Category Archives: Hardware

Hardware: DIY Power – How much?

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In building my new computer I needed to verify my calculation of the amount of power required. What size power supply do I need?

By my, mostly in my head, calculation as I selected parts I need 500-550 watts at peak demand. I select a continuous supply rating based on my anticipated peak demand. While power supplies have built in the ability to handle peak loads that exceed their continuous rating and that often gets advertised, that ability usually comes from considering what all the parts can stand when pushed to >100% of their design spec.

Computer Power Supply

Computer Power Supply

Humans can walk all day at 5 mph. But, we can only run at 20 mph for a few minutes. Sort of the same thing with computer power supplies. At some point in time they overheat or an individual component overheats by too much and the unit fails. Some units have anti-self-destruct protection, which reduces the power supplied to save itself. And what does that do to the rest of the computer? Nothing good.  Continue reading →

Video Cards: GTX1060 vs RX480

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There is debate in the SL Forum as to which video card is a better choice for Second Life™. I’ll try to provide the information needed to make a decision. But, I don’t see a deal maker or breaker that would pull the choice to any one card.

Also there are no good benchmarks, yet, of which new cards work best with Second Life. The following benchmark tests show the cards’ performance are very dependent on how the game is designed.

In the above video he is testing DirectX12 verses Vulkan. Vulkan is the next generation OpenGL. While development on OpenGL has not stopped, it appears to be similar to SL and Sansar. Except I have no doubt Vulkan will be the render engine of choice for most game makers moving on from OpenGL.  Continue reading →

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The Novice Computer Upgrade Series: Memory

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Regular readers will know I am in the process of building a new computer capable of handling VR, Sansar, Obduction (from the makers of Myst), and Second Life. I mostly deal with web tech and repair or upgrade of old computers. I do a lot of repair and upgrading of Core2 vintage machines.

So, when I decided to upgrade I started looking for what is best, fast, and cheap. In the process I realized I haven’t been keeping up with the tech. Helping people in the SL Forum I realize there are a lot of people also unaware of the changes in tech. A lot of bad advice is handed out in the forum. So, I am starting a series of articles on the current state of computer technology. Starting with a tutorial on computer memory.

Memory

Computer memory is called: RAM – Random Access Memory.

DDR4 Top - DDR2 Bottom

DDR4 Top – DDR2 Bottom

Memory chips like all other tech advances. Memory gets better, meaning faster and using less power. So, can you put faster memory in your existing computer? May be.  Continue reading →

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What is the 2016 Titan X Pascal?

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A few days ago NVIDIA released the GTX1060. The 1060 is the mid-range video card for gamers. The GTX1080 has been out for some time and it was the top end video graphics card for gamers. Now 25% faster than the 1080 is NVIDIA’s 2016 Titan X (Pascal) Video Card nearing its release date, August 2, 2016. (NowInStock)

2016 Titan X - Coming 8/2/2016

2016 Titan X – Coming 8/2/2016

The cost of a GTX1080 is in the US$700 to $800 range. The 2016 Titan X is rumored to have a MSRP of $1,200. That is 50% more in cost for 25% more in performance. Not the most GPU per dollar but, it is fast. For the enthusiast this is sort of like comparing a Geo-Metro to a Farrari using cost per pound (kilogram) or top speed. Incomplete comparison. Continue reading →

Now in Stock – The Trick to Buying it NOW

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Arwen

Arwen

I’ve got to tell you about a great site I learned about. It is so handy. Love it.

In the process of building my new computer I hit a purchasing problem. As I often buy things from eBay I’ve become accustomed to knowing when I can get an item. Things are ‘Buy It Now’ or the remaining time in the auction shows. I can control my wait time. But, getting a GTX1060 was proving to be a problem.  Continue reading →

Second Life: Oculus Rift CV1 Viewer & How To

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Hamlet at New World Notes is pointing out David Rowe has a SL VR Viewer working. The page Hamlet  linked to is out of date. The new news is in the comments where David says,

Oculus Riftを貰った

Oculus Riftを貰った

David Rowe Post author5 Jul 2016 at 11:22 am

Just tried LL’s Rift viewer and, well, it’s surprisingly un-good. It’s like the graphics are being fed from the wrong framebuffer object or the pipeline is being misconfigured when you switch into HMD view. Intentional or bugs? I suppose time will tell. The graphics should be able to be so much better (even if understandably the FPS isn’t so good)!

Links:

Note Jo Yardley’s comment about being able to use Vorpx with a regular viewer (i,e., like Firestorm, Alchemy, or LL’s regular viewer) to view Second Life in your Rift. I haven’t tried it myself but am told it can be used.

Continue reading →

Graphics Cards and VR

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The site Road to VR has an article about Nvidia and the changes they are making to improve VR performance and that tech moving into game engines. See: Unreal Engine and Unity to get NVIDIA’s New VR Rendering Tech.

Waiting for my ship

Waiting for my ship

Until recently video cards were given geometry (the mesh world), lights, and a camera position and they rendered an image. As the camera moved the geometry was reloaded shaded and rendered again with mesh and lights in relation to the camera. (Which is technically saying it backward. Consider the camera fixed and to change the view we move the world. Think of your computer screen as the camera. It sits on your desk never moving. Everything displayed on it moves. Thus the reason for reloading geometry.)  Continue reading →