Here She Is!
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Pond Scum, allow me to introduce you to Nori, my new computer.
Nori is a HP ENVY 700-074. She's loaded with a 4th Generation quad-core i5 chip from Intel, running at 3.0GHz. There's 12GB of RAM, a 2TB hard
drive, built-in wireless networking (which I'm not using), and a pretty
case that attracts fingerprints like nobody's business. It also came
with a wireless keyboard that I'm honestly not fond of (it's essentially
a laptop keyboard) but I don't own any USB keyboards, a wireless mouse
that I'm not using because the one from Logitech that I own is a lot
better, and built-in graphics that... well, they aren't great. I've
discovered that I am in love with USB 3.0, and am very glad that my
external hard drive came equipped with it. The only problem is that two
of the four USB3 ports are top-mounted behind a fairing, while all the
USB2 ports are front-mounted, behind a drop-down panel that doesn't
leave enough space to insert a wireless mouse thingy and still be able
to close the panel. As a result, I've got the Logitech mouse thingy
plugged into one of the USB3 on top, which is silly. I think I'll be
able to survive, however.
It also comes with Windows 8.
Fortunately, it also comes with HP's "Quick Start" program, which does
most of what the missing START button does.
Click to see a better look at the QuickStart menu... and some of my music collection.
Setup
went the way it usually does, mostly waiting for Windows Update to
figure out that yes, I really DO want it to install the updates,
please. I'm a little afraid to add the graphics card... what I don't
need is a repeat of what happened LAST time.
But that's
dwelling on the negative. So far, I'm pleased as punch with Nori, and
suspect she'll be with me for a good long time!
1
Etna, the new laptop, waves hi, being an HP Envy series too.
What's the genesis of the name?
Posted by: Mauser at September 01, 2013 07:58 PM (TJ7ih)
2
Nori is my favorite character from the Hidamari Sketch franchise; she's the closest to being normal and well-adjusted of the bunch, with a dry sense of humor. She's also the only one of the six with a computer, as seen above.
Posted by: Wonderduck at September 01, 2013 08:28 PM (ifb6Y)
3
Ooh, I can't bear HP stuff any more ever since they hosed me with a laptop in 2011. Other than that, it looks like a nice PC.
I have a Gigabyte motherboard with sockets for 8 or 10 USB ports (a mix of 3 and 2) on the motherboard. I doubt your board's got any extra sockets but if it does you could attach a cable internally and put the mouse adapter completely inside the case.
Posted by: RickC at September 01, 2013 11:40 PM (swpgw)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at September 02, 2013 12:47 AM (PiXy!)
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There's a whole half-episode of Sae and Nori talking in the most recent series... and we're getting two specials in November.
Posted by: Wonderduck at September 02, 2013 01:02 AM (ifb6Y)
6
RickC, there's actually plenty of USB ports, but the wireless mouse dingus has a blind spot of RIGHT WHERE I USE IT THE MOST if I plug it into the back of the computer.
Same thing happened with Chiyo-chan, so it's not a Nori problem, but a Logitech one.
Posted by: Wonderduck at September 02, 2013 01:05 AM (ifb6Y)
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My Logitech wireless devices came with USP extension cables that even included a little stand to hold the widget at an angle.
There also turned out to be a update available to one of them so that it worked with the newer mouse so I didn't need both of them any more.
Posted by: Mauser at September 02, 2013 08:10 AM (TJ7ih)
Posted by: Brickmuppet at September 02, 2013 10:30 AM (F7DdT)
10
Man, I have put my two copies of Windows 7 into a nice fireproof lockbox. I'm doing everything I can not to have to get Win 8. The wife bought a new laptop and 8 was the only option for it. I'm hating supporting it.
Posted by: Dreamshadow at September 03, 2013 01:32 PM (T5fuR)
11
A cylon? Bah. I'd be VERY disappointed to learn that the designers of this beautiful rig did not intentionally base it off the original Knight Rider.
...
What? So what if I'm the only one? It's a shadowy flight into the world of a computer, which does not exist...
Posted by: Tom at September 03, 2013 06:36 PM (B3++G)
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@ Brickmuppet, you mean Windows 8 isn't programmed to say "By your command" when you click an icon?
@ Tom, that's the German version of the machine you're thinking of.
@ Mauser, my first Logitech wireless moose came with one of those... I might have to see if I still have it around here somewhere.
Posted by: Wonderduck at September 03, 2013 09:22 PM (ifb6Y)
The Deed Is Done
It has been a long time coming. The decision was not particularly hard to make, but it was difficult to pull the trigger on. Then finding the time and energy to actually do it, well, that was a feat in and of itself. But finally, finally, it was accomplished.
I have a new computer.
Unlike many, perhaps all, of you, though, I am not frantically hooking it up and getting it running. Believe me, I understand that urge, and as recently as a year or two ago, I would have been a whirlwind of activity, cables and widgets and dongles flying everywhichway in my haste and zeal to get the new gadget rockin'. No, I've still too much to get off Chiyo-chan and stored onto the external drive, and too many logins to recover from too many websites to hurry into this.
So tomorrow,the whirlwind will occur. And the world will finally meet the computer that will take over for Chiyo-chan.
5
I hate Dr Pepper, I wouldn't even try to imagine what the Japanese version tastes like, and the screencap is from Kamisama Memochou, the driving character of which is a "NEET detective" with an addiction to Dokupe and computer equipment.
It's the first series I've encountered where Ep01 is 48 minutes long, with two eyecatch breaks... kinda like the old American TV habit of making a new series' pilot an hour long, but the rest of the episodes a half-hour.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 31, 2013 09:05 PM (Zg0Yp)
6
"I hate Dr Pepper"
Aww, who's not up for prune-flavored antifreeze?
Posted by: RickC at August 31, 2013 10:03 PM (swpgw)
7
I actually had surprising luck when it came to getting my bookmarks and such back when I re-installed Firefox on Himawari. Firefox had a bookmark archiving tool that restored them equally well. I think I was able to restore cookies and passwords the same way.
Other programs worked by cloning their data folders after a reinstall.
Posted by: Mauser at August 31, 2013 11:49 PM (TJ7ih)
8
A coworker got a new laptop recently, and they bought a copy of Laplink PC Mover for her, and it did a pretty good job of moving apps and documents. I didn't check to see if it got stuff like her browser history and saved passwords and what not.
Posted by: RickC at September 01, 2013 03:16 PM (swpgw)
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I am sorry that you heretics don't understand the glory of Dr. Pepper, but that just means there's more for me. Also, it's technically blackberry.
Actually, there are very few flavors of pop that I don't like. I thoroughly approve of things like Dad's having about six different cream soda flavors/colors. But I'm going low carb right now, so I've only had a single soda in about a month.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at September 01, 2013 10:43 PM (cvXSV)
This Is The One Where Wonderduck Complains
Just giving you fair warning, is all. As far as complaining goes, it probably won't be too terrible... more like a quiet yet persistent whining sound, exactly like the one emanating from the empty apartment downstairs. Anyway. If you're not interested, here's a nice picture that has nothing to do with anything, and might I suggest choosing from a category on the sidebar?
Last week, as I'm sure you all realized, I broke the 60-hour mark with plenty of time to spare. The week before, I nearly did the same thing, though that was with six days. This week will probably be right around 60 hours... things are kinda slowing down, but there are things other than customers that take up my time, as well. As it is, I'm coming in early and staying late just to get stuff done... stuff that by rights I should be doing during the day.
Look, here's how wiped out I was. This past Saturday, I woke up at 645am, as usual, and by 11am, I had fallen asleep twice as I was browsing the web or reading a book. After waking up the second time, I gave up and went back to sleep. I woke up five hours later, watched the Quals for Belgium, did the writeup, then went back to bed. While I was intending to wake up around 1130pm to work on the next Eva 1.11 writeup (which I haven't touched for a couple of weeks), I blew through two different alarm clocks, only to wake up at 3am Sunday. After piddling about, I went back to bed and slept until 10am Sunday. And I'm still tired.
What I'm saying is, all this stuff at work may keep me away from blogginating for a bit longer. I know this is terrible news for all of you, and some may even feel depressed about it.
However, and this is big big big... a new computer will be coming into my life this week. Y'all will be introduced as soon as I actually, y'know, get it. Wish me luck the rest of the week.
And Down The Stretch They Come...
Somewhere around 10 Thursday morning, I clocked my 40th hour in the Duck U Bookstore for the week. I didn't leave today until 8pm. You do the math.
If things break the right way, I might be able to get out on Friday in about 11 hours. That'd be the shortest day this week!
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 23, 2013 08:16 PM (1BL+a)
4
Next weekend is Labor Day weekend, and since we'll have that Monday off, management decided that we shall work BOTH Saturday and Sunday, even if we ARE ahead of schedule (for the moment.)
What's the point of having a holiday weekend if they're going to "Make up for it"?
Posted by: Mauser at August 24, 2013 03:16 AM (TJ7ih)
Wonderduck's Weekend
I worked all day Saturday, as the new fledgelings moved into the Duck U dorms that day, then had dinner with Ph.Duck immediately afterwards. I got home around 7pm, and by 8pm I was crawling into bed for a nap. I set the alarm clock AND my cellphone to wake me around 1030p, and I was out cold before my head finished sinking into the pillow.
Hydraulic pressure woke me up at six in the morning on Sunday. I had slept through two hours of Sports-Talk Radio and my cellphone's alarm (twice), which normally will kick me out of bed like a train had hit the headboard. Groggily, I purged the hydraulic lines and debated with myself what to do: go back to bed? Do laundry? Sleep? Laundry?
Laundry. I was nice to my neighbors, however, and waited until 8am to do it. After that was done, I had lunch while watching the NASCAR race and falling asleep. By 2pm, I gave up and went back to sleep... and woke up at 7pm. And I'm STILL sleepy. Next week is the start of classes at Duck U., so there's no rest for either the weary or for the Duck U Bookstore's manager.
1
Hang in there, Duck. (Insert nostrum about not dying, being stronger here). You've done it before and can do it now - just keep on keepin' on. Your loyal readers will be here when the dust settles.
Posted by: The Old Man at August 19, 2013 07:20 AM (JFB5K)
"...Without You Suffering From Burnout."
Those were the last words my boss said to me on the phone today before I burst into a manic sort of laughter, high-pitched and brittle. The sort of laughter that inspires ultimate confidence in the listener.
I have nothing else to say, I guess. A couple more weeks and it'll all be over...
The Nightmares Have Begun
The stress of work is leaking into my sleeping brain, causing nightmares beyond telling. This one, though, is at least a little humorous. The other night, I dreamt that I was the only person in the world who remembered a particular song from 1992, and I HAD to preserve that memory, no matter what.
Now, the way I learned about this song in real life was interesting enough. I was home from Grad School, and had a few bucks free to spend on stuff. I had become the unofficial master of the mixtape for just about any party held by the theatre department, owing to my ginormous cassette collection, supplemented by a small but growing assortment of CDs. Add in the collections of the two roomies, and I had a ridiculously eclectic range of music to play with. There was only one problem: none of it was new. I jumped on my folks' computer (a 386, maybe) and swear to god, connected to Prodigy.
THAT was cutting edge back then, folks. Anyway, I headed to some of the message boards to ask for help... mostly for dance music. I got a few good song titles back, including the track involved in my nightmare.
Oh yeah, remember that? The nightmare? I woke up from it, thinking I REALLY WAS the only person in the world who remembered the song. I stumbled into my living room and started going through my CDs, trying to find the maxi-single... and I couldn't find it. The boxes in the closet didn't have it either. Actually desperate now, I called up yourfaceinatube, hoping beyond hope that someone else out there knew the tune! As it turned out, I need not have worried.
In fact, it was rather stupid of me to have been half-scared out of my wits; this was actually a Billboard Hot 100 hit, back when that meant something, and I KNEW that. Of course people weren't going to have forgotten it. Still, nightmares aren't supposed to make sense, are they?
And now, just in case something really DOES happen and everybody else forgets "Love U More" by Sunscreem, it'll be here.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 13, 2013 11:25 PM (QsGp9)
3
When I was at Drexel One of the first classes to be equipped with Mac 128's, (Bastards the year after got Mac Pluses for the same price, and the upgrade would cost US as much as the computer), anyway, back then, some folks from Prodigy wanted us to help them beta test their Mac version. And only certain modems would work with it (they would monkey with the Hayes commands to try to improve bandwidth or something).
I tried it. It sucked. Terribly. I didn't bother logging in a second time.
Posted by: Mauser at August 14, 2013 02:48 AM (TJ7ih)
4
Ah, the arrogance of Prodigy in their early days! We had some folks at the university ask us if it would work to get them online, and so I tried it out. To his credit, their phone-support guy not only managed to keep his voice under control when asking, "did the manufacturer say that your modem was Prodigy-compatible?", he politely waited until my howls of laughter died down.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at August 14, 2013 03:21 PM (fpXGN)
SUNUVABEECHMARTIN!!!!!!!!!11!1!
The replacement graphics card came in today. As soon as I got home, I put it in.
And it didn't work. Of course. Of course.
I just realized that I can't return it to Amazon now, either, because I sent the original to EVGA.
I am now taking suggestions on new desktop computers.
My opinion is that for the last few years, it didn't make any sense to go with a desktop computer. I buy big notebook computers and they work really well.
What I've been buying is gaming notebooks, computers designed to be taken to LAN parties. They thus have lots of compute power, excellent graphics, big screens, and they're self-contained and preconfigured, so there's no problem with drivers or anything like that.
My current computer is an ASUS G75V: 12G RAM, 2.3GHz I7 quad core, half a terabyte of disk, built-in high quality optical drive, and a 1920*1080 screen. I think it was about $1600.
No, it isn't a laptop. I used the term "notebook computer", which refers to the fact that it's all-in-one. But it's too damned big and heavy to be a laptop. That's the point.
It's the same kind of power and ability you'd get from a desktop computer, though, but less footprint.
4
You could use my post about Himawari as a shopping list. It has so much power most of the time it doesn't even notice me using it. I'd get a stronger card though. for just a little more cash I could have had about 50% more oomph, and maybe, just maybe, less of a jet engine on the GPU fan.
Etna, on the other hand, is not as good for watching movies in bed as I thought. Aside from the terrible crick in my neck, the viewing angle on the screen is terrible up close.
Posted by: Mauser at August 13, 2013 01:50 AM (TJ7ih)
5
Wish I could help. Ordered parts off of Newegg and had the g/f assemble it (she enjoys that). Dropped about $1500, but I went a little crazy here and there.
Posted by: Avatar at August 13, 2013 02:50 AM (GJQTS)
6
Steven, so it's a laptop without the ability to move around or to easily upgrade, but with the extra price of a laptop?
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 13, 2013 06:31 AM (RgjI9)
7
DR laptops are nice, but Wonderduck could probably build a nice gaming rid for about half what Steven paid, which is why people still do it. A few months ago, right before Haswell came out, I bought a core i5-3570K (on perpetual sale at Micro Center for $40 below what everyone else charges) with a Gigabyte PCI3 mobo to go with it and 4 gb of ram for under $400. You can buy a case as low as $30, but you probably wouldn't want to.
The 650ti boost I just got plays WoW at Ultra at 1920x1080 with 70+fps (in less expansive places, I might see 140 fps) and I paid about $170. That CPU+GPU combo can hit 200+ fps in Minecraft.
FWIW, I thought about waiting for Haswell, but I suspected Haswell parts would cost a little bit more (the roughly equivalent cpu+mobo would have cost maybe $50 extra) and I was coming from a 2007-era 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo, so either was going to be a *major* upgrade, so I didn't wait.
A Trinity or Richland A8 is a pretty nice deal, too: quite a bit cheaper than an i5, and the built-in graphics are serviceable, although not nearly as good as a dedicated card. For my son, I coupled the A8-5600K with a micro ATX MSI motherboard for about $150. The only real drawback is the unfortunate SATA port placement under the footprint of the video card slot; you need to get right-angle SATA cables and make sure you get low-profile ones. It's also not as overclock-friendly as a bigger board would be, because you can't adjust the CPU voltage, so it runs a bit hot, but an aftermarket cooler helps with that.
Posted by: RickC at August 13, 2013 06:31 AM (WQ6Vb)
I don't have any good advice here, at least not better than what I've seen above. (I'll note that the active and useful duty life of any laptop-shaped object is about half that of a good desktop, and thus endeth my rant thereupon.)
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 13, 2013 07:20 AM (CUkqs)
9
I will second the recommendation to look at AMD for your CPU. I just bought a new Richland system, and the CPU with integrated graphics was dirt cheap. I think I will get a couple of years of use out of the integrated graphics, and then to upgrade to a separate discrete video card - but that should let me extend the life of the rest of the system considerably.
Posted by: Insight at August 13, 2013 10:46 AM (OY+nB)
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With Trinity/Richland, if you want to game, you should buy a discrete card, if you don't want to turn the settings all the way down. But if you can live with lower settings, you don't NEED the card. Minecraft with Optifine on a Trinity is playable. Minecraft with or without Optifine on a Core i5 is barely playable. (Optifine is an add-on to Minecraft that increases performance and adds some nice graphical features.)
Posted by: RickC at August 13, 2013 10:49 AM (WQ6Vb)
11
Honestly, I gave up on upgrading (as opposed to building with all-new parts) a few years ago. Just not worth the hassle, most of the time - there's always that chance you'll get a part that, while compatible on paper, just isn't going to work with your current setup. It's generally easier for new hardware as everyone's testing with everyone else. Last time I just took the old box, nuked the drive, and gave it away to a co-worker who didn't have a box of his own. This time I'm thinking I'll pack the thing to Hawaii and set it up as a home theater PC.
That said, I had an unusual need for two running boxes at once (i.e. g/f coming to visit for a month) and someone willing to blow a day assembling and testing parts (I'd put it off for months because I just didn't feel up to it on the weekends when I wasn't working). With as much of a time crunch as Duck's gotta deal with, that's not as good of an option.
Posted by: Avatar at August 13, 2013 01:37 PM (GJQTS)
CPU: AMD A10-5800K or A10-6800K (the newer chip is a little faster and a bit more expensive). Fast, inexpensive, and has the advantage of having built-in graphics that are actually good enough to game on, albeit at medium-to-low settings as RickC noted. ($129 / $149)
(AMD's FX series, which is what Mauser got, and I have here at PixyLabs, is the same design, but the A10 has 4 cores plus graphics, where the FX has 8 cores but no graphics.)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A85X-UP4. ($119) Everything you could want in an FM2-socket motherboard; includes VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs, so you can plug it in to pretty much anything.
16GB (2x8GB) Corsair or G.Skill DDR3-2133 RAM. (Around $130) The memory market is in a funny mood at the moment, and while prices have gone up overall, the price difference between low-end and high-end parts has shrunk dramatically, and speeds up to 2400MHz are now relatively good value. (The A10-5800K supports up to 1866, the 6800K up to 2133.)
SSD: If you can easily separate your OS & apps from general file storage, get a 120GB Samsung or Intel SSD. (I'd suggest the Samsung 840; I'm running a pair of 840 Pro drives, but that's because I do database stuff.) (Around $100) Or if you think you want a bigger C drive, go for the 250GB version ($200).
Disk: Seagate Barracuda 2TB. ($100) Easy choice.
Video card you have, and the system will work pretty well without one. Power supply.... Well, you might not want to pull it back out again, but the one you have is a fine choice.
Add a DVD-ROM or BD-ROM and a suitable case and you're done!
Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 14, 2013 01:52 AM (PiXy!)
+1 on Pixy's choices. AMD continues to make solid, low cost CPUs with very good performance and excellent integrated graphics. If you decide the mb graphics just aren't up to snuff, I'd recommend a ASUS or Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 video card; they're very reasonably priced at $120-140 now, play nice with the Gigabyte's chipset and run pretty quietly. Most of the 7770 cards use at least 1 GB of GDDR5 memory, have core and memory speeds in excess of 1GHz, and max resolutions of 2560 x 1600. Really good bang/buck ratio on these cards.
Posted by: JT at August 14, 2013 10:01 AM (iStSI)
14
I have the 650 card, and wish I'd sprung for the 650ti. They really don't have any good benchmarks on the boxes these days.
Posted by: Mauser at August 15, 2013 04:26 AM (TJ7ih)
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I chose the 650ti boost based on the Tom's Hardware GPU bang for the buck list. I had planned on getting an ATI 77x0 or 7850 until then.
Posted by: RickC at August 15, 2013 09:06 AM (A9FNw)
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I bought the $200 Walmart Emachine special. (Not recommended for gaming.)
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at August 15, 2013 12:30 PM (cvXSV)
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Heh, that's hardly recommended for anything.
I've been annoyed for two years because to save a few bucks, the company I work for skimped out when buying us developers new PCs. While I don't need a Core i7, it would've been nice to get something better than a Pentium dual-core. (If I could afford it I would buy an extra computer to use at work instead of the company one! I had an HP core i5 laptop I used until the defective POS stopped working and HP declined to fix it.)
Posted by: RickC at August 15, 2013 04:52 PM (WQ6Vb)
An Origins Tale
No, not that Origins, as we were more of a Gen-Con group growing up... naturally enough, since it was (metaphorically) just up the road in Kenosha. THIS origins tale will be something a little more prosaic. Those few of you who didn't sear the post out of your memory will recall a little passage in the latest Eva 1.11 post, about how longtime friend Vaucaunson's Duck ran me down with his bicycle and ground my youthful face into the brick street. Ah, those wacky hijinks!
As with most good fiction, some bad fiction, and the occasional bit of writing you'll see here on The Pond, there is a germ of truth behind the story. In this case, while Vauc didn't actually run me over, he did have a bicycle, like many kids our age, and by "our age," I mean 12, which would be approximately three years after we first met. I was already infamous at Q.S. Trotter Grade School for having been the first student demoted from third grade to second in the middle of a school year. Of course, this naturally meant that I was as dumb as a box of hair, when the truth was somewhat more... strange.
See, my education up until my family migrated to Duckford was... um... well, I was part of an alternative schooling program known as the "Free School Movement." For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, the short version is that, instead of having a schedule of classes that I had to take, I learned what I felt like learning. I believe I attended the Free School for three years, from the ages of 5 through 8, until the Great Migration in '76. Now, I want you to imagine being five years old, and you're being told that you can learn whatever you feel like learning, and you don't have to learn what you don't want to. EVER. As it worked out, I was reading at a high school level when we moved to Duckford and I began attending QS Trotter... but I couldn't math my way out of a paper bag. The thing is, nobody had any idea where to put me when I got to conventional school. So I was placed into third grade... and within a month or so, everybody discovered that I didn't have a single freakin' idea of how to school, either. I never turned in a piece of homework, ever. Don't get me wrong, I did it all... but I just left it in my desk. That's what I did before, after all, how was I supposed to know any different?
In a lot of ways, the whole Free School thing was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I still love to read, and writing? Well, there's eight years of crap here at The Pond to look back on. On the other hand, though, I still can't math worth a damn and I have no interest in learning to. So that's how I came to be infamous at QS Trotter...
...anyway. Met Vauc sometime afterwards, became friends, and somewhere along the way, he had a 10-speed bicycle; guess that would have been around 1980. I, on the other hand, had a somewhat clunky three-speed bike, painted a truly lovely shade of brown, and by "lovely," I mean something completely not lovely at all. I do mean "brown," however. I'm not denying that brown can be an appealing color, though it makes me look like a pile of dog poo with a pile of red hair on top, I'm just saying that my bicycle was nothing special to look at. Or ride, come to think of it.
In any case, I don't remember which of us came up with the nickname "Tenspeed and Brown Bike." Probably Vauc. Maybe you, earnestly bored reader, remember the short-lived Steven J Cannell show, "Tenspeed and Brown Shoe," starring Ben Vereen and Jeff Goldblum? I will admit to not remembering it at all, save for that it gave us the nickname that I remember so clearly, despite it being 33 years old... and judging from the response to a text I sent a few hours ago, Vauc remembers not at all.
Well, that's the way these things go. What my brain remembers as important are not the same as Vauc's, surely. I'm sure he has vivid memories of... I dunno, playing MAATAC in the Game Room, for example, that I don't have any recollection of.
In any case, that's the long-form explanation of the "bicycle over the face" gag. Pointless, wasn't it?
(I still remember modifying the rules to MAATAC to allow OGREs... good times, good times...)
1
Memory is a tricky thing. I have vivid memories of riding around the neighborhood with you on our bikes, but not that. And true, I got a ten-speed before you did, but it was a Sears Free Spirit upright ten speed, without those ridiculous bent-over handlebars that were so popular. And more importantly, it didn't have one of those tiny seats that threatened to split larger riders in half.
But I remember that you got a mountain bike long before I got one. One of the first mountain bikes I'd seen. Replaced your brown bike, I think.
Hadn't thought about MAATAC for a while. Dang. Those microgames were great. But for me, nothing stands out in my memories like FITS. And your group of Sopwith pilots, the Snoopies.
Posted by: Vaucanson's Duck at August 10, 2013 02:34 PM (OFJiW)
Look, Here's The Story.
Over at the Duck U Bookstore, the Run To Rush has truly begun in earnest. While classes actually begin on August 21st, next week is when, historically, we take the next step in sales traffic. Right now, we're doing... oh, let's call it X in sales per day. Next week, we'll be doing 2X, maybe 3X. Rush Week itself, though, will see us doing 6X for a couple of days, 5X the rest. That's busy enough when you've got a full staff, but I don't.
My boss was in the store on Monday, and as always, he asked "what can I do for you?" My reply was simple: give me an experienced employee for a couple of weeks. Doesn't even have to be a new assistant manager, just someone I can have cover the sales floor while I do admin stuff. Unfortunately, pretty much every other store in our region starts classes within a week of me, meaning they'll be at least as busy as me, and loathe to release a trained staffer as well.
Which leaves me doing two jobs, though as the manager, it's all really my job. Anyway, I've got to cover the floor, unpack boxes, put incoming stock on the shelves, customer service, all that sort of thing... which I love, don't get me wrong. But at the same time, I've got to do paperwork, reorders, receiving, keeping the Home Office happy and the vendors paid... and only so much of it can be done after the store is closed.
As I'm hopping around like a frog with its head cut off all day, by the time I get home, a lot of what I want to do doesn't involve the computer. It does involve having a meal, watching the TV, and sleeping... and if I ever get that stupid graphics card back from EVGA, playing video games. ANYTHING to keep my mind off work.
So what I'm saying is that I'm going to be a little quiet here for a while. I'll probably post a random anime picture every day, or every other day, or something, so there'll still be content (or content-like substance), it just won't be the deep, probing, intelligent, thoughtful, erudite material you've grown used to from The Pond.
Like that.
Mr. WONDERDUCK: Please pass on to the boss, I need more men...
REGIONAL SUPERVISOR: Perhaps you can tell it to him yourself
Mr. WONDERDUCK: The boss is coming here, to Duck U....?
REGIONAL SUPERVISOR: That's right, and he's most displeased about your apparent lack of readiness!
Mr. WONDERDUCK: We shall re-double our efforts! Tell the boss that the store will be ready as planned!
REGIONAL SUPERVISOR: I hope so -- for your sake. The boss is not as forgiving as I am.
Posted by: Pete at August 07, 2013 03:30 PM (RqRa5)
3
The "regional supervisor" is my boss, but your point remains.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 07, 2013 06:35 PM (vgfzZ)
4
When I worked retail in college (Software, Etc.), our regional manager would "help out"* whenever we were short-handed.
*He would ask us what needed to be done, ignore what we said, help one customer (female, cute) then remember a call he had to make/take and wander into the back room for a few hours.
Posted by: Ben at August 07, 2013 07:48 PM (/Mdmg)
(Throwing Hands Up In Frustration)
Right, I give up. I've done everything I can do, everything I can think of, and this stupid graphics card is still not working. Either the card has a problem, or it just won't work with my computer. Either is possible, I have no idea which is more likely.
Graphics Card Installed, Problems Continue!
Right, this is getting really annoying. After dinner, I sat down in front of the open side of my computer and gently installed the eVGA GT630 I purchased last week. At first, it looked like everything was going smoothly... the drivers installed without freezing, which just confirms that indeed, the PSU was the problem. Great! Reboot when prompted, and voila! Windows boots up...
...Blue Screen of Death. "Machine_Check_Exception." Again.
Now I began to invent curse words. If you ever hear me say "serathilk", you know I'm really pissed. I rebooted in safe mode, removed drivers, and tried again. After a couple of tries (with BSoDs) , install happened, rebooted, and the screen came back up in 1440 x 900 resolution! Yay!
Then it BSoD'ed again. The only thing I can figure is that, somewhere, my motherboard hates the GT630. Or everything hates ME, one of the two.
I've sent a support request to eVGA, maybe I'll hear from them this weekend.
I really wanted to play Kerbal Space Program this weekend, too.
1
Have you tried running MemTest86 and prime95 for a while, just to make sure your RAM, CPU and motherboard are still working correctly? Maybe also run a complete SMART test of your harddisk (it could be corrupting your data...)
All of these aren't directly related to the new graphic card but strange things happen from time to time.
Posted by: christoph at July 27, 2013 06:36 AM (lj3PR)
2
Hard to do when you BSoD all the time. And why would any of that only show up with the new graphics card installed?
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 27, 2013 08:00 AM (HY5zN)
3
I don't know why it would only occur with the new graphics card. Nonetheless if I was in your situation this would be part of my procedure - just so that I could be fairly certain it's not one of those other components that's faulty.
With regards to BSoDs: MemTest86 is directly bootable (from CD/DVD, floppy disc or flash drive); the hard disk check can be done from any live linux distribution that has smartctl installed (e.g. clonezilla, if I remember correctly). prime95 will probably also run in Windows' safe mode (if that keeps BSoDs from appearing).
At least it would interesting if your system also randomly crashes or reboots when running an OS other than Windows.
Posted by: christoph at July 27, 2013 09:56 AM (lj3PR)
4
Not a chance in the world am I going to install Linux for this... I'll buy a new computer first.
I've put the old GT240 back in, and once again, no problems exist. It's like nothing was wrong.
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 27, 2013 10:19 AM (NvF/3)
Regarding Memtest, there are lots of Linux distros that have LiveCDs. Put it in, boot from it, no installation.
But it sure sounds like a bum video card.
Posted by: RickC at July 27, 2013 10:26 PM (WQ6Vb)
6
EVGA gave up on it a long time before I did... I've got a RMA and shipping label to use to send it in for replacement.
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 27, 2013 11:23 PM (NvF/3)
7
Probably for the best. Out of curiosity I did a quick web search for machine check exceptions and video cards, and it seems to generally be either overheat situations or bad vram. Overheating at boot seems really unlikely unless you changed your desktop wallpaper to be Unigine Heaven or something.
Posted by: RickC at July 28, 2013 10:50 AM (WQ6Vb)
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 28, 2013 08:22 PM (NvF/3)
11
Have you heard from EVGA yet?
I got tired of the integrated graphics on my PC this weekend, so I went out and got a 650ti boost. I went from ~25fps in WoW on a setting somewhere between the lowest two presets to 70-100fps on Ultra. Pricey, but awesome. Only drawback is the card is a little loud when you're gaming. I am considering an aftermarket cooling solution for that.
Posted by: RickC at August 05, 2013 02:57 PM (A9FNw)
12
Rick, it just made it to EVGA's California HQ this morning... one week via UPS.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 05, 2013 06:16 PM (6j8A+)
PSU Installed!
It only took nigh on three hours to do, but my computer now has a 600w Corsair CX600 installed. Now, I'm sure many of you out there are saying to yourself "three hours? How in the world did it take that long???"
Well, there were a few problems along the way. Problem number one, and the most time-consuming, discovering that the CX600 doesn't actually have a four-pin 12v ATX connector. This, I found out after I had spent an hour and a bit getting the old PSU out, getting the new one in, and running cable. The four-pin 12v ATX is used on old motherboards, like mine, and is never seen anymore. After nearly removing the installed CX600 in frustration, I remembered that I have another computer (which I'm typing this post on) and could google around about this conundrum. This is where I discovered that Corsair has a more modern eight-pin connector that splits into two four-pin 12v ATXs. While I wish that had been obvious from looking at the various cables, it's done and over with.
Problem number two, and the most aggravating, was finding out that my old PSU was actually better equipped for hard-drive and DVD drive power cables. That one, an old ThermalTake (which only puts 18amps to the 12v rail, by the way... well below the 20 required for my new graphics card, which confirms the suspicions of all of you, and thanks!), has four individual cords with a four-pin molex connector on them. The CX600 has ONE cord with four molexi "spliced in." The run from the top of my case (DVD) to the bottom (hard drive) is just barely within reach of the CX600's cord... and that, I think, only because my DVD drive is installed in the bottom of the optical drive bay. If it was in the top slot, I don't think it'd reach. Getting that cable run was quite annoying... I'm still not even sure I can put the side panel back on.
Problem number three was that the younger me who installed the ThermalTake PSU all these many years ago was something of a diplodocus when he put it in. Slip-tabs that would normally hold the drive in place were badly bent, a plastic friction clip wasn't there at all, so on and so forth. As it is, I managed to re-bend the bottom tab to do a little bit of gripping, but the three case screws that are supposed to just lock the PSU in place are, instead, doing most of the work of keeping it from falling.
So there it is... three hours of effort, dust and swearing... a LOT of swearing... but little Chiyo-chan now has a new heart PSU. Next step is the graphics card, but that won't come until AFTER dinner. I'm starving.
Here are a few things I am NOT going to do that involve this film:
1) Watch this clip again
2) Watch this clip in HQ full-screen (again)
3) Watch it when it comes out
4) Watch it when it comes out in IMAX
5) Watch it when it comes out on Blu-Ray
Really, it might be the greatest movie of all time, but that makes no difference to me. The thought of being adrift in space with no hope of rescue and a sudden reentry imminent is enough to turn my bowels to water and my knees to pudding. SEEING one of my worst fears on the screen like that? Nope, nope and a thousand times nope.
I'd rather chew my leg out of a bear trap than do that.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 26, 2013 12:42 AM (PiXy!)
4
Working on it. I hope to do the PSU switch today.
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 26, 2013 07:23 AM (F+CeQ)
5
You are SO right, 'Duck. Did two tours in 'Nam and raised two teenagers (one of each sex) but the situation described in the trailer give me the galloping never-get-overs. Worse than going into a hot LZ.
Wonder how many in the audience at an IMAX showing will lose it? Might have to hose out the theater between showings...
Posted by: The Old Man at July 26, 2013 07:31 AM (EiwKY)
6
What are those suits made of, impenetratium? Stations and ships and other sturdy things being smashed, shattered, and blown into clouds of razor-sharp shrapnel all around them, and the suited astronauts just go bouncing around like perfectly frictionless spheric constructs on a 3D microgravity billiards table.
Posted by: Mitch H. at July 26, 2013 12:13 PM (jwKxK)
7
Ever watch Dark Star? Those guys just need to grab a surfboard-shaped chunk of space station....
Posted by: Ed Hering at July 26, 2013 01:25 PM (aEOAA)
8
Just gotta convince yourself that you'd survive it. (Love those dreams where you get shot a few times and then think to yourself "hm, the bullets didn't penetrate, I ought to look into why I'm invulnerable later on"...) Then it goes from "nightmare fuel" to "extreeeeeeeeeeeeme parachuting".
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at July 26, 2013 03:36 PM (pWQz4)
I've Got So Much Nuthin', It Hurts!
...and that's a lot of nuthin'. I've not had time nor energy enough to even think about installing the new PSU, which I remember as being a nasty job in this particular BTX case. Well, ces't la vie. More something will come soon, I hope. Here, have something fun, on me:
I... uh... even I don't know what to say to that, and I'm the one that put it here.
Graphics Card Weirdness
Okay, so here's the gig. I had time today to finally install the new graphics card... and it wouldn't. Let me explain.
The first time I tried, I got a black screen. Okay, didn't get the card seated correctly... not hard to do when the PCI-E slot's locking lever is broken. Pulled it out, stuck it back in, voila!
Windows froze during boot. Never even made it to the desktop. Hold down the power button and try again. Yay, desktop! I wait for the computer to finish trying to find the mouse and keep hitting cancel on the driver search function, then plop the install disc into it and voila!
Windows froze during install. It was at this point that I began to think that this wasn't going to go as smoothly as the other two times I've installed graphic cards. Power button, reboot, bluescreen before POST. As I was too flustered at what was going on, I didn't write it down (of course) but the relevant part that I remember was this: Machine Check Exception.
Power button, desktop, cancel cancel cancel cancel install disc it makes it a little bit farther before lockup. At this point, I give up, pull the brand new GeForce GT630 out, put the SPARKLE GT240 back in... it functions as long as I don't have it do anything more strenuous than Minesweeper... and everything works right as rain. Sighing, I send eVGA an eMail, asking for advice.
Response: install the drivers under safe mode, and how much power does your PSU put out at the 12v rail? B-b-b-b-but if I install the drivers under safe mode, that'll kill off the SPARKLE, and for me to read the label on the PSU, I have to remove the PSU... and I remember having the devil's own time physically installing it in the first place. Oh, and it's seven years old, it may not be putting out that much power anymore, right?
Suggestions, anybody? This sound similar to anyone? I really don't want to sink more money into this if I don't absolutely have to, but I'm willing to invest in a new PSU if need be... I'll just put it into the new computer that'll be coming down the pike soon enough.
UPDATE: And all this after I splurged on Steam's summer sale, too. Saints Row 3, the DLC for Skyrim, and Kerbal Space Program... and I can't play any of 'em!
1
If the power supply may be inadequate or failing, how about testing it with a multimeter or power supply tester? They're pretty cheap if you don't already have one, and it would at least let you determine if you're going to need a new one sooner rather than later.
Kerbal Space Program is awesome. One of the very few "Early Access" titles that I think is actually worth playing as-is. I already have 277 hours in it, and am nowhere near finished with everything I want to do. Of course, I'm an old hand at Orbiter, so I guess I'm predisposed to like it. The world needs more realistic space games. I'm taking a break until the next patch, since it's going to break save game persistence. I can quit any time I want, really, I swear!
The Skyrim DLC is well worth while, too.
Okay, I know, I'm not helping... Shutting up now.
Posted by: flatdarkmars at July 21, 2013 08:22 PM (0h1CL)
2
Um, are you connecting the power cable to the graphics card? Higher end cards often have a socket for connecting the same power lines as your HDD.
Posted by: Mauser at July 22, 2013 12:28 AM (cZPoz)
3
Some cards require that you install the drivers first, using the supplied install disk, then install the card.
The other thing: 'way back in the stone age (1997-ish) I was a big fan of Jaton video cards, because they didn't cost very much and you got a lot of performance for your money. They used the Trident chipset and worked beautifully in my Pentium machine.
Unfortunately, when I bought a brand-spanking-new Celeron motherboard (I said this was 1997) absolutely detested Jaton video cards, and after trying three different models I gave up and put in another brand of card. This is not the kind of thing which should still be happening today, but [excrement] happens.
Posted by: Ed Hering at July 22, 2013 04:52 AM (aEOAA)
4
@Mauser: no extra cable needed, it draws straight from the PCI-E slot.
@Ed: instructions say to install card, then install drivers.
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 22, 2013 06:46 AM (F+CeQ)
5
It's not uncommon for a newer mid- to low-end card to actually use less power than older cards, but the problems you're describing are consistent with a lack of power. If your motherboard is as old as or older than your power supply, it could be that the motherboard isn't moving enough power to the slot, or that the slot itself is damaged.
However, the problems *could* be caused by a driver conflict, but I wouldn't think it likely considering your moving from one nVidia card to another. On that subject, installing the drivers in safe mode probably won't affect your ability to re-install the old card and boot with it. Probably.
Of course, there's all of the "did you knock something else loose while installing the card" issues, but it doesn't sound like it if the old card will boot. And I have to admit that upon hearing that your power supply was seven years old I immediately thought that you probably ought to replace it as a matter of principle. The motherboard, too. That's what I would be doing, but it's an easy thing to suggest to someone else; I'm not doing the work and losing my computer for the duration; and having to start over from scratch when the effectively-new computer is built.
The GT240 was a low-power/low-end solution. The GT630 draws a lot more power. Flag # 2.
As Ben indicates above, the intermittent failures and crashes you experienced are typical of power-supply problems. Flag # 3.
"Easiest" test is a newer/larger PS. If you can get a loaner, just plug it in while it's "close enough" to the case and see how that does. Easiest IMAO, at least.
Just wanted to say, good luck, we're all counting on you.
Posted by: Doug Oosting at July 22, 2013 12:20 PM (sdWdc)
7
As it turns out, one of my Duck U Bookstore temps is one of those guys who builds desktops for fun. A long talk with him today, crossed with all your comments, led me to buy a new PSU... in fact, this one. 600watts as well as 46amps along the 12v rail... that'll do juuuuuust fine.
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 22, 2013 05:26 PM (F+CeQ)
8
It does sound like a power issue, though that's a tricky thing to debug remotely.
I've used Corsair power supplies in a bunch of machines - desktops and small servers - and I've never had so much as a hiccup. That one looks like just what you need.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 24, 2013 02:14 AM (PiXy!)
Saturday Night Tunage XVII
Oh no! Look out! It's another installment of Saturday Night Tunage with your host, DJ Wonderduck!
It amazes me that I've managed to go seven months since the last one of these, or at least that's what the search feature says, but it does appear to be true! I do believe that I've deprived you, my faithful readers/listeners, for much too long. What you believe, on the other hand, is up to you! I make no promises that these songs haven't been featured before, but I don't much care... I like 'em all the same! With all that out of the way, let's get on with the tunage!
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 22, 2013 11:15 PM (F+CeQ)
8
You ran lights for Cheap Trick at the bandshell? How have I not heard this before? Was it a good set?
Posted by: Vaucanson's Duck at July 23, 2013 03:46 PM (CKoWa)
9
More correctly, I ran lights for a small acoustic performance by Robin Zander and someone on guitar. I still remember quite clearly the gentle cover of Spirit's "Nature's Way" that just blew me away. Then, as the night wore on, Bun E. showed up, then a while later so did Rick Nielsen. There's a really great acoustic version of "Surrender" out there somewhere... actually, it sounded a lot like this one.
I don't think it was supposed to be a Cheap Trick show... I got the impression that the others just showed up and sat in.
It wasn't quite as cool as having Stevie Ray Vaughn play a guitar solo for an audience of one (me), but it was pretty close.
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 23, 2013 07:05 PM (F+CeQ)
10
The bandshell's right in Rick's neighborhood. He was probably out for an evening stroll...
Posted by: Vaucanson's Duck at July 23, 2013 09:34 PM (OFJiW)
Wanderduck's Missing Pictures
A few of you may remember the pictures from my trip to Orlando last month. I was just going through the (metaphorical) pile of snapshots unused from the journey, and I realized that I didn't use my two favorites... because they didn't fit the narrative as well as some others. In lieu of actual content, I aim to rectify that oversight right here, right now.
The first:
Just a duck somewhere above the middle of the country... far, far above the middle of the country. Probably Indiana or Kentucky, as it was fairly early in the flight. Love the clouds, and the somewhat wistful view of Wanderduck looking out the window. Just a fun little picture.
The second:
Wanderduck with the biggest, cheesiest sh*t-eating-est grin you've ever seen on a rubber duckie. He's such a ham. Which, to be sure, is what makes him an ideal companion for journeys.
For either picture, click to get a big version. I'm sure Wanderduck'd love to be your desktop wallpaper for a while!
The Gleam Is Off... um... EVERYTHING
Look, I know I occasionally whine and complain about stuff here at The Pond. Stuff happens, and sometimes you just have to react. But today... today, I have a legitimate cause to complain, and there's no way anybody would disagree with me.
My assistant manager gave her two weeks' notice today.
Classes start in four weeks.
No way I'm getting a replacement in time. I'm going to be working open-to-close all the way through Rush, which'll take us into September. I'm actually scheduled for 57 hours the week before classes start.
I'm doomed.
And if that wasn't enough, my DVR appears to have coughed up a hard-drive and died. Thankfully, I just rent it... I think. But I lost all the movies and stuff I'd recorded. Like the entirety of Firefly in HD. Don't let nobody tell you different, "Our Mrs Reynolds" is worth watching in HD. Oh yes, yes it surely is.
I'm already there, I think.
Get yourself a series 3* TiVo and hack it. Then you can download anything you can record (not to mention upgrading to 2TB drives so you can store every Good Eats episode with tons of space left over).
No suggestion about your assistant manager though
* TiVo Series 3 or TiVo HD.
Posted by: Kayle at July 16, 2013 09:32 PM (OLxpT)
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 16, 2013 09:55 PM (NOm0f)
5
I bought a new DVD recorder to clear off my DVR when I was considering dropping my DirecTV. Unfortunately, the DVR advanced my decision by a couple of months by dying on its own. And the drives are tied to the players, so you can't swap them out, and they're encrypted, so you can't get your shows off.
(Also, the DVD recorder, even though it was made by a different manufacturer than my previous one, apparently used a variant of the same software, which is horrible as a player. For example, A-B repeat must be selected from a menu, each time, which takes three or four button presses, AND can not be set unless the player is PLAYING. No pausing and advancing to just the right frame.)
Posted by: Mauser at July 17, 2013 04:37 AM (cZPoz)
6
Aw, MAN. Seriously, who thought it would be a good idea to have a year ending in the number 13 anyway?
Posted by: GreyDuck at July 17, 2013 07:33 AM (CUkqs)
7
I watched it once, but my main memory of that character is her gainaxing in an evening gown.
Posted by: Wonderduck at July 17, 2013 04:23 PM (rY5SD)
9
Alas, I have retail and bookstore experience, but no assistant manager experience. But maybe you could ask other bookstores in the area if they know anybody?
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at July 17, 2013 07:07 PM (cvXSV)
10
Oh, wait. You probably have a big bureaucratic hiring process.
Maybe you can get a temp assistant manager? Maybe alums of your bookstore can come and do a tryout?
Maybe you've already thought of all these things....
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at July 17, 2013 07:09 PM (cvXSV)
The Sparkle Is Off The Rose
Some of you may remember back nearly two years ago when I went through that joyous time I liked to call "graphics card hell". That was the time when my old Nvidia 7600GT went all pear-shaped and I had to replace it. The first attempt was with a 9800GT... which failed because it was a two-slot card and my case would only support a single. The second attempt was a PNY GT240... which failed because it was out of stock with no return-to-stock date, which is a nice way of saying "never." The third and final attempt was the acquisition of a GT240 from a company calling itself Sparkle. By this time it was very much a case of burning down, falling over, then sinking into a swamp, but it did work. And it worked very well indeed! I was quite pleased by my purchase, and to be sure it was a lovely card and all was bacon and chocolate and chocolate-covered bacon.
I had no idea that was a thing... though I shouldn't be surprised, should I?
However, three months ago I had my first inkling of a problem: a high-pitched squealing noise issuing from the innards of my computer. When it occurred, the first couple of times, a sharp rap on the case with my knuckles ("Bap!") usually made it stop. Then it stopped for good on its own. Since everything seemed to still work, I let it go with a shrug and a muttered oath: "Computers." Which was fine, until I decided to play me some Skyrim. Booted up the game, began to walk around, saw a bear come at me, drew my sword... and the screen went blank with a "no signal" message on it. Meanwhile, the sounds of a bear eating my character began to emanate from the speakers. Since I couldn't actually see anything, the only way I could reboot was to do the old "hold down the power switch" gig. Then I tried it again, thinking that I must have accidentally done something to glitch the game. Nope. Same thing occurred, but faster this time. Over the next few days, I experimented with other games. Trine went for about 5 minutes before it did the same thing. Hell, Motocross Madness 2 blacked out after about 15 minutes. Some research pretty much confirmed my problem: overheating. The squealing sound? Death of the cooling fan on my Sparkle. So I hied myself off to Amazon and got myself a new graphics card.
The GT630 is hardly a powerhouse... it may not even be as good as the Sparkle, to be honest. But I don't much care at the moment as this whole experience has just pointed out to me that Chiyo-chan, my smart and lovely computer, is seven years old and essentially un-upgradeable anymore. So the GT630 is only a stopgap card (and at $65, not an expensive one, either). In about a month, the new school year begins at Duck U. I think that as a "huzzah, you've survived!" gift to myself, I'll be getting a new computer... and that's if I don't get one before that. I already have a name for it picked out... and that's the important bit, y'know. I will, of course, keep you updated as the process goes on. God help us all.
1
Thank goodness for decent budget card options. Used to be, buying the budget card was something you did so you could play Solitaire because Haruhi-sama help you if you tried to play a serious game. Now it's just a matter of dialing back on all the bling-mapping and such.
Posted by: GreyDuck at July 16, 2013 07:19 AM (CUkqs)