Random thoughts.... [Tech Edition]

You're the one wanting to be a pedant.

:lol::lol:

Oh, that is rich, the pot calling the kettle black. In this instance I could be less of a pedant too, but you seem to relish jumping in the middle of conversations with your facts and corrections way too much.


Sand gets everywhere, no need to use your phone on the beach for that. Sand is not just a technicality or some exotic material, it's one of the most abundant things in the Earth's crust.

I love that you so conveniently cut out most of that paragraph because you had no answer.

Like I said, if you are protecting against sand then you are no longer protecting against wear and tear. If you are concerned about damage from sand, then you must also be buying theft insurance, using a big padded case to protect against drops, paying for the GPS location feature in case you lose your phone or anything else that has even the slightest chance of happening. Heck, you should also probably keep your phone in a zip-lock bag full of rice just in case, you know, it rains... because even though modern mobile phones can resist a bit of moisture, they aren't actually moisture proof.
 
The interface could be better on this, but I like that Asus provide this little too. I can't think of too many real world applications though, perhaps monitoring temperature and fan speed during a game.

 
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Interesting that screen protectors should be mentioned, because I've been wondering if I'd made a big mistake by not buying one for me Desire HD. I always try to keep it out of harms way, for about 4 months of the 5 that I've owned it I had a protective sock from my old Touch HD and currently there isn't a single noticeable scratch on it.

Recently though I've been putting it in the same pocket as my keys without the sock on (I lost it somewhere) and I'm getting paranoid. I probably shouldn't, the spotless screen and all the scratch test videos show that it'll fend off most sharp edges. I'm more concerned about gouging the aluminium back panel to be honest.
 
Finally finished building my NAS, need to figure out BT permissions since right now the files are created w/o me being able to rename or anything.
 
:lol::lol:

Oh, that is rich, the pot calling the kettle black. In this instance I could be less of a pedant too, but you seem to relish jumping in the middle of conversations with your facts and corrections way too much.




I love that you so conveniently cut out most of that paragraph because you had no answer.

Like I said, if you are protecting against sand then you are no longer protecting against wear and tear. If you are concerned about damage from sand, then you must also be buying theft insurance, using a big padded case to protect against drops, paying for the GPS location feature in case you lose your phone or anything else that has even the slightest chance of happening. Heck, you should also probably keep your phone in a zip-lock bag full of rice just in case, you know, it rains... because even though modern mobile phones can resist a bit of moisture, they aren't actually moisture proof.

Yes, because all of those things are comparable to an inexpensive, seamless film you stick to you screen :rolleyes:
 
With all of this SandyBridge PC building going around I totally want to build one and get back into PC Gaming. I'll need way more of a budget though because I'll be sans monitor, keyboard, mouse etc. I was looking at i5-2500k builds and the rig itself shouldnt exceed 2k and the rest of it another 6-700. Hmmmm I have that kind of cash, now I only have to prioritize it. I won't have much time to game the next few years, so I wonder if it's even worth it or I should just stick to casually playing my ps3 once in a while. Also I want a motorcycle so I could spend the money on that and riding gear.



DAMN YOU REAL LIFE!
 
You don't need Sandy Bridge if you just want to get back into PC Gaming on a budget. My Core 2 Duo will still play anything out there while pulling off graphics better than the current consoles.
 
camera people, I need a simple basic point & click for regular users. No uberleet lenses or pro equipment here, just looking for something basic with good image quality (sharpness)

Must

- be easy to pick up and use (no million menus to just take a simple picture, auto settings FTW)
- budget : 250? - 300?ish
- i prefer a sturdy model, I have a 1,5 year old who likes to throw stuff
- rainproof is a must

Like

- a "decent" camera brand like Canon or Nikon (definitely not a must, our 5 yr old Olympus is starting to go)
- 10 MP if possible

Ideas?
 
You don't need Sandy Bridge if you just want to get back into PC Gaming on a budget. My Core 2 Duo will still play anything out there while pulling off graphics better than the current consoles.

Next thing you gonna say is that you don't need a 7 liter V8 in a sports car and that a 1.3 Wankel will do the job :p Ofc he needs a Sandy Bridge!
 
Next thing you gonna say is that you don't need a 7 liter V8 in a sports car and that a 1.3 Wankel will do the job :p Ofc he needs a Sandy Bridge!

If I do something its always full on, so I'd just build the killer system that'll run stuff maxed out for a few years. I don't want to jack around with half measures.
 
You didn't even say what computer you had currently. It's tough to give any constructive commentary when we don't know if you're running P4 from 2004 or a Core 2 Duo from 2008.

I kept looking at all these Sandy Bridge builds on FG too and thinking I wanted one for myself, but as my previous machine was a perfectly capable C2D-based system from mid-2008 I couldn't justify it even though I too had the cash. Then my computer started showing signs of its death nearing, so I had no choice but to replace it.

Let me tell you, the difference in speed and capability is totally underwhelming... any difference I noticed probably has to do with the SSD too and not the hike in number of cores or increased CPU horsepower.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is if you have a relatively modern Core 2 Duo or better (say quad core Q6600) you'll be pretty much wasting your cash. Just throw an SSD in there and that should speed things up enough to freshen up your computing experience. Sandy Bridge is the bee's knees right now but it doesn't really revolutinize your computing experience or anything, as you might assume from the sheer amount of Sandy Bridge talk going around now.
 
Especially when it comes to gaming - it's more important to have the latest and greatest in graphics than CPU power. But I totally understand wanting an all-out killer system for longevity (and bragging rights).
 
Oh yeah, I have nothing. No desktop gaming has been done since around 2003. I have my laptop and I do all my work on that, but no gaming which I have always done on my 360 or PS3.

So starting from scratch, I just think investing for the future would be a good move.
 
Oh yeah, I have nothing. No desktop gaming has been done since around 2003. I have my laptop and I do all my work on that, but no gaming which I have always done on my 360 or PS3.

So starting from scratch, I just think investing for the future would be a good move.

Well being a laptop doesn't necessarily make it slow and shitty, there are Sandy Bridge laptops y'know. :p

Honestly I'm a firm believer that future proofing is a non-existent notion in the world of computing, any attempts I have made at this have been fruitless.

It doesn't really sound like you want to be talked out of it, and I would be the wrong person anyway... it's been just a week since I went totally crazy with a i7 2600K, 8GB of memory and a $300 SSD so I could run Firefox basically and the occasional session of GTA IV. You won't be future proof, but you'll have a big grin on your face knowing for the time being you have the latest and greatest.

Good luck with your build, hope it turns out to be less of a hassle than mine.
 
Especially when it comes to gaming - it's more important to have the latest and greatest in graphics than CPU power. But I totally understand wanting an all-out killer system for longevity (and bragging rights).
While that's true it also depends on what games you are playing, for instance Star Craft 2 is fairly CPU heavy while Stalker is pretty much all GPU.
If I do something its always full on, so I'd just build the killer system that'll run stuff maxed out for a few years. I don't want to jack around with half measures.
I was on your side actually (albeit it was a bit of a jest) I see no reason not to go for a Sandy Bridge CPU, it's more than just a faster CPU its also a better memory controller.
Well being a laptop doesn't necessarily make it slow and shitty, there are Sandy Bridge laptops y'know.
I can attest to that but price-to-performance ratio does favor desktops quite a bit.
Honestly I'm a firm believer that future proofing is a non-existent notion in the world of computing, any attempts I have made at this have been fruitless.
Thou speaketh the truth.
 
Oh my laptop is the shittiest. TBH I haven't decided whether to take the plunge or not, but its nice to spec stuff out while wasting time at work.

I need to find some games I actually want to play before splashing out anyways.
 
Galantti, I see you looking at this thread. Buy my Booklet so I can get an Eee Pad Transformer.
 
Galantti, I see you looking at this thread. Buy my Booklet so I can get an Eee Pad Transformer.

I wish the Booklet had a more mainstream Atom processor. (N-series, instead of slowww Z-series) I would have scooped one up in a heartbeat due to the industrial design. :)
 
I dunno, my Atom N270 is pretty painful. Is the Z series really worse?

Maybe I'm not a super hardcore computer user, or my Wind U100 got a particularly good chip, but my N270's managed to handle whatever I threw at it without a hitch. I playback 720p video on it with nary a stutter, even at full screen, and have multi tasked w/out issue. One cool thing about the Wind is that it supports overclocking out of the box..you can choose between 8 and iirc 16% in the bios, then hit a function key when you need the extra power and it does the rest. I rarely use it though.

The biggest downfall was the graphics on Z-series Atom systems. The GMA 500, while technically being better for HD playback than the GMA 950 in N270 systems, sucked pretty much everywhere else, even for Windows Aero. Add in the slower processor and many Z-series Atom netbooks got horrible reviews. The Dell Mini 12 was a prime example...brilliant execution...but horrible Z-series internals that made using the thing downright painful.
 
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