Western Digital Archives - The Silicon Underground

What is a 3D SSD?

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 11:00:33 +0000

Some SSDs, particularly Western Digital and Sandisk-branded drives, have the words “3D SSD” on the label. This isn’t purely a marketing term. But what is a 3D SSD, exactly? What is a 3D SSD? “3D” refers to the process the

The post What is a 3D SSD? appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

What to look for in a USB flash drive

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 17 Apr 2017 11:00:34 +0000

USB flash drives are pretty much a necessity these days. They’re far more convenient for moving files around than optical discs, and they make good backup devices. But not all USB flash drives are created equal. Here’s what to look

The post What to look for in a USB flash drive appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

What can I do to improve the security of my digital information?

Dave Farquhar — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 00:57:54 +0000

On Monday, March 13 at approximately 10:30 AM CST, I will be appearing on KFUO Radio’s Faith and Family program to discuss home computer security with host Andy Bates. One of the questions he’s planning to ask: “What can I do

The post What can I do to improve the security of my digital information? appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Buying used computer parts

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 12:00:58 +0000

Someone asked me the other day about buying used computer parts. I recommend it actually, although I more frequently buy the whole computer. But you can save a lot of money and get higher quality by buying used computer parts.

The post Buying used computer parts appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

HP splits in two.

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 13 Oct 2014 11:00:07 +0000

Don’t you feel like trying something new Don’t you feel like breaking out Or breaking us in two You don’t do the things that I do You want to do things I can’t do Always something breaking us in two

The post HP splits in two. appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

The difference an SSD makes

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 11:00:50 +0000

Back in the spring I bought a used computer. My wife wanted one, and while I probably could have cobbled something together for her, I didn’t have any extra Windows 7 licenses. So I bought a home-built Pentium D-based machine

The post The difference an SSD makes appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

The problem with Lifehacker’s computer manufacturer ranking

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 11:00:46 +0000

Lifehacker posted a controversial computer manufacturer ranking this week. I’m not sure how you can rank anything with Apple, HP, and Dell in it and not be controversial–someone’s going to be offended that their favorite isn’t at the top and

The post The problem with Lifehacker’s computer manufacturer ranking appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

SSDs might be getting less interesting, but that’s not necessarily bad

Dave Farquhar — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 10:04:14 +0000

Ars Technica has a story about SSD news coming out of CES. Basically, they’re predicting that the big news this year will be consolidation and lower prices. That may be bad news for someone who writes about SSDs for a

The post SSDs might be getting less interesting, but that’s not necessarily bad appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Reduce your RAID failure rate

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 10:56:21 +0000

It’s not often that you end up talking about computer hardware at church. It’s especially not often that you end up talking about a RAID failure at church. But one such conversation got me thinking again about ways to reduce

The post Reduce your RAID failure rate appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Speeding up an Acer Aspire One 722

Dave Farquhar — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 12:09:52 +0000

I gave my out-of-box impression of the Acer Aspire One 722 last week. It’s completely unacceptable out of the box, and adequate when you do some basic cleanup on it. Now I’ve installed an Intel SSD in one and clean-installed

The post Speeding up an Acer Aspire One 722 appeared first on The Silicon Underground.