I'd like it if Yang could sticky this for all to enjoy...






This is for all the noobs and others who wish to get the most out of their Alienware. Within, you'll find links to all the cool and useful stuff and fluff which add style and funtion to your rig. All the links and apps on this page are 99.4% spyware free!! Remember, we all start off as noobs, and the only stupid question is the one never asked! You know, the one that led you to try diaper ointment as a thermal grease or lining your case with fabric softner so as to make it static free. Ya, just ask somebody . P.S. if you don't know what "noob" is yet, please have a seat, someone will be with you in a moment.

Is your computer buggy???


DEFENCE: please use protection!!!
A lot of people still think they need Norton or McAffee and the like, to keep their computers free and clear of bugs, spyware, ect... The thing is, those Virus programs tend to be heavy on the background processes which in turn, rob you of your cpu cycles. I've found those to be a little late to the ballpark when it comes to updates too. Let's face it, your anti virus program is only as good as the companys abillity and frequency, to update it. Then there's the cost of one of these and all the subsequent yearly renewell costs. Ugh!!! So, here is, in my opinion, the best anti-virus program out there. It's called AGV (anti-virus gaurd), and it's free. Also, some others that are great.

1. AVG (this little guy is a 7 in 1 with an e-mail scanner and a virus vault to name a few. Also, it's very fast and updates almost twice a day)
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

1.5 ewido anti-spyware 4.0 (from the makers of AVG, here's their solution to spyware and malware. It works VERY well and, if this means anything to anyone, I stopped using Spybot search and destroy for this all-in-wonder app! Get it, got it, good!!!)
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/ewido-an.../lng/us/tpl/v5

2. Ad-Adware (Get it!)
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-...bj=dl&tag=top5

3. Spybot search and destroy (Not my fav, but a lot of people love it!)
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail...y/1043809773/1

4. Winpatrol (This is a underdog app. I love it!! It has a little dog who sleep in your taskbar ((Scotty the watchdog)) and barks when some jive-site trys to install junk or alter your registry. Scotty can do a lot of other useful things too!!)
http://www.winpatrol.com/download.html

5. CCleaner (Used to be called "crap cleaner" and does exactly that, removes all the web-clutter that builds in you rig with every click. Use it and be amazed at what this thing will find and flush!)
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

6. Spyware Blaster (Get it!!)
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

7.Diskeeper Lite (I lumped this in defence because in a sence, it is. This is a defragmentation app which will install over the crappy windows defrag app. It's WAY better and faster. If you don't like it...uninstall and the old craped out one will come back)
http://www.georgedillon.com/web/free...iskeeper.shtml

8. Hijack This
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3155.html

9. Microsoft Windows Defender! (Bill's answer to spyware)
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail...e/1105022593/1

10. Zone Alarm (firewall protection)
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/c..en&lid=nav_za

Now that your Alienware is protected, let's move on to more creative stuff......

Art and Photo Apps
These are some fun apps for just messing around or for your kids to play with. Also some good photo sorting and editing apps. I know there are a lot of better and more indepth photo programs out there like photoShop and PhotoImpact but, if your just looking for something to simply sort and edit, these work great. Redeye...beware!!!

1. ArtRage (This is one my son likes)
http://www.ambientdesign.com/artragecompare.html (below is a shot of it in action)


2. Project Dogwaffle (Don't let the weird name fool you, this art creation app is so amazing I can't even really begin to explain.....so I won't. Just get it and make something already)
http://www.thebest3d.com/dogwaffle/free/mirrors.html

These are some that I did with DogWaffle


Easy and loads of options to fool around with.
..
Photo Apps...

1. Picasa2 (I like and use this a lot)
http://picasa.google.com/download/thanks.html

2. FastStone Image Viewer (another good one)
http://www.faststone.org/download.htm

3. Screenshot Captor (This is great for grabing a shot of your desktop or anything else you want to take a picture of on your Alien)
http://www.donationcoder.com/Softwar...tor/index.html
4. Photo Impact PRO 11 (I don't care what they say, I think this is way better, easier and more comprehensive then Photoshop. There, I said it! I have used this for about three years and have become rather good with it. If you like reading War And Peace, get Photoshop; if you want to create something cool and have a job/girlfriend/life/ beyond reading a manul which rivals Shindlers List in length, get this and get started...)
Some things done with Photo Impact PRO 11


5. Pictomio I just found this photo app and really like it! It has a very Vista feel to it but the good thing is..., you don't need Vista to run it. Sorts, organizes and displays your photos in a 3D vibe of sorts. Mmm 3D.
http://www.pictomio.com/

Modding Windows tools and apps
We've all seen those cool system monitoring gadgets and clocks on other desktops. Here's where you'll find them. Also, one little thing called: Object Desktop. It's the only thing on this page that costs but it is sooo worth the $49.95. It comes with WindowBlinds 6 and a slew of other things to mod and make your gui your own. It also has a manager built in to store and organize all it holds.


1. Object Desktop (I've said enough already...just buy it!)
http://www.objectdesktop.com/
(1.2) WindowBlinds 6 This is part of the Object Desktop package. It's one of the better apps of it's kind and will change your GUI or Graphic User Interface, making it look like a whole other opperating system or, just a cooler one...
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..8/l_59925ecd1fba62374f70a5a8e50fb29d.png">
(1.3) Icon Packager This is another part of the Object Desktop suit. As you might of guessed, it changes your system icons into better looking ones. Mine are 64-bit. Take a look...





2. WinCustomize (This is the web-site for everything to mod your Alien)
http://www.wincustomize.com/index.aspx

3. DeviantArt (Another good window modding web-site)
http://www.deviantart.com/

4. Logon Studio (Change your log on screen with hundreds of log on's to choose from)
http://www.stardock.com/products/logonstudio/

5. BootSkin (Change your boot screen with hundreds of boot screen's to choose from)
http://www.bootskin.com/

6. SysMetrix (This is another all in one for system monitoring. Very cool!!)
http://www.xymantix.com/sysmetrix/download.html
Below are some examples of SysMetrix: (and yes, my processor is overclocked to a blistering 4.2 GHz)




7. Rainlendar (A cool calendar program with many skins to match Windowblind skins)
http://www.ipi.fi/~rainy/Rainlendar/...dar-0.22.1.exe

8. Object Dock (This is the bar that holds all your icons and animates them)
http://www.download.com/ObjectDock/3...l?tag=stardock

9. Tweak UI
http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...ertoySetup.exe
Here's a finished product. A desktop which doesn't suck...




Overclocking tools
Their are others here who can explain Overclocking much better then I can. Yang and Maxrule have the skills and can answer the things I can't. What I will say is this:
If you don't know what it is you're doing, ask someone here first!!! Think about it, you just plunked down $4000 on a sick new rig, you start fool'in, and then your fooked! Aghh....WHY? Well, If you've bought a new rig, you don't really need to O'c anyways. Chances are your rig can handle what you throw at it if it's new. If your computer is not so new and Half-life2 is giving you greif, then maybe overclocking is where you want to go. If you still have that old Compaq on your table....have a seat and somebody will be with you shortly. Here are some overclocking your videocard apps.

1. ATITool (this one I use)
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/259

2. PowerStrip (this is a good one too!)
http://entechtaiwan.net/files/pstrip.exe

3. ATI Tray Tools
http://www.majorgeeks.com/ATI_Tray_Tools_d4569.html

4. NV Max
http://www.majorgeeks.com/NVmax_d387.html

5. Rage3D Tweek
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Rage3D_Tweak_d391.html

6. Riva Tuner
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Riva_Tuner_d737.html

7. NVTweek (Used to be called "Cool Bits")
http://www.majorgeeks.com/NVTweak_Fo...its_d4375.html

8. Coolbits
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=815

9. Notebook Hardware Control (Thanks Dexx! This is a all in one for Notebooks, has overclocking ability too!)
http://www.pbus-167.com/chc.htm


Shall we play a game?
These are some of my fav freeware games. These arn't going to work your Alien very hard but, they're great for when you arn't working very hard either!!!

1. TrackMania Nations (This is a great little race car game. The graphics are rather impressive for freeware. You can even go online ((free of charge)) and race your buddies or noobuddies)
http://www.gamershell.com/download_12354.shtml

2. MarioWar (My son and I have had a blast with this one. It takes all the Mario people and everybody else it seems, from 80's games and throws them together in hundreds of mario levels. The idea is as simple as this: whoever can bop the other person on the head the most times wins. Add in things like "bomb Oms" and that hammer thing, ect, and it gets harder still. http://smw.72dpiarmy.com/?q=download

3. Garry's Mod (This is more of a add on for Half Life2 which let's you do basicly anything in the Half life world. It's more fun then a barrel of midgets!)
http://halflife2.filefront.com/file/Garrys_Mod;50929

4. Nations At War MOD for Battlefield2 (This is the best mod you'll find for BF2. I can't say enough how much I love this mod. The link is to their web-site, be sure to grab the map-pack which has around 20 new levels. The levels are huge and new. Lots of redesigned modles and guns and rides. The graphics are better then BF2's graphics easy. You must play this, it's like having bought a whole new game with way better levels plus more of then to boot. Get it now!!!)
http://www.nations-at-war.com/

5.Map pack for NAW bf2
http://battlefield2.filefront.com/fi...Map_Pack;57269

6. Caiman, this is a great web-site for free games. So far I haven't found any downloads with spyware in it. There are hundreds of freeware games from Mario clones to racing sims. Too many to list!! Good for when the BOSS steps out for an hour!
http://www.caiman.us/

CPU OVERCLOCK'N

1.This is a very detailed guide to Overclocking a CPU. (This was not written by me!)
http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=6&t=510
or...,
http://www.elitebastards.com/cms/ind...d=54&Itemid=30 (this one's more recent)

2. Another great guide to Heatsinks and how well each one works. (I didn't write this guide either)
http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=6&t=9457

3. CpuZ (this is a kind of all-in-one app for reading info about your cpu, mobo, ect!)
http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpu-z-133.zip

TWEAKING XP SERVICES
Beginners Guides: Understanding and Tweaking Windows XP Services
http://www.pcstats.com/artvnl.cfm?articleID=1759

Here is an all inclusive guide to everything under the sun!! I mean it!!! This guide covers it all. Check it out, just click on the bold links inside and you're good to go.
http://www.pcstats.com/beginners.cfm

Here is another round of guide goodness from pcstats: 99 tips and tweeks
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1590


Ram monitors and Ram cleaners
These three apps are great for freeing up ram and keeping tabs on what and where your Ram is in use. Thanks to OD for these links!

1. WinCleaner Memory Optimizer 5
http://www.download.com/WinCleaner-M...ml?tag=lst-0-3

2. FreeRAM XP Pro 1.52
http://www.download.com/FreeRAM-XP-P...ml?tag=lst-0-8

3. RAM Idle LE 1.5
http://www.download.com/RAM-Idle-LE/...l?tag=lst-0-10

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WEB-SITES THAT ROCK!!!!
In this section you'll find web-sites that I frequent on a daily basis. These are good for finding the future of tech! I trust these sites when it comes to reviews or just product info. FIGHT THE FUTURE.....with the facts! When you need to upgrade, visit these.

1. [H]ard|ocd
http://www.hardocp.com/index.html

2. Elite Bastards (a great name and a great site. This one's my favorite!)
http://www.elitebastards.com/cms/ind...d=43&Itemid=33

3. BetaNews (you'll find great betas and free apps in here!)
http://www.betanews.com/

4. DailyTech
http://www.dailytech.com/default.aspx

5. Bit-Tech
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/

6. FrozenCPU (this is more of a online shop for moding. It has everything from heatsinks to lighting to window kits. A trusted site as far as your credit card and shoping needs are concerned)
http://www.frozencpu.com/index.html?id=qoGQy6eI

7. Google ( duh! )
http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=iw

8. IGN (they cover everything from pc to consoles, movies to music, and all in between)
http://www.ign.com/

9. PCSTATS
http://www.pcstats.com/

10. The Tech Report
http://www.techreport.com/

11. HardwareZone
http://www.hardwarezone.com/


~MORE TO COME~

OH MAN OH MAN WHAT A GREAT INTRO I HAVE TO SAY
great job durden.

im guessing we have to speak like dictionaries on this thread?

+ I summarized some antivirus and spyware programs at the link in my sig (that's "signature," the individualized trademark of each user under the line of this post). Click "Who's got it clean?"

can we take turns defining "noob?"
My take:
n. A "noob" is an inexperienced but enthusiastic newcomer to an area of technicality. He/she is one who strives for acceptance and understanding of a new environment. Synonyms include n00b, nub, and nublet

What? no porn?

Nebulous, did you call?

You want porn clicky here for the god of porn finding

link

very nice durden!

Thanks Yang...I had wanted to do this a while ago. I'll add more to this soon.

Excellent Durden....nice job old man!!

P.S. if you don't know what "noob" is yet, please have a seat, someone will be with you in a moment.
I take offence to that.....nobody is with me yet!!......you took all my programs.....................

haha cool, if any of us "old guyz" other than me remember Braingoo and his utitlies thread, this brought back a few memoires haha, but awesome nonetheless

Great job Durden. I'll send some rep your way for this, when I regen.

I remember 'Goo...where did he go??? He was a mod and then just disappeared.

Anyway, Good Job Durden.

Great job D!

Nice list!

Title changed, to be more "pc" haha

I'm the l33t h4x0r's, m0d3|24t0|2

sorry, chode is a bad influence

nice thread durd, i like blackice as a firewall, and adware is crap. SYPYBOT is 1337z0rZ
edit: lol