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The "money no object" desktop PC

The other day I took on the challenge of putting together a spec for a budget $500 PC.  The result was a 2.0GHz dual core system with 1GB or RAM and a 160GB hard drive.  Not a bad system I'm sure you'll agree, and you have the advantage over a...

Tags: Components, DIY PC, Hardware

Blog posts 2007-05-31

Can you build a decent PC on a budget of $500?

Can you build a decent PC on a budget of $500?  Let's find out!Rules of the gameI'm being realistic here.  I don't expect to be able to build a monster PC that'll be able to handle 3D games or render video for $500.  If building a PC on a budget of...

Tags: Components, DIY PC, Hardware

Blog posts 2007-05-29

And people say that Dell is cheap ...

When I tell people that I prefer to build my own PC rather than buy from OEMs, people wonder why. They they go on to mumble something about OEM PC makers being cheaper. Theyre not, you know!Heres an example. My ZDNet blogging colleague ED Bott, writing on...

Tags: DIY PC, Dell, Components

Blog posts 2007-04-30

Choosing the right PSU for your PC

So, just how big a power supply unit does a PC really need? In this post Ill show you how you can work out how big a PSU your system needs and some of the considerations that you need to keep in mind when buying a PSU.It seems to...

Tags: Desktops, PSU, PC, calculator

Blog posts 2007-03-09

The downsides of building your own PCs

I’m a big advocate of building your own PC as opposed to putting your money and faith in a manufacturer that has them rolling off the production lines by the thousands. Don’t get me wrong, given the numbers of new PCs being made and sold every day, the failure...

Tags: Thoughts, DIY PC

Blog posts 2007-03-07

Speed up your PC - Fit a 10,000 RPM system drive

Power uses go to great lengths to tweak their systems in order to experience improved performance but Im here to tell you that all the registry tweaks and killing unnecessary services wont beat fitting a 10,000 RPM drive and loading your OS onto it.The price per GB is high compared...

Tags: Performance, Hardware, DIY PC

Blog posts 2007-02-26

Build a cheap, overclockable PC

Ive had a number of enquires from readers who want to build or buy a cheap yet powerful PC. Can it be done? You bet! What components will you need to buy? Read on!One of the cheapest and best ways to get your hands on a...

Tags: Intel, DIY PC, Components, Performance, Hardware

Blog posts 2007-02-26

Additional Resources

Geek Sheet: A Tweaker's Guide to Solid State Drives (SSDs) and Linux

Is 20th century conventional Winchester multi-platter, multi-head random-access disk technology too quaint for you? Want to run your PC or server on storage devices that consume far less energy than the traditional alternatives? Want a portable or mobile storage unit that will never fail due to G-forces or "crashing?". Looking...

Tags: Linux, Disk, File System, Solid State Disk, Mandrake, Jason Perlow

Blog posts 2008-07-25

Software makers may sue eBay

Tired of being "stiff-armed" by eBay, the Software and Information Industry Association is signaling its ready to sue over pirated software sales on the dominant online auction site, PC World reports. SIIA has offered eBay several suggestions for stemming the sale of pirated software on...

Tags: Software, Software Information Industry Association, eBay Inc., Tiffany, Tools & Techniques, Piracy, Sales Strategy, Management, Business Operations, Corporate Law, Sales, Richard Koman

Blog posts 2008-07-25

Gateway stops selling PCs direct

Gateway, one of the early PC makers that sold their wares direct, said Friday it will sell its systems completely through channel partners and retailers. The company, now a part of Acer, said shifting to a channel-based distribution model will simplify its business and cut costs. ...

Tags: Gateway Inc., PC, Acer Inc., Retail, Larry Dignan

Blog posts 2008-07-25

Microsoft may need an IBM moment of clarity

Microsoft's financial analyst meeting was a tale of a technology conglomerate: You heard a lot about search, a decent bit about the enterprise and all sorts of projects in between. But amid all the coverage--see Mary Jo's laundry list of stories--I can't help but wonder if Microsoft's...

Tags: Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Corp., Enterprise, IBM Corp., Game Players, Virtualization, Tools & Techniques, Enterprise Software, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Hardware, Management, Software, Larry Dignan

Blog posts 2008-07-25

Scrabble-Scrabulous standoff spells L-A-W-S-U-I-T

Hasbro said it has filed suit in the Southern District of New York against Rajat Agarwalla, Jayant Agarwalla, and RJ Softwares, better known as the creators of the popular Facebook application Scrabulous. It was only a matter of time before the Scrabble-Scrabulous feud came to a head, and that...

Tags: Facebook, Hasbro Inc., Games, Intellectual Property, Personal Technology, Research & Development, Business Operations, lawsuit, Scrabulous, Hasbro, Tom Magrino, GameSpot

News items 2008-07-25

Hardware 2.0 "Best Kit List" for Aug/Sep 08

OK, it's time once again for The Hardware 2.0 "Best Kit List" for Aug/Sep 08. Here I've put together a list of the best high-end and mid-range components currently available, with some decent budget parts listed too, along with a few honorable mentions. So if you're thinking of buying, building...

Tags: ASUS, Card, Video Card, Performance, Board, Motherboard, Price, CPU, List, RAM, Graphics, Intel Corp., Radeon, LGA775, Q9300, DDR3, XFX GeForce GTX 280, PSU, Western Digital Raptor/RaptorX, Galaxy EGX1000EWL, Corporate Governance, Video Cards, Processors, Business Operations, Corporate Law, Hardware, Components, Semiconductors, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Blog posts 2008-07-25

Hardware 2.0 Best Kit List for Aug/Sep 08

OK, it's time once again for The Hardware 2.0 "Best Kit List" for Aug/Sep 08. Here I've put together a list of the best high-end and mid-range components currently available, with some decent budget parts listed too, along with a few honorable mentions. So if you're thinking of buying, building...

Tags: Hardware, List, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, cpu, gpu, nvidia, ati, intel, amd, wd, velociraptor

Image galleries 2008-07-25

News to know: 'Spam king' dead; Microsoft's cloud; Dell;

Notable headlines: Ryan Naraine: Escapee 'Spam King' dead in apparent murder-suicide CBS Denver Video: 'Spam King' Inmate Dies Along With Wife, Daughter Mary Jo Foley: Ozzie foreshadows 'Zurich,' Microsoft's elastic cloud Microsoft to get more 'Apple-like' in PC,...

Tags: Larry Dignan

Blog posts 2008-07-25

Dell opts for performance with R5400 data center-hosted desktop

Dell unveiled its data center-hosted desktop product line on Tuesday. Unlike rivals Hewlett-Packard and IBM, Dell didn't build its solution on blade servers but instead opted for a high performance system using a 2U box called the Dell Precision R5400 Rack Workstation. "By not putting the solution...

Tags: Dell Computer Corp., Performance, R5400, Workstations, Desktops, Servers, Hardware, Jason Hiner

Blog posts 2008-07-24

Vista: Whose 'reality' do you believe?

Vista: Whose 'reality' do you believe?Microsoft Search sucks.Now they are hijacking your PC to gain search share. Vista, XP, and anything else Microsoft is leaving this organization at every chance.RE: Vista: Whose 'reality' do you believe?This studies almost alway fail to note that XP's business penetration was no better after...

Tags: Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Corp., Forrest

Discussion threads 2008-07-24

We wanna be more like Apple - Microsoft and Ubuntu get ready to fire up the photocopiers!

We wanna be more like Apple - Microsoft and Ubuntu get ready to fire up the photocopiers!Linux has no marketing.Market share is directly related to marketing. When is the last time anyone saw a Linux commercial?Isn't that the point?You say that Canonical needs to listen more to the "customers" but...

Tags: Copiers, Operating systems, Desktops, Notebooks, Market-Share, Apple Inc., Ubuntu, wanna-be, Microsoft Corp., photocopier, Linux

Discussion threads 2008-07-24

Intel launches new chip for consumer electronics

In its latest bid to expand beyond PCs and servers into industrial and consumer electronics applications, Intel has announced a new family of embedded processors. These chips are not based on the Atom processor already used in netbooks and Mobile Internet Devices MIDs--those versions won't arrive until...

Tags: Consumer Electronics, Electronics, Intel Corp., Chip, Atom, SoCs, Semiconductors, Network Technology, Processors, Hardware, Networking, Components, John Morris

Blog posts 2008-07-24

Microsoft to get more 'Apple-like' in PC, phone space

Microsoft to get more 'Apple-like' in PC, phone spaceMicrosoft Store in the works...My rep told me Microsoft is looking into significant retail space in higher end upscale shopping malls. In the mock-up of the store, boxes of Vista and Office 2007 were kept under lock and key. Customers will be...

Tags: Desktops, Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., PC phone, PC, phone

Discussion threads 2008-07-24