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***Uber System Poll 2.0***

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Originally posted by: bob4432
Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Originally posted by: jhh979s
Floppy drives are like $5 and they are still useful for certain things like bios flashes for example.

Yeah i fyou want like a 70% chance of it failing. Use a Windows Based Flashing App from the HDD, must safer and easier. Floppy drives are pointless (You can just as easily use a USB Flash Drive or a Bootable CD for anything else)

-Kevin

where do you get this 70% chance from? i have never, knock on wood, had an issue with bios flashes from floppy and until the last couple of years you couldn't even do it from within windows.

I just threw out the 70%. I honestly have no clue, but Floppies are a high risk part when flashing something as sensitive as your BIOS. I used to do it via floppy and it scared the hell out of me. With the Windows Based App it is A LOT easier, and a lot less likely to fail (Even in Windows).

Additionally, disabling the floppy controller and what not frees up an IRQ, and I think a DMA channel :thumbsup: (Not to mention that is one less thing that has to be initialized on startup).
 
Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Originally posted by: bob4432
Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Originally posted by: jhh979s
Floppy drives are like $5 and they are still useful for certain things like bios flashes for example.

Yeah i fyou want like a 70% chance of it failing. Use a Windows Based Flashing App from the HDD, must safer and easier. Floppy drives are pointless (You can just as easily use a USB Flash Drive or a Bootable CD for anything else)

-Kevin

where do you get this 70% chance from? i have never, knock on wood, had an issue with bios flashes from floppy and until the last couple of years you couldn't even do it from within windows.

I just threw out the 70%. I honestly have no clue, but Floppies are a high risk part when flashing something as sensitive as your BIOS. I used to do it via floppy and it scared the hell out of me. With the Windows Based App it is A LOT easier, and a lot less likely to fail (Even in Windows).

Additionally, disabling the floppy controller and what not frees up an IRQ, and I think a DMA channel :thumbsup: (Not to mention that is one less thing that has to be initialized on startup).

i have scsi so i am obviously not too concerned about start up times, but to each their own 🙂
 
the cheapest floppy i have seen is $19.99.

u can of course use ebay, but with shipping costs it will cost as much as getting it from the store

so where do u guys get these $5 floppies?
 
Originally posted by: AirForceElite
the cheapest floppy i have seen is $19.99.

u can of course use ebay, but with shipping costs it will cost as much as getting it from the store

so where do u guys get these $5 floppies?


I have about 5 around the house... who doesn't have atleast one just sitting around?
 
Originally posted by: acole1


I have about 5 around the house... who doesn't have atleast one just sitting around?

I don't have one.

I had one 3 years ago, but it broke (geee, i wonder why)
And ever since, I did not ever buy floppy drive.

First of all because in canada i couldnt find anything cheaper than $19.00 plus tax
and 2nd, i didnt need it as all my files were backed on USB drive which is much more convenient.

I know $19.99 isnt much, but it is for me...a person who has been saving for 2 and a half years for a laptop.
 
Yeah, there are all sorts of tricks you can pull with a minimal boot using a floppy, plus transfer between work/home is easier since I can't e-mail and work PC don't have burner. Some day I'll invest in a flash drive for the later app.
 
So, was your rig pre-built?

No - Desktop

Do you use a stock/retail cooler?

Yes

What type of cooling do you use?

Air

Current CPU manufacturer?

AMD, Athlon64 3200+ Winchester 939 on a Foxconn NF4UK8AA-8EKRS NF4 Ultra board

Current video card manufacturer?

nVIDIA, eVGA GeForce 6600 256MB

Does your system include a floppy drive?

Yes

Does your system include a DVD writer?

Yes, Asus DRW-1608P2

Does your system include a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray reader or writer?

No

How many chassis/case fans do you have?

2, Antec 80mm's

How much memory do you have?

1 GB, 2x512MB TwinMos PC3200 Dual Channel DDR

How much local hard disk space do you have? (not on a network or online)

101 - 200 GB, 2 Seagate 7200.7's: 1 40GB, 1 120GB

Does your case have a window on it?

No

Is the inside of your case lit up?

No

What is your video card's interface?

PCI Express

Are you running multiple monitors?

No

Are you running multiple video cards?

No

Is your CPU multi-core?

No

What type of speakers do you use?

Headphones, Sennheiser wireless RF

What type of sound card do you use?

Other - Integrated, Realtek ALC850

What kind of monitor are you using?

LCD, Acer 19" AL-1914AB

What is your operating system?

Windows XP Home SP2

What is your power supply rating?

401 - 500 Watts, Athena Power 500W AP-P4ATX50F12(internal fans replaced with Antec's)

Does your system include a modem?

Yes, 56K PCI Conexant

How does your system connect to the internet?

Cable, Comcast

What is your hard drive's interface?

IDE, both drives
 
Very interesting poll, I think it's cool to see the results. As for the floppy debate, I don't see myself building a machine without one in the near future. It's cheap and you never know when you might need one. For instance, I have 2 boxes with a DFI NF4 SLI-DR and I've tried flashing both through windows and after rebooting neither would post. I got them both working but I would have rather just flashed with a floppy.
 
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