During a Private Cloud event in Durham, NC (Thanks Yung Chou and John Baker) I was amazed to discover the information available on Cloud computing. For many years we have been using the client\server model and this is just the next step; sort of. This is not some brand new technology but it is a step in the  right direction that leverages newer hardware features (No VT-d yet) of desktop processors.

As some of you know I am a very practical person (when it comes to computers) who is focused on the home user and I have a big vision. I foresee a day when everyone can have what I have – if they want it . Some have called me crazy to put so much into technology, but I have a dream. I envision a day when every room has a terminal; that is a functional and useful terminal. A terminal that can give you what you want, in the way you want it: entertainment, work, communications, social networking, games, monitoring your home from any room, logging onto your desktop from places other than home (your personal desktop without some of the current security concerns of remote desktop) and more. I just had to look deeper into this.  I had to see what MS was offering and get the answers to some questions.

What could be done at home? Is there ever a use for the limited functionality of a server based client at home? Would it be worth the time and money to put the Cloud in the home? How long until savings are actually realized?

There is a fairly hefty initial cost and the only real need for this is if you have multiple systems running in the home for several hours a day. If you have no time sharing issues and/or no desire to drop your satellite (cable) subscription and  no desire to gain the value of having all your entertainment centrally located and streamed – this may not be for you. If the ultimate in home entertainment and communications is your desire, this may be the solution for you.

So what is Cloud computing?

Simply put, the Cloud is not off site storage or on site NAS storage. It is not web based applications. It is not your SQL server client, your media or even a file server.

The Cloud is…. all of your processing, storage and applications being handled by a virtual machine based in a server. It is a virtual machine that you assign properties to and designate the usage of: the CPU core count, memory (dynamic or static), Hard drive space (virtual or dynamic) and software that is to be used (Excel, Word, accounting software, database software or your own software).

There has been much name calling; however, the fact is that if you are not using a virtual machine hosted on a server (even a home server) you are not computing in the Cloud. Sounds strange right? I don’t like using Wiki as a reference and I will not, but even they have a similar view.

Hardware requirements for MS solution:

Well you can actually host from a decent laptop with 8 GB of ram. Would it be practical or cost effective? No.

A simple, practical and cost effective server would include: a decent, reasonably fast, 64bit processor (preferably a 4 core) that is capable of visualization (VT-x in bios and VT-d for future use) , 8GB of  ram if you plan on hosting from 3 to 6 active virtual machines (VMs), a decent video card if you choose to take advantage of RemoteFX, and ample storage in the form of  SSD (raid 1) or RAID storage (raid 5, 10 because these are common on consumer level boards and the speed helps) that allows for speed and redundancy.

Clients are pretty simple and can range from a bare metal PXE enabled solution with a keyboard, mouse and monitor to a functional PC.

Software:

The list of  software possibilities is long, can get costly and is not limited to the following fully functional, time limited evaluation packages:

• Windows Azure Applications Management Pack

• Windows Server 2008 R2 w/ SP1

• Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1

• System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 SP1

• System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 Beta

• System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2

• System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3

• System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2

All software components, of course, will not be necessary. What will be needed for a minimal setup at minimal cost? I will be investigating that as I attempt to turn my current home network into a private cloud (assuming my wife does not shoot me for breaking the budget first!).

A project as proof of concept:

Below is a diagram of the devices currently being used in the Archer household as well as the projected needs over the next two years:

The plan is to keep all current systems in place and simply make them PXE devices. These machines will run on VMs hosted on the server. This will save power but the true savings come into play with the expansions. By using bare metal terminals the hardware costs and power savings will be immense if the entire system is used to its fullest potential.

This transition will be followed :Here: Lets hope I don’t break the bank trying to save a buck.

What this means to you:

By embarking on projects such as this many of us out on the edges can bring you closer to the future. This allows you to see the true potential of the technology that has been in existence  for many years. Hopefully this will give you ideas that can help better utilize technology and save money at the same time. Am I crazy?

I have six people in my home with different needs and schedules. My sons may want to watch different movies, my daughter may need to do a school project, my wife may need to finish up some things she has brought home from work, my mother may want to play solitaire and I may have some work to do as well. That is six computers. That is a huge total footprint and it is a lot of wasted power. One computer can do all of this; just one. A private cloud in the home would meet these requirements, cost less to operate and have the elasticity to shrink and grow with your needs.

Is a private cloud the only way to reach these goals? Absolutely not; there are smaller, less expensive and more practical solutions. Some of these solutions cost nothing but require a level of familiarity with the software used that is generally beyond that of the average or expert level.

One less expensive and more practical solution is very similar to the Windows Server 2008 R2 (Hyper-V) solution. Microsoft Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 is simple to set up and has much of the functionality of the private cloud environment without the cost or overhead.

Multipoint:

The concept of Windows Multipoint Server is easy. It takes the excess power of a computer and shares it across multiple end users. Called “Shared Computing” or sometimes “Virtual Desktops”, this is possible due to advances in technology. In the past, Personal Computers (PCs) were designed to be simple and used by individuals. Servers were powerful enough to handle the computing needs of many individuals in an organization, but needed skilled IT professionals to run them. But that’s changing.

Today’s PCs have become so powerful that they can deliver quality graphics and video and still have excess power to spare. Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 leverages the excess power of a PC and turns it into a server capable of powering multiple computing sessions at once. It’s the software operating system that runs each end user’s personalized Windows 7 “session” on the host computer. It then delivers a “virtual desktop” experience via the access devices to each end user working on their own monitor, keyboard and mouse. It’s easy to install and manage.

Check out the product demo and virtual tour to see how it works, and refer to the chart below to learn more about the hardware solutions.

Host

The host computer runs the Windows MultiPoint Server software and powers the experience for the teacher and students. WMS requires a 64-bit processor, with sufficient processing power (CPU) and memory capacity to meet the performance demands of the number of simultaneous users and applications used. The system requirements will depend upon the programs and features you decide to install, the number of users and how the system is used. For example a set up with 5 or 6 students using productivity applications like Office 2010 would require less processing power and RAM than a set up with 15-20 stations and heavy multi-media use. To see the recommended hardware click here or refer to the Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 Planning Guide.

Access Devices

Access Devices connect the host computer to the individual stations, allowing multiple people to share the same computer while still having their own independent computing experience. Sometimes called “thin clients” or “zero clients”, these access devices enable the physical connection, as well as the efficient flow of data and video to multiple monitors. There are three main ways to connect: Direct Connection (with a PCI or Video card into the back of the host computer), USB Connection (an access device connected to the host computer via a USB cable) or LAN Connection (end user stations connecting via a thin client into the network, rather than connecting physicaly to the host computer). You can mix these methods and arrange the user stations in the best way to suit the space and layout of your classroom. Click here to see a range of solutions offered by our partners.

User Stations

The teacher and students have their own stations, with their own monitor, keyboard and mouse. Teachers orchestrate and monitor the learning experience from their station. Using the teacher view within the MultiPoint Management console, they can see thumbnails of student’s desktops, allow certain websites and send messages to individual students or the whole class. Teachers can even use remote control to assist when a student needs help.

Students learn efficiently and productively at their own user stations. Students view content and share files whenever they need to, work on and save files in their own private folders or on USB drives, and gain an enhanced learning experience. A single monitor can be used by two students with “split screen” to allow them to collaborate side by side. Some advanced monitors also come with the access devices built right in, to save space and reduce the amount of devices for each workstation.

You can also re-use existing monitors, keyboards and mice that you already have.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/multipoint/howitworks.aspx

Though I am in no way saying that Windows Multipoint Server is better than the MS Private Cloud (Windows Server 2008 R2) solution it appears to be  more practical and cost effective for most users.

Conclusion:

So you can use the cloud at home. Will it help you? It can if you let it. Any solution that allows you to save money on hardware, increase data security, allows more flexibility and reduces your carbon footprint is a winning solution.

Do you have a small business that can use something based on your current server and user hardware? Are you currently feeding 10+ systems eating 100-200 watts each plus a file server eating 100-300 watts can add up to over 3500 dollars a year. By having a solution set up that uses virtualization and a cloud computing model (server based processing, software and storage) that 3500 dollars drops by 2/3 or more. And your hardware upkeep is dramatically reduced as well.

Total system costs can drop as low as $150-250 each + KB/Mouse/Monitor after the initial implementation. There are no hard drives to worry about backing up, no software upkeep to bother with, less than five minutes to add a new desktop (so you can put people to work immediately), have more control of what is done on the individual systems, and lower the heat output of each system which reduces cooling costs.

The Cloud or at least virtualized computing is the future. The future can be now. It is not worth it in all cases but perhaps now you will have a better idea about where you are and where you want to be.

The keyboard is in a standard cardboard box. I don’t know how I can further describe cardboard boxes, maybe I can say it’s a rectangle? The design is pretty nice looking, but how much time do you honestly spend looking at cardboard boxes? A minute? On the inside, you can see they stacked the detachable keypad on top of the keyboard instead of packaging it attached. Good on them for saving space, somewhat. Well, anyways, carrying on.

The instructions are very straightforward; plug the keyboard into any available USB port. Simple. Of course, if you want to use the macros, then…

Software must be installed! And you can do that by using the conveniently given CD. Except, by the time you’re going to read this, that CD will be long outdated, and newer, more improverific’d software will be down loadable. The CD makes a great coaster, however.

The keyboard itself looks very stylish. Simple, sleek, effective. With a ton of extra buttons, of course, like any gaming keyboard would have. Does having extra buttons classify it as a gaming keyboard? Seems like it. You might notice the health warning on the keyboard; it sternly reminds you to not eat the detachable parts, loose keys, or the keyboard itself. And to not overuse the keyboard as a potential health hazard. Probably best to avoid carpal tunnel altogether. One of the nice features is the detachable numpad. When attached, it holds itself pretty sturdily, so you don’t have to worry about dismantling it during intense mind-numbing numpad action. But the numpad is a terrific idea in general; if you’re right handed and want to use your left hand to access the numpad keys, then it will be placed very conveniently. The same will hold true if you’re left handed, though for the majority of us right handed people, we will want it to stay where it is on the right hand side. Not only that, you can detach the keypad altogether and have a lightweight, compact keyboard! Hooray for portability!

With the adjustable key knobs, you can program how much backlight glow there is. For us nocturnal creatures, let it be said that the less, the better. If you like brightly lit things, then let there be glowing light! Aesthetically, it looks great with the backlit amber tint. But using a computer in the pure dark is horrible for your eyes.

With the Sidewinder, you can store a heck load of Macros, and quite easily too. Just hit the record button, press the key that’s being recorded, press the keys you want to record, and press the record button again. Voila, macro created. I’d like to mention the portability again; the Sidewinder does not store macro information, so all your saved combination’s do not carry over to other computers when you mobilize with your keyboard. This might be quite the annoying factor if you want to travel around with it a lot.

If any reader has Windows 7, you might not appreciate this next part.

As you can clearly see, it says no extra software necessary. Great! But wait, what happens when I try to install with the normal, bundled CD software?

Implosion! Chaos! No, it’s just a simple error. It’s fixable, but I don’t want to waste time looking for the solution; Google has a history of people complaining about this, and luckily, solutions have popped up. It’s annoying having to go fix something that clearly says it’s compatible. Oh well. Just a minor hitch.

I would recommend the Sidewinder if you feel like you need a detachable keypad, appreciate nice back glow, don’t need any more ports or jacks on the keyboard, and need a healthy amount of macros. It’s around $50 retail, so you might want to consider that when picking out a keyboard.

After about an hour long session of Modern Warfare Two I was ready to call it quits; popping in an HD DVD (an obsolete technology I know), I was set to relax for the night. I will spare you the mundane details, but suffice to say that I was filled with dread when The Matrix froze mid-scene and the wall next to my Xbox had turned a reddish hue.

Putting it off for a couple of days, I finally decided to call Microsoft Customer Support. After an hour of waiting on the phone, I was finally greeted with a Customer Service Representative. Once I managed to get used to her heavy accent, it was down to business. After giving out nearly every personal detail I have, and some I didn’t even know existed, the service representative cheerfully greeted me with the news that not only was I out of the standard warranty but also the so-called “extended” Red Ring warranty. I was then quickly told that in order to continue the call I would have to pay $130 (a new Xbox 360 from Best Buy is currently $128, just for some perspective). Thanks Jen!

Apparently, though it is a well known design-flaw on Microsoft’s part, the Xbox’s ability to Red Ring ceases to exist after three years from purchase. For those who don’t know what the Red Ring’s of Death are, it’s basically a combination of low quality solder and a shoddy heat distribution system which causes solder on the GPU to liquefy; this renders the console essentially useless. Newer revisions of the Xbox 360 have all but eliminated this flaw but among the older consoles it is still a fairly common problem.

Though I have not yet decided on how to proceed, it is safe to say that I am thoroughly taken aback by Microsoft’s lack of sympathy or helpfulness on the issue.  Maybe my outlook on this matter is completely wrong but, at least from my perspective, logic dictates that if a company makes a product of shoddy quality that product should either (a) be recalled and replaced (b) be given an much longer warranty period or (c)  have a system implemented which allows users to take preventive action by sending the product in before the problem occurs. Microsoft had apparently attempted to take Option B, but they fell short. Is it really the user’s fault Xbox fails five years later versus six months after the date of purchase if it is the same fundamental design flaw which causes the failure?

How does Microsoft justify this illogical method of  customer service? The answer to that still eludes me, maybe one day I will find that. Hopefully, for the rest of us with older consoles, Microsoft will eventually attempt improve their flawed customer support model.

Possible? Yes.

Probable? No.

NOTE: This is just Anti-Virus software. If you are looking for Anti-Spyware and Anti-Malware, two free solutions I recommend are SUPERAntiSpyware and MalwareBytes. Check them out!

Today I will be looking at ways to help protect your computer without spending money for all different types of software. Currently, there are many free alternative software choices that do almost as good (in some cases as good) as ones that are subscription based. I’d like to provide a run down of anti-virus choices that are known to be worthy.

Before I do so, I’d just like to mention that I will have some information about paid solutions as well. Though I will not include these products in my blog as a whole, it is definitely worth looking at some of the paid programs if you don’t mind spending the money.

To start off, here is a chart provided by AV-Comparatives that gives you a run down on the pros and cons of the leading Anti-Virus software.

Currently, AV-Comparatives has Symantec, Kaspersky, and ESET NOD32 ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively. I suggest checking these out if you are not just looking at free solutions.

avast!

avast! has just recently updated to v5. This new update has provided many new upgrades from their previous version. Here are some of the major improvements:

• Better detection rates
• Lower number of false alarms
• Faster scanning speeds
• New GUI interface for easier use

avast! has high malware detection rates, fast scanning speeds, and best of all, avast! is free for Home use.

For more information, please visit www.avast.com

AVG

AVG has just recently been updated to v9.0. This update has brought some improved features, but unfortunately has not kept up with comparable solutions. AV-Comparatives says, “AVG did not score as well as we expected this year, although it was still good.” Like avast!, AVG is free for Home use. AVG is very easy to manage. Some of AVG’s main features:

• Easy to use and navigate
• LinkScanner – prevents you from visiting risky websites
• Many more features through an upgrade

For more information, please visit free.avg.com

AVIRA

Avira earned AV-Comaparatives’ Product of the Year award in 2008. Avira’s main features:

• High detection rates
• WebShield
• Low system performance impact
• New version due sometime in 2010

Unfortunately, Avira does have a high rate of false-positives (found something that is actually safe), but with the award it has received, do not leave Avira out of the question!

For more information, please visit www.free-av.com

Microsoft Security Essentials

MSE is the newest solution from Microsoft. In the past, Microsoft has released Defender and OneCare. Both of these have been replaced by a free alternative known as Microsoft Security Essentials. Unlike Defender, MSE does both Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware. Some of MSE’s features include:

• Extremely easy to use
• Easy install
• Uploads programs you download to improve definitions

MSE is a large improvement over it’s predecessors and is a worthwhile choice.

For more information, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

Summary

These are the four leading anti-virus solutions that you can obtain for free. They provide the basic needs to keep your computer secure. Purchasing a paid solution will provide even more security if you feel that you need it. The best way to fight off infection is to keep yourself knowledgeable and understanding. The most beneficial security is yourself. I hope this will help you when trying to answer the question, “Which Anti-Virus software is the best?”

For more Anti-Virus software choices, please visit the Five Best Anti-Virus Applications.

I highly recommend that you read the AV-Comparatives website for further information on anti-virus software testing.

-cralor

Images: av-comparatives.org, tricks-collections.com, softpedia.com

First off, a recap of the system that the tests will be run under:
E8400/ QX9650 //\\ Fuzion V2 Water Cooled
ASUS Maximus 2 Formula P45 //\\ Swiftech MCR320 tri rad
PC Power and Cooling 750quad //\\ Swiftech MCP655 pump
BFG GTX 280 1GB //\\ Danger Den DD-Tieton Water Cooled
2×2 GB Corsair Dominators Creative SupremeFX X-Fi

Windows XP SP3 //\\ Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

Now lets dive into this picture crazed explanation of everything that is going on with the 2 different operating systems.

First off lets get the E8400 STOCK XP photos rolling:

Alright for now that should be good for the XP. No worries, for all you picture lovers I have plenty more! For now, we will start with these.

Now lets see the E8400 STOCK Win7 photos:

Tired of looking at pictures yet? Just be glad you did not have to take them all! I have a lot more pics with different tests, I think I will save them for something else or a different segment. Well, now that everyones eyes are burning from all those pictures lets talk numbers and what all we see there.

If you bothered to look at all those pictures and compare them with their counterpart from the opposite OS, you probably noticed the same thing I did.  Windows XP seems to have some higher scores over all in the world that is benching. However, Win7 does hold its own in a few benchmarks. So if you are a striving world overclocking champion or ‘Mr. I run stock benches’ you would most likely want to stay away from Windows 7. Now note I did not go into Windows 7 and dumb it down(nor did i do that in WinXP). By that i mean, go in and turn everything off that does not need to be run or turn off any extra gadgits or things of that nature. This is a stock Windows 7, everything you would see when you first install it is what I ran my benchmarks on. So maybe if you really care and want to get the most out of your benchmarks you could spend an extra 30 minutes or an hour cleaning out everything you do not want running. However, if you were going to do that then why even upgrade in the first place. Am I right? Well of course I am right!

Lets toss out a few examples of what I am talking about when I say WinXP, for the most part, is faster with the benchmarks than Win7.

Super PI 1M/32M

XP

Win7

Did you happen to see the Super PI results?  In the overclocking community, the standard program provides a benchmark for enthusiasts to compare world record pi calculation times. With Super PI running on WinXP I had times of 16.516s in the 1M calculation and 16 minutes 13.390s in the 32M calculation. When we take a gander at Win7 Super PI results which were 15.643s in 1M and 15m 38.845s in 32M. This seems to be the one anomaly in my testing. Super PI runs noticeably quicker, for the experienced benchmark person, in Win7 than in WinXP. Is it just my system or possible a lucky stretch where my CPU felt frisky? I am not sure but I ran the tests a couple times and took the lowest run on each just to be sure once i saw this outcome. I guess if my tests hold true all the Super PI guys should be installing Win7 right about now!

Now on the flip side, tests like 3dmark01, pcmark05, and the Gun Metal benchmark you can see that XP has taken the advantage with the higher scores.

3dMark01

XP

Win7

The 3dmark01 showdown proved WinXP to be the victor. WinXP beat Win7 by an impressive 14,552 points by scoring 59087 to Win7’s lonely 44535 mark. I was really shocked by this one and yes I had to run the tests again because I wanted to make sure and got pretty much the same numbers. Take note for all you 3dmark01 benchers this could be your answer to high scores! So chalk one up for WinXP.

PcMark05

XP

Win7

Now with the PCmark05 it was closer, but once again Win7 just barely edges out WinXP with scores of 9018 to 8843 respectively. This I would say could be called a tie since its only 175 point difference so either way nothing extremely eye popping about it.

Gun Metal Benchmark

XP

Win7

The Gun Metal Benchmark you can see for WinXP the FPS marks were Min. 46.44 Avg. 86.81 Max. 142.15 and Win7’s FPS marks were Min. 40.20 AVG. 50.95 Max. 71.57. I would call this a substantial increase especially if your system is just barely getting by in some games. With a higher minimum frame rate you will cut out the lag spikes that can hit when something intense comes across with the game you are playing. AVG frame rate is another part i consider important because this is mostly your running around doing whatever you want. If it is decently high you will enjoy a lag free environment and therefore better enjoy your game, but if your AVG frame rate is low then I am sure you will not be happy with how the game is playing on your system. Once again WinXP i would say impressively takes the lead on this test also.

Part 2 Conclusion:

To conclude what you have seen above, unless you are ‘that’ guy who jumps to the wrap up instead of reading. As you saw for the most part WinXP right now is ahead by, I would call it, a slight margin. Considering Win7 actually won a benchmark and a pretty important one to boot, I can not sit here and say right now that WinXP is dominating Win7. However, I can say from the looks of it, that it really depends on what you would like to do with your computer. If you are a benching guru or if you are a gaming guru you probably just took 2 different conclusions from this section. Right now I will say that WinXP does have a noticeable advantage in the gaming arena. That is something to keep in mind when choosing your operating system. Win7 does put up a decent, shall I say a better fight, when it comes to CPU benchmarks leaving the GFX stuff alone. This is another thing to keep in mind while considering what you want to do with your computer.

Part 3 Teaser

Part 3 will cover the E8400 overclocked in WinXP and Win7. I split it up from this one because there is a ton of pictures  already and did not want to bore you with them. So I chose to split them to make things a little more entertaining and not a chore to read. You can thank me later!

Also, a little news update. The QX9650 is in the mail today so I should have that Monday or Tuesday so I can start overclocking and benching that bad boy later in the week.

Cheers!

I want to explore just how dominant the QX9650 is over the dual core E8400. Does it come close to anything the QX can do? Would it justify the upgrade albeit the same 775 socket? Does the performance suffer if you upgrade to Windows 7 64bit operating system? If so, how much? Do you gain anything from the upgrade apart from just a shiny new GUI (graphical user interface) Is it even worth the money to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7? What are some nifty changes some users my not realize?

Well in my multi segment review, yes I said multi segment review, I will answer or at least try to answer every question above. Heck I may even answer stuff I didn’t even mean to or set out and to try to do. The reason for multiple segments is that there will be a lot of pictures and information that would put people to sleep in 1 read. So with knowing that I decided to make more than 1 and plus I can post as I go for the most part. That is what makes it all worth it and fun to boot. The unknown is out there and I am going to try and wrangle it, tie it down, kick a little dirt in its face and make it give me answers!

So with that said here is a list of my plans of action for this multi allotment review.

1) I will run benches and other tests at stock speeds (Win7 / XP).
2) I will run benches and other tests at overclocked speeds (Win7 / XP).
3) I will run benches and other tests with just the CPU overclocked and Just the GFX card overclocked so people can see what they add separately and see how important each is to the tests.
3) I will overclock the Nvidia 280 along the way and supply results and benches of its performance and see what all I can get out of the beast.
4) I will provide my best commentary and hopefully some well thought out repartee along the way
5) At the end of this I will hopefully be able to answer all the questions and come to some solid conclusions as to whats better or is the upgrade legit ect. ect.

Programs I plan on running: (the list is subject to change. I may add or subtract stuff along the way)

• PCMark05, 3DMark05, 3DMark06, 3DMark2001 SE
• Gun Metal Benchmark
• SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2009 ( Processor Arithmetic, Multi-Media, Multi-Core Efficiency, Power Management Efficiency, Cryptography, Video Rendering, GPU Processing, GPU Bandwidth)
• Aquamark3
• Wprime
• Cinebench R10
• Meta Bench
• Copying DVDs
• Super PI – 1M, 32M

I think I have enough programs to keep me busy and put out a nice overall review on everything.

Soooooo with all of that said lets check the system out that will be running the tests:

E8400/ QX9650   //\\ Fuzion V2 Water Cooled
ASUS Maximus 2 Formula P45 //\\ Swiftech MCR320 tri rad
PC Power and Cooling 750quad //\\ Swiftech MCP655 pump
BFG GTX 280 1GB //\\ Danger Den DD-Tieton Water Cooled
2×2 GB Corsair Dominators Creative SupremeFX X-Fi

Windows XP SP3 //\\ Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

Keep checking back because I have already started benching the E8400 and I should be working on typing up part 2 in the next few days.

Cheers!

The Piecemeal Upgrade pt4

Data Protection: Redundancy, backups, offline and online storage.

With limited funds in a single PC household it is important to have a PC that is never down for too long. One of the key problems associated with piecemeal upgrades however is the need to occasionally reinstall the operating system.  This can be a nightmare trying to back up documents, photos, settings, applications as well as operating system tweaks one may prefer.  Learning how to properly maintain your data integrity is important to minimizing downtime as well as loss of any valued information.  As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Every computer should have at least 2 Hard disk drives (HDD), for more data security a third hard drive as an external storage solution is beneficial also, but should not be powered on all the time.  The reason for this is twofold, by not being an active storage device attached to your PC, viruses and malware cannot hide on the external drive, and more importantly, despite excellent power saving features available in modern storage systems, every time the drive is initialized it loses part of its operational life span.  The more HDDs available to a user, the more protection can be provided.

There are a number of ways to provide data redundancy from expensive to completely free.

Online DATA backup: Can vary from a paid service that will recover your entire PC, to completely free email services like Gmail that provide Gigabytes of storage space by saving important files as email attachments, and services in between that are nothing more than empty hard drives that you can access from an internet capable device.  Backing data up online exposes a user to security risks from hacking, so one should never store bank or credit card information online.

RAID arrays (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks): While this method is hardly “inexpensive” the fee is more proportional to the amount of data that you need to protect.  It is an upfront cost with no recurring monthly cost other than a minimal (12-27 Watts) of additional power per hard drive used in the array.  It can vary from advanced multi disk hardware based arrays that will drive up a cost hundreds of dollars just in hardware and hundreds of watts of extra power required, to a simple 2 drive raid1 mirrored array based on software or firmware implementations that are less reliable and not platform independent or any combination of the above.

Storage Drive: A second hard drive added internally to a PC.  The focus of this article will be on this primary method of data protection as the methodology used in this technique is universally applied to the other methods.  This principle is called Proper Data hygiene.  It involves keeping a second copy of your important file and settings on a secondary drive.  This drive will see less usage than your operating system hard drive with proper Operating system tweaks to be discussed in more detail later.

Removable storage: This method can be a number of different means from optical discs (CD and DVD), USB flash or External Hard Drives, the obsolete Jaz Drive (tape backup) and Floppy disks. Of these options only USB flash or external hard drive should be considered as any serious means of preserving data for any period of time.  Jaz Tapes and Floppy disks are easily destroyed and the storage capacity is not large enough to handle modern files. (The average 3.5” IBM formatted DSDD Floppy Disk can hold 1.44 Megabytes of information, which is about the equivalent on one picture from a 5 megapixel digital camera in jpeg format).  Burned optical disks have an average life expectancy of 2-5 years, but there are many other factors that can affect their longevity. USB flash drives are great for a small files (network and raid/AHCI drivers especially) with external hard drives, being capable of complete backups that can last for many years.

Proper Data Hygiene.

The first thing any upgrader should understand is that data will be lost unless properly backed up.  Most users simply drop everything into the “My Documents” folder in XP (“Documents” in Vista and Windows 7).  A little organization can go a long way into not only making the backup process easier, but faster by not duplicating unnecessary data.  Placing some folders in the Documents folder for specific files that are important also makes it easier to find files later.

The Documents folder ideally is for important files that you need to access repeatedly.  Projects for work, school papers or grocery lists are just some examples.  Most users however, consider it a dumping ground for any file that they want to use usually only once, and after a relatively short period of time the folder becomes congested with files that the user has no need for or desire to use again.  What becomes more of a problem is finding the files that are necessary or important amid a collection of files with such user unfriendly names as AVS1234.exe, 125609.jpg and flrt6hm.DOC.  Many times filenames on the internet are either some other users naming convention that works for them, or something randomly generated to create a unique identifier for search engines.

The best thing to do is create a separate download location for everything.  When you decide you want to keep a file, you can rename it to something that will make sense to you, or simply place it into a folder where browsing through a couple of files to find what you need, will not be an issue. The organization style used should be one that is simple enough for you to use without having to think about it.  A PC is supposed to be easy to use after all.

A couple of examples of a storage drive follow.

The first image is of the root directory of an internally mounted storage drive, a second hard drive installed inside a computer that’s sole purpose is to hold static data. No programs are installed on this drive.

The second image is a list of subfolders for more detailed organization of stored data.  The naming of folders will vary based on what data is being stored, and these subfolders may have subfolders of their own.

Placing all important data on a storage drive, internal or external, ensures that no important data gets lost when upgrading or reinstalling an operating system.  This policy should be used, not just for piecemeal upgrade paths, but for general use as well.  Hard drives are mechanical devices, and repeated use of mechanical devices causes wear and eventual failure. An operating system hard drive is accessed almost constantly when a PC is on, and as such introduces a much shorter lifespan than that of a periodically accessed storage drive.

Backing up data for an operating system reinstall

Most programs store information in one of two places, within the actual install location under “Program Files” (Usually located at C:\Program Files) or within the Documents folder (much more common).  By default many of these save locations are hidden from the average user but can be viewed with a few clicks of the mouse.

In XP:

Open up any explorer window (double click my computer) at the top of the window is a menu bar.  Select tools, then folder options.  Click on the View tab, select “Show hidden files and folders” and uncheck the box “Hide Protected operating system files.”

In Vista/7:

The process is the same, but by default the menu bar is hidden.  You can view it simply by pressing the ALT key on your keyboard when any explorer window is active.

Once these hidden files and folders are viewable you can peruse through and select which backups you would like to make.  Or simply backup the entire Document and settings folder (Users folder in Vista/7) to make sure there is nothing you missed.  Before doing a full folder backup however one should run an application like ccleaner to remove temporary files otherwise the backup will be larger than it has to be, wasting both time and storage space.

Imaging a hard drive

Once you have performed a fresh install of an operating system, it is a good idea to make an “image” of your operating system.  Software is available that takes a “picture” of your hard drive including the boot record, so that in the event of catastrophic failure, either via Operating System corruption or hard drive failure, you can return your PC back to that fresh install state within a matter of minutes.

Most backup software allows complete and incremental backups.  If the software you have chosen (there a many types at various price ranges), allows incremental backups, you should perform the first complete backup the minute the operating system has finished installing, before installing any drivers or applications. In the event of motherboard failure, you should be able to change a motherboard out provided the change is not too drastic and use the image to reinstall.  Incremental backups should be done after drivers and applications have been installed, and periodically throughout general usage.

Some examples of imaging software are Symantec Ghost, Acronis True Image and Terabyte Software Image for DOS.

External and Online Storage

External hard drives are a great way to move large amounts of data between PCs and laptops or remote PCs without Ethernet or internet access; more importantly an offline storage medium is much more resistant to failure than internal storage solutions.  Directly copying files and folders from an internal storage to an external storage medium lets you power down and store your data in another location to prevent data loss due to disasters.  Most external hard drives even come with some type of backup software that you can tell which files and folders to keep a copy of at the push of a button.

An alternative to the external hard drive is the NAS (Network Access Storage).  This can be as simple as a USB hard drive plugged into a compatible router, a multi drive raid solution, a Windows Home Server PC (WHS) that contains software for backing up all computers in your home or a complete server that performs many other duties as well.  WHS is a great alternative for the multi-PC family that is centrally located with redundant storage protection.  High speed wireless (802.11g or faster) or wired Ethernet is preferable with NAS storage solutions.

Online storage comes in many varieties and offers many more options than a simple removable physical media.  There is software to monitor certain folders on your PC and send any data to an online server that can be recovered at a later data. This is simple data backup and nearly transparent to the end user. Other options are online storage sites.  Where you can upload whatever you want, to be able to recover it at a later date from any computer in the world, and even share that information with Aunt Sally, or Grandpa Bill.

External drives or online options are a great way of not only securing your data on massive redundant storage arrays without the hardware cost or electrical requirements, but making that data portable, so you can use it wherever you go.

Now that you know how to secure your data you can safely and confidently make changes to your PC without fear of losing any of your important data.  It is important to remember that all things eventually fail, the more copies you have, the more protected your data is against loss.

The next step in Piecemeal Upgrades is the Computer Case.

As already discussed, a piece meal upgrade is performed when a jump to an entirely new platform is not financially possible. A ground up all new part design is best and will give the best price performance ratio if properly setup.  For those that cannot afford a complete rebuild though, designing a system with affordable parts that also support upgrading over an extended period of time is the only option.  While more money will be spent over the life of the upgrade, reselling used parts before they become worthless is the best way to help narrow the gap in the price performance ratio.  Now that some reference material has been supplied in the first 2 parts of this series, we can focus on the intention of this article, the end result.  Taking a trip without knowing the destination, can be a fun diversion, but is not an efficient means of accomplishing a goal.  Discussed in part two of this series we covered the four basic purposes of building a new personal computer: web browser, general purpose, Home Theater (Multimedia) PC, and a gaming PC.  It is important to know that CPU architecture can vary greatly, and certain tests used to measure a systems performance may favor one manufacturer over another, architectural differences bring with them their own strengths and weaknesses.

For example, Intel currently makes the most powerful commercially available CPU.  Their i7 line outperforms anything AMD manufacturers for numerical processing in a desktop system.  Intel has maintained a competitive edge in industry, because even back at a time when in all other areas their chips were inferior to the competition, one thing they could always do well was crunch enormous amounts of data fast.  Enhanced instruction sets can carry this lead even further, if using specialized software.  (SSE4 instructions for Intel CPUs, CUDA for NVIDIA GPUs, Stream for ATI GPUs or DXVA for either GPU manufacturer, will all provide enhanced performance in software based on its specific purpose). Stream and CUDA use a GPU for number crunching abilities that outperform an i7 CPU to a magnitude of 10 or more.  This requires thought and explains why AMD maintains a competitive level.  While strict number crunching is important for a CPU, flexibility is more important.  Latency is a key player in flexibility, and this is an area that AMD has been very successful in over the last few generations.

Software choices are as important as hardware choices in designing a system.  All software is not created equal.  Simple programs written in Java or Visual Basic can be found for free all over the internet.  Usually this software, due to free licensing requirements, does not allow proprietary code to be instituted in its design.  Companies that include technologies in their architecture, for enhanced software performance, must pay a licensing fee to the company that developed it; software is not excluded in this.  The software you intend to use effects the hardware you purchase based on these architectural features. This is not meant to denigrate open source software, only to ensure that the right hardware is being purchased for the task at hand.

Particular attention should be paid to operating system choice, the first software you install on a PC.  90+% of users will choose Windows for their desktop preference, but OSX and Linux have made some great strides in the ability to completely replace windows in the office.  Due to even more restrictions, this series will focus on windows based computing, as all hardware is not fully supported on the alternatives.

Microsoft, in their wisdom, sees fit to offer a range of OS choices and among those OS choices, variations in licensing.   The most expensive is the “retail” choice.  OEM and upgrade versions can be as cheap as half the cost of the retail version of the OS; however they can severely limit your ability to upgrade.  The limitation is in the license, an OEM license is tied to hardware that you purchased (specifically, the motherboard), an upgrade is tied to a previous operating system you own.  (***Check and see if an upgrade on an OEM license, is tied to hardware***).  A retail operating system is tied to the purchaser, as long as you only have the OS installed on a single system, you can reinstall it as many times as you need to.  If online activation fails, a short phone call to a Microsoft representative will have the OS up and running legally in less than 5 minutes.

For general purpose and web browsing PCs, the choices of software matter less than for specific purpose machines.  In either case, a lower performance PC will be adequate to meet the average end user needs.  For simplicities sake, a recommendation of AM2+ socket AMD system architecture will offer the simplest upgrade options.  The average AM2 motherboards supports (with BIOS updates) older AM2 socket CPUs, the improved AM2+ socket CPUs, and the current generation’s AM3 socket CPUs.  This upgrade process covers the currently less expensive DDR2, and the soon to be less expensive DDR3.  One can even purchase an AM2+ motherboard that includes both DDR2 and DDR3 slots.  Although this limits the user to only two sticks of ram of either type (not to be run in tandem) it does offer the user the ability to purchase a motherboard now, which supports 3 generations of CPUs and 2 generations of memory.  This allows the piece meal upgrader to only purchase one new component at a time.  The essence of the piece meal upgrade, purchasing a component that utilized immediately.

Gaming PCs are typically among the most powerful PCs that a user can build.  These require more powerful CPUs, more memory, a better GPU (or even multiple GPUs), a computer case capable of cycling the air in and out very quickly and of course a PSU that handle the demands of a power hungry system.  Many advertisers offer “gamer specials” which are little more than general purpose PCs with a slightly more powerful GPU attached.  Generally the term “Gamers edition” on a product means a 25-50% increase in cost, and a flashy package.  There may be some small increase in performance, generally not worth the extra cost incurred.  A gaming PC does not need the latest and greatest of every component to be successful.  More often than not, designers are building lopsided systems, which are not efficient at all due to bottlenecks.  Running a lower resolution display decreases demand on the GPU, but increases the demand on the CPU.  Running a higher resolution display with a weak GPU will also create an unbalanced and inefficient system for gaming.  Balance is more important that having the latest and greatest component.

The age of the system being upgraded can also make a huge difference in the initial investment, and in some cases, an older system could have more upgrade options than a slightly more modern one.  A dedicated video card can be reused in a more modern system, except in the case of AGP.  PCI cards are not necessarily an upgrade option, if drivers are not supported by newer Operating Systems or carry widescreen format resolutions. There are modern PCI video cards, a 2400 pro PCI card will make a welcome upgrade to any aging IGP based computer, and carry over into even the most modern of systems.   Although price performance ratio takes a hit, the fact that it is a noticeable upgrade carries over, and is the essence of the piece meal upgrade; not just upgrading on a budget, but seeing a difference in every purchase.  This is a goal but a difficult one, there are times when an upgrade you make now, will not be realized until a future upgrade.  CPU/GPU plays a delicate balance when considering the best price performance ration, the only constant in computing is, new architecture comes out and prices fall on less competitive products. When a device is EOL for too long, high end parts of said architecture will go up in price for a little while, far beyond their efficiency.

The upgrader following this series will have upgraded the peripherals, either before, or in conjunction with upgrading components.  Sometimes a small video upgrade is needed when upgrading a display unit or OS upgrade due to driver or hardware support issues.  So this section will now focus on CPU, motherboard and memory.  These are not necessarily mutually exclusive upgrades.   It is common to upgrade all three components at the same time.  This is an architecture jump and has its benefits and drawbacks.

The immediate benefit is a possible massive performance improvement in all system experiences.  The drawback is, to keep costs low you have to sacrifice something.  Purchase a motherboard that will give you options for upgrading in the future.  AM2 socket is great for this, especially the 780/790 chipsets.  For a piecemeal upgrade 775 is an option, although it EOL, it covers CPUs from the Pentium 4 era (the Pentium D) all the way up to 45nm quad core processors, and DDR3 was also implemented near the end of socket 775, so a ram and motherboard upgrade offers a step towards the newer p55/X58 Intel chipsets that will only accept DDR3 memory.

Focusing on the finished product sets the upgrade path that is best suited for the piece meal upgrader.  Purchasing components that help you meet your end goal, while at the same time utilizing the components in a current system build, is the definition of piece meal upgrades.   Focus attention on price trends both at online retailers and used marketplaces such as craigslist and eBay.  If you are currently a member of any technology based web forum, see if they have a classified/marketplace area of the site devoted to individuals selling or shopping for individual components.  Next week stay tuned for data protection.  Maintaining multiple copies of important data both offline, online and redundancy, for multiple Operating system reinstalls associated with motherboard upgrades.

The longevity of your computer components varies wildly, with the most expensive pieces often being a top performer for the shortest period of time.  In order from longest lasting to shortest Hard Disk Drive/ Optical Disk Drive, Power Supply Unit, Video card, Memory, Motherboard, CPU.  This breakdown is purely subjective, and while easily could instigate discussion on what pieces do have the longest longevity citing specific models of components, for brevity’s sake we will continue in this order with explanations as to why.

HDD/ODD Drives have been using a 40pin or 80 conductor interface for over a decade, while device performance has increased and the interface has evolved to accept Serial ATA over Parallel ATA for various reasons, the PATA interface is still included on motherboards today.  PATA Expansion cards are also available very cheaply to allow even more devices to be connected to a PC. The newer SATA interface, is about due for another upgrade, but much like USB and PATA before it, the ports will be backwards compatible to support older hardware, either automatically, or more likely initially by a BIOS setting controlled by the user (much as early SATAII/SATA300 did).  Both hard drives and Optical disk drives however are mechanical and will suffer the effects of wear and tear faster than many other components will, and it is very important to secure your data accordingly.  Extra hard drives in your PC for data storage, their access rate will not be as severe as your operating system’s hard drive and will be less likely to fail.  Raid is instituted on many motherboards today to allow you to use two or more drives for performance or data redundancy.  Online backup is also a viable option with high speed internet, as it provides a 3^rd or 4^th tier of data backup.  Lastly a flash drive or optical disk with network drivers on it is important, if you ever have a PC fail in a single PC household, and nothing else works, an operating system reinstall can get your PC back up and running.  The network drivers you have secured are to make sure that you can get online to download updated drivers for other components.  A small spare hard drive can also be used, as a “backup OS” to just install when you need to recover data from a corrupted or infected PC.

Note: Most motherboards only have a single IDE (PATA ) channel built on them, if ODD and HDD are run on the same IDE cable they will operate at the speed of the slowest device (the ODD).  A cheap SATA drive will alleviate this major performance issue, and to further enhance storage capability external solutions can usually be found for your PATA hard drive in the $20 range, this also gives portability to your backed up data)

Power Supply Units (PSU), only handle longevity if purchased well as an individual component.  OEM Companies will install a power supply made of the cheapest available parts that will handle exactly what it is specified for with very little else added.  Modern CPUs with discrete Video cards, extra hard drives or upgraded multi-core CPUs can put a toll on the PSU that will have it overheating, breaking down or simply failing to boot within no time at all.  A solid PSU from a reputable company, purchased with headroom on the wattage, will make upgradeability and longevity synonymous.  There are a number of online power calculators to help you consider the wattage needs of the planned system, extra head room should be added for upgrades that are not foreseen.  Power efficiency of a PSU tends to be greatest in the midrange 50-70% of a PSUs wattage rating, and the online calculators are geared for full load on the entire system, something very few applications can do at this time.   While the difference is only a few percentage points, it is something to e considered when building a power efficient general purpose or home theater PC where heat is more of an issue.

Video cards, for the most part have a pretty decent longevity, for all but Video game PC builds.  As long as the GPU is supported with software and can handle widescreen resolutions it can be used on even the latest x58 core i7 system.  AGP cards are the exception, as an EOL interface, AGP cards that are still being manufactured break the price: performance ratio into the expensive category, and tie one to a motherboard that is most likely end of life as well.  Before AGP there were PCI video cards, while these cards are not capable of supporting modern video games, due to limitations in bandwidth on the interface, PCI slots are still included on motherboards due to the wide range of expansion devices that still utilize it.  PCI-e or PCI Express is a new interface standard, with much higher bandwidth capabilities that all new video cards are built on.  (Note: PCI-X is another industry standard, a PCI expansion that offers a double wide data path for PCI, used almost exclusively in servers and workstations, when PCI was not fast enough, but PCI-E had not yet been standardized.  This is an unusable standard as well).  There are 2 revisions of PCI-E out at the present with a third version due out in 2010.  Backward compatibility should be identical to PCI-e 1 and 2 with cards from either generation working in any of the others. (Although with reduced bandwidth, it could cause performance issues).  As long as the card is supported with software, and in some cases, by your PSU (with PCI-e power cables) it can remain in a system or carry over in upgrades through a few generations.  The average $100 video card today from an online retailer like newegg, should handle even minor video gaming for the next couple of years, by then DirectX 11 might be fully supported and an upgrade could be reconsidered.  For Avid gamers, a more powerful GPU is more important and care in selection should be treated as such.

RAM or memory is only readily available in 2 standards currently, DDR2 and DDR3.  DDR2 is in the process of being phased out, as both CPU manufacturers are supporting DDR3 now.  As such DDR2 is selling for much less than DDR3.  While some chipsets support using DDR2 or DDR3 the only motherboard that actually supports installing either one on the same motherboard is Asrock.  Asrock dual standard motherboards will be covered in the motherboard section of components.  DDR2 is slower, with tighter latencies than DDR3, and is available to run in single or dual channel configurations.  DDR3 has the same pin structure as DDR2, (240 pins) but operates at much lower voltages, with superior speeds, usually at the expense of latency, and can run in single dual and triple channel configurations.  32 bit operating systems can only address 4 Gigabytes of memory, this includes all memory a system can access not just the amount of RAM you have.  PAE extensions can add support for more memory in a 32 bit environment with an accompanied loss in performance; 64 bit operating systems can address much more ram and should be considered when shopping for an Operating System.  Purchasing enough memory is important, 4 gigabytes is the new standard for serious PC usage, with 2 Gigabytes being accepted for almost any usage in a 32 bit PC (with gaming being an exception in certain cases). I7 in triple channel works well in 3 or 6 GB amounts, although 4 GB in dual channel will also work very well and be a great upgrade for many PC users.

Motherboard upgrades are the trickiest, and the shortest longevity next to CPU’s.  A motherboard upgrade usually necessitates an operating reinstall, both for OS activation reasons and Driver incompatibilities.   The previously mentioned support for soon to be released operating systems, is a little more lax, since one can often ID the specific ICs (integrated circuits, or computer chips) used on a motherboard with a simple web search, (chipset, audio, networking) and find updated driver support from the original manufacturer not the company that built the motherboard.  BIOS support however is up to the motherboard manufacturer, and purchasing motherboards with well known BIOS support is important to using your motherboard as a stepping stone to more powerful setups.  Price is not indicative of effectiveness either, as many manufacturers will simply code out some enthusiast class features, and remarket the board for less money, as a “budget” board.  Motherboards should be selected based on expansion slots and onboard features that enhance any upgrade roadmap.  Integrated Graphics Processors, or IGPs are video cards that are built into the motherboard, while not suitable for gaming purposes, some models are more than adequate for most other purposes, from multimedia playback to hardware accelerated video encoding for HD/BluRay video.  AsRock (a budget brand of motherboard from the makers of ASUS products) have cross-architecture motherboards available, which support 2 separate architectures on the same motherboard.  Socket 939 to AM2 upgrades, DDR to DDR2 upgrades and DDR2 to DDR3 upgrades were all designed and produced, the effectiveness however is debatable.   Most modern motherboards that support AM2 socket will support AM2+ and AM3 socket CPU’s as well.  Intel socket 775 maybe end of line, but it supported chips from the Pentium D processor, up to quad core processors with a couple of die shrinks thrown in as well.

CPU or central processing unit is the brain of the PC.  The most rapidly evolving piece of technology in your PC, keeping up with the changes can be a constant process.  There are traps to get caught in with these purchases as well.  As mentioned previously in the motherboard components section, socket 775 and AM2 both had a very good run with support for a number of architectures that suits the piecemeal upgrade perfectly. Bottom of the line electronic components can be purchased very cheaply online either from e-tailers that offer used/ refurbished components, eBay/Craigslist sales, or from your local paper.  While the ultimately dead socket 478 Pentium 4 systems can usually be purchased for under $100, a Pentium 4 D or AM2 Athlon 64 system can be found for little more, and offer many more upgrade options.  Purchasing an entire PC also can add temporary memory, PSU and storage increases until a better performing upgrade can be acquired.  Parts can often be sold individually for more than there sum as well.  White box purchases (no name complete PC purchases) are also a good way to acquire Windows licenses, especially if it is a retail license.  These are most valuable as a retail license can be reused on many PC’s (although only one at a time) any issues with activation can be solved with a simple phone call to Microsoft.

The main problem with using an OEM build to start off upgrading however is part of the end of life path.  OEMs often cram the best components on a motherboard it can handle, and even though the architecture could support upgrades that would vastly improve performance, without BIOS updates, the OEM PC’s are maxed out.  This saves them money on construction costs, and reduces user error issues and damage, as well as well as generates new revenue, when a consumer needs to upgrade the entire PC to see a performance boost. Identifying your needs, wants and haves is vital to designing a system that keeps you from making a large financial investment, or if purchased on credit, still paying for the equipment after the expected lifespan of the system has expired.  Another large benefit of upgrading your own PC, aside from financial reasons, is knowledge gained.  The average person can benefit greatly just from knowing about the different components in a PC and that there are different industry standards with interfaces.

Monitors, come in 2 distinct flavors, CRT (not manufactured anymore) and LCD.  The difference between CRT and LCD is dramatic, with vivid colors and crisp geometries on LCD, higher resolution and better contrast on CRT.  LCD’s can be upgraded very cheaply now, CRT has no upgrade path, it is only mentioned if the upgrade inventory currently has a high resolution or widescreen CRT monitor, it may be reused rather effectively until the size and power requirements effect the end user.  A very cheap sub $100 LCD of the 17-19” variety may work well as a primary monitor with CRT being used secondary  for specific purposes or multi monitor applications, this will prolong the life of the CRT as well as lower energy costs (by powering it off when not in use).  The average 1080p HD Television set may work very well as a computer monitor as well.  1080i/720p TV’s will also work, but the resolution (1368×768 or 1280×720) is low enough it usually is not much of an upgrade. 22-23” 1080p monitors can be purchased from Best Buy or similar company for around $200 right now, with 1680×1050 22” monitors on sale or purchased used in the $120 dollar price range.  If going digital (DVI/HDMI) make sure to pick up a decent quality cable from a decent retailer, cables are not expensive to make or purchase, but the ones that come with inexpensive monitors are generally of the worst quality.  An online like e-tailer like monoprice.com has excellent prices, but it is best to purchase a few needed items at one time to spread the cost of shipping out.  (Shipping prices are not linear with weight)

Keyboard and Mouse.  The same I/O devices used a decade ago could still be in service today.  AT to PS/2 to USB is the interface upgradeability, with 2 of them still supported on most motherboards.  A simple adapter from AT to PS/2 or PS/2 to USB can prolong the life of an ageing device until physical wear takes its toll.   Ergonomic function and LEDs are the primary differences in keyboards today from yesterday, where the mouse has gone from a rubber ball to LED or laser measurement.  Reactivity and control are much more precise than the older mechanical mouse designs, but work on a smaller number of surfaces.  Upgrading here can be a very inexpensive way to get a whole new outlook on your PC.  Keyboards and mice with too many functions can be poor upgrade choices if you intend to upgrade your Operating system, manufacturer support should be checked before purchasing.

Speaker quality is another peripheral that is entirely up to the end user.  Some may get by with the case speaker on their OEM tower, while others may want a 500W Surround sound Home Theater receiver for really immersive music, movies or video games.  Most motherboards made in the last few years, have adequate audio onboard, with some supporting Dolby/DTS encoding, while all support digital pass through to send the uninterrupted signal to a receiver for processing in a pure digital environment; a motherboard or soundcard must have digital audio output, and receiver or speaker setup must support the same type of digital input (TOSLink or Coaxial).  For those with older analog only receivers, a 3.5mm to stereo RCA adapter cable can be purchased at radio shack for under $10, and online for as little as $1, to use your motherboard/soundcard’s analog output to replace a set of desktop speakers.  Many audiophiles actually use headphones instead of speakers on their PC; the choice is entirely up to the end-user.  Yet again, this is a part of your PC that has great longevity, and as such should be purchased with that in mind. Audio cards supporting SPDIF pass through (digital audio) can also be purchased rather cheaply especially on eBay.

Printers, scanners, digital cameras, flash drives, have many different formats, and software support is wildly erratic.  USB is a backwards compatible standard, and USB 3.0 is due to be released soon. USB 2 devices will continue to function as normal, the new standard implements higher speed with the addition of twice as many conductors, higher power support up to almost 1 amp, and greater power conservation.  The main concern with longevity of USB peripherals is driver support, for different versions of Windows or Linux.  With Windows 7 release looming, if a company does not already have Windows 7 drivers listed on their website for your device, expecting a peripheral to function properly is a gamble.  A company that updates its drivers every few months is more likely to make the changes necessary than one that still lists the original driver version a piece shipped with on its website.

The Chassis or tower, of a computer says the most about expectations of performance.  Cases come in all shapes and sizes, from micro-ATX Small Form factor cases to full size E-ATX server chassis.   They also can be made into entirely new concepts, which will be discussed in the final part of this series (tweaking, overclocking and modding).   Most computer Companies follow a industry standard ATX format, that is a 9×12” motherboard with 7 expansion slots, a PSU installation point that fits ATX, ATx12v and EPS form factor power supply units, 5.25” and 3.5” drive bays for optical storage and hard drives as well as other devices (fan controllers, floppy drives, card readers).   Some OEM companies have developed unconventional computer cases to fit as much as possible into as small a space as can be managed.  These maybe ITX, or FlexATX form factors, that although interesting, tend to disrupt the normal price performance ratio, an ultra small form factor PC is not something generally considered to be built on a budget, and also may not be easily upgradeable to new standards.  An existing ATX tower from a Dell or HP machine can usually be used, with simple modifications to airflow with or without mechanical modification.  Modding for cooling will also be discussed in the final installment of this series.  If purchasing a new case for an upgrade, making sure that it meets your future needs is vitally important.  Expandability, cooling and effective space utilization are all important.  Knowing the motherboard and what expansion devices will be added are important in finding a case large enough to fit your needs.  Caseless or “bench station” is always a “free” or inexpensive option with lots of room for modification, but leaves the components open to damage from careless humans, the environment and pets.