Author Topic: HW and SW sites you wish someone had told you about years ago: (Read 452 times)

Dinger · « **on:** January 29, 2003, 10:41:23 PM »

Okay, how about a list of some of the hardware and software sites that you've come across and wish were more visible (so you didn't have to search so long to find them).

Here's some of my favorites:

Retailers:
http://www.newegg.com
Rock-bottom prices on computer stuff. Reasonable shipping and a good reputation for support. Okay, these guys are pretty well known now. I bought from them six months ago, and now am getting another stick of ram. (Crucial 512MB PC2100 DDR for $96; right after I order, of course, they post a sale on Crucial 256 pc2100 for $44/stick. Both prices include free shipping and a free NewEgg T-shirt). Fedex picked up the package 3.5 hours after order. I shudder to think what would have happened had I paid the $3 "warehouse rush" fee.

http://www.monitorsdirect.com
Business model: Crucial is to Micron as MonitorsDirect is to Cornerstone: they sell their factory product as well as screens made by other manufacturers.
Of course, Cornerstone CRTs are relatively inexpensive, and the prices are pretty darn good. For the Hitachi LCD I just bought, they had the pricewatch low price.
Tech Support and Customer Service are unbelievably good.

Retailer Raters:
I've been bombarded with BizRate's stuff before. In fact, on my "public" email, I've had to block BizRate's persistent spamming.
http://www.ResellerRatings.com puts out some believable evaluations.

Software:
Okay, so the darn thing is all of a sudden getting system halt messages. Update all the drivers, reinstall the OS, and it's still going.
I know it's the memory. I was in a "stressed" situation, and had to buy (the only thing they had) a 256 Mb stick of generic Hyundai pc2100 DDR ram. As soon as I could, I bought a second stick of Crucial.
Okay, so I know it's the memory, but it's an intermittent failure. All I need is a simple program that runs all sorts of test patterns on the memory and spits out the error. Download.Com has a couple, but they're either toys, crippleware, or stuff that doesn't work ("For Windows 2000 and XP, requires a FAT-formatted HD to work. What, not FAT32, and you're charging $350 for the full version").
Just a simple memory diagnostic program. There's gotta be one out there, right?
http://www.memtest86.com

San · « **Reply #1 on:** January 30, 2003, 02:31:11 AM »

Yeah Newegg is really good. I tried http://www.provantage.com recently they beat newegg on a liteon 48x burner buy 10 bucks they also had the cheapest price on a CH pro throttle.

Modding gear
http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/index.html

For video drivers
http://www.guru3d.com/guide/benchmark-guide/

Tech support, O/C,and case modding
http://www.sharkyforums.com/

Computer security
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

Speed testing
http://www.dslreports.com/stest

Suave · « **Reply #2 on:** January 30, 2003, 03:27:08 AM »

Why did you buy an LCD monitor ?

funkedup · « **Reply #3 on:** January 30, 2003, 03:47:47 AM »

http://www.mwave.com

The site Newegg copied.

mrsid2 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 30, 2003, 04:29:29 AM »

Suave why should he not buy an lcd monitor? They rock, in case you didn't know.

Suave · « **Reply #5 on:** January 30, 2003, 04:33:20 AM »

Reviews I've read say they are still inferior to crt in video quality . And from what I've seen I'd agree .

Dinger · « **Reply #6 on:** January 30, 2003, 07:55:02 AM »

Heh suave, hijacker.

A. Eyestrain. I work a lot at these things, and a medical condition puts me in rigid contacts.

B. Weight. I'm going south for a month or so (it's cold up here), and my 50 lb. 19-in NEC PF CRT is just too damn heavy.

C. Quality. The review at Tom's Hardware was pretty good on this specific model (and corroborated elsewhere), and I've got to agree with it. It's really bright, has fast pixel response time, and is very clear.

I will also state that I found AH with an LCD screen to be superior to my 19" CRT at the same resolution and 85 Mhz. Now I can spot those distant dots against terrain. Even in combat, I don't get streaking or ghosting.

--
Yeah, funked, I've dealt with Mwave; they're pretty good too.
Great links, San. Those should be on everyone's "short list"

ygsmilo · « **Reply #7 on:** January 30, 2003, 11:15:56 AM »

Dinger,

Which moniter did you purchase?

Vermillion · « **Reply #8 on:** January 30, 2003, 11:42:17 AM »

I have a 20" LCD Monitor, by Planar at work.

VERY VERY nice !

And picture quality is better than my 19" normal monitor at home. And like someone else said, eye strain is much better with a LCD monitor.

Dinger · « **Reply #9 on:** January 30, 2003, 11:51:01 AM »

The hitachi cml174sxw:
http://shop.monitorsdirect.com/product.asp?sku=2244768

I'm liking it.

mrsid2 · « **Reply #10 on:** January 30, 2003, 12:02:33 PM »

I also have a trinitron crt at home, but I prefer the tft at work..

Much MUCH easyer for the eyes. I'm gonna get a tft to home too.