using an NEC 3090WQi
monitor for years, and it was
well worth the two grand I
spent on it. But it’s starting
to show its age (as am I).
After being left on all night,
the display starts showing
a strange shadow pattern.
If I turn it off, it works fine.
Unfortunately, I have a bad
habit of leaving the monitor
and PC turned on, so I believe
it’s time for a replacement.
Here’s the thing: I’m
having a difficult time finding
an equivalent 30-inch or
larger monitor with a similar
vertical pixel count, and I
don’t want a worthless toy
with a 16:9 aspect ratio when
I have 16:10 now. Do you have
any suggestions? I just heard
about the new Alienware
55-inch OLED panel, but I
think that’s a bit too large for
a desktop PC. Thanks, from
one doc to another.
–Robert Kleinhaus, MD
THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: Once
upon a time, the Doc used a
trio of 24-inch Dell 1920x1200
displays for writing, research,
and gaming. As they grew
older and needed to be
replaced, he was dismayed by
the shift to 16:9, since a loss of
vertical screen space meant
more scrolling through white
papers and reviews spanning
many thousands of words. At
least there was some solace
in lower prices, enabled by
manufacturing efficiencies
as TVs and monitor panels
shared the same aspect ratio.
But based on your interest
in the Alienware 55-incher,
which employs a 4K OLED
panel able to refresh at 120Hz,
it sounds like you’re more
concerned about absolute
resolution than maintaining a
specific aspect ratio. After all,
3840x2160 translates to 16:9,
just like 2560x1440.
The Doc agrees that 55-inch
is too large for a typical
desktop environment, where
you sit a couple of feet away
from the screen. So, why not
consider a 4K screen in the
30 to 32-inch range? You’ll
find plenty of options for less
than $1,000, and a handful of
professional models available
between $1,000 and $2,000.
If you really must have a
2560x1600 resolution, Dell’s
UP3017 is still for sale direct
from the factory. NEC’s old
PA302W is around in some
capacity, too. However, both
monitors are more expensive
than a lot of really nice (and
newer) 4K screens.Upgrading a Dinosaur
Hi Doc, I need a little advice.
I have an Asus M4A785TD-
V-EVO motherboard and an
AMD Phenom II processor. I’d
love to drop in a new CPU for
some additional performance
and, at the same time, keep
all of the old components.
If this isn’t possible,
I’m willing to buy a new
motherboard to support a
newer AMD processor if it
means I can also recycle
the hardware plugged into
my existing system, which
I built with the help of your
magazine a few years ago.
–EdTHE DOCTOR RESPONDS: The
AMD 785G chipset on your
M4A785TD-V launched almost
10 years ago. According to
Asus, its mobo accommodates
everything up to a Phenom
II 1100T—the highest-end
six-core model AMD made.
You might be able to find a
used one, but it would almost
certainly cost more than you
should spend on 10-year-old
technology. Don’t do this.
A Socket AM3+-equipped
platform would at least let
you keep the same DDR3
memory, graphics card, and
storage subsystem. Stepping
up to a motherboard with
an AMD 970 chipset and an
eight-core FX-8350 CPU
wouldn’t even cost very much.
But again, you’d have to accept
spending money on hardware
introduced in 2012.
Try this on for size instead:
Snag an affordable AMD
B450-based motherboard, an
inexpensive Ryzen 3 or Ryzen
5 processor, and at least a
couple of 4GB DDR4 memory
modules. Old graphics cards,
SATA hard drives or SSDs, andother PCIe peripherals should
carry over without a problem
if you don’t plan to buy new
ones. But you’ll own a modern
platform with conveniences
such as USB 3.1 Gen 2 and a
clear upgrade path.Cutting-Edge SSDs
Doc, I’m considering buying
two Samsung 970 PROs,
namely a 1TB model for
data storage and the 512GB
version for installing my
Windows 10 operating
system. But your April 2019
article on the Samsung
970 EVO Plus 1TB now has
me reconsidering.
The benchmarks show
the 512GB 970 PRO lagging
behind the 1TB 970 EVO
Plus 1TB, which the article
explains by saying “platform
differences may account for
some of the delta.” Can you
please elaborate?
Putting aside the Intel
905p because of its price,
should I swap the two 970
PROs I’m considering for a
pair of 970 EVO Pluses?
–Robert TortorelliTHE DOCTOR RESPONDS:
Go with the 970 EVO Plus.
Samsung’s first SSD with
96-layer V-NAND improves
upon its predecessor while
maintaining the original
970 EVO’s price points. As a
result, the 970 EVO Plus offers
performance per dollar that’s
hard to beat.
The 970 PRO does employ
two-bit-per-cell NAND, which
turns in better benchmark
numbers than the 970 EVO
Plus’s V-NAND in its native
TLC mode. But Samsung gives
the 970 EVO Plus a generously
sized single-level cell cache,
so it can sustain sequential
read and write speeds that
bump against the limits of a
four-lane PCIe 3.0 link.
And don’t worry about
the endurance of Samsung’s
V-NAND. Not only is the
company known for selling
reliable SSDs, but it covers
the entire 970 EVO Plus
family with a five-year limited
warranty. The 500GB model
is rated for 600 terabyteswritten, while the 1TB version
boasts a 1,200 TBW rating.Resetting Windows 10
Hi Doc! My eight-year-old
system is showing its age
to the point that I want
to replace it. Although
everything runs well, I’m not
sure how much longer it’ll
last. I was thinking about
giving it to a friend so that
one of his enterprising kids
can tinker with it.
I’m currently running
Windows 10 Home and will
get a fresh license with
the new machine. I have no
problem removing all my
personal files before handing
the PC over, but now that
so much of Windows is tied
to online accounts and web
services, is there an easy way
to depersonalize an installed
copy of Windows 10?
It’s not worth the effort for
me to format the hard drive,
reinstall Windows, and load
up fresh drivers, nor do I
want to leave this task to my
friend. So, I was hoping you
knew of a relatively painless
way to clean everything up.
Can I set up a new admin
account under the recipient’s
name and use that to delete
the one under mine?
Also, since so much of my
personal info is tied to Google
nowadays (as it covers
both my PC and phone), if I
uninstall Chrome, will that
erase my Google profile from
the system, or are there
additional steps I need to
take to secure non-Microsoft
products and services?
–Isaac PetersonTHE DOCTOR RESPONDS:
There’s no need to erase
profiles or hand-pick the
accounts to delete. Simply
open the “Start” menu, click
the “Settings” icon, and
select “Updates & Security.”
In the left-hand pane, click
“Recovery,” and under “Reset
this PC,” click “Get started.”
When the new window opens,
select “Remove everything”
and follow the instructions
to get Windows 10 back to a
“factory” state.maximumpc.com JUN 2019 MAXIMUMPC 23