Computer and tech talk and questions

[georgexu94]

I suppose I have to analyse all these tips you gave me and fix it when sem break comes. Currently busy with school work at the mean time since it's nearing the end of the sem.

 

Sorry, I didn't get to capture a photo of the BSOD. I was still opening the camera of my iPad when the BSOD passed by.

 

I use my PC for school work but sometimes I play games that are simple like Plants vs. Zombies. I don't play games that are fast paced like DoTA that lag tends to be very annoying.

[Omega Entity]

Alright. If you don't do much gaming, then a new graphics card can pretty inexpensive. Hopefully your BSoDs are from that, and you can kill two birds with one stone

[TheDarkCynder]

Honestly, georgexu94's problems sound more like driver problems than hardware problems to me. I would try updating your drivers. If you don't know how to do that, this might be helpful.

[Omega Entity]

Except driver issues don't generally cause visual artifacts on the screen.

 

In any case, drivers are a good place to start, though. But I still think it's an issue with the card itself.

[Dawnwing]

So, I'm looking to build my first gaming PC. I haven't done this before, so I'm looking for tips on building, suggestions on brands, specific models you recommend, sample builds, etc.

 

I'd like to spend around $2000. To give an idea of the use, I do not plan on overclocking (I wouldn't know what I'm doing and wouldn't want to risk wrecking something), I plan to stream/record video while I am playing, and I take lots and lots of screenshots (I have around 40GB for Elder Scrolls Online alone so far).

 

I'm thinking an Intel CPU, because from what I've been reading, those sound better for the higher-end stuff. (Specifically, I've kinda been looking at the Intel Core i5-4690K mostly, and dunno about how different the Intel Core i7-4790K is.) I'm thinking maybe 16GB RAM. As far as the case, people have recommended to me to get a full size one.

 

So, here are my questions -

- I know motherboard should match the CPU, but there's quite a few different compatible ones. What should I look for in deciding what one I want? Any specific brands you like, and why?

- SSD or hard drive, or both? Is it worth the expensive cost to get SSD, and if so, how big?

- I have absolutely no idea what sort of graphics card to go for. This is probably the biggest thing I'm concerned about, because I know that it's one of the things that has the biggest effect on the performance of a game, and there's just SO much out there.

- How much higher should the wattage of a power supply be than the estimated amount the machine will use? For example, I was playing around on PCPartsPicker and it estimated it at 725W. What wattage power supply should I get?

- Tips on fans/cooling? How many, where should they go in the case?

- Is there anything you wish you would have done differently when you built yours?

[Omega Entity]

The higher-end Intels were outperforming the AMD equivalent, last I checked. The i-series ones are great. If you're going to do a lot of video work, it might be worth it to splurge on the i7 (especially if you're going to be doing a lot of resource-intensive video editing), though you could -probably- get away with a higher-end i5.

 

If you're building your own, full-size is the way to go case-wise. It'll give you plenty of room to both add on, and it'll make it that much easier to cram stuff in in the first place with the added benefit of giving you space to work.

 

On motherboards, it really depends on how much you want to spend, versus how long you want to be able to upgrade the thing. I myself prefer ASUS on my boards, simply because in my experience they've always been solid boards - my laptop is probably at least 10 years old, but it's still limping along. Look for at least 3.0 PCI-e, x2 if you plan on SLI/Crossfiring dual graphics cards (and make sure if you are, the board supports it). Some extra PCIs are always nice of a few extras - I plan on adding an additional soundcard to mine when funds allow, and I also have a card that's added 3 more SATA2 ports too my innards. I also have an addition fan in there to help keep things nice and cool. You'll also want to make sure you have enough slots for RAM, and pay attention to how much total RAM the board will support - it's what will be the final determination of how much you can add, since the potential is exponential on the later 64-bit Windows OSes. Pay attention also to the -speed- of the RAM you'll be using versus the board's supported speeds, as paying extra for super-fast RAM will give you no added benefit if the board only supports a lower speed. it'll still work, mind you, but the RAM will only run at the speed which the board allows.

 

As for RAM, the more the merrier. 16GB is plenty, but why stop there, especially if you're running video? RAM is pretty inexpensive nowadays anyway, so it won't hurt your wallet too badly to bump that up to 32GB. 4 slots seems to be the sweet spot for me, as far as the board goes.

 

SSD versus hard drive - for optimum performance, you can get an SSD for your OS, and use hard drives for the bulk of your storage. that way, you don't have to dish out a ton for relatively little space on an SSD. Another thing to remember with SSDs is that their performance degrades the more times you overwrite data, which is why you're really only want them for OS and program files rather than any kind of regular storage. Plus, stangard hard drives are pretty dang cheap, and do the job just fine for basic storage. The only thing you'd be sacrificing is speed, which can be somewhat mitigated by a high-RPM HDD.

 

Graphics cards - this is another case of 'how much do you want to spend'. Rather than spend a ton on one card, it might work better to buy a pair of identical ones that allow for SLI or Crossfire functions. You'll also want to make sure your cards will run with whatever On my rig, I'm running a GeForce 750 Ti card - 2GB GDDR5, 3.0 PCI-e card and it handles everything I throw at it beautifully, though I admittedly haven't tossed anything truly massive at it yet, though I doubt it'll have much issue.

 

Power supply - I think I'm running around 700 on mine, which is probably more than I need, but it's entirely better to be over prepared than under, since you can do some damage to your component that way.

 

Fans - you can have as many as you want in your case, or even go with liquid cooling. There's no such thing as too many fans, IMO, since proper cooling is so important for the lifespan of your parts. There's likely pics of people's setups out there with their preferred fan positioning.

 

What would I have done differently... more hard drives (I'm a packrat!), and definately more RAM. I'm running fine on 8 GB, but I'd like to boost up to 16GB, and ideally 32GB. I probably don't need it, but hey, why not? Oh, and a separate sound card. I want audiogasms!

Edited September 24, 2014 by Omega Entity

[Gemyst]

I am looking for a laptop under $1000 with good graphic that live longer than 4, 5 years. Is there some brand that anyone recommend? I would only play one game (Tera) on it and most of the time is just surfing of the internet. I tired customized laptop but it was a miss, an infected RAM and a dysfunctional SSD... in 6 months. I know I am not knowledgeable enough to tweak with laptops.

 

So is there a brand that you would recommend, or even a specific laptop series?

 

--------

long life

good graphic

long battery life

good cooling system

Those are the main things I want for a decent laptop.

 

[Omega Entity]

ASUS makes laptops, as well as a lot of other things. My laptop by them is still kicking after 10 years. My desktop built with one of their boards lasted for 6 or 7, right up until I decided to upgrade my hardware entirely.

 

MSI also makes some impressive gaming laptops for around $1000. My advice would be to look around at some reviews, starting with those brands.

[georgexu94]

I have a question. Of there are instances where I cannot open my PC, then how can I operate the Malware scan?

 

Edited: Omega Entity, I need your guidance. I did a hyper scan and found this:

 

I held it quarantine. I deleted the quarantine afterwards. Is the threat gone or no? What does quarantine mean anyway? What if I click restore as opposed to delete or ignore it?

 

Edited: If you look closely, you can see the vertical blue line I'm talking about. I apologise for the photo being blurry. I captured it using my iPad. I stand corrected. The blue line appears right from the start when the screen is on NOT when the logo appears. So I guess the problem is with the video card. However, how did that happen? It was only like that when we checked it after the technician 'fixed' it. In my opinion, the technician makes it worse than it is and never fixed anything. The BSOD still appears anyway.

Edited September 24, 2014 by georgexu94

[Omega Entity]

Once you quarantine and delete the problem file, it -should- be gone unless it's a serious infection. Your scan actually looks pretty clean - a lot of potentially maliciousfiles show up as Trojans, but most are relatively harmless. Some files aren't even malicious, just show up suspicious to the program, so there's no need to panic just because the scan finds something. The truly bad ones are those that seriously slow down your system or ipede functionality.

 

Now, if you ever get an infection that prevents you from opening programs, you can usually boot into safe mode and do it then, since most of -those- infections are only fully functional when running Windows normally. You can usually enter safe mode by spamming F8 during the boot up sequence. If the system makes it to the Windows loading screen, then you were too slow (or it's a different key than F8 on your system). I usually do safe mode with networking, just in case I need the internet for anything. If you remove the infection, reboot, and it turns back up again, it means it's in the registry and you'll need to use a stronger removal program.

 

As for the lines being there from the beginning... Hm. Your drivers shouldn't be a factor at all during boot up, since those don't come into play until Windows boots, which still points to hardware. You mentioned you just got it back, so double check your cables and make sure they're seated properly.

Second, let's check and make sure it's not the monitor, if you have another one around. Simply plug in another monitor and see if the line's still there. If the depending on your settings and the restrictions on such on the test monitor, you may need to change your resolution settings to do this. If there's no lines, then it's the monitor. If there are, then we're still looking at a driver card issue.

 

That the lines comes up from the getgo still makes me think hardware, since I'm not sure that the drivers even load in until you get to the Windows screen.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Omega Entity

[georgexu94]

Thank you so much. Just curious, I already know about the safe mode but what exactly does it do? i.e. What is the difference between running Windows normally?

 

I don't have any other monitor in the house that is functioning properly. So, I'm not sure is there another way to see? Also, I'm not sure how to change the resolution with this monitor. I am less accustomed to it. The former monitor got those buttons for changing the brightness, resolution, etc. this one seems to only have the On/Off button.

[Omega Entity]

Safe mode makes the pc run with minimal files and drivers to minimize conflicts so you can fix something that prevents Windows from booting normally. Some programs are unavailable to use in safe mode because of this. It's essentially a troubleshooting mode.

 

Resolution - you can adjust the resolution your card outputs via the control panel and visual settings, which is preferable to doing it via the monitor since the test monitor will take the pc's settings, not to the monitor attached before. You'll want to lower the resolution to ensure the test monitor can handle your pc's output.

 

You could replace the graphics card first, but it won't solve your problem if the monitor proves to be the issue. So it's really important to try and secure another monitor. Does a friend have one they can bring over, maybe?

[TheDarkCynder]

Except driver issues don't generally cause visual artifacts on the screen.

Driver problems can absolutely cause visual artifacts. I've seen it happen in several cases before where updating the drivers fixed the problem.

 

I'd agree with finding a way to test the monitor. I'm really not seeing flags for GPU hardware problems.

[Omega Entity]

I'm not saying drivers can't, just that in my experience it was usually the card.

 

Anyway, yeah, since the lines are present from the get go, the monitor looks like the likely suspect.

[Dawnwing]

Thanks for the detailed response about the gaming PC stuff! That's helpful.

[georgexu94]

Once you quarantine and delete the problem file, it -should- be gone unless it's a serious infection. Your scan actually looks pretty clean -

^^; Actually, the programme found five thingies. That's just the photo at the start. It found Backdoor.Farfli too. And that is only at my Hard drive C.

Edited September 25, 2014 by georgexu94

[Omega Entity]

Still nothing to worry about. You'd freak if you knew how many objects I've had on a scan before, and still no noticeable effect on the functionality of the system

[georgexu94]

Still nothing to worry about. You'd freak if you knew how many objects I've had on a scan before, and still no noticeable effect on the functionality of the system

Apologies. Sometimes people get scared for something they are not familiar with. I tend to over react because of that. Thanks for all your help!

[Omega Entity]

@ Dawnwing - Anytime! I certainly don't know everything there is to know, but I like to try to be helpful when I can :-)

 

@georgexu94 - Same thing, anytime! Drop me more messages when you have questions. I might not answer immediately, but I'll get there, haha.

[Dawnwing]

After doing hours and hours of research in the last week or so, talking to coworkers, and friends online, and reading reviews and such, I believe I will go with this build for my gaming PC.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gxLvsY

Edited October 2, 2014 by Dawnwing

[tjsweepers]

That looks like a really nice build, my only 2 cents is that for gamer PC's I always throw in a larger then stock heat sink. They are less then 50 bucks and keep things very cool. Besides it's always better to install on a fresh build then realize you need it later and have to mess around with thermal compound any more then you have too. One and done and computer stays chill.

Just look for one that is quiet. As my only complaint is some can get rather loud.

 

Oh and hardwear. The little screws that hold your mobo/ cards/ brackets and the stand offs, some mobos come with them, some cases come with a little assortment, some have none. Use the ones that come with the mobo, if there are any with the mobo.

Edited October 2, 2014 by tjsweepers

[Snowwall]

I held it quarantine. I deleted the quarantine afterwards. Is the threat gone or no? What does quarantine mean anyway? What if I click restore as opposed to delete or ignore it?

 

Based on my (rather limited) knowledge of anti-virus software, I'd guess that "quarantine" means it stays in the limbo of a separate folder, pending user's decision. Can't execute and cause harm, but isn't gone yet. "Restore" returns it where it was, "ignore" postpones your decision some more and "delete", well, deletes it!

 

That said, my last clash with a virus (NB: never use a USB in a teenage gamer boy's computer unless you format it clean immediately after ) was quite something. The virus was meant to open a fake Autorun window saying "Mount, view, open?", do whatever you chose and install itself while at it. Since the executable was caught by the antivirus, Autorun.ini tried to run a non-existing file - so double-clicking the flash drive to open it didn't work and complained profusely. Right-click -> "Explore" was OK, so I removed the .ini and waited for half an hour until Win finally took that file out of some cache and forgotten about it.

Bottom line - removing the virus doesn't always remove all strange behaviour. It might also not work straight away, a reboot generally cleans some things up, but not always.

 

Edited: If you look closely, you can see the vertical blue line I'm talking about. I apologise for the photo being blurry.  I captured it using my iPad. I stand corrected. The blue line appears right from the start when the screen is on NOT when the logo appears. So I guess the problem is with the video card. However, how did that happen? It was only like that when we checked it after the technician 'fixed' it. In my opinion, the technician makes it worse than it is and never fixed anything. The BSOD still appears anyway.

 

Permission to be wordy some more?

 

The monitor itself can sometimes be tested by turning it on while the computer is not plugged into it. No computer - clearly, no computer-related problems, so if the line persists, it's the display hardware. However, modern monitors are often too smart to turn on while nobody is feeding them signals.

 

If the monitor itself is OK, it's probably either a software problem or a hardware problem of the rest of the computer. As an aside, strictly speaking, a "CPU" is a 2'' by 2'' square with a lot of legs, sitting deep inside the computer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU ) and the thing you brought to the technician is likely a "system unit" (a big box into which mouse, keyboard, monitor and stuff are plugged in, unless you have a Mac-style "all in one" system, in which case naming gets complicated... and "another monitor" becomes hardly an option).

 

For software problems, you can try running a live-CD version of Linux. (Do be careful to avoid installing it, nuking your Windows and files. I presume you are an intelligent human being and read what the computer says before you do anything drastic like that, but I can't be sure if it's obvious enough and wouldn't want trouble ) Being a totally different operating system, it is highly unlikely to run into the same software problems, so if the line is gone, it might be software. Or it might be not - being (usually) a less resource-intensive system, Linux might also refuse to notice your hardware problems (particularly if the problem is overheating. Random BSODs might indicate that, as well).

 

If the problem is oveheating, the BSODs and the line might be linked by that avenue. If the graphics card got hot for too long, it could malfunction. However, I'd presume the technicians would have cleaned everything of dust and changed the thermal paste as needed - on the other hand, you don't seem to have a high opinion of their handiwork. Dunno. Anyway, fur, dust and a long life might lead to a lack of proper cooling in a computer.

 

Finally, hard to see from a photo, but that line looks a lot like what I get on my laptop - in my case, it's a barely noticable lighter-coloured line where some buttons are high and rub the closed screen. "Lighter" is blue in your colour scheme and it might be an exernal scratch. Apologies if it's an insultingly ludicrous idea, but thought I should mention it. One never knows...

Edited October 5, 2014 by Snowwall

[Snowwall]

I am looking for a laptop under $1000 with good graphic that live longer than 4, 5 years. Is there some brand that anyone recommend? I would only play one game (Tera) on it and most of the time is just surfing of the internet. I tired customized laptop but it was a miss, an infected RAM and a dysfunctional SSD... in 6 months. I know I am not knowledgeable enough to tweak with laptops.

 

So is there a brand that you would recommend, or even a specific laptop series? 

 

--------

long life

good graphic

long battery life

good cooling system

Those are the main things I want for a decent laptop.

I can't imagine what an "infected RAM" means, so I'm rather curious - what did you mean?

 

My hardware is "old, weak and why don't I use a stone tablet while I'm at it?" and I use a minimalistic Linux desktop environment, meaning little of it is applicable to high-end gaming Windows Aero machines... It is mostly an indication of good and bad things I wouldn't have thought of looking at if I didn't meet them personally. Newer models might be of better or worse quality than those ancient warriors.

 

I've had an old Toshiba of model I can't recall (nifty volume control wheel on the outside - I used it a night-time story reader and not needing to open it each time I need a volume adjustment was cool). It would've lived with me for a long time, but caught its death of overheating - I left on a soft surface for too long and emergency shutdown was non-existent then

 

The second beasty I had was an Acer Travelmate 290 - DVD drives on them seem to be the weakest point, the lens gives out after a while or something. Spins a lot, reads only the best quality disks and only if you ask nicely. Battery lasts for an hour and a bit or so (remember, this is a 2003 laptop - not too shabby). Totally silent at normal utilisation, but a Flash game (or running Windows, then XP) made the fans run full-tilt and wasn't too fast. 1GB RAM, 1GHz CPU, 80G hard drive scavenged from Toshiba.

 

Current one is Lenovo Thinkpad E520, with extra-large battery pack. While new - lived for 7 hours off that battery, now it's worse (about 3-4, 5 if I'm careful).

 

Bad points

* passive cooling doesn't seem to be enough, so the fan is on (albeit slowly) most of the time. I'm not sure if that's "bad cooling" or "modern horsepower". The holes where the fan is are smaller than Acer's;

* touchpad is a bit too touchy and tap-to-click has to be off, otherwise I'm clicking stuff while typing (might just be wrong settings, but I haven't managed to make it as unobtrusive as the other two's);

* the usual signal lamps - CapsLock, ScrollLock, NumLock, HardDrive, Network - are non-existent.

 

Good points

* dedicated numpad. Useful in some games and for number-based spreadsheets;

* wide screen (still too narrow for many website designers, what do they use that a user of a 1366x768 monitor needs to use horizontal scrolling?!);

* the machine can survive more than one Flash player at a time. Flashblock rules, anyway - it's "more than one well-written Flash player" and they don't always play nice with each other, which is not the laptop's fault;

* the trackpoint is also useful when the touchpad is off. Seems that like an outside volume control is a Toshiba specialty, a trackpoint is a Lenovo feature - few others have it.

 

 

To summarise, from the "sturdy and hard-working" point of view, all of Toshiba, IBM/Lenovo and Acer have been pretty good on me.

 

Looking at features - look really carefully, because it's little things like lack of activity indication or a weird keyboard layout that can turn out to be really annoying.

Think of things like the number of USB ports - many external hard drives use up 2 at once, or you might like to use a proper mouse - will you be able to plug in everything you need?

Note that SSD is quieter and less power-hungry, but fails with far less advanced notice than HDD (the latter usually gets slower and starts making odd noises before failing), so backups are more important.

 

And don't forget - three cycles of "Full charge - full slow discharge" before use greatly increases battery life and capacity. Do at least one cycle, if you're pressed for time. This applies to all rechargeable gadgets. Good luck!

[georgexu94]

Alright. I now have time to fix my hardware. How does this work? How do I check if the monitor is the issue or what now?

 

Also, I now have problems with my iPad. The sound would be blurry. This seems to be not a speaker issue as same goes when I use earphones. Seems to me like a software fault. There are times when the sound doesn't- there's no sound at all. I didn't even mute it.

[Shienvien]

Think of things like the number of USB ports - many external hard drives use up 2 at once, or you might like to use a proper mouse - will you be able to plug in everything you need?

I haven't really seen an external hard drive that takes up two USB ports, and I've at least a few dozen different ones over time. Many hard drives nowadays come with just the USB connector, others come with SATA connector and direct current in only (rare), plenty come with both USB and SATA(and DC/in). - SATA does not power the drive, so a separate power cable (DC/IN) is needed.

 

But yes, having an adequate number of USB and other ports is often needed. (This laptop - one I didn't buy myself - has too few for my liking.)

 

weird keyboard layout

Unless you mean the physical buttons, you can always redo keyboards. Stickers are readily available.

 

Note that SSD is quieter and less power-hungry, but fails with far less advanced notice than HDD (the latter usually gets slower and starts making odd noises before failing), so backups are more important.

A large HDD is also cheaper than SSD of equal size. Generally, as long as you don't literally melt/shatter the hard disk inside the drive, you can always get the information out of a broken drive. Including "deleted" information.

I'd guess that "quarantine" means it stays in the limbo of a separate folder, pending user's decision. Can't execute and cause harm, but isn't gone yet.

You *can* execute quarantined files. They are pretty much just in a separate location, and will require extra permissions to run. They, however, cannot autorun or automatically alter/create files in other locations. So they are definitely safer, and should be gone when deleted, but can still get loose if you click the wrong button.

 

For software problems, you can try running a live-CD version of Linux. (Do be careful to avoid installing it, nuking your Windows and files.

By default, most Linuxes install alongside Win, and do not harm it. Just about anyone can make a WinLinux dual-booter.

Linux might also refuse to notice your hardware problems (particularly if the problem is overheating. Random BSODs might indicate that, as well). 

You can run *very* detailed hardware analysis from terminal if you know the appropriate commands. General hardware info is inbuilt, temperature/voltage and such was separate package, I think. Alternatively, there are some graphical programs which might be a bit more humane for Win-users.

 

 

Also, I now have problems with my iPad. The sound would be blurry. This seems to be not a speaker issue as same goes when I use earphones. Seems to me like a software fault. There are times when the sound doesn't- there's no sound at all. I didn't even mute it.

I suspect the sound drivers. Edited October 9, 2014 by Shienvien