[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by ritayan

Got an new laptop at work today. I like it but seems more of a desktop than laptop.

Laptop -

Dell Precision M6500 Notebook PC

Processor - Intel Core i7 M620 @ 2.67ghz
Operating System - Genuine Windows 7 Pro
Memory -8000 MB
Hard Drive -300-GB SATA Raid
Display -17-inch
Graphics - Nvidia Quadro FX 2800M

Windows Experience Index 5.9

Almost 8gb ram and only 300 gb HDD ??

[Arkin evoisrevo]

My DV4 (a flop model plagued with problems, my cousin's, his friends' and my DV4s have niggling problems.) has the following configuration:
Core 2 Duo (not sure of the variant), Intel HD graphics (of no use), 4gb RAM, 320gb HDD, Win7 Premium and a remote control.

My Compaq 6530b, has: 250gb HDD, Core 2 duo P8400 ( 2.26 ghz), 2gb RAM, Vista Pro, Office 2007 the complete bundle, including groove, infopath, publisher etc.

My Ultra-economy gaming PC has a 1gb ddr2 RAM, 80 gb HDD, Intel Dual Core processor, a brand new Asus Nvidia Geforce 9800gt and XP home.

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by R2D2

I installed a Corsair 240GB SSD yesterday.

It is quite an eerie experience not to hear the buzz from my Velociraptor HDD. It feels as if the programs are loading from RAM and obviously much faster than even the Velo.

Regards,

how much did it cost you and what other brands are available?

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

how much did it cost you and what other brands are available?

It was ~32k with B&W for the 240GB unit. There are many brands available primarily from IBM and a host of other manufacturers such as WD, G Skill, Corsair, etc.

Regards,

[Thad E Ginathom]

For those looking at high-ish-end Gigabyte motherboards:

Problem with GA-890GPA-UD3H networking.

Basically, the network adapter does not always come up when the system is powered on. I'm not the only one to suffer this, and there are various theories on the net.

I haven't yet tried updating the drivers. I know I should.

It's one of those silly things where it will work fine for days, and one forgets about it, then suddenly will need to be booted two or three times before starting it.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by R2D2

It was ~32k with B&W for the 240GB unit.

That is a serious amount of meat. Any particular reason (professional etc.) for the SSDs? 32K could buy a decent laptop today.

BTW, two of Team-BHP's hard drives are Intel Solid State Disks . Perfect for database applications!

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by GTO

That is a serious amount of meat. Any particular reason (professional etc.) for the SSDs? 32K could buy a decent laptop today.

BTW, two of Team-BHP's hard drives are Intel Solid State Disks . Perfect for database applications!

Yes, SSDs are really expensive but amazing performance and that is what you pay for. Cost/GB is very high. It was not a justifiable reason but one of those aspirational things to have in the PC and I took the plunge. The OS now flies.

Intel SSDs are some of the best you can get. IFAIK they are made from SLC (Enterprise use) instead of MLC (Consumer) NAND chips that are more durable than the latter. SSDs experience wear and tear. Special tweaks to the OS and its disk sub system are generally recommended to extend their usable lives.

Cheers!

[spindoc]

Here's my list:

HP DV5000 (Mar 2006) - used at home (by dad mostly)
15.4" Display / Core Duo 1.86GHz / 1 GB RAM / 100 GB 5400 RPM HDD / Geforce Go 7400 / DVD-RW / Altec Lansing speakers / 6-Cell Battery
OS: Windows XP Home

Dell Inspiron 1420 (Dec '07) - for work (to be retired shortly)
14.1" Display / Core 2 Duo 1.5GHz / 2 GB RAM / 160 GB 5400 RPM HDD / Integrated Graphics / DVD-RW / 6-Cell Battery
OS: Windows 7 Pro

HP ProBook 4310S - will replace the DV5000
13.3" Anti-glare Display / Core 2 Duo T6670 2.2GHz / 4 GB DDR3 RAM / 320 GB 5400 RPM HDD / Integrated Graphics / DVD-RW / 4-Cell Li-Ion Battery / 2 MP Webcam / Fingerprint sensor
OS: Windows 7 Pro

Asus EEE Box B202 Nettop - for light browsing at home
Atom N270 1.6GHz / 1 GB DDR2 RAM / 160 GB 5400 RPM HDD / Integrated Graphics / 802.11 a/b/g
Acer 18.5" LCD - G185HQL / Logitech Keyboard and Mouse
OS: Ubuntu Lucid Lynx


Quick take on the machines:
DV5000 - Excellent construction. Great Sound and Display. Battery backup not great but still running on the original battery. Bulky and heavy! 4.25 Stars
Inspiron 1420 - Poor construction. Battery replaced twice in 3 years. Good keyboard and touchpad. Average display. Heats up rapidly. Bulky and on the heavier side for a 14.1". 3 Stars
ProBook 4310S - Decent construction. Moderate battery backup. Good display. Great keyboard / poor touchpad. Bad choice of material / paint for body - extremely smudge-prone. Reasonably light but can be slimmer. 3.75 Stars
EEE Box - Ideal for general browsing and word processing needs. Great for novices / casual users. Very small footprint. Well built. 4 Stars

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by R2D2

It was ~32k with B&W for the 240GB unit.

holy Mother of God!!! i can build a new PC for that money!

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

holy Mother of God!!! i can build a new PC for that money!

You are absolutely right

But I guess you know that there are high end graphics card and even Intel X58 chipset motherboards (that enthusiasts/gamers use) cost more than even this SSD. It all depends on the kind of machine that you want to build.

Cheers!

[Punzabi]

A bad news for all those who (including me) just build new intel Sandy Bridge based computers.

Intel Discovers Bug in 6-Series Chipset: Our Analysis - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

Intel just announced that it has identified a bug in the 6-series chipset, specifically in its SATA controller. Intel states that "In some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipsets may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD-drives.".

The fix requires new hardware, which means you will have to exchange your motherboard for a new one. Intel hasn't posted any instructions on how the recall will be handled other than to contact Intel via its support page or contact the manufacturer of your hardware directly.

Intel will begin shipping the fixed version of the chipset in late February. My rig is not even a month old and this news came up. Honestly, was Intel sleeping during tests or in a rush to launch new product they forgot to test it altogether??

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by R2D2

You are absolutely right

But I guess you know that there are high end graphics card and even Intel X58 chipset motherboards (that enthusiasts/gamers use) cost more than even this SSD. It all depends on the kind of machine that you want to build.

Cheers!

i guess you're right. when i got my PSU (Antec TPQ1000) for almost 14k 3yrs back, my friends were told me i could have gotten a local one a lot cheaper

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

i guess you're right. when i got my PSU (Antec TPQ1000) for almost 14k 3yrs back, my friends were told me i could have gotten a local one a lot cheaper

I've been building my own machines since 1993-94 starting with the 386 and 486. Over time, these progressed to machines with 'high end' options like water cooling or top of the line air cooling, branded 'silent' cabinets, high power PSUs, graphics cards, 7.2K and 10K RPM disks, fast DDR/2/3 memory et al.

Remember that early adopters always wind up spending more than others who choose mainstream components. That's the price you pay for being 'current' in technology terms. To many, especially the spouse, it may seem shocking and/or over-kill.

I hasten to add - it is always to each his own.

Cheers!

[anku94]

Originally Posted by Punzabi

A bad news for all those who (including me) just build new intel Sandy Bridge based computers....


.....Intel will begin shipping the fixed version of the chipset in late February. My rig is not even a month old and this news came up. Honestly, was Intel sleeping during tests or in a rush to launch new product they forgot to test it altogether??

I posted it first. See previous page.

Poor luck though

Although it'd be unfair to blame Intel's laxity, they suffered a processor design problem (some kind of math bug that made a mistake every billion operations) in the 1990s and that cost them $350 million of 1990s money. And they're estimating an expenditure of $700 million now. They didn't want this. These processor thingies are way too complex.

[NetfreakBombay]

Asus & Gigabyte have offered free replacement for such boards:

Asus to refund, replace products affected by 6-series chipset bug - The Tech Report

Gigabyte details plans for 6-series motherboard returns, replacements - The Tech Report