Legit Reviews

Hi

I have heard that the first batch of dual cores (E2140 and E2160) overclock better than the newer ones, meaning that newer, even though nominally faster, possibly reach lower GHz. Is that true?

Thanks to this topic I realized that onboard sound is generally crap. Not only does it load the CPU, it also sounds worse :( I thought that Realtek 889A, the upper shelf onboard, is good, but I begin to suspect it isn't after reading this: http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards-computer-audio/294689-s...

I suspect I am biased because I've had a shabby PSU for quite a few years and "only" had problems with a fan in it, nothing of the more serious trouble you mention. Modern systems seem to be higher powered so maybe PSU becomes more important. One thing that puzzles me is this: I have seen ...

Well the reason may be exactly the one I mentioned in my question, anyway I think I'm going for 250G.

I am confused whether I need a 64bit OS for Intel dual core processor, which is a 64bit CPU I assume, or not. I know I want XP and not Vista, please advise which is better for gaming and general usage: XP Pro or XP Pro x64.

I'M IN

I think it depends on how powerful the processor is - the faster the less relative difference in load caused by sound processing. It's an interesting topic, run a timedemo in some game, write down FPS, disable the external sound card in Windows, run a timedemo again in the same setup but using onboa...

I am looking for reliability, that is, the brand that fails less statistically. Also for the same reason I think I will choose 1-platter drive after all, and probably Barracuda for their 5 year warranty.

Yes, I've seen the list, from the brands I mentioned there's only Fortron so it's one of the top candidates being also not very expensive.

I was going to buy a 320G drive and have learned that these are 2-plate (or whatever the name, you get the meaning), while 250G are 1-plate and therefore supposed to be more fail-proof. If so, I'm gonna get 250G drive, is that true?

Also, which are more reliable: Seagate or Samsung?

This would be a great price, alas in Poland where I live 8800GT's start at about $240 (Galaxy) so I'm going to get 9600GT. Anyway I feel 8800GT would be too powerful for E21xx anyway so I'd probably need a better CPU and would go way over budget. As far as video cards go, I've heard Galaxies are cru...

Which brand to choose for a SATA DVD writer, models are

Lite-On LH-20A1S
Samsung SH-S203D

I see big difference in price between PSUs with/without active PFC. Does it make sense to go for APFC, how is it superior over passive PFC?

Also, have you heard about these brands:

Chieftec
Fortron
I-BOX
ModeCom Feel

You guys seem to be going pretty high-end here, as important as a PSU may be I'm not going to buy a unit as expensive as a motherboard. I am looking for "decent/ok", not "very good".

What PSU wattage do I need for the system with

Intel E2140 or similar, overclocked, probably 3.2GHz
nVidia 9600GT, possibly overclocked
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320G, overclocked --- just joking
old ATA HDD
2G memory DDR2 800
LiteOn DVD combo

?

I'd probably go for 3.2GHz with either. I have seen a nice test with 394x8 = 3152 which as far as I understand (and I'm certainly not an expert) is advantageous in that a RAM can go 1:1, that is 2x394 = 792 for a DDR2 800Mhz.

Hi I was going to buy E2180 for my new machine but it struck me today that all these dual core 65nm 1G cache FSB800 processors are exactly the same as far as overclocking is concerned. That is, if I plan to overclock, and I do, I can as well buy E2140 as E2220 and they should overclock exactly the s...

From what I have read in the mobo tests, not all onboard sound systems are created equal. For example, ALC 889 in Gigabyte P35 boards is supposed to be good while ALC 883 in Asus P35 boards do worse.

I am glad that you recommend Gigabyte board because I've been swaying in this direction myself, either that or Abit p35 board. I was considering EP35-DS3 because I thought EP models had EIDE (PATA) (and I need it for old disk) while P models didn't but is it the case? How do they differ? AFAIK L is ...

On the other hand, overclock 8800GS and you almost get the 8800GT: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GeForce_8800_GS/24.html Well not exactly, it's more like 9600: http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5354&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=1 P.S. I ha...