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LED TV V/S LCD TV

Friday, March 9, 2012

v/s

Most people fail to understand the subtle difference that differentiates LCD TVs and LED TVs, for the line drawn between them is too diminishing and people essentially wrongly conceptualize them for one and the same. However, the reality is too far-fetched. There is a substantial difference between both these widely misinterpreted terms, and here’s the catch:

 

LCD TV

LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display which analytically means the display of an LCD TV is rendered by liquid crystals filling the white and the black spaces, which thereby is illuminated by the CCFL (Fluorescent light). In fact, that’s the fundamental difference between an LCD and LED, it’s the backlighting.

The incessant problem with traditional LCDs has been the lighting, which aptly explains the evolution of LEDs. LCD panels often tend to create dark tones because of its inbuilt architecture to render display. Hence, LCD fails in displaying black tone and often appears a bit sluggish.

Practically speaking, the colour tone, contrast ratio and sharpness of LCD TVs would be pretty mediocre when you compare to LEDs. Also as the refresh rates are substantially low, HD videos at higher resolution may appear blurry. However, there are manufactures who offer considerably better refresh rates (120 Hz or 240 Hz). However, that comes at a price.

Nevertheless, considering the fact that they are eminently cheap, buying a LCD Television, ideally 37’’ or smaller makes perfect sense. You can have a look at a newly launched, flamboyant LCD TV from Samsung, here. This Samsung 32” Full HD LCD TV LA32D550K1R is perfect for your entertainment needs. The pragmatic features combined with a reasonable price make it a flamboyant option. When you compare this to Samsung 5 Series 32” LED TV UA32D5000, which although has an ultra-slim display and Hyper Real engine, is apparently 200$ costlier than the LCD version. Way too much to pay for.

The most ideal set of brands for LCD TV would be Samsung, Sony or Sharp Aquos.

LED TV

LED stands for Light Emitting Diode which apparently is the technology, used in LED TVs for backlighting. The upper panel in both the TVs is essentially the same. Hence it would be not wrong to say that LED is a specialized version of LCD.

However, the obvious question popping out of your mind would be, what impact does a LED backlighting make to the overall quality of picture? Well, in one word- Colossal.

Firstly, the colour rendering in LED TVs is remarkable. The LED lighting provides ideal colour contrast, sharpness and brightness ratio. The black colour doesn’t appear sluggish, nor does it fail to render images at higher resolution. Features like edge lighting and local dimming make sure you get splendid images without the slightest of a glitch or stutter.

Besides, as LEDs consume less energy than CCFLs, LED TVs are highly energy efficient. Another thing, as LED technology is extremely robust, you get a better lifespan (when compared to LCD). Moreover, they have a slightly better refresh rate than LCDs, enough to render all your High definition videos in the most perfect resolution and in the most abreast aspect ratio.

LEDs are comparatively thin and as the technology is relatively new, you have an upper-hand when it comes to inbuilt support for games, widgets and other plug-ins. Nevertheless, they are expensive when compared to LCD TVs. You might fancy having a look at this wonderful LED TV from Sony, here. The best brands for LED TVs would be Sony, Samsung and LG. When you buy a LED TV, it’s all about quality.  Though a LCD like LG 42″ Full HD LCD TV 42LK450 would be cheaper, they won’t come with avant-garde features which come embedded into a LED TV.

Besides, some other models of LED TVs worth looking at would be Sharp Aquos 40″ LED TV LC-40LE430M. It comes a FULL HD screen, Advanced OPC and 1080/24P signal input, which is much better than you would find on LED TVs like Lloyd 40” LED TV L40LED or Toshiba Regza 40″ Full HD LED TV 40PS20.

 

What’s the better choice?

To be very frank, it depends. The two sides of the coin are explained here:

Head: If you are looking to buy an extravagant TV ideally over 40’’, crave for high resolution support (1080p) and want a better technology, go for an LED TV. It’s recommendable if you are looking for something out-of-the-box, favourably for a living room.

Tails: However, if you are looking for a TV under 40’’, subtly for commercial purposes, investing in a LCD TV makes complete sense, as resolution is not much an issue when you are dealing with diminutive sizes.

Your call, either side, it’s virtually a win-win situation.

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Router v/s Switch

Friday, March 9, 2012

Router and switch are two computer networking devices which so often are confused, more because they appear to do the same. They fundamentally connect computers to other computers, network devices or in turn, a cluster of computers called the Network.

Switch

A Switch is a diminutive network hardware device that is used to join multiple computers in a Local Area Network (LAN). Before actually understanding what switches can do, let’s pry into what they cannot.

Switches cannot

  • Join two or more networks
  • Share an internet connection between the connected computers

There are no routing algorithms that go into a switch, which eminently means switches are just plain hardware devices unlike routers which support installation of software. Besides, a switch is essentially used for connecting wired networks.

How does a Switch work?

Well, for an analogy, switch is actually like a local courier service. It identifies the data-packet (mail) from the source local address (MAC address), looks for oncoming data-packets (mails) and delivers the data-packet (mail) only to the destination local address (MAC address). As the switch delivers the message only to the intended device (unlike hub), it saves considerable amount of bandwidth.

The term 3 layer switch is often confused with router. However, the key-difference to remember from a technical perspective is that Switches deal with Data Link Layer. Hence, they do not communicate via IP addresses, they do so via MAC addresses. So, it is impossible for a switch to be used as an interconnector between two networks (LAN or WAN) and it can only be used to connect physical devices possessing unique and identifiable MAC addresses.

NOTE: If you are making use of a switch in your Home network which is connected to Internet, you are compelled to use one computer as a gateway to the Internet and that machine needs to have two network adapters, the former being for the Local area network and the latter for the Internet.

Router

Router is a networking device used to connect multiple area networks (LAN or WAN). Like Hub or Switch, it is also a pretty small device. It has a few ports at back and numerous LEDs which indicate the status of the device.

What does a router do?

  • Connects multiple area networks (LANs or WANs)
  • Serve as an intermediate destination for widely connected networks
  • Implicates faster router decisions, enabling faster fetching and sending of data

Router operates on the Network Layer and hence, when the routers receive the TCP/IP packets, they map the source and destination and transmit the data.

More often, routers are used to connect your home (LAN) to Internet (WAN). They have been designed specifically wherein they can share common Internet connection between multiple computers.

How does a router work?

Well, for an analogy, Router is like an international courier service. It accepts data-packets (mails) from any source (IP address) and simultaneously keeps looking for other requests. It thereby looks for the destination address (IP address) and delivers the packet, appropriately.

This leads to another complication. How do you send data-packets to someone who is connected via LAN over the internet?

Well, here comes the implication of how exactly the router would work. Assume A and B belong to two different networks, Cisco and Microsoft respectively. So, if Mr A wants to communicate to Mr B, he would just send the data- packet to Microsoft’s router address (IP address), giving a reference that he wants to talk to Mr B. The router at Microsoft would then look up in its NAT (Network Address Translation), do some routing and redirect the data-packet to Mr B. Mr B in the source information would have the router address of Cisco and relative address of Mr A.

Why choose a router?

Evidently, router just works an inter-mediatory link. It comes with an inbuilt firewall, proxy settings and DHCP support. In a Wi-Fi supported router, you can even set-up an access point, making it analogous to wired network.

A router can be connected over a series of hubs, switches and nodes to create a complex hierarchy of network. As router is equipped with smarter software (routing algorithms), the network bandwidth, speed and optimality are substantially maximised.

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Notebook v/s Laptop- Where to draw the line?

Friday, March 9, 2012

Thanks to the ever propelling technology, we always have something ingenious, something fanciful and remarkable in our hands; be it a smartphone, or a tablet, or a notebook. However, the downside of an incessantly accelerating technology is that, it comes up with some really uncanny names for those out-of-the-box concepts. Tablets, Notebooks, Netbooks, Laptops; the line between them is diminishing and the core concept behind each is widely misunderstood.

For example, consider notebooks and laptops. Most people think they are alike (which of course, they are not!), while some are unable to decipher what would suit them more-Notebook or Laptop? We are going to help you recover from that dilemma, but first let’s understand the crux of both these terms.

 

V/S

 

Laptop: A computer which weighs around 2-18 pounds (nearly 1-8 kilos) and is extremely portable can be termed as laptop. Look at it this way, Laptop is a condensed version of your personal computer. Everything your personal computer amalgamates; it can be incorporated into your laptop, essentially making it a portable computer (PC). The size and the weight have been reduced to the extent, where it can be easily fit into your lap, sufficing to its name, ‘Lap’top.

Some of the key features of a Laptop are:

  • Condensed version of PC; supports high-end processors and delivers extreme performance.
  • Support for integration of external hardware.
  • Every component essentially in a personal computer like DVD ROM, Graphics card, Hard-drive, etc. are part of a laptop.
  • They have an in-built cooling system.
  • Battery comes with a sufficient power back-up, but deteriorates with time.

Some of the exquisite laptops come from brands like HP, Dell, Lenovo and many more. Have a glimpse at one of the latest laptops available on the market here.

Notebook: A laptop which weighs less than 6 pounds and can easily fit into a bag pack can be termed as a Notebook. Hence, to put in simple terms, a Notebook eminently is a more condensed version of Laptop. The weight has been reduced to enable commutability and the size has been reduced to reinstate portability.

Some of the key features of a Notebook are:

  • Lightweight, portable.
  • Have inferior processing capacity as compared to Laptops, solely because of the size and weight constraints.
  • No DVD drive.
  • No flexibility of add-on hardware.
  • Less power implies more battery backup.
  • The most significant being, the lack of a cooling system. Assumedly, notebooks do not get as hot as laptop and manufactures believe, thereby, they do not need a cooling system.

Popular brands include Sony, Toshiba, and Dell. In case, you wish to have a look at the latest notebook available in the market, you can check this notebook from Toshiba.

However, before you decide on buying a notebook or laptop:

  • Buy a laptop only if you do not commute much, do not have portability issues and work on development of high-end applications. Precisely, buy a laptop for the performance factor, only and only if you are ready to compromise with its bulkiness, dimensions and battery-levels.
  • Buy a notebook, if you are looking for something which is portable, lightweight and do not care much about performance, as your needs are pretty basic and substantial. However, you won’t be able to upgrade your parts or attach an external hard-disk. You won’t be able to run high-end applications and play a CD/DVD. The plus points would be easy commutability, more battery, cheaper rate and diminutive size.

A more advanced concept is already into market, called the Netbook. Besides, as processing power increases, the line between Notebook and Laptop gets diminishing. A Notebook essentially delivers the performance unequivocal to a laptop. To take mere advantage of this situation, many laptop brands are marketing their range of mediocre laptops as Notebooks.

Henceforth, conclusively, for the aforementioned comparison between the two, we draw the line between performance and portability. Assess your needs, requirements, expectations, and budget and go for either of them. Both the choices are justifiable and rational, from an individual’s perspective.

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Motherboards that won’t break the bank

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

When I built my first computer you had to pay strict attention on the way things were seated and plugged in. Things could easily be plugged in backwards, be off a pin or not connected correctly and if it was it would result in it not working or worse (i.e. shorting out the mobo). A few months ago I built a system for my roommate and I have to say that things have changed drastically as anyone can build their own machines.

But what motherboard should you get? What one is going to be the right one for you and have the features you need? Here’s a list of some of the best motherboards out there that won’t leave a hole in your wallet.

1) MSI Z68A-GD80: What isn’t to like about this board? First this was THE first motherboard with PCI Express 3.0 onboard (two slots for that and a 2.0 PCI express slot). This board supports all the latest I core processors that are out there but I haven’t even touched on the best features of this board yet. This board is assembled with MSI Military Class II components which gives the user not only great performance but the quality of these parts makes the board run well even when overclocked. Next instead of having the bios screen from the 1980’s (which by the way I am dead tired of) this board has Clickbios II which allows you easy access for you to control your systems settings. It even supports touchscreen controls how cool is that?! Last the price of this board is awesome as it is affordable at only $229.00 from newegg giving you next gen features at an affordable price.

2) Asus Crosshair V: Want to get a excellent AMD motherboard for your gaming rig? Look no further than this beast! This has 3 PCI Express slots (and while they are in PCI 2.0 you can run 3 cards in either SLI or Crossfire mode.) This board will support any AM3+ processor up to eight cores! Think of the power you can harness with this board and the features do not stop there. Add on that it supports DDR3 2100 ram for the lowest latency possible and has the AMD 990FX chipset that gives you the smoothest performance out there. Instead of bundling this board with a crappy onboard sound it has a Sound Blaster supreme FX X-Fi 2 which allows you to experience your games and movies in surround sound. The only drawback is the price as I have seen it range from $240-$340 from various online resellers. But if you want to put an eight core AM3+ processor in your rig this is the best option for you.

3) EVGA X58 FTW: FTW stands for the win and that’s something you will get when you install this in your system. This motherboard supports the I series of processors and does a decent job of doing so. Also supporter are either dual or triple channel DDR3 which will give you the best performance. One of the best features of this board is it has 2 USB 3.0 ports and 12 USB ports total on the motherboard. Think about that for a second as you would never have to plug in a hub to share devices. I had built a I7 system for my room mate and he used this as the corner stone of his gaming system and suffice to say that it can run any game that’s out there flawlessly. This may not be one of the latest and greatest boards out there but the performance you get is solid and for the price (which is around $200) you can’t beat that.

4) Gigabyte G1 Assassin: This board lives up to it’s name as it sports four PCI Express 2.0 slots that can run 4 cards in a crossfire configuration (or three SLI cards). What comes on this board is the bigfoot 2100 network unit which has 1gb dedicated to this subsystem. And that’s just for starters. Add in that it comes with 8 usb 3.0 ports , the X-FI digital processor (for hi def gaming) and the superior construction that comes from super shield (designed to dissipate heat rapidly from the motherboard) and that sounds good right? But there’s even more features including a dual bios (which can recover after the primary bios has crashed or has been corrupted). Now if all of this sounds expensive you would be right (as I have seen this board retail for $330-$350 online). But with all the bells and whistles that this board provides it is well worth for a X58 motherboard.

5) ECS Black Extreme P67H2-A Hydra: ECS has been a manufacturer that I have used for a long time and they have never disappointed me. I had a machine with a $70 ECS motherboard and it failed… after six years. That’s a pretty good track record and they’re keeping it up with the X79R-AX. This board has the typical features that were mentioned on the others such as PCI Express 3.0, support for the latest ram , cpu, etc. but that’s where the similiarties end. The features unique to this board are gold contacts (for better connections) and better cooling (so your system will not overheat). All of this is available at a price that won’t break the bank (around $250.00) and for such a great motherboard it’s worth it to be the foundation for a great system.

Well there you have it five boards that will make any machines dominate over your competition. Most of these boards can be found either thru your favorite retailers or such comparison sites like pricewatch.com. So pick out one of these boards and get ready to build a system that won’t leave you bankrupt but will leave your opponents in the dust.

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How to build your own rig and save $$$

Friday, March 2, 2012

There are loads of computer companies out there that are looking to make a profit off of the people who do not want to spend the time and effort to build their own systems. But how can you save yourself some money and aggravation in the long run? Here are a few tips for you to get started.

1) If you have never even opened up your computer before then chances are this is not the way for you to go. While the instructions are really easy to follow and the computers today are better than the computers from ten years ago (i.e. you could plug something in wrong and fry the motherboard if you didn’t know what you were doing.) It is still easy to damage key components especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. There are two solutions to this as you could still buy the components and have a friend of yours build you the system (everyone has geek friends that can be bribed.) Or you might want to go the more traditional route by ordering a pre-made desktop from the hundreds of companies out there.

2) Set a budget and stick with it. This means exactly that as if you want to build a killer rig for $500 then you need to work within that budget. Sure it may not have the best cutting edge technology out there but it can get the job done with what you have. Everyone that I talk to when they want to build a system says that they want this or that in it but when I tell them how much it costs and they say that they have so much to work with I tell them “Look, you need to sacrifice something somewhere and then later on down the line you can add a better component.”

3) Recycle: Sure you’re building a new desktop but do you REALLY need a new monitor? What about that keyboard and mouse? Or how about that OS that you’re using. Again they might not be as sleek as the stuff you see in the magazines or in certain retailers but in the long run it might save you up to a few hundred bucks! However if you’re sure you can’t use anything in your current desktop and you need to start from scratch you might find other uses for it (example: A media server). At the very least you could donate to a charity that will make use of your old tech.

4) Do research: make sure components are rated well and cross compatible. Is a motherboard that’s crossfire ready going to work well with Nvidia cards? There are more than a few websites that will review everything from motherboards, ram, graphics cards and so on. Also your local computer store may be convenient but it may not have the best price. A good website to check to see if the prices are reasonable is pricewatch.com as they have everything that you are going to need to build a system (and one that fits practically every budget). What makes matters even better is on some of these sites they will put together and test your system for you (for a nominal fee).

Here are some sample builds and how much they would cost (please note that all of these builds do not include a monitor, keyboard, mouse and OS)

a) Gamer (low): This is a computer that would be used for surfing the web, checking mail, talking with friends and not much else. It could play some of the older games quite well but don’t expect it to run Half Life 2. I went thru Asendtech and for $255.83 this is what I came up with. The motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-8I945PM-RH LGA775 with a P4 2.8 ghz processor (which is pretty standard). I outfitted it with 2gb of PC25300 ram and a ECS GeForce 8400 GS w/512mb of ram. For storage I added a 500gb hard drive and a 24x dual layer dvd drive and that was about it. Something simple and cheap to knock around the net.

b) Gamer (med) : What I was going for with this configuration would be a computer that may not be able to run every game but most of them. It should be able to play games ranging from Skyrim to BattleField 3 but not with everything turned up to the maximum. I started out with an Intel Core i5 processor at 3.7 ghz and 8gb of ram. Next for the graphics I added a GeForce 520 with 2 GB of video ram that should be able to handle most of the games out there. For space I threw in a 500 GB hard drive and a standard 22x dvd burner. The case I used was a raidmax case with a 650 watt power supply. The cost for all this? Under $800! So you would be able to game for cheap!

c) Gamer (hi) : This is something that you want to build that will handle anything on the market (and a year or so from now). I went over to 1st choice memory and selected a Intel Core i7 – 980x CPU with a MSI X58 motherboard. Then I threw in 16gb of ram to make sure that it’ll have enough computing power to run dozens of programs simultaneously. The graphics card I chose was a GeForce GTX 560 with 2 gb of video ram. Also added was a 1 TB hard drive and a 8x blu ray combo drive. This all came wrapped up in a cooler master centurion case powered by a 950 watt power supply. The price? around $2,100 which is way less than some of the ultimate desktops I covered in another article.

So there are some ideas and some sample builds to get started but remember what I said else you might find yourself in the doghouse (or living in the garage).

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7- Its launching today!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Enthusiasts and early shoppers alike are eagerly waiting today to get their hands on the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 which you can find reviewed here. The Tab 7.7 is the newest tablet from Samsung to hit the market and promises to deliver a good performance, a very good screen and other details we’ll discuss in this review, but with a rather big price tag attached to it.

To start this review we will tell you that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 looks amazing. You can tell right away that it is not an entry level tablet – the front is very clear with fine lines engineered to perfection while the back is made out of high-grade metal to protect this gadget on the go. Speaking of mobility, the Tab 7.7 tablet PC measures 0.31 inches (7.89mm) in thickness and comes in at 0.74 pounds (340 grams). Now..this is what we call mobile!

One of the best features of this Samsung tablet is the screen which is a 7.7’’ WXGA panel with an HD resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels that incorporates Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus display technology. What does this mean?! Very wide viewing angles, amazing colors and vivid and crisp images or movies. You’ll fall in love from the start with the way the Tab 7.7 behaves both indoors and outdoors and we are happy to finally see a tablet that is able to cope with direct sunlight without a problem.

When it comes to performance, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 is powered by a 1.4GHz Dual Core Processor that takes multitasking to the next level. The tablet reacts well to input without any lag when you turn the device from landscape to portrait mode or when you stress the hardware a bit with some games. You also get a 1GB RAM memory and 16/32/64GB of storage space, depending on model. Of course, you will also be able to extend the storage space with up to 32GB via a microSD card.

We can’t say that we are very impressed with the Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system though, even if Samsung has added some special apps and features to it. With many tablets packing the Android 4.0 ICS, Samsung is taking a small risk on the market to provide the users with an OS that, let’s be honest here, is a bit outdated.

In terms of pricing, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 is not the cheapest model you can find on the market. Starting at $500 on a $30/mo. contract with Verizon for two years, it’s actually pretty expensive if you come to think about it. We’ll have to see and wait if we’ll get a cheaper version sometime soon, because otherwise not many are going to line up to buy one.

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What Is The Best Gaming Computer: The Best Gaming PCs

Thursday, March 1, 2012

One of the first computers that I ever owned as a kid was a TRS-80 Model III. This thing had a whopping 16k (not megs or gigs.. 16 kilobytes) and I didn’t even get a disk drive with it (I had a tape drive). If you wanted a computer to do the gaming we have today back then it would take up an entire floor of an office building.

Thankfully technology has come a very long way and now we have so much power in a computer case that it could power a third world country. But what are some of the desktops that stand out from the rest of the pack? What are some of the desktops that if price were not an object you would go out and buy this instant? Here are a few of the best of the best that are out there.

1) Alienware Aurora: Alienware has been synonymous with gaming since the company was founded in 1996 and their latest offering puts the rest of the desktops to shame! This version can be customized to up to a six core I7-3960X processor running at a blazing 4.2 ghz! You can also put in any type of video card (including dual 6870 HD radeons in a crossifire configuration). This unit comes with 16 gb of ram and 2 TB worth of hard drive space! But all of this comes at a hefty price tag starting at $3,499 and going up from there. However you would be hard pressed to find a system that is going to be better than this especially if configured right.

2) Gamer Xtreme 3D 3000: When I was researching for this article I was thinking of the ads that I used to see in PC magazines for a company called Cyberpower PC. As I was looking on their website one of their systems and one of them caught my eye. The Gamer Xtreme 3D 3000 is a beast of a machine sporting a cutting edge six core processor (again with the I7-3960X). Also included is 16gb of ram, 2 TB of hard drive space but here is where the differences end. This machine comes with a 3D package included so you can watch movies and even game in 3d! This system does not come cheap however as it starts at $4,815 and goes up from there. But from what I see this would be a machine that would be able to run any of the games on the market with ease.

3) Falcon Mach V: Falcon Northwest is a company that had been in business long since I can remember (in fact I remember playing Wizardry 8 and there were ads for them each time you exited the game). The Mach V is their flagship desktop and can be configured into a beast of a machine. I was toying around with the configuration webpage and decked out the system in the same cutting edge processor as the other two but that’s where the similarities end. I added 64 gb of ram .. you heard me .. that much of ram and I don’t even know if any operating system would be able to see all of it. For video cards I put in dual GTX 580’s with 3 GB each and a 1500 watt power supply along with a 2 TB drive for storage. This as it stands does not come cheap as it stands it was $6,692 but this is going to be a monster of a desktop that will slice thru anything that you decide to throw at it.

4) Origin The Big O: This has to be the craziest setup that I have seen in a very long time and by and far it’s the most expensive on this list. Start out with dual intel Xeon’s X5680 overclocked to 4.3 ghz and 12 gigs of ram. Next is the graphics instead of one or two cards there are FOUR GTX 580’s in SLI Configuration. The graphic power that this computer possesses alone could power a small city! Also the system is liquid cooled so the chances of your new baby overheating will not happen even when it’s put thru the rigors of rendering graphics or playing the latest games. This unit is also powered by 2 1050 watt power supplies as well as dual 2 TB hard drive and quad OCZ 50gb hard drives. That’s over 4.2 TB of hard drive space! The major drawback on this system is the price as this does not come cheap. The configuration I just read off goes for $16,999.. yes folks there is a desktop that costs as much as a new car. But can you say that your car will outrun this beast of a machine? I think not.

5) Digital Storm ODE: Last but not least is the Digital Storm ODE which is a company right here in the USA and they make excellent products. The unit that I parted out comes with a Intel Core i7 3930K 3.20GHz, 16gb of corsair vengeance ram and a 1050 watt power supply. It also has dual ATI Radeon 7970 HD in a crossfire configuration so it’ll be ready to tackle anything from Battlefield 3 to Minecraft. What I love about this configuration is it comes with a 120gb SSD for your OS and 1 TB for storage. The price is also alluring with this configuration costing $3,499 and coming with a lifetime technical support as well? Sign me up!

Now granted all of these desktops are not cheap but then again you will want something that will be able to run games now and six years from now. The more you invest in a system the less you’ll have to pour into it down the line. So choose one of these fine weapons and get ready to do battle whether it’s in the trenches or in the depths of space.

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Ultimate Gaming Laptops

Thursday, March 1, 2012

When I was growing up back east in Staten Island, NY in the 80’s laptops were non-existent. Oh sure there were “portable computers” that were the size of a carry on bag that were just the desktop computer smooshed into a compact design. As time progressed so did technology and now computers are more powerful than ever which makes them ideal for gaming.

What if you were to go out and pick the perfect laptop and price was not an object. What would you go after? Would you go after raw power, innovative features, big screen? There are many gaming laptops that are out there and here are some that I think are the best.

1) Razer Blade: This laptop hasn’t even hit the market yet and I want it so bad! It is a thin, compact design barely holding the 2.8ghz I7 processor and having 8gb of ram to back it up. The graphics card is no slouch either as it has a GT 555M with 2gb of graphics memory. It also sports a luxurious 17.3” screen and has a 320gb hard drive but I haven’t even gotten to the reason why this is going to be a game changer. To the right of the keyboard there is a touch screen with ten keys and what this is Switchblade. The Switchblade UI is a unique interface native only to the blade in which you have the ability to customize the keys however you choose! Think about this. You’re playing counterstrike and you want to switch from your primary weapon to your grenade? No problem! Just assign keys in the interface and with a keystroke it’s done! Now this beast isn’t cheap as it sports a $2799 price tag but with all the features this has it will be well worth it. Oh and if you want this functionality for your desktop don’t fret as Razer is going to be selling a keyboard version of the Switchblade for a reasonable price ($249).

2) Origin EON17: This is a colossal beast of a machine as it starts out at close to $3,000. Now think about that for a minute.. this machine starts out at $3000. But if you truly go all out on this it can go up to $9,000!! What do you get for your money? Depends on how far you’re willing to go as I have seen units with 32GB of memory, dual 500gb solid state drives, intel I7 core processor clocked at 3.9 ghz and the icing on the cake dual GTX 580m processors giving you a whopping 4gb of video ram! Also add to the fact that the keys are backlit and you can customize them (just like another company that I know who’s name starts with the letter A and I am not talking apple) and you can order a custom paint job with it as well and you have the beginnings of a machine that will out match and out perform any desktop or laptop on the planet. But as I said before this comes with a price to pay as these units are definitely NOT cheap but there’s also another option that I didn’t go into. You also have the ability to get the Nvidia 3D glasses upgrade as well so you can not only watch movies in 3d but game in it as well!

3) Alienware M18x: Now I have to say that I own the “little brother” of this unit and that’s the M14x and I am VERY happy with it. I finally got a chance to install a game on it (NFS: The run) and it took it like a champ! This is another laptop that is top of the line when it comes to looks and functionality. Now the website says that this unit starts at a shy under two grand but who is going to go cheap with a beauty such as this? I parted out the machine and it was over four grand but when I was done I got a machine that would replace any desktop known to man. At the heart of this beast was an intel I7 core processor at 4ghz with an 8mb cache and that was just for starters but 16gb of ram was included in the price (and for what you’re paying I would hope so!). There is an option to also get the dual 580m gtx video cards as well which would carve thru the most demanding games with ease. One of the things that I love about this is you can not only customize the color of your laptop but get it engraved as well! Now that’s something that sets Alienware away from the pack. While this can get to be expensive these machines were designed for one thing and one thing only and that’s gaming. If you ever wanted to buy something that was going to be able to handle anything you can throw at it this is what you need to get.

4) ASUS VX7: Last but not least is the sleek looking Asus VX7 which was not only inspired by the world renown Lamborghini company but sports the logo and looks as if it could take off down the road at 200 mph. Sporting a whopping 1.5 terrabyte hard drive this machine will have more than enough storage to take everything that you can throw at it and still have room for all of your porn. It also sports a i7-2670QM processor, 16 gb of ram and a 560 gtx graphics processor. Also gone is the typical start up sound as when this starts up it sounds as if a car is revving it’s engine. How cool is that?! Granted this is cheapest of the bunch at only $2,199 and may not have some of the options of it’s counterparts but suffice to say that it will handle anything that you throw it’s way.

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Gaming on the Go for Less

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

When I started to get into PC gaming and I wanted to take my gaming experience on the go any laptop would do the job. But these days the games are incredibly demanding and only the best can run the games that are out there today. However, if you want the best you’re going to pay for it as these laptops can be in excess of $1500 and go up from there.

But there is hope if you still want to game on the go as there are more than a few laptops that are out there that can get the job done. Here are five laptops that I recommend if you want to do some hardcore gaming. Some of these deals may still be ongoing or might have expired so check back often or try other sites like pricewatch.com to find the best price on hardware.

1) Alienware M14X: Now I know what you’re thinking. Are you crazy?! These things are at least $1100 and have seen them as high as $1500! That may be true however, dell has an outlet store and right now is selling these babies for the low price of $889! It was a deal so hard to pass out that yours truly went and ordered one (and will be writing up a review once I get a chance to test it out). Oh and the specs? It sports an I5 processor, a mobile GT 555 with 1.5 gigs of ram! Better check it out as these are going fast! And the best part of buying any of the machines from the dell outlet? All of them come with a one year warranty and you can purchase an extended warranty as well! You seriously cannot get a better deal than this especially if you want to play games such as Skyrim on the go.

2) ASUS G51JX-X2: This is a beast of a computer as it sports an I7 processor, 4 gigs of DDR Memory and a Geforce GTS 360M graphics processor with a dedicated 1GB of ram! Meritline is selling this really cheap (and they are refurbs but then again where else are you going to get this much power this cheap?!) This rig will run any game flawlessly (but I would bump up the ram a bit to enhance the gaming experience). The only drawback to buying something that’s refurbished is that there is no warranty to speak of so if something breaks you are on your own. But at a low price of $759 this might be one of those risks that you might want to take.

3) HP Pavilion dv7-6179us: This is a great laptop that sports an I5 processor, 6GB of memory and a HD Radeon 6490M that can run most of the games out there. Also included is a whopping 750GB hard drive that will allow you to install all the games you want without deleting old ones to save space. My co-worker got a model down from this and she was running games like Rage, Dead Island and MW3 with little to no difficulty! And right now it’s on sale over at HP for $799! And seeing as you’re buying direct from the company it comes with a one year warranty so if something breaks you are covered.

4) MSI X460DX: This is another one of the small powerhouses as it does sport a 14” screen but that’s the only thing small about this laptop. The version I saw on provantage.com for $820 sported a I5 2.4 ghz processor , 6 GB of ram and 500 GB hard drive. The icing on the cake is that this unit sports a whopping 2GB Nvidia GT 540M which would make this ideal for gaming. The only thing that’s not inherently clear is whether or not that this unit comes with a one year warranty. Provantage says if there is any problems to contact the manufacturer so I guess there’s something in place. But at that price it is way too good of a deal to pass up.

5) Dell XPS 17-L701X: For the last bargain of the day we go back to the dell outlet because I have to say that they have the best prices on hardware that’s out there currently. They have another laptop that’s for sale in case the Alienware that I chronicled earlier might be sold out. The dell XPS 17 is not just a great gaming machine as it sports a 435M 1GB graphics card an I5 460m 2.53ghz processor and six gigs of ram. But it also sports JBL speakers to give you the best experience whether it is for gaming, watching movies or listening to music. This also sports a massive 17” screen and if I am reading this right you can also watch stuff on the big screen via hdmi cable? Awesome! This also has a killer price of $829 and sports a one year warranty from dell itself (but you can purchase additional years if you feel inclined).

Well folks there you have it. These are my top five recommendations for gaming on a budget and where to find these deals. Of course there are tons of places to find these products but just remember that some of these resellers are selling refurbished products or stuff like that so you do get what you pay for. Regardless before you buy do some research, seek out the best price and get ready to game on the go!

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Computer Monitor Reviews: What Are The Best Gaming Monitors Today?

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Owning a good gaming monitor means enjoying the premium HD content supported by today’s high end computers and top gaming consoles. Who does not want to enjoy CRYSIS 2 or Modern Warfare 3 at its highest resolution with all the eye candy turned on? For the average gamer, investing in a good monitor makes sense. With all the HD-enabled content available around us, whether they are movies like Avatar or high quality YouTube videos in the Internet, monitors are useful for a wide range of purposes other than just gaming. Here is a quick look at some of the best computer monitors that your money can buy.

Dell UltraSharp U2711

The Dell UltraSharp U2711 doesn’t really impress much at first glance. But give it enough time and it will grow on you.  With its large 27-inch screen and beautiful 2560×1440 resolution, this monitor commands the respect it needs from its users. Its 6ms response time and impressive 80,000:1 contrast ratio will make sure that you will enjoy each and every frame from your HD movie or game. Addicting games like CRYSIS are amazing on this monitor.

The monitor comes with a number of connection slots including HDMI, DVI, USB and VGA ports to make sure that anything that you own can be connected to it. The anti-glare feature on this monitor works fine but could improve a little more in the future. Perhaps it also needs more work in the aesthetics department. This monitor is going to cost you a fortune at $800. But you can be rest assured that you will enjoy every penny that you will spend for it.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

BenQ XL2420T

BenQ has developed this piece of art with the Counter Strike fan boys in mind. The 24-inch LED backlit monitor has a standard resolution of 1920 x 1080 with a good number of ports to keep your devices connected as well.  One innovative feature of the BenQ XL2420T is the switch that will allow you to shift between three displays connected to each other. Usability isn’t also a problem either since the monitor fits easily into the base of the device.

Gaming with the BenQ XL2420T is enjoyable. Due to its brightening feature, dark areas in certain games like Modern Warfare will light up to a good extent. This monitor also comes handy in playing games like Mass Effect and Silent Hill.  You will definitely notice a difference in picture quality when comparing the BenQ XL2420T with other monitors within its price range. The BenQ XL2420T monitor is available for the price of $450. Given its size and pretty decent performance, it’s basically a good buy for someone who enjoys HD movies and games a lot.

Rating: 4 / 5

Asus PA246Q

Asus has been in the gaming scene for quite a while now and the Asus PA246Q goes on to prove that it is here to stay.  The 24-inch monitor comes with an impressive response time of 6ms while supporting full 1080p content. Asus has even added a 7-in-1 card reader to make sure that users can fully utilize the monitor for a whole lot of different purposes aside from gaming. Other standard features like DVI, HDMI and VGA are all supported by this device.

Unlike the BenQ XL2420T, the Asus PA246Q does not have an LED back-lit screen. Instead, it makes up for it by sporting a high-end P-IPS panel.  The viewing angle of the monitor is also very impressive. This monitor seems to be aimed more at professional designers and casual gamers, rather than high-end gamers. At $430, the Asus PA246Q is a good bargain for anyone looking for a good monitor with better features and improved performance.

Rating: 4 / 5

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