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Frame Rating: GeForce GTX 660 Ti and Radeon HD 7950
What to Look For, Test Setup
Because of the complexity and sheer amount of data we have gathered using our Frame Rating performance methodology, we are breaking it up into several articles that each feature different GPU comparisons. Here is the schedule:
- 3/27: Frame Rating Dissected: Full Details on Capture-based Graphics Performance Testing
- 3/27: Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition vs GeForce GTX 680 (Single and Dual GPU)
- 3/30: AMD Radeon HD 7990 vs GeForce GTX 690 vs GeForce GTX Titan
- 4/2: Radeon HD 7950 vs GeForce GTX 660 Ti (Single and Dual GPU)
- 4/5: Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition vs GeForce GTX 660 (Single and Dual GPU)
We are back again with another edition of our continued reveal of data from the capture-based Frame Rating GPU performance methods. In this third segment we are moving on down the product stack to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti and the AMD Radeon HD 7950 - both cards that fall into a similar price range.
I have gotten many questions about why we are using the cards in each comparison and the answer is pretty straight forward: pricing. In our first article we looked at the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition and the GeForce GTX 680 while in the second we compared the Radeon HD 7990 (HD 7970s in CrossFire), the GeForce GTX 690 and the GeForce GTX Titan. This time around we have the GeForce GTX 660 Ti ($289 on Newegg.com) and the Radeon HD 7950 ($299 on Newegg.com) but we did not include the GeForce GTX 670 because it sits much higher at $359 or so. I know some of you are going to be disappointed that it isn't in here, but I promise we'll see it again in a future piece!
If you are just joining this article series today, you have missed a lot! If nothing else you should read our initial full release article that details everything about the Frame Rating methodology and why we are making this change to begin with. In short, we are moving away from using FRAPS for average frame rates or even frame times and instead are using a secondary hardware capture system to record all the frames of our game play as they would be displayed to the gamer, then doing post-process analyzation on that recorded file to measure real world performance.
Because FRAPS measures frame times at a different point in the game pipeline (closer to the game engine) its results can vary dramatically from what is presented to the end user on their display. Frame Rating solves that problem by recording video through a dual-link DVI capture card that emulates a monitor to the testing system and by simply applying a unique overlay color on each produced frame from the game, we can gather a new kind of information that tells a very unique story.
The capture card that makes all of this work possible.
I don't want to spend too much time on this part of the story here as I already wrote a solid 16,000 words on the topic in our first article and I think you'll really find the results fascinating. So, please check out my first article on the topic if you have any questions before diving into these results today!
|Test System Setup
|Intel Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge-E
|ASUS P9X79 Deluxe
|Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 16GB
|Hard Drive
|OCZ Agility 4 256GB SSD
|Sound Card
|Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB
AMD Radeon HD 7950 3GB
|Graphics Drivers
AMD: 13.2 beta 7
NVIDIA: 314.07 beta
|Power Supply
|Corsair AX1200i
|Operating System
|Windows 8 Pro x64
On to the results!
Continue reading our review of the GTX 660 Ti and HD 7950 using Frame Rating!!
Video News
Absolutely god awe-full again for AMD....a couple of 7950's in crossfire was meant to be about the best bang for buck high performance system you could build....oh how deluded or even worse misled we have been.
Deluded, misled, fanboyed out, raging radeon rightist, screaming psychotic frame rate fanboy, totally full of it, amd marketing borg bot, COMPLETELY FOOLISH IDIOT WHO CANNOT SEE THE GAME ON THEIR OWN ULTRA HIGH REZZ BRAGGADOCIO DISPLAYS WITH MEGA BUCK AMD CARDS....
I cannot even fathom the utter SHAME the CF amd fanboys must be feeling now.
A thousand times on every website we were told lies, by the reviewers, by the fanboys raping away in the comments section.
Now we know they were all deluded idiots, period.
AMD has claimed utter ignorance, and I certainly do not believe that since it's worse than being just incompetent in writing drivers and making hardware, and extends the incompetence out ever further, into "not knowing what is going on at all" instead of covering it up because monetary concerns rule the day.
It's one giant can of fail, and AMD has gulped the entire 55 gallon drum in one fail swill.
I wonder, will they pay the full price refund for one of the amd cards for every crossfire user, because indeed they certainly owe them. Hopefully a giant lawsuit will make the amd fanboys pocketbooks right, and I could see the penny pinching fanboy scrooges getting behind that 100%.
The next thing I want to know is how many of the LYING BUFFOON IDIOT articles from the hundred review sites that show amd fraps! in crossfire winning will be CHANGED, UPDATED, and in big red letters at the top:
(ROFL - Oh man, they ALL need to resign)
That should only take them a few months to fix on all their websites since the amd underdog fanboyism is so freaking strong it could destroy all the rainforests of the world and induce global warming and nuclear winter concurrently.
O M G - thanks for the years and years of total lies
Dude...are you okay?
You have issues.
poor bitter guy.. go f*ck yourself and try getting a life. these guys at pcper are doing their job right unlike you causing misery to others making them feel bad..
kudos pcper for a well done review..
kudos to amd and nvidia
in the end. consumer wins the deal!! ^_^
poor bitter guy is spot on.
they all deserve to feel bad for spreading their ignorance like a virus.
kudos to amd ? get outta here.
Assuming data collection method has validity which on the surface seems to make sense, then the best we can say here is AMD and Nvidia are neck and neck in single card performance and AMD has some real crossfire performance issues. However I play some games that generate a fair amount of lag with with single card performance and I add a card in crossfire and see a huge improvement. Secondly, in crossfire you see time in ms is all over the place, not as tight, and us guys know tighter is better right? Well how is your data going to as low as 0 ms on the crossfire setup. This is a clear indication that something in your formulation is wrong. For all we know this variance is actually improving gaming visual effects and reality.
If you are not satisfied... get two GeForce GTX 660 Ti and SLI it. AMD cards are not designed to handle two cards (CrossFireX).
Aha, starting to get into cards in the price range I'm looking for. I'll be greedily going through this article and waiting for the next one with the GTX 660 and 7870 before buying my next card.
Unless something is shown to be massively off the rails, the results will repeat the pattern.
That said, I own a 7870 and while I could argue all the clear merits, metrics, and reasoning vs. 660, the jist of the matter is it too, while slightly better, is at most (overclocked) sitting right at to slightly under where you want high quality 1080p performance now-a-days (and moving forward considering the ps4 spec). I would recommend you look closer at this article; buy a Tahiti LE if these are out of your budget and overclock it to 7950B speeds...or wait for the inevitable Hainan SKU if length/size is a factor (which should also drive down the price of 660ti to around ~250, in theory).
If you think that performance level is overpriced now, like I did, just wait. It's going to be a very important market soon because of the analogous to new consoles (1080p 30/60hz) so the competition will be incredibly fierce, if not then stagnant for quite a while.
Thanks for yet another great article, I can only imagine the amount of work that has gone in to testing all these cards and games at different resolutions. I do hope AMD will fix their broken CrossFire system to balance out the competition, even though I'm not a fan of their cards myself.
That said, it would be nice to see how two Titans would perform in SLI. I swore to stick with a single card, but two of them are starting to tempt me as SLI appears to perform with smooth frame times.
Is AMD implementing the summer solution for the previous HD6000 series too?
Its gonna be a software fix less they re-release their chipset which i doubt will happen. Nvidia apperently seen this issue few years ago and do it via hardware on their boards. Would expect AMD to address it properly with their next generation chip.
Wht's up with the FRAPS FPS for Far Cry 3 at 1440p in Crossfire. It's showing 4x the performance of a single card - why do no other review sites see that kind of error?
The numbers you see on that metric are based on re-adding the runt frames as well as the frames completely dropped by the game/GPU driver. Because all of those dropped frames are put back into the compilation the of average frame rate per second, the original or FRAPS result can sometimes be much higher than is really shown.
We saw the same result at 5760x1080 in many of our tests in this article as well as in the HD 7970 vs GTX 680 piece.
It's because pcper and nvidia have together invented a reason to throw out frame numbers using their subjective and bias opinion to then create an illusion metric they call 'perceived fps'
pcper cannot be taken at face value due to their heavy nvidia involvement.
the bright side is that more credible hardware review websites will soon be giving their results using similar methods without the nvidia influence that pcper suffers from.
What about Toms Hardware, TechReport and AnandTech? Are they all creating a conspiracy? Use your own head, see the data, and tell me it doesn't matter.
Have been following much of this new method closely. Take your own advice. Tom's has already called into question that the smaller frames may have value and their worth or not is subjective and requires further study. pcper has hopped on board with nvidia and is towing their line on them having no value.
techreport too is saying the data from fcat is insufficient and more information from the api must be exposed for draw calls. you hear none of that here at pcper/nvidia (which is it, hard to tell any more)
anandtech has reserved any results at all until they can do a full and proper investigation with the fcat tools and will then release their findings.
pcper has attempted to get attention by cowtowing to nvidia in order to release data and riding the gravy train of amd bashing to garner a few page clicks from nvidia fanboys who swallow anything so long as it comes in nvidia positive or amd negative flavor.
much more investigation to be done, by reviewers unlike this obvious nvidia biased and sponsored one
While most are not giving final verdicts, they all see it as a problem. How severe of a problem is what they are holding back on.
There are a few things that they aren't even considering in all this either. Having evenly spaced frames, also means evenly spaced input. This gives a smoother feel as well.
How much latency really is added to the metering technology, if all it does is make one frame that is faster than the previous, wait a little. Once they are at the correct offsets, they should remain fairly close in line, with only occasional adjustments needed.
You also must have to consider that while the crossfire setup still gives a decent playing experience, is it giving as good of a playing experience? Reviews are meant to help us pick what is the better experience for the end user, not to just to find what is acceptable.
And if you've followed a lot of review sites articles, you probably have noticed many notes about different games giving stuttery results in Crossfire, and much fewer cases where SLI has been mentioned. They never made a big stink about it in their articles, because they are trying to give unbiased articles, and using quantifiable tests to gauge what is better. Now we finally have quantifiable evidence of crossfires problems, so it can given more attention.
I found I always had to run with v-sync with my 6950's. I was ok with it, until I learned that the added latency was the cause of my nausea.
The trolling is strong in this one.
I will agree with one thing though. Pcper is definitely not holding back on their opinion, and would probably be more well received if they delivered the results without as much judgement.
While they may be right, a lot of people see it as an attack, and seem to be very defensive about it.
I realise the need to justify your purchasing decision but accusing PC Per of bias is one helluva stretch.
I have used 6870s in Crossfire and noticed these problems and yet I don't have the same issues with SLI.
The numbers don't lie however much people dislike the results.
Bravo Ryan for calling it as you see it.
I was agreeing with Pcper. The guy I originally responded to was the one who was trying to discredit it.
"Smaller frames may have value" HAHAHHAHAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA
Please, you and the amd fanboys at Tom's play with runts and ghosts, that's valuable. A value that could not be understated.
Here let me show you what you game will look like:
_______________________________________ ___________
------------------------- -------------------------
____________ ___________________________________
- -----------------------------------------------
Maybe you didn't notice a lot of AMD sponsor ad's on the site? As for cannot taken at face value, if a site is biased in their reviews, no one will trust them. Yes the tools were developed originally by Nvidia but PcPer is working on coding their own tools to get away from those.
Try not to be such a troll.
How about this theory? Because I have been using these tools, regardless of who developed them, for MUCH LONGER than Tech Report, Anandtech or Tom's Harware, I have more experience and am much more confident in the results they are showing me.
Accusing me of NVIDIA bias while AMD ads run continuously on our site is also pretty stupid.
Well done Ryan !
You have destroyed all AMD's credibility as planed, without any real proof just with the help of Nvidia and I mean FCAT ( and who knows what else... )
" I have more experience and am much more confident in the results they are showing me" - You know just what Nvidia wants you to know... AND by the way You are a liar! First time when you mentioned about this "new frame metric" You told that it is developed by you and your team but on the first day of your benchmark you say the converter is made by Nvidia and I have to find from other sites that this whole benchmark is actually an Nvidia's product???
Now you can go and count your green money, upss I mean tell your readers Nvidia's propaganda, upss I mean the real objective stuff, you do care about your readers don't you??? as it can be seen you DON'T!
From a site with AMD in his name you became Nvidia's marketing guy (puppet ) but that is understandable because AMD does not give bribe to sycophants as Nvidia does ( How about this theory? ). Reading your articles it gives me the impression that they are written by Tom Petersen.
PS:go have fun with project shield, this is the future of gaming!- Nvidia marketing.
By the way you should rename this site to www.nvidia-pcper.com
"Accusing me of NVIDIA bias while AMD ads run continuously on our site is also pretty stupid." - you are not doing this freely! you receive good money for that, now who is pretty stupid?
Yeah, well... except that AMD has publically admitted that they are having issues with CF and will have a fix in place by this summer (in Beta form). Damn guys must be biased against themselves!
It's no use Josh, these zealots won't listen to reason.
I have a 4870x2 and 2 6870s still running in my kids' PCs but I am not blind enough to call Ryan a liar for exposing Crossfires deficiencies. Instead I greatly appreciate all the hard work that has gone into these tremendous articles.
It turns out that my eyes were not lying to me.
I really don't understand how incompetent you must be to accuse Ryan's last few articles of being all Nvidia and meant to destroy AMD. He explains his testing methods, his setups, and creates repeatable, measurable data for us to analyze. If you don't believe it's true, don't read it. I for one have been utterly displaced from my own enthusiasm for AMD's crossfire. I just couldn't understand why i had such a rough gameplay experience at 1440p when my frames were so high. What a mess.
BF3, Crysis 3, and Even Bioshock Infinite: anytime i'm in battles or high character count areas it becomes choppy and skippy, even though it says 100 fps :S
Was the tinfoil hat bundled with Radeon card or did you buy that separately?
I'm rooting for AMD. I like to have a 2 card solution but I just can't do that with Xfire like I can with SLI. Here is to hoping they come out with a decent driver that really shows Xfire can work! Then I might get an 8000 series.
I'm pleased with the frame rating results for AMD's single GPU solutions. I'll never do crossfire anyway but I'm hoping they fix their drivers for scaling... I can see people staying clear for AMD otherwise.
AMD is garbage. We are almost to the point of refusing to sell AMD sh*t. It really has gotten that bad.
You must have read a different article since this one clearly shows that AMDs single GPU products are better than nVidia at this price point. Since the dawn of SLI/Crossfire it's been a bad idea to go multi-gpu on mid-range (lol $300 mid) parts rather than go with a single higher end GPU.
I Like to know how long these Crossfire problems exist. How much is the GCN Architecture to blame? How long have we been stupid in believing that Crossfire was just as good as SLI?
Take a HD6990 and a HD4870X2 for example and also add some old games (UT3, Doom 3, Half Life 2).
I have been running SLI for years in the old days. I never used Vsync because it was known to not work great for SLI (also was my experience) Since I have been using Radeon HD5850 OC in Crossfire I use Vsync for all singleplayer games and using framecap for multiplayer games. I always thought it had something to do with the Crossfire implementation and that it might have been optimized for Vsync primarly. I also did notice that Crossfire had some additional tearing. Now these days I know better...
Thanks for these great articles!
I know that FRAPS was showing problems in the 6000 and 5000 series. I also have heard SLI had problems back in the 200 series. I believe it was with 400 or 600 series that they started the frame metering improvements, since they said they started this a couple years ago.
This is a really interesting idea though I don't know how much time I'll be able to devote to older GPUs...
That would be an interesting test just to see if this issue was introduced with the GCN architecture or it's an underlying problems of ATI/AMD multi GPU implementation.
Maybe without going to far back, a test with a pair of 69xx cards shouldn't take too long ;)
The next step, after AMD put an option for evenly distributed frames in the drivers, is going to be test input lag compared to SLI.
If the results of this future test for both are closer to vsync + triple buffering, then AMD could claim that there never was a problem and the option (of smoothing) was already there for all users.
The BF3 discussion mentioned GTX 680 SLI twice above and below the 4th plot. I think GTX 660 SLI was intended.
Thanks, fixed!
I know this is a ton of work, but....
I would like to see how VLIW4 compares to GCN. Is this a new problem with AMD cards, or has this been happening for a long time?
Thanks Ryan for doing all this work, it is a very interesting read.
And keep up the good work on the podcasts!!
Even if it is a quick game review (BF3?) of 6970's in crossfire.
Crossfire and SLI both are unbearable without using something like Afterburner to meter the frames. I'd like to see that tested.
Nope. Only amd's crossfire is unbearable.
SLI is awesome and rocks the smoothness.
Frame rate target is ultra awesome on single card nVidia.
Only amd's crossfire is an utter failure and a giant fps lie.
CF fails completely on half the games, too.
On the other half they have false frame rate double pumped when in reality they display single card rates with massive stutter and tearing.
amd cf is epic fail incarnate
Now all the amd fans can scream once again, "you can't see anything beyond 30 fps, the human eye is incapable of it ! "
Then they can move their human eye benchmark to 60fps
Then to 120 since the 120hz monitors have come out...
In any case, is easy to say on amd crossfire you will get 30 frames MAX with massive stutter, so it is true that the amd fanboy human eye cannot see beyond 30 fps.
It's okay to be on disability with amd cards.
Guys!there are too many variable involved in somethi ng this massive .I all brain an angle most forget.what is needed to generate graphic?don't say GPU .next ?is control the vast majority of what is going on .Google sRGB 15 and read his view on color profile.this is just the tip of the iceburg .then you have data fragmentation everywhere always along the way and supposedly seemless.give me a break.nothing cause more trouble then the various fragememtation.at cache level at network level at GPU level.add to this the new .net .then we have bufferbloat everywhere which cause more fragmentation.I tell you this because the main cause of my issue have been at the is level I have been trying to get rid of all those fragmentation point but so far the task is so big its insane .I ain't even started on the subject of color profile converting data for x y z to ?all along with the way wiggle room get by and at the end cause all the chaos pcper notice.but I bet if you ask ms they all say it is lower the human perception (85 ms)so it is a non issue.sadly ms is wrong .a fix?lol try getting the exact value of the black point of you monitor for fun.the white point?etc etc etc.there are a lot of value that shouldnt be on the eye ball guess or random yet a huge amount are.this is a good idea but without doing the same for all variable related to the os it is futile exercise because most of the issue come from the os because of all the compromise .imagine when 4k ITU standard is added to scrgb (?)lol it will be even worst.this is why tablet are popular like nexus 7.you pay 200 $and will look as good most computer at 1080p!ya there are issue .they are the same as they were when I was using xp 10 years ago .ms took 10 years to fix the universal clock.so better be patient on the issue you discover here cause most will be caused by the is (window)
Some people will never learn that online translators do not work in conversation. ;)
Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
You know for a site that's supposed to be hardware centric, you sure dropped the ball.
NOT A SINGLE WORD on the mini GTX 670.
HERE, I'll do some of your homework FFS.
You mean words like this?
latency and frame time delivery as more and more sites are testing will only improve ALL products. Obviously there is a big problem with Crossfire at the moment, and I have no doubt it will eventually be fixed.
My Titan btw, has the lowest latency of ANY solution, so that makes me feel even better about my addiction.
We get the deal, AMD and nVidia both fairly well matched single card perf. AMD crossfire has problems if you for some idiotic reason don't use a frame limiter like radeon pro.
Blowing things out a little bit here mate. Time to start looking at the quality solutions that people have been using for a long time and that have been reported on for quite some time. Even Tom's Hardware did a bit on radeon pro some months ago and how it eliminates micro stutter. Pretty sure the end result was a win for the unofficial 7990 against the gtx690 in terms of latency and smoothness.
By quality solutions I don't mean ticking the "vsync" box in games then running the game at settings that only get you 40fps. I mean using radeon pro setting frame limit ~59 playing at settings that get you an average of 60+ and watching how smooth your cards look compared to the competition. Oh and how input lag free they remain.
The Toms Hardware article is here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7990-devil13-7970-x2,3329-...
You will notice that they used Dynamic v-sync within RadeonPro to fix it at different FPS limited points. It appears to be a v-sync/FPS limiter combo they are using.
It is worth using, but you shouldn't be required to use a FPS limiter or v-sync to fix stuttering either, but it is a solution for now.
Wow what a complete blunder for AMD!!! No wonder they are giving out amazing free games!! To sell their broken CF hardware!! What an eye opener!!
Looks like Im buying Nvidia this round.
I have to agree with bystander here, seeing even just a slim article about CF/SLI performance with previous generation cards would have great value, as it would let a lot of people (myself included with my HD5770 CF setup) get some information on what an upgrade to a new CF setup will mean for us.
Having just ordered a Tahiti LE I would love to know if I will get the same amount of stuttering with two cards, just more FPS, or if the stuttering is worse, and in turn will make the upgrade of a lower perceived value than what FPS numbers imply.
Kind of proves Techreport wrong on 660Ti vs 7950, according to whom SINGLE 660Ti was supposed to be much better than 7950.
Then again, flawed conclusions lead to improvements in methodology and finding REAL problems, so I can't complain about that.
Is problem with CF hardware in nature? In last article you mentioned nVidia having built in hardware elements just to handle the issue, whereas AMD cards just output frames ASAP. So it means issue is unresolvable in drivers and AMD has to improve it hardware-wise in next generation? Looks like we have to disregard CF as viable option until it happens, then.
The TechReport articles "were" accurate when they were released, and sparked change from AMD, who went through their drivers to fix the problem.
They didn't prove TechReport wrong. They prove AMD fixed things on single cards configurations.
Why do the graphs for "FRAPS FPS" and "Observed FPS" match exactly except for Crossfire?!
There should be at least little differences between these graphs.
You don't have FRAPS running during the capture, do you?!
No, FRAPS was not running at the same time as the overlay and capture testing.
So what would be the explanation for it?
The graphs match exactly.
If you measure the same scene twice, the results wont be exactly the same.
So you let the bench run, measure with FRAPS.
You let the bench run and measure with FCAT.
The results are EXACTLY the same except for crossfire.
There has to be something wrong.
Another article to confirm that with vsync off CFX is nerfed atm...
Which doesn't affect me in the slightest as i don't play with vsync off .. i won't play with vsync off fullstop.
Twin lightning 7970s @ 1400 mhz , 60 fps solid in crysis 3 with RP 60 DFC and vsync on and its butter smooth. Slightly different to the results i see in this article i might add.
My advice to any CFX user is simply run with vsync on and radeon pro DFC (dynamic frame control) 60 fps with vsync and you won't get 90 % of the issues in these articles.
It is a pity that pcper won't simply do a review with vsync on running radeon pro .. i guess they wouldn't have much to write about then.
I don't think dropped frames are as significant to the viewing experience as the runt frames are which also cause small tears. Also, keeping the image being displayed the most current representation of the game state would seem to support dropping a frame if it gets in the way of a newer frame.
That said, I really want to see some rules of thumb applied to the graphs as to what consitutes perceptable gameplay degredation. For example in the frame variance chart, I would think there is a slope based assessment as to the type of problem the person would percieve.
The idea of "rules of thumb applied to the graphs as to what consitutes perceptable gameplay degredation" is a good idea, but it is much harder to actually do. That is the eventual goal but in all honestly it will likely be an issue that changes for each gaming title.
I was thinking about how many FPS compared to your refresh rate has an effect on what the average frame size would be. This might mean what is considered a runt frame might be something that should scale based on FPS. This may also help narrow down when something is not acceptable.
Yeah, the hidden-agenda accusations are rather bizarre considering the AMD ads, but any tech site is going to get its share of unstable posters. don't let it get to ya.
Anyway, AMD's single gpus came out looking nicer than I would have figured. My experience with previous gens had me expecting to see disparity in observed frames for the single cards as well. I'd also like to see tests on the last gen from both manufacturers, but I know that may not be a practical use of copy.
Window cause more of those issue then everything else combined.that is what I mean with the long post Ryan didn't understand.
You have to use radeon pro, and set up a profile for each game being used on Crossfire setups. Its the only way to get them to run smoothly. Its an extra program and a bit of work but the results are promising, regarding frame time. I hope Future AMD driver versions have this feature built in.
You use nVidia Hardware to measure SOMETHING?
Hey Ryan, great articles.
Have you tried RadeonPro with Dynamic V-sync Control? It looks they are using a similar technique that Nvidia uses with Adaptive Vsync.
I'm really surprised by this article. And that is an ambivalent sort of surprise! On one hand I'm pleased to see that SLI 660 Ti's do so well at 2560x1440. On the other hand I'm dismayed that Crossfire is NOT competitive. So the crux of what I'm feeling is disappointment. Because "competition" is good for me as a consumer.
See I have a pair of Nvidia (specifically EVGA) GTX 660 Ti's in my computer. And they were chosen because I wanted to run game's on a 2560x1440 display at full resolution. But it troubles me to think that AMD isn't being competitive because that points to a Market where Nvidia's dominance is most likely to mean higher prices. Which contributes to the feeling that PC Gaming my indeed be on its last leg.
The bottom line, economically speaking, is that while computers are a boon to our lives our "life" itself does not depend on them. So when things get really tight we will find ways to get by without spending money on new hardware. And both AMD and Nvidia will be forced to change to maintain a revenue stream.
... so despite the fact I own Nvidia cards I sure hope AMD can get their act together!
I enjoyed this article. However, after watching all the comparison videos I learned one thing. ATI and Nvidia do not have the same colors. So Out of the box which card is producing the most accurate colors?
Why do the graphs for "FRAPS FPS" and "Observed FPS" match exactly except for Crossfire?!
There should be at least little differences between these graphs.
You already said, that tests with FCAT and FRAPS weren't made at the same time.
So what would be the explanation for it?
The graphs match exactly.
If you measure the same scene twice, the results wont be exactly the same.
So you let the bench run, measure with FRAPS.
You let the bench run and measure with FCAT.
The results are EXACTLY the same except for crossfire.
There has to be something wrong.
The only thing wrong is the borked Crossfire. The single GPUs and SLI are doing what they should.
Read. -> Think. -> Answer.
The results can't be exactly the same.
2 Benches, 2 different tools that give different data,
but 1 result? I don't think so.
Maybe you should re-read what has been written or at least look at the definition of observed frame-rate.
Observed Frame Rates will, indeed, must show identical frame rates to FRAPS if all frames are defined as useful. That means there were no dropped or runt frames in the benchmark.
The tools use the same data. Only discarding useless frames would result in a variance. If there are no useless frames then there should not be a variance.
So if you bench the same scene two times, the results will be the same? Interesting.
completely no, this called "blind and randomization" in journal, health journal, social journal, or other
cause we know the same scene never do the same results in two testing in all graphic card
so it do to all graphic card was testing, bad results, good results, all graphic card has same chance to have it
in the end, we called it a fair comparison
And there is your problem. The benchmark is only run once.
In the test run FRAPS displays all Frames rendered regardless of size. The video output is then captured via the capture card and the raw AVI file is analyzed. If there are no runts or drops (as is the case with the single GPUs tested) then the Observed Frame Rate must be identical to the FRAPs results.
Wrong. I already asked. Ryans answer:
April 3, 2013 | 11:15 AM - Posted by Ryan Shrout
No, FRAPS was not running at the same time as the overlay and capture testing.
I am not trolling, I know that AMD has bigger issues with MGPU than Nvidia.
The only thing I am saying:
Somethig has to be wrong with the graphs, as there always will be slight differences between two bench runs.
If that is the case then there would normally be a slight variation.
I don't know why it would need to be run separately, though I think the podcast mentioned issues with FRAPS and the overlay being used at the same time.
You're right, there should be at least slight differences between the two runs. However, that doesn't mean those differences when displayed on a graph that is made for human consumption are going to be noticeable. In order for the graph's to be completely accurate, the 90seconds or so of benchmark would have to be sampled at frame. In at least one of the cases that's about 150fps, which means the graph would have to have a width of about 810,000 pixels. You may have noticed that the graphs on pcper are a bit smaller than that.
You're right, there should be at least slight differences between the two runs. However, that doesn't mean those differences when displayed on a graph that is made for human consumption are going to be noticeable. In order for the graph's to be completely accurate, the 90seconds or so of benchmark would have to be sampled at frame. In at least one of the cases that's about 150fps, which means the graph would have to have a width of about 810,000 pixels. You may have noticed that the graphs on pcper are a bit smaller than that.
Thanks for the objective and numberical article despite many critics and subjectivity of the reader
well done ryan
thumbs up pcper.com
I would very much like to read a quick analysis of previous generations crossfire setup (ie: 2x 5850/5870), to try to understand if these issues are only related to the drivers / GCN arch or the crossfire technology itself.
And of course, AMD should have the ability to discuss these results with pcper.com and eventually revisit these tests with the *future* drivers that will address these issues.
Regardless of the impacts this kind of articles have, it's known today that there are issues with AMD drivers. Even if there are some errors with some tests, if were not for them we wouldn't even be looking at this. So.. well done pcper.com, but don't leave it at this bombshell ;)
Thank you for taking your time to do this Ryan. I used to use Crossfire but it never quite felt like what was being displayed. What I mean is when I ran 5770 CF it always seemed jerky and stuttered even though the readings I was seeing seemed pretty high (as it should have been, just ahead of a 5870).
I swore off of Crossfire after that and just concluded it was down to poor drivers. I'm now using GTX 670 in SLI and I have to say it's been fantastic. No stuttering and pretty smooth. I have had the odd issue waiting for drivers (Far Cry 3) but other than that it seems to work great.
Funny really. Crossfire always felt rather crude to me. Would also love to see some 5xxx results !!
BTW could you also test 3dmark11 please?
Result are mostly within margin of error.only factor making this possible ?is if the operating system is causing the issue.like I posted in my big post ;the operating system is the cause .probably unknowingly.
Not sure I grasp the whole methodology. If it looks good to me what is the problem? I have (2) 7950's in CFX mode and I do not see any 'stutter' or problem, why should it matter if FRAPS tells me 100 fps in Battlefield 3 and this article tells me its really only 50? Seems to me this is extreme nitpicking of something that isnt even visible to the naked eye and quite irresponsible to make AMD out to be so bad.
Yet someone like Kyle at Hardocp has said in the far cry 3 review that there is no doubt nVidia is smoother, and in the former SLI vs CF, that EVERY SINGLE TESTER AND REVIEWER THERE NOTICES SLI IS MUCH SMOOTHER THAN CROSSFIRE, for the past number of years.
He also says it's true some people (slow eyes, slow mind, poor vision, crap monitor, low resolution ) "can't" see the differences.
Oh well, sorry you drew a lousy deck. Some cards drawn are not as good as others.
On the other hand, with them side by side, you'd probably not be a blind, doubting amd fanboy anymore, even if you still claimed you were verbally.
Cant quite call this "observed frame rate" if you need a capture card and slow motion video to "observe" it??
Yes, you don't, thousands of people report on it daily.
Others who sold their souls to the amd red devil can't see it.
<- Me this round for my rig
I generally have good luck with Nvidia drivers, okay two mid-range cards, let's see... 192 bit memory bandwidth on your mid-range card?! argh, no thanks I like anti aliasing. Open CL results are... wow okay. Let's check out ATI...
Open CL is good, I have a dedicated PhysX card, heat and efficiency are... aw nuts. well okay I can undervolt a bit, fine. Let's get some CF 7950s... one week later and a good deal more broke, sees this article. Yargh... Oh hey... look an Nvidia workstation GPU for gaming(Titan right?), maybe compute tasks will... oh nevermind, not so good and 1k, ouch. No bitcoin mining for me.
Maybe I should just get a single GPU? Wait... I just bought three monitors for surround gaming.
I think I'll go downstairs and play a console game to relax.
I would like to know if the 'runts fps' are indeed 100% completely useless for the gaming experience. So lets say take a test person put him behind a game running 55fps with 'runts' (read: observed fps is lower) and then put him behind the same game but with the fps capped at the observed fps value. I like to know what the test person experiences are under real gaming.
How is the mouse movement? Does It feel smooth? Which scenario does the test person thinks is giving the best gaming experience and so on...
So essentially are the runt frames so annoying that you are better of with way lower fps? If so by what margin? For example I can imagine that 60fps with 'runts' is still better than a 100% solid and consistent 30 fps.
Since a normal screen resolution means 1080 horizontal scan lines, how do you feel about 7 or 8 scan lines being called a "valuable frame" for AMD ?
Let's check it with something called logic, since the clueless are here everywhere.
154 runts needed to make a single full screen frame pic JUST ONCE
So in that case, 154 fps give you an effective frame rate of 1 fps. LOL How valuable is 1/154th of the screen in a sliver across it ? That's a runt, a drop is ZERO VISUAL VALUE period.
How about 21 scan lines ? Is that "valuable" ?
1080/21 = 54 of them to make just one full screen. LOL
So, AMD counts 54fps, and you get one screen of data - yes I'd say that's a very valuable way for amd to cheat like heck on steroids.
As a competitive gamer, you WANT the frames to start before the previous ones finished. Nvidia is introducing latency with their frame metering crap.....
-coming from a 660ti owner.
I can't believe the amount of trolling over this article. I consider myself loosely an AMD fanboy when it comes to video cards. I don't really have an issue recomending nVidia cards to friends if that is where their pricing falls but I, personally run AMD. I don't see anything malicious about these articles and I find them very interesting and detailed. It's not going to stop me from buying a 7950 within the next month to replace my 5850 (Which let's be honest is still pretty darn good for today's games). I will just be happy that AMD knows about the issue and is working on a solution so I can get a nice fully functional Crossfire set-up later when they drop in price.
OK, AMD admits a issue then stop showing the comparisons with crossfire. What is the point is reviewing the same issues time and time again like something is suddenly going to change as we hit a different price point. This isn't a comparison at this point. If what you say is true then post this as a buyer beware when reviewing AMD cards about crossfire. What your doing here is the same as reviewing a nVidia card nad every article mentioning AMD crossfire is broken.
If you want a single GPU card no issue. If you want multi GPU go with nVidia at this point or move up to the next higher single GPU AMD. But remember with crossfire X when this fix is in place you can continue to boost your performance buy adding the next gen AMD. All nVidia offers is physx.
I agree with all of that and would also like to suggest PCper explores the 3rd party apps like radeon pro that fix a lot of these issues. Much more useful than telling us Xfire is broken over and over again
I agree with all of that and would also like to suggest PCper explores the 3rd party apps like radeon pro that fix a lot of these issues. Much more useful than telling us Xfire is broken over and over again
I wouldn't mind seeing 3-way CF/SLI, as an article a while back by THG found 3-way CF helped a while back.
I would like seeing RadeonPro, but realize that the fixes all include FPS limiting, which obviously isn't ideal.
I would also like to see different ranges of runt frames. 20 pixels high is 2% of your screen. That is really small. You could fairly increase that number some.
The exposure of Crossfire problems will force AMD to fix it. HOW IS THIS A BAD THING?
The way this is a bad thing:
1. I own a 7950 Crossfire setup which looks perfect to me (I use RadeonPro), and my initial reaction was that I should sell them and buy Nvidia, imagine how this could impact sales of people just considering AMD. I think the results, while quite accurate in and of themselves, should be better quantified in the real world (lets be honest can anyone at PCPer in a blind test really tell the difference between AMD and Nvidia)?
2. The graphs completely misrepresent what is happening on the screen. If you look at these graphs you imagine this stuttering mess on the screen, the truth is nothing close to that (as I said I can watch my rig in the real world).
3. It is completely beating a dead horse, we get it, the Crossfire has "major issues" when you enhance and slow down the frames to a crawl (which has zero bearing on how it looks in the real world), no reason to post the same results for each Crossfire compatible card, we already know what they are.
I am no AMD fanboy, I want all of the info I can get so next time I drop $1,000.00 on video cards I have all of the available info, I just think the info should be presented in a more realistic form, to me this is all quite inconsequential to real world gaming performance.
The problem isn't that you don't get playable frames in crossfire. It is that you aren't gaining full benefit from crossfire. When choosing between Crossfire and SLI, what will help you more so you can plan ahead.
And if you use v-sync, the limited testing has shown it helps or fixes the issue (only tested on 2 games so far, it could be the FPS limiting aspect that helps, and not v-sync itself).
"The problem isn't that you don't get playable frames in crossfire. It is that you aren't gaining full benefit from crossfire."
That right there to me is an accurate and thoughtful representation of what is going on here. That would have been a much more accurate way to present this information instead of the current "AMD Crossfire is a stuttering mess" message.
I have been on every review website there is and was for well over a decade, and argued with every fanboy of every type - and NEVER has a single amd fan or otherwise EVER MENTIONED "radeon pro"...
So who cares if NOW, you use it. For YEARS not a single amd fanboy CF user was using it, and if they were THEY LIED AND KEPT IT A SECRET BECAUSE THEY KNEW AMD SUCKS WITHOUT IT.
So who really cares at this point what lying hidden crutch amd needs for a "quicky bandaid patch" for it's crapster crap crossfire epic failure ?
It's a big fat excuse for YEARS of total loserville and lies.
I'll also mention once v-sync and radeon pro hack the frame rate down to 30 or 60, YOU MIGHT AS WELL NOT USE AN AMD CROSSFIRE SOLUTION AT ALL BECAUSE YOU CANNOT USE FRAME RATE POTENTIAL ON IT FULLY, YOU HAVE TO CRIPPLE IT FOR IT TO WORK.
What we need now is a 30fps chart and 60 fps chart with crap amd cards listed running vsync and radeon pro and the chart can tell us which pieces of crap can do 30 and 60 fps and we can THROW OUT EVERY OTHER FRAME RATE EVER LISTED FOR THE CRAP AMD CARDS.
"The problem isn't that you don't get playable frames in crossfire. It is that you aren't gaining full benefit from crossfire."
That right there to me is an accurate and thoughtful representation of what is going on here. That would have been a much more accurate way to present this information instead of the current "AMD Crossfire is a stuttering mess" message.
Interesting test, if what you have tested is valid, AMD is in deep-sh*t once again. If not, there is some kind of money transaction going on...
Nonetheless, thanks for all your efforts.
Quick Google "geforce frame metering" and you will find out why the nVi cards rarely have runt frames. In fact, nVi cards DO have them. They just delays those frames a bit to match with other good frames' speed, therefore the frame time chart looks good miraculously. And you, the user, will have to deal with input delay.
For me, an AMD cards and a 3rd party FPS cap software is the best. No input lag, no stuttering. And the image quality from AMD is always superior.
wow, it's spot on data, tough to take in, especially if you purchased Radeon's since the begining but it is true.
but GOD People - stop with the flaming!!!.
AMD will have to do a hardware re-do to fix this, i don't really expect anything to come out for a year. i don't really think that anyone misled on purpose - this is all new testing data.
AMD still makes an ok card- but the issue is with multiple cards.
answer- don't buy multiple lower cost cards with AMD
I wish you'd start testing with newer drivers. They have 314.22's out, had 314.21 out, and even a 314.07 all in WHQL, but you're still on beta .07's? I think they even had a 314.14 whql in there.
Many games have been optimized since then. Great data, just want later Nv drivers as you're a few behind at best.
15% for 314.07 vs. 314.21 in tomb raider, others show basically the same and in some cases more and this was on an old 9600GT card...LOL. Who knew?
Sorry for the huge review, computer repair in schaumburg but I'm really loving the new Zune, and hope this, as well as the excellent reviews some other people have written, will help you decide if it's the right choice for you.


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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Laptops tablet repair Portsmouth Southsea
#ac151 -neue-modelle-latitude-e-serie-4-3 - Acronym Computers UK
Mobile Repair
Computer Repair
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james ashlin
12:06 04 Jul 18
Best IT Company in this area. Very professional attitude with an excellent follow up service. The products are of the best range and price competitive. They take time with their customers and ensure that people go away fully understanding how the product operates. Well done Othman. (10yrs a customer now)
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Excellent, could not fault their service. Wonderful, friendly and very helpful staff.
Chloe Wainwright
10:41 20 Jun 18
Amazing service, staff are experienced and very open to answering questions. Been here multiple times with 2 different laptops and always come home feeling good about it.
Pat Dorkings
21:20 12 Apr 18
Took my elderly Work book Pro in for an update. Work upgrading the memory and installing an SSD drive was done quickly and efficiently for a fair price. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Recommended.
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We took our PC, the heart of our business to be cleaned and have the processor upgraded. Fast service, very reasonably priced and great people. Many thanks
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Very friendly and professional. I got my laptop updated when buying it for no extra charge. THATS good service :D
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text:
by Wesley Ratko
The board of directors of the Chestnut Hill Community Association voted overwhelmingly April 28 to hire a media consultant to support the development of a Web portal for the community.
By a 20-5 vote, the board approved a motion to retain the services of Mel Taylor Media, with a budget line item of $3,500 as a retainer to Mel Taylor, and with an additional $1,250 due upon completion of a detailed business plan, a marketing overview, and 12-month revenue projection.
Taylor, a former media personality now specializing in online revenue and strategy for hyperlocal news media, was introduced to the board by board member Miguel Castaneda, who said transitioning the Chestnut Hill Local's current online presence into one that can compete with other Web portals (like WHYY's NewsWorks and AOL Patch) for ad revenue presented "operational concerns" that require the expertise of a professional. Taylor, Castaneda said, will provide that expertise.
Taylor began by explaining that his business uses real-world experience to help small businesses and organizations "sell the Web" and survive in the digital age.
"Doing nothing is not an option," he said, a sentiment he repeated several times throughout the evening.
Taylor praised the traditional print version of the Local as the community association's "ace in the hole," which provides an advantage other competitors don't have. He explained that the paper has the potential to be bigger, and is an asset upon which to build and grow the digital platform of a website, while ensuring the future of the print version.
"Local ad money is the life blood of news," he said.
He explained that outsiders like NewsWorks and AOL Patch want local ad revenue – the same money that the Local depends on to stay afloat – but that journalism is not their primary concern.
"Everything here is to protect the integrity of your journalism," Taylor said, "because if you lose that, then you become just another dot com."
Taylor was insistent that the Chestnut Hill Local's website was a vital element in the plan to bring a profitable portal to the neighborhood, explaining that a separate website would weaken, not strengthen the community's asset. His plan was not a separate portal entity but a new look and functionality of the paper's existing website. A separate element would draw ad revenue away from the Local if it is at all successful.
"If [a separate website] has any success, it's going to chip away and hurt the mother ship, which is Chestnut Hill Local – the paper and its website – and that cannot happen," he said. "The Chestnut Hill Local, the paper and dot com, can never go away."
Taylor explained that he's worked in situations where the paper and the website have gone separate ways, and said that approach was counterproductive.
"I can assure you," he said, "on more than one occasion, the newspaper and the website have tried to kill each other internally."
Board member Jay Valinis asked whether Taylor would provide assistance to the Local's staff to integrate his recommendations into the existing framework of the Local's website. Taylor said yes, that his services are all hands on and would include training.
He followed up on that by addressing concerns from board members that the Internet potential for the existing site was limited by the existing framework. Taylor said he would work with publisher Larry Hochberger to "max out" the current platform and do as much as possible with it until its limits are reached, at which point, he said, they could pursue options for the development of a "more robust platform."
Taylor emphasized that his job was not to tell the board what to do but instead to provide options and help them to make the right decision.
"I'm not suggesting you hire someone to be the portal manager," he said. He added that there isn't a reason to bring in an outsider if an internal person could do the job.
"I'm here to identify three options, show Larry the pros and cons of each option, and help him make the right decision," Taylor said.
Board member Richard Snowden suggested that the Local was not a typical newspaper, and, given that uniqueness, asked whether Taylor's business model would have the same effectiveness that it has had on his other clients.
"There's extreme division between the owners and management as to how we go forward," Snowden said. He added that he was in favor of the concept but wasn't confident that there was unified buy-in from the community.
"I want to make sure we're all 100 percent behind this," he said.
Lisa Howe expressed her support for hiring Taylor by comparing his services to those of Midge McCauley, the retail consultant hired last year by the Business Association. Howe said that McCauley's hiring had proven to be a huge success and well worth the expense. Art Howe echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that the decision to hire her has resulted in "20 times the money spent."
Taylor said he wasn't dismissing the concept of the portal – just assigning the functions of a Web portal to the Local's website.
Board president Walter Sullivan asked Taylor how he thought the CHCA would pay for the initial start-up costs. Taylor suggested the current sales force be "leveraged," and that the Local staff create something "saleable" on the current website – something that can be developed into "premium inventory."
"You do everything free first," Taylor said, "then sell it better to your current clientele as simple ad packages."
After this initial setup, Taylor suggested training the sales force to better approach advertisers.


text:
Support for basic access authentication http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_access_authentication
|:: (WebMonad Response m, ServerMonad m, FilterMonad Response m, MonadPlus m)
|=> String
the realm name
|-> Map String String
the username password map
|-> m a
the part to guard
|-> m a
A simple HTTP basic authentication guard.
If authentication fails, this part will call
main = simpleHTTP nullConf $ msum [ basicAuth "127.0.0.1" (fromList [("happstack","rocks")]) $ ok "You are in the secret club" , ok "You are not in the secret club." ]


text:
Car Makers and Oil Companies Intensify Attack on Ethanol
Auto makers and oil companies stepped up their campaign against gasoline blended with extra ethanol, releasing a study Tuesday that said the fuel could cause cars to break down on the road.
Ethanol makers, who are facing growing political headwinds, said the study was flawed and that the problems it identifies might be tied to car components, not the fuel.
So far only a handful of gas stations in the U.S. offer E15, a gasoline that contains 15% ethanol instead of the standard 10%.


text:
A Blackwater Story
"You lie there, an innocent baby. I feel like the thief who is raiding your home, entering
and breaking and taking in every room. I know your feelings are tender and that
inside you the embers still glow. But I'm a shadow, I'm only a bed of blackened coal.
Call myself Jezebel for wanting to leave."
I don't know why I'm here.
I should get up soon. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to poke around in your dark room for my clothes without waking you. I don't want to wake you.
I don't know why I even came. But you said you loved me and, I guess, I couldn't say no to that. I think I'd have gone with any guy who claimed to love me. 'Cause that's what you were supposed to do.
A perfect life. That's what I was supposed to have, to make Mom and Dad and everyone happy. Go to school. Get good grades. Play sports or cheerlead. Have a perfect boyfriend; wear his high school ring. Go off to college. Get a degree in something that may bore you to tears but sounds good. Marry your high school sweetheart. Pop out two point six babies. Raise your daughters to be the kind of girl boys want to marry. Raise your sons to be the kind of guy worth marrying. Grow old. Dote on grandchildren. Die as soon as your usefulness is ended.
No one said, of course, that this was what they wanted, but everyone knew. I'd done items one through three on the list, and had anyone asked at that point, I'd've gone with them. Because that was what I was supposed to do.
I rebelled against everything else. I cut my hair to shoulder length sophomore year and dyed the ends blood red, instead of keeping it long and loose or braiding it like every other girl on the Rez did. The red was gone now, but the hair itself is shorter. Mom and I always are getting into fights over it. But it's only hair. It grows back. It was the same when I got the second piercings in my ears, and the hoop on the helix of the right... Those are gone now too. Mom saw to that. And now the only freedom I have in my own life is to choose whether to get cookie dough or mint chocolate chip ice cream when I go to the store in Forks for Mom on Tuesday afternoons, the one day a week when I don't have track practice or some Student Government meeting or some other shit that I couldn't care less about but do so I can get into college and complete step five.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised I'm here. Everyone said we should get together. Your dad was some big-wig in the tribe, until he ran off with that woman your mom calls "The Blonde Bimbo." Dad's an Elder. We were both single and you were captain of the basketball team and I was captain of the girl's volleyball team. Our moms are on the PTA together, and were some kind of cousin that meant we'd see each other a lot 'round Christmas and, occasionally, Fourth of July, but not since we were little and your dad was still around.
I shouldn't be surprised that it happened. It was prom. It was expected that teenagers did this kinda thing after prom. And you had asked me to prom, and I had said yes, because I was supposed to be the perfect daughter and you were the one who'd asked me out two years previously and every Friday night since then.
I'm supposed to love you. We're supposed to go to UW-Seattle together next fall. We both know that, unless things change drastically, we'll graduate and marry and move back to La Push and have two point six kids with black hair and hazel eyes whose black-haired, brown-eyed children we'll one day dote on. We'll be buried next to each other in the cemetery at the top of the street, the one where everyone anyone here has ever known has been buried, and where our children and children's children will join us.
Your school jacket is in my closet. I'm lying beside you in your bed, feeling cold and empty and wondering if this numbness is all I have to look forward to for the rest of my life, lying next to you. I hope to God it's not.
I don't want perfect. I don't want a Model-T life.
I want someone... I want someone who won't care if my ears are pierced twelve times over or if there are red streaks in my hair – or, if they do care, who has better arguments against it than "not normal". I want excitement. Adventure. Hell, I'll even settle for something where I don't feel so empty laying in bed beside the person I'm supposed to love, wanting to know if all love is the rutting of two animals with lock-key genitalia.
So I slip out of your bed, and I poke about in the dark for the perfect dress Mom found for her perfect daughter to wear on her perfect night with the perfect guy. I could go out the door – your mom has to know I'm here, has to expect it; has to plan on being surprised but having extra blueberry pancakes ready for the big reveal in the morning, when I'm supposed to try to slink out of your room while you're in the shower, wearing one of your over-large hoodies and a pair of your sweatpants – but your room's only on the first floor, and the window's open anyway.
It's raining softly, and there's a gentle, cloaking fog hanging over the town. There's no one awake in the Rez but me, and that seems a fitting simile for my entire life: Is there no one else awake here?
If I could run away-
But no.
If I could-
No, not that either.
It would be so easy to go back, and pretend I never left. Or go home, and try again, with another school jacket and perfect plan. So very, very easy...
Rachel and Rebecca have been gone for a year now – Becca to Hawaii with her own escape, a Samoan stockbroker with pe'a tattoos and a handful of surfing trophies; Rachel to the University of Oregon where the dictates of tradition were far enough away that they don't seem quite so real – but their window is still unlatched. They used to leave it open for me, before they left, when we were just three girls who shared the same dream, freedom.
I've practice sneaking in, of opening drawers and trading soaking clothes for someone else's dry extras. I can do it without making a sound. The sleeping bag I used to crash on when I stayed is still there, under Becca's bed, too.
I'm not sure why I came. It's not like Rachel and Becca can help me. They're gone. All that remains in their room are a few old clothes, some stuffed animals who'd seen better days, and two empty, twin-sized beds.
I feel like crying. I never cry. But-
But is it so much to ask for to have one person I can go to, one person who understands I don't want the cookie-cutter life? That I love the Rez, but the expectations are-
The door glides open softly, giving only the slightest moan of protest, and there's no time to dive under Rachel's bed or move my wet, ruined dress from its puddle on the floor.
"I thought it was you," he says as I whisper his name, clutching a hand to my heart, which had been beating furiously.
"Jake, what you doing up?"
He raises his eyebrow in a way I'd give most anything to be able to do myself. He's a freshman now, their little brother. God, he must've started spurting up the moment they left, 'cause he certainly doesn't look only fifteen to me. "Could ask you what you're doing in my house, Clearwater."
"Missed your sisters."
"Figured..." he disappears from the doorway for a moment, and returns an instant later with a towel from the hall closet. Handing it to me, "I always knew when you came over. Dad, he can sleep through anything, but..."
I took the towel, one of those ones every family has lying around from ages previous, this one a thin and fading Garfield print that's obviously seen better days. Still, it was dry, and I ran it through my hair, mumbling, "Sorry for waking you." I felt nervous, being this close to him in only one of Becca's threadbare grey t-shirts and boy shorts, my underwear lost somewhere in the maelstrom I created in my boyfriend's room, and he's just in a pair of sleep pants whose pattern I can't make out in the yellowy light from the pole outside. I don't know why. I've known him for as long as I've known his sisters – which is to say, forever – but he's never made me feel-
I can count the number of guys who've made me feel anything other than angry or empty up to this point in my life on one hand, and I'm related to both of them.
Maybe I'm just tired, but I find myself smiling at him.
He gives me a wide smile back, then delicately picks up my dress by one of its thin straps, and sheets of water poor off the satiny purple fabric. "I'd've given anything to have seen you in this."
"You didn't go to prom then." It wasn't a question. I knew he hadn't gone. I'd've remembered seeing him – at least, I think I would've. This makes me smile even more.
"I despise all school functions."
"Me too."
Almost shyly, "Then why'd you go?"
For some reason, I'm almost embarrassed to tell him. "Sam wanted to." It's stupid, considering everyone knows we're together, but I'm embarrassed nonetheless.
He looks down, suddenly dropping the dress back to the floor. "I imagine he did."
I'm looking at the floor, at the dress in the puddle, and my own bare feet – his bare feet too. I can see the arm of a stuffed bear sticking out from under the nearest bed. There's a funny feeling in my stomach, fluttering about and demanding recognition. I don't know what it is, only that its demanding recognition. Suddenly, I look up and meet your eyes as they raise to look at mine. "I don't love him. I- I'm breaking up with him tomorrow."
"Sure, sure," you say. I don't know whether you're doubting me our edging me on. I don't know which I want, and it scares me.
"Thanks for the towel."
"No problem."
There's silence that I don't know how to fill, and that feeling I can't name. At last, you turn to leave; as you say goodnight with another of your wide, carefree smiles, the butterflies in my stomach go into a frenzy, and it is all I can do to whisper back the same as my mind reels. I don't know what this is, only that it's not the cruel numbness any more.
I like it.
"I'm not saying I'm replacing love for some other word to describe the sacred tie that bound
me to you. I'm just saying we've mistaken one for thousands of words.
And for that mistake, I've caused you such pain that I damn that word.
I've no more ways to hide that I'm a desolate and empty, hollow place inside."
10000 Maniacs "Jezebel"


text:
Sunday within the Octave of the Sacred HeartSpeaker: Fr. Baumberger
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Bishop Santay's talks on Modernism
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The Blitz
Scott Smith, founder
At one time, a circuit training facility was a novel idea but not anymore. The Blitz, a 20-minute circuit training facility for men, has been around for more than two years. The club now has 115 locations around the world and recently expanded into the Middle East with a club in Bahrain. Plans include more Middle Eastern clubs in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries and expansion into Taiwan.
The company's founder, Scott Smith, has been a broker for Dean Witter Morgan Stanley and owner of a distribution company that marketed for Fortune 100 companies. He owned two martial arts schools but currently owns two Curves franchises and two tanning salons in addition to The Blitz.
Ci: Why did you start your franchise?
Smith: Men die earlier than women on average. Obesity is at epidemic proportions. Men are more susceptible to chronic illness, heart disease and top the charts in all 15 leading causes of death. They are time starved and needed an efficient workout that gets results.
Ci: What were some of the challenges you faced when starting your franchise?
Smith: Whenever you're the first to walk through a minefield, there are bound to be some challenges. No one had attempted to market exclusively to men on any large scale. As the first organization to pave the way and pioneer the men's market, we were constantly being told it wouldn't work. We are still being told that.
Early on, I decided to stay debt free so operating 100 percent on cash was a bit challenging. So far we have managed quite well. Also, finding the right fabricator for my equipment and the correct hydraulic cylinder was no easy task.
Another problem was that we were unable to register in some states because of our lack of capital.
Ci: What are some of the challenges you face now with your franchise?
Smith: Actually, things are running quite smoothly. One of the challenges that potential franchisees have is finding available places to lease. The increased cost of oil and steel has created a small challenge for production and delivery. With our expansion overseas we face a few new challenges.
Ci: Why would a franchisee open a franchised health club vs. their own club?
Smith: Franchising gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to be in business for themselves but not by themselves. The operating system, trademarks and business plan have already been tested and proven. Consumers prefer "name brands" and like the assurance of consistency. They associate franchises with value and reliability.
Ci: What do you see for the future of franchised clubs?
Smith: I believe franchised clubs will continue to grow and do well. However, the clubs offering the biggest bang for the buck will do extremely well. If we can keep big government out of the way, everyone will benefit. Overall, I think the future is bright for franchising. I believe we will see more global expansion than we have in the past.
Healthy Inspirations
Casey Conrad, founder
Healthy Inspirations is a women-only turnkey weight loss and lifestyle program. Opened in 1999 as a licensing program, the company was converted in March 2004 to a franchise program. About one-third of the 70 locations worldwide are in-club and the other two-thirds are stand-alone. Casey Conrad, the founder, has 22 years of experience in the fitness industry including work in various capacities at clubs and as a consultant in sales and marketing.
Ci: Why did you start your franchise?
Conrad: I was sick of traveling 20+ days a month with my consulting business and, as a result, wanted to start my own small chain of women-only centers that combined nutrition, exercise and lifestyle programs under one roof. When some of my long-term clients heard about the concept, they asked me if I would license the intellectual property to them. Once that was done, it took on a life of its own.
I converted to a franchise program because the number of centers was getting to a critical level that required a greater level of control to ensure consistent quality. Also, to offer long-term value to operators (and me), its business structure needed to offer the opportunity for multiple locations and an easy sale when someone retired.
Ci: What were some of the challenges you faced when starting your franchise?
Conrad: Our first corporate challenge was ensuring the development of high-quality training materials for franchisees. We also needed to create and deliver a training program for employees who didn't attend the one-week training program at our corporate offices.
The other corporate challenge was balancing growth of locations with delivery of corporate support. To avoid the problems that come with growth that is too quick, I kept the growth of our centers at a slower pace.
Another challenge was creating a selection process for licensees/franchisees. Successful operators are your best source of referrals for future franchisees.
The franchisee challenges included keeping the franchisees in check with the systems and policing their centers to ensure they weren't doing something that wasn't permitted under the licensing or franchising agreement.
Ci: What are some of the challenges you face now with your franchise?
Conrad: The first is taking training programs to another level to provide advanced training for long-term centers and employees to help them grow and develop. The next challenge is creating a branding program that allows us to get pinpoint clarity on our market and then refine our marketing and sales materials to match the brand with our target market.
One new challenge is conveying to potential operators how Healthy Inspirations differs from other fitness franchise opportunities. Because the 30-minute exercise component is one part of our weight loss program, people confuse us with other 30-minute fitness programs. However, Healthy Inspirations is a weight loss program with fitness as one of the components. Because of this and the infrastructure of the build-out, it is more expensive. When people don't take the time to research the difference, they make a choice based solely on initial start-up costs.
Ci: Why would a franchisee open a franchised health club vs. their own club?
Conrad: The primary reason is so that they don't have to re-invent the wheel. Operating a business is a lot of work and most people who are looking for a franchise opportunity do not have all the necessary skills. Being part of a franchise system allows you access to successful systems and the ongoing support necessary.
Ci: What do you see for the future of franchised health clubs?
Conrad: Because of the saturation of these 30-minute fitness facilities, we will go through a "purging" of locations in the next few years. In the long run the franchising of health clubs and weight loss programs will be a good thing.
Henry Dabish, CEO
Fitness runs in the genes at Powerhouse Gyms, which started up in 1974 in Highland Park, MI. The club began licensing in the early 1980s and expanded rapidly in the early 1990s growing now to 320 licensees in 10 countries and 38 states.
Henry Dabish, CEO, grew up watching his father William and uncle Norman, who founded Powerhouse together, at meetings and in the clubs. He began working in the gyms at the age of 14 and later began operating corporate facilities. He has been working in the corporate offices for the last seven years, combining that experience with a formal education.
Ci: Why did your family start your franchise?
Dabish: William and Norman Dabish began training intensely in martial arts at the ages of 11 and 12. They developed a following in their local neighborhood and began training neighbors using milk crates as bench presses.
Ci: What were some of the challenges your family faced when starting the franchise?
Dabish: There were many growing pains at first because they were starting the business on their own as teenagers. They were forced into supporting their family at a young age after their father's heart problems forced him into an early retirement. Their first task was to figure out a name and logo. William decided on the name Powerhouse Gym, and Norman designed the logo.
Ci: What are some of the challenges you face now with your franchise?
Dabish: We have established ourselves as one of the largest gym chains in the world, and the challenge is to continue to grow in a more competitive market.
Ci: Why would a franchisee open a franchised health club vs. their own club?
Dabish: Becoming a licensee or franchisee is worth the minimal investment. It gives a club instant credibility, surrounds you with professionals, and allows you to capitalize on consumer-demanded items. It is better to go to bat with a group of trusted, knowledgeable individuals instead of on your own. Also, there is buying power with a large group that can save you thousands of dollars.
Ci: What do you see for the future of franchised clubs?
Dabish: I think that the industry is continuing to evolve and your chances of being a successful health club operator are drastically increased if choosing to go with a brand name.
Slim and Tone
Betsy Ludlow, founder
Betsy Ludlow may not have a fitness background, but her business sense led her to believe that there was room for another women-only circuit training franchise. She launched four fitness clubs in 2002 and then launched the Slim and Tone franchise in early 2003. Since then, the franchise has grown to 120 clubs including five outside the continental United States.
Ludlow has an MBA and worked in marketing at several divisions within American Express from 1982-2000. Her last position was senior vice president-marketing-corporate services.
Ci: Why did you start your franchise?
Ludlow: I saw an opportunity to leverage a strong and growing trend in the market: a fitness program for women of all ages. I believed there was an opportunity to improve the concept and differentiate our offering vis a vis competitors.
Ci: What were some of the challenges you faced when starting your franchise?
Ludlow: Selling the first several franchises based solely on the experience of owning four company-owned clubs. I had little history to draw upon or credibility at that point.
Ci: What are some of the challenges you face now with your franchise?
Ludlow: Continuing the pace of growth (sales) and at the same time servicing the growing number of clubs in our network. Also, adding infrastructure at the appropriate rate so expenses don't outpace revenues.
Ci: Why would a franchisee open a franchised health club vs. their own club?
Ludlow: Franchising is the way to go. Statistics have shown that franchise entities have a far better chance of success than independents because franchisees are given the blueprint that has been tested, refined and implemented by countless before them. If they implement the blueprint according to the instructions, they are likely to succeed. All their efforts can go into implementation because the development work has been done for them. This is the biggest disadvantage for the independent — having to do development and implementation to launch and operate their business. Few independents are truly up to this challenge in my opinion.
Ci: What do you see for the future of franchised clubs?
Ludlow: I think the interest in franchising is going to continue to see phenomenal growth. Defectors from the corporate environment — wanting a change/wanting to be their own boss/but wanting some structure and certainty — are likely to fuel this growth.


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This looks like the most retarded, nonsense, but awesome experience ever. Haha
which reminds me i really gotta play saints row 3
I love Saints 3. I need to go back and beat it - that game is ridiculously purple and cracky. I should take a pic of my character, I made sure she fit in the game's wackiness.
HEY THIS IS OUT IN LIKE 11 DAYS (also you can get the inauguration station now and make your character which makes me happy because my girl took two fucking hours to make....)(also also the E3 demo was fantastic. SAINTS ROW WITH SUPER POWERS)I'm pre-ordering it on 360. Too cheap to buy an LE. Anyone else?EDIT: Also, there's literally a million-dollar edition. Yes, really.http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/08/do-not-buy-the-1000000-saints-row-iv-bundle/
I still have yet to even play The 3rd... Gotta catch up!
.....wub?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMAbpoolm_sGetting mine after work today.


text:
Soulja Boy In Tokyo Pt. 5 (Shows Off McDonalds New Burger Called "Mega Mac")
Soulja Boy Tell Em' Tokyo Trip Part 5
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text:
Hope College seniors Lydia Blickley of Grand Rapids and Skye Edwards of Morrison, Colo., will present "21.5," an evening of song and dance, on Wednesday, March 27, at 8 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.
Tickets are $4, with admission payable at the door.
After four years of instruction from mentors at Hope and around the world, Lydia and Skye will display what they've learned in this penultimate Holland performance. Both students dance, sing, act, choreograph, write and direct.
The Knickerbocker Theatre is located at 86 E. Eighth St.


text:
Spotlight India: rescue workers reach new heights to save rare gibbons
Recently, I traveled to India to support a team of local rescuers who save the lives of endangered Eastern Hoolock gibbons.
Regardless of where I go around the world, I find such high levels of dedication and professionalism among those involved in animal rescue work.
I may have needed a translator at times during this training but there was no need when it came to expressing our concern, admiration, and respect of the gibbons swinging freely from tree to tree, calling between families as the sun rose over the beautiful mountains of northeastern India.
Check out this video that shows a bit of the training and the rescue efforts to save these endangered gibbons…
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) was requested to provide invaluable safety training to the rescuers who at times can be 60 meters high in the trees!
Our training team included Matt and John, members of our Emergency Relief Network Partner, the North Valley Animals in Disaster Group in northern California.
This training was like none other because we got to train in trees under the curious gaze of a gibbon who was fascinated by us!
The safety training taught the responders how to use climbing gear and safety equipment.The rescuers quickly absorbed the material and put the lessons into action throughout our week on-site.
To wrap up the training and rescue work, we visited the Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary where the rescued Eastern Hoolock Gibbons are released to live together in harmony and peace.


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I'm turning 18 tomorrow. I've been waiting for this for a very long time, I really just want to get a tattoo. I want it to be about atheism because it's one of the few things in my life that I know wont change. I'm really starting with nothing here, I have nothing particular in mind, so I'm open to all suggestions. I don't even know if I'm getting a quote, artwork, or otherwise. I'd also like to see others atheist tattoos if you have any.
That picture is of an amazing tattoo, but I think its a bit much for me, especially for my first tattoo.
Views: 18979
Really? Lol I love your tattoo! How did you think of something so unique and beautiful?!
Oh and happy birthday, kiddo!
Thank you! :D
Sorry to sound dumb, but I am not bilingual AT ALL, what language is that?
Mine is on my right shoulder. It's a crude "jailhouse style" tattoo of my (now ex) wife's name. I had sworn before that I'd never get a tattoo. It was a very strange night....
Given the reasons for not having a tattoo (potential impediment to landing a job, tattoo regret, etc.), I wonder why people feel such an overwhelming need to have one.
It's an issue of personal vanity or sentimentality - not need. While difficult to do so, it's not an irrevocable decision. And if properly placed, is not an impediment. The tattoo of my ex I still like. We are still good friends and I care about her. No harm. And it's in a place where it is normally covered by a shirt so no harm there as far as jobs - and the message is one that is non-offensive.
Obviously, I'm talking about the people who have tattoos that can't be ignored.
Thanks for the clarification. I was mostly responding to the final part of your question "...I wonder why people feel such an overwhelming need to have one."
In my opinion, it doesn't come from a need, more of a desire. I, for one, have tattoos that aren't able to be covered. The way the world is shaping up, there's no need to fear discrimination. Fortunately for me, I work in a field where it's accepted entirely to be tattooed. I look forward to the day that it's socially acceptable to be tattooed in the workplace, and obviously offensive material need not apply. There's no need for hatred to be displayed, ever.
But to clarify what I mean by desire for me personally, I'm not too big on material possessions. I carry what is most important to me on my skin, and quite frankly, they tend to work in my favor. It's a great way to weed out individuals I'd rather not associate with to begin with.
I agree, I don't feel a need, but rather I feel a desire or a wanting. I don't know what started my love of tattoos, but since I was like 12 or 13 I just have always dreamed of the tattoos I would get when I turn of age, I can't even remember half of them, but I know they were dumb and I would definitely regret them if I had gotten them. I want to display the things that are important to me. I don't want any meaningless tattoos. There are a few things I know I want to get tattoos for, and it's some of the things that are instilled in me, things that I want to carry to the grave.


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Posted October 17,2005:
To some people, 'law' is a set of rules designed
by the powerful to entrench their power, while for others
it is a set of rules designed by an enlightened elite to
create a level playing field where people can compete to
the best of their ability to make money. Still others see
the law as an evolving set of rules that reflect communal
efforts to live together harmoniously. Finally, many view
the law as morality codified, arguing that we criminalize
behavior we determine to be ethically injurious to the society
as a whole. Whatever your view of the law, and of course
many believe it is some combination of the above explanations,
if you decide to study the law of country other than your
own you will enrich and expand your understanding of your
own legal system and gain invaluable cross cultural experience
that will help you no matter what you decide to do when
you finally leave the student life and enter the working
.: Main
Chicago-Kent event calendar
Academic calendar
Alumnae/i event calendar
Admissions calendar


text: On Wed, 20 Nov 2002, Bob Drzyzgula wrote: > Yes and no. I agree with you that the intensive marketing > by these companies is a major factor in raising the > volumes, and by consequence lowering the prices, for > these chips. And I agree that, for like specifications and > sufficiently small purchase -- like one or two systems -- > a brand name system can be cost-competitive with privately- > or locally-assembled systems. <deleted detailed description> > We *do* have to maintain a competent staff and a well- > equipped integration facility, but tools and ESD benches > are cheap compared to computers, and the empowerment > that comes from all this self-reliance does wonders for > job satisfaction and staff retention. Beautifully put. I like to build my own systems as well, and tend to spend MORE time on systems built by vendors, even very friendly and cooperative local vendors, than I do on systems I build myself, although it has taken me a year plus of buying lots of systems and letting the vendor build them (and then having to mess with them later) to really figure that out. Unless you have a linux-expert vendor that can do EXACTLY what you have to do to install the system for you, you end up messing with it more getting it to where you can install it from an often unknown and slightly broken initial state OR communicating with the vendor about what they did wrong than it takes you to just do it, at least with modest numbers of systems. With that said, there are some components and circumstances where Dell's fancy hardware makes sense -- department LAN servers, for example, where one can minimize the consumption of the scarcest of our resources -- primary sysadmin time -- by buying the highest quality servers, keeping them under the expensive same-day service contracts, and upgrading them pretty steadily as they age out. This is 2x or more expensive at the hardware side, but can prevent expensive downtime on a major shared resource. I think many people confuse HA with HPC. HA often demands brand name stuff and all the expensive service deals, because of the nonlinear/magnified costs associated with downtime. HPC is USUALLY fairly insensitive to downtime of single nodes -- it costs you a 1/N fraction of the total resource, it might cost you one chunk of work at whatever you've established your checkpoint/task granularity scaled with N, but it rarely costs you an extended N-scaled loss of resource. Besides, as Bob points out so ably, a sensible buying/building pattern can actually significantly reduce downtime even compared to the best of service contracts. rgb Robert G. Brown http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/ Duke University Dept. of Physics, Box 90305 Durham, N.C. 27708-0305 Phone: 1-919-660-2567 Fax: 919-660-2525 email:rgb at phy.duke.edu


text:
Iowa St. Wins in Iowa City For First Time in 10 Years
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- The Iowa Hawkeyes didn't let Steele Jantz beat them like he did a year ago.
This time, it was the Cyclones' defense that took down the rival Hawkeyes.
Steele Jantz threw for 241 yards and the game's only touchdown on Saturday and Iowa State beat Iowa 9-6 for its first win in Iowa City in 10 years.
Jake Knott's interception with 1:11 left sealed the win for the Cyclones (2-0), whose defense held Iowa to just 304 yards of offense.
Iowa State was held scoreless in the second half. But the Hawkeyes (1-1) could only muster a pair of short field goals in the lowest-scoring matchup between these in-state rivals in 24 years.
James Vandenberg was 20 of 42 passing for 236 yards and two interceptions for Iowa.
But after looking terrible all day, Iowa's offense sprung to life in the final two minutes.
Fittingly, the game turned on its final mistake.
Vandenberg drove Iowa from its own 11 to Iowa State's 32-yard line after throwing three straight incompletions. But he floated one over the middle and Knott tipped the ball and brought it in to give the Cyclones their first win in Iowa City since they beat the Hawkeyes 36-31 in 2002.
Vandenberg, who threw 25 TD passes in 2011, has none through two games this season. Iowa's only points came on field goals of 23 and 21 yards from Mike Meyer.
Iowa State looked as though it was set to put away one of the ugliest games in this rivalry's history late in the fourth quarter.
It would only get uglier from there.
Jantz drove the Cyclones to Iowa's 2-yard line by converting on a pair of key third downs. But on third-and-goal with 3:23 left and Iowa State leading 9-6, Jantz threw an interception to Hawkeyes linebacker James Morris, who returned it to midfield.
Not surprisingly, Iowa did nothing with the pick.
Vandenberg misfired on four straight passes, the last incompletion coming when Don Shumpert dropped a pass that if completed would have been good for a first down.
Iowa's receivers dropped plenty of passes, and Iowa State made a lot of mistakes as well. It's just that the Hawkeyes couldn't do much with those Cyclones' miscues.
Jantz and James White muffed a handoff and Morris recovered at the Iowa State 21 midway through the third quarter. Vandenberg then connected with massive 6-foot-7 tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz on a pair of key completions to help get Iowa deep inside Cyclones territory.
But Keenan Davis was ruled out of bounds at the 3-yard line on what appeared to be a touchdown. Fullback Mark Weisman then dropped a potential TD catch, and Iowa's Mike Meyer hit a 21-yard field goal to cut Iowa State's lead to 9-6 with 14:06 left.
Jantz had four touchdowns in last season's 44-41 triple-OT win over Iowa in Ames. He threw two interceptions on Saturday, but his defense picked up time and time again.
The win evened Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads' overall record at 20-20.
Iowa State dominated the first half against an Iowa team that had outscored the Cyclones 52-12 in their last two appearances in Kinnick Stadium.
But the Cyclones could only muster a 9-3 lead at the break.
It felt like it should have been much bigger than that.
Jantz completed his first 10 passes, including a 5-yard TD pass to Aaron Horne on the game's opening drive and a 40-yarder to Horne to put the Cyclones at Iowa's 9-yard line. But Ernst Brun dropped a would-be TD pass and Iowa State was forced to settle for Edwin Arceo's 22-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Still, that lead would prove to be big enough to stand against Iowa's woeful offense.
Through two games, the Hawkeyes have mustered just one touchdown and six Meyer field goals.


text:
Solixir Rolls Out Natural, Functional 'Mood' Drinks
Solixir is an all-natural, functional drink brand, developed and marketed by its namesake company based in Evanston, Ill. Solixir was created by Scott Lerner, an ex-marine and a lifelong health and fitness fanatic, who became frustrated with the lack of healthy, natural drinks that would help him with his early morning workouts.
The citrus-flavored beverages contain no added sugar or caffeine and rely on botanicals and other natural ingredients for their functional benefits. Solixir's functional drinks are less than 60 calories per 12-oz. can.
The "Think" formulation is designed for mental clarity to help concentration. "Awaken" is for gentle energy to provide a lift without the spike and crash of other energy drinks. "Restore" is for immune support to help restore the body's immune system, while "Relax" helps one unwind the mind and relieve stress.
With a suggested retail price of $1.99 per can, Solixir can be purchased at more than 850 stores across the country, including Whole Foods Market and The Vitamin Shoppe. A 12-pack of Solixir can also be purchased online on Amazon.com.


text: Thank you to everyone for their concern. Unfortunately the UK lacks the wildlife for proper stacking out of users over anthills. The use in this system is actually very secure - there is a 6 foot gap between the cluster and the nearest internet cable :-) I have a Linux cluster running an MPI job - I want a python script on the master to cycle through all the nodes checking for local error logs as part of the testing. I was looking for a simple technique which didn't put any load on the working nodes. Martin


text: Good morning, I'm having trouble with my MPI code using MPICH-1.2.4 or 1.2.5 and the Intel Fortran/C compilers for Linux (v. 6.0 and 7.0 of the compilers) and the PGI compilers for linux (v4.0.2). I'm running on a Linux cluster of Xeon/2.4 GHz CPUs (2 per board) that is connected via GigE through a Foundry switch. The nodes are running RH 7.3 Linux (2.4.20 kernel - created by IBM). MPICH-1.2.4 was built and installed by IBM using the Intel 7.0 compilers for Linux (Fortran and C). I built MPICH-1.2.5 in my home account using both the Intel 7.0 compilers and the Intel 6.0 compilers. MPICH-1.2.4 was built with the PGI compilers (v. 4.0.2). So, we have six combinations, the three compilers, and the two versions of MPICH. In all 6 cases, my code stops, hitting a logic check reading the input data and stops based on this value. However, before it exits (stops), the code spits out the rank for each process. Here is a snippet of the output of the code: Before call to rg_one: myrank -1073743612 Error: partition with max. cells not found STOPPING Notice that the rank is incorrect. This happens for all 6 combinations. However, when I test the exact same code using MPI/Pro, it works correctly (for all 3 compilers). Also, the code works correctly with MPI/Pro and Myrinet and both Intel compilers and the PGI compiler. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks! Jeff -- Jeff Layton Senior Engineer Lockheed-Martin Aeronautical Company - Marietta Aerodynamics & CFD "Is it possible to overclock a cattle prod?" - Irv Mullins This email may contain confidential information. If you have received this email in error, please delete it immediately, and inform me of the mistake by return email. Any form of reproduction, or further dissemination of this email is strictly prohibited. Also, please note that opinions expressed in this email are those of the author, and are not necessarily those of the Lockheed-Martin Corporation.