Graphite Pads vs. Thermal Paste: Which Is Better?
Written on December 3, 2018 by Matt BachRather than applying from a tube like thermal paste, graphite pads are sheets of material that you simply set on top of the CPU and throw on the heatsink. They work great, but unfortunately we found that they have issues if you try to reuse them multiple times.
High Expectations
Written on November 4, 2018 by Brett NordquistA couple of years ago, a new restaurant opened for business in town. For anyone traveling into St. George from Las Vegas or Zion National Park, it is hard to miss because it's situated the ledge which overlooks the town.
Intel Announces New 9th Gen Core CPU Series
Written on October 8, 2018 by William GeorgeToday Intel has officially announced the launch of new mainstream desktop processors, including the first Core i9 branded chip for this market segment. We are testing these processors now, and are excited about what we have found so far, but cannot publish performance data until October 19th.
Not Just for Gaming: NVIDIA GeForce RTX Will Improve Workflows
Written on September 20, 2018 by Kelly ShipmanNVIDIAs new GeForce RTX video cards have been all the talk lately. There is a lot of debate on the value that real time ray tracing brings to games, and some questions on how useful these cards will be to traditional ray traced renderers. With these cards becoming available for testing, and reviews starting to come in, many of these questions will be answered. However, there is an aspect to these cards that is often being overlooked: how the advances in real time ray tracing will dramatically cut down on production time before the rendering stage.
Out of Ideas
Written on August 31, 2018 by Brett NordquistA close friend recently had a defibrillator successfully placed in his chest. I was surprised when he explained how the doctors had him under light sedation where he didn't feel pain, but could hear the doctors converse during the four-hour surgery.
Feel the power of VR at Pacific Science Center this summer!
Written on August 22, 2018 byTransform into a tree or experience a billion years in just 10 minutes! No matter the experience you choose, you will be going back for more.
What Does the Launch of the GeForce RTX 20 Series Mean for the Future?
Written on August 20, 2018 by William GeorgeLike many of you, I was glued to my computer screen this morning during NVIDIA's live-stream of the GeForce RTX 20 series launch. But what exactly was shown today, and what does it mean for the future of gaming, virtual reality, and other GPU-based applications?
Exactly What I Need
Written on August 4, 2018 by Brett NordquistLast week my daughter got pulled over by a policewoman just after midnight for having a light out over the back license plate. After a short reminder that she shouldn't be driving past midnight because she's not 18-years old yet, the policewoman let her off without a citation or warning if she promised to replace the light.
Puget Systems Packaging Withstands Stolen FedEx Truck
Written on July 23, 2018 byWhat's your worst nightmare when shipping out your most precious cargo? Raise your hand if taking a shipment for a joyride was your answer. Didn't think so! But, it happened to us.
The Nordstrom Way
Written on June 8, 2018 by Brett NordquistI recently finished reading the book, The Nordstrom Way to Customer Experience Excellence: Creating a Values-Driven Service Culture. The book is a lot more compelling than that ridiculously long title. It includes a lot of inspirational stories, but I wanted to share one story with you along with the one rule found in the employee handbook.
2nd Gen AMD Ryzen Supported RAM Speeds
Written on June 6, 2018 by Matt BachJust like the original Ryzen CPUs, the 2nd Gen Ryzen processors from AMD support a range of different RAM speeds depending on a number of factors. This information is not easily accessible to the public, however, so we decided to put together a quick post with the information we received from our contacts at AMD.
Selling vs. Problem Solving
Written on May 18, 2018 by Brett Nordquist"I don't know where to begin." That's what I told Beth, who was working the counter at my local auto parts store. I sheepishly placed a sleek can refrigerant on the counter and began to explain my predicament. I purchased a refill because I already owned a pressure gauge, I assumed it was compatible with any can. I found out that isn't the case when I tightened the gauge and heard the stem pop.
How to Use Cinebench to Predict Cinema 4D Performance
Written on April 3, 2018 by William GeorgeHere at Puget Systems, it is our goal to perform realistic testing on the software packages we tailor our workstations toward. Sometimes this is easy, sometimes it is harder... and sometimes a software maker already provides their own benchmark tool. That is the case with Maxon, makers of Cinema 4D, as well as the free benchmark, took Cinebench. To determine whether we should use it, though, we have to ask some questions. Is Cinebench really a good benchmark for Cinema 4D? How do the tests it runs relate to real-world performance?
The Storm That Is Fortnite
Written on March 16, 2018 by Brett NordquistIt's been a few years since a game caught the interest of my family. I worked in sales at Puget Systems when I began hearing customers mention a game called Minecraft. The simple, blocky nature of the game carried over to the hardware requirements. Minecraft didn't require a high-end gaming rig. My three oldest couldn't get enough of building homes, trying to stay alive and setting anything they could find on fire with lava.
The thin line between stress testing and hardware abuse
Written on January 30, 2018 by Matt BachAs a part of our testing, we want to cause hardware to fail if it is close to doing so. However, stress testing for an excessive amount of time could potentially shorten the lifespan of the system. Is there a line where hardware testing becomes hardware abuse?
Event Schedule For 2018
Written on January 22, 2018 by Eric BrownIn 2018, our goal is to get out there where our customers are to learn more about them, learn more about their workflow, and find out what more we can do to optimize our systems and experience to those exact needs. Are there any events that we should attend that aren't on this list? Let us know!
Data Encryption
Written on January 18, 2018 by Beth SmasalA break-down of data encryption, what it's used for, and why your data could be at risk (oh no!)
Pix4D Cloud vs Local Processing
Written on January 5, 2018 by William GeorgePix4D is a photogrammetry application which can take sets of photographs and turn them into point clouds and 3D meshes, to make digital versions of real-world objects or locations. It supports both local processing on a workstation as well as uploading images to be processed in the cloud - but which is faster, and what advantages does each have?
Voting with My Wallet
Written on January 4, 2018 by Brett NordquistWhat are you willing to trade for cheap? I had two boxes to send across the country. A US Post Office and a UPS Store are equidistant from my home, but I decided to take the cheap route and head to the USPS.
A quick look at Titan V rendering performance
Written on December 12, 2017 by Matt BachThe latest in the Titan line is here, bringing along with it a very hefty price tag. We just got our first cards in and while we will be doing more in-depth testing in the near future, we wanted to take a look at some preliminary GPU-based rendering results.
The Tarantula Hawk
Written on December 10, 2017 by Brett Nordquist"My report is on the tarantula hawk. Can you read it and look for mistakes?" My son handed me a sheet of well-worn paper with thick lines and plenty of space for a fourth grader to write. I took a red marker in hand and began reading about the tarantula hunting wasp.
NVIDIA Titan V Surprise
Written on December 8, 2017 by William GeorgeNVIDIA's CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, dropped a bit of a bombshell at the NIPS conference yesterday: the launch - and immediate availability - of the next graphics card in NVIDIA's Titan series. It is called the Titan V, with V referring to the new Volta architecture it is based on. So what can we expect from the latest entry in the Titan lineup?
Managing Kids and Technology
Written on November 12, 2017 by Brett NordquistI attended high school during the mid-80s. Around this period, Apple had just released the Macintosh and IBM was beginning to blitz the world with their PC Jr. Both models were still too expensive for my parents to purchase, so my only access to a computer was at my school's computer lab, where I took a class in BASIC.
Microsoft Office Holdout
Written on October 27, 2017 by Brett NordquistMy name is Brett, and I am a Microsoft Office holdout. In fact, I am writing this blog in Word. Last week, I decided to write directly into our blogging system, but flew too close to the sun and lost an hour of work.
The Last 5 Percent
Written on October 20, 2017 by Brett NordquistHave you ever gone to an upscale restaurant on a special occasion? The hostess greets you immediately, and your table is ready. Your server is friendly and attentive, and the meal itself is everything you hoped it would be. Your table location, the lighting and the ambiance are perfect. Your server brings the check to your table and says,