Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with intel

Quark Problems

aburd — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:58:21 -0800

My mom is a graphic designer and uses Quark. She just switched from a PowerPC based Macbook Pro to an Intel based MacBook Pro. Using the new Macbook Pro, she can't seem to open the Quark files she created using the old MacBook pro. It produces an error saying something about the processor. Is there a nice program for converting such files? I don't know much about Quark or design software but please let me know if I am skipping some obvious detail. I want to get her this software for Christmas so I can't be too obvious but I can probably get some details out of her without being too obvious.

What kind of RAM does my PC need?

Wild_Eep — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:48:24 -0800

What kind of RAM does my PC need? I have a Windows PC that needs more RAM. I can see that it has more than one slot, but I don't know what kind of RAM to buy. I'm able to see a label on the motherboard that has the letters "D15GLVG/D15PCDT" on it in tiny writing. The motherboard is made by Intel and has an Intel chip on it.

A recipe to follow would be nice.

Nonce — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:35:27 -0800

Help me make a silent mini-ITX or micro-ATX Intel Atom system with s-video or composite out. I've never dealt with any case smaller than full ATX, and I'm worried I'll muck it up and order components that don't actually fit together the way I think they will.

It must be silent from anything more than a foot away. That's important to me. The rest is flexible. If you've done this and it worked out, please tell me what to get.

Someone should just sell me this already

lundman — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:09:45 -0800

Building your own RAID, let's talk hardware options... Say the ultimate goal was to make something that looks like N5200 but ran Open Solaris for ZFS. The cheapest I have seen a N5200 is some $600. (even empty). (N7700 uses Linux, and ZFS in FUSE which I would rather not).

So assuming I need something Intel (well, or sparc I guess), 5 bays (or more), SATA.

Perhaps using something like a Q-Box 4 case, which fits 4x 5.25" space.

I should be able to fit something like a Supermicro 5 bay for the drives, which ends with 5 SATA ports. And takes up 3x 5.25" bays. The last bay in the case is half taken by the motherboard.

Now for the main board, seems the latest rage is the Intel Atom (yes?no?) and of that, the Z530 appears to be the embedded chip. Should I look at a ready made board with the chip, or a separate board, that can take the chip.

Of the Mini-ITX boards, I do not see any that directly has 5+ SATA ports:
Mini-ITX boards

So perhaps a 4-port SATA card is needed, or something drastic like using a PATA channel, with SATA adaptor.

I am guessing fanless is probably a good idea for raid? Or should I look at the MITX-6852 which appears to be aimed at embedded as well, and does come with 6-SATA ports.

Any other options to consider? I'm based in Tokyo, so I should be able to get most things, but it does make searching for information a hint harder.

That seems to land around $300, plus LCD display if I can find one to fit in a 5.25" bay.

(SATA Multiplier options are no-go.)

My 5 year old dell laptop (8600) has suddenly lost processor speed.

merocet — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:54:40 -0800

My 5 year old dell laptop (8600) has suddenly lost processor speed. Techy details after the break... Inspiron 8600 running XP Home with Intel Pentium M 1.7 Ghz processor has stopped showing it's clock speed as 1.6something and now reports either 592 Mhz or lower.

Computer really drags (two firefox windows nearly brought me to a halt just then so it doesn't seem to be a speed step thing (i.e. the computer isn't throttling back the processor and then letting it go flat out when needed). The laptop is plugged in to power and set to be "always on" in it's power scheme which I believe should force it to be running at full speed.

Today I was trying to speed up the computer for working with Cubase. I changed settings as follows;

Visual Effects - adjust for best performance
Paging file size - changed from "no paging file" to "3070 MB" which was the recommended setting on the Virtual Memory Tab.
In TweakUI I unchecked "optimize hard disk when idle".

I have changed all of these parameters back to their original settings.

The only other thing I did was to blow some air from an air cannister into the vents on the laptop to try to clear some dust to help the pc cool itself.

I have since;
- installed SpeedswitchXP to see whether I could force anything that way and,
- Had a look in the start up settings (reports as a 1.7 Ghz processor running at 600 Mhz) but doesn't let me change anything (Dell crippled BIOS)

Any ideas what might have caused this change for the worse? Needless to say Cubase is not a possibility any more and neither are Sony Vegas or Photoshop so there goes my three pronged creative effort!

Will this dual-xeon motherboard boot with a single CPU?

Skorgu — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:31:26 -0800

Will a dual-1366 (Nehalem, Xeon 5xxx) motherboard work with a single CPU? Specifically, a SUPERMICRO MBD-X8DAL-i-O Dual LGA 1366 Intel 5500 motherboard and a single Intel Xeon E5504 CPU.

The second CPU/ram will be loaded in a few months but I need to replace a box pretty soon so I'm bootlegging it.

I know I'll have to populate only the loaded CPU's ram slots, but it ought to work anyway, right?

Gift for a retiring computer science professor

aereoperro — Thu, 07 May 2009 09:38:51 -0800

One of my favorite professors is retiring at the end of the semester and I would like to present him with a token of my appreciation. He taught me assembly language as well as other systems classes and I thought he might appreciate a vintage 8086 processor for symbolic reasons, of course. I would most prefer getting the original 8086 chip that Intel released in 1979, but I haven't found any on Ebay. Craigslist has also failed me, as the age of this chip and its relative performance make it rather unappealing for actual computer use.

Does the hive have any ideas where I could acquire a chip like this ? Or are there any other suggestions for gifts of this nature that may be more readily attained ?

Real-world microprocessor performance based on specs.

brenton — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:14:20 -0800

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. I'm buying a laptop on the Dell Outlet. But trying to do research for which one to pick has led me to the wikipedia page on Core 2 Duo processors. Several things confuse me.

1. What is the meaning of this "GB/s" unit of measure under the "Matched memory and maximum bandwidth" column? Is this a reliable indicator of generic processing power?

2. For DDR2 RAM, is the chart saying that the processors with only 533 FSB are always faster than the 800mhz processors? It seems so since they have more "GB/s". But that makes no sense! The processors with faster FSB should always be better... right?

3. Is a "Core 2 Duo" most likely better than a "Core Duo" or even a "Pentium Dual Core"? It would be helpful if I could narrow it down to just one processor type.

What should I be looking at when choosing a processor? I had it in my head that Core 2 Duo was the best dual core processor out today. If I choose the Core 2 Duo with the fastest FSB I can find, (assuming a reasonable clock speeed,) is that the way to go?

SLI VS CROSSFIRE VS MY BRAIN

Bageena — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:00:25 -0800

Question: where can I find a valid coupon/discount code for a Dell XPS 730x. I've heard there's some out there for 20-25% off, but I can't seem to find anything online that's working. Failing that, how much of a difference is it really if I just build a really sweet XPS 630? The system I want, the 730X, has an Intel® Core™ i7-920 (2.66GHz, 8MB cache), 3GB3 Tri-Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ (3x1GB DIMM), and a pair of nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB3 setup SLI along. If I can't find a coupon to get the price lower, I'm looking at building (XPS 630) would have a Intel® Core™2 Q9550 (12MB,2.83GHz, 1333FSB), 8GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz (4 DIMM), SLi Dual nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB... the difference without a coupon is nearly $1000. It's been a lonnnnnnnnnnng, long time since I've built a PC or even scoped out the specs on the newest processors, video cards, shit, rigs at all. Like, for instance, instead of getting the SLi, Dual nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB on the XPS 630, should I spend the extra $100 and get CrossFireX, Dual ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB instead?
For the record, I don't do a whole lot of gaming YET on the PC, but I could. I do use it for a lot of multimedia (like 3 to 4 TB of movies and music and stuff) and graphic design. I spent a lot of time on the computer and it'll be awhile before I get to buy a new PC again. Help?

I am looking for a signal booster that will play nicely on my laptop which has Vista.

cheero — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:45:18 -0800

I am looking for a signal booster that will play nicely on my laptop which has Vista. People recommended EnGenius USB Device but from what I gathered on Amazon, it does not work past XP. I basically need something that I can take with my on the go. Intel GMA 4500MHD / Intel Wi-Fi / 10/100 Eth is what came with my laptop. Is there a signal booster compatible with Vista?

QL-60? T3200? Laptop processors make no sense!

antifuse — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 08:36:08 -0800

Yet another laptop question - somebody please explain the difference between the processors for me? So, my current laptop (a Dell Inspiron 700m) is reaching its last legs, and I'm looking to get a new one. I used to stay up to speed on all the latest processor and video card news, but since I stopped building my own desktops, I've seriously fallen out of the loop. I've tried searching extensively here on AskMe, as well as on Google, and had little luck trying to figure things out.

What I've found is that the main makers have finally given up on the megahertz myth, which is good, but also makes it impossible for me to determine even superficially which processors are better - for example, Intel now has dual core and core2 duo processors? What's the difference? I can't tell how a T3200 processor compares to a P8400 processor. And then AMD has the X2 QL-60, TK-57, and TL-60... Is Turion better than Athlon? It's all a jumble. Really, the best I can hope for is to base it on price... But even then it might be hit or miss.

As for my needs - I'm not planning any hardcore gaming or 3d modeling work, though I'd love to be ABLE to play some of the more recent games... But mostly, I do a lot of photo editing (Photoshop CS3 and Bibble Pro for RAW conversion), and I occasionally do some video conversion (from Divx to MP4 for viewing on my iPod) and I'd appreciate processing power that can handle that. The reason I'm upgrading my laptop is that I've noticed it can't really deal very well with RAW conversions for my D300, and audio is very often out of sync when doing the video conversions.

I'm not overly concerned with power consumption of the processor - I'm happy if that's a part of the processor that I pick, but mostly I just don't want it to set my lap on fire when I'm using it.

As a bonus, anybody who can give me a quick rundown of the various mobile video chipsets, I'd greatly appreciate that as well. :)

nu-Quicksilver

low affect — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:06:20 -0800

Where do I find newer builds of Quicksilver? I know there are some newer, non-blacktree versions of Quicksilver getting made. I don't have the time or will to go hunting through forums for them, or to figure which one is most stable and best. What have you found? Is it more snappier than B56? I'm on Intel Leopard.

Building a uber powerful gaming pc, need your help

spinko — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:03:44 -0800

Building a uber powerful gaming pc, what parts to buy as I don't want to be a sucker. Need your help. Intel Core i7 I currently own a Mac (macbook pro 4gb) for business, even through it is fast in bootcamp. I want better for MMO's and FPS games. This is strictly a gaming machine, and needs to be future proof. I haven't built a computer in 2 years, so I have gone abit rusty.

My budget is £2000 (~$3500) just for the box. I already have a 30inch Cinema display, so I want to play games at the natural resolution (2560 x 1600) with a good 60+ fps.

Here is my list of what I want.

CPU:
Core i7 940 (2.93ghz quad + hyperthreading) ~£470
I want to overclock this cpu as much as I can. I have seen this processor get to 3.4ghz with no problems. I will need a good Motherboard or fan to do this.

The extreme version, is it worth it?

Should I wait for a faster processor coming out in a few months?

HDD:
Raptor 300gb (10k rpm)
or
SAS Hdd's (15k rpm) I dont know too much about this, is it worth it?

Is their any benefit of having a solid state hard drive for bootup OS?

Im not too bothered about size, I don't need 1tb as I only need it for games (300gb max)

PSU:
750, 1000 or 1500 watt? do I need more power for overclocking? or is it just money down the drain.

Video card/s:
The new cards confuse me

SLI cards x2: Does this actually improve gaming performance, or shall I keep with a single 1gb graphics card? Nvidia or ATI?

Others:
Need a good Motherboard, memory (to match the mb) and video card.

Motherboard needs to be good for overclocking.

Also, I may go with Vista 64bit dual boot with XP 32bit. I have heard about something better than software dual boot. Cannot remember what it was.

Memory is limited to 3gb on XP 32bit, however can handle more that 3gb on Vista 64bit. Is it worth going for 64bit Vista for gaming or stick to 32bit non dx10 XP? (I went over to Mac due to Vista, last year for business).

Memory will have to match the top FSB if possible. Unless you cannot see any difference.

Anything extra that will improve performance?

Instead of building my own, could you recommend a pre-built spec. I live in Spain but go to the UK frequently. I know Falcon NW will ship to Spain for $400, but the benefit is the warranty, negatives are the power supply. However building it myself each equipment piece has warranty.

Thanks if you can help.

Does not compute.

Wanderlust88 — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:25:30 -0800

Computer/ Heat Sink filter: Why does my computer turn on for a few seconds then shut off? After a long study session during the night I realized my motherboard fan was way too loud and needed a good dusting. After cleaning the damn thing I turned my pc back on only to have it shut off a few seconds later, and every attempt afterwards results in the same thing, just shuts off.

Everything looks and boots as it should on the monitor except for the fact that it shuts off.

Help! I need my PC back ASAP for school! BLEH!

Also if it makes a difference

Motherboard: MB MSI 945P NEO3-F 945P 775

CPU: CPU INTEL|P4 640 3.2G 775 2M 90N R

AMD vs Intel

edbyford — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:28:28 -0800

AMD or Intel? (2008 Edition) I'm about to buy a new computer for my parents (so web browsing, photo viewing and editing, movies sometimes and old games) so not high power, but able to multitask well and last them a good few years.

I've decided I want to go the Ubuntu/XP dual boot method.

Anyway, I've decided I like everything about the components in these two systems, but it's been ages since I asked this question: should I go AMD or Intel?

Does the fact that it is an Athlon 64 mean that I will have to run a 64 bit OS and programs on it? For my 'rents, I basically need the most compatible CPU, no?

Thanks in advance
Ed

Windows Server 2003 Migration to New Hardware

SlyBevel — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:45:30 -0800

Help with home media Windows Server 2003 Migration to New Hardware I've been running my home media server for a few years now. Its four storage discs are dynamic discs bundled together in a software RAID 5 array. The four discs together total ~1TB, or ~750GB after RAID overhead.

I've had this server for a few years now, and I'm looking into upgrading. I want to put Server 2k3 on a new machine, and put bigger discs in the machine, and then create a new RAID volume, say, 4TB or so (probably 3TB after RAID overhead). Maybe more.

This is the question: How do I move all of my files, shares, permissions, user accounts, etc. from the old server to the new one?

I want the move to the new server to be completely transparent to my users (meaning myself, friends, family).

I've really loved this server these past few years. It's been rock solid, and I'm looking forward to my next one. But it took me a long time to get it Just. So. I need to put everything back the way it is now on the new server. And I've grown out of 1 measly little TB. Please help!

Stuff that might be relevant:

Current system has four storage drives and one OS drive. Intel board, Intel proc.
New system will be Intel/Intel/WindowsS2k3/at least 4 storage disks/software RAID/real server case this time.
OS is WinServ2k3 Standard with 5 CALs.
I won't go Linux on this, please don't suggest it.

No more bounce! Damn ye, Mac dock!

grumblebee — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:42:45 -0800

Does anyone know a way to stop icons from bouncing on the OS X doc? I'm NOT talking about unchecking "animate opening applications" in the dock preferences. That only stops opening-app bounces. I want to stop warning bounces, too. They drive me crazy. Please note that I'm using an INTEL Mac (Leopard). I've only been able to find solutions for PowerPC Macs.

RAID-5 Array on a new motherboard?

cameradv — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:09:39 -0800

Can a RAID-5 array created on one computer transfer to another computer, data intact? The kicker: different SATA controllers. OK: I had a 3 drive RAID-5 setup working fine all SATA drives connected to an MSI K8N motherboard (AMD CPU, with nVidia chipset). I think the SATA driver controller is by SIL. Something fried that computer, though the drives were still in a healthy array.

I built a new computer, new Intel chipset motherboard (Abit IP35 PRO), but when i turned it all on, the three drives are recognized, but the Intel MAtrix Storage Manager ROM says their type/status is "Non-RAID Disk"

If I create a RAID volume with these disks, I'm sure to lose all the existing data, right? Is there any path to recovering the data from this new computer? Or do I have to re-construct the old computer with the old motherboard to recover the data?

Need a new P4 motherboard

Gyan — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:01:50 -0800

I need help choosing a new motherboard around a used Intel P4 chip. The motherboard of one of the key NLE systems at work has recently gone bad, and I need to get a replacement motherboard within the next few days.

The only tech guy is no longer here, so it's upto me, and being out of the tech loop for the past few years, the smörgåsbord of current chipsets, chips, sockets & slot interface offerings has me confused (what the hell happened??)

I'll have to use the chip from the dead system, which is a 3 GHz P4. Does that specify the CPU completely, or are there varieties of 3 GHz P4s? It's not a dual-core or Xeon, if that helps eliminate anything, and it was bought in early 2006, from what I gather. I'd also like to use this opportunity to accommodate a possible upgrade which requires a 'PCI-X' slot. So, I need an ATX motherboard that has a PCI-X slot and will accept this processor. I'll upgrade RAM as necessary, but rest all is to be transplanted onto the new system.

Since this is a NLE, the dedicated hardware does the heavy lifting, but I still require some features, like onboard video, audio, ethernet, SATA and prefer others like Firewire, SATA II..etc

I've a bias for Asus due to consistently good experiences with their product, but all contenders are welcome, maybe excepting Intel. This is in Mumbai, India. Budget is equivalent to ~$250, but cheaper = better.

So, foremost,

1)which motherboards should I be looking at?

2)any links to good primers for navigating the tech offerings available today and in the near future?

iBudget

Pants! — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:42:14 -0800

What's the best budgeting/personal finance for my Intel iMac running 10.5.1? It seems that Quicken doesn't work on Intel Macs and that it has terrible reviews on Amazon. Ideally, I would like:

1) Something that I can automatically import financial information from my banks/financial institutions and track capital gains and losses/savings and credit card rates, etc
2) Something that can help tailor a budget for me, makes suggestions, etc
3) Something that is very easy to use. My natural state is disorganization I am better at organizing things that are easy to KEEP organized.
4) Something that can download my credit report when I want it to.

Will CS2 run on intel processor?

nicknd23 — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:36:44 -0800

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)?

Setting up a Linux-Mac OS X Dual Boot?

WCityMike — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:27:00 -0800

I would like to make my Intel iMac dual boot a Linux variant. I'd appreciate any help you could provide me. Specific questions inside. First, I'd appreciate it if you could explain the difference to me between a window manager and a Linux operating system. For example, there is GNOME and KDE, and my understanding is that these are window managers -- and there is Ubuntu and Red Hat, which are operating systems, yes? What does a window manager do that an operating system doesn't? I'm so used to seeing operating systems that are integrated with their window managers (i.e. Mac OS X and Windows) that I'm not sure I understand where one ends and the other begins. What window managers would you recommend? What variant of Linux would you recommend? I'm leaning towards Ubuntu, since I've heard it referred to the most on Lifehacker.

Second, I must admit, I'm slightly nervous. Even though this is moderately major surgery on my Mac, I'd appreciate any reassurance you can give. I do backup, but my backup drive isn't large enough to backup everything; right now it's got everything but my music backed up, and for obvious reasons, I'd rather not lose all my music. (A large chunk of it is backed up on DVD, but most definitely not all.) My understanding is that Apple's Boot Camp application can alter the partitions on my hard drive without erasing what's there already ... even if I'm not installing Windows.

As that relates, the instructions I am planning to work off of are both here and here. I'm wondering if there is a "Complete Idiot's Guide to Setting Up a Dual-Boot on Your Mac with Linux" website that is even simpler ... or if you guys have "dumb-dumb" instructions to follow. I can follow these directions fine, but if I would just like to lower the chance of me doing something stupid while setting this up. (BTW, I can anticipate someone saying, "Linux isn't for dummies, and if you're concerned about it being over your head, you shouldn't attempt this dual boot." To which I'd reply that I'm purposefully underestimating my skills here because I'd rather more safely follow idiot-level instructions than somewhat perilously follow moderate-level instructions. But my request for idiot-level instructions shouldn't be interpreted to mean that I am an idiot.)

Finally, any advice as to Linux variant? Or window manager? Or applications? (Preferably with linkage?) Or general anecdotes about what to do as a Linux beginner?

Why am I doing this? Well, I have pretty much tweaked everything I want to tweak on my Mac, and I would like a new operating system to play around with, and Windows XP might have some interest for me, but it's $190 on Amazon for even just the Home Edition, which is about $190 more than Linux.

You ever do a google search for "iMac fan"? Yeah. Pointless.

sourwookie — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:15:26 -0800

So I just got the newest iMac today (the one that was announced last week). After 4 hours or so of use the fan has kicked on in a most noisy way and it won't shut down. Restarting does nothing. Take time to let it cool. Restart. Just more fan. So...anyone got a "here-n-now" fix or do I take it back to the store in the morning?

Any Scrabble apps for Intel Macs with networked play?

VeniceGlass — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 04:39:53 -0800

Any Scrabble apps for Intel Macs with networked play? Not sure why this is so hard to find (unless there are none)!

Will this be good computer?

DJWeezy — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 21:51:27 -0800

I am building a new computer and was wondering if this setup seems good I already have the OS, case/power supply, and video card more details after break. previously Optical Drive - SAMSUNG Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner With LightScribe Technology - OEM

Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Memory - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Motherboard - ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium/WiFi-AP LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Processor -Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

OS - Microsoft Windows Xp Professional I already have this.

Case - Alienware MJ-12 Mid-Tower ATX Case with 700 Watt Power Supply Aslo already have this

Video Card - 3D Fuzion GeForce FX 5500 Video Card, PCI, 256MB DDR - I got this last year for christmas i think i dont really want to spend the money on a new one and wont be gaming so i hope it will be fine