Quick [tech] Questions Thread

[Rendakor]

Hmm, good call. I use OBS to stream and didn't think about messing with quality settings.

Edit: OBS doesn't actually have a lot of options. Can't change the frame rate, only x264 encoding (there are two greyed-out options, Quick Sync and Nvidia NVENC), only mp4 and flv file formats, etc.

[ezrast]

Pretty sure FFsplit is pretty good about all that stuff. Been a while since I've used it though.

[Stormwaltz]

I don't necessarily need a mechanical, or 16.8 million colors, but after a bottle of Three Philosophers exploded through cork and cage and into to my keyboard, I do need a new backlit.*

I noticed the Rosewill RGB80 is currently on sale for $100 on Newegg. Reviews seem generally positive. Anyone here have an experience with it, or an alternate suggestion?



* I bought my now-gummed up Saitek Eclipse II in 2008, and most of the keys are worn-out blobs of color; it has served with honor and distinction.

[Numtini]

Really, everyone needs a mechanical. No idea about that one, but at work I've had the previous model w/10key/MX browns and it's been fine. That one appears to have blues so it will be clicky.

[Phildo]

I noticed the Rosewill RGB80 is currently on sale for $100 on Newegg. Reviews seem generally positive. Anyone here have an experience with it, or an alternate suggestion?

Lack of number pad would kill that for me.

[Rendakor]

I've had a G510 for years and love it.

[JRave]

I had a couple of Rosewill's first attempts into mechanical keyboards the rk-9000s.  First one was great but had Blues so was pretty loud.  I then got their 2nd gen that had other switch options, going for the reds.  It was a great keyboard until the micro usb connection within the keyboard itself failed because of bad soldering.  The one you linked has the usb connection in a different spot, but I would still shy away.

I've since moved onto a CMStorm XT which has been rock solid. As such I would recommend looking into the CM Storm line.  They have couple that had backlights, Trigger, Quickfire Ultimate, and Quickfire TK.  The TK can be found on Amazon for less than $100 in multiple switch types.

http://www.amazon.com/CM-Storm-QuickFire-TK-Mechanical/dp/B00A378L4C

{edit: wrong info}
Apparently both the Trigger and Ultimate are discontinued, and I'm unsure if Coolermaster has plans for anymore backlight keyboards.

[Numtini]

The big thing unique about that Rosewill is it has color adjustable LEDs, which even a year ago when I first bought a mech were things we were told weren't possible. I know Corsair is coming out with one soon, but it seems to be delayed and I think the first generation is red switches only.

I have a Ducky Shine III with pink LEDs and couldn't be happier with it. Plus it has a glowing snake on the spacebar for the year of the snake. mechanicalkeyboards.com has a great selection of weird ass keyboards you won't find elsewhere.

FWIW, my evangelism on mechanical keyboards is because a year ago I was getting extreme cramping and pain in my fingers to the point where I was considering going to a doctor about it and when I switched keyboards, it essentially just plain went away.

[Rendakor]

I'm looking for a video capture card to record PS3/PS4, and saw this external one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008ZT8QKO/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?qid=1408624296&ref_=lp_284824_1_5&s=pc&sr=1-5

Anyone have any experience with it? If not, any suggestions on which one to go with? External isn't a must; I just thought it would be convenient.

[Yegolev]

I just obtained one.  It's super easy to use and works much better than I expected.  Youtube uploads can be done directly from the software.  Works great on a not-so-hot laptop.  Have not tried the streaming function.

I thought there was some way to incorporate XBL chat into your recordings but I haven't figured out that one yet.

Something that I didn't find out until I unboxed it is that the PS3 will not let you record HDMI, but they give you a PS3 component cable with the PVR.

[Engels]

FWIW, my evangelism on mechanical keyboards is because a year ago I was getting extreme cramping and pain in my fingers to the point where I was considering going to a doctor about it and when I switched keyboards, it essentially just plain went away.

I'm now re-interested in this mostly because of the input lag I'm experiencing in WoT. I once had a mechanical keyboard from Thermaltake, but the keys were WAAAAY too tough to depress (cherry black) and it was essentially a useless thing for gaming unless you had gorilla hands.

Do you have any recommendations for fast response mechanical ones that have the old 'ergo' split keyboard configuration? All of the ones I see have the traditional lay out.

[Strazos]

So, I now apparently have two access points in my house:

1) my Mexican modem with Mexican IP
2) VPN router with US IP

So things work alright with my laptop - I simply swap my wireless connection to the VPN when needed. However, I'm not sure how it will work once I set my desktop up using ethernet. Obviously, I will need to connect to both devices with two network connections. But once that is done, how do I manage which traffic uses which connection?

Most of the time, using the Mexican IP will be fine. However, when I want to watch Netflix, or conduct a transaction needing a US IP, how will that work?

[Cyrrex]

Hola Unblocker is your friend, at least for things like Netflix or any time you want an Americanized version of things like that.

[Phildo]

I'd be impressed if you could actually stream anything through a VPN on Mexican internet.

[Strazos]

Um, HD Netflix comes right through without a problem on my laptop and iPad.

Any other ideas? I already have the router and service - might as well use it.

[Shannow]

Any suggestions for a good HD recovery specialist in MA? (aka HD maybe completely borked and needs actual physical retrieval). Preferably one that isn't going to cost me 2k.

[HaemishM]

Thinking about finally using a Password Manager of some kind (the free kind) to manage my passwords between my desktops at work and home. I sometimes work from the house too, so I need to be able to share the passwords between the two desktops and maybe my cell phone and tablet. Sell me on either LastPass or Keepass.

[Viin]

They both suck (integration with browsers is hard) but they both work OK. Pick your poison.

Personally, I use LastPass.

[Trippy]

1Password (with Dropbox account).

[Yegolev]

Keepass has never betrayed me.  Have not tried the others.

[apocrypha]

AFAIK Lastpass is the only one that says that if you forget your master key they can't help you, you're boned. I.e. they have no way of accessing your data, which is what makes them the only genuinely secure one. I have a friend who requires some kind of security clearance for his work and he says Lastpass is the one they are told to use.

I find it well worth paying the $12/year for the mobile app too, YMMV.

[Strazos]

So, any suggestions for a new TV?

I'm looking for something snazzy that comes in 60" or so and ships from Amazon. Not sure what the new hotness is, so left to my own devices I'd tend towards a Samsung.

[Cyrrex]

Samsung is pretty much the way to go for the most part.  If you are spending that kind of money (60 inch kind), then just go ahead and get the 4k Samsung.  It is very unlikely you would regret it.

I have the 2013 version of the 55 inch 4k TV.  It is sweet, even with absolutely zero 4k content being displayed on it.

Note:  if getting 4k content on it is important to you in the near term, make sure you get a 2014 version.  The older versions require a physical upgrade of the separate box that comes with the TV.

[Strazos]

I'm not even sure where I would get 4K content - I'm pretty much only gong to be doing Blurays, Netflix, PS4, and other streaming options on it.

I just want a nice TV, finally.

[Salamok]

Wait a month then go look at a Vizio P series 4k TV if you like what you see get that.

[Cyrrex]

I'm not even sure where I would get 4K content - I'm pretty much only gong to be doing Blurays, Netflix, PS4, and other streaming options on it.

I just want a nice TV, finally.

Even so, the 4k TV at that size will be the best TV you can get and I doubt the cost difference is huge anymore (if they even make a non 4k TV at that size).  And as has been the case for all intents over the last nearly 10 years, Samsung is the way to go.  You said snazzy, so I assume you are not going after a budget model.

[Viin]

Are you sure you have room for 60"? At 42" inches, my TV seems just perfect for ~6-8ft away.

[Yegolev]

When sizing replacement Intel machines, seems like there would be some sort of calculator or at least an estimator which would let me know approximately how many modern Intel cores I would need in order to replace a number of Intel cores from six years ago.  Anyone know of something like that?  It doesn't need to be a tool; an algorithm or table would be better than what I'm doing right now.

[Chimpy]

I just use the CPU ranking website to look at relative rankings between old and new processor models. I will dig up the link when I get to a computer.

[Yegolev]

That would be nice.  Although after a very short discussion with a VMware engineer, I'm probably going to be bringing F1-mechanic ideas to a Chevy repair shop.  I'm going to see how many ESX classes I can cram in this year.

[rattran]

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/index.php Is the ranking website I use, should work for what you need. Vaguely.

[Yegolev]

Apparently "vaguely" is all I need.    Stupid Intel.

[Venkman]

I think this may be a quick question:

Have been keeping a friends' kid's PC alive for a bit. It's good hardware, a bit dated, but does what he needs very well. In Feb replaced PSU, in April the GPU and HD.

Recently he started getting what seemed like random BSODs. I narrowed it down (I thought) to a burned out wifi card (I personally don't get wifi and desktop gaming PCs, but YMMV). Removed that, returned it, had them run ethernet, didn't hear from them for a few days. Ran into them and turns out it's still BSODing. Computer turns on fine, but no matter what he's doing, about three minutes after the desktop fully loads, it bluescreens.

Wiped the drive, everything's fine. Works like a charm. Until I plug in the ethernet cable. Then it hangs for a few seconds and goes blue.

I'm thinking it's something corrupted on the motherboard related to the networking parts, and that sounds like a new mobo. $150 for a new board and they're fine with that, but would rather know.

This sound familiar to anyone?

[Trippy]

Take a picture of the BSoD and post it here.

[Lantyssa]

If it's only the ethernet that's fried you could also consider getting a network card if there are any free expansion slots.  (Though screenshot as Trippy asks might tell us more.)