Questions tagged [hardware-rec]

Hardware recommendation posts should discuss how to make hardware decisions for oneself. Direct shopping recommendations are off-topic and will be closed, so be very careful posting hardware recommendations. For specific hardware shopping recommendations, please post in the Hardware Recommendations StackExchange.

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Is there any reason to upgrade to a newer router than a WRT45G? [closed]

I've always used my Linksys WRT45G as my wireless router since I bought it almost 6ish years ago. I love it because of it's hackability, but I'm about to upgrade my service to 20 Mbps down 5 up, and I ...
0 votes
2 answers
140 views

Simple file server I can put in an electricity cabinet?

I'm building a new house and would like to put a file server in the electricity cabinet. The constraints this puts on the file server are small form factor and being able to work inside a closet. ...
2 votes
1 answer
4k views

Moving abroad: Can I use my computer overseas if I change the power supply unit (PSU) to one from that country?

Details I expect to move abroad soon. My current desktop computer was custom made in Japan.I was hoping to use it in Australia. I read somewhere that it is as simple as changing the power supply unit ...
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

How can I determine if a GPU will play 1080p before purchasing it?

This isn't a "what should I buy" question: I don't care about laptop models or brands. I want to know about hardware capabilities. Context: I have a disk array that serves videos to various ...
0 votes
1 answer
741 views

LED Monitor: Native resolution Vs Screen size Vs response time

I'm looking at the available options for a LED monitor having full HD capability (1920x1080 native resolution), and I'm considering the following criteria for choosing a monitor: Screen size Native ...
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Has my graphics card just died?

So I think my graphics card might have just fried... My computer apparently boots up normally (from the sounds it makes, and the keyboard response - I can use Alt - F4 + Enter to shut it down ok) but ...
2 votes
1 answer
16k views

How can I calculate how many "free clusters" my 1.0 TB hard drive contains? (I am running chkdsk and it's taking forever..!)

How can I calculate the number of free clusters that exist on a freshly formateed NTFS 1.0 TB hard drive? I began running chkdsk (osn an external USB connected hard drive) about 12 hours ago and it ...
1 vote
1 answer
416 views

What are the things I need to consider when choosing a new graphics card?

I just bought a Dell Inspiron 580 Desktop with Intel Core i3-550 Processor, Windows 7 Home Premium has 6gig of memory and 1t of disk space. I need a graphic card to play games (war single player). I ...
3 votes
1 answer
3k views

Can a laptop hard drive be used in a desktop computer? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Can I install a laptop 2.5" SATA drive on a desktop without any adapters? The drive is: Kingston SSDNow V+200 SVP200S3 / 240G 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State ...
0 votes
0 answers
424 views

slight jiggle or shake results in laptop's lcd to ripple in one (small) spot

Even applying a tiny bit of pressure to the frame surrounding the lcd causes it. Is this damaging or a sign of bad assembly? To be clear: this happens in exactly one place on the LCD, regardless of ...
1 vote
1 answer
255 views

RAID0 disk recovery?

I've not lost a RAID0 setup but since both drives are used as one, is there anyway possible to even access data on just one drive via a sata cable or will you need both drives in a RAID0 setup to be ...
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Router + file server build [closed]

I am trying to build an always-on router + file server system that will serve as a (wired) router and as a file server that I will access from my two Windows (7/XP) machines. I am not worried about ...
2 votes
5 answers
3k views

What to look for in a good UPS?

I just asked this question where my PC may have been fried due to a power surge. Now I'm browsing around and I'm curious what characteristics make a quality UPS? What should I be looking at? Should I ...
0 votes
2 answers
3k views

Does a Samsung G3 Station external hard drive stop working when power supply is too high? [closed]

I have a Samsung G3 Station 2TB external hard drive (link to PDF specs here). It was working perfectly when I accidentally plugged it in my notebook's power source. Now, it doesn't work even with the ...
1 vote
3 answers
3k views

Is PCI Express x4 faster or slower than a standard PCI slot for graphic cards?

I am looking at potential motherboards for a computer I want to build and ran into this conundrum. The motherboard has two PCI Express slots that allow for 16 channel cards to fit in them. The catch ...
1 vote
3 answers
796 views

Is this PC Spec recommends for Win 7 Home Premium? [closed]

I have ran the windows 7 uypgrade advisor report and it says it meets everything to run win 7, but I want to be sure that it not only runs it, but runs well as it will be used for image editing (...
1 vote
1 answer
8k views

Will VMWare perform better on a 4 core CPU?

The most critical function I need is virtualization with VMWare. I am wondering if a dual-core Core i5-520m or a quad-core Core i7-720m processor will get superior virtualization performance. To ...
0 votes
1 answer
775 views

Adding DDR2 1066MHz to DDR2 800MHz memory

My Current system has 2x1GB DDR2 800MHz memory, installed on Intel DG965WH board which supports up to 1066MHz. I would like to add some memory and my question is what would be the best configuration ...
0 votes
2 answers
2k views

USB 3 PCIe card on a USB 2 motherboard?

I have this ASUS card, with 8 USB2.0 ports. I need to get USB3. Will this work (Plug'n'Play)? Or are there other things to consider?
1 vote
0 answers
143 views

Acceptable USB chips for Mac OS X

With Apple's push to the App Store for Mac OS X applications, and the fact that you are not allowed to install drivers in the OS to be in the Store we are left with a hardware quandary. Investigating ...
0 votes
1 answer
151 views

What does a wireless card need to work as an Access Point

What specifications does a wireless network card need to have to be able to work in a router? I heard that it is not possible to use a normal wireless card to handle more than one connection, so what ...
3 votes
5 answers
901 views

Best recommendation for bulk cd writing [closed]

Mymain requirement is that i want to write bulk audio cds every week around 50-100. Now its very difficult to write cd one by one. What is best solution for me. Can i put 6-7 cd writers or more in ...
0 votes
1 answer
76 views

What processor is better? [closed]

Processador Intel Xeon E3-1240 (LGA1155 - 3,3GHz) - BX80623E31240SR00K - Box or Processador Intel Core i5-2500K (LGA1155 - 3,3GHz) - BX80623I52500KSR008 - Box I am not very familiar with Xeon procs ...
-1 votes
1 answer
201 views

Recommend a good DVD or BD replacement drive that can read older CD-R/DVD+R media? [closed]

So I have a bunch of older CD-R (and a few DVD+R) discs that are either suffering from "bit rot", or a case of crappy no-name Chinese DVD drives being unable to read some or all of anymore. I just ...
0 votes
1 answer
377 views

Is a PCIe 2.x compatible with Intel 915G chipset?

I am trying to update an old system. I am thinking of a newer video card, and most are PCIe 2.x. I know that they are backward-compatible with PCIe 1.x motherboards, but what about the chipset? I ...
0 votes
2 answers
562 views

What can I buy at radio shack to serve as a power switch for my desktop computer? [closed]

I have a desktop computer without a case. The parts are strewn across my desk. My motherboard is a gigabyte MA78LMT-S2. There isn't a power button on this motherboard like I've seen on most ...
0 votes
2 answers
2k views

Are there any HD cameras with Pan/Tilt/Zoom features supported in Linux? [closed]

Answered: How to connect HDMI camera to Linux? I have tried a few cameras such as the Bullet HD. I was never able to make it work in my CentOS, Fedora, I returned their product finally, it was ...
0 votes
3 answers
693 views

Silencing the graphic cooler of a small size computer

I use a Acer AX3400 which is a small multimedia computer equipped with a ATI Readon HD 5570. This graphic card is small in size (7x17 cm). The card can be used to play recent computer games. ...
2 votes
2 answers
578 views

Motherboard battery and clock

my girlfriend just built her new PC on her own. Everything is fine except that the motherboard (890GX Pro3) doesn't remember settings, boot preferences and datetime every time she turn the power ...
1 vote
3 answers
236 views

Small hardware for linux? [closed]

Can anyone recommend some hardware which meets the following criteria: USB port (more than 1 would be handy but an USB hub could always be used) Suitable for running a reasonably small linux ...
7 votes
1 answer
4k views

Number of sectors per track in hard drive?

Is the number of sectors fixed for each track in a hard drive? I am wondering about this because most hard drive specifications give an accurate value for sectors/track rate. I am confused because I ...
1 vote
2 answers
547 views

Where can I purchase a computer that accepts a full-length ISA card AND has a parallel port input? [closed]

I am doing some consulting work for a client who is trying to replace a very out of date outbound dialing program that was set up on a pair of Pentium-era tall desktops. The requirements for these ...
0 votes
2 answers
235 views

Does the amount of RAM have an impact on performance?

Can anyone tell me how much difference there would be between a 3 GB DDR3 RAM and a 2 GB DDR3 RAM, performance wise. And can we, based on performance, compare to any DDR2 RAM's
0 votes
1 answer
639 views

SSD with fast and strong hardware encryption [closed]

I'd like to storage solution which is both safe and fast. I know these two have been mutually exclusive in the past. However, is the situation still the same with modern SSD disks Do any SSDs support ...
5 votes
6 answers
2k views

Laptop screen resolution advice - how dense is too dense? [closed]

I'm currently in the process of deciding what kind of laptop I want to buy. I pretty much have it narrowed down to particular model that has a 15.6" screen. I have a little bit of a dilemma with ...
1 vote
3 answers
4k views

SD to PCI adapter

We are looking for a way to plug a SD card into a PCI slot without going through a USB interface. We want to read the SD card's serial number directly and issue SD commands. The Chumby and the ...
1 vote
2 answers
65 views

What's appropriate hardware for getting started with UNIX network programming? [closed]

I'm interested in learning more about UNIX networking (socket programming etc). I prefer to use FreeBSD. What's appropriate computer hardware to purchase and get started on? I know this is a basic ...
0 votes
2 answers
107 views

What is the fastest way to read more than 150 DVDs? [closed]

We have over 150 DVDs that we need to copy the data off of. There is no time crunch, but I don't want to have someone manually swap DVDs for two weeks. Does anyone know of an automated way to get this ...
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

Whats a Good Video Card for Ubuntu 11.10 (unity) That supports Dual or More monitors [closed]

Just finally decided to start working with Ubuntu as my primary OS. Went around preping all my machines and all was going well til I got to this one. Which has a NVIDIA 7300 on it, which is apparently ...
18 votes
13 answers
1k views

Do "Natural" keyboards make it harder to use standard keyboards?

I am considering purchasing this style keyboard with the split keys. I found it a bit awkward to use at first but I'm sure I will get used to it. That's the problem. If you use this style keyboard ...
5 votes
1 answer
92 views

When buying a new PC, should I stick to known brands or configure myself? [closed]

Six years ago configuring a PC was so simple. Nowadays everything has become very hard – and for most users, it's too hard to understand the technical terms. At the moment I am trying to configure a ...
0 votes
3 answers
129 views

Some questions on the feasibility of GPU as the primary processor for a system

1) Are there any manufactures that offer boards that have GPGPU's as their primary processors out on the market at all? Ones that would fit into a mini-ITX form factor would be of interest but the ...
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

What graphics cards are compatible with 3-way CrossfireX?

When researching desktop graphics cards, I noticed that many nVidia cards support SLI, only the most expensive support triple SLI. However, I did not see any cards that said they support 3-way ...
2 votes
1 answer
189 views

What should I upgrade on my Linux media PC to stop 1080p video issues?

I have a Ubuntu media PC. It's an older PC. I can watch most 720p quality videos without problems. However, some scenes (especially water scenes) get really choppy. Large squares of images seems to ...
2 votes
5 answers
592 views

Netbook without Windows? [closed]

I have been looking around for a netbook without Windows and with Ubuntu preinstalled. Almost all I have seen have Windows. The main issue is making sure that the computer ships with the right Ubuntu ...
1 vote
1 answer
57 views

Win 7 32 bit vs 64 bit for VS2010 and SQL server [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: 32-bit vs. 64-bit systems My planning is to buy a machine having Intel I5 processor for web development using VS2010 and SQL server(latest version). Now Which OS 32bit or ...
3 votes
1 answer
143 views

Are there any good soft keyboards?

My office is right next to my daughter's room and my typing sometimes wakes her up. Are there any soft keyboards that anyone recommends that would not make as much sound as a regular keyboard when ...
5 votes
1 answer
9k views

What is push-pull cooling?

I was reading review site that said the best option to setup a liquid cooling system (Corsair h100) would be to use a push-pull configuration. What does this mean? My guess was air pulled from ...
-2 votes
1 answer
82 views

hardware compatibility [closed]

I am building a computer and wanted to confirm hardware compatibility, here we go: Seagate ST2000DL003 SY LP Hard Drive - 2TB, 5900RPM, 64MB, SATA-6 Corsair Vengeance 12GB DDR3 RAM Intel BOXDX58SO2 ...
3 votes
2 answers
4k views

Is there a meaningful SINGLE UNIT measure of computing power?

A discussion has arisen on the English Language SE site about the term computing cycles, where I personally think normal usage is clock or processor cycles. Obviously different processor & ...

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