I do like the triple lights... kind of...

...but I've always liked when you could see separate lens colors... like the white reverse light on the left...

...can you post two pics with a full set of lights for each?

Go with a big brand for one (e.g. EVGA, Asus, PNY...)

As Anik360 stated, they are all different packages. Some of the differences are extra games that are included. However, the majority of the cards have only one difference, and that's clock speed. A standard 8800GT is clocked at 600/1800 Mhz. Most companies (particularly the big ones) offer several versions, at speeds such as 650 or 700 Mhz. They are essentially factory overclocked cards to get a bit more speed out of the cards. They cost a bit more, but you get a faster card that is guaranteed under warranty, even though it's tweaked. It simply depends on how much you want to spend, and what kind of speeds you are looking for. Any 8800GT will be fast

Quote from farcar :

Well most of my storage is on external drives, so the one we're talking about here will only be for OS and apps.

Yeah - but to be honest, it would make more sense to just get something like a 320 Gb one. Considering the sizes of programs just keep going up, and that computer will definitely last you a few years. It would just be better matched to your system. It's only maybe $30-$40 more...

Quote from wheel4hummer :

Wow, that's a really long drive to school. It only takes me 7min to get to my school, and that's when there's traffic.

I should state that the video makes it seem a lot longer. With no traffic it takes 10 minutes. However, on the way to school in the morning (like in that video) it took a good 20 minutes to get from my home to my parking spot.

I also don't see a wooden bumper being able to flex as much as a plastic one and then pop back and maintain its shape. I think dents and stuff would be a bigger issue with wood as well.

Quote from ajp71 :

Ribbing and laminating wood isn't difficult or expensive, certainly nothing more costly than the process that are used to get metal ore into sheet steel.

Yeah - but I still think it's easier to produce a block of styrofoam than laminated wood...

Quote from Stang70Fastback :

Again, a solid steel cylinder made of the same amount of steel as a typical midsized car will withstand much more pressure without deformation...

amount

Quote from tristancliffe :

Not that much more force really. And a steel girder of the same size is a lot heavier - strength:weight is important, not just strength.

Same mass, not same size...

Quote from tristancliffe :

The car is larger, so has a similar amount of material to resist, and a larger second moment of area.

Yes, but whereas most of the trees material goes into absorbing an impact from any direction, not all of the structural supports of the car do the same (only, generally those parts parallel to direction of travel. Again, a solid steel cylinder made of the same amount of steel as a typical midsized car will withstand much more pressure without deformation...

By the way, just to clarify, I agree that wood could work just as well, I'm just saying it's not as easy at current - as you already know.

Quote from tristancliffe :

That's a fair point, but trees are (usually) a fair bit narrower in cross section than a car

But that only means that a car is at an even GREATER disadvantage as it is larger but still has only a thin frame to protect it (relatively speaking.)

Quote :

Anyway, the thing is, wood isn't such a bad material, and is perfectly acceptable for making boats, cars, engines, houses, desks, pencils etc.

Point well taken, I just don't think its AS good a material at this point. Maybe later on tho - who knows?

Quote from tristancliffe :

Trees remain pretty intact in all but the most nasty weather. They might be plucked out of the ground, but even then they put up more of a fight than a car.

Well, trees aren't hollowed out as much as possible to make room for 5 adults, 5 bags of luggage, an engine and other knick-nacks - so I think they have a slight advantage.

It could also be said that a solid steel cylinder the size of a tree could easily withstand a horrific storm that would otherwise destroy any wooden car...

Quote from tristancliffe :

And who's to say the car pictured doesn't have basic ribbed, laminated and modified wooden parts.

The reason you don't see it is because you are limiting yourself to common wisdom - think laterally more! Anything is possible.

I'm not saying it doesn't. I'm saying it's much easier and more economical to use a block of styrofoam in a bumper than laminated sheets of wood...

especially for those stupid soccer moms who love to bump other cars with their SUVs.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Why does it need to bend? How do you think CF crumple zones (note: crumple isn't really the right word - it's more 'energy absorbing zone' - the crumple is merely an effective means to an end with sheet metal. Wood will flex a lot before it breaks - that takes quite a lot of energy, which it will store for a short period (slightly longer than the average accident occurs in). Once it's reached it's stress limits, fibres will begin to break, each one taking a certain amount of energy with it. Eventually they all break, and if you do your sums about right the same amount of energy can be 'absorbed' in a similar time/distance, in similar packaging.

Don't think in sheet steel terms. That's the norm, but it's not the only way to achieve the desired results.

If you haven't seen bent wood - take a thinnish plank of wood; a decent one that has been prepared, dried and sorted properly. Lean it up against a wall for a few days (in a humidity controlled, temperature controlled environment). When you come back it's own weight will have caused a not inconsiderable bend. No external forces, other than gravity.

Now, design a car. Use the thickness, densities and grain directions of the material to help you. Think about energy absorbtion. Think about what happens with loads, shocks, stresses and strains. Load paths, irregularities and all sorts of 'tricks' can be employed to put man in charge of the material, rather than being at the mercy of what you think should happen.

100 years ago you'd probably find people thinking that cars could never be made entirely from metal because it doesn't have any give - and who'd want to be stuck in a metal coffin surrounded by rigid metal?

All I have to say is, CONCEPTUALLY, I just don't see a "wooden" car having the same energy-absorbing, impact-withstanding, life-saving capacity as today's modern vehicles. At least not without complicated manufacturing processes to produce ribbed, laminated, and other modified wooden parts.

Quote from Smoky DRFT :

Here it is €1.55 per liter

That's ridiculous.

I still hope my next car is a 6-cylinder instead of a 4 tho

Quote from evilgeek :

i've done over 100km/h on my mountain bike. it was terrifying.

Yeah... I got up to 40 mph once downhill on the side of a small highway... one of the most terrifying experiences of my childhood, lol.

Quote from Töki (HUN) :

My favourite is the 2nd one. Very nice background over there. I just dunno which part of the Earth that is. Any tips?

The sunny part... duh.

Those are some of the best photographs I've ever seen. Its the first time such a "cluttered" photo has made it to my desktop. Usually I prefer photos where, for example, the WHOLE shuttle is in the image and without the clutter around it - but these are just... beautiful.

Quote from Luke.S :

A bin bag has better aerodynamic property's than a box.

Yes but the box could outrun the bin bag for the first 30 feet in a stiff breeze...

Well, at least we're advancing in the environmental front! Now instead of creating 500 tons of carbon fiber that'll end up in a landfill, we're cutting down 500 trees!

...wait.

Last edited by Stang70Fastback, Thu 21 Feb 2008, 18:32.

Quote from Bob Smith :

And mutants

Yes, but mutants are actually quite good piano players for the most part...

Quote from herki :

Soo... what does it fix? Anything important? Or does it add "features" that I won't want?

The most important change will be a supposed 10% performance boost. I hope that's not an exaggeration. Also Network Access Protection from Vista is to be included...

Satellites!

Get Your Top Secret Spy Satellites Here!

Slightly Used Parts At Deep-discount Prices!!!

One Square Inch Of Carbon-tetra-flouro-hydride-zinc-coated-aluminum-titanium-alloy Only $59.99!!!

Can Be Melted Down And Used To Coat Any Object In A Cosmic-ray Proof Metal! Great For Use On Boats, Automobiles, Planes And Even Spaceships!!!

EDIT: Dammit. It won't let me to all caps!

Quote from JJ72 :

in my memory of school physical education class it takes about 5 sec for a sprint runner to reach full speed.

Yeah, but they can reach CLOSE to full speed much faster than that. Just like any car actually...

Quote from Töki (HUN) :

Downloaded, I like it, you edited it pretty well. I just don't know why did you go through that large parking area (next to a shopping center?!) several times And there are lots of SUVs in the USA

The parking area was to drop off/pick up my brother (before and after school.) It's not a shopping center, our High School had 4 buildings (3,000+ students = mini campus). From the time I get behind the red Ford SUV to the time I park, that was all my High School, lol.

Yeah - SUVs run rampant. There'll be less of them soon, though, if gas prices keep going up as they do. In the past week they've gone from $2.89 to $3.09 (should've filled up the tank last week instead of last night!) and they're projected to peak around $3.50 - which might not sound like a lot for you guys, but over here - that's madness!

Wow - that's a lot or memory! INSANITY!!!!!