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Monday, December 31, 2012
Velasquez batters Dos Santos, reclaims title
THE CANADIAN PRESS
LAS VEGAS -- Cain Velasquez stood and delivered on Saturday in the main event of UFC 155.
Velasquez dominated Junior Dos Santos for 25 minutes to reclaim the Ultimate Fighting Championship's heavyweight title, fulfilling a promise he'd made in the weeks leading up to the card.
The 30-year-old Velasquez pushed the pace from the opening bell, rushing forward with an aggressive mix of punches and takedowns. In fact, it looked as if he might knock out his open in the first round after scoring a devastating right hand. He followed Dos Santos to the floor and unleashed a flurry of punches, but Velasquez could not finish before the bell sounded.
Still, he set the tone for the remaining 20 minutes.
Dos Santos displayed incredible heart throughout the fight, even as Velasquez landed some 210 punches according to a FightMetric report. He even gained a second wind in the fourth and fifth rounds as he looked to pull off an improbable comeback victory.
However, it was not to be as Velasquez' impressive pace never slowed, and he never gave the Brazilian slugger room to operate. Judges awarded him the win and the UFC heavyweight belt with scores of 50-45, 50-43 and 50-44.
"I knew that Junior was a tough striker and he was able to end our last fight that way, so I was prepared for him this time," Velasquez said. "I was able to effectively use my striking and my grappling to control him throughout the fight and get the title back."
Following the loss, Dos Santos was transported to a local hospital for observation but did not sustain any substantial injuries and was quickly released. UFC president Dana White said he expects the pair to have a third meeting at some point in the future, but former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem will likely earn the next crack at Velasquez should he prove victorious over Antonio Silva in February.
"I think Junior Dos Santos is going to have to take some time now and relax and heal up," White said. "Cain will probably fight again before he sees Junior if we do that rematch."
In the night's co-feature, lightweights Jim Miller (22-4 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and Joe Lauzon combined (22-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) for an epic 15-minute affair that may very well prove a late entry in many "Fight of the Year" lists.
Miller was the sharper fighter in the early going with crisp punching combinations and stinging low kicks that buckled his opponent's legs. A short elbow opened a huge gash over Lauzon's right eye, and the fight immediately shifted in a plasma-filled affair. Despite the early damage, Lauzon pushed courageously forward and tried to reverse the momentum. He would do so briefly in the second.
With the crowd on its feet, Miller scored an early takedown to open the second frame, but Lauzon somehow reversed to top position, where he spent much of the frame. The nasty cut continued to pour blood, but Lauzon dominated the position and threatened with a leglock in the final seconds of the round.
With the fight hanging in the balance to open the final round, both competitors were understandably fatigued.
Bloodied and battered, Lauzon continued to press forward, but it was Miller's counterattacks that proved the most effective blow. Lauzon looked for a miracle again in the closing seconds, but he came up short on another leglock. The crowd erupted at the final bell, and both fighters embraced after the entertaining scrap. Still, it was Miller's hand who was raised for a unanimous-decision victory with three scores of 29-28.
"Joe Lauzon is a tough kid," Miller said. "I knew I was going to have to bring my best effort to put him away, and I was never able to. That's how good he is on the ground. And even in the last minute, look what he was trying to do to win the fight.
"I'm pleased with this win, and I'm looking forward to getting back in the gym again."
In a 185-pound match Costa Philippou (12-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) earned his fifth straight fight with an odd but convincing victory over former light heavyweight Tim "The Barbarian" Boetsch.
Boetsch looked to avoid his opponent's impressive boxing skills by taking the fight to the floor, which he did successfully in the opening round. However, he appeared to break his hand during the round, and things quickly went downhill.
In the second, an accidental head butt opened a cut on Boetsch's forehead, and an eye poke left him squinting with his right eye. Philippou capitalized on his ailing opponent by pushing forward and opening up in the pocket. A game Boetsch refused to back down, but he was forced to settle for pulling guard and hoping to win the fight off his back. Philippou pounced on his wounded prey and finally finished it in the third after a failed takedown left a bloody Boetsch defenceless on his back. Philippou swarmed with punches, and referee Kim Winslow mercifully called the fight at the 2:11 mark of the final round.
"I expected to win this fight, but not like this," Philippou said. "I made a few rookie mistakes in letting him take me down, but once we started trading blows back and forth later in the fight I had him. I was eventually able to get the better of him in the striking game and have the fight stopped."
In a key rematch between middleweight contenders, Yushin "Thunder" Okami (29-7 MMA, 12-4 UFC) earned a unanimous-decision victory over Alan "The Talent" Belcher (17-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC).
Belcher looked intent on striking throughout the fight, as he pumped jabs and launched a few high kicks. But Okami countered with effective wrestling and brought the fight to the floor multiple times in the three-round affair. Belcher compounded his problems by unsuccessfully looking for guillotine chokes in all three rounds, allowing Okami to settle into top position each time he worked his neck free from the holds.
The crowd often booed Okami's strategy, but it proved just as effective as it did in the pair's 2006 meeting, and the Japanese fighter cruised to a unanimous-decision win with scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
"The wrestling, striking and the clinch game were all successfully implemented in this fight to defeat Belcher," Okami said through an interpreter. "Belcher is a very tough opponent, and I feel that a win over Belcher should allow me to keep challenging more of the top guys in the middleweight division."
In the night's first main-card contest, Strikeforce import Derek Brunson (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earned a unanimous-decision win over longtime veteran middleweight Chris Leben (22-9 MMA, 12-8 UFC). In what proved a rather lacklustre affair, late-replacement Brunson used well-timed takedowns and avoided Leben's left hand to take the fight 29-28 on all three judges' cards in a slow-pace 15-minute contest.
Brunson, who took the fight on less than two-weeks' notice, admitted he faded as the fight wore on, but he was still excited to win in his UFC debut.
"I wanted to go at it with him but maintain my gameplan and fight my fight," Brunson said. "I started slowing down in the second round, and I feel that's just a matter of taking the fight and training for it on such short notice.
"Overall, I feel like I'm getting better, but I know I have a long way to go to compete in the UFC's middleweight division."
According to UFC officials, UFC 155 drew 12,423 fans for a US$3.286 million live gate.
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
2 dead in Moscow airliner crash
MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia's Interior Ministry says two people have been killed in the crash of a passenger airliner at Moscow's Vnukovo airport.
The plane, a Tupolev-204 twin-engine jet, went off the runway at Russia's third-busiest airport on Saturday afternoon; it broke apart and caught fire.
News reports said about a dozen people were aboard and that several of them were seriously injured. Ministry spokesman Gennady Bogachev said on state news channel Vesti that two people died.
The plane belonged to the Russian airline Red Wings.
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Video: 6 charged in rape, death of Indian student
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Taylor Swift, Harry Style, Haylor Wedding Bells? 'Harry is totally in love,' Insider Says
(Photo : @edreher/ Twitter)
Taylor Swift and Harry Styles have reportedly fallen hard for each other. Insiders report the new couple is "totally in love" and can even see wedding bells in the near future.?
A source according to US Weekly reported that Harry Styles is "totally in love" with Taylor Swift. "I can see them getting married in a week, just going for it," the insider continued to say.
Taylor Swift and Harry Styles recently doubled on a ski trip to Utah with Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. Each couple was reported to have stayed in separate rooms. Swift and Styles were also reported to appear "happy and in love" and "cute and lovey dovey" by onlookers.?
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Swift was even able to visit Style's hometown of Holmes Chapel, England. There, it was reported that she bonded with Harry's sister, Gemma and spoke about how "amazing" her new beau is.?
The power couple spent Christmas separately, however. Swift headed to Australia for the holidays. And Styles spent the holidays with his family in the UK.?
''Harry and Taylor have spent a lot of time together recently as they really enjoy each other's company, which is why they decided to go on the skiing mini-break together this weekend," a source had reported to Daily Mirror last week.
"They're both massive stars and Taylor already had the commitment to go to Australia and Harry's family were really keen to see him over the holidays. But they're already planning their next meet up - Taylor has suggested to Harry that he flies out to Australia to meet up with her there," the source continued.
Could there be wedding bells soon? Only time will tell what awaits Taylor Swift and Harry Styles.?
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Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D: Newtown and the Nation's Mental Health
As President Obama opened his December 16 Newtown speech at the vigil for the Sandy Hook shooting victims with the statement, "We gather here in memory of 20 beautiful children and six remarkable adults. They lost their lives in a school that could have been any school, in a quiet town full of good and decent people that could be any town in America," I think the whole country was asking the same question: Why did this happen? There are many theories and opinions being expressed to address this question, all of which are just speculation until the results of the investigation become known. As a researcher, educator, and president of a nonprofit health-care organization I would like to add my thoughts to the mix.
There have been 29 mass shootings in the United States between the events of April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School and the Dec. 14, 2012 tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I propose these shootings were, in part, a health-care issue.
Your immediate response may be to ask how these shootings could possibly be related to issues surrounding health care. Let me provide a few facts for consideration. The Nov. 16, 2011 issue of Time magazine included a report that 1 in 5 American adults take mental health drugs, which was a 22 percent rise since 2001. A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study has indicated that the number of children diagnosed with different forms of attention/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) was 9.5 percent, or 5.4 million children 5-13 years of age. As of 2007, parents of more than 3 million children ages 4-17 years who had a diagnosis of ADHD reported that their child was receiving medication for the disorder. Children with these diagnoses were found in the same report to be more likely to have other chronic health conditions, both physical and mental. A recent report on the global burden of disease in the Dec. 15, 2012 issue of the internationally-recognized medical journal The Lancet indicated that mental health problems in people of all ages are one of three most rapidly increasing areas of health concern in the world.
I remember back in the early 1980s, a time when there was greater funding for community mental health centers, that the mental health professionals working in these facilities were very concerned that the number of people needing to be cared for was increasing, but the budgetary allotment for these centers was decreasing. Since the 1980s, there have been significant cuts in the funding for mental health intervention. Professionals working in the field of mental health have seen a decimation of community mental health services. A 2011 report from the National Alliance on Mental Illness titled "State Mental Health Cuts: A National Crisis" indicates that the nation is challenged with increasing needs for mental health treatment while at the same time the funding for community mental health treatment and consultation has been continually reduced.
It would be a reach to connect the Sandy Hook shootings directly to either a change in the prevalence of mental health issues in children or the reduction in funding for -- or emphasis on -- their comprehensive treatment, but shouldn't this potential connection at least be in the discussion about prevention? Certainly many variables relate to the enigma of how a person becomes a killer without human consciousness, but one of the recurrent themes that follows each shooting episode is the discussion about the mental health of the perpetrator. Could it be that these shooters represent a horrible kind of "yellow canary" of the declining mental health of our society at large? If so, then shouldn't we be engaged in a serious national dialogue about how to curb this national epidemic, just as we have done with the war on cancer, or the reduction of risk to heart disease through proper lifestyle, diet and exercise?
This is not just an academic issue. Mental health derives from physical health, and vice versa. Our bodies and minds are interconnected. We know that dementia is more common in people who suffer from obesity and diabetes. We know that depression is more prevalent in people with nutritional deficiencies such as vitamin B3, where one of the signs of deficiency of this vitamin is dementia. We know that behavior problems in children may be more common in children who consume large amounts of empty-calorie foods. Conversely, we know that children who engage in regular physical activity are more emotionally resilient and alert. As the health of our children has declined with increasing obesity and chronic illnesses, it is interesting that the prevalence of mental health issues in kids has increased. It is the same with their parents. There is a strong association between obesity, poor lifestyle habits, and mental and physical health issues in both adults and children. I recognize that association of two factors doesn't necessarily prove that one causes the other, but as the research accumulates there is a stronger case for a cause-and-effect relationship between health of the body and health of the mind.
Given this suggestion, it raises the question as to what the effects are of children sitting before a computer screen or television many hours a day being bombarded by messages of war, crime, violence, and killing. Not only are their minds being imprinted by the message, but their bodies are responding to the stress of the emotion, all while being sedentary and likely eating foods and drinking beverages that are rich in empty calories.
Like every other American who wears some of the grief of the Newtown shootings, I would like to find answers to the question "why?" and to accomplish what President Obama has challenged the country to do, which is to care for our children. As he said, "It is our first job. If we don't get this right, we don't get anything right. This is how our society will be judged."
Where can we turn as individuals to meet his challenge? It might start with a serious discussion at the national level as to what is happening to the health of our children, how their habits and lifestyles contribute to their declining health, and what needs to be done to create the country that turns around the trend of declining mental and physical health of its children. Through this difficult discussion, I believe some important answers will emerge that may not only help to prevent other Newtown catastrophes, but also prevent countless cases of unnecessary diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney and liver diseases and mental health disorders.
For more by Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D., click here.
For more healthy living health news, click here.
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-bland/childrens-health_b_2360281.html
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
Microsoft investigating new IE vulnerability used in targeted attacks, IE9 and IE10 users are safe
Criminals are using a new Internet Explorer security hole to attack Windows computers in targeted attacks, though the vulnerability could end up being more widely exploited. While IE9 and IE10 are not affected, versions IE6, IE7, and IE8 are. It?s great to see that the latest versions of IE are immune, but this new vulnerability is still bad news for Windows XP users and earlier since they cannot upgrade to more recent versions of Microsoft?s browser.
?We are actively investigating reports of a small, targeted issue affecting Internet Explorer 6-8,? Dustin Childs of Microsoft Trustworthy Computing told TNW. ?We will take appropriate action to help keep customers protected once our analysis is complete. People using Internet Explorer 9-10 are not impacted.?
The IE zero-day flaw first came to light after report surfaced that the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) had been hacked. A closer look by security firm FireEye led to the discovery that the CFR site had been compromised and was hosting malicious content as early as on December 21.
?The Council on Foreign Relations? website security team is aware of the issue and is currently investigating the situation,? CFR spokesperson David Mikhail told The Washington Free Beacon on Thursday. ?We are also working to mitigate the possibility for future events of this sort.?
The malicious JavaScript in question only served the exploit code to browsers whose language was either English (U.S.), Chinese (China), Chinese (Taiwan), Japanese, Korean, or Russian. Once the initial checks passed, the JavaScript proceeded to load an Adobe Flash file named ?today.swf.? This file ultimately triggered a heap spray in IE and downloaded a file named ?xsainfo.jpg.?
More details of the vulnerability are available at the CERT Knowledgebase ( VU#154201). Here?s the full technical description:
Microsoft Internet Explorer contains a use-after-free vulnerability in the mshtml CDwnBindInfo object. Specially-crafted JavaScript can cause Internet Explorer to create a CDoc object that contains a CDwnBindInfo object. This object may be freed without removing its pointer, resulting in a state where Internet Explorer may attempt to CALL an invalid memory address. Combined with heap spraying or other techniques, an attacker may be able to place arbitrary code at this address. This vulnerability is currently being exploited in the wild, using Adobe Flash to achieve a heap spray and Java to provide Return Oriented Programming (ROP) gadgets.
Since there is no patch available, the note recommends a few workarounds: use the Microsoft Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET), disable the Flash ActiveX control in IE, and disable Java in IE. We recommend avoiding the use of IE8 or earlier by either upgrading to IE9/IE10, or simply using a different browser such as Google Chrome.
Image credit: Miguel Saavedra
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Fuel Fix ? Forecast shows more hybrids, electric vehicles in 2013
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Six new hybrid vehicle models and eight more plug-ins ?will be offered in auto showrooms in 2013 compared to this year, according to automotive forecaster Alan Baum.
In a recent report released with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Baum noted that the selection of alternative-fuel and hybrid vehicles is continuing to expand, even as traditional gasoline-powered cars become more efficient. Even large cars and trucks are getting more miles per gallon of fuel, he said.
?We may not think of the pickup segment in regard to fuel economy, but that?s just what?s?occurring,? Baum said, noting that Chrysler introduced a more fuel efficient version of its Ram this year.
?The automakers are literally in an all-of-the-above strategy,? he said. ?If you want a pickup truck, fine. If you want a little car, fine. If you want a hybrid or electric, that?s OK, too.?
From ?2009 to 2013, the number of hybrid vehicle models offered will have doubled to 50 and the number of plug-ins will have jumped from one to 28, said Luke Tonachel of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Baum said plug-in Honda Accords and Ford Fusions are on the horizon. A Volkswagen Jetta hybrid emerged this year and the Nissan Altima hybrid will appear in 2013, he added.?And there?s a?drive toward offering other fuel-saving technologies, like stop-start ability.
More diesel-powered?vehicles?also are being offered on the U.S. market, generally offering better fuel mileage than their gasoline counterparts, Baum noted.
Automakers? move away from gas guzzlers mean $2.50 a gallon gasoline has become their worst nightmare, he added.
?They have committed their companies to this path and that obviously will be more difficult if gasoline becomes cheap,? he said.
The price of gasoline has been in steep decline since August, dropping to a national average of $3.28. It hit nearly $4 earlier this year.
Meanwhile, vehicles traveled ?more than a mile farther per gallon in 2012 compared to 2011, Baum said. Between vehicle model years 2012 and 2013, fuel economy will climb another 0.8 percent, he added.
Still, Baum doesn?t expect the gas price drop will lead to a dramatic change in consumer behavior toward auto sales.
?I don?t think they are at the point where they think this is the norm,? he said. ?The consumers and automakers continue to believe that the long-term trend for fuel prices is high.?
Source: http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/12/28/forecast-shows-more-hybrids-electric-vehicles-in-2013/
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"Now that the legend is coming into place, what will happen to the world around us?"
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T R A N S P O R T A T I O N
Of course people travel by foot and by living and breathing animals. But, when it comes to longer trips, they have two different forms of transportation.
The main form being horse drawn carriage. Though, the horses aren't exactly the 'living' kind.
The horses they use to pull horse drawn carriages are made completely out of metals and are steam powered. Smoke and whatnot puffs out of their nostrils and they can travel far longer than a living horse can, not needing to sleep or truly eat like a real animal. Though, they do tend to move slower in the rain and cold weather.
As for carriages, there are three different basic kinds.
The kind that only seats one to two passengers and has an open frame and is typically made of wood or very cheap metal, which causes them to be easily breakable:
(This type being the least expensive and the most often seen around.)
The second kind is more expensive and is usually ridden in by doctors and priests and people of jobs along those lines. It is a semi-closed carriage, one that is made with somewhat materials than the cheapest one; usually metal and wood:
The third type is the most expensive and generally ridden in by rulers and their servants when they travel together. This one is usually made of metal and wood, though the materials are far better on this one than in the other two types. Note that it completely closed off, somewhat like what a car of today is:
Beyond the horse drawn carriages though, all walks of life take trains to further away trips. Though, the trains are separated by class and ranking amungst the people. The poorer folk sitting near the end of the train, while the more important sit in cars closer to the front:
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AVADirect X79 Gaming PC
The AVADirect X79 Gaming PC ($4,800 direct, as tested) continues the proud, high-end gaming desktop tradition of going completely over the top in every possible regard. Of course, when you enter into rarefied elite territory where five grand systems are the norm, a certain degree of flashiness is to be expected, and in this regard AVADirect have certainly hits the mark. Everything inside and outside of the X79 gives the appearance of raw power, from its sleek, refined Silverstone chassis to the top-of-the-line components humming away beneath the surface. The X79's performance in our benchmarks tests confirmed its brute strength, though it still fell short of its competitors in some areas. Gamers shelling out so much cash don't expect a good system, they expect the best system. With these heightened expectations in mind, then, the X79 faces stiff competition in its price point.
Design and Features
The X79's chassis measures 19.6 by 8.3 by 24.2 inches (HWD). Its huge dimensions is meant to accommodate a massive amount of components, but finding a place for the gaming rig will be a challenge for gamers living in tight quarters.
With the SilverStone chassis, AVADirect delivers an elegantly refined gaming desktop. Instead of the flashing LED lights and garish grilles typically seen in this category, the X79 comes in a subdued metallic silver chassis. Moreover, the SilverStone chassis has the motherboard vertically mounted, allowing the heat generated by the X79 to dissipate upwards.
The top of the X79 chassis has a removable perforated grill,that must be pulled off for gamers to access the majority of its ports and, moreover, to unscrew either one of the side panels and pop open the chassis. All the removable grill allows users to hide all of their cables, this can become cumbersome after a while since the top needs to be removed each time you want to access the ports beneath.
The X79 features an abundance of ports. The top of the chassis has four USB 3.0 ports, seven USB 2.0 ports, two eSATA ports, a Bluetooth module, a PS/2 input, audio inputs, and an S/PDIF digital audio output. The top also has some hardcore gamer-friendly elements. There's a Clear CMOS switch (for letting gamers replace the motherboard's jumper cap in the event that an overclock fails) and an ROG connect switch, and corresponding ROG input (which allows you monitor the system's processing speed in real-time through a laptop). There's also an integrated OC Key dongle, which can be plugged into the DVI port of any graphics card to give gamers on-screen performance information and overclocking options without having to boot the OS. The top also houses three fan control switches that allow users to toggle between high- and low-speed for each of the X79's three cooling fans. During testing, I didn't notice a difference in noise levels between the settings.
Toward the front of the system, the top of the chassis sports a power button, reset button, and activity LEDs. A sliding door to the side of these elements opens to reveal headphone and mic inputs, as well as a pair of USB 3.0 ports.
The front panel of the X79 features a total of five bays. The top bay houses a Blu-ray reader that also reads and burns DVDs and CDs. The second bay beneath it has a 65-in-1 card reader and a USB 2.0 port. Further down still, there are three empty 5.25-inch drive bays. The X79's rear is a more low-key affair that has a removable plastic grille that allows users to easily clean a dust filter that captures all the debris kicked up in the maelstrom of the system's cooling fans.
Popping open either of the chassis side panels reveals an impressive array of hardware as well as padding on the inside of each panel, ostensibly for muffling any sound. The sound, of course, stems from the X79's three fans at the bottom of the system. In addition to integrated Bluetooth, the X79's motherboard also sports a total of eight DIMM sockets that can accommodate a maximum of 64GB of RAM; our test unit had two occupied by 8GB modules, leaving six available, though two of these are slightly difficult to access because the X79's massive six-core 3.2GHz Intel Core i7-3960X processor sits directly in the middle of the modules.
A good portion of the X79's interior real estate is also occupied by its trio of EVGA 2GB GeForce GTX 680 graphics cards in a three-way SLI configuration. Each graphics card features one HDMI port, two DVI ports, and one DisplayPort input, making it possible to use multiple displays at once. Additional expansion cards would be difficult to accommodate since the graphics cards block access to the motherboard's remaining PCIe x8 slot.
Although the X79 is already brimming with components, its 1,000-watt power supply (PSU) means that it can easily accommodate even more upgrades. Of course, most users don't shell out nearly five grand on a system with the expectation of having to upgrade it in the foreseeable future, but the possibility is still there.
The X79 packs two solid-state-drives (SSDs) and two hard disk drives (HDDs); the two 120GB OCZ Vertex 3 SSDs are for the operating system and are in RAID 0 array in order to provide a quick platform for running your OS and programs. The two 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7,200rpm HDDs are in RAID 1 (mirror) array, leaving you with plenty of storage space.
Like most custom-built gaming rigs, pre-installed software is kept to a minimum, and, includes stuff worth keeping, like full versions of Assassin's Creed and Deus Ex Human Revolution ? The Missing Link. Like the V3 Gaming PC Avenger, the X79 is covered by a three-year limited parts and labor warranty and free life-time tech support.
Performance
With a six-core 3.2GHz Intel Core i7-3960X CPU overclocked to 4.5GHz and 16GB of DDR3 RAM, the X79 tore through our benchmark tests. Still, the X79 belongs to a class of gaming desktops where ripping through benchmark tests is the norm. Thus, while the actual difference between the systems in terms of performance is nearly impossible to perceive, a nearly $5,000 price tag means that you'd want to buy the best of the best?not merely "one of the best."
With these elevated expectations in mind, it was disappointing that the X79 failed to top the charts in our tests against other similarly-priced gaming desktops. Its PCMark 7 score of 6,197 came within striking distance of the Falcon Northwest Mach IV Icon2 (6,245 points) as well as the V3 Gaming PC Avenger (6,348 points) but lagged behind the class-leading Maingear Shift Super Stock (Core i7-3930K) (6,501 points).
The same goes for the X79's multimedia performance. It completed our Handbrake video-encoding test in 54 seconds, putting it on equal footing with the Maingear Shift Super Stock (54 seconds) and the V3 Gaming PC Avenger (54 seconds) and a few seconds behind both the Northwest Icon2 (53 seconds) and the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K) (51 seconds). Meanwhile, the X79's Cinebench R11.5 score (13.15) handily surpassed the Falcon Icon2 (9.66) but lagged slightly behind the Shift Super Stock (Core i7-3930K) (13.98 points) and, to a greater extent, the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K) (14.23 points).
The X79 finished our Photoshop CS5 test in 2 minutes 22 seconds, which was several seconds longer than both the V3 Gaming Avenger (2:17) and Maingear Shift Super Stock (Core i7-3930K) (2:15) while finishing ten seconds behind the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K) (2:12).
Although the X79s' trio of Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 GPUs easily delivered insane frame rates in even the most demanding settings of our gaming benchmark tests, it ultimately couldn't keep pace with its peers. In our Crysis benchmark test, the X79 dished out strong frame rates (120fps in medium quality at 1,280-by-720 resolution; 77fps in very high quality at 1,920-by-1,080 resolution) but couldn't keep pace with either the Northwest Icon2 or the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K).
The X79 fared better in our Lost Planet 2 benchmark test, managing to outmuscle the V3 Gaming PC Avenger, but once again failing to pump out frame rates with as much dexterity as the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K) or the Maingear Shift Super Stock (Core i7-3930K). That said, the X79's frame rates are impressive in their own right, and it's worth repeating that it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between these systems since they all effortlessly deliver silky smooth graphics.
As far as 3D rendering is concerned, the X79's performance in our 3DMark 11 benchmark tests (23,397 points in Entry-level mode, 8,916 points in Extreme-level mode) were objectively impressive but nonetheless not as high as the Falcon Northwest Icon2 (23,627 points and 10,523 points, respectively) or the Origin Genesis (i7-3930K) (24,330 points and 9,710 points, respectively). While these are certainly smoothly playable scores, they still fall short of the competition, all of which fall in the same price range, save for the more expensive Origin Genesis (i7-3930K).
All said, the AVADirect X79 Gaming PC is undoubtedly an attractive system with the capability to handle enormously complex visual tasks as well as unfettered multimedia creation and consumption. However, high-end gaming enthusiasts who can afford to drop nearly five grand on a gaming rig would be better off spending the few hundred dollars extra for our current Editors' Choice, the Maingear Shift Super Stock (Core i7 3930K), which outscores the X79 across the board (though it should be said that the scores were very close).
BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:
COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the AVADirect X79 Gaming PC with several other desktops side by side.
More desktop reviews:
??? AVADirect X79 Gaming PC
??? Acer Aspire AME600-UR378
??? HP Spectre One 23-e010se
??? HP Envy 23-d060qd TouchSmart
??? Apple iMac 21.5-Inch (Late 2012)
?? more
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/ZKIrdPEjvio/0,2817,2413611,00.asp
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