Nvidias 3D Vision Vs Ati Eyefinity - Which One Holds The Power?

Nvidias Features

3D Vision enables users to fully view content in 3D. This is a major step up as it's no longer 2D and gives users full control of gaming, viewing photos plus more in true 3D. There are two types of 3D visions the basic home edition or the pro. Home edition is for normal users it works for Games, Movies, Photos, Blu rays, and I think even websites. The more advanced Pro version is used for Cad, 3D video editing and anything else the 3D vision is capable of. However it runs around $200 dollars which might be a problem for some people. Considering that a regular monitor wont do it, you will have to shell out a few more bucks for a 120hz screen.

Physx is a new type of engine used in games and movies. Its called a physics engine SDK and its used to enhance the gameplay and to simulate real time experience. This engine is mostly used to improve the 3D environment of games as well as graphical performance. This means all those explosions, bullet holes, flames,blood, buildings collapsing and more are all processed by the Nvidias Physx Engine. Whats new is that before most of the load was on the CPU but what the Physics Engine does is it transfers all of it to the GPU allowing the CPU to process other tasks.

Cuda, what is it? Well im not entirely sure. From what I read is instead of normal GPUs that just process graphics, Cuda enables GPUs to act some what similar to a CPU. How this helps is instead of just rendering graphics the Gpu can be now used to process other stuff as well. Whats different about it is Users can use C codes in Cuda allowing users to program tasks. Not only that but Cuda increases the performance of graphical use, and helps out in video editing and other programs as well.

Purevideo HD Technology delivers great picture quality. The way it works is it has a separate video processing core on the GPU. Once again this allows to do multiple things as the load is off the Cpu and the power consumption is lower. Like mentioned it provides great video without no distortions and free of stutters. One of the biggest reasons for it is the support and acceleration it provides for blu ray and HD DVD movies. This completely transform the experience of HD movies on the pc.

SLI is Nvidias way of connecting and scaling graphical performance by running 2 or more Gpus. Running with 2 cards boosts up the performance to twice as much while when on 3 cards the performance is at 2.8x so almost 3 times as good. How Sli works is one card processes the horizontal frames while the other card processes the vertical frames resulting an increase in performance.

Alright, now its time to get into the Ati Features and see how they compare to Nvidia.

Ati Features

HD3D is Ati feature that transforms 2d into 3d. Just like Nvidias 3d vision a 120hz monitor is required as well as glasses in order to view the 3d image. HD3D is only available on the 5000 series cards and up. Same as with Nvidia this feature allows users to play games, movies, and view photos all in 3d.

Eyefinity definitely makes a big difference in all around use. What Eyefinity does is allows users to hook up multiple monitors to the gpu. Currently I believe you can have 3 monitors hooked up to one Gpu which is awesome. This is a great feature for heavy multi taskers as it allows plenty of space on the desktop to run multiple programs on different screens. For instance on one screen you can run photoshop on the middle screen you can have a website opened and on the third screen have a movie running how fantastic is that. One more cool thing is when gaming the game displays across all three screens and usually your fov (field of view) will be bigger.

Eyespeed and Avivo HD kinda go together with each other as they both accelerate and increase the quality and smoothness in videos/other tasks. One major thing that Ati includes is the (UVD) which is unified video decoder and what it does is it offloads your cpu so that it can process other stuff while still having that eye candy in movies and games. Avivo hd plays a big part in watching Blu ray and HD DVD movies as it increases the performance resulting in no lag.

Crossfire x is Ati's way of running multiple Gpus, the way it works is a little bit different then nvidia. Ati gpus instead of processing horizontal and vertical lines they process tiles. The screen is divided into tiles and then each gpu processes a separate tile. This does not mean that its faster or better but it does increase the performance. To get a better visual think of a checkerboard.

Which Ones Better?

In my opinion they both have their pros and cons. Nvidia and Ati are pretty much right on each other as they both offer the same features but in different ways.

Sli vs Crossfire, supposedly Sli is better as the performance it offers is slightly greater than crossfire and sli has better drivers support as well.

As for all the other features it's a tug of war between the two and no ones really sure which way it will go. Both Nvidia and Ati offer great amount of features to be explored and I would say you cant go wrong with either one.

source: http://EzineArticles.com/6273952

Mac Vs Windows: Which Is Truly More Expensive?

When you're ready to buy a Mac, it's really not that different from any other serious purchase: you need to do a little research to make sure you're investing your money wisely. Few people like to replace their computer every year, even in two years. Most regular consumers would rather ride that baby 'til it dies, put some duct tape on it for a few more years,?then buy a new one. So when buying a computer it's important to keep total cost of ownership (TCI) in mind. This is a term that factors in years of use, maintenance costs, downtime (when it's out for repair, for example) and other criteria for determining the true value of a computer. Many studies have been done that have proven that over the period of time you own the computer, Macs hold their value much better - one study showed that Windows was actually five times more expensive. And that study was nearly five years ago: Macs have come down in price since then.

Enjoy it, or Fix it?

Apple computers have long had to face down this "higher cost" issue. While it's true that you can find a PC for less than $500, even less than $300 in many places, you simply cannot compare the sticker price alone when deciding on which computer is right for you. Most of these sub-$500 PCs are cheaper because they're made from cheaper, and in many cases old and well-used, parts. Windows-based computers are still ?highly susceptible to over 100,000 viruses, malware, spyware, and other dangers that not only infect your PC but dramatically slow it down. To date there are no known viruses that affect Mac OS X. Those numbers alone should end the argument. Eliminate the cost of anti-virus software as well as the hours spent sweeping for malware etc., the repair costs to fix the PC after it's become infected, Would you rather spend your time enjoying your computer, or fixing it?

It's been said before, but think of buying a car: you can buy a cheap clunker, or a nice new car. You know you're going to have to put a lot more money into the clunker, much more downtime to maintenance and repair, and sooner than later you'll have to replace it. But at least it wasn't fun while it lasted, right? The same concept applies to computers: would you rather pay more upfront, or pay more in the long run?

Apples to Oranges

When comparing computers, make sure you're comparing properly. Comparison shopping can be confusing, especially if you aren't an expert in computer technology - and if you were, you probably wouldn't be reading this. One trap many fall into is comparing the processors: a PC has 4 Ghz chip, a Mac has a 3 Ghz, etc. However Apple's operating system utilizes the processor in more efficient ways, meaning that what seems to be a slower chip many times is equal to or better than one with a higher number. Those numbers haven't truly been an accurate measure of computer power for years, although many people don't let go it.

What you need to balance is what each computer comes with with the cost involved. In order to properly match computers, find a PC that includes comparable software to everything that's included on the Mac. Putting a value on iMovie, iPhoto, iWeb, etc. varies: you may never use iWeb for instance. You might be a gamer, or a graphic designer, or you may be in the majority of computer buyers: you just need a computer for Internet, email, and maybe your tunes and pictures. So match up the computers that fit your personal needs, and then move on to the total cost of ownership.

Most Importantly

This is going to be your computer. Advice is great, and can be helpful, but don't lose sight of what your needs are. For me, as well as most of my clients, by far the most important issue was getting a computer that I could enjoy, I could be productive with, and that would last as long as possible. The longest a PC ever lasted for me was about 3 years, and they weren't good years. I now own three Macs that are older than 5 years, including the iMac I bought for my mother in 2002. All still work fine. Obviously I'm going to be suggesting you buy a Mac, but it's from experience with both. Take my advice, put it in your pocket, and go to an Apple store to get a good long look. Do your research and decide what's best for you. If and when you do buy a Mac, I'll be right here waiting for you.

Windows Five Times More Expensive
Mac vs PC Cost Analysis

With nearly twenty years experience using Apple products and teaching others how to get the most out of their Mac, including coordinating all educational programs at Apple's flagship store in Chicago, Craig J. Burns can help you learn anything you'd like to learn about your Mac, iPhone, or iPad. Find more resources at http://www.macinaminute.com/ including live help, articles, video tutorials, and more. You can even register for one-on-one training on your schedule, right in the comfort of your own home. Contact Mac in a Minute! today at http://www.macinaminute.com/contact to start learning today!

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Confused On Which Application Monitoring System to Buy

Majority of enterprises use some type of network monitoring system to monitor their IT infrastructure. A superior network monitoring system will track tools for uptime, bandwidth usage and track end-to-end system performance. While this type of monitoring solution is useful when issues occur on the network it doesn't help when there is any issue with any application. IT organizations require multiple applications to support their entire business. Having the devices in place to monitor these applications is a life saver when things go wrong. Let's have a closer look why application monitoring systems are required and what are the available application monitoring solutions.

Why Application Monitoring Required

Application monitoring tools track those applications which are not functioning properly, even if users are able to access it. For instance, all of a sudden your users cannot access email. A monitoring system will notify you or send an alert on a dashboard that a service is not working. Being able to rapidly identify troubles with organizations applications will allow the smooth functioning of the IT system and at the same time deliver better services to the users.

End to end application monitoring will offer you a quick overview of your applications, trend reports, performance analysis and identify growth areas. All these information is necessary when it comes to planning, addressing SLA's and fixing troubles before it cause major outages.

Solutions for Monitoring Application Performance

There is a wide variety of options to choose from, when it comes to finding an application monitoring solution. It entirely depends on your needs. There are standalone applications for monitoring single systems and there are enterprise monitoring solutions that can monitor multiple systems on your network. Open source applications and commercial applications are also available. Some features that you should look for before determining what best fits your needs are:

Performance Management: You should look for a product that offers a lot of monitoring parameters for instance, CPU, response time, memory etc.

Web Console: Ensure that you are able to access the console from a browser as it is the easiest way to manage applications.

Alerting System: Look for different type of alarms as per your requirements. Email alerting, syslog, SMB traps, text message are some of the alerting types.

Administration Roles: Look for different roles such as administrator, manager, operator, user, etc.

Reporting: Having a strong reporting system helps to determine trends and potential issues.

These are just a few basic features to look for. Majority of application monitoring solutions provide a long list of features.

Don't skip out on monitoring your organization's applications. A real time monitoring solution can be a life saver and maintain the smooth functioning of your IT infrastructure.

source: http://EzineArticles.com/6286535