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

[QUOTE=fishyfish777;49266242]i mean there should be a setting called "legacy boot" / "uefi boot" in the bios which you could try flipping because having the wrong setting can cause that error same with ide / ahci[/QUOTE] it ended up being the hiberfil being outdated? not sure how that links with boot manager but ok. Thanks for the help dude, greatly appreciated.

Anyone know of a decent video input card for the PC with support for HDMI? Not necessarily a capture card, just a way to have a window with whatever is happening on the thing I have connected. Like playing PS2/PS3 or retro gaming on Raspberry PI. Seems like all I could find are super expensive

Anyone know the earliest version of IE can go on Facepunch? i need it for reasons

[QUOTE=mcgrath618;49268769]Anyone know the earliest version of IE can go on Facepunch? i need it for reasons[/QUOTE] Last time I tried on an old version of Netscape, it couldn't even connect. I don't think the older browsers support the newer encryption schemes Facepunch uses for HTTPS. Facepunch probably requires TLS. Which IE 7 most likely supports. Maybe 6 did?

I'm building a new PC soon, and I don't know what to do about antivirus. My dad's always installed McAfee on all our computers and doesn't want to try any free alternatives because "they could have trojans". But I've had enough of the subscription bloatware and I need suggestions for alternatives that don't totally suck

[QUOTE=BigJoeyLemons;49269141]I'm building a new PC soon, and I don't know what to do about antivirus. My dad's always installed McAfee on all our computers and doesn't want to try any free alternatives because "they could have trojans". But I've had enough of the subscription bloatware and I need suggestions for alternatives that don't totally suck[/QUOTE] How many computers do you have?

I think about three, we have others but they're not in much use right now. We have McAfee on two of them and Norton on another

MBAM + some free realtime program (or Windows Defender if you're going >= Win8). If you or your dad insist on paying money, just get MBAM Premium. Also, the "they could have trojans" argument does have merit, but it's defeated when you ask someone who's knowledgeable about these things exactly which free ones are actually good (which is us, hi!). There's a couple of have-to-pay-for-it solutions out there that are also good last I was aware, but I personally have less experience in that side of things, so they could have gotten worse in the meantime. [editline]8th December 2015[/editline] and honestly anything's better than McAfee and Norton

[QUOTE=Pvt. Martin;49227054]Ok I don't know what it is. My video buffering for Youtube and Twitch has been shit all month long. It just buffers too slowly and before I know it the video has to stop. My network and sharing center says my signal strength is excellent, me and my mother are guessing it's stress on the router since it's used by everyone in our home (phones and laptops.) I just have no idea how to fix this, can someone help? Would my new computer's CPU help in this problem?[/QUOTE] Try minimizing the browser, then bringing it up again; the video should run all smooth now. At least that's what works for me then videos start getting really choppy and laggy.. Always leaves me wondering if it's just me, or the video? (90% of time it's me, lol.) [editline]9th December 2015[/editline] Wait, your problem was about videos not buffering/loading.. Don't have that :S

[QUOTE=BigJoeyLemons;49269141]I'm building a new PC soon, and I don't know what to do about antivirus. My dad's always installed McAfee on all our computers and doesn't want to try any free alternatives because "they could have trojans". But I've had enough of the subscription bloatware and I need suggestions for alternatives that don't totally suck[/QUOTE] I highly suggest Avast free or Avira free. Independent tests repeatedly find both of these options to outdo Windows Defender (or MSE) in both system impact and real-world-protection and virus removal. [url]http://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/avc_factsheet2015_10.pdf[/url] [url]http://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/avc_fdt_201509_en.pdf[/url] [url]http://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/avc_rem_2015_en.pdf[/url] [url]http://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/avc_per_201505_en.pdf[/url] [url]https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/october-2015/avast-free-antivirus-2015-153713/[/url] [url]https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/october-2015/avira-antivirus-pro-2015-153780/[/url] [url]https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/october-2015/microsoft-windows-defender-4.8-153747/[/url] Both of these products are superior to Windows Defender in every meaningful way. If you only care about having a fast computer for gaming, do not use Windows Defender. If you only care about having maximum security, do not use Windows Defender. I personally use Avira, it ranks slightly higher in protection tests but scores slightly lower in performance tests vs Avast (while again, still beating Windows). Pick whichever one you prefer. [editline]9th December 2015[/editline] Anyway, decided not to get a Rasp Pi after all. Figure a good SSD is a better use of my $60. Thinking this one is a solid option in the $60 price range, plus or minus ten dollars. This one was recommended by Logical Increments which probably makes it a good jumping off point. [url]http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-BX100-120GB-Internal-Solid/dp/B00RQA6LQY/[/url] You guys have any better options for me? Also, what are some good resources I can read about transitioning to a SSD? (Transferring my Windows Install to the SSD, using the SSD and HDD in tandem, frequent mistakes to avoid and beginner's info, etc.)

Maybe so, but speaking for myself, I would consider that an acceptable trade. The ads on my Avira aren't problematic at all, but then again I tend to have a high tolerance for these things. They only appear once or twice a week and never while in a game.

Does anyone know how to remedy a problem where your games will hang for a second then go back to normal? I'll be playing normally than suddenly it'll freeze and the sound will start repeating the last half second of audio like the game crashed, but it'll recover after a second or so. It's really disruptive when I'm playing an FPS. I'm guessing it's a hardware problem of some sort?

I'm looking at sound cards due to faulty onboard audio. My current speakers are Logitech X-53's. What are some cheap choices that have ok-to-pretty good sound quality? And also are external sound cards worth a gander? I'm currently looking at those due to them being seemingly cheaper but I'm skeptical of the sound quality.

Steam is running piss poor for me now that I have the 970 installed and drivers updated. Any reason for this? Should I reinstall steam? edit- nevermind. Must have been a glitch with steam and the drivers. After a Windows update and restart its working fine.

[QUOTE=KillaGunna24;49282743]I'm looking at sound cards due to faulty onboard audio. My current speakers are Logitech X-53's. What are some cheap choices that have ok-to-pretty good sound quality? And also are external sound cards worth a gander? I'm currently looking at those due to them being seemingly cheaper but I'm skeptical of the sound quality.[/QUOTE] ASUS Xonar DGX

When building a PC, what else will I need besides the parts and thermal paste? pretty sure that there should be screws and such that come with the case, right?

[QUOTE=Code3Response;49283363]Steam is running piss poor for me now that I have the 970 installed and drivers updated. Any reason for this? Should I reinstall steam? edit- nevermind. Must have been a glitch with steam and the drivers. After a Windows update and restart its working fine.[/QUOTE] nvm its crashing again. Not really making a lot of sense.

[QUOTE=Jetpack Bear;49284369]When building a PC, what else will I need besides the parts and thermal paste? pretty sure that there should be screws and such that come with the case, right?[/QUOTE] monitor keyboard mouse

So I need a new mouse - I some fairly basic requirements; 3 different DPI settings on the mouse (I'd rather have 3 separate keys for this, but one will do) and 2 buttons on the left for back/forth. It needs to be comfortable as well of course. Prices are different in Denmark, so just keep it "reasonable". I'm not an MLG pro, so I don't need the cream of the crop, just something pretty solid. Thanks in advance.

[QUOTE=Mattk50;49250334]My best guess is that when the boot priority got changed, a quickboot setting also got changed. It might be bypassing the boot screen, in which case it might be worth it to try spamming del/f8/ whatever your bios key is as it launches. If that doesnt work there's always clearing the cmos.[/QUOTE] sorry for the late reply neither of these solutions worked

My video card's 2x 6pins are too close to the side panel for me to have that 120mm fan anymore. So I had to get rid of it. Then the 212 Evo cooler is too tall (1mm between it and panel) so that 120mm had to go as well. So I was wondering. How ghetto would it be to just mount the 2 120mm's on the OUTSIDE of the side panel instead of the inside. Bottom as intake sucking in air for the video card, and the top being exhaust, even though half of it is going to be blocked from the inside by the cooler, and drilling a hole in the acrylic for the cables. I only have 1 intake in the front and 1 exhaust in the back, 2 if you count the PSU's fan. And that's really not enough. Losing those 2 fans hurt

Hey so I have 2 sli video cards. And I also have an onboard graphics processor. How can I link my monitor to the onboard gpu and run my sli cards as dedicated gpu's for gaming. To ultimately save on power and extend the life of my cards. Here is an analogy: Essentially making my computer a hybrid in concept, using the more powerful engine when necessary, but when idle using the efficient electric engine.

[QUOTE=RopaDope;49288158]Hey so I have 2 sli video cards. And I also have an onboard graphics processor. How can I link my monitor to the onboard gpu and run my sli cards as dedicated gpu's for gaming. To ultimately save on power and extend the life of my cards. Here is an analogy: Essentially making my computer a hybrid in concept, using the more powerful engine when necessary, but when idle using the efficient electric engine.[/QUOTE] but when the cards aren't being stressed they're doing the computational equivalent of a leisurely walk

[QUOTE=Jetpack Bear;49284369]When building a PC, what else will I need besides the parts and thermal paste? pretty sure that there should be screws and such that come with the case, right?[/QUOTE] zip ties are nice to have for cable organization

[QUOTE=RopaDope;49288158]Hey so I have 2 sli video cards. And I also have an onboard graphics processor. How can I link my monitor to the onboard gpu and run my sli cards as dedicated gpu's for gaming. To ultimately save on power and extend the life of my cards. Here is an analogy: Essentially making my computer a hybrid in concept, using the more powerful engine when necessary, but when idle using the efficient electric engine.[/QUOTE] The bad news is that's not possible unless you have Optimus (which is only in laptops and is incredibly rare). The good news is generally with those multi GPU setups the second card shuts itself off entirely until something makes it kick in. And I think modern cards will actually underclock themselves somewhat, like CPUs, if you're just sitting on the desktop. The short version of the good news is "plug it into your beefy card and it will be done for you"

[QUOTE=RopaDope;49288158]Hey so I have 2 sli video cards. And I also have an onboard graphics processor. How can I link my monitor to the onboard gpu and run my sli cards as dedicated gpu's for gaming. To ultimately save on power and extend the life of my cards. Here is an analogy: Essentially making my computer a hybrid in concept, using the more powerful engine when necessary, but when idle using the efficient electric engine.[/QUOTE] Nvidia Optimus does this on laptops. Thing is, it has to be designed around that, as it operates very differently from a traditional desktop GPU setup (the GPU simply assists the integrated graphics rather than replace, in a nutshell). AFAIK, no desktop motherboards take advantage of that. But on the other hand, modern GPU's aren't working at full speed when your just on your desktop. They will take up more power than not being there. But compared to what they are under load, it will be a mere fraction, so they stay cool.

Anyone know if there's a way to disable the LED lights on a laptop? They keep me up while I try to sleep. It's an Aspire V.

[QUOTE=Dirty_Ape;49291445]Anyone know if there's a way to disable the LED lights on a laptop? They keep me up while I try to sleep. It's an Aspire V.[/QUOTE] turn it off [editline]10th December 2015[/editline] the laptop i mean, not the LED

[QUOTE=Dirty_Ape;49291445]Anyone know if there's a way to disable the LED lights on a laptop? They keep me up while I try to sleep. It's an Aspire V.[/QUOTE] Electrical tape

[QUOTE=Skwee;49291470]turn it off [editline]10th December 2015[/editline] the laptop i mean, not the LED[/QUOTE] LEDs stay on when it's being charged.