FAPTurbo

It's amazing the 6770 nearly ties the 5850 on paper, and could theoretically beat it in real-world gaming. Those idle numbers are also impressive considering my GTX 470 does 132 Watts at idle.

I thought Zombie Wagoner was the only one who came back from the future, but I guess regfootball did too because he knows exactly what the Malibu's interior is like, and how poorly the vehicle sells.

I have to do a satire piece for school. Besides, there's no really good news in the automotive world these days, so making it up is worthwhile.

Detroit – In a remarkable, trendsetting move, the General Motors board unanimously voted in favour of re-appointing Richard 'Rick' Wagoner as CEO of the automotive corporation. "We're very pleased to have Rick back on board, despite his circumstances of having been dead for over two decades. The fact that he took the time to travel back from the future is testament to the man's devotion to our company" Wagoner, who died in the year 2035, was reanimated in 2054 through a combination of nano-technology and voodoo by the United States of Canada. The USC's hopes are that by sending Zombie Wagoner back to the past, he'll use his expertise to recoup bailout funds in a quicker fashion than GM is currently doing now. On a press conference held yesterday, Zombie Wagoner wasted no time in stating his intentions of reviving dead brands, and keeping them barely alive through the use of 'fleeting.' "Fleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! Fleeeeeeeeet! Poooooontiiiaaaaaaaac," were the recurring themes in the CEO's speech to reporters. Wagoner also repeatedly mentioned 'brains' in his address, likely hinting that the company was searching for new talent and blood in order to reenergize its design and marketing. After the speech, Wagoner immediately hugged former CEO, and executive Frtiz Henderson, lavishing him with what appeared to be huge kiss on the forehead. After complaining of dizzyness minutes later, Henderson was rushed to the emergency room. Later in the day, Fritz left the the hospital where reporters found him bitten by Wagoner's upbeat optimism. "Satuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrn. (gurgle) Fleeeeeeeeeeeeet. (grrrnnnggghhh) Impaaaalaaaaas" quipped Henderson, before feeding on a nearby Toyota sales rep, a signal that GM is upping the ante against its competitors. Critics of the move were quick to point out that similar ideas were rarely successful. "I think we can all remember what occurred when Ford unfroze the body of their founder, Henry." remarked Dan Neil of the WSJ. "Insisting upon building only black, doorless Fusion SE's is what handed Mitsubishi the number two position in the marketplace." Others questioned the company's dedication to reliability. "They can't even keep their CEO's internal organs from dropping to the floor, what makes taxpayers and customers think they can keep an engine from not doing the same thing?" Environmentalists have also weighed in, expressing mixed feelings towards Zombie Wagoner's policies. "If he revives SUV's, he's dead meat, both literally, and figuratively" claimed Greenpeace's Sage Hempfabric. The Sierra Club was more charitable: "We feel that Wagoner practices what he preaches. Eating the bodies of the living demonstrates that he is both committed to 'renewable' energy and resources, but that GM is also taking a stand against animal cruelty." In Oshawa, home of Impala production, the plant manager was ecstatic over the appointment. "I think Rick is proof that tired and dead things can still be productive, even if they were old in 1993!" Advertisers are already capitalizing upon Rick's reanimation with a new campaign for the Impala: "A ride so archaic and sedate, you'll think you're dead too!" While Zombie Wagoner was mum about what the future had in store, he did take time to comment that Bob Lutz, at the ripe age of 122 in the year 2054, is still kicking more ass than you or I. A meteorite destined to hit Earth and destroy all life in 2033 was promptly obliterated when Lutz was formally asked to come out of retirement for the eigth time and beat the crap out of it with his bare hands. This appointment marks the first time in the history of the world where a zombie from the future has ever been at the helm of a company. Apple holds the title of being the first corporation ever to have a zombie CEO, with Steve Jobs having been successfully reanimated since 2008.

This will not end well.

GM hasn't even been out of bankruptcy for three months. They haven't even issued their IPO, and people are already saying that the new GM is like the old GM. Either some people have no patience whatsoever, or they're the epitome of fairweather fans.

Yep. AMD approved the RMA, and sent me a new 955. Unfortunately, AMD somehow managed to find a C2 stepped 955. I was hoping for a C3 because that'd be my ticket to 4GHz. I figured AMD was out of the C2's anyways, but oh well, I won't complain too loudly. Everything works fine so far. I'm trying to get it to run stable at 3.8GHz, but it heats up quite a bit compared to my previous one. Right now, I'm at 3792MHz (18.5 multi, 205 FSB, 1.37V). It can shoot up to 55 Celsius real quick even with an HDT cooler, so either I need to do a new application of thermal grease, or the chip just wasn't cut from a winning piece of silicon. On the other hand, I needed considerably more voltage to reach the same speed with the previous chip, so it could very well be I was a little too stingy with the grease. I might have a winner here, yet.

The SAAB is also more fuel hungry than the Cruze, and more liable to fall apart.

Forget redesigning your currency and wasting all that time and resources. Instead, just adopt the Canadian Dollar! It'd probably be way better for your country's financial stability, and hey, it'd be worth something too!! Plus, America could join in on the fun of Twonie Tuesday's at participating retailers! Loonies float. Eagles dive.

Well, every reviewer is comparing the Equus to the big boys from Bavaria, so its competition is obviously the luxury marquees. When the Genesis came out, it was compared to the BMW's, Merc's, Caddy's and Infiniti's of its class and nobody batted an eye. Hyundai's product stable simply cannot be compared to just one tier of manufacturers like Chevrolet and Toyota. They're still crossovers, and you can bet the majority of the Cayenne sales are V6 models, an engine out of a Volkswagen. Big deal. Cayenne customers don't care it's out of a Vee Dub, and once again, only you, me, and maybe 20,000 people are actually are aware that the SRX shares an engine with a Chev. At the end of the day, the SRX and X3 are driven the same: stop and go traffic, from Starbucks to soccer to Starbucks. The Cayenne, and X3/X5 are total mommy-mobiles, as is the SRX. And they represent massive sales figures for their respective companies. It's what the market demands, and if Cadillac is owning that market, so much the better. SRX sales revenue will translate to better CTS', a worthwhile XTS, and a show-stopping ATS. Plus, the previous SRX with it's V8 and RWD didn't set the world on fire in terms of sales, no matter how well it tested on the skidpad. Right now, it is anyone's guess as to how the XTS turns out. The vehicle does not portend to be a sports-sedan but instead a boulevard cruiser; that doesn't mean it's for oldies. The concept had a high-tech hybrid drivetrain, and was packed with technology. If GM keeps the powertrain, technical wizardry, and the interior, then it will sell to people who appreciate luxury; a high-tech 'coach' for the next decade. If GM doesn't deliver, and my expectations aren't terribly high, then yes, it'll be a gilded Malibu. But let's all wait and see. 'We' as in, forum dwellers and enthusiasts. Joe Q. Public doesn't buy the RL because it has design that makes an Aveo look as exciting as an Aston.

Weird, because the Hyundai Equus undercuts the competition by thousands of dollars and I've yet to hear of any 'compromises.' Why is it when Hyundai makes a luxo-barge that's affordable, that people say it's the best thing since the discovery of Fire, but when Cadillac makes a sedan that matches or beats the competition for less money that it's somehow 'compromised' or flawed? Last I checked, Acura, Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes, and Porsche all make 'soccer mom crossovers.' Using that logic, only until a month or so ago, Porsche was as boring as Lexus because its best seller was the Cayenne... a vehicle driven primarily by 'soccer moms!' BMW has as much performance credibility as Geo now, because they've got what, like, half a dozen 'crossovers' now? No argument there, but the DTS is going to die. Besides, I don't think normal consumers shop for a sports-sedan like the CTS and abruptly leave the Cadillac dealership in a huff because a DTS happens to be in the same room as them. Seriously, a vehicle like the XTS will not 'harm' Cadillac's image. If that opinion held water, the public would be leaving BMW in droves because of the horrid X6 which handles like a pig.

Forget DOHC! With an engine like that, people will be too busy to care, as they'll be melting into their seats, mouths agape, because that car will go 0-60 faster than you can say Holy Shi-.

Whether it's Glucose/Fructose or Cane Sugar, it's all still crap regardless. There should be a concerted effort to reduce the consumption of sugary foods altogether.

And Craigslist continues to convince me that humanity's extinction is past due.

What the hell logic is this? Incomplete powertrain offerings my ass. According to you, the G5 and Cobalt have terribly limited powertrain options. In 2009, you could only get a 2.2L with the G5, and the Cobalt had that engine and the Turbo 2.0L. That's it. Actually, that means pretty much every car in this category is 'limited.' Mazda3: Two Engines, Two Body styles. Ford Focus: One Engine, ONE body style (Coupe's gone for 2011) Honda Civic: Two Engines, Two Body Styles The Cruze's powertrain is NOT incomplete. The vehicle offers the correct amount of options for whatever market it's in, including diesels. Obviously, Ford realized the Focus Coupe was a waste of time, and GM probably knows this too, which is why there's no Cruze Coupe.

Mine's off to Florida too. Based on Canadian shipping, I'll be seeing it sometime next year, as we need to have our snow back before Canada Post can send the dog sleds to the US Border. I would've bought Intel, but the last time I did, my Prescott set my desk on fire. Consequently I had to buy AMD in order to save money for a new desk.

2GB of RAM and a 1TB Hard Drive... At least that's what I linked to... Don't look at the quantity of RAM too closely. Manufacturers cram the stuff into their PC's as a selling bulletpoint, but 2GB with XP is more than sufficient. I'm using 2GB for gaming, which requires tons of memory, and I've yet to ever have an issue. Your uses are far less resource intensive than mine. The sound chip is a VIA VT1708S which isn't terrible, but it's not the best. However, I'd wager it's better than your laptop's. Worth noting too, is that the PC has a three-core CPU and operates at 3.1GHz. Mathematically, that is about four hundred percent more awesome than the Apple's. You brought up ProTools so I thought I'd see what could be snagged on NewEgg. They have different suites and hardware, and this one seemed the most applicable. You can likely find a better one on NewEgg if that's something you'd at all want. The system I 'built' here has a 1 Terabyte Hard Drive. Even if you go the Mac Mini route, you'll be buying hardware that will not be compatible with pretty much any modern software. I don't think there's a guarantee you'd get Garage Band in the ones on eBay. Even if you did, it'd be old software. I still really encourage you to investigate the dual-boot option. It's the cheapest (freeist?) solution in front of you. It would solve all your problems: you wouldn't spend much (or anything at all), you'd retain the portability of your laptop, and you'd still have Windows 7 for anything else. Win-win-win as far I can see.

Oh and I priced out a 'build-your-own' PC that worked out to 289 Bucks. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.472812 and this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152173 Providing this is the correct Pro-Tools: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823143023 ... and the total cost is $378.97. It has 2GB of RAM, which is perfectly fine for XP, and if you really care, you can get another 1GB stick. The motherboard has integrated graphics by ATI, so they're perfectly fine for day-to-day use and light gaming. Just 'find' a copy of XP and you're laughing. Shipped to the 40402 postal code would cost $383.39 in total. Food for thought.

You don't trust yourself doing a dual boot partition? It's a cakewalk if you follow the instructions. All you need is to double check the settings and make sure you've got your most important data burned if things go haywire (nil-to-rare). Here: http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_vista_and_xp_with_vista_installed_first__the_stepbystep_guide.htm http://www.techspot.com/guides/143-dual-boot-windows7/ This should be more or less the same for Windows 7. I'm only suggesting this because it WILL save you money. It's not terribly hard either, just read through the instructions and you'll see they've made it very user-friendly and easy to understand. Honestly, you're already digging into debt, so I figured any sort of suggestion to save you a few bucks would've been helpful. You may have a (full, not upgrade) copy of Windows XP lying around somewhere, or just find a torrent and burn yourself an ISO. You may incur some driver problems with the stuff like the sound drivers, but if that happens, then that's what Google is for. If things don't work out, then all you've wasted is time. Besides, those Mac Mini's are PowerPC based. Apple's new software runs on Intel CPU's. If you buy one of those Mini's, not only will you have horribly slow performance, but decreased compatibility with software. I'm not sure they'd come with Garage Band; if they do, then it'd be old. If it doesn't, then you'll be running around looking for old stuff. At least try and find one that is a Core2Duo system.

Before you buy that piece of Crapple, have you consulted the solutions in this thread? http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7music/thread/603fcccc-4a98-412b-81a2-e3df9d141f21 It seems XP does not have latency issues. What I would suggest is instead getting yourself a copy of XP, and doing a 'dual-boot' on your laptop. You can use XP for any of your music creation, and Windows 7 for everything else. That'd be far more cost effective. As for the rest of your crazy-ass rant, I can only say that you're completely wrong. Thing is, you're using a pedestrian laptop. For media creation, you should really have a desktop that's modern, and has a dedicated sound card from the likes of M-Audio.

I saw a black Prelude yesterday that was slightly lowered and had a set of steelies. It actually looked really good and slightly ratted out. Black and minimalism IS the new chrome these days, too. At least in the motorcycle department. No doubt that is being carried into automotive circles and I like it. Done tastefully, black wheels like the Camaro LS' have a cool throwback feel and look much better than many of the alloy's out there. It's probably a trend that is accompanying the economic times; flashy alloys and chrome hearken to the blingy 'excesses' of yesteryear. Black is far more staid, and has a dreary, angrier quality.

MSI sent me a new 790FX board a few days ago. I'd certainly recommend them for their super fast service. Bad news is that it's the CPU that's the problem, so I've had to RMA my chip to AMD. Hopefully it'll work out and I get a C3 stepped 955! Anything's better than this Craplon 5200+ that cannot break 3GHz. >:/

Pie in the sky pricing compared to what? A heavily rebated Pontiac G5? Sheesh.