[OT] Computer upgrades (was: RAM upgrades)

[pensiv]

In my experience, there are no disadvantages in XP's support of games. If any program written for Win9x/ME has trouble in XP, it can be run in "Compatability Mode," which is MS slang for the fact that there is a Win9x/ME and a WinNT emulator. I have never had any problems with Compatibility Mode myself and have noticed only performance bonuses to using WinXP over Win98SE.

As Welverin said, most of the reason you're getting 27Gig for the advertised 30 is that there are 1024MB per GB, but it is usually rounded to 1000 in advertising. Also, some (very small) hard drive space is allocated to maintaining the file system--the database that dictates how information is organized on the drive.

 

[Psionicist]

(I'm considering adding another Hard Drive, but I only used 12 out of 27 GB of my 30GB hard drive. As a side question, what happened to the other 3GB I paid for?)

Harddrives and most permanent storage devices count 1 KB as 1000 bytes. This is however not correct. You have probably heard that 1 byte equal 8 bits (8 zeroes and ones)?. You cannot divide 1000 with 8 without having some extra bits you cannot use right? However, 1024/8 works just fine!

Anyhow, the base is not 1000, but 1024. Now
1 GB = 1024 MB = 1024*1024 KB = 1024*1024*1024 B = 1024*1024*1024*8 bits.
However, when it comes to harddrives, we use
1 GB = 1000 MB = 1000*1000 KB... and so on.

So, Your 30 GB harddrive is actually 30 (true) GIGA byte, but not 30 "computer-GIGA" bytes.

This is why your harddrive is smaller than it says...

 

[Psionicist]

How hard is it to upgrade a chip? Right now, I have a P3 733. What is the best upgrade I can do with the minimum of swapping out? (For instance, I seem to recall that motherboards are rather specific to the type of chip. I might be able to use the same motherboard for a faster P3, but I don't think I'd be able to upgrade to a P4, right?)

Argh. Not that I can afford to buy much right now. But after I get that job, I'm going to want to set my computer up enough so I don't have to buy a new one. Or maybe, if the upgrades are too expensive, I'll just buy a new computer and ship the old one off to my sister, who's still runing on a 486-DX2.

I think you have a SLOT1 motherboard if that 733 proc is really a Pentium 3 and not a Celeron (or Xeon, hehe). If you open the case, what do you see? If the CPU is standing out from the motherboard it is most certainly a SLOT1 proc. If you can only see a heatsink and fan the proc is in a socket. But is should be in a slot.

The next step is to find a faster SLOT1 P3. I am pretty sure it will work in your current motherboard. If you want to be sure, try to find out the model and manufacturer of your motherboard and go to their website (usually www.company.com.tw as www.abit.com.tw ) for more info.

 

[pensiv]

I apologize if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that there are any Slot1 Pentium IIIs that are any faster than 733 if not 800MHz

Another option could be to get yourself a Dual-processor board and another 733 chip, that way you don't have to scrap your old one.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Re: Re: Re: [OT] RAM upgrades

Wow... are you (as a human, not your computer) actually able to deal with 16 applications/windows simulataneously? If I have more than 3-4 open, I close 'em.

At the moment, I have 14 windows open. Two are really the same program, though, so I'm actually running 13.

This is a little on the high end for me, but I seldom have fewer than 6 simutaneous windows open at once.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Re: Re: [OT] Computer upgrades (was: RAM upgrades)

Harddrives and most permanent storage devices count 1 KB as 1000 bytes. This is however not correct. You have probably heard that 1 byte equal 8 bits (8 zeroes and ones)?. You cannot divide 1000 with 8 without having some extra bits you cannot use right? However, 1024/8 works just fine!

Anyhow, the base is not 1000, but 1024. Now
1 GB = 1024 MB = 1024*1024 KB = 1024*1024*1024 B = 1024*1024*1024*8 bits.
However, when it comes to harddrives, we use
1 GB = 1000 MB = 1000*1000 KB... and so on.

So, Your 30 GB harddrive is actually 30 (true) GIGA byte, but not 30 "computer-GIGA" bytes.

This is why your harddrive is smaller than it says...

That doesn't quite add up. 30,000,000,000 bytes is more than 27 GB - it's about 28.

 

[pensiv]

it is still less than 28GB and the OS generally rounds down when you see the Free Space vs Total Space.

 

[Psionicist]

it is still less than 28GB and the OS generally rounds down when you see the Free Space vs Total Space.

True.

OT: You should see my taskbar when I am actually working while online. 4 rows, 20+ programs open is not uncommon. 3-5 instances of Word or Excel, Explorer, 5 or so instances of web browser, downloading files, FTP client, IRC client, then we have some notepad windows too, E-mail, a 3-5 instances of firstclass (a communications program. I study highschool/collage from home. Gotta love it!). Then we have ICQ, talking with friends, helping guys with their computer problems... Heh... The only program I actually close whenever I do not need it for the next few minutes is Photoshop. It slow things down...

Doing everything at the same time. Man am I ever so pressure-tolerant sometimes.

 

[Buttercup]

Re: Re: Re: [OT] RAM upgrades

Wow... are you (as a human, not your computer) actually able to deal with 16 applications/windows simulataneously? If I have more than 3-4 open, I close 'em.

When I'm at work, I usually have three browser windows open, word, excel, the e-mail client, and the staff client of our integrated system. That's just the serious stuff. I also most likely have EN World and CNN minimized too.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

Yeah! My computer's modem has been fixed! That means I'm online again!

Boo! I have to download everything again, as well as load all my software again. (Also, since I STILL don't know what happened to my MS Office Pro 2000 software, I may have to shell out $100-200 to replace it, or stick with MS Office Pro 97.)

Even more BOO! My car got rear-ended, AGAIN, on the way home. And the guy who caused the accident (driving illegally on the wrong side of the road, on a narrow, twisty, hillside road, trying to get past a delivery truck that was going too slow...) drove off, leaving the guy who was tailgating me to take all the blame.

No major damage, it seems, but still another pain in the rear end.