The (new) Official PC building thread!

Very little. Alas, the corner of the heatspreader is missing, of sorts.

 

Do you guys have any recommendations on Laptops? I saw a 13.3inch Macbook today and I was looking for something like that without the Apple logo. I am considering the MSI Wind but it's got no optical drive. Basically I want a decent looking Laptop not too big and that looks nice(so not that Acer Laptop Russ, lol!).

Anybody got any idea? I'll gladly buy used around the 500 dollar range.

 

I actually purchased Russ' laptop, and it is great, and extremely fast, but I converted it XP Pro from Vista, which made it much faster.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5270 (1.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache) for $549, and with XP. Unfortunately, earlier this week it was priced at $494, which my daughter purchased....fairly fast puter, after I loaded all the necessary software she needed, including McAfee anti-virus and firewall.

http://www.dell.com/content/product...nb_1500?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~tab=bundlestab

I would also check out Lenovo, for they normally have XP laptops for sale.

Best of luck.

 

How about this? I can get it for under 400 and it looks nice too.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=42591

 

abuzar,

I resent that! The Aspire 5610 is a very nice looking laptop. Very intelligently laid out and has the best keyboard I've ever used in a laptop. Very thin and has a 15.4 Widscreen that is magnificent @1200x800! Built rugged as hell to boot!

As far as the plastic vs Aluminum covers, normal wear the plastic is much better. I've seen enough aluminum covers and they all get to looking very second hand fairly quick. They also scratch and dent fairly easy.

Here's a few views, and I see nothing in the looks dept that would keep me from buying one. I'm curious the find out what it is you don't like, since Sytyguy loves it!











Respectfully,
Russ

 

That actually looks nice, not what I was expecting. I've seen other Acer laptops, and I was expecting something different.

Anyway what about the Laptop I picked. Do you like it? You have to admit, it's pretty nice looking.

 

Yes nice Lappy there Russ or should I say SytyGuy....

Now Boozer you really gonna pick a Lappy by the looks or what's inside and how it handles abuse?? btw I did like the looks of that Asus... lol. Ironically enough I was just talking to the little lady about getting a Lappy in the next year or so just for internet beating and watching movies on the road... Great idea from the mind of Russ....

....gm

btw it looks like a HDD problem with that work computer.. I'll know better by next weekend.. Don't have the time to fool with it right now..

 

I mean it's decent. It's got a centrino CPU, Radeon Graphics that can run Half Life 2, 1GB of RAM. Enough for Internet Surfing and playing Advent Rising(the most amazing game EVER made). It's only 400 and I've heard it's solidly built.

 

abuzar1,

I'ts a couple of years old, but it isn't a current model and it's still only single core. I'm guessing the last of the Centrino Technology, just before the C2D came in for laptops. You are right they do look nice, but everyone I've come across with miles on them looks bad. The Anodizing wears off very easy. About the same look you get from the Red Aluminum Sanyo Cell phones. They look ugly after only a few months of use! It looked good on the performance chart, but it also was the fastest CPU they tested, so it should be faster than the slower CPUs they tested it against! Slow 4200 rpm HDD and slow 533MHz Memory compared to 5700 rpm and 666 DDR2 memory, and a 16:10 screen. That's why the oddball screen resolution of 1280x768. I think you can do better if you look around. Dual Cores have been around for a while now so you should be able to find a decent one for around the same money. Be especially picky when it comes to the screen as there's a lot of difference between the cheap screens and the better ones. The Acer SyTyGuy bought from me had the good "Crystal Brite" screen and it's performance has definitely raised the bar for me when I purchase a new monitor. I'm sure SyTyGuy will agree with me when I say it's the best picture I've ever seen on any monitor!

cincyrob,
Do me a favor and lose those damn core temps please! Just use the CPU temp since that's the most meaningful. A lot easier to figure out what the hell you are trying to say too when you are bouncing back and forth between them! The core temps are virtually meaningless. Useful for determining if you've suddenly lost a core, but pretty useless otherwise! Throttling is controlled by the CPU Temp so you can see how concerned Intel is about them!

Sandra has been giving unknown errors for as long as I've been using it, and that's about 4 years now. Almost all are meaningless and has more to do with the software not detecting something it's looking for. I can't get any Environmental Variables with mine, which is the latest version. That's all right, they didn't work on any of my last 4 motherboards either, going all the way back to the P4P-800SE. I doubt if there is anything wrong at all! I don't even bother to look at the error messages anymore! I've almost never gotten temps or Voltages, and I don't expect things to change in the near future since they haven't changed much over the last 4 years. I wouldn't worry about it!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Well, the fan's back on my CPU heatsink, an hour of gaming - CPU temp 42C. Much more like it...
I've also rigged up a dual fan controller system - as simple as it sounds really, but this means I have the flexibility of 0-12V on some lines, and a toggle switch for 0/5/12V, which I'm currently using for my graphics fan. 5V for desktop, 12V for games. Works a treat, it's not that noisy at full speed, and the core of the GPU barely breaks 50C at load, barely breaks 40 at idle.

 

So I found another one. This guy is sellnig it brand new for 500! Here are the specs that he posted.

Intel Core Duo processor T2330 (1MB L2 Cache/1.60GHz/533MHz FSB)
15.4" WXGA TFT widescreen display with XBRITE-ECO technology and 1280 x 800 resolution
1GB DDR2 Memory 160GB SATA (5400 rpm) Hard Drive
DVD Burner (DVD+ -RW)/+ - R DL/RAM
I.link(IEEE 1394) port and card reader
Windows Vista Home Premium
Wireless 802.11a/b/g LAN
1 Year Manufacturer Warranty

Hopefully I can get Vista off there. Even if I can't it's still good because this laptop will only see light use. I also love the simplistic design. Here is a review.

http://www.notebookreview.com/defau...0E/S+-+Pentium+Dual+Core+T2330+1.6+GHz+-+15.4

 

LMAO....

Russ your to funny buddy...well hell if ijust look at my CPU temp then im golden so to say. 28-30c at idle is way sweet.39-42c under load. guess im good than huh???

getting ready to use that $30 credit from newegg. gonna get me a RED round ide cable 24in so i can put my ODD back towards the top of my case where they look better..lol plus getting a card reader finally.

sad thing the shiping on the cable is more than the cable that sucks..

Cable
reader

should i look at others instead of these?

 

OR I could get a 13" Macbook for 450. I think I will go ahead with the Macbook and install XP on it.

 

To be honest, that'd probably be easier than putting XP back on a laptop that used to have Vista - not all manufacturers are very forgiving for providing drivers.

Rob: Temps look pretty solid - about the same as I get, your idle temp is slightly lower, but that's to be expected given my minimal case airflow.

 

Yeah and that was the original form factor I was looking for.

 

ok i dont know which of these are better than the other any input?

the rounds cables i have in my HP system they say ultra ide 133/100 are they any better than the ones i chose or is it just wording from the manufacturer?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...6,N82E16812104304&page=2&bop=And&Order=RATING

well 2 of the ones i chose arent available.

think im gonna get this one instead. i now its not red..lol
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812104043

 

remember the asus vs Gigbayte thing?

(russ im looking at you )

well gigabtye aplogized. and becuase of that asus decided to drop the charges.

gigabyte showed a pic of a blown capictor on an asus board, saying it wasnt stable, but it turned out it was from another company, not asus, and its was a GFX CARD :O

defnd that russ?

 

I still stand for Gigabyte still as a manufacturer of motherboards in the sectors usually used, but I don't defend any company that starts a lawsuit over something like this. It's corporate petty bullying, and it's absurd.

 

abuzar,

since you are wanting to reformat the laptop you get using XP or XP Pro, be sure there are XP drivers available for that model before you buy it. most will have XP drivers but they can be hard to find sometimes. good luck with whatever you go with.

 

i still stand by companies that have failed like GB just did. a companies personal problems dont affect me, aslong as they are not goign under, untill they screw their customer, i will buy their products, if they are good enough, in the prce bracket im looking at.

UNLIKE Nvidia. aslong as they have the customers money, and they have given them 2/3 driver updates, they seem to forget those customers.

i mean the fact that the 9800pro has more updates than a 8800GTX this year, just takes the piss.

the fact that ANY bsods i have had in vista (only 64 bit, i havent ever had any in 32 (well one, due to an Nvidia beta driver) are due to nvidia, and they wont do anything.


them and creative are off my ist, unless they can improve. yes creative and nvidia's products overshadow their competitors, and are damned good, but unless they wanna take care of their customer, they can F' off.