New Computer

Whew… today i got through my VP review coming out smelling pretty good…  Its been a hectic couple of weeks and I have been neglecting my websites including Mr Papa’s World.

This new computer is making me happy.  Its not top of the line, but I never tend to buy so.  In the olden days, I used to construct my PCs by hand.  I would buy each individual component and then assemble it together.  Today, i don’t have the time or the inclination to do such a thing.

Some years back I bought my first Dell computer.  The Dell computers have worked out very well in Mr Papa’s World.  We now have 5 computers in our house, all from Dell.  I think over the last 5 or 6 years we have bought 6 or 7 Dell computers and not a single one has given us an issue.  My old Dell was four years old and hanging in there.  I do miss a bit of the headaches in building your own though.  With four of us in this house and each wanting their own computer, we are on about a four cycle for replacing computers.  This year was my turn.  Hooah!

We will actually keep my old computer and make it a dedicated video editing PC for Suzanne.  I just bought her a KVM so she can switch between the two boxes on her desktop.  I am currently cleaning out the last four years of stuff that I have accumulated on that PC.

The worst part of getting a new computer is the data transfer and re-installation of applications.  You never realized how many apps you have installed until you get on the new computer and they just aren’t available.  Moving Gigs of data over from the old computer to the new computer is time consuming too.  I should probably invest in a network drive and then not worry about it.

The only video game that I play on the PC is America’s Army.  Tonight, I jumped into the game for the first time since the new computer arrived.  Holy Cow!  The game plays differently.  I was able to play so much better without the usual lag from my PC.  Way back when I first started playing America’s Army, I played it on a satellite connection with a ping of about 2000.  It was real interesting to watch me guess where folks were going to be.  Then, I found dialup for my AA fix.  While this decreased the lag to about 400, it was a night and day difference for me.  Then, Sonoita finally got broadband and my computer became the weakest link.

Tonight, I jacked up all the in game graphics settings and resolution.  It was almost a different game.  The more resolution and details went a long way to my improved performance.  When I shot somewhere, the bullet hit there.  I was amazed at the difference in the game.  Where as I used to hold a steady 10 – 20 fps, tonight I was holding steady at 50 – 70 fps.  The increased fps, the increased resolution and increased graphical detail made the game even more enjoyable.

Now, if I could just finish moving data and reinstalling applications, I could spend more time in AA…