[TIhIsmc L Griot]

What would be a good free utility to encode a video file from a .mkv file to a format such as .mp4 or .avi? I have been using the Divx converter but my trial is almost up.

[Tanika O'Connell]

Is this build good?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-244-AM

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-219-AS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-126-MS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-358-AS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-124-OC

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-030-OC

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-000-CI

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-215-SE

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-045-AS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-041-OT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-014-EX&groupid=46&catid=1597&subcat=

Just over £700.

[Samantha Wood]

What would be a good free utility to encode a video file from a .mkv file to a format such as .mp4 or .avi? I have been using the Divx converter but my trial is almost up.

I just discovered http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html a couple days ago. It may be what you want. (And it's free to boot.)

[Lynette Wilson]

So my mum is looking to get a netbook. I haven't really kept much of an eye on hardware in.. oh.. a long time; is there anything specific to either look for or look out for? Known lemons and the like...

Netbooks are designed for surfing the web and Microsoft Office whilst on the go, so really all you need to check for is battery or mobile broadband.

[Pixie]

I just discovered http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html a couple days ago. It may be what you want. (And it's free to boot.)

Thats good, except for that it leaves a watermark behind the video. I would like one that doesnt do that.

[Project]

So my mum is looking to get a netbook. I haven't really kept much of an eye on hardware in.. oh.. a long time; is there anything specific to either look for or look out for? Known lemons and the like...

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-1005HA-PU1X-BK-10-1-Inch-Black-Netbook/dp/B002DYIXMI/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1269184970&sr=8-10 (90% sure it is). One thing: Windows 7 Starter is BAD BAD BAD (or so I've heard). The model I linked to has Windows XP Home, and mine is a pretty blue color. My sister has the same one in Black. Small, light-weight, great battery life. The keyboard size isn't really that bad, it's pretty large. For internet, you'll want Firefox with some Addons to optimize screen space. I don't know much about netbooks either, other than that the battery type is linked to battery life, pay some attention to the processor (there were/are some that are crappy, but I don't recall which versions/models), and to the Operating System.

[Kyra]

Is this build good?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-244-AM

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-219-AS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-126-MS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-358-AS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-124-OC

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-030-OC

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-000-CI

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-215-SE

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-045-AS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-041-OT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-014-EX&groupid=46&catid=1597&subcat=

Just over ?700.

Change the OS to 64 bit Windows 7.

[Steven Nicholson]

What would be a good free utility to encode a video file from a .mkv file to a format such as .mp4 or .avi? I have been using the Divx converter but my trial is almost up.

I think http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtualdubmod/files/ does that.... I don't recall since I gave up trying to convert the subtitles since it was a hassle no matter what program I tried.

[Jordan Moreno]

Thats good, except for that it leaves a watermark behind the video. I would like one that doesnt do that.

Sorry, hadn't realized that with the quick testing I did. (I chose crappy options and it looked like poo. So I deleted it pretty quick and got side tracked.)

[Ysabelle]

Have you tried using a different power cable? All monitors use the same standard power plug so you should be able to find one lying around to test.

Ah, thank you. That is what it was.

[Britney Lopez]

How exactly do I overclock my CPU? I have an AMD Phenom II x4 925 running at 2.8ghz, I've looked it up and I can overclock it to 3.5-4.0ghz. What steps do I need to take?

I do it in BIOS, by overclocking my front side bus (but that overclocks just about everything. so your RAM boosts too). depending on your BIOS it would be different, if you even can. i hear that some bios's cant overclock at all. i wouldnt know though, i've only used one motherboard.

[Eibe Novy]

Hey all I've got a question about RAID. My brother had 2 HDs sitting around that I figured I could use, so I hook one in and it turns out it was setup to be a RAID drive. I figured out how to remove RAID off the drive so I could format it and I figured all was well. I turned off the computer, took the drive out and turned it back on. It started going through the regular boot up sequence, but after it shows the "press f3 to enter RAID setup" the screen goes black, and doesn't start up. So I unhook my 2nd hard drive (not the ex raid one) and try again and it works. I restart, hook the 2nd one back up, and it'll turn on with both hard drives in, so all is well I assume. I look at my device manager, and it still shows that the RAID is hooked up, even though it isn't.

So my question is, does that matter at all? I know nothing about raid, and I figured I could just turn it off, but people were saying that doing so would erase my data. Do I have anything to worry about? Should I bother turning it off? Probably stupid questions, but better safe than sorry.

Thanks in advance :foodndrink: .

[Carlos Vazquez]

ahh, thank you Dogsbody. i knew overclocking my FSB also affected my CPU (main reason i did it). and now i know i need a better power supply

also, if my power supply is weak, could it possibly bottle-neck my computer's parts? such as my graphics card? (not giving it enough power to use the full GPU?) i've heard of other people using the same card i have (AGP also) and running games, like Fallout 3, at max settings.. which i cant do.

No, it either works or it doesn't. An inadequate power supply will provide poorly regulated, unregulated, or undervoltage power to your GPU, causing it to make errors, fail to start, or in the worst case, let the magic smoke out. But it won't cause it to throttle back and run at a lower speed.

[Jordan Fletcher]

How exactly do I overclock my CPU? I have an AMD Phenom II x4 925 running at 2.8ghz, I've looked it up and I can overclock it to 3.5-4.0ghz. What steps do I need to take?

Do you need to overclock it? I can't imagine your CPU struggling with any games right now, if anything your graphics card would be the choke point.

[Lynne Hinton]

So my mum is looking to get a netbook. I haven't really kept much of an eye on hardware in.. oh.. a long time; is there anything specific to either look for or look out for? Known lemons and the like...

This is my most recent netbook purchase...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220682&cm_re=1005pe-_-34-220-682-_-Product

Excellent keyboard layout, a pretty nice and very readable 1024x600 screen with good contrast, but above all (if you get the version with the 6-cell 63Wh battery) remarkable battery life. In real life circumstances I usually get around 10-12 hours of surfing or 8 hours of video viewing out of a fully charged battery with wifi on, bluetooth off and the screen set to 20% brightness. Performance is about the same or just slightly better than older N270/N280 versions of the EeePC 1005/1008 series. Battery life is where the new N450 based netbooks really shine so if you're looking for something that can handle extended periods of time off the mains I'd recommend the current gen N4XX Atom netbooks.

You might also have a look at the upcoming MSI Wind U160 which, in addition to being incredibly stylish, sports the same Atom N450 CPU/GPU combo and a (according to the manufacturer) 15 hour 6-cell battery...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152173&cm_re=MSI_Wind_U160-_-34-152-173-_-Product

Cheers, UQF

[T. tacks Rims]

Is this build good?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-244-AM

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-219-AS

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-358-AS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-124-OC

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-030-OC

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-000-CI

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-215-SE

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-045-AS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-041-OT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-014-EX&groupid=46&catid=1597&subcat=

Just over ?700.

What tools or equipment would I need?

[Big mike]

Philips (Medium Star), and Robertson (Medium square.) screw driver. I like to have needle nose pliers handy too, for those out of sight fan headers and the like. With a big CPU tower cooler, it can be tight plugging those in.

[glot]

Tie-wraps also help to bundle those pesky cables to improve airflow .

[Chloe Mayo]

Is this build good?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-244-AM

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-219-AS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-126-MS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-358-AS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-124-OC

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-030-OC

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-000-CI

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-215-SE

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-045-AS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-041-OT

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-014-EX&groupid=46&catid=1597&subcat=

Just over ?700.

First, do change that Windows 7 Premium to 64-bit.

Second, you selected RAM that is intended for notebooks...not desktops. Also, OCZ has been rather up and down with RAM for a while now. This is more of what you need:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-224-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1516

I'd rather suggest this power supply:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132563

I find that CPU watercooler to be a non-necessity considering that this build looks to be very budget.

I'd also rather suggest this HDD:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-178-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=768

[Nancy RIP]

No watercooling?

[Petr Jordy Zugar]

No watercooling?

Do you really need it? Are you overclocking your CPU a ton and need to maintain low temperatures doing it? Is the itty bit of fan noise from the stock heatsink fan really going to bother you that much? If not, then the stock cooler is already enough....it even allows for light overclocking as well.

[A Boy called Marilyn]

No watercooling?

Water cooling is a lot of trouble. I'd use it only if I were doing a heavy-duty overclock. And only if you already know how to set it up, or have someone who knows what he's doing help you with it.

CoolIT's integrated water coolers aren't even very good. A good aftermarket air cooler would be money better spent. And unless you're planning a significant overclock, the AMD stock cooler is good enough.

[Melanie Steinberg]

I was considering water cooling to but have decided against it. No need, even on my 3.5Ghz OC'd 9550 and 5870.

A good 3rd party air cooler, or possibly the H50 is all your average gamer, and even light enthusiast needs. (I consider myself a medium enthusiast and use 1 air cooler and the H50 on my PCs.)

[Melanie]

I was considering water cooling to but have decided against it. No need, even on my 3.5Ghz OC'd 9550 and 5870.

A good 3rd party air cooler, or possibly the H50 is all your average gamer, and even light enthusiast needs. (I consider myself a medium enthusiast and use 1 air cooler and the H50 on my PCs.)

The stock cooler is included with the CPU right?

[Kay O'Hara]

The stock cooler is included with the CPU right?

Yes, if you're buying the retail version then you get the fan/heatsink with it.