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| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/11053/410 |  DaugWok (85) Jul 30, 2007 - 06:34 pm
| | Hey, somebody posted a comment in the last 3 months! :) I still have and use the x800xl I reviewed for this article. I thought about getting an 8800GTS 640MB recently, but none of the games I want to use it with are out yet. I guess we're both still waiting for now... Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/32 | DaugWok (85) May 19, 2007 - 07:02 pm
| » Congratulations to jacobvandy
Sorry I'm late to the party. I wish I had been available more for the final round, but family matters kept me away.
Jacobvandy, well done on winning the competition. I enjoyed the attention to detail in your articles, as well as your solid writing style. I think your Firingsquad articles will be well-received by the readership.
Canadadave, you were a constant threat to us throughout this competition. You have my admiration and contempt as a formidable writing foe. :) You'll be on my watch list should a second season occur.
Thanks to Firingsquad once more for this competition. It was both unique and, in my opinion, important. It shows a remarkable amount of goodwill and vision to involve the site's community in this way. Kudos. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/18926/497 | DaugWok (85) May 01, 2007 - 10:34 am
| I also agree that the title should be changed. It can (and should) be more creative than, "My PC Build Review", but it should also give some idea of the article's content.
The links are confusing to me. They are equidistant between the body of the previous section and the heading of the next. I would rather they were closer to the corresponding product's header, or someplace more obvious. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/18926/497 | DaugWok (85) Apr 30, 2007 - 09:54 pm
| Looking good so far. I know it's hard to write something earth-shattering when it must be essentially a laundry list, but you maintained a nice, articulate flow beginning to end. Some suggestions:
1) You may want to make it more clear in each heading what the device's type is. For instance, "Corsair Dominator PC2-8500 System Memory" instead of merely "Corsair Dominator PC2-8500." Those "in the know" probably wouldn't care, but a wider audience would likely appreciate it.
2) In the last round, I provided a link to my reviewed product's manufacturer website containing a feature list. You might want to do the same for each product, since it's usually not practical to be exhaustive in the article's body.
3) Your last sentence has the phrase "would be otherwise" at the end. You might want to do something about that. :)
Other than those small things, I can't spot anything obviously amiss. There's lots of good information inside a logical structure. I'm looking forward to the other two sections. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=15016 | DaugWok (85) Apr 25, 2007 - 11:32 am
| | I also received a mouse pad from FiringSquad, and it is an exact replacement for my fUnc 1030. I was considering replacing it soon, so this saves me a step. :) Thanks to FiringSquad for a fun competition and a nifty consolation prize. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Shout Box Link » /matrix/user.asp/11053 | DaugWok (85) Apr 11, 2007 - 10:26 am » Edited on Apr 11, 2007 - 10:30 am
| Dave,
Thanks, I appreciate that. The sportsmanship and respect I've seen among online strangers in this contest has been remarkable. I have no regrets aside from perhaps worrying too much at times. There will be no hesitation on my part to participate in a second season.
Maybe it's not the most realistic goal, but I would love to write this kind of stuff for a living. Maybe a company or site will see my work here and contact me. In any case, this contest gave me a chance to live my dream job, if only for a short time.
Probably the best way to keep in touch with me is by messenger:
AIM - DaugWok2
WLM - DaugWok
ICQ - DaugWok
I also have a Hotmail account if you would rather contact me that way - DaugWok at hotmail dot com. It's been fun, and good luck in the final. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=15016 | DaugWok (85) Apr 10, 2007 - 05:35 pm
| | It's nice to know you guys thought so highly of me. :) I assumed Dave would come through, so the rest of us were battling for the other spot. Buc, I'm as surprised you finished 5th as I was to be in 10th coming into Round 3. Maybe we'll see the score breakdowns sometime. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/22 | DaugWok (85) Apr 10, 2007 - 08:48 am
| | Well, I was thinking of writing style, research, personality, etc. I guess I left the door open for bribery and blackmail, though. And sexual favors. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/22 | DaugWok (85) Apr 10, 2007 - 08:39 am
| | Every time I thought I had run out of voters, one or two more trickled in. I never got the concentrated push I would have needed to catch you guys, though. Good efforts. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/22 | DaugWok (85) Apr 09, 2007 - 07:39 pm
| | Sheesh. Buc and Dave have legions of zombie voters or something :p Still, I'm impressed with the number of votes I've been able to generate for my article. I hope other considerations will see me through to the final round. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/11053/410 | DaugWok (85) Apr 08, 2007 - 09:10 am » Edited on Apr 08, 2007 - 11:10 am
| Absolutely. I didn't knock the card much for only having 256MB, because I don't think it's a critical reason to upgrade. If the card only had 128MB of memory, however, my conclusion probably would have been much different.
I thought about analyzing video memory usage in each game to determine how much 256MB hurt the X800XL, if any. I know Oblivion has a command to monitor that, but I don't know about the other games. Maybe I'll come across an application that does so, or fraps will gain that feature.
Anyway, thank you for both your criticism and praise. Writing this article helped me quite a bit, because I've been putting off upgrading (until Intel's price cuts and sub-$300 DX10 cards, you see) and it made me feel better about what I have. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/22 | DaugWok (85) Apr 07, 2007 - 01:50 pm
| | I wonder why somebody would down-vote everybody. It doesn't seem worthwhile to me. I encourage my friends NOT to down-vote the competition, but I can't be positive that they haven't. I'm too busy turning over every rock for votes right now to worry much. Let's keep it a good, clean competition. :) Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/22 | DaugWok (85) Apr 05, 2007 - 12:43 am » Edited on Apr 05, 2007 - 12:43 am
| Whoa. The cluster has apparently been suspended, even though the timer on the main page says there's 20 minutes left. I hope nobody will get left out.
Edit - Ok, nevermind Flag this | Edit this post |
| Cluster Shout Box Link » /matrix/cluster.asp/22 | DaugWok (85) Apr 04, 2007 - 11:37 pm
| | Kevin and Dave are through! But what of Power666, darrellwu, and OldFriend!? Can they do it? Is there still enough time!? It's going to be a photo finish! Flag this | Edit this post |
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