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    Is there a big performance hit with no paging file?

    Hi. I have invested a great deal of time and money on my rig, and I am starting to freak out at the BSOD's I've been getting. Initially, I was getting a truck load of them (along with regular program crashes), but I had upgraded my ram from 1GB CAS 3 Kingston RAM to some quality OCZ 2GB RAM...
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    Desprately need help deciding RAM

    Howdy. My system is in my sig. Now here is my story: I have learned a VERY important lesson over the last couple of months: NEVER buy $40 Kingston value RAM for a DFI board (Initially I thought it might be OK, because I heard so many people here say that using value RAM works reasonably...
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    Best/Cleanest way of removing thermal paste?

    Hello. Just wondering if I can get advice from some pros on how to best replace thermal compound (I've never cleaned paste before -- only applied paste -- but it seems like a messy job, so I was wondering if there is an easy/clean way to do this). I have a X2 3800+ with stock fans. Oddly...
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    Power Consumption Question

    Hi. I am running a Fedora Core 4 file server at home with the current specs: Dell Dimension 4100 ------------------------- Some unknown Dell Mobo PIII 866 Mhz 256 Mb SDR SDRAM PC133 20 Mb Quantum Fireball ATA66 HD Santa Cruz Turtle Beach Sound Card Nvidia TNT2 32 Mb video card...
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    Overclocking the GTO2

    Hi all. I am using ATI Tool 0.24 to find the max core for my new Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO2. This is my first time OCing anything, so please be patient with me if I ask what might seem to be asinine questions ;) OK, I made sure that Temporal AA is off, and I clicked on "Find Max Core". Now...
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    Newbie question on OCing GPU

    OK, I have been doing a little surfing around the web for some "how to guides", and from what I gather ATI Tool is the best to use for ATI cards. I am trying to OC my Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO2. From what I read so far, it seems like a fairly straight forward operation: 1) First, I click...
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    Question about nForce4

    OK, previously on my Intel P4, I would know if I had USB 2.0 compatibility just by going to the device manager (I run on W2K), and looking for something called a "Enhanced USB Controller", which would tree out to a "Standard USB 2.0 Hub" -- this is when "list devices by connection" is checked...
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    What is a "Normal" Temp for a Athlon X2?

    I was just wondering what most people consider the "normal" operating temperature for the core of a X2 3800+. I was under the impression that Intel's are hotter than Athlons. My old Northwood 2.53 P4 usually idled at around 42 C. Now that I got an X2 3800+, I have found that it also idles at...
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    Question for those with DFI NF4-D Ultra Mobos...

    This is a relatively minor issue, but I am so used to powering on by mouse clicks on my previous rig, that it is somewhat bothersome to me that I cannot do it with my new rig. In my new rig, the mobo I am using is a DFI NF4-D. On this mobo, there is a BIOS option to power on by keyboard and...
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    200 GB == 131070 MB???

    I have just gotten my new rig, and am trying to install W2K on here. The rig contains a WD SE 200 GB, and even says it is a 200 GB drive in the POST data and BIOS. However, when the W2K installation disk asks me to create a new partiton it lists "Unpartitioned Space: 131070 MB". There are no...
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    Which is the better mobo?

    Just wondering if I can get an opinion on two boards I am looking at. They are both the same price at my local reseller: MSI Neo4 Platinum (No SLI) DFI Lan Party UT NF4 Ultra (Dual PCI-E, but No SLI)
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    New Rig is $100 Under Budget, what to do with extra cash?

    Here's my planned rig: (All prices are Canadian) A64 X2 3800+ == 389.95 2x512MB Kingston 3200 DDR == 110.00 DFI Lanparty UT NF4-D == 144.95 Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO == 219.95 ATI PCI TV Wonder == 69.95 Seagate SATA 200 GB HDD == 119.95 NEC DVD-RW 16x = 54.95 Total: 1109.68 My...
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    Is $30 worth it for RAID? / Is it worth $45 extra for a X800 GL?

    I can get a 160 GB Seagate SATA for my new rig for about $80 or 2x80GB Seagate SATA for $55 each = $110. They both amount to the same capacity, but I am just wondering if it is worth the extra $30 for 2 HDDs so I can use them in a RAID array. Also, I had two options for my GPU. I can get a...
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    What is 2T and 1T

    Why does 4 sticks of anything force a 2T? 1T & 2T I assume are the memory dividers? (I've never used AMD style clocking before, so be patient with me on this one...I can usually pick this up pretty quickly if someone explains this). Why is 4x512 so much more worse than 2x1024? Would 2x512 be...
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    Memory Issue with X2 3800+

    I heard that the X2 3800+, which I believe is based off of Venice, has a memory issue if you stuff 4x512Mb of RAM into it. It supposedly downclocks the memory controller to a MAX of 333 Mhz speeds. However, I was told it is corrected in the later models, X2 4200+ and beyond. Since the sweet...
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    Can I change a DDR 333 board to support DDR 400 without OCing?

    Hi. The following is my system that will be the focus of this little 'experiment' : P4 2.53 Northwood s478 w/ stock heatsink and fan Gigabyte PE667 Pro (Intel 845PE chipset) 1GB Kingston 400 DDR RAM (Just upgraded from 512MB Kingston 333 DDR Ram) ATI AIW Radeon 9800 8x AGP (Currently...
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    USB 2.0 Lockup

    I am currently operating a Gigabyte GA-8PE667 Pro mobo, which is an Intel 845PE chipset mobo. It has 6 USB 2.0/1.1 ports - 2 at the rear, and 4 by a supplied rear bracket. The rear bracket, obviously, connects to corresponding sockets on the mobo. I am running 4 USB 1.0/1.1 devices connected...
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    Flash Memory HDs

    I was just pondering the huge load times of Sims 2 just a while ago, and an idea came to mind. I have heard that increasing transfer speed of the HD's only provides marginal performance increase, as there is not much difference between ATA66 and ATA100. SATA I is only a little more faster than...
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    Does X2 work with W2K?

    I heard that to get the X2 to work properly you need to install a patch for Windows XP. Does that mean that only XP has support for X2? No work with Linux or other versions of Windows? I was looking into getting X2, but I will not, under any circumstance, upgrade to Windows XP. Windows 2K...
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    Please help me decide on an HD

    I was trying to finally decide between three HD's for my new rig: WD 200 GB SATA II Samsung 160 GB SATA II Seagate 160 GB SATA I w NCQ All drives are exactly the same price at $110 Canadian. So what it boils down to is which is more valuable out of the three: 1) More space, 2) SATA II...
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    Poll: How much do you spend / year on your computer's hardware?

    I've noticed the amazing rigs that most people have on here and I've also noticed that, over the years, it always seems that everyone on here always has the most up-to-date technology. I just had to make this poll to feed my curiousity. I am wondering how people can constantly get the most...
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    Poll: 1394b will overtake USB 2.0?

    Is 1394b a waste? Most digital cameras (even $7000+ high-end SLR) utilize a USB 2.0 interface. Even if new cameras do have a Firewire II port, they most likely will have an additional USB 2.0 port as well. However, 1394b does have 2x the transfer speed of USB, and thus might become standard...
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    Is it worth an extra $30 for SATA II

    I am deciding on a MSI Neo4 Platinum and a Neo4 F. The Platinum has all sorts of interesting goodies like dual LAN and firewire, however, in all likely hood I will not need either. I will be getting a SATA II (7200 RPM Samsung Spinpoint, not a Raptor) drive though, and was wondering if it is...
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    AsRock / MSI Neo 4 Platinum

    I was looking at two boards: the MSI Neo 4 Platinum and the ASRock. From what I have seen on Anandtech, and some of the posts here, the ASRock has some really nifty features like AGP + PCI-E support, and an adaptor for the m2 socket coming out -- and at a cheap price. However, the MSI Neo 4...
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    Poll: How often do you get a New Computer?

    Now, I know there are those of us upgrade components all the time, rather than buy a new rig or computer altogether, while some of us simply get a brand new rig and upgrade it rarely. Some of us simply get new rigs/computers and then do not touch them. But I'm talking about (generally on...
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    X2 Mobo with DDR2?

    I was planning the following in January (prices in Canadian Dollars): CPU: AMD 3800+ X2 -- 419.95 Mobo: MSI K8N Neo4 -- 159.95 RAM: OCZ DualDDR Kit 1GB -- 149.95 HD: Samsung 200MB SATA II -- 114.95 GPU: Sapphire X800GTO 256 MB PCI-E -- 249.95 TV: Haugepauge PVR 250 -- 169.95 SubTotal...
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    X800 GT or 6600 GT

    Which one is better? I noticed the X800 GT has a clock speed of 400 Mhz and memory speed of 980 Mhz, where as the 6600 GT has 500 Mhz and 1 Gz, respectively. yet they cost around the same (the X800 GT is possibly a tad bit more in some places). Are they roughly equal in performance, and...
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    Rig

    Hi, I am looking into upgrading my rig after a little under 3 years, and after some wonderful advice from you expertly informed tech people (God bless you all...you make the world a betta place), I have come to this setup: Canadian Dollars: P4 2.53 Northwood 533 FSB >> AMD 3800+X2 ...
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    How to shop for AMDs Question?

    I have never shopped for AMD's before so I am trying to get used to their 'ranking/classing' system. For example, the 4000+ has a clock speed of 2.4 Ghz, while it is still priced at the same as a Intel processor that is clocked at 3.6 Ghz. How is this possible, since AMD is supposed to be the...
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    Upgrade / New Rig Advice

    The following are my system specs as they are now: P4 2.53 533 FSB (478 Socket) Gigabyte 667 PE Pro (Intel 845PE Chipset) 512 MB 333 DDR All-in-Wonder Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB SB Live 5.1 Platinum WD 800JB 80 GB 8 MB Cache TT Tsunami Viewsonic VP201s Enermax 420W Noisetaker I figured...
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    Which is faster

    Hi, I was looking into upgrading options for my computer and I was wondering which one is faster: 2 ATA 100 drives in a RAID array or 1 SATA drive. In other words does: (2x100MB/s) > (1x150MB/s)? Thanks.
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    SIS chipsets

    My boss asked me to purchase two new systems for a couple data entry personal at our company. Believe it or not, they are still both working with Celeron 600's (but then again we are a small company). Neither of them work with intensive applications (mostly a custom VB access applet which was...
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    SCSI vs SATA for a high bandwidth server

    Howdy. I just had an interesting discussion with someone. He said that some companies are starting to use SATA in their internal file servers. Naturally, I thought that was a viable solution...I mean SATA pretty much has the same bandwidth as SCSI, so why wouldn't companies start to go with...
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    Best Way of "Mirroring" a Domain

    Here is the situation: I want to register two domains: tomatographics.com & tomatoegraphics.com. I basically want tomatoegraphcis.com to forward to tomatographics.com. Tomatographics.com is to be hosted on a Fedora Core 4 Server which has a dynamic IP address. It will use a DYNDNS service...
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    Quick Question about Card Readers

    I just got a multiple (one of those x in 1's) card reader. I was just curious, I all of a sudden have 5 new removable drives when I click on My Computer. Is that normal for most card readers? I would have thought that it would just be 1 removable drive with 5 folders inside of it or something...
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    ATI Catalyst Driver CD Question

    Hi. Just wondering if any of you know what the video card drivers and MMC software versions are on a ATI CD that say "Software sersion DVD+110"
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    How to I access the db4_load command in Fedora 4?

    Hi, I am trying to figure out how I can use the db4_load utility in Fedora 4. I know I have the Berkley Database RPM, because "rpm -qi db4" brings up a version of 4.3.27. However, when I try to use db4_load in a command line (under the root account), it says that it is not a valid bash...
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    What is a dual 12V rail?

    Here are the specs from my old 350W Enermax: 3.3V = 32A 5V = 32A 12V = 26A Here are the specs from my new 420W Enermax: 3.3V = 30A 5V = 30A *12V1 = 18A *12V2 = 18A *There is a line underneath these two saying 29A (Presumably the total, but this doesn't make any sense because the...
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    Odd USB peculiarity with a Intel 845PE chipset mobo...

    I am currently operating a Gigabyte GA-8PE667 Pro mobo, which is an Intel 845PE chipset mobo. It has 6 USB 2.0/1.1 ports - 2 at the rear, and 4 by a supplied rear bracket. The rear bracket, obviously, connects to corresponding sockets on the mobo. I am running 4 USB 1.0/1.1 devices...
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    Need a consensus about a PSU

    I am currently running the following: TT Tsunami w/3 stock fans (they take about 4.5W each) P4 2.53 ATI AIW Radeon 9800 (just upgraded from a AIW Rad 8500) SB Live 5.1 Platinum WD JB800 80GB EIDE Hard Drive DVD Drive Burner Coolermaster Aerogate III fan controller Gigabyte 8PE Pro...