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technoblue

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  1. technoblue
    The latest images of Guardia over on tfw look very good, and Vulcan appears to have a lot of storage options in alt mode: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-3rd-party-discussion/1044584-maketoys-guardia-vulcan-hot-spot-13.html#post13448582 * sigh * I do enjoy Maketoys transformers and they are making it more and more difficult for me to ignore combiners with each new release in this line. Guardia is going to be so very hard to resist, even more of a pain than Quantron in some ways. The Protectobots were the only complete Transformers combiners that I had as a kid. In contrast, I only had two of the Technobots and never completed Computron. The nostalgia draw is strong with this one.
  2. technoblue
    Laser/Shockwave looks good to me. I'm glad I'm only interested in this and Ratchet too out of the official MP releases. Mostly, doing so gives my wallet a small break.
  3. technoblue
    Woops. Late night sleep posting. Thanks for the correction.
  4. technoblue
    I think I would forgive not-Sandstorm's odd car mode if the bot mode had a better face. The current face looks like they borrowed the head from a Decepticon prototype. Not-Octane was closer to the mark, IMO. Added Sandstorm's name (originally had Springer, because I was half asleep or something).
  5. technoblue
    Gigabyte is a favorite of mine too. I really like the Ultra Durable series of motherboards, but the Gaming series is also a good alternative that doesn't add too many compromises. I've used MSI for GPUs and have no complaints (my 980 is an MSI). I don't have any experience with the motherboards, though.
  6. technoblue
    You should be able to clone the drive at any point (before or after upgrading). But, if you are concerned about your OEM license, then it won't hurt to clone the drive with Windows 7 installed and then do the upgrade to Windows 10 from the SSD.
  7. technoblue
    I'm enjoying all combiners from afar (official and third party). I guess if a line had to be drawn with my toy collecting, that was where I decided to draw it.
  8. technoblue
    I wouldn't classify Supergirl as sitcom BS. I feel that the characters are somewhat quirky like those on The Flash. To me, that is a good thing because it gives them depth. There aren't too many avenues to add depth with broadcast television. Supergirl is doing it in an intelligent way. Anyway, I agree with sh9000. Give the show another chance. There is some good action, and more than a few surprises along the way too.
  9. technoblue
    I think you will be okay. My understanding is that you can upgrade your OEM copy of Win7 Home to an OEM copy of Win10 Home for free today. If you want a different license that covers a different tier of Windows (Win10 Pro), then you will need to pay for it or wait until Microsoft offers a retail bundle.
  10. technoblue
    Wow. You guys are fast. I just caught myself up to episode three last night, but the new season is very good so far.
  11. technoblue
    I pre-ordered the complete set (core figure plus armor). It has been a long time coming, this (not) Nova Prime, but I have been meaning to add one back into my collection since I sold my copy of MT's HyperNovae battle tanker. Something about MMC's version clicks with me. I like how the armor appears to work, and how the cradle can serve as storage when displaying the core figure on its own. I'm not too fussed with the color changes that MMC made to their version, although it does get criticized as being inaccurate.
  12. technoblue
    I use 850 EVO SSDs in one system and 850 Pros in another. Both use Asus motherboards (one Haswell system and the other Ivy Bridge). Before the Samsung SSDs, I had smaller Crucial SSDs installed. I can't say anything bad about my experience, but I know the other guys here have more to say.
  13. technoblue
    A NAS device is basically a mini low power computer whose one purpose in life is to serve files. I think it adds convenience, but it really depends on what you want to do with your system. You mentioned that you are building a desktop that is dedicated to photo/video editing. That kind of system probably should have a decent data drive on its own, but you also mentioned streaming content. With a NAS device you could stream content to your TV, to your computer, and to other connected devices in your home. A NAS device may be easier to maintain in the unfortunate event that a drive installed within it went down and needed replacement. As a side note, since you mentioned Plex, I think that rules a few Synology devices out. frothymug: Look into the free version of Macrium Reflect. If you are moving a Windows partition that is smaller than the SSD that you are looking to buy, this tool should help you to move those files and you can wait a little longer before reinstalling Windows (or diving into Win10). I haven't used the OEM version of Windows since WinXP, so I don't recall if a drive replacement will trigger reactivation. http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx
  14. technoblue
    That looks like a major upgrade! I have the Dell U3415 paired with my desktop system in a single monitor setup. It's very nice and I don't mind the subtle curve at all. One comment: You might do better decoupling the WD Reds from the main system and adding them to a NAS for media storage, but I don't know how that would affect your current desktop budget. A good SOHO NAS from Synology or QNAP will add around $300 in addition to what you have listed.
  15. technoblue
    What did I just watch? Was that Toy Story on acid?
  16. technoblue
    Just as long as Spielberg does not give us something along the lines of Indiana: The Jones Awakens, it should be better than Crystal Skull.
  17. technoblue
    In that case, I hope the toys are better than the comic. Having access to new creative Cybertronian designs is high on my wish list. PlanetX is doing a fair job with FOC, and this new company is adding in another choice which is fine by me.
  18. technoblue
    To my eyes, Gundog and Willis both have pleasing aesthetics and that puts me in a conundrum because I was hoping to hold out and wait for an official Takara MP release of Hound. Luckily, I'm not against mixing in third party bots, and since these two look so different from each other I might just go ahead and get both of them. The SparkToys War Within Transformers also look very cool, with a nice Cybertronian edge to them, but I am not familiar with the comic book series on which they are based.
  19. technoblue
    LoL! Still some room for improvement, I guess.
  20. technoblue
    Big Chief Studios has opened pre-orders for their 1/6-scale Clara Oswald here: http://www.bigchiefstudios.co.uk/collectables/doctor-who/sixth-scale-figures/clara-oswald-series-7b And the likeness of this figure really captures the essence of what Coleman did with the character, I think. I'm impressed with how BCS is improving these figures with each new release. They've come a long way since Amy Pond (who could use a reissue, if Gillan were to allow it). I'm thinking of going back to Clara's roots with this figure and building an Oswin mock up. I think the beginning of the Impossible Girl's story with Matt Smith had better characterization and writing than what we got at the end with Clara and Ashildr(Me)—when the Doctor was forced to stop saving her. Generally, the implications of what was being done were sound: the Doctor was trying to do a good thing, but in the wrong way and he put countless others at risk (including his own people) to achieve his own selfish ends. Missy pointed out a number of times that the Doctor had started to act more like the Master, and she was right. Moffat was perhaps heavy handed with that message. Anyway, I don't know how many other people are into the figures, but the new TARDIS is arriving this week and John Hurt's War Doctor is also planned. Although it's a quiet year for the series, there are other things to keep one's interest.
  21. technoblue
    That advice is good for any purchase. And with computers, it is good to keep in mind when buying any component. That's why I think it is best not to upset the core of a working system if a person is just looking for better gaming performance or snappier load times. There are too many variables introduced by a complete overhaul that will upset PC harmony. The one reason that I can think of where a person would need to upgrade from IvyBridge today would be if they were locked into the Intel IGP solution and wanted something that supports DirectX 12 compatibility. For any other purpose, it isn't really necessary because there is no killer app that is forcing a CPU upgrade for performance reasons. But if you want to try out the new features/gadgets that come with the new chipsets, like M.2 and USB 3.1, then that's a different story. If those things are not a priority, then I think Ivy still has two years left before it starts to show its age. Some may even be able to push that out to three. It really depends on your needs and how you use your computer.
  22. technoblue
    I have two ASUS motherboards that I use here at home. One is the Maximus V GENE (Intel Z77) and the other is the Gryphon Z78. I've been pleased with both (the two machines have different uses), and I know that puts me in the minority here. I think if you have a motherboard that works, then don't bother trying to fix it. It will save you money now. If your goal is to future proof yourself as much as possible, get other components that are not as critical first but that will give your current system a performance boost. Then, look at what is available later in the year and how Intel is supporting its new micro-architecture. You may find a better motherboard to buy at this time and you can also get the memory and CPU to go with it. This assumes, of course, that Intel plans to stick with the tick-tock release model that it began when introducing the 65nm Core and Core 2 CPUs ten years ago. On memory: Yes it is possible. In fact, you can use one, two, or four sticks of DDR3. If your motherboard supports DDR4 with a four-slot layout, then it should work the same way. Using a single memory stick will enable the motherboard to support a single-channel memory configuration. Using two or four memory sticks will enable the motherboard to support dual-channel memory configuration. You may be thinking of the lineage of the LGA-2011 i7 motherboards. The latest ones use the X99 chipset and have a 4+4 slot layout for memory. But back in 2010, LGA-1366 and the X58 chipset was a big deal, and these i7 motherboards had 6 slots for DDR3. Today, these are outdated.
  23. technoblue
    ^This. New CPUs do not yet offer a big enough performance boost for me. I have an i5-3570 in my main desktop and I am waiting until there is more news on CannonLake, even though Intel's Kaby Lake architecture made a splash in the news last year. Things that you can expect from a new CPU are better efficiency, support for newer instruction sets, better support for low power states, and possibly higher thermal margins. But pay attention to reviews because the real hardware sometimes doesn't match the marketing. For a gaming system, the best single upgrade is the GPU. I also recommend the 970 (or a similarly capable Radeon GPU) depending on your display. I'm not someone who uses SLI/Crossfire, so I cannot comment on how that adds to performance. Unlike Mike, though, I do think the 980 is worth it for certain configurations. A GTX 970 may be good enough for a 2560x1440 display and high settings. For anything above that, you might need to look at the 980. For example, I have a QHD display (3440x1440) and the GTX 980 is able to eek out more performance in that resolution than the 970. I also have a 970 that feeds a 1920x1080 display. It works exceptionally well for that. For QHD or 4K displays, the 970 will work, but you will have to compromise some of those graphics settings. For SSDs, I recommend the Samsung 850 EVO drives. They have been mentioned in this thread before, and they are also wallet friendly. I think amazon has them listed with a sweet discount right now.
  24. technoblue
    Tough crowd. I thought the international trailer was a better cut than the U.S. trailer. I haven't watched SNL recently, but I like how the new Ghostbusters is a parallel to the old having sketch comedians in lead roles. It's too bad there isn't something like SCTV on anymore, because that was also a good source for talent.
  25. technoblue
    Citizen Stack indeed has better articulation, but the cab creates another strange backpack. In that respect the robot mode is similar to the Takara version. My main worry with KFC's version isn't the aesthetics so much as the QC. I do like how there are optional faces for Stack. Again, making a comparison to Ultra Magnus, it seems Takara could have added extra faces to the MP-22 release, but chose not to. I haunt the tfw2005 forums, and there seem to be plenty of diehard fans who love Takara's strict cartoon accuracy. I do not get it. I know there are solutions. Someone here mentioned Repro Labels, and there are good decal sets out there. At the price it would be nice to see some of those details painted. But you are right. Ironhide, for example, turned out to be great. The detailing is minimalistic, and that seems in line with the other MP Transformers released recently. Thank goodness Ratchet is coming boxed with decals!
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