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Featuring CNET Editor Rich Brown

Desktops Session has ended.

Missed this live event? No worries! Each Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon PT, we'll give you the chance to chat live with a CNET editor. We'll cover a new topic each week, from cell phones to TVs. Get those burning tech questions ready! Click here for the Ask the Editors Live event calendar.

Previous topics: iPhone Home audio HDTVs MP3 players All topics

Latest questions and answers

Q: DVR PC question

by GrandpaN1947 - 8/30/07 11:50 AM

I have a great HDTV pci card and I want to make a DVR PC. I need a free pci slot for a wireless card, a SB sound card, and the HDTV card. Most motherboards are SLI and don't have enough open slots. What motherboard would you recommend?

A: Non-SLI should do it

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 12:02 PM

Without knowing what chipset you need it's hard to say. I'd suggest you go to the Web sites of Asus, Gigabyte and other motherboard vendors and see what their current line ups look like. From there, any ATX-sized motherboard that has three or more PCI slots should do the trick. Many of them have "multimedia" or "home theater" motherboards that leave off the gaming bells and whistles.

Q: Laptop cable to show pics on TV

by nashbash - 8/30/07 11:48 AM

what cable do i need to show pics on my TV that are located on my laptop? this seems to be laptop-specific. what do i need to look for on my laptop to determine what it exactly needs to do this?

A: A few options

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 11:54 AM

Look for a DVI, an S-Video or a composite video-out on your laptop. Most modern TVs should be able to accept either S-Video or composte. If your TV has an HDMI in, you can get a DVI to HDMI adapter.

Q: Vista Media Center with CableCard

by AWBY - 8/30/07 11:38 AM

I have a XP Media Center PC in my living room with analogue cable TV, and I'm interested in upgrading to an HD system, using digital cable. I have read a little about Vista and digital cable TV with CableCard with some doubts as to how well it works. Is it time to look into such an upgrade?

A: It works, mostly.

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 11:51 AM

I was hoping someone would ask about this.

If you don't care about pay-per-view and on-demand, CableCard works pretty well via the PC. Our own Matt Elliott got it working in New Hampshire via ComCast and he was pretty happy with it. You can read about his experience here: http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9754679-1.html

I tried in my apartment in Brooklyn and it didn't work, and the last I heard Microsoft and Time Warner were trying to figure out why, although it seemed to have to do with Windows or the hardware not verifying Time Warner's signal for some reason. I've bugged them both since then for an update, but no response.

I've heard that it works in New Jersey, California, and Virginia. I don't know if other places have issues like New York City.

Q: ASUS XG station

by Salomonskier720 - 8/30/07 11:32 AM

What is the deal with the ASUS XG station? Way back in CES 07 in january ASUS had there external GPU up and running and cnet covered it on cnettv buy now I have not heard a word about it since. What happened. I really want one but the only info I am finding on it is really old from a few months ago. Is there something better that might come out?

A: Good question

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 11:42 AM

The most recent info on Asus's Web site says that it's coming out Q2 2007. Guess they're a little late.

I'm not familiar with the interface they're using with the XG station, but I have a feeling it won't be on par with what you'd get from a normal 3D card, based simply on data throughput. I don't know of an external input that will move as fast as PCI Express. There could be something better, Nvidia already has an external 3D rig for workstations, and we've heard rumors of a high-end consumer version. But I haven't heard of anything official.

Q: MacBook

by geckoguy - 8/30/07 11:31 AM

I know this is the section for Desktops, but I just couldn't resist asking: Do you suggest I get a MacBook or a Windows Laptop? What should I know before getting a MacBook? (If I do decide to get one)

I need ease of use, and it would be great to keep the costs low.

A: Hmm...laptops...

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 11:39 AM

Perhaps you can find your answer in our digital camera chat from a few weeks back.

Kidding. Big question. If you're not involved in serious gaming or TV tuning or PC-based HD disk-watching, I've been recommending Mac desktops lately. The same applies to laptops, I'd think, but I'm really not up on battery life and such. Fortunately, I know this great Web site...

Q: 64 bit computing

by jbking2 - 8/30/07 11:29 AM

How likely do you think there will be a transition so that most desktop users will be on a 64 bit Operating System in the next few years?

Thanks,
JB

A: It's going to be a while

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 11:35 AM

"Most desktop users" will be 32-bit-bound for a while. It might happen sooner on Macs than Windows PC, because Leopard comes with native 64-bit support, while with Vista you need a separate install.

Stab in the dark: I'd guess five years before we start to see HP, Dell, and Gate-pardon me, Acer pushing 64-bit Windows on retail shelves.

Q: Refurbished PCs

by dans105 - 8/30/07 11:27 AM

How have your experiences been with refurbished PCs? For example, Dell sells even the newer Inspiron Desktops refurbished with some pretty good deals, and they come with a 1 year warranty. Do you this is a viable option for someone looking for a budget PC?

A: Refurbs can work

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 11:31 AM

Just make sure they're from reputable dealers. Dell will honor a warranty. Refurbhut.com, perhaps not as much (apologies if there's an actual Refurbhut.com). Buyer beware as always, but I've seen some good refurb bargains.

Q: Desktop to run Adobe CS3 (dreamweaver, photoshop)

by bw2007 - 8/30/07 11:16 AM

What should I be looking for in a desktop that will run Adobe CS3 and not need updating for a few years?

What processor?

Should I get more than 2Gb memory

Are there any off the shelf systems you would recommend?

Appreciate your thoughts

B

A: A Mac

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 11:19 AM

Based on our testing with Adobe's new suite so far, Macs rock on CS3 compared to similar Windows PCs. If you're a Windows person, as long as your system has 2GB of RAM and a decent dual or quad core chip, you should be fine.

Q: Replacing HD using original recovery disks

by phaserman - 8/30/07 11:10 AM

have a Sony Vaio PC. It’s about three years old and needs a kickstart. When I first got it, it prompted me to create two “Recovery DVD’s” , which I did. You know…the disks that contain the OS (Windows Media Center Edition) and all the pre-loaded software

My question is: If I buy a new HD and install it (to REPLACE the original HD), and I insert the “recovery” dvd, do you think the OS will install ok on a new HD that will probably be a different size, partition, different buffer size, etc?

A: Ideally, yes

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 11:16 AM

Without knowing the specifics of Sony's recovery process, it should be fine.

Q: Cooling Problem

by Diehard Bulldog - 8/30/07 11:04 AM

I installed a Thermaltake Ultra 120 cpu cooler on my q6600. It is not cooling as well as I expected - cpu temp is 41 c at idle at it should be about 30 or lower. The cpu cooler is installed right next to my case exhaust fan and they are blowing in opposite directions. Do you think I should try to move the cpu cooler fan to the other side, so it is blowing the same direction as the exhaust fan? Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

A: Is it rated properly?

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 11:16 AM

I'm unfamiliar with that cooler, but I'd make sure it's rated for the quad core chip, as it's a hot one. Assuming it is, experiment. Move the fans around, try different thermal grease. Hard to say without seeing the exact hardware.

Q: Media Wars

by Iamkar33m - 8/30/07 11:04 AM

For all of us wondering, who do you believe will win the next generation media war between Sony and Toshiba? It looks like Blu-Ray dominates the market... however HD-DVD is not that far behind. What do you think?

A: Your guess...

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 11:09 AM

Still too early to call. I'd like to see those hybrid drives and players take-off so that it doesn't matter which format you put in there.

Q: Quad core for gaming

by jbking2 - 8/30/07 10:56 AM

How soon do you think it'll be before games have recommended quad core CPUs? Do you think quad core will grow as fast as dual cores seem to have over the past few years?

Thanks,
JB

A: It should already help

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 11:00 AM

Quake 4, I believe Lost Planet, and I'm sure others have settings that let you tell the game to take advantage of multiple processing cores. I'm sure we'll see more and more games take advantage of them, although "recommended" might be a little ways off. As for growth, definitely, because prices on quad core chips are already dropping fast.

A: I'm here

by rhbrown - 8/30/07 10:52 AM

Fire when ready.

Incoming questions

Trying to put my videoes on an apple tv
I am currently trying to put my DVD ripped videos that are in AVI and other formats on my apple tv. I have found a freeware converter for MPEG4 but when I convert movies that are widescreen(as most of them are) the apple TV displays them squished and soes't use the wide screen of my TV. It has black bars that make the video more square that rectangle. I am sure that it is something to do with the converter and I wanted to know if there is a free MPEG converter out there for PC that could help me with my problem.

Thank you for your time,
Josh
by gamekingjb - 8/30/07 12:03 PM
For sewingarizona
Hi there,

this Ask the Editors Live event topic is on desktops.

However, please do check out this page on CNET which maybe able to help you find a voice command GPS unit:

http://www.cnet.com/gps.html

Good luck!
-Lee
CNET Community
by Lee Koo (ADMIN) - 8/30/07 12:00 PM
DVR PC question
I have a great HDTV pci card and I want to make a DVR PC. I need a free pci slot for a wireless card, a SB sound card, and the HDTV card. Most motherboards are SLI and don't have enough open slots. What motherboard would you recommend?
by GrandpaN1947 - 8/30/07 11:50 AM
Laptop cable to show pics on TV
what cable do i need to show pics on my TV that are located on my laptop? this seems to be laptop-specific. what do i need to look for on my laptop to determine what it exactly needs to do this?
by nashbash - 8/30/07 11:48 AM
GPS
Could you tell me what models of GPS allow for voice recognition. I need one you speak the address instead of entering on the screen.

Thanks
by sewingarizona - 8/30/07 11:45 AM
Vista Media Center with CableCard
I have a XP Media Center PC in my living room with analogue cable TV, and I'm interested in upgrading to an HD system, using digital cable. I have read a little about Vista and digital cable TV with CableCard with some doubts as to how well it works. Is it time to look into such an upgrade?
by AWBY - 8/30/07 11:38 AM
ASUS XG station
What is the deal with the ASUS XG station? Way back in CES 07 in january ASUS had there external GPU up and running and cnet covered it on cnettv buy now I have not heard a word about it since. What happened. I really want one but the only info I am finding on it is really old from a few months ago. Is there something better that might come out?
by Salomonskier720 - 8/30/07 11:32 AM
MacBook
I know this is the section for Desktops, but I just couldn't resist asking: Do you suggest I get a MacBook or a Windows Laptop? What should I know before getting a MacBook? (If I do decide to get one)

I need ease of use, and it would be great to keep the costs low.
by geckoguy - 8/30/07 11:31 AM
64 bit computing
How likely do you think there will be a transition so that most desktop users will be on a 64 bit Operating System in the next few years?

Thanks,
JB
by jbking2 - 8/30/07 11:29 AM
Refurbished PCs
How have your experiences been with refurbished PCs? For example, Dell sells even the newer Inspiron Desktops refurbished with some pretty good deals, and they come with a 1 year warranty. Do you this is a viable option for someone looking for a budget PC?
by dans105 - 8/30/07 11:27 AM
Desktop to run Adobe CS3 (dreamweaver, photoshop)
What should I be looking for in a desktop that will run Adobe CS3 and not need updating for a few years?

What processor?

Should I get more than 2Gb memory

Are there any off the shelf systems you would recommend?

Appreciate your thoughts

B
by bw2007 - 8/30/07 11:16 AM
Replacing HD using original recovery disks
have a Sony Vaio PC. It’s about three years old and needs a kickstart. When I first got it, it prompted me to create two “Recovery DVD’s” , which I did. You know…the disks that contain the OS (Windows Media Center Edition) and all the pre-loaded software

My question is: If I buy a new HD and install it (to REPLACE the original HD), and I insert the “recovery” dvd, do you think the OS will install ok on a new HD that will probably be a different size, partition, different buffer size, etc?
by phaserman - 8/30/07 11:10 AM
Cooling Problem
I installed a Thermaltake Ultra 120 cpu cooler on my q6600. It is not cooling as well as I expected - cpu temp is 41 c at idle at it should be about 30 or lower. The cpu cooler is installed right next to my case exhaust fan and they are blowing in opposite directions. Do you think I should try to move the cpu cooler fan to the other side, so it is blowing the same direction as the exhaust fan? Any other suggestions?

Thanks.
by Diehard Bulldog - 8/30/07 11:04 AM
Media Wars
For all of us wondering, who do you believe will win the next generation media war between Sony and Toshiba? It looks like Blu-Ray dominates the market... however HD-DVD is not that far behind. What do you think?
by Iamkar33m - 8/30/07 11:04 AM
Quad core for gaming
How soon do you think it'll be before games have recommended quad core CPUs? Do you think quad core will grow as fast as dual cores seem to have over the past few years?

Thanks,
JB
by jbking2 - 8/30/07 10:56 AM
Rich Brown, desktops and PC components editor LIVE!
Ask the Editors Live!

Desktops and PC components live chat event with CNET senior editor Rich Brown starts Thursday August 30th at 11 a.m. to noon Pacific / 2 p.m to 3 p.m Eastern. Where Rich will be answering your questions on living-room PCs, Windows gaming hardware, or other desktop- and component-related matters. Get your questions ready and see you at the event!

Click here for upcoming Ask the Editors Live events and past transcripts of events.
by Lee Koo (ADMIN) - 8/21/07 5:12 PM
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