Part of the problem is that MS does change the EULA, does explain things and then change their mind, remove previous explanations from the web, and have about a billion versions of the OS. I also aim for: buying a license, as cheap as I can. So here we now have 2 OEM Vista Home, 1 Vista Ultimate, an...

As far as the Mini Ninja...the obvious successor is the Scythe Mini Ninja, rev B. Newegg has it listed on their site with a February ETA.

OEM should be fine. I would just assume your motherboard has gone bad and you needed to replace it in a few years. I've never had any problems reactivating after that situation (never even had to call, though I've heard it is quite painless). I would go for Pro x64 at this point--may as well get on ...

They really are making this hard to do with the different restrictions and incomplete implementations. Hope you end up finding something that will work for you.

Dang...wish I had seen that. Have a BE-2300, 4450e, and 5050e. Would have liked one to put in my wife's machine (she has an old S939 X2 4400, 110W TDP).

I like the 6400AAKS so far
One in my PC, the HTPC, and the WHS.
And little brother 3200AAKS in my wife's PC.

Might be a bit noisier than the Green model, the P150 has suspension though right? Should be nice and quiet and faster then.

If the new board has Vista/Server 08 support that should be a good sign for WHS2 compatibility.

NCIX has some 760G boards but not sure if they also let you use the PCIe x16 slot for non-graphics cards (which was another bonus to the Biostar board).

It should be okay, especially with the CPU you have anyways. I use mine with a 5050e (2.6 GHz) and it's pretty evenly matched. We'll see how good it is in a few days when I combine my new 21.5" 1920x1080 monitor with my current 1280x1024.

My system idles pretty close to the same as yours does.

It has a BE-2300 (dual-core 45W), 1GB DDR2, that Biostar board, 640GB WD Blue, and 1TB WD Green in it, runs around 48W at idle.

Might be better finding a cheap dual-core system for your parents (even a pre-built should work).

WELCOME TO SPCRRRRRRRR

It's a great community here and there is lots of useful information in these forums. Handful of Aussies on here too so that might help when you go looking for parts or what's available down yonder.

That should be a heck of an upgrade for you also

Great review. In my fairly limited experience with different notebooks, it does seem like you need to go up to the "Business" class (ie Latitude, Thinkpad, etc) for sturdy construction, especially with the savage price competition nowadays. I am typing on an Acer 5536 and it's build quality definite...

HWMonitor should read it also.

My Socket-939 X2 4400 only goes down to 1.35V. It's a 110W part so blaaah. It's in my wife's machine which is the biggest power hog we have.

You should maybe look at the Acer Timeline series. The 3810/4810/5810 series look pretty sweet, and bonus is very (like 8 hours) long battery life. Most have a dual core option as well. I think some models have discrete graphics but most have the Intel 4500MHD (good enough for movies though gaming i...

I'd go with measured real-life results. Of course different card manufacturers and different samples will yield different results, but they won't be different on a scale that would get you into trouble. Guess the 4670 would be a nice choice if that's sufficient for your games. I acknowledge my vide...

To followup on jhoffma's post, my WHS is using a 45W BE-2300 on a 760G board, a 640GB WD Blue and a 1TB WD Green and idles around 48W.

Get something like the Corsair 400W and you have room for my hard drives...which you will need when you start dumping all your DVDs onto the machine

You won't come close--my AMD 5050e system with Radeon 4670 peaks around 160W from the wall using a KAW for measurement.

Hi Mike, nice review, is there any way to follow up with a test of HDMI input from your PC and and see how well it handles standby/hibernation or any power on sequences needed? I have an older tv using HDMI and that's the failing--if you go into standby you need to reboot because the video just won'...

Dang, don't know much about him but his web persona was certainly knowledgeable and helpful.

RIP cpemma

one thing I did see when looking earlier was he had a blurb about his user name--referencing CP/M, I think he said it was the best OS ever Worth a smile I figure.

Wow--there's a way to start off at SPCR :D Good to see manufacturers getting interested in quiet parts--it's a lot easier to build something reasonably quiet than even when I joined a couple years ago. What kind of fans are going on the radiators? And where are they getting mounted? Was there any co...

Check DSLReports.com, they are on top of this stuff over there.
I am afraid the answer will be no way around it though--and the CRTC has given Bell free reign to do as they wish.

Happy Thanksgiving Neil, and the rest of the SPCR cast and crew!

Thankful for the jobs my wife and I have (in Michigan!), the education/training we are getting, and our families being alive and mostly well.

Also a special thanks to any troops out there serving today

The 4350 will be a dog for games--glorified integrated graphics. Probably comparable to an Nvidia 9400. If he's content with less eye candy for more demanding games, probably a 4670 or 9600 would be fine. Certainly don't rule out an affordable C2D system. Also, does he need an OS license included in...

for now XP is still a better OS than win7 3. battery life: http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/11/13/testing-finds-windows-xp-better-for-netbook-battery-life-than-windows-7/ and also: system resource consumption, compatibility with hardware, etc. compatibility with hardware--any new hardware has drivers...

Awesome.

Only one question about the power splitting. Does the pico offer any regulation of the 12V line, or does it just run it straight through? If it actually controlled it that would be one reason to use all power through it.

Otherwise, again, awesome looking

Yeah try starting from the minimum load point--that NIC could be eating some power, and I bet that old Seagate drive is eating up a couple watts.

Is your power meter properly calibrated? If you measure 40-60-100W bulbs do you get accurate readings?

Thanks for the update--wondered who bumped it and then saw the news. LOL. Did they start including a fire extinguisher with it?

Don't know how often the 500GB Blue has been recommended. The 640 is commonly recommended (heck, I have 3) but since WD came up with this rainbow coloring scheme they have gone back and slapped those labels on their entire lineup--even older drives. And even production variances have been reported o...

Hope it's good news for Team Green. I don't think Intel is going away anytime soon, and they have the resources to stay on top. However, I certainly enjoy the low-end alternatives AMD offers as they fall right in my budget area (cheap :lol: ). And it wasn't long ago that K7 and K8 were busy giving I...

Awesome as usual, doesn't that C2D already outperform all the previous builds combined (poor Via)
You need to put your name in the topic titles from now on so I know to click on them right away.

Bottom filtering intake, wood panels, a very Bluefront reminiscent build.