How to find Windows 8, 8.1 and Office Product Key, Serial Key or CD Key

UPDATE: Microsoft seem to think that this tool which allows you to find the serial key of the software you already have paid for is illegal as I don’t have enough funds to hire a lawyer I have had to take it down, sorry about that.

This video will show you how to find the Windows 8 and 8.1 Product Key Serial Key CD Key.

Hi All
Have you ever needed to know what your Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office serial key is? When you receive a new PC you should be able to find the cd key on the cd software or on a sticker on the bottom of your PC. However I recently received a new PC and the product key for Windows was no where to be found and if I wanted to install a faster SSD drive I would need the product key to activate Windows so that I can receive the all important Windows updates, patches and fixes.

The video above will show you what you need to do to find your serial key. I have been using a tool called Magical Jelly Bean finder for years and its a great tool for finding the serial keys of most Microsoft products.

You can find the Magical Jelly Bean finder software under the Downloads section of 123myIT website here.

SATA VS SSD Benchmark Which is better?

This video will show you the performance difference between SATA VS SSD hard drives. These drives have both been put through 3DMARK, PCMARK and Windows Experience Index benchmarks.

Hi All
I wanted to do some benchmark testing with the new Asus G750JX laptop I purchased recently. So I ran the three benchmarks 3DMARK, PCMARK and Windows Experience Index on both the SATA and SSD drives and then was able to compare the scores. The only variable was the SATA and SSD drive.

Here are the results.
3DMARK SATA vs SSD
108246 vs 108956 The SSD was better by 710 points
14844 vs 14892 The SSD was better by 48 points

PCMARK SATA vs SSD
4459 vs 4938 The SSD was better by 479 points

How to Reset the SMC System Management Controller on a Macbook Pro Macbook and Macbook Air

This video will show you how to Reset the SMC System Management Controller on a Macbook Pro Macbook and Macbook Air.

Apple have said

Note: It is possible that the SMC could encounter an issue that may cause unusual system behavior typically related to the symptoms described below. In some cases, resetting the SMC may be the only correct method to resolve the issue, however, an SMC reset should only be attempted after all other standard troubleshooting has been performed.

You should try the following steps before you reset the SMC on your Mac and test the issue after each troubleshooting step and see if the issue still occurs.

Step 1. Press the Command, Option and Escape to quit any application that might not be working properly.
Step 2. Put the Mac in sleep mode by selecting the Apple menu button in the upper-left menu bar and choose Sleep. Wake the Mac after it goes to sleep.
Step 3. Restart the Mac by going into the Apple menu and choose Shut Down.
Step 4. Shut down the computer by going into the Apple Menu and choose Shut Down.

Sometimes your Mac might appear to be running normally but it doesn’t seem to be responding, you can force the Mac to shut down by pressing and holding the power button for 10 seconds.
NOTE: Any unsaved work will be lost.

Asus G750 Gaming Laptop Unboxing Review and Benchmark

This video will show you an Unboxing, Review and Benchmark of the Asus G750JX-TB71 Gaming Laptop.

Hi All
Recently I upgraded my laptop from the Asus G75VM-RS72 to the Asus G750JX-TB71. The main reason for this is because I am a gaming fan and I like to have a decent gaming pc. However because I am limited on space in my house at the moment I don’t have any room for a study. So the trade off is a high end gaming laptop. After using the Republic Of Gamers laptop for about a year now I think its actually a better solution and here’s why.

First of all the laptop takes up less space and uses much less power than a desktop box.
Secondly its very portable. I can move to any part of my tiny house and occasionally I take it around to a mates place for a night of gaming. In the last year it has been mostly Guild Wars 2. However I am hanging out for Elder Scrolls online. 🙂

What I really like about the ROG laptops is decent gaming performance plus the design of the laptops are very good. The air flow and cooling vents makes for a quite and cooler laptop. The non slip rubber type black plastic allows the user to rest the laptop in your lap without the danger of it slipping off.
The laptop doesn’t have ugly flashy lights like the Alienware or the MSI range of laptops. So maybe it is suited to the more mature gamer such as myself.

All this has sold me on the Asus over the Dell XPS range. And while I still like Dell, the performance and design of the Asus has won me over for now at least.

Now that I have all of that out of the way, I will add the links for the benchmark software that I have used in the video above to this post below. Feel free to download and compare the results of your own laptop to this video.

You can find the Benchmark downloads on the Downloads section of the 123myIT website here.
CPU-Z 1.67.
GPU-Z ASUS with ROG skin 0.7.4.
hwmonitor 1.24.
PC Mark 8.
3D Mark 8.