Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Chuu
Sep 11, 2004

Grimey Drawer
What's are some good options for monitor arms? I currently have the monoprice one, and it's decent (but does sag over time), but I am really looking for one that is completely adjustable without tightening/loosing any bolts.

Considering how long a monitor lasts, I have no problem dropping up to $150-$200 on a good one. But if you can get 90% of the performance for half the price, I'd like to know as well.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

teagone
Jun 10, 2003

That was pretty intense, huh?

The two 4TB Toshiba X300 hard drives in my brother's Plex server are running hotter than I'd like. They're currently idling around 45-50C and I've seen them get up to 53C (according to Toshiba's spec sheet, their operating temp is 5-55C). Problem is his server is a Dell PowerEdge T20 and it doesn't look like the case has a mount for a front intake fan. The only additional cooling the T20 has is a rear 92mm exhaust. Here's what it looks like on the inside:



The two hard drives are on the bottom. Any suggestions on how to cool them? Hoping there's a solution other than me migrating all the innards into a new case (I believe the mainboard is micro-ATX).

LRADIKAL
Jun 10, 2001

Fun Shoe
Leave them be. They are within spec. Sure, they not last as long statistically, but they can be replaced easily when that day comes. Always have your data backed up

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe
Any reason why my onboard AMD Radeon 5350 (5400?) graphics says hardware acceleration is supported but when playing 1080p video in Windows 10 (via Kodi) it seems like the CPU is taking the brunt of the decoding (20% utilization for 720p, 70-100% for 1080p)?

DXVA is turned on in Kodi and dxdiag says all the hardware acceleration is enabled. Drivers are up to date.

DeaconBlues
Nov 9, 2011
A stab in the dark, but the HD videos you're trying to play aren't in the new-fangled x265 codec format, are they?

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

DeaconBlues posted:

A stab in the dark, but the HD videos you're trying to play aren't in the new-fangled x265 codec format, are they?

Oh poo poo, that's exactly it. I've added an exception to Sonarr for now, what else is there to do?

DeaconBlues
Nov 9, 2011
I think your only option outside of buying new hardware is to put up with heavier resources and enjoy your movies :)

I think all of the Skylake CPU's can do x265 hardware decoding. Not sure about GPU's or AMD stuff.

Zaq
Jun 21, 2005

My ancient crappy headset with mic has finally started to fall apart and I need to get a new mic.
I'm not sure if I want a headset mic or something standalone. I'd just be using it for games like Overwatch.
The current ones I just wear around my neck since I don't really like to get sound from the headphones, and the mic picks up well enough like that.

Should I just get a decent headset and learn to have the audio through that? Or is a microphone on its own an actually OK option?

Any suggestions, comments or nudges in the right direction would be appreciated

LRADIKAL
Jun 10, 2001

Fun Shoe
I have a cheesy little logitech c110 webcam and the mic on that works well enough for gaming. Sounds good when I test it and I've gotten no complaints. I'm sure there's better stuff for similar prices at this point, but it works for me!

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Webcam-C110-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B00519B4YG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1463331327&sr=8-3&keywords=c110

Chuu
Sep 11, 2004

Grimey Drawer

Zaq posted:

My ancient crappy headset with mic has finally started to fall apart and I need to get a new mic.
I'm not sure if I want a headset mic or something standalone. I'd just be using it for games like Overwatch.
The current ones I just wear around my neck since I don't really like to get sound from the headphones, and the mic picks up well enough like that.

Should I just get a decent headset and learn to have the audio through that? Or is a microphone on its own an actually OK option?

Any suggestions, comments or nudges in the right direction would be appreciated

I use a very expensive set of headphones and needed a mic for similar reasons. I just use a cable clip-on mic and it works great. Example: http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ

Touchfuzzy
Dec 5, 2010

Zaq posted:

My ancient crappy headset with mic has finally started to fall apart and I need to get a new mic.
I'm not sure if I want a headset mic or something standalone. I'd just be using it for games like Overwatch.
The current ones I just wear around my neck since I don't really like to get sound from the headphones, and the mic picks up well enough like that.

Should I just get a decent headset and learn to have the audio through that? Or is a microphone on its own an actually OK option?

Any suggestions, comments or nudges in the right direction would be appreciated

I like having control over separate things. I got an Audio Techinica ATR-2500 USB mic (~60$), and a pair of Samson SR850 (~50$). If all you're gonna be doing playing games and wanna communicate to others, I'd get a nice pair of headphones, then get a clip-on mic like chuu got since you don't sound like you need a really good sounding mic, just one that works.

HalloKitty
Sep 30, 2005

Adjust the bass and let the Alpine blast

Jago posted:

I have a cheesy little logitech c110 webcam and the mic on that works well enough for gaming. Sounds good when I test it and I've gotten no complaints. I'm sure there's better stuff for similar prices at this point, but it works for me!

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Webcam-C110-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B00519B4YG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1463331327&sr=8-3&keywords=c110

Not this exact webcam, but I do the same thing. Less hassle with wires and so on. Sounds fine.

Zaq
Jun 21, 2005

I just went for a Blue Snowball ice.
It was marketed a bit too much like a "OMG THIS THING IS AMAZING IT CAN DO EVERYTHING" but it wasn't that expensive and it really just was a "plug&play" type of situation even though it does use USB. (so far I've only used mics that use the audio jack)
Haven't had a lot of chances to try it out, but I'll see how it works in practice once overwatch comes out.

Ema Nymton
Apr 26, 2008

the place where I come from
is a small town
Buglord
Is there a way to safely inspect a random USB of unknown origin?

If I find a USB drive on the ground, finders keepers (OK maybe I'll look for the owner). But nowadays just being careful and scanning the drive for viruses isn't good enough. USB keyboard drives and other Bad USB crap can execute without user input. I refuse to give up my freedom to keep free trash, so obviously I'm going to stick these USBs into my computer. What's the safest way?

My plan is to boot into a live USB linux OS and then explore the drive from there, since I assume most exploits are meant for Windows. Would that be enough? Are there any Windows applications that can intercept and inspect USB drives? I suppose I can also watch closely for any weird poo poo and restore a backup image to fix everything, or just restore the image regardless to be 100% sure no malware was executed, but it's a real hassle to do that.

Geemer
Nov 4, 2010



Ema Nymton posted:

Are there any Windows applications that can intercept and inspect USB drives?


There's USBLogView, but that only shows you what devices you plug/unplug. Maybe ask in the SC/HC short questions thread?

Fart.Bleed.Repeat.
Sep 29, 2001

Zaq posted:

I just went for a Blue Snowball ice.
It was marketed a bit too much like a "OMG THIS THING IS AMAZING IT CAN DO EVERYTHING" but it wasn't that expensive and it really just was a "plug&play" type of situation even though it does use USB. (so far I've only used mics that use the audio jack)
Haven't had a lot of chances to try it out, but I'll see how it works in practice once overwatch comes out.

I just grabbed a Snowball(the difference between the Ice is 1 capsule vs 2) and setup was easy as advertised- plug it in USB and it shows up as a new device in the windows recording devices, so pick that instead of LINE IN or whatever you had been using. Depends how loud you are for how good it picks up- for me the sweet spot is about 6-8" out. I've been using the included stand and setting it right behind where my keyboard sits, but I am looking at a swing/boom/arm that will put it right in front of my face without using any desktop real estate, and then able to swing it out of the way when not needed

HMS Boromir
Jul 16, 2011

by Lowtax

Geemer posted:

There's USBLogView, but that only shows you what devices you plug/unplug. Maybe ask in the SC/HC short questions thread?

...you mean this thread?

Geoj
May 28, 2008

BITTER POOR PERSON

Ema Nymton posted:

Is there a way to safely inspect a random USB of unknown origin?

My plan is to boot into a live USB linux OS and then explore the drive from there, since I assume most exploits are meant for Windows.

This is what I would do. Its not completely immune from attacks, but the odds of a randomly found thumb drive containing malware for Linux are incredibly slim, and even if that's the case you're in a live session that can be killed without losing anything. If you want to be really paranoid you could disconnect your hard drives and disconnect the computer from the network before connecting the thumb drive.

Geemer
Nov 4, 2010



HMS Boromir posted:

...you mean this thread?

...Yeah. :downsgun:

Haledjian
May 29, 2008

YOU CAN'T MOVE WITH ME IN THIS DIGITAL SPACE
I just installed a 4790k on a new motherboard.



I don't know why there are 7 temperatures, or why 3 of them are over 100C. Am I about to burn my house down, or is this normal?

Edit: I'm a loving idiot, those are from the motherboard, not the CPU

Haledjian fucked around with this message at 07:18 on May 25, 2016

HalloKitty
Sep 30, 2005

Adjust the bass and let the Alpine blast

Haledjian posted:

I just installed a 4790k on a new motherboard.



I don't know why there are 7 temperatures, or why 3 of them are over 100C. Am I about to burn my house down, or is this normal?

Edit: I'm a loving idiot, those are from the motherboard, not the CPU

Motherboards often have a bunch of temperature probes from a generic monitoring chipset that simply aren't connected, so often read nonsense values.
If they basically don't change at all over time, then you know that's what you're looking at.

HalloKitty fucked around with this message at 19:00 on May 25, 2016

Haledjian
May 29, 2008

YOU CAN'T MOVE WITH ME IN THIS DIGITAL SPACE

HalloKitty posted:

Motherboards often have a bunch of temperature probes from a generic monitoring chipset that simply aren't connected, so often read nonsense values.
If they basically don't change at all over time, then you know that's what you're looking at.

Yeah, they're very steady. Glad I'm safe!

Node
May 20, 2001

KICKED IN THE COOTER
:dings:
Taco Defender
I have a powered USB hub that I use to charge my wireless devices. I noticed Windows was making random sounds today. I looked at device manager and saw that none of my devices were present and my devices weren't being charged. When I felt one of the USB cables that connected to one of my devices, the end of that cable was pretty drat warm, bordering hot. I unplugged the hub, and heard the USB device connected/disconnected a couple dozen times. Then the hub showed an error in device manager.

I unplugged it for a minute, plugged it back in, and now everything is working fine. The cable is back to room temperature. Is there any explanation for this? I feel like I should replace this hub right away, since that could be a fire risk, even though the stupid thing is just as big as a candy bar.

Alereon
Feb 6, 2004

Dehumanize yourself and face to Trumpshed
College Slice

Node posted:

I have a powered USB hub that I use to charge my wireless devices. I noticed Windows was making random sounds today. I looked at device manager and saw that none of my devices were present and my devices weren't being charged. When I felt one of the USB cables that connected to one of my devices, the end of that cable was pretty drat warm, bordering hot. I unplugged the hub, and heard the USB device connected/disconnected a couple dozen times. Then the hub showed an error in device manager.

I unplugged it for a minute, plugged it back in, and now everything is working fine. The cable is back to room temperature. Is there any explanation for this? I feel like I should replace this hub right away, since that could be a fire risk, even though the stupid thing is just as big as a candy bar.
Disconnect and replace the hub immediately, I can't believe you plugged it back in after it was clear it was shorting out :psyduck:

Node
May 20, 2001

KICKED IN THE COOTER
:dings:
Taco Defender

Alereon posted:

Disconnect and replace the hub immediately, I can't believe you plugged it back in after it was clear it was shorting out :psyduck:

Thanks, I will. It's Belkin, which I assume is a poo poo brand. I don't remember where I got it.

And it wasn't clear it was shorting out since, well, I would have to understand that in the first place.

Alereon
Feb 6, 2004

Dehumanize yourself and face to Trumpshed
College Slice
Belkin isn't no-name Chinese garbage but it also isn't particularly good. As a general rule anything that starts producing heat when it didn't before, or gets hotter than it did before, probably has some sort of internal short-circuit and needs to be unplugged immediately and not reconnected.

future ghost
Dec 5, 2005

:byetankie:
Gun Saliva
It's actually a mislabeled space heater and not a USB hub. :devil:


Stop using that thing before it either breaks your computer or kills you.

Node
May 20, 2001

KICKED IN THE COOTER
:dings:
Taco Defender
Do not worry, I've placed it within the center of a demonic pentagram drawn with my own blood and semen. It will not be harming anyone now.

There isn't a chance this was the device's doing, was it? It was a mini-usb charging wireless headphones that got so warm.

This is the hub I'm replacing it with, Rosewill I think is newegg's brand of products: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182057 .

future ghost
Dec 5, 2005

:byetankie:
Gun Saliva
Cheap powered hubs tend to be pretty notorious for not actually separating their power and data sections correctly. If another hub heats up with the same headphones it might be the device, but since the active hub heated up like that I'd look at it as the bad component firstand get rid of it to be on the safe side.

Node
May 20, 2001

KICKED IN THE COOTER
:dings:
Taco Defender

future ghost posted:

Cheap powered hubs tend to be pretty notorious for not actually separating their power and data sections correctly. If another hub heats up with the same headphones it might be the device, but since the active hub heated up like that I'd look at it as the bad component firstand get rid of it to be on the safe side.

This thing looks pretty cheap, so that definitely sounds possible. But to be clear, the hub wasn't heating up, it was the end of the cable connecting to the headphones that was.

DeaconBlues
Nov 9, 2011
So you have a hub, a length of cable and a headphone(s). All are connected.

If the hot bit was where the headphone meets the cable I'd say that it's the headphone at fault, since the headphone is trying to draw excessive power.

If the hot bit was at the hub/cable junction I'd say it's heat coming from a faulty hub.

Captain Hair
Dec 31, 2007

Of course, that can backfire... some men like their bitches crazy.
I've had a few well used usb cables start to get hot, right where they were bent the most, near the plug. I blamed it on the wire fatiguing from repeated bending, assumed it would eventually short out and go on fire so binned it.

Honestly I'd check all cables and hub and such separately till I was certain of the problem. Would suck to bin the hub only to find it was a cable.

future ghost
Dec 5, 2005

:byetankie:
Gun Saliva
How long is thermal paste supposed to last on a CPU? I've not exactly been gentle with my 2600K and went to swap out the thermal paste today after 4 years. I'm not sure if it's the stuff I used (Thermalright CFIII) or not, but it looked like I applied it a month ago at most. I didn't expect to see chalk, but physically at least it appeared like I could have just left it like that for another few years without a problem. Surely I'm missing molecular breakdowns or some other non viewable wizardry? :smugwizard:

Also thank you to whoever first figured out the grain of rice method, because I was not looking forwards to reseating that HR-02 again.. Although it was surprisingly easier than I'd remembered due to the awesome mounting bracket.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 14:14 on May 28, 2016

Alereon
Feb 6, 2004

Dehumanize yourself and face to Trumpshed
College Slice
Thermal paste lasts effectively forever, it's just a suspension of white zinc oxide particles in clear silicone oil. Silicone oil doesn't evaporate readily at room temperature and pressure, especially when shielded from the air on both sides, so you don't need to regularly refresh it or anything. It can sometimes help to replace factory-applied thermal interface materials, which have lower performance than even the cheap white thermal paste and can flow out from between the joint with time. Joints with low mounting pressure (definitely not CPUs and usually not graphics cards) can form gaps that allow dust to accumulate, so it can be worth checking sometimes. Usually devices with low mounting pressure don't produce much heat though.

In general I strongly recommend against metallic-based pastes like Arctic Silver, because they can be dangerous if spilled or smudged, even if the manufacturer claims they are non-conductive. Gelid Solutions GC Extreme has the best performance of any non-metallic thermal paste, beating out even Arctic Silver. The absolute best performers are the Coollaboratory Liquid Pro and Liquid Ultra, which are literally a liquid metal alloy with extreme performance and requirements for installation. Only for elite competitive overclockers.

E: Yeah, there's no need to use anything but cheap white thermal paste, or the kind that comes free with your heatsink, unless you're already chasing the last few degrees. If you're buying a high-end cooler then in my opinion it does also make sense on a $/degrees-C basis to also get some Gelid GC Extreme.

Alereon fucked around with this message at 21:04 on May 28, 2016

Geemer
Nov 4, 2010



Even those differences between brands are only really of interest for the crazy overclockers because the differences are so minute. Even mayonnaise performs reasonably well.
Just buy the cheap white non-conductive gunk.

Also make sure that if you ever decide to use a gallium-based thermal interface material, that you don't put it anywhere near aluminium because it'll completely gently caress up the crystalline structure. Wiping it off afterwards will not help because it'll already have seeped in enough to do damage and will turn all your aluminium parts it comes in contact with into hilariously brittle junk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHHI2Lk79cY

Flipperwaldt
Nov 11, 2011

Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?



Geemer posted:

Even mayonnaise performs reasonably well.
Fascinating. I take it there are reasons I don't see that recommended too often though.

Geemer
Nov 4, 2010



Flipperwaldt posted:

Fascinating. I take it there are reasons I don't see that recommended too often though.

It doesn't last too long.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/does-mayonnaise-last-as-a-thermal-compound/

The thing is, though, almost anything is better at conducting heat than air. So what you really want is something that can fill the minuscule gaps, is a stable compound that can easily take the heat and if it has a good thermal conductivity that's even better.

Geemer fucked around with this message at 01:09 on May 29, 2016

future ghost
Dec 5, 2005

:byetankie:
Gun Saliva
I have a giant tube of non-conductive MX-4 so I just used that. I don't even think I've ever used AS5, but I still have a bunch of ceramique around somewhere. The temperature differences are all within a couple C anyways which is basically a measurement error to the HR-02.

Node
May 20, 2001

KICKED IN THE COOTER
:dings:
Taco Defender

DeaconBlues posted:

So you have a hub, a length of cable and a headphone(s). All are connected.

If the hot bit was where the headphone meets the cable I'd say that it's the headphone at fault, since the headphone is trying to draw excessive power.

If the hot bit was at the hub/cable junction I'd say it's heat coming from a faulty hub.

I've had the headset act goofy before. Once, it gave Windows 10 something like a "windows usb power surge error." Other times, when I remove the cable and want to use it, the headphones will disappear from the computer - they wont appear in Device Manager or in my playback devices, and I have to restart. It could very well be the headphones.

On the other hand, when this incident occurred, none of the USB devices plugged into the hub were got any power.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

DeaconBlues
Nov 9, 2011
It could still be the headset, though. If the short was drawing a large amount of power at the headset it could be draining most of the power that the hub could supply and starving the other connected devices of power, so they'd all appear offline.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply