Blog - Clive Webster - Page 3

The Easy Core i3 Upgrade?

Posted on 15th Jan 2010 at 12:59 by Clive Webster with 10 comments

Now that Intel is done with releasing CPUs for the time being, we've got a chance to analyse the situation and see what's worth buying. For those on a budget, the Intel Core i3-530 is your best bet unless your budget is limited to £70 or so, in which case you'll have to look elsewhere. But I'm betting that if your budget is so tight that you can't go for the superior Intel Core i5-750, you haven't got fancy DDR3 memory or an LGA1156 motherboard. Enter the easy Core i3 upgrade bundle.

The Problem with Overclocking

Posted on 21st Dec 2009 at 10:50 by Clive Webster with 20 comments

For some completely unknown reason (alright, just one I can’t tell you yet), I’ve spent most of last week testing and overclocking CPUs. Because of the way the magazine deadlines work in the run-up to Christmas, deadlines are tight, but the urge to get the very last MHz from a CPU still bit me pretty hard.

Bit-tech on the BBC

Posted on 11th Dec 2009 at 11:05 by Clive Webster with 13 comments

The other night I popped over to the BBC’s Television Centre to record a discussion about how the PC is being seen less and less as a general-purpose machine and how people are buying computers for certain specific uses. The obvious example is the netbook – a basic computer that’s only good for a limited range of uses. The host and I listened to a guy from Dell explain what he thinks is happening to the demand from computer buyers, and what Dell is doing to address that.

Issue 76 and Christmas has come early (again)

Posted on 10th Nov 2009 at 12:04 by Clive Webster with 9 comments

Well, that's Issue 76 of Custom PC done and sent to the printers, and it's our Christmas issue (it'll be out Thursday, 19th of November) and of course, it features our traditional annual mince pie megatest.

Download The CustomPC Media Benchmarks Here

Posted on 26th Oct 2009 at 11:30 by Clive Webster with 51 comments

A couple years ago, CustomPC made its own suite of benchmarks to test motherboards, PCs, laptops and so on. We wanted to create a set of tests which aped how people use their PCs and would show the benefits (or not) of faster hardware and overclocking in a way that was relevant to real-world use.

One of the most important elements, apart from the obvious stuff above, was that the benchmark suite must be distributable and completely self-contained. We've therefore used Open Source applications, all of which install into a standard folder (with no entries into the Registry, or links to any OS services or applications). This means that you can download the benchmarks, install them and run them without any outside influences from OS updates and so forth.

Nvidia launches new budget graphics cards - do you care?

Posted on 16th Oct 2009 at 11:17 by Clive Webster with 29 comments

After years (well, one at least) of Nvidia saying that it doesn't see the need in DirectX 10.1 because developers aren't demanding it and it has some DX10.1 features in its GT200 design anyway, it's finally made a DX10.1 GPU. However, it isn't a huge high-performance part to rival the HD 5870. It's a low-end part.

Nvidia has also trialled the 40nm fabrication process with this new GeForce GT 220 and GT 210 line-up.

The question is, do you care?

Intel's next billion users

Posted on 18th Aug 2009 at 08:05 by Clive Webster with 14 comments

A while back I read an interesting(ish) article on Ars Technica about Intel's drive into into the world of medical computing.

You can see why I added the 'ish'.

Medical computers might not exactly be scintillating, but Ars' angle made the story worth a read as it focussed on Intel's eagerness to enter new markets as being representative of its 'Next Billion Users' strategy. Let me explain...

First Look: The first P55 RoG board, the Maximus III Formula

Posted on 10th Aug 2009 at 10:02 by Clive Webster with 17 comments

Morning! I realise that when it comes to P55, most of you just want performance numbers, but sadly I can't quite put you out of your misery. I can however, offer a preview of what's likely to be a very special P55 motherboard - the first to wear the Republic of Gamers badge, namely the Maximus III Formula. Shots and discussion below the break.

More shots of the Asus P55, LGA1156, Lynnfield motherboard

Posted on 30th Jul 2009 at 11:36 by Clive Webster with 11 comments

Egads, just how many buzz-words can an IT journo fit into a blog post title these days? I blame Google, to whom all us online folk are beholden. Maybe I should just add a few hot search terms...

Or not. The purpose of this blog post is I thought I'd share some new shots Asus has sent through of its first P55 board to supplement James' preview of the Asus P7P55-Evo that went up a week or so ago.

Supposedly these are of the final retail board. The main update is the Southbridge cooler, which seems massive, and that weird Turbo-V thing. Pics and more discussion below the break.

Winxs: Why my Vista install bloated to 28GB

Posted on 24th Jul 2009 at 12:46 by Clive Webster with 30 comments

For some reason the C: partition of my media PC is pretty much full, despite me giving the OS 30GB and only having a few apps installed. The culprit is the mysterious winsxs folder, which has piled on the pounds in the year or so the PC has been working, and now weighs in at 15GB. Things is, I had no idea what the folder was when trying to trim some space last night.

Tags bloat, dll, problem, vista, windows, winsxs

bit-tech.net

Archive for Clive Webster

The Easy Core i3 Upgrade?

The Problem with Overclocking

Bit-tech on the BBC

Issue 76 and Christmas has come early (again)

Download The CustomPC Media Benchmarks Here

Nvidia launches new budget graphics cards - do you care?

Intel's next billion users

First Look: The first P55 RoG board, the Maximus III Formula

More shots of the Asus P55, LGA1156, Lynnfield motherboard

Winxs: Why my Vista install bloated to 28GB

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