Puget Systems Blog » Hardware Analysis http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog Writing from behind the scenes at Puget Systems. Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:55:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 Gaming Performance with Dual Monitors http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/12/26/gaming-performance-with-dual-monitors/ http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/12/26/gaming-performance-with-dual-monitors/#comments Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:01:47 +0000 William George http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/?p=1311 Continue reading →]]> Many of the computers we sell here at Puget Systems will be used for playing games, and we also get a lot of folks wanting to run two (or more) monitors.  Sometimes those goals intersect, and in those situations I have had people ask if they needed to get a second video card so that using additional monitors will not impact their performance for gaming.  I myself use two monitors here at work, which has been a great improvement in usability, but I don’t play games in the office.  Because of that I’ve had to fall back on anecdotal evidence when this topic comes up, and make educated guesses depending on individual scenarios. Rather than continue in that approach, though, I wanted to get hard numbers to support my advice. 


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Written by William for Puget Systems Blog. | Permalink | 3 comments

]]> http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/12/26/gaming-performance-with-dual-monitors/feed/ 3 Clarifying “Made in the USA” http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/12/13/clarifying-made-in-the-usa/ http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/12/13/clarifying-made-in-the-usa/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:39:01 +0000 Brett Nordquist http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/?p=1302 Continue reading →]]> It is not uncommon for our sales staff to field requests from people searching for a computer that is made in the USA. We suspect this uptick in interest originates from those looking to support American workers, especially in times of economic uncertainty. We also believe that many American shoppers are demanding a higher level of after-the-sale support that an US based company is often better positioned to deliver.


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]]> http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/12/13/clarifying-made-in-the-usa/feed/ 0 How We are Handling the Hard Drive Shortage http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/11/22/how-we-are-handling-the-hard-drive-shortage/ http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/11/22/how-we-are-handling-the-hard-drive-shortage/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:43:22 +0000 Jon Bach http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/?p=1231 Continue reading →]]>

Image credit to Bright Side of News

Widespread flooding in Thailand is affecting millions of people there, and has shut down many thousands of factories. In the computer industry, this is creating a severe hard drive shortage. Some manufacturers (such as Western Digital) are directly affected, with plants in Thailand that are shut down. In addition, many hard drive component suppliers are also impacted by the flooding, extending the reach of this shortage to all hard drive manufacturers.


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Written by Jon for Puget Systems Blog. | Permalink | 9 comments

]]> http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/11/22/how-we-are-handling-the-hard-drive-shortage/feed/ 9 Spanning Multiple Monitors http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/08/10/spanning-multiple-monitors/ http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/08/10/spanning-multiple-monitors/#comments Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:06:26 +0000 Ruben http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/?p=1185 Continue reading →]]> Early this year, I decided to purchase and setup a trio of monitors for a triple monitor display. The setup itself was going to be used in a span configuration with a resolution of 5760 x 1080 on an ATI 5870 Eyefinity Edition video card with the goal of being able to see more while gaming. I thought I’d share my experiences, and what I learned may help you with your own monitor configuration.


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]]> http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/08/10/spanning-multiple-monitors/feed/ 2 PCI-Express Performance and nVidia’s New Warning http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/07/21/pci-express-graphics-card-performance-and-nvidias-new-warning/ http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/07/21/pci-express-graphics-card-performance-and-nvidias-new-warning/#comments Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:51:46 +0000 William George http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/?p=1156 Continue reading →]]> Puget Systems has been in the business of building computers for 11 years now, and we know what we are doing when it comes to assembling top-notch custom computers. It is a bit insulting, then, when a parts manufacturer puts out a warning which appears – on the surface – to indicate something we do is resulting in anything other than the highest performance possible. Yet here I am, to let you know about just such a notice that nVidia’s latest driver software is giving when using their graphics cards in certain configurations.

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Written by William for Puget Systems Blog. | Permalink | 3 comments

]]> http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/07/21/pci-express-graphics-card-performance-and-nvidias-new-warning/feed/ 3 H67, P67, and Z68 – Which one is right for you? http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/06/09/h67-p67-and-z68-which-one-is-right-for-you/ http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/06/09/h67-p67-and-z68-which-one-is-right-for-you/#comments Thu, 09 Jun 2011 22:57:46 +0000 William George http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/?p=1107 Continue reading →]]> Intel Logo
Intel’s Sandy Bridge processor architecture is turning 6 months old in July, and has been a major seller in the PC market in these few short months. There was a slight hiccup a month after it was released, when it was found that there was a defect in the SATA controller of the chipsets designed to work with these processors, but that has long since been resolved and no further problems have arisen.


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Written by William for Puget Systems Blog. | Permalink | 24 comments

]]> http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/06/09/h67-p67-and-z68-which-one-is-right-for-you/feed/ 24 How is the Tablet Market Affecting Puget Systems? http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/04/14/how-is-the-tablet-market-affecting-puget-systems/ http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/04/14/how-is-the-tablet-market-affecting-puget-systems/#comments Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:00:57 +0000 Chris Bristol http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/?p=1100 Continue reading →]]> Yesterday Gartner released a report that worldwide PC shipments fell in the first quarter of 2011.  As I read over the article I couldn’t help but compare this current state of the PC industry as a whole to that of Puget Systems, but before I get into those thoughts, here’s a key excerpt from the article:

“Weak demand for consumer PCs was the biggest inhibitor of growth,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “Low prices for consumer PCs, which had long stimulated growth, no longer attracted buyers. Instead, consumers turned their attention to media tablets and other consumer electronics. With the launch of the iPad 2 in February, more consumers either switched to buying an alternative device, or simply held back from buying PCs. We’re investigating whether this trend is likely to have a long-term effect on the PC market.”


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Written by Chris for Puget Systems Blog. | Permalink | 6 comments

]]> http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/04/14/how-is-the-tablet-market-affecting-puget-systems/feed/ 6 Custom vs. Closed Loop Liquid Cooling http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/03/29/liquid-cooling/ http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/03/29/liquid-cooling/#comments Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:14:11 +0000 William George http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/?p=1080 Continue reading →]]> Full liquid-cooling in a Puget Deluge system
As a custom computer manufacturer, we’ve sold liquid-cooled systems from well before I joined the company. A water-based coolant is able to transfer heat away from hot components like the processor (CPU) and video card (GPU) more quickly than air alone would. That added cooling is appealing for folks who want to push their systems beyond design specifications. Overclocking ability is perhaps the most the most tangible benefit of liquid-cooling, but there are other reasons some folks are interested in it: liquid-cooling can make a computer look very stylish, for example, or allow operation of more hot-running components than a chassis could normally keep cool.


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Written by William for Puget Systems Blog. | Permalink | 2 comments

]]> http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/03/29/liquid-cooling/feed/ 2 Information about the Intel Sandy Bridge Flaw http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/01/31/information-about-intel-sandy-bridge-flaw/ http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/01/31/information-about-intel-sandy-bridge-flaw/#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:10:54 +0000 Jon Bach http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/?p=1038 Continue reading →]]> You may have heard about the flaw announced today with Intel’s Sandy Bridge platform. Here is a quote from Intel’s press release:

“As part of ongoing quality assurance, Intel Corporation has discovered a design issue in a recently released support chip, the Intel® 6 Series, code-named Cougar Point, and has implemented a silicon fix. In some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipsets may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD-drives. The chipset is utilized in PCs with Intel’s latest Second Generation Intel Core processors, code-named Sandy Bridge. Intel has stopped shipment of the affected support chip from its factories. Intel has corrected the design issue, and has begun manufacturing a new version of the support chip which will resolve the issue. The Sandy Bridge microprocessor is unaffected and no other products are affected by this issue.

The company expects to begin delivering the updated version of the chipset to customers in late February and expects full volume recovery in April. Intel stands behind its products and is committed to product quality. For computer makers and other Intel customers that have bought potentially affected chipsets or systems, Intel will work with its OEM partners to accept the return of the affected chipsets, and plans to support modifications or replacements needed on motherboards or systems. …”

What does this mean for Puget Systems customers?


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Written by Jon for Puget Systems Blog. | Permalink | 10 comments

]]> http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/01/31/information-about-intel-sandy-bridge-flaw/feed/ 10 Home Theater PC – John’s Approach http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/01/26/home-theater-pc-johns-approach/ http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2011/01/26/home-theater-pc-johns-approach/#comments Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:02:17 +0000 John http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/?p=1020 Continue reading →]]> This is the third in a series of blog posts about Home Theater Computers (aka HTPCs), where several Puget employees get a chance to explain their approach to home theater computing.  My approach is distinctly different than the previous entries, which can be found here:  Richard’s, William’s.


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