Search found 285 matches

by Admiral LSD
Sun Sep 18, 2011 7:49 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: turnoff indexing on a Vista laptop?
Replies: 7
Views: 726

Re: turnoff indexing on a Vista laptop?

Defraggler, made by the same people behind CCleaner is pretty good as well.
by Admiral LSD
Mon Sep 12, 2011 6:54 am
Forum: PTMC Cafe
Topic: Desktops of 2011
Replies: 104
Views: 14553

Re: Desktops of 2011

New computer, new wallpaper:

Image
by Admiral LSD
Sat Sep 10, 2011 10:30 am
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: The 2011 Post your PC's and Workstations Thread
Replies: 19
Views: 11855

Re: The 2011 Post your PC's and Workstations Thread

The Genom Tower once again lords it over the city of MegaTokyo: Intel Core i5-2500K Intel DH67GDB3 Xigmatek S12283W "Dark Knight" CPU cooler (with modifications to make it truly a "dark" knight >: D) 8GB (2 x 4GB) Silicon Power DDR3-1333 1GB Sapphire Radeon 6850 DVR-219L DVD-RW 1...
by Admiral LSD
Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:02 am
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Laptop Trouble
Replies: 13
Views: 1746

I recently repaired a Toshiba and an oddity I noticed with the recovery system they use is that the HDD has to be blank or else it would get itself caught up in a constant reboot loop with no feedback whatsoever. Once I'd removed all the partitions the recovery started without a hitch. This was a 20...
by Admiral LSD
Wed Nov 04, 2009 6:57 pm
Forum: PTMC Cafe
Topic: Ubuntu 9.10 is out.
Replies: 17
Views: 2594

If 9.04 works for you then skipping 9.10 might not be that bad an idea. The next release, 10.04 (or Lucid Lynx), will not only be an LTS, but they're promising to be more conservative and put a stronger focus on testing and bugfixing. If they pull it off then not only will they have the best, most p...
by Admiral LSD
Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:07 am
Forum: PTMC Cafe
Topic: Desktops of 2009!
Replies: 158
Views: 25208

heh, Terminal Velocity. I have that kicking around here somewhere, might bust it out in DOSBox for old times sake at some point. Anyway, to make this post less of a complete waste of time, here's the first major wallpaper change I've made on anything in years: http://www.hexellent.com/files/26/Netbo...
by Admiral LSD
Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:02 am
Forum: PTMC Cafe
Topic: Ubuntu 9.10 is out.
Replies: 17
Views: 2594

I installed it on an old Eee 900 I \"inherited\", but before that I was running the test versions in vBox. It's a nice improvement over 9.04 in some areas, but it's still suffering from the \"feature bleed\" (where certain features are deprecated and/or removed entirely without s...
by Admiral LSD
Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:23 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: New PC build
Replies: 36
Views: 4320

I think it's less nVidia not wanting to do anything about it and more that there isn't much they can do. They simply can't produce G200 GPUs in sufficient numbers to sell them profitably. These problems look likely to spill over into G300 production as well which is going to make things a whole lot ...
by Admiral LSD
Sun Oct 18, 2009 9:39 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Considering upgrading workstation
Replies: 21
Views: 2912

Pretty much any single socket dual or quad core setup will smoke that these days, but if you have your heart set on a dual CPU setup then you probably want to be looking at the 5500-series Gainestown (Nehalem) Xeons and the associated 5500-series Tylersburg chipset as a starting point. It won't be c...
by Admiral LSD
Sun Oct 18, 2009 9:16 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: New PC build
Replies: 36
Views: 4320

Yeah, definitely go for a Lynnfield if you're buying now (and have your heart set on DDR3). As Krom points out, both the i5-750 and the i7-860 are not only cheaper than the Q9650 (which was never worth it over the Q9550 anyway) you're looking at, they give it a decent hiding at the same time. Pricin...
by Admiral LSD
Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:59 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Slow transfers in OSX on flash drives
Replies: 14
Views: 1525

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it because I'm fairly certain Windows disables it on removable drives by default, but could it be Windows write caching giving the false impression that writes are happening faster than or even when they appear to be? If OS X doesn't do any write caching ...
by Admiral LSD
Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:09 pm
Forum: PTMC Cafe
Topic: UI question
Replies: 13
Views: 1064

If Project Natal (or here) ever works as well in the real world as it does in MS demos, then something like this wouldn't be that much of a stretch. I think it'll be a while before we see anything like what MS are claiming in the real world though.
by Admiral LSD
Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:53 am
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: 64 bit and RAM
Replies: 29
Views: 3419

That board is based on the 975X chipset which shouldn't have the 4GB shenanigans the 945 does. It only supports 8GB RAM though so you're only option if you want more RAM is another pair of 2GB DIMMs. If you're running BIOS 1506 or later check under Advanced -> Chip Configuration to see if the Memory...
by Admiral LSD
Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:56 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: 64 bit and RAM
Replies: 29
Views: 3419

/me points to his earlier comment about the 945 I think we need a practical demonstration... http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6240/32243293.th.jpg On the left it says the machine has 4GB RAM installed but if you add the numbers in the Activity Monitor window up, they come to 3GB. Before you say \&qu...
by Admiral LSD
Mon Aug 03, 2009 11:19 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: i ubuntued it.
Replies: 44
Views: 4920

That's hte thing with Linux. For all the progress they've made over the last decade or so in making it at least somewhat usable when it works, you're still mostly screwed if you don't have a CS degree when it doesn't. Which happens far more often than the developers up their in their ivory towers wa...
by Admiral LSD
Mon Aug 03, 2009 8:11 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: 64 bit and RAM
Replies: 29
Views: 3419

What's your motherboard chipset? The Intel 945 (used in plenty of late model P4/early Core 2 desktops as well as an entire generation of Centrino laptops), in particular, has a fixed 4GB address space with no option to remap the MMIO space above the system RAM space meaning that, 64-bit OS or otherw...
by Admiral LSD
Tue Jul 28, 2009 12:24 am
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: video conversion
Replies: 7
Views: 1533

HandBrake might be able to do it, but I've never used it so I can't really say for sure.
by Admiral LSD
Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:03 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: KABOOM! Time for a new vid card...
Replies: 11
Views: 1451

Re:

Actually 48xx ATI cards do use a wee bit less power but interestingly manage to generate more heat than equivalent nVidia cards ( ref . Dig around on that site for some more good info). One of the reasons for this, particularly on the 4850, is some of the coolers ATi used on their reference designs...
by Admiral LSD
Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:16 am
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: KABOOM! Time for a new vid card...
Replies: 11
Views: 1451

heh, I didn't want to be the one that brought ATi up but since you opened the door ATi still have some of the best value options out there. Particularly now the 4890 has moved the 4870 down to where the 4850 was a few months ago. If your heart is set on nVidia though then something like the 275 is p...
by Admiral LSD
Sun Jul 26, 2009 10:51 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Need Pricing Help!?
Replies: 23
Views: 2540

Looking at that, it has most of the right connectors already. The 285 you linked only needs a pair of 6 pin power connectors instead of 6 + 8 like some of the other higher end cards, so you're covered there. The fact it only has a single pair of SATA power connectors would be annoying, but you can g...
by Admiral LSD
Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:41 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Need Pricing Help!?
Replies: 23
Views: 2540

I couldn't remember what the exact numbers were off-hand, I just had the number '10%' and '16%' in my head for some reason. If it's actually lower then that just reinforces the point. As for the PSU, I wasn't 100% sure about that either. \"600W\" should be enough for that system, even with...
by Admiral LSD
Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:39 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Need Pricing Help!?
Replies: 23
Views: 2540

If the CPU is as valuable as you seem to think it is then you should probably sell at least that seperately. Given current pricing for DDR1, you might be able to get a bit for that too. The rest of the system isn't going to be worth all that much given its age, but it's still probably worth more sep...
by Admiral LSD
Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:30 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Need Pricing Help!?
Replies: 23
Views: 2540

Also, from what I understand, Core 2 gains virtually nothing from running DDR3 over DDR2 so unless you're getting a really good deal on the mobo/RAM you're probably better off saving a bit of money and dropping back to a DDR2 setup. A better idea though is to wait a few more weeks and see how Core i...
by Admiral LSD
Fri Jul 17, 2009 7:24 pm
Forum: PTMC Cafe
Topic: Best Sega Genesis 16bit emulator
Replies: 6
Views: 909

I used to use Gens, but I switched to Kega Fusion a few years back because of issues I was having with Gens that weren't being fixed because it wasn't getting updated:

http://www.eidolons-inn.net/tiki-index.php?page=kega
by Admiral LSD
Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:58 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: upgrade to windows 7 from xp
Replies: 12
Views: 1329

Yeah, it's basically a pre-baked XP image that you run from Virtual PC within Win7. What seperates it from simply virtualising XP though is how it's integrated into the OS. Applications installed into the virtual XP will be added to the 7 hosts Start menu and they're able to \"break out\" ...
by Admiral LSD
Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:59 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: upgrade to windows 7 from xp
Replies: 12
Views: 1329

The major reason I never ran Vista was my main system at the time was my Athlon XP 3000+, a system that never had any real hope of being able to run Vista well. While I liked what I saw in the betas and I did run XP for nearly two years before finally building a system that could run that well, the ...
by Admiral LSD
Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:16 am
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: The 2009 Post your PC's and Workstations Thread
Replies: 23
Views: 8230

Re:

Wow you spent a Minimum of $659 dollars on an O/S for Gaming..... funny thing that Server2008 plays games??? oh and could you give me the details on how you accomplished the Desktop Experience Uhh... Are you talking about this: http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4176/18510748.th.jpg ? http://www.hexe...
by Admiral LSD
Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:20 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: upgrade to windows 7 from xp
Replies: 12
Views: 1329

The RC build is a free download from MS until the 20th of August and will remain fully usable until March next year so just grab a copy and see for yourself. It's the best way by far to get a handle on what the new OS offers and whether or not it's worth it to you: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us...
by Admiral LSD
Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:16 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Win7 drivers?
Replies: 6
Views: 969

Yeah, I've had decent luck with it overall too. The one exception, and the reason behind my above recommendations, is the nForce2-based Athlon XP. The chipset drivers were available on WU, but the LAN driver wasn't installed with the OS. The Silicon Image SATA controller also wasn't supported in the...
by Admiral LSD
Wed Jul 15, 2009 8:42 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Win7 drivers?
Replies: 6
Views: 969

Windows 7 should offer most of the drivers you need to get up and running out of the box with a large chunk of the rest being available through Windows Update after you're up and running. It's not perfect, but the good news is that 9 times out of 10 you can use Vista drivers to plug any gaps that mi...
by Admiral LSD
Sat Jul 11, 2009 7:43 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: What the...?
Replies: 6
Views: 862

I got that on my system too. I never bothered finding a solution though since, after seeing what my monitor did to FS2 at 1024x768, I didn't even want to think about what FS1 at 640x480 would like like. In the end I just installed FS2_Open and the FSPort. It's not the same but it's about as close as...
by Admiral LSD
Fri Jul 10, 2009 12:23 am
Forum: PTMC Cafe
Topic: Your first gaming console you ever had
Replies: 42
Views: 4862

Technically, the first console we had was an Atari 2600. It was one of the early ones with the faux-woodgrain panelling given to us by my aunt and uncles family. However, we didn't have it all that long and I didn't get to play it all that much because we sold it in order to buy a Sega Master System...
by Admiral LSD
Thu May 28, 2009 9:24 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Vista SP2 is Available
Replies: 13
Views: 1818

I think MS have mostly given up on pushing Vista at this point. SP1 fixed most of the major issues with it, \"validating its use\", but it wasn't enough to shake off the stigma attached to it. Couple that with the netbook explosion and it never stood a chance. SP2 mostly seems like an XP S...
by Admiral LSD
Sun May 03, 2009 9:13 am
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Wireless Mice
Replies: 14
Views: 1607

Re:

Krom wrote:Don't worry about the internal battery, one charge is sufficient for more than a week of heavy use and it charges in a few hours from empty.
That's still nowhere near as good as once-a-year battery changes ;)
by Admiral LSD
Sun May 03, 2009 1:03 am
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Wireless Mice
Replies: 14
Views: 1607

I've been using wireless mice for 5-6 years, ever since my old wired Explorer died and the weight had never really bothered me. Depending on the batteries you use, it's not that much heavier than a wired mouse. I'd never use rechargable bateries or buy a mouse with a rechargable pack though as they ...
by Admiral LSD
Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:33 pm
Forum: Descent Old Skool
Topic: Music in the Shareware version of Descent 1
Replies: 17
Views: 7381

Maybe (I could have sworn even Creative had dumped hardware MIDI as well...), but that SoundFont bank got stored in main memory which the Live hammered the PCI bus to access. That was one of the reasons it was such a prick of a card.
by Admiral LSD
Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:59 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Latest Gaming Rig Configuation - See any red flags?
Replies: 31
Views: 2712

I've been running various WDs for something like 5-6 years. Not out of any personal preference, they're just what the local PC shops stock. All of them are, at last check, still working fine. Hard drive reliability is a fickle thing though. I can sit here and say my WDs have all been fine while anot...
by Admiral LSD
Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:51 pm
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Latest Gaming Rig Configuation - See any red flags?
Replies: 31
Views: 2712

Re:

I can't say I'm a fan of the Nine Hundred - all those gay lights and windows. You may not be a fan of Lights/Windows, but one thing they are not.. is Gay. Some people like to show off their hardware. Having windows also serves a purpose - that being able to see the fans running and whatnot. It's ri...
by Admiral LSD
Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:52 am
Forum: PTMC Cafe
Topic: StarCraft 2 Greatest Game Ever..?
Replies: 24
Views: 2553

Re:

Gooberman wrote:"nuclear launch detected."
I can't think of too many other words/sounds in games that evoke as much sheer terror as those three.
by Admiral LSD
Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:11 am
Forum: Tech Forum
Topic: Latest Gaming Rig Configuation - See any red flags?
Replies: 31
Views: 2712

I can't say I'm a fan of the Nine Hundred - all those gay lights and windows. If I were in the market for a massive tower I'd probably go for something along the lines of the P182 or now, the P183. In reality though, I'm kinda over stupidly massive towers. I ended up buying the Micro ATX Mini P180 f...