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HP LaserJet PCL XL Error

donna — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:55:31 +0000

While I personally think that HP makes some of the best printers in the world, sometimes you will get an error message similar to the one below

PCL XL Error
* Subsystem: KERNEL
* Error: IllegalOperatorSequence
* Operator: SetColorSpace
* Position: 52

Cause of the Problem

The error is caused by a corrupted printer driver, specifically the PCL driver. PCL is the page description language that the laser jet printer uses to ‘draw’ the printed page. Without this driver working, the printer doesn’t know what to do with the data it is being sent.

How to Fix the Problem

There are several ways to fix the problem.

Directly connect to the printer

If you are using a network connection to a print server, disconnect that connection and connect the printer directly to your computer. Try printing the document again to see if it works. If not continue to the next step.

Disable High Speed and other Advanced Features

Every HP printer has an electronic control panel with several manual buttons on the printer itself. Go to the printer and perform the following actions:

Press the MENU key display the I/O MENU
Press the ITEM key until you see Parallel High Speed = Yes
Press the VALUE key to change the value to Parallel High Speed = No
Press the SELECT key until an asterisk is displayed as shown Parallel High Speed = No*
Press the ITEM key until you see Advanced Functions = On in the printer display
Press the VALUE key until the value changes to Advanced Functions = Off.
Press the SELECT key and until an asterisk is displayed as shown Advanced Functions = Off*

Try to print your document again. If it doesn’t fix the problem continue to the next step.

Update your Printer Drivers

If the drivers have become corrupted or accidentally deleted you need to restore them to working condition. Since you are going to need to reinstall the drivers, you might as well upgrade to the latest version for that machine.

You can visit the HP website, download the latest drivers and install them on your computer.

You should be able to print your document now. If not, you may have a hardware failure. The best way to troubleshoot a hardware problem is to follow the directions in your user’s manual.

What is a Physxloader.dll Error?

donna — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 03:09:36 +0000

The Physxloader is a module of the NVIDIA Ageia PhysX driver used by several model lines if NVIDIA graphics cards. These drivers bring real time video effects to a program, usually a game that allows everything to look more realistic. Windows 7 does not support the Physx drivers. The good thing is that they don’t get this error. The bad thing is that also don’t get the great graphics performance this technology brings to gaming and other video applications.

You may receive the following errors:

Physxloader.dll Not Found
“This application failed to start because physxloader.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.
Cannot find physxloader.dll
The file physxloader.dll is missing
Cannot start a required component is missing: physxloader.dll. Please install [Game APPLICATION] again

Sometimes the errors pop up at startup and at others times during the heat of game play.

Fixing the Physxloader.dll Problem

Most problems are caused by the driver files getting corrupted. The easiest way to repair the error is to uninstall the drivers, reboot the machine and then reinstall the drivers.

Perform the following steps:

Click Start -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs
Scroll to the NVIDIA PhysX driver software
Select Uninstall
Restart the computer

You should also remove the files from the startup configuration by performing the following steps

Click Start -> Run
Type msconfig and Press Enter
In the System Configuration Utility that opens, locate NVIDIA related software under the Startup tab
Clear the check box next to NVIDIA files
Click OK to restart your system

Conclusion

Since most applications tend to leave various fragments of themself behind even after they are uninstalled, you should now run a good registry cleaner to remove these items. When that has been completed, you can reinstall the latest versions of the drivers and start enjoying your games again.

What is Kernel Memory Corruption?

donna — Fri, 28 May 2010 03:48:41 +0000

If you have ever experienced the blur screen of death, then you have most likely been a victim of kernel memory corruption. Figuring out what happened is almost like solving a crime. The bad guy did the damage and is long gone leaving you to clean up the mess and salvage whatever you can salvage.

As we discussed before, kernel memory corruption can be caused by either hardware of software problems but it is usually the result of a poor quality or incorrect device driver. There are several tools available to help diagnose and repair these problems.

Let’s look at the memory architecture so you can understand what is actually happening in that mysterious memory world where the players are like ghosts that you know are there but never really can see.

Most drivers run in high memory in either the paged or non paged memory pool. A pool is just a block of addresses reserved for a specific purpose. Data residing in paged memory may be ion the RAM or it may on the hard drive in the memory swap file. Data residing in non-paged memory is always in the RAM. The picture below shows the allocation table for a block of memory.

Of course this picture means nothing to most people.

Each row is a bock of memory that has been allocated to specific data. Notice the last one is marked as free which means any application that is allowed to write to this part of the memory can use this block for its data. Each block is marked with an four character identifier called a tag that and the size of the data. The memory manager uses this information to find the requested data.

The most common error caused by poor driver software is for the program to write to it allocated block and then write to the next block overwriting data that belongs to someone else which causes an immediate crash With the stop error code similar to STOP 0x0000001e

If the memory manager tried to read the memory location later, it will probably crash with one of the following error codes:

Bug Check 0×19: BAD_POOL_HEADER

Bug Check 0xC2: BAD_POOL_CALLER

Windows 7 has added a guard page that is similar to the guard bands used in digital transmission. It is a small area of memory that no process can write to so that if a faulty driver overflows its memory block, the system won’t crash.

How to fix the Problem

There are tools that can go in and remove bad data, mark bad sectors in RAM “bad” so no process attempts to write to them. For the professional these are a good investment but for the rest of us. A hard reboot, which means a complete shutdown, should clear all memory blocks. If it doesn’t then there is some other problem with the memory.

As cheap as memory is today, it makes more sense to take your RAM chips to a dealer and have them tested. If they have any bad blocks, replace them.

After you install your new memory, run a good registry cleaner, cleanup and then defrag your hard drive. Next update all of the hardware drivers to the latest versions and your computer should run good as new.

How To Make Your PC Ready for Blu-Ray

donna — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:42:45 +0000

Apparently Sony Corporation did learn from it past mistakes. It lost the Beta versus VHS format war, not because its beta product was inferior but because Sony refused to license its technology to other manufacturer’s so they could build hardware for it. The high-definition video war is over and Blu-ray is the undisputed winner.

Now that the war is over, many PC owners want to add Blu-ray capability to their PCs. If you are running Windows 7 or Mac OS/X, you are all ready to add Blu-ray since both of those operating systems support Blu-ray.

First Decision

Even if your operating system supports Blu-ray, your hardware may not. The Blu-ray drive uses SATA to connect to your motherboard. The important thing to check is to see if your graphics card and monitor are HDCP compliant. HDCP stands for High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection created by Intel to prevent pirating while the content is dent over DVI or HDMI connections between a source and a receiver.

So if either your graphics (the source) or your monitor (the receiver) fails the HDCP test, you will still get a signal but it won’t be high definition and you will have wasted your money.

Second Decision

If your hardware supports Blu-ray, then your second decision is whether to buy a Blu-ray player or a burner. Players are cheaper but only let your play the disks. Burner will give you the ability to create all varieties of Blu-ray, DVD and CD disks including dual layer disks. With 25GB storage on a single layer disk and 50 GB on a dual layer disk, the storage capacity is inviting. At the moment, single layer disks run around $3 each and dual layer disks around $10 each.

Third Decision

You will also need software to run your Blu-ray player or burner. Both Windows 7 and the Mac OS/X have built in software capable of Blu-ray playback. However, for burning or ripping, you will most likely want to purchase a commercial application like Cyberlink’s Power DVD Ultra or Nero.

Recommendation

If your hardware supports Blu-ray but your operating system doesn’t, you really should consider upgrading to Windows 7 or Max OS/X. I did read about some tweaked drivers available for Windows XP, but no one seems to be having much luck getting them to work right.

How Can You Fix Virtual Memory?

donna — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:06:27 +0000

What is Virtual Memory and What Does it Do?

When people talk about computer memory they are talking about the amount of RAM (Random Access Memory in your computer. Ram is what the processor uses to store data while it is processing it. It is very fast electronic memory and is much more expensive than hard disk space.

When a computer starts up it loads the operating system into RAM. Then when it opens an application, it loads the application’s code and any files the applications needs into RAM as well. It will continue doing this until it runs out of space in the RAM. After that is starts using a special file on the hard drive called pagefile.sys as virtual memory.

When the processor runs out of room in the RAM, it moves data that is not currently being used into the page file so it can load what the application needs at the moment into RAM. The operating system swaps data into and out of the virtual memory as needed. Some files such as the operating system files cannot be swapped into virtual memory but
almost everything else can.

The most common virtual memory problem that you might experience is the “your system is low on virtual memory” error message.

Causes of the Problem

There are several reasons why you might get this error message such as:

The maximum size of the page file is too small.
You do not have enough free space on the hard drive to continue writing to the page file. The page file will expand each time new data is written to it until it reaches it maximum allowed size.
The page file has become corrupt.
Some applications do not release memory properly when they shut down so the system might not “see” the available space.

How to fix the problem

Let’s look at each of the possible causes individually to see what you need to do in each case to resolve the problem.

Some applications do not release memory properly

Rebooting the system will correct this problem.

The maximum size of the page file is too small

1. Click on Start ->Control Panel ->System. Next, click on the Advanced tab to open the system properties dialogue box shown below:

2. Next, click on Settings button under Performance. When that window opens, click on the Advanced tab. You will get the window below:

3. Click on the Change button under Virtual Memory. The dialogue box below will appear:

4. As you can see, I have chosen the let Windows manage my virtual memory. That is usually the best thing to do because windows will try to optimize its use of virtual memory.

5. If System managed size is not selected, click on the radio button to select it and then click on the Set button.

6. Close the windows and reboot your computer.

7. The error message should not appear again.

8. If the System managed size was already selected, then you probably have one of the other problems.

The page file has become corrupt

1. Go to the “C” drive. If the hidden files are not visible, open My Computer and click on Tools -> Folder Options on the menu and select Show hidden files and folders as shown below:

2. Then Click OK.

3. Go back to my computer and delete the pagefile.sys file.

4. Reboot the computer.

5. The system will recreate the page file and everything should work correctly.

6. If not, you have a different problem.

You do not have enough free space on the hard drive

1. Open Windows Explorer or My Computer and right click on the “C” Drive and select Properties. A window like the one below will appear:

2. You need at least 4GB of free space, preferably more or windows cannot write to the paging file. If there is less than 4GB available, click on the Disk Cleanup button.

3. If there is still less than 4GB of free space, you need to delete unnecessary files from the “C” drive until you have enough free space.

4. Then reboot the computer.

5. The error message should not reappear.

Summary

You should periodically run the disk cleanup to prevent the hard disk from getting filled with unnecessary files. Installing the maximum amount of RAM that your operating system can address which is 4 GB in a 32-bit operating system and more on 64-bit operating systems.

How To Format Your Hard Drive

admin — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:55:53 +0000

Step 1 – Back up your data

You must backup all of the files you created or any other data you can’t afford to lose no matter where they are stored on the hard drive. When you format the hard drive, it will erase EVERYTHING on the hard drive. So backup up everything you don’t want to lose to DVDs or a second hard drive. Personally, I use a second hard drive and backup everything. That way I don’t lose anything. If I have enough room I will save the files uncompressed. If not, I save each top level folder as a zip file.

Step 2 – Print out your hardware configuration

It’s always useful to know exactly what hardware devices you have installed on your computer. You may need this information to find drivers for the hardware especially if you can’t find the original installation CDs.

The easiest way to print out you hardware configuration is to:

Open the Control Panel
Select the System icon
Chose the Hardware tab
Click on Device Manager
Select Action -> Print from the top menu

Step 3 – Shut down and Reboot from the windows installation CD

You must do the formatting from the CD. If you are not sure how to boot from your CD, check you computer’s user manual. If you can’t find it and it doesn’t tell you on the black boot up screen, go to the motherboard (or computer if it a name brand) manufacturer’s website and download a pdf version of your user manual. You cannot boot from your C drive because we are going to delete that partition.

Step 4 – Start the windows installation

I am using windows XP screen captures for this article. The screens may be slightly different with windows 2000 or vista. When the screen below appears, press Enter.

Follow the onscreen directions. At some point you will get to the screen shown below

Press Enter. The screen shown below will appear.

Using the down arrow key, highlight the Format the partition using the NTFS file system option
Press Enter to continue

The install program will now format your hard drive. When that is finished follow the on screen prompts to install a fresh new copy of windows.

Step 5 – Install hardware drivers

You now need to install all of the drivers for your hardware. The most important one will be the driver for your network card so you will be access the internet. As long as that one is working you will be able to download all of the others if you can’t find them. You can use the hardware print out to make sure you don’t forget to install any drivers. When you finish installing all of your hardware drivers, test you hardware to make sure that it is working. Test the printer, scanner, speakers, sound, camera, microphone, etc to make sure that everything is working properly. Go online and download any missing drivers and install them. When everything is working, go to the nest step.

Step 6 – Update windows

Either click on the update windows icon or go to Microsoft’s website, and select your version of windows and select update. Your system files will be updated with the latest patches.

Step 7 – Install all of your applications

After you windows operating system is updated to the latest service pack, it’s time to install all of your applications using the original installation CDs. This can take anywhere from several hours to several days depending on how many applications you have to install. After you install the applications make sure they are working properly. They should be.

The reason I told you to wait until after you did the windows update to install your applications was just in case a newer version of a dll one of your applications needs was installed during the update process. By waiting you will install the one your application needs to work properly.

Step 8 – Restore your files

If everything else is working properly, you can now copy all of the files you created back to your hard drive. You have a fresh install of both your windows operating system and all of your applications. Do not copy any system or application files…only the files that you created or downloaded.

Congratulations, you have successfully formatted your hard drive and reinstalled windows and all of your applications. Now take yourself out for a treat.

eMachines T5246 Review

admin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:22:17 +0000

The eMachines T5246 is its latest entry into the budget priced desktop market. This low priced PC has a good storage capacity and good expansion options, but the graphics capability, power supply and small monitor are less than optimal.

System Specifications

The T5246 is one of the most expensive of the budget desktops currently being offered by the personal computer manufacturers. Even so at an average price of $620 for a complete system, it is not exactly a luxury item. None of the major manufacturer’s like HP or Dell compete well in the lower priced desktop market. This specific model will give you everything you might want in a basic desktop machine and with that in mind, it is a good buy for the money. The machine is fully capable of running windows vista since it comes with 2 BG of RAM and a dual core processor.

	eMachines T5246
Average Price	$620
CPU	2.21 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
Memory	2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics	128 MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 6150SE
Hard drive	400 GB, 7,200 rpm
Optical drive	16x dual-layer DVD burner
Operating system	Windows Vista Home Premium

The T5246 is a pre-built retail system available in only one configuration, you can’t mix and match components before you buy it, which is really a shame. The T5246 comes with a 2.2-GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ CPU and two sticks of 1 GB PC2-5300 memory for 2 GBs total mounted on a Gateway motherboard with integrated nVidia GeForce 6150SE nForce 405 graphics. The 400 GB Western Digital Caviar hard drive is a reasonable amount of storage in today’s climate where everyone downloads both video and audio files and is the largest hard drive available from a vendor in this price range.

The T5246′s black-and-silver mini-tower case is a no-frills design with no front panel to cover the external drives and connectivity ports. The other specifications for the system have not changed much over the past few years. There is the standard DVD/CD combo burner and a memory card reader to transfer files from camera and other portable devices.

The T5246 is fast enough to play web based games and most of the less graphic intensive PC based games. But the 17-inch, $190 eMachines E17T4W LCD monitor with 1280 by 720 native resolution that comes included in the price of the system has only a VGA input.

While not fantastic, the computer scores the highest in all tests for running normal applications and performing multitasking operations associated with standard business applications of any desktop in the under $750 class.

Its lack of a 3D graphics card will limit your ability to play high-end 3D games. There is a free PCI express slot available but the power supply can only accommodate the most basic 3D video cards. So this machine is not for the serious gamer.

The eMachines has a multifunction keyboard and a ball driven mouse included. Gateway’s setup guides and online documentation for this system are helpful and well done, and a final plus is the addition of a small set of dual speakers.

eMachines’ customer service and technical support policies are typical for this product category. One year of parts and labor warranty is all that is provided and that is also typical in this class computer. You also get the BigFix application used by eMachines and Gateway systems, which is a pretty decent diagnostic program that keeps you informed about the health of the hardware and what to do if there is a problem. They also provide generous support hours, which run from 5 a.m. to 12 a.m. (PT), seven days a week. However, there is no toll free number. You will have to pay for the call. You can also find various help documents on eMachines’ Web site.

Conclusion

The T5246 is a full-fledged Windows Vista PC for less than $700 and comes with the largest hard drive in its price category. It is a very good budget desktop, with pretty much every feature you’d want in a day-to-day PC. It features can do everything the average PC user needs. Unless you want to upgrade its components or are a serious gamer, you won’t go wrong for the price.

Computer Randomly Restarts By Itself?

admin — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:21:28 +0000

By default, all windows operating systems since NT have rebooted when it encounters a fatal system STOP error. A stop error may or may not cause the machine to Blue Screen. The Blue Screen of Death is actually a protective measure designed to prevent critical systems from be corrupted by two processes trying to write to the same memory location simultaneously.

This article will look as some of the common causes of STOP errors and how to fix them. Some common causes of computer restarts in addition to a memory record not being locked are:

Memory slot contacts are dirty or you have bad sectors on a memory stick
CPU overheating
Boot sector virus
Bad device driver (can involve any device driver installed on the computer)
Bad motherboard
Bad Power supply

Common Bad Device Driver Example

Symptoms – The computer restarts unexpectedly when you are browsing the internet. The system probably displayed the blue screen of death but sometimes it only displays for a fraction of a second and you didn’t have time to read let alone write down the error messages.

Causes - A broadband cable modem or ASDL subscriber line modem is using drivers that have caused a fatal system STOP error and the Automatically restart check box is selected under system failure in the Startup and Recovery dialog box located under system properties.

Solution – The first thing you need to troubleshoot this problem is to turn off the automatic rebooting for STOP errors. Use the following steps to turn it off:

Restart the computer.
When the machine POSTS, Press F8
Select Safe Mode using the arrow keys in the resulting menu and press enter
When the machine boots, open the control panel and select System. Click on the advanced tab.
Under Startup and Recovery, select settings.
Under system failure, uncheck Automatically restart. Click OK and the reboot the machine normally

Next, try to browse the internet. If you receive another stop error, write down the information and look it up in the Microsoft knowledge base at http://support.microsoft.com. Usually what you need to do is get the latest drivers for your modem and install them. You may have to use another machine and copy them to your flash drive.
If updating the driver’s doesn’t solve the problem, you will need to contact the modem manufacturer or your ISP.

Memory Problem Example

Symptoms – There are three specific situations you may encounter:

The computer does not Post or Posts but reboots on startup.
The computer restarts unexpectedly during different types of activities.

Cause - There are two primary causes: there is a bad sector on one of the memory sticks or the motherboard connections for the memory stick are dirty.

Solution 1- Dirty Connections – remove the memory sticks, use a soft white eraser to clean the chip contacts and blow off any particles left by the eraser. Next, use a soft dry brush to clean the memory slots on the motherboard. Use compressed air to remove any residue from the slot. Reinstall the memory sticks and reboot the computer. If cleaning doesn’t work, try solution 2.

Solution 2 – Bad Memory Sectors – if you have more than one memory chip, try rebooting with each individual chip separately (make sure you put it in slot 1). If one of the chips is bad, the computer should boot with a good chip. If you only have one chip, take it to a computer store and have it tested. If the memory chip is bad, replace it.

Overheating

Symptoms – the machine will shut down if it overheats. The temperature for shut down can be configured in the machines BIOS settings.

Cause – normally caused by a weak or bad CPU or case fan.

Solution – I recommend always replacing the CPU fan if the machine is shutting down for overheating. Next, examine the case fans when the system is running. If they seem sluggish or you can’t feel much air flowing, replace the fans or add additional case fans.

Boot Sector Virus

Symptoms – the machine immediately blue screens after POSTing

Cause - most boot sector viruses prevent the machine from booting

Solution – use a virus recovery write-protected floppy or CD to scan the computer and correct the problem.

Power Supply Problem

Symptoms – computer reboots intermittently and there is no specific pattern that can be found relating to activities.

Cause – mechanical or electrical failure inside the power supply.

Solution – either swap it out with a known good power supply, test the power supply with an electrical meter or take it to a shop and have it tested. If it is bad, replace it.

Bad Motherboard

Symptoms – intermittent reboots, especially if you bump or move the computer or when it has been running for a while and gets hot but not overheated.

Cause – this is usually caused a cracked trace on the motherboard. A trace is a strip of metal that acts a wire on the motherboard. Traces can crack and then when they got hot separate and cut the power to portions of the motherboard.

Solution – replace the motherboard.

Recommendation

Always make sure your system is clean before manually trying alternative fixes. Download and run an approved reg cleaner to fix any corrupt or orphaned files. We recommend RegGenie.

Gateway P-6831FX Gaming Laptop Review

admin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:48:13 +0000

This article will discuss the Gateway P-6831FX which is designed as a Gaming Desktop Replacement Laptop. Gateway has created a beautiful notebook whose materials, finish and construction are more reminiscent of much higher priced notebooks. The FX should appeal to gamers that want to be able to play on the go without losing too much gaming performance.

System Specifications

Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 Dual Core Mobile Processor
3GB PC2-5300 DDR2 Memory
250GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner with LabelFlash
17″ WXGA+ (1440×900) Wide Screen LCD with 1.3MP Webcam
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS Graphics with 512MB Memory
v.92 56Kbps Modem, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/g/n Wireless, Bluetooth 2.0
Three USB 2.0, FireWire, HDMI, eSATA, ExpressCard/54, 5-in-1 Card Reader
15.8″ x 11.8″ x 1.7″ @ 8.3 lbs.
Vista Home Premium, MS Works 9, CyberLink Power2Go, Norton Internet Security

Features

The 17 inch WXGA+ with 1440×900 resolution screen is clearly targeted at gamers because the Gateway P-6831FX is probably the cheapest laptop on the market to include the very powerful GeForce 8800M GTS graphics processor. This processor provides very good 3D graphics in conjunction with Direct X 10. However, to provide this excellent graphics processor at such a low price they had to make some sacrifices. The first one is that the LCD viewing angle is shallow and you need to be directly in front of the screen to get the best effects.

The second sacrifice is that Gateway used the older Core 2 Duo T5450 processor. This processor provides decent performance but is still slower than the newer T7000 graphics processors. The T5450 Core 2 Duo processor is a Merom-based dual core chip with 2 MB of level two cache that conforms to Intel’s 65 nm process. The 1.67 GHz processor speed combined with the 667 MHz front side bus speed is somewhat slow for a notebook designed for gaming. However, it is usually easier to upgrade a CPU than a GPU in most of today’s notebooks. In an effort to offset this deficiency, Gateway added 3 GB of PC2-5300 DDR2 running in dual channel mode so it can run well even with windows vista ultimate.

The Nvidia 8800M GTS graphics processor with 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM should let you run any of the latest games on this notebook. It comes with both HGMI and VGA outputs and has support for HDCP to allow high definition downloads. Another attractive feature for the movie buffs.

The Gateway FX series has a Socket P CPU which means there is a future upgrade path to the Intel T7000, T8000 and T9000 series CPU if you want to give the FX more power for better graphics performance.

The P-6831FX comes with a 250 GB 5400 SATA single hard drive setup that provides plenty of storage space. If you need more storage for your games or movies, the notebook also provides an eSATA storage connector for external storage.

A GB ethernet port is available and next to the WiFi mini-PCIe card is a vacant mini-PCIe slot. Bluetooth 2.0 with enhanced data rate (EDR) is included which makes it possible to use Bluetooth keyboards, mice and game controllers.

The 8x dual layer DVD burner also has the Labelflash feature for burning labels directly to compatible media…a nice addition for the movie crowd.

The manufacturer says the battery can last two hours but with heavy game playing an hour to an hour and a half is more realistic. You need to carry your AC adapter or extra batteries to do any extended game playing or movie watching

Another downside is the amount of heat produced which vents on the left side of the box which can get quite hot and might be a problem for a left handed gamer.

Conclusion

With its price tag under $1,400, it is an option for people who want excellent graphics rendering without paying an exorbitant price. For around $325 you can upgrade the CPU to the new Intel T9300 Penryn CPU which will let the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS graphics processor show its true colors. With the inclusion of a CPU upgrade, total price is still only about $1,700.

Since the price of memory keeps coming down, eventually adding faster RAM will give even better performance. If you are a gamer or movie aficionado, you owe it to yourself to take a close look at the Gateway P-6831FX. This high a quality of gaming in a notebook has never been so affordable.

The machine is also a good fit for all general purpose users. However, gamers and movie fans will probably get the most bang for their buck.

Compaq Presario V6700TX Laptop Review

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:38:46 +0000

This article will discuss what to look for when buying a Compaq notebook PC and will recommend a specific model for the individual buyer or small business owner to purchase.

Before we recommend a model, let’s look at some of the features you should take into consideration before you buy a any notebook computer.

Weight & Size – Compaq notebooks range in size .52 to 2.3 inches thick and from 3.91 to 15.5 pounds. Cost and size have a one to one ratio. In other words, the smaller and lighter the notebook, the higher the cost. If you travel a lot, get one under 6 pounds, if you only travel occasionally, 6 to 7 pounds should be fine. If you are buying the notebook as a desktop replacement, 8 pounds or more will be just fine.

Display Screen – screens are available from 12.1 to 20.1 inches wide. The more important video is to you, the wider your screen should be.

Processor - Intel® Core^TM Solo or Duo processors and AMD Sempron or Turion 64-bit processors up to 2.6 GHz are available. Gamers and graphic artists need the fastest machines.

Memory – Compaq notebooks can have up to 4 GB RAM. Gamers and graphic artists need 3 to 4 GB.

Hard Drive – hard disks are available up to 160 GB. If you are storing movies buy the largest hard drive you can afford.

Wireless Networking – Compaq notebooks are available with 802.11a/b/g/n for wireless networking and have Bluetooth capability.

DVD Drive – the notebooks are available with a DVD/CD-RW combo, 8X DVDR/RW with double layer support, LightScribe 8X DVDR/RW with double layer support and an HD DVD ROM. My choice would be the LightScribe DVDR/RW.

Operating System – Compaq notebooks are available with Windows XP Professional and all four versions of Windows Vista: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate.

Graphics Card – graphic cards are available with 128 MB to 512 MB of memory in regular and 3-D versions. The minimum amount of memory needed to use vista aero is 128 MB of RAM on the video card and additional hardware.

Batteries – both standard and high capacity batteries are available. If you are mobile a lot, get a high-capacity battery. You might even want to buy a spare.

Compaq V6700TX Series Notebooks

HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)

Memory – choice of 1 GB or 2 GB DDR2 System Memory

Graphics Card – Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

Networking – Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection with optional Bluetooth(TM)

Hard Drive – choice of a 120 GB or 160 GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard DrivePrimary CD/DVD Drive – choice of a SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support or a LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer SupportOperating system – Windows XP ProfessionalPrimary Battery – 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Dimensions 14.05 (L) x 10.12 (W) x 1 (min H)/1.69 (max H)

Weight – 5.99 lbs

AC adapter – 65W

Expansion slots – ExpressCard/54 Slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)

I/O ports – 3 Universal Serial Bus (USB 2.0), IEEE 1394 Firewire, expansion port 3, TV out (S-Video), Integrated Consumer IR (remote control receiver), 5-in-1 digital media card reader, microphone in, RJ-11 (modem), RJ-45 (LAN), VGA

Speakers – Integrated Altec Lansing stereo speakers

Conclusion

The Compaq V6700TX is a budget notebook that has plenty of computing power with its Core 2 Duo processor. It has a relativity wide touch pad with comfortable buttons, a scroll zone, and a touch-pad on/off key make surfing without a mouse is fairly easy.

Altec Lansing speakers provide excellent sound for listening to your tunes or watching movies. The 15.4″ WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display is a little smaller than I like for watching movies but the picture is very good. The array of ports can support almost any peripheral device and the ExpressCard slot makes expansion easy.

Even though it comes with XP Professional, this is my choice for a Compaq notebook. I’m a webmaster and I need fast processing speed for spreadsheets and databases as well as for good performance for graphics. In all the benchmark tests I’ve seen, Vista outperforms XP Professional only on video applications. Performance is equivalent for PhotoShop and other graphics programs and significantly worse for spreadsheet and database applications. You can always upgrade to Vista later if you want.

While this is not a machine for serious gamers or video editors, for its $899 price tag, the Compaq V6700TX notebook is an excellent value for the individual purchaser or small business owner.

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