Atom Processors - what are they and why would you buy a system with one?

There are many product on the market with ATOM based processors at their core. For those looking for a good netbook these will do quite well. For the novice let me elaborate - ATOM based systems at net (network) centric PCs and cell phones which are designed more so for internet surfing, social media and light word processing. If you are looking to do heavy graphics, games, Desktop publishing, video streaming, etc then you should look at a more robust processor and system.



























Hope this information is useful

Tech Review: Alienware Area 51

This is one of the best gaming desktops on the market for those people interested in serious gaming.

Alienware Area 51 Desktop

Operating Systems

• Windows Vista^® Home Premium - 64 Bit
• Windows Vista^® Ultimate - 64 Bit

Processors, Chipset & Memory

• 45nm Intel "Bloomfield" Socket 1366 CPU architecture
  • Intel^® Core™ i7 920 2.66GHz 8MB Cache
  • Intel^® Core™ i7 940 2.93GHz 8MB Cache
  • Intel^® Core™ i7 Extreme 3.2GHz 8MB Cache
• Intel^® X58 Chipset "Nehalem" Processor Family Supported
• Up to 12GB Triple Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
• 6 dedicated DIMM slots for Triple Channel DDR3 Memory

Graphics & Video

• Standard Single GPU Graphics Cards
  • 512MB ATI® Radeon™ HD 4670
  • 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 9800 GT
  • 896MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 260
  • 1GB NIVIDA® GeForce™ GTX 280
  • 2GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 4870 X2
• Optional Dual GPU Graphics Cards
  • 512MB NVIDIA^® GeForce^™ 9800 GTX
  • 896MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 260
  • 1GB NIVIDA® GeForce™ GTX 280
  • 2GB ATI® Radeon™ HD 4870 X2

Storage

• Single Hard Drive
  • 7200 RPM – up to 32MB cache and 1TB storage
  • 10,000 RPM – up to 16MB cache and 300GB storage
• Dual RAID 0/1 Hard Drives
  • 7,200 RPM - up to 64MB cache and 2TB storage
  • 10,000 RPM - up to 16MB cache and 300GB storage
• Optical Drives
  • 20x Dual Layer DVD Burner (CD-RW/DVD±RW)
    • Lightscribe technology
  • Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
  • 4x Dual Layer Blu-ray Burner (BD-RE, DVD±RW, CD-RW)

Networking

• Wired Connectivity
  • Dual Integrated Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45

Audio

• Standard 7.1/5.1 Digital High-Definition Audio (8 Channel)
• Connectivity Front and Rear
  • 2x Auto-sensing headphone jack
  • 2x Auto-sensing microphone jack
• Optional Enthusiast Audio Options
  • Sound Blaster X-Fi High Definition Surround Sound Audio

Peripheral Connections

• 8 Hi-speed USB 2.0 ports
• 2 IEEE 1394a (9-pin) port – Powered
• 1 E-SATA port

Case & Chassis

• Exclusive Alienware chassis design
• AlienIce™ 3.0 high-performance cooling
• Standard system lighting
• Optional AlienFX System Lighting
• Standard 750-watt Multi-GPU-approved power supply
• Optional 1000-watt Multi-GPU-approved power supply
• Optional 1200-watt Multi-GPU-approved power supply
• Tool–less front and side panels
• Height: 19.01”
• Width: 9.97”
• Depth: 25.02”

Tech Review: Falcon Northwest Fragbox (Gaming PC)

Falcon Northwest 

Specs from Newegg

Model
Brand	Falcon Northwest
Series	FragBox
Model	41D02FCB11W
Spec
Type	MicroATX Desktop
Color	Black
Case Material	Aluminum
With Power Supply	No
Power Supply	No
Motherboard Compatibility	MicroATX
With Side Panel Window	Yes
Expansion
External 5.25" Drive Bays	1
External 3.5" Drive Bays	1
Internal 3.5" Drive Bays	2
Expansion Slots	4
Front Ports
Front Ports	USB, Audio, IEEE 1394
Cooling System
60mm Fans	1 x 60mm rear fan
80mm Fans	1 x 80mm side fan
120mm Fans	No
Side Air duct	No
Physical Spec
Dimensions	10.8'' x 8'' x 14.8''
Features
Features	Convenient carrying handle (removable for stacking)  Side windows with blue interior CCFL light (inverter included) Three-axis laser etched FragBox logo illuminated faceplate  On/Off switch for the case lighting Variable angle graphics card cooler aims cold air right onto your GPU  FragBox cases & accessories normally ship in 2-3 business days

Tech Tip: Configure a XP Pro PC as a VPN server for free

Something for you hard core techs

Technical Topic: How WiFi Works

Internet Scam Series - Browser safety or lack of!

Major Web browsers fail password protection tests (Source: Znet)

Disclaimer - this is not original material rather a copy of a znet blog but the information is too important and timely not to share just because I did not author - Ryan Naraine wrote the material and the link to the original post is shown at the bottom of this blog post.

That nifty password management feature in your favorite Web browser could be helping identity thieves pilfer your personal data.

That’s the biggest takeaway from the results of this test which shows that all the major Web browsers — including IE, Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome — are vulnerable to a total of 20 vulnerabilities that could expose password-related information.  Among the problems are three in particular that, when combined, allow password thieves to take passwords without the user’s knowledge.  They are:

1. The destination where passwords are sent is not checked.
2. The location where passwords are requested is not checked.
3. Invisible form elements can trigger password management.

Google’s shiny new Chrome browser was among the worst offenders.   According to the study,  Chrome’s password manager contains multiple unpatched issues that “form a toxic soup of potential vulnerabilities that can coalesce into broad insecurity.”

Apple’s Safari for Windows browser was also failed a majority of the tests (click image for full version):

Technical details of the test, which was conducted by Chapin Information Services, can be found here.

Ryan Naraine is a security evangelist at Kaspersky Lab, an anti-malware company with operations around the world. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

Follow Ryan Naraine on Twitter

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