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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 1186245 times)
SnakeCharmer
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Reply #1155 on: August 23, 2009, 03:55:49 PM

Ah, ok.  (Very cool, btw)
Trippy
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Reply #1156 on: August 23, 2009, 11:24:21 PM

Any recommendations for an external HD enclosure kit that works with a Seagate Momentus 5400.3?  Need to (try, anyway) get data off a dead laptop.
You are either going to need an enclosure that has a "double" USB connector to provide extra power or one that has it's own separate power supply. A powered USB port puts out 500mA of current but the Momentus is spec'd to require 1A (1000mA) to power up so with only one USB connector it may not get sufficient power to start up.

I got this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817106099

to use with the laptop drive that used to be in my Mac Mini since it does have an external power supply (its usage is optional, you don't have to use it if your drive doesn't need the extra power) and I wasn't sure what drive was inside my Mini and I didn't want to use up 2 USB ports since the Mini has a limited number.
SnakeCharmer
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Reply #1157 on: August 24, 2009, 08:55:48 AM

Good deal.  Will give that one a shot. 

Thank ya, sir.
Der Helm
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Reply #1158 on: August 25, 2009, 10:07:30 AM

I just did a fresh install of Windows Vista on a new machine and I have not used Vista before (will get Windows 7 in November for free).

Is there anything I should be aware of ?

"I've been done enough around here..."- Signe
Yegolev
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Reply #1159 on: August 25, 2009, 10:11:34 AM

Bears.

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
Strazos
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Posts: 15542

The World's Worst Game: Curry or Covid


Reply #1160 on: August 25, 2009, 08:42:05 PM

Windows 7 Envy.

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
Venkman
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Reply #1161 on: August 31, 2009, 01:49:45 PM

I just did a fresh install of Windows Vista on a new machine and I have not used Vista before (will get Windows 7 in November for free).

Is there anything I should be aware of ?

In all cases that you can, I'd recommend putting your game installs in the Public folder, rather than the default places they'll want to install. This makes patching a lot easier.

Further, turn off the retarded UI that keeps popping up distressing-sounding messages about potentially questionable installs. I can't remember what the system is called, something like "UAC" I think. Whatever it is, it is stupid and needs to be shut off.

Finally, accept now that you'll be constantly annoyed, until you downgrade to WinXP or jump onto W7. I used it for almost a year before giving up on it. There's nothing about the OS that was worth the hassle.
Murgos
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Reply #1162 on: August 31, 2009, 02:34:27 PM

I pretty much disagree with everything Darniaq said.

Leave your games in their default installation directories.  I've never had a problem updating them and the security features stay in effect that way too.

Clicking 'OK' one time when you install something is not a hassle and gives you the piece of mind that nothing else has been installed that you are unaware of.  Leave UAC on.

Basically, not fucking up the built-in security with your own delusional short-cuts means everything will work better, keep it patched (mines automagical) and you will barely notice you aren't using XP.

"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
Venkman
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Reply #1163 on: August 31, 2009, 04:16:53 PM

This is awesome. Der Helm needs to promise he'll come back in five months to see which side he falls on  Oh ho ho ho. Reallllly?
Murgos
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Reply #1164 on: August 31, 2009, 06:30:15 PM

This is awesome. Der Helm needs to promise he'll come back in five months to see which side he falls on  Oh ho ho ho. Reallllly?

 why so serious?

"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
taolurker
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Reply #1165 on: August 31, 2009, 07:33:33 PM

Any recommendations for an external HD enclosure kit that works with a Seagate Momentus 5400.3?  Need to (try, anyway) get data off a dead laptop.

Why bother with an enclosure?

Just get a USB adapter, it's a cheap solution to get the data, and is worthwhile to have around in case you need to wire a drive into a computer to test/access/format/copy data from drives.

Amazon kit at $12


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fuser
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Reply #1166 on: September 02, 2009, 08:20:31 AM

Quick one I never understood. Why do we buy stuff like +500watt PSU's when on full burn a generally normal desktop consumes ~210watts?

Eg: my q6600, 8800gt on full burn peaking at 207watts

Edit: 121watt idle,  +29watt full cpu load, +57watt full gpu load
« Last Edit: September 02, 2009, 08:29:20 AM by fuser »
Yegolev
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Reply #1167 on: September 02, 2009, 10:35:33 AM

Easier to buy a high-watt PSU than take metrics and size accordingly.

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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Reply #1168 on: September 02, 2009, 10:44:35 AM

It's also incredibly hard if building the system from scratch.  You'd need a power supply with too much juice to not overtax it while testing, else it'd just power off in the middle of figuring out what you need.

And if you replace components, it gives wiggle room.

Hahahaha!  I'm really good at this!
Trippy
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Reply #1169 on: September 02, 2009, 10:55:52 AM

Quick one I never understood. Why do we buy stuff like +500watt PSU's when on full burn a generally normal desktop consumes ~210watts?

Eg: my q6600, 8800gt on full burn peaking at 207watts

Edit: 121watt idle,  +29watt full cpu load, +57watt full gpu load
Your CPU load power usage is off, by a lot. At full load your CPU should be drawing ~+60W (assuming it's a newer stepping) than at idle.

Salamok
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Reply #1170 on: September 02, 2009, 03:38:00 PM

Quick one I never understood. Why do we buy stuff like +500watt PSU's when on full burn a generally normal desktop consumes ~210watts?

Eg: my q6600, 8800gt on full burn peaking at 207watts

Edit: 121watt idle,  +29watt full cpu load, +57watt full gpu load


Need to also take in the advertising aspect, I doubt you can find a PSU advertised at 250 watts that will actually produce 250 watts once it gets hot.  I would even guess that there are PSU's advertised as 300 watt that would have problems pushing 207 watts when hot.  I also doubt that you were truly maxing your systems power draw during your test, how many HD's do you have and were they fully active at the time?  How about your DVD/CD burners? USB Devices all operating at max power consumption? 
fuser
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Reply #1171 on: September 02, 2009, 05:37:37 PM

Well if say the EPA had everyone print the parts 65w and it was the true maximum we'd be good simple chart to build. Trippy its a G0 core so its 95w but honestly sitting idle at the desktop its consuming 122ish watt via the apc monitor then a full core load it peaks at 154ish watt. Speedstep is enabled but I wonder what C level it can drop to at idle. I'm curious so I'll grab a friends p3 kill-a-watt to see if they reach the same levels.

Also wondering the efficiency on this PSU what the true load would be.
Strazos
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Reply #1172 on: September 02, 2009, 06:32:40 PM

Using a bigger PSU allows it to run more efficiently when under load, since that load is only 50% or so, which is sort of where the sweet spot for efficiency is.

Fear the Backstab!
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Trippy
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Reply #1173 on: September 02, 2009, 07:29:21 PM

Well if say the EPA had everyone print the parts 65w and it was the true maximum we'd be good simple chart to build. Trippy its a G0 core so its 95w but honestly sitting idle at the desktop its consuming 122ish watt via the apc monitor then a full core load it peaks at 154ish watt.
That's still not right. There's no way 4 cores are only generating +8 watts each at full load. Google the power consumption figures for the Q6600. You'll see that its around +50W - 70W over idle when you are running something like Prime95 or cpuburn on all 4 cores.
Trippy
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Reply #1174 on: September 02, 2009, 07:34:47 PM

Using a bigger PSU allows it to run more efficiently when under load, since that load is only 50% or so, which is sort of where the sweet spot for efficiency is.
Another thing to remember is that different components require different voltage levels. So you have to make sure your power supply has enough Amps on each of the lines but that can mean it has "surplus" power on some of the other lines depending on your component selection. E.g. if you spec your power supply for an SLI/Crossfire system you'll usually end up with lots of surplus powers on everything but the 12V line(s).

Also unless you know you never are going to upgrade any components on your system you don't want to add a power supply that's just barely big enough cause then you can't upgrade to a CPU or GPU that requires more power.

Edit: without upgrading your power supply too
« Last Edit: September 02, 2009, 08:04:19 PM by Trippy »
Sky
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Reply #1175 on: September 03, 2009, 08:03:38 AM

Then there's those 90º days...
Strazos
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Reply #1176 on: September 04, 2009, 09:49:56 AM

So...what would I have to do if I wanted to hook my 360 up to my PC, or at least use my monitor with my 360?

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Trippy
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Reply #1177 on: September 04, 2009, 10:01:42 AM

What kind of monitor is it and what inputs does it have?
Strazos
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Reply #1178 on: September 04, 2009, 10:17:02 AM

Viewsonic VX2035wm

Using the DVI currently. Has an open port that says D-SUB (?).

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Viin
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Reply #1179 on: September 04, 2009, 10:21:56 AM

Weird labeling. I assume the DSUB is the standard VGA port, so you should be able to use that. I use it on my Samsung LCD TV. You'll have to buy the VGA cable for your Xbox though.

Oh, and see if your monitor lets you switch from DVI to VGA and back, otherwise it might pick one by default if both have a signal on them. (My dell monitor lets me switch between inputs and even have a picture-in-picture with some of them).

- Viin
Strazos
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Reply #1180 on: September 04, 2009, 10:24:58 AM

So if there's an option to swap between Analog and Digital, I guess that means switch between DVI and VGA (D-SUB)?

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Viin
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Reply #1181 on: September 04, 2009, 10:26:27 AM

Yeah, that should be it.

Ninja edit: With the VGA cable you get a stereo jack that you can use to plug your Xbox into your sound card's input which will let you hear it on your desktop speakers.
« Last Edit: September 04, 2009, 10:28:02 AM by Viin »

- Viin
Trippy
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Reply #1182 on: September 04, 2009, 10:36:57 AM

Does your Xbox 360 have HDMI output? If so you'll get the best quality by using an HDMI to DVI cable. You'll need a switch box or something to share it with your PC, though. Otherwise the VGA AV cable would work like Viin mentioned above.
Strazos
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The World's Worst Game: Curry or Covid


Reply #1183 on: September 04, 2009, 11:16:03 AM

Yes, it does. Do such switchboxes exist, and if so, is there signal degradation in using one?

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Viin
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Reply #1184 on: September 04, 2009, 01:26:40 PM

I think they do, but I haven't been able to find one that's not overkill. There'd probably be some signal degradation, but prolly not enough to worry about unless it's a really crappy converter. But unless you are running a really large monitor I (personally) don't think it's worth it.  If you can find a not expensive switcher/converter it might be worth trying out, but it'd probably cost the same or more than the VGA cable for the xbox.

- Viin
Trippy
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Reply #1185 on: September 04, 2009, 05:42:59 PM

Yes, it does. Do such switchboxes exist, and if so, is there signal degradation in using one?
Yes they do. For what you would want to do there are two kinds. One is full blown "KVM" switch which allows one keyboard, video unit, mouse set to be shared with multiple computers. That's more than you would need since you only need to share the monitor and not the keyboard and mouse as well. There are also HDMI switch boxes for just switching the digital video component. Since DVI and HDMI are digital, signal degradation shouldn't an issue as long as your cable runs aren't too long. With VGA KVM switches you can lose some video quality depending on the quality of the electronics in the box and the video cables you are using.

I've never actually used a HDMI switch to switch between mixed HDMI and DVI inputs/outputs but it should work since the digital video electrical signals are essentially the same, it's just the connectors that are different (for the digital video part, HDMI also carries audio). However if you also need HDCP support I don't know if these boxes can interfere with that.

Edit: since
« Last Edit: September 04, 2009, 06:45:36 PM by Trippy »
Azazel
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Reply #1186 on: September 06, 2009, 09:20:47 PM

Here's a new question - is is possible to have a home network that is partly wired and partly wireless?

I have a 7-port router at home, 5 of which are permanently used (3 desktops, 360, XBMC) and 2 which are used sometimes (laptops in different rooms). I'd like to hook up a second 360 and that fucking nintendo POS (Wii) but prefer not to be running a whole lot more wires across the floor through to the living room.

I prefer to keep the 5 items that are currently wired using ethernet cables, and I need one of the extra cables for my friend's laptop that he brings to game on to avoid fucking around with wireless shit on his lappy, but I'm willing to hook up the second 360, my own lap (when I rarely bring it home from work), my wife's lap and the Wii wirelessly.

Is there any way to do this?

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Chimpy
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Reply #1187 on: September 06, 2009, 09:31:41 PM

Sure, buy a wireless access point and plug it into your existing router. All devices that connect to it wirelessly will get DHCP from your router and will be able to communicate with any other device on the network.

If all you need is more ethernet ports, just buy a mini-switch such as a Netgear FS-108.

If you are in need of both more ports and wireless, a wireless router with DHCP and NAT off gets you an access point and a switch in one package.

« Last Edit: September 06, 2009, 09:34:54 PM by Chimpy »

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Viin
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Reply #1188 on: September 06, 2009, 09:36:15 PM

Unless you are asking for wired ports for your 360/Wii connected wirelessly to your current router? (In which case you'd need a wireless router/access point as above and then a wireless bridge for the 360/Wii).

- Viin
Trippy
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Reply #1189 on: September 07, 2009, 01:47:41 AM

It might be easier just to get a new wireless router rather than a wireless access point and you'll need an Ethernet switch. That way all the network settings will be in one place rather than having to fiddle with things in two different places. Most wireless routers don't have that many RJ-45 ports (4 is a typical number) hence the need for a separate switch in your case.
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