Which graphics card should you buy? We have hard data on the GTX 1080, GTX 1070, and Radeon RX480, the GPU roadmap for the rest of the year, including the soon-to-ship GTX 1060. So Eric and I take a stab at making some hard recommendations for your gaming (and other) graphics needs.
Tools
I bought a pair of Aputure 528 LED panels for shooting video, but I now find myself using them for ordinary photography, and as useful tools for lighting up the inside of a dark PC case when building systems. I’ve also been experimenting with shooting video with the Nikon D500, with mixed success — and it’s not the camera’s fault. And I’ve built my younger daughter’s gaming PC, which she’ll take with her when she heads off to grad school. I talk about my first experience with M.2 SSDs, which I used in her gaming build.
Eric’s replacing most of his lights with monochromatic variants of the Philips Hue. Realizing he doesn’t need colored lights for most of his needs saves a ton of money. Plus, he’s also looking for a good replacement for Evernote, whose latest product moves have left him disenchanted.
Fun
I’ve been playing even more XCOM2, now that all the story-based DLC has dropped and the Long War Team’s excellent Long War Toolbox and Long War Perk packs are now out. On the cinema front, I saw Yo Yo Ma’s The Music of Strangers, and excellent film about the forming of Ma’s Silk Road Project and some of the amazing musicians who compose and play for the Project. Highly recommended, even if you’re not a classical music fan. I’m also thoroughly enjoying The Nightmare Stacks, the latest Laundry novel by Charles Stross.
Eric’s been playing a lot of Torchlight 2 with his son, Nick. Eric and Nick have also been playing with some as-yet-unreleased FlyBrix that enables you to build flying drones out of LEGOs. He’s also bonding with his daughter’s new boyfriend through… you guessed it, gaming. In the process, Eric discovered he didn’t have enough Xbox One controllers. Finally, he found the film The Big Short excellent, but ultimately depressing in its depiction of the lack of humanity exhibited by the characters. Now he’s searching desperately for an uplifting film, so I’m suggesting Finding Dory.
