Community Newsletter: Q&A: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista?
- 2/2/06 5:06 PM
Plextor are not cheap and do not wear out quickly
by drpenl - 2/3/06 12:23 PM In reply to: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Being a long time Plextor user I have had 1 CD burner, and 3 different DVD burners. Each time I upgraded, I upgraded to get a faster drive. The old drives were used heavily, but never wore out. Since I read your article, I contacted Plextor to get their input.
I hope this clears up the issue.
Below is Plextor's reponse:
1. Is the Plextor and Sony the same DVD +/-R/W drive?
2. And does the Plextor wear out quickly?
3. Who builds the Plextor drives?
The answer to your first question is no
Mean time before failure is 10,000 hours of use
And plextor makes our own drives out of Japan
(NT) in response to George's message
by jtpenrow - 2/3/06 12:56 PM In reply to: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
well for one if you have two hard drives, one an EIDE
hard drive and one a SATA Hard drive make the SATA drive your boot drive and the Eide drive your data drive, secondly you can also shop on line for computer parts the best sites are newegg.com
axiontech.com performancepcs.com and directron.com
all of these stores have excellent service and great reviews at resellerratings.com
and to anwser the main question about vista any pc that runs xp (smoothly) meaning quickly and not strained or underpowered will run vista . the biggest gain for most would probably be the addittion of some x tra memory
and if building your own very important to get a good motherboard( MOST) important because your processor will either be amd or intel both great processors with good support, but if you get a cheap off brand motherboard you may have problembs with your bios
things like not being compatible with certain brands of memory, and all sort of troubles having a good mobo from a top manufacturer with a good bios and good bios updating to ensure compatibly now and down the road is crucial
what?!?!?!?
by imadork - 2/3/06 1:17 PM In reply to: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
man! are you high or what? recommending AMD processors?!?!?! you DO know that they are behind Intel processors in terms of technology? and i highly doubt that the test in which an AMD based pc beat the Intel based pc was even on the same playing field. don't be fooled by how someone says something is better just because they like it or because they say it is. thats total bs!!!! Intel is the way to go for processors. im sorry, but AMD is nothing more than crap. you could have an AMD processor with the same exact specs as an Intel chip, and it'll perform way less in performance. put simply, AMD based pc's just suck. Stay away from AMD, and do yourself and everyone else and get the latest Intel chip.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?? I can barely hear you!
by Zeppo - 2/3/06 2:12 PM In reply to: what?!?!?!? by imadorkWell, you like Intel. That's nice. I did too.
But Intel's not my wife or my kids. And I am sorry to break this to you - AMD is better and faster.
The corporate world can safely stay with Intel, though that is changing. But home users wanting fast systems are flocking to AMD. They are fast and cost less than comparable Intel dual core systems, and consistently beat Intel's best processors in tests all over the Internet - not just one site.
I have been a die hard (like you) user of Intel processors for years. I was seriously considering a new dual core Intel processor when a tech person suggested I ''just'' consider a dual core AMD Athlon X2 processor. After several months and much research, I bought a high end system with my first AMD Athlon X2 dual core 4800+ processor. Intel has got to show me something BIG to get me back! This AMD Athlon X2 is already 64 bit capable and is fast. I am very pleased that I had the courage to think outside the box. Intel has been box for years but not anymore. AMD is my new best friend! 
aha...
by copycat - 2/3/06 2:19 PM In reply to: what?!?!?!? by imadork....the previous post was proudly sponsored by intel.....
thanks for your generous insight into processor technology. based upon your highly technical vocabulary, one can assume you're to be found in the technical lab (naturally with your office door labeled "janitor's closet").
come on get real
by cadkid1 - 2/3/06 6:13 PM In reply to: what?!?!?!? by imadorkFirst time posting on this site, But i would suggest that you do some reshearch. Amd been wipping the pant's off intel for a while now, come on over and try it, you'll be hooked like the rest of us.
Best of 2 Worlds
by scottyat2 - 2/3/06 3:27 PM In reply to: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You should be able to utilize 2 Operating Systems on 1 PC. If your computer is current with lots of Memory and a Fast CPU then use both WinXP and Vista as your OS's. When the market catches up with the 64 bit generation and Vista becomes stable with the consumers that would be an excellent time to purchase a new PC.
Unless you have a few thousand dollars to spend and readily available you're welcome to do as Pete Z. quoted in his Newsletter.
I was disturbed on the subject of DVD Drives that Sony and Plextor are not worthy. Plextor is definitely
One of the Top 3 manufactures and my (2)Plextor PX-716A's are the best I've ever owned. I've had them for 14 months with no problems which Pete Z. defaults there quality issue.
CNET editors and the people who perform the research
do an excellent job providing us with up to date information. The Forum is an excellent resource and tool. Keep on doing an Outstanding Job, CNET.
Will VISTA resolve our Virus and Security Issues ?
It'll be better but like everything else in this world it's has weak points and acceptable to new unwanted items. Note: VISTA is a remake of an older dinosaur
called ''Longhorn''.
Suns new CPU
by egghed - 2/3/06 5:04 PM In reply to: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Personally I have to sugest Suns new multithread CPU if you want performance,it is four layered multithread
capable chip with awe inspiring agility and quickness,it has also inspired a stock purchase.Truly a forfront chip architecture too be well noted.
optical drive disagreement
by cedrowilli - 2/3/06 11:03 PM In reply to: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've owned a Plextor PX-708UF practically since it was released and it is the only unit I have owned that hasn't done itself in. It handles every format there is (or was at the time) for DVD & CD with good, solid performance. I have worked with computer professionals who swear by them as well.
Units like Philips and Creative are cheap and tear themselves up internally. It's rather pathetic when Philips' own tech support recommends you get another drive to take the load off because it can't do the work alone, even though it was warranted for a year and broke after a month. The tech said that would happen again.
Cheaper is not better when it comes to optical drives. Chief reason: the laser module tears itself loose from the mounting.
Am I ready for Windows Vista?
by efine - 2/4/06 1:12 AM In reply to: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Pete Z:
No! since in the last paragraph XP is suggested. Isn't Vista a new Operating System that will replace XP?
Please explain. I may be confused (I am not a Techie, just am interested observer/participant) and expect that by year end I will need/want a new system.
Although I have a new Sony DVD-RW and love it, the balance of your suggestions were very helpful and will be used when I am ready to put the system together.
efine
Am I ready for Windows Vista?
by efine - 2/4/06 1:18 AM In reply to: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Pete Z:
No! since in the last paragraph XP is suggested. Isn't Vista a new Operating System that will replace XP?
Please explain. I may be confused (I am not a Techie, just am interested observer/participant) and expect that by year end I will need/want a new system.
Although I have a new Sony DVD-RW and love it, the balance of your suggestions were very helpful and will be used when I am ready to put the system together.
efine
Pete Z
Ahaaa . . . . forget my first e-mail
You were suggesting XP if the computer is built before the Vista release. It takes me a while . . . but I usually finally GEDDIT !!!
efine
Very Good Pete
by LsuEduMsn - 2/4/06 1:33 AM In reply to: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Thanks Pete Z. for the informed message. It is great to read someone's info that is creative.
It is too tiring and boring to read negative 're-acting' messages that are negative as opposed to positive 'acting' messages of PPLE who are positive going forward.
You must be a leader to 'act' instead of being a follower who waits to 're-act.'
No boost w/RAID-0 in single-user/non-caching system
by RRLedford - 2/4/06 8:51 AM In reply to: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The marginal boost that RAID-0 can give is not worth the extra cost of 2nd drive, not to mention the extra exposure to serious headaches! StorageReview.com has shown this to be true, and I have five RAID-0 systems that confirm their conclusion. Better to spend the extra buck$ on a premium drive, or better still, use multiple drives - one for O/S, one for programs, & one for Swap/Temp files.
While I wait for dual-socketed 64-bit CPU motherboards with dual-core CPU support to arrive & mature, and before I migrate out of my present Dual socket-370 1GHz+ P-III architecture systems, I tread water with system boards having integrated Promise RAID-Lite controllers. With two 80GB/7200/8MB drives connected RAID-0 to them, these systems perform well, but not that much better than they do when I have to connect a single drive to them to recover from a crash.
When Windows XP on a RAID-0 array crashes, which is statistically much more frequent, the chore of recovery is much greater. The number one challange is how to diagnose if just one of your two drives has developed bad spots, and which of the two drves it is.
Please post statistics
by nstaff - 2/7/06 2:27 AM In reply to: No boost w/RAID-0 in single-user/non-caching system by RRLedfordPlease post the statictics you speak of regarding XP's greater likelyhood of crashing if you use RAID-0 as opposed to a single HS sollution. Please also support your claim of one drive offering performance on par with two of that same drive in a RAID-0 array. Also, by implying it would only increase performance in a multi-user scenario all you're really saying is the more disk operations you have, the more you'll notice the increased performance which contradicts your statement that RAID doesn't really outperform single disk configurations.
If you trully did have an instance like you describe, I'd be more inclined to fault the motherboard than I would to say that nearly doubling the data path of the slowest critical component in your computer doesn't really help.
I'm not trying to argue or tell you your experience, but I'd want to see some support of it before watching others blindly follow it.
/nick
How Is This Award Winner Vista-Specific?
by pmchefalo - 2/4/06 6:35 PM In reply to: 2/3/06 Are you ready for Windows Vista? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Seems like the video recommendation underplays the new video features of Vista.
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