What are some good forums or online communities for computer advice?

I have some specific questions that I'd like to ask about computers in general and would like to know what are some of the best communities for receiving specific advice about my concerns. For example, if I upgrade my laptop's RAM from 4GB to 16GB would that significantly impact battery life? Would any old RAM do the job, or are there real differences between brands names and do I need to only stick to manufacturer recommendations etc? I often make multiple short recordings. each lasting anywhere from 3 to 20 seconds, and later I need to combine these and add additional sounds bites and would like to know which software might be suitable for achieving such things. Windows Movie Maker under XP used to do this just fine, but for some reason the Windows 7 version just doesn't play nice!

I am not just looking for review or advice websites in the traditional sense. What I mean is that I want to be able to ask my OWN questions and get answers to my unique questions. The examples I provided above were for reference only. So, any ideas about good computer advice forums?

Thanks!

 

Toms Hardware is one of the best sites for computer related advice. If you would like any suggestions or even if you have an issue you can write a post and it will be answered until you are satisfied.

 

Thanks for the reply. After taking a quick look at that website it seems as though it will definitely handle all my hardware issues, but what about software? Any recommendations mainly for computer programs and so on?

 

Believe it or not, I have gotten some good advice a bunch of times from craigslist

 

Warrior and TRIPHP is quite good for computer advice.

 

One of my favorite and the top ranked site for computer related solutions is http://www.techie7.com/
I've posted around 10-12 queries around there and the success rate has been 100%

 

In all my years in IT I have never heard anyone ask if more ram will cause more battery drain - good question. IMHO it wouldn't be something you would have to worry about being it would be a tiny performance hit. One thing to worry about (since you were running XP and are worried about battery life) is that you will need a 64-bit OS to use the 16 GB ram. However, if your lappy take 16 GB ram, then you should have no issue.

Manufacture is a big deal especially trying to fit into a laptop. You may not have so many options with SODIMM ram as you would with a desktop so you should start with what is compatible.

Try win 7 in compatibility mode to see if things work better for you. Unfortunately, I am a Linux user and movie maker is the only think I'm familiar with.