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    Need accelerated H.264 playback - but without PowerDVD

    I have a LG driver that supports both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. However, I experience some stuttering, because my old Opterons and 7800 GTX can't cope with the load. However, I also have various issues with PowerDVD. Currently nearly all my optical drives are disconnected, because otherwise...
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    LG blu-ray burner -- but does it work?

    I just bought LG's combo blu-ray burner / HD-DVD reader. But... Given that I'm not running Vista and I lack HDCP both in my 7800GTX and my old Apple monitor, what will I actually be able to do? If I insert a blu-ray or HD-DVD disc, Windows Explorer patiently explains me that I haven't...
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    "use driver cleaner"

    In various discussion forums, I have seen people recommend using "driver cleaner" to completely wipe any remnants of the old driver prior to installing a new one. I have never done this, but have installed countless versions of nVidia drivers, dating back to Windows NT4. I have downgraded...
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    Notebooks with LED backlighting

    Based on a previous posting of mine, I get the feeling that LED panels are far from common-place. These are the ones I have been told about so far: 15.4" Apple MacBook Pro 1440x900 13.3" Dell XPS M1330 1280x800 (thx TheStu) 11.1" Sony VAIO TZ 1366x768 11.1" ASUS U1F 1366x768 Please...
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    Which alternatives for MacBook Pro?

    I've been looking at many laptop specifications lately, but it wasn't until I spotted the MBP that something went 'ping'. LED backlighting sporting high contrast (I like to do some photoshopping sometimes) Core2Duo (I need 64-bit CPU) Reasonable good GPU: 8600M Slim (1" thick) -- important...
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    Oh big monitor, where art thou?

    My local camera shop has a 30" Apple Cinema monitor on display, and AFAICT it appears to be very useful for photoediting. (atleast for my humble needs) So, about a month ago I ordered one (even paid for it, due to tax purposes), plus a 7800GTX to drive it. However, my dealer now says that...
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    "The 81.85 and 81.87 are specially for the GAME F.E.A.R.!"

    I experienced some rather bizarre problems with 81.85 and 81.87 and thought I'd send an e-mail to support@gainward.de. This is their response: Oh goodie, I bought their 7800 GTX card on Monday, and already I'm told to stick with the older drivers. Nice. Good thing I don't own F.E.A.R...
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    X1800 XT -- dual-link DVI or not?

    I've been drooling over the 30" Apple for some time now, and it makes sense, except even the mighty 7800GTX probably falls short keeping up with its resolution (in games). AFAICT the X1800 XT didn't impress much in the no-AA tests, but it does kick butt with AA enabled, so I'm not ruling it...
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    7800GTX -- so, can I splash some water on it?

    Presently I have two Zalman Reserators cooling my Opterons as well as my 6600GT. So far so good, but I need more juice in the video department (and better yet: that dual-link DVI connector) and so I'd like to know what my options are. I notice that Gainward has a card with a water block...
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    Safedisc prevented me from running BF2

    I'm quite angry and upset at this point. Angry at EA, and upset with myself for not running Regmon earlier (the thought had crossed my mind several times...). The issue? BF2 complained about "CD/DVD emulation software". I uninstalled Daemon Tools (only thing I could think of) and still no go...
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    Zalman or ThermalTake watercooling

    I have a ThermalTake Armor chassis containing a Tyan K8WE motherboard populated with two Opteron 244 CPUs. The noise from all the fans drives me nuts, and I'd like to take the plunge into the world of watercooling. But where shall I start? Both Zalman and ThermalTake's fanless kits look...
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    Servicing a FujitsuSiemens LifeBook P7010

    I've never owned a computer before that I couldn't service myself. My first "proper" computer (after the initial exposure to the small toys of the time) was an old original IBM PC and eventually I needed to upgrade it. Long story short, someone at IBM sent me a new BIOS (version dated Oct 27th...
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    ThermalTake Armor -- is there an intake filter?

    It's hard to tell from TT's webpages (urk), so I turn to you guys... Is there a filter in front of the 12cm intake fan?
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    Sound card for a dual CPU system

    I'm about to replace my "old" nForce2 system with a Tyan K8WE motherboard and dual Opterons at the end of this month. (actually ASAP, but the K8WE is hard to come by over here) This leaves me stranded without nVidia's excellent SoundStorm technology. Yes, I'm a SoundStorm ("SS"?) fanboy. I...
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    nForce 4 Pro motherboards -- which one?

    So far I've seen specs from Iwill, Tyan and Asus. Asus K8N-DL has one PCI-E x1, one PCI-E x16 and two 32-bit PCI. Tyan K8WE has two PCI-E 16x, one 32-bit PCI and three PCI-X slots. Iwill DK8ES has two PCI-E 16x and three PCI-X slots. Why is it that whenever I want to buy a motherboard...
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    Onboard 3COM -- mine is screwed up

    Recently we got two sweet AMD K8V Deluxe based rigs with 1GB memory and Athlon64 3200+. A big step up from our three and a half year old P3s! :D But, there's a fly in the ointment. After we upgraded, we're frequently disconnected from our LAN. Normally I'd check my switch settings and so on...