PC Upgrade - 2

GRAPHIC CARD

The old faithful GeForce FX5200 has been dragging its feet for the last year or so. Have to say it did the best it could, thanks to it we could play even NFS Most Wanted, (which was a beautiful game, those police chases were wicked!). The point is no First Person Shooter (FPS) released after 2005 or so could be played because the system just could not handle the strain. So for the last 6 months or so its been pretty much getting the best games before 2005 and playing them, and I just finished playing Warcraft 3. Not being able play games released up to 3 years beforehand is not a suitable or desirable characteristic when the users range from mild enthusiasts (myself) to true followers and FPS fans (bro & cousin). So the new graphic card requirements would be – capable of delivering decent performance on even the latest games within an affordable price range ie, basically performance for the value conscious casual gamers.

So I went hunting in the mainstream segment. We can classify the market into 3 segments roughly- Budget segment (up to $125), best bet of the lot currently would be GeForce 8600GT. Mainstream segment ( $150 - $250), pretty much the bread and butter segment of the gaming industry. Performance segment ( >$250), once again Nvidia rules this segment with GeForce 8800GTX ( a true monster).

Back to hunting, in December when I checked there were only 3 real choices – GeForce 8800GT (round $250), Radeon HD3850 (round $200) and Radeon HD3870 (round $220). GeForce 8600GTS was only OK as it had only 128 bit memory bus width, which the critics felt was a huge drawback. Then somewhere I saw that Nvidia was planning to launch its next-gen mainstream card by mid February. The GeForce 9600GT.

We skip forward a couple of months. The initial leaked specs and benchmark results suggested it to be way better than 8600GT and round 80% performance of 8800GT. A very interesting prospect when you consider the fact that being a midrange card it was sure to be priced in the sub $200 category. Finally, the release of the card on 21^st February. The benchmarks rolled in and the verdict was out. 9600GT outperformed HD3850 comprehensively and was pretty much a match for the HD3870 through different tests, and here comes the sweet part. It was priced in the $169-$189 range. Huh! The choice would be obvious wouldn’t it? But then again its not as if those marketing departments are their just for namesake, so on the very same day AMD slashed the prices of HD3850 and HD3870 to competitive levels ie pretty much sub $200 levels. 8800GT does offer better performance but at a higher price. So finally you are left scratching your head wondering which card to go for. Each one offers its money worth of performance and this is a nice situation to be in if you are planning to buy a graphic card soon and I am. : )

As with most new graphic cards, processors etc it will take a bit of time for prices to settle… say 2 months. After that I will get my own GeForce 9600GT and start playing the games which have been just pleading for my esteemed presence… sigh!!! Till then I can dream on…

P.S.- a word of advice to those on the lookout for new graphic cards, do not choose between the models just on the basis of the features on offer, no: of pipelines, amount of memory, clock speed etc. Trust only benchmarks to get a real idea of the performance. I found www.tomshardware.com to be a very useful site for obtaining such information and trustworthy too.

My horrorscope??

got a link to a horsoscope site via zapak...
c what it says about my star sign! loL!


wow...after reading all the sections... my God... so much of it is true... i'm quite bewildered... havent read anything of this online that i could relate so much with... do read it guys... what do u think about this? here's the link... check out ur star signs too....
http://www.ganeshaspeaks.com/horoscopes/cancer.jsp

Cancer Career & Profession: Cancer is the Money Sign. Cancerians can pursue the following professions - Actor, Hotelier, Caterer, Astrologer, Teacher, Banker, Nurse, Surgeon, Businessman and Chefs.

Cancer Romance & Marriage: Cancer is a good lover if not a bold one. You tend to settle down very quickly and naturally after marriage. Your protective instinct can make the other person feel loved and cared for. Your sudden change of moods and hesitations could come in the way of a happy relationship. Bluntly put, see that your mother does not ruin your marriage.

Positive Qualities:

Tenacious, Psychic, Highly Imaginative, Loyal, Patriotic, Sympathetic, Persuasive, Flamboyant, Dramatic.

Negative Qualities:

Moody, Pessimistic, Born Nagger, Suspicious.

Cancer Physical Structure: Cancer has a big head. The face is round or semi-round showing intense emotion. The eyebrows are well-defined but not the typical Cancer nose. The mouth is big and the arms and legs are long in comparison to the rest of the body. The stomach shows.

Cancer Health: Cancer has stomach and the chest as its positive health zones. Overweight is a typical Cancerian problem. (he has to see me... :-) )

Cancer Beautyscope: Cancer people need to be very careful cause their stomach has a tendency to protrude. Hence they should exercise a lot.

Cancer Food: Favored food for Cancerians would be all fruits and vegetables with a very high water content such as cucumbers, pumpkins, cabbage, turnip, lettuce, mushrooms etc. Drink plenty of water. Avoid Pastries and Cakes. A fish diet is recommended. (i really hate fish)

Cancer Habits: Cancerians have a tendency to get into the groove, hence you are a slave of habits. (really??)

Born between July 2 and July 11 If the person is born between these days, the planetary ruler is Mars. Mars stands for force, vigor, energy, power and vitality. Hence the stronger qualities of Cancer would be exhibited. Avoid the dictatorial stance.

The fourth sign in the Rashichakra, Karka ( Cancer ) love their home - their roots. Falling in the fourth house of the Kaalpurusha (Ursha Major), which denotes mother, Karka ( Cancer ) plays the same role. Farther the governing planet of the Rashi is Chandra (Moon), which rules over themind and denotes mother. This too enhances its role as mother The most empathetic zodiac sign, Karkas ( Cancer ) are often overly sensitive. They take great pleasure in the comforts of home and family and are at their best when all is peaceful at this front. They nurture a maternal instinct, are domestic and love to nurture others. They adore large families, always providing for others, protecting and making a nest wherever they go. Karkas ( Cancer ) are traditional and prize family history and love communal activities. They also tend to be patriotic, waving the flag, whenever possible. Karkas ( Cancer ) are more concerned with expressing emotions than on superficial conversations. They can appear to be moody, shy and too much like a baby. But on the contrary they are not shy, but protecting themselves against emotional exposure. Though very artistic and creative, often they get on the nerves for holding on to everything including wealth and even to every word that was ever said to them. Their mood swings are unpredictable -- sweet to cranky. The proverbial crab, they retreat into their shells, when hurt. Extremely introvert and certainly not the easiest person to understand these crabs can hide emotions well beneath the tough exterior. Although kind and affable till the mood is stable, it is bitter and melancholic at the next, often feeling hurt unnecessarily. Trying to draw sympathy, Crabs can be fairly insensitive towards others, snapping, being rude and short-tempered. However, the seemingly rude behavior is only a clever means to hide their own insecurities and complexes -- almost like timid, hurt children. Karkas ( Cancer ) can be admirably kind, generous, understanding, charitable and gracious, if all is well with them. Karkas ( Cancer ) can be seen standing by people in their time of need. Their good intuitive powers mostly put to good use in managing their own lives. (is this true guys?) Urges to travel to distant lands come but quelled since home is where you love to dwell. Most often crabs hurt the ones most who have been good for them.(i really cant help this fact). They also tend to make a mountain out of the molehill and are prone to self-pity. Slightly untidy, this doesn't endear you to more stable signs. Unlike Dhanu, who have a place for everything, the Karkas ( Cancer ) idea is to put it somewhere, under the bed, in cupboards, anywhere -- not that you are not untidy -- you are the original hoarder. Karkas ( Cancer ) don't ask for much either, a comfortable home and sense of peace is what is most important. Crabs are also quick to help others and tend to avoid confrontation. In keeping with their nurturing bent, those born under this Sign enjoy their food. A hearty picnic in the park is heaven on earth to most crabs. Karkas ( Cancer ) have a keen intellect and are good with their hands. They do well as painters, sculptors sales persons. However you are best when it comes to taking writing as a full-time profession. Most crabs will have reasonably good careers(i'm still not sure), although there will be a tendency to change to an entirely different field midway, say somewhat nearing 35 years(what the heck.. this ought to be true!!!!) . Money and material wealth are fairly important to and although nearly miserly with the money you earn, sudden windfalls and gains are often squandered away thoughtlessly. Crabs romance those who are quite opposite to them in nature(never tried it...). They are strongly attracted to people who are confident, strong and successful. Although they fall in love all the time, their introvert nature and uneasiness in disclosing their true feelings makes many of these affairs one-sided. (eh... no comments...) they are not likely to rush headlong into marriage, because in selecting a life partner, they are often governed by your their. Karkas ( Cancer ), Vrischika ( Scorpio ) and Meen ( Pisces ) will make good partners for Karkas ( Cancer ). (cancer,s corpio, pisces ... hmm... very few choices....anyone out there? ;-) duh... just joking....) why did they forget my lucky number?? :-)

I won!

[photo to be uploaded]

relationship status: single
birthday: March 2
age: 1 day
languages I speak: hex

about me: There's no harm in taking the left turn to make a right one.
children: maybe
fashion: cellotype
hometown: trivandrum

passions: electronics
activities: sensing, running, blowing
books: Electronics circuits for the evil genius
cusines: Anything that can power me

education: mosqui's school of pics and technology
career interest: fire fighter

ideal match: someone hot enough needing some cooling down
first thing you'll notice about me: my triangular head
height: 35 cms
build: aluminium reinforced cellotape
looks: beauty contest winner
turn ons: candlelight
in my bedroom you'll find: iceman, Bach, Aj, AS, inquisitivo, JFx