High and Low Technology

To start with, I do not have enough money to be a true gadget freak or enthusiast. That said, I love clever devices whether they be complicated or simple. So it was an interesting day when my latest box from Amazon arrived this afternoon. Contained within were two devices, one a sophisticated work of silicone and metal, the other harkening to simpler days despite being electrically powered.

Having succeeded in reviving my video card from failing this winter, it was with great disappointment (and financial pain) that I realized the fix was not going to work in the long run. For the past several weeks, the card has been running hotter and hotter with the occasional glitch. Time was clearly running out for the old beast, which had given very good service. Since I have a smallish case, a top of the line replacement was out of the question – and out of reach of my bank account.

After checking around for the best bang for the buck that would actually fit in my case, I settled on a Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD7750 that is factory overclocked. From my studies, it would be more of a horizontal upgrade (according to some benchmarks) with hopes that it would actually perform a bit better. Best of all is the fact that it consumes far less electricity and runs much cooler. Heat is the enemy of electronics and I liked the idea of having the entire PC run cooler.

So far the new video card is doing just that. Throwing my best games at it resulted in maximum temperatures that are twelve degrees Celsius less than what the old one idled at. The massive fan also is dramatically quieter for an added bonus. Fancier video decoding, deinterlacing, and scaling have impressed and eventually I will get a second one for the media center in the living room.

The other item in the box was a rice cooker that doubles as a vegetable steamer. Since I only used it to steam asparagus tonight, I will not go into detail on the little appliance other than to say it is highly reviewed. That and I cannot remember the name of the company that makes it at the moment.

It will be used heavily if things go according to plan, for making rice a regular staple is on my agenda of improving my diet. Steaming veggies is also part of the goal and it did a good job on the first experiment. So while writing more about the high tech item, it is this simple device that I am the most excited about.

I must be getting old.