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  1. V

    Graphics for 15" rMBP Haswell

    I'm running native retina for everything other than games. I can see why some folks would lower res for older legacy software due to scaling issues but most modern software can support retina resolutions with impressive results. I also tested 1920 res for a while but I didn't notice any...
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    Anything worth upgrading to from GTX 570

    Last-gen ports at HD res on high settings will still net 45+ fps on the 570, give or take occlusion effects and shadows. There's simply no console port that pushes cards hard enough, or offers an order-of-magnitude improvement in graphics to justify a major upgrade.
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    Anything worth upgrading to from GTX 570

    I'm in the same boat, using a factory OC GTX 570 for 1920x1200 gaming. There's no game that I can't run 45 fps avg, even with 4xMSAA. I suppose we could upgrade to a GTX 660ti for around 45% improvement with less power consumption but not sure if that's worth $300. I'd wait until games for...
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    Can someone explain rationally why we should not have an assault weapons ban?

    I don't own a gun and probably never will. But I don't see stricter gun laws changing anything. Ban the AR-15? There are dozens of hunting rifles that fire the same round with the same capability. Ban 30-round clips? So then the gunman will simply carry an extra clip. Close the gun show...
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    Gave windows 8 a proper try, still sucks

    This "hatred" of Windows 8 doesn't make any sense to me. It's virtually the same OS as Windows 7 except there's a Start Screen instead of a Start Menu. It's not a big deal whether you like it or not.
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    Urgent - Win8 final bricked install: "NTDLR IS MISSING"

    I got this same error when I tried to install Win 8 on a fresh SSD. I had to change the boot priority on my BIOS setting to check the CDROM first, and this allowed the install to continue. Using custom install, I then selected the SSD as the destination for the OS. Just got to remember to...
  7. V

    Samsung 840 or 840 Pro

    The vanilla 840 is actually a little cheaper than the 830...
  8. V

    iPhone 5 defective camera thread (purple flare)

    Looks like CNN has picked up on Consumer Report's findings: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/10/tech/mobile/iphone-5-purple-haze/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 So far the two most reputable sources (dpreview and CR) have evaluated the camera in an objective, non-biased manner and both were rather...
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    iPhone 5 defective camera thread (purple flare)

    Other news outlets may be picking up on this thread trying to stir up another antenna-gate, but I don't think it will pan out. So far I've checked my friends' iphones (4 and 5) for purple haze and they all exhibit the effect to the same degree when positioned precisely. But each person had...
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    iPhone 5 defective camera thread (purple flare)

    Here's a review of the iPhone 5 camera from www.dpreview.com, a site that does extensive professional-level reviews of photography equipment. They discuss the "purple haze" issue and do comparison shots of the iPhone 5 and 4. Basically, they conclude it's lens flare, which is present on both...
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    iPhone 5 defective camera thread (purple flare)

    After comparing my Iphone 5 and 4 together, I can detect purple flares with both cameras but the hue on the 5 is a bit more "purplish." After shooting hundreds of shots in real-life settings, I didn't encounter any purple at all (or lens flare for that matter). So while Kaido had me worried...
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    iPhone 5 defective camera thread (purple flare)

    This seems like a form of chromatic aberration that was seen in the early generation of digital cameras back in the late 90s. Usually it's caused by lenses that have difficulty focusing different wavelengths of light onto the same plane. I wonder if the sapphire glass is partly responsible for...
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    Windows is simply a better multitasking OS

    I prefer multi-tasking with Win 7 on my desktop with a large monitor, but I actually feel OSX handles multi-tasking better on laptops with a limited display size. It's much easier to set up multiple desktops with Mission Control and quickly swipe between them with the multi-gesture feature. In...
  14. V

    Do I really need 256GB for the MBA?

    If this is not going to be your "desktop replacement," then 128 should be plenty. No games, no media, just office software.
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    Those of you who jumped from pure Windows based to MAC

    If you want to take the plunge, there's no better time than now and no better laptop than the rMBP. I think Apple is having some Back to School promotion ($100 iTunes gift card) and you'll also get the Mountain Lion update for free when it comes out. If you're a student, then they'll knock off...
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    Advice on something quieter than a GTX 260 for Diablo 3

    FPS and Load Noise Levels Running Metro 2033 @1920x1200 DX11 VHQ AAA+16AF GTX 560 Ti: 31.5 fps, 42 dB(A) HD 7850: 38 fps, 49 dB(A) The 7850 is faster but the 560 is the card you want. You won't find a faster card that will run this quiet.
  17. V

    One more month and IVB will be here! Who is getting what?

    Keeping my i5-750 @3.8 till Haswell.
  18. V

    PCI 3 Question.

    PCI-e 3.0 is one of those things that is nice to have but not important enough to affect the timing of your purchase/upgrade. The holy trinity is still GPU, CPU, and ram.
  19. V

    HD4870 dieing...equivalent replacement?

    Going from 4870 to 6850 is a reasonable upgrade as long as you keep MSAA off and don't play BF3. If you find that the 6850 is above your budget, I'd stick with the 4870 for as long as you can until the 28nm cards are out. Anything less than the 6850 will only be a sidegrade.
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    ASUS having problem keeping up with card demand - is BF3 the culprit?

    If the 7xxx series isn't coming out in meaningful quantities until next year, then the last thing vendors want to do is cut back on stock during the shopping season. My guess is a shortage of components due to natural disasters and other supply chain issues.
  21. V

    [Tom's] BF 3: 30+ Graphics Cards, Benchmarked

    FXAA is so much better than MSAA in terms of price/performance ratio. Every future game should include this in their settings.
  22. V

    Which GTX 570?

    The card already comes overclocked at 780 MHz stock and it's still quieter than my system fans at idle. It does get louder at load but I don't hear it over the game volume. I haven't bothered to overclock it beyond 780.
  23. V

    Which GTX 570?

    I just purchased the Gigabyte 570 and it runs quieter than my old 6850. If running silent is important than this is the card you want.
  24. V

    Gtx 570

    I just purchased the Gigabyte card, which is their own non-reference design. It's a very long card but runs quieter than my old 6850, which was known to be a silent card to begin with. It comes overclocked at 780 MHz stock.
  25. V

    Upgrading from 4870 – What to get

    6850 is your best choice.
  26. V

    Want to upgrade my 4870... Best bang for buck?

    6950 2GB is the card you want. Seeing how you kept the 4870 this long, I assume you won't upgrade frequently so you may be better off with the extra ram for future-proofing.
  27. V

    Should I upgrade my i5-750 to a 2500k?

    I run an i5-750 @3.67 ghz and haven't run into any game so far that is cpu-limited on my system. Civ V comes close but it doesn't perform noticeably worse than on 2600k systems. I suspect the video card will remain the major determinant in running max-quality settings for at least another year.
  28. V

    Is 1920x1200 really dead?

    The majority of the buying public can barely notice the difference in quality between 720p and 1080p on their TV screens. I doubt 2160p will succeed beyond the AV enthusiast base. Beyond 1920x1080, there is no economic advantage to sell monitors at 16:9 ratio because they will not share...
  29. V

    How I managed to find an iPad 2....

    I just tried this right now and it does work... sort of. It will show in-store availability at a few locations around me but when I called them they said they were out of stock. Probably sold out before the web site was able to update? But with tons of people calling every day at every hour...
  30. V

    Is 1920x1200 really dead?

    This is actually incorrect. The change from 16:10 to 16:9 is one example of a change driven by manufacturers. They didn't want to produce panels for two different aspect ratios so they flooded the PC market with inexpensive HDTV panels, which comprise the bulk of their production. Most...
  31. V

    CPU Overclocking History

    Intel Celeron 300A & Abit BH6 @450 Hz... ...followed by a bunch of OC's that only pale in comparison to the legendary 300A. Currently with Intel i5 750 @3.67 GHz, stock voltage (system rigged for silent running).
  32. V

    My Samsung 223BW died. Need a new monitor

    There's a couple things you need to figure out first: 1. The Samsung is a 16:10 ratio screen. If you prefer this aspect ratio over the wider "HD" ratio at 16:9, then you will have to stick with 22-23" monitors at 1680x1050 resolution. The reason is that there are very few 16:10 ratio...
  33. V

    WoW: Cataclysm Benchmarks!

    This is intentional. In fact they actually reduced the poly count on the models a while back for performance reasons. When 300 people are fighting each other in huge battles, it can bring a $1k Gulftown to its knees.
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    Best value IPS monitor in the 23-24" range?

    If you intend to stare at that screen for the next 5 years, just make sure you will be happy with the 16:9 aspect ratio. Seems fine at first for games and movies, but the shorter height will eventually start to get annoying if you do any work on the computer. This is why most IPS panels come...
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    Tell me i didnt waste my money

    Don't run programs like MSI Afterburner when you bench on 3DMark because it lowers your score for some reason.
  36. V

    Upgrade Time For My 4870 1GB

    Spend as little as you can since this generation of video cards is rather anemic (40nm to 40nm). The next generation (40nm to 28nm) will be a much greater leap in performance due to the full-node jump (think GTX 580 with half the power consumption and cost). I recommend the 1gb GTX460 or...
  37. V

    [Retired] The LCD Thread

    I wouldn't say the input lag is negligible as the delay for some IPS monitors can be as high as 30ms, which may be subtle but is still noticeable even for casual gamers. It's probably one of the most important features for gaming, and certainly more important than a marginal improvement in...
  38. V

    How important is monitor response time?

    I can notice a slight difference between 2 and 5ms. If you play FPS games I'd avoid monitors above 5ms response time (most IPS panels).
  39. V

    23" 120hz IPS screen being released. Maybe!

    There's a lot of hype about IPS panels but the hard truth is that TN panels are better for gaming. The only thing I miss about IPS monitors is that they use a proper 16:10 aspect ratio instead of the 16:9 screens that are flooding the TN market.
  40. V

    [Retired] The LCD Thread

    I've seen IPS displays and quite frankly I think TN panels are more suited for the typical PC gamer. The advantages of IPS doesn't really outweigh the input lag and lack of deep blacks I see on many IPS screens. Viewing angle is never an issue for me (because I sit in front of my monitor) and...