Funny how there are no subjectivist computer products; at least there are none that are ultra expensive with preposterously fantastic claims. There doesn't seem to be any claims that adding a blue LED shining on your motherboard as software "fixes" that alleviate hanging or compatibility issues. No $1,000 power cords that make your laptop run cooler and faster. No $1,500 bezels that increase your monitor's resolution from 16.8M colors to 33.6M. No magic creams that you rub on the PC chassis that prevents spyware. Interesting. If it works for audio electronics, why not computers? If demagnetizing audio CDs sounds better, then will Windows Vista will run faster or require less memory if you demagnetize the install DVD? Maybe if we add vibration isolation pads to the bottom of a PC it will run complex applications faster because the CPU will have more headroom not having to correct vibration-induced errors. How about pure silver, Teflon covered SATA HDD cables to speed data transfer or reduce bad HDD sectors? If Mundorf caps are added to the CPU’s 1.5Vcc power rail, will the Internet download faster? I know, surely if the BIOS IC socket is eliminated and the chip soldered directly to the motherboard, the PC will boot faster, right? Certainly if copper and IC sockets are audible, they must have problems in the MHz range, right?
Why are PCs seemingly devoid of these claims? There are all the conspiracy nuts and fantastic claims with cars – magnets and air turbulence devices to improve gas mileage. 300MPG carburetors must be real, but shelved by the evil oil companies. There are magnets, diluted waters, colored cards, special herbs, etc. ad-nauseum, that make up an entire billion-dollar homeopathy industry. Not to mention dowsers, psychics, ghost hunters, etc. that wander through humanity with impunity. But for some reason, the lowly PC requires real repairs, functional upgrades, troubleshooting, software protection, and even full replacement for performance improvements, not to mention just for daily dependability.
Just wondering.
Why are PCs seemingly devoid of these claims? There are all the conspiracy nuts and fantastic claims with cars – magnets and air turbulence devices to improve gas mileage. 300MPG carburetors must be real, but shelved by the evil oil companies. There are magnets, diluted waters, colored cards, special herbs, etc. ad-nauseum, that make up an entire billion-dollar homeopathy industry. Not to mention dowsers, psychics, ghost hunters, etc. that wander through humanity with impunity. But for some reason, the lowly PC requires real repairs, functional upgrades, troubleshooting, software protection, and even full replacement for performance improvements, not to mention just for daily dependability.
Just wondering.
well you can download free smileys that will make you popular with girls 
and there are ridiculous AMD claims that usually come out a couple of months before a new CPU launch.
and the "killer NIC" which will make you be able to beat more people at FPS games because it improves you ping (even though the rest of the internet stays the same, and you still suck, kind of like power cords, that one)
and there are ridiculous AMD claims that usually come out a couple of months before a new CPU launch.
and the "killer NIC" which will make you be able to beat more people at FPS games because it improves you ping (even though the rest of the internet stays the same, and you still suck, kind of like power cords, that one)
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Gag. All jokes aside, I think that subjectivism and get rich quick schemes have found their way onto the PC, but not so much in hardware form. I see alot of attempts to push anti-spyware and pc-optimizing software, along with countless internet scams.
You are right about the hardware aspect. While some reviewers tend to put more emphasis on certain performance benchmarks than others, I think that overall the majority of PC hardware reviews strive to be objective.
Perhaps it is the fact that interacting with a PC is not as complicated as the aural interaction. We take in things differently when we can see the results. The PC is fast or it isn't, I can clock it. I have to wait longer for a webpage to load or I don't, I can test my connection speed. The die temperature with this heatsink is 5C lower than the stock heatsink.
It takes alot more faith in one's hearing to be so decisive about such things with audio. Most people don't have that confidence in their own hearing. Some are over-confident, feel superior to others, and proclaim such. Some are under-confident, but mask it by pressuring others to agree with them for the purpose of self-affirmation.
Now, there are measurements which allow for probably all aspects of sound quality to be measured, but not everyone has access to these measurements, nor is there an accepted standard for how they are to be applied.
If suddenly all methods of objective measurements of PC performance were made unavailable to most of the population, I think discussion boards would be full of talk of premium motherboard capacitors, and silver traced motherboards. This processor feels faster than this one. This ram has more "attack" than that one.
Great strides have been made in the last decade to make such objective measurements available to anyone with interest, for very little financial outlay. I think that audio is slowly progressing towards more accessible standards, thanks to the contribution of many dedicated individuals.
On the other hand, you just try telling a AMD fan that the new Intel silicon is better than his favorite!
Anyone need a solid hemp mousepad? It makes your mouse feel light as a feather!
Regards,
David
2.99 per text. This is a subscription service, 29.99/mo Verizon, 19.99/mo for AT&T.
Gag. All jokes aside, I think that subjectivism and get rich quick schemes have found their way onto the PC, but not so much in hardware form. I see alot of attempts to push anti-spyware and pc-optimizing software, along with countless internet scams.
You are right about the hardware aspect. While some reviewers tend to put more emphasis on certain performance benchmarks than others, I think that overall the majority of PC hardware reviews strive to be objective.
Perhaps it is the fact that interacting with a PC is not as complicated as the aural interaction. We take in things differently when we can see the results. The PC is fast or it isn't, I can clock it. I have to wait longer for a webpage to load or I don't, I can test my connection speed. The die temperature with this heatsink is 5C lower than the stock heatsink.
It takes alot more faith in one's hearing to be so decisive about such things with audio. Most people don't have that confidence in their own hearing. Some are over-confident, feel superior to others, and proclaim such. Some are under-confident, but mask it by pressuring others to agree with them for the purpose of self-affirmation.
Now, there are measurements which allow for probably all aspects of sound quality to be measured, but not everyone has access to these measurements, nor is there an accepted standard for how they are to be applied.
If suddenly all methods of objective measurements of PC performance were made unavailable to most of the population, I think discussion boards would be full of talk of premium motherboard capacitors, and silver traced motherboards. This processor feels faster than this one. This ram has more "attack" than that one.
Great strides have been made in the last decade to make such objective measurements available to anyone with interest, for very little financial outlay. I think that audio is slowly progressing towards more accessible standards, thanks to the contribution of many dedicated individuals.
On the other hand, you just try telling a AMD fan that the new Intel silicon is better than his favorite!
Anyone need a solid hemp mousepad? It makes your mouse feel light as a feather!
Regards,
David
Some of the cooling products are a bit suspect... I'm skeptical of the Peltier coolers, for example: those are very inefficient, so you'll be drawing more power from the power supply and dumping more heat into the case.
There was that "Ram Doubler" software which sold many copies back when 16 megs of RAM cost what an entry level PC does now. It did nothing other than misrepresent how much RAM was free, and I think lawyers and judges eventually took an interest in it.
People will pay more money for Plextor drives when the identical drive mechanism could be bought with a BenQ badge for a fraction of the price.
There was that "Ram Doubler" software which sold many copies back when 16 megs of RAM cost what an entry level PC does now. It did nothing other than misrepresent how much RAM was free, and I think lawyers and judges eventually took an interest in it.
People will pay more money for Plextor drives when the identical drive mechanism could be bought with a BenQ badge for a fraction of the price.
That's because all the people are so dang brainwashed in the Win/Mac/Linux battle, or TV commercials for MDG, Dollar-a-Day and Dell, their little consumer brains would pop like ballons if you added the rubbishery you mentioned here
Though gamer's will snap up any hook you toss in the water.... but are also powerfull enough as a group that if you see in an IRC chatroom a gamer saying, "this guy is a crook!" and names your company, you may as well declare bankruptcy now and save yourself the hassle.
Though gamer's will snap up any hook you toss in the water.... but are also powerfull enough as a group that if you see in an IRC chatroom a gamer saying, "this guy is a crook!" and names your company, you may as well declare bankruptcy now and save yourself the hassle.
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