??

Anyone have it? I do, it's good.

My friend has it and I have played it. Yea its very amazing. Very groundbreaking. But unfortunately my computer doesnt support a game thats so advanced as Half Life 2

I played it at my friends house a bunch. The physics are incredible and the facial animation is something else. I am going to get it on x boz though.

Do you need a DVD-ROM drive to install the game? Because I was looking at the $79 collectors edition at Gamestop last week, and you need a DVD-ROM drive, but I thought maybe that was just for the special edition.

Does anyone know?

Also, Blake might know - is there a list of supported/unsupported graphics cards for this game? My PC is pretty good as far as RAM and CPU goes, but my card might be borderline...just wondering.

I'm ashamed of you...a console FPS over the PC version?

My computer would be a nsail with that game though. Other than that I am all for the pc version. As for the cards, I have no idea. I am gonna try downloading it first from http://www.suprnova.org to see if it will run alright.

Blake - what is Suprnova, a warez site?

I think it's a pretty sweet site. All you have to do is download bittorrent and then you can download movies, tv shows, games, and cds for free. It takes a while though.

Oh, okay, yes, I've heard quite a bit about Bitorrent recently...

is it as good as Emule though?

I don't think Emule supports as many different types of files as BT, but BT takes forever to download.

Hmm, well I don't have broadband, but my friend does. I'll have to try it at his house - after all, I just installed a new 256 MB ATI Radeon 9550 graphics card, it should kick some serious ass for Half-Life 2.

I dont know wether you already have found out about this, but, yes.
You do need a DVD-drive to play Half-Life 2.
The reason being that the game is to large for a CD. (4.5 GB)

You don't need such a great graphic card to play HL2. If you have a computer that is no more than two-three years old, it should work quite well on low quality.

Just have to say that this is the single greatest FPS EVER!
It is just so incredible, it can't be described.
Just one map with the Gravity Gun would be sufficient to make a grown man cry of joy...
Anyway, hope this answers your question:)

Don Aprile

Hmm...I just read on Amazon there is an edition that uses 5 cd's...whoopee. But I'm getting a dual-layer DVD+/-RW anyways, so oh well.

I just bought the 5 cd one but it won't run on my computer.

BP - graphics card issues? I'm not going to buy it until I upgrade to a DX 9 card, probably either the ATI Radeon 256MB 9550 or the 128MB 9800.

Those don't sound cheap. What do you think is the cheapest card i could get to run it?

I have a CD-Drive, not a DVD-Drive, and Half-Life 2 runs just fine.

I think a card that supports DirectX 7 is the lowest level graphics adapter that will play it. You can Google search for a list of cards that work. I know my Nvidia GeForce MX will barely run it (it's a DX7 card).

However, to make the upgrade worthwhile, you're going to need to spend in the neighborhood of $75 or more. I'm planning on getting either the ATI Radeon 9550 256MB AGP ($99) or the Radeon 9600 256MB ($130).

DJ- how do you upgrade a video card? is it something you can do yourself or do you need to take it somewhere?

All you really need to do is a little research, go to your local electronics store (Circuit City, Best Buy, etc.) and pick out a good card.

It's pretty simple to install one. They come either in PCI-slot-configured (a bit lower on the motherboard) or AGP-slot-configured (usually the highest port, designed specifically for a graphics card). It might take about 15 minutes of your time, and anybody can do it.

Double-J's How-To, Volume #1: Graphics Cards

What you will need:

• Anti-Static Wrist Band (under $5 from a PC store, you don't have to have one, but it's a good idea. Even if you do have one, make sure you open your PC on a tile/wood floor, no carpet)
• Screwdriver (most PC cases are screwed together, although some, especially Dell's, have a nice pop-and-lock design where you just have to press a button to open it. Consult your user-manual)
• New Graphics Card
• Vaccuum/Compressed Air (Yes, it gets dirty in there, and it's always a good idea to clean it out)

Step 1: Uninstall the previous drivers for your old graphics card/adapter (if you don't have one, skip to step 2). You can look up your card in the Start > Programs > Accessories > System Information. After you've confirmed that, go to Add/Remove programs, which will allow you to remove the drivers.

Step 2: Disconnect your PC's cables and such, and move it (if necessary) to a static-free surface (put on your wristband if you have one). Open that sucker up, and remove any dust/debris.

Step 3: Removing the old card. Find your old graphics card, which isn't too hard. It helps to look on the back of your PC and find where your monitor plugged in at. If you don't have a card, skip to step 4. If you do, you will have to press the little plastic notches at each end of the card. This will pop the card out of position, and allow you to pull it out. Don't be afraid to use a little elbow grease, those things are stuck in there good.

Step 4: Installing the new card. Here's the fun part! Wherever you just removed the old card from, put the new one in, and slide those plastic notches back in so they lock (if there are any). You might need a different slot if your new card is an AGP and the old one was PCI - the AGP has a bit different configuration on the bottom where it fits into the conductor, you can tell pretty easily which is which. Anyways, stick it in, and reconnect all the cables you previously removed. Also, some cards require a bypass to your PC power supply, which is no big deal (most of the high-end new cards have this). You just plug it in where the diagram shows you in the box, or on the manufacturers website.

Step 5: All is well! Turn on your PC, and pray to God that you can see picture on your monitor, everything should run properly. If the card came with a CD, install any software and drivers it may have. You will most likely have to go to the manufacturers website for the latest drivers (including the latest DirectX supported). Once you've installed the drivers, you are set to perform higher levels of gaming, image editing, and DVD playback! Hope this helps!

Enjoy!
Double-J

thanks DJ- I bought my computer a little over 2 years ago and spent 2500 of it, got all of the "Great stuff" now its slowly becoming outdated lol