The computer and electronics super geek superthread...

[Capt Hungry]

I need to buy a new computer ASAP. Would the following be decent (and if not, what would you recommend):

Processor - Intel Core E6400

Memory - 2GB SD 667MHZ

Hard Drive - 320GB

Graphics - 256 NVIDIA GeForce 7500LE

If you're looking for a budget graphics card, look for a 256MB 7600GT instead. But it looks like you're off to a good start. 2GB memory kits seem to be a little pricey ATM, depending on which memory you buy. But the E6400 is a good chip right now, although the E6600 seems to be the sweet spot.

[VF-19]

so i found an ipod nano 2nd gen a few months ago and turned it in to the local police station...i recieved a call from the police station last friday to see if i wanted it...so now i have an ipod nano and i don't know what to do with it...i had anapod from when my nephew use to us my computer for his ipod so i'm using that now...i recently found out that you could download games from itunes but devistated when i found out they were only available on the gen 5 models...i was wondering if there was a way of playing those games on my gen 2 nano..

Nice reward for being a good citizen. It's a free Nano! Load it up with music!

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

Nice reward for being a good citizen. It's a free Nano! Load it up with music!

it kinda sucks since I had to buy a usb cable for it and stuff and even the headphones... and i found out that there's no real way to get any games on the the gen 2 nano...it's okay though....i have no real need for a music player since i always have my laptop on me and i don't really like to listen to music while I'm walking ha ha ha .... well, I'm just glad to have this nano!!

p.s. the word correction thingie on firefox is seriously starting to annoy me

[azrael]

it kinda sucks since I had to buy a usb cable for it and stuff and even the headphones... and i found out that there's no real way to get any games on the the gen 2 nano...it's okay though....i have no real need for a music player since i always have my laptop on me and i don't really like to listen to music while I'm walking ha ha ha .... well, I'm just glad to have this nano!!

p.s. the word correction thingie on firefox is seriously starting to annoy me

You bought Apple earphones? You're better off getting a different set of earphones than the Apple earphones.

BTW, you can turn off the spell-checker in Firefox (Tools->Options->Advanced->General tab)

[baronv]

Well, I'll be off MW for a while, my 3rd computer problem in the same amount of days has crept up. My OS is corrupted and I'm running on Safe mode now...ack!

[yellowlightman]

it kinda sucks since I had to buy a usb cable for it and stuff and even the headphones... and i found out that there's no real way to get any games on the the gen 2 nano...it's okay though....i have no real need for a music player since i always have my laptop on me and i don't really like to listen to music while I'm walking ha ha ha .... well, I'm just glad to have this nano!!

p.s. the word correction thingie on firefox is seriously starting to annoy me

Yeah that's rough man... You get a free iPod and then you have to a USB cable and headphones. Poor you.

You want something to play games on... go buy a Gameboy. But then you'd have to buy games! Probably not even worth it at that point, right?

[kensei]

Just want a couple of people's opinions, if you get a few dead pixels on your screen just under a couple of month's use of the item, is it asking for too much to have the screen replaced under warranty? I was just talking to someone that had a hard time getting a new one under warranty, just wanted to make my case.

Also, screen protectors. The invisible stick on ones. Just wanted to ask which ones were good, I want to prevent scratching, but it must take wear due to my screen having WACOM, I use a tablet. I heard that 3M are good, and BStrong are scrap. Any more recommendations?

I've also scratched my screen, I might be lucky enough to get a new one, but I just wanted to ask if there are any handymen in here, are there any scratch removers that work. I don't want anything silly like gels or finding out the same material, melting it and filling in the gaps etc. one is superficial, and one is a bit more of a scrape. Can I buff it out?

[Oihan]

Just want a couple of people's opinions, if you get a few dead pixels on your screen just under a couple of month's use of the item, is it asking for too much to have the screen replaced under warranty? I was just talking to someone that had a hard time getting a new one under warranty, just wanted to make my case.

Also, screen protectors. The invisible stick on ones. Just wanted to ask which ones were good, I want to prevent scratching, but it must take wear due to my screen having WACOM, I use a tablet. I heard that 3M are good, and BStrong are scrap. Any more recommendations?

I've also scratched my screen, I might be lucky enough to get a new one, but I just wanted to ask if there are any handymen in here, are there any scratch removers that work. I don't want anything silly like gels or finding out the same material, melting it and filling in the gaps etc. one is superficial, and one is a bit more of a scrape. Can I buff it out?

If your computer (screen) is under warranty then by all means send it back in and get it replaced.

As for screen protectors...never used 'em.

[David Hingtgen]

Every PC I every get has a completely different type of memory than the last, so I'm never "up" on it. Anyways, it's time to upgrade, but I need some clarification. Here's the page for my motherboard if you care to look: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/documen...643&lang=en

BTW--PNY brand is half off at BestBuy now. Decent brand? Any suggestions, or brands to avoid? Good places to shop online?

My PC came with PC2700 DDR DIMMs (it's an HP, circa late 2003). Has 4 slots, slots 1 and 2 currently have 256MB each (factory), slots 3 and 4 are empty. My question is about dual channel (DDR) mode, pairing, and speed. HP's RAM page for their required DIMM's say:

"The following requirements must be met for the DDR memory to function in Dual Channel mode:

Same Density (256MB, 512MB, etc.)

Same DRAM chip technology (x8 or x16)

All either single-sided or dual-sided

Matched in both Channel A and Channel B memory channels"

Does "matched in both" mean all 4 have to be identical, or just "identical within a pair"---I am currently leaning towards keeping slot 1 and 2 as they are (removing memory is a B*TCH, adding's easy) and putting in 512MB modules in slots 3 and 4, for a 1.5GB total.

However, I used crucial.com's memory scanner, and it says my PC doesn't support dual channel mode, even though the motherboard specs say multiple times it does. Is there any way to check/confirm if it does, and if it's doing it now?

Finally--- My PC came with 2700 memory, but the motherboard specs say it can handle 3200. Is the difference noticeable? Because if I put in new memory, even if its 3200, it'll only operate at 2700 because of the older memory still in. I'd like to avoid replacing the original memory if possible, so I need to know if it'd really be worth replacing them, just to get perhaps another 500MB of memory, with the speed bumped up to 3200.

PS---HP's site says replacement DIMM must be 1.8 volts. But that seems rare, at least the first 3 places I checked didn't have any. Is that critical, or just an old spec nobody manufactures to anymore? (everything I found now was 2.5 or 2.6, and most places don't even list that spec) Also, it's just a "generic" HP DIMM page, not specific to any of my PC.

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

You bought Apple earphones? You're better off getting a different set of earphones than the Apple earphones.

nope...i bought some good "street" type headphones... i ended up having to go to a bestbuy that's about an hour to get 'em tho...i'm deaf in one ear so it's sometimes hard to find a good set of headphones sound good going thru both sides since i'm only hearing the left channel of music...

BTW, you can turn off the spell-checker in Firefox (Tools->Options->Advanced->General tab)

thanks! i really appreciate it! recently upgraded to firefox 2.0 and the whole spell checker thing caught me off guard (since i usually lurk here...i hardly type anymore)

as far as the games on the nano goes, i could care less now... i tried playing solitaire on it for a few minutes and it was a total nightmare... and i've had my psp stolen from me and my cell was ran over by some jerk... i don't have money to pay for a new psp at the moment and my new phone won't come in for another week due to some problems with the sim card (thanks cingular )... i just wanted to play tetris (which i would've bought thru itunes) for a while til i could afford a new psp when i come back from mexico in a few weeks (grandpa's dying)

and yeah, i didn't mean to batty about getting a free ipod...i meant to batty about the 10-20 crap accessories i'll never use just to get a stupid usb cable (THANKS BESTBUY FOR YOUR STUPID BUNDLES) unfortunately, i had to come to bestbuy on a day where all the usb cables were taken... usually i would've ordered the cable online but i needed it the cable right away due to last minute call from my cousins telling me my granda was fading fast...

[Chewie]

My current system is:

P4 Prescott 3.0 (478 pin)

ASUS P4P800 E Deluxe mobo

2 Gigs of g-skill PC 3200 cas 2.5 RAM

Nvidia 6800 Ultra 256mb vid card

LGE L194WT 19.1 lcd

Off brand 620w modular PS

i-rocks X Slim Keyboard

Logitech Mx518 gaming mouse

Logitech "internet chat" headset (actually bought 4 sets of these because they are awesome and I keep breaking them like a doof.)

Altec Lansing 2 channel speaker set (OH YEAH WHATS THAT THX CRAP?) =P

Lite on dvd burner and plain dvd drive for on the fly ripping/burning

Off brand Black/Silver windowless case with 5 fans.

Windows Vista Ultimate Edition OS (sucks right ow due to many driver issues, but I have faith)

My most immediate upgrades to this system are going to be dual 500 gig hard drives, another 2 gigs of ram or possibly a new set of 4 so I know they match, another matching LG lcd, a Thermaltake PS and a Thermaltake liquid cooling system.

My other toys include a 30 gig ipod video (which ironically I never have nor ever will watch video on) and a Casio Exilim EX S500 Camera.

Edited February 24, 2007 by Chewie

[VF-19]

Every PC I every get has a completely different type of memory than the last, so I'm never "up" on it. Anyways, it's time to upgrade, but I need some clarification. Here's the page for my motherboard if you care to look: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/documen...643〈=en

BTW--PNY brand is half off at BestBuy now. Decent brand? Any suggestions, or brands to avoid? Good places to shop online?

My PC came with PC2700 DDR DIMMs (it's an HP, circa late 2003). Has 4 slots, slots 1 and 2 currently have 256MB each (factory), slots 3 and 4 are empty. My question is about dual channel (DDR) mode, pairing, and speed. HP's RAM page for their required DIMM's say:

"The following requirements must be met for the DDR memory to function in Dual Channel mode:

Same Density (256MB, 512MB, etc.)

Same DRAM chip technology (x8 or x16)

All either single-sided or dual-sided

Matched in both Channel A and Channel B memory channels"

Does "matched in both" mean all 4 have to be identical, or just "identical within a pair"---I am currently leaning towards keeping slot 1 and 2 as they are (removing memory is a B*TCH, adding's easy) and putting in 512MB modules in slots 3 and 4, for a 1.5GB total.

However, I used crucial.com's memory scanner, and it says my PC doesn't support dual channel mode, even though the motherboard specs say multiple times it does. Is there any way to check/confirm if it does, and if it's doing it now?

Finally--- My PC came with 2700 memory, but the motherboard specs say it can handle 3200. Is the difference noticeable? Because if I put in new memory, even if its 3200, it'll only operate at 2700 because of the older memory still in. I'd like to avoid replacing the original memory if possible, so I need to know if it'd really be worth replacing them, just to get perhaps another 500MB of memory, with the speed bumped up to 3200.

PS---HP's site says replacement DIMM must be 1.8 volts. But that seems rare, at least the first 3 places I checked didn't have any. Is that critical, or just an old spec nobody manufactures to anymore? (everything I found now was 2.5 or 2.6, and most places don't even list that spec) Also, it's just a "generic" HP DIMM page, not specific to any of my PC.

Ok, dual channel: It depends on the motherboard. My father's P4 was very finicky, and he had to buy a matched pair kit, just to use dual channel. My Gigabyte Athlon motherboard, however was not, and I never had a problem with having different brands (or speeds) of RAM in the slots.

2700 vs 3200... It's not that big of a deal. The only place you're probably are going to notice it is during benchmarks. I went from 1 gig 2700 to 2 gig 3200, and aside from the capacity, I didn't notice anything different.

Now as to how you can acheive dual channel mode, varies from motherboard to motherboard. With my old Gigabyte, I was able to have slots 1, 3 and 4 filled with memory, and yet still operate in dual channel mode. The Gigabyte manual also states that it can have all 4 slots filled, and still function in dual channel mode (as long as requirements are met).You'll have to consult the manual that comes with the motherboard for specifications.

DIMM voltage. 1.8 sounds like it's ddr2 to me. I'm using 3200-DDR, and it's taking in 2.6 ish volts. And no, DDR2 RAM will not physically fit in DDR1 slots. But you bought the computer in 2003, with DDR ram in it, so it's possible that you're looking at the wrong page in HP, or HP has updated their information to reflect what Intel and AMD motherboards require for RAM (which is DDR2).

[azrael]

Just want a couple of people's opinions, if you get a few dead pixels on your screen just under a couple of month's use of the item, is it asking for too much to have the screen replaced under warranty?

If you can, go ahead. I would check with the manufacturer to be sure they don't have a dead pixel policy.

...too long to quote

PNY is ok. But as always, your mileage may vary.

Ideally with Dual Channel, to avoid potential problems, you may want to get a Dual Channel kit. This is suppose to ensure that both sticks were made in the exact same production batch. This is to ensure that both sticks are 100% identical. Again, this is just an ideal condition, not written in stone. You can get away with dual channel as long as you buy the 2 sticks from the same maker and be sure that they are the same model/specs. I would check prices before buying. There may be times where buying a dual channel kit may be cheaper than buying individual sticks and vice versa.

As stated above, speed-wise, you won't notice as much. Capacity-wise, you will notice. Adding memory does help.

I would run CPU-z to identify the RAM in your system. I don't have a test for dual channel, unfortunately. This depends on the motherboard.

Ideally, many brand-name makers like HP or Dell use default voltages. It's not required but there are instances where your system will not POST (Power-On Self-Test) due to incorrect voltages on the RAM.

[Mechafan]

With my dual channel setup I have 4 sticks from the some company. They all have the same cas lantency which is important also. Two 1 GB in one channel and two 256 MB and the second channel.

[Knight26]

So who knows a good place to buy a custom built computer, at a reasonable price? I want one mostly for autocad 3-d modelling and gaming, any recommendations?

[David Hingtgen]

OK, CPU-Z says I have dual channel, but performance mode is disabled. What's "performance mode"? Is that when DDR is actually operating in dual channel? And now I know the factory chips have latency of 2.5ms, and the timing is 2.5-3-3-7. Manufacturer is "Smart Modular", and both chips carry build dates of the same week, so they're presumably from the same batch and all went straight into HP computers, probably nigh-sequentially.

(that's one of the things I always hate about a new PC--hard to find out exactly what's inside unless you installed it yourself)

[azrael]

So who knows a good place to buy a custom built computer, at a reasonable price? I want one mostly for autocad 3-d modelling and gaming, any recommendations?

Can't help you with there "where to get it" part, but I can help you with the "what do you need" part.

Since you're doing AutoCAD and gaming, I'll focus on video. I'd suggest a non-integrated video card, which means you'll want to look at Nvidia or ATI. On the Nvidia-front, you'll probably want to look at a minimum of a 7600-series. A 7300LE will probably cut it for AutoCAD, but if you plan on gaming as well, I would shoot for a 7600-series or higher (7900-series). On the ATI-end of things, the X1600 will do for AutoCAD. A X1650 might be better for gaming. I'm not an ATI-guru so some other opinion may be needed.

For reference, I'd look at the Dell Dimension E520 (high end specs) or the XPS 410 as the essential specs. I would focus on better video and more RAM. The rest of the specs will satisfy what you need.

OK, CPU-Z says I have dual channel, but performance mode is disabled. What's "performance mode"? Is that when DDR is actually operating in dual channel?

Performance mode refers to tweaking the RAM (i.e. overclocking). It does not involve dual channel. Most likely, you are also running in dual channel.

[Knight26]

thanks for the comments azrael, I've been looking around and so far the best price for the components I want is from Ibuypower, fry's has a nice looking deal too, but i need to see how much a full custom like what I want will cost from them first.

[azrael]

thanks for the comments azrael, I've been looking around and so far the best price for the components I want is from Ibuypower, fry's has a nice looking deal too, but i need to see how much a full custom like what I want will cost from them first.

One other thing about video is you may wish to run SLI (basically 2 video cards connected together to work as 1). This will probably force you to get a higher capacity power supply (although, if you get a GeForce 8800, you probably won't need SLI and you probably won't be buying anything for a few months either).

Also, consider compromising certain areas. If your work is more 3D-work and gaming, consider spending more for video than other components. If you do more processor-intensive work, consider a better processor and less video, etc.

[David Hingtgen]

Swapping around the chips confirmed that---I opened the case last night and experimented with different configurations and putting them in non-paired locations made CPU-ID report "single channel" operation---and I swear I noticed it being slower.

[David Hingtgen]

While I'm in an upgrading mood:

My motherboard can accomodate AGP8X graphics cards. Is it worth upgrading (and suggestions welcome) or is that so far behind the PCI-E cards now that I should just wait until I have a new motherboard/system? I currently have the GeForce 4 MX440 that it came with originally. It does OK for the few games I currently have (I'm 99% a console gamer) but with it only having 64MB while every one on the market now is 256 for well under a hundred bucks, I'm definitely thinking about upgrading.

[emajnthis]

If you're playing graphic intensive games then it's worth upgrading to a high quality video card. It's a complete misconception that AGP's performance is inferior to that of PCI-E. While in completely ideal 64bit conditions AGP is inferior, but in almost all 32bit graphic conditions the performance "advantage" of PCI-E is negligible because 32bit processes cannot utilize the full bandwidth that PCI-E allows. If you plan on building a new 64bit machine running a 64bit game, then the performance will be very welcome, but you will also notice a lot of newer games are being built on 64bit platforms.

[David Hingtgen]

I plan on keeping this PC for a few more years if possible (it's my most reliable one ever by far)---the graphics card upgrade is mainly just to get higher framerates on my existing games. I'd actually like "the best card I can get that doesn't have a massive cooling fan and power requirements" as I don't want to have to upgrade the power supply, and I have a surprisingly quiet rig currently. (noise is big with me, if you've ever seen my 360 rants)

Or maybe I should put it this way: Would a $100-125 card be worth it at all? Taking into account that I don't play games much, and my standards aren't that high. (My monitor is a 15inch, and I run at 1024x768) But I mean, the card is some 4 years old now and it was cheap then--I'd figure even 40 or 50 buck cards now would be noticeably better.

[Capt Hungry]

If you are going to keep your system for a bit longer, there are still AGP cards to be had based on the newer generation of GPU's (graphical processing units). You wouldn't really need to spend anymore than about $200 either. What processor are you using in this PC? You might run into a bottleneck issue with the CPU not being able to keep up with the vid card.

I just read an article in the February issue of CPU magazine that had a nice article about this very subject. For ATI, they liked the Sapphire X1650 Pro and for Nvidia, the XFX Geforce 7600GT.

Edited February 26, 2007 by Capt Hungry

[VF-19]

I plan on keeping this PC for a few more years if possible (it's my most reliable one ever by far)---the graphics card upgrade is mainly just to get higher framerates on my existing games. I'd actually like "the best card I can get that doesn't have a massive cooling fan and power requirements" as I don't want to have to upgrade the power supply, and I have a surprisingly quiet rig currently. (noise is big with me, if you've ever seen my 360 rants)

Or maybe I should put it this way: Would a $100-125 card be worth it at all? Taking into account that I don't play games much, and my standards aren't that high. (My monitor is a 15inch, and I run at 1024x768) But I mean, the card is some 4 years old now and it was cheap then--I'd figure even 40 or 50 buck cards now would be noticeably better.

Hmm... Well, Toms hardware guide recently did their videocard round up for February: Clicky! They have a few suggestions as to what to get.

[emajnthis]

If you're willing to spend the money and it's between NVidia and ATI (which it almost always is) then my allegiance is with ATI. Back when Nvidia was the undisputed top dog, i purchased their cards for a few of my rigs and two of the five i bought went south within the first week, and then one more went south about a year later. I'm sure they have vastly improved manufacturing and QC since then, but it's always left a bitter taste in my mouth. You'll also notice that ATI's top setups always run better than nVidia's (running dual crossfire 1900 vs quad sli and the dual crossfire's beat the quad setup hands down) since they have a slight upper hand being under ownership of AMD.

[David Hingtgen]

Ack, edited this post instead of posting new reply! Guess it's gone now.

[emajnthis]

if that link is your exact specifications then you have four DIMM slots for RAM. Instead of replacing your ram, you can just purchase two more PC2700 256MB chips and give yourself a total of 1GB (which is more than sufficient). I recall you inquiring a page or so back about upgrading RAM, so I think that would be the most cost effective to performance way to go about it. If you were to purchase two PC3200 256MB you wouldn't notice a difference against PC2700 since your machine would only run as fast as its slowest member(s).

Edited February 26, 2007 by emajnthis

[VF-19]

Glad to be able to help!

Emajnthis: I know how much butt the 1900s kick. I've got two of them in my computer. However, when I turn on crossfire, I get shimmering on my LCD panel. From what I've been able to gather, it's due to the fact that I'm converting the DVI output on the videocards to VGA... And I don't have a choice on it... the panel is VGA only... But the price was right: Free (LCD, not the videocards)!

[emajnthis]

I've actually heard of that problem; my brother in fact is the one who experienced it and it is the exact same thing (LCD was too good to pass up but didn't have DVI). He's currently in the market for a cost effective LCD with DVI input to resolve it, but his rig is so fast as it is (without crossfire) it kind of doesn't matter. If your curious him and i built him the 4.2GHZ Overclocked D805 PC from Tom's Hardware's build it yourself article. Him and I built it with top of the line water cooling and pretty much the best hardware you could get, it was actually the first Intel we've built in about 4 years (we're AMD people). I've got to tell you that thing screams, and it only cost about 900 after you factor in all peripherals. As soon as some money frees up i'm going to build one for the house, and then wait until the hardware innovation slows down (Intel Quad cores, AMD following suit but then switching up to APU's in 2009, etc.).

Edited February 26, 2007 by emajnthis

[David Hingtgen]

For RAM---I'm now thinking about going with 2, 1GB 3200 chips now, replacing the originals. Why? Because like all HP's, the power supply is barely large enough, and according to online power calculators, having all 4 RAM slots active would take it to the limit taking into account the rest of my PC, especially if I get a new graphics card. Also, then I could have all 3200 instead of 2700. I'm actually more concerned about power consumption and speed, than capacity at the moment. (I could get 2 512MB 3200's instead, but that'd only be doubling my current RAM---I do like to keep my graphic editing programs open with multiple pics at once, all while online with a massive "undo" history---while I don't do it often, I do do it) Still deciding, but it's pretty much narrowed down to getting 2 PC3200 chips to replace my 2 PC2700 chips--only question is will the new ones be 512 or 1G each.

RAM question: my original PC2700 has a latency of only 2.5, but most all 3200 seems to have it at 3. I'd expect newer/better RAM to have a smaller latency, not greater. Would this be a factor at all really, if I plan to replace it all with 3 instead of adding more 2.5 to my original? Of course, this brings up the power thing again--but I doubt that 2.6v will really be that much of a strain compared to my (presumably) 2.5v original.

Also---saw several people recommend Crucial for memory. Good? They also have Radeon cards of the right price range. Also found a specific mention of Crucial's 3200 1GB RAM working with my exact PC.

Hopefully final RAM question: I like to have a LOT of files in particular folders on my PC (you can guess how many jet photos I have). One to two thousand. What (if anything) would increase the speed at which windows "loads" the folder to display them? (I've noticed it slows down notably past 1000 or so) RAM capacity/speed/latency? Processor?

VF-19, about the link you posted-I'm wondering if there's a typo---the Radeon XT1650 Pro is listed for both the 175 and 120 category---but it seems to be priced at 175 at most retailers. For the 120 category, do they mean the 1050?

[David Hingtgen]

Ok, reading more----currently getting even a cheap modern graphics looks to be a problem due to their power requirements. So now I'm thinking about a new power supply. Then, I could get most any card I want, and any memory I want and not have to worry about over-taxing the system. And could do many future upgrades as well.

And a new PS with my original plan of 1GB of new PC2700 memory, would probably be cheaper than 2GB of 3200 memory anyways.

So, how does one change a power supply? Easy, hard, risk of frying the PC the first time I attempt it? That's one of the few things I've never dealt with at all in a PC. Also, I have found the OEM supplier of my PC's powersupply, and going from 250W to 300W seems almost pointless and not future-proof at all, but they have a 450W one as well. http://www.power-on.com/ea450p.html

How are OEM ones in general? Because my current one (Their 250W) is quite quiet and reliable, after 4 years. I really want a QUIET one above all else. 99% of all Graphics cards want 300+ watts, and specify a certain amperage for the 12v rail. My current powersupply is well below both of those specs. Or would it be much more advisable to go with an aftermarket powersupply.

[Metal_Massacre_79]

Just picked up the Logitech MX 3200 wireless keyboard/mouse combo unit. This thing rocks! The mouse is comfortable and has quite a few programmable buttons on it (awesome for my CAD usage). The keyboard is cool too, since you can program some buttons to open specific programs, and a few of them can open your default browser to a specific page/site or search engine. Not bad for $100.

[kensei]

I just looked at a port replicator for my Tablet PC, and found that there was no audio out for it. For any one for that matter. I got a Logitech X-530 5.1 surround sound that I would really like to use on them.

I've been told to get USB Speakers, but that would be the suck. If there an adaptor that can take all three jacks and plug it into the USB port?

[VF-19]

Ok, reading more----currently getting even a cheap modern graphics looks to be a problem due to their power requirements. So now I'm thinking about a new power supply. Then, I could get most any card I want, and any memory I want and not have to worry about over-taxing the system. And could do many future upgrades as well.

And a new PS with my original plan of 1GB of new PC2700 memory, would probably be cheaper than 2GB of 3200 memory anyways.

So, how does one change a power supply? Easy, hard, risk of frying the PC the first time I attempt it? That's one of the few things I've never dealt with at all in a PC. Also, I have found the OEM supplier of my PC's powersupply, and going from 250W to 300W seems almost pointless and not future-proof at all, but they have a 450W one as well. http://www.power-on.com/ea450p.html

How are OEM ones in general? Because my current one (Their 250W) is quite quiet and reliable, after 4 years. I really want a QUIET one above all else. 99% of all Graphics cards want 300+ watts, and specify a certain amperage for the 12v rail. My current powersupply is well below both of those specs. Or would it be much more advisable to go with an aftermarket powersupply.

Well, it all depends on who makes the powersupply for the OEM company. But, if you've had no problems for 4 years with that brand of powersupply, then go right ahead and buy a 450 watt model. The one thing you have to watch out for is that as the powersupply ages, it won't be able to supply 450 watts anymore. I know this... because my 550 watt powersupply one day dipped below the minimum requirements for my computer, and it blew. No damage to the components, however.

As for the typo... I honestly don't know.