AMD Ryzen 2700X vs Ryzen 1600
Ryzen 7 2700X vs Ryzen 5 1600 IntroI've always been a fan of AMD processors. I remember a looong time ago when Windows 98 and a song by a certain "artist" was all the craze, I saw an ad from an unknown (to me) CPU manufacturer for a 500MHz chip. That manufacturer was AMD and the chip was their flagship at the time, the AMD K7 based Athlon 500. Outside of that ad I never had the opportunity to experience any of AMD's chips first hand until about 8 years later. This was when I bought a Turion X2 based Laptop to rebel against Intel leaving me hanging when I upgraded to Windows Vista. TL;DR Intel refused to release a WDDM driver for the chipset used in certain laptops even though the 915 chipset was more than capable of supporting Aero transparency. When Vista was in the testing phase you could use Aero with the XDDM drivers but this support was removed in the final release. I was able to eventually "mod" the Windows Registry to get it working in the end but Intel was on my naughty list...
WatchAir TV/DVR Antenna Review 2018
The WatchAir TV Antenna/DVRRecently on one of my Amazon binge shopping runs I came across this weird but cool device called the WatchAir "Smart Antenna". The WatchAir is a hybrid Antenna/DVR that you can access via applications on the Android and iOS platforms. There are also other apps being rolled out on Smart TV/Devices and possibly a PC or Mac app in the future. When I tested my unit I was able to access it from an Android tablet, iPad, FireTV and Samsung TV. The various application interfaces are very fluid and easy to navigate. The initial configuration of the unit will need to be done on the mobile apps because the TV apps are very basic and only provide the minimum options needed to view and make minor changes to the recording settings.DesignThe design of the WatchAir is very attractive. It looks a bit like a space satellite with the solar panels deployed in the shape of a T, very minimalistic but packed with functionality. The design consists of two parts. The first...
IK Multimedia iRig Keys I/O 25 Review
IK Multimedia iRig Keys I/O 25 Review IntroIK Multimedia is a company that has been making musician focused software and hardware since 1996. They are best known for their T-RackS plugins and have a very loyal following on social media. I’ve followed this company’s products for a while, but I’ve never found a reason to acquire one until now. Why? well If you’ve ever considered or attempted to make music on the road using either a laptop or mobile device you’ve probably come across this problem…audio. One of the major downsides to making music on the road is access to a quality audio interface with proper preamps and DACs. Most mobile musicians (the ones who create music digitally, not with real instruments) are usually limited to the soundcards in their tablets, phones or laptops. There are dedicated interfaces on the market that allow you to squeeze some decent audio from your mobile device, but these are typically low-quality or very expensive. Another problem face...
How to crop a layer in Serif Affinity Photo
This guide will show you how to crop an image in Affinity Photo. This is a workaround until an “official” method exists: 1. Select the Marquee Tool2. Marquee Select the area that you want to crop3. Go to the “Edit” menu and click on “Copy Flattened”4. Go to the “Edit” menu and select “Paste”5. Select the “Move Tool” (Black Arrow)6. Position the cropped image7. Right-click on the original layer and delete it.8. Final Cropped ImageHotkeys if you’re into that stuff 😊: M > Ctrl-Shift-C > V > Ctrl-V > Right-Click original layer > Delete Layer
LG 43UJ6200 Cheapest 4K “Monitor” for its Size!
LG 43UJ6200/43UJ6300The Monitor, maybe one of the most overlooked parts of the computing experience. It’s a little like the tires on your car, or your Network Router…. Things that are so important yet tend to be ignored. The times are changing though. With CPU and GPU performance increases slowly stabilizing. People are looking for more things to upgrade. First, it was Hard Drives and now it’s monitors. Like the tires on your car, the monitor is your primary interface for gauging the video performance of your machine, no matter how fast your GPU, how high the DPI is on your weighted mouse or how clicky those mechanical keys are, without a good monitor all those things are useless.I was ecstatic the first time I upgraded to an XGA CRT Monitor. I felt that I was on the cutting edge of display technology in a time when Doom and UT99 was the rage the CRT was king. The next major jump in display tech for me was to an LCD panel, not LED by the way and still using the same 102...
Sennheiser HD7 DJ Headphone Review and Comparison
If you are a regular visitor to the blog then you already know that I'm a notorious Cheapskate and not in the sense that I like cheap things. I always seek out the best products at the most affordable prices. This typically means that anything you see me reviewing is probably selling at a significant discount under retail. Case in point, these great Headphones from Sennheiser. The HD7 DJ Headphones came out a couple of years ago as part of a trio of DJ/Producer-centric gear. The HD7 falls right between the HD8 and HD6 Mix headphones from Sennheiser and are designed specifically for DJs with its foldable design and tuning. I did some research on this model and based on what I found it became glaringly obvious that the only real difference between this model and its big brother the HD8 was the materials used to build the chassis. The HD8 being a premium model featuring a mostly metallic build while the HD7 has a more wallet friendly plastic design.DesignThe ...
Zotac GTX 1070 Mini | Size Means Nothing!
Zotac GTX 1070 MiniI've always been a Nvidia Fanatic, my first card was the Vanta then I got a hold of a Geforce 3 and after that a 440MX. I've had laptops with Nvidia graphics even my current Model has a Quadro chip under the hood. I've been rolling with Nvidia since PCI was cool and N00B5 were getting "Godliked" via Railgun in UT99. That being said you can imagine how much it hurt me to step over to the Red Team when I purchased my Radeon HD6950, exactly 6 years ago. I cannot lie though, that was the best gaming purchase I have ever made in my life. I still have the card today and the only reason I can't use it for gaming anymore is because it only has 2GB or VRAM and for most games nowadays that is below minimum spec. I wished that I could keep that card in my system forever but the amount I was spending on electricity and the dwindling performance of the card forced me to upgrade to a newer flashier GPU. All this in addition to the inability to play a few newer games that I'd...
The Roland A-01K Better Late Than Never Review
The Roland A-01 and A-01K variant were released a little over a year ago. The A-01 is listed as a Controller+Generator by Roland and rightfully so. It has a plethora of connectivity options in addition to a neat little 8Bit synth that can produce some hardcore, gritty basslines in addition to the beeps and pops that 8Bit music is known for. I've been following the progress of this unit for a while now and one thing that I see trending across almost all the sites and forums I've visited is that people really don't know what to make of the device. I think the misconception that most people have of this unit is that it is a Synth with a few "Controller" options. In actuality, it's the complete opposite. The A-01 is a Controller with a synth thrown in for the heck of it! Once you take a step back and look at it from this perspective, you will begin to see just how novel this little device is.Design The A-01 and it's Limited Edition A-01K variant feature a design that ...
Arturia Minilab MKII vs Minilab Comparison
The reason I'm doing this review is because like you I was considering purchasing the newly released Minilab MK2. The problem for me and potentially anyone else reading this post is that I already have the previous Minilab model and I love it! When the updated controller was released I was ready to throw all my money at Arturia, but as an owner of almost all the sub $200 Arturia controllers, I had to stop and think about whether it was wise to add yet another MIDI keyboard to my already overcrowded "Studio". After meditating on it for a while, I decided that at this time I will probably not be upgrading to the newer model. The main reason for me is that I already have the Keystep which as you may or may not know is the more "flexible" big brother to the Minilab and it's great for on the road production. Although it lacks certain features like pads and MIDI assignable knobs it has a ton of connectivity options and includes an Arpeggiator and Sequencer making it great for Standalone us...
