Tong Family

Well, I’ve gotten the new power supply and it sure has helped. Here is where I am: # System runs stably at 198MHz, but won’t pass Prime95’s validation suite. Backing down the memory to 191MHz seems to make the system super stable. I’m guessing that it is the cheap RAM…

Well, I had thought that the Outlook 2003 spam filter would obviate the need for external spam filters, but either I don’t understand it or I it doesn’t work well. Basically, it doesn’t seem to work in cached mode and it seems to require you to click before it fliters…

Well, here’s what I’ve learned about really debugging a PC that is crashing. Script for future use: # Get a device count and estimate power supply requirements. Make sure the power supply is adequate to the job. Otherwise, go get another one. # Run memtest86+ overnight. Make sure the basic…

I had great hopes for this integrated graphics system. Might save me from having to buy AGP cards. Unfortunately, the data shows that a $50 AGP card easily beats it. And it is 2-3x slower than a state of the art $200 card. These kind of integrated solutions are good…

If you’re working with color pictures, getting the right color on the screen is pretty hard. Fortunately, several sites produce things called ICMs, these are used by Windows to correct colors for you. For the displays that I support, here are the ICMs. You also have to set brightness (really…

With miniturization, it’s fascinating to see all the things people are building with USB. Here’s a small summary: * “Memory + Wifi”:http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1533. Gigabyte GN-WLBZ201 and the TwinMOST “B241”:http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/69/34565.html is a USB 1.1 device (so kinda slow) with 32-256MB of flash memory plus a 802.11b card inside of it. Great idea…

Since I’ve been getting rid of these floppy drives in my machines, I was wondering what else can fit into them, here are two good candidates: * “4-Port USB Hub”:https://www.rogerssystems.com/store/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=765. $20 and it is much neater than an external hub or “SIIG”:http://www.siig.com/product.asp?partnum=JU-H41B22&category=USB. * “USB and Firewire Hub”:http://www.cables4computer.com/leftlinks/Product_Links.asp?M1=USB%20and%20Firewire&sub1=Hubs&sub2=USB. $99 and you…

“CPU Temperatures”:http://www.pantherproducts.co.uk/Articles/CPU/CPU%20Temperatures.shtml. Now with Superfan,, I can see CPU temperatures, but what’s a good temperature to run? Well, they vary by processor, but according to pantherproducts.co.uk, you should say 20 degrees C below the critical (e.g, above this I burn out) temperatures: | Processor Family | Critical | Stay Below……