The TR Podcast 88: Exposing the midrange

	Date: May 30, 2011 Time: 1:13:09 Hosted by Jordan Drake Co-Hosts: Scott Wasson, Cyril Kowaliski, Geoff Gasior Download: MP3 (67.9MB) | M4A version unavailable due to technical difficulties Subscribe: RSS (MP3) | RSS (M4A) iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (M4A)
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Show notes
Despite some technicial difficulties, we join you for another lively episode of tech reporting with Jordan, Scott, Geoff, and Cyril. After answering some listener mail, our panel discusses Scott's new computer and his aging software toolset, which includes Microsoft Office 2000, an old copy of Paint Shop Pro, and other legacy programs like Homesite 5. Then, it's on to two gaming stories: Duke Nukem Forever going gold (we never thought we'd see it) and the hauntingly artistic trailer for Dead Island, which is followed by a gameplay demo that has our panelists divided.

Geoff had to leave early for this episode, so we bid him farewell right after he details the Z68 chipset's new Virtu d-Mode, which fixes some problems we encountered in our Z68 review. To wrap things up, we look at the GeForce GTX 560, an impressive enclosure from Corsair, and Antec's Rockus 3D speakers.

Send in listener mail, and we'll answer on the podcast. - jdrake@techreport.com

Follow us on Twitter - Scott - Jordan - Geoff - Cyril - The Tech Report

Listener mail:

Resolution/GPU sweet spot? - from Dash - (0:01:11):

"What is the sweet spot, the ideal monitor size and resolution to aim for when buying a new monitor to support a new GPU? I think a lot of people can't afford to have a massive monitor and play at the top resolutions when they need to buy the latest, greatest, and most expensive GPU every year. Is there a monitor size and resolution you suggest people to aim for if they want to play at higher graphic settings without sacrificing performance, for 2-3 years?

I currently run an aging SLI 8800GT on a 19inch @ 1280x1024. I know I'm behind in terms of GPU power, monitor size, and resolution. What monitor and resolution should I and other people on a budget keep in mind for, if we only want to upgrade GPUs every 2-3 years?"

Android Benchmarking? - from Ben - (0:06:40):

"Love the podcast....quick question about benchmarking. I just entered the Android world, and unfortunately there isn't much proof when it comes to concept based on benchmarks. When I ask, "What size should I partition my swap," I get more hear-say and no proof. I'm interested in knowing the process to benchmarking you use. Do you take the average of many tests? Do you take the first test? I've formulated a good process for Android when it comes to setting up the phone, but I don't want my benchmark proof to be subverted by formality and process critiques. Thanks for the help."

Tech discussion:

Scott's new computer woes (0:14:31)- Read more

Duke Forever goes gold, hell freezes over (0:25:05)- Read more

Video Game Algorithm Smooths Out Pixelation (0:26:15)- Read more

Dead Island video shows open world, teases co-op (0:30:32)- Read more

Virtu d-Mode puts discrete GPUs first, QuickSync second (0:36:19)- Read more

Nvidia's GeForce GTX 560 graphics processor (0:40:25)- Read more

Corsair's Obsidian Series 650D enclosure (0:49:10)- Read more

Antec's Soundscience Rockus 3D|2.1 speakers (0:57:26)- Read more

That's all, folks! We'll see you on the next episode.