From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 1 12:35:33 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] AnandTech has a silent GPU round-up ... Message-ID: Largely 7300GS/GTs, 7600GSes, a few 7600GTs and even one 7800GT: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2825 Note that the combo-front/back passive heatsinks on the 7600GT and 7800GT solution could take up to 3 slots! I'm going to be updating my blog article with this info, as well as the new 7100GS, 7900GS and 7950GT shortly ... http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/02/geforce-6-and-7-series-variants-nuts.html Especially since I'm putting my wife's 7900GS this weekend. I'm still wondering if the GPU/mem clocks are at 375/1000 or possibly the 450/1320 -- and what (inadequate?) cooling they are using. From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 1 12:41:26 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] MicroATX Core 2 Duo mainboard for $75: ASRock ConRoe945G-DVI Message-ID: For those of you like me that want portability, the affordable $75 ASRock ConRoe945G-DVI offers quite a bit of punch in a MicroATX form-factor with the i945G and 950GMA on-chipset video, even if other corners were skimped (like the RTL8111 for GbE instead of an Intel solution): http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2826 Definitely an entry-level, but solid, MicroATX board for home usage (I'd choose something else for workstation/office usage). From dave at dgnal.net Fri Sep 1 13:21:04 2006 From: dave at dgnal.net (David Simmons) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Weird Losing connected DVD-burners after 'Dynamic Disk' on XP64bit Message-ID: <63434.192.104.67.121.1157131264.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> Guys, In this 'never-ending saga', I need some additional help. After changing my disks to 'Dynamic', I lost my DVD burner? Here's the setup: Win XP 64 Bit two 300GB SATA drives one Plextor 755SA (dvd burner with ide-to-SATA built-in so that it connects to a SATA connection) ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe motherboard (with latest updates). BIOS sees the drive....when I look at Device Manager, it says, "drivers are loaded but can't find the device". When I manually unplug the SATA connection, the device (with yellow exclaimation point) removes from Device manager...when I connect to different SATA connection point, the device reappears with same error. Plextor Professional says "Can't find device" when starting. The drive had been working great, up until converting my SATA drives to dynamic for RAID use....any ideas? Thanks in advance!!!!!! - dave From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 1 13:11:22 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Weird Losing connected DVD-burners after 'Dynamic Disk' on XP64bit -- no such thing as a SATA ATAPI device ... Message-ID: David Simmonds wrote: > In this 'never-ending saga', I need some additional help. After changing > my disks to 'Dynamic', I lost my DVD burner? > Here's the setup: > Win XP 64 Bit > two 300GB SATA drives > one Plextor 755SA (dvd burner with ide-to-SATA built-in so that it > connects to a SATA connection) It might have an ATA-to-SATA converter inside, but that doesn't mean ATAPI works correctly over it. In fact, it's virtually a "hack" because _no_one_ supports ATAPI over SATA yet -- only certain vendors support _explicit_ chipsets. In other words, _wait_ until there is _native_ ATAPI support in SATA. ;-> It wouldn't surprise me if the SATA support in NT just changed because you changed to Dynamic Discs. Now it assumes _all_ SATA devices are Dynamic Discs, largely because it's _grossly_ignorant_ of SATA ATAPI devices. > ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe motherboard (with latest updates). Umm, last time I checked, the Plextor 755SA _only_ supported the SATA controllers in Intel ICH6/7 peripheral ICs -- they did _not_ support the SATA controllers in nVidia MCP peripheral ICs. Again, _avoid_ ATAPI devices that use a converter to SATA _until_ there is _native_ ATAPI support in SATA itself. > BIOS sees the drive....when I look at Device Manager, it says, "drivers > are loaded but can't find the device". When I manually unplug the SATA > connection, the device (with yellow exclaimation point) removes from > Device manager...when I connect to different SATA connection point, the > device reappears with same error. Did you enable RAID in the BIOS? You don't do that for OS-based software RAID (only FRAID) and will _definitely_ screw up your ATAPI device. > Plextor Professional says "Can't find device" when starting. > The drive had been working great, up until converting my SATA drives to > dynamic for RAID use....any ideas? Assuming you didn't change the RAID setting in the BIOS (you probably couldn't boot anymore if you did anyway), I think NT changes the way the storage controller works when you enable Dynamic Discs. In any case, _never_ buy an ATAPI device with a converter to SATA (yes, I know, I've said it 3 times now ;-). They are _hacks_ and _wholly_non-standard_! From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Fri Sep 1 14:59:45 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Is a SATA/1.5 RAID controller compatible with SATA/3.0 drives? In-Reply-To: <53b562310608311537ucc8f46fpe4fb50ef67d5dbbb@mail.gmail.com> References: <53b562310608311414ja61b8f8o7f82c62fed6c7b6@mail.gmail.com> <53b562310608311537ucc8f46fpe4fb50ef67d5dbbb@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <42E070F8-C339-48BC-905F-92A519200BAB@thelimucompany.com> On Aug 31, 2006, at 6:37 PM, Justin M. Keyes wrote: > Ah, nevermind, it looks like SATA/3.0 is backward compatible with > SATA/1.5: Please denote whether you are talking about specifications or speed, e.g. SATA/3.0gb/s, it makes it sound less like a new 3.0 specification that had me all bubbly inside with anticipation ;-) -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - dmckenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From justinkz at gmail.com Sun Sep 3 18:39:32 2006 From: justinkz at gmail.com (Justin M. Keyes) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Is a SATA/1.5 RAID controller compatible with SATA/3.0 drives? In-Reply-To: <42E070F8-C339-48BC-905F-92A519200BAB@thelimucompany.com> References: <53b562310608311414ja61b8f8o7f82c62fed6c7b6@mail.gmail.com> <53b562310608311537ucc8f46fpe4fb50ef67d5dbbb@mail.gmail.com> <42E070F8-C339-48BC-905F-92A519200BAB@thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <53b562310609031539ofba9beesbbadc13e1f0c01cc@mail.gmail.com> On 9/1/06, Damien McKenna wrote: > On Aug 31, 2006, at 6:37 PM, Justin M. Keyes wrote: > > Ah, nevermind, it looks like SATA/3.0 is backward compatible with > > SATA/1.5: > > Please denote whether you are talking about specifications or speed, > e.g. SATA/3.0gb/s, it makes it sound less like a new 3.0 > specification that had me all bubbly inside with anticipation ;-) oops, sorry ;) nope, i was just referring to the speed, as i had seen it referred to elsewhere. -- Justin M. Keyes From dave at dgnal.net Mon Sep 4 00:44:04 2006 From: dave at dgnal.net (David Simmons) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Weird Losing connected DVD-burners after 'Dynamic Disk' on XP64bit -- no such thing as a SATA ATAPI device ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <28134.71.252.176.10.1157345044.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> > It wouldn't surprise me if the SATA support in NT just changed because > you changed to Dynamic Discs. Now it assumes _all_ SATA devices are > Dynamic Discs, largely because it's _grossly_ignorant_ of SATA ATAPI > devices. Ah-ha!...so to test this theory - I swapped out the SATA connected burner with an IDE equavalent. This Motherboard only has 1 IDE connection, but 6 SATA. In doing so - the drivers/registry was a HEAD-ACHE!!! The machine wouldn't recognize the IDE drive because of old drivers - basically the only that worked was to download/run the NERO Clean Tools (to remove drivers & clean the registry). Even though I didn't have NERO on the machine - this was some FREE software that removed the corrupted driver/registry entries - you can find these downloads/tools at: http://ww2.nero.com/nero6/enu/Clean_Tools.html Once the old/corrupted stuff was gone...the system worked like a charm! > It might have an ATA-to-SATA converter inside, but that doesn't mean > ATAPI works correctly over it. In fact, it's virtually a "hack" > because _no_one_ supports ATAPI over SATA yet -- only certain vendors > support _explicit_ chipsets. > > In other words, _wait_ until there is _native_ ATAPI support in SATA. ;-> Hmmm...let me add a caveat to this statement....ONLY if you're running Windows Systems (is the above true). As on my SuSE 10.1 system, the hardware is working great! Either way - thanks for the input and I hope this info will help someone else. dave From bruce.metcalf at figzu.com Mon Sep 4 00:54:57 2006 From: bruce.metcalf at figzu.com (Bruce Metcalf) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] NTFS Hard Drive Recovery In-Reply-To: <28134.71.252.176.10.1157345044.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> References: <28134.71.252.176.10.1157345044.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.0.20060904004845.01c7d3e0@figzu.com> Gang, There I was, minding my own business, uninstalling Norton Antivirus 2005 from my Win2k system. It required a reboot, and when the system came back up, my second hard drive was inaccessable. Much cussing and reconfiguring later, I get a message that the drive is unformatted. WTF? [Insert obligatory remarks about the natural superiority of Linux, etc. etc. here.] Does anyone have an idea about how to rescue the data short of sending the drive out for major salvage? Cost me $135 last time. And if it matters, it's a Maxtor 6Y060L0, 60G ATA. [Insert obligatory reference to Bryan's commentaries on the use of enterprise-rated hard drives here.] Any help will be most sincerely appreciated, either by email or at Saturday's Installfest. Bruce Metcalf From wam at HiWAAY.net Mon Sep 4 09:26:56 2006 From: wam at HiWAAY.net (William A. Mahaffey III) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] [OT for Linux] Problem w/ 200 GB HDD under WIN2K SP4 .... Message-ID: <44FC29A0.7080300@HiWAAY.net> .... I have a GTW 1.6 GHz P4 running WIN2K SP4 (upgraded last week). I upgraded the BIOS w/ the latest thing I got from GTW this A.M. I then rebooted into WIN2K & tried to (re-)install my Samsung 2014N HDD (200 GB, IDE100). When I did, all the OS saw was 127 GB, not the ~181 GB it should have. I flashed the BIOS specifically to allow larger HDD support, & the description on the GTW website specifically said that this flash would allow larger HDD's. I also upgraded to SP4 for the same reason :-). Why won't this box see the full HDD size ? TIA & have a happy labor day .... -- William A. Mahaffey III ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "The M1 Garand is without doubt the finest implement of war ever devised by man." -- Gen. George S. Patton Jr. From thebs413 at gmail.com Tue Sep 5 15:05:36 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] NTFS Hard Drive Recovery -- using Linux to backup unbootable NTFS systems Message-ID: Bruce Metcalf wrote: > There I was, minding my own business, uninstalling Norton Antivirus > 2005 from my Win2k system. It required a reboot, and when the system > came back up, my second hard drive was inaccessable. Much cussing and > reconfiguring later, I get a message that the drive is unformatted. WTF? It's called McAfee and Norton are _liabilities_ today. I _refuse_ to install _either_ now on consumer systems (I'll install them in enterprises where I clone from a _known_good_ enterprise release image). > [Insert obligatory remarks about the natural superiority of Linux, > etc. etc. here.] Huh? This has _0_ to do with comparison to Linux. Linux has its security shortcomings too, although Linux has a _supportable_ boot/init process, whereas NT has _never_ (even OS/2 did, which NT's own init is largely based on). That was a 100% Gates decision and resulting clusterfsck. That's why _major_ Fortune 100 companies I've worked at _never_ install NT Server "raw." They install VMWare ESX instead, so you can recover easily. But for consumer users, yes, this sucks. ;-> Again, the major TCO PITA with NT has been, and will continue to be, the _utter_lack_ of a way to _recover_ the system during the boot/init process -- unlike not only UNIX/Linux systems, but even OS/2, which NT's init is almost entirely based on but "hidden". Booting into "recovery" mode with the CD with a "recovery" floppy is _not_ the same at all. Then add in the inherit _design_flaws_ of NTFS and you _never_ want to install a new version of NT atop of an existing NTFS filesystem anyway (long story). So the best thing is to use Linux to read all the data off of a NTFS volume and install new afterwards. The major PITA of this is that you will lose _all_ of your ACE and meta-data on the files from the NTFS filesystem. But you'd end up doing that (or worse) if you re-installed a new NT installation on an existing NTFS filesystem anyway -- because ACE and meta-data is tied to the registry/SAM of a _specific_ NT installation (even if you use Dynamic Disc and its hidden meta-data areas). > Does anyone have an idea about how to rescue the data short of > sending the drive out for major salvage? Cost me $135 last time. Boot a Linux rescue disk. Mount NTFS read-only using the kernel driver. Pull all the data off. > And if it matters, it's a Maxtor 6Y060L0, 60G ATA. This doesn't sound like a disk issue, it sounds like a NT init issue. I ran into this myself this past weekend when I moved my wife's FRAID-1 volume from a nForce 410 back to an older nForce 4 chipset. The BIOS and Linux had _0_ problem with it, but Windows XP totally blue screened after self-reconfiguring (re-self-fsck'ing ;-) itself (and asking for re-activation while it was at it). But I had _smartly_ done a backup before I even tried to mess with it. After some coaxing of XP, I was able to get it to use the nForce 4 RAID driver, even though it largely matched the nForce 410 FRAID driver (version 6.66 -- yeah, what a coincidence in version!) > [Insert obligatory reference to Bryan's commentaries on the use of > enterprise-rated hard drives here.] Huh? This has _0_ to do with the disk AFAICT. It has to do with XP self-fsck'ing itself, thanx to 3rd party software. There is virtually _no_way_ to recover the boot/init process with NT, especially when the "system/boot" is on NTFS. Where I'm going to bitch-smack you is on why you didn't have a backup _before_ messing with Norton! ;-> > Any help will be most sincerely appreciated, either by email or at > Saturday's Installfest. I won't be there, but you can boot a Linux rescue disk, connect to your network, mount the NTFS volume read-only, and do something like ... # mkdir /mnt/c # mount -o ro -t ntfs /dev/hda1 /mnt/c # cd /mnt/c # ssh user@server "mkdir backup" # tar cvO ./ | ssh user@server "cd backup; tar xvf -" That will dump the entire tree into a directory called "backup" under the home directory of "user" on SSH "server". From dave at dgnal.net Tue Sep 5 23:05:27 2006 From: dave at dgnal.net (David Simmons) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Needed: Words of Wisdom on email server setups Message-ID: <3732.71.252.176.10.1157511927.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> Guys, Was hoping to 'tap the collective' on ideas for an email server....I've been running QMail Toaster (http://www.qmailtoaster.com/) for a bit...and like the setup very much - I'm just having a bear of a time keeping it updated (as it's only distributed in source rpms) - maybe I'm just too stupid to see how this can be automated?! (and can't RTFM about it as there doesn't seem to be any 'Keeping QMail Toaster UP2Date with Yum', etc pages that I can find). So - I ask - what's everyone else running? Here's a few things that I like about the QMail Toaster setup: 1) Uses Web-frontend (SquirrelMail) for IMAP OR is a POP3 server 2) includes built-in SPAM detection and handling 3) And it's an upgrade to what I was using before - so could eaily move existing IMAP/users email. Thanks for any insite! dave From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 6 12:45:46 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] AnandTech reviews the 7900GS (and I updated my blog last night) ... Message-ID: I updated my blog last night**, although the spacing between the tables has me shaking my head ... http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/02/geforce-6-and-7-series-variants-nuts.html Today AnandTech did a review of the 7900GS and his recommendations were in-line with mine, don't pay much over $200 for this card as you're just about to the price of the 7900GT. http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2827 **NOTE: I'm sick'n tired of Blogger introducing phantom "font" tags whenever I bold, change color, etc... I've fixed most of them by cut'n pasting them and running them through HTML tidy (as well as using Nvu for WYSIWYM editing), but now I've got massive spaces between my tables (I couldn't figure out those). I would really like Google to actually start testing their shit (they really do need better peer-review/semi-formal testing) instead of "oh, it works, let's put it out there" non-sense that has countless holes. From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Wed Sep 6 13:13:04 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: Do your own blog, Bryan (was "Re: [Pc_Support] AnandTech reviews the 7900GS (and I updated my blog last night) ...") In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6D2B647E-C8B4-45DD-98E3-7ECBD8EF1771@thelimucompany.com> On Sep 6, 2006, at 12:45 PM, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > I'm sick'n tired of Blogger introducing phantom "font" tags whenever I > bold, change color, etc... Why not just do your own blog? Wouldn't take but seconds to install e.g. Wordpress, and many hosts have install programs to simplify it even further. Then you could be rid of the needless junk, and control your own data :-P -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - dmckenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 6 17:58:44 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: Do your own blog, Bryan (was "Re: [Pc_Support] AnandTech reviews the 7900GS (and I updated my blog last night) ...") Message-ID: Damien McKenna wrote: > Why not just do your own blog? Wouldn't take but seconds to install > e.g. Wordpress, and many hosts have install programs to simplify it > even further. Then you could be rid of the needless junk, and > control your own data :-P Yeah, I've been too lazy to get a hosting provider. I still own a few domains (lost a few others, long story). Anyone you recommend that could host Wordpress (is that what everyone is running today? PHP-based I assume?)? Comments, suggestions, etc... welcome. From wam at HiWAAY.net Wed Sep 6 18:28:48 2006 From: wam at HiWAAY.net (William A. Mahaffey III) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] AnandTech reviews the 7900GS (and I updated my blog last night) ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <44FF4BA0.30707@HiWAAY.net> Bryan J. Smith wrote: > I updated my blog last night**, although the spacing between the > tables has me shaking my head ... > http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/02/geforce-6-and-7-series-variants-nuts.html > > > Today AnandTech did a review of the 7900GS and his recommendations > were in-line with mine, don't pay much over $200 for this card as > you're just about to the price of the 7900GT. > http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2827 > > **NOTE: > I'm sick'n tired of Blogger introducing phantom "font" tags whenever I > bold, change color, etc... I've fixed most of them by cut'n pasting > them and running them through HTML tidy (as well as using Nvu for > WYSIWYM editing), but now I've got massive spaces between my tables (I > couldn't figure out those). I would really like Google to actually > start testing their shit (they really do need better > peer-review/semi-formal testing) instead of "oh, it works, let's put > it out there" non-sense that has countless holes. I just looked & didn't see any 'massive spaces between tables', looked good to me, good info, well organized, just FYI .... -- William A. Mahaffey III ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "The M1 Garand is without doubt the finest implement of war ever devised by man." -- Gen. George S. Patton Jr. From dave at dgnal.net Wed Sep 6 23:35:15 2006 From: dave at dgnal.net (David Simmons) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: Do your own blog, Bryan (was "Re: [Pc_Support] AnandTech reviews the 7900GS (and I updated my blog last night) ...") In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <9966.71.252.176.10.1157600115.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> > Damien McKenna wrote: >> Why not just do your own blog? Ahhh...what about http://thebs413.blogspot.com/ but...I would think one of the most over-looming issues would be liability...as someone would take it too serious...mess something up...then come after the creator? Although I've been really hoping to see a site have: Bryan's Latest & Greatest Hardware Setup in one spot...so that when I need to setup a new machine...I could go there, and in one spot, see 'The Best of...' from a low-end, medium, and kicking system setup suggestions. While I also read anandtech - they're into comparing everything to everything....some-times I just need a trusted, bottom-line. dave From b.j.smith at ieee.org Thu Sep 7 10:57:37 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: Do your own blog, Bryan (was "Re: [Pc_Support] AnandTech reviews the 7900GS (and I updated my blog last night) ...") In-Reply-To: <9966.71.252.176.10.1157600115.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> References: <9966.71.252.176.10.1157600115.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> Message-ID: <1157641057.2983.17.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Wed, 2006-09-06 at 22:35 -0500, David Simmons wrote: > Although I've been really hoping to see a site have: > Bryan's Latest & Greatest Hardware Setup I've been meaning to have a running set of Blog articles of various hardware types. So far, all I've done is video cards. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com --------------------------------------------------------- The world is in need of solutions. Unfortunately, people seem to be more interested in blindly aligning themselves with one of only two viewponts -- an "us v. them" debate that has nothing to do with finding an actual solution. From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Thu Sep 7 10:00:13 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: Do your own blog, Bryan (was "Re: [Pc_Support] AnandTech reviews the 7900GS (and I updated my blog last night) ...") In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Sep 6, 2006, at 5:58 PM, Bryan J. Smith wrote: >> Why not just do your own blog? > > Yeah, I've been too lazy to get a hosting provider. It doesn't exactly take that long :-P http://www.dreamhost.com/ http://www.hostmysite.com/ are my two favorites, the latter is a little bit more reliable but they don't support IMAP without paying $10/m extra, but DreamHost are making great strides to take care of any problems that arise. > Anyone you recommend that could host Wordpress (is that what everyone > is running today? PHP-based I assume?)? Comments, suggestions, > etc... welcome. Wordpress, written in PHP, is one of the best these days, the extensions & plugins are really pretty awesome. Typo, written in Ruby on Rails, also seems pretty good but Wordpress is definitely ahead of it in terms of features. -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - dmckenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.matrixlist.com/pipermail/pc_support/attachments/20060907/e07dfa55/attachment.html From readg at nfl.jaguars.com Thu Sep 7 10:59:56 2006 From: readg at nfl.jaguars.com (Read, Greg) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: Do your own blog, Bryan (was "Re: [Pc_Support] AnandTech reviews the 7900GS (and Iupdated my blog last night) ...") Message-ID: I've been using a godaddy.com economy plan for $3.99/mo; I've installed gallery2 and joomla without a problem. They say they'll setup wordpress free. (the catch with that is that you can't do upgrades or backup the db) > -----Original Message----- > From: pc_support-bounces@matrixlist.com [mailto:pc_support- > bounces@matrixlist.com] On Behalf Of Bryan J. Smith > Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 5:59 PM > To: pc_support@matrixlist.com > Subject: Do your own blog,Bryan (was "Re: [Pc_Support] AnandTech reviews > the 7900GS (and Iupdated my blog last night) ...") > > Damien McKenna wrote: > > Why not just do your own blog? Wouldn't take but seconds to install > > e.g. Wordpress, and many hosts have install programs to simplify it > > even further. Then you could be rid of the needless junk, and > > control your own data :-P > > Yeah, I've been too lazy to get a hosting provider. I still own a few > domains (lost a few others, long story). > > Anyone you recommend that could host Wordpress (is that what everyone > is running today? PHP-based I assume?)? Comments, suggestions, > etc... welcome. > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support From damien at mc-kenna.com Thu Sep 7 12:15:19 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: Do your own blog, Bryan (was "Re: [Pc_Support] AnandTech reviews the 7900GS (and Iupdated my blog last night) ...") In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <89566340-53D2-4CC9-B6ED-F5E9E9428314@mc-kenna.com> On Sep 7, 2006, at 10:59 AM, Read, Greg wrote: > I've been using a godaddy.com economy plan for $3.99/mo; I've > installed > gallery2 and joomla without a problem. They say they'll setup > wordpress > free. (the catch with that is that you can't do upgrades or backup the > db) If you can't access the files (which is what this is suggesting) there's little reason to use Wordpress, one of the main benefits of it is the wealth of addons which require at least access to the files. -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.matrixlist.com/pipermail/pc_support/attachments/20060907/e9a2df22/attachment.html From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 7 12:49:05 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I've been meaning to change to GoDaddy.COM as my registrar ... Message-ID: I had been using OpenSRS with Troy Dere as my admin, but he's been busy as of late (I lost a few domains, although I blame myself for being too lazy to change registrars). My father's new domains are with GoDaddy.COM and they seem to be a good registrar. Have no idea about their services though. In any case, I've actually got a weekend to myself to setup some sites. So all suggestions/recommendations are welcome -- especially a good hosting provider that can setup WordPress with full file access. From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 7 12:51:08 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] What about just using WordPress.COM? -- WAS: I've been meaning to change to GoDaddy.COM as my registrar ... Message-ID: On 9/7/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > In any case, I've actually got a weekend to myself to setup some > sites. So all suggestions/recommendations are welcome -- especially a > good hosting provider that can setup WordPress with full file access. BTW, what about just using WordPress.COM? -- Bryan P.S. I still need to re-setup my domains/sites as I could use a little web marketing for my consulting endeavors. From damien at mc-kenna.com Thu Sep 7 13:27:15 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] What about just using WordPress.COM? -- WAS: I've been meaning to change to GoDaddy.COM as my registrar ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <04E3CD6F-5535-466A-98C0-CE523D1EDCB7@mc-kenna.com> On Sep 7, 2006, at 12:51 PM, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > BTW, what about just using WordPress.COM? Are you not the one who constantly promotes being in control of your own data? How in control are you with a database you don't have access to? -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.matrixlist.com/pipermail/pc_support/attachments/20060907/bc42a10e/attachment.html From readg at nfl.jaguars.com Thu Sep 7 13:35:34 2006 From: readg at nfl.jaguars.com (Read, Greg) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I've been meaning to change to GoDaddy.COM as myregistrar ... Message-ID: > My father's new domains are with GoDaddy.COM and they seem to be a > good registrar. Have no idea about their services though. > > In any case, I've actually got a weekend to myself to setup some > sites. So all suggestions/recommendations are welcome -- especially a > good hosting provider that can setup WordPress with full file access. Godaddy seems OK, I've no real complaints. 1) If you want godaddy to setup wordpress, they will, but I believe you sacrifice some control. 2) You can set it up yourself almost as easily, http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress, using godaddy's admin tools and still retain full control over the files and db. You can do option 2 if you have an ftp client and can figure out the mysql admin tools godaddy provides. I found it to be pretty simple. I chose option 2 for installing gallery2 and joomla. From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 7 14:42:49 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] What about just using WordPress.COM? -- WAS: I've been meaning to change to GoDaddy.COM as my registrar ... Message-ID: Damien McKenna wrote: > Are you not the one who constantly promotes being in control of your > own data? Yes. Which is why I am further asking if I can dump my tables. > How in control are you with a database you don't have access to? I don't mind if someone else controls the infrastructure as long as I can dump my tables. I don't want to be an ASP/ISP. At the same time, I expect any ASP/ISP to give me the ability to access my data. If they don't, then I'm not interested. Just because I want access to my data doesn't mean it has to be an all-or-nothing deal. I do _not_ have time to be an ASP/ISP. I know for some of you where that is your job function, you can do such almost "for free." But the last time I did any ASP/ISP work as my primary job function was 1995 -- and I'm _not_ interested in going back to it. I keep up-to-date just enough so I can architect enterprise solutions -- and I _loathe_ the idea of doing tier-1 ASP/ISP support. Even if just for myself. From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 7 14:44:52 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I've been meaning to change to GoDaddy.COM as myregistrar ... Message-ID: Read, Greg wrote: > Godaddy seems OK, I've no real complaints. > 1) If you want godaddy to setup wordpress, they will, but I believe you sacrifice some > control. > 2) You can set it up yourself almost as easily, > http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress, using godaddy's admin > tools and still retain full control over the files and db. > You can do option 2 if you have an ftp client and can figure out the > mysql admin tools godaddy provides. I found it to be pretty simple. > I chose option 2 for installing gallery2 and joomla. That sounds like _exactly_ what I want. But, unencrypted FTP? Do they offer at least FTP-SSL/TLS (implicit FTPS) access? I don't mind maintaining the content (including PHP scripts) and DB tables. I just don't want to maintain the infrastructure. From damien at mc-kenna.com Thu Sep 7 14:57:42 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] What about just using WordPress.COM? -- WAS: I've been meaning to change to GoDaddy.COM as my registrar ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Sep 7, 2006, at 2:42 PM, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > I don't mind if someone else controls the infrastructure as long as I > can dump my tables. What you might want to look for is a company that has a one-click installer (or something similar) for the app. As mentioned before, Dreamhost's control panel has a page to let you pick from half a dozen different apps that you can install easily. What you do is you pick your app, pick where it goes and tell it what database to use (or configure a new one), then in a few minutes you'll get an email to say the files are in place with a link to the final setup page with complete instructions on how to finish the install. I was really quite impressed with it myself. In addition to doing the basic install, they also keep track of software revisions and make newer editions available for you to upgrade to, so the next time you go to their One-Click Installs page it'll tell you if anything needs to be upgraded. As an example, on my site I've got gallery, activecollab and wordpress all installed through their system, so when I go to the One- Click Installs page it first shows me the status of these installs, including whether they are up-to-date or not, and then a section to install a new app. Other hosts have similar systems, almost every host that uses CPanel has a system called Fantastico, but I've not used it to know whether it also has Dreamhost's "update" feature: http://netenberg.com/ fantastico_features.php -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From readg at nfl.jaguars.com Thu Sep 7 14:58:51 2006 From: readg at nfl.jaguars.com (Read, Greg) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I've been meaning to change to GoDaddy.COM asmyregistrar ... Message-ID: > But, unencrypted FTP? > Do they offer at least FTP-SSL/TLS (implicit FTPS) access? I was thinking about that the other day and I don't know. > I don't mind maintaining the content (including PHP scripts) and DB > tables. I just don't want to maintain the infrastructure. Yup, they maintain, you just copy files up and mess with the db you create. If you don't like godaddy, 1and1 has a similar deal right now at a better price. From whittake at sbaflorida.com Thu Sep 7 17:21:22 2006 From: whittake at sbaflorida.com (Homer Whittaker) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I've been meaning to change to GoDaddy.COM as myregistrar ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <45008D52.3050404@sbaflorida.com> Bryan: I have been attempting to contact you on your ieee account but the messages were bounced. Do you have an address that I can send message to you? Homer Whittaker Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Read, Greg wrote: >> Godaddy seems OK, I've no real complaints. >> 1) If you want godaddy to setup wordpress, they will, but I believe >> you sacrifice some >> control. >> 2) You can set it up yourself almost as easily, >> http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress, using godaddy's admin >> tools and still retain full control over the files and db. >> You can do option 2 if you have an ftp client and can figure out the >> mysql admin tools godaddy provides. I found it to be pretty simple. >> I chose option 2 for installing gallery2 and joomla. > > That sounds like _exactly_ what I want. > > But, unencrypted FTP? > Do they offer at least FTP-SSL/TLS (implicit FTPS) access? > > I don't mind maintaining the content (including PHP scripts) and DB > tables. I just don't want to maintain the infrastructure. > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support > From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 7 17:35:17 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I got your e-mails Homer ... Message-ID: whittake wrote: > Bryan: I have been attempting to contact you on your ieee account but > the messages were bounced. Do you have an address that I can send > message to you? I got your e-mails Homer. I pulled them down with my Treo and they are there (I can't use Webmail at work except for this stupid GMail account, the one they don't block). I'll respond either late tonight or tomorrow (depending on if I leave work tonight or work through). From whittake at sbaflorida.com Fri Sep 8 12:28:30 2006 From: whittake at sbaflorida.com (Homer Whittaker) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Blog Message-ID: <1157732910.14743.6.camel@localhost.localdomain> >From my rather non-technical point of view, I am very impressed with http://www.powweb.com . Their support offerings seem to meet all of my unsophisticated requirements, in a very broad technical way. Hope that makes sense. Guess I am attempting to say that even I might be able to write a blog using their tools. Homer Whittaker From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 8 12:49:13 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] NewEgg.COM has a GeForce 7600GS 256MB GDDR2 for $89 - $30 = $59 AR Message-ID: Just came across DealNews.COM: http://dealnews.com/deals/3-D-Fuzion-Ge-Force-7600-GS-PCI-Express-256-MB-Video-Card-for-59-after-rebate/131869.html A PCIe GeForce 7600GS (12/5/400MHz/128-bit) with 256MB of GDDR2 (800MHz effective?) for under $89 minus $30 rebate for $59 after rebate. Although it has a cooling fan, most people say it's very quiet. The 7600GS is literally the best nVidia GPU you'll find under $100, under $150 before rebates. It's not quite as fast as a GeForce 6800GT or 7600GT, but it's a great boost over even the 6600GT (8/3/500MHz/128-bit w/GDDR3), let alone the 6600 (8/3/300MHz/128-bit w/DDR-DDR2), because it has 50-66% more pixel and vertex pipes (despite the 6600GT having a 100MHz faster GPU clock). I'll have to note that 7600GS cards are now sub-$100, and as low as $60 after rebates: http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/02/geforce-6-and-7-series-variants-nuts.html From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 11 02:48:57 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:02 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Instead of working on my site on Sunday ... Message-ID: <1157957337.3080.79.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> I watched football and played this ... http://www.scorched3d.co.uk/ Sigh, I guess I've been working or traveling every day on every weekend that when I got a Sunday free, I just decided to kill a few brain cells instead of working more. ;-> -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com --------------------------------------------------------- The world is in need of solutions. Unfortunately, people seem to be more interested in blindly aligning themselves with one of only two viewponts -- an "us v. them" debate that has nothing to do with finding an actual solution. From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Mon Sep 11 10:41:24 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Instead of working on my site on Sunday ... In-Reply-To: <1157957337.3080.79.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <1157957337.3080.79.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: On Sep 11, 2006, at 2:48 AM, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > http://www.scorched3d.co.uk/ Neat, but I prefer the humor of Worms myself http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worms_%28computer_game%29 :-) -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - dmckenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From thebs413 at gmail.com Mon Sep 11 11:12:03 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Instead of working on my site on Sunday ... Scorch3D runs on Linux (and is open source) Message-ID: Damien McKenna wrote: > Neat, but I prefer the humor of Worms myself > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worms_%28computer_game%29 > :-) Scorched3D runs on Linux (let alone is open source). I don't want to boot Windows XP because I'll have to re-active Windows again due to a mainboard upgrade. That would be the 3rd time in 3 months, and will probably require me to call Microsoft, hence why I'm post-poning it for as long as I can. ;) Besides, I wasted way too much time on [2D] Scorched Earth back in college some 12-15 years ago. ;) There's just nothing like blowing away half of a mountain side with a nuke, leapfrog, mirv or the oh-so-random funky bomb. My favorite? Shooting a sandhog into a mountain-side, just below the victim or on the other side of a cliff from them, and watching it blast them from underneath, by-passing any shields. And when all else fails, two words: Death Head! From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Mon Sep 11 11:28:05 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Instead of working on my site on Sunday ... Scorch3D runs on Linux (and is open source) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Sep 11, 2006, at 11:12 AM, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Damien McKenna wrote: >> Neat, but I prefer the humor of Worms myself >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worms_%28computer_game%29 > > Scorched3D runs on Linux (let alone is open source). Different versions of the Worms game should run on Linux: http://appdb.winehq.org/search.php?sSearchQuery=worms > Shooting a sandhog into a mountain-side, just below the victim or on > the other side of a cliff from them, and watching it blast them from > underneath, by-passing any shields. Banana bombs and exploding sheep were mine :-P -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - dmckenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.matrixlist.com/pipermail/pc_support/attachments/20060911/f56a1a57/attachment.html From readg at nfl.jaguars.com Mon Sep 11 11:26:36 2006 From: readg at nfl.jaguars.com (Read, Greg) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Instead of working on my site on Sunday ... Scorch3Druns on Linux (and is open source) Message-ID: Those are sound strategies for the 2D version and work pretty well in the new 3D version. However, try the Apocalypse mod and launch a Strangelove...(cue evil laughter). > -----Original Message----- > From: pc_support-bounces@matrixlist.com [mailto:pc_support- > bounces@matrixlist.com] On Behalf Of Bryan J. Smith > Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 11:12 AM > To: pc_support@matrixlist.com > Subject: [Pc_Support] Instead of working on my site on Sunday ... > Scorch3Druns on Linux (and is open source) > > Damien McKenna wrote: > > Neat, but I prefer the humor of Worms myself > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worms_%28computer_game%29 > > :-) > > Scorched3D runs on Linux (let alone is open source). > > I don't want to boot Windows XP because I'll have to re-active Windows > again due to a mainboard upgrade. That would be the 3rd time in 3 > months, and will probably require me to call Microsoft, hence why I'm > post-poning it for as long as I can. ;) > > Besides, I wasted way too much time on [2D] Scorched Earth back in > college some 12-15 years ago. ;) > > There's just nothing like blowing away half of a mountain side with a > nuke, leapfrog, mirv or the oh-so-random funky bomb. My favorite? > Shooting a sandhog into a mountain-side, just below the victim or on > the other side of a cliff from them, and watching it blast them from > underneath, by-passing any shields. > > And when all else fails, two words: Death Head! > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 11 21:25:34 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Instead of working on my site on Sunday ... Scorch3Druns on Linux (and is open source) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1158024334.2963.39.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Mon, 2006-09-11 at 11:26 -0400, Read, Greg wrote: > Those are sound strategies for the 2D version and work pretty well in > the new 3D version. > However, try the Apocalypse mod and launch a Strangelove...(cue evil > laughter). Hey man, I just got into it (again). I saw the mod, it's included with release 40. But _no_where_ is there an "about" (what it does?). Not in the help, not on the web site, etc... But it seems to be popular. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com --------------------------------------------------------- The world is in need of solutions. Unfortunately, people seem to be more interested in blindly aligning themselves with one of only two viewponts -- an "us v. them" debate that has nothing to do with finding an actual solution. From justinkz at gmail.com Tue Sep 12 18:18:06 2006 From: justinkz at gmail.com (Justin M. Keyes) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] using DVD drive shuts down computer Message-ID: <53b562310609121518q5192e7ddhcb139bad6d3fd2a0@mail.gmail.com> Hi Friends, Whenever I try to use the DVD+/-RW drive [1], the computer turns off immediately. I suspect it is a power supply [2] problem, but read on please... To test, I left a CD in the drive so that it would spin up when I tried to boot. I disconnected the hard drive, the graphics card, and the floppy. So, the power supply is only powering the DVD and the motherboard. Booted the computer, and when the DVD spins up the computer turns off. Same result when I tried different Molex connectors with the DVD drive. Why would the power supply suddenly start hating the DVD drive? Could the DVD drive itself have messed up the power supply somehow? I replaced the power supply with an old Antec power supply, and everything ran OK, however, when I used the DVD drive, the Antec started making weird crackling/static noise, so I disconnected the DVD drive for fear of ruining another power supply. The Antec ps still makes "static" sounds, but not as bad as when it was using that DVD drive. Is it possible for the DVD drive to harm the power supply? Thanks very much... [1] LG 16X DVD?R E-IDE/ATAPI Model GSA-4167B [2] COOLMAX CX-400B ATX v2.01 400W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817159023 -- Justin M. Keyes From paulf at quillandmouse.com Tue Sep 12 23:02:01 2006 From: paulf at quillandmouse.com (Paul M Foster) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] using DVD drive shuts down computer In-Reply-To: <53b562310609121518q5192e7ddhcb139bad6d3fd2a0@mail.gmail.com> References: <53b562310609121518q5192e7ddhcb139bad6d3fd2a0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <450774A9.40800@quillandmouse.com> Justin M. Keyes wrote: > Hi Friends, > > Whenever I try to use the DVD+/-RW drive [1], the computer turns off > immediately. I suspect it is a power supply [2] problem, but read on > please... > > To test, I left a CD in the drive so that it would spin up when I > tried to boot. I disconnected the hard drive, the graphics card, and > the floppy. So, the power supply is only powering the DVD and the > motherboard. Booted the computer, and when the DVD spins up the > computer turns off. Same result when I tried different Molex > connectors with the DVD drive. > > Why would the power supply suddenly start hating the DVD drive? Could > the DVD drive itself have messed up the power supply somehow? > > I replaced the power supply with an old Antec power supply, and > everything ran OK, however, when I used the DVD drive, the Antec > started making weird crackling/static noise, so I disconnected the DVD > drive for fear of ruining another power supply. The Antec ps still > makes "static" sounds, but not as bad as when it was using that DVD > drive. > > Is it possible for the DVD drive to harm the power supply? > > Thanks very much... > > [1] LG 16X DVD?R E-IDE/ATAPI Model GSA-4167B > > [2] COOLMAX CX-400B ATX v2.01 400W: > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817159023 > I would guess that the DVD drive has some sort of short in it. Perhaps not a dead short, but one with sufficiently low resistance to overload a power supply. You'd think it would blow the fuse in the power supply, but maybe the current is just a bit less than necessary to blow the fuse. Erm... do your power supplies actually have fuses in them, or just circuitry that shuts them down? All the power supplies I've had open had fuses soldered into them. Anyway.... -- Paul M. Foster From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 13 00:54:03 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] ZDNet reviews the TiVO Series 3, with dual-CableCard HDTV tuners ... Message-ID: The $800 monstrocity is finally here. I know some will balk at the price, and the $13/month monthly fee, but if and when these things dropped to $500 with promotions, I'm going to buy one because I think the experience is worth the cost -- even if recurring. TiVO has also smartened up and is bundling all the common capbilities of other all-in-one boxes for free -- no nickle'n diming. That includes only passing the copy protection the cable company enforces, although you can still output via component (and don't have to use the HDMI-HDCP out for HDTV). One of the cool features that the article highlights is the eSATA option, which means TiVO is going to support storage expansion (although it's not in the current software). I think I'll wait to see that confirmed. If so, then I'll definitely be at the top of my list. A MythTV box sounds fun, but I've had enough fun projects and spent far more of my time and money. When they hit $500, and adding about $150/year, I have no problem paying for the experience. ZDNet review: http://review.zdnet.com/TiVo_Series3_HD_DVR/4505-6474_16-32065631-2.html?tag=toc (note the 4 additional pages in the review via links at the bottom) -- Bryan "still on my Series 2 DirecTV DVR, but dropping DirecTV in a few months" Smith From justinkz at gmail.com Wed Sep 13 01:20:42 2006 From: justinkz at gmail.com (Justin M. Keyes) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] using DVD drive shuts down computer In-Reply-To: <450774A9.40800@quillandmouse.com> References: <53b562310609121518q5192e7ddhcb139bad6d3fd2a0@mail.gmail.com> <450774A9.40800@quillandmouse.com> Message-ID: <53b562310609122220q335cef80h3ccb6585b7b58ae5@mail.gmail.com> On 9/12/06, Paul M Foster wrote: > Justin M. Keyes wrote: > > Hi Friends, > > > > Whenever I try to use the DVD+/-RW drive [1], the computer turns off > > immediately. I suspect it is a power supply [2] problem, but read on > > please... > > > > To test, I left a CD in the drive so that it would spin up when I > > tried to boot. I disconnected the hard drive, the graphics card, and > > the floppy. So, the power supply is only powering the DVD and the > > motherboard. Booted the computer, and when the DVD spins up the > > computer turns off. Same result when I tried different Molex > > connectors with the DVD drive. > > > > Why would the power supply suddenly start hating the DVD drive? Could > > the DVD drive itself have messed up the power supply somehow? > > > > I replaced the power supply with an old Antec power supply, and > > everything ran OK, however, when I used the DVD drive, the Antec > > started making weird crackling/static noise, so I disconnected the DVD > > drive for fear of ruining another power supply. The Antec ps still > > makes "static" sounds, but not as bad as when it was using that DVD > > drive. > > > > Is it possible for the DVD drive to harm the power supply? > > > > Thanks very much... > > > > [1] LG 16X DVD?R E-IDE/ATAPI Model GSA-4167B > > > > [2] COOLMAX CX-400B ATX v2.01 400W: > > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817159023 > > > > I would guess that the DVD drive has some sort of short in it. Perhaps > not a dead short, but one with sufficiently low resistance to overload a > power supply. You'd think it would blow the fuse in the power supply, > but maybe the current is just a bit less than necessary to blow the > fuse. Erm... do your power supplies actually have fuses in them, or just > circuitry that shuts them down? All the power supplies I've had open had > fuses soldered into them. I have no idea... I guess I will find out if the DVD player is the problem, once I hook up a brand new power supply... Thanks for your response. -- Justin M. Keyes From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 13 05:11:54 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Nice S478 E7210 _server_ chipset Barebones kit for $115 ... Message-ID: NewEgg.COM wants these older Intel SE7210TP1-E mainboards for $200. CompGeeks.COM has them in a barebones kit for $115 (+$27 shipping). http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=SE7210TP1 Intel Technical Product Specification for the SE7210TP1-E is here (2.2MB PDF): ftp://download.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/se7210tp1-e/sb/tpsse7210tp1e20.pdf The Intel E7210 is a 827210 MCH + ESB6300 ICH combination, an entry-level, but _true_server_ chipset with PCI-X, as well as a bridged GbE on the MCH (see below). It's Socket-478 supporting Celeron/Pentium-4 2.0-3.2GHz -- which cost $20-40 these days. The 827210 is like a _professional-grade_ i875 "northbrige", only designed for servers, with standard unbuffered (non-registered) 2.5V DDR DRAM (supports both non-ECC and ECC). But unlike the i875, it offers a "specialized" bridged PCI64 to its 82457EI GbE MAC (with 40KiB SRAM). That's a nice GbE on-board not contending for any PCI/PCI-X and it supports up to 16KiB Jumbo Frames. [ SIDE NOTE: There is also a 10/100 FastE MAC as well, but it's connected to the standard PCI 32-bit/33MHz ] But the ESB6300 is really where it differentiates itself from the standard ICH5 "southbridge" that you find on the consumer i845/865 or professional i875. The ESB6300 has a _full_ PCI-X/66MHz bus in addition to the common PCI 32-bit/33MHz. On this board, that is (3) PCI-X/66MHz slots, plus (1) PCI 32-bit/33MHz. Be _warned_, the PCI-X slots are not only 3.3V-only (32-bit PCI cards are 5V), but you can_not_ run it at 33MHz (your PCI/PCI-X cards _must_ be 66MHz capable**). The only kicker/bottleneck is that the MCH-to-ICH interlink is only 266MBps, so you'll _never_ get the full 533MBps of any PCI-X/66MHz card. But it's still a crapload better than a desktop mainboard -- especially since the GbE is on the MCH (and not the ICH). It also has an on-board management processor, although it appears to be a "lightweight" one at that (not a true "lights out" MP?). I haven't looked up what management agents are available for Linux (if at all), it's a NatSemi IC. -- Bryan PS NOTE: Despite first apperances, this mainboard does _not_ take a 24+4 ATX 2.0 power supply. It takes _either_ a 20+4-pin ATX12V (the most common ATX 1.0) _or_ a 24+8-pin EPS12V (the 24-bit is slightly different than ATX 2.0, and the 8-pin is the SSI EEB "Server" connector). If you use the ATX12V option (which this kit comes with), your power is limited, although it should be fine for this uni-processor mainboard. I don't know where EPS12V would be necessary, except for maybe lots of on-board processing. **NOTE: The only reason I haven't bought this is because my older 3Ware Escalade 7800 PCI64 only does 33MHz (even though it's 3.3V with 5V tolerance). It won't work in the PCI-X slots, and I'm not putting it into the PCI 32-bit/33MHz slot (even though it is 5V tolerant, not enough I/O-DTR IMHO ;). But if you have any newer 3Ware Escalde 7506/8506 product (or 9000 series for that matter), it works just fine. I'm tempted to still buy it for my NetCell SR5000 though (which is a 3.3V PCI64/66MHz). From paulf at quillandmouse.com Wed Sep 13 09:35:19 2006 From: paulf at quillandmouse.com (Paul M Foster) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] ZDNet reviews the TiVO Series 3, with dual-CableCard HDTV tuners ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <45080917.7060709@quillandmouse.com> Bryan J. Smith wrote: > -- Bryan "still on my Series 2 DirecTV DVR, but dropping DirecTV in a > few months" Smith Bryan: I've always wondered: Does the DirecTV DVR (with service) compare with TiVO? We have a TiVO, and have been encouraged to go DirecTV because they've had HD for a while. But I've heard that the TiVO service (and TiVO software) features are far more comprehensive than what's offered by DirecTV. Do you know what the differences are? Paul -- Paul M. Foster From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 13 10:10:42 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] ZDNet reviews the TiVO Series 3, with dual-CableCard HDTV tuners ... Message-ID: Paul M Foster wrote: > I've always wondered: First off, before I get to your questions, let me state several things ... 1. CableCard is a federally-mandated standard on terrestrial providers so you can decode their QAM streams. That means if you have cable, they _must_ give you an option to use the open standard card, so you can use your own receiver, DVR, etc... to decode their QAM stream. Right now only 1-way is standard (no pay-per-view and other stuff yet), but it works for full tuning. 2. CableCard is _not_ mandated on non-terrestrial providers -- e.g., satellite. So DishNetwork and DirecTV are free to force you to buy only their equipment, which only works on/with their QAM streams. That's the real PITA -- you not only have to _buy_ the equipment, but it _only_ works with their _specific_ networks and _nothing_ else (maybe you get an ATSC tuner so you can get over-the-air, but that's it). 3. The up-front costs for HDTV are very high when you have to buy. I _almost_ forked out $700 for the (soon-to-be-useless?) Hughes DirecTV HD DVR back in late 2004/early 2005. I'm damn glad I didn't. If I want to go HDTV with BrightHouse, I pay $10/month for the HDTV, and another $10/month to rent the HD DVR. Now their HD DVR is not going to be anything great, but I don't want it for a long-term store -- that's what I'm going to get the TiVO Series 3 for. 4. DirecTV isn't that great of a buy for me, especially not for HDTV with all those up-front costs. If I'm going to buy, I want a box _I_ control the content on with an _open_ system into _any_ terrestrial provider -- hence if TiVO makes good on the eSATA expansion. I already pay BrightHouse Networks $42.95/month for my Internet, so it's not much more to go full HDTV. And I'm also not out any up-front costs, can rent their HD DVR until I see TiVO Series 3 add the eSATA feature and drop to $500 in some promotion, etc... > Does the DirecTV DVR (with service) compare with TiVO? Some things to know about DirecTiVO ... A. DirecTV and TiVO split about 2 years ago. At some point, it's very possibly you won't be able to use older DirecTiVO equipment and their smartcards (which is why I'm damn glad I didn't spend $700 on that Hughes receiver -- they dropped to $300 more recently because of this). DirecTV has been pushing their DVR -- they are not TiVO, and virtually no DVR is TiVO from all the ones I've used. B. The current DirecTiVO subscription (at least what I pay), is _only_ $5/month. That's a lot cheaper than the full TiVO subscription of $13/month. In fact, I think I got in on a promotion, because I know other DirecTiVO users who pay $7-12/month (although I might be mistaken). In fact, the _only_ reason I bought the box was because it was only $40 -- and I upgraded the Series 2 from the 40GB drive to a 2x120GB setup. > We have a TiVO, and have been encouraged to go DirecTV because > they've had HD for a while. It's not worth the up-front costs IMHO. You're playing for equipment that _only_ works with their system. That wasn't a problem when receivers were under $50 (or free with installation), or DirecTiVOs that were under $100. But now you're taking a _$500_ investment! An investment into a system that is _not_ federally mandated to be open, unlike terrestrial providers and CableCard. > But I've heard that the TiVO service (and TiVO software) features are far more > comprehensive than what's offered by DirecTV. Do you know what the > differences are? I do not welcome the day when I finally switch back from DirecTV (and my DirecTiVO) to BrightHouse Networks and their own DVR. It's not the same experience. I've used several cable vendor DVRs (made/operated by AT&T and others) as well as the newer DirecTV DVR. And their HDTV DVRs are typically single tuners -- or can't record more than one program, even if they let you view another while recording (so you _do_ lose the "pause/control" in real-time as it's _not_ recording what you are watching). Just not the same experience at all. ;-> Which is why I'm going to boot DirecTV soon. And I'm going to buy a TiVO Series 3 shortly afterwards. It all depends. It's football season and I'd like to have HDTV (although I'm not willing to pay for Sunday Ticket anymore, the first year I haven't since I got it in 2003 -- if you want that, then you'll have to stick with DirecTV). I'm on the road until the beginning of next month, so if and when I come home, I'm going to make the call and switch. From jasonb at edseek.com Wed Sep 13 11:18:07 2006 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Nice S478 E7210 _server_ chipset Barebones kit for $115 ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <35631.216.134.200.78.1158160687.squirrel@nebula.internal.foo> Bryan J. Smith wrote: > NewEgg.COM wants these older Intel SE7210TP1-E mainboards for $200. > CompGeeks.COM has them in a barebones kit for $115 (+$27 shipping). > http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=SE7210TP1 > **NOTE: The only reason I haven't bought this is because my older > 3Ware Escalade 7800 PCI64 only does 33MHz (even though it's 3.3V with > 5V tolerance). It won't work in the PCI-X slots, and I'm not putting > it into the PCI 32-bit/33MHz slot (even though it is 5V tolerant, not > enough I/O-DTR IMHO ;). But if you have any newer 3Ware Escalde > 7506/8506 product (or 9000 series for that matter), it works just > fine. I'm tempted to still buy it for my NetCell SR5000 though (which > is a 3.3V PCI64/66MHz). I'm glad you mentioned that, or I would've jumped on this. I have a 7500-4 myself and I'm happy with it, but it's not 66MHz, only 33MHz. The 7506-4 I had gotten was DoA and eventually I ended up with a 7500-4. I guess whenever I got to SATA if I pick up a 8xx6 or move to a different storage vendor expansion board that supports 66MHz at 3.3V I'll have to look into this. I'm very happy with my ServerWorks IIILE chipset, which you had recommended a couple years ago. From philb at philb.us Wed Sep 13 18:23:31 2006 From: philb at philb.us (Phil Barnett) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] ZDNet reviews the TiVO Series 3, with dual-CableCard HDTV tuners ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <200609131823.31865.philb@philb.us> On Wednesday 13 September 2006 10:10, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > ?That wasn't a problem when > receivers were under $50 (or free with installation), or DirecTiVOs > that were under $100. ?But now you're taking a _$500_ investment! We just purchased a 56" Samsung DLP. It cost us nothing to upgrade to the high def box, a guy came out and installed the box and the dish for free and we already own lifetime TIVO. It is a DirecTivo from DirecTV. It is running Tivo software. -- My other computer is your Windows machine From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 14 19:44:58 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Dell E521 dual-core Athlon x2 for $399 ... Message-ID: Dell's started offering their dual-core Athlon x2 PCs, and they start at $399. Chipset is a nVidia 6150LE (C51/NV44) in a standard MicroATX enclosure. http://dealnews.com/deals/New-Dell-Dimension-E521-Athlon-64-X2-Desktop-for-399-shipped/132476.html I wouldn't add the optional components, they are seriously marked up. But a good base system if you want Windows included. From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri Sep 15 01:13:24 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Is my e-mail address blacklisted? Message-ID: <1158297204.2905.20.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> A few people have reported bounces (and my mailbox is not full, and the servers don't seem to be down over the last few days) and some of my mail is just not reaching people. I know about blackhole and other listings for servers, but I'm curious if there are blacklistings for e-mail addresses? My e-mail address is almost 13 years old and I'm sure thousands of e-mails a day are spoofed with my e-mail address. Just curious. Thanx. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com --------------------------------------------------------- The world is in need of solutions. Unfortunately, people seem to be more interested in blindly aligning themselves with one of only two viewponts -- an "us v. them" debate that has nothing to do with finding an actual solution. From jasonb at edseek.com Fri Sep 15 00:33:10 2006 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Is my e-mail address blacklisted? In-Reply-To: <1158297204.2905.20.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <1158297204.2905.20.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <200609150033.11105.jasonb@edseek.com> On Friday 15 September 2006 01:13, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > A few people have reported bounces (and my mailbox is not full, and the > servers don't seem to be down over the last few days) and some of my > mail is just not reaching people. > > I know about blackhole and other listings for servers, but I'm curious > if there are blacklistings for e-mail addresses? My e-mail address is > almost 13 years old and I'm sure thousands of e-mails a day are spoofed > with my e-mail address. Are there? Certainly. Paying clients often ask for all manner of nonsensical things. I don't know of any particular blacklists out there with email addresses, though. Obviously, it wouldn't make much sense to block based on a full address for spam. Individual sites can certainly do whatever, though. Did you check to see if your mail is actually being accepted by the remote servers? (Of course it can still be dropped or quarantined, though.) Did you check to see if you're listed on any DNSBLs? -- Jason Boxman http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 15 02:11:23 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Dell E521 dual-core Athlon x2 for $399 ... (CORRECTIONS/UPDATES) Message-ID: On 9/14/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Dell's started offering their dual-core Athlon x2 PCs, and they start at $399. > Chipset is a nVidia 6150LE (C51/NV44) in a standard MicroATX enclosure. http://dealnews.com/deals/New-Dell-Dimension-E521-Athlon-64-X2-Desktop-for-399-shipped/132476.html > I wouldn't add the optional components, they are seriously marked up. > But a good base system if you want Windows included. To start, the link at Anand's DailyTech ... http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4146 First off, I had a brain-fart. These are BTX-based form-factors, not ATX. The E521 is clearly a MicroBTX -- basically the same as MicroATX size-wise. It has 4 full slots. BTX flips the slot orientation (better cooling in a tower). The cooling intake fan is mid-mounted by design (in all BTX). The C521 is has 3 low-profile slots in a slim-design. For the life of me, I don't know what BTX variant this is. MicroBTX has 4 slots, picoBTX has 1 slot and the newer nanoBTX has 2 slots. It's clearly not the same MicroBTX mainboard, because the video slot has moved (at least in the AnandTech shots). There seems to be only 3 slots, it's a different board. I'll call it "Dell-LP3BTX" for now. Secondly, AnandTech is reporting the list should be $329 with no monitor ($359 for the C521). Have no idea what configuration difference that is from the DealNews.COM coupon, but DealNews.COM has been letting me down at times as of late. [ E.g., Thursday's "especial" on a 3 input audio/video selector from Buy.COM for $39 _incorrectly_ stated it did HDTV (it only did SVideo plus optical ToshLink). It was actually another model for $54 at Buy.COM that was the HDTV (composite) model -- and I also found it cheaper at Provantage for $42 (+$6 shipping). I sent them this correction over 12 hours ago, but they haven't updated it. ] From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 15 02:19:32 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Compaq Presario 1900 series -- WAS: Dell E521 dual-core Athlon x2 for $399 ... Message-ID: On 9/15/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > First off, I had a brain-fart. These are BTX-based form-factors, not ATX. If you want a major, Tier-1 OEM with a MicroATX form-factor, I want to point out the Compqa Presario 1900 series is such. They are _very_cheap_ -- start at $249 on Compaq's site, and I've even seen a not-to-shabby Compaq Presario SR1910 (IIRC?) many times for $245 after rebate, and once even $179! after rebate, from CompUSA (and it was a fairly loaded $399 model). No Athlon x2 model (you have to go HP for that), but they can be had for _cheap_ -- especially when a killer deal hits. My father have a couple of the SR1900 models ($249/each after rebate, and included DLink routers and even a Canon MP150 photo printer). They are stock MicroATX, with a full-sized 300W ATX power supply -- and the rest of the 1900 series line seems to be as well. All Sempron or Celeron D (which is actually single-core last time I tested one) models. So they are a great model to start with if you want to upgrade, including not having to pay the full price for the Windows XP Home license (which can cost you $100 when you self-assemble, but only costs the Tier-1 OEM $25). Compaq-HP's tech support for home users is also a crapload better than Dell's. You really have to be a 400+ employee company to get good Dell support. From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 15 02:22:20 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Compaq Presario 1900 series -- chipsets on 1900 series ... Message-ID: On 9/15/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > If you want a major, Tier-1 OEM with a MicroATX form-factor, I want to > point out the Compqa Presario 1900 series is such ... Mainboards on the older 1900 with AMD processors are ATI X200 chipset series. Newer 1910 models with AMD processors seem to be ATI X1100 chipset series. I noted the latest 1930 with AMD processors are GeForce 6150LE/nForce 430. Intel versions will be i8xx/9xx video, typically older i8xx because it's Socket-478 Celeron (i9xx is for LGA-775). From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 15 02:46:36 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] nVidia GeForce C51PVG (6150LE) and future MCP61 (71/72xx?) single-chip ... Message-ID: I've been seeing more and more chipsets show up as the nVidia GeForce 6150LE. Just know the 6150LE is _not_ much of a "downgrade" as the 6200LE is from the 6200. Referring to my nVidia GeForce 6/7 series blog article ... http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/02/geforce-6-and-7-series-variants-nuts.html Again, the GeForce 6200LE is _majorly_crippled_ from the standard 6200. A 6200 typically has 4/3 pixel/vertex units, whereas the 6200LE 2/1 pixel/vertex -- half the pixel and 1/3rd the vertex units! But the 6150 (and 6100 for that matter) is _already_ 2/1 pixel/vertex units. So there's really nowhere for the 6150LE "get any worse." It seems the clock of the 6150LE is dropped to 425MHz from the standard 475MHz of the 6150 -- 425MHz is same as the 6100. AnandTech has an article and says the 6150LE is the "C51PVG": http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2555 It claims there is "PureVideo" in it, which is actually a GeForce 7 series feature. It means that HDTV out could be standard as well (although not always broken out). It still requires a 2nd MCP (Media and Communication Processor) for peripherals. The nForce 4xx series gets the call in the pairing. It also seems to be a Socket-AM2-only (DDR2) option, although I've seen it mentioned in the specs of a few Core [2] Solo/Duo products, so it might be also an option for LGA-775 (also DDR2) as well. In any case, it's still _better_ than a FX5200/5500/5700LE video card as my blog talks about. You have to have a _serious_ FX5800/5900 (or maybe an _original_ FX5700, not the FX5700LE that is underclocked 45%!) to equal even the "crappy" 61xx series. -- Bryan P.S. The AnandTech article also mention of the MCP61 series, which is a _single_chip_ and removes the need for separate IGP and MCP. There are supposively 3 flavors, although AnandTech contradicts itself by saying the "P" now only has 10 PCIe channels (8 for video), when this article says the "S" and "V" will be such: http://dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=1821 In any case, when those chipsets hit, the price will really drop -- possibly reducing cost of mainboards (at least in MicroATX) to sub-$40 new! From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 15 02:51:07 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Dell E521 dual-core Athlon x2 for $399 ... (UPDATE2, now it make sense) Message-ID: On 9/15/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > To start, the link at Anand's DailyTech ... > http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4146 > ... > Secondly, AnandTech is reporting the list should be $329 with no > monitor ($359 for the C521). Have no idea what configuration > difference that is from the DealNews.COM coupon, but DealNews.COM has > been letting me down at times as of late. Okay, duh, the $329 model is a Sempron 3400+. Damn, $399 is a fine deal then for an x2! Especially since the hard drive is doubled (160GB) instead of the same as the Sempron 3400+ (80GB). From glaiacona at aikencountysc.gov Mon Sep 18 10:53:18 2006 From: glaiacona at aikencountysc.gov (George Laiacona) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Windows 2k passwords. Message-ID: I recall seeing something in the past about recovering Windows2000 passwords, i.e., cracking in to your system after you have forgotten your password. Anyone recall what that procedure was? I thought it involved Knoppix, but don't recall exactly what. George. KI4PKI From thebs413 at gmail.com Mon Sep 18 13:34:37 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Windows 2k passwords -- Offline NT password and registry editor ... Message-ID: George Laiacona wrote: > I recall seeing something in the past about recovering Windows2000 passwords, i.e., > cracking in to your system after you have forgotten your password. Anyone recall what > that procedure was? I thought it involved Knoppix, but don't recall exactly what. _Any_ distro will let you do this. One of the side-effects of some of the user-space NTLM/NTFS support has been documentation of the registry of NT4.x/5.x (NT4.0/200x/XP). Here's the software home: http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/ You're probably interested in the bootdisk version: http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html NOTE: I've had some issues with NTFS-based C: drives on XP SP2. Your mileage may vary. From dave at dgnal.net Mon Sep 18 15:27:26 2006 From: dave at dgnal.net (David Simmons) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Windows 2k passwords. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <40607.12.119.119.182.1158607646.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> > I recall seeing something in the past about recovering Windows2000 > passwords, i.e., cracking in to your system after you have forgotten your > password. Anyone recall what that procedure was? I thought it involved > Knoppix, but don't recall exactly what. can't really 'recover' the password - but can write a new one to allow access. Yes...there's a linux distro that steps you through changing the SAM/Password file on Win2k...I'm on the road so can't remember the specifics (it's always good to make a few of those disks and take with you!)...here's some links that I think might help: http://www.windowsnetworking.com/kbase/WindowsTips/WindowsXP/AdminTips/Security/RecoverLostWindowsNTAdministratorPassword.html http://carcino.gen.nz/tech/win/win2kadminaccess.php hope that helps, dave From carter at carter.cc Mon Sep 18 16:18:01 2006 From: carter at carter.cc (Carter Manucy) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Windows 2k passwords. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <450EFEF9.4070808@carter.cc> George Laiacona wrote: >I recall seeing something in the past about recovering Windows2000 passwords, i.e., cracking in to your system after you have forgotten your password. Anyone recall what that procedure was? I thought it involved Knoppix, but don't recall exactly what. > >George. >KI4PKI > > > It's pretty simple with tools like Cain, DumpSec, etc. Do you have a working logon account on the machine? Or are you just trying to reset a forgotten Admin pw? From glaiacona at aikencountysc.gov Mon Sep 18 16:32:18 2006 From: glaiacona at aikencountysc.gov (George Laiacona) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Windows 2k passwords. Message-ID: It's an admin pw. I don't have complete control over all of the County's PCs. Some are purchased and put in place by departments (but not added to my network, thankfully) without my knowledge. Of course, when they barf IT is called to rescue the day. Politics at it's finest. George. >>> carter@carter.cc 09/18/06 4:18 PM >>> George Laiacona wrote: >I recall seeing something in the past about recovering Windows2000 passwords, i.e., cracking in to your system after you have forgotten your password. Anyone recall what that procedure was? I thought it involved Knoppix, but don't recall exactly what. > >George. >KI4PKI > > > It's pretty simple with tools like Cain, DumpSec, etc. Do you have a working logon account on the machine? Or are you just trying to reset a forgotten Admin pw? _______________________________________________ Pc_support mailing list Pc_support@matrixlist.com http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support From thebs413 at gmail.com Mon Sep 18 16:48:49 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Windows 2k passwords -- on-line local or IPC session v. off-line CD Message-ID: The Manucinator wrote: > It's pretty simple with tools like Cain, DumpSec, etc. Indeed. All you need is either a local account or a null session (IPC) to the system in question and you can attempt to crack the database. NTLMv2 still presents the passwords in a way that makes them easy to track on-line. If you can't even login to the box locally or via an IPC null session, then the off-line Linux CD does the job in most cases. There might be BartPE-based CD/USB options as well (I've never tried any). From smedleys at bigpond.net.au Mon Sep 18 16:57:06 2006 From: smedleys at bigpond.net.au (Alan Smedley) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Windows 2k passwords. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20060918205708.MELL22583.omta05ps.mx.bigpond.com@rippa.bigpond.net.au> >I recall seeing something in the past about recovering Windows2000 >passwords, i.e., cracking in to your system after you have forgotten >your password. Anyone recall what that procedure was? I thought it >involved Knoppix, but don't recall exactly what. There is an article on doing a password recover with only your Operating System CD on this web site: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=305 It is written for Windows XP, I have used this technique successfully and I assume that it will be similar for Windows 2000. Alan Smedley From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 20 12:46:15 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sale for $99 - $50 rebate ... Message-ID: If you need a copy of Windows XP, the upgrade version is on-sale for $99 - $50 rebate at CompUSA. The rebate is with CompUSA, not Microsoft. http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=314685 Even if you don't have Windows 95, 98 or ME on your system, all you need is one of the aforementioned installation CDs to install. I.e., it's basically the same as the OEM or full retail, non-upgrade versions, except the part where you have to stick in the Windows 95, 98, ME CD into the drive during the install process to verify you're upgrading. From whittake at sbaflorida.com Wed Sep 20 13:53:39 2006 From: whittake at sbaflorida.com (Homer Whittaker) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sale for $99 - $50 rebate ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <45118023.9030505@sbaflorida.com> What is the point to upgrading? Does this have something to do with Microsoft cutting off support for their Windows programs? Homer Whittaker Bryan J. Smith wrote: > If you need a copy of Windows XP, the upgrade version is on-sale for > $99 - $50 rebate at CompUSA. The rebate is with CompUSA, not > Microsoft. > > http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=314685 > > Even if you don't have Windows 95, 98 or ME on your system, all you > need is one of the aforementioned installation CDs to install. I.e., > it's basically the same as the OEM or full retail, non-upgrade > versions, except the part where you have to stick in the Windows 95, > 98, ME CD into the drive during the install process to verify you're > upgrading. > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support > From damien at mc-kenna.com Wed Sep 20 14:04:45 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sale for $99 - $50 rebate ... In-Reply-To: <45118023.9030505@sbaflorida.com> References: <45118023.9030505@sbaflorida.com> Message-ID: On Sep 20, 2006, at 1:53 PM, Homer Whittaker wrote: > What is the point to upgrading? XP is better than 98? -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.matrixlist.com/pipermail/pc_support/attachments/20060920/849a9199/attachment.html From whittake at sbaflorida.com Wed Sep 20 16:08:29 2006 From: whittake at sbaflorida.com (Homer Whittaker) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sale for $99 - $50 rebate ... In-Reply-To: References: <45118023.9030505@sbaflorida.com> Message-ID: <45119FBD.5010605@sbaflorida.com> No, no. I have XP but I believe that the ThBS message indicated an Upgrade of XP. Homer Damien McKenna wrote: > On Sep 20, 2006, at 1:53 PM, Homer Whittaker wrote: >> What is the point to upgrading? > > XP is better than 98? > > -- > Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. > damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support > From damien at mc-kenna.com Wed Sep 20 17:10:16 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Are "Core Duo" and "Dual Core" synonymous terms? In-Reply-To: <1162408981.20060920170407@bellsouth.net> References: <1162408981.20060920170407@bellsouth.net> Message-ID: "Dual Core" means there are two CPU cores to a physical CPU chip. Core Duo is a marketing term from Intel, as is Core Solo, Core 2 Duo and the upcoming Core 2 Quadro. Every Core Duo or Core 2 Duo CPU is dual core. Not every dual core CPU is an Intel Core Duo, e.g. AMD have had dual- core CPUs on market for ages, and Intel also have been selling Pentium4-based and older Xeon-based dual core chips that are nowhere are good as the newer generation. Any other questions? -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From philb at philb.us Wed Sep 20 17:14:10 2006 From: philb at philb.us (Phil Barnett) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sale for $99 =?iso-8859-1?q?-=09=2450_rebate?= ... In-Reply-To: <45119FBD.5010605@sbaflorida.com> References: <45119FBD.5010605@sbaflorida.com> Message-ID: <200609201714.10816.philb@philb.us> On Wednesday 20 September 2006 16:08, Homer Whittaker wrote: > No, no. I have XP but I believe that the ThBS message indicated an > Upgrade of XP. It's a very inexpensive way to get an XP license. That's it. -- My other computer is your Windows machine From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Wed Sep 20 17:46:10 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:03 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sale for $99 - $50 rebate ... In-Reply-To: <45119FBD.5010605@sbaflorida.com> References: <45118023.9030505@sbaflorida.com> <45119FBD.5010605@sbaflorida.com> Message-ID: On Sep 20, 2006, at 4:08 PM, Homer Whittaker wrote: > I believe that the ThBS message indicated an Upgrade of XP. It is an upgrade edition of XP for people who have older versions of Windows and wish to upgrade to the newer edition. This is the same process that Microsoft (and most other companies) have had with their software for, what, twenty years? -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - dmckenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 20 17:54:18 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Are "Core Duo" and "Dual Core" synonymous terms? Message-ID: Damien McKenna wrote: > "Dual Core" means there are two CPU cores to a physical CPU chip. > Core Duo is a marketing term from Intel, as is Core Solo, Core 2 Duo > and the upcoming Core 2 Quadro. > Every Core Duo or Core 2 Duo CPU is dual core. > Not every dual core CPU is an Intel Core Duo, e.g. AMD have had dual- > core CPUs on market for ages, Understand that "Core" is an Intel _brand_name_. It represents Intel's new "Core" x86-64 design. Again, it's a _brand_name_ just like "Pentium" or "Centrino." There are "Core Solo" and "Core Duo" to reflect one or two cores. > and Intel also have been selling Pentium4-based and older > Xeon-based dual core chips that are nowhere are good as the > newer generation. Those are *NOT* "dual-core." That is _dual_threading_. Do *NOT* confuse "core" with "threading." Because in the near-future, we will have multi-threading over multi-core. Intel "HyperThreading" processors are a _single_core_ (and quite _inefficient_ at that) with a scheduler hack so they look like multiple CPUs from the OS' standpoint. Make no mistake, regardless of how they "fool" the OS, there i _only_ *1* set of cache, controller, arithmetic logic and floating-point units. That makes them 100% _single_core_, and no other interpretation is even remotely valid. With true "dual-core," you get 2 sets of cache, controller, arithmetic logic and floating-point units. That means you get _at_least_ single core performance, and typically 60-80% more. With "dual-threading" on a "single-core," you get 2 virtual threads _sharing_ 1 set of cache, controller, arithmetic logic and floating-point units. The result is that for well-threaded applications, up to a 20% bonus is possible. But for poorly-threaded applications, as poor as -10% (a performance _hit_ over 1 thread) is possible. This is due to the _signficiant_ overhead required for the threading. BTW, Intel does _not_ offer "HyperThreading" on Core processors. Why? Because the Core processor is 50-100% more efficient than the NetBurst/P4 architecture -- keeps its pipes 60-80% full, instead of only 40-50%. "HyperThreading" was a hack to take better advantage of the fact that there are many stages being _unused_ in the NetBurst/P4 architecture. That is _no_longer_ the case in Core. The future of multi-threading is to address multi-instance virtualization over multi-core. Such multi-threading is not really a desktop feature, but far more of a server one -- mainly when running multiple OSes over multiple, virtual machines/systems/instances. From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 20 17:59:02 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sale for $99 - $50 rebate ... Message-ID: Dr. Homer Whittaker, Penguin-hD wrote: > No, no. I have XP but I believe that the ThBS message indicated an > Upgrade of XP. I guess I confused you with "SP2" in the subject. It is the retail box of the Windows XP Upgrade (which is Service Pack 2-based) which upgrades Windows 95, 98 and ME -- whether it's on system or on CD -- as I detailed in my post. It upgrades any of the latter 3 OSes to Windows XP Home SP2, or allows you to install it on a blank hard drive by inserting a CD of any of the latter 3 OSes. From damien at mc-kenna.com Wed Sep 20 18:04:58 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Are "Core Duo" and "Dual Core" synonymous terms? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Sep 20, 2006, at 5:54 PM, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Understand that "Core" is an Intel _brand_name_. > It represents Intel's new "Core" x86-64 design. Mostly. The initial Core Duo and Core Solo processors didn't have the x86-64 enhancements, only the Core 2 Duo line. > There are "Core Solo" and "Core Duo" to reflect one or two cores. .. and Core 2 Duo is the second generation of their "Core" line. >> and Intel also have been selling Pentium4-based and older >> Xeon-based dual core chips that are nowhere are good as the >> newer generation. > > Those are *NOT* "dual-core." That is _dual_threading_. No, they have dual-core Pentium D models and IIRC dual-core Xeons. Not hyper-threading, dual core. -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 20 18:11:40 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Hitachi 160GB SATA/300 drive for $74.99 - $40 rebate ... Message-ID: Fry's Output has these suckers for $74.99 - $40 rebate: http://dealnews.com/deals/Hitachi-160-GB-Serial-ATA-Internal-Hard-Drive-for-35-shipped-after-rebate/133242.html It looks like the single 160GB platter 7K160 (7200rpm consumer-rated): http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/CCF4BCC3878763158625713A007DB9D6/$file/7K160_DS.pdf But it could be another model. As always, da'BS recommends if you go with a consumer-rated drive, use at least software or FRAID mirroring (RAID-1) or make backups regularly (possibly to another on-line disk). The T7K series are Hitachi's enterprise-rated versions of the 7K series. From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 20 18:16:49 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Are "Core Duo" and "Dual Core" synonymous terms? Message-ID: Damien McKenna wrote: > Mostly. The initial Core Duo and Core Solo processors didn't have > the x86-64 enhancements, only the Core 2 Duo line. Er, it represents Intel's new "Core" IA-32 (x86) design. And then "Core 2" adds IA-32e (aka EM64T). Thanx for pointing out that I should have _not_ added "-64" there for all Cores. I really don't know why I did -- I meant to say "IA-32" (not x86-anything). > ... and Core 2 Duo is the second generation of their "Core" line. Correct. And there are "Core 2 Solo" products as well (just not very commonplace). > No, they have dual-core Pentium D models and IIRC dual-core Xeons. > Not hyper-threading, dual core. Oh yeah, brain fart. Sorry, getting over a fever, probably shouldn't be at work today (I wonder how much code and documentation I've screwed up already? ;). Thanx for pointing that out too. -- Bryan P.S. I've found the Celeron D are _not_ dual-core (nice marketing Intel!). Anyone else seen otherwise? From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 20 18:37:23 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Are "Core Duo" and "Dual Core" synonymous terms? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On 9/20/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > P.S. I've found the Celeron D are _not_ dual-core (nice marketing > Intel!). Anyone else seen otherwise? Answering my own question: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celeron#Celeron_D_.28Prescott-256.29 > Er, it represents Intel's new "Core" IA-32 (x86) design. > And then "Core 2" adds IA-32e (aka EM64T). > Thanx for pointing out that I should have _not_ added "-64" there for all Cores. > I really don't know why I did -- I meant to say "IA-32" (not x86-anything). Just FYI, I've purpose _avoided_ using x86-64 in reference to _any_ Intel product in the past (have _no_ idea why I did here) because Intel has yet to support the full x86-64 instruction set from AMD. I typically use Intel's official designation, IA-32e (aka EM64T), and only use x86-64 (aka AMD64) in reference to appropriate AMD products. The Wikipedia pages confirm that Yonah (Core) designs are IA-32, and not IA-32e (aka EM64T): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core But Core 2 does: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2 Again, I even broke my own terminology/consistency on stating x86-64, and utterly forgot about the Pentium D and NetBurst-based Xeon dual-cores. Don't know what is wrong with me today other than my IB supply is running low from the 60 hour headache I've had. From ozz at ozz.is-a-geek.net Wed Sep 20 18:44:00 2006 From: ozz at ozz.is-a-geek.net (Austin Denyer (Ozz)) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Are "Core Duo" and "Dual Core" synonymous terms? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20060920184400.b4249641.ozz@ozz.is-a-geek.net> On Wed, 20 Sep 2006 18:16:49 -0400, "Bryan J. Smith" wrote: > Damien McKenna wrote: > > Mostly. The initial Core Duo and Core Solo processors didn't have > > the x86-64 enhancements, only the Core 2 Duo line. > > Er, it represents Intel's new "Core" IA-32 (x86) design. > And then "Core 2" adds IA-32e (aka EM64T). > > Thanx for pointing out that I should have _not_ added "-64" there for all Cores. > I really don't know why I did -- I meant to say "IA-32" (not x86-anything). > > > ... and Core 2 Duo is the second generation of their "Core" line. > > Correct. And there are "Core 2 Solo" products as well (just not very > commonplace). I recently saw some benchmarks for the new quad cores from Intel. For the first time in a long time, Intel has something that can smoke AMD on performance. AMD will always smoke Intel on price... I'll post the URL to the benchmarks if anyone is interested (I don't have it handy right now). Regards, Ozz. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 189 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.matrixlist.com/pipermail/pc_support/attachments/20060920/508b286a/attachment.bin From ozz at ozz.is-a-geek.net Wed Sep 20 18:59:57 2006 From: ozz at ozz.is-a-geek.net (Austin Denyer (Ozz)) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Are "Core Duo" and "Dual Core" synonymous terms? In-Reply-To: <20060920184400.b4249641.ozz@ozz.is-a-geek.net> References: <20060920184400.b4249641.ozz@ozz.is-a-geek.net> Message-ID: <20060920185957.9e969e00.ozz@ozz.is-a-geek.net> On Wed, 20 Sep 2006 18:44:00 -0400, Austin (Ozz) Denyer wrote: > > I saw some benchmarks for the new quad cores from Intel. For > the first time in a long time, Intel has something that can smoke AMD > on performance. AMD will always smoke Intel on price... > > I'll post the URL to the benchmarks if anyone is interested (I don't > have it handy right now). Much as I hate to reply to my own post, but I found the link: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/09/10/four_cores_on_the_rampage/ Regards, Ozz. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 189 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.matrixlist.com/pipermail/pc_support/attachments/20060920/06c88f2e/attachment.bin From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 20 19:03:08 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Are "Core Duo" and "Dual Core" synonymous terms? Message-ID: Ozzfest wrote: > I recently saw some benchmarks for the new quad cores from Intel. > For the first time in a long time, Intel has something that can smoke > AMD on performance. Should probably clarify that as "CPU-bound performance." Intel still doesn't have AMD on "I/O-bound performance." But for anything sort of large database/file servers, Intel now wins. > AMD will always smoke Intel on price... Not true! Intel has AMD beat 12-18 months on fab technology. Now that NetBurst/P4 is _dead_ and Intel has its first _real_ re-design of IA-32 in over a decade, Intel is signficantly smaller than AMD, with better yields. That translates directly into _lower_cost_, at least on Intel's end v. AMD. Back in the original NetBurst/P4 v. x86-64/Hammer days, it didn't matter how much of a lead Intel had, AMD was smaller, cooler and way, way faster per MHz than Intel. > I'll post the URL to the benchmarks if anyone is interested > (I don't have it handy right now). There's tons out there on how Intel bests AMD. Although some of the benchmarks aren't good at showing price v. price, but more MHz v. MHz. Right now Intel costs a bit more MHz because Intel charges it. If Intel actually charged equivalent for what AMD costs, there would be no contest. But Intel's gotta feed all that advertising and Tier-1 PC OEM R&D, so they offset it by charging more. But even then, Intel now at least "just as good" in the bang-for-the-buck. About the only place Intel slacks off is in the portables. Turion x2 seems to "hold its ground" versus whatever Intel is doing to the Core/Core2 when it comes to mobile. I think it's the L2 cache size -- Turion x2 doesn't need much of a large L2 cache (thanx to its 2x128KB L1), whereas Core/Core2 Duo still wants 2x4MB of L2 for good performance. From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 20 19:08:25 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Are "Core Duo" and "Dual Core" synonymous terms? Message-ID: Ozzfest wrote: > Much as I hate to reply to my own post, but I found the link: > http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/09/10/four_cores_on_the_rampage/ First off, I read this article weeks ago. Secondly, it actually didn't do too good over the dual-core on anything but synthetic benchmarks or multi-threaded server apps. Pretty much all desktop stuff was flat. Third, Intel's great about announcing things as they are sampling, only to turn around and not ship in any significant volume for another 6-9 months. That's really pissing a lot of Tier-2 OEMs off, and even some Tier-1s (like Dell ;). If there is one thing I like, and most integrators like, about AMD, it's that they keep their mouth shut until about 2 weeks before they ship in volume. And let's not forget that AMD has repeatedly claimed they will have their quad-Opteron shipping, _in_volume_, by 2007Q1. As such, it won't surprise me when Intel claims it beat AMD to quad-Core by shipping in 2006Q4, but you can't get them in any volume and you're paying a massive premium for them until 2007H2. From b.j.smith at ieee.org Wed Sep 20 22:50:54 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Enthusiasts strike again (oh boy): Samsung MCAQE32G5MPP-0XA (32GB NAND drive) Message-ID: <1158807054.2950.25.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Here we go again, it seems the enthusiasts are now proliferating the marketing. The only negative they see is the price tag (almost $1,000 for these suckers), and _absolutely_ignore_ the limited re-writes that NAND designs can take. The "preview," 'Conventional Hard Drive Obsoletism? Samsung's 32 GB Flash Drive,' is here: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/09/20/conventional_hard_drive_obsoletism/ In typical enthusiast fashion, they make several statements that are just dead _false_. 1. 'Flash hardware has intrinsic benefits, as it benefits from extremely short access times, but it also has specific advantages for the upcoming Windows Vista operating system. Flash memory as an optional cache allows the user to take advantage of Vista's "ReadyBoost" feature, allowing for a peppier PC.' No, the "ReadyBoost" feature is one way Vista can use NAND EEPROM with_out_ killing the life of the unit as a standard hard drive. It relocates _read-only_ data -- such as boot-time and application binaries -- things that don't change. It _prolongs_ the device's lifetime. 2. 'In terms of our test for drive interface bandwidth the limiting factor is the UltraATA/66 interface effectively handicapping scores, especially in the data read category.' No, wrong again. If you read the engineering specification sheet for the K9WAG08U1M-PCB0 (2Gx8b), the _read_ DTR is 2KiB every 20us (microseconds) from the serial NAND gate. That's basically a limit of 100MBps "ideal." So the reason for an UltraDMA mode 4 (66MBps) interface is because it can't break 50MBps. http://www.samsung.com/Products/Semiconductor/NANDFlash/SLC_LargeBlock/16Gbit/K9WAG08U1M/ds_k9xxg08uxm_rev10.pdf Now NAND EEPROM _does_ give _consistent_ "burst" DTRs. In the charts, you can see it gives _solid_ and _consistent_ performance throughout many operations -- as long as they are heavy _reads_. But once you dip into lots of random modifications -- like databases -- well, it's all over. ;-> Now one might want to point out the "lifetime" in the specs as 100,000 writes. That is for the _entire_ 2Gx8b device. It has spare cells that are reallocated as they fail, and it assumes a good amount of randomization -- some of which can be done by the device, although the OS needs to help. The NAND CMOS cells themselves fail at sub-1,000 writes each. It's great to see the technology coming. But it won't be long into their commoditization that people will stand back and go, "why do these things fail so often?" Hopefully many of you will remember my posts when you start to hear that. Or maybe by that time, most of the OSes will be true read-only boots and not assume they can write anytime, anywhere. Or at least there will be hybrid NAND EEPROM and disc so NAND EEPROM is used effectively as it is intended -- write a few times, read many. That's where both the performance and lifetime excel. But NAND EEPROM is likely to _never_ replace generic disc as the secondary storage of choice. 3D crystal-laser is far more likely to do that in the next decade, maybe sooner. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com --------------------------------------------------------- The world is in need of solutions. Unfortunately, people seem to be more interested in blindly aligning themselves with one of only two viewponts -- an "us v. them" debate that has nothing to do with finding an actual solution. From b.j.smith at ieee.org Thu Sep 21 12:54:48 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Bryan=20J=2E=20Smith?=) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?[Pc=5FSupport]_CompUSA_has_Windows_XP_SP2_Upgrade_on-sal?= e for $99 - $50 rebate ... Message-ID: Homer Whittaker wrote: > What is the point to upgrading? If you're having newer hardware or software support issues on older versions, of course. Or if you just need a XP license and have unused 95/98/ME licenses. From: Damien McKenna > XP is better than 98? I hope that was rhetorical. [ Hint: Any NT-based Windows is always more reliable, stable and secure than DOS-based ] Sorry I mentioned this deal! Geez! From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 21 14:03:48 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Western Digital Enterprise 250 GB [ Moved from LeapList to PC_Support. I'm not on LeapList, so feel free to post a link of my response from the PC_Support articles to LeapList. I'm planning on writing a blog article very shortly. ] Homer Whittaker wrote: > Has anyone had any bad experiences with the subject WD hard drive. I've had bad experiences with Hitachi, Maxtor, Samsung, Seagate, Western Digital and countless others. In case I'm not a broken record yet, brand name means _squat_! Everyone inter-fabs, even Seagate (c/o Maxtor) since around 2003. You can_not_ trust brand name at all! Per _model_ reviews are the _only_ way. Not even warranty is an indicator of "enterprise-rated" or not. E.g., just because Seagate offers a consumer-rated 5x8 Barracuda 7200.x with a 5-year warranty does _not_ make it an enterprise-rated 24x7 Barracuda ES. NOTE: Just because it's enterprise-rated does _not_ mean it won't fail. It's still the same "consumer-fab" technology. But they are tested to higher tolerances. If you want an "true enterprise fabbed" Western Digital drive, you want the 10Krpm Raptor. It's essentially a Hitachi UltraStar 10K FC/SCSI/SAS drive, but with a SATA interface. They come in 73(75)-146(150)GB sizes, and the 292(300)GB sizes should be around the corner. But you pay a crapload for them, because they are 10Krpm with _enterprise_ components (about 6x better/less vibrating/more balanced). > I am about to purchase two enterprise level hd's If you mean the WD2500JS Caviar "SE[2]", is is *NOT* an enterprise-rated drive, but very much "low-end" consumer. In fact, if you are buying the "bare" WD2500JS, you are getting an OEM version -- probably with only a 1 year warranty. NewEgg lists that "8x5 consumer-rated OEM" drive for $68.99: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144417 NewEgg lists the near-_equivalent_, but "24x7 enterprise-rated OEM" WD2500YD and WD2500YS for $75.99 and $79.99, respectively: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136010 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136055 I don't know much about the "Y" platters. Some are lower-grade, 80GB/platter devices, while others are newer 120GB/platter, possibly even 133-160GB/platter, devices. I haven't researched. The Y has 16MB SDRAM. I still swear by the "older" "S" (107MB/platter) series, with only 8MB SDRAM buffers. Unfortunately, all NewEgg has is an "open box" unit for over $80: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144394 Now some of the older "J" versions was the consumer version of the "S". I personally have the WD3200JD, which is the consumer rated version of the SD3200SD. I haven't had one fail yet in over 2 years of usage. But I seriously doubt the WD3200JS is the same, especially given the newer logic. In fact, I believe it's a 80GB/platter device, and packed with 4 discs. So the WD2500JS is the similar with 3 discs. I would _not_ trust it. BTW, some might point out the older WD3200JD/WD3200SD they are non-native SATA/300, using an internal ATA/133 to SATA/150 converter. Oh well, again, they work damn fine for me. > for a new install/upgrade on an old 32 bit machine. > Safety and longevity concerns are more important than price and actual > size (but not much smaller). The enterprise-rated Caviar "RE[2]" is about a 20% cost premium over consumer-rated Caviar "SE[2]". The RE versions roll of the same line as the SE versions, but are tested to higher tolerances. The enterprise-rated Seagate NL35 (older) Barracuda ES (newr) are about a 50+% cost premium over the consumer-rated Seagate Barracuda 7200.x series. Again, fabbed the same, tested differently. Same goes for the enterprise-rated Hitachi T7Kxxx versus the consumer-rated Hitachi 7Kxxx. > It currently has 540 meg of memory and I most likely will kick that up to 1.5 > or whatever the max turns out to be. Sound expensive if it's older PC100/133. Might be a _lot_ cheaper to go with a new mainboard and more commodity DDR400 or DDR2-533. > It has one of ThBS's favorite Millenium graphics cards Favorite from ... say ... 5 years ago? I consider the nVidia NV44 (GeForce 61x0/620/6500) to be the absolute _minimum_ standard today, even for just 2D. > and plays on a Princeton Digital 20" screen :-) . > Any thoughts or information would be appreciated. From pberry2 at cfl.rr.com Thu Sep 21 17:05:58 2006 From: pberry2 at cfl.rr.com (patrick) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sal e for $99 - $50 rebate ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4512FEB6.4050204@cfl.rr.com> Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Homer Whittaker wrote: > >> What is the point to upgrading? >> > > If you're having newer hardware or software support issues on older versions, of course. Or if you just need a XP license and have unused 95/98/ME licenses. > > From: Damien McKenna > >> XP is better than 98? >> > > I hope that was rhetorical. > [ Hint: Any NT-based Windows is always more reliable, stable and secure than DOS-based ] > > Sorry I mentioned this deal! Geez! > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support > > Well, the WGA STILL says it is an illegal install!!! Great time to switch to a Linux distro, I guess... From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 21 17:22:29 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Great Classic Games for $3-6: Unreal Gold and Freespace ... Message-ID: If you have a legacy Windows 98 gaming box (like I do), or a Linux system, you should check out a pair of great, classic games for $3-6 at GoGamer.COM ... $2.90 Unreal Gold: http://www.gogamer.com/Unreal-Gold-Edition-PC-Blow-Out-Deals_stcVVproductId4761575VVcatId444790VVviewprod.htm And $5.90 Freespace (don't let the "Descent" name fool you, it's a better 3D "freespace" space shooter than the gameplay in the "Wing Commander" series and _nothing_ like the "Descent" cavern shooters): http://www.gogamer.com/Descent-Freespace-with-Bonus-Silent-Threat-PC-Blow-Out-Deals_stcVVproductId4759634VVcatId444790VVviewprod.htm If you have Linux, get the installers from here: http://icculus.org/~ravage/ I run them on Linux and have full 4-axis (pitch, yaw, roll and throttle) joystick support (for Freespace). The only downside of the Freespace installer is that it doesn't have music (full speach/sound effect though), although newer CVS builds do. The actually look _better_ under Linux than the originals under Windows because they are build against the newer UT/Freespace 3D rendering game engines and use OpenGL. Freespace is damn fun to play, and has an excellent storyline. As I said, if you liked the Wing Commander series, Freespace takes the cake. No, no Mark Hammil or Tom Wilson, just digital actors with a good, dynamic story-line. Freespace 2, if you can find it, is even better. I particularly like the re-introduction of "flak guns" so you can't just "get close" to a cap ship and assume it can't hit you. Far more realistic IMHO. From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 21 17:30:10 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Antec NeoHE, (3) +12V rails, 380W (336W +12V) shipped for $76.90 - $12 rebate ... Message-ID: The new Antec NeoHE (High Efficiency) ATX power supply series offers triple +12V rails: http://www.antec.com/us/pro_p_NeoHE.html It comes in 380, 430, 500 and 550W versions, with the 500+W being rated for nVidia SLI. Even the 380W claims 336W max via the +12V lines at 50C -- very real-world specs! http://www.antec.com/specs/NeoHE380_spe.html Buy.COM is running a special, the NeoHE for $76.90 shipped free, plus a $12 rebate: http://dealnews.com/deals/Antec-Neo-Power-380-w-ATX-Power-Supply-for-65-shipped-after-rebate/133365.html Form-factor is a perfect ATX "square" (5.9" x 5.9"), so it should fit in just about any mid-size tower case, and possibly even some of the smaller form-factor cubes (depending on the depth of your DVD drive). From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 21 17:32:50 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Antec NeoHE, (3) +12V rails, 380W (336W +12V) shipped for $76.90 - $12 rebate ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On 9/21/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > It comes in 380, 430, 500 and 550W versions, with the 500+W being > rated for nVidia SLI. The 500+W versions also claim to have cable support (conversion) to EPS12V. From damien at mc-kenna.com Thu Sep 21 22:17:29 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Western Digital Enterprise 250 GB References: Message-ID: <451347B9.2030409@mc-kenna.com> Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Not even warranty is an indicator of "enterprise-rated" or not. E.g., > just because Seagate offers a consumer-rated 5x8 Barracuda 7200.x with > a 5-year warranty does _not_ make it an enterprise-rated 24x7 > Barracuda ES. I wouldn't want to specifically draw a correlation between the two, but from a business perspective I'd feel safer buying a drive that came with a 5 year warranty than a 1 or 3 year. Couple that with RAID-1 or RAID-5 and you've got 5 years of data assurance - no guarantee but pretty darn good. BTW, three months ago we bought three 74gb Hitachi enterprise SCSI drives. One died within a month. Thankfully we had it on RAID-5, but you can betcha we got an extra hot-spare to match the set. -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From damien at mc-kenna.com Thu Sep 21 22:18:18 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sal e for $99 - $50 rebate ... In-Reply-To: <4512FEB6.4050204@cfl.rr.com> References: <4512FEB6.4050204@cfl.rr.com> Message-ID: <451347EA.5030507@mc-kenna.com> patrick wrote: >> If you're having newer hardware or software support issues on older >> versions, of course. Or if you just need a XP license and have >> unused 95/98/ME licenses. > Well, the WGA STILL says it is an illegal install!!! What is an illegal install? -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From pberry2 at cfl.rr.com Fri Sep 22 01:07:21 2006 From: pberry2 at cfl.rr.com (patrick) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sal e for $99 - $50 rebate ... In-Reply-To: <451347EA.5030507@mc-kenna.com> References: <4512FEB6.4050204@cfl.rr.com> <451347EA.5030507@mc-kenna.com> Message-ID: <45136F89.1090109@cfl.rr.com> Damien McKenna wrote: > patrick wrote: > >>> If you're having newer hardware or software support issues on older >>> versions, of course. Or if you just need a XP license and have >>> unused 95/98/ME licenses. >>> >> Well, the WGA STILL says it is an illegal install!!! >> > > What is an illegal install? > > installed product on a system. Drive crapped out, and so did a CPU and so, it does not equal the same system that was originally registered. That can happen when two or more major devices are replaced. It requires some communications with a dweeb at M$, to explain and beg to be re-registered! Running the system without doing all those steps, and the WGA pops up a warning that you are not running a legally attained copy of their crapola. Reason #92,949 to switch to Linux. From damien at mc-kenna.com Fri Sep 22 00:08:53 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sal e for $99 - $50 rebate ... In-Reply-To: <45136F89.1090109@cfl.rr.com> References: <4512FEB6.4050204@cfl.rr.com> <451347EA.5030507@mc-kenna.com> <45136F89.1090109@cfl.rr.com> Message-ID: <451361D5.1030701@mc-kenna.com> patrick wrote: > installed product on a system. Drive crapped out, and so did a CPU > and so, it does not equal the same system that was originally registered. You can trigger that just by installing the software for a PocketPC device, like the one I sold you last year. Freaky. > That can happen when two or more major devices are replaced. It > requires some communications with a dweeb at M$, to explain and beg to > be re-registered! I had to do that, it didn't take any begging, just answering "this is only running on one computer" a few times. -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From pberry2 at cfl.rr.com Fri Sep 22 08:20:25 2006 From: pberry2 at cfl.rr.com (patrick) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] CompUSA has Windows XP SP2 Upgrade on-sal e for $99 - $50 rebate ... In-Reply-To: <451361D5.1030701@mc-kenna.com> References: <4512FEB6.4050204@cfl.rr.com> <451347EA.5030507@mc-kenna.com> <45136F89.1090109@cfl.rr.com> <451361D5.1030701@mc-kenna.com> Message-ID: <4513D509.8060708@cfl.rr.com> Damien McKenna wrote: > patrick wrote: > >> installed product on a system. Drive crapped out, and so did a CPU >> and so, it does not equal the same system that was originally registered. >> > > You can trigger that just by installing the software for a PocketPC > device, like the one I sold you last year. Freaky. > > >> That can happen when two or more major devices are replaced. It >> requires some communications with a dweeb at M$, to explain and beg to >> be re-registered! >> > > I had to do that, it didn't take any begging, just answering "this is > only running on one computer" a few times. > > I don't have the time to do it even once. There are certain freedoms that are natural, and one is that of my time disposition. I prefer to not have a liege lord, when I purchase a product. Now, I have been educated to understand that it is not a purchase of any products belonging to the Business Software Alliance. It is a "lease", subject to strong conditions concerning it's use, that binds the user to disclose extensive personal information, on a continuing basis. Some of the data is collected manually, some is collected automatically. The time and effort to both manage all that, and constantly patch, and protect against an onslaught of hundreds of thousands of invaders known as the "Microsoft Virus Definitions" linked together with the huge amount of problems inherent in the bloat ware, and the sudden losses of data in many of their applications, forbids my heavy investment of resources. So, I can't see that I have ever been served, but, that I am the servant, and am subject to extreme punishment, cruel and unusual, in the use of the faulty products of Microsoft Corporation. In fact, any trade with Microsoft and members of the BSA, immediately feeds a machine that is totalitarian and monopolistic. I don't trade with convicted felons. BTW, Microsoft's probation was recently revoked, and extended for three more years, for grievous violations. From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 22 13:00:28 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Philips 30" CRT 16:9 TV w/ATSC for $398, 26-32" LCDs $500-800 these days ... Message-ID: Philips has a similiar model to my 30" CRT 16:9 TVs, only it has ATSC built-in for over-the-air HDTV, as well as 2x component and 1x HDMI inputs: http://dealnews.com/deals/Refurbished-Philips-30-Widescreen-Tube-HDTV-w-HDMI-for-398-shipped/133258.html These are really 540p/1080i units, and don't do 720p (or downconvert), but they are excellent if some of your inputs are still 480i (non-HDTV cable/satellite) or 480p (DVD), as well as for watching newer 1080i channels or a XBox 360. I've also started to notice 26-27" 720p/768 LCDs are dropping to $500 regularly, and 27, 30 and even 32" 720p/768 LCDs, some even with ATSC built-in, are also $700-800. Some are more video/consumer in refresh time -- e.g., 22-25ms -- but some are even gamer-level -- e.g., 4-16ms. If you're in the market, keep checking DealNews.COM regularly. Most 720p/768 LCDs aren't ideal for 480i or 480p/DVD, especially not anything VHS, but they are superb for HDTV, XBox 360 (720p), retro gaming boxes (if they have VGA in -- I run Windows 98SE with old games at 1024x768 and even a few at 1280x768 widescreen), etc... From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 22 13:11:24 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Samsung 17" LCD (1280x1024), 8ms, DVI+VGA for $99 out-the-door at OfficeMax Message-ID: Samsung SyncMaster 730B, just gotta print out the flyer: http://dealnews.com/deals/Samsung-Sync-Master-730-B-17-LCD-Monitor-with-DVI-for-100/133443.html From damien at mc-kenna.com Fri Sep 22 13:44:36 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Samsung 17" LCD (1280x1024), 8ms, DVI+VGA for $99 out-the-door at OfficeMax In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Sep 22, 2006, at 1:11 PM, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Samsung SyncMaster 730B, just gotta print out the flyer: Typically we just ordered a bunch of 15" ones for more than that online. -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From whittake at sbaflorida.com Fri Sep 22 16:47:42 2006 From: whittake at sbaflorida.com (Homer Whittaker) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Western Digital Enterprise 250 GB References: Message-ID: <45144BEE.90105@sbaflorida.com> Bryan J. Smith wrote: > [ Moved from LeapList to PC_Support. I'm not on LeapList, so feel > free to post a link of my response from the PC_Support articles to > LeapList. I'm planning on writing a blog article very shortly. ] I am looking forward to your blog article. I am comfortable on the PC_Support, unless you prefer that I link it to LeapList. > > Homer Whittaker wrote: >> Has anyone had any bad experiences with the subject WD hard drive. > 16MB SDRAM. > > I still swear by the "older" "S" (107MB/platter) series, with only 8MB > SDRAM buffers. Unfortunately, all NewEgg has is an "open box" unit > for over $80: > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144394 > > Now some of the older "J" versions was the consumer version of the > "S". I personally have the WD3200JD, which is the consumer rated > version of the SD3200SD. I haven't had one fail yet in over 2 years > of usage. > > But I seriously doubt the WD3200JS is the same, especially given the > newer logic. In fact, I believe it's a 80GB/platter device, and > packed with 4 discs. So the WD2500JS is the similar with 3 discs. I > would _not_ trust it. > > BTW, some might point out the older WD3200JD/WD3200SD they are > non-native SATA/300, using an internal ATA/133 to SATA/150 converter. > Oh well, again, they work damn fine for me. I agree and could care less. From what you are saying my best bet is to buy two of the WD3200JD/WD3200SD. I had forgotten about the previous discussions on model number -not manufacturer. Thanks for the reminder. > >> for a new install/upgrade on an old 32 bit machine. >> Safety and longevity concerns are more important than price and actual >> size (but not much smaller). > > The enterprise-rated Caviar "RE[2]" is about a 20% cost premium over > consumer-rated Caviar "SE[2]". The RE versions roll of the same line > as the SE versions, but are tested to higher tolerances. > > The enterprise-rated Seagate NL35 (older) Barracuda ES (newr) are > about a 50+% cost premium over the consumer-rated Seagate Barracuda > 7200.x series. Again, fabbed the same, tested differently. > > Same goes for the enterprise-rated Hitachi T7Kxxx versus the > consumer-rated Hitachi 7Kxxx. > >> It currently has 540 meg of memory and I most likely will kick that >> up to 1.5 >> or whatever the max turns out to be. > > Sound expensive if it's older PC100/133. Might be a _lot_ cheaper to > go with a new mainboard and more commodity DDR400 or DDR2-533. Yes it is an Asus K7S5A, 133Mh. One again I agree that a new mother board might be best, but it must be an AMD 32bit, ATX format. I looked at the Tyan n3400B and h1000s boards but Tyan's lack of support for Linux is scary. They are less than enthusiastic about the the Linux kernels, etc. Given that, can anyone suggest a good conservative (I do not care if it will never play "games"). I want to use the existing component ps, video board, etc. > >> It has one of ThBS's favorite Millenium graphics cards > > Favorite from ... say ... 5 years ago? > > I consider the nVidia NV44 (GeForce 61x0/620/6500) to be the absolute > _minimum_ standard today, even for just 2D. > Not to argue with your expertise, but in my instance, why? Given a new board, and good RAM memory what will the nVidia suggestion do that my current Millenium G400 won't do? And, is the suggested board worth the extra dollars? >> and plays on a Princeton Digital 20" screen :-) . >> Any thoughts or information would be appreciated. I found one at Costco for $289 plus tax. Is there one just about as good, at a lessor cost on the internet? I am not married to Princeton. It is just that they have done me well over the past 15/20 years. Homer Whittaker > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support > From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 22 17:20:44 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Western Digital Enterprise 250 GB Bryan J. Smith wrote: > I am looking forward to your blog article. Give me through the weekend. I'm going to be taking the wifey to the Keys, and will probably author it on the lappie early some morning on the beach. > I am comfortable on the PC_Support, unless you prefer that I link it to > LeapList. I generally try to avoid LeapList as of late, but feel free to link to the PC_Support archives. It's best that I let Linux users discuss what they want, and not try to interject my anal enterprise experience. Doing such tends to piss a lot of people off because I make assumptions / have expectation that people don't answer on-a-whim what they've heard may work and try to only answer with what they've tried personally (especially in a production environment). Hence why I help people off-list from LeapList, or repost hardware-related stuff here. > I agree and could care less. From what you are saying my best bet is > to buy two of the WD3200JD/WD3200SD. The 250GB WD2500SD is the "Caviar RE" version of the WD2500JD "Caviar SE" (possibly JS too?). Unfortunately, it's typically only found as a refurb or opened item. The few I found new on Froogle were almost as much as the 320GB WD3200SD, so it's really no savings. I have many 320GB WD3200JD (consumer) and WD3200SD (enterprise) units in usage. None have failed yet, and the performance of the 107GB/platter is quite surprising. > I had forgotten about the previous discussions on model number -not > manufacturer. Thanks for the reminder. It's really been the case for 8-10 years now in the PC industry. > One again I agree that a new mother board might be best, but it must be > an AMD 32bit, ATX format. Pretty much 99% of individual mainboards sold are ATX or MicroATX (or FlexATX, which is MicroATX only slightly smaller). Only a very tiny portion are the newer Intel BTX or MicroATX (or nano/pico-BTX, among some non-standard BTX-based designs). > I looked at the Tyan n3400B and h1000s boards but Tyan's lack of support > for Linux is scary. > They are less than enthusiastic about the the Linux kernels, etc. Huh? I haven't had an issue with their boards under Linux yet -- sans some 3.6-4.0GiB holes early on (back when other mainboards only supported 2.0GiB maximum). > Given that, can anyone suggest a good conservative (I do not care if it > will never play "games"). I want to use the existing component ps, Most existing ATX power supplies work. Even older 20+4-pin ATX 1.0 (ATX12V) power supplies typically work on newer 24+4-pin ATX 2.0 mainboards, as long as you don't draw too much current (especially not on video). > video board, etc. Today you can get a nVidia C51 (NV44 GPU + MCP51) chipset on a sub-$50 mainboard -- the NV44 GPU (GeForce 61x0 series) is _built-into_ the chipset. At the same time, there is a PCIe x16 slot for upgrading (if you so desire). It will get even $10-20 cheaper in the very near future with the new, single-chip MCP61 chipsets from nVidia: http://lists.leap-cf.org/pipermail/pc_support/2006-September/002517.html There may or may not be a PCIe x16 slot on those for upgrading, and it will probably be only PCIe x8 electrically (but still better than AGP). > Not to argue with your expertise, but in my instance, why? Better 2D performance, features, support -- especially DVI, dual-head, etc... And since this list also addresses Windows, "I need a 2004+ generation 3D accelerator just to do basic 2D graphics" Vista support starts with the nVidia NV4x and ATI R4xx series. > Given a new board, and good RAM memory what will the nVidia suggestion > do that my current Millenium G400 won't do? And, is the suggested board > worth the extra dollars? I think you keep missing the point. See my blog article ... http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/02/geforce-6-and-7-series-variants-nuts.html The nVidia C51 chipset _includes_ a 2004+ generation 2D/3D GPU in the NV44 (GeForce 61x0 series) "for free." It's 2/1 pixel/vertex with only a 425-475MHz clock might not be a major performance-crown winner versus other GeForce 6/7 series cards, but versus even a GeForce FX5200/5500/5700LE, it _smacks'em_silly_! Going back to a 6 year-old Matrox G-series is like comparing a contemporary sedan to a Ford model T. ;) Especially since even the chipset-integrated GPU gets better performance using system memory than the local 8-32MB on the G-series. > I found one at Costco for $289 plus tax. Is there one just about as > good, at a lessor cost on the internet? If you don't need widescreen, 19" LCDs with near-4:3 aspect, 1280x1024 resolution are as low as $100 after rebate, and typically well under $200 out-the-door. That includes having DVI (Digital Video Interface), which is pretty much what you want to use for LCDs (and not old analog VGA/DB15 connectors). Just make sure your video card/mainboard has DVI out, or a riser card available if the GPU is built-into the mainboard chipset. > I am not married to Princeton. It is just that they have done me well > over the past 15/20 years. Considering 99% of LCD panels are made by 3 companies, brand name really doesn't mean squat -- other than for support. From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 22 18:11:55 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] ECS K7S5A (SiS735 single-IC chipset) and DDR SDRAM -- WAS: WD2500JS et. al. Message-ID: Da'BS wrote: > Sound expensive if it's older PC100/133. Might be a _lot_ cheaper to > go with a new mainboard and more commodity DDR400 or DDR2-533. Homer wrote: > Yes it is an Asus K7S5A, 133Mh. Er, is that not an ECS K7S5A? (not Asus)? If so, that's the SiS735 single-IC chipset. Assuming it doesn't have the bad resin (and you've had it long enough it shouldn't), it's fine. That's because it has _both_ 168-pin SDRAM _and_ 184-pin DDR SDRAM support. So you can buy newer, still commodity 512MiB DDR266/333 (PC2100/2700) or even DDR400 (PC3200) DIMM modules for $25/each and use them in that mainboard. So no need to upgrade the mainboard. Now you have to be careful on number of DIMMs. JEDEC specifications state ... - DDR200 (PC1600): 3 DIMMs per unbuffered DDR channel - DDR266/333 (PC2100/2700): 2 DIMMs per unbuffered DDR channel - DDR400 (PC3200): 1 DIMM per unbuffered DDR channel So if you want to go 1.5GiB of memory via 3 DIMMS, you'd have to use DDR200 (PC1600). So you're probably better off with just 1.0GiB of DDR266/333 (PC2100/2700) memory via 2 DIMMs. From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 22 18:30:54 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Rules-of-thumb on upgrading components for an older mainboard ... Message-ID: If you're considering buying new components for an older mainboard, here's the rules-of-thumb I use. 1. Does your older mainboard use the latest, "commodity" components? If so, then an upgrade is not a bad idea, you're still current. 2. If not, how much of a "premium" are you paying for those "older" technology components? If it's more than 33-50% of what a new, equivalent mainboard would cost -- assuming you can use your existing CPU on the new mainboard -- consider just getting a new mainboard. If you can't use your existing CPU on the new mainboard, then use 33-50% of what a new, equivalent mainboard+CPU would cost you. So, why would you want to chuck what you got? A. Newer technology components have a longer lifespan/usefulness for future use if and when you upgrade again B. You can put your old system to use in another way (appliance, server, donation, etc...) C. Integration on newer mainboards replace countless add-in cards, possibly even offer a superior GPU "for free" in the chipset - Case Study: Socket-462 (Athlon/XP) systems A lot of people are still using Socket-462 platforms with AGP. Early Socket-462 platforms used PC133 SDRAM. Latter Socket-462 platforms support DDR200/266 and even 333/400. If you have an early Socket-462 platform, PC133 is _not_ commodity anymore. You pay a major premium, even for used components, per MB versus DDR. Futhermore, your AGP video card is probably slower than a nForce2 IGP, or possibly even Via/SiS integrated video. Considering nForce2 IGP mainboards that use DDR are $30-40, it might be worth upgrading, while still being able to use your CPU. If you're considering upgrading your AGP video card to a GeForce FX, then it becomes a no-brainer, even if you have a latter DDR SDRAM mainboard. You should consider a C51 (GeForce 61x0) chipset mainboard with integrated NV44 GPU for Socket-754 or 939 if you want to reuse your DDR memory. Even Socket-939 Athlon-64 processors are sub-$75, so the mainboard+CPU is sub-$125 now. If you are not going to use your existing memory (say you only have 256MiB or less and/or it's PC100/133), I highly recommend Socket-AM2 (940) with DDR2. DDR memory is quickly going non-commodity (within months), and DDR2 will give you far greater lifespan for future upgrades. Socket-AM2, unlike Socket-939, is also a single low-end (Sempron-64) and high-end (Athlon-64) consumer platform. You can start with a solid C51 Socket-AM2 mainboard, Sempron-64 and 512MiB of DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) memory for sub-$150 nowdays, sometimes as low as sub-$125. Especially since in both of the latter two cases, you now have a PCIe upgrade path for video. AGP costs a _pretty_premium_ now. E.g., A $200 AGP GeForce 6800GS/GT can be matched by a $100 PCIe GeForce 7600GT, and a $75 PCIe GeForce 7600GS can smack a $100+ AGP GeForce 6600 (or even more costly 6600GT) silly. From wam at HiWAAY.net Fri Sep 22 18:47:33 2006 From: wam at HiWAAY.net (William A. Mahaffey III) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Rules-of-thumb on upgrading components for an older mainboard ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <45146805.60408@HiWAAY.net> Bryan J. Smith wrote: > If you're considering buying new components for an older mainboard, > here's the rules-of-thumb I use. > > 1. Does your older mainboard use the latest, "commodity" components? > > If so, then an upgrade is not a bad idea, you're still current. > > 2. If not, how much of a "premium" are you paying for those "older" > technology components? > > If it's more than 33-50% of what a new, equivalent mainboard would > cost -- assuming you can use your existing CPU on the new mainboard -- > consider just getting a new mainboard. > > If you can't use your existing CPU on the new mainboard, then use > 33-50% of what a new, equivalent mainboard+CPU would cost you. > > So, why would you want to chuck what you got? > > A. Newer technology components have a longer lifespan/usefulness for > future use if and when you upgrade again > > B. You can put your old system to use in another way (appliance, > server, donation, etc...) > > C. Integration on newer mainboards replace countless add-in cards, > possibly even offer a superior GPU "for free" in the chipset > > - Case Study: Socket-462 (Athlon/XP) systems > > A lot of people are still using Socket-462 platforms with AGP. > Early Socket-462 platforms used PC133 SDRAM. > Latter Socket-462 platforms support DDR200/266 and even 333/400. > > If you have an early Socket-462 platform, PC133 is _not_ commodity > anymore. > You pay a major premium, even for used components, per MB versus DDR. > Futhermore, your AGP video card is probably slower than a nForce2 IGP, > or possibly even Via/SiS integrated video. Considering nForce2 IGP > mainboards that use DDR are $30-40, it might be worth upgrading, while > still being able to use your CPU. > > If you're considering upgrading your AGP video card to a GeForce FX, > then it becomes a no-brainer, even if you have a latter DDR SDRAM > mainboard. You should consider a C51 (GeForce 61x0) chipset mainboard > with integrated NV44 GPU for Socket-754 or 939 if you want to reuse > your DDR memory. Even Socket-939 Athlon-64 processors are sub-$75, so > the mainboard+CPU is sub-$125 now. > > If you are not going to use your existing memory (say you only have > 256MiB or less and/or it's PC100/133), I highly recommend Socket-AM2 > (940) with DDR2. DDR memory is quickly going non-commodity (within > months), and DDR2 will give you far greater lifespan for future > upgrades. Socket-AM2, unlike Socket-939, is also a single low-end > (Sempron-64) and high-end (Athlon-64) consumer platform. You can > start with a solid C51 Socket-AM2 mainboard, Sempron-64 and 512MiB of > DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) memory for sub-$150 nowdays, sometimes as low as > sub-$125. > > Especially since in both of the latter two cases, you now have a PCIe > upgrade path for video. AGP costs a _pretty_premium_ now. E.g., A > $200 AGP GeForce 6800GS/GT can be matched by a $100 PCIe GeForce > 7600GT, and a $75 PCIe GeForce 7600GS can smack a $100+ AGP GeForce > 6600 (or even more costly 6600GT) silly. The last 2 paragraphs bring up another point. I have seen some AM2 boards on NewEgg [1] that claim up to 16 GB of RAM on only 2 slots, and almost always 16 GB w/ 4 slots. Is this a typo, or are the standards for DDR2 more expansive size-wise ? Also, what about speeds vs RAM mass ? TIA .... [1] http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813185083 for example .... -- William A. Mahaffey III ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "The M1 Garand is without doubt the finest implement of war ever devised by man." -- Gen. George S. Patton Jr. From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 22 20:41:08 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Wikia Computer Knowledge Base: Vendor Product Lines ... Message-ID: Instead of blogging, I started a new category under Wikia's Computer Knowledge Base: http://pc.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Entitled "Vendor Product Lines": http://pc.wikia.com/wiki/Vendor_Product_Lines I'm going to move my existing GeForce 6/7 Blog article there. I will also add in the disk information under the appropriate storage section. I plan on adding a lot of additional hardware vendor product line info to the outline in the future, as I fill out the content. From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 22 21:19:48 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Memory Technology and Chip Select -- WAS: Rules-of-thumb on upgrading components for an older mainboard ... Message-ID: William A. Mahaffey III wrote: > The last 2 paragraphs bring up another point. I have seen some AM2 > boards on NewEgg [1] that claim up to 16 GB of RAM on only 2 slots, Yeah? So? > and almost always 16 GB w/ 4 slots. Huh? Who says? Just because 4GiB DDR DIMMs are the biggest right now, and even 4GiB DDR2 DIMMs are rare, doesn't mean JEDEC hasn't spec'd DDR2 to support much larger modules. Without putting you through a couple of logic + system design EE or EET (technology) courses, I will attempt to "dissect" elementary memory controllers -- IC width, chip select and other detail. SDRAM ICs are organized into combinations of 32-bit banks -- either 2 banks per unbuffered 64-bit wide, or 4 banks of registered/buffered 128-bit wide, channels per 64-bit DIMM. That's before we talk ECC (which is 72-bit or 144-bit, respectively). The ICs themselves are often 4-bit (x4), 8-bit (x8), 16-bit (x16) or possibly even 32-bit (x32). To organize them into 64-bit, you need 16 x4 ICs, 8 x8 ICs, 4 x16 ICs or 2 x32 ICs. Double for registered/buffered. Now let's say we have a 8GiB DIMM. Let's assume it uses a 16 x8 ICs -- 128-bit / 16 byte wide, registered/buffered -- which would be 4Gib (as in giga_bit_) SDRAM Technology. Standard page size in memory is typically 4KiB (or a multiple of it) on most architectures. 8GiB / 16 / 4096 = 2^33 / 2^4 / 2^12 = 2^17 I only need 17 pins on the SDRAM ICs themselves for addressing, on a registered/buffered (128-bit) DIMM. If the DIMM is non-registered/unbuffered (64-bit), then 17 pins of addressing at the individual SDRAM IC gets me a maximum of 4GiB. The only other pin that goes active is the actual chip select, which I use with a decoder. The ICs themselves are 4Gib SDRAM Technology, because they hold 4 billion cells. Organized into a 64-bit (8 byte) DIMM, that is 4Gib * 8 / 8bits/byte = 4GiB. Using a registered/buffered DIMM, which can be up to 128-bit (16 byte), I can get a 8GiB DIMM. Looking at the 4Gib SDRAM Technology, which is 512MiB, of 4KiB pages, I only need 4Gib / 4096 = 512MiB / 4096 = 2^29 / 2^12 = 2^17 -- again 17 pins. On the DIMM, I have 4GiB of 4KiB pages. I need 4GiB / 4096 = 2^32 / 2^12 = 2^20 -- 20 pins. I use the 17 for the first 2^17 (131,172) pages in each 4GiB IC. I then use the next 3 for the 3:8 decoder on the DIMM which runs to the CS (chip select) on each IC. In the case of registered/buffered, there is an additional CS line to switch between the two. [ NOTE: SDRAM is actually organized in 32-bit banks, and not the full 64-bit wide DIMM, so it's a bit more complicated than that. But I over-simplified here for a reason. ] > Is this a typo, or are the standards for DDR2 more expansive size-wise ? Don't know, haven't read the JEDEC PC2 (DDR2) standards in awhile. > Also, what about speeds vs RAM mass ? What do you mean by RAM "speed" and what do you mean by "RAM mass"? There is a chronic plague that hits enthusiasts called "I invented yet another memory term today" -- density, double-stack, etc... which are absolutely _useless_. You really can't use any terminology without understanding how memory controllers are designed, how they address banks of memory, which are simply traces run to individual ICs with a few chip selects. So, if you mean "SDRAM Technology" when you say "mass," and you are using a registered/buffered DIMM, then for a 8GiB module, only 4Gib SDRAM Technology is needed. I.e., each IC can be up to 4 billion bits (4Gib), organized into a 128-bit (16 byte) wide interface. For non-registered/unbuffered, I can get a 4GiB module, using ICs of 4 billion bits (4Gib SDRAM Technology) into a 64-bit (8 byte) wide interface. BTW, the 128-bit v. 64-bit has on the 64-bit DIMM itself has _nothing_ to do with "dual channel" or anything (that's completely _different_). It has to do with the fact that registered/buffered can do extra interleaving inside the DIMM (although it can use a 64-bit wide without it too). "Dual-channel" has to do with the interconnect from the DIMMs to the Intel MCH (memory controller hub) or AMD processor (which is directly connected to the memory). From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 22 21:36:27 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:04 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Memory Technology and Chip Select -- why some DIMMs only come up as only half ... Message-ID: On 9/22/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > I only need 17 pins on the SDRAM ICs themselves for addressing, If you've ever wondered why you only saw half of the memory when you stuck in a memory module, now you know why. If the IC technology is newer than the chipset's supported IC technology, you're IC has one more address pin than your chipset supports. In the case of some non-standard 32 chip x4 (128-bit) designs back in the PC133 days, you could even see a quarter. My personal favorite, which I tried to bitch-smack into a former Leapster who argued the point with me after a reseller tried to tell him otherwise (yeah, don't listen to me, the engineer who has actually designed memory controllers ;), was the every popular Intel i440BX v. the popular Intel i815. The Intel i440BX was a 128Mib technology, but could support registered 32 chip x4 (128-bit -- not looking at the 36 chip x4, 144-bit ECC option). The i440BX did support x8 and x16, but only in 8 and 4 chip unbuffered (not 16 and 8 chip, respectively, registered). So that meant for the i440BX, the 256MiB DIMM was 32 x4 registered, and the 128MiB was 8 x8 or 4 x16. The Intel i815 was a 256Mib technology, but it could only support unbuffered 8 chip x8 or 4 chip x16. It supported no x4 option at all, not even 16 x4, much less a 32 x4 -- not even for older 128Mib technology. So that meant for the i815, the 256MiB DIMM was 8 x8 or 4 x16 unbuffered, and the 128MiB was 8 x8 or 4 x16. So while the i440BX and i815 could use the same 128MiB DIMM, they could _not_ use the same 256MiB DIMM -- even though both chipsets were PC100/133 SDRAM (Intel unofficially supported 133MHz FSB on the i440BX, it had an undocumented 1/4th divider). SIDE NOTES (for completeness): A. The i815 was preceded by the i810, which only supported 128Mib SDRAM technology. So back then, it only supported a 128MiB DIMM, which was the same as the i440BX. It was once the i815 was introduced, and the new 256MiB unbuffered DIMMs became available, that people started buying them and seeing only 128MiB when inserted in the i440BX. B. The i440GX was limitedly introduced for low-end servers (along with the i450NX for higher-end servers) around the time of the i815 (Intel was also flirting with Rambus too, long story), and it finally added 256Mib technology support to the i440 line. It could not only use the same 256MiB DIMMs as the i815, but it also offered support for a 512MiB DIMM (using 256Mib technology in a 32 x4 registered module). These DIMMs were very rare and damn expensive. From wam at HiWAAY.net Fri Sep 22 22:28:27 2006 From: wam at HiWAAY.net (William A. Mahaffey III) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Memory Technology and Chip Select -- WAS: Rules-of-thumb on upgrading components for an older mainboard ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <45149BCB.2020602@HiWAAY.net> Bryan J. Smith wrote: > William A. Mahaffey III wrote: > >> The last 2 paragraphs bring up another point. I have seen some AM2 >> boards on NewEgg [1] that claim up to 16 GB of RAM on only 2 slots, > > > Yeah? So? > >> and almost always 16 GB w/ 4 slots. > > > Huh? Who says? Just because 4GiB DDR DIMMs are the biggest right > now, and even 4GiB DDR2 DIMMs are rare, doesn't mean JEDEC hasn't > spec'd DDR2 to support much larger modules. > > >> Is this a typo, or are the standards for DDR2 more expansive >> size-wise ? > > > Don't know, haven't read the JEDEC PC2 (DDR2) standards in awhile. > >> Also, what about speeds vs RAM mass ? > > > What do you mean by RAM "speed" and what do you mean by "RAM mass"? > Fair enough. By RAM mass I mean total amount of RAM, by speed I mean MHz that the RAM operates at. Current DDR has limits on combinations of total RAM & speed, 2 GB (2 X 1 GB, I think) at DDR400, 4 GB at DDR 333 (even with DDR400-rated RAM), does DDR2 lift these limits ? > "Dual-channel" has to do with the interconnect from the DIMMs to the > Intel MCH (memory controller hub) or AMD processor (which is directly > connected to the memory). Yeah, I am *quite* clear about dual channel. SGI used to have 8-way interleaved RAM back in the 72-pin DIMM days. -- William A. Mahaffey III ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "The M1 Garand is without doubt the finest implement of war ever devised by man." -- Gen. George S. Patton Jr. From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 22 22:42:07 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Memory Technology and Chip Select -- WAS: Rules-of-thumb on upgrading components for an older mainboard ... Message-ID: William wrote: > Fair enough. By RAM mass I mean total amount of RAM, The size of RAM means nothing. It only means more address lines on the ICs, or a bigger decoder for the CS required. Now if you mean number of DIMMs, that's different. But it has zilch to do with the amount of RAM in GBs. > by speed I mean MHz that the RAM operates at. You mean the synchronize clock used for burst rates. DRAM itself, on reads, is _damn_slow_, like 20MHz (50ns). One you start bursting the read (or during writes), that's the timing between bits -- not so much how "fast" the DRAM is. So the synchronous clock is more of an interconnect limitationt than anything. > Current DDR has limits on combinations of total RAM & speed, 2 GB (2 X 1 > GB, I think) at DDR400, 4 GB at DDR 333 (even with DDR400-rated RAM), > does DDR2 lift these limits ? Again, has zilch to do with the amount of RAM in GBs. It has to do with the number of DIMMs. That's because of signal quality over the interconnect, not the SDRAM ICs. > Yeah, I am *quite* clear about dual channel. SGI used to have 8-way > interleaved RAM back in the 72-pin DIMM days. First off, interleaved is not quite the same either, although it's commonly used when you have a narrow channel but a wider, total memory path. Secondly ... - Intel uses shared bus for all memory - RISC (and Athlon Socket-462) use a switch to multiple memory banks. - AMD64 uses a partial mesh for interconnect, and _direct_ DDR channels (x2 in the case of Socket-939/940, and Socket-AM2/940 and F/LGA-1207) The whole concept of "dual channel" is rather over-simplified, since there are many different implementations with their own benefits and, more importantly, lack of benefits. On AMD64 Socket-939/940, you have a _direct_ 2 x 184-pin DDR SDRAM trace set for _true_ 128-bit wide -- literally pin for pin to each 184-pin DIMM channel. It's not just merely "interleaved" between multiple DIMMs in a single channel. Socket-AM2/940 and Socket-F/1207 have _direct_ 2 x 200-pin DDR2 SDRAM traces (yes, I know, DDR2 uses 240-pin on desktop, but it only needs 200-pin on SO-DIMM) for essentially the _same_, _true_ 128-bit wide path. From wam at HiWAAY.net Fri Sep 22 23:00:19 2006 From: wam at HiWAAY.net (William A. Mahaffey III) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Memory Technology and Chip Select -- WAS: Rules-of-thumb on upgrading components for an older mainboard ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4514A343.6040902@HiWAAY.net> Bryan J. Smith wrote: > William wrote: > >> Fair enough. By RAM mass I mean total amount of RAM, > > > The size of RAM means nothing. It only means more address lines on > the ICs, or a bigger decoder for the CS required. > > Now if you mean number of DIMMs, that's different. But it has zilch > to do with the amount of RAM in GBs. > >> by speed I mean MHz that the RAM operates at. > > > You mean the synchronize clock used for burst rates. DRAM itself, on > reads, is _damn_slow_, like 20MHz (50ns). One you start bursting the > read (or during writes), that's the timing between bits -- not so much > how "fast" the DRAM is. > > So the synchronous clock is more of an interconnect limitationt than > anything. > >> Current DDR has limits on combinations of total RAM & speed, 2 GB (2 X 1 >> GB, I think) at DDR400, 4 GB at DDR 333 (even with DDR400-rated RAM), >> does DDR2 lift these limits ? > > > Again, has zilch to do with the amount of RAM in GBs. > It has to do with the number of DIMMs. > That's because of signal quality over the interconnect, not the SDRAM ICs. Hmmmmm, OK, I wasn't clear on that point. But the net result is (or seems to be) .... a 2 GB limit for DDR400 ? i.e. either 2 X 1 GB DIMMs or 4 X 512 GB DIMMs, at least w/ current DIMM types ? I haven't seen or heard of any DDR400 boards with higher limits (at least not S939 boards) .... > >> Yeah, I am *quite* clear about dual channel. SGI used to have 8-way >> interleaved RAM back in the 72-pin DIMM days. > > > First off, interleaved is not quite the same either, although it's > commonly used when you have a narrow channel but a wider, total memory > path. Yeah, same for SGI (& Cray before them), 8 X 32 bit/DIMM for 256 bit bus width on SGI Power-challenges, 32 X 32-bit/DIMM for 1024 bit Cray bus width .... they just called it 'N-way interleaved' (4-way or 8-way for SGI, no name for Cray), not 'N-channel' .... different name, same net result. -- William A. Mahaffey III ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "The M1 Garand is without doubt the finest implement of war ever devised by man." -- Gen. George S. Patton Jr. From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sat Sep 23 01:47:59 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Memory Technology and Chip Select -- WAS: Rules-of-thumb on upgrading components for an older mainboard ... In-Reply-To: <4514A343.6040902@HiWAAY.net> References: <4514A343.6040902@HiWAAY.net> Message-ID: <1158990479.2980.3.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Fri, 2006-09-22 at 22:00 -0500, William A. Mahaffey III wrote: > Hmmmmm, OK, I wasn't clear on that point. But the net result is (or > seems to be) .... a 2 GB limit for DDR400 ? No, not at all. There are 2GB and 4GB DIMMs. And registered DIMMs allow you to use twice as many. E.g., a single Socket-940 Opteron can actually support 32GiB in 8 DIMM slots. A single Socket-939 Athlon 64 can actually support 16GiB in 4 DIMM slots. > Yeah, same for SGI (& Cray before them), 8 X 32 bit/DIMM for 256 bit bus > width on SGI Power-challenges, 32 X 32-bit/DIMM for 1024 bit Cray bus > width .... they just called it 'N-way interleaved' (4-way or 8-way for > SGI, no name for Cray), not 'N-channel' .... different name, same net > result. Again, that's a mega-over-simplification. Intel architecture terminology/assumption is poorly applied to RISC or HyperTransport. But I'm too tired to even think anymore. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com --------------------------------------------------------- The world is in need of solutions. Unfortunately, people seem to be more interested in blindly aligning themselves with one of only two viewponts -- an "us v. them" debate that has nothing to do with finding an actual solution. From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sat Sep 23 01:56:23 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Memory Technology and Chip Select -- WAS: Rules-of-thumb on upgrading components for an older mainboard ... In-Reply-To: <1158990479.2980.3.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <4514A343.6040902@HiWAAY.net> <1158990479.2980.3.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <1158990983.2980.12.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sat, 2006-09-23 at 01:48 -0400, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > No, not at all. There are 2GB and 4GB DIMMs. > And registered DIMMs allow you to use twice as many. > E.g., a single Socket-940 Opteron can actually support 32GiB in 8 DIMM > slots. A single Socket-939 Athlon 64 can actually support 16GiB in 4 > DIMM slots. Okay, that was for DDR333/PC2700. But still, for DDR400/PC3200, a single Socket-940 Opteron can support 16GiB in 4 DIMM slots, and a single Socket-939 Athlon 64 can support 8GiB in 2 DIMM slots. Yes, you can now only use 1 (2 if registered) DIMMs per DDR400/PC3200 channel or any DDR2/PC2-3200+ per JEDEC specifications. But that has _nothing_ to do with the _size_ of the memory. It has to do with the _number_ of DIMMs. DDR2/PC2 is 1 DIMM per channel. DDR400/PC3200 is 1 DIMM per channel. 2GB unbuffered DDR400 DIMMs exist in commodity now. 4GB registered DDR400 DIMMs have been available for some time too. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com --------------------------------------------------------- The world is in need of solutions. Unfortunately, people seem to be more interested in blindly aligning themselves with one of only two viewponts -- an "us v. them" debate that has nothing to do with finding an actual solution. From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 24 22:03:48 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Ultra ATX Mid-Tower for $39.99 shipped - $30 rebate ... Message-ID: <20060925020348.12207.qmail@web32913.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I normally don't like to buy cases via mail-order because of shipping charges, but this ATX Mid-Tower is pretty nice, with an optional 120mm exhaust and 80mm intake. It's $39.99 w/free shipping and then has a $30 rebate: http://dealnews.com/deals/Ultra-Wizard-Mid-Tower-ATX-PC-Case-for-10-shipped-after-rebate/133608.html?redir=1&ref=alert_bottom_2 More detailed product information and pictures: http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=13&pPath=250&productID=250 I'm very tempted myself, but I've enough cases and prefer MicroATX anymore. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, Technical Annoyance b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com -------------------------------------------------- Fission Power: An Inconvenient Solution From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 24 22:16:46 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] StorageReview compares 500GB Near-Line/RAID SATA drives ... Message-ID: <20060925021646.9816.qmail@web32904.mail.mud.yahoo.com> StorageReview compared Maxtor, Seagate and Western Digital 500GB 24x7 Enterprise-rated Near-Line/RAID SATA drives against each other. All were 4-platter, 125GB/platter -- enterprise-rated versions of their commodity lines. http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200607/500_1.html -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, Technical Annoyance b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com -------------------------------------------------- Fission Power: An Inconvenient Solution From dave at dgnal.net Sun Sep 24 22:27:42 2006 From: dave at dgnal.net (David Simmons) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] StorageReview compares 500GB Near-Line/RAID SATA drives ... In-Reply-To: <20060925021646.9816.qmail@web32904.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20060925021646.9816.qmail@web32904.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <27867.71.252.176.10.1159151262.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> > StorageReview compared Maxtor, Seagate and Western Digital 500GB 24x7 > Enterprise-rated Near-Line/RAID SATA drives against each other. All > were 4-platter, 125GB/platter -- enterprise-rated versions of their > commodity lines. > > http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200607/500_1.html ...and I know you've mentioned/spoken many times about this...but wanted to check if there was any change: Recommendations for proper RAID controller cards for these? dave From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 24 22:43:15 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB [S]ATA for $299 shipped (plus benchmarks) Message-ID: <20060925024315.49869.qmail@web32912.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Fry's now has both the ATA (IDE) and SATA Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB for $299 shipped. That now brings the price down to $0.40/GB, pretty much the best for a 500+GB drive these days (although 400GB drives can be had for $99, $0.25/GB). http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4924331 http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4882780 Tom's Hardware has a review of the 750GB: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/06/29/seagate_750_gb_barracuda_enters_the_big_league/ These benchmarks do not surprise me. It's good to see that the Seagate 750GB not only tops the charts, but the temps aren't bad and within 7-8C of the best. At the same time, the 5-platter Hitachi DeathStar--er, DeskStar 500GB is 133C (over 11C higher, almost 20C higher than best). One drive to note is the WD3200JD, the same 320GB Caviar SE I have -- the WD3200SD is the 320GB Caviar RE 24x7 version which I also have, 107GB/platter and "only" SATA/150 (actually an ATA/133 to SATA/150 on PCB). These drives are very cool in the benchmarks, and still within 10-20% of the performance of this latest Seagate 750GB. It's too bad the WD3200JD/SD are hard to find other than refurb, they were solid, and sub-$100 just a little while ago (I bought my JDs for $125-150 after rebate some 15-18 months ago, and SDs for $120 shipped less than a year ago). -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, Technical Annoyance b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com -------------------------------------------------- Fission Power: An Inconvenient Solution From philb at philb.us Sun Sep 24 23:06:58 2006 From: philb at philb.us (Phil Barnett) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB [S]ATA for $299 shipped (plus benchmarks) In-Reply-To: <20060925024315.49869.qmail@web32912.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20060925024315.49869.qmail@web32912.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <200609242306.58858.philb@philb.us> On Sunday 24 September 2006 22:43, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > At the same time, the 5-platter Hitachi > DeathStar--er, DeskStar 500GB is 133C (over 11C higher, almost 20C > higher than best). Are you sure that's not Fahrenheit instead of Centigrade? 133 degrees Celsius = 271.4 degrees Fahrenheit -- My other computer is your Windows machine From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 24 23:16:23 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] StorageReview compares 500GB Near-Line/RAID SATA drives ... In-Reply-To: <27867.71.252.176.10.1159151262.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> Message-ID: <20060925031623.67256.qmail@web32902.mail.mud.yahoo.com> David Simmons wrote: > ...and I know you've mentioned/spoken many times about this...but > wanted to check if there was any change: > Recommendations for proper RAID controller cards for these? What RAID? How many disks? What mainboard interface? - Desktop FRAID-1 If you have a cheap desktop with on-board SATA via the nForce4/400 series and just want RAID-1, then use the FRAID. It works in Linux and Windows, even dual-booting -- at least Fedora-based distros do with their full Device Mapper 2 support in Logical Volume Manager 2. I think Fedora will also use DM2 to map FRAID-1 on Intel ICH5-7 chipsets too, but I haven't personally tried it. - Server RAID-1 with 64-bit PCI/PCI-X If you have a server-class mainboard, even just a cheap ServerSet III or Intel E7200, then you have 3.3V, 64-bit PCI/PCI-X slots. Then a 3Ware Escalade 8506-2LP will set you back only $100 and the management is well worth it -- Linux or Windows (and dual-boot as well). - Server RAID-10 or RAID-10 + RAID-5 with PCI-X or PCIe x8 For RAID-10, go with the 3Ware Escalade 9550SX cards. You'll get its powerful 64-bit ASIC for RAID-10, then the PowerPC400 series for RAID-5. It's also very well supported under Linux, including standard smartd support, although 3Ware's own tools are just too easy than getting bogged down with scripting stuff (although the option is still there). 3Ware finally has PCIe versions now, so it's no longer a PCI-X only option. - Server RAID-5 or RAID-6 on Windows with PCI-X or PCIe x8 If you want RAID-5 or even RAID-6 (2 parity drives), and you're on Windows, then the Areca cards which use the reference Intel IOP331-333 X-Scale based I/O Processors (IOP) and logic really kick butt, hands down. On Linux, they will also work and support is getting better, but it's still not up-to-snuff with 3Ware. But 3Ware's performance is not nearly as good. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, Technical Annoyance b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com -------------------------------------------------- Fission Power: An Inconvenient Solution From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun Sep 24 23:25:49 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB [S]ATA for $299 shipped (plus benchmarks) In-Reply-To: <200609242306.58858.philb@philb.us> Message-ID: <20060925032549.63647.qmail@web32910.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Phil Barnett wrote: > Are you sure that's not Fahrenheit instead of Centigrade? > 133 degrees Celsius = 271.4 degrees Fahrenheit You are correct, it was F, not C. Doh! In any case, standard ATA logic is that you do _not_ want the surface temp to exceed 40C ~ 104F. Now they say these newer ATA drive designs can withstand 55-60C ~ 131-140F -- at least for 8x5 desktop usage. Well, surface temps in this test were 115+F. Now my WD3200JD was 117F. This new Seagate 750GB was 122F. That Hitachi 5-platter DeathStar 500GB lived up to the same legacy as the IBM DeathStar 75GXP with 5-platters and was roasting at 133F. In my MicroATX cube, the inlets keep my WD3200JD/SD drives very cool as the surface temp is 30C max (the cube has sensors and I put the HD sensor deep in between the two drives where not much air flows at all). So how you cool your drive makes a big difference. But at least I know if use my WD3200JD without active cooling, it will be sub-50C, and this new Seagate is around 50C. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, Technical Annoyance b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com -------------------------------------------------- Fission Power: An Inconvenient Solution From jasonb at edseek.com Mon Sep 25 15:39:44 2006 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Western Digital Enterprise 250 GB References: <451347B9.2030409@mc-kenna.com> Message-ID: <60586.216.134.200.78.1159213184.squirrel@nebula.internal.foo> Damien McKenna wrote: > I wouldn't want to specifically draw a correlation between the two, but > from a business perspective I'd feel safer buying a drive that came with > a 5 year warranty than a 1 or 3 year. Couple that with RAID-1 or RAID-5 > and you've got 5 years of data assurance - no guarantee but pretty darn > good. I prefer the longer warranty simply because I use drives for a very long time. I have a pair of 40GB WDs I'm still running RAID 1 in my workstation and I have tons of free space and they're plenty fast for the old ECS K7S5A mainboard. (Of course, by the time I got them WD had ceased offering three year warranties.) I mostly buy Seagates now because the rebate deals always ended up being sweetest for Seagates at time of purchase. I've had worse experiences with Maxtors, though now they're owned by Seagate. As Bryan said, though, the brand doesn't really matter. So I just shop on price, doubledip rebates, and buy them in pairs. I see the warranty as guaranteeing I can depend on having a given disk around for usage for up to five years. (It's actually by manufacture date, at least with Seagate, and not sale date, I think.) If I don't have to buy a new disk every two years, that's fine by me. 40GB ought to be enough for anyone. (I have two 30GB Maxtors RAID1'd with a 3Ware 6200 elsewhere.) From whittake at sbaflorida.com Mon Sep 25 15:54:53 2006 From: whittake at sbaflorida.com (Homer Whittaker) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Western Digital Enterprise 250 GB References: <451347B9.2030409@mc-kenna.com> <60586.216.134.200.78.1159213184.squirrel@nebula.internal.foo> Message-ID: <4518340D.1000300@sbaflorida.com> Jason Boxman wrote: > Damien McKenna wrote: > > >> I wouldn't want to specifically draw a correlation between the two, but >> from a business perspective I'd feel safer buying a drive that came with >> a 5 year warranty than a 1 or 3 year. Couple that with RAID-1 or RAID-5 >> and you've got 5 years of data assurance - no guarantee but pretty darn >> good. >> > > I prefer the longer warranty simply because I use drives for a very long > time. I have a pair of 40GB WDs I'm still running RAID 1 in my workstation > and I have tons of free space and they're plenty fast for the old ECS K7S5A > mainboard. (Of course, by the time I got them WD had ceased offering three > year warranties.) > > I mostly buy Seagates now because the rebate deals always ended up being > sweetest for Seagates at time of purchase. I've had worse experiences with > Maxtors, though now they're owned by Seagate. As Bryan said, though, the > brand doesn't really matter. So I just shop on price, doubledip rebates, > and buy them in pairs. > > I see the warranty as guaranteeing I can depend on having a given disk > around for usage for up to five years. (It's actually by manufacture date, > at least with Seagate, and not sale date, I think.) Yes it is but I personally have had a difficult time getting the websales people to check the manufacturing date. I assume that they do not have access to their parts in inventory or they actually do not have an inventory, getting their products from a master wharehouse. Homer Whittaker > If I don't have to buy > a new disk every two years, that's fine by me. 40GB ought to be enough for > anyone. (I have two 30GB Maxtors RAID1'd with a 3Ware 6200 elsewhere.) > > > > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support > > From whittake at sbaflorida.com Mon Sep 25 16:03:26 2006 From: whittake at sbaflorida.com (Homer Whittaker) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Western Digital Enterprise 250 GB References: <451347B9.2030409@mc-kenna.com> <60586.216.134.200.78.1159213184.squirrel@nebula.internal.foo> <4518340D.1000300@sbaflorida.com> Message-ID: <4518360E.6080104@sbaflorida.com> Homer Whittaker wrote: 40 GB used to be fine but I have found that in today's world I start to get messages in re the fullness of the disks and that makes me nervous. I also do not like the fact that it a pain to switch into two new drives, and I also always loose something in the transfer. Which is worst "time out" or "full" > > > Jason Boxman wrote: >> Damien McKenna wrote: >> >> >>> I wouldn't want to specifically draw a correlation between the two, but >>> from a business perspective I'd feel safer buying a drive that came >>> with >>> a 5 year warranty than a 1 or 3 year. Couple that with RAID-1 or >>> RAID-5 >>> and you've got 5 years of data assurance - no guarantee but pretty darn >>> good. >>> >> >> I prefer the longer warranty simply because I use drives for a very long >> time. I have a pair of 40GB WDs I'm still running RAID 1 in my >> workstation >> and I have tons of free space and they're plenty fast for the old ECS >> K7S5A >> mainboard. (Of course, by the time I got them WD had ceased offering >> three >> year warranties.) >> >> I mostly buy Seagates now because the rebate deals always ended up being >> sweetest for Seagates at time of purchase. I've had worse >> experiences with >> Maxtors, though now they're owned by Seagate. As Bryan said, though, >> the >> brand doesn't really matter. So I just shop on price, doubledip >> rebates, >> and buy them in pairs. >> >> I see the warranty as guaranteeing I can depend on having a given disk >> around for usage for up to five years. (It's actually by manufacture >> date, >> at least with Seagate, and not sale date, I think.) > Yes it is but I personally have had a difficult time getting the > websales people to check the manufacturing date. I assume that they > do not have access to their parts in inventory or they actually do not > have an inventory, getting their products from a master wharehouse. > Homer Whittaker > > >> If I don't have to buy >> a new disk every two years, that's fine by me. 40GB ought to be >> enough for >> anyone. (I have two 30GB Maxtors RAID1'd with a 3Ware 6200 elsewhere.) >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Pc_support mailing list >> Pc_support@matrixlist.com >> http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support >> >> > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support > From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon Sep 25 19:50:20 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: HD price/capacity, upgrading issues -- WAS: "Consumer" 250 GB (WD2500JS) In-Reply-To: <4518360E.6080104@sbaflorida.com> Message-ID: <20060925235020.61040.qmail@web32904.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Homer Whittaker wrote: > 40 GB used to be fine but I have found that in today's world I > start to get messages in re the fullness of the disks and that > makes me nervous. I always buy the largest capacity that is the best price/capacity and a "known good" model. Two years ago that was the 100GB/platter Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 200GB (ATA). Last year through early this year, that was the 107GB/platter Western Digital WD3200JD/SD (Caviar SE/RE) 320GB (SATA). Right now only the 400GB have come down to under $0.30/GB, but I don't like any of the specs I've seen on them. The 500GBs are still over $0.40/GB in most cases. The new Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB just hit $0.40/GB, and typically has much better thermal/power/noise ratings than 500GB models. I'm waiting for it to drop to $0.30/GB, around $225 before buying, which I hope will be in 3 months. > I also do not like the fact that it a pain to switch into two new > drives, and I also always loose something in the transfer. Huh? What are you using? I've now done literally over _500_ volume transfers in the last 8 years on HP/UX, Linux and Solaris using find|cipo, and Windows when dual-booting (via dd under Linux). _Never_ lost a _single_ byte of data. > Which is worst "time out" or "full" Huh? Sounds like you aren't limiting copying to the current mount, and letting it cross filesystems. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, Technical Annoyance b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com -------------------------------------------------- Fission Power: An Inconvenient Solution From dave at dgnal.net Tue Sep 26 01:36:42 2006 From: dave at dgnal.net (David Simmons) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Linux driver for Olympus VN-240PC Digital Voice Recorder USB connected Message-ID: <13416.71.252.176.10.1159249002.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> Guys, I'm googled/RTFM-out....am trying to set-up so that my SuSE10.1 system can access the above listed device. Here's a product page (doesn't seem to be any US pages!?): http://www.olympusvoice.com.au/products/digital/notetakers/vn240pc_specifications.html found a discussion awhile back where they were trying to get it running on SuSE 9.3.....BUT NO CONCLUSION was reached? Any information would be helpful!! - Thanks! Also, on a side note, I tried to operate through VMWare...but 'VM --> Removable Devices --> USB Devices' shows 'empty'.....hmmm Here's a tail of dmesg: usb 2-10: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and address 5 usb 2-10: config index 0 descriptor too short (expected 39, got 24) usb 2-10: config 1 has an invalid descriptor of length 7, skipping remainder of the config usb 2-10: config 1 interface 0 altsetting 0 has 0 endpoint descriptors, different from the interface descriptor's value: 3 usb 2-10: new device found, idVendor=07b4, idProduct=020d usb 2-10: new device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0 usb 2-10: Product: DIGITAL VOICE RECOR usb 2-10: Manufacturer: OLYMPUS OPTICAL CO.,LTD. usb 2-10: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice and here is: linux-8eax:~ # lsusb -vv Bus 002 Device 007: ID 07b4:020d Olympus Optical Co., Ltd Digital Voice Recorder VN-240PC Device Descriptor: bLength 18 bDescriptorType 1 bcdUSB 1.10 bDeviceClass 255 Vendor Specific Class bDeviceSubClass 255 Vendor Specific Subclass bDeviceProtocol 255 Vendor Specific Protocol bMaxPacketSize0 8 idVendor 0x07b4 Olympus Optical Co., Ltd idProduct 0x020d Digital Voice Recorder VN-240PC bcdDevice 1.00 iManufacturer 1 iProduct 2 iSerial 0 bNumConfigurations 1 Configuration Descriptor: bLength 9 bDescriptorType 2 wTotalLength 39 bNumInterfaces 1 bConfigurationValue 1 iConfiguration 0 bmAttributes 0x80 (Bus Powered) MaxPower 100mA Interface Descriptor: bLength 9 bDescriptorType 4 bInterfaceNumber 0 bAlternateSetting 0 bNumEndpoints 3 bInterfaceClass 255 Vendor Specific Class bInterfaceSubClass 255 Vendor Specific Subclass bInterfaceProtocol 255 Vendor Specific Protocol iInterface 0 Endpoint Descriptor: bLength 7 bDescriptorType 5 bEndpointAddress 0x81 EP 1 IN bmAttributes 2 Transfer Type Bulk Synch Type None Usage Type Data wMaxPacketSize 0x0040 1x 64 bytes bInterval 0 Endpoint Descriptor: bLength 7 bDescriptorType 5 bEndpointAddress 0x02 EP 2 OUT bmAttributes 2 Transfer Type Bulk Synch Type None Usage Type Data wMaxPacketSize 0x0040 1x 64 bytes bInterval 0 Endpoint Descriptor: bLength 7 bDescriptorType 5 bEndpointAddress 0x83 EP 3 IN bmAttributes 3 Transfer Type Interrupt Synch Type None Usage Type Data wMaxPacketSize 0x0008 1x 8 bytes bInterval 50 Device Status: 0x0000 (Bus Powered) From damien at mc-kenna.com Wed Sep 27 00:32:51 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Recommendations for low-end b&w laser printer? Message-ID: <4519FEF3.5060700@mc-kenna.com> Anyone have any recommendations for a low-end b&w laser printer? The key feature I need is support on OSX, which rules out many of the cheapest on the market. I almost got a Brother HL2040 but decided against it when I read that it had electrical problems, to which the manual recommended putting on its own electrical circuit - I don't want to have to rewire my house for a printer X-) Any suggestions? Failing that, anyone selling a laser printer? Thanks. -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From octo at logicprobe.org Wed Sep 27 11:20:03 2006 From: octo at logicprobe.org (Derek Konigsberg) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Recommendations for low-end b&w laser printer? In-Reply-To: <4519FEF3.5060700@mc-kenna.com> References: <4519FEF3.5060700@mc-kenna.com> Message-ID: First and foremost, I recommend getting something with PostScript support. Yes, even if you buy something used off eBay. If the printer groks PostScript, then it is a no-brainer to get it to work on *any* OS. (just need the PPD file handy) And FYI, MacOS uses cups on the back-end. (Then again, I'm the freak who snagged a Tektronix Phaser 550, and then upgraded to a CLP-550N. Both color, both easily as cheap (when bought through non-traditional means) as good B&W units, but both also office-grade beasts that take some time to warm up... I've been very happy with my Samsung CLP-550N, but its definitely not what you were looking for) --------------------------- Derek Konigsberg octo@logicprobe.org http://hecgeek.blogspot.com --------------------------- On Wed, 27 Sep 2006, Damien McKenna wrote: > Anyone have any recommendations for a low-end b&w laser printer? The > key feature I need is support on OSX, which rules out many of the > cheapest on the market. I almost got a Brother HL2040 but decided > against it when I read that it had electrical problems, to which the > manual recommended putting on its own electrical circuit - I don't want > to have to rewire my house for a printer X-) Any suggestions? Failing > that, anyone selling a laser printer? Thanks. > > -- > Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. > damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ > > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support > From thebs413 at gmail.com Wed Sep 27 14:16:03 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] It's clear Intel is now the follower ... Message-ID: Well, after reading up on IDF -- I (among others) clearly see that Intel is the follower now. They have to follow on anything AMD does and try to work around limitations in their approaches, using whatever they can. It does look like Intel will beat AMD to quad-core by 6 months, at least in first product. They might beat them to volume by 3 months. How? By leveraging their 18 month lead in fabrication. Intel's quad-core isn't quad-core, it's two separate dual-cores on the same package. While Intel downplays what that means, it's clearly a major bottleneck with their architecture. Intel has also decided to open up its licensing of its FSB so accelerators can directly connect like any other CPU. Unfortunately, this a joke in comparison to HyperTransport, because Intel hasn't addressed any of the coherency issues in hardware. It's all in software. Otherwise we wouldn't even be using PCIe for video. It makes good marketing, but substance is rather lacking. Intel has really stooped to some all-time lows now, with tactics that you'd expect out of the #2 innovator. Just 5 years ago we'd see AMD making some jokes at Intel's expense. Now Intel's own managers are the ones doing the "I hate AMD" and other, childish gimmicks. Says world's about how the world has flipped 180. But Intel has their cash, although AMD isn't strapped like it used to be. Which leaves Intel with their fabrication lead, and their newfound desktop/computational advantage -- at least per-MHz. But on the scalable and I/O front, there's a lot of issues, and Intel knows it. The fact that they are jumping to quad-core without really designing quad-core means they might have some very serious issues in doing it using the shared, front-side bottleneck approach. I heard the reason for dual-FSBs was their work-around for quad-core as much as adding a little more I/O. All at the same time, AMD can go 16-way core with their on-die, switched interconnect**. -- Bryan **NOTE: In the past, I have previously mentioned that HyperTransport is used on-die. This is incorrect. The "partial mesh" HyperTransport is only the system interconnect from outside the package to the die. Inside of the die itself, a crossbar is used. The limit is 16-way -- or really 10-13 way CPU + 2-way memory + 1-4 way HyperTransport tunnel. This, combined with other letacy addressing, logic, etc... suggests that "switched" EV6 is used on-die. In any case, it's a heck of a lot easier for AMD -- especially with its on-CPU/on-die I/O MMU, than Intel, to scale, handle complex off-CPU logic, etc..., including HTX NICs (e.g., existing Infiniband), GPUs (e.g., ATI's forthcoming 2007 design), vector processors (e.g., Cray-MIPS, IBM Power-Cell and others in 2007+), etc... while scaling to 8+ cores on a single die. From pberry2 at cfl.rr.com Wed Sep 27 15:25:20 2006 From: pberry2 at cfl.rr.com (patrick) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Recommendations for low-end b&w laser printer? In-Reply-To: <4519FEF3.5060700@mc-kenna.com> References: <4519FEF3.5060700@mc-kenna.com> Message-ID: <451AD020.5060900@cfl.rr.com> Damien McKenna wrote: > Anyone have any recommendations for a low-end b&w laser printer? The > key feature I need is support on OSX, which rules out many of the > cheapest on the market. I almost got a Brother HL2040 but decided > against it when I read that it had electrical problems, to which the > manual recommended putting on its own electrical circuit - I don't want > to have to rewire my house for a printer X-) Any suggestions? Failing > that, anyone selling a laser printer? Thanks. > > Have found a HP II runner, for $45, if you like it... From tim at mcdonough.net Wed Sep 27 14:34:56 2006 From: tim at mcdonough.net (Tim McDonough) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Ultra ATX Mid-Tower for $39.99 shipped - $30 rebate ... In-Reply-To: <20060925020348.12207.qmail@web32913.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <20060925020348.12207.qmail@web32913.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <451AC450.1030706@mcdonough.net> Bryan J. Smith wrote: > I normally don't like to buy cases via mail-order because of shipping > charges, but this ATX Mid-Tower is pretty nice, with an optional > 120mm exhaust and 80mm intake. It's $39.99 w/free shipping and then > has a $30 rebate: > http://dealnews.com/deals/Ultra-Wizard-Mid-Tower-ATX-PC-Case-for-10-shipped-after-rebate/133608.html?redir=1&ref=alert_bottom_2 > > More detailed product information and pictures: > http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=13&pPath=250&productID=250 > > I'm very tempted myself, but I've enough cases and prefer MicroATX anymore. > The nice FedEx man is supposed to drop one of these off today according to the tracking info. I'll report back once it shows. -- Tim From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Wed Sep 27 14:43:08 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Recommendations for low-end b&w laser printer? In-Reply-To: <451AD020.5060900@cfl.rr.com> References: <4519FEF3.5060700@mc-kenna.com> <451AD020.5060900@cfl.rr.com> Message-ID: <13933C73-1EA4-4799-BFD4-68515EED4B91@thelimucompany.com> On Sep 27, 2006, at 3:25 PM, patrick wrote: > Have found a HP II runner, for $45, if you like it... Thanks, but upon discovering that toner costs over $100 I think I'll pass. -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - dmckenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From pberry2 at cfl.rr.com Wed Sep 27 22:59:03 2006 From: pberry2 at cfl.rr.com (patrick) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Recommendations for low-end b&w laser printer? In-Reply-To: <13933C73-1EA4-4799-BFD4-68515EED4B91@thelimucompany.com> References: <4519FEF3.5060700@mc-kenna.com> <451AD020.5060900@cfl.rr.com> <13933C73-1EA4-4799-BFD4-68515EED4B91@thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <451B3A77.6030605@cfl.rr.com> Damien McKenna wrote: > On Sep 27, 2006, at 3:25 PM, patrick wrote: >> Have found a HP II runner, for $45, if you like it... > > Thanks, but upon discovering that toner costs over $100 I think I'll > pass. > > --Damien McKenna - Web Developer - dmckenna@thelimucompany.com > The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 > #include > > > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support > I don't know where you are shoppiong for toner packs, but, I have new ones that cost $30 in pairs, manufactured NEW, in the box, for my AppleLaserWriter 360Select! I know that I could check the same supplier to find them for other brands, and, even if more, they wouldn't be in that range that you quoted! I shop around and it certainly pays! From damien at mc-kenna.com Thu Sep 28 07:18:16 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Recommendations for low-end b&w laser printer? In-Reply-To: <451B3A77.6030605@cfl.rr.com> References: <4519FEF3.5060700@mc-kenna.com> <451AD020.5060900@cfl.rr.com> <13933C73-1EA4-4799-BFD4-68515EED4B91@thelimucompany.com> <451B3A77.6030605@cfl.rr.com> Message-ID: <451BAF78.8000700@mc-kenna.com> patrick wrote: >>> Have found a HP II runner, for $45, if you like it... >> Thanks, but upon discovering that toner costs over $100 I think I'll >> pass. > I don't know where you are shoppiong for toner packs, but, I have new > ones that cost $30 in pairs, manufactured NEW, in the box, for my > AppleLaserWriter 360Select! I searched online for the 95A cartridge that the HP Laserjet II uses, and they were all around $100. -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From pberry2 at cfl.rr.com Thu Sep 28 09:00:40 2006 From: pberry2 at cfl.rr.com (patrick) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Recommendations for low-end b&w laser printer? In-Reply-To: <451BAF78.8000700@mc-kenna.com> References: <4519FEF3.5060700@mc-kenna.com> <451AD020.5060900@cfl.rr.com> <13933C73-1EA4-4799-BFD4-68515EED4B91@thelimucompany.com> <451B3A77.6030605@cfl.rr.com> <451BAF78.8000700@mc-kenna.com> Message-ID: <451BC778.1040009@cfl.rr.com> Damien McKenna wrote: > patrick wrote: > >>>> Have found a HP II runner, for $45, if you like it... >>>> >>> Thanks, but upon discovering that toner costs over $100 I think I'll >>> pass. >>> >> I don't know where you are shoppiong for toner packs, but, I have new >> ones that cost $30 in pairs, manufactured NEW, in the box, for my >> AppleLaserWriter 360Select! >> > > I searched online for the 95A cartridge that the HP Laserjet II uses, > and they were all around $100. > > Several hundred listings on eBay, toner refills start at 99 cents, while full, new toner cartridges list at $9.98 to $49... Most are in the $19.98 to $22.98 price range. Some offer very cheap/free shipping... You choose... No matter what Laser printer you go for, you should shop online for the toner products, not price them at the local printer supply, who charge the premium for their 'service?'. From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Thu Sep 28 10:10:46 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] AGP for the PCI-Express work - Intel back to its old tricks Message-ID: <75877209-4B15-4135-8315-70E80B4F7979@thelimucompany.com> Intel, unwilling to use a competitor's technology (Hypertransport), teamed up with IBM to develop an "enhancement" to PCI-Express called Geneseo, in a similar way to its 1990's "enhancement" of the PCI standard to create AGP. Yay. Not. http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2845 -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - dmckenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From b.j.smith at ieee.org Thu Sep 28 11:49:12 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] AGP for the PCI-Express work - Intel back to its old tricks In-Reply-To: <75877209-4B15-4135-8315-70E80B4F7979@thelimucompany.com> References: <75877209-4B15-4135-8315-70E80B4F7979@thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <1159458552.2987.48.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Thu, 2006-09-28 at 10:10 -0400, Damien McKenna wrote: > Intel, unwilling to use a competitor's technology (Hypertransport), > teamed up with IBM to develop an "enhancement" to PCI-Express called > Geneseo, in a similar way to its 1990's "enhancement" of the PCI > standard to create AGP. Yay. Not. > http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2845 In a nutshell ... AMD knows how to handle multiple CPU-I/O coherency. Intel does not, and relies on the chipset for it. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com --------------------------------------------------------- The world is in need of solutions. Unfortunately, people seem to be more interested in blindly aligning themselves with one of only two viewponts -- an "us v. them" debate that has nothing to do with finding an actual solution. From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Thu Sep 28 10:50:23 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Recommendations for low-end b&w laser printer? In-Reply-To: <451BC778.1040009@cfl.rr.com> References: <4519FEF3.5060700@mc-kenna.com> <451AD020.5060900@cfl.rr.com> <13933C73-1EA4-4799-BFD4-68515EED4B91@thelimucompany.com> <451B3A77.6030605@cfl.rr.com> <451BAF78.8000700@mc-kenna.com> <451BC778.1040009@cfl.rr.com> Message-ID: <75BF7B22-6707-4046-B82A-6D3044F68E2E@thelimucompany.com> On Sep 28, 2006, at 9:00 AM, patrick wrote: >>>>> Have found a HP II runner, for $45, if you like it... >> >> I searched online for the 95A cartridge that the HP Laserjet II uses, >> and they were all around $100. > > Several hundred listings on eBay, toner refills start at 99 cents, > while full, new toner cartridges list at $9.98 to $49... Most are > in the $19.98 to $22.98 price range. Some offer very cheap/free > shipping... Hrm... more reasonable. Looking at the printer it seems to be a parallel printer, right? My mac only has USB. -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - dmckenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 28 14:08:30 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 and ES 750GB (ST3750640AS and NS) ... Message-ID: Been reading up a bit on the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (consumer) and ES (enterprise) 750GB drives, models ST3750640AS and ST3750640NS, respectively (not looking at the ATA version, ST3750640A). The former can be had for as low as $300, the latter for $450, a 50% mark-up. The Barrcuda 7200.10 is rated as follows: Restraint: 8x5 desktop operation - annualized failure rate (AFR) of 0.34% (again, 8x5) - operating temperature of 0-60C - max shock of 63G and 225G for 2ms and 1ms, respectively The Barracuda ES is rated as follows: Restraint: 24x7 managed operation - annualized failure rate (AFR) of 0.73% (24x7) - operating temperature of 5-55C - max shock of 78G and 300G for 2ms and 1ms, respectively I wouldn't use the 7200.10 in anything but a desktop myself. And in this day'n age, I always use RAID, period. From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 28 21:16:40 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Mini-ITX (6.7"x6.7") S754: GF6150+nF430 w/HDTV+DVI+VGA-out, 6-channel audio, etc... Message-ID: Instead of buying one of those Small Form-Factor (SFF) 9" x 9" x 15" designs for $400+, why not buy one of these really small $300 Mini-ITX mainboards (6.7" x 6.7") and put it in a small, $100 Mini-ITX (7" x 7" x 4-5" high) cases! This sucker has _everything_ on-board -- HDTV, DVI and VGA out, 4 x SATA, dual-NICs (one 10/100, one GbE), 6-channel audio, etc... plus a 32-bit PCI slot if you need to add anything. Perfect for set-top and other duties. Albatron KI51PV-754 Home Page: http://www.albatron.com.tw/english/it/mb/specification.asp?pro_id=215 Albatron KI51PV-754 at NewEgg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813170012 From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 28 21:27:44 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Power Battle: GF6150+A64x2"EE" (65W) v. Intel965+Core2Duo Message-ID: Tom's Hardware pitted actual power consumption of an AMD v. Intel _full_solution_. There have been many of these now. In most cases, the "hit" on the AMD end is the nVidia GeForce 61x0 + nForce 4x0 chipset -- as the GPU sucks up a lot of power under full load (and smack's the 3D performance of the i9xx series GPU silly). But even then, AMD comes in lower -- especially now that the 65W EE versions are here for "only a few bucks more" ($10-20 typical) -- but even with standard units that typically don't eat even their rated 89W. Tom's Hardware Green Machine: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/09/25/green_machine/ Core 2 Duo's performance is hard to ignore when you're going to spend $300+ on the 6700 or 6800. If you're going to put a serious GeForce 7600/7900 or ATI X1600/1800 series with it, then power is not your concern. But when you're spending under $200, the new 65W x2 4200+ EE (or save $50 more and just go for the 65W x2 3800+ EE) is a nice consideration -- especially when you put it on a $50 GeForce 61x0 mainboard that already has the best chipset-integrated GPU. From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 28 23:32:41 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Western Digital 500GB (WD5000) "KS" (SE16/consumer) and "YS" (RE2/enterprise) ... Message-ID: I was just re-looking at Tom's Hardware Guide's Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB review and noted the Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000KS 500GB wasn't half bad on the performance (nothing beats it except the 7200.10 or the 10K Raptors): http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/06/29/seagate_750_gb_barracuda_enters_the_big_league/page9.html http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/06/29/seagate_750_gb_barracuda_enters_the_big_league/page10.html (NOTE: The WD2500KS, half the size, doesn't do nearly as well -- even though it looks like it's from the same series design) But more importantly, the thermals: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/06/29/seagate_750_gb_barracuda_enters_the_big_league/page11.html (NOTE: The WD2500KS, half the size, only does slightly better than its full WD5000KS big brother) NewEgg has the "consumer" KS for $180 ($0.36/GB), and the "enterprise" YS for $200 ($0.40/GB): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136014 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136032 Now that's really no savings over the $0.40/GB ($300) 7200.10 750GB at Fry's Outpost. But looking around a little bit more, ZipZoomFly has the "enterprise" YS for $175: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101258-9 That makes it $0.35/GB for an "enterprise" rated drive, with good thermals/acoustics. So if you're in the market for a larger drive with good performance, would like the enterprise rating, but don't want to spend $450 for a Barracuda 750GB "NS" version or chance the $300 Barracuda 7200.10 750GB "AS" version, the $175 WD3200YS might be just what you are looking for. From thebs413 at gmail.com Thu Sep 28 23:36:02 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Western Digital 500GB (WD5000) "KS" (SE16/consumer) and "YS" (RE2/enterprise) ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On 9/28/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > (NOTE: The WD2500KS, half the size, doesn't do nearly as well -- even > though it looks like it's from the same series design) > (NOTE: The WD2500KS, half the size, only does slightly better than > its full WD5000KS big brother) Of course, the WD2500YS is also an enterprise rated option at $77 ($0.31) from NewEgg.COM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136055 But I'd rather go for the WD5000YS for the added performance at an extra $0.04/GB. Besides, I never like to buy a smaller drive, only larger, and recycle my older drives down. E.g., my servers now have my 160GB and 200GB ATA/IDE drives, while my desktops have 320GB SATA drives. When I upgrade to 500 or, more likely, 750GB drives when they get cheaper, I'll push my 320GB drives to my servers. From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 29 13:53:05 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Unbelievable 17" Notebook in Dallas: $499 for HP Pavillion 9000z ... Message-ID: Someone forward this to the Dallas LUG/UUGs ... http://dealnews.com/deals/HP-Pavilion-dv9000-z-1-8-GHz-17-Widescreen-Notebook-printer-for-500-after-rebates/134337.html Add a Turion x2 TL-50 for only $75 more, double to 1GB for $40 more -- serious, kick-ass system for $614 after rebate! I assume it comes with the standard GeForce Go 6150 chipset on its own, and not the 256MB GeForce Go 7600 GPU/VRAM upgrade. Hmm, I wonder if you can add it though (probably not post-factory)? From thebs413 at gmail.com Fri Sep 29 13:54:19 2006 From: thebs413 at gmail.com (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Unbelievable 17" Notebook in Dallas: $499 for HP Pavillion 9000z ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I just noted it is $599 at the Winter Park store: http://officedepot.shoplocal.com/officedepot/default.aspx?action=detail&flashbrowse=y&storeid=2491571&rapid=318610&pagenumber=1&listingid=-2094376638&ref=%2fofficedepot%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3dbrowsepageflash%26storeid%3d2491571%26pagenumber%3d1%26rapid%3d318610%26prvid%3dOfficeDepot-060924 On 9/29/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Someone forward this to the Dallas LUG/UUGs ... > http://dealnews.com/deals/HP-Pavilion-dv9000-z-1-8-GHz-17-Widescreen-Notebook-printer-for-500-after-rebates/134337.html > > Add a Turion x2 TL-50 for only $75 more, double to 1GB for $40 more -- > serious, kick-ass system for $614 after rebate! > > I assume it comes with the standard GeForce Go 6150 chipset on its > own, and not the 256MB GeForce Go 7600 GPU/VRAM upgrade. Hmm, I > wonder if you can add it though (probably not post-factory)? > From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sat Sep 30 13:33:28 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:05 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Unbelievable 17" Notebook (update): $499 for HP Pavillion 9000z ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1159637608.2996.22.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On 9/29/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Someone forward this to the Dallas LUG/UUGs ... > http://dealnews.com/deals/HP-Pavilion-dv9000-z-1-8-GHz-17-Widescreen-Notebook-printer-for-500-after-rebates/134337.html > Add a Turion x2 TL-50 for only $75 more, double to 1GB for $40 more -- > serious, kick-ass system for $614 after rebate! > I assume it comes with the standard GeForce Go 6150 chipset on its > own, and not the 256MB GeForce Go 7600 GPU/VRAM upgrade. Hmm, I > wonder if you can add it though (probably not post-factory)? On Fri, 2006-09-29 at 13:54 -0400, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > I just noted it is $599 at the Winter Park store: > ... cut ... Okay, here's the deal. I went to a local Office Depot store here in New York that also had the advertisement (only about 1 in 3-4 do). It too was claiming $599. But I configured the bare-basic configuration and it was $549 plus $50 shipping. If you add 512MiB for $40 to get 1GiB, it's $25 off shipping. They had most of the other upgrades that you can get on the dv9000z web-site -- $75 for Turion x2 TL-50, $50 for the 1680x1050 screen, etc... The upgrade to the GeForce Go 7600 was $125, $50 more than on the web site, so I almost didn't go for it, but it was still $400 cheaper (after rebate) overall than configuring on-line. I added the Intel 802.11a/b/g WLAN so it's Linux compatible (only $5.99, normally $10 on-line). In the end I got the system for $1,150, about the same price as the system configured on-line -- which makes sense since they both have $150 instant rebates -- plus shipping and taxes. But the Office Depot system then has $355 in rebates. So I ordered it and should have it in 2 weeks. I noted the Winter Park location has the same deal. So if you're in the market for a new notebook and would like a large 17" unit with a dual-core option (for only $50 more), definitely jump on this one. Going without the GeForce Go 7600 upgrade like I did, it should be under $700 after rebate (before shipping/tax). Remember to upgrade to the 802.11a/b/g WLAN for just a few bucks if you run Linux. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com --------------------------------------------------------- The world is in need of solutions. Unfortunately, people seem to be more interested in blindly aligning themselves with one of only two viewponts -- an "us v. them" debate that has nothing to do with finding an actual solution. From darbit at gmail.com Sat Sep 30 14:24:35 2006 From: darbit at gmail.com (David Harris) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:06 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Unbelievable 17" Notebook (update): $499 for HP Pavillion 9000z ... In-Reply-To: <1159637608.2996.22.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <1159637608.2996.22.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <64beb5490609301124h253e1a56pc1a846bdd361b84b@mail.gmail.com> On 9/30/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > On 9/29/06, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > > Someone forward this to the Dallas LUG/UUGs ... > > > http://dealnews.com/deals/HP-Pavilion-dv9000-z-1-8-GHz-17-Widescreen-Notebook-printer-for-500-after-rebates/134337.html > > Add a Turion x2 TL-50 for only $75 more, double to 1GB for $40 more -- > > serious, kick-ass system for $614 after rebate! > > I assume it comes with the standard GeForce Go 6150 chipset on its > > own, and not the 256MB GeForce Go 7600 GPU/VRAM upgrade. Hmm, I > > wonder if you can add it though (probably not post-factory)? > > On Fri, 2006-09-29 at 13:54 -0400, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > > I just noted it is $599 at the Winter Park store: > > ... cut ... > > Okay, here's the deal. I went to a local Office Depot store here in New > York that also had the advertisement (only about 1 in 3-4 do). It too > was claiming $599. But I configured the bare-basic configuration and it > was $549 plus $50 shipping. > > If you add 512MiB for $40 to get 1GiB, it's $25 off shipping. They had > most of the other upgrades that you can get on the dv9000z web-site -- > $75 for Turion x2 TL-50, $50 for the 1680x1050 screen, etc... The > upgrade to the GeForce Go 7600 was $125, $50 more than on the web site, > so I almost didn't go for it, but it was still $400 cheaper (after > rebate) overall than configuring on-line. I added the Intel 802.11a/b/g > WLAN so it's Linux compatible (only $5.99, normally $10 on-line). I'm not sure if the dv9000z does this, but someone on the LUGOD list got the impression that the dv9000t does do BIOS Whitelisting ~_~ which is definitely not a good thing. Reference:http://www.lugod.org/mailinglists/archives/vox/2006-09/msg00072.html From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sat Sep 30 20:14:19 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:18:06 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Unbelievable 17" Notebook (update): $499 for HP Pavillion 9000z ... In-Reply-To: <64beb5490609301124h253e1a56pc1a846bdd361b84b@mail.gmail.com> References: <1159637608.2996.22.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <64beb5490609301124h253e1a56pc1a846bdd361b84b@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <1159661659.2996.34.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sat, 2006-09-30 at 14:24 -0400, David Harris wrote: > I'm not sure if the dv9000z does this, but someone on the LUGOD > list got the impression that the dv9000t does do BIOS Whitelisting ~_~ > which is definitely not a good thing. The dv9000z/t come with Broadcom WLANs, and offer Intel as upgrades. So it wouldn't surprise me if there's some marketing by Broadcom/Intel to prevent other vendor solutions. I too like Atheros WLANs. But the Intel WLANs has Linux drivers as well. I think they do the same things as Atheros, GPL driver with binary firmware (largely for FCC reasons). -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com --------------------------------------------------------- The world is in need of solutions. Unfortunately, people seem to be more interested in blindly aligning themselves with one of only two viewponts -- an "us v. them" debate that has nothing to do with finding an actual solution.