End the world with Newegg’s “Ultimate PC Combo”

I’m a member on several PC enthusiast/overclocking forums. With that said, I’ve stumbled across some truly jaw dropping machines and custom rigs. But nothing that I’ve seen can compare (power wise) to Newegg’s current “Ultimate Gaming Rig” combo deal. Just how bad ass is this thing? For the record, the discounted combo price is $6479.96. If you were to buy all the items a-la-carte, you’d be spending ~$740 more. Saving roughly 3/4 of a grand on an already $6k+ computer is nearing drop in a bucket terms, wouldn’t you say?

While we’re on the topic of price, we’ll point out that a hefty chunk of that comes from the video cards alone — (2) of the most expensive cards on the planet (ASUS ARES Radeon HD 5870 X2). Mind you, those cards cost a whopping $1,000+ (each) and come in their own carrying cases. Woah!

The parts:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 980X

• RAM: (2) CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT 6GB (3 x 2GB) Desktop Memory

• GPU: (2) ASUS ARES/2DIS/4GD5 Radeon HD 5870 X2 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 CrossFireX Support Video Card

• Motherboard: ASUS Rampage III Extreme LGA 1366 ATX Intel Motherboard

• Case: LIAN LI PC-X900R Red Aluminum ATX Mini Tower Computer Case

• PSU: Antec TPQ-1200 1200W Continuous Power with PowerCache Technology SLI Ready CrossFire Certified Power Supply

• Storage: 2 OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5″ 120GB Internal Solid State Drive + 2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive + 2 Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS 2TB 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive

• Optical Drives: LITE-ON iHES208-08 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM Internal Blu-ray Disc LightScribe Support + LITE-ON 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R Internal Blu-ray Burner

• Sound Card: ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface AMP Card

• Extra Accessories: CPU Cooler — Noctua NH-U12P SE2 120mm SSO CPU Cooler + SSD mounting kit — Rosewill RX-C200 2.5” SSD / HDD Aluminum Mounting Kit for 3.5″ Drive Bay

Yup. An insanely powerful system that decimates the bank and your wallet. And yet still I want one. I’d personally choose a different case, as the Lian-Li isn’t my favorite. But I can surely look past physical imperfections with the amount of hardware that comes packing inside. Anyone want to own up that they can actually afford such a system?

[Newegg's Ultimate PC Combo]

Apple falls to new low: Patent filing details ways to wipe/deactivate/disable jailbroken users’ iPhones.

Apple makes some great products. There’s no doubt about that. They’re easily a market leader when it comes to consumer electronics. But they’re far from perfect. The one thing that ruffles the most feathers as of late concerning Apple is that of iDevices and jailbreaking. Those whom are pro-jailbreaking say it opens up Apple’s devices, adds functionality, and provides an overall more enjoyable experience. Those on the other side of the fence, however, say it destroys the iPhone’s security, causes system instability, and could possibly lead to the end of the human race. Apple even went as far as to try and get jailbreaking be deemed illegal. That thankfully never happened, and in fact, was protected with a recent DMCA revisions which provides safe harbors for end users to hack their devices for personal pleasure. But Apple isn’t stopping.

A recent patent filing shows the Cupertino giant stepping to a new low. The patent details ways to deactivate, wipe, and render completely useless the jailbroken devices that proliferate the world. With the recent DMCA changes, it’ll be interesting to see how Apple can destroy users’ phones legally. The claims of security and poor user experience side effects are nothing but a BS smokescreen. Simple as that. Apple has absolutely no right to tell anyone how to use their device. If someone wants to alter their iPhone’s icons, skin, swap out a keyboard, etc., what basis does Apple have for wiping and deactivating their iPhone?

More friday movie fun: 5,000 fps slo-mo video of marksmanship, smashes, and other cool stuff.

It’s friday. News is kind of slow. We’re looking (like really, really looking) for stuff to throw your way. But dammit. I keep getting distracted by videos such as “Tempus II”. The video, created by Philip Heron, a student at Ravensbourne College of art in the UK, highlights 7 minutes of super slo-mo 5,000fps video, capturing everything from shooting cards, a karate dude taking out some cinder blocks, to light bulbs smashing against the ground. There’s a lot to take in with those little eyeballs of yours.

One thing I found pretty interesting was the sheer amount of storage needed to pull of this video. Shooting at 1/5th the speed (1,000fps if you skipped ahead) takes up 8GB of storage for every 6 seconds. So shooting at 5,000fps for nearly 7 minutes equals up to nearly 3TB of images! That’s insane!

Anywho, thrill me (and entertain yourself) by taking a few minutes to watch Tempus II. If you’re a real nerd like you claim to be, then you’ll certainly enjoy what you see…

Tweetdeck releases update to Android beta.

Just a helpful reminder to keep checking the Android market on a daily basis. If you’re one of the thousands of tweet-happy Tweetdeck beta users, you’ll be pleased to know that there is an update that was recently released last night. In this update, a few added features will make this awesome app even better — bit.ly URL shortening, individual notifications for each column (and even each status type — ie: @mentions, direct messages, etc.), and a new “sharing intent” which adds a Tweetdeck option to share menus within the Android environment when sharing images, web pages, etc. etc.

As I said a few days back, Tweetdeck for Android is hands down the best looking Twitter app. With updates already come in hot and heavy, it looks like completely decimating the competition to become the #1 functional Twitter app is on Tweetdeck’s list as well. Bring it on I say…

T-Mobile G2 gets spied! Yup. It’s the HTC Vision.

Here we are almost two full years after the original G1 was released finally seeing the G2. A lot has changed since late 2008. The G1 is now considered a low-end device. The G2 however, while not the most bleeding edge Android device, will certainly be a welcome addition.

As you can see, it is a pretty stylish sliding QWERTY design with a 3.7″ display, and we assume, at least 1GHz of power under the hood. Being HTC and all means Sense UI is on board, so updates won’t be lightning quick like the original G1. Though we always remain optimistic that HTC will change their ways or that Google will release Android 3.0 before then, negating the need for custom skins.

Whatever the case may be, there’s another image of the T-Mobile G2 just inside vying for your loving attention. Go on, jump in…

Finally, mobile payments to begin testing this fall.

The pain of sitting by your computer and reading of tales depicting the awesomeness that mobile payments bring other countries will soon be pain no more. This fall, September specifically, small scale trials of mobile payment software, hardware, and services will run in NYC. Scheduled to run through the end of the year, the pilot program of sorts will give all the players involved (and believe me, there’s a ton) a chance to see how well the technology works out in the real world. Of course, they should already know how it works as Japan in particular has been using mobile payment technology for years.

Initially, the testers will have small chips “installed” in their phones. Whether it’s a messy open heart surgery type of install or a simple USB plugin isn’t specified. Though I’d side with the latter.

2005 tech is almost upon us folks. Are you excited at the possibility of leaving your wallet at home?

The view from a Shuttle booster plummeting back to earth…

Another friday, another movie. After getting your brains tazed by the ArcAttack videos, why not take the time to enjoy something a bit more relaxing. The accompanying video is a “view from the driver’s seat” of a NASA Shuttle’s booster rocket falling from miles and miles above the Earth’s surface. It’s kind of lengthy, but cool nonetheless. You know the drill. Click. Click. Enjoy…