Tech News
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How To Lose or Earn A Customer
I was never good at retail sales but have spent a good portion of my life in the consulting world. One thing I have learned over the years is that the adage "The customer is always right" doesn't always apply in every situation. Most of the time the customer is misinformed and too proud to ask for help. Other times they have a really good idea but lack the ability to describe what they want. It was my job to figure out which it was and deliver.
They say working at a retail store is similar but the way I see it, I can fire a client, doing that to a customer can have some adverse effects.
There are endless stories talking about how Best Buy has been closing stores due to declining sales and increased competition from online e-tailers. The way I see it, if the stores stocked more diverse products and spent more time training their employees there might be a chance that the brick and mortar can be saved.
Here is an interesting story from "The Morning News Beat" talking about how they kicked Best Buy in the balls and are now faithful Microcenter followers.
At Micro Center the staffers in white shirts are busy and constantly on the run, just like at Best Buy. In contrast, though, they were quick to make eye contact and quick to promise me they were coming right over. In fact, when no one got free quickly enough, the department manager came to answer our questions and did so without irony or condescension, even though I will admit my technology questions are not always the savviest.
Needless to say, he got the sale. And when I told him how much I enjoyed working with him, he said, “There’s a reason we are opening stores while others are closing."Darren and I talked about some of the issues that plague the hardware enthusiast in our Vegas edition of the Hardware Asylum Podcast. Be sure to check it out.
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How much can you save building your own PC if you lived in the UK
Back in the early days I would go on and on about how you just HAD to build your own PC because it worked out to be cheaper and you got better components. Of course the downside to building your own PC is choosing what components to buy and as time went on the benefits of having a high-end motherboard over a middle of the road model diminished giving rise to OEM favoritism.
Personally I think everyone should know how to build a computer and actually cherish what a well build desktop can bring.
As a PC hardware enthusiast who fixes computers for people on a regular basis, I am frequently asked how much it would cost to put together a ‘brand new’ or ‘gaming’ computer that will either allow somebody to browse the internet and use office programs, or ‘be better than my games console’. There are a multiple facets to this question, and I have found that PC users are generally more willing to spend a lot of money on pre-built systems at large retail chain stores, rather than put in the time and effort to build their own for a much lower cost (and often better performance).
Keep in mind that this article is Euro based and geared towards European PC Enthusiasts. I cannot comment on the OEM market in the EU but based on the sample system they have it cannot be all that diverse.
Still the cost differences are large enough that if you have the skill it is something you should consider.
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Gigabyte mITX Z87N-WIFI Motherboard Review @ Madshrimps
I currently have a CyberPowerPC Zeus Mini in the lab and its powered by a Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI motherboard like the one featured in this review. So far the board is extremely solid and supports all of the normal overclocking controls and new UEFI dashboard style BIOS.
That small doesn't always imply slow or less strong has been shown by the ASUS Maximus VI Impact board. Setting several records with an Intel's Haswell CPU in the socket, the little mITX board has proven it has nothing to fear from its normal sized brethren, however the biggest drawback is the insane price tag, which makes it far less interesting for those that want to build a HTPC or mini gaming PC on a budget. The market has evolved in favor of the mATX and mITX platforms; demands for small yet powerful mini PCs is drastically increasing. Gigabyte's Z87N-WIFI is a perfect example that including Intel's flagship Z87 chipset does not necessarily imply an exuberantly elevated price, however is a high end chipset a requirement for most users out there? Time to unravel some of the myths and start to explore the wonderful world of the Gigabyte Z87N-WiFi mITX.
If I wasn't such a hardware snob I'd likely buy one of these boards for my daily driver. Or, pick up a Zeus Mini from CyberPowerPC and call it a day.
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NZXT H440 Mid-Tower Case Review @ Legit Reviews
The H440 was one of the highlight cases of CES and is one of the first to feature an integrated PSU cover plate and no external 5.25" drive bays. Yes that’s right no external drive bays.
NZXT really wanted to make a bold statement with their upcoming mid-tower H440 chassis. Outside of the minimalistic design, they minimized – or should I say eliminated – something that many of us have come accustom to: 5.25” drive bays. This means no more optical drives in NZXT’s eyes with this one! Can you imagine a desktop PC without an optical drive? I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that cannot, but I most certainly can. Read on to learn more about this new chassis!
Sadly, this case will end up getting a ton of press because NZXT was brave enough to release a case without external drive bays. Maybe that is where PC Building is headed but given that EVERY case since the beginning of time has come with external drive bays you can't ignore that case modders rely on those bays to store custom fan controllers and even reservoirs for their watercooling systems.
Personally I think it is too soon for companies to start removing the external drive bays but it will take a product generation for the public to decide if this is what they want.
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Antec Kuhler H2O 1250 CPU AIO Water Cooler Review @ [H]
Its not a coola!
Oh wait, yes it is. its the Antec Kuhler with double externally mounted pumps and bumpy fan blades.
Antec and its All-In-One sealed system CPU coolers have been around for a good while now. We still have some of its first series working well here in the HardOCP offices. Today we have Antec's newly designed high end Kuhler model 1250. It has some unique offerings all based on new cold plates and big double fan radiator.
If you believe the specs these AIO coolers are really quite good and have some built in power thanks to the dual pumps.
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Radeon Dual Graphics Performance with Kaveri and R7 250 @ HCW
CrossfireX is pretty powerful provded you get that one card that works with the embedded GPU.
Catalyst 14.1 enables Radeon Dual Graphics with Kaveri APU and R7 250, with frame pacing. Let’s see what kind of performance increase is found across 10 games
The real issue with CrossfireX isn't so much linking two GPUs together but rather that the range of supported cards is pretty slim and largely unpublished. Of course you have the decision of buying a low-end substandard video card or spending a few bux and getting something good.
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NVIDIA Maxwell Launch Day
This is an interesting turn for Nvidia, usually when they launch new silicon they start with the ultra high-end and then segment the products out over the next several months. However with Maxwell they are starting at the bottom with the GTX 750 and GTX 750 Ti.
Considering that I missed the NDA presentation I can only speculate the reason behind this. The logical one would be that since the GTX 780 Ti and Titan still dominate the performance sector why not keep the performance cards where they are and work from the bottom with the new architecture. That gives AMD time to release their new performance cards and gives the new custom GTX 780 Ti cards time to saturate the marketplace.
Web Reviews:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card Review @ Legit Reviews
ASUS GTX 750 OC 1 GB @ techPowerUp
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti Maxwell GPU Review @ HotHardware
MSI GTX 750 Ti Gaming 2 GB @ techPowerUp
Palit GeForce GTX 750 Ti StormX Dual review
Nvidia GTX 750 Ti @ LanOC Reviews
Palit GTX 750 Ti StormX Dual 2 GB @ techPowerUp
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti "Maxwell" On Linux @ Phoronix
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2 GB @ techPowerUp
Geforce GTX 750Ti Launch Review at HardwareHeaven
The GTX 750 Ti Review; Maxwell Arrives @ Hardware Canucks
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750Ti the Arrival of Maxwell @ HiTech Legion
NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti 'Maxwell' Review @ VortezIf I had to guess, Maxwell releases will continue throughout the year with something big coming around Computex. (likely the day before the show just to jab the editors who actually attend Computex to see the new gear before everyone else.)
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EVGA GeForce GTX TITAN Black The Next Evolution
18 February 2014 – GeForce GTX TITAN Black is a masterpiece in design and engineering. Evolved from the award-winning GTX TITAN, the Black edition lets you take on your most graphics-intensive games with 10% faster performance, while still retaining whisper-quiet acoustics and cool thermals.
This is the elite gaming GPU for gamers who demand the ultimate pure gaming experience – the perfect balance of sleek design, spectacular performance, and groundbreaking technologies. Ideal to power the most extreme games out there, as well as 4K and multiple monitor setups at 2500x1600, with high-speed double precision and 6 GB of frame buffer memory. The GTX TITAN Black is the ultimate graphics cards for 3D Surround and multiple monitor gaming performance, especially with the latest high-resolution monitors where video memory is a major factor.
Like the original TITAN, the new TITAN Black edition also includes high-speed double precision for the NVIDIA CUDA enthusiast.
EVGA GeForce GTX TITAN Black Features:
- 2880 CUDA Cores
- 6144 MB GDDR5 Memory
- 7000 MHz Memory Speed
- Up to NVIDIA 4-Way SLI Ready
- NVIDIA G-Sync Ready
- Microsoft DirectX 11.2 API (feature level 11_0)
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Borderlands 3 isn’t being made
I really like this statement from Randy, shows that they are committed to building games and building the popular titles the way they should be.
We love Borderlands, and we know customers do too. So we will be doing more in Borderlands. But the thing that, when you think of what Borderlands 3 should be... No. We are not developing that right now. We don't know what that is yet. We can imagine what it must achieve, but we don't know what it is yet. I'm not going to fuck around with you like Valve does with Half-Life 3. Look. We know we want it and we know it should exist, but we don't know what it is yet. But we are doing things in Borderlands that we'll announce soon, that are good, and that I think people will be really excited about if you love the franchise.
If you read thru the corporate speak it would appear that Gearbox knows that Borderands 3 needs to be made and maybe put it on a projection calendar at some point but isn’t actively developing the title.
For that I applaud them since there is nothing worse than a cookie cutter COD style franchise that somehow makes a ton of money with each release and yet fails to release a new game. It is hard to say what Borderlands 3 will be however, if they screw it up that might be the end of Gearbox Software as we know it. Until then I’ll be waiting for the eventual BL3 game announcement and may even be first in line when it goes gold.
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Futuremark announces Servermark benchmark
HELSINKI, FINLAND – February 13, 2013 – Futuremark® is creating a new benchmark for measuring and comparing the performance of servers. Designed for industry, enterprise and press users, Servermark™ will be a comprehensive benchmarking tool for x86-based servers running Linux and will be especially suitable for testing virtual machines. Servermark will feature a variety of benchmark tests for web servers, file servers, database servers, media servers and other common server use cases. For details please visit http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/servermark
As with all Futuremark benchmarks, Servermark will be developed in partnership with leading hardware companies. Servermark Benchmark Development Program™ members will have the opportunity to provide input at all stages of development in addition to receiving regular development builds and complimentary site licenses for the new benchmark.
Technology companies interested in joining the Servermark Benchmark Development Program should call Oliver Baltuch on +1-408-614-2025 (PST) or email bdp@futuremark.com.
Jukka Mäkinen, Futuremark CEO said,
"We take great pride in working with the world's top technology companies to create the industry's most relevant and widely used benchmarks. I invite all companies with an interest in server performance to join our Benchmark Development Program and participate in the creation a new industry standard benchmark for server performance."
Oliver Baltuch, Futuremark President said,
"Servermark will offer IT professionals an accurate and reliable benchmark for evaluating real-world server performance in enterprise and business environments. Servermark will be the ideal complement to PCMark and Powermark, expanding our range of enterprise solutions for businesses of all sizes."
Find out more about Servermark and the Benchmark Development Program on the Futuremark website, or follow Futuremark on LinkedIn for the latest company news.
