http://techgage.com/article/amds-fx-8320...-a-budget/

Quote:The trouble is, at present, throwing threads at games shows diminishing returns in general. As I said earlier, it all depends on the games you plan to play and how well they leverage more than 2-4 cores.

I hate to be a negative voice in regards to AMD, as I’ve been a fan for over a decade. Since I built my first PC back on 2001, I’ve built 2 for myself that have been Intel-based. In fact, I’ve been running a Phenom II X4 based system for the last 4 or 5 years and before that it was an Athlon 2 dual-core. That said, I can’t justify going with a new AMD build based on the AM3+ platform if you’re currently running an Athlon X4 or Phenom II X4-based system. I can see buying a new board to move up to USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps, but if you’re running an AM3-based chip, I’d recommend just sticking with it. Instead, spend the money you’d put towards an octo-core CPU towards a GPU upgrade since that’s going to net you the biggest bang-for-your-buck return.

If, on the other hand, you’re coming from an AM2-based system or a dual-core AM3 and you’ve got limited funds, you’ve got two choices: go with either an AM3+ 6+ core CPU (at the time of this writing you can find the FX-8320E for $120-$149 USD), and get the cheapest 970 or 990FX-based board you can get your hands on; or go with an H97 based board and an Intel Core i3.
...
As much as I hate to write this, as an enthusiast, I can’t really recommend AMD’s CPUs right now. Not if you’re starting from square one. Like I said earlier, if you’ve got a compatible chip (AM3) and want to move to USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps, by all means, the boards are great. The chipset is mature and I’ve even seen where one of the board manufacturers is coming out with a board with USB 3.1. If you’re sporting an AM2+ or earlier system, just take the plunge into an Intel setup. They’re really not all that much more money if you’re frugal with your choices, and they don’t represent a dead-end in the future if you go with a 9X series chipset.

That said, I’m really at a loss for words. I’m a little sad, very disappointed, and unhappy in feeling like I’ve failed one of my heroes. So, I’m going to retire and lick my wounds.

http://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2015/04/06/...le-ruling/
The Markman ruling has favored Nvidia in 6 out of 7 counts. Also, the effort to get the court case with Nvidia and Velocity Micro moved to Californa has been denied. So Samsung is still suing them to get the suit in the fast Virgina civil court system. F*** Samsung.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/133032
Karl Bode must be really asshurt that his TV isn't cutting edge any more.

Quote:For example, many 4KTV vendors are shipping sets that claim to have fully HDMI 2.0 compliant ports, yet the actual ports are only "HDMI lite" -- only capable of 10 Gbps of the full 18 Gbps the standard is supposed to deliver.

Quote:As such these sets are being advertised as absolute cutting edge and future proof, but they can't actually deliver full full 4k 4:4:4 chroma at 60p. Worse, many of the biggest manufacturers can't be bothered to advertise this fact.

Quote:Similarly, while Netflix has stated that High Dynamic Range (HDR) may actually be more important than 4K, the standard -- which provides brighter and more varied color -- has yet to see a coherent unified definition, yet implementation in most 4K sets.

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Googl...way-133239
Just read the comments. Of course, there are also plenty of Google Fiber defenders who say Google Fiber shamed the ISPs into providing faster speeds, when in reality DOCSIS 3.0 is responsible:

Quote:Google Fiber: Best Head Fake Ever!!!

Quote:Yet, it only takes a real ISP about 6 months from start to finish to build. I seen WOW expand into new areas. Was done over a summer. That included obtaining more ROWs, working with the State of Ohio and the Cities for construction permits. Yet GF has taken 5 years, and they have less to build a few "huts" and a fiber line. Yet, still, those poor saps still believe Google will come. Charlotte will be at least 10 to 15 years out at this point and so will any other city.

Quote:actually it wasn't just fiber, it was coax as well. And actually, it still was done faster. ROW contract was completed within 2 months and was done with the worst power company in the country- First Energy. And WOW is expanding like crazy and building in completely new markets without problem.

So yes, in 10-15 years Charlotte and the other cites still will NOT have service. Just another nail in the coffin that shows that Google is not a huge threat and actually is no threat at all in the end. ATT can take their time upgrading, Comcast and Charter can take over TWC and upgrade to D3 and Ethernet - hell even build FTTH and still be years ahead of GF without any problems.

Quote:I don't understand why so many people continue to worship Google Fiber when they have delivered so little. If anyone is guilty of "Fiber to the Press" it's Google. Google is only doing this as a way to sucker their "competition" into deploying faster networks to service their need for more profits.

If Google was serious about building these fiber networks they would be much further along.

Quote:EPB passed more homes in 12-18 months....

Quote:And that is what I have been saying all along. 5 years to build out in Austin. KC is well over 5 years at this point and still not finished with probably no plans on finishing. Google is allowed and praised for cherry picking, yet when FiOS or U-Verse isn't in every neighborhood this site, and the visitors and everyone else across the Internet claim illegal and cherry picking. Google is no better than anyone else. They're blowing smoke and that's all they do.

The KC metro area will probably end up being part of the former SureWest network.

http://www.neowin.net/news/lg-publicly-c...8k-in-2015
Don't know if this is true, but would be amazing if so. Remember, this is coming from the same company that makes the 5K panels for the 5K iMac and Dell's UP2715K.

http://hdguru.com/samsung-kicks-off-suhd...ct-lineup/
Good to see color improvement at long last. I also noticed this:

Quote:“We’ve been the No. 1 television manufacturer for the past nine years, and in the UHD category alone nearly half of all televisions sold are Samsung’s,” Das said. “Along with our partners on the content, post processing and delivery side, Samsung has virtually created the UHD category.”

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/asrock-...28879.html

Quote:Unfortunately, ASRock didn't fix the most damning issue that Thomas discovered in his initial review, which is the orientation of the exhaust and intake fans. Both the top and bottom sport one intake and one exhaust, respectively. This still results in recirculated exhaust, with cold intake blowing right back out before passing over any hardware. To correct the problem, Thomas tore the case down, cut some cable sheathing and flipped some fans around, allowing cold air to enter on the bottom, pass over the hardware and exhaust out of the top of the case. The result was a monumental decrease in CPU temperature to the tune of 20 degrees C under load.

Considering the improvement's impact, and that implementing his change wouldn't cost ASRock anything, we're disappointed to see the modification wasn't made.

The ITX form factor is already quite popular. As hardware continues to get smaller and more efficient, enthusiasts will be able to cram higher performance into compact cases. There's a lot of room in this space for unique and innovative products. ASRock's entry is solid, and it enjoyed an early start, too. As such, it's a shame that the company didn't pursue the unoptimized airflow we pointed out back in late 2013. Instead, ASRock chose to update the M8's motherboard and power supply.

The ASRock M8 is a case we want to love. Stylish ITX enclosures are becoming more common, as are home theater PCs. The M8 does have a ton of potential. But unless you're willing to invest some effort in shuffling its parts around, we're having a hard time wholeheartedly recommending a product that could easily be made better.

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/201...was-worse/
How many times have I seen people with haterections for Stalin who only counted the 5.1-6 million Jewish body count for the Holocaust?

My thoughts on DLC.

DLC is a point of controversy these days. Which is weird, because any kind of DLC will get bashed as "it should have been in the game to begin with!" or "NICKEL AND DIMING". Including the DLC that a decade ago was called expansion packs and back then was welcomed as adding new content. Delivery method of expansion packs has changed, the content didn't really change, but it's lumped in as "DLC" and therefore evil. Don't forget, no one ever held a gun to your head and ordered you to buy DLC or past expansion packs.

It gets even worse. There is a huge double standard on the more recent form of DLC, namely small transactions to permanently gain weapons and hats. Weapons and gear transactions are understandable, as you actually get something for your money. And, like EA has done with Battlefield, you can put some of the transactions on sale for free. Then we get to hats, which Hat Fortress 2-I mean Team Fortress 2 pioneered.

Hats are fucking insane. Why should you pay real money for mere cosmetics that don't give you an additional functionality? I come from the world of flight simulators. All of the hats/skins there are free. I can get tens of thousands of skins and amass skin libraries upwards of 40 GB, all for free thanks to people's love of the games. Which is the attitude we need to preserve gaming communities.

Yet the same people who throw away their money on hats that should have been free are the first to scream that small transactions for weapons and gear are "PAY TO WIN" and "NICKEL AND DIMING". If that's "NICKEL AND DIMING", then what the hell happened to you Hat Fortress 2 players, grand theft?

The DLC that was available a decade ago hasn't changed. The players have. They feel entitled to having every bit of content in a game to be available at release date. They feel entitled to wasting their money on cosmetics. And frankly, they deserve to have Valve and Riot rip them off by the supertanker load every single day.