Do I 'need' a gaming laptop to play MMOs? [more inside]
posted by Kurichina on Nov 9, 2009 - 9 answers

Is there good sites that provide ranking of computer processors performance? [more inside]
posted by idyllhands on Oct 30, 2009 - 17 answers

I'm in the market for a new laptop. Should I get a PC or Mac? What specs are important for me to look at when making a decision? [more inside]
posted by reenum on Jun 2, 2009 - 31 answers

Help me understand Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Wikipedia has a confusing chart that seems to indicate matching processor to the RAM is more important than the actual specs of the RAM or processor. [more inside]
posted by brenton on Apr 8, 2009 - 15 answers

FINALLY getting my own media center/boxee box/VM Toy runner. I realize that I won't be able to run any beefy creatures on this, but I intend to use the VM's mostly as toys, or to occasionally sync my finance's iPod. NO BLURAY/HD Content required for now. I've already decided most parts, but I need a bit of help picking a processor. And if you can find some better parts then the ones I've chosen, please let me know, I'll happily take 'em into consideration. Oh, and I'm trying to go as little over $300 as I can... [more inside]
posted by TrueVox on Apr 5, 2009 - 13 answers

Why won't my computer post? [more inside]
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints on Mar 13, 2009 - 12 answers

Word Processor with Excel-like tabs for Windows? [more inside]
posted by amsterdam63 on Feb 12, 2009 - 5 answers

How can I find out if I'll get more of a performance boost in my desktop PC by adding more RAM or replacing the processor? [more inside]
posted by gottabefunky on Jan 19, 2009 - 22 answers

Should we replace the motherboard and processor or buy a new computer? [more inside]
posted by socrateaser on Dec 29, 2008 - 10 answers

Yet another laptop question - somebody please explain the difference between the processors for me? [more inside]
posted by antifuse on Dec 28, 2008 - 8 answers

Why doesn't Moore's Law apply to graphing calculators? [more inside]
posted by skryche on May 28, 2008 - 21 answers

I am an Audio/Video/Graphics designer looking for the proper machine for multi-media production. Please help me find the right components I need. ANYTHING BUT DELL please! [more inside]
posted by bostonhill on May 21, 2008 - 22 answers

Budget upgrade: Will my PC game performance improve more from upgrading my Athlon 2100 XP (1.7 Ghz) processor or my GeForce 6600GT (256mb) AGP video card? [more inside]
posted by Annon E Moose on May 8, 2008 - 26 answers

I just got a relatively new PC secondhand. What should I upgrade first in order to most successfully play games? [more inside]
posted by joshrholloway on Feb 9, 2008 - 18 answers

Why are CPUs not getting faster any more? This plot is some data I scraped from a few sources around the web. I know it's not exhaustive, but I'm looking to pick out long-term and general trends. It's clear to me that processor clock speed has plateau'ed around roughly 4 GHz. Why? [more inside]
posted by sergeant sandwich on Dec 9, 2007 - 30 answers

Can you show me a photo beam sensor or a magnetic sensor that is close to the size of my pinky? [more inside]
posted by kaozity on Dec 3, 2007 - 8 answers

will creative suite cs2 with system requirements of powerbook g4 or 5 processor run on my new macbook pro (which has an intel-based processor)?
posted by nicknd23 on Nov 15, 2007 - 8 answers

Best bang for $300 total: Motherboard, CPU and Memory. [more inside]
posted by |n$eCur3 on Nov 4, 2007 - 17 answers

Which would be more beneficial for a Photoshop user: dual-display + more RAM, or a new iMac with a faster processor? [more inside]
posted by blastrid on Nov 2, 2007 - 18 answers

Are there any payment processors who will accept PayPal payments for my company? [more inside]
posted by torpark on Oct 7, 2007 - 2 answers

Where did half of my processor go? 1.5ghz is showing up as 599mhz. [more inside]
posted by penciltopper on Aug 21, 2007 - 12 answers

Overlocking-filter: I am building a new computer (my first attempt) and I wanted advice on overclocking my processor. I'm installing an Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 and I've heard it's great for overclocking, even with the stock cooler. Can anyone give me tips or a guide to doing this? [more inside]
posted by Aanidaani on Jun 20, 2007 - 12 answers

Remotely determine processor socket type? [more inside]
posted by mysterious1der on Jun 8, 2007 - 9 answers

I'm thinking of buying a quad-core PC and want to check that my understanding of what a quad-core PC could do for me is correct. [more inside]
posted by tobtoh on Apr 9, 2007 - 6 answers

Here's a weird error that I only get when I'm in My Documents or Windows Explorer (so it seems)... [more inside]
posted by moonbird on Jan 28, 2007 - 11 answers

Will the BFP-7 food processor attachment work on my Cuisinart SPB-7 blender? [more inside]
posted by jclovebrew on Jan 18, 2007 - 1 answer

When is Microsoft going to put the new processor in the Xbox 360? And does anyone know of any future price-drops for the console? [more inside]
posted by Paul KC on Dec 29, 2006 - 2 answers

Is there a way to retrieve the old files I have saved on 5.25" Apple IIc floppy disks? [more inside]
posted by zooropa on Oct 25, 2006 - 4 answers

Building a new computer: Athlon 64 or Pentium D? [more inside]
posted by dammitjim on Jul 18, 2006 - 15 answers

I'm trying to choose a new processor, and don't know which one to buy. [more inside]
posted by tdreyer1 on Jun 8, 2006 - 22 answers

My computer's on/off fan is driving me mad; and I don't need the power. How can I limit the available processor power so that I can run it silently? [more inside]
posted by jamescridland on May 29, 2006 - 13 answers

How can I de-epoxy my P4 from its heatsink? [more inside]
posted by ChasFile on Dec 2, 2005 - 7 answers

Why can't I get my new processor to work? [more inside]
posted by ewkpates on Nov 3, 2005 - 8 answers

Help me upgrade my work computer to make it run better. [more inside]
posted by ikkyu2 on Oct 25, 2005 - 31 answers

I'm planning to buy an iBook within the next 6 months -- hopefully before the end of the year. Should I incorporate the upcoming switch to Intel processors into my purchasing plans? Is it time to hurry up or wait? [more inside]
posted by junkbox on Oct 12, 2005 - 8 answers

Is there such a distribution of linux that is multiarchitectural and designed to run off of a flash drive?
posted by jackofsaxons on Sep 28, 2005 - 12 answers

Laptop power management. [more inside]
posted by jimmy on Aug 30, 2005 - 6 answers

What's the score with Pentium Ds? If I'm buying a new desktop computer, should I make sure I have this processor?
posted by nthdegx on Aug 26, 2005 - 9 answers

My husband wants to play Battlefield 2, but his computer, an Athlon 64 3200+, seems to be kind of sluggish with the new demo. Given that there's only so much we want to spend to play video games, what's the best component to upgrade? The video card? The processor? [more inside]
posted by gokart4xmas on Jun 11, 2005 - 28 answers

This old Mac: My 450 Mhz G4 has held up for about 5 years now. I was on the market for a new iMac G5, but as we Mac people will be wanting to upgrade to intel machines in a couple years, this seems like an unwise purchase (the Osborne effect and all). So I'm thinking a processor upgrade might be a good stopgap. Anyone have any experience with this?
posted by aladfar on Jun 7, 2005 - 14 answers

I have set my screensaver to play "My Pictures Slideshow" and notice that some pictures appear much more frequently than others. I have noticed this with other programs as well. Is there a process or formula the processor uses in these cases. Is random really random?
posted by terrier319 on Mar 16, 2005 - 12 answers

My processor gets really hot [MI]. [more inside]
posted by Yelling At Nothing on Aug 7, 2004 - 8 answers

Is it a problem to have 7k handles, 290 threads and 27 processes on an AMD 2400+ in windows XP, 512mb RAM?
posted by Keyser Soze on Jun 27, 2004 - 7 answers

Is there anything that makes recent models of Powerbooks superior to recent iBooks with a comparable processor? [more inside]
posted by namespan on May 3, 2004 - 16 answers

How do microchips work?

I understand it at a very basic level. I know that when you apply current to a semiconductor, it becomes conductive, and that this closes the gate in a transistor. By opening or closing the right gates, you're able to do basic counting and logical operations.

Here though, my conceptual model totally falls apart. Because try as I might, I can't get my head around exactly what it is that controls the current going to the semiconductor in the gate in the first place. How does the microprocessor know to open or close a particular gate? It seems like if it already knew to open or close a gate, then the operation has already been done. It's like you'd need another microprocessor controlling the current within the first microprocessor, and so an and so on back to some omniscient prime mover.
posted by willnot on Apr 12, 2004 - 13 answers

Processor speed, RAM, hard drive speed-- Where's the best bang for the buck? [more inside] [more inside]
posted by trharlan on Feb 4, 2004 - 13 answers

I'm considering upgrading the processor (and possibly the motherboard) on an older PC. Am I going to have to reformat the HD? Obviously, I'll back up all the data just in case, but I was under the impression that the OS would just find the new hardware upon booting up for the first time. The 14 year-old at the local CompUSA claims otherwise--that I'll have to rebuild the OS once I put the new processor in place. So which is it?
posted by jpoulos on Dec 30, 2003 - 8 answers

As an extension of this previous thread: I've decided on an iBook. I have the opportunity to get a 14" 900MHz G3 refurb'd for $900. I can also get this discontinued model new for $1000. The comparable G4 iBook, which has almost exactly the same specs (save the processor, of course) is $1300. My $1000 could also buy me a 12" 800MHz G4.

I'm having trouble parsing the literature about the chips. I understand that, particularly with Macs, it's not just about the MHz, so should I expect the "slower" G4 chip to outperform the G3 I'm looking at? I expect to use this computer until at least spring '06, which seems like a long way off considering that the G3 chip is now technically obsolete. Also, there are obvious form factor issues; does anyone have a strong opinion about the old iBook design vs. the new? Has anyone been personally affected by the logic board problems I've heard about for the last-gen G3 iBooks? Any warnings about Apple-refurbished machines? [slightly more inside] [more inside]
posted by blueshammer on Dec 27, 2003 - 14 answers