[Carlos Rojas]

Originally by Powerslide
LET'S MAKE THIS WORK PEOPLE!

Okay, now as anyone could see there are HUNDREDS of tech threads floating around in CD - ranging from questions about graphics hardware, to questions about pricier graphics hardware and other tech such as monitors, hard drives and Processors to announcement threads of new technology and more. (I accede - I'm not being very eloquent here)

Any questions you have, tech news or ANYTHING related to buying/selling/information/announcements of new hardware should go here.

For example, if you come to the forums to ask "What is the better graphics hardware" or "What sort of RAM should I put in my PC?" then it should go here - I'm a little hazy, I know - but please keep all those graphics card and tech questions to one thread! Please!
So here's the summary, all:

• Announcements and queries on new or unreleased tech
  
• Benchmarks and results of hardware/discussion
  
• Questions on what sort of hardware you need/want for your machine
  
• Questions about existing tech and/or function
  
• Pricing and recommendations

Should be kept to THIS THREAD.

This has been A-okayed by CCNA for all who were wondering - it's up to you to stop filling CD with the same topics again and again that ask what the most powerful card in existence is so you can (not) buy it.

If you feel you have a question or can answer one - please feel free to do so.


Thanks all.
Adding more links shortly, thank you for your patience.

(Threads 1-85 have been all pruned, may they rest in peace)

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1079401-the-community-tech-thread-%2386/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1084024-the-community-tech-thread-no-87/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1090141-the-community-tech-thread-no-88/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1094900-the-community-tech-thread-no-89/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1102258-the-community-tech-thread-no-90/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1108118-the-community-tech-thread-no-91/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1112884-the-community-tech-thread-no-92/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1118559-the-community-tech-thread-no-93/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1145193-the-community-tech-thread-no-94/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1153130-the-community-tech-thread-no-95/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1160717-the-community-tech-thread-no-96/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1167952-the-community-tech-thread-no-97/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1176772-the-community-tech-thread-no-98/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1180239-the-community-tech-thread-no-99/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1188969-the-community-tech-thread-no-100/
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1199194-the-community-tech-thread-no-101/

Do I also have to put a big glowing neon sign to this in my signature? THERE ARE TOO MANY TECH THREADS - THIS IS NOT A FORUM FOR YOUR TECH WOES!

But we will gladly help you anyway.

Honour list:
Nottheking
Lord Athanar (SUPER-PINK!)
Insaneturbo13
Anothercanadian
Tig Ol' Bitties
Dogsbody
CCNA (Moderator)
Níeh?ggr
wolfpup
Wierd
Softnerd
wingus
DEFRON
Qwaxalot
iGuess


Oh and PLEASE, if you want us to "Build" you a PC, please indicate the following:
1.) your budget in your country's currency
2.) what country you reside if not listed in your avatar area
3.) pre-assembled PC? ...or can you build your own?
4.) what is needed other than the PC tower? Monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, Windows OS disc? All these can jack up the price.
5.) product preferences, preferred seller, and intended aim

but please, no "I want teh superererest Peecee evar1!!!!11!1", because really, only Bill Gates has that much moolah.


And, speaking of building your own PC, two sets of good how-to videos from Newegg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxaVBsXEiok&feature=related

Thanks to SpankyTheElf for finding these additional ones:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CStOC0hET8 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3buj5cIh2Bs&feature=related



Other useful links

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2
http://www.overclock.net/graphics-cards-general/502403-graphics-card-ranking-5th-time-last.html
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/articles.php?articleid=132
http://www.memtest86.com/
http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/
http://entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm
http://www.irfanview.com/
http://www.knoppix.org/
http://www.jonnyguru.com/
http://www.overclock.net/power-supplies/183810-faq-recommended-power-supplies.html
http://www.overclock.net/power-supplies/715889-psu-articles.html#post9110838
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/
http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/
http://tftcentral.co.uk/
http://www.apple.com/itunes/
http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmark06/
http://www.fraps.com/
http://trinityhome.org/Home/index.php?wpid=1&front_id=12

[Schel[Anne]FTL]

I came to the tech thread looking for a computer one time recently looking for a gaming build. I was suggested a prebuilt from a website that I can't remember off the top of my head. Anyways, i'd like another build... But however this time i'd like the parts separate so I can build the thing myself. After getting that build before I had some unexpected financial issues come up. I've done a little more research this time around. I'd like to keep it around 1,000 to 1,200 if possible with expandability in mind. (Large HDD, nice PSU, etc.)

Here's what I'd do with your money.

CASE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811322015...or...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153
CPU+SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.673401
MOBO: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-P8Z68V&title=Asus-P8Z68-V-LGA1155-Intel-Z68-DDR3-Quad-CrossFireX-Quad-SLI-SATA3-USB3-0-A-V-GbE-ATX-Motherboard...$15 off code: FIREWORKS
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207007
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
GPU: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-PCI-Express-Graphics-01G-P3-1560-KR/dp/B004WO8UAM/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1309771574&sr=8-16....or....http://www.amazon.com/HIS-Radeon-256bit-Mini-DisplayPort-H695FN2G2M/dp/B004S9JXTS/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1309771894&sr=8-8
CPU Cooler: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
MOUSE: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/promotional-items/devices/8477

That should be around $1150. Get whatever keyboard.

[Loane]

It's definitely worth a try, especially if you are confident in taking apart the laptop.

I went to my local electronics store, and they said that it was possible, but that it's gonna take a while to do so. I don't have any CPU yet, and it will have to wait for when I buy one. Thanks for the help!

[Teghan Harris]

I've got a problem with my laptop.
It's an EasyNote TM97.
It's about 6-7 months old and is not used for anything other than work and light internet browsing.
The problem lies with the battery, which I leave on charge almost all the time, and I have done since I got the laptop.
For the last two or three months now, the battery has been playing up. It started, I think, after some idiot who works in IT at my school decided to put the wrong charger into the battery. I'm not saying that this is the cause as i've also read that leaving it on charge when it's at 100% can also damage things to do with the battery. But it does seem to be a coincidence that it happened just after this.

What the problem is is that though the charger is plugged in, the Battery will not charge. If I hover my mouse over the little battery icon, it says '5% available (plugged in, charging)', but no matter how long I leave it on charge, it does not go above 5%.

A week or so ago, I had the same problem, but with the battery at '40% available (plugged in, charging)'. However this was different as when I took the charger out, the laptop still seemed to last about 2 hours, so I figured it was just a problem with the display.

Now however, only a few seconds after I take the charger out, the laptop hibernates until I plug the charger back in - which is extremely annoying.

I've looked around online for various fixes, letting the battery run out, leaving it charging all night etc, but nothing i've tried seems to fix this issue, and it will not charge past 5-6%.
I've also come across the idea of 'flashing the BIOS' which although seems to bring about results, scares me somewhat - I really don't want to screw this laptop up. It is pretty new and cost ￡600.

I'm just hoping that someone brainy here will be able to ask the right questions, find the problem and perhaps help me resolve it because I am beyond stumped.
Cheers.

[Natalie Harvey]

@Tig ol bitties: You had answered some questions of mine in the previous thread about a $1000 dollar build for a new computer which I appreciate greatly. I've had many people tell me to wait until October before I buy a new computer because of price drops.

Do you believe it's a good idea to wait till October when if I buying the same parts/same build?

Thanks for your time!

Ryuubane

[Laura Shipley]

@Tig ol bitties: You had answered some questions of mine in the previous thread about a $1000 dollar build for a new computer which I appreciate greatly. I've had many people tell me to wait until October before I buy a new computer because of price drops.

Do you believe it's a good idea to wait till October when if I buying the same parts/same build?

Thanks for your time!

Ryuubane

If you are willing to wait, AMD's Bulldozer will drop sometime next month or September and you can make a comparison then with it and Intel Sandybridge CPUs. I honestly don't see price drops upfront that soon but it will depend on the performance of AMD's chips and its slated price points.

It'll be a matter of changing out the CPU and motherboard if you decide to switch to AMD instead, but it's not like you'd regret going with a 2500K. The processor is ridiculously powerful. AMD better match it with something.

[Penny Courture]

I'm considering buying a new laptop. I've only just started taking a look around now, but any recommendations would be much appreciated. I have two main requirements:

• It must have a 64-bit CPU with hardware virtualization
  
• It must have a large amount of RAM (at least 4GB)

The main reason for that is that I'd like to be able to use it for work, and I need to be able to run 64-bit virtual machines on it for that. I'd also like it to have a half decent graphics card (and a screen capable of 1920x1080 resolution), but that's not as important as the previous two requirements. I'm willing to spend up to maybe ￡600 or ￡700 at a push, although being the cheap bastard that I am, the lower the cost the better.

Thanks in advance for anyone that comes up with something.

[EDIT]: OK, maybe not full 1920x1080 resolution, but better than 1280x800 (which my current laptop has).

[MR.BIGG]

I'm considering buying a new laptop. I've only just started taking a look around now, but any recommendations would be much appreciated. I have two main requirements:

• It must have a 64-bit CPU with hardware virtualization
  
• It must have a large amount of RAM (at least 4GB)

The main reason for that is that I'd like to be able to use it for work, and I need to be able to run 64-bit virtual machines on it for that. I'd also like it to have a half decent graphics card (and a screen capable of 1920x1080 resolution), but that's not as important as the previous two requirements. I'm willing to spend up to maybe ￡600 or ￡700 at a push, although being the cheap bastard that I am, the lower the cost the better.

Thanks in advance for anyone that comes up with something.

[EDIT]: OK, maybe not full 1920x1080 resolution, but better than 1280x800 (which my current laptop has).

Give pcspecialist.co.uk a look with their customizable laptops here:
http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/laptop-computers/


Pick out the 15.6" Enigma III 540

Changes...

- CPU: Core i5 2410 or better
- 1x4GB RAM ...expand to 8G later
- 250GB 7200RPM WD Black Scorpio or better
- None on Anti-Virus junk

With those changes, I got ￡704 inc VAT and Delivery. Sandybridge CPU with dedicated video card. Not bad IMO especially given the price.

[Bigze Stacks]

Slightly offbeat question here, relative of mine wants me to upgrade their dell studio 540, which luckily takes a standard ATX PSU and has room for a dual slot GPU (which seems to be what they want), but does anyone have any experience with Dell's non-BTX mobos? I heard something about them using rebranded micro-ATX ones, but if someone could confirm before I get the chance to take a look at it myself, that'd be great.

Oh also while I'm at it, could someone recommend me a new GPU to upgrade from my 9800GT? Budget is €170, give or take 20 quid.