[dell]

What are the current technical limitations of IPS and VA panels?

Might find this to be informative:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/panel_technologies.htm

Hey all, I'm wondering if you could give me some advice on either of these rigs. It's for a friend, since his computer is starting to die on him. He wants it mostly for gaming and multimedia, ect, and for around 400-500 USD (but he'll go up to 700). He mostly plays WoW and CoD, but I figure it should be future proof enough to run Skyrim and Battlefield 3 the best it can. Which build do you think is better out of these two? (Or recommend any modifications/ your own build):

Build 1:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102913
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153106
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
Total: ~598 (658.94 before rebates and codes)

Build 2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130235
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161349
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103886
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
(Combo deals used: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.634436 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.628128)
Total: ~486 (611.94 before rebates and codes)

Second build is more reasonable. 850W PSU is absolute overkill and there is plenty better than that Rosewill case. I'm not much of a fan of Coolermaster PSUs, but it will more than do for the setup.

Even even one of these PSUs would be more than enough for the setup:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=4026&IsNodeId=1&Description=antec%20eco&name=%2450%20-%20%2475&Order=BESTMATCH

Hello again guys

My grandparents computer recently kicked the bucket (after well i don't even know how old it is anymore) and they would like to replace it with a Laptop.

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a decent laptop.

Budget is $500 Canadian (less is fine )

All they are going to be using it for is word processing, printing (they have a printer), looking at pictures, checking their email. Nothing terribly demanding.

They did decide for sure though they want a full laptop and not a notebook. It would have to come with everything needed (so OS I guess...)

I'm not terribly familiar with laptops as I never bought one or really did anything with one.

Thanks again.

Try here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740%204020%204804%20600004968%20600004416&IsNodeId=1&name=1366%20x%20768&Order=PRICE&Pagesize=20

Any of the notebooks between TOSHIBA Satellite L645D-S4100 and TOSHIBA Satellite L655D-S5066RD would do for their purposes.

[Alex Blacke]

I found out something very interesting today

As I mentioned above, I have two networks in this house. I maintain communication between the two networks using Coax... or so I thought. It turns out that I can ping devices on the other network, but devices on the other network can't ping me -- not even my publicly facing router (which connects to the other network via coax). Pinging it instantly fails.

Info:

Home network: 192.168.1.X

My network: 192.168.0.X -- Connects to 192.168.1.X via coax and the router is assigned the IP of 192.168.1.8 by the home network

Pinging from my network to the home network works perfectly fine -- I can see the entire 192.168.1.X network clear as day, access any one of the devices on that network at will. (and if I couldn't my life would be hell -- the print server is on the home network)

Pinging 192.168.1.8 from any other computer in 192.168.1.X fails -- I can't explain this. Pinging the set-top-boxes (also connected via coax) works perfectly fine, I double-checked after I noticed I couldn't ping 192.168.1.8. When I log into the Home network router, it lists my network router clear as day as 192.168.1.8 connected via coax, so I don't understand why pinging it fails.

Pinging into my computer from 192.168.1.X also fails as you would expect from network scope. I just don't understand why I can't ping 192.168.1.8 as that is clearly within the scope of 192.168.1.X.

I had plans on setting up a NAS on my network over summer and having it accessible to everyone else, but that won't happen as my network, even the front-facing part of it, is a complete black hole.

Anyone got any ideas why 192.168.1.8 is invisible when the rest of the coax devices are visible and it is clearly within the scope of 192.168.1.X?

Preemptive strike before someone asks why I don't just use a switch: I like being NATed from the rest of the home network.

Edit: problem solved, I guess an old rule on my router was causing the issues: It was set to reject ping requests.

[Big Homie]

Might find this to be informative:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/panel_technologies.htm

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/6bit_8bit.htm

The models listed were from 2005, so TN monitors from 2009 (mine included) onwards should have color reproduction close to those of the VA and IPS panels?

[Dark Mogul]

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/6bit_8bit.htm

The models listed were from 2005, so TN monitors from 2009 (mine included) onwards should have color reproduction close to those of the VA and IPS panels?

Close to that of 2005 era IPS/VA panel maybe. My monitor a Dell U2410 [H-IPS] has 10-bit (2^10 x 2^10 x 2^10) internal processing (1.07 billion colors) but may only display 16.7 million (8-bit) without dithering ( I think)...

[Rik Douglas]

Close to that of 2005 era IPS/VA panel maybe. My monitor a Dell U2410 [H-IPS] has 10-bit (2^10 x 2^10 x 2^10) internal processing (1.07 billion colors) but may only display 16.7 million (8-bit) without dithering ( I think)...

Aren't domestic video cards today only 24 bit?

[luis ortiz]

I'm looking for a new desktop. Made one for 1,353... http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dpcwsx1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&model_id=alienware-aurora-r3

But as we all know... It's overpriced and putting it together myself would be less costly and benefit me in a wonderful learning experience.

Looking to make one around that price or maybe even as cheap as 1000? Looking for wireless and expandability would be awesome. So a nice amount of power supply would be cool as well.

[Christie Mitchell]

I'm looking for a new desktop. Made one for 1,353... http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dpcwsx1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&model_id=alienware-aurora-r3

But as we all know... It's overpriced and putting it together myself would be less costly and benefit me in a wonderful learning experience.

Looking to make one around that price or maybe even as cheap as 1000? Looking for wireless and expandability would be awesome. So a nice amount of power supply would be cool as well.

Yes, terribly overpriced. Alienware is the last place to look for a gaming PC if you need one pre-assembled. I take it you can't build your own PC?

It would be nice to know if you need things like Monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, Windows OS disc. All these can factor heavily in the price. Or do you just need the tower?


Presuming you only need the tower and perhaps operating system, mouse and keyboard, you can go here:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CyberPower_P67_Configurator/

Key items to configure in....


Case: NZXT M59 Gaming Mid-Tower Case with See-Thru Window [-7]
CPU: Intel? Core? i5-2500K 3.30 GHz 6M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155
Venom Boost Fast And Efficient Factory Overclocking: No Overclocking
Cooling Fan: CoolerMaster Hyper TX3 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan [-6]...need something better than stock.
Motherboard: [CrossFireX] Asus P8P67 Intel P67 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ UEFI, DIGI+VRM, 7.1 HD Audio, BT GO!, GbLAN, USB 3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 3 PCI [B3 Stepping] [+45]
Memory: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module [-37] (Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+123]
Multiple Video Card Settings: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
Power Supply Upgrade: * 650 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-650TX 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready [+77]....IMPORTANT!!! 650W is plenty.
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
Keyboard: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
Mouse: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
Operating System: Microsoft? Windows? 7 Home Premium [+104] (64-bit Edition)


Everything I left at NONE or default selection. The price before ship/tax is $1008.

[Bereket Fekadu]

Aren't domestic video cards today only 24 bit?

No, the standard is 32-bit. However 24-bit and 32-bit both are 8-bit per color (RGB) so 8*3=24. The extra 8-bits in 32bpp is for alpha channel transparency (alpha blending??).

[Ross Thomas]

Yes, terribly overpriced. Alienware is the last place to look for a gaming PC if you need one pre-assembled. I take it you can't build your own PC?

It would be nice to know if you need things like Monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, Windows OS disc. All these can factor heavily in the price. Or do you just need the tower?


Presuming you only need the tower and perhaps operating system, mouse and keyboard, you can go here:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CyberPower_P67_Configurator/

Key items to configure in....


Case: NZXT M59 Gaming Mid-Tower Case with See-Thru Window [-7]
CPU: Intel? Core? i5-2500K 3.30 GHz 6M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155
Venom Boost Fast And Efficient Factory Overclocking: No Overclocking
Cooling Fan: CoolerMaster Hyper TX3 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan [-6]...need something better than stock.
Motherboard: [CrossFireX] Asus P8P67 Intel P67 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ UEFI, DIGI+VRM, 7.1 HD Audio, BT GO!, GbLAN, USB 3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 3 PCI [B3 Stepping] [+45]
Memory: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module [-37] (Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+123]
Multiple Video Card Settings: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
Power Supply Upgrade: * 650 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-650TX 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready [+77]....IMPORTANT!!! 650W is plenty.
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
Keyboard: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
Mouse: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
Operating System: Microsoft? Windows? 7 Home Premium [+104] (64-bit Edition)


Everything I left at NONE or default selection. The price before ship/tax is $1008.

I'll have to check out that link. I'm willing to build my own PC. just don't exactly have the know how. more than willing to learn how to though. And provided the graphics/sound card would support HDMI I would only need the mouse, keyboard and OS disc because I would plug it into my TV.

Edit: Well and the tower too obviously.

[Mariana]

I'm not going to be getting a laptop till mid-summer this year, so these are more theoretical questions to help me when I start looking and I am curious:

Would a dedicated video card on a laptop effect (affect?) battery life at all on the laptop if all the laptop is doing is word processing?

I am considering encrypting the system partition with TrueCrypt and then creating a separate partition for programs as I don't see the need in encrypting non-personal program files. Would this significantly affect boot times and CPU used (and subsequently battery life) while I am reading from the encrypted partition? Would just a windows password be enough to prevent access to saved passwords if the laptop was lost? I'm concerned with just using a Windows password as I imagine all you need is a Linux live CD to get around this, am I correct in assuming this?

I've never bought a laptop before, what do laptops include in terms of Operating system disks? Would recovery disks allow me to format + reinstall an OS, or can they only repair? If I were to create an image of a laptop as soon as I got it would I be able to reformat to this point if I needed to?

Does anyone know the timeframe for when Intel is going to come out with those glorious 22 nm processors?

Thanks for the help.

[Gisela Amaya]

Hey guys I am looking to build a sort of light media center PC. I hope it will be fast and a moderate gaming/video editing machine. I also need it to be cheap!
Luckily, I already have a number of parts -just not the expensive ones.

What I have (this all needs to fit!)
- Sound card
- TV tuner
- CD/DVD drive
- Windows 7
- Power supply (http://www.fspgroupusa.com/PC_RETAIL/AX450PN/AX450PN.html)
- Graphics card (I have a 7900gs which I will replace down the line, but can't at the moment, I'll deal with the poor gaming performance until then)

What I need (I think)
- Case (not oversized is better)
- Motherboard
- CPU
- Memory
- Hard Drive

Here's the bad part: I have around $300 US. That's a hard cap, less is better too.

So can I do it? And if so what parts should I purchase?
Note that I am in California so I have to pay Newegg tax, and I am also hoping to spend $100 on Amazon because I have a gift card there.
Thanks for any and all help!

[Miranda Taylor]

Hey all. I'm not sure if this is the place for computer issues but it can't hurt to ask.

I have an aging PC sitting on my floor. It was built 6 years ago and for the last year or so it's had this very annoying problem. It will crash completely at random with no warning, and either freeze or blackscreen. This will be accompanied by a glitch in the sound. When I turn it off and try to turn it on again, it won't boot. There's no beep and no POST screen, just blackness. Sometimes the problem goes away, but sometimes I need my mum's boyfriend to fix it for me. However, he is unavailable.

It was working fine for two weeks and then last night I was playing Medieval Total War and it happened again, this time the computer itself emitted a continuous beep, like it was flatlining. Anyone have any ideas?

[NIloufar Emporio]

Hey guys I am looking to build a sort of light media center PC. I hope it will be fast and a moderate gaming/video editing machine. I also need it to be cheap!
Luckily, I already have a number of parts -just not the expensive ones.

What I have (this all needs to fit!)
- Sound card
- TV tuner
- CD/DVD drive
- Windows 7
- Power supply (http://www.fspgroupusa.com/PC_RETAIL/AX450PN/AX450PN.html)
- Graphics card (I have a 7900gs which I will replace down the line, but can't at the moment, I'll deal with the poor gaming performance until then)

What I need (I think)
- Case (not oversized is better)
- Motherboard
- CPU
- Memory
- Hard Drive

Here's the bad part: I have around $300 US. That's a hard cap, less is better too.

So can I do it? And if so what parts should I purchase?
Note that I am in California so I have to pay Newegg tax, and I am also hoping to spend $100 on Amazon because I have a gift card there.
Thanks for any and all help!

Not by any means the best, because I just cobbled it together, but I think it should get the job done. I'd put that Amazon money towards getting a nicer card if I were you too. Something at least in the range of a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161315.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119088
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131616
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116348
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231396
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136490

If I cut any more corners I'd be sacrificing quality of the parts more than I'm willing to. The case is actually good though. It's the exact same one I'll be using for my next build, a nice smaller tower case. I'm also not a fan of your PSU. I know you already have it, but it doesn't look like it's 80+ certified, which is usually not a good sign. 70% efficiency isn't good at all, considering the PSU's I like have about 90% efficiency under all loads. But that http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121080 would run half of your budget.

So yeah, I'd look into upgrading that card and possibly getting an 80+ certified or better PSU.

Edit: Oh yeah, that case doesn't come with fans. Probably cost another $15-$20 to get a 120mm and two 80mm fans for it, depending on what you buy.

[jessica sonny]

If I cut any more corners I'd be sacrificing quality of the parts more than I'm willing to. The case is actually good though. It's the exact same one I'll be using for my next build, a nice smaller tower case. I'm also not a fan of your PSU. I know you already have it, but it doesn't look like it's 80+ certified, which is usually not a good sign. 70% efficiency isn't good at all, considering the PSU's I like have about 90% efficiency under all loads. But that http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121080 would run half of your budget.

Thanks for the help. Speaking about PSU efficiency - does efficiency affect performance or is it really just a matter of how much power the PSU draws?

[Paula Ramos]

I'm not going to be getting a laptop till mid-summer this year, so these are more theoretical questions to help me when I start looking and I am curious:

Would a dedicated video card on a laptop effect (affect?) battery life at all on the laptop if all the laptop is doing is word processing?

I am considering encrypting the system partition with TrueCrypt and then creating a separate partition for programs as I don't see the need in encrypting non-personal program files. Would this significantly affect boot times and CPU used (and subsequently battery life) while I am reading from the encrypted partition? Would just a windows password be enough to prevent access to saved passwords if the laptop was lost? I'm concerned with just using a Windows password as I imagine all you need is a Linux live CD to get around this, am I correct in assuming this?

I've never bought a laptop before, what do laptops include in terms of Operating system disks? Would recovery disks allow me to format + reinstall an OS, or can they only repair? If I were to create an image of a laptop as soon as I got it would I be able to reformat to this point if I needed to?

Does anyone know the timeframe for when Intel is going to come out with those glorious 22 nm processors?

Thanks for the help.

The powerful the video card/chip, the less battery life you will have. The faster the hard drive (5400rpm vs 7200rpm), the less battery life as well. There are some hybrid notebooks these days that have a low power Intel integrated chip in conjuct with a more powerful dedicated vide chip where the Intel kicks in for less resource hungry apps. So those might be what you're looking for if battery life is a concern. Create passwords for admin and user accounts...never let Windows pick one for you. Only use the admin accoun to install softwares and change settings....use the user accounts for your normal usage and restrict installation of anything on them.

Laptops these days rarely come with a backup OS disc. Based on what I've seen thus far, a lot come with some sort of built-in restore and/or backup utility that will help with returning the notebook back to its stock state.

22nm Intel CPUs? Talking about Ivy Bridge? That's end of the year at the earliest, more likely Q1 of next year.

Hey guys I am looking to build a sort of light media center PC. I hope it will be fast and a moderate gaming/video editing machine. I also need it to be cheap!
Luckily, I already have a number of parts -just not the expensive ones.

What I have (this all needs to fit!)
- Sound card
- TV tuner
- CD/DVD drive
- Windows 7
- Power supply (http://www.fspgroupusa.com/PC_RETAIL/AX450PN/AX450PN.html)
- Graphics card (I have a 7900gs which I will replace down the line, but can't at the moment, I'll deal with the poor gaming performance until then)

What I need (I think)
- Case (not oversized is better)
- Motherboard
- CPU
- Memory
- Hard Drive

Here's the bad part: I have around $300 US. That's a hard cap, less is better too.

So can I do it? And if so what parts should I purchase?
Note that I am in California so I have to pay Newegg tax, and I am also hoping to spend $100 on Amazon because I have a gift card there.
Thanks for any and all help!

I feel your pain on the Cali newegg tax. I often shop amazon myself just to avoid it. $300 can certainly be amnageable for what you need.

CASE: http://www.amazon.com/GAMMA-Classic-Interior-Chassis-Black/dp/B002UDK9U6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1304802692&sr=1-1
CPU+MOBO Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.642133
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231179&cm_re=4gb_g_skill_ddr3-_-20-231-179-_-Product
HDD: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-Cache-Desktop-HD103SJ/dp/B001U3S5S0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1304802831&sr=1-1

Should be $300, perhaps a bit over but not much.

Thanks for the help. Speaking about PSU efficiency - does efficiency affect performance or is it really just a matter of how much power the PSU draws?

Pretty much how much power is drawn from the wall, but that can certainly affect performance should there not be enough power. I still remember those FSP 450W units as I used to use them a lot in the past for build. They're actually pretty solid units eventhough the efficiency is low....they're just based on an old design. PSUs nowadays are often 80% + efficiency and overclass this unit. For you setup, you still should be fine if that unit is still working.

[Kayla Bee]

The powerful the video card/chip, the less battery life you will have. The faster the hard drive (5400rpm vs 7200rpm), the less battery life as well. There are some hybrid notebooks these days that have a low power Intel integrated chip in conjuct with a more powerful dedicated vide chip where the Intel kicks in for less resource hungry apps. So those might be what you're looking for if battery life is a concern. Create passwords for admin and user accounts...never let Windows pick one for you. Only use the admin accoun to install softwares and change settings....use the user accounts for your normal usage and restrict installation of anything on them.

Laptops these days rarely come with a backup OS disc. Based on what I've seen thus far, a lot come with some sort of built-in restore and/or backup utility that will help with returning the notebook back to its stock state.

22nm Intel CPUs? Talking about Ivy Bridge? That's end of the year at the earliest, more likely Q1 of next year.

Would having a dedicated video card make a noticeable difference in terms of battery life? Also I didn't know about the integrated / dedicated laptops, I'll have to look for those. I really wish Newegg included battery life on laptops in their details.

I'm not really concerned with getting viruses myself, but I was thinking if I lost my laptop I wouldn't want someone to be able to access my email accounts by opening up thunderbird since it stores all of my email account passwords. For creating two users how would installing programs work? Would I have to log in to a different user or would something just pop-up saying "You need administrator access to do this, enter username: password:".

Would the backup disk be enough in case I got a virus on my computer, or do I need to look into imaging to return it to its former glory?

I'm not sure about which codename Intel gave them, I was mainly referring to these:

http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2011/05/intel-re-invents-the-microchip.ars

[Valerie Marie]

I have an older laptop that I just replaced with a new one. I dont really have any use for the old one now but I dont want to get rid of it. It has a 1.6Ghz AMD Turion 64x2 CPU with a Nvidia Go 6150 GPU and 2GB of DDR2 RAM. I was thinking about setting up a personal proxy or VPN when I am out of my network. But what would everyone else recommend I do with the old laptop?

[Dan Wright]

I've been using EVGA Geforce GTX 460 1GB GPU for a while now, and I'm looking to upgrade. Anyone have any recommendations for something that will give me a bit of an extra boost? I hit about ~14 FPS when running the Heaven DX11 benchmark at max settings (1600x900 resolution), so I figure I could use a bit more power.

Specs:
AMD PHenom II X4 955 BE (stock fan)
2x2GB G.Skill DDR3 1333MHz
Corsair TX650 PSU
ASUS M4A78T-E Mobo
EVGA Geforce GTX 460 1GB

I'd like to keep it under $400 if at all poissible. I mean, if I can get a better GPU and PSU for $300-$400 that'd be perfect. Unless a 650W PSU can handle a card better than the GTX 460. Then I guess I'd go up to $300 for just a new card.

Also, I'm looking at the GTX 560 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261099&cm_re=gtx_560-_-14-261-099-_-Product

It says it needs a 500W PSU to run it, mines 650. Will I still need a bigger PSU to use this card + everything I already have?

[Javier Borjas]

I am considering encrypting the system partition with TrueCrypt and then creating a separate partition for programs as I don't see the need in encrypting non-personal program files. Would this significantly affect boot times and CPU used (and subsequently battery life) while I am reading from the encrypted partition? Would just a windows password be enough to prevent access to saved passwords if the laptop was lost? I'm concerned with just using a Windows password as I imagine all you need is a Linux live CD to get around this, am I correct in assuming this?

As you suspect, Windows passwords won't be near enough to stop someone from accessing your files. If you want to stop it, you have to encrypt. Boot time differences will be negligible with a new i5 that supports AES-NI (assuming you use just AES encryption), but there will be some drop in battery life. I lost about 30 minutes in battery life IIRC after encrypting my laptop. Not terribly bad in my opinion, and well worth it.

For creating two users how would installing programs work? Would I have to log in to a different user or would something just pop-up saying "You need administrator access to do this, enter username: password:".

Windows XP required you to log into the admin's account, but http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee623984(WS.10).aspx

Would the backup disk be enough in case I got a virus on my computer, or do I need to look into imaging to return it to its former glory?

You can create backup discs, but if you restore your system using them, it'll restore all the crap that your laptop came with as well as require you to reinstall all your own software + all Windows updates. This is why imaging offers a distinct advantage over using any factory default discs/partitions.

I have an older laptop that I just replaced with a new one. I dont really have any use for the old one now but I dont want to get rid of it. It has a 1.6Ghz AMD Turion 64x2 CPU with a Nvidia Go 6150 GPU and 2GB of DDR2 RAM. I was thinking about setting up a personal proxy or VPN when I am out of my network. But what would everyone else recommend I do with the old laptop?

I used my old laptop before it finally gave up the ghost as an ad-hoc samba server and general messing around. I dunno if I'd turn one into a VPN or proxy, though, as that means you'd have to have the thing on 100% of the time to be useful. Better to add those abilities to a desktop/server proper I think.

[NEGRO]

As you suspect, Windows passwords won't be near enough to stop someone from accessing your files. If you want to stop it, you have to encrypt. Boot time differences will be negligible with a new i5 that supports AES-NI (assuming you use just AES encryption), but there will be some drop in battery life. I lost about 30 minutes in battery life IIRC after encrypting my laptop. Not terribly bad in my opinion, and well worth it.

I'll probably encrypt the system partition then. When you say i5 do you mean Sandy Bridge or the previous version?

Windows XP required you to log into the admin's account, but http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee623984(WS.10).aspx

Is the main point of this to prevent unintentionally installing software? Also I've noticed programs that say something like "requires administrator to run", would this mean I have to put in the password each time I want to run the program, or can I have windows set something like "always run as administrator" and then only have to input the password once for that program?

You can create backup discs, but if you restore your system using them, it'll restore all the crap that your laptop came with as well as require you to reinstall all your own software + all Windows updates. This is why imaging offers a distinct advantage over using any factory default discs/partitions.

I'll probably uninstall all the bloatware and then make an image.

Thanks for the help.

[R.I.p MOmmy]

I'll probably encrypt the system partition then. When you say i5 do you mean Sandy Bridge or the previous version?

I know some of the desktop versions of the older i5s have AES-NI, but not all did. All Sandy Bridge i5s have AES-NI.

Is the main point of this to prevent unintentionally installing software? Also I've noticed programs that say something like "requires administrator to run", would this mean I have to put in the password each time I want to run the program, or can I have windows set something like "always run as administrator" and then only have to input the password once for that program?

If it requires admin privileges, you'll have to put in the password (so, if you wanted to use CCleaner, for example, you'd have to put in the password every time). UAC doesn't have a grace period like sudo does, AFAIK

I'll probably uninstall all the bloatware and then make an image.

Thanks for the help.

Definitely the best choice, IMO. I'd never set up a system without imaging it anymore. The convenience of imaging is just too great.

[OJY]

I've been using EVGA Geforce GTX 460 1GB GPU for a while now, and I'm looking to upgrade. Anyone have any recommendations for something that will give me a bit of an extra boost? I hit about ~14 FPS when running the Heaven DX11 benchmark at max settings (1600x900 resolution), so I figure I could use a bit more power.

Specs:
AMD PHenom II X4 955 BE (stock fan)
2x2GB G.Skill DDR3 1333MHz
Corsair TX650 PSU
ASUS M4A78T-E Mobo
EVGA Geforce GTX 460 1GB

I'd like to keep it under $400 if at all poissible. I mean, if I can get a better GPU and PSU for $300-$400 that'd be perfect. Unless a 650W PSU can handle a card better than the GTX 460. Then I guess I'd go up to $300 for just a new card.

Also, I'm looking at the GTX 560 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261099&cm_re=gtx_560-_-14-261-099-_-Product

It says it needs a 500W PSU to run it, mines 650. Will I still need a bigger PSU to use this card + everything I already have?

Your power supply could handle a GTX 580 in your system if you really wanted one...easily. It would even handle two GTX 460s in SLI. PSU requirements are ALWAYS overstated from video card manufacturers....there are a lot of junk PSUs out there, but yours is not one. It really is a liability thing.

If it must a Nvidia card, why not shoot for the GTX 570? The GTX 580 would be bottlenecked by that Phenom 955 far too much.

[brenden casey]

Looking to upgrade my ancient Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX to something that actually can support DX10/11. Now, this computer's an old Dell XPS 700. The power supply is actually quite a bit higher than I thought- it says max wattage is 750.

I've done some research, and the card I've sighted is the above mentioned GTX 580. Now, the only problem is, I don't think my computer is PCI Express 2.0. My research says that the card will run on a PCI Express mobo, though. I can deal with a slight performance hit for that.

Any of the tech wizards spot any problems with my logic? I've never really upgraded a GPU before myself (we did a long time ago, for Morrowind). So I'm asking the experts.

[Soraya Davy]

Looking to upgrade my ancient Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX to something that actually can support DX10/11. Now, this computer's an old Dell XPS 700. The power supply is actually quite a bit higher than I thought- it says max wattage is 750.

I've done some research, and the card I've sighted is the above mentioned GTX 580. Now, the only problem is, I don't think my computer is PCI Express 2.0. My research says that the card will run on a PCI Express mobo, though. I can deal with a slight performance hit for that.

Any of the tech wizards spot any problems with my logic? I've never really upgraded a GPU before myself (we did a long time ago, for Morrowind). So I'm asking the experts.

I'm not so concerned about your power supply being able to handle it nor am I really all that concerned about the PCI-E slot. The slot might hold the card back a bit, but it's at most maybe only a 5% difference.

But what processor do you have in there? Getting a powerful card like the GTX 580 when you have an old processor isn't exactly a good idea. You'll see far more of a bottleneck there than with the PCI-E slot if your CPU is old and weak.

[sam]

I'm not so concerned about your power supply being able to handle it nor am I really all that concerned about the PCI-E slot. The slot might hold the card back a bit, but it's at most maybe only a 5% difference.

But what processor do you have in there? Getting a powerful card like the GTX 580 when you have an old processor isn't exactly a good idea. You'll see far more of a bottleneck there than with the PCI-E slot if your CPU is old and weak.

A Core2Duo 6700 2.66 GHZ. How bad is that?