Search results

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    Need feedback on an "urgent" build for a friend

    A friend of mine is leaving the country in a few days to live abroad for a while, on very short notice. He just asked me yesterday to help him buy parts for a build he will do when he gets to his new home. Here are the requirements/constraints: - He is not really a gamer. He would only do...
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    Help a confused newbie

    I not-so-recently did my first overclocked build using an Intel Conroe, so I am not a "complete" newbie, but I am completely unfamiliar with Intel's Sandy Bridge. Also, I am not a gamer and GPUs have always been my "weak point". I am trying to help a friend build HIS first rig. He is not...
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    SSD partition alignment under windows 7

    I'm confused (well, that is actually not very rare :biggrin:). I recently got an Intel 80Gb G2 SSD and performed a fresh Windows 7 x64 install on it. Instead of letting the installer partition the drive, however, I first created the partition manually (from within windows 7 RC, which was...
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    Intel G2 SSD running in PIO mode - SOLVED

    I just noticed that my new Intel 80GB G2 SSD is running in PIO mode 4, and I cannot enable DMA mode. I go into device manager, click the "Enable DMA mode" checkbox, click "Ok", and receive no errors. But when I check again, PIO mode is still there and the DMA checkbox is unchecked. My other 2...
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    What to put on SSD, and what to keep on spindle drive?

    I just finished reading several posts on the subject, and I confess I am more confused than I was before reading anything. When I started I had a clear image in my head: OS and Apps on the SSD, all data on the spindle drive. And then I made the mistake of trying to do research (gasp!) on the...
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    Urgent help needed with an elementary school Mac

    I am not an IT professional, but I am knowledgeable enough to volunteer at our local public school to help them as needed (I developed and run their website, and provide "as-needed" support with the occasional computer glitch). This is a very small school with an extremely limited budget, and...
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    Anyone have info on TRIM support in Intel's Matrix Storage Manager?

    I am planning to get an Intel G2 SSD soon to go along with my Win 7 install, but I am disappointed by the lack of support for the TRIM command in Intel's Matrix Storage Manager. Here is my problem: I have my controller set to SATA AHCI mode. If I use a generic Win 7 driver my SATA DVD RW...
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    How much memory is enough for Win 7 x64?

    I had been trying Win 7 RC 32 bits in my system (see signature for details) with 2 GB of RAM. It felt very responsive. I recently decided to try out Win 7 RC x64. I read here that it performs even better than the 32 bit version, but my experience has been different. It isn't slow by any...
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    Confused about AV for a 64 bit OS

    I have seen some convincing arguments on this forum for switching to a 64 bit OS (arguments that include enhanced security). So, I just uninstalled Win 7 RC 32 bit, and installed Win 7 RC 64 bit. I double boot Win 7 with Win XP 32 bit. In XP I have been using MechBgon's multilayered defense...
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    Is an F6 install for AHCI SATA HDD needed under Win 7?

    Hi everyone I have a SATA HDD in AHCI mode (My MoBo uses Intel's ACH8R controller). When I installed XP on this machine (it was a new build back then) I had to do an F6 install of Win XP and provide the AHCI SATA drivers for the ICH8R controller via a floppy drive. I am now running Win 7...
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    Breakdown voltage of air

    I am trying to calculate the minimum distance I can have between two electrodes with very high potential difference while still preventing arcing (for something I am trying to build). The emitter (negative electrode) is made from copper and ends in a sharp point. The open circuit voltage at...
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    Can you use a fan controller and retain RPM sensing?

    I now have 3 tricool fans(2 case fans and one CPU fan), all running at "low". I am about to replace them with 2 Nexus D12SL-12 fans running at about 7V for the case and a Scythe S-Flex SFF21D running at about 9V for the CPU. Upon initial setup I want to "tweak" the voltages to lower speeds as...
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    My first overcloock - what next?

    Ok, as the title says, i just finished my first attempt at overclocking. First off, system specs: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Thermalright Ultima 90 heatsink with Antec Tricool 120 mm fan Asus P5B Deluxe MoBo 2GB G.Skill F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK DDR2 800 BFG 7800 GTX OC 256MB Corsair HX620 PSU...
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    Installing TR Ultima 90 in an Antec P180b/Asus P5b dlx

    I am about to install a Thermalright Ultima 90 to replace the Intel stock HSF. My system is housed in an Antec P180b. The Ultima 90 will have its own 120 mm fan. Is there a "better" way to install the Ultima 90? I can install it facing back, or facing up. My initial feeling was to install it...
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    Newbie questions on heatsink fans

    A few months ago, after a LOT of reading on this site and *great* help from many people here, I finally built my first rig. Now I decided to take the next step and try my hand at overclocking. To that end I am replacing the Intel stock HSF I've used up to this point with a Thermalright Ultima...
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    Can you boot Ubuntu from an IDE flash drive?

    I am a complete Linux newbie, looking to install it for the first time. After some reading I chose Ubuntu, as it seems one of the more "newbie friendly" distributions. I want to install it on a system where silence is key, and performance/speed are not that big of a deal. While looking for...
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    Can GPS work underwater?

    Could you use GPS navigation underwater? I know that GPS devices require line-of-sight to the satellites. But can the signals penetrate water and still work? Even if they can penetrate water, would the refraction of the signal as it passes the air/water surface prevent the GPS device from...
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    Overclocking and SATA HDD data corruption

    After lots of reading on this forum I understand that if I overclock my system (and therefore my system bus) I need to lock the PCI clock to prevent possible data corruption problems with IDE hard drives. But what happens if I have a SATA hard drive? Will locking the PCI bus to 33.3 also take...
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    How I made my own digital picture frame

    I had an old Dell Latitude CPxJ Laptop with a bad keyboard, dead battery and dead CD drive. Fixing it would have been a few hundred dollars, only to end up with a fixed but severely outdated computer. The laptop had long been replaced by another computer so instead of fixing it, I thought I...
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    Not sure about where to place a post

    I just finished a project to convert an old, dying laptop into a digital picture frame that I have hanging on my wall. I took plenty of pics, and I thought it might be cool to share it with everyone. Would AT be an appropriate place for this? If so, would to belong to the General Hardware Forum...
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    Data recovery options for a HDD with a crashed head

    I have a hard disk that suffered from a head crash (the head crashed into the platter). I know this means some of the data is permanently lost, but I also understand that some data recovery companies may be able to recover part of the data on the drive by swapping the platter onto another drive...
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    Confused about claiming my upgrade to Vista

    I recently bought parts for a new build, along with a Copy of Win XP OEM. The copy of XP came with an upgrade redemption form for Vista. I want to get the upgrade, but I have a couple of questions about the correct way to do. The instructions I received seem inconsistent with the upgrade form I...
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    Dumb question on 'simple' Vdroop mods for P5B

    I recently learned about the infamous Vdroop that Asus boards seem to have, in particular the P5B (to be clear, I am referring to the fact that the "real" Vcore on the P5B is much lower than the Vcore value set in the BIOS. I am not referring to the Vcore drop between idle and load). I also...
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    Is there a downside to undervolting my CPU?

    I am trying to get my CPU as cool as possible, so I can try to silence my system as much as I can. To that end I decided to try to lower Vcore as low as I could go and remain stable. I started at 1.27V (this was the actual voltage supplied by my MoBo under full load when Vcore was set to...
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    Incorrect Vcore values on Asus P5B???

    The BIOS Vcore settings on my P5B Mobo do not seem to work. When I set Vcore to Auto with C1E enabled, Asus probe and speedfan show Vcore at idle of 1.14, increasing to 1.27 under load. So,I tried disabling C1E and setting Vcore manually to 1.275 (the option closest to 1.27), but when I check...
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    Is there a time limit on Vista Upgrades obtained from coupons?

    I just built my first system and decided to install XP, instead of Vista, at least for now. This was my first build, and I did not want to deal with an unfamiliar OS for my first build. The copy of XP I got, however, came with an upgrade coupon for Vista that I can send to MS. I will probably...
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    How do you set Command Rate on Asus P5B Dlx?

    I cannot find a place to set the command rate in the BIOS on the Asus P5B Deluxe. Bios is the latest, 1004. CPU-Z says I am running at 2T. Can I change it to 1T somewhere? I did a couple of searches and found nothing. TIA!
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    Why is PECI disabled?

    I am a n00b, I just built my first system a couple of days ago (specs in my signature). I am now adjusting some BIOS Settings and came across a setting to enable or disable PECI (Asus P5B Deluxe MoBo). Every recommendation or example I have seen for BIOS settings disables PECI. But from what...
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    Vcore: set it manually or leave it on "auto"?

    I just finished my first build (specs in my sig), and it passed stability testing with no problems. I wanted to take some benchmark temp readings but I noticed that VCore seems to wander all over the place if I leave it as "auto" in the Bios. At full load it goes up to 1.29, and at idle it goes...
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    Enabling SMART HDD monitoring in Asus P5B?

    I just finished building my first system :). I just spent a couple of days testing for stability (Using Memtest86, Orthos Super Prime and Intel TAT) and all seems to be working well :D (system specs in my signature). I am running everything at stock speeds -- for now. I just realized that my...
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    Help! an XP HDD tweak slowed my system to a crawl

    I wanted to apply a twek to my XP system to eliminate indexing and compression of my HDD to allow for faster HDD access (as suggested in this Tweaktown guide to tweaking XP ). Windows started the process to apply these changes, and the dialog box indicated that it would take about 20 hours to...
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    Calibrating/profiling a NEC 2070NX LCD

    I just got a NEC 2070NX LCD which I will use for digital photography. I also have a Spyder that use to calibrate my CRTs, but this is the first time I will calibrate an LCD. The Spyder is supposed to work on LCDs. I was reading the manual on the 2070 and it has many adjustments that can be...
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    Fan connectors on P180 and P5B

    I am doing my first build, and I have what seems like a noob question. The fans that come with the P180 Case have what appear to be standard 4 pin connectors, but it looks like only 2 of the pins are actually used (ground and power). The chassis fan conectors on the P5B MoBo have THREE...
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    Fresh install of XP in a SATA HDD in AHCI mode

    I am doing my first build, and I want to install Windows with my SATA HDD in AHCI mode. I did several searches here and learned that it can be very difficult to change from IDE to AHCI mode AFTER Windows is installed, so I want to get it right the first time (I am not using RAID, just a single...
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    Pinout on p180 front audio connector

    I am starting my first build, using a P180 case. My mobo (p5B deluxe) has a connector for the front audio ports of the case, and it needs to be configured for either HD audio or AC97 audio. The case's manual does not say which one the p180 has, and the manual's description of the pinout does not...
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    p5b Deluxe and DDR 800

    I am about to start building my first system. I am using a P5B Deluxe with 2Gb of DDR2-800 RAM. The ram has CAS Latency of 4 (This is the RAM I am using). The manual for the P5B says: "Due to chipset limitation, DDR2-800 with CL=4 will be downgraded to run at DDR2-667 by default setting...
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    Help choosing between these cards

    I am starting my first build -- all parts are ordered, except for the video card. I can get a used, factory overclocked 7800GTX (460MHz core clock, 1300MHz memory clock) from a friend, so I am trying to decide if I want this card or if I should get a newer card. I found these two cards...
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    Help with P5B Deluxe - PATA or SATA DVD?

    I just ordered most of the parts for my first build using the Asus P5B Deluxe. One of the parts that I have yet to order is the DVD writer. I have read lots of posts here suggesting that the lack of native support for PATA drives on the p965 chipset may cause problems, particularly when it...
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    Confused about these RAM sticks

    I am getting ready to build my first system, it will be a Core 2 Duo. The most demanding things I will do with this are photo processing (photoshop) and some gaming. I will not overclock at first, but would like to leave the option open so I can give it a try later on. I have chosen all my...
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    How much security is too much?

    I was looking for some free security apps for a couple of old computers at home and I came across Schadenfroh's outstanding sticky on security as well as episodic's (also outstanding) sticky on freeware apps. The latter contains a link to a website where I read this article on 'layering'. So...