Michael McNamara

It would seem that just like everyone else out there I have the same problems and woes.

I powered on my rig last Saturday morning only to get a SMART warning from my Epox Nforce4 Ultra motherboard.

SATA1 hard disk failure imminent; backup data and replace disk immediately.

I wondered if the report was correct. Well sure enough it became painfully evident that there was something wrong. When I went to check the System Log from Windows XP I found quite a few disk errors which all but confirmed the earlier report. I did some quick research and decided to take this opportunity to step-up from a 7,200 RPM drive to 10,000 RPM drive. With the HP Proliant servers we have at work the hard drives (SCSI, SATA, SAS) go up to 15,000 RPM. I chose the Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM from NewEgg.com of course. (Image courtesy of NewEgg.com)

Let me just tell everyone that the performance boost is very noticeable. I will admit that I had to re-install Windows XP so that is probably also playing into the equation, but the system and GUI are much more responsive than before. I would quantify it at between 15% and 20% increase in performance. The Raptor X is only a SATA (1.5Gbps) while my two previous SATA drives were (3.0Gbps) but that doesn't seem to really matter. The drive has a clear top to it so you can see the actual head and disk platter, just be careful not to push/lean on it.

Cheers!

When I last spoke about my home desktop computer I mentioned that I was waiting for the release of the new Logitech G15 keyboard. I'm happy to report that the new G15 has been released and I'm happily typing this article on it right now.

I found a wealth of plug-ins for the built-in LCD display and I've found some very interesting uses for the macro keys. Overall I'm very happy with the new Logitech G15 keyboard. It complements the new Logitech G5 mouse I've had on my desktop for the past six months. The version of the G5 I have includes two thumb buttons on the mouse, great for those of us that game.

I had the opportunity to upgrade my headset a few weeks ago. I had been using the Plantronics GameCom 1 3.5mm headset with the on-board audio from my Nforce4 Ultra motherboard. Unfortunately the cable got wrapped around my three year olds foot just before she ran out of the room. All the kings horses and all the kings men weren't going to put it back together so I decided to order the Plantronics GameComPro 1 USB headset.

The Plantronics GameCom 3.5mm headset is definitely hands down the best value and product in the price range ($19.99). I've used this headset for about two years now (replacing them as they get broken) and it's very comfortable. I use this headset in conjunction with the on-board audio from my Nforce4 Ultra motherboard. It works very well and provides good sound both as an output and input (microphone). Just remember that you'll need either a dedicated sound card or on-board audio built into your motherboard. I know the audiophiles would argue that the on-board audio isn't anywhere near the quality of a dedicated sound card but for those of us that just need basic audio, this should work fine.

The Plantronics GameComPro1 USB headset is also a very nice product. It is a USB solution that houses it's own DSP (essentially it's own soundcard). It has the same basic design as the GameCom headset above and I would rate it in line with the sound from my on-board audio. Unfortunately the DSP doesn't have a Mixer so you might have issues trying to use a USB headset with FRAPS to record voice/sounds with various applications/games. For those that don't have either a sound card or on-board audio from their motherboard this is a great option.

Cheers!

Last week I decided to sink some money into my slowing aging desktop computer. I upgraded my 9 year old 19" Dell CRT to a 22" Samsung 226BW Widescreen LCD and my eVGA 6800GS to an eVGA 8800 GTS 320MB.

I have to say I'm pleased with both components. The widescreen display is really nice when working with multiple applications and windows and the 8800GTS just about lays waste to any game that I might have (Battlefield 2142, Company of Heroes, GRAW2, Armed Assault, Half-Life 2, etc).

Here are the specs today;

• Antec P180 Case
• Antec Neo HE 550 Power Supply
  
• EPOX Nforce4 Ultra+ Motherboard
• AMD 64 X2 4200+ (939 Socket)
  
• 2.0 GB RAM
• (1) 250GB Seagate
• (1) 350GB Western Digital
• Sony CD-ROM/DVD-ROM Drive (DDU1615)
  
• Sony CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive (DRU-810A)
  
• eVGA 8800 GTS 320MB Superclocked
• 22" Samsung 226BW Widescreen LCD
• Nvidia nForce Onboard Audio
• Plantronics SmartCon Headset
  
• Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
• Windows XP SP2

I'm currently waiting for the new version of the Logitech G15 keyboard to be released.

The original version of the G15 seems just too big and large for me and my desk. I'm currently using an old 102-key Dell keyboard that came with me Dell 8200 almost9 years ago.

The upgrade and installation were fairly easy. The 8800GTS cards really take up some space so you need to be careful of the clearance within your computer case. They are about 9 inches long and occupy two slots sometimes making it impossible to run them in an SLI configuration. Although I understand the the 8800GTX is almost two-three inches longer than the 8800GTS.

Cheers!