[mangujowa]

Someone, probably awdark. =__=" , said that leaving your compy on 24/7 will fry out your harddrive, but what about the standby mode? ( I don't wanna leave it on either cuz my laptop's fan is hella loud. It's notorious for being loud, too. = no sleep ) Is Stand by bad for my computer? cuz I like that better, so I don't take so much start up time. =__=" Is there any bad effects? cuz like I heard hibernating makes your compter slower (yeck, it's slow enough. )...or is turning off the only good option? What EXACTLY is stand by, anyways?. argh, so many questions.

[awdark]

I didn't say it will fry out your hard drive...
I just think its a waste of electricity.

Standby mode is a very good option. Hibernate isn't bad either.

Standby tells the computer to turn everything but certain parts of the motherboard and ram off. You know how ram stores all the temporary data right? Like everything on screen now is stored in the ram. Ram is memory that will loose its data when power is turned off, unlike flash memory like the one in your digital camera. (I can explain but if you are really curious, howstuffworks.com)

Hibernate takes the idea one step further. Instead of continuing to send power to the memory chips, it copies all the data from the memory chips to the hard drive then turns everything off. So when you turn the computer back on (you can even unplug it if you want... the computer will still start from exactly where you hibernated from). It will copy data that it saved to your hard drive back into the ram and you will get to use it again.

SO... whats best?
Standby. I like standby. It uses very little power in standby and should seem like its almost off. However for a notebook user like you, it will continue to use a little battery when its in standby... and I don't know how long it will last before you use the battery up... so hopefully you will leave it plugged in.

In terms of making the computer slower... that can happen with all 3 of your options. Standby, hibernate, and just leaving it on. The reason is Windows tends to forget things and leave chunks of files in your ram. Eventually your ram gets overloaded with junk files and you run out of ram... making the computer very slow =__=

[mangujowa]

^then how do you fix it when all the junk gets on your RAM and makes it veryyyy slow? will a proper shut down or restarting will do it? Then how often should I restart/shut down to maintain normal speed?
I NEVER EVER unplug my laptop, so no worries there. I can't. The P4 makes the battery life less than an hour. =__=" . If I got a celeron processor or Pentium M, battery life would be better, but noooo, I just had to get the middle priced one with the worst battery life xD.
oh, I didn't mean fry out the hardrive, I meant someone said it will last shorter. o_o"

[happyroach]

Well I'm just here to say...

No leaving your computer on doesn't fry your harddrive. Otherwise my harddrives would've died out a LONG time ago

My computer stays on for 7 days per start up on average

[awdark]

^Yeah see? just go and restart the computer like once a week. If her computers last a week with her download habits yours can too.

Yeah the normal shutdown and reboot will clear that junk out and bring you back up to speed. ~_~ less than a hour battery life... thats a bit sad you know.

I wonder what type of CPU you have... I figure it HAS to be a mobile P4... because if its a normal desktop CPU that would be really sad... (desktop CPU uses an average of 85 watts, laptop cpu uses average of 35 watts)
So it HAS to be a mobile chip... just a very inefficient one >_<

[mangujowa]

The guy at best buy was like, " you DO know that the battery life SUCKS because its a Pentium Four, so it takes up a LOOOOT of electricity?"
its a : Mobile Pentium 4 520 2.8GHz, with Hyper-Threading

=__=" How come when I read reviews about my laptop, its like 1gb ram and 3.4-3.6 Ghz when MINE is 512 mb. Ram and 2.8GHz?
even here : http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?...8&review=ZD8000 it says its 1GB DDR2. =__=" Stupid best buy ripped me off? O_O"

[awdark]

Eh I doubt they ripped you off, and I know they have many different models.

Perhaps you should go on the hunt for one of those speed tools, rmclock, speed switch xp, notebook hardware monitor... stuff like those.

Sometiems they release new versions that add support for more laptops.

Your laptop isn't exactly a laptop.. its a desktop replacement... Seriously... o_o wa the review said it has a 130 watt ac adapter! Thats more than double my ghettoblaster notebook that uses 56 watts.

>_< SOOO many fans!

[mangujowa]

^whats a watt ac adapter? o__o" and yeah, weighing in at like 10/11 pounds, its a desktop replacement. Especially with the 17 inch widescreen and number pad. (but my old desktop was a 19 in" screen . TT__TT ) It's transportable, but not portable.

whats "speed tools, rmclock, speed switch xp, notebook hardware monitor"?? what do they do, and where do I get those?

[awdark]

Just google them.
They let you decrease the speed of your processor when you don't need the extra speed. Less speed means less power and less heat. So if you run on battery, more battery life and the fans won't have to turn on as often... unless its always on... (that would be sad)

wattage well... the lightbulb is the best example. A 100 watt lightbulb is brighter than a 40watt one. The 100 watt is also that much hotter in comparison to the 40 watt one.
So without going into physics V=IR, a laptop that uses 130 watts at full load just means it uses more power than the ghettoblaster laptop I have.
However, your laptop uses about a third of the electricity my computer uses... about 350watts.

I actually use RMclock on my desktop computer...

See the two things I have there? P-state 0 is when im on soompi and when my computer doesn't need much power. P-state 1 is when I play games or do something that needs a lot of power. (state 0 is about 1ghz, 1 is about 2.75ghz) It changes automagically so its a good thing. And I save power.

[mangujowa]

ohhhhhh, I hate low watt light bulbs, though. I use 150 or 200 watt bulbs XDD. So... does that explain my huge electricity bills? TT___TT"

Thanks, Mr. Super Technologically-oriented Scary Guy who isn't so mean, but is for calling me stupid in korean, for helping me so much. I ask so many questions, sorry!!!

oooooh how cooll. but I wouldn't know how to configure all that stuff. o_o