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    XP Pro and 8 GB RAM useless?

    You cannot use more than 4GB in any 32-bit OS (Windows, Linux, OSX, BSD...) without PAE, because 32-bit systems use 4 bytes (32-bit) to store memory addresses (pointers). Every byte in memory needs to be addressable. On a 32-bit OS that means you can address 2^32 bytes, roughly 4GB. I don't...
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    The best hard drive.

    As fast as RAM?... that would be like several GB/s :). The best you can do is probably get something like 16 fast drives, and run them in RAID-0.
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    Bad ballistix stick

    Are you sure that's going to be better in terms of reliability?... I thought the 2GB sticks have the same single sided crap on both sides =). Also, there are certainly high quality single sided 1GB modules. Just because the latest D9 is crap doesn't mean all single sided modules are.
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    Should I RMA my Crucial memory?

    I just sent my ballistix sticks for RMA today. If you do send your sticks back (and I recommend you do, as the guy I talked to online in live chat support is very friendly and reasonable, and actually knows what he is talking about :)), make sure you ask for the new revision that came out a...
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    Suggestions for mobo for e7300?

    Well if you don't need DDR3 (I'm guessing you don't if you are building a budget machine), the only difference between P35 and P45 would be crossfire support. Right now the EP35-DS3L can be had for $85, so it's up to you to decide whether you want to pay $25 extra for crossfire.
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    Suggestions for mobo for e7300?

    I have and love the GA-EP35-DS3L. Was $90 when I bought it about half a year ago. Not sure how much now. Rock solid, and with tons of overclocking options. YMMV, but mine can do 500 FSB stable without touching any volts (except vcore). Overclocked my E6300 to 500x7 (3.5ghz). Doesn't have SLI...
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    Help needed for processor/video card upgrade please.

    2GB of DDR2 is certainly enough. That is what I have right now, actually. Hmm. Where are you quoting that from? It sounds really weird. I have been playing CoD4 for months, too, intensively, and have never heard of such an issue. *edit* If you are talking about places like the wall on...
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    Another Dual- v Quad- core thread... *sigh*

    I guess we Canadians just always get charged a little more :).
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    Another Dual- v Quad- core thread... *sigh*

    Hmm. Isn't there a memory usage breakdown under the "processes" tab? If you can't see the memory in the breakdown, I would assume its disk caching... Linux does it much more agressively. After some hours of use, it's typical to have <1% free RAM, no matter how much you have. That I am not...
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    Another Dual- v Quad- core thread... *sigh*

    Are you sure it's not just disk caching? Vista introduces the concept of caching harddrive using RAM (which has been in Linux for many years). From what I've seen, 1GB for caching is about the point of diminishing return. You gain very little by moving to 4GB. At this price point tho, I guess I...
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    Another Dual- v Quad- core thread... *sigh*

    Current C2D's are overclockable to 3.8-4.0ghz. Even my E6300 can go 3.5ghz (but I am running it at 3.36ghz because of the heat, and I only have a $15 cooler). Yeah, I agree RAM is cheap enough to just get 4GB and forget about it. I am a scientist. Claims need to be baken up.
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    Another Dual- v Quad- core thread... *sigh*

    hmm sure. it's cheap :) I got my 2x1gb DDR2-800 CL4 ballistix for $25 some weeks ago. I think future proofing is pointless, but I guess $25 can't hurt :). Imagine you got 4GB for $200 one year ago. It costs $60 now, and your "future" hasn't even arrived yet. You need to be a REALLY heavy...
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    Another Dual- v Quad- core thread... *sigh*

    Also, I find it strange that people are suggesting 4GB ram. Can anyone show me a screenshot of the task manager (ctrl+alt+del) showing more than 2GB ram being used? (without opening up 4 instances of Crysis). I have 2GB myself, and I rarely use 1GB, never 2GB. I am more of a developer...
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    Another Dual- v Quad- core thread... *sigh*

    Ah, thanks =). If you don't saturate the cores (run ALL OF them at 100%, there won't be ANY difference). Out of all the programs you listed, only photoshop will be CPU-bound. Real time video decoding should be nothing for modern CPUs (even more so if you have a video card), even Celerons can...
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    E8400 Stock cooler

    if you fry the CPU at stock using the stock cooler, just send it back to Intel :). If and when you decide to OC, get an aftermarket cooler, though. I use the OCZ Vanquisher. $15 when I bought it. Has the same design as AC Freezer 7 Pro, and similar temps, but dirt cheap :).
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    Another Dual- v Quad- core thread... *sigh*

    wow. no on this forum?...
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    Another Dual- v Quad- core thread... *sigh*

    That would be because of load balancing. No matter how many cores you throw at it, all of them will be used. That is not to say it will be faster than if it was done on a single core. It's done to keep all the cores at similar temperatures (processes are moved between cores once in a while)...
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    Question about Crucial ram

    ah I see SPD of my Ballistix: 333mhz, 4-5-5-15, 1.8V (JEDEC) 400mhz, 5-5-5-18, 1.8V (JEDEC) 400mhz, 4-4-4-12, 2.2V (EPP) 500mhz, 5-5-5-15, 2.2V (EPP) Strange... Does that mean it is rated to run at 500mhz, 5-5-5-15 @ 2.2V? Then why are they labeled DDR2-800 at all... I thought people...
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    recommend good programming forums

    http://cboard.cprogramming.com/ for C/C++. Very helpful and skillful people. The forum is also very active. I post there regularly.
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    Setting to auto subscribe to threads that I post in

    ah... Out of curiosity, why use a commercial forum software when there are better AND free/opensource ones? phpbb and vbulletin for example.
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    Question about Crucial ram

    Hmm. That is strange. I thought (heard from numerous places) that the ones with high failure rate are the single sided ones, and the ones that OC like mad are the double sided ones.
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    DDR3 1600mhz 1:1 ratior for 1600FSB?

    Okay... just read that thread. I stand corrected. And throughly confused, too. Why don't they just use FSB for everything - mb, ram, CPU. It is really confusing for a newcomer like me, though, with half the people spreading misinformation (myself included just now).
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    Question about Crucial ram

    I see. Thanks for the detailed information. As the 2GB kit was on sale for $26 here, I thought I would gamble it. If and when it fails, I heard I can RMA it and ask for double sided sticks (and they actually send double sided sticks back, but you have to ask for it).
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    DDR3 1600mhz 1:1 ratior for 1600FSB?

    or DDR3-1600, since DDR3 speeds are quad-pumped (whereas DDR2 is doubled).
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    Question about Crucial ram

    Then why is Crucial labelling them as DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 2.2V? Sounds like it should do 1.8V at that speed? It actually made me hesitant before I bought it, thinking the high voltage would limit my OC. The OCZ Gold is rated at 1.8V.
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    Question about Crucial ram

    Ah, I see. Glad I made this choice then. On another forum people were suggesting OCZ Gold DDR2-800 over this one, which according to Google overclocks to ~900mhz on average. I guess they are meant to be at different price points (hence the disappointment in Crucial), but @ where I live, I can...
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    Very hot north bridge

    That is the problem. I don't think my cheap mobo comes with a NB chipset sensor, according to what I read online a while ago.
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    Question about Crucial ram

    I couldn't believe it either =). I am extremely lucky with my cheap new build - Crucial Ballistix @ 1000mhz on 1.8v, and GA-EP35-DS3L (P35 chipset) that does 500 FSB on stock volts, and E6300 @ 3ghz heavily undervolted (1.184V after Vdroop).
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    P35 Double Boot

    ah, I thought you counted the reboot when exiting BIOS. Nevermind then.
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    Question about the type of RAM on VGA

    Not related to motherboard RAM at all. Current VGA cards come with DDR2 (low end) and GDDR3 (high end, often mislabeled as DDR3). Some mid-end cards such as the 8600 GT has both DDR2 and GDDR3 versions. In that case, avoid the DDR2 version at all cost. They are substantially(~30%) slower than...
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    Setting to auto subscribe to threads that I post in

    Thanks for the reply. That is strange, though, as that function is available in every other forum (quite a few) I visit, and I am already used to not checking threads I post in until I get an email notification.
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    P35 Double Boot

    I meant my motherboard would shutdown, reboot (fans spin up, but nothing on the screen), shutdown again after ~3 seconds, and then reboot again after another 3 seconds (this time with POST and everything normal).
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    Best motherboard brand for longterm Bios support?

    I don't think it's fair to say that brand X is better than brand Y because X releases more BIOS updates, if X needs that many updates for its motherboard to be as stable as Y's motherboard's initial BIOS release.
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    Very hot north bridge

    Same here with my GA-EP35-DS3L. I can only keep my finger on the NB heatsink for max 2 seconds. It's running great at 500 FSB, though (very stable).
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    Setting to auto subscribe to threads that I post in

    Is there a setting that auto subscribes to threads that I post in? It's a feature that I see on many other forums, and I am very used to it. Thanks
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    Question about Crucial ram

    I have also heard bad things about Crucial Ballistix single sided 2x1gb kit too, but I own one myself (DDR2-800) that is doing happily at 5-5-5-15, 1.8V, 1000mhz (500 FSB). Note that the voltage is lower than stock (2.2), which is great. memtest86+ 9 hrs stable.
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    P35 Double Boot

    My GA-EP35-DS3L "double boot"s too, but everything sticks, and I have heard that it is normal. I am running at 500 FSB (with lowered multiplier on my E6300, and DDR2-800 RAM overclocked at 1:1). Would not POST at 510. No problems so far.
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    Motherboard Onboard Video - Gaming?

    Because gamers don't get integrated graphics. According to Google, Intel's newest chip, the X3100, can do Call of Duty 4 at 800x600 everything set to low.
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    linux pc based router

    correct me if I am wrong, but they all use iptables as the backend. That is to say, you can write your own iptables rules to do the forwarding too. Not difficult at all either, just a few lines that can be easily found on google. I used to do that (switched to a cheap consumer router because we...
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    Looking for a REAL router...

    You can always make one out of an ancient PC running linux and a very cheap switch/hub.