Advice needed on appropriate system and hard drive security.

[KRALLODHRIB]

Yep, I posted this in the apothecary and received only one not very useful response. Perhaps here, it will receive more attention. ~D

Hello,

I have been a fan of the TW series for years and have recently been experiencing numerous difficulties with my laptop.

Cicero
Pentium 4
2.4 (ghz?) speed processor
30 gig hard drive
512 Azen RAM
SIS 650 (64 ram?) integrated chipset

While RTW will not work at all on my old Dell dimension 4100 desktop (another computer)-believe me I’ve tried repeatedly. Suffice to say that RTW did work on minimum settings continuously for about 8 months after purchase of the laptop—I do realize that it was never really MEANT for the laptop. Anyway, I can usually play around 30 min on the laptop before it overheats and shuts down. I am bringing the laptop to the retailer (along with my still valid warranty) this summer (due to distance/time problems). The shutdowns occur any time I rely heavily on the processor, i.e., playing RTW, multitasking, burning CDs, copying music, even defragmenting!.

Anyhow I have two concerns/questions:

1-I am concerned about the privacy and security of my hard drive contents when they (the retailer) repair/replace my original laptop (which they may very well have to do, cince I have a "No-Lemon" clause in my warranty); they are telling me that they probably will NOT be able to give me the original hard drive because the manufacturer will require to give me a replacement laptop, BUT that they will give me a signed written statement to assure me that my old hard drive contents will not be copied or made public in some nefarious way. However, I trust no one with my hard drive contents and especially a company that may not be around in 5 years while my hard drive may be around well after they are gone. I know that it is virtually impossible to completely destroy hard drive contents unless you physically smash it--although some software suggests otherwise--I don't trust 'em. ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

2-I want to buy a new desktop to replace my aging workhorse Dell dimension 4100, preferably with good/great graphics potential to allow me to play RTW and pause it for hours for snacks, conversations, etc and FINALLY complete the game on a glorious visually stunning desktop monitor. I'm thinking a Dell Dimension 8400 with the ATI Radeon x300SE or the Dell Dimension XPS (Gen 4) ; i want a machine that will allow for smooth RTW play as well as good video uploading, editing, and video DVD ripping & burning. Dell was always good to me and I want to avoid a true "gamer's pc" because I need it to perform many different tasks not just gaming.

[Quillan]

1) I don't believe this is strictly true. Data on a hard drive is stored as a series of 1 and 0 digits, just like everything else a computer works with. Deleting a file from your hard drive doesn't actually erase the data, it simply removes the links telling your operating system where to find it. It's effectively gone, and will be overwritten, but the right equipment and software can recover it. There are some programs out there that manually overwrite deleted sections with all zeroes. It sounds to me like you aren't worried about getting the contents back, you're just worried about someone else reading/making use of your data after you've turned the laptop in. Try one of these programs; I'm pretty sure they'll work.

2) Personally, I dislike Dell. I dislike Gateway too, and Compaq, and HP, and pretty much every package system. I have nothing against them, as such, I just prefer to build my own. However, if you do decide to go with Dell, I definitely recommend going with a better video card than that one. Since it sounds like you're planning on doing a lot of media creation/editing/encoding, I recommend going with something based around the Prescott processor. The Athlon 64s will do better in games, but the Prescotts do much better with media work. Also, the X300 is PCI-Express, not a problem if you're buying a new computer, but if you go PCI-E, I recommend nothing less than an X800 vanilla or a 6600GT for a video card.

[conon394]

To follow up on Quillian's post

If your interest is in a software product for a secure overwrite/delete of the HDD, I would reccomend DBAN.

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

[Someone Stupid]

1.)I've recommended DBAN before and will do so right now - use DBAN. The only reason I don't use it is that I have access when needed to a dedicated recovery box that has such options built in. It's just basically a shoebox with an LCD screen and a cable with an adapter for SCSI and SATA.

2.) As for an X300 SE - it'll be better than the intergrated SiS solution you have now, but probably not what your expecting. If you've ever played the game on a plain 9600 or 5700, it'll be SLOWER than that. If you've only ran on dedicated graphics though, you probably will be pleased with the upgrade. Just know that the card in question is slower than the midrange cards of last generation - and the SE tag only means it is crippled an extra bit.

Personally I would NOT get a prescott if getting a notebook. If it was going to be a notebook from Dell it'd have a Dothan in it. The Dothan performs close enough to a prescott at slower speeds and using a lot less power (thus less heat and less chance of having 50db hairdryer/notebook combo). You'll pay a bit more for it, but for a notebook, it is worth it. You'll get a thinner, lighter, and quieter solution with considerably longer battery life and practically identical performance to boot. Yes, they are slower in MHz, but they do more work per clock cycle to make up for it - similar to AMD's K7 and K8 architectures (XP and A64).

If you have a budget in mind and don't mind posting it or messaging it - probably tomorrow night I'd have time to through a couple options out at you from Dell's website if your unsure of yourself here.

[Someone Stupid]

Eugh, I misread that, your replacing the desktop and getting the laptop fixed... in that case the prescott is the only choice from Dell since they don't offer the Dothan on desktop. I'm getting sloppy in my reading. My apologies.

[MrWhipple]

Or you could just cough up the six grand and get an Alienware dual video, liquid cooled unit and never have to upgrade for a while (see alienware.com). Sweet dreams!! :balloon2:

[KRALLODHRIB]

From what I've heard alienwares are entirely overrated and overpriced with terrible service to boot. I'm thinking Dell or Falcon NW.

[Crisler]

From what I've heard alienwares are entirely overrated and overpriced with terrible service to boot. I'm thinking Dell or Falcon NW.

Alienware is an awesome system that is not usually over rated, PROVIDED that you buy the higher end stuff. Dell is okay but for gaming systems they are not all that. Falcon is awesome but way over priced. Voodoo is another good brand that would give you a solid gaming system.

Now all that being said, even if you want to do things over than gaming, let gaming be your guide for building the system. A solid gaming system can do anything.

You might want to look at building a PC yourself. This will make it fit your needs perfectly and is not very expensive. Plus it gives you a solid working knowledge of your PC.

[Ginger]

As crisler said you can always build your own. Works out cheaper and you can specify good components. Its quite easy as *most* things are pretty much plug and play nowadays. I always stay away from big names due to their generally average ram and crap motherboards.

Failing that ive gone to small dealers before. Again you can specify good components and avoid picking up all the bundled crap that brand pcs ship with nowadays. The only problem might be the rtb warranty, but from recollection Dell is a rip off on that anyway.