Topic: No, I will not fix your computer. (Read 61884 times)

Doom · « **Reply #140 on:** May 29, 2009, 06:00:03 PM »

Hey, so, I got my new comp in January and I've turned the thing off and treated it like a princess whenever I've been out of the house or asleep for any period greater than ten minutes.

I forgot to do that for the two hours I was hanging out with my dad today. Looks like an electrical surge fried my motherboard. Cool. It's under warranty, but holy balls.

See you Shadow Moses dudes in a few days. I'll try to be less of a psychotic: I've got the time to practice meditating now.

Mongrel · « **Reply #141 on:** May 30, 2009, 04:36:44 AM »

Er, not trying to be a nagging asshole here, but do you not use a UPS? Or at least a decent surge protector?

Brentai · « **Reply #142 on:** May 30, 2009, 06:18:29 AM »

In fairness, I never have, and I've never had a power surge.

I also kick my computer regularly and almost never turn it off. It's coming up on the end of its 3-year warranty.

I guess what I'm trying to say is sorry for the shit luck Doom.

Doom · « **Reply #143 on:** May 30, 2009, 06:40:42 AM »

Yes I have a surge protector but I always turned the damn computer off anyway except the one time.

Anyways happy ending: switched monitors and everything is fine. I don't know why the standard boot-up noises were so subdued last night(I was numbed by shock, perhaps?) but hey everything works and we're just down to 1/2 monitors!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oljMHQvUhS0

Doom · « **Reply #144 on:** May 30, 2009, 07:05:34 AM »

oh god how can one human experience this much euphoria

Thad · « **Reply #145 on:** May 30, 2009, 01:37:10 PM »

Our thunderstorm last week (the one where the power went out and I put my hand on a tack and got sideways rain in my face through the window) knocked out one of our external hard drive enclosures. (Drive itself is probably fine, but neither Brad nor I have had the time to get in there and check.) It was, of course, the only one of the drives that Brad does not obsessively back up to the network every night.

Kazz · « **Reply #146 on:** May 30, 2009, 03:51:51 PM »

Doom: Wasn't there a huge thunderstorm in your area last night? I know it hit most of the east coast.

Re Vsync: I was running Portal yesterday, and I ran it both with VSync and without it. Without Vsync, I was getting 200+ fps, but the image tore itself to bits every time I rotated. Turning on Vsync made the framerate 75fps (totally, ridiculously acceptable) and no image tearing.

The new machine is... is just...

Doom · « **Reply #147 on:** May 30, 2009, 03:57:53 PM »

Yeah, it was huge. I rode it out the first time(Like 2 PM) and apparently it came back at 8 PM and I left the comp on. I guess my monitor or one of it's cables is fried.

Lottel · « **Reply #148 on:** June 11, 2009, 05:20:40 AM »

I downloaded a program yesterday. Programed errored. System files were deleted. More errors. Ran programs to fix problems. More errors. Laptop won't even log in.
Now I have to find my bootup CDs and whatnot after they got shuffled about in two moves. Online now thanks to my DSi. Don't think I'll be on much until I fix my problem or kill myself trying.

Mongrel · « **Reply #149 on:** June 11, 2009, 05:34:08 AM »

What the heck did you download?

Lottel · « **Reply #150 on:** June 11, 2009, 05:47:30 AM »

~~porn~~ forget the name actually but it was something so I could change the visual style of vista. It was supposed to be a nice, simple download.

Sigh. Ah well. This is why I make so many back ups of everything.

Mongrel · « **Reply #151 on:** June 14, 2009, 08:53:58 PM »

Ooohkay, looking for a budget upgrade for the old computer since it looks like it may be inadvisable to blow a wad on a new computer in the next few months. Upgrade is mostly for gaming purposes, TF2 and some older games.

Here's what I have:

AMD Athlon 6400 CPU (3200+, single-core)
ASUS motherboard, s939 socket (accepts compatible dual-core processors), HT1000, GeForce 6150 + nForce 430 VGA integrated.

That's right, integrated graphics. In my defense, I was on an extreme budget the last time I had to assemble a new computer and this actually works surprisingly well. I still have better graphics than a surprising number of my friends.

Slots are PCI-E. Computer build is about... four years old?

Anyway, the suggestion that is being made is to pick up a graphics card. Specifically, the ATI Radeon 4770 (512 mb). It's had fantastic reviews for a budget graphics card ($125 or so), and if I'm going to spend $250+ on a new graphics card, then I'd just say fuck it and buy a whole new computer to put it in. This is a low risk option that should have decent rewards.

Alternatively, one thing that has not been discussed is a new CPU. I think i only want to look at this option if a graphics card will not net me any significant improvements.

I am NOT looking to make the system ready for a new game that has yet to come out. That's the main difference between this plan and the plan from some months ago and another reason the budget is so very low. Applications that I am shooting for improvement in are older, so TF2 is probably the most intensive thing I've got.

Basically, I'm looking push maybe another 8 months to a year out of my patience with this computer, then buy a new one anyway. I don't want to have any regrets about the money I spend on this short-term upgrade, so the budget really isn't much, maybe $150 or so.

Thoughts?

Also, if the consensus here is that the ATI 4770 is the way to go, does anybody know where I can GET one? seems like everyone in Toronto is sold out and it's backordered everywhere here with no guarantees of further deliveries, even though it only came out April 30th. I checked several online retailers, but it seems to be in short supply online as well.

MadMAxJr · « **Reply #152 on:** June 15, 2009, 08:22:36 AM »

Mongrel:
Any objections to Nvidia cards? I'd say anything in the 8000 series might work for you. When stepping up to a new PCI-E card, beware the power requirements! Most cards will say how big of a power supply you need in wattage, the real concern is how much amperage the card needs from your power supply 12 volt rails.

"Wait Max, what the hell did you just say?"

Example:

My videocard requires 26 amps. (specifications tab, system requirements. Info like this is not on all cards in newegg, consult manufacturer pages)

My power supply has two 12 volt rails (specifications tab, output. +12v1 and +12v2) that supply 22 and 24 amps. This is plenty for my video card and ensures I will not likely damage my video card due to power needs.

EDIT: Amperage information on your current power supply can be found on the specs sticker which is somewhere on your supply.

Unrelated:
Technologizer.com has a great piece on 15 PC design flaws that was a great read at work this morning.

Mongrel · « **Reply #153 on:** June 15, 2009, 08:46:08 AM »

I have no particular objections to nVidia cards, just that the ATI one has been suggested by quite a large number of people as extremely good value for money.

I'm smart enough to know that that doesn't automatically mean that I'll net an improvement based on my rig, but it seems like a solid choice.

Brentai · « **Reply #154 on:** June 15, 2009, 09:29:01 AM »

Also keep in mind physical space.

The main impediment to upgrading my current PC is that Dell crowded everything into the case so much and then soldered it. It's the main reason why I want to build my next comp. With a very big case.

François · « **Reply #155 on:** June 15, 2009, 02:48:54 PM »

My first sound card on this machine couldn't record from a microphone because the captured sound was always at a ridiculously low volume no matter how loud I screamed.

I got a new sound card, and I was satisfied with it because I could finally chat on Steam games at a reasonable volume. However, now that I try recording stuff, I find that I still have the low volume problem on everything else. The Windows sound recorder, the recording test in the sound properties, skype, audacity, goldwave, camtasia, everything. Except the voice chat on Steam, which is totally fine and loud and clear. What's so special about Steam? According to the research I've done it seems to rely entirely on Windows settings just like everything else.

It's driving me nuts. I know the sound is making it to my machine just fine, because if it didn't it wouldn't work on Steam either. But if it makes it there, which one of these other fucking tubes is clogged all to hell and where can I buy some computer Drano?

I wonder if I could bypass the entire thing with a USB headset. I hear they basically have the sound card built-in, so maybe that would do it.

Or maybe it's time to move on to sound card the third. Ehhh.

Mongrel · « **Reply #156 on:** June 15, 2009, 03:16:26 PM »

Quote from: MadMAxJr on June 15, 2009, 08:22:36 AM

Mongrel:
Any objections to Nvidia cards? I'd say anything in the 8000 series might work for you. When stepping up to a new PCI-E card, beware the power requirements! Most cards will say how big of a power supply you need in wattage, the real concern is how much amperage the card needs from your power supply 12 volt rails.

"Wait Max, what the hell did you just say?"

Example:

My videocard requires 26 amps. (specifications tab, system requirements. Info like this is not on all cards in newegg, consult manufacturer pages)

My power supply has two 12 volt rails (specifications tab, output. +12v1 and +12v2) that supply 22 and 24 amps. This is plenty for my video card and ensures I will not likely damage my video card due to power needs.

EDIT: Amperage information on your current power supply can be found on the specs sticker which is somewhere on your supply.

Unrelated:
Technologizer.com has a great piece on 15 PC design flaws that was a great read at work this morning.

Well, I confirmed it this afternoon. My board draws very low power and my power supply is rated to 350 watts (+more than enough amps).

So, I return to my original questions:

1) Does this seem like the best "$100" (more like $150) upgrade?
2) You mentioned nVidia cards... did you have an alternate card with a similar output and price range in mind? nVidia does match my Mmotherboards, and I heard most half-life derived engines are slightly friendlier to nVidia chipsets (though I'm taking that one with a grain of salt).
3) Is there any possibility that I am barking up the wrong tree by going for a graphics card?

Oh BTW, I already have 2Gb RAM. Solid and basic, more won't do me much good.

***

Zed, I use a USB mic/headphones. They work great.

Saturn · « **Reply #157 on:** June 15, 2009, 03:26:14 PM »

Quote from: MadMAxJr on June 15, 2009, 08:22:36 AM

Technologizer.com has a great piece on 15 PC design flaws that was a great read at work this morning.

13's picture made me laugh
HELP ME MY COMPUTER IS 5 FEET WIDE

François · « **Reply #158 on:** June 16, 2009, 12:53:02 PM »

Just to see if there was anything at all I hadn't done before ordering some USB headphones, I tried using my old worthless sound card to record again.

It...

It works now.

For everything.

Except for Steam.

That is FUCKED UP SHIT. That is HITLER riding a NUKE into an ORPHANAGE of JEWISH KITTENS.

WHAT THE HELL.

Brentai · « **Reply #159 on:** June 16, 2009, 01:09:43 PM »

Quote from: Brentai on June 10, 2009, 07:42:59 PM

Apparently my new mic likes to disable itself in the Control Panel. Well la de da.

So, yeah... I really doubt I'm going to ever join a game in the middle of something more specifically weird to me.

Quote from: Constantine on June 10, 2009, 07:47:37 PM

It's probably Source switching your mic when you join game. My girlfriend had the same problem, and we found that altering the cfg file was the way to go.

FYI I did exactly what you did, unplugged my mic from my sound card and jacked it into a C-Audio USB donglethingy. My actual sound is still being served by the card though, which makes for a fascinating addition to this particular ever-growing-tangle-of-wires-behind-an-electronic-system.

News:

Author Topic: No, I will not fix your computer. (Read 61884 times)