Put the knife down and take a green herb, dude. (c) Ruffin Bailey 2001-2021

Just because it's so easy to dupe bytes, here's my quick review of MSI's ATI Xpress chipset mobo (executative summary: I like it):

MSI RS480M2-IL Socket 939 ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

After having used the board about a month, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from writing a rave review. It's a perfect entry-level board that doesn't compromise when it comes to upgrade options down the road. You've got a PCI Express slot for video, dual channel RAM support, and socket 939 for as fast an Athlon as your money will buy. Online reviews to the contrary, I've been able to play recently released games extremely well for having integrated video, from World of Warcraft to GTA:SA.

Drawbacks:
Biggest issue for me and my single 512 meg RAM stick is that the shared memory for video loses me from 32 to 64 megs of sys mem. GTA:SA wants at least 64 megs for the video card, which takes 12.5% of my sys mem away. In WoW, that's bad news. A good plane jane PCI video card -- or more memory; it'll hold 4 gigs -- would be enough to remedy this, however.

The board doesn't post without a processor and RAM, which makes testing a bit more tedious. You can't run the board bare to check for component issues.

There's a connector for COM port support, which is great for my Palm cradle, but the ribbon for attaching the COM port on the mobo to the back of your case is so short that it cuts right across the PCI Express slot. It might be a pain once I get a dedicated video card. Nor does it reach below the ATX board, so a COM port means I lose a PCI slot on my case as well. A pain when you've only got three PCIs.

Only other complaint is the lack of onboard gigabit ethernet, which some other socket 939 boards have. Not a big deal, as my router doesn't support it, but a consideration.

So even for a recreational gamer, this is a good entry board that allows you to get decked out as you get the dough, but still get your feet wet today.

There are a number of specialized subjects I like to follow -- the Redskins, Java hacking, cheap Amtrak tickets -- and after using each for quite some time I've found a Google alert tends to wipe the floor with RSS when it comes to identifying content. Neither is a superset of the other when it comes capturing all the new information in which I'd be interested on each topic, but the alerts seem to have a much higher 'ROI'. Of coures alerts can be just as specific as I want, which helps a heck of a lot.

Now I understand that RSS's lacks are, in part, my fault for not adding the best sources, but I think that's the issue. It's interesting to me that I still would prefer to have a third party search out what's important to me rather than perform the search myself, even of 'known' sites. This is not completely unlike the nation used to do with, say, television networks. It's a new paradigm, but not wholly so.

title: Put the knife down and take a green herb, dude.	descrip: One feller's views on the state of everyday computer science & its application (and now, OTHER STUFF) who isn't rich enough to shell out for www.myfreakinfirst-andlast-name.com Using 89% of the same design the blog had in 2001.
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!!! Back-up your data and, when you bike, always wear white. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate links in green.
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Friday, August 12, 2005
Digital Hub If a company wants to make a digital hub, they should stop trying to make it out of a console. Consoles change, computers change. What doesn't change? That I want a DVD player hooked up to my TV set. What does that leave for the digital hub? Instead of each having a new [even a new spin on the] DVD drive, make one that lets the computer be the module. After a year or two, upgrade the computer portion with a new processor and larger hard drive or faster wireless or what have you. Keep some sort of low-end OS and processor with the DVD drive so you're always guaranteed some buy-in, but keep a good deal of space open in that box for major hardware. I'd rather replace a portion of my PS2 that remove it and have to junk it, even if that's essentially what I'm doing when I upgrade the modular cpu & friends. I like my set-up, let me keep it. Then start changing yours. posted by ruffin at 8/12/2005 12:47:00 PM

Tuesday, August 09, 2005
MSI RS480M2-IL Socket 939 ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard Review Just because it's so easy to dupe bytes, here's my quick review of MSI's ATI Xpress chipset mobo (executative summary: I like it): MSI RS480M2-IL Socket 939 ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard After having used the board about a month, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from writing a rave review. It's a perfect entry-level board that doesn't compromise when it comes to upgrade options down the road. You've got a PCI Express slot for video, dual channel RAM support, and socket 939 for as fast an Athlon as your money will buy. Online reviews to the contrary, I've been able to play recently released games extremely well for having integrated video, from World of Warcraft to GTA:SA. Drawbacks: Biggest issue for me and my single 512 meg RAM stick is that the shared memory for video loses me from 32 to 64 megs of sys mem. GTA:SA wants at least 64 megs for the video card, which takes 12.5% of my sys mem away. In WoW, that's bad news. A good plane jane PCI video card -- or more memory; it'll hold 4 gigs -- would be enough to remedy this, however. The board doesn't post without a processor and RAM, which makes testing a bit more tedious. You can't run the board bare to check for component issues. There's a connector for COM port support, which is great for my Palm cradle, but the ribbon for attaching the COM port on the mobo to the back of your case is so short that it cuts right across the PCI Express slot. It might be a pain once I get a dedicated video card. Nor does it reach below the ATX board, so a COM port means I lose a PCI slot on my case as well. A pain when you've only got three PCIs. Only other complaint is the lack of onboard gigabit ethernet, which some other socket 939 boards have. Not a big deal, as my router doesn't support it, but a consideration. So even for a recreational gamer, this is a good entry board that allows you to get decked out as you get the dough, but still get your feet wet today. posted by ruffin at 8/09/2005 12:22:00 AM

Thursday, August 04, 2005
Google vs. RSS There are a number of specialized subjects I like to follow -- the Redskins, Java hacking, cheap Amtrak tickets -- and after using each for quite some time I've found a Google alert tends to wipe the floor with RSS when it comes to identifying content. Neither is a superset of the other when it comes capturing all the new information in which I'd be interested on each topic, but the alerts seem to have a much higher 'ROI'. Of coures alerts can be just as specific as I want, which helps a heck of a lot. Now I understand that RSS's lacks are, in part, my fault for not adding the best sources, but I think that's the issue. It's interesting to me that I still would prefer to have a third party search out what's important to me rather than perform the search myself, even of 'known' sites. This is not completely unlike the nation used to do with, say, television networks. It's a new paradigm, but not wholly so. posted by ruffin at 8/04/2005 02:39:00 PM

Tuesday, August 02, 2005
iPod Shuffle < Rio? My long term impression of the iPod Shuffle, in brief, is that it is a neat contraption, but the neatness eventually wears off. Though I originally liked it for easily providing a 'favorites' playlist that could include music purchased from iTunes, now I really miss the features it obviously doesn't have. I wish it had FM Radio, playlists, and a screen of some sort, all things the Rio Forge has at the same price -- only minus iTunes music. If the Rio Music Manager software is worth a rip on the Mac, well, it's likely a superior device. Not to mention it'll give you the time, play Ogg and WMA, and will hold up to 1.5 gigs of data with an expansion card. Add a camera and I'm there. ;^) posted by ruffin at 8/02/2005 08:09:00 PM

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