Playing with Windows 7

I've been playing with Windows 7 RC1 for a couple of months now and I must say I'm really enjoying it. My self-build system (Pentium E6300@3.2GHz, 2Gb RAM and 320Gb HDD) is certainly powerful enough to drive it along well and the graphics card (nVidia 8600GTS) allows me to play games on it easily such as my present favourite Anno 1404.

It certainly is a 'Vista that works' and works well. It is a pity that mini-applications such as Windows Mail, Photo Gallery and Movie Maker didn't make it over into this version. Thunderbird is a great email client though and it works well on Windows 7. But how does a lower specification system perform with Windows 7?

So, I resurrected an old eMachine box based on an AMD Athlon X2 4000+ CPU at 2.1GHz with a new AsRock AM2+ motherboard but used the existing 1Gb memory and 160Gb hard disk drive. Software installation went well without any problems though the integrated VIA sound chip needed the Vista drivers from the motherboard's support CD-ROM. I also loaded the overclock utility and used that to bring the CPU to 2.3GHz.

After downloading Kaspersky's AntiVirus for Windows 7 trial there was about 68% of the memory used. Not much left over for applications to run with. A bit of trimming required. So I set the user interface style from the default Aero to Windows 7 Basic and then stopped Windows Defender. I also grabbed an extra 96Mb from the integrated video using the BIOS setup. Memory used is now 30%. Good enough for word processing, web surfing and email etc. Just to push it a bit, I installed the Anno 1404 game demo. It worked well if a bit slow on reduced details settings on the Geforce 7025 integrated graphics.

Now if only I could get rid of the faint tobacco smell from the previous owner it would be fine!

Losing my memory

I don't know why, but I've been upgrading a lot of desktops recently with additional memory. In fact I've almost run out and that is after ordering replacement parts. As soon as I get them, I sell them.

It's difficult to know what to stock. That means what to carry around with me. Speeds and capacities vary so much and often you need to add pairs of exactly similar manufacturer and specification to make sure that dual channel performance is maintained. I don't want to buy large quantities of memory parts 'just in case', especially as I leave them in my car boot overnight. However PC3200 DDR2 512Mb is useful to have enough of, and PC4200 512Mb can be used as a substitute for most Windows XP systems that are upgrading from 512Mb total capacity to 1Gb. You can then take out the original pair of 256Mb strips and use them to upgrade the next one.

I had problems with a DELL Dimension 5000 the other day which needed to be increased from 512Mb to 1Gb only I didn't have any PC3200 or PC4200 memory at all. I tried replacing what was in there with PC5300, both a pair of 512Mb and a single 1Gb. The pair didn't want to work at all, it just beeped and the single strip booted but subsequently crashed when the Windows desktop screen was almost finished displaying. Eventually I managed to recover two PC3200 256Mb strips from a DELL Dimension 5100 that I had in the workshop and that worked perfectly. Job done!

When I looked on the Crucial website (where I buy most of my memory) it said that upto PC6400 was OK in the Dimension 5100. Sure enough, two PC6400 1Gb strips were installed and worked fine. Just what I needed anyway for the Windows Vista upgrade. Strange that two systems with a similar specification and chipset should behave so differently. Probably different motherboards.

The rise of the low-end graphics card

I've become aware that relatively cheap (under £40) graphics cards can provide a great 3D graphics experience with translucency, shadows and reflections in modern games at a playable refresh rate. I've just been playing the new Anno 1404 demo on my new Windows 7 system with an ATi Radeon HD3450 (£25, 256Mb DDR2, 3Dmark06 1800) on my 1680 by 1050 resolution monitor. A bit jerky but a beautiful picture.

So let me see what I can get if I pay a bit more. Say for an nVidia 9500GT (£37, 512Mb GDDR3, 3Dmark06 5875) Over three times the performance for just £12 more. Now the game runs smoothly and pretty. What a bargain! These cards are low on power and run cool and quiet too. Without the need for extra power leads and hefty power supplies. Great for decoding and playing DVDs as well.

They are a perfect upgrade of the integrated graphics in most basic systems. They improve the Aero Glass interface in Vista and now Windows 7. My Windows Experience score for that jumped from 3.1 to 5.9 with this latest graphics card.

Low-end graphics cards used to be just for playing retro games. This new generation offers adequate performance for today's games especially if you are happy to lower the detail level slightly or the screen resolution. And your whole system could feel a lot faster as well.

Intel's new Pentium CPU

I just installed Intel's latest Pentium E6300 CPU into an Asus P5KPL-AM motherboard after upgrading to the latest BIOS 516 revision. Used an Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro CPU fan.

I added 2Gb PC5300 DDR2 memory, a WD Blue 320Gb hard disk drive and an Ati HD3450 graphics card. The installation was no problem and the system booted first time. I installed Windows 7 RC on it and I'm enjoying the performance and low noise level that the system achieves.

Then I overclocked to 3.2Ghz giving a Windows Experience CPU score of 6.5.

The 2Mb cache, higher 1066MHz FSB rate and the greater clock speed surely suit this CPU and set it apart from the other Pentium and Celeron versions.

A Core 2 Duo CPU for half the price. A great performer for the average user and basic gamer.

Personal stereo

For my forthcoming trip to Canada and USA, I decide to update my iPod with my latest albums. That all went well, but the sound through the iPod headphones seemed to be a bit poor. I researched it a bit and the comparison between a Ferrari and a Fiat caught my eye for the Sennheiser CX500 ear-buds. A good price of £18 at play.com was the decider.

What a difference! The bass sound was lower yet clearer, the mid-tones crisper and my 58 year old ears could determine the higher frequencies better. I didn't seem to turn them up as much and the noise isolating ear-canal grommets should keep the airplane jet drone away. I was satisfied with my purchase. My old 2Gb iPod Nano had a new lease of life, though the capacity was a little limited in trying to fit all my favourite albums into it.

So on a recent visit to the PCworld shop a Sansa Clip 2Gb for only £10 seemed a cheap way to allow me an alternative album selection. It is a great little MP3 player, and also sounds great through my new ear-bud headphones. The only problem I have with it is managing the playlist as it wants to play all the tracks alphabetically and not in album/track order. Apparently you can change this through Windows Media Player, so I'll play with this a bit more.

Anyway a new great-sounding portable personal stereo for just £28, not bad!

Windows 7

The parts for my Windows 7 PC arrived this week. Unfortunately the Pentium 4 3.4GHz CPU that I hoped to use was non-responding, so I had to use a 3GHz instead. With all the messing about I bent the pins in the LGA775 socket which required some delicate adjustment. Then the CPU cooler didn't remain firmly clamped to the motherboard, the CPU overheated and the PC promptly shutdown.

The 1Gb DDR2 memory gave errors at 667MHz (the slowest speed the motherboard would accept) and had to be replaced. Finally the older DVD player and writer drives wouldn't accept the 16X DVD that I'd burnt with Windows 7 RC1 on it. I had to burn another with 8X media. What a hassle! It all took hours to build into a successful, working system.

I'm enjoying the Windows 7 experience now, even running on just 1Gb memory. I have ordered an additional 2Gb anyway. I downloaded the Kaspersky AntiVirus Beta for this version of Windows and protection will last to the end of the year. By which time I will have hopefully upgraded to the released version. And I'll probably replaced the CPU with a multi-core midrange processor like the Pentium E6300.

I like the Windows 7 task bar with the Internet Explorer and Media Player icons in what used to be called the quick launch area. You definitely get more feedback on what programs are doing, downloading, waiting for input, stacked, etc. I don't really want to download Live Photo Gallery and Live Windows Mail on every installation that I do as the Windows versions are missing. As is Windows Movie Maker.

The Windows Paint and Wordpad are still delivered, but have been upgraded with a new user interface. I'll have to check whether there is additional functionality as well. I'll also have to look at the new Homegroup and Libraries as I've heard good reports about them, though you apparently can't integrate Windows XP or Vista systems into them.

I've ended up with a nice quiet system which is a bit slower than I'd had hoped for but will do to play around with the software on. The Chieftec Mesh case looks really good though, solid and shows the quality.

Here I go again....

I've one it again. Why? I've bought a new case and motherboard for a DIY computer. I must be mad!

It is Chieftec Mesh mini tower case with 350W power supply for just £45 from ebuyer. I've used Chieftec cases before and found them solid, reliable, quality cases with a good design. I'm writing this on a metallic purple, full tower Chieftec Matrix case which is presently in its second resurrection.


I've also added an Asus microATX motherboard (Asus P5KPL-AM iG31 Socket 775) to the order to house the Intel Pentium 4 3.2Ghz CPU that I have going spare. Add 1Gb DDR2 memory, a second-hand 200Gb SATA disk drive, a DVD writer plus a new ATi Radeon HD3450 graphics card that I liberated from a recent DELL purchase and I have the basis of a reasonable PC.

Now, all I need is an operating system. Well, Microsoft's new Windows 7 RC1 will run for a year, give me the opportunity to play with it and possibly upgrade to the full version when it'll be fully released later this year. That'll do fine.

So, here we go again with DIY PC. Why do I bother when I have a new DELL Vostro 220 minitower sitting in a box here? It has an Intel Pentium E5200 CPU, 2Gb DDR2 memory, DVD writer and a 250Gb hard disk drive. Windows Vista, keyboard and mouse plus one year's warranty for just over £200. I must be mad!