Thursday, December 19, 2024
Monday, January 8, 2024
Down and Up Market
Markets also go up and down based on economic news. Sometimes stock markets go down in ways that make sense—big layoffs, for example. But sometimes it can seem like headlines are completely out of sync with what the markets are doing.
Stock markets aren’t the only numbers that financial experts pay attention to—or that matter to you and the health of the economy. Some of those numbers, such as unemployment, may be ones that you’re familiar with. Others, you may never have heard of.
Those are just two data points over the long, varied history of the stock market. In general, stock markets go up for longer periods of time and with stronger growth compared to times when stock markets go down.
Down and Up Market
Investors are shrugging off the last minute deal Congress reached over the weekend to avert a government shutdown.
The labor market will be a hot topic with three barometers of its strength coming this week. Market watchers will be looking for any signs about the health of the wider economy and factors that may affect the Federal Reserve's path forward on interest rates.
Confidence in the stability of future investments plays a significant role in whether markets go up or down. Investors are more likely to purchase stocks if they are convinced their shares will increase in value in the future. If, however, there is a reason to believe that shares will perform poorly, there will be more investors looking to sell than to buy.
I would say that absolutely, yes. You want to keep investing. And the reason why you want to keep investing is because, like I mentioned earlier, you're able to take advantage of the lower-cost value stocks in the market. And the good thing about investing continuously over time is you're able to take advantage of something called dollar-cost averaging, which is basically, you're buying investments - maybe every week, every two weeks, every month - regardless of if the market is high, low, lower, lowest. So when you average it out, you're still in a really good position. Most people don't have a lump sum of tens of thousands of dollars just sitting around, right? Whereas with dollar-cost averaging, you can invest small amounts of money when you have it, as you have it, consistently over time and build up to whatever that lump sum would be over time.
Friday, June 25, 2021
About Computer Sound Card
Best Sound Card
Sales of sound cards declined as the on-board audio on PC's grew better
and better. However, the last few years have seen gamers, audiophiles, and even
ordinary computer users seeking out the best in audio quality and thus are
looking again to add-on sound cards. We’ve chosen the following best sound
cards in 2021 because they offer a minimum of 24 bit audio reproduction for the
highest quality sound reproduction. They also all possess class leading signal
-to-noise ratios of at least one hundred decibels (DB) in addition to sampling
rates of at least ninety-six kilohertz (Khz).
Buying a sound card is a difficult thing to do for a lot of reasons.
One, there are many industry standards and so many specifications. Two, most PC
gamers are not overly familiar with audio-related terminology. Therefore, we
have put together this guide for newcomers to the audio industry so that you
can experience the best of the best.
The sound card uses a
4-pin Molex connector for extra power, which is connected to the main board.
The main board uses PCM1792A DAC while the daughter board uses PCM1796 DAC.
These DACs are high-quality components with an SNR of over 122 dB and provide
24-bit/192-kHz audio.
There are three OpAmps
on both the main board and the daughter board, which are swappable, and there
are three extra OpAmps available in the swap kit. The main board also provides
a high-quality headphone Amp with a maximum supported impedance of 600-Ohms.
The software controls of
the sound card are pretty straight forward and offer controls for the output
selection, mixer, effects, and some predefined DSP modes. The channels can be
configured to operate in the virtual 7.1 mode while providing a great
customization experience. There are four ranges for the headphone amplification
and they should be chosen accordingly to prevent damage to the headphones (or
your ears).
Overall, this audiophile
sound card provides staggering audio quality with a major focus on music
quality. No doubt, this is easily one of the best sound cards for music, as
well as gaming, but it is pricey.
The sound card provides
two boards, just like the Asus Essence STX II, along with an Audio Control
Module (ACM). The mainboard provides outputs for Mic, Headphone-out, Front Left
and Right, Rear and the Sub/C while the daughter board provides Aux-in and
Toslink Optical S/PDIF-in and S/PDIF-out.
Sound Blaster ZxR uses
the SoundCore3D chip replacing the X-Fi chip in the older models. The PCM1794
is used for headphone-out and Front-out while PCM1798 is used for Rear and
C/Sub. The sound card also provides swappable OpAmps like the Essence STX II,
although there are no extra OpAmps in the box. The headphone Amp provides
support for headphones with impedance ranging from 32-Ohm to 600-Ohms.
The Sound Blaster Pro
Studio suite provides many features dedicated to gaming, such as: surround
sound, Crystalizer, and smart volume. There are two headphone amplification
settings, the 32-300 Ohm setting and the high-gain setting for 600-Ohm
headphones.
PCIE card from top tier manufacturer Asus is aimed at
audiophiles but is sure to please any user or gamer as well. It offers an
unprecedented one hundred twenty-four decibel (DB) signal to noise ratio for
clear, noise-free sound. This card also features a multi-layer PCB circuit board
design to help eliminate unwanted noise and distortion while the analog outputs
are designed with shielding from elector-magnetic interference (EMI) for
distortion free analog output. It also uses an exceptional
Burr-BrownDigital-to-Analog Convertor (DAC) with a 127dB signal-to-noise ratio
for the clearest digital audio possible. While all this performance comes at a
high price, this card delivers the absolute best in sound quality for your PC.
Aimed
at audiophiles and gamers, this premium two piece offering from Creative has an
input/output (I/O) module that fits in an external drive bay on your computer.
This provides front panel access to headphone and microphone jacks, a volume
control and THX TrueStudio controls. The card offers twenty-four bit audio reproduction
and a one hundred two decibel signal to noise ratio. It’s equipped with Dolby
THX TrueStudio Pro sound enhancement technology and a SoundCore 3D multi-core
audio processor for best in class sound reproduction. However, all these great
features come at a very steep price but it’s well worth the price of admission.
The Creative Sound
BlasterX AE-5 is Creative’s latest addition to the gaming-oriented sound cards
and it’s packed with features. First and foremost, while this is insignificant
in the grand scheme of things, this is a nice looking card. This is largely due
to its Aurora Reactive Lighting System, which makes this the first sound card
with a built-in RGB controller.
The RGB does require a
Molex power connector to power, which is an unfortunate requirement that you
need to be aware of before investing in it. The sound card itself functions
just fine without the additional power, though.
Like the Creative Sound
Blaster ZxR, this sound card also does not feature 7.1-channel support, which
is still disappointing, but not nearly as much so since it is significantly
cheaper.
ASUS Strix RAID PRO is
from the Strix lineup of sound cards, which are made for gamers, unlike the
Essence series (seen with our first pick). Strix RAID PRO features two main components:
the sound card and the additional volume control box.
The sound card provides
a total of seven 3.5mm jacks, with support for 7.1-channel devices, box-link,
mic-in, line-in, and S/PDIF-out. The sound card requires additional power apart
from PCIe power, which it receives through the 6-pin power connector.
The sound card features
ESS Sabre9006A DAC, which supports up to 24bit 192-kHz playback with an SNR of
116 dB, which could have been a bit higher like the similarly priced BlasterX
AE-5. The sound also incorporates a dedicated headphone amp, supporting
headphones with an impedance-range of 16-600 Ohms.
The Strix Sonic Studio
software provides many options to customize the audio such as Compressor,
Perfect Voice, Noise Gate, and Voice Clarity. The sound card also supports the
virtual 7.1 surround sound, with great control over the channel positions.
Overall, this gaming
sound card rivals the features of the Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5. While the
AE-5 arguably offers better sound clarity, this supports 7.1 Surround Sound and
has its snazzy volume control box.
A Headphone amplifier is
an important component of sound cards and is a must if you own a pair of
studio-grade headphones. Such headphones usually have a higher impedance, which
is why they cannot be adequately driven by low-end sound cards that do not
include a headphone amplifier.
If you use studio-grade
headphones with poor audio solutions, you will have low volume. Therefore, if
you want to use studio-grade headphones, make sure that the sound card you are
buying offers a dedicated headphone amplifier whose supported headphone
impedance is greater than the rated impedance of your headphones.
When we speak of the
interface, there are two types. First is the interface of the sound card with
the computer and the second is the interface of audio devices with the sound
card. Most of the latest sound cards use a PCI-Express slot so make sure you
have an extra, unobstructed slot.
Sound cards, such as
Asus Essence STX II or Creative Sound Blaster ZxR, require two PCI-E slots: one
for the main board and one for the daughter board. This might be an issue for
people who are using micro-ATX motherboards, which do not provide a lot of
PCI-E slots.
As for the audio device
interface, one must take a look at the output ports on the sound card. Some
sound cards provide multi-channel support through RCA jacks while others use
3.5mm jacks. In the case of headphones, some sound cards provide 3.5mm jacks
whereas others use 6.3mm / ¼-inch jacks.
Monday, January 4, 2021
MediaTek Dimensity 800 vs Snapdragon 765G
मीडियाटेक
डिमेंसिटी 800 बनाम स्नैपड्रैगन 765G
 |
| Processor |
मीडियाटेक
या स्नैपड्रैगन? जब से उपभोक्ताओं
ने मोबाइल प्रोसेसर के बारे में
जानना शुरू किया है, तब से वे
हमेशा मीडियाटेक और स्नैपड्रैगन के
बीच भ्रमित रहे थे । जब
उपभोक्ताओं ने इस बारे
में ज्ञान प्राप्त करना शुरू किया, तो उन्हें पता
चला कि मीडियाटेक कम
कीमत पर प्रोसेसर प्रदान
करने के लिए थोड़ा
कम संचालित मोबाइल एसओसी प्रदान करता है। इसके उलट स्नैपड्रैगन ने हमेशा प्राइसिंग
पर परफॉर्मेंस को प्राथमिकता दी
थी । हाल के
4-5 साल में एंट्री लेवल स्मार्टफोन्स में मीडियाटेक एसओसी का इस्तेमाल करना
एक मुख्य कारण है ।
लेकिन
टेक उद्योग के विकास के
साथ, मीडियाटेक भी बहुत विकसित
हुआ है। और यह अब
पर असाधारण प्रदर्शन प्रदान कर रहा है,
अभी भी एक कम
कीमत । मीडियाटेक मोबाइल
एसओसी मार्केट में प्रतिस्पर्धियों को हेड-टू-हेड प्रतिस्पर्धा दे रहा है।
इसके साथ-साथ मीडियाटेक भी फ्यूचर विजन
के साथ काम कर रहा है
। उदाहरण के लिए, 5G कनेक्टिविटी।
मीडियाटेक उच्च प्रीमियम वर्गों में ज्यादा प्रतिस्पर्धा नहीं करता है जैसा कि
अन्य करते हैं। इसके बजाय, मीडियाटेक बजट में उच्च प्रदर्शन पर जोर देता
है ।
सीपीयू,
प्रदर्शन और विनिर्माण प्रक्रिया
निर्माण
प्रक्रिया के साथ शुरू, स्नैपड्रैगन 765G और डिमेंसिटी 800 दोनों 7एनएम आर्किटेक्चर
के साथ आते हैं। लेकिन थोड़ा अंतर है। स्नैपड्रैगन 765G पर 7एनएम फैब्रिकेशन टीएसएमसी
पर आधारित ईयूवी (एक्सट्रीम अल्ट्रा वायलेट) है । इस दूसरी पीढ़ी की 7एनएम प्रक्रिया
के आधार पर, टीएसएमसी 15% से 20% अधिक ट्रांजिस्टर घनत्व प्रदान करने के साथ-साथ
10% कम बिजली की खपत प्रदान करने का दावा करता है।सीपीयू ट्रेडिंग में स्नैपड्रैगन
765G में ट्राई-क्लस्टर डिजाइन है जबकि डिमेंसिटी ८०० में ड्यूल-क्लस्टर डिजाइन है
।
स्नैपड्रैगन
765G में कॉर्टेक्स-A76 पर आधारित एक प्राइम क्रायो 475 कोर 2.4 GHz है। एक और एक कॉर्टेक्स-A76
Kryo 475 गोल्ड कोर 2.2 GHz पर दर्ज है, और छह कोर के बाकी Cortex-A55 Kryo
475Silver कोर पर 1.8GHz आवृत्ति पर हैं। डिमेंसिटी 800 के मामले में, क्रमशः भारी
और मध्यम कार्यों के लिए चार कॉर्टेक्स-ए 76 कोर और चार कॉर्टेक्स-A55 कोर हैं। दोनों
क्लस्टर घड़ी की गति के एक ही 2.0GHz पर काम करते हैं ।
जीपीयू
और गेमिंग
जैसा कि आप सभी जानते हैं, स्नैपड्रैगन को छोड़कर अन्य सभी मोबाइल एसओसी निर्माता एआरएम से सीधे जीपीयू का उपयोग करते हैं। मीडियाटेक डिमेसिटी 800 भी ऐसा ही करता है। यह एआरएम माली-G57 MP4 जीपीयू के साथ आता है जो एक क्वाड-कोर जीपीयू है और एआरएम के नए वालहॉल 1प्रदानी जनरल आर्किटेक्चर पर काम करता है जो कंपनी का नवीनतम मोबाइल जीपीयू आर्किटेक्चर है।दूसरी ओर, स्नैपड्रैगन 765G में 750 मेगाहर्ट्ज की अधिकतम घड़ी की गति के साथ एड्रेनो 620 जीपीयू है। दोनों जीपीयू गेम बढ़ाने वाले सॉफ्टवेयर इंटीग्रेशन के साथ आते हैं ।
डिमेंसिटी
800 में मीडियाटेक हाइपरइंजन गेमिंग टेक्नोलॉजी है जबकि स्नैपड्रैगन
765G में क्वालकॉम एलीट गेमिंग है। GPU-wise दोनों प्रोसेसर प्रतिस्पर्धी हैं और उत्कृष्ट प्रीमियम
मिड-रेंज प्रदर्शन प्रदान करते हैं। लेकिन हम स्नैपड्रैगन 765G के एड्रेनो
620 की ओर झुक गए
हैं।
यांत्रिक बुद्धि
मीडियाटेक
डिमेंसिटी 800 में नया एपीयू3.0 डिजाइन है, जो फोर-कोर
एपीयू (एआई प्रोसेसिंग यूनिट) है। पहले से प्रदान किए
गए सीपीयू और जीपीयू के
साथ इस एपीयू डिजाइन
को मिलाने के बाद, डाइमेंसिटी
800 2.4 टॉप (ट्रिलियन ऑपरेशंस प्रति सेकंड) की गति प्राप्त
कर सकता है। दूसरी ओर, स्नैपड्रैगन 765G में हेक्सागन ६९६ डीएसपी हैं जो क्वालकॉम के
5वें जनरल एआई इंजन से संबंधित हैं
। प्रदान किए गए सीपीयू और
जीपीयू के साथ, स्नैपड्रैगन
765G एआई में 5.5 टॉप तक जा सकता
है।अब, एआई स्पीड के 2.4 टॉप किसी भी तरह से
कम नहीं हैं जहां तक हम मिड-रेंज सेगमेंट पर विचार करते
हैं। लेकिन यह स्पष्ट है
कि ५.५ सबसे
ऊपर इस तुलना के
लिए रास्ता अधिक है और स्नैपड्रैगन
765G एआई कार्यों को Dimensity ८०० की तुलना में
बहुत तेजी से प्रदर्शन कर
सकता है ।
कैमरा और ऑप्टिक्स
मीडियाटेक डिमेंसिटी 800 में एक अनाम आईएसपी है जिसे कंपनी फ्लैगशिप-क्लास इमेज सिग्नल प्रोसेसिंग का दावा करती है। यह आईएसपी 32+16 मेगापिक्सल के अधिकतम कॉम्बिनेशन में 64 मेगापिक्सल सिंगल कैमरा या ड्यूल-कैमरा के सेटअप को सपोर्ट करता है।दूसरी ओर, स्नैपड्रैगन 765G में क्वालकॉम का स्पेक्ट्रा ३५५ आईएसपी है जो ३६ मेगापिक्सल सिंगल कैमरा तक या फीचर्स के स्टैंडर्ड सेट के साथ 22 मेगापिक्सल ड्यूल कैमरे तक सपोर्ट करता है । लेकिन कोई ZSL और MFNR जैसे समझौते के साथ एकल कैमरों में १९२ मेगापिक्सल तक का नेतृत्व कर सकते हैं ।
दोनों
प्रोसेसर 30fps और एचडीआर एन्कोडिंग
और डिकोडिंग पर 4k वीडियो शूट करने में सक्षम हैं, लेकिन स्नैपड्रैगन 765G आगे एचडीआर 10 और 10 + कंटेंट को सपोर्ट करता
है जो डिस्प्ले और
व्यूइंग एक्सपीरियंस को भी बढ़ा
सकता है ।
कनेक्टिविटी
यह
सेक्शन दिलचस्प है क्योंकि दोनों
एसओसी ऊपरी मिड-रेंज स्मार्टफोन्स में 5G कनेक्टिविटी देने के विचार से
बने हैं । दोनों एसओसी
ने 5जी मॉडम को
इंटीग्रेट किया है जिसका मतलब
है कि अलग से
5जी मॉडम की जरूरत नहीं
है, जिसके परिणामस्वरूप स्मार्टफोन स्ट्रक्चर में अतिरिक्त बिजली खपत और स्पेस की
रोकथाम हो रही है
।
मीडियाटेक
डिमेंस्टी 800 में अघोषित डाउनलिंक और अपलिंक स्पीड
के साथ 5G इंटीग्रेटेड मॉडेम है। मीडियाटेक ने दो वाहक
एकत्रीकरण (2सीसी सीए) को लागू किया
है जो एकल वाहक
(1सीसी, कोई सीए) के साथ अन्य
समाधानों की तुलना में
30% व्यापक हाई-स्पीड लेयर कवरेज, उच्च औसत थ्रूपुट और बेहतर निर्बाध
5G हवाले प्रदर्शन प्रदान करता है।
डिस्प्ले एंड स्टोरेज
स्मार्टफोन
में उच्च ताज़ा दरें स्मार्टफोन में सबसे व्यापक रूप से प्रदान की
जाने वाली सुविधाओं में से एक हैं
और यह अच्छा है
कि मोबाइल एसओसी निर्माता इसके लिए अपने एसओसी को अनुकूलित कर
रहे हैं । मीडियाटेक डिमेंसिटी
800 फुल एचडी+ डिस्प्ले में 90Hz तक जाने में
सक्षम है। यह थोड़ा निराशाजनक
है कि 120Hz इस एसओसी में
डिफ़ॉल्ट रूप से प्रदान नहीं
किया गया है। स्नैपड्रैगन 765G के मामले में,
आप फुल एचडी + रेजोल्यूशन में 120Hz तक जा सकते
हैं। इसमें मानक 60Hz के रूप में
QHD+ डिस्प्ले के लिए समर्थन
भी है।
MediaTek
Dimensity 800 vs Snapdragon 765G
|
|
MediaTek Dimensity
800 |
Snapdragon 765G |
|
Model Number |
MT6883 |
SDM765 |
|
CPU |
Octa-core 4x Arm
Cortex-A76 clocked @2.0 GHz |
Octa-core (- 1x Kryo
475 (A76) Prime 2.3 GHz (765) |
|
GPU |
Mali-G57 MP4 |
Adreno 620 |
|
API Support |
OpenGL ES 3.2 |
OpenGL ES 3.2 |
|
RAM |
16GB, LPDDR4X |
12GB, LPDDR4X |
|
Display |
2520 x 1080 Full HD+
@90Hz |
3360x1440 pixels
QHD+ @60Hz |
|
Process |
7nm |
7nm EUV |
|
Camera Support |
Dual 32MP+16MP |
Single 36MP, MFNR,
ZSL, 30fps, 48MP, MFNR, 192MP |
|
Modem |
Integrated 5G Modem |
Integrated 5G X52
Modem |
|
Video |
Up to 4K Ultra HD |
Up to 4K Ultra HD |
|
Charging |
Fast Charging |
Quick Charge 4+ |
|
Others |
Bluetooth 5.0, true
wireless audio, USB 3.1 support, 802.11a/b/g, Dual 4G VoLT |
Bluetooth 5.0, USB
3.1 support, 802.11a/b/g (dual-band 2.4GHz, 5.0 Ghz) |
|
GeekBench Scores |
N/A |
Single-Core: 2129 |
|
Antutu Scores |
No |
320,847 points |
|
AI |
Yes, quad-core APU
3.0 |
Hexagon 696 DSP |
MediaTek
Dimensity 800 vs Snapdragon 765G
 |
| Processor |
CPU, Performance, & Manufacturing Process
In the CPU treading, the Snapdragon 765G has tri-cluster design whereas the Dimensity 800 has a dual-cluster design. The Snapdragon 765G has one prime Kryo 475 core based on Cortex-A76 at 2.4GHz. Another one Cortex-A76 Kryo 475 gold core is clocked at 2.2GHz, and the rest of the six cores are Cortex-A55 Kryo 475Silver cores at 1.8GHz frequency. In the case of Dimensity 800, there are four Cortex-A76 cores and four Cortex-A55 cores for heavy and medium tasks, respectively. Both the clusters work at the same 2.0GHz of clock speed.
GPU & Gaming
Artificial Intelligence
Now, the 2.4 TOPS of AI speed is not less by any means as far as we consider the mid-range segment. But it’s evident that 5.5 TOPS is way more for this comparison and the Snapdragon 765G can perform the AI tasks much faster than Dimensity 800.
Camera & Optics
On the other hand, the Snapdragon 765G has Qualcomm’s Spectra 355 ISP which supports up to the 36-megapixel single camera or up to 22-megapixel dual cameras with a standard set of features. But with compromises like no ZSL and MFNR can lead up to 192-megapixels in single cameras. Both the processors are capable of shooting 4k videos at 30fps and HDR encoding and decoding, but Snapdragon 765G further supports HDR10 and 10+ content which can also enhance the display and viewing experience.
Connectivity
The MediaTek Dimensty 800 has the 5G integrated modem with undisclosed Downlink and Uplink speeds. MediaTek has implemented two carrier aggregation (2CC CA) which provides 30% wider high-speed layer coverage, higher average throughput, and better seamless 5G handover performance compared to other solutions, with the single carrier (1CC, no CA).
Display & Storage
MediaTek Dimensity 800 vs Snapdragon 765G
|
|
MediaTek Dimensity
800 |
Snapdragon 765G |
|
Model Number |
MT6883 |
SDM765 |
|
CPU |
Octa-core 4x Arm
Cortex-A76 clocked @2.0 GHz |
Octa-core (- 1x Kryo
475 (A76) Prime 2.3 GHz (765) |
|
GPU |
Mali-G57 MP4 |
Adreno 620 |
|
API Support |
OpenGL ES 3.2 |
OpenGL ES 3.2 |
|
RAM |
16GB, LPDDR4X |
12GB, LPDDR4X |
|
Display |
2520 x 1080 Full HD+
@90Hz |
3360x1440 pixels
QHD+ @60Hz |
|
Process |
7nm |
7nm EUV |
|
Camera Support |
Dual 32MP+16MP |
Single 36MP, MFNR,
ZSL, 30fps, 48MP, MFNR, 192MP |
|
Modem |
Integrated 5G Modem |
Integrated 5G X52
Modem |
|
Video |
Up to 4K Ultra HD |
Up to 4K Ultra HD |
|
Charging |
Fast Charging |
Quick Charge 4+ |
|
Others |
Bluetooth 5.0, true
wireless audio, USB 3.1 support, 802.11a/b/g, Dual 4G VoLT |
Bluetooth 5.0, USB
3.1 support, 802.11a/b/g (dual-band 2.4GHz, 5.0 Ghz) |
|
GeekBench Scores |
N/A |
Single-Core: 2129 |
|
Antutu Scores |
No |
320,847 points |
|
AI |
Yes, quad-core APU
3.0 |
Hexagon 696 DSP |
