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Way back in March I tried to install the ATI X1950 Pro video card. Unfortunately all I got was grief and a whole bunch of blue screens. Vista (combined with my motherboard) hated the card. I have waited (patiently like a grasshopper) for a decent card to come out that would run without any problem on my PC.

That day has finally come!~! Today my new card, an NVidia 8600 GTS 512MB arrived. It didn’t take long to get the card fitted and drivers installed before I was able to see the differences the new card made.

The first thing I had to check out was my Vista Rating…

When I first got Vista Ultimate my rating was a really sad 3.2 The score was due to the video card I had. It was the only card I could use on my PC that was stable enough to run Vista.

But now…

Now I have a score of… 4.4! I was hoping for at least 5, but my processor had the score of 4.4 and the Vista rating is brought down to whatever is the lowest score. On a good note though, my video card scored a very respectable 5.9!

If you are wondering what a Vista rating has anything to do with, it is (for some) a way to brag about how cool your PC is, and how well everything runs. A rating of 6 is as good as it gets (as far as I know, let me know if I am wrong). Some programs and features on Vista will only run if your rating is above a certain level. Some of the games that come with Vista fail to run if they are below 3 (for example).

The second thing I had to do was check out how nicely Guild Wars looked…

I am so pleased with the graphics. To illustrate the differences between the quality of the images, I have included a screen shot of one of my characters Zara Summers and her minipet Asura. The images below are both thumbnails. If you want to see them bigger, just click on the images.

 Out with the old… In with the new

Finally, I hear that EB Games is having a sale on their games. I might have to check out what they have just to test this new video card some more… Any suggestions on games to try? I am thinking Oblivion looks lovely.

Well done to the Western Australian ACS Young IT rep (Daniel)! Whatever he is doing, he must be doing it right. Today I came across two blog articles mentioning the IT in the Pub sessions they have running there. One of the articles was from Charles Sterling, and the other from Nick Randolph. Hopefully with the extra advertising, more people are able to make their way to the pub tomorrow night. If you are reading this Daniel (and I know that you are) let me know how it goes

Rather than repeat the blogs, you can read it for yourself on either Charles’ or Nick’s blog.

There is several IT in the Pub sessions happening all over the country. If you want to get along to one, check out the Young IT web site . As well as the IT in the Pub, there are other workshops and events happening. Keep an eye out for them too!

World Free Comic Book Day May 5 2007

The lovely people at Pulp Fiction Comics have just informed me that Saturday is World Free Comic Book Day!

Pulp Fiction Comics is the comic store I deal with for my Buffy comics. I started collecting the comic a couple of months ago. The people at the store have been so nice. They are always a pleasure to deal with.

There are plenty of other comic stores around the world participating in the event. If you are interested in grabbing a comic book or two, make sure you check out the site: http://www.freecomicbookday.com/ It lists all the available places, and also shows what comics are on offer. What an excellent initiative!

PCPowerPlay Australian Exclusive

In the June 2007 edition of PCPowerPlay (out now) you can grab yourself a 14 day trial of Guild Wars (or 10 hours, whichever comes first. I am guessing 10 hours would come first…) and an Asura minipet. Asura is only available from the magazine (or several others around the world). I got my Asura minipet tonight. He is so cute, well I think he is.

I have taken a screen shot of my Asura. Here he is (not too sure if Asura is a boy or a girl…)