Jump to content

cygnus

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    611

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

 Content Type 

Posts posted by cygnus

    Hey Everyone

    in Introduction

    Posted

    It's been quite some time since I have been on the site. Is it cool if I come back and lurk a bit? My computer has been updated quite a bit since this " IBM Thinkpad T60, T2400, 1GB Ram, ATi X1300, 40GB Intel SSD, Windows XP Professional "

    Not much of a computer guy anymore, but I still enjoy messing around with things here and there.

    Which version of 7 you getting?

    in Microsoft Windows 7

    Posted

    I just got done installing the Release Candidate on my HP tablet and I must say Windows 7 is an extremely sought after improvement over Vista. God, my tablet ran so slow with Vista. It is an AMD Turion Dual Core, so that might explain it. Anyway, now with 7 on here, this little computer is so much more usable now. Runs way better.

    I'm definitely purchasing it, so I'll be getting Home Premium (That's all I need on here). I am hoping the family pack works out and allows 3(+) PCs, then I can put it on my desktop and my brothers desktop as well. That would be nice :)

    Hey guys, What do you think is the best among them?

    in Microsoft Windows XP

    Posted

    I have tried 7 a few times and I really didn't like it. I find they are taking simplicity a little too far and your now losing control over a lot of the aspects that I like within XP. Plus the newer user interface really does nothing for me. I'm more about my music now than anything else, and NetMD Simple Burner does not run on anything newer than XP.

    XP + MD = :)

    I will stick to XP Sp3 for a long time.

    iPod Mini

    in Hardware Field

    Posted · Edited by cygnus

    I recently purchased an iPod Mini from Amazon for about 35 dollars including shipping. It had been completely refurbished, new HDD, battery, shell and click wheel. I figured, what the hell, it's cheap and I always liked the iPod Mini design.

    I have been playing around with it for a few days, and I found the hard drive to be somewhat slow when switching songs and that. But before I purchased the Mini, I had found an article on the internet about swapping it for a compact flash card (same pinout on the board, so no soldering or new adapter required, just plug n play.).

    The person who did the initial swap, only used a 4gb at first. Then he got an 8gb, and then finally a 16gb. I thought, 16GB is awesome. 4 times the storage, no moving parts, possibility of better battery life? What the hell, I'll do it.

    I got to the local computer place by my house and they had a 32gb card in stock, for less than 100 dollars. So I picked it up, whats the worst that can happen? It doesn't work? I take it back and get another company, no big deal.

    Before I left the house, I had taken my Mini apart (Bit of a trick, but if you have a guitar pick or something thats plastic to pry the top and bottom off, its relatively easy). I tried my old 1GB CF Sandisk card and lo-and-behold it worked exactly as the article described. I put some music on it, played around for a bit and then headed to the store. When I got home, I popped the 32gb card in and fired it up. iTunes recognized the card and loaded the firmware on to it. Only problem though, was the iPod and iTunes both reported 936mb total. The same size as the 1gb card showed. So I had to take the card out, delete the partitions with the XP setup disc and then format the card in Windows to get itunes to recognize the entire 32gb. My guess is the card doesnt come pre-partitioned, so iTunes just used the last physical size.

    Now I have a 32GB iPod Mini without any moving parts and most likely better battery life.

    Heres a final conclusion pro/con table.

    Pros:

    Faster when playing music and skipping ahead

    Longer battery life (no moving parts to spin up)

    Increased capacity

    Increased ruggedness as the drive is now solid state

    Relatively inexpensive because of recent flash prices dropping

    Cons:

    Not as fast as microdrive, however certain flash cards are faster than others

    Hard to take apart the iPod

    Full size iPods have upwards of 100gb hard drives, CF still limited to around 32gb

    Price per GB compared to HDD is higher

    I took some pictures for those who are like me and just like to see pictures of declothed hardware :)

    th_IMG_0007.jpg

    Closeup of the display when the iPod is opened.

    th_IMG_0008.jpg

    Mini with new CF card installed.

    th_IMG_0010.jpg

    Mini with new CF card installed and old Microdrive in its case.

    th_IMG_0013.jpg

    The iPod is all back together and at the About screen it shows 30.1gb Total.

    New Tablet

    in Hardware Field

    Posted

    Looks nice.

    At first when I saw the second picture (without clicking on it) It looked like it was water stains all over it. ;)

    hehe I thought it was something wrong when I saw the display model in the store :P

    New Tablet

    in Hardware Field

    Posted · Edited by cygnus

    Last Friday I picked up a tablet PC at Futureshop. I have been wanting to get one of these for a long time now, and I finally went out and picked one up.

    Specifications:

    HP TX2-1024CA

    AMD Turion X2 64 RM-72 @ 2.10GHz

    4GB DDR2 800 Ram

    320GB HDD

    ATi Radeon HD3200 IGP

    12.1" Display 1280x800

    Fingerprint Scanner

    Lightscribe Super Multi DVD Burner

    Expresscard Slot/34

    Multimedia Remote that fits in the Express slot

    Wireless Draft N

    6 Cell Battery

    th_IMG_0009.jpg

    Design and Style

    The design of the HP TX2 is absolutely beautiful. I love the Reaction design they put on it. It's a little abstract and some may not like it, but it makes it a little more personal in my opinion. Rather than a single solid color or multitone, they have added a nice design.

    I have a feeling that within time it might wear off, but I don't really think it will. The glossy finish is over top of the design, so you would have to wear away the high gloss before the design would start to wear.

    th_IMG_0014.jpg

    HP Reaction Finish on the Outer Lid

    The touchpad not only looks cool, but it feels great. As does the keyboard, but theres more about those below :)

    Build Quality and Features

    I must say, I am extremely impressed at the build quality for such a small notebook. Its keyboard is free of flex, the display is pretty clear considering it has the active digitizer over it (it is a little grainy), the processor is well suited for everyday tasks and even gaming (The orange box runs well, and I must say Alyx looks good on this display (mind you, she looks good on any display ;) )), theres more than enough ram.

    The build quality of the entire notebook chassis is actually quite impressive, I wasn't expecting it to be so free from flexing. The only weak point on this tablet, since it is a convertible, is the single swivel hinge. You rotate the display 180 degrees on this hinge, as well as open and close the lid. It's extremely study considering what it is, but I will have to be careful with it.

    Software

    The included software on any notebook has always been a sore spot with me. They include so much garbage on a new computer, that it just doesn't run the way it should. Taking forever to boot up, I thought it might have just been to do with the AMD processor. I have never had a mobile AMD Processor, so I don't know what they are all about. But alas, it wasn't the processor. As soon as the desktop displayed, I saw it. All the installed software, the included Norton AV, the Office 2007 trial, and all the other garbage HP feels you should have.

    I promptly started uninstalling this software. In the end, I had the install down to 20gb (30gb when I first turned it on), but it still just didn't run quite right. So, I used my trusty ABR software and pulled my license information, reloaded with my copy of Vista 64 and re-installed my license. Got all the hardware working, and loaded a few programs I like to have with me and all my music, and now this little laptop runs just as well as it should.

    Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit is the Operating system that was sold to me. I really do like Vista now, however, I did not like the fact that HP does not include some sort of recovery disk media. You actually have to burn your own discs, which is a rather lengthy process too. Took over an hour to create 3 DVDs.

    Taking about 45 or so seconds to boot from the time you slide the power lever to the point you can browse the web, this little computer does not disappoint.

    Benchmarks

    The problem with benchmarking an AMD Tablet is the temperature. This Tablet runs extremely hot. I ran WPrime and the processer went up over 75'C, which to me is quite high. Some say the temperature is fine, but I feel that running such a chip at this temperature will surely burn it out.

    But anyway, the result for WPrime was a decent 43.78 seconds for the 32M test. This was with version 2.00, 2 threads. I think this is a decent score for a Tablet. I don't expect much more out of a Tablet.

    I ran Half Life 2, EP1/EP2 and Portal, and they all ran fine. Details set to high, and 1280x800 resolution was selected. AA and AF were disabled however, I figured the IGP wouldn't be up for those tasks. However; I wouldn't continue to do this as you may have a burnt out AMD in the future.

    Thats all for benchmarking for now and the reason is again the temperature.

    th_IMG_0012.jpg

    Windows Experience Index

    WEI.png

    Easier to see :)

    Not a bad score considering how small this little Tablet is.

    Ease of Use

    When in tablet mode, the display is a little hard to see. The viewing angles I believe are hindered by the active digitizer on the screen. It makes it hard to view the display without looking at it straight on. So you have to prop it up somehow so you can see what your doing.

    When writing with the pen, it's great. As long as you have the stylus within about an inch of the display, you can rest your hand on the display and write as if it is paper.

    If you get tired of using it in tablet mode, you can always revert back to a normal laptop. Just fold the display back up and rotate the display.

    The touchpad and keyboard are both excellent. The touchpad has the bumpy pattern that a lot of HP's other notebooks have, which is extremely nice. Not only will the touchpad last a little longer, but it is also much more accurate. The keyboard is another major selling point for me on this notebook. It's just simple great. Both looking and feeling. Just type on it for 5 minutes and you will see what I mean. The keys are solid, there is no flex in the board at all and the keys travel perfectly. They give you a positive feel.

    Battery Life

    Some complain the battery life on this Tablet isn't that great, I found the opposite. The battery in mine lasted just over 4 1/2 hours. Wireless was on, but I was only browsing the web in tablet mode. Processor was clocked to 50%. This is more than enough battery life for me. I imagine if you had it running a game or something, it wouldn't last much longer than 2 hours, if that.

    Some Other Stuff

    One other thing worth mentioning is the inclusion of a dumby DVD drive. Basically a plastic frame of a DVD drive that fits in where the DVD drive goes in this tablet. You can use this to reduce power consumption and weight. Abeit, not much, but I imagine not having the DVD drive in does save power.

    Also, an included Media Center remote really makes this computer a true entertainment pc. The only thing that you don't get is a DVI/HDMI out port. It would have been nice because they did include a remote for use with Media Center. However, for some it's probably not a big deal anyway.

    Overall, I believe this little tablet is surely a nice little companion for roaming around either the house or the campus. I would much rather carry a tablet like this than a larger 14.1+ laptop around with me. A netbook might be great for you too, but if you need the power, this will surely be dependable.

    Toshiba or HP laptops.

    in Hardware Field

    Posted

    Very nice computer that you decided to go with. Asus makes very nice laptops, my F8Sn is great. If you had gone with the HP, you would have to deal with extremely hot temperatures. Ihara an AMD Turion x2 as well in my tablet PC, same speed too. My tablet runs extremely hot even under idle conditions. The processor sits around 50

    What do you think of Windows 7?

    in Microsoft Windows 7

    Posted

    I'm downloading it right now on, gonna test it out on my Acer Aspire One and my Phenom.

    I'll post back about how it runs compared to my Aspire with Vista (which runs incredibly well as is O_o)

    I really like the new look of the taskbar, will be interesting to see it in action. Screenshots can only do so much. Liking the positive reviews from a lot of people on the net, looks promising :)

    [Competition] Best Computer Spec

    in Hardware Field

    Posted · Edited by cygnus

    I know I won't win, but heres my specs:

    AMD Phenom X4 9750 @ 2.4GHz

    4GB DDRII 1066 Corsair XMS2 Dual Channel

    Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H Motherboard

    XFX Geforce 8600GTS PCIe

    500GB Western Digital SATA HDD

    Samsung 22'' LCD @ 1680 x 1050

    Antec NSK3480 MicroATX case

    Slowly built overtime, but surely created.

    New System

    in Hardware Field

    Posted

    I had Vista installed and had 5.9, another time had a fresh install reported 5.8 :huh:

    I had something similar with my Asus Notebook. One time I had about 5.6 or so for my ram, then another install it was 4.8. I don't know what I did to cause it.

    New System

    in Hardware Field

    Posted · Edited by cygnus

    Upgraded again hehe

    Picked up an AMD Phenom X4 9750, Corsair XMS2 DDR2 1066 4GB, Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H Motherboard.

    Topped off with my 8600gts, and WD500GB SATA Drive, this little machine packs a punch for it's small size.

    Windows Vista x64

    WEI.png

×
×
  • Create New...