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Upgrades
Five years has passed since I bought my computer and I feel it is time for an upgrade. I've had my computer since 2006 and I have been upgrading it ever since. I kept the same board and processor throughout these small but effective upgrades. In March 2011 I wrote the blog "Windows Running Slow?" and since then I have upgraded the GPU (Listed below).
Over the years I have had minor upgrades to my PC, these were my original specification.
Original |
Upgraded over 5 years |
Asus P5NE-SLI |
Asus P5NE-SLI |
Intel Quad Core Q8300 @ 2.50Ghz |
Intel Quad Core Q8300 @ 2.50Ghz (OC 2.80Ghz) |
2GB DDR2 RAM |
8GB DDR2 RAM |
500GB HDD |
1TB (2x500GB in RAID 0) |
DVD-RW |
2x DVD-RW |
Nvidia 9800GT GPU |
Nvidia GTX560TI GPU |
Windows XP Professional x32 |
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 |
This build has lasted me and still will last for probably another five years or so, but I really just wanted that boost of power. So I decided to build myself an i7 system and this is how it went.
New i7 System |
Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 |
i7-2600K processor @ 3.40GHz (OC 4.30GHz) |
16GB DDR3 2000Mhz |
1TB (2x500GB in RAID 0) |
128GB SSD |
2x DVD-RW |
Nvidia GTX560TI |
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 |
There are some major areas, which makes each of these components extra special, which gives that huge boost of performance:
2nd Gen Intel Core i7 2600K - The processor, it has 4 physical cores but uses Intel's hyper-threading technology which makes 8 cores in total, giving each core a "Virtual Core" that's 8 cores @ 4.30Ghz now that's impressive!
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The difference between an i7-2600 and an i7-2600K is the overclocking ability hence written on the packaging "Unlocked and Unleashed". The Intel i7-2600 can be overclock to the maximum of 4.20GHz while the i7-2600K can be overclocked to 5.90Ghz, of course overclocking it 5.90GHz isn't stable and would require some serious tweaking but I have not seen it possible yet to reach those kind of speeds. So spending that little extra cash may help all you gamers out there with its overclocking capability. |
128GB SSD - The SSD (Solid State Drive) is the next big performance increase, on a traditional hard drive the speed in which the disk spins is the performance in most drives the two most common speeds are 5400RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) and 7200RPM which give on a average SATAII drive is between 50-150MB/s Read and write, while a standard SSD makes about 255MB/s read and write but this is all based on the manufacturer, make and model of every drive so they are all different.
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Here you can see two tests, on the left a standard HDD and on the right my SSD you can see straight away by the benchmark scores which on is the fastest out of both of them.
NVidia GTX560TI - The graphics card is another performance boost in gaming graphics, the support for the latest games and technology and even help with video decoding and photo editing. The graphics card plays a big game with this as it takes the stress off the CPU and helps it with these graphical tasks. NVidia's 3D Vision technology was able to run on my old 9800GT, but it was laggy and not a nice experience while playing games. So my new GTX560TI was a dramatic different games which I've played before in 3D where not laggy, they just ran smoothly and no glitching or any errors, pure brilliance!
Overall I think that this system was well worth the upgrade and money spent in building this system. This will defiantly last me many years to come, I hope this is helpful to others who are planning or thinking of building a high-end system.
Contact nathan@sgcomputing.com for any question you may have on the article or building of new systems.
12/12/2011
Security Sphere 2012
lastest Security Threat Security Sphere 2012 is a computer infection from the same family as Security Shield. This infection is also categorized as a rogue anti-spyware program as it pretends to be a legitimate security program, but is actually a program that display false scan results and false alerts and hijacks your computer so that you are not able to run your normal applications. Security Sphere 2012 is installed through the use of hacked web sites, exploits, and fake online scanners that attempt to install the program onto your computer without your knowledge or permission. When installed, the infection files will be created in a random named folder in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\, in XP, or C:\ProgramData, in Windows Vista and Windows 7. It will then be configured to start automatically when you login to your computer. |
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24/11/2011
Windows 8
Our Experience Using Windows 8
Our experience using Windows 8 was impressive; when we first booted a fresh copy of the preview for windows 8 we found some change which may help you use Windows 8. You can now login using your hotmail e-mail and password if you link your account with your user account, so you login with your hotmail not via a user account. This is optional if you don't have a Hotmail account so you can still make local user accounts.
Logging In
You don't have to login anymore using a password, you can use a 4 digit pin to logon and a picture logon. The picture logon is where you select a picture which is stored on your pc and the idea is that you circle a face for instance and it will logon, which is a more secure way to logon.
Main Features
The main new feature is the start menu which has turned into a tile system of all your applications, with this you can see any updates what that application has to offer, for instance the default weather app from Microsoft shows on the title your local weather (if location services are available and it is connected to the internet and setup correctly) which is updated periodically.
Compatibility
Compatibility is a key thing in today's world. We installed Windows 8 onto a net book and installed Windows 7/Vista drivers onto it, everything worked correctly as they should be so it doesn't seem to need any specific drivers for Windows 8 at this point in time. The application compatibility wizard has been redesigned to help users run older properly by using a easy to use interface which ask you questions like, "What operating system did this use to run on?" and "Does this application now work correctly?" so it's a simple and easy to function wizard.
Shortcuts and helping hands
Shortcuts for everyday use in explorer, this helps you do the basic tasks of computing, copy and paste shortcuts, map networks drives, add printers depending where you are in internet explorer as in control panel, my computer or my documents there are different shortcut buttons to help you do those basic tasks.
More infomation about windows 8 click Here to visit the official microsoft website
16/11/2011
Windows 8 ?
What is windows 8 ? Windows 8 is a new operating system from Microsoft that is in the process of being developed and will be available sometime in 2012. SG computing is lucky enough to seen a developer preview of windows 8.
So what's different?
People who went from Vista to Windows 7 might say it looked very similar; however with windows 8 it is totally different and has had major changes throughout the whole operating system.
In Windows 8 Microsoft has redesigned and rethought the start menu layout. If you have seen or use the Windows phone then you would be familiar with the tiles screen.
The tiles screen is a full screen start menu that has many different tiles with all kind on information. Microsoft has introduced widgets into his start menu which can give you basic information without having to open a program for quick and easy access. For example the weather gadget, on the start menu if will give you your current weather without having to click anything. If you wanted to find out what the weather will be like in a few days you just click the widget then it will open the tile in full screen mode and will give you more information. Microsoft has designed the start menu to work well with touch screen computers and tablets, if you don't have a touch screen the interface work just as well with a keyboard and mouse. The start menu is just one of the features this new operating system has to offer.
Nathan is currently exploring windows 8 and next month he will try to explain things in more detail.
November 2011
Question:
Laptop vs. Netbook
Additional information:
When looking for a portable computer, you'll likely encounter the option between purchasing a traditional laptop computer or a netbook computer. Below we've created a chart that will help compare the two, to give you the pros and cons of each and help make your purchase easier.
Answer:
Topic |
Laptop |
Netbook |
Cost |
A laptop will often have many more features than a netbook, and therefore cost more to manufacture. If cost is an important factor, a netbook may be a better choice. |
Netbooks are often very affordable since they're much smaller and have fewer components. |
Processor |
Although there are cheap laptops, the processor that is included with most laptops will be a lot better than that often included in a netbook. |
The processor is one of the most expensive components in a computer. Therefore, to help reduce the overall cost, the processor is a low-end processor. This can cause a degraded experience when doing more intensive tasks such as watching movies or playing games. |
Keyboard size |
With the larger laptop comes a much larger keyboard, making it much easier to type on for users who plan on typing a lot. |
Because of their small sizes, netbooks have a much smaller keyboard. If you're planning on using this netbook to type a lot, make sure to play with it before buying it. Some users have an almost impossible time typing effectively on a netbook. |
Transport |
Because of its larger size, carrying around a laptop could be more of a burden for some users. |
With their much smaller sizes, netbooks are a lot easier to carry around , these can often even be carried in a handbag. |
Screen size |
Again a laptop is going to have a much larger screen size than a netbook. Making it much easier to read and view. |
Netbooks are much smaller making the screen much smaller if not connected to an external display. Like the keyboard, we highly recommend users look at the netbook and use it before buying it, to make sure it'll work if they plan on using it on the road. |
Hard drive |
Hard disk drives especially in cheaper laptops are often 5400 RPM hard disk drives and can be slow when it comes to opening a program or otherwise accessing the drive. |
To account for their size, netbooks use a SSD drive instead of a hard disk drive. Although these drives are often a lot smaller they're also much faster when it comes to accessing data. |
Disc drive |
Like any traditional computer, almost all laptops made today will come with some type of disc drive capable of reading CD's and often even reading DVD's, and/or creating a CD / DVD. |
Many netbooks will not have a CD-ROM / DVD disc drive. If you wanted to load something from a disc or play a movie or CD, it would not be possible, unless you connected an external drive to a USB port. |
OS |
Almost every type of laptop is capable of supporting any operating system. Which means you'll have the ability to run the latest version of Windows and will likely not have issues updating to a later version. |
Because many netbooks are stripped down to help lower the overall cost and power consumption, many netbooks are incapable of running the latest version of Windows, and will often come with an older version of Windows or a version of Linux. |
November 2011
This month we are explaining how to Connect your PC to your TV.
More and more users are using there PC's for multimedia purposes by plugging in their home PC either a desktop or a laptop into their TV. By doing this you can work on a larger screen to maximise usability, watch DVD's, home movies, photos and other online media like YouTube and iplayer instead of watching them on your computer monitor.
Connecting a TV to a computer is straight forward, as long as you have the appropriate connections on your PC and TV. Please ensure you make things safe (power off ) before plugging in any device into you TV or Laptop but it is no different to plugging in a new DVD player or games console. If you are not sure seek expert help.
Different ways of connecting your PC to your TV:
HDMI Cable (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) If the PC has a HDMI output and the TV has a HDMI Input then it's as simple as connecting the cable in at both ends and selecting HDMI on the TV. Using a HDMI cable allows video and audio through a single cable, if you are using a DVI to HDMI adaptor then this won't enable sound through it and it will require an extra audio lead. Depending on the make of laptop you may need to setup the TV as a second screen. |
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VGA Cable (Video graphics array) Most desktops and laptops come with a VGA socket to connect to an external monitor, if your TV has a VGA socket then you can connect your PC this way. The VGA cable only shows the video so you will require a set of external speakers or a cable which connects to the TV's sound system depending on what type of system it is. |
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DVI Cable (Digital Visual Interactive) Some newer desktops or multimedia laptops come with a DVI socket, if your TV supports DVI you can connect this way. But like the VGA cable you will need to run separate sound system. |
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Windows Media Center:
If you own a PC with XP* Vista** or Windows 7 then media Center is installed on your PC. With media center you can watch DVD's, start games, view your photos, play your music and watch TV either online or through a TV Card. Most computer stores will stock all the above cables and give advice on cables you might need.
*XP Media Center is the only version of XP to have Media Center
**Some versions don't include media center
June 2011
WHAT IS V.O.I.P.
Voice over Internet Protocol
Never heard of it I hear you say but if I had said Skype then I am sure most of you would have heard of this. VOIP is a system which allows you to use your PC to make free calls to lots of countries around the world for a small flat monthly fee.
Some systems even allow you to use your home phone rather than your PC. My own favorite is a site called Sipdiscount which can be found at www.sipdiscount.com you simply enter you home phone number and the number you wish to dial and it simply rings you home phone then uses the VOIP system to ring the required number. At the time of writing this article even calls to USA mobiles are free how much would it cost you to ring a mobile in the states from your home phone? You have to work out flat fees against calls you make and see if you can save money Sipdiscont is around 10 Euros for 3 months of free calls but your account is also credited with the 10 Euros to spend on calls and text messages when you make calls to other countries that are not free but charge a fee which is normally a lot less than normal telecom providers.
If you really think you could save lots of money then you can also consider buying a VOIP box some routers even have these built in just type in you search engine either VOIP BOX or PAP2 and do some research. These are not expensive however they do require a setup procedure which needs a little understanding of VOIP and server settings but these will allow you to use your home phone system and make all your calls via the VOIP network. All calls to standard UK landlines have been free on sipdiscount since I signed up in 2006
VIDEO CALLS
The market leader in video calling has to be Skype. This system in 2010 had 663 million users allowing free video to video calls to anyone registered on the network if you haven't used it yet it's free to download and use. I noticed just recently the BBC was using it to communicate with reporters when other systems are not available. I remember watching tomorrow's world on the BBC when they promised us all video calling handsets but I guess they didn't see the computer revolution coming now we can all have video calls for free.
April 2011
What is a Hard Disc Drive? (HDD)
A hard disk is a metal plate with magnetic surfaces. It is a component of a disk drive. The hard drive equipment reads from and writes to the surface of the hard disk. These hard drives are a part of most computers
In a hard drive, an actuator arm assembly locates platter cylinders for reading from and writing to the disk. Read and write heads act as the agents for these functions. The total assembly fits into a rectangular metal container. In traditional computing, the hard disk was the internal structure for storing data in a workstation or personal computer.
These are one of the few components inside a modern computer that move and alas when things move then they tend to break or become unreliable. A common fault with modern PCs is a hard disc failure. This is not such an expensive item to replace. normally modern PCs contain a 3.5 inch Hard disc drive and replacement costs are around £100.00 this normally is the cost of the drive and a computer technician to replace your operating system normally Windows in a traditional PC. Once a hard disc has failed it is the data stored on the disc that sometimes is hard to replace I E photographs documents and personal data. Programs like your office Package can be reinstalled so a small piece of good advice is to back up your personal data often and store it on a good quality DVD or a modern Pen drive or even now a portable USB hard disc.
New technology has arrived solid state drives are now here. They tend to be smaller in capacity where as a normal hard disc today would be 1 TB (Terabyte) that is 1000 gigabyte solid state drives for normal budgets would be 64 GB or 128 GB and would still cost at least twice as much.
Solid state drives may be preferred over traditional disk drives for a number of reasons. The first advantage is found in the speed of operation. Because hard disk drives need to be spinning for the head to read sectors of the platter, sometimes we have to wait for "spin up" time. Once the disk is spinning, the head must seek the correct place on the disk, and from there the disk must spin just enough so that the correct data is read. If data is spread over different parts of the disk (fragmented) then this operation is repeated until all the data has been read or written. While each individual operation only takes fractions of a second the sum of them may not. It is often the case that reads to and writes from the hard disk are the bottleneck in a system. Because the information on solid state drives can be accessed immediately (technically at the speed of light) there is no latency experience when data is transferred. Because there is no relationship between spatial locality and retrieval speed, there is no degradation of performance when data is fragmented.
March 2011
Windows Running Slow?
Ever wanted to know why your pc is running slow? Well here's your answer for windows Vista and 7 users.
Vista users: Start > Control panel > System and maintenance > System
7 users: Start > Control Panel > System and Security > System
In this window it basically tells you what is in your system. For example how much RAM you have and how fast your processor is
Click "windows experience index" to open up a detailed score for each piece of hardware for your system. The "base score" is determined by the lowest score. Depending on which operating system you have depends on how the score is measured. If you are using Vista
the score is measured from 1.0 to 5.9. If you are using 7 it is measured from 1.0 to 7.9. For example let's take my pc's score. I am using windows 7 so 7.9 is the highest and 1.0 is the lowest score available.
This is how i would upgrade my pc from this score:
My lowest score is the Hard Drive, the only way to upgrade this would be to install a solid state drive. My second lowest score is the gaming graphics and graphics score, to upgrade this I would upgrade my graphics card. I cannot upgrade my RAM anymore because that is the maximum my motherboard can take 8Gb (2Gb per slot). I don't want to upgrade the processor because i am happy with the speed it's at. 64bit operating system increased my processor and RAM score from 5.9 to 7.1.
In most cases it's the RAM that will let your score down. This is easily upgradable for desktops and laptops.
Please note!:
March 2011