Search results

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    TomTom vs. Garmin? Best sub-$150 GPS units

    I'm looking to buy a GPS unit for my car for the first time, probably around Black Friday. There are some nice-looking budget units in the $100-120 range (I've mostly been looking at the nuvi 225 and the TomTom XL 340). That's about all I want to spend right now, and I don't need anything fancy...
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    Gaming through video capture card?

    My brother wants to play Halo 2 on his CRT instead of on a TV, but he's afraid that there might be some noticeable lag since the video is going through a capture card. Are some capture cards better than others in this area (cards with onboard hardware encoders, for example)?
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    Free/open-source backup solution?

    I've got Acronis TrueImage on my main machine for full drive imaging, and it works great. I'd like to also get a backup system going for the rest of the machines in the house, but can't afford dropping $(30 * 4) for a bunch of licenses at the moment. Are there any freeware apps or open-source...
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    (rig critiques) Budget box for my Dad

    I've been tasked to build a budget machine for my Dad. He wants something for the basics (web browsing, e-mail, office apps) and wants it to be smooth+responsive. Here's what I came up with (NewEgg prices): Shuttle SK21-G1-SV-V1 Socket 754 Barebones $182.99 AMD Sempron 3100+ Palermo...
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    Screen capture only when mouse is moving?

    Anyone know of some type of screen capture utility that records the screen only if there is mouse/keyboard activity at the time? (Sort of like CamStudio) Just curious :)
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    Recommend me a DVR...

    I'm looking to buy a standalone (set-top) DVR system to replace an antiquitated VCR. Tivo seemed to be the way to go for a while, but I've recently heard bad reports (forced advertising, etc). I've been thinking that a ReplayTV box is the best option. Recommendations? Opinions? (Before...
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    Drilling/memorization app? (web- or desktop-based)

    Anyone know of some drilling (memorization) software, preferably web-based? I'm trying to memorize some Esperanto words :)
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    Have any hilarious tech-related stories?

    Title says it all. Anyone care to share their funny tech/hardware/clueless user stories? :D
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    USB 2.0 Cardbus adapter freezes laptop

    A friend of mine has an older laptop (~745MHz P3) that only has USB1.1 ports onboard. We went out and grabbed a USB2.0 CardBus adapter to add USB 2.0 ports to speed up backups to an external drive. The card was detected fine, and the drivers were installed fine, but when I plug in the...
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    Mac drive imaging software?

    Is there anything equivalent to TrueImage or Ghost on the Mac platform? A friend is trying to create backup images of a PowerBook and I'm at a loss as to what to do for software.
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    MSI KM2M Combo-L odd memory problem

    I have a MSI KM2M motherboard in my machine (yeah, I'm still on the Socket A platform ;)). I recently noticed a few memory-related errors, and ran memtest86 to check my RAM. Memtest found some errors, so it appeared my memory was bad, but I ran the test again (cold boot) and it came back clean...
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    Best/most flexible fingerprint reader?

    I've been thinking about getting a fingerprint reader for my parents' computer. They have trouble remembering their passwords, so in theory a fingerprint reader could help. However, I'm not familiar with how they work on the software side... I looked up the reviews on the only biometrics device...
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    How can I test the quality of CD media?

    Are there any free tools out there that allow me to test the quality of CD-R(W) media, similar to the Plextools tests that are mentioned in the AnandTech drive reviews? I'd like to test some "bulk" media to see if it's any good.
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    Recommendations for syncing data between two laptops

    A friend of mine has two laptops, does a lot of traveling, and is in dire need of a better data-management solution. She has an Apple PowerBook G4 (recently purchased, hence Tiger is installed) as her main/desktop-replacement computer, and a small Sony notebook (700MHz P3) that will be used for...
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    Mobility x300 vs. Mobility 9200?

    A friend of mine has asked me if I knew of any benchmarks or related articles comparing the Radeon Mobility x330 and 9200 chips. I wasn't able to find anything concrete on Google/AnandTech, unfortunately. Do such benchmarks exist? Plus, aside from benchmarks, which would be a better choice...
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    Web-based streaming audio server?

    I seem to remember seeing something a while back (on Slashdot perhaps, or just from random browsing) that could send streaming audio over a LAN - an "MP3 server" of sorts. I did a quick Google search for it but didn't find what I remembered. Anyone know of some software like this?
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    Warm: Seagate 160GB IDE HD $49.99 AR @ CircuitCity

    http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=118284&WT.mc_n=57&WT.mc_t=U Saw this in a local Circuit City ad. GottaDeals picked it up as well: http://forums.gottadeal.com/showthread.php?t=8233 Update 2 -- Unfortunately, CompUSA raised their retail price to $119.99, so the...
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    Confused about various versions of Nero

    Besides the retail version of Nero, there are apparently a couple of OEM versions that are floating around on various bargain websites for low prices. These versions appear crippled in various ways (no DVD burning, no MPEG support, or the like). However, I recently saw this...
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    Which imaging/cloning suite for my needs?

    I'm "in the market" for a drive imaging/drive cloning software suite at the moment, and would like some suggestions as to what would best suit my needs. I'd like something that I can take to someone's machine, boot off a bootable floppy/CD and clone their internal drive to an external USB...
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    Curious: anyone know where the XP installation music is stored?

    After a clean installation of Windows XP, some music is played - I believe it's on the "Welcome to Windows XP!" screen that leads you through activation and turning on automatic updating. I'm curious, does anyone know where that is stored?
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    Yet another 'rate-this-rig' thread!

    Gaming rig for a friend - sans monitor, mouse, keyboard, and OS: EPoX "EP-9NDA3+" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA $113.00 AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 3500+ (90nm Winchester) $275.00 ARCTIC COOLING Blue LED CPU Cooler $19.99 Antec 430W Power Supply, Model "TRUE430" $77.50 Corsair Value Select (Dual...
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    'COLORSit'-branded PSU... yay/nay?

    A friend of mine wants to buy a COLORSit 500W PSU for his upcoming A64 rig - I'm thinking that this is generally a bad idea, as "500W" means nothing if it's a shoddy manufacturer with overexaggerated numbers. 15A on the 12V rail? Ugh :P Are there any *specific* reasons why this is a bad PSU...
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    Questions regarding a router+simple VPN setup

    Here's the deal: the boss of a friend of mine wants me to come over and set up a wireless network in his home office as he doesn't have a LAN (gasp). He's getting a laptop soon and wants to be able to roam around the house and still access his broadband cable connection. 'Tis a pretty simple...
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    What should I expect from a stock 9800NP?

    (Cross-post from Rage3D) I recently received an R9800NP from ATI (RMA process; ATI is *awesome* - I sent in a dead 9500 Pro). The description on the RMA packing slip is "R350 128MB BGA V-VO-DI I- (290M/324E)", with a product code of 102A0751301. Naturally, PowerStrip reports the core clock at...
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    Bridging two LANs over the Internet?

    What I'd like to do is "bridge" two independant LANs over the Internet - mine and my friend's. We both have fairly speedy cable connections shared via standard NAT routers. Is it possible to connect two LANs together in this way, so that the computers on both networks continue connecting to the...
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    Rate this sub-$1000 rig! (updated)

    Building a rig for a friend. Budget is $1000; all the peripherals (including monitor) already exist. The rig will be used for moderate gaming and productivity apps. ** Update: Thanks for the suggestions; I've changed to a PCI Express setup and 6600GT. How's she lookin' now? :) FOXCONN...
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    Good hotseat-type games?

    Does anyone know of any good 4+ player hotseat games besides the Worms series? It's nice to have a game like this around when friends come over, but I haven't been able to find many.
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    Looking for a good LAN file transfer program

    I'm going to a LAN party in a couple of days and have been looking around for a reliable way to transfer large files between 5+ machines on a 100Mbps LAN. Sure, I could use Windows File Sharing, but that's a clunky solution ;) Ideally, I'd like a P2P-type program that everyone runs and...
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    Dead Radeon 9500 Pro, ideas?

    I purchased a used Radeon 9500 Pro card (here on AT, in fact) in December. The previous owner had installed a VGA Silencer 3 and some ramsinks, and overclocked the board fairly well. Anyhow, about a month after I received it, it stopped working. For a week or two before it died, I had noticed...
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    Question regarding "fluctuating" UPS

    A friend of mine gave me an older (used) UPS unit labeled "CyberPower 500SL. I've been in need of a decent UPS system for some time, mainly to combat brownouts, but hesitated to hook my computer up to this thing because it appeared to fluctuate in output. I tested it using a ~60W lightbulb...
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    Budget PC for Mac lover

    Here's the deal: a Mac-loving friend of mine needs to run some Windows software. He tried using Virtual PC, but his iBook is a bit under-spec - so he asked me to build him a cheap Windows box. Nothing fancy, just cheap and fairly fast. First , I started working up a spec sheet closely based...
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    Older Dell laptop memory upgrade

    A friend of mine has a Dell Latitude CPi A-Series laptop (P2-366, 64MB RAM, ~5GB HD) and wants me to upgrade it a bit. The most obvious upgrade is some extra RAM. Does Dell use standard SO-DIMM memory, or some proprietary type? Dell has been known to use proprietary components (*cough* PSU...
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    $700 semi-gaming computer

    A friend of mine is going to have around $700 to spend on a computer around the end of November. I took the (excellent) Anandtech Budget Gaming guide and tweaked it a bit to come up with this configuration. He already has a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers. He doesn't have a proper OS...
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    Monitor died, looking for replacement suggestions

    The 4 year old 17" AOC Spectrum monitor I was using died. I'm using a 15" model right now (definetly a switch! :P) until I can get a replacement. Any recommendations on a 17" or 19" monitor under $150 - $175? I don't have a lot of money to spend (22" LCDs won't fit the budget ;)), but want a...
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    Looking to buy a DVD burner soon...

    I'm looking to buy a DVD burner soon, and I want a drive that can burn DVD-RAM discs (for backup purposes). I've been eyeing the LG GSA-4120B because it can seemingly take almost any DVD format available today. The drive seems to have fairly good reviews, with only a few other drives beating...
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    "Drilling" software?

    Does anyone know of a good app that can open a file with associations ("si = yes") and drill the user? I find I learn best when facts are "drilled" into my memory, but I haven't found a good program to do this for me. When I get some time in my schedule, I'm going to write a program myself that...
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    Recommended pre-built system for my friend?

    My friend needs a new computer for light gaming use, e-mail/browsing, and some digital picture work. I'm thinking it may be easier in his case to go for a pre-built system (Dell, Gateway, HP, etc) than to assemble the parts. Anyone can try to change my mind on that though ;) What would be a...
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    Mobile Athlon in MSI KM2M?

    Does anyone have any information about mobile Athlon CPUs running well/not so well on the MSI KM2M Combo-L motherboard?
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    Mobile 2400+ on MSI KM2M?

    I'm thinking about dropping an AXP 2400+ into my MSI KM2M motherboard. The reason I'd go with a standard 2400+ rather than a mobile 2400+ is that the KM2M has very weak overclocking features (AFAIK), so the unlocked multiplier is sort of overkill. However, the mobile XP 2400+ *does* have 256KB...
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    Replacement Socket A mobo / PSU

    Due to the great suggestions here (thanks guys!), I've set my sights on this combo as an "emergency replacement" for my current motherboard and PSU that failed on me: MSI KM2M Motherboard Fortron 300W PSU At first I was thinking that 300W would be inadequate, but after reading some of the...