Modding and streaming

I've gotten a little into modding software lately. From modding the OS on my phone, to modding my desktop (see picture):


I blurred the calendar skin shown on the left, lower middle
portion of the screen, but it shows items from my Google calendar.

I think it's kind of cool to do, because you can make your OS/desktop look exactly the way you want it to. There are some risks involved (you could wreck your OS if you're not careful), but I've found that I had to do a lot of poking around help forums to get my knowhow.

The same thing happened recently when I was trying to get streaming to work to my PS3 using Tversity. That's why I'm going to publish a couple of howtos on doing these things. Look for them soon! I'll be going pver how to use Rainmeter to customize your desktop, and how to install custom visual styles for Windows 7. I'll also go through installing and setting up Tversity to stream your media (including some MKV files). Lastly, I'll swing back to modding, this time for Android phones.

Before I even start this series, I have a disclaimer to put out. I don't claim to have comprehensive knowledge on any of these topics. My howtos will by no means be an end-all-be-all, for the topics discussed. They will be based on my direct expirience, and you should keep this in mind when following these howtos. That's why I will also be listing my sources. Should your expirience differ from mine, you can hopefully find what's wrong, along with a potential solution.

Like I said, stay posted for more.

Android

In my last blog post, I mentioned my new Android based phone, the Moto Cliq.  I've been looking into the different aspects of android (App programming, custom roms, rooting, that sort of stuff)  and I'd be interested if anyone could point me in the direction of where I could learn more beginner level type stuff.  I've signed up at a couple of phone modding forums, but they all seem to be filled with people who are lightyears ahead of my knowledge base, or people who knew almost nothing about computers or phones.  I've already also taken a look at Google's Android developement how to, and it appears that they assume that you already know a good deal about programming in Java (their preferred method of devlopement for the masses is in a Java based IDE).  So, if anyone out there can point me in the right direction for learning how to build a custom Android flavor, or how to program in Java/make Apps, I would be much obliged.  More later about my Android based escapades as they happen.

Posted via my Moto Cliq

Quick update

Since my last post, not that much has happened. I've installed a SSD in machine; an OCZ Vertex, in the 30 GB variety. That gives my rig these current stats:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard.

Intel Q8400 2.66 GHz proc

Asus EAH5850 Radeon 5850 Videocard

6 GB 800 Mhz DDR2 ram

30 GB OCZ Vertex SSD

Various other harddrives I have thrown in.

It doesn't do to bad on framerates for Crysis now. I'll post some benchmark numbers soon. I haven't had time to do much lately because of different other life aspects, and my phone. I've had an android based phone for the last couple months, so I've been poking around that. I'll include a longer post on that as well when I can. I realize I've been kind of neglecting to post for a while, but I think I'll post a little more often now on. Till next time!

Posted via my Moto Cliq

Memory

Well, I'm home now.  After getting back, one of the first things I did besides sleep (jetlag sucks, btw) was check my mail.  Sure enough, there was a package there for me.  It was the memory I ordered.

Now, for those of you who might not know, RAM is your memory, and the more of it you have in your system, the better.  Well, as you may have read in an earlier post, I only had two Gigs of RAM, due to a speed discrepency I found between some of the sticks I had, it was limiting my overclocking potential for my CPU.  Unfortunately, even after the fix, I was still limited two Gigs of still-not-quite-that-fast RAM.  So I ended up ordering 4 Gigs of 1066 MHz RAM (DDR2).  Now its in my system, and it's better than ever.

Next up I have planned an even better upgrade.  I will be going from Win 7 RC to Win 7 Home Preimium.  On a solid state drive!  An OCZ Vertex 30 Gig SSD.  It's only big enough to hold the OS  and maybe one or two programs, but it should improve my initial load time dramatically.  I already have the drive (it's the part I was waiting for in the mail), and now I'm waiting on the OS, which hasn't shipped yet.  I'll post again when I'm ready for the upgrade.

Finally

I just got the part I ordered today. I can't wait to install it and see what it can do!

Waiting

So, I've been visiting with some family recently, and before I left I ordered a new part for my computer. Ihad it sent to the address I'm visiting because I figured it would get there sooner. It's still not here. Not cool. I keep checking the tracking number on Newegg, and it's been stuck in the same place for the last 4 days. I ordered it at least 11 days ago. Not cool USPS. Not cool. Leave a comment if you've ever been strung along waiting for a part.

Back again

Hey, everyone. It's been awhile since my last post here. I'm going to be posting more regularly from now on. I've got a lot to say about my upgrades (I've been pretty active with it recently), and some others on the way.

After moving everything into the new case, and installing a 500W power supply, I got new cables to connect to everything. UV blue cables that glow with the UV lights I installed in the case. After that, things stood still for awhile. Then after about a month, I installed a new motherboard, the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P. It's got tons of options in the BIOS, including bus speed, memory multiplier, and CPU clock multiplier (if it's unlocked). It's probably one of the best socket 775 motherboards available (in DDR2 form). After that, I put a new air cooler on my CPU (nothing to write home about, but it's better than the stock one). For a couple months, nothing changed. I ran at a little over 2GHZ, and was happy with that.

Eventually, I realized that the reason I could only OC from 1.8 to 2GHZ was because my memory couldn't handle a bus speed any higher than that. I pulled it out, and now I'm running 800MHZ RAM at 900MHZ. I also pulled out the old processor, a 1.8GHZ Core 2 Duo E4300. I replaced it with a 2.66GHZ Core 2 Quad, and OC'd to 3.6GHZ.

Video wise, for some time, I was rocking an NVidia Geforce 7800GTX. I have two, but I could only use one, because the motherboard I have doesn't support SLI (quite possibly it's only drawback). After awhile, I "upgraded" to a 9500GT (I say "upgraded" because, even though it could handle more, Windows actually rated it lower than the 7800GTX). It was around that time that the new ATI cards came out. For Christmas, I ended up getting a Radeon HD5770. It could put out some FPS, that's certain. Using the Unigen Heaven benchmark, I could put out around 36FPS with it. I had wanted to go X Fire with a second one, but that specific video was out of stock everywhere. Instead, I sold the one I had. It was about $160, and buying a second one would have cost around $320. I realized that buying the next model up, the HD5850, would cost about as much, and would only take up two slots on the back of my computer, as opposed to the four slots taken going XFire on two 5770s.

Now, we're up to date. Here are the current specs:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard
Intel Q8400 2.66GHZ processor OD'd to 3.6GHZ
2GB Kingston 800MHZ RAM OC'd to 900MHZ
ATI Radeon HD5850 video card
500W Thermaltake PSU
320GB, 250GB, 160GB Hard drives

and my WEI numbers:

Processor	Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8400 @ 2.66GHz	7.4	5.5 Determined by lowest subscore
Memory (RAM)	2.00 GB	5.5
Graphics	ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series	7.0
Gaming graphics	1783 MB Total available graphics memory	7.0
Primary hard disk	234GB Free (298GB Total)	5.7

Now, as you can see, my memory and HDD scores are significantly lower than the CPU and video scores. These are what my next posts will be about. But first, some more benchmarks. In the Unigen Heaven Benchmark that I mentioned earlier, I can now put out 56FPS (this is with tesselation disabled, as is the 36FPS earlier with the 5770). I also got 3DMark Vantage, and I'm able to put out 13285 Points.

Well, that's all I've got for now. Look for my next posts, when I will be putting in some upgrades that I'm very excited about. I'll leave you with some pictures: