skorv

CPU : that one is nice nut you shoud go for a AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ at least if you want to get that GT7800 to work at its best.GFX: GIGABYTE is not a bad choice.... but go for ASUS or MSI cuz they perform better. but you really need that much gfx power?CASE: Take a look at Thermaltake, specially the watter coller ready models, they sould look and perfome niceRAM: All ok thereHDD: good choice, but also check Hitachi and Seagate.... but WD is a very very good choice...Motherboard? go for ASUS!

its not every day you see a deep freezee computer

This is one of the reasons i dont like wireless networks....Well the router is handling ips in the 192.168.1.xxx range so its DHCP is working.I dont know that particular trademark but i do know routers.... and often the problem is in their own configuration..... you should do some tests just to check if it is working correctly.Use the basic ip range and manually set the ip in every computer, then check if you have a good connection. then try to use the 192.168.0.XXX range and see if the router responds with a connection.... the operating system can also be the problem.... try XP SP2 Pro for a change and see if it works better... i kind of hate the home version. as for firewall, xp firewall sucks so its better not having any than that thing on. use a professional one.... one that you can costomize for your network needs... and no NORTON or Panda apps please..... my solution is Kaspersky Personal Pro AV and Look'n'Stop firewall.... and dont make jokes about this firewall prog that has only little over 1Mb instalation, because its one of the best arround.Hope this has helped you

First of all, buying a processor is like buying a car, better yet, buying a engine for a car.You got to find one that fits "all your processing needs".AMD Sempron or Intel Celeron are design for the entry level computing. Sure, they're fast and can do loads of stuff, but comparing them with a more "serious" processor its like comparing a Mini with a Ferrari. Sempron/Celeron based systems are often used for basic computing needs such as office apps (WORD/EXCEL/...) and little more. When it comes to gaming their performance is not what we would expect from a GHz machine.So, if you only use your PC for Office Apps and internet, Sempron is a better choice than Intel's Celeron any day of the week and twice at sundays . On the other hand if you're into gaming and love getting the crispy end out of it... you should really go for a Athlon 64... AMD models are faster, cooler, and cheaper then their Intel counterparts. AMD has 2 usable processing lines for the average gamer: the Dual-Core 64 X2 and the 64-FX (55 & 57). My favorite among these monsters is the 64 X2 4600+, a very balanced option and a good performance/value ratio, but if you want a single core.. the FX57 is still the best out there. For Intel there is a "nice" price tag on their performance processors, in other words they're expensive, and most of the times the extra cash wont deliver that much performance... In my opinior you should go for AMD 64-X2 4600+....But remember that a car isnt engine alone...Graphics play a important role these days so dont forget to suit a graphic card to your needs. Office apps requere little graphic power, games on the other hands are nutz for power. NVIDIA and ATI both have nice GPUs, so take a peek and find what suites you more... aim low if you're computer runs office apps and little more and aim hi if you are a gamer and have loads of money to spend. if you're like me a nice NVIDIA midrange would do fine. Sound is also important, but here is usually your pocket that decides.Good Ram... Fast Ram... GOOD PC... remember that. And use a good amout of it too.Motherboards are like the chassis of a car.... better get a good one than having problems fitting everythinng in. ASUS and MSI are very good...Dont forget the cooler.... because if it gets to hot.... bye bye processor... Thermaltake has some neet and good coolers, and cases btw... and if you like it quiet go for a watter cooling system.Here on, you're pretty much on your own... hard disks, CD / DVD recorders... there pretty much end user choice.... but i'll leave you one advice about this... Hitachi is former IBM so its good, Seagate is not that bad anymore, Western Digital has great hard drives, Maxtor has what used to be Quantum but they're not that good. As for optical drives... LG is a very good choice....if you need some personal advice and need to talk... add skorv@hotmail.com to your msn..."Always" there if you need more help. Intel Rules.... since when?

It really depends on what you do and what you do with it really.If you are a guy/girl who needs to do stuff ant home and doesnt really need to take his/her computer anywhere, you should definitly stick to a PC.On the other hand, if you are always on the move and/or need to work anywhere you go, buy a notebook as fast as you can or you will go nuts with a home PC.If you are like me (computer techician) who needs a steady machine and a away-from-home computer... you should have both!The type of computer or notebook to buy is also determed by what that computer will run, either office apps or hi end game or designing apps.For home operation you should consider a "All-In-One" type of pc. This way your computer will be able to perform all types of tasks, from running MS Word/Excel and other office applications, as well as gaming and multimedia, as movie and dvd viewing.You should consider a broad multimedia choice sarting by a good screen and speaker set. The CPU has to be at least in the latest generation. I would advise you to go for AMD for its higher performance in all apps and games. +1Gb is recomended, but i would advice at least 2Gb, i know... its a little more expencive, but at least you wont run out of memory that easely. In graphics same applies, a good medium range PCI-Express Nvidia or ATI (choose your flavor) should go nice. if you want to go all the way go for SLI and Hi End GFX card. which bring me to motherboard choice. here i'm a little picky... i would definitly go for a hi end motherboard which assures me greater evolution possibilities without changing it. Asus is a nice bet for both motherboard and gfx card. as for storage... a western digital raptor is the way to go for a primary hard drive, leaving a slower hard disk for storage purposes. as for optical drives, you should get both DVD-ROM and DVD-R Drives. the casing and PSU should be reliable, but also good looking. there my choice goes to thermaltake for the casing and turbo-cool for the psu. as for cooling, keeping your computer cool is a priority. a good airflow case with the aid of a good cooler may be good, but a water cooled system runs cooler, therefore better. you should take this in consideration. and as for Desktops, i'm done.Now to laptops/notebooks.They also come in lots of flavors. ultra portable, value and desktop replacement would be the 3 main groups. and as before, what you want to do comes into play.if you need a computer on the go, go for ultra portable (that meens more $$$, but also less features and more operating time). some of the new ultraportable or small portable come with double layer dvdr units and work with +2GHz cpu, others, like the newest sony vaio work with 1.2GHz cpu put its battery last 7h. value notebooks are not to be bought, they're not as though as ultraportable and desktop replacement notebooks, they sometimes lack important features and can have more hardware problems. desktop replacement notebooks are exactly what they meen, a notebook who has a processing power and set of features that would make your desktop cry with envy. i would go for a ultraportable or small notebook, for its easyer use and set of features, that even being less powerfull that of the desktop replacements, are also cable of medium range gaming and dvd play. they sould cost +/-2000€.I need both so i will go for both really soon.;)Sk

Try to take a look on what is running in the background using task manager....Norton apps dont mix up well with other firewall/Antivirus programs....Use Karpersky Antivirus Pro and Look'n'Stop firewall, it will save you a great deal of memory and make your computer work faster...Try to keep your windows updated, as well as your NVIDIA drivers.... a wrong or old graphics driver can cause those crashes... just a thought...Remove MSN Messenger, use GAIM... its free and problem free...dont use Internet explorer or Outlook express.... try to use Mozilla apps like Firefox and Thunderbird.... their better, and a lot safer...Also, Kasperky AV PRo may clean your pc better from infections and threats...Hope this has helped you;)Sk

;)It feels like since... well... ever that I read Toms HardWare Guide almost daily... for me this is just the best hardware review site today... But as my knowledge goes, there aren't much more sites of this quality arround....Please leave your comments...;)Sk

Pentium D vs Pentium 4.....Get a AMD! Athlon 64 X2 4800+ or Athlon 64 FX-53....I dont really like intel...

I use a simple setup at work.... ADSL Trought a CPU Gateway/Firewall (Win2k ICS Machine). Since i have a Speedtouch 510 (4-port router), with a buited-in firewall, my network is safe and my web access is very fast (4Mbit). At home i use ICS on Windows XP to give internet to everyone.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus is my favourite... Norton AntiVirus (NAV) looks like a kid compared with Kaspersky...But... on the other hand...USE LINUX YOU DUMMIE!

my design for a *almost* perfect gaming machineAthlon 64 X2 4800+Asus A8N-SLI Premium MotherboardAsus Extreme N7800 GTX-2DHTV in SLI Mode Graphics CardAt least 2Gb DDR400 from KingstonWestern Digital Raptor 74Gb/10k RPM Primary DiskHitachi Deskstar 7K500 500Gb Secondary Disk (never runs out of space)(more disks could be in but i would stick to aditional 7K500 HHDs... no more trouble with space)DVD-R and DVD-ROM Drives from LGThermaltake Armour Black Casing with BigWater SE water cooling systemTurbo-Cool® 850 SSI 850W PSUCreative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty™ FPS Sound CardCreative GigaWorks™ S750 Speaker SystemProbably LG M1940A 17" LCD MonitorYe... That would be a heck of a machine

I do think that Laptops/Notebooks are one and the same thing... some brands like to call them one way or the other, but basically they meen portable computers.I dont really understand all the fuss about this question anyway...

for the tuning enthusiasts like myself the answer is clear.... Juiced or StreetRacing Syndicate..... NFS 2 Underground should be there too

Time and time again we've (computer technicians) experienced problems not only because of bad casing but also by horific PSUs. There is no cheap alternative if you're aiming for perfection, on looks, expandability, cooling and power.... One of the best All-In-On solution comes from Thermaltake, The "Armour" SuperTower. ATX format can be easely converted to BTX format with a small upgrade. in therms of cooling, its the best i ever saw, even the HDD Casing on 5.25" (takes up 3 drive bays) has active cooling. it can be fitted in a water cooling system also by thermaltake called big water (try the special edition, it looks better to me) The only con i see is its size... but in looks, expandability and cooling it exceeds by far anithing else. as for power, it can come without a PSU and you can select one yourself, or you can select one of the many thermaltake very reliable PSUs from 350w to 680w, including some fanless systems. Termaltake is a All-In-One Solution brand. Check it out at http://www.thermaltake.com/ Sk

Ok... Here i go!Asus Notebooks are excelent, but their value can be somewhat pricy...Toshiba Notebooks are good, but also expensive...Acer Notebooks can apear good but some suffer from manufacturing defects and some may leed to trouble while waiting for replacement.HP Notebooks are... well... Compaq... the matrix usually gives in after the warranty expires...Sony Vaio are very good notebooks, for portability as well as desktop replacement, but prepare to pay a lot...Clasus is a portuguese brand that has 3 year warranty, its a good performance/value aquisition.Mitac (portuguese again) is not to be bought, period!Aopen barebooks (notebooks that you can costom build) are very good and a good way to get a good and cheap nootbooksthere are more brands, but these i know....Sk