PC Curb

Lots of people buy computers everyday, however it is a difficult task for some. Deciding between a laptop and desktop PC is an easy decision once you evaluate what tasks you are going to complete with the computer and where you plan to use it. Things like price, computer specs (specifications), portability and style + design are all important factors to consider before purchasing.

One of the most important considerations is; in what environment you are going to use it? If you are just using it at home and don’t need to move it around a lot, a desktop PC would be ideal. However, if you want to use it in multiple locations eg.(on the train, school, work, lying in bed) a laptop would be more suitable. Ofcourse, if you don’t want to move it around, a laptop is more compact and will take up less space inside your house.

Better prices and specs are both reasons to get a desktop PC over a laptop. PCs are drastically cheaper than laptops and have better performance for what you pay. If you see a cheap laptop advertised, you will be able to find a better performing PC for a cheaper price. Desktop PCs are also easily upgradeable. This means you can add extra fans, upgrade video card, motherboard and add your own cards into PCI slots. None of this can be done easily with a laptop.

Whether you decide to buy a desktop PC or a laptop make sure you are happy with the specs and design. Be careful to think about what is best for you before you go into a shop and let a sales person force you into a sale.

Filehippo.com is a great resource of freeware software for everyone. Filehippo’s nice site layout allows easy navigation to the software that you need. They offer a great range of software from anti virus to peer to peer. This is great for the end user because they have a large variety to browse, plus they can download as much as they like and not have to pay a cent.

Another feature of the site is having a “Most Popular Downloads” page. This lets you know what is popular and gives you a chance to see what are people are downloading. Overall, this is a great resource for any kind of internet user.

http://www.filehippo.com

When i first heard about this, I thought what the hell? why would anyone want to put any added stress on their PC? After doing a little research and speaking with a few friends of mine, i gave it a go. Using Prime95 stress testing software, I was able to see how hard my PC runs. It was possible to adjust the settings for a mild run, up to torture level. This alllowed me to test my CPU’s cores, ram and ability to manage heat. If you want to try this out and see how hot your system is running, you can download Speed Fan. It is a great program to view your case temperature, CPU temperature, CPU fan speed etc. You can even try leaving the torture test running for awhile to heat your room up on a cold day, it works…

Prime95 and Speed fan can be downloaded for free from the following links:

Prime95

Speed fan

CPU-Z

Crysis is not only a stunning visual package, but the game provides excellent gameplay along with a good, solid storyline. Crysis is based in the year 2020 where aliens have invaded the planet. An archaeological team on a remote tropical island is captured by a north Korean team, and the US special forces are sent into the field to locate and rescue the scientists. Equipped high-tech nano suits boosting strength, speed and armour, you’re parachuted into a sprawling tropical jungle to face intelligent enemies of a different kind that are tearing US and Korean forces to shreds.

Missions are allocated throughout the game, but how you go about it is entirely up to you. There is no set path to how you complete missions as long as you cover the objective.

The map consists of a variety of different terrains allowing you to complete your missions uniquely each time. This provides endless replay value.

The weapons and vehicles in the game are well thought through. Almost every vehicle in the game is accessible providing a more realistic and exciting spin to the game.

Crysis is very demanding when it comes to graphics and processing. When the first screenshots of the game were released gamers and editors were blown away with the graphics and attention to detail. More surprising, after the game was released, people realized their system couldn’t cope with the high system requirements. The multiplayer ability allows to to verse other online or network of PC (LAN). Overall Crysis provides thrilling visuals and is a great action packed FPS. (PC CURB Rating) ****

System requirements:

Minimum:

OS – Windows XP / Vista
Processor – pentium/celeron/athlon 2.8 GHz or faster (XP) or 3.2 GHz or faster (Vista)
Memory – 1.0 GB RAM (XP) or 1.5 GB RAM (Vista)
Video Card – 7600 256 MB
Hard Drive – 12GB

Recommended:

OS – Windows XP / Vista
Processor – Intel Core 2 DUO @ 2.2GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Memory – 2.0 GB RAM
GPU – NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS/640mb or similar

A large LCD monitor and neat desk are the best features of this setup. Despite the nice monitor, it appears to be very elevated so there is potential for strain on the neck. Placing it on the desk would help eliminate this.

Click to enlarge.

Safety is an important issue concerning people when transferring funds online. No one wants to be scammed and lose any money. However, there are many things you can do to to increase the safety of your transactions and protect your account from scammers.

For sending and receiving payments online, Paypal is the best option and probably the most popular. Paypal is free to setup and easy to use once verified. It is highly used within the buying and selling cmmunity at eBay but that is not surprising considering eBay owns Paypal. Users can make secure transactions with their credit card or direct bank balance to avoid keeping any funds in their paypal account. Just like the eBay system, Paypal users build up a reputation the more safe transactions they acquire. This can be useful if a user ever needs to file a dispute against another member to recover funds.

Despite being the best payment processor online, some people still hate it. Most of these people are just unhappy that it isn’t available in their country or their funds have been ceased for ussing a VCC (virtual credit card) etc. However, any action that is taken, is done so in the best interests of the Paypal community.

There is always a chance you will lose your money no matter what payment processor  you use. The internet can be a dangerous place and you have to be extra careful when handling money because you never know the identity of the person  you are dealing with.

Pretty sweet dual monitor setup here. Peripherals and speakers look quite good and colour matches the monitors and the case.

Click to enlarge.

After trying this software out for the first time today I am very happy with what it can do. After installing a 15mb program I have been able to make numerous changes to the look of my computer, mostly noticeably the taskbar. Here is a before and after shot of my taskbar:

This and several other mods can be implemented all with the install of Windows Blinds. Although I downloaded this program for free, it infact a trial version (30 days). The full version is available for $19.95 which you can purchase from their website.

Personally I find it really annoying when programs charge to use them. This is a reason why we at PC Curb tend to review freeware software, as it is open to a larger audience. Despite this it is worth the download, even if you just want to test it out. For a full screenshot of what my browser looked like check here: before – after .

Free Download