So now, which New GPU?
Before I begin talking, I have a question to ask all of you. If I were writing a guide on Computer Hardware, what information would you want in the guide?
Now, onto the topic.
So, I’ve been talking about new GPU’s lately, so now I’ll put both of them against each other, just based on my analysis of current events.
So, you’ve read both of my blogs on ATI and NVidia(you have read them right? If not, scroll down, and enjoy :D). So, now which one looks more promising?
Well, unfortunately, I don’t have any benchmarks on either of the GPU’s, so I will talk using the flow of current and recent events.
The RV770, also known as the ATI Radeon 4800 series, is going to be released early-May of this year. Shortly afterwards, nVidia will release its 9900 series GPU’s in response to ATI. Now, this will be a very interesting show. First of all, ATI’s been steadily regaining its momentum. With the huge success of the ATI 3850 and 3870, ATI can use its recent success as a push toward the top of the hill.
While ATI pushes forward with its recent success, NVidia is now in a somewhat tense situation. With the disappointing debut of the 9800GTX, NVidia must lick its wounds and push forward again to recreate the gains they had on ATI. Now that ATI is starting to build momentum, NVidia will have to work its butt off polishing the 9900GTX and GTS as much as possible so that both GPU’s will not turn out to be the second 9800GTX. Although they’re being released as replacements of the 9800 series GPU, NVidia will nonetheless have to do some serious work in the area of performance and price-to-performance ratio on their 9900 series GPU’s, because ATI will no doubt use their price-to-performance success on their ATI 3870 on their Radeon 4800 series GPU’s.
This is indeed a tight situation for NVidia; but an extremely valuable chance for ATI. This may bring back ATI to its former glory, and give ATI the chance to compete against NVIdia neck-to-neck, as an equally-polished GPU company once again.
Well, that’s all for tonight. Have a nice evening everyone!
Icarus
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The New ATI GPU: RV770
Hey guys, Icarus here. I noticed I don’t talk much about what tricks ATI has up their sleeve, so I’m going to talk about some of their new stuff that they’re going to release in the next few months.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not an nVidia fanboy. I actually love the ATI 3870- it just has awesome price/performance ratio. If you want to get one, here’s a link to one I personally favor:
GIGABYTE Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256bit GDDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 HDCP & CrossFire Ready Video Card Retail GV-RX387512H
Also known as the RV770, the Radeon 4800 series will come out with the first 2 of the series, the Radeon 4850 and Radeon 4870. According to PureOverclock, both GPU’s will feature GDDR5(no, you’re not seeing things), ranging anywhere from 256MB to 1024MB of it. The 4850 will also feature an 800Mhz+ core speed(not determined yet), while the 4870 will feature 1GHz core speed. Both cards will be mass produced as soon as it is released.
This is starting to look very promising for ATI. Afeter NVidia’s failure to create the 9800GTX as the top of the hill GPU, ATI now has a chance to take away the crown from the 9800GTX as the 8800GTX killer. Not only will the 4850 and 4870 be released in May and before the next 9900 series nVidia GPU’s, its previous success in the ATI 3870 GPU shows quite a large chance for ATI to take away the crown from NVidia. This will be quite an anxious and exciting time for ATI and NVidia fans alike.
Well, that’s all for tonight. Have a nice weekend!
Icarus
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More News on the 9900GTX
Well, I’ve posted some information on the 9900GTX, and today, after more research, I have found more useful information, and some confusing information along with it.
According to VR Zone, the first two models of the 9900 series will not be the 9900GTX and the 9900GX2; instead, nVidia is launching the 9900GTX and 9900GTS for the debut of the 9900 series. Now, like any other nVidia launch, nVidia is yet again launching its high-end GPU’s at the time when ATI is going to launch the RV770’s(well… I guess there’s more research material there for tomorrow :D).
Now, according to VR Zone, the 9900GTX will probably have a 512-bit memory interface with GDDR3 memory for the 9900GTX and a 448-bit memory interface for the 9900GTS. Now that’s a bit odd. A 448-bit memory interface. I’ve never heard of that one before. Since VR Zone does not cite its sources, this may be a little doubtful. However, VR Zone does have a great reputation, so we’ll see what happens.
Unfortunately, I cannot find any information on the specifics of the GPU’s(# of stream processors, costs, benchmarks) yet. As soon as I find them, I will post them all here.
To all of those out there, thanks for reading my blogs! And good night!
Icarus
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The Computer Memory Race
Hey guys, Icarus is back for more talk about computers! Today I thought I’d talk about computer memory.
Since the last few months of 2007, the memory industry has been delving in more and more into DDR3 computer memory. DDR3 memory is, well, faster than DDR2 for one. It also costs A LOT more than the current DDR2 800 to 1200 computer memory.
So, what did I mean by the “computer memory race”? Well, for me, this is more of a race between companies, where companies are competing for that place on the podium for being the first to sell the fastest RAM at the lowest prices. It’s almost just like the competition between nVIdia and ATI: whoever creates the fastest GPU wins that king of the hill, and whoever can create the best price-to-performance GPU takes that hill. It goes the same for computer memory: create the RAM with the lowest timings, you take that hill; create the best RAM for its price(like the current DDR2 800 memory), you take that hill. This race keeps going on and on and on and… I really don’t know when it’ll end.
I have been observing RAM and memory prices for the last couple months, and boy is it getting competitive. The main competitors in this race is G.Skill, Patriot, Crucial, Corsair, and last but not least, OCZ. The prices, especially at the DDR3 1333 levels, are getting lower and lower. Take this as an example: OCZ 1024MB PC10600 DDR3. Btw, OCZ makes some awesome products, and I highly recommend this.
Look at the price: That’s the same price as some of the higher end RAM such as Corsair Dominator and DDR2 1066 and DDR2 1200 RAM. The companies are really heating up this memory race. It will be very interesting and fun at what happens in the next few months. Who knows, maybe DDR3 1333 memory will be, in a few months, just like DDR2 800 is right now.
That’s all for tonight. See you all later!
Icarus
P.S.: I’m planning to write a guide of all of the information I know about computer hardware. What would be the things you would want in this guide the most. Please post your opinion in a comment, and I will be very happy 
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Custom Built Computers vs Homemade computers… which is better?
So, I realized, that I haven’t really talked in depth about why building a computer on your own is better than picking out the components and having someone build it for you. So now I’ll explain it all here.
So, let’s say you have a certain budget that you want to spend on your gaming computer. Your old Pentium III computer just doesn’t cut it anymore, and you’re looking for a new gaming computer. So you come across a company that builds custom computers for you if you pick out the components on your own. And then you go to a forum and someone else tells you to get away from that company and build one on your own. Which path is better?
Simply put, building a computer on your own beats out every aspect of having a custom computer built for you. Here’s why:
1. Money: you think they’re gonna just buy your components, build it, and put a “small” extra fee? Let me just save you from the misery now: NO. For one, you don’t know the exact price they bought the parts for. If you don’t know, let me tell you now: They put extra money on each product so they get the most out of your wallet.
Then comes the fee for building the computer… ok, it takes me maybe 2 hours max to build my computer, and they still charge a fee. That’s the way it goes. They’re trying to get the most money they can take out of your wallet without being noticed. That’s the fault that many people are currently in.
Well… then comes the customer service. They might say “free 24/7 customer service” in a persuasive voice, but do not be tricked; it’s not FREE. They won’t charge you when you call them, but it’s included in the final price you pay for the price. There goes another $xx from your wallet.
And then, if you build your own… you know the price of each and every one of your computers, and you will be your own customer service. No extra fee, no calling customer service, nothing extra. Just you and your computer.
2. Knowledge: now, this is where I think the most weight is. Say you still, upon reading my first list, bought a computer from them, and this was your first ever custom built computer. Woop de doo, your computer comes in a nice case, with everything you wanted in it, and you start playing games at the settings you wanted to play them. 6 months later, the computer dies on you. What now? Oh call customer service of course! Hmm… they probably won’t know how to fix it for you right there. If you’re lucky, they’ll have you send it back to them and MAKE YOU PAY THE SHIPPING, and then if you’re even luckier, ship you another computer in a time frame of a month.
That’s some nice ideal events there, but I’m going to tell you now, it probably won’t happen.
Now, imagine if you bought all of the components on your own, and you built it on your own. You know every single component of your computer inside and out, and if your computer dies on you, you won’t have to call customer service, or ship the computer back. You’re your own customer service; by buying the components, you researched your parts and gained much knowledge about all the parts. You’ll know how to pick out the bad part, and send only that one back. You don’t need to wait months; if you researched your products, you probably bought the products that perform well AND have good service when your part breaks. So, you just send back your part, and wallah, a brand new one comes right back, you install it on your computer, and work like a charm again, ready to continue on your gaming adventures.
3. Fun: don’t think this has to be explained much.
If you just want to buy a custom built computer, you just go on the Internet, find your brand, and they ship one to you. I don’t think there’s much fun in that.
If you research your parts, buy them, and build it all, it’s a lot of fun. It was for me also. I’m still learning more about computers everyday because everything is advancing so quickly, I can barely keep up. But it’s still a lot of fun learning about computers. And again, knowledge is power.
That’s all for tonight. Hope that helped explain why you all should build your own computer
Icarus
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