Internet Time Synchronization

How to Use "Internet Time" Synchronization in Windows

information   Information
You can synchronize your computer clock with a internet time server. This means that the clock on your computer is updated to match the clock on the time server, which can help ensure that the clock on your computer is accurate. Your clock is typically updated once a week and needs to be connected to the Internet for the synchronization to occur.

This will show you how to synchronize your PC time with the internet time, and how to troubleshoot and solve problems while doing it in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

warning   Warning
TO HELP PREVENT TIME SYNCHRONIZATION PROBLEMS
  • Make sure that the time zone and date and time are manually set correctly on your computer, or you may have a hard time trying to synchronize your computer clock with a internet time server. If the time is to far off, it may not be able to synch with the time server.
  • Windows gets the initial time from the BIOS, so check to see if the time and date are correct in the CMOS settings in the BIOS.
  • Check the CMOS battery on your motherboard to see if it is getting weak and dying. If weak, it can cause your clock to run slow, loose time, or reset if dead. If this is the case, you will just need to replace the battery. It will usually be a lithium button cell, type CR2032. Check your motherboard documenation to be sure.
  • If your computer will not keep accurate time even after synchronizing and changing the time servers below, then see How to Change the Internet Time Synchronization Update Interval in Windows.
  • If you have a 3rd party firewall program installed or router, then check their settings to make sure that they are not set to block the NPT access on UDP port 123. It should be set to open or allow. Windows Firewall will allow Internet Time Server through by default, unless changed.
Note   Note
The Internet Time Synchronization uses the Windows Time Service with the default settings of Started and Automatic.

Tip   Tip




Here's How:
1. Do step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do.​
2. Open the Control Panel (Classic view - Vista) or Control Panel (icons view - Windows 7/8), click/tap on the Date and Time icon, close the Control Panel, and go to step 4 below.​
3. Right click on the clock on the taskbar. (see screenshots below)​
Vista-Clock.jpgWindows-7-8-Clock.jpg
A) Click/tap on the Adjust Date/Time button, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)​
Right Click.jpg


4. Click/tap on the Internet Time tab. (see screenshot below)​
5. Click/tap on the Change Settings button.​
Internet_Time.jpg

6. If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Continue (Vista) or Yes (Windows 7/8).​
7. To Turn Automatic Internet Time Synchronization Off or On
A) Uncheck or check Synchronize with an Internet time server, and click on OK. (see screenshot below step 8)​
B) If turned off, then go to step 13.​
C) Continue on to step 8.​

8. To Synchronize the Computer Time with the Internet Time
A) Click on the Update now button. (see screenshot below)​
NOTE: Synchronization must be turned on for this to work in step 7.
Update_now.jpg


9. You will now see the screenshot below.​
Please_wait.jpg

10. If you see this in the screenshot below, then click Update now again to see if it will work this time.​
Error.jpg
A) If you still get the error message below, go to step 11.​
B) If you get no error message, then go to step 12.​

11. To Change the Time Server
A) Click/tap on the drop down arrow and choose another time server. (see left screenshot below)​
OR
B) Type in a new time server name in the field instead. (see right screenshot below)​
C) Click/tap on the Update now button to try the new time server.​
NOTE: You may need to repeat step 11 until you find a time server that will work. If you just cannot get it to sync, then see the WARNING at the top of the tutorial for settings to check that may be preventing it from working.
Select_New_One.jpgType_New_One.jpg


12. If successful, you will see this in the screenshot below.​
Success.jpg

13. Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot above)​
14. Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below step 5)​
That's it,
Shawn




 

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Hello Shawn

When I try to change the time server, on clicking OK, an error pop up says "Unable to save your changes"

Any idea what I am doing wrong? TAI
 
Last edited:

My Computer

Hi Clive,

You may have typed in the timer server address incorrectly. What is the one you are wanting to add?

This does not really matter, but you should click on Update Now instead of OK after you enter the time server to just make sure it works.

Shawn
 

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    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
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  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
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    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
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    16 GB DDR4-2133
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    Conexant ISST Audio
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    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hi Shawn

I cannot make any change within the Internet Time Settings applet at all.
It makes no difference what server I try.
It makes no difference if I click on Update Now or OK.
I cannot change the "Synchronize with an Internet Time Server" check box either.
In every case I get the "Unable to save your changes" message and have to click Cancel to get back out of the applet.

Thanks for your input.
Clive
 

My Computer

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Shawn

SFC found no problems. I have got SP1 installed and as everything else is running well I will, at least in the meantime, adjust time manually and live with it.

Many thanks for your prompt and helpful advise it is very much appreciated as are your tutorials on Vista. They are an immensely valuable resource have taught me a lot.

Thanks again
Clive
 

My Computer

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
The default interval between updates is 7 days or 168 hours. This can be modified with the following registry tweak. Open the registry and browse to the following key:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient]

Right click the following entry and select 'Modify...'.

"SpecialPollInterval"=dword:00015180

You can then change this value, which is the interval in seconds, to a more suitable value - the one given above equates to 86400 which is 1 day and is the value that I use. Use the calculator to work out the value. Note that I don't recommend an interval of less than 1 hour (3600 seconds).
Dwarf
 

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System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
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    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
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    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
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    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
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    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
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    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
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    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
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    1440x900
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    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0) Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2 Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0 WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
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    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
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    Gigabyte IF233
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    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
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    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB) WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25 Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
My Vista has just started having issues with time updates and I have now tried around 20 different time servers, all get 'an error occurred'. Weird. I have had the problem intermittently in the past and usually another server cured it. I have port 123 allowed through the firewall (McAfee).
I noticed when I returned from vacation yesterday that the clock was still showing DST. I altered it manually but that shouldn't have to be the case.
I'm wondering if this is an ISP issue as my emails are slow in arriving too.

Correction: After a reboot it updated fine....why will remain a mystery.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Win 10 Pro x64 x 2
    Manufacturer/Model
    Alienware ALX x58
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-975 Extreme O/C to 4.02 GHz, 8MB Cache
    Motherboard
    Asus® P6T Deluxe V2 X58 LGA1366
    Memory
    24GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 6 x 4096MB
    Graphics card(s)
    1792 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 295 Dual Core
    Sound Card
    Onboard Soundmax® High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung XL2370 HD LED backlit 23" W/S 2ms response time
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500gb SATA II 1 x 1TB SATA II 1 external eSATA LaCie 3TB (Non-RAID)
    PSU
    Alienware® 1200 Watt Multi-GPU
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    Unique
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    4 case fans @ CPU water cooling.
    Internet Speed
    1gb/s up and down
Hello Peter,

A mystery indeed. The next time it happens, you might try using a different DNS server (ex: Open DNS or Google DNS) to see if it may be your ISP's DNS server acting up.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hello Peter,

A mystery indeed. The next time it happens, you might try using a different DNS server (ex: Open DNS or Google DNS) to see if it may be your ISP's DNS server acting up.

MY ISP is re-jigging a lot of things and every now and again certain things don't work properly for a while, so not surprising I suppose.

Thanks for the suggestion.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Win 10 Pro x64 x 2
    Manufacturer/Model
    Alienware ALX x58
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-975 Extreme O/C to 4.02 GHz, 8MB Cache
    Motherboard
    Asus® P6T Deluxe V2 X58 LGA1366
    Memory
    24GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 6 x 4096MB
    Graphics card(s)
    1792 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 295 Dual Core
    Sound Card
    Onboard Soundmax® High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung XL2370 HD LED backlit 23" W/S 2ms response time
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500gb SATA II 1 x 1TB SATA II 1 external eSATA LaCie 3TB (Non-RAID)
    PSU
    Alienware® 1200 Watt Multi-GPU
    Case
    Unique
    Cooling
    4 case fans @ CPU water cooling.
    Internet Speed
    1gb/s up and down
You're most welcome Peter. I just hope that it helps.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hello Shawn!

Thanks again for all of these wonderful tutorials! Your McAfee link under WARNING had died :(
 

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System One

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    Dell XPS 420
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    ATI Radeon HD 3870 (512 MBytes)
    Sound Card
    Onboard
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    1 x Dell 2007FP and 1 x (old) Sonic flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1600 x 1200 and 1280 x 1204
    Hard Drives
    1 x 640Gb (SATA 300) Western Digital: WDC WD6400AAKS-75A7B0 1 x 1Tb (SATA 600) Western Digital: Caviar Black, SATA 6GB/S, 64Mb cache, 8ms Western Digital: WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0 ATA Device
    PSU
    Stock PSU - 375W
    Case
    Dell XPS 420
    Cooling
    Stock Fan
    Mouse
    Advent Optical ADE-WG01 (colour change light up)
    Keyboard
    Dell Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    120 kb/s
    Other Info
    ASUS USB 3.0 5Gbps/SATA 6Gbps - PCI-Express Combo Controller Card (U3S6)

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Win 10 Pro x64 x 2
    Manufacturer/Model
    Alienware ALX x58
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-975 Extreme O/C to 4.02 GHz, 8MB Cache
    Motherboard
    Asus® P6T Deluxe V2 X58 LGA1366
    Memory
    24GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 6 x 4096MB
    Graphics card(s)
    1792 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 295 Dual Core
    Sound Card
    Onboard Soundmax® High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung XL2370 HD LED backlit 23" W/S 2ms response time
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500gb SATA II 1 x 1TB SATA II 1 external eSATA LaCie 3TB (Non-RAID)
    PSU
    Alienware® 1200 Watt Multi-GPU
    Case
    Unique
    Cooling
    4 case fans @ CPU water cooling.
    Internet Speed
    1gb/s up and down
Thank you Peter. Links updated. :)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
You're welcome.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Win 10 Pro x64 x 2
    Manufacturer/Model
    Alienware ALX x58
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-975 Extreme O/C to 4.02 GHz, 8MB Cache
    Motherboard
    Asus® P6T Deluxe V2 X58 LGA1366
    Memory
    24GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 6 x 4096MB
    Graphics card(s)
    1792 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 295 Dual Core
    Sound Card
    Onboard Soundmax® High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung XL2370 HD LED backlit 23" W/S 2ms response time
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500gb SATA II 1 x 1TB SATA II 1 external eSATA LaCie 3TB (Non-RAID)
    PSU
    Alienware® 1200 Watt Multi-GPU
    Case
    Unique
    Cooling
    4 case fans @ CPU water cooling.
    Internet Speed
    1gb/s up and down
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