Archive for March, 2008

Review: Apple Wireless Keyboard

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

I don’t often change what keyboard and mouse I use. I’ve had the same Logitech keyboard and mouse from 2003 . Late last year I decided to switch over to a Logitech MX Revolution but I held off on a keyboard as nothing appealed to me. When Apple launched their wired and wireless keyboards last year, I liked the look of them but wasn’t certain I’d like their short keystroke. Months later and I finally sprang for an Apple Wireless Keyboard and what a difference. So how does the Apple Wireless Keyboard actually stack up? Is it all design or actually functional?

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How PC Gaming Should Procede

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

After writing my last article on gaming which discussed what is killing the PC gaming industry, I had a moment of clarity. What if, wait for it, computers and consoles became one? In this beautiful mating of simplicity and complexity, perhaps a compromise could be reached in which consumers of all levels of technology literacy could have their cake and eat it too.

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Review: Gigabyte EX38-DQ6

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008

I’ve got a treat for you guys today. This review will be one of my most complete reviews ever. On the table I’ve got Gigabyte’s flagship motherboard, the EX38-DQ6. Gigabyte is one of the major motherboard vendors and for Intel’s Core 2 processors they have a motherboard covering every price-point from $50 to $300. The EX38-DQ6 boasts many of the features one would expect to see on a top-tier board but lets see if it justifies it’s lofty price.

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Thank You Gigabyte!

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

A month back or so I was one of the winners in Gigabyte’s Overclocking Competition. For the last month or so I’ve been communicating with Gigabyte’s Public Relations and just last week I received the first portion of my prize for efforts. A rather large box arrived and shaking it like a Christmas present hinted at a few articles bouncing around inside. This box had the check for $2,000, a very nice Omega pen with Gigabyte on it, a CD case, and a spiffy light jacket with Gigabyte on it. Unfortunately my X48-DQ6 was delayed till April but on the flip side I have a few more surprises up my sleeve and the X48-DQ6 was bumped up to an X48T-DQ6. Looks like I’ll be DDR3 shopping sooner than expected, no problem though with so much on the market now. I had a great time with this competition and I hope this is the beginning of a great relationship. That sounded oh so cheesy, but I do. Below is the prize box along with my first surprise. Thanks Gigabyte!

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Review: Sapphire HD3850 512MB CrossFire

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

When one card won’t do, logic says two should do the trick. This is the logic that applies to AMD’s CrossFire and CrossFireX platforms. Typical computers have a single graphical processor that handles all graphical computation, multi-GPU setups though split the workload between the GPUs in hopes of wrangling some additional performance from the system. Today I have two Sapphire HD3850 video cards and a Gigabyte X38-DS4 to perform my first foray into multi-GPU setups.

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How To: Voltage Mod Your Sapphire HD3850

Monday, March 3rd, 2008

There comes a time when your need for speed will outstrip your computers ability to supply it and drastic measures are called for. With graphics cards you are often limited in both cooling and voltages with the stock implements given to you by the manufacturer so you must take matters into your own hands. Here I will be detailing the process of modifying and utilizing the voltages possible with the HD3850 and HD3870 video cards. These cards feature the RV670 core, a derivative of the R600 core, and with this heritage comes an excessive thirst for voltages and clocks.

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What Is Really Killing The PC Industry, An Opinionated Statement

Sunday, March 2nd, 2008

The PC industry is dying, this is certain. While many numerous important and well-paid individuals are quoting all sorts of studies and making very eloquent statements blaming piracy and a waning public interest, all their statements fail to point out one of the true reasons for this dying platform. Simply put, current PC games suck. To put this in more professional terms, the quality of video games and their subsequent maintenance has resulted in countless games being utter disappointments to the gaming community, resulting in a myriad of negative actions.

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