Search results

  1. J

    Replacement for Audigy 2 ZS?

    I have an aging Audigy 2 ZS sound card. For a few months now, I get the occasional audio distortion in Windows 7 x64 (Home Edition). I've seen this distortion occur in both games and music players (and perhaps once even on the Windows desktop). As such, I'd like to replace it if possible...
  2. J

    Security Restrictions While Developing Java Applets

    I'm developing a Java applet that requires some user feedback (the user opens a file chooser and selects files from the local system). I understand that the applet will need to be signed long term, but while I'm developing it, how can I get around the Java security model? As it is now, I get...
  3. J

    Power Supply for a GTX 460?

    My setup: GIGABYTE GA-EP45T-USB3P LGA 775 Intel P45 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (Wolfdale) 3.0 GHz, with a Zalman CNPS7000C-Cu Cooler G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) BFG Tech GeForce 8800 GTS (G92) 512 MB (ForceWare 258.96) (Died a sudden...
  4. J

    Corrupt Video - Can't Figure Out Why

    I recently had a video problem crop up on my current system (specs below). The video card was acting up, and would display trash on the screen any time video modes changed (i.e. switching from VGA boot screen to Windows 7, trying to play a video, many of my video games also triggered it). The...
  5. J

    Where to from 8800 GTS 512?

    I have a BFG Tech 8800 GTS 512 that appears to have died tonight (either it or my mobo; I'll probably replace both in the coming days). Having not looked at GPUs in a million years, I'm out of touch with today's market. I have a few questions, but before those, here's my current setup specs...
  6. J

    Question for Netflix Subscribers

    I'm planning on signing up for Netflix soon, but I have a question for those of you already using the service: How do you mail back your DVDs: do you put them in your mailbox for the postal carrier to pick them up? Or do you drive them to a post office / mailbox? Is one faster than the other?
  7. J

    Recommended Usenet Providers?

    Since Time Warner has completely ditched its support for usenet, I'm looking for a reliable usenet provider. What do you folks here recommend? Cost isn't a concern.
  8. J

    Graphics card for a new gaming rig

    I'm building a new computer for gaming purposes, and I'm wondering what to get in the graphics card department (it's been a while since I've looked at video cards). Here's are the components I've chosen so far for my rig, for the sake of context: ABIT IP35 Pro Motherboard Intel Core 2 Duo...
  9. J

    Is 500W still enough?

    I'm looking at building a new system, and I'm wondering if my current power supply is still sufficient for my new rig. Here's a quick look at what I'm considering upgrading to: * Asus P5E Mobo * Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 * 2GB (2 x 1GB) Crucial Ballistix DDR2 SDRAM * EVGA GeForce 8800 GT...
  10. J

    NTP on a private network?

    I have a number of systems, none of which can see the internet (i.e. they are on a private network). I would like to set up one of the systems as a "master" system, so that I can sync the time between all of the machines. In essence, I set the time on the master system, and all the "slave"...
  11. J

    Router on top of TV

    I have a DLink DI-624 wireless router sitting on top of my television (CRT). Would the television, when turned on, cause any interference or damage to the router? I've noted that both the wireless performance and reception of the router has degraded considerably over time, and I'm wondering if...
  12. J

    Quiet, Reliable 80mm Case Fans?

    My Cooler Master ATC-201 case has four fans: two intakes on the front (blowing across the hard drives), one outtake on the rear, and one outtake on the top (all are 80 mm). When I bought the case, the top fan was incredibly loud (must have a bad bearing), so I've never used it; instead it acts...
  13. J

    Recommended Zalman Coolers for AMD X2 4400+?

    I've got a Zalman VF-900 for my graphics card, and I am very impressed with its performance (and it's so quiet!). As such, I'd like to get a Zalman cooler for my AMD X2 4400+ CPU (the current fan is making a very high pitched whine that's driving me nuts). What Zalman coolers do people...
  14. J

    Wireless Network Slows Over Time

    My desktop machine at home uses a PCI wireless card to connect to my family's home LAN (I'm too far away from the NAT box to run a cable). I've been noting for some time now that, over time, my network connection gradually gets slower. If I reboot my machine, the connection speed is restored...
  15. J

    Questions on general dual core stability

    I'm looking to upgrade to an AMD dual core processor (the X2 family looks interesting), but I occasionally see comments about problems that crop up due to dual core processors. What kind of stability do people here with dual core processors see? Are crashes / lockups / hangs a frequent problem...
  16. J

    Two Questions

    I am planning on building a new system, and I've decided on these items: * Asus A8N5X * AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ * eVGA GeForce 7900GT * Seagate Barracuda 120GB SATA 1.5GB/s (2x) I'm still in need of some memory, and a new power supply. I usually buy memory from Crucial Technologies...
  17. J

    Motherboard for AMD 64 X2 4400+

    I'm going to buy an AMD 64 X2 4400+ CPU (available here at NewEgg), and I don't know what motherboard to buy. Can anyone provide any suggestions? I don't think I'm going to do SLI graphics, but I would like PCI-Express ... and I also have a few other basic constraints (I think most...
  18. J

    AMD 64 4000+ vs. 64 x2 4400+?

    I'm looking at building a brand new system (upgrading from AGP to PCI Express), and I want to move away from Intel processors. I currently have a Pentium 4 2.8GHz processor (with HT). I'm currently looking at two AMD solutions: AMD Athlon 64 4000+ AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ The first is $334...
  19. J

    Recommended PCI Express Video Cards?

    What non-SLI, PCI Express video cards are recommended for gaming these days? I see the NVIDIA 7900GT is out ... what do people think of it? I'm not concerned about the price ... just want to know what's recommended. Thanks!
  20. J

    Photoshop PNG Support

    I have the oh-so-ancient Photoshop 5.5, and it has lousy PNG support (especially as far as transparency is concerned). Do newer releases have better support? Also, I know the latest versions have met with some not incredibly favorable reviews. What versions do Photoshop users recommend? Is...
  21. J

    Dual monitors using a laptop

    Here at work, I have an LCD display that I plug into the VGA-out port of my laptop. I run dual screen as a result, but I'm having the following problem: When I take my laptop home at night, I clearly don't take the monitor with me. I use the laptop from my home in the evening. When I come...
  22. J

    Improving Desktop Wireless Reception

    I have a DLink DI-624 wireless router downstairs in my family room. My personal computer (a desktop system) is on the second floor, and I'm using a NetGear WG311v3 wireless PCI card. The reception up there is pretty weak, and I'd like to improve it. I can't move the router (we only have one...
  23. J

    Top Performing AMD CPUs?

    What would be considered the "top of the heap" CPUs from AMD these days?
  24. J

    MySQL Question

    I have a number of collections of data that I would like to display on a website. All of the collections are mutually exclusive; their contents completely unrelated. My question is this: should I store all of the collections in a single database (using different tables)? Or should I use one...
  25. J

    Upgrade Recommendations?

    It's time for a computer upgrade, and I'm not quite sure what to get. The three components I want to upgrade are my motherboard, CPU, and memory (I currently have an ASUS P4P800, Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz, and 1GB of PC3200 DDR RAM). Can anyone provide suggestions based on the following...
  26. J

    SATA 3.0 vs SATA 150

    I have an Asus P4P800 motherboard, and I'm thinking about getting some new hard drives. In looking at them, I see that there are both SATA 3.0 and SATA 150 drives available. What is the difference, and what would be compatible with my P4P800? I'm assuming the 150's are the older ones (and hence...
  27. J

    Redirecting with .htaccess

    I have some files at a website that I no longer offer (they have been obsoleted). I'd like to be able to redirect these files to the top page at my website. Ideally, I would like to use a rule that handles any file in a subfolder. For example: I'd like to redirect anything under...
  28. J

    Recommended SATA hard drives?

    What SATA hard drives are recommended? I have two Maxtor SATA drives, but I'm unhappy with their performance (they also sound like they are having mechanical problems). I also see that there are 3.0 Gbps drives and 1.5 Gbps drives available in the Anandtech storage guide. How do I know which...
  29. J

    Christmas Game Ideas?

    It's that time of year to make a Christmas wish list, and I'm not completely up to date on all the games out there. I have two questions: 1. A number of games I'm interested in (Silent Hunter 3, Splinter Cell 3, and F.E.A.R.) all use the StarForce (or whatever it's called) copy protection...
  30. J

    Laptop to run Linux?

    I'd like to get a laptop to run Linux on, but I don't know what to get. Here's what I'd like: * Wireless networking * Semi-high resolution display (maybe 1280 x whatever) I'd mainly use this for surfing the web and just tinkering around in Linux. Can anyone recommend a laptop that would...
  31. J

    Upgrade from P4 2.8GHz?

    I currently have a Pentium 4 2.8 GHz processor, and it's starting to show its age in some of the latest games. What's a good replacement for it? The latest processors all don't mention clock speed, so I have no idea what's better than what.
  32. J

    Digital Camera for a Novice?

    I'd like to get into digital photography, but I don't know a whole lot about it. I'd like to buy a digital camera that's easy enough for a novice, but has all the advanced controls available for me to learn with (I don't want to have to buy 2 cameras - one now and one later). What cameras do...
  33. J

    Programs Similar to SlickEdit?

    What programs exist that are similar to SlickEdit? I am aware of Crimson Editor, and I've heard of Eclipse, but I was wondering what other editors exist (free or otherwise).
  34. J

    HTML Forms Question

    I have an HTML form that uses the GET method (values are passed through the URL). In my form, I have an area where a user must specify a value. They can either choose a preset value from a drop-down menu, or they can enter a value directly in an edit box (this allows the user to provide values...
  35. J

    PHP Variable Scoping

    Suppose I have the following code: function one() { var $a; two(); } function two() { // I want to modify $a in this function // Unfortunately, I cannot pass $a as a function parameter } I want to be able to modify variable $a in function two(). If I place the GLOBAL keyword in...
  36. J

    Desktop Wireless

    I've just moved to a new house, and I don't think I'll be able to run a cable from my family's router (downstairs) to my room, where my computer is (upstairs). As a result, I'm thinking about using a wireless solution from my desktop computer. Has anyone here ever used such a thing? If so...
  37. J

    LCD Recommendation

    What are the best 4:3 ratio LCD's available that do 1600x1200 natively? I would use it for action gaming. I'm not that interested in wide screen. Also, cost doesn't matter.
  38. J

    Combatting Blog Comment Spam

    What recommendations do people have for combatting blog comment spam? I've looked at the WordPress Codex article on this subject (I run a WordPress blog), but there are so many options to choose from! Does anyone here employ a strategy to combat comment spam? If so, what do you do? And is it...
  39. J

    PHP and System Commands

    I am developing a PHP, web-based "front-end" for a command line tool we use here at work. Users log in to this tool and, once logged in, can do a number of things. I am currently using the backtick operator to issue the actual login command. But, as soon as the browser changes from my login...
  40. J

    PHP and Environment Variables

    I am fairly new to PHP, so I may be missing something obvious here... I'm working with a Windows PHP install, and I have added some needed paths to my system PATH variable. However, PHP cannot see the updated variable's value! I was logged in as administrator when I set the environment...