Computer Memory Prices

[_Scotty_]

I was researching memory prices for a friend of mine running XP on 512 Ram at 400Mz with complaints of slowness on some apps and found that while I wasn't paying any attention the market has dropped considerably since I bought my laptop last April. Result,I spent $75 for 4G of DDR2 at 667Mz.
If this is old news feel free to delete it.
Scotty

[richidoo]

Cool! Prices for commodity RAM for older machines is a little higher, but that is Really cheap!

As for speed, I found that completely uninstalling my AVG increased overall system speed by 2x. It has grown out of control, just like Norton/McAfee.

[_Scotty_]

I neglected to mention that I got it from Newegg with free shipping. I am keeping my eye on Sunbelt Software. See link http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Home-Home-Office/VIPRE/   They have introduced an Anti-Spyware+ Anti-Virus solution with a small footprint and it does not appreciably slow down the system when compared to a system with no anti-virus software installed. This is software written with a clean slate and no legacy code that should have been rewritten. The software is stable and has accurate scanning. When it passes external testing by independent labs I will probably switch over and drop Norton 2007.
Scotty

[bpape]

Yup.  I was doing some research for a friend and found 2x1GB sticks of lifetime warranted Kingston RAM - 667 for $39.  Tough to beat.  No reason not to go for 4GB and be done with it.

Bryan

[richidoo]

Thanks Scotty, vipre looks good. I'll try it. I'm 90% confident in my ability to avoid infection manually, but my kids use this puter now too, so gotta have something on it.

[bpape]

I've had a couple different people recommend AVAST (avast.com - imagine that...)

Can get a free version and upgrade and pay if you want.  Both of these guys are hardcore PC tech type guys and they both swear by this.

Bryan

[richidoo]

OK, cool. I will try that too.
Thanks Bryan!

[_Scotty_]

bpape,4G maxes out my ASUS motherboard, with only 2 slots there is no where to go. I would have bought this amount when I had the laptop built but this much memory in the SODIMM  package didn't exist yet.
richidoo, I also think VIPRE looks very good, let us know what you think of it if you load it on your computer.
Scotty

[bpape]

I'll definitely keep an eye on vipre.  I have several PC's in the house so I'll try both of them and see how they work. 

Bryan

[Carlman]

semi-related.... I bought a 1T hard drive today from Dell for $117 shipped. 

[bpape]

Nice deal on the drive.

On the note of AV software, I uninstalled Norton ( a terrifying experience in and of itself.  Not only doesn't it run cleanly, it doesn't uninstall gracefully either...)  Anyway, I installed Avast and ran the scan.  Found a bunch of stuff that Norton missed.  The real-time client is very small and unobtrusive.  The machine is orders of magnitude faster now. 

Bryan

[_Scotty_]

bpape, I run Norton anti-virus 2007, I made the mistake of upgrading to 2008 which was a freebie if you were a subscriber,it killed my ability to connect with my wireless router. N 2008 has an additional filter driver that trys to protect you from incoming threats from your WIFI connection,it inserts itself right in the middle of the Windows Wireless connection routine with devastating consequences. The Norton Removal Tool cleans Norton products out of your system no other procedure is completely successful. See link http://service1.symantec.com/Support/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039
I ran across another useful app for uninstalling software called Revo Uninstaller it is freeware and very good.
It finds leftover registry entries that may be present after you uninstall a program and allows you to select what you want to remove. See link http://www.revouninstaller.com/
Scotty

[bpape]

Yup - I had to run the Norton Uninstaller.  Even then, when it was finished, it tried to reload and reinstall it all over again!  I've been threatening to drop Norton for a long time - this was the last straw.  They'll get no more of my money. 

I still had to go in and manually clean a few things but it's now nothing but a bad memory.

Bryan

[_Scotty_]

I feel your pain, thats where the REVO was helpful,I finally got what appears to be a clean install with no more AUTO PROTECT error upon boot.It took two installs and dumb luck but it looks like it will run with no problems.  Are we having fun yet? Compared with software problems, breadboarding a preamp from scratch is easy. 
Scotty

[Black Sand Cable]

If you want a virus / firewall / spam etc etc program that works and has a small foot print, look no further then NOD 32. It has won every reward there is to be had and is anything but a system hog.

www.eset.com

I have tried them all and if there is anything better, I have yet to come across it.