Stephen

Is there a good to superb quality photo printer that can do general B & W printing (not photos) without the general copying costing an arm and a leg for the ink? I'm looking for an alternative to having one general purpose printer and a separate dedicated photo printer. I currently have a Canon S9000 photo printer and an HP Deskjet 5650. I'm interested in a printer that has at least as good of quality as the Canon S900, and can provide general printing for roughly the same price as the HP Deskjet 5650, Is there anything out there that can do this?

I have a computer desk with an eclosed section for the pc to go. If I out my pc in it, there is an inch clearance on each side, an inch clearance on the top, and about 4 inches in the back of the enclosure - which is mostly open in the back, giving me another 3 or 4 inches to the wall. The front of the enclosure is open. My pc has two exhaust fans, one in the back and one in the top near the back. Does this enclosure provide enough space for adequate ventilation?

I am collecting parts for a new build. I will be using the Antec P180 case, and soft mounting the HD in the lower level. I am considering the WD 150 Raptor. Has anyone mounted one in the lower level of the Antec P180. If so, how noticeable are the seeks? Is there another HD in the 150 GB range that is close to the Raptor in terms of performance, but noticeably quieter?

Thanks! I'll try there.

I am having a problem with Firefox. The sidebar bookmarks function is not working right. Everytime I open Firevox, I have to click on View/Sidebar/Bookmarks to bring up my favorites. I am using Firefox Version 1.5.0.6. Does anyone know a solution?

I am collecting parts for a new build. I plan on getting either the Conroe E6700 or the X6800 - depending upon where the prices are in a couple of months. I most likely will get an Intel mobo - something like the D975XBX Rev. 2, depending upon what else is out in a couple of months. I do not plan on overclocking. Given that, would the Zalman CNPS 9500 LED provide better cooling than the stock HSF? Would the Zalman be any quieter than the stock HSF?

I have the Creative MegaWorks THX 5.1 550 speakers. The wired remote is a bit of a pain when it comes to adjusting sound volume. Unlike knobs that turn, this remote has a up and down button to push - and pushing the button increases (or decreases) the volume more per push than I would like. It doesn't allow for more subtle or smaller increases (or decreases). Is there a way to adjust this? Has anyone else had this issue? Is there a speaker system with comparable or better sound quality that also has a better remote?

My computer accesses the net via a cable modem and an integrated Intel network connection. I also have a BCM V.92 56K Modem which I never use - or at least I never use dial up. However, there is an associated process (BCMSMMSG.exe) which loads at startup - though I don't remember it doing this before recently. Either I didn't notice it before, or somehow it has activated itself. Can I disable this process, or at least remove it from the startup list? Any advice?

I'm collecting parts for my first pc build. I'm getting WIndows XP - understanding I will upgrade to Vista at some point un the future. I know OEM is a lot cheaper than retail, and my understandng is that OEM would be limited to the pc I build and intall it on. Is that true? Are there any other pros and cons to OEM versus retail for Windows XP?

What about the TLER feature? Do you know if it comes enabled or disabled in the non-windowed version?

I'm interested in the WD Raptor 150 for a new build (currently collecting parts). I plan on using the Raptor for my OS - I have another drive (a Seagate) for video editing and storage. I am NOT going to do any kind of RAID. There are two versions of the Raptor out there - the ADFD version (which is cheaper) and the AHFD version with the window. I have read several comments indicating the window version is meant for non-RAID setups, while the other version is designed to be used in RAID setups. The RAID version uses TLER (time limited error recovery), which supposedly hurts performance somewhat if used in a non-RAID setup. However, I have also read that you can supposedly disable the TLER if you get that drive. Does anyone know for sure if this is true? Has anyone out there got the cheaper one and used in it a non-RAID setup? If so, were you able to disable the TLER? Lastly, does anyone know if the prices of both drives are likely to come down much in the next three months? In the next six months?

This helps alot. Thanks!

I'm collecting parts for my first build. I am looking to get a floppy drive, and New Egg has a Sony MPF920 OEM for $7.99. For that price it's hard to beat, but I still want to check and see if anyone has had any problems with it. I am also looking for a DVD ROM. Two models I am looking at are the Sony DVD-ROM DDU1615 OEM and the ASUS dvd-rom e616a2 retail. Does anyone have experience with either of these? Any compatibility issues with any particular motherboards or PSUs? If I get an OEM floppy and retail DVD-ROM, will I need to get any cables or will the retail DVD-ROM have a cable I can use for both. If not, or if I get two OEM products, what power cable will I need to get to hook both up? Finally, if I also get a SATA burner, then am I right in assuming the floppy and DVD-ROM are on a cable by themselves - with the DVD-ROM as master and the floppy as slave (or is it vice versa).

I'm considering getting the 300GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA 2 HD to use as a second drive for video editing and storage. Does anyone know how it compares sound-wise with the 120GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA/150 HD? I've read some mixed reviews on the 7200.9 series versus the 7200.7 series - I'm interested in feedback from anyone who may have first hand experience.

Other than the login issue, it's a big improvement over IE6. So far I like it overall a bit better than Firefox, though it's still early. I like the tab function in IE7 better than Firefox.

I had 6 before with no problems. I'm trying to figure out if this is going to be a permanent part of 7, or if there is a workaround.

I downloaded and installed the IE 7 Beta 2. While it looks promising (catching up with Mozilla Firefox), there is one issue that is a pain. Everytime I reboot my computer, I have to re-login to forums - including this one. While it has saved my passwords, it is still a pain to have to re-login every time. Does anyone know if this will be changed in the final version? Is there a way to fix it in this beta version?

Have you considered (gasp) paying for a firewall? Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

I'm considering switching out the stock Antec TriCool fans for the Papst - if they really are as much quieter as the specs suggest. But I would like some real world experience to base my decision on, as opposed to retailer's specs.

I don't intend on overclocking. I do quite a bit of video editing. I apppreciate that the Antec should do enough cooling, based upon the replies I have received on this and another forum. However, there appears to be a significant difference in the noise level, if the specs are accurate. 18dBA for the Papst, versus 25dBA for the Antec TriCool.

??? Obsessing? Sorry to offend you because I'm interested in real user feedback on some components, as opposed to market hype. Again, is there anyone out there that has real knowledge of this fan?

Has anyone used the Papst 4412FGLL fan? According to the specs on the various retailers who carry it, the airflow is 40CFM, the speed is 1,200 RPM, and the noise level is 18 dBA. On the Papst website I cannot find this specific model, but there is another one (4412FGL - one less 'L' on the end) that has somewhat different specs (for example, it's louder). I am considering replacing the stock Antec TriCool fans in my Antec P180 case with these - but that's only if these specs are accurate. Does anyone know?

I'm currently collecting parts for a new build, and I'm trying to decide if I should stick with the stock Antec TriCool fans with my Antec P180 case. FYI - I do not plan on overclocking. For purposes of responding to this post, please assume I plan on sticking with the TriCool fans. While I may or may not, at this point I'm just trying to get a handle on coolong needs (without consideration at the moment for noise level). The TriCool fan has the following specs (according to Antec): at low it runs at 1200RPM, pushes out 39CFM, and the noise level is 25dBa; at medium it runs at 1600RPM, pushes out 56 CFM, and the noise level is 28dBa; and at high it runs at 2000RPM, pushes out 79CFM, and the noise level is 30dBa. For my build, in the lower chamber, I will have an Antec NeoHE500 watt PSU, and two Seagate Harddrives (yes, I know the NeoHE has had some compatibity issues with some mobos). The stock fan comes set at medium. Given the above specs, is medium the appropriate setting? Would a low setting provide sufficient cooling? In the upper chamber I plan on a burner, a DVD-ROM, a floppy (maybe the kind with a card reader), a Canopus AVDCVio card, an Audigy card with a front bay, a graphics card (leaning towards 7800GTX with a Zalman HSF), an Intel mobo and processor with a dual-core chip and a Zalman HSF, and 2 gigs of memory. There are two exhaust TriCool fans set at low, and I'm considering adding an intake TriCool fan at low. Given the above specs, is this sufficient coolong? Would I need to set them on medium? Or, is this more cooling than I need?

I'm running Version 1.5 I believe. I'll download the new version and see what that does.

I had nothing else plugged into the surge protector.