The Icarus Guide: How to Distinguish between Graphics Cards
Hey guys, Icarus here back from a few days of gruelling studying. I apologize for the lack of articles, this week is finals week for me, and I’ve been working my BUTT Off studying and making sure I know every bit of information I can possibly fit into my small brain(haha). But today I wrote a guide for all of you new-comers out there.
So, if you’re new to the vast and awesome field of custom, home-made computers, you’re most likely looking for components to put your first computer together. You’ve first decided to tackle which graphics card is right for you. You’ve got your budget divided into priorities(CPU and motherboard should be up at the top), and now you’re onto picking out your own GPU, your FIRST pick ever.
So you come across some popular retailers such as Newegg or ClubIT or MWave, and you see some great GPU’s that fit right into your budget. You narrow your choices down to one TYPE of GPU, and now you’re ready to buy! But wait… there’re many of the same GPU’s, just with different brand names, some have different specs, and some have different prices. Which one are you going to choose?
Well, if that’s your problem, you’ve come to the right place. So, as soon as you have a general idea of your budget, and narrowed your choices down to one type, take a look at all of the GPU’s in your category. Especially pay attention to:
1. Price
2. Specs(clock speed especially, warranties)
and last, but not least,
3. Brand.
After observing these questions, you have a little bit of homework to do. If you really want to look out on ways to save some money, try to predict the price-to-performance ratios based on those numbers on the specs sheet. That’ll give you a general idea of which ones you should be looking at. Then, look around on Google or any other popular search engines for some brand-reviews. Look especially for product quality, warranties, and customer service. Once you find solutions to all 3 of these factors, you will definitely have narrowed down your list to one choice: your perfect GPU.
Well, that’s all for tonight. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Icarus
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The ATI 4800 Series is Right Around the Corner!
Hey guys, Icarus here. I want to try to re-explain the ATI 4800 series, because it’s right around the corner now! Today is a day in early June, and the ATI 4800 series is expected to be released in early- to mid-June.
So, what’s so hyped up about this? It’s not; I really don’t like it when the media hypes something up so much that the standards go so high. You have to be realistic. Sure, there’s always a chance that the ATI 4800 series will be the next candidate for the title of “the Ultra killer”, but you also have to be realistic. The last time ATI got close to beating an Ultra, or surpassed the Ultras in some benchmarks, was the ATI dual-GPU cards.
However, there is always hope. This ATI 4800 series is supposed to take into account all of the small, itty-bitty mistakes on the ATI 3800 series, and in addition to that, increase the overall performance. The ATI 4800 series will also be moderately cheap, not like the NVidia Ultras, where an outrageous cost turned everyone away. The ATI 4800 series will definitely be something to look forward to this month. I will most definitely.
Another reason why I’m so excited about the ATI 4800 series is that it might take away the almost-monopolized NVidia GPU market. Then, hopefully, NVidia will become more competitive and start pumping out amazing GPU’s like it used to a few years ago when it was competing neck to neck against ATI.
Well, that’s all for now. See ya later!
Icarus
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A Controversial Issue: Intel vs. AMD
Hey guys, Icarus here. As many of you know, Intel seems to be always one step ahead of AMD when it comes to CPU’s. Everyone says “Intel kicks AMD’s _____(fill in your word here)”. But is this really true?
Only a couple of years ago, AMD was kicking Intel’s butt with their own, new dual core processor, the Athlon X2’s. They were one step ahead of Intel at that time when Intel was still on the Pentium series, and everyone had an AMD CPU. AMD was in, and Intel seemed to be slipping away.
However, two years ago, Intel countered AMD with their own dual-core series CPU’s, the Intel Core2Duo’s. Now this was one large monster; it practically beat the heck out of every AMD CPU. From overclocking capabilities to processing power, the Intel Core2Duo’s left the AMD CPU’s in the dust. Since then, Intel has been always one step ahead of AMD, be it from quad-core CPU’s to developing 45nm CPU’s.
See, Intel seems to be a lot better than AMD right? But that’s not the whole truth. Intel’s CPU’s beats AMD CPU’s at certain benchmarks, but when it comes to running an Intel CPU and AMD CPU side by side, with all of the default settings, they’re actually quite close. Remember, numbers do not tell the whole truth. It’s like Graphics cards: you’ll have the largest benchmark number in your group of friends, but you won’t notice that much difference between the two screens. Same with CPU’s; Intel will surpass AMD when it comes to overclocking and other non-default settings, but when it comes to raw performance on stock settings, some AMD CPU’s actually come close to Intel’s CPU’s.
So, why does everyone think Intel is so much better than AMD? Mainly because of marketing, and the media. We’re all swayed by the media without noticing, and unless someone observant enough puts an Intel CPU’s benchmark and AMD CPU’s benchmark side by side, no one will notice.
Well, that’s all for tonight. Good night everyone!
Icarus
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What is Modding?
Hey guys, Icarus here. Have you guys ever found a page on “modding” your computer case? Or have you seen a computer forum with a main thread called “Modding”? Have no idea what it is? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
Modding is one of two things:
1. Changing the case’s physical appearance and/or improve the performance of the case
2. Build your own case from scratch.
Those two definitions are the basics to modding. Now, anything goes in modding, from just drilling a fan hole on your side panel, to designing and building your own case from scratch, from whatever material you have worked out. It’s completely up to you.
There are no disadvantages to modding, except that it may take you some time to complete your mod. All that it takes is some imagination, calculations, and a theme, and you can create a completely new, unique case on a theme that you’ve always loved. Or your case had horrible air-cooling, so you added a few fan holes to add additional fans to your case, and your case now has great air-cooling. Anything goes, and again, only good things come with modding. It’s completely up to you.
Well, that’s all for tonight. Good night everyone!
Icarus
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