Oihan

Yeah, I can see that for some people having a relatively feature poor browser won't work for them. But I'm just liking how small and fast it is. One nice thing is that like IE 8, the tabs open their own process, so if one crashes, it doesn't drag down the entire program. Hasn't crashed on me yet though.

And yeah, I know about Chrome's user agreement... it's the same as all their other stuff, google says they own the right to your soul, forever and ever.

At least with Firefox...if it crashes all of your tabs are saved so that you can quickly recover and go back to viewing what you were. Plus, I'd rather not have 324,987,234 IE processes running. ...Yes...I do like to have more than several tabs open at once every now and then.

Edit: If Firefox slows your system down that much...I'd think it'd be time for an upgrade.

I've never disliked or felt hate for Ranka. I just never really cared for (or liked for that matter) how she has acted throughout the show. If anything, I think it's how she has acted that brings upon this malcontent (or "hate") for her. After episode 21, however, I see Ranka in a different light...and for the better.

Thus far into the story, I wouldn't say that Ranka is evil by any means. She might have been a bit selfish in the past...but not evil...not by a long shot.

This episode actually has me liking Ranka more than I have. It gets a 'positive' from me.

Well, laptops are okay, but it would have to be a work-horse laptop. I know people who use a workhorse laptop for photos, movies, and animations. But it would either a Macbook Pro or a Dell XPS or equivalent system. So a laptop could work for OmegaD3k.

If you want to go laptop or plan on being mobile, I would suggest the Macbook Pro 17" or the Dell XPS 1730.

If you plan on staying stationary, then a desktop would be cheaper and more suitable to which others have already suggested parts for.

Right, a top of the line laptop could work for OmegaD3k. Call me cheap, but I'd never spend more money on a laptop to get 'desktop performance.' As you said, it'd be cheaper to go the desktop route...which is why I said I'd stay away from laptops. I probably shouldn't have been so biased towards desktop PCs. It never hurts to have more options.

Hi guys, need some help here.. Sorry if this has been asked before, but:

The PC I use for work is well over 5 years old and I've decided to go get a new one - built from scratch. The big question is: What is the most current up-to-date parts for PC's these days?

Are there any good websites one can follow, to learn about all the parts and pieces in more detail?

The PC I on planning on building will be used for everything: Graphics, Photoshop, Flash, Animations, Movies, and also some gaming.

Also... How do laptops compare to PCs these days? Are they at an equal level, or are PCs generally more advanced?

Any help would be most welcome!

Thanks in advance!

I generally visit TomsHardware.com and AnandTech.com for information on parts.

For what you want I'd stay away from laptops. You can't go wrong with a dual/quad-core CPU, at least 2GB of DDR2 RAM or better, a 500 watt PSU should be sufficient, and SATA II HDDs. As for video cards.... If you're going to go down the nVidia route, I'd at least get a 8600 GTS or better. If ATI...the equivalent to the 8600 GTS at least.... You may want to look at the ATI Radeon HD 4850.

My two cents.

I prefer to watch subs over dubs. There's only been a few times where I thought the dubs were a lot better than the original voice acting. Take DBZ for instance...Goku's voice just sounds off-kilter in my opinion; his voice sounds so much better dubbed. There have been a few other dubs that I have enjoyed though...like Ninja Scroll, GitS: SAC, and Cowboy Bebop to name a few. In the end though, I'll still prefer subs over dubs. ...It's not like I can't pause or rewatch a show in case I missed something.

Like with some of you...I too thought that my IP had been banned...for whatever reason.

You can say that again.

I've been having withdrawal symptoms for the last 24 hours. Hell when getting the error message after I attempt to open the MW in my browser, I suddenly go.......

LOL!!! QFT - ...though I wasn't spamming the key by any means...but I was definitely checking back about every hour or so. So as we were all waiting for MW to come back...I started to ponder where I'd go for my Macross fix in case MW never did come back.... I checked out AFM once again...but soon realized that it just wouldn't be the same.

Thanks for bringing the forum back to life, Shawn!

The Logitech 540s would have been my choice. "Matrix Mode" basically takes 2-channel sound and mixes it so that it becomes 5.1 channels. I really don't know why you would even want to do that. You're basically guessing what 5.1 audio would be like from a 2-channel source (ex. music or movie). Your sound card supports 6.1 sound so you are fine and you shouldn't worry about that.

Ah, okay. I was getting the impression that this mode was required with some sources, like music, to hear sound from all four speakers. Thanks for the clarification!

Thanks for the replies in regards to the Quad-Core/9800 GTX+ question(s).

I have another question (or two) now. I'm looking to replace my 4.1 Altec Lansing computer speakers...but I'm not sure what to get. I'm looking for either 5.1 or 7.1 and spending no more than $200. I was browsing Newegg for speakers, sorting by best ratings, and I've come across some Logitech X-530/540 5.1 speakers for a good price. However, I keep reading about this "Matrix Mode" that "creates 5.1 surround sound from 2-channel stereo sound sources such as music or legacy games," with mixed reviews. Apparently it's supposed to be used for certain sources...otherwise everything sounds horrible. It's really confusing the hell out of me. Does this mean that I'll need this mode enabled to hear music/movies/games from all of the speakers, even though my card supports up to 6.1 channels? I can't seem to find much information about it on the web.... With my current speakers...I don't need any kind of "Matrix Mode-esque" feature to hear sound from all four speakers...regardless of source.

...Would you guys have any recommendations for speakers? Thanks!

I'm with the other Guld Goa Bowman's in this thread. Micheal's was tragic...but I wouldn't say "gar."

While waiting for Newegg to restock the EVGA 9800GTX+ that was the first 9800GTX+ they were carrying, a second one popped up; a BFG, and one of their overclocked editions. Yeah, it was $10 more than the EVGA, but it was in stock, so I ordered it. I arrived today, and I installed it tonight. It was a royal pain to install... the card is so big that I had to move my hard drives. The SATA went into a lower bay (my case, an Antec P182, has a bay for hard drives in the usual place, where mine were, and another in a lower chamber), but I had to put brackets on my IDE and stick in into a 5.25". Absolutely worth it, though. My computer is still whisper quiet, and I ran Crysis at 1024x768, 4x anti-aliasing, textures set to Very High, and everything else set to High. I checked several games at the System Requirements Lab Can You Run It site. My computer now not only exceeds the recommended requirements for every game I checked, in pretty much every case it hit the far right end of the meter.

In short, yeah, it might not be up to a GTX 280 or a Radeon 4870, but it didn't cost $500, either. At $200 ($210 for the overclocked one), the card's a bargain for anyone looking to upgrade their video.

What are your system's specs if you don't mind me asking? Do you happen to play Supreme Commander by any chance? I ask cause I really enjoy playing it...but my Core 2 Duo 6420 and GeForce 8600 GTS struggle to play it when I increase the amount of units per player (my machine can only handle 500 per player). I'm starting to wonder if going to a Quad Core and the 9800 GTX+ will enable me to have more units.... The more units out there the more chaos there is...the more fun I have.

I have nothing really to add to this thread in this post. But someone tried adding me as a friend a while back and I declined...I don't recall the user name...but I didn't (and still don't) know who it was and if it was someone on this board (I didn't think to check this thread), I apologize. Just wanted to get that out of my system...call me crazy for being concerned over nothing.

Am I really one of the few who actually prefers May'n's version of "What 'Bout My Star?" over Megumi's? All I keep reading about is how Ranka's version is preferred over Sheryl's version. Bleh. I don't know about the rest of you, but out of "What 'Bout My Star?," "Diamond Crevasse," "9PM at Sagittarius! Don't be late!," "Triangler," and "Aimo"...I just can't seem to get enough of Sheryl's version of "What 'Bout My Star?" I listen to Sheryl's version of that song (on a regular basis) more so than I do any of the other songs. Not saying that the other tracks aren't great...cause they are! ...But I digress....

This is how I rank the vocal tracks thus far:

1. What 'Bout My Star? - May'n
2. Aimo
3. Diamond Crevasse
4. 9PM at Sagittarius! Don't be late!
5. What 'Bout My Star? - Megumi
6. Triangler

As for the BGM...I'm waiting for more track listings. I cannot wait for the rest of the BGM tracks to be released on CD!!!

As for Yoko Kanno. As others have stated, I too believe she deserves some credit! Despite the said similarities in that one YouTube video, she still does amazing work! Yoko Kanno comes in a close second, behind Shiro Sagisu, as far as my favorite composers are concerned.

Also, as Gubaba mentioned...Macross is very fortunate to have the composers and artists it has had...which I am very thankful for as well. Hell, if it weren't for some of the music found in Macross...my love of Macross would probably be to a lesser degree.

As someone else also mentioned...IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BE A MACROSS FAN! ...If only the SDF would actually crash land on earth.... =(

Well...I for one like the Robotech OP much better than I do the Macross TV OP. The latter is a little too dramatic for me. I also love "Broken Heart" by Ulpio Minucci, "Desolation," "Love Themes," "Roy Fokker's Theme," "Reconstruction Blues," and "Private Time." I think all of those are wonderful and absolutely fantastic. ...Then you have, from Macross, "Violin of Tears," "Melody of Sorrow," "Dogfighter," and "Stardust Memory"...and three other nameless tracks (26, 30, 42 from disc 3) that are absolutely beautiful as well.

If you were to compare "Broken Heart" to "Violin of Tears"...the latter seems to evoke more out of me than the former does. "Dogfighter" just kills "Battle Stations" in my opinion. I used to like the Robotech BGM better than I did the Macross BGM...but now I'm on the fence about it. Both have their pros and cons I think. I wouldn't mind seeing both BGMs on Macross TV.... If all of the Robotech titles, that I listed above, were on Macross TV...I'd be more in love with Macross TV than I am now.

As for the vocals...I prefer Minmay's songs over Minmei's....or Mari Iijima over Reba West.... HOWEVER, I do like Minmei's "To Be In Love"...call me crazy...but I do like it.

My two cents.

How long can one view a rental on XBox Live? I've never rented anything from there.

I saw the movie late Sunday night. I must say, it's an absolutely stunning movie! I'd probably have to agree with Fort Max about it being a masterpiece of our time. It's easily a top five favorite of mine...probably second only to The Fifth Element. It would have been nice if Two-Face had more screen time...tis the only minutiae gripe I have with the movie. Other than that, it was solid! I cannot wait to see it again!

Edited for grammar.

Question for you all. I believe that I know the answer...but I'm not entirely positive. My HDTV will not accept a 1080p signal over component; the best it will do over component is 1080i. My question is in regards to my Xbox 360. Since I have a first generation Xbox 360...HDMI is out of the picture. So, my question is: will I get better results setting my 360's display to 720p rather than 1080i? Or would I get better results setting it to 1080i? I should add that my HDTV is a 1080p LCD. I'm thinking that it would better for my TV to upscale a progressive signal rather than deal with an interlaced signal. Am I right in my assumption? Thanks!

My point here is that one never knows what will happen and what will work and what won't... so - yeah - I'm not saying Sheryl sucks or anything... I'm just saying Ranka is a more preferable girlfriend

VFTF1

For you maybe...perhaps not for Alto.

Yes, HMV does ship internationally.

http://www.hmv.co.jp/help/index.asp?q=024003002

I guess it would help if I did a little more research.... Thanks Azrael.

Edit: I'm guessing HMV is where everyone is going to as well?

So these down-loadable movies from my PS3, are they complete movies with all the extras I'd get from a regular dvd?

If I down load one HD films and then buy an HD disc of the same movie will it be the same quality?

Don't quote me on this, but I don't think you'd get the extras...just the movie. Also, I highly doubt the encodes aren't compressed...and are probably lossy and not lossless...so I doubt the quality will be the same as on a Blu-Ray disc. Again...I wouldn't quote me on any of that.

My two cents.

So if I'm living in the States, where would be the best place to go for this? Also, any possibility on picking up the first two since I didn't pre-subscribe? Thanks.

Edit: I've checked HMV but I have no clue if they'll deliver to the States...don't see why they wouldn't though.

I have yet to see episode 14 and 15 (and won't be able to for another 4 days at least)...but I have been reading some of the spoilers. I have a question for you guys who have seen episode 15 though....

Thanks!

As long as I've been here, someone (usually a newbie) always wants to see more Hikaru/Misa/Minmay after we've seeing them in SDFM, DYRL?, and FB2012. And we keep telling them the same answer...every time.

Can you really blame them though?

ruskiiVFaussie, you're not the only one. There's one scene in Macross II, it's the part where Ishtar starts to sing the song of the Alus ("Anata o kanjite-iru - Mia Santi Ren" off of Macross II OST Vol. 2...track 17).... Well, everytime I see that scene I get goosebumps. Hiroko Kasahara's a cappella is just beautiful...and with the images of Hibiki breaking down in front of the camera...the Macross discharging the energy...the shots of Silvie and Exxegran and then of Ingues, after the Macross discharges. It gives me the feeling that the Macross is humanities' last hope and Ingues knows it...it's chilling.

Despite the Macross being blown apart...I love how Macross II ends. The message is powerful if you ask me.... Love conquers all...it's what will win the war and bring peace, not some (awesome) ultimate destructive weapon. Anyway...there are a lot of other scenes, from other Macross series, where I get the chills and goosebumps...but that one scene sticks out the most for me.

I'm ashamed to admit that I only recently entered the macross universe ... How recently you ask? Macross Frontier recently. Before frontier I had never seen or heared anything about macross, but that all changed.....

When I watched the deculture version of episode 1 (It was up on random curiosity and I felt like checking it out since Omni went crazy about it), I was shocked! I had never before seen such a beautifull anime, packed with amazing technology, awsome music, and characters that I liked from day one. It all mixxed so well .... I couldn't explain it anymore. It was the coolest anime I had ever laid eyes on.

Then after months of waiting the show finally began. I kept waiting 6 days a week for that awsomme experience, and guess what? It deliverd! Soon I ended up on this forum (beeing a guy who wants to know about the story no matter in what way I went searching for spoilers) and read about the older series. Took me a while to download them all and I started of with watching Macross Zero.

WOW, holly crap that was amazing. Hadn't had such an experience since .... well since frontier! I quickly "marathoned" SDF:M (inc DYRL and Flashback) and M7, and decided that should just as easly watch plus without a break. (6 days of nonstop awsomeness, omg I must seem like a geek :$). I watched the ova's and the movies, I watched dynamite (I don't care what some say, dynamite was awsome). Heck I watched Macross II.

Afterwards I was stunned, somehow most anime's aren't as cool as they used to be after watching these series. I did cry from joy once in a while when something really really cool/awsomme happened, but most of the time i was to stunned for that.

I'm glad to see that Frontier is bringing in more fans! Macross truly is an epic anime. After I rediscovered Robotech I went looking online for more information. I soon found Alt.Fan.Macross online and Macross II at a local BlockBuster. I "saw the light" and I've been more in love ever since.

Thank you Kawamori for bringing this masterpiece universe to me

Amen.

Bah, had I known you were finally working on a Macross II section I would have done what I could to help. I guess it would help if I checked this thread more than I do. I'm glad to see a Macross II section up though! Nice work guys! Thanks!