Of course, there are other ways to speed up computers, without using other programs, but those require money to be invested, such as buying more RAM, or buying a SSD drive, or even installing Windows 8, that has really revamped its boot up process, now taking much less time than what it used to (but with all of this innovation, some users still want to downgrade to Windows 7).

Tricks to Boot up PC Faster

Of course, the biggest improvement on any PC will be to add more computing power, but to change the components requires some technical knowledge and it can cost quite a lot. By using optimization programs and implementing some simple tricks, you can make your computer much more responsive and faster. We’ll start tuning your PC from the bottom up, and the lowest level you have is the motherboard’s BIOS.

• BIOS Tricks

When you start your computer, press the BIOS key (it’s not the same for all the computers, but it usually says in the bottom of the screen “Press [key] to enter Setup”). When you have entered the BIOS, you can enable or disable some features that will allow your computer to boot faster.

Note: Not all BIOS versions are the same, some have different menus or features, do some research on your BIOS version to see what features are available for you.

One feature you can disable is Quick Power On Self-Test. What this means is that the BIOS will no longer do all the hardware and memory tests at startup, thus making it faster. Set this setting to “Fast” something similar. If your BIOS has IDE and Floppy Drive check, you can disable these if you do not use IDE drives or a Floppy drive.

• Windows Tricks

Moving on from the BIOS to the operating system, the first step here is to scan your computer for viruses. There are lots of free antivirus utilities that do an excellent job, but I would recommend buying a good antivirus also. After scanning your computer (I usually use 2-3 antivirus utilities to scan my computer), you can move on to deleting useless files and cleaning the startup process.

Some programs have the option of starting on Windows startup, but each program takes up some memory, and with the more you have, the startup of your computer has a lower speed. To disable the non essential programs, click on “Start” and the “Run”. When the Run windows opened, type ”msconfig”. The Msconfig utility is a Windows integrated tool that allows you to remove startup programs. In the main window, click on “Startup” and you will see a list of startup programs. All you have to do is uncheck those that you do not necessarily need. Apply and exit without restart.

Note: For those who have dual boot, you can adjust the “timeout” time and the default OS from the Msconfig tool. This feature is located under the “Boot” menu.

• Cleaning the Temp files is something that might make your computer a bit faster. You should know that if your C: partition is running low on space, the performance of your computer drastically decreases. These files are temporary files that have no actual use for Windows on startup, so can delete them with no problems. There are two temp folders on your computer, you can find them here: C:\Users\[Yourusername]\AppData\Local\Temp or C:\Windows\Temp.

After doing this, you can clean your registry for entries that are not used anymore. These can really pile up after some time because each program you install creates registry entries and they are not deleted after uninstalling the program. There are lots of utilities that allow you to clean the registry of your computer, we will feature a list later on.

• Updating the drivers of your computer can have a beneficial effect on the performance of your computer and sometimes it will help it boot faster, so visit the websites of the manufacturers of your components and download the latest drives and install them.
• Defragment your drive for better seek times. We have previously discussed the benefits of defragmenting your drive, and you can also use defragmentation programs. A list of the best can be found here.
• Remove unused fonts that make your computer run slow. You usually do not use all the fonts installed on your computer, so removing some of them is a benefit. Head to Control Panel -> Fonts and right click on unused fonts and delete them.

The last thing you might want to change is the visual aspect of your desktop. This is why desktop customization apps are not recommended for slower computers, they take up RAM memory and increase the boot time of your computer. Setting your desktop background to blank or solid colors and disabling transparency for Windows can free up some memory. Also, try disabling the Windows widgets.

These are some of the tips you can use to speed up your boot time for your computer. But there are other methods to optimize a PC. There are programs that can help with the boot time of your computer. Also, they have some other optimization tools that can lend a helping hand. Here is a list of such programs:

Programs to boot up your computer faster

1. Soluto – Soluto is a complete PC optimizing solution. It helps you identify and remove start-up programs slowing down the PC boot in addition to identifying crashes.
2. Regcleaner – We previously talked about this tool. It allows you to delete the unused registry files.
3. Tuneup Utilities – This is one of the best optimization utilities that I have ever used. It features lots of optimising tools for making your computer faster.
4. PC Doctor – Similar to Tuneup Utilities, this program offers some great optimization tools that I have used to great success.
5. Norton 360 – 360 is right, Norton is one of the best antivirus utilities, but apart from this, it provides a good parental control feature and a great PC optimizing tool.
6. Startup Faster – A utility that has a very low resource footprint but it can also have a massive impact on your computer. It allows you to very easily stop or delay startup processes.

If your computer had problems with the booting time, after using these tips and programs, you surely won’t have any more problems. Try them out for yourself and see what an impact they can have on your computer.

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Recently, this became a problem for those who have bought computers or laptops produced by HP that came with the Windows 8 OEM installed. At that time, HP declared that they will not offer support for anyone who will downgrade to Windows 7 from Windows 8, thus creating quite a stir among the owners of HP computers. Much to their relief, HP has updated their policy and now users can downgrade to Windows 7 without voiding their warranty. Maybe other OEMs will follow HP’s example.

Downgrading from Windows 8 to Windows 7

Microsoft allows users who own a copy of Windows 8 Pro to downgrade to an older version of Windows, be it 7 or Vista (downgrade to XP is not supported), as they had done with previous versions of Windows, as we can see from the Windows 8 license agreement:

Instead of using the Windows 8 Pro software, you may use one of the following earlier versions: Windows 7 Professional or Windows Vista Business.

Now that you have caught your breath knowing that you have the possibility to downgrade, let’s move on to the next step: how to downgrade to Windows 7 from Windows 8?

There is no easy way to do this, because Microsoft does not provide such a tool in any of their operating systems. Also, I have consulted with the Microsoft website and there is no information available on how to downgrade your Windows operating system. This means that only those who have OEM licenses of Windows 8 can downgrade to Windows 7, but the downgrade must be done by the computer manufacturer. If you only bought a retail version of Windows 8,  you are left with one option: buy a copy of Windows 7 (if you do not have one yet) and install it on your computer.

Installing Windows 7 over Windows 8

If you are installing a new OS on your device, there are a few steps you must undergo before starting. First of all, determine if there is any information on your C: partition that you want to keep. If so, copy it on your other partitions/cloud service/external drive. Also, just to be safe, you can make a disk image of your C: drive as a backup, just in case you will encounter errors and need to revert to Windows 8. After saving all your files, you can continue by making a boot-able drive with Windows 7. For this, you will need the .ISO image file of Windows 7 and a DVD or USB flash drive (the flash drive must have at least 8GB ).

• Creating a boot-able DVD

If you want to create a DVD with Windows 7, you will need to install a program called Nero. This is allow you to create a boot-able DVD very quickly with next to no effort. After installing Nero, stick in your blank DVD and in the Nero main screen select “DVD” and “Open”, now you have to browse for your .ISO file. After opening the file, click on “Burn” and wait for the burning process to complete.

• Creating a boot-able USB Flash Drive

If you will be installing Windows 7 from a USB flash drive, you will notice that there are lots of utilities around the web that allow you to accomplish this, but from personal experience, I would recommend doing this the old fashioned way, with Command Prompt. Also, remember that you will need a USB flash drive that has 8GB or more, and before you start, copy all your files from the flash drive, because this process will erase all the data from the USB flash drive. This is how to do it:

Search for “CMD” and run it as administrator (it is crucial that you run it this way, otherwise it will give you an error later on)
After the command prompt window opens, type “DISKPART” and enter the following commands in this order:

1. “LIST DISK”
2. A list will appear with all the disks on your computer. See which of them is the USB drive (look at the size of the disk to determine which one it is). If you have only one hard drive on your computer, the USB stick will usually be Disk 1 (we will take this case as an example)
3. “SELECT DISK 1” (again, be sure that you have the same number for your USB flash drive)
4. “CLEAN”
5. “CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY”
6. “SELECT PARTITION 1”
7. “ACTIVE”
8. “FORMAT FS=NTFS” and wait for the format to complete (it takes about 10 minutes on a 8GB flash drive)
9. “ASSIGN”
10. “EXIT” – this will exit the “diskpart” utility, but the command prompt will still remain opened. Do not close it because you will use it later on. Now your USB flash drive is seen as a partition, this will allow you to create the boot drive for the Windows 7 operating system also, mount your .ISO image to a virtual drive.
11. “D: CD BOOT” (where “D” is the drive letter of your virtual drive where your .ISO file with Windows 7 is mounted)
12. “CD BOOT”
13. “BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 X:” (where “X” is the letter of your USB flash drive)

Copy all the files from the .ISO file to your USB flash drive and after the process is completed, you are done. Now, with your copy of Windows 7 ready to go, you can perform the normal installation. Select your USB drive as the boot source and install the operating system. It is quite a shame that Microsoft does not implement a feature that allows users to downgrade automatically to an older version of Windows. Especially now, when Windows 8 is so different from the older versions and it might not be to the liking of everyone.

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But why stop at customizing? It’s true, a nicer aspect of the screen is a big deal, but why not go one step further and add some extra functionality to your computer? The following programs will do exactly this: customize your desktop, but also give it some extra functionality at the same time. What to point out before we move on: do not use them all at the same time because they will slow your computer down and some might not work with others, and you will just end up with errors.

Top 5 Desktop Customization Apps

1. Rainmeter

Have you seen the movie “Minority Report”? The one where Tom Cruise catches criminals before they do anything and…well, I’m not going to ruin the movie for those who haven’t seen it, but what I say is this: how cool is that display that he uses? A touchscreen transparent display is awesome. Samsung has managed to come close with those awesome transparent displays, but it’s not quite there yet.

Ever since I’ve watched that movie, I wanted my computer desktop to ressemble that display. Although I don’t have a touchscreen display, I can still create that awesome looking futuristic layout with a great utility called Rainmeter. This program allows you to install desktop widgets and create your own Minority Report screen.

You might think that creating such a layout would take a lot of time, right? Wrong. Rainmeter allows you to download desktop elements and arrange them on your screen fairly simple. In fact, the only limitation I found is my own imagination. After downloading the Rainmeter client, I started to search for desktop elements, and I found plenty. After fiddling with them for a few minutes, I came up with a cool looking design, that has both awesome looks and great functionality.

Also, after adding all the animations and all the widgets, I was pleased to see that they are very resource friendly, only utilizing about 4% of the CPU power and about 500MB of extra RAM. Of course, these numbers can vary depending on your system’s configuration and on the number of elements you will add to your screen. This utility can be run on just about any Windows OS, starting with XP and it even works on Windows 8, giving you more customization options.

As I have mentioned, screen widgets can be found very easily on the web. Three themes are available on the Rainmeter website to get you started, but a quick search revealed that there are lots of elements in other places such as:

• Flickr
• Customize.org
• DeviantART

After you find the ones you like, download the .rmskin file and install it by double clicking it (simple, hugh?). Afterwards, you will find the installed skin in your Rainmeter client, from where you can add any element you like. Also, you can add elements from different skins, so you can create a truly one of kind desktop. When you find the widget that you want to install, click on the .ini file and select “Load”, and it will appear on your screen. This is pretty much the entire process.

2. RocketDock

Although not as spectacular as Rainmeter, this utility allows Windows users to use a shortcut dock, similar to the one on Macs. The dock can be customized by adding transition effects, lighting effects and icon effects. Although simple, the dock really gives a lot of functionality because you can add any shortcuts and even video windows.

If you are wondering how many resources it consumes, you will be thrilled to know that it has almost no impact on your computer (in my case, about 10-50 RAM increase in usage, depending on how many shortcuts are added to it). What I enjoy most about it is the fact that I can minimize windows to the dock and because it’s next to no resource usage I can install it on older, slower computers without rendering them useless. Have a look at the video below.

3. Stardock Fences

If managing your desktop icons is something that you usually forget to do, this utility is a godsend. Fences allows you to create certain areas on your desktop (called “Fences”) for different icons, such as:

• Shortcuts
• Utilities
• Daily use

Apart from the obvious benefit of organizing your icons, Fences also makes your desktop look professional and clean. The process of adding items to fences is very simple but I like the most is the automated sorting process. For instance, you install a new game or a new software and, as you know, most programs create desktop shortcuts. Well, you can create a rule that automatically adds application shortcuts to one particular fence, or folders to another. Isn’t this great?

Yes, it is awesome, but wait, there’s more. Fences has really come a long way from the day it was created, and now has some really nice features that help you further customize your screen and make it the perfect work environment. Here is a quick list of some features that Fences has:

• Fences fade when you double click on a blank space of your screen and reappear when you double click again (you can also pick which fade and which stay active).
• You can add pages of fences that you can easily browse through by dragging your mouse from one corner to the other of the screen.
• You can add shades to some of your fences to make them stand out and to make them more accessible.

4. Thinkinbytes Desktop Customization

Apart from Rainmeter, the Cube Desktop NXT is the most amazing desktop customization app here. It brings the most dramatic but wonderful visual effect as it transforms your ordinary desktop into a cube, where each side represents another desktop, each with its own background image and with its own icons. Pretty neat, huh?

As cool as this sounds, this programs will eat up quite some memory, and even on my 4GB of DDR3 memory and Core i5 processor running at 3.2 GHz, it seemed a bit laggy at times. There is no doubt that this program should not be installed on slower computers, but if you PC can handle it, then it is an awesome program.

If, on the other hand you do not have such a powerful computer, then DeskMotive should do the job. This service is similar to the Windows Vista DreamScene feature that allowed you to add video content as your desktop background. Unlike DreamScene, DeskMotive does not require a very powerful computer to run, the only limitation being that it does not work on 64 bits operating systems

Now you can customize your desktop like never before! Forget about wallpapers, these programs are the wallpapers of the future. They offer not only great looks, but also great productivity. The perfect duo to make your computer unique!

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That’s why, Windows 7 remains a very important product for Microsoft, especially since it surpassed Windows XP in market share. Windows 8 will come with Internet Explorer 10, but Microsoft doesn’t want that to be a selling reason, so they’ve decided to released Internet Explorer 10 download links for Windows 7. Don’t forget that in Windows 8, Internet Exporer 10 will be app-connected.

Download Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7

At the moment, the download links are yet not available, but that can change from minute to minute and we will be sure to update the information provided once they become available. The page is already live, so this means the download links will be soon updated. On the download page, you will find versions for 36 languages (at the time of the writing). We will update the below links for the English version of Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7, as well as the update for Windows Server 2008.

• Download Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 32-bit
• Download Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 64-bit
• Download Internet Explorer 10 Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 64-bit

Update: Microsoft has removed that Download page as well. Not sure what’s happening here, but will update again, once we have more information.

Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 requirements

You won’t need a lot of horsepower to run Internet Explorer 10, but, still, for those that love to know everything they install and who care about their system, here are the requirements:

Processor: computer with a 1 gigahertz (GHz) 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.

Operating system:

• Windows 7 32-bit with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or higher
• Windows 7 64-bit with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or higher
• Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) 64-bit

Memory:

• Windows 7 32-bit—512 MB
• Windows 7 64-bit—512 MB
• Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit—512 MB

Hard drive space:

• Windows 7 32-bit—70 MB
• Windows 7 64-bit—120 MB
• Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit—200 MB

Drive: CD-ROM drive (if installation is done from a CD-ROM)

Display: Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution monitor with 256 colors

Peripherals:

• Modem or Internet connection
• Microsoft Mouse, Microsoft IntelliMouse, or a compatible pointing device

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Also, because the Windows Task Manager has certain restrictions, it cannot always perform all the operations you need it to do, so, in some instances, a third party app is better for closing tasks that the default program cannot. Here are a few Task Manager alternatives for you to enjoy on your Windows computer

Best Task Manager Alternatives

6. System Explorer

Having a more classic look, System Explorer gives you a complete list of running system processes, drivers, add-ons and more. Also, you can check online for information on each process, terminate the process and modify startup services. The program is easy to use and gives users much more information that the traditional Task Manager and it allows you to check processes in a virus database, so you can find malware or other harmful processes. And with all the extra information it provides, you can be sure that it will be of great use to you.

5. Process Liquidator

If you are looking for the most simple tool you can find, then Process Liquidator is the one you need. The app offers only the very basic of features, but it does so in style: you have the option to close tasks with one click (although this could be risky sometimes) and to open the process list, all you have to do is hover your mouse pointer on the right side of the screen. Another great aspect of this app is that it uses very little system memory (around 4 MB), so you will never notice it running.

4. Process Explorer

A simple and yet effective tool for killing running processes comes in the form of Process Explorer. Although it does not offer outlandish tools, and sometimes it can be a bit hard to navigate, it does make up for this drawback in performance.

It’s like a supercharged Windows Task Manager (curiously enough, it’s also developed by Microsoft) with color coded processes and a smoother feel. I can even say it resembles the new Task Manager implemented in Windows 8. Also, it offers the possibility to take the place of the default Task Manager, which, I must say, it’s not a bad idea.

3. Anvir Task Manager

One of the best Task Manager alternatives I have ever seen comes in the form of Anvir. This program offers a battery of tools, such as startup control (allows you to control what services start at boot), and it can also delay some processes to some degree, making your boot time faster. Also, you can check services against a virus database, so you can rest assured that there are no malware running through your computer. The only downside is that for all these features you have to pay (the free version has some of them, but not all.)

2. What’s Running 3.0

If it’s information on running processes that you seek, then What’s Running 3.0 is what you need. This program offers you all the information you could want on any process in a few seconds, and it also gives you the possibility to go online and seek information. When you click a process, it will give you a graph showing the resource drain of that particular process. Although at times the interface can be a little confusing, its great assortment of features make it a great alternative for Windows Task Manager.

1. Process Hacker

This tool provides both ease of use, an intuitive interface and lots of great features. Even though it does not have all the features that others in this top pack, Process Hacker performs great, it has a snappy response and it’s not confusing. Also, you can pause, terminate or resume a process, and set the amount of memory a process can use up. A great alternative to Task Manager that everyone should try. Have a look in the video below at it.

Now you can go about closing tasks that you previously couldn’t, but be careful which ones you close, because some are critical to running Windows OS and you might find yourself in front of a blue screen if you are not careful. The question that remains is this: are these third party apps better than the new Task Manager that the guys at Microsoft reinvented in Windows 8? Although it does not have all the features that these apps have, it’s still a pretty good tool and, from my experience with it, a massive update to the old Task Manager. We will just have to wait and see it it’s any better than the Task Manager alternatives featured here.

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HDDs need a lot of maintaining to work properly: defragmentation, partitioning, regular cleaning and so on. And, still, they have pretty low speeds. Of course, there are some methods of hard drive optimization that could give your hard drive some extra speed, and this is what we will be covering today. Also, we will feature some SSD optimization tips, but these are more maintenance tricks, as they do not affect the speed of the drive so much, but they can extend the overall life of the drive.

Hard Drive Optimization Tips

1. Partition your drive

For hard drives, partitioning is a very good maintenance method. By partitioning, you can keep your Windows files in one partition and your other data on other partitions. This ensures that the files do not mix and cause errors. Also, if you use more than one operating systems (for example Windows and Linux), it’s better to keep them on different partitions. Windows offers a partitioning tool when you install it, but you can do this with third party apps or the Disk Utility feature from the Windows OS.

2. Defragment often

Windows OS offers a Disk Defragmenter tool that allows you to defragment hard drives, making them perform better and giving them a longer lifespan. This process “evens out” the data on a hard drive, by not allowing it to clump together. This process can be done with third party apps, which offer better defragmentation that the Windows OS tool. A list of defragmentation programs can be seen here.

3. Clean your drive

No, I am not talking about giving you hard drive a bath, but to keep it clean on the inside. Delete old and useless data, empty your Recycle Bin, delete the Temporary Internet data and browser search history. Also, you can give your registry a wipe, by deleting entries that are of no use now.

There are lots of utilities to help you clean the data on your hard drive and get rid of those useless files. Also, another advantage of deleting all that old information is that you can free up some space on your partition (sometimes, even more than 1GB).

4. Create a Pagefile partition

The pagefile partition is a place where the opened programs can keep their temp files. Usually, this information is kept in the RAM, but by using this method, you can free you RAM. The only information that the RAM will hold is from the files that you use in that moment, the other information that is frequently used will be stored in this partition. To create a pagefile partition, navigate to:

Control Panel-> System-> Advanced System Settings-> Advanced-> Performance-> Settings-> Advanced-> Virtual Memory-> Change

and create a new partition for those files (I would recommend a size of about 1GB).

SSD Maintenance Tricks

All of the above methods for optimizing a hard drive do not work on a SSD, in fact, many of them make small write operations that shorten the lifespan of a SSD. These devices have awesome speeds, so they do not need optimizing. Instead, you must limit the number of operations that they make. Also, here are a few other easy tips for helping your SSD last longer:

1. Use AHCI SATA controller

You can turn this on from the BIOS of your motherboard. This states what SATA controller your computer uses. For SSD drives, it’s best if you use AHCI.

2. Disable defragmentation

Defragmentation is useless in SSD drives. The data does not fragment and you don’t need this feature. Also, it makes lots of small write operations that, in time, might shorten the life of your SSD. Also, it’s better to stop this feature if you have a defragment scheduled task.

3. Disable System Restore

Windows usually creates restore points, and they are pretty useful if you have problems later on, but taking into consideration the small size of most SSDs, it’s better to turn this feature off if you don’t want to fill up your drive with backups. If you have a big SSD, then you shouldn’t worry about this. To do this, follow this

Computer ->System Protection->Select partition “C”->Configure->Turn off System Protection

4. Disable drive indexing

Also, a great tool when using HDDs, the drive indexation has a negative effect on your SSD, because it will read all the files in your partition. This can deteriorate your SSD much faster, so it’s better to turn this feature off (right click on the partition and uncheck “drive indexation”).

5. Disable Hibernation

Hibernation suspends your system by copying all the information stored in the RAM to a file, and when you turn on your computer, it basically resumes. This makes for a faster boot-up, but when using SSDs, you already have the speed, and you do not want those extra write operations. Do the following

Start->type “CMD” in the search bar-> right click on CMD and select “Open as Administrator”)with administrator rights and and type “powercfg.exe /hibernate off”

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2012. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

The post 10 Useful Hard Drive and SSD Optimization Tips appeared first on Technology Personalized.

Also, the CPU is the part of the PC that handles all the number crunching, and with modern CPUs, we see that they are starting to handle graphics rendering as well. A technology that has been adopted by both the two world leading manufacturers of CPUs, Intel and AMD.

What are CPUs?

This is how Wikipedia describes a CPU:

A central processing unit (CPU), also referred to as a central processor unit,is the hardware within a computer system which carries out the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system.

But inshort, a CPU is a chip that has embedded in its circuit billions of tiny transistors (the scale of these transistors is so small, it’s hard to imagine them, some going down as 22 nm in the case of Intel’s Ivy Bridge CPUs or even smaller in other concepts). This silicone chip is what allows your PC to “think”, giving it the power to read information and send information to the other components, in a sense, organizing them much like the human brain works, but with one big difference: it only works on the basis of laws and it cannot learn and operate on itself.

Nonetheless, the CPU gives your computer the power to make calculations and, as you might of guessed by now, the more powerful the CPU is, the better a computer will operate. Sometimes, if you upgrade your CPU on an old computer, it might provide you with a serious boost in performance, this technique also works if you have an old laptop and you want to give it some new life.

Higher numbers do not mean higher performance

When on the market for a CPU, some retailers might blow big numbers in your face so that they can convince you that one CPU is better than others. Although in some cases, bigger is better, you must not let yourself be fooled by these seemingly random numbers. Keep in mind that all CPUs differ from each other, and so, some that have a big clock speed, might be less powerful a CPU that has a lower clock speed, but with technologies like Hyper Threading or multiple cores.

Here is a quick list of some of the specifications you will find when buying a CPU. I will try to explain them as best I can without going into technical detail and make it as simple as I can:

Socket – Motherboards, as we saw offer support for one type of CPU. Depending on which manufacturer you choose, you can use several of their CPUs. For example, Intel processors come on a wide variety of sockets:

• 775
• 1156
• 1155

AMD has:

• AM
• AM2
• AM2+
• AM3

These are basically the interface your CPU connects to your motherboard.

Clock Speed – This is the actual speed of your computer. The clock speed, measured in Hertz (nowadays, they are GHz) and what it means is the number of operations a CPU can execute in a time period, usually a second. Usually, these OPS (operations per second) come in the millions or billions and in the past, the higher the clock speed, the faster the CPU. Nowadays, with the multiple core designs, you have to take to account the number of cores as well as the clock rate.

Number of cores – Multi core CPUs are the latest technology in the CPU world. These designs have appeared due to the miniaturization process of the transistors and they have allowed the designers to mount several CPU’s (in this case, called “cores”) in one microchip. They offer vastly superior performance than single core designs and are far more faster and can handle a much higher workload.

Hyper Threading – A technology developed by Intel that gives users more power from the same CPU. This allows each physical core to be viewed as a two logical cores, giving a boost of performance to any task.

Cache – Cache Memory is a kind of RAM memory that stores the most frequently used instructions. It’s much smaller (a few MB) and a lot faster than usual memory. As you might imagine, with a bigger cache memory, the CPU can store more instructions and thus, work faster. The cache memory is divided into layers (L3 being the biggest layer) and the information is stored in these layers in the order of importance.

Heat Generation – As we all know, in any computer, the cooler it is, the better it performs. And the CPU generates massive amounts of heat. This becomes a problem when you have only a stock cooler and not an aftermarket CPU cooler, capable of efficiently driving the heat away from the CPU. A good cooling system and a good airflow in your case is something that can take care of this issue.

Architecture: The CPU’s architecture can be one of two: 32 bit (X86) OR 64 bit (x64). Today’s CPUs almost all have 64 bit architecture, they allow you to install more RAM memory on your computer and can handle a much bigger data stream.

After understanding these technical specifications, you can see which processor has the bigger potential and when you will want to upgrade your CPU, you will know how to choose the best one, depending on what configuration you have and what level of power you need.

Intel vs. AMD

The age-long question, which is better? The answer to this question is not as straightforward as you might aspect. Nowadays, technologies have evolved quite a lot, and with Moore’s Law (the observation that states that the number of transistors on an integrated chip doubles once every 18 months) still working like a charm, both manufacturers of PC microprocessors have quite a lot to offer.

As an Intel fan, I can say that all Intel processors have a massive amount of power under their hoods, and for raw power, the kind that is needed for video encoding for example, they offer the best results. This does not mean that AMD processors are not powerful, their biggest advantage is their price, which in comparison with Intel’s prices, are next to nothing. They still operate very well under stress, and for the average user or for the hardcore gamer, they offer top of the line performance. Also, they have multiple cores (up to 6 or 8) which gives them lots of processing power and speed, this is a feature used by both Intel and AMD.

Top 6 CPUs to choose

Although the choice is up to you, depending on what type of computer you want to build, we will give you a helping hand in choosing the right processor. These are a few examples of some of the best CPUs from both Intel and AMD. Keep in mind to pay attention to what socket your motherboard has, so you don’t end up with a processor that won’t fit.

Intel Core i7 3770K 3.5 GHz

• Clock Speed: 3.5 GHz
• Number of cores: 4
• L2 Cache: 4x 256 KB
• Price: $325

Intel Core i5 3570k 3.4GHz

• Clock Speed: 3.4 GHz
• Number of cores: 4
• L2 Cache: 4x 256 KB
• Price: $230

Intel Core i3 3225 3.3GHz

• Clock Speed: 3.3 GHz
• Number of cores: 2
• Cache: Intel Smart Cache 3072 KB
• Price: $161

AMD FX-8150 3.6GHz

• Clock Speed: 3.6 GHz
• Number of cores: 8
• L3 Cache: 8192 KB
• Price: $170

AMD FX-8120 3.1GHz

• Clock Speed: 3.1 GHz
• Number of cores: 8
• L3 Cache: 8192 KB
• Price: $155.5

AMD Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition 3.60GHz

• Clock Speed: 3.6 GHz
• Number of cores: 4
• L3 Cache: 6144 KB
• Price: $175

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2012. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

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Windows 7 Overtakes XP

As I mentioned earlier, since its arrival in 2001, Windows XP has gone to the top of the most used operating systems in the world, and has managed to keep that spot for almost 11 years, we bow our heads for Microsoft’s achievement. What is most important, is the fact that the mighty XP has lost the first place to another operating system, also produced by Microsoft, Windows 7, released in 2009, that has made a giant leap in only 3 short years.

If we look at the numbers, we can see that Windows 7 has taken the first place in the market share of operating systems, but just barely, rising over the old XP by only 0.24 percent. Although overtook, Windows XP still has a pretty big market share, at 42.52%, and the sum of both Windows XP and Windows 7 make a staggering 85.28% of the total operating system market.

Mac OS X Surpasses Vista

Mac users around the world have something to be happy about: the newest Mac OS X version has finally surpassed a Microsoft product. Windows Vista, one of Microsoft’s not so loved operating systems who only had a market share of ~6% has stepped down a notch and Mac OS X has risen to a market share of 7.13%. Also, the Mountain Lion OS produced by Apple is quickly rising, and I will not be surprised if it will pick more than we could expect.

The report was submitted by Net Applications and it gives us a better understanding of how operating systems are evolving and how the masses take to them. We are all curious to see if Microsoft’s newest addition to its arsenal of operating systems, Windows 8, will have such a big impact as its predecessors had, and also, how the other contenders, Mac OS X and Linux will evolve. But for now, Microsoft having the dominant share of the OS market, with a staggering 91.42% in desktop and 83% on all kinds of operating systems, Windows is still the undisputed champion.

[via] NetApplications

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2012. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

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What is benchmarking?

Benchmarking is a process that puts stress on your components to determine if they work properly and if the configuration and overclock is stable. Also, with benchmarking you get a score that you can compare with others to see who’s done the best job overclocking their computer. As a fan of overclocking and overvoltage, I know a few applications that can put your machine through its paces and tell you how good your computer is. Using these apps, you will be able to iron out every kink in your computer’s configuration and end up with the best possible machine that gives you all it’s got.

A very important note

Remember that some of these apps put enormous stress on your machine. The possibility to damage your components is high, so do this at your own expense. Although computer components have safety measures implemented into them, in a serious overclocking you will turn off the majority of these settings, ending up with the bear essential. If not done correctly, the benchmarking process can damage your computer.

I’ll give you a list of such apps, dedicated for each component so you can find out everything to know about each part of your PC and test it out. Also, before we go any further, make sure to have some informational apps on hand, like CPU-Z, GPU-Z, RealTemp, CoreTemp, SpeedFan, HWMonitor or Aida64. These will give you all the information you need on your components.

Benchmarking tools for your CPU

1. OCCT

OCCT is one of the most powerful benchmarking tools you can unleash on your computer. This hard core CPU tester will give your computer’s CPU a run for its money and at the end of the gruelling test, it will give you very precise information in the form of multiple graphs displaying everything from voltages to temperatures and frequencies. Also, OCCT has a few other test, for DDR Memory and for your Video Card (GPU), so it would be a great tool for testing your computer from top to bottom.

2. SuperPi

SuperPi is a benchmarking tool that enthusiasts love very much. It’s become soft of a sport nowadays to let people see how fast your CPU can calculate the number pi (3.14…) win an outstanding number of decimals. Although it might not give you scores and such, you can still get an estimate on the speed that your CPU runs at by comparing your results with other that have done this test, and believe me, there are lots!

3. Prime95

Third, but not least, Prime95 is the benchmarking tool that makes or breaks a good overclock. This tool keeps your CPU at 100% on all cores and with 80%+ memory use for an indefinite time period. A tool much loved by overclockers around the world, Prime95, as like OCCT is one of the most powerful tools you can use. After a 5-10 hour marathon of constant pushing your CPU, you will definitely know that your overclock is stable!

Benchmarking tools for your GPU

 1. FurMark

If you are overclocking your video card, then you really need to know if it can handle complex graphics and not get overheated. FurMark allows you to push your GPU to the limit and see if it can cope. Remember that this tool can damage your video card and make unusable, so be very careful when you use it. Because GPUs get really hot in use, when you push it to the limit, it might break.

2. MSI Afterburner + Kombustor

Actually these are two separate tools built into one great benchmarking tool. One allows you to tweak the settings of your video card (MSI Afterburner), giving it more or less memory, voltage and so on, and the other, MSI Kombustor, allows you to test out your settings with a burn test that ranks your video card with a score, determined by its performance

3. 3DMark

3DMark is probably the world’s best known GPU and CPU benchmark tool. It has a series of animated tests for your computer, and after them it gives you a score that you can submit to see just how good is your computer. Comparing scores in 3DMark has become a passion for most, and try time and time again to beat the records. Although not as tough as the other tools features here, it does give you lots of useful information on your computer and it can help you determine if your computer is running at its max, or if it’s dragging its feet.

Benchmarking tools for your DDR Memory

1. MaxxMem

If you ever set out to overclock/overvoltage or tweak your DDR Memory, you know how hard it is to get the timings right, to get the right frequency and so on. The task is daunting, but when you do succeed, you will need to test them out. And what better way to do this if not with one of the best tools for testing DDR Memory? MaxxMem is an awesome tool that gives you great information on your memory’s status, such as timing, reading and writing times and latency. Give it a try and see how your memory handles!

With these tools at your disposal you will be able to see just how much your computer can score and how far you can push it, for that bigger score. Keep in mind that these tests can damage your computer, so proceed with caution! But, then again, a little OC never hurt anyone. It might not work for your slow laptop, but it might give you a speed bump in your computer!

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2012. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

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Why is this necessary?

For the health of your PC, it’s good to know which applications are encountering errors, or in the case of a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) when you do not have time to see what error has occured, you can find this information and seek solutions on how to eliminate the threat. This might also work if your computer or laptop is running slow due to faulty applications that crash or eat up more resources than they should.

How to find the Windows 7 error log with Reliability Monitor

To access this information, you have at your disposal a tool integrated in Windows 7, called Reliability Monitor. This utility will help you see which application has encountered an error and give you information that you can use to later find a solution. Also, the information is very well grouped on a timeline so you can navigate to the date that the error occurred and see what caused it. To open the Reliability Monitor, there are two methods:

Method 1

1. Click on the “Start” button
2. Type “Reliability” in the search
3. Open “View Reliability History”

This will open a window where you have a timeline of all the events that happened on your Windows machine. When clicking on a date, it will show you what errors Windows has encountered in that day and give you information on the type of error and what program has caused it.

Method 2

1. Click on the “Start” button
2. Click on “Control Panel”
3. In Control Panel, click on “System”
4. Click on “Action Center”
5. Under “Maintenance” you will see the “View Reliability History” tool

From here, you will receive all the information you need on errors that occurred on your Windows computer. Hopefully, in the future, when Windows 8 will receive more tweaks and updates that will make these errors a thing of the past, but until then, you have at your disposal a tool for finding out what is causing problems with your Windows computer.

There are other third party apps like WhoCrashed, but it’s always better to go with the official tool!

via [TechSupportAlert]

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2012. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

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