Hardware

Om Nom Nom New Computer Nom

DarkAstraea — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 05:40:09 GMT

Woots, after working for almost a month now have saved up enough to build a cheap, powerful computer thanks to newegg xD Just finished putting in the order today so hopefully will have it built by the end of next week.

Cart Item List:

Qty.	Product Description	Savings	Total Price
2	Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Item #:N82E16822148433 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$139.98
1	Rosewill RX850-S-B 850W "Compatible with Core i7, i5" Power Supply Item #:N82E16817182072 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$40.00 Instant	$149.99 $109.99
1	Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming Computer Case Item #:N82E16811147153 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$5.00 Instant	$59.99 $54.99
1	G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Item #:N82E16820231314 Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy		$103.99
1	ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 ATX AMD Motherboard Item #:N82E16813131655 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$10.00 Instant	$189.99 $179.99
1	AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Item #:N82E16819103808 Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy		$149.99
1	COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm sleeve CPU Cooler Item #:N82E16835103065 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$30.00 Instant	$59.99 $29.99
1	COOLER MASTER R4-BMBS-20PK-R0 Blade Master Case Fan Item #:N82E16835103069 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$10.99
1	ASUS Radeon HD 6870 EAH6870 DC/2DI2S/1GD5 Video Card with Eyefinity Item #:N82E16814121418 Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy	$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card	$239.99
Grand Total:			$1,019.90

I also upgraded my keyboard and mouse over the holidays. Mechanical keyboard (Razer Blackwidow Ultimate) and Cyborg Rat 7

5 Reason Why Tablets Suck

DarkAstraea — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:43:55 GMT

"When the iPad was announced, a lot of people who didn't care about tablets came out to bash Apple's new device. These same people said 'I would have bought it if it had a full OS,' but in reality full OS tablets existed before the iPad rumors even started. This article gives an interesting perspective on why this happened, and argues that there's five big reasons why more powerful tablets exists but no one cares."

(Apple Phails Even Moar)

Even Bill Gates thought that tablets would be the future of PCs but he was wrong

NVidia Update Problem

DarkAstraea — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:39:59 GMT

After a group of StarCraft II beta testers reported technical difficulties following the installation of NVIDIA driver update 196.75, Blizzard tech support found that the update introduced fan control problems that were causing video cards to overheat in 3D applications. "This means every single 3D application (i.e. games) running these drivers is going to be exposed to overheating and in some extreme cases it will cause video card, motherboard and/or processor damage. If said motherboard, processor or graphic card is not under warranty, some gamers are in serious trouble playing intensive games such as Prototype, World of Warcraft, Farcry 3, Crysis and many other games with realistic graphics." NVIDIA said they were investigating the problem, took down links to the new drivers, and advised users to revert to 196.21 until the problem can be fixed.

(Moo)

Just some more insight to why video cards seem to be overheating.

New computer list...

Cash — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:57:59 GMT

What do you all think of this list of parts for my possible new computer?

Cart Item List:

Qty.	Product Description	Savings	Total Price
1	ASUS P5E3 WS PRO ATX Intel Motherboard Item #:N82E16813131282 Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy	-$30.00 Instant	$229.99 $199.99
1	Intel Core 2 Quad Q9505 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Item #:N82E16819115060 Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy		$229.99
1	OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Item #:N82E16820227478 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$7.00 Instant $10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card	$97.99 $90.99
1	Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Full Item #:N82E16832116716 Return Policy: Software Return Policy	-$10.00 Instant	$199.99 $189.99
1	ASUS GeForce GTX 260 ENGTX260 GL+/HTDI/896MD3 Video Card Item #:N82E16814121337 Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy	-$3.00 Instant $20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card	$172.99 $169.99
1	SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223B Item #:N82E16827151187 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$30.99
1	RAIDMAX AZTEC ATX-619WU Black/ Blue Foldout MB Computer Case With Side Panel Window Item #:N82E16811156191 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$30.00 Instant	$99.99 $69.99
1	ASUS VW246H Black 24" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor Built in Speakers Item #:N82E16824236049 Return Policy: Monitor Replacement Only Return Policy	-$40.00 Instant	$259.99 $219.99
1	Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drives -Bare Drive Item #:N82E16822136284 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$109.99
1	COOLER MASTER UCP RS700-AAAAA3 700W Power Supply Item #:N82E16817171032 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy	-$20.00 Instant	$149.99 $129.99
Grand Total:			$1,441.90

Penny Sized Nuclear Battery

DarkAstraea — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:54:59 GMT

"Nuclear batteries that produce energy from the decay of radioisotopes are an attractive proposition for many applications because the isotopes that power them can provide a useful amount of current for hundreds of years at power densities a million times as high as standard batteries. Nuclear batteries have been used for military and aerospace applications for years, their large size has limited their general usage. But now a research team at the University of Missouri has developed a nuclear battery the size of a penny that could be used to power micro- and nano-electromechanical systems. The researchers' innovation is not only in the battery's size, but also that the batteries use a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor. 'The critical part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure of the solid semiconductor,' says Jae Wan Kwon. 'By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem.' The batteries are safe under normal operating conditions. 'People hear the word "nuclear" and think of something very dangerous,' says Kwon. 'However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pacemakers, space satellites, and underwater systems.'"

(Clix)

Quite an amazing development could help mobile devices such as iphones, psps, laptops, etc. run 100 times the current amount in the future.

Hackers Target Xbox Live

DarkAstraea — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:24:10 GMT

"Windows isn't the only piece of Microsoft technology that hackers are attacking anymore. During a presentation at the SecTor security conference in Toronto, a Facetime security researcher revealed numerous methods by which Xbox users are being hacked today. 'Though the Xbox doesn't have the number one market share, it is the top target for hackers,' Boyd said. 'Xbox Live has 17 million plus subscribers, and that service requires payment.'"

(Clickie)

The Future of Interconnectivity - Light Peak

ParaDOX — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:01:00 GMT

Light Peak is the code-name for a new high-speed optical cable technology designed to connect your electronic devices to each other. Light Peak delivers high bandwidth starting at 10Gb/s with the potential ability to scale to 100Gb/s over the next decade. At 10Gb/s, you could transfer a full-length Blu-Ray movie in less than 30 seconds. Optical technology also allows for smaller connectors and longer, thinner, and more flexible cables than currently possible. Light Peak also has the ability to run multiple protocols simultaneously over a single cable, enabling the technology to connect devices such as peripherals, workstations, displays, disk drives, docking stations, and more.

New Logitech Mouse Works on Glass!

DarkAstraea — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:55:14 GMT

"Logitech has introduced new mice that use two lasers rather than one to work on a variety of previously unusable surfaces. The first laser picks out imperfections in the surface of a tabletop while the second laser focuses on microscopic imperfections highlighted and uses those to direct the cursor. The technique, dubbed dark field microscopy, allows mice to be used on almost any surface, including glass as long as it is more than 4mm thick."

(Click Meh!)

Very nice

Can your machine handle that new game?

ParaDOX — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 03:41:32 GMT

Check out this site to test your hardware for the latest games and see if your computer is up to the task!

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com

Post your specs and let us know how your machine does...

Headsets

Rush Retrospective — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 21:25:14 GMT

Now, I currently retired my old headset due to my own carelessness and breaking them. It was said that my headset should be a "recommended headset by the ventrilo server and its usuals so I will share some information on it.

Gigaware USB Stereo Headset with Microphone

This Gigaware™ USB Stereo Headset with Microphone is ideal for voice and video chat, multi-player gaming, music listening and speech recognition. Advanced digital USB streaming audio provides superior clarity with the simplicity of a single USB plug-n-play connection. Noise-canceling microphone filters out unwanted background noise. Convenient and easy to adjust in-line volume and mute control.
Ideal for voice and video chat, multi-player gaming, music listening, speech recognition
Superior clarity with the simplicity of a single USB plug-n-play connection
Noise-canceling microphone filters out unwanted background noise

Now after giving you a brief idea with what this headset has to bring you, ill give you my user rating

Pros:
     -Inexpensive. I did not have to go spend a whole paycheck for a headset that would last me. This headset cost me $29.99 at RadioShack (The Source for all you Canadians out there)
     -USB. I loved the USB factor because my old headset before I got this one used the 3.5mm Headphones and Microphone cord. Everytime the cord got caught up on something, they would be yanked out of the PC causing my loud music to be blared out of the monitor. Ultimately, the 3.5mm cords were the reason they headset broke when the cord separated from the plugs. Now when the cord gets tangled and pulled out of the USB, no sound is transmitted out of my PC and the USB comes out without a problem
     -Very comfortable
     -Sound quality from mic is perfect
     -Headphones are clear and sound perfect
     -Skype Suggested (comes with free copy of skype and some free skype minutes)

Cons:
     -Mute button is in the worst place ever. Some times you may accidentally lean up on it and it is activated without warning
     -Blinks way too much for those of you who cant sleep in a room with a blinking light (me) (volume control on cord that is)
     -Cord is not long enough. My headset before this one was a 14 foot cord. I could walk ANYWHERE in my room with the headset on.

http://www.radioshack.com/sm-gigaware-usb-stereo-headset-with-microphone--pi-2486993.html