Is Windows 8 Right For You?
Windows 8 launches this fall, on October 26th to be precise, and it is shaping up to be the most controversial Windows edition ever. Past versions like Vista and Millennium Edition were underwhelming, certainly, and others like Windows 95 and XP changed the face of Windows dramatically – but each new version has generally been an attempt to improve the user experience. Some focused on better performance, others on a newer and sleeker interface… and while there were both successes and failures Microsoft has managed to maintain dominance in the PC operating system market.
The latest version of Windows, however, has a lot more to it than just a shiny new taskbar or updated applications: it represents a shift in the whole interface from a traditionally mouse-centered approach to a touch-centric design. The last time that Microsoft tried to add an interface option to Windows was Media Center, which was introduced part-way through the life-cycle of Windows XP and brought a ‘ten foot’ interface designed for use in a living room. That was simply an added interface option on top of the normal Windows UI, though, while Windows 8 has completely removed large parts of the traditional interface that PC users have become accustomed to.
AutoDesk AutoCAD 2013 GPU Acceleration
AutoCAD 2013 does not have any specific features or effects that are GPU accelerated, instead almost everything that looks 3D uses the GPU in some manner. You still need to balance a powerful video card with a good CPU and RAM combination, but the video card you use for AutoCAD is an extremely important part of the performance equation. In this article, we will look at a number of desktop and workstation cards to see just how important a role the video card plays in the performance equation.
Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 GPU Acceleration
Premiere CS6 utilizes the Mercury Playback Engine to take advantage of the video card to vastly improve both the performance and quality of certain features, but there is currently very little information available regarding the performance of different video cards. In addition, the list of compatible cards from Adobe has not been updated to include the current NVIDIA 600-series video cards, which is further adding to the confusion of deciding which video card you should use for Premiere CS6.
In this article, we will be benchmarking a variety of video cards to find out how well the MPE in Premiere works with NVIDIA 600-series card, and exactly how much performance difference there is between a wide spectrum of video cards.
Adobe Photoshop CS6 GPU Acceleration
Photoshop CS6 utilizes the Mercury Graphics Engine to take advantage of the video card to vastly improve the performance of certain features, but there is currently very little information available regarding the performance of different video cards. In addition, the list of compatible cards from Adobe has not been updated to include the current NVIDIA 600-series video cards, which is further adding to the confusion of deciding which video card you should use for Photoshop CS6.
In this article, we will be benchmarking a variety of video cards to find out if Photoshop is actually compatible with the NVIDIA 600-series, and exactly how much performance difference there is between a wide spectrum of video cards.
How Much Computer Do I Need?
After driving a number of older, less reliable and unquestionably ugly cars during my years in college, I was proud to show my grandfather my nearly new burgundy Acura Integra. I began by pointing out the plush interior, sunroof, and, of course, the stereo system.
I explained how I’d spent the afternoon polishing the body, cleaning the windows and scrubbing the wheels to make them especially shiny.
My grandfather took it all in as he walked around the card. Finally, he stepped back and said, “It will get you from point A to point B just like any other car.”
Product Review: Silverstone TJ08-E
The Silverstone TJ08-E is the successor to the popular Silverstone TJ08. Today we will be reviewing the case to see if it is worthy of replacing the Silvestone TJ08.
Best Practices for Computer Performance and Safety
In the course of my work as a sales consultant here at Puget Systems, I am often asked how I recommend setting up a computer. After all, providing advice like that on hardware configurations is my job! However, there are some deeper insights into how a computer can be set up which go beyond just selecting the right hardware. There are things I don’t often have the opportunity to discuss, and which aren’t really within the purview of a system builder. I wanted to take some time to write about the ideas and practices I use in my own computer setups, in the hope that some of this advice will help others to get the most out of their computers.
Gaming Computer Advice
As a custom computer builder, we get a lot of people asking for help designing high-end computers. Many times they are for media editing, stock trading, or research – but one of the most common uses of such powerful systems is video games. Given how much interest there is in gaming computers, I wanted to provide a guide for how to select what components to use in a modern gaming computer. There are lots of review sites that talk about specific hardware recommendations, but those are outdated quickly – so this article will attempt to focus more on the ideas behind the various parts of a custom gaming computer and what you need to take into consideration when building or purchasing one.
Cooling Solutions for Intel Core i7
The latest powerhouse CPU offering from Intel is here. The Intel Core i7 — a quad-core processor available in three different speed configurations that is really taking the computing world by storm. Several new features have been added to this processor, such as on-chip DDR3 memory controller, smart cache, and HD boost. Of course, with all the extra features and power comes the issue of how to keep it cool. The Core i7 may be powerful, but it is also very hot running. From the stock heat sinks and fans, to liquid cooled solutions, the cooling possibilities are many. Unfortunately we can’t test them all, so in this article we’ll take a look at 4 popular cooling solutions and how they fared.
Windows Media Center Edition 2005
For most of us, our computers and our TVs exist in separate worlds – separated by walls between rooms as well as form, function, and ease of use. But what if your computer could do the same things your TV, maybe even your whole home entertainment system, does? What if you could have TV on your computer… or what if you could have computer on your TV? Well, the answer to those questions and more is here: Windows Media Center Edition 2005.