Flaser Posts

1. The motherboard is a poor choice as it lack several modern features:

a) No USB 3.0 connectors.
b) No SATA 3.0 connectors.
c) Only 2 expansion slots.

In other words, the board is *really* limited. Don't be frugal on your MOBO, it dictates your upgrade options for years to come! Unless you're on a really tight budget, get the latest tech you can, since otherwise you'll have to pay more down the road when you *do* upgrade!

d) The PCI-E slot is version 2.0. Granted PCI-E 3.0 won't be exploited by GPUs for a while (1/2 a year), so this is minor, but I'll list it for completion's sake.

Here is a PCI-E 3.0 MOBOs for ~$110. I know, it's double of what you want to spend on a MOBO, but the nice thing about not buying rock bottom is that these mid-range MOBOs can last for *years*. (I have desktops that are in operation for more than a decade). You might scoff at this now, but having a backup PC can be a godsend. What good is a 4-5 year old machine? For gaming? Useless. For browsing the net? Actually adequate. For getting work done when you gotta have a desktop? Priceless.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130621

...or here's a pair of PCI-E 2.0 MOBOs, but with both USB 3.0 & SATA 3.0:

ASRock H61M/U3S3 - $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157236

MSI PH61A-P35 (B3) - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130609

ASRock H67M (B3) - $80, this one also supports RAID
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157233

2. If you're only going to use a single GPU, a 600W PSU is waste. 450W is enough for anything. You can get this PSU for $45 (almost half of what a 600W costs, $35 after sending a mail-in rebate card):
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-CX430-V2-Power-Supply-Review/1284
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=CX430

1. The Intel board has both an optical and a wired S/PDIF output, so it's a good choice for any amp that has a digital input. (Any modern amp not marketed for rich audiophiles with little common sense does nowadays).

2. The integrated GPU is a lot weaker than what the Asus one had, however since you're using a discrete GPU this is non-issue. Having a HDMI output could come handy if you ever want to connect your PC to TV.

3. ...the PSU you chose though leaves a lot to be desired. You can reads it review here:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-eXtreme-Power-Plus-500-W-Power-Supply-Review/728/10



I doubt your configuration would put a load above 300W, however if you ever upgrade (another HDD or two, an SSD) you might run into the PSU's limitations.

The Corsair CX430 V2, costs the same, actually has the same performance (i.e. stable output at 400 Watts) but got flying colors for both efficiency and noise levels:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-CX430-V2-Power-Supply-Review/1284/10

If you want genuine 500W+ performance, you'll have to pay more. Possible candidate include:

ADATA BN-550W - $45
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/ADATA-BN-550-Power-Supply-Review/1268/10
Don't let that +50W fool you, this model has acceptable noise and efficiency ratings, but there's no way it'll outperform the models below.

The Antec High Current Gamer 520W - $70
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-High-Current-Gamer-520-W-Power-Supply-Review/1399/11

Enermax NAXN 80+ 600W or Corsair CX600 V2 (identical internals) $70-$80
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Enermax-NAXN-80+-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/1309/10

1. Are you sure you need a MOBO with an integrated GPU? Buying one without the feature can come handy, as it will leave more room for expansion slots, the board will cost less and the integrated GPU won't take up IRQ/DMA addresses.

2. Get more RAM. It's cheap and will be a godsend for multi-tasking (i.e. a million+1 programs and browsers pages open), video/image editing, rendering (should you ever take up these) or virtualisation (which you might find handy in the future).

3. Never use "green" hard drives as your system disk. These are typically 5400 RPM drives meant for storing large files (films, music, etc), where seek time is a non-issue.

Buy a fast (7200 RPM), 0.5-1.0 TiByte drive as your system disk and add more green disks if you need room for films, etc.

(Another tip: always create at least two partitions on your system disk. A 40-60 GiByte partition at the start of the disk for your system and program, the rest for data. That way if you ever reformat your system disk - like reinstalling your OS - your data will be still safe. This setup also requires moving your data folders (My Document, Pictures, etc., etc.) to the data partition).

If you've got lots of cash you might consider an SSD. For a system disk even 40 GiBytes is enough, though given how much XP has fattned over the years, I'd get at least a 60 GiByte device.

4. Do you truly need that sound card? The MOBO already has an integrated one capable of surround sound. Unless you edit music and need the card's MIDI capabilities (though nowadays you're better off with softsynths) it's just a waste of space. If you're a stickler for sound quality, the Creative sound card won't improve things a lot.

You will need an amplifier anyway for a good sound setup (unless you use active speakers, but in that case you're going for rock bottom in terms of sound quality). That best way to go then is to get an amp that accepts a digital input. If this is something important for you, get a MOBO that has a dedicated S/PDIF jack.

5. For once, I can't complain about the choice of PSU. Johyguru gave this one a big thumbs up:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=134

...however do you actually need 600W? Since you only have a single HDD, opctical drive and GPU, IMHO even 400W should be enough, heck, let's call it 450W (which I keep saying is enough for *anything*, unless you use SLI or Crossfire). If you want to go with SLI (since that's an NVidia card), it *might* be warranted.

Nope, the motherboard he linked has an integrated sound card.

Have you installed this driver?
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?ProductID=2229&DwnldID=19472〈=eng&iid=dc_rss

...how are your speakers connected? If through the front panel have you checked the product specification, on page. 38-39 whether you connected it correctly?

If you gave us the specific model of your motherboard we could give you more specific advice.

Then I've been misinformed. I did hear something to the note, that if you uninstall your OS you can "transfer" it to a new machine.... however you might need help with activating the OS. What about upgrading the license?

There are several tricks OEM (Original Equiment Manufacturer, tech lingo for a company assembling PCs) use to drive down the price of their desktops:

1. They install an OEM version of Windows. It can cost as little as 50% less then a boxed version of the OS. (What you're not told though, is that this OS can't be moved to a new machine and you'll have trouble upgrading whenever Windows 8,9, etc. come out). This can save them about $20-$50

2. They install cheap PSUs. This can save anothe $30-$50... and risks your whole system frying, which they can blame on your "dirty main line" (i.e. take it up with your electricity provider).

3. The buy bulk. This is the real killer and the one thing you can't compete with.

Things you can do:

a) Buy an OEM version of Windows 7 yourself.
b) Buy a quality PSU.
c) Buy used. I'm often amazed at what people throw out in the western world.
d) Reuse old parts. You don't have to buy a new case, often times you can use your old one. (...and buy a cheap case for your old PC and give it to your mom/nephew or use it as file/print server). Ditto for optical drive, or a quality PSU. Even the hard-disk.

Personal experience shared among several sysops. 6-5 years ago I could've said 350W. Since then, having several HDDs or optical drives has become common place and lately (3-4 years) GPUs started to hog more power. However unless you use SLI or Crossfire 450W is still more than enough.

The problem with "pre-built" computers is not wattage, it's quality. There are tons of PSUs out there, that are dirt cheap... and lack basic qualities one would want, such as noise filtering (from your mainline), surge protection and providing clean (only slight noise in holding current/voltage), stable power (voltage can't drop significantly under nominal loads). Since most consumers have no whatsoever idea about PSUs, OEMs tend to skimp on these (..you can skimp as much as $50/machine x 100-200 machines a month... a nifty sum).

Check these two links I've already posted earlier:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/page/power

...especially these articles:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Why-99-Percent-of-Power-Supply-Reviews-Are-Wrong/410
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Power-Supplies-With-Fake-80-Plus-Badges/1054
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Hardware-Secrets-Power-Supply-Test-Methodology/522

Sigh... for the umpteenth time: 450W is enough for ANYTHING. As long as your PSU isn't a no name, shit tier, POS, you don't need a high wattage model. (In fact buying a shit tier, high wattage model is a waste of money as it will still be an unreliable POS that can kill your whole system).

0. Buy a reliable PSU. Whether you upgrade anything else, this is a good investment as cheap models can fry your whole system. No name manufacturers shamelessly lie! That sticker on that awesomely cheap 800W PSU is just that... a sticker. Such shit tier products usually can't even deliver 50% of their nominal wattage when under load.

Check these sites on what are good models (most PSU reviews aren't worth the paper they were printed on, as they don't do *any* tests):

http://www.jonnyguru.com/
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/page/power

1. Check whether your motherboard has a PCI-E slot. (Some cheap models don't! All they have is an integrated graphics card).
2. Check what form (normal or low profile) of graphics card your computer case can accept.
3. Look for a card from the latest generation and the one before it. It's better to buy an entry/consumer grade card from the last generations than a top tier card from an older line. For Ati this means HD 5xxx and 6xxx cards.

Z (1969) - This film is very relevant to the discussion. It's a french film about what happened to a Greek politician on the left, how the parakratikous killed him, how an conscientious prosecutor still digged up the truth despite pressure from everywhere and how the system tried to cover it all up.

Check it out if you haven't seen it yet:



...and the interesting bit? All of the above is based on real events, when there was massive demonstrations against the establishment.

“Any resemblance to real events, to persons living or dead, is not accidental. It is DELIBERATE.”



Read more here:http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/8943/z/

I have to answer with a "nope". When Lehman brothers was closed European business were in an uproar as they've become insolvent overnight and couldn't operate anymore... now multiply that by a x100 fold. For the short term, financial collapse would be a *given*.

Long term, the economy would probably pull itself together, but you'd have shortages of various products for quite a while and rocketing prices.

For manga you have www.mangaupdates.com for almost any franchise a doujin could be based on.

Personally I prefer tomboys, since they tend to be more unrestrained and easy going... not to mention understanding of my "hobbies".

First financial, then economic collapse. The world economy is too inter connected to survive the sudden disappearance of one of its pillars and the fact that world finance is tied to the dollar makes it all the more likely.

How damn pampered are you guys? It's not like getting into gear is a big work, me I think at least I have something to do get a work out... and the clutch on my car is damn strong! Whenever I sit in another car, I'm surprised how soft the clutch is and I can't believe you guys could tire that easily.

All a pittance compared to the real cost of running for anything: advertisement. Radio/TV time is ridiculously expensive and are the means of getting your word out, making the people acknowledge you as a public figure.

This is going to sound Marxist, but mandating that all media has to assign a portion of their prime time to election advertisements - free of charge! - could go a long way to lower the costs. How get time-slot gets divided is the tricky question though that I have no ready recipe for.

I have the usual complaint about your post Dollci. You're mixing up genuine fact with conspiracy theory and libertarian propaganda. Zeitgeist, Alex Jones and Jesse Ventura are examples of the former, Ron Paul is an example of the later.

I'd rather leave my concerns with Ron Paul and libertarianism out of this, however you citing him and the libertarian movement as basic sources of information on the realities of modern finance is in-genuine. Yes, a lot of what they say is true... however what they say should be done about the issues is not a self evident truth, but a conscious choice based upon one's political values.

As a matter of fact I've posted several videos in the past that highlighted the issue you speak of, but did without either the hammed up idiocy of conspiracy theorists or political agenda.

Here's an example:


The fact that you're still talking about "government debt" shows, that you fundamentally still don't understand how modern money "works". Money is not a natural phenomenon, it's a man-made invention, and for the most part is an inherently intellectual one. It has no inherent value, it takes human belief to make it so.

It is possible to save your whole profile, but it's a tad more complicated. You'll have to backup the folder where your profile is. When you've reinstalled your OS, you start Firefox in profilemanager mode and create a profile from the backed up folder.

In Windows XP your profile's in:
C:\Documents and SettingsUserName\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\ProfilesProfilename
In Windows Vista/7 your profile is saved in:
C:\UsersUserName\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\ProfilesProfilename

...you can confirm this, by running Firefox with the -profilemanager parameter.
Press Windows+R, write "firefox -profilemanager" (without parenthesis), press Enter.




...when you finally want to restore your old profile, select "Create Profile"



...select the folder of your backed up, old profile and start Firefox with the newly created (actually restored) profile.

More info can be found here:
https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Managing-profiles#w_starting-the-profile-manager

Trimmed and shaved every once in a while.