How to check if your system will run the beta:
Disclaimer: All hardware scores are based on user submitted benchmark tests and may not be completely accurate since different systems/overclocking etc can make an impact on the scores in the individual tests. Take this in consideration when comparing your hardware.
Basics
- Find out what hardware your computer has. If you are not sure you can use the Blizzard beta opt-in tool. It will show what CPU and graphics card you have, among other things.
- RAM (System Memory), HD space, etc are self explanatory. Make sure you are above the minimum specified for "All Platforms".
GPU (Video Card/Graphics Card)
- Go to http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php and use the search form (or CTRL+F) to find your GPU in the list. Use the model name (Usually consisting of 3-5 numbers/letters). If you can't find it try different variations (e.g "GTX 460 SE", "GTX460 SE", "GTX 460SE") or look in the list manually.
- Check the number in the first column. This is the card's G3D score based on user submitted benchmarks.
- Compare your score to the score of the Beta System Requirements (see below for a score rundown):
GPU Minimum Scores
PC:
AMD Radeon X1950 Pro: 825
Nvidia GeForce 7800GT: 525
Mac:
AMD HD 2600: 224
Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT: 286
GPU Recommended Scores
PC:
AMD Radeon HD 4870: 1744
Nvidia GeForce GTX 260: 1740
Mac:
AMD Radeon HD 4670: 582
Nvidia GeForce GT 330M: 489
CPU (Processor)
- Go to http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php and use the search form (or CTRL+F) to find your GPU in the list. Use the model name (Usually consisting of 3-5 numbers/letters). If you can't find it try different variations (e.g "Core2 Duo E8400", "Core 2 Duo E8400", "E8400") or look in the list manually.
- Check the number in the first column. This is the CPU's PassMark score based on user submitted benchmarks.
- Compare your score to the score of the Beta System Requirements (see below for a score rundown):
Minimum CPU Scores
PC:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+: 1194
Intel Pentium D 2.8 GHz: 742
Mac:
Intel Core 2 Duo: (No further specifications given at the moment, but any Mac with the Intel C2D CPU should work.)
Recommended CPU Scores
PC:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 2.8 GHz: 1538
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz: 1400-1600 (Different models with same frequency, no further specifications given at the moment, but should be within the range.)
Mac:
Intel Core 2 Duo: (No further specifications given at the moment, but any Mac with the Intel C2D CPU should work.)
FAQ:
My score is below the minimum requirements! Won't I be able to play Diablo 3?It depends. First and foremost these scores are based on tests uploaded by users through benchmarking software and not actual gameplay tests. Therefore the scores may not fully represent their actual performance, but they are a pin point.
Secondly, the requirements currently released are for BETA only and will very likely change (lowering the requirements) for the actual release client. The requirements are likely also "safe" so to speak that they may not actually be the absolute minimum to avoid complaints. A CPU/GPU with a lower score than the minimum may still be able to run the game.
Lastly, it is not only a fast CPU/GPU that is required. Older hardware may lack required features that are needed for the game and will thus never be able to run it.
Why is the scores different for AMD/Intel, AMD/Nvidia?
This may be because of various reasons, either the game is better optimized for one brand and thus requires less hardware power. It could also be because either does better in the benchmark tests. Either way don't take the exact scores too seriously, but rather as an average pointer.
What settings will my system be able to run smoothly?!
It's hard to say exactly atm before we can get our hands on some real tests. It also depends a lot on your setup, E.g. a screen with high resolution will require more power to run the same settings as a system with a smaller resolution. Likely Blizzard is tuning the settings so that recommended play smoothly with Medium settings and minimum at low. Check your scores relative to the requirements and you can more or less guess.
Update: You can check how your video card performs in Diablo 3 at the official page: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=40659
There you can also see what cards are not unsupported. Note that the video card is not the only thing effecting your gaming performance so results may vary.
I'm going to build a new/upgrade my computer for Diablo 3! What should I buy?
Ask in the computer thread for help. We have many helpful people willing to help you out! Remember that Diablo III will not require any high-end machines so if you are buying a computer solely to play D3 then won't have to buy anything super-expensive.
--Insert additional questions here--
Feel free to suggest/ask more questions to add to the FAQ.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc5ZYmlEx_k&feature=colike
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Did anyone notice at the link to Dictionnaire Infernal that the image for "Bael" looks like an artistic approach to what our Baal looks like?
Spider legs, a long face and nose. The frog and cat heads on his shoulders aren't exactly in the game, but I would assume that Blizz thinks that the heads of a cat and a frog aren't exactly scary. I think it is safe to assume that the LOD design team may have been somewhat influenced by this book.
Which leads me to believe that there might be other demons in this book that Blizz has or will take reference from. Azmodeus is noted as one of the 7 princes of Hell, and is the lord of Lust, one of the 7 sins. Azmodan Lord of Sin?
It is really an interesting subject when you take "artistic freedom" into account.
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It looks like Robert Rodriguez just grabbed the whole crew from Deathproof and Grindhouse. Granted, those movies aren't bad, but they didn't turn out phenomenal. Okay, I loved Deathproof, but Grindhouse was definitely a blah, junk b-movie.
As for the cast of Predators, everyone is a TV actor minus a couple of moderately big names. Which to me, as an actor, says that this movie is going to be horribly overacted with no true emotion. Of course Danny Trejo is gonna be in it, Robert can't leave out family. Mind you his character's name is Cuchillo, which means knife in spanish. He'll be playing the Sonny Landham part.
Then there are the predator actors. There's 3 of them, and only 1 of them actually has a good history as a costume man, Brian Steel. The 2nd, Carey Jones has always been a techie, and is going to do his debut acting as a Pred, and the 3rd is strictly a tv guy except for his appearance as Jason in the 09 Friday the 13th. Then you throw Topher Grace in there. Christ, that can't be good. It's going to take a lot of directing from Robert for Topher to play a believable normal character. I'll talk about the stars later when I talk about plot.
The production designers have identical resumes, I mean they both did Kill Bill 1/2, Grindhouse, Deathproof, Sin City, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Spy Kids 2/3, The Faculty, Jackie Brown, and it goes on and on. Tons of sub par, mediocre hokey action flicks. Nothing in that list really screams "difficult costume/set design" aside from Sin City, and most of that was shot on green screen. The PD's don't have any working experience with animatronics and creature construction. You could argue the Faculty, but that was CG, and bad CG at that.
Then there's the writers. Of course Robert Rodriguez had to put his stamp up there, and he did it for a reason. The other two writers are some fresh out of college guys with no experience under their belts at all!!O_O That was my red flag right there.
That finally brings us to plot. Nothing has been released yet, but Lawrence Fishburne is probably going to play the ultimate badass, "Arnie" character. Adrien Brody will play the cool but also kinda nerdy sidekick, he'll probably get killed. They sure as hell better kill Topher Grace in the movie, who will probably be some annoying little brat as usual, or surely it will be a failure of a story. And then of course in every modern action movie, it can't be a show run by the man. There must still be tough girl who kicks and punches just as hard as the guy who weighs 100lbs of muscle more than her.
Now of course I am going to see the movie in theaters, simply because I am praying for a good sequel. But I honestly think it is going to be a failure, much like AvP.
Forgive my harsh ranting.
*steps off pedestal"
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I think condensing some information will really help with some of the new builders. So I'll start by giving a "quick" rundown on how to pick out the parts to build a gaming pc. Mind you, this guide is mostly for beginners, and some things are generalized or completely skipped over. I will follow this up at a later time with an Overclocking guide.
The first thing to building your own pc is to have the right tools ready.
1. Screwdrivers, phillips and flathead. Preferably with magnetic heads. One long, one stubby, and one pencil screwdriver of each would be advised.
2. Flashlight.
3. Tweezers/Needle nose pliers
4. Anti-static mat/Anti-static wrist strap - I'm a hypocrit, since I have never used one, but it is still advised whenever touching any PC equipment to avoid shorting out parts with static electricity. If you refuse to get one like myself, I would suggest working on a tile surface, washing your hands before working on the system, touching a piece of bare metal on the case, and not moving around a whole lot while working on the PC. For my work surface, I simply turn a motherboard bag inside out and lay it on my desk. The inside is the only part of the bag that is actually anti-static.
5. Ambition and a little bit of a mechanical mind:thumbsup:
These are the individual parts that you will need in order to actually run your PC. I will be discussing each in detail.
1. PC Case
2. CD/DVD Drive(I don't think anyone is using Floppy drives anymore)
3. Hard Drive (HDD)
4. Motherboard (MB)
5. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
6. CPU Heatsink/Fan/water cooling solution and additional case fans/WC solutions
7. RAM modules
8. Power Supply
9. Video Card
10. Monitor
11. Keyboard & Mouse
12. Speakers
1. PC Case
This is the part of the computer that houses all of your pc components. Things you'll want to look for:
A. Case Size - This depends on the space in which you will be keeping your case, and what size of components you will be using. Such as your video card, your CPU heatsink/fan, MB, your PSU, and how many HDD's and disc drives you are planning to run. Make sure your case supports the size of MB your are looking to run (ATX, MicroATX, ITX, etc)
B. Case Cooling - This is important because there are a slew of cases out there that have inadequate cooling. Lots of small fans (80mm or less) in a case isn't really that efficient. The smaller the fan the faster it needs to spin in order to push the same volume of air as a larger fan. You should look for a case with the smallest size fans being 120mm. Although I prefer 140 mm fans and larger for a quieter case. More recently there have become a lot of cases offering fan slots of up to 250mm.
C. Front Panel I/O ports - Every case comes standard with 2 USB ports and a headphone and mic jack. Some PC cases have additional ports which could be necessary to you if you need an eSATA port or Firewire. But with USB 3.0 out now, most people will ignore eSATA and Firewire.
D. Miscellaneous Features - This includes things like case color, case design, cable management features, water cooling capability, upgradeable design (aka future proof), no tool drive bays, removeable motherboard tray, outwards facing hard drive enclosure, etc. These features shouldn't be worried about when you are first choosing the above features of the case. These should be considered bonuses to the case, so they should mainly be used as a tiebreaker when you can't choose between 2 or 3 cases.
2. CD/DVD Drive
Choosing one of these is pretty standard. The options for these are few. CD, DVD, DVD writer, BlueRay, BlueRay writer, DVD/BlueRay, and finally Lightscribe. Most people will need at the very least a DVD drive. You might want a BlueRay/DVD combo, or even a BlueRay burner. But mainly this choice is dependent upon what media you have or plan on using.
3. Hard Drive (HDD)
The HDD is where you will be storing all of your files and documents. Size is the biggest factor, with speed being the second factor in buying one of these. Companies are now making HDD's up to 2 TB in size, which is more than any average person will ever need. Speeds of HDD's currently range from 3,200rpm, to 15,000rpm. The faster the rpm, the faster the transfer rate of files, and also faster loading times/boot times.
Now there is also another kind of HDD, which is the Solid State Drive (SSD). These actually don't have a spool or RPM. They are closer in design to your RAM modules, in the way that they store information. Since these SSD's don't require the read head to move to different places, there is virtually no delay when opening several high demand programs. Also, the boot times are significantly dropped. The drawback to these is that they are still a fairly new technology, so the prices are much higher, and the storage capacity is much lower.
4. Motherboard (MB)
This is the part of the computer that everything runs off of. Power flows into this board, and is distributed to everything else from here. MB's have several options.
These are the main ones to look at:
A. Size - ATX, Micro ATX, ITX, etc. ATX and MicroATX are the standard sizes right now, and most people will be looking for the ATX size, simply because they usually have better features and are more cost efficient. Make sure your case supports the type of board you plan on using.
B. Chip support - There will come a point when you need to decide whether you want an AMD platform or an Intel platform. Both Intel and AMD have their strong points, and both will get the job done equally well. This is dependent upon which CPU you plan to use.
C. PCI Express - These are what you use to plug in your Video Card. Basically every modern MB has at least 1 PCIe x16 slot. x16 stands for the actual slot, but what gets confusing is that not all slots run at that x16 width. Most MB's only have the 1st PCIe slot wired for x16, and any subsequent slots are wired at either x8 or x4. The difference in these is amount of the bandwidth that the information travels on. Now the only reason you would really need to worry about the additional slots being x8 or x4 wired, is if you are running multiple cards in SLI or Crossfire. But even then, the difference is negligible. The reason is that the only cards that fully max out the x8 bandwith consistantly are the super high end cards such as the ATI 57xx series and the Nvidia 285 and 295. But the 295 barely maxes out the x16 bandwidth at full load. l your different add on cards, such as a video card, a sound card, fan controllers, internet connectors, etc. Video cards are only made with the PCI Express connector now, so how many PCIe slots are on your board will determine if you only want to run a single card, dual SLI/Crossfire, Triple SLI/Xfire, or even Quad SLI/Xfire for ultra gaming capabilities.
D. Features & PCI slots - SATA ports, IDE ports, RAM slots, 3pin fan connectors, I/O back panel, all of these will influence your decision. SATA ports and IDE ports are the slots used to connect your hard drives and CD drives to the MB. SATA 2.0 is standard currently, but SATA 3.0 is just starting to be added to boards, and it is significantly faster data transportation. Getting a board with 2+ of these will be necessary in the near future, but at the moment will cause the price of the board to be slightly higher than a similarly equipped board. Same goes for the new USB 3.0 ports.
IDE is what was once used in place of SATA. It is pretty obsolete now, and should only be looked for if you have an old HDD with that connection.
RAM slots come in DDR2 and DDR3 currently. DDR5 is not far off, since it is currently used in Video Cards. DDR2 and DDR3 are not interchangeable, so it would be wise to figure out which one you need and stick with it. DDR2 is on its way out the door, so most of you will be looking at DDR3, which generally have higher speeds and greater capacity. 4 ram slots is standard on a board, but some high end boards have 6 or even 8 slots. 3 pin fan connectors are a nice addition and most board companies are adding at least 3, which leaves some room open on your Power Supply connectors.
Finally the back panel has all of your ports that you connect your onboard sound, USB, eSATA, SATA, Keyboard & Mouse, ethernet cable, etc. Which of these is on your board is entirely up to what your devices use.
5. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
This is the part of the PC which does all the operations. Again you must choose between AMD or Intel, and match that with your Motherboard slot. AM2+ and AM3 are the newest slot for AMD, and the 1366 socket (with the i7) is the newest for Intel. It would be wise to look into purchasing within those sockets, as the older AM2, 939, 775, and 1156 are all the older sockets which will soon be outdated, especially with the new 6+ core CPU's on their way to market as this is written. Once your brand and socket type are decide upon, core quantity and core speed are the two main factors to look at.
A. Cores - CPU's are available in single, dual, and quad cores currently. Dual cores are the standard right now, with Quad core CPU's starting to replace them. As stated earlier, Hexa core will be available by late 2010 to early 2011. And in the year 2012, 12 and 16 core processors will be available.
B. Speed - Faster is better. You can find CPU's sold with speeds up to 3.4Ghz. Although it should be noted that with overclocking, speeds of up 4.0+Ghz can be achieved, given the right skill and components.
Note: I will be covering how to overclock CPU's in a future article.
6. CPU Heat sink/Fan/water cooling solution
If you are reading this, most likely you are not a PC building veteran. So in that case, put water cooling out of mind right now. Sure water cooling has an awesome potential for working great, and cooling your system to new low temps so that you can overclock the system to new highs. But it also has just as much potential for having a difficult install, and more importantly, causing catastrophic failure of every single expensive part in your PC. If your water cooling solution develops even the slightest leak, you can kiss all your money goodbye. So I highly recommend waiting until you have completely finished your first PC build, then when you start an entirely new build, you can consider starting with CPU water cooling and working into full water cooling from there.
CPU heat sinks should be entirely avoided. Make sure you are purchasing a CPU heat sink andfan combo. Be wary of the "Rifle" style coolers because they are usually MASSIVE, and if you don't have a case greater than 9", you most likely won't be able to utilize a side fan on the case, or you might have other clearance issues. You will also need to check to make sure it clears any RAM you plan to use, and also the North-bridge cooler on your Motherboard (the largest heat sink built into the motherboard).
Things to look for when choosing a heat sink/fan combo:
A. Fan size - Plan on getting a heat sink with a minimum of a 92mm fan. Any smaller, and it will do nearly an identical job of cooling as the stock CPU cooler, and ends up being a waste of money. Also, if you go larger, you will be able to overclock your cpu more, while being able to bleed off more heat.
B. Heatsink Material - Gold, Silver, and Copper are some of the best conductors, but since this is a pc and not a Rolls Royce, you will only see Copper, Nickel, and Aluminum. Copper is ideal, with Nickel being virtually tied with Aluminum, and it depends on construction for their conductivity.
C. Heat Pipes - These are hollow metal rods that work their way through the heatsink fins in order to bleed off the heat into a greater surface area, fascilitating cooling. They are usually made of copper, but can be coated in nickel, made from nickel, or made from aluminum. Copper is ideal.
Additional Notes: Ideally, get a CPU Direct Contact cooler. This is where the heat pipes directly touch the top of the CPU when mounted. This maximizes the ability for heat to transfer into the heat pipes, and away from the CPU.
Also, look into getting a brand of high quality thermal paste. I use Tuniq TX-2 paste, which works incredibly for my application. But Arctic Silver is outstanding followed closely by Antec, Cooler Master, and Zalman pastes.
7. RAM Modules
Random Access Memory is what RAM stands for. These are used to temporarily store massive amounts of data, and can be accessed in any order. When looking at RAM, you will need to look at a few things:
RAM Type - DDR, DDR2, DDR3, and in the near future, DDR4 (2011-2012). Each of these has a different key slot on the RAM, so they are not interchangeable. (DDR4 hasn't been revealed yet, so compatability is questionable) Make sure your MB supports the correct RAM before purchasing.
Speed - 1066Mhz, 1200Mhz, 1333Mhz, 1600Mhz, etc. These are the rated speed that the RAM can operate at, but it is not limited to these particular speeds. All RAM can be slowed down to a certain extent, and most RAM can be overclocked to faster speeds. But you will need to match this speed up with your motherboard.
Example: The MSI 770-G45 MB is compatible with DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600(OC). This means that have to use a RAM with a minimum speed of 800, but anything greater will work. The MB will automatically detect the standard settings. In the case of Corsair DHX XMS3 1600, the MB detected it as a 1066 RAM at timings of 9-9-9-28-37. I had to adjust the RAM multiplier in the BIOS, RAM voltage settings, and also the timings to reach an optimal speed of 1333 with timings of 7-7-7-22-29. I will cover how I reached these settings in a future Overclocking Article.
8. Power Supply Unit (PSU)
This could be the most import part of your PC. The PSU is what delivers the power directly to your components. It is imperitive that you purchase a quality brand, high performance PSU. Many of the high quality brands will offer low end PSU's, so be wary.
Things to look for:
A. Wattage - This will NOT be the standard advertised maximum wattage. 500w, 600w, 700w, 1200w, etc. What you are looking for is the actual continuous maximum wattage which will almost always be lower, and an odd number (Example: 750w rated PSU, cont rated 744) Once again, the higher is better (aside from Amperage). Ideally you should look for a PSU with a maximum continuous wattage of double what you are planning to draw from the PSU. This will increase the life of the PSU, the stability and quality of power delivered, and the PSU will be significantly quieter.
B. Amperage - On the 12v rail to be specific. The best power supplies still use a single 12v rail. This is so that all the amperage is combined, and you don't have to worry about how much power is going to each component. Use the equation Wattage = Voltage x Amperage to determine if the power supply will work for your application. If the PSU does have multiple 12v rails, add those up. So these are approximations to what you will need for a PSU in a given system:
Mild -Average Performance system - 35A (400-500W) SIngle Nvidia 8800/9800 or ATI 4870 will do fine with this.
Average -High Performance system - 40A (600-650W) Nvidia 275, ATI 5870. Or low end SLI/Xfire.
High - Ultra High Performance system - 60A (850W+) High end 5890 Xfire/295 SLI
Note: These can vary a bit depending on how many HDD's, optical drives, CPU, and if you have components overclocked.
C. Modular vs Non-Modular - Cables disconnectable (modular) vs cables permanently attached (non-modular). Modular used to be less stable than non-modular, but advances in technology have brought modular up to par. This choice is mostly preference. Modular does offer the advantages of removing cables that you don't need, making the PC case cleaner, and less cluttered. The side effect of this is that removing excess cables allows air to flow better in the case, effectively cooling components more efficiently.
D. Connectors - Basically every main brand PSU (Antec, XFX, Silverstone, Rosewill, Thermaltake, Corsair, Apevia, Coolermaster, etc) above 450w has every cable you will ever need.
Cables to double check:
1. 24 pin power cable
2. 4+4 pin power cable
3. 6+2 pin cables for Video cards
4. 4 pin power periferals
5. SATA power connectors
E. 80 Plus Ratings - I would highly recommend a PSU with a minimum of an 80+ rating. This rating system is just a measurement of how efficient and stable the power is coming from the PSU to the MB. 80+ is will run at approximately 80% efficiency. Meaning that only 20% of the energy moving through the PSU is being disappated through heat. The levels of the ratings are 80+, 80+ Bronze, 80+ Silver, 80+ Gold, with each step up being approximately 5% more efficient.
9. Video Card
This is probably what most people are concerned about when playing video games, and rightfully so. The first thing you should choose between is if you want an ATI card or an Nvidia card. Both have their pluses and minuses, and they are always in a power struggle for who has the best, fastest, most powerful video card. As a generalization, Nvidia cards will be more expensive than an equal performance ATI card. At the time of this writing, Nvidia will be nearing their release of the new 300 series cards. This release will drop the prices significantly of all the current Mid-high to super-high end cards.
Things to look for when purchasing:
A. Connectors - Make sure that you have the correct power connection from your PSU. This is essential, as it won't turn on if you don't have the correct power. This could be a 6 pin connector, a 6+2 pin connector, or even a 6+2 pin with an additional 6 pin connector.
B. Size - This is very important as well, because if you can't fit the card in your case, you can't use it. Check clearances inside your case and match it with the length of the card. Also check how far your HDD's will stick out, and which direction the power supply cable will extend from the video card.
C. Performance - This pretty much comes down to what you can afford. The faster (Mhz), and higher the number (ATI 5890, Nvidia 295), the better.
D. Cooling - Most name brand video cards (XFX, HIS, ASUS, EVGA, Sapphire, MSI) come with quality cooling, but some off brands (Powercolor, Biostar, Sparkle, Zotac, BFG Tech) will come with cheap cooling that will inevitably fail.
10. Monitor
Pretty simple, the thing you look at.
Things to look for:
A. Connections - Does your video card have the HDMI, DVI, and/or VGA inputs? You'll need to match these up with your video card in order to, well, to see what's on the screen, obviously.
B. Screen Resolution - How big do you really want to go? How much detail do you want or need?
C. Type of screen - Do you want to go with the old Cathode Ray Tube monitor? Probably not. You will most likely be looking for either an LCD or an LED screen. The differences are minute, although LED is supposed to be more accurate, brighter color. Although LED screens are brand new technology, so they are quite a bit more expensive still.
11. Keyboard & Mouse
There are a lot of impressive gaming keyboards and mice out there. This is something nobody can really tell you what to pick. It all depends on what feels good to you, and how many buttons you need, and how many macros you want to set.
12. Speakers
What sounds good to you? It is kind of difficult to pick out a good sound system these days with so many cheap systems being produced. Generally the cheap ones are cheap for a reason.
Speakers will come in a whole slew of combinations from 2.0 to 4.1, to 6.0 to the ultimate in surround sound, the 8.1. For most gamers, a solid 2.1 setup will be sufficient. The first number stands for how many speakers are in the system, and the .1 is for the sub woofer.
Conclusion
There you go! A quick (or not so quick) rundown of everything you need to get started with building a gaming PC. Make sure you buy some compressed air to clean all the dust off your awesome new system!!! Good luck!!:thumbsup:
Feel free to post any questions, comments, concerns, or builds in this thread. That is what this is for.
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"Advance scouts have been sent to Sanctuary already, and should you encounter one, it would be wise to accept them into your group as one of your own, you will not find hospitality among the humans."
As Zhar just said, read the orange text carefully.:rolleyes:
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The one place where he wouldn't be searched for. This was his domain.
Something small skitters. A flash of red splits the darkness. Fangs. Talons. Tail. The tiny creature runs as fast as it can. It skids suddenly to a halt, black sand scrapes, pebbles bounce. The small red scaled head flicks from side to side, beady yellow eyes darting back and forth. Heavy panicked breaths exhale from a hole in its face, edged with needle like bones jutting from the flesh.
Smoke, darker than the surrounding landscape, begins to trickle from a crack in the slate-like earth. It works its way upwards glancing off the underbelly of the red demon. His eyes flare wide. Panic sets in. He runs. But he never had a chance to escape evil of this magnitude. The trickle of sooty smoke follows every footstep of the little red demon, until it suddenly vanishes.
A massive billowing cloud of smoke explodes from the obsidian ground just in front of the red demon. Pointed black stone flies in all directions. The red demon slides to a stop. Knees shaking.
Through the shadow and smoke two faint yellow specs of light begin to emerge. Eyes. Then two thick, black, scaled wings rip through the smoke as the beast of darkness lunges forth. A clawed onyx colored hand grabs the throat of the little red creature, the demonic fingers wrapping all the way around the neck.
The shadow demon's jaws part to reveal a burning furnace of horror and trepidation. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Boomed the monstrous creature. "WHO SENT YOU?!" Jets of fire flicking from his eyes and mouth inches from the face of the red imp.
For the red devilkin, the face of the shadow demon was much more terrifying. The shadow demon's eyes bore straight into the soul of the imp and saw his worst fears and brought them to the front of the devilkin's mind. Glimpses of unimaginable deaths at the hands of this black archfiend formed in every minute plume of smoke that stretched from his body. Flames erupted from the back of the black monstrosity. If the red imp could cry, he would have.
"I...I...I was just lost I...I...swear!" The terrified imp stammered.
The shadow demon's voice crackled with power as he spoke again. "I AM THE PRINCE OF DREAD!! KNOW THAT AND FLEE FROM THIS PLACE FOR ALL OF ETERNITY!!" He roared, as he flung the red imp flying through the air.
The devilkin smacked on the hard obsidian ground. Bones cracked, and he grimaced. But much worse would happen to him if he stayed. The little imp limped off as quickly as his feeble body could take him.
The Prince of Dread, Zethrael let his flames die down and his smoke dissipate. The Prince relaxed for a split second when he felt a tug at the edge of his mind.
"NO!" The Prince's flames exploded forth from his body, burning a fierce blue. His wings snapped outwards. Zethrael desperately dug his claws into the shale and slate, but it was a futile attempt to prevent the inevitable.
The world shifted to nothingness and Zethrael clawed at emptiness for a moment, and realized that this summoning was different than his last. A different Demon Lord was calling on him. With this knowledge, the Prince stood a little taller, pulled his wings in a bit, and let his fire extinguish itself.
His world shifted again, and Zethrael found solid footing in a magnificent hall. Before him were several demons standing on elaborately runed circles much like the one he currently stood on. He knew none of the demons here save one. The demon Lord Namphiel perched on his obsidian throne. This was a demon Lord, but he was no Lord of Terror. Nothing Namphiel could do would instill the fear like Zethrael had experienced at the hands of Lord Diablo. Or so he thought.
"Why have I been summoned?" Zethrael asked boldly.
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Personally I would skip over the first pc. I have no use for a blue ray player, and the video card can be upgraded just as easily as RAM. Also you would most likely be able to overclock the processor (although that wouldn't be necessary).
If you don't want to install a new video card, I'd take a look at this computer for $639.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229172
It has a better video card, plenty of RAM, a slightly faster processor, and most importantly, room to upgrade. Not to mention I'm sure that pc looks a helluva lot better than anything you're gonna buy at a store. One drawback is that it has a 500GB hard drive compared to the 1TB that your examples have, but you didn't say how much space you needed.
Or if you have a couple more bucks to spare and want something a little more wild exterior, with a significantly better graphics card, 4GB of RAM (plenty still), and a slightly better processor, check out this one for $699.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227218
Okay, I just checked, and the Costco online pc's are basically all fluff. Big RAM and hard drives, but crappy outdated video cards. The pc's in the store might have better cards, but unlikely.
If you've got any questions, feel free to ask. I've built 2 pc's now, one is my current rig, and I've overclocked it quite a bit.
Also, to answer Hans' question, the 4650 is not available as an integrated card. Not that it really matters that much. Every single motherboard that can support AM3 processors are guaranteed to have at least one slot for a video card. Scyber also posted the dimensions, and neither of them are a slimline.
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The video was directed by one of my friends Candace Lewis, and the director of photography is one of my roommates Boa Simon. I have an appearance in the video as the Cowboy. Don't worry, you can't miss me.
Just thought I'd let you all know. Enjoy.
http://www.vimeo.com/7938061
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