Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Accessory of the Week #2

Hi everyone!

So I realize I missed a couple of weeks in the middle and I do apologize about that. But without further ado, the product which makes accessory of the week this week is :

SilverStone FP36




The FP36 is an aluminium front panel which provides you with two USB 3.0 ports. It is an ideal accessory to add if your current case does not have front USB 3.0 ports but your motherboard has connections for front ports. Silverstone also has the FP32-E which features four USB 3.0 ports and two HD Audio Ports. The reason why I chose to feature the FP36 is that in addition to having USB 3.0, the FP36 also has a drive bay adapter that has mounting slots for two 2.5" hard drives. So in the event you have a small outdated case which does not have a lot of hard drive bays or USB 3.0, you can use this handy little accessory to lengthen the life of your case. In my opinion it is an excellent buy.

You can find this selling for US$ 19.99. It is available in two finishes, Black and Silver.

That is all for this post.

Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

AMD Radeon HD 7xxx Series

Hi everyone!

My apartment has been finalized, my stuff has all been listed, sorted and all that remains now is the keys and the move. From the look of things, I will be moving on/after the 28th. This apartment should be empty by the 30th.

Today I wanted to talk about AMDs newest video cards, The Radeon HD 7xxx series. The name for AMDs newest architecture is Graphics Core Next (GCN.) It is a 28nm GPU architecture which enabled AMD to fit a whopping 4.3 billion transistors, in effect increasing the density by greater than 60%. This is also AMDs first ever design for general computing, it can be used to handle workloads which until now were exclusively the domain of the CPU. The new architecture has also improved DirectX 11 tessellation from previous Radeons. AMDs Power Tune also helps improve performance by performing real-time analysis and increasing the GPU's clockspeed for applications that require more power. The GCN architecture also has three key technologies which help it deliver greater image quality and textural accuracy.

Partially Resident Textures (PRT)


PRT can utilize enormous texture files with minimal performance impact by streaming small bits of the textures into the GPU as needed giving compatible games with an almost endless supply of unique texture data. This will enable new games to utilize ultra-high resolution textures with the same performance as today's smaller textures.

Improved Anisotropic Filtering (AF)


AF is a technique available on every modern GPU with assists the GPU to make sure that every texture remains razor sharp. The GCN Architecture is optimized to produce superior results when AF is enabled.

Improved DirectX 11 Tessellation


The GCN Architecture has been optimized to deliver up to 4x the performance of the Radeon HD 6000 Serues.

In addition, it also features AMD ZeroCore Power Technology which ensures that power efficiency by powering down the GPU when your monitor is off.

So which cards should you consider to take advantage of AMDs newest offerings? Below is a list of all the cards I think are great buys.

AMD Radeon HD 7750


ASUS HD7750-1GD5-V2


Core Clock : 820 MHz
Stream Processors : 512
Memory : 1GB 128-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 7.8in x 5in x 1.7in










Great for a budget build, the GCN Architecture will ensure you still get great results gaming and during everyday use. Designed with general home computing in mind, it does not an external power connection. Selling for US$109.99.

XFX Double D


Core Clock : 900 MHz
Stream Processors : 512
Memory : 1GB 128-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 8.8in x 4.4in x 1.5in





For those who want a little more power while still staying in budget, The XFX Double D is the way to go. This one will require a 6-pin PCI-E power connector. Selling for US$ 124.99.

AMD Radeon HD 7770 Ghz Edition


ASUS HD7770-DC-1GD5-V2


Core Clock : 1020 MHz
Stream Processors : 640
Memory : 1GB 128-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 9.3in x 5.5in x 1.7in








A step up from the 7750, This card has CrossFireX Support so you can you more than 1 GPUs to increase performance. Selling for US$ 139.99. ASUS also has a 2GB version of the 7770. Check it out here.

MSi R7770-2PMD1GD5/OC

Core Clock : 1020 MHz
Stream Processors : 640
Memory : 1GB 128-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 9.25in x 4.37in x 1.5in
Price : US$ 124.99





AMD Radeon HD 7850


ASUS HD7850-DC2-2GD5


Core Clock : 870 MHz
Stream Processors : 1024
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 10.2in x 4.5in x 1.7in








Part of AMDs Mid-Range Series, The ASUS version features amazing stability and good heat dissipation. CrossFireX enabled and selling for US$ 259.99.


AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition


GIGABYTE GV-R787OC-2GD


Core Clock : 1100MHz
Stream Processors : 1280
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 11.02in x 5.27in x 1.6in




A great offering from Gigabyte, this card will run most of your games in high setting with ease. A good card for you money. Selling for US$ 329.99.

AMD Radeon HD 7950


SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950


Core Clock : 810 MHz
Stream Processors : 1792
Memory : 3GB 384-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 10.4in x 3.93in








One of the best 7950s money can buy, the Sapphire version also takes up less space inside your computer case. Capable of playing your games at ultra-high settings, this card is definitely worth the consideration. Selling for US$ 389.99.

Other good cards to consider
XFX FX-795A-TNBC US$ 389.99
ASUS HD7950-DC2-3GD5 US$ 409.99

AMD Radeon HD 7970


MSi R7970 Lightning

Core Clock : 1070 MHz
Stream Processors : 2048
Memory : 3GB 384-bit GDDR5
Dimension : 12in x 5.33in x 1.57in





You get the bone crushing power of the 7970, the awesome performance of MSi, what more do you want? Selling for US$ 544.99.

Other good cards to consider
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7970 OC US$ 479.99
XFX Double D FX-797A-TDBC US$ 479.99
ASUS HD7970-DC2-3GD5 US$ 479.99

I feel that in the near future, AMD will come out the 7990 to compete against the GTX 690. I will talk about it when that comes.

That's it for now folks, thank you for reading. Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Nvidia GeForce 6 Series

Hi everyone,

It has been a rather busy and eventful past few days. Finalizing apartments, deciding on what all to get rid off and what all to take to the new place. I wish it was easier than this!

Today I thought it the perfect opportunity to introduce to you the Nvidia GeForce 6 series Video Cards.

Every two years, Nvidia sets out to design a new GPU architecture. The last architecture released was the Fermi architecture which brought full geometry processing (which enables the use of tessellation.) It improves the realism of water, terrain and characters. Fermi also improved the GPU's performance in general computation. The drawback though was that Fermi consumed more power than desired.

The newest architecture is called Kepler. It is Nvidia's fastest GPU offering and also the most power efficient. This was achieved by a complete redesign of the streaming multiprocessor and by adding a new feature called GPU Boost that increases the clock speed dynamically. An obvious difference you will note is that previously, you needed a 8-pin and a 6-pin PCI-E power connector, you now only need two 6-pin power connectors. To give you an example, the GTX 580 would draw 244 watts whereas the new GTX 680 draws 195 Watts. Also GPU Boost automatically adjusts the clock speed based on the application currently running.

The Kepler architecture also introduces two new Anti-Aliasing techniques. To learn more about Anti-Aliasing please click here. They are FXAA and TXAA.

FXAA in contrast to MSAA (Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing) picks out the edges in a frame based on contrast
detection. It then smoothes out the Aliased edges based on their gradient. This technique reduces work done by the GPU and requires no additional memory unlike MSAA.

TXAA is a new AA mode which is designed for direct integration into game engines. Used where games require the absolute best quality possible without sacrificing any performance. TXAA has two modes namely TXAA 1 and TXAA 2. TXAA 1 will offer visual quality like 8xMSAA with the performance similar to 2xMSAA. TXAA 2 will offer beyond 8xMSAA quality with 4xMSAA performance.

The games, engines and developers that are going to offer TXAA support are MechWarrior Online, Secret World, Eve Online, Borderlands 2, Unreal Engine 4, BitSquid, Slant Six Games, and Crytek (I have gathered this information from this link here.)

If you follow my blog, you know that I absolutely love to have multiple displays. My ideal was 3 monitors but now it has changed to a new setup I recently saw which has four monitors. The most exciting thing is that the new Nvidia GPUs offer more display support on a single card then before. Before it would take two Nvidia cards to support three monitors. Now you can use a single card to power four monitors.

So which cards should you consider to avail these exciting offerings? Well let's take a look at some of my favorite cards to consider.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-670)

EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW



Core Clock : 1006 Mhz
Boost Clock : 1084 Mhz
CUDA Cores : 1344
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 10in x 4.38in






A must have for anyone looking for awesome power and price, The EVGA FTW offering has been overclocked to 1006 Mhz. SLi capable and selling for US $419.99.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 (http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-680)

ASUS GTX680-DC2O-2GD5



Core Clock : 1019 Mhz
Boost Clock : 1084 Mhz
CUDA Cores : 1536
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 11.8in x 5.1in x 2.3in






An all new DirectCU thermal design offers a 20% bigger heat dissipation area, 20% cooler and 14dB quieter performance. SLi capable and selling for US$ 529.99.

If you want water cooling go for

EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Hyrdo Copper



Core Clock : 1150 Mhz
Boost Clock : 1215 Mhz
CUDA Cores : 1536
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 10in x 5.5in
Price US$ 699.99








NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-690)

Uses the power of Two Kepler GPUs. Quite simply the fastest card ever built.

EVGA GeForce GTX 690 Signature


Core Clock : 915 Mhz
Boost Clock : 1019 Mhz
CUDA Cores : 3072 (o.O)
Memory : 4GB 512-bit GDDR5
Dimensions : 11in x 4.38in







The best card you can get right now and the price to match. If you can afford this card, befriend me so I can look at it, you can look smug, and I can hate you! Just kidding (Or am I..?) Selling for US$ 1,049.99.

That is the newest offerings from Nvidia folks. Pretty soon I will be reviewing AMDs newest offerings and after that we can get down to building some outrageous builds with them.

Until then,
Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

2000 Page views!!

Hi folks!

I had almost a thousand page views today! When I reached 1k on the 15th, I figured it would be a good long while before I reached 2k, but today I reached 2000. I would just like to thank everyone who has been visiting. You are giving me a great motivation to keep coming up with new things. Please read the New Directions post and please please help me with it. It would be free publicity for you and who knows what we can do from then on! Please comment and let me know what you would like to see in the blog. Help me improve and give you better and better content. 

Thank you everyone once again,
Kiyoshi Out
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

A small update

Hi everyone,

A few of my friends indicated some problems seeing some parts of the blog so for now I am switching it to regular view instead of the dynamic view. I apologize for this move but I just want to make sure that everyone can view, comment, subscribe easily. Please let me know your thoughts about my announcement in the earlier post. Any comments are more than welcome. It should now be easier to follow this blog. The link is on the right below the blog archive.

Thank you for your understanding.
Kiyoshi Out!


Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

New Directions.

Hi everyone,

It's been a rather busy start to the week. I have begun the process of moving. I have to move from my current apartment to a new one by the end of this month. Hopefully this transition will go smoothly [but it probably will not :-( .] I recently thought about changing the name of the blog to something more suitable. A foray into blogging may have been appropriate given how this blog started but I think it needs to change to reflect the content. With that in mind I needed some help.

I wanted my readers both old and new to help me come up with a name. If you have a name you think will be a good one for this blog please feel free to communicate it to me.

Here is how I think it should work. I leave a window of some time open, let's say two weeks in which I will collect all the names you come up with. At the end of that time, I will short list it to let's say top twenty (all of this is dependent on how many names I get of course but I am using twenty for the purpose of an example,) and then I will hold a pole for the next week or so and at the the pole, The name with the highest votes wins. The person with the winning vote gets

1) My eternal gratitude.
2) An interview with him/her in their chosen format (video/audio/written etc) detailing their current (or dream) build, interests in games etc etc.
3) Free publicity in case they have a stream or YouTube channel 

If you like this idea and want to help me, please leave some comments. If you think it is a good idea or if you have an idea which you think is better, please let me know. This blog may have been started by me, but it is you readers who give it the energy to continue. Without you it would just be words unread.

Thank you very much for reading this.

Kiyoshi out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Spec Ops : The Line Review

Hi folks,

I have been rather busy so I was not able to post as much as I would have liked. I do apologize for that. I have recently started streaming games and I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention as well. Please feel free to check it out @ http://www.twitch.tv/karachidevil I will be doing game reviews on it as well as streaming games I regularly play. Please subscribe there as well if you like what you see. I also recorded a video review of Spec Ops : The Line on youtube which I think you should take a look at. This is my first review so please any suggestions you want to give will be most helpful.
My youtube channel is https://www.youtube.com/user/thasna1n . There are one or two more projects that are under wraps at this moment but I will be unveiling them very shortly so please stay tuned.

Below are the videos I have posted about the Spec Ops Demo. Please check them out and if you like them spread the word

Part 1/4


Part 2/4


Part 3/4


Part 4/4




So there you have it folks. Thank you for reading and watching. Hope you enjoy it.

Kiyoshi out.
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.  

Friday, June 15, 2012

1000 views!

Hi everyone!

Today I noticed my blog has received a thousand views. I just wanted to thank everyone who has been reading my blog. Please stay tuned for some more exciting development in the very near future.



Till next time,
Kiyoshi out!


All game imagery is the property of their respective owners. 

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Windows 8 RP Update

Hi everyone,

I have been using Windows 8 RP for a while now. As mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to use it to make sure my bias wasn't just because the new Windows does things differently. Before we proceed any further I want to remind people of the specs of the test PC I am using.

CPU : AMD 64X2 4400+ 2.30Ghz
RAM : 2 GB
GPU : AMD Radeon HD 4550
60GB PATA Hard Drive

So how does it feel with some time in to it? Well in all fairness my opinion has not changed much since my first review. I love the apps that are on it with my current favorites being Global Soccer and Nature Space Holographic Audio (kind of a meditation helper if you will.)











The apps are designed very well and it does appear a lot of effort has went in to refining the display properties when you start an app.

The thing that annoys me is that when you open an app, it takes up the whole screen and the only way to switch to another one is to either close it or back out of it to go to another one. I am so used to having multiple windows opened that it is taking a while to go back to a single instance use. I know some people like the idea of just having one app vieweing at a time but for me I like having multiple apps open. You can still back out and open another app and then if you want Alt+Tab into them if you want. Seeing that I thought about adding a second display to see what would happen. Since this is an old card using only a Engineering Sample Driver, some options might not be enabled but I had the choice of Extending my Display, Cloning, Display only on 1 so I am right now running on Extend. Below is what it looks like when I have the apps open. Display on the left is the main display and on the right is the secondary display.



Please note that both displays have different resolutions hence the black space underneath the seconday display. If you open anything in the secondary screen, the metro apps go away even if the application opens in the secondary display as opposed to the primary display. Same story if an app is open and you want to open anything on the second display it will take you out of the app. You can either Alt+Tab to open it or go back into apps and than re open the app. Of course these issues might not exist with a modern GPU or when Windows 8 is finally released but it does exist for now and you might run into them if you have old hardware. Opening songs from the Music app I discovered that yet again there is no volume control in the app itself pointing to the fact that it is meant more for tablets where you have dedicated buttons for volume control.


(No Volume Control)

(Nothing here either)

IE is fast which is very impressive and there is no significant slow down as Windows opens or you open different programs so it is not too taxing on your hardware.

Google has said that it will build a Chrome to use the power of Metro Apps and display like IE does and I will be downloading it to see how it performs.

To Shut Down the system, you can either go from Ctrl+Alt+Delete or you can go hit Start, go in to the apps screen, at the top right you will see your name click that, hit sign out and then click shut down when it takes you to the main screen. To me it again points to tablets where you have a dedicated power button on the device itself.

Now all of these things might be taken care of once Windows 8 releases but I can for now only go by what I see in the RP. The point is Windows 8 looks gorgeous but operates rather clumsily. My earlier opinion of it feeling like a cross between a desktop OS and a tablet/smartphone OS still stays strong.

Windows 8 is debuting soon but as things stand, I will not be updating to it once it hits the market.

That's it for now folks. I will be posting something new rather soon as well so be ready for more.

Till then,
Kiyoshi Out.
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading. 

Monday, June 11, 2012

Accessory of the Week #1

Hi folks,

It was a busy weekend which did not leave me with much free time so I could not post as I had wanted. I was thinking of starting a new weekly post in addition to my regular posts where I will feature something interesting for you to consider when making your build. So with that in mind today I will be featuring :

NZXT Sentry-2


The Sentry-2 is a full system fan controller with a touch screen interface. NZXT has made several fan controllers but this caught my eye for being an excellent touch screen contoller. It requires a 5.25" bay and is compatible with any fan that uses a voltage control for a maximum of 5 fans. The accuracy is high enough that it has a tolerance of only one degree. You can manually set all the fans or leave it on automatic setting to let the controller take over. It also sounds an alarm should the temperature exceed a preset amount and it saves settings even if it is turned off so you will not have to reset them. The Sentry-2 supports 10W per channel so it can support almost all high end fans and also creates less heat in the process.


A very good thing to consider if you are on air cooling and want to know exactly how your system is operating and to figure out if it is running warmer than you would like. Plus I am just a sucker for lcd displays and this one looks really sweet. Really looking forward to getting it myself soon ^_^

Selling for US$24.99


That is all for now but I will try to do a regular post soon.

Till then,
Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.


Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Kiyoshi's Audiophile's Dream

Hi folks!

Today I will be presenting a build for a Mini ITX Audiophile PC. It will not have enough power to tackle games on the highest settings but should be good for daily computing, high-def videos and be phenomenal at music. Plus being a Mini ITX build, it will save you tonnes of space. Good use could be to hook it up to your home theater system and TV or go for a great headphone set.

CASE:


Lian Li PC-Q07



A very good Mini ITX case capable of supporting a standard ATX PS/2 PSU, one 3.5" HDD and one 2.5"  HDD. If space is at a premium, this is a great case for you!

Dimensions : 8.19" x 7.60" x 11.02"
Price : US$ 69.99











CPU:


AMD A8-3850


The new line of AMD A-Series APUs (Accelerated Processing Unit) gives you very good performance on a budget. They are named APUs because they combine both a CPU and a GPU on a single chip.

Stock Clock : 2.9Ghz
GPU : AMD Radeon HD6550D
Price : US$ 109.99








MOTHERBOARD:


ASRock A75M-ITX


A great motherboard from ASRock. Features 1 PCI-E 2.0 x16 and 1 PCI-E 2.0 x1 slots, 2 PCI slots, 5 SATA III connectors and 4 USB 3.0 ports.
A host of features on a tiny motherboard!

Dimensions : 6.7" x 6.7"
Price : US$ 89.99







SOUND CARD:


ASUS Xonar Essence STX


One of the best offerings from ASUS eclipsed only by their crazy Xonar Essence One, it is a great card for those who want their music to sound great. Do it justice and give it a proper surround sound or headphone setup.

Dimensions : 4.19" x 6.6"
Price : US$ 163.99











RAM:


Kingston HyperX Blu


A great 4GB (2 x 2GB) Dual Channel offering from Kingston. Good thermal qualities give it long life.

Speed : DDR3 1600
Capacity : 4GB (2 x 2GB)
Voltage 1.65V
Price : US$ 28.99














POWER SUPPLY:


Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D


Super cool, super quiet, 80+ Bronze Certified. What's not to love?

Max Power : 380Watts
PCI-E Connector : 1 x 6 Pin
SATA Connectors : 5
Dimensions : 3.4in x 5.9in x 5.5in
Price : US$ 44.99
Note: Does not come with Power Cord. Recycle your old one









HARD DRIVE:


Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB


While the production of hard drives is up to normal after the floods in Thailand, prices unfortunately have not got done all too well. This Caviar Blue will serve you nicely while we wait for the prices to be around pre-flood levels.

Speed : 7200RPM
Interface : SATA III (6.0Gb/s)
Cache : 16MB
Price : US$ 74.99








OPTIONAL:


Headphones:


What's a Audiophile system without some very good headphones? The prices of headphones vary a lot and you definitely have a lot of options. However some good ones in my opinion that you should take a look at as you explore headphones are:

Sennheiser HD 280 PRO

Arguably the best headphones you can buy at this price point. The sound is very good and the finish is top notch!
Price: US$ 99.99










Sennheiser HD 201


For those who are on an extreme budget but still want the best possible audio quality! I bought this and am very happy and satisfied with these headphones!
Price : US$ 24.95











Sennheiser HD 650


For those looking for pure, high quality sound, you cannot go wrong with the HD 650. It has very precise bassand made from ultra-light materials to give you exceptional comfort.
Price : US$ 499.95










Audio Technica ATH-W1000x


These amazing headphones will empty your wallet but my oh my, the sound quality will make you weap!

Price : US$ 699.95









TOTAL:


US$ 582.99 (No Headphones)

Thoughts:


You can build it even cheaper by going for a computer case that comes with a power supply. There are cases from companies like APEX (Apex MI-008 250W, US$39.99) but the reason I went with this build is because of the 80+ rating.  For those on an even smaller budget, take a look at the AMD A6-3500 65W Triple-Core APU which is selling for US$ 79.99. If you select both options your budget will be down to US$ 477.94.

Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Windows 8 Release Preview

Hi all!

So I finally installed the Retail Preview of Windows 8. The test computer is my old PC that I still have lying around. I wanted to try installing on a basic computer so that I can find out exactly what it's hardware requirements are and how fast it runs on it.

The computer specs are:
AMD Athlon 64 x2 4400+ 2.60 Ghz
2GB DDR2
40GB PATA Hard Drive
AMD Radeon HD 4550

So after burning the iso on the DVD, the boot took 2 minutes. Initial setup took another 4 minutes. Install took 21 minutes, Device Setup and System Setup took another 4 minutes. Personalizing options took another 2 minutes for a total boot to start up time of 33 minutes.



Personalize had some interesting options including color choices. The choices were several (though most were just too bright for my tastes. I settles for blue. It also asked for my email address and all to setup Sync and to log in via my email address as well if I so chose. The Store has some interesting apps already including one called Tune In. It gives you the options to choose from internet radio stations. The weird thing though was that you could not control the volume from inside the app. I had to go to the desktop to change the volume. The interesting feature though was that you could lock it to the side of your desktop.


(Excuse the background. Not my choice :-p)

The other thing I noted was that when you can hit backspace to exit the apps but they don't close. On bringing up the Task Manager, it showed the apps still running so you have to Alt+F4 to actually close it.

Internet Exlporer is very fast.


The weird thing though is that if you have already launched IE from the apps and then go to your desktop and launch IE from there, it will launch a separate IE and not actually bring up the original IE you launched from the metro apps.

The weather app looks very cool as well



I installed Disciples II, an old game that came out on the XP. It had compatibility issues with Win 8 and did not launch. I will install other games and report back my progress and any bugs I run in to. On trying to install Microsoft Security Essentials, it informed me that it was not needed as the Windows Defender that came with the OS works instead of MSE (though I would recommend if you want a good, fast anti virus that uses very little resources, you should get MSE.) I downloaded Google Chrome and Apache Open Office and am pleased to say they all work fine. When I changed the background, it also changed the task bar colors. It has an automatic setting which changes colors according to the background.

This is what my final screen look like for now



Windows 8 look and feels like its more meant for Tablets and Phones. The metro apps look like they will fit nicely on a touch screen but feel a bit pointless when it comes to a desktop. Windows 8 is based off of Windows 7 so it is as fast and stable as 7. I will fully admit the possibility that my reservations may be more because I am not used to the new setup and to remove that bias I will be using Windows 8 extensively to make sure that it is not just because of it being so different. For now though I don't really understand the point of launching Windows 8 so soon after 7. 7 was a major update over the Vista blunder and I feel Microsoft should have stuck with it for a bit longer. The launch of Windows 8 feels a bit forced and as such may more be a signal of Microsoft's decision to compete against Apple in the Tablet/Smart Phone market.

For now though, I will be sticking with Windows 7 and will not be upgrading when Windows 8 hits the market. I do not have the money nor the inclination right now to upgrade. I will keep reporting on Windows 8 as the week progresses and I test more things out.

Kiyoshi out ^_^