WarFlail's Archives - July 2000

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I hadn't realised how easy it is to overclock my Intel Pentium III. By increasing the system bus speed on the Asus P2B motherboard  from 100MHz to 124MHz, I have therefore been able to increase the CPU speed from 650MHz to 806MHz! :-) Overheating doesn't appear to be a problem, as I have a central system cooler (Just Cooler FC-900L) pumping 40 CFM of hot air out of the case (that's a typo on their website). Everything seems to be running very stable.

I have also tweaked up my ageing Matrox G400 graphics card so that its memory clock is running at 192MHz (almost on par with a G400 MAX). This, in addition to the overclocked bus speed, has boosted my 3DMark2000 (v1.1) score from 3009 to 3272 - not bad for a system that isn't running a high end graphics card!

Unfortunately, I have also apparently hit the G400's performance ceiling - I can't seem to squeeze out any more FPS from games such as Quake III Arena. On 800x600 High Quality, for example, the Timedemo of demo001.dm3 consistently scores around 46FPS, irrespective of whether I am running my system at 650MHz or 806MHz. Of course, an nVIDIA GeForce2 GTS or ATI RADEON DDR would make far better use of my 806MHz system and yield more than double the framerate, but I can't afford either of those types of cards right now...

Oh boy, it has been ages since I last updated this page! Sorry about that, everybody, I've been travelling again on business. Just got back from Los Angeles yesterday.

Out of habit, I dropped in at Fry's Electronics (you know, that big computer store that has no website!) in Manhattan Beach to see if I could scoop up any bargains. Bargains! LOL! Those bandits are more expensive than even here in Perth, Western Australia! Perhaps that is saying something positive about the general reduction in computer hardware prices here in Australia due to the implementation of GST...

GunMaster Gold Update: I have posted an updated version of the GunMaster Gold FAQ. What's new? Well, I have changed the rules on Counterstriking, and have introduced a rule for Opportunity Fire. Take a look here. Enjoy. :-)

GST DAY

Today marked the first day of Australia's implementation of its biggest tax reform in recent history. Most noticeable was the introduction of a 10% goods and services tax (GST), which has replaced the complicated wholesale sales tax system that has been in use since the Great Depression 70 years ago. Other significant changes include income tax cuts and the replacement of the ridiculous provisional tax with a pay-as-you-go system, but there are dozens of other changes as well.

A lot of goods suddenly became a little cheaper today thanks to GST, some stayed at the same price, and others became a little more expensive. Unfortunately for people like me, dining out has become 10% dearer... But at least my after-tax income will go up.

Up-to-date news regarding the tax reform can be found at <http://www.abc.net.au/news/tax/default.htm>.

Go to WarFlail's Archives - June 2000

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