The "Quick Questions that does not Deserve a Thread"...Thread. V3 - Hardware & Software

Last time I was at my house (I live on campus) I hooked up my laptop to me Desktop's 1080p monitor, and now I want to hook it up to my roommate's TV (it's not 1080p, only goes up to 1280x768), but when I do, both screens just go blank and I can't change any video settings. It's like it's trying to use the settings that I used with my monitor, but it doesn't actually ASK me before doing it, so I can't change anything. Is there a way to fix this? I don't have a way to get back to my house for probably a couple of weeks.

[QUOTE=Schmaaa;38317114]Last time I was at my house (I live on campus) I hooked up my laptop to me Desktop's 1080p monitor, and now I want to hook it up to my roommate's TV (it's not 1080p, only goes up to 1280x768), but when I do, both screens just go blank and I can't change any video settings. It's like it's trying to use the settings that I used with my monitor, but it doesn't actually ASK me before doing it, so I can't change anything. Is there a way to fix this? I don't have a way to get back to my house for probably a couple of weeks.[/QUOTE] I assume it's automatically setting the TV up as main display at a resolution that the TV doesn't support, and turning the built in off. Try pressing fn+F8, this should cycle through the modes untill you get the laptop's monitor back, and then you can set the external display to the correct settings through Windows.

[QUOTE=Schmaaa;38317114]Last time I was at my house (I live on campus) I hooked up my laptop to me Desktop's 1080p monitor, and now I want to hook it up to my roommate's TV (it's not 1080p, only goes up to 1280x768), but when I do, both screens just go blank and I can't change any video settings. It's like it's trying to use the settings that I used with my monitor, but it doesn't actually ASK me before doing it, so I can't change anything. Is there a way to fix this? I don't have a way to get back to my house for probably a couple of weeks.[/QUOTE] Did you specify the current input signal on the tv itself.

[QUOTE=MTMod;38314704]dat bezel Too bad you can't put it on an arm :sadface:[/QUOTE] The bezel is appparently fake according to a newegg reviewer, it looks a lot different from the Dell website. [editline]4th November 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Dr. Deeps;38314410][url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260104&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA[/url] It's IPS.[/QUOTE] I was [I]sort of[/I] confident that it was IPS because of the description on every page, but the fact that Dell doesn't even mention it means that it probably isn't very good. Also, I'm glad that I didn't buy it, I never checked for VESA mounts, which I would have needed.

So i'm thinking about getting a processor upgrade by the end of the year, but i'm not sure what i should get. I was kinda thinking about going with Intel. Only thing i really do that is 'intensive' is render video (720p/1080p) and sometimes record games at 60fps.

[QUOTE=TonyTheBean;38320446]So i'm thinking about getting a processor upgrade by the end of the year, but i'm not sure what i should get. I was kinda thinking about going with Intel. Only thing i really do that is 'intensive' is render video (720p/1080p) and sometimes record games at 60fps.[/QUOTE] I don't know much about AMD these days, but if you're going Intel, an Ivy bridge i5 should be good. (If you don't want to overclock, the i5-3550 is good. If you do want to overclock, get the i5-3570K)

[QUOTE=Fourm Shark;38322842][t]http://i.imgur.com/hPkXc.png[/t] Is this a good laptop for the money?[/QUOTE] The only thing that's missing is an SSD. Everything else is top-notch, but a 7200 RPM hard drive is going to bottleneck everything.

[QUOTE=ShaunOfTheLive;38323830]a 7200 RPM hard drive is going to bottleneck everything.[/QUOTE] Ummmmm..... I don't think that's the right word for it. It'll keep loading speeds and such down, but a hard drive can't necessarily bottleneck in the same way a low end processor could a graphics card or vice versa.

[QUOTE=Fourm Shark;38322842][t]http://i.imgur.com/hPkXc.png[/t] Is this a good laptop for the money?[/QUOTE] I have the older model of this laptop. The fingerprint reader is very convenient and still runs like a champ.

[QUOTE=HolyCrapAWalrus;38323865]Ummmmm..... I don't think that's the right word for it. It'll keep loading speeds and such down, but a hard drive can't necessarily bottleneck in the same way a low end processor could a graphics card or vice versa.[/QUOTE] Till you play ArmA

[QUOTE=Shadaez;38324472]Till you play ArmA[/QUOTE] Till you play a lot of games.

I'd guess somewhere around [B]almost everyone[/B] uses a 7200RPM HDD to store things and run games off of, sure there's a bit better performance with an SSD but it's not a [I]hugely[/I] noticeable difference. [editline]5th November 2012[/editline] Either way, he shouldn't be buying an SSD from them in the first place as they'll charge him $20 more than the SSD is worth just to stick it in a slot.

Hi, anyone know anything like codecademy or projecteuler that has programming projects/problems you solve/do? I've been doing projecteuler but they seem more math related than anything.

[QUOTE=Shadaez;38324786]Hi, anyone know anything like codecademy or projecteuler that has programming projects/problems you solve/do? I've been doing projecteuler but they seem more math related than anything.[/QUOTE] HackThisSite is basically backwards coding, but I guess that's not what you're after. There was another one but I can't remember it.

Hey guys, is this good value? Everything's pretty decent as far as I can tell, I've scrutinized it non-stop for the past 4 days. CPU appears to be great (good score on cpubenchmark.com) as well as the graphics card. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Yuq5m.png[/IMG] Only thing that I want to ask about is RAID-0 for my storage devices. Will my total hard drive space be 1TB or will it be 500GB, since they're set to RAID-0. Also, is having RAID-0 a good idea (I know if one hard-drive fails, I'll be shit outta luck, but a hard-drive has never failed on me, and I doubt it will), because I don't want to get RAID-0 if performance boosts are negligible. Nor will I get it if it caps my total hard-drive space to 500GB. Secondly, is that wireless card good or not? $50 for it, and I'll be wirelessly gaming a bit so should I bother getting it or would the standard, free card be okay? I just don't want lag spikes every 10 seconds. That's about it as far as questions go: is it good value for money (and is everything up to scratch), is RAID-0 good for increasing performance (to a noticeable degree) and is that wireless card worth spending $50 on? Thanks! [editline]5th November 2012[/editline] Oh, and is it worth me getting the diamond thermal compound? I was just worried my laptop's CPU and VGA would fry.

network card isn't worth it, RAID 0 would be 1TB with twice the bandwidth for reading and writing (I think), but seek times will be the same (?) I'm not 100% on this. If it were me, I wouldn't RAID them because the increase in performance isn't worth the risk to me. [editline]5th November 2012[/editline] I'd say the thermal compound is worth it if you're not comfortable replacing it yourself in the future. I'd imagine it would last longer than whatever's default, but they're also way overcharging for it. [editline]5th November 2012[/editline] what's with all the laptop questions lately? :|

[QUOTE=Shadaez;38325103]network card isn't worth it, RAID 0 would be 1TB with twice the bandwidth for reading and writing (I think), but seek times will be the same (?) I'm not 100% on this. If it were me, I wouldn't RAID them because the increase in performance isn't worth the risk to me.[/QUOTE] Thanks Shadaez, you've been an awesome help whenever I ask questions. So I'll scrap the network card. With the RAID 0, what risks are there? The only one is that if one of the hard-drives fail, I lose everything. But a hard-drive has never failed on me, so why would it now? I don't tend to get viruses or the like, so I can't see how it'd fail. Is there some way I'm unaware of? Twice bandwith for reading and writing is awesome to me. [editline]5th November 2012[/editline] Oh wow, they really [I]are[/I] overcharging for the thermal paste. I can get it for $7 from Amazon. Should I just put the thermal paste on myself? Is it very difficult to do? If it's a relatively simple job, I'll just have a go at it myself.

Actually the network card would be worth it if you have a N network.

No idea what an N network is. I'm moving into a new place on the 9th and I'll be setting up internet there with Charter, so I have no idea what sort of network I'll have once they're done.

[QUOTE=loopoo;38325116]I can't see how [a hard drive would] fail. Is there some way I'm unaware of?[/quote] Old age (irrelevant in this case), shit happening to it (drops, things hitting it, you get locked in Jurassic Park, shit like that), sheer dumb luck (very rare, usually from manufacturing defects). [quote]Should I just put the thermal paste on myself? Is it very difficult to do? If it's a relatively simple job, I'll just have a go at it myself.[/QUOTE] Take heat sink off CPU (may involve taking the entire thing apart depending on build), put a tiny bit of paste on, put everything back, tada you applied thermal paste

Here's a quick question. My service provider remotely locks its users out of the configuration page for their router/modem-combination monstrosity. I can easily get this thing set to bridge mode by Tier 3 support, but I have no idea about routers! Anyone know of not-terrible wireless routers?

Awesome. Right, that settles it, RAID 0 it is. I doubt any of that stuff'll happen to me, and if it does, I'll have a CD Image that I'll make so I can just fresh install right up to where I want, no worries. Also, thanks for the thermal paste tutorial! Quick question: how do I remove the paste that'll already be on the CPU? And how can I apply it to the GPU as well. Worried I might fuck up removing the paste, or fuck up by putting too much and having it fizzle the CPU and GPU out, if that's even possible. Do laptops have GPU's (like stuck-on graphics cards) whilst desktops have VGA's? Cause I thought GPU and VGA were one and the same.

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPHq1Qpfj1s[/url] @ about 31 minutes you just unscrew CPU heatsink, clean it off, apply new stuff. [QUOTE=SEKCobra;38325151]Actually the network card would be worth it if you have a N network.[/QUOTE] default has N, too

Oh I didn't check that.

You guys rock. Love this thread. So yeah, I won't be looking for a VGA, right? Like on my desktop, the one that plugs into the PCI slots. The graphics card in my laptop will be a GPU, and it'll be a small, chip-like thing? [editline]5th November 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Shadaez;38325244][url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPHq1Qpfj1s[/url] @ about 31 minutes you just unscrew CPU heatsink, clean it off, apply new stuff. default has N, too[/QUOTE] You legend, that tutorial is for the model I'll have. That's really kind of you, thanks. You've made it real easy for me. Much love, man!

Basically the only thing you'll be able to replace on your notebook is RAM.

[QUOTE=SEKCobra;38325261]Basically the only thing you'll be able to replace on your notebook is RAM.[/QUOTE] Ah right, I was asking about the GPU because I guess it looks completely different. I'm just an amateur when it comes to gaming laptops, so I was expecting to find a VGA in there haha. The video Shadaez linked cleared it all up though.

What is the most decent, affordable 1920x1080 monitor there is? Mine is having an issue heating up so it flickers and generally causes paranormal activity. Any brand will do just so much as it meets that resolution specification.

2.4Ghz vs 5Ghz wifi? As far as I can tell 5ghz is actually worse due to having less wall permeability.

[QUOTE=alien_guy;38327195]2.4Ghz vs 5Ghz wifi? As far as I can tell 5ghz is actually worse due to having less wall permeability.[/QUOTE] Yeah, 2.4 GHz is usually better unless you keep your microwave cooking 24/7. But dual-band is obviously the [i]best[/i].