NVIDIA and Intel are my personal best PC companies of the year!

In looking over the tremendous contributions of all the major PC companies this year I have to say with all honestly that Intel and NVIDIA are my personal best favorites in the PC business in 2007. Intel continues their domination of AMD with dual and quad core CPUs that are of top notch quality. Although I certainly stress that I believe their quad core extreme CPUs are overpriced the pros of their outstanding work certainly outweighs the minor cons. NVIDIA continues to show that their 8XXX series of video cards are the best in the business although even their top line video cards can't seem to handle the game Crysis as well as everyone hoped.

Did NVIDIA read my posts?

Apparently NVIDIA is in negotiations with TSMC, according to a rumor. Hopefully if the rumor is true NVIDIA can resolve the 8800GT shortage. I wonder if NVIDIA read my blog?

Did NVIDIA shoot themselves in the foot (Part Two)?

NVIDIA through their partners have launched the 8800GT 256meg video card. Despite this action it is nearly impossible to find 8800GT 512meg models of this video card since the time of my last posting about this issue. Will NVIDIA be able to crank out enough of the 8800GT 512meg cards in time for Christmas?

There has been a long gap between release of the 680i chipset based motherboards and a chipset successor while INTEL continues to crank out new chipsets. Will NVIDIA rise to INTEL's challenge and put out a superior chipset?

Did NVIDIA shoot themselves in the foot?

I am a staunch supporter of NVIDIA, and have been for many years. With the arrival of the 8800 GT NVIDIA has presented us with an outstanding product at a price point most people can afford. It's unfortunately that some retailers decided to sell these video cards at way beyond the M.S.R.P (manufacturer's suggested retail price). However that is not what this article is about. This article will simply ask why NVIDIA has not produced enough for these video cards for the sales channels plus OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) for the Christmas season when this is the best time to sell? Some retailers in Europe are not anticipating shipments of these video cards until January. If there are great numbers of these retailers then NVIDIA will certainly see a loss in the fiscal 4th quarter for this year. (NOTE: NVIDIA will make a lot of money this fiscal 4th quarter only they could have made significantly more with ample supply of 8800 GTs) Perhaps it should behoove NVIDIA to hack some prices out of their 8800 GTX and 8800 Ultra lineup to keep sales running briskly. NVIDIA seems like they did not prepare for such an onslaught demand of the 8800 GT video cards. A video card that performs so well and is priced superbly.

Editor's Note: On rare occasions I receive video cards for testing and evaluation but no one has any in stock for me to test. I could not find an 8800 GT EVGA video card anywhere in stock.

EVGA Mods Rigs

Do you have a PC you built or put together you'd like to show off? Well take a look at the EVGA mods rigs and see if you wish to post your system specs for all to see. More information is posted here:

http://www.evga.com/community/ModsRigs/

EVGA introduces SSC 8800GT

EVGA has introduced a Super Super Clocked (SSC) 8800 GT with a clock speed of 700MHZ and 2000 MHZ memory speed. You can find information abou this new video card here:

http://www.evga.com/articles/378.asp

Crysis single player demo

There has been significant hype when it comes to release of the Crysis demo. I have been evaluating the demo over the past 24 hours. The game is absolutely superior as far as graphics is concerned. Of that there is no question. However to really enjoy the game at it's highest setting in MS Vista 64 bit my 8800 GTS 640 meg card doesn't display enough framerates for the game to be enjoyable. I have an E6700 Intel Duo Core processor so that is not the problem. That means I would need an SLI configuration (my motherboard doesn't support it) or a much greater and far more expensive video card. To play the game at 1680 x 1050 I have to choose medium graphics settings. Even at medium settings the graphics are wonderful but I should be able to run the game at the highest settings. Please note that my processor speed is slightly overclocked as well as my video card. The newest beta video card driver from NVIDIA is also installed.

Another thing that didn't work well is that the demo did not install properly. After three uninstalls and three reinstalls the game never displayed in all programs in Vista 64 bit. I had to physically search for the Electronic Arts folder on my PC. That is not a good thing.

FEAR: Perseus Mandate Game Demo

When fear was introduced about two years ago we saw top of the line graphics. The following year fear extraction point was developed with good first person combat action. Unfortunately the after sales service of extraction point was very poor. There never was any updates to allow for larger capacity viewing screens such as 1680 X 1050. (The original FEAR was updated to alllow for this). Here we are with Fear Perseus Mandate and the demo doesn't even support the higher screen resolutions. This is a very poor introduction to the game. In Vista colors are not displayed well in the fear engine because the engine wasn't built for it. You can still see terrible color banding in dark areas and I don't see an improvement in graphics but I suppose we'll have to wait for the 2008 fear sequel before that happens.

Cooler Master Mystique 631 review

I finally said good-bye to my old Chieftec computer case and changed over to a Cooler Master Mystique 631 case. I'll give you my review of the case today:

The all aluminum case makes the case lightweight and keeps the inside cooler than a regular steel or plastic based case. The intake and outtake fans do a terrific job of taking in cool air and pushing hot air out of the case. I found the method to insert the DVD drives a little bit difficult but the locking mechanism works very well. The case handled the insertion of an NVIDIA 8800 GTS videocard with plenty of room to spare. I was able to fit my Cooler Master 850 watt PSU into this case but for large PSU users I recommend a larger Cooler Master case such as the Cosmos 1000. The side cover funnel works well with a stock Intel cooler but doesn't work well with many 3rd party CPU coolers but it is very easy and quick to remove. Overall this is an excellent experience and I'll rate the Cooler Mystique 631 as an excellent buy for your money.

My response to a Microsoft Vista blog posting

Not many things get me upset but this blog did get me upset:

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9785337-7.html?tag=tb

Here is my response:

Vista may not be the greatest operating system ever built but I tell you that neither is the mac and especially not any form of Linux. I really don't want to tell you how many times we've had errors with Macs and an equal number of problems with all versions of Linux. Vista is the 21st century and there is more right than wrong with the system as built. SP1 not only fixes holes but provides operating system improvements as well. Apparently you're not very well versed in the law. Congress passed laws which state you're not allowed to copy any COPYRIGHTED digital media not even for a backup reason unless there is a specific license from the COPYRIGHT owner that says you can. Vista helps to protect industries from pirates and unfortunately there are more pirates than legit customers who want to do backups. Microsoft poured millions into its software and has a viable reason to protect it and license it. Just prior to release of Vista there was a big controversy about the licensing but Microsoft listened to its customers and made changes. Of course people like you are never satisfied. Most software companies have rebuilt there drivers and software to work on Vista. If they haven't they'll soon have to or fall behind in their business. I will agree with you on only one point and that is that Vista Ultimate is priced too high. This is a new century. It's time you started living in it. I am very satisfied with Vista stability and performance. It is true that you need very good system components and memory to run it at the optimum level. I run Vista 64 bit with 4GB of DDR2 ram. It's a very good system and with time Microsoft will make it a better and greater system.

Computer Case Technology

I'd like to comment on the current trend of computer cases. There are still far too many computer cases being built that do not adhere to customer needs. There are two primary concerns:

1. Noise
2. Heat

More companies need to engineer their computer cases to resolve these two aforementioned problems. I recently saw a cooler master cosmos 1000 and I have to say that this seems to be the correct direction but at the same time computer case manufacturers need to find a way to lower costs.

Microsoft Vista nvlddmkm NVIDIA driver error

I am still surprised that there are quite a few people still receiving the nvlddmkm error when using NVIDIA based video cards. What I'll try to do here is to see if I can help to solve this error. Are my methods going to fix this problem for all of you? Perhaps not but I hope that the actions below will help many of you:

1. Go into the control panel of your Vista PC and remove any NVIDIA drivers that are there.
2. Restart your PC and then download a driver removal program similar to this one:

http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=1672

3. After this has been run restart your PC again.
4. After rebooting your PC do a search for nvlddmkm and make sure you do a thorough search of your entire PC file system to include hidden and system files. Delete it if found.
5. Reload your PC and/or motherboard manufacturer's chipset drivers
6. Load the last NVIDIA WHQL driver posted on the NVIDIA website for your Microsoft Vista operating system.
****Added on October 13: If for any reason the above steps do not work and you have 2GB of ram try safely removing one stick of ram to see if the problem continues. Some people have reported that a faulty memory module may also cause this****

Microsoft Vista 64 bit

Ever since the beginning of the year I have been working quite successfully with the Microsoft Vista 32 bit operating system. I needed to test a program written specifically for Microsoft Vista 64 bit so I took the plunge, bought a copy this weekend, and installed it. Having worked with XP Professional 64 bit, which left me with a rather bad feeling, this newest version of Microsoft's attempt at a 64 bit operating system caught my interest. The stability is wonderful, most everything I've tried actually seems to have software and/or driver support and perhaps more importantly it allows me to take full advantage of 4GB of DDR2 memory I've had installed for many weeks. The 32 bit version of Vista has a 2GB barrier so you can't use any amount of internal memory above hat amount. This 64 bit flavor of an operating system has my full support and I personally congratulate Microsoft on the work that has gone into the stability of this system.

New videocards to come in November?

Christmas is coming and the smell of new videocard technology is in the air. Probably in November we'll see some new videocards from both ATI and NVIDIA just in time for the Christmas shopping season and in plenty of time for OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) to include the videocard hardware in their PCs for Christmas.

Microsoft fixes Windows Genuine Advantage problems

From Friday until Saturday Microsoft had to repair a problem with the Window Genuine Advantage validation system. If you attempted to validate during that time and were refused or received a message that your software wasn't genuine please retry again. Microsoft worked around he clock until the problem was rectified.

Computeruniverse in Germany

One of the questions I receive the most from English speaking people who reside in Europe (except for the UK) is for websites which offer a large number of computer products that ship to most E.U. countries. That includes items such as video cards, monitors, PC cases, etc. Computeruniverse in Germany is one such store and they offer good prices with excellent selection. At the top right of their webpage there is a small UK English flag. Click on this and you'll see the majority of their site in English. For future benefit I have added their link to the top left of my blog.


http://www.computeruniverse.net/?PID=446203

Google Including StarOffice in the Google Pack

Google apparently has decided it wants to offer more competition against Microsoft this week when Google decided it would include StarOffice in their Google Pack. What a brillant move! Google gets to offer an MS Office alternative that hopefully more people will pick up and use. Sun (who makes StarOffice) might have the benefit of getting more exposure to their software.

Windows Vista and SP1

No doubt many of you have seen Microsoft Vista SP1 (evaluation version) floating around the web. I suppose Microsoft will eventually try to get rid of these but I think they should hold off. With so many people installing this just to get a feel of SP1 it could be quite beneficial in a way.

1. Most of those people installing this already have Vista and they want to see if there is any improvement over the existing version.

2. Some people want to test stability of SP1 for themselves. For all intensive purposes I can tell you quite honestly that it is super stable. Of course I have friends who are beta testers, so I've seen this for myself.

3. It might give Microsoft an overall analysis of just how many people are interested in SP1. I think they will find more interest than they realize. With such a super smooth pre-beta release that seems to have a faultless install there is really NO reason NOT to have this ready by Christmas, so that OEMs can entice more customers to buy PCs for the holiday season.

4. Kudos to the Microsoft Vista team that developed this DVD pre-beta SP1 build. The Microsoft Vista development team has really pushed themselves into a whole new quality bracket. Congrats!

September 10th Barcelona Debut?

I received a postcard in the mail inviting me to a special premiere on 10 September. Unfortunately I can not attend but this is probably an invitation to the official release of the AMD Barcelona CPU which is long overdue. If AMD can entice its customer base well enough and stir enough interest, then its consumer CPU line which should be released in the last quarter of this year should help the company ready itself for Christmas and hopefully some good profit earnings.

Excellent Cooler Master European Support

Recently a computer which I own in Europe starting to exhibit a 'cold boot' problem. The problem was caused by a faulty power supply, Cooler Master Real Power Pro 850 watt. I contacted Cooler Master technical support in Europe and they told me to send in the power supply. I must say that on the day they received my power supply they immediately sent a replacement on the same business day back to me. In other words a 48 hour turnaround time. I have to compliment the Cooler Master European support team for their outstanding efforts. It's good to know that good customer support still exists within some companies. Kudos to the Cooler Master European Support team.

EU issues anti-trust statement against Intel

First and foremost I wish to say that I admire both Intel and AMD as companies. Earlier today the European Commission issued a statement accusing Intel of anti-competitive behavior. This was after the result of an investigation which required months (years) of work. Intel would be wise, in my personal opinion, to fully cooperate with the European Commission and offer an out of court settlement to AMD. If Intel prefers to battle the European Commission in courts just as Microsoft has done it would simply make things worse. Microsoft prefers to use the European Courts but just how much money is being spent from the company on a protracted legal battle. Admittently Microsoft pulls in about 1 billion U.S. dollars a week so it has plenty of money, but still millions have to be spent in courts which would be better spent on investors.

http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/07/314&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Microsoft Genuine Advantage helps nab pirates

The Microsoft Genuine Advantage software helped Microsoft, federal, and international authorities nab a large counterfeit ring in China. Perhaps more importantly was the fact that retailers as well as users mailed into Microsoft the counterfeit copies of the illegal software which allowed an eventual trace to be made to the counterfeiters. I salute all of the retailers and customers which helped to nab these pirates.

Microsoft to continue OEM sales of XP in 2008

Microsoft announced in mid April of this year that they would cease sales of Windows XP to retail outlets and resellers by the end of January. That does not mean that sales to original equipment manufacturers would stop. That will continue. In fact Microsoft predicts good sales of Microsoft Windows XP through 2008. I suppose you have to stop and think about this in perspective. Is Microsoft Vista still not attractive enough to lure more customers to it, or perhaps customers are still waiting for service pack 1 to come along for Microsoft Vista? Christmas sales for PCs did not do as well as expected in December 2006 because Microsoft Vista was delayed. Microsoft really needs to plow ahead and have SP1 ready by Christmas (December) 2007 if they wish to persuade more XP users to change their operating systems and also provide customers with an incentive to upgrade. Many XP users are refusing to upgrade until the Vista SP1 is ready.

My 2 cents about DX10 prices

Here is a reply I made about DX10 pricing on one of the NVIDIA Developer Blogs:

http://blogs.nvidia.com/developers/2007/07/dx10-pc-price-p.html

***Shortly after I made these comments the developer blog in question was pulled or relocated. Perhaps NVIDIA was unhappy with the developers comments???***

I am going to point my finger at both sides of this argument. PC manufacturers need to better advertise just how good their midrange PCs are. The unknowing public believes or has been hyped to believe that to run a 3D game just as the upcoming Crysis you need a top of the line PC to show off the very best the game has to offer when pushed to the extreme. I'd love to see some framerates posted with a PC model to see what it can do with a specific game or benchmark. NVIDIA on the other hand needs to re-examine its logic with regards to videocards such as the 8800 ULTRA which is overpriced based on its performance to an overclocked 8800 GTX.

Creative Labs charges a fee for working EAX + Direct Sound 3D

I have had a lot of faith in the PC industry for a long time now. However my blood began to boil somewhat when I found out that Creative is going to charge $9.99 for their ALchemy support software in Microsoft Vista. I understand the fee from the manufacturer standpoint but it is quite lame to charge a fee for all users. Surely users who have bought their sound cards since the launch of MS Vista shouldn't have to pay!

http://www.buy.soundblaster.com/_creativelabsstore/cgi-bin/pd.cgi?frompage=category&page=product_detail&fromcategory=Software&category=Software&pid=F2222X767VHL73GYR38

EVGA starts their Scavenger hunt

EVGA has started a scavenger hunt on their website with over $50,000 worth of computer hardware. Read more about this contest on their website link shown here:

http://www.evga.com/scavenger/

Intel introduces the QX6850CPU at 3GHZ

Craig R. Barrett who is the CEO of Intel must be grinning from ear to ear today. AMD's Barcelona CPU is not yet launched and already Intel has made a quad core chip available than allows 4 cores to run at 3GHZ. No doubt Intel wants to steal some thunder before Barcelona is launched.

http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20070716corp_a.htm?iid=search

Intel will launch the X7800 core 2 extreme

Intel is going to release the X7800 Core 2 Extreme processor for laptops. A gaming processor for laptop PCs sounds interesting especially to those users between the ages of 21 to 40 who want the best processing for games/graphics their laptops can produce. I don't know if this will be a success but if you're a professional user who needs that type of raw processing power then your wait is over.

Protecting our children who have mobile phones

The digital age has ushered in vast new advantages for our children. However, with those advantages are individuals who would possibly try and take advantage of our children. With so many children now in possession of mobile phones a friend of mine showed me a software called RADAR which alerts parents via a text message if their children receive a call not on their parents approved list. It mainly works on Blackberry devices and several various smart phones but the list of compatible phones will hopefully grow. If you wish to read about this then I refer you to this webpage for more information:

http://mymobilewatchdog.com/

Competitive shopping for computer parts

I still shake my head when someone comes to me and brags about how cheap they bought a personal computer part (i.e. motherboard, video cards) and then I show them on the Internet they they could have bought the part much cheaper. Doing a good search on the Internet can usually save you money.

While we're on the subject of saving money I find that in many cases prices in the United Kingdom (UK) for software + hardware is far more expensive than it should be in my personal opinion. It is for this reason I'd like to see the European Union pass laws to fully open all sales channel in Europe so some retailers can buy from any distributor within the European Union without fear that the manufacturer will make them stop. This might drive down prices in the UK to fair and reasonable market conditions. More than likely this is yet another reason why the UK has failed to adopt the Euro. If a vast majority of people in the UK found out much their PC items cost in Euros compared to mainland Europe I believe you'd find huge numbers of disgruntled PC users.

New NVIDIA beta drivers

It is nice to see that NVIDIA has released some beta drivers for MS Vista again. This time there are two betas. One driver is a normal run of the mill beta NVIDIA video driver while the other driver is a beta for the PC real time strategy game World in Conflict. Read more about the World in Conflict beta here:

http://www.worldinconflict.com/beta/

Download the NVIDIA drivers here:

http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_downloads_rel70betadriver.html

If you feel uncomfortable installing beta drivers then please refrain from doing so.

Processor Price Cuts

AMD announced price cuts on their processor line yesterday and Intel will probably follow suit later this month. Price cuts drain profits of both of the companies, but consumers are clearly the winner here because it will make PC prices hopefully cheaper. Many rumors abound about why AMD is cutting prices. It could be that they are trying to make up for lost market share to Intel or perhaps they are clearing their inventory shelves when their new CPU codenamed Barcelona hits the streets which I believe will start in August. I realize of course that AMD does not have the hefty bank account that Intel has for research and development, but AMD has waited far too long to bring new CPUs and new ATI videocards to the market. Innovation is a key to profit but you must be able to bring that innovation to the market before anyone else.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, it is still my personal opinion that IBM would be wise to buy AMD. AMD might never be able to achieve a majority marketshare of the CPU industry unless drastic new technology is delivered by them to the consumer. IBM can do that if they owned AMD.

EVGA step-up for 650i ultra motherboard in July

EVGA has decided to start a step-up program during the month of July so that if you buy a EVGA 650i Ultra motherboard you are allowed to upgrade it within 90 days of the purchase date to an EVGA 680i SLI or the EVGA 680i LT. Full details of the part numbers eligible for this special promotion are shown here

http://www.evga.com/articles/367.asp

Windows Mobile 6 looks excellent

I've had some chances lately to closely examine Windows Mobile 6. I have to say that this operating system rocks. It seems to be faster than it's predecessor and far more complete. I do hope that this operating system will be available to everyone for every compatible Pocket PC mobile device soon.

The HTC lineup of Pocket PC mobile devices is an example for all to follow. Great engineering, fast response time, and just simply cool design.

32 bit to 64 bit upgrade paths

I really love Microsoft Vista 32 bit. I really, really do. However, one thing I find rather terrible on Microsoft's upgrade advisor website is lack of clarity to upgrade from 32 bit operating system (O/S) to 64 bit O/S. In fact I decided to pretend I was a customer interested in such an upgrade and decided to browse their website. It is quite discouraging that I was unable to find clear information. Perhaps even more frustrating is to perform an internet search engine for 32 to 64 bit O/S upgrade information and find almost nothing worth mentioning. There SHOULD be an upgrade from 32 bit O/S to 64 bit O/S somewhere in the pipeline especially for all of those hardcore gamers out there who want to pop in 4gb or more of memory. Many customers are not aware of the 4gb memory limit in the 32 bit Microsoft Vista 32 operating system. I would really like Microsoft to seriously consider an upgrade path from a 32 bit operating system such as Microsoft Vista Premium 32 bit to Microsoft Vista Premium 64 bit at a much lower price upgrade.

The 4GB question for 650i/680i NVIDIA chipsets

I've had quite a few friends and PC enthusiasts ask me if I knew of any known problems with motherboards containing the 650i and 680i NVIDIA chipsets and 4gb of memory. I told all of them I was not aware of any problems except a few cases where individuals purchased memory which was not tested or certified for a particular motherboard. I did tell a few people about extreme high voltage memory and certain problems. Once again, this is a good reason to double check the memory you buy with the memory module manufacturer and/or the motherboard manufacturer.

Anyone seeking to take full advantage of 4gb of memory will need a 64 bit operating system such as Microsoft Vista 64 bit. If not then you'll only see just a little more than 3GB in a 32 bit operating system such as Microsoft Vista 32 bit.

MS Vista DX10 games to come in September?

Probably the most eagerly awaited game this year is Crysis. Everyone is waiting to see what DX10 gaming features have been employed within the game. Curiously enough also on or about that same date other exciting game titles will become available such as Unreal Tournament 3. I have to say that I am quite excited about these particular games as developers have been focusing on coding for DX10 which at this time is only found in MS Vista. While it is true many new game releases will also work on Windows XP the extra gaming features for DX10 will be truly exciting to watch.

Many users have been putting off buying MS Vista because they wish to wait for MS Vista service pack 1. A majority of bugs and drivers with MS Vista have been fixed. It's a good bet that Windows XP won't be sold anymore starting next year so putting off the purchase of MS Vista doesn't really serve any purpose. Once you get used to MS Vista you really would not want to go back to Windows XP. Those that have gone back to Windows XP did so because of 3rd party incompatibility. Most of that should be fixed, but there are still a few 3rd party manufacturers who still haven't been able to fully adapt yet.

PC Pro Magazine (UK edition)

Someone asked me a question recently about the quality and content of PC related magazines. It was a fruitful discussion as we exchanged verbal banter about which magazine in the USA has the best content. Without much ado I simply told this person that the best USA PC magazine is actually not a USA published PC magazine but in fact is the imported version of PC Pro magazine from the UK. You have to take out a international subscription to have it shipped to the USA, but in my personal opinion it is by far the best PC magazine I have ever read. Great articles and reviews. With the UK pound currency extremely strong the magazine is expensive but more than worth it.

Video cards and Heat

Yesterday I mentioned that heat was causing problems for many users of PCs. One of the items in a PC which I would like to address is the videocard. High end gamers (for example) sometimes have two top of the line videocards in an SLI configuration. Although a few of these enthusiasts use water cooling many do not. There needs to be far more research into alternate cooling solutions for videocards which lower heat and stifle noise.

PC Cases and heat

Let's face it and admit that basic PC case design hasn't changed all too much. That's a pity really because heat, which is the almighty enemy of PC components, continues to rise with every new release of videocards and other components. Wouldn't it be wonderful if PC case manufacturers built huge SILENT fans in the front, back, and side of the PC case as standard? Anyone who has bought an 8800 GTX ultra videocard knows what I'm talking about. The problems with heat in a PC that have caused problems for customers are on the rise, or at least based on my personal feedback.

Memory and Motherboards

Recently a friend asked me why 4 gb of DDR2 ram would not work in his motherboard. I took a look at the PC and after troubleshooting found that the DDR2 ram was fine. Lowering the speed of the memory in the BIOs allowed 4gb to bootup but with multiple errors. I took 4gb of another manufacturer's memory of the same speed and swapped the modules. Problem resolved. If memory manufacturer's adhere to a single standard there is really no excuse for memory NOT to work in a particular motherboard. However that is more of a dream than what really works in reality. Therefore it behooves you to check the motherboard manufacturer's website and user's manual for compatible memory modules before you buy your initial or additional memory. Or you can also check the memory manufacturer's website to see if the modules are compatible.

Will games truly adapt to multi-core processing

As games develop and become increasing complex it becomes questionable whether or not gaming developers will finally leap on the bandwagon to adopt multi-processor support. Already we have dual core processor as well as quad core processors. Soon this will increase. To make games far more intriguing than they presently are gaming developers must code for multi-core processors. Tackling the SLI and crossfire mountains was no doubt a difficult trek but when you climb one mountain there are others to be climbed. Just my personal opinion.

Why I personally believe IBM should buy AMD/ATI

AMD ruled the CPU war for a while before Intel became wise and outgunned and outspent AMD to become the victor of the CPU wars. With Intel outspending AMD on research and development AMD is hoping to make a comeback at the end of the year. Even with that I believe AMD will fall behind again when Intel delivers their next generation CPU. What is a company like AMD to do? My gut feeling is that AMD needs an infusion of money as well as superior engineering. It's my personal opinion and belief that IBM should be the wiser and buy AMD/ATI. They have the engineering expertise that AMD lacks as well as financial clout to bring AMD to the forefront again. It would be a good marraige. IBM would have a great CPU and graphics company under their belt and be ready to tilt the windmill in their favor. This would be a great method to re-enter the personal computer world again. Once again, it's my personal opinion.

EVGA creates watercooled 680i motherboard

EVGA is about to launch its new watercooled 680i Black Pearl Watercooled motherboard:

http://www.evga.com/articles/365.asp

This should be quite interesting. Watercooling has been around for a while but EVGA is about to show the industry what it can do for the overclocking enthusiast. This announcement was made only a short time after EVGA released its Black Pearl watercooled 8800 GTX Ultra videocard.

The videocard battles

AMD/ATI is set to release their new video cards very soon to open up competition with NVIDIA. Despite this it behooves one to wonder how you should properly judge the performance. There are presently no Direct X 10 version games available for MS Vista. Futuremark is preparing a benchmarking software for Direct X 10 which is not yet available. I assume you could make benchmarks using available games but this would benchmark games written primarily in the old platform of MS Windows XP. For users of Windows XP this would still be a good choice of benchmarking but what about MS Vista users? How will they be able to know which video card (NVIDIA 8XXX series or AMD/ATI) will bring best performance to Direct X 10 and MS Vista? I suppose we'll have to wait until games like Crysis are released to make such a judgement.

LCD for PC Monitor Sales

For several years now there has been a race of sorts by LCD screen manufacturers (for personal computers) to make the fastest speed monitor or who can make a monitor with the best resolution, or the largest size. I personally believe that there is now going to be a new form of race involved with LCD PC sales.

A few months ago most LCD manufacturers were nearly equal across the scale in terms of contrast, resolution, color, and price.

I personally feel that there will be a change in the industry marketing to focus on one element that has been overlooked. There are two words here:

DYNAMIC CONTRAST

Probably the best way to view an example of how dynamic contrast can make a difference is to place several LCD PC monitors side by side playing a video. The LCD PC monitor with the highest dynamic contrast will probably be the most vibrant.

Consumers have been focusing on speed and resolution for their purchasing decisions for a while now. Over the past few months I have noticed more consumers in the stores talking about color and contrast. It is vital that sales personnel become acquainted with the terms static contrast, and dynamic contrast. They must know the difference between the terms.

There has been a push for 'bigger is better' as well. Consumers want bigger LCD PC screens, but they are paying more and more attention to rich color definition. In other words when comparing LCD PC screens customers are now looking at colors as well as resolution and monitor size. This makes perfect sense since many consumers now view movies and video on their LCD PC screen.

An LCD PC monitor with a dynamic contrast ratio of 3000:1 will make an LCD PC monitor with a dynamic contrast ratio of 700:1 look poor by comparison. Or at least that is my personal view.

For some time now I had been using a 17 inch monitor and it worked quite well for me. It was time to upgrade the monitor so I decided to do some comparitive shopping. After viewing several monitors in my favorite store I could clearly overhear two customers speak to a sales representative about the rich colors on one monitor as compared to another one. They asked the sales presentative what the differences were but the he did not know. I knew what the answer was to the customer's questions but I decided not to butt in on their conversation. The two customers purchased the monitor which appeared to them to have the richer more vibrant color, despite the fact it was more expensive. The monitor of their choice which they purchased had the highest dynamic contrast but the sales representative didn't know that.

Needless to say I purchased a 20 inch LCD PC monitor with a dynamic contrast of 3000:1. It was 20 percent more expensive than its competitors but you get what you pay for.