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.