crabdog

Laptops have cooling fans but they tend to get hotter due to their compact size. As long as the cpu and gpu are not doing any intensive tasks they can stay on 24/7 without any problems. Why do you want to change to a laptop? With desktops you have a lot more options for upgrades in the future.

Prices look good and of course more competition is always good for the consumers. I hope it's available in my area.

I started a few days ago and got right into it until I installed Sims4. Now I can't get away from the Sims...flirting and getting job promotions. Sad I know but it's way fun.

About three months ago I resubscribed to True ADSL on the 599bt package (because my TOT fiber has dreadful international routing). I think it was 10/1 then and since got a free upgrade to 12/1. It's been incredibly reliable and consistent with great speeds, often maxing out on torrents and some downloads at any time of day or night. Not sure what's wrong with your cable. I guess it comes down to location and quality of the lines.

As for alternatives I hear that 3bb and CAT are pretty good but availability depends on your location.

A load balancing router will NOT improve your internet speeds. This is a common misconception.

"Load-balancing routers do NOT bond multiple Internet connections together, like ADSL bonding (which can better transform slow broadband connections)."

http://www.increasebroadbandspeed.co.uk/what-is-adsl-load-balancing

I'd suggest trying Manjaro. It's a rolling release so no need to worry about upgrading and you can choose between XFCE, KDE and Openbox DE's.

I'd suggest having a go at it. I remember the first time I opened the case on my first computer to add a dedicated GPU (a second hand Voodoo card if I remember correctly) it was quite intimidating. That first step got me totally hooked on computers and I've been building my own ever since.

Run some anti malware/virus programs (Malwarebytes etc) and see if anything nasty is detected.

If it's not malware related I'd suggest a fresh install. I'm fairly certain there are no major problems with your hardware so you really shouldn't need to buy a new laptop. Backup any documents and files you want to keep, format the hard drive and reinstall Windows. If you don't know how to do that yourself take the laptop to your local computer shop and have them do it for you.

Really there is a much easier way of diagnosing your problem. Simply create a Linux boot on a USB stick and run it live. From there you will be able to see whether a single partition or the entire hard drive has failed. The only caveat here is that you would need access to another computer to create the boot drive. Instructions can be found here: http://www.porteus.org/tutorials/37-installing/114-official-porteus-installation-guide-v-10.html .

Installed popcorntime a couple of days ago and I think it's brilliant. It has a great selection and nice clean interface. I would trust it (even in beta form lol) over link sites.

If your objective is to play together I would rule out PCs althogether. Get yourself a gaming console. Doesn't need to be the latest one. You could get a Playstation 3 or XBOX 360 really cheap or as others suggested a Nintendo Wii.

PCs are really a solo maching. Yes, you can play online games together if you have 2 computers but it won't be the same kind of interaction you can get with a console.

I'd look first at the cheap notebooks currently available before spending anything to upgrade an old model such as you have (Intel Atom with only 1GB RAM?).

Agreed. That thing would struggle with Windows 7.

I used to use mainly Gigabyte and sometimes ASUS but last time I did a build I bought an ASROCK and have been / still am very happy with it. ASROCK boards have all the same features but usually come at a cheaper price.

Was very excited about X99 but after reading some early reviews it seems that there's not a whole lot new they bring to the table in terms of performance particularly for gaming. That said I still want to upgrade but am more than happy to wait for prices to settle - especially on DDR4.

It should be possible. I can't find information regarding static IP on the tot website but I know the other providers have the option although you have to pay significantly more for the privilege....

A lot of people are recommending upgrading and file transfer software. In my opinion if you are changing OS you should always do a HDD format and fresh install. Over time Windows gets cluttered with old information and data / broken shortcuts, registry errors etc. Some transfer software carries problems from your previous OS onto the new one so if possible it's always better to do a fresh install. Same thing goes for upgrading Windows - don't bother. Backup your files first and start from scratch. You'll end up with a cleaner, faster and less problematic system.

There's nothing difficult about using Ubuntu or Mint. Make a bootable USB drive or if that proves too much for you burn an ISO onto dvd. Running from a USB flashdrive is much faster than running from dvd however so I would recommend that.

As for hardware compatability, I have tried and tested a shltload of different distros on my 3 desktop computers and my DELL laptop. Have not had any hardware or driver issues on ANY of them.

I still use Windows 8.1 as my daily driver because of the fact that I play a lot of games. If you're not a serious gamer and do not need to use any specialized software then Linux has everything you need.

Here are some of my recommendations for people new to Linux. I have used all of these with no issues whatsoever:

Zorin OS

Ubuntu (Lubuntu, Xubuntu)

Mint (Cinnamon is my preferred DE)

Voyager

Elementary

PCLinuxOS

Manjaro

Personally I would just format it. Fixes everything, every time! I keep all my data / programs on a separate partition / hdd so if I need to reformat it's as painless as possible. Only takes an hour to reinstall windows and system drivers etc then I'm good to go.  :D

Yep you need Optimus / Primus to enable the ability to turn off the discrete Nvidia gpu. Your laptop will be MUCH cooler and it should also increase your battery life substantially too.

i-mobiles tend to be on the cheaper end of the scale. They work pretty well but being cheaper they have lower quality components such as cpu, lower density screens etc. If you just want a basic phone for general use an i-mobile should be fine. However if you want to play games or use intensive apps you  might find it a bit underpowered. Not sure about the cameras but I assume they're not the best either.

I'm more than happy with my HTC One M7 (last years flagship) but if I were to buy again now I'd probably consider Samsung as HTC for some reason decided to carry over the same camera from the M7 into the new M8.

My personal experience with Thai adsl is that the provided routers usually work without having to input user details. However, to make sure, just open your router before you do anything and copy the username and other details. To open your router settings, open your web browser and type this address: 192.168.1.1. Username and password is usually: admin, admin .

Are you sure that it's a virus? The sites you listed all use flash so it could be a legitimate update. Which web browser do you use? Google has flash built-in but IE and Firefox need Flash installed by the user.

It would be easier to make a suggestion if we had some idea about the monitor ie: brand, size, age etc. If it's just a small item that is several years old I'd be inclined to buy a new one. If it's a high end model or a fairly recent purchase then yes, I'd look into getting it repaired. You can get a new 21" LED monitor nowadays starting at around 4000-5000 baht (Samsung, LG, Acer).

I've noticed the same thing with my windows 8.1. When printing from Microsoft word I have access to all the regular options but if I print from a .pdf using the default windows 'app' the options are gimped. Pretty annoying indeed.