What tech advances are you non-plussed by?

HangTime

HangTime

HangTime

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Just wanted to get a feel for the type of computer-related technology that people have been giving a miss, and the reasons why. Whether that be snubbing broadband, TFT monitors or something else, lets see how conservative and stick-in-the-mud some of us really are :)

I'll kick things off with a few to start:

SSD Drives
Conceptually sound but I just can't get over the cost at present. It seems a 64gigger is realistically the minimum you could get away with for running Windows+apps, and they set you back around £100. I appreciate that they are there to boost performance, not offer storage, but it is hard to justify the cost of that performance boost relative to say, graphics card expenditure.

3D Glasses
I have a 3D vision capable monitor but no interest in 3D at the moment. I don't have proper binocular vision though so others might see more benefit than I do.

'Legacy Free'
Big turn off for me, things are getting better in terms of USB support in BIOS but I remember how annoying it was when I had to get a new printer simply because my new mobo didn't have a parallel port. I've still got IDE devices in my rig (DVD-RW, 300GB HD) and would veto a mobo that didn't support them.

Wireless networks
OK so this is useful for a bit of surfing on the laptop/mobile but I just prefer a wired connection for gaming stability and throughput


On the flipside one thing I have embraced that I never thought I would is media streaming (to PS3). Thought it was a bit of a gimmick but it is actually very useful - only problem is that my wireless can't handle HD content smoothly (see above!).
 
3D in the state it's in right now with glasses is pointless in my opinion, Tried all the different technologies currently available from 3D cinema systems to home 3D systems and gaming 3D systems... They are all still very basic (before someone says I can't see the effect, I can it's just not very good still and it can cause some people headaches)... Even magic eye (Google it if not sure what I mean) I think works better then the 3D technology we have now.. Total waste of money I think and better to invest in a high quality 120Hz screen then 3D.
 
HangTime said:
SSD Drives
Conceptually sound but I just can't get over the cost at present. It seems a 64gigger is realistically the minimum you could get away with for running Windows+apps, and they set you back around £100. I appreciate that they are there to boost performance, not offer storage, but it is hard to justify the cost of that performance boost relative to say, graphics card expenditure.

3D Glasses
I have a 3D vision capable monitor but no interest in 3D at the moment. I don't have proper binocular vision though so others might see more benefit than I do.

Wireless networks
OK so this is useful for a bit of surfing on the laptop/mobile but I just prefer a wired connection for gaming stability and throughput
Click to expand...

Agree with the above. Still have wired internet from my wireless sky sagem router and much prefer it. Not had a single issue with it so far [touch wood]. Not in any desperate need to get an SSD so will happily wait for them to come down to the magic £1/GB before getting a 60-80GB drive for OS.
 
Quite surprised at SSD and Wireless networks being on the list, fully agree with the others though.

I saw a significant improvement to the experience when I bought my SSD, I can be very impatient and I get annoyed when I have to wait about for things to load, the SSD gets rid of almost all load time apart from very large programs and installations, I'd not be without one.

Wireless I agree is not ideal for a main PC, I'd chose wired every time, even if I had to route wires through the house, there is no doubt that wireless is a godsend for everything else though, mobile phone, laptop, netbook etc, wireless saves a shed load of hassle, and I'm happy to sacrifice the performance to be able to have the portability of wireless

I'd add Tablet PC's personally. I don't buy the "Portability" tag people put on them, it's just an expensive, underpowered laptop, without a keyboard, imo
 
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Transistors. My PC may take up the entire house and in the course of writing this I had to replace 3 vacuum tubes, but it suits my needs fine.

Though seriously I don't care about Soundcards. My onboard sound is good enough for my needs, and I have good stereo speakers and a USB headset. I'm sure if you wanted to do sound engineering or watch Blu-Ray movies on a big screen with a full sound system then that's fine, but I'm happy with what I have.
 
I agree with some of your points:
SSDs are great technology but silly money really.

3D is such a rubbish gimmick and wearing glasses is stupid. 3D Flims really annoy me. Why pay extra for minimal difference and you get a headache. YAY!

Wireless is good but irrelevant for performance desktops.

As far as legacy support goes can you imagine what mobos would look like with PCI-e, PCI, AGP, SATA, IDE, COM etc etc etc on them? That's just progress.
 
Hi there,

Interesting topic :)

In terms of SSD drives - the price is certainly difficult to swallow (at the moment). I must admit it is nice to have one in a desktop (for performance reasons), but I found the biggest benefit came when I installed it in a 5 year old Dell laptop (originally running a WD 7200RPM HDD). This machine changed immediately from being a bit slow and stodgy to literally feeling as fast as my i7 desktop, it was really weird. It was also much quieter and made the system easier to live with.

3D Glasses

I have used them, but I don't own a 3D capable monitor- so I can't give them a full test. My impression is that once you get past the "WOW" factor you get used to them - at that point you aren't really any more immersed than if you were playing in 2D, but you are seeing significantly worse framerates/detail and your wallet is lighter if you pay for a full kit.

Personally, I favour a high-quality IPS or VA panel monitor over a 120Hz TN. Though I imagine many playing competitive multiplayer FPS games will swing towards 120Hz TN.

Roll on OLED, I say :)

'Legacy Free'

This doesn't really bother me - but I imagine for people with good-quality older kit then It seems like madness (I hear PCI ports are on their way out - but a lot of people have nice quality sound cards that use these ports and would be forced to replace the card if they upgraded to one of these motherboards).

Wireless Networks

No arguments here. In terms of wireless broadband networks this tech is great for a secondary connection, but for a primary you want massive bandwidth, high (or no) usage caps and low latency - for these things wireless is ill-suited to provide.

As for media streaming HD in the house - I know your pain. I think the best solution to this for the moment is powerline.

Oh and to add two on -

Triple channel/quad channel memory

It sounds awesome, but for the vast majority of users it offers no benefit and steers them to much more expensive computer systems. Looking at this review - a SB dual channel system usually performs better than s1366 triple channel, and in many applications it just doesn't matter.

All-in-one Liquid Cooling kits

Compared to high-end air cooling - Costs more, performs as well or worse and is noisier.
But its water cooling - so its 1337.

IMHO, the only decent use of it is in a SFF system where one of these kits will fit where a large heatsink won't, hence providing the best cooling possible for the space.
 
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Wireless - It has dead spots and is very frustrating for an online FPS gamer!

3D - I need glasses to see normally, so I can't watch 3D with 3d glasses! Fail!

Fancy liquid coolers for CPU - My Noctua jobbie is just as good as my brother's H50.

Small LED monitors - I want more 24-27 inch LED monitors, stop releasing them as cruddy 20 inch screens - Too small!

I don't agree with the SSD's though. Yes I paid a lot for my 60gb Vertex (around £150 10 months ago) but it is the single best upgrade I have ever made. It made my e6600 rig feel like it was new.
 
3D
What do I need 3D for? Nothing.

Water Cooling
Air cooling is plenty good. Pointless.

Smartphones
A £30 phone can call and text. Does anyone really need internet access on a phone. Are apps worth the £500 premium? Not in the slightest.

Tablets
It's not portable if you can't take it everywhere in your pocket. Tablets are useless for the same reason Netbooks are. Complete fad.

WiFi
Unreliable - always has been, always will be.

SSD
Good tech, I will buy into this when the price and capacity improve.

Wii/Kinect
If I wanted to move I'd go outside and play footballs. Consoles belong on the couch.

iTunes
Why pay for music?

Netflix
Why pay for films?

Twitter
Don't get it. Random bits of jumbled spam - haven't seen a conversation that made sense yet.

Kindle
Reading lol
 
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I agree on the wireless point. I run a 25m ethernet cable to my desktop upstairs as it is more stable and less frustrating for online gaming etc.
 
Wireless graphics card
Doesnt really serve a purpose in my eyes. Chances are you have a power cable plugged into it, so 1 more cable wont hurt. Not to mention your screen blacking out when you loose signal.
 
Flat screen TVs - waste of money, poor longevity and heavy power consumption (some new ones are much better).
PVRs - nothing wrong with VHS.
DAB radios - significantly inferior sound quality to FM.
CDs - vinyl is better sound quality.
 
LSEdwards said:
PVRs - nothing wrong with VHS.
DAB radios - significantly inferior sound quality to FM.
CDs - vinyl is better sound quality.
Click to expand...

Seriously? :p

VHS quality is shocking
Nothing wrong with the quality of DAB
CD's have better quality over vinyl, though you might prefer the analogue sound of vinyl..
 
Lakeland said:
Seriously? :p

VHS quality is shocking
Nothing wrong with the quality of DAB
CD's have better quality over vinyl, though you might prefer the analogue sound of vinyl..
Click to expand...

The quality of my VHS recorder is quite good actually. I admit it's not as good as a digital recording, but it's good enough for me.

DAB in the UK is like listening to a poor quality MP3. You can't honestly believe it is anything like as good as FM surely?

I have never found a CD system that sounds as good as a decent vinyl setup. Granted that technically the quality might be superior, but they just sound slightly lacking to me.
 
LSEdwards said:
Flat screen TVs - waste of money, poor longevity and heavy power consumption (some new ones are much better).
Click to expand...

I don't get this one tbh.

Even in the heyday of CRTs, could you get a 32in, good quality TV for £300? Never mind a 50in for £550.

So in terms of value for money, I think modern flat screen TVs are good (not to mention all the new tech like 1080p resolution).

In terms of longevity - they may not last as long as a CRT, but 5 years is a pretty decent lifetime for a main TV.

As for power consumption - for such large screen sizes they are rather good, especially with modern LED backlighting.

Finally, one of the main benefits of these TVs is physical size and weight. Compared to a 30in CRT, a 32in LCD does not require a safety assessment to be moved and take up half of the lounge.
 
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