Aluvus

There are various ways, yes, of varying quality. The main problems are: 1. It is physically difficult to take complete measurements of the power supply's output. 2. It is somewhat complex to take useful measurements of the power input into the supply. A device like this is probably the most straightforward way to get a decent estimate. If you use something like that, it's important to remember it can't account for the efficiency of the power supply itself, which is likely somewhere in the vicinity of 80%.

Assuming the power supply doesn't murder something else, like the motherboard. That's typical behavior of very poorly made fans.

For ac voltage, one of the settings near the top (the two blue ones next to the V), for dc the red ones counter-clockwise from them. Use the smallest-numbered setting that is large enough. Start with a small settings and work up as needed.

AC voltage, dc current, hFE is current amplification factor (presumably for testing transistors by putting them in the socket next to "Light"), next spot appears to be a continuity test (probably), then resistance, then dc voltage. The 2kΩ spot can also serve as a diode tester, which is why it has a diode symbol next to it.

If you had a more specific question, that might get things going. Blanket advice: turn it on with the red circle-with-a-line-in-it button, turn the dial to what you want to measure and a number value at least as large as what you want to measure, and stick the probes into something. Black probe should be in the center port, red probe in whichever side probe is appropriate for what you're measuring. I'm guessing Hold will freeze the current value on the screen.

The more likely problem is that your specific board didn't work with those specific sticks. Especially if they were the same make/model.

How many different sticks of PC2700 did you try?

Untrue. Socket 939 systems will run PC2700, and will do it with relatively little loss of performance. Athlon 64s are not that picky about memory.

How much do you plan on spending? Remember, as soon as the AM2 comes out the 939's will most likely drop significantly! My recommendation to pretty much everyone is to wait until AM2 comes out if possible, and then buy Socket 939. @OP: AM2 is expected in June (-ish). Support for DDR2-800 is likely to be at or near launch. They have essentially delayed the launch to wait for DDR2 speeds (and latencies) to improve. AMD will shift to 65 nm... sometime. They can get by without doing so for a while if needed.

Find yourself a school that will give you an MSDNAA subscription... free licenses to nearly every version of Windows. Well, if it's an HP/Dell copy.

DirectX 10 support will be rolled out the same way support for 9 was. An entire generation of cards (more or less), from cheap to l33t, will go on the market basically all at once. DirectX 10 is expected to release alongside Vista somewhere in the second half of this year (September?), so supporting cards will probably be available about then.

A graphics card change is not going to make any difference to performance in the 2D Windows GUI. @OP: Most if not all of these programs are in fact quite bad for performance.

The official length limit for ATA is 18 inches. The longest ATA cables I can recall seeing were 36 inches. You could of course throw the drives in USB enclosures. USB allows 5 meters, more if you use hubs or repeaters.

It's possible the battery, or some its associated circuitry is damaged. If the problem is isolated to the "battery backup" ports, that would be my first suspicion. "Faulty wiring" usually means the hot and neutral lines are swapped. Most devices will work just fine anyway. I've never seen a surge protector or battery backup refuse to work due to this, but it's not inconceivable.

All signs seem to indicate that Vista will be basically able to run on the Mactels, provided driver support doesn't kill the idea. Apple has essentially taken the stance that they don't care whether it works or not. I might seriously consider a Mac if I weren't limited to Apple's OS.

Pinouts.ru doesn't cover the internals of the power supply, though in general yes it's a good reference. The Hardware Book is a similar reference. FormFactors.org would be somewhat more relevant. BUT AFAIK the ATX spec doesn't explicitly lay out whether or not all power grounds need to be shorted together. It's just done that way.

Ground is ground is ground. They are often all connected directly to each other inside the power supply. What model power supply? Plenty of desktop boards now use a 24-pin "ATX" connector, with the 4-pin "P4" connector as well.

Look at the "Charts" tab in Speedfan

Sennheiser PX100. I bought a pair about 2 years ago and am very happy with them. They're low enough impedance that portable players are happy driving them. They fold to be more compact, though they still take up more space than earbud-style 'phones.

I'm having trouble finding a reason to vote against the BFG?

To some extent, the socket a chip is on may impact performance or its ability to get rid of heat (different numbers of pins, different physical dimensions). And sometimes there are differences that aren't inherently tied to the socket itself, but are decisions made by manufacturers. Athlon 64s on Socket 754 cannot use dual channel, while those on Socket 939 can, because AMD decided to make it so. Brand is not the only thing that impacts cost. Specific models on different sockets do sometimes have different prices either because of differences in features (dual channel, as above) or just mar

What types of chips support 940 anyway? Opterons and some older Athlon 64 FX chips. There is no sane reason for a gamer to buy Socket 940 any more, except getting a really spectacular deal. The new Socket AM2 will also have 940 pins, but will not be compatible with anything currently on the market.

I have never seen such a beast.

"Save images as" or "Save picture as"

I like StatCounter, and for different reasons I also like Google Analytics. They are gradually re-opening signups. My traffic has been a little high this week, but nothing that raises any red flags.