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It is hard trying to figure out what works with what. Everything is not fungible.

No, it's certainly not. You need to do a bit of research to see what motherboards have the socket and chipset needed for the CPU you have in mind, and what RAM speed is supported.

Best to start with the CPU that fits your needs and budget, and work back from there. It's all online.

And things move so fast with hardware that even veteran computer tinkerers like myself have a hard time keeping up. 'Is AMD ahead of the curve, or have Intel caught up?'... 'Is it worth waiting for DDR5 to become mainstream?' etc. etc.

 

WRT heat. Those liquid coolers are aimed squarely at devout gamers paranoid about their CPU 'throttling back' and bitcoin miners. The average 'power user' never really taxes a system to the max, unless you're, say, rendering video from one codec to another 24/7. The 'normal' user doesn't need a 4 inch wide high-end video card with 2 or 3 huge fans bolted to it either.

 

Modern CPUs are quite efficient and only run at a power that their workload demands. Even then they consume maybe 90 Watts maximum (5 Watts idling), and a simple fan cooled radiator will cope with that. Older CPUs (> 5yrs) would gobble power all the time.

 

My new 6 core/12 thread system is quiet and blows out air that's barely noticeably warm. Whereas my old 4 core system would make my small workroom quite hot in a very short time unless I left the door wide open.

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The Vendor has a "secret" method of activating W11 through a local account so one of my concerns has been taken care of.

 

Sounds fishy to me. You need to make sure that whatever they did allows you to get routine updates, many of which are necessary security updates. If they have a method for getting it working without giving you a real acount, you may not get these.

 

Find somone else with Win 11 (I don't have it) and ask them to notifiy you the next several times they get a Windows update. If you don't also get them within a few days, you'll know that you have a problem.

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Sounds fishy to me. You need to make sure that whatever they did allows you to get routine updates, many of which are necessary security updates. If they have a method for getting it working without giving you a real acount, you may not get these.

 

Find somone else with Win 11 (I don't have it) and ask them to notifiy you the next several times they get a Windows update. If you don't also get them within a few days, you'll know that you have a problem.

 

I have done a manual update and everything seems to be working , cumulative Systems Updates , as well as Defender updates have been downloaded and installed.

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You need to make sure that whatever they did allows you to get routine updates, many of which are necessary security updates. If they have a method for getting it working without giving you a real acount, you may not get these.

I think it's more of a problem preventing Windows updating itself. Many of which updates aren't security related and simply add to the bloat of the system.

 

A cynical person might think that MS is in cahoots with hardware manufacturers to gradually slow systems down in order to sell yet more computers... plus new OS license of course.

 

Strangely, my Win 7 machines haven't slowed down in the slightest since support stopped for that OS.

Edited by rodeo_joe|1
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I have been setting up my new Windows 11 Laptop , (what a schlepp).

I have installed the Firefox browser as my default browser and do not use Microsoft Edge.

I have noticed that Edge is still automatically starting up and running in the background and connecting to the Internet in the background.

I can (as of now) , not find any way of stopping this behaviour.

It appears that Microsoft Edge is a very sophisticated spy program , I suspect that it is performing "man in the middle" operations on my computer.

I concede that Microsoft Edge is a very good browser , but what a good way of disguising it as a spy program.

Windows 11 does not allow the removal of this program as far as I can tell.

I sincerely hope that I am wrong about this.

I just thought that I would let you all know about this.

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I have been setting up my new Windows 11 Laptop , (what a schlepp).

I have installed the Firefox browser as my default browser and do not use Microsoft Edge.

I have noticed that Edge is still automatically starting up and running in the background and connecting to the Internet in the background.

I can (as of now) , not find any way of stopping this behaviour.

It appears that Microsoft Edge is a very sophisticated spy program , I suspect that it is performing "man in the middle" operations on my computer.

I concede that Microsoft Edge is a very good browser , but what a good way of disguising it as a spy program.

Windows 11 does not allow the removal of this program as far as I can tell.

I sincerely hope that I am wrong about this.

I just thought that I would let you all know about this.

There always is a way: https://www.androidauthority.com/uninstall-microsoft-edge-windows-11-3172708/

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Same old story, I remember ripping Internet Explorer out of Windows 98SE. Not only did it make the OS a lot faster (and it automatically reverted to the Win 95 classic file manager, as if they'd prepared for this eventuality), it also made it a lot more stable.

 

Might be rose-tinted glasses, but I don't recall any stability issues with that machine, it was definitely the laptop of choice for all presentations and group work at university, despite my fellow students all having more recent machines with Win 2k or XP.

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I think it's more of a problem preventing Windows updating itself. Many of which updates aren't security related and simply add to the bloat of the system.

 

But many ARE security patches. Here's just one of many:

 

Microsoft: PrintNightmare now patched on all Windows versions

 

In fact, our IT group forces some of them in case people don't have automatic updates turned on.

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I have to buy a new computer soon , my present one is old and no longer working reliably.

All up-to-date new Windows computers are pre-loaded with Windows 11.

Windows 11 apparently requires one to have a Microsoft Account and an Internet connection before it can be activated , I am NOT happy with this.

Is there any way that W11 can be activated without a Microsoft Account , Microsoft has apparently blocked all known ways of activation without a Microsoft Account.

 

Or should I switch over to a Macbook.

 

Another alternative is Linux , but I unfortunately know nothing about the Linux Operating system.

 

Suggestions please.

 

Thank you.

What's wrong with having a microsoft account it's free isnt it ?

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I am still having big problems with Windows 11.

I cannot get Wi-Fi , Printers or Scanners working.

All my devices are Windows 11 compatible.

Just an update :(.

Do you have Wi-Fi security setup on your router? I have 2 Windows 11 Pro systems and Two Windows 10 Pro systems. I use Wi-Fi security with an unusual password as well as tables that define what device MAC addresses can connect to my router. Sometimes it is a PIA to setup and maintain, but everything works just fine. Check your router.

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But many ARE security patches. Here's just one of many:

 

Microsoft: PrintNightmare now patched on all Windows versions

 

In fact, our IT group forces some of them in case people don't have automatic updates turned on.

All totally irrelevant if you keep your 'serious' computer off the Internet and surf on another device. Any downloads needed can be transferred physically or via a secured LAN share. It also helps if your LAN uses 10.0.x.x addresses, and not the common and routable 192.168.x.x network.

Edited by rodeo_joe|1
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Forget about privacy if you use Windows 11.

I have so far identified 2 programs that "phone home" , neither of which can be safely removed as far as I can tell , I am still investigating to the best of my ability.

"Microsoft Edge" phones home and as far as I can tell sends all your internet activity to Microsoft.

Another program called "wermgr.exe" apparently captures and sends all your other keystrokes and other data home when you are not on the internet , it waits until you connect to the internet and then sends data home.

These 2 programs run in the background every time you boot your computer , at least on my computer this is the case.

Aaaah , the new world order.

But "forewarned is forearmed" , as the saying goes.

I will surely make a point of learning to use Linux , perhaps Linux is not as bad.

Otherwise Windows 11 seems to be a responsive and nice operating system.

There are probably other similar programs hidden in Windows 11 , I just do not have sufficient knowledge to find them.

Just reporting what I have found thus far.

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Update: I am currently setting up a brand-new Windows 11 computer. To my surprise, the setup procedure automatically configured the machine to a Local Account (not a Microsoft Account) by default, even though it was connected to a Wi-Fi network!

 

The initial setup did offer a Microsoft Account as an option (describing it simply as an "online account"), but the Local Account was the default. It wasn't described as a "Local Account," but that's clearly what it is. The computer is currently downloading updates even though I haven't yet logged into my pre-existing Microsoft Account to install Microsoft Office.

 

This default behavior of the setup procedure is exactly the opposite of what everyone else is saying about Windows 11 -- that it defaults to an online Microsoft Account and either forbids a Local Account during initial setup or makes it very difficult. Is it possible that Microsoft is reacting to complaints about the account-setup options?

 

This computer is an HP laptop. Could HP have forced Microsoft to make Local Account the default?

 

Another possibility is that Microsoft is bending to local privacy laws. I live in California, which has adopted the strongest computer-privacy laws in the USA. In fact, the privacy law proposed in Congress would weaken California's protections, because the federal law would supersede state law.

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Forget about privacy if you use Windows 11.

I have so far identified 2 programs that "phone home" , neither of which can be safely removed as far as I can tell ,

Another program called "wermgr.exe" apparently captures and sends all your other keystrokes and other data home when you are not on the internet , it waits until you connect to the internet and then sends data home.

 

wermgr.exe is a Windows error messaging program. I have elected not to participate in the Microsoft error reporting and have no issues with this program; also, I do not see it in Task Manager.

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