Water Cooling Basics
Today we will take a look at water cooling your computer. This guide will help you decide if water cooling is right for you and guide you through buying and setting up a water cooling system. Why would someone want to water cool their PC? There are a few reasons why people chose to cool their PCs with water instead of the conventional air cooling. The main reason is that it provides better cooling. The other major reason people cool with water is that it is usually quieter than the fans required for air cooling a computer. Parts CPU Block - This is what physically transfers the heat from the CPU to the water running through the block. The preferred material for these is copper. Copper is a better conductor of heat than aluminum. From the outside it may look like just a block of copper, but it is really two parts. It is hollowed out on the inside, and that is what the water goes through to cool the CPU. There are either two or three barbs sticking out of the cooler, to which the tubs are connected. North Bridge Block – This is like the CPU block, but for the North Bridge. You may not need this part. The North Bridge doesn’t get terribly hot unless you’re getting a very high overclock, and still it may not be required. I knew that my system could benefit from a water cooled North Bridge, so I decided to add it. Video Card Block – I bet you’re getting the idea now. This is still optional, because the stock cooler will work, but you can really benefit from this. I added it because my 6800 gets very hot. Pump – Just like it sounds, it pumps the water around. There are four parts of the pump to consider before buying. The first is flow; this has little impact on the system. Next is head pressure. This may be the most important. The blocks add resistance to the system, so the pump has to offer a lot of pressure to keeps the water flowing. The greater the head pressure, the better. Heat is the third factor to consider. The pumps create some heat. The less heat the better; we don’t need any help heating up the water! The final factor is noise. If you want a quieter system, get a quieter pump. Radiator - The radiator is responsible for removing the heat from the water. This works just like a car radiator -- as a matter of fact, the best radiator is from a car. You can go down to a local car parts place and pick up a cheap radiator. Fans and Shrouds - You need to have fans and shrouds. The fans are put on the shrouds that are used to cool the radiator. Shrouds are used to mount the fans on the radiator. The fans should be set an inch or two away from the radiator and should suck air away from the radiator. Reservoirs - This is where excess water is kept. You don’t need one of these; you can go with a teeline instead. I got the reservoir because it doesn’t need as much daily care. You can’t have any air going through your system. Fluid – All water is not created equal. You should use distilled water or de-ionized water. These aren’t as conductive as tap or bottled water. If water happens to spill out, then chances of saving your computer are greater with distilled water. You also need to add something to the water to keep organics from growing in it and to prevent corrosion. I’d recommend Wetter Water or Zerex racing fluid. Clamps – You don’t absolutely need these, but if you like your computer and don’t want to buy a new one any time soon I would suggest some. They keep the tubing snug against the barb. Tubing – This is what carries the water to all the parts. Any tubing will do. Check the thickness of the tubing; thicker is better, because that will help prevent kinks. I would suggest buying 10 feet in length of tubing. I’m not going to start recommending which parts to get in this article. As time goes on more and newer parts come out. Hopefully these are better than the last generation of water cooling. For the most current recommendations please visit the forums.
Setting up Your Hardware Firewall
So, you’ve spent your hard-earned cash on a hardware firewall to protect your home network against intruders, or perhaps you have upgraded to a wireless router that includes a built-in firewall. Whatever the case may be, although most models of hardware firewalls are very easily and quickly set up with a wizard-style interface and a few clicks, the default security settings of the router largely remain off.
To improve on this situation, you will need to manually configure your router to provide more security. If you have a network, you are a network administrator; whether you have one desktop and a laptop, or a desktop in every room and a couple of network-enabled consoles, you alone are responsible for the integrity and security of your home network.
This article is based on a Netgear DG834GT router with built-in firewall that I recently reviewed. If you do not own this model, don’t worry as most current hardware firewalls/routers are administered in the same way. They use a browser-based interface that you access in the same way as a web page. The features may differ from model to model but the principal is the same, and many similar features are found across brands.
The automatic configuration of modern routers normally set the router itself to the network device with an IP address of 192.168.0.1 and other devices (desktop PC, laptop, etc) as 192.168.0.2, 192.168.0.3 etc, etc.
To access the administration utility, you normally only need to open a browser and type http://192.168.0.2 in the address bar. If this does nothing or displays a “Page cannot be found” message, it may not be configured/installed correctly or you may need to access it in some other way, so check the documentation or manufacturers web site for advice.
You will probably need to enter a password to access the admin pages, if you have not already changed this, the default password will be in the documentation for the device.
Baca Selengkapnya......PCIe Primer
As you have undoubtedly noticed, PCI Express contains the name PCI. But don’t be fooled by this; PCIe is not part of the standard PCI bus of your standard motherboard. More to the point, PCIe is another implementation of the PCI bus and even uses existing PCI programming concepts. But the similarities end there. PCIe is based on a much faster communication protocol. As a result, PCIe has more available bandwidth than almost all of the other internal buses, including PCI and AGP.
A few years ago, AGP was the standard for high-performance graphics. But now, just a short time later, it's getting harder to find hardware that supports AGP. The world is moving to PCIe (PCI Express), and a lot of people don’t know much about it. Read on, as I explain what PCIe is, where it came from, and why you want it in your system.
Although the specification for PCIe was finalized in 2002, it has actually taken quite awhile for PCIe to become mainstream. This movement started in 2004, and has been gaining momentum ever since. In the computer industry, adopting new standards takes time. Motherboard manufacturers don’t want to switch to a new standard until there are peripherals that can utilize these standards, because no one will buy the board. At the same time, peripheral manufacturers do not want to make a product that utilizes a standard that no motherboard supports. If all of the motherboards out there support AGP, then video card makers are going to continue making AGP cards, even if PCIe is faster. It’s simple economics, and also the reason why new standards are adopted more slowly.
So let's talk a little more about PCIe and where it came from.
Baca Selengkapnya......Competitive Benchmarking Tips and Tricks
If you don't have a clue about benchmarking software or you don't know their purpose, and you can't use them, then I wholeheartedly suggest reading Mike Mackenzie's article called "Benchmarking and Diagnostic Programs." It's very comprehensive and informative, containing everything you need to know related to the most popular and well-known benchmarking utilities: Super PI Mod (get it here), SiSoft Sandra, FutureMark software, CPU-Z, and Memtest86. Getting Started Let's say you have a bad-ass system and you want to break into the top rankings. Or maybe you're just a simple bench marker who wants to outperform your next-door neighbor's computer. Maybe you're just looking to maximize your system's overall performance. Whatever your reasons are I really hope that reading this article will help. It should be noted that the tips and tricks which you are about to read are not dangerous and cannot damage your hardware components or void any warranties. This is not an "overclocking" article, so have no fear. Before moving on, it's a good practice to backup your registry and important data to be safe before putting stress on your system. Try setting a System Restore point or using a free utility such as ERUNT. These tips shouldn't harm your operating system if performed exactly as described. Keep in mind that these techniques are tested and proven, but the performance gains are very relative and sometimes even unnoticeable. Some may work better than others on specific systems and yield significant results while others may slightly lower performance. Ultimately, this article attempts to point them out and help you understand them, but you need to do the experimenting. After applying each tip, run your benchmark software and compare your results, then repeat accordingly. Practicing like this will help you to become familiar with tweaking to improve your computer's performance. I'll cover tweaks, tips, and tricks for the following benchmarking applications: SuperPI and FutureMark's PcMark Series (04, 05) and 3DMark Series (01SE, 03, 05, 06). Most of the tweaks are specifically for one of the benchmarking applications but-like I said-experimenting with them leads to success.
Assuming you’re already familiar with benchmarking applications, it’s quite clear that you’ve realized how they work and probably felt the urge to compete. This article’s main focus, in a nutshell, is on competitive benchmarking.
Going Wireless
What is Wireless Internet? Wireless Internet has actually been around for years, though right now it’s becoming the latest thing for all the new computers being manufactured and sold. Cell phones have been equipped with wireless Internet for a while, but now you can free up your laptops and desktops from the hindrance of cords as well. Wireless Internet works the same way wireless phones do, which is by way of signals. Wireless Internet signals sent through the air are picked up by wireless devices, giving you the ability to surf the Web without plugging in. Wireless Internet is already out there for anyone to use, but not everyone knows how. How Does it Work? So, wireless Internet signals are whizzing through the air all the time? In a manner of speaking, yes. Because they are out there, anyone can use them. But wireless Internet is something that can be created and anyone can learn how to create wireless signals of their very own. Harnessing and creating these wireless waves isn’t difficult at all, but it will take a few special tools. First, you need a computer. Both laptops and desktops can make use of wireless Internet, even those models that aren’t pre-equipped to receive wireless signals. In order to enjoy a wireless Internet connection, you must first have some other form of high-speed Internet. Whether you receive this Internet through cable, DSL, broadband or some other means, you can convert yours to a wireless connection via a few steps. But how is it done? In order to go wireless, you’ll need a special wireless router to go with your existing computer and Internet connection. This modem-like device will connect to your existing modem (be it cable, DSL, or broadband). The router takes the signal from your modem and sends it back out in a wireless signal to your computer. Unfortunately, enjoying a wireless connection isn’t as easy as plugging everything in and signing online. 
Technology moves at so rapid a pace that it’s hard to keep up. These days it’s all about high-speed connections, and many different companies vie for the right to provide your service. But somewhere in the midst of all this talk of broadband, DSL and high speed is yet another intriguing idea: wireless Internet. But what is this mysterious power…and how can you harness it for your computer-driven devices?
Troubleshooting Laptop Hardware Problems
Laptops and notebook computers often require much more attention when the user decides to troubleshoot specific hardware problems. Because of this, very few people actually manage to get to the stage of disassembling the laptop to search for potential sources of hardware failures. This two-part guide covers some of the most common issues that your laptop might suffer from along with tips on how to diagnose and fix them. Due to the nature of this article series, please don't ignore the following disclaimer: This guide should be used just for educational purposes and does not replace professional assistance, technical consultation, or expert service by any means. You really should not try out the techniques described here unless you feel totally comfortable working on your laptop and you understand the possible consequences of your actions. Experience in the field helps a lot! On the other hand, if your laptop is past its warranty period and you cannot afford (either financially or the required time it takes, herein including a standard RMA process) to take the notebook to a qualified expert or repair shop, and you have a little bit of experience working with desktop computers and electronics, then you may want to try troubleshooting and "doing it yourself." Laptop computers are sometimes more "sensitive" compared to desktops and chances are that you may not succeed at first. It depends on the hardware problem. It can either be piece of cake or weird as hell, and then luck of draw applies; or you may not even diagnose or locate the root of the problem. It's still worth a try though, right? Throughout this series, our main focus will be on the technical hardware side. Therefore, we won't recite the overused software clichés of getting rid of malware and spyware, doing an antivirus check, defragmenting, and so forth. Rather, we are going to see what you should do when your laptop doesn't power on, beeps like there's no tomorrow, runs without displaying anything on the screen, overheats due to inadequate cooling, etc. Once we locate a problem, we will describe a potential fix. However, sometimes the troubleshooting routine must be re-started if more problems occur. Other times, unfortunately, we might find out that the LCD The first part of this series targets the main hardware failures -- basically, what to do and how to troubleshoot if your hardware issues are so critical and advanced that they prevent your laptop from working appropriately (i.e. doesn't power on, no display output, etc.). In the second segment, we're going to cover techniques to diagnose and fix system instabilities, such as a faulty memory causing BSODs, an overheating notebook, touchpad, or accu-point. These are the kinds of problems that do not prevent a laptop from booting, but do cause countless headaches because they are frustrating. If you feel totally prepared to begin, then let's move on.
Troubleshooting Laptop Instabilities
This is the second and final segment of the “Troubleshooting Laptop Hardware Problems” do it yourself mini-guide. Before moving on, we wholeheartedly recommend reading the first part of this series. Throughout this article, we are going to cover strategies on how to diagnose and fix system instabilities. In the previous part, our focus was on critical hardware problems that prevent a laptop from booting up and passing the POST (Power on Self-Test) routine. Therefore, if your laptop is suffering from tougher difficulties, then please refer back to the first segment of this guide. If you're dealing with system instabilities, such as lockups, automated random reboots, BSODs, and other weird frustrating dilemmas, just read on. Needless to say, we cannot begin without stating the important disclaimer. This guide should be used only for educational purposes; it does not replace professional assistance, consulting with a technician, or expert servicing by any means. You really should not try the techniques described here unless you feel totally comfortable working on your laptop and you understand the possible consequences of your actions. Also, experience in the field helps a lot! Now we can move on and tackle some of the possible causes of system instabilities. Keep in mind, the symptoms aren’t universal, but most of them are quite common hardware problems that seem to appear quite frequently. Therefore, chances are that your portable notebook might suffer from them. This is why it is always worthwhile to test some of the most “popular” hardware problems first because you know what you are looking for. Once you have localized and diagnosed the problem, fixing it becomes routine. However, if the root of problem isn’t popular and looks quite weird, then it requires much more attention to the little details and this still may not yield success. Anyway, read on and have fun.
Gotta Have Green Gadgets
You drive less, recycle your trash, maybe even bring your own bags to the grocery store. You're concerned about the environment, but you still love your energy-hogging, hazardous-trash-and-chemical-producing electronic gadgets. What can you do? Fortunately there is a solution, in the form of green gadgets that are much better for the environment than their more conventional cousins, often while delivering the same level of performance in other areas. Join us as we take a look at what's out there. It seems that everywhere we turn, the environment is a hot topic. For example, IT companies are constantly looking for ways to cut back on energy. Some are even investing in virtualization. Instead of businesses purchasing and installing networking equipment in their computer rooms, they’re resorting to renting computer time at data centers. Employees are still able to perform their tasks, such as complex equations or computer rendering. It’s just that they’re not doing them on their own servers. These methods have proven to not only significantly save companies money on their electric bills, but conserve energy. Like companies, individuals are looking to purchase and use environmentally-safe or “green” cleaning products. Companies have responded to customers’ needs. These green products are just as effective as the ones that contain harsh chemicals. You can find these products on the shelves of grocery stores, home improvement stores, or discount retail stores, such as Wal-mart. One area that customers should look at when it comes to environmentally-safe products is electronics/computers. These companies have stepped up to the plate, and are producing high-quality products. These products are not expensive either. You’ll no longer have to worry if your electronic device or computer system consumes too much heat or emits chemicals into the air.
Recovering Deleted Data
Have you ever accidentally deleted some files off your hard drive or USB drive, only to need them days later -- and discovered you don't have a backup available? Well it happened to me! What can you do when this happens to you? Keep reading for some helpful suggestions.
There are a lot of different issues that may arise that will hurt your chances, but there is a chance that you can get your data back. A lot goes on inside your machine when you hit that delete key. We are going to investigate how the computer works to better understand how data is recovered, and then take a look into some programs which may help you recover some deleted files.
How a hard drive works
A hard drive consists of platters that hold data, and heads that read and write to the platters. When a file is written to the platter, the header moves over the spot at which it wants to drop the data and, with the help of magnets, magnetizes the sector of the platter for that data. The hard drive knows at what location the data is written, and what areas it can still use as "free space."
When you put fines into your recycle bin, the computer doesn't delete the file. It adds it to a list of areas it thinks of as "get ready to delete when you empty the bin." Even when this happens, your files aren't gone yet. When you say good-bye to the files on your OS, your hard drive doesn't say good-bye. It doesn't delete every file you deleted; it simply adds the location of those files to a list of areas to which it can write data.
Even after you have deleted the file, there is a chance that the files are still there, totally untouched. Eventually the computer will write over the file. If your file has been deleted, but not yet overwritten by the computer, you have a good chance of getting your file back. If it has been overwritten, the odds of you getting your file back worsen, but there is still a chance to recover it. Since the hard drive uses magnetism to write files, a ghost image of the magnetism will stay on the hard drive for a long time.