Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Sun VirtualBox problem

I just upgraded to VirtualBox-2.0.2_36488_fedora9-1.i386 [not the OSE] and it wouldn't start.
The error message was

Failed to create the VirtualBox COM object.
The application will now terminate.
Callee RC: NS_ERROR_FACTORY_NOT_REGISTERED (0x80040154)


I don't know what it means, but probably looks like some interprocess communication issue.

Ahh ! I removed the [root owned, something I find very weird] directory /tmp/.vbox-prashant-ipc and vbox started very well; but now somehow it can not connect to the host sound.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

CPU about to vaporize !!

One fine day, I suddenly felt the urge to OC my CPU for no apparent reason. I had not looked at the temps since a long time, so I just checked the temps before OC'ing, just to get the feel how worse it could get when I actually OC.

I happen to own a powerhouse CPU (~100W), the infamous Pentium D 820. On top of that, I still use the stock cooling, and the room temperature is around ~30 degree Celsius, making board ambient temp~50. I have not even OC'd the chip.
When I run my experimental DES cracker on this dual core boiler-plate, this is what happens - CPU temperature is 84 degrees. The fun part is that this is not the accurate temperature as Intel did some cheap cost-cutting. Some say that the actual could be higher by 10 degrees than what's reported.



Then I realized that I had not cleaned the box for quite some time. I took it apart and get the reason -- ~2mm thick dust layer on the heat sink baffles.


The sad part is that the thermal paste has disappeared and I can no longer get it for free. So the worst case temps are still around 75-80. Hope things will improve when I apply it.

The spurious OC (s)urge went down as fast as it rose.

NVidia PhysX - Driver update

With the updated NVidia forceware driver version 178.13, my cheap little GeForce 8800GS (OC'd) started supporting NVidia PhysX. Tech demos from NVidia, like 'The Great Kulu' and the demo game 'Warmonger' work just awesome. Physics unlike any I had ever seen on my machine! It is a big big plus over CPU physics.

Can't wait to play some interesting game which uses Nvidia PhysX for a better gameplay and effects!

The driver update also claims ~10% boost in performance - which is evident when playing "Assisin's Creed (DX10)" :)

Even the Linux driver version 177.80 has numerous improvements wrt. kde4 rendering. Makes me even more happier :D

--update Crazy machines 2 by FAKT uses PhysX. Can't wait to play it !