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Fruits of the sea posted:Any recommendations for a toolkit for working on computers and laptops? A decent assortment of bits, something magnetic for catching screws and not magnetic for poking around electronics. It's for a christmas gift, so a decent brand with bits that don't strip after the first couple uses. The stuff from iFixit is quality, but I couldn't say if it hits all your requirements. \/ Yeah, I can't think of anything that it would affect. \/ Gromit fucked around with this message at 10:24 on Dec 6, 2017 |
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Dec 6, 2017 06:34
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Someone please correct me if I'm off, but I don't think you need to worry about your tools being magnetized when working with modern computer electronics.Keystoned posted:I'm looking for a laptop / chromebook recommendation. I would like to get my daughter something for Christmas that I can use to introduce her to the basics of coding. I'm thinking of signing her up for a code.org account and letting her play some of the games there and work through some lessons together. She is 10 and fairly bright. There's a chromebook thread over here https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3838891 - they can probably point you in the right direction. chocolateTHUNDER posted:Does HDMI do 4k and Freesync? I got a 4k Freesync monitor, but the Displayport cable didn't come yet lol. 4k, yes. If the monitor supports Freesync over HDMI, yes.
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Dec 6, 2017 08:19
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I disagree - you definitely need to be concerned about magnetized tools. Because if they are not magnetized, you might drop screws into hard to find places more easily and that might lead to trouble.
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Dec 6, 2017 14:17
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Yes, there is nothing you could possibly be doing during general PC tinkering that is even remotely at risk from magnetized tools. It's just a stupid "hey, I heard..." myth that makes me crazy. Also, what the poster above said x1000. The fact that any screwdriver isn't magnetized also makes me crazy.
Hipster_Doofus fucked around with this message at 14:41 on Dec 6, 2017 |
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Dec 6, 2017 14:38
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This might fall more under tech support forum, but figured I could throw this out here as I’m fairly certain we know the problem already. Or are at least hoping it is PSU related for the cheaper option. Friend has a computer that restarts itself seemingly under a heavy load. This happens during Dota, after a few turns of Endless Space, or while trying to load a giant Civ VI map. He went to run the 3DMark benchmark and it immediately restarts there as well. This has been happening just for the past week, and happens with or without his GPU plugged in. Openhardare monitor doesn’t show anything too unusual while it’s sitting idle, but I’m not sure how we could get a temp reading when it restarts. He did have a random spike from 40c to 65c, which sounded a bit high? Whenever it restarts, it’s up and running no problem, as if someone turned the power off and on again without any errors being presented. The only old component in this build is the PSU, purchased 2012 750w, rest of the components are new within 6 months and haven’t shown any issue until this week. Heatsink fan on CPU / case fans work, nothing inside the case feels unusually warm after it restarts itself. To me this sounds more PSU related than CPU, but I’m not sure either way. onesixtwo fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Dec 6, 2017 |
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Dec 6, 2017 16:54
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It definitely sounds PSU related and 5 years old is relatively old for a PSU. I don't know any other way of confirming it other than replacing it and see if the problem persists.
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Dec 6, 2017 18:17
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I'm looking to buy a UPS for my server and router as my house wiring has started to play up a bunch. I've seen this model reviewed well Cyberpower cp1500 and am happy to go with it, but I was wondering what makes it different in any way from a model like this that is half the price?
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Dec 6, 2017 19:38
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DJ Burette posted:I'm looking to buy a UPS for my server and router as my house wiring has started to play up a bunch. I've seen this model reviewed well Cyberpower cp1500 and am happy to go with it, but I was wondering what makes it different in any way from a model like this that is half the price? Some power supplies will not tolerate the simulated sine-wave power from the cheaper UPS units. I don't know how common that is or how to tell if your's cares, hopefully someone can chime in, but my PC works fine with the cheaper versions.
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Dec 6, 2017 19:47
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glynnenstein posted:Some power supplies will not tolerate the simulated sine-wave power from the cheaper UPS units. I don't know how common that is or how to tell if your's cares, hopefully someone can chime in, but my PC works fine with the cheaper versions.
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Dec 6, 2017 21:52
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Alereon posted:Yeah it's very important to only get true sine-wave out put UPSes for use with PCs. Using an approximated waveform UPS with a modern power supply will cause it to draw short bursts of high current instead of a smooth steady load, potentially overloading the UPS. Can you explain why this didn't seem to be the case like 2-3 years ago but now if anyone buys a UPS without Sine-Wave then it's just trash and will kill your computer? Does it have something to do with how recent PCUs handle loads or something?
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Dec 6, 2017 22:22
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It's a problem specifically with active power factor correction, which is ubiquitous in newer and more efficient PSUs. Older models (esp. before about 10 years ago) or modern bargain-basement models are usually passive PFC, which is easily identifiable on PSUs that have it by the presence of a source voltage selection switch. This also conveniently means that if you see a voltage selection switch on a new power supply, you can be rather confident that it's a cheap piece of poo poo.
Eletriarnation fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Dec 7, 2017 |
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Dec 7, 2017 03:31
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Would this be an okay place to ask for what wireless headset with a mic I should buy, or is there a headset thread I didn't see?
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Dec 13, 2017 15:49
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Well, I can share my experiences with those I have used. I am satisfied with Logitech G930. It is a large size for my large head and very comfortable. Audio quality is acceptable, nothing special. The Logitech app is fine, as well - you can set shortcuts for the buttons easily enough and fiddle with sound settings if you are into that sort of thing. The drivers used to suck royal rear end and it kept failing in stupid ways but they fixed the issues and now it's just fine. I mostly use it for gaming and confcalls and I am satisfied. I have also used Sound Blaster Omega Wireless. Motherfucker kept creaking and squeaking whenever I moved my jaw or head. There was also a distinct feedback problem - the microphone actually picked up the sound from the headphones! The microphone and headset volume could both go louder than I expected, which was nice. But otherwise, a piece of crap; do not use. Also too small for my head. Oh and the drivers stopped working with Windows 10 Creators Update, so I threw them out.
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Dec 13, 2017 17:11
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I'm in the market for a headset as well, but with some unusual criteria. I'm looking for something wireless, with a good mic, which will be used exclusively for VOIP calls lasting 7-8 hours at a stretch. It doesn't need to have amazing headphones, or even good headphones: all that matters is the quality of the mic, and the battery life. People have to be able to hear me clearly, and it can't drop dead after 5-6 hours of continuous use. In the past I've used a Plantronics Audio 478 (which gives you an idea of how lovely I'm willing to go on the headphones) because its mic is excellent for some reason, but changing circumstances require something wireless at this point. Any thoughts?
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Dec 14, 2017 19:33
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If you care about microphones a lot, I would direct you to EEVblog's 4-part series on Microphone design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihAG6cMpUlY That might help you get a grip on the technology behind the marketing.
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Dec 14, 2017 21:03
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How bad is a "Hard Disk Error" message in pre-boot? My wife just got that this morning (and let me tell you, that woke me up very quickly). It booted up fine after that. My initial response is  but I want to make sure I'm not overreacting. I've never had that happen to my computers, but I have had to fix computers that had that error. In that case it was replace the whole hard drive, but it was at the kind of enterprise where the time spent troubleshooting something like that cost more than a new pre-imaged hard drive.
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Dec 27, 2017 15:20
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22 Eargesplitten posted:How bad is a "Hard Disk Error" message in pre-boot? My wife just got that this morning (and let me tell you, that woke me up very quickly). It booted up fine after that. My initial response is Download Crystal Disk Info: https://crystalmark.info/download/index-e.html Make sure to get the standard edition in zip format (there's bundled crap in the exe installer, and the other "editions" are just anime skins). If it says "good," you're probably OK, but back your poo poo up anyway. If it says anything other than "good," your hard drive is probably going to die soon, back your poo poo up now.
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Dec 27, 2017 16:26
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22 Eargesplitten posted:How bad is a "Hard Disk Error" message in pre-boot? My wife just got that this morning (and let me tell you, that woke me up very quickly). It booted up fine after that. My initial response is Definitely immediately back up everything important and check what CrystalDiskInfo (Standard zip version doesn't have anime and the installer doesn't seem to have ads anymore) has to say. If it says anything other than Good, you should replace that hard drive. E;FB
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Dec 27, 2017 16:28
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Good idea, I’ll do that when I get home. I ran a chkdsk and it came out clean, but I don’t trust that. Upside we might be building her a new computer to replace that absolute piece of garbage she currently has. Downside we didn’t plan on that until middle of next year. Upside we have the money even if we didn’t want to spend it. One problem is that half of the time she plugs in our external drive it crashes her computer. Maybe I’ll figure out how to set up file sharing on our home network so we can just move it over to my computer for now.
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Dec 27, 2017 16:58
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22 Eargesplitten posted:I ran a chkdsk and it came out clean, but I don’t trust that. One describes the physical health of the hard drive, the other the logical "health" of the file system on a drive.
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Dec 27, 2017 21:06
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Upside we might be building her a new computer to replace that absolute piece of garbage she currently has. Downside we didn’t plan on that until middle of next year. Upside we have the money even if we didn’t want to spend it. If you're going from a desktop to another desktop there's nothing stopping you from just buying a new 3.5" hard drive now if the old ones dying. You can copy or clone the old disk and just swap it into the new PC when you build it.
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Dec 27, 2017 21:16
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Laptop to desktop, sadly. Not sure why she decided on a laptop in the first place, it was a couple years ago. Thankfully she managed to get everything backed up, so we just have to hope that if the CrystalDiskInfo scan comes up bad, it can wait for a shipment of parts from Newegg and Amazon.
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Dec 27, 2017 21:24
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Laptop to desktop, sadly. You can totally put a laptop drive in a desktop (adapter may or may not be needed depending on case). It's the reverse that presents a problem. I say do it. Get recommendations for a decent SSD that's the largest you can afford. Plus, that upgrade alone might make you postpone the desktop decision for a long time.
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Dec 27, 2017 22:17
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So I know that WD is the goto for internal drives, but are they also the goto for external drives? I'm frequently moving between a desktop, two laptops, and various lab computers, and need something I can just toss in my bag.
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Dec 30, 2017 06:07
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everythingWasBees posted:So I know that WD is the goto for internal drives, but are they also the goto for external drives? I'm frequently moving between a desktop, two laptops, and various lab computers, and need something I can just toss in my bag. Generally the enclosures are fine and reliability will come down to what drive is inside, like always. Get the 8 TB Easystore with the part number ending in NESN the next time Best Buy has them for $150 or so, and just don't shuck it out of the enclosure, use it as-is.
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Dec 30, 2017 06:23
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Hi, I have a bunch of mini-DVDs with old camcorder videos on them, however the DVD drive in my current desktop does not read them/thinks they're blank, along with other drives I've tried. Do people here think the discs damaged in any way, and is there some special reader I need for them? 
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Jan 1, 2018 06:33
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icantfindaname posted:Hi, I have a bunch of mini-DVDs with old camcorder videos on them, however the DVD drive in my current desktop does not read them/thinks they're blank, along with other drives I've tried. Do people here think the discs damaged in any way, and is there some special reader I need for them? Does your camcorder read them? Can you hook a USB or Firewire to it somehow to use it as your drive? It looks burned to me (i.e. data is on the disc) but there's a fuckload of gunk on there, you may want to rinse it off and then dry it with a microfiber cloth (only microfiber, not chamois or any other substitutes, and only go radially out from the center, do not go around the disc) and see if that helps. (given this option potentially puts you at an ever-so-slight risk of scratches, you should wait for a second opinion and/or see if there's any other options, but I doubt that disc is going to read without errors even if recognized, given the amount of crud I see there, and the crud may actually be preventing the disc from being recognized at all) Paul MaudDib fucked around with this message at 06:56 on Jan 1, 2018 |
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Jan 1, 2018 06:50
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icantfindaname posted:Hi, I have a bunch of mini-DVDs with old camcorder videos on them, however the DVD drive in my current desktop does not read them/thinks they're blank, along with other drives I've tried. Do people here think the discs damaged in any way, and is there some special reader I need for them? Doesn't look like there's visible "holes" where the material has effectively lost all changes in reflective factor. So the discs are probably still good albeit with minor errors. Try another optical drive.
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Jan 1, 2018 07:01
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Some googling tells me these discs should probably present themselves as regular dvds. I honestly don't remember what explorer should do in that situation, but I'd give Handbrake a shot to see if it can make something of the contents. After cleaning the discs and whatnot.
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Jan 1, 2018 15:33
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icantfindaname posted:Hi, I have a bunch of mini-DVDs with old camcorder videos on them, however the DVD drive in my current desktop does not read them/thinks they're blank, along with other drives I've tried. Do people here think the discs damaged in any way, and is there some special reader I need for them? How old are they? Could be disc rot.
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Jan 1, 2018 15:52
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Figured this is the best place to ask, or be redirected to the correct thread (which I can't find for the life of me, searched pages manually and used search the forums): I have a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M50X, the padding on both the earpads and headband are getting really gross. They're flaking off and when I get off the PC, I'll have a bunch of black flecks on my head from where it has rubbed off whilst I've been on the PC. Where on earth can I get decent replacement pads / headband?
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Jan 1, 2018 21:04
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Keyboard is not working today. It was earlier in the day and now that I'm back it appears dead When I plug it in I get a brief flash on the Scroll Lock LED. Also get a windows notification  is tiny but it says The last SUB device you connected to this computer malfunctioned and Windows does not recognize itIn Device manager I look under USB controllers and I see Unknown USB device (device descriptor request failed) Is this all just a fancy way of saying my keyboard is dead? I've gone through checking different USB ports- either get same result or nothing at all
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Jan 2, 2018 00:32
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Fart.Bleed.Repeat. posted:Keyboard is not working today. It was earlier in the day and now that I'm back it appears dead Yeah it sounds like either some of the conductors in the wire broke or there's some kind of damage in the keyboard controller or something.
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Jan 2, 2018 00:35
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Q8ee posted:Figured this is the best place to ask, or be redirected to the correct thread (which I can't find for the life of me, searched pages manually and used search the forums): I haven't tried them at all or know if it really works for your headphones nor am I suggesting you really buy from this vendor but I see https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Techni...acement+earpads
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Jan 2, 2018 00:43
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Rexxed posted:Yeah it sounds like either some of the conductors in the wire broke or there's some kind of damage in the keyboard controller or something. Yeah if it was just out of the blue like that you're certainly looking at hardware failure. I assume you have tried other usb devices in that same port?
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Jan 2, 2018 04:42
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^^ Aye, moved the keyboard to different ports on the back(on the mobo), as well as the front mounted 2.0 and 3.0 jacks. And then also put a cheap-o Dell kb into each of the ports and that works fine. Also tried it at another PC and it behaved the same, so sounds like it's toast, and its out of warranty
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Jan 2, 2018 06:24
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Can anyone recomend me a good standalone desk mic? I know the snowball is supposed to be good but I'd like something cheaper, its for gaming with my friends and light video work (I'm not trying to make a career out of it, just goofing off with my friends) For reference the snowball is 99 + shipping on AU amazon
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Jan 2, 2018 08:50
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underage at the vape shop posted:Can anyone recomend me a good standalone desk mic? I know the snowball is supposed to be good but I'd like something cheaper, its for gaming with my friends and light video work (I'm not trying to make a career out of it, just goofing off with my friends) If you can get any Samson or t.bone USB microphones in Australia cheaper than that, they should be good enough for casual use. The local choice would be RØDE, but they probably don’t have anything cheaper than the snowball. There’s also a cheaper version of the Snowball, the Snowball Ice, which doesn’t have a switchable polar pattern, but for recording a single person in front of a noisy PC cardioid is what you want anyway.
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Jan 2, 2018 09:55
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Q8ee posted:Figured this is the best place to ask, or be redirected to the correct thread (which I can't find for the life of me, searched pages manually and used search the forums): Aliexpress has all kinds of that stuff if you can't find it on Amazon or Ebay. Shipping takes forever and you might not get exactly the kind of padding that you had on the originals but hey, they usually cost like $5 or something. underage at the vape shop posted:Can anyone recomend me a good standalone desk mic? I know the snowball is supposed to be good but I'd like something cheaper, its for gaming with my friends and light video work (I'm not trying to make a career out of it, just goofing off with my friends) I have a Samson GoMic (was like $30) and it's miles better than your average headset mic. It has a clip-on mount that may or may not be a bit tricky to mount on your monitor. I have it just sitting on my desk, which has the downside of being a great position to pick up keyboard noises. Also has a regular mic stand mount though if you have one of those.
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Jan 2, 2018 10:08
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Is there a program i can use to throttle my internet down to a speed limit of my own choosing and then easily remove that limit after? Where i live i have two options for internet: almost antiquated ADSL or extremely exploitative 4G wireless net. The 4G net is starting to cost me so much that it's getting to be a real problem, so i'd like to try simulating the ADSL speeds to see if i can live with it.
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Jan 2, 2018 15:07
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