[Aroy]

When my Laptop disk crashed, I took it out, connected it to an external USB disk box and recovered the data to my desk top. Of course this does not work if the disk is damaged physically.

As a precaution I regularly write my current data to external USB disks, and if it is to be archived to DVD, 2 if it is critical. Please NOTE that CD and DVD also go bad, so if you require data after 10 years, read it at least once a year, and make an extra copy after 5 years. I have an archive of at least 500 CD/DVD and devote at least a week every year for maintenance.


1. If you keep your data on HDD out side the computer, ensure that you power the disk up once a month. A lot of HDD failures occur when the disks are not powered up for months. At times the lubricant dries up and jams the HDD.

2. I have been using Seagate for the last 15 years and have yet to face major problems. Over this time I have bought over 20 HDD and only one failed and was replaced in warranty (ultimately the failure was traced to the SATA connector and not to the HDD)

3. Note that HDD are prone to failure at high temperatures. We normally use the computer without AC, without realising that at 30+ ambient the internal temparature in the cabinet can be 10-20 degrees higher and the HDD another 20 degrees more. I use the temparature monitor that comes with Intel MB and the moment the CPU temparature goes out of limits, I either switch the AC or shut the computer down. In case it is an non Intel MB third party products are available to monitor the CPU temparature.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I do wonder how hot is too hot for an HD. Mine run (according to sensor data presented by Ubuntu) around 36 to 40 or more, and I am seldom doing stuff that is much disk intensive. The 1tb Seagate has always felt very hot to the touch. But they all get green lights in disk test routine.

Planning to add more fans to my cabinet, and, when I do, they will be blowing air over the disks.

[prateekm]

Since you guys are talking about temperatures and cooling, maybe you could give me an opinion.

My current CPU temperatures hover around 45-50 degrees while normal browsing and go upto 60-65 degrees on heavy CPU usage (gaming, etc).



I have a CoolerMaster Elite 310, and here is a picture of the same:



I have the transparent side panel, so I can add a 1*120mm fan out there (bottom right picture, represented by blue arrow). Also, I guess I can add a fan in the front panel (where the blue arrows indicating air flow are being shown in the top picture). Will adding 2*120mm fans reduce the temperature? Or do I need a heatsink/cpu cooler?

[cranky]

Idle temperatures are higher than ideal but well within the range for most CPUs. Load temperatures are perfectly fine with stock cooling.

For a major drop in temperature you will have to improve both the case cooling and the CPU cooler itself.

The front fan mostly helps hard disk cooling. This is not something you really need given the temperatures of the disk. The side fan will only help somewhat as it is not aiding the airflow significantly. It is there to basically spot-cool video cards - if you don't have one it's not much point.

And with the regular configuration, the airflow arrows are a lie. Air gets sucked in from every vacant crevice - it does not follow any clearly directed path. If there is a hole, it will suck in air. The closer it is to the fan, the more air it will suck in. The CPU duct is the main point of entry for air in this design.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Goodness prateekm, what cpu are your running without any heatsink?

I hate to do the classic, macho-male, hey-look-at-the-size-of-mine , but ...



The case fans are 120mm. The heatsink fan is 140mm, and there is a second one underneath the heatsink cooling fins.

New cooler compared with the old, stock, AMD cooler:

[Saanil]

I bought DELL Inspiron 15R for home use a couple of days back. Since it was to be used by my father and my sister we did not require any high config laptop. I had gone to Croma and Vijay sales to have a look at all choices. My budget was around 32k and found only two laptops to my liking. One was Acer Aspire and the other was Dell Inspiron 15R. Specifications of both were same but the Acer one was a little cheaper. Finally decided on Dell. Following are the specifications:

Model: Dell Inspiron 15R
Processor: Intel® CoreTM i3 380M Processor (2.53GHz/3MB cache)
OS: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Basic 64-Bit
RAM: 3GB (1 X 1GB + 1 X 2GB) 2 DIMM DDR3 1333Mhz
Hard Drive: 320GB 5400RPM
Display: 15.6" (39.6cm) Widescreen HD WLED Glossy Display with TrueLife™ (1366x768)
Video Card: Intel® HD Graphics
Optical Drive: DVD+/-RW Optical Drive(Win7 Home Basic)
Wireless: Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000
Software: McAfee® Security Center™ (Multi-Language) - 30-Day Trial Version. Microsoft® Office Starter 2010: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
Primary Battery: 6-cell Lithium

I bought this from Vijay sales for Rs 34000 (bag included)

Initial Experience:

Though Acer was a bit cheap providing the same features I chose Dell because:

1. Acer does not provide CD's for OS and drivers. I do not know if there is a recovery drive in Acer or not but I wanted the OS cd.
2. Dell's after sales support is really good. Previously I have owned a Dell inspiron 1545 and my experience while changing the hard drive under warranty was good. The laptop was repaired in my presence at my home.


Those looking for a budget yet powerful laptop look no further. This laptop is ideal for home use. The looks of the laptop are good, not that it mattered in my decision making process. The laptop build is solid and is light weight too. It will not offer the mobility of netbooks but for a 15.6 inch screen size, the laptop is very light. The top finish is glossy - looks good but is a finger print magnet. It is not plain black but has a pattern of fine lines which looks great. Inside there is greyish-silver finish near the mouse-pad and around the keypad. Buttons are large and soft. The arrow keys are a little small but you will get used to them. Touch-pad is large with separated keys for left and right click. There is also a scroller but there are no markings on the touchpad.

There are 4 USB ports - 2 at the back and one on each side. There is a HDMI port too - a feature which I will not be using much. Speakers are great - volume just as per my liking. Bluetooth is one feature which I use extensively - infact I have transferred the following pics from my mobile to this laptop via bluetooth. The heat management is really great. I have not used any processor intensive applications but for normal usage there is no heating at all. I have not yet tested its battery but since it will be at home all the time it doesnt matter. Some pictures:

[bullinb]

Congrats on your new laptop. Having owned a couple of Dell's so far, my sincere advice is to buy the extended warranty. Take if from me that something WILL go wrong after a year and service will burn a nasty hole in your pocket. On the other hand, if you have the warranty, Dell has by far the best service. They will replace anything that is remotely mall functioning without a single question.

[Thad E Ginathom]

That looks really nice. I don't think that a laptop with a screen that big is ever going to really portable --- and, for a family machine, looks do matter, as it is a part of the furniture.

I notice you have wireless "n". Does your router support it? If not, an upgrade to a wireless-n router will give a very noticeable increase in network speed. It's remarkably zippy! To the extent that you won't miss a direct cable.

[lordavenger]

I just assembled a system after ages! Special mention of Delhi's Nehru place. Had no idea this place was so well stocked. As far as configurations go,

Intel i5 2500
MSI H67MA-E35 (B3 Revision)
Corsair XMS3 2x2 GB
MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone OC 1024 MB
Western Digital SATA 3 1 TB
Dell ST2220L
Liteon 24X DVD-RW
Razer Cyclosa+Abyssus Bundle
Coolermaster Elite 430
Corsair TX 650

Still can't get over how well the system performs. Will benchmark today, but initial impressions of Dragon Wars 2 simply blew me away.

Oh, and my old system now goes into backup mode. Had an excellent couple of years with the Samsung NC10, doing its level best to imitate a desktop!

[ByDesign]

Originally Posted by lordavenger

I just assembled a system after ages! Special mention of Delhi's Nehru place. Had no idea this place was so well stocked. As far as configurations go,

Intel i5 2500
MSI H67MA-E35 (B3 Revision)
Corsair XMS3 2x2 GB
MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone OC 1024 MB
Western Digital SATA 3 1 TB
Dell ST2220L
Liteon 24X DVD-RW
Razer Cyclosa+Abyssus Bundle
Coolermaster Elite 430
Corsair TX 650

Still can't get over how well the system performs. Will benchmark today, but initial impressions of Dragon Wars 2 simply blew me away.

Oh, and my old system now goes into backup mode. Had an excellent couple of years with the Samsung NC10, doing its level best to imitate a desktop!

Im a fan of your cabinet and psu. Also do you mean dragon age 2? Im into origins right now, but I've got DA 2 as well. Playing DAO at all settings maxed out, 1920x1080 res and 4x AA. DA2 I had turn down from extra high to high in textures, 2x AA and 1920x1080 res.

I partiularly feel you could've got a bigger monitor. Im sure your 460 could handle a 24 incher nicely.

On the whole, congrats on your setup, I remember how exciting it is to get new tech.

[creative420]

Originally Posted by cruiser@0523

Just got my new pc few weeks back.

Intel i5 Sandy Bridge 2400
Corsair 1600mhz 8GB
ATI Raedon 6950 2GB
Seagate 1TB
23" LG LED Slim

Nice config there. How deep a hole did that one dig in to your pocket? And 2GB ATI? Gamer?

[devarshi84]

I am looking for a cheap gpu with HDMI and DVI. any suggestions?

the use is to hook up my 7 yr old desktop with tv to watch downloaded videos.

[prateekm]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

I am looking for a cheap gpu with HDMI and DVI. any suggestions?

the use is to hook up my 7 yr old desktop with tv to watch downloaded videos.

Can you specify your budget?

If HDMI and DVI are the only requirements, you can get ATI HD5450 for around 2,500. It's a DDR3 RAM with a core clock of 650MHz and 64bit memory. If you can spend about 5,000, then I suggest you go for HD5670 (R5670 if it's MSI). It's a 1GB DDR5 RAM with 775MHz clock and 128bit memory.

[cruiser@0523]

Originally Posted by creative420

Nice config there. How deep a hole did that one dig in to your pocket? And 2GB ATI? Gamer?

About 60k, nah im an Architecture student hence needed a good pc for 3D modelling, rendering and photoshop work. Though i dont mind playing some good racing games.

[anku94]

Originally Posted by lordavenger

I just assembled a system after ages! Special mention of Delhi's Nehru place. Had no idea this place was so well stocked. As far as configurations go,

Intel i5 2500
MSI H67MA-E35 (B3 Revision)
Corsair XMS3 2x2 GB
MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone OC 1024 MB
Western Digital SATA 3 1 TB
Dell ST2220L
Liteon 24X DVD-RW
Razer Cyclosa+Abyssus Bundle
Coolermaster Elite 430
Corsair TX 650

Still can't get over how well the system performs. Will benchmark today, but initial impressions of Dragon Wars 2 simply blew me away.

Oh, and my old system now goes into backup mode. Had an excellent couple of years with the Samsung NC10, doing its level best to imitate a desktop!

That's a lovely system. Although you could have saved 1-2k and gone for i5 2400, as there is a negligible performance difference. Anyone looking for better performance than i5-2400 should get i5 2500K and OC it to 4.5k+, which can be done very easily.

Still, you can't go wrong with any Sandy Bridge model. They're the best products for their price range.

Originally Posted by devarshi84

I am looking for a cheap gpu with HDMI and DVI. any suggestions?

the use is to hook up my 7 yr old desktop with tv to watch downloaded videos.

Since HDMI and DVI use the same encoding with different ports, they are easily inter-convertible using a cheap adapter. So most GPUs offer only DVI.

Further searching, I could find a card I feel is the right one for you.

Theitdepot - PowerColor Radeon HD4350 512MB DDR3 ATI PCI E Graphic Cards (AX4350 512MK3-SH)

It has both DVI and HDMI ports. The MSI version of this card costs Rs. 2400 on this site, and you can go for it, but there will be no performance and quality difference.