Anti-aliased
Last weekend I made a bold move on the computer front: I purchased a new video card. A visit to the computer show isn’t complete without a purchase of some kind. This purchase was a doosey. A brand new Radeon 9700 Pro All-in-Wonder now sits in this very computer.
For those who aren’t familiar with the 9700 Pro, it can easily be referred to as a speed demon. It’s a monster, churning byte after bite into screens of glory. High resolution gaming is now the norm. Anti-aliasing is no longer an option reserved for slide shows. It’s reality, combined with frame rates that scream.
I’ll spare you the most of the geeky details but, rest assured, I’m impressed. I’ll now run my Nascar races anti-aliased at 1280×1024 and watch the cars fall behind at over 70 frames/sec. Freelancer will stare back at me with 1920000 pixels at a time. Battlefield 1942 will look even sweeter than before. Morrowind‘s extended vistas are finally available to me.
The All-in-Wonder part of the equation is also quite a treat. My cable feed now has a new input, which turns my PC into a high storage Personal Video Recorder (PVR). It’s a TIVO without the monthly fees. Pause that thing. I have to pee.
An interesting side note to all of this is what happened to the card that previously rested in my PC. It now sits at work along with the second monitor it powered. My Radeon 8500 supports dual monitors out of the box, something that the integrated piece of junk in my work PC couldn’t hope to do. That’s right. I have some extra room on my desk at home and a two-headed beast at work.
From a functional perspective, this set up makes a lot more sense. Dual monitors at home was a novelty. Having that extra monitor at work will be extremely useful. All that extra screen real estate will definitely be put to good use. Besides, the density of geeks is much greater at work. It will finally be in an environment where it can be appreciated.
