I want a PC like this! 24 sec XP boot!

My PC is dying slowly, it was recently throwing itself arround with blue screens, freezes, and unexplainable spontaneous reboots alot, until I wiped the Hard Drives and re-installed all ther BIOS and firmware, Windows, stripped the system, and eventually got it working again after a week by swapping the drives over and using a different sound card, and an exhaust fan cooling the heatsink on the graphics card. It's now living on a prayer, the wing fell off ages ago!

So I need a new PC. And as I have a budget, and a relatively average pay up to now (I got a new job), I have a budget of roughly $300 - £600.

Well, AMD have captured my heard with their value for money and long lasting robust CPUs, but then again they are relatively behind with the recent multi core driver issues they had recently (they had to install new drivers, to fix problems with their CPUs, which in turn degraded performance by up to %20 for Windows users). But now that problem is over with their new Chips coing out this year, although it seems that Intel is blazing ahead of them, especially with their new "Skulltrail" Dual Socket Mainboard/chipset project, which Ironically used borrowed theoretical ideas from AMD. Not too mention Intel's hinting of Octa-Core CPUs (yes 8 Core Processors). I guess you got the picture, two Eight Core Processors in one (Hell of a)Gaming Machine!

But me building an Intel based system would be way too much cost, even at the Pentium 4 level.

so Now I'm visiting different sites like Tekheads.com, Novatech.com www.IT-Buy.co.uk, eurowide-pc.co.uk, overclockers.com, and any sites that sell the cheapest gear!

It's hard work, but I'm also looking for the best value,and best performance without assuming any product is the best just because it's a well known brand, and also working out what would work best with what, and make the computer components streamlined, and one thing people forget most, some good, quiet and fast hard drives, which I think I'll make parralel with a RAID-0 configuration (I heard that works best). RAID is two hard drives working in unison as one drive, having one backing up the other as it goes, ensuring immediate live recovery of corrupted data and hardware faults, sort of like how you'd have a backup generator for an airport or mall. Apparently seems to make it faster too, as I've read & seen in many places, including here: YouTube - XP 24 sec boot up, 27 sec winamp launched.

So anyway, I'm not sure if, because of this being a big year for growing and emerging technology and computer gaming technologies, I'm not sure if I should make a halfway house machine that'll be just about able to play Crysis, or a beast with a budget, then have no money to buy something superior later this year.

All I know is that currently I can just about run WoW, for crying out loud, and that I probably will not have a lot of time for PC games, even though I'm now working at HMV. Especially with all those Unfinished PS2 games I have, and a severe addiction to random web surfing with one or two hour doses of news sites and Facebook daily. Yeah Facebook is fun, but sometimes repetitive and mundane, but it's Applications feature is rich with mini games & quizzes that you can play with your friends, no matter what PC they have, even with friend while they are at work when they get bored, things are quiet, or are on the eternal "lunch break".

When I play online, it's rare to be playing with anyone I personally know, and difficult to think at time "I wish I had an XBOX 360 to play with that friend of mine with a headset". But then, of course, which other friends would I know who could even afford one with the games we'd like to play, let alone the time, and possibility that we both have the same time off at one point of the month to play together, or just go to the pub instead (unless of course they have used all their beer money by buying an XBOX 360 with COD4 and an internet connector and headset, with a connection subscription to the online gaming, communication, and download services.

What's more expensive?
What's more fun?
What's going to last longer?
Who's gonna have the time or money to play with me, assuming they share the same opportune time of day to play with me?

I dunno!

I still have a rip off "sounded like a good deal at the time" Now with added hidden VAT" phone bill to pay, debts with barely justifiable extra charges and stealth interest rates, and nagging parents who are never satisfied with how much housework and money managing I need to do. Sheesh!

If they saw me with an XBOX 360, i'd be forced to use it in my room on a 14 inch CRT telly with one speaker, and maybe my surround DVD system if I can be bothered to extend the speaker range with the extra wires I got.

And on the subject of my 5.1 surround system,
I cant arrange the speakers in any decent positions, meaning not too realistic surround, in a room with furniture layout that would not be logical or helpful in any other arrangement.
Let me explain:
Firstly, I have a inexcusable ban from putting holes of any kind in the newly painted and smoothed plasterboard walls, an unhelpful factor that partly means it's not physically possible to attach the speakers on to any of the wall wall corners. Just placing them on top of something which is permanantly fixed in the corner is either impossible or pointless to do. like my like my wooden bed and it's integrated curved headboard, my huge, floor to ceiling, home built, corner filling wardrobe, that is now permanently part of my wall, which is connected to and part of my wooden home built corner desk for my computing & printing and occasional doodling and drawing, which is not so bad, but I need some sort of stand or something to raise the speaker above my PC tower or monitor depending on what's where at the time.
I've become accustomed to using my Surround system's headphone socket with my headphones because of this anyway.

So, what do I do?

Maybe my parents are right, I should sell stuff, I am a hoarder, my dad emptily bet me I would sell a thing before buying a new PC...

We'll see...

Snoogans!

Apple Updates it's iTunes intaller. Now with Spyware & a Browser

Mozilla CEO blasts Apple for putting security of the internet at risk | Channel Register

Apple Update...

is secretly installed under your nose, boots up with windows, has been known to take up considerable system resources, and also ensures that all iTunes and Quicktime compatible media files are opened with iTunes and quicktime, and without the user's consent.

Like Spyware, it installs itself, runs itself on every startup, is tricky to configure and remove, and also writes to the system registry, automatically overwriting any other file association settings you already had set, every time you reboot.

iTunes...

is great, it organises your music, and simplifies searching and cetegorizing. But aside from that it's hoards RAM, changes anything that is not MP3 to ACC without you wanting it to, and will only work with external devices and drives called iPhone, and iPod/iPod Mini, and iPod Touch.

Now, Steve, why would anyone be remotely interested in installing your over-decorated, over simplified, minimalistic Safari web browser, when your downloads effectively install update software that is, effectively, Spyware, and have a media player that wants you to spend money on media players with screens that are nearly pointless for watching videos without squinting, having to hold it up with your hands (no kickstands on iPods)?

It may be an improvement in free services and applications for Apple customers, but not an improvement in people who have lost their trust in your software.

If Microsoft did this, everyone would end up buying more PS3s and Linux PCs/EePCs.

But It is good to have a laptop that looks like it can easily be delivered in a household UK post box or used as a table mat.