I can guarantee that most long-time computer users that read PCMech have a lightning story or two (or more). If you’ve used computers long enough you will inevitably get something zapped. For example, years ago dial-up modems would commonly get zapped – thru the phone cable. Enough of a charge would travel across the wire after a strike and the modem was dead. No snap; no smoke; just dead.

In the Tampa Bay area of Florida we get a lot of lightning during the summer and its very typical to the region. This includes the often destructive (and at times deadly) cloud-to-ground type.

Yesterday my video card got zapped. Four blown capacitors on the board.

Why didn’t the rest of my box get fried? I have no idea. Yes, I’m very thankful my PC didn’t bite the dust because it easily could have.

Lightning is completely unpredictable. Not a soul knows when or where it’s going to strike. When it does it wreaks havoc with electronics. Sometimes your microwave will get zapped but your television won’t, or vice versa.

With PCs, it’s very common that when a strike occurs, a component or accessory will get zapped but the rest of the computer will work perfectly. And even if you’re behind a surge/spike protector (like I was) you can still get hit.

I have since replaced the above 256MB with a 512MB e-GeForce 8400 GS. Cost was $58 after tax at Circuit City. Yes, I could have bought it cheaper online, but it’s not like I had a choice being my monitors couldn’t function without this.

I have been using more than one monitor on my computer for years. Once I read that Windows could indeed handle more than one video card, the light bulbs went off. I can have more than one screen? I shortly went out and purchased a second screen.

When I switched to the Mac Pro back in October, the system came with a single video card with two video outs. But, I had more than two monitors. I had visions, yet again, of being surrounded in monitors. You know, like I’m working at NASA or something.

Continued

With the 9 series of graphics cards coming out from Nvidia, many are wondering what this new kid on the block series has. Here we will look at the new technologies, improved specifications, rumors vs. truth, and the bottom line.

The 9 series of NVIDIA graphics was speculated since at least October of 2007, when it became evident that NVIDIA would not release a 8900 and 8950, as many insisted (the inquirer, for example). New rumors speculated a 30% increase from the top 9-series card, the 9800GTX, over the 8800 ultra. Also to have over one billion transistors, 1GB of graphics memory, over one teraflops of shader processing power, and other features like DirectX 10.1 and a built in audio chip. What does this mean? Quite simply, it’s a beast. Many of this was just crazy talk (built in audio chip?), but some of it proved true. Continued