Tech News
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Carmack on the NV30
Published: Thursday, January 30, 2003 | By: DennisJohn Carmack has posted his little writeup on the NV30 in his latest .plan update file.
"At the moment, the NV30 is slightly faster on most scenes in Doom than the R300, but I can still find some scenes where the R300 pulls a little bit ahead. The issue is complicated because of the different ways the cards can
choose to run the game. "
--snip--
"The current NV30 cards do have some other disadvantages: They take up two slots, and when the cooling fan fires up they are VERY LOUD. I'm not usually one to care about fan noise, but the NV30 does annoy me. "
--snip--
"For developers doing forward looking work, there is a different tradeoff -- the NV30 runs fragment programs much slower, but it has a huge maximum instruction count. I have bumped into program limits on the R300 already.
As always, better cards are coming soon. " -
Logitech Z-640 Speaker Set Review @ 3dXtreme
Published: Thursday, January 30, 2003 | By: DennisNow I have gotten this press release 3 times during the past week so I'm hoping if I actually post it the emails will stop.
Anyhow normally I wouldn't post a review on speakers since the best speaker system for you is chosen by you and you alone. Granted reviews might help you learn more about them but really all you need to know is already posted on the speaker mfg’s. website. Now you could head down to your local computer store and take a listen to what they have and compare prices but keep in mind they won't sound the same when you get home, so what is the best way to shop for speakers??
Look at power output, frequency response, speaker configurations, subwoofer box type, and available sound inputs.
Here is what to look for:
-Higher power = better sound due to reduced distortion.
-Wider frequency response = better sound range and quality.
-Configuration = 5.1 is pretty standard but look at how you want to use your sound system. (i.e. do you even have a place behind you to put the surround speakers?)
-Subwoofer box type = if you can see the woofer you'll have a wide range of sub base frequencies but it won't hit as hard as a bandpass design (you’ll just see a port) These designs have a narrower frequency range but have awesome power. (I won’t go into speaker box theory at this time)
-Available inputs = if you have digital outs on your sound card make sure the speakers have inputs for them otherwise you will be stuck with analog.
Make sense??
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Corsair XMS3500 Review @ ExtremeMhz
Published: Thursday, January 30, 2003 | By: Dennis"The XMS3500 has allowed us to take our system to new levels. Is the upgrade from XMS3200 to XMS3500 worth it in terms of the performance gain Vs the upgrade cost? Probably not, but if one is upgrading from a lesser quality memory, then the answer is a resounding yes."
I would have to agree.
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Dual Channel DDR - Corsair vs. OCZ
Published: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 | By: Dennis" OCZ certainly has a somewhat tarnished name in the industry, as rumors of shady corporate moves and remarked memory have become quite rampant around the web. We have seen first hand in the GamePC Labs some of OCZ's past remarked memory modules (PC-800 RDRAM being remarked as PC-1066), so obviously we're very skeptical of any product from this company. Normally we wouldn't even give any mention of companies like this, although OCZ has a new friend in the form of AMD."
My vote is with Corsair. -
Nvidia GeForce FX vs. ATI R350
Published: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 | By: DennisGoing off of the poor showing of the GeForceFX I'm going to guess that ATI will prolly win this round, again.
"Responding to the rising threat from Nvidia, ATI is planning to introduce its R350 chips as well as the more simplified RV350 shortly to brace itself. To ensure a better yield rate and cheaper sales price, ATI said that the R350 chips will be manufactured on the more mature 0.15-micron process and use lower-cost, 10-layer PCBs for the supporting graphics cards."
Keywords in this quote are, More Mature and Lower-Cost. -
AMD Heatspreaders
Published: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 | By: Dennis"AMD cpu with metal cover spreader" I wouldn't expect that AMD would be putting these on current XP processors though imagine how easy it would be to install heatsinks and transport completed systems without the fear of cracking CPU cores.
. On a side note the K8 "Hammer" is expected to have these. -
Quadro FX Preview @ Bjorn3D
Published: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 | By: DennisI would have expected this card to look like the GeForceFX but instead it actually looks normal even without ramsinks.
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Asus P4G8X Deluxe (Granite Bay) Review @ Digital-Daily
Published: Monday, January 27, 2003 | By: DennisAsus has been making it pretty big with the enthusist market lately and with their overclockging controls you can see why. A pretty good review but the part that busted me up was this.
"Cons:
* RAID controller missing. "
LOL! Maybe its under your bed.
Though last time I looked RAID controllers are optional equipment, so maybe they just didn't put one on there. -
Realtek and Asustek, Who Will Use What?
Published: Monday, January 27, 2003 | By: Dennis"Realtek Semiconductor denied an investment bank report that motherboard maker Asustek Computer has stopped using its LOM (LAN on motherboard) and audio chip solutions, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchanged (TSE) today."
Is it just me or does just about every motherboard come with Realtek chips. Asustek must have been one of their rather large cash cows. -
Girlfriends Used as Bike-Race Prizes
Published: Monday, January 27, 2003 | By: DennisThis is a little unsettling.
" No longer content with money or the loser's motorbike as the prize, the winner now gets to take home his rival's girlfriend for a night as well."
-- snip --
" The girls, mostly teenagers, would be taken to nearby motels after the races where they were expected to stay the night."
Make sure to check out the fact box along the side to see how serious this trend could become.
