Back in May 2006, when Microsoft announced Vista system memory requirements of 512 MB for "Vista Capable" and 1 GB for "Vista Premium Ready" classifications, the average XP system had 833 MB and 659 MB of installed memory for Desktop and Portable systems respectively. Once Vista was released in early 2007, most users determined that "more memory was better" as the average installed desktop memory rose relatively quickly to over 2 GB on Vista systems. In recent months, it is not uncommon for PC manufacturers to market Vista systems with 3 GB of RAM. The emergence of 64-bit architecture has also likely played a role in the increase of average RAM. While 32 bit… Read the rest of this entry...

It's no secret that Vista operating system upped the ante for video adapter requirements. PC Pitstop took a look at the PCs running our online tests during the month of February 2008 to find out more about video card prevalence. Read the rest of this entry...

The initial analysis of our March 2008 SPAM Survey results are in. How are other Pitstoppers coping with Spam? Is the amount of Spam increasing? Does Spam use up valuable time? Are critical messages getting lost in Spam filters? Read the rest of this entry...

The initial analysis of our February 2008 Processor Survey results. Read the rest of this entry...

Systems with multi-processors, once found only on servers and other extreme high end performance systems, have found there way into the general consumer arena. The percentage of systems running PC Pitstop's on-line diagnostics and having multiprocessors grew from just over 1% in January 2006 to almost 30% in January 2008. The percentage of portables that have multi-processors has reached almost 40% in January 2008. A comparison of Intel to AMD shows AMD with a slight edge in both desktops and portable platforms as a percentage of their respective number of system with multi-processors. Read the rest of this entry...

Blame it on the chewing gum.

Double the processor cores means twice a fast, right? That's what a lot of people are mistakenly thinking. In the past three years, starting with the AMD Opteron, both major producers have been serving up dual core processors like they were tater chips. Manufacturers have been incorporating them into their latest and greatest portables and desktop offerings. Intel has confirmed this as a great decision by following suite with their version of Dual and even Quad core processors. The general public is snatching them up like chips for dip. Read the rest of this entry...

PC Pitstop has long been a source of information about unwanted software and how it spreads. Now we're using our test results database to give you weekly updates about which programs are the most prolific. The prevalence numbers indicate the percent of PCs tested at PC Pitstop where we detected that file running. Our detection works by file name, so some products may be listed multiple times if they consist of two or more files. To check for spyware, adware, unneeded programs, and many other common PC problems, try PC Pitstop Exterminate or our full system scan. Read the rest of this entry...

The initial analysis of our January 2008 Photo Printing Survey results. Read the rest of this entry...

All Brand New and Ready to Roll

Yep, when I plunk down $500.00 to $1200.00 or more, I'd like to think I'm getting the latest and greatest. We all know electronics become outdated faster than potato salad at a Texas picnic, but I would at least expect to get the darned thing out of the box before having to update it. Our recent comparisons found just the opposite. Read the rest of this entry...

FireWire origins date back to the mid-1980's when Apple Computer devised a high-speed data transfer technology for Macintosh internal hard drives. In 1995, the IEEE announced the IEEE 1394 spec which is sometimes called the FireWire400. In 2002, the IEEE came out with a updated standard called IEEE 1394b which allowed for a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 3.2 Gbps. Apple soon released a subset of the new standard under the title of FireWire 800. In December 2007, the 1394 Trade Association announced the FireWire S3200 that will soon be available and that will support the full 3.2 Gbps transfer rate. Read the rest of this entry...