Hello, I’m posting a Video today about the new Features of Windows 7. I Recent record my Desktop and explained a few new features in Windows 7. I do a quick walk through the Taskbar and Desktop enhancements. The video is kind of fuzzy and hard to see. The audio isn’t much better but I had to convert it 3 times so the quality of the original was destroyed. I wanted encoded it with the codec H.264 and make a .avi file type but Windows Movie maker kept me form doing it. Also don’t full screen it because YouTube will cover up the task bar with the progression bar for the video. If you have any questions or comments Email me or leave some under the Video. Also if you can't see anything I'm doing just click on the video and see it at Youtube, because it will show you the bigger version. That is all and happy holidays…
Windows 7
Thanksgiving!!
With the end of the year approaching and most of the popular holidays are just around the corner, it’s always good to be thankful for the most important things in life; such as Family and friends to name a few. There’s no better way to thank them than to buy them a gift on the day after thanksgiving, the day known as “BLACK FRIDAY!”
Now, there are several places to look at for all your computer needs; the one that I would recommend above all is Newegg.com. They have really good customer service and are less likely to rip you off like some other companies are planning to do. Also, they are already having some pre-Black Friday sells that are pretty good. More info here The next location that I would recommend is Frys(if you’re lucky enough to have one in your city). They have good deals almost all year long so the sales that they’re having on black Friday will probably be to die for.
So, there are a couple things to remember and do if you’re looking for the best deals for computer parts. Always keep in mind: if it’s too good to be true it most likely is. So carefully look over the specs to make sure you’re not buying a product that’s gimped. A lot of stores are selling LCDs for very low prices, but sometimes it’s not all that great of a LCD TV compared to other more expensive versions. Like they say, “you pay for what you get”. Also, look at the warranty information of the product to see if it’s worth purchasing. The last thing I would say to do is to be careful from who you are buying from online, because a lot of people are getting scammed around this time of year.
The places I listed above are pretty safe, but there’s also Tigerdirect.com. With that in mind GO CRAZY!!! Good luck and have a happy Thanksgiving. (I wouldn’t mind a New GTX260 for Xmass)
WSGF
Hello everyone! Sorry for not posting anything for awhile. I've been really busy with stuff and Ive had some personal problems, But don't worry I'm back in action and ready to work. What I have for you guys today is something I use quite often. Its a Wiki called WSGF or Wide-screen Gaming Forum. Its a site dedicated to providing fixes and work arounds for any wide-screen problems you may be having with you video games. Its an open community that works together to solve any problems its faced with. Its made me happy on may occasions. It gives detailed wide-screen review of recent release games or fixes for your current games. So check it out when you get a chance.
http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Blogging for Dummies
The book that I decided to review is from the well known series that’s become quite popular over the years. It’s called Blogging for Dummies. I was very surprised about this book on many levels. It’s strong and selling point is that it’s very easy to understand. It’s not loaded with useless or confusing data like most college books are filled with. It’s very straight forward and it gives several examples of what it’s trying to explain to the reader. The beginning starts out like any other informative book. What the books about and what information it contains. The first chapter will take you thought the process of creating a blog and what steps are necessary to accomplish this. Like what blogs are used for and what subjects would be appropriate for a blog. It goes on to explain what available software can be used to create and maintain a blog such as Blogger a Word press. It shares several techniques on how to make your blog more attractive and what tools are best to apply those ideas. It also briefly goes over how to host your own blog and what services are available to you. One of the good chapters of the book the helps it stand out even more is that it reveals several good techniques on how to attract more people to your blog such as Key designing points and marketing strategies if you have a commercial blog. The really good stuff that comes about ¾ of the way thought the book such as utilizing video and pictures to their fullest extent. The interesting thing also about this book is that they help you to choose what content will be most interesting for your blog. What I mean by that is they tell you what stuff would be great to add such as News articles you’ve read or your opinions on current events. It’s also teachers you how to effectively manage your blog and fight against Spam and any other threats that may arise. The last and biggest part of the book goes over marketing blogs and blogging for a business. It goes over what key marketing moves will attract the most people to your blog or how make your employer happy with the blog with more and more visitors to its blog. Overall this part of the book holds secrets worth every penny of its purchase. It teaches you how to read the statistics of your blog to see if there is trends’ going on or if you’re doing something right in your attempt to attract more visitors. In the end I found this book extremely informative. It went over almost all aspects that I would expect to find important while blogging. I even found out many things that I did not know about the internet and I’m pretty computer savvy person when it comes to that. With that in mind I would Highly recommend this book to anyone who is attempting to enter the world of blogging or already has, Because it teachers you ton of stuff that’s really fun and interesting to use and learn about.
Resident Evil 5 Quick performance overview
Hello Everyone, I just recently purchased RE5 (Resident Evil 5) a game that looked a felt more complete then the other RE games. My first impressions were positive and negative, because I never liked RE mainly because the earlier games were really hard. The thing that drew me into the RE franchise were the movies. I found them fascinating and exhilarating. So after finishing the Movies I tracked down all the older RE games to give them another try, but as expected I really sucked at them. (damn Zombie dogs...) I tried RE, RE2, and RE3 on the PS Emulator that I have on my computer. I used a PS controller so I can get the same experience as if I were playing it on a real PS. The thing that I found most difficult was aiming, it was either too sensitive or not sensitive enough. I tried the PC version of RE4, which was a change mainly because it had Mouse support. After playing for about an hour I still found it very difficult to aim with the mouse. Usually in FPS or even 3rd person FPS its easier to use a mouse then an analog stick. It felt like the PC RE4 was just copied directly form the PS disc. It had clumsy controls and very crappy graphics option menu, it did however support 1920x1080 16:9 resolution which surprised me a lot. So after trying those games I started RE5 and all I have to say is WOW what a change. The options and graphics were top notch and it seemed completely optimized for the PC with a few extras(unlike RE4). The other bonus was that it could use Direct x 9 and 10. It also could interface with Games for Windows(same thing as Xbox live) so you can play online and get see the leaders board. The main thing about RE5 that completed the hype was the MOUSE WORKED PROPERLY!!!. I was amazed that I could aim without getting frustrated. The game play is similar to Left for Dead, but it seemed more advanced and not repetitive.(L4D got old fast) I really like that one of you friends can join you though the Network or over the internet. A lot of games are letting you do that now. The other impressive thing about this game is the graphics. The controls are pretty easy to figure out. There is an active tutorial that helps though the beginning and tells you what keys to push. You can pick up weapons and Ammo usually in crates you destroyed or from enemy's you have killed. OMG Ammo is so hard to find sometimes. That is why you get a long, very long knife to defend yourself. Some enemy's are really stupid, but some are very smart. They will actually hunt you down and knock down doors to kill you lol. theirs more to this game, but I don't want to ruin it for you guys. Play the Demo if you want to find out more. Here is some benchmarks and photos I did when I was playing it. (note these test had all settings set to Full)
Here is the Game Benchmark using DX9
Here is the Game Benchmark using DX10
Usually when a game is considered to run well on a computer it doesn't go under 30 FPS anything above 60 FPS isent noticeable by the human eye. A game that goes above 60 will experience something called Texture tearing. The way to fix this to turn on Vertical sync. This will cap the FPS at 60.
Here is an example of texture tearing.(look where the red line is)
Here is some screen shots from the benchmark.
The Game starts off with Chris Redfield being sent to Kijuju, Africa, to join Sheva Alomar to attempted to capture Ricardo Irving, who is attempting to sell a Umbrella corp bio-organic weapon on the black market. You run though a series of streets to meet your contact. After meeting him he gives you weapons and ammo. He tells you a few things and your on your way. After a few areas of just running though the streets and killing a few Zombies. you run it this big building and a cut scene starts. You see a big group of people(Zombies?) gathered in what it looks like a town square. You hear someone speaking on a microphone in a foreign language. It seems that he is trying to rally the crowd. as you move closer you can see that theirs 3 people on a raised platform one of them seems to be the man you meet earlier that gave you the weapons. The other 2 you haven seen before, but one of them seems to be the one talking in the microphone and the other is a huge man with a Axe type weapon. After the execute your informant they seemed to be aware of your presence. The cut scene ends and you take control of you character. It seems all hell has broken lose because hordes of people start to attack you. After a couple of minutes of defending your self the gate that was confining you to the area brakes down and you are free enter the much larger area. As you progress more and more in to the area a great number of people are advancing on your position. The big guy that was on top of the platform is also join there attack. as you explore the area and run for your life you discover several items including a machine run. The way I beat this area almost unaffected is that found a area that I could jump to because that Big dude cant jump and his attacks hurt ALOT I mean almost killing yo alot. I just stood up there knifing and shooting down anyone that attempted to climb up to my position. After a couple of minutes of that you get a radio transmission saying you back up is almost there. The a helicopter rush down and blows up the Big gate that was confining you the area. Thats all I'm going to say about the story. If you want to know more play the demo or buy the game.
Here is some more screen shots and a little info about them.
Here is you partner Sheva Alomar.
The graphics in this game look amazing, but its not the best I've seen.
(Check out Crysis if you want your mind blown)
Here is the items menu
The game has some simple puzzles to solve like "how to get the keys?".
There is one or two of these silver crates in every level. They usual contain new weapons.
Here is a couple more just because (click on them to make them bigger.)
Overall I was really impressed with this game. Mostly because it ran so well for being a recently released game. It also doesn't get old like L4D. The mouse actually working in this game was a plus and the option to run DX9 or 10 is a good way to attract many gamers. I also like the option to play with your friends online, because many PC games lack that major time. Its no mistake that every die hard RE fan should get this game. I recommend getting this for the PC over the Consoles version, because they lack full HD 1080p support for most games. NOW GO OUT AND BUY NOW!
ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
I just recently purchased an item that I've been wanting for quite awhile. The Zalman CNPS 9700 CPU cooler and as you can see from the picture its a very unique Cooler. First off there is only a few reason you should buy a aftermarket cooler. The main reason is if you plan on Overclocking your CPU. Overclocking almost always will generate more heat then the Stock Heat sink can handle. Which often results in Frequent BSODs (Blue Screen Of Death) or sudden Shutdowns of you computer and in extreme situations even damage your CPU. In some cases the Stock Heat-sink can handle the heat but its unusual. Most people will by a an Aftermarket cooler if they are planning on overclocking. The second reason to buy an Aftermarket is if your having heat issues with the stock heat-sink or if the fan on stock heat-sink has kicked the bucket. Sometimes peoples stock heat-sink fan dies without the person knowing it and usual cause the computer restart a couple of minutes after boot-up or post. Most Motherboards today have sensors to tell you of such incidents and it will warn you during the boot process. The last and most common reason is it looks cool and its better for your hardware in the long run. When you keep your hardware cool it usual extends the life of the hardware. Which saves you money in the future from buying new hardware when one of them sudden dies. Unless your an Computer Enthusiast, there buying new hardware every couple of months.
Now on to the good stuff. The Zalmen 9700 is a very different CPU cooler then the normal ones you guys are use to seeing on everyday computers. Most Stock Coolers are made with aluminum or a combination of copper and aluminum. This one however is Pure Copper, not counting the Clip holder. Copper is better at absorbing heat then aluminum is, but the down side is that its more expansive to produce then aluminum is. Besides that it makes it the perfect choice to use for a hardware cooler. The other thing that makes this cooler very different from normal ones is that it stands up right instead of facing straight up towards the Computer case door.
As you can see from the Pictures its very large. It was also very difficult to install because of that. My Ram cooler didn't help much ether. Thats the two Blue fans right next it. Overall it was mostly paniless to install, but the Copper Fins were very sharp in some places which resulted in me cutting my self Several times on them.
Heres another View so you can get another idea of how big it is.
The Instructions came with two sets of installation instructions. One for AMD Motherboards and another for Intel based Motherboards. The AMD instructions were very simple and required almost little or no effort. The Intel ones however looked very confusing and complicated. I was luck that I had an AMD based Motherboard instead of an Intel.
Here is a link to how install the CPU cooler.
http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Product_Setup.asp?Idx=164
You can see the Clip on this photo. Notice how close it is to my Video card. It also required a great deal of pressure to push down to secure it to the board.
Look here at how close it is to My Ram Cooler.
I'm going against the Instructions by having it that close, but so far it doesn't seemed to be affecting it to much. Here is whats written in the instructions about that.
*No interfering components (PSU, graphic card etc.) within 62mm from the center of the CPU
So I clearly Failed at that, but as I said before It doesn't seems to be affecting it to much.
It also included a Fan Mate. A device that enables you to control the speed of the Fan on the CPU cooler.
At full speed the Fan sounds like a JET engine taking off. that's around 2700rpms. I however have it plugged it into a Fan controller in my Computer. This enables me too see the RPMs and the temp of the CPU more easily. I have it around 2000rpms and it seems to have it a tolerable noise level. The Fan Mate is essentially the same thing as a fan controller but a very basic one.
Heres what my Old Heatsink looked like.
As you can see my old Heat-sink Features Copper Heat pipes also. It however was a combination of aluminum and copper. It was a very effective Heat-sink never the less. It kept my CPU at and average idle Temp of 40-45C and a Average of 50C-55C for having a full load on it which is perfectly normal for a Dual core CPU.
The Zalman Cooler has my CPU at 30C-35C for Idle and a 40C-45C for full load that's a 10C-15C difference in temperature. THAT'S GREAT!!!
Here is one more Pic of what it looks like when its on. It also Sports a Blue LED fan. Its kind of hard to see it in this Pic.
Overall its and excellent CPU Cooler. It showed a very noticeable drop in Temp from stock. It also wasn't to hard to install if you follow the instructions. So if your ever in the market for a new Cooler and you want something that looks cool and does the job right I recommend this. For about around 50- 60 bucks its hard to go wrong.
Wow check out this Photo.
Thats what I call an awesome Gaming machine. To bad it doesn't have any of the Newer console in it then it would be the ultimate machine. More on it here.
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