I do, primarly because I am a gamer. When I can play Oblivion, Half-life 2, Call of Duty 2 and all my games under Linux, I will switch to linux fulltime. Until then, I will continue to use Windows XP Pro. There are some real world uses for Windows that Linux still cannot provide. Gaming is one of them. Even Mac has some of the major game titles, but not even close to 50% of the games that are available to Windows users. There is no ultimate OS, each has it's own benefits and drawbacks. If you're a gamer, you're stuck with Windows, if you run a server, you probably use linux. It's about using the right tool for the right job. I first tried slackware back in `95 and I loved it, I would love to be able to use linux for gaming, but that won't be happening anytime soon (if ever). Mainly because the majority of people own Windows computers, so the majority of game developers will make their product for that platform, as it has the biggest user base.
I don't even have a virus scanner installed on this computer, this is my gaming pc and I keep it clean of any and all software not including games. As long as you aren't downloading some unknown crap off the internet you shouldn't need antivirus software. I haven't gotten a virus in more then 7 years and I have used antivirus software in the past, mainly Mcafee and Norton. Once in a while I will use Mcafee's Avert Stinger to do a quick scan for the latest virus/worms. It's free and you don't have to install it or any bloated software, just download and run it from the download directory. I believe Symantec and a few other companies also provide some useful free virus removal tools that don't need to be installed to run.
50+ years of exposure? Heh, try 10 years.
I'm 23 and I've been suffering from severe stomach problems since I was 17. My life has been on hold for the last 6 years while I try and get better, but I just end up getting worse and worse. My stomach is #@$*ed after years of eating junk food and sugared drinks. I've developed a ton of food sensitivities which cause alot of discomfort. I can no longer eat diary, flour, refined or processed foods or sugary food. I can no longer eat speghetti or cereal or any of the foods I used to enjoy eating like pizza or bugers or anything! I've developed IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and my gut is constantly upset, I have to eat extremely healthy (see health nut) and take about 60 suppliments/pills a day just to stay at the 50% I feel I'm at today. I don't think my body will ever be the same and I will no longer be able to enjoy eating stuff that I used to. I mainly eat rice, fruit and veggies and chicken or turkey, maybe a few almonds. Not much else, my diet is so ridiculously limited at this point because my stomach is so bloody sensitive. I've become housebound/disabled and I haven't been able to start college like I planned when I was 17 (now 23) and I've been withering away these last 6 years while seeking medical treatment (unsuccessfully). I'm afraid to go out because I always feel sick and I have a fear of vomitting (hense my nickname, Emetophobe). I'm 5'10 and I weigh 140 pounds, I'm skin and bones and I worry everyday that I will die anyday now, my body feels radioactive most days, like I can feel the toxins running through my body. Not to fun, but I cope somehow (see copious amounts of self-medicated marijuana).
Alcohol is one such example. Ever heard of alcohol POISONING?
Similarly, you can take "magic" mushrooms which are poisonous but get you high at the right dosage without dying.
The GP is obviouly very naive. There are TONS of toxins in foods/drinks people eat today. Alot of food is grown in chemical fertilizers unless it's organically grown. If you eat fish, you probably are eating a very tiny amount of mercury and various other toxins in the water. Also in the states, some farmers inject their cows with bovine growth hormones to improve milk yields. Okay, so maybe hormones aren't a toxin persay, but to me, they are evil/unwanted and at the same level as toxins as they can harm your body. Maybe you've heard about Mosanto and the Fox News cover-up where they prevented reporters from releasing a story about Mosanto's rBGH and how it causes cancer not to mention the needless pain and suffering of cows (due to swollen/infected udders, it's a condition called Mastitis).
Here in Canada, rBGH is banned, but it is still not banned in the United States. IMO, the U.S government rather maintain a dominant economy over risk loosing billions if word of U.S infected beef got out, so they will do whatever they can to prevent that from happening. But, they won't test EVERY cow for mad cow (because they claim that would be prohibitively expensive). Infact, I saw a story on CBC a few years ago about a small time beef farmer in the states that wanted to market his beef as having been 100% tested for mad cow disease. The government stepped in and prevented him from testing every cow and selling it because this would set a "precedent" where all the big time beef farmers would have to follow suit, costing them alot of money in the process. So this small time farmer was prevented from marketing his beef as 100% mad-cow tested, pretty sad really (I wish I could find the original story, it was quite amazing that the government would interfere with a small-time business like that to protect the beef industry as a whole, meanwhile putting beef consumers at a greater risk for the sake of profit).
According to this website, The U.S. is presently testing only 1 out of every 18,000 cows slaughtered (for Mad Cow Disease). Guess what the test rates are elsewhere? Quoted from this website:...In Europe, where they test 1 out of every 4 cows, and Japan, where they test 100% of all cattle bound for human consumption...
So U.S tests 0.0056% of their cows, where as Europe tests 25% and Japan tests 100%. Guess I'll stick to non-american beef from now on.
Everyone has their own personal experiences, some hate ATI, some hate Nvidia. I'm not familiar with ati's mobo chipsets but I do own a nForce4 board and I am quite pleased with it. From what I've seen the nforce4 boards perform better, and the new features of nforce5 look awesome. I would definitely go nforce over ati chipset on your mobo.
As for their graphic cards, I've been buying ATI cards since the last 2 nvidia cards I bought had shitty stock coolers where the fan dies after a month of use, not to mention they sound like a leaf blower. Also, I live in Markham, where ATI was created/founded, I gotta support the local businesses:). A few years ago, I would have definitely gone with an nvidia over radeon, but as of late, both tend to be pretty even. I got a Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO2 with my new box because it's a $200 card that you can run at X850 XT PE speeds for a fraction of the price. I get 70fps in Doom3 at 1280x1024 High Quality 2xAA+AF, 95fps if I overclock my card (to X850 XT PE speeds). My card runs very cool even overclocked with the stock cooler. It was an amazing deal for $199 Canadian. Even with the fan at 100%, it's still pretty quiet, while playing oblivion for several hours, my gpu temp never rises above 53C.
I would have to agree that nvidia writes better drivers. I hate the fact that ATI requires.NET if you want to use their super-slow-loading catalyst control center. If you run linux, nvidia has better driver support for sure. Since I don't run linux on this gaming rig, I don't have a problem though.
Although Ticketmaster's market share remains over 50% of total sales for tickets in the United States, the ready availability of web-based ticketing software and the decline of its outlet network have combined to keep its overall sales from growing in 2004 and 2005.
Major League Baseball's acquisition of rival Tickets.com in 2005 marks the most recent significant organization moving away from using Ticketmaster's services.
Looks like the MLB no longer uses Ticketmaster, or atleast, not primarly.
My amd chip runs pretty cool anyway. I recently bought an Athlon64 X2 3800+ (2ghz dual core). It actually runs cooler than my nforce4 chipset under load (while playing games like oblivion). Of course I did replace the stock heatsink/fan with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro which has improved my cpu temperatures (paid $35 Canadian for the aftermarket cooler, and it's working amazing so far).
I'm running at stock speeds and voltages. Here are my temp readings while idle and after playing oblivion for 2 hours:
Of course, if I ran an instance of Prime95 torture test on each core, I would see cpu temperatures above 40C. But for what I use this computer for (gaming primarly), I never see the cpu go over 38C, which is pretty damn cool IMO (my old Dell P4 2.66ghz idles at 40C, higher than my load temps).
I may be wrong, but it appears that benchmark was deliberately chosen out of a bias. The UT04 benchmark seems to run better on AMDs. When making comparisons of dissimilar architectures, no single test, nor any single type of test is suitable. While the AMD is faster at most of the other tests, most of them don't have nearly so much of a disparity.
I totally agree, testing just one game isn't right.
I suspect these new processors will likely be as expensive as a PS3, JUST the processors. Who exactly is the group with too much money?
These processors will cost ALOT more than the PS3. The article says this new Intel Core 2 Extreme processor will be 40% faster than the Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 965. The 965 costs over $1000, this new chip will be 40% faster, so you can imagine just how expensive it will be.
Most games have a capped frame rate in multiplayer mode anyway, so even with these high end chips it won't matter (unless it's a major upgrade from your previous cpu). You're better off upgrading your graphics card over a cpu if you want to improve your games performance.
UT2004 is capped at 85fps in multiplayer mode. There's no cap in singleplayer. Doom 3 is capped at 60fps in single and multiplayer IIRC.
There are other games out there too that have a framerate cap. With my system, Doom3 is always at the 60fps cap and UT2004 is always at the 85fps cap in multiplayer, upgrading my cpu, I wouldn't notice any improvement. I'm sure these chips are lighting fast and all, but are they worth it? A high end graphics card will improve game performance alot better than one of these chips would, and would only set you back maybe $500 instead of over $1000.
I just built a gaming rig (partial specs in sig) and the total cost was around $1200 Canadian after tax. So for the price of these high end chips, you could build/buy a complete system. Hardly worth the money IMO.
I just built a new system with a Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO2 LE. It cost $200 canadian for it so it's a mid range card. But it's really a high end card in disguise.
I get 70fps at 1024x768 High Quality 2xAA in Doom3 timedemo 1, using stock gpu/memory speeds of 400/980mhz I get 96fps at 1024x768 High Quality 2xAA in Doom3 timedemo 1, overclocked gpu/memory speeds at 540/1180mhz (over 20% gpu increase) The card never gets above 62C with the stock fan set to 100%. Eventually I'll get an aftermarket cooler so I can overclock it even more.
Basically this X800 GTO2 card can run at X850 XT PE speeds for half the price. Mine came with 16 pixel pipelines already unlocked where as some have to be modded since they only come with 12 pipelines unlocked by default. Also, this card comes with an R480 core, the same as the X850XT, hense why it can be easily overclocked using just the stock cooler. This is definately the best card I've ever owned. For $200 it runs like a $500 card. The only downside is it doesn't support the latest tech like HDR and Shader Model 3.0.
Though AMD's naming scheme isn't quite as bad as Intel's, it's still a bit confusing. I just recently built my first amd system after owning 5 intels over the last 15 years. I couldn't decide on which dual core make I wanted to get, some have 2x512k L2 cache, some have 2x1mb L2 cache. I ended up going with the cheapest one (Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 2.0ghz dual core 2x512k L2 cache). Some people have been able to overclock their X2 3800+ from the stock 2.0ghz upto 2.5~2.7ghz. A 25% increase or more. Eventually when my warranty expires I will be pushing this chip past it's stock speed. I'm happy with the speed as it is, two 2.0ghz cores is way faster than my old P4 2.66ghz single core.
The design of AMD dual core chips is better than Intels too. AMD dual core chips communicate directly with each other on the die, Intel chips have to communicate through the much slower FSB. You can read about it here
I'm pretty messed up, I'm only 23 and I've been sick since I was 17. I first got sick right before I was about to start college (I wanted to be a computer programmer ever since I was 13). I've been housebound for the last 6 years, unable to even start going to college or find work, I'm pretty disabled in a way. I treated my body like crap ever since I was 13. My mom was always busy with work and most of the time we just ate quick meals when she got home from work. Alot of the time we would order pizza or pickup mcdonalds. If we actually ate at home we usually would cook something that was quick, some boxed/refined product in the cupboard/freezer. We hardly EVER ate healthy. I ate tons junkfood and coke constantly, everyday pretty much.
I was a pretty messed up kid in high school (I was abused by my father as a child and bullied at school). I was bullied to the point where I tried to kill myself in grade 9 when I was 13. I've been on paxil ever since then. In grade 10 I started smoking pot and cigarettes. Eventually becoming a full blown smoker and pothead. All the while I was still eating like crap, never actually eating any vitamins or anything with any nutritional value. I started doing harder drugs occasionally on weekends aswell with pot. I probably did magic mushrooms about a dozen times, acid twice, esctacy 4-5 times, cocaine a half dozen times. I never got hooked on the hard drugs luckily, it was more of a social thing on weekends.
Well, eventually everything came crashing to a halt right after I graduated high school. The years of treating my body like shit came back to haunt me, big time. I started throwing up yellow bile daily and I had constant heartburn. I couldn't eat anything without throwing most if it back up right after. I was put on nexium to treat acid reflux by my doctors. All this did was mask the problem instead of actually treating the source of the acid reflux. Things kept getting worse and worse and I thought I was going to die. I had several tests done at the local hospital (endoscope down the throat, barium tests, upper and lower gastro intestinal tests, blood tests, etc..). Every test came back normal, no one could find anything wrong with me.
This went on for about 2 years of me seeking medical treatment (I live in Ontario, Canada so treatment is covered/free). Eventually I got fed up with conventional medicine and I decided to try a naturopathic doctor. Bingo! I found an amazing naturopathic doctor that put me on a specialized diet with lots of suppliments and digestive enzymes. Slowly I got better and better. I no longer throw up stomach acid everyday! Infact my stomach acid is gone totally and I don't take nexium or any ant-acids anymore. They did various food sensitivity testings and found out I had become sensitive to many things. I can no longer eat milk or eat any product with refined flour or anything with active yeast to name a few things. I developed IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and have alot of pain/bloating/discomfort throughout the day. I'm much better then I used to be, but I am still no where near 100%. Ontop of my digestive problems I suffer from severe depression, anxiety, stress, agoraphobia, emetophobia, and I'm a hypocondriac now (constantly worrying about my health, thinking I have cancer or there's something wrong with me). Even with all my problems, I would probably feel 100 times worse if it wasn't for eating healthy and exercise.
I think Apple's last advertisment where they talk about "dull little PCs performing dull little tasks" (by dull little people?) was a lot worse, pretty much only appealing to the Smug Mac User crowd.
I hated that commercial. I'm still pissed at apple though, my ipod that is still under warranty has been messed up for the last 6 months, already sent it in twice and apple never fixes/replaces it, they just give me the circle jerk until my warranty expires. First and last time I ever buy an apple product. $400 for a device that's still under an extended 2 year warranty and they won't even fix it... FUCK YOU APPLE...ah, feel better now.
Wait, you mean the makers of Oblivion were stupid enough to leave in hidden content after the San Andreas fiasco?? Simply amazing how stupid some companies can be. If you try and hide something, people will find it!
Slashdot Mirror
I do, primarly because I am a gamer. When I can play Oblivion, Half-life 2, Call of Duty 2 and all my games under Linux, I will switch to linux fulltime. Until then, I will continue to use Windows XP Pro. There are some real world uses for Windows that Linux still cannot provide. Gaming is one of them. Even Mac has some of the major game titles, but not even close to 50% of the games that are available to Windows users. There is no ultimate OS, each has it's own benefits and drawbacks. If you're a gamer, you're stuck with Windows, if you run a server, you probably use linux. It's about using the right tool for the right job. I first tried slackware back in `95 and I loved it, I would love to be able to use linux for gaming, but that won't be happening anytime soon (if ever). Mainly because the majority of people own Windows computers, so the majority of game developers will make their product for that platform, as it has the biggest user base.
I don't even have a virus scanner installed on this computer, this is my gaming pc and I keep it clean of any and all software not including games. As long as you aren't downloading some unknown crap off the internet you shouldn't need antivirus software. I haven't gotten a virus in more then 7 years and I have used antivirus software in the past, mainly Mcafee and Norton. Once in a while I will use Mcafee's Avert Stinger to do a quick scan for the latest virus/worms. It's free and you don't have to install it or any bloated software, just download and run it from the download directory. I believe Symantec and a few other companies also provide some useful free virus removal tools that don't need to be installed to run.
I agree. I'm surprised they even supported it as long as they did.
Wish I had some mod points.
Right, because it's not like you can play any of the Doom games on a Mac. Funny! (but wrong)
Yes, Mac has games, but they are still pretty limited when it comes to selection and quality of ports. Is there a mac port of oblivion?
50+ years of exposure? Heh, try 10 years. I'm 23 and I've been suffering from severe stomach problems since I was 17. My life has been on hold for the last 6 years while I try and get better, but I just end up getting worse and worse. My stomach is #@$*ed after years of eating junk food and sugared drinks. I've developed a ton of food sensitivities which cause alot of discomfort. I can no longer eat diary, flour, refined or processed foods or sugary food. I can no longer eat speghetti or cereal or any of the foods I used to enjoy eating like pizza or bugers or anything! I've developed IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and my gut is constantly upset, I have to eat extremely healthy (see health nut) and take about 60 suppliments/pills a day just to stay at the 50% I feel I'm at today. I don't think my body will ever be the same and I will no longer be able to enjoy eating stuff that I used to. I mainly eat rice, fruit and veggies and chicken or turkey, maybe a few almonds. Not much else, my diet is so ridiculously limited at this point because my stomach is so bloody sensitive. I've become housebound/disabled and I haven't been able to start college like I planned when I was 17 (now 23) and I've been withering away these last 6 years while seeking medical treatment (unsuccessfully). I'm afraid to go out because I always feel sick and I have a fear of vomitting (hense my nickname, Emetophobe). I'm 5'10 and I weigh 140 pounds, I'm skin and bones and I worry everyday that I will die anyday now, my body feels radioactive most days, like I can feel the toxins running through my body. Not to fun, but I cope somehow (see copious amounts of self-medicated marijuana).
Alcohol is one such example. Ever heard of alcohol POISONING?
...In Europe, where they test 1 out of every 4 cows, and Japan, where they test 100% of all cattle bound for human consumption...
Similarly, you can take "magic" mushrooms which are poisonous but get you high at the right dosage without dying.
The GP is obviouly very naive. There are TONS of toxins in foods/drinks people eat today. Alot of food is grown in chemical fertilizers unless it's organically grown. If you eat fish, you probably are eating a very tiny amount of mercury and various other toxins in the water. Also in the states, some farmers inject their cows with bovine growth hormones to improve milk yields. Okay, so maybe hormones aren't a toxin persay, but to me, they are evil/unwanted and at the same level as toxins as they can harm your body. Maybe you've heard about Mosanto and the Fox News cover-up where they prevented reporters from releasing a story about Mosanto's rBGH and how it causes cancer not to mention the needless pain and suffering of cows (due to swollen/infected udders, it's a condition called Mastitis).
Here in Canada, rBGH is banned, but it is still not banned in the United States. IMO, the U.S government rather maintain a dominant economy over risk loosing billions if word of U.S infected beef got out, so they will do whatever they can to prevent that from happening. But, they won't test EVERY cow for mad cow (because they claim that would be prohibitively expensive). Infact, I saw a story on CBC a few years ago about a small time beef farmer in the states that wanted to market his beef as having been 100% tested for mad cow disease. The government stepped in and prevented him from testing every cow and selling it because this would set a "precedent" where all the big time beef farmers would have to follow suit, costing them alot of money in the process. So this small time farmer was prevented from marketing his beef as 100% mad-cow tested, pretty sad really (I wish I could find the original story, it was quite amazing that the government would interfere with a small-time business like that to protect the beef industry as a whole, meanwhile putting beef consumers at a greater risk for the sake of profit).
US Continues to Violate WHO Mad Cow Guidelines
Old CBC News Story about a cover-up
More info about rBGH
According to this website, The U.S. is presently testing only 1 out of every 18,000 cows slaughtered (for Mad Cow Disease). Guess what the test rates are elsewhere?
Quoted from this website:
So U.S tests 0.0056% of their cows, where as Europe tests 25% and Japan tests 100%. Guess I'll stick to non-american beef from now on.
The chips are cheaper and are faster than Intel's. You couldn't tell from the press! Faster yes. Cheaper no.
There is also Quake4 SMP beta patch that improves frame rates significantly if you have a dual core. ~50% improvement with SMP Patch.
Everyone has their own personal experiences, some hate ATI, some hate Nvidia. I'm not familiar with ati's mobo chipsets but I do own a nForce4 board and I am quite pleased with it. From what I've seen the nforce4 boards perform better, and the new features of nforce5 look awesome. I would definitely go nforce over ati chipset on your mobo.
:). A few years ago, I would have definitely gone with an nvidia over radeon, but as of late, both tend to be pretty even. I got a Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO2 with my new box because it's a $200 card that you can run at X850 XT PE speeds for a fraction of the price. I get 70fps in Doom3 at 1280x1024 High Quality 2xAA+AF, 95fps if I overclock my card (to X850 XT PE speeds). My card runs very cool even overclocked with the stock cooler. It was an amazing deal for $199 Canadian. Even with the fan at 100%, it's still pretty quiet, while playing oblivion for several hours, my gpu temp never rises above 53C.
.NET if you want to use their super-slow-loading catalyst control center. If you run linux, nvidia has better driver support for sure. Since I don't run linux on this gaming rig, I don't have a problem though.
As for their graphic cards, I've been buying ATI cards since the last 2 nvidia cards I bought had shitty stock coolers where the fan dies after a month of use, not to mention they sound like a leaf blower. Also, I live in Markham, where ATI was created/founded, I gotta support the local businesses
I would have to agree that nvidia writes better drivers. I hate the fact that ATI requires
According to wikipedia:
Although Ticketmaster's market share remains over 50% of total sales for tickets in the United States, the ready availability of web-based ticketing software and the decline of its outlet network have combined to keep its overall sales from growing in 2004 and 2005.
Major League Baseball's acquisition of rival Tickets.com in 2005 marks the most recent significant organization moving away from using Ticketmaster's services.
Looks like the MLB no longer uses Ticketmaster, or atleast, not primarly.
My amd chip runs pretty cool anyway. I recently bought an Athlon64 X2 3800+ (2ghz dual core). It actually runs cooler than my nforce4 chipset under load (while playing games like oblivion). Of course I did replace the stock heatsink/fan with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro which has improved my cpu temperatures (paid $35 Canadian for the aftermarket cooler, and it's working amazing so far).
I'm running at stock speeds and voltages. Here are my temp readings while idle and after playing oblivion for 2 hours:
Idle: CPU: 30-33C Chipset: ~33C GPU: ~40C
Oblivion: CPU: 37-38C Chipset: 41-42C GPU: 50-56C
Of course, if I ran an instance of Prime95 torture test on each core, I would see cpu temperatures above 40C. But for what I use this computer for (gaming primarly), I never see the cpu go over 38C, which is pretty damn cool IMO (my old Dell P4 2.66ghz idles at 40C, higher than my load temps).
I agree! This is a blatant rip off of iTunes only with a black theme instead of white.
I may be wrong, but it appears that benchmark was deliberately chosen out of a bias. The UT04 benchmark seems to run better on AMDs. When making comparisons of dissimilar architectures, no single test, nor any single type of test is suitable. While the AMD is faster at most of the other tests, most of them don't have nearly so much of a disparity.
I totally agree, testing just one game isn't right.
Here are some benchmarks for Half Life 2, just to be fair.
Results: Higher frame rate with AMD chips.
Lets try Quake 4:
AMD FX vs Intel EE chips
AMD dual cores vs Intel dual cores
Mainstream Athlon64 vs Pentium4
Results: Higher frame rate with AMD chips.
Lets try F.E.A.R:
AMD FX vs Intel EE chips
AMD dual core vs Intel dual core
Mainstream Athlon64 vs Pentium4
Results: Higher frame rate with AMD chips.
I would take it more seriously if they stopped using video games as the benchmark for processors.
Intel is trying to market these chips to gamers!! It makes sense to benchmark games as these chips will be used primarly by gamers who will be gaming!
I suspect these new processors will likely be as expensive as a PS3, JUST the processors. Who exactly is the group with too much money?
These processors will cost ALOT more than the PS3. The article says this new Intel Core 2 Extreme processor will be 40% faster than the Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 965. The 965 costs over $1000, this new chip will be 40% faster, so you can imagine just how expensive it will be.
Most games have a capped frame rate in multiplayer mode anyway, so even with these high end chips it won't matter (unless it's a major upgrade from your previous cpu). You're better off upgrading your graphics card over a cpu if you want to improve your games performance.
UT2004 is capped at 85fps in multiplayer mode. There's no cap in singleplayer.
Doom 3 is capped at 60fps in single and multiplayer IIRC.
There are other games out there too that have a framerate cap. With my system, Doom3 is always at the 60fps cap and UT2004 is always at the 85fps cap in multiplayer, upgrading my cpu, I wouldn't notice any improvement. I'm sure these chips are lighting fast and all, but are they worth it? A high end graphics card will improve game performance alot better than one of these chips would, and would only set you back maybe $500 instead of over $1000.
I just built a gaming rig (partial specs in sig) and the total cost was around $1200 Canadian after tax. So for the price of these high end chips, you could build/buy a complete system. Hardly worth the money IMO.
As for MS GINA being dropped .. I hope that VA release a version instead .. they could integrate it into sourceforge or something. *chuckle*
I heard VA was going to release a version, called VA GINA.
I just built a new system with a Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO2 LE. It cost $200 canadian for it so it's a mid range card. But it's really a high end card in disguise.
I get 70fps at 1024x768 High Quality 2xAA in Doom3 timedemo 1, using stock gpu/memory speeds of 400/980mhz
I get 96fps at 1024x768 High Quality 2xAA in Doom3 timedemo 1, overclocked gpu/memory speeds at 540/1180mhz (over 20% gpu increase)
The card never gets above 62C with the stock fan set to 100%. Eventually I'll get an aftermarket cooler so I can overclock it even more.
Basically this X800 GTO2 card can run at X850 XT PE speeds for half the price. Mine came with 16 pixel pipelines already unlocked where as some have to be modded since they only come with 12 pipelines unlocked by default. Also, this card comes with an R480 core, the same as the X850XT, hense why it can be easily overclocked using just the stock cooler. This is definately the best card I've ever owned. For $200 it runs like a $500 card. The only downside is it doesn't support the latest tech like HDR and Shader Model 3.0.
here here! I agree totally =)
Though AMD's naming scheme isn't quite as bad as Intel's, it's still a bit confusing. I just recently built my first amd system after owning 5 intels over the last 15 years. I couldn't decide on which dual core make I wanted to get, some have 2x512k L2 cache, some have 2x1mb L2 cache. I ended up going with the cheapest one (Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 2.0ghz dual core 2x512k L2 cache). Some people have been able to overclock their X2 3800+ from the stock 2.0ghz upto 2.5~2.7ghz. A 25% increase or more. Eventually when my warranty expires I will be pushing this chip past it's stock speed. I'm happy with the speed as it is, two 2.0ghz cores is way faster than my old P4 2.66ghz single core.
The design of AMD dual core chips is better than Intels too. AMD dual core chips communicate directly with each other on the die, Intel chips have to communicate through the much slower FSB. You can read about it here
I eat kamut or spelt bread mostly. Flax seed is supposedely good too. I find it doesn't bother my stomach as much. Your results may vary though =)
I'm pretty messed up, I'm only 23 and I've been sick since I was 17. I first got sick right before I was about to start college (I wanted to be a computer programmer ever since I was 13). I've been housebound for the last 6 years, unable to even start going to college or find work, I'm pretty disabled in a way. I treated my body like crap ever since I was 13. My mom was always busy with work and most of the time we just ate quick meals when she got home from work. Alot of the time we would order pizza or pickup mcdonalds. If we actually ate at home we usually would cook something that was quick, some boxed/refined product in the cupboard/freezer. We hardly EVER ate healthy. I ate tons junkfood and coke constantly, everyday pretty much.
I was a pretty messed up kid in high school (I was abused by my father as a child and bullied at school). I was bullied to the point where I tried to kill myself in grade 9 when I was 13. I've been on paxil ever since then. In grade 10 I started smoking pot and cigarettes. Eventually becoming a full blown smoker and pothead. All the while I was still eating like crap, never actually eating any vitamins or anything with any nutritional value. I started doing harder drugs occasionally on weekends aswell with pot. I probably did magic mushrooms about a dozen times, acid twice, esctacy 4-5 times, cocaine a half dozen times. I never got hooked on the hard drugs luckily, it was more of a social thing on weekends.
Well, eventually everything came crashing to a halt right after I graduated high school. The years of treating my body like shit came back to haunt me, big time. I started throwing up yellow bile daily and I had constant heartburn. I couldn't eat anything without throwing most if it back up right after. I was put on nexium to treat acid reflux by my doctors. All this did was mask the problem instead of actually treating the source of the acid reflux. Things kept getting worse and worse and I thought I was going to die. I had several tests done at the local hospital (endoscope down the throat, barium tests, upper and lower gastro intestinal tests, blood tests, etc..). Every test came back normal, no one could find anything wrong with me.
This went on for about 2 years of me seeking medical treatment (I live in Ontario, Canada so treatment is covered/free). Eventually I got fed up with conventional medicine and I decided to try a naturopathic doctor. Bingo! I found an amazing naturopathic doctor that put me on a specialized diet with lots of suppliments and digestive enzymes. Slowly I got better and better. I no longer throw up stomach acid everyday! Infact my stomach acid is gone totally and I don't take nexium or any ant-acids anymore. They did various food sensitivity testings and found out I had become sensitive to many things. I can no longer eat milk or eat any product with refined flour or anything with active yeast to name a few things. I developed IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and have alot of pain/bloating/discomfort throughout the day. I'm much better then I used to be, but I am still no where near 100%. Ontop of my digestive problems I suffer from severe depression, anxiety, stress, agoraphobia, emetophobia, and I'm a hypocondriac now (constantly worrying about my health, thinking I have cancer or there's something wrong with me). Even with all my problems, I would probably feel 100 times worse if it wasn't for eating healthy and exercise.
I was hooked on the snes version of shadowrun too. I've gone back to it several times using a snes emulator, finding the rom is easy.
I think Apple's last advertisment where they talk about "dull little PCs performing dull little tasks" (by dull little people?) was a lot worse, pretty much only appealing to the Smug Mac User crowd.
I hated that commercial. I'm still pissed at apple though, my ipod that is still under warranty has been messed up for the last 6 months, already sent it in twice and apple never fixes/replaces it, they just give me the circle jerk until my warranty expires. First and last time I ever buy an apple product. $400 for a device that's still under an extended 2 year warranty and they won't even fix it... FUCK YOU APPLE...ah, feel better now.
Wait, you mean the makers of Oblivion were stupid enough to leave in hidden content after the San Andreas fiasco?? Simply amazing how stupid some companies can be. If you try and hide something, people will find it!