Intel Core 2 Quad LGA775

As many of you know, I am a proud owner of an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 processor. However, I stumbled across a question on-line this weekend, where they claim there is no need to buy a quad core processor. By time programmes become quad core standard, technology would have moved on.

What are your opinions on this?

Are the current quad cores, just a gimmick which I fell into?

Long time no updates

Sorry for the period of time without any updates, life has been exceptionally busy recently, and I promise by 2009, there will be an update almost daily. Along with my live internet broadcast at Ustream!!

Trukz

I found an online game which is quite good, you drive trucks around on a simulation. To make game money. You can access the game at www.trukz.com

File Systems

Chances are, you have a larger hard disk drive than you did back in 2001, and you are probably wondering on Windows XP and on Windows Vista, why can you not format that drive to be FAT32? Why does it have to be NTFS?
The reason being in this decision is because NTFS is faster on larger drives, and is more secure. Although FAT32 can see up to 2TB of hard disk space, there are limitations, to file sizes and speed/efficiency. Obviously NTFS is the better choice, but it is not compatible with Windows 95, 98 or ME.
Therefore, using NTFS is the better choice for large hard disk drives, no matter how big or small your disk is, I recommend using the NTFS file system.

Terms
NTFS = New Technology File System
FAT = File Allocation Table

Poll - It's a Tie

Its a tie on the poll, with Vista Business and Home Premium both getting 33% of the votes.

Vista Ultimate 11%
Vista Business 33%
Vista Home Premium 33%
Vista Basic 22%

Next poll is

What file system would you rather use on a 250GB hard disk drive?

Thermaltake GPU dedicated PSU.

Recently, I bought a Radeon HD2900PRO graphics card, which used all of my power supply wattage, so instead of ordering a new power supply, I decided to save money and get a Thermaltake Dedicated GPU.
The unit itself, fits in a 5.25" drive bay, and is totally silent, even at full load, supplying 350W to the video card as dedicated wattage, it has taken a huge load off the power supply, and resulted in a quieter computer.
To connect the dedicated power supply, you plug it into the 24pin ATX connector, with a provided socket. Priced at $55.99, this is a cheap add on to your power supply if you need to supply more wattage for your power supply.


Pro's

• Cheap
• Thermaltake Name
• 350W Dedicated wattage
• Silent

Con's

• There are no cons for this product.

It can be purchased from www.newegg.com

Dell Vostro 1000 Laptop - Review

Dell recently added a new range of computers to their lineup, the Vostro range. In December of 2007, I purchased a Dell Vostro 100 notebook computer, complete with Windows Vista, and here is Gareth's Bloggie review on it.
Upon opening the box, the Vostro was very securely packed, starting at just $399, this laptop is very competitive in the market, it claims its for 'business' use only, however, a standard home user may order one.
$399 will get you an

• AMD Sempron 3600+
• 1GB RAM DDR667
• 80GB 5400RPM HDD
• Windows XP Home Edition or Windows Vista Basic
• Wireless G
• Radeon X1150
  

The laptop in review is an

• AMD Turion X2 TK-53 (2x 1.70GHz)
• 2,048MB DDR2 667 A-Data RAM
• 120GB 5400RPM HDD
• Windows Vista Basic
• Wireless G
• Radeon X1150

For the price, you cannot beat it. It is by far the strongest notebook I've come across recently, designed for the traveler in mind. The 15.4" screen produces a 1280x800 resolution with decent colour reproduction. The noise level is quiet, usually under 10db. Vista runs smoothly on the laptop, with no bottlenecks unless you are trying to game. This is NOT a gaming laptop, however, it will run older games, such as Grand Theft Auto San Andreas at an acceptable FPS. The weight is 6.28lbs and is a must buy for anyone in the market of a new laptop or secondary PC.

Out of 10, I rate this laptop

Performance 9/10
LCD 7/10
Quietness 10/10
Support 10/10
Audio 5/10
Customizable 7/10

The Dell Vostro can be found at Dell's website, under the small/medium business page.