Recent Posts

4826

Living Room / Are screen savers necessary for flat panels?

« Last post by superboyac on January 22, 2009, 12:29 AM »

Ugh...I was running the western digital diagnostics on my new drives, and my monitors power off because of the energy saving options.  When i press a key, only one turns on, the secondary monitor with no windows in it.  So, I press enter again, which abort the diagnostic, which was about 2 hours in!

I've always hated energy saving.  Do I need it?  WIll my monitors be in danger if I set everything in the power saving options to "never"?

By the way, yes mouser, having two huge monitors is like heaven.  It's like flying business class.  Nice suggestion, as usual.

4827

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 21, 2009, 05:44 PM »

Thanks.  I'll try to have a summary on my website soon.

4828

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 21, 2009, 10:27 AM »

well, i hooked everything up yesterday night and it works!  Now, I have to reorganize my office room...or basically my whole upstairs floor with all the boxes and mess.  Ugh.  I'll have pictures of it.  I know most people are expecting pictures of the system parts being put together, but there are already tons of hardware reviews out there better than anything I can do and with better pics.  This is a more personal look into what goes into a new computer purchase (at least for me).  It's a pain in the ass!

4829

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 20, 2009, 12:47 PM »

i put it on and off about 6 times.

-superboyac (January 20, 2009, 10:57 AM)

Ummm... did it come with thermal grease or a thermal patch? Generally, taking your heatsink off is a bad idea if you don't reapply thermal material, but you can usually get away with it if it's thermal patch and the system is hasn't been powered on long enough for the thermal patch to melt.

-f0dder (January 20, 2009, 12:26 PM)

Yeah, there's some kind of goo on it that smeared as i took it on and off.  But i never powered it on yet.

4830

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 20, 2009, 10:57 AM »

yeah, i logged in the irc chat when i was freaking out.  i put it on and off about 6 times.  i never got a good click, but i checked everything and it looked fine and sturdy.  i just hope i didn't damage anything.

4831

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 20, 2009, 01:23 AM »

OK!  Well, all the parts are installed in the case.  Tomorrow, I'll probably power everything up and try it for the first time.  Ugh, what a pain this is.  I freaked out a little when putting the cpu fan on because the click sounds when the fan is in place were not as I expected.  I hope there are no hardware defects/damages/etc.  Still haven't opened the monitor boxes yet, either.  So tomorrow!

4832

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: MiniReview of Linkman URL Organizer and Search Tool

« Last post by superboyac on January 18, 2009, 07:47 PM »

Cannot reproduce so far.

What I've tried:

Opened search window from IE
Entered query text
Closed window
Reopened Window
Pressed Esc
query text was cleared

-Outertech Support (January 16, 2009, 04:27 AM)

It's doing it on both my work and home computer.  The only difference I can see is that I'm using Firefox instead of IE.

4833

Living Room / Re: does win XP 64-bit suck?

« Last post by superboyac on January 16, 2009, 08:45 PM »

You're probably not going to need 64bit - and you probably won't feel the difference between utilizing ~3.5GB of RAM vs. 4GB with Win64.

You could go for 32bit XP now, and switch to 64bit Win7 when it comes out (while the driver situation is OK for XP64 these days, it seems to be somewhat better with Vista/Win7).

-f0dder (January 16, 2009, 06:44 PM)

Good advice, will do.

4834

Living Room / Re: does win XP 64-bit suck?

« Last post by superboyac on January 16, 2009, 04:54 PM »

So, for my new computer, should I use 64 XP?  I have 4 GB of ram.  At the same time, I tend to think like mouser, where if the difference is negligible, I don't need it.  My computer usage, while extensive, is not really heavy duty in that I use a lot of power.  I just do mostly email, file-management, web stuff, some multimedia, pro music applications (very light, not like a studio), and business related software.

4835

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 16, 2009, 04:08 PM »

AFAIK there is very little difference between eSATA and SATA300 (same bandwidth and transfer speed of 3000Mbit/300Mbit for both). The only significant difference I am aware of is that eSATA allows for a 2-meter cable, whereas SATA only allows a 1-meter connecting cable.

If I understand what you're asking, the external eSATA drive can be plugged into any SATA connector on your mobo backpanel.

Note: some older mobos will only boot off an external drive if it is plugged into specific SATA connectors (usually #1 and/or #2) so check your docs to see if you need to do that. On a mobo as new as yours, it shouldn't be necessary.

-40hz (January 16, 2009, 03:13 PM)

ACtually, what I'm asking is this:  Why does Granite Digital make a portable external SATA enclosure with a SATA cable?  Wouldn't it make more sense to use an eSATA cable?  Then there's the unit that I bought, which is an external enclosure for SATA drives, but with hot-swap trays, and this uses an eSata connector.  I don't see the reasoning behind the two, unless it's just random.

(edit)
Just got a call from Granite Digital (great customer service by the way).  The external enclosure I linked to above is the older model, which was made before esata came out.  Now that esata is out, the enclosure I got is basically the newer model, along with the hot-swap.  So, I'm happy to stay with my enclosure.  Also, even though there's no locking mechanism, i tried sliding the tray in with the drive and once it's in place, it's pretty sturdy, even if you hold it upside down and shake it a little, the drive won't come out.  So forget what I said before.  Besides, I don't plan on treating my drive like that.

4836

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 16, 2009, 02:48 PM »

What's the difference between an external enclosure with esata or sata?  Both cables are shielded.  I thought all external enclosures would use esata since that's what the "e" is for.  And where do you plug a sata cable to on your chassis if it's coming from an enclosure?  Like, on my Cosmos case, I have an esata connector on it, but the sata connectors or on the mobo.

4837

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 16, 2009, 02:39 PM »

It is for hot-swapping.
Now that I think about it, I probably got the wrong type of enclosure.  I probably should have bought this:
http://www.granitedi...asekitenclosure.aspx

Oh well.  Doh!

4838

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 15, 2009, 10:40 PM »

Just received my Granite Digital external enclosure.  Initial thoughts:
--I like the simple design.  Two indestructible pieces of aluminum.  I like that it doesn't have fans or anything.
--There's no lock-in mechanism.  The tray just goes in and out.  Like, if you tilt it, the tray will start sliding out.  So the only thing holding it in is the sata connection between the drive and the enclosure.  Not a big deal, since everything's a tight fit.  I don't plan on tilting it and swinging it around anyway.
--No esata cable included.  Boo!
--Overall, I like it.  I like metal, and I like simplicity.

4839

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: MiniReview of Linkman URL Organizer and Search Tool

« Last post by superboyac on January 15, 2009, 10:23 AM »

bug:
(Using 7.71)
When pressing Esc once to clear the query in the search in Linkman window, the results don't clear.  when i close the windwo and come back, it is cleared.  Also, if the query is already cleared, and then I type something in and the results list shortens, and then I press esc, it works fin.

Only when the window is opened with a query already in it, esc doesn't clear it.

4840

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Announcing my new website (superboyac).

« Last post by superboyac on January 15, 2009, 10:13 AM »

especially enjoyed your piano version of Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay

-tomos (January 15, 2009, 08:39 AM)

Hey, thanks!  Actually, it's a little weak right now by itself.  You can tell there's a lot of empty space.  I did that on purpose because my friend is supposed to fill in the bass and drums.  All together, it would sound really good I think.

4841

Living Room / Re: Seagate's Barracuda 7200.11 drives failing at alrming rate?

« Last post by superboyac on January 15, 2009, 07:40 AM »

[superboyac]: Do the NS drives come with 5-year warranty?
______________
Yes! Check here.

-zridling (January 15, 2009, 01:15 AM)

Well that's good to know.  Yes, Seagate has apparently left the 5-year warranty in tact for the enterprise drives.  But it's too late for me, I just bought (like 3 days ago) three WD 1 TB Caviar Black drives.  First time I've not used Seagate in almost 10 years.  Besides these enterprise seagate drives are $50 more than the WD's.

4842

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 14, 2009, 11:29 AM »

HAHA!!  It took me several minutes before I noticed the freakin logo!  Crazy guy!

4843

Living Room / Re: Seagate's Barracuda 7200.11 drives failing at alrming rate?

« Last post by superboyac on January 14, 2009, 11:14 AM »

I met a math geek who rivaled my own math skills (honestly, she was better)...totally turned me on.  Didn't work out.  BBOD (I'll let you figure out what that stands for).

4844

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 14, 2009, 10:40 AM »

We want a photo of you standing inside it

I just hope all your cables are long enough. My case is very large too and I can't easily make use of the built in Firewire/USB/Audio panel connections because some of the fitted cables can't reach the bottom of the mootherboard where the connectors are!

-Carol Haynes (January 14, 2009, 03:36 AM)

I'm way too big, I'm 6'3".  But I was surprised by how big it was relative to me.  I guess I've never seen one of these full-size towers before.  I had to check to see if it fit under my desk at first (it did).  I sure hope the cables are long enough! 

4845

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by superboyac on January 13, 2009, 11:46 PM »

Yikes!!
I just received my Cooler Master Cosmos chassis.  The only thing I can say is this:

it is big.  Make no mistake about it, this is a very large case!  It can eat my current case for dinner, and have my laptop for dessert.

Holy crap!!  I didn't expect it to be that big.  It's ok, it's kind of cool.  It's a beast!

4846

Living Room / Re: Seagate's Barracuda 7200.11 drives failing at alrming rate?

« Last post by superboyac on January 13, 2009, 06:15 PM »

I agree, and I've relied on Seagate for years. Difference is, though, I always spend the extra for the NS drives, which are built to run 24/7 for at least a million hours. Haven't had a problem yet, but that doesn't mean this isn't bad news for Seagate. Failure cannot be tolerated in a HD!

-zridling (January 13, 2009, 04:59 PM)

Do the NS drives come with 5-year warranty?

4847

General Software Discussion / Re: Image joining software?

« Last post by superboyac on January 13, 2009, 06:14 PM »

I use PhotoScape for a similar feature; they call it, to combine.

Version 3.3 is brand new: http://www.photoscap...wnload.php?update=on

-Curt (January 13, 2009, 05:05 PM)

Yes, this is exactly it.  Awesome!

Likely too late but irfanview has this option too.

-Shades (January 13, 2009, 05:38 PM)

Yeah, I'm already using photoscape, but I'll try irfanview sometime also.  Maybe it's better or different.  It's amazing that acdsee doesn't have this as a feature.

4848

General Software Discussion / Re: Image joining software?

« Last post by superboyac on January 13, 2009, 05:21 PM »

Thanks!  I'll give it a shot, but it sounds like exactly what I need.

4849

Living Room / Re: Seagate's Barracuda 7200.11 drives failing at alrming rate?

« Last post by superboyac on January 13, 2009, 04:47 PM »

That sucks.  What compounds the problem is that Seagate just changed their 5-year warranty to 3-years (for most of their consumer drives).  Changing the warranty policy and increased drive failure doesn't jive.  I've been a big Seagate fan for years primarily due to their 5-year policy, but I just switched to Western Digital for my new computer.  WD has a 5-year policy on most of their drives, I think.

I don't know about anyone else, but the length of the warranty is almost the only thing I consider when choosing a drive.  I'll take a 5-year warranty over 3-year any time.  Because I backup redundantly, I don't worry about data loss, I just want a new drive without a hassle.  5 years is a long time.  Seagate sent me a new drive, no problem, last time.  When you don't have to worry about losing your data, what else is there to consider?  Noise and speed are negligible, assuming your comparing similar drives (I'm not talking about comparing a 10k Raptor to a 7200k Seagate, more like 7200 vs 7200).

So Seagate seems to be losing ground now.  This news couldn't come at a worse time.  If I were them, I'd put the warranty back to 5-years, or else I'd assume that users will flock to WD.  I did.

4850

General Software Discussion / Image joining software?

« Last post by superboyac on January 13, 2009, 04:36 PM »

I'm looking for something very simple.  I want to take two image files that are the exact same size, format, etc., place them side by side and join them to create a joined image.  I don't need a panorama software that warps or does complicated matching things to it.  Everything is already matched and ready to go.  I just need to place them next to each other and join.

I know photoshop and gimp already do this manually, but is there something premade for this?  I'm going to do it a lot.  Ideally, I just drag the two files in, say where I want to join and it joins.  Anything?