Computer stuff

http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/processors/best-cpu-2011-8-reviewed-and-rated-935834

Just been messing with my ‘puter. It’s about that time to start thinking about an upgrade, and I don’t just mean a faster processor, I mean the HOLISTIC complete ENCHALADA !!!

For a start I have always had problems with MS windows everything from 3.0 to the latest crapware in Windows 7. I thought the virtual environment would mean I could run old operating systems and things. No way, and MS has a habit of channelling and diverting the customer (read consumer) into ever more complicated and expensive ways of doing things. Microsoft’s decision not to have a suitable defragmentation utility in their operating systems way back when is just one tiny instance.

Yes Mac is wonderful and so is Linux, but they all have issues and problems. What I want to do is run them all at once from the same machine if I want to. I also want to run any operating system I have ever owned just in case I want to run that application from 1992. There is an answer and you can study it in “playpen” form completely free. Even the playpen version is extremely good from my puter illiterate point of view. I am running Linux Ubuntu plus four other OS’s (not all at once) on it and all the applications run wonderfully. The support software for getting things running like monitors, hard drives, USB’s and all the peripherals like printers works seamlessly too. I will upgrade to the fully blown workstation version when I have finished finding the best and cheapest version of it. It will not be $180 or anything like it.

VM player. Free.
http://www.vmware.com/products/player/

OK, software DONE !!! (as Gordon the cook would say). Next HARDWARE. Well, I am an AMD aficionado, but the Intel stuff looks compelling. Read the article carefully though, see how AMD stuff is good, and you do need to stay focused on the whole enchilada. My watchword in all things electronic hard ware is ALWAYS BUY LAST YEARS MODEL. i.e. wait until everyone else has bought this year’s model first, then upgrade. A very important nuance and it will save you £zillions and you get a better quality product with all the crap ironed out of it. So maybe sandy bridge something or maybe AMD something. Not sure yet. I will spend a few months checking into this. The last PC I built though, an AMD quad core is running like a top and cost very little. It’s how I like um.


OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Type x64-based PC
Processor AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 640 Processor, 3000 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 1801, 26/05/2010
SMBIOS Version 2.5
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB