So, we're one step closer to the house LAN being updated...
My twin Hitachi 400GB drives are back from warranty replacement, which means I can finally rebuild my old SUMCO workstations as actual servers, instead of Windows XP fileshares, running dedicated server packages for the games we play.
I'm thinking that I'm going to throw up SharePoint server, and "publish" the large majority of gaming files and what not that way, so that when we actually host another LAN party, the server will be up, SharePoint will be publicly available for anyone to easily browse for patches or installers that they need, and I won't have to dink around with copying them, or giving people temporary permissions.
I am going to need to purchase a couple of cheap gigabit switches, as well as a handful of gig NICs. The soon-to-be server boxes, as well as my main workstation (and the roommate's) all have them, but there's at least 4-5 other workstations here that don't, and copying large amounts of files has gotten quite tiresome at 100mbps.
What kinda sucks is that nobody but D-Link currently makes a wireless router that has gig ports in it. D-Link isn't really BAD, but I've got a lot of loyalty to Linksys - They were good enough for Cisco to buy, which would be enough for me right there, but the fact that ever since I got off of DSL, and the Cisco routers that Qwest provided, I've been on a Linksys of one flavor or another, and they've all been phenomenal.
DD-WRT, while not currently being used, also is another good thing about the Linksys stuff. Yeah, yeah, I know that DD-WRT will work on a bunch of other brand routers as well, and that's all well and good, but it was designed initially for the Linksys WRT series, and, at least in my mind, that platform should receive the most support.
Hopefully Linksys will get on the ball soon with a gig router. Most new PCs and laptops today (and for the last few years) have been shipping with gig NICs, it only makes sense to bring that functionality to the most popular home router...
Kanguru has a 32GB Flash Drive for sale now...
It's $500, so there's really no chance I'm going to buy one - I'd rather buy another laptop for that amount of money.
32GB of Flash, though, that's pretty damned badass.
My spiffy 4GB Memorex is pretty tight, but, damn, it'd be nice to have 32GB in that portable form...I'd never have to delete anything!
Alright, this is quite possible one of the niftiest (and most useful) pieces of software that a Network Administrator could possible ask for!
I was looking for a software port-blinker (which I have yet to find) - something that could be used on a laptop plugged into an unknown port, and cause it to start flashing.
We've got tons of switches, and getting an ID on a port can be a royal pain sometimes.
If I'm not physically at the switch, I can attemp to track the port from the router down to the end switch by use of the arp and mac tables, but that's annoying and time consuming.
Conversely, if I'm at the switch, I can trace the physical cable, but, again, annoying and time consuming.
There's hardware devices out there that will blink a port, so I'd assume there's got to be software that will do the same, but I just can't find it.
Well, the next best thing is Cisco CDP Monitor by Tallsoft - that is, of course, that you're in a Cisco environment. If you're not, you should be.
Anyhow, CDP Monitor mimics the Cisco-proprietary CDP traffic, and you're detected as a CDP neighbor on the switch you're plugged into.
A quick "show cdp neighbors" will give up all the information you need.
It's not as fast as a port blinker, but it's certainly quicker than reversing the arp and mac stuff back down the line.
If you haven't used it, download it and give it a try - it's freaking AWESOME.
Been learning quite a bit about our network over the last few days.
We've got this awesome piece of software called Orion that monitors all kinds of crap on our switches and routers, and I've been cleaning it up/organizing things in it, as well as doing a LOT of renaming of hardware and setting of SNMP stuffs for them.
This job is seriously rocking, and it's kinda funny - we're not really busy, but I'm interested and challenged with this stuff, so I haven't even thought about recreational websurfing at work for quite some time.
Funny how that works, huh?
So, I got to go to a Cisco meet-and-greet deal today, where they put on a presentation about their "new" security offerings, and this one was largely centered around their NAC product (NAC = Network Admission Control).
NAC is this nifty little device that can be used to limit access to the network based on a bunch of different variables, but one of the most prominent uses of it is to verify that machines connecting to your network are up-to-date with all the latest security patches, virus protection, etc.
It can check for that, and give access to the network depending on where you're at.
Another related product is the NAC Profiler (from a Cisco partner/OEM) that keeps tabs on what is plugged in where, and prohibits access if it doesn't follow it's profile - for example, if the NAC Profiler knows that a printer is plugged into a particular port, and then someone unplugs it and plugs their laptop in, the NAC Profiler is able to detect it based on the abnormal behavior - printers don't surf YouTube, and that kind of thing - and cut off it's access.
Pretty nifty stuff, and it looks like we're going to be buying one.
Rock on!
It's sitting in our office, 100 miles from me.
I have to wait until FRIDAY to get it.
LAAAAAAME.
So, I started running Ubuntu about a week ago. I started with 6.10, but let the updates do their thing, so now I'm on 7.04.
All in all, not too shabby, but the "wow" factor just isn't there for me. I've seen some different screenshots of various environments, and the GNOME interface (at least the one in Ubuntu) just isn't doing it for me.
I'm thinking about burning a Kubuntu ISO, and refreshing the machine with that, to see how it goes,
I was also debating PCLinuxOS, based on a recommendation from a commenter here, but I've got a problem with that distribution on some kind of level.
It looks quite spectacular, but when I was researching, I stumbled across an article comparing it to a few other distributions and considering the article is endorsed/sanctioned by the group behind the distribution, I don't know that I'll even bother with the distribution.
You can read the article yourself, but my main problem are the blatant lies and fanboy bullshit in the article. It's quite obviously written by someone who is smitten with the PCLinuxOS distribution, but from the start, it's complete bullshit.
The attempt at establishing credibility by the spurious claims of "running a computer institute" aside, it's quite obvious (if you've even spent five minutes in Ubuntu) that this jag-off hasn't touched the distribution, or is just making up crap about it to justify his personal preference. The fact that the distribution maintainers would publish (or endorse) this tripe is beyond obnoxious.
The sad part is, I'm not even defending Ubuntu. As I stated above, I really don't have any vested interest in it. I'm not that impressed with it, save that it was a remarkably clean, easy, straight-forward install. Linux distributions have come a long way since I last used Slackware, and I'm quite impressed with the capabilities of the community to build such an easy, hands-free installer. I'll give Ubuntu credit on that front (though, I'm quite sure they're not the only ones doing it).
We'll see how things go.
I'm going to drop Kubuntu on here, probably next weekend, and if I don't like that, I might try Fedora (if I can choke down the old Slackware-fueled animosity I had/have towards Red Hat).
PCLinuxOS? I'm going to have to be REAL unhappy with the other alternatives before I use that particular product.
Twenty times faster than Windows? Give me a fucking break.
Thanks to awesome prices at Newegg, I have a couple of new hard drives showing up soon, which will allow me to "upgrade" a couple of systems here in the house.
I'll be putting a 250gb SATA drive into two of the workstations here, and using the (2) 250gb IDE drives to build a Windows Server 2003 machine.
I'm irked at not having been able to finish all of my certs with Chemeketa, but I'm even more irked that I haven't pushed myself harder to get certified on all of the stuff that I was able to take there, and this is going to assist in rectifying that.
I'm going to be setting up a domain here in the house, and putting all of the machines in the domain. Along with that, I'm going to be installing DFS (which is so totally awesome) to manage file storage across a couple different machines, but I've also found a nifty connector for Exchange that will allow me to route my POP3 mail to an Exchange server, and then I can connect to that.
Man, I tell you, for someone who keeps any amount of email archived, the full-featured version of Outlook is a godsend.
In the early days, I was using some version of Netscape for my email, and it wasn't too hard to migrate the stuff when reinstalling the OS, or moving to a different workstation. Subsequent versions managed to screw everything up.
Outlook Express was just a cleaner client, more straight-forward and easy to use, and while migration of mail wasn't necessarily "easy", it was consistent - each new version migrated the same.
Outlook 2003, however (and Outlook XP, Outlook 2000, Outlook 97, etc.), is probably about as easy as one could make it - your email is in a .PST file (or a couple, depending on how much mail you save), and you simply copy that file to your new Outlook install, and re-link the file through a wizard - presto, done. Not only that, but the .PST file contains your contacts - something that you could never get to easily migrate with Netscape or Outlook Express.
What I'm really looking forward to, though, is Exchange. One of my biggest peeves about my email is that I have to utilize one specific workstation. Now, Remote Desktop or similar utilities allow me to connect to that machine from elsewhere in the house, or when I'm away from home, but it's just not the same. RDP and it's competitors aren't as fast as I'd like, and things are never nice and seamless. Having Exchange setup here in the house will allow me to open Outlook from any workstation that I'm logged into (even multiple workstations...), and it'll allow me to connect to my mail store via my laptop when I'm out and about.
There's also the nifty Outlook Web Access that I'll be able to setup/use.
The Exchange Calendar will be nice to take advantage of, as well...
After an aborted attempt to install the Cisco VPN Client on my main workstation caused it to wig out and hang repeatedly, I gave the Windows XP System Restore a try for the very first time.
Holy cow, that function rocks!
I didn't have high expectations, simply because it seemed like one of those half-assed tools that get thrown into the OS package at the last second, but I'm now a believer...
So, I've been giving some thought lately to cobbling a box together to install Linux again...
I used to host Kythri Networks off of a couple different Linux machines in my apartment, with the oh-so-fantastic US West DSL line, but once I decided that I'd rather have stable services, and not have to deal with moving the service every time I decided I didn't like an apartment complex, kythri has been hosted by Portal of Evil, which has been pretty damned nice.
I don't plan on moving the services back in house (even if Comcast's use-policies would allow it) - mainly, this would be an alternative workstation, and geek toy. I'd probably have Apache running, and make a bit more use of DynDNS to allow access to it, but that'd be nothing more than a "test" environment.
As far as distributions go, I'm leaning towards some flavor of Ubuntu - perhaps Kubuntu?
I used to run Slackware back in the day, somewhere around version 3.something, if I remember correctly (or maybe it was 6.whatever? Who knows, who cares?), but the distribution has no appeal for me, of late.
I had a set of Debian discs around here, and could download that again, but Ubuntu just seems more polished...
What say you, fellow geeks? What are you running?
ARGH.
So, I finally bought a Linksys Wireless-G router. For quite a while, I just couldn't justify the expense of the thing. I had a perfectly functional (make that two perfectly functional) Linksys Wireless-B routers, and the extent of wireless usage at our place was for Internet access - not anything you really need more than the 11mbps speed of B for.
Well, about a month or two ago, I found a guy locally selling one through the classifieds for $25. The thing was pristine, with all of the accessories, so I snagged it.
$25 vs $75? Yeah, I'll pay the $25.
Today, I go to finally finish configuring it and hooking it up.
After I get everything ready to go, I discover that I've got no Internet.
Fabulous.
I go through all of the troubleshooting that needs to be done, and nothing happens.
I finally call Comcast technical support.
See, here's the deal - every single time that we've changed routers, Comcast has had to "retrain" our cablemodem to the new MAC of the router.
It all has to do with how Comcast wants to bill you for extra IP addresses, and it's a pain in the ass.
Suspecting something like that was still in play, I call in.
As I'm waiting on hold, my cablemodem loses it's link to Comcast - there's no service.
The first asshole I talk to is some dumb fucking beaner who can't speak English worth a damn. The guy is slurring through everything with his thick fucking accent, but I'm able to decipher a bit of it. I describe my problem, and when he hears a mention of router, before he does any kind of test whatsoever, he tries to tell me that I have to call the technical support for my router manufacturer, because Comcast doesn't support routers.
No fucking shit, Paco, but this isn't a problem with my router.
Already fed up with his butchering of my native tongue, I demanded his supervisor.
Mexican Mushmouth puts me through to another tech support person (Tier 2?), who did her line test, discovered I had no service, and then wanted me to unplug my router from the cablemodem, and plug a PC directly into it, so that we could further troubleshoot.
Now, clue me in here - if the cablemodem itself won't connect to Comcast, what the fuck will *I* be able to troubleshoot from my side, and what the fuck does it matter what is plugged in to my side of the equipment?!
I go around and around with this dumb cunt, because we BOTH know that the problem isn't on my end.
She decides rather than dealing with the issue, that she's going to send a truck out, but one can't get out until tomorrow afternoon.
As she's finishing scheduling the truck, the idiot lights on my cablemodem go solid, indicating a link.
I test the net connection, and, holy shit, it's working.
I tell this chick to cancel the truck, because my net connection is working, and she wants to know what I did.
"I did absolutely nothing - as I said, the problem was on your end."
"Sir, that's not possible. The cable connection doesn't just drop out and then come back on like that."
WHAT THE FUCK?!
HOW LONG HAS THIS STUPID FUCKING DYKE WORKED FOR COMCAST?! IT DOES EXACTLY THAT.
Jesus Fucking Christ. What the hell are these high-tech companies thinking, hiring these fucking morons that know precisely dick about computers and networking, and half the time, can't even speak clearly?
So, Microsoft has, like, 18 different versions of Windows XP.
Beyond the standard "Home Edition", "Professional" or even "Media Center Edition", they've got different versions of XP Pro.
For example, if you put in the CD for the retail version XP Professional, you can't use a Volume License Key to install it.
If you put in a Volume License edition, you can't use an MDSN key to install.
And, yes, the MSDN version is different from the retail version.
If you've got licenses from the various different sources, you've got to maintain multiple versions of the install media.
So, I'm working on a IBM/Lenovo X41 Tablet. Nifty little machine.
It was just re-imaged with XP Pro, and none of the tablet features work. I installed all of the drivers from the manufacturer, and, nothing.
I discover the existence of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.
YET ANOTHER DAMNED VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE.
Now, a quick aside - I think it's great that Microsoft is customizing an OS for a Tablet PC, but the manufacturer should NOT be relying on a specific version of an OS to make the major features of the hardware operational.
Quite simply, the screen flip/rotate, the stylus/tablet features, etc - those should all be driver-activated in whatever version of XP you're installing, goddammit.
So...
I reinstalled the machine with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.
Tablet features still don't work.
The machine reports that Windows XP Professional is installed.
No, no fucking way - I used a Tablet PC install disc!
Then, after some research, I find that Microsoft issues a caveat: The install keys for Windows XP Pro and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 are different. You can use the Tablet PC media to install, but if you enter a XP Pro key, that's what installs.
WHAT THE COCK?
Seriously, that's fucking ridiculous.
All of their other media requires it's own special key to install, and now this one fucking thing will accept multiple different keys?
THANKS FOR THE CONSISTENCY, MICROSOFT.
Fucking aggravating.
At this point, the manufacturer is sending me their recovery discs, and that better fucking fix this problem, but it's still fucking annoying.
I hate computer industry laziness.
So, my contract with Verizon has been up for a while, and I've been thinking about getting a new phone.
A couple of folks I know have gotten themselves the spiffy new Samsung a990 3.2megapixel camera phone, which seems pretty damned nifty.
What else is out there?
Any reccomendations?
OK, so, I'm an idiot who can't do math.
This 1680x1050 resolution is the widescreen equivalent of 1280x1024. This 22" widescreen is the equivalent of a 17" or 19" standard aspect ratio display.
That's why things seemed off.
Gah.
Apparently, I need something that will do a 1920x1600 or larger resolution.
In other words, if I want a widescreen, I need a 24" or bigger LCD that costs $600-$700+.
Ain't gonna happen.
I'm going to take this back, and see if I can find myself a standard 4:3 20" or 21" LCD for around the same price.
If not, I'll go back to my still-very-nice ViewSonic CRT.
Got me an Acer X221WSD 22" Widescreen LCD today!
It's pretty damned cool, but I'm kinda sorta underwhelmed.
I was running a ViewSonic 21" G220f CRT at 1600x1200, and now I'm running this LCD at 1680x1050.
A little wider, a litter shorter. I'm not seeing much of a gain, as far as desktop real estate goes.
I must be missing something. This thing is supposed to be bigger.
So, I've been doing doing some thinking about what I want out of a laptop.
As sexy as the Lenovo X60 is, without a decent 3D video card with dedicated memory, I just can't do it - even with all the good things I hear about IBM/Lenovo reliability, sturdiness, etc.
As for the HP dv9000, you know, I like it, but I just can't bring myself to buy something that huge.
As I mentioned earlier, Titan bought himself a dv6000, which has the 15.4" widescreen, and that's pretty sweet, but it's really not all that much smaller than the dv9000, so downsizing a bit isn't a huge option, either.
So, I hit eBay this past week, and I've purchased an extended life battery, a car adaptor and a DVD burner for my Latitude C400.
Couple that with the RAM I'm going to purchase to max the laptop out to 1GB, and I should be set - for at least a few more months.
If nothing else, that'll force me to wait until the next generation of laptops comes out - either enabling me to pick up the current generation cheaply, or buy the new stuff for what I was going to pay for the old stuff today.
It's funny - I almost wish that I didn't already have a laptop - then I could justify spending all kinds of money on a new one
I need recommendations, suggestions, advice, all that stuff.
Titan just bought (or is buying) an HP dv6000 or something - 15.4" widescreen, all kinds of goodies.
Knight and I have been drooling over the 17.0" widescreen HP dv9000 series laptops.
I've recently been introduced to the Lenovo T60 and X60 line of laptops, and they're both real nice. The T60 is a 15" screen, geared as an office-level desktop replacement. The X60 has a 12" or something screen, and seems to be the current-issue deal in the same category as what I've got now.
My current laptop is a Dell Latitude C400 (12.1" screen, compact). My previous laptop was a Gateway Solo 9500 (15.7" screen, desktop-replacement style).
I've had both ends of the spectrum, and I'm real torn.
As I said, Knight and I have been all retarded over the 17" dv9000 series stuff. Super sexy widescreens, full keyboard (with number pad!), all kinds of power, and a real gaming-capable video card. A pretty sweet ride, all told.
I was all set to go after one of those, and then I met the Lenovo X60. It's so small and sleek and sexy. Intel Core Duo processors, a couple gigs of RAM, a pretty decent sized HD, wireless, bluetooth, and even biometrics on certain models, it appears.
But, it's got shitty Intel video, and a standard LCD - no widescreen, no shiny BrightView or whatever it's called.
It's a hell of a laptop, but it won't be a decent gaming machine.
And then I have to ask myself, will I really game on it? Will it's lack of built-in optical drive (you've got to buy a USB CD/DVD, or a media-base thing) bother me that much (i.e. will I be watching that many movies and whatnot on it)?
The dv9000 is sweet, but if I'm not doing anything that would take advantage of all of it's features, then it becomes a big boat-anchor to lug around.
The X60 doesn't have that issue.
Now, I loved the desktop real estate with my Gateway's 15.7" LCD, but I've also come to love the ultra-thin, ultra-lightweight Dell C400 that I'm currently using. Thin and light and small is a blessing in a lot of ways, and I don't know if I want to go back to a huge machine.
At that point, I question the feasibility of buying a new laptop.
My laptop, the Dell Latitude C400 has the following specs:
Pentium III 1.2ghz
768mb RAM (PC-133)
40gb HD
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG
It's not the fastest, it doesn't have the most RAM (or the fastest RAM), the biggest HD, or the bestest wireless (but who needs Wireless A?), but does that really matter?
It accomplishes everything I throw at it, and I can't really find any fault in how it does it - it's not a slow machine, by any means.
In fact, the only area I could really desire a lot of improvement is the battery life - the two batteries I have are old, and not that great.
So, should I really worry about buying another laptop? Or should I stick with this one for the time being (and buy a couple new batteries), and maybe wait another year (or another product cycle) for whatever they come out with next?
So, I've got an old Compaq iPaq h3950 or h3955 (I honestly forget which model, and I don't want to grab it and check right now).
They're both the same specs - Intel X-Scale 400mhz CPU, 64mb RAM, blah blah blah.
Here's my problem: I honestly can't figure out what I want to do with the thing.
Every so often, I toy with the idea of selling it, but I'm a gadget-whore, and it's too cool to part with.
Sadly, it ends up being a far-too-expensive universal TV remote (thanks to built-in software and the IR port).
I've got a 1gb SD card in it, so it's got quite a bit of storage, and the 16-bit color LCD is pretty decent (240x320 resolution).
I originally bought it for use at work - documents at meetings, and for some server management stuff that was supposed to happen and never did.
I've got little desire to utilize it to synchronize with Outlook, or keep a calendar, or anything like that.
Any ideas, or suggestions? What are my options with the thing? Any cool uses that I'm spacing on?
Help me out!
Two days, and lots of video stressing later, my video card is kicking ass and running cooler than ever.
I'm kinda disappointed at the shitty QC from Gainward on this card - this was supposed to be one of their flagship cards.
Oh well - live and learn. Every video card I purchase from now on is going to get some extra treatment - something I suppose I should have been doing before now, but overlooked.
So, my video card started acting up a week or two ago.
I started having some odd shutdown/reboot problems that I attributed to my finally having fucked the XP install sufficiently, but then I noticed that the issues seemed to be limited to when the video card was under load.
Well, I was seriously freaked. I love my video card.
It's a Gainward GeForce 6800GT 256MB "Golden Sample".
Golden Sample refers to the core.
See, Nvidia (and everyone else) tests their product significantly beyond the rated performance level. If the spec shows that the piece is supposed to perform at 400mhz, Nvidia will test at 450mhz. If the cores don't pass, they're shunted to the next line down.
With a 6800, 6800GT and 6800 Ultra product line, and with all of the cores coming off the exact same assembly line, those that don't pass the Ultra test are tested as a GT, and those that don't pass GT are tested as a base.
Nvidia sells the tested cores, priced accordingly.
Gainward got smart about things. They know that GT chips are tested higher than spec, but that the test is still below Ultra specs. They pay Nvidia a premium, and have all the cores that failed the Ultra test re-tested at Ultra specs (remember, the test for Ultras is higher than the rated spec).
All those chips that pass at Ultra clock speeds aren't allowed to be sold as Ultras, but other than that, Gainward can sell them however they choose.
Enter the "Golden Sample" line. My card is a 6800GT, but it comes from the factory overclocked to the same speed as an Ultra, and Gainward warranties it at that speed.
It was a bit spendier than other GT cards, but cheaper than Ultra cards.
I've been using it for close to two years, now, and up until a couple weeks ago, things worked great.
Then the shutdowns.
Now, I keep my machine pretty clean, but tonight, when I decided to actually get inside and see if I could determine what the issue was, I was shocked at the amount of packed dust that had accumulated on heatsinks and everywhere else.
I dismantled the system, cleaned out all the dust and dustbunnies, and when disassembling the video card, noticed that the heatsink could be tightened down significantly.
I gave the screws a couple turns, and put everything back together.
Sure enough, it appears my video problem is solved.
Now, I can't be entirely certain that it wasn't just the dust removal, as it was caked in there pretty good, but according to the temperature readings the driver is giving me, the card is operating a LOT cooler than it ever has.
At an idle, the GPU is at about 48-50 degrees Celsiue. Under load, it hasn't risen above 70 degrees.
I was all set to purchase a new heatsink/fan cooler assembly for the card, but I'm inclined to wait a bit now, and see how she performs in some other games that it was having an issue in.
Moral of the story? Clean that dust out of there, and make sure the components like heatsinks and such are attached properly!
So, for an IT goon and self-avowed techie, I really don't keep up on the latest and greatest PC hardware.
As anyone who's ever asked me for purchase advice knows, I really only know what's good and what's hot when it comes time for me to upgrade my own personal system.
At that point, I'll start doing some browsing and research, and figure things out.
Few other things will prompt me to do research when I'm not system building.
Recently here at the house, one of my machines suffered a hard drive failure.
Fortunately, I was able to pull data off of the drive prior to catastrophic failure, and that system has simply remained down.
A couple days ago, while browsing at Staples, I noticed that Western Digital 250gb PATA HD's (what I'm using in two of my machines) were only $130. Since I paid nearly $200 for mine when I bought them about a year ago, I commented to J and C that HD prices seem to have come down, and it might be time to pick up a replacement drive for that one system.
A little while later, I hit up NewEgg and was pleasantly shocked to discover that Staples was charging about twice as much as they should for the drive.
A WD 250gb SATA drive at NewEgg is currently going for $75, which is a hell of a deal.
Then I decided to go off on a tangent, and check how much RAM was, since I've been thinking about adding another gig to my system.
Yay, cool, RAM ain't too expensive.
Video cards?
HOLY FUCKING SHIT.
So, apparently Nvidia has launched their new GeForce line, the 8800GTX/8800GTS. Now we segue into the title topic.
Quite often, gamer-type friends have asked me why I don't play consoles.
There's a number of reasons, but the biggest is the price of the consoles available.
The last console I bought was during the days of the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo - when consoles cost $100 - $150.
I've got an Xbox that was an incentive giveaway for a tech school I attended a class at, and had it not been free, I wouldn't have one today.
When the Xbox was released, it was $300 - the same with the Playstation 2.
When the Xbox360 was released last year, it was $300 for the "Core" system, $400 for the "Premium" system.
The Playstation 3 launch is next week, with the "Core" system to be priced at $500, and the "Premium" at $600.
Once these damned things started costing more than $100-$200, I questioned why I'd spend a significant chunk of change on a device that can do one thing - play games - when I could spend that same amount of money on a significant system upgrade for my main PC workstation, and get so much more out of it.
Now, I understand the closed-platform appeal of the console market to developers - they have one set of hardware to support. Everyone that buys their game will be running it on the same system, which makes development and testing a hell of a lot easier than for the PC market.
More and more game developers seem to be abandoning their roots in the PC gaming market (Fuck you, Blizzard!) and positioning themselves in the console market - and it makes good business sense.
I've long been lamenting the dearth of PC games compared to several years ago. Sales have been so stagnant that many stores have ceased to carry much of anything. Staples used to be a great place to go for PC games, and they've virtually eliminated them from their shelves.
Over the last couple of years, I've commented that the console makers are going to price themselves out of business. The biggest market for home video game systems are children and young adults - not the type that have $500-$600 to drop on a system, and then $50-$60 more for a single software title.
I've predicted that we'd see a resurgence in the PC game market for a couple reasons:
Number one, no matter how hard the console makers try, they can't seem to turn their system into anything but a video game player. Selling a keyboard and a mouse for the system doesn't make people want to use it as a web-surfing or word processing machine.
Number two, everyone has a computer. For a fraction of the cost of some of these consoles, people can put a capable video card and some more RAM in their system, and be able to handle a large majority of the games available.
But I think I'm going to have to admit that I'm wrong - and that there's a few reasons for that.
For some reason, parents who won't spend $1,000 on a capable PC for their child will shell out $1500 or more on eBay for the latest generation game console that sold out of stores on launch day.
Console systems are currently getting a lot of continued support. New software is still being released for the Xbox, despite the launch almost a year ago of the Xbox 360. Expect to see new software for the PS2 for quite some time.
Console system prices tend to drop quite a bit after the first year. Considering that the Xbox and Playstation 2 can be picked up new for $100-$150, they're still seeing pretty damned good sales. Expect to see the Xbox 360 prices drop as soon as Sony can start producing the PS3 in quantity.
But consoles aren't the only reason the PC game market is dying.
The core component to PC games is the video card. There's really only two big competitors in the market, ATI and Nvidia.
While browsing for hard drives and RAM, I decided to check out NewEgg's prices on video cards.
Once again, HOLY FUCKING SHIT.
The latest GeForce cards, the 8800GTX and 8800GTS are coming in with prices of $500-$700. These gigantic monstrosities have 640mb of RAM on the low end, and 768mb on the high end.
I'm currently running a GeForce 6800GT with 256mb memory. Not too shabby a card. It's handled everything I've thrown at it with ease, but some of the latest and greatest software out there will make my card choke on itself.
Why does it choke? Because the PC game developers have a hard-on for taking advantage of all the latest technological advancements, and damn you if you don't have the latest video card.
Nvidia has also decided to stick it to you another way. They've been pushing SLI (banding two video cards together to operate as one) for quite a while, and the software developers have decided to start running with that for some stuff.
The power consumption on the latest generation of Nvidia cards is staggering. 450W or 500W power supplies aren't just being recommended anymore, they're being required. NewEgg is running a promotion with Nvidia for their latest cards, and they're pushing 850W and 1000W power supplies at you for an SLI setup.
With a single video card and decent power supply running you nearly $700, and a dual card setup with hefty power supply running well near $2000-$2500, is it any wonder that more and more people are turning to consoles?
In the old days of PC gaming, a good card would be released, and we'd buy it. We'd use it for a couple years, in which time the game developers would eke every last bit of performance out of it, making it do things the designers never knew was possible.
Today, we buy a new card, and 3 months later, there's a newer and better one out - and the game developers are designing for it, rather than something with a more established user base.
What the fuck?
Is the whole industry trying to screw itself and implode?
When a capable internet/office workstation costs $300-$400, and a console can be bought for the remaining $600-$700, it's simply a matter of time before people stop buying high-end video cards and PC games, and completely abandon the market.
Sure, ATI and Nvidia could start (or continue) producing graphics chips for consoles, but the loss of their bread and butter wouldn't be a good thing.
When will they pull their head out of their ass?
I'm just hoping some developers wise-up, and start producing some good quality games that will run on $30 video cards.
Seriously - who really gives a fuck about DirectX 10? I've got a GeForce4 series card in a machine here that used to kick all kinds of ass over America's Army, until they upgraded the engine to "require" DirectX 9.
A number of machines here are running GeForce5 series cards, and they're running most stuff pretty well, but it's simply a matter of time before a DX10 card is required, and everything will have to be upgraded - and for what? A few extra pixels that nobody is going to notice?
Come on, guys.
So, Visio is this stupid application by Microsoft that's supposedly industry standard for devising flowcharts, server/switch rack diagrams, and wireplans for buildings.
Only problem?
This stupid class requires it's use, and we don't know how to use it properly.
Supposedly, there's a tool in Visio that you can use to plot out wire paths, and then get the length of the wire run.
Well, I've found a tool called the "Connector Tool" that does that in a limited sense - the problem is, I have to make about 20 incremental connections, and then manually add up the length of each individual connection.
This is such an annoying project.
Today, the instructor told us that he's not looking for perfection, or 100% accuracy - he just wants to make sure that we get the idea down, as far as running wires, having to take into account obstacles in the patch, etc.
Well, I think we've all got that, thanks. Can we please quit this stupid case study?
Of course not.
Who, exactly, ever thought "college" was different/better than K-12? This is the same redundant busywork crap I had to put up with there.
It's annoying.
I'm supposed to be learning, not being kept busy.
Why is it that colleges and universities think that it's their job to somehow "prepare" you for the reality that is the job market?
Not only should it NOT be their job, but when they try, they fail. I've been in the job market, I've been in my chosen career path, and this whole schtick of "this is what it's like in the real world!" is bollocks.
There's an old saying:
Those who can, do.
Those who can't, teach.
Now, my instructor is great, with the course material. He knows his stuff, and can convey it with excellence.
But, he himself admits that he hasn't worked in the field for MANY years (close to 20, if not more), and he's been doing the teaching gig since then.
I won't say that the guy has zero real-world experience, but, things have changed since then.
Argh.
I wanted a class that certified me on Cisco switches and routers. Not that network design and theory is bad, but that's not where I want to go with things right now, and this stuff is BORING.
I was hoping that at least one of my IT classes would be fun...
So, we got our "case study" for the CCNA class.
Basically, at this stage, we have to plan, price and document the wiring infrastructure for a four-story office building.
Nothing too hard, mind you, but mind-numbingly annoying.
We've got to price out the interface infrastructure (patch panels, etc.), the link infrastructure (fiber from the main distribution point to intermediate points), the cable in the walls, the actual jacks/faceplates themselves, the wiring runway, the patch panel racks and cable management, etc.
Now, don't get me wrong - I understand the concept of this stuff, but here's what annoys me: This class is supposed to be about Cisco.
It's not supposed to be a beginner network class. It's not supposed to be a class for installers. It's supposed to be a class for network technicians.
Not saying that techs don't pull cables, but, in regards to our case study, this isn't something that any competent company would have their techs do. It's a big job, it gets bid on by companies that come in and do the work - and certify/warranty it.
The worst part of it is, from where we're at now, we aren't going to learn anything at all by completing this thing. We've already been out on the web, learning about sources for cabling and accessories, and we've priced that kind of stuff. That's the lesson this thing is supposed to teach, and we've learned it.
I so totally hate busy-work.
So, I'm now enrolled in a Network+ online self-paced class, since Chemeketa cancelled my classes again.
This time, though, things should be super-great, since I'll be in the CCNA classes starting at the end of September.
Anyhow, I got to do my first Network+ lesson, and Jesus, this stuff is stupid.
Er, I mean basic. Remedial. Simple. Boring.
And boy, the online discussion with the people taking this class is great. Already, one guy is trying to argue with the instructor about the differences between 10base5/Thicknet and 10base2/Thinnet, and how Thinnet requires external transceivers (it doesn't) just like Thicknet.
I don't get it - when you're going to argue something, you'd think you'd do it based on knowledge or experience. Obviously, this douche has no experience with a Thinnet LAN, but where would he find crap like this?
There's idiots in every field. :(
ARGH.
I'm supposed to be getting Windows XP installed on a friend's laptop, and all the software stuff installed and updated, but so far, all that's been done is XP installed, and the updates to it done.
By far a large part, but I didn't even do that.
I've been playing 3-card Monty with my main laptop, and my old one/spare.
The main laptop had a 30gb drive in it, the old one had my 40gb drive in it.
I've got a spare 20gb for the main laptop, as a backup install, should the main drive fail.
I wanted the 40gb in my main laptop, the 30gb laptop as my spare, and the 20gb in the spare machine.
This means I had to Ghost all three drives, then format them, install Windows (3 times), install Ghost, and re-apply the old image.
Finally got that done, and I'm still working on the spare machine, getting it updated and installed, and then I've got to begin work on my buddy's machine.
ARGH.
It's almost like work again.
Fortunately, it's almost done.
But not just any keyboard.
I want the Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard.
Do I need an adjustable-tilt backlit LCD display? No.
Do I need a folding LCD panel? No.
Do I need a backlit keyboard? No...er, yes, actually, that'd be quite handy.
Do I need 18 programmable 'G Keys' ?? Eh, not really.
Do I want all that stuff?
Hells yeah, I do.
Go look at the damned thing, it's frickin' cool!
So, our network topology here at the house is kinda janked up.
We've got the cable coming into the cablemodem, which is plugged into a Linksys router.
The Linksys has 4 ethernet ports on it.
Port 1 feeds to my main switch, an 8-port Hawking autosensing 10/100 deal. Plugged into that are 3 PCs, 2 printers and another 8-port Hawking, which has 2 PCs plugged into it.
Port 2 feeds to Jim's room, which has an 8-port Hawking, with 3 PCs plugged into it.
Port 3 feeds to Chad's room, which doesn't have a switch - I think.
Port 4 fees to Steve's spare room, which has a 5-port Hawking. From that, one lead goes to Steve's room, where he's another 8-port Hawking with a couple machines plugged in, and the other lead feeds downstairs to the laundry room, to, you guessed it, another 8-port Hawking (for LAN party expansion).
Super fucking convoluted, but other than crawling under the house and in a rickety attic to feed/run cable to a central location, which isn't really an option, what are you going to do?
Well, lately we've been experiencing a number of network glitches, as far as internet connectivty in some games - behavior we weren't experiencing a few months ago.
While the topology hasn't changed, I still assumed that this had something to do with it.
Among other issues I've been plagued with was poor LAN bandwidth. 100 megabit connections with a 5% utilization.
Per advice from tech-inclined friends, plus my understanding of things, I had set a number of machines to lock-in 100 megabit, full duplex.
Of course, this had no effect.
I updated NIC drives. No effect.
I had basically given up, thinking that perhaps too many switches were creating crosstalk or chatter on the LAN, until I decided to give it one last chance on Google.
According to a couple different tech forums, with auto-sensing switches, and these Linksys routers (of which the 4 ethernet ports are ALSO auto-sensing), you want your PC to be set to auto as well, rather than lock a speed and duplex.
I think to myself, "That can't be right!", but I decide to give it a chance anyhow, since it can't hurt things worse than they are.
I set my MP3/Movie "server" to auto, and I set my workstation to auto, and then proceed to try a 1gb copy - something that took over half an hour before.
Duration? A couple minutes. Network utilization reported at 85% or higher.
I'm honestly dumbfounded. I mean, I'm not a network expert by any means - my job and skills have always been in systems administration, not network engineering, but I've never considered myself a dummy until now.
In doing some after-fix reading, apparently the switches, since they're not able to be locked to a particular speed, are always going to try to auto-negotiate the speed with the NIC. If the NIC won't talk, the switch will keep trying to auto-negotiate, and eventually, it settles at a 10 megabit half-duplex connection.
Fooked up, huh?
All's well that ends well, I suppose.
We haven't noticed the internet game glitches, but it's been only a day - and those may not be related to anything, anyhow.
The speed between machines has drastically improved, which is a God-send.
Yay!
OK, now this is some bullshit right here.
I've been ripping all of my CDs to MP3 over the last few weeks.
I have a 6-CD changer in my Explorer that plays MP3s, and figured that rather than only driving around with 6 CDs, I'd convert my stuff to MP3, squeeze several albums on one disc, and roll like the smart guy that I am.
Well, a couple hours ago, I got to my Orbital CDs, and started ripping.
About 30 minutes ago, I put the Octane Motion Picture Score that they did into my DVD-ROM that I've been using to read the discs, and some stupid data crap tried to AutoPlay.
No biggie, I told it not to install whatever garbage it wanted to install, and went to try to rip the disc.
Big problem - it only shows 4 audio tracks on a CD containing 14 of them.
I open up Windows Media Player to try to play the disc, and verify that I'm not smoking crack. WMP can't even see that there's a disc in the drive.
I install WinAmp to try the same thing. Nothing. I use Creative's media player deal - nothing.
So, I pull the disc to check for damage and notice this funky "Copy Control" logo on the label.
Quick browse over to Wikipedia's entry on Copy Control and discover that this horseshit is some form of copy protection designed to prevent me from ripping the disc.
Well, fuck that. For the most part, I don't have a problem with copy protection, as long as it doesn't screw with my ability to use the product I purchased.
I'm less annoyed now that I've discovered two very simple ways to circumvent the Copy Control idiocy.
One requires me drawing on the CD with a Sharpie marker, which isn't too hard. Apparently this blocks the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM from seeing the nasty bits that make up the so-called protection.
The second, and much easier method, is to simply place the disc into my DVD burner.
See, since the burner has to be able to write to all sections of a disc, it also has the ability to read everything, and in doing so, is smart enough to know this is a music CD, and allows me to see the audio tracks.
Truly, there's some fucking rocket-scientists working for whatever fuck-up company created this nonsense.
What actually annoys me more about this whole debacle is that, for people that don't have a burner, or don't want to draw on their CD, they're almost screwed if they want to listen to their CD on a PC.
Fortunately, those great people at Sony, or EMI, or any of the other asshole companies have provided their own media player for you, one that tries to auto-install when you put it in the drive.
This is seriously the epitome of bullshit.
OK, so I need a Compaq Storageworks 4314R or 4354R.
The 4354R is a split-bus deal, so it's "better", but I could easily survive with the 4314R.
Someone needs to hook me up - they only cost $80-$150, but I'm broke, dammit.
475gb of RAID5. Oh, so sweet.
Of course, I'm going to need a rack. Hopefully, that problem is going to be rectified soon.
Too bad I couldn't score a sweet deal like a co-worker got off of eBay - a Compaq 21U rack. Cute short little deal, holds everything he has, and has room on the top for monitor/keyboard.
That'd be sweet.
As it stands, now I'm going to have to find a monitor shelf and keyboard drawer for whatever rack I end up getting.
Dang it.
So, I went to Staples today to pick up another 1gb MuVo deal for a gift, and they're out of them.
Not only in Albany, but at every store in Oregon, and the website no longer lists the 1gb model.
Plenty of 512mb models, but I won't buy an MP3 player under 1gb - neither for myself, or others.
Checking around online, and it looks like Creative is cancelling that particular product.
That's a damned shame - they should have marketed it to people as a replacement for their USB jump-drives. They could have released 2gb versions and more.
Sucks when someone has a truly badass product, and they stop selling it.
This:
is the neatest thing since sliced bread.
Back when MP3 players weren't so prevalent, I bought a Creative Nomad II.
Neat little device, had an FM tuner in it, in addition to being an MP3 player.
One problem, though - it used Smart Media cards, and the manufacturer claimed that it wouldn't recognize bigger than a 64mb card.
So, yay, 64mb of MP3's.
Pretty damned limited, and I never cared to try a bigger card in the unit.
After about two weeks, I stole the 64mb card to use in my Olympus digital camera, and threw the MP3 player in a box, where it remained until a few weeks ago when I gave it to my little sister, who would make more use of it than I ever will.
Lately, I've been thinking that I want another MP3 player, and I keep getting assaulted by the iPod display at Costco.
I have a hard time saying this, because I so seriously am tired of Apple and Macintosh, but the iPod is a technically superior little device - mostly.
Whenever I seriously consider plunking down the cash and buying one, I always talk myself out of it. The "cheap" devices have a small capacity (up to 4gb), and the ones I really want, the technicool 30gb or 60gb iPod Video thingers are around $400-$500.
Then, my chair broke.
What's that got to do with anything, you might ask?
Well, I bought the chair at Staples. I bought the "protection plan" for said chair.
The chair has a malfunction, so I called in my protection plan, and Staples sent me a "gift card" for the purchase price of the chair.
Seeing as how I bought two chairs, and am using the unbroken one, and gave the malfunctioning chair to my roommate, I can't really justify the purchase of another chair at this time, so I've got this gift card burning a hole in my pocket.
I bought some lamps for my livingroom, and was thinking about upgrading my wireless router, but thought better of it, and then happened to walk down the aisle with the MP3 players, and saw the newer MuVo.
A buddy I used to work with bought one of the early MuVo's for his wife, and I thought it was neat, but the 256mb capacity still felt limiting.
On the shelf at Staples is the latest MuVo, the 1gb MuVo TX FM.
Price? $109.99
Forget it. I'm not paying over $100 for an MP3 player with a 1gb capacity.
So, I go home, but the MuVo keeps sticking in my head.
See, I've wanted a USB flash drive for a while, but I keep talking myself out of paying the $50 for a 1gb deal, because, while it'd be useful, I wouldn't be using it a lot.
The MuVo is an interesting solution to my desire for an MP3 player and a flash drive.
Most MP3 players require a USB cable connection to the PC, and a lot of them have their own flaky software you have to process the MP3's through.
The MuVo is nifty, because the player module (the black part with the LCD in the picture above) unplugs from the battery module (the red part above) and plugs directly into a USB port.
Once plugged in, Windows XP detects it as a 1gb USB flash drive.
All you have to do is copy files from your MP3 folder to the new drive, and presto, you're in business.
When done, remove the player module, plug into the battery module, plug in your headphones, and you're golden.
You're also not limted to MP3's - you can use the player module as a 1gb flash drive for any files whatsoever. Obviously, it won't "play" them, but it has flash drive functionality.
Well, I start looking at stuff on Staples' website, and I find the same exact MuVo that the store has listed for $109.99 listed on the website for $69.99.
Turns out the stores are selling it for the same price, but both Corvallis and Albany haven't updated their signage yet.
Seventy bucks. My whole issue with only a 1gb capacity MP3 player starts vanishing, because we're not looking at a $100 device anymore.
So, I head over to Staples, and pick one up - and just in time, because my roommate has borrowed his parent's riding lawn mower so it's time to mow.
This little thing rocks.
It's USB 2.0, so I pushed about 300mb of MP3's over to the thing in a matter of seconds, and, presto, 4 hours of music ready to go, and I'm out mowing.
Not bad for something that was effectively free...
GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY.
This is, without a doubt, the most boring class in the world.
In addition, it's got two complete fucking tools in the class - and that's not counting the teacher.
There's 7 of us.
One dude in the class is a teacher for some school around Salem or something. He's taking the class so he can be a computer teacher, and evaluating the A+ curriculum to see if it's suitable to teach the school kids. Not a bad idea. As useless as I think an A+ Certification is, if schools are going to teach kids about computers, they should give them the A+ course material, and get them all certified.
I'd bet it'd be cheaper and easier - and better for them - than whatever else they use.
The next dude is just some older guy, seems like a putz.
Two other kids, one looks like he's 18 or 19, the other in his early 20's. They seem to be reasonably knowledgable. Cool.
That leaves Dipshit One and Dipshit Two.
Dipshit one is some fag wearing Japanese-print shirts and a fedora who can't seem to fucking sit still. He's constantly getting up, tossing his pen around, and jumping up and down on the floor. Fucking weirdo.
But that's OK.
He pales in comparison to Dipshit Two.
Dipshit Two is some faggy fucking videogamer nerd. When he's not playing his faggy fucking Game Boy, he's constantly interrupting class to talk about his Game Boy. He cracks stupid fucking jokes, tries to act like he's hot shit, and just pisses me off.
I think I'll bury him.
When he grows up, he'll probably turn into the instructor.
Ah, yes, the instructor.
Fagnerd Extraordinaire.
The guy teaches computers, but didn't know what CMOS stood for, and then argued about a true CMOS still being present on a computer.
Made a big point of arguing about how 3.5" floppy disks really aren't floppy.
Goddammit.
And, yay, two more months of Saturdays of this horseshit.
Cockfags.
But what should I get?
I really like Dell's line of stuff, but certain features of HP/Compaq stuff, such as the AMD Turion 64-bit mobile processors are attractive.
Any opinions out there?
Well, since I've been getting awful tired of the hundreds of comment-spam per week, I've decided to make an attempt to combat it.
As of today, if you want to access the comments script, you'll be required to use a basic authentication dialog.
The username and password required is in that dialog. Keep an eye on the text in the dialog, as I may change the username/password in the future to combat the automated spam scripts.
(Oh, and I posted a nifty favicon.ico to the site, a green Maltese/Templar cross. Nyah!)
So, way back in time, back around when I originally started working for SUMCO, back in the year 2000 when it was still Mitsubishi, Microsoft released a bit of hardware called the SideWinder GameVoice.
Nominally, it's a headset that allows you to chat with other users of the device.
It's more than that, though.
You've got your headset, sure, but there's also the software and hardware component.
I haven't used anything like Roger Wilco, or Ventrillo, or TeamSpeak or anything, so I don't know how those stack up. What I do know is that, for our immediate needs, this thing rocks.
There's a server component that I can install on my game server that allows everyone to connect.
There's two client components - one for folks with the hardware, one for folks with just a headset.
And then, there's the hardware component. This thing rocks. In conjunction with the software, it allows you to setup teams, key people to individual buttons, mute your headset, and of course, the feature we never use, voice-control.
With a small group of people (say, 5), it works out pretty well - each person is assigned to one of the 4 buttons by default, making it VERY easy to mute your mic to just those players not on your team.
Anyhow, I bought a couple of them years ago, and never got the chance to use them to their full advantage - basically, they became a spare set of headphones for LAN parties.
So, then we move out here to Beirut.
In the apartment, we could holler back and forth for communication, but neighbors got bitchy.
Out here, our closest neighbor is hundreds of feet away, and can't hear us unless we go outside and scream - but then, with the size of the house, we can't scream loud enough for the other roommates to hear.
Enter the GameVoice!
Microsoft discontinued the device due to lackluster sales - Microsoft released the hardware before team/goal-based gameplay became active, so nobody bought it. When it did become active, most people didn't experience the usefulness of the hardware, and instead, downloaded one of the free alternatives listed above.
So, I had to go to eBay.
These things used to cost $40-$50 new - I got two new, and two like-new on eBay for about $100, giving all of us a GameVoice, having a GameVoice on the guest machine, and having one spare!
Sweetness!
There's a bit of a learning curve - there's a delay, even on the LAN, from speaking to your buddies hearing you, something that we all need to fully grasp, but we're getting the hang of it.
If you're interested in the GameVoice, here's a couple of reviews:
http://www.guru3d.com/review/microsoft/gamevoice/
http://www.activewin.com/reviews/hardware/audio/ms_game_voice/index.shtml
If you want to buy one, eBay is your best bet - there's usually always a couple up for sale on there - if not, just keep watching.
Word.
So, at work, out of 9-10 racks, containing a total of about 50 server, I have shut everything down except 7 machines and the SAN.
It's so sad, looking at it all sitting there, doing nothing.
=(
So, we had a hub die at work this weekend.
Yes, you heard correctly, a hub.
So, no big deal, since we're closing down.
WRONG.
This hub had a fiber port on it, and it was used to connect the Security trailer to the network.
Luckily, I found one cobbled into another building that was unused, and I was able to replace the dead one.
I truly hope I don't have more problems like this - it's just a matter of time before shit starts dying like this.
So, a beta for a dedicated server executable came out for Tribes Vengeance.
Very cool - now I don't have to install a full copy of the damned game on the server machine, and load it to run a server.
Here's what I hate, though - I realize it's beta, and I realize it's not supported. Why can't there be better goddamned documentation, though?
This thing has virtually no documentation.
From what I've read on forums, it's based on the UT2004 stuff, so I suppose I'm supposed to know that, and know how the UT2004 dedicated server works.
To it's credit, it worked right out of the box. I got a server up and running, but I couldn't get it to be a private-only server, and stop connecting to a master server and doing CD-key checks.
I'm mostly pissed because the ?lan startup option wasn't documented anywhere, and I finally found it on Google by some weird combination of words.
I figured out how to config and setup my server based on the help of people that are in no way affiliated with the company that coded or released this game.
That's ridiculous.
Now I'm going to go torture myself, and see if I can get a UT2004 server setup.
Man, if I had a webmonkey right now who would be able to make up a slick-looking site, and would be willing to admin it to keep it up and running, I'd be all over content for a hardware/software review and technology website.
Having recovered from my rant in September, I decided to pop over to Tom's Hardware Guide to check out their latest video reviews. You know, see if they had updated anything with the latest crop of cards, or tested some of the older cards on newer games.
Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment.
Yes, once again, they've pissed me off.
See, in October, they published one of their "VGA Charts" articles, in which they take a whole slew of video cards, and compare them to each other in a bunch of different games.
Cool, to an extent. One must give credit where credit is due, and to Tom's credit, they've certainly got the best of all of the video card reviews, present in their "VGA Charts".
But, I still have a problem with it.
What could that problem be, you ask?
Not enough variety.
Those of you who have seen the charts may argue that Tom's tested 35 video cards in their VGA Charts IV article.
Yes, they did.
Is that not enough?
No.
Why?
Because they tested only two non-DX9 cards, and left out what they consider to be "OEM only" cards.
You know those $299 Dell machines that I was talking about on Thursday? Boxes like these are what a LOT of people are buying today. As critical as the home PC has become (much like a telephone), many families who wish to purchase a PC can't afford much more than something like this.
Now, I'm not advocating a video test on these systems with integrated graphics which are most commonly non-3D, but it would be nice to see some of the low-end stuff in these tests.
Hell - we've been purchasing systems at work in the recent past that come with cards like an NVidia Vanta or ATI Radeon 9200. Is it too much to ask to keep the occasional GeForce 3 or GeForce 4, or Radeon 8XXX series cards in the test? These cards are still capable of playing some of these games, and at the price point, a lot of people buy them without knowing any better.
Inclusion of cards like this in a review would be beneficial, twofold - it would allow the limited-budget-gamer to know where a potential purchase ranks, so he can make a better decision with his limited funds.
It would also allow the no-clue-purchaser to avoid bad deals simply based on marketing hype, such as the too-good-to-be-true sounding deals like a 128mb GeForce 4 MX card.
Another bone of contention is Tom's latest VGA Chart V, where they test the latest and greatest PCI Express cards. Obviously, I've got no room for bitching here on a PCI Express review excluding older cards.
My issue is the change in test software. To their credit, they did leave UT2004 in the test matrix, so there was more of an apples-to-apples test at that level. For once, one could compare an AGP GeForce 6800 Ultra to a PCI Express GeForce 6800 Ultra, and be able to see that the PCI Express version gets 42.3 frames-per-second faster performance over the AGP version.
That's what I want!!
(An aside: My earlier complaint about non-standard test machines surfaces here. Tom's does make note of it on their PCI Express review, with the quote "The test system used for this comparison is markedly faster than the one we used in the previous version of the VGA Charts. Faster CPU, memory interface, chipset and newer versions of the cards' graphics drivers all result in much higher scores. As a result, any performance differences you see here compared to the previous (AGP) VGA Charts cannot necessarily be attributed to the PCI Express interface alone!" In my mind, this invalidates the entire comparison between the AGP chart and the PCI Express chart. Now, I'm not an idiot, nor am I an asshole. I fully realize that when testing architectures like the PCI Express over the AGP, you're going to be required to get a different motherboard, and, as is the case with Intel (used for the AGP tests), a different processor architecture (Socket 478 vs. LGA775). That can't be helped. What can be helped, however, is things like CPU speed, memory type, etc. All of that should be able to be kept constant, without issue. Instead, Tom's changed from an Intel architecture (P4 3.2ghz) to an AMD architecture (Athlon64 4000+). The memory changed from 4 sticks of 256mb Corsair PC3200 to 2 sticks of 512mb Corsair PC3200 - potentially not a major change, however, still a change that would nominally affect system performance. Driver version variances also can't be helped - new cards quite probably won't work with the older versions of the drivers, so you're kind of stuck there. Regardless, my system complaints still hold.)
Unfortunately, they dropped the ball on the 3DMark tests. You see, with the VGA Charts IV article, they used 3DMark 2003, but with the VGA Charts V article, they dropped that in favor of 3DMark 2005, the latest version.
Now, don't get me wrong - I've said all along that I'm not AGAINST utilizing the latest and greatest - I'm simply against the elimination of yesterday's software in today's tests. A little bit more time spent on this article, and they could have provided a much more valuable test than the UT2004 one. Would anyone have complained that they tested with BOTH 3DMark 2003 AND 2005? I really don't think so.
That simple inclusion would have been such a boon to people deciding whether to upgrade to a PCI Express solution, or stay with AGP (a decision that a colleague was forced to make, with limited information, in December).
Now, this review could have been a whole lot worse. Tom's did maintain a constant test package between the two articles with games such as the aforementioned UT2004, and others, such as Call of Duty, Doom 3, Far Cry and Battlefield Vietnam.
Those 5 games might be enough for some to make their decision, but in today's benchmarking world, 3DMark ends up being the defacto standard - and rightly so. The application tests a plethora of different video modes and styles, and doesn't have an appreciable bias towards one manufacturer or another, as is commonly present in games (most notably, Doom 3).
I don't know - maybe it's some kind of deal these hardware review sites have with the hardware manufacturers. Something like "Don't compare our older, yet still perfectly capable hardware with our new releases, and show that an upgrade isn't really necessary, and we'll keep sending you new hardware to review."
Of course, I couldn't prove something like that if I tried.
So, I've been looking for an RTS that allows more than 8 players - even one with 10 players would be fine, but I'd prefer 12 or 16 (or even more).
I don't know what gives these days.
With the advent of network gaming centers (Over 600 have united under a common front to assist each other) and with the cheapness of home networking equipment and PC's (Dell sells their Dimension 2400 desktops for $299 these days! That's a P4 Celeron 2.4ghz, 512mb DDR RAM, 48X CD-RW and 40gb HD for $300! Add a $50-$75 video card, and you've got a hella capable portable LAN party system right there!), you'd think that the game companies would endorse that by providing more games with more than 8 friggin players.
I mean, hell, we've been able to play online forever, you'd have thought THAT would have been enough of an impetus.
But, it's not all bad.
Some game companies have heeded the call, and some incredibly early.
Microsoft and Ensemble Studios released Age of Mythology back in 2002 or 2003. It supports 12 players. And, if you look for it, places like Costco sell the "Gold Edition" (which includes "The Titans", an expansion) for $24.99.
Blizzard Entertainment has Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and it's accompanying expansion, The Frozen Throne which supports 12 players. We've been playing this a lot lately. If you don't have it, or only have RoC, you need to get both!
Electronics Arts has Armies of Exigo available, and this supports 12 players. Haven't played it, but it looks tempting.
PAN Vision churned out Hearts of Iron II, a World War II RTS that looks intriguing, if not difficult. 32 players can choose from over 175 countries to duke it out in a WW2 atmosphere.
Sierra (they still make games?!) is due to release Empire Earth II in late April. This will only support 10 people, but it made my list, because 10 is more than 8. 10 isn't much more than 8, however, so it may not get purchased.
Then again, who am I kidding?
I just bought Rome: Total War and Warhammer: Dawn of War, both of which support only 8 players, so I'm a big fucking tard.
So, I'm working on computers this weekend, both for personal stuff and for friends.
It's been one of those weekends - 6 or 7 different Windows installs, some hardware not functioning 100% correctly, that kind of stuff.
However, I've been rather smart about this. I've sacrificed 70+ gigs to Norton Ghost images for all of my stuff, and for all the systems I've worked on. It's nice to be able to simply re-apply a disk image and 30 minutes later, just re-install some apps or games.
I do need to start looking into something like sysprep or whatever the Microsoft deployment tools are, considering that I install virtually the same stuff on all machines.
Supposedly, sysprep will let me "prep" a machine for ghosting by removing all hardware-specific stuff, and then letting me ghost - that way, it can be applied to the next machine, and then all I'd have to do is let XP detect and install the hardware, with the rare exception of me providing some updated drivers...
So, I've got Acrobat Professional v6.0 installed on my system.
Today, for some unknown reason (and after a couple hours of troubleshooting), it stops opening, and just freezes on the splash screen.
Uninstalling and reinstalling doesn't work, so now I get to re-image my machine.
YAY.
Thank god for Norton Ghost.
So, not only is this game badass, but the Frozen Throne expansion that I got for Christmas kicks quite a bit of butt, too.
I'd say it's probably to Warcraft III what Brood War was to Starcraft.
Now all I need is Starcraft II and I'll die happy.
Holy crap, I never really realized how much of a digital packrat I've become.
My laptop has a 40gb HD in it, partitoned as two 20gb drives.
With 2gb free on C:, and 3gb free on D:, I decided it was time for a clean-up.
Now I'm sitting here with 10.3gb free on C:, and 14.6 on D:.
What was all the data I freed up? Crap. Redundant backups, redundant media that I had already saved off to one of the desktops, etc.
5gb to 25gb in the matter of an hour.
That's pathetic.
So, for the limited amount of time I've played it, it's pretty decent.
It's a damn shame I can't sit here longer to dick around with it.
It's pretty. Counter-Strike: Source is hella pretty, too.
It's lame, though - it appears that the only way you can get HL: Source (the original, re-done in the new engine), is to buy the entire game online for $60 or $80.
GAAAAY.
We might have to get an even geekier group of geeks together to play this at some LAN party sometime...
Bought the Platinum Edition and it's pretty nifty - it's NWN plus it's two expansion, plus some extra modules.
Need to get used to the control interface, which is a little complicated, and I need to figure out how leveling works.
Other than that, I'm pretty happy with it.
So, I ordered a couple of desk lamps from OfficeMax.com.
What drew me to these particular lamps was the description "Data Port".
See for yourself:
We'll see if they change the description based on my complaint - I doubt it.
Anyhow, it just says "Data Port".
In my mind, and about 12 others that I've spoken to, a "Data Port" is a network port, not a goddamned phone jack like these stupid lamps have.
What the hell is up with that crap?
Who the hell needs a phone port on their lamp? I could see a network port for laptops or something, but this?
LAME.
Note to self: Next job cannot involve any of these fucking printers.
So, I never got into The Sims. I bought it a year or two ago, but never installed it.
I just recently bought all the expansions for it on the cheap at Costco, but again, still haven't installed it.
Then I bought The Sims 2. Saw someone dinking with it, decided to finally install it, and it's pretty damned cool.
I'm getting sick of the damned little kids, though, who keep trying to play in the fucking toilet.
Remind me never to have kids.
So, if you haven't bought a copy yet, now's the time.
The only gripe I have is with single-player, how they incorporate too many multi-player elements to it, like the football gametype or the race gametype.
Makes it kinda lame.
Oh well. Grappling vehicles for a quick tow is cool.
Still miss my Tribes 2, though.
So, where I work utilizes a bunch of thermal label printers all over the site.
Not a big deal, save for the type of printers being used.
The SATO M-8450 printer is a 8-10 year old design that has been out-of-service/end-of-life for at least 3-4 years.
The manufacturer themselves knew that these printers sucked, and stopped making them.
Of course, we never replaced ours. Even 3 years ago, when all of these printers were dead or in serious disrepair, we couldn't buy new ones.
Why? Too expensive.
So we threw even more money than it would cost for replacement at repairing and servicing the old stuff.
And we continue to do that, to this day.
So, today, I get called by the department that regularly breaks their printers, that their last printer is dead and production is being impacted.
Long story short, I finally get a service guy on-site to repair the stuff, and he's able to get ONE printer working by about 6:30pm.
This blows. He's taken the rest of them up to his shop in Lake Oswego, and we'll have more soon, but it's just aggravating.
The former management decides "oh, we don't want to spend that kind of money" to make things better, yet they end up spending 2-3 times that amount to keep things shitty.
How does that work?
So, I go to install Battlefield 1942 last night, and the printed CD key on the back of the jewel case? Invalid.
Yes, you heard me correctly. Is that not fucked up?
Well, supposedly, EA is going to replace the key, we'll see. I bought another copy at Costco tonight, and I'm going to return this one as defective, and exchange it, so if all goes well, I'll have 3 keys (or more, if I get bored).
ARGH indeed.
So, I installed Tribes: Vengeance.
It's alright, I guess.
It wouldn't be Tribes if it wasn't full of bugs. Sound artifacts, crashes, you name it.
Fun, but annoying.
Can't wait for a patch!
So, I hate game-cheaters as much as the next guy, but crap like this Punkbuster software that's built-in to America's Army pisses me off.
The software "auto-updates" itself, but there's something wrong, currently, with the auto-updater service, and since I haven't played online for a few weeks, my "version" is out of date, so I'm getting booted off of servers.
Lame-ass broken crap. I hope the Punkbuster staff catches syphilis and dies.
I mean, it's pretty and stuff. The graphics are great.
Maybe I'm just burnt out on deathmatch-style first person shooters.
I need to find *MY* game. The Hitman series was pretty damned good, but short.
RTS games are great, but I can only single-play one of those for about 45-60 minutes before I get real board with it (like, board for a few days).
I dunno. I'm just tired of the mindless "shoot shoot shoot" of games like Unreal II. I haven't installed Battlefield 1942 yet, need to give it a try.
Need to install Tribes: Vengeance, as well, along with a whole shitload of other software.
So, I get a call from a couple of people who are deciding that they want to show up to our hastily-called-together LAN party today.
Sure!
However, we're going to be a machine short.
That's OK - I've got an extra video card, sound card, case and some DDR - Fry's has AMD Sempron or Intel Celeron D mobo/CPU combos for cheap.
Fry's is usally cool, so let's roll up there. The roommate, ex-roommate and I make a trip up there this AM.
Well, like yesterday afternoon when I stopped in there, they tried to play the whole bait-and-switch game.
"Sure, we have this motherboard/CPU combo for $69.99 or $99.99, but the motherboard sucks - you don't want it. You want this one, which is $200."
"And why does the motherboard suck?"
"Well, for anything other than word processing, it just locks up - we get these returned all the time, it's just a crappy motherboard."
So I look at prices - the P4 Celeron D 2.4ghz CPU is $80 - or, if you buy the mobo/CPU combo, it's $70.
Can they make me a deal with another motherboard? Nope.
"You'll have to buy the motherboard and the CPU seperately."
Uhh, OK. I'll just buy your combo deal, and the extra motherboard.
So, for some stupid reason, I listen to them, and decide that I should probably buy a better board than the ECS i848 board.
Stupid me.
I get home, assemble the system. It POSTs. I begin to install Windows. All files copy, and then it locks up hard.
Yay.
After troubleshooting for a bit, I decide to try the ECS board that they claim is crap.
POSTs, files copy, Windows boots, Windows installs. Cool.
I decide to "risk it" by installing some games on the system - which they claimed playing would make it crash.
Well, guess what?
System works just fine. I'll need to drive up to the jackhole's on Monday and return this crappy Matsonic i865 board, and get my money back.
God I hate those people.
Of course, part of it's my fault.
I'm a computer nerd - I just built my system and the roommate's system recently, which means I've brought myself up-to-date on my computer hardware research.
And, as it goes, whenever I'm looking at purchasing anything important (like computer hardware, stereo gear, electronics, etc.), I usually research everything, and get myself in-the-know.
I really need to remember that I'm smarter and more educated on the product than a lot of salespeople.
(The sad part is, it's not just Fry's people. I get the same crap from auto sales people, stereo sales people, just about everyone - I swear to God, the only training that these jokers get is how to push a button or two on the equipment, and then they're released into the wild to fend for themselves.)
Oy vey.
Worst week of my life (or quite nearly)...
Regardless. I learned good stuff. In a week or two, I'll go take the test, and, presto, I'll be an MCP.
Then I'll need to crank out the Win2K Pro/WinXP test, and I'm a quarter done with my MCSE.
Wheee!
Day four.
I don't know if the guy is retarded, or if words and letters are just not present on a Macintosh, but this fucker asks the stupidest questions.
He can't follow directions, he can't shut the fuck up about his stupid software that he writes and sells, he can't fucking figure out how to click a mouse.
Somebody help me.
On another note, we covered some decent ground today, without skipping over anything really important.
Only one more day of this crap!
Day three has been completed.
We cleared through 4 modules or so today - only another 8-10 to go - in two days.
Woot.
We spent way too much fucking time on creating users, groups, OU's, etc - and not nearly enough time on printing and group policy.
And I swear to fucking god, I'm going to beat the life out of the fucking Macintosh faggot who sits behind me. If he tells one more fucking stupid story about how Macs are so much better, or he opens his mouth for one more stupid question because he "doesn't get it, Macs are so much easier!", I'll kill him.
God DAMMIT I wish I brought more ammo with me.
OK, so.
This Microsoft class, 2273 - Managing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Environment - is actually two classes in one - the Management half (2274) and the Maintenance half (2275).
OK, all well and good.
2274 has 10 modules, and 2275 has 8 modules.
That's 18 modules, total, that have to be cleared in a week. Average of 3.5 modules per day, or something close.
Cool.
Day two is now complete, and we're barely finished with the 4th module. Only 14 more to go!
Jesus this is lame. By the end of day two, beginning of day three, we should start with some moderately advanced stuff.
Instead, we're doing the equivalent of creating files and folders.
This blows.
So, Day 1 of my first MCSE course, and I'm already pissed.
First, this guy talks all kinds of shit about Windows NT 4.0 (I'm not saying it was cool or anything, but the instructor was making shit up!).
Then, he bashes Microsoft, talking about the "One World Network" that MS is trying to establish, and making jokes about "Windows version 666" and other stupid shit.
What the fucking fuck, over?
On top of that, I'm on fucking dial-up.
Goddammit.
LAN party was not too shabby, considering everything.
Attendance count ended up being 10 most of the night, with an 11th showing up late, and a floater/watcher who will hopefully play more at a future party.
Not bad at all.
We only played HALO and AA at this one. There was a fair bit of whining about Tribes 2, which is to be expected - it's one of those games that you either love or don't. Those that don't will usually whine about the control setup - both the sheer number of keys and the "non-default" placement of keys - and the complexity of gameplay - monitoring assets, protecting the base, utilizing the assets (cannons, cameras, sensors, etc.) and then throwing in the whole CTF bit, and actually going and fighting.
It's a lot to handle, and you need to get teams organized so that they'll handle it.
(We also had a comment about the graphics quality. Fine. The game was released in 2001. Sue me.)
=)
That's fine. I'll push it a little more, and if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. No biggie. Tribes: Vengeance is out (or out soon), and I'll get a copy, see if I can adapt it for LAN play (that's code for seeing if I can crack it's copy protection, and if it, like HALO, requires unique CD-Key's for LAN play, etc.), and then we'll go from there.
Besides that, I can't find the two mods that I used to love for T2 - both the Team Aerial Combat 2 mod, and the NinjaMod.
Both rocked all kinds of ass, and the 'net's Tribes 2 resources have shrivelled up and disappeared.
LAME.
Anyhow.
The AA went good, we played mostly the SF (Special Forces) maps, and Bridge_SE.
Dropped a couple maps - SFrecon is too damned friggin' huge, and it sucks. Weapons_Cache_SE is a cool map, and I like it, but it got the same reviews - too big. I dropped Mountain_Pass_SE for the same reasons.
SFvillage may end up getting dropped.
That'd leave:
SFsandstorm
Pipeline_SF
SFarctic
SFcsar
SFhospital
Bridge_SE
Six maps, they're not too huge, they're pretty easy to figure out where to go/where things are, and there's still a good amount of places to snipe from, to ambush from, etc.
HALO worked pretty well, just had to get my custom gametypes working, which wasn't too much of a pain.
We might run some RTS's at the next one (hopefully), and maybe throw a couple more games in next month. I've got Battlefield: 1942, C&C Generals, Age of Mythology (2?), and some other stuff that is VERY LAN-able.
So, our "inaugural" LAN party is tonight.
If this goes well, I'm going to attempt to host a recurring party here - and Doug, Ian, you whiners - MAYBE I'll invite you... =)
I do have to say, after I actually receive my furniture, I don't know if we're going to have enough room for much more than 8 or 10 people (if even that many).
We may have to start organizing a party at a "rented" location, which might be cool - maybe get it setup and get a huge one going that we can charge a nominal admission which can be used to buy prizes for people and stuff.
That'd rock.
On another note, I'm now hating computers again.
I've already installed Windows and configured it, and installed apps, games, utilities, etc., on at least 9 or 10 PC's for people, in preparation for this party, and I know that there's going to be more tonight.
I still have a shit-heap of a mess of computer junk in the Livingroom that needs cleaned up, and then I still need to setup tables, chairs, power strips, cords, etc.
DAAAAAMN.
So, I don't know if I'm going to buy from these jokers again.
First, Newegg said "No restock fee for defective merchandise."
Sweet. I love those guys.
So, anyhow, back to PC Club. They have the processor I want in stock. Cool. They'll hold it for me until this afternoon. Cool.
Well, we finally show up, and go to pick up the processor. Price online is $220 - and no, that's not an online price, that's the store price. You can select "Store" or "Direct Shipment (online)" from their webpage for pricing.
So, we get the processor, and go to pay, and the guy wants $269.95.
Say fucking what?!
After telling him that it's $220 online, he's like "Oh. OK."
Turns out they have a "idiot walks in and doesn't know the webpage price" price, and the webpage price.
Fuck that. That's a load of horse crap.
Not only that, I figured, "hey, we're here - I could probably use another 512mb of PC2100 for one of my systems that's a bit low..."
So, I ask how much a 512mb stick is. $93.99. For generic OEM. WHAT. THE. FUCK?!!
Dude, you can order from Crucial for $75, and that's with FREE FedEx 2-day shipping! Crucial! Some of the best RAM available in the entire WORLD, and it's cheaper than these freaks.
This sucks.
On one hand, I want to just stop shopping at these jackholes.
On the other hand, all of the other computer stores around are little hole-in-the-wall places, kind of like Action Computers here in Albany was. You know the type - a bunch of old junk cluttering up the place, maybe one respectable system in stock, and forget parts - they might have a bit of RAM, maybe a middle-of-the-road in performance CPU or two, and a couple of budget video cards.
Nobody stocks higher-end components, nobody has a "wide" variety of components in stock.
Nobody but PC Club - or Fry's, but they're in Wilsonville.
So, damn. What a predicadicament.
So, started building the roommate's computer tonight.
His P4 3.2ghz processor, which is boxed AND marked on the core as a 3.2ghz processor, only clocks at 2.8ghz.
Shat.
So, I figure, OK, we'll leave it in his system for the duration of the LAN party, so he can use his new box, and then pull it out this coming week for return to Newegg.
NOPE.
It POSTs, it boots, it loads the Windows Installer, formats the drive, copies the files, and then when it starts to boot into Windows for initial install/configuration, it locks up HARD.
Shit.
Hopefully PC Club or someone in Salem has one, and if Newegg tries to charge me a restock fee because I want to return it for refund, I'm taking a trip down to Cali.
So, I got my new PC built. Yay. (No, seriously, yay.)
But, now I have to start assembling and installing all the other boxes.
My server test environment is being turned into a bunch of WinXP workstations for the LAN party, so each one needs to be installed, patched, updated, configured and ghosted.
Then the games need to be installed.
Oh yay, oh yay!
That's actually not the crappy part, though.
The crappy part is, I hate the old Lian-Li case that my old machine is in, and since I'm a big fan of stuff matching, I bought a couple extra cases so all my stuff matched.
Now, I've got to transplant two machines into the new cases, prior to being able to install the OS and stuff.
That's the part that's not fun.
So, I found this person on eBay who happened to be selling spare MSDN CD portfolios.
No, I'm not being a geek, and going on an MSDN kick.
It's just that these little CD portfolio/bag things rock, because they hold a buttload of CD's, they're thick and sturdy, and they allow some easy organization.
And, they're cheap - like $5.00 plus shipping cheap.
For something this quality, you'd pay an assload in a store.
Word.
12,235 3D Marks in 3D Mark 2003.
uNF.
HALO rocks all over the place hella smoothly, but that's not surprising.
Gonna need to get some more stuff installed over the next couple of days, and start pushing it a bit harder.
I really love this MSDN subscription stuff.
Latest versions of all kinds of cool stuff, and it just keeps coming.
I'm really going to miss it when I leave this job.
Maybe I'll have to find some people that want to go in on an academic subscription, or something.
OK, now I'm pissed off. I had just typed a big long freaking post, and when I hit ALT-F4 to close a window (was checking spelling on a word), the key stuck, and I close the window I was posting in.
Now I've got to attempt to re-type it all.
GOD DAMMIT.
Anyhow.
Here goes:
I've said for a while now that I could pull a better hardware review website out of my ass.
There is a need in today's reviews of computer hardware products to provide "real-world" tests for the average reader.
Too many hardware review sites have unrealistic test-bed systems.
One review I just read for a GeForce 6600GT (NVIDIA's latest addition to the mainstream video market) was describing their test system, and noted that it had a P4 3.4ghz "Extreme Edition" CPU and 1gb of Corsair PC5400 DDR2.
Not factoring in any other costs, the cost of the CPU and RAM alone is nearly $1500!!
How many people do you know have a gaming system with an $1100 CPU?
For a site that wants to show you benchmarks of products so that you can make a purchasing decision, wouldn't it be nice if they showed a system just a bit closer to what other people can attain?
The average gamer out there doesn't have a "top-of-the-line" system like that.
While I will concede that, depending on the game, there are potentially neglible gaming performance increases that don't unfairly skew benchmarks for these reviews, such a system should not be used for attaining "real-world" benchmarks.
The consistency of these test systems is also another thing I take issue with.
A system that jumps from P4 2.4ghz to P4 2.8ghz to P4 3.2ghz to P4 3.4ghz "EE", with all the requisite motherboard, memory and device changes in between does not provide a stable platform for with which to perform video card tests and reviews.
Even better - when sites decide to test new CPU/motherboard combos and post their results, you'll quite often see that they haven't tested with the same video card and software that other reviews have, so the results of that test are useless in attempts to compare performance.
Hell, I've seen reviews where the reviewer was comparing a P4 to an Athlon64, and one system had an NVIDIA card in it, while the other system had an ATI card in it - and video game performance was one of the benchmarks in this review!
Now, I'm not saying to test with a low-end system. I'm not even saying you can't test with a system made up of all the newest and fastest components - but don't make a system like that your standard review system!
Now, I'll be the first to admit, some research would need to be done to create a system that one could consider "average", but I'd be willing to bet that a system like this would be a lot closer to 2.0ghz with a "normal" CPU, rather than the Intel Pentium 440 Hemi v6.39a-Rev2 9.0ghz Super Extremo Mind-Blister Enhanced Edition which retails at just under $4000.
The other facet of this is, most people aren't regularly upgrading their system, beyond the addition of a bit more RAM, a slightly faster processor as prices drop, or a new video card. People do NOT go out and buy the top performance processor every time it's released.
I'm in the process of upgrading my system right now. The "old" machine is an Athlon XP 2100+ with 512mb of PC2100 DDR and an NVIDIA GeForce 4 Ti4600.
The only upgrade it's ever seen is the CPU - from an Athlon XP 1800+.
This system was built in November of 2002, and has easily handled everything I've thrown at it. The only reason I'm upgrading is the desire and ability to do so - save for potentially upgrading the video card, there is no NEED to upgrade anything else at this time.
I'm not unique in having a system this "aged". This is what I consider to be a mid-range system, comparable to what I believe more people to have (over the number of people with "latest-greatest-fastest" systems).
Perhaps I just need to assemble a team to develop a hardware review website of our own.
Some ideas for the website:
A comprehensive review of so-called "low-end" to "mid-range" video cards: starting with video cards that are priced in the $40-$60 range, and ending with cards in the $200 range, this review would attempt to provide an easily decipherable rundown of the performance of these cards in a "normal" system, with popular games, so that you don't have to read 500 reviews just to gauge the performance of a particular card - and allowing you to eliminate having to figure out product naming/numbering conventions.
An end to the endless reference-board round-up: I can't beg
