Author

Win7 RC

Some combination of windows7 and my new computer causes some serious problems when using sleep. I put the machine to sleep, which doesn’t work the first try. Then I try to wake it up. Normally you’d hit the space bar to wake up a laptop, but that doesn’t work. I hit the power button, and while the case lights come on, the screen is black. Remote desktop doesn’t work so I assume it’s toast. after A few trial and error attempts, it seems that reset gets me to see the “resuming windows” and it slowly come back (as speedy as my machine is, I expect it to resume faster). \n\nNot sire about drivers for the mobo so that could be the issue.

iPhone photo

My first pic w the iPhone\n

iPhone Fee

What is this BS $18 fee I had to pay?

iPhone Smudges

Yeah, probably need a case, this thing is looking ‘dirty’ and I’ve had it less than 2 hours.

iPhone Compass

Don’t try to calibrate the compass while driving on the freeway, duh.

iPhone Impressions

So far, things are pretty good. A few quirks (I’m a noob).

1. Doesn’t seem to go into landscape keyboard mode inside of the apple settings menus. WTF?

2. iTunes installed is 64 bit, but installs (by default) into Program Files (x86)?

New iPhone Today

So, I decided to get the iPhone 3GS 32GB. The other options were good, but the apps for the iPhone were the deciding factor.

New PC Arrived

Yeah, a little later than originally estimated (June 2nd? Maybe that was the ship date, which didn’t happen either). Installing stuff. VERY NICE. Surprising how quite it is, I was expecting it to make a lot more noise than my older system, but it might even be quieter.

New PC 2009

Update:
Ordered:

Case ( Nzxt Apollo Gaming Tower Case Black )
Case Lighting ( None )
Power Supply ( 750 Watt — Corsair CMPSU-750TX Power Supply Quad SLI Ready )
Processor ( [New !!] Intel. Core. i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) )
Processor Cooling ( Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink )
Motherboard ( Asus P6T Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire and SLI Supported w/7.1
Memory ( 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1600 Triple Memory Module Corsair or Major Brand )
Video Card ( ATI Radeon HD 4770 512MB PCI-Express x16 )
Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )
External Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD1R/1RW + CD-R/RW )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Speaker System ( iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker
Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Built-in USB 2.0 Ports )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer)
Operating System ( None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )

Update:
New Machine

Thank you whomever posted extremetech.com, that’s the analysis (nearly
spot on) I was looking for. i7 it is.

Cooling

Standard fan/heatsink enough? I don’t plan on overclocking (but I might
be tempted later).

PS

HOw much power do I need for this thing? 650, 700, 850? Trying not to
go too crazy (conserve energy and all that) but I don’t want to suffer
any stablity issues. I don’t plan on putting a crap of stuff inside
of this box: i7 920, CPUFan/Heatsink, mobo, RAM, ATI 4770, 1 HD (to start,
maybe 1 more later), DVD/CD recorder/rewriter, maybe a second one,
onboard sound, 2.1 speakers (hrm, assume those are their own power),
onboard nic, USB Keyboard/Mouse, Flashcard reader.

Mobo

Buying from ibuypower, the i7 mobo options are:

Asus P6T SE Intel X58
Asus P6T Intel X58 [+ $29]
Asus P6T Deluxe V2 Intel X58 [+ $121]
MSI X58-PRO Intel X58 [- $20]
MSI Eclipse SLI Intel X58 [+ $184]
EVGA X58 SLI Intel X58 [+ $139]

I’m confused by the Asus options. Newegg has the SE more expensive
than the plain P6T. The plain P6T only has 1 nic (i really only need
1), but says it supports a max of 24GB, where the SE only supports 12GB
(Hrm, will i keep it long enough to get to the 24GB max?).
Can’t OC the RAM on the SE? I’m not liking the Deluxe/Ecipse and EVGA
options because of the price. THe MSI seems fine. Opinions?
So, which would you get P6T SE, P6T, MSI X58-PRO and why?

Here’s my config at ibuypower.com so far:

#Case: iBUYPOWER Vantage Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply w/ Halo 2
Side Window
#Power Supply: 850 Watt — Corsair CMPSU-850TX Power Supply Quad SLI Ready
#Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
#Processor Cooling: Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink
#Motherboard: Asus P6T SE Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound,
Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB
#Memory: 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module Corsair Value
or Major Brand
#Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4770 512MB PCI-Express x16
#Hard Drive: 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache]
#CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive: LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW
Drive Black
#Sound Card: 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
#Speaker System: iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer
Speaker System
#Network Card: Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
#Flash Media Reader/Writer: 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card
Reader/Writer Black
#Operating System: None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only
#Warranty: Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty +
Lifetime Technical Support
#Rush Service: Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush Service,
Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days
$1012

Trying to decide on a new PC.
I don’t want to get a Dell because I like to customize more than that.
I don’t want to build it myself (like I did my previous one) because its a pain and time consuming.
So I think I’ve narrowed it down to ibuypower.com or cyberpowerpc.com
Very slight difference between similar configured systems:

ibuypower.com
Case: /420W Power Supply w/ Halo 2 Side Window Case Lighting
Power Supply: 650 Watt — Corsair CMPSU-650TX Power Supply SLI Ready
Processor: [== Quad Core ==] AMD Phenomâ„¢ II X4 925 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology AM3 & AM2+ support
Processor Cooling: Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink
Motherboard: [CrossFire] MSI DKA790GX AMD 790GX CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Dual PCI-E MB
Memory: 8 GB [2 GB X4] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4770 512MB PCI-Express x16
Hard Drive: 1.5 TB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 32M Cache]
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive: [** Special !!! ***] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black
Sound Card: 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Speaker System: iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System
Network Card: Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Flash Media Reader/Writer: 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black
Warranty: Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support
$921

cyberpowerpc.com
# ASE: Xion Vulcan Steel Gaming Mid-Tower 420W Case with Side Window (Black Color)
# Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans
# POWER SUPPLY Upgrade: 650 Watts Power Supplies (Corsair CMPSU-650TX – Quad SLI Ready)
# CPU: AMD Phenomâ„¢II X4 925 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
# COOLING FAN : AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
# MOTHERBOARD: MSI K9A2 CF-F AMD 790X CrossFire Chipset DDR2/1066 Dual 16X PCIE SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN, USB2.0, & 7.1Audio
# MEMORY: 8GB (4x2GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
# VIDEO CARD: ATI Radeon HD 4770 PCI-E 16X 512MB Video Card (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
# HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (1.5TB (1.5TBx1) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
# Optical Drive: (Special Price) LG 22X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (Black Color)
# SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
# SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
# NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
# Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
# SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
$928

The mobo at ibuypower.com seems better, but the case is uglier (its under the desk so who cares).

Bang/buck analysis:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pj0MyjjvstbTTtfDoWIl_NQ

Another big delima: CPU. AMD Phenom II X4 vs Intel i7. Bang/Buck comparison is leaning me towards the i7 at the moment. The Intel version is ~$100 more (for the entire machine), but that’s not too much considering the benchmark difference.

Always a pain: GPU. Focused on ATI pretty much (though, not opposed to nvidia as that’s what I have now).