Hardware

Are Black Friday computers a good deal?

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Saving money , , , , ,

Black Friday is going to be here before we know it. And historically, that’s been a good day to snag a deal on consumer electronics. But does that hold for computers?

I’ve studied many Black Friday computers–I have two Black Friday specials from years’ past sitting in the basement as I write–and I have to say that when it comes to those, you’re getting what you pay for. Yes, they cost less than computers from September and October. But there’s a good reason for it. Read more

Predict your SSD life expectancy with SSDLife

Dave Farquhar Hardware

Here’s a great tool: SSDLife. It helps you predict SSD life expectancy.

Back in the bad old days of hard drives with magnetic platters, you could only speculate about their life expectancy. With SSDs, life expectancy is a lot more predictable, and that’s what this tool does. Read more

It’s been 15 years, and computer stores haven’t changed much

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the early 1990s, I learned how to fix computers because I got tired of long waits and shoddy repairs from computer stores.

Last month I took a friend to go buy a computer. I didn’t want her to get stuck with retail junk, so I took her to a computer store that I knew sold quality parts. Plus I know the owner. He wrote an O’Reilly book too. I figured it would be a smooth experience, since I knew exactly what to ask for. The salesperson said he’d get back to me within two days with a quote, then it would take about a week to build the system after we gave the OK. Seems pretty smooth and reasonable.

It turned into a nightmare. Or at least a mess. Read more

Computer won’t boot? Check your USB ports

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , ,

A friend called me in panic. A brand-new computer, freshly reinstalled with Windows 7, suddenly wouldn’t boot.

I couldn’t figure it out. I looked up the manufacturer’s 800 number and suggested she call. Sure, I could fix the problem eventually, but the manufacturer would know the quirks of the motherboard they used better than I would. I’ve given up on trying to give anything but the most basic, superficial support of anything I don’t own myself–especially when it’s not sitting in front of me.

He had her change the boot order. For some reason the system was trying to boot off its RAID array before the SSD. That explained why the system took a couple of minutes to get through POST, then spend a few seconds booting. But that didn’t fix the problem. Read more

Attack of the $99 Droid-Pads

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , , , , , , , ,

A 7-inch, underpowered Android tablet that may or may not be available at your corner Walgreen Drug Store is made some big waves today.  It’s underpowered, but it’s supposedly on sale for 99 bucks. Regular retail price is $129.

Yes, for 99 bucks, it’s a toy. But it could be a fun toy. Read more

My first Windows 7 build

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Software, Uncategorized, Windows , , , , , , , ,

I rebuilt a friend’s Windows 7 system this week.

The system includes a 30 GB SSD to boot from, and a RAID 1 mirror of 1 TB drives for storage. Aside from the two 1 TB drives, it’s basically a collection of $100 components. $100 Asus motherboard, $100 video card, $100 CPU. It seems like right now, no matter what individual system component you’re looking at, $100 buys you something really nice without going too far over the top. I’m sure certain aristocrats might disagree, but any reasonable person ought to really like using this system. Read more

Upgrade and repair options: HP Pavillion Slimline s7220n

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , ,

I picked up an HP s7220n dirt cheap, then I found out why. It powers on just fine, boots, runs for a few minutes, then powers itself off. At that point, the power supply is hot enough that you don’t want to touch it. Effectively, it’s a Useless Machine with an Intel CPU and Windows XP. Read more

What burn-in is and why you should do it

Dave Farquhar Hardware

A friend bought a new computer this month. It arrived sooner than expected, and she called to ask what she should do. I said, among other things, to set it up and leave it powered on continuously for at least 24 hours.

A coworker who had never heard that advice asked why.

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Save money on cables by not buying at retail

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Saving money , , , , ,
Save money on cables by not buying at retail

I’m ashamed to say I own one Monster cable. Hopefully if I tell you I bought it at a garage sale for $2, I’ll regain your respect. But there’s an easier way to save money on cables than buying at garage sales.

Unless you need it immediately, there’s no reason whatsoever to buy Monster and other overpriced cables at big-box consumer electronics stores. Profit margins are really thin on most electronics, even the big-ticket items, and they use the cables to make up for that. That’s the reason nobody includes cables in the box.

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SSD myths

Dave Farquhar Hardware
SSD myths

SSDs, like most disruptive technologies, face some questions and resistance. People will grasp at any straw to avoid adopting them. Thanks to this resistance, a number of SSD myths arose. Here are the myths I see repeated over and over again, and the truth, based on my experience actually using the things.

Note: I originally wrote this way back in 2010. The drive technologies I speak of as state of the art are rather aged now. But the principles still hold today, and will continue to do so. Hard drives have gotten better, but SSD have gotten better at a more rapid pace.

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