OCTOBER 2007 MAXIMUMPC 103
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LETTERS POLICY: MAXIMUM PC invites your thoughts and comments. Send them to input@
maximumpc.com. Please include your full name, town, and telephone number, and limit your
letter to 300 words. Letters may be edited for space and clarity. Due to the vast amount of e-
mail we receive, we cannot personally respond to each letter.used MyDVD in some time, but the scores from
Recode 2 and Premiere Pro would probably be
reasonably consistent with those from other
video encoding and editing applications. Finally,
frame rates aren’t the only thing that applies
to a graphics card. Video decode quality also
counts (see our stand-alone videocard reviews
for our take on video decode quality).
SERVER TRANSFORMER
Is there any way to turn a server into a desktop
computer? I ask because the opportunity to get
some high-speed servers very cheaply has come
my way. They have either eight 2.8GHz parallel
processors or four 3.2GHz parallel processors and
between 4GB and 6GB of RAM.
Could I stick a videocard and soundcard into
such a machine and make a half-decent PC out
of it? I don’t want to spend much money, and I
figure this would be cheaper than upgrading my
PC if it would work.
—Max
SENIOR EDITOR GORDON MAH UNG RESPONDS:
You could do it, but there are a few sticking
points that may make it inadvisable. The first
is noise. Servers are typically locked up in air-
conditioned rooms and pack the shrillest fans
you’ve ever heard. If you want to save power,
an eight-CPU server is not the answer either.
Finally, the OS will be an issue. Windows XP Pro
limits you to two physical processors, as do all
versions of Vista, (save for Vista Home Basic,
which limits you to one CPU). To run the eight-
proc box, you’ll need Windows 2003 Server
Enterprise SP2; to run the four-proc machine,
the standard SP2 version is fine. However, get-
ting games to run on Windows 2003 Server will
be a challenge. So, converting a server into
a general-use desktop machine? I wouldn’t
do it. However, being a hardware hoarder, I’d
probably still jump on one of those eight-proc
machines just for kicks.
QUICKTIME EQUALS ICKTIME
When will you drop the horrible QuickTime encod-
ing from the discs? I want to copy the freebie
programs onto a hard drive, and having to carry
around 100 frappin’ DVDs whenever I’m called to
fix somebody’s computer is a real deal-breaker.
—James Delashmit
ASSOCIATE EDITOR DAVE MURPHY RESPONDS:
If the movies on the monthly CDs are driving
you insane, you can access the disc’s con-
tents directly using Windows Explorer. Click
the CD icon, then click the Assets folder, and
open up the Data folder. You should be able
to figure out which files correspond with the
programs you want.IS IT SLEEPY-TIME ALREADY?
Just wanted to say thanks for the great article
on configuring computers to use S3 sleep mode
rather than S1. I used to let my computer run
24/7, so I always had access to files on it over
my wireless network and so that it would sync
up with my laptop. I’d say that single article paid
for my subscription several times over.
—Dan OlsonDREAM MACHINE POWER
It seems that you have another winner with this
year’s Dream Machine (September 2007).
However, the article didn’t mention how
many watts or amps the total system requires
when operating at 100 percent. I was won-
dering how much it costs to operate such a
powerful machine and if the average home user
would need a dedicated circuit to run it. But then
again, if you could afford the total package price,
you probably wouldn’t flinch when your utility
bill arrived parcel post.
—Bradford HinkleSENIOR EDITOR GORDON MAH UNG RESPONDS:
Fortunately, Dream Machine 2007 consumes
far less power than a hair dryer or microwave.
Unfortunately, you don’t run your hair dryer
or microwave for hours on end. At the socket,
the Dream Machine consumed between 400
watts and 650 watts, depending on the load.
That’s just the box proper, not including the
monitors and speakers, so expect to add
another 400 watts to be safe. In most modern
homes, you shouldn’t need a dedicated circuit
to run the Dream Machine. At the same time,
I would not want to plug it into a circuit also
running any power-guzzling appliances. As to
how much it costs to operate, that depends on
your local rates.NOVEMBER
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is susceptible to all sorts of ills.
Get your PC into tip-top shape
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