Author: J. C. Boco
Date: 16:14:07 12/17/03
Go up one level in this thread
On December 17, 2003 at 13:17:42, Charles kamaras wrote: >Who has the best Price on the Star Sapphire?? >thanks Right here. I ordered mine from this site, they have very competitive prices. And you can then support the company that supports this site. This computer is absolutly beautiful. I used to play on a Radio Shack 2150L, and I could score about 50% on level 6, which is, I believe, about 40 moves in 60 minutes. I handicapped the Star Diamond to let me play 40 moves in 2.5 hours, and I gave the computer 40 moves in 2 minutes. Yes, 40 moves in 2 minutes. The results so far (serious games only): 0 1/2 0 0 0 I'm amazed at this machine. I'm a wreck against it. The most pleasant surprise is not scoreing 1/2-4 1/2, thus ensuring me that this machine will be my primary opponent for many years to come (if not decades), but that I can absolutly note a difference in playing style compared to my RadioShack 2150L. If I played the Star Diamond but "didn't know it", like I was at a tournament playing a human, I would not be able to tell the difference. It played in a way such that it gave up a pawn but advanced its KRP against my castled position (it castled QS). And then I suspected trouble and gave back the pawn by centralizing my rook, when the computer spurned to regain the pawn and instead advanced its center pawns over the next 2 moves. It cramped me but good, and it was at this point I felt like I was playing a Class A or B+ player, the way all of the sudden I was positionally confined. Just wonderful play by the computer, play that was never even hinted at with my old computer. Even at a competitive price, the Star Diamond is not cheap. For the money, I would objectively say it could have been manufactured better. The silver and black chessboard is not cut straight at the top and bottom of the board, and you can see under it where the cut was poor. I think it would have been trivial to cut the board so that it was longer (10 files) and have the extra files extending underneath the frame. The battery compartment is a bit cheap, and there are weird plastic partitions in the battery compartment. Strange. Also there is no empty cavity in the unit for the storage of pieces, like my radio shack model had. The rating function isn't that great, every game I have drawn or lost results in my rating going up (?). Maybe it will do so until 20 games are played, and then it will go down? Anyway, it doesn't really matter. But I am a lover of dedicated units and love chess. I think it is worth the money. It comes with a leatherish carrying case, like a computer carry case, for your computer. Flexible strapes hold it in place during travel, but you don't really need them as it also zips up. There is an additonal small compartment on the front where you can put a scorebook or something. Batteries (4 AA) are expected to last 50 hours, and there is a low battery light. The pieces are lightly felted with black felt! A nice touch! I have no regrets whatsoever with buying this computer. It is a work of art, it destroys me, what more can I want? Of course I upgraded from a pretty weak computer, so I got a lot of value for my money. Perhaps if you own the DiamondII the upgrade wouldn't give you as much value. Top pro: The playing style really makes me think it's a human I'm playing. It plays much more positionally than my other computer, until it's time to make that tactical move when loses me a piece. Second top pro: It is very strong against a C- player when I give myself 2.5 hours and the computer 2 minutes (permanent brain on). Top Con: The playing surface could have been extended just a little for a trivial cost to make it look better. Second top Con: The rating function is screwy. It is also very easy to accidently reset your rating to the default 1400. If you've played a few games (or a lot of games) and you accidently reset it, that could be real annoying.
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