appalachian_fox

Good point, Homey. Buy better components => Get better stability.

Yeah, I gotta say, I've had great experience with Dell technical support. The customer service is so-so, but the tech support is spot-on. Two examples, I had a Powervault POS (not point-of-sale) 715 server which had a habit of not working well for people. Their answer? Send us a brand-spankin'-new PV725N. The thing is rock-solid and was worth a bit more. Also, I just had a laptop that crapped out on us the first week (!) we had it. The phone tech couldn't diagnose exactly what was wrong (obviously Mobo, RAM, video card...something of that nature) so they sent out the tech, shipped all the parts, and he replaced them ALL. Brand new guts. And it all happened so fast. I don't think I can stress this enough...You DON'T want to be that "computer guy"...unless he's going to buy a service contract from you

It's an interesting topic, and there are lots of views on it. Different churches take it different ways. Look into the creeds of each church, they usually include something about "who Jesus is" in relation to God the Father. For example, the Roman Catholic Church says, "We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, ... eternally begotten of the father ... begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father" (they really want to drive that one home) while the Jehova's Witnesses (I pick on them because I just remember this one) believe that in Colossians 1:15 Paul tells us that Christ was created by God ("He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation" (NIV Col 1:15). The Greek is (apparently, I don't read much of it) a little clearer in determining that Jesus wasn't God's creation, but these are both parts of the gamut of opinions on "Who Jesus is". It's really interesting! Personally, I see them as faces of one God, which is like saying I have two bodies if I count my hands separately. I think if any one part was missing, He wouldn't be the God He always claims to be.

To echo above, power supply voltages are pretty darn important in some applications -- Computers happen to be one of them. Solid state components work within a window of voltages and currents. To little, and you can't drive the gates. Too much, and you overload the gates, potentially burning them into a state. I've never heard of a computer power supply burning solid state PC components up (in home PCs...I know experimenters who HAVE blown up logic chips, and frequently), but I HAVE heard of frequent resets under stress. Watts are watts, but there's a difference between peak capability and average sustainable (like CD-ROMs...). Furthermore, the voltage does not have to drop below the solid-state trigger voltage (which is very low) to cause problems. If the power supply is "dirty" (very responsive to changes in line voltage, i.e. not well regulated, or allows AC components on a DC line) you may find that, even though the gates are driving (the computer is running) you may have to bump up your VDIMM and processor voltage because the power supply's voltage range will vary widely. In essence, you are overpowering your components during normal operation to provide for the insufficiences that occur every so often. Not a good insurance policy. However, I have heard of non name-brand components going a long way and doing a great job the whole time. And remember, every name-brand component had to start somewhere. The bottom line is, if you feel comfortable with the product, it's your call.

Good luck! You can do it!

I definitely agree. Especially if you're this close, there's now WAY you should give up on the degree. Bust donkey to get the Cs in your ITEC (sp?) classes. As for the calculus...Well, honestly, I think he can get help here, too. There's only a limited amount of help that can be given over the net, but there have to be some people here who can do calculus well. But it is a tough subject. I was a math major, and I did horribly in all of my calc classes. But, it IS something that can be learned provided you give the subject a LOT of time and effort. It is not an easy subject to get ahold of, and Calc I is the hardest calc course because the mode of thinking is so dramatically different than pretty much anything else. Stick with it...You'll get that degree if you want it. Perhaps you won't get it on your preferred time table, but you will get it. And there's definitely nothing wrong with finishing up in community college if you decide you don't want the University degree that badly -- you want to be in networking, right? You can get some great hands-on training in that field at community colleges and tech. schools. But do get a degree. You're so close, you can do it, and you know you've got us backing you as much as we can. Best of luck!

1699

I'd have to agree with Dweez on this...I deal with several of these beasts, and I think with the trouble you're going to put yourself through getting it all together it wouldn't be worth your time. Furthermore, if the Dell machine craps out for whatever reason, he can go to Dell. If your machine craps out for whatever reason...Best not being stuck as "the computer guy". Also, to put in an honest-to-goodness server, you definitely need more information (which you have already requested). I know someone already covered this, but servers are not "big processor behemoths" -- they are a very crucial being that requires a proper balance of the right equipment. Remember, if you get a BSoD, you reboot and go on with their lives. If they get a BSoD, they could potentially lose business.

Xoul, More details would help a lot. Does it reboot before or after Windows is loaded (presuming you run Windows)? If after, does it only reboot during some programs? Is it always a reboot, or does it sometimes crash hard? Is this a new system? Has it worked at all? Corporate or home-built? If it's not a new system, have there been any configuration changes? That'd be a good jumping off point.

I feel it would be a travesty not to mention hiking. Doesn't need to be anything fancy, it gets your body used to walking places (and daily running, which is a plus). The problem is it's a gateway hobby...It could lead to backpacking, camping and other outdoorsy things. An added plus: Backpacking does a lot of great leg work, and I don't think it'll result in any long-term damage (Please correct me if I'm wrong). Scouts was one of the greatest things for me -- Hiking did a lot. Of course, that requires a (minimum of 1) buddy who knows something about hiking (Scouts worked for me -- btw, never hike alone), hiking trails (big mountains are perfect) and a dedicated half-day at minimum (time...). However, I think it'd be great for a kid your age.

Thanks! Slappy's always referring me here for random things and telling me I should just get off my chair and join. I don't have internet at home right now (*gasp!*) I was going into withdrawal. Posting to forums surreptitiously at work is one of the few things that keeps me sane now. That, and wonderful single-player game modes like Pandora Tomorrow and Farcry. But I digress from the topic...

1696?

<rant>What, just because I've been harping about IDE being a horrendously geriatric technology that should have been outdated long ago? I mean, it says something when a serial transfer mode not only surpasses a parallel mode but in second and third-level specs blows it out of the water. But I whine only because I lack the ability to invent a better hard drive myself </rant>. But since we're talking about geriatric technologies, don't get me started on SMTP...

Homey, Nice page! I'll link people to that from now on when they ask about such things. As for the security, I totally forgot to mention that. Better keep your DOD and Homeland Security documents off of the network. Seriously, you may consider turning off the wireless until you use it (I think the DLink comes with it off by default, but I'm NOT sure) and definitely consider MAC address controlling when you put wireless devices on it. WEP is a good addition too if you like frustration. However, honestly, I have never heard of anyone having a problem with malicious warchalkers but I know of several virii that exploit the Automatic Windows Updater, downloading malicious code to the Windows Update mechanism without knowledge or consent. Update your Antivirii, ladies and gentlemen. Update now and update frequently.

Rock on! When did you get the Bartron? Why didn't you tell me? *sniff* Seriously tho, glad you got that straightened out.

Slapps, aren't you overclocking the processor? Maybe you've got some problems with your FSB. That could cause issues at high data rates...It sounds much more like an overheat/brownout thing to me, but if you're overclocking drop it back down and see if that fixes it.

I have a friend with the 802.11g Wireless router in question...It works well for him. It's still subject to the tremendous overhead of wireless routers, but still faster than plain 'ol standards-based 802.11g. There is something to note about the technology (I think it's called AirSpeed?): It is not 802.11 section compliant, i.e., DLink made its own protocol. It works by stealing bandwidth from all three of the nonoverlapping channels. This should not be a problem as long as (1) you don't need multiple access points to extend range (repeaters, etc.) and (2) you are not living within arm's reach of your neighbor's wireless router. In either case, the technologies should be the same for maximum effectiveness on both routers (either 108Mb enhanced or not). Again, I wouldn't disable the 108Mb option -- I have a friend who uses it with great success, and I don't imagine there will be any problems. Also, I've used an 802.11b wireless connection and maintained low pings, so the wireless should be able to handle a gamer or two as well. Just a side note. Gratz! Enjoy!

I'm hoping we see something mainstream come out sooner rather than later to top 10k SATA so prices come down a little, just because I'm cheap. But then again, for performance (and high cost), nothing quite beats solid state HDs...

Nice. Not that I'll be upgrading for a little while, but I have been looking at MBs with onboard RAID for awhile now...I decided I would never again go without last time I upgraded. Rid the world of bottlenecks!

Homer, are you running software RAID 0 through Windows?