Choosing the right choice for your home TV can be really tricky. People see all the online advertisement about Cable TV, and about satellite TV and every advertisement claim that its publisher offer best service, and best price. As such, it is very hard for consumers to know what is really the best in terms of quality, and price.
Current cable television customers know the reality of cable all too well: the bills keep getting bigger and the service keeps getting poorer.
Cable subscribers around the country are subject to constant rate hikes and some of the worst customer service of any industry in existence today. Two or three cable companies have a virtual monopoly on the market, and they seem oblivious to widespread dissatisfaction with their product, pricing, and support. Between taxes, monthly subscription fees, and equipment rental charges, cable subscribers are consistently paying far too much for the quality of the service they receive.
Satellite TV offers an alternative to these frustrations. With most retailers offering free installation, you can start enjoying satellite TV for as low as $24.99 a month! What's more, the satellite dish and receiver are yours to keep, so you won't need to pay a monthly rental charge or worry about returning the equipment if you move.
Satellite TV delivers 100% digital audio and video. Despite the incredible distance that the signal must travel before it reaches your television, the end result is still crystal clear and equal to any digital cable picture! As long as you have an unobstructed view of the southern sky, the only threat to the quality of your signal is very heavy rain or snow, which can occasionally interfere with reception. If you live in an area with frequent severe weather, you can always get a slightly larger dish to offset the interference.
But what about service? Not surprisingly, satellite TV wins there as well. The proof is in a study conducted by the respected research firm JD Power and Associates, which compared customer satisfaction with satellite TV providers and all the major cable companies. The results were clear -- both Direct TV and Dish Network received the highest possible scores in almost every category, including reliability, cost, and customer service. In contrast, the major cable companies' scores were not even close.
For expatriates, students, language buffs, and others, satellite TV is a great way to receive foreign-language programming. Both Direct TV and Dish Network offer foreign channels, though Dish Network currently has a greater selection of language choices, including Arabic, Russian, Korean and many others; VOOM does not currently offer any foreign channels. If you want to receive foreign programming, you will need to purchase a separate satellite dish, which must be aimed at different satellite than your standard dish.
From our experience, cable customers have one single advantage. They are always sure that they will get acceptable quality. If the company connects you with a cable, the signal certainly going to reach your home. However, if you use satellite TV, the signal quality depends on your location.
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Kamis, 26 Februari 2009
Jumat, 13 Februari 2009
Intel's X58 Chipset
Hey everyone, this is Icarus here with some thought on the new Intel X58 chipset.
The Intel X58 chipset was released during November of 2008, and was released as a successor of X48. Now, the importance here is not just the name itself; this is a direct challenge to all of the computer hardware companies out there that have been making large amounts of money off of nVidia chipset motherboards. Now, how does this effect you, the consumer who has sparked an interest in computer hardware?
Well, here's the thing: the X58 chipset can run SLI. Yes, I just said that: it can run SLI. For those of you who don't know what SLI is, I will explain it in another article today. For now, I will just say that SLI is a program created by NVidia that allows the computer to run more than one video card at the same time.
Now, why does SLI in the X58 matter so much? Well here's the reason why: it takes away a valuable advantage NVidia chipsets had over Intel chipsets. Traditionally, Intel chipsets were only able to run Crossfire and CrossfireX, or just a single NVidia video card without SLI. NVidia chipsets, on the other hand, can only run NVidia Graphics cards(with the exception of patches for some ATI graphics cards) but can run two in SLI and even three in TriSLI. However, now that the X58 can run NVidia graphics cards(GPU's), more consumers will begin to turn to this chipset.
Now, NVidia loses more than one battle here. One of NVidia chipsets motherboards' main concerns for consumers was the price tag. The fact is, that many NVidia chipset motherboards are more expensive than the Intel chipset motherboards. However, this was justifiable because NVidia still had the SLI and TriSLI advantage over Intel chipsets. Now that the X58 chipset can run NVidia GPU's in SLI, NVidia has lost one advantage, and lots its justification for the price tags. And because most consumers only go as far as running two graphics cards in SLI, NVidia may lose a lot of loyal customers.
However, this does not mean that NVidia will fade away or go bankrupt. X58 chipset motherboards can run two graphics cards in SLI, but it cannot run three graphics cards in SLI. NVidia can; therefore, NVidia still gets to keep the enthusiast market under its arms. Another advantage NVidia still has is its apparent ability to overclock better than Intel chipsets. While this advantage may seem to be mysterious because most consumers do not know why this is so, this is still an advantage that NVidia will hold onto. Therefore, NVidia will still be able to keep most of the consumers who know how to overclock well.
Read More......
The Intel X58 chipset was released during November of 2008, and was released as a successor of X48. Now, the importance here is not just the name itself; this is a direct challenge to all of the computer hardware companies out there that have been making large amounts of money off of nVidia chipset motherboards. Now, how does this effect you, the consumer who has sparked an interest in computer hardware?
Well, here's the thing: the X58 chipset can run SLI. Yes, I just said that: it can run SLI. For those of you who don't know what SLI is, I will explain it in another article today. For now, I will just say that SLI is a program created by NVidia that allows the computer to run more than one video card at the same time.
Now, why does SLI in the X58 matter so much? Well here's the reason why: it takes away a valuable advantage NVidia chipsets had over Intel chipsets. Traditionally, Intel chipsets were only able to run Crossfire and CrossfireX, or just a single NVidia video card without SLI. NVidia chipsets, on the other hand, can only run NVidia Graphics cards(with the exception of patches for some ATI graphics cards) but can run two in SLI and even three in TriSLI. However, now that the X58 can run NVidia graphics cards(GPU's), more consumers will begin to turn to this chipset.
Now, NVidia loses more than one battle here. One of NVidia chipsets motherboards' main concerns for consumers was the price tag. The fact is, that many NVidia chipset motherboards are more expensive than the Intel chipset motherboards. However, this was justifiable because NVidia still had the SLI and TriSLI advantage over Intel chipsets. Now that the X58 chipset can run NVidia GPU's in SLI, NVidia has lost one advantage, and lots its justification for the price tags. And because most consumers only go as far as running two graphics cards in SLI, NVidia may lose a lot of loyal customers.
However, this does not mean that NVidia will fade away or go bankrupt. X58 chipset motherboards can run two graphics cards in SLI, but it cannot run three graphics cards in SLI. NVidia can; therefore, NVidia still gets to keep the enthusiast market under its arms. Another advantage NVidia still has is its apparent ability to overclock better than Intel chipsets. While this advantage may seem to be mysterious because most consumers do not know why this is so, this is still an advantage that NVidia will hold onto. Therefore, NVidia will still be able to keep most of the consumers who know how to overclock well.
Read More......
Sabtu, 17 Januari 2009
The ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2, AMD's latest dual-CPU 3D card
Two graphics chips. One card. And a whole lotta rendering fun: That's the basic philosophy behind the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2, AMD's latest dual-CPU 3D card. Actually, that's the philosophy AMD has adopted for high-end graphics in general. No longer intending to duke it out with NVIDIA at the very top of the market, instead of producing one monstrous GPU, AMD's plan is to slap NVIDIA silly with two slightly more compact GPUs crammed onto a single card.
But there's a problem. In the past, two chips on one board has been a recipe for double trouble, not double your fun. Multi-GPU technology in multi-card form has always been dubious in terms of stability and reliability; a somewhat worrisome fact for a single card that relies on multi-GPU performance scaling for its very existence.
NVIDIA kicked off the modern day version of the twin-chip trend with GeForce 7950 GX2. That board worked fairly well at first. But then NVIDIA launched a whole new graphics architecture and, quite frankly, its driver team stopped caring about the 7950 GX2.
And drivers are absolutely crucial when it comes to any form of multi-GPU technology. Both NVIDIA's SLI platform and ATI's competing CrossFire technology use driver profiles to detect games and apply correct multi-GPU scaling methods.
If there's no driver profile for a given game or if the game is not detected correctly, you're in trouble. At best, you'll get single-GPU performance. At worst, the game won't run at all.
The task for the new Radeon HD 4870 X2 is therefore clear. To be taken seriously it must expunge all hint of multi-GPU unreliability and deliver the sort of stability and ease of use that users expect from a single-chip graphics card.
On paper, there are reasons to be optimistic. For starters, AMD has upgraded its inter-GPU PCI Express bridge chip from 1.0 to 2.0 spec and added a 5GB bi-directional sideport to each GPU. Consequently, overall inter-GPU bandwidth has been boosted from 6.8Gbps to 2l.8Gbps.
Likewise, AMD has made a really smart move in stuffing fully 2GB of graphics memory onto this card. At really high resolutions, 512MB per GPU may not be enough to store all the game data. When that happens, a graphics card is forced to use the PCI Express bus to fetch data. And that means hideously slow frame rates. But with 1GB per GPU, the 4870 should suffer from no such shortcoming.
Fully Automagic
The 4870 X2 is also extremely user-friendly by multi-GPU standards. It shows up as single device for driver installation purposes and there's no need for users to even think about enabling multi-GPU scaling it all happens automatically. Unlike most other multi-GPU boards, the 4870 X2 is also capable of full multi-display support.
But, what the 4870 X2 conspicuously does not do is to move the game forward in a technological sense. One day, a company will produce a multi-chip solution that behaves likes a single rendering device, thereby sidestepping current multi-GPU problems. But that day has not arrived. In essence, the 4870 X2 remains CrossFire on a card and is every bit as dependent on driver support as any other multi-GPU technology currently available.
The CPUs are essentially lifted from the single-chip 4870 board. It's the same 55nm GPU die running at an identical 750MHz. The 4870 X2 therefore packs 1,600 stream processor and a theoretical maximum compute performance of 2.4TFLOPs. One helluva lot, in other words.
Likewise, the 3.6Mbps data rate of the GDDR5 graphics memory is identical to the single-chip 4870. And like every other 4800 series card, the 4870 X2 offers DirectX 10.1 support. For what it's worth, NVIDIA's competing GPUs remain 10.0 bound.
Broken down
When the 4870 X2 performs, it works extremely well. Given that the single 4870 is not all that far behind NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 280, it comes as no surprise to find the 4870 X2 has its measure when multi-GPU scaling is in full flow.
The 4870's performance in GRID also shows the benefits of all that video memory. The pair of 4870s in CrossFire mode really fall off a cliff at 2,560 x 1,600. No such problem for the 4870 X2 and its twin 1GB memory buffers. If memory availability is not an issue, the X2 scales largely identically to the 4870s in CrossFire.
That's the good news. Now brace yourself for the bad. The X2 fails to deliver in the one game where you really want maximum performance, Crysis - as do the 4870s in CrossFire mode. Both setups simply crash approximately five seconds after level loading.
Now, we suspect the X2 works as intended in 95 per cent of system configurations. But not, unfortunately, ours. Given more time and correspondence with AMD, we are sure that a solution will present itself.
We really want to like the new X2. In many ways, especially the memory buffers and multi-monitor support, the HD 4870 is a dual-GPU done right. And when it does work properly, it gets immensely fast results. But the harsh truth is that as long as multi-GPU technology relies on driver profiles, it will be a flaky, hit-and-miss affair. And one that we can't in all conscience recommend that you buy.
Read More......
But there's a problem. In the past, two chips on one board has been a recipe for double trouble, not double your fun. Multi-GPU technology in multi-card form has always been dubious in terms of stability and reliability; a somewhat worrisome fact for a single card that relies on multi-GPU performance scaling for its very existence.
NVIDIA kicked off the modern day version of the twin-chip trend with GeForce 7950 GX2. That board worked fairly well at first. But then NVIDIA launched a whole new graphics architecture and, quite frankly, its driver team stopped caring about the 7950 GX2.
And drivers are absolutely crucial when it comes to any form of multi-GPU technology. Both NVIDIA's SLI platform and ATI's competing CrossFire technology use driver profiles to detect games and apply correct multi-GPU scaling methods.
If there's no driver profile for a given game or if the game is not detected correctly, you're in trouble. At best, you'll get single-GPU performance. At worst, the game won't run at all.
The task for the new Radeon HD 4870 X2 is therefore clear. To be taken seriously it must expunge all hint of multi-GPU unreliability and deliver the sort of stability and ease of use that users expect from a single-chip graphics card.
On paper, there are reasons to be optimistic. For starters, AMD has upgraded its inter-GPU PCI Express bridge chip from 1.0 to 2.0 spec and added a 5GB bi-directional sideport to each GPU. Consequently, overall inter-GPU bandwidth has been boosted from 6.8Gbps to 2l.8Gbps.
Likewise, AMD has made a really smart move in stuffing fully 2GB of graphics memory onto this card. At really high resolutions, 512MB per GPU may not be enough to store all the game data. When that happens, a graphics card is forced to use the PCI Express bus to fetch data. And that means hideously slow frame rates. But with 1GB per GPU, the 4870 should suffer from no such shortcoming.
Fully Automagic
The 4870 X2 is also extremely user-friendly by multi-GPU standards. It shows up as single device for driver installation purposes and there's no need for users to even think about enabling multi-GPU scaling it all happens automatically. Unlike most other multi-GPU boards, the 4870 X2 is also capable of full multi-display support.
But, what the 4870 X2 conspicuously does not do is to move the game forward in a technological sense. One day, a company will produce a multi-chip solution that behaves likes a single rendering device, thereby sidestepping current multi-GPU problems. But that day has not arrived. In essence, the 4870 X2 remains CrossFire on a card and is every bit as dependent on driver support as any other multi-GPU technology currently available.
The CPUs are essentially lifted from the single-chip 4870 board. It's the same 55nm GPU die running at an identical 750MHz. The 4870 X2 therefore packs 1,600 stream processor and a theoretical maximum compute performance of 2.4TFLOPs. One helluva lot, in other words.
Likewise, the 3.6Mbps data rate of the GDDR5 graphics memory is identical to the single-chip 4870. And like every other 4800 series card, the 4870 X2 offers DirectX 10.1 support. For what it's worth, NVIDIA's competing GPUs remain 10.0 bound.
Broken down
When the 4870 X2 performs, it works extremely well. Given that the single 4870 is not all that far behind NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 280, it comes as no surprise to find the 4870 X2 has its measure when multi-GPU scaling is in full flow.
The 4870's performance in GRID also shows the benefits of all that video memory. The pair of 4870s in CrossFire mode really fall off a cliff at 2,560 x 1,600. No such problem for the 4870 X2 and its twin 1GB memory buffers. If memory availability is not an issue, the X2 scales largely identically to the 4870s in CrossFire.
That's the good news. Now brace yourself for the bad. The X2 fails to deliver in the one game where you really want maximum performance, Crysis - as do the 4870s in CrossFire mode. Both setups simply crash approximately five seconds after level loading.
Now, we suspect the X2 works as intended in 95 per cent of system configurations. But not, unfortunately, ours. Given more time and correspondence with AMD, we are sure that a solution will present itself.
We really want to like the new X2. In many ways, especially the memory buffers and multi-monitor support, the HD 4870 is a dual-GPU done right. And when it does work properly, it gets immensely fast results. But the harsh truth is that as long as multi-GPU technology relies on driver profiles, it will be a flaky, hit-and-miss affair. And one that we can't in all conscience recommend that you buy.
Read More......
Selasa, 02 September 2008
Tips on Buying a Desktop Computer
Whether your old computer is shot or you have never bought a computer on your own, you feel a bit nervous about the whole thing.
The purchase of a computer, discontinuation of a fair chunk of your hard-earned money, and you may be nervous about a computer is not a great fit for your needs.
The truth is, get a good desktop computer that suits you is easier than you think and, by simply taking into account the following tips, you can find the perfect computer, you'll be happy for the coming years.
1st Know what you want your computer.
Think about how you use your computer. Are you someone who only have one computer for its word processing capacity, or would you prefer to stay up to date on the latest games.
Maybe you're someone whose entertainment is largely focused on your computer, all your communication and your movies are on your computer. By a clear idea of what you need your computer for sure that the correct machine.
2nd They know what RAM is.
RAM stands for Random Access Memory, and you'll find that what he does is on the speed with which your computer "thinks", which means processes. If you just use your computer for things like surfing online or in writing, you will find that a RAM from 512 MB is okay, even if 1GB is ideal.
You will notice that this scale will give you room to expand or grow if you want to later on, but it is not so great that you are wasting your money. If you're playing, or make the latest computer programming with your device, you naturally want more.
3rd Do not worry about so much disk space.
The hard disk space generally refers to the amount of information that you can ensure that your computer, ranging from written works and audio-visual media.
You'll find that if you have a lot of videos, this can be quickly eaten up, but also in desktop PCs, you will notice that it is very easy from a few more. Remember that while you have a finite amount of space, it's all how you use it.
4th Online or from memory?
You will notice that online ordering is actually a lot cheaper, but remember that you should know what you're looking for. If you choose to build a computer, you will notice that it is much easier to parts online.
In a business, but you will find that you often take the time to discuss the details, please contact a sales representative and take a look around to see what else is available. It really depends on what you are comfortable with.
If you buy a desktop computer, remember that you really need to think about what you want it for. Once you have decided the function, it is very easy to determine which machine is perfect for you.
Read More......
The purchase of a computer, discontinuation of a fair chunk of your hard-earned money, and you may be nervous about a computer is not a great fit for your needs.
The truth is, get a good desktop computer that suits you is easier than you think and, by simply taking into account the following tips, you can find the perfect computer, you'll be happy for the coming years.
1st Know what you want your computer.
Think about how you use your computer. Are you someone who only have one computer for its word processing capacity, or would you prefer to stay up to date on the latest games.
Maybe you're someone whose entertainment is largely focused on your computer, all your communication and your movies are on your computer. By a clear idea of what you need your computer for sure that the correct machine.
2nd They know what RAM is.
RAM stands for Random Access Memory, and you'll find that what he does is on the speed with which your computer "thinks", which means processes. If you just use your computer for things like surfing online or in writing, you will find that a RAM from 512 MB is okay, even if 1GB is ideal.
You will notice that this scale will give you room to expand or grow if you want to later on, but it is not so great that you are wasting your money. If you're playing, or make the latest computer programming with your device, you naturally want more.
3rd Do not worry about so much disk space.
The hard disk space generally refers to the amount of information that you can ensure that your computer, ranging from written works and audio-visual media.
You'll find that if you have a lot of videos, this can be quickly eaten up, but also in desktop PCs, you will notice that it is very easy from a few more. Remember that while you have a finite amount of space, it's all how you use it.
4th Online or from memory?
You will notice that online ordering is actually a lot cheaper, but remember that you should know what you're looking for. If you choose to build a computer, you will notice that it is much easier to parts online.
In a business, but you will find that you often take the time to discuss the details, please contact a sales representative and take a look around to see what else is available. It really depends on what you are comfortable with.
If you buy a desktop computer, remember that you really need to think about what you want it for. Once you have decided the function, it is very easy to determine which machine is perfect for you.
Read More......
Best Information for Intel Computers
Intel has been intensely popular that it was often wrong as a PC brand. In general, when people say, Intel-based computers, what they really are referring to the Intel-based computers. For several years or even decades, since Intel has been on the market, when people think of Intel they falsely imagine a computer brand. So what makes Intel computers really mean? Has anyone actually seen an Intel-based computers? For sure nobody has seen one yet. What most people actually see is a sticker outside CPUs, which states that "Intel Inside." What are the signs label really mean?
The famous "Intel inside" sticker
Since the advent of personal computers, the Intel-based microprocessor was used in almost all known computer brands on the market. Of course, as the name Intel is evident in almost every computer, the words "Intel-based computers stuck in a spirit of computer and non-computer users alike.
This is especially true when a couple of years, Intel launched a product called Centrino. Everyone, especially the tech all personal outside, everyone was excited about this new product. But for the non-technology savvy and non-computer users it was common misconception that Centrino was a day name of a laptop. Centrino to them was a notebook that was super fast, super-reliable and had super-slim design. But much to their disappointment, Centrino is not a computer or notebook. Centrino, the Intel processor that runs inside the notebook or computer.
What's really in?
So in fact the real product of Intel is not the entire computer. There is no such thing as Intel-based computers in the vernacular as misinterpreted by most consumers. The real product of Intel, the microprocessor that runs "inside" the computer.
The misunderstanding is understandable, because the processor is the brain of the computer. The performance of the computer in general is about the performance of their processor, so the analogy: Computer-Intel processor. Therefore, there is not really surprising that this misunderstanding and the people do not even seem to mind correcting it. Intel also has no objection, they benefit greatly from this misunderstanding. New computer users would, of course, want nothing more than an Intel-based computers.
What really attached to the popular opinion about the Intel-based computers as a computer brand is the amount of recognition that Intel has evolved over the years as the leading microprocessor manufacturer. Your recognition and popularity is mainly through its high-end performance. Current Intel processors run at a clock frequency of impressive equal to or greater than 3.0 GHz. Intel processors are also the best in power and energy efficiency, to keep noise levels down and heat production / control. In addition, the promotion and marketing strategy of Intel have also contributed to the popular misunderstanding.
What all this really means is that in this period of the Information Age, Intel so far is the most precious processor on the market. They are not only the processors on the market and may not always be the market leader notably with regard to the performance of its rival AMD Athlon. Yes, there were several times when the rival has been able to launch a product that is better than Intel, but Intel has always managed to climb back. Therefore, because of the integrity, reliability and efficiency of its major product - the processor - Intel has a brand name synonymous with everything computer.
Read More......
The famous "Intel inside" sticker
Since the advent of personal computers, the Intel-based microprocessor was used in almost all known computer brands on the market. Of course, as the name Intel is evident in almost every computer, the words "Intel-based computers stuck in a spirit of computer and non-computer users alike.
This is especially true when a couple of years, Intel launched a product called Centrino. Everyone, especially the tech all personal outside, everyone was excited about this new product. But for the non-technology savvy and non-computer users it was common misconception that Centrino was a day name of a laptop. Centrino to them was a notebook that was super fast, super-reliable and had super-slim design. But much to their disappointment, Centrino is not a computer or notebook. Centrino, the Intel processor that runs inside the notebook or computer.
What's really in?
So in fact the real product of Intel is not the entire computer. There is no such thing as Intel-based computers in the vernacular as misinterpreted by most consumers. The real product of Intel, the microprocessor that runs "inside" the computer.
The misunderstanding is understandable, because the processor is the brain of the computer. The performance of the computer in general is about the performance of their processor, so the analogy: Computer-Intel processor. Therefore, there is not really surprising that this misunderstanding and the people do not even seem to mind correcting it. Intel also has no objection, they benefit greatly from this misunderstanding. New computer users would, of course, want nothing more than an Intel-based computers.
What really attached to the popular opinion about the Intel-based computers as a computer brand is the amount of recognition that Intel has evolved over the years as the leading microprocessor manufacturer. Your recognition and popularity is mainly through its high-end performance. Current Intel processors run at a clock frequency of impressive equal to or greater than 3.0 GHz. Intel processors are also the best in power and energy efficiency, to keep noise levels down and heat production / control. In addition, the promotion and marketing strategy of Intel have also contributed to the popular misunderstanding.
What all this really means is that in this period of the Information Age, Intel so far is the most precious processor on the market. They are not only the processors on the market and may not always be the market leader notably with regard to the performance of its rival AMD Athlon. Yes, there were several times when the rival has been able to launch a product that is better than Intel, but Intel has always managed to climb back. Therefore, because of the integrity, reliability and efficiency of its major product - the processor - Intel has a brand name synonymous with everything computer.
Read More......
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