IT Legends – Tech in Connecticut

Experts-Exchange.com having a little fun at all of us who know the little secret to view answers without having a subscription via google.
I have to say, I like it!
Fun. Check
Attempts to solve a problem without being normal jerk company. Check.

Good Job Expert-Exchange!

One of these windows is not like the other.....

So.. Since I recently bought a 130 year old house and we are having a super cold winter,  I’ve been looking for cheap cost effective ways to improve the insulating qualities of my house.

Guy Marsden Sustainable living  to the Rescue!

I followed (with slight modifications) his plans for DIY, inexpensive indoor storm windows. or INTERIOR WINDOW INSULATION PANELS as he calls them..

The pic above shows the results. (taken with awesome FLIR thermal camera)  I’ll post some Pics of my actual built windows in a little bit.

Disclaimer: I’ve got no relation to FLIR or Guy Marsden, they havn’t sent me a thermal imaging camera or a truck load of spare solar collectors. But as far as I’m concerned they both Rock.. Except that FLIR used to mean Forward Looking Infra Red.. so using that is like calling your company LASER..am I nit picking?   but still.. awesome product.

So..   This.. Very awesome informative  image is the reason for the previously described water cooling blocks for my video cards.

Check out this thermal Image I took with a borrowed FLIR Thermal Imaging Camera.

Inner Video card is RED

For Reference:

Yellow blob on bottom is Video card getting enough air.
Red Blob on top of it is the inner video card cooking,
This is why I need to find the time to setup the water blocks!
Blue Circle on top is the copper Water block on my CPU, That is doing it’s job!

Disclaimer: the FLIR Camera is AWESOME and super easy to use and I would be happy to take a review Unit  from the company and would then post tons of more crazy pics. But unfortunately they and I have NO relation and I had to borrow this one.  oh well.

Repairing a friend’s PC tonight. She got it for free and it didn’t work.. Someone had previously tried to fix it and replaced the Power Supply with one that is so not correct it is silly… They put the 20 pin connector into the 24 pin slot on the mother board.. hmm Why won’t this power on???

I know, I know.. those pins aren’t “Required” but with a Pentium D class power hog, what do ya expect..

Luckily we had an extra PS around the house(surprise)

Anyway.. to the point.. I’ve mostly managed to avoid Vista.. really, but this PC has it installed and I have to say.. WoW.. It really sucks!

First I couldn’t connect to my own wireless networks, so I disabled the  firewall, then it displayed that it was back on, then it displayed that it was off again,  is not on.. now it is on..Then Windows showed it ON but not at recommended settings. So I click on what is recomended.. mistake…

So I mange to get onilne and head straight to windows update… more fun…

First, There are no important updates, just optional ones.. So I click to see those.. oh wait.. now there are actually 69 critical updates right next to those… . sigh..

I’ve used Windows 7 for a couple hours, nothing like this crap….

Disclaimer: I’m still on XP on my main PC.

I just got a Zalman ZM-GWB 8800GT/GTS on my favorite website, Ebay! (Finally, a full cover block for my EVGA 8800GT Super Clocked!)
Having several days for it to arrive I scoured the web looking for images of it esp the internals but  I couldn’t find any of the inside!

So, as soon as it arrived I did the only thing I could do: Opened up and snapped a few pics with the Iphone.

Here they are:

BTW: I also just picked up a 2nd one of the 8800gt cards.  Now I’ve got to get a 2nd water block!.. Will update once I get them hooked up.
Also.  I went with these instead of the Danger Den for 2 reasons: 1. Price  2. Size/orientation: These have the barbs on the side while the DD ones are on top and I’d have to cut a chunk out of my Sunbeam acrylic case. (same 2 reasons that I have the 8800GT and not the GTX, that and power usage) I already had to drill 2 holes in the case for the coolant tubing.

Disclaimer: I received no product or  Treasure from the listed companies. (though I’ll take some, and then of course disclose it)  Just writing what’s at hand and what I know. I purchased all this myself.