Ubuntu 10.10: List of Dislikes

1. No drag/drop url to desktop from Chrome

2. Printing from Chrome no "print selection" option (maybe only my driver).

Growing

Ubuntu: Drag Browser URL Shortcut To Desktop In Chrome

To drag a website url from the Chrome address bar to the desktop thus creating a shortcut just left click, drag and drop. A shortcut is not created but the web page is copied to the desktop. When you open the file you can only hope there is a live link within the html file to the website you seek. I miss the easy drag/drop of browser shortcuts.

Firefox has an extension available called Deskcut. Chrome has nada.

Subscribe To iTunes Podcasts Without iTunes

Finally I found a way to grab iTunes only podcasts without giving in to using iTunes. Feed Flipper will create a link that works in Google Reader. Don't pick an individual podcast. Copy the links of the main iTunes link and paste it into the flipper.

Slow Right Click Response

My right click response in Win7 Explorer became intollerably slow. I install so much junk all the time that I had no idea what may have caused it. Nirsoft to the rescue with ShellExView. The problem may be a Context Menu add on from some third party, even Microsoft. The first one I disabled was Windows Live ID Sign-in Helper. Disabling it seemed to do the trick. Sign-in Helper must have been installed when I installed some of the Windows Live Essentials.

Some of the key Nirsoft utilities are available in the Liberkey Ultimate download.

Reliability Monitor Windows 7

Reliability Monitor: I too often forget this feature of Windows 7. If you are having problems this might help trace it down. Just type "reliability" into the Start Menu and the link should come up. Windows 7 is an amazingly stable and forgiving operating system but stuff happens. Windows Events Viewer can give even more information but the Reliability Monitor is clear and simple.

Programs I Install Every Time (Must Have)

I use these programs on every computer.

Install - Update Windows Software (the moving target) = More complete list here.
Updated 19-APR-2023

Updates:
Portable Update for Windows (I've never had to use this but in a pinch could be handy)

Install
AllDup 4.0 if you need duplicate finder.
AOMEI Backupper is slick for clone and system backup.
Antivirus I use MS Security Essentials or Defender only unless trouble knocks.
ClickMonitorDCC (dims screen - Windows does laptops bur not desktop)
Disk Drill (If need data recovery)
Easy File Locker (can hide a folder) (I simply use 7zip with password)

f.lux is a great little automatic screen light adjuster. I think better than Windows red shift.
Google Chrome

Irfanview Image Viewer (make default in Windows settings) (Install Plug-ins)

LibreOffice  (good enough MS Office replacement)

Macrium Reflect more cloning options than AOMEI. (I currently use AOMEI Backupper)
Microsoft Security Essentials (excellent and silent) don't pay for antivirus (needs authentication)
PDF-xChange Viewer (because I have Adobe)
RichCopy Fastest Windows file copy
StartupMonitor (I say no a lot)
TotalMounter A virtual drive that can be written to.

Volumouse  portable or install a must have

Portable/Stand Alone
Aero if not working type "aero" in win search and choose "fix transparency"
Anydesk Remote desktop
AutoHotKey (portable or install) (hints)

CCleaner portable in Symenu
CrossCopy.net allows file transfer between browsers.
Defrag JKDefrag Disk Defragger (the old version) (Not for SSD, if SSD don't even have on system)

  Defraggler if SSD on system
DimScreen (great little screen dimming program) Better than DimScreen is ClickMonitorDDC 

Everything (fantastic search) I install and run as service. Hot key alt-s. now set cntl+enter
Fast Copy Just unzip, no need to uninstall.
FastStoneCapture is still the best for quick and slick. Drop a jpg on it and mark up.
Freeviewer can view most things and even edit. Use UniversalExtract for stand alone. Don't download from Freeviewer site.

Gimp (portable or install) Installed is easier to add fonts and scripts. Paint.net for quick mark up.

  Partha's Place or SamJ for portable Gimp or Beta versions.
KidKeyLock to lock keyboard for cleaning while computer on or when the grandchildren visit.

LaunchyQT
PhotoResizer Small, fast and effective batch photo resize.
Rainmeter Desktop Widgets, I find a portable version. Best on dual monitor setup.
Registry Finder
Shadow Explorer Recover files from Windows restore points
Snappy Driver Installer This thing is magic. The data base is huge 13 GB but worth it.
Sourceforge portable app list
SpaceSniffer (Old Space Monger is still faster and better)
Speccy portable
SpinBackup for your Google Account Backup
SSD Life grab the free portable version.  Or use brand specific like Intel's own program for SSD

Steganos LockNote great little encrypted, passworded file creator
Symenu Great for portable programs

Throttlestop (easier than RMClocl) Use on Notebooks especially for undervolting.
   Here is a Throttlestop guide
   You may need to install these separately
   https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/throttlestop-not-working.246574/#post-3970634
Total Mounter (virtual cd can burn iso to it)

Unknown Device Identifier could help in a pinch (Snappy Driver will be better)
UltraFileSearch (search for text within files) I seldom use

Wallpaper Welder (great for dual monitors but not Win10)
WinCDEmu Mounts ISO and runs

Wiztree is a quick file hog finder, extract for stand alone.

WNetWatcher (quickly reads all LAN connections in detail, rocket fast from NirSoft) current network

Browser Extensions (I turn these off items if not using regularly, just right click any extension in the task bar to manage them) Chrome is a master at handling extensions.
uBlock Origin on always

Last Pass (browser extension) on always

Pocket formerly Read It Later, I use the bookmark not the extension
The Camelizer
BehindTheOverlay 

On Line:
Pixlr graphics editor in a pinch it works. Can add to Google Drive.
Send Anywhere (send files)

Windows Repair
Tweaking Windows Repair If things are really screwy

Things to Try

(Thinking)

Folder Structure On Second Drive If SSD
(or if I want to keep OS small)
Drives are huge now so I keep User files on C:

If I have D: I back up the user file to D: (less likely to lose both drives)


Tweak Windows
Transparancy - leave it on unless your PC is hopeless, I like it but it is greedy.

I like the interface to pop with hair blowing speed.

Visual Effects
Turn off the magic words
animate, peek, fade, shadows, slide (if it moves, kill it)

Disable Hibernate (then check that hiber.sys is deleted from C:\) Use Spacemonger to check.

Levono SL410 Drivers

Mikogo is an easy-to-use cross-platform desktop sharing tool

http://www.mikogo.com/
I have installed but yet to try. Install was painless but had to stop the auto start request.

Mikogo needs to be installed to start a session but joining a session only requires clicking "join" at the top of the Mikogo site.

They emailed me relentlessly for weeks trying to get me to use it. Ammyy is the way to go.

Roll The Mouse Over A Window and Scroll Works

I'm trying WizMouse. Will report back. I don't really want another thing starting with Windows but it would be nice to have the mouse scroll wheel work when the pointer is over a window without activating the window. So far so good and something that Windows should natively do.

Here is what it uses for resources:

Credit: HowToGeeks

Use EasyBCD to Boot Ubuntu Dual Boot

Edit: A problem already. An update to Ubuntu already blew off the Windows boot and Grub took over. It gave me several choices and I must have chosen the wrong one. Because the wait was zero I booted directly into Ubuntu. No problem, I will just increase the wait and use Grub. I will just edit boot/grub/locale/grub.cfg. Well, that didn't work. Grub.cfg is read only and can't be changed. Here are all the entries in my Grub and I don't know why. At least I can still dual boot while I figure it out.

Following is the answer from here:

I don't mind the Grub2 boot loader but after installing Ubuntu twice I had double Ubuntu boot entries. I could have easily edited the boot config file in Ubuntu and deleted those entries. Instead I decided to use the Windows boot loader. Here is how to do it:

While in Windows:

Download EasyBCD. It is free and stand alone so no need to install it.

Check to see that EasyBCD sees the Windows 7 boot.

Write Master Boot Record

Add New Entry

Save settings and reboot into Ubuntu.

Now boot into Ubuntu:

If you have not installed Startup Manager, do it. This allows you to do minimal editing of Grub, just enough for what we are doing.

In Ubuntu if you have used the startup manager to boot Windows first, change that back to booting Ubuntu first.

When in Ubuntu run startup manager and set the wait time to zero. This way when you boot Ubuntu from the Windows boot loader, Grub doesn't wait. If you have not installed "startup manager" in Ubuntu, I would advise you to do so. You can change the wait time through terminal but using startup manager is easier to explain that using the terminal.

 

Allmyapps Windows Application Store for Desktop and Web Apps

Allmyapps Windows Application Store for Desktop and Web Apps

If you set up systems often, this is a great way to quickly install much of you favorite software.

Move the Users Directory in Windows 7

Move the Users Directory in Windows 7:

LifeHacker has a good explanation of using junctions

This seems to be an easier way to move profiles with junctions.

This is the same as Lifehacker but clearer (and the one I used)

This is the essentials:

2 cautions:
1. X:\ is probably the virtual repair drive so don't try to perform action with X as an option.
2. Two word lables need to be in quotations "Program Files", or you will get a syntax error.

Enter Recovery (be careful about drive designations)
For most users, this can be accessed by pressing F8 at boot, and choosing “Repair your computer,” but is also present on a Windows install DVD.

robocopy "E:\Users" "D:\Users" /COPYALL /MIR /XJ
robocopy "E:\Program Files" "D:\Program Files" /COPYALL /MIR /XJ
robocopy "E:\Program Files (x86)" "D:\Program Files" /COPYALL /MIR /XJ

rmdir "E:\Users" /S /Q
rmdir "E:\Program Files" /S /Q
rmdir "E:\Program Files (x86)" /S /Q

mklink "E:\Users" "D:\Users" /J
mklink "E:\Program Files" "D:\Program Files" /J
mklink "E:\Program Files (x86)" "D:\Program Files (x86)" /J

Now, reboot. If all goes well, you should see something similar to the image below. Both Program Files and Users directories still exist, but now possess a small shortcut icon.

I did this and it works. I am still confused about seeing the folders on C:  Yes the Users (etc) folder has a junction shortcut symbol but the folders under Useres do not. I presume they are symbolic.

Flash Drive Reconditioning

I was fooling around with a flash drive and created a 1GB partition on and 8GB to install Puppy Linux. Later I wanted to remove the partition and regain the 8GB contiguous space. Windows 7 wouldn't do it. I didn't try other partitioning software but I did find a solution called Bootice.exe. This is a stand alone solution. Just Google it and download from mainline software aggregator. The author is Chinese and his home site does not have an English version (but then again maybe something was lost in Google translation).

PendriveApps tells how to use it but his links are broken.

This will tell how to do it.

I Hate New Google Previews

In Firefox use this GreaseMonkey script to turn previews off.
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/90394

There may be a way to tame them in Google settings.

Ubuntu 10.10 Easy - Slick - Pleasurable

Ubuntu keeps getting easier, better and bigger. If you put Ubuntu 10.10 on an 8 GB flash drive don't try to update, there is not enough room. That said, it doesn't need to update to work and be a handy repair platform for Windows disasters. But I must have done something wrong because my desktop setup is now only using 5.2GB of space.

I chose the 32 bit version even though I have 4GB of RAM. I wonder if Ubuntu 64 bit might have more driver issues. Anywho, I didn't want the frustration but 32 worked so well I wish I had done 64. This post enabled me to see the temp sensors. The GUI is Xsensors from Synaptic. On quad AMD it will not read, just like Core Temp for Windows it displays max temp 70.

Install lm-sensors like this:

Install lm-sensors:

sudo apt-get install lm-sensors

Then run:

sudo sensors-detect

there will be some questions and you can answer them all YES.
Now,use this command and you will get cpu temperature:

sensors

On my laptop I uninstalled Compiz to see if temps lowered. They did not. I was never successful in reinstalling Compiz and make it work. Lesson learned in the Compiz department. I did not uninstall/reinstall the graphics driver. That may have fixed it. So I installed 64 bit and everything even works better.

I used PendriveLinux's Universal USB Installer after downloading the Ubuntu ISO. I could have used Pendrive's MultibootISO but I wanted to install Ubuntu updates, which ended up too large anyway. But after you have Ubuntu installed on the flash drive, boot it and on the Ubuntu desktop is an install button. Use it to install to a machine hard drive. For my laptop I set of the flash drive from Ubuntu Startup Disk Creator. Everything worked great.

Make sure to have a free partition. I set aside 100GB, overkill I know and 20-30GB would have been enough. I have 5.2GB used. When Ubuntu formats the space I chose to mount root "/" but don't know if that is good or bad but it made sense to me. But be sure to reduce the size of the space and leave room for a swap partition. I left two and one half the amount of my ram. I did not change the default file system.

Be sure somewhere during the install to check the box for 3rd party mp3 support to avoid looking for it later. But if you forget, just open Rythembox with an mp3 and you will be directed to the necessary files. I chose to update during the install and Youtube played without a problem so Adobe Flash was covered.

Numlock not employing at startup has always bugged me. The fix is in keyboard options and explained in this post.

If you are a tweaker, install Ubuntu Tweaker by these instructions. I want my window controls on the right ... right?

If you want the cube thingy see this video. May be available anyway but this adds features.

Want the real Chrome? Go here. Then use sync and you are right at home (yes, I do believe Google is evil).

Install Gnome Do for a Launchy substitute. (Use Tweaker)

Logitech USB desk mic worked (after I selected it in sound options).

Webcam worked in Skype.

The Brother printer driver was found and installed easily.

Network interface installed automatically.

Video card drivers installed without my input. (Then upgrade System, Admin, Additional Drivers)

What are the chances I will get my Fujitsu ScanSnap to work? I haven't tried yet. Gscan2pdf works but is some slower than the Windows software. The images are good.

Another Linux mystery has been accessing a Windows network. At first I thought, here we go again, when I clicked Networks and got nowhere. I went to the Home folder and made a new folder. Then I right clicked the folder and shared it. I followed the prompts and the share to Windows network was all done for me. Linux likes Windows networks to be named "Workgroup" so if you have another fancy nomenclature it will not work without alterations.

There is simply no reason for the average person not to use Ubuntu, unless you consider they probably are using the "free" Windows residing on the Dell they purchased.

I am writing this with a Linux blogging module delightfully named "Drivel". (Which is apparently oblivious to paragraphing so I had to add them by editing the post.) I am installing Bloglio now.


Bloglio would not work because of some password thingy - so OK nothing is perfect.

Use Scribefire Chrome extension.

Here is a run down on install.

Edit Grub for Windows default startup.

sudo apt-get install startupmanager

Go to System, Admin, Startup-Manager

Install Ubuntu Tweak

After installing Ubuntu Tweak

Within Tweak

Go to Applications and install

Banshee (iTunes like player)

Cheese (web cam app) (too dark on my laptop)

Docky (I don't like docs)

Gimp (My favorite image editor loads fast in Linux)

Gnome Do (a Launchy type app)

Gnome MPlayer

VLC

Go to Desktop

Go to Desktop, Window Manager and put controls on right

This is a good video for setting up Compiz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y772Zrjwgws

Go to Ubuntu Software

Install compiz simple compiz

go to synaptic

compiz fuzion plugins extra

reboot

Go to System, Pref, Compiz

Desktop Cube

Rotate Cube

Wobbly Windows (would it be Linux without wobbly?)

and all the rest in the video

WinCDEmu - Portable Virtual CD Drive

WinCDEmu - Browse Files at SourceForge.net

Edit: They have hidden the portable version well but this link may still work.

I really like this simple solution. Program can be used stand alone as a sort of virtual CD drive. Just dig down the directory for the portable version. I don't know if it completely replaces Daemon Tools, which works just fine. I just like quick portable, use it and close it, way of doing things.

*** This is better and simpler
another one is qemu simple boot portable

Here’s a Super Simple Trick to Defeating Fake Anti-Virus Malware - How-To Geek

Here’s a Super Simple Trick to Defeating Fake Anti-Virus Malware - How-To Geek

This "rename" trick is one I have not used and will certainly try the next time someone brings an infected computer to my couch for me to "fix". The other hints on the above link are good also.

My Garmin Nuvi 350 Died - Long Live Garmin (fixed it)

Rumors of my Garmin's death were exaggerated. Actually I charged it and held power-on button long enough for it to come back to life.

My Nuvi 350 upon which I swung a mean deal ($700) when it first arrived on the scene for $1000, has suddenly gone on to digital heaven or hell (whichever). Personal navigation costs have drastically dropped and I am considering a new Garmin 255W for $94. I am tempted to buy the 1350LMT for $169 because of the lifetime map update but as long as haklabs renews its Garmin update hack, I believe I will save $75, go the haklabs.com lifetime update route, and go with the 255W. Happy trails to you, la, la, la.

New Computer Build

Edit: When considering an Asrock, add $30 for an Intel PCI-NIC because the Realtek NIC is junk. I tried an Intel PCI-express and it is no faster. Something is making my hard wire internet connection slower than my wireless.

Winter hideaway needs a computer just in case my laptop assumes room temperature. Here is what I ordered. It has been awhile so here's hopin'.

Here is current Prime95 8hr+ stable operation:

fsb 223

multi 17.5

MHz 3902

cpuv 1.457

nb 2676

nbv 1.3

ht 2007

ram 743/1486

ram 8-8-7-22

temp idle 35

temp stress 51/53

ambient 75

No reason to drop voltage/cpu MHz becasue the ASRock resists voltage drop on stress and will auto increase .05v. All you give up is speed without significant voltage/temp decrease. RAM will not Memtest pass over 1480. Maybe outside slots or some other settings could improve the RAM speeds. Even with looser clocks the ram would not pass over 1480. I do have several RAM settings off auto but should have done it earlier on stock settings. ASRock bios shows current settings so easy to do. Otherwise would have to read settings in AMD Overclocker.

ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard $89.99
SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express $64.99 - $15 rebate
AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - C3 Revision HDZ555WFGMBOX 0.875-1.40V $89.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) 1.5v Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL $49.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire $109 - $20 rebate
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" $54.95
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $59.95 - $15 rebate
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $18.99
LITE-ON SK-1788/BS 2-Tone PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard $14 w/shipping
Logitech S-220 17 Watts 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System - OEM $27.99
LCD Acer X203W 20" bought last year on some local deal.
Mouse - I must have one around here somewhere.
Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm $93 - $13.5 promo = $79.5
$609.34 Total

With monitor I will have $700+ in this thing, about the same price as an I5 Dell without a monitor. I have state of the art Heat Sink Cooler that is reusable, can overclock and tweak BIOS, have great air flow case, have USB3 and I did it myself (priceless). Most people should just buy a Dell and avoid the pains (and joys) of building a custom machine.

Still may need:

Extra 120 case fans for the Antec 300 $19 (great buy)

Molex to 4 - 3 pin adapter http://www.svc.com/zm-mc1.html

A few 3 pin fan wire extensions http://www.svc.com/fan-power-adapters.html

Maybe a fan controller $22

Shin-Etsu Silicone Thermal Grease $3.99 http://www.svc.com/g-751.html

Or Arctic Silver 5 $9 Or IC Diamond 7 $6

Y cable for the 2 - 3 pin fans $2 http://www.svc.com/3pinyadapter.html

Y cable for 2 - 4 pin fans $2.49 http://www.svc.com/fc444pwm-12.html

Wow, another $100 in cooling - bummer.

Or Corsair H70 $100

Or I could do Hyper 12 for $39

Or XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 for $29 after rebate

with XIGMATEK Crossbow Ack Ati775 Mounting Kit but I have top fan and cool video so meh.

Dark Knight version is $25 after rebate

(here is an interesting suggestion for TIM application on HDT's)

Or Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm $93 - $13.5 promo = $79.5 (has their own Y cable)

The Noctua is a tough call because of the high cost. It probably does perform well but some say it is very quiet as well. That quiet performance is very tempting.

I will just have to see how blazing hot it runs on stock HSF.

I never thought I would use AMD again (although I love AMD) but I just couldn't pass up the price and a chance to unlock the dual core into a quad and over clock. The ASRock motherboard has a ton of features for $89 and may possibly handle future chips if something sensational develops on the AMD CPU front. The video card is on the sad side but good enough for current use. We shall see how this all works before I buy an after market cooler. Crap, I didn't buy thermal paste. Maybe the stock heat sink has paste or pad on it. I can't remember the last time I even pulled a stock heat sink out of the box. If the 555 Callisto can over clock this could be the fastest computer I own but let's not count our chickens yet. And why such a big power supply? I quit chintzing on PSU's a long time ago. Over clocking will do that to you. I would have used a Cooler Master HAF 912 but the Antec 300 was a better deal. I would like to order the Corsair H70 cooler but I don't like pumps. I think a Noctua is calling me.

OC Posts (a little refresher):

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

A post on Ripjaw RAM

Specs for 555 BE Calisto Max temp is 70C so my 50C limit is safe. I have read Vcore of 1.5 to 1.55 is acceptable but I hate it that high. I hear true cpu temp on this ASRock is +4 or 5. For testing is I stay under 60C all should be good.

Update: I built it outside the case first of course. All 4 cores unlocked and overclocked to 4000 so far but I can't test very long with rising temps. The Ripjaws will not pass memtest dual channel at 1600. I'm not sure where their limit is because I'm still trying to figure out how to operate the magic wand for setting ram speed. Anyway, the combination appears to be a winner so now I need to decide on which HSF to buy.

Programs for OC testing: Link

At stock settings all four cores pass OCCT but toasty with that stock HSF. If I'm going to OC this animal I need BigHuge air.

My choice for a video card for my new build may have been on the light side. Not that it is a bad card but I should have done a little more brushing up. After reading Tom's Hardware's most recent discussion I could have picked the Radeon 5670 and Direct X 11 for what it's worth. But hey, the 4670 will be a nice backup card if I choose to upgrade. Or maybe I will buy another and Crossfire. I will probably be satisfied with my choice. It is quiet and cool.

Here is what I gather from Tom's article here.

Radeon HD 4670 good through 1680x1050 and cheap

Radeon HD 5670 can do 1920x1200 for a little more (not quite twice as expensive)

After that things get price-ugly quickly.

A 4 Gig Quad for $89? That's crazy talk!

Ambient is around 76F. (AC needs freon)

4000 MHz failed OCCT @ 1.5 Max Vcore (my personal limit for this CPU) But 1.55 is acceptable.

Dropped multiple to 17.5 and bumped FSB to 228 for 3990 MHz (took some R&D)

I reduced HT to 1800 so FSB at 228 made HT 2052

NB was 2000 and 228 made it 2280 MHz

Memory then increased from 1333 to 1520

Passed one pass of Memtest86. (I may do more later, or not)

(I read that using the far slots for RAM is better but I am not removing the fan on Mr. Noctua so close enough for government work. Maybe some day I will just to pass 4000+.)

I never had to do one single CMOS clear during the OC process.

Is this stable enough? Not for heart transplants but probably for what I do, although I have had OC's pass tests and crash and burn on the first game. This behavior is unusual but can happen. The moral is, if it works in the real world, it works. If I pass a Memtest86 run and survive an hour of OCCT without burning the house down, I declare victory.

I gave in and want it Prime95 stable. One core errors at the above settings at 45 minutes but the others go 8 hours+. I dropped FSB 2 MHz each time and Prime tested. I gain stable time with each setting reduction. I am now at 22 FSB x 17.5=3902 I bumped vcore up one notch. Stress temps are 51-53. All 4 cores pass 14:40+ hours with the higher voltage. NB to 2676.

I may eventually try getting the CPU MHz at or under 3800 while maintaining RAM speed to see how low I can get the voltage. I hear tell of a 3800 wall that requires disproportionate voltage to break (true or not). NB increase worked and stable. This would be a great "set it and forget it" position for 24/7. This baby already has some bragging rights.

RAM reads bump up slightly at 8-8-7-22.

NB 2664 Then I increase NB

Memory performance increases and Prime stable 9:30 hrs.

What about that Intel Burn Test?

I had some blue screen problems on reboots and narrowed it down to Logitech USB desk microphone. It could be the one core that Prime95 made fail at 45 min. but we will see. The mic is not plugged into a front USB port and is working but I have not rebooted yet. Could be the rear ports???

Oh, and that Noctua? Yes it is a monster. I have had Zalman, True, et. al. and this is the biggest. It is easy to install but the edge where I have to clip the two fans is so close to the top of the case it took some craftiness. The clipping system is the best I have seen. The packaging of every part is beautiful, "spared no expense". The fans are smooth and fairly quiet. I would buy it again. When I attach the cover to the Antec 300, temps dropped 2C. The air flow through this case with the Noctua blowing out the back is impressive.

Here is the somewhat ugly but useful for reading settings, ASRock OC Tuner:

Things I to do:

Raise only CPU multi. and leave FSB @ 200 to not raise RAM speed.

Keep CPU voltage (Vcore or VID) low as possible because it rises when stressed.

Keep HT and NB as close to 2000MHz as possible. Raise NB eventually?

When reach max try drop multi and raise FSB (FID) to get higher ram speed.

Maybe try running at 1T and/or tighten clocks.

Ganged vs Unganged is dual vs single channel? But BIOS and CPUZ still report dual channel so unganged must not mean traditional "dual channel". (some say unganged is better on quad) (or here) .

Asynchronous allows memory divider (I think).

This voltage gain may be good thing if predictable. It is better than v-droop.

Features I like on ASRock 870 Extreme3:
CMOS Clear button accessible on I/O panel.

On/off switch on motherboard.

USB3 (even though I have nothing usb3 yet)

Instant Boot is crazy fast. (don't know how long it will be trouble free but awesome now)

ASRock OC Tuner is ugly but great for reading settings. (I OC through BIOS)

Sound gives no pops or crackling yet.

Things to watch:

BIOS default is IDE so if you want AHCI set it before Windows install. You can change after but it requires a small regedit and two reboots.

Ram settings:




I need an SSD

Then there is this sad little number

Obama-care anyone? Notice only 223 hours of use!


After running ATI Overdrive the clocks went
from GPU 750 / MEM 800 to GPU 790 / Mem 910
Idle temp was 34C went to 35/36C and both were 53C during the test max.

Notes I need to read.
LLC: Disabled or 25% (disabled gives vRaise, 100% gives most vDroop)
Voltage: going to require MORE than normal if using 25% LLC, use disabled LLC.
RAM profile: standard, keep timings on auto, set voltage manually, select bus speed, boot, test stability, then tweak timings manually.
HT volts: 1.3+ if running higher fsb(240+)
CPU NB volts: raise to 1.3+ for 1600Mhz ram+, keep under CPU volts by a few menu selections, stop at 1.4x.
CPU VDDA/PCI-E VDDA: auto, only two selections(low/high)cpu vdda is multiplier core logic, pci-e vdda is pci-e (gfx card) slot supply voltage.

Disable spread spectrum, cnq, ec1, hpet.

Update to 1.47(or newer) bios (extremesystem forum)