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What's the first thing you should do when you get a new notebook? - Page 2

post #21 of 35
4/28/04 at 8:30pm
What is this Omega driver issue you talk of Stu.

What is wrong with the Dell ATI drivers?
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post #22 of 35
4/28/04 at 9:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by QFPilot
What is this Omega driver issue you talk of Stu.

What is wrong with the Dell ATI drivers?
The Dell ATI drivers are based off of a fairly old Catalyst release and as such they do not offer the performance optimisations, game fixes, etc that are addressed in newer releases of the Catalyst set.

The Omegas by comparison are based off of the latest Catalyst release (currently 4.4), therefore include all of those optimisations. Additionally they also support mobility cards straight off the bat whereas the CAT's don't, and also provide additional visual and performance optimisations.

The Omegas also come packaged with Radlinker, a very useful utility that allows you to have different video settings for every game that changes automatically upon launching the game. Very useful for us lazy/ forgetful people as an alternative to changing the settings manually every time.

All in all the Omegas just provide better performance all around and that is why I prefer them over the Dell release.

stu
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post #23 of 35
4/28/04 at 10:03pm
I noticed on the Dell support site the lates ATI 9600 drivers is dated 15 Dec 2003.

Seems very outdated to me.

What about the vidio bios. I noticed that Omega offers them but there is lots of caution.

Should I use the Omega drive and the Dell video bios as the Dell video bios is dated 29 March 2004?
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post #24 of 35
4/28/04 at 10:07pm
Yes, do not use the Omega BIOS. Use the Dell BIOS, that is fine as far as its concerned and a lot safer. But use the Omega drivers in place of the Dell drivers. There are no conflicts or anything with combining them so don't worry.
stu
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post #25 of 35
4/28/04 at 10:12pm
Your a great help Stu, thank you.
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post #26 of 35
4/28/04 at 10:19pm
You're welcome
stu
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post #27 of 35
4/28/04 at 10:30pm
Any other advice on ensuring my machine is optimal and up-to-date?

Thanks again.
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post #28 of 35
4/28/04 at 10:40pm
Well I also recommend:
SpeedswitchXP- to have greater control over the power settings and speed of your CPU. Better than the Dell Quickset as there is one setting for AC and one for Battery, which change automatically. (for example, I have it on max performance when plugged in so the CPU always runs at the full 1.7GHz. I then have it set on max battery for when I'm not plugged in, as I only ever use it for web surfing and office work when its unplugged so don't need the extra power..... but benefit from the 4.5-5+ hours battery).
I8kfanGUI- Whether you use it simply to monitor temperatures or to get greater control over the fans and keep the system cool is up to you. Personally I use a personally modified "Normal" setting to keep the system much cooler, at the cost of the fans coming on a little more often.
Enjoy,
stu
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post #29 of 35
4/28/04 at 10:53pm
Thanks Stu,

Getting frustrating waiting for delivery.

It cleared customs yesterday and has officially arrived in Sydney, it will not arrive at my house until Wednesday next week.

Very frustrating considering I am about 30 min drive from where it is currently sitting
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post #30 of 35
4/28/04 at 11:08pm
I know, I hate waiting for that dispatch truck... you get so ansty knowing that its so close yet you can't have it.
stu
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post #31 of 35
5/6/04 at 10:17am

MS registration?

Thx - zelousmaximus!

What about when Microsoft asks you to register for updates? If you do, will that give them access to your hard-drive - so they can search it at will? Or, am I being paranoid?

Should I register or not? And if not, how do I know when an update is out?
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post #32 of 35
5/6/04 at 10:52am
if you register for ms updates, the eula states they can scan your hardrive.
if they find any unlawful codes\serials you will be put on a list.
four times a year they go through that and select those they want to procecute.

that depends on if they find many pirate programs on your computer, if they find over 5 programs, they will contact each of the companies. this beacuse they can split the cost 5 ways.

it also depends on your income and education. if you are in a situation that will make a good statement against piracy.

also ms has started working with the us government, a deal that was made to cut down cost\liability on the monopoly charges filed agains ms.

if they find any documents etc containing the word terrorist,bomb, president etc they will redflag you. If they find something containing all three words, it will automatically make a snaphot of the system and you will be on the top of the list.

so, if you have something to hide :
right click my computer->automatic update something->keep machine updated something

and under settings check the first one.

so then it will pop up in tray each time updates are available.

sorry for the long post,been staring on a blank essay im supposed to do..
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post #33 of 35
5/6/04 at 2:17pm

How to say No to Big Bro?

^ Wow, thanks bache - glad I asked. Nice essay answer, btw!

Well, I don't really have anything to hide - but I don't want to be inviting Big Bro into my PC to invade my privacy, neither. Fvck that shyt. I saw Enema of the State, etc.

I'll just do the manual updates as you suggested. Anything else I should do to protect my online privacy?
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post #34 of 35
5/7/04 at 5:42am
I wonder if MS really want to take that privacy-invation beating by the world. Ok tthey might be collecting some data but I dont think they will act on it. Anyhow I would suggest not using pirate MS-products.
And if you own a company and make money of your software the use legit ones. But if you are student wanting to learn flash and photoshop and whatever then why would anyone want to stop you? Do you really think Adobe and Macromedia would be so huge if it wasnt for piracy. Now ppl learn to work with their products and when they start working they of course make the company buy the software. Or something like that...
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post #35 of 35
5/7/04 at 12:21pm
Woah, someone needs to put his tinfoil hat back on.
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