Computer General Discussion Thread

[Salandriagado]

I'd imagine not much in the short term, you'll have to wait for the 20XX's to mature as right now the enthusiast pricing is gonna stay for a bit.

Hopefully it will not be caught up in the crypto-currency craze.

The crypto market is basically fucked at the minute.

And a good second-hand graphics card is not easy to find because one cannot tell if it had been used for crypto-mining.

They're often in a better state than ex-gaming cards. The fans tend to have more wear, but crypto cards tend to be ran at consistent temperatures and loads, so the actual cards are generally better off than those that are subjected to highly variable loads/heating, like gaming cards.

The card would have been under a very heavy workload, I would guess. I'd say that might cause wear and tear on the card.

More specifically the heat and overclocking alone would cause damage to the card like warping and whatnot.

So by the time it gets to you that card has very little time on it.

Essentially without exception, crypto cards are massively underclocked (it's more profitable that way, because electricity use drops by more than performance does), and ran at reasonably low temperatures (mostly due to said underclocks)

[Grand Britannia]

So anyone have any idea why a windows computer would decided to completely murder all of its audio drivers from time to time, and cause certain applications (games) to crash after it does it.

I've tried reinstalling the drivers, enabling and disabling them, none of that works. I'm forced to go and restart the computer.

I've been having that issue with the newest build of Win10. Windows is doubling down on being ass.

It's getting really frustrating.

[Immoren]

I do wonder if I should even bother trying to fix issues with current PC's problem of "not waking up w/o turning off from PSU" or if I should get new PC and scavenge working components for some budget PC for family, given my current PC is build around AM3+ MOBO and FX-8xxx processor. lol

[Industrial Republics]

I do wonder if I should even bother trying to fix issues with current PC's problem of "not waking up w/o turning off from PSU" or if I should get new PC and scavenge working components for some budget PC for family, given my current PC is build around AM3+ MOBO and FX-8xxx processor. lol

I am upgraded from Bulldozer to Ryzen recently, it's pretty cheap to get better performance. Only DDR4 is robbery right now.

[Minoa]

I do wonder if I should even bother trying to fix issues with current PC's problem of "not waking up w/o turning off from PSU" or if I should get new PC and scavenge working components for some budget PC for family, given my current PC is build around AM3+ MOBO and FX-8xxx processor. lol

I am upgraded from Bulldozer to Ryzen recently, it's pretty cheap to get better performance. Only DDR4 is robbery right now.

DDR4 prices may come crashing down when DDR5 comes out but only if DDR5 sells well - DDR5 will be yet another attempt at cutting power consumption, and it seems it is all about saving energy. I don't know how it will be received by then again it is still in development.

[Nordengrund]

My C drive for Windows 10 is almost entirely full. I tried a disk cleanup but nothing happened when I clicked on it.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Essentially without exception, crypto cards are massively underclocked (it's more profitable that way, because electricity use drops by more than performance does), and ran at reasonably low temperatures (mostly due to said underclocks)

I'd assume that's the case on professional cryptominers (ie. really big businesses that most of what they do is setup cryptomining farms and most of their revenue comes from this).

But since mom-n-pop enterprises have sprung up, I would not hold my breath of they knowing they need to do this in order to extend the life of the graphics card. So I would not say "Essentially without exception", more like "generally", unless you have some kind of insight on mom-n-pop enterprises that get their cards from your local computer parts store that I don't.

[Cekoviu]

My C drive for Windows 10 is almost entirely full. I tried a disk cleanup but nothing happened when I clicked on it.

Clear these folders:

Code: Select all

C:\Windows\Users\[Nordengrund]\AppData\Local\Temp\
C:\Windows\Users\[Nordengrund]\Downloads\
C:\Windows\Temp\
C:\$Recycle.Bin


Also:

• Clear your browsing history, cache, etc. on any browsers you use.
• Run Revo Uninstaller to check for residual files from programs you uninstalled, and to review the applications on your system to ensure that you actually need them
• Run PC Decrapifier if you still have OEM bloatware taking up space
• Delete old, unneeded documents
• Move music, games, and videos to a secondary drive
• Restart your PC if you haven't done so in a while

Doing all of this periodically can free up a dozen or more gigabytes on a hard drive.

[Minoa]

Very soon, terabyte drives will be the norm as soon as the prices for SSD equivalents fall to a sensible level. A Samsung 1 TB SSD currently retails for £178.09, which is still higher than a 4 TB mechanical drive for about £100. The problem is that games are requiring more and more disk space, with GTA 5 demanding a whopping 72 GB.

[Salandriagado]

Essentially without exception, crypto cards are massively underclocked (it's more profitable that way, because electricity use drops by more than performance does), and ran at reasonably low temperatures (mostly due to said underclocks)

I'd assume that's the case on professional cryptominers (ie. really big businesses that most of what they do is setup cryptomining farms and most of their revenue comes from this).

But since mom-n-pop enterprises have sprung up, I would not hold my breath of they knowing they need to do this in order to extend the life of the graphics card. So I would not say "Essentially without exception", more like "generally", unless you have some kind of insight on mom-n-pop enterprises that get their cards from your local computer parts store that I don't.

It's nothing to do with making the cards last longer: it's just more cost-efficient in terms of electricity consumption. Anyone who managed to so much as read one of the first guides that pop up when you google "how to mine bitcoin" or similar will have them underclocked as much as they can.

[Immoren]

So. I know that internet infrastructure is most important determinator you network speed and latency, but does network adapter affect it in anyway? Because it looks like after getting new computer I have much faster results in speedtesting. Then again that might be that this being relatively empty computer there are less programs competing for internet connection atm. And it's not like that at this point any gains in speed make noticeable difference.

[An Alan Smithee Nation]

I'm amazed how Windows 10 keeps finding new ways to annoy and disappoint me.

[Valentine Z]

I'm amazed how Windows 10 keeps finding new ways to annoy and disappoint me.

Windows 10, I find your lack of stability... disturbing.

With that aside, now I have a hardware problem. Either because I stabbed my keys too hard, or something else entirely, some keys on my Inspiron 7559 is turning on and off at certain intervals:

0 p ' / [ ]

These are the keys that are half alive and half dead. Good news is, I can buy a replacement part for USD 15, AND it has backlight! Something that the original keyboard was lacking.

[Minoa]

I'm amazed how Windows 10 keeps finding new ways to annoy and disappoint me.

Windows 10, I find your lack of stability... disturbing.

It may be in reference to https://www.howtogeek.com/fyi/bug-in-wi ... -data-now/

There was a bug in earlier versions of Windows 10’s Latest Update that many allege deleted documents: no one should expect this destructive bug to happen in the first place.

[Valentine Z]

Windows 10, I find your lack of stability... disturbing.

It may be in reference to https://www.howtogeek.com/fyi/bug-in-wi ... -data-now/

There was a bug in earlier versions of Windows 10’s Latest Update that many allege deleted documents: no one should expect this destructive bug to happen in the first place.

What the s-... okay, that's even worse!

Damn, I should have stayed on Windows 7 or even 8.

[Salandriagado]

So. I know that internet infrastructure is most important determinator you network speed and latency, but does network adapter affect it in anyway? Because it looks like after getting new computer I have much faster results in speedtesting. Then again that might be that this being relatively empty computer there are less programs competing for internet connection atm. And it's not like that at this point any gains in speed make noticeable difference.

Speed: Broadly, whatever was the bottleneck before is the limiting factor. If you had very fast infrastructure/etc. but a shitty adaptor, then fixing the adaptor will improve things.
Latency: The sum of the latencies of all of the individual components is what matters, so yes, if your adaptor was shitty and adding a lot of latency, that will make a difference.

[Corrian]

Very soon, terabyte drives will be the norm as soon as the prices for SSD equivalents fall to a sensible level. A Samsung 1 TB SSD currently retails for £178.09, which is still higher than a 4 TB mechanical drive for about £100. The problem is that games are requiring more and more disk space, with GTA 5 demanding a whopping 72 GB.

We just bought a 2 TB external for our PS4 for $80. They're getting insanely cheap. I remember when I bought a 500 GB for my computer for $60 and thinking that was a good deal.

[Corrian]

Also here is a question I'm curious about: Are you better off getting an ultra wide monitor or 3 monitors? Let's exclude price differences here, I'm just legitimately curious what would be better overall. I know 3 kind of makes a screen split, but I dunno if ultra wide ones curve as nice for the view for 3 monitors.

[Cekoviu]

Also here is a question I'm curious about: Are you better off getting an ultra wide monitor or 3 monitors? Let's exclude price differences here, I'm just legitimately curious what would be better overall. I know 3 kind of makes a screen split, but I dunno if ultra wide ones curve as nice for the view for 3 monitors.

I really dislike multiple monitors myself; virtual desktops are perfectly able to deal with having lots of windows. You probably do get a bit more screen space with multiple screens, though.

[Corrian]

Freaking Geforce Experience sucks ass.

[Minoa]

Also here is a question I'm curious about: Are you better off getting an ultra wide monitor or 3 monitors? Let's exclude price differences here, I'm just legitimately curious what would be better overall. I know 3 kind of makes a screen split, but I dunno if ultra wide ones curve as nice for the view for 3 monitors.

I was thinking about a simple 15-20” retina-style monitor, preferably with the ability to dim it at night, with f.lux doing the temperature. Not too large, otherwise it is likely to be difficult to tilt it to the optimal angle.

[Corrian]

Does anyone know what could cause your computer to just randomly here and there load webpages extremely slowly, and occasionally outright freeze up your computer? I had my computer crash and restart itself twice in one day a couple of days ago. I would just have a link eternally loading, and then at some points it just freeze everything up. Could a bad adapter which seems to have a spotty internet connection do that? I had it disconnect me from GTA V Online like 3 or 4 times yesterday and my sister had no issues whatsoever. I also updated my drivers after the 2 crashes and it hasn't crashed since, but I'm not entirely convinced the issue is fixed as it just froze up for a brief moment and I've had things be weird with loading a couple of times, though maybe not to the same extent.

[Nordengrund]

Okay, I’m having some Wi-fi issues. It is very slow for me except when I am on cellular data. Since I just moved out of my mom’s house, I am still using her ISP and I pay her every month for it. Since I moved in with my dad, though, I am using his network. Also, we are always using our computers, so do any of these things come in conflict? How can I make my Wi-fi faster and more stable (as it often likes to jump back and forth between the network and the cellular data).

[Cekoviu]

Okay, I’m having some Wi-fi issues. It is very slow for me except when I am on cellular data. Since I just moved out of my mom’s house, I am still using her ISP and I pay her every month for it. Since I moved in with my dad, though, I am using his network. Also, we are always using our computers, so do any of these things come in conflict? How can I make my Wi-fi faster and more stable (as it often likes to jump back and forth between the network and the cellular data).

It may just be that he's on a slow plan. If you're willing to pay yourself, you can get a faster service.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

Okay, I’m having some Wi-fi issues. It is very slow for me except when I am on cellular data. Since I just moved out of my mom’s house, I am still using her ISP and I pay her every month for it. Since I moved in with my dad, though, I am using his network. Also, we are always using our computers, so do any of these things come in conflict? How can I make my Wi-fi faster and more stable (as it often likes to jump back and forth between the network and the cellular data).

What band is it (a/b/g/n/ac)? How old is your router? And is it an ISP provided router/modem or is a modem/router combination (either separately or together in one device) that you guys own?

Also, yes, the more computers you have connected the more bandwidth it uses as you use all devices concurrently, so there's less to use for your cellphone. Tho your network processes traffic usually on demand, meaning if you are just letting your computer sit idle on the network with no internet data being downloaded/uploaded it's not going to make a difference anyways.