2007 - Everything we hoped for?

[saphalline]

It's almost May. Do you know where your hardware is going? A quarter of the way through 2007 and what have we seen? Just a bunch of pipe dreams and confusion, if you ask me! And on the horizon, do we see any answers? Or just more questions?

Things were nice in 2006. WinXP was the OS of choice, with some vague notion of Vista in the future (honestly, I thought it would be delayed forever!). Our CPU's got better with dual-core, we got DDR2 RAM that was faster and cheaper than DDR, and we all knew what to expect for ultimate gaming goodness. Then it happened! The rev-up for Vista! It really was coming! And good SLI for Intel? What's this new GeForce 8800 GTX? AMD bought ATI?? Why are there 20 versions of Vista?? DX10? WGF? Huh??

Thus 2007 was born! :rolleyes: We've got it pretty good as far as cheap computers go. But I have to admit, I'm not impressed with 2007 so far. I was certain I'd have a nice DX10 game running on Vista to punish my system in March, but somehow that didn't happen. Now it turns out DX10 gaming won't even be a reality for quite some time. I'm hoping for fall, but I'm begging for summer! Then NVidia releases their new value DX10 vid cards, and I'm thoroughly disappointed. Where's ATI with their R600?? And why is AMD queuing up Barcelona with Penryn? Is the new dual giant trying to die?? Man, 2007 is being a real downer! Last year at this time I was flying high with Oblivion goodness, and games like Quake 4 and CoD2 were filling in other gaps. What do we have right now to show for all that's happened? A half-baked new Windows version, no DX10 games, a lose-lose vid card arena, and an upside-down CPU market?

I am not impressed.

2007 better pick up real soon or I'm gonna be upset! It's difficult to recommend anything to new buyers and builders right now. And I don't see the next quarter being any better. Any thoughts?

[SufferWell1396]

Yeah true.

If AMD goes out, were all screwed... seriously. Then Intel will have basically NO compition! what do you expect? VIA or Transmeta to come out of the blue and challenge Intel? its highly doubtful. But could happen. On the other hand with nVidia, competition is virtually non-existent. Matrox is still around, but no one buys from them anymore. if ATI goes out, were screwed just as bad becuase nVidia has no quality standards to meet to beat out the competition. Wait, S3 might be able to keep nVidia on its toes to an extent. They might be a viable replacement for ATI.

And as for Vista!? Im proudly typeing this off a laptop with Windows 98. I wont be switching to Vista until it is direly imperative to my computers, so that means i probably wont run it at all... XP will still be supported til like 2020 and by then, either 1. MS will not be the god of software, or 2. they will indefinatly have a new OS out... that will hopefully be better.

[PrntRhd]

The year has been a downer except for the iTunes site now distributing DRM-free songs, albeit for an extra $0.30 and the broadband pipes getting fatter. :D
More of the same crud:
DRM
WGA
TCI chips in mainboards
free applications being bought up and "suites" being produced instead.
mergers and consolidations

[Ajmukon]

I forsee the promise of QUAD CORE becoming more prominant. I am a firm believer in MOORE'S LAW, so in 12 months, the computing power will double (it doubled about 12 months ago, and moore's law is ever 24 months)

While 2007 may be a bumer year, 2008 will be FAR better in comparison

[Whyzman]

I'm going to build something with lignum vitae. Rosewood or zebrawood would be a good second choice... Something with beautiful grain, character, and strength. Eat my dust '07 and your wimpy electronic promises! :mad:

[jlreich]

I agree, with the exception of hardware prices continuing to drop there hasn't been anything good to speak of. I guess you can count expansion packs for Oblivion a good thing if you play it. Not that they are even that great, but it is nice to have something for you high level characters to do again. :p

Vista has been nothing but problems. Yes there are some that have been using it since beta without problems, but I think that's just because they got lucky with their particular combination of hardware and software that they don't have very many problems.

DX10 might as well be nothing but vaporware. Which is fine with me really. I don't care about DX10 because I have no plans to upgrade to a DX10 card anytime soon, nor do I plan on using vista to any great extent in the near future. Heck, with the one exception of Oblivion I have never bought a game when it first came out. I wait for 6 months or so and buy it for $20-$30 instead if $50-$60. So even if we have a DX10 game this summer I won't even have a need for DX10 until at least early 08'. :D

Quad core doesn't excite me yet. Except maybe to look forward to the future of technology. At this time dual core is plenty for most people.

I do think the release of DRM free music is awesome. This is a big step forward in URM (user rights management). :cool:

I do also agree with Ajmukon that 2008 should be much better. After all we have been on a high for a couple of years now. It can't always be good...

[sassie05]

... This is a big step forward in URM (user rights management). :cool:
I like that, very cool terminology. :cool:

[Whyzman]

nor do I plan on using vista to any great extent in the near future.It took me nigh unto 4 years to change from Me to XP... I'm just getting used to and finally liking XP. I know change is inevitable, but...did I mention lingum vitae? :rolleyes:

[david eaton]

You did. What I would like to know is Where the ****heck did you any any of it? Seems to be rarer than rocking horse droppings!!

[sassie05]

There is a place close to me that has some , well, they called it ironwood.

[Whyzman]

http://www.cocoboloinc.com/vitae.html

rarer than rocking horse droppings!!Now that presents a not so pretty picture! :D Do, do you think the're pebble sized? :rolleyes:

[Whyzman]

We have Ironwood here in Minnesota also sassie, but it's not lignum vitae. Ours is ostyra virginiana. Lignum vitae is also sometimes called Ironwood, as you point out.

Minnesota Ironwood is strong stuff and very dense...great firewood...

[Ajmukon]

And what does Wood have to do with the thread topic?

(btw that is one type of wood i would love to work with on a lathe)

Back to Topic:
2007- bummer year, 2008 will be great!

[Whyzman]

And what does Wood have to do with the thread topic?A lot! Especially, since everything '07 appears to be going against the grain of the many '06 improvements...

Okay, perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree, but I was a bit stumped with what to talk about with all the boring '07 prognostications. I didn't want to just leave the subject with such a negative timbre in the air.

[saphalline]

Wow, it must be really bad if all of you need to entertain yourselves with rare wood and a dash of puns! :p

I have no doubt that 2008 will be way better, even if only for gamers. But that's 9 months away! And in the computer technology world, that's an entire generation! :eek: That's like saying, "Oh sure, Henry VII is a horrible King, but Henry VIII will be much better!" :rolleyes: Small consolation for those who can't wait for 2008 because they're limping along on 800MHz systems. Or even for people like me, who pinned all their hopes on DX10 1.5-gen value vid cards, only to be tossed aside with the graphical equivalent of an old banana peel. 32 shader engines and a measly 8 ROP's?? I feel like Oliver standing next to the pot saying, "Please, sir, can I have some more?"

I also agree with everyone about the disaster that is Vista. While I applaud M$ for the advancements they've done in Vista, I have to admit that the killer techs for it are geared almost exclusively towards gamers. And this is its downfall, as well, because hmmm, let me think... there are no DX10 games!! :mad: Crysis will be my one savior in this area, and perhaps even Alan Wake if I decide to buy it. Then there's M$'s own Flight Sim X, a game that will go down in history as being ahead of its time in a technical sense! What were they thinking?? In any case, a DX10 patch for FSX on Vista and it'll be right as rain. But if you cut out the gaming and the BS, what's Vista good for? Office 2007? Sorry M$, but good looks and a bucket of promises mean nothing without some equally advanced applications.

The CPU market is looking like a big thunderstorm right now. Sure it looks cool, and you might even have some fun, but the destructive potential cannot be ignored. Barcelona and Penryn? Without some high end games to stress them, they're not doing much for me. My 939 FX-60 is doing just fine for me right now (as are C2D's and AM2 X2's for most others), and since the CPU is merely simmering on the back burner when it comes to gaming importance, I daresay only DX10 games can save Intel and AMD alike. But even so, when you can get a dual-core CPU for less than $100, who needs quad-core for excellent gaming performance?

In the end, I think 2007 will be the year of "skips". Skip Vista. Skip DX10 vid cards. Skip quad-core. Not that I'm going to skip out on all of those myself - I am a high end gamer, after all. But I am a rarity - even on the forums to a certain extent - and my standards are not representative of end-users. You can take those "skips" to the bank.

[Whyzman]

Wow, it must be really bad if all of you need to entertain yourselves with rare wood and a dash of puns! :pSomething needed to fill the void until you came back to really put the hammer down on things. I asked my self, "should I do something?" I decided I would do something... I know I went out on a limb but I'm glad you saw it!

[TopChip7]

Blimey things must be bad.... you guys should get a job on stage

........sweeping it

[Whyzman]

Blimey things must be bad.... you guys should get a job on stage

........sweeping itWell, if you saw dust then it would need to be swept! We wouldn' want somebody to trip and fell. If you're bored you could offer to help, but not if you plain don't want to join us...on stage! ;)

[George Hallam]

ye i think 2008 will rock all the new small new pieces of technology is being introduced and by 2008 everyone can afford it and there will be plenty of it

lol i bet in 08 will be moaning and saying how good 09 will be :)