Gareth's Bloggie

Intel Core 2 Quad LGA775

2008-10-22T00:39:00.002-04:00

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

2008-10-08T13:57:00.001-04:00

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

2008-03-20T15:24:00.001-04:00

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

2008-03-12T11:16:00.004-04:00

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

2008-03-12T11:11:00.003-04:00

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.

2008-03-05T13:52:00.003-05:00

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

2008-03-05T01:45:00.003-05:00

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.

Patriot DDR400 1GB Memory - Review

2008-03-05T01:32:00.006-05:00

A few days ago, I got a 1GB Stick of Patriot DDR400 Memory, it was not my first choice of memory, as I am an A-Data fan boy, but due to the fact that they were sold out, I had to go with Patriot (my second choice of memory). The extra memory gave Windows Vista breathing space, bringing life to my Sempron PC. However, it will not run at DDR400, either a motherboard problem, or memory problem. I will test it on a Socket 939 PC and report its speed after testing it on there tomorrow. After 24 hours of none stop memory testing, it came through with 0 errors, which is on the positive note. It also, comes without heat sinks. If you have an old DDR PC, it is recommended to get these memory sticks before they become obsolete.

After testing the memory, I have come to the conclusion that the memory needs exact same sticks or to run by itself to run at full PC3200 speed.

Here is the Pro's & Con's list

Pro's

Cheap in DDR pricing
1GB
Gives Vista room to breath
Patriot Branding
Stable

Con's

Price vs DDR2
No Heat sinks
Requires to be matching pairs for it to run at PC3200 speed.

The RAM can be purchased from www.newegg.com at a price of $38.99 with $4.99 shipping.

Image in the shot is CPU-Z 1.44.1 which can be downloaded at http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

MSI nVidia 6200 AGP - Review

2008-03-04T20:29:00.007-05:00

I got a delivery in the mail today, it was an MSI Nvidia 6200 AGP X8 Graphics card, to replace the FX5700 in the blog below. As usual, with new hardware or software, I write a little review on them, with a pro's and con's list. So here is the MSI nVidia 6200 review.

This card is fast enough for watching live television and recording live television, it drops the processor load down from 100% to 27%, which is a much needed sigh of relief, after thinking id need to get a more beefier processor to replace the Sempron 3100+. The card is quite small in comparison to today's bad boys, and has no fans on it. Supported with Windows Aero, it scores a 2.0 for performance.
2.0 for Aero, 2.6 for Gaming.

Here are the pro's and con's list

Pro's

Cheap
256MB GDDR2
AGP X8
Vista Premium Support
Silent

Con's

Requires 350W
4 Pixel Pipelines
Cannot handle older games unless you set the graphics to real low.

All in all, this is a much needed card if you want to get a cheap card for watching television on. Again it is an MSI AGP X8 Nvidia 6200 256MB GDDR2 and it can be bought at Newegg for $34.99

Images are copyrighted Gareth Hale, 2008. All rights reserved.

Windows Vista - How much RAM should I go with?

2008-03-04T01:36:00.010-05:00

This is a common question, trying to decide the best amount of Physical RAM for your computer running Vista. Even though Microsoft recommend 1GB to run Vista smoothly, that is not really enough unless all you do is browse emails and internet. At the price RAM sells at now, there is really no excuse to say that RAM is too expensive / Vista uses too much. At under $20/gig, you can easily stock up on 2GB and not break the bank.

Windows Vista Basic
Minimum = 512MB (0.50GB)
Recommended = 1,024MB (1.00GB)
Gareth's Bloggie recommends = 1,536MB (1.50GB)

Windows Vista Home Premium
Mimimum = 1,024MB (1.00GB)
Recommended = 1,024MB (1.00GB)
Gareth's Bloggie recommends = 2,048MB (2.00GB)

Windows Vista Business
Mimimum = 1,024MB (1.00GB)
Recommended = 1,024MB (1.00GB)
Gareth's Bloggie recommends = 1,536MB (1.50GB)

Windows Vista Ultimate
Mimimum = 1,024MB (1.00GB)
Recommended = 1,024MB (1.00GB)
Gareth's Bloggie recommends = 3,072MB (3.00GB)

You may need more than the bloggies recommended, but going with less certainly impacts your computers overall performance.

Cheapest place to buy RAM
www.newegg.com - Newegg have great deals on RAM, starting at $16.99 per 1GB Stick.
www.ebuyer.co.uk - Ebuyer have good deals on RAM, starting at £13.00 per Gig

New Poll

2008-03-04T01:26:00.004-05:00

With a landslide Victory of Windows Vista on the last poll, with 66% of you saying you think Vista is worth it, which version of the operating system would you pick?

Polls close 1 week today at 1:30AM Eastern Daylight Time.

PNY Video Cards -- Falling Heatsinks?!

2008-02-29T17:28:00.003-05:00

Yeah, nothing much to report here, except my PNY FX5700VE video card for the college PC decided to fall off, killing my card. So the college PC is unusable till the 6200 arrives on Tuesday.

Anyone know why a PNY GeForce FX5700VE heatsink/fan will drop off the card? It puzzled me!

Zalman Cooling Fans

2008-02-29T11:21:00.001-05:00

I just got a new cooling fan, it is a Zalman, the fan itself is 120mm and is extremely quiet, running at 20db, the fan itself, cools my AMD Athlon 64 x2 Processor down by 6C, and the case temperature is also down, by 9C. It is a wonderful fan for the price and extremely worth the price of $9.99 from www.newegg.com. However, with every item, there is always a con, so here is my pro's and con's list.

Pro

$9.99 for 1x 120mm fan
Quiet
Moves a tonne of air
Carries the Zalman Name
Optional LEDs

Cons

The Silicon Connectors

Apple Vs Microsoft

2008-02-29T00:32:00.000-05:00

There has been a huge debate recently about Apple vs Microsoft, especially with Microsoft's latest operating system, Microsoft Windows Vista. There is usually Vista criticism from members who have used Windows Vista on a slow computer, such as a computer with a gig or less of RAM combined with a single core processor and integrated graphics.
Now, I myself, am a huge Microsoft fan boy, there is nothing wrong with that, nor is there anything wrong with been an Apple fan boy. But if you admit to been a Microsoft fan boy, prepare yourself for name calling, bashing and repeated bullying from the Apple fan boys. Coming online and saying WINDOWS VISTA SUCKS does not justify why you think it sucks, and blaring out more random crap, just makes you sound very ignorant. Apple have built a community as a 'cult' if you will, so saying your a Microsoft fan boy to an Apple fan boy, it like kissing Satan's mother, lets continue....

Microsoft Windows Vista is designed for gaming, online communication, office work and usually provides more than enough tools for the basic video editor.

Apple Macintosh OS X is designed for advanced photo and video editing, and light Internet usage, it is not intended to be a business machine, nor are they intended to be a gaming machine, that is exactly why their computers are not very "quick" except for the Mac Pro.

Personally if Apple could come to a desktop computer, id stay with Microsoft Windows........ Why?, for the support, reliability, compatibility, unless your going to do advanced video/picture editing, I recommend that you save your money, and buy a high end PC over a low end Apple.

Computer upgrade to Windows Vista

2008-02-29T00:12:00.000-05:00

Now if you have spoke to me in the past few days, you would have noticed that I have upgraded the final computer to solely run Windows XP has been upgraded to Windows Vista Basic. This has been long overdue, as Windows Vista is a fantastic operating system. However, computer performance has been increased on Windows Vista, the system is very low end, consisting of an

AMD Sempron 64 3100+ Socket 754 Processor
1,536 Megabytes of DDR400 RAM
250GB Hard disk spce
nVidia 5700VE 256MB
17" CRT at 1024x768

It scores a 3.0 on the Windows Experience Index, which is quite good for a 3 year old computer, may I add. The reason for upgrading to Windows Vista was there was a hard disk drive crash, and it would simply not boot into Windows XP setup, so after hours of faffing around, I got a Windows Vista Upgrade disk fro $59.00 at www.softwaremedia.com. This has been by far the best upgrade for the computer I could have made.