The "Quick Questions That Don't Deserve A Thread"...Thread. v5 - Hardware & Software

[QUOTE=Levelog;49029850]Can you not just use an access list on your firewall/router to only allow RDP traffic from your known IP's?[/QUOTE] I could however I'm on a dynamic ip address and I can't risk getting locked out since I don't have physical access to the device (kimsurfi running server 2012)

I want to upgrade my graphics card for Fallout 4, as I think it's the only thing I don't meet the minimum requirements (I think my CPU might be a little low too, not sure). The plan is to transfer the card to a new machine hopefully by this time next year. I currently have in my computer 8gbs of ram, my processor is a PhenomII X6 1055T @ 2.80GHz, and a Radeon 5880 (Or something close). Is a 970 a logical choice? Are there any other options?

So I got a 2nd monitor all set up today, now is there a way for when I click something in that one for it not to affect my main monitor? For example, if I have a prezi in fullscreen on my main, but then I go do something on my 2nd monitor it unfullscreens the prezi.

can someone can get me the video card driver for windows 10 on a dell precision m65 laptop?

[QUOTE=~Kiwi~v2;49030668]run your games in borderless windowed or fullscreen windowed edit oh fuck i just realized what prezi was hmm one sec [editline]2nd November 2015[/editline] check your software to see if it can "always be on top" or something similar[/QUOTE] dont think I can do that with firefox, idk might be wrong. Also, I still don't have a fix for when I launch, close out of, or alt-tab out of games for the screen going black and all sound cutting out momentarily. Not sure what to do with that.

What are those things you can get that convert your house's power outlets into ethernet ports? I know that's not how it works but you know what I mean

[QUOTE=bdd458;49030825]Also, I still don't have a fix for when I launch, close out of, or alt-tab out of games for the screen going black and all sound cutting out momentarily. Not sure what to do with that.[/QUOTE] Don't run dedicated fullscreen Audio cuts out because you graphics card also has an audio driver (hdmi)

[QUOTE=BigJoeyLemons;49031531]What are those things you can get that convert your house's power outlets into ethernet ports? I know that's not how it works but you know what I mean[/QUOTE] powerline

[QUOTE=BigJoeyLemons;49031531]What are those things you can get that convert your house's power outlets into ethernet ports? I know that's not how it works but you know what I mean[/QUOTE] Literally called 'Ethernet over Power' Simple search returns multiple results from retailers

Is [URL="http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos-Creative-Tablet-CTL490DW/dp/B010LHRFM2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446498700&sr=8-1&keywords=Intuos+draw+small"]this[/URL] a good tablet for a beginner? I've never used a graphics tablet before and I heard that Wacom tablets are a safe bet.

Any suggestions for a good mouse for someone with Parkinsons? My grandpa's is starting to get noticeable, and he just picked up a magic trackpad with his new iMac but he's not quite sure how well it will work for him.

[QUOTE=Levelog;49036139]Any suggestions for a good mouse for someone with Parkinsons? My grandpa's is starting to get noticeable, and he just picked up a magic trackpad with his new iMac but he's not quite sure how well it will work for him.[/QUOTE] Would a trackball work better, maybe? I seem to recall hearing about trackballs being easier to use with limited motor control.

[QUOTE=gman003-main;49036165]Would a trackball work better, maybe? I seem to recall hearing about trackballs being easier to use with limited motor control.[/QUOTE] Not a bad idea at all. He used one with his old mac pro, so I know he likes them. We'll see how this goes and if it's a problem I'll look into getting him one. [editline]2nd November 2015[/editline] And now that I think of it back when I worked at a Board of DD school trackballs were the mouse of choice for many of the students.

[QUOTE=Annoyed Grunt;49035153]Is [URL="http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos-Creative-Tablet-CTL490DW/dp/B010LHRFM2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446498700&sr=8-1&keywords=Intuos+draw+small"]this[/URL] a good tablet for a beginner? I've never used a graphics tablet before and I heard that Wacom tablets are a safe bet.[/QUOTE] If that's large enough for you. Ironically, it's the more expensive tablets that are easier to use because, well, they're usually larger (let alone Cintiqs, which have a screen built in). That said, you heard right, Wacom tablets are not only a safe bet, but the only thing anyone uses (for art; if all you wanna do is take notes you can just buy whatever). And even smaller ones aren't actually that difficult to use, you'll get used to it pretty quickly as long as you actually try to replace your mouse with it (at least until you're fully comfortable with it) and not just whip it out for sketches.

[QUOTE=DrTaxi;49036588]If that's large enough for you. Ironically, it's the more expensive tablets that are easier to use because, well, they're usually larger (let alone Cintiqs, which have a screen built in). That said, you heard right, Wacom tablets are not only a safe bet, but the only thing anyone uses (for art; if all you wanna do is take notes you can just buy whatever). And even smaller ones aren't actually that difficult to use, you'll get used to it pretty quickly as long as you actually try to replace your mouse with it (at least until you're fully comfortable with it) and not just whip it out for sketches.[/QUOTE] After the piece of crap my Bamboo was, I'd be iffy about suggesting a Wacom tablet. A cheap generic tablet can go a long way. My Medion MD 85637 from Aldi was there for me since 2008 for a measly $50 and it'll still work for you eight years down the road and then some. Just go generic. What's the worst that can happen? A Wacom Bamboo on the other hand only lasted six months, problems on and off between the tablet itself and the stylus before the tablet itself finally died.

[QUOTE=Stonecycle;49037756]After the piece of crap my Bamboo was, I'd be iffy about suggesting a Wacom tablet. A cheap generic tablet can go a long way. My Medion MD 85637 from Aldi was there for me since 2008 for a measly $50 and it'll still work for you eight years down the road and then some. Just go generic. What's the worst that can happen? A Wacom Bamboo on the other hand only lasted six months, problems on and off between the tablet itself and the stylus before the tablet itself finally died.[/QUOTE] Was that not within the warranty period? Everything can break. Buying a single device from one manufacturer and having it break is no evidence that manufacturer's devices are prone to failure.

Yep, what is anecdotal evidence.

Cross posted from PC Building thread: [QUOTE=Benf199105;49027995] Currently I have this RAM: [url]http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(2x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-jet-black-lp-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v[/url] [/QUOTE] Following on from my own post in another thread. I went a got some more RAM for my machine. I currently have 8GB of RAM and wanted to upgrade to 16GB. I bought the exact same RAM as I have in the machine already, down to the same product code from the same place. So now I've got 16GB of RAM, all the exact same make/serial etc. However my PC won't boot when I put the 2 new sticks in. I'm thinking there's a setting in my BIOS or something as I've tested every combination and my original 2 sticks work, and the new 2 don't unless placed in the same slots my first 2 are. What should i be looking at? Is it possible the other 2 RAM ports are DOA or could they have been disabled? If it helps, I bought the MOBO, CPU and RAM in a Overclocked bundle, and when it arrived, my RAM was pre-installed in Slots 1 and 3, not next to eachother in 1 and 2. Could that be a sign of something? (Incidentally, The MOBO has slots 1 and 3 coloured blue and slots 2 and 4 as White coloured...?) If it helps, when installing the extra 8GB, I get a continuous beep from the mobo, like beep beep beep beep beep etc etc. which i've read from my MOBO guide as "Memory installed incorrectly", do I need to mess with voltages or timings, or is there a possibility the RAM slots are disabled?

What's FP's opinion on the CyberPowerPC brand of pre-builts? Are they as bad as everybody seems to say they are?

Not big on pc tech at all but I'm trying to decide on a graphics card to buy I'm currently on a Radeon HD 7800. I've got roughly £200 to spend and so far have been told to get this: Sapphire AMD R9 380 Nitro Graphics Card (4 GB, OC, PCI-E, GDDR5, 256 Bit, DVI-I, HDMI). Anything good to say about this card? Should I get it or should I get another? Thanks!

[QUOTE=Alba Meira;49039526]What's FP's opinion on the CyberPowerPC brand of pre-builts? Are they as bad as everybody seems to say they are?[/QUOTE] they're ok and sometimes the cables come undone during shipping but pretty overpriced it's not like they don't [I]work[/I] but you can build a computer twice as good for the price (and about as much effort) if you keep an eye on slickdeals hell there's prebuilts on slickdeals that are actually a decent value nowadays too

Anybody recommend any decent laptops? My needs are a fast, good looking, 13-16", powerful laptop. I'm looking to create applications in Visual Studio, some photo editing/2d graphics work as well as maybe if possible some light gaming. Portability is a must. Price isn't an issue just not anything excessive of £2000.

Razer Blade 14 2015 is kinda overpriced but it's about as portable and powerful with decent build quality and battery life as it gets

for the past few years, since my laptop was fairly new, its hard drive occasionally makes an odd clicking sound that repeats about one or twice every five seconds for a solid few minutes. My options are to wait it out until it gets better eventually, or to reboot. It's never caused problems, but can it?

[QUOTE=BigJoeyLemons;49043913]for the past few years, since my laptop was fairly new, its hard drive occasionally makes an odd clicking sound that repeats about one or twice every five seconds for a solid few minutes. My options are to wait it out until it gets better eventually, or to reboot. It's never caused problems, but can it?[/QUOTE] Sounds like hard drive failure. I'd look into replacing at least the drive ASAP.

[QUOTE=BigJoeyLemons;49043913]for the [B]past few years[/B], since my laptop was fairly new, its hard drive occasionally makes an odd clicking sound that repeats about one or twice every five seconds for a solid few minutes. My options are to wait it out until it gets better eventually, or to reboot. It's never caused problems, but can it?[/QUOTE] :wow:

You should look at the S.M.A.R.T. info on your drive, I'd suggest using Crystal Disk Info and reporting if anything is beyond it's threshold.

Where the hell would avast! store info for registration on one's drive? Apparently it somehow thinks after I had to bother with Safe Mode for a few things that this is a brand new system, likely because of some System Restore activity that also happened. [editline]4th November 2015[/editline] Oh great, apparently it lost its settings too. I guess that within the area I find its settings file in, the registration file won't be that far off either.

[QUOTE=wickedplayer494;49045782]Where the hell would avast! store info for registration on one's drive? Apparently it somehow thinks after I had to bother with Safe Mode for a few things that this is a brand new system, likely because of some System Restore activity that also happened. [editline]4th November 2015[/editline] Oh great, apparently it lost its settings too. I guess that within the area I find its settings file in, the registration file won't be that far off either.[/QUOTE] HKLM\Software\ALWIL Software\Avast ??

I've noticed in the last few days that one of my side panel 120mm fans is varying slightly in RPM. I can hear it drop and increase, as well as the small LED light in the fan very slightly dims along with the drops. It's very minor but I can hear and see it if I look. These fans should not be changing RPM's, so I'm worried about it being a voltage issue I think it's the only one that's doing it but I'm not 100% sure (I have 4, 2 on the side and 1 front/back). Should I be worried about my PSU about to give out or what? I can pull up HWMonitor and see that my +5V varies between 3.447 and 3.427 while all the other voltages don't budge, aside from the VCore, obviously. I'm guessing it's just the fan