What the heck keeps eating my hard drive?

N

Nemephosis

New Member
Alright, this has annoyed me enough to ask... It seems when my computer is idle, the HDD light on it that represents disk activity flashes at least once a second, sometimes more, indicating to me that it's always, always doing something. That's fine. What gets me is I leave my computer on all the time now since it runs quieter than my old one, and I can't hear it through the earplugs I wear at night (it's in my room and I need dead quiet to get to sleep.) Now when I wake up, sometimes I'm missing anywhere from 2 to 5 gigs of hard drive space. What the **** is that? Not downloading anything for a week, I'm down 20 gigs of hard drive space. I installed CCleaner and removed the crap files, and it freed the data, but the fact remains I would rather not have my space go missing whether I am going to use it all or not. Now it seems that a Windows Defender update runs at 2 AM and a defragmentation runs at 4 AM, by checking the schedules, but what accounts for the missing HD space? What could write 2-5 gigs of crap overnight?

edit: And where the hell did my line breaks go? It looks like I didn't even press enter once. Great. :confused:

edit 2: My mistake, I do use CCleaner but the tool that I had been using prior was simply WIndows' disk cleanup utility. It seems to do the trick pretty well. I still wanna figure out what's causing this...
 

My Computer

System One

Nemephosis said:
Alright, this has annoyed me enough to ask... It seems when my computer is idle, the HDD light on it that represents disk activity flashes at least once a second, sometimes more, indicating to me that it's always, always doing something. That's fine. What gets me is I leave my computer on all the time now since it runs quieter than my old one, and I can't hear it through the earplugs I wear at night (it's in my room and I need dead quiet to get to sleep.) Now when I wake up, sometimes I'm missing anywhere from 2 to 5 gigs of hard drive space. What the **** is that? Not downloading anything for a week, I'm down 20 gigs of hard drive space. I installed CCleaner and removed the crap files, and it freed the data, but the fact remains I would rather not have my space go missing whether I am going to use it all or not. Now it seems that a Windows Defender update runs at 2 AM and a defragmentation runs at 4 AM, by checking the schedules, but what accounts for the missing HD space? What could write 2-5 gigs of crap overnight?

edit: And where the hell did my line breaks go? It looks like I didn't even press enter once. Great. :confused:

edit 2: My mistake, I do use CCleaner but the tool that I had been using prior was simply WIndows' disk cleanup utility. It seems to do the trick pretty well. I still wanna figure out what's causing this...
Click to expand...


Hi Nemephosis,

It's your system restore points eating the space up. Use Disk Cleanup and erase all your SR points except the last one. You can always disable SR if you don't want it eating your space up but you can get it right back and if you do disable it, you won't have the option to use it if you need it. You can also modify the amount of space it takes as well.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Airbot 2.0
    CPU
    Core i7 920 (D0) @ 4Ghz, 26c idle- 65c full load on air
    Motherboard
    Asus P6X58D Premium -Sata 6Gb/s - USB 3.0
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    12GB Corsair Dominator -CMD12GX3M6A1600C8
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA Nvidia GTX 480 -Fermi
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    ASUS Xonar D2X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 24" Flatron W2453V-PF Full HD 1080p 2ms response time
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    1920x1080@60hz
    Hard Drives
    1 OCZ Vertex2 180GB SSD
    1 TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 7200RPM 32MB cache
    2 500GB WD Caviar Blacks 7200RPM 32MB cache (WD5001AALS)

    Pioneer DVD Burner DVR-S18M
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    Corsair HX1000W
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    Cooler Master HAF 932
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    Windows 7
    Processor-7.7 RAM- 7.9 Graphics-7.9 Gaming Graphics- 7.9 HDD- 7.8

    W.E.I final score= 7.7

    Windows Vista=5.9
Thank you, that worked perfectly. I turned it off and just freed another six gigs. I have a hard drive the size of Texas (for me anyway, it's 320 gigs, so 298 usable, minus everything I have installed.) I had a 40 gig HD for seven years and never filled it but the fact remains that I didn't care for the ever shrinking HD. :p

Shutting it off killed all the restore points and gave me all that space back. Thanks very much. :)
 

My Computer

System One

In addition to what Airbot said, System Restore is set to create a restore point at 12:00 AM by default, which you can see (and change if desired) in Task Scheduler,

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/1...-change-automatic-restore-point-schedule.html

While in there and seeing as you leave your computer on 24/7, you might want to take the opportunity to disable the setting where it will create a restore point at startup.

If you want to change the amount of space allocated to SR,

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76227-system-restore-disk-space.html

As far as disabling it goes that comes down to personal preference. Me I prefer to leave it on just because it makes it very easy to recover from a bad driver update among other things. I just run Disk Cleanup every now and then and clear out all but the latest one.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Me
    CPU
    Athlon x2 7750 BE
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    Asus M4A78 Pro
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    2x2gb Kingston
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    Sapphire HD 4830
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    X-Fi Xtreme Music
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    Acer P221w and Acer 1916w
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    1680x1050 and 1440x900
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    2x80 GB Seagate 7200.10 in RAID0, 500 GB Seagate 7200.12
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    Antec Earthwatts 500W
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    AC Freezer 64 Pro and a couple of 120 mm case fans
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    Logitech Wave
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    Logitech G5 v2
    Internet Speed
    10000/1000
Nemephosis said:
Thank you, that worked perfectly. I turned it off and just freed another six gigs. I have a hard drive the size of Texas (for me anyway, it's 320 gigs, so 298 usable, minus everything I have installed.) I had a 40 gig HD for seven years and never filled it but the fact remains that I didn't care for the ever shrinking HD. :p

Shutting it off killed all the restore points and gave me all that space back. Thanks very much. :)
Click to expand...


Don't leave System Restore off mate. I promise, one day you'll regret it. Take Airbots suggestion and modify the amount of space it uses. See Brink's Tutorials on how to do this.

Merry Christmas

Norm
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Scratch Built
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core 6600
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    Asus P5B
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    4096 MB Xtreme-Dark 800mhz
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    Zotac Amp Edition 8800GT - 512MB DDR3, O/C 700mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 206BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680 X 1024
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    4 X Samsung 500GB 7200rpm Serial ATA-II HDD w. 16MB Cache .
    PSU
    550 w
    Case
    Thermaltake
    Cooling
    3 x octua NF-S12-1200 - 120mm 1200RPM Sound Optimised Fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
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    Targus
    Internet Speed
    1500kbs
    Other Info
    Self built.

My Computer

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  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
    CPU
    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q Pro
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    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
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    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
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    HP Enhansed Multimedia
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    Razer Diamondback 3G
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    18.6Mb/s
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    My First Build ;)
I only ever had to reinstall Windows 2000 on my old computer once in seven years. I'll take the chances. But thank you anyway, I really appreciate the help you've given me. This place is incredibly friendly.

Merry Christmas to everyone :D
 

My Computer

System One

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too!


















Later :) Ted
 

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  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
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    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
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    ASUS P5Q Pro
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    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
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    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    HP Enhansed Multimedia
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
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    18.6Mb/s
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    My First Build ;)
Very seriously, you gotta re-enable system restore.

I have limited maximum space allotment to 2 GB and feel safe with limiting system restore to three (4, tops) restore points at a time. Now, space loss is negligible.

Very very very seriously...it is not very smart to disable system restore. Honest. Please restore your sytem restore
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion dv7-1170us
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 @ 2.00GHz
    Motherboard
    Compal
    Memory
    4.096
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    289.09 GB
    Keyboard
    IBM enhanced (101-or 102) keyboard
    Mouse
    Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    cable Wireless
[OT]....@CNY I thought you were on sabbatical?...:eek:...



















Later :shock: Ted
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
    CPU
    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q Pro
    Memory
    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    HP Enhansed Multimedia
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    18.6Mb/s
    Other Info
    My First Build ;)
Got snowed in. What else can I do?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion dv7-1170us
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 @ 2.00GHz
    Motherboard
    Compal
    Memory
    4.096
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    289.09 GB
    Keyboard
    IBM enhanced (101-or 102) keyboard
    Mouse
    Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    cable Wireless
Yeah, but I don't really ever make changes that big to my computer. From when I buy the machine to when it dies, it is pretty much the same machine, I don't really upgrade, I just buy a new computer when it kicks the bucket.

I'm okay with no system restore. I appreciate the concern though. :)

Everything important like my games, the programs I use the most etc. are already backed up anyway. :)
 

My Computer

System One

No system restore is like driving cross coastal with no spare tire. I hope you have AAA membership.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion dv7-1170us
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 @ 2.00GHz
    Motherboard
    Compal
    Memory
    4.096
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    289.09 GB
    Keyboard
    IBM enhanced (101-or 102) keyboard
    Mouse
    Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    cable Wireless
Glad we can help out Nemephosis,

As long as you have regular backups then you're fine as you say.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Airbot 2.0
    CPU
    Core i7 920 (D0) @ 4Ghz, 26c idle- 65c full load on air
    Motherboard
    Asus P6X58D Premium -Sata 6Gb/s - USB 3.0
    Memory
    12GB Corsair Dominator -CMD12GX3M6A1600C8
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA Nvidia GTX 480 -Fermi
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar D2X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 24" Flatron W2453V-PF Full HD 1080p 2ms response time
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080@60hz
    Hard Drives
    1 OCZ Vertex2 180GB SSD
    1 TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 7200RPM 32MB cache
    2 500GB WD Caviar Blacks 7200RPM 32MB cache (WD5001AALS)

    Pioneer DVD Burner DVR-S18M
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 932
    Cooling
    Case Fans -3 230mm, 1 140mm/CPU - Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless MK700
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless MK700
    Internet Speed
    100 MBPS DL 30.17Mbps UL 0.98Mbps
    Other Info
    Windows 7
    Processor-7.7 RAM- 7.9 Graphics-7.9 Gaming Graphics- 7.9 HDD- 7.8

    W.E.I final score= 7.7

    Windows Vista=5.9
You can have a lifetime warranty but it's useless when stranded on a country road in the middle of the night with flat tire, no spare and no AAA. I hope you have at least a cell phone.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion dv7-1170us
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 @ 2.00GHz
    Motherboard
    Compal
    Memory
    4.096
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    289.09 GB
    Keyboard
    IBM enhanced (101-or 102) keyboard
    Mouse
    Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    cable Wireless
I dunno, personally I think too big a deal is being made of it here. I mean to anyone who radically changes their system/parts on a regular basis, I'd definitely be recommending a system restore function to. But when my computer dies hopefully seven or eight years from now, it will be the same computer then that it is today.

The important stuff is backed up at any rate. That's all that matters, I think. :p

I appreciate the concern though <3 :)
 

My Computer

System One

I disagree with Airbot and anyone who would recommend or concur to disable system restore.

Ideally, backing up files should be done but does not replace system restore. And vice versa...system restore does not replace backing up files. Sytem restore may not recover lost files. But if for any reason, system becomes unstable, it's always reassuring to be able to resort to System restore when cause of unstability cannot easily be ID'd and corrected.

If losing space is a concern because of run away restore points, then re-allot the amount of space for restore points, or stop one of the triggers (either the daily or start up). But disabling System restore is NOT recommendable.

Neme, you are depriving yourself of one of the most important features that Windows provides.

System restore and Remote assistance are two features I salute Windows for. I think they are the two most indispensable supportive features of computing, especially for non-advanced users.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion dv7-1170us
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 @ 2.00GHz
    Motherboard
    Compal
    Memory
    4.096
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    289.09 GB
    Keyboard
    IBM enhanced (101-or 102) keyboard
    Mouse
    Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    cable Wireless
One thing to add - unless you also disable Automatic Updates, you're going to get hurt. A lot.

Automatic updates will install things on your computer - and without System Restore, let's say one of those things hoses your display driver - Safe mode is great cause it will not try to load your display driver - but you cannot install a new one from there either....

Windows 2000 and Vista are a lot different. Play with fire if you must - but please don't ask how to fix the machine if it ever *does* go south and you have no restore points. At 320 GB I am *surprised* that you have less than 15 GB left - I have a 500 GB HD and I used a 60 GB partition for Vista - and with all my apps I have used only about 42 GB....
 

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System One System Two

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    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
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    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
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    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
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    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
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    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
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    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
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    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
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    AMD A6-5350M APU
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    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
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    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
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    Lenovo
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    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
coolnewyorker said:
I disagree with Airbot and anyone who would recommend or concur to disable system restore.

Ideally, backing up files should be done but does not replace system restore. And vice versa...system restore does not replace backing up files. Sytem restore may not recover lost files. But if for any reason, system becomes unstable, it's always reassuring to be able to resort to System restore when cause of unstability cannot easily be ID'd and corrected.

If losing space is a concern because of run away restore points, then re-allot the amount of space for restore points, or stop one of the triggers (either the daily or start up). But disabling System restore is NOT recommendable.

Neme, you are depriving yourself of one of the most important features that Windows provides.

System restore and Remote assistance are two features I salute Windows for. I think they are the two most indispensable supportive features of computing, especially for non-advanced users.
Click to expand...


Coolnewyorker,

If you read my first post, I didn't "recommend" to disable system restore. I suggested he has the "option" of disabling it if he wanted to. It's up to the user to decide if he wants that option or not. I first suggested to erase all your points except the last one to get space back and I also said you can modify the space System Restore uses. If the user has regular backups then if he wants to disable it, it's up to him. Although System Restore has always been a good feature, it's not perfect and I at times have had things screwed up worse by doing system restores. I personally leave it on but from time to time I wipe the space and leave the last restore point and I also do regular backups.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Airbot 2.0
    CPU
    Core i7 920 (D0) @ 4Ghz, 26c idle- 65c full load on air
    Motherboard
    Asus P6X58D Premium -Sata 6Gb/s - USB 3.0
    Memory
    12GB Corsair Dominator -CMD12GX3M6A1600C8
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA Nvidia GTX 480 -Fermi
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar D2X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 24" Flatron W2453V-PF Full HD 1080p 2ms response time
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080@60hz
    Hard Drives
    1 OCZ Vertex2 180GB SSD
    1 TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 7200RPM 32MB cache
    2 500GB WD Caviar Blacks 7200RPM 32MB cache (WD5001AALS)

    Pioneer DVD Burner DVR-S18M
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF 932
    Cooling
    Case Fans -3 230mm, 1 140mm/CPU - Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless MK700
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless MK700
    Internet Speed
    100 MBPS DL 30.17Mbps UL 0.98Mbps
    Other Info
    Windows 7
    Processor-7.7 RAM- 7.9 Graphics-7.9 Gaming Graphics- 7.9 HDD- 7.8

    W.E.I final score= 7.7

    Windows Vista=5.9
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