Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Asus Vivobook X202E Windows 8 Touchscreen PC Review

A review from a user who just recently purchased an Asus Vivobook X202E.

Initial Impressions:

1. Very responsive touchscreen, no lags, no missed touches.
2. Viewing angle is bad. You need to be looking straight on the screen.
3. Touch pad not so good. Too sensitive Asus smart gesture. I would always accidentally activate the charms bar at the right using the regular scrolling on the touch pad.
4. Start up and shutdown, a bit slow. I think an SSD drive would have been better.
5. Windows 8 is really cool. Downloaded Start8 for the start menu. What's good about this is that it has multilanguage support.

Overall, solid feel, nice brushed metal texture.

For those who wants to upgrade, the Wi-Fi card and hard drive are the only parts upgradeable.

I plan to use SSD, so to be sure I opened it up. You would need a 7mm thick SSD. My initial intention was to use an Intel SSD 330 but that's 9.5mm so I might just opt for a Samsung SSD 840 instead.

This is a great laptop, especially if you're just into web browsing and more on office works only.

Price ranges from 26,995 to 27,500 for credit card and 24,800 to 25,500 for cash purchase. That's for the Core i3 unit. You should really get one though the only thing that might hold you back is the screen. Its also similarly priced like the Lenovo S405 and Samsung Slimbook Series 5.

If you plan to do some Photoshop, the smaller screen might be an issue for prolonged use.

Cons:

1. The 2-cell battery would last only between 3 to 4 hours.
2. The fan seems to be continuously running even on idle mode.
3. The HDD seems a bit noisy - that's why I switched to SSD.

Windows Experience Index

Upgrading: Replaced the HDD with an SSD. From the Read/Write speed at 85MB/s, its now a lot faster as seen below using Speed Test Pro. Read is now 430 MB/s and Write is 135 MB/s.

Below are the actual original specifications before the upgrade to SSD:

Asus Vivobook X202E specs:
11.6 inch LED display @ 1366×768 pixels
Intel Core i3 3217U Ivy Bridge 1.8GHz
Intel HD 4000 Graphics
4GB DDR3 RAM
500GB HDD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
2 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x USB 3.0 ports
30.3cm x 20.0cm x 21.7mm
2.9lbs
Li-Polymer battery
Windows 8
Php26,995 (suggested retail price)

There's a lower model also avilable for this model.

Asus Vivobook X202E specs:
11.6inch LED display @ 1366×768 pixels
Intel ULV Celeron 847 1.1GHz dual-core
Intel HD Graphics
2GB DDR3 RAM
500GB HDD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
2 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x USB 3.0 ports
30.3cm x 20.0cm x 21.7mm
2.9lbs
Li-Polymer battery
Windows 8
Php20,995 (suggested retail price)

Tried a stress test on the GPU using AIDA64 and I just confirmed that the GPU clock indeed goes up from 350Mhz default clock speed to 1.05Ghz on full load. It just confirms that you can really perform some light gaming on lower settings for newer games and even play on max settings with some older games on the X202E.

But I do recommend using a laptop cooler if you are planning to play some games on this little monster.

Accessories:

Laptop cooler - My current temps using CMC3 cooler is now lower by around 6-8C.

I uninstalled Asus' Power4Gear Hybrid to enable Intel Speedstep for lower temps and better battery life. Even at Battery Saving mode P4G doesn't enable Speedstep and I suspect incompatibility issues of P4G with Windows 8.

Use Windows 8 Built-in recovery tool to get a backup of the recovery partition. No need for any other third party tools.

1.) prepare a external HD with at least 20gb space
2.) go to Control Panel > Recovery
3.) Select Create Recovery Drive & tick the copy the recovery partition from PC to recovery drive
4.) follow the succeeding prompts & it should do the trick

*credit of content and photos to peterjommel, ccl 2003, dm1179 of TPC

DOH Erik Tayag Dances the Oppa Gangnam Style

Before, we saw him dance to the tune of Maroon 5's Moves Like Jagger, now we see him dance ala Korean rapper Psy of the hit song Oppa Gangnam Style. He even made a live telecast in an ABS-CBN morning show (Umagang Kay Ganda). He is one guy who would do anything to promote Health and specifically safety against the dangerous and deadly firecrackers (though there's a new firecracker that's called Gangnam Bomb - or something to that effect).

I really think blowing up things in celebration of any festivity is a crazy idea we just inherited from our ancestors. They have this superstition or belief that it helps drive away evil spirits - another crazy idea.

We respect the tradition but not to the extent of taking property limbs and lives in the process.

Should entrepreneurs just give up on their app ideas, simply because Facebook could eventually clone them and crush them with a billion users? Of course not, and anybody who thinks that Facebook (or any other big company) cloning a startup's product spells Armageddon for that startup doesn't know what they're talking about.

Remember when Facebook tried to make a Foursquare competitor? How about the time it tried to make a Groupon competitor, and it went nowhere? The same is true of its Quora competitor (Facebook Questions) and even its Craigslist competitor (Facebook Marketplace).

I could go on and on, but the point is clear: a big company launching a clone can be scary, but it doesn't mean Armageddon. There are two other factors to consider: defensibility and vision.

My point is this: it takes a lot more than a clone to take out a scrappy startup. It also takes a long-term commitment by a juggernaut. Don't be afraid of the juggernaut entering your market, entrepreneurs. If you have a long-term vision, focus on defensibility and build faster than the competition, you'll eventually become the juggernaut.

"As long as u have a good product and is accessible (damn those with 10000 page registration), combine that with complete dedication and competence, there's no need to fear. Quality and word of mouth goes a long way."

Read more of why startups shouldn't be afraid of Facebook cloning them:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-33617_3-57560622-276/why-startups-shouldnt-be-afraid-of-facebook-cloning-them/

Miss Universe Conspiracies

Just coincidence?

MISS UNIVERSE 2012 and other pageant conspiracies. In my heart, Ms Philippines, Janine Mari Raymundo Tugonon is still the winner! #MissUniverse2012 ~ @VinceGolangco

And this is where I draw the line against racist nations.

That's most probably true! Miss Philippines should have won!

So, were you one of those threatened by the December 21, 2012 "End of the World" prophecy?

If I am still blogging about this and you are still reading it, then that means we are still alive and there was never an end of the world...unless the predictions are again a tad late, or our interpretations were incorrect.

Who were those silly Mayan peeps who predicted this "doomsday" stuff anyway?

"Antaray naman ng agent pang-1st Runner Up ng Miss Universe up ang spiel!"

If the spiel is familiar that's because it's the same answer Miss Philippines 2012 Janine Tugunon told to the judges when she was asked in the Miss Universe 2012.

Inspired by Ms Philippines Janine Marie Tugunon from Ms Universe, the debate goes on,.... on whether call center agents, or Filipinos, should be fluent in English or not.

Should we make it a big deal to require ourselves to become fluent in the English language? or should we stick with, and patronize our national dialect?

Have you ever wondered how an SMS gets sent? Watch as Bianca Gonzales, popular TV host (plus one of the most influential social media personality), traces the path of that "K" you just sent.

We're going to get a little bit technical to help you understand a very valid point.

I would like to share with you a great and very interesting educational video from Globe called The “K” Conundrum. It explains how tedious it is for an SMS or text message to travel and reach another mobile device. We believe that sharing the video will definitely help us understand how it works.

I'm just not really sure if that's Bianca Gonzales or Petra Mahalimuyak (hehehe). I swear I could have watched a Petra Mahalimuyak video and not be able to tell the difference! Bianca sounds a bit off on the video.

But thanks for finally releasing a video that is anti-"K" reply.

Are you among those people who receives the "k" reply, or worst... are you among the ones who sends them out. Are you just that busy that you can't even spare a little more letters?

Some people would just use the "miscall" method...which they believe is a lot more wise! They inform all their relatives and close friends about their personal policy of miscalling instead of sending "K" or "OK".

Many would argue that the Telecom Giants which includes Globe -- some many years ago until the present -- earned from 15-million to 17-million revenues just from the letter(s) "K" & "OK."

Whew! After watching the video, would you still be sending text with just a “K” on it? From now on, I'm going to make sure my text is all worth the travel. No to effortless messages!

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

PowerColor HD7950 3GB GDDR5 (V2)

If you're planning to get the PowerColor HD7950 3GB GDDR5 (V2) with dual fan, make sure that your power supply has a 8-pin PCI-Express connector.

In the Powercolor website it says the card has two 6-Pin PCI-Express Power Connectors. However when I opened the box the card is actually using x1 6-Pin and x1 8-Pin connector. So it is using the same power connectors as the PowerColor HD7970 cards.

I'm guessing this is because the new version of the card has a higher power draw than the previous version. Maybe for better overclocking or because of new BIOS / firmware the card is using? Anyway just make sure your PSU has the necessary PCI-Express connector.

You may be wondering if my card has a black pcb? If so, maybe this Powercolor 7950 might also be using 7970 pcb, that's why it has an 8pin and one 6pin power supply. Maybe just like the Sapphire 7950 950mhz ED, its a 7950 but with a 7970 PCB. If it is, then I've got one hell of a good card!

I actually looked into that as well but unfortunately the Powercolor 7950 version 2 (dual fan) is using a red PCB. It is not based on the reference HD 7970 PCB which looks like this:

Sapphire HD7950 950mhz Edition with reference HD7970 PCB

Power VRM section of reference HD7970 PCB

However, when I checked the PCB of the Powercolor card it has a lot more VRM blocks(?) than the one above, which I think is a good thing. So it's possible that the newer custom PCB design of Powercolor HD 7950 can draw more stable power resulting in better overclocking performance. However I don't think I'll be able to flash the BIOS to that of a reference Radeon HD 7970.

Here are some pics of the PowerColor HD7950 3GB GDDR5 (v2) with dual fan that I found on the web. Despite the red PC, notice that the Power VRM section has more blocks than the reference design of Radeon HD 7970. Also it is using the same CHiL CHL 8228 voltage control chip that is used by reference Radeon HD 7970 PCBs.

PowerColor HD7950 3GB GDDR5 (v2) PCB

I also read that this Powercolor Radeon HD 7950 card has the same PCB as the Club 3D Radeon HD 7950 model. It's possible that both are actually the same card because Powercolor and Club 3D have the same parent company (Tul Corporation). The Club 3D card is known to run stable at 1250GHz core and 1700GHz memory with 1.2 volts which is impressive :-)

Anyway the main reason why I got the PowerColor HD7950 3GB GDDR5 card is that its the cheapest one I can find here in TipidPC (costs Php 11.9K). Other potential buyers of Radeon HD 7950 should take a good look at the HIS Radeon HD 7950 IceQ X2 Boost (Php 14.3K) because of this:

HIS Radeon HD 7950 IceQ X2 Boost - PCB with metal plate for cooling VRM and RAM chips

HIS Radeon HD 7950 IceQ X2 Boost - Twin 8-pin PCI-E connectors

Eventhough the card doesn't have the 7970 PCB, but the same as the Club3D, then it's still one hell of a card... I watched this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcKWzVkgspc

and was totally amazed by the 7950's potential... So if the Powercolor 7950 is the same as the Club3D, then I believe that it could be OC'd like crazy.

The HIS 7950 card seem to be a mean machine, but I'd still prefer the Powercolor over that, or the Sapphire, due to the price per performance ratio. At 12-13k, Powercolor's are a steal! hehehe!

I'm still thinking if I would put a 7970 bios in my card. I don't see any reason to do it as of the moment, because my CPU seems to be the main bottleneck right now.

I've had good experiences with Powercolor cards, especially with the PCS+ models, since the cooling is top notch and the price is very good compared to the more expensive cards from ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, or even Sapphire. I don't plan to overclock the videocard at very high speeds, maybe settle for a decent overclock with stock voltage since I don't want to increase the temps inside my case. Also I'm only using a 1080p monitor so I feel the Radeon HD 7950 is more than powerful enough for games at that resolution.

The Ssapphire card's price isn't that far off from the His IceQ X2 with boost, just a few hundred bucks difference, so no regrets. But compared to the Powercolor, there's the big price difference. I share the same sentiment and very satisfied right now with my card, being able to playBF3 at ultra settings and 4x MSAA smoothly at a 1080p monitor.

Club 3D HD 7870 jokerCard Tahiti LE 2 GB Review

AMD's new GPU is called "Tahiti LE" even though it's a part of the Radeon HD 7800 series, because it is derived from the same 3.5 billion-transistor "Tahiti" silicon that goes into making all Radeon HD 7900 series products and not the "Pitcairn" silicon that goes into making the HD 7870 GHz Edition and HD 7850. The new SKU drops the "GHz Edition" moniker by featuring lower clock speeds than the HD 7870 GHz Edition, but it makes up for that with more pixel-crunching muscle.

Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 jokerCard (Tahiti LE)
Tech Power Up
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7870_jokerCard_Tahiti_LE/

HD 7870
- 1280 shader units
- 32 ROPs
- 2GB VRAM
- 256-bit memory bus
- core clock @ 1000 MHz
- memory clock @ 1200 MHz

HD 7870 Joker Card
- 1536 shader units
- 32 ROPs
- 2GB VRAM
- 256-bit memory bus
- core clock @ 975 MHz
- memory clock @ 1500 MHz

HD 7950
- 1792 shader units
- 32 ROPs
- 3GB VRAM
- 384-bit memory bus
- core clock @ 800 MHz
- memory clock @ 1250 MHz

The Good
Good overclocking potential
Solid PCB design
Supports CrossFire with HD 7950 and HD 7970
Support for software voltage control
Very quiet in idle
Full-size HDMI output
Support for PCI-Express 3.0 and DirectX 11.1

The Bad
High power consumption during gaming, multi-monitor and Blu-ray
A bit too expensive
Noise while gaming could be lower
Can't CrossFire with regular (Pitcairn-based) HD 7870

Powercolor HD 7870 Vertex II VS Powercolor HD 7870 Myst Edition

Which is better Powercolor HD7870 Vertex II with higher engine clock rate because its OC already or the new Powercolor HD 7870 Myst Edition with lower engine clock speed but higher memory clock speed and UEFI ready?

I believe the Myst Edition is better. It is based on Radeon 7950/7970 GPU (Tahiti LE) so it has more shaders and has PowerTune with Boost (975 MHz). The memory is faster as well at 1.5GHz (6GHz effective). Based on reviews, when overclocked the card reaches 1.2GHz core speed and 1.6GHz memory speed.

The Myst Edition card is basically the same Club3D Joker Card reviewed here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7870_jokerCard_Tahiti_LE/31.html

Review of the PowerColor Myst Edition card here:
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1639/pg1/powercolor-pcs-hd7870-myst-edition-tahiti-le-graphics-card-review-introduction.html

Performance wise it is about the same Geforce GTX 660 Ti... not bad for a videocard costing Php 10.5K only.

You can check the benchmarks of both cards on the same test setup made by the same reviewer below. Hopefully this will help you decide.

TechPowerUp Review - PowerColor HD 7870 PCS+ Vortex II
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_7870_PCS_Plus_Vortex_II/1.html

TechPowerUp Review - Club 3D HD 7870 jokerCard Tahiti LE 2 GB
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7870_jokerCard_Tahiti_LE/1.html

If I were you, just decide on which videocard will allow you to play your games at your monitor's resolution with the best FPS and graphics settings. Don't think about whether a videocard is more "pogi" or if the card is "mas matipid sa kuryente" because bottom line what's important is that the videocard allows you to play your games the way you them to be played :-)

Battlefield 3
7870 Myst - 59.2fps (12.11 driver)
7870 Vortex II - 55.3fps (12.7 driver)

Metro 2033
7870 Myst - 26.1fps (12.11 driver)
7870 Vortex II - 25.0fps (12.7 driver)

Unigine Heaven
7870 Myst - 57.2fps - (12.11 driver)
7870 Vortex II - 56.9fps (12.7 driver)

The 7870 Myst edition uses the new improved driver while the Vortex II uses the old driver. If they used the same drivers, Vortex II might get a better result. AMD is really improving their drivers. The 7870 is now better compared with the similarly priced GTX 660. Its equivalent is the 660 Ti.

I always prefer better cooling for low temps at low noise. It has a different build quality, and for the power consumption of the 7870 Myst edition, I would go for the real 7950 with lower consumption.