DiabloFans

AMD used to be the go-to processor due to it's low price and excellent overclocking capabilities. In recent years (2009+), Intel has stolen the crown for price, performance, and overclocking. There is literally no reason to buy AMD.

Your rig looks great for a budget gaming build and should do well with diablo 3

Diablo 3 is art, whereas other games are just technically pretty. Just because you use more polygons or higher resolution textures doesn't mean it is better.

I kinda wish pickup radius for gold was separate from the pickup radius of health globes.

PoE could have been an excellent game. It have some very good ideas. (skill tree, diversity, currency). But when the combat is absolutely horrible it sinks all the plusses the game may have had. The game is meh. Just meh.

On a sidenote. I do not get, why the make such a dull, meh combat system in a game, thats suppose to nail Diablo 3. The crappy slow, MEH combat system stops PoE for being awesome.

Did i mention how crappy the combat is? And really the game is all about fighting and killing stuff. And when the combat is absolute horrid, the game can vanish for all i care.

i liked what i read until this part
"With the Paragon system in place, we’re capping Magic Find and Gold Find to 300%"

Everyone and their dog is making posts about trying to get world's first 60. I'm here to tell you why its not a big deal, and suggest an alternative!

1.) No one remembers who gets the first level capped character, it will not bring you fame or E-peen. There will be many people at level 60 within days of release, and no one will give a shit about it by the end of the month.
2.) No one person will get first 60, because at least a dozen people will claim that they did it. AFAIK there's no way to prove it short of screenshots/video/other easily faked methods.
3.) Thousands of people will hit level cap within a few hours of the first person who manages it. You aren't special, you merely had the free time and perhaps a little more than your fair share of luck (IE XP shrines, finding the right path on your first try in a lot of places, etc)

Being able to invest the kind of time to reach 60 in a few days isn't an accomplishment. This is from someone who took time off work for release--I, like you, could be doing this exact thing. However, my first level 60 will probably be my slowest, since this will be my first time playing the game and I want to experience it fully. If I were to race to level 60, I would ruin the game for myself, enjoying it less in the name of a worthless goal.

Not everyone has to agree with me, but I hope some of you will be dissuaded from this stupidity and avoid ruining your first play through.

If you are looking for something more worthwhile, the first person/group to beat Inferno will probably be much more prominent, seeing as its actually a skill challenge instead of a time investment. Unlike the race to 60, Inferno is something that not everyone can do, and is a real accomplishment.

One component of that WILL be hitting level 60 quickly, but that is not THE goal, and it doesn't require that you do it first--only that you do it in a timely fashion. Skill will be the biggest component beyond that point, and the best individuals and groups will get ahead not by crunching (well, not entirely) but by being tactical and coordinating.

As an example of how this might appeal to people who ARE only interested in e-peen, its worth noting that the important and memorable "world firsts" of games like WoW were not hitting level caps, but defeating big tough raid bosses.

*Prepares for onslaught of hatred for mentioning WOW*

The point is that this leveling mentality is an artifact from the silly ladder system in Diablo 2, and the broken way the level cap operated (IE being far higher than anyone ever had any need to attain). Don't let the flaws of D2 corrupt your first experience of D3!

There's been a fix for this issue as per blue post recently.

We've recently become aware that playing Diablo III with the latest Catalyst 12.4 drivers for ATI cards may cause some visual artifacts for specific hardware configurations. This issue affects users of ATI Radeon HD 2400, 2600, 2900, 3400, 3600 and 4500 graphics cards under Windows Vista and Windows 7. ATI Radeon HD 4600, 4700, 4800, 5000, 6000 and 7000 series products are unaffected, as is Windows XP.

ATI is aware and investigating. Until a solution can be provided we recommend those affected use the Catalyst 12.3 drivers.

Update
This issue has now been resolved in the AMD Catalyst 12.4a hotfix driver. Users of the ATI Radeon HD 2400, 2600, 2900, 3400, 3600 and 4500 graphics cards are the only AMD customers who need to download this hotfix driver.

I don't understand how people keep going back to the 'it's not the same people so it's a different game' mindset. This has happened before in gaming, what matters is whether the developers can capture the same spirit of the product or not, but that's beside the point.

The question the OP raised wasn't if the developers are still the same or if the story continues, he's asking whether or not they captured the spirit of Diablo better than D2 did. To an extent, I think they may very well have. People who think D2 is so very true to the Diablo name should go play the two games again, time has clearly made your mind jaded.
I remember clearly the discussions I had on the diablo2.net site around release time where people tore the game to shreds. 'It was too light and cheerful, why skill points and not books, why no random quests, the monsters aren't evil enough, not enough level randomization.' People were fuming, but in time they grew quiet when they realized how good D2 actually is, and the same will happen once D3 is released.

Quote from Hiderius

Diablo 1 and 2 were made by Blizzard North which was initially a separate developer before being acquired by Blizzard. Matt Uelman did the music of Diablo 1, 2, not 3.
The art direction is more similar in D1 and D2 compared to D3. So D3 with its painting style and such is more different than its predecessors.

Blizzard North was initially known as Condor, but was changed when Blizzard purchased the company. You should be grateful they did, Diablo was envisioned to have been a claymation, turn based RPG, until Blizzard changed it to the great game it is today. One of the reasons Blizzard North was closed down was due to the crap D3 they were working on, it looked horrible, and I'm really glad things turned out this way. The D3 we have today is a whole lot better than what it looked like back them.

"The art direction is more similar in D1 and D2 compared to D3."
Are you serious? Diablo came out in 1996, D2 came out in 2000. That's 4 years between the two games. D3 will come out 12 after D2 was released, so I'd damn well hope the artwork was improved in the years since 2000. People should remember, gaming graphics have come a long way in the last decade, and technology has changed in new and interesting ways so obviously things won't look the same.

Quote from MalumUD

Since it took them 500 years to develop it, the older players have since gone on to other things, grown out of gaming, have other responsibilities etc.

<raises hand> I was 28 when I discovered Diablo I, and a couple years later, bought D2 when it was new, then played LOD after that.

I'm 42 now, and I'm still here, waiting patiently. From what I've seen of the beta, it's going to be very much worth it.

As the one guy said, there's a lot of stupid BS thrown around on this forum. Many of the 'concerns' I see, I call whining. If you want to play it, play it. If you don't want to play it in the form it is, don't buy it. Simple. If you think Blizzard is stupid or evil, don't buy their games. I make my own decisions about who is bad or not.

Internet connection? No problem, I've had a live connection since 1998 or so.
Money? I have a job and a life. Pocket change.
RMAH? Optional, makes no difference to me.
Free Time? I don't watch TV. I game. Easy.

So, yeah, I'm an old fan, but, these forums aren't exactly a fun place for someone at my stage in life. Too much wasted time and words on piddly bullshit that doesn't amount to anything.

I guess no particular stories come to mind, but I defiantly have a situation regarding gaming in general. I'm 23, I bought my own duplex two years ago and rent out one side / live in the other. I met my girlfriend just a couple months after I bought my place. We get along fine in a lot of areas (including the big ones like money habits, politics, religion, ect) but she defiantly hates video games. It stems from her mom playing wow nonstop and ignoring her and her sisters, and I can sympathize. But, and this may sound ridiculous at first, I told her straight up I love playing video games, even if it's just a specific few, and that I'm not going to stop. I'll make time for her, but she had to realize I will also make time for myself (mostly in video games).

She's seen me spend a lot of time at my computer (mostly hoping for D3 news) and also play the beta a LOT in the past 6 months lol. It defiantly irks her sometimes and if the positions were reversed I'd completely understand.

But, I told her just like I tell anyone else that will listen; Life's too short to do shit you don't want to do. Call me selfish, conceded, what have you, but I do things that I like to do. I love her to death and I want to be with her always, but I'm not going to compromise on anything that I like, including hobbies.

My advice (and I'm no therapist) is just to shrug it off. I'm not saying be mean, but you've done all you've been able to; Include her, apologize and so on. Don't let it ruin your night.