Topic: No, I will not fix your computer. (Read 65292 times)

PhoenixUltima · « **Reply #480 on:** February 06, 2012, 11:15:35 PM »

Usually I see the "avast has downloaded new definitions" thing pop up 2-3 times a day, so they're pretty good about keeping up with shit (I assume).

Thad · « **Reply #481 on:** February 07, 2012, 06:44:49 AM »

Avast flagged Steam itself as a trojan over the weekend, but it apparently only lasted 90 minutes so that's probably nothing to do with what you're seeing.

PhoenixUltima · « **Reply #482 on:** February 07, 2012, 06:52:17 AM »

Definitely not, as it wasn't on when the problem cropped up. Still, malware bytes didn't find anything (the second time - first time crashed with an error of some sort, I turned off avast to do the second and it ran fine) and neither did Spybot, and my homepage (in both firefox and IE) is still google and I'm not getting any odd behavior out of my computer (more than usual, anyway), so either everything's fine or I got a particularly stealthy virus that's immune to scanning and has the good sense to not throw up a billion red flags that basically scream "HEY YOU GOT A VIRUS NOW I'M STEALING ALL YOUR SHIT THANKS". Which is possible, but for my sanity I'm assuming the former. Probably just a scummy advertisement rather than an actual virus.

Thad · « **Reply #483 on:** February 07, 2012, 06:56:36 AM »

Yeah, most likely. You didn't click on it or give them your credit card so you're probably okay.

Dooly · « **Reply #484 on:** February 07, 2012, 07:52:09 PM »

Why did you have Avast turned off while using Steam anyway? Was it to prevent popups during the game? It's possible to mute all of Avast's sounds and it says in my copy that it won't display anything during fullscreen applications even with silent mode turned off.

TA · « **Reply #485 on:** February 07, 2012, 08:51:33 PM »

Yeah, I've never seen an Avast popup during a fullscreened game.

PhoenixUltima · « **Reply #486 on:** February 08, 2012, 04:26:20 AM »

No, it was just to improve performance. It helped Skyrim run better, at least.

Still, I'll probably just leave it running and alt-tab to firefox from now on.

Niku · « **Reply #487 on:** March 04, 2012, 04:35:18 AM »

My computer started overheating pretty badly the other day to the point of it shutting itself down when I was trying to run the original Mass Effect. I figured that there's probably a cheap solution (new video card, new cooling, etc) but that it's about time for an overhaul anyway and put in an order for the parts for a new machine yesterday. This morning, even stuff like WoW is causing shutdowns. LOOKS LIKE I WAS JUST IN TIME

François · « **Reply #488 on:** March 24, 2012, 04:18:47 PM »

My monitor's been having a real weird time of it lately, what with having hella problems displaying anything if it's just being turned on, as in the power light shutting itself off after a few seconds*, and also there are discolored areas that, while not burn-in themselves, are actually susceptible to image persistence in moderate contrast situations. Plus it's pretty ancient, it goes up to 1280x1024 basically. Basically it's about time I changed it.

I'm looking at taking the widescreen plunge on this, which is also way overdue. That said, the monitors in my price range are like 1600x900. I have like no experience with widescreen in any capacity and I'm kind of anal about vertical space so I was wondering-

Wait what the hell is my problem, I'd lose like 124 pixels of vertical space, what am I even worried about. Everyone's doing widescreen, it must be completely worth it. Never mind, guys. Sheesh. I guess I had to type it.

*: Once it's on it's fine for an indeterminate amount of time though, so I just don't shut down my computer anymore. Which is probably gonna be a problem.

Mongrel · « **Reply #489 on:** March 24, 2012, 04:24:51 PM »

What's your budget like? I dunno what's in your area, but there's a whole bunch of super-discounters in Toronto who can get you something decent and cheap, with a vertical resolution better than 900, I'm sure.

Maybe the stores aren't all available, but Tiger Direct and Canada Computers ought to have online stores at least.

François · « **Reply #490 on:** March 24, 2012, 04:47:32 PM »

Well with the budget, it's like... I need a monitor, that's non-negotiable, I need my computer for too much. In that regard, if I had to spend, like, a five hundo, I would. It'd hurt, but I could, and I would. I was looking at the cheapest ones on newegg.ca (that wouldn't be a downgrade size-wise; the one I have now is 19 inches) and they were around a hundred bucks, and that's about where I supposed it would be irresponsible to pay a lot more than that.

That said I am generally smart enough about my finances to have a small rainy day fund, and a monitor certainly sounds like the sort of thing that warrants paying extra for decent quality, since I use it so damn much. So I'm like super cheap but flexible I guess?

You know, I live within walking distance of a bunch of small computer shops so I'll probably check out what they got even if just to have an idea of what I even want to settle for to begin with. I'm all for online shopping but I'll need to have a look at some in person at least. Just gonna have to hope mine holds out until monday.

Mongrel · « **Reply #491 on:** March 24, 2012, 05:43:49 PM »

Yeah, I haven't looked recently, but I'm sure you could get something quite decent for $150-200. Examples:

http://www.canadacomputers.com/specials.php?category=LCD%2FLED+Monitors

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/Category/guidedSearch.asp?CatId=12&cm_re=Homepage-_-Spot%2024-_-CatId_12

Thad · « **Reply #492 on:** March 24, 2012, 06:42:42 PM »

Well, I don't know what the Candian equivalent to Dealzmodo is, but I've got Dealzmodo in my RSS and check it daily. When I decided it was time for a new monitor I pretty much watched and waited until the one I wanted fell to US$230.

Not sure if this is still the case, but at that time at least Samsung was the least expensive name brand. It's not much more than your off-brand Suziba whatsit and is probably a better monitor (though when you come right down to it everybody uses the same TFT's anyway). I'm quite pleased with my Samsung, but of course keep an eye on reviews.

And with something like a monitor it's probably best to go check them out in-store if possible. You don't have to buy at the same store you look at, of course, it's just a good way to get a bead on what they actually look like right in front of you.

Mongrel · « **Reply #493 on:** March 24, 2012, 06:54:00 PM »

I too would recommend Samsung. They're not so good as to go crazy chasing one, but if you have a choice between roughly equal Samsung and off-brand products, go for the Samsung.

Syl · « **Reply #494 on:** March 24, 2012, 10:19:00 PM »

I don't know what the canada equivalent is, but you can easily get 19-25inch 1080p monitors for $100-150 on newegg or woot practically 2-3x a week. I'm running dual "debranded" 25inch 1080p HP monitors that look gorgeous and cost me $130 and $150 if i recall correctly. (HP 2509 and 2511)

François · « **Reply #495 on:** March 31, 2012, 12:16:50 PM »

Welp, I've been bitten by the "support a local business" bug. Got a LG 22" LED for 160. They got an aggressive dead pixel policy (which it turns out I probably won't need to take advantage of, thank the Lord), and they're literally four blocks away so the shipping costs are like whatever calories it took me to walk three minutes.

This thing is sexy. The worries I had about losing vertical space were the worries of an idiot; it's like three centimeters shorter, but I will stop noticing within a week. I should have done this years ago.

Mongrel · « **Reply #496 on:** April 17, 2012, 06:15:40 PM »

Anybody looking to buy or assemble a new computer or buy new computer parts soon may find this huge image useful.

Brentai · « **Reply #497 on:** April 17, 2012, 09:30:13 PM »

I haven't digested all that because JESUS FUCK WHY AN INFOGRAPHIC, but I want to point out that anybody who tells you your computer can't be future-proofed is old fashioned. My computer is over 5 years old and still plays most things at max or near-max settings. I did upgrade to a newer mid-range GPU a couple years ago, but still.

Moore's Law has kind of fucked off the PC sphere and moved to mobile devices, so the only obsoletion event you really have to fear is the wholesale obsoletion of PCs altogether.

Mongrel · « **Reply #498 on:** April 17, 2012, 09:45:15 PM »

I keep laughing when I hear that. No matter how amazing mobile devices get, they still won't have 20"+ screens until we get crazy-ass holographic technology that doesn't need a backing of any kind. And a PC-size case will always be able to hold more tech at a significantly lower price than a smartphone case considering there's like an order of magnitude's difference in volume constraints. Mobile data rates will probably always carry some cost premium over landline data, even if it is only marginal.

Maybe several steps down the line there will be some other reasons PCs become obsolete, but amazing iphones won't be one of them. Maybe PCs will be a little less ubiquitous, sure, but they're far from disappearing.

A better analogue is the car market. As the market for computing matures, more and more sizes will creep in to accommodate people's individual specific needs. We're already seeing tablet/phone size hybrids and interestingly, people are buying them (even though they make for fairly awkward phones). PCs are more like the vans and trucks of the personal computing world [Ted Stevens joke goes here]; whereas smart phones are more like compact cars - good for short hops here and there.

Classic · « **Reply #499 on:** April 17, 2012, 10:14:37 PM »

Quote from: Brentai on April 17, 2012, 09:30:13 PM

anybody who tells you your computer can't be future-proofed is old fashioned

But "future-proofed" is a relative term with easy-to-move goalposts, so it's a trivially true "claim".

I do kinda buy that SSDs are still going to be improving at a brisk-ish pace though.

News:

Author Topic: No, I will not fix your computer. (Read 65292 times)