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On June 22 2011 07:44 djcube wrote: Does anyone have some recommendations on good price/performance SSDs with around 128GB of memory? I'm planning on replacing a stock HD on a notebook with one.
Also, does anyone have experience with OS re-installation (Windows 7) on notebooks? I have a W7 install image burned on a DVD that I used for my desktop. Can I just use that to do a new, clean install on the SSD with the cd-key from my notebook?
Look here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4421/the-2011-midrange-ssd-roundup http://www.anandtech.com/show/4453/this-just-in-oczs-vertex-3-max-iops-120gb-the-new-midrange-king
But does your laptop have a SATA3 (6.0 Gbps) port? All the fastest SSDs would run slower on SATA2. Regardless, I would think that an Intel 320 120GB (SATA2 interface anyway) would have plenty sufficient performance, and that's relatively cheap and perhaps the most reliable choice anyway.
As for re-installing Windows, it should work as long as the version of Windows is the same between the install CD and what the laptop originally had. I'm not sure about Ultimate vs. Professional vs. Home Premium and 64-bit vs. 32-bit. A lot of times it's not allowed to use the CD key for one version on another install but maybe downgrading is okay? I know you can't use a 32-bit Win7 Professional key on 32-bit Win7 Ultimate since I tried that recently, but you should check on this.
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On June 22 2011 07:37 Habel wrote: @XenOmega, it could be that you are accessing the boot loader directly, as if your bios thinks that there is more than one OS installed. To fix this, you can go into msconfig, boot, and set timeout to 0, which will automatically choose the first OS in the list that your boot loader belives is there.
I just tried, but the weird symbols still show up..
Here, I've tried to copy them
A(2 weird symbols) UèVe=!!*é(and 1 more weird symbol)
This word appears after the MSI logo disappears. Computer will not boot until I press enter :/ Also, 3 is the minimum timeout on my computer
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Oh, messed around with boot sequence. Disabled everything except CD/DVD reader and main HD, now it seem to work
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+ Show Spoiler +On June 22 2011 07:55 Myrmidon wrote:Show nested quote +On June 22 2011 07:44 djcube wrote: Does anyone have some recommendations on good price/performance SSDs with around 128GB of memory? I'm planning on replacing a stock HD on a notebook with one.
Also, does anyone have experience with OS re-installation (Windows 7) on notebooks? I have a W7 install image burned on a DVD that I used for my desktop. Can I just use that to do a new, clean install on the SSD with the cd-key from my notebook? Look here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4421/the-2011-midrange-ssd-rounduphttp://www.anandtech.com/show/4453/this-just-in-oczs-vertex-3-max-iops-120gb-the-new-midrange-kingBut does your laptop have a SATA3 (6.0 Gbps) port? All the fastest SSDs would run slower on SATA2. Regardless, I would think that an Intel 320 120GB (SATA2 interface anyway) would have plenty sufficient performance, and that's relatively cheap and perhaps the most reliable choice anyway. As for re-installing Windows, it should work as long as the version of Windows is the same between the install CD and what the laptop originally had. I'm not sure about Ultimate vs. Professional vs. Home Premium and 64-bit vs. 32-bit. A lot of times it's not allowed to use the CD key for one version on another install but maybe downgrading is okay? I know you can't use a 32-bit Win7 Professional key on 32-bit Win7 Ultimate since I tried that recently, but you should check on this. Thanks for those suggestions. The interface is SATA300 which I think is SATA2. I'll look into the Intel 320 you suggested, though.
Bleh, the W7 install I have is for Prof, but the notebook has Home. I suppose I need to get the install for Home somewhere or get a new key.
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Yeah that sounds like SATA2. I wouldn't expect SATA3 to be standard on laptops unless they're Sandy Bridge models with the Intel 6 series chipsets.
Other good values than the Intel 320 would be first-gen SandForce based drives (e.g. OCZ Vertex 2, Corsair Force), Samsung 470, and maybe even the SATA3 Crucial C300 depending on price.
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On June 22 2011 07:49 Myrmidon wrote:Show nested quote +On June 22 2011 03:19 FabledIntegral wrote: So I just moved into my new place, and unfortunately, I can't get a direct connection to my desktop, so I'm going to have to go wireless. Is it better to get one of those USB adapter connections, or buy an actual wireless card to go inside your desktop? I feel like the latter is overall more useful and less of a hassle. I just want to make sure I have a STRONG connection, even if it means shelling out a little bit more money. But at the same time, cheaper is better... All possible interfaces: USB2.0, PCI, and PCIe 1x should be fast enough unless you're looking to max out an 802.11n connection with 4x4 antennas. That part should be mostly irrelevant. You're just looking with something with hopefully non-buggy drivers and firmware (though good luck with that, on consumer networking gear lol). I'd just go on amazon or newegg or whatever and search for a newer device with very high ratings and with comments that it works on your operating system (Win7 64-bit?). Unless you need the signal to go through floors, through thick walls, or over long distances, it generally won't matter what device you get in terms of the signal strength as the signal will be good enough. I mean, plenty of laptops work fine with those internal wireless adapters buried inside the chassis. However, in the circumstance where this will make a difference, it would be better to have a device with antennas that can be moved around. Ideally you don't want antennas stiffly attached to the back of your computer case where potentially the signal is being blocked by the case and maybe in an area with bad multipath fading. If you have external antennas that can be moved around, moving them around to a better spot can possibly make a significant difference in the connection.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=33-166-063&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=true&IsFeedbackTab=true&chkVendorMark=on&Keywords=(keywords)&Page=1#scrollFullInfo
So would something like that work? What does PCI-Express Revision 1.1 mean? :o
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PCI-Express revision 1 is just the extended meaning of PCIe version 1.1. PCI slots are backwards compatible, so if you have a PCIe 3 or PCIe 2 slot on your motherboard, than that card will work.
By the way, PCI stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect in case you wanted to know.
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Make sure not to confuse PCI with PCIe (PCI-Express, the newer faster interface). There are multiple revisions of both that are backwards and forwards compatible, but PCI and PCIe are not compatible with each other. Your motherboard should have spare slots of both PCI and PCIe though.
By external antenna that you can move around, I was talking something more along the lines of this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833120033
That's a Cisco product that's probably way overkill and overpriced, so maybe this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166056
It looks like that gives you the option of not using the base if you don't want to, though the piece that holds the antenna is pretty fat.
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Looks good adioN. See if microcenter has a CPU/motherboard combo though, as that might be better than dealing with an open box item. You may want to pick up a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus or other aftermarket cooler while you're there. The blower design HD 6870s can be a little loud, if you care about that. This Sapphire design ($175 so cheaper) isn't the best, but it's known to be pretty decent and should be fine: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948
What's the old power supply?
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Configuration is good except for the open box motherboard. If you want a cheap SLI capable motherboard, get a MSI G4x or Gigabybte Z68 D3.
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Actually I don't plan on sli or xfire so what would be a decent motherboard just for OC?
the old power supply is an ocz stealth 600w
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Many of the entry boards such as but not limited to the Asrock P67 Pro3, Z68 Pro3, Gigabyte P67 UD3, and Z68 D3H are capable of 4.5GHz or higher.
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On June 22 2011 11:57 skyR wrote: Many of the entry boards such as but not limited to the Asrock P67 Pro3, Z68 Pro3, Gigabyte P67 UD3, and Z68 D3H are capable of 4.5GHz or higher. Which do you think would be best suited?
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Most of these boards have four or six power phases so it just depends on if you need/want certain features or amount of connectivity offered by each board and whether or not you have a brand preference.
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Hmm which one would let me dual monitor?
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Yeah I saw that promo code earlier. I think I might go with the Asrock P67 Pro3.
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hey i recently purchased a 6870, how does it support 6 displays? doesnt it only have 4 connections? the 2 white vga and 2 smaller ones(are those like mini vga?)
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There are two DVI ports and two mini Display Ports on the 6870. Each of the mini Display Ports can support up to three monitors if you use an active display port adapter.
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