Author: Gabe

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.

My first pic w the iPhone\n

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

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

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

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)?

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

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.

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).