The computer and electronics super geek superthread...

[JB0]

I thought the Euro was kickin our collective arses

It is.

But for some reason, that often doesn't translate into electronics, and tech manufacturers proudly assume a 1:1 exchange rate.

And if you think that's bad.... they do it to the pound too. And while a euro is worth 1.47 US dollars at this moment, a pound is 1.95.

http://www.xe.com/

[HoveringCheesecake]

Would now be a wise time to purchase a somewhat high-end desktop? My main questions are whether or not the 8800GT will drop in price anytime soon, and whether or not Intel is going to release any new processors. I have my eye on the E6600. Good choice?

[azrael]

Would now be a wise time to purchase a somewhat high-end desktop? My main questions are whether or not the 8800GT will drop in price anytime soon, and whether or not Intel is going to release any new processors. I have my eye on the E6600. Good choice?

The 8800GT may drop in price with the 9600GT out now (in which case, I would get the 9600GT), but it may not move in price for months. Intel is always releasing new chips. The E6600 will probably not go down in price very much so if you want that CPU, you won't be paying much different now or probably 3 months for now. In fact, it's still around the same price I paid for mine 10 months ago.

[Beltane70]

I have no complaints about the E6600. I've been running that CPU for about 6 months and am completely happy with it.

[David Hingtgen]

I'm buying the E8400. (yes, I'm planning my new PC---just found out I may be able to get it by June or maybe even earlier, quite a bit sooner than I thought) I've seen few things that can take advantage of quad core, it seems for what I want, a faster dual-core will be better. And the E8400 is an awesome performance/price value. It's just sold-out 24/7 a lot of places, and they keep increasing the price. It was 200-220 bucks when it was new, now that everyone knows about it and wants it, most places want 240-250. Supply and demand.

::long part edited since I found THIS article:: http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=510&pgno=0 1600mhz won't become standard, which is good for me, as that means almost all future socket 775 CPU's will still only require 1333 FSB's.

As for graphics---IMHO 8800GT still beats 9600GT in most categories. But the 9800GT may be out by the time I'm actually ready to buy. It may be a "9000", but it's still only a x600, vs an x800. A high-end 8xxx will beat a low-end 9xxx. 9600 and 8800 are VERY close though.

[VF-19]

Excellent choice on the 8400. You know, you can overclock it slightly so that it becomes an 8500. Just up the Front Side Bus a bit from 333 to 340-60. I've got mine running nicely at 3.24 Ghz. And I did bring it all the way to 3.7ish, and it didn't even blink!

"What's that master? Go faster? OK!"

Wolfdale cores are great!

Aside from some weirdness on the PATA port (one optical drive isn't recognized on every other boot), it's been great.

[HoveringCheesecake]

I didn't realize that the new Penryn chips were out! Crap.

Also, my cousin is suggesting that I get a quad-core over a dual-core. Thoughts? In what situations would the quad be better than the dual-core?

[VF-19]

I didn't realize that the new Penryn chips were out! Crap.

Also, my cousin is suggesting that I get a quad-core over a dual-core. Thoughts? In what situations would the quad be better than the dual-core?

I don't think it's worth it at this time... Unless you use CPU heavy programs on a daily basis. Besides, you could simply buy a dual core CPU, and a motherboard that's ready for quadcore if you need it down the line (or find a really great deal).

[David Hingtgen]

Same---very few things can take advantage of a quad nowadays. There are certainly situations where a quad is better, a lot better. (do you render 3D graphics or encode terabytes of high-def video?) But they are few and far between with current software/tech. Get a faster dual for less money, and it'll do better more often.

[HoveringCheesecake]

I'm buying the E8400. (yes, I'm planning my new PC---just found out I may be able to get it by June or maybe even earlier, quite a bit sooner than I thought) I've seen few things that can take advantage of quad core, it seems for what I want, a faster dual-core will be better. And the E8400 is an awesome performance/price value. It's just sold-out 24/7 a lot of places, and they keep increasing the price. It was 200-220 bucks when it was new, now that everyone knows about it and wants it, most places want 240-250. Supply and demand.

::long part edited since I found THIS article:: http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=510&pgno=0 1600mhz won't become standard, which is good for me, as that means almost all future socket 775 CPU's will still only require 1333 FSB's.

As for graphics---IMHO 8800GT still beats 9600GT in most categories. But the 9800GT may be out by the time I'm actually ready to buy. It may be a "9000", but it's still only a x600, vs an x800. A high-end 8xxx will beat a low-end 9xxx. 9600 and 8800 are VERY close though.

I think I'm going to go with the E8400 as well. How often do stores like Newegg get them in stock?

I really want to replace my 9800Pro with a 9800GT, but I'm not sure I want to wait until April.

[David Hingtgen]

I don't think anyone knows the stock 'trend' for the E8400. It goes like this:

Jan 23 or so---it's released, and everywhere gets it, and everywhere sells out in days. Nobody's restocked yet. Every place that ever will sell the E8400 has already gotten and sold their first shipment. And the 2nd batch hasn't come out yet. Could be next week, could be next month. I can't get my new PC until they come in... (I can buy the case at least and have that ready)

[David Hingtgen]

Checking around today: Found one, but wasn't sure if the site's stock was "live" or not. 2 hours later, it's gone, so apparently that site did have second-by-second stock status.

Found another place, but again--not sure if they ACTUALLY have them. Also, I'm kinda planning on waiting for the next batch---the first week/batch of production is never quite as good as the others from what I've been reading. Especially since my intended motherboard just sold out and everwhere else wants 20-30 bucks more than Newegg.

One place expects some in on Mar 17. But they could be the last to get them, or the first. Who knows. I'm in no big hurry though.

[VF-19]

Hmm... I only had to wait about 3 days for my core... Maybe the stores in Ottawa know something that the stores in the US don't?

[azrael]

I don't think anyone knows the stock 'trend' for the E8400. It goes like this:

Jan 23 or so---it's released, and everywhere gets it, and everywhere sells out in days. Nobody's restocked yet. Every place that ever will sell the E8400 has already gotten and sold their first shipment. And the 2nd batch hasn't come out yet. Could be next week, could be next month. I can't get my new PC until they come in... (I can buy the case at least and have that ready)

It really depends on the distributors and how fast they get them from Intel. Also, keep in mind that the first quantities are usually small. No one knows how they'll sell when they first come out. If they sell like hotcakes...well then you'd best be ready when they come back in stock.

[David Hingtgen]

Got my E8400 today. Probably won't have everything else until the end of next week though.

[HoveringCheesecake]

Where did you snag it at?

[David Hingtgen]

They were available at TigerDirect from about noon to 4PM or so Wednesday. (I kept checking hoping my order went through before they were gone) If you don't need a retail box/fan/heatsink, they have the OEM one NOW as I type: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/se...u=CP2-DUO-E8400

Anyone who's looking for one, in addition to checking the obvious places for daily stock updates, I suggest here: http://www.hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&f=5 There's a new "looking for/found" E8400 thread there every day. It's how I got mine.

PS--don't forget Amazon. They come and go just as fast as everywhere else, but they do show up.

[HoveringCheesecake]

Thanks for the links. I'm definitely going for the Retail version.

[David Hingtgen]

I need a bit of help getting started researching something:

I don't do bling/case mods. But I am sick of blue lights everywhere, so I'm changing all the case lighting (what little there is) to purple. (will take me 30 secs and 4 bucks). Also bought the Akasa "All in one" card reader as it seems to be one of the few that both doesn't suck, and has a door over the slots.

Now, the card reader is a "backlit" LCD but I'm pretty sure it's "backlit" in the same way that many older cell phones are---there's a few small LEDs mounted along the edges of the screen, and the light just diffuses across the screen. I know there's people/places that modify cell phone backlighting, I just need some terms/sites to search out so I can find out exactly what I need. I basically need "purple LED's that can be used to retrofit edge-lit small monochrome LCD screens". And some instruction on how to do it.

[Uxi]

Just got my new Penryn 15" MacBook Pro today (ordered about noon on the day of release). Only upgrade I bothered with was the 7200 rpm HDD. I'll probably upgrade the RAM to 4GB a year or so down the road.

Just finished flexing the battery the first time (complete discharge and recharge). Probably do it again tomorrow, if not the next day as well.

So far, it's working great. Already imported most of the stuff from my iBook that it's replacing, and doing stuff from my XP machine right now as I type. Very very fast. Did some photoshop work, as well as some movie editing. Part of me was still wanting the 17" and the hi-res upgrade, but that thing was just too big.

Definitely recommended.

[David Hingtgen]

Got some more parts, here's the current pile:

[mikeszekely]

Got some more parts, here's the current pile:

Heck, you get yourself a motherboard with integrated video and borrow an optical drive from another system, you got yourself a computer. You could always add a solid video card later.

Just got my new Penryn 15" MacBook Pro today (ordered about noon on the day of release). Only upgrade I bothered with was the 7200 rpm HDD. I'll probably upgrade the RAM to 4GB a year or so down the road.

Just finished flexing the battery the first time (complete discharge and recharge). Probably do it again tomorrow, if not the next day as well.

So far, it's working great. Already imported most of the stuff from my iBook that it's replacing, and doing stuff from my XP machine right now as I type. Very very fast. Did some photoshop work, as well as some movie editing. Part of me was still wanting the 17" and the hi-res upgrade, but that thing was just too big.

Definitely recommended.

Heh, I'm not ready to upgrade quite yet, as I already have a 13" Intel Core Duo MacBook. I'm not sure I could justify the cash for a MacBook Pro. But even if I did, I heard the Penryn MacBooks aren't supposed to be major leaps over the previous MacBooks. Best Buy has their entire line of MacBooks (minus the Air) on Clearance to make room for the Penryns. My friend bought the Pro yours replaced for $1800. He's not sure about spending even that much, so I might trade him laptops and pay him the difference.

[HoveringCheesecake]

Got some more parts, here's the current pile:

Hahaha. With the exception of the case, those are the parts I plan on buying.

[David Hingtgen]

Got the rest of the important parts. Will do some work tonight, but don't plan on getting it up and running.

[Ishimaru]

Got the rest of the important parts. Will do some work tonight, but don't plan on getting it up and running.

Nice man, I got myself a e6400 today along with my 9600GT. (Will upgrade card later)

Looking at those two pictures makes me want to tear those boxes open and put that computer together.

[Uxi]

Heh, I'm not ready to upgrade quite yet, as I already have a 13" Intel Core Duo MacBook. I'm not sure I could justify the cash for a MacBook Pro. But even if I did, I heard the Penryn MacBooks aren't supposed to be major leaps over the previous MacBooks. Best Buy has their entire line of MacBooks (minus the Air) on Clearance to make room for the Penryns. My friend bought the Pro yours replaced for $1800. He's not sure about spending even that much, so I might trade him laptops and pay him the difference.

I was ready to upgrade 6 months ago. Was holding off, first for MacWorld and then for the latest MBP update, hoping there would be a Blu-ray SuperDrive update. I got tired of waiting, had the money and an itchy trigger finger. I had budgeted the money for a 17" but was playing with my boss' for awhile and concluded it was just too big to be as portable as I wanted. Definitely loving my choice. The beast screams.

Still gotta get a copy of XP Pro for Boot Camp, then I'll be content for a looong while on the laptop side.

Just built my latest rig not 6 months ago. New E6750, 1333 fsb, 4GB of 1066, new 65nm 8800GT, etc etc. Thinking of giving that to my old lady and going for a 45nm 6850, though.

[mikeszekely]

I was ready to upgrade 6 months ago. Was holding off, first for MacWorld and then for the latest MBP update, hoping there would be a Blu-ray SuperDrive update. I got tired of waiting, had the money and an itchy trigger finger. I had budgeted the money for a 17" but was playing with my boss' for awhile and concluded it was just too big to be as portable as I wanted. Definitely loving my choice. The beast screams.

Still gotta get a copy of XP Pro for Boot Camp, then I'll be content for a looong while on the laptop side.

Just built my latest rig not 6 months ago. New E6750, 1333 fsb, 4GB of 1066, new 65nm 8800GT, etc etc. Thinking of giving that to my old lady and going for a 45nm 6850, though.

What's your thoughts on the multi-touch trackpad? I really like the whole multi-touch bit in the iPhone/iPod touch, but I'm not sure I'd like it on a laptop trackpad.

[Uxi]

I thought it was going to be a cheap gimmick, but it is actually pretty useful. The best way any laptop has yet simulated the three button / wheel mouse yet. As they had in the previous MBP, you can scroll with two fingers at once (in either X or Y axis) and do a tap on the pad itself to click / hold / drag. New motions are the three finger left or right (which does page forward/back - definitely useful in browsers). I prefer Opera to Safari, but it's only Safari that takes use of this yet, as does mail.app and the other iLife '08 apps.

I don't find much use myself for the rotating outside of images, where it's pretty handy. The pinching ipod zooming works good in Safari for increasing text size, etc.

[David Hingtgen]

::yawn:: 1-day delay for new PC. Spent much of the night trying to install CPU/cooler (the one thing I've never done before, so I have to go extra slow and careful). Found that my first two ways (mobo--bracket--cooler, vs bracket--mobo-cooler) will not work. Going to try bracket--cooler--mobo tomorrow, hopefully that'll work. Getting tired of removing and re-installing the mobo. Was hoping to have CPU+cooler installation be the last task for tonight, instead it'll be the first task tomorrow.

Big cooler+not a gigantic case=not enough room for hands and screw drivers. (I know it fits, I checked before I ordered it--I just have to figure out the exact assembly sequence to make it happen)

[HoveringCheesecake]

I plan on buying a HDTV come May/June and I'm leaning towards either a 36-40" Sony or Samsung LCD. Good choices?

And does anyone know a GOOD HDTV review site? I've searched and the reviews I found aren't for the current models.

[azrael]

I plan on buying a HDTV come May/June and I'm leaning towards either a 36-40" Sony or Samsung LCD. Good choices?

And does anyone know a GOOD HDTV review site? I've searched and the reviews I found aren't for the current models.

Sony is a good choice, BUT, you are definitely paying a premium for it. Samsung is good but I've found the displays to be too variable at times. I could be looking at a 40" and find nothing wrong, then look at a 42" and find the colors not as strong or something wrong with the picture.

[David Hingtgen]

Need opinions on DVD-ROM drives and burners:

I can't find any as quiet as what was in my last PC. It's "best" burner is an Asus DRW-1612. No longer made. I bought both an Asus DRW-2014L1T, and a E-818A for the new one. (I like having both a burner and a "pure" reader). Both make high-pitched noises when initially starting up and reading a disc. Lasts a minute or two. Am sending one back, am about to send back the other. Could try the previous models, the 1814L and E-616A3. I'm hoping they're more similar to the even older 1612.

Basically--I am looking for drives that are "low-pitched/ultra quiet" when doing simple/low-speed reading and seeking. Every drive is loud at max speed, but that's not the problem---the problem is a very high-pitched and annoying noise when they're just "reading the name" off the disc, and the initial 60 secs of loading to play a DVD movie, etc. They are "quiet" but the noise they make is irritating. A more "rumbling" noise when idling/seeking, even if louder, would be much preferred to what this year's Asus drives apparently sound like.

Any suggestions?

[mikeszekely]

Need opinions on DVD-ROM drives and burners:

I can't find any as quiet as what was in my last PC. It's "best" burner is an Asus DRW-1612. No longer made. I bought both an Asus DRW-2014L1T, and a E-818A for the new one. (I like having both a burner and a "pure" reader). Both make high-pitched noises when initially starting up and reading a disc. Lasts a minute or two. Am sending one back, am about to send back the other. Could try the previous models, the 1814L and E-616A3. I'm hoping they're more similar to the even older 1612.

Basically--I am looking for drives that are "low-pitched/ultra quiet" when doing simple/low-speed reading and seeking. Every drive is loud at max speed, but that's not the problem---the problem is a very high-pitched and annoying noise when they're just "reading the name" off the disc, and the initial 60 secs of loading to play a DVD movie, etc. They are "quiet" but the noise they make is irritating. A more "rumbling" noise when idling/seeking, even if louder, would be much preferred to what this year's Asus drives apparently sound like.

Any suggestions?

Pull the burner from your old computer?

[JB0]

Pull the burner from your old computer?

Seconded. Unless you've got a compelling reason not to(like attempting to go total SATA), optical drives are the single most reusable component.

[mikeszekely]

Unless you've got a compelling reason not to(like attempting to go total SATA)

What even makes that a compelling reason? IDE transfer rates are plenty good enough for CD and DVD media. I say if you've got an IDE controller on the mobo, use it!

EDIT: Added bonus, if you've got the open bays on your case, you probably don't have to remove any of the drives you already installed. You paid for 'em, you might as well use them.

Sorry we can't really be any more helpful than that, David. The only other thing I can say is that I've owned two Sony DVD burners, an internal and an external, and neither of those struck me as particularly loud, but what I think is noisy and what you think is noisy might not be the same, nor do I know how newer drives sound.

Edited March 18, 2008 by mikeszekely