PC

when is a pc/laptop obsolete?

would you say a dell latitude laptop with 1.86GHz intel pen. 1GB RAM and 60GB HD. too old?

this is strictly coming from a guy who considers himself a non-gamer.. just use my laptop for work and multimedia/internet.

alique... remember the desktop and macbook proposition?

how about i get the best of both worlds.. with a toshiba G40 Qosmio?

the 17 incher.. with a remote control.. and fully set entertainment package

would you say thats a wise choice?

or should i opt for the dell desktop... and probably sell it within the next 4 years after i finish my studies here.

p.s- doesn anyone else think the apple IMAC screen is a bit TOO glossy?

I don't really play PC games these days so i don't really need anything particularly flashy, although i am always wooed by high specs despite the pointlessness of them to me. Essentially i use my lappy for music, essays and the internet, possibly some video editing. In those circumstances a relatively fast processor and big hd are what i need.

You could probably get a faster desktop than a laptop for the same price, but obviously desktop mobility isn't great.

It really depends what you need to do. Personally i'd get a laptop with a fuck-off hard drive if i were you. Toshiba looks ok.

It's usually people that use their computers for games which will tell you if your system is obsolete or not, usually every 2 or 3 months.

yeah.. i think im opting for the laptop.. especially since i'm only gonna be there for another 3-4 years.. and after that its a bit difficult and too much of a hassell to ship my desktop back home :s

a laptop.. even a 17 inch one.. would be heavy.. but portable

My dell is 17" and pretty light tbh.

ok.. now i know why you dont mind watching stuff on your laptop

whilst im not a fan of laptop.. but circumstances are twisting my arm and i have to get one

we'll see what happen

i HATE the price tags on these things..

Dell
has assured users of its laptops that there is no danger from
electrical jolts sometimes received from the cases of some of its
systems.Users, including some reviewers, have recently
complained of receiving either a continuous electrical "tingling" or
sharp shocks from some Dell laptops. The Dell machines involved include
the 9400, and more recently, laptops with brushed-aluminium cases, such
as the XPS M1330 and XPS M1530.The reports have caused some
alarm, coming after incidents such as batteries overheating and
catching on fire. Dell recalled 4.1 million laptop batteries because of
such risks in 2006; other major laptop makers, such as Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba, also recalled batteries.In
a knowledge base article published on Wednesday, Dell assured
acknowledged that "a tingling sensation may be noticed when connecting
devices to Dell notebook computers or printers and touching exposed
metal parts of the devices being connected or the parent device", but
denied that the "tingling sensation" is cause for alarm.The
jolts reported by some users are due to an electrical potential, or
voltage, between exposed metal parts of the laptop and the earth,
according to Dell. But this voltage can be found in any electrical
device powered by an AC adapter without an earth."The voltage does not present any risk of injury to the user," the company said.Earlier
this year, users began noticing the voltage issue with Dell 9400
laptops. Other Dell users have reported the same issue with notebooks
such as the XPS M1530 and other notebooks with aluminium cases.A voltage test by one user showed that the surface of the XPS M1530 was giving off more than 100 volts of power.Users have said they could also feel the voltage when connecting cables or accessories.Dell acknowledged that users might feel a "tingling sensation" but said that the voltage is harmless."If
conditions are right for the human body to be more conductive, such as
having wet hands or standing barefoot on a concrete floor, the
probability of sensing the tingling (electric current) increases," Dell
said in the knowledge base article. "It is recommended to unplug the AC
adapter from the parent device before attaching any cables or
accessories, as this reduces the possibility of experiencing the
tingling sensation."Some users who have complained of the
tingles or shocks have been supplied with a three-pronged - that is,
earthed - power adapter, which solves the problem.Dell has been
shipping two-prong (unearthed) power adapters with the majority of its
systems worldwide for more than a year and a half, Dell digital media
manager Lionel Menchaca
said in a recent forum post. As a result, the company isn't in a
position to immediately supply all its customers with earthed adapters.Dell is considering creating a program to sell earthed power adapters to users at a discounted price, Menchaca said.Electrical
devices can be designed in such a way that they do not need a safety
connection to electrical earth, normally by using reinforced insulation
or having two layers of insulation.Users of non-Dell laptops, notably Apple's aluminium-cased Mac laptops, have reported a similar tingling sensation.------------------------------------------------------------

i think i have this on my laptop.. which is why i use a usb optical mouse

best 24" desktop screen ............... ? HELP

Windows Vista SP1, One “Refresh” Closer To Final Release

could launch the final version of Windows Vista SP1 by the end of February. On Jauary 24, Microsoft released a new release candidate for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to an exclusive group of 15,000 private beta testers.

The new release, what’s is being called “RC Refresh 2”, is not available for the general public, but is very possible that Microsoft will change its mind, as it happened with the last “refresh”.

Windows Vista SP1 RC Refresh was made available on January 4 also as an exclusive release, but two days later Microsoft made it publicly available.

According to some media reports, the final version of Windows Vista SP1 could be launched on February 15.

However, a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement for Beta News: “We are still on schedule to deliver SP1 RTM in Q1 CY08"

"The final release date is based on quality, so we will continue to track customer and partner feedback from the beta program before setting a final date."

Many analysts consider that the launch of SP1 will boost the adoption of Windows Vista, a OS that has sold over 100 million copies so far.

According to Microsoft, Windows Vista SP1 will not add new features, but instead it will address key feedback received from its customers. In addition, the company insisted that the SP1 would not affect any applications that are currently running on Windows Vista.

need help....

best lightweight/portable laptop out there...

which do u guys recommend?

toshiba... sony... mac... dell..

and which model

macbook pro would be my weapon of choice.

that wouldnt exactly fit the bill ...

hint: light/portable ?

i thought about the macbook... ( not the air )

and narrowed things down to the dell and toshiba and macbook

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?seg=HHO&poid=389712

http://ecomm.euro.dell.com/dellstore/basket.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&itemtype=CFG&oid=e50b4a11-5859-4c64-8ee4-ab7ff58bcb8f

somehow the dell seems more appealing (in price)

though i was more impressed with the flexibility/durability of the toshiba laptop

and the macbook is sexy

Macbooks are light mate, very light.

not the macbook pro ones .... or are they ?

15 inch - 17 inch? light?

They're pretty much the same.

And yes, light. My housemate has one. Go to the apple store and check it out yourself.

I don't know why you seem to think lappys are still the bricks from 10 years ago

hehehe

i guess i havent been around the new one...

i have a dell latitude D510

its not what i call ultra portable...

its durable... i abuse it... and it's still alive.. so i cant complain

Intel preps six-core processors


Massive new server chip could hit the desktop

Six-core Dunnington is based on Intel's 45 Penryn architecture

Intel has been socking it to AMD with its Core 2 Quad processors. But apparently that's not enough.

Details have just leaked regarding a secret new six-core CPU from Intel. It could hit the desktop as early as this summer.

Codename 'Dunnington'

According to a joint Sun Microsystems / Intel document accidentally posted on Sun's website, the new processor is codenamed 'Dunnington' and will be based on Intel's existing 45nm Penryn architecture.

It's therefore not a member of the all new Nehalem family, due out towards the end of this year. Penryn forms the basis of the latest 45nm Core 2 Duo and Quad CPUs as well as Intel's Xeon workstation and server processors.

Arranged in three dual-core pairs (but manufactured in a single die), Dunnington packs no less than 3MB of L2 cache memory per dual-core pairing and 16MB of L3 shared cache.

That's a truly breathtaking quantity of cache memory for an x86 CPU. Unsurprisingly, therefore, Dunnington is chiefly designed to do battle in the high end server market.

Desktop Dunnington?

So, it's not a chip destined to hit the desktop? Not so fast. Intel has previously rebadged big-cache server chips as Extreme Edition desktop processors.

Of course, the last time that happened, Intel was taking a bit of a beating from AMD's Athlon 64 processor. Then again, more recently Intel leveraged an entire Xeon platform to bring us the dual-socket, eight-core extravagance that is Skulltrail.

Overall, given Intel's new found taste for exotic kit, we think there's a solid chance of desktop Dunningtons. Perhaps we'll find out at the Shanghai instalment of the Intel Developer Forum in early April. Rest assured, we'll beat Intel engineers over the head with broken Pentium 4 motherboards until they confess.

Whatever, the Xeon variant of this new six-core monster is pencilled in the second half of 2008. That in turn poses a question about the likely timing for the arrival of the heavily revised Nehalem architecture.

Assuming Intel plans to make a little hay out of Dunnington, we would expect Intel to give it several months on the market before introducing the even more advanced Nehalem family. All of which points to a Nehalem launch later in '08 than we had previously suspected.

senior alique.

do u know of any "Good" PC games? and do you know anyone who has the dell xps 420 desktop? is it noisy?

xps' are supposed to be beasts i would have thought? Thought they were gaming rigs?

Dunno about PC games, but the two that have grabbed my eye lately are 'Sins of a Solar Empire' (if you're into RTS') and 'Spore'...which is so unique i can't really describe. Have a look at those two. Otherwise there's not that much on the horizon afaik other than the new FM09.

Personally i'm far more looking forward to some console games coming out in the near future...

i heard about spore... looks and sounds like a very impressive game.

i first heard about it through apple's iphone convention. talking about aps and games for the iphone, and spore was one of the games.

im going back home in december.. i might get JB a birthday gift (im thinking a ps3 game)

any ideas? from now till december..

I'm looking forward to the new Fifa most of all i think. Perhaps that.