UBCD4Win orders update & Guide

Just wanted to let everyone know that as of 8PM EST all orders received by that time have been shipped out.  I sent out a bunch yesterday and finished up the rest today.  Thank you for your orders and waiting for the new release.

Tonight I finally found the time to finish writing up the “Guide to 3.50″ that I had promised a few days ago.  Sorry for the delay but as usual a few things came up and getting the ordered CD’s shipped out were a higher priority.  When I wrote it up I decided to make it a “page” here instead of a post.  That way it wouldn’t get lost and so I could update it much easier.  So right now the information covers pretty much all of the basics and I do plan to add more information to it in the future.  So if you have any questions that aren’t covered there, feel free to comment here.  When I have time to answer I will put the information on that page.  I really hope everyone is enjoying the new release!!  For now though, I must get to bed…….it’s been a LONG week and I am beat!

PRICE ALERT!: DDR2 Memory

I really hate to make another post today, I don’t like doing that because I want people to be able to have at least a day or two to read something and then I’ll post again.

However this time it is of utmost importance, I feel, to get the message and information out!  I do not like the media and how they “fluff” things or make situations look bigger than they really are and I’m really not trying to do this with this post.  I may possibly be overreacting but I want to get this information out.

A few days ago I was “playing” on NewEgg and I noticed that some DDR2 memory was missing from the list?  Well not really, I found it eventually but it had a higher price!!  So I poked around for a few days and haven’t seen any changes.  I contacted my supplier at MA Labs to see if she could confirm my assumption, and she did!!  DDR2 and DDR1 prices are going up.

To offer you some short term relief, I did find a pretty good deal at Buy.com yesterday.  For some decent Kingston 2GB modules, it is only $39.99 with free shipping.  PLUS, there is a $7 MIR with a limit of two.  So you can get 4 2GB sticks of memory for $79.98 up front, and get a $14 check back to you in several weeks.  This puts the memory back down to the “old” decent price that I had been purchasing 2GB Kingston sticks for.
So if you are interested, check out Buy.com here:
http://www.buy.com/prod/kingston-4gb-kit-2x2gb-pc2-5300-667mhz-ddr2-desktop-memory-modules/q/loc/101/206684925.html

There are still a few “decent” deals on NewEgg for Kingston HyperX 2GB sticks, so for a few dollars more you can get 800MHz and 1066MHz for $23 and $24 respectively.  Also there still seem to be a few Patriot, Corsair, and Crucial sticks that are right around the $20 price range.

Buy now or be prepared to pay at least $5-$10 more per 2GB stick in the near future.

Netbooks and Atom PC guide

Someone left a comment about Netbooks performance with HD content last night.  I thought about it and figured it would be a good idea to do a quick little guide on what I feel is what you should look for in a Netbook.  First I will tell you, HD content on any of the Atom computers is not good.  It’s not completely horrible but it’s also not great.  As I have explained when I talk about the Atom computer I will be selling soon on BurrowsSolutions.com, everyone at the shop owns one.  The boss bought one for home, I bought one for my youngest, and Tracey bought one to replace his old “big” AMD computer.  Since Tracey does not own a TV and watches all of his television from Hulu and other sources, that was the first thing he checked.  Performance was good for regular video but as soon as he tried HD content, it was really choppy.  So he added a 512MB PCI video card to the systems, but it really didn’t seem to make much of a difference?  It just seems these budget Atom CPU’s can’t handle HD content well and honestly they weren’t built for that.  Which is fine as long as you know that fact before you purchase.  Everything else runs very well on these systems and everyone is extremely satisfied with the general performance.
Now Netbooks on the other hand are slightly different and you have other considerations to make when purchasing one of these systems.  I do not have a lot of experience with them (haven’t seen many in the shop) however back in February I was shopping for one for the wife.  When I was shopping for it the most important aspects to me were battery life, hard drive, and OS.  First I’ll talk about the OS, I wanted XP or Vista because I don’t have the time to mess with Linux!  For the hard drive, I really wanted to get a SSD but the wife wanted space on the drive.  So I honestly lost that battle because a 16GB SSD was not big enough for her.  Finally battery life, I wanted this thing to work all day!  Now I’ll quickly mention screen size, most come with a 8.9″ screen but others have a 10.1″ screen.  The wife wanted small and I wanted more bang for the buck, I won this battle because bigger battery only seemed to come with the 10.1″ models.  So in the end for the wife, I bought her an ASUS Eee for $399.  It came with the 10.1″ screen, 160GB HDD, XP, 1GB RAM, and a 6 cell battery.  They claim 6.5 hour battery life but I have the laptop set for “performance mode” so I’m still happy with 5 hours.

So here is a quick guide to help you when purchasing a Netbook.

1. Look at some first!  I did this with the wife.  I took her to a local Staples and asked if she like them.  Important things here are the screen size, keyboard layout, and touchpad layout.  Look at the models at a local store and make sure you will be happy with a 8.9″ or 10.1″ screen.  I play with my wife’s every so often and I do like it, but it does make me miss the big 17″ screen on my laptop!!  If you have “fat” fingers, a Netbook might not be for you.  I do not have “fat” fingers but do have occasional problems when using my wife’s Netbook.  You do have to understand that you will get used to it, do not make this the “deal breaker” unless you have “fat” fingers and can not work it!  Touchpad buttons, this was something that I was a little bit of a jerk about.  The wife didn’t really care but I didn’t like it.  Some of the HP and Acer models have the touchpad buttons on the left and right of the touchpad, unlike 98% of “real” laptops out there.  I did not like this at all and wanted her to get one that had the buttons in the “standard” position, below the touchpad.
2. Battery life, most Netbooks come with a 3,4, or 6 cell battery.  With a 3 or 4 cell you normally get about 2 to 3 hours of life out of them.  I think the “key” point to one of these systems is the ability to use it ALL day.  So I really think you should opt for a model that has a 6 cell battery, that way you can use it almost all day on a single charge.
3. Screensize, most come with a 8.9″ or 10.1″ screen.  Pick one you are most comfortable with.  I personally need at least a 10.1″ because I’m used to my 17″ on my laptop and my 22″ LCD’s on my desktop.  The wife did complain a little though, because she felt she could fit a 8.9″ Netbook in her purse more easily.  So if you are a woman or purchasing for a woman, consider that.
4. OS is of course important.  You can get some pretty good deals with a system that comes with a Linux distro.  You have to be prepared to learn that distro though.  I personally do not have the time or interest in Linux, so I’ll pay the extra for XP or Vista.  Many affordable models come with XP but then a few higher priced models come with Vista.  In all honesty, I would have liked Vista on the new system but I was not going to spend $600 or more on a netbook.  Might as well buy a regular laptop for that price!!
5. Upgradability is limited on these little systems.  Most come with several USB ports, mic, headphones input, vga out, NIC, modem, Wireless, and a webcam.  Most come with 1GB DDR2 but are expandable to 2GB.  They do not come with an optical drive, so if you ever need to reinstall you will need a USB DVD drive.  Installing programs and other things to these Netbooks will require a USB flash drive or you can do it over your network.  For example, I created an ISO of the Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 CD on my desktop, copied it over the network to the netbook, installed Virtual Drive Clone on the netbook, and then install the software on the Netbook with that ISO image.  Some models though actually come with an Express card slot.  I saw several Lenovo models that had them when I was shopping and I almost bought one but they lacked other more important features so I continued shopping.
6. Warranty is the last consideration to me.  It is very important but pretty much all Netbooks have a standard 1 year warranty so that is why it is ranked low on this list.  Just beware if you are purchasing a refurb because you will probably only get a 3 month warranty.  Compare the price of a new one and a refurb carefully.  If you save $100 and it dies after 5 months, are you really going to be happy?  Then again if you save $100 and it lasts 3 years, you received one hell of a deal!

I really hope my suggestions and insight have or will help you with your purchase!  I am pretty sure you will love your Netbook!

UBCD4Win Version 3.50 released!!

Just moments ago I uploaded updated pages to the UBCD4Win site, so 3.50 has officially been released!!  Please go to the UBCD4Win site and download our latest version.

On the “news” page of the UBCD4Win site I mentioned that I would be putting together a little “guide” on 3.50 because there are a lot of changes.  Right now I am at work so that can’t happen for a few hours, but I promise to do that tonight.  For now though, download a copy and check out the “version history” page to get an idea of all the changes, additions, and subtractions.  I know you will all enjoy this new release!!  http://www.ubcd4win.com/downloads.htm

Want a new USB flash drive for only $1?

Might sound a little crazy but it’s a really good idea!  I’ve talked about doing benchmarks on USB flash drives in the past.  We’ve benchmarked a few in the UBCD4Win forum and I would really like to add to that list.  However I can’t afford to go out and buy every flash drive under the sun and I do not have a need for 100+ drives!!  Tonight I finally had the idea to do a “raffle.”  Basically here is how it will work.  Every 2-4 weeks I will start a sign up period and announce what 3 drives I will be testing.  Anyone can enter the drawing by paying $1 to me via PayPal.  At the end I will close the drawing, purchase the drives, benchmark them, and then announce the winners.  I will also take your suggestions on what drives to benchmark.  I am honestly not in this to make any money, all I want and need is the money to cover the purchase and delivery of the drives.  I am more interested in know what are the fastest USB drives out there.  So that leaves me a little torn on how to end each raffle?  Do I end it as soon as the money needed is made, which could be 3 days or 3 weeks.  Or would it be more fair to have it a set length of time?  Currently I do not have the answer for that but we will figure something out and everything will be explained.  Please send me your comments and suggestions so we can get this started soon!!

Got Money? I’ll tell you where to spend it!!

I found a couple of good deals over the last few days.  Currently Tiger Direct has a 22″ Acer LCD monitor for $149+$2 shipping, which is really the best price for a 22″ monitor.  So if you want or need a new monitor, I think you will be very happy with that one.

Then finally, NewEgg has a $10 promo code for an Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 processor.  Normally I purchase these for about $114-$119, but you can get it much cheaper for the next few days.  NewEgg offers a $2 off discount if you order 2-4 so if you purchase 2 you will only pay $107.99 for each processor!  The promo code is currently working even if you order more than one processor, so if you order 2 you should see $20 taken off. Promo code is: EMCLRMR22
We use these processors in all of our “mid range” computer builds and they are very fast and solid processors! If you are in the need of an upgrade, this processor will wow you. Everyone have a great day and when I find more deals or have news to report I will be posting it here.

Intel Atom computers

I had mentioned the possibility of selling Intel Atom computers on my site last week and several people have shown interest in them.  I found them several months ago and have been putting together at work.  All 3 of us at the shop own one and everyone we’ve sold one to seems to love them.  They are little and “cute” and are very affordable systems.  Last night I finally found the time to do a little video about the systems.  So please check out the video and feel free to comment here or email me about these systems.

2 Magazines for May??

It’s been a while since we’ve been mentioned in a magazine, so I guess being in 2 May issues makes up for it??  Regardless, if you want to check out the articles we are in PC World and MaximumPC.  Thanks to David and Randy who pointed this out to me a few days ago.  I went out and purchased the MaximumPC magazine this afternoon but have yet to find the new issue of PC World.  I really like the PC World article because they have a picture of UBCD4Win booted up.  The timing is pretty good too since we should be releasing 3.50 later this week.

My first “review” and other helpful information

I don’t know if you would really call it a review and in all honesty the quality it a bit off, but I finally did my first video for you all!  My “performance” isn’t that great, but I was rather frustrated by the end of the day after having several problems recording it.  I really don’t want to waste much of your time so I’ll just say…..the webcam in my laptop and/or the software I’m using SUCKS!!  The next video I do, which will be a “showcase” of the Atom computer I build and hope to start selling online, will be done with a real video recorder.  I really hope the wife and I can find the time to do that one tomorrow.  I do want to thank everyone for their comments and questions on those Atom systems, your interest has helped me decide to do a video on the subject.  I also want to thank a few more people who have contacted me about Super AntiSpyware lifetime licenses.  A few more have been sold and I think that I do need to add “buy now” buttons for that product on this website.  So finally, here is the video.  I do not have the BurrowsSolutions.com site up yet but do plan to start selling this item shortly.  So if you have any questions or are interested, please comment here or send me an email.

Hardware reviews and possibly selling some items

I have been fighting over the fact that I need to upgrade my 2 backup hard drives in my “main” system.  I currently have a 320 and 500, but figure I should go up to at least a 750GB.  So while comparing drives I found an interesting WD model that boasts it has dual processors to speed up the drive.  So I did a few searches and found nothing.  I’m really disappointed in that fact.  So I still wonder, does the dual processors and $10 extra for that drive really help out?
I really want to know and figure that some of you may want to know.  However I really can’t afford to spend roughly $220 just to benchmark a few drives.  So I wonder if any of you would be interested in buying any of those tested drives after I benchmark them?  They would still technically be new, they’ve just had a few tests run on them.  Would you still be willing to pay the price I paid for the drive, I’ll throw shipping in for free.  So I would actually lose a little money in the deal but we would have some good reviews to post here on this blog.  We currently have some pretty good benchmarks on some USB flash drives in the forum, but I’ve been thinking of doing more.  I could post those results here also.  Please email me or comment your thoughts here on this.

Another thing I have been debating is selling a few items.  Basically I am “in love” with these new little Atom systems we have been building at work.  I actually found them a few months ago and threw the idea at the boss.  We’ve been selling them for about 3 months now and everyone loves them.  You get a nice mini-ITX case, DVD burner, Intel motherboard with dual core Atom processor 1.6GHz, 2GB DDR2 memory, Windows XP Home or Vista Home Premium, and 160GB SATA hard drive for $389 plus shipping.  I would offer a 1 year warranty on these systems also.  All you need to do then is supply the CRT or LCD, mouse, keyboard, and speakers so your all set.  I’m thinking of doing a video about the system so everyone has an idea of what it looks like and how it runs.  It is pretty fast for a small computer.  So if you find this system interesting then please email me or comment here so I can get an idea of how well this system would sell.

Finally, something a little more practical.  I’ve been thinking of creating a “shop kit” that basically includes several devices that should be in every shop.  However I really can’t create a list of every possible thing a shop may need.  There are items such as a USB NIC, and 2.5″ HDD adapter.  These items would all be things that I currently use in the shop that I work at.  I would of course have them all individually available.  Such as this item:
IDE 2.5″, IDE 3.5″, and SATA USB adapter
I use this item all the time and it is a great time saver!  I know I could offer these for a better price than Tiger Direct, probably about $18.99 plus shipping.
So do you think this would be a good idea?  Would you want to order items like this from me?  Do you have any suggestions on items to sell?  Again, please email me or comment here about this.  I look forward to hearing from all of you about these questions I have.  Thank you for your time!!