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

Is it possible to use a second graphics card from a different series of AMD graphics to output video? My dad is going to use my 4870, but it only supports 2 displays at a time, and he wants 3 to have an output to the TV (without using a splitter). Can he use any current AMD card and it will output as a third screen? Or will we have to buy another 48XX card/single 6XXX card to do 3 monitors? The other card wouldn't need to help render or anything, just function as an extra display port.

Does anyone have an idea on what might be causing my internet speed to go down to about 2 mbps late at night when it should be around 30? Because I'm ready to call Comcast on the phone and bitch.

Hey, my dad was looking into a laptop for his work, and he wants something with an i7. Is this any good? [url]http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Black-11.6-Aspire-TimelineX-AS1830T-68U118-Laptop-PC-with-Intel-Core-i7-680UM-Processor-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium/19472992[/url]

whats a good all-around sound card around 50 dollars? (america) I see all these "gaming" sound cards and such, but don't know what to make of it. I listen to a ton of music on big monitor speakers and do a bit of gaming, so please help me out.

you're not gonna find anything better than integrated for under $100

[QUOTE=Mike_013;35882742]Hey, my dad was looking into a laptop for his work, and he wants something with an i7. Is this any good? [url]http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Black-11.6-Aspire-TimelineX-AS1830T-68U118-Laptop-PC-with-Intel-Core-i7-680UM-Processor-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium/19472992[/url][/QUOTE] Debatable. The specs seem fine - it'll handle Office and Firefox just fine (although you can forget Photoshop or gaming), but the size is a bit off-putting. 11" laptops are pretty small. It depends on where he falls on the comfortability/mobility scale. If he mainly needs "a desktop he can carry in his briefcase to take out at meetings or take home", I'd go for a 13" or a thin 15" laptop. If he needs a computer he can hold in one hand and type with the other, or a computer with a long battery life (it says 8 hours, expect 4-6 in real use), this might be worth it. Also, note that that's the old, old i7, a Westmere, not an Ivy Bridge or Sandy Bridge. Which means you may actually be better off with a newer i5, as it would give better battery life for the same computing power. It's also a -UM i7, which means they massively underclocked it to save power (it's clocked at 1.47GHz - pathetic!). If he genuinely *needs* the power of an i7, he's not going to get that power from a $600 netbook. If he doesn't, tell him he should pay more attention to how comfortable it is to type on and use, rather than how big the number on the label is.

are there any lga 1155 motherboards with good integrated then? I'm building a new desktop and wondering if i get a decent or good motherboard will buying a soundcard even matter? is this a good motherboard? [URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792[/URL]

[QUOTE=gman003-main;35882869]Debatable. The specs seem fine - it'll handle Office and Firefox just fine (although you can forget Photoshop or gaming), but the size is a bit off-putting. 11" laptops are pretty small. It depends on where he falls on the comfortability/mobility scale. If he mainly needs "a desktop he can carry in his briefcase to take out at meetings or take home", I'd go for a 13" or a thin 15" laptop. If he needs a computer he can hold in one hand and type with the other, or a computer with a long battery life (it says 8 hours, expect 4-6 in real use), this might be worth it. Also, note that that's the old, old i7, a Westmere, not an Ivy Bridge or Sandy Bridge. Which means you may actually be better off with a newer i5, as it would give better battery life for the same computing power. It's also a -UM i7, which means they massively underclocked it to save power (it's clocked at 1.47GHz - pathetic!). If he genuinely *needs* the power of an i7, he's not going to get that power from a $600 netbook. If he doesn't, tell him he should pay more attention to how comfortable it is to type on and use, rather than how big the number on the label is.[/QUOTE] Yeah, I think he's looking for something more of the "portable desktop that can be carried in a briefcase". For what it's worth, I think he uses it for rendering models, animations, and games (as in creating games). I don't think, for what he's doing, that a laptop is really be fit for the purpose. But apparently a laptop should be more reliable than a desktop, according to him. Just for reference, how much would a decent Sandy Bridge i7 laptop go for now? About $900?

[QUOTE=woodchuck34;35882885]are there any lga 1155 motherboards with good integrated then? I'm building a new desktop and wondering if i get a decent or good motherboard will buying a soundcard even matter? is this a good motherboard? [URL]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792[/URL][/QUOTE] That's a good motherboard with good integrated sound.

No idea on the SB laptops. I do know I just ordered a very high-end IB laptop for $1500. If he's doing rendering shit, that laptop you showed would absolutely SUCK. For that, I'd *demand* discrete graphics. Something like [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215254]this[/url] would probably be an acceptable choice. Don't automatically take that one, that was literally fifteen second's search, but that would probably work. Also, I have no idea why he thinks laptops are more reliable. If anything, they should be less, since they, y'know, move constantly. I haven't done any comparisons myself though, could be wrong.

[QUOTE=gman003-main;35883132]No idea on the SB laptops. I do know I just ordered a very high-end IB laptop for $1500. If he's doing rendering shit, that laptop you showed would absolutely SUCK. For that, I'd *demand* discrete graphics. Something like [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215254]this[/url] would probably be an acceptable choice. Don't automatically take that one, that was literally fifteen second's search, but that would probably work. Also, I have no idea why he thinks laptops are more reliable. If anything, they should be less, since they, y'know, move constantly. I haven't done any comparisons myself though, could be wrong.[/QUOTE] Alright, this is very useful. Thanks for the help man.

Does anyone know of how I can make steam only download the patch and not the entire fucking game again? [Img]http://puu.sh/tKvi[/Img] (portal 2 dlc)

Try emailing Gabe

[QUOTE=vexx21322;35884809]Does anyone know of how I can make steam only download the patch and not the entire fucking game again? [Img]http://puu.sh/tKvi[/Img] (portal 2 dlc)[/QUOTE] It does that sometimes but its probably isnt downloading the whole thing again usually it will go until the amount its meant to download has completed and stop, or just jump to like 7,000 / 7,700 MB as soon as you start.

[QUOTE=alien_guy;35892985]It does that sometimes but its probably isnt downloading the whole thing again usually it will go until the amount its meant to download has completed and stop, or just jump to like 7,000 / 7,700 MB as soon as you start.[/QUOTE] Except I've already downloaded twice the size of the dlc.

[QUOTE=kaine123;35882126]Does anyone have an idea on what might be causing my internet speed to go down to about 2 mbps late at night when it should be around 30? Because I'm ready to call Comcast on the phone and bitch.[/QUOTE] Anyone?

[QUOTE=vexx21322;35884809]Does anyone know of how I can make steam only download the patch and not the entire fucking game again? [Img]http://puu.sh/tKvi[/Img] (portal 2 dlc)[/QUOTE] Hopefully the download will be worth the weight. [I]Something something three more months[/I]

[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185059&Tpk=SY1225SL12H[/url] I'm looking to replace a few of the above fans with something with the same/similar performance, but quieter. Any suggestions?

[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608004[/url] expensive, but they make next to no noise at all, even at load.

Is this PSU good quality? [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371004[/url] [editline]9th May 2012[/editline] [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371004[/url]

[QUOTE=Pelvic Thrust;35897718]Is this PSU good quality? [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371004[/url] [editline]9th May 2012[/editline] [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371004[/url][/QUOTE] Yep, but theres better for the price. I'm on my phone right now so I can't really help. Look at corsair, thermaltame, enermax, antec, ocz, xfx... cooler master sometimes

I have a Logitech USB desktop mic, it was working fine but is just a little bit too quiet. There is no MicBoost in the audio settings like I see on any 3.5mm mic. Any alternatives? I heard there was a registry edit to activate it manually but I haven't had any luck finding the key.

this may sound kinda stupid but is there a gaming mouse with 3 thumb buttons? (specifically 3, not 4 or more) and where can I buy one?

I have a dilemma here. I just bought two 7970's, I still have time to cancel the order and I am wondering if I should cancel it and order the new 670 which have been proven to go to 1400Mhz.

[QUOTE=The Decoy;35901083]this may sound kinda stupid but is there a gaming mouse with 3 thumb buttons? (specifically 3, not 4 or more) and where can I buy one?[/QUOTE] G500 has 3 thumb buttons

I would cancel. But I'm a Nvidia fanboy.

[QUOTE=BlueYoshi;35901458]I have a dilemma here. I just bought two 7970's, I still have time to cancel the order and I am wondering if I should cancel it and order the new 670 which have been proven to go to 1400Mhz.[/QUOTE] You should cancel. [url]http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_670/[/url]

Where the hell can I get a 1920 x 1200 monitor, everyone seems to rave about 1920 x 1080.

[QUOTE=Smashman;35902997]Where the hell can I get a 1920 x 1200 monitor, everyone seems to rave about 1920 x 1080.[/QUOTE] it's the more expensive 24" ones that normally have 1920x1200, the U2412M has it

I need a gaming laptop. Been doing some research on my own but would like to hear what you guys think So far i've found this as a worthy candidate, i've heard decent things about Asus Laptops [url]http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Gamers-G53SX-AH71-15-6-Inch-Gaming/dp/B005UUS6BU/ref=dp_ob_title_ce[/url]