TheBostonTickler

FYI it is bad form to use an acronym without first or immediately explaining exactly what it stands for. So the intro might work better if you started with something like, "The Central Processing Unit, or C.P.U., is one of the most important..." Hope that helped a little!

Yeah after weighing my options for like the third time due to circumstances, I think I'm just going to disable full screen bios menu & hope for the best in the future. If I guess possibly dealing with MSI on an exchange later is better than waiting 6 months to a year for a good 980 to fall under $500 at the same time I have the cheddar. Thanks for your responses guys, you actually ended up swinging me back.

So I posted the other day about having some issues with my new 290X Lightning, but after some investigating I found that the PCIE slot I was using was only a 4 width instead of x 16. So I switched it to the other, deleted then re-installed the drivers, and all the issues disappeared, except one, this bios post screen. If I key into the bios, everything shows up normal. It also has been able to make it through all the benchmarks and games I've thrown at it since, with them all appropriately reporting that my CPU is chugging them to death? The only reason I care is I already initiated the RMA and now the retailer is sold out, so it completely kills my build if I have to return it without getting a replacement. My MOBO is a 970a-UD3, which has some voltage issues apparently. I would LOVE to switch it into somebody else's machine to see what the results are, but all my friends are console droids and one shop quoted me at $50, just to plug it in! So the 5 million dollar question is, should I return this and go back to my 7770 or could this weird issue just be the result of MOBO/Windows funkiness? I GREATLY appreciate anyone who is able to take a moment a depart wisdom on this very conflicted soul

I don't even know now. I just ran Unigine and it cranked out a score of 876 for me with full tess., 8 x AA, Ultra textures and VSync on. The MOBO is fine for CPU overclocks, I had mine bumped from 3.3 to 4.0 for the last 2 years without a hiccup so I knew that was fine, but I've heard some cheaper MOBO's can have problems when both CPU & GPU are cranked. Given that the card is destroying Unigine, but driver glitching on Furmark, sailing away at games like Hitman and Bio, but showing artifacts in an averagely modded Skyrim, it just seems to me it has to be a defect as well. I just don't want it to be (pouty little girl voice)!

Just the 7770 I replaced, which I did switch back in, and didn't have an artifact style start or any other weird issues. But again it is a single six pin juice sucker compared to the 2 x 8 + 6 on the Lightning. I'm pretty sure it's the card, which makes two flawed products in one order if I decide to hit Corsair up about my 780T's bent door and flaking paint on the window clips of the other one. I hate online shopping, why can't there be a decent computer shop in the entire state of Oregon?

Hey so I bought a new 290X Lightning and I've been having all sorts of issues, I'm trying to solicit advice before I initiate the RMA process. The first thing I noticed was that the Mobo boot screen is just a square pixelated mess, but it works fine when I prompt in and through normal applications. Then I ran into artifacts while playing a modded version of Skyrim, which I somewhat attributed to my 6100FX CPU or game instability, as I haven't seen it anywhere else. I've also noticed the occasional horizontal line shooting across the screen while typing on Word, and was unable to get Fire Strike to even start, So I reset my CPU & GPU clocks to see if maybe my MOBO was slowly frying itself, & that didn't really do much. I decided then, "maybe I should really bench this thing since you know, I've had it for two weeks" After un/re installing drivers, LN2 mode, normal, LN2, I was finally able to get Furmark started. BUT NOW, it says the driver is disconnected and fixes itself before a test starts, and the program freezes before it can pop out results. I was able to get it clocked to 1150/1500 "stably," with no artifacts or crashes on Kombustor and in some less demanding games. The two most demanding games I have are Bio Infinite & Dying Light, with Bio running fine on full sets and Dying Light not showing visual problems on max, although my CPU stutters the hell out of it ($60 in the toilet). My PSU shouldn't be the problem, it's a brand new Antec 850 I received with the card, but my MOBO is a p.o.s. 970a-UD3 by Gigabyte. I've read that this thing has terrible power management so I'm wondering if I could be so lucky as to have the motherboard be the problem - as I'll hopefully replace it within the month. I'm about 99% sure it's the MOBO, but I figured this would be a great place to put the 1% still left in my mind at rest. or luckily find out I've just terribly overlooked something. Thanks for any help if you're able to provide it.

"I'm going to try to keep this thing...even if I have to put it in my garage & wear a jacket when I use it." - Linus. I know, because how terrible would it be that nobody would ever come bother you out in the frigid garage; I'm on to you sir

Call me crazy, but I don't mind class action lawsuits simply on the principle that I'd rather see my money go to a third party swindler who earned it (lawyer), than the party who originally swiped it out from beneath me (defendant).

According to an article posted just a couple of hours ago on the CNET Magazine's website, T-Mobile has already, or is soon poised, to take over Sprint's place as the third largest mobile provider. While the details are currently being contested by both sides, it appears that Sprint has been counting over 1.7 million users who have been inactive for more than six months. They claim that they've always followed this practice and that they don't discount users until a retail outlet partner updates them on a user's status. While not necessarily a tremendous ethics violation, it's still hard for me not to imagine a politician getting caught registering voters for the deceased and then stating, "I only used the votes of those deceased for which I did not directly receive a death certificate." So what do you guys think about both Sprint's marketing "strategy," and T-Mobile's worthiness in beating it out for the #3 spot? Source: http://www.cnet.com/news/so-did-t-mobile-really-surpass-sprint-as-the-no-3-wireless-carrier/

LOVE the graphic because it more clearly identifies with the brand, don't like the slogan though because it doesn't seem as brand relevant or cohesive.

It's my understanding is that D-Wave's implementation is not a completely "full-fledged" quantum computer as far as the theory goes because their system focuses on registering spin through a specified point on the qubit; kind of like the price is right wheel spinning around the dial. BUT I've also read that theoretical quantum computers are really questionable on the feasibility scale, and that D-Wave's approach might be in the line of real life applicability. The one thing that nobody can dispute at this point though is that they have earned the ear of big business with Google, NASA, and the ominous Lockheed Martin Corporation all currently throwing piles of money at them. My bet is that there system performs respectably.

The point was that if you openly say that you oppose nearly all government intervention, then clearly you would disagree with ones that speak to changing employment practices just like any other government program automatically, creating an bias for which there is no possibility for objective reasoning. If one starts out with the point to discredit anything another does by principal, then why would anyone believe that same entity would be providing an objective case against the basis of their principals? Are we to believe that even though these groups openly state against & fight nearly every new government initiative that isn't pro-business, that they are somehow providing this information because they are so concerned about the common man's beliefs about the state of gender inequality--can't say it is an issue they have EVER come out against before. Let's look at these institutions that you so willingly grant credit to, since you know, I haven't done my research. First question, are either of them academically accepted entities in the fields of marketing, economics, sociology, or anything related to this subject? No of course they are not. They are of course business accredited--they couldn't be open & operating otherwise--but these are not people who are either well accepted in these fields, or openly predominate them in any way. They admittedly, through their own press releases, state they are "think tanks" which serve to bring up and coming political candidates & activists (ironically none of them which are conservative) so that they may better effect their roles as leaders. How do we get objective & accepted economical statistical information entity out of those mission statements? The point of showing where they receive their funding was to give possible insight as their motivation, unless of course we are to automatically believe they are an exception to the rule that one generally does what the person who signs their checks wishes. The reason I didn't attack the points in the videos is because it would have taken a full day to pull all the statistics and then draft up a realized argument, for which nobody would have had counter points, because this is not the forum for that kind of debate. I thought that it goes without saying that four minute videos are not exactly conducive to trying to create a cultured debate anyhow, and that anyone who tried to sum up such a complex issue so simply would obviously be putting a spin on it of some sort, regardless what side they were coming from. As far as your accusations of liberal bias and affection for femfreq are concerned, that's purely a product of your consciousness. I never mentioned anything about either and simply wished to give people a heads up that those videos were created with the intent of seeming creditable, when in fact they are a facade; and frankly I didn't know anything about femfreq, had to Google it, found it is connected to GamerGate, now writing that point off as paranoia on your behalf since I never brought it up. Someone here was kind enough to post a PEW video in response to these more misleading ones, although I wouldn't put much stock in that either as it is also a four minute video trying to sum up a complex issue; but at least this time it comes from an accepted entity which includes more statistical figures and less "interpretation" of them.

Both of those videos are sponsored by ultra right-wing conservative status quo supporting institutions; using them as "proof" towards a lack of sexism in today's society is equivalent to me posting a clip of Rosanne Barr screaming that all men are sexist because they don't find her attractive, neither of them are relevant or objectively accurate. The first video, produced by the "Institute for Humane Studies," is a paid mouthpiece of the Koch brothers, with the George Mason University where this program is homed receiving approximately thirty-million dollars in donations over the last couple decades; more donation money than they have ever donated to any other single entity. The "institute" works hand-in-hand with the Mercatus center, a libertarian lobbyist group which has virtually made it it's goal, among many other things, to repeal nearly every clean air initiative that has ever been passed, both nationally and in individual states. The second, is by the "American Enterprise Institute," which is literally a pro-business conservative lobbyist (think tank) institution which brands itself as libertarian, meaning no matter what, they don't agree with any sort of government interference, regardless of the issue. They have frequently fought against the rights of homosexuals, for the introduction of prayer in schools--only Christian ones of course--for the censorship of art, against anything abortion or birth control related they could find, and on behalf of everyone in this forum's favorite cause, the introduction of internet fast lanes. I understand that you were trying to prove a point, one I do not find to be unfounded even though I greatly differ in opinion, but to try to use these examples as objective sources was beyond reckless. I truly hope that you were not aware of how malicious the entities behind these video productions are and how their vale of objectivity does not extend further then the name by which they brand themselves. If you are really interested in statistical, factual information, then I would suggest trying places like: PEW research statistics, non-sponsored university studies, the Bureau of Labor & Industry (crazy right), or hell, even a Google Scholar search can get you started on the right track.

Moment of silence for the toilet you visited following that breakfast.

You missed my follow up to myself haha.