Intel's Nehalem processor

Nehalem is not to be found anywhere on Google Maps, but Intel's next tick-tock advancement (this would be the "tick" phase -- SPOOOOOON!) meant that it was time to roll out a whole new architecture -- socket, memory subsystem, and silicon all got an overhaul. And, boy howdy, is it a beast. Three-channel memory opened the floodgates for DDR3 bandwidth, especially with that 1600MHz+ FSB. Early reviews of the 920 (2.66GHz) chip show nearly effortless overclocks to almost 4GHz with nothing more than a better HSF and a slight voltage bump; this is the easiest path to getting GPU-limited in terms of framerate on a single top-end video card in years.


Did somebody say "video cards"?

ATI and Nvidia both rolled out new chips this year, and for the first time in a few generations (at least, generations of video hardware), both of them kicked ass on the day they hit the market. ATI's 4xxx series was a life-saver after the frankly pathetic showing the company had been making since the days of the 9800 Pro ruling the roost. Not to be outdone for long, Nvidia's 2xx cards stormed back to fight for our purchasing dollars at just about every enthusiast-level price point, and the recently-topped 8xxx and 9xxx series cards are still offering outstanding value for the money.

With the introduction of single-card multi-GPU offerings from ATI at the top of the market, and more conventional multi-card setups becoming far more common, folks are seeing breathtaking visual effects at resolutions that were laughably out of reach not that long ago.


DirectX 10

Something of a mixed blessing, DX10. Some phenomenally cool graphical effects, but you gotta run Windows Vista to enjoy 'em. Some folks didn't want to make that move, understandably so, but with games like Farcry 2 showing huge DX10 performance gains (on the order of 20% better framerates, while still displaying more eye candy), it looks like XP's days as the gaming OS of choice for Windows users might be numbered.


Thanks for the Memory

DDR3 under $50 per GB stick. Four gigs of DDR2 for forty bucks. Ten gigs to the dollar for hard drive space (a dime a gigabyte, it boggles the mind. It wasn't so long ago that ten dollars a gig was a great price). Some days, I love the secondary effects of Moore's Law. Softening demand means that TSMC and the other fabs had a glut of chips on their hands, so we get to enjoy the savings.

Okay, so BI didn't actually hand out awards. With my lack of graphical prowess, any attempt at coming up with a catchy trophy would look more like someone shoved a Billy Bass into a Mac Classic than something anyone would be proud to receive. I understand that some folks might be put off by the notion of receiving "The CRAPPY" from a site called Big Download; maybe those exhortations to reconsider the acronym were justified after all. I'm in hardware, and not Marketing, for a reason, folks. (Suggestions are welcome in the comments.)


One further note: Our publishing schedule is liable to be a little bit jumbled over the holidays, so BI probably won't be appearing on Thursday the next couple of weeks -- something about Baby Jesus and a hangover...? Might be Wednesday, might be Friday. In either case, I'll put on my even-goofier-looking prognosticator's hat (the one pictured below? That's my weather-forecasting chapeau; it is superb for telling wind direction) and check the tea leaves and chicken entrails for what 2009 looks to have in store for us.


Rafe Brox spends his days wielding a phone in one hand and a screwdriver in the other. When not causing friends and enemies alike to /facepalm electronically, he can be found extolling the virtues of the weird peripherals in his life, from kettlebells to the Trackman Marble. If you also share an unhealthy passion for PC hardware or know a good place he can get help for this addiction, the target coordinates are rafe.brox AT weblogsinc DOT com.