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

[QUOTE=Demache;47548926]And on a couple HP/Compaq machines I've had, its F10. I guess the lesson is, RTFM.[/QUOTE] ASUS is just annoying when you're trying to get to safe mode... And it's actually the boot menu is F8. So to get to safe mode you spam f8, select hard drive, then spam f8 more.

Does it matter if you mix and match brands in RAM, so long as the sticks are the same type and speed and all of that?

[QUOTE=Ardosos;47549285]Does it matter if you mix and match brands in RAM, so long as the sticks are the same type and speed and all of that?[/QUOTE] It's generally not a good idea. Nothing particularly bad can happen from it, but the speeds and timings need to be identical, otherwise it runs at the slowest speed and timings.

Guys, my friend is having a problem. In short, he's unable to connect to the wifi or ethernet at our college, despite his roommates and myself can both connect though both. My first though was to download his driver onto my computer using [URL="http://www.pcidatabase.com/index.php"]PCI Database[/URL], then transferring the installers to his laptop through a USB drive, but to no avail. Since it's a college internet connection, we can't access the router itself. I assume it's a driver problem, but I'm not entirely sure. His Windows Update says he needs to update both his Wifi and Lan connections, but since he can't connect to the internet, he can't download and install those updates. He's running Windows 8.1 on a 64-bit system, if it matters.

[QUOTE=Levelog;47548954]ASUS is just annoying when you're trying to get to safe mode... And it's actually the boot menu is F8. So to get to safe mode you spam f8, select hard drive, then spam f8 more.[/QUOTE] the BIOS needs to allow you to set your own keys for these fucking things it's 2015 and nobody is going to agree on a standard for defaults so let us pick keys we're comfortable with

[QUOTE=Levelog;47548194]On ASUS it's F8. Why the fuck they decided that I don't know.[/QUOTE] That's very unlikely since F8 is the interrupt for Windows to get start options.

[QUOTE=SEKCobra;47550295]That's very unlikely since F8 is the interrupt for Windows to get start options.[/QUOTE] Read my most recent post. That's the problem, it's annoying as shit.

[QUOTE=Levelog;47550323]Read my most recent post. That's the problem, it's annoying as shit.[/QUOTE] That sounds like it's not the BIOS menu but a startup menu where you can select boot device and such fun things.

[QUOTE=SEKCobra;47550336]That sounds like it's not the BIOS menu but a startup menu where you can select boot device and such fun things.[/QUOTE] Yeah, in my previous post I corrected it to boot menu.

[QUOTE=huntingrifle;47549594]Guys, my friend is having a problem. In short, he's unable to connect to the wifi or ethernet at our college, despite his roommates and myself can both connect though both. My first though was to download his driver onto my computer using [URL="http://www.pcidatabase.com/index.php"]PCI Database[/URL], then transferring the installers to his laptop through a USB drive, but to no avail. Since it's a college internet connection, we can't access the router itself. I assume it's a driver problem, but I'm not entirely sure. His Windows Update says he needs to update both his Wifi and Lan connections, but since he can't connect to the internet, he can't download and install those updates. He's running Windows 8.1 on a 64-bit system, if it matters.[/QUOTE] Did it come with win8? I have a usb and a mPCIE wifi adapter that will not work at all under 8, even though they have a 7 driver

Why the fuck can't I find a seller for [URL="http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3817#ov"]GA-880GMA-USB3[/URL]? It's the only decent mATX motherboard for AM3+. Does anyone know of an equal or better alternative? [B]Edit:[/B] I'm trying to build a mATX PC with [URL="https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-360-AM"]AMD Piledriver FX-8[/URL]

Why in gods name are you trying to build a compact machine with an inefficient furnace like that?

[QUOTE=Levelog;47553278]Why in gods name are you trying to build a compact machine with an inefficient furnace like that?[/QUOTE] It'll be water cooled of course

[QUOTE=dot.rich;47553307]It'll be water cooled of course[/QUOTE] It's still a shitty processor for the money. [editline]18th April 2015[/editline] Even the staunchest of AMD fanboys recognize the AMD FX-9xxx processor as a massive failure.

[QUOTE=Levelog;47553327]It's still a shitty processor for the money. [editline]18th April 2015[/editline] Even the staunchest of AMD fanboys recognize the AMD FX-9xxx processor as a massive failure.[/QUOTE] If you can find me a better CPU that beats that price in this shitty market where Intel has their cock in everyone then please recommend. It's the best one for value I can find this high up on [URL="http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html"]benchmarks[/URL].

I mean are you using it for gaming? Because then passmark is a pretty useless benchmark

[QUOTE=dot.rich;47553349]If you can find me a better CPU that beats that price in this shitty market where Intel has their cock in everyone then please recommend. It's the best one for value I can find this high up on [URL="http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html"]benchmarks[/URL].[/QUOTE] What exactly are you going to be using this box for? The best benchmarks are the ones designed to mimic the workload you're actually going to put them through. Passmark isn't really a good benchmark because it tries to boil a bunch of performance factors down to one "this is how big your dick is" number. At least Sysmark has a couple different benchmarks for different use cases, although the best benchmark is still actual application performance. For example, if you benchmark image display, [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1048]that 9590 gets beaten by some Celerons[/url], while video conversion [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1061]generally works equally well on AMD or Intel CPUs, as long as you have the same number of threads[/url].

It will be for UE4/3ds Max/general game dev and of course gaming.

[QUOTE=dot.rich;47553409]It will be for UE4/3ds Max/general game dev and of course gaming.[/QUOTE] For gaming, unless you're doing SLI/CF, any decent GPU will do. Even an i3. For game dev, there's no single benchmark, but for the CPU-bound stuff, here's a few that should be somewhat meaningful: [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1027]Emulation benchmark[/url] - pretty much any non-shit processor is fine [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/55]Compression benchmark[/url] - threads rule, a quad-module FX and an i7 are about the same [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1062]Ray-tracing[/url] - cores matter, but in the 4-8 core area, clock and IPC also matters, an i5 is still well within performance bounds [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1055]Data analysis (building a mesh from an image)[/url] - IPC rules, the 9590 is down there with the i3s while the i7s and i5s rule I'd recommend an i5 4690K - it's the same price as the 9590 for just the chip, but the 9590 basically [B]NEEDS[/B] a watercooler to not overheat, which adds a lot of price to your full build. An i5 is fine with the stock cooler, and will often overclock well on just a good air cooler. [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1289?vs=1261]And when you look at the benchmarks[/url], particularly the ones I highlighted, you'll find it usually wins, or is at least close to winning. Other benefits: more suppliers of mATX boards, and better chipsets, so you'll likely get a board with more features, for less.

[QUOTE=gman003-main;47553534]For gaming, unless you're doing SLI/CF, any decent GPU will do. Even an i3. For game dev, there's no single benchmark, but for the CPU-bound stuff, here's a few that should be somewhat meaningful: [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1027]Emulation benchmark[/url] - pretty much any non-shit processor is fine [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/55]Compression benchmark[/url] - threads rule, a quad-module FX and an i7 are about the same [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1062]Ray-tracing[/url] - cores matter, but in the 4-8 core area, clock and IPC also matters, an i5 is still well within performance bounds [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/1055]Data analysis (building a mesh from an image)[/url] - IPC rules, the 9590 is down there with the i3s while the i7s and i5s rule I'd recommend an i5 4690K - it's the same price as the 9590 for just the chip, but the 9590 basically [B]NEEDS[/B] a watercooler to not overheat, which adds a lot of price to your full build. An i5 is fine with the stock cooler, and will often overclock well on just a good air cooler. [url=http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1289?vs=1261]And when you look at the benchmarks[/url], particularly the ones I highlighted, you'll find it usually wins, or is at least close to winning. Other benefits: more suppliers of mATX boards, and better chipsets, so you'll likely get[B] a board with more features, for less.[/B][/QUOTE] This is the biggest thing that keeps me from recommending AMD systems. The feature set just isn't there. People with 6 series Sandy Bridge boards are upgrading just to get new features. Their processor is actually fine. I'd second the 4690k recommendation. Strap a Noctua D15 to it or a Phanteks T14 and you can overclock it very well.

As if I have a choice to choose AMD when I cannot find a decent board to support it. Thank you both for your help, I will definitely keep more variance in my benchmark websites. Regardless of price the CPU will definitely be water cooled with the most silent case fans I can find. Especially after the hassle I've had with this fucking midi tower that weighs 20kg and sounds like a small car. [b]Edit:[/b] I will consider the i5 as it seems like the best option although its difficult to see how far down it is on passmark when I've trusted it for so long.

Yeah a 4690k and Gigabyte Z97x-Gaming 7 would be a great combo for you. Though the motherboard is a bit overkill if you don't plan on maxing out that chip's potential OC under water.

[QUOTE=dot.rich;47553654]As if I have a choice to choose AMD when I cannot find a decent board to support it. Thank you both for your help, I will definitely keep more variance in my benchmark websites. Regardless of price the CPU will definitely be water cooled with the most silent case fans I can find. Especially after the hassle I've had with this fucking midi tower that weighs 20kg and sounds like a small car. [b]Edit:[/b] I will consider the i5 as it seems like the best option although its difficult to see how far down it is on passmark when I've trusted it for so long.[/QUOTE] I'd never looked into Passmark (I generally ignore any "general-purpose" benchmark, in favor of special-purpose benchmarks) but your posts made me look into it, and I don't like what I see. For one, their "CPU tests" loudly claim support for 3DNow, which was an x86 extension a) was first released back in 1998, b) only ever used by AMD, VIA, and other non-Intel chipmakers, c) superceded by SSE, and completely outclassed by the time SSE4 hit, and d) [I]dropped[/I] by AMD five years ago. You literally cannot buy a new chip that uses it. And yet Passmark still doesn't just test for it, they advertize that they test for it. That alone makes me suspect they haven't truly improved their benchmark in over a decade. No modern software will use a feature like that, so why benchmark it? And computer usage in general has changed massively since the late 90s, any benchmarks from then are really only useful for comparing modern computers to old ones to see how far we've come.

[QUOTE=gman003-main;47553776]I'd never looked into Passmark (I generally ignore any "general-purpose" benchmark, in favor of special-purpose benchmarks) but your posts made me look into it, and I don't like what I see. For one, their "CPU tests" loudly claim support for 3DNow, which was an x86 extension a) was first released back in 1998, b) only ever used by AMD, VIA, and other non-Intel chipmakers, c) superceded by SSE, and completely outclassed by the time SSE4 hit, and d) [I]dropped[/I] by AMD five years ago. You literally cannot buy a new chip that uses it. And yet Passmark still doesn't just test for it, they advertize that they test for it. That alone makes me suspect they haven't truly improved their benchmark in over a decade. No modern software will use a feature like that, so why benchmark it? And computer usage in general has changed massively since the late 90s, any benchmarks from then are really only useful for comparing modern computers to old ones to see how far we've come.[/QUOTE] Yeah, passmark is pretty terrible. As is most of that company's software.

My curiosity has me ask questions again. Can a processor be bought and installed on a computer by replacing the existing computer's processor with the new? Or would it be cheaper to just buy a computer with a better processor installed? Any gaming processors, or PCs, to recommend, both in general and with a reasonable power to price ratio? What does water cooling mean? Is actual water involved? What does the fan do? How does somebody 'build' a computer? What parts are vital for a working computer aside from a processor and a hard drive? What exactly happens when the processor, well, processes? I hear it's something related to CPU and GPU.

[QUOTE=Nitro836;47554382]My curiosity has me ask questions again. Can a processor be bought and installed on a computer by replacing the existing computer's processor with the new? Or would it be cheaper to just buy a computer with a better processor installed?[/QUOTE] Yes, but not all processors are compatible with any given motherboard. Usually you can only upgrade to a better processor from the same family, and the same generation. [QUOTE=Nitro836;47554382]What does water cooling mean? Is actual water involved? What does the fan do?[/QUOTE] Water cooling does use actual water. It's still fundamentally cooled by air, though, water is just used to transfer the heat to a radiator, one bigger and better-positioned than you could attach to the CPU directly. It's like a car engine. Instead of putting all the cooling fins on the engine block, they run some channels through it and hook it up to a radiator that has more surface area, and can be placed where it gets more airflow. [QUOTE=Nitro836;47554382]How does somebody 'build' a computer? What parts are vital for a working computer aside from a processor and a hard drive?[/QUOTE] Absolutely required: motherboard, CPU, RAM, case, power supply, and some sort of storage (hard drive or solid-state drive). Technically, with some trickery you can cut out the storage and boot from the network, but that takes a lot of work and isn't worth it. And a graphics card may not be optional - most CPUs have a GPU built in these days, but some do not, and you'll basically need one. As for how, you screw everything in place, then plug all the cables in. It's actually quite simple. It's been compared to Lego - it's not [I]quite[/I] that easy, but it's pretty simple. [QUOTE=Nitro836;47554382]What exactly happens when the processor, well, processes? I hear it's something related to CPU and GPU.[/QUOTE] High-level synopsis (because if you want to know absolutely everything, I'll be busy writing a response for the next three years or so): Computer processors do math. That's it. Some of it's not entirely what you would normally consider math - Boolean logic, for example, is the math of resolving statements like "if this and that or the other thing but not this, do that". But it's all math. A CPU is the main processor (it stands for "Central Processing Unit"). It's in charge of everything else, and it generally does a lot on its own as well. Most programs run entirely on the CPU, as does the operating system. The CPU also sends instructions to the other parts, as directed, telling the hard drive "I need this data" or the GPU "draw this thing". The GPU is the graphics processor. It's designed to do a lot of very simple math at once - because computer graphics works using a massive matrix of numbers, to represent each pixel on the screen. So it's designed to mainly do simple arithmetic and trigonometry, on a lot of numbers at once. The GPU can be integrated with the CPU, where they're in the same physical package even though they process as distinct elements, or it can be on a separate card, with its own cooling and memory. Usually gaming computers use the latter, since that format lets you have a bigger, more powerful GPU. The GPU is also responsible for outputting video signals.

Since installing Windows 8.1 I have this weird issue with certain games where if I try to run them they load up but the whole time the screen is flashing and repeatedly playing the device connect sound. Any ideas? Tried various drivers. [editline]19th April 2015[/editline] Solved it, turns out it was either the oculus rift interfering or my gpu had come loose or something, unplugged the oculus and gave the gpu a wiggle and now it is fine :s

Is there anything special about the My Documents/Pictures/Videos folders on Windows? I know you can point them to another folder but I'm planning to format my secondary drive and use it as storage. I'll also want to point those shortcuts to folders on it.

Changing their locations to your storage drive is one of the first things you should do when you install. It is simple and self-explanatory.

You mean during Windows installation? I'm just going to format my secondary drive and make the folders myself, shouldn't be any problems.