Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Windows Forums member, Bert_H, asked the following question in our suggestion box:

[I'd like] an explanation on i3, i5, i7 Operating Systems, and how they compare with Core 2 and Quad Core CPUs.

Update: Manuel commented asking the following:

It seems core2 duo CPUs have not been included and where they belong.  Are core 2 duo CPUs comparable with i3s or even i5s?  thanks.

Scroll down or click here for the answer.

If you’re in the market to buy a PC and you’re looking for the best value for money, you’ve likely asked yourself: “what’s the difference between Dual and Quad Core and what about i3, i5, and i7?”
This guide offers a basic explanation of these five types of processors and will help you determine the best for your needs.
Before we go much further, I should make it clear that comparing Quad Core with i7 is not as simple as it sounds as they are not completely comparable. You’ll see why as you read on.
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Device drivers act as an interface (or communication channel) between your operating system and your hardware. To learn more about drivers, read computer drivers: the basics.

It’s important to keep your drivers updated to take advantage of code fixes, reliability improvements, and security; Intel have made it even easier to keep your drivers up to date with the Intel Driver Update Utility.

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The purpose of this post is to confirm the confidence I have in RAID technology as expressed in the earlier post “RAID“. It is occasioned by my recent plans to write a very different piece.

Background: the Warning Signs

Summers can get pretty hot here in Auckland. The average temperature for this time of year is 24 degrees Celsius (that’s 75 degrees Fahrenheit to North Americans) with 99% humidity so it’s no simple matter to keep a computer cool.

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A while back we looked at how could disable IE9’s GPU rendering abilities.

As other browsers in the market are yet to fully catch up to Microsoft in this arena, GPU rendering or acceleration will likely not be enabled by default.

If you use Google Chrome and it’s at version 8 or above (Wrench > About Google Chrome) and your hardware can support it, GPU acceleration and rendering can be enabled.

This Quick Tip is going to show you how.

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If you like to use shortcuts to get tasks done in the most efficient way, there is a large collection of commands you can run from the run dialog (XP/Vista/7) or the Start Menu (in Windows Vista/7.) In this guide, I’ll show you how to run the commands and what effect they have.

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To make things easier (for the common user) Microsoft decided to Categorize the Control Panel view. I never could get used to the new categories view, thinking that some of the panel applets were in the wrong category. Instead, I always immediately switch back to the “Classic” Control Panel view.

I recently learned that you can re-arrange the category arrangement, making it appear just as YOU think it should. It does involve editing the registry, but I’m sure that won’t scare you … much.

This tweak is generally for PRO and ULTIMATE users, but you may still be able to tweak some of the Control Panel Applets on lower versions.

Open RegEdit

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