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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  Gaming  |  Topic: Quick [tech] Questions Thread 0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: Quick [tech] Questions Thread  (Read 1186378 times)
Venkman
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Posts: 11536


Reply #665 on: April 16, 2009, 05:33:28 AM

Yea, I'm kinda disappointed here. My eight year old Alienware box has been fine as a media server with no problems at all. Both laptops the kids use and abuse have never had anything but a single hard drive failure. Heck, just for kicks I turn on the Mac SE from 1998 and all I ever did there was go to a whopping 2.5mb of RAM from the original 1mb.

I've got another year of labor coverage left on the warranty with iBuyPower so I was thinking of sending it back to them. But then I looked at some of the mobo/CPU combos at Newegg and came across this combo (Intel P45 and Q8200 2.33GHz processor) for what appears to be a pretty attractive price of $284.98. I assume it does not arrive with the processor already on the board. So for a neophyte like me, am I better off:

1. Eating the shipping cost and having iBuyPower do all this for me. I still need to buy the parts from them but at least have (some) confidence they'll be able to install/configure.
2. Buying the mobo/CPU combo and Newegg and taking a crack at it?

Do you have another computer that's running a Core (2/Quad) CPU?
Oh, no. My old one is a Pentium 4.
Trippy
Administrator
Posts: 23612


Reply #666 on: April 16, 2009, 02:42:56 PM

Mwave.com will assemble for you if you don't trust iBuyPower. Installing a CPU with the stock fan is straightforward though you probably will need to pickup some thermal paste and there is some technique involved. Some aftermarket CPU coolers can be a fricking pain in the ass to install.

Personally I think being able to build your own computers is a useful skill for "gaming enthusiasts" and it's really not that hard or dangerous, especially these days (in the old days with AT power supplies and CPUs/MBs without built-in thermal protection cutoffs it didn't take too much effort to fry your CPU or motherboard during install). However I understand people that just want to treat the computers as "black boxes" and don't want to muck around in there.
Venkman
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Posts: 11536


Reply #667 on: April 17, 2009, 07:33:12 AM

Hmm ok thanks Trippy. It all seems pretty straightforward, and for the types of games I'm focusing on these days, it might be a good time to finally take a shot at it. Being able to set CPU chips was about the only thing concerning me. I just know myself and paste  Ohhhhh, I see.. Everything else I've done in some form or another over the years.
Venkman
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Posts: 11536


Reply #668 on: April 17, 2009, 08:11:50 AM

I just took a look at the bundles over at Mwave. Man why I didn't I just go there first. Assuming just dropping the assembled/tested mobo into my case is a simple matter of taking the whole thing apart and plugging in the right stuff from the PSU, I might just go this route.

Right now my (presumably dead) mobo supports SLI. I bought it in case I wanted to go that route, but two years later don't really see a need to. My vidcard seems fine, I have a brand new power supply, and already have the RAM. In NiX's advice thread, you pointed towards ASUS as a good board. So at Mwave, I'm looking at:

  • ASUS P5Q SE intel p45 chipset ATX form factor 1xPCI-E(x16)/2xPCI-E(x1)/3xpci/4xddr2 w/sata2,lan(gb),usb 2.0 & audio (cpu type:intel - socket 775)$97.
  • Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz- $284.

I wanted to try and keep it under $400. I don't really get the differences between all the motherboards. I just wanted a slot for the vidcard, one for the Sound Blaster board, and a third in case I ever want to put in the wifi card (doubtful though). There's four slots for RAM in case I ever do want to go to a 64bit OS to break the 3gb barrier.

Look good?
Bunk
Contributor
Posts: 5828

Operating Thetan One


Reply #669 on: April 17, 2009, 12:44:42 PM

Here's one for you guys. I have the following chunk of code:

<iframe src="http://www.homeinsight.com/Widget/default.asp?F1GEILAE2T5V" id="iframeWidget" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="height:380px; width:175px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>

It creates a nice little framed widget if I put it on to a webpage. It's a little complex, because it includes fields to fill out, a next page button, etc.

What I would like to do, is find a way to get it in to other things, like an Outlook signature, Craigslist ad, Facebook, that sort of thing.
Any suggestions from web gurus here on how to approach that would be appreciated.

"Welcome to the internet, pussy." - VDL
"I have retard strength." - Schild
Salamok
Terracotta Army
Posts: 2803


Reply #670 on: April 17, 2009, 01:31:02 PM

craigslist only supports a limited number of tags and i doubt iframe is one of them.  You might be able to get it into an outlook sig but my guess is it will trigger the "the following email may contain malicious content" type of flag or at the very least do the click here to download linked content type of thing.

To test on outlook just browse to your signature file in explorer and directly edit the .htm one to include that link.  I would steer clear of trying to add any sort of html to an outlook sig using the built in edit signature functionality (think of creating html using word).
Amarr HM
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Posts: 3066


Reply #671 on: April 18, 2009, 03:32:00 AM

New GFX card arrived it says minimum PSU requirement is 500w and the one I'm using is a 450w. Is there a risk of permanent damage to anything if I test it out to see if it works before replacing the PSU?

I'm going to escape, come back, wipe this place off the face of the Earth, obliterate it and you with it.
Trippy
Administrator
Posts: 23612


Reply #672 on: April 18, 2009, 03:42:03 AM

  • ASUS P5Q SE intel p45 chipset ATX form factor 1xPCI-E(x16)/2xPCI-E(x1)/3xpci/4xddr2 w/sata2,lan(gb),usb 2.0 & audio (cpu type:intel - socket 775)$97.
  • Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz- $284.

I wanted to try and keep it under $400. I don't really get the differences between all the motherboards. I just wanted a slot for the vidcard, one for the Sound Blaster board, and a third in case I ever want to put in the wifi card (doubtful though). There's four slots for RAM in case I ever do want to go to a 64bit OS to break the 3gb barrier.

Look good?
Sure.
Strazos
Greetings from the Slave Coast
Posts: 15542

The World's Worst Game: Curry or Covid


Reply #673 on: April 19, 2009, 08:53:30 AM

Just got my new PC up and running (Thanks for that, guys!).

I decided to put Windows 7 on it for now (build 7077 for now). Any ideas for decent freeware anti-virus/spyware that will work on 7?

Fear the Backstab!
"Plato said the virtuous man is at all times ready for a grammar snake attack." - we are lesion
"Hell is other people." -Sartre
Miguel
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1292

कुशल


Reply #674 on: April 19, 2009, 09:02:07 AM

New GFX card arrived it says minimum PSU requirement is 500w and the one I'm using is a 450w. Is there a risk of permanent damage to anything if I test it out to see if it works before replacing the PSU?

If your card draws more juice than your power supply can handle, you'll load the voltage rails down and the whole thing becomes flaky.  You'll get BSOD's, freezes, crashes:  you name it.  Other than that I doubt you have anything to worry about.

“We have competent people thinking about this stuff. We’re not just making shit up.” -Neil deGrasse Tyson
rattran
Moderator
Posts: 4257

Unreasonable


Reply #675 on: April 19, 2009, 10:00:36 AM

I decided to put Windows 7 on it for now (build 7077 for now). Any ideas for decent freeware anti-virus/spyware that will work on 7?
I'm using Avira with the build 7000 x64. Avast! gave me the occasion bsod from interfering network drivers when using network drives. Nod32 (beta) was great, but my beta expired and my sub has run out. Avira does fine, is free, has the daily popup (easily disabled) annoyance. And it's found all the virii in the attachments I've gotten from work  awesome, for real
Murgos
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Posts: 7474


Reply #676 on: April 20, 2009, 08:47:16 AM

What I would like to do, is find a way to get it in to other things, like an Outlook signature, Craigslist ad, Facebook, that sort of thing.
Any suggestions from web gurus here on how to approach that would be appreciated.

When you use an iframe like that you are linking directly to a third party website (in this case you are the third party).  It's not something most websites allow for all kinds of reasons.  Like, oh, you could suddenly decide to link Goatce into the frame, or a pop-up that looks like the hosting website asking for username and password or whatever or an on-load redirect to some other website.

Outlook may allow it but if they do it's because Microsoft has no clue about security because that would be even more exploitable.  Imagine your Grandma opens outlook and clicks on an email from "Your Bank" and in it is a nice alarming account fraud warning notice with a username and password login embedded directly into the email so that she can check on her account safely.

BRILLIANT!

"You have all recieved youre last warning. I am in the process of currently tracking all of youre ips and pinging your home adressess. you should not have commencemed a war with me" - Aaron Rayburn
Salamok
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Posts: 2803


Reply #677 on: April 20, 2009, 10:18:08 AM

outlook allows javascript in your signature block it would not surprise me at all if they allowed an iframe there too.
Engels
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Posts: 9029

inflicts shingles.


Reply #678 on: April 23, 2009, 02:44:44 PM

So, a wierd memory problem. Here's the set up:

Motherboard is a 939 AMD socket Asus motherboard
CPU is an Athlon 64 San Diego

It supports both dual and single channel memory. It has 2 banks of 2 slots, a total of 4 slots. The memory is meant to be paired so that one stick of ram in one bank is paired with another stick in the other bank in the corresponding slot to provide dual channel memory. Alternately, you can ignore that, and simply put one or two sticks in a single bank to have single channel memory.

The problem is that one of the banks seems to be broken. I can put two or one stick of ram into bank 1 and it runs fine, passing all memory tests I throw at it, in single-channel mode.

If, however, I put in two sticks, one in each bank, the tests fail. Using Windows Memory Test from Ultimate Boot CD, I get LRAND errors, where the memory code written gets garbled (I think its hex code, could be wrong) by one or two entries. For example, if the data sent is 0a1b2c3d the result returned is something slightly off, like 0a1b2f3e (should be c and d in the last set). This is just an example.

I have tested over 4 sticks of ram that pass tests in both other boxes and when just using bank 1 in single channel. The moment I use the 2nd bank, the errors emerge.

Has anyone ever encountered something like this before? I must say I am stumped.

I should get back to nature, too.  You know, like going to a shop for groceries instead of the computer.  Maybe a condo in the woods that doesn't even have a health club or restaurant attached.  Buy a car with only two cup holders or something. -Signe

I LIKE being bounced around by Tonkors. - Lantyssa

Babies shooting themselves in the head is the state bird of West Virginia. - schild
Dion
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Posts: 139


Reply #679 on: April 24, 2009, 09:03:44 AM

Is the PS2 Slim region free?

Should I buy a PS2 + old good games or go for a PS3 directly?
Yegolev
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Posts: 24440

2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST


WWW
Reply #680 on: April 24, 2009, 09:15:01 AM

Is the PS2 Slim region free?

Should I buy a PS2 + old good games or go for a PS3 directly?

I do not think the PS2 Slim is region-free.  Seems like someone would have told me if I did not see it, since that would be the Best Fucking Thing Ever, Almost.

I don't know a lot about the current state PS3 BC in practical terms because I'm using a 60GB.  However, I think the number is something like 80% of all titles.  If I had to decide today, I'd probably get a PS2 if I was intent on continuing my PS2 gaming with seriousness.

Why am I homeless?  Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question.
They called it The Prayer, its answer was law
Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
Dion
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Posts: 139


Reply #681 on: April 24, 2009, 09:27:20 AM

Is the PS2 Slim region free?

Should I buy a PS2 + old good games or go for a PS3 directly?

I do not think the PS2 Slim is region-free.  Seems like someone would have told me if I did not see it, since that would be the Best Fucking Thing Ever, Almost.

I don't know a lot about the current state PS3 BC in practical terms because I'm using a 60GB.  However, I think the number is something like 80% of all titles.  If I had to decide today, I'd probably get a PS2 if I was intent on continuing my PS2 gaming with seriousness.

Cheers!

The new 80gig PS3s aren't BC at all from what I've heard.

I've only owned Xbox and Xbox 360, never any Playstations. I'm selling off my 360 and I can't decide if I want to play games like Persona 4, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, God Hand, Viewtiful Joe or go straight for PS3. The reason I'd want to buy a PS3 now is so that I still can find Demon's Souls while it's available and relatively easy to find (I don't want to pay 100$ + a couple of years from now).
Lantyssa
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Posts: 20848


Reply #682 on: April 26, 2009, 03:19:44 PM

I'm tired of my vid card crashing.  I'll do surgery on it and turn it into a hand-me-down if it works, but if I'm going to go that far I want a new card for when I fail and it gets trashed.

Motherboard is an Abit IP35 Pro with a PCI Express x16 slot.  (One has 4x bandwidth, for what it's worth.)  Is a PCI Express 2.0 card going to work in that slot?  I know it won't be as awesome if so, but restricting myself to non-2.0 cards seems like I can't get anything above a 9xxx series.

I'll take recomendations.  ~$100 +/- $50.  Quiet and cool is good.  My dying one is an ECS with the monster heat sink, and it was great, never getting over 56 C.  I think the 8xxx series problems or general memory failure got to it though.

Hahahaha!  I'm really good at this!
Hoax
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l33t kiddie


Reply #683 on: April 27, 2009, 07:57:47 AM

Is the PS2 Slim region free?

Should I buy a PS2 + old good games or go for a PS3 directly?

Since you've had a 360, unless you have a major affinity for rpg's you ought to get the PS3, see if you can find one of the BC ones used.  That's what I did without too much trouble, cost me $450 but Schild convinced me it was worth it.

***

-I still need a controller that will work for ps3 and vista64.

-Any Dell users have recommendations for replacing a dead default dell keyboard?

-Wireless network cards?  Anyone like a particular brand or card series?



A nation consists of its laws. A nation does not consist of its situation at a given time. If an individual's morals are situational, then that individual is without morals. If a nation's laws are situational, that nation has no laws, and soon isn't a nation.
-William Gibson
Yegolev
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Reply #684 on: April 27, 2009, 09:02:44 AM

-Wireless network cards?  Anyone like a particular brand or card series?

Perhaps shitty advice, but I've been happy just checking customer ratings on newegg and going for something that looked solid.  I cannot even tell you what brand it was that I installed in my wife's PC that I build just in February, but luckily I was able to download some drivers from the manufacturer that let it work on W7 beta.

Why am I homeless?  Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question.
They called it The Prayer, its answer was law
Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
Lantyssa
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Posts: 20848


Reply #685 on: April 27, 2009, 09:16:03 AM

No one on the vid card?
Sad Red Panda
-Any Dell users have recommendations for replacing a dead default dell keyboard?
Try Dell.

Alternatively, if you have some small computer shops nearby you might find one there.  I picked up a spare from a stack they had for $10 each.

Hahahaha!  I'm really good at this!
Salamok
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Posts: 2803


Reply #686 on: April 27, 2009, 09:26:38 AM

-Wireless network cards?  Anyone like a particular brand or card series?

Perhaps shitty advice, but I've been happy just checking customer ratings on newegg and going for something that looked solid.  I cannot even tell you what brand it was that I installed in my wife's PC that I build just in February, but luckily I was able to download some drivers from the manufacturer that let it work on W7 beta.

In the last decade somehow cell phone audio and wireless setup have regressed.  I use linksys religiously, that said they ain't what they used to be.  Once you are finished installing whatever you end up with you may want to ditch all the vendor grown wifi management and revert to the built in windows stuff.
Yegolev
Moderator
Posts: 24440

2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST


WWW
Reply #687 on: April 27, 2009, 09:51:28 AM

« Last Edit: May 01, 2009, 06:26:57 AM by Yegolev »

Why am I homeless?  Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question.
They called it The Prayer, its answer was law
Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
Engels
Terracotta Army
Posts: 9029

inflicts shingles.


Reply #688 on: April 27, 2009, 10:11:19 AM

I would have chimed in on the vid card issue but I really don't know about the 4x bandwidth issue. I suspect that they are backwards compatible, but that's an entirely unresearched hunch. Word on the street is that the GTX 275 is the price point sweet spot, but other than that..

I should get back to nature, too.  You know, like going to a shop for groceries instead of the computer.  Maybe a condo in the woods that doesn't even have a health club or restaurant attached.  Buy a car with only two cup holders or something. -Signe

I LIKE being bounced around by Tonkors. - Lantyssa

Babies shooting themselves in the head is the state bird of West Virginia. - schild
rattran
Moderator
Posts: 4257

Unreasonable


Reply #689 on: April 27, 2009, 11:57:05 AM

Q3 2008 is a long time ago in video card terms.

The 4850 or a GTS250 would be right in your price range, and a pci-express 2.0 card should work fine in a 1.0 slot. The GTX275 is quite a bit pricier, and the 4870s haven't dropped below $150 (except this one or this better venting one with rebate)

That said, the 4870 512m I have runs everything maxxed out at 1920x1200 except Crysis. Which isn't much fun anyway.

Or if you can wait a few weeks, I'll be selling a 9800gtx.
Lantyssa
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Posts: 20848


Reply #690 on: April 27, 2009, 12:55:58 PM

I can wait, but if it's used, I'm probably not willing to pay enough to make it worth your while.

As long as the 2.0 cards are compatable with 1.0 slots I'll look into those.  That was my biggest concern.  No point in getting all excited about how awesome a card is if it won't work.

Also I should have qualified:  I'm not interested in a Radeon.  Buyer's remorse, even if it was several generations back.

Hahahaha!  I'm really good at this!
Strazos
Greetings from the Slave Coast
Posts: 15542

The World's Worst Game: Curry or Covid


Reply #691 on: April 27, 2009, 02:33:17 PM

Any ideas as to why I need to periodically hard-reset my Belkin wireless route? By hard-reset, I mean unplug it.

Fear the Backstab!
"Plato said the virtuous man is at all times ready for a grammar snake attack." - we are lesion
"Hell is other people." -Sartre
Yegolev
Moderator
Posts: 24440

2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST


WWW
Reply #692 on: April 27, 2009, 04:19:41 PM

Belkin is Swahili for "failure"?

Why am I homeless?  Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question.
They called it The Prayer, its answer was law
Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
apocrypha
Terracotta Army
Posts: 6711

Planes? Shit, I'm terrified to get in my car now!


Reply #693 on: April 27, 2009, 11:18:52 PM

Belkin is Swahili for "failure"?

I think it's actually an English synonym now too  why so serious?

"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
Jobu
Terracotta Army
Posts: 566

Lord Buttrot


Reply #694 on: April 29, 2009, 01:12:24 PM

I've always built my own computers for myself and my wife, but my wife's patience for the troubleshooting part of the process is non-existent. She needs a new machine, so I'm probably just going to buy a premade one from somewhere to save her the hassle. The only experience I have with premade computers though are the Dells I have at work. I really like them, they've always been pretty solid and stable. Has anyone had any good experiences with other brands?
Engels
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Posts: 9029

inflicts shingles.


Reply #695 on: April 29, 2009, 01:19:47 PM

no

I should get back to nature, too.  You know, like going to a shop for groceries instead of the computer.  Maybe a condo in the woods that doesn't even have a health club or restaurant attached.  Buy a car with only two cup holders or something. -Signe

I LIKE being bounced around by Tonkors. - Lantyssa

Babies shooting themselves in the head is the state bird of West Virginia. - schild
apocrypha
Terracotta Army
Posts: 6711

Planes? Shit, I'm terrified to get in my car now!


Reply #696 on: April 29, 2009, 11:03:10 PM

I have decided that self-building is LESS hassle than pre-mades. At least when you build it yourself you know you're not a dribbling idiot and you give a shit if it works or not.

"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
Salamok
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Posts: 2803


Reply #697 on: April 30, 2009, 05:58:31 AM

My take on it is even if you get a vendor built machine you will want to reinstall the OS to decrapify it and since that is the most time consuming bit you may as well just build your own.
Yegolev
Moderator
Posts: 24440

2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST


WWW
Reply #698 on: April 30, 2009, 06:02:54 AM

The best thing about Dell is that you can point people to their web site and let them buy their own fucking machine.  That is not to be underestimated as a selling-point.

Why am I homeless?  Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question.
They called it The Prayer, its answer was law
Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
Hoax
Terracotta Army
Posts: 8110

l33t kiddie


Reply #699 on: April 30, 2009, 06:52:40 AM

The problem with a pre-built is you never know exactly what is in the machine and that becomes a big pita down the road when something breaks.  It also is a fucking hassle when you have a hardware issue or you want to upgrade.  My other gripes are that they bundle a shitton of stupid on your machine, they don't give you a real windows disc and the cases that pre-builts use are fucking retarded, they are designed to stop you from getting inside them.  All I know is short term pre-built is nice but if its a machine you want to use 3+ years from now you'll be much happier if you do it yourself.

A nation consists of its laws. A nation does not consist of its situation at a given time. If an individual's morals are situational, then that individual is without morals. If a nation's laws are situational, that nation has no laws, and soon isn't a nation.
-William Gibson
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