Find 'em here.

Running on my Quad Core, 7950GX2 @ 1280x1024 with all details on max the game's as smooth as can be, apart from the occasional bit of lag. And yes, I just recently put together this machine. Had some issues with CRC stuff for a while because the SPD on the RAM was completely incorrect for the board, but that's fixed now and it's plain, high speed sailing. With my Logitech G15 I'm also able to monitor the load on each and every core of the CPU at all times, which is fun.

Hellgate's never gone above 80%, and at present is only using the one core (remember, "Alpha Test"). Medal of Honor Airborne uses 70% on all four cores, continuously, and apart from SupCom, I've yet to find another game in my collection that even uses two cores properly. However, they're not wasted as all the usual junk like IM and email can be run in the background, plus I can now encode our flash movies in about a minute flat, compared to 20-30 minutes on my old single core machine that also clocked at 2.4GHz.

On the Q6600 I've got some IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound that the nice folks at Innovation Cooling in the States sent me - here's a quick blurb:

IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound maximizes thermal heat transfer between the CPU core and heatsink by taking advantage of diamond's superior thermal conductivity.

Diamond's five times better thermal conductivity compared to silver makes it a superior heat transfer material for cooling high performance CPUs and is electrically non-conductive and non-capacitive.

I'm far too lazy to bother applying Arctic Silver or MX-1 or something similar, then letting it reach optimum performance after 200 hours, then benchmarking, then removing it (horrible job... done it in the past to RMA a CPU), then applying the IC stuff, letting that work in (2 hours), and then benchmarking that. You'll just have to take me at my word when I say it works rather well indeed, plus allows you to boast to friends that you have a diamond coated CPU. Alternatively, just read the AMD Zone review. Do the boasting thing whichever way you go, however.

Anyway, on top of that I've got a Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme heatsink with a Scythe S-Flex 120mm 1600RPM fan, made with technology from Sony, don't you know. Surprisingly, it's near inaudible when in the case, and should cool the G0 Q6600 all the way up to 3.4GHz, if I were insane enough to do such an extreme overclock. That little lot is held onto the ABIT IP35 Pro motherboard with springy screws and a mounting plate that pops through from the rear, and while that may sound a little barmy, it's actually a better solution than the shitty plastic prongs that come with a number of the '775' coolers. Wrapping it up, RAM's from Geil (2x2GB paired set), hard drive is a 500GB SATA Western Digital, and the PSU is a modular 620W one from Corsair.

Game performance at 1280x1024 (my monitor's native res) is exemplary, and the setup didn't cost the earth. Which twit said you needed to buy a two grand machine just to play BioShock with all the DX9 bells and whistles turned on?

How much did your latest machine set you back?

Chris Opdahl and I are in London this week overseeing an all-too brief European review session for Halo 3. On Tuesday, Chris and I oversaw the set up of the "LAN/Multiplayer lab" this lab consisted of 16 machines linked over System Link and set into 8 on 8 pods. Each pod had headphones, a retail console, HDD equipped Xbox 360 and Halo 3. In another corner of the room was a 4 player campaign co-op area set up for four players at a time to play through the game. Additionally, each member of the European press had a Sharp HDTV in their room with a 360 and 5.1 Surround Sound headphones.

Press began to arrive at 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning, as soon as they arrived, Chris and I elected to have them start through the Campaign on Heroic and then they could take their HDD up to their room to continue playing in the comfort and privacy of their own space. As the room filled up, however, folks simply couldn't be pried away from the 360 for anything other than snacks, of which there were plenty of fancy-ish Eurosnax and bottled sodas and beer. The press wouldn't leave their stations and kept playing, the room was pretty silent throughout the day (headphones do that to a room). Opdahl and I started every player on Heroic and tracked their progress, one player started on normal and was blowing through the first four missions in the game -- however, from BLAM! to conclusion things slowed down DRASTICALLY, he finished "BLAM!" at midnight when we closed the lab.

And speaking of review events, they�re going on over the next week or two. Press in various regions will be invited to various locales to play the finished game � we can�t send �em out for logistical, XBL-related and security reasons, but we can provide a safe, well-lighted place where reviewers can play through the Campaign, play through co-op, make saved films, tinker in Forge and try out Multiplayer. Luke is getting back from one of those on Tuesday and here�s his report, redacted for top secrecy.

With nearly 500,000 downloads to date, the �Gears of War� Hidden Fronts Map Pack has become the No. 1 piece of premium downloadable content on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Beginning Monday, September 3 at 2:00 a.m. PDT, the Hidden Fronts Map Pack will join the Annex gametype and Multiplayer Map Pack 1 as another piece of free downloadable content for �Gears of War.�

�Gears of War� has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide, and continues to hold the title of most popular Xbox 360 game on Xbox LIVE, as �Gears of War� recorded the most number of unique players among all Xbox 360 games in August 2007, as well as the highest cumulative number of hours played by Xbox LIVE members.

In the Hidden Fronts Map Pack, players can clash for control of four dynamic areas, including Bullet Marsh, Garden, Process, and Subway:

Bullet Marsh
In this Kryll-infested swamp, an old generator still powers the area lights. A few stray bullets could easily knock out the generator, leaving combatants to fend for themselves against the Kryll.

Garden
This overgrown and crumbling conservatory still has a working fertilization and pesticide system. This system can pose a serious hazard to anyone who ventures into the greenhouse without first venting the air.

Process
Fight for control of this subterranean Imulsion processing plant, still active despite the cessation of the Pendulum wars.

Subway
Timgad 's Central Subway station used to serve as a central hub for commuters. Now the tunnels are crawling with Locust.

The Hidden Fronts Map Pack is available worldwide.

The action of �Gears of War� continues this November with the release of �Gears of War� for Windows Vista and Windows XP. �Gears of War,� a Games for Windows title, features the amazing tactical action and multiplayer excitement found in the critically acclaimed �Gears of War� for Xbox 360, and adds a variety of all-new content, including three new multiplayer maps, a new multiplayer game type, Game Editor, five new campaign chapters and DirectX 10 support.

Thanks largely to the efforts of our loyal fans whom continue to sustain and grow the Command & Conquer community, Command & Conquer has become a legendary franchise and it�s time to celebrate its birth once again.

In order to give back to the fans for over 12 years of devotion we are putting together a 12th Anniversary celebration during the month of September. However, as any Command & Conquer fan knows, the true party starts today, August 31st, which marks 12 years since Command & Conquer Gold launched way back in 1995.

To kick the celebration off, today we have a special surprise which we are certain new and old Command & Conquer fans will enjoy. We are providing the original Command & Conquer Gold as a free download, compatible for Windows XP! This is the same version included with the collectors pack Command & Conquer: The First Decade, and is now available for you to download for free!

We are providing the ISO image of C&C; GOLD for both the GDI and Nod discs. In order for C&C; GOLD to run on Windows XP, you will need to burn the ISO image onto a CD with a CD Burner and any "CD Burning Software" such as Nero, Alcohol, etc. There are also a few extra steps in order to make C&C; GOLD run on Windows XP after you burn it to CD. Please click the link below for the exact instructions after you download both files!

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD C&C; GOLD GDI ISO
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD C&C; GOLD Nod ISO
• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD C&C; GOLD INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS

A larger version is available also.