ThinSkin - Slashdot User

Submission + - Switching to Solar Power--One Year Later (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Tuesday June 23, 2009 @01:54PM

ThinSkin writes: "Slashdot readers may recall Loyd Case's series of articles illustrating his experiences after switching to solar power for his family home. Loyd shared his one month update, a six month update, and now finally concludes his series after one year of solar power. Despite the $38,000 initial cost for the setup, Loyd is very optimistic after a $3000 savings after one year, meaning that in about 12 years he will break even--though he suspects ten years is a better estimate considering other factors. Other reasons such as feeling "green", increasing the property value of his house, and the "spousal acceptance factor" all support Loyd's decision on why he'd do it all over again if he could."

Submission + - Build an $800 Gaming PC (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Tuesday May 26, 2009 @01:50PM

ThinSkin writes: "Building a computer that can handle today's games doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. In fact, it can cost less than $800, especially given that many hardware manufacturers have cut costs considerably. Loyd Case over at ExtremeTech shows gamers how to build an $800 gaming PC, one in which that features an overclockable Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 and a graphics-crunching EVGA 260 GTX Core 216. The computer exceeded expectations in gaming and synthetic tests, and was even overclocked well over spec at 3.01GHz."

Submission + - ATI, Nvidia Reveal New $250 Graphics Cards (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Thursday April 02, 2009 @01:55PM

ThinSkin writes: "As part of their "Spring Refresh," both AMD and Nvidia reveal new $250 graphics cards, the Radeon 4890 and GeForce GTX 275. ExtremeTech takes both cards and runs them through a gamut of gaming and synthetic benchmarks to decide which card triumphs over the other. Long story short, the GeForce takes the cake with its impressive performance at its price, while the Radeon didn't show a high improvement over the cheaper Radeon 4870."

Submission + - OnLive Aims to Replace Game Consoles (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Tuesday March 24, 2009 @03:48AM

ThinSkin writes: "Imagine playing bleeding edge games, yet never again upgrading your hardware. That's the ambitious goal of OnLive's Internet delivered gaming service. Using cloud computing, OnLive allows gamers to use ordinary hardware to play extraordinary games, thanks in large part to OnLive's remote servers that do all the heavy lifting. With a fast enough Internet connection, gamers can effectively stream and play games using a PC, Mac, or a "MicroConsole," a dedicated gaming client provided by OnLive that includes a game controller. Without ever having to worry about costly hardware upgrades or the cost of a next-gen console, gamers can expect to fork over about $50 yearly just for the service. If this thing takes off, this can spell trouble for gaming consoles down the road, especially if already-established services like Steam and Impulse join the fray."

Submission + - Switching To Solar Power - Six Months Later (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Tuesday January 13, 2009 @03:55PM

ThinSkin writes: "Slashdot readers may remember an article regarding ExtremeTech's Loyd Case's experiences with solar power for the home after one month of usage. During that time six months ago, it sure seemed like a great deal, but the tables have turned significantly once winter approached. While it's no surprise solar power generation is expected to dwindle during the winter, Loyd compares solar power data of the last six months to determine if solar power is still worth the time and money."

Submission + - The Best Computer Mice in Every Category (extremetech.com) 1

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ThinSkin

on Tuesday December 30, 2008 @02:20PM

ThinSkin writes: "Now that the folks at ExtremeTech have finished writing about the best keyboards for every occasion, they conclude their roundup of input devices with the best computer mice in every category, which includes ergonomic mice, gaming mice, notebook mice, and so on. While this year's crop of gaming mice didn't impress much, there were advancements in non-gaming mice and tracking, as demonstrated by Microsoft's Explorer Mouse with BlueTrack technology--which is considered more precise than optical and laser. Even ergonomic mice saw little growth in the year--prompting the reviewer to rely on the older Zero Tension Mouse as a favorite."

Submission + - The Best Keyboards for Every Occasion (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Monday December 29, 2008 @01:59PM

ThinSkin writes: "ExtremeTech has written an article on the best keyboards in every category, such as gaming keyboards (macro and hybrid), media center keyboards, keyboard gamepads, and so forth. Of course, the big companies like Microsoft and Logitech dominate these lists, while smaller companies like Razer, Ideazon, and others play an important role as well."

Submission + - Intel Quad-Core Price and Performance Showdown (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Monday December 15, 2008 @02:43PM

ThinSkin writes: "The folks over at ExtremeTech have had enough time on their hands to benchmark Intel's entire quad-core lineup to determine which has the best performance for the dollar. While prices range from $183 to $1399, the real bargain is with Intel's latest Core i7 architecture which outpaced many other more expensive processors. For comparison's sake, Intel's fastest dual-core CPU was thrown into the mix and was, at times, not even competitive, which suggests that we're beginning to see more and more multi-threaded applications take advantage of four cores."

Submission + - Which Web Browser is King? (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Monday November 24, 2008 @04:18PM

ThinSkin writes: "So many Web browsers, so little time. Most of us may be content with good old Internet Explorer or Firefox, but who's to say that Google Chrome or Opera aren't worth firing up the next time you surf the Internet? The folks at ExtremeTech have assembled the ultimate browser test to determine which Web browser is king. From speed tests to rendering tests, different browsers traded off wins but only one came out on top. Chances are, you're not reading this description with the Web browser that has been crowned the king."

Submission + - "BlueTrack" More Advanced than Laser, Opti (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Friday October 17, 2008 @01:44PM

ThinSkin writes: "Just when you thought laser and optical mice were enjoying their reign on mousepads worldwide, Microsoft has to come along and introduce their "BlueTrack Technology," a mouse tracking system that aims to work on virtually any terrain short of mirrored and reflective surfaces. ExtremeTech reviews the Explorer Mouse and Explorer Mini Mouse, both of which are powered by Microsoft's newest sensor, to see just how well this technology works. Testing on granite, carpet, marble, and other surfaces, the reviewers were impressed with the responsiveness of BlueTrack, but they also noted that laser mice were competitive on these surfaces as well. The Explorer retails for $100; the Mini Mouse for $80. Even though the mice didn't get a recommendation from the reviewers (price being a major concern), they did admit that this BlueTrack is the best tracking system available today."

Submission + - Antec Releases "Skeleton" PC Case (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Monday October 13, 2008 @01:48PM

ThinSkin writes: "It is appropriate to say that Antec was "thinking outside the box" when the idea of the "Skeleton" PC Case sprung to mind. The Antec Skeleton is an open-air PC case with a pair of shelves for the motherboard and other components — held up by arching arms. There are no side panels. This is ideal for the computer user who is constantly fidgeting with his PC parts, or someone who wants to show off his fancy components. Just have a compressed air can nearby. Here's a slideshow of the Antec Skeleton."

Submission + - What's the Best Video Game Download Service? (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Monday September 22, 2008 @12:59PM

ThinSkin writes: "Who needs a brick and mortar game shop when you have the world wide web of video game download services? Joel Durham Jr. over at ExtremeTech examines 5 game download services to decide once and for all which virtual storefront has the best deal for gamers. Among the services reviewed are Steam, Impulse, Direct2Drive, Good Old Games, and WildTangent Orb. The most popular site in the roundup, Steam, was also the most favored because of it's wide selection of popular titles, while Direct2Drive also scored top marks because it has 'just about every title in the universe.'"

Submission + - Going Solar Power: One Month Later (extremetech.com)

Submitted by

ThinSkin

on Monday July 21, 2008 @02:12PM

ThinSkin writes: "After an interesting article on solar power installation for the home, Loyd Case at ExtremeTech has written up a follow-up after a month (almost) completely off the grid. Posting an $11.34 electric bill (roughly 3% of the previous month), Loyd shares his experiences using solar power and how it can be fun for the geek — with computer monitoring services and power generation data. Of course, solar power isn't all fun and games given the amount of required maintenance — even unpredictable maintenance like wiping off accumulated ash from fires in Northern California."

Submission + - Folding@home GPU2 Beta Released, Examined (extremetech.com)

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ThinSkin

on Wednesday April 16, 2008 @01:23PM

ThinSkin writes: "Stanford has recently released an update to their Folding@home GPU-accelerated client, which includes notable upgrades such as support for more current Radeon graphics cards and even a visualizer to see what's going on. ExtremeTech takes a good look at the new Folding@home GPU2 client and interviews Director Dr. Vijay Pande about the project. To the uninitiated, Folding@home is a distributed computing project in which hundreds of thousands of PCs and PS3s devote a portion of their computing power to crunch chunks of biological data. The goal is 'to understand protein folding, misfolding, and related diseases.'"

Submission + - DirectX Architect Predicts Death of Console Gaming (extremetech.com)

Submitted by

ThinSkin

on Friday March 21, 2008 @01:12PM

ThinSkin writes: "DirectX architect Alex St. John swims against the current and predicts the demise not of PC gaming, but of game consoles, in an exclusive two-part interview at ExtremeTech. In part one, Alex blasts Intel for pushing its inferior onboard graphics technology to OEMs, insists that fighting piracy is the main reason for the existence of gaming consoles, and explains how the convergence of the GPU and the CPU is the next big thing in gaming. Alex continues in part two with more thoughts on retail and 3D games, and discusses in detail why he feels "Vista blows" and what's to become of DirectX 10."

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