Archive for the 'Hardware' Category

15 key articles on DRM

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at March 6, 2007 in Hardware, Software and Features. 6 Comments

When a subject (like DRM) is talked about and analysed to death, it can be hard to see the forest for the trees. DRM has gotten its fair share of coverage here at franticindustries, but I always feel the need to reiterate certain points due to the music and movie industry constant barrage of hypocrisy, confusion and false information on the subject.

While doing some research I’ve searched through my backlog and bookmarks to find the info that really shed the right light on DRM during the years. The result are the following 15 articles on DRM, which I think anyone interested in his digital rights should read. The articles are presented in chronological order with the latest being on top:

2007, TechDirt: An Economic Explanation For Why DRM Cannot Open Up New Business Model Opportunities - a great explanation of how DRM can only be a hindrance to a successful business model.
2007: TechDirt: Saying You Can’t Compete With Free Is Saying You Can’t Compete Period - again, great article from TechDirt, explaining why competing with something that’s free is exactly the same as competing with products with higher marginal cost.
2007: Steve Jobs on DRM: Thoughts on Music - whether you believe his anti-DRM arguments or not (and you have reason not to, since Apple probably did more for the spreading of DRM than any other company), Steve Jobs’ memo might go down in history as the beginning of the turn of the tide.
2006, Technocrat: Is DRM Just a Consumer Rights Issue? - a quick and to the point article explaining why DRM affects more than just your record collection.
2006, The Register: Lessig, Stallman on ‘Open Source’ DRM - Richard Stallman explains his argument against open-source DRM.
2006, The Guardian: ‘A lawyer who is also idealist - how refreshing’ - an interview with Eben Moglen, one of the founders of the GPL software license, in which he explains the concept of open-source DRM. A similar article can be found on ZDnet.
2006, Ars Technica: Hacking Digital Rights Management - a very in-depth article explaining how different types of DRM protection were hacked.
2005, Freedom to Tinker: Is DRM Good for You? - an analysis of why agreeing to DRM is not the same as agreeing to copyright laws (featuring both sides of the argument)
2004, NYTimes: Share the Music - one in the long line of proofs that music sharing does not hurt CD sales, contrary to what the major record labels would have you believe.
2004, Boing Boing: Cory responds to Wired Editor on DRM - the finale of the interesting exchange between Wired and Boing Boing’s Cory Doctorow, who criticized Wired for not taking DRM into account when reviewing some multimedia players and for being lax on DRM in their article on BitTorrent. Cory brings a number of important points, most important of which is the fact that “DRM isn’t protection from piracy. DRM is protection from competition.”
2002, The Register: File swap nets will win, DRM and lawyers lose, say MS researchers - an interesting study coming from no other than Microsoft which concludes that DRM doesn’t stand a chance against the “darknet”.
2001, Wired: Licensed to Bill - Wired has been known to give good and compelling commentary on current IT issues. Not on the topic of DRM. This article from 2001 predict DRM’s future and it’s an interesting read because of how naive and wrong it is from today’s perspective. The only part of the article that looks right to me is this quote: “In the short run, whether consumers embrace the paradigm (of using DRM) barely matters.“.
200x, Downhill Battle: The reasons to get rid of the major record labels. - an outline of reasons why we should simply ditch the major labels, together with a list of related articles.
2000, CNN, LinuxWorld: Meet the kid behind the DVD hack - an interesting insight into the mind of Jon Lech Johanssen when he was only 16 year old and facing hacking charges for his reverse engineering of CSS and the release of the DeCSS tool.
199x, Negativland: The Problem With Music - a great insight into the inner workings of the music industry by one of the greatest music producers ever - Steve Albini. Many more articles related to copyright can be found here. A similar in-depth rant about the music industry was written by Courtney Love for Salon.com back in 2000.

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Besides these 15 articles, you might be interested in the coverage of DRM-related topics here at franticindustries:
The solution to the DRM problem
Can DRM ever be good?
Why pirated software is better than bought software

Of course, if you know any other great articles related to DRM that aren’t listed here, please post them in the comments.

Does anyone still remember Origami (err, UMPC)?

Published by

Stan Schroeder

at January 22, 2007 in Hardware and Features. 2 Comments

At this moment it’s hard to steal Microsoft’s Vista steam and point at another product that’s, well, out of the spotlight. However, when I remember the pompous Origami teaser sites and the marketing flare that went into this new concept, I must ask myself: is anyone actually buying UMPCs?

After their introduction in March 06, UMPCs have been received rather mildly by both experts and users. The expert more or less concluded that the UMPC is a bunch of compromises, while the users complained about the poor speed of the device and short battery life.

Now, I know that UMPCs are still out there and that a couple of companies are actively pushing the product - Samsung and Asus come to mind. I remember getting a press releases about ASUS’ device R2H, which is already being sold for several months in most parts of the world, so I decided to do some research on how well various UMPC devices are selling and how many were sold so far.

According to this report, Asus R2H is selling quite well - it doubled the estimated numbers with 40.000 devices sold worldwide in the first month on the market. That’s actually a solid number, and it was supposedly achieved by Asus’ targeting of the automotive market. This is a good idea, but as far as I remember, UMPC should be a very versatile beast, not a piece of car equipment. Well, I guess that being good at something and selling well is better than being a jack of all trades and rotting on the shelves.

Reports on other devices’ sales, like Samsung Q1, are nowhere to be seen. Check this year old prediction out, here’s the important bit:

“The UMPC is a portable, mini PC about the size of a paperback. When the much-hyped gadget was unveiled in April, Samsung had hoped to sell 400,000 Q1units worldwide at around 1.2 million won ($1,200) in the first 12 months of sales.”

And now look at this (very thorough) report. It starts optimistically, saying that the UMPC is “alive and kicking”, but already in the second paragraph it says that

“There are almost no announcements of UMPC sales successes, so itâ€™s not clear that UMPCs are actually selling in any quantity. However, the UMPC is still at the level of a â€œMicrosoft Product Version 1.0â€?, so from Microsoftâ€™s point of view, thatâ€™s not very important.”

Basically, all this sounds like “kicking a dead horse and pretending it’s not yours” to me. The UMPCs aren’t generating enough buzz, there have been almost no visible sales successes, and now Microsoft fumbled the ball once again, since many of Vista’s features allegedly don’t work on older UMPCs, as can be seen in this article. The fact that Microsoft may or may not be very patient when it comes to a piece of hardware like this (remember Tablet PC) doesn’t really change the fact that the device has so far been a flop, and currently there’s not many reasons to think that this will change in the future. It’s a pity, because UMPC could have been (and there’s still a small chance it will be) a great vehicle for the faster development of many Mobile 2.0 applications.

Don’t be so sure it’s called ‘iPhone’ yet

Published by

Stan Schroeder

at January 11, 2007 in Hardware and News. 0 Comments

As I’ve noted in my initial coverage of the iPhone announcement at Macworld, the name “iPhone” is still trademarked by Cisco (Linksys). Although the initial excitement about the appearance of the iPhone created a temporary oblivion about that fact, a lawsuit from Cisco brought everyone back to reality.

Mark Chandler, Cisco’s SVP and General Counsel, says the lawsuit is not about money - it’s basically about Apple going behind their backs although the agreement between the two companies was very close. I find that hard to believe. When you have two big companies like these, it’s always about money. It now presents Apple with several options, and a name change is a possibility. I’ve already proposed a simple solution: just call it “iPod”. Everyone will know that it also has a phone.

But what I find even more interesting is the fact that Cisco released a pretty uninteresting product called the “iPhone” a month before Macworld, obviously to enforce the fact that they own the trademark (I’m sure it also gives them some legal leverage). But it also shows that Cisco knew that Apple’s iPhone is coming, so it wasn’t such a big secret after all. I guess competitive intelligence sometimes works better than your standard rumor mill.

5 things the iPhone should and shouldn’t have

Published by

Stan Schroeder

at January 10, 2007 in Reviews, Hardware and Features. 0 Comments

OK, the iPhone is now out, and it has a fabulous UI. I give them that. It looks and works so cool that I want it to be successful - I’ll always root for technology done right, and for technology ahead of its time.

Unfortunately, although the iPhone exceeded expectations in some ways, you can never satisfy everyone’s desires in one product. I’ve seen literally hundreds of positive previews on the net, and I agree with them. But I also cannot overlook some of the features the iPhone is missing. Here’s a simple list of the things I wish the iPhone had, but it doesn’t have them.

1. Longer battery life. 16 hours? It’s not enough. It’s so not enough that I think it will be a dealbreaker for many. Me first. It has to last an entire day. I don’t care how - users won’t care how. But they will want it.

2. UMTS. In Europe, we use it a lot. And we want it. Luckily, it can relatively easily be added to the iPhone, especially since its Europe date is Q4 2007. Which brings me to number 3.

3. I wish it were here sooner. I’ll have to wait almost a full year for it. In a year, its revolutionary features might not be all that revolutionary any more.

4. Exchange support. I don’t use it, but many corporate users do. They won’t be throwing their Blackberries away if they don’t have Exchange support - simple as that.

5. Lower price. I’ve met 10 people in the office today who said: “I’m buying it”. I bet you those 10 people will be holding dearly to their 600 euros (because this is what it will probably cost here in Europe) when it actually comes to the market.

This said, here are also some features that the iPhone lacks and people have been complaining about them, but in my opinion they’re not a big deal anyway.

1. Hardware keyboard - I’ve never used those tiny clumsy keyboards anyway.

2. More storage - come on, 8 GB is enough. It’s the first generation of the product. You cannot expect a 100 GB hard disk. It would be clumsy and it would suck even more battery life. Wanting more storage is nice but let’s be realistic here.

3. Smaller dimensions and lesser weight. Again, reality check. It plays video. It can’t get any smaller. The size is fine.

4. GPS. Sure, it would be nice. If it were possible and viable, I’m sure Apple would have add it. But GPS is still used for pretty specific purposes, and expecting it from the iPhone is just too much.

5. More megapixels. Megapixels aren’t important. The quality of the camera and the chip is. My SE w610 has a 2 megapixel camera, and the photos are worse than on some 1.3 Mp models. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how good the camera is, but I’m sure that a good 2 megapixel camera can make great photos.

The Apple iPhone is finally real

Published by

Stan Schroeder

at January 9, 2007 in Hardware and News. 2 Comments

On today’s Macworld keynote Steve Jobs has, among other things, put an end the ultimate rumour - the legendary iPhone - and announced a mobile phone made by Apple and a new iPod - all in one product. It sports a 3.5 inch touchscreen (immune to unintentional touches), it’s exceptionally thin (11.6 mm), it syncs with iTunes. It has several sensors, including a proximity sensor, and it can detect if it’s in portrait and landscape position, switching to the desired display mode automatically.

The phone can play videos in widescreen mode. The GUI seems to be pretty revolutionary, with simple taps and drags with the finger being the controls for almost everything. It’s pretty obvious that the GUI will make or break the success of the iPhone, and judging from what I’ve seen so far, Apple just might be on to something great here. One of the truly amazing features are touch screen gestures, we’ll hear a lot about that one in the next couple of days. Of course, a standard virtual keyboard is available for SMS messages and other uses which require it. Oh yes, and the capacity - 4 GB and 8 GB.

Now, onto phone functions - it supports GSM/EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and quad-band communication. Rich html email, POP support, web browsing, push IMAP - it has it all. You can even load Google Maps, find places and make calls from there.

Interestingly enough, although iPhone is trademarked by Linksys, the word iPhone was displayed in huge letters behind Steve Jobs. From what I understand, Apple has taken a really simple approach to the iPhone naming problem - actually it’s so simple I think many people will be bashing their heads after they hear it - it’s an iPod. I’m not too sure about this right now, so let’s just call it iPhone for now and wait till it’s completely official.

Near the end of the iPhone presentation, Google CEO Eric Schmidt came on stage, and Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo both announcing a strategic partnership with Apple.

There will be a lot of extensive coverage of the iPhone on many specialized sites, so I’ll leave the details to them until I can get my hands on the iPhone. However, there’s one important piece of information missing the price. The 4 GB model will cost $499, while the 8 GB model will cost $599 (and that’s with a 2 year contract). It will be available in June in the USA, and in 4th quarter of 2007 in Europe. Cingular will be the exclusive partner for the USA - no word on European partners.

At the end of the presentation Steve Jobs announced a name change - Apple will no longer officially be known as Apple Computer Inc. - they’re now Apple, Inc.

*The photo is courtesy of macrumorslive.com

Apple, please release something, I’m sick of rumors

Published by

Stan Schroeder

at January 8, 2007 in Hardware and News. 4 Comments

When exactly did journalism started operating in the future tense? I’m reading more “news” on what might happen tomorrow, next week, next month, or in some undefined period in the future, than real news from today.

The ongoing Apple “iPhone” rumor mill, which has lately gone into fifth gear, is getting barely tolerable. I’ve seen so many fake photoshopped Apple phone pictures that I really don’t care how it will look - if it’s ever released anyway. I’ve heard so many reports about it coming out in every month of 2006 and 2007 that I’m numb and oblivious to Apple’s release dates. Kudos to Apple on generating buzz, but I must say that this is one example where traditional journalism is way more credible than blogs (or at least it should be).

Here’s a good example of how meaningless all these rumors actually are. Check out this list of more or less famous people who predicted the release of the iPhone. Now, look at this claim, for example: “Shaw Wu of American Technology Research claims, â€œThe design will be an iPod nano-like candy bar form factor and come in three colors”". Can it get more vague? It’s going to come in several colors, and it’s going to be shaped like a candy bar. Just like 99% of all other damn cellphones out there.

So, that’s why I didn’t title this story “Apple iPhone might be announced tomorrow“, although a respectable publication like the New York Times has said it. I can only say that I hope they release the damn thing soon and put an end to this clutter I have to go through every day when I read the news. In the meantime, here’s my short review of why it might not be such a big deal after all:

- Mobile phones from many companies such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG, and others, already have great UIs. People are used to them. Fancy touchwheels might not be enough to catch people’s attention.

- Technical intricacies of cell phones aren’t to be taken lightly. Users notice very small differences in quality of sound, reception, strength of signal, quality of plastic, endurance of the keyboard, ease of writing SMS messages fast etc. If you screw up on some of these, people will know and it will hurt your sales.

- There’s a reason why mobile phone makers have a wide gamma of products. It’s hard to cram all the features and satisfy everyone’s taste in one single product. If Apple doesn’t release several models of their mobile phone, they might only catch a narrow segment of the market.

- If you asked me to name one really, really strong brand, I’d say Nokia. For example, in Europe, Nokia is huge compared to Apple. Competing against such a brand will be an uphill battle.

- Mobile operators own a huge chunk of the cell phone market right now. If Apple doesn’t get them to sell their phone in their packages, they’re toast.

All this doesn’t mean Apple doesn’t stand a chance at succeeding; but it does mean that they must release a truly outstanding product to make it successful.

5 phases of making a PC absolutely stable

Published by

Stan Schroeder

at January 4, 2007 in Hardware and Features. 4 Comments

The Mac vs. PC debate is an interesting one, but it’s rarely based on facts. I’ve just read a piece about the benefits of switching from a PC to a Mac. I wanted to comment, but the thing is - I’m a hardcore PC user. I’m not a Mac expert. If so many people say that Macs are stable and easy to use, I believe them - but I need to use a PC for various reasons.

However, while Macs may very well be stable, Windows based PCs can also be stable. Many people (including the author of the mentioned article) have problems with their PC simply because they don’t know how to properly set it up. Take this part for instance: “Nearly every Windows user I know cringes at the thought of shutting down a PC. They hate the idea of waiting five minutes before the computer loads into a state of usefulness.” And then “Next, you log-in. Done, right? Hahaha, you couldn’t be more wrong. Useless applications start loading out of no where. AIM followed by MSN Messenger and Yahoo! EZ Web Chat something or another.” Well, none of my computers take more than 1 minute to boot, even those that are over 2 years old. Also, as most users know, AIM and Yahoo chat do not come preinstalled with Windows. Neither Microsoft nor anyone else is to blame for the fact that the author installed useless crap on his computer. However, he somehow thinks it’s a defining characteristic of using a PC.

And I don’t blame him: there’s a very good reason for this. The reason is that making a PC rock-stable is hard. I’m dead serious. It takes knowledge, time, effort, research. And, it takes some extra money - you cannot buy the cheapest components and excpect flawless behaviour. Sure, you might get lucky and everything might work as it should out of the box. But if you want to be absolutely sure you’re doing everything humanly possible to make your PC rock-solid, bluescreen proof and completely stable, you need to build it for stability from the ground up. I usually write about the Internet, but having a stable PC is a prerequisite for actually being online, right? Also, I’m annoyed at how little people know about building their own PC systems. Here are the phases I personally go through when I set my mind on buying a new computer and equipping it with Windows XP.

1. Buying the components.

Definitely the most important and the hardest phase. Do a thorough research on the stability and compatibility of the components you’re buying. I cannot stress this enough. Many people just go shopping for motherboards, RAM modules and other components as if all brands and models work together perfectly. They don’t. It’s the curse of using a PC. So, once you decided on the platform (AMD/Intel) (this is easy - both platforms are stable. The CPU, unless damaged, will very, very rarely be a cause of instability for your PC), this is what you should do.

- Start from the motherboard. Choose a model that’s been around for at least 6 months, and it’s been thoroughly tested and featured on many hardware sites as a testbed. It’s not important that the motherboard performed the best in those tests (motherboard tests for speed are useless in 99% of cases). It’s important that it was stable, and it’s important that hardware reviewers trust it enough to use it as their main platform. (Example: at this time, n680i is the talk of the town, but it’s still too fresh. Wait for a couple of months and a couple of BIOS revisions. If it’s still highly featured as the best platform available, get it).

- Get a well-rated, well-known PSU with enough power to run your components. (Example: 500 W is, at the time of writing, enough for most systems. For very power hungry systems 600W might be necessary. Some good companies: OCZ, Antec, Seasonic, Zalman, Fortron, Tagan, Enermax, PC Power & Cooling)

- Find a couple of RAM candidates from known brands. Then, thoroughly check the forums for the motherboard you chose and of the companies for those RAM modules to find reports of incompatibilities. Many people wouldn’t believe how often a motherboard, even a very well known model, works well with only a couple of RAM sticks. When you’re buying the memory, if necessary, ask to see the markings on the chips. You need to buy the exact model that is compatible with your motherboard (Example: some good brands: Corsair, OCZ).

- from my experience video cards usually don’t cause problems, but you would do well to check the forums of the manufacturers too and find a model that is proven to work well with your setup.

- Buy the best CPU cooler you can buy. The difference is usually only a couple of bucks, and it might save you a lot of headache. Buy at least one additional intake/outtake fan to keep the rest of your components cool (Example: some cooler manufacturers: Zalman, Scythe).

- Another recommendation I can give you is this: if you’re not experienced enough to choose the components yourself, and you’ve got noone to help you, simply check out some hardware review sites and see what components they’re using for testing. At any point in time most of them will use pretty similar configurations. Most of the time the hardware reviewers know what they’re doing, so just use what they use. It can turn out to be expensive, though.

2. Building the computer

Nothing too revolutionary here; just make extra sure everything is connected right and that your cooling works well. Keep your cables tidy to increase airflow. Do not forget to use thermal paste when installing your CPU (buy the best paste money can buy, the price difference is minute). Clear CMOS before you first turn on your computer. The explanation how to do this is almost always supplied in the motherboard manual.

3. Installing Windows.

Before installation, go into your BIOS and check if everything is alright. The explanation of BIOS functions is out of scope of this text, so if you’re not familiar with it, get an expert to do it. Luckily, most of the time everything will work out of the box. However, if you’ve had problems during Windows installation, chances are you’ll have more problems later on. Check the motherboard forums for recommended BIOS options for your motherboard, go back to the BIOS and make sure everything is as it should be, then reinstall Windows.

After installing Windows the very first thing to do is to install drivers for your motherboard. There is no going around this. Download the latest drivers beforehand and have them ready for the installation. I suggest you install only the necessary drivers, not the added bundleware that often comes with motherboards. After that, install the drivers for the video card, then for any other pieces of hardware you need drivers for.

4. Stability testing.

Before you install the programs you normally use, I recommend you do some stability testing to make sure your system really is stable. The most common tools for this are 3D Mark and Prime95. Let them run for a couple of hours and monitor the temperatures of your system (best tool for that is Speedfan, you can find more on its configuration in my old article about silent computing). Leave each of the tests on for at least an hour, preferably more. You should not experience any crashes during this period of testing.

After making sure everything is 100% stable, many users install Norton Ghost or a similar tool and make a backup of the system. If you’re going to do that, you should make one at this point, and another one after you’ve installed all the programs you use.

If your system is not stable at this point, chances are your drivers are causing problems. Check the internet for newer/better/optimal versions of drivers for the exact hardware you use.

5. Installing programs and protection, and final testing.

Now it’s time to install the programs you’re going to use in your everyday work. After you’ve done with that, install some protection. I recommend a firewall, antivirus software, and optionally some adware/spyware protection software. I don’t recommend installing anything unnecessary at this point, like games. Wait a day or two, work on the computer and try to remember if there are any other apps you might need for your work. When you’ve got everything installed, run the stability tests again. If you can run 3D Mark and Prime95 for several hours at this point, you have yourself a 100% stable PC. It would be wise to make another Ghost image of your system now. Later, if you have any problems after installing a game or a new piece of hardware, you can always come back to it.

Now, after all this, is the time to think about switching to Mac. But you’re probably too tired and happy that your PC works at all. Welcome to the PC world (;.

Vista requirements updated, or not?

Published by

Stan Schroeder

at December 23, 2006 in Hardware, Software and News. 2 Comments

Vista requirements are supposedly updated. However, I don’t see any difference between the previous Vista reqs; you still need 512 MB of memory, a CPU running at least at 800 MHz (however vague that classification is), and a DirectX 9 capable video card. The only thing that might be new is the 15 GB free space requirement (on a 20 GB hard disk) as the absolute minimum for Vista, which is hardly a revelation.
What I’m still worried about is how many laptops which fall into the ‘business’ category will be able to run Vista smoothly? In any case, if you’re buying a new laptop, you should definitely avoid those with integrated Intel graphics chips and go for an ATI or a nVidia solution.

iRiver S7 - Shuffle clone done right?

Published by

Stan Schroeder

at December 12, 2006 in Hardware and News. 0 Comments

It’s no big secret that I’m not really a fan of iPod Shuffle, because to me the absence a feature (in this case, the display) isn’t really an advantage. However, if you’re gonna do it, at least make it look nice. Apple has done it with its Shuffle, and now iRiver announced S7, a nice little piece of MP3 art.

As far as features go, iRiver S7 connects to the computer via USB 2.0, supports MP3, WMA, ASF and OGG Q10 formats, and it also sports an FM tuner.

Its front side consists entirely of control buttons, and the whole thing is just 30mm long and 9.6mm thick. More pictures at iRiver site.

Lacie’s USB hub matches your Mac perfectly

Published by

Stan Schroeder

at December 11, 2006 in Hardware and News. 0 Comments

Innovations in the field of USB/firewire hubs aren’t really that common, but LaCie thinks different. Their LaCie Huby is one hub you simply have to see.

This gadget is available for quite some time, but I’ve just noticed it now. LaCie Huby has 4 USB 2.0 ports & 2 FireWire 400 ports, a USB fan, a USB light, a USB extension cable and a FireWire 400 extension cable. Furthermore, it has different-colored lights which light up as you connect devices to the ports.

It looks like…well, just check out the picture. I’m sure it’s at least partly aimed at Mac users who will appreciate the clear white lines and the overall coolness of the product.

The price, though, is pretty steep for this type of device - $79.99. You can find the full specifications over at LaCie’s site.

Dual LCD setup - on a mobile phone?

Published by

Stan Schroeder

at December 10, 2006 in Hardware and News. 0 Comments

When it comes to mobile phones, I’ve seen many innovations that will probably be forgotten in history as just another curiosity, but this one is one of the most bizarre - a cell phone with a dual LCD screen

Credit for this invention goes to Seok Hong Jeong, who revealed this weird-looking device at the Seoul International Invention Fair 2006.

The phone does give you a lot of screen estate, but at the cost of looking pretty clumsy. Since mobile phone manufacturers are always desperate for a larger screen, this might look like a good idea, however it seems to me like a kind of device that would perhaps sell only in the innovation-hungry market of the far east.

The device was spotted at the Fair by Aving.

The ultimate silent dream machine of 2006

Published by

Stan Schroeder

at December 8, 2006 in Hardware and Features. 1 Comment

It’s time to start with the ‘best of 2006′ lists, and with all the good stuff happening in the hardware department lately, what better way to start with than with the ultimate dream machine for the year 2006.

Although I usually write mostly about Internet-related topics, I’m also a hardware enthusiast, tracking new stuff and its prices all the time. I always have a list of components for a budget machine and an ideal, no-holds-barred, I’m-really-really-rich kind of machine, so why not share it here? My approach is a bit different than that of most hardware sites, who usually just recommend the most expensive stuff. I also take great care to choose the most silent components - even if they don’t crank out maximum power. With that said, let’s start.

1. Case

Antec Nine Hundred. This new product by Antec distinguishes itself from the rest by including spots for 5 120 mm fans and an additional 200 mm monster fan on top of the case. All these fans can make your computer really cool if you crank them up, but they won’t produce much more than a hum if you keep them at 5V. Ideal.

2. PSU

Seasonic S12 Energy+ 650W. Judged by Silentpcreview to be the one of the quietest PSUs on the market, Seasonic’s Energy line will give enough power to your hardware and still keep at whisper quiet levels. Some might complain that they want a stronger PSU, but from my experience, no computer today draws more than 500W power. A stronger PSU will just make more noise.

3. Motherboard

Asus Striker Extreme. Simply put, the most powerful and versatile platform today offers me little choice than to include it in this list. For a (long) list of all of its features go here. I chose Asus because of the heatpipe cooling design, most effective I’ve seen of all n680i implementations.

4. CPU

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 2.66. Sure, you won’t feel much difference between it and Core 2 Duo. But 4 cores are future-proof, and although I don’t think that a quad-core CPU pays off at this moment, this is a dream computer, right? It’s still quite cool and not nearly as power hungry as AMD’s FX-70 (not to mention that you need two of those if you want 4 cores).

5.CPU cooler

Scythe Ninja PLUS Rev.B Scythe has positioned itself as one of the top manufacturers of high-end cooling equipment, and their latest cooler and its 12cm fan will keep your Core 2 Quad cool with a minimum of noise.

6.GPU

2xBFGTech GeForce 8800 GTX in SLI mode. Here the choice is easy, as noone disputes that 8800 GTX is currently the best GPU on the market. Why did we choose BFGTech? Well, this is supposed to be a silent computer, and BFGTech really went out of their way to please the enthusiast with this water-cooled version of 8800GTX. Personally, I don’t use watercooling, but someone who does will appreciate the effort.

7.RAM

OCZ Dominator XMS2 2×2GB DDR I’m cheating a little on this one because 2GB Dominator modules are not yet available, but they should be by the end of the year. 4GB of RAM memory wouldn’t make much of a difference compared to 2GB on WinXP, but in Vista you’ll definitely notice it. OCZ’s Dominator memory was used in many hardware benchmarks lately and it is generally accepted as one of the best modules available. They come with a cooling heatsink included.

8.Optical drive

Blu-Ray Sony BWU-100A Usually, I wouldn’t give this much cash just to have a Blu-Ray reader. Especially if I were able to get a PS3, because I get a nice gaming console and a Blu-Ray reader for the same price. But in a dream machine, Blu-Ray is the logical choice.

9. Audio

M-Audio Audiophile 192. Most reviewers usually choose one of Creative’s products here, but I’m going for the audio card for the true hi-fi enthusiast. It’s not a sound card for professional use; it’s just an affordable card that will produce really great sound from your PC. You can plug it into your receiver and it will sound good even on an expensive speaker system.

10. Speakers

Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 If you’re not really into all that hi-fi stuff, but you still want a really good sound from your system, you won’t go wrong with 5.1 system from Klipsch.

11. Screen

Samsung CX305T 30-inch LCD. With this model, Samsung positioned itself as the proud owner of the fastest 30-inch panel available, with just 6ms response time. Other characteristics are 2560×1600 resolution, contrast of 1000:1 and 400 cd/m2 brightness. And with those dual 8800GTX cards, you’ll actually be able to play in this insane resolution without having to reduce the quality.

So, that’s it: we have a real beast of a machine here, but also one that - if not overclocked - won’t even make much noise. I hope someone has the money to actually buy all this stuff, because I know I don’t. Cheers!