So I got this new thermal paste from Cooler Master. My stock paste (with stock heatsink) showed a min of 38*C and a max of 46*C on CoreTemp while only running CoreTemp, on average, per core (My CPU is an Intel i7 2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz).

With the new paste under same conditions, even room temperature, I averaged 30*C min and 40*C max. An average of a whopping 9*C drop.

Needless to say, we can learn two things here; firstly, stock paste is pretty shit, secondly, Cooler Master know their shit.

My next investment will be a full tower case. I’m still looking at the HAF 932.

This is the most vital area of computing no matter who you are or what you do with computers. Whether you simply just browse Facebook or make films, these skills can and will keep your computer at its healthiest. Meaning it will be as a fast and efficient as possible. It’s taken me nearly a week to write this as it requires careful attention.

The best and easiest places to start would be two tools called Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter.

Disk Cleanup literally deletes files that your computer makes on a regular basis but become useless after it has used them. Don’t be afraid of deleting them as they are only needed by your computer once. If this was never done on your 5 year old machine you could save yourself up to 15GB of space!

Disk Defragmenter gets all the files on your computer and rearranges them into an order that makes it easier for your computer to find them when needed, saving it time when doing tasks. This could knock up to 5 seconds off your bootup speed if it was never done before.

These can be both be found by following this path;

Start\All Programs\Accessories\System Tools 

OR

Go to My Computer and right click on your ‘C:’ drive then on the menu that pops up click on ‘Properties’ at the bottom.

The tools are easy to use and don’t really need me to instruct you on how to use them. They MUST be used on a weekly, if not daily basis to keep your system as healthy as it can be.

UPDATES! UPDATES! UPDATES!

Fuck! I cannot stress this enough. Updates are the single most important thing your computer needs! You are all aware of some form of software wanting you to click an update button. But you most likely just click the ‘X’ to close it and then it just pops again tomorrow. Well then, that means you’re a fucking idiot. What in the name of fuck are you so afraid of?! Just click update! It might take a minute to do it might even ask you to restart your machine. If it does, THEN FUCKING DO IT! Not only do updates make your computer BETTER, they also prolong computer life, make your life easier, and make your machine less likely to break! Yes, that’s right, ignoring updates is usually the reason your computer breaks. And guess what. It will be entirely your fault. It’s as bad as ignoring a crying baby. It is vital for the general well-being of your machine that you always update. I’m not even being in any way sarcastic. 

Updates in general are usually bug-fixes that make the software less likely to do something it shouldn’t. Very, very important stuff.

The most important updates are for Windows and for your anti-virus (I’ll talk about anti-virus some other day).

Windows updates should be checked daily and should always be downloaded and installed. These updates could be anything, even something that could prevent your system breaking for no reason.

To update (or at least check for updates for) Windows; simply click your Start button and go to All Programs. It should be listed there. If not, you can run a search in the Start buttons search bar.

Always restart your machine when asked. Seriously, it’s a lot more important than you might think.

HOGGING FILES YOU DON’T NEED.

Go to My Documents, including pictures, music, videos and downloads and delete everything you don’t need. No really, do it right now! Seriously, you’ll be shocked how much crap you have on your computer that you don’t need or want. This will save space on your hard-drive andcan prevent your hard-drive becoming over-worked and eventually breaking down altogether, which means you’ll lose everything and will need to buy a new one. That is a very common problem to happen to people who misuse their machines. Less strain, more gain.

EMPTY YOUR RECYCLING BIN!

People always forget this shit. When you ‘delete’ something, it doesn’t actually leave your computer, it’s just moved to the bin located on your desktop. To empty, hence actually deleting the files, just right-click and hit empty on the bin icon. You’ll know there’s something in your bin when the icon looks like it has crumpled-up paper in it.

Other simple things you can do include;

> Deleting your browsing history in your internet browser. (makes Internet faster)

> Use Google Chrome.

> Turn off transparency in Start\Control Panel\Appearance and Personalization\Personalization\Window Color and Appearance

> You can also stop programs from starting when you turn on your computer by going into the programs settings and un-tick the appropriate box. Programs like Skype, MSN, Dropbox and Steam are all bastards for starting when you don’t ask them too. This can vastly improve performance.

> Close a program when finished with it.

> If your computer freezes up, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE and press the Task Manager option to force-close the glitchy program.

There are literally millions of small things you can do to improve life-length and general performance of your machine. These are the basics and most important.

Next time I will do a rant on anti-virus and what you should use and how to use them. Thanks for reading! :D

(Excuse the length but this will most likely be my longest computer rant. There is just too much to talk about here.)

The best place to start with knowing computers is terminology. You don’t need to know this but it’s damn fucking handy to know when you see it written or hear it mentioned somewhere. These are only basics and are not fully explained as they get too complex for most people to understand.

Hardware: This is the term used to describe the parts of the computer you can touch in real life using your hands. This includes everything from your mouse and keyboard to your USB ports and the fancy looking bits on the inside of your machine. Like in this picture, this is my computer:

Software: Is the exact opposite of the above. It’s everything to do with computers that you cannot touch. Whether it’s Facebook, Google, the clock in the corner of your screen, the ‘Start’ button in the other corner or your favourite computer game. Anything that appears on your screen is ‘software’.

Laptop: If you don’t know what a laptop is then you’re an idiot. Most of us these days own one. Put simply, a laptop is a full computer you can carry around with you. They break easily and should only be owned by people who need to work on the move. Using it as a ‘Facebook Machine’ is a waste of money. A computer-illiterate should get 6 months to 3 years out of a laptop, depending on the brand and how they treat them.

Desktop: This is the other type of computer, like in the picture above, the one under you desk with your keyboard, mouse and monitor placed on some form of table. Typically speaking a desktop is an overall better machine than a laptop. They are less likely to break, more powerful, more customizable, can do more and could last you up to 5+ years without fault. Again, this varies.

Hard Disk Drive: Nicknamed the ‘hard drive’, this piece of hardware is literally a very thick, hard, disk-shaped object packed into some form of box inside your computer. Their main purpose is storage. All your files, pictures, music, programs even Windows itself is stored here. Typically speaking they break easily and often before anything else.

USB: A.K.A.; Universal Serial Bus. We all know what a USB port looks like. They are generally accepted by all computer manufactures as a form of plugging stuff into your computer, like an iPod or a flash drive (memory stick).

Operating System (OS): This is the technical name for Windows, Mac OSX or Linux. Most of you have Windows but don’t know that Windows is an operating system. Everything you see on your screen is Windows and is used to run programs and generally make computers usable by the average person. Different versions of Windows include Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. In that order, they are just more updated and more modern versions of the previous ones. ‘7’ being the newest.

PC (Personal Computer): This is the term used to describe a computer that doesn’t have an Apple logo on it. It most likely runs Windows. You either own a Mac OR a PC. There is nothing else.

Mac: This is Apple’s attempt to brand their own PCs. A Mac is a PC with a brand name. They should never be considered better or worse than PCs unless you can provide valid and sourced information for your argument. It’s a personal choice for most people. I will do a rant on why NOT to buy one in the future, long story short; they are a waste of money for some very good but mind-blowing reasons.

I could go on for days with terminology but if you can understand the difference between a laptop and a desktop or a PC and a Mac after this then at least you’ve learnt something and I’ve completed my goal of teaching.

My next rant will be ‘Basic Computer Maintenance Skills’. It should teach you some simple ways to keep your computer healthy.

OK, some of you (Facebook friends) might remember I posted this the other day.

Well I’m doing it again because I made a NEW blog just for this.

I’m making a blog in which I rant/give lectures on specific areas in computing. It should be a good read for anyone who likes computer but it WILL be massively helpful for those who know little to nothing about computers.

My first rant will be about basic computer knowledge and getting to know what exactly it is you use to browse Facebook and play Solitaire.

If you’re using a Mac (the computers with the Apple logo on it) I won’t be much help but the read can’t hurt.