Hardware

I bought my computer 4 years ago, and am looking to build one in the next year or two, so am starting to do research on what exactly I need, and what is good. I want to be able to play some higher end games, i do lots of word processing, use publisher, store a lot of music and movies and want to be able to burn them onto disks. I also want to hitch the pc to my tv to watch stuff on it-which i currently cant do. I currently have a web camera and headset, printer, the speaker system, a lower end sound card, and an external harddrive (wd-7200 rpm, 250gb.). I am torn between keeping this computer as a second to practice loading, uninstalling, formatting, and variou…

What do you all think would be a better investment? I have a decent system (but not like that kickass one i see in Taruns new signature ) buts its 4.5 years old, and i am looking to network within my home (one computer in the basement, one in the family room). im kicking around getting a laptop. pros: its portable outside the home to bring places to get help, give help (i actually am helping a few people here and there ). its great to put files on to read both inside the house or when i travel. its light, i can use my existing external hard drives, headphones, external dvd burner, etc. when i want to, and i can (i think?) hitch it to my stereo system in the li…

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...MP=OTC-d3alt1me This card is absolutely insane... it's essentially two 6800GTs in one... run those SLI'd and it totally kills 2x 7800 GTXs ...imagine... 4 6800 GTs... and here I am stuck with 1 GeForce FX5200 :D

I've finally decided to give up on my snail of a comp and give in to my urge to reformat the **** thing. Now, it was recommended to me that I partition the drive after I'm done reformatting, the reason being that it somehow speeds up the drive and its better for defragmentation. My first question, is this true? And if it is true, how and the heck do you partition? I remember doing it long ago with my friends comp but I haven't done it since I was 11 or something like that. Also, how much space should I allocate for each partition? I think it is a 36 gig drive (I know I'll upgrade it soon), I'm not at my dorm right now, so I can't really check. Just thought I'd ask in adva…

I have a OEM Asus E616-P3 16X DVD-ROM that I got from Newegg. I don’t have any trouble playing movies on it and Snowblind and Brothers in Arms run fine. I’m having trouble with a game called Shadow-ops : Red Mercury put out by ATARI. When I try to load the game, it gets to a certain .cab file and I get a CRC error. I took the game back and got another copy, but it does the same thing. I’ve flashed the latest firmware for the drive. I switched back and forth between DMA and PIO thinking that might help……zip. I tried to copy the disk to my hard drive and got a CRC error on the same file. I tried to copy just that file and it did the same **** thing. For some reason, this dr…

Just a question. By having a router with a firewall, would i still NEED a software firewall? Should I have both? Big question, would a hardwall firewall save resources if i dont have a software one? Thanks dudes. :P

Hello, Could someone explain to me the difference in types of Ram, what I would be looking for to get the best Ram, and what is the "fastest" Ram. thank you.

ok, here my Motherboard - K7T266 Pro2 I have two sticks of 256MB (PC2100). One in right slot and the other in the left slot. My brother is getting 1GB (PC3200) and is willing to give me a stick of 256MB (PC2100). I'm going to put that stick in the middle slot. I'm wondering will this give any system performance Improvement. My CPU is an AMD Athlon Xp 2000+ 1.667GHZ. My graphics card is an - ASUS ATI 9200SE 64-Bit 4X AGP enabled. Max support for board is only 4X anyways. I play Halo for PC and it hangs while exiting a server or exiting the game. could it be my Video card? Since it's ONLY 64-BIT and yes of course we all gamers and computer people recommend 128-BIT b…

For years I ignored this problem with my ATi Radeon 9200 128mb graphics card by using an older card from my older computer. Recently I purchased a new graphics card, ATi Radeon X700 256mb, and this problem appeared once again. The problem arises when the card is subjected to a high level performance game (eg Diablo II, or any graphically intense game). The basic problem is that the Video Card would no longer respond to its respected Driver. From reading other sites, some possible causes of error are: -Not Enough Power is given to the Graphics Card -Graphics Card Overheats -Windows Believes Graphics Card is Overheated when it is not -Card is Overclocked Imprope…

There is a possibility that in the near future I will get an external hardrive. The sort of thing I'm wanting is a easy install (plug and play?) thing. Around 80gig or more depending on cost. Any advice on features to look out for would be most welcome.

i have to say i am not very happy with the overall quality of this product. the power cord thats powers the unit is cheaply made. it does not fit into the usb port very well as the female end fits very loosely. the on/off switch does not function as it should. i have to place the switch in between the on/off position for it to remain on. the slightest bump on the powercord will turn the power off. the two fans that is incoorperated in the pad does not circulate fast enough to render any cooling effect that will benefit the cooling of my laptop. i have not decided if i want to exchange fro a new one and try my luck again or return it to get my money back.

A couple of questions about memory sticks, usbs and the like. What does it mean (in plain English! ) if it is, 1 Hot-swoppable 2 has flash drive. Thank you. :realmad:

This little thing is totally awesome and a must have for any tech. There are even two sizes. 2.5GB and 5.0GB. (I just got mine on-sale at Circuit City for $100.00, about $15 cheaper than the 2.5GB) With a USB 2.0 connection you can transfer files at 480 Mb/s. It quite literally fits in the palm of your hand. The pocket hard drive has a built in 7" long USB cable. Some people with a tower may need a USB cable extension. Drive Specifications: 3600 RPM 2MB Cache Width: 0.71" Height: 3.03" Weight 2.2 oz. With unique shock-absorbers this can take a good drop too, though I don't recommend dropping it! It's hot-swappable, so you don't have to worry about powering y…

Apc is now selling fingerprint security devices for your PC. Biometric

What do you all think about these? Worth the cash? Good prevention? If i ever had a power issue hit my computer, i would hate to have to go through the hassle of an insurance claim. I already have two powersurge bars connecting my comp stuff.

Bought a second external hard drive this evening. WD 250 gb in a NexStar 3 Box. Only had 6 gb left on the last one. :lol:

im currently researching which brand to buy for memory upgrade to 1gb for my laptop. which brand would you sugggest and why. i think i have narrowed it down to viking or kingston

if i upgrade my laptops memory to 1gig is there anything i have to do, or is it as easy as removivng the cover taking the old memory out and installing the new memory.

I have a logitech quick camera with intergrated microphone. Now I have worked out how to watch telly on my PC (stops arguments) I wanted to record a prog as well. No problem, but can hear ourselves over the sound track. What simple click thing can I do to disable the mic until prog is finished? Or am I choosing the wrong audio sorce when recording?

Ok, i have an opportunity to purchase an external dvd burner-still in box, never used for 40 bucks (canadian). Made by comstar, 2.0 usb dvd+/-rw double format (+/-), dual layer (8.5gb) dvd-rom 12x max cd-rom 32x max dvd+r 2.4x dvd+r 8x dvd+rw 4x dvd-r 8x dvd-rw 4x cd-r 24x cd-rw 16x 8x what do you think, should i get it? Its not hot, and not faulty.

Will I notice a difference in my computer if I upgrade from 768 Ram to 1024? That is the most Ram I can put in my computer. Thank you for your anticipated response.

Is it OK to have 3 optical drives installed in a computer? I already have a CD re-writer and DVD drive installed, and I have a spare drive bay. My youngest son wants me to buy a DVD re-writer this weekend, but I am not sure whether I can have all 3 installed or whether I need to lose the CD re-writer.

I have more questions,actually I have a Compaq, with AMD 2600+XP and I want to upgrade to 3000+XP. Can somebody explain to me,what is the difference between those 2 processors? What is the difference between Barton and Thoroughbred?! The speed for 2600+xp is 2.06Ghz and for 3000+Xp is 2.16Ghz. Again.What is the difference? I haved a few conversations with hp technical support ,but is like watching Seinfeld! Thank you!

Have a bluetooth dongle for my mobile to put info off it onto computer. If I got a bluetooth keyboard would this also serve as a receiver for it? Or is it more complicated than that?