Dell Optiplex 755

If you think of green PCs as feeble machines scrunched into a microscopic form factor, you haven't seen the Dell OptiPlex 755 ($1,183 direct). Despite its sizable mid-tower frame, which offers plenty of room for expansion, the OptiPlex 755 has abundant green cred in its EPEAT Gold and Energy Star 4.0 ratings, the most stringent currently available. The 755 is useful for businesses that needs a little bit more than the standard desktop PC for their workers. Its dual hard drives give data redundancy to safeguard files. The OptiPlex 755 is a highly recommended business PC that also happens to be energy-efficient and environmentally attractive.

The OptiPlex 755's case takes up a lot of room on the desk. It's much larger than other energy-efficient PCs, but the extra room lets this particular configuration be upgraded with a PCIe graphics card and other PCI cards. The system is over 16 inches tall and 17 inches deep, but the same motherboard and processor are available in desktop, small-form-factor, and ultra-small-form-factor versions of the OptiPlex 755. You may have to give up the dual hard drives in the smaller sizes.

The OptiPlex I reviewed came with a dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 processor, 2GB of DDR2-667 memory, integrated graphics, and dual 160GB hard drives. The dual drives come with Dell's DataSafe, which can be set to back up the user's Documents folder automatically. DataSafe also means that the extra hard drive is there as a mirror of the primary hard drive, so the user is protected from the failure of one of the drives. Ideally your workers will be storing important documents on your server, but most people like to work locally whenever possible. Strategies like DataSafe will save your workers' hide. It's only a matter of time before a hard drive failure, virus, or mistake results in lost files, which DataSafe can recover.

The Dell OptiPlex 755's 2GB of memory and dual-core E4500 processor helped it on the SYSmark 2007 Preview benchmark tests. The 755 gained a class-leading score on the Office Productivity workload (108 points)—performance that should keep even impatient office workers happy. Other scores like those for Electronic Learning, Video Creation, 3D Modeling, and the SYSmark Overall score were within a few points of the HP rp5700's, our recent business PC performance leader. The HP rp5700 is built to be a "five-year" PC, meaning it's designed to serve your business for at least five years, so the OptiPlex 755 should also serve your business for a similar period of time before the evolution of technology makes it seem too slow.

The OptiPlex is almost double the price of the Lenovo ThinkCentre a61e, but that's because of the OptiPlex 755's larger tower case, faster Core 2 Duo processor, and extra hard drive. In my opinion the Dell system's extras are worth the money, particularly the additional hard drive. The OptiPlex 755 costs about the same as the HP dc7800, which has a faster processor but only 1GB of RAM and a smaller, single 80GB hard drive. I'd prefer the 2GB found in the Dell and Lenovo for running under Windows Vista. The Dell's expansion space and aforementioned hard drive give it the nod in this horse race.

The Dell OptiPlex 755 is the hybrid SUV of green PCs. It has more utility than the tiny, small-form-factor PCs (think of them as Toyota Prius or Honda Civic hybrids), but it also consumes bit more power when on. It will serve your users well while saving you money on the energy bills that never seem to end.

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Upgrade Computer With Low Cost

It seems that the time for the computer to become obsolete reduction is more than ever. If you are buying and a high-de-la-line computer, it is very likely that in less than six months, there will be no more than high-de-la-line. If you have a computer and if you want to see them in a position to more functions, you do not have to by him and a lot of money on a new system. You can simply buy the components to upgrade your computer. If you seriously consider updating your computer, it is an ideal time to do. As with computers, the prices of IT components are so low. Depending on the nature of the specifications that you are looking for, you can also just three dollars for updating your desktop or laptop computer.

Find all the components that you need to update your own IT systems is as simple as findcheapcomputers.com to visit. This site provides detailed information on the parts and contains instructions for the buyer to your purchase of components at a glance. The first task that you need to update your IT system is a list of computers. If you are not sure what you want specifications for the system, you can see what you're doing, most of them with the computer, then a list of specifications. People usually decide to update their existing IT systems, since it is not a specific item in order to perform a specific task.

A processor is an important element of your computer. Whether or not you need to update depends on your processor tasks erledigst playing with the computer and the type of processor, which is currently in your computer. If the system that you intend to update, not a fast processors on the market, May would you like to invest in a motherboard bundles, a motherboard, processor, and the fan. Such packages cheaper if you buy the parts separately. Of course, you buy an Intel Celeron with a speed of 2.6 GHz or an AMD Athlon 2700 +. Both processors are sufficient for the general use of the computer and surfing the Internet and games.

In addition to the processor, you probably want to update your system with the memory, a graphics card or a graphics card, monitor, keyboard and pointing device. Find inexpensive computer processed these elements should be easy, since the activities which involve a high video quality, as the games are very popular. A key thing to remember, if the purchase of these components is that you must ensure that they are compatible with your system. For example, an AGP graphics card is an excellent choice if you plan to a large number of games, because it's quicker process graphics. However, motherboard need an AGP slot. If you are not sure which components are more compatible, findcheapcomputers.com the website provides information on computer parts, which are not only compatible with most systems, but also affordable.

(source : article by Nicky Pilkington)

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Tips Cleaning Keyboard

Keyboard has important functionality to your computer. Can you imagine what can we do for computing action if there is no keyboard. We can't type anything. Maybe we can use virtual keyboard, but for the beginning use computer we exactly need keyboard. So, don't let your keyboard go malfunction. There is tips for maintenance keyboard from Ray Geide.

I know most of you will not heed this advice, but KEYBOARDS CAN MAKE YOU SICK (how's that for tactfulness?). Germs live on your hands and fingers. When you type, many of them jump on to the keyboard. When someone else types on your keyboard, those germs transfer to their fingers. Or when you later type on the same keyboard, those germs reconquer your fingers. Regularly disinfecting the keyboard can prevent this.

To disinfect the keyboard, turn off the computer. Then spray disinfectant on a cloth. Be sure to use disinfectant and not just any type of cleaner because not all cleaners disinfect. Also do not spray the disinfectent directly on the keys. Spray it on the cloth. Wipe down the top and sides of the keys. Give the keys a few minutes to dry off before turning the computer back on.

Now that you know how to do it, you should make it a regular practice to disinfect the keyboard. It's one step towards a healthier you.

So you have your keyboard disinfected and life is great. Then your child spills koolaide all over it. What do you do? There are certain steps that you should take when something, like pop, beer, wine, coffee, milk, or kool-aide, is spilled on the keyboard.

The first thing to do is immediately unplug the keyboard from the back of the computer and turn the keyboard over so that its keys are down. This will allow the liquid to drain out. You will probably want to put a cloth under the keyboard or at least make sure that the surface you have put it on is washable.

Then use the mouse to shut down Windows and turn off the computer (this is important because later you will have to plug the keyboard back into the computer and you should never plug any device into a computer while it is on).

While the keyboard is upside down use a cloth to dry as much of the liquid off as you can. If you have a can of compressed air or a vacuum, while the keyboard is upside down blow or vacuum it out. Then let the keyboard set upside down for at least a night so that it can adequately dry out.

If the liquid that spilled on it was sticky, you may want to follow the extensive cleaning procedure explained in the next article, How to Clean your Keyboard - Part 2.

Liquid spilled on a laptop keyboard can easily reach the hard drive, so turn it over immediately and leave it in that position until it dries.

Keyboards are quite resilient and so it should work when you turn it on again. But if not, another attribute of keyboards is that they are cheap and so it won't cost too much to buy another one.

With these pointers in mind and a quick reaction, you just may save your keyboard from total destruction the next time it gets coated with coffee.

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Tips Cleaning Motherboard

Motherboard is one of important parts of your computer. Motherboard have to be cleaned from the dirt regularly because dust heap can made serious problem for the whole system. How to clean your motherboard with the safety ways? Here are the tips from Ray Geide.

If you have not done the inspection mentioned in the previous article - How to Clean your Case, now is the time to do so. Look at the blades of the fan in the back of the computer. Also look at any vents. Is there clusters of dust there? Is there grime caked on to it? If so, the inside needs to be cleaned. If the fan blades are clean but it has been several years since you have cleaned the motherboard or if the computer is around cigarette smoke, it probably should be cleaned anyway. Dust and particles in the air (like cigarette smoke) can build up on the circuitry of the motherboard and cause it to heat up and/or corrode.

The first thing that you need to do is unplug your computer. Then open up the case to get access to the motherboard. Cases open differently. If you don't know how to open your case, look on the back of your computer along the edge for some screws. These screws may hold on side panels or an upside down U shaped panel that covers the sides and top. Removing the screws will allow you to take off the cover. Other cases have the screws on the front of the computer. To get access to these screws, you must first remove the front panel by pressing a hidden latch. The cover is there to give easy access to the inside of your computer, so if you look hard enough, you should be able to figure out how to remove it.

Remember that if you touch anything on the motherboard, you should be grounded by either touching the metal frame of the computer with your other hand or by wearing a special grounding device.

The goal of cleaning the motherboard is to remove all dust and debris from the motherboard and all components inside of the case. This can be done using one of three methods.

The preferred method is to use a can of compressed air to blow it out. Always hold the can in an up-right position to prevent the propellent chemicals which can damage or corrode components from coming out. Dust and dirt should be blown away from the motherboard and out of the case.

Another way to remove dust is to use a vacuum. The common advice is to only use a battery operated vacuum because an AC powered vacuum causes static and static can ruin the motherboard. I have used an AC powered vacuum (before I knew that it was not recommended) to clean my motherboard many times and it has never caused any problems, but I may have just been lucky. When using the vacuum, keep the nozzle a couple of inches away from the motherboard or any other components so that it does not come in contact with them and so that any small parts are not sucked into the vacuum.

If you do not have a can of compressed air or a vacuum, you can use a dry cloth and brush to clean the motherboard. Be careful not to dislodge or break anything using this method.

While cleaning the motherboard, be careful not to unplug any cables or connections or to dislodge any loose components, such as, jumpers.

Methodically clean the whole inside of the case going over all of the motherboard from one end to the other and all other components. Don't forget to clean the fans and heat sinks. Do not open up the power supply box or stick anything in it beyond the fan. If you do, you could get a shocking surprise and ruin your computer.

If your computer does not work when you put it back together, something was obviously dislodged during the cleaning. Open the case back up and push all connections and cards into their slots. Look for anything that may have become disconnected.

Cleaning the motherboard is probably the most dangerous form of cleaning but it is necessary to prevent an early death of your computer.

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