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On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:10:52 -0400, Priam <...@notsosure.com
Well, I thoght I had learned quite a lot. I don't mind paying a few more
dollars for encouraging local business and having over the counter
support for one year.
Or unless I do video editing?
And pretty soon we might end up with only one computer seller worldwide.
I will certainly try over-the-counter first and only switch if I find it
inconvenient.
- which you will discover if you do it. I have had good service from
Seagate? I went for a WD. I had a bad experience with a WD that failed
after about 4 years. My Quantum Fireball lasted 10 :) Salesmen told me
they were as reliable and maybe more quiet than Seagate. And I get an
ectra 140 GB for $4. So, I went for it. It seems the Seagate 500 GB
didn't gain much speed from having only one platter. After all, even
though the density is greater, doesn't a dual platter operate a bit like
a raid?
Bad experience?
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On Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:43:15 -0400, kony <...@spam.com
On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:10:52 -0400, Priam
<...@notsosure.com
Board design can play a role in memory stability, but you
are not buying memory to run it at that speed, you are
buying it to support the FSB speed and memory:FSB ratio you
want to set in the bios... the CPU itself has the memory
controller now so board differences are not so much as they
used to be, unless it's bios disallows changing memory
timings or setting all common ratios.
Over the counter support isn't much for memory though, they
hand you the part and either it works or you drive back and
exchange it, versus driving to the post office to ship it to
the online seller.
Forget about applications, the primary interest in specific
timings is how much latitude you have in then relaxing those
timings to reach a higher memory bus speed at your preferred
memory-bus to FSB ratio.
IE, the differences in memory latency are only a minor
factor in activities where CPU performance, total
throughput, and disk subsystem are continually challenged.
Hardly possible, and if you keep buying over-the-counter you
are discouraging them from stocking what you want instead of
settling for what they have. You might call them, ask, and
then inform them you wanted something else... then they
might order it for you as they had ordered what they already
have, and give you the same 1 year support you wanted... but
with their middleman markup of course.
Personally I recommend that if you want to support a local
shop, you do so by paying them for their services like
stability testing, virus removal, etc... they have no real
hope of surviving against online merchants when it comes to
selling one low cost part at a time.
Platter density and rotational speed matter more than # of
platters by far. Further, with fewer platters you have a
faster spin-up time, less power used/heat produced, less
friction and wear on the bearings. IMO, the best way to
increase the odds a drive will fail prematurely (besides
mishandling it before installation) is to get one with more
platters instead of fewer. Then again it's also good to
wait for a drive series to be in the market for awhile so
any possible firmware bugs are found and resolved.
It isn't directly applicable what a drive multiple
generations ago did, modern drives from different
manufacturers have more in common with each other than a
current model drive does compared to past generations from
the same manufacturer.
Each brand will occasionally have a glitch in their quality
control, design or bios, but this effects all brands from
time to time so as always all you can do is research the
specific model you're considering purchasing (rather than
rely on a specific brand recommendation by one or a handful
of people), and make timely backups. Towards that end, at
http://www.newegg.com there are hundreds of user reviews
that may indicate relative problem rates, though some of
those problems may come from poor packing which can be
either warehouse, shipping, or receiver error so it can't
necessarily be directly applied in consideration of specific
models.
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On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:23:13 -0400, Priam <...@notsosure.com
I do believe there's a lot of tweaking possible in the BIOS. There's
even an option for extra settings. (CTRL + F1). I'll see to this later,
but I must say I'm quite suprized this is all now considered stnadard.
There a time when OC was considered a sin!
One way they can survice is, if they have the part you need, you can go
get it. You don't have to wait. This is worth a few dollars more.
Single platters are 7200 rpm just the same.
It's kinda hard to make an opinion with reviews. They vary quite a lot.
But, for my intended use, the little difference that there is betweeen
the WD and the Seagate won't make much diffrence. In a review I looked
at, the WD was better here, not quite as good there, but overall, it
seemed better.
Go figure!
P.s.: I'll be offline for a few days.
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On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:18:23 -0400, kony <...@spam.com
On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:23:13 -0400, Priam
<...@notsosure.com
It is not standard in OEM system bios, which means most of
the systems bought whole at retail, but in separate parts
having the ability to tweak settings makes for a value added
product. Further, take for example lower CAS rated DDR2
memory, often it needs either the voltage raised from 1.8V
to what it's spec'd to need per the rated timings, and/or
they program the SPD for a slower, more relaxed timing than
spec'd to allow a system to stabily POST and the bios to be
entered so the timings can be manually set.. since the bios
can't default out of the box to support such memory timings
rather than the lowest (highest numbered timings) common
denominator for maximum compatibility.
I could see this being of value if a part fails and the
system would suffer downtime as a result, but if one takes
the time to make good system component choices, what does it
really matter if the system is built on one particular day
or 3 days later when memory arrives? If anything having it
delivered is a better use of time and more convenient than
having to drive somewhere.
I can see buying locally for some things, impulse buys and
fun toys, or if there is an esthetic or ergonomic factor
like buying a painting, car, or clothing, but memory itself
is pretty boring and seldom bought with any of these
criteria having much weight in the purchase decision (beyond
young teenage boys who might think a certain color of
heatspreader or LEDs on their memory are really cool).
See above, what the final RPM is, is not the same thing as
the time it takes to get there. Similarly, two cars may
have the same speed on cruise control but that has nothing
to do with how long it takes them to get from 0MPH to that
speed.
To many people this won't matter, but ultimately my point
might be that you may as well ignore most of what a salesman
tells you, they are in the business of selling for profit
not for providing information contrary to what they sell (if
they are to be good as a salesman instead of being more fit
for another line of work).
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