I’m still alive. Just encountered a bit of a virus problem. Ended up just upgrading– it was time, and I want to slag the hard drive that the infection was on. Literally.
Observations:
Windows 7 is awesome. Installed in less than 30 minutes, very user friendly, and secure. But it does cost an arm and a leg. Also, 64 bit OSes (in spite of all their flaws) are here to stay.
Onboard sound has become viable. The sound on my Gigabyte motherboard is better than the Audigy 2 that I just yanked. 7.1 vs. 5.1, better clarity, and it’s pushing a stronger signal.
Creative can go take a run at a galloping goose. In the past 4 1/2 years, I’ve worked on my PC over a dozen times, and every single time, the Audigy has worked its way loose, and refused to seat without hard pressure. Which I why I now am using the onboard sound.
While the Radeon HD 5770 is shorter than the old 7800 GTX, it’s wider. Wide enough that it’s in the second PCI-E x16 slot… the memory slots are in the way of the first PCI-E slot. Awesome performance, but the fans at speed are… well, it reminds me of a jet engine.
