The general consensus on Nvidia’s Fermi graphics cards as so far appeared to be slightly above average. Yes, they’re faster than their old cards and a few of ATI’s options. But overall, they’re not that mind blowing. Certainly not living up to the hype that had built up for months. But a new prototype card shown off at Computex has the possibility to be the most powerful single-PCB graphics card yet — A dual-GPU Fermi card with 3GB of memory (GTX 470×2 | GTX 490?)…
Real nerds like to show off their nerdy ways in as many ways as possible. Just having 17 computers, 6 cellphones, and 8 TV’s isn’t enough. No, you need to completely surround yourself with products focused on geekery. That’s specifically why you need one of the coffee cups pictured above…
Ever since we saw early specs and hands on previews (and now reviews) of the latest Nvidia cards — the GTX 470 and 480 — many were passing off hand comments that an egg could be fried on these new cards due their high operating temperature. In many circumstances, idling between 70-80 C isn’t uncommon. For a reference, my ATI CrossFire 5850 set up never goes above 50 C idling. Two different cards, two different architectures though.
Seeing as how the new Fermi cards run so hot, I really was curious if it could really fry an egg. Thankfully LegitReviews had a review sample (and carefully placed egg) to put the rumor to the test.
Does it actually cook? **Spoiler** — No. Unfortunately not. Think of how humorous/cool it would be to have a piece of computer equipment actually heat up enough to fry an egg. Looks like we’ll have to keep around those antiquated frying pans and stove a little longer…
While not your typical “mod” (usually depicting some sort of computerized machine) the LED light hack “Mathias” whipped up with his fish tank and new LED lighting shows that being green can actually be pretty geeky and cost effective.
By replacing the old fluorescent bulb over his massive fish tank and swapping it with an LED, he garnered quite a bit of savings up front. Next, he routed heating tubes through the light mounts to suck up any excess heat from the LED’s and in turn used it to heat up the water.
Ingenuity folks. It’s all about ingenuity. Anyone care to share their feats of geek strength?
How many times have you said to yourself: “Gee, I sure do wish my lunchbox was a USB Lunchbox? Some may scoff at the mere mention of such a thing, labeling it a waste or “gimmick gadget”. But nothing could be further from the truth. Just as heat/ice packs keep food their desired temperature, so does the USB ‘Box — warm that is. If you find yourself fortunate enough to work inside and with access to a USB port yet not fortunate enough to have refrigerator/microwave access, listen up.
For only $25, you can pick up this little lunch time wonder and begin to enjoy warm downright hot lunches. I say hot because this puppy will heat your food and hold it steady up to 60 degrees Celsius. Which, for those of you (such as I) who become glassy eyed when metrics are used — 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Ya, it gets pretty hot. This isn’t creator Thanko’s, first attempt at USB lunchbags, though it is it’s slimmest to date, cutting a sizable chunk off of earlier models dating back to 2008. So, it’s hot and cheap, whataya say? Hot lunches FTW?!
As Apple transitions more towards actual desktop processors in the iMac line, heat is going to be an issue. The next logical step would be to add water cooling. But such setups take up pretty generous amounts of room — something the iMac doesn’t really have much of. But when there’s a will, there’s a way. A patent filed way back in ’06 showed Apple to be working on a type of iMac water cooled dock. While a dock and an actual iMac implementation are two completely different things, as processor speeds, cores, and demands rise, cooling will be an even greater necessity than before.
What kind of water cooling system would fit in something with as little space to spare as an iMac? That’s a good question. I’m not a hardware engineer so I can’t really offer up any beneficial solutions. Besides space requirements, actually maintaining and keeping a water cooled computer running is a much bigger job than a non-water cooled one. Spills and leaks are the number one danger of course, seeing as how water and electronics are violent enemies. Shockingly horrific self destruction tales aside, we have to expect that water cooling would come at some point, wouldn’t we?
Not necessarily. Just because a patent is filed doesn’t mean said feature is coming soon if ever. Sadly, in this day and age it is easier to file for a slew of patents just to cover you ass in stead of actually filing for patents on products you intend on bringing to market.
Another point worth mentioning — Mac Pro’s have a considerable amount more stuffed inside the case. From processors, to RAM, hard drives, and big fat video cards, I’d wager there’s quite a bit more heat under the hood of a Mac Pro than an iMac. Conversely, there’s also more room for cooling and fans. Valid points can be made both for and against water cooling. But really, it all comes full circle, back to reliability.
The only Mac’s to get water cooling from the factory were the higher-end 2.5GHz Dual-core G5′s. Even with Apple’s extra thorough testing and scrutinizing eye, the use of water cooling in the high-end G5′s was marginal at best. Ultimately, maintaining the water cooling system was more of a chore than the typical hands off approach Apple hardware boasts of.
Perhaps Apple is ready to give it another go. As we look towards the upcoming 6-core Gulftown processors and even larger graphics cards, unless something in those devices designs changes drastically, the heat issue for Apple, and iMac’s more specifically, are only going to grow.
What do you think? It’s no secret that Apple probably has a few water cooling test solutions working away, deep inside some secret Apple bunker. But will these designs ever make it to market? Or will Apple work some of their magic on the internal structures of iMacs, Macbooks, and Mac Pros to make them even more heat resistant without water cooling?
Energy efficient traffic lights seem like one of the best ways to save local governments significant amounts of money of the course of 5, 10, or more years. The lights which often use LED technology are much less demanding on the power grid which in turn means more money for other things. But there’s one side effect many have overlooked. Heat output.
Remember, the higher the heat output of a light, the more energy is being wasted. That’s all fie and dandy for indoor lighting or lighting or “non-critical outdoor lighting”. You see, the city of Chicago is discovering that the lack of heat output because of the new LED traffic lights’ increased efficiency is actually creating another problem — increased snow build up leading to a higher number of accidents.
It’s an easy concept to understand. Traditional traffic lights generate heat which in turn melts the snow off of the actual lights keeping them free and easily seen. LED’s with their much lower energy consumption and heat output allow snow to build up as temperatures aren’t getting high enough to melt the snow. It’s a sad side effect really as now numerous people are being injured and potential lives lost. Even still, it would be foolish and hasty for the city of Chicago to backtrack on their “green rollout” by replacing the more energy efficient traffic lights with the older style simply to melt snow for a few months out of the year. Though for an easy and quick fix, swapping the lights may be the only answer.
I’m not a civil engineer in Chicago so I don’t know how they went about the big switch to LED bulbs. Can they simply replace the bulbs with traditional lights or do they need to change the entire fixture? On the surface, such a switch seems like the best way to go as I don’t see any quick, easy, and cost effective way to “warm up” LED traffic lights. Future models of LED traffic signals could have an electric heating element of some sort built into the light housing as to melt the snow. But again, that doesn’t help the thousands of currently deployed lights on the streets. Not to mention, adding such a feature will no doubt add to the cost of energy efficient traffic lights — lights which are already a fair amount more than traditional lights.
Of course, cities employing LED traffic lights have another option — have city workers clean of the bulbs by hand. It’s not quick and it isn’t exactly a very good “fix”. For the time being however it is the only viable option to keep the LED’s and reduce traffic accidents.
To highlight the point further, many cities in Wisconsin have been migrating to LED lights for some time now. In fact, there are so many “modernized” traffic lights — numbering in the hundreds — that the state is saving over $750,000 per year in energy costs. It may not seem like it would make a huge dent in the state’s budget, but every little bit helps. Not to mention, I’m sure their are more than a few hundred traffic signals in Wisconsin. Just imagine the energy savings if all of them were converted to LED. Simple solution: Take a tad of that savings and hire an extra body or two during the winter months to aide in cleaning LED traffic lights off. Sound easy enough?
Some will never be pleased however as several are calling for the city to abandon the move to LED traffic lights until a new design emerges that can actually be self sufficient in cold, snowy weather. Such things are again short sighted. While a price tag can never be placed on a human life, removing technology — a very needed and important one at that — simply because of a minor problem is a bad decision.
Any Chi-town residents care to chime in? Have you personally witnessed any accidents due to LED lights being covered by ice and snow?
I feel your pain. It’s winter. It’s cold. You’re up at 5am to go to work and the heat in your car blows icy winter’s wrath all over your body. Not a great way to start each day for sure. You could of course fix the heat in your car. Though, without money, such things are hard to get. Another solution though far from perfect would be to carry around the Electrolux Portable Fireplace. Doing so as one can imagine brings with it a number of inherent dangers most notably being breaking the unit “leaking” fire everywhere.
Looking past the whole portable fire thing, next up on the list of notable mentions is the very element encapsulates the caveman lightbulb. As the fire warms the ceramic (newly discovered variant) transfroms from an opaque white color to a transparent window. Pretty neat huh? Think you’ll slap one of these in your car? Pocket? End table?
The human body is a walking scientific spectacle. Even though the DNA between you and me is virtually 99% the same, it’s that 1% sliver that differentiates all of us. Some like it hot. Some like it cold. Some can take the heat. Others simply drop like flies. For the ground thumpers out there, carrying a mini fan with you everywhere you go can be a nuisance and at times embarrassing. Thankfully there is the solar powered hat fan. Featuring two small solar panels and an actual miniaturized fan, this hat will keep your noggin nice and cool even when mother nature and Mr. Sun try their hardest to bring you down. The best part? It’s only $16 to be able to call this little wonder yours. Now will it actually work as advertised? At least you’ll pull of the geeky look. But such things are trivial when life, comfort, and just plain livability are concerned. Let us know how it goes!
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The general consensus on Nvidia’s Fermi graphics cards as so far appeared to be slightly above average. Yes, they’re faster than their old cards and a few of ATI’s options. But overall, they’re not that mind blowing. Certainly not living up to the hype that had built up for months. But a new prototype card shown off at Computex has the possibility to be the most powerful single-PCB graphics card yet — A dual-GPU Fermi card with 3GB of memory (GTX 470×2 | GTX 490?)…
Energy efficient traffic lights seem like one of the best ways to save local governments significant amounts of money of the course of 5, 10, or more years. The lights which often use LED technology are much less demanding on the power grid which in turn means more money for other things. But there’s one side effect many have overlooked. Heat output. 
