mad.

My Top 5 Favourite Ipod/Iphone Games.

Had my Ipod since January and really love it and has been used pretty much every day to the point where my phone now feels neglected. Since then I've played quite a few games on it, some good and some terrible. Here's my top 5 favourites:

1. Doodle Jump - Extremely addicting and hard to put down. The objective is to get as high as you can whilst trying to avoid things like aliens, UFO's and other things.

2. Angry Birds - Probably at the top of most top 5 games as it should be because it's extremely fun and can have you playing for a long time. The objective is knock down structures and crushing these green pig heads by hurtling birds at it.

3. Game Dev Story - This an awesome game where you have to manage your own game company by trying to create and sell games and consoles. Highly recommended!

4. Fruit Ninja - A very fun and addicting game where you use your finger to chop fruit that shoot up from the bottom of the screen. This game will have you playing for hours.

5.Fifa 11 - If you're looking for a good football then I'd recommend this one as it has simple controls and the graphics are amazing, all it needs now is multiplayer globally rather than locally.

There are loads more but these are probably the ones I enjoy and play the most.

Modern Warfare 3 Debut Trailer

After thinking, yet another COD game, I decided to watch it anyway and was quite surprised of how impressed I was. Trailer is below.

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Debut Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

My Dead Island Thoughts.

I'm a fan of zombie survival games as it's always fun to blow up or chop of a zombies head. Dead Island looks very promising right from the start with it's jaw dropping trailer which was probably the best I've seen.

Today we finally got to see some gameplay of it and it looks really good so far, especially after hearing that it will feature 4 player coop from start to finish which is a huge plus. It will also be out on all major platforms (PC, 360 and PS3) which is cool as I prefer playing games on the PC, I just hope it's going to be well optimized. Anyway, enough chatter and below is the gameplay video of Dead Island. Enjoy!

Tags: GameTrailers.com, To Kill Time Gameplay Walkthrough, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Official site here.

L.A Noire Graphics Comparison Xbox 360 vs PS3

Most people hate these but I personally think it's pretty cool. The video shown below is from Gametrailers.com. If I were to nit pick, I would say the textures and shadowing on the 360 are ever so slightly better.

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Graphics Comparison, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

What do you think?

Some intriguing things recently.

So it's May 21st, the end of the world apparently, to me it seems like a nice day, been out, got some shorts and it's been a good day. Anyway, enough of this nonsense and lets talk about more, shall we say, REAL stuff.

First one is the recently leaked Fifa 12 video which shows of some new features, I'm not sure if this is real or not but still looks pretty good, anyway video is below.



Next is a film called Reel Steel, watched the trailer and it might be a good film. My biggest fear is that the kid will let it down and the name of the robot is Adam, couldn't have picked a more boring name for a robot, however, it does look quite good. Kinda like a Rocky 1001.




L.A. Noire, got awesome reviews and has revolutionized facial animation. But, it has been causing some people problems like overheating and crashes, oops. Rockstar are aware of this and have posted a solution here. Shame it's not for PC though.

Oh and I will leave you this if you like Sloth's.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Debut Teaser

Yet another Call of Duty, will this be any better. Judging by peoples reactions, they don't seem to bothered about it.

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Debut Teaser, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

You know when you've played too many games when...

Probably one of the most popular forum topics around, here's my version.

1. You dream about them - Like one time I dreamt about me and some of the family fighting for our lives in a game called Counter Strike.

2. When your ringtone is from a game - I once heard someones message tone say "UAV online" from Call of Duty.

3. The music you listen to are from games.

4. You ditch your girlfriend/boyfriend just to play a game.

5. You've camped overnight to be in front of the queue for that new game or console.

6. You spend hundred's of pounds/dollars on just 1 graphics card.

7. You spend more than 8 hours or so a day, every single day gaming.

8. You kill a prostitute to get your money back.

9. You think you're Niko Bellic by driving like a maniac and thinking I will just respawn.

10. When you use 'gaming talk' in real life.

Have you got any you can share with us?

Thanks for reading.

Hitman: Absolution Debut Teaser

Been quite a while now since the last Hitman and now there's going to be a new one and I have a good feeling it's going to be awesome.

Here's the debut teaser:

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Debut Teaser, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Crysis 2 Thoughts...

Recently completed Crysis 2 and I have to say it was quite amazing most of the time and frustrating during other times, I will give you a short list of pros and cons to do with Crysis 2.

Pros:

• Graphics - Probably the best I've seen, especially the lighting, detail of the maps and water.
• Variety of weapons - There is quite a few more weapons for you to use compared to the previous Crysis
• Story - One of the biggest let downs in the previous Crysis was it's story, I thought Crysis 2's story was well thought out.
• Customization - The ability to upgrade your suit to what best fits you is a great idea and it's all done in realtime.
• Gameplay - There's a real sense of freedom and you can approach any scenario and work out what you think will work best, stealthily or run in guns blazin' or you can use tactical advisor to help you choose.

Cons:

• Graphics settings - Unlike the 1st Crysis where you had many different options for graphics, in Crysis 2 you get high, very high or extreme, that's it. Not even a setting for AA. Luckily, someone has made a program so you can tweak these individual settings here http://www.incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=33008
• Glitches - Every game has them and so does this one. 1st one I cam across was multiplayer, you log in, type the CD key and it says it's already in use. Seems like a lot of people have this same problem and the way to fix it is to login, go back to singleplayer and login again, worked for me. Another glitch I found cause me to crash where I brought the stealth enhance upgrade while cloaked.
• Physics - Don't get me wrong, physics in Crysis 2 are pretty amazing most of the time but sometimes you get real odd physics glitches, especially with ragdolls where they'll just freeze in mid-air or when they get stuck in something.
• Bloom! - Lot's of it and it can get really bright, not a bad problem but it can get extremely bright in some case.

My rating: 9/10

That's about it and overall Crysis 2 is a very good FPS which everyone should have a go at.

First The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in-game look video.

Visit http://www.bethsoft.com/elder_council_wallpaper/ for the video.

Team Fortress 2 Huntsman Kills

A short video of me killing some folk using The Huntsman in Team Fortress 2.

Some more details about Battlefield 3

Taken of the Battfield 3 website

About Battlefield 3:

BF3 will be using the Frostbite 2.0 engine. This engine is commonly thought to be the engine behind BF:BC - BF:BC2. However, DICE has made it clear that no games have ever used the technology of Frostbite 2. Frostbite 2 will probably offer the best environmental, audio, and graphical advancements in a multi-console game ever. Better yet, Battlefield 3 will be the one to lead the new engine technology. Expectations of the engine are based off of previous improvements from 1.0 - 1.5, expect better sound, better physics, a more destructable environment, improved textures, and real-time weather changing.

Battlefield 3 is expected to be set in the modern warfare era. Expected factions include the US military, Middle Eastern Coalition, China, and/or Russia. The maps are expected to be larger than BC2 maps with more vehicles and game play improvements over past Battlefields.

Battlefield 3 Release Date:

Battlefield 3 has been rumored to be in production since late 2007, when a PDF was leaked online. It is now suggested that this PDF was actually discussing the Battlefield: Heroes game (since released.) However, the game has been in development or at least confirmed since summer 2009 when EA's COO stated that "Battlefield is looking good." However, it wasn't until July 30th 2010 that the world really ended up hearing about Battlefield 3. On this date, EA announced that purchasers of the Medal of Honor: Limited Edition game would get an invite to the Battlefield 3 beta within 12 months of Medal of Honor's release (October 12, 2010.) This date has come and passed, while no Battlefield 3 news has come yet, expect it soon. However, our timeline and estimates suggest the following:

Screen shots ~ Spring 2011
Trailer ~ Summer 2011
Beta ~ Fall - Winter 2011
Demo/release ~ Spring 2012

More info can be found at the Battfield 3 website.

Just look at these gorgeous graphics - Dirt 3

Looking really interesting and even better than the previous. The graphics are just gorgeous.

Design Walkthrough (Cam) Part I

Video Games | DiRT 3 | Design Walkthrough (Cam) Part I

Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Nintendo Wii | PC Games

Design Walkthrough (Cam) Part II

Video Games | DiRT 3 | Design Walkthrough (Cam) Part II

Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Nintendo Wii | PC Games

Battlefield 3 Debut Teaser + Details

Can't wait for this, hope it's even better than the previous one.

Video Games | Battlefield 3 | Debut Teaser

Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Nintendo Wii | PC Games

One moment you may be marching down a hilltop listening to the hypnotic sound of a firefight in the distance or admiring the way the light reflects off the smoke plumes of ground to air missiles rising from the city you’re about to engage. The next you’re on an urban street, surrounded, claustrophobic, fighting for your life and looking eight ways at once with all your senses on high alert, chilled at the knowledge that the building you’re hiding behind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Welcome to Battlefield 3.

Battlefield 1943 and Bad Company 2: Onslaught canceled on PC

"Battlefield 1943 for PC is not going to happen. Posting on the official Battlefield blog, Karl Magnus Troedsson, general manager of DICE, confirmed that both 1943 and Onslaught, a co-op add-on for Battlefield: Bad Company 2, have been "officially canceled." He states that the team is focusing all energy on Battlefield 3 in order to make it "the best Battlefield game ever" and "the biggest launch in DICE's history." (Good luck getting into a game during the first three days!)

Battlefield 1943's delayed trek to PC had become hopeless in recent months, though company reps believed it was still set to deploy at some point when we followed up last summer. The downloadable experiment has been a resounding success on consoles, netting $16 million for Electronic Arts."

I suppose this could be a good thing if they're going to focus more on BF3 so in a way I'm not too upset about it.

Source Joystiq

No laughing game. BATSU GAMES! on Japanime

Been watching this a lot just recently and it has to be the funniest show I have ever seen.

If you want to see it for yourself watch below or click the link.

Watch live video from JAPANIME on Justin.tv

BF2 - Project Reality Mod 128 Player Server

"The Project Reality team figured out how to create a 128 player server in Battlefield 2, and filled it up with real players. It still has some bugs and needs some work, but it does appear to work. The guy running the server said there was a 9MB upload per second @ 128 players."

For anyone who owns Battlefield 2 and are looking for a more realistic and fun game, you should definitely give Project Reality a try, it's a lot of fun and really adds a lot of realism where teamwork is the absolute key to success.

Beers Filling Up Through the Bottom!

I think this is amazing and would love one for myself.

Could this be the future?

Some negative thoughts about FIFA 11

A very nice football game indeed that gets better and better every year. Although this one is brilliant and addictive, it still has some really annoying issues with it.

For a start, the passing, it drives me mad sometimes with the power bar and it seems to predict the wrong one most of the time resulting in a pass that wasn't intended. Like once I tapped the pass button for a guy a few feet away, instead it went from one side of the pitch to the other resulting in a interception and a near goal from the opposition.

Next must be the tackling or at least attempted tackles, sometimes they're just pathetic and way too slow or the player just seems to run straight through you. Also when you're trying your hardest to fight him of the ball but as usual unsuccessful but even more annoying is when you make a legit tackle and the ref gives a free kick, very fuckin' annoying.

Another thing I'm still getting used to is the pace of the game, compared to the previous instalments, this one seems much slower and can seem to drag on a little. I think this is because they've tried to make it more dynamic with less 'ping pong' passing and more strategic styles of passing with the AI being even tougher than ever before and leaving you eating dust with their slick skill moves.

Finally, the goalkeeper which is a nice addition to FIFA and was sort of expecting it soon anyway. It's probably not for everyone because most of the time you're just a spectator so therefore not really participating in the game that much, however, when you are in the thick of it things can get interesting which means you need to be fully focused as it's not an easy job. At any time will the AI or player fire of a shot from nowhere and if you're not paying attention it can just glide right past you making you look like an idiot. Making saves isn't too difficult, it's all about timing and positioning, for new players you can simply hold the bumper button and the keeper will automatically get into the best position. Sounds easy enough I know but judging or diving in the right direction isn't always a success, then you're thinking should I rush, dive in or punch the ball out etc... There's not a lot of thinking time as a goalie so think quick and stay focused.

There are a few other minor niggles but overall a very enjoyable and addicting game which keeps you coming back for more. The question now is, What's next?

PC finally up and running

Finally got the PC up and running after about a week or so. Should have only had been a few days but the processor I got wasn't compatible with the current motherboard, this wasn't my fault as HP's website clearly said that the motherboard was compatible, not only did they say it can take upto a 9850, it also says it can take an AM3 processor which is complete bullshit.

So, in order for me to have this CPU up and running, I had to buy an all new motherboard and in the end I chose the Gigabyte SKT-AM2+/AM3 GA-M68M-S2P Motherboard, cheap and cheerful, does the job at a decent price plus I can always upgrade to the 6-core AM3's now if I ever wanted to.

After finally wasting my time with this, I finally get round to building it. Never had to replace the motherboard before so was a little nervous, more about if it will actually work or not or if I blow anything up as my working area isn't exactly suitable for this kind of thing. For a start I have no anti-static, I'm on carpet wearing socks and probably full of static. So to make sure I didn't blow anything, I touched the back of the PC every so often which gets rid of any static.

My other worries were silly stuff like is there a right amount of thermal paste on CPU, will it all fit, are the cables in the right place etc... The days waiting for the motherboard arrived, I must've watched and read tonnes of ways of installing a motherboard and the safety precautions.

Now onto installing the motherboard which I must admit wasn't too difficult but first I installed the CPU, heatsink and RAM as it will make it far easier to do so while it's out of the case because the heatsink can be very fiddly and hard to get at when inside the case, it also gives me something to hold onto when installing the motherboard. First I took out the previous motherboard along with any other components attached to it such as the graphics card, RAM and cables. Once this was out I removed the old back plate then fitted the new one as the back is slightly different. Next I finally came round to fitting the motherboard, first attempt didn't go far as the cables were in the way so I had to move them out the way. Second attempt went a bit smoothly and managed to get it in aligning up the holes for the screws. After screwing it in I went onto fitting the cables, double checking I got them in the right place. Then installed the graphics card which wasn't exactly easy as it was such a tight fit and the ATX 12v cable only JUST reached over the card and into the socket, I was lucky it reached.

Now it's time to start it up and with a deep breath I hit the power button, all fans working, seems to have powered fine but a blank screen, SHIT. Sat thinking for a while, looking on Google with my Ipod at possible reasons why. After long hard thinking and reading, I decided to pull out the graphics to see if it was the problem and guess what, IT WAS! To my relief it was the graphics card causing it not to boot and not me blowing it up because the first time I turned it on I smelt a burning smell. Now that I can boot it up, I check to see if I need a fresh install but luckily I don't and it's been pretty stable since. Once booted into windows, it does a load of updates which reminded me that I should update the drivers for the motherboard. I take out the CD and hit the eject button, nothing happens. It turns out I forgot to connect the power to the DVD-ROM. So decide to leave it for the day and sort it out the next day.

The next day comes along and I finally decide to see if the graphics card will work and connect the power to the DVD-ROM. I install the graphics card making sure that it's seated right because that's what I thought might have been the problem, switched on the power while holding my breath and BOOM, it works! Thank fuck for that. Windows boots up and everything seems to be working perfectly now, temps got me worried at first as they were in the 70s but are now in the 30-40s which is fine.

Now everything seems to be running smoothly, I go onto test it out on a few games, first one being TF2. Straight away I noticed how much smoother it was with no lag spikes and able to notch the graphics up as high they'll go at 4x AA and 1920x1080 with an FPS averaging 60 - 100. Also tested Crysis, Far Cry 2, Fallout: New Vegas and Mass Effect 2 which are all running as smooth as ever at highest settings.

Overall, I'm very happy with it, it's not the latest and greatest but is good enough for all of today's games, for me anyway.

Got my new CPU.

Now I'm just waiting for the heatsink.

Ordered a AMD Phenom x4 9850 for £65 and it arrived today! The next day! Super quick delivery and I'm just waiting for the Arctic Freezer 7 Rev.2 heatsink (£16) which is a beast, never seen one so big, I just hope it fits and it all works. Never fitted a CPU so a little nervous.