CPCUG Build Team

October 1999 Seminar

Answers to Selected Audience Questions

BACKUP:

Q1. External back-up devices (Zip, Jaz, etc.) any recommendations?

A1. See the Slide presentation for coverage of this area. The above items are good, as are CD-R, CD-RWs, and an assortment of tape drives. It all depends on your critical needs, your budget, and how quickly you need to recover from a loss of data.

Q2. Would you speak a lot more about backup devices and their advantages and disadvantages. Is there software to automatically backup every day (or week) and would it work with all backup devices?

A2. This is the subject best covered by reading article length treatments, not a quick answer here. Seems there have been Monitor articles. Because, like so many of these questions, the answer depends on what you want to use it for and how much you want to spend. Some people use tapes on every system. One approach could to to backup the entire system once a week and backup data files to an LS-120/Zip disk every other day. Backup to a server is another option.

Backup Exec for W9x includes the capability.

CDROM:

Q3. With CD-R, do you write multiple times until the CD is full, but only once over any given surface area?

A3. CD-R you write in one burst. You "close" the session and forever lock out the ability to write to the CD-R. However, with some software, you can write several times to the CD-R, until you perform a "close" operation which locks it in. With CD-RW you use much more like a typical hard disk with the ability to reuse the media.

Q4. I have heard that software manufacturers will start selling their products in DVD. That, without knowing the future, it would be safer when buying a new system to have a CD-ROM/DVD slot.

A4. There are only about 10 titles available on DVD. CDs drives are now so cheap, why worry. Just add a DVD when you need one for a software title or replace the CD. Or just buy the latest DVD, since it can read CD-ROM and CD-Rs. But a $25 CD will do you just as well as a $100 DVD.

CHIP TECHNOLOGY:

MOTHERBOARDS:

Q5. Does integration of peripherals drivers onto the motherboard mean having to buy a new motherboard when any part breaks?

A5. I think you mean "peripheral controllers" and the answer is yes and no. For example, a motherboard has video built-in. But if one installs a video controller, the on-motherboard video controller "goes away" and the in-slot video card takes over. Also consider that on motherboard controllers are more reliable due to the elimination of connections and the greater reliability of soldering.

Q6. How long does a clock battery last? Mine is 9 years old!

A6. You are ahead of the game -- by about 3 times the average.

Q7. When would you put more than one processor on a motherboard?

A7. When you are using a multiprocessing operating system that supports multi processing (usually symetric multiprocessing) when the OS supports the MP well (NT 4 does, LINUX doesn't yet) and when using two processors gives you more CPU cycles at a lower cost than a larger single processor. A twice as fast single CPU will be faster than 2 half-as-fast CPUs.

Q8. If you go with EIDE, but want a couple SCSI devices, any problems to consider?

A8. None other than price. SCSI and IDE can peacefully coexist in today's modern motherboards.

Q9. Slot 1 vs PPGA CPU. Should one get the PPGA CPU (Celeron) or avoid the slot 1 since the slot 1 is being discontinued?

A9. Buy a Slot 1 and you can use a Celeron, Pentium-II or some Pentium IIIs up to certain speeds. Buy a PPGA motherboard and you can use a Celeron or some Pentium III CPUs again only up to a certain speed.

As an editorial, unless you use a software package that uses the P-III SIMD instructions to advantage, the Celeron is a much better buy.

Q10. Can a PPGA CPU fit onto a Slot 1 motherboard?

A10. Yes with a ~$25 adapter board.

I/O PORTS:
Q11. Are USB ports on cards or do they have to be "built in?"

A11. USB ports are available on add-in cards but modern motherboards almost all have them built in.

Q12. What is the minimum SCSI board to use?

A12. Depends on what you anticipate using the SCSI controller for in its lifetime. The minimum SCSI level you should buy new is SCSI-II Fast. But that isn't the fastest transfer rate available, nor the most devices hooked to the controller. The Ultra2 Wide offers faster rates and more devices.

But then you get into 50 pin and 68 pin and 80 pin connectors. And some controllers are actually 2 controllers on one board.

.OS SOFTWARE:

Q13. How badly will ATX and ACPI mess up a Linux base operating system? (I'm thinking of Windows over VMWare over Linux).

A13. Buy a Linux PC from a manufacturer who specializes in Linux and who understands the supported hardware list and can help you with the installation; or seek the help of a Linux user and a lot of newsgroup research. And the supported hardware depends on the "distribution" you use and/or how adept you are at finding and installing device drivers

However, ATX standards will not affect current versions of Linux, especially since this is the predominant standard for today's cases and motherboards. Additionally, ACPI will have no impact, since Linux, like UNIX, doesn't use the motherboard's BIOS for operation of the peripheral devices.

MODEMS:
Q14. Which modem manufacturers do you like? Which internal and which external brands? Or is one make about as good as another?

A14. The difference doesn't seem to be as great as it once was. That said, some people like to buy only USR brand. Internal versus external is something that some people care about; it all depends if you like to see the lights flicker. The latest new modem feature is call-waiting, advertised that you can receive or make a call and keep your Internet connection. No idea if it works.

VIDEO CARDS and MONITORS:

Q15. If you use a 820 chipset, have you "fixed" the amount of video memory?

A15. If you buy a motherboard with integrated video, you can add another video card later, most likely a PCI version. Remember Windows 98 supports dual monitors which means at least one video display has to be PCI-based.

Q16. Recently, I've noticed on my monitor that when I drag a window, ghost images follow it and catch up when I stop dragging. Before, that never happened. I don't have multiple windows open. Only additions recently were Juno Release 3, NetZero, and IE-4. My PC is, in my opinion, lightly loaded.

A16. This is a software configuration question, check the settings on your Display Properties.

Q17. Can I use my current monitor (17", bought in 1997) on a new PC?

A17. Yes

Q18. If you use an 820 chip set, are you then "fixed" as far as video upgrades?

A18. See A15.

DRIVES:

Q19. Dell offers a 20 gig hard drive at 5400 rpm only $65 more than a 13 gig hard drive, but a 7200 or 7400 rpm. Does the difference in rpm make any difference?

A19. Desktop hard drives come in 5,400, 7,200 and 10,000 RPM versions. So what is the best configuration? It depends on what you want to do with your system and your budget. With multiple drives, you put the OS on one drive and store seldom used files on the other. It may be possible to notice a difference loading programs between the two drives. But it is in fractions of a second. How important is that split second to you? Is it really needed? Probably not.

Q19A. Isn't it worth the $65 for 7 extra gigs?

A19A. It depends on your needs. You answer that.

Q20. Ed said, "an ATA66 in a DMA66 slot will run at 66." How do you get an ATA66 HD to actually run at "66"?
A20. Motherboards that conform to the ATA66 spec have white 40 pin headers to receive the special 80 conductor IDE cables; ATA33 specs call for black 40 pin headers to receive the 40 counductor IDE cables. You can also get a PCI plug-in card to drive four ATA66 hard drives. Some ABit motherboards have both ATA66 and ATA33 slots permitting a whopping 8 IDE drives. Some operating systems require additional drivers to activate the ATA66 ports.

Q21. Any preferences for hard drives? Western Digital, Seagate, Maxtor?

A21. We've all seen drives from each maker fail within the last few months. All will be repaired under an RMA by the manufacturer. See the Links page for web sites of the top hard drive manufacturers.

MEMORY:
Q22. If we use a home computer for word-processing, spreadsheets, Internet surfing (no games), is there any advantage to adding to my 64MB memory?

A22. No, assuming you are pretty much doing one thing at a time. 64MB is the current sweet spot. At the same time, a person who has lots of things loaded might benefit from 128 MB because they wouldn't have to page things out of memory and onto the swap file.

Q23. Please comment on memory error control. (I have parity ram on my existing machine and learned I had made the right choice, especially as memories get larger).

A23. While parity or ECC may be better, it really depends on the value of your data and if you do backups. We've heard stories of people having memory errors but awfully few compared to the number of systems that are out there. Keep in mind that there are many data paths in your current computer that aren't protected by any parity mechanism. Like possibility is after the memory has been read and before its sent to the processor.

Server class machines demand better. Most people put nothing but ECC memory that has been approved by the motherboard maker. It's also a lot more expensive. And you have to have a motherboard that supports it and software to read the BIOS registers to monitor it.

Most home systems run very well with non-parity memory.

PRINTERS:

SCANNERS:

CASES:
Q24. Is a 5 year old full tower case likely to be still usable?

A24. It is probably an AT form factor and has a AT power supply. An ATX motherboard will not work with the AT case. In one case someone had a very smart electrical engineer spend four weeks trying to reuse a $600 case and a $550 power supply they had 100 of. They couldn't!

SOUND:
Q25. I have a 4 1/2 year old Pentium 100. The speakers (including a sub-woofer) are Altec Lansings. Any problem with using them with a new computer?

A25. No.

NETWORKS:
Q26. Am building a new house -- what advantages to install fiber optics?

A26. Depends on the lifestyle you envision and you skills in cutting and installing fiber connectors. Why not use conduit where you could easily install whatever emerges in the future; install Cat 5 wire today, and if you out grow it, use the cable to pull the fiber later.

Q27. Any recommendations for network card? 3Com, Intel, Linksys, or ... ?

A27. 3Com and Intel are perhaps the most popular. Some of us use NetGear products.

OTHER:

Q28. How do you get surge and lightening protection on ATX and ACPI systems? (I use double surge protectors and turn both off to prevent lightening jumping the switch like once happened to me).

A28. The same way you do now. A better method would be to use a Uninterrupted Power Source (UPS).

Q29. How can you check for updated prices -- for memory, cpu, etc. Is there a website?

A29. Look at ads in the newspaper. Some web sites also offer help: www.pricewatch.com and www.killerapp.com
etc.

Q30. One option Dell offers is an FM/TV feature for $85. Does that turn your whole monitor into a TV, or just a window in the monitor?

A30. Don't know, ask Dell. Most likely just a window based on the ads we've seen.

APPLICATIONS:

Notice: The above answers are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of CPCUG nor the CPCUG Build Team.  They may not even be the right answers.

Last Updated:  06 Nov 1999