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Pastimes : Dream Machine ( Build your own PC ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LTBH who wrote (421)	4/1/1998 1:05:00 AM
From: Zeuspaul	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14778

"hang" really needs to be defined I do not think Webster can help us here. I think the goal is to design a system that works. Hang to me would be when the action stops, the computer doesn't respond, the mouse doesn't move. Sometimes control alt delete will help as one can end a task. Other times nothing works except a cold boot. Sometimes my home computer "hangs" when I sign off the Internet. Total lock-up, only cold boot will get me going again. It seems to be a modem thing. Sometimes I have to run the boot sequence several times, sometimes including safe mode before things are back to normal. I accept this as inevitable. I have always thought it to be a software thing, perhaps conflicts due to shared resources. Dedicated single use machines give me less trouble than machines that are used for a wide variety of applications. I always get a little nervous when I have a dozen or so browsers open at the same time. Installing new programs or trying to uninstall IE4.0 is also cause for anxiety. I have come to believe that some of the problems may be hardware related. To address the hardware issue I believe one should 1. Design a simple system 2. Use quality components 3. Minimize shared resources 4. Keep the components cool With a quality hardware setup we can $%&^#@* Gates when she "hangs" To address the software issue I believe one should 1. Install your own software. The pre-installed madness is one of my biggest gripes with the big box makers. Maybe it is ok for a first computer. I would prefer an operating system on one CD and individual programs on individual CD's 2. Establish a backup system for essential files(second computer on a network, CDR, CDWR) such that you can start again from scratch in short order. Nothing like a fresh load on a reformated harddrive to get things cleaned up. One gets a little better with each new install. Now all I have to do is figure out a way to practice what I preach:) INTEL I find Intel arrogant and anti-competitive in nature. I also think they make a good product. They indeed seem to be paying the price for their fears. I believe both the consumer and Intel would be better off if Intel were to stop playing there protective games. Certainly they have the resources to compete on a level playing field. Stifling the development of technology can only be considered counter productive. But, maybe a better solution is to buy some stock and change the management. Regards Zeuspaul

To: LTBH who wrote (421)	4/2/1998 8:39:00 PM
From: Zeuspaul	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14778

AOPEN motherboards....capacitors Thanks for the heads up on AOPEN motherboards At first look the boards and the support look pretty good. The AOPEN web page is comprehensive. aopen.com.tw Here is what they have to say about capacitors in the FAQ section >>Capacitor: Why do AOpen MBs have more capacitors near the CPU socket? Power becomes a big issue for new generation CPUs. Increasing the number of capacitors reduces the voltage ripple (unstable power noise) of high-speed/high-power CPU; thus, makes the system more reliable. Because of this, AOpen is incorporating as many capacitors as possible on all MBs regardless of its increasing cost. Why do AOpen MBs use many Electrolytic Capacitors instead of Tantalum Capacitor? The quality of Electrolytic capacitor has huge difference depends on model and vendor. Normally, Tantalum capacitor is better than Electrolytic capacitor, but good quality and high price Electrolytic capacitor is even better than Tantalum capacitor. Originally, AOpen motherboards use 100uF Tantalum capacitor nears CPU to reduce voltage ripple, but the technology improvement has introduced an 1000uF very low ESR (Equivalent Serial Resistor) of Electrolytic capacitor with only 0.15 ohm comparing with 0.7 ohm of Tantalum capacitor. The lower the ESR and higher the capacitance value, the smaller the CPU voltage ripple. Following are the specifications of capacitors that AOpen is currently using: 1.Tantalum: SPRAGUE 100uF, Part number 595D107X06R3C2T, Max ESR is 0.7 at 25 degree 100KHz. 2.Electrolytic: SANYO 1000uF, Part number 16MV1000CG, Max ESR is 0.15 at 20 degree 100KHz. Also, more capacitors are not exactly equal to better CPU voltage, it depends on where you put your capacitor (the layout). The most accurate way is to use storage scope to measure the CPU voltage directly, but of course, it is difficult for end user to do so. AOpen design team follows Intel, AMD and Cyrix's design specification strictly, it is approved by Intel, AMD and Cyrix..<< Anands review of the PII AOPEN AX6L anandtech.com AOPEN also makes an AX6Lc motherboard with 5 PCI slots but it only has 3 DIMM slots. I like this board better because of the extra PCI slot. If one were to populate the DIMM slots with 2 x 64MB sticks for a total of 128 MB RAM one could still add 128 MB for a total of 256 MB. I believe the soon to be released round of motherboards will offer better solutions for upgrade. My thinking is Start with a BX motherboard with PC100 RAM and a PII 233 CPU. One year +/- later upgrade the CPU to PII 400. Regards Zeuspaul