Overclock.net - Overclocking.net - Blogs http://www.overclock.net/blogs/ An overclocking forum devoted to maximizing the performance of graphics cards, CPUs, motherboards, RAM and everything else found inside your computer case. en Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:22:15 GMT vBulletin 1 http://static.overclock.net/images/oc/misc/rss.jpg Overclock.net - Overclocking.net - Blogs http://www.overclock.net/blogs/ Audio progress http://www.overclock.net/blogs/firestorm252/1468-audio-progress.html Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:47:59 GMT So I've been up to another foray into audio DIY as of late.
This time I went with something less portable and decidedly more retro. Current project: Millet Hybrid MiniMAX

I would've gone with the entry-level "staving student" but i've read multiple reports that the tubes for it are getting harder to find in any quantity. In any case, even Beezar has decided to limit their current stock to pair with the last set of SSMH kits they'll get in stock soon.

It'll be a bit yet before I complete it, but so far I've found that I'm having, probably, more fun putting it together and modding its enclosure than anything else so far ;)

anyway, don't wanna make a long post of this so expect a worklog in the audio/audio hifi section once I get it all done, biased, and closed up. provided i don't blow it up in the process hahaha

^_^ b ]]> Firestorm252 http://www.overclock.net/blogs/firestorm252/1468-audio-progress.html Currently Playing Update - 11/1/2009 http://www.overclock.net/blogs/vulcandragon/1467-currently-playing-update-11-1-2009.html Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:49:11 GMT Minor changes to the list since last time.

I'm giving up on Oblivion. I wisely finished up the main quest before my Windows 7 upgrade, for fear of problems with the slightly "older" game on the new platform. Turns out those fears had merit, I'm experiencing random mouse-freeze/game-hang issues after no more than a few minutes of play time. Probably not Oblivion's fault per se, but I don't really feel like investigating too deeply...I finished the main quest, logged over 70 hours of play time, and there's not that much more I really wanted to do. So call it a night for Oblivion.

Now here's the sad, sad confession: I started playing Mafia Wars this weekend on Facebook. After months of rejecting "join" requests from family and friends, I finally gave in (partly to see how people are making money off of it, so maybe I can copy their business model somehow!) It's barely a "game" by how I normally judge games, but I have found myself doing this more than "real" games over the weekend; so I think it makes sense to list it. It does contain a lot of the addictive "carrot" features present in good MMOs, it's definitely keeping me coming back. I expect to burn out quickly, but it's still a good time for now.

I haven't played Dead Rising recently, I got almost to the end but missed a deadline, and *poof*, the "true ending" was lost to me. So I was frustrated and put it away. I intend to get back into it today. Rock Band Beatles is still on there for now too, but it's winding down...will probably drop off in the near future.


Updated list:
  • Mafia Wars (Facebook)
  • Halo 3:ODST (X360)
  • Rock Band: Beatles (X360)
  • Dead Rising (X360)
]]> VulcanDragon http://www.overclock.net/blogs/vulcandragon/1467-currently-playing-update-11-1-2009.html Fixed the Problem Already - Hurray! http://www.overclock.net/blogs/vulcandragon/1465-fixed-problem-already-hurray.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:30:23 GMT I was a little quick on the draw blaming Premire Elements there. After digging into the Event Log and finding the name of a DLL that was causing problems, then Googling that DLL, I found out that it was nVidia's Stereoscopic 3D driver that was causing the problem! I'm not sure I had this on Vista, I hadn't updated my drivers in a while; but my Win7 drivers are the latest and greatest, and they came with this as a silent install. Uninstalled that program, and voila! PE7 works fine again! Hurray! ]]> VulcanDragon http://www.overclock.net/blogs/vulcandragon/1465-fixed-problem-already-hurray.html Premiere Elements No Worky on Win7 x64 - ARGH http://www.overclock.net/blogs/vulcandragon/1464-premiere-elements-no-worky-win7-x64.html Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:57:21 GMT Just found the first kink in my shiny Windows 7 x64 install...Premeire Elements 7 crashes on me as soon as I switch over to the Transitions tab. Argh. I was really hoping to upload a quick video of my 2-year old's first trick-or-treat experience for the grandparents, instead I spend an hour screwing with my PC to no avail. *sigh*

Downloading the trial of the new PE8 now, hopefully that works as an upgrade option...I really, really have grown to like Premiere Elements. Also downloading the Windows Live Movie Maker as a backup...I've never been a fan, but at least I can expect it to work properly on Win7. ]]> VulcanDragon http://www.overclock.net/blogs/vulcandragon/1464-premiere-elements-no-worky-win7-x64.html A Taeric sighting http://www.overclock.net/blogs/taeric/1462-taeric-sighting.html Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:20:18 GMT Howdy, all. Contrary to popular opinion, I have no dropped completely off the face of the earth. It’s hard to believe that it’s been a little over a year since I was on OCN about 18 hours a day, but it’s been one heck of a year. I’ve had the best of intentions of becoming involved again (heck, I... Howdy, all. Contrary to popular opinion, I have no dropped completely off the face of the earth. It’s hard to believe that it’s been a little over a year since I was on OCN about 18 hours a day, but it’s been one heck of a year. I’ve had the best of intentions of becoming involved again (heck, I never intended to stop being involved), but life has been busy throwing curve balls my way on a fairly regular basis.

As some of you may know, we had our first baby last September. I had every intention of posting pictures from the hospital. Instead of the expected two day hospital stay, we were there for five days, which resulted in a rapid reworking of priorities. Mom and baby were both healthy when we left the hospital, though, which is what really mattered. For those who have children, you understand how much they change all aspects of your life, particularly when the first one comes around. Parenting the little one was never difficult, but it often exhausted my supply of patience, which was always something I needed a whole lot of to do my job here effectively (along with a healthy dose of common sense).

So now, a year later, our little monster is toddling all over the place and has no idea that dozens of little ghosts and goblins will be coming by our house in a couple of days, which will be all kinds of fun for him. We’re in a new house in a new town after I had to transfer to a different office (the office I was in closed). Much of the last five months have been devoted to that move (both home and work), and we still have a lot to do (at home at least; things are pretty well set at work). On the bright side, we made very nice upgrades both in houses and neighborhoods, and we expect that we will be very happy where we are. At the new house I get about half of our large basement as “mine” as opposed to the third of one room at the old house. I have a pretty sweet setup for my tech toys, and I very much enjoyed watching my guys beat up on the Yankees last night on my new TV.

I have still been folding and have managed to still hang around the top 400 worldwide (unfortunately down in the 390s from my peak around 320). I have shiny new computer gear just waiting for me to have the time and motivation to get it set up, though I really need to get around to soliciting some help to get the most folding out of the gear I have. One unfortunately side effect of me not being regularly involved on OCN is that I’ve had a lot of this gear for way too long without putting it to use. Fortunately, I got good deals on most everything, so the depreciation hasn’t hurt too much. I have been stockpiling retired gear, though, and the depreciation on that gear is going to be painful.

At this point, I really don’t know what the future will hold for my involvement with the site. I’d like to say that some time is going to free up in the near future, but I’ve mistakenly thought that several times in the last year. I do hope that things work out as I have enjoyed my involvement with the site over the years. It is good to see so many familiar members when I do check in (I have only logged in once to congratulate the team on the Chimp Challenge victory, but I do lurk from time to time) along with so many new members. I will definitely be posting some soon as I have time to hopefully get my folding setup reworked and more productive. Maybe I’ll even get around to clearing out some of my old gear.

I hope everyone is doing well and is folding productively! ]]> Taeric http://www.overclock.net/blogs/taeric/1462-taeric-sighting.html <![CDATA[The 'True' Gamer vs the 'Fake']]> http://www.overclock.net/blogs/swalden/1460-true-gamer-vs-fake.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:57:57 GMT In my last post on the nature of gaming I spoke about the quote; "A man chooses, a slave obeys". This quote comes from a popular PC/Console game set in a dystopic underwater world. This quote got me thinking about the differences between PC gaming and console gaming. I consider myself primarily a PC gamer with consoles being a main stream imitation of PC gaming.

It can be considered that a true gamer is a PC gamer. Why is this? Because to be a PC gamer it requires hassle. Firstly the person must have a decent computer to run the latest games, yet a console is simple and can run all the games developed for it. Secondly you insert a disk into a console and play the game, yet with a PC you have to undergo an installation process that can be gruelling. Due to the fact that consoles are easier it makes them more mainstream. The PC gamer on the other hand is a dedicated person to the art of gaming who will overcome technically challenging installation processes and technical complications in order to achieve the ultimate enlightenment of success. This is what truly makes a gamer. There is a large difference between the 'fake gamer' (console gamers) and the 'true gamer' (PC gamer) in their dedication to gaming and overcoming difficulties resulting in a utopia of enjoyment.

Over the years of my gaming adventures I have noticed the obsession PC gamers have in comparison to a console gamer. For example a PC gamer would be obsessive about all the possible statistics, data, items, weapons and guides ect ect. The PC gamer would use the vast World Wide Web to gain knowledge of their chosen game to maximize their ability to play that game. Yet a console gamer lacks this obsession and as a result gaming is just a past time to them not a lifestyle.

The Opinion of gaming

It is of my personal opinion that: Console gaming is a simplified version of PC gaming, with a simplified version of a PC in order to mains stream gaming. I then believe that a PC gamer can play consoles, but to be a dedicated PC gamer must spend most of their time on a PC. Of course this is just my opinion, and all the console gamers I know of course disagree. But then again they know nothing of PC gaming!!!

Will consoles be the death of PC gaming? Will the mainstream takeover of consoles be enough to convert the industry from the beautiful world we created for the not technically challenged people? But inevitably is console gaming going to benefit the whole gaming industry?

My final question is now; what are your views on the ‘true’ vs. the ‘fake’ gaming? ]]> Swalden http://www.overclock.net/blogs/swalden/1460-true-gamer-vs-fake.html “A man chooses, a slave obeys” -Andrew Ryan (Bioshock) http://www.overclock.net/blogs/swalden/1455-man-chooses-slave-obeys-andrew-ryan.html Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:46:00 GMT Are we men (or women)?, or slaves? Is it by choice we decide to double click that shiny icon on our desktops? Or is there some other will that makes us? ("Would you kindly?"). The true question is does gaming control us or do we control 'it'?

Gaming is, was and will be a highly addictive past time (or should I say life style?). It is not a conscious choice but an inevitable force that slowly pulls us in, to the point of no return, like a caffeinated drink.... Oh the withdrawal symptoms.

I'm sure, like me my fellow gamers; you feel this common force, this common passion. Imagine life without gaming? I really would find that difficult, even trying to imagine life without gaming forces me to imagine it being a game in itself (something along the lines of escape the nightmare world).

This blog is about my passion, so that I may share my perspective on this golden addiction that unites us. Who am I you ask? I'm Swalden, Swaldy, Swal, Swaldie, Swalder or the millions of other names that can be derived from the name that defines me as a gamer... my AKA. I am a member of generation Y, a younger one, I am not an old gamer, who has witnessed countless classics (but I have played most of them) nor am I one of the 'new age gamers' the kids who cannot remember a time before high speed internet and cable TV (The horror). But I am one of you, that is what matters.
Now... would you kindly, stay tuned?

If you have any questions feek free to comment or email me at swalden8@gmail.com

~Swaldy ]]> Swalden http://www.overclock.net/blogs/swalden/1455-man-chooses-slave-obeys-andrew-ryan.html 5475 days on Earth http://www.overclock.net/blogs/fearsc549/1452-5475-days-earth.html Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:09:25 GMT Tomorrow is my 5475th day on early, which means it's my 15th year living. I will miss being 14 years old since I've accomplish much more than I did in my previous years. Sometimes I like aging, since it makes me look more mature and makes myself act mature. Sometimes I don't like getting older because I will miss my young days, and I also view aging as one small step to death. Being young with all my knowledge of computer, science, etc. makes me look educated, but being older with all these knowledge makes me seem like a normal person. Aging symbolizes all the days that I've wasted without gaining something (such as learning something new). I wish people won't age, but that's how nature goes, whatever comes, whatever goes. People celebrate birthdays as a happy day, but I don't look at it that way. I feel bitter and nostalgic on my birthdays, seeing that I will never be at that previous age again. Hopefully I will look towards the bright side sooner or later. Life is blissful when you have immortality, but life is everlasting when you die feeling accomplished.

I must not care about age, but care more about what I can achieve throughout my aging process.

I'm pretty sure some part of that long paragraph does not make any sense at all, but those were the crap pouring out of my head ATM. ]]> FearSC549 http://www.overclock.net/blogs/fearsc549/1452-5475-days-earth.html Scheduling decisions to be made http://www.overclock.net/blogs/blitz6804/1448-scheduling-decisions-made.html Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:19:17 GMT Opinion question for you all: Would you rather have one class a day on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, or have one each on Wednesday and Friday and two on Thursday? The latter is nice for four-day weekends, the former is nice in that its only one class a day. Please comment your... Opinion question for you all:

Would you rather have one class a day on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, or have one each on Wednesday and Friday and two on Thursday?

The latter is nice for four-day weekends, the former is nice in that its only one class a day.

Please comment your opinion here. ]]> blitz6804 http://www.overclock.net/blogs/blitz6804/1448-scheduling-decisions-made.html <![CDATA[Gamers' Blog #8 - Sapphire Radeon HD 5770]]> http://www.overclock.net/blogs/gamer11200/1446-gamers-blog-8-sapphire-radeon-hd.html Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:33:38 GMT Yes everyone I finally got my Sapphire Radeon HD 5770. So far I am really loving the card So far I have run some benchies and noticed some nifty performance increases, especially in Resident Evil 5. Check out the Excel file that is attached for all. Note: I was not able to test Distributed... Yes everyone I finally got my Sapphire Radeon HD 5770. So far I am really loving the card

So far I have run some benchies and noticed some nifty performance increases, especially in Resident Evil 5. Check out the Excel file that is attached for all.

Note: I was not able to test Distributed Computing Applications (namely BOINC's Collatz Conjecture project) because apparently the drivers are not supported.

I really love the fact that this card can handle games at 1680x1050. I used to play on 1280x800 all the time using the 4670 but now I can game at native resolutions and with AA and AF without issues and still get Vsync :D

So yeah, in conclusion, I highly recommend this card if you are a gamer that is on a bit of a budget and is looking to upgrade a 1+ year old graphics card.
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]]> gamer11200 http://www.overclock.net/blogs/gamer11200/1446-gamers-blog-8-sapphire-radeon-hd.html Fighting till success brings death. http://www.overclock.net/blogs/xfreerollerx/1445-fighting-till-success-brings-death.html Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:02:34 GMT So since I ever laid eyes on the hideous vehicle my dad so graciously gave me for free (read: I really am thankful for a brand new car that never has reliability issues), I have yearned for a car that excited me. My dad just does not understand what it is like to be an adrenaline junkie. For... So since I ever laid eyes on the hideous vehicle my dad so graciously gave me for free (read: I really am thankful for a brand new car that never has reliability issues), I have yearned for a car that excited me.

My dad just does not understand what it is like to be an adrenaline junkie. For me, driving is what sets me high. Sure I can do drugs, but there is something about the art of high performance driving that just puts me in a different world. Nobody I know understands it. NOBODY. I cry inside everytime I try to talk to someone about it because they all call me a crazy driver. I drove with one guy I didn't know, he asked me to take him home in a hurry and he, to my surprise, thanked me and commented on how amazing of a driver I was :p

Anyhow back to the original idea, I have long wanted a car that suits my driving style... My dad bought me a Nissan Versa. Front wheel drive, open differential, disgusting ratios, 5 inch wide econo tires.

I recently brought up the fact that I am interested in buying a new car. He asked what car, I said Hyundai Genesis Coupe. He looks at me and to my surprise again, he starts going on tangent about "you know this car is supposed to compete with Mercades and BMW". I said "So? Thats a good thing RIGHT? The car starts at 20 grand".... You know what he says... "No it doesn't. It can't".
I stop him right there and give him an earful, every time he tries to interrupt me, I don't let him because I'm just on this ridiculous roll cus I've been dying for a car that really suits me. The Genesis Coupe I've recently seen really fits what I want: Affordable rear wheel drive performance.

So finally after I get it out, he seems convinced, says 'ok we can talk more later'... parting good byes are exchanged and I leave.

Few days later, I'm over for dinner again and I bring it up again about me wanting the car and I asked on why he was so against it.

He goes on some crazy rant about how I can't afford the car. I said 'wait a second, if I put a decent down payment and finance a bit, it will only cost me $300-400 a month plus basic insurance will only run me $200 per year, gas is nothing, I can afford an extra few hundred a month if I went full-time at my job..'

He says.... '$300? HAH, try $1000 a month for that car. Your car payment is going to be 600-700 and you NEED full coverage insurance which is going to cost you at least 300 bucks a month. You really want to pay $1000 a month for basic transportation?'

Okay well the biggest problem I have here is I'm not buying a god damn sports car for basic transportation. Second problem: I'm not gonna finance the entire 30 grand over a 36 month loan LOL, thats just retarded. I plan on putting at least 8k down, and I told him that, and he still pulls this number out of his ass? JESUS TAPDANCING CHRIST.

For anyone that has known or followed the legacy of how ignorant my father is, this is just another trend he is following with not making sense.

Regardless.... He obviously doesn't care to look at the logical side of this, and he assumed I'm going to be buying the most expensive trim and paying MSRP lol. Thoughtful, huh?

Anyhow, enough negative ranting man, I don't like making a sob story out of my blog posts

approximately 2.5 weeks ago I was approached by this beautiful girl, young, maybe 2 years younger than I (18)... and as soon as I saw her crying face, I lost. Like Instantly LOST. Naturally, I went up and asked what was wrong etc etc as I had just got off work and was headed home... she didn't have enough money for gas to get home and her parents won't help her. So I helped push her car to the gas station on the end of the parking lot and I filled her tank up for her (GAS).. She thanked me, hug, yada etc..
[tangent] The whole reason why I instantly lost to this face (ladies if you ever want a piece of me, read this) was this girl's eyes. There's this really specific look I just melt for, its kinda hard to describe... where the girl has thicker lower eyelids and big dark eyes... dear god I can't help but stare and want to never let go of that face.. I (believe it or not) LOVE it when said women has no makeup on. I think makeup ruins a beautiful face. This girl was basically something I would see in my dream...[/tangent]... I talked with her for a bit and apparently shes from opposite side of town, like 40 minute drive man. I figured I would never see her again and wished her luck in the future.

2 days ago (from posting this) I saw the same girl again. I shat my pants upon noticing her walking my direction... My thoughts 'was I lied to? Does she want more $? Is she lost?'
She approached me and in an ever so soft and cute voice asked me for money so she can get gas for her car so she can make it home tonight. I LOL'd so hard and asked her if she recognized me... Course she said NO. I lol'd a bit more and she asked why I laughed. I pointed out about 2 weeks ago I had given her an entire tank of gas and she flipped her lid all embarrassed. I felt deep regret for helping this poor lil begger.

So after talking with her I got a nice tale as to why she was begging for money. I said bye and sent her on her way, no gifts this time. I started asking around at work if my co-workers had spoken to this girl... apparently she has been asking EVERY ONE for cash LOL!!! Damn do I feel dumb. I got the store manager to get the cops to pull her ass out.


Recently I've been struggling with College.. I've come to a realization that I'm going nowhere at all. My classes are boring, I'm not doing as good as I should, I'm not interested in passing, I'm not interested in progressing, I don't care about school anymore. The benefits are not visible to me. I've made my decision already, I'm just going to drop out of college/university. It just isn't for me. I just don't care about it right now. Its not my priority and I can't make it one, my mind just isn't willing. I know down the road I might regret it or wish I did not, but right now, I've wasted 3 semesters, spent 5 semesters on classes, and have no tangible feeling of success or progression or where its taking me. I'm going to stop wasting my money on it. I can support myself on $11 per hour for now.. till I need more, Ill just sit on it.


Lately I feel like life is on cruise control.. I just take things real easy.. Enjoy life as it comes :) Overall mood lately has been fantastic :D ]]> XFreeRollerX http://www.overclock.net/blogs/xfreerollerx/1445-fighting-till-success-brings-death.html <![CDATA[Couldn't be better...]]> http://www.overclock.net/blogs/karasu/1441-couldnt-better.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:55:27 GMT ...Aside from the hard drive crap at the moment that is... Otherwise, life is grand! :D

Compared to last year, this year at college I actually have not just 1 new friend but about 30-50 new friends. Not just people that say they are, but people I know I can trust. It's amazing how many awesome people are around and I'm glad I found my bunch. More specifically they are all into anime, manga, gaming, yugioh, and just overall hanging out and having fun. :) Already had tons of crazy road adventures with my smaller circle of friends from this bunch filled with tons of entertainment. I'm loving it.


Having a fairly succesful turnout with me as the president of Anime Club at my college this year and I'm glad to say so!


Already held our own Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournaments (Yes, thats right tons of people actually still play at my college! It surprised me so I dug out my old cards and bought a few bucks of new ones :3), enjoying and discussing the varieties of Anime and Manga that the members are bringing in...

And then to top all that off, the halloween party we are holding and Zenkaikon is coming up fast!

It should be fantastic. The halloween party is a costume party and since we're going both days to the 2day Zenkaikon anime convention on November 7th & 8th most people will probably use the same costume for 'em.

Sometimes things get slow, but as long as the members are happy thats whats important ^_^

Will probably post pictures of Zenkaikon and things there as it will be my first Anime Convention if you don't count the suncoast instore events :) My Bankai Ichigo Kurosaki w/ Hollow Mask costume is also almost complete as well.


I think... this is my time... to finally shine with my friends :) Goodbyeeee lonely days helloooooo friends! ]]> Karasu http://www.overclock.net/blogs/karasu/1441-couldnt-better.html Shoot me now, I hear a click click click... http://www.overclock.net/blogs/karasu/1440-shoot-me-now-i-hear-click.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:44:18 GMT FINALLY, I had gotten my first build up this summer and its been running along just dandy. I've just been saving my money for next gen graphics cards to go with the new monitor im getting off a friend cheap, and what finally happens...

My hard drive... starts... to click... and click... and click... not too badly so far though I feel now I'll start keeping it off instead of running through the night despite my using it till 3am every night.

Granted it is a 6 year old ide drive, but still... just as my first build starts looking my way, this happens...

:swearing:

Ah, well... Backing things up as we speak, and diverting funds for a dx11 card to help pay for a new hdd.

:rolleyes: Oh, the joys of computer building.

;) ]]> Karasu http://www.overclock.net/blogs/karasu/1440-shoot-me-now-i-hear-click.html <![CDATA[Gamers' Blog #7 - World Community Grid update (Oct 15, 2009)]]> http://www.overclock.net/blogs/gamer11200/1437-gamers-blog-7-world-community-grid.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:13:13 GMT Hello my fellow overclockers. Been a while since I've done a blog, so might as well post one up! If you haven't been aware yet, I contribute my idle computer time to a project called World Community Grid (a distributed computing project by IBM that runs using BOINC; a similar concept to folding@Home).

Attached are my current stats.

I have the following goals set for the remainder of the year:
-End of October: Be in the top 45,000 in points generated
-End of 2009: Be in the top 40,000 in points generated

Yup, that's about it. Later OCN!
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]]> gamer11200 http://www.overclock.net/blogs/gamer11200/1437-gamers-blog-7-world-community-grid.html Turning Over a New Leaf http://www.overclock.net/blogs/txtmstrjoe/1434-turning-over-new-leaf.html Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:30:23 GMT Veteran OCNers might know that I am one of the co-founders of the Socket 939 Appreciation Club (http://www.overclock.net/amd-general/293448-socket-939-appreciation-club-knowledgebase-official.html) here on OCN. If nothing else, this signifies that I have a certain affinity, even admiration, for... Veteran OCNers might know that I am one of the co-founders of the Socket 939 Appreciation Club here on OCN. If nothing else, this signifies that I have a certain affinity, even admiration, for what is now undoubtedly an old computing platform.

Despite its age, however, S939 is still quite capable. It loses out to the latest that Intel (especially) and AMD have to offer when it comes to just raw computing power, but for my own personal purposes, it's still more than sufficient.

Think of it this way, perhaps: S939 is a Lamborghini Countach; in its heyday it wore the performance crown and forced its biggest rival to come up with something really special to best it. There is no doubt S939's performance advantage, and the subsequent inroads AMD made into Intel's dominant market share, woke the sleeping giant and angered it enough to want to retake the losses it had incurred during the Netburst era.

As surely as the Countach was supplanted, so has S939; it has been three long years (and counting) since it, and AMD, had a legitimate claim to being the most powerful and fastest computing platform available to the regular consumer, as well as the choice of performance enthusiasts. Intel's Core/Core 2 series, as well as the subsequent Nehalem generation of CPUs, have firmly put S939's halcyon days in the rearview mirror.

On the AMD side, S939 was first replaced with AM2. AM2 was basically just a refresh of S939's K8 roots. It was equivalent to the Lamborghini Diablo: Touted as a major advance, in reality it initially was merely a little bit more powerful, just a tad bit faster, than its immediate predecessor. As with the Diablo replacing the elder sister, the Countach, AM2 replacing S939 left me decidedly cold. I felt no desire to love the Diablo, and the same was true with AM2.

I guess you just can't ever forget your first love. ;)

Compared to its immediate predecessor, AM2's differences boiled down to two salient features: 1) It now could use DDR2 (which had supplanted DDR in the marketplace); and 2) it slightly elevated the performance potential. AMD's move to terminate S939 was calculated to keep in step with developments in the memory sector; with their integrated memory controllers (IMC), AMD's chips had to be redesigned to be able to use DDR2, since 1st generation DDR was consigned to marketplace obsolescence. In most other respects, though, under the IHS, AM2 was still K8, with all its inherent strengths and limitations.

Indubitably, K8's biggest weakness was that it was impractical to cram four logical cores within one processor package. In other words, AM2 (and S939) were limited to a maximum of two cores per CPU due to power consumption and TDP concerns primarily. In a world where Intel was not only destroying AMD's best with just two cores, but with the prospect of having a quad-core processor coming to market imminently, AM2's status as an upgrade step up from S939 was looking less and less logical. Despite a gradual escalation in clock speeds, AM2 was simply not enough of a speed increase for me to justify starting over and buying new equipment (just to say I had the latest AMD kit).

Through constant development, though, AM2 gave rise to AM2+, signaling AMD's willingness to move on from its venerable K8 design genetics onto something far better. AM2+ opened the door to AMD's first quad-core CPUs, the Phenom X4, as well as the consumer market sector's first tri-core CPUs, the Phenom X3. There were also still AM2+ AthlonX2 dual-cores available for AM2+, but these were basically the ultimate refinements of the K8 microarchitecture.

The Phenom series, though, was quite different.

Although the first Phenom series for AM2+ was not all that great, with its fairly limited overclocking ability, it could be argued that it still was a significant release for AMD. If nothing else, it was the very first quad-core from AMD. Moreover, as often happens, once weaknesses and limitations are identified, they can be attacked and rectified.

And thus we have come to AM3, and the Phenom II series.

As an AMD fan, I was intrigued when I first read tales of superb overclocking coming from the Phenom II generation of CPUs. In a single stroke, it seemed as if the second generation of Phenom processors overcame the biggest reason why the original Phenoms did not earn the interest and admiration, much less the sales dollars, of performance computing enthusiasts. Tales of insane clock speeds (upwards of 6GHz), even if from cherry-picked chips with hyper-exotic cooling equipment, were enough to grab the collective attention of the enthusiast crowd. The fact that Phenom II quads could finally beat Intel's Core 2 quads (albeit NOT the yet-to-be-released Nehalem chips at the time) was also very exciting to AMD enthusiasts.

AM2/AM2+ definitely did NOT inspire any desire for me to upgrade from my S939 systems. But news of AM3 making waves certainly did make me consider upgrading sooner than my self-imposed target date of May 2010 (by which time my first, and still OCed and functional, original system will be four years old).

Four years is an eternity in the tech industry; I know that many OCNers would scream in abject horror that I've not yet moved on at all from S939. However, while I am an enthusiast, I have to be really selective when it comes to adopting new hardware. If there's one absolute law in this hobby, it's that it costs a lot of money to stay on top of the performance tree.

To be quite frank, I did consider going with a Core i7 for my next platform upgrade. Unquestionably it is the king of the performance mountain right now; not even AM3 can keep up with it, especially when we're talking about overclocked performance. But some factors dissuaded me from seriously pursuing this option.

Chief is money (sorry to disappoint you, but it wasn't AMD fanboyism ;)). Ultimate performance will always be the most expensive, and I don't have a lot of disposable income. Even in terms of value as I perceive it, Core i7 makes little sense to me.

A second factor is my actual needs for all that excess power. As I'd written earlier, even given its age S939 is still plenty adequate for my personal needs. I don't benchmark (totally useless activity, in my opinion); my systems can play any game I own (no, I don't own nor play Crysis, so don't go there); I don't do a ton of media creation/processing, but when I do my system doesn't slow to a crawl and beg for mercy. Perhaps my needs aren't typical of the average performance computing enthusiast (one of my favorite oxymoronic juxtapositions), but my needs are satisfied.

A third factor is a strong curiosity to learn about what AMD currently has to offer. AM2 OCing isn't much different from S939 (or any other K8) OCing, but AM3 Phenom II OCing looks decidedly different. As OCN's AMD Editor, I feel a responsibility to know as much about AMD OCing as possible. I'm not comfortable about doling out advice on something I don't personally have experience in; I don't feel good about merely regurgitating what someone else said or wrote without KNOWING for myself whether or not the information/opinion is correct or factual or accurate.

So yes, I'm going to be turning over a new leaf. I am amassing the core components of an AM3 system. I already have the CPU and the motherboard, as well as the HDDs, the PSU, Windows 7 pre-ordered, and the video card. I have a case, but it needs some modifications by thlnk3r before I put everything in. I also have all the watercooling parts I intend to use on this build (it will also be my first watercooled PC project). Basically, I need to amass a budget for some DDR3 RAM.

I'm so excited about this. Learning something new is so stimulating. Just as I was filled with enthusiasm when the Diablo was pushed aside by the Murcielago, so I am filled with fervor now that AM3 and Phenom II have arrived and are in my hands and are here to stay.

OCN

This is also my 100th OCN Blog Post. Thank you so much to all who have read, and hopefully still are reading, my words here. Many of you have engaged me and others through my blog and shared many provocative thoughts. I dedicate my first 100 blog posts to my regular readers; you know who you are. :)

I know the journey to the next 100 posts will be just as fun. :thumb: ]]> txtmstrjoe http://www.overclock.net/blogs/txtmstrjoe/1434-turning-over-new-leaf.html Back http://www.overclock.net/blogs/numlock2-0/1435-back.html Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:00:48 GMT Just for a little bit. Please comment. Just for a little bit. Please comment. ]]> numlock2.0 http://www.overclock.net/blogs/numlock2-0/1435-back.html PC = Lillipution? http://www.overclock.net/blogs/firestorm252/1068-pc-lillipution.html Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:22:41 GMT What's this?! a blog update?!

why yes, yes it is :D

Anyhoo, it's been a while since my last post. Somewhere along the line I noticed the blogs should be used for insightful or otherwise helpful entries... seeing that I'm neither I've waited for something that qualifies under the criterion... so here I am a number of months later and I think I have something!

mATX build Status: in limbo
DFI Jr P45-T2RS
E8500 + TR Ultima-90I
8800GTS 512MB (had it lying around)
BFG LS-450W
4GB-PC1066 OCZ Reapers (they were cheap, but such ugly RAM)
XFI (either my spare xtremegamer or transplanted xtrememusic)
Aerocool M40 (will get some modding for cooling)


However current plans kind of got derailed and it seems I WON'T be moving out again anytime soon (housing plans A, B, and even C through F fell through :(). So this build is now technically in limbo ]]> Firestorm252 http://www.overclock.net/blogs/firestorm252/1068-pc-lillipution.html Preparation of EVE http://www.overclock.net/blogs/pir/1431-preparation-eve.html Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:40:46 GMT Today i finally decided to start on my next casemod, unlike all other mods i decided this one deserves a worklog on ocn for a change. Have been doodling most of the evening wich in fact is quite uncommon for me as i normally just grab my powertools and get on with it. EVE is going to be different... Today i finally decided to start on my next casemod, unlike all other mods i decided this one deserves a worklog on ocn for a change. Have been doodling most of the evening wich in fact is quite uncommon for me as i normally just grab my powertools and get on with it. EVE is going to be different in many ways. After browsing myself silly on every local hardwarevendor's site i got dissapointed with the offerings below 100$. Mostly plactic crap with shiny dooda's and stuff wich break easely and made out of recycled tin cans instead of steel. This said i had a look around upstairs to see if there was an older case worthy of beeing granted a second life. Found a big beige behemoth wich housed a PII once, the perfect candidate for my next featured mod. Now i do have some experience with modding and i do have all the skills needed to make it look interesting like tig welding, spraypainting, benchwork etc. Tomorrow i'm going to take my drawing to the metalshop to get some steel and mesh. Looking forward to start and if i do i'll start up a worklog. ]]> Pir http://www.overclock.net/blogs/pir/1431-preparation-eve.html I just woke up from a very crazy dream. http://www.overclock.net/blogs/n2gaming/1427-i-just-woke-up-very-crazy.html Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:30:59 GMT I really don't know where to start. The dream was very weird to say the least. I guess I could start by telling you it took place in a military setting even though I have never served for my country in any military but it seemed so real. I'll try to give as much detail that I remember.

I was on a military base of some sort for training and drills. I was w/a group of people that were training w/guns at specific targets. However the dream did not start like that.

I can't quite remember how but I think I was in a situation where some one brought a pizza for us to eat or there was a pizza party of some kind because there was a lot of pizza's left over that I was invited to consume to my hearts content. Well I was hungry so I ate a slice of pizza and remember it being pretty good. Although it was only a cheese and pepperoni pizza it was still appetizing. So then I went to get another slice or two but something bizarre took place.

Instead of me looking for pizza I was smack dab in the middle of a field of dead military bodies. some of them looked like pepperoni and cheese while others looked like combination people pizza's.

I can remember looking for a couple of slices to eat before it dawned on me that I was looking for something that was no longer there but had been replaced by a field full of dead bodies. So I was walking around this big circle of bodies probably half the size of a football field when I came to the realization that I was no longer going to eat what I was looking for and my appetite turned from hungry to repulsed.

So I left the field of dead pizza bodies to hang out at a couple of shooting ranges.
The first shooting rang had a target of a wooden stake that I would say was about as tall as a normal person and only about 2 inches wide. Basically it looked like a wooden stake that construction workers use for pouring concrete but much taller with white targets attached only as wide as the stake itself.

I had a machine gun for target practice at this station. While other people were shooting at different targets I took it upon my self to shoot at the tall 2 inch stake. I let off one squeeze of the trigger to put 4 shots dead center in the 2 inch stake starting at the bottom of the white paper target and moving up each bullet towards the top.
The Instructor told me I was an idiot or something like that and could not figure out why I was shooting in the wrong direction. So I handed him my gun while we were arguing so he could look through my scope so see that I actually did what he was telling me was impossible from our distance. I must have just shot that stick from where we were so dead centered that he wanted to drop the subjetect after looking at what I had just pulled off. I was using a high powered machine gun mind you looking through a high powered scope shooting at a target pretty far away. When he saw with his own eyes through my scope what I had just done he dropped it and then out of nowhere all the people that were at that range were gone. I recall trying to explain to him and the others who ever they were that it was not impossible to shoot like that because I was using a upward sweeping action to set the gun in motion before the guns own recoil could jolt my aim off course.

After that we ended up on a small hillside some how at another shooting range that a canopy for the weapons and ammo. In the direction towards where are targets were was a flat field but behind us was the base of the hillside where we were located. It hard to explain but we were right in the middle of both a flat field and a small hillside. The hill side was to our backside and it has a few houses on in right behind us and to our right and left.

At this range we were shooting air rifles that used something similar to a 22 caliber pellet. The gun itself was horrid for what I was trying to do with it. the space where the ammo was loaded was a big square opening that allowed the user to place a pellet in the loading rod or what ever it is called. Since this was a dream there really were no instructions on how to use this stuff it was either you knew how to use it or you got to figure it out on you own.

Well I was unfortunate that I had never used one of these type of guns that looked strange and not like any pellet gun that I had ever used or seen. So I tried to mimic what the other shooters were doing but for some reason I could not get the thing loaded. To make matters worse there was this red ball about the size of a BB that was suppose to be placed in front of the pellet like a paint ball for displaying your shot on the target once it hit the target and exploded.

I was having a hard time to say the least. Normally a pellet is loaded w/the hollow side facing the loading pin but in situation the pellets were loaded backwards with the red ball sitting just inside the hollow part of the pellet or at least that is what I was trying to do to get it to work.
I never did get it to work but that don't matter because the best or worst thing that happened in the dream was about to take place.

While trying to figure out how to get this darn gun to work I saw a very futuristic looking air plane that had the nose of it looking like a very thin shoe. The plane was either white or tan I can't recall but never the less it was amazing at the kind of abilities it had.

The first time we all saw the plane it was coming straight at us from out left on the over the hill side. It was diving right towards us and nearly took out heads off as it went by. I don't recall any sound or feeling any vibrations from this plane it was like a stealth powered plane that had a very sleek yet appealing shape.

After it passed us it veered up the hill towards the right staying just off the ground by only a couple of feet. It was also moving at variable speeds as it went up the hill and stopped in mid air to only go backwards. What the heck I have seen it all I thought to my self.

Well this plane continued to do this several times before another one of them shoed up. This plane was Black and more boxy in appearance like a troop transporter. Then right after the troop transporter looking plane showed up several others showed up right behind it in a single file line behind us on the hill side to a point that they were surrounding us on the range but from up on the hillside w/the upper hand. All of these planes possessed the power to hover and move in any direction at will. Once all the planes stopped moving and started hovering something else took place that I will try to explain as best I can remember.

There were these big doors located in the middle of the planes that opened from the top to the bottom like the big doors at the rear of a cargo plane but these were on the sides of the plane. All the planes doors opened at the same time. That was followed by a bunch of soldiers getting out of the plane. Just at the time these solders were getting out of the black planes other solders came running from the hillside to make a formation or border more or less completely closing off the hillside behind us as they merged into the group of soldiers that were coming out the black planes.

I think the first plane was a surveillance plane of some sort because I can remember it moving in a forward direction right up to the edge of one of the houses to my right almost touching it and then flying off back towards us turning away from the house to it's left all while doing simultaneous movements from forward, stop, left and backwards. It's really hard to explain but it was nerve racking to say the least.

Any way where was I? Oh yeah the troops were now running at us and I forgot to mention they were all wearing white military type suites just like the Storm Trooper wore in Star Wars but there Faces were covered w/a different type of white mask. The difference is that these were all white. They had movements of humans but you could not see any flesh, so scary to me it was.

As the troops were running at us w/some type of futuristic handheld weaponry I heard the following.

Attention people assembled at this location. You are all conducting an illegal assembly. Your Military base has been considered illegal and I don't remember much else because this was the point that I woke up scared out of my mind. I mean it was so real and I thought I was a dead man. Yet They just came out of no where for no reason un announced.

After I woke up and calmed down a little from the horrifying experience I decided to write about it. So this was my Morning Dream that happened just before waking up this morning.

I always have strange and bizarre dreams where I am in a fight or battle w/some one or something. At times it's w/a force that I can not even see just an entity that I know is there.

I have had several other dreams that were even more crazy but I will save those for very close friends and family. I don't need people thinking I'm crazy so I keep them to my self for the most part.

I'm wondering if there is any meaning to this strange dream or if it is just a bunch of strange happenings that was gathered from different movies and molded into a new situation for my entertainment. ]]> N2Gaming http://www.overclock.net/blogs/n2gaming/1427-i-just-woke-up-very-crazy.html Nvidia and ATI http://www.overclock.net/blogs/slowend/1423-nvidia-ati.html Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:47:00 GMT I like Nvidia.
I also like ATI.

Both have their pros and cons in my eyes.

Nvidia

Nvidia GPU's (The midrange and mid-highrange in particular) have impressed me with their price/performance. The 6600GT was good. The 6800GT was good. The 7600GT was good. The 9600GSO, 9600GT, and 8800GT were/are also excellent.

Sure, I don't approve of their renaming, but this doesn't affect me since I know my way around their naming.

I am however, a little upset that they're willing to trick less informed customers.

I don't approve of PhysX either. It's just some gimmicky eye candy that reduces performance. It's also proprietary, so that alienates ATI users. Some fanboys argue that Nvidia offered PhysX to ATI. Do they honestly think that offer was not without unfavourable terms for ATI?


ATI

ATI has impressed me with their technology. They were the first to adopt a 256-bit memory bus (In their excellent Radeon 9000 series), the first to adopt 512-bit (With the HD2900's). It's always exciting to see what kind of tech they're using because they're always using new stuff. (Eg. 55nm, 40nm, GDDR4, GDDR5) ATI's GPUs also have remarkably small die sizes.

I am not too familiar with their products because I have only used 1 at home (HD3200), but I have had no driver issues from them. I don't understand why some Nvidia fanboys say that ATI has "inferior drivers". I have experienced no such thing.

As for which series from ATI impressed me... the HD4000 and HD5000 series. The HD4000 series delivers remarkable price/performance. The HD5000 series (well, at this point the HD5850/5870) impresses me because it delivers 4870X2 ~ GTX295 performance whilst consuming a lot less power. (And that's with release drivers.) The AA/AF quality has improved as well and the price is right. (A 5870 is $90 less than a GTX295 at the time of this writing) I can't see how anyone can justify buying a GTX295 right now for reasons other than folding.

I wish ATI's AIB partners were as good as Nvidia's. Nvidia arguably has better AIB partners right now.



P.S.
I don't give a rat's *** about flagship card performance. ]]> sLowEnd http://www.overclock.net/blogs/slowend/1423-nvidia-ati.html Meh http://www.overclock.net/blogs/pir/1421-meh.html Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:51:14 GMT Life sometimes seems to be a endless chain of depressing events with just an occasional pleasure to prevent one going insane. :( Life sometimes seems to be a endless chain of depressing events with just an occasional pleasure to prevent one going insane. :( ]]> Pir http://www.overclock.net/blogs/pir/1421-meh.html ATI is always behind Nvidia? Hardly. http://www.overclock.net/blogs/slowend/1419-ati-always-behind-nvidia-hardly.html Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:48:04 GMT Radeon 9000 series vs Geforce FX 5000 series
ATI wins, especially when AA/AF is on despite being released earlier than Nvidia's cards.

X850XTPE vs 6800 Ultra
X850XTPE wins by a large margin.
The lower end cards from both sides were comparable.

X1000 series vs Geforce 7000 series
The X1800XT was superior to the 7800GTX. Only with the introduction of the 7900GTX and ATI's X1950XT did the performance become closer. ATI's cards of this generation have AA/AF quality than their Nvidia counterparts. The 7600GT and X1650XT were more or less equal. The 7600GT was more popular due to the X1650XT's predecessor, the X1600XT being a flop. GPU folding initally only supported ATI's X19XX series cards.

HD2000 series vs Geforce 8000 series
ATI's most notable loss to Nvidia. Seems to be the only thing that most Nvidia fanboys remember.
ATI's cards of this generation were no match for the 8800GTX/Ultra/GT.
The 2900XT's performance was similar to the 8800GTS 640MB, but it also consumed more power, produced more heat, and was louder.
The 2600XT was inferior to the 8600GT despite the 8600GT being a disappointment, not offering a big increase over the 7600GT.

HD3000 series vs Geforce 8000/9000 series
Refresh of the failed HD2000 series to reduce production costs (65/80nm -> 55nm) and to make the products more consumer friendly. (Lower noise, lower prices, lower power consumption...etc)
Performance wise, still lost against Nvidia offerings. The 3870X2 briefly retook the performance crown before the 9800GX2 was pushed out.

HD4000 series vs GTX200 series
Dramatically reduced the prices of the GTX200 series and introduced some serious competition. ATI briefly held the performance crown before the GTX295 was introduced. Though not the performance leader, ATI gained market share with this series due to excellent pricing. ]]> sLowEnd http://www.overclock.net/blogs/slowend/1419-ati-always-behind-nvidia-hardly.html Coming back into building pcs a bit more sane :P http://www.overclock.net/blogs/sp00n/1413-coming-back-into-building-pcs-bit.html Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:26:59 GMT I had a temporary hiatus from having a top of the line desktop, and sold it off to just have a laptop. Durring the time I was really into linux, and gaming took a back seat to learning how everything work in nix :P Then I got a $100 newegg gift certificate for a grad present and I had nothing else... I had a temporary hiatus from having a top of the line desktop, and sold it off to just have a laptop. Durring the time I was really into linux, and gaming took a back seat to learning how everything work in nix :P Then I got a $100 newegg gift certificate for a grad present and I had nothing else to spend it on than a new desktop. All I needed was a processor, heatsink, mobo and ram. I managed to get all of that for under $100. $100 got me an amd x2 4050e 2.1ghz, 1gb ddr2 ram, biostar mobo, and a stock hsf.

That purchase changed the way I buy anything in general now. Instead of paying big bucks for the best damn thing out there, why not just settle for less and upgrade every once in a while.

Now I'm in the process of upgrading my memory and motherboard, and I just bought a 4850 for $92. Since computer parts are getting to be so cheap, I'm limiting myself to spend only $100 on an individual part. I have came a long way from buying my first amd single core athlon 3200+ 2ghz for $230 at compusa 5 years ago :P

I laugh at my friends who spent >$200 on quad cores when all they do is play wow / tf2. ]]> sP00N http://www.overclock.net/blogs/sp00n/1413-coming-back-into-building-pcs-bit.html <![CDATA[PSU's]]> http://www.overclock.net/blogs/slowend/1411-psus.html Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:05:56 GMT .>]]> Corsair this.

Corsair that.

A lot of people seem to be very closed minded about other brands >.> ]]> sLowEnd http://www.overclock.net/blogs/slowend/1411-psus.html Vicky http://www.overclock.net/blogs/pir/1410-vicky.html Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:07:00 GMT Let me introduce to the only female in my household, Vicky. She is blonde, slim and talented, Agile and soft and she has the most amazing eyes you ever saw. We all love her very much, my sons and i and we cannot imagine a life without Vicky. She came into our life this summer and she stayed. A... Let me introduce to the only female in my household, Vicky. She is blonde, slim and talented, Agile and soft and she has the most amazing eyes you ever saw.

We all love her very much, my sons and i and we cannot imagine a life without Vicky. She came into our life this summer and she stayed. A vegitarian by nature whom loves to exersize. She can run hours on end without breaking a sweat.

Every evening when i come home from work she's there, sitting, waiting for a cuddle.

Vicky, our Hamster :o ]]> Pir http://www.overclock.net/blogs/pir/1410-vicky.html my god, if i had a piece of life http://www.overclock.net/blogs/phospholipid/1409-my-god-if-i-had-piece.html Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:49:04 GMT If for an instant God were to forget that I am rag doll and gifted me with a piece of life, possibly I wouldn’t say all that I think, but rather I would think of all that I say. I would value things, not for their worth but for what they mean. I would sleep little, dream more, understanding that... If for an instant God were to forget that I am rag doll and gifted me with a piece of life, possibly I wouldn’t say all that I think, but rather I would think of all that I say. I would value things, not for their worth but for what they mean. I would sleep little, dream more, understanding that for each minute we close our eyes we lose sixty seconds of light. I would walk when others hold back, I would wake when others sleep. I would listen when others talk, and how I would enjoy a good chocolate ice cream!

If God were to give me a piece of life, I would dress simply, throw myself face first into the sun, baring not only my body but also my soul. My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hate on ice, and wait for the sun to show. Over the stars I would paint with a Van Gogh dream a Benedetti poem, and a Serrat song would be the serenade I’d offer to the moon. With my tears I would water roses, to feel the pain of their thorns, and the red kiss of their petals…

My god, if I had a piece of life… I wouldn’t let a single day pass without telling the people I love that I love them. I would convince each woman and each man that they are my favorites, and I would live in love with love. I would show men how very wrong they are to think that they cease to be in love when they grow old, not knowing that they grow old when they cease to be in love! To a child I shall give wings, but I shall let him learn to fly on his own. I would teach the old that death does not come with old age, but with forgetting. So much have I learned from you, oh men…

I have learned that everyone wants to live on the peak of the mountain, without knowing that real happiness is in how it is scaled. I have learned that when a newborn child squeezes for the first time with his tiny fist his father’s finger, he has him trapped forever. I have learned that a man has the right to look down on another only when he has to help the other get to his feet. From you I have learned so many things, but in truth they won’t be of much use, for when I keep them within this suitcase, unhappily shall I be dying.


~GGM ]]> phospholipid http://www.overclock.net/blogs/phospholipid/1409-my-god-if-i-had-piece.html Currently Playing Update - 9/23/2009 http://www.overclock.net/blogs/vulcandragon/1408-currently-playing-update-9-23-2009.html Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:41:39 GMT I broke down and bought Halo 3:ODST last night. I had no choice...Toys R Us was giving a $20 gift card with purchase, and I can't turn down a free $20 for a game I know I want to buy eventually anyway.

I played for maybe half-an-hour last night. It's basically the same Halo experience, just some different mechanics that require a slightly less aggressive posture. Having fun, expect that to continue. Haven't tried the new Firefight mode yet though.


Updated list:
  • Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (PC)
  • Halo 3:ODST (X360)
  • Rock Band: Beatles (X360)
  • Dead Rising (X360)
]]> VulcanDragon http://www.overclock.net/blogs/vulcandragon/1408-currently-playing-update-9-23-2009.html th eraser http://www.overclock.net/blogs/phospholipid/1406-th-eraser.html Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:14:34 GMT women boggle my mind. i wish i could meet every one of them. ask them what makes them so stellar and tell them, if i could, that they are beautiful. women boggle my mind.

i wish i could meet every one of them.
ask them what makes them so stellar
and tell them, if i could, that they are
beautiful. ]]> phospholipid http://www.overclock.net/blogs/phospholipid/1406-th-eraser.html Random Thoughts - Love and rules http://www.overclock.net/blogs/mega_option101/1402-random-thoughts-love-rules.html Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:39:20 GMT It has been a long time since I found the time/energy to really put some thoughts down in my blog. As of late, I have been busy dwelling upon this quote: ---Quote--- Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. - Albert Einstein ---End Quote--- I think that it is important... It has been a long time since I found the time/energy to really put some thoughts down in my blog.

As of late, I have been busy dwelling upon this quote:

Quote:
Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. - Albert Einstein
I think that it is important to note that the above can have various different meanings/connotations.

What I would like to acheive with this blog is to give you a minute understanding of my thoughts about the significance of it in my eyes.

I think that this explains, how love can be found/had at a distance (not limited to your immediate environment). Whether that person is close to you or not physically, changes absolutely nothing.

In my opinion, love is not something that you can find somewhere else. Love comes from within the self. It's like what they say, "how can you love someone if you do not love yourself."

I think that it is important to notice that you can find love everywhere that you go. Love demands no rules, follows no obligations. You are free to love and to be in love.

I guess this is where my connection of "love demands no rules," comes into play with the quote seeing as even the laws of gravity do not apply.

Please leave your comments below.

I would love to hear what your interpretation(s) of the above quote were.

:) ]]> mega_option101 http://www.overclock.net/blogs/mega_option101/1402-random-thoughts-love-rules.html A Benchmark Editor - Journal Entry 2 http://www.overclock.net/blogs/benbrown/1400-benchmark-editor-journal-entry-2.html Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:47:17 GMT Yesterday we started the discussion on what the next benchmark should be. We have a few ideas but nothing certain on what we will do so again we welcome ideas on what everyone would like to see. We also had some talk about smaller monthly competitions that would include a broader range of... Yesterday we started the discussion on what the next benchmark should be. We have a few ideas but nothing certain on what we will do so again we welcome ideas on what everyone would like to see.

We also had some talk about smaller monthly competitions that would include a broader range of participants. I think this would interest a lot of people, however since we would not be pushing our systems to the xtreme the prizes will obviously be smaller and these contests would more than likely not affect our HWBot.org standings in any way. It would just be all for fun.

There is also going to be an announcement coming soon regarding HWBot.org and the scoring threads on the forum. Keep an eye out for that.

I guess that is it for the day...Bench on :thumb: ]]> BenBrown http://www.overclock.net/blogs/benbrown/1400-benchmark-editor-journal-entry-2.html