![\"We](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/uH4Bb.jpg\")
I'm looking at getting a new smartphone, as my old one (a Sony Xperia E) has reached the end of its life. There are a few things it has to have:
\n\nAnd there are some things it would be nice to have, but I'd settle for something less.
\n\nI imagine there is a phone that satisfies all this; what do you recommend? Please include your reasoning in your answer, and any experiences you have of the phone you're recommending.
\n", "Title": "What's a good non-iPhone smartphone that's reasonably priced and specced?", "Tags": "|smartphones|", "Answer": "Why didn't anyone recommend the nexus 6p??\nIt is the latest nexus out there and scores virtually in almost all the aspects you mentioned and even exceeds a few
\n\nGorgeous display- boasts a QHD AMOLED and it is the best display on a smartphone and takes on samsung's flagships.
\n\nAwesome Specs- Android 6.0 Marshmallow with quickest software updates from Google
\nQuad-core 1.55 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A57, 3GB of RAM, Adreno 430 GPU; Snapdragon 810 v2 chipset
32GB, 64GB, or 128GB of storage
12.3MP camera with laser autofocus and dual-LED flash; 1.55\u00b5m pixels; 8MP selfie camera,
\n\n2160p video capture
Cat. 6 LTE (300Mbps); Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; Bluetooth 4.2; GPS/GLONASS; NFC; USB Type-C port with USB host
Fingerprint reader
Android Pay
3,450mAh Li-Po battery with fast charging
\n" }, { "Id": "6", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T17:23:39.157", "Body": "I have a remote server (running far, far away), which has a very important USB device plugged in (call T). Sometimes this device simply dies. If this happens, a simple plug out - plug in solves the problem on the spot. But to do that, somebody must be there physically, and do the plug out - plugin back with his own hands.
\n\nThis is what I would like to automate.
\n\nMy idea is to have another (USB or not) device, which can control the power line of another device, so:
\n\nAt work, in my lab, I am using a programmable USB hub from Acroname (https://acroname.com/store/s77-usbhub-2x4?sku=S77-USBHUB-2X4). If you have this attached to your server, you can reach through (remotely) and have the hub disable/enable any port on it's output. Pretty elegant and has saved me a bunch of time and space.
\n\nI think they have a USB 3.0 hub out now too.
\n" }, { "Id": "7", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T17:25:05.700", "Body": "I have read in many places online that a good smartphone camera doesn't solely depend on the amount of pixels. So, what else should I look in order to choose a good camera in a smartphone?
\n\nSorry, to the community at the outset for not being clear to the specifications of my requirements; I was taking a photo of two rainbow(a very rare thing) at the time prior to twilight. I had Nokia 6700c(5 MP) & took the photo but unfortunately all but the rainbows were in the photo. I then took the photo using my laptop's front camera(HP 2000) & though it was only 2 MP, it could take the image of the rainbow but only a single one with fine grains around it(which after googling, I saw it as noise; thanks to @feetwet). So, 2MP performed better than 5MP! But still the photo was not clear enough to catch the image of second rainbow. Also, I never could take the image of a distant plane neither by the phone nor by my laptop; no matter at what proximity the plane was, it always appeared as dot in the photo but the laptop still performed well w.r.t. the phone. I like to take the images of clouds, sky, halos of moon, planes, birds hovering etc... I only wanted to know why my laptop performed better than my phone despite my phone being superior w.r.t. pixels. Also, I do want to know what to use in order to remove those grains or noise & take the image of rainbow at twilight or prior to that; for all that, is pixel important or something else?
\n", "Title": "What should I look for besides pixel density/count when choosing a smartphone with a good camera?", "Tags": "|performance|smartphones|", "Answer": "Given your description of the shortcomings of your current camera, you want a camera with a large sensor (improved low-light performance and less \"noise\"), a very large optical zoom range, and a very wide wide-angle view.
\n\nMeasured in degrees, you need an 84\u02da field of view (or larger) for a rainbow, and a 5\u02da field of view (or smaller) for a distant airplane.
\n\nMeasured in \"35mm equivalent focal length\", you need a focal length of 19mm (or shorter) for a rainbow, and 500mm focal length (or longer) for a distant airplane.
\n\nZoom factor (numbers like \"10x\" or \"4x\") is meaningless without knowing the focal length/field of view of one end of the zoom range. You need at least a 25x optical zoom range; given that manufacturers usually bias their zoom range towards the telephoto end rather than the wide end, you may need to go much higher -- this will get expensive, and image quality at the extreme ends of the zoom range will be poor.
\n\nPixel count is generally one of the least important criteria when selecting a camera. One of these two images was created with a 6 MP camera, while the other was created with a 10 MP camera and scaled down. Which do you think is which?
\n" }, { "Id": "17", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T18:13:15.307", "Body": "I'm wondering what the advantages of using mechanical keyboards vs. traditional keyboards (i.e. membrane keyboards) are.
\n\nMy primary uses will be coding, productivity, and avoiding getting RSI.
\n", "Title": "Recommendations for a mechanical or traditional keyboard? Which is better?", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "In my experience (new mechanical user):
\n\nAdvantages
\n\n*Specifically a limitation of the USB protocol. This may be manufacturer specific, but I'm not sure. If anyone knows, comment below!
\n\nAesthetics
\n\nFor many people the aesthetics are important. If you spend a lot of money on something you often want it too look good. With my keyboard free custom keycaps and printing were included so mine looks like this:
\n\n
Disadvantages
\n\nCost is significantly higher than a normal keyboard (mine was US$200 approximately).
\n" }, { "Id": "18", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T18:13:16.910", "Body": "I have used the Logitech M570 for years, however when I compare the DPI on it to normal modern gaming mice it seems lackluster. I also would like to use all my fingers for buttons in games that require a lot of different keys and I can't help but feel they are wasted on the two + scroll that the mouse has.
\n\nI have also ordered a Japanese mouse call the Elcom M-XT1URBK with the promise of more DPI options and more buttons. Although I did like the way it was wired and I do currently use it I found three issues that lead me to look for other options:
\n\n\n\n", "Title": "What are my options for a thumb trackball for gaming?", "Tags": "|gaming|mice|trackball|", "Answer": "What are my options for a thumb trackball for gaming (aside from the two listed)?
\n
If you liked the Logitech M570 they now have the MX Ergo Plus, it has received favorable reviews with some minor complaints; price being the biggest concern.
\n\nThere's also the Elecom M-XPT1MRBK for a lower price, receiving favorable mention in the above review. The red trackball isn't for show, it improves the sensor's tracking.
\n\n![\"Elecom](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gbKAi.png\")
I want to create a private cloud on my home, and for this I want to know a good NAS device that performs the following:
\n\nOptional:
\n\nHave a look at SimpleNAS Pro. It is based on Banana Pi, costs under $100, has a SATA controller and it allows 2 HDD in RAID0/1 configuration.
\n" }, { "Id": "25", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T19:02:22.643", "Body": "I am building an ERP solution using Microsoft .net and SQL server 2012. I would expect about 20-30 users and my client would like to buy his own server rather than go with a cloud based server.
\n\nGiven the performance needs of a small enterprise with about 5 concurrent users using a web application (not directly accessing the server) which is the cheapest or the lowest configuration server that I could recommend.
\n\nI am considering if hot swappable components would be essential as the server is used primarily for an ERP and can be taken down if there is a component failure.
\n\nI was suggested a Dell Power Edge T20 Server, which seems to fit the client's budget, but not sure if there are better options for that sort of a budget.
\n", "Title": "Server Hardware Recommendation for ERP Application", "Tags": "|server|", "Answer": "I would think entry level servers with RAID, Hot swap and if needed with redundant Powersupply would be sufficient for this. Any of the entry level servers with Dell, HP and IBM should fit the bill. To keep budget low, SATA as opposed to SAS hard drives (keep in mind the reduced RPMs) and built-in SATA RAID can help
\n" }, { "Id": "29", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T19:22:22.013", "Body": "We're looking for a new desk for an FOH house-of-worship setting. Right now we're using an Allen & Heath GL2200, 32-channel. We love it. It's done everything we want, but it's getting up there in years and we need more aux sends.
\n\nVolunteers are (exclusively) using this, so it would be nice to have something with a not-terribly-steep learning curve. We're open to (and leaning towards) a digital desk.
\n\nWhat do I need to consider? Does anyone have experience with something that would be a good fit?
\n", "Title": "Sound board to replace a GL2200 in a house-of-worship FOH setting?", "Tags": "|mixing-console|audio|", "Answer": "Broadly-speaking, it would be silly to consider anything other than a digital desk at this point. That said, there will be a learning curve for people that are used to analog desks.
\n\nI've been operating a Yamaha LS9-32 at church for the past four years or so, and have found it to be an excellent board.
\n\nNow, for your requirements:
\n\n\n\n\nWe have a fairly flexible budget, but system under $10k would be best.
\n
Ours was purchased four years ago for ~$8500 US. I'm not certain, but logic says that it would be cheaper than that now.
\n\n\n\n\nWe'd really need to have at least 10 aux sends, plus stereo mains\n output.
\n
It has 16 aux sends in addition to the stereo mains.
\n\n\n\n\nWe'd like to have more inputs, but we've gotten along fine with 32.\n This is a want, not a need.
\n
The LS9-32 has 32 faders and 32 inputs on-board, and you can add an additional 32 inputs via an external digital input module if needed. The additional 32 channels are accessible on the desk by switching from the \"1-32 Layer\" to the \"33-64 Layer\".
\n\n\n\n\nIt shouldn't be any bigger physically than our GL2200, otherwise we\n have to start moving things around in the booth and we don't want to\n do that.
\n
The LS9-32 is roughly 35\"x20\". I wasn't able to find the specs of the GL2200 to compare size.
\n\nIn addition to the above, here are a few high-level features that I enjoy:
\n\nOur sound staff is exclusively non-pro volunteers (including myself), and while there was a bit of an adjustment period, all of them were able to pick up the basics fairly quickly, and have been expanding their usage and knowledge of the board each time they're on the schedule.
\n" }, { "Id": "36", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T19:40:30.473", "Body": "I'm sick of trying to use my mouse to do Photoshop drawing. I know the standard is to to use a digitizer (a.k.a., pen tablet), but I don't want to sink hundreds of dollars into one when I really just need something more ergonomic and responsive than a mouse for some details.
\n\nAre there any obvious entry-level digitizers, or is it not worth it until I'm ready to pay up for the pro-grade digitizers?
\n", "Title": "Inexpensive entry-level digitizer (a.k.a. graphics tablet) for Photoshop", "Tags": "|graphics-tablet|", "Answer": "No question: Get a Wacom Intuous. Available for under $100, this will provide all the key features serious graphic artists and photographers use in Photoshop, Illustrator, and the like: high resolution pressure sensitivity, touch sensitivity. It has a large enough surface that you might never feel the need to upgrade.
\n\nAnd you may even find it to be a useful replacement for your mouse in more traditional applications.
\n" }, { "Id": "42", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T19:57:54.133", "Body": "I'd like to fit a gaming PC in my living room, and am looking into small form factor ones.
\n\nI have been recommended the Alienware X51 series whose I appreciate the shape reminiscent of a gaming console, \nAbout Alienware one question I cannot find an answer for is if it would be safe to stack my PS3 on top of it (I do not have a lot of space in the living room)? I heard that the PC can get quite hot.
\n\nI also want to consider alternatives.
\n\nAre there other PC cases with shapes similar to the X51?
\nMost of the Mini-Itx have more like a \"brick\" shape, and seem harder to fit in the living room.
There are many many more options if you build your own system, and you can then be more flexible in terms of the components and the machine that you end up with. For example: are you looking to max out the graphics card? do you want to be able to upgrade said card relatively easily in a year?
\n\nThe other piece of advice is to not get too hung up on definitions. The HTPC cases are going to be more like what you are looking for in terms of looks and are perfectly capable of being gaming rigs. Take a look at the Silverstone cases as an example, and this one in particular for a fit in a living room:
\n\n![\"Lascala](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/UTnmZ.jpg\")
You might think that one is too big, after all it fits a standard ATX case, in which case you can check out the slim models etc. However, more space makes it easier to cool quietly and it looks just like an amp you might see as part of a normal home theater set up.
\n\nSilverstone are not the only game in town either, Streacom, Origen AE, Lian Li, Fractal Design have some amazing looking cases and more mainstream players like Corsair (the Bulldog is coming soon as of writing this) have options on the way.
\n\nIn terms of pre-built systems places like QuietPC have been offering excellent (and quiet, of course) options that would certainly fit in your living room.
\n\nAs to whether to stack your components, I would always recommend an air gap and no direct contact - even though the heat will generally exhaust out the back a lot of the small form factor units are going to radiate heat from the case directly.
\n\nI have cooked a wireless router while sitting on top of a PC and had overheating problems with an Apple TV for similar reasons. If you must stack, then always try to have the hottest component at the top.
\n" }, { "Id": "43", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T19:59:38.770", "Body": "For a hardware project, I'm looking for a simple, robust Bluetooth controller on which I can solder buttons. I found the Bluefruit EZ-Key but I don't like it that I can't change the name.
\n\nI've Googled quite a lot but cannot find any alternative. Are there any other standalone Bluetooth controllers around? Or is it possible to build one yourself?
\n", "Title": "Standalone Bluetooth controller recommendation", "Tags": "|bluetooth|", "Answer": "Red Bear labs has quite a few options. I have used the Blend micro and didn't encounter any problems. I am fairly certain you can change the name too.
\n\nhttp://redbearlab.com/blendmicro/
\n\nThey also have smaller/larger models
\n" }, { "Id": "48", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T20:40:30.147", "Body": "I am looking for a smartphone that I can use for testing and developing my Android app on. Any Android version above 2.3 is okay and any screen size is good. I currently have a Nexus 7 and want another, smaller, screen size. Are there any good smartphones at this price point?
\n", "Title": "Smartphones under $100 for Android Development", "Tags": "|smartphones|android|", "Answer": "I know this is a bit late, but I did just find that Alcatel Fierce 4 has a phone for metro PCS and will release one for T-Mobile this fall. It is $69 USD. It will come with marshmallow.
\n" }, { "Id": "50", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T20:56:01.217", "Body": "The Intel Core i7 processor has a feature known as \"hyper-threading.\" Quoting their website:
\n\n\n\n\nIntel\u00ae Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel\u00ae HT Technology)1 uses processor resources more efficiently, enabling multiple threads to run on each core. As a performance feature, it also increases processor throughput, improving overall performance on threaded software.
\n
Of course, this sounds a bit like an advertisement, and it doesn't show whether it has any less desirable qualities to it, such as increased power usage.
\n\nWhat exactly is hyper-threading? When should I buy a processor that utilizes this?
\n", "Title": "Should I find a processor with \"hyper-threading?\"", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "\n\n\nWhat exactly is hyper-threading?
\n
This is a process where your processor simulates another processor core, allowing better multithreading/etc.
\n\nFor example, a dual core machine with hyperthreading will have:
\n\nIn some sense, this allows the processor to \"pretend\" to have more cores.
\n\n\n\n\nWhen should I buy a processor that utilizes this?
\n
This can be useful if you are doing applications that are heavily multi-threaded. Virtual machines, image/video processing, compiling code, etc. Basically if your computer use is going to be heavily CPU dependent.
\n\nFor most users hyperthreading will have minimal effect.
\n" }, { "Id": "51", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T20:57:44.543", "Body": "I have many video outputs that I would like to simultaneously overview with a control monitor, but I don't want to buy a monitor for each video output itself. So I'm looking for a similar solution what we can see at surveillance systems, where the monitor is connected to a DVR unit, which processes multiple camera images, and we can see them displayed in some kind of grid.
\n\n![\"DVR](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ga1jV.png\")
Is there such a device for regular VGA or HDMI outputs? It doesn't matter if it is built into the monitor itself or if it has, for example, 4 or more inputs with one output I can connect to a monitor. It would be nice if the output layout could be configurable to different layout styles like in the picture below, but it isn't a requirement.
\n\n![\"Multiple](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/FbldS.jpg\")
This is a monitor/TV that supports 4 HDMI inputs. It can display a single input or all of them simultaneously.
\n![\"LG](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/36FBG.jpg\")
It has multiple layout options and comes with a remote. There is a video where you can see this feature in action.
\n![\"LG](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/yJcFT.jpg\")
It has been extensively reviewed:
\n\n" }, { "Id": "59", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T21:30:53.070", "Body": "I'm looking for a weatherproof (or waterproof only) IP Camera capable of covering long distances like 500 meters or more for 24/7 surveillance in industrial areas. I've searched among popular brands but none of them had this specification. most camera lens sized I found are:
\n\nThe only Important specifications for the IP camera is having a good video quality and at least 500 meters of straight coverage, so it doesn't matter whether it uses mechanical zoom or digital but it definitely must be a PTZ (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) camera. Thanks!
\n\nUPDATE: the camera's video quality need to be HD and 10 pixels per inch.
\n", "Title": "Weatherproof IP camera for long distances", "Tags": "|ip-camera|waterproof|", "Answer": "Your requirement – to be able to read license plates at 500 meters – is pushing the outer limits of commercial technology. You are talking about a camera that will cost thousands of dollars, and may be a custom-built item.
\n\nTherefore, you will have to contact higher-end camera manufacturers directly to discuss whether existing products meet your requirements, or what they would charge to build one.
\n\nAlternatively, you may be able to hack one together using a \"tethered\" higher-end consumer digital camera and lens with waterproof housing. But that's still going to cost 4-figures per camera.
\n" }, { "Id": "64", "CreationDate": "2015-09-09T22:14:54.900", "Body": "I have an old Logitech M505 mouse and I really like both the ergonomic form factor and the fact that it's from Logitech (the Unifying Receiver is handy). I looks like this:
\n\n![\"Logitech](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Drgxx.jpg\")
But this is discontinued and it has a few problems of its own, so I'd like to find a new similar mouse from Logitech.
\n\nBut it must have a clicking scroll wheel (so rotating the scroll wheel clicks into set steps instead of smoothly scrolling). Also the scroll wheel needs to be the middle mouse button (as opposed to having a separate button below that acts as the middle mouse button). It should also have a similar form factor (meaning no weird gaming mice that look like they're an Autobot or Decepticon). Other features (like additional buttons) are okay but not required.
\n", "Title": "Logitech non-gaming wireless mouse with a clicking scroll wheel?", "Tags": "|wireless|mice|logitech|", "Answer": "The Logitech MX Master has a configurable scroll wheel which you can customize to either click-by-click or autoscroll.
\nQuote (emphasis mine):
\n\n\nSpeed-adaptive scroll wheel
\nScroll through long documents or web pages faster and easier. The precision wheel auto-shifts from click-to-click to hyper-fast scroll.
\nLogitech Options\u2122 software lets you customize this experience.
\n
![\"\"](\"https://secure.logitech.com/assets/53166/mx-master.png\")
These four are the main I/O that you see. What are the pros/cons for each?
\n\nAs far as I know HDMI 2.0 supports higher fps than earlier HDMI as well as that Display Port supports high fps. Besides that I'm not positive on why I would connect my monitor with a certain cable.
\n", "Title": "What are the differences between monitors inputs (HDMI, Display Port, DVI, VGA)?", "Tags": "|hdmi|display-port|dvi|vga|", "Answer": "I'll start with VGA, which is, in my opinion, a \"standard\".
\n\nVGA is an analog signal. This basically means that the quality will not be as great as cables that make use of digital signals, especially at high resolutions. The problem with analog is that noise often distorts the signal and the quality ends up not being as good. So in terms of quality, go for the other three.
\n\nDigital signals do not have this problem because they are noise tolerant.
\n\nDVI is a digital signal that has a few different connecter types and two link modes:
\n\nMost adaptors are single link and support a resolution up to 1920x1200 whereas dual link supports up to 2560x1600.
\n\nHDMI is the standard for HDTVs. It is also a digital signal and is therefore fully compatible with DVI-D and DVI-I. The benifit of HDMI over DVI is that is has the ability to carry audio as well as the video signal although it does require that your monitor has built in speakers. Recently, HDMI 2.0 was released and gives HDMI the ability to better deal with 4K (Ultra HD) displays at a higher frequency and FPS. If your display or TV has HDMI 1.4, you\u2019ll be limited to 3,820\u00d72160, 4K, at 30 Hz. However, if you\u2019ve got a video card and 4K display with HDMI 2.0, you\u2019ll be able to get 4K at 60 Hz.
\n\nThere's not much difference between between HDMI 1.4 and DVI besides the audio in the HDMI, which can be a real benefit depending on your setup and that colour ranges for HDMI go beyond the RGB spectrum which DVI is limited to. The only benefit of the DVI is the physical screws that support the DVI cable and help prevent port damage.
\n\nDisplayPort is the newest of the lot and is aimed towards higher end monitors - newer and high-end monitors tend to have DisplayPort. Its designed to deal with 4K at higher FPS and Hz. DisplayPort is capable of 3840\u00d72160, 8K at 60Hz or 4k at 120Hz!
\n\nDisplayPort looks like it's the way of the future, especially if you want 4K.
\n\nGenerally it depends on your setup (monitor and graphics card), what you can and can't use but for the future of gaming DisplayPort looks the way to go.
\n\nReferences and more info:
\n\nhttp://www.makeuseof.com/tag/video-cables-explained-difference-vga-dvi-hdmi-ports/
https://superuser.com/questions/15884/hdmi-vs-component-vs-vga-vs-dvi-vs-displayport
http://www.avadirect.com/blog/displayport-vs-hdmi-vs-dvi-vs-vga/
I am looking for a camera that can scan 3D objects for use in 3D modeling programs like Blender. Requirements:
\n\nIt will be hard to find a stereo camera for < 100USD. Still, you can have a look on Microsoft Kinect and Asus Xtion PRO LIVE.
\nThere is no such stereo camera with a wireless video transmission in the market however you can make one using IEEE 802.11 transmission bands.
\n" }, { "Id": "76", "CreationDate": "2015-09-10T00:00:57.363", "Body": "My laptop runs AutoCAD and various Autodesk drafting/modeling programs. I'd like to buy a second monitor to help me work with multiple files/drawings at the same time.
\n\nWhat second monitor can I buy that...
\n\nThe Asus MB168B+ looks like it would fit your needs. It:
\n\nis designed as a second monitor with a USB 3.0 cable to power it, and transfer video and data (also works on USB 2.0, but you may experience worse results video quality-wise)
has a 15.6\" screen with 1920x1080 resolution
is very portable, weighing less than 2 pounds, and being about as thin as a pencil (0.3 inches); it also comes with a case for protection and also to act as a stand
can cost under $150; prices range from about $140 to $225, depending on where you buy it (bargain stores are cheaper); if cost is your biggest issue, you may want to check out the Asus MB168B (no \"+\"), which is very similar except that it has lower resolution (1366x768) and overall lower quality display; it can typically be found under $150 at well known stores
If you prefer higher quality display over cost, the MB168B+ is the better fit, but if you really need it to be under $150, you'll probably want to go with the MB168B.
\n" }, { "Id": "85", "CreationDate": "2015-09-10T01:15:01.923", "Body": "I'm considering buying new UPS for my PC. I'm hoping the new UPS can still hold power for around 15-30 minutes so my computer can properly shutdown. It should also come with surge protection. My PC came with Corsair 600W PSU and I'm using a 24\" BENQ monitor.
\n\nDoes the ICA UPS CE600 meet these criteria?
\n", "Title": "Personal computer UPS", "Tags": "|pc|ups|", "Answer": "First, you should figure out what your actual power consumption is. A 600W PSU only draws 600W if the hardware needs it. You can get a Kill-A-Watt or similar monitor in the $15 USD range. You can also get a decent ballpark number from online calculators 1, 2, 3. Don't forget to include your monitor.
\n\nThe UPS you linked only supplies 300W. It gives 10 minutes as the backup time, and I'm going to have to assume that's at full (300W) power draw, as I don't see any other stats on the battery. So, no, it probably won't fit your needs.
\n\nYou could take a look at the APC or CyberPower UPS selectors to get an idea of what would fit your needs and the price range.
\n" }, { "Id": "97", "CreationDate": "2015-09-10T04:42:01.027", "Body": "We develop cost effective hospital information systems for rural India which runs as a web application. To make the overall cost of ownership low, we use Ubuntu as the server and client OS. To drive the cost further down, I would like to move away from entry level PCs as client devices to thin clients running Ubuntu (or other free Linux variants).
\nSpecification:
\nWith popular browser (firefox or chrome) support.
\nstandard Monitor with minimum 1280 X 720 pixel Resolution
\n3 to 4 USB ports to connect any printer, keyboard, mice
\nSupporting latest Ubuntu LTS version (Ubuntu 14.04)
\nAt least 2 GB RAM
\nNo separate commercial software requirement. Free/Open Source software like Linux Terminal Server are fine.
\nOne 10/100/1000 Mbps ethernet port
\nWhat would be options I can look at?
\nOn the hardware side, there's an HDMI port; you can connect a monitor up to 1920x1200 (possibly through an HDMI-DVI or HDMI-VGA adapter, which costs barely more than an HDMI cable). There are 4 USB2 ports. The Ethernet port is 100Mbit/s, which should be plenty sufficient for a thin client, especially if it's displaying a web page rather than doing X11 over Ethernet. Wifi isn't built in; if you need that you'll need to get a USB wifi adapter. There's also a pair of sound jacks in case you need to plug in a microphone and loudspeakers.
\n\nThe small form factor and low power consumption (far less than anything you could get with an Intel processor) make it appropriate for environments with dicey power. There's no battery, though you can purchase one separately.
\n\nThe one downside I see is that the only form of storage is an SD card, which can be removed in an untimely manner. You may want to hold it in place with sticky tape or something.
\n\nThere's only 1GB of RAM, not 2GB, but that's enough to display a few web pages.
\n\nThe Pi has an ARM CPU. That means Windows is out (except a special version of Windows 10, but most Windows software won't run on it since most vendors distribute only x86 binaries), but almost all Linux software will work.
\n\nUbuntu 14.04 doesn't officially support ARM but there's an unofficial image. If you prefer a distribution that's officially mantained, you can get Debian jessie (there's also Raspbian, but it's optimized for the Raspberry Pi 1, not version 2 which is what you should get now that it's out). Ubuntu is based on Debian and pretty much all the system administration will be the same. Debian doesn't ship Ubuntu's Unity interface, though\u00b9.
\n\nBoth Firefox and Chromium (not Chrome) run on the Pi. There are also more lightweight browsers; try them with your web pages and see if they support all the features you need.
\n\nThe reference price for the RPi2 is $35, to which you'll need to add a bunch of accessories (USB power supply, keyboard, mouse, monitor, cables, USB wifi adapter if needed).
\n\nThere are other similar ARM-based boards that may be more adapted to your needs, for example if 2GB RAM is a strong requirement, or if you really want Gigabit Ethernet, or if you need wifi, etc. The reason I'm putting the Pi forward is that it's the one with the most literature and support out there.
\n\n\u00b9 This may be a relief.
\n" }, { "Id": "105", "CreationDate": "2015-09-10T11:44:14.650", "Body": "Let's say I want to buy a cheap USB device which does X. I also want this device to be compatible with Linux.
\n\nThe problem is that in many cases, such devices may be generic or unbranded, and there may not be much information about them on the web to help me figure out if others have used that particular device successfully with Linux.
\n\nSome examples:
\n\nUSB Video capture devices or TV Sticks,
Sound cards
WiFi Devices
Bazillions of other awesome things
Are there any ways to (try) to determine if this device is compatible with Linux, before buying it ?
\n\nI vaguely remember reading that one can look at the Windows drivers for clues as to the chips used, and then find if those are Linux-compatible, is this possible ?
\n", "Title": "How can I determine if a specific device works with Linux before buying it?", "Tags": "|linux|compatibility|", "Answer": "The problem with those kinds of USB devices is that it's very difficult to know what chip they are actually using. Some devices in the same series might even use different components if the manufacturer was able to source a slightly different component at a cheaper price. They would then ship a Windows driver that supports the different variations of hardware components.
\n\nIt may be possible to glean something about the used chips by looking at the Windows or Mac drivers. What you would be looking for are strings that you could match against existing Linux drivers.
\n\nHowever, before going through that trouble, you could do the following:
\n\nIn general, if the manufacturer doesn't declare Linux support for the device, chances are it won't work very well even if there are Linux drivers. Then again, even devices with declared Linux support don't always work well or might not support all of the device's functionality. Ultimately, there are no guarantees and the only way to know for sure is to try. I've had some luck with shops that would allow me to bring a laptop and try the device in the store before deciding to buy or not. (In those cases I've mostly found that the USB device didn't work at all or was practically unusable.)
\n" }, { "Id": "112", "CreationDate": "2015-09-10T14:00:45.350", "Body": "I'd like to boost my screen space and resolution. My primary monitor is currently a Samsung SyncMaster 2343BWX: 2048x1152 native resolution running off the DVI output of my GA-H77M-D3H motherboard.
\n\nI haven't picked a monitor yet, so suppose I'd like to go up to 4k-class monitors:
\n\nWill a single output type – e.g., either DisplayPort or DVI-D – be adequate for all monitors and resolution classes up to 4k? Or would I want a card that offers both?
Will any graphics card offering that output be adequate to the task? Or do I need to look for some additional minimum specs on the graphics card?
I don't do high-end gaming so refresh rates aren't an issue. My primary purpose for upgrading would be to facilitate high-res photo editing, eventually do 4k video editing, and just get more screen real-estate.
\n", "Title": "PC support beyond 1920x1080 resolution, up to 4k", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|monitors|", "Answer": "I'm not entirely sure about the AMD side of things but I'm running 4K now and I've been using nvidia GPUs and currently have a dell P2715Q.
\n\nConnectivity:
\n\nGenerally DVI and VGA are nearly dead, they're getting phased out. We're in the arkward situation where support for HDMI is significantly better on TVs and entertainment devices, while DP wipes the floor with everything else on PCs. If you must standardise, use DP for PCs. If you decide to connect your console to your monitor (I don't judge!)
\n\nOn the monitor side:
\n\nSST >>> MST. Its simpler, you get the full 60 hz refresh rate, and amusingly, \nits better supported by hardware in most cases. You'll need DP 1.1a or better but meh, as you'll see that's not hard
\n\nUse mini DP or DP in, not HDMI - the standard for HDMI on PCs is an older standard, monitors may support the same standard and will only do 30 hz. In fact, if you must standardise, DP first, and DP for your best displays.
\n\nIf you're doing photo editing, getting a properly colour calibrated screen a good idea.
\n\nIf you can daisy chain, it'll cut your refresh rate in half. Not too recommended.
\n\nOn the computer side:
\n\nI've gotten 4K output on a 660. In some cases I've managed to game badly on 4K, and the output wasn't the bottleneck, the ability to render the game was. I believe the 650 is the minimum GPU from nvidia for 4K (they have a handy list here) and anything better than that should handle it fine. 4th and 5th gen (and better) Intel video should be able to handle at least one 4K display. I can't find an equivilent chart or resource for AMD.
\n\nSomething worth considering is the modern UHD display is only 8 megapixels. While its challenging to render graphics, and you might need power to render video, it should probably be fairly simple to build a system that can handle photo editing
\n" }, { "Id": "123", "CreationDate": "2015-09-10T18:20:48.503", "Body": "What type of hard drive should I be looking for a Playstation 4? I am usually partial towards SSD over traditional, but I am also open to the idea of hybrids as well.
\n\nI have looked into Samsung 850 EVO and PRO SSDs and I have personal experience with SanDisk SSD on my personal gaming computer. These are a little out of my price range.
\n\nThere are many different sites that recommend HDDs, but I want to make sure what I am getting is going to have great life expectency along with great performance.
\n\nHere is a site that has a comparison test between the three different types and their performance (too much info to post on here):\nhttp://www.ign.com/wikis/playstation-4/PlayStation_4_Hard_Drive_Speed_Test_Comparison
\n\nAccording to the site, SSD has an overall better performance with the install time, boot time, and level load.
\n\nIf you would like to recommend companies or even particular drives, that would be very appreciative as well.
\n\nUpdate:
\nI am realized that SSDs are a bit out of my price range for 1TB. So I am going ahead and check out some 2.5\" HDDs.
Based on personal experience (3 out of 4 failed, purchased several months apart) I recommend to stay away from the hybrid drives, as I will be in the future. A limited sample I know, I could have just been unlucky, but at this point I am cutting my losses with that tech. I think with the cost of SSDs dropping, they will have a limited lifespan as a viable product in any case.
\n\nSo far, I have not had an SSD fail (out of >10 purchased personally since 2009 in sizes from 75GB up to 512GB so far), though I have had one end up in a less performant state thanks to a faulty SATA cable. I have owned dozens of HDDs and had a handful fail, but nothing approaching the failure rate I have seen in hybrids so far.
\n\nAs of writing this, SSDs are coming in the $0.30 to $0.40 per GB range for sizes up to 500GB.
\n\nThe interesting thing here is that (as an example, plucked from Newegg today) the cost for a 250GB SSD from Samsung is currently $0.40/GB which drops to $0.35/GB for the 500GB model. At 1TB, that same drive comes in at $0.37/GB and it is on sale. This is the kind of profile we are used to seeing, however. Essentially, for the top end of any tech segment (4TB+ HDD, 1TB+ SSD at the moment) you will always pay a premium - same is true for CPU, memory, graphics, motherboards, displays etc.
\n\nThis is generally how I will do my SSD shopping - pick a couple of manufacturers with good reputation (Intel, Samsung), then decide on your required level of SSD (budget, consumer, enterprise - in Samsung terms EVO, PRO, Enterprise). Once you have that, look at the cost per GB for each size offered and look for the sweet spot - that will usually be one or two rungs below the top in terms of size.
\n\nActually this method will work for most things - CPU (use to be cost per Ghz but more murky now), RAM (cost per GB too), Graphics cards (depends, but cost per FPS in a highend game I play is how I do it), HDDs (cost per GB). There is always a sweet spot on the curve, and it will usually be a little below the bleeding edge, and frequently have sales on (so watch for them).
\n\nI see from follow up comments that you are looking at HDDs because of price, so let's see where the sweetspot lines up for those.
\n\nEdit: Updating analysis for 2.5\" drives thanks to comments
\n\nLooking at 2.5\" drives that would give you a little bit of a speed boost (7200 rpm) and not worrying about the interface (the PS4 is limited to SATA II) one thing that was immediately obvious is that there is not a lot of choice, here is the cost per GB of a selection of Seagate 2.5\" 7200 RPM drives:
\n\nThat 500GB model was actually cheaper than the smaller drives, so hardly a surprise that they are the default for the PS4. It's worth noting that the SSD 1TB prices are \"only\" 2x the 7200 RPM hard drives in the 2.5\" form factor, so it's not as much of a premium as compared to 3.5\" drives (see below).
\n\nHere is my original comparison, where I mistakenly profiled 3.5\" drives. It's illustrative, so I will leave it here for reference:
\n\nI will pick a single brand that I have good experience with (Seagate), go for 7200 rpm drives, and not pay too much attention to other factors (warranty, cache etc.) since this is a rough estimation:
\n\nThe particular model I was looking at for convenience did not have 4TB/6TB sizes listed, but you get the idea - it looks like 3TB or 4TB is your likely sweet spot from a cost per GB perspective (as an aside: about one tenth of the SSD prices above), so I would look for well reviewed, reliable drives in that range and buy with confidence (for now). Just for reference, the 8TB 7200 RPM drives are rare and are coming in at ~$0.7 per GB as of writing this answer.
\n" }, { "Id": "126", "CreationDate": "2015-09-10T21:07:31.987", "Body": "I'd like to invest in a new keyboard - I've been typing on a MacBook Pro keyboard forever and, while I love it, it's time for something new and slightly more ergonomic.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nIdeally:
\n\nNot needed:
\n\nI've heard good things about the CODE keyboards - does anyone have any experience with them? Are there other keyboards that might work well for my needs?
\n", "Title": "Keyboard for programmers?", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "For a cheaper alternative, take a look at the Ajazz AK33 with your preferred switch (blue, red, ...).
\nIt's very nice to use, has all keys you need for programming without requiring [Fn + finger stretching] and, at least the copy I have, is very resistant. I once dropped a full cup of coffee on it, and it still works fine to this day.
\n![\"Ajazz](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/BLBUo.jpg\")
As an inconvenient for Mac users, it comes with the Windows key, but you should be able to find your Mac keycaps set for not much money.
\n" }, { "Id": "129", "CreationDate": "2015-09-10T21:28:51.630", "Body": "Due to the fact that TrueCrypt is \"not secure\" I've been looking for some other way to encrypt the data.
\n\n\n\n\nWARNING: Using TrueCrypt is not secure as it may contain unfixed security issues\n You should download TrueCrypt only if you are migrating data encrypted\n by TrueCrypt.
\n
Could you provide some information about pros & cons connected with hardware-based encryption? What if the firmware is controlled by a third-party malicious? I'll be glad if could recommend some SSD which cover the following points:
\n\nBy the way...\nHave you heard about TOMB?
\n", "Title": "Should I buy an SSD with hardware-based full disk encryption?", "Tags": "|ssd|encryption|", "Answer": "Whether the firmware has been compromised is a valid concern \u2014\u00a0it happens (it's been done for show, and it's rather rare but it has been found in the wild).
\nBut a bigger concern is whether the firmware has been programmed correctly. Many SSD firmwares don't implement secure erase properly. Should you trust them to implement crypto properly? I haven't seen a reliable study on the topic, but I've heard (private rumors in some security communities) that some \u201cself-encrypting drives\u201d are actually mere password-protected drives, with no encryption if you just bypass the controller. As a consumer, there's absolutely no way to know whether a particular device does it right\u00b9.
\nThe upshot is that I wouldn't rely on the encryption capabilities of a storage device.
\nThere's not much point in doing encryption on the drive itself rather than in the CPU anyway. This isn't the 1990s, most CPUs have plenty of spare cycles, of which encryption will only cost a little. Major operating systems come with native encryption: Bitlocker under Windows, dm-crypt under Linux, etc. If you have one of the cheaper editions of Windows that don't have full-disk encryption, or if you need an encrypted removable drive that's portable between operating systems, use VeraCrypt, the successor of TrueCrypt (which was discontinued because the maintainers didn't want to maintain it anymore, not because it was fundamentally flawed).
\n\u00b9 Finding a way to attack a particular model can have a cost in the $10k\u2013100k range, so it's not something you can do casually \u2014\u00a0but once the attack is found, carrying it out on a particular drive has an incremental cost that can be in the $10\u2013100 range, or <$1 if it's a pure software attack on a buggy firmware.
\n" }, { "Id": "134", "CreationDate": "2015-09-10T23:07:07.863", "Body": "I'd like to buy a graphics tablet (also known as a drawing tablet, graphics pad, etc. - see here for some more information). I'm interested in using it for input for CAD programs, some of which use freehand sketching for input.
\n\nMy criteria (from most to least important):
\n\nThings I don't need or want:
\n\nWhen I researched digitizers Wacom was the clear solution. I think they have a patent on their unpowered pen that gives them industry dominance.
\n\nYou should get a Wacom Intuos Pen & Touch Tablet. To stay in your budget you would have to go with the Small, model #CTH480, which runs ~$80 and provides a 6.0\"x3.7\" active area on an 8.25\"x6.9\" tablet. Next step up is the Medium, model #CTH680, which runs ~$180 and provides an 8.5\"x5.3\" active area on a 10.75\"x8.75\" tablet.
\n\nBoth sizes come with a pen with eraser and 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity.
\n\nWireless connection for either requires an extra $40 accessory kit (model #ACK40401).
\n\nIf you're tracing you probably do need to pony up for the Medium size. But I do graphic design with the Small and even though it sounds like a tiny working area the resolution is so high that I don't have any trouble working on an HD monitor.
\n" }, { "Id": "140", "CreationDate": "2015-09-11T00:48:22.887", "Body": "I am looking for a way to power on/off a 230V power connector from software.
\n\nThe most ideal way would be if it could be controlled from linux, but anything could be ok.
\n", "Title": "Power on/off 230V power cable from software", "Tags": "|power-control|", "Answer": "I have EnerGenie EG-PM2 and was very fast to install and use on Linux/Ubuntu, steps here:
\nInstall sispmctl
\nwget https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/sispmctl/sispmctl/sispmctl-4.9/sispmctl-4.9.tar.gz\n\ntar xzvf sispmctl-4.9.tar.gz\ncd sispmctl-4.9/\nsudo apt install libusb-dev\n./configure\nmake\nsudo make install\nsispmctl\ncp ./src/.libs/libsispmctl.so.0 /usr/lib #this command should be done after sudo su\nsispmctl\nThe outlet has 4 ports, example to operate off and on port 1 you do the following commands
\nTurn off and on port 1
\nsudo sispmctl -f 1\n#Accessing Gembird #0 USB device 053\n#Switched outlet 1 off\nsudo sispmctl -o 1\n#Accessing Gembird #0 USB device 053\n#Switched outlet 1 on\nI've searched and searched and can only find one 2.5 inch HDD that is larger than 1TB (Western Digital has one model). 3.5 inch HDDs have kept growing to even 10TB, but 2.5 inch drives seem to have hit a brick wall. Are there any 2.5 inch HDDs larger than 2TB?
\n", "Title": ">2 TB 2.5 inch HDD", "Tags": "|hard-disk|", "Answer": "Seagate has recently released a 5TB drive for $85. It's also 5400RPM, but that doesn't matter much these days, because if you're very performance-sensitive, SSD is the way to go anyway.
\n" }, { "Id": "154", "CreationDate": "2015-09-11T03:36:51.013", "Body": "I am developing an Android app and have a couple physical devices, however to maximize compatibility with user's potential devices I want to run virtual machines. Currently I have 8 GB's of RAM and usually run 5-10 chrome tabs at once along with Android Studio and one or two emulators.
\n\nUsually when the emulators are running I notice a slight slowdown. Would there be any benefit to upgrading to 16 GB's of ram in my case?
\n\nAlso: the emulators each use 512 MB of ram - 2 GB depending on the situation. Is over 2 GB's practical for emulators or no?
\n\nOther specs\nIntel i5-4670k\n120 GB SSD\n1 TB HDD\n8 GB RAM
\n", "Title": "RAM recommendation for Android Development", "Tags": "|android|memory|", "Answer": "Sure it would. Since you're running multiple processes and your main goal is to multitask better, it would really improve performance and smoothness.
\n\nFor what you're currently using, 12 GB should suffice but it seems you're limiting yourself because of your 8 GB of ram so go ahead and get 16 GB.
\n\nAlso if you're using Linux it would be better to set your swapness down to zero. If you're using Windows you can have a look on how to control your ram and swap usage. That way you can benefit more from your ram.
I've been searching for a good earphone for years but they always stop working after a few months. Sometimes its cable simply tears off, disconnects from the 'head' or starts malfunctioning. There was even an earphone that sounded great but then stopped working for no apparent reason.
\n\nI want a earphone with those qualities:
\n\nAs a plus it could come with a small case to protect it inside my backpack.
\n\nHow can I know those qualities just by looking at the phone specs? Is there a general way better than asking around or trying out the luck with trial and error? Where can I find a good earphone that's not so expensive?
\n", "Title": "Earphone recommendation with good cost-to-benefit ratio", "Tags": "|audio-quality|earphones|", "Answer": "The xiaomi piston 2.0/2.1 (there's a 3.0 model out at the moment) out but I've never used it before.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/oJ2Xc.jpg\")
The cliff's notes version
\n\nPrice: 20-30 usd depending. Got mine for 20 singapore dollars.
Good sound quality - Good enough. I've tried it on my good gear on a lark and it sounds fine. My phone/whatever google play transcodes it to seems to be the limitation
Reliability - I've had mine ~6 months I think. Its built solidly
That's the model I have anyway. Reviews are decent and people tend to like it. And yes, they come with a case, rubber winding widget, and other shiny stuff.
\n\nThe headphones are machined aluminium. Cable has a remote control and the length between the plug and controller's covered in a protective sheath, and are supposed to be kevlar reinforced. The headphones have great strain relief, and I've had mine for quite a while, daily use with no issues. Its built seriously solidly.
\n\nYou'll get 3 pairs of smooth earbud covers in different sizes and one flanged one, which is supposed to fit tighter.
\n\nSound quality's decent, my phone's more of a limiting factor (I'm an audio snob). They're about as good as you'd get for the price range. It comes with that lovely rubber headphone holder and 'jewel case', and street price is ~30usd.
\n\nRemote control is below where the headphone splits. Its got 3 buttons, tho the volume buttons only work on some phones.
\n\nThat said, there's a lot of fakes of these so caveat emptor. I got mine from xiaomi directly.
\n\nConsidering I was going with super cheapie headphones since I killed quite a few, and this has surviced me, I'd say these are a hardy pair.
\n" }, { "Id": "169", "CreationDate": "2015-09-11T18:03:29.350", "Body": "I'm looking for a good microphone for recording speech (eg. for podcasts, although it might be used for other things too), ideally for under $30.
\n\nI'm looking for something that:
\n\nHas minimal hiss and reasonable sound quality for its price.
Would work with my current setup, which is a laptop + USB sound card.
I know that $30 (or even less) is not much for a microphone, but I should be able to get something better then my current very cheap one.
\n\nThere are some fairly cheap ones on Amazon (example), does anyone have experience with the sound quality of these? The page states that it is a condenser microphone, so does it require phantom power?
\n\nAny recommendations? Any other tips?
\n", "Title": "Good, cheap microphone for speech / voice recording?", "Tags": "|audio|microphones|audio-quality|audio-recording|", "Answer": "I'd also recommend a Samson company.
\n\nIf you don't have a problem with buying second-hand items, you can get a Samson Go Mic for less than $30 or buy a brand new one for $38 from amazon.
\n\nPros:
\n\nThis is a very popular model and you can find reliable reviews like this one.\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/78YAFm.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/duJ7im.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JuIKRm.jpg\")
I am looking to get a small drone - possibly quad copter style, but open to other recommendations. The thing is, I've never owned or flown such a machine and would like something small and cheap for \"training\" purposes. The idea is for this particular purchase to be a way for me to see if I'd like the hobby and if so, eventually get something \"cooler\".
\n\nMy ideal drone would have
\n\nI'd like for this to \"feel\" similar to the larger drones that have GPS and live video streaming. My hope is that muscle memory I build using this can transfer to a larger piece of hardware.
\n", "Title": "\"Training\" drones", "Tags": "|remote-control|drone|", "Answer": "I recommend the Syma X5C.
\n\nA word of warning, which I said in a comment and will repeat here: don't expect other drones to be similar. There may well be some similarities between the odd few drone models - but control weights and sensitivities are always going to be different, no matter if they're tunable or not. A 1kg drone will respond faster to control input than a 10kg drone; that's just physics. When getting a new drone, always take some low-flying time in a relatively safe location so that you can get used to the new control feel.
\n" }, { "Id": "175", "CreationDate": "2015-09-11T23:47:29.187", "Body": "I am searching for a good, fast microSD card with 64GB or 128GB of storage for a reasonable price. Must be compatible with the Huawei Honor 7 smartphone.
\n\nI don't know what it is important when buying microSD cards, so I would like some advice and some specific models that are good and have a good price. Do you have any recommendations?
\n", "Title": "64/128GB microSD card that works with the Huawei Honor 7", "Tags": "|smartphones|microsd|", "Answer": "There are several great brands that make Micro SD cards, including, but not limited to
\n\nI read here that Samsung and SanDisk tend to make the best micro SD cards in terms of performance, but the difference is not much to look into.
\n\nRealistically, they will all serve you well, so if you do find a really good deal on a MicroSD card, just go for it. A link to the Amazon Page for MicroSD cards is here. Just make sure you look at the reviews.
\n" }, { "Id": "178", "CreationDate": "2015-09-12T02:26:43.727", "Body": "In my case I have been using Raid 1 Mirroring with two disks on an onboard controller of a motherboard that recently dropped dead.
\n\nNow I'm looking for a replacement motherboard, but I'm a bit worried about the data on the disks which I really want to recover. Since it was mirroring I half expect any SATA controller to just recognize the partitions and work automatically, but on the other half I guess it might not work that way. I don't have a 2nd system on which I can quickly test this and besides I'm concerned that it could be potentially dangerous to just plug it into any system. Some BIOS might just try to automatically initialize it and destroy some data?
\n\nCan I just go ahead and purchase a new board without worries or should I figure out exactly what make / type and version of controller the board was using and try to find a new board with the same make / type / version RAID controller?
\n\nFor the record, my particular motherboard was a dual Xeon Tyan S2696. It was rendering some footage overnight and in the morning I found it dead. It does not even beep anymore, no fans, no leds, when powered on. The USB ports do get powered with 5V but it looks like there's a swollen capacitor between two PCI-x slots.
\n\nEDIT:\nFor example, if I purchase a SuperMicro X7DB8+ as a replacement for the Tyan S2696, would I be able to hook up the old drives and read from them? They both use the Intel ESB2 Chipset, though I don't see and mention of \"zero channel RAID\" in the Tyan manual.
\n", "Title": "Are RAID controllers interchangeable? Is data recoverable with a different controller?", "Tags": "|motherboard|raid-controller|raid|", "Answer": "Consider this logically, RAID controller has to record your config somewhere, if you had RAID-0 or RAID-1 for example. Some do that in own flash memory, others do that on the disk. In the latter case an area on each disk must be allocated to store configuration. There's no guarantee that different manufactures would pick same format. Same goes for checksums for higher-level RAID schemes.
\n\nGood news is that RAID-1 is easy to recover in either case -- try whole disk, or if that doesn't work, find an offset and use data starting from that offset.
\n\nYour old setup could be:
\n\nTrying the first costs you nothing.
\n\nWrt. the other two, you can try disk cloning software, your layout may be recognized ;-)
\n" }, { "Id": "182", "CreationDate": "2015-09-12T06:54:34.460", "Body": "I'm looking to build a small FFmpeg based video encoder using a BlackMagic Intensity Pro 4K capture card. This card requires a PCIe 4x slot. What's the smallest motherboard/case combination that will hold a 4x card?
\n\nThere are lots of small barebones systems, but most have mini PCIe (1x) connectors, and all of the PCIe risers I've found are either 1x to 1x or 1x to 16x. The 16x connector is way too large.
\n\nAny ideas?
\n", "Title": "Smallest PCIe 4x box?", "Tags": "|pc|pcie|", "Answer": "The only Mini-ITX board I've been able to find with a PCIe x4 slot is the Mitac PH12LI. It is not, however, any smaller than any of the PCIe x16 Mini-ITX boards.
\n\nPersonally, I'd recommend a Casetronic C292 case, an over-the-board PCIe x16 riser card, and the PCIe x16 Mini-ITX board of your choice. Your x4 card should work just fine in an x16 slot, and you won't need to go looking for parts that probably don't exist.
\n\n(No association with LogicSupply, they're just my go-to source for looking up all things Mini-ITX.)
\n" }, { "Id": "185", "CreationDate": "2015-09-12T09:27:07.177", "Body": "For the longest time I've had the old Logitech Z313 2.1 sound system for my computer. After so many years of use and moving around, I'm looking for a more portable and more powerful system.
\n\nThe Z313's wiring is aggravating. The 3.5mm from the computer goes into a controller, then to the sub, then to the speakers. Also, the sub doesn't have a control to turn bass down independently from the speakers.
\n\nSo what I'm looking for is a sound system with these features:
\n\nAn inline or onboard volume control is actually something I don't want since I can control volume with my keyboard and directly in Windows, but if a good system has it, I won't mind.
\n", "Title": "What are some powerful computer sound systems with easy setup?", "Tags": "|sound-system|", "Answer": "If you are willing to wait, you could get the Logitech Z333 Multimedia Speakers. As this hasn't been released yet, I can only go off of the spec sheet and online reviews, but this looks like it would fit your needs.
\n\nThis is a 2.1 speaker system that costs $80 USD. The subwoofer is flat-bottomed, has its own independent controller, and has a 5 inch, front facing driver. The sub is rated at 23 Watts while the two satellites are rated at 8 Watts each. While the website doesn't say exactly how big the drivers are for the satellites, the width of the satellites is about 4.25 inches, so I would expect the drivers are in the range of 2.5 - 3.5 inches in diameter. There are four 5 foot cables for this system (plus input cables): one for the power (wall to sub), one for each satellite (sub to satellite), and one volume controller (controller to sub).
\n\nThis system has both a 3.5 mm auxiliary input and stereo RCA inputs.
\n\nWith about half of your budget left, you add a Bluetooth Audio Adapter for $40 that allows you to stream music from any Bluetooth enabled audio device. With both of these items, you are still below your $150 budget (excluding shipping).
\n\nUPDATE
\n\nThis appears to have been released. If ordered from Logitech's website, you will get free standard shipping (4-7 business days) on this as the total cost is over $49.
\n" }, { "Id": "186", "CreationDate": "2015-09-12T09:48:26.220", "Body": "I am looking for portable or medium-sized scanner which can take around 20-30 pages at the same time, scan them and convert into PDF format (compatible with OS X).
\n\nUsually scanners having Duplex Automatic Document feeders are available in large copy machines.
\n\nSome time ago I've bought Canon P-150M Portable Scanner which could do that, but the document feeder wasn't very good and software was too slow. The main problem was that the paper usually got stuck (more sheets then more chances to happen) and I had to start the scanning each time from the beginning, and sometimes the scanned pages were crooked.
\n\nAre there any scanners which can scan A4 pages more efficiently and reliably as described above?
\n\nSo the basic criteria are:
\n\nI have used the FUJITSU Document Scanner ScanSnap iX500 and been very happy with it. It's a higher priced scanner though. It's currently $500 at Staples and $400 on Amazon.
\n\n![\"FUJITSU](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JPpmP.jpg\")
\n\n\n\n\nImproved paper handling mechanism. Regular paper documents rarely jam or misfeed on the S1500. Only if you have stuck, very thin, bended, irregular or wrinkled sheets. I threw in different types of papers and it seems to take them in better! This is a real usability improvement.
\n
\n\n\n\n\nWell like I said, I've got about 15,000 documents through this thing and haven't had a single problem with it feeding documents, jamming, or anything. I've used scanners almost twice the price of the iX500 that had more problems.
\n
\n\n\nI had crinkled papers and it would never jam. Even thin receipts from years ago would be detected and never jammed.
\n
Macworld compared this scanner to another product I've used (and would also recommend): NeatDesk. In the review Macworld noted:
\n\n\n\n\nNot surprisingly, given these different approaches, the ScanSnap iX500 hardware outshines NeatDesk. The ScanSnap is faster, less prone to jams and produces superior scan quality.
\n
The different approaches being referenced are NeatDesk's \"software company with some hardware\" vs Fijitsu's \"hardware company with some software\" approach.
\n\nAs of March 2019, it appears that the iX500 model has been replaced by a newer model, the FUJITSU ScanSnap iX1500.
\n" }, { "Id": "189", "CreationDate": "2015-09-12T16:32:27.967", "Body": "I'm always looking for ways to improve my security in the internet. As I'm also a programmer and somewhat active on InfoSec and Crypto I decided that a smart card is the way to go.
\n\nI'm thereby looking for a smart card (or an USB-token) that has the following qualifications:
\n\nNon-mandatory points include:
\n\nBecause I feel that some people may be unsatiesfied with Thomas' recommendation of the Gemalto IDPrime Cards, I wanted to give another option here:
\n\n\n\nTL;DR: It may be a bit expensive and a bit unconvenient from time-to-time, and somewhat limited in security level, but if backups, brainpool and / or high CC certification are what you're looking for, this may be the right choice.
\n" }, { "Id": "190", "CreationDate": "2015-09-12T16:37:19.273", "Body": "I am looking for a way to construct a two-way communication channel between remote hosts (far away), in big electric smog (large city), but where the weather is mostly clean (some rainy day is not a problem).
\n\nI think it could be relatively easily solved by tunneling rs232 through a modulated laser, and tunneling ppp into that rs232.
\n\nUnfortunately, googling for different laser solutions, I've found only industrial solutions and nothing in the home budget size.
\n\nDo they exist? Its technology probably isn't much more complex, as an infrared tv controller.
\n", "Title": "Cheap solution for point-to-point laser communication", "Tags": "|laser|", "Answer": "Please read this entire site which should quickly disabuse you of the notion that the technology is simple.
\n\nThe reality is that high speed laser communication (ie, slow by today's standards 10mbps) is not at all trivial, and particularly over the distances you need. There are so many tradeoffs involved in the optical path alone that you could spend months or years trying to design something that would connect at all, nevermind provide a reliable link. For instance, do you select a lower divergence, which gets more power to the end point, but means that if either end moves more than a micrometer then the connection is lost, or do you have a larger divergence which makes aiming less critical, but delivers such low power you have a hard time receiving?
\n\nThat's just one of many, many trade offs and losses in the optical path engineering, and doesn't even touch the necessary low noise amplifiers and electronics, nor the physical layer interface to the network(s) or computer(s) involved in the communications. This also ignores the regulations of laser emissions in a city.
\n\nAt any rate, if your requirements are
\n\nThen the answer to your question, \"Do they exist?\" is no.
\n" }, { "Id": "194", "CreationDate": "2015-09-12T17:53:08.657", "Body": "Is it worth to buy Thinkpad W520 with NVIDIA Quadro 2000M?
\n\nThe only difference is connected with the number of CUDA cores and Max Power Consumption. The same Thinkpad with 2000M is at least $100 more expensive.
\n\nNVIDIA Quadro 2000M:
\n\nNVIDIA Quadro 1000M:
\n\nHow will I use it:
\n\nMark's answer covers most of the main points, so I'm going to add this:
\n\nThere are different types of GPUs. It's a common misconception that any GPU will work for any graphics intensive task (video editing, gaming, etc) - not so. The M series GPUs in your question are more geared to be editing GPUs - their optimization was mainly focused on calculations relating to video and graphics editing, rather than more physics-based multiple-step calculations that are used in gaming.
\n\nFor your intended use, there's not a massive amount of difference between the two - if you're editing videos, especially long videos, then the 2kM will perform far better - but if you're only intending on doing basic, occasional editing then the extra $100 isn't worth it. Neither is there a massive difference between the two in gaming performance - if you want a good platform for gaming, you'd be better off looking at a console or gaming-optimized GPU'd PC.
\n" }, { "Id": "202", "CreationDate": "2015-09-12T19:44:52.607", "Body": "I want to buy a gaming PC to place next to my TV. To give it the best air intake, and given the (little) space available in the room I have decided to buy a case that I can place vertically.
\n\nIdeally, its width would be under 14cm (5.5in). I don't have a restriction on height, and the depth should be under 50cm (~19in).
\n", "Title": "Recommendation for \"thin tower PC cases\"", "Tags": "|case|desktop|", "Answer": "The Fractal Design Node 202 is a very small form factor PC case (console size), with support for a full size graphics card. A link to the fractal design page for all their node series cases is here, and I suggest you check them out. It will come out soon and uses mini-ITX boards.
\n\nIn addition, the Cooler Master Obsidian series has some very small form factor cases that would be a good fit for a home theater.
\n\nSilverstone also makes some very small form factor mini-ITX cases. A link to the Amazon page for the Silverstone Raven Z is here.
\n" }, { "Id": "217", "CreationDate": "2015-09-13T12:21:02.103", "Body": "I'm looking for indoor camera (a room) with motion detection feature which can send me reliable videos to my e-mail once movement has been detected.
\n\nI'm aware there are plenty out there, but after I've already tested few of them, none of them actually worked as expected (e.g. Linksys and few other), so I believe this is actually hard to find.
\n\nI had one WiFi camera which was sending 5s videos with motion via wireless router to my e-mail and FTP account, but the problem was that in all recored videos I could see only the light/contrast changes (especially in the mornings also when getting dark in evenings and sometimes some lights reflecting on the wall from the windows) ending up with hundreds useless video files. I understand there are some options to specify the spot area or sensitivity and I tried to play around with them, but it didn't work, so I believe it just need a better hardware to work properly.
\n\nThe camera should have:
\n\nD-Link's wi-fi cameras provide the sort of thing you're looking for.
\n\nThere are a number of models, and which one you need depends entirely on your use-case so I won't recommend one, but the page I linked above gives an overview of all the types.
\n\nIn short, sounds perfect for what you want.
\n" }, { "Id": "220", "CreationDate": "2015-09-13T13:29:38.777", "Body": "I am looking for pocket-size scanner to scan the receipts. By receipts I mean these which are printed on thermochromic paper rolls on point-of-sale places.
\n\nI understand you can use smart phone plus some apps, but here are the main disadvantages which I've found:
\n\nTherefore I am looking for a device which is specially designed for that job to make it this task very simple. Especially on the move, so I could throw away the receipt after successful scan. Otherwise text printed on thermochromic paper is very unstable and it's easily get lost (especially some small text such as dates).
\n", "Title": "Small pocket-sized receipt scanner", "Tags": "|scanner|portable|", "Answer": "The Planon SS100 is the only truly portable scanner I could find.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/TdqYl.jpg\")
One little downfall which you probably won't care about is that it can't scan wide documents like 8.5x11\" paper. It's great for receipts, IDs, or other small things.
\n" }, { "Id": "221", "CreationDate": "2015-09-13T13:40:06.173", "Body": "I'm looking for portable micro PC (uPC) on a stick (something like Raspberry Pi), but a lot smaller (a USB thumb drive size).
\n\nAny architecture is great (ARM is fine), as long as you can install Linux on it (so some storage is a must). Support for Wi-Fi is an advantage.
\n\nHere is which I've found so far: Forget Raspberry PI How About Android on a Stick!, but the article is a bit out-dated.
\n", "Title": "Portable micro PC computer on USB stick", "Tags": "|usb|micro-pc|", "Answer": "I agree with Firepower and SEJPM that the Intel Compute Stick is the route to go for around $150 but if you are looking for a cheaper version of that, the MeeGoPad T02 is a great alternative for $79 (The Ubuntu Version) and around $109 (The Windows 8.1 with upgrade to Windows 10 Version)
\n\nBoth sticks have a Intel Atom Z3735f processor, 2GB's of Ram and 32 GB's of flash storage and connect through HDMI. In addition they have 2 full sized USB 2 ports, Wi-Fi B/G/N and Bluetooth 4.0. Finally they have a micro sd slot with support for up to 32 GB's of extra storage
\n\nUbuntu Version: here
\n\nWindows Version: here
\n\n![\"Image](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/YC8GA.jpg\")
I am looking for mini PC with fairly similar in size (~5x20x20cm) which can outperform a Mini Mac. The size doesn't matter as long it's not too heavy or big and it can be easily moved between home and work on daily basis in a bag and it's easily to use (simple design with not too many cables).
\n\nIt can be less expensive, but my focus is overall performance power to do LAMP development work. Currently I'm using Retina MacBook Pro which basically crashes quite often when too much stuff is run at the same time. So I'm basically checking what are the alternatives on the market.
\n\nSo basically it should meet the basic criteria:
\n\nI've found so far Intel NUC Barebones Mini PC, but it has only 1.3GHz per core (dual-core) as most of the mini PC which I've found.
\n\nAre there any Mini PC monsters on the market?
\n", "Title": "Mini PC with dual/quad-core CPU as Mac mini alternative", "Tags": "|pc|mini-pc|", "Answer": "I'm currently running a asrock beebox as a home server and I'm pretty impressed - its a reasonable balance between most of the factors I'd find handy in a small home server.
\n\nIts tiny, smaller than the brix of any size, and while its a 'less powerful' N3150 braswell processor, its probably plenty for LAMP hosting (I've done it for less and I run VMs with KVM on this - even a full windows 10 install).
\n\nI picked up the full system with OS (which gives you a 32 gb mmc with windows installed) - I've installed linux on a 1tb hdd, but there's no reason you can't use this for a system drive or even swap. You can also add msata and a 2.5 inch drive, and in theory, possibly replace the m.2 wifi card with a suitable m.2 SSD. There's very few options that give you this much flexibility in storage options in such a small form factor.
\n\nThat's not all though - it has 3 usb 3.0 slots and a proper type c port. It has DP and 2x HDMI, and I've tested the HDMI ports at 4K30. I need to test DP but I'm a bit lazy.
\n\nAnother unique feature is you can load it up with 2 slots of ram - I've got mine with 2x4gb of ram but you can go up to 16gb
\n\nIts rediculously small, has low power use and is pretty darned inexpensive. The only place where it may fall short is in the processor speed - its got a low base clock speed (1.6ghz) and will ramp up to 2.08 as needed. Its not actually as powerful as a mac mini but its good enough for most work. I run a full desktop environment (KDE) + up to 2 virtual machines with little issue.
\n\n~170 usd on amazon + ram and storage to taste, so it won't break the bank either.
\n" }, { "Id": "232", "CreationDate": "2015-09-13T18:48:14.370", "Body": "A small business I do work for does a lot of paper shredding. Currently, each employee has their own personal shredder near their desk. The employees and owners have complained that the shredding is time consuming. They need to feed the paper - usually 3-4 sheets at time - into the shredder, wait for it to complete and then repeat. Each time they start shredding, they have a stack of paper much larger than 3-4 sheets, so it takes time for this process to complete.
\n\nThe owners would like to replace the individual shredders with one or two office shredders. The idea is that users will be able to drop a stack of 100-200 sheets into a feeding tray and the shredder will ingest them automatically. The user will not have to sit and baby sit the machine during a shredding cycle.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nThe Rexel Auto Feed Micro Cut series seems right for you.
\n\nIt's a series of shredders, ranging from the 100M (which takes 100 sheets at 80gsm) up to the 750M (which takes 750 sheets at 80gsm).
\n\nOn your requirements:
\n\nI am going to be building a computer for a college student. He is going into general engineering while he figures out exactly what he wants to do. The budget for this computer is about $1500 USD (just for the tower). This computer will be running Windows 10. He will be using this computer for school work and for gaming. Since this is the first question, I will be asking about the motherboard.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nNot Needed:
\n\nAs this is a new build, the processor is not set in stone.
\n", "Title": "Motherboard for a new college desktop computer", "Tags": "|gaming|motherboard|", "Answer": "I'm surprised no one has thought to suggest a Skylake based platform. Unfortunately, the CPUs only have 20 lanes of PCI-E, so the second x16 has to come off the PCH, or divide bandwidth in half (PCI-E x8). Not really much of a problem if it's used for GPUs though.
\n\nMy recommendation is the Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 5. 4 DDR4 DIMM slots, 6 SATA III (6 Gb/s), 3 SATA Express, and 2 M.2 slots as storage interfaces. 3 back panel and 4 headers for USB 3.0, 4 back panel and 2+2 headers for USB 2.0, and two back panel USB 3.1 slots, one is USB A, one is USB C. There are two Gigabit LAN ports.
\n\nThe motherboard currently costs $160 at superbiiz, and yes, there is a UEFI BIOS.
\n\nHere's the spec sheet: http://www.gigabyte.com.au/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5498#sp
\n" }, { "Id": "247", "CreationDate": "2015-09-14T17:45:00.900", "Body": "I'm looking for a ceiling mounted projector for a home theater. This projector will be used to watch movies, TV and play controller based computer games.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nSome bonus features:
\n\nMost important to me are the first two bullet points. I've seen and used many projectors that \"streak\" during fast movement. I want to ensure this does not occur. It would ideally be below $700 and quiet.
\n", "Title": "HD Projector for a home theater?", "Tags": "|projector|", "Answer": "If you really want the best of the best projector you should use the one I am using now
\nXiaomi A300 L1668FCF 4K ALPD WEMAX Ultra Short Throw Proyektor Laser
\nOkay be careful here because it's a bit confusing.
\nIt's wemax. 4k A300
\nThe price is only around $2k according to https://www.xiaomitoday.com/2021/05/07/xiaomi-wemax-a300-4k-9000-ansi-lumens-projector/
\nI bought it for $3k
\nHowever, the picture is crisp. I think it's the most cost effective projector.
\nEasily handle 5 m screen due to high lumen. Because 1 m is 40 inch, we're talking about 200 inch display at least. Hei, make it 6m. It'll still be bright enough.
\nIf that's too expensive for you, then use this
\nXiaomi Mi Ultra Short 5000 ANSI Lumens Laser Projector
\nHalf the price, only 5k lumen, HD
\nIs it mounted?
\nI don't mount it. However, I think you can set it up mounted. The thing is, why?
\nThe reason why you want mounted projector is because you don't want anything to get in the way between projector and the screen right?
\nIn that case, they are Ultra Short Throw.
\nMy A300 needs only a distance of mere half meter to get that 5 m screen.
\nI think ultra short throw is better than mounted.
\nI challenge anyone here to show me any better projector at the same price. I've been looking and Xiaomi stuffs are just the plain best for the specs.
\n" }, { "Id": "256", "CreationDate": "2015-09-15T09:52:07.520", "Body": "Due to the fact that typical smartphone durability and battery life of is not not always suited to outdoor conditions, I would like to ask you about some simple mobile phone with dual sim. Second-hand items are acceptable
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nIn Asia, in particular Thailand and India, there are a lot of cheap and popular dual SIM phones. In fact most people seem to have dual SIM phones - I'm not particularly sure why, but I think multiple boyfriends/girlfriends may be partly the reason.
\n\nThese are all quite similar to the good old Nokia 3310, that is to say, a physical keyboard, and a small, non-touch, screen. These are often around the $40 mark or less, so well within your price bracket. The Nokia 107, for example:
\n\n![\"Nokia](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/TM4T1.jpg\")
Some others are the Nokia 206, 208, 215, 220, 222, 225, 301, and 515.
\n\nThis is by no means the full list, but as you can see there are plenty to choose from. Whether these models are available in your country is another question, as they are obviously targeted towards the emerging nascent mobile phone markets, where lost cost is important. In more affluent countries, these may be considered \"throw-away\" phones, but they do meet your criteria, and do make for great holiday phones.
\n\nAlso, because there is no touch screen and a smaller screen, the battery life is longer on these phones in general, and only require a charge every other day, unlike most smart phones.
\n" }, { "Id": "260", "CreationDate": "2015-09-15T17:23:38.787", "Body": "Is there any nice light-weight e-book reader which is easy on the eye?
\n\nPreferred specifications include:
\n\nAs I am a traveler, a device which is sturdy and durable would be nice for some quick reads during travel.
\n\nShould support most e-book formats like epub, pdf, etc.
\n\nAs I am an avid user of Goodreads, a Goodreads app or integration would also help.
\n", "Title": "What is a good light-weight ebook reader?", "Tags": "|e-reader|", "Answer": "I can second Kindle as an option (I have used an older model and a paper white) - for reading novels and other easily rendered text-only fare, it is a great product. The ability to function in direct sunlight as well as darkness without destroying your eyes is a huge advantage over other options.
\n\nThe Kindle app is available on other platforms too though (Android, iOS, desktop OS) and I have found it extremely useful to have a larger format, color capable reader for a couple of use cases:
\n\nI have also used Kindle on my phone (it syncs to the furthest read location on multiple devices) for those times that you forget your reader/tablet or are unexpectedly bored.
\n\nHence my recommendation, if you can afford it, is a multi-device approach for maximum satisfaction. Whether you go with Kindle or not, make sure that your chosen app and format are usable with several types of devices (syncing is so useful too).
\n\nFor travel, the phone is probably an easy choice (as long as your screen is reasonably sized). The tablet is a personal call - you can replace it with a laptop, but I find that awkward in restricted space (planes, trains) - decent tablets can also be loaded up with films/games etc. for the times your onboard entertainment options are poor. Personally, I leave the tablet at home for travel unless I know that I have a long flight where I need to do tech reading or I know the entertainment options are going to be horrible.
\n" }, { "Id": "263", "CreationDate": "2015-09-15T20:15:26.773", "Body": "I would like to ask you about some external fingerprint scanner with a higher level of security than typical built-in reader.
\n\nI have been using several notebooks with built-in fingerprint scanner but it was quite easy to cheat them (I cannot really rely on them as at the first line of defense). In many cases it was not too restrictive when it comes to accuracy of reading, even if the settings of the hardware were selected to the highest level of \"security\".
\n\nDo you have any experience with external fingerprint scanners? Is it worth putting some interest in this topic? Could you recommend something? The price is not the most important, what is important is accuracy (not accepting fake but resembling fingerprints).
\n", "Title": "External fingerprint scanner with high fingerprint detection accuracy", "Tags": "|fingerprint-scanner|", "Answer": "External device is per definition not secured...
\n\nIn a computer it's practically saying that you'll use USB. And USB is not meant to be secure.
\n\nHowever you seem to have a very bad experience with internal ones which seems to be cheap ones and easily cheated.
\n\nYou need to be sure that they use your veins or infrared. For having a little of security with the USB thing : be sure that it's not a device that only send \"Yes/No\".
\n\nVeins cannot be cheated by collecting the grease of the finger or a photo of the finger... Detection is thermal so an image cannot be presented. \nThe only way to cheat the detection is making a 3d metal sculpture of the structure of the vein of the good finger, heat it and show it to the system ... We can say that it's quite secure.
\n\nHowever the USB part make the device vulnerable to man in the middle attack (witch is noticed because have an hardware between the usb port and the usb cable) and is also vulnerable to any simulation of the device (this part you can fix it by applying all the methods against brute force method)
\n\nFor instance: https://solisystems.com/fingervein/index.php?gclid=CM6CuaTjg8gCFUbmwgod5XgOcA
\n" }, { "Id": "283", "CreationDate": "2015-09-16T16:53:21.520", "Body": "I'd like to have a simple LED light that I can control from my computer (2012 MacBook Pro). I've heard of Kickstarter projects like blink(1), but I don't want to have it stuck right up against my computer. If anyone has experience with these, I'd love to here it.
Ideally, I'd like to have three or four of these that are individually controllable so that I could make a 'flowchart'-type thing for deployments. For example, a simple Capistrano Rails deployment:
\n\nI would write the code to make all this happen, of course. I just need the hardware.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nNice-to-have:
\n\nI have a BlinkStick Square. They have a large variety of products (including an enclosure for my Square that I just noticed).
\n\n![\"BlinkStick](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/o9UG8.jpg\")
The Square has 8 LEDs and each are addressable individually. The Square comes pre-assembled. There are other products that provide you with the parts so that you can build it.
\n\nThe API supports a number of languages (including Python and Ruby). You can also control it remotely by connecting to the BlinkStick web service.
\n" }, { "Id": "285", "CreationDate": "2015-09-16T18:54:04.233", "Body": "I lost my LG sound bar remote before I moved. Prior to moving I had DIRECTV and could use their remote to control the volume on the sound bar while performing all of the satellite functionalities I needed.
\n\nAfter moving I switched providers, this company uses TiVo. When they came and set everything up the remote was not programmed for the sound bar. I tried manually setting it but wasn't able to find the correct codes as well as finding the specific remote model that they gave me.
\n\nIs there a specific universal remote control that will allow me to connect to my TV, sound bar, and TiVo receiver?
\n", "Title": "Remote for LG TV, LG Soundbar, and TiVo box", "Tags": "|remote-control|television|", "Answer": "If you want to consolidate remote controls, I always recommend a Logitech Harmony. There are various models that have additional features (ie. touch screens, how many devices it can control at once, quick setup, etc.)
\n\nOne awesome thing about all models of the Harmony, is that they all use the same database for compatibility. You can search if your devices are available: here. Logitech boasts of compatibility with 250K+ devices across 7K manufacturers. Chances are high that it is compatible by default. If not, you can still program it using a device's original remote.
\n\nPersonally, I have the Harmony 650.
\n\n![\"Harmony](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/zJXf6.jpg\")
I use it to control a television, receiver, bluray player and stereo. Set up of each device to use the Harmony takes a little bit of time but once a the Harmony knows the device and the on/off macros I use to get everything on and how I want it when I sit to relax, it's very nice.
\n" }, { "Id": "289", "CreationDate": "2015-09-16T22:13:55.043", "Body": "Requirements:
\n\nNice to have features:
\n\nI have tried a few SD card readers but none of them worked properly with older Linux kernels/distributions. Usually they recognized the reader and the memory card but there were unreadable files and IO errors. As far as I remember they worked well with Windows so I guess it was a driver bug in Linux.
\n", "Title": "SDXC/microSDXC memory card reader for older Linux kernels", "Tags": "|linux|microsd|memory-card|sdxc|", "Answer": "Kingston Digital USB 3.0 Super Speed Multi-Card Reader for SD/SDHC/SDXC/microSD/MS/Compact Flash CF Cards (FCR-HS4)
\n\nManufacturer page: https://www.kingston.com/US/flash/readers/FCR-HS4
\nAmazon page: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VAGX6MW
Meets all your requirements and I have used it successfully with Linux Kernels beginning with 4.4, 4.8, 4.10, and several newer kernels.
\n\nIt is fast and reliable with all cards I have used up to 256GB.
\n" }, { "Id": "294", "CreationDate": "2015-09-17T03:32:58.443", "Body": "I am going to be building a computer for a college student. He is going into general engineering while he figures out exactly what he wants to do. The budget for this computer is about $1500 USD (just for the tower). This computer will be running Windows 10. He will be using this computer for school work and for gaming.
\n\nFrom my previous question, it looks like I will be getting an Intel i7 5820K Haswell. The only problem is that it doesn't come with a heat sink. In my previous builds, the stock cooler was enough to get the job done.
\n\nAs I will not be overclocking the system, air cooling should be enough. The heat sink must fit the LGA 2011-v3 socket. The case that all of this goes in will be no smaller than an ATX Mid case.
\n\nSince there are many options, I will try to narrow it down. I don't care about the noise level, as long as it doesn't sound like a jet engine. It should be more effective at cooling than the average heat sink. I am hoping that I can purchase one for less than $50.
\n\nWhich heat sinks are worthy of a recommendation?
\n", "Title": "Good heatsink for socket LGA 2011-v3?", "Tags": "|gaming|heat-sink|", "Answer": "Whenever I hear \"heatsink\" I immediately think of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (~$30). I, along with tons of other people, will instantly recommend this over anything else. It's actually gained sort of a cult following for how great it is.
\n\nAnd of course, temperature management is awesome for the price. This graph shows the 212 EVO's idle and load temperatures compared to others of the same capacity. It isn't the coolest heatsink on the market right now — you can get unimaginably cool ones now — but since heatsinks are, after all, all about temperature, price goes way up as temp goes down. The 212 EVO sits at above average in every category.
\n" }, { "Id": "298", "CreationDate": "2015-09-17T08:09:17.393", "Body": "I along with my friends are starting up a second-hand book store.
\n\nSo, we want a portable mobile credit card reader, which is easy on the pocket (as we are a startup, we would be able to shell not more than $100)
\n\nAs the store is a portable set-up such that it can be moved easily from a place to another place, a nice, portable and durable reader is preferred.
\n\nNo issues with the compatibility, but an Android compatible device would be preferred in case of a specs tie, as most of the team members have an android device.
\n\nFrom the comments, I came to know that it is called a \"Point of Sale\" machine, just in case it might help while answering.
\n", "Title": "What are some good mobile credit card readers?", "Tags": "|android|point-of-sale|", "Answer": "I recommend Square's card reader. You can get the magstripe reader for free from Square. This should imply to you that most of their service is on the software side. They also advertise a contactless reader for NFC and chip cards as \"coming soon\", though you can reserve it for free. If you don't care about the \"contactless\" part, they have a reader that will read the new chip cards already available for $30.
\n\n![\"Square](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/LIZQC.jpg\")
I have had the magstripe reader for a few years. I use it for personal payments. It's supported every Android device I've had since the OS was version 2.0. It also supports my iPad and has run just fine through all OS upgrades in the last few years.
\n\nThey have additional software related features you may find useful, though I can't vouch for any of those. These include a full PoS system, employee management, a market place and the ability to set up an online store through them.
\n\nImportantly, their rates are reasonable (for my limited use):
\n\nBoth methods accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express (with the same rates). Deposits go into your bank account within two business days.
\n\nAs I said above, I use my Square reader for personal things. Usually payments among friends/family. I've also used it when hosting a garage sale. I feel that was very helpful in getting rid of more \"stuff\", compared to previous years where I didn't use the reader. Square will email a receipt to the customer and Square protects you for a small amount of charge backs (though, I have never used this feature).
\n" }, { "Id": "300", "CreationDate": "2015-09-17T15:09:47.210", "Body": "I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini phone, and the stock battery doesn't usually last me the full day. Do 3rd party batteries work well? Is there any battery that has a longer life than the stock battery?
\n", "Title": "Better battery for a Galaxy S4 Mini?", "Tags": "|smartphones|android|", "Answer": "As said in the comments, if you care about the battery life then look at the number of mAh the replacement battery has. The Samsung original battery for Galaxy S4 Mini is 1900 mAh so you want something higher, e.g. Zerolemon Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini 5100mAh. Beware that some batteries are too thick to fit in the original phone case, so they come with a thicker case. Also, there exist a bunch of applications that help detecting which applications take the most of your battery, you might want to optimize on the software side as well.
\n" }, { "Id": "307", "CreationDate": "2015-09-17T18:41:14.980", "Body": "I want to make an AP from a Linux PC with an USB Wi-Fi adapter.
\n\nMy attempts until now weren't really successful; either the driver missed the AP capability feature, or the signal strength was negligible even from the next room.
\n\nI would be really glad to reduce the costly buy-try-throw cycle, anybody has a good experience with such a thing?
\n\nIf it is impossible (for example the power is not enough on the USB bus), PCI card would be also okay (I've tried one with an Atheros chipset, but the signal strength was with it also negligible).
\n\nIf it needs a little bit of SW/HW hacking, it is not a problem.
\n", "Title": "USB Wi-Fi stick or PCI Wi-Fi card with AP capability on Linux", "Tags": "|usb|linux|wifi|network-adapter|", "Answer": "https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi
\nThis is a list of USB wifi adapters tested by the community.
\nPart of the same website but a specific list
\n\nEach one has extensive notes that are too long to copy and paste here.
\nhttps://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/blob/main/home/The_Short_List.md
\nI recommend reading all the information before going out and buying anything.
\nAlso contributing your experience to them so no one else buys bad devices.
\n" }, { "Id": "324", "CreationDate": "2015-09-18T00:59:24.470", "Body": "I've got a 13\" laptop that I've had for a few years now, and it's been working perfectly until a couple weeks ago. It's a Dell Inspiron laptop.
\n\nHowever, a few weeks ago, one of the fan has burnt out, and is completely unusable. As a result, the computer overheats fairly quickly, even on minimal usage. Whenever I open up a browser, or my IDE, I run a deep risk of overheating my computer: and as a result, it shuts down immediately.
\n\nAre there any good computer fans, ideally powered by USB, that would work as a way to prevent my computer from overheating? It should be able to trap heat effectively from the right side to be vented out. I've got a price range of about $20, and it should be quiet, and durable (last me about 1-2 years) while I wait to get a new laptop :)
\n", "Title": "External fan for over-heating laptop", "Tags": "|usb|laptop|ventilation|", "Answer": "although the answer from @JuanCarlosCoto was already accepted, I still must disagree on one point
\n\n\n\n\n..Bear in mind that whatever external fans you may feasibly buy and\n install will provide much less efficient cooling than an internal\n one..
\n
An external fan, providing that is is not a blow-fan or fan pad , but an exhaust fan type, can be extremely effective - in fact much more than an internal one due to a much bigger facet surface and possibility to work in much higher speeds .
\n\nExhaust type fans ( sometimes called Vacuum Air Extracting fans ) , as opposed to blow-fans or pads, work on a different concept. they are actually sucking heat from the regular exhaust grill , instead of blowing air inside ( or in case of the pads - blowing air on the surfaces of the body ).
\n\nTypology examples from google images ( but searching for the above terms will yield the same for your favorite search engine )
\n\nDoing that - they are actually taking advantage of the integral / original aerodynamic and airflow design of the laptop, causing the air to enter and flow over the heat-sink / the processor / GPU in a ,much higher volume / minute capacity ( CMq/sec ) all that through the original air ducts .
\n\nSeveral of my laptops have a desktop CPU combined with metal body and and are really hot at times , in fact - so hot that I was more than once inflected with a heat burn !
\n\nAll the cooling pads I have tried were somewhat of a hoax , never had any real influence ( 3-5 degrees Celsius ) - except making noise .
\n\nBut when I found exhaust fans - the effect was extreme . \nIn my tests , on an HP 8560p , after activating an exhaust fan the temperature on the integrated CPU sensor dropped 30 degrees in 20 sec ( 70's to 40's ) with immediate effect ( meaning the drop started in 1-2 seconds !! ) \nThe second drop took some more time ( about a minute ) but it was so efficient , that the fan had to be stopped due to over - cooling now !
\n\nThe test was made with a 10,000 max RPM external exhaust fan with 2 automatic adjustable speeds and 125.15CFM ( cubic feet / minute ) or 3.54 CCM ( Cubic Meter / minute ) sized 165\u00d780\u00d748MM 1.9W and cost 8$ !!
\n\nAnother advantage is that these type of fans do not insert dust into your laptop like blow fans, but actually sucking the dust out !
\n\nAnd the best part - they are really cheap, and much more portable than the pads .
\n" }, { "Id": "341", "CreationDate": "2015-09-19T03:45:42.937", "Body": "I'm looking for an external USB 3.0 hub for under $50 USD.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nIt'd be nice to have an individual power switch for each port, but not required.
\n", "Title": "Cheap USB 3.0 hub", "Tags": "|usb|hub|", "Answer": "I would recommend the Anker 10-port USB hub.
\n\nIt's a little bit on the expensive side, as it is normally listed for just under $80, but there is a sale on Amazon that has it listed for $33. Here are some of the features:
\n\n![\"The](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/lYz1G.jpg\")
It looks fairly good as well, not ugly like a lot of other multi hubs. Hope that works out for you :)
\n" }, { "Id": "342", "CreationDate": "2015-09-19T03:57:57.870", "Body": "I'm looking for a secure USB flash drive that has built-in 256-bit (or greater) encryption.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nKingston has a few excellent encrypted flash drive solutions. Their flash drives are always high-quality and are known for their reliability.
\n\nKingston DataTraveler Vault Privacy 3.0
\nTheir basic encrypted flash drive. (~$60 for 16GB)
Kingston DataTraveler 4000 G2
\nTheir advanced encrypted flash drive. (~$70 for 16GB)
Features of both models
\n\nI'm looking for a fan controller suitable for a high-end PC with the following specs (all are required):
\n\nAnd then there's the design. I'd prefer it to look sleek and minimalistic with an easy-to-quickly-glance-at display.
\n\nPrice isn't an issue.
\n", "Title": "Fan controller for a high-end PC?", "Tags": "|fan-controller|desktop|", "Answer": "If having physical controls on the front of your PC isn't hugely important to you and you are running Windows on your PC, how about a USB fan controller like the NZXT Grid Plus v2?
\n\n![\"NZXT](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/4rd3s.jpg\")
Up to 6 fans, uses the temperature sensors already inside your components so you won't need to wire your own in, multiple profiles, custom temperature curves, up to 6 fans, and it all runs off a box that you can just sit somewhere hidden in your case. Also, it's only around $30.
\n\nAs for the CAM software which you use to control the GRID, I have been using it with my NZXT Kraken x61 cooler, and it seems stable, albeit a little bit bloated with ~100MB RAM usage.
\n\nI know this isn't what you specifically asked for, but it may be worth exploring?
\n" }, { "Id": "346", "CreationDate": "2015-09-19T15:30:12.250", "Body": "I'm looking for home mini (or pocket) projector to connect to the laptop and mirror the screen in order to watch videos.
\n\nI have less requirements than this question and my budget is lower (ideally below $300/\u00a3200).
\n\nRequirements are:
\n\nThe main problem with pocket-size projectors is that they mostly rely on wireless connection rather than typical interfaces. What is more, low resolution can make subtitles unreadable.
If we are talking about mini projectors, I can suggest ZeleSouris UC40.
Pros:
\n\nCons:
\n\nThis review may be especially helpful:
\n\n\n\n\nMaybe just me, but this was a serious faff to get set up. Firstly, you\n have to know how you are going to use this kit. I wanted to use my PC.\n I thought USB to USB but no, that does not work. HDMI cable is the way\n to go. Then once I got my hands on a cable, the picture was horrible!\n Then I faffed about some more and found it is the picture ratio that\n has to be just right. After all this, I get a decent picture. Better\n user manual would be a good idea. I will probably do a youtube video\n review/tutorial just to remind myself how to set this thing up.
\n \nI put a video onto a thumb stick and it played lovely. Hooked up an\n external hard drive that played well too. I also used it to display my\n ubuntu desktop. Text display is ok, but I would not like to have to\n read alot with it. I have my curtains pulled slightly on a bright day\n and it is plenty bright. One slight niggle is the power cable is very\n short so you do need an extension lead. The projector does make fan\n noise but I tend to mentally block it out once I'm watching a movie. I\n would say it is as loud as or slightly louder than my PC. The lense\n cover it came with does not stay on, in fact it is not the right cover\n for this projector. No problem for me as I'm not travelling with it.\n [...]
\n \nSo to finish, if you have the money go for a high end model. But for\n what I paid for this I am very happy.
\n
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/dtzYR.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/RkR0N.jpg\")
Since Google announced that it would stop producing the Google Glass technology, are there any alternatives on the market?
\n\nMy requirements are:
\n\nThe accepted answer has been discontinued. I am hoping that someone will post another.
\nIn the meantime, there are a few d.i.y projects floating about, like this one on Hackaday.
\n\nHackaday also have a list glasses-based projects, which might be of interest.
\nBuild Your Own Open-Source AR Headset For Under $80
\nDIY E.D.I.T.H. Glasses #WearableWednesday
\nDIY Wearable Pi with Near-Eye Video Glasses from AdaFruit.
\nDiy Smart Glasses Raspberry Pi 2021
\nNo doubt there are more, but I am not sure if OP (who hasn't logged in in two years) would accept a DIY solution. But, hopefully, some of this will help someone.
\n" }, { "Id": "353", "CreationDate": "2015-09-19T23:57:18.653", "Body": "My current router is just not cutting it. It has limited ports (only 2 to be exact) and the signal is horrible.
\n\nHere's my situation:
\n\nI live in a two-story house which the builder has placed all my cable wires and Ethernet cables in an encasement upstairs in the master bedroom closet. The signal from my bedroom upstairs is horrible however downstairs is much better. I've read somewhere it is better to place the router downstairs so the signal can move upwards but in my situation that is not possible.
\n\nWhat I need in a new router:
\n\nThe main part is the signal! I don't really want to buy a range extender unless I have to!
\n", "Title": "Good cost-effective router", "Tags": "|router|wireless|", "Answer": "I recommend the FritzBox 3370 (tech specs here, although in German).
\n\nReasons:
\n\n4 Ethernet ports. All are Gigabit Ethernet (1000BASE-T).
Great signal coverage with external antennas. You would have to add external antennas, which is possible without permanent modifications, for example with the Frixtender products. You can add multiple different ones with different characteristics depending on your local situation. (I did not personally use the Friztender items so far, but added a similar aftermarket antenna to a FritzBox, and it works \u2026.)
Dual band wifi. In case your wifi signal strength issues are related to having \"too many neighboring wifis\" with no locally unused, interference free channel left for you, then you can simply switch from the crowded 802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz band to the 802.11a 5.0 GHz band. Range (esp. with obstacles) is less due to the higher frequency, but speed at limited range may be way better due to less RF noise.
Supported by OpenWrt. See here.
Internal DSL modem. Not too important, but saves one device. However I am not (yet) sure if OpenWrt supports the internal DSL modem. It does so for some FritzBoxes like the 7130 (see). If not, the LAN1 port of the FritzBox can be used as WAN port and a DSL modem can be connected there (see, in German though).
Great price: 10 EUR. This is a product that did cost 180 EUR new, but the manufacturer support ended (no matter when you're on OpenWWrt anyway) and a lot of these are in the market from subsidized DSL contracts. So you can get lots of these for 10 EUR incl. shipment, for example on ebay.de. (I do not expect any problems with used, older FritzBox devices. One of them (model 7050) at my place is in use since 2005.)
Method of search. I selected AVM FritzBox as a brand that is good quality and usually supplies DSL routers that come subsidized with people's broadband contracts in my area (Germany \u2026), as that makes very cheap prices probable. Then I looked through all FritzBoxes supported by OpenWrt and found the 3370 to be the only dual-band wifi router among them with 4 Ethernet ports and a great price tag.
\n\nThere are similar FritzBoxes that add an analog phone port but only provide 802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz wifi and less than 4xGbit Ethernet (FritzBox 7320, 7330, 7360). (No match. Esp. since now that most domestic phone connections are SIP anyway, I'd rather choose a native SIP phone instead of combining it with a FritzBox.) And again others that are the same but without phone and internal DSL modem (FritzBox 4020).
\n\nOnly the relatively new FritzBox 4040 comes close again. Unlike the 3370, it does not have a DSL modem but an Ethernet WAN port \u2013 not an issue, as an external DSL modem can be connected to the WAN port when needed. Adding external antennas is also possible (see). It is however five times more expensive (50 EUR used on ebay.de right now) for basically no extra hardware features over the FritzBox 3370, except for \"guest wifi\". So my choice is quite clear :-)
\n" }, { "Id": "354", "CreationDate": "2015-09-20T12:10:42.750", "Body": "What are the laptops which are most suited for data scientists and analysts?
\n\nAs we deal with heavy computations and also need to generate visualizations, something which can take the toll of it, would be recommended.
\n\nWould be preferred if it can help in handling Big Data analytics too.
\n\nEven though the analytics is done in the Map Reduce framework (or distributed computing), yet the computations are heavy and time taking and also slows down the laptop in most cases.
\n\nSo, a laptop with features and OS which is most suited to handle such things gracefully is recommended.
\n\n[Price not an issue]
\n", "Title": "Laptop for data science", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "An alternative which you should consider is moving to a server-client model for your calculations, performing the calculations on a powerful desktop and accessing the results remotely.
\n\nThe desktop, being relatively free from the restrictions of cooling and weight, can be configured to be almost an order of magnitude more powerful than the best laptop. Dual Xeon setups with 3 or 4 graphics cards come to mind.
\n\nHowever, in order for remote access to work well, you need to have a reliable internet connection (data or wifi). If you can obtain a high speed internet connection that you can reliably access from any of the places you frequent, you should seriously consider that as an option.
\n\nMany 3G/4G operators have data plans which you can use in your laptop either as a built-in or using a USB data modem, and the main stumbling block here is likely to be the coverage of their services.
\n" }, { "Id": "355", "CreationDate": "2015-09-20T16:05:10.093", "Body": "I'm searching for a good monitor for my PC. I currently own a 21,5\" ASUS monitor, which is fine; I'm planning on using the one I currently own as a second monitor and get a new one as my main monitor. I'm willing to pay up to 200 \u20ac. I want something that's a little bigger than my current one, maybe 23 - 27\" tops. It will be used for gaming and all kinds of office applications as well as graphic design (I'm a heavy user). Because of the latter, it should offer adjustable color modes (or at least some reasonable presets) and be energy-efficient. Full HD resolution (1920x1080), not more and not less. 16/9 aspect ratio is a requirement, I don't want 16/10. Must be available to buy in Germany, no imports. Needs to accept HDMI input, DVI is optional. Edit: I don't need internal speakers!
\n\nTwo questions:
\n\nFeel free to point out if I missed some important parameter. Thanks!
\n", "Title": "A good monitor as the main one of a two-monitor setup", "Tags": "|gaming|monitors|multiple-monitors|", "Answer": "I recommend the IPS ASUS VX239H, \u20ac179 at Amazon.de. It has an IPS panel, which has better colour accuracy and viewing angles. It's quite slim, and consumes less than 22 W, according to ASUS. The brightness is 250 nits, not stellar, but it should be sufficient indoors. It does have internal speakers though. The 5 ms response time is good for IPS monitors, and you shouldn't notice nay ghosting when gaming
\n\nHere's the ASUS's product page, if you want to know anything else. I'm fairly sure it meets all your requirements. Different sized monitors could be confusing, but you should get used to it after a while, if you use your computer a lot.
\n" }, { "Id": "362", "CreationDate": "2015-09-20T23:36:48.087", "Body": "I'm currently using a Ye Olde HP Compaq nc6220 running Ubuntu Server 15.04 as a server to run odd jobs in my closet. It's doing fine, but the room can get a little toasty (which is fine) and I'm fairly certain it's not the most energy efficient setup.
\n\nSome examples of the odd jobs I run on it:
\n\nSince it's running Ubuntu Server, I can run almost anything on it. The issue I'm running into is running things that require a 64-bit architecture - the nc6220 is 32 bit.
\n\nSo, I need something that:
\n\nI'm less concerned about 64-bit compatibility, but it would certainly be a plus. What would work for this?
\n", "Title": "Energy efficient, low-heat closet-server?", "Tags": "|server|linux|", "Answer": "With these fairly low requirements, any of the mid-range ARM boards would fit, so you might as well go for a Raspberry Pi by default. (Model 2, the earlier models aren't worth the slightly lower price.) The reference price for just the board is $35, plus a power supply gets you \n\n
The CPU is not nearly as fast as the latest Intel offering, obviously, but it's enough to run ordinary Ruby programs and do C compilations. (I wouldn't do big C++ or Java compilations though, but more than the CPU, the limiting factor is that there's only 1\u00a0GB of RAM).
\n\nSince this is well under budget, you might consider a higher-end ARM board. 64-bit ARM boards (ARMv8) within your budget are starting to appear. (Of course, that's if you want 64-bit for some reason, not if you specifically need x86_64.) There's at least HiKey board is attempting to be a reference 64-bit board. It has a 1.2\u00a0GHz Cortex-A53, built-in USB2 and wifi, HDMI, 4\u00a0GB of onboard flash memory. There's also the cheaper Dragonboard 410C, with 8\u00a0GB of onboard flash, 4 USB ports and wifi. Unfortunately both have only 1\u00a0GB of RAM, at which point there are few benefits 64-bit CPU (there can still be benefits from other architectural improvements such as extra registers and cryptographic accelerators). I can't seem to find an affordable 64-bit board with 2\u00a0GB or 4\u00a0GB of RAM. You may want to start out with a 32-bit, 1\u00a0GB board now and use the rest of the price for a 64-bit board in a year or so if you find the need.
\n" }, { "Id": "363", "CreationDate": "2015-09-21T01:21:27.397", "Body": "My goal is to develop an interactive kiosk with only touchscreen available to visitors for a local museum. I must admit that I'm a freshman in this part of hardware world, but I really like the sound of this challenge, so I need to get some info/advice first about kiosk's components.
\n\nRegarding to the software part, I'm going to use an Arch Linux OS and develop my own kiosk software for the most minimalistic framework possible. I opt for making an app based on WebGL (because I believe this is my forte), so WebGL Hardware Acceleration must be supported by GPU. In case WebGL would be too heavy, my emergency plan is to build a good HTML site or a standalone Java app (which could be the hardest way, but more efficient).
\n\nSo now about the hardware: \nThe first thing that interests me the most are touchscreens - is there a special type of them, i.e. industrial ones, that are appropriate for this purpose? Where to find them and which one would you recommend me?
\n\nThe computer is covered here Choosing the right hardware for an interactive kiosk - computer
\n", "Title": "Choosing the right hardware for an interactive kiosk - screen", "Tags": "|touchscreen|point-of-sale|", "Answer": "Yes, there are industrial grade touchscreens built exactly for this purpose. I can recommend something in this family. Or you can start your own search on big industrial supplier's sites like digikey or Allied Electronics.
\n" }, { "Id": "365", "CreationDate": "2015-09-21T01:27:05.187", "Body": "Can anyone recommend some hardware which meets the following criteria:
\n\nJust a little background: I'm currently working on some home automation projects and having some USB/serial devices I want to capture data from and log to MySQL.
\n", "Title": "Recommendation for low-power, cheap, USB-capable hardware to run Linux", "Tags": "|usb|linux|", "Answer": "There are a lot of SBCs (Single Board Computers) similar or competitive to the Raspberry Pi that will fulfill your requests. They are pretty broad, and the market is pretty hot right now, so you have lots of options. Like most, I've played around mostly with Raspberry Pis of various sort. Aside from the B, B+, and 2, you have:
\n\nSBCs all have slightly different features, which is good and bad. I have come across a blog that keeps up with all sorts of little devices called Liliputing. You could scroll through it and see if there are any other devices which might suit your tastes.
\n\nEDIT
\n\nMark mentioned community support. I've seen some grumblings in the FOSS communities that people don't understand the allure of the Raspberry Pi, because there are more powerful, more feature rich alternatives. Keep in mind that while the community is large, a good chunk of it are n00bs asking the same questions over and over again presumably getting stuck on known issues. Those known issues can be with the OS, the board, or while they are trying to realign the squishy parts to wrap their squishy part around the concept of Linux and/or Linux around the Pi. My point is that a community of problems is not a beneficial community to the newcomer. I'm a newcomer, and this is my gripe. Also, I imagine that a lot fo Raspberry Pi How tos will work on other similar SBCs.
\n" }, { "Id": "382", "CreationDate": "2015-09-21T17:52:58.940", "Body": "My goal is to develop an interactive kiosk with only touchscreen available to visitors for a local museum. I must admit that I'm a freshman in this part of hardware world, but I really like the sound of this challenge, so I need to get some info/advice first about kiosk's components.
\n\nRegarding to the software part, I'm going to use an Arch Linux OS and develop my own kiosk software for the most minimalistic framework possible. I opt for making an app based on WebGL (because I believe this is my forte), so WebGL Hardware Acceleration must be supported by GPU. In case WebGL would be too heavy, my emergency plan is to build a good HTML site or a standalone Java app (which could be the hardest way, but more efficient).
\n\nSo now about the hardware:
\n\nThe screen is covered here Choosing the right hardware for an interactive kiosk - screen
\n\nNext, what about the computer? I thought about something like Hummingbird i2 or Cubox-i4Pro so it would support at least OpenGL 2.0, Wi-Fi adapter, keyboard and all those things and which would be ready to install the OS on it. Also it needs to be compatible with the chosen touchscreen.
\n", "Title": "Choosing the right hardware for an interactive kiosk - computer", "Tags": "|pc|point-of-sale|embedded-systems|", "Answer": "You might consider looking for a used point of sale system. I've played with PARs, Microses, and Alohas and have never had any trouble with Debian. Even the touchscreens generally work with out of the box installations.\nCertainly not as fuel efficient as a Pi (though POSes do still use processors designed for efficiency rather than performance), but definitely a little more robust. They also depreciate VERY quickly. You can get one with decent processing power for cheap on the ebay, and parts for the more popular models are usually plentiful.
\n" }, { "Id": "385", "CreationDate": "2015-09-21T21:44:30.300", "Body": "I am going to be building a computer for a college student. He is going into general engineering while he figures out exactly what he wants to do. The budget for this computer is about $1500 USD (just for the tower). This computer will be running Windows 10. He will be using this computer for school work and for gaming.
\n\nHe is hasn't decided if he wants to do any type of rendering yet, so to be safe, lets assume he will be. The graphics card doesn't have to be a power renderer, just something to get the job done.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nIt would be nice to have it support two 4K monitors in case he wants to upgrade, but it is not a requirement.
\n", "Title": "Graphics card for new college computer", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|rendering|", "Answer": "I am not sure how a $800 graphics card would go in a $1500 computer. One can technically buy it, but without a good motherboard, powersupply, CPU, RAM, HDD, and most importantly a case, it's just going to be a super expensive paperweight.
\n\nFor $1500, assuming you spend two-thirds of the budget for the rest of the build, a GTX 980 would be a good bet. You can find one from EVGA for $510:\nhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487079
\n\nThe rest of the build could include a i5 4690K/6600K, a Z97/Z170 based motherboard, a 650W power supply, 16GB RAM and a 250GB/1TB SSD/HDD combo. Plus a CPU cooler, a good case and a couple of case fans.
\n\nIf you're looking for a lot of tasks beyond simple gaming, a i7 4790k/6700k would also be a good idea.
\n" }, { "Id": "388", "CreationDate": "2015-09-22T08:24:03.477", "Body": "I have an opportunity to buy a used Dell T5400 for a very reasonable price.
\n\n CPU: Xeon E5420\n Clock: 2500 Mhz\n Cores: 4 - Quad Core\n RAM: 4GB DDR3\n Disk: 250GB\n GPU: nVidia Quadro NVS DMS->2x DVI\n OS: Windows 8.1 Professional\nObviously this is a work computer. The gfx card is really not fit for gaming (I have the very same model at work, just with 20GB of RAM, tried running some games and the framerate is abysmal). Most likely I'd purchase more RAM, and moving disks from the old computer I'd have some 1.5TB of storage. But the primary decision for now is the gfx card.
\n\nMy budget for the gfx card is around $250-$300. The primary use would be games, with some graphics editing, programming and home use on the side.
\n\nWhich gfx card that fits that model, that would fit within the budget would provide optimal gaming performance?
\n", "Title": "How to turn Dell Precision T5400 into a gaming computer?", "Tags": "|pc|gaming|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "I would recommend something in the GTX 900 series, or the R9 200 or 300 series.
\n\nIf you want the most power possible, the R9 390 and the GTX 970 are both incredibly powerful cards, and just about equal in terms of performance. The only downside is they are just above your price range. (a quick search on google shopping shows most of them to be around 300-350) If you can find a good deal on one of these, that is probably your best option. It seems like the 390 is just slightly more powerful, but the 970 is more power-efficient. (I've also heard that the 970 has better overclocking, but I'm not positive on that.
\n\nIf you're willing to sacrifice a little bit of performance to stay in your budget, your best option is probably the R9 290. (Which just so happens to be my current GPU) It is almost comparable to the GTX 970, but significantly cheaper. (You could probably get one for $250)
\n" }, { "Id": "391", "CreationDate": "2015-09-22T13:54:34.430", "Body": "Which of modern (desktop PC) CPUs would provide best performance in single-threaded applications?
\n\nThere are some games that haven't been optimized for multi-core use, and the CPU speed is their bottleneck (for physics calculations primarily).
\n\nI know the end of the line in the gigahertz race were Intel's single-core CPUs of over 4GHz, but then the companies began scaling the speed back while adding more cores or features like hyperthreading. Support for these old extra-fast single core CPUs is scarce nowadays, plus older motherboards, slower RAM and AGP cards would create new bottlenecks, so a more modern alternative would be preferred. So, which of modern CPUs is best suited for this kind of operation?
\n", "Title": "Which modern CPU for best single-threaded performance?", "Tags": "|pc|processor|", "Answer": "Another vote for the i7-4790K: I tried to make an i7-6700K machine to outperform it. Both CPUs were delidded \u2014 (CL Liquid Pro put between die & IHS) \u2014 and overclocked as far as I could reliably go with Noctua NH-D14 & Vcore=1.275).
\n\nI got to 4.5/4.4/4.4/4.4GHz (1/2/3/4 cores active) on the 6700, and used DDR4 3000 (CL15). With the 4790K, I was able to get 4.9/4.8/4.7/4.7GHz, and used DDR3 2400 (CL10).
\n\nIn both single-thread and overall (Passmark) CPU benchmarks, the 4790 bested the 6700, not by a ton, but...
\n" }, { "Id": "402", "CreationDate": "2015-09-22T23:48:20.623", "Body": "I currently have 3 Asus VH236H monitors. They are spread across my desk and can be hard to work with. I am looking for a stand or mount to bring my monitors closer together. My monitors have the VESA wall mounts.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nMy desk is not up against the wall and is about 1 1/8 inch thick. It is made of solid wood, so screwing into it (preferably from the bottom) is not a problem. All that I ask is that I do not have to damage the walls.
\n", "Title": "Monitor stand that supports 3 monitors", "Tags": "|multiple-monitors|monitor-stand|", "Answer": "VIVO Triple LCD Monitor Desk Mount seems reasonable.
\n\nPros:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/wxe1Em.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/s3wDLm.jpg\")
I'm looking for a keyboard under $100USD for gaming, programming, and video editing. For these, programmable keys are needed.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nWould like, but not required:
\n\nI've seen some keyboards with plugs for headphones/USB; having these would be good
Having multiple light colors to choose from (If not changeable, a green color would match my PC)
Volume switches for PC
I don't like really small keyboards, so if its bulky, I consider that a plus.
Think about Logitech G105. Price: $39.99 .
\n\nAccording to your spec:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/U7whW.jpg\")
If you want to have an extra USB think about Logitech G710+
\n\nThe nice thing about G710+ is cable routing underneath the keyboard:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/k1rmb.jpg\")
Check also:
\n\nLogitech G710+ Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Unboxing & First Look Linus Tech Tips
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/8gjgh.png\")
I have some nice wireless consumer routers, but will soon be running into their limits in terms of bandwidth/throughput capabilities (assuming my ISP delivers on 1Gb connections). Hence, I am looking to roll my own router again for the first time since I started to use WiFi. I also have an eye on the future (IPV6) and generally like building my own gear. I have enough parts lying around (CPU, case, RAM etc.) to provide most of the building blocks of a nice beefy router.
\n\nOne thing I don't have, and have no experience with is the wireless card itself - I have never purchased one separately, only used the ones already in laptops or SFF PCs. My larger machines have all been wired only. My short-list of preferred features:
\n\nI recently decided to build my own wireless router - and I found the Airetos AEX-QCA9880-NX performing very well on my DIY machine: 3 channels 802.11ac/n/g in a miniPCIe shape.
\n" }, { "Id": "423", "CreationDate": "2015-09-23T17:06:57.763", "Body": "I work with software development and have some games that I want to play. Games like The Witcher 3, Diablo 3: RoS, etc.
\n\nI live in a hot country, so I need something that won't overheat.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nOptional
\n\nLenovo IdeaPad Y50-70-59441231 meets your requirements.\nA comprehensive review can be found here.\nI am talking about model with GTX 960M. Price: 1499 Euro.
\n\nAccording to your spec:
\n\n\n\n\nThe side shafts of the island-style keys are made of translucent red\n plastic, and the light shines through the actual key bodies, rather\n than simply leaking from around the key cutouts, as in other backlit\n laptops. Source.
\n
Gaming Performance
\n\n\n\n\nLenovo's Y50 is explicitly aimed at gamers. Thus,\n it is not surprising that it can render all current games smoothly. It\n is normally possible to select the Full HD resolution and high to very\n high quality settings. The resolution and/or quality level has to be\n reduced in some games, for example \"The Witcher 3\". The frame rates\n are only slightly higher than that of laptops equipped with a GeForce\n GTX 860M graphics core. However, the advantage over 860 models of the\n Y50 is greater, like in the 3DMark benchmarks, because the GeForce GTX\n 860M GPUs in the Y50 models do not clock at their maximum possible\n speeds.
\n \nThe screen's maximum resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels) can only be fully\n utilized in rare cases. This option is at most possible in games that\n only have moderate hardware requirements. The Y50 only achieves just\n below 70 fps in the benchmark of the game \"Dirt Rally\" in very low\n quality settings. The rates drop to 25.3 fps in medium and 22.8 fps in\n high settings. Source.
\n
![\"Photo](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pbkKR.png\")
Diablo III Reaper of Souls on Lenovo Y50-70 (with 860M).
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/qkOaQ.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Mkc2O.jpg\")
I'm looking for pocket-size keyboard, so it can be carried between work on daily basis without additional headache. Can either be wireless or wired.
\n\nIt should work without any lag or known problems (such as easily mistaking \u2318+W with \u2318+Q - and all my tabs are gone). It should be compatible with OS X.
\n\nIt can be either foldable, rollable, invisible or similar to not take much space when travelling, so I'm not sure which one you can recommend?
\n", "Title": "Pocket-size keyboard for a programmer", "Tags": "|keyboards|osx|", "Answer": "If you have large pockets (not necessarily cargo pants size), the Poker ][ is a very nice pocket-size board. Mine has an aftermarket aluminum case, which means it's a very tight fit in my pants.
\n\n![\"This](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/V5FdK.jpg\")
Vortex has since discontinued the Poker ][ in favor of the Pok3r, which comes with a stock aluminium case and has a different default fn-layer mapping. Other 60% keyboards should be about the same size as the Poker series.
\n\nIf you're looking for something even smaller and are willing to live with using the numbers from a function layer, the JD 40 (since discontinued, or at least no longer listed on the manufacturer's website, https://www.crtralt.io) was a good bet.
\n\nAssuming you do not mind both a the 40% size and an ortholinear layout, the Planck is your way to go. Its manufacturer also makes parts for the Atomic, which is an ortholinear 60% keyboard that you get to assemble yourself.
\n\nFinally, the TypeMatrix 2030 is deeper and maybe a bit wider than the other options, but is easily the thinnest of the bunch. It's a 60% ortholinear keyboard with scissor switches (the others all use traditional mechanical switches). It won't fit into any pockets (unless you count the font pocket of a hoodie sweatshirt, but it will easily fit into a briefcase, backpack, or on top of a stack of books.
\n" }, { "Id": "435", "CreationDate": "2015-09-24T14:33:32.743", "Body": "Years ago, I was into home PC DVRs with many tuners, lots of storage, and awesome PC-based playback throughout the house. I started with Beyond TV and when they quit developing new home user features began the switch to SageTV. I ripped all my movies (DVD, Blu-Ray) to an SMB network share (SageTV worked with these). Then Google came along and purchased SageTV and promptly killed it before I was able to switch over from PCs to their set-top boxes.
\n\nI'm interested in restarting this home project so that my movie collection is available without a PC, so I'd like a good STB to play them. I prefer to store them in (unencrypted) native format so that menus are intact and no additional compression artifacts have been introduced (not to mention the extra time and computing power required for recompression). Currently I have everything in folders (with VIDEO_TS or BDMV subfolders with standard files inside), but I might be convinced to switch to single-file .ISO format. I'd also like my family to be able to use the devices when I'm not around, so a high WAF is a must. So to summarize, my requirements are as follows:
\n\nBonus for:
\n\nP.S. If there is a plugin for a popular STB that adds this functionality, that would be great too, especially Roku (I already have a Roku 2--the old Roku 2, not the new Roku 2!).
\n", "Title": "Home movie player for DVD/Blu-Ray", "Tags": "|networking|blu-ray|dvd-player|set-top-box|", "Answer": "It's been forever, but last year I installed Plex (on Linux, though it's available on Windows too). Being a mostly-windows guy, setup wasn't nearly as painful as I was expecting. I spent far more time setting up SAMBA as well as organizing my collection than setting up Plex. Plex supports 4K and has a very slick and capable Roku app, as well as phone apps. I have TCL TVs, so they have Roku built-in, which is very convenient. Roku has smartphone and smartwatch remotes. Plex parental controls aren't great, but are there. For bonuses I didn't even ask for, Plex does on-the-fly transcoding and is publicly-accessible, so even without a VPN, I can access my collection when I'm on vacation (as long as I have a decent internet connection). Keeping DVD/BD menus intact wasn't a deal breaker for me, and I'm not sure if that's possible in Plex or not at this point.
\n" }, { "Id": "436", "CreationDate": "2015-09-24T15:39:07.757", "Body": "My limiting factor from a video perspective at home is now my KVM. It is DVI based and supports up to 1920x1200 resolution. If I want to move to 4k I am going to need a replacement. Can anyone give a specific recommendation in terms of a KVM used successfully with higher (4k) resolutions, or even pointers to ones with these capabilities?
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nBesides that I have no preference for HDMI or DisplayPort, and I am happy with being able to switch audio as stereo (i.e. it does not have to be carried over the same cable as the video).
\n\nAs an example of something that comes close, but not quite close enough, this KVM from Startech will only support 4k resolutions at reduced frame rates.
\n", "Title": "KVM with four ports to support 4k Resolution", "Tags": "|hdmi|kvm|display-port|", "Answer": "In stead of getting KVM switches from L1T, you should get your KVM switch from other providers, if you decide to go for the high-end DisplayPort 1.4 KVM switch solution.
\nThere is one very important spec. that all DP 1.4 KVM switches from L1T are missing - None of its DP 1.4 KVM switch models provide DisplayPort 1.4 EDID emulation and full-time EDID feeding to all connected systems/ laptops of the KVM switch. Some users said that feature is not important for DisplayPort KVM switch setups. If that is true then why the HDMI KVM switches from L1T are all come with standard EDID emulation and EDID feeding to the HDMI KVM switches they provided ?\nAlso, why L1T want the users of their DP1.4 KVM switches to buy the external DisplayPort EDID emulator to solve the lack of built-in EDID emulation issue. For 2-port DisplayPort KVM switch, if you use L1T KVM switch, you need to buy 4 of them for dual-monitor sharing model. The cost of 4 external EDID emulator will be $420 ($105/each)+ 4 x DP-DP cables ($15x4)$60 = $480 for adding the EDID for 2-port DP KVM switch from L1T.\nFor 4-port DP KVM switch, the cost for just adding EDID will be $960 (not including the 4-port KVM DP KVM switch and any other cables).
\n" }, { "Id": "446", "CreationDate": "2015-09-24T22:53:18.547", "Body": "When running, I wear a GPS watch to track (in addition to my time) the distance I've traveled and my instantaneous pace. However, I've noticed that arm swing can have a bit of an impact on its readings. I don't have a substantial amount of arm swing, but I've noticed that I get a different pace when I hold my arm still than when I keep my arms moving normally (don't ask how I read it then).
\n\nIs there a GPS watch that somehow accounts for this to produce more accurate data?
\n\nI have some additional requirements:
\n\nI'm somewhat flexible with these requirements, because I have yet to find a watch with this feature. If I have to sacrifice one or more requirements to find a watch, then I may do so. Feel free to bend them slightly.
\n", "Title": "GPS watch that compensates for arm swing", "Tags": "|gps|wearable-technology|", "Answer": "tl;dr: arm swing is noise compared to accuracy of GPS
\n\n\n\n\nIs there a GPS watch that somehow accounts for this to produce more accurate data?
\n
No, there is not.
\n\nThe reason is among others that to get that level of accuracy for GPS requires significantly more than the GPS locator can provide.
\n\n\n \n\n\n
It is possible the military, who are allowed multiple GPS channels could account for the noise associated with civilian GPS and create a watch this accurate. They may in fact have one. Probably not one you can purchase, however..
\n\nNote that for applications that do need this level of accuracy such as farming or surveying all have some level of supplemental signal (such as RTK). These tools are all several orders of magnitude more than your $90 requirement - most are $1000-$10000 price range. They are also bulky and not likely to be portable. Many still have accuracy that is only in the ~10 inch range, too. If your arm swing is 2 feet their error is still nearly 50% of what you are wanting to account for.
\n\nAlso observe that not all running watches are created equally. I would suggest looking at this and picking one which has the best criteria.
\n\nNow, onto my next point, which is instantaneous pace.
\n\n\n\n\nThe pace should be accurate to the second - I've noticed that my current watch only does this in multiples of five seconds (e.g. it will rounds 7:03 up to 7:05).
\n
First, keep in mind how pace is calculated.
\n\nIt is almost assuredly not polling the GPS signal multiple times every second and calculating instantaneous updates every quarter second (or whatever). Because GPS is a battery hog to get lightweight devices it likely is polling at an interval. A friend of mine with a PhD in networking technology indicated that once/second with a GPS intensive app is probably a good rule of thumb. More kills battery life.
\n\nSo lets say you are running a 7 minute mile. That's about 10 feet per second. Let's generously say that the accuracy of the GPS error is only +/- 3 meters (remember, 7.9 meters is the published accuracy at 95% confidence). This is a pretty significant improvement - a 7.9 meter circle vs a 3 meter circle. 3 meters is about 10 feet, and so this means that any calculation looks like:
\n\nSo clearly a 1-second pace doesn't make sense from a GPS perspective. Let's look at 5 feet:
\n\nOk, this is better, but still not super accurate, even with a 5 second polling interval. Keep in mind this is assuming that the GPS accuracy is pretty good that meaningful and repeatable.
\n\nLet's also consider your arm swing. At worst, your arm swing might be 2 feet linear distance - out of 40-50 feet traveled in the 5 second interval. This is a small error margin, perhaps 2/40 or about 5% maximum error. But the GPS error is still 25% of this scenario.
\n\nIf we consider the 1 second poll, the GPS error is 100% and arm swing is still only 25%.
\n" }, { "Id": "453", "CreationDate": "2015-09-25T16:06:34.693", "Body": "I have a rather advanced use-case that I need a KVM-type device for, and I was wondering whether such a thing even existed. I want a 3-PC setup; 2 desktops (PC1 and PC2) and 1 laptop dock (DOCK1). I want to connect 2 monitors, 1 mouse, and 1 keyboard. So far it's relatively straightforward, as I could just switch between the 3 devices.
\n\nBut here's the kicker; I'd like one mode to output PC1 video to screen1, extend DOCK1 video to screen2, and input keyboard and mouse to DOCK1. I'd like another mode with that video setup, but inputting keyboard and mouse to PC1. Basically I'd like to be able to switch between inputting to PC1/DOCK1, whilst continuing to be able to monitor each by outputting each one's video to one of the 2 monitors. However I want another mode where I can just go dual-screen with PC1 and input keyboard and mouse to PC1, and another mode where I can go dual-screen with PC2 and control it.
\n\nIs there any KVM out there able to do this kind of thing? I guess I'm probably looking for some kind of programmable KVM which allows me to specify, for each \"mode\", which inputs are routed to which outputs.
\n\nOh and in terms of ports I want to use HDMI for video (or possibly DVI) and USB for peripherals; not VGA or PS/2.
\n", "Title": "Advanced KVM operation?", "Tags": "|video|multiple-monitors|kvm|", "Answer": "I ended up using the Aten CM0264, which is a matrix KVM switch targeted at the small-office-home-office market; advanced, but not too pricey. While the software is rather flaky (don't bother trying to do a firmware upgrade; it doesn't work), luckily the firmware it came installed with works fine and the physical build quality is excellent.
\n\nIt had 4 device ports, just enough for what I needed (I'm plugging 2 video connectors in for PC1 to allow dual screen, and one connector for each of the other 2 devices). The ports vary between HDMI and DVI which is a bit odd, but luckily they are basically interchangeable using adapters as long as you only care about video rather than sound, and both use a digital signal (so no nasty analogue stuff like colour bleeding or fuzziness on the screen).
\n\nBecause it's a matrix KVM, I can independently change which input is being routed to which output console using buttons on the KVM, allowing me to display PC1 in dual screen mode, or just have one PC1 input and one PC2/PC3 input displaying (or even display PC2 and PC3 on the different screens). I can also independently switch keyboard and mouse inputs between devices by switching the USB routing (I plug the keyboard and mouse into the separate USB slots rather than the ones associated with video console 1, as those get switched along with console 1!)
\n\nAll in all I'm pretty happy with the solution, though I'd be screwed if I needed to add a fifth video input to the setup!
\n" }, { "Id": "458", "CreationDate": "2015-09-26T18:47:44.817", "Body": "What would you recommend to choose? I was thinking about Samsung 850 Pro and Crucial MX200 but every suggestion would be appreciated. 250GB seems to be fine for me (I have one another 1TB HDD).
\n\nMy expectations:
\n\nI rarely do video edit. It is mainly about reducing the compile cycle time and work smoothly on multiple files simultaneously.
\n", "Title": "250 GB SSD for programming cheaper than ~\u00a3100?", "Tags": "|ssd|performance|", "Answer": "I've got the 256gb variant of the Samsung 850 Pro and running a few tests would be quite enlightening. Improving compile time may also depend on processor so... it depends on your options. Likewise with IDE & Git performance. That said, I upgraded from an 840 (which I can't find the benchmarks for, its on my laptop at the moment) and it was a significant improvement. Enough yammering.
\nScience!
BIOS time (boot time) is 15 seconds according to Windows. My system is a bit of a mess and I could probably remove things to speed it up more :)
\n\nThis is a drive I've been using as a boot drive. Optimised for performance in Samsung Disk Magician, though kept fairly empty, since bulk storage is another drive.
\n\nHD Tune benchmarks
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/kFPN9.png\")
I believe these numbers exceed your requirements.
\n\nCrystal Disk Mark Benchmarks with what I believe is the default settings.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ax1W9.png\")
Few other nice things about this? 10 year warranty, and its MLC rather than TLC, which means better endurance and speed.
\n" }, { "Id": "460", "CreationDate": "2015-09-27T00:05:33.870", "Body": "I'm planning to get a new (2nd-hand/refurbished) system for rendering large POV-Ray scenes. I'm using very large bitmaps as bump map and colormap. I'll usually be running multiple POV-Ray processes at a time to utilize more processor power. (A large portion of the render time is used by single threaded parsing.) At peak moments the memory usage will be above 32GB so I'm aiming at 48GB of memory.
\n\nI could choose between a HP Z600 or Z800 with both have almost the same specs (dual Xeon 5570, 48GB) except for the memory speed. The Z800 has 1333MHz memory and is \u20ac200 more expensive. How much difference would it make for my workload?
\n", "Title": "1066MHz vs. 1333MHz memory speed: how much will it impact a POV-Ray workload?", "Tags": "|performance|memory|", "Answer": "A general rule of thumb is that a 100% increase in memory speed corresponds to a 5% increase in overall performance. This is because memory access is slow relative to the CPU, so CPUs and programs are designed to minimize memory access.
\n\nMy experience with POV-Ray bears this out: overclocking the RAM/FSB of my computer from 266 MHz to 333 MHz resulted in benchmarks taking about 1% less time -- though as you can probably tell from the memory speeds involved, this was ten years ago.
\n" }, { "Id": "472", "CreationDate": "2015-09-29T08:34:19.500", "Body": "I've been focusing on my computer's video and performance so much that I forgot about audio quality, which is surprising because I'm somewhat of an audiophile. So, I'm in the market for a sound card with at least these specs:
\n\nThings I don't want at all:
\n\nMaximum price I'll pay right now is $75. I wish I could bump this up to the hundreds, but, alas, money is tight.
\n", "Title": "What is a cost-effective sound card for under $75?", "Tags": "|audio|sound-cards|", "Answer": "Asus Xonar DX 7.1 is on sale at Newegg for $75+ $4 shipping - $10MIR = $69.
\n\nResponse: No, I don't have first hand experience with this card, but I do with another Asus (external) sound product, Xonar U7, that's ok. This was the only card that I found meets both your noise level and price requirements. If you relax the noise level a bit, you get much cheaper stuff, for example:
\n\nCreative Sound Blaster Audigy FX 5.1 PCIe Sound Card with 600 ohm Headphone Amp
\n\nIn case you wonder, the \"600 ohm Headphone Amp\" means it has a separate, relatively powerful headphone amplifier onboard, which can drive \"difficult\" (that is high-impedance) headphone like Sennheiser HD600 (which cost about 10x what this card does, so it's a bit questionable that you'd want this cheap card for those). This feature doesn't affect/matter for the 5.1 speakers output.
\n\nAnd since you're probably going to ask... no I don't first-hand experience with this card either. The last Creative (proper) card I had was an Audigy 2 (PCI); quality was as advertised. I also have an E-MU 1212M, which is their professional brand basically; outside your price range by a factor of at least 2 and not 5.1 etc.
\n" }, { "Id": "481", "CreationDate": "2015-09-29T23:01:28.713", "Body": "For years now, the only webcam I've (rarely) used is the Logitech C200. This is by far outdated now and I'm looking for a high-quality, powerful webcam that would be ideal for streaming. I've looked through the well-known Logitech webcams, and there are some good ones but not quite what I need. These specs are required:
\n\nOptionally, an independent stand and built-in stereo mics would come in handy every now and then.
\n\nBudget: $100 USD
\n", "Title": "High-quality webcam for streaming", "Tags": "|video|webcam|", "Answer": "I would recommend the Logitech C920. It fits perfectly in your budget at $99.99. Here's the features it offers:
\n\nI am going to be building a computer for a college student. He is going into general engineering while he figures out exactly what he wants to do. The budget for this computer is about $1500 USD (just for the tower). This computer will be running Windows 10. He will be using this computer for school work and for gaming.
\n\nI just about have all the parts picked out, but I need a way to power them.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nNice to Haves:
\n\nI will be getting this motherboard, processor, and graphics card for reference. What is a good power supply that meets my requirements?
\n", "Title": "Power supply for new college computer", "Tags": "|power-supply|", "Answer": "PSU recommendations are tough because it is a fairly quickly shifting market (not as bad as some, but nonetheless). I have personally had good experiences with several Corsair models, Enermax, EVGA and a couple of others over the years, so how do you go about picking one again?
\n\nMy lazy default is probably Corsair, but that is covered in other answers, and I occasionally want to look at other options and do my homework rather than assume that it is still the best choice. When doing so, I first check out a Power Supply calculator like this one to make sure I am beating my minimum required wattage by at least 20% - this gives me wiggle room should I need to add devices, or up the graphics card later, it also means that I am not over stressing the PSU even at full load.
\n\nNext, I will decide if I really want modular or not, because there is usually a bit of a premium there in terms of price. Then I will filter down to the ones on the list with the best efficiency rating within my wattage and budget range. This is all a little theoretical, so let's walk through it with actual numbers.
\n\nI guessed at a couple of things with your specs as a guideline and came up with a wattage requirement of 580W. Using my 20% rule above that rounds up to 700W as a minimum and I'll use 800W as a max to keep the resulting list smaller. Next, I plugged those requirements (along with the platinum 80 plus and modular requirement) into Newegg and got a list of just 8 candidates.
\n\nWhat I am hoping for now is for one (or more) of those candidates to be from brands I know. If so, then I just do some basic due diligence by reading a couple of reviews, and make my choice. In this case my results give me two such options:
\n\n\n\nWithout a major price difference I would go for the Corsair, but the reviews on the EVGA look good, I've had decent experience with EVGA previously, and right now it is coming in at $40 cheaper than the 760 ($109 vs $149 after rebate) because it is on sale. That's enough for me, if I was buying the PSU right now, it would be the EVGA. Without the sale I would plump for the Corsair.
\n" }, { "Id": "493", "CreationDate": "2015-09-30T21:20:43.083", "Body": "I use the Magic Mouse a lot. I find it extremely precise and convenient for text, video and design tasks.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/48wo6.png\")
I also like the way it looks, and the fact that it doesn't use a USB port.
\n\nHaving recently started to learn 3D with Blender, I believe I am entering a domain that this mouse is clearly not designed for.
\n\nSo I am looking for a mouse that would be good for 3D (three buttons, scroll-wheel in the middle), that doesn't look too ugly on my desk, and whose shape wouldn't be too different from the one of the Magic Mouse so that my hand can get used to it quickly when I switch back and forth. Also, it would have to be Bluetooth.
\n\nI looked on many websites, but the first thing that happens is that I can't find anything that seems to meet these requirements, or the second thing that happens is that most brands are brands I've never heard of and don't know whether I can trust them with my money or not. I'd rather avoid buying 20 different mouses (mice?) until I find one that works on Mac / is sturdy / works very well / etc.
\n\nSo far I've been using a Logitech M185, which isn't very beautiful, and also needs a USB port to work (it's wireless, but you need to plug a transmitter/receiver in the USB port for it to work).
\n", "Title": "Best mouse for 3D/Blender for users used to Apple Magic Mouse?", "Tags": "|mice|", "Answer": "![\"Logitec](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/jGmfH.jpg\")
This is the absolute best mouse for blender IMHO.
\nIt has a num pad directly on the side (totally programmable) and I usually like to set the far left trigger button to cmd+z because I make a lot of mistakes.
\nIt literally changed my Blender game and I would hate having to adapt to something else.
\n" }, { "Id": "500", "CreationDate": "2015-10-02T03:09:49.373", "Body": "How can I find a replacement heat sink/fan assembly for a graphics card? Are there any standards as to size and screwhole placement?
\n\nI have a fairly old PC, to which I wanted to add a USB 3.0 card. Unfortunately, the heat sink on my video card (a PNY GeForce GT 430 RVCGGT4301XXB) hung right over the only 1x PCIe slot on the motherboard. As an experiment, I decided to take a Dremel and cut off the fins of the heat sink in the way of the other slot.
\n\nThe Dremel process was a huge pain and the end result was very messy, but it seemed to allow just enough space for the other card. Unfortunately, although the video card worked initially, it shut down the (HDMI) video signal after a few minutes. I rebooted and confirmed a recurrence of this behavior.
\n\nI'd like to replace this heat sink/fan, preferably with one that doesn't stick out quite as far over the other PCIe slot. Is this possible?
\n", "Title": "Finding replacement heat sink/fan for GPU", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|heat-sink|", "Answer": "Unless you go for the \"ghetto cooling\" option you are not likely to find any after-market cooling options for a lower end card like the 430. This one supports the 440 but does not list the 430 and I suspect it would not be an improvement in terms of freeing up the neighboring slot.
\n\nDo you have any other full size PCI-E slots available (x4 or x8)? If so, your x1 card will work in that slot without any modification and that may solve your issues from a slot perspective. You could then look for a replacement heatsink from a second hand or broken card to replace the one that has been modified.
\n" }, { "Id": "503", "CreationDate": "2015-10-02T05:39:47.407", "Body": "I am in need of some memory for my incoming Brix Pro. The spec sheet says it only accepts 1.3Vdc DDR3L. A quick shop around and I've found 1.3V DDR3L SOMDIMMs which have better timings versus 1.3Vdc.
\n\nWhat is the difference between 1.3Vdc and 1.3V? Can I use 1.3V RAM in place of 1.3Vdc?
\n", "Title": "SODIMM: 1.3Vdc vs 1.3V", "Tags": "|memory|", "Answer": "It doesn't actually make a difference.
\n\n\"dc\", properly capitalized as \"DC\", refers to direct current. So 1.3 V DC simply means that the required RAM runs using 1.3 volts of direct current. (If you don't know about direct vs. alternating current, you can read about the differences here).
\n\nNow, if you look at the power cable that's probably attached to your computer, there'll be a brick somewhere in the middle of it. That brick is the AC transadapter, which is a combination of an adapter and a transformer. It performs the function of transforming the incoming power down to a lower voltage that's safe for the computer (usually 12 V, though it can vary), and then adapting the AC current that comes from the socket outlet and through the transformer into DC current, because that's what computers work on.
\n\nThat's important because it means that any type of RAM runs on DC. Even if something specified AC for some RAM, the RAM wouldn't get AC because the only power coming into the computer and components is DC. Hence, a RAM package that's specified 1.3 V is no different in terms of power requirements from another that's specified 1.3 V DC.
\n" }, { "Id": "510", "CreationDate": "2015-10-03T09:55:32.447", "Body": "Can you recommend a good monitor with a high quality display which gives me the feeling of a Retina display like the MacBook's one?
\n\nI'll use it with a 2015 13\" MacBook Pro w/ Retina.
\n\nI tried the Dell U2515H 25\" and is not right for me. Too big, I can not work and especially I do not see as I will.
\n\nI would like to try to max with a 23\", but maybe 21\" would be better.
\n\nAnd above all: high DPI rate.
\n\nThe Retina MacBook 13 2015 spread on a 13-inch 2560x1600 resolution: 220 DPI.
\n\nI work as programmer and writer and spend many hours at the computer.
\n", "Title": "High DPI 21\u201c or 23\u201d monitor for 13\" MacBook Pro", "Tags": "|monitors|multiple-monitors|", "Answer": "Belford's answer is probably the way to go.
\n\nBut, if you search around, you may be able to find a used IBM T220 or T221 or one of the rebrands. These monitors were sold between 2001 and 2005, with a native resolution of 3840\u00d72400 pixels (WQUXGA) on a screen with a diagonal of 22.2 inches
\n\nTheir pixel density works out to 204 ppi.
\n\nDue to their age, they preceded HDMI (mostly) and DisplayPort (entirely), instead relying on multiple DVI connectors, so you will need adaptors.
\n\nAlso, their maximum refresh rate is 48 Hz, but may be lower depending on exactly how you connect to them. They should be fine for programming, writing, and 24-30 fps video, but they may be too slow for games and some (i.e. 60 fps) video.
\n" }, { "Id": "520", "CreationDate": "2015-10-04T02:46:21.623", "Body": "I'd like to use an Asus H81T motherboard for my next desktop, and wanted a fanless case for it. I found the Akasa Euler and Streacom FC8 and the FC8 is the clear winner since it gives me enough room to put 2 disks in the box as well as letting me include an optical drive.
\n\nProblem is that looking at Streacom's system-build guide about where the CPU should be placed for FC8's heat-pipes to be usable, I get the impression that the Thin-ITX form used by the H81T puts the CPU too far from the backplate.
\n\nCan someone confirm (or deny) that the FC8's heat pipes can be used with a Thin-ITX motherboard such as the H81T?
\n\nAlternatively, what other cases would you recommend for a fanless system that can host a Thin-ITX motherboard and with room for an optical drive?
\n", "Title": "Can the Streacom FC8's heat pipes accomodate a Thin-ITX motherboard", "Tags": "|case|mini-pc|", "Answer": "I ended up asking Streacom (what an idea, eh?) and they confirmed that the FC8 should work fine with Thin-ITX, such as the Asus H81T.
\n\nI received my FC8 Alpha and can confirm that it happily accomodates Thin-ITX boards (I'm using an H81T, but Thin-ITX is sufficiently precisely defined that it should work for all Thin-ITX boards).
\n" }, { "Id": "528", "CreationDate": "2015-10-05T04:14:29.757", "Body": "I'm looking for a prosumer FDM 3D printer. I have the following requirements, in order of importance:
\n\nI'm aware that there is probably no machine that meets all these criteria, so preference will be given to recommendations that address the criteria in top-to-bottom order.
\n", "Title": "Recommendation for prosumer 3D Printer", "Tags": "|3d-printer|", "Answer": "I gave Obmerk Kronen plenty of time to post his own answer based on his comment, and even prompted him to do so, but he never did...
\n\nSo: any of the three models of printer made by https://www.raise3d.com/.
\n\nI am looking for a very large power bank, as I am very bad about charging my devices. Ideally the power bank I am looking for is as follows-
\n\nI have had a hard time finding reliable sellers for such a thing, so make sure the battery you are looking at isn't a scam.
\n\nIt seems strange that I essentially want a car battery for my laptop, but I would find a thing to be very useful.
\n", "Title": "What is the largest capacity power bank on the market?", "Tags": "|power-bank|", "Answer": "Taking in to account your desire to charge your laptop, the largest battery I could find within your budget and from what appears to be a reputable seller would be the BiXPower BP-160.
\n\nThey also offer even larger packs (which they don't appear to sell on Amazon) above your budget, like the BP-220 (223 watt-hours, $290) and the CP-300K (300 watt-hours, $400).
\n" }, { "Id": "559", "CreationDate": "2015-10-06T21:47:48.057", "Body": "I'm looking for MicroSD cards for my Mobius action cam. It's manual says the following:
\n\n\n\n\nFor the best compatibility use cards with a class 4 rating if\n you have them. There is absolutely no advantage in using \n cards with a higher rating.
\n
Despite of the manual above I have problems with a Kingston 64GB class 10 card (MBLY10G2/64GB or SDCX10/64GB) formatted by the camera to FAT32. (I was not able to find any SanDisk nor Kingston 64GB class 4 microSD card, class 10 is the minimum in this size.)
\n\nI use MOV file format, 1080p 30fps and super quality. Using MOV file format also means that the last second of the previous file is repeated at the beginning of the next file when the camera starts a new one.
\n\nUsing Kingston SDCX10/64GB every file (except the first one) has a few bad frames between the 2nd and 10th seconds and there are 2-3 missing seconds in the video as well. MPlayer on Linux (as well as VLC) prints lots of these errors while I'm playing the first 10 seconds:
\n\nError while decoding frame!\n[h264 @ 0x7fb839d08440]AVC: nal size -1790556904\n[h264 @ 0x7fb839d08440]AVC: nal size -1790556904\n[h264 @ 0x7fb839d08440]no frame!\nI guess it's because of the one second overlap, the memory card could not cope with the double amount of data when switching files.
\n\nI'm afraid plain 64GB class 10 cards could be also too slow for this scenario. So I'm looking for a MicroSD card which 100% works with Mobius action cam, MOV file format, super quality, 1080p 30fps. (I would also appreciate experience with other cards which has the same issue as the Kingston one above.)
\n", "Title": "64GB+ memory card for Mobius action cam", "Tags": "|video-camera|microsd|memory-card|", "Answer": "Cards which are working perfectly:
\n\nAnother cards (although they are only 32GB ones) which also work well:
\n\nI am going to be building a computer for a college student. He is going into general engineering while he figures out exactly what he wants to do. The budget for this computer is about $1500 USD (just for the tower). This computer will be running Windows 10. He will be using this computer for school work and for gaming. All the components that I(read: we) have picked out for this computer need a place that they can call home.
\n\nI am looking for a computer case that fits the requirments:
\n\nOptional:
\n\nThe parts I have picked out are: ASRock Fatal1ty X99M Killer motherboard, Cooler Master Hyper 12 EVO heatsink, EVGA GTX 980 graphics card, and the Corsair AX760 power supply. I will also be getting two 3.5\" HDDs and one 2.5\" SSD.
\n", "Title": "Computer case for new college build", "Tags": "|case|desktop|", "Answer": "My dream case, and I actually own this one. You did say minimum size right? Its a mid tower, but just barely.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/d248Z.png\")
The cosair 600T. Used by Jeff Atwood and used by the folks who develop stackexchange least of all me. This is the case for the discerning computer builder who can't be bothered with trivialities like a lack of space and wants to manage cables like a boss.
\n\nYou're not going to have an easy time moving this behemoth (though i did bring mine on a public bus).
\n\nThe core requirements? Met, or exceeded. I have a full ATX board, 2 hdds, an SSD, a full sized 980TI. I could probably fit a small village of smurfs or a small poodle. in this case. All your parts will fit with room to grow. It has nearly tool less drive caddies bays (6x 2.5/3.5 inch convertables - 2.5 inch drives need little screws), half of which you can move in case you need to park a dual processor video card of excessive length. Other than those caddies, its minimal tools, and I routinely just pop the sides to do maintainance, with everything accessible.
\n\nThere's plenty of space to tuck cables behind the motherboard tray. Stock config is 2x 200mm fans (big led lit brutes) and 1 120mm fan (I swapped mine for a noctua 120mm). With the mesh sided model you can park FOUR more 120mm fans on the side. I haven't needed to with my rig.
\n\nit has 4 front USB ports, and a single USB 3.0 (which I'll come to in the issues)
\n\nIssues? The single USB 3.0 port's connected via a regular USB 3.0 plug - You'll need to patch it into the rear or buy a connector that breaks out the header into a USB 3.0 female pair - I bought something like this and hooked the USB 3.0 hub in my monitor to the second one, snaking it through a water cooling port.
\n\nFan controller for 4 fans exists - you can hook it up to your PSU, hook up your fans and control fan speeds with the dial. I found it wasn't too useful and control my 3 fans via the motherboard.
\n\nIts a pain to move. the latches double as handles, but its so heavy.
\n" }, { "Id": "599", "CreationDate": "2015-10-09T19:40:36.557", "Body": "I have a Logitech G9x mouse that is about to die. It has served me well, but it is time to start looking for a replacement. Unfortunately, Logitech doesn't make the G9x anymore.
\n\nThe replacement mouse should:
\n\nYou could get better gaming mice for a 100 bucks but if you want all your technology running on one software I'd tell you to go for the G602. It's wireless but has a pretty huge battery life and about 11 programmable buttons, and it costs the same as the G600.
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://gaming.logitech.com/assets/49411/5/g602-gaming-mouse.png\")
I noticed that almost all power supply units (PSU) nowadays come with an 80plus label. This means that over 80 % of the electricity I pay for in my bills will actually reach my hardware instead of being wasted in heat, and that my hard work saving on the decimals of Watt there will make sense. Great, but now how do I choose if I want a PSU for a computer which is not too power hungry?
\n\nSpecific technical question: what's the most efficient PSU in a non-custom form factor, at a consumption of 100 W or 200 W, for an EU 230 V or 115 V home?
\n\nHypothetical concrete question with probably too much detail (skip if you understood above): what's the most efficient PSU I can use for my new mini PC/slim PC/HTPC/whatever, AMD APU based, either
\n\nPersonally I prefer the mini-ITX form factor, so I ended up choosing a mini-ITX A88X motherboard, with the A8-7600 AMD APU (65 W TDP).
\n\nConsequently, I chose the Antec ISK110 VESA case, with 90 W power adapter. Antec claims an efficiency up to 92 %. Given the case cost some 80 \u20ac, it's really impossible to beat on the cost side; as for efficiency, the Gold unit suggested by Alpha3031 is around 89 % so it's probably comparable. There is also a case with 150 W PSU but it makes no efficiency claims.
\n\nI've not found tests for such adapters, but Antec typically scores well enough in 80plus tests (see my other answer) so I don't think it would lie. The adapter is AcBel ADB002 and its external temperature is around 38 \u00b0C after several hours of (light) work.
\n\nThis solution addresses the use case provided by my question, but arguably not the specific question I made, because it's for 90 W power and not 100 W. It's also not suitable for A10-7850K and other 95 TDP APUs without downclocking. So I guess Alpha3031's answer is the most reasonable for the general case and I'll accept it in few days unless you suggest me otherwise. :)
\n\n![\"Newegg](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/cqyph.jpg\")
I've been using HP LaserJet 1200 for a very long time but now the original drivers are not available and I wanted to find something more suitable for Windows 7/8 & 10.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/3Y2HLm.jpg\")
My expectations are partially similar to the original printer specs:
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/jCTbb.jpg\")
Features:
\nw in the name stands for wifi support)Link to full product details page
\n" }, { "Id": "615", "CreationDate": "2015-10-11T01:18:01.043", "Body": "First of all, I hope I came to the right StackExchange; I've seen some posts about laptop recommendations, so I think this is the right place to ask those questions.
\n\nI'm thinking of buying a new laptop. My current one is a Samsung Sens X170 with a dual core at 1.30GHz, 3GB RAM, and integrated graphics (OpenGL 2.xx support). My requirements are:
\n\nI'm thinking of going to France next year, so I'm considering a laptop that is quite widely used in France (so that I can take AS easily?). In other words, I'll not limit my options to Samsung. ASUS seems to be doing OK here.
\n\nI haven't installed Windows by myself, but I think I can do it and it would be nice to learn how to do so. Actually, if installing Linux is not much of a hassle, I'm thinking of using that this time and pushing up the budget to $600. \nWhen old games refuse to be played on Linux, I can still use my old laptop instead, I'm thinking.
\n\nAny recommendations are welcomed.
\n", "Title": "Need laptop for programming/some gaming", "Tags": "|laptop|linux|development|windows|", "Answer": "I've recommended it before but I'll recommend it again (and no, I swear I'm not an Acer employee): the Acer Aspire E1-572. It's a little over your specs in some ways, but it's a good laptop, especially for the price.
\n\nMine came with Windows 8 installed. Newer versions may come with Windows 10. Installing Linux is about as easy as it is on any > Win 8 machine - they don't like it, but it can be done.
\n\nOn programming capability: I use mine for some heavy programming (small games in Java and C#, plus utility Python 2.7 and 3.4), so you're sorted there.
\n\nOn gaming: again, I use mine for playing games that are more modern that what you'd be playing on it. I usually end up on mid-low graphics settings because of the lack of dedicated graphics card (it has integrated Intel graphics), but again, older games should be better for that.
\n\nI don't have an exact figure for price, but it's under $600 - I got it for around \u00a3300, which was about $470 last time I checked.
\n" }, { "Id": "616", "CreationDate": "2015-10-11T01:46:25.887", "Body": "I have a fairly known and consistent use-case. My laptop does almost no computational work. I do a ton of heavy computational work, but it all happens on big multicore servers which I access/control via Jupyter, SSH, remote desktop etc.
\n\nEven doing word-processing will not normally be on my laptop. I have access to several desktops. Doing things locally is generally a case of reading something while in a cafe, taking notes in a meeting, or watching a movie in bed.
\n\nSoftware to run locally:
\n\n\n\nAs you can see there are no requirements regarding Linux or Windows.
\n\nI have been very satisfied in the past with Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and with \nToshiba NB550D, each of which lasted 3 years before some part failed. For the Dell Mini it was something in the keyboard, and for the NB550D it was something in the screen (I suspect a wire broke and am going to investigate). Both withstood serious amounts of trauma without incident. If I could find a mint condition NB550D still for sale I would buy it without hesitation.
\n\nWe are talking about low spec'ed laptops here:
\n\nThese kinds of requirements are what the netbook brandings were all about, but they seem to be going away. I see a few Chromebooks still for sale, but I have no experience with them.
\n", "Title": "Laptop for simple tasks and remote work", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "A few years ago I took the cheapest machine I could find (300 Euros with no OS), put Ubuntu on it and am quite content. Use it as a development web server and when I\u00b4m abroad.
\n\n15\" Asus K53U: 2 GB RAM, AMD C-50 dual core CPU at 1 GHz, DVD writer, VGA and HDMI, camera, 3xUSB, card reader, Ethernet, WLAN and a Kensingtom Lock. Swapped the hard drive with an SSD some day.
\n\nDoesn\u00b4t really fly, but it\u00b4s sufficient for Open Office, DVDs and video streaming, a good deal of browser windows (I\u00b4m avoiding Firefox though) and a LLMP.
\n\nThere are better machines nowadays for the same price. I would probably get a Lenovo B50 today, if I needed a new machine ... or do the same I did three years ago:
\n\nLook around my current location for the cheapeast machine I can find, and see if it meets the needs.
\n" }, { "Id": "631", "CreationDate": "2015-10-12T06:17:51.043", "Body": "I have a digital camera with HDMI output and I want to use it as a high quality \u201cwebcam.\u201d I am looking for a device which takes a 1080p/60fps HDMI video signal as input and outputs that signal over USB for usage on a computer as if it were a webcam. It will need to be compatible with USB 3.0 or greater to accommodate the necessary bandwidth.
\n", "Title": "1080p HDMI to USB converter for computer video input", "Tags": "|usb|hdmi|video-adapters|", "Answer": "As of 2021 (five years after I asked this original question), the best product for this is the Elgato Cam Link 4K. If you find it on sale, it can be had for around $100.
\n" }, { "Id": "643", "CreationDate": "2015-10-12T23:38:01.623", "Body": "Currently I have a desktop running Windows 10 with the following parts seen here:
\n\nWhat I'd like to do is make some improvements for 'future-proofing', and make some other minor upgrades.
\n\nCurrently this is used for software development (running VMs, VS2015, eclipse), some rendering (Blender whenever I have the time to work on it), as well as some games (mostly MMORPGs, occasionally Skyrim, Kerbal Space Program, Civ V, with potentially Fallout 4 being added in). A future use case will be more photo and video processing, as my wife wants to be able to use Photoshop and other editing tools.
\n\nWhat I'd like to is change the video card and put in a 9XX series graphics card in there (I'm sticking to NVIDIA for CUDA work), and maxxing out the RAM to be 32GB (which is the maximum that motherboard can support). Given my use cases, would I gain more value simply upgrading the video card, and leaving the memory the same, or should I upgrade both? (Note: already have an SSD, just concerned about the components I've mentioned in the scope of the question)
\n", "Title": "Potential upgrade suggestions", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|memory|", "Answer": "Adding more RAM might possibly help with your VM's. You should check task manager when running them to see if you are using most of it.
\n\nWhen gaming, more RAM won't help. You'd need to be running two games, skype and a couple browser tabs to get close to using all that RAM while you're gaming. Your GPU, on the other hand, is a different story. Upgrading to an R9 390 ($330), or a GTX 980 Ti ($650), would massively boost your performance. Depending on your price range, the GPUs I listed would be a massive upgrade to your current GPU, for blender (when GPU accelerated), and games.
\n\nI'd also recommend using your old 760 as a PhysX card, especially if you actually play a game that supports PhysX. You could also just use it as a booster for Blender, as Blender supports rendering across heterogeneous GPUS.
\n" }, { "Id": "649", "CreationDate": "2015-10-13T15:43:04.137", "Body": "Note: I've seen this thread but my expectations are a little bit more specific.
\n\nI'd like to ask you about headphones which may filter the noise a way better than stoppers (ear plugs):
\n\nConsidered as a plus:
\n\nFirst off, I doubt any active noise reduction (ANR) is going to beat out good passive noise reduction (PNR) in-ear plugs (\"stoppers\"). ANR headphones will be more comfortable than PNR and may provide better overall noise reduction for part of the audio spectrum, but not for all of it. If you really need a replacement for a good set of in-ear plugs, you might end up disappointed.
\n\nMy recommendation are Bose headphones. I've owned a few of their ANR products* and have used a few competitor products, though not at the consumer level.
\n\nI can recommend the Bose QC15 headphones but they are discontinued (but still available) and the current model is the QC25 headphone. They have
\n\nThey are not rechargeable, but (the QC15) takes a single AAA battery and you can use rechargeable in it.
\n\n* I have extensive experience with the Bose QC2, Bose QC15, Bose X, Lightspeed Sierra, and Lightspeed Zulu. The first two are the same headsets in subsequent produce cycles and the QC25 is the next iteration of those headphones. I don't have direct experience with the QC25, but I don't have any reason to doubt it. I can attest to the QC15 being a great product. The last 3 headsets listed are aviation ANR headsets which I have used in high-noise environments (slow twin propeller and fast twin turbojet airplanes). I'd be happy wearing the QC15 in those environments and they perform well against those $500-$1000 aviation headsets.
\n" }, { "Id": "655", "CreationDate": "2015-10-14T09:59:28.137", "Body": "I'm looking to buy a new laptop where performance isn't of a large consideration provided the internals are of the current or last gen (as of 2015). As such, I'd like to go for fanless laptops that are trickling in here and there. I've heard of Intel systems, but would prefer AMD.
\n", "Title": "Fanless laptop, preferably AMD APU-powered", "Tags": "|laptop|fanless|", "Answer": "The HP Stream 14 uses the A4 Micro-6400T APU, which is passively cooled. It is already discontinued, but it can still be found on some sites. It is quite limited in performance and storage, but it is the only one passive AMD laptop I have found (and I have been looking for quite a while).
\n" }, { "Id": "659", "CreationDate": "2015-10-14T18:29:16.493", "Body": "I bought a lot of silent mice, but all of them kept failing after 6 months max. The best one I had so far was a \"Hama Mirano\".
\n\nAny better one out there?
\n", "Title": "A mouse with near silent clicking noise with good build quality", "Tags": "|mice|silent|", "Answer": "Apple's Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad are awesome, super silent.
\n\nIt's connected via wireless. In my experience, it has worked for two years without failing.
\n" }, { "Id": "665", "CreationDate": "2015-10-15T05:07:32.700", "Body": "I'm looking for a cheap USB drive for my installation by BootUSB. I want use it only for this job, and I usually install Linux distros.
\n\nI have an old 2GB drive but seems slow when it installs. What drive do you suggest? I don't want pay a lot, maximum of €15, and the storage should be 8/16GB (if I use it as virtual CD).
\n", "Title": "USB for Linux BootUSB drive", "Tags": "|usb|linux|", "Answer": "Sandisk Extreme is a good mix of budget and speed. smaller size is better performance on these devices Sandisk Extreme
\n\nUSB Benchmark Links Like This are fairly reliable sources for your consumer research purposes
\n" }, { "Id": "666", "CreationDate": "2015-10-15T09:06:41.707", "Body": "We are looking for network cards that support hardware timestamps (hardstamps). We need this for capturing packets with high precision and also do synchronisation using PTP / IEEE 1588.
\n\nOn the web, there are plenty of resources where people say that they are using Intel cards or others, but none of them lists actual product names.
\n\nWhere can I find detailed information on this or can you recommend any network card that can do these things? How can I ensure that the card also takes hardstamps for non-PTP packets?
\n\nIn the meantime I got an answer from Intel confirming that the adapters I340 and I350 support hardstamps for PTP. Unfortunately, the data sheets do not state whether there is also support for hardstamping non-PTP packets.
\n", "Title": "Which network interface cards support hardware timestamps (hardstamps)", "Tags": "|network-adapter|", "Answer": "From my experience these NIC's support HW timestamping (yes... all Intel):
\nIntel X722
\nIntel I350
\nIntel I210
\nIntel I217-V
\nIntel I217-LM
\nIntel I218-V
\nIntel I218-LM
\nIntel I219-V
\nIntel I219-LM
\nIntel 82574L
Note: I suspect the series of I217/I218/I219 suffers from PTP issues under traffic.
\n" }, { "Id": "669", "CreationDate": "2015-10-15T21:22:36.467", "Body": "Which of these two graphic cards would be more suitable for gaming, what are the main differences between the two, which would you recommend from the two:
\n\n1. The older model, Gainward GeForce GTX 760 Phantom 4GB DDR5 256-bit
\n\nor
\n\n2. The newer model Gainward GeForce GTX 960 Phantom 4GB DDR5 128-bit
\n\nThe notable differences are the BUS memory on the two cards, and the chipset version. Basically, my question would be, that how important are 128 bits when taking into account graphic cards. Is it worth sacrificing 128 bit of bus memory, for a newer chipset? The price range is the same from where I would buy it, but the older version(1) is slowly taken out of production, I can only find two webshops which still has one on stock.
\n\nI am planning on buying a new PC for gaming, and I am interested what would be the difference between the two, which one should I choose. Or, if you could recommend another card in the same price range as this one. I am from Romania, and these cards cost 250-280$ in my country, this is the maximum I would spend on a graphic card.
\n", "Title": "Is the Gainward GeForce GTX 760 or 960 more suitable for gaming?", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "I'd say you go with the 960.
\n\nThe reason is that the 960 is a newer architecture, and is still going to be available if you decide you're going to add another 960 in SLI.
\n\nBus memory is a consideration, but the way you're seeing it is not correct; there's more to it than that. For example, if you have a bus width that is more, but the memory tech is older (DDR3 instead of GDDR5), it automatically cuts the total memory bandwidth you gain in half. Depending on the memory clock, you may actually get worse performance with the DDR3 card, even though it has more bus width.
\n\nNow, I agree the bus width of the 960 is lower, and both cards are GDDR5. But the newer Maxwell architecture of the 960 utilizes a color-compression technology that increases its effective bandwidth by around 28%, bringing it closer to the 760's. It also uses a newer anti-aliasing algorithm(MFAA) that is far less resource-intensive than MSAA that you'll have to use on the 760, again requiring lesser memory bandwidth.
\n\nThat said, I ask you this: what is the resolution you're using on your monitor? If it's 1920x1080(i.e. 1080p), the 960 will handle it irrespective of all these theoretical specifications. It's been designed to run modern games with that resolution in mind, and it's also more power efficient(176 W of power for the 760 vs 120 W for the 960), so the 760 runs 82C at full load and is loud, whereas the 960 never breaches 60 and is very quiet(both are very good things).
\n" }, { "Id": "670", "CreationDate": "2015-10-15T22:10:21.400", "Body": "I am about to buy a new gaming PC and, checking for specs, I initially I was going towards the GTX 970 when I learned of the 3.5 GB issue.
\n\nAs far as I understand it, as long as my game does not use more than 3.5 GB, it will run smoothly but once that limit is passed, it will slow radically as it begins to use the slower 0.5GB chunk (the numbers I have seen suggest that it would go from extremely fluid play to unplayable almost instantaneously).
\n\nMost comments seems to agree that unless I play it at 4K or use mods to load high-res textures, usually I will have no issues with that.
\n\nStill, I am in doubt about upgrading towards a GTX 980; the price increase is considerable (~ 200\u20ac), the improved processing power would be welcomed but does not look like essential and, for the VRAM, the only difference is that those .5 GB are not slower.
\n\nSo my question is: if I decide later to use lots of high-res textures/increase the resolution, how will the VRAM difference affect it?
\n\nWill performance degrade in a more progressive way (slowing progressively, or just losing details from the textures)?
Will the 980 behave just like the 970 (only that the 980 will have issues at 4GB instead of at 3.5GB)?
Will the game just crash if it tries to use more than 4GB of VRAM?
Other?
For me, 0.5 extra usable GB do not seem to be a lot for 200\u20ac(NVIDIA cards with 6GB are out of budget), but I may consider it if this means that the performance will degrade in a more progressive way when full.
\n\nI really do not have a favorite model for each GPU, but I have eyed this 970 (Gigabyte Gaming G1 Windforce OC) and this seems to be the equivalent 980.
\n\nOf course, if there is something wrong/not so good about those specific models I would be willing to change, I only chose the first one because it comes with the GTX 970 \"preconfigured\" PCs, and the second one because it was easier to compare differences with the first one.
\n", "Title": "Different behavior of GTX 970 and GTX 980 due to 3.5 GB issue?", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Yes, I agree that you should be in doubt about updating to a GTX 980. The card is not much different than the 970, and it is a lot more expensive.
\n\nGTX 970 vs. GTX 980:
\n\nCores: 1664 vs. 2048
\nBase Clock: 1050Mhz vs. 1126Mhz
\nTexture Fill Rate: 109GT/s vs. 144GT/s
\nVRAM: 3.5GB vs. 4GB
EDIT:
\nAnd to answer your questions:
Q: Will the 980 behave just like the 970 (only that the 980 will have issues at 4GB instead of at 3.5GB)?
\n\nA: Yes. However, it does have a few more CUDA cores. This will result in a greater overall performance.
\n\nQ: Will the game just crash if it tries to use more than 4GB of VRAM?
\n\nA: I suppose so. Most games will try to regulate the amount of VRAM they use in accordance to how much you have. The reason the 3.5GB is an issue on the 970 is the fact that games think they can use all 4GB, and when they dip into that 'defective' 0.5GB, everything slows down.
\n\nQ: Will performance degrade in a more progressive way (slowing progressively, or just losing details from the textures)?
\n\nA: I don't really understand the question. If you play at 4k and use high res textures, the game will start lagging and your fps will go down, because they game does not have enough VRAM to hold all the information.
\n" }, { "Id": "684", "CreationDate": "2015-10-16T17:33:49.750", "Body": "I currently have four identically sized HDDs in RAID-10 on an Adaptec 8805. Unfortunately this controller can't do read/write caching of the array's blocks on SSDs attached to the RAID controller.
\n\nI now have several SSDs (two right now, possibly expanding to four later) and would like to utilize them in this fashion without incurring the CPU overhead of doing it in software. I would use ZFS ZIL/L2ARC if my operating system were Linux/BSD/Solaris, but I'm running Windows, so that's out of the running.
\n\nThis is for a gaming workstation, not a dedicated server.
\n\nI am looking for a RAID card that meets the following criteria:
\n\nGiven all these requirements, I'd like to go for minimum cost, while buying the card \"new\".
\n\nWhat options are available to me?
\n", "Title": "RAID card that can do SSD caching, 4kn, UEFI", "Tags": "|raid-controller|raid|", "Answer": "There are probably CHEAPER ways to do this, but here's A solution:
\n\nNotes: http://www.intel.in/content/www/in/en/support/server-products/raid-products/000008342.html
\n\nBasically you get this RAID card installed, you attach the key to it, you fire it up, you configure SSD Cache and possibly also Fastpath as needed, you make your SSDs into a cache array and get it assigned to your RAID10 array, and off you go.
\n\nYou've now dropped a something near a grand into something that could be performed at a fraction of the cost if you'd just let it hit the CPU a teensy bit, but there you go, SSD caching on hardware RAID with a ridiculous number of SSDs and HDDs simultaneously in play.
\n\nFinally, just for the record - \"This is for a gaming workstation, not a dedicated server.\"
\n\nYou emphatically do not need this and will not notice performance differences between this and a standard software-cached SSD+HDD RAID solution using something like PrimoCache. It is one of the most overkill solutions I have ever come up with at the behest of someone else, and I did it only to see if it could be done. You personally have no viable use case for this hardware.
\n\nEDIT: I forgot to add in the cost of the SAS to SATA cables themselves; that's another couple dozen bucks at a minimum.
\n" }, { "Id": "685", "CreationDate": "2015-10-16T19:28:50.953", "Body": "What's the best mouse pad for me?
\n\nEspecially for Counter Strike: GO
\n\nMy settings are:
\n\nI know that for some mouses coloured pads might not be the best option.
\nAny size will work.
I've had excellent luck with the razer goliathus, assuming you want a 'soft' mousepad.
\n\nI've had a few others but this has a few features that make it a decent choice.
\n\nThe edges are stitched, so it won't split. This is a critical feature in terms of long term use. I've had lesser gaming mousepads have their top surface peel off.
\n\nYou have two options for surfaces - If you're a twitch gamer, go for the slick surface of the speed varient, if you want more control (and I'm guessing from the relatively low DPI, you're a precision player) there's the control version. I've got both (on different systems) and I'm relatively happy with both.
\n\nThere's multiple sizes (I went with large on the speed pad, small on the control version) to suit your playing style as well.
\n" }, { "Id": "697", "CreationDate": "2015-10-17T14:43:30.743", "Body": "My serial ATA hard disk broke, so I want to replace it. The SATA drives I've seen online are very diverse in appearance, which makes me skeptical that they work identically. For example, The ports on this one and this one look very different.
\n\nShould I be looking for a specific type of SATA hard drive?
\n", "Title": "Will any replacement SATA hard drive work to replace any SATA port?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|sata|", "Answer": "Yup. Its standard as long as its the same from factor. For that matter 7mm and 9mm 2.5 inch drives, and 3.5 inch drives like that all share the same connector.
\n\nJust make sure its the right form factor to fit in the bay, but you should be fine otherwise.
\n\nIf its a desktop, 2.5 inch (most SSDs are that!) would work with standard cables, though you may need an adaptor to fit it in a bay, or 3.5 inch drives would work.
\n\nFor a laptop, thickness matters. A 7mm drive can replace a 9 mm drive with an optional shim, but not vice versa.
\n\nThe connectors are identical.
\n" }, { "Id": "711", "CreationDate": "2015-10-19T08:32:21.963", "Body": "I need to buy a new laptop for my programming job. The problem is that I just don\u2019t like laptops! I have to get this because I need to travel and meet with colleagues and have to do some work on site. This implies that there is a good chance that this is not going to be my main computer in the future.
\n\nOn the other hand, I don't want to waste money (even the smallest amount) on a laptop that will be garbage in a year or so. If I have it I will use it, for as long as it lasts.
\n\nMy main jobs are performed in Eclipse, Netbeans and Android Studio. From what I have read around, these do not support multi-threading. So Intel would work better than AMD since (again from what I understood on the web) AMD has more cores, but single core speed of AMD is lower than that of Intel's. If I am using programs that can only use one core at a time then Intel should work better, right?
\n\nThe main problem is that I am in Greece, and I have to buy it from a store here, since it will have to go to my expenses. So I am guessing that not all models might be available here.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nBonus question:\nIs an i3 with SSD as good as an i5 with HDD? some guy (that I trust) told me that, but I am not so sure I believe it.
\n\nEdit:
\nWhat about this:\nHP 15-ac011nv - 15.6\" \n(i7-5500U/4GB/500GB/HD 5500)
The ram might need some boosting. Will call them soon to ask the max ram that i can install, and how much an extra 4 costs.
\n\nThe price for some reason (ok i know 2, will see it in a sec) the price is really low for an I7 550 Euro\nThe only drawback it seems that it is the low resolution screen and the GPU. I am not going to play any games on this anyway, nor i will watch any 4K movies.\nhow about this then?
\n\nupdate\nI did got the HP after all.\nIt seems like a good one, i was disappointed that it's not easy to get the hdd out easily, since i have an extra ssd that i want to install instead.
\n", "Title": "Programming laptop available in Greece?", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Skroutz is your friend :-P
\n\nhttp://www.skroutz.gr/s/6738402/Lenovo-G50-80-i5-5200U-4GB-1TB-W8.html
\n" }, { "Id": "721", "CreationDate": "2015-10-20T06:05:37.290", "Body": "Well, my Klipsch Image S4 earphones broke yesterday. Had them for at least 4 years I think, and I put them through their paces, so it's understandable. They were amazing for their price though, and will be sorely missed.
\n\nI'm saving quite heavily at the moment, and don't have another $90+ AUD to spare on another set of headphones for a while to come, hence me coming here. I'd like a recommendation for a good, but super-cheap pair of headphones, to get me through until I have some more disposable income next year or later.
\n\nPreferably as comfortable as possible, especially for long periods. Over-the-head bands need to be padded, or else I really feel it on the top of my head after hours of having them on.
\n\nOver-the-ears clips also bug me after long periods, but if you happen to have a recommendation for over-the-ears headphones which don't feel like they're cutting into where your ear connects to your head after hours of use, please feel free to share.
\n\nI know that for the price I'm looking at right now, this may be pushing it more than a little. But the main time I used my S4's was when I really needed to concentrate on a big project at work.
\n\nThis isn't a huge requirement, as having music to listen to at all can help me concentrate at times, even if it has to be played barely-audibly to make sure I'm not annoying co-workers. But if by some miracle there are cheap headphones out there which have any kind of noise-cancelling, I'd love to hear about it - both so I'm not annoying anyone, and so I can play my music at more than whisper-volume.
\n\nStereo sound, not mono. Probably accounts for almost all headphones/earphones nowadays, but again, considering my price range, it's worth saying this explicitly. I have many songs I love listening to partly because of just how well they utilise each individual speaker.
\n\nThe big one. I'd love something less than $10 AUD. To get the above features I could probably go up to $25 AUD. But less is definitely better for me right now.
\n\nI'm a huge fan of good sound quality, but just for now (until I'm able to splurge on something else) I'm willing to put sound quality on the back-burner. Of course, all the above preferences being equal, I'd love to hear in any answer what kind of sound quality the headphones do have. :)
\n\nEdited to add: I'm sure everyone can pick up on my locality from the fact that I keep saying \"AUD\". But just to be clear: These should be able to be bought/ordered from within Australia. If I have to order them internationally, that may be okay. But please note in your answer if you think I'll need to order them from another country.
\n", "Title": "Cheap yet good quality headphones", "Tags": "|headphones|music|", "Answer": "The xiaomi piston 2.0/2.1 (there's a 3.0 model out at the moment) out but I've never used it before. I know folks have ordered a pair into australia, and ordered it off ibuygou. OP's mentioned this model which seems to be a plastic varient of the 3.0 (the 2.0/2.1 had these too), but I'll talk about the ones I do have. Xiaomi's headphones do typically punch above their weight pricewise so, its worth considering. Outside the \"its metal\" and possibily how it sounds like, many of these features are common across the product line.
\n\n
The cliff's notes version
\n\nPrice: 20-30 usd depending. Got mine for 20 singapore dollars.
Good sound quality - Good enough. I've tried it on my good gear on a lark and it sounds fine. My phone/whatever google play transcodes it to seems to be the limitation
Reliability - I've had mine ~6 months I think. Its built solidly
That's the model I have anyway. Reviews are decent and people tend to like it. And yes, they come with a case, rubber winding widget, and other shiny stuff.
\n\nThe headphones are machined aluminium. Cable has a remote control and the length between the plug and controller's covered in a protective sheath, and are supposed to be kevlar reinforced. The headphones have great strain relief, and I've had mine for quite a while, daily use with no issues. Its built seriously solidly.
\n\nYou'll get 3 pairs of smooth earbud covers in different sizes and one flanged one, which is supposed to fit tighter.
\n\nSound quality's decent, my phone's more of a limiting factor (I'm an audio snob). They're about as good as you'd get for the price range. It comes with that lovely rubber headphone holder and 'jewel case', and street price is ~30usd.
\n\nRemote control is below where the headphone splits. Its got 3 buttons, tho the volume buttons only work on some phones.
\n\nThat said, there's a lot of fakes of these so caveat emptor. I got mine from xiaomi directly.
\n\nConsidering I was going with super cheapie headphones since I killed quite a few, and this has surviced me, I'd say these are a hardy pair.
\n" }, { "Id": "725", "CreationDate": "2015-10-20T19:48:51.620", "Body": "This might sound a little bit science-fiction or futuristic:
\n\nI am looking for a keyboard of which keys are not physically labeled, but labeled with small LEDs inside them.
\n\nHere's my problem: The country that I live in uses a different layout than EN-US Q keyboard. It includes some special characters, like any other country that does not speak English.\nHowever, I write scientific papers in English and I am very comfortable when coding with an EN-US layout.\nIn addition, I will soon move to a completely different country for my education.
\n\nAll these being said, I would like to buy a keyboard whose keys are not physically determined.
\n\nIs there any keyboard that fits the following?
\n\nIf there is none and you are working in a firm that produces keyboards, I can assure you that I will happily be a tester if you produce that kind of keyboard. Moreover, I will probably buy a dozen of them to use for my life.
\n\nTo make myself more clear, the keyboard I am looking for is just like a smartphone keyboard. But not like a screen. An actual keyboard whose keys are small screens.
\n\nUpdate:
\n\nThere is a keyboard just as I described. It is called optimus popularis and costs freaking 1425$!
\n\nI of course want something more affordable.
\n", "Title": "Keyboard with dynamic keys", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "There is an Australian company called Sonder that is putting in the marked a keyboard based on e-ink keys (the same display technolgy used on e-readers), it is in pre-order for 199$ and you can find it here: https://sonderdesign.com/product/sonder-keyboard/
\n\nSeems also that Apple is interested in this type of technology. Apple reportedly plans to ship the keyboards in its computers beginning in 2018.
\n\nMore info here: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2016/10/report-apple-is-working-on-e-ink-keyboard-for-future-macbooks/
\n" }, { "Id": "732", "CreationDate": "2015-10-21T08:50:27.697", "Body": "Problem
\n\nI am looking for a portable device which should fullfill my following requirement:
\n\nNow, after reading few resources i found, Raspberry pi gives me all such features, but only issue with Raspberry pi is that it has many other feature also (camera port, HDMI, etc) which add significant amount to its cost. Since i need device for commercial purpose, so i need to make it cost effective as well.
\n\nCan somebody suggest me some available readymade options ?
\n\nNote\nI am looking for device to control some lighting stuff. These device should be used as a gateway and needs to be installed in customer premises. So, thats why these devices should be either a chip/small size board.
\n", "Title": "What are some handheld-device/board with Wifi+Bluetooth+processor?", "Tags": "|wifi|bluetooth|raspberry-pi|", "Answer": "The awarded answer says
\n\n\n\n\nMost microcontroller boards less than $20 do not have Bluetooth/Wifi/Eth, or LCD ports
\n
I would respectfully beg to differ.
\n\nThe ESP32 has sold over 100 million boards and costs from about $4. You can get them with display (not requested by OP) for about $12. By default, they have both WiFi and BluteTooth. You can get BLE 5, you can get LoRa, which will broadcast 15km with clear line of sight, you can get Zigbee; for $11, you can get one which accepts a SIM card. They come with cameras too, and passive infrared, to detect body heat.
\n\nYou would like to code Node.Js? Just search for ESP32 nodejs and you will be happily surprised.
I have bought dozens from AliExpress. I recommend that you use PlatformIO as your IDE, and look at the docs for board and find one with on-board debugger. Otherwise, it's a choice between buying a JTAG probe and debug by printf() over serial port.
Being such a popular board, there is extensive documentation & tutorials, but lots of support on forums (visit us at S.E Internet of Things.
\n\nNeil Kolban has written a great eBook for which you can pay from zero to however much you like (personally, I paid zer0. Then, after reading paid what I thought it would cost if sold commercially). There are more ESP32 books.
\n\nI also recommend the Random Nerd tutorials, which go form beginner to let's sell this puppy as a commerical product.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/KnOtv.png\")
I've recently purchased a trackpad (which I'll probably put in an answer), but I'm curious about what else is available. The requirements:
\n\nIdeally:
\n\nI've been using an Apple Magic Trackpad 2 for the past week or so:
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Magic_Trackpad_2.jpg\")
As as programmer, I click things a lot. Being able to adjust the click sensitivity is wonderful - I have it turned all the way down, which puts ever so much less stress on my hands:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/62LODm.png\")
Note that 'silent clicking' option there - this thing somehow can make noise when you click it beyond the noise generated by the Haptic Feedback thing - I don't know how they managed to hide a speaker in it (I've looked for it), but it's very realistic, rivaling the sound made by my MacBook's physical trackpad.
\n\nI have it off because I don't like noise, but it's a neat thing to have.
The rechargeable battery is great, I haven't had to recharge it in the week or so I've had it. It also comes with its own Lightning cable, which you can steal and use to charge other iOS devices.
I don't know what they finished this with, but it feels better than my MacBook trackpad. It seems even less sticky - it might just be that I've worn some of the finish off my older trackpad, but this one definitely feels better.
Doesn't require, or support, a stylus that isn't designed to work with capacitive surfaces, just like an iPhone.
$130 is a little steep, but for using it all day, it's completely worth it. Also comes with a standard 1 year warranty, and, in my experience, Apple means warranty when they say warranty. I've never had trouble getting them to honor one. That said, there's nothing in this to break - something electrical would have to go wrong, as there are no real moving parts. That in itself is a huge plus for me.
\n" }, { "Id": "735", "CreationDate": "2015-10-22T01:43:29.113", "Body": "I have a Asus X99-E WS motherboard (LGA 2011 v3 slot) and it doesn't come with any video ports. Is it still possible to use the video capabilities of the Intel CPU or will I need to purchase a video card? If a video card is required, what is recommended for good video quality with an HDMI port (24p movies, etc.)?
\n", "Title": "Using Intel graphics but no video port on motherboard", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|video|motherboard|", "Answer": "LGA 2011 processors typically don't have built in graphics like lesser models. That said nearly any modern card will quite handle video at up to 60hz at common resolutions. 4K might be tricky, but at worst you need a mid range card.
\n\nThat said, I disagree on the suggestion of a super cheap, old card.
\n\nThere's a few reasons. The specific nvidia line that mark mentioned on his answer's a bit problematic, and has a high failure rate. Its also roughly 7-8 years old, and its a little like putting a bike tyre on a bugatti veyron.
\n\nDepending on your needs a gforce 700 or 900 series, preferably midrange (a 960 upwards, but I paired my 'regular' core i7 3rd generation with a top of the line card, and its really good). If you have really have basic needs (and what you do does!) go with a lower end card, but preferably within the current or previous generations. The oldest I'd go is the 600 series.
\n\nWhat should you be looking for? HDMI's what you'd connect a TV with, and is standard. DP is the standard for computer monitors. Make sure your card has both.
\n\nWhy get a better card over an old one?
\n\nThey often have better gpgpu capabilities and video playback acceleration. You can often use your GPU to play back video. You also are more likely to have warranty coverage.
\n" }, { "Id": "752", "CreationDate": "2015-10-23T11:38:58.330", "Body": "My old router died, and I want to buy a new one.
\n\nAlso, if I have to change the router, I want to try to see if I can do a setup like: Router + External Hard Drive + an android application maybe.
\n\nI basically want to have a one-way sync of our pictures (my wife and I) to a HDD that is connected to the router.
\n\nSync would be through wi-fi, something like google is doing right now for me, but this time I would like to be in control of the storage.
\n\nMy question is: what to look for in a router? I wouldn't want to spend too much, but I don't even know what to look for. Is it enough if the router has USB port on it?
\n\nI was wondering if there are routers that come with a special android app, or I can just try to look into some \"universal\" software like this one.
\n\nNote: NAS device seems like a good idea, but it seems too expensive.
\n\nThanks for the help.
\n\nUPDATE\nI bought a RT-N18U router, and it has this application specifically made for it, we'll see how it works, I'll let you guys know.
\n\nUPDATE 2:\nI had some errors, but it works fine
\n", "Title": "Router + External Hard Drive (a.k.a. Home Cloud)", "Tags": "|hard-disk|router|", "Answer": "If you really want an android app you should look at certain brands.\nBut if you don't need an app from the router manufacturer, basically any router with a USB and FTP-support should work. To answer your last question: There are routers that come with their own app, but usually you don't have to use that app (especially if FTP is supported).
\n\nI personally have pretty much the setup you're looking for. I have a FRITZ!Box with a 5TB USB 3.0 HDD attached to it. So I can recommend a FRITZ!Box for this purpose but I'm sure there are other manufacturers providing routers with a similar service.
\n\nAll I had to do, was to set it up as a FTP server. Now I can access it locally in the network or from outside with my email and password.
\n\nNow, to back up the data of my phone, I use FolderSync. Again, this is just what I use and can recommend, because I tested it. You can use any backup/sync tool that supports FTP. I just had to add my server and login to it and set up which folders I want to sync and where to sync them.
\n\nThe difficulty to set something up like this is depending on the manufacturer and what they provide. For me it was fairly easy.
\n\nSummarized, I wouldn't look for just a USB port. Look at the functions it has and if it supports something like a \"home cloud\". I also strongly recommend googling the product name and read some reviews before buying. You may also find instructions to set it up as a FTP for your specific model.
\n" }, { "Id": "755", "CreationDate": "2015-10-24T21:21:03.717", "Body": "I'm currently writing a story where in 2005 a guy built a time machine out of a old Ford Mustang, a Casio ClassPad 300 calculator, some scrap, and a gaming PC, but the problem I'm facing is that I only started to follow the PC hardware market in 2010, and know nothing about older stuff. Hoping someone here could enlighten me.
\n\nI have done some groundwork about this PC, but don't know how off I am.
\n\nThe PC can only run on a single core CPU, due to something about how the machine works, and it makes error when a dual core CPU is used, so I thought about using an Intel Pentium 4, but what about the AMD side, is there something better there?
\n\nOther things I have thought about is 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, Antec P180 Case, leaving out GPU and PSU, what was good back then?
\n\nAnother thing I thought about was using a custom Linux(Debian-based) as the OS, but how would that run on a '05 gaming tower?
\n\nThe PC's duty is via the Casio calculator, is taking the date and using some highly advanced calculation to reprogram the circuit that drives the part that makes the car going through time, and outputs a speed + RPM the engine has to go before it can go through time.
\n", "Title": "Parts for a gaming PC from 2005", "Tags": "|gaming|pc|legacy|", "Answer": "In 2005, the most powerful single-core CPUs on the market (and the wet dream of every gamer) was AMD FX-55 and later FX-57. For such a machine, 2 GB of RAM would not be unheard of, even in 2005.
\n\nIf you want something with more bang per buck that an ordinary gamer would be likely to have, an Opteron 144 mentioned in the other post would be a good choice (although it was introduced rather late in 2005). During that time, DFI LanParty motherboards with an nVidia nForce 4 chipset were quite popular for AMD rigs.
\n\nAs for the GPU, the nVidia GeForce 6600 GT was generally a popular choice during that time. Alternatively, you could go with an ATI Radeon X800 XL which was rougly on par with a GeForce 6800 GT (the \"Ultra\" version someone mentioned was made mostly for the press and availability was very scarce).
\n\nAs for the operating system - you definitely would not run any kind of Linux if you wanted to play games on your PC. But if your story is such that the guy re-purposes the PC for other stuff than games, then I guess it's OK. In addition to Debian, Ubuntu existed (from 2004) and some popular distributions were Mandriva (from Red Hat), Fedora and openSUSE.
\n\nHope it helps!
\n" }, { "Id": "843", "CreationDate": "2015-10-27T10:10:24.083", "Body": "I am building a PC specifically for programming. I mainly use Android Studio and Eclipse which are both quite heavy programs. This is why I would like to get a better CPU / more RAM. Which of the following would make a bigger difference in performance and which do you think is more worth it? Currently, to fit my budget I can upgrade either the CPU or RAM which is why I need some help on deciding which one would benefit me more.
\n\nIntel Core i5 Quad Core i5 - 6600K (3.5 GHz) 6MB Cache -- > Intel Core i7 Quad Core i7 - 6700 (3.4 GHz) 8MB Cache.
\n\nOR
\n\n16GB HyperX Fury DDR4 2666 MHz (2 x 8) --> 32GB HyperX Fury DDR4 2666 MHz (4 x 8)
\n\nWhich one would you recommend upgrading?
\n\nAlso, I want to add that I am going to be using a Samsung 850 EVO SSD.
\n", "Title": "Which would make a greater difference? Extra CPU or RAM?", "Tags": "|pc|memory|processor|desktop|", "Answer": "In almost any case, with a proper, modern compiler, compilation speed will increase near linearly with the number of hardware threads on your system. In the case of Microsoft compilers, even running with 8GB will be plenty fine, as they are fairly stingy with memory allocation. However, on *nix, I have capped out even 16GB with parallel make and GCC.
\n\nModern CPU architectures are approaching peak performance, so even three year old top-of-their-class CPUs will still perform quite adequately compared to top-of-their-class modern CPUs. On the other hand, more RAM will always have an obvious and linear benefit.
\n\nTo address your specific issues, however:
\n\nOf the two CPUs you specified, the difference in benchmarks is fairly marginal, with the only real big difference being the power consumption, as the i7 is rated to use about 2/3 the power. RAM, on the other hand, can be very useful, especially in the case of Java where the JVM just loves to gobble the stuff up.
\n\nTo give you an idea (Source):
\n\nPersonally, I would just go i5 and 16GB, but if you must upgrade one or the other, go for the RAM.
\n" }, { "Id": "844", "CreationDate": "2015-10-27T10:34:22.990", "Body": "I have a \"Intel Pentium CPU G2030 @ 3.0GHz\" processor, and a \"Intel HD Graphics\" graphics card.
\n\n\nGeneral CPU info
\n \n\n\nCores = 2
\n
\n Threads = 2
\n Bus speed = 99.76MHz
\n Max TDP = 55.0W
\n Core Speed = ~3GHz
\n\n\nGeneral GPU info
\n \n\n\nGPU = GT1
\n
\n GPU clock = 650 MHz
\n Transistors = 1.4 B
\n Bandwidth = 21.3GB/s
\n Multi-GPU = Disabled
\n\n\nTime taken for a 30 mins video to encode (h.264) with handbrake
\n \n
\n (Using all CPU cores)\n\n2-pass, profile=main, preset=slow : 1hr 30mins
\n
\n 2-pass, profile=main, preset=medium : 1hr
\n 2-pass, profile=main, preset=fast : 45mins
\n 2-pass, profile=main, preset=very fast(handbrake \"normal\" default) : 25mins
\nI don't know much about processors or graphics card, and I don't know which is better at rendering + encoding. Could you recommend some of it for me? Prices below $200, and TDP below 80 would be great. Thanks.
GPU is usually faster, but I cannot find GPU benchmarks for Handbrake, so I'll recommend a CPU. Keep in mind that using the CPU I recommend, you need a new motherboard.
\n\nI'd recommend an AMD FX-8320E. The 8320 because it's practically AMD's top of the line, and the 'E' because that basically means it's better binned, and they are both the same price at the moment.
\n\nOther popular AMD CPUs such as the 8350, 8370, 9370, and 9590 are basically overclocked versions of this, but I can't bother to provide a link, so you'll have to search it up or not believe me.
\n\nI recommend AMD, also, because of better price/performance ratio. As you can see in this anandtech benchmark, the overclocked FX-8320E ($125) is on par with the non-overclocked i5 4690 ($200). Overclocking Intel CPUs would probably surpass performance, but not by anything worth $200, which is already at your budget, so you wouldn't be able to buy a new motherboard.
\n\nI know that some people are going to point out that it is hard to upgrade an FX-8320E to anything, due to an outdated chipset, but I don't think that 'dark fang' is going to be upgrading any time in the near future.
\n\nUnfortunately, when using an AMD CPU, you are going to have the disadvantage of not having a built it GPU. You can either get a motherboard with on-board video, or a cheap dedicated GPU.
\n\nI'd recommend a motherboard with a built-in GPU, which I know everyone thinks is terrible, but looked at his current iGPU. A nice, overclocking motherboard such as this, would be ideal for getting the most performance out of your CPU as well as getting an integrated GPU, but a more budget-friendly option could be this instead. I know option #2 isn't the greatest, but it is cheap. If anyone else has a motherboard suggestion, comment and I'll edit into my answer.
\n" }, { "Id": "853", "CreationDate": "2015-10-27T16:02:05.880", "Body": "I started renting a VPS (\"Platinum X8\" VPS from Server4You), it has the following specifications:
\n\nspeedtest-cli, so might actually be a Gigabit connection);I am using this VPS for a single Minecraft server (i.e. not a network of servers), along with a Teamspeak 3 server & webserver (with MySQL server). The website runs a forum and will eventually only get moderate traffic (<100 connections at a time), & I plan for the Teamspeak server to have double the amount of slots of the Minecraft server (I plan to apply for a non-profit license when traffic picks up).
\n\nAs the VPS is on a monthly contract, I am able to cancel it and go elsewhere at any time; if the Minecraft server starts to outgrow the VPS, I can upgrade to a different VPS package (elsewhere, since this is the top VPS package at the provider) or even a dedicated server
\n\nAt the moment, the Minecraft server has 125 slots; can it go higher with the current hardware specifications?
\n\nThe Minecraft server is running some plugins, for example:
\n\nThe Minecraft server is controlled via Multicraft ('Owned' licence for a maximum of 2 servers), with additional startup parameters to enable usage of all 16 CPU cores & 64 bit Java:
\n\njava -jar -d64 -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -XX:+UseParNewGC -XX:+CMSIncrementalPacing -XX:ParallelGCThreads=16 -XX:+AggressiveOpts -Xms8G -Xmx27G minecraft-server.jar\nWhat is the maximum amount of player slots the Minecraft server should be able to handle with the current hardware specifications of the VPS?
\n", "Title": "How many players would this VPS be able to take?", "Tags": "|gaming|server|", "Answer": "You'll find that you are more limited by RAM than CPU - especially with 16 cores. A 100 Mbit line will not be a limiting factor either.
\n\nSo, going by your RAM, you'll have roughly 16-17GB that you can dedicate to Minecraft after the OS takes the portion it needs.
\n\nExperience has shown that you can get roughly 10 players per GB of RAM. In this case, you should be able to handle 160 players.
\n\nA few things to consider with the above estimate:
\n\nI am planning to update my PC by December, but I have some doubts. This is what I have now:
\n\nI am planning to upgrade the CPU and graphics card, but I might only change the graphics card to be able to get a real monster. \nIf I change the CPU and graphics card, I have thought about upgrading to:
\n\nIf I change only graphics card, I wold upgrade to:
\n\nAm I doing this right? Will there be bottlenecks if I don't upgrade the CPU? Are there any similar components that I should look into?
\n", "Title": "Help updating PC for gaming", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|processor|", "Answer": "The i3-2120 is likely to be a bottleneck to the system if you were to only upgrade your graphics card to a GTX 970. The i3-2120 is only a dual-core CPU (with 4 threads), while the i5-3470 is quad-core; many modern games benefit from multiple CPU cores (and some even require a four-core CPU, such as Fallout 4).
\n\nThe i5-3470 is much more efficient and newer than the i3-2120 (with a newer manufacturing process).
\n\nIt really depends on what games you plan on playing with your upgrade, for example Grand Theft Auto V will benefit from the i5-3470's performance, far more than a game focusing on graphical elements will.
\n\nFor Star Citizen I, its system requirements seem to focus on the CPU rather than the GPU, therefore you'd definitely be better-off with the i5-3470 & the 960.
\n\nYour motherboard has three PCI-E slots, so you might benefit in using both the 960 & 550Ti, with the 550Ti dedicated to PhysX. The amount of RAM you have is fine for gaming.
\n\nIf you do not mind purchasing used parts, I'd recommend you get a 290X (eBay has tons of them) as you get more graphical power for less (in the UK, used 290X GPUs sell for around \u00a3160 while new 970s sell for around \u00a3200, making a used 290X \u00a340 cheaper).
\n\nEnsure your power-supply is able to power a 290X- you should have at least a 550W PSU, with the recommended wattage being 600W. Bear in mind that if you do go down this route you won't be able to support the 290X with your current 550Ti.
\n\nYou might also be able to get the i5-3470 (or an even better CPU) used as well, along with the 290X. It really depends how much you're willing to spend on upgrading.
\n" }, { "Id": "893", "CreationDate": "2015-10-28T12:42:55.567", "Body": "I have a colleague who needs an additional monitor during presentations in the meeting room (the main beamer screen is too far/hard to see).
\n\nIn a video from Microsoft I saw they used monitors that were somewhat 'laying' on the table. Does anyone know what type of monitor this is?
\n\nvideo: https://youtu.be/Z2Fw6-2fCWU?t=89\nWatch @ 1:30\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/SUWhr.png\")
I am not 100% sure about this particular model but this is very close:
\n\nPlanar Helium PCT2785 27\" Widescreen Multi-Touch Monitor
\n\nTake a look here:\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMuxpMk3gow&t=0m38s
\n\nOther examples:
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "894", "CreationDate": "2015-10-28T12:54:50.037", "Body": "I currently have a small home-server, that runs a domain network & is the center of all file storage in our household. The drawback is that we need as much storage as possible, but the server's case only supports a maximum of four drives.
\n\nHardware of the server:
\n\nDrives/partitions for \"Common Files\" are dedicated to file storage for non-critical files and are not backed up. All critical files are held on the OS drive, the entire drive is backed up to the 500GB backup partition of the 1TB drive. All critical files stored on the OS drive are automatically backed up to cloud services (namely Mega).
\n\nI run a domain (ADDC) on the server so that any user-account/file can be accessed from any computer in the home. In addition to this, this configuration means that no data-loss occurs if a computer breaks.
\n\nThe server doesn't do much else than ensuring that everything can be accessed from anywhere within the house. It does run an SQL server (MSSQL) for local software development purposes, but it isn't used often. At night (from ~11pm - 6am) the server is shut-down, with it automatically turning itself on at 6am via a timer set in the BIOS.
\n\nI'm looking to build a new server that:
\n\nIt should also fit in the same space that the current server occupies, under my desk. The piece of wood on-top of the server can be removed (space between the floor & wood is ~12cm), if required:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/TXxvA.jpg\")
I was considering replacing it with a NAS, but however I need the domain functionality and so this option isn't available to me. I also don't want to purchase a NAS in conjunction to the server as I need it to use as little space as possible.
\n\nI was thinking of the current hardware:
\n\nI'm stumped on the motherboard & case though, as they need to be small. Any recommendations or changes for the prospective hardware? I am also going to be replacing the router in the above photo with a network switch, as I already have another router elsewhere in the house that does most of the work (and handles DHCP of the router in the photo).
\n", "Title": "System upgrade for a small home-server?", "Tags": "|server|data-storage|", "Answer": "The perfect system here's impossible (and I'd be glad to be proven wrong).
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pGQ5o.png\")
The HP microserver gen 8\nhowever would be a fairly decent simple replacement that'll meet many of your needs, though not all.
\n\nSize: 23.24x 23 x 24.5 cm Taller than your space, but this is about as small as it gets.
\n\n4-16gb of ram (I'd get the base model, and add ram myself)
\n\n4 3.5 inch drive bays (this is the tricky thing here)
\n\nSupposedly fairly quiet (I've not owned one myself).
\n\nYou might be able to replace the slimline optical drive on top with an ssd or a 2.5 inch drive.
\n\nStandard flexATX for power.
\n\niLO for full access to the system offline.
\n\nYou also have an SD card slot/internal USB port if you arn't running windows and want to boot off either. You could probably use that for a recovery environment.
\n\nProcessor options are low power, and I'd go with a pentium based model here.
\n\nIf I needed more bays I'd pair this up with a comparable sized NAS.
\n" }, { "Id": "896", "CreationDate": "2015-10-28T13:24:38.677", "Body": "I've got an issue with my home Wifi network. I get 300mbps on my ISP modem:
\n\n4 Gigabyte ports and Wifi N
\n\nThere is an Xbox One (Wifi N) on the ground floor
\n\nI've got 1 desktop with Wifi AC and 2 other computers with Wifi N on the 1st floor.
\n\nAnd the issue is that I cannot benefit from my fiber optic connection to it's full potential.
\n\nOn my PC with wifi ac card i get about 25mbps, on the other computers/laptop it's about 18-20mbps. On the Xbox which is the nearest device to the modem (~20m apart) I get a 40-45mbps.
\n\nI want to invest about 100euros and setup a network though Wifi (preferably but not limited to) that can let my xbox and PC get atleast a 100mbps (seperately in the best case).
\n\nIs there a Wifi router or a pair of PLC adapters that can manage that?
\n\nI've looked into Cat6 ethernet cable (pretty cheap) but it's a real pain to setup and ruins the looks.
\n\nSo I'm looking into home plugs but the ones that give acceptable speed are pretty costly (as expected), and for the wifi part I've come across some Xiaomi routers that are WifiAC capable that costs about 30bucks but unfortunalety there are no reviews on them to see their actual speed.
\n", "Title": "Domestic wifi Network Management", "Tags": "|wifi|networking|router|", "Answer": "I've a fair amount of experience with homeplug - I'm not going to recommend specific models since I have no clue if the sinoji plugs I use are available elsewhere or are the best option outside my current market. Wirecutter seems to like zyxel at the moment and are a good place for up to date reviews.
\n\nI'd suggest getting homeplug 500 or better gear if you want 100mbps. Typically the advertised speed is for the whole network, and you never ever get line speed over homeplug. I have homeplug 1800 gear at the moment. Its got better noise rejection and reliability, even if realworld speeds are ~300mbps. They do work fantastically for me though.
\n\nStuff to look for? homeplug units must be plugged directly into a socket, no powerstrips. Get passthrough models, and plug a powerstrip to that instead. Passthrough models also filter noise. Wallwarts and other SMPS devices produce some noise that may affect signal quality, so plug them into a passthrough or a powerstrip on an extension cord.
\n\nIf you get cutouts - it might be due to a powerful motor like a washing machine. Move the homeplug unit.
\n\nAs for wifi, I currently have a 2 AP setup. If I was doing it again, I'd pick up \"professional\" grade APs - we used to have ubiquity APs in my last workplace and they were fantastic, with easy management. Ars technica has an in depth review of the current models here. They are 'pure' APs so you can hook them into your current router. I'd probably end up with a 3pack, hooked into more homeplug units or directly into a (better) router.
\n\nFeatures like heatmaps and the way they handle clients are far ahead of most consumer routers. At a certain level of complexity, these give you more options and information to optimise your network.
\n" }, { "Id": "901", "CreationDate": "2015-10-28T17:52:12.407", "Body": "Been thinking of launching some dedicated servers for a while now, using VPS:es. However I got some techinical questions about their specs and how much they would be able to handle.
\n\nNow let's say I want to host multiple Team Fortress 2 servers. Mostly I'm looking for to run custom gamemodes, that are, in my opinion, not so advanced. It could be one Saxton Hale server, One deathrun server and the last one would just be a normal CP server (like dustbowl for example). Now my question is, which of the specs below would run these 3 servers best? And would I even be able to run 4 servers (the 4th would also be a ctf server)?
\n\n1st VPS:\n2 full cores (not given very much details about this), 2gb of ram and 8tb bandwidth.
\n\n2nd server:\n2x3.2Ghz+ cores, 4GB RAM (6GB burstable) and 5tb bandwidth.
\n\nThe bandwidth question is not really that important, i would use another host to handle all fastDL. But would it be any big difference in performance running these gamemodes on those specs?
\n", "Title": "VPS specs and gaming dedicated servers", "Tags": "|gaming|vps|", "Answer": "The second VPS server has the most resources available to it, therefore it would be the better option. However none of the servers you listed will be able to run all three servers properly.
\n\nInsufficient CPU
\n\nIt should be noted that you might run into problems with only two CPU cores. Try to go for one CPU core per server (so at least three CPU cores).
\n\nVPSes are virtual servers, and thus you share resources. You will share resources with other virtual servers running on the physical machine, some providers guarantee a full CPU core (such as in one of the VPSes you listed), but not all do.
\n\nServer Slots
\n\nYou'd be okay with 16 slots to each server on the second VPS, but any higher than that and you'd need more RAM; 4GB would be the limit for the servers you want to host.\nAlthough the VPS will look like you have 6GB RAM (in the hardware specifications within the operating system), the extra 2GB RAM will only be available to you if the physical machine hosting the VPS has the resources to do so.
\n\nOperating System
\n\nYou almost certainly want Linux, and most providers of VPSes will only support the use of Linux and not Windows, due to the virtualizer not supporting it. It is best to pick a popular Linux flavour, I personally use Ubuntu 14.04 on my own VPS.
\n\nI host a Minecraft server on a Platinum X8 server from Server4You; it is cheap but the service is very good.
\n\nThe server has:
\n\nThey also offer good deals on lower-specification VPSes.
\n" }, { "Id": "906", "CreationDate": "2015-10-28T22:35:25.370", "Body": "I live in a location which many websites don't recognise, and when multiplayer gaming I find that I am constantly matched with players from the United States instead of with players nearer to me (geographically). I found that when using free VPN services, I no longer have this problem and are matched with players much nearer to me.
\n\nDue to free VPNs being unreliable (bandwidth monitoring, constantly changing passwords, etc.), I have decided to purchase hardware or rent a VPS.
\n\nThis is a list of possible hardware/VPSes I have found:
\n\nThe Raspberry Pi is a decent option, but I doubt any provider would be willing to co-locate such a small device. The VPS is again a good option, but doesn't have much in the way of resources but is the cheapest option. The dedicated server I think is too much for what I need it for (an application to route my Internet connection through), but it could be a viable option if I wanted to host something else on it too.
\n\nI'd like the option of hosting a small website on the server (along with the VPN application), so simply going for a paid VPN service isn't an option here.
\n\nWhat amount of resources would a VPN application use; I already know about Internet, but what about RAM usage?
\n\nWhat is the best option here, or perhaps I should choose something else?
\n", "Title": "What should I use to run a VPN server?", "Tags": "|server|vps|", "Answer": "I ended up going with the VPS with 512MB RAM, single CPU core, 1TB bandwidth, and 30GB SSD.
\n\nThis is because:
\n\nI couldn't find a provider that would co-locate a Raspberry Pi unfortunately, and co-locating it wouldn't have made financial sense as co-location costs ~\u00a360/month (for a 1U server) and for that money I could've rented the dedicated server for over a year.
\n\nThere was also the option of switching ISP to one that told me (when I queried about the problem) their Internet connections are recognised as coming from the United Kingdom (incorrectly). However this would've meant I would spend a total of \u00a370 simply moving ISP (plus another \u00a340/month for rental).
\n\nRaspberry Pi
\n\nSmall, but efficient. Would easily be able to run a VPN service with room to spare for running a (very) small website. High co-location cost.
\n\nVPS
\n\nCheap, but good reviews of the company behind it. Would run a VPN service & a small website, but would have trouble running anything else. Would be solid & dependable.
\n\nDedicated Server
\n\nLooks cheap, but is actually the average price for such a server when setup & other costs are added. Would run a VPN service like a knife going through butter, and any other programs I would've liked to have run (even a small gameserver). However if only used for VPN, its specifications could be too much on the beefy side.\nCompany itself also has mixed reviews.
\n" }, { "Id": "934", "CreationDate": "2015-10-29T14:08:00.620", "Body": "I am at the end stages of choosing parts for my PC but am finding it quite difficult to choose a CPU cooler since there is so much to take in. Should I go for a standard CPU cooler (with fans), a fanless one or water cooling?
\n\nI am considering either water cooling / fanless because they are both quieter than normal coolers. Would you recommend going for a water cooling system or a fanless cooler? My only concern with the water cooling is that if in some way it malfunctions, it might damage my other parts. Out of the three options I know they\nall have their positive and negatives but which one would you say is best?
\n\nBudget: Around \u00a3720 pounds (the parts listed above total \u00a3670 so the cooler is in budget as long as it is under \u00a360 or there about).
\n\nI'm going to recommend the Be Quiet Shadow Rock Top Flow SR1 (\u00a343). Be Quiet, like Noctua, specialises in making very, very quiet CPU coolers. The advantage of this particular cooler is that it also helps keep the motherboard components cool. Pulling air down greatly improves airflow around the motherboard. It's also more compact than the D14.
\n\nAll three air coolers should be more quiet than the water coolers: The need for a pump in addition to fans negates the advantage of slower spinning fans.\nThe amount of sound insulation in your case probably makes the difference negligible though.
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/6z0XV.jpg\")
I'm going to buy a Raspberry PI 2 B and install osmc on it.\nI'm wondering which type (r/w speed) of Micro SD I should buy and which size (8, 16 ,32 go).\nMy movies, pictures, etc are stored on an Nas and the Raspberry will be wired on the same LAN.
\n\nI will try to be more precise :\nI will only stream to the raspberry from my NAS. Some movie than well be stream can be 20go in size.\nThe purpose of the Mirco SD will be to allow OSMC to run as smoothly as possible on the Raspberry 2B.
\n", "Title": "Micro SD for Raspberry PI 2 B", "Tags": "|raspberry-pi|microsd|", "Answer": "I will answer my own question.
\n\nI ended up buying a SanDisk extreme plus micro SDHC 16 GB (20\u20ac).\nOSMC runs more than smoothly on it.
\n\n16 GB seems to be a good size. OSMC takes less than 300 MB but the metadata, thumbnails, artworks and add-ons are also stored on the SD card.\nI'm able to play my heaviest movies (20 GB) through NFS without issue.
\n\nAny card with the same R/W speed should do the trick.
\n" }, { "Id": "938", "CreationDate": "2015-10-29T16:15:31.283", "Body": "I'm putting together a new server for my current database which has 500GB of data and over 13million rows in 90 tables. My read speed is very slow at the moment using SATA drives.
\n\nI prefer to use a Dell server, but my biggest concern is selecting the correct drives and raid setup.
\n\nCan anyone recommend me super any fast drives(SAS, SSD, PICe), or extras?
\n", "Title": "Fast Drives for MySQL Database Server", "Tags": "|server|data-storage|", "Answer": "Some hardware RAID devices like this have internal RAM cache of about 1 Gb in size (faster than any SSD and no care about wear), use supercapacitor to flush this cache to the non volatile memory in case of power loss and also can use connected SSD as additional cache.
\n\nSuch cards may be a good solution if your database has grown to multiple terrabytes in size so it is too expensive to place it completely on SSD with the required RAID redundancy.
\n" }, { "Id": "939", "CreationDate": "2015-10-29T17:15:37.237", "Body": "I am looking into getting a electronic drum kit that I can use for both recreational use (like an acoustic drum set) and for Rock Band 4, preferably with pro-cymbal support.
\nI was thinking about getting an ION drum kit, but I have found this comment amongst others in this thread.
\n\n\nQ: I play Rock Band with my ION Drum Kit. Will the ION Drum Kit, as well as other MIDI drum kits, be compatible with Rock Band 4?
\nA: The short answer is \u201cno, not at launch.\u201d Our first priority is to make sure that the core Rock Band legacy instruments be compatible on day one when Rock Band 4 launches \u2013 and they will be! If you want to see ION support in Rock Band 4, you can let ION Audio know by contacting them here: http://www.ionaudio.com/support/. We know that many of you play Rock Band using these peripherals, and we are actively working on finding a solution to this compatibility issue.
\n
Is there an alternative to playing an e-kit with Rock Band 4 on Xbox One?
\n", "Title": "Electronic drum kit compatible with Rock Band 4 on Xbox One", "Tags": "|gaming|music|midi|", "Answer": "I went to my Guitar Center and talked with one of the drum techs and decided on the Alesis Crimson Mesh Kit based on the level of customization provided at the price given. This kit gives me the feel of an acoustic drum set with the added ability to make my own sounds while having room to expand. I noticed that it also has both USB and MIDI outputs so this will help out with either editing my live drum sessions on the computer or plug this setup into an adapter for Rock Band.
\n" }, { "Id": "950", "CreationDate": "2015-10-30T10:50:09.990", "Body": "Is there any hardware which can consume connection from 3G/4G SIM, LAN Ethernet cable, existing low range WiFi and can provide it as wifi access point and LAN, both.
\n\nNew WiFi from this hardware should have consistent access, regardless which underlying connectivity it uses. It would be better if it is portable. \n![\"Diagram\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/zExxQ.png\")
I am currently using SoftAP mode of WN722N wifi USB adapter. It delivers internet(via WiFi) obtained from any source(3G/4G adapter/LAN/another WiFi). It creates bridged network.
\n\nIf its not possible in single device, recommend me combination of devices, with minimum cost. I expect it to serve 5 to 10 devices.
\n", "Title": "WiFi range extender + router + bult-in data card", "Tags": "|wifi|networking|router|wlan|", "Answer": "Industrial:
\n\nCisco offers products with this capability: 4G Routers. I have used their products to build similar configurations. There are many industrial products like this from Cisco and others. They can meet all of your requirements but they are quite pricey.
\n\nConsumer:
\n\nHere is a product that is built to act as a backup to a DSL modem and stand between it and your router. Personally, I would recommend this setup with the three devices I linked inline and build them into an enclosure for portability.
\n\nThere are also plenty of 4G modem, router, access point combos but these will need a seperate DSL modem. This one also has a WAN port that could be paired with a regular modem.
\n\nDIY:
\n\nYou could pair a Raspberry Pi with a 4G module and then cofigure it however you like and change as needed.
\n" }, { "Id": "953", "CreationDate": "2015-10-30T16:41:48.303", "Body": "\n\nI am looking to build a Steam OS box, I would like to run 'light' native Steam OS games and stream the rest from my powerful windows box.
\nWhat are my options for a motherboard that fits the requirements listed and (with a case/CPU/RAM) is close to 400 USD?
\n
Valve Min Requirements (ref)
\nMy Requirements
\nAdditional Information
\nFrom what I could find Valve does not have a compatible hardware list but because Steam OS is built on Debian I would rather use hardware that has a good track record of working on Debian if possible. On the flip side I would like to use newer lower power (14nm) hardware if possible as I intend to leave the box running. If all fails I may opt for the Steam Link and later go for a Steam OS box.
\nUPDATE: I prefer to build the system and install Steam OS myself. I have modified this question to refer to only the motherboard, once that is chosen I will add a question for what case/CPU/RAM works best with it because they are quite dependent on the motherboard selection.
\n", "Title": "Cheap, Quiet and up-gradable Steam OS compatible Motherboard", "Tags": "|gaming|linux|motherboard|quiet-computing|", "Answer": "I'm gonna go with the following recommendation list, including the mobo, to show you how I imagine it fitting into a situation like the one you're seeing:
\n\nPCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/8nn4Cy\nPrice breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/8nn4Cy/by_merchant/
\n\nTotal: $386.95\nPrices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available\nGenerated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-01 16:22 EDT-0400
\n\nBasically the takeaways here are:
\n\nBasically the only downside as I see it is unfortunate AMD driver support in linux (SteamOS), but as a dGPU can be added later this is not a showstopper the way I see it.
\n" }, { "Id": "971", "CreationDate": "2015-10-31T18:31:52.103", "Body": "I'm looking for some headphones. They will be primarily used for making music at home, as well as occasionally being used for live music. They will also be used quite a bit for just general home use. (listening to music, playing games, watching movies, etc.) I have been using a friend's Bose qc-15's for a while, and I only have two major complaints with them.
\nThey don't feel super durable. I wouldn't call them flimsy, but the don't seem super rugged either. I have broken plenty of cheap earbuds in the past, and I want to make sure my next purchase lasts me a long time. There are small children in my house that don't have the same respect for expensive electronics as I do, so the more rugged the better.
\nMandatory noise-cancelling. I can't use them without using the noise-cancelling, so the require batteries. I'm on my computer listening to music a lot, so I feel like I'm constantly shoving new batteries into this pair of headphones.
\nSo now I'm looking to get my own pair.
\nOver-ear, not earbuds.
\nDurable. I don't really even care if they look nice, I just want to know that they will last several years or longer.
\nNo batteries required. Optional use of batteries would also be OK, (For example, optional noise-cancelling) but I don't really care if they're noise cancelling or not.
\nNoise reducing, not cancelling.
\nThis should go without saying, but must support stereo, and have 1/8 in. audio plugin.
\nIn the 80-120 USD range.
\nHigh-quality sound. I realize that I'm not going to get studio-quality for only $100, but I'd like the highest quality possible while still staying on budget.
\nComfortable.
\nA case.
\nReplaceable parts. This goes back to the whole durability thing, because it would be nice to just replace the part that breaks if something were to happen to them. I'm sure that I wouldn't be able to replace all of it, so if it was just the auxiliary cable that was replaceable, that would still be awesome.
\nThank you all for the answers. In the end, I ended up going with the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x's. I was torn between that and the Sony 7506's, which were recommended to me by a sound engineer friend, and I had also had good experiences with in the past. They both meet all of my requirements without a noticeable difference in sound (or price), but the M40's have a replaceable cable, as well as being a little beefier.
\n" }, { "Id": "982", "CreationDate": "2015-11-02T05:21:36.777", "Body": "I'm currently choosing parts for my new computer. I'm doing a lot of image processing and some of my algorithms are parallelized. In my free-time, I'm additionally up for some gaming.
\n\nMy current system, although already built in 2011, runs an Intel Core i7-2700K with 4 real cores (8 HT) and 3.50GHz base frequency. This guy still rocks and looking through today's CPU's kind of give me the feeling that physical limitations for faster machines are clearly visible.
\n\nAfter reading and looking through the prizes, I thought I found my favorite CPU for the next system, which is a Intel Core i7-6700K 4GHz, but then I saw this comparison:
\n\n![\"compare\"](\"https://cdn.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Intel-Core-i7-6700-Skylake_Cinebench-R15-635x355.png\")
Apparently, the Intel Core i7-5820K with 6 cores (which is the 5th and not the 6th generation) is in many tests faster. Important for me is of course, that the CPU supports DDR4 memory, which it does.
\n\nQuestion: Taking into account that the prize is the same for both processors, I would be glad if someone had a recommendation. I'm keen to hear whether the difference in architecture (Skylake-S vs. Haswell-E) is somehow important for me. Probably there are other things I haven't considered.
\n", "Title": "Which Intel CPU? 3.3GHz x 6 or 4GHz x 4", "Tags": "|processor|processor-architecture|", "Answer": "This could help you find your answer.
\n\nAs you can see for photo editing the 6700k is pretty good but not the best
\n\nAs you can see here, the 5960x does beat it quite often then not but it's also 3 times the price
\n\nSo between the 6700k and 5820k\nmulticore: 5820k is about 25% faster.\nsinglecore the 6700k is 23% faster.\nthese are from benchmark scores
\n\nYou cannot go wrong with either, noticeable advantages the 5820k has over 6700k is the memory bandwith which seriously quite high (Double actually) and the 2 cores (4threads)\nSo after reconsideration on my behalf, the 5820k might actually be the better choice since photo editing softwares are all 64bit and multicore nowdays. You can even overclock the 5820k more easily than the 6700k.\nBut then in gaming the 6700k takes the large, not by much but still noticable since it's single core performamce are pretty high. the 6700k is also power efficient and suports usb 3.1 natively (future proof)
\n\n5820k would be my choice, with a setup than doesn't bottleneck it's performances. Atleast for the next 4-5years you're good to go.
\n" }, { "Id": "983", "CreationDate": "2015-11-02T10:26:58.937", "Body": "Long story short, the motherboard of my 7 year old PC died and I'll need a new one. I plan to use it mainly for gaming (Elder Scrolls series, Fallout series, League of Legends, Crusader Kings, ...) with potentially getting into a bit of programming or video editing down the line.
\n\nI'll be reusing the case, mouse, keyboard, monitor, and probably also the GPU of my old computer. The plan being that upgrading the GPU becomes my first major upgrade in the coming months.
\n\nI'm happy to run my games at 30 fps, but I'd like that to also be true for the games I'll be playing 3 years from now.
\n\nThe main issue is that I'd like a computer that will last at least 4 years (preferably longer), but my budget is only around \u20ac500-600 ($550-660) and I'm concerned that won't be enough for what I want. So price is a very serious concern for me.
\n\nThe first order of business is choosing the CPU. I decided I want a quad core because supposedly that will be needed to run Fallout 4, but all I know about processors is that quad core is better than dual core and that unlike 15 years ago the processing speed is no longer the sole thing that determines how good a CPU is.
\n\nI should probably also mention that I don't plan to play Fallout 4 on release, but instead pick it up during a Steam sale in a year or two. However, since I plan my PC to last longer than 2 years and it can't run without a CPU, I still want the CPU I get now to be good enough for it.
\n\nQuestions:
\n\nAMD or Intel? I'm more interested in cost efficiency than peak performance.
I want to get something better than the bare minimum required to run FO4 in order for my PC to be somewhat future proof, but I'm not sure how far over the bare minimum I should go, considering my budget restrictions. The minimum requirements I found online are Intel Core i5-2300 2.8GHz or AMD Phenom II X4 945. Recommended processors for FO4 are Intel Core i7 4790 3.6 GHz or AMD FX-9590 4.7 GHz.
Beyond the number of cores and frequency, what other properties are really important in a processor? In the sense of what should someone who knows virtually nothing about processors be careful about when chosing one.
I just found out about the new Skylake processors that Intel released a couple of months ago. If I decide to go for Intel, would you recommend me to get one of these? My gut feeling is to go for the new thing because it will last longer, but is it really worth the price?
Links:
\n\nI live in Slovenia and have been looking at this website for components and prices:
\n\n\n", "Title": "Need help buying new budget gaming PC: the processor", "Tags": "|gaming|pc|processor|", "Answer": "I agree with most of what Alpha3031 told you, but I think there are better options for your use case than the 860K. To explain, I'm going to go a little into the nuances of CPU lid design and hyperthreading.
\n\nI recommend you look for a slightly more expensive 870K or 880K (also on the FM2+ socket) - and failing that, you should strongly consider a Haswell or Skylake i3 (sockets 1150 or 1151) clocked at or above 3.5ghz.
\n\nThe reason one such as yourself would care about the differences between the 860K and the 870K/880K are small, but worth the price difference in your case. First of all, whereas the 860K has paste TIM between its die and the CPU lid, the 870K and 880K, both Godavari refreshes of the Kaveri Steamroller design of the 860K, sport the superior metal flux between their dies and lids - this transfers heat between the die and lid much better than paste. This matters to you because you will want to make your CPU last longer than it probably otherwise would at stock speeds, so you will be overclocking, the success of which partly depends on how well you can dissipate waste heat from the CPU. With a good air or water cooler and the proper amount of overvolting, I would expect the average 870K/880K to reach somewhere around 4.6-4.8ghz, whereas it seems the 860K reaches lower top speeds on average; say 4.3-4.5ghz. Normally I'd say quibbling over a few hundred megahertz is not worth it, but you'll want everything you can get, I think. A potential alternative would be the weird Athlon X4 845 (FM2+), because it sports a superior IPC to the bigger chips as it is designed from the newer Carrizo Excavator architecture, but it is not unlocked and the newer arch only gives you 10-15% better performance at best. If for some reason you were unable to overclock and needed to stay with AMD (say to keep prices down), I'd recommend that CPU.
\n\nThe other option is, somewhat surprisingly, to spring for a low-end Intel i3 CPU. Many people disparage i3 CPUs due to their dual core architectures, but since i3s use hyperthreading, they actually operate 4 threads, which makes them quad cores as far as games are concerned - software only sees threads, not physical cores. The great advantage to choosing these more expensive Intel parts is twofold - you will get to put it on a motherboard socket with significantly more upgrade potential than FM2+ (FM2+ doesn't really have any CPUs with superior performance to the 880K while the 1150 and 1151 sockets support the vastly more powerful i7 and Xeon series), and as Alpha3031 indicated, Intel CPUs have much higher IPC, meaning they perform much faster on each core than AMD's offerings. While their overall performance tends to bring them neck and neck with AMD's Steamroller quad cores, they can't be beat for single thread performance at this price point, and you will see markedly better performance from an i3 over even an overclocked Athlon in games which utilize only 1 or 2 threads.
\n" }, { "Id": "988", "CreationDate": "2015-11-02T18:35:27.880", "Body": "I've been searching for a simple Blu-Ray player. I've notice a lot of Blu-ray players are in the $60+ range, but also come with Wi-Fi/LAN capabilities, able play music, Netflix, all that stuff. I don't really want any of that. I just want to watch a Blu-ray movie and that's it for a reasonable price.
\n\nSome things that would be ideal for me,
\n\nCheap
USB (So I can connect to my laptop) (External Blu-Ray player)
I don't need it to write blu-rays, only read to watch movies (Hopefully drop the price)
If a USB one for a lower price is not an option, a standard one the connects to a TV through HDMI will be fine.
\n\nI was hoping for the $20-30 range if those even exist.
\n\nI was thinking a USB one would be cheaper, but the only ones I could find were ones that also wrote to Blu-Rays. Which I'm guessing made them significantly more expensive. (I also don't know much about Blu-ray players and if they can even be decoded through USB)
\n\nIn a nutshell, I just want to watch Blu-Ray movies for $20-30.
\n\nUPDATE
\n\nSo I've been searching a little more and giving this a little more thought.
\n\nIf I decide to bite the bullet and buy a $70+ Blu-ray player with all the bells and whistles, how easy is it to stream a Blu-ray movie over a network?
\n\nI was thinking this would actually be a convenient solution for me. I would be able to connect the Blu-ray player to a TV and also be able to access it elsewhere in the house through the network.
\n\nSo, to make what I want a little more clear,
\n\n-Blu-Ray player (Preferably less than $120 after looking at many prices)\n\n-Blu-Ray player able to be hard wired and have Wifi capabilities\n\n-Capable of streaming over a network to a PC running Windows 10\n\n-Software for PC (Free?)(If needed)\nTo add a little more detail, both the PC and the Blu-Ray player will be wired into the same router, as I'm assuming streaming a Blu-ray over wifi could be pretty rough.
\n\nIf someone already has a set-up similar to mine, I would be grateful to know what you have/are using to do this already. I didn't want to get jumpy and buy a Blu-ray player and find some software just to find out nothing is compatible and I wasted my money!
\n", "Title": "Simple cheap blu-ray player", "Tags": "|usb|networking|blu-ray|", "Answer": "\n\n\nWi-Fi/LAN capabilities, able play music, Netflix, all that stuff. I don't really want any of that.
\n
The bluray specification requires that the player firmware is easily updated over time (mostly for copy protection features) and that bluray players include minimum functionality for internet coupled movie features. This is a simplification, you may be able to find older first generation players without networking, but I expect you'll also find they have a hard time playing some of today's newer movies and you may not be able to get updates for them.
\n\nAs such you won't find cheap bluray players that don't include networking features.
\n\nYour best bet is to search ebay and craiglist for older used bluray players in your price range. Try to find something only a few years old, again, the much older players will probably have problems playing newer discs without some effort on your part.
\n\n\n\n\nIf I decide to bite the bullet and buy a $70+ Blu-ray player with all the bells and whistles, how easy is it to stream a Blu-ray movie over a network?
\n
The bluray specification does not permit streaming over the network. You will not be able to find a bluray player that does this for you. If you need something like this, you will need to set up a computer and use it to read the discs, handle the decryption, and stream the movie.
\n" }, { "Id": "1019", "CreationDate": "2015-11-02T23:40:42.980", "Body": "At some point in the future, I'd like to replace my home router with a x86 box running pfsense. I'm rather fond of the NUC form factor for things like this but finding a suitable one has been tricky. My requirements?
\n\nHere's my experiment with Intel NUC:
\n\nI managed to add a second nic by cutting a hole in NUC.
\n\n![\"Intel](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/GrBeN.jpg\")
\n(i3, 8GB, flash drive as boot device)
More details here:\nhttps://serialize.wordpress.com/2019/03/08/intel-nuc-pfsense-build/
\n" }, { "Id": "1035", "CreationDate": "2015-11-03T14:24:43.927", "Body": "Current setup, kind of outdated - was built in 2009, except graphics card and a chassis:
\n\nI want to keep chassis and gfx card for a new setup.
\n\nLooking for a CPU recommendation (no AMD please) which will be better from current one and will allow future upgrade. Computer mainly used for work (web dev, Photoshop, some android coding with unity), casual gaming (Battlefield 4, Battlefront Star Wars (new one), Evolve, etc), music (mp3, Spotify - mostly when doing my work) and movies watching from streaming services (HBO Go, STARZ Go, Plex, Netflix, etc)
\n\nPrice range something around $250
\n", "Title": "CPU recommendation for new casual gaming setup", "Tags": "|gaming|processor|", "Answer": "When it comes to gaming CPU recommendations, take a look at Tom's Hardware's Best CPUs for the Money which provides well-founded recommendations for all price ranges. In your case, the Core i5-6500 is a good bet if you aren't interested in overclocking, or the Core i5-6600K if you are. They're both based on Skylake, the latest architecture from Intel, and drops into the LGA 1151-socket, so is it as modern as it gets today. Core i5-4690K is based on Haswell, it has similar specs but uses the older LGA-1150 platform which is being phased out in favor of LGA-1151 and Skylake.
\n" }, { "Id": "1036", "CreationDate": "2015-11-03T15:26:09.940", "Body": "I recently needed to start using a third screen on my desktop, and the built-in Intel video will only handle two.
\nFor that purpose, I pulled an old ATI 4350 out of the closet. I barely ever used this card because it was very noisy, so I took the fan off and attached the north bridge heatsink from an old motherboard. It now runs at ~55\u00b0C with a little air flowing over it from a case fan. I'm curious as to how long it will last that way, but since it supposedly can tolerate 120\u00b0C (and in fact reached that when I first put the card in, with no fan and no heatsink) hopefully long enough. But I'm curious what I could have done without this not-very-ideal option.
\nI don't need this screen for much -- no 3D, no video playback, mostly just generic GUI content such as viewing documentation. I have an HD monitor attached, so I do want 1920x1080 resolution, which I think requires ~16 MiB of video memory, since 1920 * 1080 * 3 (bytes/pixel) * 2 (double buffer) / 1048576 ~= 12 MiB, and I'm aware of embedded platforms that will display HD with 16 MiB of video RAM.
\nI was surprised looking around that there doesn't seem to be anything out there to meet this kind of need; the lowest end cards I could find are still on a par with the 4350 (thankfully, there are more fanless options now) with 1/2 GB of video memory and 3D acceleration, and a $40-50 CND price tag.
\nOne of my concerns about these cards is power consumption. I don't have a watt meter, but the fact that the 4350 idles at 55\u00b0C whilst keeping 20g of aluminum very warm too implies it uses an excess of energy for my purposes. My PSU is fine, I just don't like pointless waste.
\nHave I missed something? Is there anything more basic than this around? Like a low power1 $20 card you can attach a single HD monitor to?
\nAndy has already mentioned a bottom end 3D card. I'm aware of these, they are cheap and plentiful and there's nothing wrong with them, but I don't need to see a list of more of them here. I'm looking for something more specialized in the sense that it can't be a purely integrated chipset, since it's for adding a third screen to a mobo that already has this, but totally basic. I am sure it is possible to make, e.g., a 64 MB PCI card with a GPU that doesn't require any cooling or heatsink at all, and consumes <= 5 watts. But I suspect no one has bothered to do so.
\n1. Less than 5 watts would be great; less than 15 is okay.
\n", "Title": "Low-power-draw HD resolution video card", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "\n\n\nHave I missed something? Is there anything more basic than this around? Like a low power1 $20 card you can attach a single HD monitor to?
\n
Yes. As Dan has pointed out in his answer, a USB video adaptor fits all of your needs exactly.
\n\nFor instance, let's compare the Flashmen USB 3.0 to HDMI 1080P Video Adaptor to your requirements:
\n\n\n\n\nI recently needed to start using a third screen on my desktop
\n
Adapters like this will run a third monitor.
\n\n\n\n\nI barely ever used this card because it was very noisy
\n
They have no fans or moving parts, should not produce any detectable noise.
\n\n\n\n\nI don't need this screen for much -- no 3D, no video playback, mostly just generic GUI content such as viewing documentation.
\n
They don't usually have much hardware acceleration, but the drivers do typically support video playback at 30 frames per second full screen. Some of the better USB adapters support minimal 3D using the computer's processor for the hard work.
\n\nThis is important because you might be surprised how many programs, such as CAD or even web browsers and document viewers use 3D.
\n\n\n\n\nI have an HD monitor attached, so I do want 1920x1080 resolution
\n
These HDMI adapters will almost always support 1080p.
\n\n\n\n\nOne of my concerns about these cards is power consumption. ... Less than 5 watts would be great; less than 15 is okay.
\n
These are under 5W.
\n\n\n\n\nit can't be a purely integrated chipset
\n
They don't use computer memory as video memory, and are not \"integrated\".
\n\n\n\n\na low power1 $20 card you can attach a single HD monitor to?
\n
The one I listed at the top is often for sale right around $20. It's not a great piece of hardware, but if you have a price limit of $20 and are ok with the requirements (windows 7, 8, or 10) and fiddling around a little with the drivers, then it exactly fits your requirements.
\n\nIf you need something more specialized, then of course you're going to have to compromise some of your requirements, but at the moment it appears to meet your needs.
\n" }, { "Id": "1037", "CreationDate": "2015-11-03T15:27:07.923", "Body": "I am confused about which one of these processors to buy. I will pair it with two NVidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti (SLI). Also, I don't plan on too many upgrades and also I won't be overclocking 'too much'. The processors:
\n\nThe 5820K and 6700K are the same price and also require DDR4 RAM and 99/170 series chipset motherboards, all of which are expensive. The 4700K and its supporting platform are comparatively cheaper. I am not willing to spend a lot of money. I will be mainly gaming and apart from that just surfing on the \ninternet.
\n\nUses:
\n\nBudget:\nTotal Build < $3000 (including a 1440p display but excluding other peripherals like mouse, keyboards, speakers, etc.). My build:
\n\nThe difference between 16gig (i'm assuming that's what you're going for in gaming) of DDR3 and DDR4 is of about 40bucks (in france) so I think you could go with the 6700k, since you're not into overcloking that much.\nThe 5820k would have been the better choice if you're gonna buy more memory (for editing stuff) than that (it has double the bandwidth). But for gaming that's waaaay more than you need. And the 6700k has native USB 3.1 support so a little more future proof.
\n\nAnd you can probably find good deals on the 6700k in those upgrade kits. And lastly the 4790k actually does better than the 5820k in gaming in a few tests so if the price difference matters go for that one.
\n" }, { "Id": "1091", "CreationDate": "2015-11-04T19:33:03.123", "Body": "Current setup, kind of outdated - was built in 2009, except graphics card and a chassis:
\n\nI want to keep chassis and gfx card for a new setup.
\n\nLooking for a motherboard recommendation which will handle Intel i5 4690K CPU and will allows me to keep that new setup for another next 4-5 years at least (upgrade CPU, upgrade gfx card, etc), ability to OC.
\n\nI have read that anything on Z97 will be fine but there are too many options to go for and I have no clue which one will have longer life span (BIOS updates, better support etc)
\n\nPrice something below $250
\n\nAfter some research I have found those motherboards interesting:
\n\nNow I will review each of them in a depth and will pick that one which will fits the most.
\n", "Title": "Motherboard recommendation for new casual gaming setup", "Tags": "|gaming|motherboard|", "Answer": "I will make the case that the ASRock Z97 Extreme6 motherboard is the best choice because of its feature set and price.
\n\nThe first thing to note about all boards under consideration is that they are absolutely top-notch. These boards represented the best each respective company could put together when socket 1150 was the leading socket for Intel. In terms of durability, reliability, and manufacturer support, these rank ahead of any other OEM motherboard for this socket in the desktop space. This leaves only price and feature set to differentiate them.
\n\nAnother poster has recommended the Asus Maximus Ranger vii motherboard. This was a very popular choice in its heyday because it had a good marketing campaign, Asus enjoys good brand rep, and because it was priced intelligently above many of its competitors, giving it the aura of an elite product SKU (which it certainly is). However, I think that for precisely these reasons, it is now certainly not the right choice for you. This board is not in much supply right now, so unless you want to buy used, it will be difficult to procure at a reasonable cost. My recommendation, the ASRock Z97 Extreme6, is still available on Newegg at a very competitive price.
\n\nThough price seems to favor AsRock's board, this means nothing if AsRock doesn't bring compelling features to the table. Fortunately, AsRock does. Let's compare (please excuse the crappy pic):
\n\n![\"Comparison](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Vszq0.jpg\")
In almost all of the most important ways, these two boards are identical. They enjoy the same chipset, the same RAM slots, the same cooling schema, and a similar audio chipset. The important advantages of the Extreme6 are as follows:
\n\nAll in all, I think the features you get with the AsRock board outweigh the Maximus' brand name even at the same price, given that both these boards are well made. The added versatility is something that will make this board a workhorse for you or whoever else owns it long past the days when it can serve as a gaming rig's basis.
\n" }, { "Id": "1105", "CreationDate": "2015-11-05T17:05:35.187", "Body": "The title pretty much says it all. I'm assembling a budget gaming PC and decided for an AMD Athlon X4 860K processor and now I need to chose a motherboard for it.
\n\nMy total budget for the PC is \u20ac500-600 ($550-660).
I'll be using my PC to play games such as the Fallout series, the Elder scrolls series, League of Legends, Crusader Kings 2 and such. I'm using Fallout 4 as a benchmark for performance. Ideally I'd like the computer to also be able to eventually run Elder Scrolls 6, but it'll probably take some 3-6 years before they make that one, which makes system requirements difficult to predict.
\n\nIn case it's somehow relevant, I'm thinking about using the opportunity to switch to Linux and Wine instead of spending money on another edition of Windows.
I'd like to start out with 8 or 16GB RAM and have the option to upgrade to 32GB in the future.
\n\nIntegrated graphics card would be nice to have as backup if my GPU fails. This is mainly a concern because I might reuse the 7 year old GeForce 9600 GT from my previous computer to save costs now and get a new graphics card as the first major upgrade.
\n\nI'm aware the old GPU will be unable to run Fallout 4, but I'm not planning to play the game at release. I intend to get it during a Steam sale by which time I'll have also upgraded to a modern GPU.
\n\nI'll probably get all the components from here. It's a Slovenian website so there might be a bit of a language barrier for most of you. I tried running it through Google translate, but that broke the configurator tool. Essentially the tool works by selecting components from the dropdown menu, starting with a processor, then motherboard, then everything else. \"Mati\u010dna plo\u0161\u010da\" is motherboard. The components themselves have standard international names.
\n\nThe website lists the following motherboards as available (from least to most expensive):
\n\nThe description of numbers 1 and 6 says that the motherboard is intended for AMD processors that have an integrated GPU, which the Athlon X4 860K has not. I'm guessing that means I should probably pick one of the other eight, but I'm pretty clueless when it comes to hardware and have no idea which one.
\n\nSo finally, my question is which of the listed motherboards would be best for my needs? Or would you suggest a model not on the list?
\n", "Title": "Choosing motherboard for a budget gaming PC using AMD Athlon X4 860K processor", "Tags": "|gaming|pc|motherboard|", "Answer": "I recommend the Gigabyte F2A88XM-D3H, which is an A88X motherboard, which should offer most of the modern features, with 4 RAM slots, which means an upgrade path to 32 GB of DDR3, and 4+2 phases which makes for decent overclocking headroom. The more expensive Gigabyte G1.SNIPER or Asrock Extreme6 bring only limited benefit, except more bells and whistles.
\n\nI must admit the budget isn't nearly as restrictive as I initially thought, since you intend to reuse your GPU, which is the most expensive part of a gaming system, and you would likely have money to spare for extras like a Windows licence or a SSD. You don't quite have enough for an i5 though, which is the next step up on the intel side, and I hesitate to recommend the AM3+ platform, so if you have any leftover budget, I suggest you save it up for your GPU, or get a better cooler.
\n\nThe motherboard supports the Athlon 860K, though if it ships with a old revision of the BIOS , you may have to send it back to get it flashed with a F6 or later. Be sure to communicate with the store to see if they'll do it for you.
\n\nMotherboards these days don't generally come with integrated graphics. If you want one, you'll have to spend \u20ac20-40 pounds extra for an APU. Those will perform worse because of the shared TDP, but with DX12, they may be able to help out a bit.
\n" }, { "Id": "1110", "CreationDate": "2015-11-06T04:38:55.980", "Body": "I bought this PC from Best Buy a few months ago, found it works pretty well on older games like Assassin's Creed II but starts to lack only in Brotherhood. Here is the the PC and here is my PC Part Picker List.
\n\n(please not that some of the items on the list are just place holders because they did not have the actual part that is in the computer...)
\n\nI am looking to upgrade to the NVIDIA GTX 970 ASUS STRIX edition and my power supply is 400 Watt ATX. I put all the specs into PC Part Picker and it says that the estimated wattage is 349 Watts for my PC after the upgrade. So, is 50W enough headroom for my upgrade? If not, how many watts would a decent amount of headroom be?
\n", "Title": "Graphics card upgrade possible?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|smps|", "Answer": "Your usage should be around 380-390W actually.\nTechnically speaking the 400W PSU should be enough but you'd better have more headroom a PSU of 450W at the least and 550W to be futur proof.
\n" }, { "Id": "1118", "CreationDate": "2015-11-06T15:53:34.577", "Body": "I have a customer who is looking to extend the output of a weather station into a second aircraft hangar at an airport. The vendor has approved doing this, but says that any solution we implement must be done \"after the monitor.\" The output is a single VGA port.
\n\nThey have explained that this means the signal must go from the station to the primary display without any interruption in signal. I am looking for a way to use an ethernet based or even IP based extender in this configuration.
\n\nDoes a monitor with a video-out passthrough exist? The requirement for uninterrupted signal to the main display leaves out the use of a splitter device, but I am wondering if they will allow a passive Y-Cable. We are checking on that, but I am looking for alternatives if that falls through.
\n\nEDIT: The vendor confirmed that a splitter cable is NOT acceptable, so a pass-through monitor would be the only option.
\n", "Title": "Video extension \"After the monitor\" solution?", "Tags": "|monitors|video|kvm|", "Answer": "Apparently the solution is one of two possible options. There is a DisplayPort standard called Multi-Stream Transport (MST) that was introduced with DisplayPort 1.2 (Wikipedia, n.d.). The other option is a display with a VGA in/out configuration. LG makes a series of monitors that provides this function, the N225WU-BN Cloud monitor, which is designed for use with Microsoft Multipoint Server 2011, but serves the purpose for this application (N225WU-BN, n.d.).
\n\nI wanted to thank SSumner for the DisplayPort research direction.
\n\nReferences
\n\nDisplayPort. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort#Multiple_displays_on_single_DisplayPort_connector
\n\nN225WU-BN. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2015, from http://www.lg.com/us/commercial/desktop-virtualization/lg-N225WU-BN
\n" }, { "Id": "1121", "CreationDate": "2015-11-06T18:39:22.410", "Body": "I am a developer, I develop web and android applications. So for that I use tools like netbeans android studio Photoshop , git, Chrome with lots of tabs opened. Most of the time I need to keep them open all the time. I am planning to buy a new laptop. I know many people will suggest I must have a SSD, but after some research I have found that I can't afford a laptop with both SSD and the configuration I want, and I do not want to buy a macbook. After some research, I have sorted out some laptops.
\n\nASUS K555LN-5500U 5th Gen Core i7\nProcessor: Intel Core i7 5th Gen 5500U\n2.40 GHz (3.00 GHz by Turbo Frequency) 4MB Cache\nRAM: 8 GB DDR3, HDD: 1 TB SATA\nNVIDIA\u00ae GeForce\u00ae GT 840M with 2GB DDR3 VRAM\nDisplay: 15.6\" 16:9 HD (1366 X 768) LED\n\n\nDell Inspiron N5548 Intel Core i7 5th Gen\nProcessor: 5th Gen. Intel Core i7 5500U\n2.40 GHz (3.00 GHz by Turbo Frequency) 4MB Cache\nRAM: 8 GB DDR3, HDD: 1 TB SATA\nDisplay: 15.6\" 16:9 HD (1366 X 768) LED\nMy question is will the above laptop serve my purpose? If they which one should I buy? Or are there any other laptop can serve my purpose?
\n", "Title": "Which laptop should I buy?", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "No, I wouldn't buy either of those laptops, because the displays are too low-resolution for me to be able to work productively.
\n\nMy minimum recommended specs for software development would be as follows:
\n\nIf you don't get an SSD right off the bat, budget to upgrade within a few months. The performance difference is unbelievable and you'll be able to be much more productive with an SSD. I'd even suggest upgrading to an SSD before upgrading your RAM to 16 GB.
\n\nI cannot recommend a specific model, but I can make a few general recommendations...
\n\nDO NOT BUY:
\n\nDO CONSIDER:
\n\nFor software development, pretty much any modern graphics chip will be more than adequate.
\n\nYour resistance to buying a Macbook is understandable, but as a die-hard Windows power user since 1995, I have to grudgingly admit that the Mac touchpad is best-in-class, and the gestures and swiping left and right between full-screen apps is a huge productivity booster.
\n" }, { "Id": "1142", "CreationDate": "2015-11-08T04:15:42.967", "Body": "Alright, I purchased this PC a few months ago and I am now looking to upgrade the graphics card to the ASUS STRIX GTX 970 and my power supply to the Corsair CX500M because of its good reviews, and I like the idea of having a modular power supply. I cleared out space in my case for these new components, only now I am left wondering if they are truly compatible. I know for a fact that I need ~400 Watts for this to work so I went with a 500 Watt Power supply. The problem is, this PC has a Mother Board that is not too popular.
\n\nMother Board: MSI ms-7641
\n\nWill the power supply come with the correct cables for everything to work properly? I am sorry, this may seem like a stupid question to most of you, but as you can probably tell, seeing that I bought a PRE-BUILT PC, that I am new to this. Please, any insight will help my understanding. Thank you for your time.
\n\nHere is a link to the Asus GPU, and the Motherboard.
\n", "Title": "Possible MoBo compatibility issues", "Tags": "|compatibility|smps|", "Answer": "I will first focus on compatability.\nOn the Newegg Page for the MOBO:
\n\n\n1 x ATX 24-pin power connector
\n1 x ATX 4-pin 12V CPU power connector
\n
These are standard ATX PSU Connectors that can be found on every ATX-Compatible Power Supply. However, the power supply that you chose is considered not that good in the PC Building Community. At that same price-point ($45), I would recommend the SeaSonic M12II 520 as it is made by a manufacturer with a good reputation and even though it is more expensive, it will be able to put out a full 500W which the Corsair unit would not be able to.
\n" }, { "Id": "1158", "CreationDate": "2015-11-09T17:04:30.383", "Body": "I'm looking for a PSU recommendation for a setup below:
\n\nand to have some wiggle room to OC.
\n\nPrice range below $200
\n", "Title": "PSU recommendation for new casual gaming setup", "Tags": "|gaming|power-supply|", "Answer": "FWIW I run the following config in my living room:
\n\nUsing Kill-A-Watt meter, if my memory serves me right then I peaked around 350 watts when I tortured it with Prime95 and FurMark at the same time.
\n\nCPU: 90\u00b0C, GPU 80\u00b0C
\n\nI play Witcher 3 on max settings with hairworks set to 2xAA for hours on end.
\n\nCPU: 70\u00b0C, GPU 80\u00b0C
\n\nIf I have a larger case then there would definitely be room for better cooling but I never intend to OC and Prime95 is a highly edge-case temperature scenario.
\n\nIdle temps, cool as a cucumber:
\n\nCPU: 35\u00b0C, GPU: 35\u00b0C
\n" }, { "Id": "1165", "CreationDate": "2015-11-09T20:47:37.873", "Body": "Alright, I am looking for a fairly priced CPU that will not hold back the ASUS STRIX GTX 970 very little or not at all. Preferably Intel, as their processor lineup shows to last longer for generations in gaming. Also hoping to use this for Fallout 4. \nThank you!
\n", "Title": "Bottlenecking: GTX 970 & AMD FX-6300", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|processor|", "Answer": "The minimum requrment for Fallout 4 is a i5-2300 and the recommended is a i7-4970k. The current recomendation on PC Building Communities is to go with either the i5-4690k or the i5-6600k. These two are almost equal in gaming performance, but the 6600K is newer and runs on a new socket and technology.
\n\nThe best recommendation is a 6600K on the Z170 platform for overclocking. Just be sure to get a CPU Cooler as the 6600K doesn't include one. Also be sure to get DDR4 Ram.
\n\nIf you are upgrading and already have a LGA1150 Processor, just go with the i5-4690K on the Z97 Platform, which uses DDR3.
\n" }, { "Id": "1185", "CreationDate": "2015-11-11T11:53:40.983", "Body": "I'm buying a new PC on a relatively tight budget so I decided to reuse my old GPU and get a new one later. I'm now considering getting an i5-4460 as my CPU and I noticed it comes with an integrated graphics card, the Intel HD Graphics 4600.
\n\nWhat I would like to know is how does that compare to my old Geforce 9600 GT? More specifically, is the integrated GPU so good that it makes keeping my old GPU unnecessary?
\n\nI'll be using my PC for gaming (Skyrim, League of Legends, Crusader Kings 2, etc.) as well as more serious work. Possibly a bit of video editing if I ever get into that. And as mentioned, I'm planing to get a decent modern GPU as soon as I can afford it.
\n\nLinks:\n
1. i5-4460 and Intel HD 4600 specifications\n
2. Geforce 9600 GT specifications
The answer is \"it depends\". The Tomshardware graphics hierarchy places your 9600 GT seven steps above a HD 4600, where three steps is the minimum worthwhile upgrade. However, the hierarchy is strictly about pixel-pushing ability. Your 9600 GT only supports DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1, and doesn't support OpenCL at all. In contrast, the integrated GPU supports DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.3, and OpenCL 1.2.
\n\nIf you're doing things that require the new functionality (say, playing newly-released games), it doesn't matter that the 9600 is much faster than the 4600: the 9600 is simply unable to do what's needed of it.
\n" }, { "Id": "1193", "CreationDate": "2015-11-12T18:09:04.527", "Body": "I wanted to buy a laptop for programming. \nI am a developer, I develop web and android applications. So for that I use tools like Visual Studio 2015, SQL Server, Netbeans, Android Studio, Photoshop, git, Chrome with lots of tabs opened. Most of the time I need to keep them open all the time. I am planning to buy a new laptop. I know many people will suggest I must have a SSD, but after some research I have found that I can't afford a laptop with both SSD and the configuration .
\n\nI searched and found HP ProBook 450 G2according to my budget but I am confused about generations. Let suppose I have these two choices..
\n\n\nHP ProBook 450 G2 Core i5 5th Generation
\n
\n\n\nHP ProBook 450 G2 Core i7 4th Generation
\n
Graphics: 2GB dedicated
\n\nQuestion: Which one do you think is better and why? Is i7 4th generation better than i5 5th generation?
Edit: HERE is the link http://www8.hp.com/pk/en/products/laptops/product-detail.html?oid=6943826#!tab=specs
\n\n\n\n\nProcessor:
\n
Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 i7-5500U with Intel HD Graphics 5500 (2.4 GHz, up to 3 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 4 MB cache, 2 cores)
\n\nIntel\u00ae Core\u2122 i7-4510U with Intel HD Graphics 4400 (2 GHz, up to 3.1 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 4 MB cache, 2 cores)
\n\nIntel\u00ae Core\u2122 i5-5200U with Intel HD Graphics 5500 (2.2 GHz, up to 2.7 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 3 MB cache, 2 cores)
\n\nIntel\u00ae Core\u2122 i5-4210U with Intel HD Graphics 4400 (1.7 GHz, up to 2.7 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 3 MB cache, 2 cores)
\n\nIntel\u00ae Core\u2122 i3-4030U with Intel HD Graphics 4400 (1.9 GHz, 3 MB cache, 2 cores)
\n\nIntel\u00ae Core\u2122 i3-4005U with Intel HD Graphics 4400 (1.7 GHz, 3 MB cache, 2 cores)
\n\nIntel\u00ae Celeron\u00ae 3205U with Intel HD Graphics (1.5 GHz, 2 MB cache, 2 cores)
\n\nIntel\u00ae Celeron\u00ae 2957U with Intel HD Graphics (1.4 GHz, 2 MB cache, 2 cores)
\n\nIntel\u00ae Pentium\u00ae 3805U with Intel HD Graphics (1.9 GHz, 2 MB cache, 2 cores)
\n\nIntel\u00ae Pentium\u00ae 3558U with Intel HD Graphics (1.7 GHz, 2 MB cache, 2 cores)
\n", "Title": "Hp ProBook 450 G2 core i5 5th Gen vs core i7 4th Gen?", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "You will get more performance from the 4th gen i7 over the 5th gen i5. But that performance comes at a price. Assuming you have the same other hardware, the 4th gen i7 will produce more heat and have shorter battery life then 5th gen i5.
\n\n5th gen i5 should have enough performance for you.
\n" }, { "Id": "1194", "CreationDate": "2015-11-12T21:32:18.133", "Body": "I'm searching a laptop, principally for programming and web (YouTube, Twitter...)
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nI recommend the Dell Inspiron 15 5000
\n\nOk, so I want to by a new computer, a mobile workstation. I want some advice on what to choose between these two:
\n\nDell Precision M6800
\n\nDell Precision 7510
\n\nI am buying this laptop for both programming (heavy builds) and intensive graphics operations (video editing in After Effects/Premiere, photography and 3D Graphics). So, what do you think? I tend to choose the second one, but I am not sure about the graphics card...
\n", "Title": "Dell Precision 15 7000 vs Dell Precision M6800", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Having a Xeon processor allows the use of ECC memory which is sometimes critical for some workloads. You would loose performance for some general purpose but gain a lot more for specialized purposes such as virtualization compared to an i7.
\n\nFor programming, I would recommend the i7. But because you are doing Premiere and 3D, I would go for the Xeon.
\n" }, { "Id": "1200", "CreationDate": "2015-11-13T09:43:08.360", "Body": "I am in the search for some recommendation on a good hardware component for building a mesh network with Arduino
\n\nI am not experienced in building a mesh network. So all recommendations and guidance would be appreciated.
\n\nMy case is:\nI have 10 small robots that I'd like to connect, so they can share data like position and so on. \nUPDATE!\nThe robots are build with Arduino Nano, so it would be preferable with a solution that compatible with the Arduino environment.
\n\nAlso I'd like to log the data from the robots to a laptop. The ideal would be through some sort of USB unit, that can connect to the mesh network and log the data from the robots.
\n\nI don't need to send commands over the network, but only statistical data like position etc.
\n\nThe range of the network would be in an open room, with a maximum of 100m2
\n\nI would like an easy setup component, which have to be small, low-energy consumption and not expensive.\nI know these requirements might be general for all, but I stated them anyway.
\n", "Title": "Hardware components for MESH network with Arduino", "Tags": "|wifi|networking|bluetooth|wireless|arduino|", "Answer": "Recommendations
\n\nThere are many different mesh networks I have seen being set up with the Arduino. Here I name just a few of the common ones.
\n\nAccording to the website,
\n\n\n\n\nField Scouts talk to each other using a mesh network (called a Troop), using an extremely low-power radio. This makes them 14 times more efficient than standard WiFi devices. Slap a WiFi backpack on a Scout to make it the Lead Scout, and connect your entire Troop to the web!
\n
This allows the data to be shared onto the Internet.
\n\nThe Radio of the Field Scout is over 2.4GHz using 802.15.4. I am pretty sure it will work in an open room. However the problem is you might have to redo all of the Arduino setup on the Pinoccio, but it is Arduino-compatible.
\n\nIt seems to be an easy to use library for Arduino, which you use when you attach a nRF24L01 to each of the Arduinos. However, there isn't much documentation.
\n" }, { "Id": "1204", "CreationDate": "2015-11-13T16:19:43.223", "Body": "Consider an user that mainly uses his notebook for:
\n\nFor such users, is there already in the market a tablet with the same performance of standard notebooks?
\n\nps: Budget is not a constraint (say < US$5000). Of course the cheapest would be better.
\n", "Title": "Tablet vs Laptop", "Tags": "|laptop|performance|tablet|", "Answer": "I would suggest Dell XPS 13 family, ex. XPS 13 Non-Touch, or with touch, if needed. It has great screen with ultra thick borders, and for the applications you specify, the screen is important, not the internals - what I mean, that every new laptop nowedays is designed to run flawlessly in common scenarions (which is what you specified). Do not go for internals (i5/i7, 1333/1600Mhz RAM etc. dillemas), go for design you like, touch-non-touch, screen size and quality, and usablity - keybord may come in handy if you use MS office much.
\n" }, { "Id": "1212", "CreationDate": "2015-11-14T11:21:57.957", "Body": "I need some help choosing a graphics card. I searched a lot about this but still haven't found a good answer. I want to be able to play AAA titles and work with game development, graphics design, programming, and video editing. I'm really new to computer components.
\n\nI was thinking a GTX Titan X and GTX 980 Ti (maybe SLI/).
\n\nSome people say to stay away from SLI (compatibility and driver issues with games), others say it's only worth it for video editing, others say it's necessary for game development. I'm really confused.
\n\nI'm building a new PC — 3,000$ is my budget. The only item that I wrote on my list to buy is an Intel i7-6700K (which I don't mind changing if need be).
\n\nI don't plan to overclock anything unless it will provide a lot of benefit without too much risk.
\n", "Title": "Graphics card for heavy gaming, game development, graphics design and video editing", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|game-development|", "Answer": "If you are making a true workstation with fast speeds(so not for gaming) but for working with unreal 4 and DirectX 12, I would go with a Titan X because of the RAM benefit and the double float point RAM so you can be sure your not going to get RAM corruption while you are building your game world. I would not pick a socked 1151 but an 2011-3 because the capability for more RAM and RAM disks because I would think speed is your game.
\n\nIf you are going to game on it hardcore, I would pick the SLI GTX 980ti setup because its just faster at pushing the pixels for gaming. For the ones who think 6GB + 6GB = 12GB so more RAM that is not how it works. Then I would go with the socked 1151 because it's cheaper and you don't need 64GB of DDR4 for gaming.
\n\nUnreal 4 and Unity 4.X do NOT support Sli
\n" }, { "Id": "1215", "CreationDate": "2015-11-14T14:39:30.230", "Body": "Hi I want to purchase a two in one laptop for college to bring around programming. I took a screenshot of the specs that it has. I googled and researched the specs needed for the IDEs Eclipse and Android Studio but I'm still a bit uneducated on the full extent of what I need. With the specs in the screen shot, would I be able to run the IDEs with moderate programming?!
\n\nRelevant Specs:
\n\nThis would work fine for Eclipse and Android Studio. The only minor issue would be if you tried to run the Android emulator in Android Studio it might be slow since the computer only have 4GB of RAM. I would recommend at lease 6GB of RAM for better performance.
\n" }, { "Id": "1217", "CreationDate": "2015-11-14T18:33:34.573", "Body": "I'm completing the hardware list for desktop unit, which will be used for programming (60%), data analysis & AI (15%) and gaming (15%), the rest beeing internet browsing.
\n\nBudget: 1200$.
\n\nI want to go with a setup that could be extended in the future and last for years, and it's my primary objective.
\n\nThe absolute must-have:
\n\nNice to have:
\n\nI'm pretty convinced, that I'll go with GeForce GTX 960, 1x8GB RAM, 256GB Adata SSD, and then, when upgrading I will:
\n\nNow the question is: is the above logic sound (1) and about the main board and processor (2):
\n\nShould I go with a more cost effective, and 100% satysfying my current needs AMD FX-8320 (I'ts actually top 50 best value on CPU-benchmark) sacrificing extensibility, or some cheapest, but still extremly not-cheap, LGA2011-v3 processor, like i7-5820K (or maybe some Xenon?) to have the shiny LGA2011 platform, DDR4 support & and all the goodies of MSI X99 SLI plus?
\n\nThe disk, memory and graphic card would be same for both AMD and Intel, and cost for all 340$, which leaves about just enough for used i7-xxx and new msi-X99 sli plus, or AMD 8 core (8320/ 8350/ 9590?) + motherboard and 3xx $ in pocket.
\n\nWhat do you think, what would you choose? Am I missing something?
\n\nEDIT: this question is about chipset, so it may be treated as a question about motherboard. The difference between ex. AMD 9590 and i7-5820K are not of interest, as long as they do not impact ex. DDR memory, SLI etc.
\n", "Title": "LGA 2011 vs. AM3+", "Tags": "|processor|desktop|motherboard|", "Answer": "I would actually not recommend either of the platforms that you had in mind, and go with the LGA 1151 Skylake Processors. These require DDR4 RAM and are the newest CPUs that Intel has released. For what you are doing, I would recommend the i7-6700K, that costs $350. Also with 1x8GB of DDR4 RAM would be expandable and enough for now. The Motherboard that I would recommend is the Z170 PRO GAMING, as it would allow for major overclocking when paired with a CPU Cooler, such as the EVO 212. If you do not want to overclock, I would recomend the i5-6500 or the i7-6700 with a H170 Mobo.
\n" }, { "Id": "1220", "CreationDate": "2015-11-15T00:12:09.793", "Body": "I'm interested in desktop setup that will last. I've narrowed (thanks to this answer) my motherboard choices to MSI z170 gaming pro and MSI X99 SLI plus. As both cards are quite similar (multiple SATA III, USB 3.0, more than 32GB of RAM), the choice boils down to the chipset: LGA2011-v3 (in MSI X99 SLI plus) or LGA1151 (in MSI z170 gaming pro).
\n\nArguments for LGA2011-v3:
\n\nArguments for LGA1151:
\n\nIn my understanding, in the 1151 there is still the limit to the number of cores a single processor can have, which is not present in LGA2011. \nI'm confused which one will be more supported (ex. better processors will be developped) in the future and what to choose.
\n\n[EDIT] more specific questions:
\n\nThe LGA 2011 platform and the LGA 1151 platform is designed for two different markets. The LGA 1151 is a mainstream consumer socket, designed for CPU's ranging from $100 - $350. The LGA 2011 socket is for the extreme enthusiast and prosumer purposes. CPU's for the LGA 2011 socket is around $400 - $1200 (please note that the $400 5820K only has 28 PCI-E lanes).
\n\nWhich one to choose depends on what your purpose is. If you're going to do normal day to day tasks, the LGA 1151 platform is enough. If you are doing to do prosumer things like video editing and 3D modeling, a LGA 2011 socket would be better.
\n\nIn terms of \"future extensibility\", none of them are good at it. Intel tends to release a new socket for each generation so to upgrade you would need to get a new board.
\n" }, { "Id": "1226", "CreationDate": "2015-11-15T11:33:13.240", "Body": "Are there any cell phones that has only programmed speed dial numbers, no texting keypad and works in the UK?
\n\nThis article suggests some of them but I don't believe any of them would work in the UK.
\n\nUnsurprisingly none of is being sold in the UK either
\n\nEdit: Sadly this article supports my question
\n", "Title": "Cell phone for an 8-year old, pre-programmed numbers only and works in the UK", "Tags": "|mobile-phone|", "Answer": "The only available option that I could find was OwnFone
\n![\"OwnFone\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Nuz2Z.jpg\")
It's a customized phone that is made specially for the customer based on their order. They company intention is to provide our elders with an emergency easy to use phone however, it can be used a for children as well
\nBiggest downside is that the phone is not SIM-free and it seems you cant even replace the SIM or the battery so you are stuck with the plans offered to you by the company.
\nThe cell phone can be bought from this website
\nEdit: It's available for children now from Mobile phones for children
\n" }, { "Id": "1233", "CreationDate": "2015-11-15T21:23:34.633", "Body": "So the thing is, I want to play Fallout 4. I currently consider GTX950, GTX960 and GTX970. I did the research on game-debate but only found what I already knew. The GTX950, GTX960 seem to have great performance and are relatively cheap, however the 970 peaks, probably because of 256 bit interface.
\n\nBudget: I'd like to keep it under $250, but can be stretched if it's really really worth it.
\n\nWhat card (not necessarily from ones mentioned) would you recommend, for the rest of setup being:
\n\nAlso, any suggestions regarding above setup are welcomed.
\n\nEDIT: Also, I plan learning to program for CUDA, so I guess only GeForce is on the table.
\n", "Title": "Ultra graphics performance for a penny", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|desktop|", "Answer": "As this is your requirement I don't think that the graphics card which are recommended until now will statisfy your future self.
\n\n\n\n\nI'd like to future proof, also I'd like to buy in the future new monitor, thouh I'm not sure when.
\n
A new monitor sure is a good idea in the near future. My following config aims to provide as much power as possible in my eyes for a reasonable price.
\n\nA new Skylake processor to make your build future proof -
\n\nMSI Z170-A Pro
Corsair Vengeance LPX DIMM Kit 16GB, DDR4-3000
Super fast RAM - 16GB because why not? We want to be future proof right?
\n\nGreat graphics card in my opinion - really good performance - performance lies between the GTX970 and the GTX980 for around 350 bucks. I know that you wanted to buy a GTX 970 because you wanted to program for CUDA but when you really want the best performance for the best price your choice should be the R9 390. Alternatively you can use the GTX 970 if CUDA is absolutely necessary.
\n\nCase fan for a good airflow.
\n\nSolid CPU FAN - should keep your cpu cool enough from day to day.
\n\nThat makes 1022-\u20ac where I am from so it should be ~1100$.
\n\nAn i5 4460 would still be enough in most cases but if you want to be futureproof then a Skylake build won't hurt. Positive thing is that you can still enjoy your games in 1920x1080 resolution as modern cards support VSR/DSR.
\n\n\n\n\nThis technology allows a user to improve visual quality in games and other content by rendering at a very high resolution (up to 4K) and then displaying that content at a lower resolution supported by the available monitor.
\n
What Is Virtual Super Resolution and How Does It Work?.
\n" }, { "Id": "1242", "CreationDate": "2015-11-16T12:50:03.433", "Body": "The new Surface Pro 4 seems a pretty solid machine and I'm looking to get one as my new mobile workstation since I travel a lot for work (compared to the back-breaking Dell workstation I currently have to drag everywhere). But I also want it to be reasonably good at running modern games, though they don't have to be at their highest settings or pulling 90FPS. Thankfully there are several options, but I'd like advice on which (if any) will make the most difference versus their cost.
\n\nHere are the configurations I'm considering:
\n\nThere's also the i7 with 16GB but it's a bit more expensive than I'd like to pay.
\n\nI'd like to get the most bang for my buck out of it in terms of performance. Primarily it will be a work computer but if I occasionally want to fire up a newer game, what's the lowest model on the list that will comfortably handle it?
\n\nNote that I listed the SSD sizes simply for comparison of the benefits. Their size is not critical to the question, but could make the difference if I'm on the fence between the two i5s.
\n\nEdit: Based on the answers so far it seems the Surface Book with the dedicated GPU may be the better way to go for gaming. Is the GPU itself the limiting factor? As far as I can tell the other hardware (aside from the screen) is the same. In the price range of the i5 Book with GPU ($1900 USD) is there anything else that offers better gaming performance while still being highly mobile and functional?
\n", "Title": "Surface Pro 4 configurations for light-moderate gaming", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|", "Answer": "Like qmd said, these aren't meant for gaming. If you really want a Surface Pro 4, I would go with the i5 8GB model, because at this day and age, you need at least 1.5GB for Chrome to run smoothly and a i7 is not needed for the day to day jobs unless you are doing virtualization of any kind or photo/video editing.
\n\nI would get a Surface Book which CAN handle modern games. Also it has a keyboard which I prefer to the one that you can get on the Surface Pro 4. The Surface Book starts at $1500 ($1899 for the model with the dedicated GPU) and is a 2 in 1 laptop kind of machine with a video card. There is also a model without the video card, but I would not get that one.
\n\nFor both models, I would get the Surface Dock ($199.99) for more ports for at home or in a hotel.
\n\nIt is up to you, but I would get the i5 Surface Book. Here are links for your clicking pleasure to both the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book.
\n" }, { "Id": "1244", "CreationDate": "2015-11-16T13:06:35.453", "Body": "I am looking to buy a new GPU for a half gaming half graphics design system.
\n\nCurrent specs are:
\n\nDesign Software in Use:
\n\nBudget: $250
\n\nI am looking for a slightly more powerful GPU (one for both rendering and gaming at 1080p 60fps), however I would like something relatively cheap (it would be even better if I do not have to upgrade the PSU). I was looking at the GTX 950 and GTX 960, however I am not sure which one is superior for the price to performance ratio. I would like to stay away from AMD GPUs because they would require me to purchase a new PSU. The main question is, am I overlooking a better video card for my needs? Or would one suggest the GTX 950 or the GTX 960?
\n", "Title": "Best GPU for Price to Performance", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|desktop|", "Answer": "The GTX 950 is definitely a better performance-per-dollar card than the GTX 960. The 950 costs slightly more than half the the 960 but delivers much more than half of a 960. But this doesn't mean you shouldn't buy the 960. Since you wanted to game at 1080p at 60 fps, the 950 would not be able to do that consistently on a slightly demanding title, but the 960 would be able to do that.
\n\nIf you only want to play casual games at low to medium settings and want to save money, the 950 is what you should get. But if you want to play some more demanding titles and higher settings with a higher budget, go for the 960.
\n" }, { "Id": "1254", "CreationDate": "2015-11-17T12:59:08.113", "Body": "I am looking for a case to support my server build that will consist of an ASUS Z10PE-D8 motherboard and would like to incorporate two ATX/EPS PSU's along the lines of Corsair RM850i.
\n\nIt needs at least eight 3.5\" HDD mounts for SAS and two 2.5\" SSD mounts for system drives.
\nIt also needs ample cooling for a dual Xeon E5-2620V3's and 64GB of RAM, as it will run hot.
A 5.25\" front housing would be beneficial but not absolutely necessary.
\n\nI am looking below \u00a3300. A tower is preferable. With rack mounted, I'd have to reduce the budget to \u00a3200 to factor in some of the cost of rails and a cabinet.
\n", "Title": "Case to support EEB motherboard and dual ATX power-supplies", "Tags": "|server|case|", "Answer": "Here are 2 cases that you may be able to use for a double power supply. The Thermaltake Core X9 is a solid metal case meant for pc's with EATX support. it modulair and you can probably fit a dual ATX PSU in.
\nThe IPC 4U-4310L is a server rack with support for a redundant power supply. this also has hot swap ports and is a 4u form factor.
Both are not the cheapest cases that there are in the marked. But I think that in these you can fit your pc.
\n\nSo if you want a case with no hassle then you can get the Thermaltake Core X9. also this one looks the best and has good ventilation.
\nif you want a rack server you could go with the IPC one but it doesn't support 2 full atx power supplies but a redundant power supply (this means one set of cables etc.)
And if you want to go on the cheap you can mod any cube form factor case to fit your needs.
\n\nOverall i would pick the Thermaltake Core x9 because it can have an extra PSU install in at and if you get 2 it can get 4 of the badboys in there. also it's small so you can fit it anywhere with ease wich means hassle free\ninstallation.
\n" }, { "Id": "1263", "CreationDate": "2015-11-18T11:12:07.193", "Body": "So, I've got an Asus k53sv laptop with an i7 2630qm processor and want to upgrade to an i7 3820qm. Their sockets and power consumption are the same, as listen on Intel's website, so I don't see why it wouldn't work. Only concern is whether a driver mismatch might occur. Do you think this would work?
\n", "Title": "Upgrade Laptop CPU", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "Other than hardware issues (whether the CPU is soldered, and whether the socket is the same), software/bios/driver issues should not be a problem if the two CPUs are from the same generation (sometimes it even works with different generations of CPUs).
\n\nI've done it on a Thinkpad T61 a few years ago, as well as on a(n old) Mac Mini recently (in both cases upgrading to a Core 2 Duo). If the CPU is cheap enough (as is the case when the CPU is an old model), I find it's definitely worth the trouble.
\n" }, { "Id": "1275", "CreationDate": "2015-11-18T21:58:12.553", "Body": "This is for a desktop, do not plan any overclocking. Usage is primarily media consumption, photo/video editing, casual gaming. Operating system Windows 10 x64 Professional. Price range looking up to $200 USD. (Consider more for reliability benefit)
\n\nPlanned components include:
\n\nMotherboard should include at least one USB3.1 Type A + Type C
\n\nOnboard Bluetooth & Wi-Fi is a plus but not a requirement.
\n\nI've been looking primarily at Gigabyte/ASUS boards (because that's what I'm familiar with) but the selection is overwhelming, and unfortunately spec sheets don't cover stability/reliability.
\n", "Title": "ATX LGA1151 Motherboard /w Stability Primary Concern", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "The ASUS Sabertooth Z170 Mark I is what you are looking for. It is around $250 but what you are getting is worth the money. First of all, there is a plastic shield on the front for protection against the chips of the motherboard and there is a metal shield on the back to protect against ESD and board flex. The power delivery components are all tested with a military standard and a report sheet with the tests your motherboard passed is included. There are 2 small, but powerful, fans to cool the power delivery components to prevent them from overheating and extending their life span. It also comes with a 5 year warranty (2 more years than the standard boards).
\n" }, { "Id": "1276", "CreationDate": "2015-11-18T22:42:35.737", "Body": "I need a small monitor that can display only 5 digits. The monitor needs to show number of visits to my site in real-time - every time someone visits, it needs to increase by one.
\n\nI thought to create an app, that queries the server every 10 seconds, and checks the new number of visitors.
\n\nThe question: Do you know about a monitor that can be programmed from the command line?
\n\nAll of what I found in Ebay & DealExtreme you need to program the LED monitor by software - you cannot add it to your program.
\n", "Title": "LED Monitor for 5 digits (connected to USB)", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "Your requirements don't appear to be very specific:
\nSo, I will assume that you are fishing for possible solutions.
\nThere seem to be three simple options, depending on what, and how, you wish to want to achieve your objective:
\nAs you say
\n\n\nI thought to create an app
\n
assuming that you mean a mobile device (iOS or Andriod) app, then, depending on the actual size of display that you require, you could use a second hand, iPad, which are cheap and readily available on eBay. If an iPad is too big then an old version of an iPod (an iPhone would be over kill, unless you need a 3G connection to your server, which I doubt) would suffice. If the app is for Android, then a facsimile of an iPod/iPad would satisfy your needs, a second hand Galaxy Note or Tab, for example.
\nIf you mean an application, rather than an app, for a PC based OS (OS X, Windows, or Linux) then taking your question at face value, the best (i.e., cheapest, smallest monitor), would be one of the monitors supplied by Lilliput, such as the 10" 859GL-80NP/C.
\nFor cheapness, you could use an old, vintage, CRT based Apple Color 12" Monitor, which has a resolution of 512 x 384. You would require an adapter, from Apple's monitor connector to VGA, but these are easy enough to find. You may, nowadays, have trouble finding a video card that supports it though.
\nA Motorola LapDock 100 has a small screen, and accepts HDMI, which is fine so long as your PC has a DVI or HDMI output. Granted it also comes with a keyboard, but it would be useful for testing purposes, and could be used in conjunction with a Raspberry Pi - known as a PiDock. A prefect testing ground for your project, assuming that you are using a Pi. If you are indeed planning on using a Pi, then I would suggest the Motorola Atrix LapDock is a better solution than the Lapdock 100 as it has more and better features. Avoid the Lapdock 500, even though it appears on paper to be more fully featured, as it has some odd quirks that make it difficult to use.
\nTo my mind, this is your best option to prove your project, as it would only require a simple set of Python scripts to get it up and running, and should you, thereafter, want to cancel/scrap the project, you can use the Raspberry Pi and Lapdock for some other purpose, and hence save money.
\nIf you only need to display five numeric characters then a monitor seems to be overkill, for both a cost and energy efficiency aspect. Much less power hungry, and arguably more of an interesting project would be to create a custom solution, using an Arduino and a Wireless or Ethernet shield (with the appropriate sketch to query the server) and an LED display, be that a 0.94" OLED, or a set of five 6.5" seven segment displays, or anything in between (again depending upon your size requirements).
\nIf you can hammer down your requirements to be more specific, I can edit my answer accordingly.
\n" }, { "Id": "1289", "CreationDate": "2015-11-20T05:37:12.633", "Body": "What routers support per-device Internet bandwidth usage monitoring out of the box? (I'd prefer not to go down the route of hacking in an aftermarket firmware if I don't have to; [1],[2])
\n\nA router feature I would like
\n\nThe Asus AC3200 appears to have a very nice Traffic Analyzer Statistics page that shows exactly how many mega/gigabytes each device has used. However, in my experience the RT-N56U reported stats don't match ISP stats. This makes me leary, and the $300 USD MSRP is not attractive for our small household.
\n\n![\"Asus](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/17VjG.png\")
Gargoyle provides exactly what you are looking for.
\n\nYou did not indicate what requirements you had for speed but I would guess that lack of AC Compatibility would not be a deal breaker being how much the overages cost.
\n\nGargoyle offers a router that is pre-loaded with their firmware. Link to Product The cost is currently $85.00
\n\nSpecifications:
\n\nHere is the area where you can set a quota by IP![\"Bandwith](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/AAZFz.jpg\")
Additional Images of Interface
\n\nI believe that this will meet all your requirements.
\n" }, { "Id": "1292", "CreationDate": "2015-11-20T11:38:22.633", "Body": "I'm building a new PC but I'm stuck at one thing.
\n\nWhat CPU should I choose if what I do mostly is programming & gaming?
\n\nI saw opinions here and there saying Intel's CPUs would be good, others saying AMDs, but none seemed to give me a clear answer.
\n\nThe 2 options I would have are Intel Skylake, Core i5 6400 2.70GHz & AMD Vishera, FX-8350 4.0GHz.
\n\nI'm open to any other recommendations, preferably good price/value ratio.
\n", "Title": "CPU recommendation: Programming + Gaming", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "My opinion is to buy the Intel if you don't care too much about the money.
\n\nI had an FX-8150, and I can tell you that the 4 additional cores are not worth it. I did a lot of programming and gaming, and the 8 core were indeed useless, 4 would have sufficed.
\n\nIn addition, the AMD 8 cores are REALLY hot. The stock fan was noisy as hell, and I frequently hit 80\u00b0C (175\u00b0F), with only 1 core at full load (~15% overall). You will need an above average fan.
\n\nNow, if you want to buy something cheaper that the Intel, I think it would be better to buy an FX-4350, and not an FX-8350.
\n\nIt has the same per-core cache, and the same 8MB L3 cache than the FX-8350. All the other features are the same.
\n\nI think it will perform better than the FX-8350 in a real situation, unless you really need 8 cores. The fact that it doesn't have an integrated GPU and use an older technology make it much cheaper than the Intel.
\n\nYou can also compromise with an FX-6350. With an FX-4350 or 6350, you can spend the extra money on a water-cooling, this will enable higher overclocking and certainly better performance than a 8350.
\n" }, { "Id": "1307", "CreationDate": "2015-11-21T22:48:42.930", "Body": "For the build
\n\nWhat memory would you buy, and why?
\n\nSpecific problems I consider:
\n\n[EDIT]
\n\nMy use scenarios are:\nprogramming in couple of IDE opened simultanously (60% time), 100+ Mb data analysis (10%) and games like Fallout 4 (30%).
\n", "Title": "DDR4 memory - which one to choose", "Tags": "|desktop|memory|", "Answer": "There are very few memory bound tasks for modern CPUs. The key factors to look for are capacity, cost, latency, voltages and speed, usually in that order. It doesn't really matter if a CPU doesn't support a RAM speed. You just need motherboard support and go into BIOS to activate the XMP setting, so that it'll run at the rated speed rather than the SPD speed.
\n\nWithout any further details about your specific workload (which is very important), my general recommendation, besides not to get a Z170 board unless you really need the extra IO, Smart Sound, or want to get a K CPU (overclocking), is to get 16 GB RAM straight away. It is very easy to use up 8 GB of RAM if you do more than one thing at a time, or if you're using anything that uses a lot of RAM. The price of DDR4 has dropped as well, so it is reasonably affordable to get 2 x 8 GB kits, in fact, cheaper than 2 x 4 GB kits of DDR3 last year: The G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series has a 2400 MT/s 15-15-15-35 kit for $74.99 at newegg.com. G.Skill is one of the largest manufacturers of RAM, and has a reputation for good quality. Their Sniper series generally has slightly more headroom, but it's just going to shave a few seconds off a 10 minute compression or video rendering, to name some memory bound tasks.
\n\nBasically, \"overclocking friendly\" just means that the factory clocks are slightly less aggressive, and that you can increase them a bit more while still being stable. The PC* ***** naming is just a different way of naming DDR* ****. The number directly after the PC and DDRs is the version number, and the second number is the bandwidth in MB/s for the PC scheme, and the clock rate in MT/s (twice the real clock rate) for the DDR scheme. Since DDR RAM has a 64 bit wide bus and there are 8 bits in a byte, the PC number is just 8 times the DDR number.
\n\nIt doesn't really matter how you upgrade, just keep in mind that using memory from different kits may be unstable. The chance is low if they are the same model, but it's still there. Since you only have 4 RAM slots though, I'd just get a 2 x 8 GB kit and another when you decide it's not enough. Good luck.
\n\nAddendum: On memory timings
\n\nMemory timings tell the CPU how long to wait before expecting an action to be completed on the memory chip, and in SDRAM (clocked + refreshed RAM), is measured in RAM clock cycles (which is half the DDR number). Memory is arranged in rows, which are divided in to columns.
\n\nCAS Latency determines the amount of time the CPU to wait after issuing a read command before actually reading the data from the output pin. If this is shorter than the time it takes for the RAM to respond fully, what is read is a voltage that is transitioning between the previous voltage on the output pin and the desired one. This is bad and sometimes causes the computer to crash.
\n\nBut CAS Latency is the full latency only if the right row is already open! If there is no row open, the CPU has to issue an Activation command first, and wait. This is the next number, tRCD, the RAS to CAS delay.
\n\nThe third number is tRP. The Row Precharge time is the time you need to wait between a Precharge command and an Activate command; the time it takes to close a row, if you have the wrong one open.
\n\nFinally, the last number is basically CAS + tRCD, and then a bit more. It's the minimum amount of time a row can be active. There's a bit more again to let the memory finish passing on the voltage.
\n" }, { "Id": "1308", "CreationDate": "2015-11-22T00:40:38.653", "Body": "I am looking for an external harddisk for backup my MacBook Pro (with Time Machine) and I saw there are already \"packed\" configurations (combos) like theses:
\n\nThey all seems to be in Thunderbolt Version 1, and I found nothing that was Thunderbolt Version 2.
\n\nBecause with these combos I cannot really choose the hard drive inside (I tend to prefer the 7200 rpm) and all the above seems to be in 5400 (or unspecified) I am also interested for a hard drive case which has the same features (SATA 3Gb) and Thunderbolt V2.
\n\nWhere I live (Switzerland) I found only this reference Delock 42490 but it seems to be in Thunderbolt V1 only.
\n\nThe question I am asking : is there any hard drive case (or combos) with Thunderbolt V2 interface?
\n\nOptionally can you recommends some alternatives by answering these questions:
\n\nI finally went for a WD MyPassport Ultra 3Tb for a reasonable price (~160$) and I can say it works very nicely and fast enough for the OSX Time Machine.
\n\nI would definitely recommend that external hard disk for doing backups of your machine (OSX TimeMachine but surely will be good for Windows machines as well).
\n" }, { "Id": "1315", "CreationDate": "2015-11-22T20:49:01.177", "Body": "We are putting together an e-sports team at college and among the games we play. There's Project M on the Wii and Melee on the GameCube, so we need a CVBS/RCA video capture card to record and upload our gameplay.
\n\nSo far we have tried with an Encore and a GreenLeaf video capture card without any success. We were unable to find any decent USB/PCI/PCIe capture cards that support this kind of input. What is a good hardware choice for this? It must be compatible with Linux.
\n", "Title": "What's a good RCA capture card for streaming media?", "Tags": "|linux|video|video-capture|", "Answer": "I've had good success with the following card on Mac:
\n\n\n\nIt has Linux support as well according to the link, but I have not tested it. Here are the specifications:
\n\nReferences
\n\nI'm looking for a laptop for light school work (light web browsing up to 20 tabs, word processing, rare photoshop, etc)
\n\nIt should have
\n\nNice to haves are
\n\nThe newer the CPU is, the better. If it is not possible to find such a laptop within the budget I am willing to extend it up to 1400 AUD.
\n", "Title": "Laptop for school under 1200 AUD (incl. shipping and tax)", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "1 Score is calculated based on (number of pluses \u00f7 number of pluses & minuses combined)
\n" }, { "Id": "1324", "CreationDate": "2015-11-23T17:33:04.013", "Body": "Background: I am looking to upgrade our home's laptop and would like the next one to have an SSD. Due to the prices of SSDs, I don't expect to store all of our pictures and movies on the internal drive, so ...
\n\nI am looking for network-accessible storage to be used as the primary home for our family's electronic pictures and music. I am also going to be getting an external (USB) drive to create backup copies of these files, so this NAS device does not need redundancy (either locally with RAID or via the Cloud). Our current combined file usage is ~245 Gb, but I would like to plan on a few years of growth. I don't need the cheapest solution, but I'm not looking to spend more than I need to (see: new laptop and external drive). Current WiFi is 802.11n but expect to move to 802.11ac.
\n\nI found a related question -- What options are available for cheap NAS devices that allows to put two hard drives in RAID 1? -- and have slightly different requirements:
\n\nThe common elements to the previous question are only: reliability and energy-efficiency. JohnB's excellent answer to that question is a QNAP TS-231. From what I see, it would meet my main requirements, but I'm curious if there are any other good solutions for my set of requirements.
\n", "Title": "Looking for a desktop NAS to be the primary storage for pictures and music", "Tags": "|nas|", "Answer": "I recommend a HP micro server. You can see a similar question here.
\n\nAs a micro server, it supports 24/7 work though it consumes more power than those NASs.
\n\nIf you just need some private online storage, router with a high speed usb port + usb HDD/Flashdisk can meet your requirements.
\n\nOne recommended router is ASUS AC56U,adding a usb HDD, it can be easily used as a private online storage.
\n" }, { "Id": "1339", "CreationDate": "2015-11-24T19:03:05.507", "Body": "I'm planning to build PC from following parts:
\n\n\n\n\nProcessor: Intel i5-6500
\n \nCooling: Corsair Hydro Series H55
\n \nGraphics: Gigabyte GeForce GTX970 Gaming G1
\n \nHDD: WD 1TB 64MB BLUE
\n \nRAM: Crucial 8192MB 1600MHz CL11
\n \nMotherboard: ASUS H170-PLUS D3
\n \nCase: Fractal Design Define R5 Black Pearl
\n
Now this almost exhausted by budget. I am looking for a durable power supply for this PC, that wouldn't make me go bankrupt. Bonus points if you can find it on this site(in polish)
\n", "Title": "What power supply for this PC?", "Tags": "|power-supply|", "Answer": "Using eXtreme Outer Vision's eXtreme Power Supply calculator, the power consumption of your build comes to about 390 W. With some overclocking, this becomes 470 W. Any decent 500 - 550 W PSU should handle the load fine for several years with no problems, even if you do overclock a bit later.
\n\nI personally won't recommend the Corsair VS series, as it uses poor quality capacitors. Here are my recommendations from the site you posted.
\n\n\n\nThe Antec VPF line is a relatively new series manufactured by Delta Electronics. It has Japanese capacitors and a 24 month warranty. Currently it is priced at 249 z\u0142. Non modular, but that isn't much of a problem for lower capacity PSUs, it also has 80 + Bronze certification.
\n\n\n\nThe XFX TS series is a budget series manufactured by Seasonic (one of the best manufacturers of PSUs out there). It also has Japanese capacitors and a 60 month warranty (that's right, 5 years). It's one of my favorite recommendations: High quality at a relatively low price. Again, has 80+ Bronze certification and is non modular.
\n\nI took some time to shop around on some other Polish sites (which was a breeze as soon as I figured out what the word for Power Supply was), and I found the TS selling slightly cheaper at komputronik.pl. Overall, I think both PSUs will fit your needs, and it is up to you to choose the one you like better. Good luck.
\n" }, { "Id": "1344", "CreationDate": "2015-11-25T08:58:14.283", "Body": "I bought Assassin's Creed: Syndicate last night and found that my graphics card was really struggling with it. The card itself is at least 2 years old (I bought it with my first paycheck in 2013) and was second hand/refurbished even then. It's had a good life, but I'm ready to give it a viking funeral.
\n\nMy current hardware specs are as follows:
\n\nAnd, of course, the nvidia 650 Ti with 2GB graphics memory.
\n\nI'd ideally like to play at a steady 40+fps @ 1920x1080 on at least medium settings - right now the game is pretty choppy in terms of FPS especially in some scenes.
\n\nI understand, of course, that the AC games are known for their.. lack of optimisation :(
\n\nI'd be willing to stretch to about \u00a3250, which is just under the cost of this card but anything more would be pushing it.
\n\nEbuyer links would be preferred as they do next day delivery ;-)
\n", "Title": "Upgrading from a nVidia 650 TI to something more beefy", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "The AMD R9 390 is slightly cheaper than the GTX 970 (\u00a3185), and offers similar or better performance in comparison to the Nvidia card you were showing. As a owner of this card myself, I am very pleased with it. Just keep in mind that if your Power Supply is not over 600 watts, you should choose an Nvidia GTX 970, as they use less power. Figuring the wattage of your PSU is easy, just take a look at the side of the unit.
\n\nA link to a relatively cheap R9 390 is here - this card has a slightly different cooler than the one I got for mine, but has the same overall design. It costs \u00a3185.
\n\nA link to a cheaper GTX 970 is here - again, this card is slightly less powerful but uses less power. After putting it in your cart, it should cost \u00a3192.
\n" }, { "Id": "1345", "CreationDate": "2015-11-25T09:06:12.983", "Body": "I currently have a 24\" BenQ XL2430T 144hz monitor. I am looking for a secondary 1080p monitor that will be used primarily for watching videos and other non-gaming related tasks. I will be doing all my gaming on my main monitor so a fast response rate is not neccessary.
\n\nI would however, like something bright and colourful with an IPS panel with preferably a black bezel and stand. 16:9 ratio is a must for me and the mointor must have a DVI or HDMI connection (preferably both!). I always use my headphones so built-in speakers is not needed.
\n\nSo far I have been looking at LG 24MB35PH and the Acer G246-LBBID. If the recommendation was good enough I would not mind going slightly over the \u00a3150 budget. Thanks
\n", "Title": "Secondary monitor for under \u00a3150", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "A friend bought an Asus VX239W for a similar use case, and after seeing it a couple of times, I'm considering it too. Great image quality and overall screen for the price.
\n\nBut buy it in Spain for example, much better price considering the exchange rate.
\n" }, { "Id": "1361", "CreationDate": "2015-11-26T05:07:43.267", "Body": "I have a Windows Vista Home Premium PC. It needs 2 new RAM chips, but I do not know what I should get. Does anyone know what is under $100 and is really good?
\n\nMore PC info
\n\nWindows Vista Home Premium,\nCompaq Presario SR5710F,\nService Pack 2,\n3 GB memory,\n250 GB Hard Drive,\nAMD Anthlon X2 4450e Dual-Core processor,
\n\nI do a lot of gaming on this PC, but I really want less expensive, good card(s). I do know it wasn't originally built for gaming, but I can't even use it until the RAM/memory cards are replaced
\n", "Title": "What should I buy? (RAM Chips)", "Tags": "|gaming|pc|desktop|memory|", "Answer": "Your computer's RAM cannot be significantly upgraded. Crucial's memory finder reports, and HP's support page agrees that your computer is limited to 4 GB of RAM. Further, you appear to be running a 32-bit version of Windows, which for technical reasons is limited to about 3.25 GB of RAM.
\n\nIf you really want to do this, I recommend figuring out which of the two sticks of memory in your computer is the 1 GB one, and replacing it with a Crucial 2 GB PC2-6400 stick for $27. I don't have experience with this particular product, but I've had good luck with Crucial memory upgrades for older computers, and importantly, they guarantee compatibility.
\n\nIf you upgrade, you'll also want to switch to a 64-bit operating system to get access to all your RAM. Instructions on doing so are beyond the scope of this site, but you may be able to get useful information on SuperUser.
\n" }, { "Id": "1368", "CreationDate": "2015-11-26T13:30:06.780", "Body": "Currently I plan buying the components below:
\n\nI calculated that a 430W - 500W PSU is optimal.\nWhat PSU would you recommend?\nI'm specifically interested in low noise.
\n\nBudget: 100$
\n", "Title": "The quietest PSU under 100 USD", "Tags": "|desktop|power-supply|quiet-computing|", "Answer": "It appears that the Be Quiet 500W Straight Power 10 is a reasonably priced very quiet PSU - it is 10.7 dB loud on 50% load and 15.6 db at 100%, due to enormous, for PSU standards, 135 mm fan and very low max speed which is 1200 rpm1. It's currently $9 above the budget, but I think it's definitely worth it.
\n" }, { "Id": "1372", "CreationDate": "2015-11-26T19:23:50.403", "Body": "Bought a GTX 970 yesterday - just arrived, turns out I don't have the connectors required. Tried to bodge it with a 4-pin molex to 8-pin connector, that doesn't fit either.
\n\nAny ideas on a cheap-ish (max \u00a360) power supply that could power this GTX? I have no idea about these connectors. I've found this one but I'm not sure it has the connectors I need - all I know is that I need at least one 8-pin and one 6-pin (not sure of the differently terminologies here).
\n", "Title": "Power Supply for nvidia GTX 970", "Tags": "|power-supply|", "Answer": "I recommend the XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold (P1-550G-TS3X), which currently sells for \u00a355 at CCL online. It is a non modular unit manufactured by Seasonic and rated 80+ Gold. Crucially, there are 2 6+2 pin PCIe connectors and another 2 6 pin connectors, for a total of 4 PCIe connectors; therefore it will not only support your current 970, it will also be capable of handling (subject to capacity limitations) another GTX 970 in SLI, should you choose to upgrade. It also has a 5 year warranty.
\n" }, { "Id": "1378", "CreationDate": "2015-11-27T10:19:32.270", "Body": "I'm looking for a Cherry MX Blue keyboard with RGB backlighting. I'm using a Razer BlackWidow 2013 first revision, and I love the switches on it. I have tried MX Brown switches, but I'm not happy with the click.
\n\nIt's not for the near future, so if you know keyboards that are going to launch with it be sure to add it. I have an UNLIMITED budget for this keyboard.
\n\nIt's going to be used for games, but mostly for the typing of stuff. I'm a heavy typer so I would like to get one where the legs don't pop off.
\n", "Title": "Cherry MX Blue mechanical keyboard with RGB backlighting", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "EDIT: Another official Cherry MX Blue RGB option has become available recently, the Cooler Master MasterKeys Pro L/S. This keyboard is not exactly new, but I ignored it for some time after the Cherry MX Blue versions were originally delayed. The keyboard is currently out and available for anyone looking at options besides the Corsair keyboard.
\n\nEDIT: Since I first wrote this answer, Corsair has surprisingly brought back the K70 RGB in Cherry MX Blue switches. They were available on Amazon a few days ago, but quickly sold out. Unfortunately, it seems these aren't going to be restocked, meaning the Strafe RGB is likely the best option for Cherry MX Blue.
The Corsair Strafe RGB is available in Cherry MX Blue switches, and is a great option if you cannot wait for the K70 RGB Blue. The reviews for this keyboard have improved over the last few months, and the one I tried had no problems.
\n\nOne of the previous answers mentioned the G.Skill KM780 keyboard, and the KM780R RGB is now available for preorder, unless Amazon is lying to us. The RGB version of this keyboard probably will never be available for Cherry MX Blue switches. The Amazon pages for the KM780R MX Blue RGB no longer exist.
There is also the Poseidon Z RGB keyboard, which is relatively cheap for an RGB keyboard. This keyboard does NOT have genuine Cherry MX switches (Kalih Blue), and I would only buy this as a last option, because some complain about the switches breaking after awhile of use.
\n" }, { "Id": "1400", "CreationDate": "2015-11-28T13:37:24.773", "Body": "I am currently under the dilemma of choosing the right PSU for this build:
\n\nMy budget is around $120-$130.
\n\nI must note that I will also get a GPU in the future, and I want the PSU to work with upgrades, instead of replacing it.
\n\nAlso I have to ask this:\nWhat is with the bronze/gold/platinum labels on the PSUs?
\n\nAny help is greatly appreciated!
\n", "Title": "Power Supply For my future build", "Tags": "|pc|power-supply|", "Answer": "I recommend the Antec High Current Gamer HCG-750M, a 750W, semi modular, 80+ Bronze PSU made by Seasonic. This will support any single GPU system and most dual GPU systems, with some light overclocking (up to GTX 980 or R9 380), though two of the higher end AMD GPUs will require additional capacity. The power supply is the same platform as the M2II Evo, a very high quality PSU.
\n\n80+ certification measures the efficiency of the PSU. Silver and Gold PSUs are a few percent more efficent that Bronze PSUs, which are at least 82-85% efficent, depending on load.
\n" }, { "Id": "1401", "CreationDate": "2015-11-28T15:01:41.280", "Body": "I'm looking for a laptop/tablet with the following abilities & specifications:
\n\nAbility to play lower-intensity games like Civilization V and Planetary Annihilation (confirmation from someone who has actually played those game (s) on that particular model is a bonus)
Detachable (e.g. MS Surface Book) or folding keyboard (e.g. Lenovo Yoga). Full keyboard is a plus, but if someone makes a convincing case for one with a keyboard like the Surface Pro, I'd consider it
Minimum of 11\" screen (12\"+ preferred), minimum of Full HD, prefer 1440p-ish
Good battery life (5+ hours minimum)
Microsoft Windows OS (full edition, not Windows 8 RT)
Full size Solid state drive, minimum capacity of 128GB, prefer 256+
Cost of $600-800 preferred, max of $1000
Not looking for a high-end 'gaming' tablet, just one that will play videos and lower intensity games reasonably well with a nice screen and good battery life. DisplayPort output is a plus but not required. Not particular to any hardware manufacturer, but it cannot be Android-based or an Apple.
\n", "Title": "Convertible tablet/laptop for multimedia/light gaming", "Tags": "|laptop|tablet|", "Answer": "The Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro will be perfect for you. It only costs $699.99. Features it has:
\n\nAnother device that fits your price range is the HP Spectre x360. This is slightly more at $799.99 ($100 more than the Yoga 3 Pro). This is the major differences between this and the Yoga 3 Pro:
\n\nI'm currently running an HP Pavilion m9047c, except that I've replaced the video card with a Diamond Radeon HD 4870, and upgraded the power supply to (I believe) 650 watts. I never added any RAM over the 3GB it came with, due to the 4GB limitation of the 32-bit OS. This video card has provided solid performance so far, but newer games are starting to demand much more than it can deliver.
\nAdd to that the fact that support for Vista has ended (now I can't even get updates for Chrome anymore), and I know it's time for some upgrades.
I want to build a new desktop system, mostly for gaming (including modding and emulation), with a fair amount of general Internet use as well - shopping, YouTube, maybe the occasional video chat, etc.
\nI don't anticipate doing any video/sound editing, but might retouch photos now and then. I may also want to delve into some minor programming and/or web development.
I don't have a specific overall budget set, but my plan is to start with a base system - the lowest price possible without being inferior to my current machine - then making subsequent upgrades to improve performance (in particular, the CPU and GPU will both be upgraded as soon as funds allow).
\n\nFor the motherboard, however, I would like to get something that I can run with for not just those imminent upgrades, but for several years to come.
\n\nAble to support all hardware listed in the \"Recommended\" system requirements for Fallout 4:
\n\nNote that I will not be starting off with that CPU & GPU; they're my short-term upgrade goals.
$50-150 seems like a reasonable range for the motherboard.
\n", "Title": "Motherboard for the long run, in an otherwise (initially) low-end gaming system", "Tags": "|gaming|motherboard|desktop|", "Answer": "I would say you would be better off building a new computer. Here are the reasons:
\n\nAs someone else pointed out, the only parts worth saving are the power supply, optical drive, and hard drive. The case would depend on how easy it would be to put new parts in the case.
\n\nMy recommendation then would be to build a budget system, picking out the processor/chipset you want to keep and making sure the motherboard is something that will be good for awhile, as that is the component that is the biggest pain to upgrade. However, if you thought just upgrading the graphics card would get you by for awhile, then you could buy that as most cards will probably work in the system. Then you could take the card into a new build down the road when you thought you were ready. Keep in mind that you are more likely to bottleneck somewhere else in this instance, with a modern GPU but much older CPU and RAM.
\n\nEDIT: In response to the question update:
\n\nMotherboard and processor: You first need to decide on which socket you want to use. There are a couple viable options: LGA 1150, LGA 1151, and LGA 2011. Of these, LGA 2011 is older, but has seen a recent update (LGA 2011-v3, which is not compatible with the older LGA 2011 socket); LGA 1150 is the least advanced but the most available; and LGA 1151 is the newest, but also more expensive. The good news is that virtually any modern Core i5 or i7, and a good amount of Core i3s, that fit these sockets would be faster than a Q6600. As far as future upgrades:
\n\nLGA 1150 will probably see the fewest future upgrades, both to chipsets and faster processors. It uses DDR3 memory exclusively, and also has the fewest USB 3.0 and 3.1 compatible motherboards. However, most motherboards range from $50-200, with a significant portion under $150, and has the most motherboards to choose from (211 on newegg.com, for example).
\n\nLGA 2011 is a more narrow spectrum of processors, and more high end. Advantages include DDR4 memory, dual full-speed PCIe 3.0x16 lanes on some models, and 6-core processors with large caches. However, many of these advantages are more noticeable in rendering applications rather than gaming, or only in very specific cases. Additionally, most of these processors carry high price tags, and there aren't really entry level processors in this group (the cheapest retails for over $300)
\n\nLGA 1151 provides probably the most future upgrades, provides DDR4 memory support, a fairly large selection of motherboards, and much more ubiquitous support for features like USB 3.1. Downsides are that the motherboards are predominately slightly more expensive (more between $150-200), but they do offer more entry-level processors, such as i3 and i5 processors for between $120-220.
\n\nGraphics: According to this GPU hierarchy, The lowest end card that is an upgrade that is nVIDIA is either a GTX 660 Ti or a GTX 760, but neither are readily available (old). The best value in a low end nVIDIA card is a GTX 950, which will run you about $135-150. An integrated Intel card could provide you with more performance, but it wouldn't be much of an increase over your current card and even the cheapest dedicated GPUs avaliable now would outclass it.
\n\nYou have two routes that I see as viable both now and longer-term: save a little money now and go with LGA 1150, or go with LGA 1151 and have a longer viable lifespan. Keep in mind that you can still build a really really good machine on LGA 1150 that will still produce impressive gaming results for years, but if you will want the possibility to stay with the latest and greatest, LGA 1151 is probably a safer bet.
\n\nSpecifics
\n\nGigabyte GA-Z170XP-SLI ($129.99). It supports:
\n\nLGA 1151 (Core i7-6700K)
64GB Dual Channel DDR4 RAM (4 slots). Can be overclocked up to 3466 MHz.
Three PCIe x16 slots (supports 3-way Crossfire and 2-way SLI)
6 SATA 6Gb/s connectors, 3 SATA Express
6x USB ports on the back (mix of 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1). also includes 4 USB headers for the front and a USB Type-C port on the back.
10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet
Front panel audio header (headphone/mic)
Keep in mind I don't have specific experience with any LGA 1151 board - I picked this one because it was fairly well reviewed and met all your requirements at a decent price.
\n" }, { "Id": "1416", "CreationDate": "2015-11-29T18:10:46.297", "Body": "I have a question about a motherboard and RAM compatibility.
\n\nMSI X99A XPOWER AC LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard
\n\nand
\n\n\n\nI couldn't find this RAM in the supported list on MSI's website. I have a feeling that the page is not updated as it doesn't even list any 16 GB modules. Similarly, Corsair's website lists only two motherboards as supported, ASUS X99 Deluxe and Rampage V Extreme. pcpartpicker.com does not list this RAM when this board and Intel i7-5960 Haswell-E are selected.
\n\nI wanted to double check before investing almost $1,700 on these two components.
\n", "Title": "X99 2011-v3 Motherboard and 128 GB DDR4 RAM Compatibility", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|", "Answer": "According to Intel ARK on the Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 i7-5930K Processor:
\n\nSo, I won't be able to use 128 GB.
\n" }, { "Id": "1418", "CreationDate": "2015-11-29T21:01:05.157", "Body": "I am planning to improve my current PC. I am already going to buy a new RAM stick, to get 8GB of RAM, and I am going to add a SSD (probably a 120gb drive). Beyond those, I have about \u00a3300 to make some more improvements. My current PC specs:
\n\nhttp://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/yh7899
\n\n\n\n\nCPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor
\n \nMotherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
\n \nMemory: Kingston Blu 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
\n \nStorage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5\" 7200RPM Internal Hard\n Drive
\n \nVideo Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card
\n \nCase: NZXT H230 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case
\n \nPower Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX\n Power Supply
\n
I would like to swap the 7870 for a R9 390. My goal is to able to play pretty much any 2014 game on Ultra (I am mainly interested in Starcraft 2, Dota 2, and Dark Souls 2) or at the very least on Very High at 1080p. My only issue is my PSU: would the CX600 be enough to power this rig if I used a R9 390?
\n", "Title": "Would this be a good improvement for this rig?", "Tags": "|gaming|desktop|", "Answer": "I would upgrade the memory to at least 8GB.
\n\nAn SSD would be a good idea to put the OS on, as well as a few programs/games that you want to start up fast.
\n\nAnother thing that will help a lot when gaming on high quality is graphics memory. If the game textures are big, they can't fit on graphics memory, and are stored in normal memory instead. That makes things a lot slower.
\n\nYou should probably get a reasonably new graphics card with at least 4GB of memory on it. Something like an r9 390, or 380 if you don't have the money.
\n\nAs for the PSU, apparently, it's fine.
\n\nAs for the processor, it's probably fine.
\n" }, { "Id": "1425", "CreationDate": "2015-11-30T05:39:37.133", "Body": "I've recently acquired a GA-M68MT-S2 motherboard, which was lying unused with a friend. Just as a project, I want try and build the most powerful system possible using this as a base. This is only a hobby project, so suggestions to upgrade the board and overall system isn't what I'm looking for. I'll probably just experiment to see what games I can run at max or high settings. I'll be using Windows.
\n\nWhat I'd like to know is: What's the highest CPU and GPU this can take? I believe the Phenom II x6 (Socket AM3) is supported. What GPU will not be bottle necked by this relatively old base config? Since the on-board GPU is an NVIDIA\u00ae GeForce 7025/nForce 630a chipset, can I go for an 8- or 9- series? Is a Radeon a better choice?
\n\nI haven't been a PC gamer for over a decade, but I'm keen on getting back into it.
\n", "Title": "What's a good PC config based on an AM3 motherboard that won't be bottlenecked?", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|processor|motherboard|windows|", "Answer": "The best answer here is to put into this what it is worth - which is basically a low-end gaming system by today's standards. Dropping one of the hexacore CPUs into this will likely represent an investment simply not worth the returns, since those CPUs are highly sought after now that they are out of production and command a high price on a resale circuit - so much so that newer, cheaper chips from AMD and Intel beat them out.
\n\nHowever, given that the above is not actually the ANSWER to your question, the ANSWER lies on the CPU support page for your mobo's revision level: the most powerful processor available to you is the Phenom II X6 1090T. The AMD Phenom II X6 1100T May also work, but it is not officially supported by the BIOS, so I can't say definitively that it will work. It will probably work. Be careful, because there are Phenoms made which exceed the TDP rating for your board and could easily damage it.
\n\nWhat GPU will be bottlenecked/not bottlenecked by this CPU? All of them; that's not how bottlenecking works. Different programs place different strains on different parts of a computer, so even a high end CPU can be the bottleneck of a low-end GPU if it is trying to do something like downscale an h.265 video transcode, which is highly CPU-intensive, or play a game like Civilization 5, which is notorious for its high CPU usage in the late game but places relatively low demands on GPUs.
\n\nBecause the CPUs available to this board are somewhat weak compared to modern offerings in a similar price bracket, it makes sense to get an Nvidia GeForce GPU instead of an AMD Radeon GPU, because historically Nvidia driver overhead (the load placed on the CPU when the GPU is running) has been higher for AMD products. This is not a major consideration, however, so price is a major determinant.
\n\nThe onboard GPU is of no consequence for your purposes unless you want to attach a second screen to it; then it would make a little more sense to go with Nvidia for your primary GPU just so you could have a driver environment all from one supplier, which should be a little more stable (not necessarily though, since you will need to run two separate drivers and that old motherboard GPU may not have Windows 10 compliant drivers).
\n\nWith a 1090T CPU and a decent overclock to something like 4ghz on all six cores, given a Titan X GPU (not a recommendation, just a removal of most GPU bottlenecks for hypothetical purposes); this system should be able to handle most modern games at maximum settings; a notable exception would be any title which is heavily single-threaded and demanding on the CPU (most bad console ports, for example, of which Assassin's Creed: Black Flag and Unity are shining examples). In general, the CPU is less a limiting factor in gaming PCs than the GPU. Tests have been done showing the lowly Athlon 5350 performing admirably when paired with a midrange modern GPU. Where you are comfortable in that gradient of performance is largely up to personal taste.
\n" }, { "Id": "1432", "CreationDate": "2015-12-01T16:26:38.893", "Body": "I'm looking for a small notebook for 9 year old to run Linux powerfully enough for programming and runing Minecraft to buy my son for this Christmas. I'm based in the UK.
\n\nTo be clear, I do want a proper computer with a hard drive, not a Chromebook
\n\nIve had a look at Acer, Asus and Lenovo - I think there might be a solution there, but I'm struggling to understand the range, nor can I see anything without Windows installed.
\n\nI'm looking to spend about \u00a3300.
\n", "Title": "Looking for a small notebook for 9 year old to run Linux powerfully enough for Minecraft", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "As Paul Taylor already mentioned, Lenovo X220 was chosen.
\n\nAccording to the OP's requirements:
\n\n\u2611 Dislay: 12.5\" (1366x768, LED backlight, wideview, anti-glare, anti-reflective)
\n\n\u2611 Weight: 3.5 pounds with 6-cell battery (~1.6 kg)
\n\n\u2611 X220 will handle popular Linux distros with ease (Source 1, Source 2).
\n\n\u2612 Most often X220 has Windows on the board but it can be also (in specific cases) available without an operating system (related link).
\n\n\u2611 Powerful enough to learn programming and play simple games
\n\n\u2611 SSD is available in some builds (up to 160 GB - datasheet).
\n\n\u2611 It's in your budget
\n\nSome of the people don't really like the gritty touchpad but you can replace it on your own for ~$13.
\n\nThis topic may be useful.
\n\n\n\n\nI have found a very perfect solution for the ones that do not like the\n touchpads on newer Thinkpads. On my Thinkpad T400s i just peeled of\n the old surface, which is just a sticker, cleaned of the glue by\n rubbbing it off with my finger, and then put on a new smooth\n touchpadsurface from the company skinstyler
\n
and
\n\n\n\n\nI recently replaced the worn gritty touchpad on my Lenovo T420S.
\n \nFor those wondering around this I have attached a pic.\n http://1drv.ms/1pacMv8
\n \nProcess was easy, and removing the existing skin remarkably easy. My\n pad was pre-cut according to T420S size. I would recommend doing it -\n the old worn pads do look tacky.
\n
Protection skin mentioned in the topic is available here.
\n\n\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/0TP4Q.jpg\")
In this question I received the response to which graphics model should I go with. Now, as I started calculating using this decibel calculator, the fact that I am trying to buy quiet 8.9 dB fans (total = 20.9 dB) will be negligable if a graphics card will generate 36 dB (which is what I found here) - than the total noise will be 37.081 dB.\nHowever, on Tomshardware I found this to be more nuanced, but also incomplete (no MSI card).
\n\nWhat graphics card manufacturer would you recommend for GTX960 noise-wise, provided the price differences are negligible? Or maybe there are other considerations under 250$ for gaming setup (i5-6500, 8GB ram, 240GB SDD, 4 140mm fans, MSI170 pro gaming mobo, 1280 x 1024 res) that are significantly quieter?
\n\n[EDIT]\nI am aware of 'silent mode', where fans turn off on idle, which is apparently implemented by all manufacturers in GTX 960 (source). The question is about the fan noise under load.
\n", "Title": "Graphics card with quiet fans", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|quiet-computing|", "Answer": "While this may not be the best solution depending on your case airflow, the Arctic Accelero S3 may interest you. Passive cooling is more common on server components, but the Accelero S3 is a GPU heatsink that can support 135W TDP, or 200W with its \"Turbo Module\" (but it's just a fan, which rather defeats the purpose of the heatsink). While the Twin Frozr V is very quiet, it can't really beat not having fans at all. With good case airflow, the temperature is significantly higher, but not worryingly so.
\n\nWhy you may not want this:
\n\nSo, why would you want this?
\n\nIf you're serious about wanting a silent PC, and have already chosen a soundproofed case, quiet fans and a good CPU cooler, this is a good option. Otherwise, don't bother, there are easier and cheaper ways of quieting your PC.
\n" }, { "Id": "1436", "CreationDate": "2015-12-02T00:46:06.090", "Body": "The latest Apple notebooks do not have any built-in DVD drive, and Apple only sells a DVD drive.
\n\nIs there any external drive which is similar to the external SuperDrive for the MacBook Pro, but is able to read (and possibly write too) Blu-ray discs?
\n\nI found several Blu-ray drives, but they do not look so \"portable\" as you need a separate power adapter.
\n\nI am wondering if it would be possible to have a drive like the Apple External SuperDrive DVD which is powered just by a USB cable.
\n\nUPDATE: I found few drives in USB 2.0 (like the answerers), but I would prefer to have USB3 or Thunderbolt interface. I am surprised there is not such devices with a faster interface than USB 2.0. I found only the Asus BW-16D1H-U PRO but it needs an external power adapter (and 1kg could not be considered so portable).
I recommend the Pioneer 6x Silver External Slim Portable USB 3.0 BD/DVD/CD Burner Model BDR-XD05S, currently $85 + $2 shipping at newegg.com.
\n\nIt is compatible with USB 3 Super Speed mode, which virtually guarantees the burner will work at full, rated speed. It does, however, require a second USB port if the drive is connected via USB 2.
\n\nIf price is a issue, the SAMSUNG USB 2.0 Slim Portable Blu-ray Writer ($70 + $2 shipping at newegg.com) is a cheaper option that lacks support for quad layer Blu-ray (according to newegg anyway) and amd USB Super Speed.
\n\nIt's a single port model, which means that you won't have any trouble with compatibility. Unfortunately, it only supports USB 2.0 (High Speed), so if you were burning a movie, it could take a while.
\n" }, { "Id": "1444", "CreationDate": "2015-12-04T03:30:43.020", "Body": "I want a keyboard to use with my gaming/htpc.
\n\nI will use it from the sofa so a wireless, mini keyboard would be best.
\nI feel game controller sticks a comfortable device, therefore I want a trackball (that I think feel closer to a stick) in the keyboard, rather than a trackpad. I will not use the trackball for gaming, I play games with a controller.
\nFinally it would be great if the keyboard came with a kind of charging dock (so that I can just grab it and use it), but this last requirement is not a priority.
Can you think of any models that fit those conditions?
\n", "Title": "Recommended Wireless Mini Keyboard with Trackball", "Tags": "|keyboards|trackball|", "Answer": "Finally, I opted for a different model, because it seems to have better support for Japanese language (which I also needed). However, for more general cases I think @Andy's answer is the best choice.
\n\nI bought this Japanese Bluetooth wireless trackball keyboard: Miyoshi's TK-BT01\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/j8idn.jpg\")
I'm looking for a new laptop (for a Java developer who runs multiple virtual machines and some heavyweight server applications too) with these musthaves:
\n\nNice to have features:
\n\nBudget: ~$2500
\n", "Title": "Small developer laptop with 32GB memory", "Tags": "|laptop|linux|development|", "Answer": "Dell recently came out with the Latitude E7270 series which seems ideal.
\n\n\n\n\nSmall and lightweight, 14\" or smaller, no more than 2224 grams
\n
12,5\" display, starts at 1260 grams.
\n\n\n\n\nLinux support (I don't mind if it comes with Windows but every hardware component should work well under Linux too.)
\n
They come with Windows 7/10 but we have good experience running Linux on former dell Latitude models, so it's probably fine. (We have some issues with the Dell E-Port Replicators, kernel 4.5.3 freezes after docking while the notebook is sleeping.)
\n\n\n\n\n32GB RAM support
\n
They have 6th generation Intel Core processor which supports 32 GB of memory. The notebook has two memory slots and 16 GB modules are available but Dell says that it supports only 16 GB memory (2x8GB).
\n\nAnyway, my E7270 (as well as my colleague's E7470) runs well with 32 GB memory. It has two 16 GB Kingston KCP421SD8/16 modules.
\n\n\n\n\nCan handle three external displays (Currently I have three displays, all of them has DVI input and VGA too, but I'd prefer the digital one. Using DisplayPort->DVI and/or HDMI->DVI conversion cables are also fine for me.)
\n
6th generation Intel Core CPUs also support that and our Dell docking stations have three display outputs.
\n\n\n\n\nFaster than my current Intel Core i5-3230M CPU @ 2.60GHz
\n
It can come with Intel Core i7-6600U which seems faster.
\n\n\n\n\nMatte display
\n
Anti Glare LCD seems fine.
\n\n\n\n\nCompatible with our Dell E-Port Replicators
\n
It's compatible. The packaged Dell Docking Spacer for E7x40 is also handy.
\n\n\n\n\nBudget: ~$2500
\n
Price on dell.com is between $1000-$2000.
\n" }, { "Id": "1460", "CreationDate": "2015-12-05T19:05:39.773", "Body": "I'm looking for a laptop without any mechanical moving parts (don't need CD; will use SSD), particularly without a fan because a fan is noisy or becomes noisy after a while.
\n\nPreferably 13-15'', around 8gb ram, that can run xubuntu comfortably. Touchscreen or screen flipping are unnecessary. Could also be a tablet+ keyboard, if fast enough.
\n\nUnder $800.
\n\nAre there any laptops these days like that?
\n", "Title": "Quiet, no moving parts laptop/tablet that can run Linux?", "Tags": "|laptop|quiet-computing|fanless|", "Answer": "Chromebook would be ideal for this.\nI have the asus c300 chromebook and installed linux on it, works perfectly.\nYou can see a review of chromebooks here: http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/best-chromebooks-top-5-chromebooks-in-the-us-1233696
\n\nIt's silent, has long battery life and is cheap.
\n\nYou can see how to install linux on a chromebook here: http://lifehacker.com/how-to-install-linux-on-a-chromebook-and-unlock-its-ful-509039343
\n" }, { "Id": "1463", "CreationDate": "2015-12-05T19:32:57.523", "Body": "I'm looking for an action/sports camera (used for recording while snowboarding/biking etc).
\n\nMy budget would be around $150-$200.
\n\nIf you have any knowledge about some, what it's good to look at, please share it.
\n", "Title": "1080p Action/Sports Camera Recommendation", "Tags": "|video-camera|", "Answer": "Depending on your needs I've added a few various cameras. All are great choices and meet the specifications the question provided, but it's up to you to decide which one you think fits your needs best.
\n\nI'd recommend Sony's Action Cam line up.
\n\n![\"Sony](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JVRU5.png\")
Sony's Action Cam offers a wide variety of features, a quality build, and all at a reasonable price.
\n\nSony offers a wide variety of their Action Cams, but I'll be recommending the AS2000V. The Sony \"Action Cam\"s can take 1080p @60fps and great 8.8MP photos. It supports 240fps slow-mo, and a great microphone. It supports 60m waterproof. It also has video stabilization with SteadyShot which I've heard great things about.
\n\nI highly recommend you take a look at the wide variety of Action Cams, these don't get too expensive and offer many features. An example is the Sony AS15 which is only $128 on Amazon and offers a similar set of features. Also, be on the lookout for discounts as these frequently go on sale.
\n\n\n\n\nThis camera has a lot to offer with it's wide variety of features making it a great choice if you'll be doing some shaky video, low-light filming, or for general use.
\n
The popular GoPro is a popular choice for a sports and action camera. While price ranges, GoPros have a wide range of accessories and mounts to choose from.
\n\nThe GoPro I'd recommend is the GoPro Hero ~$129. If you want, a WiFi equipped model which also offers slightly better specs, it's starts at $199
\n\n![\"GoPro](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/cxhzP.jpg\")
The GoPro Hero can take 1080p @30fps (60 WiFi model) video, photos can be taken at 5MP (8MP WiFi model), and supports up to a 32GB MicroSD. It's also waterproof up to 40 meters.
\n\nI've already talked about the HERO with WiFi but the HERO4 Session also the same specs as the HERO with WiFi at the same price. The HERO4 though has a much simpler design, which can work great for hobby use but may lack functionality for power-users.
\n\n\n\n\nI'd recommend the GoPro if you'll take advantage of it's wide-array of mounts and accessories
\n
The ISAW EDGE ~$189 seems to be a perfect fit.
\n\n![\"ISAW](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/oFLIp.jpg\")
The ISAW EDGE can take 1080p @60fps, and even 4K. It can take up to a 64GB Micro SD card and can take 16MP stills. It features underwater capabilities up to 40m.
\n\nThe ISAW Air runs at 1080p @30fps, takes 12MP photos but requires a case for waterproof (~$25)
\n\nThe ISAW WING runs at 1080p @30fps, takes 12MP photos and features a 40m waterproof housing.
\n\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "1466", "CreationDate": "2015-12-06T12:34:33.207", "Body": "The ISAW offers well balanced specs at a reasonable price, it has a relatively easy-to-use graphical interface.
\n
Asus X99-A with USB3.1 Motherboard And Intel Core i7 5820K CPU Or
\n\nAsus Z170-A Motherboard And Intel Core i7 6700K CPU
\n\nThe rest of the build (the same for both):
\n\nCooler: Noctua NH-U14S.
\n\nRAM: 32GB (2x16GB) Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX Black, 2666MHz, CAS 16-18-18-35, 1.2V.
\n\nStorage: 250GB Samsung 850 EVO.
\n\nPSU: 650W Corsair RMx, Modular, Silent, 80PLUS Gold - Any Single Graphics Card
\n\nGPU: 4GB MSI GTX 960 GAMING 4G.
\n\nI will be using the build for mainly programming. Most important programs I will use:
\n\nAndroid Studio.
\n\nIDE such as Eclipse.
\n\nWhich combination of motherboard + CPU will give me better performance. Will the programs I mentioned benefit significantly from the 5820K's extra cores and threads?
\n", "Title": "Which of these two PC builds would offer better performance?", "Tags": "|pc|processor|motherboard|desktop|", "Answer": "The i7 5820K would be much faster than the i7 6700K. None of the programs you will use will benefit from an i7 5820K or even an i7 6700K for that matter. An i5 6600K will be enough for what you are doing. The 5820K will only benefit from much larger multithreaded workloads (such as virtualization or video rendering) and where more PCIe lanes are needed (allows up to 24 PCIe lanes). Your GPU will also bottleneck your system if you perform any slightly GPU-intensive tasks (such as gaming or video editing).
\n" }, { "Id": "1487", "CreationDate": "2015-12-09T16:28:57.140", "Body": "I need to purchase a new Mac to run Final Cut Pro X.
\n\nBased on my research, I understand the importance of hardware components for this workflow to be in this order:
\n\nIt seems obvious the \"best\" setup would be a Mac Pro (currently $2999+ without a display). But with a not-for-profit budget, if I don't have to spend $4000 for a complete setup I'd rather not.
\n\nAssume an an iMac with these specs:
\n\nWould FCPX used as I describe above on these specs of an iMac make for a lot of waiting on the system while editing? Should I be looking at something different in hardware?
\n", "Title": "Final Cut Pro X: iMac or Mac Pro for House of Worship?", "Tags": "|video|osx|video-editing|", "Answer": "The RAM is probably the main change I would make to your proposed specs.
\n\nIf you're going to want an iMac, especially for video editing, you're going to need a fast hard-disk, enough RAM, and definitely a good GPU. This immediately narrows down the selection to a 27-in 5K iMac. Why? The 5K iMacs are the only ones offering discrete graphics. The 21\" iMac offers only a 5400RPM hard disk which is much too slow for video-editing.
\n\nI'm going to assume you're editing 1080p video. 1080p video directly out of a camera can is around 300MP, for 10 minutes. OS X tend to use around ~4GB for the system, running Final Cut, live streaming video, and handling audio, 8GB might run out quickly. At the least 16GB what I'd say is the minimum RAM for your case. 32GB would be best.
\n\nI'm going to recommend the 27\" 5K iMac with:
\n\nWith 16GB of RAM, this comes out to $1,969.00, and with 32GB $2,329.00
\n\nIf you're comfortable with manually upgrading the RAM (yes, 27\" 5K iMac has user-upgradable RAM). You can purchase an 8GB model and use a OWC RAM upgrade kit (only $129-$249).
\n\nThis brings your total price for a 16GB to $1,918 and for 32GB to $2,038
\n" }, { "Id": "1497", "CreationDate": "2015-12-09T23:41:37.837", "Body": "I want to build a home-made multi-room home sound system.
\n\nI'm looking for a single board computer device with a minimal hardware configuration. In my thoughts, my only requirements are:
\n\nActually no video output is required, nor additional USB ports.
\n\nWhat could be the cheapest solution for my needs?
\n", "Title": "Cheapest single computer board with Wi-Fi and audio", "Tags": "|raspberry-pi|arduino|micro-pc|", "Answer": "I'm looking for something similar to this myself; currently I'm using a CHIP from NextThingCo; you'd have to write the software yourself for what you want, but it runs standard linux.
\n\nItems:
\n\nThis works fine for me with gmrender-resurrect, though I compiled it myself rather than installing from the repo. Currently I'm looking for something slightly more powerful that I can run BubbleUPnP server on as well, for transcoding (it doesn't seem able to start up).
\n" }, { "Id": "1503", "CreationDate": "2015-12-10T07:59:54.713", "Body": "I need to upgrade my Dell Inspiron 7352 laptop from its HDD to an SSD. I'm deliberating between two similar models of SSD:
\n\n\n\nHaving looked at the specs for both products. They seem nearly identical in both interface, IOPS performance and sequential read and write performance.
\n\nHowever, at the time of writing, the EVO 840 retails at around $325 while the EVO 850 costs much less: around $150.
\n\nWhich of the two models would you recommend considering the price differences? Does the costlier model have advantages that I'm missing?
\n", "Title": "Which 2.5\" SSD would you recommend for a Dell Inspiron laptop? Samsung's EVO 840 mode or EVO 850 model?", "Tags": "|laptop|ssd|", "Answer": "The 840 EVO and 850 EVO are both consumer TLC SSDs by Samsung. The EVO series doesn't exactly have any differentiation, and the 850 EVO is not the higher end model, rather, it is the newer generation. The reason that the 840 EVO has risen in price is most likely because it's an retired series and therefore no longer manufactured in volume.
\n\nThe chief differences between the two SSDs are in the NAND and controller. The inclusion of 3D V-NAND improves performance and write endurance, while the downgrade of the controller to two cores would decrease it. The overall effect in the wild would appear to be a moderate increase in write and mixed IO speed, with a more minor increase in read speed and a minor decrease in deep queue read speed. Overall, read and random mixed IO would probably play the major role in normal desktop operation, You should get no advantages with the older 840 EVO.
\n" }, { "Id": "1514", "CreationDate": "2015-12-10T22:17:38.113", "Body": "I don't have a TV because I think they are ugly and require too much space. I like the idea of packing away the screen so it's not always there, in plain sight. However I still like to watch films, so I often just watch films on my laptop. I have an old projector, which I bought to watch films with. However I found the fan too loud, and I found it annoying to set up, Requiring many cables to power the projector, my laptop and the HiFi system. It takes a long time to turn on and then to turn off which was also annoying.
\n\nRecently I have come across two devices, that have the potential to solve some of these problems and are not too expensive.
\n\nSo to sum up I am looking for a device for occasional film watching that is nice and clean and which can be packed away when not in use.
\n\nMy living room is quite bright, so I think for both devices it would work better in the winter. Has anyone had any experience comparing the brightness of the devices in real life? What do people think?
\n", "Title": "Tablet for movie watching: ZTE SPro2 or Yoga tab 3?", "Tags": "|android|tablet|projector|", "Answer": "The yoga tab 3's 480p screen would be a pain to watch on. A 480p screen at 10\" size is already terrible (80 ppi). The 480p screen would be ok for stuff like video conferencing or a presentation but would be very terrible for movies. The ZTE SPro 2 has a much better quality projector (720p). This will have the same pixel density as the yoga tab 3 when at 20\" (78 ppi). These projectors are pretty dim so you will need a darker environment.
\n" }, { "Id": "1539", "CreationDate": "2015-12-14T05:33:50.387", "Body": "I\u2019ve been asked to install a new monitor in an EMS (Ambulance) station. The monitor is by the garage doors, and needs to mirror another monitor connected to a computer on the other side of the garage. This is a volunteer EMS group, so the budget is limited. I\u2019d rather not buy a new graphics card, but it\u2019s not out of the question.
\n\nWe\u2019ve measured the cable run at roughly 55ft (17m).
\n\nThe monitor we need to mirror is connected by DVI.
\n\nThere\u2019s a second monitor also connected via VGA.
\n\nThe computer has no third monitor port; it has just 1 VGA port and 1 DVI-D port. It\u2019s a cheapish old Dell. The sole use for the computer is showing currently active calls, and the people who\u2019ve paged in to take them.
\n\nWhat\u2019s the best solution to setup display mirroring on the new monitor? No kb/mouse is required at that distance. This is view only. To be clear, the monitor is already mounted. Just need to know the best way to get the signal to it, given the constraints I have.
\n\nI\u2019ve taken a look at kits: I can get either DVI or VGA splitters, and 20M cables for both.
\n\nAre these options decent, or would I need a powered splitter? Bear in mind, that\u2019s $10 vs $150 it seems.
\n\nWhich is preferable over longer lengths? VGA or DVI?
\n", "Title": "Long distance monitor connection options?", "Tags": "|dvi|vga|", "Answer": "Another option, for even longer distances, is a KVM over CAT5 extender. Startech has many options, among other vendors. I'd search on Amazon as the prices are generally better than buying directly from Startech.
\n\nFor example, the SV565UTP (they are sold in pairs):
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/4Rkrg.jpg\")
You take one and put it next to the computer and connect it to the machine's keyboard, mouse, and monitor outputs. You take the other one and plug a keyboard, mouse, and monitor into it. Then you run a CAT5 cable between them and you get up to 500 feet.
\n\nThey make longer distance ones; there's a 650 ft VGA/USB extender, there's a whopping 1500 ft DVI/USB extender, and so on.
\n\nThese are overkill for your 55 ft in terms of cost, but if you need even longer runs, or you have the budget, they're a good option. It's a lot easier to run CAT5 through walls and such than VGA / DVI, too, and cheaper to replace failed cables (or re-terminated failed connectors). If the building already has CAT5 wiring for ethernet you may be able to repurpose one of the existing runs. If you already have a network closet with a patch bay for wall jacks around the building, it also makes moving your console around in the future pretty trivial.
\n" }, { "Id": "1544", "CreationDate": "2015-12-14T09:51:03.683", "Body": "I'm using a Gigabyte BRIX Mini PC running Linux as a viewer for a NoMachine setup with 2 monitors presently, one connected via VGA and one via HDMI.
\n\nI am planning on adding a third monitor, which is why I am looking for a small PC, similar to the BRIX, but with three (ideally 4, as a spare) VGA/HDMI ports.
\n\nConnecting a USB-VGA adapter like the products from Plugable doesn't seem feasible to me with the lack of true support of these devices under Linux.
\n\nHas anybody come across a Mini-PC with more than 2 video ports onboard?
\n", "Title": "Mini PC (like Gigabyte BRIX) with more than 2 graphic ports", "Tags": "|linux|multiple-monitors|mini-pc|", "Answer": "Anything with DisplayPort 1.2 or better, eg Intel NUC NUC6i5SYH or NUC6i3SYK.
\n\nDisplayPort daisy-chaining allows for up to 5 monitors connected to a single DP socket.
\n" }, { "Id": "1568", "CreationDate": "2015-12-15T21:15:26.043", "Body": "A few weeks ago, I asked a question for a graphics card recommendation, here
\n\nWhat I'm planning to buy is:
\n\nNow I need to choose the RAM, and I'm kinda confused. I know this motherboard supports up to 64GB RAM (4 slots). So I want to max it now to not have problems to deal in the future.
\n\nI know 64GB ram is a lot, and I'll probably not use it all, but its just for convenience.
\n\nI'm thinking about this RAM
\n\nIs this a good option? Is there any way to improve it? Will this \"Temperature Sensor\" cause problems?
\n", "Title": "RAM compatibility and recommendation", "Tags": "|memory|compatibility|", "Answer": "The RAM you've selected is incompatible with the rest of your parts. It is ECC (stores extra data in order to detect memory errors) registered (uses a special circuit to reduce the amount of power needed to drive signals) memory, while the CPU and mainboard you've selected only support regular (non-ECC, non-registered) memory.
\n" }, { "Id": "1573", "CreationDate": "2015-12-16T13:41:16.347", "Body": "I have a macbook since December 2011.
\n\nThis is my configuration:
\n\nI going to buy this SSD and this RAM
\n\nI have 2 question:
\n\nIt depends on a couple of factors:
\n\nIn general, yes, an SSD and more memory will speed up VMs. For me, switching to SSD provided a greater performance benefit than any other single upgrade I've ever done.
\n\nIf your MacBook already has SSD, a newer/bigger/faster SSD isn't going to make much difference.
\n\nRAM will only make a difference if it gets used, which depends entirely on how much you have, how much is allocated to the VMs, what operating systems they will have, and what programs you run in the VMs. 4 GB sounds like not much RAM to be using VMs, especially if you're trying to run more than one at a time.
\n" }, { "Id": "1577", "CreationDate": "2015-12-17T01:05:29.453", "Body": "I am going to upgrade my PC over Christmas, and right now I'm trying to pick out a PSU. I would like it to be fully modular, 80+ gold or better efficiency and preferably cheap. I found the Antec HCP750 Platinum and it looks awesome. It's very cheap (as far as platinum rated fully modular PSUs go), and has plenty of wattage.
\n\nHowever, now I'm wondering if it has too many watts. My maximum estimated wattage is 457, and the Antec PSU goes up to 750. That seems like a good thing in case I ever wanted to, say add additional video cards or more powerful video cards. Are there any downsides that I'm unaware of to having significantly more power in your PSU than your pc will actually draw? (Electricity bill, longevity of parts... etc.) Should I go for something more reasonable, like a 500-600W?
\n", "Title": "How far above my power draw should a PSU be?", "Tags": "|gaming|pc|power-supply|", "Answer": "For a 80-Plus Platinum power supply, efficiencies are between around 5% of one another between the 20 to 100% range of load(88-92, give or take a percent). It tops at around 70% load. \nHaving more than required is certainly not a bad thing. PSU's like the HCP are rated to deliver their full wattage at fairly high temperatures, and 300W is enough for any card.
\n\nSo go ahead, you're good to make the purchase. Hardware reviewers use oversized power supplies all the time, and nothing happens to them.
\n" }, { "Id": "1583", "CreationDate": "2015-12-17T18:45:12.280", "Body": "My current system is:
\n\nI am looking for a graphics card for my system. I will use my PC mainly for programming, but I also do some video editing using Sony Vegas Pro. I need a GPU that is:
\n\nHas anybody got any good recommendations for a GPU that is suitable for my usage?
\n", "Title": "Graphics card choice?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|desktop|", "Answer": "Sony Vega Pro's hardware acceleration uses OpenCL compute. Generally, the consumer cards have similar performance for quite a bit cheaper, as seen in the benchmark below.\n![\"Sony](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/GiPLT.png\")
OpenCL has also typically performed better on AMD cards, compared to NVidia cards
\n\n![\"Anandtech](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Xqlfx.png\")
I recommend the XFX R7 370 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card (R7-370P-2255), currently priced $124.99 + $3.99 shipping at newegg.com, due to the fact that it has more than 3 times the stream processors running at a higher clockspeed, and that it uses GDDR5 rather than DDR3, which makes it quite a bit faster for Sony Vegas Pro, and for other applications, than the similarly priced W2100 and K420 workstation GPUs.
\n" }, { "Id": "1596", "CreationDate": "2015-12-19T14:42:35.517", "Body": "SanDisk Internal SSD 120GB 2.5-Inch SDSSDA-120G-G25 costs Rs. 3600 (~$53)
Sandisk SSD 128gb SATA 2.5, Z400s costs Rs. 3800 (~$56)
SanDisk 128GB SDSSDP-128G-G25 cost Rs. 3900 (~$58)
Samsung 850 EVO 120GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E120B/AM) - Costs Rs. 4800 (~$71)
As of now I have a old 500GB seagate HDD.
\n\nThe new games are pretty big and system is taking a lot of time to load them (also going for a nwe graphic card since my 4670 got fried few days back).
\n\nMy doubt in judging them is samsung is costly and has 520mbps write speed, and others have around 180mbps odd.
\n\nSome SSDs are slower than HDD when writting small files -do any of the above fall under such categories?
\n\nIf I have to go with one of them - which is worthy? I will not upgrade my pc for another 4 -5 years (atleast not my HDD) -I have plenty of room in my external HDD so place is of no issue - Just 128GB is sufficient.
\n\nPlease advice - SSD (flash and DRAM terms are confusing
\n\nMy mother board is old and will not change it yet since it is working great.\nMB model Asus MT7019015303817.
\n\nAnother choice: Transcend Ultra 120GB 2.5-inch Solid State Drive with DRAM\n64 MB onboard cache/RAID support\nRead Speed: Up to 230 Mbps and write speed: Up to 180Mbps\nMTBF 1.5 million hours\nCosts Rs. 5000 (~$74)
\n\nMy budget is around Rs. 4500 - Rs. 5000 ($67 - $75)
\n", "Title": "SSD / HDD choice when write speed is slow - developer workstation and for games", "Tags": "|gaming|hard-disk|ssd|", "Answer": "SSDs should never be slower than a HDD, especially in small files. The reason is because of how they work. A HDD uses a spinning platter and a read/write head for information access where a SSD uses a controller with flash chips. When reading/writing files, the HDD has to wait for the head to align with the platter before it can be accessed, but a SSD doesn't have to wait.
\n\nIn my experience I would only recommend a Sandisk SSD for their reliability, and nothing else. Write speeds are usually less important than read speeds, because if you think about it, you are mostly doing reading of files rather than writing of files. The Samsung SSD will provide significant improvement over the Sandisk ones so I would recommend the Samsung one. You can also look into SSDs from other manufacturers that can be cheaper without sacrificing much performance, such as A-Data, Kingston or Crucial.
\n" }, { "Id": "1598", "CreationDate": "2015-12-19T18:26:05.067", "Body": "I didn't use any AMD processor before, so things getting confusing for me. Someone is going to gift me a laptop. It has an AMD A10 processor here is the full specification
\n\nI am a developer, I have to use software like NetBeans and Android Studio simultaneously. So my question is will this laptop fulfill my requirements? Or should I ask a different one which has Intel Core i7 processor inside, something like this laptop?
\n\nIf the first laptop (AMD processor inside) is enough for my workload, then I won't tell him to change otherwise I have to tell him to change the laptop. What should I do?
\n", "Title": "AMD Quad-Core A10-8700P vs Intel Core i7 5500U", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|development|", "Answer": "They're not all that different.
\n\nA rough estimate of relative CPU computational power: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp%5B%5D=2542&cmp%5B%5D=2470
\n\n(note the 35W AMD TDP vs the 15W Intel TDP; this is what Mr. Zhu was referring to when he estimated the Intel would have better battery life given identical batteries, HDDs, etc.)
\n\nThe AMD chip will enjoy somewhat better GPU performance: http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-R6-Carrizo-Benchmarks.144290.0.html
\n\nEspecially if you upgrade the system RAM from 1600mhz to something more like 2133mhz sodimms (example product: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231751&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC--na--na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=)
\n\nI would say that if mobility is a big concern, then ask for an Intel model. Also ask for Intel if you absolutely, positively MUST have the best single-thread performance.
\n\nOtherwise, if you're usually going to be plugged in wherever you work, and you are looking for a more well-rounded processor in your laptop, get the A10-8700P and upgrade its RAM.
\n" }, { "Id": "1604", "CreationDate": "2015-12-20T07:07:19.160", "Body": "I'm seeking z170/LGA 1151 MBs for my i7 6700k CPU, and I am planning to buy 2X8GB DDR4 SDRAM. When I search it on newegg, the prices range from $50 to $200+. My questions are
\n\n1) what makes the differences?
\n\n2) Besides the compatibility with my CPU and RAM, I only care about the performance. So would a $60 motherboard be good enough for me?
\n\n3) I notice there is a \"memory standard\" spec, which includes 2133-3400MHZ, does this has to be correspondent to my RAM's speed? For example, if my RAM is DDR4 SDRAM 3000, then I need to buy a MB that supports 3000MHZ memory standard, right?
\n", "Title": "Motherboard: Which configurations really matter?", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "There are many chipsets with the LGA 1151 socket, including the Z170, B150, H170 etc. The only chipset that allows overclocking would be the Z170 chipset, which you should get since you are getting a overclockable CPU. The other chipsets I mentioned are cheaper (sub $100 range) but lack some of the features the Z170 has. Even with the same chipset, there are higher quality motherboards (more expensive) and lower quality motherboard (cheaper). The higher quality motherboards have more features such as better power delivery to allow more overclocking, better NICs, better sound cards, more PCIe slots, etc. The motherboard you would need would depend on what you are using it for.
\n\nA $60 motherboard would be \"good enough\" for you. You would not be able to overclock if it's not a Z170 chipset (so the overclockability of your CPU is wasted), it probably doesn't have SLI and/or CrossFireX support, so you would be limited to only having one GPU. The PCIe lanes could also be slower, so higher bandwidth PCIe cards would take a performance hit.
\n\nThe speed of the RAM doesn't have to correspond to the motherboard's rated max speed. The RAM would run at the lower speed of the two (e.g. if your RAM was 3000MHz and your board only supports max of 2400MHz, it would run at the lower of the two, which would be 2400MHz). This also means you are wasting some of the power of the RAM if you buy a lower end board. You would also want to check with your motherboard manufacturer's manual to check if the RAM is compatible with your board.
\n" }, { "Id": "1606", "CreationDate": "2015-12-20T23:23:14.753", "Body": "I have a budget of ~10 kUSD to buy GPUs for neural network applications, mostly using Theano, Torch, TensorFlow and Caffe. Most programs I plan to run are for natural language processing. Computations are in float 32 and in CUDA. I live in the USA, and I don't pay for the electricity bills. The GPUs will be mounted to some computers running Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS x64.
\n\nWhat are the graphic cards with the highest computational power / price ratio, given the above-mentioned conditions?
\n", "Title": "GPU for deep learning", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Nvidia announced on 2016-07-21 the new GTX Titan X:
\n\nA first benchmark (unfortunately they didn't keep the same CuDNN\u2026):
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/XhMo0.png\")
The motherboard I am looking at is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130892, which supports SATAe. This is a new term to me. I've done some research and am only able to understand that SATAe can make the R/W of my SSD faster. In the video that I watched about SATAe, a PCI card is introduced, I am not sure what it has to do with SATAe, and wonder whethere I need to buy additional gears to make the best of SATAe. Or, does the MB has a SATAe port where I can simply connect my SSD to it?(Assume my SSD support SATAe)
\n", "Title": "Do I need to buy additional devices to make the best of SATA express?", "Tags": "|sata|", "Answer": "To use SATA Express, you would need to use a SSD that supports SATA Express. I'm currently not aware of a SSD that supports SATA Express. It does have a much higher theoretical speed than SATA and would be good for SSDs. I would still recommend a SSD through PCIe or M.2 (which uses PCIe internally).
\n" }, { "Id": "1637", "CreationDate": "2015-12-24T09:58:27.210", "Body": "I'm looking for a graphics card for Linux gaming. I don't need flagship performance, but still high end. I want to play, for example, some of the top titles on Steam, and perhaps use the same card in Windows with an Oculus Rift kit (which requires nVidia GTX 970 or AMD 290). I want to strike a balance between price, performance, and the following must-have requirements:
\n\nNice to have: at least decent performance and good stability with Open Source drivers.
\n\n(Related, but not the same: this question asks for graphics card recommendations for non-gaming purposes, using Open Source drivers.)
\n\nMy budget is around 400\u20ac or less, but I'm definitely willing to explore something a bit more expensive if there's a good reason. At the same time, I obviously don't want to spend all of that if I can get nearly the same performance for a proportionately smaller sum.
\n", "Title": "Graphics card that works well for Linux gaming", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|linux|", "Answer": "See the following articles from Phoronix:
\n\n![\"Counter-Strike:](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/eRied.png\")
In fact there are a dozen more articles comparing video cards on Phoronix, and you can use that to decide how much you want to spend for how much performance.
\n\nAlso visit OpenBenchmarking.org.
\n\nIn conclusion I recommend the Geforce GTX 970 because it offers the best price for the performance levels. The faster cards are $100+ more and in the best case you get 10 fps more. You wanted the 970 anyway for the Oculus Rift. Currently the 970 is about $320-$350 on newegg.
\n" }, { "Id": "1640", "CreationDate": "2015-12-25T10:52:46.010", "Body": "I'm looking for an ASIO sound card which I would be using in both Windows and Linux (dual-boot). It has to work flawlessly in Windows, and I would prefer it to work fully in Linux as well. However, I can live with a card that has some features disabled in Linux, as long as basic playback and recording works, I don't have to install any proprietary drivers, it works reliably, and is hassle-free (i.e. no configuration to get regular sound working, and none of that \"has to boot in Windows first before it works in Linux\").
\n\nI would prefer a PCIe card, and although I would be using this mostly for playback, I also want recording to work. I'm using Debian. Price range: less than 150\u20ac.
\n", "Title": "ASIO sound card that works in Linux", "Tags": "|linux|audio|sound-cards|asio|", "Answer": "The Asus Xonar D2X appears to fulfil your requirements.
\n\nHere are two links regarding Linux support:
\n\n\n\nand
\n\nhttp://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Matrix:Vendor-Asus
\n\nAmazon.de appears to list it for under 150\u20ac. E.g.
\n\nhttp://www.amazon.de/Asus-D2X-interne-Soundkarte-Digital/dp/B0011BC1FO/
\n\nIt is also an ASIO sound card.
\n" }, { "Id": "1643", "CreationDate": "2015-12-25T16:31:50.893", "Body": "I just got the Phantom NZXT case (specs) for my PC. It works great for me, but this thing is so huge it barely fits in my desk! Now, it does fit, but since the 1/8 in audio output and USB ports are on the top, I can't plug in any of the USB ports or my headphones. Since this thing has 5 drive bays on the front, I'd like to get a USB drive bay with a 1/8 in output for my headphones. I can find plenty USB bays on google, but none of them include an headphone port. If I search for "USB bay with aux" I get a bunch of links to amplifiers, which are clearly not what I'm looking for. Does this even exist?
\n5.25"
\nAt least two USB inputs (but preferably more) and one headphone output.
\nThe cheaper the better. 20 USD would be ideal, but I could go up to 35.
\nJust about any front panel audio will work for you. I merely searched for \"audio 5.25\" and found this product for $14 (customs and VAT may apply). It fulfills exactly your requirements and nothing more. It's also worth noting it's \"HD audio\" - that's the most recent spec of connecting audio jacks to mainboard (the part that makes your computer detect plugging of jacks and let you decide in software what function will it perform).
\n\nHowever if you're really after simply replicating AUX jack from the back of your computer, then products like this archaeological artifact are surprisingly still available. The point is visible on the last pic: those cables doesn't even connect to internal mainboard ports at all! They're just \"dumb\" male jack to female jack extension cords. If you have such special needs, they will trick your computer into thinking that something is always plugged in, even if there is nothing attached to the front panel. Fun fact: it will even work just as well on the desk, outside of your computer.
\n\nSide note: as your case has bay door that will block access to front panels, maybe regular extension cords: a pair for headphones/mic and another for USB, plugged into back will serve your purposes better?
\n\nYet another thought: many monitors have USB hubs and audio out (from HDMI) jack. There is a slight possibility you already have everything you need : )
\n" }, { "Id": "1648", "CreationDate": "2015-12-26T08:23:34.823", "Body": "My mouse was broken a few days ago, so I need to buy a new mouse.
\n\nI am interested in a trackball or vertical mouse because professional writers say that is better for my hands and that it's a good alternative to a normal mouse.
\n\nI don't want to spend too much money, so I am planning to buy one of the following two products:
\n\n\n\nI usually do web surfing, and I sometimes work on office suite programs. Sometimes I do a little coding and rarely play games like Minecraft.
\n\nI would like to have recommendations about the above two products, and if you have any alternative products that you think are better than those two, please let me know.
\n", "Title": "Can I have recommendations about the trackball / mouse?", "Tags": "|mice|trackball|", "Answer": "Vertical mouse is OK only if you never take your dominant hand off the mouse. Regular users tend to keep moving their hand between mouse and keyboard. Vertical mouse is very bad for this as it takes extra time and effort to both let it go and grab back again. Trackballs are bit better, but if you do follow the common click-click-type-type-click-clik pattern then regular mouse is the best.
\n\nThe exercise of moving your hand back and forth between mouse and keyboard already is the best thing for your health. Super-ergonomic mice solve a problem that you don't have.
\n\nI recommend that you buy regular mouse (eg Logitech RX250, around $15). To be blunt: for regular users regular stuff usually works best : ) Consider better mouse when you have the money to burn.
\n\nIf you insist on buying one of the mentioned products then check out customer rights in your (and store) jurisdiction. In many places you are entitled to return a product bought online after a short time simply because you don't like it. This is exactly the situation lawmakers had in mind. Yet, I think you really should buy a decent, entry-level mouse first. At least as a backup plan.
\n" }, { "Id": "1651", "CreationDate": "2015-12-27T19:23:54.240", "Body": "So I'm looking to buy a new desktop computer and I'm getting a little confused, my main concern is that it will be able to play the sim3 with multiple expansions. I found a computer that seems like it will work and can have the i5 processor vs the i3. I'm just very confused about which processor will be best.
\n\nthese are the specifications of the computer:
\n\nI'm getting confused because most comparisons I do say the i5 is better for gaming. However the i3 is much faster 3.7 GHz vs 2.7GHz(3.3 turbo) and most things I read about sims recommendations is that the the faster the processor the better. \nThe i3 build is about 100 dollars cheaper as well, so I don't want to waste money on the i5 if the i3 is actually better for my needs.
\n\nI'm just looking for a good base computer that I can play some sims on that I can upgrade as I go. I don't really mind playing it on low settings, I just want to be able to play all my expansions I have about 5 expansions and on my current set up I can only play 2 expansions without horrible lag times.
\n\nSo would the i3 or the i5 be better? I really don't understand the differences.
\n", "Title": "i5-6400 vs i3-4170 for playing sims 3", "Tags": "|gaming|processor|desktop|", "Answer": "\n\nI just want to be able to play all my expansions I have about 5 expansions and on my current set up I can only play 2 expansions without horrible lag times.
\n
The recommendation could be better if you include the specifications of the computer that has the lags in your question, so we can analyze where the bottleneck in your current setup is and if the newer hardware would be a substantial improvement.
\nThat being said, The Sims 3 was released in 2009, is based on DirectX 9 and has moderate hardware requirements. A fairly obvious case one might say?
\nFor comparison of Intel GPUs there is a separate article in Wikipedia that gives a really useful overview, combined with the data in the lists for all the Intel processors (list-type Wikipedia links are/were banned on some SE sites, but they are not hard to find) we get this:
\nCore i3-4170 GPU runs at 350\u20131150 MHz, TDP 54 W
\n\n\nHD Graphics 4200, 4400, 4600, P4600, P4700 \u2013 GT2, 20 execution units, up to 432 GFLOPS at 1350 MHz
\n
Core i5-6400 GPU runs at 350\u2013950 MHz, TDP 65 W
\n\n\nHD Graphics 530, GT2 \u2013 24 execution units, up to 441.6 GFLOPS at 1.15 GHz
\n
For comparison, the GPU of the Ivy Brigde CPU I have in my T530:
\n\n\nHD Graphics 4000 \u2013 16 execution units and additional features, up to 332.8 GFLOPS at 1300 MHz
\n
So just by looking at the GFLOPS, there isn't really any difference between both models but about 30% increase over the older generation.
\nJust for a test I ran Tomb Raider (2013, DirectX 11) on the laptops GPU. By lowering the graphics settings I was able to play, but I am much less finicky about lags. With that in mind I thought DOA5:LR based on DirectX 9 in 2015 released on PC would run smooth, but I was wrong. I wouldn't wave off GPU demands so easily anymore. Chances that Sims 3 will run fine however are pretty good, especially when looking at this section from the recommendations:
\n\n\nFor computers using built-in graphics chipsets under Windows, the game requires at least:
\n\nIntel Integrated Chipset, GMA 3-Series or above\n2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent\n0.5 GB additional RAM\n
Both of your options outperform these requirements, but it's hard to tell which level of detail can be achieved and it doesn't look like there is enough headroom for newer games like Sims 4. If I was a Sims fan and had to buy a new computer today to play Sims 3, I'd make sure that it would also run Sims 4 from 2014, which is still based on DirectX 9, has moderate requirements for 2014, but is much more demanding in terms of GPU power. DOA5:LR is still a different game, but let's say I have doubts when I read the following in the minimal requirements:
\n\n\nGeForce 6600 or better, ATI Radeon X1300 or better, Intel GMA X4500 or better
\n
If you still want to go APU only for Sims 3, then it's fine, for Sims 4 I would consider looking at AMD's APU offerings in similar price ranges. They are not very competitive compared to Intel's high performance offerings and their latest desktop CPUs are from 2014, but their iGPUs are said to have significantly more power (1, 2) and the CPU part still manages to run games too.
\nI think Piotr is wrong when he says:
\n\n\nThat way, in years to come, the i7-6700 processor can be much cheaper, not to mention other processors that will come for this chipset (Cannonlake and Kaby Lake).
\n
I would like to see more facts, preferably in the market where you are/the OP is. My experience here in Europe/Germany is that prices for Intel processors are very stable after the spike at launch and opportunities for a bargain offer are minimal if you want to avoid buying used hardware (from users where you don't know how they treat their hardware).
\nAlso buying any board with a Skylake compatible chipset appears more like a bad idea when you look at how many products a chipset family has today and how quickly Intel changed sockets in the last years or which features were missing and were only added to the next generation (no native USB 3.0 for example, and it looks like Skylake and Kaby Lake will have the same thing for 3.1). By now it should be very clear to everyone that Intel is releasing features successively and moving from a tick-tock to a tick-tick-tock model or something different. At any point you will not get the full feature set to be future-proof until the next better thing appears on a roadmap. This is pretty disappointing for long time upgrade strategies, but Intel can relax when it comes to selling single processors currently, they have to focus on marketing entire platforms (all devices where you don't usually upgrade the CPU) and to be fair platforms have increased in complexity so it's not only ill will that we can't go back to the good old Socket 478 or earlier days.
\n" }, { "Id": "1655", "CreationDate": "2015-12-28T02:06:01.147", "Body": "I found these 4 coolers for the same price, but I don't know which should I buy.
\n\nI favor performance and temperature. the size/looks doesn't really matter, if it fits in the chassis I'm happy (780T Full Tower PC Case).
\n\nI don't plan to overclock anything.
\n\nCPU cooler for Intel I7 6700k + Z170 deluxe + single GTX 980ti build.
\n\nWould be nice to have a silent build, but it's not that big deal. A cooler that doesn't need maintenance is a huge plus (I guess closed water cooler and vapor chamber don't need maintenance...)
\n\nIf there is a better cooler suited for me under 100$ I will be interested to know...
\n\nI know this question is somewhat subjective, but I can't find the answer online, I only see different opinions everywhere...
\n", "Title": "Which CPU cooler should I buy?", "Tags": "|cooling|", "Answer": "If all these 4 coolers are the same price, I would recommend the H100i. It is a very powerful closed loop CPU cooler (I have done some serious overclock with this cooler). Since you got a overclockable CPU, if you want to overclock in the future you can do that with this cooler no problem. The new Skylake CPUs have a thinner PCB, so heavy CPU coolers can actually bend the chip (not a good thing). Since all the other choices are really heavy tower coolers, the H100i can prevent the CPU from bending.
\n" }, { "Id": "1670", "CreationDate": "2015-12-30T07:51:01.050", "Body": "I bought GTX 960 GPUs but noticed that the are not supported by all my PCs, most notably business PCs. \nI would like to find some well supported GPUs because I am only interested in computation by GPU, not gaming. \nHowever, I am not sure if I lose some performance if I choose such GPUs. \nOptions are only Nvidia's GPUs with CUDA support because the computation is required in Matlab.
\n\nExamples of Business PCs
\n\nHow can you find GPU for computation with wide support?
\n", "Title": "How to find Nvidia GPU for CUDA computation with wide support?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "You cannot install any worthwhile computing GPU in a HP Compaq Pro 6300. Although the mainboard supports PCIe x16, the power supply is only 320 watts, far below what even lower-end computing cards require, and it uses custom connectors, making it impossible to upgrade.
\n" }, { "Id": "1672", "CreationDate": "2015-12-30T11:09:05.770", "Body": "I ordered a new case for my ITX build it's\nPhanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX (white).
I want to light it with cold white light but I have to choose a source of light. I have two favourites (both powered by PSU):
\n\nAnd now questions:
\n\nAfter using \"Peter Zhu's\" answer, I lit it with LED strips (3528, 12V, Color: Cold White) and below you can find a photo of it:
\n\n![\"Phanteks](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IaaxB.jpg\")
I really can't think of a reason to get cold cathodes, except maybe they produce more light than some LEDs. LEDs will always use less power as long as you are comparing it against a cold cathode with the same amount of light emitted. LEDs will also last longer than cold cathodes and are less fragile since they aren't in glass tubes. LEDs usually come in strips, so it is bendable which means that you can bend it around your case to get adequate lighting. Cold cathodes also require a inverter that converts your DC power to AC power, which is another source of inefficiency and point of failure. For looks, LEDs will look better because they are flexible but cold cathodes will give you a much more retro look.
\n" }, { "Id": "1688", "CreationDate": "2016-01-02T09:51:47.217", "Body": "I know that the JBL range of products can do this (\"JBL Connect\" demonstration on YouTube), but what other companies support using two wireless speakers as a stereo pair?
\n\nI would like portable speakers that contain batteries so not Sonos type speakers.
\n", "Title": "What bluetooth speakers can make a stereo pair wirelessly?", "Tags": "|audio|bluetooth|speakers|", "Answer": "I am using the Nokia Play 360\u00b0 wireless speaker. It allows stereo channels (on each speaker) and it connects via bluettoth. No longer in production though. I cant find any equivilent in the market so far.
\n" }, { "Id": "1705", "CreationDate": "2016-01-04T10:01:11.727", "Body": "I'm looking for two kind of fans which I will mount in Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX (white). I'm looking for quitest fans meeting following requirements:
\n\nFirst one (back out fan): \n
- 140mm\n
- black case\n
- white proppeler\n
- cold white led light\n
- example fan: Phanteks PH-F140SP LED
Second one (2 x top out fans):\n
- 140mm\n
- black case\n
- white proppeler\n
- example fan: Phanteks PH-F140XP
Actually I found other solution which was much cheaper:
\n\nI'm really happy with this solution when computer is idle it's really quiet and when I start to stress my PC fans are working on RPM dependent to temperatures.
\n\nIf anyone is intrested in this setup I can post some photos on the weekend.
\n" }, { "Id": "1713", "CreationDate": "2016-01-04T19:12:51.720", "Body": "What would be a good pinhole camera to record an iphone screen at a distance of 5-8 m and be able to read the information on the screen? We have tried some pinhole cameras already but without any success. The iphone screen can barely be seen at that distance let alone read its contents.
\n", "Title": "pinhole hidden camera to read phone screen", "Tags": "|video-camera|", "Answer": "You're going to need something custom-built. A back-of-the-envelope calculation says that to read an iPhone screen at 8 meters, you need a lens with a 50mm-equivalent focal length of 1000mm. Lenses that long are available for DSLRs and a few point-and-shoot cameras, but not for anything smaller. Expect to spend between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the quality of image you want.
\n\nAlternatively, if you've got contacts with one of the major intelligence agencies (CIA, MI6, FIS, etc.), you might see about borrowing some of their hardware.
\n" }, { "Id": "1721", "CreationDate": "2016-01-05T08:46:20.770", "Body": "I am considering Ethernet over power.
\n\nI presume that there are trade-offs between price and quality versus standard wireless.
\n\nI would be considering this for an average size UK living room, with one router and three PCs.
\n\nIt would be used 80 to 90% for internet access, so only needs to match or beat Wi-Fi speeds.
\n\nHowever, the rest of the time, two laptops would be using it to back up to a file server PC, so that more bandwidth would be welcome. Although, once the first backup of everything is done, backups would be mirror backup, monitoring the file system and updating individual files as they change. So that might not be such a major consideration.
\n\nWhat do you recommend for UK home use, and where should I buy it?
\n", "Title": "Ethernet over power (UK)", "Tags": "|networking|ethernet|network-adapter|", "Answer": "I have used Devolo dLAN 200AVs extensively in my UK home for about five years now, and they are great.
\n\n![\"Devolo](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/5ADNA.jpg\")
I have about six of them, all single Ethernet port (multiport versions, which three Ethernet ports, are available). I have not found this to be a problem, because I have switches/hubs in most rooms, anyway.
\n\nThey have UK plugs, not US plugs, but none of my dLAN 200 AV devices are pass though (i.e. you can plug a mains device into them), so I needed either use an extension cable with a 4 or 6 way plug board attached, or where I had dual sockets in the wall, I just sacrificed an outlet.
\n\nThe benefit of pass through devices, is that they contain noise suppression circuitry inside them, to help counter any noisy devices, or power on spikes that may be generated by adjacent devices that may also be plugged in to the plug boards. Devolo actually recommend that the dLANs are not plugged in to plug boards, and that they should only be plugged in at the wall, due to signal degradation. However, I personally, have not experienced many problems, mine all work fine.
\n\nI recently added two 500 dLAN AV Plus devices, which do have pass through.
\n\n![\"Devolo](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/jB3vO.jpg\")
I use these for a higher speed connection from my media server, in my garage, to my lounge, where the XBMC is, and I can stream videos just fine. They also are compatible with the existing 200AVs, so now every room is connected.
\n\nThey even come with a remote admin tool, the dLAN Cockpit, that works on OS X (as well as WinTel machines). Also available are Wi-Fi extenders, which act in the same way as the Ethernet variants, but pump out Wi-Fi instead.
\n\nAlso, the wiring in my house is about 50 years old, and no problems have arisen because of that. They can get quite warm, but even after having them plugged in for 4 years solidly, that has not been an issue.
\n\nI can not recommend these highly enough.
\n\nAlso, I purchased all of them, secondhand, on eBay for around \u00a310 each for the 200AVs and \u00a320 for the 500s. Just wait for someone selling a bulk lot because they are upgrading (i.e. from 200 to 500, so they are selling off the 200s cheaply).
\n" }, { "Id": "1740", "CreationDate": "2016-01-08T09:26:47.640", "Body": "My laptop's internal Wi-Fi antenna is horrible. At my school especially, it can only connect half the time, and when it does, rarely actually assigns me an IP address. I'm looking for a USB adapter that can help me actually get Wi-Fi at school (and anywhere else I might need it too). I'm wary of doing this, because I already have a USB Wi-Fi dongle (Netgear wg111v3), but it's pretty much as bad as my internal one.
\n\nI have done some research, and narrowed it down to these two being best for my budget:
\n\n\n\nSo my question is: Which one will give me better reception and reliability?
\n", "Title": "Which product will give a better Wi-Fi reception?", "Tags": "|usb|networking|wifi|network-adapter|", "Answer": "From a pure numbers standpoint, the Hiro's 5dBi antenna beats the Panda's 2dBi antenna, and both beat the Netgear's tiny on-board antenna, so it's likely the Hiro will give you the best reception of the three.
\n\nYou don't specify your budget, but it looks like about $20-ish. If you're willing to go up to $30, the Alfa AWUS036NH has a powerful transmitter paired with a 5dBi antenna. I've connected to access points with one from as much as half a mile away. Assuming you're correct that your connection problems are due to low signal levels (and not high noise levels), it's a good choice.
\n" }, { "Id": "1743", "CreationDate": "2016-01-08T12:56:29.583", "Body": "I'm in need for a new screen. I've started looking for some screens but then I came the question: 21:9 or 1440p? After some digging around if found 2 screens i really like.
\n\nOne from Lg that is 21:9 1080P and Freesync support(not that i can use it but more on that). The other screen I found was Dell ultrasharp 1440P screen. Which of the 2 is better for gaming and light programming. I will also be running a second 1080p screen of an 21\" size format.
\n\nThe LG 29UM67 is a 1080P 21:9 screen this means it gets a resolution of about 2560x1080. it has a 75Hz refresh rate in freesync mode which can be activated no matter what videocard you have on it. The format of the screen it 29\" so its not big nor small. Without freesync the screen may get screen tearing.
\n\nThe Dell Ultrasharp U2515H is a 1440P screen with an aspect ratio in about 16:9. It has a 60Hz refresh rate and a 6ms response time. the size of this screen is 25\". It has problems with back light bleed.
\n\nI'm running a Gtx 970 G1 gaming, so type doesn't matter.
\n", "Title": "Aspect ratio and resolution", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "Depends on your working/gaming style I suppose.
\n\nMaybe its cause I'm older but I tend to treasure vertical space over horizontal space, so ultrawide displays have never appealed to me. As a replacement for two monitors, or as part of a expansive stretched workspace 21:9 might work awesome. You can dock 2-4 windows and have plenty of space without the annoying bezel. Its a bit of a niche product and prices are adjusted upwards accordingly. That said, I'm not a fan of wide screens and this is a bit of a biased opinion
\n\nOn the other hand 1440p is pretty well regarded - Until recently Jeff Atwood swore by 1440p/27 inch displays that were pretty reasonably priced, and your dell is smaller - which means better pixel pitch. Text is likely going to be sharper, backlight bleed is not that bad on quality displays (and seems to be more of a thing on IPS displays, and for gaming, its a more common aspect ratio. I've driven games at 1440p- with a gforce 660, so it would also be easy to run for gaming
\n\nPixel pitch is a big deal. Basically the more pixels per square inch you have, the sharper a monitor is, and the easier it is to read text. I'm not too sure how much of an improvement it is between 1080p and 1440p, since I jumped straight to 2160p but it would likely be better to have higher resolutions
\n\nAs for aspect ratio 16:9 is the standard for TVs. Its standard for most games, and PC gamer seems to think you need additional software to get things running.
\n\nSo, between them? The Dell makes more sense. I'd probably also consider a few less traditional options before making my choice tho
\n" }, { "Id": "1745", "CreationDate": "2016-01-08T17:11:06.170", "Body": "I'm looking for a NAS device for the purpose of running backups of several other machines. My current setup for this is a consumer PC with extra drives plugged in, but this is non-optimal for several reasons.
\n\nI want NAS hardware because consumer PC hardware with enough disk slots usually comes in an enormous case and requires expensive motherboards and so forth. This system does not need high hardware performance, and ideally would cost less than $500. However, I intend to install a standard Linux distribution on it (probably Arch) and handle all software requirements myself. Thus, I need a system on which it is easy to boot from a CD or USB and install a new OS. (My prior research suggests that many NASs require fiddling with the hardware to achieve this; I'd prefer to avoid that.)
\n\nI would like at least four disk slots, and would prefer that it came diskless. I will connect it via Ethernet, and do not require any other network hardware. As mentioned above, it will be used only for periodic backups of other machines, which have live data; thus, the hardware performance other than network and disk bandwidth is mostly immaterial. And of course, because I will handle the software myself, I do not care about what software package it comes with, only that I can get rid of it.
\n\nAny recommendations?
\n\nEdit: The usual OS install process requires a video output, which is apparently rare on NAS hardware; however, it should also be possible to install over the network (particularly a distribution such as Arch whose install procedure is from the command line itself). Thus, while it would be more difficult, a device without video whose bootloader can be edited or replaced would also suffice, so long as an unrestricted network shell is available from the original OS.
\n", "Title": "Low-cost NAS with easy OS installation", "Tags": "|linux|nas|", "Answer": "In 2024, I would recommend Synology NAS. I have had a 4 drive one at my home office and a 2 drive one at a friends place to backup the NAs onto another NAS.
\nThese are the two I have. I am about to install an SSD on it, to speed up the access.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/3m2Cp.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/7Mj5T.jpg\")
I will understand if this is off-topic, I couldn't really understand the rules, but I saw some similar questions. I'll delete this if you consider it to be off-topic.
\n\nThis is my current PC:
\n\nMy idea is to upgrade my computer so that it allows for further modification but in such a way that I don't get bottlenecks. The GPU is pretty new so I won't be changing it for now. I use my computer mostly for gaming and work (Visual Studio + Hyper-V with a Windows Server 2012 instance), and because of this an upgrade to 16GB RAM is needed (8GB runs short sometimes).
\n\nThese are the upgrade paths I've been able to identify which could provide me a nice performance gain for at least some time.
\n\nUpgrade1 (current CPU is given as part of the price)
\nThis path has two downsides: RAM keeps being DDR3, so upgrade to DDR4 will be required in some time; and the FX8350 is basically the top of what AM3+ will get.
Upgrade2 (current CPU and motherboard are given as part of the price)
\nThis path has the same RAM downside as Upgrade1.
Upgrade3 (current CPU, RAM and motherboard are given as part of the price)
\nThis path allows for DDR4 RAM, many CPU upgrades if/when required and the motherboard has 2 PCI-E 3.0 slots for many different GPU setups, when an upgrade is required.
What I'm wondering is if the Upgrade3 path is really worth the USD700 (without taking into account that the final price will be around USD450 upon giving my components). Also, I'm not from the USA, that's why prices will probably seem much higher than they should be (and importing is not an option).
\n", "Title": "Deciding on PC upgrade path", "Tags": "|processor|memory|", "Answer": "For your computer, besides the extra RAM you need, I recommend an upgrade to your CPU cooler (something like the CoolerMaster V6 would be very nice) so you can overclock your current CPU. While the FX 4350 is only a two module CPU, it should handle most tasks well, and applications requiring more than 4 threads are rare. Only when you feel that your CPU is performing inadequately even with an overclock should you upgrade. If more cores will help, a AMD FX 8320 will perform just as well as an 8350 when lightly overclocked. If you need single threaded performance, you will need to go with Intel.
\n\nFor Intel, since you can't find a K series CPU, there isn't much point getting a Z series chipset. A H97 or B85 would do just as well. Skylake doesn't really offer much in terms of increased performance. Unless you need the features of the newer platform, my advice would be to stick with Haswell.
\n" }, { "Id": "1767", "CreationDate": "2016-01-11T19:27:29.537", "Body": "I'm looking for a desktop which runs recent games at medium to high settings and costs about 600$. The specs should be like something along the lines of the following:
\n\nCPU: 3GHz Quad Core
\nGPU: 1GHz
\nVRAM: 2GB
\nRAM: 8GB
\nDISK: 500GB+
Furthermore, since I don't want to spend too much money on power, I would like it to be quite efficient, preferably with a wattage lower than 250/300W if this is possible, given my other requirements. I found this excellent 600$ build online but the wattage was far too high (400W-ish). Any suggestions?
\n", "Title": "Efficient (<250W) capable gaming desktop", "Tags": "|gaming|desktop|", "Answer": "It has been a while since I asked this question and requested whether I could answer it myself but here's a link to what I've come up with which matches the specs, budget and power consumption I was looking for. It's a pcpartpicker part list (please notify me if you can't access it for some reason). While I crossed the original budget marginally ($80), I believe this would be a good choice for anyone looking for a 256W machine capable of running the latest games. It's a Skylake build featuring a GTX 950, 1 TB of HDD memory and 16 GB of DDR4 RAM. I will be using this for (graphics) programming, gaming and probably quite a bit more of the latter.
\n\nAny feedback would be appreciated since I'm planning on building it and I'm not really confident about my motherboard and case.
\n" }, { "Id": "1779", "CreationDate": "2016-01-14T04:23:32.373", "Body": "I've never had a smartphone before, but since I started Android development I thought it would be beneficial to have a physical device -- the emulator has some limitations.
\n\nI do plan to make this phone my daily driver, but I am not really a heavy phone user.
\n\nWhat I am looking for:
\n\nI don't have a ton of knowledge about phone models and I would really appreciate some recommendations.
\n", "Title": "First time smartphone buyer: Looking for a good phone for occasional use and testing Android Apps", "Tags": "|wifi|android|smartphones|development|", "Answer": "For development it is a good idea to get a high-end phone. The nexus 5x is a high-end phone for a great price. It has a front facing speaker, 5.2 inch display with a 1920x1080 resolution. The CPU is a Snapdragon 808 and has 2GB of RAM. The phone is running android 6.0 and will continue to get updates for the next 2 years. A good reason to get a nexus for development is because of a \"skinless (stock android UI)\" android meaning less power is used to just have the phone turned on. Originally the nexus line was created for developers. The phone is also in your price range at 349 USD on Amazon.
\n" }, { "Id": "1781", "CreationDate": "2016-01-14T12:21:22.077", "Body": "I've heard many good things about bias lighting, and am looking at options for it. I'm handy with a soldering iron so some assembly required is cool but I suspect other people may prefer something with minimal assembly requirements.
\n\nWell, its bias lighting.
\n\nTurns on and off when my PC does or has a switch
\n\nThe ability to vary overall brightness, though it dosen't have to be dimmable.
\n\nI require reasonably even backlighting.
\n\nWould be super cool if it worked well with larger monitors.
\n\nRemovable options would be shiny - I may regret what I chose, or need to dial in its position. Not essential though.
\n\nSince I work with dual monitors, options that scale to that would be super cool.
\n", "Title": "What are my options for bias lighting for a PC monitor?", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "One of my earlier experiments used a set of LEDBURG lights from ikea. Its somewhat easier to mount, since it comes in rigid, interconnectable strips, but I didn't like the warm white for this application. It was instrumental in setting up what I use now though.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/oABqw.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PaUqB.jpg\")
I'm trying to assemble my private home server. I'm searching about a new motherboard and CPU, but I'm stuck because I don't know what, specifically, to check and which components are important. For motherboard, I know I have to check socket type. For CPU, it's important to check about cores and frequency, but also size of first and second level cache storage. I know also it's wrong to do an arithmetic sum of cores and freq, because it is not the real value. Can someone explain the most important feature of motherboard and CPU?
\n\nI prefer a better motherboard without graphic included, which is always expensive.
\n", "Title": "Motherboard and CPU: what and how to choose", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "Hmm so what you are looking for is something I had in mind as well. keep in mind mine was supposed to serve as a NAS and a Plex server so might be not exactly what you want. So here is my list:
\n\nMB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157390\nCPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117374\nCase(any mini ITX rated case will do): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117374
\n\nPS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256097\nMemory (8GB is more than enough): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148545&cm_re=DDR3--20-148-545--Product
\n\nany drive you think is good for you.
\n\nSo u don't actually need a lot of processing power. The trick is to understand what you will be using most. Mysql usually only runs on 1 thread, same as SSH. I seriously doubt u will stress the Pentium CPU. if you need more power then you should consider some other alternative. (But seriously, unless you are going to serve content to 20 users at the same time, you should be fine)
\n\nThats just my 2 cents.
\n\nThe mother board does not have IPMI!
\n\nif you want to be able to control the board without a monitor or keyboard you will need IPMI (when SSH is offline. Ex: when you are in BIOS or something like that).
\n\nSo this MB looks ok: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157466
\n" }, { "Id": "1813", "CreationDate": "2016-01-18T09:01:20.480", "Body": "I bought a Razer Tiamat 7.1 headset. I was a bit silly though and thought the USB that connect the headset to the computer was not just to power the headset. I'm using a laptop and it obviously doesn't have a 7.1 sound card. It does come with female 3.5mm jacks to micro USB, but those are meant for connecting other speakers through the control unit of the headphones. Maybe there is a way to hack it so it uses it to connect the headphones to the laptop's USB instead, but I doubt so...
\n\nSo are their any decent solutions for going from 7.1 3.5mm jacks to USB or HDMI? Also I don't want to spend more than $50 on a solution for this. Otherwise I guess I'll be destined to use it in 2.1 mode until I upgrade to a desktop.
\n", "Title": "USB 7.1 sound card, or converter", "Tags": "|usb|hdmi|sound-cards|", "Answer": "I'd say it's not worth spending more money to get more performance out of this or any other 7.1 headset. Just use it in stereo mode if you have no 7.1 source.
\n\nOperating systems and applications like games or media players are responsible for handling sound: selecting the appropriate output path and channel profiles, applying dynamic range compression where necessary and so forth. This is particularly true for games where the soundscape is rendered by the game engine and it doesn't get more accurate with 2 speakers or headphones than the game engine knowing that it should render a stereo signal. A multichannel downmix by an unknown element in the chain doesn't improve the result it's just a dishonest, technophobe marketing myth and number game that is still around.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/UJHGd.png\")
Stereo (1), generated Downmix (2) and 5.1 Mix (3-8) of Paschendale from Iron Maiden (Sources: 24-Bit FLAC, DVD-A)
\n\nIf you need a visual example, download Audacity or any other audio editor, load a multitrack audio track from a movie or audio recording and mix it down to stereo. Many people pretend to care much about clean audio. Does the downmix with information from all channels look cleaner or more detailed to you? No, it doesn't! Good games are able to mix all the information into a high quality stereo signal. With the rise of VR binaural audio will get more important and virtual 7.1 mixes will hamper your immersion. Please let game engines do their work without interference, the game designers who put them together should know better how to treat audio that they or their customers create.
\n\nI could suggest to you to get a cheap 7.1 USB soundcard from China, but that's worse than your built-in sound solution. A multichannel audio production interface can actually deliver good quality but is at least three times out of your budget, not very portable and the Windows drivers don't support running the channels as a 7.1 configuration for gaming while the hardware is capable of doing so. I'd rather recommend an O2+ODAC or a similar product and reference headphones if you're already willing to spend +150 USD.
\n\nHere is a review from a Razer fan who isn't very impressed with this headset either. I found this video while looking for a picture of the connectors.
\n" }, { "Id": "1818", "CreationDate": "2016-01-18T19:49:03.760", "Body": "I bought this bad boy today, but it runs kinda hot. If it gets hotter, is slows down its frequency.
\n\nhttp://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=C2750D4I#Specifications
\n\nCan you guys recommend me a fan that can keep it cool.
\n\nSo far I found the Noctua A8 ( With 6 years of warranty ) that also fits perfectly on the fan slot I have in the case, blowing right on top.
\n\nhttp://noctua.at/en/nf-a8-pwm.html
\n\nDo you guys have a better option in mind. Price does not matter, as long as it's a good fan.
\n", "Title": "What is the best cooling solution for ASRock C2750D4I Rack home NAS storage", "Tags": "|processor|data-storage|cooling|", "Answer": "This fan will do the job perfectly, as I installed it 2 weeks ago.
\n\nhttp://noctua.at/en/nf-a9-pwm.html
\n\nThe CPU will not go over 48 Degrees C, no matter the load.
\n" }, { "Id": "1826", "CreationDate": "2016-01-19T11:19:04.153", "Body": "Looking to upgrade my Computer which is used for Gaming, Image editing, Audio capture, Video editing & Recording.
\n\nCurrent hardware:
\n\n\n\n\nProcessor: Intel Core i7-4771 Quad Core Socket LGA 1150 Processor
\n \nMotherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI, Intel H87 MiniITX, Socket 1150
\n \nRam: 8GB DDR3 1600mhz
\n \nHard Drive: Seagate 2 TB Desktop 3.5 Internal SSHD
\n \nGraphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 GPU, MSI ARMOR 2X Overclocked Edition
\n \nCase: Zalman Z7
\n \nPower Supply: 550W Modular Powercool Black PSU 80 Plus 12cm Fan SATA Power
\n \nMicrophone: Blue Microphones Nessie USB Microphone
\n \nCapture Card: Hauppauge HD PVR 2 gaming edition
\n
I am thinking of upgrading the Motherboard, Memory or adding a small SSD as a boot drive.
\n\nWould a different motherboard better the performance of the CPU or GPU?
\n\nWould faster, larger memory make a difference?
\n\nIs there anything else I should consider?
\n\nBudget: I upgrade part-by-part over time so budget isn't so much an issue but for each purchase I'd be looking at \u00a3100-\u00a3150.
\n\nThank you for your time.
\n", "Title": "Recommended hardware upgrade for Editing/Gaming PC", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|motherboard|memory|", "Answer": "I don't think you need a better motherboard. It doesn't affect performance when not overclocked. Even if the best PCIe slot is only 8x it's good enough for the GTX 970.
\n\nAs of RAM I would personally add another 8 GB. I would go with the same DIMMs, but if you need new ones I recommend the Crucial Ballistics series. The DIMMs are cheap and have good performance and I never had mine fail before. With the extra RAM it can help get a smoother timeline for 1080P editing and photoshopping. As for gaming power 8GB should be enough.
\n\nDefinitely go for an SSD as it's a cheap way to almost always get a performance gain. I would personally go with an Samsung or Intel SSD. As for Samsung I can recommend the 850 EVO and Pro, and as for Intel, a 730 series SSD should be good. I would get 2 SSDs in my opinion though, or one large one as I would store my unedited video and primary games on it.
\n\nBy the way, just a handy tip. If you are serious about the video and photo editing it's handy to get a 10 bit screen with high color accuracy.
\n" }, { "Id": "1838", "CreationDate": "2016-01-20T17:45:39.813", "Body": "I'm a serious gamer and I'm looking at high end graphics cards.
\n\nI know that the new R9 Fury (and Fury X) feature HBM which is supposedly good for 4K gaming. I currently use 4 1080p monitors connected to my desktop.
\n\nIs there an advantage to picking the Fury cards over, say, a GTX 980? Especially given that I do not game at 4K, but I do use several monitors.
\n\nFurthermore, I currently have a Gigabyte GTX 970, will I see any significant performance boost?
\n", "Title": "Breakdown of new AMD Fury Cards vs Top NVidia Cards", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|desktop|pc|", "Answer": "If you upgrade to the R9 Nano, Fury X, or 980, you will see a definite increase in performance over your GTX 970. However, because you do not play games at 4k and the difference sits between 12-25%, I would wait on either the new NVidia or AMD cards to come out later this ear, and buy those.
\n\nAfter the recent price drop, the r9 nano sits at the same price as the GTX 980 ($500 U.S.) and is more powerful, so if you really do want to upgrade, buy the Nano at that price point.
\n\nUpgrading further, and you'll see that the 980ti is a better deal than the Fury X at it's price point of $650 U.S, and performs about 10-15% better in most games as well.
\n\nYour upgrade also should depend on the kind of work or games you play. If, for example, you do video editing on your computer, I think the upgrade might be a good idea. But if you're just upset with having to tune your settings to high instead of ultra to play at 60fps... I would wait.
\n\nKeep in mind that in some games, especially games that use NVidia Gameworks like the Witcher 3, the 970 and 980 will perform better than the r9 nano, but in others, such at Grand Theft Auto 5, the opposite is true.
\n\nAll in all, I would just choose to wait until the new cards come out before upgrading, unless your job requires something more powerful or you have tons of cash lying around.
\n\nJust a side note, two 970's in SLI perform very similar to a 980ti, and you will probably save money going this route as well, but doing this will reduce your computer's upgrade ability, and some games and programs do not support SLI, leaving you with the power of only a single 970.
\n" }, { "Id": "1839", "CreationDate": "2016-01-20T18:32:44.330", "Body": "I'm comparing those two models of ASRock B85M, trying to find which one is the best.
\n\nLet's take a tour:\nhttp://www.asrock.com/mb/compare.it.asp?SelectedModel=B85M+Pro4&SelectedModel=B85M-ITX
\n\nI'm stucked because I found that Pro4 has more RAM slot (4), with max 32GB; ITX only 2 max 16GB. Pro4 has also more PCI slot. The real different is that ITX got also 1xeSata port. I thought that Pro4 was really better than ITX, but still find ITX $30 more.
\n\nWhat am I missing?
\n\nI need to make a simple home server, using Intel Pentium G3258 and Saphire HD5750. Another question: is better g3460 with lower GPU feature than g3258? I'll use the saphire for graphic.
\n\nThanks
\n", "Title": "B85M Pro4 vs B85M-ITX", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "The reason for $30 extra for ITX is because it is smaller physically. You are paying for higher precision engineering (same stuff needs to fit into a smaller square) also explains less PCI and RAM ports. The ITX board will also in theory use a bit less power.
\n\nThe ITX board also has a TPM header the other one doesnt.
\n\nMore info here: \nhttps://superuser.com/questions/810276/why-very-few-modern-motherboards-are-equipped-with-tpm
\n\nYes the G3460 is going to be better for you if you use the Saphire card.
\n" }, { "Id": "1846", "CreationDate": "2016-01-21T21:29:59.587", "Body": "I am an experienced programmer with very little hardware experience, and completely overwhelmed with the unlimited number of choices available. Since technology changes so rapidly, it's very difficult to Google up a guide that is both timely and relevant for what I'd like to do.
\n\nThe best blog I've seen so far is this one, but it's already a few years old now.
\n\nI currently have several KVM/VirtualBox VMs on my Debian laptop. It is extremely slow, and I can't run more than 1 VM at a time (or 2 with the second having a very small memory/processor footprint).
\n\nI'd like to replace my laptop with a tower-based server for running these VM images, so I can remote in from any device on my LAN. My line of thinking is that I can get a lot more power into a larger enclosure for less money than an equivalent laptop would cost, with the possibility of upgrading down the line.
\n\nHere's the basic idea of what I'd like:
\n\nSo it should be kind of like a \"home lab\", but mainly used for professional development work.
\n\nI found some pre-built Lenovo servers on Amazon, and almost bought one, but I am second guessing myself in terms of what exactly to get.
\n\nWhere to start? Build or buy? How to get started picking the right components (e.g. motherboard, drive, processor)? I know my way around the inside of a computer... I can replace parts, etc., so building a server is not out of the question-- but unfortunately I don't know how to pick \"the best\" parts. My last few laptop picks have been flops.
\n\nEDIT:
\n\nHere's an example of a sample workload that I might want to have. As a personal interest, I might want to compile AOSP (android) in a Linux image. That eats up a lot of RAM and a lot of CPU. While that's happening, I'm working on professional windows development in a 2nd VM w/Visual Studio. It's not graphic intensive, but I'd be compiling regularly, which, employs parallelism. There would also a web server running in a third VM that would be serving REST requests for testing purposes, related to the development work.
\n\nEDIT 2:
\n\nI'm overwhemed with the massive amount of choice when it comes to hardware. I'd like some advice from experts on (a) whether it's better to build or buy pre-built, and (b) how to get started picking something that is a good quality build, and upgradeable in terms of RAM (and possibly CPU). What are good sources for getting this type of information? There is so much information out there, it's hard to tell what's reliable and what's misleading. I don't care if it's a pre-built server, or if it's DIY, so long as it is good quality.
\n", "Title": "Picking VM server hardware for development", "Tags": "|development|virtual-machines|web-development|", "Answer": "I'd rather build than buy. It really depends on your needs though.
\n\nIf you're worried about noise, a home system actually makes a decent VM box.
\n\nThere's a few things I go for.
\n\nMore cores. Get at least a quad core. For serious work a 'mainstream' core. I like a minimum of a quad core box - a core i7 is a decent workhorse machine, but both my recommendations are xeons. I typically run single core VMs
At least 16 gigs of ram - the 'right' amount is enough ram for the host + enough ram for each VM. 8gb is a bit of a minimum I guess
Enough storage. I favour SSDs for booting and speed reliant things - the samsung 850 pro 256gb is my preferred mainline SSD but the evo would work if you have the budget and want a 1tb SSD.
For reliable storage, I prefer HGST - they have a nas line of deskstars I'd suggest taking a look at, though I have a pile of older, very trusty desktar models
\n\nIf you're going to use this as a development box and want to run linux, fedora is a good bet. Excellent support for KVM and virt manager.
\n\nIf you're buying as opposed to building, a dell precison might be a good option. Old workplace had them and they were tanky, reliable beasts, and they fall within your price range.
\n\nThe 5000 series might be a good starting point - possibly the base model. I'd take a look at parts prices before adding any options since it may make sense to buy parts elsewhere to upgrade the ram and HDD. These things can go up to 8 cores if I remember correctly and are basically server grade parts set up as a desktop. I'm more familiar with the 7000 series, but those are for when you need two processors and is somewhat out of budget. Nonetheless, very solid machines, you're covered by the warranty, and if you're willing to spend a little extra, trivial to order what you need and know that it works
\n\nUpgrades from the base model? Up the ram to 16gb, drop the OS (most of the good VM hosts are free anyway). Get a 3TB HGST deskstar drive. I'd be tempted to slot in an SSD for the OS (I would suggest a 256gb Samsung 850 pro) , but these things take a while to boot due to the raid controller.
\n\nIf you're building
\n\nMight take a bit of tweaking to get it in your budget but a X10SDV-8C+-LN2F might be a good start Its ~1000usd but that gets you 8 cores. Load it up with 32gb (4x8, or 2x16) of ram at least of the cheapest standard DDR4 ram you can find. In theory, you can go up to 128 gb with Rdimms. Don't bother with ECC in this case, not really worth it.
\n\nIts mini itx (so you can use a smaller case).
\n\nIts somewhat limited in terms of video (VGA...) but also has IPMI (for out of band management, which is cool) and is designed for being a VM host, but at reasonable power consumption. Most of the xeon-d models are interesting, but this is the 'cheapest' one I could find with a fan.
\n\nUSB ports are somewhat limited as well, and you have one pciex16, but that's more than you would on a laptop.
\n" }, { "Id": "1856", "CreationDate": "2016-01-22T22:26:01.503", "Body": "When I built my PC a year ago, I bought a really cheap case. It did not have USB 3.0 or audio on the front panel, and I regret it now. I already have new case fans for the thing, and it runs quietly, but I really do want a new case.
\n\nThe case I want:
\n\nI do not need decent fans, as I have 4 red and very quiet corsair fans
Optional If possible, I would love support for USB type C, although my motherboard only has 3.0 headers, so an adapter would be needed
Consider using the Enermax Ostrog. Although it does not meet the USB Type-C requirement (Which I honestly doubt that any case under $60 would have at this point), it does fufil your other requirements. I have personally used this case in the past, and I can say that it does indeed work well. On a side note, the side panel is essentially one huge window; which means weekly cleaning (At least I did). Great case that can be had at Frys for $44
\n" }, { "Id": "1864", "CreationDate": "2016-01-23T20:48:43.963", "Body": "The HP EliteBook 820 G3 manual states that either a hard drive or a SSD might be installed (page 36). And not both at the same time. Thus, as-is, one can't install two SSD modules in that machine.
\n\nThe reason: apparently, the SSD connector is right there where the (SSD) SATA disk drive would be placed.
\n\nI guess, if one really wants to install a 2nd SSD (in addition to the SSD that occupies the mSATA slot, cf. page 39) one could try following options:
\n\nFor both options, I need hardware recommendations.
\n\nAnd perhaps some details, e.g. how the WWAN slot is actually called (mini PCIe?), what modules are compatible (mSata?) and how slim a module would have to be.
\n\nPreferably, the SSD module should come from Intel or be of comparable quality.
\n\nHere is a combination of the drawings from page 36 and 39 of the manual showing the same drive bay for better visualization of the problem:
\n\n![\"image](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/folZk.png\")
Edit: After understanding that the mSATA port will block the HDD drive bay I would suggest a Dual mSATA HDD adapter. Feedback is appreciated from anyone who is actively using such a setup as a boot drive on any OS.
\n\nEdit 2016-04-17: I hoped that Skylake equipped business laptops (HP, Lenovo, Dell\u2026) would offer plenty of M.2 slots for SATA or NVMe storage, but the mobile chipsets don't offer as many PCIe lanes as the main or performance class desktop versions, which made some manufacturers come up with unexpected designs and decisions against a 2nd storage port or slot. Another example: Lenovo removed the small M.2 slot from the previous generation (T550) in favor of a combined 2.5 inch port where you can either install a SATA drive or a U.2 NVMe drive.
\n\nThis is explained just a few pages below (p. 39) in the manual, it's an mSATA port. mSATA to SATA adapters exist, but are not suited for use in laptops. mSATA is replaced by NVMe in newer product generations, which achieves higher speeds by avoiding the SATA layer.
\n\nHere is list of recent mSATA SSDs for Europe/UK with capacities starting from 120 GB. I currently have a Samsung 840 EVO 120 GB which works fine so far, but there may be options that suit your needs better. Once you nailed down the features you want, look if the products are available in your country and for which price.
\n\nGuessing by your name you probably want to use the German version of the site for Austria and Germany.
\n\nEdit: the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF9gqAtM2U4 shows the installation of a second SSD in this model showing that it is possible.
\n" }, { "Id": "1871", "CreationDate": "2016-01-25T14:55:52.213", "Body": "\n\n\nCPU info
\n \n\n\nName: Intel Pentium G2030
\n
\n Code Name: Ivy Bridge
\n Generation: 3rd
\n Core frequency: ~3GHz
\n Cores, Threads: 2, 2
\n Max TDP: 55W
\n Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
I know very well it's a low-end CPU. I can't play high graphics games. Actually I can, but I need to minimize the graphics settings. These are the settings I usually set:
\n\n\n\n\nResolution: 960x720(4:3) or 1024x576(16:9), [Native Resolution: 1920x1080]
\n
\n FPS: 30
\n Refresh Rate: 60
\n Fullscreen: ON
\n VSync: OFF
\n Texture Quality: MEDIUM
\n HDR Filter: OFF
\n Shadow Quality: LOW (if \"OFF\" isn't in the option)
\n Motion Blur: OFF
\n Glare Level: OFF
\n Depth of Field: OFF
\n FXAA: ON
As you can see, I will turn it off or select \"low\" if there are more options. My motherboard is made for Intel 3rd generation core i7/i5/i3/pentium/celeron processors. I would like to have suggestions about which processors I should buy without over the budget. I'm a completely idiot to hardwares btw.
\n\nBudget: $200 (max. $250)
\n\nI want to stick with my current motherboard, and I want the best processor for gaming that I can effort.
\n", "Title": "Graphics Processor for gaming under $250", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "You want a GPU, not a CPU for gaming. Is there a reason you need to buy a new CPU? If not, spend that $200-$250 on a GPU instead.
\n\nYou want something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150761
\n\nInstead of dealing with piss-poor low graphics, you'll be able to turn up most settings to maximum for many games.
\n\nIntel Integrated Graphics are suitable for desktop environments (very low graphics processing requirements) or video rendering (for software like OpenBroadcaster.)
\n" }, { "Id": "1875", "CreationDate": "2016-01-26T07:34:25.460", "Body": "I'm building a slim PC around a mini ITX motherboard, which should pack enough CUDA power with a low price. I came into the conclusion that GTX 750 Ti is a good choice (OK performance, low price, low heat generation).
\n\nThe slimness I plan to achieve using a 90 degree PCI-e riser card (similar to http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCI-Express-16x-Riser-Card-90-degree-Right-angle-4cm-Adapter-Card-2U-/170914230015)
\n\nHowever, the problem is that I don't know if the GPU will fit a specific motherboard with a specific CPU cooler and if the RAM modules will interfere. Is the 750 Ti a reasonable choice and is there a difference between different manufacturers? Or should I look into some slimmer options? I am building a custom case, so PSU and SSD can be placed anywhere, even outside the motherboard's area.
\n", "Title": "Slimmest possible mini-ITX setup with a decent GPU", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|mini-pc|", "Answer": "The answer to my own question is Silverstone RVZ01 with only 10.5 cm height.\nhttp://www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/index.php?model=RVZ01
\n\nThey include a custom 90 degree riser inside the case, which should fit most GPUs.
\n" }, { "Id": "1896", "CreationDate": "2016-01-27T14:31:20.070", "Body": "I have a Samsung Galaxy Y, which is an older smartphone with Android 2,3 gingerbread. Due to some battery issues, I need to buy a new phone.
\n\nAt this moment I have two options:
\n\nBuy a NEW Xiami RedMi 2 Pro phone which has a warranty and all other benefits (case, earphones, promotional price, property card). Price: 149 USD.
\n\nBuy a USED Galaxy S4 which has a better price and better specs than the Xiaomi. Price: 115 USD.
\n\nEven though the specs on the S4 are better than Xiaomi, I still have some doubts. The S4 was released in 2013 and has been used since September 2015.
\n\nThis question isn't intended to create a debate, is more to help me to make a decision. Any help would be appreciated.
\n", "Title": "Comparison between Xiaomi RedMi 2 and Samsung Galaxy S4 I9500", "Tags": "|smartphones|mobile-phone|", "Answer": "In my opinion Xiami RedMi 2 Pro is much better choice than SGS4. Below I present pros for both phones:
\n\nXiami RedMi 2 Pro
\n\nSGS4
\n\nCPU and GPU are similar in this models maybe a little better in SGS4. The biggest advantage of Samsung phone is AMOLED Full HD screen but my choice would be Xiami RedMi 2 Pro because it has regularly updated OS (MIUI), LTE, DualSIM and it is brand new phone.
\n" }, { "Id": "1909", "CreationDate": "2016-01-29T07:24:11.933", "Body": "I'm looking for external sound card up to $100 because I'm using build on MSI Z87i Gaming AC (or can I use internal sound card on this motherboard ?)
\n\nI will be using it to gaming and music with 2.0 speakers for about $100 but I don't know which I will buy, yet (separate question).
\n\nI was thinking about:
\n\nWhich product should I choose or maybe you have other more intresting propositions ?
\n", "Title": "External SoundCard under $100 (2.0 speakers)", "Tags": "|audio|sound-cards|", "Answer": "When given the choice between onboard, Xonar U5\u00b9 and Prodigy Cube\u00b2 under $100 one would probably go for the highest quality product available. A few years ago I would have chosen the Prodigy Cube, because it has designer components and an impressive professional looking product page. I bit later I would have gone with professional recording interfaces, but unless you can actually evaluate the objective audio performance of a device, a discussion will be more subjective based on taste and preference.
\n\nAsus support staff was unable to answer a question about demanding low impedance headphones regarding their high-end soundcards. I have little to no confidence recommending their products if \"supports 600\u2126\" is what they can say about it.
I was interested in buying a Dr.DAC from Audiotrak until I read that the Alps potentiometer usually crackles and that this can be avoided in high quality designs.
I'm looking for new 2.0 speakers (actually I'm using Creative T40 Series I).
\n\nWhy change ? - My actual speakers are 7-8 years old and I think that they are not playing so good like at the begining, so I want to change them for new one.
\n\nCriteria:
\n\nWhat am I looking for ? -\nI'm looking for speakers with the best sound quality in this price range.
\n\nMy ideas and other recommendations:
\n\nAround $100:
\n\nUp to $150:
\n\nLooking for advice if I can find anything better in this price range.
\n", "Title": "Stereo speakers ~$100 (max $150)", "Tags": "|audio|speakers|", "Answer": "I'd go for Audioengine's A2+. They are extremely versatile desktop speakers with a 2.0 powered system that produces excellent quality audio, even without a subwoofer. You\u2019ll pay between $200 and $300 for the A2+, which is definitely a bargain for top-end speakers. Full review - http://soundgenetics.com/best-computer-speakers/
\n\nFull disclosure: I am the author of the linked blog post.
\n" }, { "Id": "1925", "CreationDate": "2016-02-02T05:26:08.630", "Body": "I am looking for an interior temperature and humidity logger that meets the following requirements:
\n\nSome sacrifice in accuracy may be OK if necessary to keep the cost down. Barometric pressure would be a nice-to-have but not required.
\n\nThe following things do not matter:
\n\nI am also open to suggestions for reliable components for a DIY solution.
\n\nI found this device, which has almost all of the features I am looking for aside from humidity accuracy (+/- 2.5%), except it is currently $159.50 USD ($140.80 minimum cost from random small vendors on Google) and has terrible Amazon reviews (that appears to be the TH+ higher temperature accuracy model but I have a hunch the hardware quality is similar).
\n\nI am finding that the network access requirement is severely limiting options.
\n", "Title": "Low cost temperature and humidity logger", "Tags": "|wireless|ethernet|scientific-instruments|", "Answer": "You're going to want a raspberry pi or arduino to do this. I found this website \nhttps://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/projects/raspberrypi/tutorials/temperature/
\n\nthey take a 35$ raspberry pi, wire in a 5$ sensor and they were able to record temp readings.
\n\nRaspberry pi can connect to your network using wifi or ethernet. There are simple scripts that would tell your pi to text you every hour the current temp.
\n\nI hope this suggestion fits the bill, or at least leads in the right direction.
\n" }, { "Id": "1940", "CreationDate": "2016-02-05T14:21:14.957", "Body": "I am sitting here with the following specs:
\n\nWhen I first ordered my computer, I didn't think too much of upgrading but now I do. I wanted to install additional RAM, however, I noticed that the CPU cooler is too big and is effectively blocking my RAM slots.
\n\n(More specifically, the cooler blocks the first slot. Slot number two, three and four are free so I can place three RAM sticks at a maximum. Nevertheless I want to take advantage of the Dual Channel ability of my motherboard so I want to get 4x4 running and not 2x4 and 1x8.)
\n\nIt would be nice if the new cooler is small enough to free up my RAM slot and also is suitable to overclock my AMD to 4.0 GHz.
\n\nMoney doesn't pose a problem here.
\n\nIf you need pictures or additional information, I am more than happy to share some.
\n", "Title": "I need a different CPU cooler", "Tags": "|processor|memory|cooling|", "Answer": "I suggest the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. For one the cooler you have is huge for a cooler and actually has a bunch of people worrying about the same problem you have. Because the EVO is not meant to do anything more than keep your CPU cool it is much smaller and pack almost the same punch as the Macho. In addition, the Macho is double the weight of the EVO. As far as I could tell you only need a CPU cooler and nothing more, and that's what the EVO will do for you.
\n" }, { "Id": "1943", "CreationDate": "2016-02-05T18:14:10.983", "Body": "Is there a tactile tabletop flat square ridge-forming display that would, upon receiving input from a computer, display the shape of a character or ideogram from an alphabet thus allowing a blind person to quickly understand the shape of such a character or ideogram? (Think about the 8,000 or so Chinese ideograms whose shape one could want to quickly learn.)
\n", "Title": "Tactile \"ridge-forming\" tabletop displays?", "Tags": "|displays|touchscreen|", "Answer": "a) If you feel like spending then something like MIT's inFORM would be suitable for you (basically what you've asked for).
\n\nb) Look at braille \"monitors\", but that's far from what you've asked.
\n\nc) You could build one yourself if you have time but no money.
\n\nAbout choice c:
\n\nYou can use standard (not LED) light bulbs (there are really small ones available too, like 3mm diameter ones), set them up in a 10x10 array. Light up the ones that need to form the display using a display controller, meaning a blind person can sense the heat generated by the bulbs. To control the bulbs you can use a microcontroller like Arduino Mega and send the characters to it with a PC program via USB. It would in overall cost you about ~50$ (plus 20$ for a uber cheap soldering iron) but hours of time, soldering together the array, programming the arduino and creating the desktop program will take respectively about 10h, 20h and 30h (about 60 work hours in total) if you have never done something like that ever and need to learn it all.
\n" }, { "Id": "1944", "CreationDate": "2016-02-06T01:10:01.453", "Body": "I have an external battery pack, for my phone. But I just bought a Raspberry Pi, and would like to create a UPS - fairly cheaply.
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/tnStp.jpg\")
I tried charging my phone and charging the pack with this one but it stops charging the device when it's receiving power.
\n\nAre there any that can do this?
\n", "Title": "Are there any USB battery packs that can provide power while charging?", "Tags": "|usb|power-supply|raspberry-pi|", "Answer": "Short Answer: Yes there are power banks that can do that. However, the power bank must support the feature and your phone.A famous brand of power banks can support this feature is Anker one type can be found on Amazon. There are cheaper ones.
\n\nOutput: However, this is strongly advised! First, being that you power bank will exponentially increase in heat depending on your phone. Second, the power bank will from now on take a double amount of time to charge up than not charging your phone at the same time. Third, depending on your phone it will take even longer to charge your phone even once you go back to an adapter and a outlet in the wall. Choose wisely.
\n" }, { "Id": "1952", "CreationDate": "2016-02-07T14:22:05.657", "Body": "I am planning to get the MSI GE62 Apache Pro 15.6 FHD i7-6700HQ 8GB 1TB GTX970M 3GB laptop. I also want to get an extra 128GB of SSD (so I'll have a hybrid of 1TB HDD + 128GB SSD).
\n\nThe problem is that I've never done something like this and I have no idea what to buy. I'm afraid of getting something which is not even compatible with the device, so I'm asking for your help. This is where I will buy my SSD.
\n\nPlease help me on deciding which one to buy.
\n", "Title": "Additional SSD for MSI GE62 APACHE PRO?", "Tags": "|memory|ssd|", "Answer": "You have multiple options in my opinion.
\n\n![\"M.2](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Mp3as.png\")
But your manual does not say which M.2 Key Port it features - there are 2 different ones. ![\"Different](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/9tskg.jpg\")
\nSource: Kingston SM2280S3 120GB M.2 SATA SSD Review on legitreview.com
Your best bet when buying a M.2 SSD is to buy one with a B&M Connector. These will fit the M.2 Port always. So your best bet would be this Intel 535 M.2 SSD 240 GB from Intel for example: ![\"Intel](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PRy23.jpg\")
\nThis will fit your laptops M.2 SSD port :)\n![\"Measurements](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/LhB9R.png\")
Source: Intel ARK Page of this article
\n\nIf you want to buy a SSD from another company then make sure to get one with B&M key connector and with a formfactor of 22x80mm.
\n\nSo it depends on which road you want to take. You can't go really wrong with many of these. My Suggestion would be a Intel 535 M.2 SSD. But if you want to replace your DVD-Drive with a SSD then I'd probably go for the Crucial MX200 or BX100
\n\nI hope that this helps you a bit - if you still can't decide which one to buy or which path to take then feel free to leave a comment. I'll try to update the answer accordingly :)
\n" }, { "Id": "1954", "CreationDate": "2016-02-07T18:33:55.990", "Body": "I am looking for a router whose built in firmware can ensure QoS such that if one user is say downloading torrents (completely hogging up the bandwidth) it will slow his speed down to the point that others' ping will stay low. This is to ensure that if someone is playing an online game (where RTT is essential), to them it will be as if nothing has happened as their ping will not shoot up.
\n\nDo note that I do not want any per application/port setup as there are many ways to hog the bandwidth (not just torrents) and there are many games as well and it will get arduous to configure each thing separately.
\n\nThis functionality definitely exists in an open source router firmware called Gargoyle (the feature is called MinimizeRTT). I am using this currently and it works like a charm.
\n\nMy real reason for asking this question is that there must be at least one big router company that thought that this would be a good idea, especially when working code is available openly by Gargoyle.
\n\nThis question is for a router that supports this out of the box (buying one with pre-installed custom firmware doesn't count!). Can anyone point me to a router that has this functionality without needing to install custom firmware?
\n", "Title": "Router that supports ping based QoS out of the box", "Tags": "|gaming|networking|router|", "Answer": "I realise that I'm a little late to the party and you may have already solved this problem yourself but thought I'd chip in with my two cents in case it would be of any use.
\n\nThe router you are absolutely looking for is the Netduma R1, made by a small UK based startup and based upon a Mikrotik router board loaded with Netduma's own firmware.
\n\nThis router uses a completely unique anti-flood algorithm that completely eliminates ping spikes due to other users on your network downloading, streaming etc and it absolutely works.
\n\nThe router also allows bandwidth prioritisation per device, as well as including a unique patented geo-filter that allows you to specify the distance (radius) of servers you wish to play on from your home location when playing on dedicated servers as well as refusing users from other parts of the world if playing a peer-to-peer network game.
\n\nYou can also specify maximum pings and either blacklist players by gamertag/PSN ID or IP address or whitelist friends who maybe outside your geo-filter/ping filters but you still wish to game with.
\n\nI have used the Netduma and can honestly say that whilst the promise sounds too good to be true this is one device that isn't actually snake oil and does actually work as advertised, In fact I would go as far as to say that this is the single biggest improvement to my online gaming I have ever made it really is transformative when configured correctly.
\n\nThe features on the Netduma are light years ahead of what is currently available on so called \"gaming\" routers primarily because of the brilliant implementation of the software.
\n\nThe only downside to the router is that it only comes with 2.4 GHz WiFi , however this issue can be circumvented by adding in an addition WiFi access point and turning off the routers WiFi signal, in my case I paired the router with a Ruckus Wireless R710 AP and the results are superb.
\n" }, { "Id": "1963", "CreationDate": "2016-02-08T01:33:09.070", "Body": "I want to gather data from multiple sensors, make simple operations on them (like store last samples in a buffer, calculate moving average, etc.) and send them to the Internet of Things cloud using WiFi. Which MCU should I use for this purpose?
\n\nConstraints:
\n\nOne option is Particle (f.k.a. Spark) Photon - STM32F205 ARM Cortex M3 microcontroller with Broadcom BCM43362 Wi-Fi module, 1MB flash, 128KB RAM for $19.
\n\nSecond option is WiFiMCU - STM32F411CE ARM Cortex M4 microcontroller with Broadcom Wi-Fi module, 2MB SPI flash, 512KB on-chip flash, 128KB RAM for $10.
\n\nAnother option is a much cheaper NodeMCU - ESP8266 microcontroller with 64 KB SRAM, 96KB DRAM, 4MB flash for $4.
\n\nThe last option is SparkFun ESP8266 Thing - also based on ESP8266 with On-board LiPo battery charger for $16.
\n\nAll of MCUs support full TCP/IP stack and partial SSL.
\n" }, { "Id": "1968", "CreationDate": "2016-02-08T19:16:27.927", "Body": "My motherboard is a 945GCT-M2/1333 (V1.0A). It only has one PCI-E slot and integrated Intel\u00ae Graphics (GMA950) (it's bad, but in no way I want worse). The CPU is Intel\u00ae Celeron E1200 and the PC has 2GB RAM.
\n\nI've got two VGA monitors, one is currently hooked up to the PC, but I also wish to use the second one. But I could get a used DVI monitor, but that would probably cost me a bit too much in addition to the graphics card so I'd seriously rather not.
\n\nBasically any video card that can handle two monitors at 1280x1024 and won't bottleneck the system overall would do. But it has to work under Ubuntu 15.10 64bit properly.
\n\nI'll repeat for clarity that there are two VGA displays, the motherboard only supports PCI Express x16 v1.1, it can not be a downgrade and it has to be supported well under Ubuntu 15.10. That means only a small range of cards is left.
\n", "Title": "Video card for dual-monitor setup", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|linux|monitors|multiple-monitors|", "Answer": "Since your main concerns are \"not a downgrade from a GMA950\" and \"dual VGA support\", I recommend a VisionTek Radeon 7000, $36 from Newegg. It's an absolutely ancient card (released 15 years ago), but the Tom's Hardware hierarchy puts it on the same performance tier as the nearly-as-ancient GMA950. It's got one VGA output and one DVI output with a DVI-to-VGA adapter, it uses one of your board's PCI slots rather than a PCIe slot, and it's well-supported by the open-source ATI drivers (R100 column). I haven't found a solid source for maximum resolution, but it appears to be at least 1600x1200.
\n\nAlternatively, if you can find one, I recommend a GeForce 5200, again with a PCI interface. One VGA and one DVI-I is common, it's somewhat more powerful than either the Radeon 7000 or the GMA950, and it's got decent support by the open-source drivers. If you really want to use your PCIe slot, a few 5200 boards used an AGP-to-PCIe adapter chip to give them a PCIe interface.
\n" }, { "Id": "1981", "CreationDate": "2016-02-10T15:56:47.000", "Body": "Our small company needs server capable of running several virtualized machines using both linux and windows guest systems. The chosen host OS is Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 (to be upgraded to Hyper-V Server 2016 as soon after RTM is released). At least 4 drives in raid 10 are required, ideally expandable to 8 drives in the future. We have budget of about 5500\u20ac.
\n\nWe've compared some options and currently we are thinking about following configuration from Lenovo:
\n\nServer specification:
\n\nProcessor: Intel\u00ae Xeon\u00ae E5-2620 v3 (6C, 85W, 2.4GHz)\nHard Drive Bays: 8\nHard Drive Type: 2.5\" HS\nHard Drive Included: none\nMemory Included: 8GB DDR4-2133MHz (1Rx4) RDIMM\nMemory Slots Total / Available: 16 / 15\nPre-Loaded OS: none\nRAID Supported: 0,1,10\nPower: 750W Platinum\nManagement: none\nWarranty: 1 Year\nIncluded parts:
\n\n1x Intel\u00ae Xeon\u00ae E5-2620 v3 (6C, 85W, 2.4GHz)\n1x 8 GB DDR4-2133MHz (1Rx4) RDIMM\n1x ThinkServer RAID 500 Adapter (0,1,10)\n1x ThinkServer RD350 x16 PCIe Riser 1 Kit\n2x 1GbE ports plus dedicated management port\n1x 750W Platinum Power Supply\n1x Slide Rail Kit\n1x Slim DVD-RW\nAddons:
\n\n1x 4XG0F28846 Lenovo ThinkServer RD350 Intel Xeon E5-2620 v3 (6C, 85W, 2.4GHz) Processor\n3x 4X70F28589 Lenovo ThinkServer 8GB DDR4-2133MHz (1Rx4) RDIMM\n4x 4XB0G88736 Lenovo ThinkServer Gen 5 2.5\" 1.2TB 10K Enterprise SAS 12Gbps Hot Swap Hard Drive\nWhat is your opinion on this configuration? And more importantly, is there anything missing? For instance - this configuration is running two processors - is the 750W power supply enough?
\n", "Title": "Server hardware recommendation/validation for hyper-v", "Tags": "|server|virtual-machines|", "Answer": "The 750W PS is perfectly fine for your config.
\n\nThis is just my opinion: I usually go for more smaller drives than less larger drives. If you get 8 600GB drives you will get the same storage capacity (or very close to it, depends on how they are formatted by the FS) but you will get a large speed bonus, which will generally be a good thing if this server is going to run VMs that are I/O intensive.
\n\nIf this server absolutely needs to be running 24/7 i would also get a secondary PS and run it on a different power circuit. If one goes down than the other one can take over.
\n" }, { "Id": "1987", "CreationDate": "2016-02-11T07:25:50.993", "Body": "I'm looking for internal fan controller which will meet my requirements:
\n\nMy proposition:\nNZXT GRID+V2
\n\nIs there any good alternative for NZXT GRID+V2 ? Maybe you can suggest some other cheaper/better solutions ?
\n", "Title": "Internal fan controller", "Tags": "|cooling|fan-controller|", "Answer": "After no response I bought NZXT GRID+V2 and I can easily recommend this hardware to anyone looking for internal fan controller with many features.
\n\nI installed it in Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX with one 200 mm intake fan and three 140 mm exaust fans.
\n\n![\"setup1\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/iCHef.jpg\")
\n![\"setup2\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gDT9g.jpg\")
It is connected to motherboard through USB connector and to PSU (12V) with Molex 4-Pin connector.
\n\nThis is dedicated software for this fan controller which allows not only controling fans but also gives many options of monitoring hardware.
\n\n![\"fancontroller\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Tklck.png\")
![\"monitor1\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/T3CA3.png\")
\n![\"monitor2\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2H4l9.png\")
![\"overlay1\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/x21nB.png\")
\n![\"overlay2\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vBxPz.png\")
Final conclusion:
\n\nI paid for NZXT GRID+ V2 $40 and I think it's absolutly worth this price. It is not only fan controller it is also really good system monitor and fps overlay. I can recommend it to anyone looking for internal fan controller.
\n" }, { "Id": "1988", "CreationDate": "2016-02-11T07:58:30.037", "Body": "I am currently trying to upgrade my rather outdated (but reliable :) ) PC without spending very much money at all. I have these two similar graphics cards in my possession right now.
\n\n\n\n\n\nAs you can see both cards are similar, yet the second one has half the video memory and double the effective memory size of the first?
\n\nMy question is, what is effective memory, how does it relate to video memory and/or the performance of the card? (And to be extremely general, which card will run Skyrim better?)
\n\n** Basic specs on my PC **
\n\nI finally worked out what 1GB effective memory actually means in the EAX1550. ATI has a feature on some of their cards called HyperMemory which allows the card to steal some of the the systems main memory (RAM). The reason for doing this is that it allows for ATI to produce cheap video cards with a large amount of processing memory without the need for expensive on board memory.
\n\nThe downside to this is that it requires the system to surrender a portion of its RAM for graphics processing. Also, due to the fact that a large portion of the GPU's memory is not on board, large amounts of data must be moved between the card and the main system causing some latency issues.
\n\nAs for which one plays Skyrim better, i have yet to run some tests but i will probably post my very unofficial results here for anyone who is interested. (My money is on the card without HyperMemory, as it should run slightly faster, albeit with less memory)
\n" }, { "Id": "1990", "CreationDate": "2016-02-11T10:09:41.833", "Body": "So I'm looking for a computer to learn game development on, that should cover the following bases:
\n(I'm willing to compromise on a count or two if it's a better choice overall)
\nafter a lot of searching I actually found a few that covered my bases, except the last one (battery life). since by definition powerful laptops require more power, most of the rigs I looked at didn't have amazing battery time.\nknowing this I looked for ones with USB 3.1-C ports thinking I could charge them via power bank.\nbut after settling on the ASUS GL552VW/GL752VW, I found out that it does NOT support the PD 2.0 standard meaning it's useless for charging and I would be limited to the lackluster ~4hr battery.
\nSo, that being said- here are some of the laptops I've considered so far:
\n\nAny recommendations or general input would be more than welcome!
\nP.S. - I know a desktop would be better for my purposes, but that's not a relevant option for me at the moment.
\n", "Title": "Looking for a laptop to learn game development on the go", "Tags": "|laptop|game-development|", "Answer": "I think you should try the Razer Blade Pro 4K gaming laptop it is perfect for development. It uses the 7th generation core i7 CPU. It has 2.9GHz speed, with a 3.9GHz Turbo and 4.3GHz over-clock potential. It has Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU with 8GB of VRAM.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/0GPCu.png\")
Is the AMD still viable?
\n\nI'm looking at a mild upgrade to my existing rig, including video card and memory, not much else. I'm curious if the 8320 is still adequate considering the reasonable cost of the 6500 Skylake (which is considered pretty good for its price but no overclocking). I do some gaming, but don't care about 4k or reaching super ultra high whatever. I plan on a 380x AMD gfx card, so that part should be good to go.
\n\nIf I go the AMD route, I only need to swap CPU, as I currently have an AMD system and compatible MB. Whereas, going Intel would require new MB, new RAM, and the CPU.
\n\nAside from normal computer usage (internet, email, etc) and playing WoW or BF4, the AMD should be just fine. Right? Or would it be best to spend the little extra and go Intel, considering the new platform means I can upgrade the CPU later.
\n\nI am currently using an AMD FX-6100 with a Radeon 6770. Any upgrade is an upgrade. As for budget, I can do the Intel route for about $575 USD or the AMD upgrade for about $400. I really just want to know if the 8320 is still a viable option or just bite the bullet and go all in Intel.
\n", "Title": "AMD FX-8320 or Intel Skylake i5-6500?", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "Undoubtedly the intel cpu. Benchmarks don't lie and I'm positive even that since 4th gen Haswell i5's intel has been significantly outperforming even the 8350, let alone the 8320. I'd also check out some of nVidias GPUs if you haven't already
\n" }, { "Id": "2002", "CreationDate": "2016-02-12T13:37:47.567", "Body": "So I've bought a SilentiumPC Fera 2 HE1224 CPU cooler for cooling my CPU and I really like it so I want to make my CPU even cooler by adding an another fan to blow the air out - on the other side of the radiator. But i do not know if I should buy the fan with more RPM, lower RPM or the same RPM as the original has. Actual Fan has 1400 rpm. Thanks for the answers.
\n\nEdit: This is how it approximately looks now. \n![\"http://www.bestpcinfo.pl/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SilentiumPC-Fera-2-Monta%C5%BC-na-p%C5%82ycie.jpg\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/jX0hA.jpg\")
I would get the same fan that is on the cooler. You know that it will fit on the cooler and have the same performance. I would make sure that you have enough room on the other side of the cooler before purchasing the additional fan, as it look like you might have another heat sink in the way (it might not be, its just hard to tell from your picture at that angle).
\n\nIt appears that this fan is the same one that comes with the cooler. If you do not decide to get the same fan, I would get a fan that has the same RPM as the one on the cooler, as the fan with the lower RPM will just get in the way of the faster fan, reducing the cooling effectiveness.
\n" }, { "Id": "2036", "CreationDate": "2016-02-15T10:19:52.617", "Body": "I'm in the market for a new gaming laptop. Because you can't easily upgrade the components in laptops, I'd ideally like to buy one that has the potential to run VR. However, my day to day needs do not demand that much GPU power, so I'd like to buy the minimum hardware spec I can get away with.
\n\nI know I could wait until the headsets come out and a new generation of GPUs is around to support them, but I'd prefer to make the purchase now if possible, as it'll save me a bit of tax.
\n\nSo I've done a bit of research and my understanding is that Oculus are suggesting desktop grade GTX970 is the minimum. That would suggest that a 980M ought, in practice, to be able to support an Oculus Rift. However, I believe I'm right in saying that the 980M is still integrated rather than a separate board, and that it uses Nvidia Optimus. To be frank, I don't entirely understand what this is, nor why it's a problem for VR.
\n\nI also know that there's a new desktop grade 980 out, suitable for laptops. This is expensive and doesn't have wide distribution. I also don't know whether this is board mounted/uses optimus or not. I also don't know if it's G-Sync enabled, as this seems to be a good idea for VR.
\n\nI was originally looking at the Asus ROG G752VT as it seems to offer excellent value for money. But it's got a 970M, which I suspect isn't going to be enough and is going to run into the optimus problem.
\n\nSo the baseline question is: what's the mininum specification I need to get a laptop-ready VR.
\n\nBonus points if you'd be kind enough to break this down into:
\n\nWhat's Nvidia Optimus and why is it a problem for VR?
Is the \"desktop\" 980 significantly better for VR than the 980M, and\nis it Optimus/G-Sync/separate card?
Will my preferred option of the Asus ROG be enough, at a push, for a\nRift?
While Peter has explained why Nvidia Optimus is a problem and ivaan has proved that even a 980M won't work. If the laptops, MSI GT Series GT72S DomPro4K-059 and MSI GT Series GT72S DomProG-070 are too expensive. I would suggest going with a Razer Blade Stealth with Razer Core or Alienware 13 with a graphics amplifier. They will allow you to keep your price low while being VR compatible in a flexible way.
\n" }, { "Id": "2038", "CreationDate": "2016-02-15T13:10:24.197", "Body": "I am looking for a DVR like product capable of following:
\n\nI am considering creating an intranet video surveillance server. So I am looking for a DVR with good automation options. Ideally with video surveillance server software option.
\n\nOk, I just need a good universal and not too expensive device even without points 2 - 3 (downloading ..., embedded video output), if there are any ideas?
\n", "Title": "One DVR device to standardize video surveillance on multiple sites", "Tags": "|video|video-camera|video-capture|", "Answer": "After some considerations I have decided for HIKVISION platform. I chose that platform over DASHUA mostly because of better support in my country and better firmware upgrade program.
\n\nMultiple platform (like DASHUA, HIKVISION, AVTECH etc.) cannot be mixed nowadays mostly because ONVIF G standard is not yet widely implemented. Some attempts like Ozeki SDK exist to unify surveillance devices in terms of universal software library, but downloading historical data is not supported on the DVR/NVR devices yet.
\n\nSo it is better option to buy a new hybrid DVR on every site and use one common software like iVMS 4200.
\n\nSuch a device is either
\n\nHCVR5104/5108/5116HS-S3 with SmartPSS\nor
\n\nDS-7204/7208/16HQHI-F1/N\nwith iVMS 4200 (which I chose).
\n\nHope one day the ONVIF G gets implemented and there will be a decent SDK or unversal tools to use it with various devices.
\n" }, { "Id": "2040", "CreationDate": "2016-02-15T16:17:36.463", "Body": "I need to locate a Tizen TV running at least version 1400 for work purposes. It needs to be Tizen because I intend to write Apps for Tizen. It needs to be at least version 1400 because that is where developer mode is accessible.
\n\nIt is deceptively difficult to locate an acceptable device. We purchased a device already that was advertised with Tizen to test with. However, it does not update beyond version 1106.
\n\nThe device we tried was UE32J4570SS.
\n", "Title": "The cheapest Samsung Smart TV running Tizen with at least firmware version 1400", "Tags": "|television|development|", "Answer": "It seems that the best way to find a compatible Samsung TV is to check the firmware version on the Samsung Support pages. You can check that the downloadable firmware for that TV set is above 1400.
\n\nAs a reasonable answer to this question, we found this device:
\n\nSamsung UE32J5550 80 cm
\n\nAt a price of 327 Euros at the time of writing.
\n\nSmall enough to fit on my desk, and cheap enough to please the boss.
\n" }, { "Id": "2041", "CreationDate": "2016-02-15T17:08:47.083", "Body": "I wanted to wait for buying this hardware upgrade. However, the motherboard of my computer stopped to work this morning, so the need become more urgent (I'm writing this with my tablet).
\nI need to say for those gpu models that the available cpu sockets are bga only (no lga based models availaible yet). Except if I'm wrong.
\nSo it means while I'm looking for a particular gpu model, the cpu+gpu+motherboard is sold as a single device which can't be ordered into separate parts (the same way you don't buy a northbridge chipset without a motherboard).
\nThis why I specify the requirements of both the cpu and the motherboard.
Update: I found the socketed i5 5675C with Iris Pro 6200 (48 EU GT3e 128 MB L4) at LDLC.com
\n\nCPU: Intel Core i5 5675C with Iris Pro 6200 iGP (\u20ac289.95 @ LDLC.com) (Processor Specs @ Intel ARK)
\n\nA multiplier unlocked quad core Intel CPU, it has 48 Gen 8 EUs, comparable to the Iris 540 and 550, and double the amount of L4 eDRAM. 65W TDP. Compatible with DDR3 RAM only.
\n\nMotherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97P-D3 (\u20ac89.95@ LDLC.com)
\n\nZ97 Express chipset, supports mulitplier overclocking, 2 x PCIe x16 slots, 2 x PCI. 6 X SATA 6 Gb/s with support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10.
\n\nSecond option @ Sabmegastore
\n\nCPU: Intel Core i5 6500 Quad core 3.2 GHz CPU 248.90 \u20ac
\n\nIs a quad core
\n\nMotherboard: GIGABYTE Z170-HD3P 142.90 \u20ac
\n\nHas 2 x PCIe x16 sots. One only uses x4 lanes though. Also has 2 x PCI and support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10.
\n\nGPU: GIGABYTE GEFORCE GT 740
\n\nMuch faster than Iris. 64W TDP, plus the 65 W from the CPU makes 129 W. 50% headroom gives 194W total consumption.
\n\nAssembly + 2 year warrenty is 69.00 \u20ac, otherwise buy the parts separately.
\n" }, { "Id": "2045", "CreationDate": "2016-02-16T05:47:54.360", "Body": "I'm new to SSD, After doing some research i end up with 2 models ADATA SP550 120GB and Samsung EVO 120GB. ADATA seems to be a TLC NAND Flash which is low in endurance but i have no idea about EVO(Could be TLC/MLC). But both are of 3-bit/cell flash memory. Please suggest me a good one.
\n", "Title": "Which one I should go for, ADATA SP550 120GB vs Samsung EVO 120GB SSD's?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|ssd|", "Answer": "Samsung all day, every day. Their warranty is amazing and the speeds are all at the top of the charts. I've installed several Evos and Pros in systems and have been nothing but thrilled with the results, especially in older systems.
\n" }, { "Id": "2049", "CreationDate": "2016-02-16T21:34:10.367", "Body": "I'm looking for a motherboard to replace my old one that's been giving me problems lately (See this thread).
\n\nThe PC is used for heavy gaming (All new games running max settings; GTA V, Fallout 4, etc). It's used for a fair amount of video/photo editing as well.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nHDD - Seagate Barracuda 2 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache
\n\nCPU Cooler - Cooler Master V8 GTS
\n\nPCU - SeaSonic X Series X-850 (SS-850KM3 Active PFC F3) 850W ATX12V
\n\nSSD - Crucial MX100 2.5\" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal
\n\nRAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133
\n\nCPU - AMD FX-9590 Vishera 8-Core 4.7 GHz Socket AM3+ 220W - Black Edition
\n\nGPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB SC GAMING ACX 2.0
\n\nTower - Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition
\n\nUpdate:
\n\nI raised my budget to 150usd, that would probably be a more logical budget for a decent board. I'm also flexible on the price, if it's more expensive than my budget, but is an overall better choice, then go ahead and suggest it. As long as it's not way out of the budget.
\n", "Title": "AMD gaming motherboard upgrade", "Tags": "|gaming|motherboard|video-editing|", "Answer": "After reviewing my answer your CPU is compatible only with 990FX motherboards. So I deleted second option because it wasn't compatible with your CPU. I also added cheaper alternative which will work in your setup.
\n\nMSI 990FXA GAMING - 149.99 on newegg
\n\nThis motherboard meets all your requirements and is good for OC. Additionally it has really good software. It's really solid construction.
\n\nASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 - 134.99 on newegg
\n\nThis is cheaper alternative which is also good constuction and meets your requirements.
\n" }, { "Id": "2052", "CreationDate": "2016-02-17T02:28:11.063", "Body": "I was looking for a cheap x86 machine for assembly development and other hackery and I was wondering if such a system exists. The system must meet the following requirements:
\n\nAtomic Pi, ~$35 on Amazon.\nRuns an Atom X5 Z3850 CPU (quadcore, with 2GB of RAM, and 16GB SSD), very energy efficient.\nGood for Linux, not Windows.
\n" }, { "Id": "2061", "CreationDate": "2016-02-18T09:06:45.947", "Body": "I want to upgrade my PC and I don't know which path should I choose. I want raise performance in games and be able to OC my PC which is not possible now because I have blocked CPU (without K). All my parts were bought to fit Rajintek Metis case but it was to hot inside and I changed my case to Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Itx which is much larger, has better air flow and can fit bigger GPU.
\n\nAdditional info:
\n\nMy actual setup:
\n\nWhich of paths listed below will be the best choice ?
\n\nPATH 1:
\n\nCheapest way. Only upgrade GPU & RAM. No OC possibility.
\n\nSell:
\n\nBuy:
\n\nSUM: ~$250
\n\nPATH 2:
\n\nIt's the most probable upgrade for me. It will upgrade my GPU and give me possibility to overclock my CPU with upgrading it to i7.
\n\nSell:
\n\nBuy:
\n\nSUM: ~$360
\n\nPATH 3:
\n\nUpgrade only GPU but to GTX 980. Will my not overclocked i5 4690 be a bottleneck for this card ?
\n\nSell:
\n\nBuy:
\n\nSUM: ~$400
\n\nPATH 4:
\n\nUpgrade to Skylake it will be the most expensive, so I'm not sure if this upgrade is worth this price. To fit budget range I have to resign from i7 (to i5) and 16 GB RAM (to 8GB) and it's still $45 more expensive than Haswell upgrade.
\n\nSell:
\n\nBuy:
\n\nSUM: ~$405
\n\nIt's really hard choice for me which path will be the best for spent dollar? In addition I have to ask if my PSU will be enough for all this configurations or should I add PSU with more power to this four paths ?
\n\nEdit:
\n\nPATH 5
\n\nSo if the best solution is to save more money and wait for new architecture (GPU), I will do it but still my setup won't give me possibility to OC when it will be needed. My last idea is to sell CPU and RAM and upgrade it with better (but used, when they are still on market and people are changing them to Skylake) CPU and better RAM memory which won't be so expensive like other upgrades but will give me possibility to raise performance of my setup when it will be needed.
\n\nSell:
\n\nBuy:
\n\nCPU: used Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 i7-4690K ~$220
RAM: Teamgroup Vulcan 2400 Mhz, CL11, 2 x 8GB ~$100
SUM i7: ~$190
\n\nSUM i5: ~$110
\n\nDoes this solution have sense ?
\n", "Title": "Upgrade path to raise performance in games", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|processor|pc|", "Answer": "I'm currently doing 4k gaming - a 980TI is probably the most sensible option - its 90% of the performance of this generation's titan at 75% of the cost stock but I'd wait for the next generation if possible. On one hand they promise massive improvements. On the other hand, last gen hardware is cheaper.
\n\nWhat do I base this on?
\n\nI'm running a ivy bridge core i7 with 16 gb of ram. I'm rarely ram or CPU throttled. I do have a 980ti which performs adequately for my needs. That said I don't seem to think I hit the limits of my video card ram, and I seem to have some headroom with my GPU with most games, and I usually turn it up past the nvidia recommended settings. .
\n\nMy advice would be to do a video card upgrade, but to wait a bit. If you must buy one now, while its pricy, a 980TI is likely your best option for dx11, single card gaming. That said, the next generation should have similar performance or better, and there's a few new interesting technologies - smaller process sizes and Ram varients that might make it worth the wait. Don't get me wrong, my current card is glorious but we should be seeing things like HBM this year on most cards.
\n\nThat said, things may change soon - AMD's cards are doing really well at dx12 (and there's big price cuts on the high end R9s), and vulcan's coming out. And of course new cards promising more performance.
\n" }, { "Id": "2065", "CreationDate": "2016-02-18T17:30:16.520", "Body": "My work computer is very slow, and so I am looking to upgrade some of the parts. I have the intel i5-4440 that I'm going to put in it, but this CPU is not compatible with my current motherboard.
\nHere's the slightly esoteric requirement: I work with programming EtherCAT boards over an Ethernet port, and I also like to use Ethernet for my internet connection. Unfortunately, my current motherboard only has one Ethernet port, and no wifi card. This means I will frequently switch out my Ethernet cord from the router to the board I'm working on, and it's very annoying to have to pick between an internet connection and talking to the board I'm working on. (I suppose a better solution would be to buy a wifi card, but I'd like to keep the Ethernet connection if I can)
\nCompatible with the i5 4440 CPU, DDR3 RAM and the GTX 610 GPU.
\nAt least 4 USB ports.
\nMicro ATX
\nRelatively cheap. I'm thinking around 70 USD.
\nI don't have any strong brand or appearance preferences.
\n", "Title": "Motherboard for work computer with 2-Ethernet ports", "Tags": "|motherboard|ethernet|", "Answer": "One alternative would be to use an internal Ethernet add-on card. It's a lot better than the USB solution usually...
\n\nOne (very cheap) example:\nhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA5M11TB9358
\n\nAdvantages to other solutions:
\n\nIt has better bandwidth and reliability than the USB options suggested earlier, and it can be cheaply added to ANY motherboard someone else suggests as the solution, which allows total overall cost to be much lower (given that 2x ethernet port motherboards are indeed generally expensive). With an adapter like this, almost any motherboard that supports his chosen CPU will work just fine for your purposes.
\n" }, { "Id": "2073", "CreationDate": "2016-02-19T15:49:36.250", "Body": "I have an ASUS N56VB and have been researching laptop coolers for a while now (or maybe even too much).\nI checked the areas where the laptop overheats when playing games and noticed that it happens only on the left side. Even the hard drive, which is on the bottom right, is unaffected.\nAlso, I think the vents are not at the bottom of the laptop but on it's left side.\nThere are of course a lot of brands which make the choice even harder.
\n\nConsidering those circumstances, I am not sure whether to buy a cooling pad with 1 fan, 2 or 4 fans. 1 fan lies always in the center, and the heating occurs on the left side only. 2 fans might be sufficient. 4 fans, while at the right areas, seem redundant.
\n\nHere are some pictures:
\n\nSome measurements - \n![\"Measurements\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/tHEOR.jpg\")
The side vents - \n![\"Side](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vHrS3.jpg\")
I thought that maybe this will be good:\nhttp://www.amazon.com/BlueFinger%C2%AE-Arrival-Notebook-2200-4000%C2%B110%25RPM-Ultra-portable/dp/B0148IKWYS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455965509&sr=8-1&keywords=Bluefinger+2+in+1\nAs it has both a cooling pad and a cooler on the side, but there are not enough reviews for this product.
\n\nAnother good product is this:\nhttp://www.amazon.com/Cooling-TeckNet-Notebook-Adjustable-Temperature/dp/B016CL2F5S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455965555&sr=8-1&keywords=TeckNet%C2%AE+Gaming+Laptop\nMainly because of the temperature display and the on/off switch (which hopefully also turns off the fans themselves).
\n\nOr perhaps this one (or something similar? there could be others that are way better):\nhttp://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Massive23-Notebook-Oversized-CLN0015/dp/B003ZUXXWO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455965583&sr=8-1&keywords=Thermaltake+Massive23\nPerhaps one fan is better? I'm not sure.
\n\nSo far I'm thinking about the BlueFinger cooler (mainly because it is pad&side cooler) but the lack of reviews is disturbing. I would really appreciate your assistance as I have never bought a laptop cooler before.
\n", "Title": "Not sure about which laptop cooler to choose", "Tags": "|laptop|cooling|", "Answer": "Most of the models linked here have fans mounted in a fashion that makes them work like axial fans with a big dead spot\u00b9 in the middle and directly blowing at the mostly closed surface or trying to suck air from it, which probably causes more turbulence in the fan itself than actual cooling of the device. I don't think this is a very efficient design, neither do I think that the mentioned extracting cooler fan helps support the CPU cooler in the laptop doing it's job better. It tries to get the hot air out faster, but doesn't help getting fresh and cool air into the system.
\n\nWe had some older very hot running laptops in the office here in Germany. I bought an Arctic NC suitable for 14 and 15 inch sized laptops which made it run significantly cooler and I have used it since then for most of the laptops I worked with in the office. It's rather small and mostly quiet. I would recommend looking for such a device that works more like a radial design and covers the entire surface without any dead spots. The downside of this particular cooler is, that your laptop only stands on two points on this fan which may be bit unstable in some cases compared to the other designs.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/bKq0s.jpg\")
As I said I live in Germany where it doesn't get very hot and our offices are outside of town, my co-worker in Hungary living in a not well ventilated apartment had more severe heat problems with the same laptop model (trying to cool with +40\u00b0C fresh air). So it also depends on where you live.
\n\nSeveral weeks or months ago I read a discussion, probably on Hacker News, and in it somebody recommended a router that fixed all his router problems. Reception was excellent, and it had an option to configure guest access on a separate network, secure from the rest, without much effort.
\n\nI don't remember the name of the brand. I believe it had U and Q in it, but I'm not sure. The router itself was round and white, like the Engenius, but as I remember it without the leds. Pricing was about 80 euros for the basic model, and there were pro versions for about 240 euros.
\n\n![\"Engenius](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Tsxdb.jpg\")
Do you have any idea which router I'm referring to? It could even be Engenius, but I don't find anything about the guest network setup in the reviews.
\n", "Title": "Looking for specific router / access point brand", "Tags": "|wifi|router|", "Answer": "Based on your picture, and description involving \"U\" and \"Q\", it sounds like you are thinking of a product from Ubiquiti Networks. There was a very detailed article about them on Ars Technica last October.
\n\nThe only issue is, they don't have have a router that looks similar to your image. There are Access Points though.
\n\nOne of the ones that Ars reviewed was the UniFi AP AC Pro. You can get this directly from Ubiquiti (when it isn't sold out) for $150.
\n\n![\"Unifi](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fAtxh.jpg\")
I have the following type of spare 64GB RAM
\n\nDDR2 ECC
\n\n4GB 2Rx4 PC2-5300P RAM PC2-5300P-555-13-ZZ
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/iQ3WN.jpg\")
This came with IBM System X3850 M2 which had issues so didn't work as expected
\n\nWhat I am looking for
\n\nExisting work
\n\nYou can use HP Dl585 G5 or DL385 G5. These servers use AMD based processors
\n\nboth of them take PC2_5300 RAM
\n\nDL385 G5 Specs\nMemory : Up to 128 GB (with PC2-5300 8GB DIMMs). PC2-6400 800MHz DDR2 Select models support 2:1 Bank Interleaving.\n4:1 Bank Interleaving (Data saved across 2 pairs of DIMMs) and Node interleaving support (data saved across 2\nprocessors memory sets) also available
\n\nhttp://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx/c04286576.pdf
\n\nDL 585 G5\nPC2-5300 Registered DIMMs at 667 MHz\nhttp://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx/c04286140.pdf
\n" }, { "Id": "2098", "CreationDate": "2016-02-23T21:43:34.727", "Body": "so I'm in the process of building this Hackintosh workstation and I'm going to dual boot it with Windows 10 and Mac(El Capitan) can someone tell me if these parts are compatible or what I would have to do to make them compatible.
\n\nParts:
\n\nCPU: Intel Xeon E5-2620 V3 2.4GHz 6-Core Processor
\n\nMotherboard: MSI X99A GAMING 7 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard
\n\nMemory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 64GB (8 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
\n\nStorage: 2x Samsung SSD 850 PRO 2.5\" SATA III 512
\n\nGPU: NVIDIA Quadro M4000 8GB Video Card
\n\nWireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC68 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi \nAdapter
\n\nCase: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case
\n\nPower Supply: Thermaltake 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
\n", "Title": "Hackintosh Workstation build suggestions", "Tags": "|compatibility|", "Answer": "This should work perfectly except you should note that you cannot install Windows based drivers on a Mac which means that some of the more advanced functionality on some components cannot be used.
\n" }, { "Id": "2113", "CreationDate": "2016-02-25T09:20:27.800", "Body": "I am looking for an outdoor IP camera with night vision and good resolution, ability to cover distances about 100 m with good detail (registration plate, face etc.). There are some good recommendations in this question.
\n\nIt is quite common for theese cameras to have an SD card inserted and recordings can be saved there. Is there a chance there is some IP camera with built-in FTP, SFTP server, or with HTTPS download of recorded video files periodically (nightly)? Like it is possible from an IPCorder device. Or to setup FTP send to some given schedule, like every day at 22:00.
\n\nSeems like VIVOTEK 8372 can be configured to send FTP data only when defined event fires, which could be OK, but it is not well documented how it actually works. From this link it seems that it is rather used for sending pictures from the camera to be shown on a web page which is quite useless for this purpose.
\n\nLooking around my last hot candidate are Panasonic cameras WV-SFV6 series - in their manual there is on the page 160 an option Allow FTP access to camera. This seems to be promising, even there is a data structure on the last page that looks very well, any experience with this or anything similar?\nThe problem is that theese cameras are relatively expensive and perhaps installing less expensive camera tohether with NVR would be less costly.
It looks like the ONVIF standard is the future way of getting recorded videos from devices like IP cameras.
\n\nBy typing Profile G into this web page you can get a list of compatible device, mostly IP cameras, and very few client software apps (only 2).
\n\nRecordings are being accessed via URL like this
\n\nhttp://10.8.3.173/onvif/Recording
\n\nBut we must still wait for a decent SDK, that would enable to create Onvif G profile client in languages like C#, so it is hardly usable yet.
\n" }, { "Id": "2115", "CreationDate": "2016-02-25T12:33:47.757", "Body": "Can someone recommend a cheap (up to $15-$20) device that can receive a wireless signal from my main router and transfer it to a classic network wired switch?
\n\nI have found bunch of cheap repeaters on eBay, but don't know if any of them can pass a wireless signal to a wired network.
\n", "Title": "Wi-Fi repeater recommendation", "Tags": "|wifi|", "Answer": "I used to use one of these to serve as a wireless receiver for a machine that only had an ethernet port.
\n\nTP-LINK-TL-WR702N-Wireless-Repeater
\n\nIn addition to serving as a \"wireless card\" for my device it also could have been configured to serve as an access point, a repeater and a few other functions. Once I got it configured it worked well and never gave me any problems.
\n\nEdit:
\n\nI should add that to configure this I didn't have to do anything fancy, the device came with a small disc that contained some configuration software, I had to install the software and plug it into my computer to do the initial setup which wasn't any different than logging into your router normally would be.
\n\nAdditionally there is more than one model that has this form factor (the nano size), it would behoove you to make sure the one you are looking at will be able to handle the sort of traffic you plan to run through it.
\n" }, { "Id": "2153", "CreationDate": "2016-03-01T10:15:57.857", "Body": "I'm going to buy a laptop for both gaming and coding (I already have a bigger, powerful PC for most of the games though, but I also want to play on the laptop).
\n\nI want something :
\n\nI don't mind about not having an optical drive.
\n\nAre there brands I should avoid ?
\n", "Title": "New laptop for gaming/work, around 1000 \u20ac", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|", "Answer": "I finally bought an Asus ROG G551JW-DM379T following the advices of my SysAdmin (Quoting : \"Asus is GOOD\").
\n\nI have a Dell Optiplex 3010.
\n\nI want to upgrade my CPU ,The motherboard is the Dell Inc. 042P49 (CPU 1) and currently has a Intel Core i3 2120 Socket 1155 LGA installed.
\n\nI need the advice to choose the proper CPU compatible with my device to upgrade and also i want to know what is the maximum Generation that working well with my device etc 3th 4th 5th
\n\n![\"CPU-Z](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/6budD.png\")
I would choose between i7 3770 or i5 3570 it depends if you need more threads.
\n" }, { "Id": "2175", "CreationDate": "2016-03-03T22:53:03.887", "Body": "I would like to buy laptop which is good for playing modern games (of 2015, and for 2016 which are coming), multitasking (video editing and internet usage) and excellent for multimedia (HD videos watching and HD audio listening).
\n\nIt should have at least a core i7 processor (at least 3GHz) with 16GB RAM and graphics card with at least of 2GB DDR5 memory.
\n\nMust have WiFi and Bluetooth and at least one USB 3.0 port and one USB 2.0 (because I have one external USB 3.0 HDD and one USB 2.0 HDD).
\n\nWhich one would you recommend me to buy? I have a budget of around \u20ac1500.
\n", "Title": "Gaming laptop with 16GB RAM for around \u20ac1500?", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|memory|", "Answer": "If you are looking for laptop for gaming you should look for machine with best GPU. On newegg in this price range the best solution will be:
\n\nASUS ROG G751JY-WH71 $1600 most important features:
\n\nIn your price range it will be best solution because of GTX 980M GPU. It is the most important part for gaming in laptops. The rest will also meet your requirements. It has no USB 2.0 port but USB 3.0 is backward compatible so you can use one of USB 3.0 slots for USB 2.0 devices.
\n\nIf you are from Croatia like your profile says, it will be a little harder. I checked that \u20ac1500 is around 11500 Kn so I looked for laptop which meets your requirements in Croatian shops (I'm not familiar with Croatian market it would be easier if you provide some \"good croatian shops url's\") and I found:
\n\nAcer ASPIRE G9-591-73PJ Predator 15 - 11000 Kn on ekupi.hr:
\n\nPros:
\n\nCons:
\n\nIt is much worse than ASUS but it's best solution which I could find on Croatian websites. I would look for something with GTX 980M if it's possible in this price range in Croatia. If you provide me with url's of \"good\" Croatian shops with laptops I will look what you can find there.
\n" }, { "Id": "2178", "CreationDate": "2016-03-04T13:50:55.923", "Body": "I am trying to find a power cable for My NVIDIA Quadro 4000. My Dell server has an 8 pin connection on the Power Distribution Board and the GPU has a 6 pin slot. I can get both of these connections on different leads but can't find them as a combination in order to power my GPU.
\n\nWhat power supply provides both of these connections?
\n\n![\"Image](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/nXEJS.jpg\")
A word of caution: you've got a Dell. Dell is known for using non-standard pinouts on their power supplies, so if possible, check the documentation before plugging anything in.
\n\nThat said, I think the technical name for what you're looking for is an EPS-to-PCIe cable, such as this Y-cable from Newegg. Yes, it's a Y-splitter rather than a straight-through cable, but the keying pattern matches what's in your picture.
\n" }, { "Id": "2194", "CreationDate": "2016-03-06T11:36:57.697", "Body": "At home, I frequently move between two rooms with my OS X laptop. I would like to get two wireless speakers and place one in each room, to avoid the hassle of having to connect them via Aux Line-in.
\n\nThe Wireless speakers I am looking for should be able to source computer audio, and let me select where to play it at any time:
\n\nAdditionally, I would like them to:
\n\nOptional, but not critical:
\n\nUp to 450 USD per speaker, but preferably lower.\nAudio quality should be good but doesn't need to be Hi-Fi great (and thus very expensive).
\n\nBecause of the above criteria, I'm assuming that Bluetooth speakers are not effective, because I need to be able to move around with the laptop and still have connectivity. Also, there is a thick wall between the two rooms so they wouldn't be able to communicate with each other via Bluetooth.
\n\nSo my question is if you could recommend some Wi-Fi speakers that meet these critera \u2013 if there are any?
\n", "Title": "Wireless Speaker Pair that can play simultaneous audio from computer?", "Tags": "|audio|wireless|speakers|", "Answer": "The original Hi-Fi Wi-Fi speaker company, Sonos, seems to be your fit. They have three product lines that are fully inter-operable with each other; in order of increasing quality (and obviously price): the Play 1, 3 and 5 at $200, $300 and $500 respectively.
\n\nDespite the $50 budget breach per speaker, I include the Play 5 because you'll need at least one (or the CONNECT or the CONNECT AMP) for full source computer (Apple) audio (i.e. sources from non-Sonos compatible streaming apps). The Play 5 is also the only one with an AUX, the biggest speaker and as I mentioned the speakers are fully inter-operable, so you can mix and match.
\n\nAs long as you have at least one Play 5/CONNECT/CONNECT AMP connected to an AirPort Express, all models exceed your critical requirements:
\n\n\n\n\nCritical features:
\n \nThe Wireless speakers I am looking for should be able to source \n computer audio, and let me select where to play it at any time (yes for Apple devices via AirPlay):
\n \n\n
\n \n- Play one of the speakers, or...
\n- Both speakers at the same time (2 speakers be can linked for great stereo output)\n \n
\n\n
- additional speakers can all play at the same time
\n- all speakers can be divided and grouped individually into zones playing different music. Note: if using AirPlay, group functions are still available, however AirPlay is treated by Sonas a single source-so same music only in that group
\nAdditionally, I would like them to:
\n \n \n
And satisfy almost all optional features:
\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n- Support direct streaming from services like Spotify (with Spotify premium-yes), Soundcloud (not sure-but if it plays through AirPlay then yes)
\n- Allow Aux Line-In or equivalent (Play 5 only)
\n- Manufacturer also provides \"bridge\" unit that can connect ordinary line-in speakers to the Wi-Fi system
\n
Now in contrast to previous Sonos speakers, the latest ones connect directly to your Wi-Fi and don't require the old $50 bridge. Assuming a total budget of $900 for any 2 speakers and that you have an AirPort Express (additional $100 if you don't), to stay within it you could get (in order of preference):
\n\nI'd go with option 1 myself because it's more than enough my for average (European) place. All the Plays sound amazing, but obviously the Play 5 really fills the room, so put plug that in your bigger/more frequented room with the AirPort Express next to it. If you don't have an AirPort Express you can get one and still be in your $900 budget.
\n\nIf you want to fill a large house, stretch the budget and get 2 Play 5s. Or buy 1 Play 5, test it and decide on another or a Play 3. The main lady will try, but she'll never keep you down.
\n" }, { "Id": "2199", "CreationDate": "2016-03-06T19:24:56.453", "Body": "I'm looking for a great android phone with awesome specs, but in a tight budget of under $180(may go a little over).
\n\nHere is a list of things I want it to include:
\n\nMinor things that I would like, but aren't necessary:
\n\nThis will be phone for over a year, so I need to last a little while. I will be writing programs on it, so I need a medium-big screen. It also needs to have pretty good speed, and can handle some multi-tasking. I would also be recording on the phone as well, while writing programs and/or playing games. I know this is a lot for the price, but I don't have a big budget. I have done some research and here are a few phones I have found: Blu Life One X (2016) and the Moto G (3rd Gen). I really like the Blu Life One X, but there quite a bit of reviews about the screen touch not working and the battery being terrible and wanted to get some input on that. Also found another 1 that i think I might get lenovo k3 note. But what about the xiaomi redmi note 2.
\n
\nAlso, I will also consider buying a used phone off ebay or amazon.
I have noticed that I can get a used(risking that it doesn't last or work) Galaxy note 3 on ebay for $148-180. I will also give bounty that put's up a good argument on weather I should get one of the new phones mentioned above, the Galaxy Note 3, or another phone used or new of your choice that can compare.
\n", "Title": "Android phone under $180 with great specs", "Tags": "|android|smartphones|", "Answer": "English is not my native language so please be patient.
\n\nYour requeriments doesn't go with your budget, so you'll have to drop some requeriments, especially for non chinese brands.
\n\nI would recomend the Xiaomi RedMi 2Pro ($147 US):
\n\nBut more accurate to your needs is the Xiaomi RedMi Note 3 Pro ($210 US). This satisfies all your needs and bring you awesome bonuses:
\n\nI'm interested in purchasing a large 4K TV.
\n\nOne feature I promised myself I'd check on, before purchasing another television, is the ability to turn the TV's screen off at any time, while still being able to hear the audio.
\n\nSometimes I just want to listen to the TV without watching it, and I'd like to save energy during these times (by turning off the screen).
\n\nIs this feature offered? Ideally, I'd like it to be a button on the remote control, so I don't have to navigate through a bunch of menus to toggle the screen on and off.
\n", "Title": "TV that you can turn off the screen while still listening to audio", "Tags": "|hdtv|energy-efficient|4k|", "Answer": "Roku TV: Steps to Turn Off Screen While Listening to TV
\n* button, on the Roku remote.Picture Off from the menu.Unsummarized
\nI just discovered that I can accomplish "turning off the screen" (while listening to TV) on Roku TVs.
\nThis probably won't work on external Roku devices (please comment otherwise), but it definitely does work on some (if not all) TVs that use Roku as their built-in "smart tv" operating system.
\nThe steps my vary, but I'll explain what the steps were for me.
\nWhile watching an Antenna TV Channel (or a YouTube video, for example) if I press the * button on the Roku remote, a menu comes up on the left side of the screen. In that menu, there is an option called Picture Off.
If you select Picture Off, you'll continue to hear the TV, but the display is turned off. After going into this mode, to turn the screen back on (later), you simply press the OK button (on the Roku remote) and the screen will turn back ON as before.
Simple. I love this feature.
\n" }, { "Id": "2213", "CreationDate": "2016-03-07T15:22:00.270", "Body": "I am looking for any consumer-audio (1/4 or 1/8 inch, mono or stereo) 3-way cable that could be described as a 'T' splitter rather than a 'Y' splitter. The intended use is to be able chain multiple 'T' splitters on top of each other without putting extra physical strain on the cable portion (rather than the metal connector).
\n\nI did not find such a cable in my searches and wonder if anyone else has come across one.
\n\n![\"T](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/k5QzP.png\")
You might be able to use something these, feedthru RCA adapters with a side connector:
\n\n\n\n\n\nDaisy chain the barrels and add extension cables from the side connectors.
\n" }, { "Id": "2216", "CreationDate": "2016-03-07T22:04:10.613", "Body": "I have a bunch of external hard drives, and I'm getting a bit tired of connecting and disconnecting them all the time - not to mention the noise. I'd like to find a way to connect them to my network instead so they can sit in a cabinet and stay out of my way.
\n\nIs there anything that could do that? Ideally wired, but wifi will do at a pinch. If it can take multiple drives, that'd be a bonus.
\n\nI'm not looking for a specific number of ports; four would be a good balance, twelve would be great if I find one that doesn't cost too much, but one would be fine too. No particular features or requirements in mind; I just want to be able to have some drives plugged in in another room so I can access them over the network.
\n\nBudget would be ideally below 1,000 SEK, but there's some leeway.
\n", "Title": "Is there a NAS adapter for USB drives?", "Tags": "|data-storage|nas|", "Answer": "addonics has introduced its Network Attached Storage (NAS) adapter, which is a $55 device that lets you plug a USB-powered external drive in one end and then connect an Ethernet cable to the other end that runs to your router.
\n\n\n\nhttp://www.addonics.com/products/nas40esu.php
\n" }, { "Id": "2221", "CreationDate": "2016-03-08T22:40:34.397", "Body": "I recently got a new (to me) computer. It was a workhorse computer from a few years ago. I'm trying to rig it up to work with an SSD in its new life with me.
\n\nCurrently the motherboard has SATA II and PCIe x4 slots available. I purchased a SAMSUNG 850 EVO M.2 SATA III drive which I was hoping would wrok but because of my confusion on how the M.2 spec works the drive I purchased is not directly compatible with my motherboard. I was assuming I could plug it into a PCIe slot (obviously that was wrong), then I was hoping I could get a PCIe to M.2 adapter but because this particular drive is M.2/SATA which means if I get an adapter I'd have to plug it in to a SATA II port which is what I was hoping to avoid is the first place.
\n\nIs there something I can buy that can make use of the drive I purchased while not compromising speed?
\n", "Title": "SSD to work with PCIe", "Tags": "|ssd|pcie|sata|", "Answer": "After checking specification of your motherboard (from this link) I checked that you have one PCI-E connector which will support PCI-E Solid State Drive.\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/bj7aP.png\")
You have two possible solutions:
\n\nBuy M2 to PCIe adapter:
\n\n\n\nBuy new SSD drive:
\n\nI would reccommend to buy Addonics adapter it is cheaper and has good reviews.
\n\nEDIT:
\n\nIf you will mount only one SSD you won't need additional power and sata cable (screen below):\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/DZfxn.png\")
\nDigging deeper I found two other Addonics adapters which have slot for only one SSD drive and no additional connectors (but only one can fit your SSD, because second one can only fit up to 80 mm M2 cards):
The criteria I am searching for are, again:
\n\nI've searched for the past year and couldn't find anything. The Asus UX305 is ideal, only not cheap (still ~$600).
\n\nCan someone recommend something?
\n", "Title": "Cheapest fanless Linux Intel laptop with a display 13 inches or larger", "Tags": "|laptop|linux|", "Answer": "Just to add one possibility that I found after posting this question:
\n\nan ideal laptop would be:
\n\nBut there have been similar startup projects before, and they did not succeeded. I hope that NexDock will (but it is critical, the current status is 52% with only one month left).
\n" }, { "Id": "2254", "CreationDate": "2016-03-11T09:44:26.090", "Body": "I am considering purchasing a new gaming laptop. After some initial research, I have narrowed the field down to two candidates.
\n\nThe Asus ROG G752VT
\n\nIn spite of the fact that, on paper, the Medion is the more powerful of the two, they are roughly equivalent in price. This immediately makes me suspicious. Medion is a German brand which is sometimes sold in discount supermarkets. It's based on MSI \"Barebones\", about which I know nothing. Being German, it's hard to find reliable reports in English of its reliability.
\n\nI was originally going to go for the Asus, but looking at the \"recommended\" specifications for some recent games it seemed that the desktop GTX 770 is a common fixture. Checking benchmark lists, it appears that the GTX 970M rates about 10% less power than the GTX 770, whereas the GTX 980M rates about 10% more. That made me feel it might be a worthwhile upgrade and I went looking for a system I could afford with the 980M, and the Medion is the only one I found.
\n\nTo lay out my concerns in plain language, I'm hoping someone can advise me on:
\n\nIn short, do I really need a 980M, and is the Medion really as good value as it seems to be?
\n", "Title": "Gaming laptops: Asus ROG G752VT vs Medion Erazer X7843", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|", "Answer": "There's a test of the Medion on this site:
\n\nhttp://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Medion-Erazer-X7843-Notebook.154482.0.html
\n\nJust use Google Translate or similar and you'll see that it is even tested against the G752VT. Nobody can tell you whether one thing is worth it or not, but the test gives you pretty much all the information you need to make your own decision (screen, noise, temperatures etc. are all in the test)
\n\nEdit: The site says that the screen is good, the performance is very high, the input devices are \"proper\" (my German isn't great, so that is the best translation I can give) and the negatives are that the CPU and GPU are soldered on and that the laptop throttles (turns down clocks/performance) on battery power.
\n" }, { "Id": "2269", "CreationDate": "2016-03-13T19:55:45.813", "Body": "The last couple of months I have been preparing for a return to hobby music production after a long hiatus. I have realised that my computer will not have enough storage space for my coming sample library, so I need to look at external storage solutions.
\n\nI basically have two options:
\n\nWhich one of these alternatives would be advisable from both a technologically functional and cost-benefit purchase recommendation standpoint?
\n\n\n\nDoes it make sense to store relatively large sample libraries in a remote location?
\n
It makes sense, but it's not at all beneficial. If you're going to be pulling samples into your project fairly often, you'll be much better off storing them locally so you only have to depend on drive connection transfer rates.
\n\n\nWould it be smarter to get a network switch to enable double LAN ports?
\n
Like you said, this wouldn't matter at all if your computer is bottlenecking the network connection with one LAN port.
\n\n\nWhat's most future-proof solution given that I may upgrade my computer to USB-C and/or Thunderbolt 3 within 1-2 years?
\n
The two options you're choosing from aren't desirable if you're focusing on future-proofing. Both will become completely outdated in 1-2 years because of the USB 2 and HDD technologies.
\n\n\nExternal SSD with USB 2 or external HDD with Thunderbolt 1?
\n
Taking into account the other questions, an HDD with Thunderbolt will do you well because you could connect several of these to a Thunderbolt hub and have little to no bottlenecking. Thunderbolt is rated at 1250MB/s per channel (but usually hits around 500MB/s) while HDD read speeds average around 120MB/s. This allows for a lot of room to expand your storage options later on. With an SSD-USB 2 setup, you have a connection speed of 60MB/s bottlenecking an average read speed of >400MB/s... Not too great.
\nSince you're looking for at least 0.5-1TB of storage space, choosing the SSD route will skyrocket the price very easily. A 1TB SSD will instantly put you over budget while a 1TB HDD won't even put you over half your budget. Also, since you're considering the future, it's better to spend less so you can potentially upgrade to a newer technology later on. You might find a good deal on an SSD with Thunderbolt for example.
\nBoth options are fairly uncommon because USB 2 is being quickly phased out as a drive connection type and Thunderbolt on a hard drive is a mix of very old and very new technologies. Don't expect a small price tag on anything amazing.
\nG-Technology G-DRIVE Mobile 1TB 7200RPM 1xThunderbolt/1xUSB 3.0 (USD $190)
\nA quality solution overall. But, again, you don't have too many options here given your price constraint. There are better products out there that sit outside your budget.
\n" }, { "Id": "2274", "CreationDate": "2016-03-14T06:00:35.790", "Body": "I have a line-powered (standard AC) device that sinks 50W in steady-state and I need to power it for 10 hours in case of service interruption.
\n\nI'm assuming that I can use, say, a 500W UPS (50W * 10hr = 500Whr = 500W * 1hr) to power it for 10 hours.
\n\nBut where can I find that kind of UPS? Looking at, for example, CyberPower, I see the model I currently own will supply 600W for only 1 minute (if I'm reading the spec correctly here, under product features \"Runtime (half/full).\" (Actually, I don't know how to read that since it says full = 1 minute, half = 6 minutes, so maybe it isn't linear?)
\n\nAnyway, where can I find a battery backed UPS that will supply 50W for 10 hours?
\n\nBonus questions: The UPS specs generally also use VA as units as well as W. Is this due to RMS factors for sine wave power or what? And does it affect my calculations?
\n", "Title": "UPS that supplies 50W for 10hrs?", "Tags": "|power-supply|ups|", "Answer": "Computer UPSs are optimized to provide high power levels for a short period of time, the idea being to bridge a brief flicker in the mains power, or let you shut down cleanly during an extended outage. At low power draws, they are quite inefficient, wasting much of the battery's power as heat.
\n\nYour best bet is to build your own UPS from an inverter-charger and a marine/RV deep-cycle battery. Something like this 600-watt inverter-charger ($400) plus a 60AH-80AH battery should work; given your low power draw and assuming you don't switch to battery power very often, you might even be able to get away with using an automotive battery.
\n" }, { "Id": "2287", "CreationDate": "2016-03-15T09:57:06.437", "Body": "I'm looking to upgrade my old HDD to SSD to improve build times while programming. Two primary concerns are random read/write and lingevity of the disk. The budget is under 400 PLN (I'm from Poland, that's around 100 USD)
\n\nDue to the price I'm currently looking at Intel's 535 240GB or SanDisk Ultra II Plus 240GB. T so Samsung is pretty much out of my budget from what I gathered, but I will welcome any suggestions.
\n\nEdit:\nForgot to include the interface: SATA 3, will most likely go with ASRock's H170M Pro4
\n\nEdit2:\nI forgot to add, this will be used to (among others) build OpenEmbedded which takes ~50GB for a full image build. Not that it really matters, with 75TB meaning 1,5k full rebuilds.
\n", "Title": "A 240 GB SSD for a programmer", "Tags": "|desktop|ssd|", "Answer": "Moving from HDD to any new SSD will be noticable, while the differences between particular SSD tend to be slight. I actually did the same (also ssd upgrade for programming) and just went with the cheapest SSD at the time (Kingston), because my laptop only supported SATA II (300 MB/s). If you have SATA III and want something premium, the Samsung 850 250 GB is your best bet imho, and you can get it for 360 z\u0142 in poland: see allegro
\n\nSee benchmarks:
\n\nConsidering hardware for a gaming laptop. Not building my own, but found a great deal on a machine from last season still sporting a 4720HQ processor.
\n\nComparing benchmarks between the Haswell 4720HQ and the Skylake 6700HQ seems to suggest they're roughly comparable. The 6700 is, on average, about 5% better but some sites, such as cpuboss, actually suggest the older chip is marginally faster. There are lots of benchmarks and I'm not sure which to trust as regards a machine intended primarily for gaming, but from speed alone the 6700 doesn't appear to be worthwhile.
\n\nHowever, speed isn't the only improvement in Haswell vs Skylake. Most of the others don't interest me. Better integrated graphics aren't much use in a machine with a dedicated GPU. The support for DDR4 isn't a big deal in a laptop where I'm unlikely to be upgrading the default RAM. The effeciency gains aren't helpful since I spend most of my time plugging in to a power socket.
\n\nThe differences in connectivity though, could be a big deal, and that's support for Thunderbolt and USB 3.1.
\n\nAbout a year ago there was a big explosion in interest about Thunderbolt, partly because it offered the possibility of running desktop-grade GPUs as an external plug-in to laptops and all kinds of other cool stuff. Right now, I can't ascertain whether this has lead to any tangible use cases or is likely to. I'm not even entirely sure, to be honest, whether you can even buy non-Apple laptops with Thunderbolt ports, or how to find them (it seems to be referred to as USB Type-C in some places).
\n\nSo, is it realistic to go looking for a Skylake laptop with Thunderbolt, with a view to plugging in some monstrous desktop GPU, or some other reason (are the benchmarks lying)? Or should I stick with Haswell for now?
\n", "Title": "Intel i7 4720HQ vs 6700HQ - worth it for Thunderbolt on gaming laptop?", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|processor|thunderbolt|", "Answer": "High spec Haswells and Broadwells are going for absolute bargains right now and are excellent machines for most people that want very good gaming with normal work/social use cases.
\n\nBut if you primarily want to game on your laptop and if you don't want to wait and can find the 6700HQ (or something else) with something like a GTX 970M and a Thunderbolt 3 port (preferably more), then go for it. That should last you 2 years by which time there'll be much more external desktop GPUs to upgrade to via Thunderbolt 3.
\n\n\n\n\nAbout a year ago there was a big explosion in interest about\n Thunderbolt, partly because it offered the possibility of running\n desktop-grade GPUs as an external plug-in to laptops and all kinds of\n other cool stuff. Right now, I can't ascertain whether this has lead\n to any tangible use cases or is likely to.
\n
To give an example (for non-hardcore gamers), Acer will be releasing a dock which features an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M graphics card, two DisplayPorts, a HDMI port, three Type A USB 3.0 ports, a headphone jack and an Ethernet port. Expected to be about \u20ac300, likely to be tied to Acer laptops.
\n\nFor serious desktop graphics cards, a number of enclosures are out now or just around the corner that take a full PCI-E x16 slotted card. Thunderbolt 3.0 doesn't nearly have the same bandwidth as PCI-E x16 and this does lead to a performance hit compared to a desktop (Asus say 1-5% fps hit for theirs); but a bit of perspective: you're running a desktop graphics card on your laptop :-O.
\n\nThere's the Asus ROG XG Station, as in a YouTube link above, tied to Acer laptops. Likely to be GPU manufacturer agnostic.
\n\nRazer have Core, which is a docking station designed to enhance their ultrabook grade Blade Stealth, but is GPU and PC manufacturer agnostic. From what I gather, hot swap drivers drivers are built into the Core and load on the fly, unlike the other offerings where you'll have to power of your device to disconnect the external GPU. It has a built-in 500W power supply (supports a 350W GPU), four USB 3.0 ports and Ethernet port. Already shipping in the US for $500 (without a GPU), $400 with a Blade Stealth ($1000 starting). Expected to ship in April for Europe. This is the one I'm really excited about :-D.
\n\nAMD are working on XConnect (with Razer), intended to be at least PC manufacturer agnostic.
\n\nSo if you get a Skylake gaming machine with Thunderbolt 3 soon, which typically last for 2 years, by then there'll be plenty more GPU and PC manufacturer agnostic enclosures around. If you go Haswell, although much cheaper now, you'll have to replace the whole machine at upgrade time.
\n\n\n\n\nI'm not even entirely sure, to be honest, whether you can even buy\n non-Apple laptops with Thunderbolt ports
\n
Thunderbolt 3 is no pricey passing technology like Thunderbolt 1 & 2 before it. Nor should it ever be thought of as an Apple feature like Thunderbolt 1 & 2. Major manufactures have already released laptops with Thunderbolt 3 for their higher priced offerings and only more will follow suit. Here are only some examples.
\n" }, { "Id": "2292", "CreationDate": "2016-03-15T21:27:44.937", "Body": "[Edit] restated question trying to emulate a different format found in this request more closely.
\n\nI'm looking to have a mid-level virtualization and media server for an extended home environment, and I am looking to spend in the neighborhood of $1,000 (+/-$100) for the core components (MOBO, CPU, and Memory), as I have a case, a single power supply, and several HDD/SSD options on hand already. It will be running Windows Server with either server or client OSes for 2-6 simultaneous home users.
\n\nI'm used to AMD architecture, but I'm quite open to Intel if the costs seem to make sense, in terms of power to run it vs initial layout. Since the architecture is closely intertwined with the CPU and MOBO, I'm not sure how it's practical to separate the two, but I would say let's focus on the motherboard
\n\nRequirements
\n\nNot Important
\n\nI'd essentially mirror my answer here and build something around a X10SDV-6C+-TLN4F Xeon-D based system. Newegg has it for a hair under the grand including an embedded CPU, and unlike some other models, it has a cooling solution. This dosen't include the ram but it'll take standard DDR4, and up to 64 gb of non ECC stuff (or 128gb of Rdimm ram).
\n\nLets talk about the nice things about this board.
\n\nIts an 8 core system, designed to run VMs, with a TDP of 45W.
\n\nLan ports? 2x gig-e. 2x 10gig-e (should you need it).
\n\nOut of band management over IPMI. You can install the OS over lan.
\n\nOne PCI x16, one M.2 slot, 6 sata 3 ports.
\n\nAll in a mini ITX form factor.
\n\nYou could go cheaper but I doubt you'd get all the same features. I've not actually gotten one, but I was seriously considering it at one point, when weighing my options for a home server.
\n" }, { "Id": "2307", "CreationDate": "2016-03-16T22:32:29.603", "Body": "I'd like to buy a Bluetooth headset. I have a long list of criteria, and have done some research. From what I've found, the Plantronics M70 or M90 would be reasonable choices for me.
\n\nWhat's the difference between the Plantronics M70 headset and the similar Plantronics M90? Please provide me with a comparison of the two products.
\n", "Title": "Plantronics M70 vs. M90 \u2014 what's the difference between them?", "Tags": "|bluetooth|headset|", "Answer": "It took me a fair bit of Web searching to find the answer.
\n\nIn the end, I finally hit upon the correct set of terms to enter into Google. I did a Google search for [ plantronics m70 m90 vs | comparison | difference ]. The 21st search result was an Amazon.co.uk product-description page which included the information I sought.
On that page, reviewer Andrew Oakley writes:
\n\n\n\n\nNote that the only difference between the M90 and the M70 is that the M90 comes with a fancy charger cable that can charge two devices (headset & phone) at a time, wheras the M70 just comes with a standard charger cable. The M70 is mostly black with a thin white stripe along the edge; the M90 is entirely black. The M70 and M90 headsets are otherwise identical in all technical and physical respects, to the best of my research. Talk time, A2DP, BT3.0, spoken features, etc.: all identical.
\n
An anonymous commenter adds:
\n\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "2325", "CreationDate": "2016-03-19T17:16:37.953", "Body": "Plantronics don't make it very clear about the difference between the two products. I'm certainly going to go for the M70. I even checked the manual on the Plantronics website. It groups the M25 & M55 in the same manual and mentions when there's a difference. The M70 & M90 have the same manual but the only difference seems to be this for the \"What's in the box\" section: *Contents may vary by product.
\n
I run a small business that handles credit card point of sales transactions over my business internet account.
\n\nPer some updated regulations with the credit processing company, they now have a requirement that the hardware used at my business be protected against certain attacks.
\n\nHere is the specific requirement:
\n\n\"Implement anti-spoofing measures to detect and block forged source IP addresses from entering the network (1.3.4): In an attempt to bypass your firewall, cyber attackers will try and spoof packets using the internal IP range of your network to make it look like the request originated internally. Enabling the IP spoofing feature on your firewall will help prevent these types of attacks.\"
\n\nI am currently using a Linksys BEFSX41 network router, which has a firmware based firewall. However, I am having trouble determining if an \"IP spoofing feature\" is already part of the Linksys firmware or if I need to purchase a new router for this capability. My research so far shows that there are certain enterprise-level Cisco devices that explicitly mention this feature, but they seem to be outside of my price range.
\n\nWhat models exist that have this feature and are more reasonably priced than enterprise-grade equipment?
\n\nThe network at my business is a couple of workstations, some network attached storage, a printer, and some point of sale devices. DHCP is enabled on the router firmware.
\n\nPlease let me know if I can provide any additional information. I'm a bit naive in this area of computing.
\n", "Title": "Non-WiFi network router that can handle IP spoofing attacks", "Tags": "|router|security|", "Answer": "What you need is a firewall that that does packet inspection so that it can prevent IP spoofing.
\n\nYour Linksys BEFSX41 (assuming v2) \"does\" packet inspection and can prevent IP Spoofing (see data sheet). That said, this router/firewall is from 2004 (over 12 years old) and as far as I can tell, there have been no updates to this particular model; meaning it isn't current to address current threats.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Xk9Ta.png\")
The beauty with this platform is that you can purchase a complete hardware appliance for as little as $300 or your can build your own if you have a spare PC laying around. There are videos on YouTube that show you how you can do this.
\n\n\n\n\nPacket normalization - Description from the pf scrub documentation - \"'Scrubbing' is the normalization of packets so there are no ambiguities in interpretation by the ultimate destination of the packet. The scrub directive also reassembles fragmented packets, protecting some operating systems from some forms of attack, and drops TCP packets that have invalid flag combinations.\"
\n
Being a small business, I can appreciate trying to maximize your investment and getting the most value for a dollar. I have recommended pfSense to many of my clients and I use it personally at both my office and at home. I think you will find it more than capable to meet your needs.
\n" }, { "Id": "2329", "CreationDate": "2016-03-20T01:05:00.080", "Body": "My desktop PC does not have a HDMI port, but my TV only supports HDMI inputs. Is there any way of connecting the two that is
\n\nI have 2gb DDR2 RAM.Budget around 10 dollar or 700 to 900 indian rupees.
\n", "Title": "Cheap solution to connect PC to TV", "Tags": "|pc|hdmi|television|vga|", "Answer": "There are a couple of things you could do....
\n\nThe cheapest one I found with relatively good ratings was (at the time of this post) $17 available on Amazon. VGA being an analog signal and HDMI being digital, there's no getting around the fact that you have to convert the signal.
\n\nNote: You will need to supply your own HDMI cable to go from the adapter to your TV
\n\n![\"VGA](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/dTysrm.jpg\")
You said you had a desktop computer, so you could easily add (or replace) your existing video card with one that had a DVI connector. These are selling for as low as $5.95 (at the time of this post) on eBay. Keep in mind that this is going to be a used video adapter, but given the price constraints, I don't think this will be too much of an issue.
\n\nYou can then use a DVI to HDMI cable to connect that video card to your TV. Amazon has it for $6.95 (at the time of this post). Since DVI and HDMI are both digital, no digital to analog conversion is necessary
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/1xKLM.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/9UXQAm.jpg\")
Unfortunately, there are no options that I could readily find for under the $10 limit. The second option I proposed seems to be the cheapest, coming in at about $13 USD.
\n" }, { "Id": "2345", "CreationDate": "2016-03-23T11:33:43.827", "Body": "Is it true that passive 3D projectors would require some special screen?
\n\nIf so why?
\n\nI definitely hate active 3D glasses.
\n", "Title": "Is most 3D projectors active?", "Tags": "|projector|", "Answer": "Yes, virtually all single beam projectors are active. This is because passive polarization relies on pixel perfect alignment of the light to the polarization material (screen medium). Active 3D however does not have that limitation as the glasses do not need polarization. There are costly dual projection setups which can be used passively, but they are also difficult to align and maintain. I prefer passive as well, but owning both types, I can say that active 3D has made advancements in the home. I prefer DLP 3D projector glasses even to those sold for Samsung 3D TVs now.
\n" }, { "Id": "2357", "CreationDate": "2016-03-24T13:47:33.303", "Body": "What would you recommend for rendering on GPU (iray, V-Ray RT, VRED) and doing some VR; two GTX 970 or one GTX980 Ti card? I can get these setups for roughly the same price.
\n\nCuda cores
\n\n970: 2x1664 = 3328
980Ti: 2816
VRAM
\n\n970: 4GB
980Ti: 6GB
Memory Bandwidth
\n\n970: 224 GB/sec
980Ti: 336.5 GB/sec
Texture Fill Rate
\n\n970: 109 GigaTexels/sec
980Ti: 176 GigaTexels/sec
I know that the memory in two 970 does not add up to 8gb in total, so two 970 will give me less VRAM. But what about the total number of CUDA cores compared to the lower amount of VRAM and lower memory bandwidth?
\n\nMy motherboard has 3x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots with support for 3-way SLI. I also have my old GTX 590, that I was thinking of keeping for Windows to work with.
\n\nCheers!
\n", "Title": "Two GTX 970 or one 980 Ti for GPU rendering and VR?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|rendering|", "Answer": "As has been said, Pascal is coming soon, and is expected to have greater performance increases than the Kepler to Maxwell transition (Pascal should be released to public around the end of Q2). However, I wouldn't dismiss multi GPU setups out of hand, though perhaps it makes more sense as a later upgrade.
\n\nWhy multiple GPUs are better with Pascal:
\n\n![\"NVlink\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Pulya.png\")
(sources: iray benchmarks, VRED Nvidia article, Vray RT Nvidia article)
\n\nWhy you might opt for a single GPU anyway:
\n\nWhat you should also consider:
\n\nAMD's Polaris is also releasing around the same time, and is supposed to have competitive performance per watt. Of course, you might run into problems with vendor specific software, such as those using CUDA, but it goes both ways (well, slightly more in favor of Nvidia, owing to their market share), and AMD hardware generally have better OpenCL performance. If you're not worried about power consumption and you want your computer now, 2 R9 390s would be decently better performing than 2 GTX 970s at high resolutions.
\n" }, { "Id": "2360", "CreationDate": "2016-03-24T22:32:52.940", "Body": "I am starting a home server build. I am on a tight budget and aiming for the most quiet and low power build. I managed to salvage an Intel Xeon X3440 Processor from an old server. It uses an intel LGA1156 socket. After a brief google search it seems that the only boards that support this processor are server grade boards. I am looking for a recommendation for a low cost server board that will support my processor.
\n\nLink for CPU: http://ark.intel.com/products/42928/Intel-Xeon-Processor-X3440-8M-Cache-2_53-GHz
\n", "Title": "Home Server Build around Xeon X3440 CPU", "Tags": "|motherboard|server|", "Answer": "My suggestion is to put that CPU on eBay.
\n\nBy the time you source the motherboard, memory, drives, case, etc. (not to mention the time to find the time required to source and assemble all the parts) you are going to be in for at least $500 or more.
\n\nWhy not look for a workstation class machine like this Dell on eBay?
\n\nIt has a newer Xenon CPU, is fully built and ready to go. You can even further customize it to your hearts content and the asking price is $250.
\n\nI am not knocking system building by any means, I just found that unless you are building a custom gaming rig, there really is nothing more efficient and economical than getting a used server/workstation rather than trying to source EOL parts.
\n" }, { "Id": "2377", "CreationDate": "2016-03-26T17:07:53.687", "Body": "I am trying to setup a laptop for my grandparents for video calls, who certainly don't know how to use most technologies.
\n\nMy plan is to setup a video chat app on boot and use a reliable command-line interface (CLI) to pre-select numbers for them. There will be only two numbers/addresses, mine and my brother's. I have been looking for video chat app that provides an official, long-term-supported CLI on Linux. Google Hangouts and Skype both have third-party CLI, which may not be up-to-date with the official releases in the future. If my grandparents accidentally update the app, the whole setup may break.
\n\nThe choice of laptop is also crucial. The most important feature here is durability, because the laptop may be dropped to ground accidentally, or a cup of water may go directly onto the keyboard. CPU is not an issue as long as it is enough to power Linux kernel and the app, because video-call is IO-bound I believe. Hard-disk size doesn't matter, and 4GB of RAM is good enough.
\n\nI'd love to let my grandparents skip the steps of starting apps, logging in, selecting video calls, push numbers/addresses etc. For that I will need to setup a bash or other scripts to do these with CLI on boot. That is also why I want to install Linux on the laptop (mainly because I am not familiar with Windows' shells...)
\n\nI have been looking at rugged notebooks like Toughbook, as well as Lenovo Thinkpad. Do you guys know about anything more suitable for my grandparents?
\n", "Title": "Durable laptop and CLI-supported video chat for grandparents on Linux", "Tags": "|laptop|linux|", "Answer": "I think you are making this overly complex.
\n\nI purchased a Kindle Fire for my 80 year old aunt and showed her how to use three apps on it. Netflix, Skype and email. The out of pocket cost was just over $50 including the case and a stand (so she could watch movies)
\n\nI positioned the icons for her so that they were the first things that were there when the device was turned on. That was Christmas 2015. I have yet to have a tech support call from her on how to use the device . However, she has called everyone including her grandson in Guam using Skype - she on the Kindle and he on an XBox.
\n\nNow, this was a woman who got a free laptop from another nephew but the laptop ended up collecting dust because the moment something had to be updated or it generated an error, they had no idea what to do. Sometimes, the simplest solution is the best solution.
\n\nI regularly get emails and Skype calls from her, but none have been to resolve a tech issue. That $50 was well worth the price.
\n" }, { "Id": "2391", "CreationDate": "2016-03-28T13:09:57.293", "Body": "I'm looking to replace my existing development laptop (java, .net, android apps, etc). I usually run a number of virtuals (some windows and some linux) so at least 32GB RAM is a must. Here is what I am looking for in general:
\n\nWhat I don't really care about:
\n\nBudget $2500-$3000
\n\nDoes such an animal exist?
\n", "Title": "High-end developer laptop", "Tags": "|laptop|development|", "Answer": "You might want to investigate the Thinkpad from Lenovo as well. W550, P50, P70... They are all high end machines and they have various options so that you can tailor the machine to your needs.
\n\nBut the \"killer\" feature - for me - was the docking station (purchased separately) that gives the ability to move the laptop around while still having a \"proper\" screen, keyboard and mouse when you are sitting in your home office. The best of both worlds.\nWhile you didn't mention \"docks\", maybe this could fit all of your keyboard requirements if 90% of your work is done on a desk and not \"on the go\" (you can then purchase any keyboard and plug it to the dock, which is what I did with mine).
\n\nSupport is great as well and professional (at least here in the UK) - and when I purchased mine, I got the extended warranty which was very cheap.
\n\nAlso, the Lenovo laptops are fairly easy to open and there are lots of manuals in case you want/need to replace the components by yourself.
\n\nThe bill can add up quite quickly at purchase if you go for the best machine, though.
\n" }, { "Id": "2396", "CreationDate": "2016-03-28T18:00:23.083", "Body": "Is there a docking station that is compatible with both 13\" MacBook Pro (2015 model A1502) and a Surface Pro 3?
\n\nI am looking for one that has
\n1. Connectivity up to two monitors (DVI/HDMI/VGA)
\n2. Ethernet adapter
\n3. 1 USB Port
\n4. Portable
Plugable UD-3900 USB 3.0 Universal Docking Station is working great for me.
\n\nThis dock has drivers available to recognize it under both Windows 10, and Mac OS.
\n\nThe dock connects via USB 3.0 cable and is preferable in my situation since both of the computers I am using lack the latest USB C ports.
\n\nI got it around US $125.00 that was also well within my budget.
\n" }, { "Id": "2398", "CreationDate": "2016-03-28T19:05:14.533", "Body": "At the moment I am using this computer:
\n\nMotherboard Name: Asus P8P67 (3xPCI, 2xPCI-E x1, 2xPCI-E x16, 4xDDR3 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)\nMotherboard Chipset: Intel Cougar Point P67, Intel Sandy Bridge \nCPU: Quad-core Intel Core i7-2600K, 4400 MHz (43 x 102) \nRAM: 16GB (4x4GB DDR3-1600 SDRAM)\nDIMM1: G Skill ECO F3-12800CL8-4GBECO -- 4GB DDR3-1600 SDRAM (9-9-9-28 @ 800 MHz) (8-8-8-25 @ 711 MHz) (7-7-7-22 @ 622 MHz)\nDIMM2: G Skill Ares F3-1600C9-4GAB -- 4GB DDR3-1600 SDRAM (11-11-11-28 @ 800 MHz) (10-10-10-27 @ 761 MHz) (9-9-9-24 @ 685 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 609 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 533 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 457 MHz)\nDIMM3: G Skill ECO F3-12800CL8-4GBECO -- 4GB DDR3-1600 SDRAM (9-9-9-28 @ 800 MHz) (8-8-8-25 @ 711 MHz) (7-7-7-22 @ 622 MHz)\nDIMM4: G Skill Ares F3-1600C9-4GAB -- 4GB DDR3-1600 SDRAM (11-11-11-28 @ 800 MHz) (10-10-10-27 @ 761 MHz) (9-9-9-24 @ 685 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 609 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 533 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 457 MHz)\nGraphics card: AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series\n3D-Accelerator: AMD Radeon HD 6850 (Barts) \nPower supply: be quiet - Dark Power Pro (80 Plus Gold) - Model: BQT P9-550W \ncase: AeroCool RS-9 Professional\nUnfortunately, I'm extremely bad at hardware. The graphics card is now broken and I need a new one with the following requirements:
\n\nDo you know a graphics card with these specifications?
\nI thought that I can get such a graphics card with a maximum of 600\u20ac. However, I am also willing to go a little higher if this is necessary, but I don't think so, based on amazon and co.
UPDATE
\nat the moment there are only two graphic cards mentioned in this thread:
\nGTX 980 and GTX 980 TI.
\nthe first is relatively old and the second is not (yet) supported by adobe. Is this support guaranteed in the future? or does somebody has an other GPU idea? maybe with a similar performance?
You should not go with a card with more than 200W TDP as you have only a 550W power supply. It might work, it might not.
\n\n600 EUR is way too high of a budget for just a new graphics card. If you want an equivalent graphics card to the 6850, you could go for a GTX 960. It's faster than the 6850 in fact, and consumes similar amount of power(120W for the 960, 127 for the 6850).\nUltra-high end cards like the 980 and 980Ti will be overkill for you, since your PC is old, and they're pretty fast, over 4 times as fast(or even faster) for the 980Ti. The 980Ti also consumes a lot of power, 250W.
\n\nIf you want to go for a bit of futureproofing, go with a 970 or an upcoming Pascal card. The 970 is an awesome card at $330 with a power consumption of 145W. Pascal cards are new ones coming with an architecture change, meaning they'll be significantly faster for the same amount of money. But you'll have to wait two months for them.
\n" }, { "Id": "2406", "CreationDate": "2016-03-29T20:20:53.543", "Body": "I have Intel Compute Stick which has HDMI male connector as output which I would like to connect to Macbook Pro which has HDMI port (female), USB and ThunderBolt Mini DisplayPort. My goal is to see the screen of the device on my laptop screen.
\n\nI've tried to connect the device to MBP HDMI port, but it doesn't work, so I assume I need to purchase some converter.
\n\nWhat I need to have in order to capture display output from the stick device?
\n\nWould ThunderBolt to HDMI adapter cable would work in that case, or some kind of virtual webcam or anything else? I've no budget limits (just reasonable price to quality).
\n", "Title": "Adapter to connect Intel Compute Stick to Mac to see the output", "Tags": "|hdmi|thunderbolt|osx|micro-pc|video-adapters|", "Answer": "I am assuming that you want to connect the Intel Compute Stick to something that you can view the output of the device, correct?
\n\nFirst off, you cannot connect it into the HDMI port of your MacBook Pro. That's output only. That's like trying to connect the HDMI out port on a DVD player to the HDMI port on a game console - it's not going to work.
\n\nWhat you need is a monitor with an HDMI port as an input. Any monitor with an HDMI port will work.
\n\nIf you want to capture the video, you need a video capture device. The Elgato Gaming Video Capture products have been really good.
\n" }, { "Id": "2410", "CreationDate": "2016-03-29T23:12:54.477", "Body": "I am looking for a small drive of some sort for a private server hosted using a desktop computer. The server will be used as a private proxy. I only need around 25-50 GB, but everything I find is 500+ GB Hard Drives. Is there a fast and small internal drive, maybe flash memory? It would be best to spend less than $20.
\n\nThis is the smallest drive I could find on Newegg, but it is still way too large and it 3 times the price I am looking for.
\n", "Title": "Small and inexpensive drive?", "Tags": "|desktop|server|hard-disk|", "Answer": "You can find HDD's under $20 on newegg.com :
\n\nI am in the market for a colour laser multifunction printer. I have the following requirements:
\n\nIn terms of budget I would be looking ideally at less than \u00a3300. I would consider a recommendation for a unit that would be a good fit that is available secondhand.
\n", "Title": "Colour Laser MFP", "Tags": "|linux|printer|", "Answer": "I did some digging around and in the end I got a Lexmark CX 310. The only thing it falls down on is the duplex scanning automatically, however the interface allows for it.
\n\nHaving used it for a while now its a good little printer and fits nicely to my needs.
\n" }, { "Id": "2429", "CreationDate": "2016-03-31T15:51:14.600", "Body": "Sounds easy, right?
\n\nNOPE!
\n\nIn an attempt to do away with this dreaded message:
\n\n![\"USB](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/HmyFr.png\")
I am looking for a USB hub for my Macbook Pro that meets the following requirements:
\n\nI am specifically not looking for, and am not interested in:
\n\n\"Charging\" hubs meaning:
\n\n\"House brand\" hubs such as AmazonBasics, Gigatech, etc. Too many bad experiences there.
Price is no object.
\n", "Title": "Powered USB3 hub", "Tags": "|laptop|usb|power-supply|hub|", "Answer": "If a good USB Hub with more than 4 ports is what you are looking for then you should check out Anker USB Hubs like this one
\n\nhttps://www.anker.com/products/A7513141
\n\nIt's a 7 port Aluminum hub, USB 3.0, with a 5V 3.0A power adapter.
\n\nAs for reviews....
\n\nTheir site:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/1s2kh.png\")
From Amazon:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/f2a2l.png\")
They make hubs that go from 4 ports to 14 ports so there is a lot of choice. What what I really like about their products is that they stand behind them. I had an issue with a 2 port hub over a year after I bought it and they refunded my full purchase price. Their customer service has been fantastic that I can recommend them and their products without hesitation.
\n" }, { "Id": "2440", "CreationDate": "2016-04-01T20:30:13.337", "Body": "I recently got the new Dell XPS 13 9350. This model features the new USB Type-C; it has no other native port for connecting a display (HDMI, mini DisplayPort, etc..).
\n\nI've done my research and there are some adapters available, but the ones I have found are either ridiculously expensive, or have horrible reviews. Several on Amazon from companies I've never even heard of with reviews from people that were given the products for free, which I frankly don't trust at all.
\n\nHas anybody had any luck with a good adapter for USB Type-C laptops? I am primarily wanting it to connect to an external NEC 24 inch monitor. It has Display Port and HDMI connections available.
\n\nI've found a few like this that have multiple connections in one device, which seems like it would be really convenient. Dell also makes their own that even includes Ethernet, but it's $75! Some reviews I read talk about BIOS issues that may keep these from working at all (scary).
\n\nIs this to be expected since USB Type-C is still fairly new? I feel like there has to be a cheaper and better solution.
\n", "Title": "USB Type-C adapters?", "Tags": "|usb|video-adapters|", "Answer": "A bit late to the party on this one, but I can tell you to avoid (at least for now) the Dell docks that may have been recommended to you at the time of your XPS-13 purchase. I tried both docks on two separate XPS-13s, and neither dock worked correctly. The Dell forums are filled with customers angry with the failings of the TB-15 dock, and it's not even offered for sale on their website any longer. However, it is still available on Amazon with no mention of the hardware difficulties, so beware.
\n\nI tried the Cable Matters adapter that Allan suggested above, and unfortunately the one I ordered from Amazon arrived DOA.
\n\nThe one adapter that I did find very useful for me is (Sad to say) Dell's own DA200 adapter. It plugs into that USB-C port and gives you an ethernet port, USB3.0, VGA and HDMI ports. Pretty handy and works flawlessly for me every time.
\n\nI've also heard some people had great success with the HooToo Shuttle. There are various versions of the Shuttle, one of which has another USB-C port that could be used for charging too. That sounds great, except I really need DisplayPort support.
\n\nOverall, I've had this laptop for about three months now and I still can't find an adapter that does exactly what I'm looking for. Hope you do better, and if you do, share it with us!
\n" }, { "Id": "2441", "CreationDate": "2016-04-02T09:17:52.580", "Body": "I have no real knowledge about hardware. My ssd hase failed now and i need to look for another one and preferable a big one (total 250-500 gb). And what would be the price range for it?
\n\nThis is what i have now: (it's stacked in raid so have 2 of them)
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Sqgex.png\")
What you have there is called mSATA. These are available from every SSD manufacturer but I am very partial to both Samsung and Crucial as I have used many of their products in the past without issue. I have provided links in order of preference:
\n\n\n\nBoth are priced right around the same price point and both have excellent warranties.
\n\nWill it work in your computer?
\n\nHardware wise? Yes. SATA can address up to 8 EB (Exabytes) or 8 million TB.
\n\nWill you OS read it?
\n\nAssuming you are using Windows or Linux and not something custom, then NTFS and EXT2/3/4 will address much more than 8EB. You should be good there as well.
\n" }, { "Id": "2460", "CreationDate": "2016-04-04T18:08:07.583", "Body": "I am will be overclocking my Intel i7 6700K to 4.6 GHz and I am looking for a solid motherboard to go with it. Currently, I am considering the Asus Maximus VIII Hero (https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/MAXIMUS-VIII-HERO/) as I know that the previous motherboard (Asus Maximus VII Hero) was very good and I have had a good experience with Asus so far. Could anyone recommend any other motherboards?
\n\nMust:
\n\nYou have two good options here both being delivered by ASUS.
\n\nYour suggestion, the Maximus VIII Hero.
\n\nAt \u00a340 cheaper, the Maximus VIII Ranger.
\n\nIt may be worth the extra \u00a340 for you to go with the Ranger as it gives up nothing important and will leave you with money to spend elsewhere.
\n" }, { "Id": "2466", "CreationDate": "2016-04-05T22:07:59.553", "Body": "I have a Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti - I did have two but one expired. \nlooking for a similar replacement to run a single TV through HDMI, the current card runs two monitors.
\n\nDo I need to be looking at the same brand or spec? \nOr will it work with anything?
\n\nI expect it to be showing webpages most of the time. I have it set up as an over head monitor that'll I'll be using to collect reference materials.
\n\nAs I won't be using it for games I'd like to keep the price as low as possible.
\n\nMy main concern is in order to achieve this I'll need to buy two new cards because I can't see this one for sale.
\n\nRig:
\n\nThe GTX 550Ti is a discontinued video card (and has been for a couple of years now) You would be paying a premium on ebay for a (probably) used card if you wanted to find a matching one.
\n\nIn order to use SLi, you need to have matching graphics cards. Though the brand and clock speed may be different, they must have the same GPU (and both be Ti or non-Ti) as well as the same amount of video RAM. If you are not gaming or doing graphical rendering I wonder why you would want two cards anyways? You are able to use two (and on some models three) monitors with a single GTX 550Ti.
\n\nIf you are looking for a new single video card of comparable power which can also support multiple monitors, I recommend the GTX 750 which can be found for around USD$100, or the current GTX 950 for about USD$140. The GTX 660 Ti is capable of supporting three monitors, but can be difficult to find because it has been discontinued.
\n\nVirtually any video card sold in stores today will support multiple monitors (at least two) and be capable of web content and bluray playback. Bear in mind that ATi video cards will need to use DisplayPort (or a powered adapter) in order to use three displays simultaneously.
\n" }, { "Id": "2475", "CreationDate": "2016-04-06T11:13:16.843", "Body": "I am hoping to install a projector in our office space to stream to from laptops/macbooks/tablets etc. However due to the layout, we can't easily run cables from connecting devices to the projector.
\n\nAre there any solutions to solve this issue? Wireless projectors seem to just be Miracast enabled and so will not support anything other than Windows 8.1+ and android 4.2+ devices. Are there any truly wireless projectors?
\n\nI don't have a real budget but under \u00a31000 would be nice.
\n", "Title": "Wireless HD projector >2000 Lumen", "Tags": "|wireless|projector|", "Answer": "In order to cover Windows, Android, Mac OS-X, and iOS, you'll need a two part solution.
\n\nAs you've already discovered, Miracast is a wireless display standard. It is effectively HDMI-over-wireless. The Wi-Fi Alliance maintains a list of compatible products. Note that it can be called different things by different vendors; Samsung calls it \"AllShare Cast\" for instance.
\n\nWindows 8.1 and Windows 10 support Miracast. It depends on hardware support in the GPU, which modern Intel CPUs have integrated. Just be aware that having the right OS does not always mean the computer has the right hardware.
\n\nThe same goes for Android - 4.2 and up have the software capability, but it's only useful if the phone or tablet has the hardware capability.
\n\nOn the other side...
\n\nApple has excluded themselves by Apple's choice, forcing their customers to purchase an AppleTV box as well. On sufficiently recent Intel-based Macs, part of the hardware to use Miracast/Wi-Di is theoretically there in the CPU, but there's no way to access it.
\n\nIn order to get the same capability for Apple devices, you'll need to include an AppleTV in your setup. The AppleTV is small, so you can probably find some way to fasten it to the same mount as the projector and just leave it up there. It has Wi-Fi, so you don't need to supply anything but power.
\n\nIn summary: Your projector will need Miracast-capability and an HDMI port for the Apple TV.
\n" }, { "Id": "2481", "CreationDate": "2016-04-07T18:11:33.793", "Body": "In $200 price range, should I be looking at cards from AMD or Nvidia?
\n", "Title": "In the $200 price range, which GPU maker is better Nvidia or AMD?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|desktop|", "Answer": "In this price range you have a few options:
\n\nFrom Nvidia: You really only have one option right now. Note if your going for Nvidia I highly recommend waiting for the new Pascal based GPUs.
\n\nFrom AMD: You have a few options but by far the best is the following:
\n\nIn Conclusion
\n\nSo those two are the clear winners in each category, but out of the two I cannot pose a clear winner. If you would like to see a nice head to head I recommend checking out this one here.
\n" }, { "Id": "2491", "CreationDate": "2016-04-10T10:10:35.310", "Body": "As developer (.NET), I require fast and reliable hardware. I do not care about thickness nor weight (I use such wonderful invention called table to hold my notebook while working!), what I value most is ergonomics (which is something computer manufacturers are getting rid of recent years).
\n\nI spent a lot of time investigating but I'm not really happy (also couldn't find any satisfying answer here). I'm summing up what I'm looking for and what I already found. Thanks for any input, consideration, hint or comment.
\n\nWhat I'm trying to find
\n\nI'm not having any strict price criteria, it \"just depends\".
\n\nWhat I already considered:
\n\nTLDR: Wouldn't it be great if we could put today's hardware into T420s body?!
\n\nPS: If someone from Dell reads this, please fix up your catalogue on your web and/or product lines!
\n\nPS2: Nothing is going on with ThinkPad \"retro\" as stated: David Hill interview, CES2016 (== I heard only corporate excuses why not to do it, correct me if I'm wrong)
\n", "Title": "14\" Notebook, 32GB RAM (DDR4), trackpoint and matte display", "Tags": "|laptop|development|", "Answer": "Dell Latitude, series 7490 is obtainable with 32GB RAM (I have one sitting on my table). \nThe keyboard layout is sadly far from ThinkPads (answer to all three points regarding the keyboard is a \"No\"). Looks decently.
\n\nHave you looked into Thinkpad X62 and T70?
\n" }, { "Id": "2515", "CreationDate": "2016-04-13T07:55:31.767", "Body": "I intend to buy a 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 2.5 GHz Quad-core Intel i7 with Retina Display. The latest edition offers AMD Radeon R9 M370X, while the previous one has a Nvidia GeForce GT 750M.
\n\nI will primarily be using computer vision and deep learning algorithms. So, there is heavy possibility of using CUDA too.
\n\nWhich one should I opt for?
\n", "Title": "Which Mac should I buy? One with the Nvidia GeForce GT 750M or the latest one with AMD Radeon R9 M370X?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "If you plan to work with Nvidia's CUDA framework right away to do some GPU-based computations (neural networks primarily), you should stick with GeForce 750M laptop.
\n\nHowever, 750M's memory is only 2 GB (as the R370X is), so you will not be able to fit any big model into your GPU either way and will be forced to use either cloud instances or buy a separate GPU and somehow connect it to your Mac so the choice is really not too much relevant.
\n\nIf you don't have any immediate plans to dive into CUDA-based computations, buy either the cheapest option (750M Macs are previous generation, so you will buy them refurbished or used and that may save some money), or the newest (which is R370X) since it will be brand new and you will enjoy warranty period at its fullest.
\n\nAlso, Apple did release the Metal framework for native shader programming in OS X, which allows to use literally any supported GPU from OS X to program your computations, and there are some frameworks that use that possibility (Memkite for example) - that will give you deep learning and computer vision on any mentioned GPU (and even on built-in Iris Pro which is built into the CPU). But the support of Metal is in its early stage, so there are not too many frameworks and projects using it for machine learning (though, you could pioneer in that).
\n" }, { "Id": "2532", "CreationDate": "2016-04-15T13:47:00.793", "Body": "I am looking for an in ear monitoring system for the stage.\nI don't have the money for the high end products, but I want at least decent quality. My limit is 500\u20ac.
\n\nI am a singer and prospective guitar player in my band, and on stage I want to have an in ear monitoring system.\nI chose two systems:
\n\nLD Systems MEI 1000 G2 + Shure SE215CL
\n\nor
\n\nShure PSM-200 with Shure SE112 Headhphones
\n\nBoth seem to fulfill my requirements, which are:
\n\nI am not really sure which combination to use. The LD Systems solution is cheaper, so I would be able to use better headphones. In the solution from Shure it is in summary more expensive but I have only the SE112 Headphones, because they are contained as a set.
\n\nThe things that matter to me are
\n\nSo, what would you recommend?
\n", "Title": "Wireless In Ear Monitoring System", "Tags": "|audio|earphones|", "Answer": "I chose the combination of LD MEI 1000 and Shure SE215CL.\nThe Shure device had no relevant features which would justify the price and the better headphones were a really good investment.
\n\nTested and evaluated as good.
\n" }, { "Id": "2535", "CreationDate": "2016-04-16T21:24:53.290", "Body": "Here's the setup:
\n\nFor what graphics card should I get for casual gaming? This CPU scores ~2100 single-core and ~5700 multi-core on geekbench.
R9 280 seems good. GTX 970 would be perfect, though I'm a bit concerned it would be bottlenecked by this AMD CPU. Any other interesting options?
UPD: currently I'm gaming on retina macbook on 1080p. It's GPU scores 1300 on http://www.videocardbenchmark.net; sometimes FPS it just too bad.
\n\nUPD2: when investigating this question couple of days ago I've seen these places where people suggest r9 280 / 290 is a good match. I'd just like to hear couple more opinions though.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2553053/gpu-overclocked-amd-athlon-750k.html
\n\n\n", "Title": "Graphics Card recommendation for the setup", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "It not only depends on your CPU. Games differ by CPU utilisation some are more CPU dependent (for example Arma III) some are more GPU dependent (for example Far Cry 4, Witcher 3).
\n\nTo avoid CPU bottlenecking in all games I would recommend you:
\n\nIf you compare versions with the same amount of VRAM the results are comparable. I would personally recommend version with 4 GB VRAM because new games use more and more VRAM.
\n\nTo avoid CPU bottlenecking in GPU dependent games I would recommend you:
\n\nThe second option is in my opinion maximum for your overclocked Athlon. I would recommend not to go higher than GTX970 or R390 with your CPU. From this duo I would recommend GTX970 if you want to play only in FHD and R9 390 if you want play in higher resolution.
\n\nEdit: What case do you use with your ITX motherboard ? How long GPU will fit to your case ? It can be important if your case is not aired enough you should look for card with lowest TDP.
\n" }, { "Id": "2556", "CreationDate": "2016-04-21T09:23:06.247", "Body": "UHS-II(with 8 extra pins) supports much more speed than regular UHS-I microsd card, so I am going to buy a UHS-II microsd from (probably) Sandisk/Lexar. But I did not find any list of UHS-II supported phone/tablets.
\n\nSo I want to know which smartphones/tablets support UHS-II.
\n", "Title": "Suggest me phones with UHS-II support?", "Tags": "|smartphones|tablet|microsd|sd-card|", "Answer": "At this moment there is no phone or tablet which supports UHS-II. Of course you can put UHS-II card in normal slot because it's backward compatible but there is many opinions that this cards are working worse than UHS-I cards when they are in UHS-I slots.
\n" }, { "Id": "2575", "CreationDate": "2016-04-24T15:54:11.967", "Body": "I just got a new LG 31MU97-B that I'd like to hook up to my PC and Mac, but I can't find a [mini-/]displayport KVM switch that supports full Cinema 4k (4096x2160) at 60Hz, only UHD (3840x2160).
\n\nI'm hoping there's something that my Google searches have missed, or someone else has had luck with a UHD-spec'd KVM still outputting Cinema 4k by sheer luck.\nThanks for your help!
\n", "Title": "KVM switch for Cinema 4k?", "Tags": "|monitors|kvm|display-port|", "Answer": "I found something! After looking for a few months, I came across this press release for the Aten 2-Port USB DisplayPort KVM Switch that specifically mentions support for displayport resolutions up to 4096x2160 @60Hz.
\n\nI found it for sale on newegg and Amazon, and it looks like it's been out for while, but both sites only listed support for UHD resolution (3840x2160). I got it, plugged it in, and it worked great! Full resolution and refresh rate on both my computers.
\n" }, { "Id": "2580", "CreationDate": "2016-04-24T19:26:12.323", "Body": "I need a reasonably portable device that would allow people to use their laptops to connect via WiFi and navigate to a domain name I would tell them. The domain name would serve a web page that would have links to files for download that would be hosted on and served from the device.
\nMy use-case is for making 1 hour presentations I would like to run like a mini-workshop so I expect to have ~25 people connected and downloading, all at the time same time.
\nBasically I want give a presentation to people about how to set up an open-source local development environment for WordPress and so I need people to be able to download the required files to their computer at the start of the presentation.
\nWiFi Internet tends to be slow and/or unreliable at the locations where I will be giving these presentations, and my goal is to get as many people to actually start using this local development environment I built as I possibly can so I want to ensure successful setup for as many people as possible.
\nObviously the device will need to be a WiFi access point, it would need provide a web server, DNS server and DHCP server and the domain name such as downloads.lan would only be visible to them when they are connected to the device.
The device does NOT need an upstream connection to the Internet. All it really needs to do is give them a special purchase WiFi access point to connect to, download files and then disconnect.
\nHowever a nice-to-have would be to have the device connect to an upstream Internet connection using DHCP -- in the case such a connection is available -- then proxy the traffic to the Internet (except traffic to downloads.lan), assuming the device could handle lots of connections. But again, that would just be a nice-to-have, not a requirement.
So I have tried several things thus far that either did not work or that were far from optimal.
\nMy first attempt at this was to buy a TP-Link MR3040 and install LibraryBox software on it. Unfortunately, it took over 10 minutes to download the necessary files with only 1 computer connected; far too long. So the device needs to be fast; i.e. have lots of bandwidth.
\nI then looked at an older Apple Time Capsule I have. But it does not support a web server so it would be more technical to access, and it is on the very heavy end of portable. This may be my fall-back, but I am hoping I can find something better.
\nI then tried to set up an old Lenovo IdeaCenter Q180 I had laying around by installing Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Hostapd, but I had a nightmare trying to get everything configured correctly all at once.
\nI started with Ubuntu Server but could not get it to connect to my WiFi -- which is necessary to download and install software -- so I switched to Ubuntu Desktop which has a GUI and thus I could get WiFi connected, but I could still not figure out how to get Hostapd to work. Evidently it needs to control the WiFi and yet Ubunutu Desktop does not want to let go of the WiFi.
\nI feel certain this would work if I could just figure out how to configure everything. I expect maybe I need to buy another WiFi adapter for Hostapd to use like maybe the TP-LINK TL-WN722N but I don't want to go down another dead-end and I am not much more than a beginner as Linux and I may not be able to figure it out on my own.
\nAt this point I am happy to spend money to solve the problem. I am happy to buy a different device if you can point me to something that will work. (I'd even hire someone to build it if the fee was modest!) I just want something that will work and meet my requirements, and not take 20 hours of my time to get working.
\nAny suggestions?
\n", "Title": "Portable WiFi Access Point with HTTP Server for File Downloads", "Tags": "|wifi|web-server|access-point|", "Answer": "Just use an older flagship phone with 128gb or 256gb rom. install termux, ubuntu core and plone (cms). this config has been functional for me for four years now.
\ni call this stack docudroid... set up time can take two hours because of python libraries.
\nPowertool for professors who wish to use (pre-downloaded) videos in classroom without relying on mobile data (for bandwidth challenged environments).
\n" }, { "Id": "2592", "CreationDate": "2016-04-26T18:33:59.533", "Body": "Im looking for recommendations for which router to buy for my new gigabit connection at home.
\n\nI have:
\n\nI want:
\n\nIf you are looking for the routers with the best 5 GHz Wi-Fi performance I would recommend you this product:
\n\nBest choice to $200:
\n\n\n\nThis router is really good when we are talking about Wi-Fi speed and stability. It's best choice in AC1900 routers in my opinion and best choice for you.
\n\nCNET test of this routers Wi-Fi performance (short distance - 15 feet / long distance - 100 feet): 5 GHz
\n\n5 GHz
\n\n2.4 GHz
\n\nI'm thinking of adding a second Sapphire R9 390 to my computer to run in 2x crossfire.
\n\nHere are the parts I'm using:
\n\nCPU: Intel i5-6600k
MB: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-2133
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB SSD and Seagate Barracuda 2TB\n3.5\" 7200RPM
The power requirements of such an upgrade would technically be covered by my current PSU, but only by a very small margin.\nAlso, my PSU only provides enough cables for a single GPU.
\n\nThe theoretical power draw is around 750W so I'm looking for something in the waters of 800-900W\nFully modular and silent operation on idle are both big pluses.
\n\nHigh reliability is a must!
\n\nWhat would be a good model to solve this problem?
\n", "Title": "Power supply upgrade for gaming computer", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|power-supply|", "Answer": "I am going to recommend the Corsair HXi HX850i CP-9020073-NA 850W. This is a fully modular 850 Watt power supply that is 80 PLUS Platinum certified. It has a built in fan, but it doesn't even turn on until the load reaches around 350 Watts.
\n\nThis unit comes with a handful of unique features, like the fan test button. With this, you can test the operation of the fan even before installing the PSU into your case. The unit also has a mini USB port that you can either plug directly into the motherboard (included cable) or into a USB port on the back of the computer. With this, you can monitor performance and adjustment of fan speed and multi-rail/single rail mode. I do not remember seeing a driver disk in the box, but it is easily downloadable by following this link, selecting \"Corsair Link\", and selecting the most recent file at the top.
\n\nCorsair lists the 850 Watt unit at $199.99 (USD) not on sale, but if you shop around, you can find a lower price.
\n\nCorsair also has a 1000 and 1200 Watt version of the same PSU, so if you want a bit more breathing room, you have options.
\n" }, { "Id": "2603", "CreationDate": "2016-04-28T08:10:39.773", "Body": "I'm looking for the best TV (in this price) which I will use for playing on PlayStation 4 and watching movies.
\n\nMost important features:
\n\nAdditional data:
\n\nNot important:
\n\nMy ideas:
\n\nSony w807C
\n\nPrice: can only speak from where I live, but it seems from your comment that it is alittle over budget.
\n\nScreen size: 43, 50, 55
\n\nResolution: full hd
\n\nwifi: yes
\n\nSmartTv: Yes, android, nuff said?
\n\nRefresh rate: 100Hz with 800Hz motionflow
\n\nResponse time: 10-15 ms (Do not have any source on this, but this is stated from Sony who visited our store.)
\n\nVESA mount: Yes
\n\n3D: yes, active, no glasses included.
\n\nI would not recommend 4k, because 4k is useless without HDR, and there is no HDR standard today, which means that if the state a standard, and you television do not support the standard, again it will be useless. So even I you buy a 4k tv with HDR you might not be able get the full experience with 4k.
\n\nFrom what I have learned Sony has the best response time 10-15 ms on their flagships, LG around 30 ms and Samsung 45-50 ms. Please see if you can find a source on this. The Sony w807c has Sonys \"finest\" display, the Triluminos display. This means that it will show a good picture when viewing from the angels, please see link provided.
\n\nhttps://www.quora.com/What-is-Sonys-Triluminos-technology
\n\n\n\n\nDLNA server which is Mezzmo
\n
I am unsure of this, but it runs android smart tv so if anyone should support it, I would be android.
\n\nSince it is android smart tv you can use the ps4 control to play games from google play, and aswell control the tv with it.
\n\nTHe tv has a built in google cast, which means that you can cast you smartphone directly to the tv.
\n" }, { "Id": "2604", "CreationDate": "2016-04-28T09:18:43.097", "Body": "I have a P-FD128TBOP-GE and it's generally good, except:
\n\nIt's shown signs of corruption on a few occasions (but that seems to have stopped...)
It's too big/a little uncomfortable in my pocket!
However, it's 128 GiB, achieves a ~100 MB/s sequential write speed in practice (not just benchmarks!), and is capless (good, because that means I don't have to worry about losing the cap).
\n\nIs there any flash drive that satisfies these conditions while also being noticeably smaller, ideally like one of those \"nano\"-sized ones? Note: I want something that won't easily break off a keychain.
\nI'm specifically looking for fast write speeds; for me that's at least ~80 MB/s. If it has other good properties I might be a bit flexible here and go down to like 60 MB/s, it depends, but generally I want at least 80 MB/s.
Corsair CMFSL3X2-128GB 128GB Voyager is one I use myself, it's an extremely compact design, 128gb and has 90mb/s write speed, which seems to fit your specifications, however, I'm not sure about how strong the key ring attachment is, I've had this for three years now and I've had no issues so far, so I guess unless you are handling it roughly, I don't see why it could break.
\n\nThe next best thing I can find is the Samsung USB 3.0 Flash Drive FIT 128GB (MUF-128BB) which takes size reduction to the extreme. (It's smaller than my Bluetooth mouse adapter which is almost invisible). It's 130mb/s read/write speed. Only problem is that it doesn't have the capability to be attached to a keyring. But I guess you can't have everything.
\n" }, { "Id": "2616", "CreationDate": "2016-04-29T07:23:16.457", "Body": "I am looking for a managed switch, which can show the current status of the ports (Up/down, speed, duplex if possible). If it's possible < 50 \u20ac and 8 ports would be ideal.
\n\nPreferably, but not strictly required, the MAC table associated to that port.
\n\nWould be nice if the status could be read easily, if it's a web interface it should do, scraping the status may not be the best, but should do. Telnet/SSH would presumably be better, but I don't know if there are products in that price range.
\n", "Title": "Managed (\"Smart\") switch with port status", "Tags": "|networking|switch|", "Answer": "Look at Mikrotik routers based on RouterBoard hardware and RouterOS software. The prices are competitive even with dumb switches, reconfiguring the router to act as a switch is perfectly normal (our firm uses them instead of standard switches on regular basis), they are quite robust, and it allows quite in-depth monitoring and control of the network, including per-port basis.
\n\nThe only serious disadvantage is that the interface is not really intuitive and definitely takes some serious reading of the documentation, even for relatively simple tasks (like aforementioned reconfiguring as a switch). You can easily get lost in the countless features and miss the one you're looking for - the feature-richness may be a bit overwhelming even to a professional.
\n" }, { "Id": "2618", "CreationDate": "2016-04-29T14:53:16.103", "Body": "I was recently recommended a set of smart cards that don't feature key backup methods. However they do have a way to import plaintext keys, meaning a key ceremony is the way to go for key redundancy.
\n\nThis yields very special requirements for a laptop being used for this ceremony for which I'd like to ask for a recommendation.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nMust feature a removable battery
Must feature a (somewhat easily) removable BIOS battery
Must feature a removable drive
Must be able operate without a persistent storage drive
Must be able to boot from a CD / DVD either via USB or internally
Must feature at least three USB type A ports
Must be able to operate with Linux derivatives
Should have as much open-source firmware or security certifications as possible
Price should be sub 500 USD if possible
I think the most useful way to answer this question is to start with the hardest part of the answer and work my way down
\n\n\n\n\nshould have as much open-source firmware or security certifications as possible.\n As such my starting point would be the coreboot page, since that lists systems which support opensource firmware
\n
I'm picking thinkpads here. I'm familiar with them, and the removable parts are mostly trivial.On this list, the T60 look handy. many of these features are found on newer thinkpads, but its worth considering some of the modern, boneheaded moves lenovo has made. The newer ones have worse keyboards, and of course, you need to find a superfish free version. Go with intel graphics in any case. Further research shows that \"Ministry of Freedom\" sells somewhat newer models than my initial recommendation of a T60 preflashed and those are worth a look. That said, the features I like about the T60 are true here too.
\n\nLets go down your list. I have an R60, and its the 'cheap' equivilent of an T60 so I have a decent idea what the features are. Being a thinkpad, thinkwiki has a great rundown on the features.
\n\nYes, its an older machine, but I have them running reliably with minor upgrades. They're really nice machines with a low end SSD.
\n\n\n\n\nMust feature a removable battery
\n
Two latches and it pops out
\n\n\n\n\nMust feature a (somewhat easily) removable BIOS battery
\n
Requires removal of the keyboard and that's about it. 3-4 screws, and you don't even need a service manual to find it. Bit finicky, and I'd recommend a spudger and a small screwdrive (cross head). There's a video here on the process.
\n\n\n\n\nMust feature a removable drive
\n
Its an old school thinkpad. One screw, pop out the cover, yank the drive
\n\n\n\n\nMust be able operate without a persistent storage drive
\n
R60's USB bootable. I've done it a few times. Maxing out the ram might be an idea.
\n\n\n\n\nMust be able to boot from a CD / DVD either via USB or internally
\n
Yup. Onboard, standard ATAPI drive, boots off USB fine.
\n\n\n\n\nMust feature at least three USB type A ports
\n
Yes
\n\n\n\n\nMust be able to operate with Linux derivatives
\n
As an older machine, compatibility is solid. I'd be reasonably confident even running a full DE on it, though my machines run windows 10 or xubuntu/lubuntu.
\n\nShould have as much open-source firmware or security certifications as possible
\n\n\n\n\nPrice should be sub 500 USD if possible
\n
Ebay prices are significantly below that. Could even buy spares. I strongly recommend maxing out the ram if possible.
\n\nThese are solid machines, and despite their age hold up well.
\n" }, { "Id": "2620", "CreationDate": "2016-04-29T21:21:44.673", "Body": "I'm looking for electromagnetic field reader as demonstrated in the this documentary (shown below):
\n\n![\"screenshot](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/8xO7s.jpg\")
Or some similar device which can do the same (measure EMF fingerprint of the placed object).
\n", "Title": "EMF reader for USB", "Tags": "|usb|", "Answer": "I'm finding this hilarious. The pseudoscience is stunning. That device is a pretty standard microphone that was used for attaching to a landline. The proper name escapes me (I'll update) but you can find it as a telephone suction cup microphone for between 5-20 dollars on amazon. I am unable to identify the sound card he is using for the capture, and the software he's using seems to be wavelab. Any good soundcard should work for this I suspect
\n\nI'd note those things are good fun, and he might be picking up noise off of his power lead. I'm unsure what the seemingly quarter inch connector is leading off of the sound device.
\n" }, { "Id": "2623", "CreationDate": "2016-04-30T06:40:34.643", "Body": "I just can't get used to smartphones without a physical keyboard.
\n\nA couple years ago I obtained Sony Xperia Mini Pro, which at the time was the last slider phone released. I'm still using it, but it's getting really old now, the internal storage insufficient for updates of essential apps despite moving everything I could move to SD.
\n\nI didn't really follow the phone market ever since, and all I know all the flagship phones are just touchscreen, no physical keyboard nowadays. But I don't know if someone didn't attempt a \"revival\", \"niche market\" or such releases.
\n\nIs there any newer, better smartphone on market, in the slider form factor - newer, better than Xperia Mini Pro?
\n", "Title": "Is there any more modern slider form factor smartphone?", "Tags": "|android|smartphones|", "Answer": "Practically the only android phone I can think of that's got a keyboard these days is a blackberry. Specifically the priv. It runs newer versions (6.0 is coming soon(, and flagship specs - it runs a Qualcomm 8992 Snapdragon 808 Hexa-Core. Not the latest and greatest but reasonably solid, 3gb ram, and seems to have some privacy centric addons.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/aOoE6.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/azn2j.png\")
I am owning i5 plus. I want something more fancy.
\n\nI am considering samsung gear and microsoft band.
\n\nMicrosoft band's battery only last 2 days.
\n\nSamsung gear only works at samsung phone. Iphone watch only works at iPhone.
\n\nMy i5 plus is very great. However, it looks so dull. It doesn't impress my business partners.
\n\nI want something like i5 plus but with fancy color. Not sure if I want always on display. Battery life is kind of cool feature for me.
\n\nI also like the fact that i5 doesn't have unusual charger and can be charged in any USB port.
\n\ni5 is great. I just want something more fancy.
\n\nI am considering microsoft band 2. However, it has a feature I don't need, namely, gps.
\n\nI definitely like heart rate monitor.
\n", "Title": "Recommend me a good high end smart band", "Tags": "|smart-device|", "Answer": "I go to http://comparewear.com
\n\nThen I can compare so many things there.
\n\nI definitely need heart rate monitor.
\n\nAnd bright screen.
\n\nI was looking for either Samsung Gear S2 (that can connect to any android), or Microsoft Band.
\n\nThat being said, my friend also recommend garmin vivoactive. Battery can be charged once every 3 weeks.
\n\nI then go to
\n\nhttp://comparewear.com/wearables/?vs=gearS2&vs=vivoactive&vs=vivoactiveHR&vs=band2
\n\nThere I saw that vivoactive and Garmin Vivoactive HR. is chargeable every 3 weeks. That is FAR FAR plus. I think that's what I am going to choose. It has all the features I need, like heart monitor.
\n\nObviously I recommend the exact same thing I am choosing. So before I go ahead and buy, please let me know if I am wrong.
\n\nThe HR model have barometer. I am not sure what it's for. But a plus. I like the look of the vivoactive normal.
\n\nBy the way I was going for Garmin Vivoactive because http://comparewear.com/wearables/?vs=gearS2&vs=vivoactive&vs=vivoactiveHR&vs=band2 said it has heart rate monitor. The thing is, https://www.shufflerun.com/garmin/vivoactive-hr-vs-garmin-vivoactive/ says that it's not 24/7. The heart rate monitor seems to be consuming battery. Tough choice.
\n\nI would pick the vivoactive VR if it can last 3 weeks between charge (say by turning off 24/7 heart rate monitor). I would also prefer watch with non rechargeable battery.
\n" }, { "Id": "2637", "CreationDate": "2016-05-02T15:26:49.430", "Body": "I am looking to purchase a laptop pc for running Windows 10. I am looking for something that is strong and rugged like the old Thinkpads used to be. Something with a strong and \"non-squishy\" keyboard.
\n\nIt would need 16 GB RAM minimum with an SSD driver and at the very least a 14\" screen. Any suggestions?
\n\nSpecs looking for:
\n\ni7 processor
16 GB Ram (32 GB would be awesome)
SSD drive
14\" screen or higher
USB 3.0 ports
Solid build quality
Solid keyboard
P.S. I already have a Macbook Pro which I love, however I would like to have a dedicated Windows machine rather than run a VM or use Boot Camp. I find the 16 GB Max Ram in the Macbook Pro is just not enough to run a Virtual Machine smoothly.
\n\nEDIT: Just wanted to post up that I ended up getting a Lenovo Thinkpad P50 and have been very happy with it. I was able to upgrade the RAM to 64 GB. I installed an M-2 SSD drive. Plenty of ports. Nice solid feel. I even purchased a docking station for $200 which gave me additional Display Ports. I currently run two external monitors and the internal display. Runs Visual Studio and SQL Server without issue. I also have installed games like Civ V and Supreme Commander: Forged alliance. They both run great on high detail.
\n", "Title": "Laptop with \"Thinkpad\" like quality", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "If money is not the issue, go for a Lenovo P50 which is already mentioned in the previous answer.\nI have one with Xeon E3-1505, 4k display, Samsung 950 SSD, 16GB RAM (ECC DDR4 and you can have 64GB max), it has a Quadro M2000M Graphics card.
\n\nKeyboard quality is beyond any doubt.
\n\nBut the absolute dream is the cooling of the system. Most of the time the fans stand still. Where the heat goes? I have no idea - maybe it is beamed directly into space.
\n\nJokes aside, I have been a Thinkpad user since 2003 (A31p, Z61p, W500) and have waited over 6 years until Lenovo offered something of \"Thinkpad\" quality. This is it.
\n" }, { "Id": "2653", "CreationDate": "2016-05-05T13:31:47.093", "Body": "I've been looking for an Android phone with an x86 processor. I've googled a lot, searched online and physical retailers, etc, but so far I've only been able to find the Asus Zenfone.
\n\nI'm looking for a phone with a quad or dual core x86 processor. I want at least 2 GHz of processing power and at least 2 GB of RAM. Any candidates must have a micro SD card slot.
\n\nAre there any other options than the Asus Zenfone?
\n", "Title": "Are there other x86 Android phones than the Asus Zenfone?", "Tags": "|android|smartphones|", "Answer": "Old topic, however no complete answer.
\n\nEverybody knows GSM Arena web site with thousands of device specs? Then it's as easy as searching using their dedicated form. Even though the search feature doesn't list intel CPUs in chipset selection, one can find those using free text.
\n\nFollowing search returns (at the time of writing) 34 devices (among 3789+ Android-based devices), some being just variants of one another:
\n\nhttps://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?sFreeText=INTEL&sOSes=2
\n\nHere is the search URL and list extracted based on OP's requirements:
\n\n\n\nAsus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML Android smartphone. Announced Jan 2015. Features 5.5\u2033 IPS LCD display, Intel Atom Z3580 chipset, 13 MP primary camera, 5 MP front camera, 3000 mAh battery, 64 GB storage, 4 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 3\n\nAsus Zenfone 5 A500CG (2014) Android smartphone. Announced Jan 2014. Features 5.0\u2033 IPS LCD display, Intel Atom Z2580 chipset, 8 MP primary camera, 2 MP front camera, 2110 mAh battery, 32 GB storage, 2 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 3.\n\nAsus Zenfone 6 A600CG Android smartphone. Announced Jan 2014. Features 6.0\u2033 IPS LCD display, Intel Atom Z2580 chipset, 13 MP primary camera, 2 MP front camera, 3300 mAh battery, 32 GB storage, 2 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 3.\n\nAsus Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML Android smartphone. Announced Aug 2015. Features 5.5\u2033 IPS LCD display, Intel Atom Z3580 chipset, 13 MP primary camera, 5 MP front camera, 3000 mAh battery, 256 GB storage, 4 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 3.\n\nAsus Zenfone Zoom ZX551ML Android smartphone. Announced Sep 2015. Features 5.5\u2033 IPS LCD display, Intel Atom Z3590 chipset, 13 MP primary camera, 5 MP front camera, 3000 mAh battery, 128 GB storage, 4 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 4.\n\nAsus Zenfone Zoom ZX550 Android smartphone. Announced Jan 2015. Features 5.5\u2033 IPS LCD display, Intel Atom Z3580 chipset, 13 MP primary camera, 5 MP front camera, 3000 mAh battery, 128 GB storage, 4 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass 3.\n\nAsus Fonepad Note FHD6 Android smartphone. Announced Jun 2013. Features 6.0\u2033 Super IPS+ LCD display, Intel Atom Z2580 chipset, 8 MP primary camera, 1.2 MP front camera, 3200 mAh battery, 32 GB storage, 2 GB RAM.\n\nZTE Geek V975 Android smartphone. Announced Apr 2013. Features 5.0\u2033 IPS LCD display, Intel Atom Z2580 chipset, 8 MP primary camera, 1 MP front camera, 2300 mAh battery, 16 GB storage, 2 GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass.\nI am looking for a home office printer as my mother's current HP C310 has finally died completely, the print head has failed and they are unable to source replacement parts.
\n\nThe requirements are as follows:
\n\nThe optional nice to haves would be:
\n\nI have been advised by the printer repair guy that we should consider printers with the print heads built into the cartridges, is this sound advice?
\n", "Title": "Home Office Inkjet Printer", "Tags": "|printer|scanner|", "Answer": "We ended up going to a local PC store today so my mother could physically examine the printers. I will give a brief run down of the printers we looked at, it may help others with their choice.
\n\nMy mother had already decided that having an SD card was now a must rather than a nice to have.
\n\nHP
\n\nThe store had a decent range of HP MFP's however none of them had all the requirements. They were missing either one or two different requirements. For example, one had 4 colour inks but was lacking the SD card slot, where as another had all the requirements but the coloured ink was in a single cartridge.
\n\nThe build quality was pretty solid across all the models and the prices were roughly similar with a rough average of about \u00a3120.
\n\nEpson
\n\nIt looked like the store had quite a range of Epson printers, many in budget or under. I tried to insist that we should at least look at them in the interests of fairness but was over-ruled. I am only mentioning them here as balance.
\n\nBrother
\n\nThere were two Brother devices that met our requirements apart from build quality. The display models looked shabby and flimsy, especially considering the prices of them were quite high. That said they both made our shortlist because they could handle A3 paper. They were eventually discounted as we felt they would not stand up to regular use.
\n\nThe models we considered were:
\n\nOther
\n\nThe store we went only had a single Samsung printer and a single Lexmark printer available. The Samsung did not have an SD card slot and was well out of budget and the Lexmark was a standalone printer with no scanning capabilities.
\n\nCanon
\n\nI have left Canon until last as we ultimately ended up getting a Canon device. The build quality of all the Canon's, even the sub-\u00a350 ones, was excellent. On a similar par to HP.
\n\nWe were also hugely impressed by the design philosophy that had been followed on the mid-range printers, they looked \"unprinterish\".
\n\nThe two that made it on to our shortlist were:
\n\nThese are almost identical printers but we ended up choosing the Pixma MG6851. The things that swung it were the fact it was on sale at \u00a380 and the fewer inks. My mother was concerned that the extra \"grey\" cartridge in the MG7751 would make the ink more expensive in the long run, even though she preferred the minimalist look on the MG7751.
\n" }, { "Id": "2669", "CreationDate": "2016-05-07T17:58:21.370", "Body": "(Sorry for the title, but I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to home entertainment equipment)
\n\nRecently, I got a 48\" TCL Roku TV to replace a 59\" Sony projector TV. It's pretty nice, with a good image after some fiddling and with the flexibility of the Roku software, but it has a problem; the sound leaves a lot to be desired.
\n\nBecause of that, I'm thinking of saving up to get an external sound system. I figure I might as well go all-out and get some sort of 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system.
\n\nSince the TV only has a 3.5mm audio jack and an optical audio out, running one of those to a surround system would be out of the question, especially since at least the 3.5mm Jack outputs terrible quality sound.
\n\nI believe a some sort of A/V receiver would be the best option. It would need to have 3 HDMI inputs (at least), possibly a few composite inputs, and optical audio in so that the smart features of the TV could have sound run to the system.
\n\nThe problem I have is a complete lack of knowledge on how to look for what I need. Do receivers have the capability of acting as a sort of switcher for the inputs, just needing one cable to the TV? Do they work as passthroughs?
\n\nI have no idea how to look for one, and I don't know if this is even the right place to ask (or if I asked correctly), but I'm more than willing to completely rewrite the question if that helps anyone help me.
\n", "Title": "A/V receiver for HDMI, optical audio in", "Tags": "|television|sound-system|", "Answer": "I know this is old. But I'd like to suggest folks look at Sound Bars.
\nWhile I personally have a (older) Yamaha AVENTAGE AV system (the cheapest of the line), 5 inputs and 1 output, hooked to some big speakers. Sound-bars have become popular in recent years. A friend of mine switched his AV system to a sound-bar.
\nThey may be less expensive than going full AV system.
\nThe big feature I learned about is ARC, or Audio Return Channel. This allows sound from the TV to go "backwards" into the AV system. Thereby using the HDMI inputs on the TV.
\nRather than plugging everything into the AV system, you can plug into the TV and go the other way. I watch live TV from the antenna and the sound comes out the AV speakers. The two ends decide who is the audio source.
\nI recently bought an XBOX and didn't want to fiddle with the cluster of wires behind the AV system. So I did the lazy thing and plugged it directly into the TV. The audio is still Dolby-decoded and played on the AV system.
\n" }, { "Id": "2696", "CreationDate": "2016-05-11T15:12:46.867", "Body": "I am preparing to buy a new desktop PC as the old one is 8 years already and not really upgradable. I see there are DDR4 modules running at 2133MHz and others running at 3200 MHz.
\n\nHowever, I have seen motherboards supporting only DDR4 2133MHz, or DDR4 2133MHz + DDR4 2400+ MHz OC (like this ASRock Z170). What I understand is that in order to run at higher than 2133MHz speed, overclock is needed.
\n\nThis RAM overclocking is completely new to me and still unclear.
\n", "Title": "Motherboard for DDR4 2400+ MHz", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|", "Answer": "Personally I think that it is more technical support question but I will say few words about it.
\n\nExplanation:
\n\nMy proposition:
\n\nASRock Z170 Extreme7+ is very good motherboard but only if you want overclock your new setup if not Z170 chipset will give you only support for higher frequency RAM what won't give proportional efficiency to the price paid for it. So if you won't overclock you should look for motherboards on H110 or B150 chipset and 2133 Mhz RAM with lowest CL.
\n\nB150 recommendation:
\n\n\n\nH110 recommendation:
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "2702", "CreationDate": "2016-05-12T14:37:49.273", "Body": "Looking at recommendations for a graphics card that fulfills the following spec in order of importance:
\n\nThe Sapphire R7 250 Ultimate meets most of the requirements:
\n\nBasically I bought a pair of omni 10 speakers.
\n\nThe sounds are great. However, the audio latency is 1000ms. I am using bluetooth to connect. Omni 10 doesn't have aptx.
\n\nI am looking for something like this
\n\nhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00Z61YAAE?psc=1
\n\nBasically I want to connect my pc to my omni speakers using regular 3.5 mm. However, I don't want to use 3 m normal audio cable to connect my PC to OMNI 10. Doing so results in high delay.
\n\nI want my PC to connect to a wifi that then connect to the speaker using 3.5 mm cable. Is that even possible?
\n\nCan that be done? Will that reduce audio latency?
\n\nBasically it should turn any speakers with 3.5mm input into wireless speakers.
\n\nUpdate searching for turn speakers into wireless speakers yield this:
\n\nhttp://www.wired.com/2014/08/bluetooth-audio-adapters/
\n\nThat sort of works. The problem is I already connect my omni 10 with bluetooth. I want to reduce the latency. I have also heard that streaming audio via wifi is much better than via bluetooth.
\n\nI \"suspected\" that this is what I need http://audioengineusa.com/Store/W3-Wireless-Audio-Adapter
\n\nIs it? I am not sure. It seems to use wifi. We connect something to computer with USB and then it plugs to my speakers using 3.5 mm.
\n", "Title": "I need a tool that can convert any speakers into wifi speakers", "Tags": "|speakers|", "Answer": "If I am understanding your question correctly, check out Chromecast Audio. It might solve your problems.
\n\nAs far as latency is concerned there shouldn't be much, but it is very hard to know the answer to this portion of the question without knowing all the variables, and there are A LOT when it comes to wireless frequencies, as I am sure you are aware.
\n" }, { "Id": "2724", "CreationDate": "2016-05-16T11:31:55.073", "Body": "I need a single board computer, on which I can easily learn bare-bone OS programming. In particular I need something like Raspberry PI, but:
\n\nI'd post as a comment but I can't do that. What about the Orange Pi?
\n\n\n\nARM
\nOpen Source
\nDocs might be lacking though
\nCan control things
Heyo. Here's my situation: I'm looking for a laptop basically acting as a mobile workstation extension for my home computer. For what it matters, I'm doing mainly programming and college work as well as the occasional match of League of Legends with friends (fairly low requirements). Because of the programming part, I've went for a 4k display which has paid off for sure. I'm just so much more efficient with it than with a standard FullHD monitor.
\n\nEnough about the past, here's what I want:
\n\nWhich leads me to what is probably most important (tl;dr), the requirement list in order of importance:
\n\nClosing words. I'm asking here because I'm mainly concerned about usability and the overall quality of the thing, including battery for example. Those are things you can't just look up on a comparison website.
\n\nThe budget is somewhere roughly between 700 and 1000 Euros, which should translate into about 800 to 1150 USD.
\n\nThings on my (probably incomplete) list right now:
\n\nThose are (hopefully most of the) devices which meet the formal part requirements and are available at my budget range.
\n", "Title": "high quality finish, 2 in 1 laptop for (remote) college work", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "For my dev work, I use a Dell 7440 with 16GB of RAM on a 256GB SSD. Tried a touchscreen, and found the smaller screen with integrated touch capacity just isn't the best when it comes to smaller motions and specific points to click within code or a field. Also, the touch capacity reduces overall screen size due to additional internal hardware requirements.
\n\nI have a machine with another 500GB SSD, an XPS 14, and found it not a usable as the E7440. The keyboard and integrated mousepad/touchpad aren't nearly as user friendly.
\n\nMy wife has a Folio 14 with 16 GB of ram, i7, 256gb ssd.
\n\nWith many dev environments running online and online repo's, and the projection over the next few years to go that route, massive amounts of internal storage for dev isn't necessary.
\n" }, { "Id": "2750", "CreationDate": "2016-05-20T14:41:35.537", "Body": "PlayStation 3 cluster provided high-performance computing for reasonable price. One example was Condor Cluster (a US Air Force supercomputer built out of 1,760 Sony PlayStation 3s running the Linux operating system, the 33rd largest supercomputer in the world at that time).
\n\nHowever this declined since Sony's OS update in 2010 which disabled ability to run other operating systems such as direct installation of Linux.
\n\nAre there any alternative video game consoles which can be used for clustered computing which you can recommend? With reasonable compute power vs price ratio.
\n", "Title": "Alternative game-console cluster to PS3", "Tags": "|video-game-console|cluster-computing|", "Answer": "The PS3 had 2 major advantages - it was an open system and the 'cell' architecture, which was easy to program for and fairly powerful. They were also slimline
\n\nI'd argue that the most sensible way to equal that would be a cluster of regular 'consumer' PCs. The wording of the question though means I'll need to cheat a bit and I'll suggest a steam machine.
\n\nWhy?
\n\nMost modern consoles are x86 based, with laptop class video. They are locked down though there's projects to try to get xbox360 and ps4 running linux.
\n\nMany of them have nice small form factors (the 5x5 and NUC form factors would be a good starting point). They have reasonable compute power, and in most cases, nuc class machines compare favourably in price to modern consoles. If you standardise on one model, you can stack em. If you need more powerful machines or a supported OS 5 or 10 years down the road, its a common ISA likely to have support.
\n\nUnlike a traditional console, its unlikely someone will take away your ability to run your own OS on it.
\n" }, { "Id": "2751", "CreationDate": "2016-05-20T19:28:11.357", "Body": "I just got a Dell 8900 and would like to get a graphics card. The card would have to be able to drive two monitors (2 x 2k) or one 4K monitor. I never play games - just do development work using Visual Studio and Eclipse and occasionally watch films on my monitors. What card would be good enough for this?\nI am interested in spending $150-250. The built in graphics cannot support a 4K monitor.
\n", "Title": "need programming video card", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|development|4k|", "Answer": "Don't know why this question is being downvoted, seems reasonable, and I am in the market for something like this myself. I like the look of the MSI GTX 960. Can drive multiple 4k monitors, has 3xDP, 1xHDMI and 1xDVI-D outputs and is apparently very quiet - the fans can be stopped completely in \"silent mode\" which should be enough for non-gaming use.
\n\nhttp://www.tomshardware.co.uk/msi-geforce-gtx-960-gaming-2g,review-33260.html
\n" }, { "Id": "2763", "CreationDate": "2016-05-21T04:21:28.213", "Body": "I recently built a new computer, and I'm having some issues (I think).
\n\nHere's my gear
\n\nCase: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX
\n\nCase Accessory: Phanteks fan hub
\n\nMobo: Asus Maximus VIII Hero
\n\nCPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H110i GTX
\n\nMy issue is that the instructions that come with the Phanteks case is pretty lacking on instructions for the fan hub on the back. I've read conflicting information on how to connect these devices, and I figured I'd ask here to make sure I actually did it correctly.
\n\nMy problem is that right now, the fans all stay 100% all the time. It's pretty loud, and it's possible that that's the way it's supposed to be, but I hope not. To be clear, the case fans appear to be the culprits.
\n\nHere's how I have everything set up:
\n\nH110i GTX\n | \n |two fan cables\n ------------------------>both fans\n |\n |water pump\n ------------------------>CPU_FAN\n |\n |data cable\n ------------------------>USB 2.0
Phanteks fan hub\n | \n |CPU_FAN\n ------------------------>CPU_OPT\n |\n |Sata power\n ------------------------>Sata power\n |\n |3 x 4 pin fans\n ------------------------>3 Case fans\n
The real confusion here is caused by the fact that the Phanteks case instructions say to connect their fan hub to the cpu_fan, but so does the H110i. From googling around, I found some people that had done it this way, but man, this thing is loud. Any advice?
\n\nEDIT 1
\n\nAnother thing I should mention. I'm using the AI Suite 3 software that came with the mobo. It's supposed to let you control the case fan speeds. When I have the fan hub connected to CPU_OPT, it's not showing any case fans in the software. If I connect CPU_OPT to any other fan connection on the mobo, then it shows up, but it still won't let me change any values.
\n\nEDIT 2
\n\nAfter a little more research, I found out that the AI Suite 3 software won't have any control over your fans if you don't set the fan mode to PWM in the bios. I went into the bios, and now it controls the fans. The only issue now is that the case fans aren't turning on at all. I'm wondering if the temperature just isn't high enough, and they'll turn on once it's higher. If it turns on when the heat is higher, or if it doesn't turn on, I'll report back here.
\n", "Title": "How do I use the Phanteks fan hub with Corsair H110i GTX", "Tags": "|pc|windows|case|fan-controller|", "Answer": "I'm not sure why I didn't find this solution a little faster, I guess I was just googling the wrong thing. The phantek hub needs to be plugged into a fan connection on the mobo, but not the CPU_OPT.
\n\nThen, in the bios, you need to allow your fans to be controlled by something other than the bios.
\n\nAfter that, everything worked fine.
\n" }, { "Id": "2770", "CreationDate": "2016-05-22T14:28:58.550", "Body": "I consider buying a new desktop computer and I work on academic MIP optimization problems with Gurobi.
\n\nI know that GPUs cannot be leveraged by MIP solvers, so my question rather concerns the choice of the CPU (and possible related configuration matters).
\n\nDo you have any recommendation for a CPU fitting in a standard desktop computer (=available at computer retail stores) which purpose is primarily to solve MIP problems?
\n", "Title": "Is there a CPU particularly well suited for solving MIPs with Gurobi?", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "I have to admit, I had to educate myself about Gurobi.
\n\nIt looks like it is a software suite for linear optimization problems. It also seems, it is a regular one, i.e. with \"simple\" C++ and R sequential implementations.
\n\nFor that, any CPU in your budget will do. You should just try - within your budget limits - get the best clock/cache/cores combination. An AVX512 capable CPU seems to make sense.
\n\nBut let me offer an extended perspective on this.
\n\nIf performance is your main concern, you should have a look at GPU computing. As for GPU accelerated solvers, see e.g. https://developer.nvidia.com/amgx, which gives promising speedups of a factor of 10 within your reach.
\n\nMaybe, spend only reasonable money on an average CPU. If you get the Gurobi vendor to support AmgX, you can buy also a reasonable CUDA-capable GPU and still have speedup by a factor of 10, which would not be possible by any economically feasible CPU.
\n\nSee also e.g. http://vratis.com/blog/ OpenFOAM and other software does actually already support AmgX, so maybe it would not take too much effort to convince Gurobi to think about it.
\n" }, { "Id": "2771", "CreationDate": "2016-05-22T15:05:39.103", "Body": "I am about to purchase a Samsung 950 Pro PCIe SSD. I have a MSI 970A motherboard. I am wondering if I can insert the 950 pro stick directly into one of the x16 slots. I read online that PCIe slots are backwards compatible (so the x4 should work in a x16).
\n\nIs this possible? Do I need a converter?
\n\nAlso, don't have a M.2 slot on my motherboard. I noticed I have PCIe2.0 slots, not 3.0 slots. Will my SSD still work?
\n", "Title": "Can I use my Samsung 950 pro PCIe SSD directly into my x16 slot?", "Tags": "|ssd|pcie|", "Answer": "The linked drive may use a PCIe interface, but it not a PCIe form factor card. It is an M.2 form factor device and requires an M.2 slot. Without some sort of adapter, it will not work in your M.2-lacking motherboard.
\n\nThe M.2 form factor is designed to connect to multiple interfaces - SATA and PCIe - over the same physical connector. Depending on the capabilities of the connector and device, they're keyed differently to prevent you from attempting to connect incompatible devices (a PCIe-only device in a SATA-only M.2 port, for instance).
\n\nThe adapter you linked should do the job. As far as PCIe 2.0 vs. PCIe 3.0 goes, PCIe 3.0 devices are backwards compatible, they'll just run slower.
\n\nAs far as lane count goes, you can use a card that demands fewer lanes (4x vs 16x) in a slot with more lanes; the other pins aren't on the card, and therefore do nothing. Going the other direction requires paying more attention. Some cards need the bandwidth of all the lanes they're spec'd for, and some boards have things like 8x electrical slots in 16x mechanical slots for security/fit purposes (there are missing pins on the board end).
\n" }, { "Id": "2780", "CreationDate": "2016-05-24T00:48:07.130", "Body": "The i5-2500K is a great processor, even nowadays, but only if you can overclock it. I have a H77 chipset board, that means no OC for me. So, I need a recommendation of CPU and motherboard. I'm looking for a \"successor\", good cost/benefit, like the 2500k. \nI have DDR3 RAM, so I think Skylake is a problem?
\n\nPC specs:
\n\nCPU: i5-2500K turbo: 3.7GHz
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-V LE
RAM: 4x4GB DDR3 1333mhz (dual channel only, 1.5V)
GPU: Nvidia GTX950
I would suggest going to Skylake. However, I don't know what kind of prices you'll pay for it, but I'll throw some things our there and you can decide how to proceed.
\n\nMotherboard, one option @ ~$98 Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 ATX LGA1151
\n\nProcessor, @ ~$195 Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core (you could bump down to 6400 or an i3-6100 for good performance/price)
\n\nRAM, you will have to have DDR4, @ ~$35 G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400
\n\nThis is what I'm considering for a modest upgrade for myself. I also used this, http://www.logicalincrements.com/# to help me make some recommendations along with http://pcpartpicker.com/ to look at similar parts and prices. Both sites are great tools.
\n" }, { "Id": "2801", "CreationDate": "2016-05-28T20:59:29.703", "Body": "I just wondered whether anybody had a recommendation for an LED TV with these features:
\n\nAbility to connect PC/laptop for DVD playback (probably standard?).
Ideally ability to record to USB.
I am not interested in \"smart\" TVs.
\n\nI am surprised it feels necessary to ask here, but the focus seems to be on 32\" and upwards. 28\" seems the ideal size to me, but I struggle a bit to find these things in that size - in some cases comparable 32\" TVs are cheaper, but they are a little bit too big.
\n", "Title": "Medium sized HD LED TV", "Tags": "|television|hdtv|", "Answer": "Sharp LC-32CFE5111K looks OK, if only they had a slightly smaller model.
\n\nWould also like to buy it from a real shop, but they appear not to like 28\" models or recording models so much.
\n" }, { "Id": "2815", "CreationDate": "2016-05-31T08:18:17.707", "Body": "Building on the previous project of autonomic robot cars, controlled by a Raspberry Pi + BrickPi, delivering packages, we want to use (indoor) quadcopter drones for similar purposes.
\n\nSince this educational project accounts for the bachelor dissertation of computer scientists, the drone must be programmable (e.g. given some sequence of coordinates or actions, the drone must be able to execute them) or it must be able to write a program to interactively steer the drone. The drone must also have a camera and be able to send the camera stream over WiFi/Bluetooth/... to a separate PC. This PC processes the stream and decides on the steering of the drone based on for instance the content of the images. Note that there are drones who can only store the camera stream internally and others who can send the camera stream to for instance a smartphone. The last functionality is called FPV (First Person View).
\n\nFurthermore, the drones should ideally contain a gyroscope and accelerometer, of which the sensor values can be used in a PID controller (on the drone itself or on a separate PC).
\n\nIt would be nice (but is no requirement) to attach an electromagnet underneath the drone to attach and detach small objects.
\n\nWith regard to battery life, we aim for at least 10 min.
\n\nThe drones will be used for multiple course years. Therefore, we would like the separate components to last as long as possible and be resistant to crashes. For instance, brushed motors will need to be replaced after a couple of hours of flight, so we rather avoid these (if possible for the given budget).
\n\nFinally, since there are probably dozens of drones these days which match the previous requirements, price is also important: below $100 (we will buy multiple drones so it would be nice if a batch of drones drops the price).
\n", "Title": "Programmable quadcopter drones", "Tags": "|drone|", "Answer": "Found some alternatives (which do not fulfill all requirements) during my search:
\n\nCoDrone
\n\nDrone Pi (Raspberry Pi + MultWii)
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "3843", "CreationDate": "2016-06-06T08:50:46.480", "Body": "I am looking for an Android tablet which can easily run multiple weeks or even months while being hooked up to a power source.
\n\nI want to use the tablet for automatically taking screenshots of websites, taking from a queue which is being filled constantly.
\n\nThe (no-name) tablets I am using currently get really hot very fast and seem to slow down as a result, so the Android phone (Samsung S3 Neo) are taking three times as many screenshots per hour than the tablets.
\n\nRequirements
\n\nThis does not answer your Question directly, but provides another approch:
\nI would keep the current device and go with a solution wich cuts the 24/7 charge to some hours per day. This stops the overheating and you do not need to buy a new tablet.
\nTo do this I would buy a time switch, which is a device that switches a socket on and off based on the times you set on the device. This way you can keep all devices plugged in and the device disables the power source without further do.
\nTo have this work perfectly you have to find a time span which holds your charge at your desired level across all devices, as an example 3 hours loading, 3 hours on battery should keep your devices over critical battery levels. However if the power consume across all devices is to far part you should consider using a second time switch for this device/s.
\nI would group the devices based on battery capacity and charging speed and aim to keep the battery level between 20-80%. Also note that the Li-Ion battery does not charge in a linear way and significantly charges slower from about 80% charge level.
Maybe this isn't the best question to ask, but I am looking for recommendations.
\n\nI'm looking for a good general use laptop that needs to run Quickbooks and MS Office. I'd like at least an i5 Intel proc, 8 GB of RAM, SSD would be nice but HDD is fine, and the kicker: 17.3\" screen. I'd like it to be priced around $1000 USD.
\n\nI've been browsing the major manufacturer sites (Dell, HP, Lenovo) but I haven't really found the best deal. I have seen a couple that would fit, but I'd like some recommendations or alternatives.
\n", "Title": "I'm looking for a good general use laptop with a few requirements", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Before buying an ASUS laptop, please read this first.\n-Thanks ArtOfCode for pointing this out.
\n\nASUS makes good general use Laptops. I've owned an ASUS laptop a couple generations older than this one and had no issues other than the battery life left a lot to be desired.
\n\nKeyboard feels very solid (similar to a MacBook Pro).\nTrackpad could be a little better but worked quite well.\nSolid USB other connections. Not wiggly.
\n\n![\"Image](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JuDUW.jpg\")
First of all I am new to this site and I hope my question is not off-topic. I have done some research in the Meta and looked up if similar questions have been closed or not and I think I am on-topic. If not, I apologize.
\nI am currently preparing a configuration for my next PC and, although I know enough to chose almost all the components myself, I really have poor knowledge when it comes to motherboards. I really can't tell if a motherboard is a good one or a bad one, if it will suit my needs and which chipsets are best.
\nMy configuration :
\n\n\nCPU : Intel Core i7-4790K (4.0 GHz)
\nGPU : Asus GeForce GTX 960 STRIX DirectCU II, 4 Gb
\nRAM : 2x4Gb DDR3-1866 HyperX Fury, Cas10
\nOne 250Gb SSD
\nOne 1Tb HDD
\n
(theses are the informations I think are needed, if you need to know what other components I have chosen, ask in the comments and I will update this question)
\nRequirements & additional info :
\nThe motherboard must be ATX format.
\nIt should be under $110 if possible
\nI need it to have USB 3.0 ports
\nSocket is 1150
\nI will use my PC for graphic design and for playing games.
\nI don't plan to ever buy an additional GPU (which means only one slot is enough).
\nThere will be no sound card in my configuration so I prefer a motherboard with good sound quality
\nI prefer having 4 RAM slots for it is possible I buy more RAM in the future.
\nBonus points if the motherboard is black and yellow or black and white ;)
\nAs I am getting an overclockable CPU I read - but am unsure if this is true - I will need a Z97 chipset if I want to exploit my CPU to the max, and that Z97 is also one of the best chipsets available for a configuration with recent components. If Z97 isn't required or specially better than other chipsets I have no idea which one I should get.
\nMotherboards I consider buying
\nObviously I have already done some research and there are 2 motherboards that caught my attention :
\nThis one has very good reviews but I wonder if it is not a bit "cheap" (in both meanings) and if it will be sufficient for my configuration
\nI thought is was a good idea to get a motherboard from the same constructor as my GPU (correct me if this is a stupid thought) and this one seems pretty good. But here I am wondering if I really need a motherboard at this price if some cheaper ones like the MSI above can do the job.
\nSo here are all the informations. What motherboard would you buy to suit this configuration and these requirement best ?
\n", "Title": "ATX 1150 Intel-compatible motherboard under $110 for gaming / graphic design PC", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "As Cfinley noted, there is no benefit to matching GPU and motherboard manufacturer parts. Since you were looking at MSI and ASUS boards, I specifically looked at those two manufacturers. I think the ASUS Z97-E would meet everything you are looking for, remain under your budget (currently has a mail-in rebate as well), and be a bit more future-proof than the ASUS Z97-P you had found as it also includes USB 3.1. Also, the motherboard is black with white lettering and gold/yellow trim pieces.
\n\nHeres the direct link to it on Newegg:\nhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132512
\n\nWorth mentioning, there are boards with more features such as additional PCIe slots, more USB 3.0 ports, and better onboard audio available for a little more ($140+). If you want to go this route there are several decent options from MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, and ASRock available. However, since you mentioned you only plan on having GPU, you could get a PCIe sound card for much better audio whenever your budget allows for it in the future.
\n" }, { "Id": "3870", "CreationDate": "2016-06-08T13:08:54.433", "Body": "I am looking for a new laptop for my mother. She does not want to spend more than about 800$, which makes my job a little harder, since I am only informed in the higher price ranges.
\n\nShe will use the laptop for Youtube, Office, Photos, browsing the Web and the likes at home.
\n\nI think the most important features are:
\n\nBattery life, raw performance, etc. are less important.
\n\nSo far, the best laptops I could find was the Acer Travelmate P series and the HP ProBook 450.
\n\nAre there other laptops that would be worthwhile to check out?
\n\n\\Edit: Unfortunately, a used laptop is not an option.
\n\nThanks!
\n", "Title": "Laptop recommendation 800$ with good touch and feel", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "If you just want to do some light work such as web browsing, video watching and document editing, then you can just get a Chromebook. They do all these tasks but run very fast since it is a very light OS. The only draw back if that you can't run Windows programs on it (since its Chrome OS).The Acer Chromebook 15 is only around $350 and will run all those tasks fine. The screen is 1080p which is good enough for video watching.
\n\nThe Dell Inspiron 15 7000 series is also a great choice if you want Windows. It is $750 with pretty good specs. The screen is also a 1080p display but is better quality (better colors). The screen is also a touch screen which is surprisingly useful and easy to use.
\n" }, { "Id": "3888", "CreationDate": "2016-06-11T01:58:08.040", "Body": "I think that to really monitor our workers' bandwidth consumption and access filters (e.g., website blocking) we need to have firewall equipment because the normal firewall on the computer itself (i.e., Windows firewall) is really not that helpful in our situation.
\n\nDo I need to use firewall equipment that will cost us a lot of money or still use the dedicated firewall that the OS provides? Or will the PC-to-firewall conversion will do?
\n\nAnd how is PC-to-firewall different from firewall equipment and Windows firewall?
\n\nEdit:
\n\nI am addressing only this part of the question:
\n\nAnd how is PC-to-firewall different from firewall equipment and Windows firewall?
\n\nA hardware firewall offloads the work from the general purpose CPU that windows uses to a CPU that is specifically designed for processing large volumes of network traffic fast.
\n\nWindows firewall can block individual websites based on IP, but does not do SPI. Also with as much as people encrypt these days SPI can not inspect much of the traffic without SSL terminator.
\n\nIf you buy software for each PC many of the functions of a hardware solution can be emulated locally, but then each PC has to have faster hardware to accommodate the addition work load. Also nasty root kits maybe able to hide from PC only solutions.
\n\nThink about it this way, a hardware solution is like going to a gourmet cake shop and buying a cake. Only the best ingredients were purchased and a master cake chief, or whatever they are called, monitored the whole process. They used all the correct tools, baked and baked it to perfection.
\n\nThe point is you get to enjoy the cake with no effort on your part.
\n\nThe software solution is like making the cake yourself. You go to your local store buy all the ingredients took them home. Now you will use whatever tools you have on hand to mix them together and bake. You most likely use inferior ingredients and poor tools and the end result maybe just ok. Then you still have to do the dishes, and throw away the rubbish.
\n\nWhen you are buying a hardware firewall, the vendor has (in an ideal world) hired a security experts to test the firewall and verify it has no known vulnerabilities. Most of them update themselves and require very little hands on once they are properly configured. The vendor assembled all the pieces for you and gave it to you in a convenient package. The will also for a fee have people on staff to help you configure it or configure it for you depending on the contract you sign and the fee you pay.
\n\nIn a software solution each part of it is like an ingredient that goes into a cake. Each piece has to be individual managed, configured, and updated. Just like our cake one bad ingredient spoils the whole thing. The foundation is the OS which has to be kept current. Then you have your basic firewall which again has to be configured and maintained. Then the SPI package, antivirus, anti-malware, and etc.
\n\nEach packages has rules that need updating and the software itself has to be kept up to date. However, instead of being sad you made a bad cake, you company is the news for the next major data breach, and now you have to spend 10's of thousand cleaning up the mess.
\n\nI am not saying rolling your own solution is impossible or undesirable I am only saying you need to be prepared to do all the work yourself and initially it will definitely cost more money especially in hours of labor.
\n" }, { "Id": "3890", "CreationDate": "2016-06-11T09:10:55.890", "Body": "I'm looking for a DURABLE AND RELIABLE hard drive for a NAS and I've come to these bad boys.
\n\nhttp://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-800002.pdf
\n\nhttp://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-800022.pdf
\n\nAdvantages of the Pro over the regular:
\n\n7200 RPM vs 5400 RPM;
RAFF technology for better vibration protection;
slightly better failure rate;
128 MB cache vs 64 MB.
Advantages of the regular over the Pro:
\n\nlarger temperature operating range: 0-65\u00b0C vs 5-60\u00b0C (seriously?!);
since it doesn't have RAFF technology and spins at a lower speed it produces less heat.
And this is what drives me nut, on the long run, keeping it on 24/7, will the less heat generated by the Red make it more durable and reliable compared to the Red Pro? I will operate it in a 2 drives rack, so vibrations and performance is not a problem, I can sacrifice all for durability and reliability. Price is not a problem too. I fear heat though... Whoever has experience in this field is welcome, for your knowledge, which one will last longer without failing?
\n", "Title": "WD Red vs Red Pro NAS Hard Drives", "Tags": "|hard-disk|data-storage|nas|durability|", "Answer": "If you are using this drive for larger network it would be better for you to use the WD Red Pro because it suffice the needs of a larger group unlike the WD Red it is only design for smaller networks.
\n\nBut WD Red is a reflection of the most extensive NAS partner compatibility- testing list that is available on the market.* That means when you buy a NAS enclosure, you can trust that WD Red will be the most compatible drive available.
\n\nOther hand, NAS for Big Business. Increase the efficiency and productivity of your business with WD Red Pro hard drives for your 8 to 16 bay NAS system. WD Red Pro comes equipped with NASware 3.0, which increases system compatibility allowing for seamless integration with your existing network infrastructure. Add value to your business by enabling your employees to quickly share their files and back up folders reliably with WD Red Pro NAS hard drives in your NAS solution.
\n\nEdit:
\n\nOkay, the Red Pro will be much durable versus the Red. Why? Because it has already its feature that it said that it has a slightly better failure rate and based on your statement there is the Red Pro has a vibration protection and it is also Bay Shock Protection and a sensor that detects subtle shock. As per heat or power, you just need a good cooling system. You just have to keep in mind that maintaining proper air flow through your computer case is the better way to keep the heat at its lowest, please be reminded that heat can build up inside to temperatures far hotter than the ambient temperature of your room. You are comfortable, PC may not.
\n\nOf course heat is an issue that why I am saying that you are the one should maintain it, no matter how much heat your drive can produce. Provide it with good airflow outside and especially inside.
\n" }, { "Id": "3892", "CreationDate": "2016-06-11T14:20:31.667", "Body": "I'm almost ready to buy a Dell XPS 15 laptop for my job as a software engineer.
\nI work mostly with IntelliJ, Android Studio, Visual Studio, Database Services and some other tools.
\nI do not do 3D rendering or play games.
\nSo my main question, should I get an i5 CPU or i7?
\nDo I really need the hyperthreading for the software I use?
\nMy two choices are:
\ni7-6700HQ vs i5-6300HQ
The i5 6300HQ is a good CPU for the programs you use. However, it is definitely fair to say that with the more threads offered by the i7 6700HQ, performance, especially with programs that can utilise multiple threads, will be improved. The advantages of hyper threading are explained well here (Visual Studio is mentioned).
\nTo summarize the link above:
\nHyper threading is useful if you are using your machine for software development (as in your case) because current IDEs are optimised to take advantage of the multiple threads. This speeds up development. Visual Studio is a program that does this.
\nHowever, when it comes to executing the program that you are actually coding, hyper threading does not really help unless you are developing an application that takes advantage of multiple threads.
\n" }, { "Id": "3901", "CreationDate": "2016-06-12T09:49:14.763", "Body": "I'm EMF concerned but still need wireless headphones to watch films on my projector without bothering neighbors.
\n\nThey need to be powerful, robust, highly user friendly and not give EMF-related headache/cancer.
\n", "Title": "Wireless headphones (radio or bluetooth) for watching films that don't give headaches", "Tags": "|wireless|bluetooth|headphones|headset|", "Answer": "I've not tried these personally - and as with any headphones, its a good idea to try any headphones for fit (tight headphones cause headaches) and sound quality if possible, but it sounds like considering your fear of EMF, you might want to consider a IR based unit. IR's basically the same technology used in remote controls, is line of sight, and its technology that's been in common use since the 70s.
\n\nBased off the models the wirecutter tried (and sadly, they didn't do a proper review on this, other than saying they weren't really into IR) and the reviews for the model on the amazon link the Sony MDR-IF245RK might be a model.
\n\nMost folks report that its comfortable, but you may need to check the cables you need. Since its IR, if you pick up a second unit, you can use the second headset with the same transmitter (which is handy for movies).
\n\nAnd while I'm personally skeptical of EMF 'sensitivity', I don't think anyone's ever complained of IR sensitivity yet.
\n" }, { "Id": "3919", "CreationDate": "2016-06-13T20:20:05.837", "Body": "My new PC which was bought for gaming has the following parameters:
\n\nAnd I have Asus HD 7750 video card which is the weakest part. I need a video card better than this with price lower than $250.
\n", "Title": "What is the best budget NVidia video card for i5 6600k?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Under $250 GPU options as of 6/14/16
\n\nIf you are willing to wait:
\n\nIf you need to buy a card today:
\n\nI currently have an EVGA GTX 660 Superclocked card, but just noticed the fancy offer to buy a GTX 950 and receive \u00a370 in-game 'value'.
\n\nMy 660 can run most of the games I throw at it at highest settings (i.e. 1920x1080 and setting everything else to its highest), without really faltering. Games like Metro: Last Light can struggle sometimes, but considering the card is three years old, I don't mind too much...
\n\nHowever, I need some help working out whether paying for a new card is worth it at the minute. If I buy a new card, I plan to sell the old one to make back some money, so the price point of around \u00a3150 is my limit. I've been thinking about the EVGA SSC 950, because I'm happy with EVGA (unless there is another card which is really worth changing to).
\n\nIs the 950 a worthy upgrade after running this one for three years? Are there any cards that would be better? (I'd prefer to stay with nVidia, but I'm open to suggestions). I mean, the card runs fine at the minute and probably will for a few more years to come, but perhaps it's good to keep up with the newer tech?
\n\nFYI, the games I currently play or plan to play in the near future are:
\n\nI can't imagine the 660 would be too happy with GTA V at near-highest settings though? I don't mind losing some quality for FPS, but visuals are quite important!
\n\nThanks! :)
\n", "Title": "Upgrading from EVGA GTX 660 to EVGA GTX 950 - worth it?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "I would hold off on the GTX 950, it is going to give you almost identical performance to what you are getting now with the GTX 660. For GTA V on your 660, you should be able to get around 60fps with a mix of medium/high settings.
\n\nIf you want to stick with Nvidia, you may want to wait until later this year (late Summer or Fall) when the GTX 1060 is released. If you're willing try AMD, the Radeon 480x will be available in a few weeks and should have performance similar to a GTX 970.
\n" }, { "Id": "3925", "CreationDate": "2016-06-14T12:29:47.217", "Body": "Broadly speaking I am looking for a very mobile fully featured desktop replacement laptop.
\n\nI currently have Sony Vaio VPCZ138GG (13 inch Full HD screen, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, GeForce GT 330M, DVD Drive, Win 7 Pro, 3hr battery) purchased in 2010.
\nI have been overall very happy with the purchase in terms of specs, weight, and features. IMO everything aged fairly well (except GFX, as you would expect).
Over the past few years I have been keeping an eye out on a replacement option but have found nothing that ticks all the boxes and today I accidentally dropped my laptop and broke the screen so a replacement is needed.
\n\nUsage pattern:
\nThe laptop goes where I go and is used for database and front end development during the day and occasional gaming session in the evening.
Must have features:
\n\nOptional (in order of priority):
\n\nPrice: unlimited (ball park figure: up to around 4,500AUD ~ 3,500US)
\n\nI have investigated Clevo (with Metabox budge) and while specs are fantastic the weight and \"look\" are a bit underwhelming.
\n\nCan someone recommend a laptop that fits most of the specs?
\n", "Title": "Laptop 13 - 14inch very mobile fully featured desktop replacement", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Since this has been bumped to the front page, I'd like to add a current generation laptop for anyone currently looking for a laptop. I'm recommending the
\nWhile it's weight is 1.89 kg, which is slightly above the OP requirements, it is significantly lighter than many other laptops with comparable hardware, for example, the Alienware 13, which weighs 2.6 kg.
\nThe display is a QHD IPS panel, though it's somewhat dim, measured at less than 300 cd/m^2 by this review, because it's a matte (non-reflective) panel, it should be usable outdoors.
\nThe CPU is the i7 7700HQ (2.2 GHz, 2.8 Turbo), the newest generation high performance quad core. While not top of the line, the only faster CPUs are the same, with only a few hundred MHz extra clock speed.
\nThe base model also comes with 16 GB DDR4 2400, a 512 GB M.2 SSD and the GTX 1060 GPU (1280 CUDA cores, 6 GB VRAM), which is a desktop class GPU: Even at maximum detail settings and native resolution, it should be able to maintain more than 30 FPS for today's AAA games.
\nUnfortunately, there is no Ethernet port, so the laptop relies on 802.11 ac WiFi, though you could use a USB to LAN adaptor. There are three USB 3.0 (Type A) and one USB 3.1 (type C) ports, as well as HDMI 2.0, mini-DP, Headphone-out jack and a SD card reader. I don't believe it comes with an optical drive
\nThe grey version linked looks fairly standard and minimalist, and while it is preinstalled with Windows 10, Windows 7 should be supported
\n" }, { "Id": "3934", "CreationDate": "2016-06-15T11:52:28.123", "Body": "I'm considering updating my monitor setup to a quad display workstation sometime soon, but I'm having trouble finding a monitor that fits my list of requirements...prepare yourself (in no particular order):
\n\nThese monitors will be used solely as a productivity boost. No gaming at all, so I don't need any gaming related monitor features. They will be used for some graphics work, but nothing serious so maximum colour quality isn't a must, just something \"decent\".
\n\nI'm not too bothered about them having mounting plate points, but I suppose it would be a nice bonus. If they did have them I would probably put together a DIY stand at some point, but for now I definitely want them to all stand and rotate independently.
\n\nAfter all that, I'm not really sure where to cap the cost. The lower the cost the better. I'll judge how realistic this ideal setup is when I know how much it would cost me!
\n\nAny suggestions? I'm in the UK, so I'd prefer local options to having to order stuff from abroad. (Bonus points if you can supply a purchase link/cost.)
\n", "Title": "Very Specific (Non-Gaming) Quad Monitor Setup Recommendations", "Tags": "|monitors|multiple-monitors|", "Answer": "One of the few places where you can't go wrong with dell is their monitors. I don't own this specific model, but I can attest to them having excellent build quality
\n\nThe Dell 2417H is probably what you should be looking at, no pun intended. Dell lists them at GBP 245 on their website (with a discount), but you probably can comparison shop.
\n\nThese are really small bezels, IPS (and which ensures awesome viewing angles and great colour quality). They're 1080p.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fnZb6.jpg\")
It does HDMI and DP only (but there's simple converters for DVI, or even VGA should the need arise).
\n\nDell probably makes the best monitor stands on the market. They sell a dual monitor stand if that's what floats your boat. The standard stands give you height, tilt, and rotation adjustments, though this seems a new design. If you want to vesa mount them, they're compatible with the 100mm standard.
\n\nI'm not bothering to list out which requirements of yours they meet, cause they meet all of them. Right down to the lack of speakers. These are probably the monitors you want
\n" }, { "Id": "3951", "CreationDate": "2016-06-16T19:39:28.633", "Body": "I've tried to convert my USB ESC/POS printer to a network printer. I have tried print servers such as the TL-WPS510U, but it only supports PS and PCL. Is there a print server that supports ESC/POS?
\n\nIf not, is there anyway that I could convert my USB to network printer?
\n\nAlternatively, I could purchase Ethernet printer. Is there a way to convert Ethernet printer to WiFi printer? Can anyone recommend hardware that is available to allow Ethernet printer to function as a WiFi printer?
It does not look like there are any companies currently making a USB-to-wifi print server that supports ESC/P. Viewsonic made one years ago (model WPS-100), but it only supported wireless G and its configuration software was made for Windows XP. In other words, even if you could track one of these down, it would likely have compatibility issues.
\n\nAlternatively, if you have a printer with ethernet access, you can get a wireless access point and set it to bridge mode. After this access point is configured in bridge mode you'll be able to plug an ethernet cable between your printer and the access point. At this point your printer should be available on your wireless network.
\n" }, { "Id": "3997", "CreationDate": "2016-06-21T19:54:09.613", "Body": "My company is going to buy a work laptop for me (since I've been using my own for a while), and they are going to let me select it. I don't know exactly what my price-range is, since they wouldn't actually give me a hard-limit when I asked. However, they implied that they would be willing to spend somewhere in the range of $1,000 USD. I will probably select some slightly cheaper and some slightly more expensive ones and let them pick between these.
\nThis laptop will primarily be used for firmware and software development and TwinCAT, as well as general day-to-day office stuff. (Excel, word, emails, etc.) Sometimes I will compile very large projects, or have multiple instances of Visual Studio or a similar IDE open at a time (which isn't all that much, given Visual Studio's system requirements). Beyond that, I don't do anything particularly demanding. I'd like it to boot quickly, so an SSD is a must.
\nAs I said, an SSD is a must. My current computer has only 220 GB, and I still have plenty of space left, so we'll say atleast 250 GB. Obviously, more would be nice, though it's not necessary.
\nA 6th-gen intel quad-core CPU. I'd like an I7 or higher, but I could settle for an I5, provided it was still new, quad-core, and fairly powerful.
\nI don't do anything demanding on the GPU, so as long as I can plug an external 1080p monitor into it, that's good enough for me. Bonus points if I can plug a second one in. (Though I might need a docking station at that point)
\nI don't need an insane amount of RAM. As long as I can have Visual Studio x2, Google Chrome, Vim, and Spotify open at the same time. So 8 GB would probably be enough. (Although I'm certainly not against having more)
\nThis probably goes without saying, but it should have an 1/8th inch headphone output and several USB 3 outputs. (I can't imagine any modern laptop not having these, but it never hurts to be specific)
\nSupport for a docking station, if I want to upgrade peripherals down the road.
\nI develop for ethernet a lot (EtherCAT, modbus/tcp, dhcp, etc.), so an onboard ethernet cable would be really really nice. I could use an adaptor or a docking station, but using onboard ethernet would be a lot more convenient.
\nI'm not really a laptop connisuier, so there are a lot of things that I either don't really care about or don't know how to quantifiy. For example, I have no idea what a good-battery life would be. I'd like a good battery-life, but I don't commute, or have any reason to need a really good one. I also couldn't tell a good one from a bad one.
\nI'm also not super picky when it comes to things like screen size or weight. (Also don't know how to quantify) I don't want something on either extreme (Such as a chromebook or a giant luggable). A 1080p display (or higher if I can get it at this price) would be preferred.
\nI will be able to use the laptop on my own time, so a gpu (or integrated graphics) strong enough for very light gaming would be nice. I already have a computer that can handle pretty much any game, so this is certainly not a requirement. Good linux support would also be a plus.
\nWhile looking around on my own, I found that lot's of newer laptops in this price range have touchscreens. I am almost completely neutral on a touchscreen. If it could be cheaper without, I'd go with the cheaper one. If they're the same price, I guess I'd go for the touchscreen. I probably wouldn't end up using it very much though.
\nI don't really care which version of windows it comes with. It would be nice if it comes with 7 already installed, but if it comes with 8 or 10, I'll just reinstall 7 anyway. (I already have a license and a CD and all that)
\nI don't have any strong brand preferences.
\nI don't really care about an optical drive (or lack thereof)
\nThe best notebook I could find in this price-range with your requirements is probably the Lenovo 700Y (17-inch) series. While I don't own, it seems to fit your requirements quite well, as a medium- to high-end gamer laptop.
\nLenovo; NotebookCheck
Now let's go through the list of your requirements, shall we?
\n\n\n\n\nAs I said, an SSD is a must. [...], so we'll say atleast 250 GB.\n Obviously, more would be nice, though it's not necessary.
\n
According to Lenovo's website there are options for 256GB or 512GB SSD and for 1TB HDD with 128GB SSD, so you're covered here.
\n\n\n\n\nA 6th-gen intel quad-core CPU. I'd like an I7 or higher, but I could\n settle for an i5, provided it was still new, quad-core, and fairly\n powerful.
\n
The Y700 series only runs 45W Intel Core i-s, which are all (powerful) quad-core CPUs based on Skylake architecture. More concretely chances are you will be getting in i7-6700HQ or an i5-6300HQ (rarer).
\n\n\n\n\nI don't do anything demanding on the GPU, so as long as I can plug an\n external 1080p monitor into it, that's good enough for me. Bonus\n points if I can plug a second one in. (Though I might need a docking\n station at that point)
\n
You can at least plug-in one monitor via HDMI and can maybe connect a second via wireless Miracast, which the laptop should support.
\n\n\n\n\nI don't need an insane amount of RAM. [...] So 8\n GB would probably be enough. (Although I'm certainly not against\n having more)
\n
The Y700 series has at least 8GB of RAM and you can also find models with 16GB.
\n\n\n\n\nThis probably goes without saying, but it should have an 1/8th inch\n headphone output and several USB 3 outputs.
\n
It has that headphone output and two USB-3.0 ports and one USB-2.0 port. You may want to consider buying an USB-3.0 hub if you need more. (These numbers are fairly common for laptops nowadays sadly). The HW recommendation for this can be found here.
\n\nNow for your preferences:
\n\n\n\n\nSupport for a docking station, if I want to upgrade peripherals down\n the road.
\n
Sadly there seems to be no proprietary connector for this model, however standard USB 3.0 docking stations probably can do the trick here.
\n\n\n\n\n[...]An\n onboard ethernet cable would be really really nice. I could use an\n adaptor or a docking station, but using onboard ethernet would be a\n lot more convenient.
\n
Again, sadly it looks like Ethernet on the laptop seems to be less of a thing nowadays than it used to be (due to the improved WLAN technology), but you can still get yourself a small little USB-3.0-Ethernet connector (Anker also has those).
\n\n\n\n\nI'm not really a laptop connisuier, so there are a lot of things that\n I either don't really care about or don't know how to quantifiy. For\n example, I have no idea what a good-battery life would be. I'd like a\n good battery-life, but I don't commute, or have any reason to need a\n really good one. I also couldn't tell a good one from a bad one.
\n
Lenovo claims 4-5 hours for this one, but chances are you'll have to live with 2-3 hours there if you actually do stuff with it.
\n\n\n\n\nI'm also not super picky when it comes to things like screen size or\n weight. (Also don't know how to quantify) I don't want something on\n either extreme (Such as a chromebook or a giant luggable). A 1080p\n display (or higher if I can get it at this price) would be preferred.
\n
There are variants of the Y700 series for 15\" and for 17\" (this answer is about the 17\" ones), but at least the 17\" ones all do feature 1080p screens.
\n\n\n\n\nI will be able to use the laptop on my own time, so a gpu (or\n integrated graphics) strong enough for very light gaming would be\n nice. I already have a computer that can handle pretty much any game,\n so this is certainly not a requirement.
\n
The Y700s are originally intended as gamer laptops, so this should be not so much of a problem.
\n\n\n\n\nGood linux support would also be a plus.
\n
I don't think it has extraordinary Linux support, but it should do the job.
\n\nFinally for your neutral points:
\n\n\n\n\nWhile looking around on my own, I found that lot's of newer laptops in\n this price range have touchscreens. I am almost completely neutral on\n a touchscreen. If it could be cheaper without, I'd go with the cheaper\n one. If they're the same price, I guess I'd go for the touchscreen. I\n probably wouldn't end up using it very much though.
\n
The Y700 series does not feature touch-screens, as a gaming laptop series.
\n\n\n\n\nI don't really care which version of windows it comes with. It would\n be nice if it comes with 7 already installed, but if it comes with 8\n or 10, I'll just reinstall 7 anyway. (I already have a license and a\n CD and all that)
\n
It comes with Windows 10 64-bit pre-installed.
\n\n\n\n\nI don't really care about an optical drive (or lack thereof)
\n
I couldn't exactly tell, but at least some models don't feature optical drives.
\n" }, { "Id": "4020", "CreationDate": "2016-06-24T17:04:47.860", "Body": "I have pretty much no experience or knowledge about modern hardware, other than the past couple hours I've spent researching it.
\n\nI built a rig online here:\nhttp://pcpartpicker.com/list/BwmgLD
\n\nI was hoping for any advice/recommendations. Anything that I'm paying too much for, that I wouldn't notice a difference with a cheaper option. Anything that I'm potentially bottlenecking my setup by going too cheap. Any brand that I chose that is know for being unreliable. Etc.
\n\nThere are a couple notes on compatibility shown, it seems like they wouldn't be problems for me but if you think it will let me know.
\n\nI especially know nothing about what makes a case good or bad, and what is necessary with the power supply.
\n\nI have never put a rig together before, I do have experience soldering from my EE degree. I don't even know if you have to solder stuff together, but if the case influences the ease of assembly let me know.
\n\nI already have a ergodox keyboard. I have heard a gaming mouse isn't really any better than a normal one. And I plan to have a triple monitor set up eventually.
\n\nI prefer to develop on linux, but I figured for gaming I'll need to get windows and maybe run linux on a vm.
\n\nThe price is about where I'd like it, maybe a bit cheaper if possible. But working on this computer is going to be my livelihood so I can spend some more if necessary.
\n\nAnd just any general advice for someone trying to build a rig for the first time would be great.
\n", "Title": "Advice on building a gaming/web development rig", "Tags": "|gaming|desktop|web-development|", "Answer": "Gaming generally benefits from faster single core but VM benefits from multiple cores. If you are planning to run less than 4 ish VMs then the i5 6500K will be a better choice (of course you will have to change your motherboard as well).
\n\nThat SSD is cheap, a little too cheap. Go with some reputable brand to get performance and quality (such as Samsung, AData, Patriot, Sandisk, etc.). You could also take a look at having a smaller SSD for boot and a hard drive for your games and other files.
\n\nYour motherboard comes with an ethernet port so unless you are going to use multiple IPs or aggregate the connection you don't need the ethernet card. Your motherboard is a mATX motherboard, which is smaller than the regular ATX size. This fits in your case but you lose the extra PCIe ports you could get from an ATX board.
\n\nYou might also want to take a look at a CPU cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (bare minimum) because the CPU runs quite hot and the stock cooler isn't that great.
\n\nEverything else looks fine, GPU is powerful enough and PSU delivers enough wattage.
\n" }, { "Id": "4022", "CreationDate": "2016-06-24T18:25:01.053", "Body": "I'm converting my Playstation 4 to a SSD and I'm unsure which drive would be best for this. I don't have alot of knowledge about these drives and I couldn't find any reviews about them. Essentially, I'm looking for faster game boots and not really worried about storage. The 2 that I'm debating between are as follows:
\n\nhttp://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1229_1088&item_id=080111
\n\nOR
\n\nhttp://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1229_1088&item_id=094585
\n\nSome explanation as to which would be best is much appreciated.
\n\nTYIA
\n", "Title": "Solid State Drive for PS4", "Tags": "|gaming|ssd|video-game-console|", "Answer": "As far as raw speed is concerned, the Samsung EVO is the way to go. The drives themselves are very reliable and have the faster read (540mb/s) and write (520mb/s) speeds.
\n\nI myself have a Samsung EVO and it works flawlessly in my PC. In my PS4... well I haven't tried it in there.
\n\nSome people claim its a bad idea, and that you won't see any difference in speed with the use of an SSD due to hardware limitations of the PS4; they claim that an SSHD is a better call for this sort of upgrade. You can read about that here.
\n\nOn the other hand, this gentlemen here saw a large difference in speed with some games (check out the tables he created with load time comparisons).
\n\nMy advice would be: if you see value in the upgrade to an SSD based on the sources I've provided, go for it.
\n\nIf you were expecting an SSD to cut your load times in half across the board, either temper your expectations, or save some money and get yourself an SSHD.
\n" }, { "Id": "4027", "CreationDate": "2016-06-25T12:29:55.247", "Body": "I recently got a new monitor the Asus ROG Swift PG279Q: 1440p, 144hz, with g-sync.
\n\nI currently have i7-3770k, 32gb ram, with 2x GTX 670 powering it.
\n\nMy question is what gpu would be a good fit for this monitor. I am a little unclear on how g-sync effects the requirements. Should I be trying to get my fps 120+?\nI am getting ready to get a new gpu but I want to make sure I get one that does not leave me under-powered to take advantage of what my monitor offers.
\n\nI have been a fan of Geforce for a while and with the 1080/1070 it is a choice between to two unless there would be a big reason I should wait for a 1080ti. From the benchmarks on YouTube of The Witcher 3, it seems people get around ~60fps at 1440p with everything maxed. While Ultra is not necessary I would like to be able to do a mix of high/ultra level settings.
\n\nI am currently playing The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine and will be getting Dues EX: Mankind Divided when it is released, after those I will probably look into either Fall Out 4 or Rise of the Tomb Raider.
\n\nI would rather not spend $800+ on a gpu but if it will save me money a year later, I would rather buy 1 gpu then have to another for SLI 6-12 months later.
\n", "Title": "GPU for Asus ROG Swift PG279Q (1440p)", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|gaming|desktop|pc|", "Answer": "Since you have 2 x GTX 670 in SLI, getting a GTX 1070 will not yield much performance benefits. Running SLI is never as good as running a faster, more expensive single card so I would recommend you to get a GTX 1080 (should be enough for what you are doing) and SLI it later if for some reason it is not powerful enough.
\n" }, { "Id": "4032", "CreationDate": "2016-06-25T21:51:45.647", "Body": "My primary desktop PC is due for a refresh.
\n\nI have always built my own, but I might have reached the point where it's worth the extra ~$100 to buy a pre-built machine. The biggest reason I haven't in the past is that I like my machines to run quiet – not silent, just with no rattles or high-speed fans. I ran my latest small tower with the side panel removed at all times.
\n\nI'm not an overclocker or gamer. What I had in mind was something like the following:
\n\nWhatever I get I'll clean build O/S onto a SSD, and run a 7200rpm secondary drive for data.
\n\nGiven the \"quiet\" objective, and given that I can run the case wide open as an alternative to pricey quiet cooling systems, which machine should I buy? (Or should I just build again?)
\n", "Title": "Quiet desktop PC refresh", "Tags": "|desktop|motherboard|pc|case|cooling|", "Answer": "A Newegg tech advisor noted that Asus and Lenovo case designs tend to be pretty quiet. Rather than build I decided this time to buy a Lenovo 300-20ish on sale, which was actually cheaper than building an equivalent system. Been a while since I've bought a finished desktop, but it's a really neat little tower, and it's quieter than any other computers I use.
\n\nAs Peter noted, keys to silence are, foremost, to keep fans off or slow. This system is built around a 65W CPU, and I haven't (yet) put a power-hungry GPU in there (I realized I can run 4k off the MB's HDMI). So the PSU and CPU fans aren't going crazy, I put a quiet spinning disk inside along with the primary SSD, and it's just quiet all the time! (Except, of course, when I'm using the optical drive.)
\n" }, { "Id": "4034", "CreationDate": "2016-06-26T00:33:40.993", "Body": "I have a ubuntu desktop that has always connected to the network via ethernet. It's simple - eth0 is there in ifconfig, I run dhclient eth0, and I'm good to go. It's been this way for ages.
Due to wiring constraints, I need to switch over to using wifi. There is a lot of information via google, wikipedia, et al about what is possible, which chipsets are supported, which drivers support which chipsets, and tables showing a cross-section of all of that. However, today I'm looking for a recommendation of \"easiest thing to plug into your computer, and have wifi0 (or whatever) in ifconfig\".
\n\nI don't mind if it's PCI or USB - I was hoping for someone to tell me \"Yeah, just buy this thing, plug it in, and use this program to find the AP and connect. I did it last week, and it was simple.\". Sorry for such a rudimentary question - I've been clinging to the ethernet cable as long as I could. I knew this day would come.
\n\nBonus points for it working when installing ubuntu (or any linux distro) in the installer.
\n\nThanks!
\n", "Title": "What do I need to look at to when getting a wifi adaptor to get my ubuntu desktop on wifi?", "Tags": "|linux|networking|ubuntu|", "Answer": "Most modern wifi adaptors should work with little issues. My goto spare 'it will certainly work' wifi adaptor's a generic no brand 802.11 n nano adaptor - a few dozen companies make em. They universally use the same, standard ralink chipset.
\n\nThis is the specific one I have, and if you want a branded one Edimax's riff on the product is certain to work. Plug it in, reboot and it should be detected.
\n\nThey work with most common linux distros, there's support in kernel for ubuntu and fedora at the very least. They're also crazy cheap
\n\nHowever these only support the 'last gen' 802.11n standard, at the lowest speed possible. They also only support the more common 2.4 ghz, which is sometimes congested.
\n\nIt will certainly work with minimal configuration.
\n" }, { "Id": "4058", "CreationDate": "2016-06-29T11:08:50.403", "Body": "I want to build a new PC for myself and have a question about my graphics-card.
\n\nI don't know which to buy:\n1x Asus ROG Nvidia GTX 1080\n2x MSI Nvidia GTX 970 (+1x SLI-Bridge)
\n\nWhat would be most effective and also the best for the future, because I want to use this computer for a longer time (because I dont want to spend so much money every 2 years)
\n\nPlease explain your statement (why you think XY is better then AB)
\n", "Title": "1x GTX 1080 or 2x GTX 970", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|pc|", "Answer": "While purchasing two cards may seem gnarly, it really wouldn't be better than a single 1080.
\n\nFirst, you won't have to fuss around with getting SLI to work properly. Not that its a massive pain, but it is a pain.
\n\nSecond, some games do not even support SLI properly. Now this may not happen often, but imagine your shock when your $1000+ GPU setup won't play nice with certain games. (Don't get me wrong, I know most games support SLI, but this doesn't change the fact that there are some compatibility issues with certain games...)
\n\nThird, power consumption. It may not be a huge issue, but its another issue to stack on-top of the other issues that come with running two cards. (~150 watts per 970, vs ~250 for a single 1080)
\n\nFourth, resale value. Not that you'll want to sell, but this is still something to think about.
\n\nFifth, as far as numbers go, you're looking at about 20 percent more performance out of the 1080 for less work and you don't have to worry about all of issues that I've mentioned.
\n\n...Now say... you want to run two 980 TI's in SLI... I'd have to reconsider my answer entirely at that point!
\n\nBut if you want one takeaway:
\n\nTwo 970's running in SLI are not better than one 1080.
\n" }, { "Id": "4065", "CreationDate": "2016-06-30T09:37:28.207", "Body": "With the new graphics card generation our PCs should be prepared for 4k gaming with HDR.
\n\nBut what about monitors? Are there any available that you can recommend? I've been searching and couldn't find a single one that explicitly supports HDR and has Display Port 1.4.
\n\nAdditional question if it's not off-topic: What are the features I have to look for that indicate that a monitor supports 4k HDR? Maybe I've just been searching under the wrong assumptions.
\n", "Title": "Monitor for HDR 4k Gaming", "Tags": "|gaming|monitors|4k|", "Answer": "Finally LG will introduce the 32UD99 at CES 2017. LG states that it will fully support teh HDR10 standard. It also has 4K so it seems to meet the requirements of my question.
\n\nI'm still leaving the answer of INV3NT3D as accepted for now because full specification isn't out yet. Also now one knows if it'll be recommendable.
\n" }, { "Id": "4080", "CreationDate": "2016-07-02T00:15:44.333", "Body": "I have a laptop with gtx960m and i7-3610qm(6M Cache, up to 3.30 GHz). I can play with it at 720p30 on medium settings and can't record my games (that's the most important point) more than 480p30.
\n\nI'm looking for a build with which i can play on 1080p60 on average while recording my games at the same definition/frame rate.
\n\nI prefer to not use sli, and I'm going to buy a i7-4790k (8M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz).
\n\nMy requirements for a graphics card are:
\n\nI have been looking at the gtx970, but I am not sure if it fits the requirements.
\n", "Title": "GTX 970 and i7 4790k for 1080p60 while recording", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "To answer your question about recording, recent NVidia cards have a feature called ShadowPlay that can record games using a chip in the card independently of the CPU and the rest of the GPU, meaning next to no performance impact on games and computer usage. ShadowPlay is capable of both recording and streaming in 1080P at 60 FPS.
\n\nThe limiting factor for recording on a 970 is more likely to be your HDD or SSD. It's strongly recommended to record to a second HDD, apart from the disk where Windows and the game is installed, to avoid the disk from being overloaded.
\n\nHowever, in response to whether the 970 is good enough; the GTX 1060 will be released soon (sources say the 14th of July) which will most likely offer performance improvements over the 970. I strongly recommend waiting until then before making a decision and buying the 970.
\n\nAs to whether the 970 is powerful enough to run the latest games at ultra settings, that's a matter of the game. Games like The Witcher 3 are very graphically intensive and can't be run with high FPS on the 970.
\n\nWithout knowing the specific games you're interested in playing, it's best to look up user experiences for the card and game you're interested in.
\n\nEdit: This article says the GTX 1060 will rival the performance of a 980, so again, I strongly recommend waiting.
\n" }, { "Id": "4082", "CreationDate": "2016-07-02T12:18:03.360", "Body": "I want to buy a wired keyboard to travel with, so I want a small sized one. I request for advices, please.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\niClever BK05 might fit the bill. It does have Bluetooth, but is also able to work via USB.
\n" }, { "Id": "4083", "CreationDate": "2016-07-02T17:50:09.490", "Body": "I am planning to assemble a desktop and was looking to purchase a PSU for my system.
\n\nMy Config
\n\ni7 6700k
\nAsus Z170-P - LGA1151 -http://goo.gl/5QMajz
\nCooler Master 212x -http://goo.gl/kAPM3D
\nGTX 1070
\n1 tb HDD 7200 rpm
\n5 120mm LED fans
\n16 GB DDR4 RAM (2100 mhz)
EDIT
\nI would not be upgrading the system for a while and I would not buy any additional graphics card to be used in an SLI way.
Would Corsair 650w - http://goo.gl/jnI6BS be an adequate?
\n\nMy budget is less than INR 5000.
\n\nThanks,
\n", "Title": "Recommend a PSU", "Tags": "|desktop|", "Answer": "There are several things to consider when purchasing a PSU, but here are the most important:
\n\nThere are obviously aesthetic requirements as well, like whether it's modular, whether the color will match your build, and sometimes special lighting.
\n\nThat said, picking a PSU is one of the easiest components to choose. Here's the one I went with on my recent build, with a 6700k and a 1070: EVGA SuperNOVA 750 B1 80+ BRONZE, 750W. This unit has more wattage than I currently need but it leaves room for upgrades in the future.
\n\nEVGA is a reputable brand, this unit has great reviews, and it's relatively cheap. My only complaint with it is the mesh surrounding the cables don't completely block the colors of the cables inside, but that's not noticeable once it's in the case.
\n\nIf money isn't a concern, go with something fully modular with lots of plugs, and higher power efficiency, like this: EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 80+ GOLD.
\n" }, { "Id": "4101", "CreationDate": "2016-07-04T09:46:35.783", "Body": "I've started using Cycles Render in Blender for a specific project. I've set up CUDA on my Linux machine to enable rendering with the GPU however discovered that my graphics card, an old GeForce GT 520, does GPU rendering much more slowly than the render with the CPU (Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz).
\nAt this point, my budget for a new graphics card is R$800 (Brazilian Real) and this site is the cheapest local online market for cards.
\nWithin my budget and in the GeForce line, I've found:
\nGTX 750 Ti 2GB
\nGeforce GTX 950 2GB
\nThanks
\n", "Title": "Budget graphics card recommendation for Blender Cycles Render on Linux?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|linux|", "Answer": "I have extensive experience with Blender and cycles.
\n\nThe 750Ti is about 20% faster than your CPU.\nThe 950 is about 100% faster than your CPU. (i.e. double the performance)
\n\nBut currently GPUs render fur a lot slower than CPU, so take that into account if you work with a lot of fur.
\n\nWith the CPU, you get the advantage of having access to all your system RAM (8GB, 16GB, etc). Whereas if you render with a 2GB GPU, it will not render a complex scene that requires more than 2GB RAM.
\n\nI would consider the 950, but not the 750Ti.
\n\nSource: GPU Benchmark, CPU Benchmark
\n" }, { "Id": "4103", "CreationDate": "2016-07-04T12:34:52.403", "Body": "I'm currently search for a new custom PC and one of the hardest part to me is to choose what case should i go to.
\n\nI'm looking for a case that can fit perfectly the motherboard MSI Z170A M7 and the cpu cooler Corsair H100i V2 and the requirements are:
It was good space inside, but dont to be very big outside
Can implement a good ventilation system (at least 2 fans on the bottom front, and 1 on back top), the place to install the H100i should be on the top since the heated air tend to go up and not down.
Filters for fans
Space for the list of components bellow.
At least space for one optical drive,
For last the price as an important factor.
This will be the list of components that I'm thinking, since it can help on te decision of the case.
\n\nMSI z170A M7
I7 6700k
Samsung 950 512GB M.2
Corsair Vengence 16(2x8)GB 3200MHZ
Corsair H100i V2
Corsair RM750x
GPU still thinking, but consider Gtx 1070 or 1080.
On the future it will be added a second Samsung 950 512GB M.2 for raid 0 and a ide for data.
So I'm looking for the best case for the setup and the pros and cons of the case.
\n\nThanks.
\n\nPS. I'm not into the led fancing thing but if the case is the best and has leds i don't mind.
\n", "Title": "Best case for z170A M7 and Corsair Hydro H100i V2", "Tags": "|motherboard|case|cooling|", "Answer": "You are looking for a ATX case. I have a few suggestions for you. Consider the LIAN LI PC-A05FNB or the Antec Sonata Series SOLO II.
\n\nFor comparision I have listed the Fractal Design Define R5, which is my favorite case. However, it is too large for your requirements (\"but dont to be very big outside\"). It's dimensions are 17.76\" x 9.13\" x 20.51\". You seem to want something smaller.
\n\nThree smaller cases are listed below. I only have experience with the Antec Sonata Series SOLO II. It's an older design, and it is missing some of the touches found in the R5, but it is a good quality case and it seems to be about the size you are seeking.
\n\nHowever, the LIAN LI PC-A05FNB has very positive reviews. It is worth considering.
\n\nThe very smallest ATX case I know is the Cooler Master Elite 361. I have not used it. I think it is a older design, also probably lacking the modern features of the R5.
\n\nThe Pros and Cons below are all from NewEgg reviews. (I summarized.)
\n\nFractal Design Define R5 Blackout Window Silent ATX Midtower Computer Case
\n\nDimensions (H x W x D):
\n\n18.19\" x 9.13\" x 20.91\" with feet/screws/protrusions\n17.76\" x 9.13\" x 20.51\"\nWeight: 22.69 lbs.\nCooler Master Elite 361 - Mid Tower Computer Case with Rotatable Logo for Vertical or Horizontal Placement
\n\nDimensions (H x W x D):
\n\n14.40\" x 5.90\" x 18.20\"\nWeight: 10.60 lbs.\nAntec Sonata Series SOLO II Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
\n\nDimensions (H x W x D):
\n\n18.50\" x 8.10\" x 17.30\"\nWeight: 20.20 lbs.\nLIAN LI PC-A05FNB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
\n\nDimensions (H x W x D)
\n\n19.69\" x 8.27\" x 15.16\"\nWeight: 9.70 lbs.\nI personally prefer Fractal Design cases. Here are three more possibilities to consider. Of these, the Core 2300 is the smallest. However, the Core line is their budget line. I haven't used any of these cases, but they may lack some of the high end features of the R5 (and R4).
\n\n** Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 Black Window High-Airflow ATX Midtower Computer Case **
\n\nDimensions (H x W x D):
\n\n18.11\" x 9.06\" x 20.28\"\nWeight: 23.59 lbs.\n** Fractal Design Define R4 Black Silent ATX Midtower Computer Case **
\n\nDimensions (H x W x D)
\n\n18.27\" x 9.13\" x 20.59\"\nWeight: 27.12 lbs.\n** Fractal Design Core 2300 Black Wide-body ATX Midtower Computer Case **
\n\nDimensions (W x H x D)
\n\n7.6 x 17.5 x 18.1 inches (195 x 445 x 460mm)\nWeight: 11.4 lbs (5.2kg)\nNot sure if this is the best forum for this. If it is not, can you point me in the general direction of the best one?
\n\nI would like to play a video game that needs 1GB of dedicated RAM to the graphics card. When I use the \"Can I run it\" site, it tells me that there is only 32 MB of dedicated graphics RAM. When I run the game it is unbearably choppy and I am not able to play it.
\n\nI have included Device Manager and dxdiag screenshots. The Display screenshot says that I have just about 4GB of RAM for graphics. I have checked all the drivers, they are up to date. I have attempted to go in to the BIOS and change the amount, as recommended by some Google searchage, but there is no option in there that I can find. I've selected every single option I can, just in case it's lurking somewhere I wouldn't expect to find it. Is there anything else that I can do, other than replacing the card, to satisfy the game requirements?
\n\n\n\n", "Title": "Dedicating RAM to video card", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|memory|", "Answer": "\n \n
\n
That graphics card is horribly underpowered for any modern game. I would advise you to get a newer/better one (such as a 750Ti). It would be better to just plug the monitor into the mainboard graphics plug, as even intel's integrated GPU will outperform the 8500 GT and might be able to play some modern games somewhat smoothly.
\n\nTL;DR: There is no way to get a reasonably modern game running smoothly on hardware released in 2007.
\n\nEDIT: If you downvoted, please explain why
\n" }, { "Id": "4111", "CreationDate": "2016-07-05T02:56:53.180", "Body": "I have single gtx 760 3gb and still have room for another gpu. Should I go for a newer like 970 or 980 or get SLI?\nHow better is 980 from 760 sli?
\n", "Title": "GTX 760 SLI worth it?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Get something newer. Your card has 192-bit Memory Interface Width, and a memory bus that slow is not going to handle 3gb's of memory very efficiently, even with a single card. You would be in a much better position with a single 970 or 980. While the amount of VRAM might be greater with the two 760's, you won't see better performance than you would out of a single 970 or 980. And you'll also have to deal with the first four problems I list in this answer here. Let me quote myself:
\n\n\nFirst, you won't have to fuss around with getting SLI to work properly. Not that its a massive pain, but it is a pain.
\nSecond, some games do not even support SLI properly. Now this may not happen often, but imagine your shock when your $1000+ GPU setup won't play nice with certain games. (Don't get me wrong, I know most games support SLI, but this doesn't change the fact that there are some compatibility issues with certain games...)
\nThird, power consumption. It may not be a huge issue, but its another issue to stack on-top of the other issues that come with running two cards. (~150 watts per 970, vs ~250 for a single 1080)
\nFourth, resale value. Not that you'll want to sell, but this is still something to think about.
\n
All of these issues apply directly to your situation as well. Except the power consumption would be slightly different for 760's vs 970's; but the same concept applies, you'll be drawing significantly more power.
\nYou would also have to find a 760 3gb card, which would be tough to get new, so you would be stuck with used or refurb models off of eBay.
\nSo all in all? Don't go for SLI, instead of searching for the same card, save your time, put more money up front and get yourself a GTX 970 or 980 (go Ti if you can!).
\nSources: GTX 760 3gb Specs | GTX 970 Specs | GTX 980 Specs
\n" }, { "Id": "4117", "CreationDate": "2016-07-05T18:05:43.727", "Body": "I am interested to build a new desktop PC having as starting point G3258 CPU overclocked at 4-4.5GHz. It's well known the fact that the overclocking subject regarding this CPU it's pretty twisted. I've read different infos telling that once, this CPU was overclockable on Motherboards with B85, H87, H81, Z87, Z97 chipsets; Lately, I've read about a Win 10 update that cut this possibility but not so sure if this will apply on Z chipset Mobos or not(?)
\n\nHaving said that, which is in your opinion your Motherboard recommendation in order to use this CPU in OC mode please? (if there is anyone that use a machine with this CPU overclocked); I've studied these:
\n\nASUS Z97M-PLUS
\n\nASUS Z97-K
\n\nASROCK Z97 Anniversary
\n\nASROCK Z97 PRO4
\n\nBut I can't decide...
\n", "Title": "Motherboard recommendation for G3258 OC", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|", "Answer": "The G3258 is an unlocked processor on the 1150 socket, so it is not subject to all of the recent BIOS hubbub surrounding Intel's crackdown on overclocking non-K processors on the 1151 (Skylake) socket. As such, it is STILL THE CASE that you can overclock your G3258 on ANY 1150 motherboard with a BIOS that supports OCing, Windows 10 or not.
\n\nAs such, I recommend the Gigabyte GA-H81M-H. It is a proven overclocker and is currently one of the cheapest boards available for the 1150 socket.
\n" }, { "Id": "4136", "CreationDate": "2016-07-06T21:21:24.187", "Body": "So far, it appears the only thing I can get if I want a device that's even remotely modern is the Blackberry Priv, but I could be wrong, hence the question.
\n\nMy hard requirements (it's a dealbreaker without them):
\n\nSecondary concerns (nice to haves):
\n\nPrice no object; nearly any phone can be had via carrier discounts or secondhand.
\n", "Title": "Modern smartphone with a physical keyboard", "Tags": "|keyboards|smartphones|", "Answer": "For a 2018 answer, the BlackBerry KEY2.
\n\nAs for your nice-to-haves:
\n\nUnfortuantely it fails your \"Supported on the Verizon network\" requirement, since it's GSM/GPRS/EDGE, but Verizon only supports CDMA. I hope it's not still a deal-breaker to transfer to a GSM provider like T-Mobile or AT&T.
\n" }, { "Id": "4139", "CreationDate": "2016-07-07T18:48:49.667", "Body": "Do you have any suggestions for a cheap device that can be plugged into the LAN NIC of a pfSense Box, and allow for ip addresses to be dolled out via it's DHCP Server?
\n\nI'm trying to filter internet access using the pfSense proxy server, I'm currently using a pretty good router to do this same thing, and I was looking for a cheaper alternative.
\n\npfSense / FreeBSD doesn't play well with wireless NICs, which is the reasoning behind the setup.
\n", "Title": "Suggestion for a cheap device that can be plugged into the LAN end of a pfSense Router and allow wireless devices to connect?", "Tags": "|networking|wireless|", "Answer": "I would personally recommend Ubiquiti's UniFi line of infrastructure, which is rather inexpensive and is actually pretty good from what I've seen of it. The UniFi AP (Store page) should be suited for what you want. They would need to be configured by a device running their controller software though (which could be a raspberry pi or other cheap computer.) A tutorial for setting up the pfSense control webserver on the pi can be found here if you wish to use a pi for that task.
\n" }, { "Id": "4151", "CreationDate": "2016-07-08T07:13:50.950", "Body": "I am looking to buy a gaming laptop. I own a 15.6 inch laptop and it works perfectly fine for me. I don't travel much either so a 17 inch laptop is also not a problem, but as a last resort of my online research I want to see if there is any 15-16 inch laptop. My eyes are set on this laptop, I wish I could find an exact same laptop like this, but with 15-16 inch screen size.
\n\n\n\nAlso for the given price range around $1200 or less, is there any better gaming laptop that you would recommend? I also plan to use it for media creation like stuff from Adobe products, and 3D stuff from Maya, Blender etc.
\n\nThanks
\n", "Title": "Is there any 15-16 inch screen sized gaming laptop with gtx 970m with?", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Well I'll post what I said in the comment as an answer too.
\n\nI suggest you to buy the MSI Apache Pro with the i7 6700HQ and GTX 970M because this is what you wanted. As for rendering the i7 is way better than the i5 because of more cores and therefore better Multithreading.
\n\nThe HDD that is built in is with 1TB big enough and you wont find many Laptops that offer more.
\n\nAs for gaming MSI should be very good. They jsut produce gear for gaming and their products are very well made. Most MSI products can also be upgraded easily. In an older MSI gaming Laptop I bought on ebay you could add an extra fan and extra HDD.
\n\nSo I would suggest you to buy this ;)
\n" }, { "Id": "4165", "CreationDate": "2016-07-09T15:48:02.153", "Body": "I have a system with multiple keyboards, and one CPU. The problem is, if person 1 is entering a value from keyboard 1 and person 2 enters the value from keyboard 2 at the same time, the value entered is mixed up. What peripheral can be used so that only one keyboard is active at a time. For example, when keyboard 1 starts typing, keyboard 2 must be disabled until keyboard 1 presses a specific button. [Can a hardware device solve this? Or can it be controlled by using some code in my software?]
\n", "Title": "What device is needed for using multiple keyboards in one computer so that the input from one kyeboard is not disturbed by the other?", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "OK, I think I have a solution that will be very close to what you originally had in mind: a USB hub with individual port power switches.
\n\nBy turning power on and off to two keyboards attached to this hub, you can have two keyboards attached to a single computer that don't get in the way of each other - they can be locked out from entering commands until power is restored to their port.
\n" }, { "Id": "4175", "CreationDate": "2016-07-11T08:08:14.133", "Body": "I'm looking for parallel computing in tiniest form possible. For example, having two 18 cores Intel Xeon parked on both sides of motherboard with size of credit card would be ideal solution.
\n\nCouldn't found any motherboards (compatible with CPUs with 10+ cores) without USBs, Wifi, PCIe and other ports, that makes them only bigger.
\n\nMore specifically I need best Cores per Square Meter ratio possible: CPU and motherboard models.
\n\nConsidering answers below which I have at the moment:
\n\nWhat is already decided that configuration will have BOTH Xeon E5/E7 and Xeon Phi on same boards (not on all of them though). Cray supercomputers already use it
\n\nTo be clear: I've a lot of small binaries (cross-platform, C++ and Java) each of them work for seconds with parallel computing full-support. When it comes to situation where there are significantly less cores than amount of threads/processes started, overall efficiency drops due to a lot of context switching between processes. And there is no way to queue jobs, let's say they are to be done in real-time manner.
\n\nBest way is to distribute them among Xeon Phi (store code and preseed with data) + run others as a tiny-services (solving issue with binary loading overhead) waiting for jobs.
\n\nThat is why I search for comparatively cheap solution with high cores density to not to maintain big amount of units, solving more problems with data-logistic.
\n", "Title": "Biggest amount of cores on the smallest board", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|", "Answer": "If you are willing to do a bit more work on integration with whatever you want to run, you can try a Parallella board. That gives you a 16 core RISC co processor plus a dual core main processor on a board the size of a credit card. \nThey use very little energy and are specifically designed to be used in clusters or in parallel (hence the name) applications. \nAs a bonus, they start at about $100 each and they run Linux.\nhttps://www.parallella.org/
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/QdqVm.jpg\")
I don't want to pay for a monitored alarm system. I would just like to install some wireless motion sensors that, either directly or via a separate controller that uses the local wifi:
\n\nNot wanting to pay an ongoing monthly fee for either monitoring or cell service of alerts really limits the options here.
\n\nYou can cobble together D-Link WiFi Motion Sensors (currently DCH-S150, about $40/apiece) and control them using IFTTT.com.
\n\niSmartAlarm appears to be a step up, with a wireless hub that integrates a siren and the ability to link and control many devices: extra $30 motion sensors, $25 door/window sensors, cameras, and electrical switches.
\n\nOther \"self-monitored\" systems are built around cameras: E.g., Canary security devices are under $200 and each one includes full HD video as well as motion detection, humidity and temperature measurement, and a siren. Piper is similar, and Novi has a smoke detector built in to each ceiling-mount unit.
\n" }, { "Id": "4182", "CreationDate": "2016-07-11T18:07:27.760", "Body": "I have a Corsair AX760 Watt PSU which is still new in the box but is an older model. So it was never used. It was meant to be build in a high end gaming PC but that never happened. I see that this one is still available in some shops but I wonder how the price relates to the quality after three years.
\n\nWhich new generation power supply will be a mentionable replacement? Like the old model it is for a high end gaming PC too but should meet the requirements/standards for a modern gaming PC (see below). If new models have some benefits over this older one, what are those benefits and is it worth it spending the extra money while I have this unused PSU?
\n\nSome background: I expect to build a new PC somewhere in October just for gaming, including Core i5 or i7, gaming motherboard, DDR4 memory, higher end graphics card and SSD (that's all it will contain). Everything I don't have to buy can be spend on the GPU hence my question. A complementary question: The old model was intended to power two graphics cards, I'm not sure if I'm going that route this time but if I do would that influence the answer? Take into account SLI and Crossfire as I've not made any decision yet what to buy.
\n", "Title": "Older model vs new model PSU", "Tags": "|pc|power-supply|", "Answer": "As long as you are happy with 80+ Platinum and the power envelope, there have been no significant improvements in power supply technology over the past few years. A quality PSU is a quality PSU. If it's been sat in a box, it won't have degraded, as it would have under use (PSU calculators use a 10% per year worst case in their analysis, generally you get better than that though).
\n\nThe bottom line with a PSU is how much power it can provide, and how efficiently it provides it. The AX line was top of Corsairs range, just as the AXi line is now. The AXi switches analogue for digital regulation, but all that really adds is the ability to monitor/adjust PSU parameters from software, it doesn't inherently make the PSU more powerful or more efficient.
\n\nI would suggest that you only upgrade if:
\n\nI am planning to build a computer and my first problem was the processor. I saw many options on the market and am interested in choosing between these two. I'm thinking on choosing the i3 because it's part of the generation of 'i series', but someone told me to look for it's clock speed which is 'GHz'.
\n\nNow I am uncertain of which to purchase.
\n", "Title": "Pentium 4 2.8GHz or i3 1.7GHz, which one should I choose?", "Tags": "|processor|desktop|pc|", "Answer": "Clock speed ('Ghz') is not all that matters when it comes to performance.
\n\nQuite a few things can dictate how well a certain CPU performs, including but not limited to
\n\nFurthermore, a CPU's desirability can furthermore be increased/decreased by how many features it has and what chipset it uses.
\n\n(i3 on the left, P4 on the right)\n(Higher is better!)
\n\nUnfortunately there are no other benchmarks that I can find that contain information on both the i3-4005U and the Pentium 4 since the Pentium 4 is 11 years older than the i3.
\n\nI currently have a computer running Windows 10. It has a ASUS\u00ae MAXIMUS VIII RANGER: RoG, PCI-e 3.0, SATA 3.0, LG1151 motherboard, integrated graphics.
\n\nI currently do not have an external monitor or keyboard for my computer, so I would like to use my laptop as a monitor for my computer. How would I do this and what cables or software would I need? Thanks in advance.
\n", "Title": "Use laptop as primary monitor for desktop computer?", "Tags": "|laptop|motherboard|desktop|pc|", "Answer": "You should tell us the laptop you have. Most of laptops actually do not have video input (I know that some lenovo and alienware does).
\n\nBesides, you have to solutions:
\n\nSince I never did that I can't tell for sure, but I think both solutions leeds to a latency that might be unsuitable for gaming.
\n" }, { "Id": "4207", "CreationDate": "2016-07-13T11:09:00.847", "Body": "I am interested to internally integrate a CD-RW IDE unit (Plextor Plexwriter Premium 2) using the existing mainboard interface USB 3, Sata 3, PCIe mostly in burning CD's with AMQR not in ripping. As far as I've read, using an IDE converter can be a tricky job and there are some variables including chip manufacturer, etc. Is there anyone that have been used one of the above solutions without experiencing transfer problems / buffer underrun/ loss of quality? Thanks
\n", "Title": "CD-RW IDE to USB SATA PCIe interface", "Tags": "|audio-recording|", "Answer": "In terms of getting standardized performance out of your IDE drive, the best advice I can give you is to add an IDE controller card to your PC so that you can get a direct IDE to bus connection going over the PCI or PCI-E interface. I've had bad luck getting SATA > IDE adapters to work and would not recommend them.
\n\nThe big problem here is that an IDE controller card costs about as much as, if not more than, a new SATA DVD-RW drive, which would also yield increased performance. It might make more sense simply to bite the bullet and upgrade the drive.
\n" }, { "Id": "4218", "CreationDate": "2016-07-14T14:58:53.107", "Body": "I used to have a wonderful Microsoft Intellimouse 3.0 - it had excellent button layout, size, and AFAIK a great sensor on it. Unfortunately I think the right click button has worn out, so I'll need to replace it (if you think it can be repaired let me know that along with your replacement suggestion).
\n\nWhat I want in a mouse:
\n\nThe Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury meets most of the requirements. It is a little more than your ideal price. It is $49.99 on newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=g402&N=-1&isNodeId=1
\n\n--
\n\nI would like to purchase a graphics card (GPU) with a performance ~2x better than my current GPU, a Radeon HD 7850.
\n\nI would prefer if you provided benchmarks, links and maybe the occasional picture to back up your answer.
\n", "Title": "Graphics card with better performance than AMD HD 7850", "Tags": "|desktop|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "If you have not upgraded:\nI would recommend the MSI GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/s2h4C.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/H8V9K.png\")
3GB 192-Bit GDDR5\nCore Clock 1544 MHz\nBoost Clock 1759 MHz\n1 x DL-DVI-D 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x DisplayPort 1.4\nPCI Express 3.0 x16\nSome Futuremark stats for both cards:
\n\n\n\nAnandtec review of the GTX 1060-3GB
\n\nNote, the anandtec review shows the EVGA card, but the MSI is the same chip.
\n" }, { "Id": "4245", "CreationDate": "2016-07-18T14:28:25.630", "Body": "I am trying to create a NAS but I want to run my own software on it. I want to be able to download data around 20MB/s over WiFi from the system.
\n\nI used a raspi and created a prototype, but as it uses a single bus it is not able to transfer data from the HDD to the user at the rates I am talking about. Anybody know any build that suits this? Looking for suggestions.
\n\nI want the case to be smaller in size, I am willing to fabricate one myself if its needed to address my needs.
\n", "Title": "MediaCenter with through put of 20MB/s", "Tags": "|nas|", "Answer": "So if you are looking for what I think you are looking for I would suggest you look for a cheap server on ebay or in a small form factor case for around 80$ like this one:http://www.ebay.com/itm/FAST-DELL-DUAL-CORE-3-4-GHZ-DESKTOP-COMPUTER-PC-4GB-RAM-Wifi-WINDOWS-7-PRO-/262152856157?hash=item3d0987225d:g:AdoAAOSwYmZXI2bs
\n\nThis is very small comes with windows 7 and you can configure it with a 2tb hard drive for 100$ then for an os you can use windows 7 or you can use free nas which is an amazing server software which I have used myself and if you want to bring the 80$ down you can look for one with no os and just buy the hard drive and slip it in and put free nas on it. Now I dont know if you need a nice router but if you do I suggest this: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/555607/Belkin-N300-Wireless-Router/?cm_mmc=PLA--Google--Printers_Scanners_Faxes-_-555607-VQ6-47886868676-VQ16-c-VQ17-pla-VQ18-online-VQ19-555607-VQ20-76926630596-VQ21--VQ22-177839036-VQ27-9203161796&gclid=CILM5pvuh84CFQ6EaQodFvsHxw
\n\nI have this hooked up to my modem and can get around 100mbps download speed
\n\nSpeaking of modems if you want a nice one of those I would suggest this: ARRIS / Motorola SurfBoard SB6183 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem \u2013 600 MHz Dual-Thread Processor
\n\nIf you have decent internet speed any one of these things are nice options for what you want if I am reading it right Sorry If I did not understand what you wanted
\n\nbtw for freenas there are TONS of easy tutorials to set it up
\n\nBut I have no idea if I wrote what you wanted sorry if I did not
\n" }, { "Id": "4250", "CreationDate": "2016-07-19T01:53:15.543", "Body": "I am looking for a graphics card that can run Starcraft II at 1080p and 60 fps. I know that it isn't a super graphics heavy game and am ideally looking for something under $100. I would like something that has linux support as well but most major graphics card manufacturers have that.
\n\nI haven't decided what CPU I am going to buy yet but I am planing to buy a pretty powerful one so it shouldn't be a problem.
\n", "Title": "Cheapest graphics card for starcraft", "Tags": "|gaming|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "If you have not already purchased anything, it is entirely possible for an APU to provide you with the processing AND graphics power you need to run the game well. Given that StarCraft II is not highly threaded, but that unfortunately Intel refuses to put any worthy GPU on anything below an i5, I recommend something like the A10-7890K, which at ~150 represents a $75 CPU combined with a $75 GPU and pretty much performs like it, too. Just be sure to pair it with 2133 or 2400mhz RAM.
\n\nAlternatively, get whatever CPU you want and pair it with a GPU like the R7 250X or GTX 750; either one is powerful enough for SCII in spades.
\n" }, { "Id": "4263", "CreationDate": "2016-07-20T15:04:00.257", "Body": "I'm currently searching for a smaller and simpler Highdpi TV-Solution for my console and microconsole devices. The general idea is that I want a monitor with the display quality (and maybe mobility?) of a modern tablet to connect current-gen and last-gen consoles to it (PS3, PS4, Shield Console etc.).
\n\nThe requirements would be as follows:
\n\nI already looked around but mostly found industry strength displays for embedded factories or USB-Solutions with their own graphic cards included. I would totally be open to just buying a good tablet with HDMI-In as a display mode, although I have never heard of one having that.
\n\nThank you for all your help!
\n", "Title": "Tablet-like 12\" Monitor with HDMI-In for Consoles", "Tags": "|monitors|hdmi|video-game-console|", "Answer": "Check BOOK Max3, a 13.3\" E-book reader with a micro HDMI.
\n" }, { "Id": "4265", "CreationDate": "2016-07-20T15:56:55.777", "Body": "I currently have a PC with the following hardware:
\n\nI am currently using integrated graphics but later plan on buying a descrete graphics card. I watch HD movies, which currently is not smooth at all, mainly program in Android Studio and do some video editing in Sony Vegas Pro.
\n\nCan any recommend a graphics card no more than \u00a3200? Thanks in advance.
\n", "Title": "Graphics card help for my current desktop?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|pc|", "Answer": "The 480 is not a bad choice for that rig especially that the pc is not meant for heavy gaming. But if you wanted a little more performance you could also go Nvidia and get the new GTX 1060 which performs just a littlebit better than the 480 or if you wanted outstanding performance for the same ~$250 price point you could also get the GTX 970 which would be a really good pair for your CPU, but keep in mind, that is now a generation behind the latest GPUs from Nvidia. Of course all of the aforesaid GPUs offer very high end performace for editing and I don't think you would regret getting either one of them.
\n" }, { "Id": "4273", "CreationDate": "2016-07-20T22:59:28.170", "Body": "I'm looking to replace a backup drive that died. I was considering a Seagate Barracuda drive (ST2000DM001) which is listed as 7200 RPM. Amazon reports a newer version of the drive (ST2000DM006), which is about the same price, but it doesn't list the RPM.
\n\nI looked up the spec sheet on the drive, and it doesn't have this information either:
\n\n\n\nIs this newer version of the drive recommended? Does anybody know what the differences are here? Why aren't they reporting the RPM?
\n\nSo, I'm asking whether I should purchase the newer version of the drive or the older one. Does anyone know if there will be a performance difference?
\n\nClarification: I'm looking for a faster and more reliable drive since I will be often be transferring large amounts of data when backing up, and I need my backup drive to be reliable. Other drive recommendations are also welcome.
\n", "Title": "Seagate Hard Drive RPM", "Tags": "|hard-disk|backup|", "Answer": "This questions has already been answered but here is concrete information provided from seagate.
\n\nI also agree with the answer.
\n\nScreen Shot 2016-07-22 at 1.58.13 PM.png![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/a5eW7.png\")
What should I buy?
\n\nI am currently using NVIDIA GeForce GT 530 [Display adapter]
\n", "Title": "Recommend me a good video card", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "If you are running 1080p there are card choices for you to play overwatch near max settings with a GPU around $100.
\n\nI recommend you continue saving to at least get an AMD RX 480 for about $200 dollars and that will play EPIC settings which is maxed settings.
\n\nBut lets say you couldn't spend any more than $150, then I would recommend GTX 950. Here is one on amazon for less than $150 - MSI GTX 950 $132.99.
\n\nBut lets say you couldn't spend any more than $125, then I would recommend a, like the others an GTX 660ti.
\n\nBut overall, it seems like the GTX 950 is my overall recommended card in your case.
\n\nEdited: after seeing your using a intel i5, you should be fine to hit higher frames these cards are intended to hit. If you can't hit the desired frames, then you might want to look into safety overclocking your CPU and GPU.
\n\nNewest Edit\nThe NVIDIA GTX 1060 just came out for MSRP $250, that and the AMD RX 480, destroys current 1080p games! IMPORTANT: in order to get any of these new cards listed for their MSRP, you will have to wait for less demand and more supply. Cause right now people are buying these cards for more than what they're supposed to cost. Or buy them from a BestBuy or something. Usually, BestBuy doesn't push their prices up based on supply and demand.
\n\nAs for windows G, im not sure what that is, but i know people who use twitch that stream with twitch has that equal or more powerful cards listed in this post with no problems at all.
\n" }, { "Id": "4284", "CreationDate": "2016-07-22T11:41:14.913", "Body": "I'm currently running on a core i5-4460 CPU @ 3.20GHz on a 1150 LGA socket (Haswell). I need to upgrade to an i7 but I'm unsure on what one to go for, it needs to be faster for compiling code (using the machine for software development) - I'm aware a lot is handled by the SSD, thus I'll be installing 2 in raid 0, but the user has specifically requested an i7. Budget of between \u00a3200 and \u00a3350. Also, suggestions of trusted supplier would be appreciated (I'm in the UK).
\n", "Title": "Which i7 processor should I buy for compiling code?", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "Given that compiling is a thread-heavy job, your user is best off with the i7 that most cheaply gets them the most threads. Given that all i7 CPUs on the 1150 socket feature 8 threads, that means simply getting them the cheapest i7 you can put in that socket, which would likely be the Intel Core i7-4770S or Intel Core i7-4790.
\n\nAs an aside, Xeon processors are extremely similar to i7 CPUs and fit on this socket. In addition, they support ECC RAM, which is a feature many compiling rigs benefit from due to the high memory usage and long compile times they can undergo. In addition, some Xeons, like the Intel Xeon E3-1275 V3, currently offer higher performance and lower cost than some of those i7s previously mentioned, and would thus be a better fit. Keep in mind to utilize the ECC feature of Xeon processors, the motherboard and RAM must also support ECC.
\n\nAmazon.co.uk had the lowest prices I could find on these processors.
\n" }, { "Id": "4289", "CreationDate": "2016-07-22T18:16:20.223", "Body": "I have searched for a single button (sort of like an arcade button) that connects via RS232 and I have not found one. Anyone know of such a device? I'm sure I could build one but I am looking for a commercially available device.
\n\nI found a USB button but the application I am using asks for a COM Port number. Will the USB button work?
\n", "Title": "Serial/RS-232 Button", "Tags": "|usb|remote-control|rs-232|", "Answer": "This is a pushbutton. There are many like it, but this one is yours.
\n\nAnd this is how you connect it to your serial port.
\n\nUsually these kinds of things require a little modification, unless such a part is sold by the very people who made the software you're using.
\n\nThe USB solution may work just as well, I'm not sure.
\n" }, { "Id": "4303", "CreationDate": "2016-07-23T21:54:35.993", "Body": "A week ago I built my new pc. The case came with 2 in-built 3-pin case fans, and my motherboard only has one 3-pin SYS-FAN connection. One case fan is in top-rear of the case, and the other fan at the bottom-front.
\n\nCurrently I'm using only the rear-top fan and I do not have problems with heat or airflow. However, I'd like to connect an additional fan, just because I have it.
\n\nThere are two possibilities for the fan on the front:
\n\nI do not want to use a fan controller.
\n\nWhat do you recommend?
\n", "Title": "Case fans: on PSU or SYS-FAN splitter?", "Tags": "|case|cooling|", "Answer": "Just connect it to the PSU unless the noise it makes is not acceptable. It is not bad for the fan to run at full speed all the time. The splitters will communicate the same fan speed to both fans.
\n" }, { "Id": "4327", "CreationDate": "2016-07-26T19:50:41.517", "Body": "I was wondering if it is possible to use crossfire with the MSi R7 370 4gb and the MSi R7 370 2gb. Thanks in advance.
\n", "Title": "Crossfire Compatibility MSi R7 370 4GB and 2GB", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Crossfire is a little more forgiving than SLI. You can crossfire these cards together, but you should be warned that doing so means being hamstrung by the maximum values of the weaker card.
\n\nFor example, you will have the computational power of two 370s (minus crossfire overhead), but you will be stuck with a maximum of 2GB of VRAM. Depending on what you are pushing through these cards, your performance could very well decrease significantly.
\n" }, { "Id": "4333", "CreationDate": "2016-07-27T15:00:10.253", "Body": "This question is here after I ask this one: UHD compatible Graphic Card
\n\nThe thing is that I have a HTPC and would like to be able to read UHD movies (since the i3's IGP cannot). As you can see in the previous question, finding a passive GPU with UHD display is impossible for now.
\n\nHowever, during my researches, I found a motherboard that embed a CPU (Pentium J3710) http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/J3710-ITX/index.us.asp. Following the description, it should be able to do UHD.
\n\nThis motherboard is a good start but appart from the Asrock's description, if I go onto the Intel website, I cannot find any information about this CPU and its IGP (espectially the maximum resolution). However, it doesn't support RAID (which is mandatory for me). I didn't find another product like this. Maybe you could ?
\n\nHere are my requirements for a motherboard that embed a CPU:
\n\nEDIT\nObviously, 4k60 is preferred, but any suggestion, even 4k30 is welcome.
\n", "Title": "Motherboard with embeded CPU for HTPC", "Tags": "|motherboard|uhd|htpc|", "Answer": "The easiest 4k unit was an Acer Laptop quad A4 amd and Intel HD 4800 plugged into external sceptre and went straight to 4k even without the 48 Gbps hdmi cable, very inexpensive it was older unit and power went on it if now would go A10 and the 4800 Intel HD for quality, though using a Sony e series currently, good A4 and HD setup is good inexpensive 4k grapics though, at least quad core and you have to use system config to activate all the cores.
\n" }, { "Id": "4334", "CreationDate": "2016-07-27T17:30:26.833", "Body": "I'm looking into getting a new gaming pc, but I'm not much of a hardware enthusiast. I know what kind of general specs I want to have, but when it comes to details, especially the mainboard, I'm lost with all the kinda same-y, similar price-range motherboards out there.\nHere are my current planned specs:
\n\n-GTX 1070 (not sure which model yet, but I think that shouldn't matter for this)
\n\n-Intel i5 6600K
\n\n-2x8GB RAM (Model would depend on mainboard, no?)
\n\n-3 Harddrives (2 SSD's, 1HDD) and a Blu Ray Drive
\n\n-ATX Chassis
\n\nfurther considerations:\n-I'm not likely going to get into overclocking, but I might upgrade to SLI at a distant point in the future (if that becomes more viable for gaming in the next years).
\n\n-I'm not going to try and desperately squeeze the most bang-for-buck out of this computer, but if you recommend something overly expensive I would need good reasoning to consider it.
\n\n-The PC is mostly going to be used for gaming, no fancy hobbies that need special considerations.
\n\nQuestion:\nWhat motherboard would you recommend for my set up? Why specifically this one? Are there other considerations I haven't thought of yet?
\n\nBonus: What kind of RAM would you get for the motherboard you suggested?
\n", "Title": "Motherboard for intel skylake mid-to-high-range gaming pc", "Tags": "|gaming|motherboard|", "Answer": "Let's start saying that your setup seems really more-than-good, even of i would go with an Intel Core i7-6700K, and 1 SSD (256GB) and 2 HDD (1TB or + each) cause today's games tent to \"eat\" many and many Gigs. \nBUT the i5 processors are a really good deal for gaming and you sure did your counts about what you need for the storage parts, those was only advices from my personal point of view.
\n\nAs per your motherboard choice, i can point you here:
\n\nAsus Z170 Pro Gaming
\n\nIt has the latest chipset and it's kinda futureproof 'cause it has the 1151 CPU socket (the i7 mentioned above has the same socket) and it also supports DDR4 Ram (up to 64GB)
\n\nThere it comes the answer to your \"Bonus question\";
\n\nFor the RAM choice, my advice would be:
\n\nKingston HyperX Fury DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) @ 2666MHz
\n\nI think there's no much to explain here, everything is in the product description.
\n\nThat's all, hope this helps and if you need any other advice, feel free to ask! :)
\n" }, { "Id": "4353", "CreationDate": "2016-07-29T11:41:07.457", "Body": "Do you know of any big brand graphics card that is PCI and win 10 compatible, so with DirectX 9 or later and WDDM 1.0 driver?
\n\nIt's for an old computer with an AGP 3.3v slot, and a PCI slot. I'm looking for a PCI card rather than an AGP 3.3v one, as I guess PCI is a bit less difficult to find. though any comment with an AGP one is fine.. maybe i'll make AGP 3.3v a separate question.
\n", "Title": "big brand PCI graphics card win 10 compatible?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "HIS 5450 Silence 512MB DDR3 PCI DVI/HDMI/VGA, Make sure you get the PCI version because the also make a PCI-e version.\nBut good luck finding one.
\n" }, { "Id": "4359", "CreationDate": "2016-07-29T15:55:03.940", "Body": "I'm running into issues with my current laptop (an old Macbook Pro Retina) while trying to screen record graphic design tutorials so its time for an upgrade.
\n\nI don't do much video work beyond the screen recording but might want to and even Photoshop and Illustrator now has some features that utilizes the GPU so a discreet graphics card is preferred. I have a Wacom Intuos Pro that I always use when I'm at home and sometimes travel with. I'm in the market and was going to buy a new monitor for myself but its on the back burner for the moment. Probably later this year or by April of next year (Tax Return) I'll be getting a new monitor for myself to use when at home with a Wide Gamut Color Accurate Display.
\n\nMy main concerns are color accuracy, brightness, contrast, and enough specs to screen record tutorials on. Since I don't currently own a tablet I decided a 2 in 1 would be really nice to have.
\n\nI'll be using it for Digital Painting, Retouching, Sketching, Tethered Photography. At home I can still plug it into my Intuos Pro if need be and once I get the monitor I'd plug it into that as well when at home.
\n\nLenovo Yoga P40
\n\nPros: nVidia graphics card, good price, Wacom AES with 2048 pressure levels.
\n\nCons: I've not been able to get an answer from Lenovo regarding colors. What little I could find has said it only covers about 65% of the sRGB spectrum though I've seen other reports claiming 75% and still some saying 95%. I don't know what's accurate. Also the Graphics Card included is not one listed on the Adobe website.
\n\nLenovo X1 Yoga
\n\nPros: Good price, Wacom AES with 2048 pressure levels, OLED
\n\nCons: Integrated graphics and again not sure about how much of the spectrum it covers
\n\nMicrosoft Surface Book
\n\nPros: PixelSense Display, nVidia Graphics Card
\n\nCons: for i7 much more expensive than Lenovo, n-Trig instead of Wacom with only 1024 pressure levels, not a lot of information on what that nVidia graphics card actually is
\n\nWhat 2 in 1 might you recommend? One of the above? Something I missed?\nAlso if anyone knows any model at all that has Wacom AES that stores display I'd love to hear - the X1 and P40 are too high end for retailers so I have no way to feel them first.
\n\nUpdate: I wasn't clear in my original post. I travel, a lot. I'm gone for weeks at a time and want a mobile solution so I can be gone even more of the year. This has me in places with little to no internet frequently.
\n\nIt seems people also are trying to just give me the cheapest option. Money isn't my biggest concern. Convenience however is a big one so please don't say, well if money is no option buy a desktop, a Cintiq, and a laptop. I'm looking for a single device that can fit the vast majority of my needs.
\n\nMy primary concerns with the aforementioned is I don't know their displays or graphics cards at all. The M500M for example in the Lenovo P40 Yoga seems to be a lower level nVidia card and its not on the Adobe website so I don't know if it will meet my expectations or if I'm wasting money. Likewise the nVidia in the Surface Book is a custom nVidia that I can't find any information out about.
\n", "Title": "What 2-in-1 is suited for high level graphic designers?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|tablet|", "Answer": "I'm going to recommend the Lenovo Yoga P40. After looking at some other stuff from Dell that also offers wacom-style input, I was unable to really get a feel for whether or not certain models supported wacom input or not, so I can't recommend them. Some users appear to have gotten excellent results out of ~800 machines from Dell, but again - I can't be certain which exact model to recommend.
\n\nThe Yoga is the only reasonably priced, reasonably powerful option on your list. It will be a very powerful machine, is upgradeable, and does satisfy the wacom requirement. While its GPU may not yet be listed by Adobe, I have good confidence that it will work well with Adobe, since it is a professional-tier chip.
\n\nThe M500M is a mobile chip, so of course it doesn't have all the power you might expect from a standard desktop solution, but it is a midrange professional card and would represent a big step up from your current i5 integrated graphics. Here's how it compares to the primary graphics solutions in your other two options:
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/YyZzy.jpg\")
\nThe 940M represents the approximate GPU of the Surface Book as evaluated by Cnet
The color issue I was also unable to resolve.
\n\nThe only other advice I can offer is to look into OBS when recording with your Lenovo. It can use the Nvidia encoder built into the M500M to make streaming a breeze.
\n" }, { "Id": "4367", "CreationDate": "2016-07-31T03:13:01.320", "Body": "Modern retail processors are all multi-cored, so my question suppose a multi-core CPU.
\n\nSince many tasks are hard or even impossible to be executed in parallelism, I wonder in daily use like watching movie, word processing and browsing (except some extreme complex websites), the performance of single thread is more important? (it shouldn't be a problem for multi tasks as there are at least two cores)
\n\nIf so, I guess it's smart to buy Intel Core i3-6320 than i5-6500 for daily use, as the single thread score of i3-6320 is higher than i5-6500 according to PASSMARK. However, you may not tell the difference when in real situation as both CPUs are so fast for daily tasks.
\n", "Title": "Is single thread performance of a CPU more important than overall performance for daily use (watching movie, browsing, etc)?", "Tags": "|performance|", "Answer": "I can answer your question. In terms of CPU utilization, there are three kinds of programs the average computer user will encounter:
\n\nSo what does that mean for you? It means that for everyday usage, you will see absolutely no difference between the i3 and the i5 in question. While the i3 does indeed have a higher single thread score than the i5 - and suffers from two fewer cores - it uses hyperthreading, so in fact it has four threads it can execute programs on simultaneously, the same as the i5. I'm not going to get into why hyperthreaded threads are not as desirable as fully physical threads here, but suffice it to say this is kind of like a middle ground between a true dual core and a true quad core when it comes to multithreaded performance.
\n\nSo what programs will actually see a benefit from that i3's higher single thread performance, anyway? The answer for most users is precious few. Older computer games, some parts of photo editing software performance, a few OS operations... I really can't think of anything else. There are lots of programs that are still single-threaded, it's just that most of them fall into category 1 - you won't see ANY benefit past the point of, say, a Pentium 4 @ 3.4ghz!
\n\nOn the other hand, what programs will see benefits from the full four cores of the i5? Again, the answer for most users is precious few. The OS itself sometimes uses all four threads heavily, zipping/unzipping files is often a heavily multithreaded process, and watching HTML5 video or webms can sometimes see fairly high multicore utilization, especially if more than one plays at a time... but (and this is another wrinkle to the answer) since both of these CPUs in question feature GPUs with Intel's Quicksync video encoding technology built-in, handling some of the most demanding multithread CPU work a modern user might commonly encounter, having to do with HD video playback, encoding, etc - there will be much less of a difference between the two processors than the simple multithreaded benchmark score would intuitively seem to indicate.
\n\nThe one caveat to all of this is that if you are a true multitasker - if you have more than one demanding task going at any given time - the i5 is probably going to be a better bet for you. For example, if you wanted to zip a large file while simultaneously transcoding media being cast to your TV and using a word processor on a large document - that might warrant the more powerful CPU.
\n\nFor the average daily user who simply wants to listen to music while watching a youtube video with about 20-30 chrome tabs open in the background and maybe a torrent going - both of these CPUs are huge overkill. You could step all the way down to something like an A8-7600 or a Celeron G1840 without noticing much, if any, performance degradation. In fact, for the average daily user, something like the A8-7600, which can run at a 45W TDP and which sports superior integrated graphics, is probably a much better choice than either of these CPUs, because it is more efficient and sports a more balanced design (a good mix of single-thread, multi-thread, and GPU power).
\n\nChoosing between the two processors asked about, however, I'd have to recommend the i3-6320. It's cheaper, and since nothing else really stands out as being particularly great for the basic home user when it comes to the i5, there's no reason for me to suggest you buy it.
\n" }, { "Id": "4368", "CreationDate": "2016-07-31T08:24:53.153", "Body": "I am looking for a basic phone, to make calls and sens/receive SMS.
\n\nNothing more - all else is battery drain, and I am looking for the longest battery life that I can find.
\n\nTo that end, I am looking for a monochrome screen, if such a thing is still manufactured.
\n\nYears back, I remember that Sharp made a line of long battery life phones. Now they don't make phones (if they are even still in business).
\n\nI have fond memories of a small, grey, rubberized Nokia - was it an N45? - with a screen barely an inch in diagonal (just three lines of display), and I'd be glad of something similar.
\n\nI don't need Daul SIM, Wifi, BlueTooth, GPS, color screen, radio, not even music player; just calls & texts (and those will be few, and far between).
\n\nCan anyone recommend soemthing that can be bought online?
\n\nThis question looked good, but it is looking for Dual SIM, which I do not require.
\n\n[Update] Nokia are relaunching the 3310. 100 hours standby for Eur 59
\n", "Title": "Where can I buy a basic non-smart monochrome phone online? (long battery life)", "Tags": "|mobile-phone|battery-life|", "Answer": "From Amazon.com
\n\n\n\nIt's $50, and can call and send/receive sms. 5200mAh battery w./ 72 hours talk time and 360 hours standby (as the manufacturer claims). I'm pretty sure the screen is color though.
\n" }, { "Id": "4374", "CreationDate": "2016-07-31T09:06:03.440", "Body": "We're looking for a notebook for my wife.
\n\nShe will use it for browsing, editing documents (text and spreadsheet) and watching videos. Nothing hard.
\n\nBased on our requirements HP G4 with 128 GB SSD seems to be a good choice.
\n\nMy only question is now CPU as we can by the same notebook with different CPUs:
\n\n(All prices without OS, I'll buy windows 10 separately).
\n\nI'm open to pay more if that makes a difference, but not in case if all perform the same for the given use.
\nWhich CPU should I use?
Of the three notebook options you've provided, I'd personally go with i3 5005u. Using cpuboss.com, it is clear that the i3 has significantly better single core and multi-core performance than the Pentium n3700. You probably won't need the extra performance for web browsing and document editing, but it will come in handy in a situation where a little more processing power is needed. Also in performance, the i3 has a higher integrated gpu perfomance than the Pentium, which should help with improving video playback (1080p @ 60fps) and multi-screen. Furthermore, Intel ark says that the i3 supports 16gb of ram compared to 8gb which the Pentium supports. This gives \"upgradability\" for the future, just in case.
\n\nHope this was helpful :D
\n\n(sources: intel ark, cpu boss)
\n" }, { "Id": "4381", "CreationDate": "2016-08-01T19:53:07.547", "Body": "I have an old Dell Studio XPS 8100 that has been updated rather haphazardly. Now I would like more expansion slots and a faster CPU.
\n\nI don't know what motherboard + CPU combination would be a good fit for my existing components. Since I will be buying both together, I would like to get something future-proof and a good performance match. I also have existing parts that I would like to keep, so compatability is important.
\n\nIntended usage:
\n\nThe parts I would like to keep are:
\n\nParts I would like to accomodate:
\n\nNote that my case is large enough for an extended ATX motherboard, but I don't know if this is worth the cost vs ATX.
\n", "Title": "Choosing a motherboard + CPU combination upgrade", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|", "Answer": "From expeience Gigabyte motherboards have been really easy or more straight forward to get working.
\n\nAn amazing CPU you can get maybe Intel 6700k, that is really high powered and future proof.
\n\nSince this list contains an updated: CPU and Motherboard you will need to get DDR 4 memory.
\n\nSo lets start with this combiniation:
\n\nSince i do not see a budget, i think these two will be a great combinaton. This is the combination of components i picked out for my fathers hackintosh system.
\n\nHere is the link to installation: http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/success-hackintosh-i7-ga-z170x-ud5-th-i7-6700k-gigabyte-gtx-970.192392/
\n\nNow im going to answer your other points from here on.
\n\nSoftware Development: 6700k has fast single and multi core performance so it should be a piece of cake for this CPU to compile applications on.
Photoshop: 6700K has intergrated graphics cabablities, but since you have a GTX 970, no reall hardware accelerated problems i can see arrising.
3D Modeling Software: Just like Photoshop i would say most of these applications have hardware acceleration built so they can take advantage of your GPU, but as far as rendering you should have some pretty decent rendering times of your 3d models.
Hackintosh: Like i mention above, my father has these paired components in his hackintosh build, and there have been other people who have had a succesful time with thise two parts.
Gaming: 6700k as mentioned before is a powerful single and multicore performing chip and since you have an GTX 970, you are pretty solid since a it seems games are trying to use as mush of the GPU and little of the CPU as possible.
Hope this help. :)
\n" }, { "Id": "4386", "CreationDate": "2016-08-02T02:23:22.190", "Body": "I would like to use the raspberry pi zero for a internet of things project but it does not have wifi access by default. I would like to use a usb wifi adapter to connect the pi to the Internet. Here are my must haves:
\n\nHere are some features that I would like to have but are not required
\n\nI have looked at using a usb wifi adapter with a miniusb to use adapter but that would easily go over $10 and I was wondering if there is anything better.
\n", "Title": "Wifi adapter for raspberry pi zero", "Tags": "|wifi|raspberry-pi|", "Answer": "What a coincidence, I've also got a RPi Zero. Check this out on Amazon.com,
\n\n\"Edimax EW-7811Un 150Mbps 11n Wi-Fi USB Adapter\"
\n\nIt's only $8.99. It says it's compatible with RPi and RPi 2. I personally have the wifi dongle that came with the adafruit RPi Zero Starter Pack (which is about $11 w/o shipping).
\n\nHope this is helpful :D
\n" }, { "Id": "4388", "CreationDate": "2016-08-02T06:05:23.440", "Body": "I looked around on the Internet for an answer and wasn't able to find one, so I thought I'd ask it here. (3 part question)
\n\nLet's say I have one graphics card that can run 3 screens that's also crossfire capable. If I were to use 2 way crossfire (two of the same GPU) does that mean I can now use 6 screens (three on each card)? If I can only use 3 screens, would I plug the screens into the graphics card closer to the CPU or further from the CPU. One last part to the question, do I need a crossfire bridge for the graphics cards? Somewhere I read that sometimes you don't need bridges for multiple grpahics cards (like it's integrated in the mobo or something). Thanks in advance! :D
\n\nMy hardware:
\n\nMSi R7 370 4G
\n\nMSi z170a SLI plus (supports up to 3 way crossfire)
\n", "Title": "Does using 2 way Crossfire allow you to use more screens?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|compatibility|", "Answer": "No. The only way to use the additional 3 video outputs on the other card would be to run it without crossfiring it. You can run multiple GPUs in a computer without needing to crossfire them.
\n\nIt doesn't matter. AFAIK, crossfire and SLI are smart enough to recognize which card is intended as the master - that is, whichever has the video outs attached.
\n\nNot for modern GPUs on modern motherboards which are crossfire certified. It may also work in other circumstances that are less well-defined, but your GPU and motherboard should not require a crossfire bridge.
\n\nAddendum:
\n\nI feel like noting that your CPU has its own GPU, and your motherboard has 3 or four video outs of its own. If all you are trying to do is run more than three screens, not all of which will be used for gaming, then you could run up to three screens off of this integrated GPU if you enabled it in BIOS. You would need to install Intel graphics alongside AMD's, but that should present no problem. This way, you could support up to six monitors without needing to add a second GPU.
\n\nAdditionally, you could add another small GPU with three video outs - like an R7 240 or GT 730 - which could be used alongside your other GPU systems to provide a further 3 screens - up to nine.
\n\nNOTE: As it currently stands, your GPUs will all need to use a displayport connection for connecting a third monitor. This is something that needs to have an active adapter dongle attached to it if you will be using it to push a signal to a screen which does not support displayport (e.g. it uses VGA, DVI, or HDMI inputs exclusively).
\n" }, { "Id": "4405", "CreationDate": "2016-08-03T18:37:27.123", "Body": "I currently purchased a \"Sapphire 11244-01-20G Radeon NITRO R9 390 8GB GDDR5\" for a 2013 Mac Pro on El Capitan. Unfortunately it would take technical acrobatics to get it to work with the hardware, which I don't feel confident in doing.
\n\nI'm fairly new to the hardware game, and would like some kind of modular guide to learning graphics card capabilities and compatibilities.
\n\nI understand that this is a HUGE question, but all I'm asking for is a surface level guide that introduces the core concepts and provides the terminology to enable a mostly google savvy person to research the reasoning behind graphics card compatibility for differing systems.
\n", "Title": "What to know to be able to effectively upgrade a graphics card", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Compatibility wise, your motherboard will need a PCI Express x16 slot. You need to make sure that it actually fits into the case, since some more powerful GPUs have fans to cool them, and can be fairly large. Lastly, you need to make sure that your power supply has enough headroom above what the existing components are drawing to power your graphics card.
\n" }, { "Id": "4407", "CreationDate": "2016-08-03T20:17:20.347", "Body": "I want this card to be able to handle anything I throw at it. I handle multiple file types through the Adobe CC (video, audio, rasterized, vector, and library) simultaneously and have to support 3 monitors. I've already tried the \"Sapphire Radeon NITRO R9 390 8GB GDDR5\" but I couldn't get it to work without having to jump through hoops I didn't feel confident in jumping through. Any suggestions?
\n\nHere's the specification for the computer
\n", "Title": "8GB graphics card upgrade for Mid 2012 Mac Pro", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "I recommend the AMD FirePro W7100 Professional Graphics Card.
\n\nI was playing the old \"confuse the cat with a flash-light\" game, when I thought that I might like to program a confuse-a-cat robot.
\n\nSomething, probably with tracks, which can right itself if he flips it over, and which I can program to move randomly around a room, turning at walls, making an occasional sound or flashing a light.
\n\nSince I am on a very tight budget, I wondered if there is some cheap kit which I can program ...
\n\nArduino, Raspberry Pi, any platform, so long as it is programmable.
\n\nThanks in advance for your help
\n\n[Update] my budget is $50, but the less, the better.
\n\nHow can I get this unheld? It is held as too broad, but I don't really know what I can say, other than:
\n\nWhat more can I add? Battery operated, I guess. I didn't actually state that.
\n\nWhat else? Robust & cat-proof? :-)
\n", "Title": "Confuse-a-cat : seeking dirt cheap, wheeled, programmable robot", "Tags": "|raspberry-pi|arduino|microcontroller|", "Answer": "This looks very promising.
\n\nIt's a crab/spider like device, using cardbaord for legs, and an Arduino to control it.
\n\nFrom the comments on the linked page:
\n\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "5425", "CreationDate": "2016-08-05T13:56:17.340", "Body": "the servos cost $24 for set of 10 (bought 2 set) & the shield was $7\n on Amazon, joystick was $7+shipping on digi-key and the transceivers\n were 4/$6.50 on ebay. The Arduino nano and UNO I have along with the\n LED, wires, etc.
\n
I would like to know, is it possible for a smartphone attached to an arm to catch an epileptic seizure by using the heartbeat or other sensor and automating a phone call or sms when the seizure occurs based on the blood rate? If not, then can this be done by attaching a brain scan helmet our hat accessory connected via Bluetooth to the mobile phone?
\n\nThanks.
\n", "Title": "Smartphone accessories/software for catching epileptic seizures", "Tags": "|smartphones|brain-computer-interface|", "Answer": "Oh my, a question targeting my hardware experience AND my more than passing interest in cognitive science!
\n\nI have a friend who is currently dying from Muscular Dystrophy. In the end stage of this disease, he is barely able to move any part of his body. He and I investigated several consumer-grade EEG devices as a means of him controlling computers (none ended up working for him as well as voice command). In the course of that investigation, we initially rejected the NeuroSky MindWave Headset, but I am returning to it now as an ideal solution to your problem.
\n\nWhile it has a pretty crappy sensor configuration, it is my understanding that seizures are large events which any EEG machine should be able to detect relatively easily. The upside to this machine is that it is cheap and relatively unobtrusive compared to other available brands. Moreover, this device is able to interface with mobile devices via bluetooth and does have a developer's kit app for Android available for purchase. I'm not going to go into how you solve the software side of this problem, because this is a hardware recommendation only (as befits the site), but I trust since you are inquiring you'll know where to go from here.
\n" }, { "Id": "5433", "CreationDate": "2016-08-06T18:47:59.933", "Body": "There's a video card that I want to buy (Asus ROG STRIX 1080 GTX) that comes as a regular version (A8G, which I believe is already overclocked compared to the default OEM specs) and an overclocked version 08G. I believe both ship with an easy to use overclocking software program.
\n\nThe latter is actually only slightly more expensive in terms of MSRP. However, because of the lack of availability, it tends to be much more expensive than the A8G version.
\n\nIs there a reason to pay the premium for the 08G or is the A8G expected to reach the same frequencies after manual overclocking without any further drawbacks?
\n", "Title": "Is there a good argument to buying the more-expensive overclocked version of a particular video/graphics card?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "They are not expected to reach the same frequencies, though for most overclockers it is close enough that a significant price difference is not warranted.
\n\nIn silicon chip manufacturing there is a process called binning, wherein tests at the factory sort chips according to the quality of their manufacture. The highest quality chips - the highest \"binned\" examples - are the ones which will respond most positively to overclocking, because they don't skirt the QA lines on any of their specifications. Those chips are usually not simply thrown back in with the rest of the batch and sold so that some customers get lucky with OCing and others don't - the higher binned chips are used to create the higher-tier SKUs, and within those SKUs, the best of the best are used to create the OEM overclocked models. Those chips are the ones which stand the best possible chance of being monstrously good overclockers - the only pitfall some people fall into is in thinking that the factory overclock indicates the percentage by which they will beat more conventional SKUs - this not an accurate way of thinking, because sometimes OEMs are able to set factory OCs very close to the upper limit of the part's capability.
\n\nThe last thing to consider is that the OC'd models of GPU often receive some of the best addons an OEM can offer - better caps, better software, backplates, and better cooling solutions. All of that combines to add value to the more expensive models. In some cases, you can see crazy things like OC'd R9 270s outperforming R9 270Xs as a result of this.
\n\nThe thing to keep in mind when all is said and done, however is this: are you the type of person to worry over your GPU's clockspeed for several weeks, tweaking it and testing it meticulously until you have achieved the best possible result? If not, it probably makes more sense to go for the similar but cheaper model. Factory OCs on their own usually do not offer a sufficient value increase to justify the premiums they are sold at.
\n\nI recommend the slower, cheaper version of the card unless you are very passionate about overclocking.
\n" }, { "Id": "5440", "CreationDate": "2016-08-07T18:37:03.123", "Body": "I would like to build a portable NAS (with one hard drive of I think 4TB). I need a full Linux and I don't want to fiddle around too much to make it work (no patching and compiling my own kernels and stuff like that).
\n\nFor this I need a
\n\nRaspberry Pi doesnt have enough performance (the limiting factors are USB 2.0 and crappy Ethernet, I think) and mATX/mITX boards are too large. What can you recommend for maximum data throughput? I would like to get at least 40MB/s actual real world throughput.
\n\nIt should be as cheap as possible. That said, as long as it's significantly cheaper than buying a laptop and ripping off / not using the screen, it's okay. If there is a ready to use NAS (without hard drive/empty enclosure) like that I'm fine with that too.
\n", "Title": "SBC for portable NAS", "Tags": "|nas|portable|", "Answer": "I just found the perfect (I think) board: an Intel NUC board with a 10.16cm squared area and 28.8mm height.
\n\n5W TDP, SATA, Gigabit Ethernet, around $100 (for mainboard and integrated CPU). Pity it needs 12V input, this still has me searching for a battery controller.
\n\nIt only has 1C/1T at 1.46Ghz, but this should be just enough and already a lot faster than a Raspberry Pi.
\n\nThere are mini PCI-E expansion boards for at least two additional SATA III connections, with the more expensive ones supporting hardware RAID.
\n" }, { "Id": "5443", "CreationDate": "2016-08-08T02:44:04.373", "Body": "I am a hobbyist programmer and light gamer, and I'm in the market for a new computer. I don't know anything about hardware. I've looked at the Alienware website (as they are the only high-end computers I've heard of), but I've heard you're mostly paying for frills, and I don't need anything flashy.
\n\nIn addition to web-browsing, I'll be using it for:
\n\nIt must have:
\n\nIt would be nice to have:
\n\nIt doesn't have to look flashy, and I don't care about name brands. I'd like it to last for several years.
\n", "Title": "Good Programming and Editing Computer for Under $1000", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Well, your request doesn't explicitly specify laptop, so I will make a recommendation for a desktop even though I get the strong feeling you really do want a laptop. XPS x8900-2506BLK Intel Core i7 6th Gen 6700 (3.4 GHz) 16 GB DDR4 1 TB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GTX for $889 from Newegg. \nAnd a decent monitor: Asus VE228H 21.5\" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers ASCR 10,000,000:1 $109 from Newegg. You can do a lot with that if you don't mind programming at home. Or, you could use a lightweight device and RDP into the desktop and program away from home.
\n" }, { "Id": "5444", "CreationDate": "2016-08-08T13:39:54.733", "Body": "I am looking for a laptop-sized keyboard (similar to those on Dell 15-16\" laptops) that would fit in my backpack.
\n\nI am looking for recommendations for a wireless back-lit keyboard which also supports bluetooth as I wish to use it with my tablet too.
\n\nA combo package with a mouse would be nice as I need a mouse to control my laptop when connected to an external monitor. An integrated touchpad would be preferable & eliminate the need for the mouse. (tough already?)
\n\nA plus, if it exists, would be to have a usb-wired functionality which allows it to be used with a usb cable (& charge too?).
\n\nPreference is for one without a keypad but I also consider ones with it.
\n\nAsking for too much?
\n\nUpdate: I decided o go with cjm's recommendation of the Drevo 71 mechanical keyboard (black with blue switch). Though its bluetooth performance was a concern as reported by some reviewers but it was the only option that fits all criteria.\nI also ordered the \"TeckNet BM306 Souris Bluetooth mouse\"
\n\nI will report on the recommendation once I receive it.
\n", "Title": "Laptop-sized Keyboard with Bluetooth, Wireless, & Wired", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "If you are looking for a mechanical keyboard, this Drevo fits all your criteria: it has no number pad, it has backlights, and it's Bluetooth-compatible.
\n" }, { "Id": "5446", "CreationDate": "2016-08-08T17:04:04.543", "Body": "I used laptops for a while and I am not up to date with the current available hardware.
\n\nI'm looking for a new PC mainly for Neural Network computations and some gaming from time to time.
\n\nThe rig mainly needs strong Graphic Cards for OpenCL/CUDA computations. The CPU must not bottleneck the GPUs. The cpu needs proper single thread performance.
\n\nMy target is to have a very upgradable workstation and install a relativly cheap CPU and Graphic Card. I want to upgrade the CPU when needed, so the socket should be somewhat futureproof or at least not already outdated. Maybe the i5-6600K on socket 1151 is what I need?
\n\nI want a single Graphic Card for now and add more once my Neural Network research progresses. The Motherboard should have at least 4 PCIe slots, at least two of them PCIe x16. That should be enougth room for Graphic Card expansion.
\n\nI need to be able to upgrade to at least 64 GB of fast DDR4 RAM, but will use 16 GB for now.\nLow lateny ram is favored.
\n\nCurrently the Software I use for my Neural Network research has no support for AMD cards and requireds nvidias CUDA. So I have to buy nvidia cards. SLI is not needed, since the Cards can run those computations as individual units and Gaming is no priority.
\n\nI'm not sure if a consumer mainboard fits my needs well enough. Maybe a Serverboard?
\n\nI'm targeting a bugdet of below 1500\u20ac (~$1660) for its first configuration.
\n", "Title": "Upgradable Neural Network workstation on a budget of <1500\u20ac (<$1660) for its first configuration", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|motherboard|pc|", "Answer": "Your question fundamentally breaks down to which motherboard you should go with, because the motherboard will determine the CPU, GPU(s), RAM, and everything else. I'm going to recommend, therefore, that you go with a dual socket 2011 board, like this ASRock EP2C612D16C-4L SSI EEB Server Motherboard, though any other board like it would probably do as well for you.
\n\nThese boards support a LOT of PCI-E throughput - this particular model supports 3x 16x slots and 2x 8x slots, in a configuration that would allow you to run up to three double-height cards without risers, with the caveat that the top card would need to be an ITX version of whatever card you wanted - these cards are available without a huge price bump for the most of the recent Nvidia GTX lineups. Furthermore, this board supports the socket 2011 HPC Xeon CPUs, which offer extremely performative CPUs with lots of threads for massive parallel work. An example configuration would be something like this, where CPU slot 2 is left open and can be filled later (the CPUs are cheapest on the used market - vastly cheaper, actually). Finally, unlike some other socket 2011 boards, this one does run on DDR4 spec RAM, so that's in line with your request. As it is, it can support up to a theoretical maximum of 1Tb RAM, but more realistically about 512Gb.
\n\nRight now, this CPU sits near the absolute top of the performance charts, unless you start getting into E7 Xeons and POWER8/9, I think, and it certainly enjoys a fantastic price/performance ratio thanks to the flood of parts on the used market.
\n" }, { "Id": "5475", "CreationDate": "2016-08-10T20:47:40.463", "Body": "I'm trying to build a sit-stand desk solution with motors that can be controlled by a computer. I've found some good instructions for building your own electric height adjustable desk here, however, it does not talk about interfacing with a computer.
\n\nI'd like to create software on a desktop, laptop, mobile phone, or tablet that interfaces with the motors of the desk, allowing them to be controlled to raise, lower the desk automatically to two or more preset locations as well as being triggered automatically under certain circumstances. I imagine the motors would be connected to a controller that knows their position and can change their position to a known second position and the controller might have a bluetooth capability for integration with a computing device to control it. Alternatively, perhaps a USB connection could be used.
\n\nWhat are some options for controllers that could provide this capability?
\n", "Title": "Looking for programmable controller for linear actuators for use in a standing desk", "Tags": "|usb|bluetooth|automation|ergonomics|", "Answer": "I think you'd have excellent luck with the Raspberry Pi A+ for ~$25. It has excellent documentation, some preexisting servo driver software, and integrated GPIO pins, which are the things you solder the controller wires from your motors to. It does NOT run a real-time environment, so stutter might occur, but for your use case that might not matter. At only $25, it makes sense to try this first and then add something like an Arduino Uno if stuttering IS a problem, since the Arduino will likely need to communicate with the Pi anyway. The big draw here is really the documentation; this is an incredibly well-documented platform with a lot of active users.
\n" }, { "Id": "5501", "CreationDate": "2016-08-14T04:14:02.863", "Body": "I'm on the hunt for a new pair of gaming headphones with a built-in microphone. I have a few hard requirements.
\n\nI need the 'internal' size of the cups to be at least 70mm (my current pair is that size and fits perfectly) and fit a larger head size (I am not sure how to measure that).
\n\nI'd like USB or a wireless dongle. Bluetooth would be OK, but I'd need to add Bluetooth to my system. A 3.5mm phone connector is kind of messy for my purposes.
\n\nSound quality should be decent - I'm not expecting audiophile quality sound, but I'd not want my ears to bleed.
\n\nIt needs to be padded in all the right places - my past few headphones have had completely padded headbands, with fabric rather than pleather in contact with my head, and it's comfortable. Likewise, pleather, not raw sponge ear cups.
\n\nI prefer closed cups over open cups. My parents have gotten into the habit of turning the lights off and on if they need my attention anyway.
\n\nMy budget is about 300 SGD (~220 USD). Local availability in Singapore would be a plus.
\n", "Title": "Comfortable over-the-ear gaming headphones", "Tags": "|gaming|audio|", "Answer": "I bought the Plantronics GameCom 788 as my first headset and every other headset I've tried after just felt and sounded terrible. It's the best audio-related purchase I ever made besides my studio monitors.
\nI can never go back to any other headset.
\nThe sound quality is great, and the microphone quality is honestly astounding. I have a broadcast quality microphone and there is almost zero noticeable difference between them.
\nAlso, the Dolby drivers that come with it just make everything sound so much better. I can't deal with it being off any more.
\nAnd just so you know, the GameCom 780 and 788 are the exact same. The only difference is design. I have owned both.
\nI want to upgrade my current monitor, and I'm looking for something future-proof, seeing that a monitor is something that should last a while (10ish years).
\n\nThe specs mentioned below are what I came up with, and are pretty much non-negotiable. However, I can not seem to find any monitor that meets all of these requirements. There is always something missing.
\n\nConsidering Google search can be tricky when looking for specific things, I might just have overlooked one. Does anyone know of a monitor that meets those specs?
\n", "Title": "Monitor with 4k, 120hz+, TN, G-Sync?", "Tags": "|gaming|monitors|4k|", "Answer": "The Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ is said to be released in Q3 2017 and satisfies your requirements. It even supports G-Sync HDR. It'll likely cost around $1999 at launch.
\n" }, { "Id": "5513", "CreationDate": "2016-08-15T19:05:27.480", "Body": "I was wondering if there is such a thing as a high-speed MicroSD adapter. I ask this because I use a class 3 microSD when I'm recording 1080p video, but since I've been doing this, my camera's on-board cache fills up forcing the video to stop recording.
\n", "Title": "MicroSD Card High Speed Adapter?", "Tags": "|camera|", "Answer": "There is no such thing; the adapter simply translates a copper connection between the mircoSD format and the SD format. It has no logic of its own and therefore will simply be as fast as the card you put into it. However, there are faster cards available.
\n" }, { "Id": "5516", "CreationDate": "2016-08-16T05:11:20.030", "Body": "Which of these external hard drives will you choose to buy if you want a 1 TB memory regarding the fact that the price and the appearance (beauty) is not important?
\n\nWhy and why not the others?
\nPlease just compare these four products and choose between them.
And if you want to buy a 2 TB external hard drive, which one will you choose. Again regarding that the price and appearance isn't important?
\n\nWhy and why not the other?
\nPlease just compare these two products and choose between them.
Also I mean to compare the products from a technical view and the most important factor is their lifetime.
\nI'm living in Iran and I can't use guarantee, supports or anything else.
\nI just want to buy something and take the most of it?
RE: the Silicon Armor units:
\n\nIf you're talking about \"lifetime\" when operating in an ideal environment (good temperature, not a lot of hard impacts or water, mostly sitting still on a desk), none of the technical specs really give us any insight into how reliable the drives inside these enclosures actually are.
\n\nTypically, a drive that does not suffer from any significant physical trauma or movement while in use will last for 5 to 7 years if used frequently, assuming there are no design flaws artificially limiting its lifespan. Even with military spec protective casing like these models offer, any hard impacts or significant movement while using it will probably reduce its lifespan by a large amount. Hard drives are too precise of an instrument to be thrown around; components will start to fall apart and lose their precision (and fail soon after) in short order.
\n\nThe only differences I could discern between the units were the levels of military spec (or lack thereof) certification, and the levels of IPX (or lack thereof) certification. The one that supports MilSpec and IPX7 is probably the best overall protected. That'd be the Armor A80.
\n\nAlso consider that the disks themselves could be low or high-quality, the firmware / disk controller could be low or high-quality; the connector ports could be low or high-quality; etc. which could affect lifespan of the device. If warranty service is not an option, you might want to shop around for more than one vendor. Also consider the opinions of both the original poster and the commenters here and think about whether an Enterprise-grade disk might be better (in some kind of portable enclosure).
\n\n--
\n\nSince you didn't state any criteria, for the WD disks I'll go with the My Passport Ultra because it's bigger and I (perhaps illogically) think that a larger disk is more likely to have some kind of padding / armor that'll make it more physically resistant to shock. ;-)
\n" }, { "Id": "5518", "CreationDate": "2016-08-16T07:20:03.667", "Body": "I'm looking for a wifi adapter that ticks the following boxes:
\n\nDoes anything like that exist? I'm currently using an ancient TL-WN851N which mostly does the job but is only capable of using the 2.4GHz band.
\n", "Title": "Are there any 802.11n+ 5GHz PCI wireless adapters with working drivers for windows 10?", "Tags": "|wifi|network-adapter|", "Answer": "Another possible option: the TL-WN951n also seems to meet these requirements. Unconfirmed on Windows 10 but there's a windows 8 driver for it that might be compatible.
\n" }, { "Id": "5523", "CreationDate": "2016-08-17T01:48:34.123", "Body": "I believe this is on-topic as per https://hardwarerecs.meta.stackexchange.com/a/266/1 (it's a bigger electronic part). I'm up for debate on it, though.
\n\nI have a Nexus 5X, and I just broke the screen. This makes me unhappy, and it's not usable.
\n\nI've heard that the LED screen is fused to the glass, which might make this harder. That said, I'd still like to attempt a repair before buying a whole new phone.
\n\nMy requirements:
\n\nWhat's the best replacement?
\n", "Title": "Screen replacement for Nexus 5X", "Tags": "|android|touchscreen|", "Answer": "I ended up buying the whole LCD assembly w/ frame ($52):
\n\n![\"img](\"https://www.phonepartworld.com/image/cache/data/Products/LG/Nexus%205X/1-LG-Nexus-5X-LCD-Screen-Display-Digitizer-Replacement-Assembly-with-frame-4-500x500.jpg\")
Image credit https://www.phonepartworld.com/lg-nexus-5X-lcd-screen-digitizer-with-frame
\n\nThe only problem I have now is the volume buttons are a little harder than normal, which I suspect is a mistake I made putting it back together. I'll probably tear it apart again to fix that.
\n" }, { "Id": "5527", "CreationDate": "2016-08-17T09:05:41.377", "Body": "I'm looking for a possibility to make my desktop WiFi compatible. Currently I'm using a USB-stick that connects to the router, but it's not the best solution as it sometimes loses connection and isn't made for continuous service.
\n\nThus I started looking and found that PCI cards have better performance. My current pricing wish would be around 30\u20ac, but it wouldn't be a big deal if it cost more. My Mainboard is an ASRock Z77 pro4 and the only PCI slot I'm using is for my graphics card (This graphics card blocks the neighboring PCI slot).
\n\nI want to sometimes play online with the card, so connection quality should be as good as possible and several hours of operation should be no problem. I'm using Win7 and (arch)Linux.
\n\nNote that I'm not up to date on the PCI standard, so I use PCI to refer to PCI-e, 2.0 and 3.0 interchangeably.
\n", "Title": "PCI(e?) WiFi card", "Tags": "|gaming|network-adapter|", "Answer": "I recommend the TP-LINK TL-WDN4800
\n\n![\"TP-LINK](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JAmcS.jpg\")
This card uses PCI-E. According to your board specs, you have a slot for this. You do mention your card blocks the neighboring slot - you will need to check that though, as the PCI-E slot is next to one of the slots you'd put a video card in.
\n\nOther features include:
\n\nThe biggest down side is that it is slightly above your budget at $40 (which Google tells me is currently 35.50\u20ac).
\n\nAs a side note, if you are willing to spend more, there is a new version of this card available too. It is the TP-LINK Archer T6E AC1300. The major difference is that this also supports the newer AC protocol.
\n" }, { "Id": "5533", "CreationDate": "2016-08-17T16:43:03.570", "Body": "Is there a distinct hardware advantage between CPU's? My specific requirement will be for C++ coding and high end numerical analysis. I am building a new desktop system and considering the advantages of AMD vs Intel. Since graphics are of little concern, I'm having difficulty making that determination via google.
\n\nSpecifically, I'm trying to determine which of the following CPUs I should go with:
\n\nI will be compiling software and using matlab and mathematica to do HPC.
\n", "Title": "CPU Architecture", "Tags": "|processor|desktop|", "Answer": "This somewhat depends on the compiler, linker, and interpreter. If you are using a framework that is optimized for a certain CPU then you most likely want to go for that CPU architecture.
\n\nAt the assembly level, they both use the same instruction set and there isn't a distinct advantage. With C++, if you use something like Visual Studio, I found a site that performed benchmarks on Windows 8 - VS 2012 - Firefox compile. Here are the results: benchmarks. Although this shouldn't be a definitive stamp of success for Intel since it is somewhat dated, for other benchmarks you can find on that site, Intel does win in almost all cases with the i7 architecture. So although you don't really care about graphics, other applications you may run on your machine may have noticeable differences in performance in comparison.
\n\nEDIT: I've noticed the question has been updated. Because of your specific requirements choices, I would definitely go with Intel. Now, between the two if you are going to utilize multi-core processing, then the Intel Xeon E5-2620 v4 will be optimal. Looking at this link: Core i7 vs Xeon you can see that in terms of multi-core processing Xeon performs better in benchmarks.
\n\nOne last thing, if price is a factor at all the Core i7-5820K can be considered over the Xeon. Just looking at a quick price check on Google between the two, the Core i7 is cheaper.
\n" }, { "Id": "5546", "CreationDate": "2016-08-19T00:48:23.013", "Body": "I am looking for a laptop with the following specifications. I have done a lot of searching but can't find anything that meets my requirements.
\n\nI'm willing to spend $3k, but after that becomes questionable and I have an absolute limit of $5k.
\n\nI need something light as I carry it around a lot but I need something powerful as I run VMs and develop various memory hungry Java server processes.
\n\nI feel like the answer might be found via a manufacturer that enables you to customise a model that doesn't quite meet the specs in its default configuration but will after maxing out all the configuration options. However, that makes searching for it with a search engine difficult.
\n\nMinimum Specifications
\n\nGood to have but not essential
\n\nExtra Dealbreakers
\n\nMust run Windows OS - cannot be a Mac
\n\nI use a lot of keyboard shortcuts so the keyboard layout is important to me. The following are dealbreakers:
\n\nSee this image of the LG Gram 14 that requires you to press Fn and an arrow key for these buttons\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/t3ZEg.jpg\")
Already Rejected
\n\nThese caught my eye but I rejected them for the reasons below,
\n\nLG Gram 14 - Only 8GB RAM and annoying keyboard
\n\nFujitsu U904 - Only 10GB RAM and Haswell processor. Very light and cool looking though!
\n", "Title": "High End Lightweight Laptop", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "The only thing that I can find that comes close to your specifications is this:\nMSI 14.0\" GS43VR
\n\nThe easiest thing I can think of for the keyboard situation, is to just get a normal desktop keyboard and type with that. First reason: Your system WANTS compared to what is available in reality, is not jiving. Second reason....there are keyboards that can be customized beyond that of built in keyboards on the market.
\n\nAs far as the battery life, that is something that hardly ever lives up to even the manufacturer ratings. Just like rated MPGs on cars, it all depends on the system use.
\n\nI came as close as I could find to a specs matching system. You may like the recommendation, then again you may not. I know it does not fully match your specs.
\n" }, { "Id": "5551", "CreationDate": "2016-08-19T10:18:33.853", "Body": "Budget $200. Well, $50 to $200.
\n\nWhat should I buy?
\n\nI want it to be bluetooth mouse.
\n\nIt must have left thumb button.
\n\nWhat would be great? The best? Several?
\n\nWireless. By bluetooth is better so I do not need to plug another stuff.
\n\nI want to play overwatch. Basically I need the thumb button for quick melee attack.
\n\nAdditional buttons are fine though I am not sure about the use. Maybe the more buttons the merrier. Maybe not.
\n\nTouch screen like apple's mouse is great. I want wheel for easy scrolling. But if the wheel is replaced by something like touch screen it'll be even better.
\n\nThis seems to be a start.
\n", "Title": "Recommend me a good gaming mouse?", "Tags": "|mice|", "Answer": "Get the Logitech - MX Master Wireless Laser Mouse. It's got a good bluetooth-based connection technology that is dead simple to use, it has a thumb button, and it enjoys a decent DPI for twitch shooting like Overwatch. I would actually recommend not getting too crazy with the buttons for games like Overwatch, because you don't want to be accidentally setting off ultimates or things like that in hectic situations.
\n" }, { "Id": "5559", "CreationDate": "2016-08-19T22:33:15.260", "Body": "I am trying to turn an old laptop into a wireless router/repeater. The laptop's built in card is not working correctly so I can't use it. What I am looking for is a USB WiFi card that supports simultaneous AP and normal mode so I can both connect to WiFi and provide it.
\n\nI currently have a card that supports only one of those modes at a time so if the performance is much better with two separate cards than I can do that but I would prefer to use only one card.
\n\nEdit:\nThe laptop also has a full length mini pci-e slot so I can also use a mpci-e wifi card.
\n", "Title": "Linux software ap card", "Tags": "|usb|linux|wifi|", "Answer": "OK, so the better answer for you is the Atheros AR9287 mPCI-E card. It is:
\n\nIt is only B/G/N, does this matter?
\n\nOne final caveat - sometimes laptop makers put in whitelists in their BIOS to prevent people from changing the mPCI-E card in their machine. You should find out if your model has such a whitelist and either circumvent it by flashing a non-proprietary BIOS or else get the USB stick option.
\n" }, { "Id": "5570", "CreationDate": "2016-08-21T05:46:44.767", "Body": "I am working on a project that needs a huge amount of memory about 512GB. The processor is not very important and can be an Intel Xeon v3 3.4GHZ.
\n\nIs it possible to build a computer with this amount of memory? \nwhat motherboard has enough slots for this memory size?\nI read this article, but their suggested workstation has just 64GB.
\n\nI do not want to buy an HP H840 workstation that can cost at a crazy price like $13000(!!!).
\n\nI am looking for the cheapest workstation form factor motherboard which can hold 512gb of RAM with a total system cost as low as possible.My budget is about $2700.
\n\nAny suggestion is really appreciated.
\n", "Title": "need a workstation for a memory-bound application as cheap as possible", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|", "Answer": "This fundamentally boils down to a motherboard question - what is the cheapest motherboard that can inexpensively support at least 512Gb RAM. Finding the absolute cheapest would be difficult, but I can suggest one that will not disappoint in making your total system cost a lot less than $13,000 (disgusting, innit?). Really this is going to come down to how great your ebay skills are, because the cost is going to utterly depend on the RAM modules you can acquire -and while you can reliably buy high-capacity DDR4 in stores for relatively cheap, you can sometimes find high-capacity DDR3 for cheap enough to justify that route. I will provide solutions for both paths.
\n\nFirst, the DDR4 build - it depends on the Asus Z10PE-D16. Please note that the rest of the build surrounding this motherboard is only to give you an idea of total system cost and likely configuration, and may not reflect a \"good\" design for your particular use case (Since I have no idea what you're doing, I'm just building it as I would for a sort of general use case in the vicinity of what you appear to be trying to accomplish).
\n\nPCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Vw94d6\nPrice breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Vw94d6/by_merchant/\n\nCPU: Intel Xeon E5-2603 V3 1.6GHz 6-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($179.61 @ Amazon) \nCPU: Intel Xeon E5-2603 V3 1.6GHz 6-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($179.61 @ Amazon) \nCPU Cooler: Intel BXRTS2011AC CPU Cooler ($18.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nCPU Cooler: Intel BXRTS2011AC CPU Cooler ($18.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMotherboard: Asus Z10PE-D16 SSI EEB Dual-CPU LGA2011-3 Narrow Motherboard ($389.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nMemory: Kingston ValueRAM 32GB (1 x 32GB) Registered DDR4-2133 Memory ($162.99 @ SuperBiiz) \nStorage: MyDigitalSSD Super Cache 2 64GB M.2-2242 Solid State Drive ($36.99 @ Newegg) \nStorage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5\" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.00 @ Amazon) \nStorage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5\" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.00 @ Amazon) \nStorage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5\" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.00 @ Amazon) \nVideo Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 5450 1GB Video Card ($17.98 @ Newegg) \nCase: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($74.99 @ Newegg) \nPower Supply: Antec HCG M 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($90.98 @ Directron) \nCase Fan: NZXT FN-200RB 166.2 CFM 200mm Fan ($18.89 @ OutletPC) \nCase Fan: Scythe SY1225DB12SH 110.3 CFM 120mm Fan ($14.89 @ OutletPC) \nCase Fan: Scythe SY1225DB12SH 110.3 CFM 120mm Fan ($14.89 @ OutletPC) \nTotal: $3814.64\nPrices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available\nGenerated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-21 03:54 EDT-0400\nFor the DDR3 route, I recommend the Supermicro H8DG6-F-O (sorry I can't put it in block quote because I needed links in there):
\n\nPCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/ytc9NN\nPrice breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/ytc9NN/by_merchant/
\n\nTotal: $3302.15\nPrices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available\nGenerated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-21 04:11 EDT-0400
\n\nAgain, if what you say is really true and you don't need to worry about CPU performance, then this latter option might actually be a really cool buy if you can hunt down the right parts and prices. Currently there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of 1x32gb DDR3 RAM going around at acceptable prices, but if you can source that then you've pretty much got it made.
\n\nI might also note that with 512gb of RAM in play, you're almost certainly going to want ECC RAM - both of my options are ECC - and you'll also want to consider the sanity of whatever it is you're doing. Chances are there's some clever way to cache or distribute your data so that it doesn't have to ALL live in memory simultaneously on a single machine. If you can figure that problem out then you can save a bundle.
\n" }, { "Id": "5578", "CreationDate": "2016-08-21T21:43:57.200", "Body": "What would you recommend for daily, heavy use monitor? It'll be used mainly for programming, with breaks for gaming (grpahics GeForce GTX 960 4GB) and good series/films. Important are:
\n\nI found Eizo EV2450-BK and Dell U2515H to fit my requirements (that's also price range +/- 100$). What do you think you'd buy?
\n\n[EDIT]\nExact price up to 450$
\n", "Title": "Monitor for multimedia and programming", "Tags": "|gaming|monitors|", "Answer": "Looking through the wirecutter's picks for best 27 inch monitor, they've suggested the p2715H.
\n\nI'm a firm beliver in higher pixel density for working on text and graphics, but size has a quality on its own. 27 inches to me is 'ideal' for working on a single screen at my typical working distances (I use dual screens, but context switch, or move back a little).
\n\nThe rest of the features of the 2415H is true here - factory colour caliberation and consistancy checks, and the same very flexible. Its got thin bezels and its a good, solid workhorse monitor if you have the deskspace. I'd note many people, including Jeff Atwood use one or more 27\" monitors.
\n\nI'd consider the P2715Q a step up - when Ihad a 660, I was gaming at 1440p and doing many other things at 4k. Its worth a look as well.
\n" }, { "Id": "5580", "CreationDate": "2016-08-22T02:01:26.140", "Body": "I'm currently using a 1080p-resolution monitor with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. Suppose I want to drive a 24\" adaptive-sync and lightboosted TN monitor with a +10% overclocked nVidia 1080 GTX GPU: Does 4k@60Hz make more sense than a 1080@144Hz?
\n\nI have seen a Youtube video of a PC gamer saying that he enjoyed gaming in 144 Hz, but he was amazed by 4k. However, I've also read a review by someone saying that you won't enjoy the 4k resolution until you hit 40\" as the pixel density is too high at lower screen sizes.
\n\nOf course we're comparing apples and oranges here, but I would still like to ask someone informed whether an increased pixel density will satisfy the average gamer more than the increased refresh rate.
\n", "Title": "At 24\", does a 4k resolution at 60 Hz offer a better \"gaming experience\" compared to a 1080p resolution at 144 Hz?", "Tags": "|monitors|uhd|", "Answer": "The benefit of framerate is not lineary increasing, as your eye does not notice the difference between 60 and 120 Hz as succintly as 30 vs 60 (if at all). Please consult:
\n\nOn the other hand, human eye has effective resolution of about 8 Mpx (please see for detais: What Is The Resolution Of The Eye?). The problem whether you see a difference is well discussed here: Can you see the difference with a 4K monitor? (brief: yes, you'll definietely see a difference, unless monitor is too small/you sit too far).
\n\nIt's a question worth thinking about, but I'd go for crisp picture or would consider something in between: ex. WQHD (1440p) resolution and 120 Hz. Also, keep in mind, that color quality and even back-light are also very important factors.
\n" }, { "Id": "5583", "CreationDate": "2016-08-22T18:10:11.123", "Body": "Is there a piece of hardware that can connect two monitors to a single video port? I want to fool an Xbox into thinking that it's connected to a single monitor, when in fact that display area is made up of two monitors on top of each-other. Something like this:
\n\n--------------\n| |\n| |\n| |\n|------------|\n| |\n| |\n| |\n--------------\nThe Xbox would only see then outer rectangle, not realizing that there are two monitors present. Does such an adapter exist?
\n", "Title": "Split XBox Screen across multiple monitors", "Tags": "|hdmi|video-adapters|", "Answer": "What you're looking for is called a Video Wall Controller. These are the boxes that you see behind the massive arrays of screens showing a single composited image in the big chain stores. They usually run around a $1000 or more. Without knowing the monitors involved I can't make a recommendation on which one to use. I know of no such products priced at private consumer levels, since usually that part of the market just uses a PC with two video outs to achieve the same thing (except, of course, that the video source has to come from the PC. You might try to rig up something with an HDMI-in capture card being passed out to two HDMI ports off a PC, but you wouldn't probably get true extended screen support - more like you'd have to span the image in a window drawn across both screens. Alas).
\n" }, { "Id": "5606", "CreationDate": "2016-08-25T18:00:05.623", "Body": "I have been doing some hands on in AI and Computer Vision lately (using OpenNLP, OpenCV, etc). All these experiments were done on my PC (Intel dual core 8GB DDR2). But, now I want to use some processing unit only for AI purposes (no need of monitor, keyboard, mouse etc.). I am planning to use this processor wirelessly connected with network of webcams and microphones throughout my house (let's see a network of 4-5 cameras and microphone) in a star topology with CPU/IC as central server and cameras as nodes.
\n\nI am not good with hardware requirements and compatibility of various parts. So, can someone recommend any minimalist required CPU configuration or any IC, which can get this job done. And, what other components will be needed along with CPU/IC (for e.g motherboard)? Or at least point me in the direction where I can find my answers? Any help is appreciated.
\n", "Title": "CPU (or IC) recommendation for independent use (without PC components) for Speech recognition and computer vision over Wifi", "Tags": "|processor|memory|signal-processing|brain-computer-interface|", "Answer": "OK, I recommend the ASRock J3710-ITX Mini ITX Pentium J3710 Motherboard. This motherboard features an integrated quad core CPU that might provide the performance you're looking for - it's very difficult to say because you haven't given us a whole lot of information about the programs/dev environments you're using, but anyway it's significantly faster than your current CPU. Outfit this with at least 8gb RAM and a good SSD if you'll be caching any of that A/V data to disk.
\nGiven that you're using OpenCV, it might be worth it to get an Athlon 5370 and board instead, as this would allow you to use the relatively powerful AMD GPU on that 5370 to accelerate your OpenCV work via OpenCL.
\n" }, { "Id": "5623", "CreationDate": "2016-08-28T00:13:36.130", "Body": "I have a Lenovo Z50 laptop and I play games like NFS and DOOM. I also run some simulations using Octave.
\n\nCPU: Core i7-4500
\n\nRAM: 8GB
\n\nHDD: 1TB 5400rpm
\n\nI am looking for upgrading my laptop with reasonable price. the first option that comes to my mind is to increase ram to 16GB or install an SSD or replace HDD with a faster one. the later is not a good idea because of heat and power consumption.\n Any suggestion?
\n", "Title": "Lenovo Z50-70: possible upgrade", "Tags": "|laptop|memory|ssd|", "Answer": "Although my personal preference is to remove the DVD drive, replace it with a caddy, and drop an SSD into that caddy (possibly with caching involved), a simpler, somewhat slower option that allows you to retain your DVD drive is to replace your HDD with an SHDD. I recommend the Seagate - 1TB Internal Serial ATA III/Serial ATA II Solid State Hybrid Drive for Laptops. This drive has 1Tb of slow storage, backed up with 8Gb of MLC flash, which it uses to automagically cache the rest of the drive according to how you use it. Think of the performance as being somewhere between your standard HDD and SSDs.
\n" }, { "Id": "5626", "CreationDate": "2016-08-28T07:27:05.677", "Body": "Because ARM processors are much less expensive and power-consuming, I want to use them in a PC with PC-type RAM and hard-drive.
\n\nIs there a motherboard the allows to use ARM processors with PC-based RAM and hard-drive?
\n", "Title": "Is there a motherboard that supports ARM processors?", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|", "Answer": "There is no reason you could not have a standard IBM-PC format motherboard using an ARM CPU. Simply obeying the form factor (which nowadays includes not only mounting holes, but a set of backside connectors for video, USB, Net, etc.) as well as being PCI compliant would do it. Clearly the drivers and the software would be custom, but a Linux distro could do that easily, and Windows will soon run on ARM as well.
\n" }, { "Id": "5628", "CreationDate": "2016-08-28T10:57:03.273", "Body": "I'm looking for a UPS that produces a pure sine wave at the output because my PSU has active Power Factor Compensation and from what I read, it doesn't work with pseudo-sine wave output.
\n\nSo, my system will draw a maximum of 430W with full load. I want just enough time to hibernate the system before it runs out of power. The UPS I'm looking for needs to be:
\n\nThis seems to be what you are looking for. It is pure sine wave output, a modest price of $140, 1000 VA, and it is highly rated. It can't be internationally shipped from US Amazon, but this matches your criteria.
\n" }, { "Id": "5649", "CreationDate": "2016-08-30T20:10:43.390", "Body": "I want to build up a tvheadend server with 4 possible clients over unicable. So i have a unicable source with 4 channels which i want to pass to a server. Is there any affordable usb receiver, which can handle input from 1 cable with four simultaneous streams of DVBS2?
\n", "Title": "Unicable usb receiver with multiple tuners", "Tags": "|usb|hdtv|", "Answer": "For everyone with the same problem: i did it with an extra sat>ip server, the digibit r1. It can be used in tvheadend seamlessly.
\n" }, { "Id": "5652", "CreationDate": "2016-08-31T02:55:46.963", "Body": "Our family does long distance car travel 2 or 3 times a year. I have young kids and I load up movies and tv shows spread across all tablet and phone devices. What I'd prefer do is run a wifi router in the car that has attached storage. The router can also support 3/4G network.
\n\nI found http://en.four-faith.com/f3a36h-mediawifioperating-marketingrouter.html but they seem to be the manufacturer intended to be used by wholesalers.
\n\nDoes anyone know where I can buy such gear retail? I live in Australia. I've searched and searched but can't find a thing.
\n\nAlternatively, can what suggestions are there to enable my requirements?
\n", "Title": "Car / bus 12 volt wifi router external storage", "Tags": "|wifi|router|portable|mobile-workstation|", "Answer": "Are you looking for this product: https://www.fourfaith.com/f3436h-vehicle-wifioperatingrouter.html? I have bought this product and it is of very good quality.
\n" }, { "Id": "5654", "CreationDate": "2016-08-31T13:03:20.523", "Body": "We are cosolidating video surveillance systems on our sites.
\n\nI am \nlooking for an IP enabled DVR/NVR device that would be capable of handling video signal from \ndifferent CCTV BNC analog cameras (presumably all PAL) with different \nresolutions CIF, DCIF etc., till max 720 x 480. from different manufacturers (Avir,\n Pixim, JCC, Sony, Trans Pac, Tekno, Hikvision, CP Plus etc.).
\n\nThe device \nshould be also able to connect IP ONVIF cameras and work as NVR as we switch to IP cameras continuously.
\n\nAlso it should be possible to connect to multiple sites over IP \nnetwork with one user-friendly interface or application with password protection and various access levels (separate access rights to view recordings and change settings). It would be nice if it allows \nfor streaming individual cameras form our custom windows .NET app.\nAlso the device must be capable of deleting recordings older than X days and perform network time sync.
\n\nUsually there are max. 8 cameras on sites, on some others up to 16.
\n\nSo far the DAHUA S3 or NT looks promising, but I have no hands on experience with it so far.
\n", "Title": "DVR/NVR device to connect various analog cameras", "Tags": "|video-camera|video-capture|", "Answer": "It looks like normal older analog CCTV cameras pose no significant problem, they function basically the same regardless on manufacturer.
\n\nThe problem arises with HD-SDI, HD-TVI, HD-CVI, AHD formats and IP cameras and different levels of built-in ONVIF support.
\n\nhttp://www.supercircuits.com/lp/compare-hd-analog-video-formats
\n\nSo I have chosen
\n\nHIKVISION DS-7208/16HQHI-F2/N or similar, because it supports analog, AHD and HD-TVI cameras and a range of ONVIF IP cameras too. (Checked it with a new AVTECH IP camera and worked ok).
\n\nDashua DVRs support different standard HD-CVI, so it is a matter of choice. HD-SDI cameras are generally a problem. Dashua has better versatility because their hybrid DVRs allow for connecting more IP cameras than HIKVISION. I like Dashua playback interface better, but some functions like setting expired time for streams work better on HIKVISION. Dashua does not allow setting auto deleting old records per stream, HIKVISION does.
\n\nOther relevant manufacturers like PINETRON do not offer those hybrid DVR models or I have not found it.
\n" }, { "Id": "5658", "CreationDate": "2016-08-31T23:01:29.343", "Body": "I\u00a0had an old PC (the build was originally a Siemens Celsius 460 workstation) whose case I wanted to strip apart and supply with newer components. For most components (those with standardised sizes, i.e. hard drive, optical drive, mainboard) this was easy but I ran into an unexpected problem when wanting to install the new power supply unit.
\n\nThe previously installed unit \u2014 an Astec AA21720 \u2014 was screwed into a metal in-between casing thing[1] and then onto the back of the case. The new unit \u2014 a Corsair VS350 \u2014 has its screwholes in different locations (what I presume is today\u2019s standard locations). It\u2019s not physically possible to fasten the new PSU with the screws and the in-between thing-a-ma-jig[1] provided and it\u2019s not really possible to screw it in without it. But, the new PSU, while being wider than the old one (15\u00a0cm versus 12.5\u00a0cm) is still slimmer than the width of the case (approx. 18\u00a0cm). This leads me to believe that I haven\u2019t lost yet. But let me show you some pictures first, so we know what we are talking about:
\n\n![\"Image](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/iERBq.jpg\")
\nThe old PSU with the thing-a-ma-jig[1] to screw into the back of the chassis.
![\"Image](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/EUgOd.jpg\")
\nThe new PSU as is. But with the screw locations visible.
![\"Side-by-side](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/5Ojna.jpg\")
\nAnd these are both to compare them with each other.
Are there any positioning-adapter thing-a-ma-jigsies[2] that I could buy and put between the new PSU and the back side of the case, so that all screws can fit into holes made for them? Sort of like the thing-a-ma-jig[1] the old PSU has, which basically allows to screw that one into chassis screw holes which are somewhere completely different. (If I could, I would buy the lowest-end cheap stuff because I don\u2019t give a damn about most of the cool things that a case can do, so assume the bottom end of the price scale for standard PC cases.)
\n\nFor convenience, I have labelled the two things I don\u2019t know what to call by superscripted [1] and [2]. Superscripted [1] always refers to the metal thing seen in the first picture, distinguishable from the PSU by its darker shade of grey. Superscripted [2] refers to some similar thing I do not own yet.
\n", "Title": "Remedies for new PSU not fitting into old case (but with extraneous space so it could be made fit)", "Tags": "|power-supply|case|", "Answer": "Find out what form factor the original PSU is, then buy a PSU Adapter Plate which will adapt whatever that form factor is to standard ATX. Then attach that plate to your new PSU, and then bolt the other form factor edge to the darker gray object (object [1] in your nomenclature). Should work, though you might have to get creative with fasteners (you might need flat head bolts).
\n" }, { "Id": "5659", "CreationDate": "2016-09-01T05:45:19.763", "Body": "I want to get power receptacles controlled via web and buttons.
\n\nSpecifications:
\n\nAlso, please, don't propose inflexible closed undocumented and proprietary protocols' devices. Here's \"and\", not \"or\". For example, Z Wave is proprietary but seems ok. Open source solutions which are free but are a coder's scribbles with a long dead community aren't good for me. The receptaplaces controller functional should be expandable with sensors, actuators, etc.
\n\nDifficulty level: mid-tier, I'm an IT guy, but not a hardware guy. \nSo, no circuits' designs from scratch, please, anything from the \"arduino\" level is ok.
\n\nPlease, give me the recommendations with a rough pricing and links.
\n", "Title": "Smart Home: controlled power receptacles", "Tags": "|wireless|power-supply|automation|power-control|smart-device|", "Answer": "This one's pretty easy, really. Pick up the TP-Link HS100 Wi-Fi Smart Plug. It was the first device I found when I searched for \"smart outlet.\"
\n\nI'm looking to extend wifi into a detached garage 200ft away from my house. The metal shed is not insulated or climate-controlled, and can get quite HOT during the Florida summers.
\n\nCan anyone recommend a specific Wireless AP capable of operating in these extreme temperatures? Should I look at specialized outdoor hardware, or buy the cheapest AP I can find, and plan on replacing it often?
\n", "Title": "Best Wireless Access Point for HOT environment", "Tags": "|wifi|networking|access-point|", "Answer": "I found the EnGenius ENS202 N300 on Newegg.
\n\nThis is a brand of wireless equipment this is designed for outdoor use. It rated up to 158 degrees. It's also water resistant with an IP55 rating, meanint its resistant to dust and low pressure water from all angles.
\n\nIf this model doesn't cut it for you, this company makes a wide range of outdoor rated networking tools.
\n\nAlso, another note. That tin wall is going to radiate heat like an oven. I would consider mounting a wooden block between the wall and the AP to act as a heat sink, it will absorb the heat from the metal wall, and reduce the risk of hitting the 158 degree threshold. edit I mention this because my minds eye had the access point on the outside wall of the garage, odd assumption to make...
\n" }, { "Id": "5716", "CreationDate": "2016-09-12T06:32:07.407", "Body": "I already have a good video card of GTX 1060. So I do not need a CPU with GPU on it. See: Skylake microarchitecture. So skylake is not an option.
\n\nThat being said, we do not have i9 right? i7 is like the best CPU there is.
\n\nECS H61H2-M12 1.0\nEnclosure Type: Desktop
\n\nThe motherboard sucks I know. But well, what's the best CPU I can plug there. I can't easily upgrade my motherboard.
\n\nIt's sucks because when I play overwatch I do not get 60 fps. Also the CPU is maxed out at 100%. I also do recording. This is my current CPU
\n\n3.00 gigahertz Intel Core i5-2320\n32 kilobyte primary memory cache\n256 kilobyte secondary memory cache\n6144 kilobyte tertiary memory cache\n64-bit ready\nMulti-core (4 total)\nNot hyper-threaded
\n\nSome CPU comes with GPU already on the same slot. I have no idea what it is for given that I already have a good GPU on my main board. So if that extra GPU on CPU cost more money I would rather a GPU less CPU.
\n\nThis is my belarc advisor result
\n\nOperating System Windows 10 Professional (x64) Version 1511 (build 10586.545)\nInstall Language: English (United States)\nSystem Locale: English (United States)\nInstalled: 8/7/2016 10:53:51 PM\nServicing Branch: Current Branch for Business (CBB)\nBoot Mode: BIOS (Secure Boot not supported)\nSystem Model ECS H61H2-M12 1.0\nEnclosure Type: Desktop\nProcessor a 3.00 gigahertz Intel Core i5-2320\n32 kilobyte primary memory cache\n256 kilobyte secondary memory cache\n6144 kilobyte tertiary memory cache\n64-bit ready\nMulti-core (4 total)\nNot hyper-threaded\nMain Circuit Board b Board: ECS H61H2-M12 1.0\nBus Clock: 400 megahertz\nBIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 4.6.4 10/27/2011\nDrives 1755.58 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity\n510.09 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space\n\nGeneric Flash Disk USB Device (8.05 GB) -- drive 3\nST1000DM003-9YN162 [Hard drive] (1000.20 GB) -- drive 0, s/n S1D0F680, rev CC4C, SMART Status: Healthy\nST3500312CS [Hard drive] (500.11 GB) -- drive 2, s/n 5VVAE8XQ, rev SC13, SMART Status: Healthy\nTS256GSSD370 [Hard drive] (256.06 GB) -- drive 1, s/n B968689423, rev N1114B, SMART Status: Healthy\nMemory Modules c,d 8170 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory\n\nSlot 'A1_DIMM1' has 4096 MB\nSlot 'A1_DIMM3' has 4096 MB\nLocal Drive Volumes\n\nc: (NTFS on drive 1) * 255.27 GB 32.86 GB free BitLocker\u2020\nd: (NTFS on drive 0) 105 MB 31 MB free \ne: (NTFS on drive 2) 500.11 GB 382.16 GB free BitLocker\u2020\nf: (NTFS on drive 0) 209 MB 136 MB free \ng: (NTFS on drive 0) 265.19 GB 64.00 GB free BitLocker\u2020\nh: (NTFS on drive 0) 734.70 GB 30.90 GB free BitLocker\u2020\n* Operating System is installed on c:\n\u2020 Encrypted volume.\nNetwork Drives None detected\nI also want high performance per price ratio.
\n", "Title": "Good CPU to replace my i5 CPU", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "I ended up buying Core i7 3770
\n\nI think people should see this
\n\nhttps://www.cpubenchmark.net/socketType.html
\n\nBasically I just check the benchmark number and see the price
\n\nIntel Xeon E3-1290 V2 @ 3.70GHz 9,925 $885.00*\nIntel Xeon E3-1280 V2 @ 3.60GHz 9,757 $644.99*\nIntel Core i7-3770K @ 3.50GHz 9,560 $560.50\nIntel Xeon E3-1270 V2 @ 3.50GHz 9,462 $421.00\nIntel Core i7-3770 @ 3.40GHz 9,328 $335.55\nIntel Xeon E3-1275 V2 @ 3.50GHz 9,320 $434.00\nBased on that I think Intel Core i7-3770 @ 3.40GHz is the best choice.
\n\nBasically the top 6 core have the same socket type and almost the same benchmark result. However, Intel Core i7 3770 is simply cheaper. It's only $335. I actually got a used one for $200 from tokopedia.com
\n\nXeon 1290 is simply too expensive and not available on tokopedia.com
\n\nI didn't mention budget range and I actually do expect to spend $1k. However, because i7 seems to have far cheaper cost benefit ratio I simply pick i7-3770.
\n\nHowever, Adam told Intel Xeon E3-1290 V2 but the price is too expensive
\n" }, { "Id": "5721", "CreationDate": "2016-09-12T19:09:22.633", "Body": "I'm helping to buy a computer for a person whose main computer's use will restrain to web browsing, checking e-mail, office tasks but who may occasionally run Windows in a VM or perform some video conversion.
\n\nAmong the offers I found two similar ones:
\n\nThe latter of them is 8.2% more expensive than the former, i.e. 150 PLN.\nIs the i3 processor worth the extra money in these case?
\n\nThere's a benchmark showing that Pentium 4405 is 14% faster than i3 (CPU-wise), but benchmarks are benchmarks: http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Pentium-4405U-vs-Intel-Core-i3-5005U/m54474vsm24957
\n\nThe notebook will run Linux, probably Cinnamon or KDE as its desktop environment.
\n", "Title": "Intel Pentium P4405 vs Intel Core i3-5005U", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|", "Answer": "You need the i3-5005U. Its graphics power is the main reason. If/when you are consuming GPU-accelerated web content or converting videos, the extra GPU horsepower will make all the difference and is worth the extra cost alone. Additionally, the i3 has a little extra cache, which might come in especially handy for virtualization.
\n" }, { "Id": "5731", "CreationDate": "2016-09-14T05:01:32.900", "Body": "I can not seem to find a motherboard that is compatible with all my parts without going over $80. Here are my parts:
\n\nI need a motherboard that supports the following:
\n\nIf you know a motherboard that would work for me any help would be greatly appreciated.
\n", "Title": "need compatible motherboard", "Tags": "|motherboard|compatibility|", "Answer": "That's a tall order for a CPU from 2011. The Supermicro Motherboard MBD-C7Q67-O looks like it should fit the bill, however. The only caveat is the front USB 3.0 headers (I took it as \"you would like to have\" rather than \"required\"), but those can be easily added with an add on card.
\n\nThe full specifications can be found here. As for the price, Newegg and Amazon both have it for more the $200, while you can get it for under $50 used/refurbished on eBay
\n" }, { "Id": "5753", "CreationDate": "2016-09-16T04:31:46.407", "Body": "So I bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro S which has a single usb type c port. I also bought a usb c hub so I could connect it to an external monitor via hdmi. I also wanted to be able to boot into linux via flash drive, so I bought a usb c flash drive.
\n\nThen when I got everything I realized I couldn't plugin the flash drive and the hub at the same time. The hub appeared to have a usb type c port, but this port appears to only allow me to provide input power and even if it did work as a port I still would need two usb type c ports one for the flash drive and one for power.
\n\nI figured I just needed to buy a different usb hub with usb type c ports instead of type a ports... but I can't seem to find a usb type c hub that additional type c ports! They all appear to have female type A ports some with a power pass through and some without but none of them seem to have additional type c ports.
\n\nIs there a type C hub that will connect to the Tab Pro S, and will allow me to connect both the external monitor via HDMI and the flash drive at the same time?
\n", "Title": "USB Type C hub / port replicator", "Tags": "|usb|", "Answer": "There are USB 3 Type A male to USB Type C female adapters which allows me to plug in my flash disk at the same time.
\n\nhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ABTHI7C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
\n\nIn retrospect maybe I should have gotten a usb c male to usb type a female adapter and just use one of my existing flash drives instead of buying a type c flash disk.
\n\nhttps://www.amazon.com/USB-Adapter-Converter-Connector-STANDARD/dp/B00ZVRHV2C
\n" }, { "Id": "5761", "CreationDate": "2016-09-16T19:02:41.713", "Body": "I'm searching for a new monitor, I currently own (for more or less 1 years) a Dell UltraSharp 24\" (U2414H) which is a very good monitor but I feel uncomfortable with it (24 inches is too big for me and due to the conception of the screen it appear also too close from me) and would like to switch with a 22\" monitor.
\n\nRequirement :
\n\nMain usage of the monitor is for multimedia and programming, nothing fancy, I don't need internal speakers. I would like something like ASUS VX229H but it don't have any USB ports neither audio I/O.
\n", "Title": "Monitor for multimedia (22\")", "Tags": "|usb|monitors|hdmi|", "Answer": "Alternatively, you could have the Dell UltraSharp U2212HM 21.5\" monitor. Very similar to your current monitor, but in 21.5\" size.
\n\nAs you've probably already worked out, Dell are one of the best for monitors. This is a pretty solid bet - I've not used one myself, but I know a couple of people who use either this monitor or a close relative and have been very satisfied with it.
\n" }, { "Id": "5769", "CreationDate": "2016-09-17T13:49:10.500", "Body": "After I invested on a laptop to start graphic designing I ended up finding out that AMD wasn't good for it and that my computer's power isn't enough(AMD doesn't support openGL render and I have just an i5 processor in my computer).
\nSo I was wondering if it was possible to install an external GPU on my pc. I am just a simple end use with not so much knowledge on hardware, and I was wondering if external nvidia graphic cards are available that would run via USB ports in my PC(windows 7).
\nIf not, what would be a work around for me that would provide me a similar performance of an nvidia graphic card and would support high and fast rendering(for 3D graphics,{specifically I'm using blender- cycles})?
\n(I'm using a dell inspiron laptop.)
Probably not, external graphic cards do not run via anything lower than USB 3.0. In addition that USB port has to be a thunderbolt port in order for an exteranl GPU to be supproted through it. This is simply because an older USB port doesn't have enough bandwidth to support the communication between a GPU and your PC, and also because it doesn't connect to the appropriate port on the motherboard. Thunderbolt ports however are based on PCI-E technology which is the same, as the one used by desktop graphics cards to communicate with the computer. Hence, if your laptop supports thunderbolt you would be able to purchase an external GPU chassis (like the one offered by RazerBlade), as well as a GPU that would convert PCI-E to thinderbolt, and plug into the proper port on your laptop. We would have to know the exact model number of your laptop to tell if it is equipped by a thunderbolt port.
\n" }, { "Id": "5771", "CreationDate": "2016-09-17T13:57:29.957", "Body": "as the title says. I just want to ask if I have a dedicated or integrated graphics card and what is the difference? And also, what are your suggestions on:
\n\nShould I upgrade my RAM? or Should I upgrade my graphics card? Thank you!
\n\nOperating System: Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit (6.3, Build 9600) (9600.winblue_ltsb.150715-0840)\n\nLanguage: English (Regional Setting: English)\n\n\nSystem Manufacturer: System manufacturer\n System Model: System Product Name\n BIOS: BIOS Date: 01/21/15 14:14:16 Ver: 07.02\n Processor: AMD A8-6600K APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics (4 CPUs), ~3.9GHz\n Memory: 4096MB RAM\nAvailable OS Memory: 3016MB RAM\n Page File: 1392MB used, 4695MB available\n Windows Dir: C:\\Windows\nDirectX Version: DirectX 11\nDX Setup Parameters: Not found\nUser DPI Setting: Using System DPI\nSystem DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)\nDWM DPI Scaling: Disabled\n DxDiag Version: 6.03.9600.17415 64bit Unicode\n\n\n Card name: AMD Radeon HD 8570D\n Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.\n Chip type: AMD Radeon HD 8570D (0x990E)\n DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)\n Device Type: Full Device\n Device Key: Enum\\PCI\\VEN_1002&DEV_990E&SUBSYS_85261043&REV_00\n Display Memory: 2294 MB\n Dedicated Memory: 1014 MB\n Shared Memory: 1280 MB\n Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)\n Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor\n Monitor Model: L1553S\n Monitor Id: GSM3BB0\n Native Mode: 1024 x 768(p) (60.004Hz)\n Output Type: HD15\nYou actually have an dedicated graphic card as well as an integrated. You have an AMD A series processor which has an iGPU, you should definitely chech if your cards arde compatible and if they support CrossFireX in order to get the most out of your system. As far as your RAM is ckncerned, yes you should definitely upgrade your memory to at least 8GB since you have a 64-bit processor in order for your pc to handle multitasking smoother... Your dedicated graphics card is pretty outdated as well, in fact i think your integrated may offer better oerformance (I haven't done any reserach on that it's just a feeling, you should check out if that's the case though, and if you can't run them in CrossFire, at least make sure you are using whichever one is better).
\n" }, { "Id": "5781", "CreationDate": "2016-09-18T12:08:17.493", "Body": "It's been 8 years since I last bought a laptop, so I'm very rusty. I would like a laptop which has:
\n\nI've been offered a Dell XPS 15 9550 laptop with high-end configuration: basically it's the 15'' Touch screen model (a touch screen on a laptop? sounds weird to me) with the 512 SSD hard disk (curious to see what difference this kind of HD makes with respect to the SATA I knew). It's nearly new (1 month), and I would pay it 1300 \u20ac (I live in a European country). Full warranty, etc. Since Dell site prices it at 2050$, it sounded like a good deal and I got a verbal agreement, but...an acquaintance told me that the graphics card is \"crap\" (his words) and that there are better options at the same price. He pointed me to this laptop. I apologize for the non-English link, but I couldn't find exactly the same laptop on the English HP site. This one seems the closest one, but note that it has an HD twice as big (!). Anyway, it's not necessary to focus on these two. I just want to know if the XPS 15 9550 Touch is a good laptop, given my requirements, and if not, which one would be a valid alternative.
\n", "Title": "XPS 15 9550 top configuration, is it a good choice according to my requirements?", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "\n\n\nI just want to know if the XPS 15 9550 Touch is a good laptop, given my requirements, and if not, which one would be a valid alternative.
\n
This should be able to handle most things. The CPU is new enough to not be a bottleneck while compiling code, while the GPU is solid enough to push AAA titles to max/ultra settings in 1080p (some games might have to throttle to 30fps). Here is a point by point break down.
\n\nOh and by the way, the HDD to SSD jump is amazing. I went from an old 5400rpm boot drive to a m.2 ssd drive and it is like night and day.
\n" }, { "Id": "5799", "CreationDate": "2016-09-20T01:45:59.640", "Body": "I need a soundbar 30\" or under that doesn't have low volume dialog problems often seen in low end 2 channel systems & TV's.
\n\nThe smallest 3 Channel system I could find is the Vizio 3.0-Channel Soundbar with Bluetooth and Deep Bass Technology - Black SB3830-C6M which shouldn't have the problem but it's 38\".
\n\nAt minimum it just needs to have Digital SPDIF Input for I/O.
\n\nNo additional external system components (sub-woofer, satellite speakers, etc).
\n\nThe soundbar will be mounted right below the TV using a TV soundbar mounting bracket. The TV is on a wall mount.
\n", "Title": "Soundbar 30\" or under that doesn't have low volume dialog problems", "Tags": "|audio|sound-system|", "Answer": "This one looks like it meets your requirements in terms of size and dialog volume: https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/speakers/home_theater/bose-solo-5-tv-sound-system.html
\n\nFirst question for me on this site, lets see how it goes.\nSo i have this motherboard.\nhttp://www.asus.com/UK/Motherboards/B150M-A/\nCould someone recommend me a powerful graphics card, GTX1070 or something similar that would fit due to the fact my board is mini atx with 4 sata ports in use. What ones are there that will fit?\nIf someone could find a powerful single case slot g card. Preferably Nvidia based Asus or MSI that would be great.
\n", "Title": "Recommend me a powerful graphics card that will work with my motherboard", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|motherboard|", "Answer": "I recommend the Asus Turbo GTX-1070 8gb. It's the cheapest Asus/MSI 1070 out there, and its blower cooling might actually be of some benefit to you unless you have more fans in your case than the default number it came with.
\n\nIt is a very long card, but it will fit in your case and one of the two 6/8 PSU cables you have will power it. Furthermore, while it will \"cover\" 2 of your SATA ports, 4 will be wide open, which is the requirement. I put scare quotes around \"cover\" because in my experience those ports are still definitely usable, you just have to put the cables in before the card. Sometimes you might need to use right-angle SATA cables, but those aren't hard to come by; at least one probably shipped with your motherboard.
\n\nTL;DR this WILL work with your current PC setup.
\n" }, { "Id": "5811", "CreationDate": "2016-09-21T18:08:45.467", "Body": "Request: I want a box which converts from HDMI or VGA to Component 480p without introducing noticeable lag.
\n\nAdditional information which describes my situation:
\n\nI have a decent \"Flat Glass\" CRT SD TV which I believe supports 480p Component Input. I recall playing SOCOM II on PS2 with component cables and enabling that mode. Anyway, I have some older computers and laptops, and looking to use this old TV as a monitor for emulation.
\n\nI'm looking for a device or solution which would add minimal lag since I'm planning to do some GBA/SNES Emulation. I'm open to outputting VGA from my laptop and converting that instead. Sound isn't an issue, as I can just use the mini-jack for that. Also, if important, I'm planning to use a Debian Linux based system, probably a version of Ubuntu.
\n\nThanks in advance for any hardware ideas or solutions.
\n", "Title": "Looking for an adapter to go from HDMI to RCA Component 480p", "Tags": "|hdmi|television|", "Answer": "I do not know everything there is to know about video signals, but given that your TV probably only takes analog inputs, I'm going to suggest the White PC VGA to AV TV RCA S-Video Converter Switch Box Adapter here. Not only is this cheaper than HDMI alternatives, it has a better chance (in my imperfect opinion) of having less latency, because converting VGA to RCA signal is a totally analog process and so (I'm guessing) much simpler to do. I also like that you can power it from a USB port; a nice bonus feature that makes the whole setup a little less byzantine.
\n\nThere are HDMI to VGA/3.5mm converter boxes out there, but the ones I could find mentioned ~1s latency, which I would find unacceptable for gaming.
\n" }, { "Id": "5819", "CreationDate": "2016-09-22T18:38:24.450", "Body": "I am looking for a single board computer with 2x1 GBit ethernet ports, on board.
\n\nShould come with SATA and/or USB 3.
\n\nEither x86 or ARM is ok, as long as it runs Linux.
\n", "Title": "Single board computer with 2 GBit ethernet ports", "Tags": "|motherboard|linux|ethernet|", "Answer": "There is the x86 ODROID-H2 SBC which comes with 2 x 1 GBit ethernet, 2 x SATA, 2 x USB 3.0 (4 USB ports in total), 1 x M.2 NVMe and more.
\n\nAs of 2018-12, it's sold for $ 111.
\n\nIt's based on the Intel Celeron J4105 platform (CPU is soldered) and has 2 empty DDR4 SO-DIMM slots.
\n\nWhen using the SATA ports you need special SATA power cables.
\n" }, { "Id": "5820", "CreationDate": "2016-09-22T19:23:33.587", "Body": "I boot operating systems like Windows 10, Xubuntu and Remix OS from USB storage.
\n\nI bought myself a USB 3 flash drive and thought \"Hey, this can do 100 MB/s, it must be awesome for booting an OS from.\" (I do have a USB 3 port on my computer.) Well, it did perform that way in tests, but booting operating systems from it was an absolutely terrible experience. Xubuntu/Remix OS worked (though were slow and crashed frequently.) Windows crashed before it had even booted properly.
\n\n\"Why is this?\" I thought to myself.
\n\nSomeone who apparently knows what they are talking about, told me:
\n\n\n\n\nFor an Windows operating system boot drive, 4K random read speeds are the most important, followed by 4K random write speed, this is because there are a large number of small files in the Windows system. The 4K read/write speeds of the common flash drives are always slow, so these drives are not suitable for creating W2G drive.\n And the read/write speeds you said is sequential write read/write speed, not 4K random read/write speed, so it can't run Windows smoothly.
\n
I also tried with an old mechanical drive I had lying around. It has only a fraction of the sequential read/write speed of the flash drive, but still, it works alright. Not as good as the internal HDD of my laptop, but still OK.
\n\nBut, what I don't understand is: The advice I quoted above indicates that \"4K random read/write speeds\" are the key to performance. However, I tested both the flash drive and the old mechanical drive, and the flash drive seems to score better, even in this regard. (The relevant entries are \"SanDisk\" and \"WD\".)
\n\nAlright, so that was a lot of background information. I'm trying to let you in on what research I have done before posting the question. Now on to the question:
\n\nWhat is a good external (USB) HDD or SSD that will give optimal performance when booting operating systems off it?
\n\nCriteria:
\n\nIt would be good if answers explained why the suggested product is a good choice.
\n", "Title": "External HDD or SSD for booting operating system from", "Tags": "|usb|ssd|hard-disk|", "Answer": "Samsung Portable SSD T5 might be a good choice too, if you can find an offer that fits your budget: https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/portable/t5/
\n" }, { "Id": "5826", "CreationDate": "2016-09-23T14:38:35.700", "Body": "I am trying to find what video cards support a quad monitor extended desktop in Xubuntu. I've been searching forums and help pages and can not find a definitive option for a video card in Xfce that works on 4,5 or 6 monitors. At a minimum I want to run 4 monitors.
\n\nAny recommendations on a card that works in this environment?
\n", "Title": "Video Card for Xubuntu", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|linux|", "Answer": "Any Nvidia, Intel (CPU+motherboard), or AMD GPU with a displayport technology level above 1.2 ought to work, at least with the proprietary drivers. The problem is making sure that you have the right cable connections - in some cases, active adapters and/or MST hubs may be needed to make all 4+ monitors work reliably.
\n\nIf I had to recommend a GPU for you, I'd tell you to look at the Sapphire R7 250 Eyefinity Edition. You can connect two monitors to the DVI and HDMI ports, then add two or more displays using a splitter cable off the Display Port. Note that Sapphire claims it supports 3 displays in the tech specs, but the Eyefinity spec from AMD claims any GPU with that moniker supports 6. I believe this disparity is due to the fact Sapphire isn't including a DP splitter cable; such cards do work with up to six displays, as long as those displays don't exceed the total number of pixels each output is capable of pushing.
\n\nAlternatives on the Nvidia side are similar, if somewhat more expensive on average. The company really tries to push its Quadro NVS cards if you look at their official documentation, but at least in Windows I have experience using GTX cards with DP outputs to connect up to eight monitors successfully. I don't recommend that setup only because getting those cards to work in Windows was never as successful as with the AMD cards, and the many weird issues I encountered make me hesitate to recommend it for Linux, where support tends to be even more wonky.
\n\nThe last thing I would like to mention is that unless space/energy is at a premium, it almost never makes sense to go with the NVS/Firepro solutions both companies offer up. These cards are expensive, inadequately cooled, and unecessary, because in reality you can just keep adding GPUs to computers and running additional displays off them without issues, so long as you have the bus connections (PCI-E normally, in this day and age). Thus in a computer with an Intel HD 4000 GPU on the CPU die connected to a DVI, HDMI, and DP out, adding two of the R7 250 Eyefinity edition GPUs above would allow that computer to push at least 3 displays on the Intel chip + 6 more on each GPU, for a total of 15 1080p displays. Any limits on that number discovered are more likely to be the fault of the OS than anything else, AFAIK.
\n" }, { "Id": "5841", "CreationDate": "2016-09-26T10:35:04.843", "Body": "I'm looking for \"NVIDIA Jetson TX1\" module alternatives for 360 video capturing
\n\nmain requirements - 3 or more 4 line mipi-csi with ability to transfer 4k from each camera and sata or 10g ethernet phy to transfer video to storage.\nAlso size, weight and price should be minimal.
\n\nany suggestions?
\n", "Title": "dev board with 3 or more mipi-csi", "Tags": "|video-camera|embedded-systems|microcontroller|", "Answer": "Yes, I was looking for the same requirement last month, I found e-con Systems who make cameras for NVIDIA Jetson TX1. They have a 360degree solution for TX1. I can see that they run 6 MIPI CSI-2 Cameras simultaneously. Please refer : https://www.e-consystems.com/blog/camera/?p=1709
\n" }, { "Id": "5868", "CreationDate": "2016-09-30T08:34:38.557", "Body": "I have a pretty old HDD with IDE cables, and a relatively new motherboard (ASRock 970 extreme4) with only SATA inputs. Is there an adapter or device that will allow me to connect the old IDE HDD directly to the new SATA motherboard?
\n", "Title": "How to connect IDE HDD to motherboard with only SATA?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|", "Answer": "So, what you are going to want is an internal adapter. You have to be careful when doing this because poorly made ones can fry a motherboard really quick. I've seen cheap ebay adapters take other components hostage as well.
\n\nI did find the Vantec IDE to SATA converter on new egg. It has a 4 out of 5 star rating across 270 reviews. If this exact model doesn't fit with your current motherboard, because of tray restrictions or space issues you can also buy the adapters that are just the wires, without the plug interface the model above uses.
\n\nThe most important thing is to find a product that has a lot of positive reviews. Like I've said, I've seen some of those power adapters kill a system. So do your homework and look at the reviews. Also with these old IDE drives, remember to have the pinout set to master.
\n" }, { "Id": "5889", "CreationDate": "2016-10-03T08:11:53.827", "Body": "I have been looking to buy a gaming laptop from the past two months. I only found out now that nVidia GTX 1000 series laptops are much better than 900 series ones. I am new to gaming and want to buy my first ever gaming laptop. I need a laptop for sure, not a desktop for portability reasons. However for the most part I will use it in plugged mode, so battery life isn't a huge issue.
\n\nComing to the main point, my budget is around $1500 and I want a 15-15.6 inch screen laptop only. And also the laptop that I will be taking will have a resolution not greater than FHD, so considering that, I think going with a GTX 1060 card is a better option as GTX 1070 or 1080 are only better than 1060 if I plan to play games at a higher resolution. So for FHD, GTX 1060 is more than enough(correct me if I am wrong, I am basing my priority over a 1060 laptop based on this fact/opinion). I'll also look favourably on any laptops that are likely to have deals available (considering the upcoming Black Friday). So which laptops do you suggest?
\n\nThanks
\n", "Title": "Which GTX 1060 gaming laptop should I buy?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|gaming|", "Answer": "What about a GTX 1070 laptop?
\n\nNever used a Sager laptop before, not associated with them, but looked up a couple of random yet reputable brands to come across this. It's better than Alienware, so buy it instead?
\n" }, { "Id": "5910", "CreationDate": "2016-10-05T16:35:46.937", "Body": "I am a softie, with little understanding of hardware.
\nI want to develop a vending machine controller, as cheaply as possible, while still being functional. I don\u2019t expect heavy CPU or RAM usage.
\nTo be compatible with standard peripherals, such as coin & note changers, it must have a URT. I guess that I just use a USB to UATR converter? Is that best/cheapest/are there any alternatives?
\nIt will also need to drive some motors to expel the vended goods, and will have a keypad for ordering and a display (which display probably depends on price), and possibly a sensor to determine that items actually drop. Does this mean GPIO pins?
\nI would like to add wifi, for diagnostics, retrieval of sales data, upload of new firmware to the machine, and, in future, I might like to add RJ45.
\nCan anyone advise me what is the best way to go? Do I just take a Pi Zero and start adding shields, or is there a better suited model/peripheral combination? Sorry to be so dense.
\n[Update] a mere five years later, all that you have to do is DuckDuckGo for raspberry pi mdb.
\n", "Title": "Raspberry PI for vending machine controller", "Tags": "|raspberry-pi|", "Answer": "So I won't be able to answer your questions completely, but it looks like the requested features you're looking for has been done in the past. Here is what someone else has been able to do.
\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n- Vending Pi Board\n A) Gather data from DEX Input / Output Port (Vending Machine Side).\n B) Collect data from Humidity & Temperature Sensors inside Vending machine.
\n- Stock Data (Total Sold, Product Price, Product Total Price).
\n- Android Phone / Tablet used to download data from Raspberry Pi system via Bluetooth.
\n- Stores data locally ready to upload to server or to upload to PC then to server (Web Interface)
\n- Provides GPS location input for Vending Machine.
\n- Check Vending machine location through GPS (Through Android Smart phone/Tablet)
\n- On board Temperature sensor can control mini cooler fan for Vending Board system.
\n- Status LED\u2019s for error checking / troubleshooting.
\n- 2 micro switch to provide basic control ( shutdown, reboot)
\n
It looks like they have a project page that outlines the entire process, and how it can be done again.
\n\nHere is the main URL
\nHere is their project page, it looks like they sell the Raspberry pi already pre-configured
If this isn't an acceptable answer, I can continue dredging google to find what else you might need.
\n" }, { "Id": "5925", "CreationDate": "2016-10-08T09:19:44.423", "Body": "I am wondering which Ultrabook should I choose.
\n\nLenovo Ideapad 500s-13 i5-6200U/8GB/240SSD GF920M - Ram DDR3
Lenovo 510S i5-6200U 16GB 120SSD R5M430 - Ram DDR4
I would have to pay 10% more for the second one. I will be using it mostly for work, studying. For example photoshop, Android Studio, maybe some lite 3D work.
\n\nWhat do you think? :)
\n", "Title": "Lenovo 500s (8GB) vs Lenovo 510s(16GB)", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "I would get the 510s. You can easily upgrade the SSD when you are ready, but for 10% more you not only get twice the memory but its DDR4 versus DDR3.
\n" }, { "Id": "5930", "CreationDate": "2016-10-08T15:44:48.310", "Body": "Even if you can help me by suggesting other search terms I'd appreciate that.
\n", "Title": "What's a good replacement for a D-Link DNS-320 ShareCenter?", "Tags": "|wifi|hard-disk|", "Answer": "I have a preference for Synology. Based on the D-Link specs you provided, either the \"J Series\" or the \"Value Series\" would be a good match. Take a look at the Synology site for more details
\n\nPretty much the features/specs are the same - especially when it comes to the software and firmware. The only notable differences would be in the hardware specs.
\n\nI have an older model 212j that works flawlessly. I have upgraded it to new versions of the OS with zero issues and is fully compatible with my setup. I hang 3 USB drives off of it for backup and a USB flash disk for storage of my music.
\n\nWhat's nice here too is that you can get it \"diskless\" meaning the bays are empty. This is how I bought mine (for under $200) at the time and put in two WD Red 3TB NAS drives cheaper than I could have bought it pre-populated.
\n" }, { "Id": "5940", "CreationDate": "2016-10-09T11:34:51.527", "Body": "A few years ago I bought a hp ProBook 6470b. It had decent specs, and looked pretty cool. I've been running Linux on the machine for quite a while now, and have started to notice some slowdowns. The laptop came with 4Gb which I think needs an upgrade. I found one ram stick (4Gb) online, from Crucial, and wonder if they will go along together, and if i need to consider anything else before buying.
\n\nPicture of the memory inside the computer.\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/sLGwH.jpg\")
Both of them look ok to me (the ones from Amazon and Crucial). Everything seems to match up: Form Factor (sodimm), Speed 1600Mhz, Model No.
\n\nIn conclusion, it looks to me like the RAM you looked at and the RAM that Esbjorn suggested are compatible.
\n" }, { "Id": "5947", "CreationDate": "2016-10-10T17:57:31.893", "Body": "I am willing to build my very first computer.
\n\nThis is the build I was thinking about:
\n\nI am looking for a power supply that will work with this build. I am thinking of the Corsair CS550M 550W Black power supply.
\n\nIs there a viable alternative that
\n\nI strongly recommend against cheap PSU units or actually purchasing without researching a bit first.
\nA lot of the units on the market have really bad voltage regulation, especially on the 3.3V and 12V rails along with bad ripple. Furthermore, a cheaper PSU is more likely to trip on an input load that supposedly matches the output (for example 600W wall draw instead of 600W delivered on the rails).
While it's generally true that with mild overclocking it will do 'fine', after all, the power supply must supply the motherboard, GPU and peripheral devices with clean power. I would not trust any components whose power load may spike on a cheap supply.
\n\nFrom the recommendations above I support the EVGA and RoseWill supplies, and I'd also add most SuperFlower and SeaSonic supplies you can get your hands on. FSP (previously known as Fortron) also have very decent units that do not come off as expensive.
\n\nRegarding power draw, @Brett Bergan's suggestion for 160W for the RAM is outlandish. DDR4 RAM (without a ridiculous overvolt) will rarely consume over 3-4W per module.
\n\nAs for power supply, I would actually recommend a SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze which is surprisingly cheap while still retaining full modularity and providing clean output.
\n\n520W will be more than enough for your system until you decide to push things to the limits, and those PSUs can be trusted.
\nI've pulled over 1100W from the wall on my 850W unit (SS-850AM, Bronze efficiency) which is a bit over it's rated output and still didn't even trigger it's OCP.
I am choosing Wi-Fi adapter for my PC, the mo-bo is Asus z170 gaming pro and wonder which card to choose or whether go with nano usb stick like TP-Link TL-WN725N nano. I'll be sitting in the same room that roter is. I'm not sure whether it's better to go with PCI-E extension card or usb stick. What road (usb/pci-e) and what specific device would you reccomend?
\n\nedit:
\n\nI use PC daily for work and gaming (so the ping counts), which equates to around 50 GB of transfer monthly.\nThe budget is 50$ but I really do not want to spend more than 10$ for fancy radiators and additional antenas if it is not going to provide any benefit.
\n", "Title": "Wi-Fi Adapter for PC", "Tags": "|usb|wifi|pcie|", "Answer": "Personally, I would spend the time and do a proper CAT5e/6 installation; meaning running cable in/through the walls, terminating properly, hiding the network gear so it's out of sight. The benefit of being directly connected is the reliability of the connection is so much greater than that of WiFi.
\n\nBut...
\n\nIf you want to go wireless, I would forgo the USB route and go for a PCIe Wi-Fi adapter. It's not that USB is bad in any sense of measure, it's just you will get better reliability being directly attached to the PCIe bus rather than the USB bus.
\n\nI have used the ASUS Dual-Band Wireless-AC1900 PCI-E Adapter (PCE-AC68) on a computer out in a warehouse where we couldn't easily run a network cable until we could get a crew with a scissor lift.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/90OSAm.png\")
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/nzJ4Km.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/GQ2FIm.png\")
What was nice about this particular model was that you had the option of plugging the antenna directly into the card or (what we did) use the optional \"base.\" This allowed us to put the antennas up high, away from the metal desk as to not interfere with the radio signal.
\n\nThe reason I mention this over USB adapters and obviously cheaper alternatives is because you mentioned \"a gaming mobo.\" Gaming requires bandwidth and this will deliver every time.
\n" }, { "Id": "5965", "CreationDate": "2016-10-12T19:40:19.960", "Body": "I'm looking to find a Bluetooth 2D Barcode scanner. I work at a local schoolboard and we receive shipments of Chromebooks for student use, so we have to tag and inventory each unit by inventory number and serial number.
\n\nThe boxes have a QR code (which contains the serial number) and we place a standard UPC barcode on them. I've been using an Android phone to scan these, but it takes more time than a scanner usually does (focusing camera, etc).
\n\nI just have four requirements:
\n\nI had found this scanner, but when we went to order it, it became unavailable. So, now I'm on the hunt for a new one and thought I'd ask here.
\n", "Title": "2D Barcode Scanner, with Bluetooth", "Tags": "|bluetooth|barcode-scanner|", "Answer": "Having done many ERP integrations in warehouses and retail, there was pretty much one wireless barcode scanner that stood out and that was Symbol (now Zebra).
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vjAKu.png\")
They do make a Bluetooth scanner - DS6878SR and given your (increased) budget this should work nicely.
\n\nPersonally, I wouldn't go for the smaller name scanners. Symbol is an industry standard and their reliability is unmatched.
\n" }, { "Id": "5975", "CreationDate": "2016-10-14T02:20:20.133", "Body": "I recently bought a GTX 1080 Founders Edition that I'm connecting to an ASUS ATX ROG STRIX X99 Gaming Board. I've heard that the new Intel i7 Processor would a good buy, but are there any other good gaming processors that would go well with my current equipment?
\n", "Title": "Recommended Processor", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|", "Answer": "If you're not going to be overclocking (though if you have that system, why wouldn't you be overclocking is likely a better question), then the Intel Xeon E5-1620 V4 is a better gaming processor than the Intel Core i7-5820K or the Intel Core i7-6800K. Those processors feature more cores and threads but lower clock speeds, and games don't yet really need more than eight threads. The lower price on the E5-1620 v4 is nice too.
\n\nThe only real downside here is that this is a locked processor, so you won't have any ability to overclock. If for some reason you're not going to be doing that, then by all means get the Xeon mentioned above.
\n" }, { "Id": "5989", "CreationDate": "2016-10-17T04:26:27.183", "Body": "Can anyone give me advice on a good mechanical keyboard? It's a present for my girlfriend, so i don't know much about them. Probably used for a 50/50 mix of gaming and typing. Would really like one with RGB back lighting.
\n\nBudget ~$200 USD
\n\nAppreciate any help.
\n", "Title": "Recommended mechanical keyboard for gaming/typing", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "I consider Brett's answer incomplete and rather subjective, so I'll toss in my two cents.
\n\nFirst, there are great differences between the different switch types - and some of them can be rather annoying to the wrong person! It all boils down to preference.
\n\nI will explain in short:
\n 1. Linear and Tactile
\n - Linear switches travel smoothly right down to the bottom. There is no feedback to your finger when the actuation happens so unless you are confident about the key travel/bottom-out (or look at your screen) you cannot be certain that the key has been actuated.
\n - When you push down a tactile switch, you can feel the actuation for when it happens the switch will give in a bit. In other words, the peak actuation force required for activation is a bit higher and upon activation it drops.
\nOut of these, I prefer linear for typing and tactile when gaming.
\n 2. Clicky and Silent (applies only to tactile switches)
\nThe names are pretty self-explanatory. I recommend watching a couple of videos in order to gather an idea about how clicky switches sound. Many people are very annoyed with the sound while others love it. Be very careful when you pick this for your girlfriend as it can turn out to be an annoyance either for you or for her...or both of you might actually enjoy it! ;)
\nI used to like clicky switches back in the day but I've grown to admire the soft bottom-out sound only.
\n 3. Actuation force
\nDifferent switches have different springs in them - some are lighter, while some are heavier. This is again a very important factor because some people tend to rest their fingers on the keyboard and are likely to accidentally actuate them.
\nI like heavier keys (60-70 grams peak actuation force) but most people tend to like 45g springs.
\n 4. Switch travel
\n- Classic Cherry switches have a 2mm travel before actuation, out of a total of 4mm travel.
\n- The new Cherry switches, Silver use the lighter (45g) springs and are a linear switch with a shorter travel time (1.2mm actuation, 3.4mm total travel distance).
Kailh switches are basically a Cherry MX rebrand after their trademark expired. There are also other brands which copy Cherry but let us not digress that far.
\n\nNow that you know all this, here is a listing of the most common Cherry MX switches:
\n\n(switch colour - tactility, noise, stiffness, travel)
\n\nAs for a keyboard recommendation, there are also different formats - depending on the use case, you might not need a numpad. I will recommend in each:
\n\nFull size:
\nDucky Shine 5 RGB, because
\nSturdy and overall flawless build quality, which is very characteristic for the Ducky brand. Those keyboards are held in high regard even in the keyboard enthusiast circles;
\nYou can pick between Cherry MX Brown, Red, or Black switches;
\nPlug-and-Play;
\n14 pre-programmed lightning modes, along with 2 fully customizable (per-key brightness, colour, and pulsation);
\nABS Double-shot keycaps. ABS is a high quality plastic (usually last for well over 15 years before losing its characteristics) and only very rarely do you find stock PBT caps, with PBT being considered by many the ultimate plastic allow to last nearly forever on a keyboard;
\nAll the macro and settings profiles are stored on the built-in memory, meaning you can move it wherever and still keep your settings; \nUSB cable is detachable and replaceable. You can buy another, fancier one, or make your own if you so desire!
\nWhat the keyboard lacks for some people are dedicated multimedia/additional buttons, however all that either built-in (Fn+key combo) or is fully customizable anyway.
Tenkeyless:
\nDucky One RGB TKL, because
\nIt sports a smaller size and is a more compact fit on your desk, leaving more space for your mouse and providing a more comfortable stance with less spread hands;
\nAgain a very solid build quality;
\nSlim bezels and compact frame which further enhance the space-saving benefit of TKL keyboards;
\nDetachable and replaceable cable allows for better portability;
\nPlug-and-play;
\nAgain ABS doubleshot keycaps with sandblasted finishing;
\nCherry MX Blue, Red or Brown switches;
\n10 lighting presets with three custom lighting zones;
\nEvenly lit legends on the keycaps.
So.. I'm building my very first gaming setup and so far it seems like it is really good and it will get the work done. I'm here seeking for suggestions from people who actually know about this. Will this run actual games in ultra? Maybe you can suggest me better fans to improve the default ones (quiter is better) Also, I'm using just one SSD, I see some people use two, why?
\n\nCheck the build on PCPartPicker or Amazon
\n", "Title": "Is this i7 computer worth?", "Tags": "|gaming|", "Answer": "Well, some more information would be appreciated.
\n\nFirst, what kind of games do you play? Let us assume AAA titles as they tend to be the most demanding in terms of hardware.
\nSecond, what resolution and refresh rate do you play at? For 1080p, 60Hz you will be more than fine. Arguably, for that resolution your GTX 1080 is a bit overkill; a 1070 should suffice.
For 1440p you should be able to max out all titles, possibly with a lighter form of anti-aliasing and a smaller sample count.
\n\nAnything 4k you will not need heavy AA in the first place, so with tweaking demanding effects like some lightnings and AO you will be able to maintain 60 FPS.
\n\nMy recommendation for your build would be to change the CLC to a good air cooler. They are bulkier indeed, but offer equal, if not better, performance at the same price point often with less noise produced. Something like this should do the job, and do it good.
\nOn that note, if you intend to go past a soft CPU overclock (anything over 1.28-1.3VCore) for 24/7 usage, I would recommend a motherboard with a beefier power phase design.
The number of SSDs doesn't really matter, unless you need the tremendous speed from a RAID 0 array.
\nOn that subject, you could use the m4 socket for the same SSD and squeeze out some extra performance while having less clutter.
P.S. Sorry but I cannot provide more than two links due to lack of Reputation. :)
\n" }, { "Id": "6081", "CreationDate": "2016-10-28T00:48:47.040", "Body": "I am looking at purchasing a new computer within the next few months, for use in work applications. I am an IT project manager (read groupie for programmers/DBAs/engineers), and have multiple clients with different needs. I need to be able to compile with Visual Studio 2015, maintain like 40 browser tabs across multiple instances simultaneously, run multiple instances of Excel, Access, and SQL Server each at once (Office 365/2016), Outlook, Project, Remote Desktop Connection, sandbox MS IIS, and similar productivity stuff. I will need to stick with Windows 10.
\n\nCurrently, I just use the HDMI port to output to an LCD TV. I would probably continue that practice, but I assume VGA and DVI cords would work just as well on this and similar screens. I only use one screen right now, but I really should have multiple video output ports for future use. I also use a cheap USB wireless mouse/keyboard. I have a preference for 1) maintaining wireless, and 2) not paying for another mouse/keyboard. I seldom (3-4x/month) use USB, and doubt I would use more than 1 (besides my mouse/keyboard) at a time. I would like to have a CD-ROM (writable) drive, partially because I miss my cup holder, but I also get CDs about 5x/year.
\n\nI would like to have the option to be able to run additional OSs in order to replicate user environments at some point, and a virtual environment would be useful for other reasons. Neither would be common occurrences.
\n\nI plan to pay my ISP (once I am set up) to allow me to log into this machine remotely with one of my laptops, so I can still use it for processing and file serving while on site at a client. I am not a networking guy, and SE will undoubtedly be helping me to get that set up. I care little for the actual display quality during such a setup, but I will need to be able to open multiple very large (150x1,000,000) size spreadsheets, and do sort/filter on that data, displaying the result through remote desktop to my laptop. Probably nothing more intensive during the remote connection.
\n\nBuilding the computer myself would be cool, but that is about where the benefit for that (probably) ends. I remember installing a second 5.25 floppy drive on my first computer, and later an entire 20MB HD in the same computer (there was no one cooler than me in the whole world, at that point), but that is about where my building skills peaked. I soldered my brother's Playstation, installed multiple 4MB RAM sticks, and even took apart the power supply once. Now a days, I should be considered a novice at best in hardware matters. But, my wife's brother has a friend who knows a guy who says he could probably build a computer, so there you go.
\n\nThis will definitely 100% be a business expense. That said, it might be nice to know I could do some leisure stuff, in case I ever get my work caught up. The most advanced game I have ever played is Civilization 4, and I can't imagine getting much more advanced than Civ6 within the next 4 years, and would probably be content sticking with Civ4, low graphics settings (I like what I like).
\n\nI don't really need to worry about any more expansion capability beyond what I have already mentioned. If my business is doing so well that I need to upgrade in less than 5 years, I can afford to buy another machine.
\n\nSo, knowing that I need to purchase a Windows10 Pro license, are their any scenarios where buying the pieces and putting it together myself would be cheaper? (I doubt it)
\n\nDo different manufacturers have different track records, at the amount of computing power I will be doing (not much)?
\n\nI don't need to consider any special cooling, right?
\n\nAnd most importantly, what is the cheapest way to get a box that can fulfill those requirements?
\n", "Title": "Computer for Home Business", "Tags": "|desktop|server|windows|development|", "Answer": "I'd actually consider a good business-centred PC - We run the small form factor versions of the HP Elitedesk 800s at work, though I personally am biased towards a full desktop formfactor. Thinkstations are the lenovo equivalent and dell probably has one too. Avoid consumer models - they're uniformly crap.
\n\nThere's a few nice things about this. When its under warranty, they'll handle it for you. I'd personally consider getting the processor I want with a baseline amount of ram, and upgrade the storage (to an SSD) and ram (to the max it would handle) myself but weight the minor amount of work vs getting someone to do it for you.
\n" }, { "Id": "6105", "CreationDate": "2016-10-30T13:13:12.773", "Body": "Front-end dev generally involves high read-write throughput and compiling hundreds or thousands of small files regularly. I'm trying to figure out which SSDs are fastest at that sort of workload (it's not often any of the files will be over 1Mb).
\n\nI'll be using Visual Studio, Code, Node, NPM etc.
\n\nCan anyone explain what features I should be looking for in the new SSD?
\n\nNote: I've read dozens of SSD benchmarks and most seem to have a low MB/s thoughput (~80Mb/s) when dealing with smaller files.
\n", "Title": "What's the fastest SSD for Front-End Development?", "Tags": "|ssd|development|", "Answer": "\n\n\n... compiling hundreds or thousands of small files regularly. I'm trying to figure out which SSDs are fastest at that sort of workload (it's not often any of the files will be over 1Mb).
\n
An Intel Optane 900P Series SSD (for a consumer drive at reasonable prices).
\n\nConsider all your options:
\n\nBuy more memory. 16 gigabytes / 1 megabyte = 16,000.
\n\nIf you only have 16 GB (or 8GB) of memory then buying more memory would be a good investment. Reading a file, even from a harddrive, is fairly quick; it's the conversion from text to assembly language and opcodes that takes processing effort, reading the files from memory is very fast.
\n\nMore memory allows more space to do the operations necessary to compile the source and allows for a larger swap file, staving off the need to fetch from storage.
\n\nIt also allows more breathing room for your program to execute and to have additional necessary programs running, speaking of which, close unnecessary programs during compilation.
Any SSD will be much faster than a harddrive. You can buy an inexpensive and small SSD and be better off than using a harddrive for storage.
\n\nA 250 GB SSD will hold your operating system, a couple of games, your compiler toolchain and plenty of source code. You can use your old harddrive as a secondary drive and to backup your SSD.
\n\nExactly which one to choose is mostly a matter of availability and price. A lot of what you are doing when writing the source code will involve very little disk activity. Once you get to the compilation that will involve reading the file, making many calculations as to how to optimize the output, and finally writing out the object file.
\n\nIf you have lots of existing source code that you want to compile and intend to spend next to no time writing then the need for faster storage becomes a consideration.
It depends on what you will be spending most of your time doing, arguably a CPU upgrade might be a greater benefit than memory.
\n\nBut let's assume you have gone through the above considerations and crunched the numbers, you want your question answered, as written.
\n\nYou could:
\n\nbuy a no-name SSD for ~12% the price of an Optane drive, or ...
buy one of the fastest non-Optane drives available (Samsung 970 EVO Plus Series - 1TB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD) and get 4x the capacity at the same price.
For laptop use the slower HP EX920 will extend your battery life per charge.
AnandTech's conclusion is: the Optane is the fastest and most expensive, the not yet available M.2 version of the SZ985 is untested and an unknown price (expected to be comparable to an Optane and less expensive), the Samsung 970 EVO Plus Series will either save you money or gain you 4x the capacity for equal money, and the least expensive HP EX920 isn't far behind (or poor quality) and will save you U$100.
\n" }, { "Id": "6122", "CreationDate": "2016-11-02T00:43:39.480", "Body": "I'm wanting a label printer for the specific purpose of printing labels for prototyping board games, to stick to playing cards.
\n\nI want to be able to design the labels on my computer, and have them print, ideally on to a roll of labels, rather than sheets of labels.
\n\nLabel size isn't rigid - but I'm ideally wanting labels as large as possible that will fit on a standard playing card (a standard playing card is 2.5\" x 3.5\", so labels slightly smaller than that).
\n\nI would like the label printer to be able to print detailed images, though if there's an effective text only printer, it's worth considering.
\n", "Title": "Label printer for printing labels from computer", "Tags": "|printer|", "Answer": "Just use a standard laser printer.
\nYou can buy A4 sheets of labels and print onto those. Your document software (eg. MS Word) will have templates to easily set up the right margins for the label.
\nA laser printer is going to be far more practical than a label printer for this kind of scenario, where an automated flow is not required.
\n" }, { "Id": "6134", "CreationDate": "2016-11-03T13:01:48.410", "Body": "I'm looking to buy a new Macbook to do Web, Android, and iOS development. I now from experience that web development is not an issue as I'm currently developing on my 2011 Macbook Air with 4GB RAM. I tried XCode and Android Studio and the experience was terrible with all the lags especially when I run the emulator. My budget can go up to 1800$, with that I can buy one of the following options:
\n\nThings to consider:
\n\nPlease help me decide which one to buy.
\n", "Title": "Macbook Pro 2016 for iOS Development?", "Tags": "|memory|processor|", "Answer": "I think your best option is number 3. (Macbook Pro / no TouchBar / Intel Dual-core i7 6th Gen (2.4GHz up to 3.4GHz) / 8GB RAM 1866MHz / 256 SSD - At 1800$\n)
\n\nI can't find specific recommended RAM capacity for xcode, but android studio recommends 8GB. Furthermore, the 6th gen i7 has a better benchmark than the other models mentioned and should suffice.
\n\nChoose Option 3 Because:
\n\n8GB meets the hardware recommendations
\n\nThe 6th Gen i7 (4700HQ I assume) has a higher benchmark than the other options. This should mean smoother performance.
\n" }, { "Id": "6185", "CreationDate": "2016-11-10T02:41:33.207", "Body": "Acer Aspire ATC-220-EB52 Desktop (Refurbished)
\n- AMD A10-7800 3.5GHz
\n- 8GB DDR3
\n- 1TB HDD
\n- AMD Radeon R7 Graphic
\n- Windows 10 Home 64-bit
\n- CAD$ 409 + 13% tax
I am considering this for a general purpose desktop + Adobe Lightroom use. Will add an SSD to speed up. Thoughts?
\n\nMy current Adobe Lightroom computer is a Mid 2013 MacBook Air and it works reasonable well. The CPU & Graphics in the AMD A10 is better so the overall performance should be better (assuming Windows & Mac versions are similar).
\n\nIs this line of thinking accurate? Happy for alternatives or even a build recommendation within the same budget. Thank you.
\n", "Title": "Refurbished Acer AMD A10-7800 Desktop", "Tags": "|desktop|", "Answer": "As for another option, here's a build using an Intel CPU. Personally, I'm not a big fan of AMD CPUs, I haven't had a good experience with them. Here's the link to the PC part picker list. Again, everthing's off Amazon. I'd personally go with this Intel build over the AMD build I mentioned. The i3 6100 has a benchmark that is slightly above/better than the AMD A10 7800. Regardless, both these builds should do what you need.
\n\nCPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($126.28 @ Amazon)
\n\nMotherboard: MSI B150M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($60.54 @ Amazon)
\n\nMemory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($41.99 @ Amazon)
\n\nStorage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5\" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ Amazon)
\n\nCase: Rosewill Galaxy-03 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Amazon)
\n\nPower Supply: CoolMax 400W ATX Power Supply ($23.22 @ Amazon)
\n\nOther: Windows 10 Home 64 Bit OEM DVD ENGLISH ($75.99 @ Amazon)
\n\nPrices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
\n" }, { "Id": "6193", "CreationDate": "2016-11-12T02:59:50.380", "Body": "I have a Samsung SSD being used as a boot drive through a SATA connection. I've been using it for about 8 years. It barely gets over 200 MB/s maximum in read or write performance. It's been used daily for pretty much all those years. I'm starting to fear that failure may be on the horizon as it significantly underperforms at times. Anyways, I'm looking for an upgrade that meets these requirements:
\n\nI'm considering connecting the drive through SATA III or PCIE. What should I go with? Are there more factors to consider when selecting a fast boot ssd?
\n\nIn terms of drives, I'm looking at either the
\n\nSamsung 850 Evo Pro 128GB Read: 550 MB/s Max, Write: 470 MB/s Max
\n\nor
\n\nKingston HyperX Predator 240GB PCIe Read: 1400 MB/s, Write: 600 MB/s
\n\nBut I'm certainly open to suggestions. Thanks!
\n", "Title": "SSD Boot Drive Upgrade, considerations", "Tags": "|ssd|", "Answer": "There is no such thing as \"850 Evo Pro\" it's either EVO or PRO.\nIN any case go for the Pro versions. I have lots of SSDs here, among them also the 850 Pro and the Kingston HyperX Predator 240GB PCIe.
\n\nIf you do have a M.2 NVMe capable slot, then there's no question: go for that. SATA is really not suitable for modern SSDs anymore(the numbers you see with the 850 Pro are SATA maxed out).
\n\nSo in terms of speed and shorter boot times, The Kingston is definitely it.
\n\nNowadays there are some even better M.2 NVMe SSDs and you may want to consider if these are or are not within your budget. The performance hierarchy is
\n\nSamsung 850 Pro < Kingston HyerX < Samsung 950 Pro < Samsung 960 Pro
\n\nI have the Samsung 950 Pro in my notebook and it gives around 2.5 GB/s read and 1.1 GB/s write. As this is what Samsung announces, I tend to believe that the 960 Pro will deliver the 3.5GB/s read and 2.1 GB/s write although I haven't tested it personally yet.
\n" }, { "Id": "6246", "CreationDate": "2016-11-18T14:17:22.720", "Body": "I have an HP proliant micro server sitting in my home office and I want to stream photos and videos off this device and display it on my TV in another room. The TV also sits next to an ethernet hub and my preference is to connect the TV to network via this hub.
\n\nWhat I am looking for is an output device that will sit on the network to talk to the server and provide an HDMI/1080p output to the TV. I am currently planning on using FreeNAS on the serve up the data, (but I am not bound to that), so the solution would need to be able to browse/select the media to play.
\n\nI also don't need this device to do anything else other than serve up data from the NAS.
\n\nSuggestions?
\n", "Title": "Ethernet to HDMI output", "Tags": "|server|hdmi|video|", "Answer": "After some consideration I am going with Plex layered on top of FreeNAS, and using a Chromecast for the HDMI head end and using the Plex/Chromcast App on my tablet to perform the control.
\n" }, { "Id": "6265", "CreationDate": "2016-11-21T10:17:27.670", "Body": "I got an offer to buy a used Core i7-4770 with Asus Motherboard and 16 Gigs of DDR3 RAM for 200 Euros. This offer comes to pass very good because I am thinking about upgrading my computer.
\n\nCurrently, I use an AMD FX-6300 on an MSI Board which recently started having issues on boot. GPU is the Sapphire R9 270X, but I will upgrade to an GTX 1070 soon.
\n\nMy question now is, should I take that deal for 200 Euros or should I save some more money to take a new i7-6700 with DDR4 instead. How is the Performance to Value comparison?
\nI compared the two CPUs using CPUBenchmark.net and the Benchmark Points are different by just 200, which does not seem much compared to the difference from my FX-6300 to the i7's (which is about 3k Points difference).
In case you need some information about my main usage of the PC, I play a lot of games like Rainbow Six Siege, The Division, Overwatch, Paragon (guess that's the cpu-heaviest game of those) and I also do a lot of rendering to MP4 (live and non-live).
\n", "Title": "i7 4770 Cheap Deal vs i7 6700", "Tags": "|gaming|processor|", "Answer": "You should seriously consider the newer chip for rendering.\nI shall weigh up the + / - as if we refer to upgrading to the newer CPU.
\n\n- It has been shown on TOM's hardware many times that there is little difference for gaming, due to the CPU clock-speed being a big factor in games still. Consider this a small minus as CPU has VERY little effect on game performance (it's all about GPU, baby!)
\n\n- You will need to buy new RAM as you stated, and it's not really much better in performance for games... Video it is, but only a little bit.
\n\n+ Power usage / thermal control is a LOT better on the 6000's, so it will distract your gaming a lot less with quieter fans.
\n\n+ Video encoding MUCH faster on the new i7's if the software is optimised for it (it will be).
\n\n+ (this is the one that got me) Upgrading Mobo means you get all the sweet new features such as USB3.1 and type-C connectors. Future-you will thank you for this investment.
\n\nAlso, EUR200 is too much for that old CPU. I mean, performance-per-dollar it's OK, but if you really look hard for second-hand machines you will find one (probably with case and PSU) for half that price.
\n" }, { "Id": "6267", "CreationDate": "2016-11-21T12:58:56.070", "Body": "Today i planned to Play GTA V on my PC. So i require some Specs for My pc. I have computer/laptop of 2gb RAM that is not enough to play that game. So decided to buys some 4gb RAM for my laptop. Can i Add 2gb RAM and 4gb RAM to make it 2+4=6GB RAM?
\n", "Title": "Can I Use Two RAMS of Different Size in Laptop?", "Tags": "|memory|", "Answer": "Yes. You can use two SODIMMS of different capacity. Case in point, my MSI GL62 shipped with 12GB of ram, an 8GB and a 4GB SODIMM. The same goes for a Desktop with full length DIMMS.
\n" }, { "Id": "6303", "CreationDate": "2016-11-25T06:45:20.737", "Body": "I am planning to buy a gaming laptop and I have narrowed them down to these two laptops
\n\nMSI GE62VR Apache Pro-001 - Price Around $1200 - $1300
\n\nMSI GP62VR Leopard Pro-218 - Price Around $1100
\n\nI am sure that I need a gtx 1060, given how poor of choice it would be to take a 900 series gpu based laptop now. Also I need a 1080p laptop (since I need only a 15.6 inch screen and I feel that a higher resolution at this size is not that noticeable) itself, so going for a higher end gpu like a 1070 is probably overkill for a 1080p laptop.
\n\nThe only major difference between them is the VRAM. For GE62VR there is a 6 GB VRAM for 1060 gpu, but for GP62VR there is only 3 GB VRAM and I read that the extra 3 GB is not that needed, at least for the next 3-4 years to come (correct me if I am wrong). Also one more thing that bugs me is the fact that there are no reviews about GP62VR, so I am not sure if it's a good laptop. However the GE62VR has many good reviews online, but the GP62VR is a bit cheaper.
\n\nSo given the circumstances, and my current budget of about $1100 - $1300, which of these two laptops would you suggest?
\n\nP.S. On a side note, for my budget, would you suggest a different 1080p, GTX 1060 laptop altogether aside from these two?
\n\nEdit: \nI plan on using the laptop for gaming and maybe learning 3d modeling, game design etc in future, so I may run cinema 4d, blender, adobe products in future but only as a hobbyist or a beginner.
\n", "Title": "Which of these two laptops is better?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|gaming|", "Answer": "For your listed purposes I would suggest the Apache Pro.
\n\nThe SSD will speed up the loading of the OS, as well as editing programs installed to it, and the 16GB of ram will come in handy in media creation and 3D modeling.
\n" }, { "Id": "6306", "CreationDate": "2016-11-25T17:24:29.900", "Body": "I have a basic laptop - an eMachines E732Z. It has an Intel Pentium P6200 processor.
\n\nI need to run a 64-bit virtual machine, but I can't because the processor doesn't support VT-x.
\n\nI therefore want to upgrade the processor to one that supports hardware virtualisation.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nIntel rather than AMD (but only because I've never fitted a new processor before and I don't want to find that an AMD doesn't fit on the motherboard. If this requirement is unnecessary it can be waived).
As cheap as possible. Virtualisation-support is my only requirement; I don't require any other upgrade in performance.
I have researched chips already in terms of features and price, but there are so many options and features that I don't understand (this would be my first ever hardware-component purchase, I'm a real beginner with this stuff) it's hard to find just a basic upgrade.
\n", "Title": "Budget processor that supports hardware virtualisation", "Tags": "|processor|virtual-machines|", "Answer": "Changing the CPU is not as easy as adding RAM or swapping a HDD. It is a FULL dissasembly. Have a look at this video here. Still want to do it, then narrow your list of possible options. We can use the Intel ARK to get a list of processors that will fit in your laptop. Looks like the Intel i3-330M is the cheapest processor which supports VT-x and isn't a downgrade.
\n\nAre you sure you want to take the effort to swap one five-year-old processor for another? I have a feeling you could get a used laptop with VT-x enabled almost as cheap as buying a core and replacing it.
\n" }, { "Id": "6307", "CreationDate": "2016-11-25T19:17:25.313", "Body": "I am looking for some recommendations for my new I7 Build.
\n\nWhat I use it for
\n\nDay to day business work
\n\nApplications open at once
\n\nOccasionally Open
\n\nVisualization Information
\n\nOverclocking
\n\nBudget
\n\nOriginally I was planning on doing this build under 1000 but now I am thinking i am going to end up in the 1500 range. I have money to burn but I don't like burning it.
\n\nWhat I know I want
\n\nI7 Processor
\n\n32GB Ram (Dual Channel if I go 6700 quad if i go 6800)
\n\n500GB SSD or NVMI
\n\nPLAIN Case (its a business not an art show)
\n\nGPU that can handle my quad monitor setup
\n\nUSB Type C Port on MB (Unless someone has a reason why not)
\n\nCurrent Conflicts
\n\nI7-6700K vs I7-6800K
\n\nAir Cooled vs Water Cooled
\n\nDDR4 3000 vs Faster
\n\nSata SSD vs NVMi SSD
\n\nAreas where I have not a clue
\n\nMotherBoard
\n\nGPU
\n\nPSU (I do know how to add so my plan was to take everything add up the wattage and give my self about 20% head room)
\n", "Title": "I7 Build I am conflicted", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|ssd|hard-disk|processor|", "Answer": "Okay did not get much response here so I did 5 more days of research and this is what I came to.
\n\nProcessor: i7-6800K
\n\nCooler: Corsair Hydro H100i V2
\n\nMotherboard: ASRock X99 Taichi
\n\nRam: GSkill Ripjaws 4 DDR4 4x8GB 3000MHZ
\n\nVideo Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX1060 GV-N1060G1GAMING-6GD
\n\nStorage: Plextor M8PE M.2 2280 512GB NVMe
\n\nPSU: Corsair CS Series CS750M 750W Gold
\n\nCase: Undecided, but I am going to go down to Frys and get something locally.
\n\nTotal Cost: $1350.93
\n\nThis ended up being a very painful experience but I do feel like I got a really good system out of this. I really struggled with another issue as well and that is the fact that the i7-7700K Is coming out in a month and smashes this processor in benchmarks. In the end when that happens most likely I will give this computer to my wife and daughter and put myself through this misery again.
\n\nI hope this helps someone if they have this same struggle.
\n" }, { "Id": "6317", "CreationDate": "2016-11-27T15:41:24.750", "Body": "I need to urgently choose an external hard drive. I need IT to run windows 10 on my iMac, since virtual machines shows too low performance in my case. I think I need an SSD, since its data transfer rate faster than the HDD.
\n\nI know that if SSD fails - it fails entirely, but I will not store important data on it (I need it for working with Hololens emulator and several other programs). And I hope with careful treatment, he will live longer
\n\nSo, I'm looking for:
\nSSD
\n500GB or more
\n$50-150 max
Here is a model I have found - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016JREG84/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
\nWhat do you think about it? Would you recommend different one?
I need an answer urgently, and I would be very grateful for your help!\nThank you very much in advance!
\n", "Title": "Urgently choosing SDD - need advice!", "Tags": "|hard-disk|", "Answer": "While I can't judge on the given SSD model, I can issue a recommendation for another one.
\n\nThe Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD.
\n\nHere's why it's a good SSD:
\n\nAs a non-exhaustive personal opinion: I have used this very SSD for more than 1 year now
\n" }, { "Id": "6319", "CreationDate": "2016-11-27T22:59:13.060", "Body": "I need a home server for running couple of services, since my current hardware is aging. For example:
\n\nUSB 3.0 is a requirement, since I want high I/O-Rates beyond 25MB/s, also access times should be fast (e.g. Hosting the library of a photo manager on the network share with lots of small file reads). The CPU/RAM should be juicy enough to carry out those requirements on the various file protocols, and to run the ownCloud PHP stuff smoothly.
\n\nI want to focus on low power consumption because of the 24/7 runtime. The number of hard drive bays doesn't really matter, I'm using USB-Drives so far and don't necessarily need to change this. Operating system will be some Linux, I don't want any custom/proprietary flavour e.g. Synology DSM, just plain Linux with full control. Display output won't be needed at all. No redundancy is needed as well, so one PSU and one gigabit Ethernet port should be enough.
\n\nWhat kind of hardware should I choose to get the most performance with least power consumption and lowest cost? I thought on ~400\u20ac (~430$) max, don't know if that's possible. Of course it'd be nice if the requirements were possible at even less than 400\u20ac.
\n\nI'd prefer to buy the individual components and assemble the system myself, but I don't know if it gets cheaper with pre-built systems. Are there pre-built systems that meet my requirements? What hardware would you choose if you had to assemble a similar system?
\n", "Title": "Low-Power Home Server", "Tags": "|linux|server|", "Answer": "Your requirements sound similar to my home server, except that I went with an internal RAID-6 array -- so that's $400 in hot-swap bays, cases, and controller cards you won't need to spend.
\n\nAt the cheaper end of the price range, buying pre-made usually costs less than building your own. The mostly-preassembled option I'd recommend would be an Intel 2550L2D-MxPC for about $130. It's got an Atom D2550 CPU (four years newer and considerably more powerful than my Atom 230), dual gigabit ethernet, two USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports. You'll need to add RAM ($45 for 8 GB) and a boot drive ($40 for either a 500GB hard drive or a 120GB SSD). Like almost all of Intel's products, it's Linux-compatible.
\n" }, { "Id": "6325", "CreationDate": "2016-11-28T16:06:12.223", "Body": "I want to use multiple monitors for my PC, three in total.
\n\nI would like to know what graphics card would run:
\n\nWhich is the cheapest solution for this?
\n\nNot for gaming, using for work.
\n", "Title": "Graphic card which supports 1xUDH and 2xFull HD output", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|4k|uhd|", "Answer": "This is the setup I have;
\n2 Dell 24\" monitors
\n1 Samsung 49\" tv (4:4:4 chroma)
\nThis works out well because the TV has almost exactly double the diagonal measurement, meaning that windows dragged across have the same size on the 4K as they do on the side monitors. I really love the setup for work.
I'm using a Radeon RX470 and it works pretty good, mostly.
\nOn occasion the screens will just kinda blink, and I don't know if that's because the video card is having trouble keeping up, or something else.
I'd really love to try a Geforce GTX 1070 for a week to see if it does the same thing.
\n\nOne thing I'll say, it is really important to make sure that you have the right HDMI cable. We tried a '4K ready' Monster cable and it failed to show a picture. So we ordered one that can specifically handle 16GBps and that worked. It was also cheaper.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/jA3W6.jpg\")
What motherboard from the Asus z170 chipset line offers the most set of features? I did some research and it looks like the z170-a is the one but I could be wrong. I'd like to have a motherboard that offers the most features even if I won't necessarily need them. I just like to have the most possible options.
\n\nHere are a few things I would hope to include but don't let that affect your answer:
\n\nSome things that I plan to do with the system are:
\n\nI already plan on buying a GTX 1070 graphics card so I can play games on the highest graphics settings possible.
\n", "Title": "Asus motherboard in the $50-$150 range", "Tags": "|gaming|motherboard|", "Answer": "I would probably go with this one: ASUS Z170-E
\n\nThese points jump out, at least at me:
\n\nDDR4 memory overclocked to 3466MHz(max compatible speed) \nOnboard USB 3.1 Gen 2 for 10Gbit/s data transfer speeds\nLightning-fast M.2 with PCIe 3.0 x4 interface
\n" }, { "Id": "6372", "CreationDate": "2016-12-04T16:32:20.123", "Body": "Is there a portable or travel wireless router that supports 5GHz 802.11ac? I'm looking to install one in my car with through its integrated USB port, or via 12v DC adapter?
\n", "Title": "Is there a portable or travel wireless router that supports 5GHz 802.11ac that can be powered via USB?", "Tags": "|usb|router|", "Answer": "\n\nAmazon Link $98.09
\n\nAdditionaly serves as an additional battery and power source for other devices.
\n\nFrom reading the reviews it seems to be able to run on its own power for at least 4 Hours
\n" }, { "Id": "6377", "CreationDate": "2016-12-05T06:29:34.327", "Body": "I just bought Sony X800D TV and it comes with 2 hdmi ports that do 4k at 60Hz and 1 HDMI port that does 4k at 30hz. I have 2015 Macbook Pro 15\" with iris pro IGP. As you guys probably know, this macbook support just HDMI 1.4 and it only does 4k at 30hz. I want to output 4k at 60hz and my TV only has HDMI, so I cannot use display port or thunderbolt from my mac. I'm wondering if I could use mini displayport to HDMI adapter to output 4k 60hz. I tried one adapter from Wal-mart with 4k label, but my mac doesn't even recognize the TV is 4k capable anymore.
\n\nP.S : I'm not sure if this is the right forum to ask this question. If it is not, let me know.
\n", "Title": "Mini displayport to HDMI adapter that does 4k at 60hz", "Tags": "|hdmi|display-port|4k|", "Answer": "For whoever looking for a solution to the similar problem, I went with this club3d adapter. You will need to use SwitchResX software to force OSX to output 4k@60Hz. There are tons of online resources on how to create a custom resolution in SwitchResX, so I'm not going to post it here. Club3d is a bit more expensive than @NZKshatriya's suggestion. I would give it a try before buying Club3d.
\n" }, { "Id": "6389", "CreationDate": "2016-12-06T13:09:03.640", "Body": "I installed OS X 10.12 on an external drive. I'd like to now swap the internal drive with the external drive. Will this work?
\n\n--- UPDATE
\n\nThanks. for anyone else who is interested.
\n\nThis is a tech support question and will likely be closed, but to answer the question, it should work. I have in the past run multiple OS's on external disks, then installed them into the chassis with no problem. All that changes is the connection interface.
\n" }, { "Id": "6391", "CreationDate": "2016-12-06T14:02:37.860", "Body": "I trying to source an HD68 (Female) -> HE68 (Female) SCSI cable (2 meters) with one end of the cable with a 90 degree angle for an instrument we are using. If does not matter if the 90 is a right of left as we are only concerned with the clearance from the back of the instrument to the container.
\n\nIf there is an adapter that does this versus a cable that would work to, though looking around I have been unable to find any cable that match this requirement. Any information on this would be great, thanks!
\n", "Title": "HD68 -> HD68 SCSI Cable with angle", "Tags": "|scsi|", "Answer": "I was able to work around this solution with the use of a couple of HD68 to IDC50 converters and an IDC50 cable. Not the best solution but it looks like the connector on the board was a bit too propriety (even though it was still a standard SCSI cable). In the end it worked and there does not appear to be any interference from using a short internal cable externally.
\n\nI was able to find the Dell cable (P/N: 5984D), though that did turn out to be male on both ends, it was worth a shot.
\n\nHope this helps anybody that might run into this.
\n" }, { "Id": "6419", "CreationDate": "2016-12-10T16:07:55.617", "Body": "I'm looking for a desktop configuration. Primary use would be processing photographs in Lightroom and Photoshop (very basic). As far as I read in such use cases graphic card is far less important than fast memory, a fast CPU and a fast disk.
\n\nI was thinking about the following configuration:
\n\nEDIT:
\n\nNow, I am looking for motherboard for this configuration. It must:
\n\nWhat motherboard would you recommend?
\n", "Title": "Motherboard for photo processing", "Tags": "|desktop|", "Answer": "I would recommend the Z170A SLI PLUS. It costs about $135 on Amazon.com. I use this motherboard in a personal rig, and it performs well.
\n\nThe reasons why I would recommend this motherboard are:
\n\nI recently learned by chance about the GPD Win, a \"laptop fitting in your pocket\".
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://c1.iggcdn.com/indiegogo-media-prod-cld/image/upload/823_11_yleijl.jpg\")
I had been looking for a portable machine with joystick/controllers that I could take on a crowded metro, and that could allow me to play some of the game titles of my Steam collection, and GPD Win seems to be an excellent candidate.
\nHowever, this Reddit forum seems to suggest that the machine requires a number of tweaks to be taken the most of.
Are there more user-friendly similar products, in the sense that they do not require customizations to provide the best \"nomad Steam gaming\" experience?
\n", "Title": "GPD Win alternatives for hand-held Steam gaming?", "Tags": "|gaming|portable|steam|", "Answer": "There is no really alternative to GPD Win currently as a handheld Steam-available gaming device (except... GPD Win 2 probably).
\nI ended up getting the GPD Win ; I played a bit more on it recently (after having applied the recommended tweaks) and like it a lot.
Current processor is: AMD Athlon II X2 240
\n\nCurrent Motherboard is: DPJ Indonesia MP-A880GD23 V1.1
\n\nI am looking for a CPU with around twice the benchmark potential. I will be reusing the same motherboard, so matching the CPU socket is essential.
\n\nIn searching for a CPU, I have found what seems to be conflicting information which states that the CPU is an AM2+/AM3 CPU.
\n\nIf there is more than one CPU available, please list them so I may choose which one I would prefer.
\n\nAccording to Belarc the memory module is
\n\n6144 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory\n\nSlot 'DIMM0' is Empty\nSlot 'DIMM1' is Empty\nSlot 'DIMM2' has 2048 MB (serial number SerNum02)\nSlot 'DIMM3' has 4096 MB (serial number SerNum03)\nI have no idea whether the motherboard support AM2+ or AM3 port. I have o idea whether the memory is DDR3 or DDR2
\n\nThe motherboard is so old it's not produced anymore.
\n\nMy CPU-z says I am using AM3 slot
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gtniQ.png\")
I would like to add something to the answer.
\n\nThere is confusion whether I am using AM2+ socket or AM3 sockets. Until today I still have a hard time believing that the same CPU with same product code have 2 versions.
\n\nThis is very confusing. Hence, we can't know the socket just from the CPU code, which is currently Athlon II X2 240.
\n\nAnd this is where my main problem is.
\n\nWell if we want to know, the way is to use a software called CPU-z. From that software I easily find out that my mobo uses AM3 socket with DDR 3 memory.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/zBTEq.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Gwv9h.png\")
Once I know the socket, finding the right CPU is easy.
\n\nJust go to https://www.cpubenchmark.net/socketType.html#id11 and there are lists of CPU
\n\nAMD II Phenom X6 is one of the thing that fit as NZKshatriya said.
\n\nAnother I would like to add is that the CPU doesn't have several version. That one CPU simply fit on several sockets.
\n\nhttp://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-3365776/cpu-socket-versions.html#19455769
\n\nStill not sure.
\n" }, { "Id": "6438", "CreationDate": "2016-12-12T15:18:19.553", "Body": "I'm looking for a similar AMD cheap modern replacement of this card (Radeon HD 4870 1-Gb 256 bit GDDR5) for my old computer but i'm not very sure about the way to go. Price between (50$-100$)
\n\nWhat modern AMD card would have a similar or better performance and work with my computer in that price range?
\n\nThe PC specs are:
\n\nSince an AMD solution was explicitly requested for technical reasons, how about the XFX HD Radeon RX 460 for $99? It's significantly better than the R7 250 and not much more expensive.
\n" }, { "Id": "6451", "CreationDate": "2016-12-14T13:52:45.943", "Body": "What's the difference between
\n\nThe first is 50 % price of the second.
\n\nFrom Seagate's data sheet, I've noticed 3 things:
\n\nThe only thing different across different models (with different serial numbers) is the capacity.
STEB5000200 is marketed for EMEA region (Europe, middle east and africa), while STEB5000100 is for America (NA I would suppose).
They both have 5TB capacity so there shouldn't be any obvious technical differences, apart from marketing, quota and maybe import tax.
If you where to combine 4x titans how many teraflops do you get? just a pic
\n", "Title": "How many gflops does 4 way sli titan x pascal have?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "The theoretical single-precision rating of a single Titan X Pascal is 11 TFLOPS per the media (ArsTechnica).
\n\nIf you multiply 11 by 4, and assuming you have enough PCIe lanes to support all of these GPUs under full load, and assuming you have enough CPU and memory bandwidth to \"feed\" a real workload to each of these cards maxed out, that would be 44 TFLOPS single-precision.
\n\nYou will never be able to use this kind of raw horsepower for gaming, even with an ideal workload on DirectX 12's EMA. The only way you could hope to utilize it all would be with a very high-end CPU (or perhaps multiple Xeon E5 CPUs), high clock rate DDR4 for system memory, and using OpenCL or CUDA on embarrassingly parallel single-precision workloads.
\n" }, { "Id": "6492", "CreationDate": "2016-12-20T17:33:05.320", "Body": "I want to combine 1666 mhz DDR3 4 gb ram with a 1666 mhz DDR3 8 gb ram.
\n\nIs there might be problem about it by motherboard and can they work good together?
\n\nI want a performance upgrade like %20.
\n\nThank you for your answers.
\n", "Title": "Can 2 different model rams can run well together?", "Tags": "|memory|", "Answer": "Generally, yes and without issue. However it will depend on the memory controller (Modern systems have moved this onto the CPU itself).
\n\nIn almost all cases on modern systems you will see the RAM down-clock itself to match the lowest denominator of the chips, this might lower the FSB and the timings.
\n\nIf one of the chips runs at an odd voltage however, I would not advise mixing them as the system likely won't finish POST.
\n\nFinally, if you have two banks for memory (1+2 & 3+4) generally the mismatched pair should sit on different banks. Refer to your motherboards manual for confirmation.
\n\nOn the performance upgrade of 20%, we can't say without knowing what your utilization looks like and if RAM is the bottle neck. 4GB is a good minimum for just about any computer, doubling to 8GB+ will almost certainly provide a noticeably gain for most applications.
\n" }, { "Id": "6500", "CreationDate": "2016-12-22T01:33:35.117", "Body": "Definition of \"processor:\" A CPU that has to be attached to a motherboard. May or may not have integrated graphics. Does not contain other computer parts such as memory (other than parts crucial to the functioning of a modern processor such as registers and cache), sensors, connectors (other than the socket), etc.
\n\nDefinition of \"individually:\" Is not contained as part of a mandatory bundle. Is not a part of a \"system on a chip\" or other similar constructs.
\n\nDefinition of \"can be purchased by the average joe:\" Does not require a corporate contract. Does not require a phone call to the company. Does not require a bunch of hoops to be jumped through. Can be bought at a quantity of 1.
\n\nCompanies that are included in \"x86:\" Intel, AMD, and other minor x86 manufacturers. (Even though other architectures by Intel such as IA32, etc. are completely different from x86, I am not interested in them)
\n\nOther preferable things: Motherboards, Memory, and all of the other components required to make a working personal computer (luxuries excluded) to be available.
\n\nThis question was asked out of curiosity, but it may have practical applications as I am a very casual hobby operating system developer looking to dabble in non-x86 architectures.
\n\nI find it hard to believe that x86 is the only computer architecture that you can actually purchase individual components for and build a personal computer. If that is the case, that is really a shame =(
\n\nFurther clarification: I am looking for a socketed CPU
\n", "Title": "Is there a non-x86 processor that can be purchased by the average joe individually?", "Tags": "|processor|processor-architecture|", "Answer": "I am not aware of any non-x86 consumer-level CPUs, ie. ones where you can simply purchase and slot together all the parts for a computer.
\n\nVarious ARM CPUs can be purchased individually, and OpenCores has some CPU designs that can be loaded up on an FPGA, but these aren't end-user-friendly: they require sufficient electrical-engineering skills to design a mainboard for connecting the CPU to things like memory or a video controller, or at least the assembly skills to build someone else's design.
\n\nThe only non-x86 CPUs I'm aware of that were ever even remotely available to consumers in \"build-your-own-computer\" form were the DEC Alpha (discontinued in 2001) and the PowerPC (you could cobble together something from Apple spare parts until about 2005).
\n" }, { "Id": "6502", "CreationDate": "2016-12-22T05:33:43.653", "Body": "BD-R XL vs External HDD for storage of data of long life span?
\n\nWhat I am considering in this question are two options:
\n\nBD-R XL (e.g. Verbatim BD-R XL, 4x, 100GB, 5 ks, jewel, printable), cost 75,-EUR
External HDD of the same size, 500GB that is, e.g. Verbatim Store 'n' Go USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive 500GB Black, cost 74,-EUR
It does not have to be Verbatim, is does not have to be only 500GB. These are only examples for direct comparison.
\n\nWhat would you recommend and why?
\n\nEDIT1: Budget is unlimited.
\n\nEDIT2: The amount of data I would like to store is at maximum 5TB. Starting at 0.5TB right at this moment. The solution should be disk-failure-resistant if it is a RAID array.
\n", "Title": "BD-R XL vs External HDD for storage of data of long life span?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|blu-ray|", "Answer": "Since this question has been asked some time ago, I feel, I should update you on the actual accepted solution, see below.
\n\nI have found, that M-Disc (Millennial Disc) technology could allegedly endure up to 1000 years.
\n\nA little comparison image:
\n\n![\"M-Disc](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pT3rj.png\")
I have bought the below Blu-Ray writer; you can find their compatibility with M-Disc DVD/Blu-Ray 4.7/25/50/100 GB on this page.
\n\nMy final pick of the writer was: ASUS BW-16D1H-U PRO
\n\nIt is noteworthy to say, that any Blu-Ray reader can read these M-Discs.
\n" }, { "Id": "6516", "CreationDate": "2016-12-24T22:29:23.940", "Body": "I have an Intel\u00ae Widi compatible smart tv. Unfortunately, Intel withdrew support for that technology in their latest drivers. So their will never be a display driver that support both Intel WiDi and Vulkan correctly.
\nI can\u2019t connect the computer with an HDMI cable, (there\u2019s 5m of distance without counting walls).
\nIn the meantime, I have a huge problem at connecting Windows 10.1 to any Miracast system (most of the time, it doesn\u2019t work).
\nSo I want to connect my computer to my TV in the same way I would do with an HDMI cable\u00a0:\nI want a device that I would plug on the HDMI output of my computer which would stream video to an another part connected to the TV (through HDMI).
\nThe latency should be low enough to let playing video games through a Bluetooth joystick (while sending 1080p @ 60Hz with stereo output).
\nI saw several products. But they all cost more than 100\u20ac and/or are not sold in the \u20ac currency.
\n", "Title": "Wireless HDMI transmitter / receiver for less than 100\u20ac", "Tags": "|wireless|hdmi|windows|", "Answer": "Finnally found one on the right corner\u00a0: http://web.archive.org/web/20170619143550/https://www.leboncoin.fr/informatique/1150237579.htm
\n" }, { "Id": "6521", "CreationDate": "2016-12-25T07:46:40.147", "Body": "I'm looking to buy a pen to be used with my moto G, and it has to have a fine point because I plan on writing with it.
\n\nSo I know these kinds of pen work with any capacitive screen and hence it works the moto G. But they're too thick.
\n\nSo I'm planning on buying one of these. The issue is that the website gives out a list of compatible devices with just a few devices on it (moto G not in it). But my question is: if this is a capacitive pen, shouldn't it work with all capacitive screen devices? Can I be sure that this pen will indeed work?
\n\nAlso, is there a better option to get a pen that work the 1st gen Moto G phone?
\n\nCheers
\n", "Title": "Will a capacitive pen work with a moto G phone?", "Tags": "|smartphones|", "Answer": "Yes, that stylus will work. It's capacitive and so is your device.
\n\nSometimes, online listings like that will include a list of \"compatible\" products, either in the title or in the description. The list doesn't really mean anything, but if someone searches something like:
\n\n\n\n\n\n
<popular device> stylus
the listings with <popular device> are more likely to show up higher in the search results.
My old(ish) macbook has run out of storage, so I bought an external USB drive. I have installed mac OSX onto it and it is now my main boot drive. I fear the drive USB may come out occasionally given that the macbook is a portable device. Is there anything which can physically keep / lock the USB in place to eliminate this threat?
\n", "Title": "How to keep / lock USB in place", "Tags": "|laptop|usb|", "Answer": "You might try what's described in this video.
\n\nBasically what he does is bend the \"retention pins\" inside the female end of the USB port so that the male plug is held in more firmly.
\n\nI'm not sure if your \"USB drive\" is a \"stick\" that just plugs in, or a short cable with a portable HDD on the end.
\n\nIf it is a portable hard drive with a cable, (see image) you could do what user NZKshatriya suggested in a previous question and \"just use double sided tape or velcro, and attach them to the lid of the laptop.\".
\n\nSo in conclusion, the two best options I think you have are:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/bF9Uw.jpg\")
I am looking for a decent cooler for my i7 6700k. I have not bought the CPU yet. So, if there is a (not that great at terminology) ATX sized cooler that is ~<60 dollars, that would be great.
\n\nUnless, of course, the 6700k already has a stock cooler. Please only tell me if it has stock if you have bought it. I have read multiple sites saying it does and doesnt. Pictures would be awesome.
\n\nI'm not overclocking, and playing games like Minecraft, FSX, Kerbal Space Program, and Planet Coaster. Also, I use Sony Vegas Pro 14 for video editing and rendering.
\n\nNoise is not an issue for me since I'm using headphones.
\n\nThanks!
\n\nEdit: thanks to commenters for suggestions.
\n", "Title": "Intel i7 6700k cooler", "Tags": "|cooling|processor|", "Answer": "Since you are not looking to overclock or anything save yourself a few bucks and go with the I7-6700 Retail Box I7-6700 on Amazon.
\n\nFan verification based on model from Intel. It is said to include Thermal Solution - E973979. Link for Picture
\n\nIf you decide you want to go with a i7-6700K you have two options
\n\nFan cool it and never plan on overclocking us a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO.
\n\nWater cool it with a Corsair Hyrdo H60 and give yourself flexibility on being able to overclock in the future and stay in your budget.
\n\nIn the end, there is no need to spend the extra money on the \"K\" version of the CPU to begin with if you are not going to overclock
\n" }, { "Id": "6541", "CreationDate": "2016-12-27T17:42:07.947", "Body": "I have an older Logitech 5.1 speaker system for my computer that uses 3x3.5mm plugs for input. All of my newer computers only have a single 3.5mm output that handles 5.1 + voice (apparently I was mistaken, this is not possible). What kind of converter can I use to funnel all three of those speaker inputs into a single output?
Edits based on comments:
\n\nThe other answer's suggestion is a bit expensive for my taste (with several hundred dollar).
\nSo I can recommend the soundcard I'm using myself to power my 5.1 speaker system. However you don't really need all the features so instead I'm gonna recommend the functionally largely equivalent, but cheaper version:
\nOn Amazon.com and on the official website.
\nFor the relevant I/O it features 3x 3.5mm jack output for your speakers as well as S/PDIF. The audio processor seems to be just slightly worse than that of my card but should still do a good job. Not that I don't know whether Dolby Live (a driver technology to dolby digital encode the system audio on the fly so you can squeeze the data into the bandwith limit) is a thing for the U5 so you may not be able to use more than two speakers over SPDIF.
\nOS compatibility is a given and it will work with all Windows and OS X / macOS versions (at least down to Win7).
\nIf you're feeling fancy you could also go with the Xonar U7 however then you'd have to look out for the fact that left and right have RCA instead of 3.5mm jack output (but the bundled software seems to be better with the U7).
\n" }, { "Id": "6544", "CreationDate": "2016-12-28T01:40:49.470", "Body": "I have a somewhat old Dell Precision T7500 desktop with this 64-bit Intel Xeon CPU: http://ark.intel.com/products/48768
\n\nI have been thinking about upgrading this CPU to an Intel i7 CPU.
\n\nIt looks like this CPU corresponds to this one at cpu-upgrade.com:\nhttp://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Xeon/E5645.html
\n\nOn the right side of above page at cpu-upgrade.com is a link to a \"Intel X58 Express\" page (under \"Intel Xeon E5645 chipset compatibility\"). This link leads to this page: \nhttp://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-Intel_(chipsets)/X58_Express.html
\n\nAbove page lists some i7 CPU's as compatible with the chipset on this motherboard.
\n\nI have two questions I wanted to ask:
\n\nSockets are the answer. Generally, modern intel CPUs use sockets in the LGA 11xx format. I don't know what your CPU uses for it's socket, but before you ask: no, you cannot get socket adapters for cpus. If the sockets aren't compatible, you need a new motherboard, and maybe more.
\n\nThe socket type should be silkscreened onto the motherboard somewhere.
\n\nRead the top comment on this answer for a bit more info.
\n" }, { "Id": "6549", "CreationDate": "2016-12-28T21:21:44.510", "Body": "The model of the TV I've got is kind of old, but is pretty big and I'd like to watch movies on it, played from the computer. I'm not a specialist, but does any of you guys have any experience with this situation?
\n", "Title": "My TV only has SCART connector, how can I hook it to my computer?", "Tags": "|television|video-adapters|", "Answer": "You could use a HDMI to SCART converter like this one.
\n\nOperation is fairly simple, you take the HDMI output from your computer and plug it into the HDMI input on the converter, then plug your TV's SCART cable into the SCART output on the converter.
\n\nSince your computer has a VGA output, add a VGA to HDMI converter like this one.
\n\nVGA output -> VGA to HDMI converter -> SCART Converter -> TV input.
\n\nYou will probably need to match the output resolution with the resolution of your TV.
\n" }, { "Id": "6551", "CreationDate": "2016-12-28T23:55:57.737", "Body": "I have been moving my DVD collection to a 2 TB external hard drive, and I was wondering what my options are for viewing the media. I am not particularly interested in streaming the content since my internet is not great, but I would like to be able to view the shows and movies on my main TV. One of the most important things is that I want the media to be organized nicely. So, thumbnails, descriptions (and other meta data), and TV shows ordered my season and episode. A remote would also be nice, but if it can be controlled from an android phone that would be okay too. For the ports HDMI and USB 3.0 are optimal. Is there something that is rather inexpensive ($100 or less) that can do this?
\n", "Title": "Device to view TV shows and movies stored on a hard drive in an organized manner", "Tags": "|television|smart-device|", "Answer": "Like BigElittles, I'm a Plex fan, and my current preferred method for viewing my own videos and photos is Plex-through-Amazon-Firestick. If I had a smart TV (w/web browser), I may have accessed Plex via the web interface - I have Plex running as a service on my home server.
\n\nI also use Kodi; it's possibly more expandable than Plex, but certainly I think Plex is the more polished of the two.
\n\nPrior to this, I used a Western Digital WDTV box and an AC Ryan Playon HD Mini - both essentially the same thing: a little box that connects to your network, and/or local storage and plugs directly into your TV. Out of the two, I preferred the WDTV box. Most of these devices have a fully functional remote, rather than the simplified remotes that come with the Firestick/Chromecast. Roku 3 is the current offering from the supposed 'market leader'; I don't have any experience of these, but they are well liked and respected.
\n\nGiven the rise of Plex/Kodi & Firesticks/Chromecast, these Media Players are falling out of favour, so should be fairly cheap to pick up. In fact, I still have both of mine, because the resale value of them is so little.
\n\nFurthermore, unlike Firesticks\\Chromecasts and the like, they don't require a computer/server/NAS to provide access to your external hard drive. You connect your TV to the media player and your external disk to the media player and you are up and running.
\n" }, { "Id": "6581", "CreationDate": "2017-01-03T00:13:28.600", "Body": "I have an ancient hard drive from an old HP laptop. I haven't looked at it in years. But now I want to get the old data off that hard drive. I have been to all of my local electronics shops but none of them sell an adapter that fits my hard drive.
\n\nDoes anyone know of a SATA-like adapter that will allow me to pull my old data off via USB or something?
\n\nHere are some specs from the Model number:\nGeneral Product Information:
\n\nManufacturer: Fujitsu
\n\nManufacturer Website: www.Fujitsu.com
\n\nManufacturer Part No: MHV2120BH
\n\nProduct Type: Internal Hard Drive
\n\nProduct Specifications:
\n\nStorage Capacity: 120GB
\n\nSpindle Speed: 5400RPM
\n\nDrive Interface: SATA 1.5Gbps
\n\nForm Factor: 2.5Inch
\n\nCache: 8MB
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/kgSaA.jpg\")
Holding the hard drive.
\n\n![\"FemalePiece\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/A1YzL.jpg\")
Picture of the female piece. This is what I pulled the hard drive out of.
\n", "Title": "What hard drive connector is this?", "Tags": "|laptop|hard-disk|sata|", "Answer": "I originally posted this article on: HP laptop/MHV2120BH HDD as a comment.
\n\nIt turns out that the correct connection is/was always there. There was an adapter fitted over the SATA connector, for use with HPs internal connector.
\n\nAm re-posting as an answer in order for others to find more easily.
\n" }, { "Id": "6585", "CreationDate": "2017-01-03T10:51:49.890", "Body": "I'm currently looking for a new monitor for gaming and watching movies.
\n\nThe resolution should be WQHD (2560x1440) or WQXGA (2560x1600) as I fear that with a 4k monitor my GTX1070 graphics card would hit the limit on newer games to soon.
\n\nThe size should be between 24\" and 27\". I don't have enough space on my desk for a bigger or ultra wide screen.
\n\nThe monitor should have an IPS panel, because I usually lie on my bed when watching movies. So the viewing angles of TN panels would be problematic.
\n\nI don't have an specific requirements for the refresh rate. 60Hz will be enough, but more wouldn't hurt either.
\n\nThe monitor must have at least 2 connectors. One HDMI and one Display Port would be optimal, but an other configuration shouldn't be a problem with adapters.
\n\nAs I don't do any image or video editing, I have no special requirements for the color space.
\n\nG-Sync sound nice, but as I usually don't play many fast paced games, it isn't a requirement.
\n\nAlso integrated speakers would be a plus, but are not necessary.
\n\nMy biggest concern:\nFor basically every monitor I've look at so far, there are lots of reviews (on Amazon) from customers that have problems with backlight bleeding or uneven backlighting.\nAre there any ways of reducing the chance to get a monitor with these problems, or monitors that fit my requirements and are known to rarely have these problems?
\n\nMy price limit is 900 \u20ac.\nBut if there are offers for slightly more, that guarantee not backlight bleeding and no dead pixels that might be ok too.
\n\nPreviously there was a hardware dealer who offered a zero backlight bleeding and zero dead pixel guarantee for an additional 200 \u20ac, but unfortunately that dealer went out of business some time ago, and I haven't found an other one with such an offer.
\n", "Title": "1440p (WQHD) monitor with an IPS panel", "Tags": "|gaming|monitors|", "Answer": "You might take a look at this: Dell U2715H 27-Inch Widescreen IPS LED Monitor on Amazon.co.uk for \u00a3394.93
\n\nFits your requirements:
\n\nThe average review for this screen on Amazon.co.uk is 4.6/5, which isn't too bad. The average is 4.4/5 on Amazon.com.
\n\nOne review on the .co.uk site does mention dead pixels however, I wouldn't be too concerned since the majority of reviews expressed satisfaction with the performance/quality of the display.
\n" }, { "Id": "6587", "CreationDate": "2017-01-03T13:22:13.133", "Body": "There are two I am seriously considering, Logitech UE 4500 and Logitech Artemis G933, but I have no idea how to compare them.
\n\nThe reason I like logitech is because I want their universal receiver. So basically I want one universal receiver for keyboard, mouse, and headphones. I do not want a bluetooth one (as another mode is okay). Quality of bluetooth sound is not good.
\n\nI prefer the one using real batteries rather than something you can charge. The purpose is for gaming.
\n\nWhich one should I choose?
\n\nPrice should be around $200. The cheaper the better. However, if there is a better feature on more expensive one please tell me and I may consider.
\n\nFor some reason logitech doesn't list ue 4500 at all on it's website. I wonder why.
\n", "Title": "Recommend me a wireless logitech headset", "Tags": "|headset|", "Answer": "A quick search via newegg.com yields the following results:
\n\n\n\nPro-G audio & 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound\nAdjustable lighting up to 16.8 million colors\nFlexible wireless or wired connection up to 12-hour battery life\nFoldaway noise-cancelling mic\nWireless type: RF
\n\nPrice: 169.99
\n\nand
\n\n\n\nNoise-canceling microphone\n2.4 GHz wireless\nSix-hour rechargeable battery\nWireless type: RF
\n\nPrice: 50.00
\n" }, { "Id": "6590", "CreationDate": "2017-01-04T03:41:56.717", "Body": "I hope this is the right SE, otherwise I might post it on electrical.
\n\nI am searching for a voltmeter with a digital output, either RS232 or USB. The ones I came around are very costly for my purpose.
\n\nThis is what I do now: To measure the voltage of a lead acid battery I use a Raspberry Pi with a MCP3208 ADC and some resistors. It works, but it is a bit of an overkill for such a simple task in my opinion.
\n\nThe search term \"usb voltmeter\" leads mostly to USB adapters which show the voltage/current of an attached USB device. Which is not what I want or need.
\n\nI don't want to pay more than 50 \u20ac, as you can get the RPi for less.
\n\nAlthough not critical, a small device would be preferred.
\n", "Title": "Voltmeter with USB/RS232", "Tags": "|usb|test-equipment|", "Answer": "Below you will find a link to a device that has only 1 review but it is a good review. I made the assumption that you are in or near the UK since you requested the price in Euros. It does require software to be installed on the computer though.
\n\nTrue RMS Multimeter @ Amazon UK \u00a344.99
\n\nLower price True RMS Multimeter @ Ebay \u00a339.99 Including Shipping
\n\nBonus: This is a True RMS meter too.
\n\nI did find a more in depth review on this specific meter Here.
\n\nUniversal power supply @ Amazon UK for constant power. \u00a38.79
\n\nLower price 9V Power Supply @ Ebay \u00a31.53 Including Shipping
\n\nGoogle currency conversion BP to Euro 48.83\u20ac As of 01/04/2017 if you use the lesser priced options and give up the Amazon luxuries.
\n" }, { "Id": "6602", "CreationDate": "2017-01-05T22:27:03.983", "Body": "I need to fit a fully-functioning mobo with an LGA1151 cpu socket and a PCI-E x16 slot for my gpu and at least 2 RAM slots in a 11 x 5.5 x 7 case. It also has to have a maximum RAM capacity of at least 32GB. No need for fancy stuff like LED controllers or anything though. Just the bare functional basics, because it will be in a very closed off case, so it doesn't need to look nice at all. Does anyone know of a 1: Very small but full-featured motherboard, or 2: a company that would be willing to manufacture 1-2 motherboards of a very small size for a couple hundred dollars. Any other options would also help, but those are the main 2 things I'd be looking for. My budget per board is around $250, give or take a bit.
\n\nEDIT: I've read around a bit, and I've figured out that it will probably be way too much money to make a mobo, but what about modding an already made one?
\n", "Title": "Tiny motherboard with full functionality?", "Tags": "|motherboard|mini-pc|", "Answer": "To translate your dimensions into normal terms, you're looking for a Mini-ITX (or Mini-DTX) board.
\n\nI'd recommend the Asus H110I-PLUS/CSM, $86 from Newegg:
\n\nThe chipset and voltage regulators are passively cooled with small heatsinks, which may or may not be a problem for a \"very closed off case\".
\n\nI don't have any experience with this particular product, but I've had good luck with Asus mainboards in the past.
\n\nHere is a Wikipedia link to form factor sizes for reference. This can provide you all the options for size options that are offered based on size standards. Keep in mind that anything smaller than Mini-ITX is unlikely to have a PCIe slot, and is likely to have just a single SO-DIMM slot for memory.
\n" }, { "Id": "6624", "CreationDate": "2017-01-08T05:21:24.007", "Body": "I'm looking for a compact mATX case for a NAS system. One that I can stick in a corner somewhere and forget about (figuratively).
\n\nI have done some research into this, but all results I found that were less than 50 USD only had three or fewer drive bays. I found a few mATX cases with four 3.5\" bays, but they were out of my budget range.
\n\nNecessary Requirements:
\n\nOptional, but would be nice:
\n\nAny suggestions?
\n\nThanks!
\n", "Title": "Compact mATX case for NAS system with four 3.5\" drives", "Tags": "|case|", "Answer": "I cannot find a cube style but the following did come across as a good option.
\n\nSilverStone PS08B @ Newegg 39.99
\n\nSilverStone PS08B @ Amazon(prime eligible) 39.99
\n\nJust posted the Newegg link along with the Amazon link, due to the fact that Newegg is much better with item specifications....and power searches...than Amazon is.
\n\nJust a few specs on the case:
\n2 x USB 3.0 / Audio Front Ports
Side Air duct
\n\n2 External 5.25\" Drive Bays
\n\n4 Internal 3.5\" Drive Bays
\n" }, { "Id": "6627", "CreationDate": "2017-01-08T18:00:33.617", "Body": "I hope that I can get a solution for my issue.
\n\nI have two computers:
\n\nOne is an AsusN56VJ laptop, a little bit old:
\n\nThe configuration is:
\n\nMy second computer is a PackardBell desktop:
\n\nSo what I want is to buy a new computer, but I hesitate between a laptop and a desktop because I have those two computers.
\n\nWhat should I do? Because I want a computer which can run 2016 games and do some programming stuff, I see that I can't upgrade my desktop on the contrary of my laptop where I can upgrade to 32 of RAM at 1600 MHz and a new SSD.
\n\nI'm asking if it is a wise choice to upgrade a my laptop to 16 GB of RAM knowing that I have a processor with only 2 physical cores.
\n\nIf you were in my place, what would you do? I have between 800 and 1000 dollar.
\n", "Title": "Should I upgrade my computer?", "Tags": "|memory|ssd|processor|", "Answer": "I would go with a desktop build like this.
\n\nIt is on a Z170a chipset, which will allow you to overclock if you decide to upgrade to a K series skylake or kabylake CPU. The cooler should accommodate a reasonable overclock.
\n\nWith the z170a SLI plus, you can use 2 way SLI or 3 way crossfire if you have compatible GPUs. The GTX 1060 should easily tackle most 2016 games.
\n\n2 drives: a SSD for boot and for software that you need to access quickly (like games) and a 1TB HDD for storing files.
\n\nSpecs/Parts are as follows:
\n\n-CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz ($118.98 @ Amazon)
\n\n-CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO ($34.99 @ Amazon)
\n\n-Motherboard: MSI Z170A SLI PLUS ($135.95 @ Amazon)
\n\n-Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 ($49.99 @ Amazon)
\n\n-Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5\" SSD ($89.99 @ Amazon)
\n\n-Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5\" ($49.99 @ Amazon)
\n\n-Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 2GB ($116.99 @ Amazon)
\n\n-Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ Amazon)
\n\n-Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($90.72 @ Amazon)
\n\n-Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ($43.46 @ Amazon)
\n\n--
\n\nYou can upgrade your laptop from 6GB to 16GB of RAM, but I would only do this if I needed the extra RAM. Having extra RAM isn't going to make a difference in performance you aren't said extra RAM.
\n\n\n\n\nI'm asking if it is a wise choice to upgrade a my laptop to 16 GB of RAM knowing that I have a processor with only 2 physical cores.
\n
In response to that, core count doesn't necessarily mean you can't use more RAM. You should be able to utilize as much RAM as the manufacturer says is supported.The i5 3230M supports up to 32GB of RAM, but I believe this is limited to 16GB in your laptop (due to chipset limitations?). Furthermore, your laptop's i5 3230M is dual core and hyperthreaded. Basically, it's like having four cores.
\n\n--
\n\nIf you feel like you need more RAM for your laptop take a look at something like this:
\n\n\n\n--
\n\nN.B.: I have ommitted shipping charges, since I'm not sure where you need the parts to be shipped (internationally, locally etc...) (also depends on where you order the parts)
\n" }, { "Id": "6629", "CreationDate": "2017-01-09T12:34:30.467", "Body": "Does there exist an ergonomic split keyboard, like this:
\n\n![\"Split](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vioqQ.jpg\")
But where the keys don't stop at the 'official' typing boundary. Sometimes I want to type a B with my right hand, and these kinds of keyboards make it infuriating.
\n\nNote that Apple realised split keyboards should have duplicated keys - the iPad split keyboard has (invisible) duplicates:
\n\nAre there any physical keyboards that do the same thing, or at least duplicate the B (it's exactly in the middle on many keyboards and Apple even put it on the right side of their split keyboard)?
\n\n![\"iPad](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JSc0X.png\")
I have a keychron Q10, shown here, and like all "Alice style" keyboards from keychron, it has a duplicate B key.
\n![\"Duplicate](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ta2M7.jpg\")
I'm planning to buy a new laptop since my current PC(Lenovo U430) is kind of slow when it comes to gaming and video editing. My current budget is $1,000 to $1,500, after researching, I'm planning to buy one of these brands: Alienware 13 inch(latest model) or Macbook Pro 13 inch(with retina display) only.Question: Which brand or model should I be buying that is compatible and worth it for a little gaming, graphic design, video editing(no lagging while editing or checking the video preview in After Effects or Premiere Pro) with my current budget? Aliewanre or Macbook?
\n\nHere's the link to Alienware 13 inch list of models: http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/alienware-13-laptop?~ck=mn
\n\nHere's the link to Macbook Pro 13 inch list of models: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?st=macbook+pro+retina+display+13&_dyncharset=UTF-8&id=pcat17071&type=page&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=&sp=&qp=&list=n&af=true&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960&keys=keys
\n\nComment your answer with the link or the brand and specs of the model.
\n\nThank you very much !
\n", "Title": "Alienware or Macbook Pro? Which one is worth it?", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|video-editing|", "Answer": "For overall \"OUT OF THE BOX\" compatibility you are going to be better off going with a PC.
\n\nPerformance wise comparing the two you will get the following benefits of the base model Alienware laptop over the MacBook.
\n\n1) Faster Processor
\n\n2) Larger HDD
\n\n3) Much better video card (the MacBook only has Intel Iris integrated video)
\n\n4) $100 Less expensive with reward card rebate
\n\nAll of these items are using the base model Alienware laptop that you provided a link for. With the extra money you could add some more power or featurs or move up the next model.
\n" }, { "Id": "6672", "CreationDate": "2017-01-17T18:08:20.340", "Body": "I am preparing to build a new tower, the first in a long time, and am aiming for it to be a \"baseline\" for upgrades for a long time.
\n\nIt will be used with a dual boot Windows 7 / Debian, Windows for gaming and Debian for everyday tasks (multimedia) and programming (nothing CPU intensive yet).
\n\nThe goal is to have it built for a relatively low price, performance be damned now if must be since I don't have a lot of PC games yet, but I value the future proofing above all.
\n\nI am hesitating between three processor, the difference in price is not that huge, but the sockets are different, and I'd like to know that when time's come, I ll not have to buy a new motherboard with the next processor too because I have choosen the wrong socket.
\nI'd also would like to have the more bang for my buck, since I am on a tigh budget for my ambitions.
EDIT:
\n\nTo clarify a few point, my main worry is to, in some year when the processor will start to get old, have to change the motherboard with it because of a change of socket, followed by changing something else because X is not compatible with the new motherboard, and things cascading in buying almost a new PC.
\nI am also not in a hurry, so if the release date of a new socket type that will be supported longer is scheduled for soon (<1year), I am also comfortable waiting for it.
I suggest you to read these articles: for 2011-v3 successor\nhttp://wccftech.com/intel-x299-chipset-skylake-x-kaby-lake-x/ and for 1151 successor\nhttp://wccftech.com/intel-cannonlake-cpu-300-motherboards-2017/
\n\nThey clearly explain that the x99 / 2011-v3 socket and x200 / 1151 won't last more than few months, since it's almost certain that intel won't support them with newer cpus (skylake-x and cannonlake/coffelake).
\n\nSince you repeated a lot the word FUTURE I have to say that you have chosen sockets/chipset that won't be upgraded anymore by Intel with newer CPU.
\n\nSo one option is to buy something NOW, and I suggest to choose the 2011-v3 platform with the right motherboard because you are sure that can buy now a Core i7-5820K (3.3GHz, L3:15M, 6C, HT, 140W, rev.R2) and in the future update it to a, for example, Intel Xeon E5-2687W-v4 (3.0G,160W,L3:30M,12C,HT) with less money than today (also selling your first CPU).
\n\nThe other option is to wait for the next first next platform between X299 or cannonlake/coffelake chipset 300 and you will be sure that for other 2 generations of processors you will be able to upgrade them. I would suggest cannonlake cpu that will be also 6/8 cores (plus HT) instead of the top cpu of 1151 that is only 4 cores (plus HT). Sadly my last phrase has no direct support from leaked slides (see: http://wccftech.com/intel-roadmap-kaby-lake-coffee-lake-cannonlake-leak/ and: http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/09/14/exclusive-the-secret-of-intel-corporations-coffee.aspx ) so it could be taken as a speculation.
\n\nTake into account also that this year AMD will show ZEN CPU and in function of the real value/performance of the platform I think that INTEL will be forced, or not, to push to an higher rate of cores on mainstream cpu sector
\n" }, { "Id": "6690", "CreationDate": "2017-01-20T09:54:44.860", "Body": "Im looking for compact wireless keyboard with trackball that would work with 12 or 14 Ubuntu. Ive searched on Q&A forums and didnt get answer ecxept most of them wouldnt work at all.
\n\nFor example i was looking for something like that http://www.trust.com/en/product/17911-adura-wireless-multimedia-keyboard
\n", "Title": "Ubuntu compatible wireless trackball keyboard", "Tags": "|keyboards|ubuntu|", "Answer": "I have found a list of ELinux compatible keyboards Here there are quite a few with trackballs to choose from.
\n\nSpecifically the LC-Power K1000BMW has been tested with Debian 6.0.04
\n\nI have also found that the Emprex 9039ARF III has customer reviews that confirm its functionality in Ubuntu Squeeze as well as another version of linux that the customer did not specify
\n\nLastly and probably your best option is the IOGear 2.4GHz as I was able to find CONFIRMED customer interaction specifically for Ubuntu compatibility.
\n" }, { "Id": "6693", "CreationDate": "2017-01-21T08:34:41.660", "Body": "I'm building my first Gaming computer, and I need some help deciding which case to get for my motherboard of choice. The motherboard I have chosen is the MSI Z270 Series Gaming Motherboard (link). The problem I face, is that I don't know which case would fit this motherboard nicely. I don't want to buy a case that doesn't allow me to fit my motherboard. I do know that the motherboard is ATX, so that means I need an ATX case, right?
\n\nThe case that I am looking for should contain the following:
\n\nI'm looking to spend around $100-$120 on a case.
\n\nAny suggestions?
\n", "Title": "PC Chassis for MSI Motherboard?", "Tags": "|motherboard|case|", "Answer": "You might take a look at the NZXT Source 530.
\n\nIt fits all of your requirements:
\n\nIt also has a few nice features such as:
\n\nSo I use this USB to Sata + Power converter to hook up drives to my laptop like so.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/HEslim.jpg\")
It works for hard drives but not cd drives.\nI would like to be able to hot swap the same drive between a desktop and laptop.
\n\nIs there one for CD drives so it can be hot swapped between sata and usb?
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/b43W5m.jpg\")
It appears that this isn't possible. So I tested the device I bought below and it doesn't work with cd drives. I am not sure why.
\n\nThis appears to work but only works on the laptop cd drives. Which means the power would be a problem on a desktop computer.
\n\nUSB 2.0 to 7+6 13Pin Slimline SATA Laptop CD/DVD Rom Optical Drive Adapter Cable Black/White
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "6720", "CreationDate": "2017-01-25T15:13:32.413", "Body": "My employer intends to purchase a laptop for me in the USA, then send it to me in South Africa. I've read that the GTX 10 series cards have desktop level performance even on laptops.
\n\nI've asked around, and Dell is really the only supplier that will support the laptop internationally.. i.e. I won't need to ship it all the way back to the USA if I need repairs.
\n\nI've looked at local suppliers that have MSI and ASUS laptops with GTX1080's too.. but they are very bulky and look like too much like gaming rigs (which they are). This new alienware range actually looks a little more conservative and they're slimmer than the other gaming rigs. Ultimately the looks don't matter though. It's just a small consideration.
\n\nNote: This isn't for gaming - it's for design work.. with a preference for fast render times in a laptop (I will be travelling a lot).
\n\nI've been looking at the Alienware 17 R4 laptop:
\n\nIt's a 17inch UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS screen - so the color accuracy should be decent. It contains a GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 Also it has: 7th Generation Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 i7-7820HK (Quad-Core, 8MB Cache, Overclocking up to 4.4GHz )
\n\nThere are 2 more expensive Alienware 17 configurations that have GTX 1080s, but they have TN panels.. so I'm leaning toward this IPS one. I intend to max out the RAM and take 3 years of Premium support and accident cover.. so the total cost comes to about $3100
\n\nSo with that budget in mind.. there's also the whole precision line from Dell.
\n\nThe New Precision 5520
\n\nIt's 15inch UltraSharp UHD IGZO (3840x2160) Touch Wide View LED-backlit with PremiumPanel Guarantee - so I guess this might be an even better screen.
\n\nIf I select specs like the highest end processor: Intel Core Xeon E3-1505M v6 (Quad Core Xeon 3.00GHz, 4.00GHz Turbo, 8MB 45W, w/Intel HD Graphics 630 32GB Ram, add the same HDD's as the alienware etc..
\n\nThe price comes to 3,014.90 (so basically the same as Alienware)
\n\nThe Graphics card difference would be that this has a Nvidia Quadro M1200 w/4GB GDDR5
\n\nSo which of these 2 laptops do you think would render and work better in blender?
\n\nI don't do big complex scenes.. it's mostly simple product packaging and bottles.. some glass.. sometimes a simple area to display items like a table with light streaming in from a side window.. wooden surface sometimes. But nothing crazy. I do need to do A LOT of renders though.. so we need something snappy.
\n\nThank you!!
\n", "Title": "Which Dell laptop is best for rendering - Alienware with a GTX 1070 or a Precision with Quadro?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Just to get a level of comparison:
\n\nThe professional (workstation) videocards in the Nvidia family have usually the 1000 / 2000 / 3000 / 4000 / 5000 numbers, prefixed by the generation letter. They correspond to X40 / X50 / X60 / X70 / X80 of the consummer editions.\nSo, for example, M5000M is roughly equivalent of the 980M.
\n\nFollowing the same logic, the newer Nvidia GTX 1070 will have as equivalent Nvidia Quadro P4000M.
\n\nBut from the 9xx line to the 10xx line the jump was fantastic. For example 1060 is a something between the previous 970 and 980, while taking less power.
\n\nSo what you are comparing here (M1200) to GTX 1070M is like comparing 1040 to 1070. You say what? There's no GTX 1040? Yes, you're right, that's how low that video card is.
\n\nYou simply cannot compare them. So, if what you need is video processing power, there's no question.
\n" }, { "Id": "6725", "CreationDate": "2017-01-26T10:17:55.220", "Body": "I need to upgrade my RAM. There are two slots. One of them is empty and the other one contains a RAM with the following spec:
\n\n\n\n\n4GB DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz
\n
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/3ubve.jpg\")
I am going to add another 4GB RAM to the empty slot. How can I make sure the other RAM I buy is compatible with this one and my motherboard? Here's my system info:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/RIjvA.jpg\")
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/P8gke.jpg\")
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vhTrh.jpg\")
You already had the exact way to find which DIMMs to use, you just didn't know it.
\n\nGo to whichever site you prefer to use to buy PC components, and search for DDR3 PC3-12800 1600Mhz, make sure to specify SODIMM (laptops) or DIMM (Desktops)
\n\nIf you would like a recommendation: I would suggest G.SKILL F3-12800CL11S-4GBSQ
\n\nReasons being: This is a standard SO-DIMM for laptops. 27 USD on newegg, lifetime warranty from the manufacturer (I have been using G.Skill for over 10 years, only had one bad DIMM in a matching set, followed their RMA steps and had my replacement very quickly)
\n" }, { "Id": "6747", "CreationDate": "2017-01-30T02:11:32.673", "Body": "I got a Samsung 6290 UHD (4k) HDR display that accepts only HDMI input.
\n\nI have a Gigabyte GA-H77M-D3H rev. 1.1 motherboard with an Intel i3-3225 CPU. Specs say, \"The PCIEX16 slot conforms to PCI Express 3.0 standard. Whether PCI Express 3.0 is supported depends on CPU and graphics card compatibility.\" Native motherboard graphics support only runs to 1920x1080 resolution.
\n\nI run Win7x64 and I don't do any gaming, so frame rates are irrelevant to me. (This workstation is for business and development. So it typical runs a database, dev environment, photo editors, and scores of browser instances.)
\n\nI want a no-frills graphics card that will support one HDMI 3840x2160 output and take advantage of HDR (which I imagine means 30- or 36-bit color?). Aside from those specs, quiet and stable operation, followed by price, are my primary considerations. What should I buy?
\n", "Title": "Graphics card to support UHD (4k) HDR screen over HDMI", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|4k|", "Answer": "Actually, you don't necessarily need to upgrade the CPU. A PCIe 3.0 card will work in a PCIe 2.0 slot. However, you may experience slightly decreased performance. You mentioned that frame rates were irrelevant, so PCIe 2.0 shouldn't be an issue.
\n\nIf you do want to upgrade to a CPU that explicitly supports PCIe 3.0, one of the most inexpensive options is going to be something like a i5-3340. Which will be a modest upgrade from your i3 3225.
\n\nAs for a GPU I believe you will need something that uses the Maxwell or Pascal architecture for HDR (assuming you want to go with nVidia).
\n\nThe GTX 1050 looks like a good option...
\n\nIn conclusion:
\n\nGo with the GTX 1050 and use it in a PCIe 2.0 slot. Can be found on Amazon for $110 or on Newegg also for $110.
Or go with the GTX 1050 with an i5-3340 (if you would like to use PCIe 3.0, but it's not absolutely necessary). You can find the i5-3340 on Amazon for $175.
As a bit of a side note... You mentioned a \"no-frills\" GPU. I'm not sure that's really going to be addressable since you will need a fairly modern Maxwell or Pascal GPU for HDR support.
\n" }, { "Id": "6752", "CreationDate": "2017-01-30T20:43:35.263", "Body": "I'm building an extra PC, and for now I need purchase only a combo of motherboard + processor + memory.
\n\n(I know 4Gb RAM is low memory, I want later add more 4Gb RAM)
\n\nSo, I did a research and I got the Configuration 01:
\nProcessor: A4-7300 FM2
\nMotherboard: AMD FM2A58M-VG3+
\nMemory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz
\nTotal: $ 145,00 USD
The Configuration 2 is:
\nProcessor: Athlon 5150 AM1
\nMotherboard: ASRockAM1B-MH
\nMemory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz
\nTotal: $ 135,00 USD
and finally, the Configuration 3:
\nProcessor: Pentium Dual Core G4400 LGA1151
\nMotherboard: ASRockH110M-HG4
\nMemory: 4GB DDR4 2400MHZ
\nTotal: $ 215,00 USD
EDIT: Too broad?
\nReally, really simple question then:\nWhat of that 3 configurations have the best cost-benefit (considering what I'll be using them for) and why?
Operational System:
\nWindows 10 AU
Games (can be played at minimum level of graphics):
\nHearthstone, League Of Legends, Stacraft 2
Applications:
\nVisual Studio 2017, Sql Server 2016, Bluestacks, LibreOffice
Rarely used:
\nSome VM like VirtualBox or VMWare
AM1 is not the best for gaming due to being an older technology with less capable CPUs, FM2 is newer. Personally, I'd go with the FM2 system, it is a more powerful CPU, and has built in graphics capability. It also meets the minimum CPU speed and graphics requirements for the games you have listed. Though it will likely not be able to handle cutting edge gaming at max settings, without major upgrades.
\n" }, { "Id": "6755", "CreationDate": "2017-01-31T12:07:28.370", "Body": "I have found Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim 1TB but there are enough users reported about the bad experience. After some weeks it doesn't work anymore.
\nMax 10 mm because I want it to use this external HDD with my notebook and transport it together in the same bag.
\nIt it for a MacBook Pro 13 from 2015. I prefer USB 3.0, but could accept Thunderbolt 2.
\n", "Title": "External HDD. Very slim. Max 10 mm. 1-2 TB", "Tags": "|hard-disk|", "Answer": "Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB Portable External Hard Drive for Mac USB 3.0 Seems to meet your requirements. Its slim, coming in at 9.6mm tall.
\n\nI tried finding an SSD solution for you, but nothing would fit in that form factor. If your willing to settle on 512GB, I would recommend the AngleBird SSD2go, it is smaller... and substantially faster than any HDD.
\n\nThe Seagate drive is a USB 3.0, and the Anglefire is USB 3.1 Gen2 10Gbit/s.
\nThese are my suggestions, I hope they help.
We need a PC in our office to plug external hard disks and copy content in to local hard disk. 5 to 10 people will do it daily basis. This PC will not use for anything else. I am willing to configure PC cheapest as possible. I don't exactly know which is more important for coping files CPU or RAM beside USB 3 Hub + Internal HDD of course. But they are pretty standard.
\n\n-Cheapest CPU i can find can do the job?
\n\n-4GB memory will be enough?
\n\n-To cut on my budget which one i should sacrifice CPU or RAM.
\n\nHere a sample configuration i made:
\n\nThe two bottlenecks of file copying are transfering from the external hard drive, and writing to the internal drive. Everything else in a modern computer is much, much faster than the drives.
\n\nMy recommendation is that you go to a local store and buy the cheapest computer you can find that has one or more USB 3 ports (USB 2 is roughly the same speed as a hard drive; going with USB 3 will eliminate the connection as a potential bottleneck).
\n\nWhen it comes to cheap computers, pre-built almost invariably costs less than building it yourself, unless you've got parts from another computer that you can re-use.
\n" }, { "Id": "6786", "CreationDate": "2017-02-06T00:06:48.463", "Body": "I'm thinking about getting a couple inexpensive PCI cards that will let me plug in any SATA drive into some 10-15 year old PCs.
\n\nOne is an old Compaq Presario 5300 US with a 1.1 GHz Intel Celeron processor and I think 512 MB RAM.
\n\nI don't know what the other is but it's probably similar in specs. (EDIT: It has an 800 MHz AMD Duron processor, 512 MB RAM, and the initial boot screen shows American Megatrends VIA K7 GA7VMM01.)
\n\nBoth have had IDE hard drives plugged into them their whole lives and the motherboards have no support for SATA drives.
\n\nI can run a basic Debian Jessie 32-bit install on them among other things.
\n\nI was thinking about setting one up as a file server or as a backup server that does nothing more than pull from other computers and hold the data on a local 2 TB or 4 TB hard drive, but the drives I have that large are all SATA drives.
\n\nI would appreciate recommendations on an inexpensive PCI card that will enable me to use a SATA drive, including addressing the full 2/4TB.
\n", "Title": "PCI SATA cards for old tower PCs", "Tags": "|linux|pc|hard-disk|sata|", "Answer": "I'd recommend the SYBA SD-VIA-1A2S PCI card, $15 from Newegg.
\n\nIt provides two SATA I ports, is universal PCI, and supports Linux. It's got LBA-48 support, so it will work with drives larger than 137 GB, and should work with drives larger than 2 TB. If you need it, it supports booting from attached hard drives (but not attached optical drives).
\n\nI don't have any experience with this card, but it's got good reviews on Newegg, including some from people using it to add SATA ports to older computers.
\n" }, { "Id": "6828", "CreationDate": "2017-02-12T20:17:09.520", "Body": "I used to have a Mophie Pack for my iPhone 5. It was a charging case that plugged into Apple's Lightning cables. But I just got an iPhone 7, and it seems that all the charging cases available for it, both by Mophie and by other companies, plug into micro-USB cables, i.e. the kind of cables used to charge Android devices.
\n\nSo my question is, are there any iPhone 7 charging cases that plug into Lightning cables? That would be much more convenient for me.
\n", "Title": "An iPhone 7 charging case which plugs into Lightning cables", "Tags": "|smartphones|power-bank|", "Answer": "I found This Runsy iPhone 7 case It looks like it uses a lightning passthough, so you won't need to carry a pesky micro usb cable around. The only limitation is that it does not work with headphones with lightning connectors.
\n\nOverall, it has a 4 out of 5 star review. Let me know if this fits the bill.
\n" }, { "Id": "6843", "CreationDate": "2017-02-14T00:38:50.283", "Body": "So I have gone through a lot of cheapo headphones because the headphones blow out.\nAre there headphones that can't be blown out?
\n\nI would like them to fit in a pocket and not be like the big ones that go on your head. I'm using the earbuds with an android phone.
\n\nEDIT: So I determined the 3.5mm was wearing out on the cheap headphones I was buying.
\n", "Title": "Headphones you can't blow out", "Tags": "|headphones|", "Answer": "To answer your question: No, there are no headphones(over the ear, on the ear, earbuds) in existence that cannot be: Blown out, have their speaker components damaged over time from being played at maximum output.
\n\nThe same goes for high end speaker systems. Running a speaker system at full blast puts stress on all components, which will lead to parts needing to be replaced.
\n" }, { "Id": "6853", "CreationDate": "2017-02-15T14:56:15.657", "Body": "Setup:
\n\nI have 350$ budget, but this is only an upper limit.
\n\nI was thinking about Nvidia 1060, 6GB.
\n\nI'll use it for casual gaming, would like to run the new games on high res for 1-2 years.
\n", "Title": "Recommend graphics card for setup", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|pc|", "Answer": "Considering your budget of $350, some sort of a non-reference Nvidia GTX 1060 is going to be a pretty good option.
\n\nI personally have a GTX 1060 that I occasionally game on. However, I primarily use it for CUDA. I am quite satisfied with its performance for how much I paid.
\n\nThe GTX 1060 meets your requirements:
\n\nUnder budget of $350
Can play modern games with good quality
In Addition:
\n\nYour PSU meets the recommended PSU wattage. However, you will need a molex to 8 pin PCIe power or a 6 pin PCIe to 8 pin PCIe adapter.
It supports CUDA, if ever you need to use GPU assisted rendering.
In conclusion:
\n\nI would recommend a GTX 1060, such as this Twin Frozr VI from MSI, which you can get for $260 on Amazon or for $275 on Newegg.
\n" }, { "Id": "6862", "CreationDate": "2017-02-15T20:09:18.553", "Body": "I just bought a new case that is made for mini or micro atx motherboards. The Bitfenix Prodigy M.
\n\nAt first, I got an MSI B150M Pro-VD Micro ATX motherboard, and it wasn't ideal because I got a KabyLake processor, and this motherboard requires a bios update for it to use KabyLake. Instead of finding an old cpu, and messing around with all of that, I decided to get a motherboard that was made for KabyLake.
\n\nI ordered an MSI B250M Pro-VDH Micro ATX motherboard.
\n\nEven though these are both Micro ATX motherboards, they are completely different sizes. The second one doesn't fix in the case, as it is much larger. The screw holes don't line up. I thought all Micro ATX motherboards were the same size....if not, what is the difference, and how can I tell?
\n", "Title": "Why are these Micro-ATX motherboards different sizes", "Tags": "|motherboard|case|processor|", "Answer": "To directly answer your question of why they are different sizes, they are different models, and both are within the micro-atx specification.
\n" }, { "Id": "6867", "CreationDate": "2017-02-16T12:30:47.860", "Body": "Does there exist a cable where I can plug two hard drives into the same motherboard's sata slot and with the flip of a switch (between power-offs) switch between these two hard drives (without having to physically unplug anything)?
\n\nI'm not interested in any other solution but the existence of what I'm describing (no USB, eSATA, bios, or bootloader answers please).
\n", "Title": "Internal Hard Drive Switcher", "Tags": "|hard-disk|sata|", "Answer": "In a million years, I would have never thought that this existed. But.. The Sata Switch is a thing. This model, can hold 4 different SATA3 drives. \n ![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/xBCzK.jpg\")
I read the product description and information, and it seems like it will do everything you are looking to do, for the cool price of 79.00.
\n\nLiterally cuts the power from the unused drives, I'm assuming you have to power off/switch HDD/Power on in order to get this to work correctly, but its a pretty cool little device.
\n\nOnly one sata cable goes to your motherboard.
\n" }, { "Id": "6872", "CreationDate": "2017-02-17T09:14:00.330", "Body": "An old software question of mine looks like it would benefit from some hardware.
\n\nBasically, I have a web page and want it to communicate via HTTP to a small controller, which will read a string from the serial port and return it to the browser.
\n\nDon\u2019t worry about the software, I can handle that. I am wondering which hardware to use, and would like to keep the price down.
\n\nThe requirements are simple enough. The device needs to be able to read from serial port, and it needs to be able to receive HTTP requests - I don\u2019t care how. I don\u2019t really need an operating system, certainly not a full blown one, but I do need to be able to run a web server, to handle the HTTP request.
\n\nI was thinking Raspberry PI, but am one to other solutions if they are cheaper and if they are as simple to code. I can buy in quantities of a dozen up to maybe 100, if it offers a decent discount.
\n\n[Update] I also need a dozen or two GPIO pins
\n\nPossibilities:
\n\nLong term availability of the device might play a role. E.g maybe not use Pi2, in case it gets phased out. Widely available support , via forums, would be good, although the project is so simple that I don\u2019t envisage needing any help.
\n\nWhich of these., or an alternative, can do what I want, with an emphasis on cost, but also balancing other terms? Hmmm, I probably want to put it into a case, preferably IP 67 compliant.
\n\n[Update] I am also considering:
\n\n\n\nAlthough I am not sure how compatible they might be with Raspberry Pi peripherals
\n", "Title": "Small, cheap processor with serial port and internet access", "Tags": "|processor|wifi|ethernet|uart|", "Answer": "Check this board \"atmega328\" with serial port around $2 / without serial port $1.5 on aliexpress\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/EPdeK.jpg\")
A wireless shield will cost you around 1.5$ also on aliexpress\nOr this little guy ESP8266 the newer one for $1.70
\n\nHere is a project about ESP8266
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/lVyAW.jpg\")
\nRFID reader around $1.70, 6 DATA PINS and 2 for VCC, GND from here
I want to buy an audio player that satisfies these conditions:
\n\nCan you recommend me any device which meets these conditions?
\n\nEDIT: I don't want to hack anything - replacing firmware etc.
\n\nEDIT 2: Price limit raised. I've tried these two devices so far
\n\nBoth had the same problem: when I transferred about 3000 songs to the player (to a card in case of FiiO) and played them, it had huge lags between songs (after pushing the next button).
\n", "Title": "Portable audio player", "Tags": "|audio|microsd|", "Answer": "I can just say about my device and can fully remommend it to your needs:
\n\nSanDisk Sansa Fuze V2 with rockbox firmware -- no touch screen, so no \"unlocking\"-problem at all, small, with rockbox about 20hrs battery life continuos play. The Wiki Page on rockbox.org seems to have quite outdated information, but in the last year or two there was new active development on CPU frequency scaling and power saving codes. With rockbox, battery life and audio quality is better than with original firmware, and can play many audio formats, also flac.
\n\nIn another answer there is already a picture of the Fuze, so I don't need to add one here.
\n" }, { "Id": "6920", "CreationDate": "2017-02-23T22:47:47.743", "Body": "Consider a chemical factory. Certain rooms may never be empty (control room, security, etc), some have a limit on how many people may be there at any give time, and some contain hazardous materials and no one may stay in there longer than a certain time. Beyond that, in case of evacuation it is necessary to know where everyone is.
\n\nI am thinking of wearable badges, probably with WIFi (*) and readers at every door, to scan those entering & exiting.
\n\nI could make something cheap and small with a $5 Raspberry Pi Zero and a $2 USB WiFI dongle.. or, maybe BlueTooth, but what about a battery?
\n\nOf course, passive RFID wouldn\u2019t require a battery, but could I be certain of reading everyone who passes through a doorway (and what about a very wide door, such as might be found in a factory)?
\n\nReally, all that I need is a way to identify people as they pass through doorways flanks by readers. Computing power is not required, but since the Raspberry Pi Zero is so dirt cheap, I might be able to find some other uses (attach a mic & speaker? Any other ideas?).
\n\nIf I do need a battery, then given an 8 hour working day, plus breaks, plus a margin, then I need 10 or 12 hours battery life.
\n\nDoes anyone know of an of the shelf solution? Failing that, some thing easy to put together from off the shelf parts?
\n", "Title": "Tracking employee location", "Tags": "|wearable-technology|", "Answer": "hmm..
\n\nLong range Passive RFID will cost you around $45 so forget about it..
\n\nCameras to follow employee! science fiction, we are not ready for it yet..
\n\nGPS will not work perfectly inside buildings..
\n\nBut there is a small idea for you and more simple!
\n\nI worked on AP devices from company called ubiquiti, These AP have the ability to work as a mesh network, there is an option to make a a Clint move around while the network choose the better WiFi AP for him and connect it directly..
\n\nI used to follow my friends inside this network by calculating the distance between them and each AP. So acttully you will know their locations from their Mobiles like how GPS work..
\n\nThrow 3 AP inside a company, it will work as WIFI and tracker at the same time, with a small script you can make this thing work..\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/GQNEn.png\")
There is a company working on that idea anyway check this link
\n" }, { "Id": "6926", "CreationDate": "2017-02-24T22:16:29.207", "Body": "I would like to build an extremely small, portable computer and need a screen 3.5 inches across or less that connects by either VGA, HDMI, or composite. I would also like it to be under 40 dollars, but I would take slightly more expensive. I am going to be connecting this to a Chip computer. I do not care too much about how good the display quality is. I just need to be able to see things on it and it to be functional. I have been looking everywhere for this, but the only ones I can find are for raspberry pie and do not have the right connection type.
\n", "Title": "I need a extremely small display for a chip computer", "Tags": "|hdmi|mini-pc|vga|", "Answer": "Check this one for $24 HDMI Port, don't use Touch Pins, just connect it to power and HDMI port.\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/4v14u.jpg\")
PAL/NTFS around $20 check this one\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/nIsLG.jpg\")
Or this one 48$ with VGA-HDMI-PAL/NTFS Port\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/5dpkT.jpg\")
Update: See my answer. TL;DR, just get an old computer if this is what you want to do.
\n\nHowever, if anyone does have a USB-IDE adapter which they confirmed to work with ATA Secure Erase, whether laptop or desktop I'd love to hear about it and please post below. What would also be helpful is a PATA-SATA adapter that supports ASE functions.
\n\nHa, I found this one: http://www.datadev.com/hard-drive-eraser-data-security-secure-erase-overwrite-software-hammer.html
\n\nAt four grand, a little on the pricey side :).
\n", "Title": "What USB to IDE adapter that can send the ATA Secure Erase command?", "Tags": "|data-storage|", "Answer": "I am the OP: my advice to anyone with the same issue would be just get an old motherboard and do it.
\n\nI have a few hard drives, laptop and desktop IDE, which I would like to Secure Erase. I'm aware that other methods exist for removing the data, but this is the safest and most efficient, and it's the one I want to use.
\n\nI found someone else with the same problem here, and a reply said
\n\n\n\n\nIt depends on the chips in the adapters (see hdparm docs). Mine don't\n support it, and the only one of them that I can warn you about is the\n Seagate desktop expansion drive, the others have no branding.
\n
In man hdparm it says
\n\n\n\n\nhdparm provides a command line interface to various kernel interfaces supported by the Linux SATA/PATA/SAS \"libata\" subsystem and the older IDE driver subsystem. Many newer (2008 and later) USB drive enclosures now also support \"SAT\" (SCSI-ATA Command Translation) and therefore may also work with hdparm.
\n
However, I bought one which is support to support SAT, and reflected on the word 'may'.
\n\nI checked out https://www.smartmontools.org/wiki/Supported_USB-Devices. This is a list of devices which support SCSI-ATA Command Translation. I got a Gembird AUSI01.
\n\nIt... didn't work. Just said 'erase prepare: invalid argument.'
\n\nI checked the adapter via USBdeview. It's genunine: correct chipset and device ID. It was able to work with smartmontools commands that I tried. It just wouldn't do Secure Erase, despite reporting that the drive could do Secure Erase.
\n\nSo, I give up. Unless you have an opportunity to test this before you buy it, don't. Just grab an old computer... these days people will give them away for free.
\n" }, { "Id": "6988", "CreationDate": "2017-03-05T15:01:06.693", "Body": "I use an Apple TimeCapsule (2011) as my home LAN router.
\n\nI've run out of free Ethernet ports on the TimeCapsule, so I need to extend the network; probably using a Gigabit switch.
\n\nFrom the TimeCapsule, I'm going to run a 10 metre CAT6 Ethernet cable, to a switch, and then from that connect to my NAS and Philips Hue hub. The NAS is my main media server, so therefore network speed is a consideration.
\n\nI have never purchased a Gigabit switch before, so I'm pretty oblivious where to begin searching in the consumer jungle.
\n\nQuestions:
\n\nMy impression is that switches for home use are relatively commoditized and fail-safe products, and cost competitive alternatives can be easily found. Am I wrong in this? Could the switch, for instance, impair the functionality of my NAS in some way?
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nFor home networking, TP-Link and Netgear are the brands I've found most affordable and relilable; TP-Link tends to be a little cheaper and Netgear a little more reliable, but there's little difference between them.
\n\nOn my home network, I've got a TP-Link TL-SG1005D. This is a Gigabit, 5-port, unmanaged switch - plug the uplink port into your Time Capsule, and the other ports will Just WorkTM. You don't need to do any configuration at all.
\n\nAmazon lists the regular price as $21.97, though it's currently on sale at $16.99.
\n\nThere's also an 8-port version of the same thing available for $3 more, in case you want to expand - honestly, for $3 extra I'd recommend getting the 8-port version even if you don't currently need more than 5 ports.
\n" }, { "Id": "6997", "CreationDate": "2017-03-06T10:40:17.607", "Body": "I'm looking for a Bluetooth-based Traffic Message Channel (RDS-TMC) receiver which communicates over a known protocol, allowing me to query it via a program I'm going to develop myself.
\n\nThere are some Bluetooth TMC devices out there, but I suspect some of them might speak the same proprietary protocol as their USB counterparts.
\n\nHas anyone come across anything like that?
\n", "Title": "FOSS-friendly Bluetooth TMC device", "Tags": "|linux|bluetooth|", "Answer": "For quite some time it seemed as if the best bets would be:
\n\nUse USB instead of Bluetooth. There are some Si470x tuner dongles out there for which open-source drivers exist. I have managed to port a driver to Android and get raw TMC data from the device via an Android app.
Build your own hardware: The Si470x chip is also widely used in the single-board computer community with breakout boards available. These, however, have an I\u00b2C interface, so you would need a Bluetooth-I\u00b2C bridge, most of which expose a Bluetooth serial interface. Challenge: the Bluetooth-I\u00b2C bridges I\u2019ve seen so far don\u2019t seem to come as breakout boards. Solution: get a Bluetooth-UART bridge and a UART-I\u00b2C bridge, both of which are widely available as breakout boards. Once you\u2019ve pieced this together, again, you will need to write a driver, again based on the existing Linux driver. The protocol is not hard to understand and well documented\u2014SparkFun has links to the relevant documentation\u2014so this should be doable for a somewhat experienced programmer.
Then, however, I came across something else: some folks out there had made some progress in decoding the proprietary GNS protocol, which the TMC dongles bult by GNS (one of the major players on the market) speak. The protocol is the same, regardless of the interface (USB, UART or Bluetooth), and by trying all possible opcides, I found another two commands. I\u2019ve since developed a driver and am successfully using the device (mostly limited by the antenna setup). Both the Bluetooth and UART flavor have worked for me (I didn\u2019t have a USB device to test with).
\n\nAnother major player on the market is Royaltek. Their devices seem to be mostly combined GPS/TMC dongles, which communicate both GPS and TMC status via the NMEA protocol. There\u2019s some progress on decoding that as well.
\n" }, { "Id": "7021", "CreationDate": "2017-03-11T19:17:56.000", "Body": "I am looking for a Nas for home use.
\n\nmy needs :
\n\nI've been searching for a couple of weeks and now i am hesitating between two brands : Synology and QNap and precisely two NAS : the Synology DS216+II and the QNap TS251+
\n\nThe QNap Hardware looks more interesting : 2GB RAM upgradable to 8GB, Quad Core CPU, the Synology 1GB RAM not upgradable and dual core CPU.\nBoth NAS have almost the same price.
\n\nIt will be my first Nas so i don't have any experience with none of the two brands.
\n\nWhich product meets my needs and has better reliability?
\n", "Title": "Which is a better NAS : Synology DS216+II or QNap TS251+", "Tags": "|nas|", "Answer": "Qnap will run Plex pretty perfectly -- takes care of the format concerns. The machine itself can transcode on the fly or as a backround task too. Plus DNLA support.
\n\nI also am pretty sure Kodi is available through qnapclub.eu Also Sickcbeard and some other fun stuff.
\n\nSurveillance station works like a charm but the new QVRpro is pretty sick. You can upload maps and the camera support is easy - as is assigning storage space. What can I say -- I'm a fan with a love/hate relationship with Qnap.
\n\nI hate their \"tech support\". They just yell at you. lol
\n" }, { "Id": "7030", "CreationDate": "2017-03-12T22:02:41.543", "Body": "I know I have seen it before, on older Tv's, was wondering what to look for to convert it to optical.![\"mystery](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Jrk8I.jpg\")
It's hard to say without knowing what TV it is. Since it's an RCA socket, there's a good chance that it is simply coaxial S/PDIF, rather than optical S/PDIF (TOSLINK). If this is the case, you will need a coaxial to optical S/PDIF converter such as this. I would ignore the 3-pin connector, especially if the user guide doesn't say what it's for.
\n" }, { "Id": "7049", "CreationDate": "2017-03-15T17:54:44.983", "Body": "I am trying to pick ram for my laptop. I can see these types of ram on the site.
\n\nDdr4 2133 pc4 17000\nDdr4 2133 pc4 17000s\nDdr4 2133 pc4 17000u\nDdr4 2133 pc4 17066r\nDdr4 2133 pc3 17066\nWhat does the latter at the end or lack of it mean? Which one should I choose? Also, about the 3 or 4 after pc. What is it supposed to mean? Is bigger number better?
\n", "Title": "What does the latter in the ram description mean?", "Tags": "|memory|", "Answer": "It's points out the type of the RAM :
\nThe "R" is for Registered which is usually used in servers.\nThe "U" stands for unbuffered non ECC.\nThe "E" stands for unbuffered ECC (not registred)\nThe "S" for SO-DIMM, a format of DIMM's used for laptops :)\n"L" is for Low Voltage\nThose are the ones I know.
\n" }, { "Id": "7053", "CreationDate": "2017-03-16T04:11:58.843", "Body": "I'm looking for a laptop with an SSD that is pretty much focused on the essentials, which means I don't care if it comes with a good webcam, or if it has fingertip reader or touchscreen or any of that.
\n\nWhat I would like it to have is
\n\nSSD instead of HD\na decent amount of ram (at least 6GB)\nweight less than 2 kg (4.4 lb)\nat least a core i5 in terms of processing\nI'm asking this here because, although I can find specs like the ones above in laptops like Samsung NP900, they always seem to have some of the things that I listed as unnecessary (NP900 for example has touchscreen), and I'd like to avoid \"wasting\" money on those features.
\n\nI'm not really working with a price limit because it really depends on the specs. If I buy a laptop that comes with a 164 GB SSD I'll be willing to pay less than I would for a 256 GB one and so on. Although it would be nice to keep it under $900 or so, if possible.
\n\nAlso, I'm going to use for Linux. So companies like system 76 are acceptable.
\n\nCheers
\n", "Title": "Robust laptop with SSD", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "I'm posting the results of my own investigation here since none of the previous answers quite did the trick (either because of weight or price).
\n\nThe laptop that comes closest to the solution for me is this Asus Zenbook, which weights only 1.45 kg and has a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7-6500U Dual-Core with 8GB RAM.
\n\nGranted it's not the most powerful laptop listed here, but it has still good specs and the and low voltage processor that should increases my battery life.
\n" }, { "Id": "7058", "CreationDate": "2017-03-17T01:33:25.387", "Body": "I am a long running user of the cherry mx red key switch, and I love it! I have used both blue and brown and didn't like either of them. I use my keyboard for intense gaming sessions but also for typing, as I am always typing large documents for school. I have a high typing speed of almost 100 WPM so the cherry mx reds don't feel like they are restricting me from typing at my ability, but rather aiding it.
\n\nI like the look of the razer blackwidow V2 keyboard but they use their own key switches. I was wondering what razer key switch would most closely compare to the cherry mx red, and any major similarity's and differences, or pros and cons of the razer key switch over the cherry mx red for my purpose (Gaming/Typing 50/50)
\n", "Title": "How do the razer key switches compare to cherry mx?", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "I'm actually using the Razer Blackwidow 2016 Stealth Edition and I really love it , it's really smooth and reactive. Though my girlfriend likes it less than I do because she can't sleep when I play or type things because like a lot of mechanical keyboards it makes some noise, which is a negative.
\n\nThis is what I found about the Cherry MX Red:\n![\"cherry](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/xqjvB.png\")
This is what I found for the Razer key switches:
\n\n![\"razer](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fjPcA.png\")
So i'd say the yellow Razer switch is the closest thing to what you're searching for.\nI think it's a matter of taste more than anything so it would be best for you to go and try them out for yourself before you buy.
\n" }, { "Id": "7061", "CreationDate": "2017-03-17T13:00:07.957", "Body": "SO, I really love my Moto X 2, and it still work very well, but it's starting to get a little old... the battery doesn't last as much as it did, and the 2GB of RAM is starting to get a little cramped. Also, as usual for Android phones, the software stopped being updated.
\n\nWhat I love about it:
\n\nIs there any current phone that have those features, but with larger RAM, preferably longer battery life, and size equal or smaller? If it can cost less than $400, even better.
\n", "Title": "Replacement for Moto X 2nd gen (2014)", "Tags": "|android|smartphones|", "Answer": "Almost all always-on voice recognition phones are flagship phones. Unfortunately the smaller phones tend to be budget phones, which means they lack the always on voice feature.
\n\nThe prices on flagship phones are usually far past the $400 mark but here's a list of recent Android phones that I should have always on voice feature:
\n\nLG V20 (around $700)
\n\nGoogle Pixel (around $750)
\n\nMoto Z Play/Moto Z Play Droid (around $400/450)
\n\nSo out of all of these, only the Moto Z Play phones are in your ideal price range.
\n" }, { "Id": "7081", "CreationDate": "2017-03-20T00:20:11.453", "Body": "The following power supply units on Ebuyer are described as being \"fully wired\".
\n\nAce Black 120mm Fan 550W Fully Wired Efficient Power Supply
\n\nCIT 450W Fully Wired Efficient Power Supply
\n\nPowerCool 850W Fully Wired 80+ Power Supply
\n\nCIT Dual Rail 480W Fully Wired Efficient Power Supply
\n\nSearching Google for what exactly this means brings up results for modular PSUs, but this PSU here is described as being \"fully wired\" while also not being modular at all.
\n\nThe only thing I can think of that \"fully wired\" would describe would be a PSU that comes wired, but to me that seems about as odd a selling point as a car that comes with wheels. :-)
\n\nWhen buying a PSU, what exactly does \"fully wired\" mean?
\n", "Title": "What does \"fully wired\" mean when buying a PSU?", "Tags": "|desktop|power-supply|", "Answer": "A fully-wired PSU is simply a non-modular PSU, and comes with all power cables hard-wired. A semi-modular PSU has the essential cables hard wired and the other cables socketed. A (fully) modular PSU has all power cables socketed. To quote Overclockers:
\n\n\n\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "7089", "CreationDate": "2017-03-20T12:33:45.330", "Body": "Whereas non-modular power supplies come with all possible cables already attached, a modular PSU comes with connectors, giving you the freedom to use only the cables that you really need. There are two types of modular PSU, and the one you decide to go for will largely depend on your requirements and budget. A semi modular PSU comes with only the essential cables wired on\u2014usually the ATX 12V and EPS 12V, and in some cases the PCI-E cables\u2014whilst a fully modular PSU comes with no cables whatsoever. A semi modular power supply offers a more affordable solution, whilst a fully modular power supply allows for ultimate cable flexibility at a somewhat higher price point.
\n
I have a big crowded hall (around 200-300 persons) that I need to cover with Wi-Fi coverage, these people need to access a web server inside the network (it's an intranet). So what is the best hardware implementation? I have a budget of 280$-300$ only. I am thinking of buying multiple access-points (maybe 10-12 access-points?), will this be enough to give a continuous and stable access to users? Is there a better implementation?
\n\nI'd also be glad if you kindly recommend any AP brand or a specific model.
\n\nThanks in advance.
\n", "Title": "Give Wi-Fi access to a big number of users", "Tags": "|wifi|wireless|networking|access-point|", "Answer": "I would try 4 dual band routers (i.e. they can use a channel in the 2.4Ghz range and one in the 5Ghz range at the same time), and set them up on different channels to minimize interference, checking for this. Go for the best routers you can get from your budget. Spread them over the room and connect them to an Ethernet switch. Try out different positions to get the most from your hardware.
\n\nAn example of channels you could choose are channels 1, 6, 11 and 14 for 2.4Ghz as per this section and channels 36, 40, 44 and 48 for 5Ghz (I just chose the lowest non-overlapping channels allowable for the USA as per this). It should not matter how you pair those channels onto the different routers, so for example routers with
\n\nYou all set them up with the same SSID and password, but otherwise nothing special, just as you would for single APs. The clients will choose the best available AP (also switch between them transparently if necessary).
\n\nThe router/AP you mention in your comment is a single-band 2.4Ghz one. I suggested dual band ones. One hint as to whether what you are looking at is dual or single band is that dual band ones (usually) have two antennas while single band ones (usually) only have one. But check the specifications! Dual band routers should perform as good as one router in one band, and a second in the other, so essentially you could two in one.
\n\nI think this could work, but no guarantees. The university WWAN where I study tends to get flaky in full large lecture halls (i.e. 300-400 people) and they probably spent quite some time and money optimizing it.
\n" }, { "Id": "7090", "CreationDate": "2017-03-20T14:44:57.403", "Body": "This connects my PSU to my SATA HD. What is this type of cable/connector called, and where can I get more, i.e. buy one such cable not a
\n\n![\"PSU](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/KMX9v.jpg\")
Edit, added picture of PSU:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/48cWN.jpg\")
The connector shown is a 5-pin modular power supply connector with a single side lock, possibly for a Be Quiet! power supply. They are widely available. \nThis example is from Scan.co.uk.
\n\nNote that most modular power supplies that use side-locking connectors have dual side locks.
\n\nHere is a Be Quiet! modular PSU with single side-lock connectors:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/KW4uw.jpg\")
Pure PC
\n" }, { "Id": "7097", "CreationDate": "2017-03-21T06:48:04.487", "Body": "Hello community,
\n\nBack in 2013 and build my own PC finaly. But nowdays i think its kind old for stuff i am doing at PCs.
\n\nWhat I do on my pc now?
\n\nI like playing games . Recently i discover That CS: GO consume 80% of my CPU (am playing FullHD) That a lot i think.\nI was trying Ghost Recon: wildlands open beta, we frame rate about 20-36 FPS and low settings in fullHD. Other games I play are sometime strategy but also want to play games modern.\nWith friend we play games and sometimes am a host.
\n\nI am also YouTuber / Streamer\nSo i make few videos Ghost Recon form, but also record it with nvidia share (with GPU Takes the hard part). For recording using OBS am with nvidia nvec, and same setting for streaming in 720p30 in some games in 60 FPS.\nCurrently we streams are ok, but sometimes get laggy Because the CPU and GPU.
\n\nPhotoshop, video editing, rendering\nFor pictures and graphic am using photoshop Currently Seems like i have enough power.\nFor editng video rendering and i think its not. Take a long time to make a 20 min video like 40-50 min to render in fullHD.\nJust for fun i am rendering Also fractals, but its not import.
\n\nSat Those are the most stuff i am doing on my PC. Sometimes am and hosting games and streaming and so on.
\n\nMy curret build\nCPU: Intel Core i5-3550p \nGPU: Nvidia GTX 660Ti \nRAM: 16 gigabytes 1600MHz (two slots)\nMB: Asrock Z77 pro3 \nDrive: 1 TB Western Digital\nPSU: Corsair 600 Watts
\n\nMy budget\nI save 400 dolars for upgare.
\n\nMy opinion\nIn my opinion i need to buy new motherboard and CPU. I am not a guy looking for graphics.\nI was Considering Intel Core i5-7600 or i7-7700 \nand motherborad
\n\nBut i am not sure if it buy new CPU or GPU to boost performence for gameing and recording.\nAnd the same time there is a Ryzens with AMD, onestly i am not a fan of AMD i have a bad experince with Them in a trap.
\n\nI want to buy new HW for next 4-5 years. \nAlso i not sure if i need CPU with K, beacuse i never do it
\n\nFuture GPU\nIn near future i would like to buy Nvidia GTX 1060 (6GB). What's to think? ITS good option for me? or should i take Radeon or 1050Ti?
\n\nAnyway thanks for any reply and have a nice day
\n", "Title": "Looking for PC upgade", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|desktop|processor|", "Answer": "As you I would upgrade the cpu and the motherboard. I think your cpu is the cause of your low fps. I myself have a i7-6700k and GTX 660 ti and I can play games like GTA V (120 fps) and CSGO (400 fps) with good full hd graphics. Also video rendering and blender etc.. aren't lagging or crashing.
\n\ni5-7600 is good for your use. For gaming alone it's not worth it but for your use it should be good. If you think that there is any chance that you someday want to overclock it I would take the K version. Price is almost the same on K as it is in non-K version. Motherboard does not really matter but take that one of the popular once.
\n\nYou also need new RAM if you are going to upgrade from 1155 to 1151. If your budget is not enough take only 8GB for now. But don't take too slow RAM. You might regret that later as it makes a difference on video editing and because combining different RAMs might cause problems.
\n\nYou did not say if you had a ssd but if you don't I really recommend getting one. I like video editing myself and gaming myself and with ssd I can really see the difference. Cheap ssd does not take much away from your budget if you buy your parts from good places.
\n\nFor future gpu don't take the 1050Ti. That is hardly better than 660 ti. 1060 is a good choice but if it too expensive Radeon should be also good for your use.
\n" }, { "Id": "7098", "CreationDate": "2017-03-21T08:45:38.493", "Body": "I have been researching on entry-level graphics cards for about a month and I have come down to four options, which I'm not sure how to finalize. The following are the cards.
\n\nThe costs are more in my country (India) and hence can be substantially different from other retailers around the globe. Please advice.
\n\nNote: I haven't provided any precise requirements because I felt that all the 4 listed cards fall in same generation and they all meet similar requirements - budget, mid-1080p performance, decent-good HEVC decoding/encoding, almost similar performance etc. And future proof is being not to invest anything on GPU for at least 3 years. Instinctive and experience based recommendation is what I'm looking for.
\n\nNote2: My minimal requirements for the card is to setup an always on HTPC with onboard HEVC decoding and be able to play AAA titles at decent quality for the next 3-4 years. Budget is limited to sub-$200.
\n", "Title": "Picking the right future proof graphics card", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Your question is borderline \"Primarily Opinion Based\", but I'll try to make my recommendation as objective as possible.
\n\nConsidering your $200 budget. Your best bet will probably be a GTX 1060 3GB (mini). You can find one like this card offered by Gigabyte. for about $185 on Amazon, or for about $195 on Newegg.
\n\nReasons for my Recommendation:
\n\nIt can be difficult to determine how \"future-proof\" this card will be. However, if you plan on playing games with similar performance requirements over the next few years, you should expect similar performance. As for providing decent quality in gaming, this can be difficult to determine as \"decent quality\" is subjective.
\n\nN.B.: You didn't mention the other components in your build. Before making your purchase, you should ensure that your PSU and motherboard are compatible and [ideally] you should check that your other hardware does not bottleneck your GPU selection.
\n" }, { "Id": "7104", "CreationDate": "2017-03-22T01:05:39.047", "Body": "I've recently acquired a Digitus DN-10-05U-1 (10\" wide compact rack) to setup my home's network. Now I'd like to rack some proper 16 ports gigabit switch in there, but I'm really having a hard time finding anything fitting the cabinet. Everything I could find so far was either too wide, too deep, not rackable, limited to 8 ports, apparently super cheap, don't sell in my country (Belgium), ... You name it.
\n\nAny recommendation ?
\n", "Title": "16 ports rackable gigabit switch(es) for 10 inches wall mounting cabinet: does it even exist?", "Tags": "|switch|home-electronics|", "Answer": "Some solutions I've found so far. They are all
\n\nIntellinet 16-Port Gigabit 561068.
\nL x W x H: 21.5 x 13.3 x 44 millimeters
Longshine LCS-GS8116-A.
\nL x W x H: 216 x 133 x 42 millimeters
ZyXEL GS-1100-16.
\nL x W x H: 215 x 133 x 42 millimeters
Buffalo BS-GU2016.
\nL x W x H: 215 x 13 x 42 millimeters
Regarding the rack mounting kit, I think (hope) that magnaroute LLC could come to the rescue, especially with that kind of product: magnaroute LLC FX-17 Multi-Vendor Rack Mount Kit.\n![\"magnaroute](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/mpv1b.jpg\")
\nThe other option is to pick a product that ships with 19\" rack mount kit and adapt the kit (cut and pierce).
On my motherboard I have a PCIe v1.0 x16 slot. According to Wikipedia, it's able to transfer at ~4 GB/s.
\n\nI'm thinking of getting a PCIe SSD (for example, this one), which is limited to ~3.8 GB/s.
\n\nHowever, the SSD is made for PCIe v3.0 x4, which, despite also being limited to ~3.9 GB/s, poses a problem for me. Since it's only using 4 slots (hence the x4), if I plug it directly into my PCIe slot, it'll be limited to ~1 GB/s (or a quarter of the speed). Why? Because I have a PCIe version 1.0, and the SSD is designed for 3.0.
\n\nIs there an adapter that will take my PCIe v1.0 x16 slot, at 4 GB/s, and give me a PCIE v3.0 x4 slot, at 3.9 GB/s?
\n\nIf so, could someone recommend one?
\n\nThis was originally posted over at SuperUser here. Evidently it's off topic there :(, but as this site is still in beta, you can't migrate questions here IIRC. There was a pretty extended discussion in the comments, so I'll include a screenshot of the post below.
\n\n![\"Original](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pKA2Y.png\")
There are no adapters. The reason being that the PCIe version is dictated by the chipset of the motherboard itself. The ONLY way to go from PCIe 1.0 to 3.0 is to buy a board with PCIe 3.0.
\n" }, { "Id": "7112", "CreationDate": "2017-03-23T15:04:48.587", "Body": "I have an alienware X51 with Windows 10 installed in a HDD. I plan to buy a new SSD and install the latest version of Kubuntu (16.10 Yaketty Yak) on it. Ideally, I would like to preserve the dual-boot: win10 and kubuntu.
\n\nOn this regard, I have a few questions:
\n\nAprox. budget: 300 USD
\n\nI would really appreciate any suggestion.
\n", "Title": "Alienware X51 & SSD & Kubuntu", "Tags": "|hard-disk|ssd|ubuntu|", "Answer": "I know its an old question at this point, but this answer should still be relevant to someone in need.
\nCrucial MX300 SSD (1TB) ($239-280 depending on retailer)
\n\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "7128", "CreationDate": "2017-03-25T17:51:18.227", "Body": "The Good The Crucial MX300 SSD is competitively priced and delivers fast performance. The solid-state drive uses efficient 3D flash memory and provides strong security with hardware encryption.
\nThe Bad The drive has a short three-year warranty and trails behind its main competitor, the more expensive Samsung 850 Evo, in performance and features.
\nThe Bottom Line If you're looking to upgrade your computer's hard drive, the new Crucial MX300 is a speedy and affordable choice.
\n
When the Voice over IP (VoIP) company Ooma started, it sold a VoIP home phone that enabled free unlimited calling. But as it grew, it started charging a variety of monthly fees and taxes, although it grandfathered in people who bought the original product.
\n\nMy question is, are there any VoIP home phones that really do what Ooma started off doing, i.e. enable free unlimited calling with absolutely no monthly or annual fees or taxes?
\n", "Title": "A VoIP home phone that enables free unlimited calling", "Tags": "|telephony|voip|", "Answer": "I finally found a product that does what I want, the OBi200. It's $50, and it's not a phone, you still need to buy a home phone separately and plug it into it. But you don't need to get a paid VOIP or SIP service at all. All you need is Google Voice, which is free. This solution allows you to make and receive unlimited domestic calls within the US for free. (EDIT: You can also use it if you\u2019re outside the US and want to make free calls to the US.)
\n\nNote that the set up is pretty straightforward, but one problem I ran into is that I couldn't receive calls at first. It turns out way to solve that problem is to go into Google Voice settings, and under \"Forward calls to\", select \"Google Chat\".
\n" }, { "Id": "7131", "CreationDate": "2017-03-27T19:03:52.210", "Body": "I recently bought a Netgear X6 Nighthawk R8000 AC3200 router. It is a piece of crap. I'm looking for a non-expensive replacement for this router. I live in a small apartment sharing the WiFi spectrum with 7+ other networks. I'm looking for one with a strong signal and 802.11ac that will not be interrupted from other people's networks.
\n", "Title": "Router for small apartment", "Tags": "|wifi|wireless|networking|router|", "Answer": "I decided to go with the Ubiquity UAP-AC-PRO-US access point since my modem is a router and I can just literally connect to it.
\n" }, { "Id": "7135", "CreationDate": "2017-03-28T13:34:51.017", "Body": "My PC Build is :
\nIntel i7 6700K\u00a0
\nASUS Z170 PRO GAMING Mobo
\n32GB RAM (Corsair Vengence 4x8GB)
\nASUS NVIDIA 1070 GTX DUAL
\nAntec VP600P PSU
I am planning to get another 1070 GTX card for SLI, will the existing PSU support is sufficient for 2 way SLI or should i upgrade my PSU also?
\n", "Title": "NVIDIA SLI Power Supply Recommendation", "Tags": "|power-supply|", "Answer": "According to http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/feature/pc-components/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1080-vs-gtx-1070-vs-gtx-1060-3640925/, the 1070GTX has a TDP of 150W. This is the amount of heat a component produces -- which with solid-state circuitry is conveniently the amount of wattage it draws, 1-to-1. Doubling that (for two of them), gives you 300W. If we assume that's all on the 12V rail (worst-case scenario), you're asking for 25A from your power supply. Your CPU has a TDP of 91W, and lets go absolute-worst-case scenario and say your motherboard is 89W to make the math easy. This is a further 180W of power draw, or 15A @ 12V. I don't know if it's all from the 12V line, but this is the worst-case scenario.
\n\nA single rail (your PSU provides two) produces 30A at 12V, and a maximum of 540W @ 12V combined. Going from my worst case scenario, you are at 300+180W, or 480W of a maximum 540W. Antec quotes a 100,000h MTBF @ full load -- which means you can go bigger still. Your PSU can actually provide enough power for your CPU @ 100% load, several HDDs & fans, and a pair of stock-clocked 1080GTXs.
\n" }, { "Id": "7149", "CreationDate": "2017-03-30T01:47:56.537", "Body": "I came up with a project for which I'll need a couple of cameras and process their output ideally realtime or with slight delay (feature detection and tracking). Initially I thought about buying couple of cheap web cams, then I realized their framerate and resolution isn't good enough and drivers aren't generally good either. So I went online to look for some sensors and found this website digikey.com with a list of hundreds of sensors. But that only found a few items and from only 3 different manufacturers. Also the pricing seems a bit weird. Well ~$10 for 400x400px unit seems like OK, if I didn't have to buy 2500 units in total. On the other hand there are 640x480 sensors for $110. So while I understand buying thousands of units will be always cheaper then buying a single one, I'm a bit confused from this disproportion of prices. I also found different website, but that doesn't list prices and manufacturers says, on their websites, to contact their sales dept.
\n\nSo the actual question is:
I'd expect maybe around $50/unit, but I don't really know how much these things cost.
\n", "Title": "Cheap 120FPS Camera sensor", "Tags": "|video-camera|tracking-devices|", "Answer": "Not too rough, if you don't mind ordering from China. Check out this ELP-USBFHD01M-L36-120FPS on ebay. It's unbranded, but I've given you the model number so you can find it elsewhere. Currently, the cheapest place I can find is ebay, but that could change, as per comments.
\n\nIt actually sports a Full HD CMOS USB Camera, which shoots at 30 / 60 / 120 FPS. It's going for $45.26 US, plus 99 cents shipping, but it looks like it meets your specifications.
\n\nThere's also this ELP-USBFHD01M-L36-120FPS for $49.62, which is actually the same camera from a different ebay seller.
\n\nNote that both of these have limited supply, so you may or may not be able to get hold on enough for your project.
\n" }, { "Id": "7151", "CreationDate": "2017-03-30T11:33:27.813", "Body": "I have an ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming motherboard
\nI have 2 NVIDIA GeForce 1070 GTX GPUs
\nI want a bridge for these two.I am looking for ASUS ROG SLI HB Bridge and they have two models 3 slot and 4 slot, which one is the right product for my motherboard
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/xOomi.jpg\")
The 3 slot model is the one you need.\nWith your hardware combination you will have one empty slot in between the two cards. The 4 slot model is only needed if you have two empty slots in between the cards.
I need to configure a notebook to \"backup\" a live-database for 10 years.
\n\nThe client wants to open the notebook in, let's say, 7 years, start the OS, open up his applications, check some data, shut it down again. It's like a long-term-live-backup-system. I advised him, that maybe a VM with the running DB + clients + virtual storage, saved on an archival DVD / BluRay / tape / SSD (whatever) would be a better and more flexible idea. He was thrilled and said I should do that, too...
\n\nSo now I need a notebook which has the chance to start up again in ten years.
\n\nOrdinarily, every system should be able to provide that, if the hardware is stored in a safe place (temperature, etc.) but maybe somebody here knows of a very stable / durable notebook I could use.
\n\nOf course they will be needing a CMOS battery and maybe a new PSU or something, but the main system has to be up and running again on very short notice.
\n\nSomebody got any experience in this and could provide me with some info / thoughts?
\n\nEdit: tl;dr: I need a \"durable\" laptop, which will be powered off for 10 years and still has a chance to be up and running again on short notice, with no to few expectable hardware failures.
\n", "Title": "Live system (notebook) running database for 10y", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "I have something similar for archiving and documentation purposes (BIM/CAD data for houses). There are some prerequisites you need to take into account:
\n\nMode of operation:
\n\nAs I wrote above, forget about opening the notebook in 7 years. Set up a periodic schedule once a year to start up the notebook (also have this procedure exactly documented in your printed out documentation).
\n\nThe bootup should basically show any pending problems. If you get reading errors, maybe some SSD has started losing data. It's better to know that earlier than later, because retrieval may still be possible than when you get to know 5 years later.
\n\nYou should never store the notebook with the battery plugged in. Also, the battery (Li-Ion) should be loaded only 70%. If you can get a notebook with LiFePO4 battery - get that. Life expectancy is 20 years.
\n\nYour VM proposal of a \"life\" backup system is also important. Do it. It's another kind of redundancy. A \"hot backup\" contrary to what I've described above which could be perceived a cold backup.
\n\nThe notebook should also be stored in a safe place. A safe maybe, for the extra safety margin with temperature and humidity sensors (some capacitors tend to dry out) and keep environmental conditions in approved range.
\n\nThere is of course more that could - and in case of real mission critical data should (as e.g. geographical dislocation of the two notebooks) - be done, but the above should get you going.
\n" }, { "Id": "7201", "CreationDate": "2017-04-09T18:00:24.790", "Body": "I have two audio sources, both using 3.55mm \"headphone jack\" outputs.
\n\nI have one set of powered stereo speakers.
\n\nI need to connect both sources to my single pair of speakers. Ideally, I'd like to be able to hear both sources at the same time, but this isn't completely necessary. I ABSOLUTELY do not want to have to press a button to manually switch.
\n\nI don't need anything fancy\u2014-no individual volume control or microphone inputs or anything like that. But I do want to avoid any significant loss of audio quality.
\n\nHow can I do this for under $25? Or if that's completely unreasonable, how can I do it for as little money as possible?
\n\nWhile I suspect this won't matter since the audio is already analog, I play a lot of rhythm video games, so anything that introduces latency is a no-go.
\n", "Title": "Two Audio Sources -> One set of speakers", "Tags": "|audio|", "Answer": "Sounds like a studio monitor controller is the right thing for you (however a bit over your price range - currently about 124 USD):
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/iw2AP.png\")
https://www.thomannmusic.com/behringer_control2usb.htm?sid=4f667695faee1e73dd0708b345391d69
\n" }, { "Id": "7202", "CreationDate": "2017-04-10T05:24:03.897", "Body": "I have recently gotten back into online gaming after being introduced to Overwatch. I've found that in order to get the most out of the game it's important to be on voice. I have a pair of bluetooth headphones that also doubles as a headset which is what I am currently using to talk to my teammates.
\n\nHowever I've run into two issues. The first is that the quality of the game sound and mic is not very good when the headphones are in headset mode and the second is that the battery has died on me a few times in game.
\n\nThe solution for this would be to get a wired headset in order to talk while in game, wired (USB or analog) provides better quality then bluetooth and usually doesn't consume any power. However, I like having a pair of bluetooth headphones that I can use to listen to music while I'm doing stuff around the house.
\n\nAre there any headphones that support bluetooth and a wired option that also have a mic built in? I've been googling around but most headsets for gaming look to support wireless audio over wifi only. The closest I've come is these and I'm not sure the mic quality would be very good.
\n\nThanks!
\n", "Title": "Headset with Bluetooth and Wired", "Tags": "|gaming|bluetooth|headset|", "Answer": "I've been looking around a bit, and first one note about the problem with bluetooth quality: The standard only supports either stereo music or mono plus microphone (I think I even found this explained somewhere on http://superuser.com). Anyway, so far I've found the following two candidates, coincidentally all from SteelSeries (no, I am not affiliated, apparently they just are good):
\n\nI want to buy a NVIDIA GTX 1070 GPU for deep learning tasks. The following GPUs are the candidates:
\n\nThe former is around 100$ more expensive in my country. I think the main difference is their cooling system.
\n\nAre there any additional features that justify the price difference?
\n", "Title": "Comparing two GTX 1070 GPUs for deep learning tasks", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "The brand and cooling systems are NOT the main differences here, so let's break it down. I will now attempt a Venn diagram in bullet point format:
\n\nSpecs shared by both the MSI and Gigbyte models:
\n\nSpecs specific to MSI model:
\n\nSpecs specific to Gigabyte model:
\n\nWhat you are paying the extra $100 for is not just the cooling system, it's also the pre-overclocked card. You are getting a card with a theoretical maximum speed that is 76 MHz faster.
\n\nRecommendation (TL;DR): If you have the extra money and want the little extra bit of power, go for it. But being that you chose the 1070 instead of the 1080, I'm thinking that little bit of power isn't very important to you, and probably not worth the $100 investment.
\n" }, { "Id": "7211", "CreationDate": "2017-04-12T20:14:40.027", "Body": "I'm planning to buy a new laptop and planning to have is for the next 5-7 years laptop. I wanted the laptop for graphic design, programming, video editing and gaming(please don't recommend desktop setup because I'll be traveling a lot thanks).
\n\nAlienware:\nI don't mind the heaviness since I know it has a great built quality but I the color accuracy is not that accurate like XPS.
\n\nChosen specs:\n- 7th Generation Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 i7-7700HQ (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.8GHz w/ Turbo Boost)\n- NVIDIA\u00ae GeForce\u00ae GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5\n-15.6 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) 60Hz IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits NVIDIA G-SYNC Enabled\n-16GB DDR4 at 2400MHz\n- 128GB M.2 SATA 6Gb/s SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)\n- Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1\n- $1,674.99
\n\nDell XPS:\nI love the screen and it's almost edgeless but I'm afraid since it's too thin(probably smaller fan). Maybe it could get overheat easily for gaming and probably can be broken like 1-3 years for continuous use.
\n\nChosen specs:
\n\n-7th Generation Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 i7-7700HQ Quad Core Processor (6M cache, up to 3.8 GHz)\n-16GB DDR4-2400MHz\n-512GB PCIe Solid State Drive\n-NVIDIA\u00ae GeForce\u00ae GTX 1050 with 4GB GDDR5\n-15.6\" FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge\n-Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1\n-97WHr battery\n-$1,749.99
\n\nSo I need your help guys which one is really worth it and will last for years(please include explanation too, why you chose XPS or alienware). Thanks !!!!
\n", "Title": "Alienware R3 15 or Dell XPS 15", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|", "Answer": "In my opinion, you are better off going with the Alienware R3 Laptop.
\n\nHere is a list of reasons as to why I would recommend it over the Dell XPS:
\n\nSome Notes:
\n\nIf you are concerned about color accuracy and believe that you will benefit from a better display, I would suggest saving up some money for a more professional monitor to use when you plan on doing content creation.
\n\nI cannot guarantee that either of the laptops mentioned will last for over 5 years.
\n" }, { "Id": "7223", "CreationDate": "2017-04-14T21:27:59.297", "Body": "I need a laptop that will cope with light video editing, software development, and maybe a bit of gaming if I have time. I regularly have 30+ tabs open in Chrome, with multiple Word / Excel / Outlook instances open and run disk intensive downloads frequently.
\n\nMy budget is \u00a3875 (GBP) including UK VAT absolute max.
\n\nNeeds to have
\n\nWould be nice to have (not vital)
\n\nBear in mind I have built a PC before, and if a cheaper laptop is upgradeable within my budget, im happy to do that, such as buy a bigger internal hdd or RAM with the laptop all within the \u00a3875 (GBP)
\n", "Title": "Laptop for light video editing, programming etc", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|development|video-editing|", "Answer": "Considering your requirements, I'd recommend Dell's New Inspiron 15 5000 (5567) which goes for about \u00a3799 + VAT and delivery. From personal experience, Dell's laptops tend to be decently robust and are of good quality.
\n\nReasons for Recommendation:
\n\nMeets All of your Requirements:
\n\nMeets of your non-Vital Requirements:
\n\n15.6\" Anti-Glare Display
Dedicated GPU - AMD Radeon R7 M445
SSD upgrades are possible, however they may not be within your budget since most larger capacity SSDs cost more than \u00a375.
\n\n![\"5567\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ppnzf.png\")
can you advice me some good laptops for back end development? \nPrimary I need good procesor for running servers like, Geoserver, IIS, and so on (i7 ?) and a lot of RAM (12-16GB or more). I do not know if I need external graphic card, I am using sometimes Photoshop for small design, or photo editing.\nFor data I need 512GB SSD or more (if HDD, price must be lower for bought custom SSD).
\n\nMy budget is max 2000$. Thanks.
\n", "Title": "Laptop for developer", "Tags": "|laptop|development|web-development|", "Answer": "I would recommend the Lenovo ThinkPad P50.
\n\nHere's an overview of the specifications:
\n\nThe i7 Should be able to drive a couple servers at once, since it has 8 Threads. 32GB of RAM should be more than enough for multiple running processes. A 1TB SSD should give you low latency, fast R/W, and a large amount of data storage. The Quadro M1000M GPU should be fine for photo editing and driving multiple displays if needed. I believe there are 2 more 2.5\" Bays, so you can add more storage in the future if needed.
\n" }, { "Id": "7258", "CreationDate": "2017-04-20T14:56:43.587", "Body": "I'm looking for a smartwatch, that can record and playback audio, without a phone, as I don't have one.
\nI find so many of these watches want you to have a phone - e.g. the Pebble Time.
\n", "Title": "Smart Watch - record and playback audio without phone?", "Tags": "|smart-device|", "Answer": "I ended up getting an Asus Zenwatch 2, as it has a mic and a speaker, and can record audio on the watch, without a phone nearby.
\n\nThe app I'm using so far is Watch Recorder with Mic Zoom, which lets you record and playback multiple audio files on the watch without a phone.
\n" }, { "Id": "7262", "CreationDate": "2017-04-21T13:55:22.953", "Body": "I have to buy a tablet for a research project. During the project I have to collect sensor and user inputs of the tablet (The goal is to predict the attention level of the user with machine learning). I'm thinking about the following sensors / specifications the tablet should have:
\n\nIf there are more sensor which I'm currently not aware of, feel free to mention them.
\n\nOf course the OS (e.g. Android) has to provide facility to read out the corresponding values. I think the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 fulfills all requirements, except the pressure sensor. I'm not aware of an Android device which has a pressure sensor built in. I know that new Apple smartphone have a pressure sensor but I don't know if Apple tablets have a pressure sensor as well.
\n\nWhich device would you recommend fulfilling the above requirements (and having perhaps additional sensors)? May it be Android or iOS...
\n", "Title": "Which tablet with a lot of sensors (proximity, pressure,...)?", "Tags": "|android|tablet|", "Answer": "This article linked below mentions that pressure sensitivity has been implemented in Android since API Level 5.
\n\nI would see no reason why the S2 wouldn't have these features.
\n\nhttp://pocketnow.com/2015/09/07/force-touch-android-has-had-that-for-years
\n" }, { "Id": "7268", "CreationDate": "2017-04-23T11:26:55.250", "Body": "I know that a good mobile phone does this, but I would like to have a camera-ish camera with real buttons, and that I do not need to download my pictures to my laptop but I could upload to facebook on the fly.
\n\nWhat is the correct search term for such a device?
\n\nGSM camera gave me surveillance video cameras.
\n", "Title": "Camera with gsm card and facebook client", "Tags": "|smartphones|camera|", "Answer": "The Samsung NX 300 can upload pictures to Facebook after you configure Wi-Fi, and presumably your Facebook username/password.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/o5Fbp.jpg\")
\nPicture from https://globalnews.ca/news/785601/how-to-pick-the-right-wifi-digital-camera/
This article talks about similar features in Canon and Nikon cameras, as well as in other Samsung models such as the affordable ST150F.
\n" }, { "Id": "7274", "CreationDate": "2017-04-25T06:16:03.690", "Body": "I have an old power supply with the following characteristics:
\nPORSCHE Model: P4-450W, 20+4 pin connectors
Recently I am assembling a new PC with the following parts:
\nGPU: Gigabyte GTX 1080
\nCPU: Intel Core i5-6500
\nMotherboard: MSI z170A
\nRAM: DDR4 2800-16GB
Is my old power supply enough for my new PC or I should buy a new one? What are the possible effects of using the current old power supply?
\n", "Title": "Suitable power supply for my system", "Tags": "|power-supply|", "Answer": "It cold support it but i would recommend to give your PC headroom and getting something like 550W or 650w, most of those power supplies cost around 90-120 dollars.
\n" }, { "Id": "7276", "CreationDate": "2017-04-25T09:31:59.387", "Body": "I am planning a build for machine learning purposes, more specifically, training neural network models for image classification/localization etc, budget is below 2000 euro.
\n\nProvisional build is listed here:
\n\n\n\n\nPCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MW8PHN
\n \nPrice breakdown by merchant:\n https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MW8PHN/by_merchant/
\n \nCPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @\n SuperBiiz)
\n \nCPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @\n Corsair)
\n \nMotherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
\n \nMemory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.98 @\n Directron)
\n \nMemory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory \n ($63.98 @ Directron)
\n \nStorage: Intel 600p Series 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($169.99\n @ SuperBiiz)
\n \nVideo Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Superclocked Gaming ACX 3.0\n Video Card ($499.99 @ B&H)
\n \nCase: NZXT S340 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Newegg)
\n \nPower Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular\n ATX Power Supply ($74.89 @ OutletPC)
\n \nTotal: $1277.80
\n
I have a few questions in mind:
\n\nI have opted for a Xeon CPU without integrated graphics, because I already have a GPU on board. Will that make it difficult for me to install an OS (Ubuntu Linux) on the machine? I am a bit concerned about the \"you need to install a driver to display things, but you need to display things in order to install the system to begin with\" catch-22.
I don't need a gaming/fancy motherboard since this is supposed to be just a number cruncher. In fact, I don't even need a keyboard or monitor once the system is setup: I can just ssh into it and execute programs. So can I save a bit money here without compromising performance?
Does the power supply listed above have enough wattage to support the whole build? What if I want to add more GPUs to it in the future?
Any other suggestions will also be welcome.
Yes, graphics card usually support some low level basic display mode that is supported by most OS installers.
As the motherboard is the interconnect for all components you might not want to spend too little but you certainly don't need WiFi, BT etc.. You need to make the decision.
It should. You could try to crosscheck with some of the many calculators available from power supply vendors. In addition PCPartPicker gives a rough estimate. As for future additions it would depend on what and how much.
Personally I'd use a classic air cooler and your current list is missing case fans.
I have two speakers with 8 ohms 91dz and 100w rms (250w max). How much watt and ohms will my amplifier need? I lack basic understanding of electronics and therefore need advise on the minimal requirements an amplifier needs to not destroy my speakers.
\n", "Title": "What are the minimal requirements for my speakers?", "Tags": "|speakers|amplifiers|sound-system|", "Answer": "8 ohms is nothing, you don't need an amplifier for that. The power supplied with a mobile phone is enough to drive your headphones. You'll blow out your eardrums with an amp. (250 ohm headphones and I'd recommend an amp, but you could still get away without using one at that level)
\n\nIf you still insist on getting an amplifier for your headphones, you can get really any amplifier. Just make sure you don't go and max out the gain (I wouldn't turn that up too much anyway because it can end up amplifying a signal enough to hear some of that annoying white noise). Again, The decibels required to actually wreck your headphones will wreck your ears before you destroy your headphones.
\n" }, { "Id": "7339", "CreationDate": "2017-05-07T05:07:08.317", "Body": "If I googled best Linux laptops in 2017 I came up with a list like:
\n\nWhat use cases (except video editing, virtualbox, gaming) will break performance of a cheep alternative laptop like Acer Chromebook 15 CB5-571-C1DZ? What are your experience, when you need a upper class laptop in your daily life? Or can we say everything becomes faster on a laptop in the list above against Acer Chromebook 15, regardless which Applications you will run.
\n", "Title": "Recommendations for Linux Laptop 2017", "Tags": "|laptop|performance|", "Answer": "According to the product page the Chromebook has a Celeron 3205U Dual Core clocked at 1.5 GHz. The other machines in your list (1, 2, 3, 4) start with Intel Core i5 processors of the 6th or 7th generation usually clocked about one GHz higher featuring Hyper Threading.
\n\nCnet says the Chromebook has M.2 storage, which is better than the typical non-upgradeable and typically slower eMMC found in many other Chromebooks. It would be nice if the RAM was upgradeable too, 4 GB are not shabby but not plenty either. I'd rate the slow processor as a deal breaker though because I had a similar Celeron stutter at 1080p video playback (on a smaller screen so scaling was also involved). So the comparably big screen may not be useful at all. You may argue that you are not the kind of person watching 1080p videos on such a device and I'd mostly agree, but if the processor is already under high load in this scenario and most of the time struggling to keep up with running a non-ChromeOS OS (like just opening XFCE's or Gnome's resource monitor) then I wouldn't want to wait for it to get its work done when I actually need to be productive. Also these are usually passive cooled devices, which may overheat and crash or just throttle down even more (to get no work done at all!?). Core m processors (soon to be rebranded as Core i3) are a bit better, but they also have unusual CPU spikes when just scrolling through a website in Chromium, which I haven't noticed on mobile or desktop Core i5 processors. For a device of this size a 3270 mAh battery is a disappointment and I wouldn't recommend buying a non-USB-PD charging Chromebook, all the newer ones come with USB Type-C as per Google's new requirements (it's said to be a huge advantage in educational institutions to only have one charging connector).
\n\nN.B.: CB5-571/AURON_YUNA supports Coreboot UEFI payloads (not dual-booting ChromeOS this way though), but not all Chromebooks do, you'd have to use the legacy boot slot to boot an after market Linux distro.
\n\nRegarding my experience, I have:
\n\nSummary: I'd stay away from Celeron powered Chromebooks if you cannot live inside tmux or other specific, very trimmed down setups (GalliumOS is already very nice). A cheap small Chromebook as a non-primary device may be okay, but consider saving the money and buying a better equipped device for double the price. Such premium convertible Chromebooks with touchscreens and backlit keyboards are rare, hard to get and even more pricier at the moment here in Germany, but honestly save your money or go for the pricier Ultrabooks/Laptops while we wait for more competitive devices. I found Chrome Unboxed to be an interesting read on this topic.
\n\nEdit: Some usually bring up video editing and make it sound like something unusual, resource heavy thing that you don't usually do unless you are an artist or trying to make money off of Youtube but just set the playback speed of video above 1x and look at how that changes resource consumption or just quickly seek to the right timestamp in a video. It's also not completely absurd to watch video this way see PAL speed-up.
\n\nI have acer e5 473g and yesterday its fell from my bed and after the laptop fell the laptop went off
\n\nAnd after i turn it on again the laptop stuck at acer logo didnt reach windows10 loading circle and it made a weird noise:
\n\n\n\nWhats wrong and can its still be fixed? Sorry if im asking at the wrong place... thanks
\n", "Title": "Weird noise from laptop?", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Sounds like your hard drive died. That clicking sound is the reader head slamming back and forth.
\n" }, { "Id": "7352", "CreationDate": "2017-05-09T16:42:26.293", "Body": "I need to buy a laptop for graphic design.
\n\nMy requirements, from top to lowest priority:
\n\nMUST run all adobe programs and features fast and smooth (photoshop, illustrator, indesign, ect.).
\n\nlight weight is a big benefit.
Price is important. If you can satisfy 1. and 2. with a low cost computer, please link to it.
\n\nI would be happy for more than one option to choose from.
\n", "Title": "I need a recommendation for a low cost graphic design laptop", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "I got an Acer Aspire V Nitro laptop last year for my wife to game on and it has been fantastic. It didn't come with a lot of bloatware, if we're doing normal internet/video/etc it will last 5 or more hours on a charge, it's screen has deliciously vibrant colors, and it runs all our games smooth and fast. I understand you don't necessarily need the ability to play games, but reaching that far means it should handle photoshop for years to come, right?
\n\n$1300 option: This model I think hits all your checkmarks plus a few of mine. Comparison Notes:
\n\n$850 option: This one's a refurbished previous generation model for considerably less. Comparison Notes:
\n\nHonestly, you'd probably be just as happy with the $850 option. In fact, if it had the dual SSD/HDD configuration, I wouldn't even mention the more expensive option.
\n\nGood Luck!
\n" }, { "Id": "7358", "CreationDate": "2017-05-11T14:11:00.230", "Body": "I'm looking for a good ethereum mining GPU. I heard it's mostly memory bandwidth intensive, so I rounded up the specs of the latest cards from Wikipedia and came up this (prices are in CAD.):
\n\ncard price watts GB/s GB/s/$ GB/s/W $/(GB/s)/year\nGeForce GTX 1050 148.82 75 112 0.75 1.49 1.548\nGeForce GTX 1050 Ti 189.78 75 112 0.59 1.49 1.974\nGeForce GTX 1060 3GB 271.69 120 224 0.82 1.87 1.413\nGeForce GTX 1060 6GB 339.96 120 224 0.66 1.87 1.768\nGeForce GTX 1070 517.44 150 256 0.49 1.71 2.355\nGeForce GTX 1080 817.81 180 352 0.43 1.96 2.707\nGeForce GTX 1080 Ti 954.34 250 484 0.51 1.94 2.297\nNVIDIA TITAN X 1638.35 250 480 0.29 1.92 3.977\nNVIDIA TITAN Xp 1638.35 250 547.7 0.33 2.19 3.485\nRadeon RX 460 189.78 75 112 0.59 1.49 1.974\nRadeon RX 470 244.39 120 211 0.86 1.76 1.349\nRadeon RX 480 4GB 271.69 150 224 0.82 1.49 1.413\nRadeon RX 480 8GB 326.30 150 256 0.78 1.71 1.485\nRadeon RX 550 107.86 50 112 1.04 2.24 1.122\nRadeon RX 560 135.16 80 112 0.83 1.4 1.406\nRadeon RX 570 230.73 150 224 0.97 1.49 1.2\nRadeon RX 580 4GB 271.69 185 256 0.94 1.38 1.236\nRadeon RX 580 8GB 312.65 185 256 0.82 1.38 1.423\nEverything there's pretty self-explanatory except for the far right column. It's an estimated TCO per unit memory speed per year including cost of power in Ontario. So, you can probably just ignore it if you don't live in Ontario. In fact, you can probably ignore it even if you do.
\n\nAnyway, the GB/s/W is the dominating factor when it comes to electrical bills. By that measure, the Radeon RX 550 is winning, but you'd need quite a few of those in a single system to really reap the benefits.
\n\nIn the rest of my build, I'm assuming that mining throughput scales more or less linearly with additional GPUs. If this is true, communication between GPUs isn't necessary (i.e. crossfire support unneeded) and it doesn't matter too much what the PCIE bus speed is. I'm assuming linear scaling because I think this is how it works on the network at large, with eth generation scaling linearly with number of miners. Is that a sound assumption?
\n\nAnyway, to those who have actually done this in real life, am I at all close here? Am I missing anything critical?
\n\nBTW, this is the script I used to generate that table:
\n\n#!/usr/bin/env python\n\n# constants for doing conversions.\nhour = 60*60\nyear = 365.25*24*hour\nkilo = 1000\nwatt = 1\nCAD = 1\nUSD = 1.36529*CAD\n\n# Data is from Wikipedia.\n# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_10_series\n# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Radeon_400_series\n# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Radeon_500_series\ncard = [\n 'GeForce GTX 1050', 'GeForce GTX 1050 Ti', 'GeForce GTX 1060 3GB',\n 'GeForce GTX 1060 6GB', 'GeForce GTX 1070', 'GeForce GTX 1080',\n 'GeForce GTX 1080 Ti', 'NVIDIA TITAN X', 'NVIDIA TITAN Xp',\n\n 'Radeon RX 460', 'Radeon RX 470', 'Radeon RX 480 4GB',\n 'Radeon RX 480 8GB', 'Radeon RX 550', 'Radeon RX 560',\n 'Radeon RX 570', 'Radeon RX 580 4GB', 'Radeon RX 580 8GB',\n ]\nprice = [\n 109*USD, 139*USD, 199*USD, 249*USD, 379*USD,\n 599*USD, 699*USD, 1200*USD, 1200*USD,\n\n 139*USD, 179*USD, 199*USD, 239*USD, 79*USD,\n 99*USD, 169*USD, 199*USD, 229*USD,\n ]\nwatts = [\n 75, 75, 120, 120, 150, 180, 250, 250, 250,\n\n 75, 120, 150, 150, 50, 80, 150, 185, 185,\n ]\ngflops = [\n 1862, 2138, 3935, 4372, 6463, 8873, 11340, 10974, 12150,\n\n 2150, 4940, 5834, 5834, 1211, 2611, 5095, 6175, 6175,\n ]\n\nmemspeed = [\n 112, 112, 224, 224, 256, 352, 484, 480, 547.7,\n\n 112, 211, 224, 256, 112, 112, 224, 256, 256,\n ]\n\n\n# http://www.ontario-hydro.com/current-rates\npowerprice = (12*0.087 + 6*0.18 + 6*0.132)/24 * CAD/(kilo*watt*hour)\n\n# Expected lifetime of GPU before resale. PCIE4 is coming out in two years, \n# probably destroying all of this.\nlifetime = 2*year\n\n# Expected percent depreciation of GPU's resale value after above lifetime has \n# elapsed. Optimistic?\ndepreciation = .2\n\nprint('{:20}{:>10}{:>10}{:>10}{:>10}{:>10}{:>15}'.format(\n 'card', 'price', 'watts', 'Gflops',\n 'Gflops/$', 'Gflops/W', '$/Tflops/year'))\nfor i in range(len(card)):\n gpd = gflops[i]/price[i]\n gpw = gflops[i]/watts[i]\n # Average total cost of ownership per year per teraflops of computing \n # power, including cost of power if for some reason running at full tilt \n # all year round.\n dpT = 1000/gpd\n tco = dpT*(depreciation/lifetime + powerprice) * year\n print('{:20}{:10.2f}{:10}{:10}{:10.2f}{:10.3}{:15.4}'.format(\n card[i], price[i], watts[i], gflops[i], gpd, gpw, tco))\n\nprint()\n\nprint('{:20}{:>10}{:>10}{:>10}{:>10}{:>10}{:>15}'.format(\n 'card', 'price', 'watts', 'GB/s',\n 'GB/s/$', 'GB/s/W', '$/(GB/s)/year'))\nfor i in range(len(card)):\n gpd = memspeed[i]/price[i]\n gpw = memspeed[i]/watts[i]\n dpg = 1/gpd\n tco = dpg*(depreciation/lifetime + powerprice) * year\n print('{:20}{:10.2f}{:10}{:10}{:10.2f}{:10.3}{:15.4}'.format(\n card[i], price[i], watts[i], memspeed[i], gpd, gpw, tco))\nInstead of relying on theoretical considerations, it is wise to take into account real measured hash rates. Fortunately, since many tech sites have taken upon themselves to do these benchmarks, and publish the results, you do not have to actually purchase the cards to get hard numbers for yourself. These numbers can reveal certain unexpected deviations from the theoretically expected hash rates: For example many miners have found an unexplained decrease in hash rate on the newer Polaris GPUs at larger DAG sizes. (1)(2) This can mean trouble over the long term, as those cards become obsolete for mining before paying for themselves.
\n\nLooking at the benchmark results, we can immediately see some interesting figures. The older R9 390/Xs perform superbly, and do not appear to degrade at higher DAG sizes. It's somewhat surprising to see the GTX 1070 above the 1080, something we would never know just looking at the 1080's higher core count and memory bandwidth. It appears that GDDR5 has superior latency characteristics for mining than the GDDR5X used in the 1080 (Another reason spec sheets do not tell the whole story: latency information is missing). The GTX 1060 also performs adequately, though for future proofing, the 6 GB version is a must.
\n\nOverall, due to the higher power consumption and lower availability of the older Radeon cards, although the R9 390 is a viable candidate, I do not heavily recommend it. Essentially, the decision is between the 1070 and the 1060. The choice between the two essentially boils down to how much capital you plan on investing into your mining gear. Since for a more expensive GPU, the rest of the system makes up for a smaller proportion of total costs, I would recommend the GTX 1070 as a first choice and the GTX 1060 or R9 390/X GPUs as secondary options.
\n" }, { "Id": "7363", "CreationDate": "2017-05-12T04:48:59.767", "Body": "I'm looking to buy a smartphone in the U.S. that has NFC and clean Android (i.e., no bloatware). I'm also looking for a phone that is reasonably priced and that has a decent processor. I know these specs are rather vague, but I was thinking something along the lines of the moto G5. (Hopefully that will make it a bit clearer.)
\n\nUnsurprisingly, my first impulse was to buy the moto G5, until I found out that for some reason it doesn't come with NFC only in the US. So now I'm trying to find similar phones with similar prices and specs, which is hard because the Moto G really does a very nice job of making good affordable phones.
\n\nSo far the only thing that came close were the new Nokia phones that were announced, but I still don't know the price and the specs don't seem to be as good as the Moto G specs. Also, although it should be released in the second trimester of 2017, no news as to a US release date.
\n\nCheers.
\n\nP.S.: Another alternative is to somehow buy a Moto G5 with NFC in the U.S. via some non-shady path, but I'm unaware of how to do that.
\n", "Title": "Budget phone with NFC", "Tags": "|android|smartphones|nfc|", "Answer": "Alongside the option that @Jeff mentioned, There is the Blackberry Priv for only $219 new off eBay US.
\n\nThis phone's bloatware is about as existent as Motorola phones. Also, defining bloatware for blackberry devices is somewhat complex. These devices do not show bloat in any form such as Samsung, instead the bloat is really slight overlay tweaks, which can be customised to a certain extent.
\n\nPerformance wise, the Priv is one of the best phones I have had the pleasure to use, It just feels so slick and interruption free. It sports NFC too.
\n\nOne benefit is the lovely screen, and QWERTY keyboard that sits behind the screen, sliding up and down, and doesn't really add to the psychological feeling of bulkiness. The phone is only 9.4mm thick, actually .1 mm slimmer than the Moto G5.
\n\nI would definitly recommend the phone, and even more recommend trying one out if you can.
\n" }, { "Id": "7369", "CreationDate": "2017-05-13T05:47:51.087", "Body": "I'm helping an older coworker upgrade his PC, he has a HP Compaq with the following:
\n\nHe just needs something he can use for day-to-day browsing and the occasional HD movie. Budget is very tight, at CAD $150.
\n\nI plan to buy the following for him:
\n\nI originally thought to upgrade the CPU, but the motherboard is incompatible with modern CPUs. To upgrade the motherboard + CPU would practically use up the entire budget, with unusable RAM and storage space. I chose to get a graphics card because the Pentium 4 seems to struggle with Youtube videos even at 720p.
\n\nWould this be a good allocation of the budget, or is there any better ideas?
\n\nP.S. I've had bad experiences with used parts so that's not an option. I don't want to risk his limited budget on potentially faulty components.
\n", "Title": "Can a graphics card revive an old pentium 4 PC?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "The upgrade is fine; the 8400 GS appears to have great reviews on Amazon.
\n\nHowever, with an increase in use of cloud services, I doubt that the 1 TB of space will be used at all; maybe 100 GB at the most, since you said that what he will be doing will be pretty much just browsing. Thus, I recommend getting a small 128 GB SSD, which go for around $55. SSDs make Windows considerably snappy, as for many computers the hard drive is the bottleneck for loading web pages. There won't be any complaining of slowness ;)
\n" }, { "Id": "7371", "CreationDate": "2017-05-13T14:42:08.433", "Body": "I want to help an eldery man (>70) who wants to send scans of his incoming mail to his son.
\n\nI'm thinking of an hand scanner (something like: https://www.amazon.de/Easypix-Easy-scan-A4-Scanner-schwarz/dp/B0038JQIF6). A desktop scanner is not an option, due to space limitations, and limited mobility of the man.
\n\nMain criteria:
\n\nCable less, (Bluetooth)
Direct interaction with IPad via Bluetooth. There should be an app where the man can online see the result of the scan.
Simple GUI of app. Main features requried are: Scan Document. Safe to file. Send by email. More complex options (like dpi, OCR, post processing) are not required, and should not result in some complex GUI.
Not too small displays or bottons on the device. shall be useable also if the eyesight is not perfect anymore.
Not so important:
\n\nAny Idea?
\n", "Title": "portable hand scanner works with ipad (for eldery person)", "Tags": "|scanner|", "Answer": "I have the Dacuda Pocketscan which as previously a successful Kickstarter project.
\n\nIt fits most of your requirements. Most, because being a hand-sized item, the power button is on the small side, about Pez candy size. The begin/end scan button is the larger round button on the top. Results are good, although most of my scans with it are newspaper quality and picks up the dark on the flip side of the paper. It's not the scanner that's poor quality, it's the paper.\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/jW7nq.jpg\")
This is the result of a scan of a day-to-day single page calendar, with better quality paper.
\n\nWhen the scanner is powered up, if the i-Device is turned on and the app installed, it takes the signal and asks permission to start, reducing the need to find the app on the device. Once permitted, pressing the button on the scan device begins the scan.
\n\nIt does require reasonably steady hands and the ability to recognize overlap areas which are used to register previous passes of the scanner.
\n\nThe age of the user and tiny button may disqualify this item.
\n\nWhat is objectionable with the item you linked as an example?
\n" }, { "Id": "7372", "CreationDate": "2017-05-13T15:04:54.650", "Body": "I understand that there's no 100% secure firmware. But there are some brands that regularly update their firmware to fix discovered vulnerabilities. What brands of WiFi routers (or specific models) are considered to be secure, stable and provide regular firmware updates? Or maybe even have open-source firmware? I'm looking for a router for home usage, not an enterprise solution.
\n", "Title": "What WiFi router brands or models are considered to be secure?", "Tags": "|wifi|router|", "Answer": "For cheap solution I use a wifi router well supported by dd-wrt alternative firmware.\nHere you can find supported models database.
\n\nFor more advanced, trouble-safe solution I use Ubiquiti UniFi - the AC-Lite model is really good.
\n" }, { "Id": "7385", "CreationDate": "2017-05-15T14:41:04.093", "Body": "I'm trying to replace an HHD for an SSD on a \" MSI CX61 2QC-1654US\" but when I go online to buy for ssd they all look super big. I was doing a little research and there is something called Caddy to substitute the dvd but I don't want to go without dvds. So how can I find a ssd that fits my laptop? I uploaded a pic so you can see how small it is (m... That didn't sound right... Hahaha) anyway.. please give me a little help, I'm doing my bachelor in Computer science now but I have no idea about hardware and I'd like to learn. Thank you
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/YsuWf.jpg\")
Measure the width of the HDD. If it is about 2.75 inches then it is a 2.5\" HDD and so a 2.5\" SSD will fit.
\n\nSome SSDs are thinner than some HDDs so they come with a spacer. Any non-electrically-conductive packing would do if you find the SSD is not held firmly, but I do not expect that to be a problem as they normally use four screws to hold them in.
\n" }, { "Id": "7391", "CreationDate": "2017-05-17T07:13:40.887", "Body": "Is there a PC keyboard for Linux, that ALWAYS prints THE SAME SINGLE character that is displayed on the key being pressed?
\n\nThe core (the X in XY problem) problem of mine is, that
\n\nI was given multiple answers explaining how it can't be done for various technical reasons. I don't care! Tell me how it can be done, or better, how it is done.
\n\nWhat I'm implying (the Y in XY problem) is, the physical images on the keys should always resemble the character to appear on the screen. Obviously, one might think of a huge keyboard with everything but the kitchen sink, but that's absurd.
\n\nFor one, I'm sure it can be solved by e-ink keys and I'm sure there are many more choices out there. Maybe the keyboard itself could have an OS to interact with host OS as an intermediary, an adapter. Maybe some sensoric feedback, some integrated touchscreen, some gestures, anything.
\n\nProvided a similar product exists:
\n\nIf I ain't asking too much, could it NOT destroy my carpal tunnel\nwhile doing its job?
If I still ain't asking much, could it be wireless? Bluetooth would probably be pushing it. I'd do with a dongle that gets accidentally destroyed, making the whole keyboard effectively and irreversibly unusable.
\n\n\nI was given multiple answers explaining how it can't be done for various technical reasons. I don't care! Tell me how it can be done, or better, how it is done.
\n
Not gonna get far with an attitude like that, but I guess I'll tell you again that what you're looking for doesn't exist. It's impractical to a level where trying to produce and market a product that fills your requirements would sell one unit, and that unit would be sold to you. There is no keyboard that has dynamic displays that would change in response to stimulus from the Linux OS. Keyboard manufacturers have trouble getting little LED screens for \"gaming\" keyboards to play nicely with AAA software titles on Windows; thus, there's definitely nothing that exists and even if it did you'd have to build all those interactions into your Linux distro yourself. Here are the options that I see available to you:
\n\nGet a programmable board with different presets of keybindings. You may have a tough time finding something that works for you though, because a lot of these boards tend to be smaller and thus the multiple inputs per key scale as the number of keys gets smaller. If you look at an Anne Pro mechanical keyboard, for example, it's got 4 preset key combinations and one of those can be programmed as any layout you like. It's also got a ton of commands per key because it's a 60% size board. It is wireless but it's bluetooth, which I know you said you didn't want. Unfortunately almost all wireless keyboards that aren't $20 use bluetooth, especially the ones with the kind of programmable features you're looking for.
Get two full size programmable boards and program one board for all of the primary key inputs and then the other board for all the secondary inputs and then buy custom keycaps for each board with only the symbol you want printed on them.
It sounds like you \"need\" option 2 because this issue is driving you nuts, and I get that. It sounds like what you \"want\" is something like option number 1, but that's never going to fulfill all of the standards you want to meet. You're either going to have to make a compromise here or get creative beyond my capabilities. Best of luck.
\n" }, { "Id": "7396", "CreationDate": "2017-05-18T04:35:18.523", "Body": "You might be thinking that I want to connect my external hard drive using SATA cables as an internal one....But no, that's what I don't want to do. Is there any way that I can connect an external hard drive using an USB connection and configure it using some software perhaps, which will enable me to use it as an internal one, so that I can move my operating system (Windows 10) and Applications to my external hard drive and use the internal one for files such as documents- storage? Any idea how to do that!?
\n", "Title": "How can I use an external hard drive as an internal one virtually?", "Tags": "|windows|", "Answer": "I am using the same thing on Linux, but it should not matter. I just install whole system on USB flash and setup in BIOS to boot from USB first.
\n\nNow it finds the USB on start, boots from it, sets the whole system, connects to net and does the usuall daily tasks. I can connect remotly, setup encription and connect internal hard drives encrypted, if I need so.
\n\nThose internal HDDs contains just5 encrypted data, nothing else, the USB flash contains the full system and can be used to rescue any USB bootable computer (nearly any nowadays).
\n\nAs flash is not good for too many writes, I load as much as possible of the system to memory at start and I set the logs to RAM disc entirly, so th USB can be read-only. Takes more time to boot (USB is always slower than native connection), but I do not care. I can get the system anywhere else leave the computer with encrypted data discs only, not being able to boot. I can use the flash on any other computer to get my system working.
\n\nIn Windows case it would mean to install the windows on the USB only (or start with some rescue flash and expand its content, then maybe copy it to USB disc. The disc probably needs to be market \"bootable\" and you need to set the computer BIOS to boot first from remote media - either as default option, or as backup option and do not make internal disc bootable, or just press propper key on boot to select boot media from list of aviable devices.
\n\nAs I do not use Windows for many years (from when XP was hot new), I cannot provide step to step instruction, but maybe Windows are not so bad, that they would not enable \"rescue system\" to lay on USB media and to be customized ...
\n" }, { "Id": "7423", "CreationDate": "2017-05-24T08:33:30.137", "Body": "I am looking for a low wattage CPU with relative high performance. I read on several places, that underclocking or undervolting cheaper normal processors (e.g. Xeon e3-1230v3) can have the same result as buying a rare and more expensive L or T version (e.g. Xeon e3-1230Lv3) of the same processor. Is this true, or should I buy the more expensive low wattage version?
\n", "Title": "Is underclocked Xeon e3-1230v3 the same as e3-1230Lv3?", "Tags": "|processor|power|", "Answer": "The answer is that it depends. If the one processor is faster than another, you can definitely undervolt the processor, or underclock it to slow it down. It would be dependent on how much you undervolt or underclock the processor, however. You might also want to note that you would want to make sure that your motherboard can support overclocking so you can ensure that you can actually mess around with the processor states and voltages.
\n\nAlso note that the power consumption scales linearly with frequency and quadratically with voltage. So you can also reduce the frequency on a cpu state to lower power consumption as well, but it is more effective to decrease voltage because it has a squared relationship with power consumption.
\n" }, { "Id": "7436", "CreationDate": "2017-05-26T07:12:09.133", "Body": "I need a laptop for graphic design under 900$ (can go up to 1000$)
\n\nMUST HAVE\n1. NOT ASUS\n2. must run photoshop, illustrator, indesign, ect. fast and smooth.\n3. 14\" screen with viable resolution
\n\nadded value, but not must:\n1. light weight\n2. ssd
\n\nIf \"must have\" can't be satisfied under 900$, please give the lowest price that does satisfy those requirements
\n\nThanks
\n", "Title": "I need a recommendation for a cheap laptop for graphic design", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "If you need the best specs under $900 than i will recommend you this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MR82G0W?ie=UTF8 \nAcer VX 15\ni5-7300HQ processor\n16GB DDR4 RAM\n256GB SSD\nWindows 10 OS\n15.6 inch FHD IPS display\n4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti GPU..\nyou can easily upgrade its storage but you have to Acer support for HDD upgrade complimentary kit so they can send you....\nThe second one which i like the most is Dell Inspiron 7567 but if you are going to buy this one than i suggest you to buy it with IPS panel display instead of TN one that's what makes the laptop best graphic design laptop ........
\n" }, { "Id": "7446", "CreationDate": "2017-05-27T19:19:19.327", "Body": "I am not sure \"deadbolt\" is the correct term for what I am looking for. I am searching for the metal piece on the side of doors that extends to lock it, but one that can be controlled electronically (with Arduino).
\n\nThe thing on the right of this video is exactly what I want, but I can't seem to find anything like it.
\n\nDoes anyone know where I could find one of these, or at least what this would be called?
\n\nI am also open to other setups to lock a door, but the part I described above is preferable. It doesn't need to be very secure or anything; I mostly just want to make use of an RFID scanner.
\n", "Title": "Electronic Deadbolt for Door", "Tags": "|arduino|", "Answer": "I accidentally found the answer to my own question. What I am looking for suddenly happened to appear in my Amazon recommendations (even though I haven't searched for anything like this on Amazon), and found you can find a lot of electric door locks by searching \"open frame type solenoid\" including this one, for example.
\n" }, { "Id": "7451", "CreationDate": "2017-05-28T10:13:15.843", "Body": "I'm a first time computer builder and I want to know is every thing in this build compatible. -thanks
\n\nIntel - Core i3-7100 kabylake 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor with stock cooler\u00a0
MSI - Z270-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard\u00a0
Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory\u00a0
Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5\" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive\u00a0
EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB GAMING Video Card\u00a0
Corsair - SPEC-ALPHA (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case\u00a0
EVGA - 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply
The Intel Pentium G4560 is a castrated i3 and hardly slower, maybe 10%. The Z-Board is a waste of money, especially if you do not overclock.\nRAM seems legit on first glance but you lose dual channel which needs 2 RAM sticks to get slightly more performance.\nDon't buy cards for around 200\u20ac or more with only 3GB Video RAM, bad choice, rather go AMD with 8GB (470/570, 480/580) or Nvidia 6GB 1060.\nYou have to check if your stuff fits in the case.
\n\nBudget? The goal is to build a gaming PC, right? What games? Other tasks which the PC has to master? An SSD instead of an old HDD would greatly reduce all of your loading and startup times, makes the PC much more responsive but gives you (almost) nothing for gaming.\nMaximum and desired resolution (which is mostly GPU work)? Do you have some old hardware left? Etc. etc. Google and other tech/PC sites are a major help if you search a bit more, the forums there might also have guides which might answer your questions.
\n\nEdit: compatible? Seems so (if it fits into the case which it probably does but I don't know). Ahh and the mentioned i3-like pentium costs like half of the i3 or maybe even less.
\n" }, { "Id": "7452", "CreationDate": "2017-05-28T14:20:21.663", "Body": "I am looking for a cheap tablet that I can use with a stylus for primarily marking up pdfs. I spend a lot of my time doing architectural redlines and having to use a mouse to draw boxes and arrows and annotations is a waste of time, but so is printing out documents, marking them up and then scanning them back in to send to somebody.
\n\nIdeally, it would have a decent amount of RAM so it would not have to reload sections of the PDF on larger documents.
I would require a fine point stylus rather than the ones like the older iPad styluses that were like trying to draw with a sausage.
A camera would be nice for going to site visits but is, by no means, a necessity.
I'm not married to any operating system, the functionality is the larger concern. Windows would be nice because that is what my company uses so I could use their software license pool for the PDF software but every OS has something similar.
Size is not a major concern. Probably at least a 4x6 screen so I am not constantly trying to zoom in and out of the document but beyond that, I can manage.
I found this when researching an answer to my question: Sony Digital Paper\nSony DPT-RP1/B Digital Paper https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072DXXXN1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_RXeozb5XNDYTN
\n\nIt has most everything I envisioned except the camera. The price is ludicrous to me though.
\n" }, { "Id": "7453", "CreationDate": "2017-05-28T21:21:32.377", "Body": "I'm looking for an input device that mimics how the Wii/Wii-U operate using the sensor-bar.
\n\nI need it as a secondary mouse. So, a pointer of sorts that isn't just a clicker would be nice. Something that will let me move my mouse without having to actually drag it on something material.
\n\nNot sure if anything like that exists though.
\n", "Title": "Input device that mimics wiimote to use as mouse?", "Tags": "|mice|", "Answer": "Logitech MXAir. I've been using mine since roughly 2007 and I love it. 8 programmable buttons and a touch surface for delightful scrolling. They don't make it anymore, so you'd have to get it off eBay.
\n" }, { "Id": "7461", "CreationDate": "2017-05-29T19:06:58.793", "Body": "I have been looking to buy an GTX 10 series laptops, for the last month here in India, I need a laptop which would be able to play games on Med-High settings in the upcoming 4+ years.
\n\nI have browsed Amazon.com and many products are not available in India.
\n\nWhat I have in mind is:
\n\n2170 USD(140000 INR)\nHP OMEN - 17 inch - i7 7th Gen - GTX 1060TX - 256 SSD\nhttp://www.hpshopping.in/hp_omen_-_17-w249tx
\n\n1550 USD(100000 INR)\nHP OMEN - 15.6 inch - i7 7th Gen - GTX 1050Ti - 256 SSD\nhttp://www.hpshopping.in/omen_by_hp_15-ax252tx_laptop_pc
\n\nI will probably get a monitor later, If I get the 15 inch one.
\n\nWhich one would be the best, Also feel free to suggest some other choices, but I feel these are best within this range.
\n\nThanks.
\n", "Title": "Gaming laptop to buy?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|gaming|", "Answer": "I am not from India, and INR prices don't translate very well in my mind, but this seems about in your price range.
\n\nI am not sure that this would be available to ship to you (since I am not from India), but it seems that Flipkart is pretty big out there, so hopefully it is.
\n\nAnyways, this is considerably less powerful than the laptop you posted, but seems to also be somewhat cheaper. The CPU is the same, but the GPU is a 1050 (not Ti) instead of a 1060. It has 8GB of RAM instead of 16GB. I have a laptop with similar specifications to the one listed (better only in terms of RAM), and it performs very well. If you want to game in 1080p without anything like VR and don't always need the absolute highest settings, this should be adequate.
\n\nThere is a US version of this notebook that has a better GPU for a really good price, but I was unable to locate this on any Indian site.
\n\nGood luck finding something that works for you.
\n" }, { "Id": "7500", "CreationDate": "2017-06-04T12:35:42.533", "Body": "is there a device which converts the incoming lan signals into wifi signals?
\n\nThe apartment only has a fixed network ip with a predetermined gateway and DNS. One needs to give this static ip, netmask and gateway in the network configuration of the computer and it works.
\n\nBut I would like to use smart phones to access the network. Hence the static settings should be done in the device ( maybe it is is called an lan to wifi adaptor ) itself . Ofcourse, I do not want an expensive ADSL or DSL because I do not need the modem functionality.
\n\nAlso, it would be great to know how this network device works i.e how does it give the IP addresses to the connected devices - may be using NAT?
\n\nHelp with links what I should look for, would be appreciated.
\n\nEdit 05 June, 2017:
\n\nI have a FritzBox 7240, which according to this manual ( German ) https://avm.de/service/fritzbox/fritzbox-7240/wissensdatenbank/publication/show/106_FRITZ-Box-fuer-Betrieb-mit-anderem-Router-einrichten/, should be able to fulfill my needs. But the problem there is, that the static IP provided by the external router is class B ( 134.x.x.x ). If I enter this static IP into the FritzBox's Routers configuration and activate the DHCP server of the Fritzbox to provide IPs ( Class C - 192.168.178.x ) that would distribute the IP's to the connected devices, the Fritz box complains a conflict between the Class B incoming IP and the class C Fritzbox's DHCP IP.
\n\nSo, I have left with no other choice, but to buy some other device like an Access Point.
\n", "Title": "LAN to WIFI Adaptor", "Tags": "|router|", "Answer": "Found this cheap device which acts as a bridge, AP, router - all in one and is configurable with static ip, dns and gateway -
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "7501", "CreationDate": "2017-06-04T13:39:48.677", "Body": "I've been playing games for a long time now and most sound systems or headsets I've had, have the problem of not being able to differentiate up from down. They may give you the info of where the sound is coming from in a 360 degree circle around you, but not in a sphere.
\n\nAnyway, that's what I want, I want to be able to tell whether a sound is coming from above or below or neither (same elevation). I've looked at 7.1 headsets but they have the front, rear and side speakers. I haven't been able to find anything else.
\n", "Title": "Is there a headset/headphones that can differentiate up from down?", "Tags": "|gaming|audio|headphones|", "Answer": "One manufacturer that offers Dolby Atmos headphones with above/below 360\u00b0 sound is Plantronics with their RIG 800LX, 600LX and 400LX. Truth be told, Atmos works with any stereo headphones but it's bound to be a bit better with headphones that are licensed by Dolby.
\n\nAnother option is 7.1 headphones, with not just two stereo drivers but several.\n![\"Razer](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/c5ThO.png\")
Razer Tiamat 7.1 V2 delivers surround sound through 10 discrete drivers \u2013 5 in each ear cup. A similar idea is used by the Asus ROG Centurion 7.1 gaming headsets, with five discrete neodymium magnets in each ear cup.
\n" }, { "Id": "7503", "CreationDate": "2017-06-04T16:11:05.530", "Body": "Are there any arm SOCs with large mounts of ram such as 16Gb ? Several phones have come out with 8Gb ram, so I expected the same developments to happen in the SOC sector. I believe there are ARM based data centre servers with high ram loads too. Why is this the case, is it due to the cost and the market these devices are aimed at?
\n", "Title": "SOC with more than 4Gb ram?", "Tags": "|memory|raspberry-pi|energy-efficient|", "Answer": "Pine RockPro 64 now exists with a 4Gb option, as does the Raspberry Pi 4
\n" }, { "Id": "7513", "CreationDate": "2017-06-05T16:14:12.203", "Body": "I want to know which earbud is best suited for dynamic sports, imagine gymnastics handstand or high bar jumping.\nthe characteristics that i'm looking for is high-quality, durability and stability(something that doesn't drop)
\n", "Title": "Recommendation for Wireless earbud suitable for dynamic sports", "Tags": "|wireless|earphones|", "Answer": "I recommend you get the Jaybird X3. These earbuds come with multiple tips and fins in the box to make sure they stay in your ears. The X3s are wireless and can last up to 8 hours on a charge. The audio sounds great, there is a lot of bass and it can be tweaked with the Jaybird Mysound app to suit your needs. These earbuds are a bit expensive at 130 USD on Amazon but well worth the price.
\n\nhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M7NCT5O
\n\nJust in case you like your specs.\nhttps://www.jaybirdsport.com/en-us/x3-bluetooth-headphones/details-specs.html
\n" }, { "Id": "7525", "CreationDate": "2017-06-08T08:22:10.870", "Body": "Here's what I need to do:\nI want to have multiple desktop/laptop PCs stored in minimal space\nI should be able to attach a peripheral device to each PC.\nShould be able to access the PCs easily to attach/detach peripheral devices\nI would like to use a multiplexer to access each PC with the same keyboard+mouse+monitor so I save on monitor space(and wires, and cost).\nIt should be expandable vertically because I don't have desk space to expand horizontally.
\n\nThink of it as a Server rack, but I am not going to use individual racks. I want similar compactness but with individual PCs.\nThe cabinet should be secure(ie. Cabinet should be lockable)
\n\nI have searched for cabinets that allow me to store whole PCs but it doesn't look like this is easily available. Anyone who knows something that matches? or have build such cabinets?
\n", "Title": "How can I create a rack with PCs", "Tags": "|pc|server|", "Answer": "\n\nMaterial List for D.I.Y. Server Rack
\n\n2 Pair of 20U Space Rack Rails \u2014 $45 (eBay)\n4 2x4s \u2013 $10.00 (Lowe\u2019s)\n48 3\u2033 Sheetrock Screws \u2014 $4.58 (Lowe\u2019s)\n20 1-1/4\u2033 Sheetrock Screws \u2014 $4.58 (Lowe\u2019s)\nSet of 4 2\u2033 High Capacity Rubber Locking Plate Casters \u2013 $15.99 (Amazon)\nMinwax Wood Finish, Red Oak 215 (had some)\nTotal Cost: $80.15
\n\nTool List for D.I.Y. Server Rack
\n\nSaw (Circular, Table, or Radial; I have a Sliding, Compound Radial Saw)\nCordless Drill (Mine: B&D 18v)\nPhillips Head bit (magnetic is a plus)\nDrill bit (for pilot holes for the screw)\nPaint brush for Minwax\nSteps for D.I.Y. Home Server Rack
\n\nMake cuts on 2x4s (see above for cuts)\nAssemble top and bottom \u201csquare frames\u201d\nAttach uprights to bottom frame (use a square to make sure these are square/level)\nAttach Rails, making sure they are flush again the bottom frame, and square along the edge.\nAttach top square frame\nStain (this is optional, but easy and makes it look nice)\nAttach casters to bottom of server rack.\nI'm looking to get a laptop for coding which I hope to use for the next 2/3 years.
\n\nI have a tight budget of roughly about 700 dollars and am not looking for anything too fancy(or to low at the end of the spectrum too) I'm a beginner coder but looking to pour a lot of time into coding(starting with objective C) and your opinions would help a lot!!
\n\nThanks for any help in advance! :)
\n", "Title": "Laptop for coding", "Tags": "|laptop|ssd|performance|web-development|game-development|", "Answer": "You wouldn't by any change be taking on developing apps for iOS -- the iPhone, iPad? I'm asking because I've personally only heard of Objective C being used for iOS apps. This is important, because if are then you must have a Macintosh.
\n\nIf I'm wrong, ignore my answer and carry on.
\n\nLook, my original answer was deleted because it wasn't recommending a specific product. I understand those are the rules of this forum, but if my above assumptions are correct, them the information provided in my answer is vital, since buying anything else than a Macintosh (like the accepted answer recommends) is misleading and will only result in you wasting your money! I'm not a Mac person, but here, because rules, is a randomly recommended specific product that'll actually let you compile and run Objective C as you required. You want at least 8GB of RAM.
\n\nOn a side note: You may be interested in knowing that all iOS developers (that I know of!) are moving away from Objective C and switching to the Swift programming language.
\n" }, { "Id": "7567", "CreationDate": "2017-06-14T20:42:07.297", "Body": "I would like to know if such device exists and what are your models recommendations if so.
\n\nThe problem I'm trying to solve is to create multiple Wi-Fi networks each of then with limited band speed. That is because in my development group we need to test apps with different speed scenarios both for download and upload capabilities.
\n\nWith such device I would create something like:
\n\nWiFi Network 1 - 1 Mbps download speed\n 128 Kbps upload speed\nWiFi Network 2 - 56 Kbps download speed\n 28 Kbps upload speed\nWiFi Network 3 - 1 Gbps download speed\n 128 Mbps upload speed\n...\nIf such device does not exist (yet) what would be your recommendations for a Manageable Router with different Access Points plugged to it?
\n\nLike:
\n\n Manageable Router 1 (4 network ports):\n Port 1: wifi access point 1 (config 1 above)\n Port 2: wifi access point 2 (config 2 above)\n Port 3: wifi access point 3 (config 3 above)\n ...\nThanks for your suggestions.
\n", "Title": "Manageable Router with multiple wifi networks capability", "Tags": "|wifi|networking|router|", "Answer": "While I could not find the ability specific to the wifi network for the RT-AC3200 that @gabygg4 recommended. I was able to determine that you can do this using adaptive qos on this router.
\n\nIn fact on most of the RT series routers you can do this with.
\n\nGoing this route will be a little more cumbersome if you have a client that needs to test on two separate bandwidths back to back. To simplify that process you could simply set up some .reg files to change the mac address on the computer with a double click.
\n" }, { "Id": "7576", "CreationDate": "2017-06-15T16:04:53.927", "Body": "Those are the requirements:
\n\nIdea is to give my wife all-round device that can replace a laptop but will also be easy to pack into a bag and take outdoors for a few hours. I'm UK based so thinking on packing into it Three all-you-can-eat-data sim for mobile phones (not mobile broadband) for cheap internet-on-the-move.
\n\nUsed item is perfectly fine, so please do not limit yourselves to 2016/2017 models. Price is a factor, but with used item not so much, so let's say \u00a3500 is the limit.
\n\nI'm perfectly willing to experiment, so chinese slates are ok, too.
\n\nI'm having serious problem finding something that will match all criteria, not to mention also reasonably priced. I'm happy to have another look myself if someone points me to a search engine that will reliably filter offers. A lot of sellers will drop a gem like \"4G ready\" or \"Mobile internet compatible\" in the description or specs, which means it will work with a dongle, but that's what will not work for me for obvious reasons.
\n", "Title": "2-in-1 phablet/laptop - detachable keyboard, long battery life, 3G/4G sim slot", "Tags": "|laptop|smartphones|tablet|4g|detachable|", "Answer": "You may want to consider the Microsoft Surface 3 LTE. I have one myself, and really like it. I specifically purchased it for it's built-in LTE capability, because I find looping WiFi through a phone or using a dongle awkward. Unfortunately, Surface 3 is no longer available direct from Microsoft - I don't know what the other options in your area are. You mentioned that refurbished or secondary market options are acceptable, so that would be your best bet anyway.
\n\nThe other key feature is the fact that it runs a real OS, not limited portable-specific OS (like Android or iOS). I wanted to be able to run proper Microsoft Office applications on it, including VBA-scripted macros, which is something the portable versions of applications could not do.
\n\nThere is a keyboard and pen available. I recommend one or the other, if not both. The keyboard and it's touchpad are surprisingly good for their thinness, and the pen is very nice for when you're walking around holding it in-hand.
\n\nI've included the specs here, just in case they drop it from the website, too. If at all possible, you'll want to get the 4 GB RAM/128 GB SSD version:
\n\nDimensions: 10.52 x 7.36 x 0.34 in (267 x 187 x 8.7 mm), 1.37 lbs. (622g)
Display: 10.8\u201d 1920 x 1280 (214 PPI) 3:2 aspect ratio 10-point multi-touch
Memory & Storage: 2GB RAM with 64GB storage, 4GB RAM with 128GB storage
Processor: Quad Core Intel Atom\u2122 x7-Z8700 with Intel HD Graphics
Sensors: Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, GPS in LTE-enabled models
Ports: Full-size USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, Micro SD card reader, Micro USB charging port, Headset jack
Camera: 3.5MP front-facing, 8.0MP rear-facing camera with autofocus, with 1080p HD video recording
Battery: Up to 10 hours of video playback
Audio: Microphone & Speakers built-in
WiFi: 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible, Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
LTE: Unlocked SIM (non-AT&T): UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+: 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz\n4G LTE: 700 (Band 17), 800 (Band 20), 850 (Band 5), 1700 (Band 4), 1800 (Band 3), 1900 (Band 2), 2100 (Band 1), 2600 (Band 7) MHz\noth 4.0
I have an AMD Phenom II x6 1055t CPU (AM3 socket), and DDR3 RAM. My motherboard can only support CPUs up to 75 watt TDP, and my CPU is 150W.
\n\nPlease recommend me a motherboard that:
\n\nThis should work fine. Personally I splurged a bit and got one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008YDJHWM/ref=od_aui_detailpages01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
\n\nIt's a pretty fantastic board, and they've come out with revision 3 since then which has M.2 SSD compatibility. I mean how much you spend depends on your upgrade schedule and whether or not you want to jump to ryzen later on, if you wanted to do that I wouldn't spend a ton on this board as your CPU is getting on in years (I rocked a Phenom II 965 BE until last year, loved that little guy). Both of these boards support my current FX-8350; this is relevant because your CPU's TDP is 125W according to the spec sheet on AMD's website, as opposed to 150W like you stated in your post. The FX-8350 also has a TDP of 125W, so both of these boards should support your CPU.
\n\nCareful on your RAM by the way. Whatever board you buy, you need to grab a .pdf of their mobo manual and make sure that your current RAM kit is listed in there for compatibility. Not every RAM kit is manufacturer-tested, so unless you want to end up buying new RAM and waiting another two weeks for shipping after a frustrating Saturday afternoon of troubleshooting, check the literature and save yourself the hassle. Best place to start looking is just to look up your old motherboard, and find the slightly updated version of it.
\n" }, { "Id": "7586", "CreationDate": "2017-06-18T11:13:10.120", "Body": "For a hobby project on Raspberry Pi3 I have two options for Speakers
\n\n\n\nWhich one will be louder?
\n", "Title": "Which mini external speaker has louder output?", "Tags": "|speakers|", "Answer": "Sparkfun will be more louder as it can provide you with about 85dbA
\n" }, { "Id": "7589", "CreationDate": "2017-06-19T01:02:46.547", "Body": "I just got an Oculus Rift, and now I need a PC to use it with. My question is, what is the cheapest available PC that I can use an Oculus Rift with?
\n\nNote: I don't want to have to build a PC, I want something I can just buy and use.
\n\nThe cheapest I've found is this Cyberpower PC, which is $720. Does anyone know if there's anything cheaper?
\n\nEDIT: I found a cheaper one, another Cyberpower PC for $650. Is there anything cheaper than that?
\n\nEDIT 2: I ultimately went with the $720 Cyberpower PC I linked to above. So my question is now moot. But I'll leave it up for the benefit of others.
\n", "Title": "What is the cheapest PC compatible with Oculus Rift?", "Tags": "|gaming|pc|vr-headset|", "Answer": "I would start by saying that, as a person who had little knowledge about building a computer, but ended up doing exactly that, building is definitely the route i would take when building a Virtual Reality capable machine.
\n\nCouple of reasons for this:
\n\nWith that out of the way, Oculus actually have a recommended list of computers here on their site. One that sticks out to me in the kind of price range you are mentioning above is the Lenovo IdeaCentre Y700.
\n\nThe first in the range of these models actually starts at $649, which should have plenty enough power to run VR games.
\n\nThere is actually a reason why I would recommend this over your $650 Cyberpower PC, (some people are not going to like this), but it has a NVidia GPU. In my experience, most (not all) VR experiences run much better on NVidia cards, but don't hold me to that as I have no solid or documented proof, I have tried both and I personally preferred the NVidia experience overall.
\n\nAnother point to mention is that this computer sports an Intel processor, but that AMD vs Intel is a very contentious topic, and I don't feel it is my place to start an argument on that. (I recommend Intel by the way :p)
\n\nI threw together a price on PCPartPicker, but for the ease of purchase and performance, I couldn't recommend the Y700 more, it seems like a really good deal.
\n" }, { "Id": "7591", "CreationDate": "2017-06-19T19:33:15.913", "Body": "Recently, I've been eye-ing the PNY CS2030, and it has quite the specs to share. According to the specs, it boasts 201kIOps Read, and 215kIOps write. Additionally, it says a read speed 2.75 GB/s and write of 1.5GB/s.
\n\nI'm looking for close comparing competitors. Specifically, under the following qualifications:
\n\nBonus if it beast out the PNY in some aspects for its price.
\n\nThank you all in advance!
\n", "Title": "M.2 drive with 200,000 IOps R/W", "Tags": "|ssd|data-storage|", "Answer": "That PNY SSD is pretty good, but looks like I can just barely beat you out ;)
\n\n$128 @ newegg ships free in the US
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2LgKC.jpg\")
I've had great sucess with Samsung SSD products. The cheaper Samsung evo Sata (non M.2 and slower as a result) SSDs are also a great upgrade to older computers. I personally own a 940 evo and stand by it.
\n" }, { "Id": "7604", "CreationDate": "2017-06-22T04:10:50.877", "Body": "I am looking at getting a CPU from the following list:
\n\nHere is a comparison of these CPUs on the Intel website for your convenience.
\n\nI will be building a small form factor desktop GPU workstation (AI, ML, Computer Vision development) with an NVIDIA Quadro P600. I've narrowed it down to the CPU's in the above comparison. They are all pretty similar in price and specs, but what would you all choose if it were you?
\n\nOn a side note, I'll mainly be using Linux / Windows but I'd like to possibly use this as a hackintosh, so let me know if any one of these is incompatible there, but not really that important if it's not.
\n", "Title": "CPU recommendation for a GPU workstation, the following Intel comparison?", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "It depends.
\n\nIf you want to use ECC (error checking and correcting) RAM, you have to get the Xeon. If you don't want to use ECC, which is more expensive than normal RAM.
\n\nIf you don't want to get your own CPU cooler, but rather want to use a stock one, get the i5-7600 because it is the only one from that list that can be shipped with a stock Intel air cooler.
\n\nIn any other case the i5-7600K is the superior choice.
\n\nI am looking for a single modem/wireless router (or just a wireless router) that can create/share three Wi-Fi networks, each of which are to separate connections?
\n\nSee below for context.
\n\nMy requirements are such that I need to have a minimum of three Wi-Fi networks available in a particular building. More specifically, these networks would be as follows:
\n\nThe catch is all three Wi-Fi networks need to be available simultaneously, each with their own passwords so that the VPN 1 network can only be accessed by its two users and likewise the VPN 2 network only accessible to its one user. Wi-Fi Network 1 can be accessible to all, but still needs to be secured.
\n\nThe two obvious options are:
\n\nHowever, I'm looking for a more elegant solution as multiple devices need to connect at various times and none of the users are tech savvy. In other words the best user experience would be to just have all three networks available around the clock and for users to just switch Wi-Fi connections on their devices as required. Also, having multiple modems/routers is overkill as the building is not that big and at most we're talking six simultaneous users.
\n\nIf no single modem/router (or even just a router) can create/share three Wi-Fi networks, then what is the closest solution? For example, with Option 1 above, is there a router that can be configured to simultaneously connect to and share two separate VPNs so that I only need the one router connected to the ADSL modem/router rather than having two?
\n\nNote: - The Wi-Fi networks do not all need to be on the same band (e.g. one could be on the 5GHz band and two on the 2.4GHz band, etc).
\n\nFinally, I am also open to other suggestions to achieve the overall setup.
\n", "Title": "A single modem/wireless router that can create/share three Wi-Fi networks, each of which are to separate connections?", "Tags": "|wifi|wireless|networking|router|network-adapter|", "Answer": "With DD-WRT, anything is possible! Try a live demo here. Note that the demo is outdated and many features have been disabled on it.
\n\nDD-WRT is a custom firmware available for a variety of routers that adds many additional features such as supporting multiple different wireless networks connected to different vlans, hosting a VPN server, and much, much more! There are other solutions such as Tomato, OpenWRT, and LEDE, but I haven't used those and I know for a fact that DD-WRT does what you're asking.
\n\nSimply take a router that works with DD-WRT (compatibility can be checked here, see [] for a list of current recommended routers) and flash DD-WRT onto it (A general installation guide is available here, google for a router-specific guide as each router is slightly different.)
\n\nWarning! incorrect installation of DD-WRT can Brick your router, so be careful and follow a router-specific installation guide.
\n\nWith your fresh DD-WRT head to 192.168.1.1. There you will be prompted to set the web interface's login info. Do so and head to the Wireless->Basic Settings submenu. Here you can edit the default SSIDs and add more under the \"Virtual Interfaces\" list.
\n\nYou use different VLANs for separate networks, but I'm not familiar enough with networking to tell you how to do that.
\n" }, { "Id": "7623", "CreationDate": "2017-06-25T20:19:51.780", "Body": "My Dell XPS laptop is very nice, but the keyboard and its trackpad are less than ideal for a full day's work, or a quick gaming session. I'm looking for a keyboard I can put in my bag with my laptop.
\n\nMust haves:
\n\nShould haves:
\n\nNice to haves:
\n\nNot important:
\n\nI have a Corsair K70 gaming keyboard with Cherry MX red switches for my desktop PC, and I love it. Basically I wish I could buy a more compact (e.g. no numpad), non LED lighted, wireless version of that. Perhaps that helps in recommending something?
\n", "Title": "Compact keyboard with mechanical switches", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "The other answer was very helpful, and it opened up a whole set of options I didn't know about. Unfortunately most options are keyboards that are either custom made or have to be ordered internationally. This would mean a lot less favorable return conditions (if at all) should I not be satisfied. So I looked for something I could get in my own country first, where you can almost always return stuff within 2 weeks for a full refund.
\n\nSo that's for context, and the reason I ended up skipping on the Anne Pro, CODE and WASD, the Varmilo VB87M (which is kinda similar to what I end up recommending), and several others.
\n\nI've now bought and am very happy with my CM Storm QuickFire TK (Red), and I would recommend it to others with requirements similar to those in the question. Here's how it stacks up against the requirements:
\n\nMust haves:
\n\nShould haves:
\n\nIt actually has a mixed 10-key-pad and cursor keys with Home/etc keys, and the NUMLK key determines which of the two it uses.
\n\nNice to haves:
\n\nBasically it's the more compact Corsair K70 I said I was looking for, as you can see in this photo:
\n\n![\"comparison](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/SPPlt.jpg\")
Now, a few months after having bought the CM keyboard, I will mention that' I'd still recommend it for my mentioned situation. However, to mention some downsides that I did notice after a few months of usage:
\n\nAgain though, I'd still recommend it.
\n" }, { "Id": "7624", "CreationDate": "2017-06-26T02:22:25.550", "Body": "I have been using a Raspberry Pi 3B as a workstation, connected to an HDMI monitor and keyboard and mouse. I use it for a variety of tasks, as a general-purpose computer.
\n\nWith accessories it was just over $60. I already had the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
\n\nIt actually works well as a workstation. I can browse the web as long as I don't open too many tabs. It only has 1 GB RAM, period.
\n\nA bigger concern is the limited lifetime of using the SD card as primary storage.
\n\nI periodically save an image of the flash boot card onto my laptop hard drive so if the card fails I can always restore the image into a new one.
\n\nBut it feels like I am living on borrowed time using Flash memory constantly.
\n\nThis needs to become my primary Linux computer as I move away from Windows. I need it to be able to do everything: Internet, SSH, cron jobs, or anything else I might want to do on a general purpose computer. With dependability beyond the one I am using now.
\n\nSo my question is: Can someone recommend a low-cost Linux computer with a HDD and some RAM expandability?
\n", "Title": "Can someone recommend a low-cost Linux computer with a HDD and some RAM expandability?", "Tags": "|linux|memory|networking|", "Answer": "Here's one:
\n\nPrime-Systems-Core-2-Duo-3Ghz-2GB-RAM-160GB-HDD-DVD-CD-Combo-WinVista
\n\n\n\nSeems like an excellent deal for the price. Barely more than a Raspberry Pi.
\n\n$38 and free shipping in the USA
\n\nIt comes with 2GB RAM and is expandable to 8GB. It comes with a 160 GB hard drive.
\n\n6 USB ports on the back and 2 on the front. Firewire port on the front and back.
\n\nWireless keyboard and mouse work great with the tiny dongle installed in back. Ethernet port on back works great. WiFi adapter works fine.
\n\nThe dual-core 3GHz processor is good. Motherboard is made by Intel.
\n\nThe HDD is a slim 3.5\" SATA. The DVD drive is really fast. Lots of other SATA ports on the motherboard (I didn't count but there were at least 6; maybe 7) I have been using one to connect a second hard drive inside the case that I used for backups.
\n\nDisplay output is by DVI or VGA.
\n\nThe motherboard and CPU cooler are ventilated very well.
\n\nHere is the best way to stand it for maximum ventilation whether on the table or under it. Open vents on the left for the motherboard & exhaust fan on top:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/bHbmz.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/uuohH.jpg\")
Photo of the motherboard:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/SDSJw.jpg\")
Photo of how the drives swivel out for easy access:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/A5dfh.jpg\")
I'm looking for whatever highest speed DDR3 2x8GB (2 DIMM slots/Dual Channel & Dual-Sided (DS)) memory is still available somewhere from this QVL for an ASUS Z97I-PLUS.
\n\nDesired Part No.'s in order of preference:
\n\n2800
\n\n2666
\n\n2400
\n\n2133
\n\n2000
\n\nEtc Etc...
\n\nI'd prefer getting them from a mainstream retailer if at all possible like:
\n\nBut since I can't seem to find any of these anywhere I'm pretty open-ended about that. Definitely needs to still have fully intact manufacturer warranty wherever it's from.
\n\nAnd to just be extra picky, I don't want any 'ugly' memory. No green circuit boards - should be properly heat-shielded.
\n", "Title": "Cannot locate memory from QVL ASUS Z97I-PLUS", "Tags": "|pc|memory|", "Answer": "Avexir 2400 @ Altex Altex is only located in Texas but they are super reputable. I have been using them for over a decade. You can actually get them on the phone too. No waiting until Christmas for NewEgg to answer.
\n\nG.SKILL F3-2133C10D-16GAB @ Newegg
\n" }, { "Id": "7671", "CreationDate": "2017-07-03T11:57:25.583", "Body": "I'm looking into buying (or possibly building) a micro pc for streaming YouTube, Netflix etc. What specs would you recommend for the machine if it's gong to be plugged into a 50-inch 4k display?
\n\nI'm looking to spend around \u00a3150-200 on the machine (O/S Not neccessary).
\n\nAny guidance would be greatly appreciated!
\n\n(also, would the Intel ComputeStick be a good machine for this purpose? See specs below.)
\n\nIntel STK1AW32SC Compute Stick (Black) - (Intel Atom x5-Z8300 1.44 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB eMMC, Intel HD Graphics, Windows 10)
\n", "Title": "Micro PC for Streaming Content", "Tags": "|pc|", "Answer": "If all you do is YouTube/Netflix streaming, you could use an Xbox One S
\n(Note: since you said possibly building, I'm going to assume that this is small enough for you)
\nI want to buy Intel Atom C2550 but could not find it online.
\n\nanyone knows where I can buy one?
\n\nThanks
\n", "Title": "Where can I buy Intel Atom processor", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "The Atom series of CPUs isn't available in socketed form. Instead, the CPUs are designed to be soldered onto a mainboard, with the combined CPU/board sold to end users or built into a finished product.
\n\nThe best way to get a C2550 is to decide if you'd rather have a CPU/mainboard combo or a pre-built computer, and pick something that best meets your needs.
\n" }, { "Id": "7683", "CreationDate": "2017-07-05T05:09:34.740", "Body": "I am looking for a wireless mouse with a rechargable battery in the range of ~50$. So far most of the mouses that I have seen have normal batteries as this one.
\n\nI want the mouse primarily to use it with my laptop when I travel, so sligthly smaller mouses would have preference over bulkier ones.
\n", "Title": "Wireless mouse with rechargable battery", "Tags": "|wireless|mice|", "Answer": "Logitech MX Everywhere 2 seems a good option (when in sale). You can have 3 pc's paired (not at the same time) via bluethooth or use a dongle. It tracks at lot of different surfaces with a decent battery life.
\n" }, { "Id": "7692", "CreationDate": "2017-07-06T10:48:09.957", "Body": "We are in search for a business document scanner with following scan options, all done over a ADF.
\n\nSimplex: front side
\n\nDuplex: front and back side
\n\nWe talked with a supplier of ours and got a Brother ADS-2800W from him, but its incapable of mode nr 3.\nAfter some research and getting back with the Brother Support, none of Brothers Scanner is apparently capable of nr 3.
\n\nOf course we also tried the usual ways (google, product comparison websites and all those \"Best Scanners of >>insert year here<<\"-Reviews) but none of those gave the information needed or didnt comply with at least one criteria.
\n\nCriteria:
\n\nThanks in advance for any kind of help!
\n", "Title": "Document Scanner with specific modes", "Tags": "|scanner|", "Answer": "My office recently grabbed an HP ScanJet 3000 S3. It's a bit above your price range (closer to $800-900), but I've been in charge of developing our scan process and I can tell you with confidence that it does everything you listed.
\n\nWe specifically got it to digitize old paper records, and it is set up at a small stand-alone desk with a computer.
\n\nIt's far from a perfect solution and you usually won't find me recommending products that don't fit the user's question, but we had a particularly long and arduous experience trying to find something that would fit our needs. I see similar conditions in your post. We had to make a few compromises, but at the end of the day we needed something and this little headache of a scanner made our project possible. Perhaps it can do the same for you.
\n\nI can definitely tell you that unless you're looking for something used, duplex auto-document feed scanners that can handle even a 50 page count stack at a time don't exist for under $600. Well, they may exist, but there wasn't anything I found that was suitable and trustworthy enough for business use.
\n" }, { "Id": "7715", "CreationDate": "2017-07-13T19:24:18.607", "Body": "I've purchased this case off of Newegg for my custom NAS: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816215244
\n\nThis case has 4 SATA cable ports for each individual hard drive. I'm looking for an SATA cable adapter that will work with USB 2.0. The challenge I have found has been that there are plenty of SATA to USB solutions out there, but they include SATA cable and SATA power all on one cable.
\n\nMy hard drives are powered through the two SATA power ports on the machine and hence do not need the power connection. Any advice?
\n\nNOTE: I fully understand the bottleneck from SATA to USB 2.0. This will just serve as a temporary solution for non-time sensitive tasks.
\n", "Title": "SATA cable to USB 2.0 adapter", "Tags": "|usb|nas|sata|", "Answer": "I have an older model of this drive adapter:\nNewertech USB 3.0 Universal Drive Adapter\n![\"Newertech](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/COLs7.png\")
\nwhich of course means mine is USB 2.0. The specifications on the web site indicate that the device will work with a USB 2.0 port.
The power supply to the hard drives is a separate set of components. As you note in your question, you already have power to your drive. You would need to connect only the data portion to the drive and the computer to accomplish your objective.
\n\nAmazon has it for under US$35.00.
\n" }, { "Id": "7720", "CreationDate": "2017-07-14T18:49:38.503", "Body": "My company has a \"Quality of Life\" benefit that if I don't use, I will lose. I am thinking about buying 2 Dell P2416D monitors (2560 x 1440), and a docking station that is compatible with both my work and personal laptops.
\n\nMy work laptop is a Dell E7470 running Windows 10. My personal laptop is a MacBookPro10 purchased in Aug 2012 that I run Windows 10 via Bootcamp on 90% of the time.
\n\nI don't game, and don't expect to add speakers. I really just want to have two monitors, a keyboard, and a mouse. Nothing fancy.
\n\nAny recommendations?
\n", "Title": "Dual monitor Docking Station for work and personal computers", "Tags": "|pc|windows|docking-stations|", "Answer": "The device SEJPM mentions in his comment would fit you requirements and is offered by a variety of manufacturers to complement their laptop products as well as 3rd party computing devices. DisplayLink is the company that makes the chips that enable the video functionality. I have used such a device before and I still have it, though I have a problem with calling these devices docks as these are not traditional docks but big dongles with 45W PSUs and they can get quite hot.
\n\nThey get the job done quite reliably and the manufacturer offers drivers for a wide variety of platforms, even Linux (they didn't offer drivers for their 3.0 devices at first, but this has been solved a few years back). My older Thinkpad T530 from 2012 had no problems displaying 3 1080p videos with this and my 2 Dell 1080p monitors connected at home.
\n\nEdit: In theory everything should work fine, but I did some testing with the devices I have here in the office (1\u00d7Dell U2512H, several Dell U2412M), turns out that you should check when getting one of the DisplayLink devices and which one in particular exactly as dual 2560\u00d71440 may be too much for Gen 3xxx devices like mine, devices with 5xxx chips may support such high resolutions older ones were probably made to just support dual 1080p or 1200p.
\n\nThe U2512H is detected on my Linux machines with recent drivers at proper resolution but as soon as I plug one of the other monitors in its resolution drops to the highest one supported at this data rate (similar to HDMI 1.3 only capable devices, though I connected the bigger monitor to the DisplayPort output). You can set the refresh rate to 30Hz to still drive the monitor at full resolution, but I don't recommend that. DisplayPort chaining is not supported on mine, so a third monitor will just be a clone.
\n\nAlso DisplayLink solutions don't support night modes as offered through f.lux, Redshift and some recent desktop environments.
\n" }, { "Id": "7726", "CreationDate": "2017-07-15T23:56:16.000", "Body": "I'm building a new system and I want to keep it as quiet as I can without degrading performance. I do plan on doing some moderate overclocking. I am planning on using an all-in-one CPU liquid cooler. Am I better off getting one with 3 120mm fans for the extra radiator surface area or will a smaller radiator with 2 140mm fans still keep the system plenty cool and quieter?
\n", "Title": "Should I get a radiator with 2x140mm fans or 3x120mm fans", "Tags": "|cooling|", "Answer": "If you only plan to only cool your CPU with the AIO cooler, I would say 2 140mm fans will keep your CPU plenty cool and be quieter then 3 120mm fans. However if you plan to cool your GPU as well, you will want the 3 120mm radiator. Regardless of the 2 140mm or 3 120mm radiator, the kind of fans used on it will make all the difference.
\n\nYou can very easily get 3 120mm fans that are considerably quieter then 2 140mm fans, however having less fans will make it easier for keeping things quiet. From personal experience I have found that very rarely will any cooler come with high quality fans. I usually buy fans regardless if the cooler comes with them or not, that way I can make sure the cooler will be as quiet as possible while still being able to provide good performance.
\n\nFor radiator fans, and case fans in general, there are 3 things to keep in mind when choosing a fan - fan speed, noise level and static pressure. Check out this video for an explanation about static pressure vs air flow and why static pressure is important - Static Pressure vs. High Airflow Fans As Fast As Possible
\n\nI have personally had extremely good results from Noctua fans, they have a low sound level, good performance and a long life. For a 140mm radiator fan I would recommend this fan - Noctua NF-A14 PWM, if you went with the 3 120mm radiator I would still recommend the Noctua brand - Noctua NF-F12 PWM
\n\nAlso, it is important to keep in mind that ultimately what is important is not the amount of noise that the fan makes but the amount of noise you hear. Things like where the fan radiator is placed, or what it is placed in, can go a long way in reducing the amount of noise you here. One such method would be to place the radiator in a box lined with noise suppressing foam as a way to decrease the noise that you hear.
\n\nIt is also important that your computer fans are setup so the air flows as efficiently as possible, such as fans in the front are intake fans and the fans in the back and top are exhaust fans. Another thing to keep in mind if your bios offers this feature is to set the fans to variable speed, this allows the fans to only increase their speed (noise) when the computer needs them to.
\n\n\n\nHow to Geek.com - managing computer air flow
\n" }, { "Id": "7730", "CreationDate": "2017-07-16T11:57:59.793", "Body": "I've been searching for a Mobile WIFI Router that supports 4 sim card slots but with no result, have anyone of you stumbled upon such a thing ?
\n", "Title": "Multi sim card slots Mobile WIFI Router", "Tags": "|wifi|networking|router|", "Answer": "PepWave MAX HD4 would be the item you are looking for.
\n" }, { "Id": "7737", "CreationDate": "2017-07-17T12:19:44.910", "Body": "Could someone please recommend a cooler for a Ryzen AM4 motherboard (ASUS Prime X370-PRO). I need one that comes with a complete mounting kit (i.e. the first step in attaching is to remove the kit that comes with the motherboard, that is two bits of plastic on its top side next to the socket, and presumably a backing plate underneath).
\n\nTo be clear, the parts that I don't have are visible in the photo at the top of https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/PRIME-X370-PRO/ I have just holes in the motherboard instead of the four screws around the CPU socket, and the two bits of plastic that they attach.
\n\nMany thanks in advance. Suggestions for where to find a replacement mounting kit that should have come with the board very welcome too. Thanks again.
\n", "Title": "Recommendation for a Ryzen cooler", "Tags": "|cooling|", "Answer": "http://assets.coolermaster.com/landing/am4-socket-ready/v2/download/RR-AM4B-H212-S1.pdf
\n\nThat is a link to the installation instructions for installing a Coolermaster after-market cooler. It lists the following models as compatible with an AM4 socket:
\n\nThe instructions specifically state that you need to remove those two plastic brackets and the screws, using the backplate and the holes in the motherboard to install the cooler instead of those brackets.
\n\nI'm certain that if you looked at other cooler manufacturers like BeQuiet or Noctua you could find something with similar after-market brackets if none of the listed options meet your other unlisted requirements, whatever they may be.
\n\nI will also recommend contacting Asus and having them ship you a spare bracket, as I'm not able to find any online that aren't the usual litany of poorly priced ebay listings. Your motherboard should have come with that, and if your aftermarket cooler were to break or something that backup option should be available to you. You're the customer, get what you paid for.
\n" }, { "Id": "7762", "CreationDate": "2017-07-20T10:45:30.843", "Body": "As per my previous question(here) on a motherboard compatiable with the Xeon E5640, I'm trying to build a cheap gaming rig that is capable of playing games like ETS2 and Fallout 3/NV on decent settings.
\n\nI seem to have come to yet another crossroad. I want to include a 4GB Graphics Card in the build, but do not have the cash to splash on a GTX 1050/TI or 1060. So I did some digging around on the online stores (Amazon, Ebay, Craigslist), and I uncovered these two cards by sheer luck, both are AMD/ATI Radeon Cards, sans the one Nvidia Card.
\n\nThe HD 7670 4GB - link
\n\nThe HD 7770 4GB - link
\n\nThe GTX 650 4GB - link
\n\nThe R7 350 4GB - link
\n\nI don't plan on doing any mining with this rig in particular, and am dead set on making the best budget build.
\n\nLong story short, which of the two cards is the better option? If none of the latter is a good option, please supply me with an answer if there is another card out there within my $100 Price Range.
\n\n(Please note that any other recommendations are preferred to be in new condition)
\n\nThanks for viewing!
\n", "Title": "AMD Radeon HD 7670 4GB vs AMD Radeon HD 7770 4GB vs AMD Radeon R7 350 4GB vs Nvidia GTX 650 4GB for Budget Gaming PC", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|gaming|pc|memory|", "Answer": "According to UserBenchmark, the relative scores of each GPU are as follows (assuming 100% is the performance of the GTX 1070):
\n\nHD 7670 - 7%
\n\nHD 7770 - 18%
\n\nGTX 650 - 11%
\n\nR7 360 - 25%
\n\nGTX 1050 - 34%
\n\nGTX 1050Ti - 38%
\n\nThe R7 350 does not appear on UserBenchmark so I used the performance of the RX 360 instead.
\n\nI hope this helps you make a more informed decision.
\n" }, { "Id": "7772", "CreationDate": "2017-07-21T00:51:13.737", "Body": "Specs:
\n\nCPU: i7
\n\nRAM: 16GB (or configurable) (1600+)
\n\nHDD: 512GB SSD (or configurable)
\n\nBattery: 8h+
\n\nBody: Aluminum
\n\nSize: 15\"-15.5\" display
\n\nprice: below equivalent Macbook Pro
\n", "Title": "Looking for a programming/development aluminum laptop", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Im a big fan of HP these days.. Used to be a big Dell person but they tend to offer less bang for your buck these days.
\n\nIf your looking to save a few bucks my thoughts would be to scale down the Hard Drive to a 256GB.. That should provide enough space for your core environment. You can always buy cheap external hard drive (or 2nd Internal if possible) later on if it turns out you need to. My set up is to only have core software on the main HD and save projects externally.
\n\nAnyways, if that concept is ok with you, then here is one that I've had my eye on..\nhttps://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAADF5MK0383
\n\nTruthfully, \nYou could probably drop the RAM down to 8 GB and still have a pleasurable experience programming. \nhttps://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=1TS-000D-01GH8\nThis one is configurable, I would take the I7 2.7GHz, non touch, Windows Pro, 256 GB SSD, 8GB RAM.. Thats a pretty good value for $869 and i think HP is doing a pretty good job these days.
\n\nOne last thought, AMD is making great processors as of late. While their newest line of products hasn't quite hit the market yet (they will be awesome) they still make great products for less then Intel. Apple even released recently that they will be putting AMD in their highest end computers. So, with that said...\nCheck this one out... This is one that I would buy today if I could. \nhttp://store.hp.com/us/en/ConfigureView?catalogId=10051&langId=-1&storeId=10151&urlLangId=&catEntryId=1575152&quantity=1\nWith these options checked...
\n\nI do not know if the question is well located, but I come to request a recommendation, I am having problems with getting a wireless router that meets my needs, in this case I look for one that can manage broadband through QOS or some method of Administration, but that has capacity for about 20 Devices. Now I have a DLINK Dir 822 and every 50 seconds the connection is dropped, I do not know if it's because of the warm atmosphere of the tropic at this time, but I want a new computer to solve this in my house. regards
\n", "Title": "Wifi hardware to improvement network", "Tags": "|wifi|router|", "Answer": "I decided to try my luck with a router:\nAsus RT-AC51U AC750
\n\nAnd use a pair of access point in the house.
\n\nSo far, all stable, stable speeds, 0 drops, the router accepts multiple configurations and extensive compatibility .
\n\nand Based on Linux.
\n" }, { "Id": "7783", "CreationDate": "2017-07-22T15:03:59.860", "Body": "I have a 3' (1 meter) tall plastic gate around my yard. I would like to automatically close it with my Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Not by remote control - I just want it to detect that the gate is open, wait a few seconds, then close it.
\n\nI figure I need 2 things:
\n\nI feel good about my ability to find and implement #1, but I'm not at all sure about #2.
\n\nThe gates curently use this kind of latch:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/dczLh.jpg\")
I figure to force-close it the mechanism would need a fair amount of force (I'm not sure how to measure or quantify this). OTOH to close it by first pulling back the latch, then pushing it closed and releasing latch seems like it would be much more complicated (?).
\n\nI'm also open to some different sort of latch to work with the robotic closer. Maybe some magnetic latch would work, but it would have to be strong enough to keep my 25lb Sheltie dog from opening it.
\n", "Title": "Mechanism to close a small gate using Arduino", "Tags": "|arduino|", "Answer": "The thing you you are looking for is called a Linear Actuator http://amzn.to/2uWRIjV
\n\nDepending on the strength of linear actuator you get, you might not even need a latch. \nYou can have the Arduino power the linear actuator until it senses the door fully closed or open. When it is not powered it will hold its position.
\n" }, { "Id": "7818", "CreationDate": "2017-07-27T18:14:55.763", "Body": "I have been on something of a quest for something which I am finding to be a very elusive piece of equipment: a Bluetooth headset that works well with Windows.
\n\nMy Windows 10 PC has an onboard Bluetooth module that uses drivers from Windows Update. Windows 7 did not have these drivers, so while running Windows 7, I had a whole different set of issues with external drivers.
\n\nWhat does work well mean?
\n\nUnfortunately, no headset manufacturer advertises anything about these features, except occasionally the charging interface, so essentially, I have to purchase a batch of headsets, and then return them all because they all fail at least one of these conditions.
\n\nSome headsets I've tried:
\n\nI would like to target headsets $50 or under, and I would think that even a cheap headset could satisfy these requirements, but if none exist at that price point, I would want to know if any Bluetooth headset works properly.
\n", "Title": "Bluetooth Headset that works well with Windows", "Tags": "|bluetooth|windows|headset|", "Answer": "I had determined that the Samsung HM1000 was causing BSOD crashes about once per week, but after resetting the PC (for other reasons), it hasn't caused a crash once.
\n\nSo, at the moment, I declare the Samsung HM1000 as the only headset I've found that works well with Windows.
\n" }, { "Id": "7841", "CreationDate": "2017-08-01T09:33:37.913", "Body": "I'm looking at getting a third monitor for my PC. I have an R9 380 and i'm currently using both DVI outputs. According to the AMD EyeFinity FAQ:
\n\n\n1: The first two monitors can connect to the graphics card with any display output on your product: HDMI, VGA, DVI or DisplayPort.
\n2:The third (or greater) display must be connected to the graphics card via DisplayPort.
\n3: If your monitor does not have a DisplayPort connection, you will need an inexpensive active DisplayPort adapter for it. DVI to DP adapters can be had for less than $30 USD.\nEvery family of GPUs supports a different maximum number of displays.
\n
The monitor I have chosen has DVI input, and I have been given a DP to DVI adapter, but I don't know if it's active or passive. The reason this matters is because i've read that EyeFinity will only support it if it is using an active adapter, and then something about having only two streams??
\nThe adapter i have is Dell 0KKMYD and i can't find out anywhere whether it's active or passive. I can't see anything on the adapter itself without opening the packet and I don't want to do that just yet in case I have to return it.
\n", "Title": "Is this DP -> DVI adapter active or passive?", "Tags": "|video-adapters|", "Answer": "I cannot say for sure whether your adapter is an active one or not, but my strong assertion is that it is not. My reasoning here is that feature is usually a selling point and they typically are priced higher as well. You can try it but I doubt it will work properly.
\n\nNow I did verify that you need an active adapter to do what you're trying to do with Eyefinity, and I was able to find this: \"Cable Matters Gold Plated Active DisplayPort to DVI Male to Female Adapter - Eyefinity Compatible\". That particular one is on sale on Amazon at the moment, but you can definitely look around for other products if you need other features (cord length, whatever else) or want to hunt for a better deal. Just make sure the words active adapter\" are clearly spelled out on the product page.
\n\nAs for this part:
\n\n\n\n\nThe reason this matters is because i've read that EyeFinity will only support it if it is using an active adapter, and then something about having only two streams??
\n
I think what you're talking about doing here is called Multi-Stream Transport, a technology featured in DisplayPort 2.1. It allows you to run multiple monitors from a single DisplayPort output, but does have limitations depending on your overall configuration. From what I can tell you don't need to make use of that feature to accomplish your objectives here.
\n\nOne more thing just to clarify EyeFinity; that software is only designed to play games and other fullscreen applications across multiple displays, so you can game in ultra widescreen formats and whatnot. You don't need EyeFinity to use your operating system or to do single monitor gaming, so I wanted to make sure that it's clear here that EyeFinity is not a necessary technology for standard computer use.
\n" }, { "Id": "7848", "CreationDate": "2017-08-01T16:32:43.293", "Body": "I have been trying to figure out what kind of watt range PSU should I aim for my X370 pro gaming motherboard.
\n\nI ran into a weird range of watt usage on different calculators.
\n\nMy setup is this:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/O5beK.png\")
AMD Ryzan 1700x at default speed (no OC)\n4x 16 DDR4\nDual Radeon RX 570 and SLI/CF (no OC)\n2x M.2 SSD\n2x SSD\n2x monitor LCD 20 inch\nNow Outervision says go for about 491 Watt or so. Which seems very low considering all things!
\n\nWhile Newegg doesn't seem to have put in RX 570 value in yet porperly so I replaced with RX 480 and it comes out at 696 Watt.
\n\nEvga power meter says 600 watt which undercut Newegg's estimate.
\n\nI am going to not setup all of this right away now and I may eventually upgrade to this later. For example at first I will only have one RX 570 GPU, fewer SSD more mechnical drives, and less RAM until I can afford to upgrade those.
\n\nSo with all that in mind what kind of watt range should I aim for?
\n", "Title": "X370 motherboard: Power Supply Usage", "Tags": "|power|", "Answer": "Motherboard, ssd, and ram are all negligible wattage. I usually group them and say they use 100 watts max as computer parts are very efficient these days. But for the sake of calculating.
\n\nTherefore you only need 451 W under max load. So you really only need a 550W powersupply. You could also get away with a 500W quality PSU as it's most likely your system won't be at 100% full GPU, CPU, SSD at any given point.
\n\nI should note that, you should probably look at getting the rx580 or rx480 instead of trying to crossfire weaker cards. Vega is also around the corner if you can wait. Crossfire has a slew of problems, and spotty game support. It's better to get a single powerful card.
\n" }, { "Id": "7874", "CreationDate": "2017-08-05T17:40:27.890", "Body": "http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/Fatal1ty%20X370%20Professional%20Gaming/#Specification
\n\nI am somewhat bit lost on figuring out which memory that motherboard does support.
\n\nOn one lines it say \"- Supports DDR4 3200+(OC)/2933(OC)/2667/2400/2133 ECC & non-ECC, un-buffered memory*\"
\n\nI have a quick installation guide booklet that say the same thing about 3200+(OC).
\n\nYet the following table only list MHZ up to 2667. I may be misreading the table.
\n\nI talked to the computer department manager at Fry's Electronic (local DIY store for PC). He said go for 3000 MHZ because that is the motherboard clock rate.
\n\nI went to G.SKill website RAM configurator it only shows support for 2133 MHZ to 2400 MHZ for x370 pro gaming MB.
\n\nSo my question is the 3200 listed overclocked to THIS amount or by default at 3200 and can overclock above that?
\n", "Title": "ASROCK Fatal1ty Motherboard X370: Memory support", "Tags": "|memory|", "Answer": "Your motherboard can run any of the listed RAM speeds, but the extra speed will not be utilised if you do not use Extreme Memory Profile (XMP), leaving your more expensive purchase of faster RAM a useless investment.
\n\nDue to this, If you are not thinking of modifying your BIOS settings, I would recommend choosing which ever speed of RAM is the least expensive in the range/brand you are looking at.
\n\nFor example, Corsair Dominator Platinum 2400Mhz is actually more expensive p/gb than 3000Mhz, even though some of the customers of the 3000Mhz product won't use the XMP option, the price is better because uninformed PC enthusiasts buy more of the faster RAM, as it seems more beneficial.
\n\nThe answer to your question is that the RAM is clocked at the speed listed, but to take advantage of that speed, you will need to enable the XMP option in your BIOS menu.
\n\nOC means that the memory controller on the motherboard is overclocked when using 2933 or faster RAM, such as the 3200Mhz products.
\n" }, { "Id": "7887", "CreationDate": "2017-08-08T18:51:56.990", "Body": "I consider buying Titan XP for my work on training neural net on my laptop Mac. I have never used any external GPU but as far as I investigate how to set up eGPU, it seems that I must prepare another component called eGPU box. For example this blog author uses an eGPU box called Akitio Thunder3 along with GTX 1050 Ti.
\n\nHowever, I don't understand what is eGPU box and what is it for? Is it not possible to just buy eGPU and connect it to my laptop Mac? Do I have to buy yet another component to connect to eGPU?
\n", "Title": "What is eGPU and what is it for?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "In order to use an external Graphics Processing Unit (eGPU) you (usually) need three components:
\n\nIn the blog entry the box is an Akitio Thunder3 and the graphics card is a Nvidia Geforce GTX 1050 Ti. The Thunder3 provides the mount for the desktop graphics card, provides the power and the PCIe <=> Thunderbolt 3 interface and optionally also provides power for the connected laptop.
\n\n\n\n\nIs it not possible to just buy eGPU and connect it to my laptop Mac?
\n
There is no such thing as an \"eGPU\", the name designates the concept of using an external GPU, which is most commonly done by \"faking\" an internal environment to an internal GPU externally.
\n\nIf you are interested in actually acquiring an eGPU solution, egpu.io has nice coverage, reviews, guides and overviews.
\n" }, { "Id": "7895", "CreationDate": "2017-08-09T18:39:36.153", "Body": "I have a MSI GTX 970 4G and recently a few pins in the HDMI port broke. The card has 3 other ports: Display Port, Dual link DVI-I and DVI-D.
\n\nI sometimes alternate between monitor (1080@60) and TV (2160@60). What cord or adapter would you guys recommend to get maximum bandwidth (2160@60).\nMy monitor has HDMI and DVI-D and TV only has HDMI.
\n\nAny help would be appreciated. Thanks!
\n", "Title": "What video port should I get for optimum resolution?", "Tags": "|hdmi|video-adapters|dvi|", "Answer": "DVI does not support 4k60 so your only option is to use the display-port.
\n\nAs your TV is most likely HDMI only, getting a display-port to hdmi 2.0 adapter is fine as that provides plenty of bandwidth for 4k60.
\n\nI recommend using Display-port to hdmi 2.0 for your TV, and using DVI to your monitor so you don't have to switch between the two physically. If not you can just continue to share the hdmi connection from the display-port adapter.
\n" }, { "Id": "7896", "CreationDate": "2017-08-09T19:18:32.183", "Body": "Design a desktop computer system that would reasonably be expected to last for 100 years. Assume it will be used for 3 hours every day in this period (100,000 hours)
\n\nIf some parts of the computer simply won't last that long, try and estimate how many spares might be needed to last the 100 years. For example, what type of monitor would last the longest before catastrophic failure? Would it last 100,000 hours? If not, how many would you need? Are there issues storing spare parts for long periods of time?
\n\nAssume the computer has about 1TB of data that you'd want to keep for the 100 year period. What backup strategy would you use?
\n\nPerformance is not really an issue. Assume the machine will be used for running Office type applications.
\n\nIf there are too many possible approaches to this to answer the question, then try and aim for the cheapest option you can think of.
\n", "Title": "Computer that would last 100 years", "Tags": "|desktop|", "Answer": "Most all electronic devices have a MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) specification.
\n\nYou can use the spec. to find the highest MTBF, and then calculate how many you will need to cover 100 years.
\n\nOf course this is on average. Your best bet would be to exceed it as much as possible.
\n\nAnd whatever you do, DON'T drop it!
\n" }, { "Id": "7922", "CreationDate": "2017-08-14T17:19:00.367", "Body": "I was all set to buy the One Plus 5 but realised that it doesn't support SD cards or have an FM radio. I looked at the Xiaomi Mi6 as well but that's similarly hobbled.
\n\nCan anyone recommend a decent spec Android Nougat smartphone, 5\" display or bigger with SD card support and an active FM chip please?
\n\nBudget, as it's been asked below, is up to what those two phones would cost in the EU (\u20ac450-550)
\n", "Title": "Android smartphone with SD and FM", "Tags": "|android|smartphones|", "Answer": "Seeing as your budget supports it, I would recommend the Motorola Moto G5 or the G5 Plus. If you are looking even better that that, the the Motorola Moto Z is pretty good.
\n\nThe reason why I suggest Motorola is because they have NO bloatware and they are fast, very fast. Most of them come standard with multiple gbs of RAM, top end processors etc.
\n\nThey are also very good value for money. For buying, just Google the make and model, and put \"sim free\" at the end, unless you intend to buy from the high street.
\n\nIf these options don't suit you, I would suggest using www.gsmarena.com and specify what you want in their advanced search.
\n" }, { "Id": "7931", "CreationDate": "2017-08-15T22:34:20.440", "Body": "Because of the shortage of AMD Vega cards. I have decide to move to a smaller video card upgrade now and wait on getting one of those Vega cards.
\n\nI am looking at pick up at a store close to Houston, Texas if possible. Fry's electronic or Micro Center or maybe best buy something.
\n\nI am only willing to spend up to $200 at the most for a PCI-E card.
\n\nI am trying to find one that isn't a side-grade or worse perform than what I have in my current PC. It is a GTX 660.
\n\nI noticed that most GTX upgrade ending up being too similar to GTX 660 and not having enough of an incentive to buy those at $200 or under. Am I wrong?
\n", "Title": "Temporarily GPU Suggestion Purchase", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "A used GTX 1060 6GB or a new GTX 1060 3GB would be a lot faster than your GTX 660\nhttp://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1778?vs=1771\nOr a Radeon 470 (prices are high now, but it was selling for $140-$160 not long ago)\nhttp://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1778?vs=1872
\n\nBut you might as well be patient..
\n" }, { "Id": "7932", "CreationDate": "2017-08-16T10:04:19.757", "Body": "I am working on a Robot-project where a sub task is have to check how many and which RFID-tags are placed in a bucket.
\n\nMultiple tags will be placed into the bucket - so I run into the problem with RFID-tags colliding with each other. The reader will be connected and programmed via Raspberry Pi. From my research so far I have come up with the following 3 options: \n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Gz7x1.png\")
1 RFID reader at the buttom of the bucket. This has to be a reader able to read the multiple tags at the same time, since the tags will be laying on top of each other. Example of reader: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14066
\n\n2 RFID reader on the side of the bucket. Should read the tags passing by as they are thrown into the bucket. Would not required that the RFID reader is able to read multiple tags at once, but the reading should be fast enough to catch them passing by. Example of reader: ADAFRUIT PN532 NFC/RFID
\n\n3 Same concept as 2 but minimizing the space and using slides to hopefully give a bit longer time for reading the tags. Example of reader: Same as in 2
\n\nI am aiming for the most simple and most secure solution.
\n\nHow would you guys do this, and what kind of RFID hardware would you recommend to go with the Raspberry Pi connection.
\n", "Title": "RFID solution for reading multiple tags", "Tags": "|raspberry-pi|microcontroller|rfid|", "Answer": "Ended up going with setup 1 and using this RFID-reader from Sparkfun. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14066
\n\nI interface the reader by use of the Mercury library in a Python program. Super reliable reader I can highly recommend.
\n" }, { "Id": "7934", "CreationDate": "2017-08-16T10:39:07.577", "Body": "I am looking for a monitor of 16 inches or less, that could get conected to my laptop and using it as a second screen.I don't mind if it is portable or not, but I would like it to be touch screen.
\n\nI know that screen of this kind are available for Raspberr Pi. But is it possible to use this kind of screens as second screen for a laptop?
\n\nDoes anybody knows any other screen that could be used the way I explained?
\n\nThanks in advance.
\n", "Title": "Small monitor for laptop with touchscreen", "Tags": "|monitors|touchscreen|", "Answer": "\n\n\nSo small and simple, but you can use this display with any computer that has HDMI output, and the shape makes it easy to attach to a electronic product. Although the 800x480 common HDMI display is made for Raspberry Pi, we can use it other where not only for Raspberry Pi.
\n
Description of the product from your link.
\n\nThat product will work with any computer, provided it has an HDMI output.
\n" }, { "Id": "7938", "CreationDate": "2017-08-16T16:38:49.950", "Body": "Is there a PC laptop without air vents in the bottom, just like the Macbooks? I've always found those lame; How am I supposed to use it on the top of my lap if I must keep the air vents clear? I actually moved to Mac just because of that. But I'd really like to know if there's a PC option. Thanks.
\n", "Title": "PC laptop without vents in the bottom?", "Tags": "|laptop|pc|cooling|", "Answer": "Well, the short answer is:
\n\nYes
\n\nThis list might help:
\n\nhttp://www.ultrabookreview.com/6520-fanless-ultrabooks/
\n\nIt is a detailed list of laptops that are of a fanless design and would be more in line with what you are asking about. However, without more details a proper recommendation is hard to give.
\n\nDisclaimer: This really isn't a proper answer either, but the question really isn't about hardware recommendations and more a general question that would be easily researched.
\n" }, { "Id": "7943", "CreationDate": "2017-08-17T05:05:11.460", "Body": "I have a Dell Inspiron 5558 with following configuration.
\n\nNow the problem is, I can't use my laptops full potential due to limited read-write speed of HDD. To solve it, I want to upgrade my HDD to SSD.
\n\nKindly help me upgrade my rig. Thanks :)
\n", "Title": "Upgrade HDD to SSD for Dell Inspiron 5558", "Tags": "|laptop|hard-disk|ssd|performance|", "Answer": "Yes you can, because they are just hard drive without a magnetic disk and spindle. They all are of same size 2.5\", which can easily fit in your laptops HDD housing.
\n\nIf you've got DVD drive and you feel its not much used then get a DVD SSD Caddy. They come in 2 sizes which depends on your laptop. Bigger one sizes 12.7mm and the smaller sizes 9.5mm. This will allow you to run both the hardisks parallel.
\n\nI got Acer 5830TG, loaded with 6gigs of ram, core i5, nvidia GT540m, Samsung EVO 850 120 GB as primary and Seagate 500 GB as secondary.
\n\nSamsung EVO 850 is good in R/W performance. This one is a TLC flash equipped. Which can make a write of limit up to 95 TB but in this competition others stops at ~30 TB . At the same time other SSD manufacturers TLC's write speed performance can bring to their knees. They only go up to 30-90mb, hardly to reach the highest peak. But Samsung provides 500+ mb speed performance in R/W both. Which averages to 250mb to 300mb. That's really a great performance as compared to its competitor's in TLC range.
\n\nwe can push our self to spend extra bucks to get a quality product. :-)
\n" }, { "Id": "7952", "CreationDate": "2017-08-18T12:16:01.573", "Body": "I want a laptop to work on 3D (Blender, mainly). My budget is between 1000 and 1500e. Any recommendation? Mi biggest problem with laptops have always been heat, so I'm looking for one that can render for 6-7 hours without turning off.
\n\nHow good can be a Macbook Pro to work on 3D? Can I have any problem when exporting any blender file made in Windows into a Mac?
\n\nThank you.
\n", "Title": "Laptop [1000 - 1500e] for 3D modeling, animating and rendering on Blender", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "\n\n\nAny recommendation?
\n
Essentially, anything that has a Nvidia Geforce GTX 1070 or GTX 1080 will work for you. However due to your budget, finding a 1070-based model is more likely. The other caveats that you have to look out for are the 16GB of RAM that you specified, the SSD and that the CPU (most likely an Intel model) has HQ or HK at the end of the name and not U, because the latter would indicate a dual-core CPU limited to 28W or 15W power-consumption as opposed to a quad-core at 45W. Any laptop that satisfies these above constraints should work.
\n\nBeyond that, note that you probably want to clean the fans every now and then (1x a month if you can) to make sure the air can flow and cool the system properly, so that you don't get reduced performance or sudden heat-caused shutdowns.
\n\nBecause I have to, I'll make a generic recommendation fitting your budget:
\n\nThe Asus ROG GL502VS-FY042T:
\n\nI am to purchase a laptop today. I have narrowed down to 2 choices.
\n\nThe prices are almost the same. The Acer has a 128GB SSD in addition to a 1TB HDD. But I am willing to compromise on that IF 1050Ti with 8 GB RAM will give me substantially good performance compared with 1050 with 16GB RAM
\n\nUSAGE
\n\nBoth the machines are upgradable to the same extent.
\n\nSSD can be added.
More RAM can be added.
Now, Acer comes with the higher specs in ram and SSD. Which extremely reflects your performance.
\n\nNow buying is dependent on pricing of the machines. If Acer comes at the same cost of dell or slightly higher or lower then simply choose the Acer blind folded.
\n\nBecause 8 gig stick and a 128 SSD disk sums around INR 11k in India. Which is really a big amount.
\n\nThen comes the brand, If you're not brand conscious, I hope you will pick the right one. :-)
\n" }, { "Id": "7961", "CreationDate": "2017-08-20T14:31:28.203", "Body": "I am looking for a 2x8Go DDR3 RAM below ~150\u20ac based on this configuration:
\n\nFrom the motherboard specifications:
\n\n\n\n\nDual-Channel DDR3 2200(O.C.) / 2133(O.C.) / 1866(O.C.) / 1600(O.C.) / 1333 / 1066MHz
\n
Does O.C. mean it will gracefully fallback to 1333MHz if not overclocked?
Should I pick the Kingston HyperX Fury HX313C9FBK2 DDR3 1333MHz CL9 over HX318C10FBK2 DDR3 1866MHz CL10 if compatible, or is there a more reliable manufacturer?
\n\nOne thing I got from here to compare RAM let me think I should unless I plan to overclock:
\n\n1866 Mhz / CL10 = 186.6\n1333 Mhz / CL10 = 133.3\n1333 Mhz / CL9 = 148.1\nFinally, is 2x8Go reasonable or should I aim higher to be safe, knowing that I will have four slots?
\n", "Title": "RAM recommendation", "Tags": "|memory|compatibility|", "Answer": "Please see my accepted answer here for an overview of XMP and OC in relation to memory.
\n\nThis Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR3 memory is probably a good choice for you. It comes in varying colors, which are all roughly around 150 EUR, or the Red version, which is 130 EUR.
\n\nThis is the RAM that I actually have in my personal machine, and I have never had any issues whatsoever.
\n\nHowever, if you are set on purchasing the HyperX brand, then take the faster RAM speeds incase you want to use the XMP functionality at a later date.
\n\nRAM is expensive at the moment so around 8GB per DIMM should be fine for future upgrades.
\n" }, { "Id": "7974", "CreationDate": "2017-08-22T19:05:50.283", "Body": "I am looking at buying a laptop for uni. Most of uni stuff won't need very good specs but I also want to play a few games on it. The laptop I am looking at has a choice of Intel Core i7-7500U 2.7GHz or Intel Core i5-7200U 2.5GHz processors.
\n\nIt costs \u00a350 more for the i7, so my question is it worth it, and also if the newest intel processors are worth getting (I believe the 2 listed above were released in autumn 2016, and there have been more released earlier this year- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core).
\n", "Title": "Choosing an Intel processor (i7/i5)", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|", "Answer": "In general if you can afford the \u00a350 more and it doesn't hurt much then you're going to get this much more performance, or let's say \u00a325 worth more performance if you want to be a bit more critical about Intel's pricing model.
\n\nHere is a comparison of both models on Intel's site: https://ark.intel.com/en/compare/95443,95451
\n\nThere is just a difference in clock speed, but if you have workloads where a little extra performance matters and you can process more data in the same mount of time or get work done a tad quicker then that may be worth \u00a350 and depending on the maker and model the resale value may be a bit higher (well, I doubt it is in this case, I was thinking of Macs, ProBooks and Thinkpads). It won't make a notable difference with regards to gaming, authoring office/tex documents or compiling typical student programming projects. Workloads like complex/slow video/image analysis and encoding or compiling lots of big software projects (like a lot of Linux packages from source) will benefit a bit.
\n\nThe chassis looks fine from what I can tell, there should be little risk that the faster processor overheats and becomes slower than the other chip as has happened on some bad (ultrabook) designs in the past.
\n\nIf you are looking for the best performance and you can wait a little longer than you may want to look for the recently announced Intel 8000 series processors. The iGPU was re-branded from HD to UHD but is mostly the same (expect only very tiny refinements, if at all) but all of the announced models have 4 cores and 8 threads instead of 2 cores and 4 threads as the i5/i7-7000 series mobile processors have. But you will have to wait a few weeks or probably months for these to be available in updated products and the initial prices will be higher than these offers for a while.
\n" }, { "Id": "7975", "CreationDate": "2017-08-22T20:19:37.753", "Body": "I'm buying a new smartphone, and I wanna make a smart decission about it. I want the best for the price, but I don't wanna read a bunch of reivews.
\n\nI'm buying at a price range of Samsung J3, but it can be any other model.
\n\nI don't know should I go for some top brands like Samsung, or try with something like GM or Alcatel. I mean, why are GM and Alcatel so cheap, are they really low quality, or? I don't believe it's low quality, GM is Google right, does that mean it's gotta be good since it's from Google?
\n\nSamsung offers much less for the price than GM, Alcatel and Cubot, why is that so, is Samsung overrated?
\n\nCan I buy from GM or Alcatel without fear that it will break soon?
\n\nI haven't found a single review GM 4G and Lenovo K10a40.
\n\nThis is the store where I'll be buying, it's Croatian, but you'll understand, I'm looking at about 1000 kn price range. 1 USD is about 7kn.
\n", "Title": "Buying new smartphone", "Tags": "|smartphones|", "Answer": "To be honest, the only phone on that website I would personally recommend is probably your first suggestion, the Samsung J3.
\n\nSamsung devices have good build quality and performance overall, they also last a long time, from personal experience.
\n\nOtherwise, I would most likely recommend the LG smartphones, either of the two below:
\n\nTo be reasonable, the General Mobile (GM) phones dont look too bad on paper, its just that i have never heard of them.
\n\nMy personal advice would be to buy a Motorola G5 and get it shipped to your country if you are looking for a pure and fast android experience.
\n\nHope this helps.
\n" }, { "Id": "8000", "CreationDate": "2017-08-28T12:22:18.950", "Body": "I am looking to build an editing PC and one of the crucial components is CPU.
\n\nHowever, it seems like Davinci Resolve run almost entirely on the GPU, and the GPU I have is the RX560 4GB. I am wondering whether will I get a better performance by going for the Ryzen 7 1700 instead of the Ryzen 5 1600.
\n\nGetting a more powerful GPU is out of my budget. I have a B350 motherboard coming in the mail, I just need to know what CPU I should get.
\n", "Title": "Ryzen 5 or 7 CPU for Davinci Resolve 14", "Tags": "|processor|video-editing|", "Answer": "Either CPU will be fine but for heavy editing or rendering workloads you'd be better served getting a Ryzen 7 1700. The extra process threads will shorten your production downtime.
\n\nThis will really end up being a budget-driven decision for you. If this machine is to fuel a hobby and your budget is on the tight side, get the Ryzen 5. If you're building this for professional production and intend to use it to earn income, then absolutely get the Ryzen 7 over the Ryzen 5 if your budget allows.
\n\nYou could also wait a few months, as AMD is rumored to have a new professional-grade lineup of processors using the Zen architecture between Q3 and Q4, but that depends on your timeline.
\n" }, { "Id": "8012", "CreationDate": "2017-08-30T12:39:47.507", "Body": "I have a Dell laptop, with the ring shaped charger (not usb-c), I want to be able to charge it trough my giant battery pack, it has usb-c and a. Is there and adapter or wire, so 1 end is usb-c (45w) and other is wall outlet (so I can plug in the wall charger) or directly to dell's charger port?
\n", "Title": "Usb C Male to Wall outlet or Dell charger?", "Tags": "|usb|", "Answer": "This is a very bad idea unless you can verify with 100% certainty that the USB-C cable can carry the same amperage and voltage as the laptop charging cable. Missing the mark on this by charging your battery on a connection that has too much or too little juice can damage the battery and present a fire hazard. OEM laptops should always be used with a properly specced charging cable, preferably from the manufacturer.
\n" }, { "Id": "8029", "CreationDate": "2017-09-01T19:21:23.850", "Body": "My father has about 20-25% vision impairment (with eye correction) and I would like to ask you about a monitor which could make his life easier (avoid sitting too close and straining eyes too much).
\n\nTypical display like 24\" 1080p is too small for him. Of course it is possible to adjust resolution and/or DPI settings but it is not always fully supported and can be quite annoying.
\n\nTo avoid limiting the work space, I would like to ask you about some display which could run in 1080p as its native resolution but having bigger diagonal (probably starting at 27 inches).
\n\nMust-have:
\n\nNice-to-have:
\n\nBudget: up to $1200
\n\nDo you have any recommendation on that?
\n", "Title": "Monitor for vision impaired person", "Tags": "|monitors|ergonomics|", "Answer": "Couple things at play here, so I'll try to offer what I think would be the best comprehensive solution.
\n\nFirst, you want a 27-30\" panel minimum, as far as size. It will allow for the monitor to be placed at a healthy visual distance without reducing how much area it takes up within his visual field, similar to how a 50\" TV looks \"smaller\" when it's mounted on the wall 10' away from you. You also want that extra screen space to be able to adjust any accessibility software.
\n\nExamples of accessibility software for Windows would be the native Narrator software, NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) which is free open-source software, or Window-Eyes for MS Office or whatever the equivalent is called now. There are other options out there as well if none of these work for your dad.
\n\nDepending on if and how you implement any zoom features to enlarge text, resolution might come into play. If you're going to enlarge text to 150% or larger, I'd recommend a 1440p display over a 1080p. My reasoning here is that as you enlarge text the lines might become blurred or altered due to the ratio between the desired image size and the pixels-per-inch count. In my experience the higher definition displays tend to display enlarged text more clearly.
\n\nFinally, I'll link the following thread about programming font options below:
\n\nhttps://stackoverflow.com/questions/4689/recommended-fonts-for-programming
\n\nYou can also find good lists by searching around the internet if that link dies. I recommend one of these because coders usually prefer fonts that have a high level of distinctiveness and differentiation between characters, which minimizes the chance that you will mistake a 1 for an l for a ] and so on. This is, for obvious reasons, also very helpful to the visually impaired. I believe that there are Chrome and Firefox extensions that will try to apply a given font to websites as well, so those might be worth looking into if your dad browses online a lot.
\n\nIf you'd like to provide a list of desired specs and a budget, I'd be happy to look around for some models that would be a good fit. Best of luck!
\n" }, { "Id": "8070", "CreationDate": "2017-09-11T08:42:09.783", "Body": "![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/hFbFr.png\")
I wonder that what is the distance between top of PCIe x 16 connector and top of GPU card? I think it has a constant value, so if constant value, it will be recommended in any document, but I can't find anything related to it.\nAnyone can help me?
\n\nThank you
\n", "Title": "What is exactly GPU dimension", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|pcie|", "Answer": "The reference document for this is PCI-E Card electromechanical specification. I believe the relevant figure is 6.2:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/SzVOz.png\")
As you can see, the distance you're asking about is not specified at all, because the lug (referred to as \"detail F\" in the figure) has no connectivity and is present to prevent insertion of PCI-E cards into PCI slots. It doesn't have to be positioned at a precise distance from the bracket for the card to work.
\n\nWhat is specified is the distance between the card bracket and the notch inside the connector, which is 59,05mm.
\n" }, { "Id": "8079", "CreationDate": "2017-09-14T09:50:12.663", "Body": "I'm searching a portable machine for programming and I don't know which is the best between laptop and chromebook.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nI'd say a laptop is the best choice. Here's why:
\n\nA laptop can be used to develop on several platforms
A Chromebook has been made specifically to surf the web, hence a laptop can be expected to give a better experience.
Laptops have good storage space options, processors and RAM. And as Chromebooks have been made for the internet men, in mind, it doesn't have such great options.\nEven if a Chromebook does have a lot of storage options and RAM, you won't be fully able to utilize it. A laptop on the other hand, will allow you not only to develop but also to virtualize other operating systems.
Some recommendations: Amazon.com under \u20ac400 recommendations\nTechradar Linux Recommendations
\n" }, { "Id": "8116", "CreationDate": "2017-09-19T20:09:12.317", "Body": "(Copied from superuser)
\nWith SSDs getting cheaper and more mature, I am thinking of getting some for off-site backups. I would store system images and media backups on it, updated weekly-monthly. The drives would be rarely moved (although some shock tolerance would be welcome), stored at ~20C and powered on only to update the backups (so weekly/monthly). Considering all this, would I be better off with an external SSD or HDD?
(SSDs - consumer grade MLC/TLC, Samsung T5, HDDs - consumer/enterprise grade (not much of a diff anyway) WD, both in under 1TB varieties)
\n", "Title": "HDD vs SSD for semi-frequent backups", "Tags": "|hard-disk|ssd|backup|", "Answer": "Assuming price is not a concern, neither one has much of an advantage over the other for your purposes.
\n\nThe big advantage hard drives have is still price: a 1TB external hard drive is about $60, while a similar-sized SSD is around $300.
\n\nWhichever way you choose to go, make sure your backup plan can handle the failure of one of your external drives. There's no point in having a backup if the backup itself is a weak point.
\n" }, { "Id": "8117", "CreationDate": "2017-09-19T20:38:04.100", "Body": "I'm looking for a smart phone.
\nIf you want to put your own OS (that you built) on a smart phone, you need to have an unlocked bootloader. There are different ways to get there. I think some of those methods are good and some are bad.
\nAndroid SDK. I heard this is how it works for some devices, but I don't know which ones.Note, this question is similar to this other question from 2016. It's a great question with great answers, but there are new devices now...
\n", "Title": "A smartphone with an unlockable bootloader (Sept 2017 edition)", "Tags": "|smartphones|android|", "Answer": "I ended up buying a used Pixel 2 XL (Google edition). It meets all of my requirements except the MicroSD card, and the \"unlockable\" rating is \"BEST\", according to that scale I defined.
\n" }, { "Id": "8125", "CreationDate": "2017-09-22T19:24:24.780", "Body": "I\u2019m looking for an affordable SATA PCIe controller card that I can use only PC.
\n\nI have 4 x 3TB 3.5\u201d SATA hard drives and want to be able to use them on the new card.
\n\nI have read a review of some cards and they say they only support up to 2TB disks. I\u2019m trying to find out what I need to look for for the card to be able to handle big hard disk sizes.
\n\nAny recommendations or advice while searching would be great.
\n\nThanks
\n", "Title": "SATA PCIe Controller Card", "Tags": "|hard-disk|pcie|sata|raid-controller|", "Answer": "I haven't heard of size limitations on a SATA card, but this is a pretty affordable ($30) card with 4 ports. You might have been looking at hardware RAID cards which arent needed unless you really want to do RAID 5 or 6. (These might have size limits) If you really need a RAID card look at this.
\n" }, { "Id": "8134", "CreationDate": "2017-09-25T17:00:20.530", "Body": "Below is a video of a paper scanner, that scans paper that has print on both sides. See the very beginning of the video. However, I am unable to figure out how to scan both sides of the paper using the scanner buttons themselves. Does anyone know if this is controlled by the hardware or the software? If so, how can this be done?
\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9aPTMRChNw
\n", "Title": "Two sided paper scans with Epson WorkForce ES-400", "Tags": "|scanner|", "Answer": "According to the manual, page 54 and onwards, you can assign a custom configuration to the scan button. There is a caveat in the manual that says you cannot scan via wireless using the button, but that's not a factor in your question.
\n Assigning Start Button Settings or Scan Jobs\nYou can view or change the default scan settings when you scan using\nthe start button on your scanner.\nYou do this by accessing the scan jobs in the Document Capture Pro (Windows)\nor Document Capture (OS X) program.\nThe manual does not provide a screen shot of the page that would allow you to specify double sides, in the pp 54-55 region, but does show such a page elsewhere in the manual.
\nIt is typical for scanner software to allow custom configuration of various buttons on the device. Mediocre software often omits such features.
\n" }, { "Id": "8180", "CreationDate": "2017-10-04T06:52:22.373", "Body": "I am currently thinking about a new graphics card, for gaming, also for graphics. I am willing to spend around 500 bucks. I saw on alternate.de that some 1080s and 1070s are in a similar price range and I wanted to know what would be better, a cheaper 1080 model or a 1070 model in the same price range.\nFor example those two:
\n\nhttps://m.alternate.de/mobile/details.xhtml?p=1330180&page=1&t=8406\nhttps://m.alternate.de/mobile/details.xhtml?p=1280375&page=1&t=8406
\n\nThe 1080 has some higher stats, especially more streaming processors. So I would assume that the 1080 is better. But other 1080s, which cost more are just slightly better, stat wise, so there has to be a reason why this one is cheaper than the others. Both have good reviews. The 1080 seems to be are bit louder, but that's not important to me. Overclocking is also not a priority.
\n\nSo what do you say would be better?
\n", "Title": "Cheap 1080 or expensive 1070?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Go for the 1080. I normally stick to the Power/Costs chart on https://www.computerbase.de/thema/grafikkarte/rangliste/ (for Germany) and normally it's a linear slope until a certain point, where you get less power for much more money, since they make their flagships more expensive for the high-end user.\nBut at the moment, probably because of crypto-mining, even the cheaper models are more expensive, so that it's more or less a linear behaviour over the full chart. So at the moment, sticking to the 1080 would be more beneficial. However, in future I would go back to that chart and buy the most powerful graphics card, which is still on the linear slope of that chart.
\n" }, { "Id": "8185", "CreationDate": "2017-10-05T06:11:31.717", "Body": "This question is probably 20 years too late. I have a requirement where a bunch of analog phone lines will connect using dialup modem to my linux/windows server, in order to communicate. Just like we all did prior to broadband. This is for use in remote areas that don't have data connection. The termination on the server side will be ISDN E1. What is the modem hardware used by the ISPs to terminate the E1? I prefer not to demux the whole E1 into 30 analog lines and feed it to analog modems.
\n\nWill this work? https://www.dialogic.com/high-density-modems-e1-t1
\n", "Title": "Dial-up hardware for server side", "Tags": "|networking|server|", "Answer": "You don't want to break an E1 (or T1) into individual lines because you will loose the ability to negotiate speed above 33.6k. Make sure the device you get handles analog connections.
\n\nUSR gear did not play fast with other brands (mainly rockwell). Look at the following names in addition to Ascend Max
\n\nCisco 5200 series \nPortmaster\nPaton 2960
\n" }, { "Id": "8215", "CreationDate": "2017-10-11T19:58:24.897", "Body": "I am looking for a switch which has at least one port at the back and some 4-5 ports at the front.\nMost switches I found either had all ports in the back, with leds on the front. \nThe other ones had all ports at the front with power being the only thing that is on the backside.
\n\n1 Gbps would be idea.
\n\nI found this switch, but for some unknown reason they have the power connector at the side and only 100 Mbps ports.
\n", "Title": "Ethernet switch with ports at the front and back", "Tags": "|ethernet|switch|", "Answer": "Edit 2: There are some products now:\nhttps://www.amazon.de/dp/B0CJ31DLRT as an example. There are various vendors who are all selling the seemingly same device. You can also find it on Aliexpress/ebay.
\nAfter some years with no developments on this front I had to do it myself.
\nTP-Link TL-SG108 with some modifications: Soldered some wires to a RJ45 connector. Cut the metal in the back to insert the port. It's not the finest way to do it, especially as there are still some corners, but at least it works.
\nSome pictures:
\n![\"Soldering\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/1OiSl.jpg\")
![\"Back\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/8MxkG.jpg\")
![\"Connector\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/VLVjT.jpg\")
![\"Link\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/AXPHs.jpg\")
For work, I professionally edit videos. Right now I am using a Mac Book Pro, but I find it very slow and it's not fitting my workflow anymore.
\n\nMy idea is to change my hardware and buy a Windows desktop.
\n\nWhat I need basically is a machine that will allow me to work on graphics and video editing. My computer needs to be fast in the rendering operations, analyze my video frame by frame and to compose it back.
\n\nI am working on raw files CinemaDNG (lossless formats), and I need a pc that can manage this huge amount of data. Each frame size is from 15 to 20 mega and we have 25 fps.
\n\nIf it's possible, I would like to spend less than 2000 euros and I am mostly using AdobePremiere, Adobe After Effects and DavinciResolve
\n\nWhat computer will fit my needs right now?
\n", "Title": "PC suggestion for Video editing", "Tags": "|desktop|windows|video-editing|", "Answer": "I think this would be great(I included a monitor too since you didn't specify if you needed it), but I didn't include the storage since I don't know do you need 1TB or 5TB, you didn't specify it. Price without the monitor is ~1500$ which is ~1270 euros. You can take the nVidia 1080 if you are doing much complex work in DaVinciResolve but the 1070 should do the job.
\n" }, { "Id": "8234", "CreationDate": "2017-10-16T18:54:12.643", "Body": "I already googled bit around but didn't find something that really fits my expectations... My budget is around $100 and my requirements would be
\n\nand would be mainly used for
\n\nDo you know any single-board computers that would fit these requirements?
\n\nI'm confused why the most recent versions of Raspberry Pi and similars only have 512 MB of RAM. Is that really enough??
\n", "Title": "Searching Single-board computer", "Tags": "|linux|ethernet|", "Answer": "Just one example: The Orange Pi Plus
\n\nIt has -
\n\nIt doesn't have USB 3.0
\n\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "8238", "CreationDate": "2017-10-16T20:53:23.800", "Body": "What can I do with Orange Pi Plus2?
\n \nBuild\u2026
\n \nA computer
\n \nA wireless server
\n \nGames
\n \nMusic and sounds
\n \nHD video
\n \nA speaker
\n \nAndroid
\n \nScratch
\n \nPretty much anything else, because Orange Pi Plus2 is open source
\n \nWho\u2019s it for?
\n \nOrange Pi Plus2 is for anyone who wants to start creating with technology \u2013 not just consuming it. It's a simple, fun, useful tool that you can use to start taking control of the world around you.
\n
It's my birthday coming up and I'm hoping for some money to put towards my gaming pc build.\nThe parts of the build that are important to my question are:\ni5 2500 + any eBay 1155 mobo\n8gb ddr3 (4gb now an extra 4gb later)\nGTX 1050ti 4gb
\n\nRight now I'm on a Pentium D (one of the higher clocked ones not that it matters) and a quadro fx1700 (modern Intel HD are better) with 4gb ram.
\n\nSo my question is this, the CPU and mobo with a new PSU and 4gb ram would be \u00a3150 roughly (I have a case and hard drive) and the 1050ti would be the same price. Would I get more performance gain by getting everything but the GPU now or by putting the GPU with my Pentium D? Eventually I'll have the i5 paired with the 1050ti but I can't afford it all at once.
\n\nThanks
\n", "Title": "What to upgrade first from an ancient system", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|pc|processor|", "Answer": "I'd upgrade the CPU and mainboard.
\n\nIf you were doing workstation graphics work, the i5-2500's onboard graphics would be a substantial downgrade from your Quadro. But the same optimizations that make the Quadro a powerful workstation card make it a poor choice for a gaming card -- even though the HD 2000 has fewer compute cores and shares its RAM with the system, it'll be faster for games than the Quadro.
\n" }, { "Id": "8247", "CreationDate": "2017-10-18T09:23:28.377", "Body": "My PC is i5-6600K, Gigabyte G1 GTX1070, 16Gb RAM.
\n\nAt the moment I use two monitors - Dell U2414H for gaming and coding and old Samsung BX2035 for Internet browsing.
\n\nI want to buy 144Hz monitor for games and right now Im choosing within Asus PG248Q, Asus PG279Q, Dell S2417DG, Dell S2716DG and AOC AGON AG271QG. Of course Asus PG279Q is the best, but I have to buy it from computeruniverse.com due to hight price in my country so this option has its drawbacks.
\n\nThe new monitor should become the main one, and U2414H should be used for Internet surfing.
\n\nIn general, I want to get advice on which monitor is better in the described situation, and also I have a few questions:
\n\nActually I rarely play in competitve FPS, maybe I do not need 144Hz at all? As an example of the games I play: World of Warcraft, Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Civilization 6, Fallout 4, Tomb Rider etc.
\n\nI will be glad to any advice or links to articles.
\n", "Title": "Choosing monitor for gaming", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|monitors|", "Answer": "1. YES
\n\n2. I would recommend 1080p for 24\" simply because you will get way more frames per second, and again more PPI, looks better and in this case 1440p with 24\" is about 121PPI and 1440p with 27\" is about 109PPI so really not much of a difference. Also I think I saw couple of 27\" monitors and 2560x1440 at 27\" is the same pixel density as 1920x1080 at 24\"
\n\n3. It is and for 90% of upcoming games in next 3 years it will be, but then again don't hold my word, we can't predict future tough I reckon you will be able to play them in medium-high settings(in 3 years)
\n\nThe monitors I would recommend are Dell S2417DG and Asus PG248Q tough I prefer Dell over Asus
\n" }, { "Id": "8254", "CreationDate": "2017-10-19T07:50:32.500", "Body": "I'm about to embark on my 1st self build and want to spec a machine for general home use to include for general office duties, hobby photo editing using elements, organising my music collection and perhaps some light gaming. I had been planning to use a Kaby Lake i5 processor but I wonder if my needs, and some better degree of longevity would be better served by using a Coffee Lake i3 chip? I can't stretch to a Coffee Lake i5.
\n", "Title": "Kaby Lake i5 or Coffee Lake i3", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "If it's 8350K vs 7600K, I would go for the 8350K, as it is slightly cheaper and a little better performing.
\n\nEven 8100 vs 7400 shows the same scenario.
\n" }, { "Id": "8256", "CreationDate": "2017-10-19T10:43:01.897", "Body": "I'm looking for a new laptop, mainly for fullstack software development. What (I think) I need:
\n\nWhat I don't really care about:
\n\nI don't have a limited budget, but of course looking for the best value for money. I just want to be comfortable with having multiple DBMS/IDE/browsers/processes running at the same time.
\n\nI can find some nice laptops with Linux preinstalled (e.g. by Dell or System76), but they are usually quite expensive ($1,000+). On the other hands, some cheaper laptops seem to fulfill these constraints, but have Windows installed by default. I am concerned about driver issues if I buy a Windows laptop, so laptops running Windows must run Linux without issue. Plus, I already have a Windows laptop, so I won't need a dual-boot on the new one.
\n", "Title": "Buying a Windows laptop, then install Linux on it?", "Tags": "|laptop|linux|development|", "Answer": "I would recommend the following, almost all of these come with Ubuntu/Debian/fork installed by manufacturer :
\n\nFor more choices, I recommend looking at the latest official list of Ubuntu compatible laptops
\n\nRelated questions:
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "8258", "CreationDate": "2017-10-19T17:26:03.790", "Body": "I need a monitor for programming, and light gaming. With a price at about 250 euros which is ~290$. My requirements are:
\n\n-23.8\"-25\"
\n\n-1080p/1200p
\n\n-very thin bezels
\n\nI'm deciding between Dell S2415 and Dell U2414H. I would like if you would tell me any other monitors that fit those requirements or help me decide between those 2.
\n", "Title": "Best All-In-One monitor", "Tags": "|gaming|monitors|", "Answer": "\u20ac2501 is a pretty massive budget for a monitor of that size and resolution. At this price point, I'd consider decent color (read: IPS) non-negotiable. Since you mentioned gaming and programming (not content creation), I'm guessing perfect color isn't too important though. For that reason, I focused on providing a better gaming experience.
\n\nWith both of these monitors, you get a 75Hz refresh rate with Freesync. IMO, these features make gaming (even relatively casual gaming) much, much better.
\n\nBeyond that, compared to the Dell monitors you suggested:
\n\nGiven how much room you have left in your budget, it should be within your budget to get a nice USB hub and set of bookshelf speakers.
\n\nBetween the G and HT models, the difference appears to be in vendors (BestBuy carries only the HT, the G is carried more universally) and inputs (the HT has 2x HDMI and 1x VGA, the G has 1x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI, and 1x VGA.) I'd recommend the G if you can find it (DisplayPort tends to have fewer issues with Freesync.)
\n\nI am to purchase RAM for my newly purchased
\n\n4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 2400/2133 MHz ECC, Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory Dual Channel Memory Architecture64 GB DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V ECCI want to max out the memory to 64GB and planned to puchase four
\n\n16GB ECC unbuffered/UNB/UDIMM RAM.The memory I am interested in is
\n\n\n\nThe question is whether the SAMSUNG memory is compatible with the ASUS motherboard.
\n\nSamsung's Support > Tools & Utilities > Board Compatibility is not helpful, and strangely does not even list DDR4 memory.
The QVL (Qualified Vendor List) for memory from ASUS does not list M391A2K43BB1-CPB.
Two other Samsung memories are however listed 16GB DDR4-2400 Non-ECC/UNB and \n8GB DDR4-2133 ECC/UNB CL15; the first not fit for the CPU, and the second will only max out to 32GB.
The only two vendors that are on the list with an acceptable memory specification 16GB DDR4-2133 ECC/UNB CL15 are INNODISK and Skhynix. Neither of which are available to me for purchase.
I found however that the QVL for memory for the ASUS P10S-M motherboard lists the Samsung M391A2K43BB1-CPB.
I noticed that the memory chip for the listed Samsung M391A2K43BB1-CPB is the same memory chip listed for the INNODISK memory chip; Samsung K4A8G085WB-BCPB.
\n\n\n\n\nThere are multiple memory companies on the market, but only a few true memory manufacturing companies. When researching different memory brands, you may run across companies that claim to be memory manufacturers, when they're really just module assemblers. How these companies work is that they purchase pre-manufactured parts (such as DRAM chips and printed circuit board) from true memory manufacturers, and then assemble these components to \u201cmanufacture\u201d a module with their label on it.
\n
If I understand correctly, the listed P10S-M WS/IPM-O INNODB M4CR-AGS1MC0G-BE93 is actually more or less the same memory as Samsung M391A2K43BB1-CPB?
Even if they would differ for some reason, I am having a very difficult time to accept that the M391A2K43BB1-CPB -- or really any other memory -- will be incompatible with the motherboard save for some edge cases, such as incorrect manufacturing or assembling.
As this is my first build it would be assuring if someone could confirm my conclusion.
\n", "Title": "Determining memory compatibility", "Tags": "|memory|compatibility|", "Answer": "The question What exactly is the cause of RAM incompatibility? on superuser provides a good overview of possible causes for incompatibility. The answers to the question provide some interesting reasoning.
\nhttps://superuser.com/a/1252224/774206
\n\n\nYou might have two RAM sticks with the same part number and one can tolerate a 5% undervoltage and the other can't, and the mobo might put out a low voltage because it's poorly calibrated.\nBut, again, this is very rare now. Sane combinations almost always work.\nBefore DDR2, it was a mess. After DDR2, it was sufficiently standardized.
\n
In the follow up discussion https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/65926/discussion-between-david-schwartz-and-ehryk
\n\n\nThese days, it's almost always the obvious incompatibilities. That is, if it doesn't work, you can usually figure out why. When you can't, the most likely explanation is that some part is just crappy.
\nIn the old days, weird incompatibilities were not that unusual. But since the DDR2 standard, cases of incompatibility not involving one of the explanations mentioned are fairly rare. Most of those cases are likely to be components that are not quite meeting their specifications.
\n
From another answer https://superuser.com/a/1252995/774206
\n\n\nI built many systems throughout my career and I have not once looked at the supported RAM list before I chose the components. And I have never had any incompatibilities so far. That being said, the list can give guidance to beginners and less experienced people to select the correct components to build a good working system.
\n
From another answer https://superuser.com/a/1252617/774206
\n\n\nThe answer lies within the memory controller. The memory controller used to be on the north-bridge of the motherboard. It had to negotiate all the features that the CPU supported for direct memory access. So the CPU is really the determining factor that limited what memory you could use even though it appeared to be a motherboard capability. This is more obvious now that the memory controller lives inside the CPU in all modern chips made by Intel, AMD, and ARM. The motherboard firmware contains microcode from the CPU manufacturer that dictates what kind of features for direct memory access it supports. So the software still lives in the motherboard but the hardware is in the CPU now.
\nThe clocking of CPU and Memory are directly linked through the Base Clock. They have to be multiples of each other in sync. Aside from that the details of Direct Memory Access are non-trivial and I will not attempt to explain here. My understanding is that just like MB and CPU manufacturers have different implementations and features, so do different memory modules. Within one memory manufacturer, like Kingston, the actual chips could be made by Samsung, Hynix, or someone else. They should all follow a spec but maybe they don't implement every feature the same way.
\n
While no answer was accepted, one was given the "bounty"; https://superuser.com/a/1252970/774206. The answer provides some examples of what may cause incompatibility.
\nUsing the
\nI have tried to create a comparison table. Mainly for the fun of it :)
\nMy best [uninformed] guess is that with the new CPUs, motherboards and memories the main criteria for memory compatibility is the common referred specifications, and any incompatibility issue is mainly due to "bad luck".
\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n | INNODISK | SK HYNIX | SAMSUNG |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n | M4CR-AGS1MC0G-BE93 | HMA82GU7MFR8N-TFT0 | M391A2K43BB1-CPB |\n | | (revision 1.2) | |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n chipset | K4A8G085WB-BCPB | H5AN8G8NMFR-TFC |K4A8G085WB-BCPBM00|\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n bandwith | 2133 MT/s | 2133 MT/s | 2133 MT/s |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n frequency | (1066.67MHz) | (1066.67MHz) | 1066MHz |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n voltage | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n rank | Rank 2 | Rank 2 | Rank 2 |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n density | 16GB | 16GB (2Rx8) | 16GB (2Gx72) |\n | |1Gx8(H5AN8G8NMFR)*18|1Gx8(K4A8G085WB-BC##)*18|\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n timings |====================+====================+==================|\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n cycle time | 0.93ns | 0.93ns | 0.93ns |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n tCK(min) | | 0.937 | 0.938 |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n CL | 15 | 15 | 15 |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n tRCD(min) | | 14.06 (13.50) | 15 (14.06) |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n tRP(min) | | 14.06 (13.50) | 15 (14.06) |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n tRAS(min) | | 33 | 33 |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n tRC(min) | | 47.06 (46.50) | 47.06 |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\n CMD | | | |\n +--------------------+--------------------+------------------+\nI purchased the M391A2K43BB1-CPB and installed it; the computer boots without any errors, and no errors are reported after test:
stressapptest -W -s 3600.I want to buy an SSD for the specified reasons, and reliability and price are the most important for me. I want to do/learn C++ programming and get to know Linux in a deeper level. My budget would be 155 USD at most.
\n", "Title": "SSD for Linux system with Linux virtual machines", "Tags": "|linux|ssd|virtual-machines|", "Answer": "Main uses would be
\n\nwhile your requirements are
\n\nAssuming you want an internal SSD,
\n\nI would say that you would in theory want an SSD with SLC, however, they are more expensive.
\n\nFor example a search on newegg.com for SLC in the range $100-200 resulted in 1 match
\n\nIn practice, given your intended use, a MLC based SSD should suffice. A search for MLC in the same range resulted in numerous products. The linked Wikipedia article even states that
\n\n\n\n\nIn February 2016, a study was published that showed little difference in practice between the reliability of SLC and MLC.
\n
(referencing Bianca Schroeder and Arif Merchant (February 22, 2016). \"Flash Reliability in Production: The Expected and the Unexpected\". Conference on File and Storage Technologies. Usenix. Retrieved November 3, 2016.)
\n\nYou also need to ensure that the SSD you purchase support
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n... the ATA_TRIM command for sustained long-term performance and wear-leveling.
\n
The only thing that I am aware of when using SSD with Linux is to ensure that the file system you use for the SSD supports TRIM. See the referenced archlinux link on SSD.
\n\nGiven your intended use I would say any SSD with SATA revision 3.0 (\"SATA 3\" or \"SATA III\") interface should perform well enough.
\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYou could say the maximum for SATA revision 3.0 is 6Gb/s, and that the maximum for SATA revision 3.2 is 16Gb/s.
\n
I personally run an external SSD with USB 3.0 (can transfer data at up to 5 Gbit/s that is 625 MB/s according to Wikipedia) from where amongst other things I run virtual machines (Windows 7, Linux). For your stated uses I doubt you will have any performance issues.
\n\nIf you want to narrow down your search (MLC) in an effort to improve performance then I would recommend considering an SSD with NVMe interface if your motherboard supports it. The same search on newegg adding \"PCI-Express 3.0 x4\" narrows the search down to about 20.
\n\nI recommend searching for reviews or comparison videos for more specific examples. My favorite is NVMe SSD Review - Which Should You Buy? - 2017 Edition. Notice what he says in the beginning of the review; NVMe is for high-end machines; for mid-range computer see his \"SATA SSD\" review.
\n\nGood luck!
\n\nPS
\n\nReading Digital Boffon's comment I remembered that I forgot to mention something about read-write operations -- which would have basically been the same tl;dr as the answer Boffon referenced
\n\n\n\n\nYes, there's a limit, but you needn't worry about it. You simply won't be able to perform enough read/write operations before you run out of capacity.
\n
My source however was \"The SSD Endurance Experiment: They're all dead\nThis is the end, beautiful friend\" by Geoff Gasior \u2014 10:22 AM on March 12, 2015.
\n" }, { "Id": "8266", "CreationDate": "2017-10-20T17:37:36.120", "Body": "I'm looking for a 1080P capable projector that is also a PC (built-in).
\n\nInstead of dedicating a separate computer (to always be hooked up to a projector in the meeting room), it would be nice if I could find a projector that could do remote desktop connections (RDP) to various computers on our LAN, without being hooked up to a separate PC.
\n\nThis would allow each presenter to present from their own workstation from within the meeting-room, and if the projector is wifi capable, the only cable needed (to be plugged into the projector) is the power cable alone.
\n\nIt would be even extra cool if I could install Ubuntu Linux 16.04.3 as the operating system and use Remmina Remote Desktop Client to facilitate the RDP connections to the various workstations.
\n\nAny recommendations?
\n", "Title": "Projector with Build-in Desktop PC", "Tags": "|projector|", "Answer": "You can more easily solve your problem if you divide it in 2 devices. Get any common projector that solves your presentation needs, but with an HDMI input.
\n\nWith that get an Intel compute stick or a raspberry pi with Wi-Fi, put your OS on that and get remmina running from the network.
\n" }, { "Id": "8291", "CreationDate": "2017-10-24T19:22:30.533", "Body": "My office is buying photocopy machine and we are stuck between the printing technology which is making it difficult to choose one.
\n\ncanon imagerunner 2520 has Laser Dry Electrostatic Transfer System
Toshiba Studio 2309A has Indirect Electrostatic photographic
Taskalfa 2200 has laser mono component
we are having a very hard time figuring out the difference in these technologies. I have search through the web but didn't find any expalnations.\n`
\n", "Title": "Laser Dry Electrostatic vs Indirect Electrostatic photographic", "Tags": "|printer|", "Answer": "They are all various ways of referring to the same process, which a Xerox engineer invented (hence the name of their company): Xerography.
\n\nHowStuffWorks has a decent overview of the process here.
\n\nSo, to directly answer your question, they all use the same printing technology.
\n" }, { "Id": "8323", "CreationDate": "2017-10-30T20:46:05.797", "Body": "I search a small printer+scanner device for Ubuntu.
\n\nWhich device has very good support for Ubuntu?
\n\nI want plug+play, I don't want to edit config files by hand or execute complicated shell commands to get it working.
\n\nRequired features:
\n\nBoring background:
\n\nI have Brother DCP-7055W. The hardware is great: Scanner and Printer in one device and small. Perfect match. Except: Installing the drivers is a pain.
\n\nAfter upgrading to Ubuntu 17.04 the scanner does not work any more.
\n\nI want to buy a new device instead of investigating how to get it working. I loved fixing errors like this in the past. But now I have wife, family and other hobbies.
\n", "Title": "Small printer+scanner with very good support for Ubuntu", "Tags": "|linux|printer|ubuntu|scanner|", "Answer": "I recommend a HP printer, specifically the HP LaserJet Pro M130nw. Amazon claims to sell it for $99 once you add to cart.
\n\nHP has always had the best support on Linux [1][2][3], and the current open source drivers – which are in the default Ubuntu repository (main),* and may even be installed by default^ – claim full support for the M130 series [4]. Linux is also listed as a compatible OS on the specs page
\n\nIt has 802.11 b/g/n as well as 100Base-T Ethernet (and USB 2.0,of course). Print output is 600 dpi maximum, with \"FastRes\" pixel doubling. Scanning is 600 dpi Colour, 1200 dpi Mono. Unfortunately, there is no autofeeder for the scanner. If you want one, you'll have to pony up for the next higher model. Auto duplex, single pass scanning and colour printing are all at far higher price points
\n\nRecommended page volume is 150 to 1500 pre month for both Print and Scan, though maximum duty cycle is 10 000 pages per month.
\n\nIts minimum dimensions are 398 \u00d7 288 \u00d7 231 mm, minimum being when all trays are closed, etc.
\n\n*\"main\" means a Canonical maintained package. It likely has the best support.
\n\n^if it isn't, just sudo apt install hplip in a terminal or search for it in Synaptic or Software Centre. apt has a nice progress bar.
Also, I'm assuming that laser Mono is preferred over inkjet colour. There may be a relatively affordable inkjet multifunction that also fit the requirements.
\n" }, { "Id": "8363", "CreationDate": "2017-11-08T17:03:21.400", "Body": "I bought a laptop (ASUS VivoBook Pro 15 N580VD) that comes with a USB type C 3.1 GEN 1 port, that is also a displayport port (little DP icon - like the one in this picture)
\n\nI would like to buy a hub with an ethernet port, (at least) 2 displayports/HDMIs, at least one USB type A and at least one USB type c port.\nI am concerned that a hub like this won't work since the laptop has a gen 1 port.
\n\nWhat USB 3.1 Gen 1 hubs would work for my laptop?
\n", "Title": "What hubs to use for USB 3.1 gen 1?", "Tags": "|usb|hub|display-port|", "Answer": "6 years later when I got a dock for different laptop I remembered this and tested.\nSo USB C 3.1 gen 1 port (now named USB 3.2 gen 1) using powered HP Universal Dock connected to:
\nEverything except bigger monitor is working fully, that UW monitor working well enough
\n" }, { "Id": "8380", "CreationDate": "2017-11-13T12:58:34.037", "Body": "I currently have a laptop with a display I would describe as \"glossy\". When the screen is dark you can perfectly see your mirror image. Unfortunately this is often very inconvenient because bad lighting immediately makes the screen unusable. That's why I would like to avoid this for my next purchase.
\n\nCan you please tell me what these kinds of matt displays are called so I can properly search for it?
\n", "Title": "What is the opposite of a glossy display?", "Tags": "|displays|", "Answer": "You can go for either matte surface or anti-glare ones.
\n\nThe rough matte surface panels are still mostly used in the business notebook segment. The other type of anti-glare computer screens, which uses a chemical coating over a smooth surface to cut down glare, is more used on glare panels to minimize the amount of glare there.
\n\nAnti-glare surfaces have a smooth surface but reduced reflection.\nMatte has a rough surface and no reflection.
\n" }, { "Id": "8395", "CreationDate": "2017-11-15T14:51:12.903", "Body": "I am planning on getting into the Cryptocurrency scene pretty soon, and I plan to mine non-SHA256 coins (i.e coins not like Bitcoin), and therefore I plan to use GPUs extensively, rather than ASIC hardware.
\n\nI have a fairly tight budget right now per card, around $450 USD, and AFAIK the GTX 10 Series are the best bang-for-buck for non-Bitcoin coins. I have found these two cards on Amazon (links below)
\n\nCard 1 --> EVGA
\n\nCard 2 --> Gigabyte
\n\nWhat I want to know is, which of these cards is better for mining with? Even if it's just a marginal advantage over the other. I want to get the most performance from these cards before I have to replace them later down the line.
\n\nI have done research about this question, but have not found any concrete evidence that can help me decide the victor.
\n\nThanks for viewing!
\n", "Title": "Comparing two GTX 1070s for Mining", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "They're both GTX 1070 graphics cards with 8 GB of GDDR5 running at 8.008 GT/s on a 256-bit bus. They both use two cooling fans with similar heatsink setups, require one 8-pin PCIe power connection, and have the same five output connectors. In short, they're virtually identical cards for an identical price of $439.99.
\n\nIf you're looking for a reason to pick one over the other, the EVGA card is clocked 0.7% faster than the Gigabyte. It's also half an inch shorter and three-quarters of an inch narrower, making for a better fit in a crowded case. The true power draw isn't specified, but the faster clock speed probably corresponds to an increase of 1.5%.
\n" }, { "Id": "8404", "CreationDate": "2017-11-18T02:39:21.260", "Body": "I'm in need of a 3.5\" 3TB HDD to be used as an all-encompassing backup drive for the rest of my data, as I don't currently have a system in place and that needs to change as soon as possible.
\n\nBecause the drive will be a backup drive it will be kept hooked up to my desktop but read from and written to less frequently than the average internal HDD, and so it doesn't need to be exceptional quality; however, my personal circumstances mean that I'm on a very tight budget, so it does generally need to be available for under \u00a350 while remaining a reliable drive for the above purposes, and the cheaper it can be found for the better.
\n\nCan anyone recommend anything?
\n", "Title": "Cheap, reasonable 3TB internal HDD", "Tags": "|hard-disk|data-storage|windows|", "Answer": "It sounds like the best drive for your circumstances is a 3TB Western Digital Green.
\n\nNormally, I'd never recommend a WD Green because of severe performance issues (the firmware prioritizes power savings over speed of access). However, since you're using the drive for backups rather than as your main drive, the delays probably won't be an issue. Reliability-wise, the WD Green uses the same hardware as the rest of Western Digital's drives. It's only the firmware that differs.
\n\nThe drive is $88 from Newegg, which should translate into a UK price within your \u00a350 budget.
\n" }, { "Id": "8412", "CreationDate": "2017-11-19T17:39:35.250", "Body": "If you can't name just one, name a few. In this case, price does not matter. Thanks.
\n", "Title": "What is the most powerful processor you can use for an Alienware 17 R3 laptop?", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "The Alienware 17 R3 and R4 run on Intel Core i7-6700HQ or i7-7820HK.
\n\nThese CPUs run the socket FCBGA1440. Thus it cannot be upgraded, especially not with a desktop-grade CPU.
So I've been looking for a long time and I can't seem to find a keyboard that matches what I want. Maybe I'm in the huge minority or something, but I feel like someone must want this like I do....
\n\nAnyways I'm looking for a keyboard that fits the following specifications:
\n\nI currently use a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard. I really do like it for a number of reasons, but it's not backlit and it's not wireless.
\n\nIt's just so that when I'm at my workstation I can set down my laptop and be good to go. I've tried a bunch of online exclusive places like Amazon, NewEgg, etc. and all the big chain places like Fry's and Best Buy. But I haven't seen one... and I'm not saying that I haven't seen some super expensive crazy custom one, or some questionable brand no one has heard of. I'm saying I haven't found a single one at all that has these specs...
\n", "Title": "What backlit ergonomic wireless keyboards options are out there?", "Tags": "|wireless|keyboards|ergonomics|", "Answer": "The ProtoArc\u00ae EK01 Advanced Ergonomic Split Keyboard seems to meet all your listed requirements.
\n(I realize this answer may be a about five years late. However, I don't think a keyboard that with every feature listed existed at the time you posted the question. Even now, the EK01 is still the only keyboard I've seen, so I thought I might mention it, if it should still be of interest to you or others.)
\n" }, { "Id": "8430", "CreationDate": "2017-11-22T16:33:06.170", "Body": "I'm out of space on my Mac so I've been planning to buy an SSD and install some programs there. I know that USB 2.0 has a low bandwidth so there is no point to use SSD through USB 2.0. The question is how do I connect an external SSD drive to my MacBook Pro 2014 that doesn't have Thunderbolt 3 jacks, hence I can't connect USB 3 cord to it. There are some adapters from USB 3 to Thunderbolt 2 that apparently cost about $100-150 so I would avoid buying them if possible.
\n\nThanks in advance!
\n", "Title": "How to connect external SSD to Mac so it doesn't lose speed?", "Tags": "|usb|pc|ssd|flash-drive|", "Answer": "Let's start by taking a tour of your MacBook's I/O:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/0dazB.jpg\")
For sake of simplicity and feasibility, we'll explore three options here: USB, Thunderbolt, and SD.
\n\nContrary to your original question, you do have USB 3.0! We won't go into it much, but the newer port you're referring to is USB 3.1 Type C.
\n\nUSB 3.0 has a maximum speed of 5 Gb/s\u2013below SATA 3's 6 GB/s, but still above most (even fairly fast) SSDs. All good then, right?
\n\nUnfortunately, through a combination of packet problems, controller issues (either on the computer or enclosure end), and general magic, USB 3.0 just... isn't that fast. I'm not particularly well equipped to say why, and I wouldn't be surprised if more in-depth analysis revealed flawed testing methodology, but that's the fact of the matter... for now. Still, 3.360 Gb/s isn't anything to scoff at, nor is it too far from advertised.
\n\nThunderbolt is kinda the big daddy of external expansion. It advertises 20 Gb/s over a 4x PCI-e 2.0 connection. And for the most part, it delivers... 11 Gb/s. Akito specifically cites the chipset (rather than the protocol) as the limiting factor. Still, that's enough to handle the fastest SATA SSDs, and even decent PCI-e drives.
\n\nThe SD spec promises speed up to 2500 Mb/s for UHS-II. You won't get that on a MacBook Pro, since the reader is connected over a USB bus\u2013in your case, USB 3.
\n\nOne thing to note is that the maximum file size you can put on an SD card varies. Normal SD cards support 2GB (avoid!), SDHC cards support 32GB, and SDXC cards support 2TB.
\n\nWith this in mind, we get the following:
\n\nNote that USB and Thunderbolt are fundamentally incompatible specifications; you cannot convert Thunderbolt to USB.
\n\nGiven that you're using this for secondary storage on a computer with an already very fast SSD and (based on the fact that you said $100-150 was too expensive) price is important, SD cards seem like the way to go. You can even get ones that lie flush with the rest of your laptop, or microSD adapters that allow you to bring your own SD card.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/iIxkN.jpg\")
Since you haven't provided a specific price or storage requirement, I can't get more specific than that.
\n\nIf you have no regard for money or physical space considerations, the Sony 128GB SF-G Series UHS-II is among the best I know of, and comes with a 5 year warranty and data recovery to boot, though I would advise against this. I would recommend something along the lines of the SanDisk 128GB Extreme UHS-I and one of those microSD flush-fitting adapters from earlier.
\n\nThe exception to this is if you want a large amount of storage (256GB+ mostly.) SD cards at this price point are still much more expensive than their desktop counterparts while offering worse performance, though this breaking point will likely change in the future as SSD prices continue to drop.
\n" }, { "Id": "8438", "CreationDate": "2017-11-24T01:28:42.537", "Body": "Given that I suspect my PC to have a suicidal behavior, I'm looking for a RAID HDD to save my data safely. I have very old documents that I don't wanna lose.\nWhat are the best solutions for this? Buy 2 HDD and connect them with a dock? A NAS?\nI want it to be at least as fast as a normal HDD (so SATA cable, I think), and not too expensive if possible.
\n\nEDIT: I want this to cost if possible, less than 200\u20ac, and I want at least 1TB of data. I want it to use with my PC (desktop). I want to store various documents like pictures, videos, work files, ...
\n\nThanks! :)
\n", "Title": "Fast and cheap RAID HDD?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|raid|", "Answer": "RAID 5 can handle 1 bad drive and 6 can handle 2.
\n\nYour budget means if you do RAID 5 you will spend your entire budget on hard drives.
\n\nNow what? Well some versions of Windows has a software RAID 5 or 6, and linux offers similar including the ZFS and btrfs file systems.
\n\nReading will not be significantly impacted by software RAID 5 or 6. However, writing will take a big hit in terms of CPU utilization will spike every time you write to it. If your CPU isn't fast enough your write speed will be limited. You will also have less CPU to run your normal programs.
\n\nHardware RAID solves this, but is completely out of your budget range.
\n" }, { "Id": "8454", "CreationDate": "2017-11-28T18:22:54.190", "Body": "I'm looking at raw memory speed in a setup where RAM bandwidth is important. Right now the servers are using Xeon E5 16xx v3's and v4's with about 96 - 160 GB of ECC RDIMM 2133/2400.
\n\nA lot of people ask online about the difference between ECC and Registered RAM, and get told they are completely separate things - I understand the difference and know which RAM I'm asking about :)
\n\nIn this case, unbuffered ECC (UDIMMs) may be better than registered ECC (RDIMMs/LRDIMMs), because I don't need registration or buffering really, the amounts of RAM aren't large enough to justify it, and the speed will benefit from avoiding it.
\n\nBut my usual motherboard preference, SuperMicro X10 range, state under RAM, that it runs with RDIMM or LRDIMM, not UDIMM (or UDIMM with ECC).
\n\nDo any server board manufacturers make similar/better/good quality boards (generally viewed as comparable to Supermicro or better), that accept up to 8 slots of unbuffered (UDIMM) ECC? If so, could I have some recommendations?
\n\nMy usual motherboard spec is something like the Supermicro X10SRi-F: Intel based, 2011-3 single CPU, 8 slots RAM, IPMI, at least 1 PCIe-16 and space for 3 or 4 PCIe-8's, can handle Xeon v3/v4. Ideally allows fully loaded RAM at 2400 not just 2133 and has onboard vga (aspeed etc) but I can always add a cheap video card if not.
\n", "Title": "Xeon 2011-3 motherboards that support *unbuffered* (non-registered) ECC RAM?", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|server|", "Answer": "It's not a board from a traditional server-focused manufacturer, but the Asus X99-WS/IPMI appears to meet your requirements:
\n\nYou'll need that cheap video card, though, as it doesn't have onboard graphics.
\n" }, { "Id": "8455", "CreationDate": "2017-11-28T19:02:12.127", "Body": "I'm doing a cost analysis for a friend who wants a \"budget\" gaming system that run most modern titles on medium to ultra settings with decent fps, like ETS2, GTA5 and Fallout4.
\n\nSo far, he is dead set on getting 2 GTX 960 4GBs and running them in SLI, which is no problem. The problem I face is that I cannot find a CPU that will work with the SLI configuration whilst minimizing GPU bottlenecking as much as possible. I have the following criteria in place -->
\n\nI have not decided on the motherboard as yet, as I do not have the CPU. Once I have the CPU, then I can move forward from here.
\n\nMany thanks
\n", "Title": "Best CPU Generation to work with 2 GTX 960 4GB in SLI?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|gaming|processor|", "Answer": "I'd recommend an Ivy Bridge or Sandy Bridge E3 Xeon, such as the E3 1245. These CPUs are more or less lower clocked i7 chips, and have excellent performance. They will, on average, have a performance between a stock i5 and i7. As shown in these benchmarks, this means that at 1080p, you will easily lock 60 FPS for the latter two games. It is very likely you will be able to achieve a minimum of 60 FPS for the near future (ignoring GPU), except on very CPU heavy games like Assasin's Creed.
\nAs to which Xeon to pick specifically, obviously, the bigger the number, the better. Note that the 1220 and 1225 series do not feature hyperthreading, and you may as well buy the equivalent i5. If you can find an equivalent i7 at under your budget, that would also be an option. Ivy Bridge (v2 or 3xxx) CPUs are more or less equivalent to a Sandy Bridge CPU clocked ~ 100 - 200 MHz faster.
\nThese CPUs require a LGA 1155 motherboard. Check the manufacturer's webpage for compatibility if purchasing a Ivy Bridge CPU.
\nNewer platform, similar performance: The Ryzen 3 1200 is just under your budget for $99.99 at Amazon.com. At stock, it's about the same performance as a higher end IB Xeon but you do get access to some modern bells and whistles on the newer platform. It has an average overclock of 3.9 GHz, which may give a decent boost to performance. On the other hand, the newer platform has higher costs associated with the RAM and others. The Ryzen CPUs use a AM4 socket.
\nThe new Coffee Lake i3s are just out of your price range, but may also be worth considering. The old AMD FX series on the other hand, while a decent amount cheaper, $75 for a "6 core" and $90 for 8 \u2013 and have attractive looking clock speeds \u2013 are definitely to be avoided, as they have significantly lower performance due to low IPC.
\n" }, { "Id": "8469", "CreationDate": "2017-11-30T19:59:18.427", "Body": "There are numerous problems with the Intel Management Engine and the AMD Platform Security Processor or similar always-on master key \"backdoors\". Both practical, and (most importantly) ideological.
\n\nAccording to my extensive research Wikipedia, all Intel CPUs since 2008 and all AMD CPUs since 2013 have this embedded. Fortunately I don't often upgrade my computer and to my knowledge, my current Intel Core2 Q9400 CPU is not affected. I use Linux exclusively, and use it for electronics CAD and embedded software development.
However, my CPU is starting to feel a bit sluggish, especially when building larger projects from source, and I'm now looking for a replacement. Problem is, it's not easy to find, or maybe I just don't know what to look for?
\n\nIn short: I'm looking for a CPU to use in my home desktop machine, to run Linux and software development. This means that it's OK if if has a lot of cores because my workload is easy to parallelize.
\n\nIf having an x86-64 architecture is really optional instead of a requirement, there are now desktop motherboards designed around the POWER9 CPU by IBM. I have no affiliation with this company and no experience with the platform but here is an example of a \u00b5ATX-based motherboard with a single 8-core (32 thread) CPU and consumer-grade expansions like SATA and PCIe.
\n\nThe only thing not on the checklist is that it lacks two out of six SATA ports - there are only four. Otherwise there's ECC RAM, AES acceleration, etc.
\n\nThe POWER9 CPU is used by the two fastest super computers in the world as of november 2018 so it's definitely a powerhorse comparable to the fastest server offerings by Intel and AMD.
\n\nCompiler optimizations for the POWER9 is not yet on the same level as the \"ultra-tweaked\" x86-64 clang/gcc, and certain number-crunching applications currently hand optimized for the x86-64 SSE may still not be as fast but it seems that IBM has people working on this.
\n\nAs far as I know this is not an option if you want to run Windows, but Linux and FreeBSD supports it, and my OS of choice Debian supports it.
\n\nI'm not sure how things like Wine, QEMU or VirtualBox works when trying to run x86 binaries. It is possible that you can get sufficient performance on certain applications with a good JIT-based translator but I have not read anything about it.
\n" }, { "Id": "8476", "CreationDate": "2017-12-01T17:44:54.677", "Body": "I have a Dell Inspiron 7720 laptop for a few years and I would like to buy an SSD disk for it. Currently, I have an SSD disk used as a cache for HDD disk (using Intel Rapid Storage). I want to remove the current SSD disk, use the new one as a system boot disk and the HDD as a data disk.
\n\nSince I stopped following new hardware a few years back, I'm not sure what to buy. I don't want you to suggest any particular model, rather just what technology and interface to choose. I want to buy the best possible but, of course, my laptop has to be able to use it (e.g. I don't need SSD faster than motherboard's bus can transfer).
\n\nSo what I have:
\n\nSo what to buy? It most likely doesn't have an M.2 interface so SATA is the only option I guess. Is there any (performance) difference between SATA and mSATA or is it just a different form factor? It looks that Inspiron 7720 cannot boot from the mSATA (there's some weird workaround but probably better not choose it, see this, this or this).
\n\nConsidering all the facts I think the best is to buy some SATA III SSD like Samsung 850 Pro (little above 500 MB/s read and write). Am I right?
\n\nOr is there any possibility to use any of those PCI Express ports?
\n\nThank you.
\n", "Title": "Best SSD disk for Dell Inspiron 7720", "Tags": "|laptop|ssd|", "Answer": "\n\n\nIt most likely doesn't have an M.2 interface so SATA is the only option I guess.
\n
You are correct here.
\n\n\n\n\nIs there any (performance) difference between SATA and mSATA or is it just a different form factor?
\n
mSATA is a standard used to map SATA signals onto a PCI-E mini card connector, in order to run hard drives from a PCI-E connection.
\n\n\n\nI would not advise trying to force your machine to boost with this method, it adds needless complication according to the threads you linked.
\n\n\n\n\nIs there any (performance) difference between SATA and mSATA or is it just a different form factor?
\n
Just a different form factor. It can still only use SATA data transfer protocol, so your throughput limitations are the same between form factors. The big difference from my understanding is where you plug it in.
\n\n\n\n\nI don't need SSD faster than motherboard's bus can transfer
\n
This won't be an issue for you, your bottleneck for data transfer bandwidth doesn't occur here. Since you can't take advantage of the higher-speed PCI-E slot to connect your system boot drive (no M.2 support), you're going to be throttled by the SATA connection limitations anyhow. Don't worry, you'll still get plenty of speed improvement in real-world use.
\n\n\n\n\nConsidering all the facts I think the best is to buy some SATA III SSD like Samsung 850 Pro (little above 500 MB/s read and write). Am I right?
\n
Samsung has been at the top of the SSD market for a few years. The 850 Pro is about as good as it gets for a 2.5 inch SATA 3.0 drive. I use one in my build and it works great.
\n\nIf you're shopping around, offerings from Crucial and Kingston can offer competitive real world performance for most workloads at a moderately lower price point. That being said, if you're looking for the best drive on the block that fits your specifications then it's hard to not recommend the Samsung 850 Pro.
\n" }, { "Id": "8495", "CreationDate": "2017-12-05T06:09:30.040", "Body": "I am trying to find something that is exceptionally weird and bizarre. I want to use a M.2 NVMe x4 SSD in a PCI-Express x1 slot.
\n\nx4 NVMe SSDs directly use PCIe bus protocol, and so can be directly plugged into a full-size PCIe slot using a simple passive adapter. But there are four data lines, so these passive adapters are virtually all x4 lane cards.
\n\nBy specification, all PCIe cards are backwards compatible with the lowest bandwidth x1 lane slots. If the x1 slot is designed with an open end, it is possible to plug a x16 card into it with 15 lanes hanging exposed in midair and unconnected, and it will work. It won't work well but it will work.
\n\nSo, what I need is a NVMe x4 passive adapter card, which will plug the M.2 into a normal PCIe x1 slot, and leaves the remaining 3 lanes unconnected.
\n\nI have been searching the web on and off for months and have not found anything like this yet.
\n", "Title": "M.2 NVMe x4 adapter card for PCIe x1 slot", "Tags": "|ssd|pcie|", "Answer": "It's amazing how much things have moved on since the OP. PCIe is so versatile. NVMe SSDs are just PCIe devices, which are generally backwards compatible with older PCIe versions or reduced PCIe lanes.
\nI've successfully used these cheap vertical Cablecc adapters from Aliexpress to run PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMes in a PCIe 3.0 x1 slot:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/AVvsT.png\")
(Similar items are available from Amazon if you don't want to wait for shipping from China).
\nBandwidth is constrained as expected, but still about twice as fast as a SATA SSD:
\n![\"WD](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/qserF.png\")
The x4 adapters also work fine and avoid the bandwidth constraints (when in a x4 or above slot). In fact I've even successfully used a x4 adapter advertised as PCIe 3.0 to run a Gen 4 drive at full speed in a PCIe 4.0 slot:
\n![\"WD](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/b33lC.png\")
This allows otherwise impossible things like running two PCIe 4.0 x4 SSDs at full speed on a B550m motherboard (moving the GPU into a PCIe 3.0 chipset slot). Windows can even RAID them, not that you'd want to: ![\"2](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/63t50.png\")
These are passive adapters so will work even on much older motherboards that don't have native M.2 slots (although you probably won't be able to boot from them, unless you are expert at patching BIOSes). For example, I've successfully run a PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe in a PCIe 2.0 x4 slot
\n(Even older laptops with PCIe NGFF slots can in theory host other PCIe devices e.g. an M.2 NVMe SSD with a suitable keying adapter, or even an eGPU. Typically this would require sacrificing the internal wifi card in favour of USB wifi).
\nBeware PCIe adapters that take multiple M.2 drives. They seem to fall into three categories:
\nI am looking for a thermo printer that can print on A4-wide thermo paper (rolls, like FAX-rolls) and otherwise is quite small.
\n\nI do not need an inbuild battery or such, I do not need any wireless data transfer (and I in fact do need some kind of wired data transfer).
\n\nVery small ones I only find Brother PJ-622 and PJ-623 for under 200 EUR. Aren't there more? Maybe (very) old models? In fact, it's just a telefax without all the telephony stuff ...
\n", "Title": "Looking for an A4-wide cabled portable thermal direct printer, can be old", "Tags": "|printer|portable|", "Answer": "There are the Pentax PocketJet/ Pentax PocketJet 200/ Pentax PocketJet II/ Pentax PocketJet 3, the 200 (200 dpi) or II (300 dpi) at eBay for prices ranging 60 USD and up and they come with an interface that both accepts parrallel (\"LPT\") and serial (\"COM\") connection, having the corresponding adapter cable.
\n\nPentax PocketJet 200 and II have CUPS support.
\n" }, { "Id": "8513", "CreationDate": "2017-12-10T17:49:57.950", "Body": "Background
\n\nI'm considering a 4k monitor with 120Hz support that uses two DP1.2 connectors; they each render half the screen at 120hz, it's effectively two monitors glued together.
\n\nQuestion
\n\nFor gaming, would I see a performance benefit from using a dedicated GPU for each half of the screen? I'm not sure how this'd work under DX11 or 12.
\n\nThanks!
\n", "Title": "Dual GPUs for dual monitors, benefits?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|multiple-monitors|", "Answer": "Probably none.
\n\nYou're most likely using MST - in a very unusual fashion, similar to how 5k monitors, and the old IBM T220 did. Your graphics card likely is aware that its \"one monitor with very high refresh rates, and I need to render it as seperate tiles\", and I somehow suspect its rendering as 4x1080px120hz 'tiles'
\n\nI'm unaware of MST even working on multiple video cards.
\n\nIn practice, 4k60 gaming on a single video card is tough - so you'd want to take advantage of SLI/Crossfire or the DX12 multigpu options anyway, which still don't need you to plug in the monitor into different cards.
\n\nSo for regular use, I'm doubtful multiple cards are better than one card capable of presumably handling 2 or more 4k60 monitors. For gaming, you will likely need a eyewateringly powerful setup.
\n" }, { "Id": "8514", "CreationDate": "2017-12-11T01:50:03.643", "Body": "I have these parts, but I am lost because I'm not sure what kind of PSU I need. For the voltage, I can be safe and get a high one, but for the cables included, I don't know what I need.
\n\nWhat is the best PSU that I should get my hands on?
\n\nEDIT
\n\nI have calculated that I need 330w, but to be safe I'll go for 500-550 not higher because i am on a budget.
\n", "Title": "What is PSU that I need?", "Tags": "|desktop|", "Answer": "If you are building a PC, choosing a PSU is quite simple.
\n\nMost people do not give importance to find the right PSU. But, I personally consider PSU to be a very vital part of a computer. I myself build my first PC recently and I will share with you how I chose the right PSU.
\n\nWattage:\nThe parts that you included has their own power(wattage) requirement. There are other parts of a computer that might require the power from the PSU. So, you got to make of list of all the items in your build - Processor, CPU cooler, Memory, GPU, Case fans, HDD/SDD and any other part that does not have a separate power source. To make the wattage calculation easier, I would suggest that you use this free tool.
\n\nI would also recommend that you consider about the possibility of adding newer parts and/or upgrading certain items.
\n\nMy build required around 300 watts of power. However, I chose a 500 watts PSU. This is because, I might include few parts in future and my power requirement might go up to 400 watts.
Modular:\nThis is another major filter. Check this link to know the basic difference between non-modular, semi-modular and fully modular PSUs.
\n\nNon-modular PSUs are cheap but all the cables pre installed(which you cannot remove). Choosing this means you need to work harder on cable management so as to keep good ventilation to your case. If you have a case with a lot of free space, you can go for it. Research about your case to know better.
\n\nThen comes semi-modular and fully modular PSUs with limited cables and no cables pre-attached to them. Fully modular is the highest priced.
\n\nI had the NZXT S340 elite case. This has lot of space for cable management. So, I chose a non-modular PSU.
Efficiency:\nPSUs are rated like any other devices. 80 Plus certified PSUs are energy efficient than the ones that are non certified.
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/hZJYg.jpg\")
\nThis table will help you with the basic difference between the 80 Plus PSUs.
Some brand try to mislead the consumers by not mentioning the correct 80 Plus details. I would not recommend going for a 80 Plus PSU with no medal attached to it. \n\nI chose a 80 Plus Bronze as it was under my budget and because it suited my limited hours of PC usage. \nForm Factor:\nThis depends on your case. If you case supports ATX form factor, choose a ATX PSU and similarly for other form factors. Research about your case to find the right form factor.
\n\nI used PC Part Picker to check for the compatibility of the various parts of my build.
One last thing, I highly recommend choosing a PSU that is meant to be sold in your country/region. This is to avoid any issues with the regulations posed for electric/electronic items.
\n\nThough I am not an expert, I think I have covered the basics here. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong and/or lacking information.
\n" }, { "Id": "8516", "CreationDate": "2017-12-11T08:36:15.583", "Body": "My Gigabyte GA-B85M motherboard has gone bad. Looking for a better alternative (if possible, around $70).
\n\nLooking for a motherboard that supports Intel i5 4440 LGA 1150 and daily task involves software development.
\n\nMy existing system has following config:
\n\nNeed max 6 USB ports
\n\nNo plan for expansions in the future
\n\nI prefer a motherboard with a good price-to-performance ratio which gives a performance boost for software development, but any descent motherboard will work.
\n", "Title": "Motherboard for Intel i5 4440 LGA 1150", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "I'm assuming you've checked and your board is out of warranty and that RMAing it isn't an option. If not, I'd recommend you go that route (though from anecdotal experience, Gigabyte is particularly poor with RMAs.)
\n\nFirst, let's take a look at the various chipsets for the LGA 1150 socket.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/MDnzl.png\")
You'll notice that as we go down the list, the boards essentially get better.
\n\nStraight away, we can ignore some things: since you've got a Haswell CPU with no plans to upgrade, we don't care about having a _97 series board for compatibility purposes. Again, since you have no M.2 devices with no plans to upgrade, we can ignore the _97 series on that front.
\n\nSince your CPU doesn't support overclocking, and you have no plans to upgrade, getting a Z series board is unnecessary for overclocking. As such, no motherboard will offer a performance boost, assuming it supports your RAM speed, which\u2013based on the tier of the rest of the system\u2013I'm assuming isn't particularly high, and is likely supported by all motherboards.
\n\nAfter that, the main difference is mostly I/O. Your requirements are quite low, and any board at all will fit these requirements (at least 2 SATA 3 ports and one RAM slot.) You mentioned \"max 6 USB ports\", but didn't clarify if you needed USB 3 on those ports, nor how many were provided by the case. I'll assume for now that 2 USB 3 ports, 4 USB 2 ports, and one USB 2 header is enough, which puts almost any motherboard on the list. I'm also going to assume you want an HDMI port on the motherboard, and that you'd prefer not to get a (relatively inexpensive) passive DVI to HDMI adapter. You also mentioned wireless keyboard/mouse, but since your current board doesn't have built-in Bluetooth, I'll assume you already have some solution.
\n\nHowever, your CPU does support one interesting technology: VT-d. Basically, it allows you to directly pass through I/O devices (like GPUs) to virtual machines with no* performance degradation. Though it's not for everyone, as a developer, this can be quite useful. Though Wikipedia lists only Q87 boards as supporting VT-d, this is incorrect. For example, the ASRock H87M Pro4 supports VT-d, as does the B85 Pro4. However, so far, I've been unable to find an H81 board that supports VT-d.
\n\nLGA 1150 boards are new enough that there's enough stock lying around that getting a new board won't cost you too much extra while providing you with a warranty and other nice benefits... if you're willing to use a Micro ATX H81 board. This prevents you from using VT-d, and will limit both your I/O and expansion options. Buying other boards new is significantly more costly, with the cheapest not-H81 board currently being a ECS B85H3-M at $63.32 (though it appears to lack VT-d, defeating the main point of getting such a board), followed by the Biostar TB85 (again, also apparently lacking VT-d), and the Asus B85M-G R2.0 at $96.59, well above what the used market is at (roughly $40), while having poor to mediocre I/O selection.
\n\nOf course, buying used comes with its downsides. If you want the best value, it will also take some searching\u2013Craigslist and eBay auctions can be a significant hassle (I couldn't find any eBay Buy It Now offers that fit your requirements and were decent value.) If you're not comfortable with that, I'd suggest saving the money and just getting a cheap H81 board, unless you have an immediate use case for VT-d. Those used boards will still be around.
\n\nAs always, make sure your case will fit the board too!
\n" }, { "Id": "8525", "CreationDate": "2017-12-12T16:33:14.730", "Body": "Use Case
\n\nI have an application where I need to write a lot of data continuously (several GB/day). It needs to fit in a very small package. It will be deployed in very remote places. It will not be easily serviceable and therefore must be reliable. A tiny USB flash drive would be perfect, but... USB Drives typically have a short lifespan if you are writing constantly. Speed is not critical (normal flash write/read speeds are fine).
\n\nQuestion
\n\nMy question: Does anyone make a USB thumb-drive that is designed specifically for significantly increased write longevity? My ideal would be something like this:
\n\nEssentially what I'm looking for is SSD longevity tech in a small USB thumb-drive package. \n I have tried every combination of search terms I can think of in Google and have found nothing. Maybe it's just my Google-Fu is failing me? Does this even exist?
\n\nThanks ahead of time!
\n", "Title": "Looking for write-hardened USB with high longevity", "Tags": "|usb|ssd|flash-drive|", "Answer": "This one says its 2\" by 1.2\"
\n\nCaution 15 of 46 customers units reviewed on amazon failed.\n43% had no reported issues. However, 46 reviews is hardly statically significant.
\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"Enterprise](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/MqTRF.png\")
This is about the smallest I could find. I could only find the 2242 standard and an adapter that is 70X25X9mm. Maybe a smaller adapter can be found.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/o1tnw.png\")
![\"SSD](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/n0vb6.png\")
Here's an odd ball but its SLC\n![\"swiss\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/22DXb.png\")
\nhttps://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Swissbit/SFSA064GM1AA2TO-I-NC-216-STD/?qs=Uem7cGQRk%252bo2yk0eYtq9ew%3d%3d
Looking to mount a screen with built-in PC for my car.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nTouch is not a requirement.
\n", "Title": "24 volt Windows PC with built in screen", "Tags": "|pc|portable|", "Answer": "Have you heard of dc-dc powersupplies? This is definitely up your alley.\nYou can also grab a portable usb monitor, everything else is up to what you want.
\n\nFailing that you can also grab an inverter to run a regular old plug to your pc. Just be careful not to drain your battery completely. Lower power use is better!
\n" }, { "Id": "8533", "CreationDate": "2017-12-14T12:46:49.710", "Body": "So my daily driver of 3 years, the Lenovo G50-70, is on it's last legs, and I am in the market for a new high-end laptop to replace the G50-70.
\n\nI have found these two laptops that fit rather nicely in the my budget of $2000. The problem I face is that I cannot decide which one to choose over the other!
\n\nHere is the first Laptop --> Asus G701
\n\nHere is the second Laptop --> Asus GL702VS
\n\nHere are the specs of the G701
\n\nCore i7-6820HK
32GB DDR4 RAM
And here are the specs of the GL702VS
\n\nThe deciding factor for me here is price to performance. On one hand the G701 has 32GB DDR4 RAM pre-installed, with a 512GB SSD included, but sports the 980m 8GB. Where as the GL702VS sports a GTX 1070 8GB, but only has 16GB DDR4 RAM.
\n\nWhat puts me off from the GL702VS is the price of the laptop alone, this doesn't allow me to buy extra addons for it later on, like say a 1TB SSD. So I am leaning towards the G701, mainly due to the fact that I will be able to buy upgrades for it at the same as purchasing the laptop altogether.
\n\nI do a lot of 3D rendering for buildings and structures, as I work at a engineering firm, so the GPU is kinda important in that regard, but I also want to game at a moments notice.
\n\nWhich laptop should I get? The G701 with the older GPU but better spec? or the GL702VS with the better GPU, but lower spec? If not either? Can you recommend me a better spec laptop with a good GPU in it, but at a better price?
\n\nOn a side note
\n\nI have considered a GTX 1080 laptop to satisfy, as well as Quadro workstation laptops, but these are either out of my budget or are not powerful enough to both game and work.
\n", "Title": "GTX 980M 8GB vs GTX 1070 8GB for a new gaming/workstation laptop?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|gaming|", "Answer": "I have made my decision, after some time. I got the laptop with the GL702VS
\n" }, { "Id": "8539", "CreationDate": "2017-12-15T09:51:23.447", "Body": "I want to know if I need a CPU cooler for my build. I know I do, but is the one included with my i5 8600k enough? Just note that I am on LGA1151
\n\nASRock Z370 PRO4 motherboard
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 Windforce OC 3GB
Corsair Builder Series VS450, 450 Watt PSU
So my question is, is the CPU cooler included (if there is one I am not sure) with my CPU enough to support? Or should I get a different one?
\n", "Title": "Should I get CPU cooler?", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "It does not come with a cooler or thermal paste. Since the point of a K skew CPU is overclocking, you'll want a beefy cooler so you can push your CPU to the max.
\n\nTom's Hardware ran benchmarks, and it's clear that the 8600K eats a massive amount of power, especially when overclocked.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/CY2Hk.png\")
I'd recommend a cooler with at least a 105W TDP. The Cryorig H7 is rated for 140W and costs only $30, but any cooler that can handle the heat should do.
\n" }, { "Id": "8561", "CreationDate": "2017-12-18T18:55:33.063", "Body": "Yo there, Im building a system to use linux, write in latex, documents, databases , programming,, virtualization and watch videos and images (2D) but Im stuck at the processor, between a fx 6300 that Im using in another machine and the ryzen series, \nBut looking at the specs it seems that the ryzen platform was made more to gaming and fancy graphical use instead of what I intend to do, and the bottom line of ryzen seems to lack enough power to work (I have seen this does not have the virtualization support), so which has better performance, based in the uses described before, the fx6300 based on socket AM3+ or the ryzen series on AM4?
\n\nPD. The idea is to have enough punch to work without spending lots of money.
\n", "Title": "Which processor has a better performance the fx series or the ryzen series?", "Tags": "|processor|linux|processor-architecture|", "Answer": "Ryzen has the clear advantage. How good a CPU is isn't only affected by the number of cores. There is much more to CPUs than that. Ryzen does way better in both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads than any FX chip because of that. Core count is what companies use for marketing as the average user thinks that more cores is always better, which is obviously not the case. Also, as mentioned by previous answers, your rig will be upgradable with Ryzen as AMD will continue to support the AM4 socket for a couple of years.
\n" }, { "Id": "8579", "CreationDate": "2017-12-20T20:37:19.153", "Body": "I'm looking for a way to connect to the internet through 4G/LTE and have the ability to secure my own traffic, browse primarily text-based sites (read: I don't need serious media streaming capability), while having the portability of a tablet. I don't need anything super-powerful or fast, and I'm open to the idea of having the modem be external or internal.
\n\nThe main hurdle I've run into is I just don't know what's out there that fits that need, because I've always stuck strictly with a phone on a data package, or a PC on a LAN, so I'm not familiar with everything in between. I know there are (for example) tablets with built-in modems, but I don't know if that's what I should be looking for or if I should get an external modem and hook it up to a cheap tablet/ultra-light laptop. I also don't know which providers have plans that would easily accommodate this (I'm only familiar with Verizon's hot spots and tethering).
\n\nThe solution should be:
\n\nAs stated before, this could be an external modem and device combo, or just a single device with a built-in modem. It should be larger and easier to use for typing/browsing than a phone, but smaller and lighter than a regular laptop. Please make recommendations of devices and providers that could fit the bill, especially if you've used them personally.
\n", "Title": "Discrete mobile internet browsing", "Tags": "|laptop|wireless|tablet|security|4g|", "Answer": "After discussion in the comments and some researching, it looks like the best solution is going to be simply expanding my data package to account for wi-fi tethering, and combining that with a simple tablet or other device. I'm actually looking into building my own to make sure I get the power and features I want.
\n\nSo the solution, in a nutshell:
\n\nThis may be a stupid question, so I apologize up front.
\n\nNVidia's website says the Maximum Digital Resolution for my video card is 7680x4320.
Does that mean that is the MAXIMUM resolution it can support for each of the 4 monitors?
\n\nOr
\n\nDoes that mean that combined, the monitors cannot exceed that resolution?
\n\nhttps://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/products/10series/geforce-gtx-1070-ti/
\n", "Title": "NVidia GForce 1070 - Multiple Monitors max resolution", "Tags": "|multiple-monitors|", "Answer": "Per monitor, as that's the maximum a single Displayport 1.4 port can provide.
\n\nFor example, this video show a Titan X (Maxwell) pushing 3x4K displays with the card listing a Maximum Digital Resolution of 5120x3200.
\n" }, { "Id": "8605", "CreationDate": "2017-12-27T19:56:53.300", "Body": "I'm going to upgrade a laptop Asus N750JK and plug additional memory in it. My goal is to have maximum available capacity installed, but the specs of the laptop seem to contradict with the specs of the CPU that it has installed (max 32 GB on Intel site vs max 16 GB on Asus). I previously already run into a situation when manufacturer specs are somewhat wrong, but not sure if the motherboard designed so that laptop can see memory more than 16 GB.
\n\nIn order to figure it out i would like to buy 1 x 16 GB RAM chip, and mix it with existing 2 GB chip, and if the laptop can recognize both, i'll plug another 16 GB RAM, otherwise i can just leave a single 16 GB chip. The problem is that Asus specs also imply in context, that each slot can take up to 8 GB, so i will probably waste my money and time without any luck. Is there any way to check if this laptop supports at least one 16 GB RAM chip without buying it and having it in my hands?
\n", "Title": "Is this laptop compatible with 1 x 16 GM RAM?", "Tags": "|laptop|memory|", "Answer": "The manufacturer will usually be right, and it can be limited by the memory slot itself or the motherboard.
\n\nAnd they clearly say:
\n\n\n\n\nDDR3L 1600 MHz SDRAM, 2 GB, up to 16 G, (8 GB x 2), 2x DIMM socket,\n DIMM Up to 8 G
\n
So the only way to really make sure is to buy and test...
\n" }, { "Id": "8621", "CreationDate": "2017-12-29T21:44:23.687", "Body": "I'm setting up a storage server in a typical (albeit very large) computer case. I have like 20 2 TB SATA hard drives, and I want to connect all of them to one motherboard. The most ports I found on a consumer motherboard was 15. Is there some sort of way to get like 20 SATA ports from USB C or PCIe? I don't mind slower speeds because I have SSDs to handle high-speed uploads, and most of the time I am accessing the data from a computer connected through ethernet, which has proved manageable with slower drives. Thanks for the help!
\n", "Title": "15-25 port SATA to USB C or PCIe adapter?", "Tags": "|usb|data-storage|pcie|sata|", "Answer": "If you're willing to manage with a slightly lower amount of ports, just get a motherboard with a bunch of SATA ports! The most I know of is 22 on the ASRock Z87 Extreme11/ac.
\n\nYou'll notice two things though:
\n\nIntel only supports up to 6 SATA-III ports on the various LGA 1150 and LGA 1151 chipsets, 10 on X99 and 8 (???) on X299 (though the MSI X299 XPOWER GAMING AC supports 10.) AMD supports 6 on X370 and X399 apparently caps out at 8. Basically, that ASRock motherboard just has another third party SATA controller built in. That's no fun!
\n\nThis leads us to the section option:
\n\n@cybernard has the right idea, but I'm going to disagree with his hardware choice.
\n\nThough it's not 100% clear, it seems implied by your post that you don't need hardware RAID support, at least at a controller level. Basically, we just want to present the system with just a bunch of disks (JBOD.) This is going to allow us to save a massive amount of money compared using dedicated hardware RAID card on a card like the Adaptec RAID 71685 (retails for $1120!) which would need to have every drive connected to it (if we used the hardware RAID), since we can continue to use the onboard SATA ports.
\n\nTo accomplish this, we're going to use a much, much cheaper HBA: the LSI 9211-8i (also known as the IBM M1015, or the compatible Dell Perc H200/H310.)
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/tiAru.jpg\")
It has 2 x two SFF-8087 mini-SAS connectors, each supporting four 6Gb/s connections (the max for SATA-III) and up to 256 physical devices, and can be easily connected to standard SATA data using a breakout cable.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/aOJ3G.jpg\")
It's popular, cheap (roughly $40), and\u2013with a little work\u2013supports JBOD. Here's a quick guide on how to set it up.
\n\nThere's a wealth other cards as well, like the monstrous 40-Channel SATA 6Gbps HighPoint Rocket 750, but they're far, far more expensive, and probably overkill for your needs. Remember, you can use multiple cards, and as long as you're not bottlenecking, port multiplication is fine. Internal SATA III 1 to 5 cards can be had as low as $60; you don't need a fancy backplane (though if you're into fancy cases with fancy hot swap, boy have I got a post for you!)
\n" }, { "Id": "8640", "CreationDate": "2018-01-01T10:05:19.553", "Body": "I am choosing a processor for a new PC for parallel floating point computations in R. My tasks are very like Monte Carlo simulations, so the performance is nearly proportional to the number of cores at a fixed frequency. I am not going to overclock the processor. I am choosing between Ryzen 1700 and Core i5-8600k or something of a similar price. What would be the best choice?
\n", "Title": "Best inexpensive processor for R statistical simulation", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "Since you stated server and used gear is out of the question, have no interest in the extra difficulty incurred by programming for GPUs/add in cards like Knight's Landing, and AVX-512 is currently limited to the expensive Skylake-X platform, it's basically a straight comparison of multithreaded performance at that price point.
\n\nLooking at a list of processors near this price point, the Ryzen 1700X and 1700 come out on top in core count. The only other 8 core is the Xeon E5-2609 V4 which runs at a measly 1.7GHz on the older X99 platform. Intel's similar hexacores at this price point are the i7-6850K and i5-8600k.
\n\nProcessor | Passmark | UserBenchmark | Userbenchmark FP | Geekbench 4 | Geekbench 4 FP*\n\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013|\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013|\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013|\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013|\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013|\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\nRyzen 1700 | 13745 | 1120 | 1136 | 20067 | 24993*\nRyzen 1700X | 14619 | 1171 | 1189 | 20987 | 24806*\ni7-6850K | 14374 | 946 | 1014 | 21792 | 25820*\ni5-8600k | 12811 | 787 | 815 | 22426 | 26724*\n*A note on the Geekbench FP scores: since Geekbench doesn't provide averages for FP scores, I selected a given run with the closest-to-average run on the first page of search results run on a computer with a valid identity on an aftermarket motherboard at stock frequencies. Ryzen 1700, Ryzen 1700X, i7-6850K, i5-8600k.
\n\nAs shown by these benchmarks, there's a bit of a smattering of who's on top. Geekbench leans towards Intel's single threaded performance being king, while Userbenchmark leans towards Ryzen's cores. Without a benchmark using your workload, it's impossible to tell exactly how things will bench, but I'm inclined to lean towards more cores with a slower individual clock for your workload.
\n\nSince none of these platforms use DDR3, there's no real advantage towards shifting towards one platform based on memory. Though there may be a slight platform cost incurred by the need for faster memory with Zen processors (especially with RAM prices so high right now), this is relatively small and outweighed heavily by the cheaper motherboard cost\u2013A320 is a perfectly valid option since you're not overclocking\u2013though you may find that a slightly more expensive B350 board provides some nice creature comforts for just a few bucks.
\n" }, { "Id": "8645", "CreationDate": "2018-01-01T20:05:41.290", "Body": "Recently I using Quad Core Q8400 with Asus P5g41t - mlx within FSP Aurum 650 Watt 80 Gold plus. OS Windows 10.
\n\nI've planning to upgrade my processor to xeon X5470. I used my desktop to design graphic.
\n\nAccording to this site said Q8400 is the winner. In fact, from the technical specification they are different. I thought X5470 should be the winner.
\n\nFrom ark intel site, Q8400 have specification like this bellow :
\n\nProduct Collection\nLegacy Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 Processors\nCode Name\nProducts formerly Yorkfield\nVertical Segment\nDesktop\nProcessor Number\nQ8400\nStatus\nEnd of Interactive Support\nLaunch Date\nQ2'09\nLithography\n45 nm\nRecommended Customer Price\n$179.00\nPerformance\n# of Cores\n4\nProcessor Base Frequency\n2.66 GHz\nCache\n4 MB L2\nBus Speed\n1333 MHz FSB\nFSB Parity\nNo\nTDP\n95 W\nVID Voltage Range\nAnd X5470 are bellow
\n\nProduct Collection\nLegacy Intel\u00ae Xeon\u00ae Processors\nCode Name\nProducts formerly Harpertown\nVertical Segment\nServer\nProcessor Number\nX5470\nStatus\nEnd of Life\nLaunch Date\nQ3'08\nExpected Discontinuance\nQ4'2010\nLithography\n45 nm\nRecommended Customer Price\n$1467.00\nPerformance\n# of Cores\n4\nProcessor Base Frequency\n3.33 GHz\nCache\n12 MB L2\nBus Speed\n1333 MHz FSB\nFSB Parity\nYes\nTDP\n120 W\nVID Voltage Range\n0.850V-1.3500V\nHowever why CPUBoss said the Q8400 is winner? Which one the best? if its worth it to upgrade to xeon x5470? Why the price of Q8400 is still expensive if we got the better performance on cheap price? Let say core 2 extreme QX9650 is still more expensive than xeon X5470.
\n\nLast but not least, I know x5470 designed to LGA 771 Chipset. My Motherboard on LGA 775. Is it safe to use modded processor? Do i need to update BIOS because recently I've view from Youtube and do some update bios.
\n", "Title": "Quad Core Q8400 vs Xeon X5470", "Tags": "|processor|windows|", "Answer": "I have the same MB as you P5G41T-M LX with a X5460 porcessor (overclocked from 3.16GHz to 4.0Ghz), 8 Gigs of DDR3 (1333 Mhz) Ram and a GTX1070. All I can say is now I can play some modern games since I swith from the Q8400 to de X5460, games like The Shadow of The Tomb Raider, The Call of Cathulhu, GTA V... The difference is enormous.
\n" }, { "Id": "8646", "CreationDate": "2018-01-01T21:41:48.537", "Body": "My notebook stopped working and, seen that I mainly use it as a desktop computer, I'd rather buy a desktop computer this time.
\n\nThis leaves me with the need to buy a tablet, that will be used for the following tasks:
\n\nThe only one that is really necessary is the first one, most others I can do at the desktop PC if necessary. As a consequence, I have been suggested to aim for at least 10\" and good resolution.\nNote how I don't need a camera or phone connectivity and I don't care much about weight or to how the device looks.
\n\nI would like to spend as low as I can without sacrificing durability.
\n\nThe device will be used at home mainly, so a battery that does not degrade over time is better than a battery that lasts a lot for each single charge (and then, power banks to the rescue if it needs be).
\n\nThe item must be available for sale via Internet, from a reliable supplier (I consider Amazon to be reliable).
\n\nFeel free to ask me for more details if needed.
\n", "Title": "What's the best tablet for my needs?", "Tags": "|tablet|", "Answer": "Since price seems to be a major concern for you, I'm going to sacrifice in it's name. However, I think this should still pass quite fine for what you're doing, if not excellent.
\n\nWith the Fire, some cons are:
\n\nBesides that though, it's actually a surprisingly good device. It has an IPS display, proper dual band AC wireless solution, Bluetooth, a microSD slot (a real rarity these days) to mitigate the storage issue, a surprisingly good battery, is very rugged, and costs a mere $150 for the 32GB model, basically creaming anything at that price point and size. Compared especially to the old Fire HD 10, it's amazing.
\n\nGoing over your requirements briefly then:
\n\nI am looking for a cell phone with very long battery life. I value long battery life so much that I am willing to sacrifice every feature except for:
\n\nI do not care about the operating system or form factor as long as it gets the job done.
\n", "Title": "What cell phone (with some qualifiers) has the longest battery life?", "Tags": "|mobile-phone|battery-life|", "Answer": "You can find several Androids with great battery life. The longest seems to be the ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom ($319 on Amazon), Which Tom's Guide called in June, \"Longest Battery Life Ever\". And it is a pretty capable phone in every sense.
\n\nSomething a bit more expansive and not as good battery life, but still above average, is the Blackberry -Android running- Key One
\n\nAnd at last, if this is such an important thing for you, just take some time and read some guides to familiarize yourself with all the ways to make sure to get out the most of the battery that you have. A guide like How to make your Android smartphone's battery last longer from the good folks at Android Pit can help a lot! And you can even experiment with turning On Battery Saver Mode (usually turns On when the phone is low battery) the whole time.
\n" }, { "Id": "8669", "CreationDate": "2018-01-03T20:06:56.667", "Body": "I am looking at a combo on NewEgg, https://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.3579279, that has the following pieces:
\n\nIntel Core i7-7700K Kaby Lake Quad-Core 4.2 GHz
ASRock Z270 KILLER SLI/AC MB
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4 3000
Phanteks Eclipse P400 Series Case
EVGA 700 B1 100-B1-0700-K1 700W PSU
250GB SSD, CM H100i V2 Cooler
I am a bit confused because the i7 and the ASRock motherboard both specify DDR4 2400 RAM.
\n\nLooking at other questions I found a link to the Crucial memory and one of the suggested alternatives is Ballistix Tactical 4GB DDR4-2666 UDIMM.
\n\nIs the speed, such as DDR4 2400 just a suggestion and faster can be used or what?
\n", "Title": "Can I use DDR4 3000 rather than DDR4 2400 with ASRock Z270 Killer and I7-7700K kaby Lake", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|", "Answer": "Intel specifies that their CPUs (here, the 7700K) are guaranteed to work with DDR4-2133/2400, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V. Anything beyond that isn't officially part of their specifications, or guaranteed to work. However, in practice, it will.
\n\nWhat's going on here is overclocking\u2013basically, pushing stuff beyond it's manufacturer rated speeds. This practice isn't unsafe, and, in the case of memory, is basically supported by the manufacturer. Here, the RAM manufacturer certifies that the RAM will work at 2666 MHz. Though the motherboard manufacturer only guarantees that RAM at 2133/2400 MHz will work, it supports overclocking up to 3733 MHz and beyond (and effectively guarantees it will work.) Similarly, Intel allows their CPUs to work with overclocked RAM (and effectively guarantees it will work.)
\n\nBecause memory overclocking takes work, Intel created something called XMP, or Extreme Memory Profile. Basically, this is a list of settings stored on the memory modules that tell the motherboard what speeds it says it can overclock to and what timings it needs to do so. Most motherboards will then automatically discover and load those settings, though some may require manual configuration. The end result is the same though: the memory runs at its \"overclocked\" speed.
\n\nThough I won't dive into it too much, how much\u2013if at all\u2013RAM speed matters depends on your workload. This video does a much better job examining it then I could ever do, but the basic conclusion is that it matters a little in some games (more on Ryzen then other platforms) and varies widely for other workloads. If you're building for gaming, don't sweat it too much; if you're building for some other task, Google around and see what other people have experienced.
\n" }, { "Id": "8672", "CreationDate": "2018-01-04T03:25:00.083", "Body": "I can't seem to find any certified cables over 10ft let alone the few that specify a version.
\n\nPreferably I need one that is > 10ft but could be <= 15ft.
At minimum it just needs to support 1.2a but I'd prefer 1.3 or 1.4.
My GPU supports 1.4 but current monitor only supports 1.2 (& AMD FreeSync).
\n\nCable needs to support 2560x1440@60.
You'll want a dedicated displayport repeater as cables often break.
\n\nKeep in mind the further you go the higher your latency will be, and the more repeater you'll need. Only go this route if you absolutely need it.
\n" }, { "Id": "8674", "CreationDate": "2018-01-04T04:29:10.983", "Body": "I bought the HP Pavilion Slimline as an editing computer for my videos (which I record off of my PS4), but I want to get in to PC gaming. I only need to run CS:GO at 720p (hopefully under $100).
\nHere are the specs:
And it has an external 90w power supply.
\n", "Title": "Graphics card / power supply for prebuilt PC", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|gaming|", "Answer": "CS:GO is a pretty lightweight game, and if you really turn everything down, it can run on just about anything. This guide should allow you to squeeze a little out, and\u2013if you're willing to go a bit farther (though there's been some debate as to if this is VAC safe) this guide should be able to help you get even a potato to run CS:GO.
\n\nNormally I would post the information you need (at least roughly) here, but there's simply too much content.
\n\nHowever, there's only so much you can do, and if you're still unsatified with your performance, I can really only recommend getting a different PC.
\n\nI'm really not a fan of trashing hardware\u2013anyone who knows me or has read my posts knows I'm a massive fan of upgrading and used hardware. The problem is there's almost nothing that can be done with your PC.
\n\nTo put it simply: it's too weak. Sure, it may be a quad core, and sure, it may boost up to 2.64 GHz, but with a 6.5W TDP, it is not a performer. CS:GO is heavily CPU dependent\u2013especially single threaded performance\u2013and this just can't keep up. It scores a mere 600 for a single thread in Passmark, getting thoroughly beaten by the 11-year-old Q6660, which scores a 924 without overclocking.
\n\nYou can't. Though the spec page doesn't exactly make it clear, looking at some other J3710 equipped motherboards shows they are clearly soldered down.
\n\nHP prebuilt consumer towers are notorious for being annoying to install new GPUs into\u2013however, even ignoring that, I can't recommend a GPU upgrade. There's almost zero information officially from HP as to if this is possible (I couldn't even find a picture of the motherboard), but we can makes some guesses. First, you're hard capped at 90W for your entire system, since as far as I can tell, the PSU is not upgradeable. This, combined with the fact that I wouldn't be surprised if your slot is capped at the lower 25W limit instead of the normal 75W limit as is fairly common among low end prebuilt, means I wouldn't trust anything above a GT 1030 to work. Though weak, the 1030 would still be enough for CS:GO. However, it costs $80\u2013for which price, you can do much better.
\n\nThe key here is used components. We're going to start with a base platform. LGA 775 is old enough that they can be found really, really cheap, but is still good enough to provide an entry level experience. My personal choice is the Optiplex 755 with the Optiplex 780 in second, but any tower with support for a Core 2 Quad should work just fine. You should be able to find one for sale for $5-25; here's an eBay listing for $17.99. Your best bet to maximize value will be to search Craigslist and your local surplus markets (especially since you'll be able to save all that shipping cost); I find universities often have good stock of these older towers.
\n\nYou'll need to check your platform first, but across the board, Core 2 Quads are very cheap. The Optiplex 755 can take a Q6600 (about $8.50), while the Optiplex 780 can take a Q8300 (about $7.00.) You can also try overclocking a hair to squeeze a little more performance using SetFSB.
\n\nFind the cheapest 4GB set of DDR2 available at the minimum speed required by your system. Make sure not to buy ECC or FBDIMM RAM, as these are not compatible. Craigslist may again be useful, or it may not. Here's a 2x2GB set for $8.10.
\n\nBuying cheap power supplies is never a great experience, but it'll have to do. Because there's so much variability, you'll need search around a bit. Check Craisglist and /r/buildapcsales. Here's a CX450W for $17.99.
\n\nAgain, there's going to be a bit of shopping around here\u2013what you can get will also depend on what PSU you got. The 9800GT for around $13 should do the trick, but I'd recommend the HD 5850 for around $25 if you can spare, or the HD 6950 for around $40 if you'd like to step it up a bit.
\n\nWith a little time and effort, you've put together a decent little gaming PC for $50-100! I guarantee you this will play better than trying to upgrade your old PC for the same cost.
\n" }, { "Id": "8677", "CreationDate": "2018-01-04T07:52:34.783", "Body": "The ASUS ROG GX700VO has the following specs
\n\nThe \"Memory Types\" of Intel i7 6820HK are stated as \"DDR4-2133, LPDDR3-1866, DDR3L-1600\", meaning to say the CPU can only support up to RAM speed of 2133. Isnt it a bit overkill to have a DDR4 up to 2800MHz?
\n", "Title": "ASUS ROG GX700VO RAM a mistake?", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|", "Answer": "Intel specifies that their CPUs (here, the 6820HK) are guaranteed to work with DDR4-2133, LPDDR3-1866, and DDR3L-1600. Anything beyond that isn't officially part of their specifications, or guaranteed to work. However, in practice, it will.
\n\nWhat's going on here is overclocking\u2013basically, pushing stuff beyond it's manufacturer rated speeds. This practice isn't unsafe, and, in the case of memory, is basically supported by the manufacturer. Here, the RAM manufacturer certifies that the RAM will work at 2800 MHz, and the motherboard manufacturer certifies that the motherboard can support overclocking memory to those speeds. Similarly, Intel allows their CPUs to work with overclocked RAM (and effectively guarantees it will work.)
\n\nBecause memory overclocking takes work, Intel created something called XMP, or Extreme Memory Profile. Basically, this is a list of settings stored on the memory modules that tell the motherboard what speeds it says it can overclock to and timings are required, then loads (usually automatically) those settings. Though this isn't really as important for your system (since it's a prebuilt), the technology is the same as any desktop, and is still applicable if you decide to upgrade your memory down the line. The end result is the same though: the memory runs at its \"overclocked\" speed.
\n\nThough I won't dive into it too much, how much\u2013if at all\u2013RAM speed matters depends on your workload. This video does a much better job examining it then I could ever do, but the basic conclusion is that it matters a little in some games (more on Ryzen then other platforms) and varies widely for other workloads. If you're building for gaming, don't sweat it too much; if you're building for some other task, Google around and see what other people have experienced.
\n" }, { "Id": "8678", "CreationDate": "2018-01-04T08:03:48.167", "Body": "I am looking for a machine to use as a home server for a few TB of files.
\nI don't have a lot of physical room so I am looking for the most compact machine as possible.
\nIt is currently not possible to find 2.5-inch drives that can store several terabytes, so the PC should be able to receive one (or several) 3.5-inch drives.
\nI want to install a few applications on it (media server for example), so a NAS is not a solution. I also don't have enough time to allocate for learning new OSes, and will stick to a Windows machine for now.
\nFinally since I intend to leave the machine running constantly, a low power consumption, and silent design (fanless) are the last requirements.
What is the most compact PC that fulfills those conditions (silent, several TB storage, runs media servers smoothly)?
\n", "Title": "Smallest PC that can store 3.5-inch HDDs?", "Tags": "|server|data-storage|htpc|", "Answer": "For the purpose of this, I'll be pretty much sticking to 3.5\" HDDs\u2013both since that's in the question, and since 3.5\" HDDs still contain several advantages. Though high density 2.5\" drives are becoming more and more common\u2013@Yisroel Tech pointed out a 5TB drive\u2013they're still not what I'd consider \"ready.\" As of yet, most of these drives are intended as secondary for laptops: high density, 5400RPM, desktop drives (read: not rated for 24/7 usage nor-more importantly\u2013high vibration environments.) They're also generally much more expensive than their 3.5\" counterparts, especially given the ability to shuck WD Reds from external enclosures. Though 2.5\" drives have also become common in the data center, these are high speed SAS drives, not SATA, and don't really make sense for a desktop build, especially when price is at a premium. In general, they're still also more expensive than their 3.5\" counterparts.
\n\nBasically, I went through PCPartPicker's list of Mini ITX cases, then for each case that looked promising, looked up the manufacturer specs on volume. For sake of transparency and record-keeping, here's the table I produced (you'll need something to render Markdown tables with, since StackExchange still doesn't support them.)
\n\nCase | Bays | Volume\n --- | --- | ---\n*[Lian-Li PC-Q26](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fnQRsY/lian-li-case-pcq26a)* | 10 | 34L\n**[Silverstone DS380](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/BrtWGX/silverstone-ds380-mini-itx-tower-case-ds380)** | 8 | 21.6L\n*[Lian-Li PC-Q25](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/zth9TW/lian-li-case-pcq25a)* | 7 | 20L\n[BitFenix Phenom](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/37mLrH/bitfenix-case-bfcphe300wwxkkrp) | 6 | 31L\n*[Fractal Design Array R2](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9KrG3C/fractal-design-case-arrayr2)* | 6 | 17.5L\n**[Fractal Design Node 304](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/BWFPxr/fractal-design-case-fdcanode304bl)** | 6 | 19.5L\n*[Lian-Li PC-Q08](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2w2kcf/lian-li-case-pcq08a)* | 6 | 21.3L\n[BitFenix Prodigy](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/KsTmP6/bitfenix-case-bfcpro300kkxskrp) | 5 | 26.3L\n[Lian-Li PC-Q35](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/zv648d/lian-li-case-pcq35a) | 5 | 18L\n**[Inwin IW-MS04](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7f7CmG/inwin-iw-ms04-mini-itx-desktop-case-iw-ms04-01-s265)** | 4 | 13.3L\n[CHENBRO SR30169](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ncqbt6/chenbro-case-sr30169) | 4 | 16.7L\n*[Rosewill Legacy V6-B](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/KJYXsY/rosewill-case-legacyv6b)* | 4 | 12.6L\n[Antec ISK600](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/rVh9TW/antec-case-isk600) | 3 | 18.7L\n[Cooler Master Elite 110](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/QCjG3C/cooler-master-case-rc110kkn2) | 3 | 15L\n[Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/VrZQzy/cooler-master-case-rc120awwn1) | 3 | 20L\n[Cooler Master Elite 130](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6wR48d/cooler-master-case-rc130kkn1) | 3 | 20L\n[Cooler Master HAF Stacker 915R](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Xg2kcf/cooler-master-case-haf915rkkn1) | 3 | 32.5L\n[Cooler Master HAF Stacker 915F](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hRQypg/cooler-master-case-haf915fkkn1) | 3 | 32.5L\n[Thermaltake Core X1](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8238TW/thermaltake-case-ca1d600s1wn00) | 3 | 56L\n[Fractal Design Core 500](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/LvnG3C/fractal-design-case-fdcacore500bk) | 3 | 19.5L\n[Raidmax Element](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/HJVBD3/raidmax-case-atx101bup) | 2 | 16L\n<s>[Antec ISK 300-65](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2YGkcf/antec-case-isk30065)</s> 2.5\"| 2 | 7L\n*[Inwin BP671](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fmyFf7/inwin-case-bp671fh200b)* | 2 | 8.2L\n[Thermaltake Core V1](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fGvRsY/thermaltake-case-ca1b800s1wn00) | 2 | 45.5L\n[Corsair 250D](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gHkD4D/corsair-case-cc9011047ww) | 2 | 28L\n[Lian-Li PC-Q19](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bp98TW/lian-li-case-pcq19b) | 1 | 22.5L\n*[Silverstone RVZ01B](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/GCfp99/silverstone-case-rvz01b)* | 1 | 14L\n*[Silverstone FTZ01](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/P9Wrxr/silverstone-case-ftz01b)* | 1 | 14L\n[Skyreach 4 Mini](https://www.sfflab.com/products/nfc_s4m) | 2x2.5\" | 5L\n[DR ZABER Sentry](http://zaber.com.pl/sentry/) | 4x2.5\" | 7L\n[Louqe GHOST S1 MkII](http://www.louqe.com) | 3x2.5\" | 8.2L\n[DAN Case A4 SFX](https://www.dan-cases.com/dana4_spec.html) | 3x2.5\" | 7.2L\nFrom that, I chose the above four cases, primarily based on drives/volume and availability (since some of the cases have unfortunately been discontinued.)
\n\nAt 13.3 liters with support for 4x3.5\" HDDs hidden behind a pretty face, this case is pretty impressive in itself. What's more, these drives are hot swappable. However, this does come at a cost: though it comes with a 265W Bronze PSU, you probably won't be able to upgrade from this if you decide to, since the case only supports Flex ATX power supplies. The $160 price tag doesn't help either. Oh well. Still worth a look if you meet the power requirements!
\n\nAt 19.6 liters with support for 6x3.5\" HDDs with support for full ATX PSUs up to 160mm in length, this case sure packs a lot into a little package, and for $100, isn't too expensive either. Fractal Design also has an awesome reputation and good looks.
\n\nUnfortunately @Nicholas Martin got to suggest this before I could, so I'll just have to second the quality of this case. At 21.6 liters with support for 8x3.5\" HDDs in hot swap bays, this is the best in drives/volume. It's not too expensive at $150, but you will need a more expensive SFX or SFX-L PSU. Silverstone also has a solid reputation and good looks.
\n\nSadly, there are several cases which I would have loved to recommend, but are discontinued and out of stock: the Lian-Li PC-Q26, Fractal Design Array R2, Lian-Li PC-Q08, and Rosewill Legacy V6-B. If you can find one of these used, they're amazing options, but my guess is they were discontinued due to low volume sales, as they're fairly specialized products.
\n\nThe Inwin BP671 is a cool little case at a mere 8.2L that supports 2x3.5\" drives. However, the bundled 200W TFX PSU is just too weak and too sketchy for my recommendation, and availability of TFX PSUs is quite low.
\n\nThe Silverstone RVZ01B and Silverstone FTZ01 are both neat little cases at only 14L, but 1x3.5\" drive is just too little for NAS purposes.
\n\nIf you were paying extra close attention, you'll notice at the bottom of my table I listed three cases that don't even support 3.5\" drives! Okay, yes, I said I wasn't going to do this, but I had to mention them if not recommend them. They're all extremely tiny, extremely well built, extremely expensive cases. Even though they're not really appropriate for this application, they're interesting to look at.
\n" }, { "Id": "8684", "CreationDate": "2018-01-04T20:30:02.200", "Body": "I'm looking for a m-iitx motherboard that supports registered ecc memory on the ryzen chipset.
\n\nDoes it exist?
\n", "Title": "M-itx Ryzen board that supports rdimms?", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "Registered DIMMs won't work on Ryzen, plain and simple. Ryzen isn't validated for ECC support on consumer chipsets and, as a result, AMD doesn't officially support it. ECC support is however enabled, and certain motherboard manufactures do validate ECC memory.
\n\nHere's a list of AM4 ITX boards that have been validated with ECC memory:
\n\nNote that so far this is every AM4 ITX motherboard out there, and I'd expect this trend to continue, so any board here is likely to work.
\n" }, { "Id": "8686", "CreationDate": "2018-01-05T01:26:53.550", "Body": "I am trying to build a PC for high-res video editing (2K and a bit of 4K with Premiere Pro), audio manipulation, general use, and a touch of gaming. I want it to look cool, but not sacrifice money or performance for looks. I have done some research and found some parts that I might use, but I need advice to continue. I will probably not overclock my PC.
\n\nI made a part list on PCPartPicker, which is here.
\n\nIf you're doing anything super intensive editing wise I'd go for a quadro, but if you're just splicing clips, making wedding vids and the like a 1070/1080 will do you fine. I think you'll benefit more from single core performance in this build. Go for intel.
\n\nOne thing to consider are accessories like the palette gear if you do a lot of editing on a regular basis.
\n" }, { "Id": "8698", "CreationDate": "2018-01-06T04:59:13.150", "Body": "I was having issues with my PC so I cracked the tower open. In the process of my investigation I looked at my eSATA card and noticed on the opposite side of the circuit board from the capacitor it appears to have been some dried up substance. \n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/zMw9G.jpg\")
I believe this issue is unrelated to my original problem, but is this something to be concerned with - and does this warrant a new eSATA card?
\n\nHere it the top, with the capacitor in question. \n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/K0qIk.jpg\")
That's a leaked capacitor, you could repair it yourself if you are comfortable with that, but hiring a repairman might be more expensie than a new card. Atleast if you're in the usa where labor is more expensive than parts.
\n\nI'll post some resources for a diy repair tomorrow, it\"s a cheap project to try with a card that isn't going to get any less dead otherwise.
\n\nhttp://www.overclockers.com/how-anyone-can-replace-leaking-capacitors/\nHere's a quick guide. If you damage the board some solder over the traces should be enough to fix 'er.
\n\nAs jmy1000 mentioned, if she's under warranty I'd recommend going that route if possible.
\n" }, { "Id": "8705", "CreationDate": "2018-01-06T21:33:36.983", "Body": "I want to build a PC with my son. Or rather, at some point have it so he gets to build it (I'm thinking of torturing him by re-formatting Linux every so often and having him reinstall it). I'd like to do with it mini-ITX for a number of reasons, one of which is that he could take it over to his mom's on alternate weeks.
\n\nI have build PCs from scratch before, but a long time ago, on full size desktops. I'm also fairly comfortable with Linux installs.
\n\nHere are some criteria/considerations for me:
\n\nRelatively cheap to start out with, but room to improve or swap components.
based on Linux, so hardware needs to support it. Don't want really spiffy feature set that needs Windows drivers to work. Related to that - a mobo/chipset that doesn't require extreme UEFI mangling before it will boot from a Linux boot USB.
gaming? Light gaming, possibly via Steam and possibly output to a 1080p TV via HDMI (1.3?). I also have big gaming monitor. But first we need to get working.
I'd prefer a motherboard with some basic onboard GPU, but allowing me to add a better discrete GPU later on (that's related to #1 and #3).
Still relatively small, because he should be able to take the box itself, minus peripherals, with him to his mom.
AMD? Even before the recent security mess, I was thinking of them, just because I like them. But I think I saw people being concerned about the quality/cost of AMD Ryzen minit-ITX boards.
High speed support for external HDDs (offline backups) - USB3 or eSata.
low power, relatively silent, even if that clashes a bit with the (light) gaming.
Finally, quality, quality, quality, rather than just features. I'd never recommend ACER over ASUS in laptops for example, that's just my own personal prejudices.
Peripherals. What about a console-style controller or wireless mouse and keyboards, esp if it's being used with the TV. Anything to be careful about?
Share some pointers or war stories? I'm not so much asking for detailed parts list as general considerations of what to look out for from people who've done this and the reasoning that would lead you to choose one class of components over another.
\n\nEdit: budget 400-600$ preferably, not including monitor, keyboard and mouse. To an extent, I'm good with used, and we have some really good donation places - rather get good stuff at core, w cheap secondary stuff that I can swap out later. A cheap used, or new, GPU would be OK too, I can always update it later.
\n", "Title": "general mini-ITX recommendations", "Tags": "|mini-pc|", "Answer": "Because upgradability and the experience with your son seem to be important to you, I'm going to rule laptops, NUCs, and other prebuilt solutions out of hand. To be clear, this isn't to say that a laptop + evideo card or something along those lines would be a particular poor solution in terms of the end product\u2013I might even argue better\u2013but it seems to conflict with your mission.
\n\nWith that in mind, it's time to build a SFF PC!
\n\nYour $400-600 budget is plenty to build even a complete machine, so I'll focus on a few options: 1. Kitting out the build with great, new components and a focus on an immediate future upgrade. 2. A solid new platform with money left in the budget to be spent in the future on big upgrades. 3. A \"game-now\" system using used components to maximize performance on a budget.
Linux support is virtually universal these days. I won't be focusing on building a computer that's open from top to bottom (if you want to avoid the IME/TPM check out this post, and read up on Coreboot/Libreboot), as it's both difficult and not really the focus of this question.
Every system here will boot from day 1. Performance will obviously be the best with the 3rd option.
We'll come back to this.
They'll all be small.
We'll come back to this a bit more later\u2013there's plenty of reasons to go either AMD or Intel, and I'll only focus on performance\u2013but Meltdown and Spectre specifically won't be discussed. While numbers are still coming out and nothing is final, Meltdown's hit appears to be fairly minor in gaming\u2013syscalls is where it hits the worst. Spectre is pretty much architecture aignostic (present on both AMD and Intel chips as well as ARM) with no clear fix, so nothing can really be done there.
We'll come back to this more later.
Low power is dependent on what you throw in there, and yes, does slightly clash with light gaming. Quiet is more dependent on form factor. We'll touch on this again more.
Most computer components these days do quite well on quality. The only places we'll really be concerned with this are the case and used components.
Peripherals will be covered separately.
The thing about a case is that it's ultimately a matter of taste, and I can't decide that for you. With that, I'm going to provide a range of good cases and let you choose what you like.
\n\nThat said, I'm going to recommend the Node 202 on personal preference.
\n\nThese cases are generally described as \"artisan\": made by specialized companies in low volumes, with extremely good build quality, at extremely high prices.
\n\n$235 (TBD), 6.9L, 305mm video card, 5x2.5\", SFX-L PSU
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IrqAV.jpg\")
It's the epitome of a very small case: extremely expensive, extremely tiny, extremely good build quality (primaily powder coated steel), pretty good compatibility with a few things to keep in mind, and runs a bit hot, but generally extremely good. One big issue though: you can't buy one. They're apparently targeting Q1 2018, but for now, I can't recommend what you can't buy.
\n\n$199, 5.0L, 215mm video card, 2x2.5\", special
\n\nIt's the smallest case in this category, but with that come some serious compromises. video card compatibility is very limited, drive mounting is limited, and most of all, PSU compatibility is virtually nil, with only two PSUs listed: a $95 400W DC-DC and a $58 200W DC-DC. If you really value space, this is the way to go; but otherwise, I'd stay away.
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/WS1jn.png\")
$255 (TBD), 7.2L, 295mm video card, 3x2.5\", SFX-L
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/CzwcG.jpg\")
You like shoeboxes? I like shoeboxes! Made under contract by Lian-Li of mostly aluminum, it's (IMO) the prettiest case on this list. But again, it's not for sale yet (just preorders), and I can't recommend what you can't buy.
\n\nThese cases are a step up in size from the very small cases, and benefits to match. These are largely cheaper, easier to work with, have better support, and are actually available to purchase!
\n\n$195, 12.6L, 317mm video card, 3x3.5\" + 3x2.5\", ATX (SFX-L highly recommended)\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/kxf4z.png\")
The sort of \"daddy\" of small cases, the NCASE M1 is the last artisan case on this list, and one of the older ones here. It has incredible support for hardware (even a slimline optical drive!), while being spacious enough to keep things from getting too toasty.
\n\n$80 or $130 with a 450W PSU, 10.2L, 310mm video card, 2x2.5\", SFX-L\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/csdkD.jpg\")
\nIt's an extremely popular choice, and a good one! Nothing stands out really except for the very reasonable price.
$85 to $130, 14L, 330mm video card, 1x3.5\" + 2-4x2.5\", SFX-L
\n\nAll very similar with nothing too stand out; the RVZ03 trades the slimline optical slot and 3.5\" mount for an extra 4x2.5\" mount and RGB lighting.
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JL2iZ.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/SMdoq.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/NwZ34.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/l1b1R.jpg\")
$70, 12L, 330mm video card, 2x2.5\", SFX-L
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/wWBbG.jpg\")
It's literally based on the RVZ02, but smaller, cheaper, less drive mounting, and with an optional handle!
\n\nThe Silverstone SG05 and Silverstone SG06 are neat, but the 250mm video card support kills my recommendation. The Fractal Design Array R2, Lian-Li Q09, Raidmax Element, SilverStone SG07 and SG08, and Xigmatek Eris EN6305 are no longer in production, though they would make perfectly good boxes if you can find them.
\n\nThey're bigger with support for more things! They're also much quieter. Carrying handles are a must here, since you said that regular transport was an integral part to this build. These cases seem to have largely fallen out of favor as smaller cases take over the mITX sector, but I've put them here anyways.
\n\n$60, 26.4L, 317mm video card, 5x3.5\", ATX\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/XARnd.jpg\")
HardwareCanucks put it best: It's a beautiful chassis at a great price with a few minor compromises for that goal.
\n\nThe Corsair 380T is a great case, but unfortunately, it no longer appears to be in production, and second hand prices for it are absurd. The Silverstone CS01B is also rather neat, but the 190mm max video card length kills any recommendation. The Cougar QBX and Fractal Design Define Nano S are beautiful and compact, but too large to not have a carrying handle and still be intended as portable IMO.
\n\nI'll be leaving out case recommendations from these options; choose whatever you think is best. If you end up needing an SFX PSU, use this list and get whatever wattage you need; if you need an ATX PSU, use this list. CPU cooler is likewise dependent on case selection, but I'll be using the stock cooler as reference, or the Cryorig C7 when not applicable. I'm allocating about $130 to these parts from the rest of these builds.
\n\nFinal thoughts: I would personally go with option #3. Used components are a great way to get value on a budget.
\n\nTo keep things simple, right now, on a $/performance basis, on the middle-high end, AMD wins in heavily multithreaded workloads, and Intel wins in single threaded workloads. Intel also wins in power consumption (though most of that will ultimately come from the GPU.) Given that gaming appears to be your intended use case, I'd recommend Intel. That said, I'm going to provide AMD builds as an option anyways.
\n\nBecause this is likely going to be stuffed in a small case, I didn't bother concerning myself with looks at all. That said, if you do decide this is something important, you can of course tune the parametric filters to have the colors of your choice, and get a heatspreader if the M.2 drive is ugly.
\n\nGreat, new components and a focus on an immediate future upgrade.
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/l3Nef.png\")
![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/i9JQG.png\")
A new platform with money left in the budget to be spent in the future on big upgrades
\n\nIntel unfortunately just doesn't have a CPU in the Coffee Lake lineup at this price point, so no build from them there. I'm not going to recommend last-gen hardware in a build for which upgradability is the main selling point either.
\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/7gKAp.png\")
A \"game-now\" system using used components to maximize performance on a budget.
\n\nOkay, there's no neat PCPartPicker list for this, but that's what happens with used components.
\n\nAlternatively, if you've having difficulty finding that motherboard...
\n\nAnd if you're still having trouble...
\n\nMotherboard | One of these | $80
\n\nCPU Cooler | Cryorig C7 | $30
\n\nTOTAL: $496-$565
\n\nThe savings aren't as much with mITX systems as full towers, but it's still a good chunk of change for significantly better performance.
\n\nAMD's older offerings just simply aren't competitive, and stock is much lower to boot.
\n\nI'm too tired to go into this in too much depth\u2013and I think it might warrant its own question\u2013but the Roccat Sova MK for M/KB, and a PS4/Xbox One controller if you want a controller.
\n\nI think that's about it! I hope this helped, and I'll be happy to answer any questions you have.
\n" }, { "Id": "8728", "CreationDate": "2018-01-10T16:23:41.557", "Body": "I'd like to build a homebrewed tablet-style device that can run an Ubuntu-ish OS pretty well. The easy solution for a DIY computer is the Raspberry Pi, since it has reasonable power and supports myriad customization, but it's too chunky for what I'm planning. Here's my wish-list of requirements:
\n\nI'm expecting to have to do a lot of modification myself, and I'll be designing my own case (unless there's a commercial one that suits my needs). Pretty much what I'm hoping for is a slimmer RPi with the same power, just fewer ports. I know there's the Pi Zero W but its significantly reduced power and memory are too constricting. What other options are there?
\n", "Title": "DIY boards for building a lightweight Linux tablet", "Tags": "|linux|tablet|raspberry-pi|micro-pc|", "Answer": "\n\n\n\n\nThin overall architecture - I'm thinking about 1/2\" thick at most, and less is better
\n \nAround 1.2GHz processor or better - I want it to be able to run a light GUI with good responsiveness, not having to constantly wait for input to get recognized
\n \n2GB of RAM would be great, obviously more is better
\n \nMicro SD slot for OS (onboard memory for the OS would be fine too, as long as I can expand it with a card)
\n \nAbility to attach a simple touchscreen - I can flex on this, if it can run a screen but can't do touch then I'll deal with it
\n \nAt least one free micro USB port - I'm flexible on power options, as long as it can be charging/powered while having a free port
\n \nBuilt-in wifi (preferably also Bluetooth)
\n \nHDMI-out would be a bonus but isn't required
\n \nLow-budget is preferred since I'll be building a lot of it myself, but I'm willing to spend a couple hundred if something really fits the bill
\n
Tinker Board has
\n\nI can't find the size specs, but a closer look at the links might tell you that. As mentioned in the comments, the USB ports and and such could be de-soldered without issue to give you that slim profile you are looking for.
\n\nOther options to look at would be the Orange Pi models, depending on your specific use.
\n" }, { "Id": "8731", "CreationDate": "2018-01-11T17:05:38.500", "Body": "Can a laptop with a AMD or Intel CPU, an AMD GPU and a Thunderbolt port connect to an external GPGPU box with a NVidia card?
\n\nThe code to run on the external GPU could be either OpenCL or CUDA based.
\n", "Title": "External NVidia GPGPU on an AMD based laptop?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|thunderbolt|", "Answer": "According to this Wikipedia article, the external GPU will be connected by carrying the PCIe bus signals over a Thunderbolt connection, at the speed of upto PCIe x4 rather than x16. Now, for many general-purpose computing applications, the PCIe bandwidth is already a bottleneck at x16 (16 GB/sec theoretical, 12 GB/sec actual), so reducing that by a factor of 4 would be terrible. If, however, you have a lot of computation to do on every piece of data, this should be possible. (I'm not being definitive since I haven't tried this myself).
\n\nIt's likely, however, that the whole exercise is not worth it, and you should just get a small-form-factor PC which fits a full size GPU (here are a few of them, in a roundup from April 2017).
\n" }, { "Id": "8741", "CreationDate": "2018-01-12T15:44:42.220", "Body": "I recently discovered that my laptop's USB Type C port doesn't support display so I'm looking to get an external graphics adapter that will add a 3rd monitor for me (I have an HDMI port but nothing else for video).
\n\nI saw some on Amazon, but don't know if they support Ubuntu. My laptop has USB 3 so I'm looking for an adapter that uses that as it has more speed to it.
\n\nin case you're curious about the laptop in question its a ASUS VivoBook Pro 17 N705UQ
\n", "Title": "looking for an external graphics adapter that works for ubuntu", "Tags": "|multiple-monitors|video-adapters|ubuntu|", "Answer": "I ended up buying this Multi Monitor Video Graphics Adapter* which wasn't working either until I disabled secure boot, curious to know if that prevented the other items I tried but I have what I wanted finally.
\n\n* StarTech.com HD 1080p USB 3.0 to HDMI External Multi Monitor Video Graphics Adapter for Mac and PC
\n" }, { "Id": "8775", "CreationDate": "2018-01-25T13:20:14.100", "Body": "I'm planning on getting a VR headset. I'm not sure which would be the best choice. Are there any recommendations about which I should choose?
\n\nI read about the PIMAX 8k (kickstarter project) but it is closed. Do you have other VR Headset as a recommendation? What are the pros and cons?
\n\nThank you really much for your help.
\n", "Title": "Oculus Rift or HTC Vive?", "Tags": "|pc|vr-headset|", "Answer": "I'll open by saying I am not an authority on VR tech nor do I follow the scene as a hobby. I own an HTC Vive and have used a Rift once or twice.
\n\n\n\n\nTL;DR: I love my Vive, I'd spend the money above the Rift to get it, but that's not the right choice for everyone. Promising tech is on the horizon. Promising options on both the lower and higher budget ends outside of the Rift and Vive.
\n
Pro:
\n\nCon:
\n\nPro:
\n\nCon:
\n\nHTC recently announced their Vive Pro which introduces a number of feature additions and upgrades:
\n\nHMD-only (upgrade your current Vive kit, rumors of a trade-in program) scheduled for Q1 2018 (next 2 months or so) and the full kit scheduled for a Q3 release. Prices not yet confirmed.
\n\nI'll be honest on this one, I haven't looked terribly hard into it. I try not to get too invested in a product until I see a consumer-ready version and with Pimax they are 100% not ready for consumers. I've heard the bump in resolution (which is certainly not 8k, it is 4k for each eye which is half as many pixels as 8k) is something to behold.
\n\nI've seen a few Pimax videos and right now it sounds like the consensus is that the 200 FOV is incredible, the resolution is incredible, but the tracking is still far behind its contemporaries, and price is yet to be confirmed. Hopefully someone who follows this story closer can correct me here.
\n\nI personally won't bother considering the Pimax until it has been in consumer rotation for a little while, but do some research as the tech is pretty impressive. And you can look like a bug person.
\n\nAnother category I don't have much experience with but from what I have read this market segment is very promising. Compared to the Rift and Vive, most of these headsets are very affordable and boast a higher resolution and PPI. I'm not sure how broad the game support is but I know people have played some popular Vive games without much issue at all.
\n\nOne of the biggest pros for the WMR headsets is their \"plug-in-and-go\" style of inside-out tracking. This means that there are no external tracking devices that must be arranged in/around your play area. The limitations of this are that if your controllers are out of view of the tracking cameras on the headset they can still be tracked but only using the accelerometer, i.e. they must keep moving to be tracked. I've heard this causes problems in games that use \"utility belt\" style inventory systems where you otherwise would be able to interact with certain game features more naturally.
\n" }, { "Id": "8790", "CreationDate": "2018-01-31T03:01:58.370", "Body": "I can find 3D displays on Amazon, but the ones still sold all appear to be active ones. As active 3D always ghosted for me, passive 3D worked perfectly (I'm even more impressed if the Street Fighter IV demo I saw in a store was converted from 2D.), and again I just bought a new non-3D TV due to lack of <=48\" supply, I'd like to replace my 1680x1050p 22\" desktop monitor. 24\" is fine, but if it would cost more than a 1080p phone with a gyroscope, I'd rather buy the latter.
\n", "Title": "Passive 3D display", "Tags": "|3d-display|", "Answer": "LG still sells a 49\" model TV, the LG 49UH850V, which is UHD for 949 euro, though it's tempting to get the 55\" model for only 45 euro more. There is also the Samsung UE50KU6020WXXN 50\" UHD for 579 euro, which does not beat the price of a VR-compatible smartphone with that resolution, but still offers 1080p in 25\". I could then buy a new computer desk, or use my wireless keyboard at my dining tables.
\n" }, { "Id": "8799", "CreationDate": "2018-02-01T22:27:33.513", "Body": "I have a 14\" 1080p laptop, which is very crisp. When I connect it to my 21\" 1080p monitor, the external monitor looks blurry and ugly. What external monitor (i.e. what specs, but specific examples are welcome too) should I buy, so that I can connect it to my laptop and have both be good looking and as similar as possible?
\n\nAlso, how do I know if the laptop will be able to output to the monitor, if it's high DPI? (I have an Intel HD 620, fyi)
\n\nSome details:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/LZUEF.jpg\")
First, let's figure out what resolution we need to have.
\n\nSince pretty everything on the market right now falls into either 1080p/1440p/2160p, we can ignore pretty much all other resolutions (at least for considering what we'll need in terms of resolution.)
\n\nYour 14\" 1080p laptop gets you of 157.35 PPI. Targeting a standard 23.8\" 16:9 monitor, 1440p gets 123.41 PPI and 2160p gets 185.12 PPI. That in mind, you're sort of in a weird middle ground relative to your laptop. I opted to go for a 2160p monitor, but if you're fine with it, a 1440p monitor would be perfectly valid.
\n\nThat alone gets us down to two monitors: the LG 24UD58-B and the Dell P2415Q. The price difference is pretty negligible, so it's down to picking features.
\n\n\n\nI'm aware you don't have an AMD GPU, but given the rather negligible difference otherwise, I'm strongly inclined to recommend the LG monitor.
\n" }, { "Id": "8809", "CreationDate": "2018-02-04T14:52:43.697", "Body": "What I want to ask is does this computer can get new graphic card ? And how can I assemble it ? Also what kind of graphic card should I get to not get the GPU bottleneck ? P/S:Sorry for my bad English and the computer details is here https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c04874664
\n", "Title": "Get new graphic card for HP ENVY 27-p011?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|desktop|", "Answer": "Per the specs page:
\n\n\n\n\nDiscrete AMD R7 A365 GPU: Permanently soldered to the motherboard and is not in card form factor
\n
There's also no Thunderbolt, so an eGPU using that is out of the question.
\n\nThe only option left would be to do use one of the PCI-e equipped M.2 slots on the motherboard and some sort of M.2 to PCI-e riser.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/HR9jX.jpg\")
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/e9QSX.jpg\")
However, I would strongly discourage this, as it'll be extremely difficult to actually modify your PC to work as such.
\n" }, { "Id": "8857", "CreationDate": "2018-02-18T09:38:49.113", "Body": "I am hunting for a good bang-for-buck workstation laptop for a friend of mine, he is looking to retire his trusty laptop of 3 years, with a new laptop with a much better GPU. He is a civil and a mechanical engineer, so I would figure he would be designing build support systems, walls and other complex mesh objects.
\n\nHe uses AutoCAD, CAD, Autodesk, TurboCAD, 3DS Maya and Meshmixer in his line of work. With this in mind, I found two laptops that are within his budget of 2200USD on eBay.
\n\nHere are the specs of the first one -->
\n\nAnd here is the specs of the next laptop
\n\nI would have figured get the GTX 1080 Laptop, as it has more CUDA Cores, more VRAM and a higher clock speed then the Quadro Card, but the GTX 1080 Laptop is optimized for high-end gaming performance, and not CAD Work. But the Quadro is optimized for workstation usage, and should out perform the 1080 in these types of workloads, right?
\n\nI did a quick Google search, but that didn't yield the results I was hoping for.
\n\nLong story short, which of the two laptops would you recommend for my friend here, and why? If you have a better recommendation than these two laptops that I have listed, please don't hesitate to mention it. I will take all the help I can get!
\n\nOn a side note and completely irrelevant, I tried convincing him to build a desktop workstation with a better Quadro GPU locally for the same amount, but he insisted that it be a workstation laptop, as he jets around the world and the country on work.
\n", "Title": "Quadro M2200 vs GTX 1080 Workstation Laptop for AutoCAD and 3DS Maya?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|mobile-workstation|", "Answer": "Definitely the GTX 1080!
\n\nI know benchmarks aren't always showing the whole picture but when the benchmarks show 4 times the performance on a card it is obvious which one is better, for any task whatsoever. In Videocard Benchmarks it is a difference between 3376 for the Quadro M2200 and 12185 for the 1080.
\n\nWhile Quadros have some benefits in workstation kind of devices since they are specifically targeted for these kinds of workloads, but not when you compare one of the top latest GTX cards to a mid (if now lower) range and older generation Quadro (you wouldn't even find a lot of \"vs.\" articles online about these two, since the M2200 is compared which much lower-end GTXs.)
\n" }, { "Id": "8862", "CreationDate": "2018-02-19T15:02:57.830", "Body": "I am looking for a hard disk/SSD/NAS with both these interfaces:
\n\nSo far I only found TB+USB and Eth+USB.
\n\nDoes the combination I am looking for exist?
\n", "Title": "Does this exist: HDD/SSD with Thunderbolt 3 AND Ethernet?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|nas|ethernet|thunderbolt|", "Answer": "Found, at last: QNAP TS-453BT3
\n" }, { "Id": "8869", "CreationDate": "2018-02-20T18:31:42.210", "Body": "I have to buy a NAS storage, with a set of simultaneous opposite requirements. In particular, high speed, lots of space and small budget.
\n\nCan I do something like:
\n- Use a NAS with four bays, two for large HDD, and two for fast SSD.
\n- Set up a RAID just for the two HDD.
\n- Set up a separate RAID just for the two SSD (if needed).
Is this a feasible configuration?
\n\nCan I buy a single NAS solution to be used for both high performance and large data storage?
\n\nThese are a few numbers to quantify my requirements:
\n- NAS: 4 bays, 10 Gb Ethernet, Thunderbolt 3.
\n- HDD: 2, 10 TB each, 7200 rpm, SATA.
\n- SSD: 2, 1 TB each, SATA.
The drives are going to be purchased separately from the NAS.
\n\nBudget: \u00a32600.
\n\nPurpose: store and read video from multiple cameras in real-time.
\n", "Title": "I need a NAS solution with conflicting requirements", "Tags": "|hard-disk|ssd|nas|raid|", "Answer": "\n\n\nThe drives will be purchased separately from the NAS.
\n
I suggest your better off building a PC.
\n\nUse a NAS with four bays, two for large HDD, and two for fast SSD
\n\nCase with 3 5.25 bays are easy to come by. I have a SSD enclosure that fits into a 5.25 bay that holds 4 SSD. Also using 2x 5.25 bays you can easily have room for 2 or even 3 regular hdd.
\n\n2 hdd per raid limits you to striping or mirroring and some motherboards have built in controllers which can handle these modes easily.
\n\npcie card for 10gb, you can even have a dual or quad card.\npcie card for thunderbolt.
\n\nEven if you go crazy your budget makes this project easy.
\n\n$800 for amd x1800, 16gb, and asus x370-pro (which even has a M.2 ssd port for 2gb/s)\n$200 for a case,psu, removeable hdd enclosure and ssd 4x in 5.25bay
\n\n$150 for a slight older intel dual 10gb card
\n\n$600 for an adaptec 7805(or similar) raid controller.(because I got money to burn)
\n\nhttps://www.asus.com/us/Motherboard-Accessory/ThunderboltEX-3/\n$79 https://www.cdw.com/product/ASUS-ThunderboltEX-3-Thunderbolt-adapter/4259577?cm_cat=GoogleBase&cm_ite=4259577&cm_pla=NA-NA-ASU_IN&cm_ven=acquirgy&ef_id=WdOaEAAAAIMrZiAP:20180323201802:s&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-cfe9KGD2gIVD4rICh2-WguNEAkYASABEgLEaPD_BwE&s_kwcid=AL!4223!3!198553132221!!!g!315976140630!
\n\n$100 for any low end video card
\n\nStill have money left, party time.
\n" }, { "Id": "8872", "CreationDate": "2018-02-22T02:03:17.680", "Body": "I drop my iPhone 6 a lot but also need that extended battery and wired headphones.
\n\nIs there a life proof that has a battery or that fits on top of the Apple Battery Case? Alternatively a battery case that is near indestructible.
\n\nEDIT: So this question was originally about iPhone 7, but I have edited to be the iPhone 6s/6(so that I could answer the question) with my solution.
\n", "Title": "Drop resistant iPhone 6 battery case", "Tags": "|case|apple|", "Answer": "So I ended up buying a 6s for now and buying a SnowLizard 6 case for the phone. The battery is excellent with the case and I can plug my on headphones in when needed.
\n" }, { "Id": "8878", "CreationDate": "2018-02-24T00:23:19.127", "Body": "So I have decided that the best course of action is to adopt wireless headphones now that the iPhone's headphone jack is gone(and Pixel). Unfortunately though I need like 10+ battery performance all day. It also needs a mic although the mic doesn't have to be perfect quality.
\n\nIs something like this even possible?
\n", "Title": "Long Battery Wireless Headphones With Mic - iPhone", "Tags": "|headphones|microphones|", "Answer": "I've got the LinkWitz Casque Bluetooth headphones, which are an over-ear pair of wireless headphones with passive noise cancelling and a microphone.
\n\n![\"LinkWitz](\"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/712ymrouzzL._SX522_.jpg\")
They run on a rechargeable battery (charges via microUSB - comes with a charging cable, though you probably already have one) that I've found lasts about 12-15 hours of regular but intermittent use. I imagine continuous use would see more like 8-10 hours.
\n\nThe microphone is reasonable quality - it's nestled in among the controls on the left-hand side - good enough for clear voice calls.
\n\nThe audio quality feels a little distant, slightly lacking in mid-range frequencies, but bass response is excellent and a system equalizer can easily clean up the mid-ranges without much adjustment.
\n\nThe only issue you may have with them is the earphone size - the inner diameter is just 30mm, so you do need relatively small ears for them to fit comfortably over the top.
\n\nGenerally, though, they're good headphones. I got mine on sale for around \u00a325, but the RRP is around \u00a380.
\n" }, { "Id": "8892", "CreationDate": "2018-02-27T08:22:59.470", "Body": "I am searching for a ATX case with proper mouting holes for the new high-capacity 3.5' HDDs. (seagate archive 8TB).
\n\nAll atx cases have mounting holes only for middle screws and cannot properly mount these HDDs with 4 screws.
\n\nI am not interested in alternative mounting like sleds,caddies,rubber bands etc.
\n\nI need at least 6 mounting positions for 6 HDDs
\n\n![\"hdd](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/CTYoc.jpg\")
Can anyone recommend an ATX case which has proper holes for screws for 6 drives?
\n\nThank you very much
\n", "Title": "ATX case with far holes for 3.5' HDD", "Tags": "|hard-disk|case|sata|", "Answer": "I chose Fractal Design Define XL R2, the drive caddies have correct mounting holes.
\n" }, { "Id": "8893", "CreationDate": "2018-02-27T12:25:17.797", "Body": "Found it at the office and I am curious about it. What is this cable used for?\nThanks.
\n\nIt doesn't let me upload the image, so here is the link:
\n\nhttps://i.stack.imgur.com/dzGRF.jpg
\n", "Title": "Identify this cable!", "Tags": "|power-supply|headphones|", "Answer": "It would be a pulse sensor to read one's pulse rate while exercising by the transmission of ultraviolet light or maybe infrared light through the skin to the receptor on the opposite side. It clips to one's fingertip. As blood flows through the smaller vessels, the light is alternately blocked and allowed to pass, providing appropriate data for the device into which it is connected.
\n" }, { "Id": "8924", "CreationDate": "2018-03-08T18:09:14.150", "Body": "To charge my Pixel XL. The supplied cable is too short for my needs. USB-C to USB-A is viable but I'd need a compatible fast charge adapter as well. I'm not seeing a whole lot of availability in the 10 foot range, at least not anything from well known manufacturers.
\n\nCan anyone recommend a 10 foot USB-C to USB-C cable for a Pixel XL?
\n\nOR
\n\nCan anyone recommend a 10 foot USB-C to USB-A cable and compatible fast charge adapter for a Pixel XL?
\n", "Title": "I'm looking for USB-C to USB-C cable that is 10ft long", "Tags": "|usb|cable|", "Answer": "At 9 (I know...it's not 10...) feet the AmazonBasics USB Type-C to USB Type-C 2.0 Cable should be a great option.
\n\nofficially supports fast charging (and some pixel owners confirm in the Q&As, and has a 5-star rating from Google Engineer and famous USB Type-C reviewer Benson Leung.
\n" }, { "Id": "8936", "CreationDate": "2018-03-11T01:54:54.993", "Body": "I am attempting a simple data acquisition project. I have a 5V analog signal from a pressure transducer on 2-3 channels. I need to convert this to a digital signal that I can acquire on my PC. Ideally, this would involve a USB. I need to monitor this signal real-time and be able to export to CSV or text format. Sampling frequency is not critical (20 kHz is ok).
\n\nHoping to purchase a data acquisition card/box that would work with minimal programming and tinkering. Would be nice if it worked with a 1/4\" jack on the analog side (or even RCA or 3.5 mm). Also looking for guidance on software for this project. I feel like this should be an easy project but having difficulty finding exactly what I need and since I haven't done anything like this before, a bit afraid to jump in. Hoping someone can point me in the direction regarding what to buy. Thanks!
\n", "Title": "Hardware suggestions for a simple data acquisition unit", "Tags": "|usb|", "Answer": "I found something that may meet your requirements, for a rather good price (US Dollars) in a product called the DATAQ DI-1100 data acquisition starter kit.
\n\n![\"DI-1100](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/DuORX.jpg\")
Four analog inputs up to +/-10v with provided software allowing for computer data storage and processing. The connections are screw terminals, not mini-plugs, although it's a simple matter to add such a junction device of your own design and construction.
\n\nThe specifications note that you should be able to accomplish 20-24kHz sampling for the limited number of inputs you require.
\n\nThere are PDF documents on the site providing greater detail as well as the operation manual. The manual indicates a mini-USB is used for power and communication.
\n\nThe included software manual has a section allowing for exporting files to be used in Excel, although it references the more-or-less universal CSV file format, precluding the data from being restricted to Excel.
\n" }, { "Id": "8939", "CreationDate": "2018-03-12T13:29:36.083", "Body": "I am looking for a powerful laptop/or \"schleptop\" portable.
\n\nImportant:
\n\n64GB RAM, dual channel (currently development environment, particularly GWT requirements, occasionally gives trouble if running other things in 32GB).
I'd prefer 12-16 threads (our software and IDE extensions are well threaded, 8 threads are a limitation for the latter at times).
Because of business practices and recent security/performance issues, I would like to try out an AMD Ryzen CPU.
\n\nNot so important:
\n\nGraphics. Preferably not internal Intel graphics. Internal AMD graphics would be fine, but I think you cannot get this with more than 4 cores/8 threads. So the best option is likely relatively low grade discrete mobile graphics from AMD or nVIDIA.
\n\nI can connect to HD televisions or monitors, so the screen size/quality is not very important.
\n\nI'd prefer having a built in DVD drive, but it is not essential.
\n\nBattery life - heavy duty jobs would be done on mains, so not high on the list.
\n\n17\" footprint preferred.
\n\nI understand this will cost me - as portability/smaller form factors usually do. I am hoping it is possible within \u00a32500/$3000. I like not having to take a separate keyboard along and to be able to use it while travelling, however a small form factor PC is also an acceptable solution if it fits in aircraft cabin luggage.
\n\nWhile it runs slightly against my lack of screen/graphics requirements, I am willing to try a \"gaming laptop\", assuming these are expected to handle moderate CPU use. For example, I noticed that ASUS has one with a Ryzen 7 1700 CPU, which might be feasible except it appears to have a 32GB RAM limit.
\n\nI can wait a couple of months in case somebody knows something is on the horizon, which I don't know about. Thank you for any ideas.
\n", "Title": "Laptop or portable computer with 64GB RAM", "Tags": "|laptop|portable|", "Answer": "I went for an Acer Predator Helios 500 with an AMD Ryzen 2700 8 core processor, 512GB SSD and 1TB normal hard drive. The processor is socketed, so could theoretically be upgraded later.
\n\nIt can be upgraded to 4x16GB RAM if the 2 factory fitted 8GB RAM modules are replaced, as they are single rank, but 16GB modules appear to be double rank and they are not compatible. Note that the bus speed may go down if mounting more / different modules.\n(If you do this, note that the first two slots are not user-accessible.)
\n\nFor anybody interested, the cost was \u20ac1927 plus ~\u20ac285 for extra RAM plus \u20ac20 to switch the modules. Hopefully I can sell the old RAM modules for \u20ac80 or more. So approx. \u20ac2150 with 32GB of RAM - I now just need to get another SODIMM or two.
\n" }, { "Id": "8946", "CreationDate": "2018-03-13T13:38:22.693", "Body": "I hope someone has some knowledge about whether it is recommended (and if so, what specifically) to invest in solar panels in order to power a PC of about 1000 watts, that will run 24/7 (to do machine learning).\nIf the setup works, I might wish to add another PC over time (with an extra panel).
\n\nLiving in an apartment (in Europe), the solar panels should be more or less mobile so I can mount them on the balcony.
\n\nI hope to reduce the burden on the environment as well as on my wallet eventually :)
\n\nThanks for any advice!
\n", "Title": "Recommended (mobile) solar panels for PC setup with a power-supply of 800-1000 watt", "Tags": "|power-supply|solar-power|", "Answer": "A typical solar panel electrical package will include a series of solar panels (rating and quantity based on expected load), a charge controller, a battery bank (rating and quantity based on expected load) and an inverter (yes, rating based on expected load).
\n\nIf you are confident that you will need 1000 watts of power, you should be configuring your system for at least twenty percent more than that, as one does not achieve one hundred percent efficiency from solar panels. If one is in an area of less than ideal weather conditions, one should increase the size proportionally. For the sake of this answer, I'll stick with the 1200 watt value.
\n\nIn the USA, The Home Depot sells a 1200 watt system with 4 panels of 77 inches by 14 inches (1.9m x .35m) which is quite a large array. These panels include micro-inverters, one m-inverter per panel and provide AC voltage directly to the included controller and sub-panel.
\n\nThis is not the type of system you would want if your intention is to run the computer continuously, but is provided as an example of the size of panels and general configuration.
\n\nA company called Armory Survival(!) sells an 1100 watt system, also with 4 panels of similar size, but has an off-grid configuration that permits battery connection. Very expensive bundles that do not include batteries means additional expense to have continuous (night) electrical power.
\n\nA frequent discussion in the electric vehicle world is the concept of a motor vehicle powered by solar panels exclusively. It's a different type of portability, but the numbers are equally challenging.
\n\nI'm not confident that you'll find a system to meet your requirements, especially considering the balcony constraint. Additionally, if your balcony does not point toward geographic south, the efficiency deteriorates for lack of solar energy.
\n" }, { "Id": "8948", "CreationDate": "2018-03-13T21:26:40.247", "Body": "I am looking for a bluetooth speaker that can:
\n\nThe budget is 150 Euro maximum
\n\nYet an important question is: if the speaker has the USB charging feature, then it can charge with any USB charger or maybe some of such speakers can only charge when using their own USB charger?
\n", "Title": "Bluetooth speakers with USB charging and line in (aux input)", "Tags": "|bluetooth|speakers|", "Answer": "The Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM is a really good option.
\n\nNow on Amazon UK for \u00a3127.99 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00PDUE8TG
\n\nBut in general, it is a solid good speaker with awesome battery life and great sound.
\n\nAs for your USB charging question: if it uses the same connection it will usually charge with any such connection if something it just won't charge that fast.
\n" }, { "Id": "8976", "CreationDate": "2018-03-18T21:45:20.713", "Body": "I have a nice headset with a mic and I like using it for gaming and for using my phone. This means when my phone rings and I'm on my computer I have to unplug it from the computer, put on the adapter for the phone (to combine the mic and audio jacks) plug it in the phone and do it in reverse when I'm done. Is there some kind of switch out there that would allow me to put them both in as sources and just turn a dial to change what goes in the headset? How makeable would that be? (I have very basic knowledge in electronics but I do have access to a fab lab)
\n", "Title": "Switch headset source", "Tags": "|headset|", "Answer": "I have a device connected to my computer which allows me to select between speakers and headphones at the press of a button. I recognize that your request is not quite that configuration, but the circuit involved in this specific device would function in the manner you require if connected \"in reverse.\"
\n\nA quick search using the Google for \"headphone speaker switch box\" has provided the expected multitude of results, for example:\nSpeaker Headphone switch
\n\nI would not recommend this linked item, however, as it contains a volume control. There's no way to determine if any polarity protection is built into such a circuit, although it is unlikely.
\n\nThe box I use is only a switch, the electrons flow in either direction with no problem. It has both speaker and headphone jacks and microphone jacks.
\n\nYou would want to cull out any that have active circuits (requiring external power) and possibly any with a volume control (although that might not be a factor) and aim for the switch box configuration that matches your plug and jack arrangement.
\n\nAll computers using 1/8\" mini-plugs will require that the switch have plug connections to the PC. In your description, you'd have to have one that had jacks instead of plugs, which is unlikely. To accomplish such connections, you would either cut the plugs off and replace it with jacks or purchase female to female adapters to jumper those connections.
\n\nThe other locations in the switch would be jacks to accept the expected headphones and speakers, while your intent is to connect the phone circuit and the computer circuit. This would be accomplished with either male to female jumpers or male to male jumpers, both of which are commonly available online.
\n\n![\"jack](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/VCFxU.jpg\")
Another reason the above linked product is unsuitable is that there is no provision for a microphone. Ensure when you search that the product allows for switching both microphone and headset when performing the button press.
\n" }, { "Id": "8977", "CreationDate": "2018-03-18T22:01:59.267", "Body": "I am looking into buying a new mouse and keyboard combo. I define \"combo\" as in using one single USB port for both devices.
\n\nI strongly prefer to buy on Amazon, but I can live without.
\n\nPreferred Price range is $60 - $125 USD (~ \u00a340 - \u00a390), but I can be flexible.
\n\n98ANWPSS-K1M1A (but can be similar)\n1 Without the use of a special function key.\n
\n", "Title": "Looking for a modestly priced Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Combo", "Tags": "|wireless|keyboards|mice|", "Answer": "I decided to go with the Logitech\u00ae Wireless Wave Combo MK550.
\n\nAmazon list price: $54.00 ![\"Passed\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JckQN.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PkRd5.jpg\")
\nImage from Amazon
Here's how it compared to my requirements:
\n\n98ANWPSS-K1M1A (but can be similar) ![\"Disputed\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Y0cqM.jpg\")
![\"Failed\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/el1Ax.png\")
I own a MSI Leopard GP62MVR 6RF with an standard HDD. I want to upgrade it with a new SSD but my question is: does it support an additional SSD or have I to replace its current HDD with a new SSD? And which form factor should I look for when shopping?
\n\nThere's a similar question here but I'm not sure is the model are fully compatible nor if the asker will be able to have 2 drives.
\n\nAlso, the 3rd response of this thread talks about a \"combo\" slot but again I'm not sure if that answers my question.
\n\nThanks!
\n\nEdit: The answer was correct and I now have a SSD and a HDD installed in my laptop.
\n", "Title": "Upgrading my laptop MSI HDD to SSD", "Tags": "|ssd|", "Answer": "\n\ndoes it support an additional SSD or have I to replace its current HDD with a new SSD?
\n
Yes, you should* be able to install an M.2 SSD alongside your current HDD (see below). You can also replace the current 2.5 inch HDD with a 2.5 inch SSD.
\n\n\nAnd which form factor should I look for when shopping?
\n
The M.2 SSD and 2.5 inch HDD / SSD / SSHD form factors are compatible with your laptop. I do not recommend SSHD "hybrid" drives, they're extra money for no real world gain.
\nHere's a nicely detailed teardown I found:
\nhttps://www.laptopmain.com/msi-gp62mvr-6rf-leopard-pro-disassembly-and-ram-hdd-ssd-upgrade-options/
\nI'm operating under the assumption that you have a "MSI Leopard GP62MVR 6RF" PRO, as I can't find any info on other models.
\nFrom the picture in the link, your laptop supports a 2.5 inch standard form factor HDD / SSD as well as an M.2 SSD.
\nSeems to me that if you took the HDD option, the M.2 slot will be empty. You can pop off the bottom of the laptop and check for yourself. If this is the case, you can definitely order a compatible M.2 SSD and install it fairly easily.
\nI'll be happy to help you pick out a specific component if you can confirm that you have the "PRO" model of the laptop for me. Don't want to waste time researching for the wrong model laptop.
\n" }, { "Id": "8992", "CreationDate": "2018-03-21T21:50:05.097", "Body": "I want to find a tiny camera or camera module that can stream its videos via Bluetooth or other wireless technology. I want to use that camera as an accessory that can be attached to a body part. The video quality is not important. Important is that I can stream the videos with a mobile device via wireless technology while carrying this camera as an accessory. Any suggestions?
\n\nP.S. You can also suggest two separate parts that I could put together to achieve this goal, e.g. camera and bluetooth module separately.
\n", "Title": "Portable camera with bluetooth or some other wireless technology support", "Tags": "|video-camera|camera|mobile-phone|arduino|microcontroller|", "Answer": "Not Bluetooth, but wifi, therefore it qualifies for \"other wireless technology, the \"aiball\" camera comes in as a candidate. Available on Amazon, as well as a few other locations, it doesn't come in with high praises via the reviews.
\n\n![\"aiball](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pDCMS.jpg\")
Here's the better part of this answer. Once you visit the Amazon link, you see other small wireless cameras that may give you the solution in a better manner than the aiball cam.
\n" }, { "Id": "8995", "CreationDate": "2018-03-22T15:13:08.457", "Body": "I am making my own case and wish to have the motherboard mounted with an angle 'forward' so that the motherboard would be hanging somewhat more than in the regular 90 degree mounting position.
\n\nBut I have some worries about this causing strain on the motherboard, and how this may affect it on the long term (say 2 years of 24/7 usage).
\n\nI won't be using a big cooling radiator, rather I will mount a water cooling block (which may or may not put more strain on it).
\n\nDoes anyone have thoughts about this, is it something I can do without too much worrying or is it wiser to avoid such a construction?
\n\nMany thanks in advance.
\n", "Title": "Tilted motherboard (45 degrees) - is it safe for the long term?", "Tags": "|motherboard|case|", "Answer": "Your question might be more of an engineering line of reasoning, but it's still hardware related.
\n\nConsider the mounting points for your mainboard. They are \"scattered\" around the board based on standards for case mount placement. They are almost certainly engineered to take stress from the components on the board and transfer that to the stand-offs attached to the case.
\n\nIn that configuration, the forces are more-or-less evenly distributed over the mainboard, perhaps with additional mount holes near high-load areas such as the processor and heat sink assembly.
\n\nI have assembled a couple computer boards which did not have stand-offs in the case but had mounting holes. This was a flaw or failure in the case engineering but had little effect on the installation.
\n\nIn your case, literally and figuratively, you would want to ensure that every mounting hole was properly secured and supported the board. If your intent is to secure the mainboard only at the edges, I would suggest that is contra-indicated. To secure all of the points, it would be necessary to build \"branches\" from behind the board to secure where possible, or in front of the board, providing support from either side.
\n\nThe best support will be provided by branches that are perpendicular to the mainboard. Those that are not would allow some flex in the structure. If one cannot create a perpendicular-to-the-board branch, one should consider both a vertical and a horizontal branch joined at the mount point.
\n\nI would not suggest that it is \"wiser\" to avoid such a construction, as the other factors for this design have not been referenced.
\n" }, { "Id": "9000", "CreationDate": "2018-03-24T17:43:03.277", "Body": "There are Easter Revision Sessions coming up and I can't write well so I am looking for something tablet/laptop that I will be able to write in. I also aim to use this for work for the next two years, as I need something inexpensive to take into school to write for Sixth Form.
\n\nIt needs to be cheap enough (under \u00a3100 but I can stretch just over reluctantly) so that I can take it in, I don't want to take something very expensive in case it gets lost/damaged.
I also require it to be small and lightweight enough that I will be able to walk it to school every day and for it to fit in my bag.
It needs to come with some form of a keyboard. If the device does not already have one then I will have to purchase one which will have to be compensated in the cost.
It needs to have WiFi as I will be using Google Docs for the work. This means that it can have a low internal storage.
It doesn't need to be that powerful, just enough that I am able to get my work done.
A USB port as an optional extra, but this is not required.
It needs a decent battery life because I will be using it for several hours, and a plug may not always be present all of the time.
It also needs to be purchasable in the UK
\n", "Title": "Cheap device to take to school for light work", "Tags": "|tablet|", "Answer": "\u00a3100 is a pretty tight constraint, so I won't be able to pull into too many bells and whistles into this recommendation. What I managed to get as a baseline along these three tablets is 32 eMMC internal storage and 2 gb of RAM. I've recommended products you could purchase today that should be available to you in the UK. The only differences between these tablets is the CPUs:
\n\n![\"Onda](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/MmSRZ.jpg\")
This tablet features Android 5.1 and based on it's review it features a older Intel Atom Z3735F Quad Core (Release: Apr, 2014). It's benchmarks indicate this it will operate slower than any of the 3 options, meaning it will be the least \"snappy\" when used.
\n\n![\"Onda](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/VbQyH.png\")
This tablet features Android 5.1 + Windows 10 (I would recommend using the Android OS unless you need the additional features of Windows). It is functionally the same as the previous option, but with 2 OS's and a slightly better processor, \nIntel x5-Z8350 (Release: Jan, 2016) (it's Passmark score suggests it will perform about 26.5% better than the previous option). You might even want to consider uninstalling the Windows operating system for a little more space as it doesn't sound like the extra functionality is worth the performance hit.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/NhvJs.jpg\")
The most powerful of the Tablet options and using the newer Android 7.1 OS, this tablet will stretch your budget, however it is marginally more powerful (according to benchmarks). It's cpu (RK 3368-H) Passmark score suggest it will perform about 2.6x better than the Onda Plus option. This option will be the \"snappiest\" and unlike the previous Onda Plus option, won't come with the wasted space of Windows 10. Consider this option if you want the most bang for buck performance wise.
\n\n![\"Wanmingtek](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/jlb1c.jpg\")
None of the tablets I curated came with keyboards, most likely because of the low end price restriction. It's a cheap blue-tooth keyboard, weighs less than 300 grams and will get the job done. It also comes with a mouse if you don't feel like touching your screen. This will unfortunately put, option 2/3 slightly over budget.
\n" }, { "Id": "9001", "CreationDate": "2018-03-25T14:15:22.860", "Body": "I am studying software development and I need a laptop which can survive around 4 / 5 hours or more of coding(using internet,stackoverflow,codeblocks/visual studio etc).I also consider learning the Swift language(I heard that it is hard to do without a mac) but I am not 100% sure about it.I have around 1300-1600 dollars(1000-1250 euros).So I will be glad to hear your recommendations on what should I look for. :)
\n", "Title": "Advice on laptop for software development around 1300$", "Tags": "|laptop|development|", "Answer": "It's going to be difficult to find laptops that have a 4/5 battery life without sacrificing on performance. I have decided to curate 3 laptops an I think you'll see that it may be worth it to go for a slightly cheaper option that has much more performance. As a student it would be strange if you were to be in a position to code without any power near by (library, cafes, etc) unless you explicitly tried to code somewhere without power.
\n\nYou also stated that you wanted the laptops to cost less than 1,300$ USD, but since I am recommending laptops that you can purchase today to be shipped to Bulgaria, I had to use the exchange rate: 1.3k USD -> 2,063.75 Bulgarian Levs.
\n\n\u043b\u0432 2,068.97 at newegg, MSRP \u043b\u0432 2,483.46\n![\"XPS](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2ppzj.jpg\")
This XPS 13 configuration has a 7200U processor. If you're not familiar with the Intel letter system, U stands for power saver, which means that the processor is designed for long battery life instead of performance. It also features 8gb of DDR3 RAM and a 128 gb ssd. It has no dedicated graphics card which will also help for longer battery life. This laptop is in common use by university engineering students in the US (usually in it's more powerful, less battery efficient variants in order to support 3D modeling).
\n\nAccording to this review:
\n\n\n\n\nThe XPS 13 9370 with 1080p non-touch screen lasted 12 hours and 37 minutes on the Laptop Battery Test, which involves continuous surfing over Wi-Fi.
\n
\u043b\u0432 2,987.85 at newegg, MSRP \u043b\u0432 3,586.17\n![\"ASUS](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vfu2A.jpg\")
This laptop features a much more powerful i7-7700HQ Quad Core. It also features a PCIE NVMe 512 GB SSD. If you don't know PCIE ssd's are dramatically faster than traditional ssd's (up to speeds of 1+ gb/s read/writes) which will make heavy applications visual studio load much faster. It also comes with a thunderous NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB which will make any 3D/game programming a breeze. It also features a generous 16gb of DDR4 ram which have feature slightly faster RAM timings that allow for faster application load in (iex. visual studio).
\n\nIn addition this laptop features an 8-cell Li-ion battery, which will help with battery life. According to this review:
\n\n\n\n\nAsus' notebook endured for 7 hours and 38 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, which involves browsing the web continuously over Wi-Fi.
\n
\u043b\u0432 1,580.99 at newegg, MSRP \u043b\u0432 2,054.99\n![\"MSI](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IpXFj.jpg\")
This laptop is the cheapest laptop among the 3, and has arguably the best components for the best value. It features a high powered Intel Core i7-7700HQ Quad Core, and additional discrete graphics card -GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB GDDR5, 512 GB M.2 SATA SSD (a little bit slower than PCI-E), as well as 16 GB of DDR4 RAM.
\n\nAs an additional note, this laptop will have the best keyboard among the 3 choices, as it is a gaming laptop, featuring MSI's signature anti-ghosting steel series keyboard. I personally own the GS-60 Ghost, and can say the keyboard is very good for a non mechanical keyboard.
\n\nIn terms of battery life the MSI is going to fall back, but in exchange you'll be packing a punch in performance and price.
\n\nAccording to this review:
\n\n\n\n\nThe laptop lasted only 3 hours and 33 minutes on our battery test, which consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness.
\n
I highly recommend option 3, but if you absolutely demand a 4/5 hour battery life, you might as well buy a portable battery for laptops like one of these, and it will still be cheaper than the 2 options.
\n\nYou've probably noticed that I didn't recommend any Macs. This is because they are not as \"friendly\" to application development as other operating systems, and tend to be overpriced if you buy them specifically for the hardware that exists in them. I personally program using the Xamarin technology to create universal, cross-platform mobile apps, but this requires me to have a mac available to even build and test the iOS version of my universal app. In order to get around this I use a Virtual Machine emulator, specifically VM Player with a special patch which allows me to run a mac virtual machine on windows. This site offers a guide on how to do this.
\n" }, { "Id": "9002", "CreationDate": "2018-03-25T16:21:38.513", "Body": "I'm thinking about getting a cheap PC I can pack with lots of RAM and play with Hyper-V a little more at home rather than bogging down my main Windows PC, and since my other Windows PC is Home Edition. I saw a cheap priced HP 6300 Pro Small Form Factor with a 16 GB configuration and Windows 10 Pro on Amazon that looks sufficient.
\n\nAccording to the HP Compaq Pro 6300 Small Form Factor PC Specifications the HP 6300 Pro Small Form Factor PC contains 4 slots and shows an example in the chart of a 16 GB configuration but also states \"Not all memory configurations possible are represented below\".
\n\n\n\n\nMemory specifications
\n \nSlot 1 is black and must always be populated. Not all memory configurations possible are represented below:
\n \nMemory configurations
\n \n\n
Can anyone confirm the other non-listed memory configurations that have worked with success with the HP 6300 Pro Small Form Factor running Windows 10 Pro?
\n\nThe telling part is in the last part of that little chart. Note that it displays an 8+4+4+4 dual-channel configuration, but in reality, you're only getting 16GB of the 20GB you install in that configuration.
\n\nThat's normally a big sign that the 16GB RAM limitation is something tied to the motherboard chipset, and you're not going to get around it. In this case, I think it's just really lousy documentation on the part of HP. Be ready for contradiction. If you go to the actual HP support site, it says this motherboard's chipset can handle up to 32GB DDR3. That's a 4x 8GB. Another hint that the documentation you have is nuts is the fact that a configuration that reads 8+4+4+4 as dual channel is nonsensical. Memory won't run in dual channel mode unless the RAM capacitance is matched.
\n" }, { "Id": "9006", "CreationDate": "2018-03-26T09:49:43.093", "Body": "I am about to buy a laptop, nothing too powerful, but good enough to program on it. Linux will be the system and i will do android, c/c++ ,python... But no advanced graphics. I found few laptops and main difference between them is processor. Some have Intel Mobile Pentium N3710 and some Intel Mobile Pentium N4200. Could someone give any recommendations on which processor to go for, considering above requirements.
\n", "Title": "Intel Mobile Pentium N3710 vs N4200 processor for laptop", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|linux|", "Answer": "When it comes to considering processors directly, my preferred method of doing so is evaluating their online benchmarks. This allows you to rank processors relative to each other quite easily without actually having them on hand.
\n\nIn general, it looks like the N4200 is going to be the better choice as Intel's MSRP appraisal of both processors is the same at exactly $161.00
\n\nSome of the immediate differences between the N4200 (Released Jan 2016) and N3710 (Released July 2016) is that the N4200:
\n\nIn terms of power consumption, each processor is estimated to cost about 1.25$/year, so there is no effective difference in power consumption, However; the N4200 will output about 12.8% more performance per watt making it more efficient than the N3710 variant.
\n\nAccording to the official Intel spec sheets of the respective processors [N4200 here], [N3710 here]:
\n\nIt appears that the N4200 is equipped to handle DDR3L/LPDDR3 up to 1866 MT/s, and LPDDR4 up to 2400 MT/s, while the N3710 only supports DDR3L-1600. This means that the newer N4200 processors will be able to handle newer RAM types with faster timings. This will effect the effective application load in speed.
\n\nInterestingly enough, however; the N3710 supports twice the Maximum memory bandwidth.
\n\nCPUBoss reports that the N3710 is capable of being pushed further via Overclocking than the N4200 by nearly (45.5% by air, difference is nominal if you are using water cooling (7%)). This is only applicable if your motherboard supports overclocking, or whether there are any linux based programs that you can control your processor speed from.
\n" }, { "Id": "9008", "CreationDate": "2018-03-26T21:30:12.787", "Body": "I'm looking for a smartphone for an elderly person who is familiar with PCs (and is a long-time Linux user), but has not used a mobile phone before. They tried a basic phone\u00b9 and found the screen too small and the interface too unwieldy.
\n\nThe anticipated use of the phone is primarily as a telephone, perhaps to send and receive SMS, to listen to the radio, and some web browsing. Photography and games are not relevant. Other uses may be discovered when they have the device.
\n\nBudget is not a primary concern, but a low-end phone is preferred so that it says \u201cnot worth stealing\u201d, not \u201cmug me\u201d. The phone will be bought and used in France.
\n\nMust haves:
\n\nPreferences:
\n\n\u00b9 I.e. a phone that's only a phone, usually with a keyboards with digits and a few function keys, without the ability to install applications. You can see some basic phones in https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/feature/mobile-phone/best-basic-phones-of-2018-3641218/ . Most flip phones are basic phones.
\n", "Title": "Easy-to-use Android phone", "Tags": "|android|smartphones|", "Answer": "I've not run this specific model before but I've had good experiences with Xiaomi - and they have an android one model this year. Even if you don't go with a xiaomi - android one phones are likely to be what you're looking for. They're essentially \"Google\" phones like the nexus and pixel series, but designed to be cheaper and stripped down, with a mostly stock google experience and a fairly typical 3 year upgrade cycle.
\n\nThe cons here? The 1a's an iphone clone design wise, with a stock android experience. It probably looks more expensive than it is. Its got an aluminum body, a fingerprint scanner and more or less most of the features you'd find in a older flagship phone. It even does USB C. No removable battery but that's a pretty uncommon feature
\n\nThe pros? Xiomi's hardware is pretty good - I've got a xiomi 1s that's still running years on, and since its android one, you get a mostly stock android experience optimised for an older phone. And 5.5 inches is pretty much the 'sweet spot' for a modern phone, and its big enough for most things.
\n" }, { "Id": "9034", "CreationDate": "2018-03-30T18:33:07.167", "Body": "I'm looking for a little advice on how best to improve the performance of my machine.
\n\nI'm using the machine for development of a game using the Unreal UE4 engine but I see some performance issues and lagging particularly when using the Unreal engine alongside other processes like Google Chrome.
\n\nIdeally I'd like there to be a magic answer but I understand that I may be required to purchase some hardware upgrades to really see a performance increase. I'm guessing that a RAM upgrade to 16GB might not be enough but I'm really not sure.
\n\nWould the processor be a bottleneck here or is the RAM likely to be more of an issue? If I upgrade the processor am I likely to need to buy a new case and motherboard?
\n\nEither way, I'd like to keep the costs down as much as possible.
\n\nMy computer is a DELL Vostro 3900 but I've made some upgrades from the stock model.
\n\nI have:
\nIntel i5-4460 Quad Core running at 3.2Ghz.\nDELL GGDJT Motherboard.(I haven't been able to find any useful documentation on this motherboard).
\nWindows 10 Pro
\n2x4GB DDR3 Ram for a total of 8GB (added after purchase).
\n1x3GB Geforce GTX 1060 Graphics card (added after purchase).
\n1x 180GB Intel SSD with the OS and Unreal engine/project files installed (added after purchase).
\n1x 500GB Seagate SATA drive for storage.
\n1x 500w power supply(added after purchase).
Any advice is gratefully received.
\n", "Title": "Dell Vostro 3900 upgrade to improve performance when using Unreal Engine 4", "Tags": "|performance|game-development|", "Answer": "Going off the fact that you claimed about 90% RAM usage during your typical use scenario, it is likely that your RAM is paging to SSD and degrading performance.
\n\nMost of your specs are fine, so it is unlikely those are going to be bottlenecks. As an additional note windows typically only uses less than 4 gb, and chrome typically doesn't use more than 1gb unless you have a lot of extensions. That would leave 3 gb for Unreal Engine, though I am surprised that Unreal is using that much RAM. Unfortunately I don't use Unreal engine a lot so I don't know what the typical memory usage is. You might want to look into your applications and see if any are using inordinate amounts of memory.
\n\nAs for the recommendation, I was unable to find much information on your MOBO and the DELL support site wasn't very helpful. The spec sheet for your cpu was more useful:\n![\"Intel](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/9I7TC.png\")
I've recommended 16 gb of RAM as I think that this will be more than enough to ensure that your computer isn't paging to hard drive. To put this in perspective, I have 16 gb on a laptop and only come close to filling that up running multiple Virtual Machines in parallel alongside Visual Studio + Re-sharper.
\n\nThis newegg query contains a huge list of RAM upgrades you could purchase for your computer sorted by price. I've made a specific recommendation below:
\n\n$125.99 at newegg\n![\"G.SKILL](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/m5Iee.jpg\")
I've chosen RAM rated at 1600 as your core specifies this is the fastest that it can support. The raised speed will allow you to load in applications slightly faster than if was rated at 1333. It also has the lowest CAS latency that I could find at 9 (specifically: 9-9-9-24). If you wanted to save money while maximizing for performance trade off, you could go for RAM with higher CAS latency, but it will increase the delay for your RAM.
\n\n\n\n\nSpecifically: Cas Latency(ns)/frequency(mhz) * 1000 = response time(ns)
\n
Therefore, if you bought a 1600 speed RAM with a CAS Latency of 11, it would have a delay of 6.875 ns which would be a 22.222% increase in delay from equivalent RAM rated at CAS Latency 9.
\n\nIt's been a while since I've looked into the RAM market, but I remember G.SKILL, and Corsair being heavily praised in the self-building PC community around the time the 4k series intel processors were out. The Nemix and Team Group RAM seemed to be a little cheaper but user reviews seemed volatile. I haven't had much experience with these brands so I don't know how reliable their RAM is. I decided to recommend the cheapest \"enthusiast\" brand that I could recognize, but feel free to buy a cheaper RAM even if it isn't G.SKILL or Corsair.
\n" }, { "Id": "9038", "CreationDate": "2018-03-31T23:33:06.747", "Body": "I have purchased a ASUS K20CE style pc for my son, which has turned out not to have enough \"omph\" for playing even modest modern 3D games.
\n\nI went out and got a GeForce GT710 card for the PC (which matched one of the options that I could have ordered the PC with to begin with) but was faced with the problem, that the card did not fit the cabinet (times have changed much since I built my last PC it turns out!)
\n\nI guess the motherboard is a mini ITX one. It has a single PCI Express slot, and the cabinet is slim. I have my eyes on some alternative GPUs, that may fit the machine, but I hesitate to order as I realise the system has an external power adapter of at most 90W. Most GPU cards advertise 300-400W power requirements, so I am starting to wonder if it will work at all.
\n\nDoes anybody have experience with such an upgrade or advice? The goal is not to make a monster gaming PC, but just a modest budget one.
\n", "Title": "Seeking advice for adding GPU to mini PC", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|gaming|thin-mini-itx|", "Answer": "You might be able to fit a low-profile nVidia GTX 1050 or 1050Ti in there, and that card would allow some modern gaming, but that is definitely not a gaming PC. The GT710 is an old business-class video card that is often used to allow multiple monitors on the same workstation, but is as bad as some on-die processor video adapters when it comes to processing.
\n\nI looked at the spec sheet on that machine; it's designed to be a multimedia micro tower. Even the top end configuration for it only has a GT730 video card, and thats not much better than the 710. It does have an available 90w power supply upgrade, but as you discovered, even the most basic gaming setup requires more than that.
\n\nYou've also got a problem with that Pentium or hurk Celeron processor. Those are flat-out too weak for games. If it's an Intel processor and it doesn't say \"i3\", \"i5\", \"i7\", or \"i9\" at the beginning of its name, it's just their low-power junk they sell for cheap, and most games won't run on them at all.
\n\nUnfortunately, all I have is bad news. That computer won't fit your kid's needs. You discovered that \"cheap computer\" and \"gaming computer\" are mutually exclusive. I tried to find this machine for sale in the USA, but it looks like it would run around $200 if it were available here. A light gaming computer in that price range won't happen, unless you can pick it up used.
\n" }, { "Id": "9066", "CreationDate": "2018-04-07T22:20:40.753", "Body": "I want to build a silent PC, high end, mainly for playing games and working. With working I mean Visual Studio 2017, about 3 virtual machines and my average 20+ Chrome tabs running at once.
I assume liquid cooling is much more silent for 2 reasons:
\n\nThe catch is I've never mounted a liquid cooling system before, so aside from theory I have nothing to work with. I'll walk you through my soon-to-be rig components, just in case there are any restrictions:
\n\nI don't know if any other components might be important towards the current matter (which is liquid cooling), please let me know if there's any problem with that.
\n\nSo all in all, what I want to know is what cooling kit or components should I look for in order to achieve a good result according to what I'm looking for, which is a righ that doesn't make much noise (I also want lower temperatures when running OC components, because I'm going to OC both the CPU and RAM at least, plus the GPU if my model even allow for it, but that's out of this question).
\n\nEdit 2018-04-08: Added an EK custom loop, which I deem overexpensive for this purpose. I also changed my motherboard option to Asus ROG Maximus X Hero Wifi AC. I have no idea about liquid cooling, if someone could enlighten me a bit about parts I may not need, or could change to lean the final price to a lower number, that would be awesome.
\n", "Title": "ASUS 1070 Strix - Liquid cooling?", "Tags": "|cooling|", "Answer": "It may be a touch more efficient due to the water convection of the heat works but water cooling still relies on fans to cool a radiator that cools the water. The thermal capacity of a liquid cooling solution, however, is a bit higher than just that of a heatpipe and a fan.
\n\nYou should see a marked improvement of both thermal capacity and overclocking potential of the machine with a water cooling solution but I would suggest that if this is new to you that you go for a self contained solution like this.
\n\nThe radiator is quite large though, so you may prefer one of it's smaller versions depending on the size of your case.
\n" }, { "Id": "9067", "CreationDate": "2018-04-08T08:48:39.390", "Body": "I\u2019m looking for an SBC (single board computer) that can run Debian to use as a webserver.
\n\nMaximum budget is \u20ac100 (120 $ / 85 \u00a3)
\n\nI recommend the Olimex OLinuXino A20 - it is OSHWA certified, and works with regular Debian since years.
\nSee here my detailed recommendations for exactly which components to buy.
\nFor alternatives in that same price range, see https://wiki.debian.org/CheapServerBoxHardware
\n" }, { "Id": "9079", "CreationDate": "2018-04-09T21:55:53.717", "Body": "I have an old PC Desktop running Linux lubuntu 17.10.
\n\nIt works well, but the noise of the CPU FAN is too high, and I would like to reduce that to almost nothing if possible!
\n\nThe hardware is :
\n\nAdditional info:
\n\nConsidering this,
\n\nOr, any other advice to reduce the noise without damaging the system?
\n\nThanks for the help!
\n", "Title": "Reduce CPU Fan Noise on old AMD Athlon XP 1900+", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|fan-controller|", "Answer": "We'd need more specific information about your rig for more precise advice, particularly given the age.
\n\nOptions (in order of estimated cost):
\n\n1) Investigate if your current motherboard supports any fan control capability (eg. PWM) - you'll need to get into your BIOS, but it sounds like you have already tried this and found nothing that looks like this.
\n\n2) Try a software solution like Speedfan. If the hardware supports it, you can manually control the speed of your fans.
\n\n3) Buy a resistor ; you can get a short wire that you plug your existing fan into, and then the other end into your motherboard. A reduction in voltage means a reduction in fan speed and thus a reduction in noise. It will also mean a rise in temperature but 30C is very low for a CPU so you have plenty of headroom. Fan resistor calculator.
\n\n4) Buy a new CPU heat-sink & fan (HSF) that is quieter and/or can be manually controlled. Getting one to fit Socket A/462 might be the challenge, and this will be proportionally very expensive. Decent modern HSFs would cost as little as \u00a320/$20/20\u20ac.... but can you find one to fit.
\n\n5) Soundproof your case. Expensive, and why would you go to all the trouble/expense for such an old rig.
\n\nCould you use your Noctua fan? Yes of course, but you could. The difficulty would be getting it mounted securely in a position to maximise the airflow. If your 60mm fan is directly over the middle of the heat-sink, you'll probably find your 120mm fan would be offset to the side so the larger hub does not block airflow. You could combine this with #3 to reduce the speed/noise further.
\n\nCaveat: you would need to monitor temps to confirm that your final configuration is cooling the CPU sufficiently.
\n\nAs a general rule, the warmer the temp, the shorter the CPU lifespan. So your noise reduction might accelerate this CPU's demise! On the other hand, it's lasted this long, and who's to say that you haven't got lucky with a very good chip. The cut out temp for that chip is likely to be in the 90C area, so Id suggest you don't let it get above 60-70C for too long.
\n\nHope this helps.
\n" }, { "Id": "9083", "CreationDate": "2018-04-11T14:02:44.570", "Body": "The few times I've encountered server gear, the build quality simply amazes me. It's just remarkably well-built, with incredibly solid metal construction throughout. The quality of the front of the chassis and branding, in particular, lend a sense of gravitas I simply don't get from any consumer desktop chassis I've seen. High-end workstations from major PC vendors are often built to a similar level of quality as well.
\n\nI realize that with the profit margins typical of high-end IT equipment, vendors can afford to spare no expense on the physical construction of their products, and that it's hard to achieve the same in the price-sensitive consumer market. Nonetheless, are there any modern (not discontinued) consumer- or gamer-oriented desktop chassis built to \"big iron\" server standards?
\n\nI'm looking for high-quality, rigid metal construction in all key areas, with judicious use of plastics only where it does not significantly reduce build quality. There should not be thin, low-quality material that is easily bent, dented, or otherwise damaged. This extends to key interior parts of the case, such as the drive cages. A high level of durability is also expected of any supplied accessories such as pre-installed fans. Branding and design motifs should be physically substantial, extending beyond mere printing on the chassis.
\n\nIdeally, the case should be large enough to accomodate an EATX motherboard. In any case, however, it must be able to accept a standard ATX board. It should also be a traditional PC tower\u2014I'm looking for \"big iron\" build quality, but not the rackmount form factor.
\n\nBudget is unlimited, but the solution should be a commercially-available product, not a custom, one-off design. Size and weight are also of no concern, as long as it isn't so large or heavy that it can't be moved into most homes.
\n", "Title": "Consumer/gaming-oriented case with high-end \"big iron\" server-level build quality", "Tags": "|gaming|desktop|case|", "Answer": "I personally use the Thermaltake WP200. That is, the W200 core chassis atop the P200 extension chassis.
\n\nIt follows the \"if it's interior, it's metal\" approach, right down to the removable motherboard tray on one side. It currently houses TWO computers and came with power and USB headers for both; my i7 2600k on one side and my i7 8700k on the other, both overclocked and both with the massive Noctua D15-class heat sink and fans mounted on them without affecting case clearance. Both use an EATX motherboard. The case comes with no fans (nor should you typically trust a fan that comes with a case), but instead has mounting racks for multiple configurations. Right now, the whole machine is air-cooled. I have about 30 case fans running either in the case mounted modules, face panel, or on the actual heat sinks.
\n\nThe P200 section serves mostly as where I manage my power connections and cables, as it contains induction fans and two 800w power supplies to supplement the 1200w one in the W200 area (and if I didn't use the EATX on the side with the removable mobo tray, I could have fit another 1200W there as well).
\n\nThe drive racks are plastic, but it's a durable plastic, and they're made of plastic to keep them light. This is because they can mount more than one way. While the racks can fit in metal modules for the face of the machine, I reserved that for optical drives, a hot-swap bay, and headers. Instead, I use the plastic racks to \"hang\" the drives into clip-lock bays that are on one side of the metal divider on the inside of the case, which makes swapping them easy if I want. They use plastic locks instead of screws to hold the drives, which makes for quieter HDDs and easier replacement.
\n\nObviously, it comes with modular connections that assist with cable management, and can fit multiple radiators for elite watercoolers. The case can accept 120mm and 140mm fans in the same fan bays and racks. The racks for the fans or radiators all hold with steel thumb screws so they are steady and I don't have to just depend on the optional plastic locks that can hold them into place (this case allows you to be lazy, I guess, but you don't have to be).
\n\nFan induction points can be covered with a magnetically-fixed metal screen that comes with the unit (one for each potential point). This keeps dust out and extends fan life, and makes cleaning your fan filters as simple as just a quick wipe over the trash can.
\n\nYou can use rubber feet, but this thing is HEAVY when it's fully assembled and loaded with tech. We're talking 85-125 lbs depending on what you put in it. This upgrades your computer to furniture. I highly recommend using the castors it comes with instead of the feet, so you can just roll it around to move it. Otherwise, get a dolly with some straps.
\n\nThe only complaints I have are its loaded weight and the way the external panels fit. They connect via plastic knobs (thick and durable) that are grabbed by plastic tension brackets in the external panel (replaceable but sort of flimsy). The panels never fall off, but the top lid is currently missing one of its tension brackets, which makes correctly aligning the top and locking it in place a little annoying.
\n\nEdit: Also, the panels can be detached for painting so you can safely customize yourself if you want without harming the tech. The Thermaltake \"TT\" logo is on the face panels, but is otherwise kept minimal.
\n" }, { "Id": "9088", "CreationDate": "2018-04-13T04:46:12.263", "Body": "I am planning to order a Lenovo ThinkPad E570. It comes with a 4GB DDR4 SODIMM stick. I want to throw in more RAM. So
\n\n1) if it's a DDR4 system, would it support DDR3 as well?
\n\n2) should I buy an 8GB DDR4 (4+8 =12GB) stick or just get 2 8GB DDR (16GB) sticks for the same price ?
\n\n3) how would going for a DDR3 impact performance and also battery life?
\n", "Title": "Laptop memory upgrade confusion", "Tags": "|laptop|memory|", "Answer": "\n\n\n1) if it's a DDR4 system, would it support DDR3 as well?
\n
Generally speaking, NO. What's the manual say?
\n\n\n\n\n2) should I buy an 8GB DDR4 (4+8 =12GB) stick or just get 2 8GB DDR (16GB) sticks for the same price ?
\n
What's the documentation say about it? If 16 GB is supported, it is what I would do, provided it is DDR4. Otherwise just go with adding the 8 GB stick.
\n\n\n\n\n3) how would going for a DDR3 impact performance and also battery life?
\n
It probably won't work, so performance will be severely impacted.
\n" }, { "Id": "9091", "CreationDate": "2018-04-13T16:19:49.953", "Body": "I have some conductive ink that I want to use to print circuits. The current method involves painting the ink, but I would like a more precise method.
\n\nI am aware of YouTube videos and such explaining how to refill an ink cartridge for an inkjet printer myself, but I would rather not use a cartridge that was previously filled with regular ink in order to avoid contamination.
\n\nAre there any printers that cater to this niche market of people wanting to use odd inks?
\n", "Title": "Are there any printer companies that sell empty ink cartridges that I can fill myself?", "Tags": "|printer|home-electronics|", "Answer": "Printer companies specifically avoid doing this because their margin only comes from ink sales. They usually lose money on the printer itself. This is true of most accessory-based consumer electronics; Microsoft loses money on every X-Box line of product sold, and makes a killing on licensing developers to make its games and online marketplace surcharges. When I worked retail, a Lexmark rep once revealed to me that we were buying cartridges for $20 that we were selling for $45 and that Lexmark only spent $1 per cartridge to manufacture and ship them, but that they averaged a $10 loss per printer they sold, and that loss carried forward. That's why the guy at the store just shoves ink in your cart without asking, and why the printer ships with half-filled ink and calls it a \"starter\" half the time.
\n\nThis means you have more to deal with than just cleaning the cartridge. You need to know your cartridges a little.
\n\nKnowing the above, I'd advise starting with Item 3 on the list; get a printer that uses single-tone, individual carts. Got one? Great. Clear cartridge? Even better. Now to prep the cartridge.
\n\nYou don't want to soak the cartridge in bleach or vinegar. Bleach is a bad idea anyway as it leaves a residue which may affect the ink. Vinegar will break the dried ink up and flush it out, but it's likely to damage the rubber seals on the cartridge or expand the rubber so that it doesn't fit right anymore. Always start with hot water and just observe the cartridge contents to see if it flushes (clear cartridge benefit, of course). If you get all of the ink out, great. If you have splatted hunks of dried ink inside, then vinegar might be your only (safe) solution, but don't let it stand for long, or you can damage the cartridge as mentioned above.
\n\nAllow to dry before refilling with your ink. Keep in mind that a viscous ink and a watery ink aren't the same thing; if your printer normally dumps thin ink and you put in conductive ink, it may give you some spotty or splotchy results. I'd start small, here.
\n" }, { "Id": "9094", "CreationDate": "2018-04-16T01:58:09.407", "Body": "The quality of portable hard disks have been underwhelming for me, so I want to use datacenter hard disks to store my data (Some of my data are being accessed and overwritten frequently, so I need datacenter hard disks). However the protection of internal disk is not so good. To give more protection to my hard disk, I want to buy a hard disk case. What I want is something like shown in the image below:
\n\n![\"A](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/U26IO.jpg\")
It would be nice if it also had the following features (optional):
\n\nSupport multi-disk integration(for RAID).
Have the independent power supply.
Have fiber dust(major from cloth and carpet) resistant design.
Have vibration(major from tower air conditioner with high performance, table-based electric fans(the enclosure is also placed on the table) and fresh air exchange system(fixed in the wall and can make the ground vibrating)) absorbing design.
The SATA interface of the case is attached at the end of a cable, instead of fixed on the case. (to enable the flexibility of hard disk length (even if disk size is 3.5 inch, but I need to add a SAS to SATA adapter when I gain SAS HDD)).
The frame of the case can be easily disassembled and reassembled with a standard screwdriver for cleaning and maintenance
If anyone have any experience about that, please, give me some hint or guide. Thanks a lot!
\n", "Title": "Hard disk case, similar to the included image", "Tags": "|hard-disk|case|durability|drive-enclosure|", "Answer": "The real problem is that the difference between an external hard drive and an external hard drive enclosure is whether or not there's a drive in it. Most of the manufacturers sell the enclosures separately, and those enclosures have little-to-no shock absorption when dropped. This is because an HDD is intended to be a stationary form of media. SSD have no moving parts, so rather than perfect the enclosures, the preference is to use SSD. It's also common to use BD-ROM, if it's read-only media, because they have a decent lifespan.
\n\nAlso, remember that the average hard disk only lasts three to five years in perfect conditions.. This is part of why datacenters are all dropping the HDD in favor of the SSD.
\n\nA thing in common with all of these enclosures is that they won't fit some of your optional requests.
\n\n\n\n\nSupport multi-disk integration.
\n
I think you mean an enclosure that fits multiple drives at once. At that point, it's expected you want a NAS, so you usually just find small computer cases for this.
\n\n\n\n\nHave the independent power supply.
\n
All of them have this.
\n\n\n\n\nHave dust resistant design.
\n
This requires an airtight seal, effectively. That drastically increases heat, which is a drive killer. Most cases for HDDs actually have fans to dissipate heat or vent holes (pictured) to prevent trapping heat against the drive. This outlines your need for something which isn't sensitive to dust due to a lack of moving parts (i.e., an SSD). Even if it's sealed properly and cooled, the seals are rubberized or foam and wear with time.
\n\n\n\n\nThe SATA interface of the case is attached at the end of a cable, instead of fixed on the case. (to enable the flexibility of hard disk length (even if disk size is 3.5 inch, but I need to add a SAS to SATA adapter when I gain SAS HDD)).
\n
I see the problem, but integrating a cable is never a solution. SATA cables are cheap, simple cables that need replacing from time to time. SATA extension cables are readily available for power supplies with a SATA connector, for about $3 US a piece. You can get long SATA cables similarly. These plug into my SAS->SATA adapter just fine ($15 part on Amazon).
\n\n\n\n\nThe frame of the case can be easily disassembled and reassembled with a standard screwdriver for cleaning and maintenance
\n
You can't have this and a dust-tight seal, most of the time.
\n\nI'd take a step back and look at your problem. It sounds like you need to store Terabytes at a time in a portable manner, but that data may be rewritten in full repeatedly. While you have drives now, you're looking at spending around $100 on specific, high-quality external components per drive. You're in an environment where small particles are a factor and interfere with your moving parts, and you're trying to plan around SAS drive compatibility (which means 15000 RPM Server HDD). With all of that, your expenses will build rapidly. For a bit more, you can just start using enterprise-level SSD like Amazon Web Services and similar use. For around $250, you can get an SSD @ 1TB and $400 gets an SSD @ 2TB. They generate less heat, are less heat-sensitive, have a lower TDP, have no moving parts, are completely enclosed to prevent contact from dust, and can take a drop without losing data. While an SSD ages faster if you write to the whole drive repeatedly, they still last physically about twice as long as an HDD and don't suffer from fragmentation issues. For your needs, that's a better way to spend your money.
\n\nIf you absolutely must use your HDD in a portable manner, I recommend a dock and a carrying case as two separate components. Something like this would one-shot handle your portability needs, and you can just plug in and use the drives in a dock to purpose. To fit your SAS needs, all you'll need to do is find a dock that exposes its internal SATA connection so you can connect your adapter.
\n" }, { "Id": "9102", "CreationDate": "2018-04-18T16:41:49.023", "Body": "I am looking to go big on cores and have bought the Intel i9 7980XE 18 core processor. I'm trying to find a sane list of parts that will be compatible - I haven't built a computer for about 10 years and things have changed!
\n\nThese guys have a list for the 7960X but I'm wondering if the parts are good enough to deal with the 7980XE?
\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0VtuTiwi-k
\n\nASUS Prime X299-Deluxe Mother Board
\n\nCorsair Dominator Platinum 64GB (8 x 8GB)
\n\nSeasonic Prime Titanium 1000 SSR-1000TD
\n\nSamsung SSD 850 Pro 2TB
\n\nSamsung SSD 850 EVO 2TB
\n\nSamsung NVMe SSD 960 Pro M.2 1TB
\n\nSamsung NVMe 960 Pro M.2 512GB
\n\nFractal Design Define R5 w/o window white case
\n\nFractal Design CPU Water Cooler Celsius S36
\n\nFractal Fans
\n\nGTX1080ti
\n\nHard Drives WD 6TB Green
\n\nSo I have a few questions:
\n\nOne thing i'm wondering is about the storage. They seem to be recommending 5 hard drives. I've never heard of these nvme m.2 drives before but presumably if I only need a small amount of storage then the 512GB m.2 one will be enough for everything, no need for the 1TB m.2 or the other SSDs right?
\n\nWill the 650 Watt version of the power supply (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seasonic-Prime-Titanium-Modular-Supply/dp/B01HXYRJYK) be enough to fuel everything?
\n\nI don't need a mega graphics card. This isn't going to be a gaming machine and all I need is to connect an HDMI screen. Can you give me a reason to not get a really cheap graphics card like this? https://www.ebuyer.com/806221-asus-geforce-gt-710-graphics-card-gt710-sl-1gd5
\n", "Title": "Intel i9 7980XE Are these parts compatible?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|motherboard|hard-disk|power-supply|", "Answer": "Knocking through the questions:
\n\nJust as a personal note, if you're not primarily running this as a server, that i9 won't get put to use. Modern processors for personal use typically cap out at the next step down. The i9 and the AMD Threadripper are specifically intended for massive amounts of multitasking and multithreaded activities such as video encoding (as in, from scratch in a video editing environment) or server-grade shared processing. If you're not using this for a professional purpose like that, you will save money and even get increased performance out of an i7 or an i5 in comparison. Please note in this benchmark that a new-generation i7 that costs 1/6th the price outperforms the i9 you have selected in applications that use less than 5 cores; that's 90% of the consumer software market. File server use won't change much between processors; that's not a CPU intensive activity. If you plan to host applications for your whole household or business to be clients to this as a server, however, the i9 would be more worth it.
\n" }, { "Id": "9135", "CreationDate": "2018-04-26T16:15:59.607", "Body": "I need a mini speaker which looks like a flash drive and uses USB for both power and data (so it doesn\u2019t use 3.5mm audio jack) for a Raspberry Pi project. It doesn\u2019t have to be
\n\nBut it has to be
\n\nDoes such thing even exist? If it does, then please tell me, I have been searching since yesterday and didn\u2019t find anything.
\n", "Title": "Mini USB Powered Speaker", "Tags": "|usb|audio|mini-pc|speakers|", "Answer": "You've got a couple of problems with your spec and will need to work around them to proceed.
\n\nFirst, a USB connected speaker would need its own audio adapter onboard, or drivers that interface with the audio adapter on the host machine and a board in the speaker to convert the digital signal to an analog form internally. Outside of headphones, there's not a lot of demand for that, so you may be searching for a product that simply isn't.
\n\nSecond, the output of a speaker is limited by the amount of power which it can receive. The voltage available is only 5 volts, and in all forms the maximum current is less than a full amp (.5 for most, .9 for USB 3.x). Depending on the USB port, that gives you under 5 Watts to work with. At max volume, you're looking at 93-96 decibels, but keep in mind that the above is peak for the USB port, and some of that power will go to converting the digital signal to analog. This means your actual results will probably be closer to 75-80db, which gets you not much louder than a conversation. Speaker size also matters, and this will inhibit the max volume the speaker is physically capable of putting out there. A speaker that is under 2 inches is going to output so little sound under the power a USB port can give it that your audio will require a quiet room or your head close to it to hear it.
\n\nSmall electronics usually wire an analog speaker directly into an onboard component, and if you disassemble something like an old Tiger handheld game, you'll find that tiny sound was produced by speakers that still took up a large chunk of the case. The way headset designers make it work is through additional components you don't have available that increase the size of their solution. They also have the benefit of the speaker being so close to your ear that the overall output power is less important. USB sound cards do something similar, and you'll find that all external sound cards that produce powerful, non-headset sound use a secondary power supply plugged into the wall.
\n\nMy recommendation would be to use a Bluetooth adapter in the USB port, and use a battery-powered rechargeable portable speaker. Those you can find all day long, resolve your audio quality and power problem, and your analog audio jack will remain open. It's been awhile since I worked with a Pi so I don't know how hard it is to get a BT stack set up on one these days, but it's a wheel that already exists.
\n" }, { "Id": "9147", "CreationDate": "2018-04-29T11:05:48.470", "Body": "Hello guys I am going to buy a prebuilded pc soon (I know I should't and it will be way more expensive but it's nothing I have control over so please don't mention that) and I can't really chose between two computers. The specs are:
\n\n//First PC// Intel Core I5-8400 Coffee Lake, Asrock Z370 PRO4, 8GB DDR4 3000MHz Adata XPG D10, EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB GDDR5, 1TB 3.5\" Seagate Barracuda, Cost:1,499 BGN
\n\n//Second PC// AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (3.2 GHz 16MB), ASRock A320M-DGS, NVIDIA GTX1050Ti 4GB, 16 GB DDR4 2400 MHz, 1TB 7200rpm, 120 GB SSD, Cost:1,468 BGN
\n\nThese are the specs. Please give your hones opinion and also \"defend\" your words. I will be playing on 1080p with modern games (GTA 5, Battlefield 1, Rainbow Six Siege etc.)
\n", "Title": "Help me chose between 2 computers", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|gaming|", "Answer": "For gaming, one of the most important items is the GPU. Your two choices have the same GPU so now we get into subtle items.
\n\nThe next item affecting overall (general) performance is memory speed! Not memory amount. 8GB is plenty but that 1st choice has memory running at 3000MHz. So pick #1. Make sure you understand how to set the BIOS settings as this is overclocked memory because if your BIOS ever needs to be reset, the default will not be 3000 MHz.
\n\nPick #1.
\n" }, { "Id": "9161", "CreationDate": "2018-05-03T07:28:19.247", "Body": "I have a two options.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/MrgUy.png\")
dell P2417H 23'LG 32MA68HY-P 32' (window split available)I'm developing web(front and back) and usually using vim and sublime text.\nI'll connect to my 2017 13' MBP.
\n\nWhich one is better? Recently, I've never used monitor. So I don't imagine which one is better to me.
\n", "Title": "Which monitor would be better to programming?", "Tags": "|monitors|multiple-monitors|", "Answer": "Both of these monitors are 1920 x 1080, 60 Hz monitors. The primary difference is their physical size. The benefit of the larger monitor is that (assuming you would have each at the same distance from your eyes) you will be able to lower the display scale on the larger screen and potentially fit more in view.
\n\nNote: there will be substantial loss in visual fidelity. The smaller monitor will give you about 50% greater pixel density than the 32\" screen. The flipside is that obviously the larger monitor will be more comfortable to look at from a further distance, and for tasks that require less fine detail (such as watching non-bluray quality movies) the larger monitor will just be more pleasing to look at.
\n\n\n\nYou must determine whether the increased size is a better value for you than the bump in pixel density.
\n" }, { "Id": "9163", "CreationDate": "2018-05-03T17:37:36.967", "Body": "I have a desktop running an i3-2100 (LGA 1155 socket). The desktop is close to a decade old at this point and still running the stock Intel fan (this one), which is also incidentally the only one in my mid tower apart from the one on the PSU (a Corsair VS550), so I'm looking for an aftermarket replacement that is both quieter and more effective at cooling. I'm also on a low income, so I really need it to be cheap.
\n\nSo far I've found this one, and will probably end up going with it unless someone here informs me that it will actually perform worse than stock or there's a much better option for very close to the same price point (talking a difference of around \u00a35).
\n", "Title": "Budget cooler to replace stock Intel one", "Tags": "|cooling|heat-sink|", "Answer": "\n\nThis is my go-to budget cooler. Much quieter and a better cooler than stock HSFs.
\n\nAlso buy some decent-but-cheap thermal paste, such as Arctic Silver 5 and Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut.
\n\nCombined, these should set you back 25-30 GBP/USD/Euro.
\n\nAlso perhaps look at some fan-control s/w such as Speedfan - even when you can't improve temps, you can change how your fan responds to them. Some rigs crank up to 100% fan speed too early.
\n\nEDIT: The Freezer Pro 11 LP is a low profile alternative. With LP coolers, compromises are made (i.e smaller and directed into case, rather than to rear), so it will be harder for it to keep the same CPU cool in comparison. However, this one is still cheap and still quiet.
\n" }, { "Id": "9168", "CreationDate": "2018-05-05T06:29:40.230", "Body": "I'm looking to update my current gaming and work laptop to something featuring the latest CPUs and GPUs. Unfortunately, 120 Hz FHD screens seem to be more popular than 4K this year.
\n\nDoes anyone know of a good gaming laptop that has a six-core 8th-gen Intel CPU, a GTX 1080 (or maaaaybe 1070), and a 4K screen or thereabouts?
\n\nPreferred but not necessary:
\n\nAfter extensive searching, I found a few options.
\n\nEurocom X4C. This is what I eventually ended up buying. It has up to 64 GB of RAM, two M.2 slots, the desktop 8700k, and 1080 GPU, and a selection of several different screens, including on UHD version. It's also 15.6 inches, so pretty much exactly what I was looking for. The only issues I'd mention are that it's somewhat prone to backlight bleed, and, like most computers built on a Clevo chassis, has a little give in the keyboard.
Hidevolution Evoc P750TM-1. It seems to be built on the same chassis as the previous, and has similar specifications. One advantage is that it comes with up to 2800 MHz RAM, rather than the 2400 MHz standard on the Eurocom.
There are a few other options I found (e.g. from Acer) that had a 4k screen, but either had \"only\" 32 GB of RAM, came with only a 1070, or both. If these aren't obstacles, one of these laptops might be the better choice, since they're much more professionally put together.
\n" }, { "Id": "9177", "CreationDate": "2018-05-07T17:51:59.197", "Body": "I am planning to buy a laptop. I am not in a huge rush. So I can perfectly wait another 3/4 months with no issues. I am looking for a laptop to work mainly. I will mostly remote from it to my office desktop so a very good screen and keyboard are important so that I can perform multiple tasks simultaneously while remoted. Stuff that I care about:
\n\n1) Processing power - I run heavily computational stuff (paralellized codes). I mainly use my desktop for those, but would always be nice to have the option of running some lighter stuff on the laptop (not very important)
\n\n2) Graphics card - I played a lot of games more than 10 years ago. I would like to start playing again. With cloud gaming coming soon mainstream, maybe it is not that important to have a good graphics card. I would mostly play tomb raider, csgo, pubg.
\n\n3) Durability/Longevity - This is important for me. I would like the laptop to last under normal usage.
\n\n4) Portability - I travel once every other week and need my laptop.
\n\nWith so many tradeoffs not sure what should I buy. I compiled a list below with 5 laptops I narrowed down. The last 3 lines are my personal opinion.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/V8dBj.png\")
Don't worry about cloud computing when it comes to graphics adapters; at this time, there's no realistic way to process high-definition graphics and then pitch them to a screen at 60 frames per second over distributed computing vs. a card on a PCI-E bus. Going off of your diagram:
\n\nMacbook Pro:
\n\nThe issue you'll have here is largely tied to your code. The machine will swallow some exceptions and bury them in a log that only an Apple \"Genius Bar\" can access. You also get less hardware in the machine for more money, and have the usual compatibility issues with having Mac OS instead of Windows. The hardware is actually still just the same stuff you'd see in a Windows PC, but your service is handled through Apple. The only exception is the Retina display, as these are exceptionally clear and color-balanced out of the box. You may have noticed in the diagram that competitors now offer similar hardware here, as well, which closes this gap. 4GB of texture memory on the video card is just enough to push this resolution if you decide to game or do any 3D design work.
\n\nLenovo X1:
\n\nHaving first-hand experience with the display on this one, I can tell you that it's one of the best. It's not as high-res as two of the other offerings, but it's matched well with the maximum capabilities of the graphics adapter. Unfortunately, said adapter in this case is the on-die Intel adapter that comes part-in-parcel with an Intel i7-8550U. The U stands for \"underpower\" in Intel SKUs; that is to say, the processor is underclocked and under-spec in order to provide significantly longer battery life. The 8th-gen U-series are the first to offer quad core options, but any demanding computing is likely to be inhibited by the product. It's very light, though, so if you have access to a desktop at home with better specs, this makes a great portable work machine.
\n\nGigabyte Aero 15x:
\n\nGigabyte is a big name in motherboard manufacturing, similar to Asus but without the weird stigma that some business-types add to the \"Republic of Gamers\" sticker and price premium added to the Asus laptop shells. A gaming laptop is just another term for \"most powerful laptop available\" and in no way suggests the machine isn't ideal in a work environment; computer design progression is pretty linear when it comes to that sort of thing. The unit is larger and heavier, but with good reason; you get the newest, proper \"H\" series of i7 processor in it, with the very powerful 1070GTX from nVidia with all of its lovely texture memory. This unit is effectively a portable desktop.
\n\nYou're limited to 1080p resolution on the monitor. On the surface, that sounds, bad, but in a laptop, it's really not. Modern LED screens at high resolution use \"scaling\" to make icons and text larger. If you leave them at their native sizes, they become too small to read properly on an Ultra-High-Definition display when the display is only about 14-15\" diagonally across (which is how screens are measured). If you're not doing graphic design or gaming at 4k+ resolution, anything more than 1080p in a laptop is usually a waste.
\n\nThe only other downside I can see here is that with all that power, battery life will be shortened. This is why you always see gaming laptops plugged in; you only get 2-3 hours out of the battery if you're doing something that really takes advantage of the machine's sheer processing capability.
\n\nOverall, this would be my pick given the choices.
\n\nDell XPS 15:
\n\nThis machine is a good compromise, and has the highest-resolution display of the lot. You'd definitely want to scale your desktop a little in order to see clearly for daily use, but you get some nice hardware here for the price. The only real loss here vs. the Gigabyte is that the video card is less powerful and has half the texture memory, which can make for a slow gaming experience on newer games (especially if they support resolutions higher than 1080p).
\n\nThe reason it's easier on the wallet is because the processor inside is a generation behind the one in the Gigabyte, but it's still a very good processor by today's standards and I strongly doubt you'd see a difference. I'm not a huge fan of the Dell brand, but I think you'd be pleased with this unit as well. You will likely get longer battery life out of the Dell due to the lower power consumption of the graphics card.
\n\nConclusion:
\n\nI would go with the Gigabyte if price isn't an issue and you can reach an outlet when you're doing anything particularly intense. Barring that, I'd recommend the Dell. If battery life is the most important criteria, Lenovo's will have the best. I wouldn't bother with the Apple.
\n" }, { "Id": "9186", "CreationDate": "2018-05-09T14:05:07.820", "Body": "
Hi!\n
What do you think about the series lenovo thinkpad? I want to buy a new laptop. I have a good PC at the work. A laptop is an additional computer. Sometimes, I may use it at work (ASP.NET, C#). Now, I'm choosing from 2 models: Lenovo Thinkpad L380 yoga and Asus Zenbook UX430. I think, that me will have enough of their performance.\n
I saw a zenbook and I liked it. But some people said, that Thinkpads better, but it's a L-series, but not the T or X.\n
Lenovo - https://www.informatique.nl/185248/lenovo-thinkpad-yoga-l380-20m5-laptop.html\n
Asus - https://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/portativie-datori/157603_asus_zenbook-ux430ua-gv259r-royal-blue-14-fhd-ips-core-i5-8250u-8gb-256gb-ssd-windows-10-pro
Thanks for your answers!
\n", "Title": "Lenovo Thinkpad L380 Yoga or Asus Zenbook UX430?", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Technologically, these machines are effectively identical. I think the Zenbook as a slightly larger case and display area, but that's it. I'd lean to the Zenbook, both for aesthetics and the fact I'm familiar with ASUS's excellent warranty service.
\n" }, { "Id": "9200", "CreationDate": "2018-05-11T09:02:37.537", "Body": "The relevant part of my system is straightforward - a Radeon R9 370 card with HDMI + DisplayPort output. The monitor is a 4K (3840 x 2160) Dell UltraSharp UP3216Q with HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort connectors.
\n\nMy underlying problem is the well-known issue that when the monitor turns off, or the second monitor changes, my windows all move around. I've tried a number of fixes but none work well. Those that do, work by forcing the EDID values in Windows, which means if I do disconnect or change the monitor (as opposed to just turning it off), it still thinks there's a 3840 x 2160 attached, when it should resize to a smaller screen :)
\n\nMy solution is to move to a pass-through EDID emulator to solve this properly. The intended effect is that if I turn the monitor off but the cable is still connected, Windows will see it (due to the emulator) as still connected, and windows won't move round. But if the cable itself is unplugged, the EDID emulator will be disconnected with it and Windows will see a change of monitor or loss of monitor instead, which is ideal behaviour. That should fix it, if the EDID emulator works as expected.
\n\nThe problem is that 3840 x 2160 DisplayPort pass-through EDID emulators are either extremely new on the market, or not on the market yet, and I want this now :)
\n\nMy proposed solution is to notice that my monitor has HDMI 2.0 as well as DisplayPort. That means I could feed it 3840 x 2160 on the HDMI port and use an HDMI EDID emulator instead. Unlike DisplayPort, I'm pretty sure that 3840 x 2160 HDMI pass-through EDID emulators are much easier to find on the market and cheaper too, and this would solve my Windows problem equally well.
\n\nMy adapter's HDMI output is already in use, so I would need to get a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter as well. The connection would be:
\n\nI'm guessing I will need an HDMI 2.0 emulator and adapter for this resolution. My questions are the obvious ones:
\n\nI'm in the UK and usually buy on Amazon or EBay.
\n", "Title": "DisplayPort to HDMI adapter + HDMI EDID pass-through emulator, suitable for my 2160p (4k) display?", "Tags": "|hdmi|video|video-adapters|display-port|", "Answer": "Thanks for this BTW. I had a similar situation: DisplayPort ports on computers, DisplayPort switch, DisplayPort monitor. And of course, the windows jumping around every time I switched the monitor.
\nI tried and tried to find a pass-through EDID adapter for DP to no avail. All I could find were headless plugs meant to fool some server's GPU that it was attached to a monitor. So I tried to duplicate your setup.
\nI tried to do DP -> DP-to-HDMI converter -> HDMI EDID pass-through adapter -> HDMI-to-DP converter -> DP switch -> monitor. This worked OK for 2560 x 1440, but it was still unreliable, failing about 10-20% of the time, leaving me with the same moving windows. What I finally did was this: ditch the DP switch and use an HDMI switch instead. Here's my setup:
\nComputers with DP output -> DP-to-HDMI converter -> long HDMI cable - HDMI EDID pass-through adapter -> HDMI switch -> HDMI cable -> monitor. I have been using it for 11 months now with solid reliability for the monitors. (Sadly, my old PS2-plug keyboard from the 90s sometimes don't switch successfully, but toggle back and forth fixes that.)
\nHere are the parts I used from Amazon:
\nDP to HDMI: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M09PT7O/
\nHDMI EDID: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0722NVQHX/
\nHDMI switch: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CPLB6Y1/
\n" }, { "Id": "9206", "CreationDate": "2018-05-12T09:45:18.640", "Body": "I have a NAD D 3020 amplifier that comes with a remote controller, but the remote is crap (and I'm not the only one to say it). Fortunately, they have a document with all the remote codes, some of which are not even available with the supplied remote. The codes are something like:
\n\nFunction Format Address Data Address Data\n Hex Hex Dec Dec\n-----------------------------------------------\nPower Off NEC 877C C8 34684 200\n...\nIs there a universal remote that would allow programming its keys with these codes, instead of relying on manufacturer/model references (which may be wrong, or missing, or incomplete), or on learning (which requires a working remote to learn from)?
\n", "Title": "Programmable universal remote", "Tags": "|remote-control|", "Answer": "Yes, there is such a remote. There are probably quite a few of them but the one I tried is the URC 6440. With the help of the information in the http://www.hifi-remote.com/ (especially the forums), it's really easy to program with any OS: it mounts as a USB drive, and using Remote Master it's just a matter of copying a file with the configuration. Specifically, this the configuration file I just created for the NAD D 3020 (without using the original remote at all), and it works like a charm.
\n" }, { "Id": "9209", "CreationDate": "2018-05-12T17:39:12.697", "Body": "I'm going to begin an additional 3 years of school in September, and I was thinking about buying a laptop i could use for the next 3 years or more if possible.
\n\nMy budget is 600\u20ac.
\n\nThe point is that I will never use it to play videogames, not even once, so I'm asking which kind of components is the most important...
\n\nShall I take a laptop without graphic card and with bad cpu ?
\n\nActually, all I want is a snappy laptop (preferably with a SSD) to program, 15 inch on which I can set up a dual boot. I would prefer the laptop be be quiet.
\n\nI won't need more than 500 gigabytes storage.
\n", "Title": "School laptop (non-gaming)", "Tags": "|laptop|development|quiet-computing|", "Answer": "Based on the currency you selected and information I gleaned off your profile I'm assuming that you live in France and want to be able to buy a laptop that could be shipped to France.
\n\n![\"Lenovo](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/4yKBm.jpg\")
Features an i7 7th Gen 7500U. If you're not familiar with the Intel lettering system, U signifies that the laptop is a power-saving laptop. Effectively this means that the cpu speed is reduced to achieve longer battery life and energy efficiency. While not breaking any land speed records, will be more than enough for basic coding and internet surfing. Don't expect to run heavy IDEs like Visual Studio without some lag. This option's CPU is about 59.7% slower than option 2 according to it's average cpu passmark benchmark. It also comes with 1 TB HDD and a 256 GB SSD, for a total combined storage far above your requested storage amount. The laptop also features 8 GB DDR4, which you shouldn't come close to filling up in any normal user case scenario. I've even managed to fit in a dedicated graphics card, the NVIDIA GeForce MX150, but that's really gratuitous at this point. You might actually be able to play some really visually intensive 3D games at really low settings.
\n\n![\"Acer](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/tYXuh.jpg\")
The laptop cpu, first of all is an i7 8th Gen 8550 U. The laptop also features 8 GB DDR4. It also comes with 1 TB HDD and a 256 GB SSD. Like option 1 it has a NVIDIA GeForce MX150. You're really paying for the newer, faster CPU at this point.
\n\nYou should be able to set any laptop to dual boot if you simply install both operating systems on it. I'm assuming you're going for a Linux, Windows set up and this should be very feasible.
\n" }, { "Id": "9220", "CreationDate": "2018-05-15T07:00:09.443", "Body": "i'm setting up a computer with an LGA1151 cpu socket, and i'm looking for the cpu that would use the least amount of electricity for this motherboard. the cpu will not be stressed in the slightest, and does not need to be fast. i already have a computer doing the same tasks, running on a 2-core 35W TDP i3-7300T with hyperthreading disabled, and cpu frequency locked to 800MHz, and htop reports the cpu usage as being roughly \"5-8% per core\"
\n\ngoing by TDP, it seems the 25W TDP Intel Xeon E3-1235L V5 is my best bet, but i don't know if TDP is a good indicator, because that's \"power consumption during high-intensity workloads\", which is not what i'll be using it for.. suggestions?
(also i'm confused at how the 4-core Xeon can use less power than all the 2-core / 1-core alternatives, going by TDP, but i guess that should be a separate question)
\n", "Title": "LGA1151 CPU lowest power consumption?", "Tags": "|processor|power|high-end|", "Answer": "Although you are correct in that the Xeon E3-1235L v5 and Xeon E3-1240L v5 have the lowest rated TDP (both at 25W), I would recommend staying away from these processors.
\n\nOne thing to understand straight away is that under most conditions, the actual power consumption of the process will not be equal to the rated TDP. The rated TDP only measures the maximum thermal output the processor is capable\u2013that is, under full load. For example, the i7-6700K is rated for 91W, but only consumes 3.4W at idle. Note that this does not necessarily scale with rated TDP: the i3-3240 and i7-3770K have vastly different rated TDPs, but both consume roughly the same amount of power at idle.
\n\nOne thing you've noticed is that L and T series processors can consume significantly less power, even at idle/low load (although I'm not entirely sure what Intel does under the hood to do this.) However, this difference isn't necessarily huge\u2013especially given their lower performance due to lower clocks.
\n\nGiven the nature of what you're doing, I wouldn't expect the CPU to be under full load most of the time, and therefore, I don't believe it makes sense to buy an L or T series processor given...
\n\nThe cheapest L series v5 Xeon (the E3-1235L v5) has an MSRP of $250.00 (if you can find one at all.) Meanwhile, the Celeron G3900 is only $30.61 with a rated TDP of 51W. At the US average of $0.12/kWh, even at full load, it would take roughly 8 years of continuous usage to offset the cost differential between the two processors. It simply doesn't make sense to buy a more expensive processor.
\n\nThe final nail in the coffin is that v5 Xeons simply aren't compatible with motherboards with consumer chipsets\u2013including B250. While you could get a lower TDP consumer CPU, the price differential (a delta of $67.38 as of right now for the cheapest T series processor, the i3-7100T) probably isn't worth it.
\n" }, { "Id": "9227", "CreationDate": "2018-05-17T20:46:34.030", "Body": "I have a Lenovo Thinkstation E32 and I want to install an SSD to speed up my computer, but I got stuck on some specifications such as SSD M.2 and SSD M.2 NVMe. I read that NVMe is more powerful than SSD M.2.
\n\nI'm thinking I need to install an adapter to use this NVMe PCIe M.2 in my computer, because I already have a PCIe Graphics Card installed. What adapter can I use that will allow the highest speed transfers that will fit in my computer?
\n", "Title": "SSD M.2 NVMe PCIe", "Tags": "|ssd|pcie|", "Answer": "Put (relatively) simply, an NVMe capable drive can utilize the full bandwidth of pci-e x4 while non-NVMe capable drives will run at most at SATA speeds. Linked are two adapters that should let you leverage NVMe, one from Amazon and one from Newegg.
\n\nLycom DT-120 adapter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MYCQP38/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_gjU.AbK3KY1TA
\n\nSyba SI-PEX40110 adapter:\nhttps://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=15-124-167
\n\nBoth will get the job done and are rated highly on their respective sites.
\n" }, { "Id": "9236", "CreationDate": "2018-05-19T05:41:13.503", "Body": "I am a IT professional, recently got into learning Video Editing for YouTube content creation. Currently I have tested few video editing tools on a laptop with below specs and the render times were devastating and frustrating. I created a sample 2 min project in After Effects and the render time was 8 hours with below specs.
\n\nDell 3542\nIntel Core i5 4210U\n8.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz\nIntel HD Graphics Family (Dell)\n2047MB NVIDIA GeForce 820M (Dell)\n232GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (SSD)\nIt got me thinking, what's the best PC I can build or Laptop I can purchase within \u20b960-70K that would significantly reduce these render times and motivate me in using such powerful application? Even the Apple recommendation would do to if in the mentioned budget as I am open to other applications as well such as Final Cut Pro X.
\n\nNote: I plan to editing and creating content in 1080p, not more than that for now.
\n\nThanks in advance!
\n", "Title": "Need help building budget video editing PC/Laptop in \u20b960-70K", "Tags": "|video-editing|", "Answer": "For budget, don't go with a laptop unless portability is essential for you. Although the performance gap between laptops and desktops has shrunk with recent CPU and especially GPU series, a laptop capable of good video editing will still cost a lot.
\n\nI'm assuming that you're looking for something under \u20b970,000 (1029 USD).
\n\nFor price, I'd highly recommend building your own desktop. You'll probably save a few hundred US dollar in labor right there—not so relevant for multi-thousand dollar machines, maybe, but for a budget device it's OK.
\n\nThe recommended requirements for After Effects are modest, simply a multicore CPU and 16 GB RAM. To get good performance, you'll probably need a little more than that. I'd recommend an i7 CPU (or the AMD equivalent).
\n\nIf you step back a generation, you should be able to grab one of the best Intel CPUs of its generation, the i7-7700k, for about $250 used or even new. For example, here.
For RAM, I'd go with 16 GB of DDR4, which should be around $150.
For your GPU, try getting a used 1060 for about $200. Depending on what you're doing in After Effects, a GPU could be essential or barely necessary, but CPU is usually a lot more important, so this is a compromise.
For the motherboard, you might as well get an H370. Motherboards are cheap to begin with, and anything lower will set future upgrades back unnecessarily. For example, here for $132.
For hard drives, I'd get one fast working SSD and one large HDD for storage. You can get a 2 TB HDD (7200 RPM) for about $50, and a 500 GB SSD for only $150 or so.
You can probably grab a budget case for about $70.
This totals about $1050 for a mostly new system. It should be very much capable of dealing with After Effects. It's slightly over your maximum (and I haven't included fans, power supply, etc.) but you can slice a little off by getting a lower tier motherboard (save $70), or a 250 GB SSD (save $70), or by getting the RAM used. Using a 6700k (two generations older, but similar speeds and can be overclocked anyway) could also save you a little.
\n\nI won't talk about fans, etc., since they'll contribute relatively little to the price.
\n\nIf you really need a mobile system, it's going to be much harder to find a good one. There are a few good options, though, such as the Acer Aspire VX 15. This has a 1050 Ti GPU, about 16 GB of RAM, and a 7th-generation i7 CPU. Storage is minimal, though, so you'll end up needed an external hard drive, and as a laptop its performance will certainly be lower than than a desktop of similar price.
\n" }, { "Id": "9252", "CreationDate": "2018-05-21T23:34:48.047", "Body": "I'm looking to get a second monitor for my 2018 27\" iMac.
\n\nThe Dell P2715Q seems to be a common choice. It comes in 27\" and 24\" sizes. The first review on the Amazon site says that
\n\n\n\n\nthe 24\" has the highest pixel density for the resolution -- if you go\n up to 27 or 28\" you will get excellent resolution but not as crisp\n text
\n
Can anyone verify this? Or does anyone other suggestions for an external display for an iMac?
\n\nI will be mounting this second monitor in portrait mode, and using it for coding and reading. I value really clear text, the way my 5k monitor for the iMac provides. I especially like that zooming in with the trackpad preserves the clarity of the text. (Though this may be true for every hi-res monitor.)
\n\nMy plan is to connect the monitor to the iMac with a display port -> USB-C cable.
\n", "Title": "24\" external monitor will have crisper text than 27\"?", "Tags": "|monitors|displays|", "Answer": "The review reflects a general rule about monitor resolution; given the same resolution, a 27\" monitor will be slightly less clear on text and fine lines than a 24\" monitor. This is where pixel density matters. Unfortunately, this isn't measured the same way a monitor's screen is measured, as pixel density is about how many pixels there are per a standard unit of measure, but monitor size is measured by the total screen length from the lower left corner to the upper right. Just like that one South Park episode, they measure at an angle to get a higher number.
\n\n1920x1200, 24\" \n3840x2160, 27\"
\n\n1920*1200 = 2,304,000 pixels\n3840*2160 = 8,294,400 pixels
\n\nBoth of these resolutions have a 16:10 aspect ratio. We now have all of the numbers we need to determine quite a lot about the monitor. We have the hypotenuse of a right triangle (24\") but we have a different standard of measure for the sides (1920px L, 1200px W). We can use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine what '24\"' means.
\n\n1920sq + 1200sq = 3686400 + 1440000 = 5126400
\n\nsqrt of 5126400 = 2264.155471693585
\n\n3840*2160 = 14745600 * 4665600 = 19411200
\n\nsqrt of 19411200 = 4405.814340164597
\n\nNow we know how many pixels lie across that hypoteneuse for each monitor at the given resolutions. This lets us determine an estimate of density by ratio.
\n\n2264.155471693585 / 24\" = 94.33981132056604 approx ppi diagonally.
\n\n4405.814340164597 / 27\" = 163.1783088949851 approx ppi diagonally.
\n\nClearly, the higher resolution monitor here wins out. That's because the 4k monitor is nearly double the resolution, and is not double the size. The user who left the review likely had trouble seeing some things clearly on the 4k monitor because they were shrunk in size as a result, and lowered their resolution to 1080p; 1080p is not the native resolution on the monitor, and will appear blurry by comparison. This will also happen in fullscreen apps which do not support higher than 1080p.
\n\nFor text, I'd still use the smaller monitor. Given what I just said about reducing resolution of your display, text will appear smaller in native resolutions at 4k than it does in 1080p at the same font size and kerning.
\n" }, { "Id": "9259", "CreationDate": "2018-05-23T16:13:35.533", "Body": "I am a software developer, recently moved to a new office with huge windows. There is so much sunlight that the regular monitor I have been provided with looks dark at 100% brightness. Is there a good 27' monitor with brightness similar to macbookpro retina, for example? It will be used with a mac mini.
\n", "Title": "Bright monitor for office with intense ambient sunlight", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "This monitor is 27 inches, 2560 by 1440, and claims a brightness of 600 nits. This beats out even the brightest 500 nit Macbooks, and certainly the more common 350 or 400 nit ones. And it's only $350.
\nIt's also fairly thin. It only has HDMI ports, but so does the Mac Mini, so no big deal.
\n" }, { "Id": "9261", "CreationDate": "2018-05-23T21:28:29.413", "Body": "I find on Google about the motherboard for I3 8100 + GTX 1060 but it keep saying about Asus - Prime Z370-P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard, which is a near high-end motherboard at $120 for Intel Core I7 which is for my budget build, it is unacceptable. So any alternative solutions for this motherboard ?
\n", "Title": "What is a perfect motherboard for my budget build I3 8100 + GTX 1050 TI 4 GB?", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "Currently that's an MSI B360M PRO-VD for $55.99.
\n\nSince your CPU doesn't support overclocking, unless you have plans to upgrade to an unlocked chip, getting a Z series board is unnecessary for overclocking. As such, no motherboard will offer a performance boost, assuming it supports your RAM speed, which\u2013based on the tier of the rest of the system\u2013I'm assuming isn't particularly high, and is likely supported by all motherboards.
\n\nFrom there I've basically just selected for price. You may be losing some I/O, and most of the cheaper boards only support 2 RAM modules (not a huge deal since your system only supports dual channel anyways, unless you have plans to upgrade your RAM), but it shouldn't really matter too much.
\n\nI've additionally chosen to eliminate Biostar and Gigabyte\u2013not because their products are bad, but because of their relatively poor customer support.
\n" }, { "Id": "9286", "CreationDate": "2018-05-29T00:37:47.930", "Body": "I have been searching a mechanical keyboard with following features for a very long time. Many major players I checked in the market have some of the features, but none have them all. I figure there must be a manufacturer combines them together.
\n\nThank you.
\n", "Title": "Does Such Mechanical Keyboards Exist?", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "So far I've only been able to find two keyboards that fit the bill. I don't have a particular recommendation of one over the other\u2013they both are from decent but not excellent brands, use slightly funky layouts, are fairly pricy, and look (IMO) fairly poor\u2013but neither are particularly bad options, and I'd recommend you choose on personal preference.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/HUSN9.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Oym0l.png\")
I have a Mac Pro with two amd firepro d700 GPUs. Can I pull one of those GPUs out and stick it right into a Windows pc? Or did AMD make these GPUs specifically for Apple only?
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/3KsPD.jpg\")
These style machines (as pictured) are made with proprietary connections and components. The problem you'd have, even if you found a way to adapt the connection to a standard PCI-E slot, is that the drivers for the non-reference circuit board that chip is on do not exist for Windows.
\n\nConsidering that these are GPUs on part with a modern $200-250 card like the GTX 1050 or 1060, I'd save yourself the heartache of wrecking your tech and just get a new card for the PC.
\n" }, { "Id": "9295", "CreationDate": "2018-05-31T01:51:46.913", "Body": "As the title says, \"how much toner is wasted on every print?\". If you've ever had a laser printer, you know that either each cartridge has a waste toner reservoir or a common reservoir is on the drum cartridge/assembly.
\n\nI want to know if there's a way to say how much toner is dropped into the waste reservoir.
\n\nFor example: if I only print a line, does the printer dispense the entire sheet/page size of toner?.
\n\nThanks in advance.,
\n", "Title": "how much toner is wasted on every print", "Tags": "|printer|", "Answer": "This is dependent on brand and design, so there's not a universal, fixed answer. On modern toner-based printers, the average is around 13% of the toner being wasted. Earlier or lousy models can go up to 25%. While it's technologically possible to route the wasted toner from the waste sump back to the print toner, this changes the chemical composition of the toner to have less fusible material, lowering the quality of the print. It is not in the interest of any printer company to overcome this issue, as the margin on toner is very high, as is demand.
\n" }, { "Id": "9310", "CreationDate": "2018-06-04T07:52:17.450", "Body": "Is there currently a 2 TB or greater laptop HDD that can attain 7200 RPM or more? If there's more than one, which of them would be the fastest or most reliable?
\n", "Title": "Best 2 TB 7200 RPM laptop spinning disk drive?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|high-end|", "Answer": "There are only two HDDs that fit the requirements you have: the Seagate ST2000NX0253 and the ST2000NX0303. At ~$300 each, these things are ridiculously expensive; you're looking at SSD tier pricing for a spinning drive.
\n\nMy recommendation would be to instead get a cheaper 5400RPM drive\u2013my recommendation goes to the Seagate ST2000LM015 (currently $71.99) because of the reasonably large cache and Seagate's relatively solid reputation\u2013and then set aside some SSD space as a cache, depending on the write endurance of your drive and OS/platform.
\n" }, { "Id": "9314", "CreationDate": "2018-06-05T13:49:47.383", "Body": "Laptop hit the floor. It's difficult if not already impossible to connect to WiFi. Sometimes laptop can detect WiFi, particularly the one at home, but the signal is usually weak. Sometimes it shows option of connecting but whenever I try to connect, it either says it's connected though I can't connect or it stops detecting WiFi. What are my options please? Is there some way to externalise the WiFi detection? Like I plug in something that detects WiFi?
\n", "Title": "Laptop hit the floor. How to connect to WiFi?", "Tags": "|laptop|pc|wifi|windows|", "Answer": "I'll structure this response by increasing complexity of the solution.
\n\nTurn it off turn it back on. Use the power button to shut it down, some systems use quick-boot if you shut down from within the operating system. Quick-boot preserves the system state and as such cannot act as a system reset.
(This one costs money)Buy an external WiFi adapter or NIC, as mentioned in the previous response. Also as mentioned previously, make sure your laptop has at minimum a USB 3.0 port if you want any reasonable speed.
Reinstall the drivers. This requires a small amount of technical knowledge, and can bork you WiFi card if done improperly. Using system info, identify your WiFi card. Then download the latest drivers from the website if you have windows, or your operating system's requisite driver repository for all other os's. Uninstall the current driver, even if it's the same version as the one you acquired. Reinstall the freshly downloaded driver.
Replace the WiFi card.(This one costs money) Don't do this if you have no knowledge of computer internals. Identify the make and model of your WiFi card. Purchase an identical one or a compatible replacement. Download the drivers for your new card. Uninstall your old drivers. Replace the WiFi card. Install the new drivers.
If none of these work, consider repositioning yourself closer to the router, or replacing you router with one that produces a stronger signal. Worst case scenario you might have to replace your laptop.\nEdited to give structure, posting the response initially smushed all the points together.
\n" }, { "Id": "9325", "CreationDate": "2018-06-09T04:45:14.203", "Body": "I am a developer in the Linux ecosystem and I need to build an application in the Apple ecosystem but I am unfamiliar with Apple products.
\n\nWhat is the cheapest MacBook Pro that I can purchase to start and use for web application development? It would have to be capable of running a small Oracle database and possibly an ETL tool.
\n\nIt does not have to be a new model as I have seen some \u2018older\u2019 models for a good price. If you could provide the specs and estimated cost that would help me sort things out. I have researched some articles and it seems the MacBook Pro is preferred but beyond that my knowledge is limited.
\n", "Title": "MacBook for web development", "Tags": "|laptop|development|apple|", "Answer": "Within the MacBook Pro line, there's two big cutoff points: the switch from a dual core in early 2011, and the introduction of the Retina line in mid 2012. For sake of rough comparison, we'll separate things out into these three categories.
\n\nModel | Passmark | Cost | RAM upgradability? | Storage upgradability?\n\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\nLatitude E7450 | 3400 - 3798 | ~$270 | Yes | Yes\nLate 2008 - Mid 2010 | 1540 - 2846 | ~$190 - $240 | Yes | Yes\nEarly 2011 - Mid 2012 | 5460 - 8454 | ~$330 - $520 | Yes | Yes\nMid 2012 - Mid 2015 | 7369 - 10202 | ~$590 - $1120 | No | Yes, with some SSDs\nComparing the E7450 to the MBPs, it falls into this weird gap performance-wise between the dual cores and the quad cores with the rMBPs well above what you need, since it's a newer dual core without hyperthreading. Purely for future usability, I'm going to recommend you spend the extra bit and get a lower end quad core.
\n\nNote that the performance of the rMBPs actually overlaps the standard MBPs, since they were released simultaneously with the same processors. Besides the upgraded screen and lighter weight\u2013things that seem to be unimportant to you\u2013the early rMBPs seem to offer little advantage, while carrying a price premium, having less I/O, and less upgradability. As such, I'm going to recommend you stay away from them.
\n\nDepending on what model you get, you'll probably want to upgrade the RAM and storage to match your reference laptop. Both of these are user serviceable on the unibody MBPs, and can be easily serviced following the appropriate iFixit guide. If you're not using the optical drive, you can also swap it out for a secondary HDD or SSD. Note that there are some issues with SATA III compatibility to be aware of, but these are general non-issues if you're careful.
\n\nNote that prices are approximate based on recent eBay sold listings. As with any complete system, finding a reasonable price on a used machine will take some patience and searching on various sites.
\n" }, { "Id": "9326", "CreationDate": "2018-06-09T16:16:56.087", "Body": "I am trying to set up some DIY home security video streams. I have several IP cams, like the D-Link night/day wireless Cloud Cam.
\n\nThe problem is that it's hard to get a good angle and it's hard to deal with multiple video streams.
\n\nMy idea is to leverage a tall (30'?) flagpole. If I could mount a camera to it at the right angle I could see my entire yard/perimeter from one camera. This is perfect since I want to be able to see where my dog is in the yard to know that she's OK.
\n\nHowever, I don't know what hardware (mounting stuff? solar power source? etc?) I would need nor how the heck I would get to the top of the pole to install it...
\n", "Title": "Mount an IP camera to the top of a flagpole", "Tags": "|video|home-security|internet-of-things|", "Answer": "A package like the KKmoon HW0029 or the FREECAM C310 would probably do it pretty neatly.
\n\nTo mount something on the poll you can use a bracket like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pole-Mount-Bracket-SUNLUXY-Universal-Column-Camera-Mounting-Bracket-8-inches-/282935918551
\n" }, { "Id": "9333", "CreationDate": "2018-06-11T15:02:56.177", "Body": "Yesterday I cleaned my pc, removed RAM, disk, and cpu fan(not cpu). After the clean-up I re-connected all the components again only to find out that the computer starts but reboots after a few seconds(the power supply and cpu fans turn up and then turn down... and repeat until I disconnect them).
\n\n\n\n\nHardware specifications
\n
I didn't miss a connection or touched the cpu. I think that would be the BIOS deprogrammed or corrupt. In this case how could I re-program or update the BIOS if I couldn't event access to it? Can I re-program/update a bios from another computer?
\n\nI have searched in several supports forums but anything worked for me.
\n\nWhat do you recommend in this case?
\n\nThanks in advance.
\n", "Title": "My computer restart it self before bios(how to re-program the bios)", "Tags": "|motherboard|windows|", "Answer": "Your motherboard manual, which you can find a link to here, has a layout map on page twelve.
\nIn the lower right hand corner of that map, there's a pair of pins that are labeled "CLR_CMOS". It is labeled by reference number 15. CMOS is the onboard memory storage for your motherboard, and is used to save BIOS settings. The CMOS memory can be cleared in two ways without booting the computer or accessing BIOS.
\n\n\nUse this jumper to clear the BIOS configurations and reset the CMOS values to factory defaults. To clear the CMOS values, use a metal object like a screwdriver to touch the two pins for a few seconds.
\nAlways turn off your computer and unplug the power cord from the power outlet before clearing the CMOS values.
\nAfter system restart, go to BIOS Setup to load factory defaults (select Load Optimized Defaults) or manually configure the BIOS settings (refer to Chapter 2, "BIOS Setup," for BIOS configurations).
\n
After you successfully clear the CMOS memory, factory default settings should be restored and you should be able to boot the machine normally. Make sure to enter BIOS and re-configure any necessary settings before booting to your operating system.
\nIf that doesn't work, my next order of business in terms of recommendations would probably be to take your power supply into a local shop for testing. This is usually free but you can always call ahead to make sure.
\n" }, { "Id": "9338", "CreationDate": "2018-06-13T07:58:17.880", "Body": "I use a Phillips monitor from about 2010. The resolution is 1920x1080 and the only possible refresh rate is 60 Hz.
\n\nThis monitor has two cables: one is the AC power, and one is from the monitor itself to the PC (HDMI in that particular case, thought it could be DVI or anything else relevant).
\n\nI'm looking forward to buy a monitor that has only one cable --- from the monitor itself to the computer, without an AC power plug.
\n\nIs there such a thing in 2018 or planned to come out in 2019? I'll be glad to check that.
\n", "Title": "Are there any computer screens without their very own AC power plugs and sockets?", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "Thunderbolt 3 offers this already using USB Power Delivery of up to 100W
\n\n\nThunderbolt 3 was developed by Intel[48] and uses USB-C connectors. It is the first generation to support USB. Compared to Thunderbolt 2, Intel's Thunderbolt 3 controller (codenamed Alpine Ridge) doubles the bandwidth to 40 Gbit/s (5 GB/s), halves power consumption, and simultaneously drives two external 4K displays at 60 Hz (or a single external 4K display at 120 Hz, or a 5K display at 60 Hz when using Apple's implementation for the late-2016 MacBook Pros) instead of just the single display previous controllers can drive. The new controller supports PCIe 3.0 and other protocols, including DisplayPort 1.2 (allowing for 4K resolutions at 60 Hz).
\nThunderbolt 3 has limited power delivery capabilities on copper cables and no power delivery capability on optical cables. Using USB-C on copper cables, it can incorporate USB Power Delivery, allowing the ports to source or sink up to 100 watts of power. This eliminates the need for a separate power supply from some devices. Thunderbolt 3 allows backwards compatibility with the first two versions by the use of adapters or transitional cables.
\n
However, your PC would obviously need a Thunderbolt connection.
\nIf your current PC has only DVI or HDMI outputs, as your post seems to suggest, then as neither of those offer sufficient power for a monitor, then your existing setup would not accommodate your request.
\nHDMI 1.4a can supply power, but the port supplies only 50 \u00a0mA at 5\u00a0V DC over pin 18.
\nApart from Apple's 27" Thunderbolt capable monitor, which they have just discontinued (although you may be able to still pick up some discounted remaining stock), there aren't that many on the market. LG recently announced two models:
\nFrom LG teases new Apple-compatible Thunderbolt 3 monitors including '5K UltraWide' model:
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "9351", "CreationDate": "2018-06-15T05:15:51.073", "Body": "The 34WK95U is a 34-inch model with 5,120-by-2,160 resolution, high\ndynamic range, and LG's "Nano IPS" technology, which is said to boost\nthe "intensity and purity" of colors. Thunderbolt 3 lets the monitor\nhandle 5K images at 60 hertz, and connect laptops like the MacBook Pro\nwithout an additional power source.
\nThe 32UK950 will offer a similar featureset, but in a more\nconventional aspect ratio and with a slightly smaller 32-inch screen.\nThe display is said to hit 98 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut, with\npeak brightness of 600 nits, and support a second 4K monitor through\ndaisy-chaining.
\n
I'm thinking to buy new RAM (for Lenovo 320 15AST, motherboard is LNVNB161216). I had 4GB, I need 8GB.\nMy current RAM is m471a5143sb1 2133Mhz, CAS (CL) 17, PC19200.
I was looking at two with such specs:
\n\nCrucial [CT8G4SFD8213] 2133 Mhz, PC17000, 15-15-15-36\nVS
\n\nPatriot Signature [PSD48G240081S] 2400 Mhz, PC19200, 17.\nFirst is a bit cheaper, has frequency that no more that baseboard provides, lower latency, but lower PC (also I'm not sure which PC my baseboard provides).
\n\n(I think I'm gonna go with this one: SODIMM Crucial [CT8G4SFS824A] 8 GB)
\n\n(I have this question on superuser, I just had to move it here, there also answer already, but if you have something to add you're welcome)
\n", "Title": "Which RAM should I prefer (CL vs PC)?", "Tags": "|laptop|memory|", "Answer": "The \"PC\" number is a DDR module name, it indicates module's data rate.
\n\nPC4-17000 modules have 2133 MHz data rate (2133 × 8 ≈ 17000)PC4-19200 modules have 2400 MHz data rate (2400 × 8 = 19200).The 4 indicates that it's a DDR4 module. 17000 and 19200 are peak transfer rates. DDR4 data bus is 8 bytes wide, so 8 bytes are transmitted each clock cycle, hence multiplication by 8.
Now, which is better: PC4-17000 with CL 15 or PC4-19200 with CL 17?
\n\nCAS latency (or CL for short) is measured in clock cycles, so we can calculate how much time fetching data takes for each of these modules.
\n\n2133 MHz = 2,133,000,000 cycles ÷ 1 s
\n\nEach cycle takes 1 ÷ 2133 µs
\n\nLatency is 15 ÷ 2133 µs ≈ 7.0323 ns
2400 MHz = 2,400,000,000 cycles ÷ 1 s
\n\nEach cycle takes 1 ÷ 2400 µs
\n\nLatency is 17 ÷ 2400 µs ≈ 7.0833 ns
So PC4-17000 has slightly better CAS latency.
\n\nBut! All RAM has to work with the same clock speed, so once you've installed 2133 MHz module, your current 2400 MHz module will underclock to 2133 MHz too.
\n\nI'd probably go for 2400 MHz one. Latency difference is very small, but clock is 12.5% faster.
\n" }, { "Id": "9353", "CreationDate": "2018-06-15T09:14:01.583", "Body": "Is there such a device that would allow to connect a SIM card through USB and make an actual phone call? (no VOIP, not using a smartphone)
\n\nIf yes, how is it called, what keywords should I use to get more info? Or do you have recommendations?
\n\nThank you
\n", "Title": "Making a phone call with a laptop? (with a SIM card)", "Tags": "|usb|mobile-phone|", "Answer": "As far as I know there isn't such a thing officially available. Search keyword would be \"USB 3G voice calling dongle.\"
\n\nThere are some guides over the internet on how to \"hack\" data dongles to be able to call with it. See this:\nhttps://www.journeybytes.com/2017/08/how-to-make-and-pick-calls-with-your.html?m=1\nAnd this:\nhttp://www.ruchirablog.com/unlock-voice-huawei-hspa/
\n" }, { "Id": "9378", "CreationDate": "2018-06-24T21:37:26.727", "Body": "I am searching for a case that is as small as possible but can fit a Hp 110 250 Series Motherboard 762025-001 and a HDD or SDD (and maybe a case fan).
\nThe motherboard has a build in energy supply so that there is no need for a power adapter. That is also the part that is confusing me.
\nI thought maybe a HTPC case or a small cube is working, but the motherboard holes are not fitting with what I found.
\nAny ideas for such a \"special\" board?
Although really it depends how much you care about size vs. cost vs. your own time, since you're not exactly trying to cram a lot of hardware in.
\nLooking at an overhead view of the motherboard, it clearly shares the same mounting holes as mITX.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/wuISx.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/wdyRh.png\")
So any case with mITX support\u2013such as any one from the the 15 pages here\u2013will work. Not sure what case you were trying that didn't work; most cases these days have support for mITX.
\nThe thing about a case is that it's ultimately a matter of taste, and I can't decide that for you. With that, I'm going to provide a range of good cases and let you choose what you like. Most of this is copied from my previous answer here.
\nThese cases are generally described as "artisan": made by specialized companies in low volumes, with extremely good build quality, at extremely high prices.
\n$235 (TBD), 6.9L, 305mm video card, 5x2.5", SFX-L PSU
\n
It's the epitome of a very small case: extremely expensive, extremely tiny, extremely good build quality (primaily powder coated steel), pretty good compatibility with a few things to keep in mind, and runs a bit hot, but generally extremely good. One big issue though: you can't buy one. They're apparently targeting Q1 2018, but for now, I can't recommend what you can't buy.
\n$199, 5.0L, 215mm video card, 2x2.5", special
\nIt's the smallest case in this category. Note that video card compatibility is very limited, drive mounting is limited, and most of all, PSU compatibility is virtually nil, with only two PSUs listed (a $95 400W DC-DC and a $58 200W DC-DC); however, these should be non-issues for you.
\n
$255 (TBD), 7.2L, 295mm video card, 3x2.5", SFX-L
\n
You like shoeboxes? I like shoeboxes! Made under contract by Lian-Li of mostly aluminum, it's (IMO) the prettiest case on this list. But again, it's not for sale yet (just preorders), and I can't recommend what you can't buy.
\nThese cases are a step up in size from the very small cases, and benefits to match. These are largely cheaper, easier to work with, have better support, and are actually available to purchase!
\n$195, 12.6L, 317mm video card, 3x3.5" + 3x2.5", ATX (SFX-L highly recommended)\n
The sort of "daddy" of small cases, the NCASE M1 is the last artisan case on this list, and one of the older ones here. It has incredible support for hardware (even a slimline optical drive!), while being spacious enough to keep things from getting too toasty.
\n$80 or $130 with a 450W PSU, 10.2L, 310mm video card, 2x2.5", SFX-L\n\nIt's an extremely popular choice, and a good one! Nothing stands out really except for the very reasonable price.
$85 to $130, 14L, 330mm video card, 1x3.5" + 2-4x2.5", SFX-L
\nAll very similar with nothing too stand out; the RVZ03 trades the slimline optical slot and 3.5" mount for an extra 4x2.5" mount and RGB lighting.
\n\n\n\n
$70, 12L, 330mm video card, 2x2.5", SFX-L
\n
It's literally based on the RVZ02, but smaller, cheaper, less drive mounting, and with an optional handle!
\nThe Silverstone SG05 and Silverstone SG06 are neat too, but much boxier. The Fractal Design Array R2, Lian-Li Q09, Raidmax Element, SilverStone SG07 and SG08, and Xigmatek Eris EN6305 are no longer in production, though they would make perfectly good boxes if you can find them.
\nThey're bigger with support for more things! They're also much quieter. Carrying handles are a must here, since you said that regular transport was an integral part to this build. These cases seem to have largely fallen out of favor as smaller cases take over the mITX sector, but I've put them here anyways.
\n$60, 26.4L, 317mm video card, 5x3.5", ATX
\n
HardwareCanucks put it best: It's a beautiful chassis at a great price with a few minor compromises for that goal.
\nThe Corsair 380T is a great case, but unfortunately, it no longer appears to be in production, and second hand prices for it are absurd. The Silverstone CS01B is also rather neat, but the 190mm max video card length kills any recommendation. The Cougar QBX and Fractal Design Define Nano S are beautiful and compact, but too large to not have a carrying handle and still be intended as portable IMO.
\nThe great thing about building a PC is that you're free to use whatever components you'd like, including building your own! Because you're not trying to cram a lot of hardware in, if you're really bent on getting the smallest case possible, it might be worth looking at rolling your own. The off-the-shelf cases are created with the intention of being used with more "normal" motherboards and usually have to accommodate a PSU and GPU\u2013things that aren't issues in your case. mITX is an open standard, and it doesn't take much to make a basic case.
\n" }, { "Id": "9390", "CreationDate": "2018-06-27T16:43:57.033", "Body": "The local county has delicate, aging documents that we would like to digitize for preservation and archival. Mostly things like building plans and public records books. Many of these are either too large or too fragile to feed through document feeders or on flatbeds.
\n\nThe ideal solution would be a 300 to 600 dpi wand-type scanner with the ability, either on board or via software utility, to stitch the scanned images together to create a single image.
\n\nNot opposed to separating the software functionality from the hardware, so long as the end result is the same.
\n", "Title": "Looking for a Hand (Wand) Scanner", "Tags": "|scanner|", "Answer": "I own and use a previously successful Kickstarter campaign product known as the Dacuda Pocket Scanner. The 2014 project resulted in a great working hand-sized device which produces reasonably good output.
\n\nMy search for a link from which to purchase resulted in failure, as all indications (from Dacuda!) is that they don't and won't make them any more.
\n\nStrange enough, a generic search found this PenPower BeeScan device.
\n\n![\"hand](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/cn9in.jpg\")
It is point for point and feature for feature the same scanner that I have from Dacuda. Off topic, I wonder if there was some intellectual property loss involved in Dacuda's decision to cease production!
\n\nMy scans usually involve the newspaper and for that purpose it is excellent. As with all newsprint, the reverse shows through, which means I won't post a sample of that type of scan.
\n\nLucky for me, I have one of a day-to-day calendar page which has opaque paper and no reverse bleed-through.
\n\n![\"Pearls](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/NhvHT.jpg\")
This was possibly a two-scan image, but the unit stitches pieces together very well. Occasionally it is necessary to make a second pass when things get out of kilter. The second pass usually puts them back in kilter.
\n\nIt is bluetooth coupled to a tablet or phone and has very low latency.
\n\nI've snapped off a few photos to show the similarities:
\n\n![\"dacuda](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/yhnTy.jpg\")
![\"dacuda](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/DniWm.jpg\")
![\"dacuda](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/WqDmX.jpg\")
![\"dacuda](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/xiiC4.jpg\")
I would like to install a battery pack on the bottom of 2017 13in MacBook Pro(I don't mind tapping it honestly). Considering it charges by USB C I am hopefully this might not be to difficult. I use my MacBook Pro while commuting but the battery doesn't last long enough.
\n\nIf there isn't one of my Macbook Pro maybe my 13 Thinkpad?
\n", "Title": "13in Battery Thinkpad/MacBook Pro", "Tags": "|battery-life|", "Answer": "In doing my research, I found just two solutions that sort of have what you want. Both also focus on including more I/O, not just the battery. My guess is for a product of this nature, they'll all do this.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/j1Vpl.png\")
At 71.61 Wh\u2013146% of the MacBook 13\" built-in battery\u2013this thing packs a pretty hefty punch. However, your wallet will also feel it. Compared to other \"dumb\" battery banks with similar capacity, it's a hefty price to pay. Sure, you get more I/O and (optionally) storage and a great form factor, but that's a lot of $$$. Note also that, while shaped like the MacBook, it is not a case and does not sit flush with the MacBook, and is much closer to a pad than a case.
\n\nFinally, note that this is an Indiegogo project, and so far, doesn't seem to have any reputable reviews or even confirmation of shipments as far as I can tell; it hasn't even finished shipping to backers. There's really no way I can recommend you buy this product at this stage.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/C0GBf.jpg\")
It's a beautiful product by a reputable manufacturer that basically does what the Linedock does, but better. Only issue: it really doesn't exist yet. There's no pricing, specs, or even delivery date. While at least one prototype was created, it did not include a battery. You can't preorder it, and there's no way I'd recommend you do.
\n\nUnfortunately, as far as I could find, there aren't any plain battery banks that are even close to the form factor of a MacBook. Even sites making recommendations specifically for the MacBook at best just end up recommending slim battery banks like this Aukey model, and unless you want to carry one separately rather than affixed to your device, I can't seriously recommend one.
\n" }, { "Id": "9410", "CreationDate": "2018-07-01T10:41:44.993", "Body": "Since the public landline telephone system has been switched to SIP now (more or less all of it), it makes sense to start using native SIP phones instead of connecting an analog or ISDN or DECT phone to a SIP-capable PBX (such as FritzBox etc.).
\n\nOf these native SIP phones, I would like to try a wifi handset. This is a device looking much like a DECT handset, but instead of connecting to a base station via DECT (\"IP-DECT\" technology, using the CAT-iq protocol) it would connect via wifi. So, if there is a dependable wifi setup in the building, there's no need to add DECT coverage as well.
\n\nI know I can use any Android device with a SIP softphone app for this, but since there are people in the household used to a \"proper\" phone and not yet to \"fiddly\" smartphones, I rather want a single-purpose phone device with hardware buttons.
\n\nI found several models, but all around 300 USD or more. That sounds very strange, given that such a device is not more complex than a DECT handset available for 80 USD or less. Am I missing something?
\n", "Title": "Affordable cordless SIP wifi phone", "Tags": "|telephony|voip|", "Answer": "Great answer by tanius.
\n\nI would also add that DECT phones are better suited to voice communications as DECT is a stream / connection based rather than packet based protocols built on top of WiFi.
\n\nThis allows for tighter control of the quality of service, codecs, power consumption etc.
\n\nMentioned FritzBox offers many access points / routers with DECT stack built in.
\n" }, { "Id": "9415", "CreationDate": "2018-07-03T05:14:17.557", "Body": "I'm looking to build a robust system for malware research purposes and this is a requirement so I can absolutely trust that the system is clean on a reformat. Mobo firmware is locked down too of course and I already have a candidate for that but it's really really hard to find one for HDD. Likewise, I will never insert USB devices on this one (rolling full PS/2).
\n", "Title": "Are there any HDD whose firmware can never be updated still being sold these days?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|", "Answer": "It's unlikely there are any HDDs with an embedded controller without firmware upgrade feature, though this upgrade feature need not be documented - the firmware developers will want to have access, too.
\n\nBut if you are doing reverse engineering, why not use a reverse engineered HDD firmware, and disable the upgrade feature yourself? Of course, you better don't make a mistake in this, because you'll have only one shot ...
\n\nAnd on the subject of mobo firmware: There's plenty of places where there's firmware you won't expect (management engine, embedded controllers, network controllers, wifi controllers, ...) and you'll have to lock all of those down, too...
\n" }, { "Id": "9431", "CreationDate": "2018-07-07T14:07:52.943", "Body": "So, my friend wants to start gaming. He told me he is really interested to try Nintendo games, but he doesn't have a specific console in mind. I suggested he should just get a PC, so that he has access to way more games. I visited The Emulator Zone and took a look at the Nintendo console emulators. They didn't seem all that difficult to run, but I'm not that knowledgeable about emulation. The PC needs to be able to emulate all Nintendo consoles.
\n\nThe target resolution is 1080p with a frame rate of 30FPS. I'll probably give him my graphics card (Gigabyte 1050Ti Windforce OC) after I upgrade. The only component I need help with is the processor.
\n\nDo you have any recommendations on what CPU he should get to be able to run the aforementioned emulators with no problems? We haven't set a specific budget, so feel free to mention even a relatively expensive processor. (As always the cheaper the better)
\n", "Title": "CPU for Nintendo Emulation", "Tags": "|processor|gaming|", "Answer": "Switch emulation isn't quite a thing yet, but Nintendo has always been pretty emulation-friendly as far as minimum requirements.
\n\nYour target software is probably the Dolphin emulator, since it covers a breadth of Nintendo emulators. NES, GB, GBC, and SNES (including SGB adaptation) are simple emulation on any modern machine, and it won't really matter what you have. I wouldn't recommend less than an i5 processor for N64, GBA, or 3DS. A 1050Ti should be just fine as far as video card here.
\n\nWhen you get into the GC, Wii, and Wii-U, you're going to need more RAM. An i7 or higher-end AMD processor wouldn't be a bad idea, either. Emulating these systems is significantly more demanding and usually has hooks that make use of your hardware a bit more instead of just isolated emulation. I got almost flawless performance in all games up through the GC and some Wii games on an i7-2600k with 16GB of RAM and a GTX 760, so your hardware picks should still be fine.
\n\nSeeing as you can get an i7 for not much more than an i5 these days, I'd definitely go that route.
\n" }, { "Id": "9436", "CreationDate": "2018-07-09T10:06:54.187", "Body": "I'm looking for a cheap solution that provides the following:
\n\nI would like to have that the customers can swap through our range of products in the local store and when they want to know more of a product, they can click on it and more information will be provided. Hence, a video/trailer to implement would also be nice.\nA regular windows OS could be do it but I don't want the customers to go into settings and so on by accident.
\n\nSize screen is probably ok when >=15\".\nIs there any hardware (and/or combined with software) which fulfills this? Let it be something around 100-200 \u20ac.
\n", "Title": "touch screen / terminal / computer for customers", "Tags": "|touchscreen|touchpad|", "Answer": "I think your problem is probably more price range than anything else. The touchscreen monitor is the expense, and takes up a large portion of your budget. For instance, this one takes up half your budget, and it's an inexpensive option by your requirements. Another one takes up much more.
\n\nWindows 8 - 10 has the ability to run as a Kiosk, and you can find some tutorials to teach you how to set it up that way. This will handle your worries about user access.
\n\nYou may wish to consider the less expensive option of using QR Codes. QR codes next to your product allows anyone with a smartphone that can read a barcode (which is pretty much all of them) to auto-link to a website of your choosing. Ideally, this is your website that has been programmed, made adaptive to mobile, and hosted for you, to which your in-store screens would probably have been pointing, anyway. This gives you less to maintain, less up-front expense, and when bored children start playing with screens, it will be their own screens or those of their parents and not your expensive product terminals.
\n" }, { "Id": "9453", "CreationDate": "2018-07-13T21:53:58.397", "Body": "I bought a sim card from an mobile provider, and I can use it as a hotspot, using my cellphone. So, I can make my cellphone into a hotspot router, using this sim card. Do you have some recommendations on which router (a proper piece of hardware, not a cellphone) would work with 4G sim card, as a hotspot router? The 4G+ is written on the provider's site, if I find more info on bands I will have them written here.
\n", "Title": "Is it possible to make a router with 4G out of a sim card, and how?", "Tags": "|router|mobile-phone|", "Answer": "I Think you're looking for something like one of the following:
\n\n1) TP-Link M7350 Mobile Router
\n\n2) Huawei E5577
\n\nBonus: If you're not on a tight budget here's one of my favorites\nthe Netgear AC810-100.
\n\nHope this helps.
\n" }, { "Id": "9466", "CreationDate": "2018-07-17T07:38:18.720", "Body": "Currently, I have 5.7 GB of memory (RAM) on my Lenovo V570 laptop running Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. I popped the hood and I see and a 4 GB and a 2 GB chip.
\n\n![\"A](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/W71XX.jpg\")
I did some research and found out there I might have some options to chose from.
\n\nBased on the claims made in the Lenovo forums post, I am assuming that I can install 16 GB of max RAM on my laptop.
\n\nMy Board:
\n\nPhysical Memory Array\n Location: System Board Or Motherboard\n Use: System Memory\n Error Correction Type: None\n Maximum Capacity: 16 GB\n Error Information Handle: Not Provided\n Number Of Devices: 4\n4 GB RAM
\n\nMemory Device\n Array Handle: 0x0034\n Error Information Handle: Not Provided\n Total Width: 64 bits\n Data Width: 64 bits\n Size: 4096 MB\n Form Factor: SODIMM\n Set: None\n Locator: ChannelA-DIMM0\n Bank Locator: BANK 0\n Type: DDR3\n Type Detail: Synchronous\n Speed: 1333 MT/s\n Manufacturer: Samsung\n Serial Number: 005001BA\n Asset Tag: 9876543210\n Part Number: M471B5273CH0-CH9 \n Rank: Unknown\n2 GB RAM
\n\nHandle 0x0039, DMI type 17, 28 bytes\nMemory Device\n Array Handle: 0x0034\n Error Information Handle: Not Provided\n Total Width: 64 bits\n Data Width: 64 bits\n Size: 2048 MB\n Form Factor: SODIMM\n Set: None\n Locator: ChannelB-DIMM0\n Bank Locator: BANK 2\n Type: DDR3\n Type Detail: Synchronous\n Speed: 1333 MT/s\n Manufacturer: Samsung\n Serial Number: ***** censored ***\n Asset Tag: 9876543210\n Part Number: M471B5773CHS-CH9 \n Rank: Unknown\nMy question is:
\n\nWhat is the difference between DDR3 PC3-12800 and DDR3 PC3-14900? And most importantly, how do I find which one to use for my laptop?
\n", "Title": "Lenovo V570 RAM Upgrade", "Tags": "|memory|", "Answer": "The PCx-xxxxx stand for:
\n\nAnswering your question, the PC3-12800 has a max trans. rate of 12,8GB/s, on the other hand, the PC3-14900 has a transmission rate of 14,9GB/s
\n\nWith that being said, it goes down only on your choice/budget and on your need.
\n\nIf you're planning to use virtualization software, light gaming or more generally \"RAM-eater\" software (i.e. Audio/Video/Photo Editing...), I will go for the PC-14900, BUT if you're going to upgrade your ram because you're going short on the number of programs you can open at the same time, take this a personal thought, I will go with the PC-12800 one...
\n\nHope this clears your doubt.
\n" }, { "Id": "9469", "CreationDate": "2018-07-17T18:56:30.617", "Body": "I am a bit lost on what adapters and cables I need for connecting a second external monitor to my laptops.
\n\nI already have an external HDMI monitor. All my three laptops have HDMI ports with which I am able to use this external monitor (using HDMI male-to-male cable). I want to connect one more HDMI monitor now as a second external display (ideally to any of my three laptops). All three laptops run Windows 10.
\n\nAll three laptops have multiple USB 3.0 (SS) ports. They all have mini display ports (I believe I am using the correct term) as well, but one of them seems to have a different kind. Please see images below.
\n\nLaptop 1:\n![\"Laptop](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/TW2T0.jpg\")
\nThe port on the left above is what I think is the mini display port.
Laptop 2:\n![\"Laptop](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/6CEEt.jpg\")
\nThis laptop has the same kind of display port as laptop 1.
Laptop 3:\n![\"Laptop](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/XQEPY.jpg\")
I am not sure if the left most port in this image is the same as the left most ports in above two. It doesn't have the two + symbols like the ones above have. Is it the same as the ports in the first two laptops?
\n\nNot realizing that I have these mini display ports, I purchased \"Plugable USB 3.0 to DisplayPort 4K UHD\" from Amazon (for $60), which has a male USB 3.0 and a female full-sized Display port. I believe that I now need a display port to HDMI adapter to connect to the external monitor. Would it be better to return this adapter and purchase a different one?
\n\nUPDATE: I don't really need HDMI for my second external monitor, since it also has a VGA port. I ended up purchasing a USB 3.0 to VGA adapter, which costs only $16. All my laptops have at least one spare SS port, so I am good now.
\n", "Title": "Cable recommendation for HDMI display", "Tags": "|usb|hdmi|display-port|adapter|", "Answer": "As SiXandSeven8ths mentioned, DisplayPort++ (also known as Dual Mode) is a technology that allows DisplayPort to put out another signal for use with passive adapters. While limited because of this unidirectionality, it's an incredibly cheap, easy, and effective solution for what you're trying to do. Though it's difficult to confirm with your third laptop, almost all laptops with Mini DisplayPort support this mode because of its extreme popularity and utility\u2013even when not indicated, like on the XPS 13.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/kEotO.jpg\")
One thing worth noting is the Thunderbolt 3 connection on your third laptop. Thunderbolt 3 (and USB-C, which can also carry a DisplayPort connection) cannot utilize DisplayPort++ because it lacks the necessary pin count to do so.
\n\nWhile your solution of using a USB to VGA graphics adapter works, I would advise against this in the future. VGA is a much more limited connection, namely in that it is an analog rather than a digital signal.
\n" }, { "Id": "9479", "CreationDate": "2018-07-19T11:53:33.047", "Body": "Can someone recommend a monitor that can play video files straight from an external hard drive, preferably along a USB to USB connection and preferably in various formats (certainly including .mp4, preferably also .flv and .mkv), and that does not need also to be connected to the internet or a laptop or use wifi. Ideally I would like something that does not receive any kind of TV signal and therefore does not require a TV licence to keep. I realise a CPU is required in order to stream the file to the monitor, but I'm wondering whether you can get this built into the box with the monitor and without requiring a separate third device.
\n\nTo summarise: I need a screen that I can put on the wall so that when I want to watch one of the films I've got on an external drive, I can throw a USB cable from the external drive to the monitor, throw an audio cable from the monitor to some speakers, and sit back and watch the film. (And I don't want to watch TV or do anything on the internet or using wireless.)
\n", "Title": "Monitor that can play video files straight from external hard drive, without internet or wifi?", "Tags": "|monitors|video|", "Answer": "You need something like this, where the computer is an all-in-one unit. This pricing isn't too bad considering what it is, and you don't have a ton of options. Note that it doesn't have video inputs for the monitor portion of the unit, so it does not classify as a television. This model also has a touch-screen, so no need for a keyboard and mouse.
\n" }, { "Id": "9488", "CreationDate": "2018-07-20T12:19:14.723", "Body": "I am looking for a small mobile device to display a list of sensitive information.
\n\nThe storage of the device must be encryptable and the user must first enter a PIN to decrypt the storage at boot time and second enter a PIN to authenticate himself in order to use the device.
\n\nThe size of the device can be up to common tablet size (~10,5''), but the smaller the better.
\n\nMoreover, the device must own no wireless interfaces to reduce the possible attack surface. As a consequence it is only possible to I/O with the device via a wired interface (which should be a common type, e.g. USB).
\n\nFor the usage, the device should provide a touch screen, but this is not mandatory. Another kind of user interface interaction would also be ok.
\n\nBudget does not play a role.
\n\nBackground to this is as follows: I already tried to realize this via a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 (gts28vewifi aka SM-T713) for which I have modified the LineageOS sources and build a custom variant that does not have WIFI and BT. But I failed as the device restarts after some time during the boot. Most likely this is because the WIFI system is not found or some related consequences caused by removing WIFI and BT from the build.
\n\nThank you for your tips and suggestions. If more information is necessary or I forgot something important, I will edit my question, of course. Maybe there is another possibility to satisfy those requirements I am not aware of at the moment :)
\n", "Title": "Mobile device without a wireless interface to store sensitive informations", "Tags": "|security|smart-device|mobile-workstation|", "Answer": "The Replicant project aims at creating a completely free, non-proprietary build of Android for certain devices. They still do have wireless radios, but using them requires non-free firmware, which Replicant doesn't provide. Effectively, the device cannot communicate wirelessly. For example Samsung Galaxy Nexus is supported, but without working WiFi and Bluetooth. Just remove SIM card and cellular radio will also be useless.
\n" }, { "Id": "9503", "CreationDate": "2018-07-22T10:32:58.457", "Body": "I am going to purchase a Synology DiskStation 218+ for home usage. Now, this will be physically located in my apartment and I am fearing that the rattle of two SATA HDD will be disturbing.
\n\nThe NAS will not be used constantly, but only from time to time as of the situation is right now. I think I think the required diskspace will be about 2 TB (RAID1). So looking at the compatibility list on Synologys website, the SSD drives there are quite expensive (2TB drives goes for about 450-900 USD, tax included converted from SEK). This sounds quite expensive and I am not sure if my nights sleep is worth this much.
\n\nSo now I am wondering two things:
\n\nBR\nPatrik
\n", "Title": "Is it worth it to buy SSD drives to a Synology DS218+ for home use?", "Tags": "|ssd|nas|", "Answer": "My personal experience is based on WD EX4 with 4 WD 7200rpm 4TB disks in RAID5. Yes, there is noise. Especially when I run some task on the NAS itself (downloading, extracting huge archive, export a lot of images, copy huge amount of information). But even with such noise I have no problem to sleep in the next room (with open door between the rooms). Of course the sensitivity to such noise is something very personal, but my opinion is it's not a problem.
\n\nBTW enterprise grade HDD are much more noisy (they are created for reliability) and I will not advise to add such disks in home NAS.
\n" }, { "Id": "9524", "CreationDate": "2018-07-28T16:53:48.397", "Body": "I built a PC not very long ago. Here are the specs (I have a different case, but I couldn't find the one I own, so I chose a similar one). My 1050Ti is a really good graphics card. It seems to be a great overclocker as well. However, as a huge surprise to no one, it can't get 60FPS in 1080p in ultra settings in AAA titles like GTA 5 as it's a budjet card. I'm looking for a graphics card which will be able to achieve that and maintain it for as long as possible. The 1070Ti looks like an attractive option, however I think it would be better for me to wait for the next generation NVidia cards. An 1160 and an 1170 have been rumored, however the 1160 especially needs to be taken with a grain of salt along with the rumored spcs. Lastly, it is said that NVidia currently are stuck with a large number of graphics cards because of the plummeting demand from miners. Should/Can I take advantage of this? I don't know anything about AMD cards, but that doesn't mean I won't accept an AMD card suggestion. My budjet is around 600-700$\nThanks!
\n", "Title": "Graphics Card Upgrade", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "I would wait. FINALLY, it is more than a rumor that a new gaming architecture is coming. nVidia has a talk titled 'NVIDIA\u2019s Next Generation Mainstream GPU' at the HotChips conference next month. Also, they are sending out invites to GamesCon on August 21 for a 'PC related event'. Yes that is a gaming conference. Read about it at The Verge here.
\n\nOther than that, if you really cannot wait or think you want to spend the money on the next generation, I would keep a hawk eye out for a 1080 Ti. I have already seen a couple of deals around $750 that disappear quickly. If new hardware really does come out and you keep looking, jump on one that is below your $700 threshold. It will happen
\n\n1080 Ti would be future proof for you. It will do 60 FPS with all setting on high and 1080P and you can even get 45-60 FPS with most setting high at 4K if you ever go there.
\n" }, { "Id": "9534", "CreationDate": "2018-07-30T06:22:13.063", "Body": "I need to buy a new laptop and I've been doing my homework for about 3 days now. After going through a lot of laptops, I've found that within my budget and keeping everything else in common (RAM, processor etc.), I'm having to choose between a laptop with 256 GB SSD (SATA) with a Intel Core i5 7th gen chip and a laptop with a 1TB HDD, but with the newer Intel Core i5 8th gen chip.
\n\nWhich one will give me the greatest performance improvement? Going for the Intel Core i5 8th gen chip or the 256 GB SSD?
\n", "Title": "SSD or Intel Core i5 8250U", "Tags": "|processor|ssd|", "Answer": "The real question is:
\n\nWhat do you need it for?
\n\nI wouldn't really care about the processor, as long as you don't do anything requiring an intensive processing power.
\n\nYou can find a lot of cpu comparing sites by searching on any search engine \"cpu compare\" or \"cpu benchmark\".
\n\nThe SSD will gargantuanly benefit the performance. The computer will start faster, the programs will start faster, everything will be faster. But with 250GB you may not have enough space, depending on what you do. Do you store photos, videos and bigger files on your computer or do you use cloud services? If you don't, with time you may run out of space without an external hard disk. Meanwhile, the 1TB hard disk will give you a lot of space.
\n\nAlso, could you post the specific model of processors in your post? I don't yet have enough reputation to comment.
\n\nEdit:
\n\nI've used this website and Intel's official catalogue of products for a comparison, take a look as they are very helpful.
\n\nThe main difference between the 2 is the number of cores. The 7th generation one got 2 cores while the 8th generation one got 4 (I'm talking about physical cores, not thread or \"virtual\" cores). Remember that they are both low-end cores, so you may have problems calculating, as you said in the comments, macros or data in number of millions, with both of the computers. Still on a Windows environment an SSD will be a greater advantage compared to a slower-quad core processor, as Windows is very resource demanding when talking about hard disks speeds (I'm looking at you Cortana).
\n" }, { "Id": "9542", "CreationDate": "2018-07-31T10:53:01.740", "Body": "I want to buy a scanner for my future Linux machine. But I am worried about spyware since scanners bundle third-party proprietary software with the scanner and printer manufacturers already use steganography.
\n\nDoes any company sell open-source scanners with the same business model as the MakerBot Replicator, whose plans were open-source and the company had profits from customers who didn't want to make the 3D printer from scratch?
\n", "Title": "Open-source linux scanner", "Tags": "|linux|scanner|", "Answer": "The Free Software Foundation has made a list of GNU/Linux compatible hardwares, freely editable by anyone with an account, which can be found here:
\nhttps://www.fsf.org/resources/hw
\nThen after going to that website go to H-node's search (H-node is the directory of FOSS hardware):
\n\nAnd go to scanners category:
\nhttps://h-node.org/scanners/catalogue/en
\nAs of August 2018, the list of scanners with full compatibility with free software has 6 models with commercialization dates between 2002 and 2011.
\nEdit 2022:
\nDefinitely also checkout the RYF (Respects Your Freedom) certification by the FSF https://ryf.fsf.org/products .\nWhile there aren't any scanners yet, it's a really good cert for libre hardware and new entries will be added in the future.
\n" }, { "Id": "9544", "CreationDate": "2018-07-31T23:51:10.057", "Body": "I recently learnt about the Dead Drops project, and have found a few dead drops in my city listed on the database. I want to determine whether these dead drops are still extant, and if they are, connect my laptop to them to see what's on them. However, connecting a wall-mounted flash drive directly into a laptop's USB port is pretty awkward to do.
\n\nWhat cables exist out there that could act as an extender for the flash drive, so that one end can be inserted into the drive, and the other into my laptop's USB port so that I can read the contents of the USB drive as normal? This seems a trivially simple piece of hardware, but now that I think about it, I've never heard of anything like this and I don't know what it would be called.
\n", "Title": "Extender cable to connect USB flash drive to USB port", "Tags": "|usb|data-storage|cable|", "Answer": "As it happens, it turns out that typing out the question was the impetus I needed to properly think about what I was looking for. Turns out the search term I needed to be looking for was \"male to female USB cable\", which brings back results for \"USB extension cable\". I could have sworn I'd already tried searching for the latter, but either way, Amazon lists several.
\n" }, { "Id": "9549", "CreationDate": "2018-08-01T20:20:15.657", "Body": "I'm looking to massively upgrade my home infrastructure. I have multiple wired and wireless devices - desktop computers, laptops, servers, tablets, phones, assistants (Alexa, Google Assistant, etc), game consoles, home automation hardware.
\n\nMy end goal is to have multiple networks. A \"safe\"/green network for devices I trust (my computers, game consoles) that will be a combination of wired and wireless, a home automation network where the assistants and automation hardware will live that will need a single wired port and the rest will be wireless, a DMZ where the servers will live that will be all wired access and a guest wireless network that will be all wireless access. The devices that can control the home automation will probably live on that specific network as well due to how the automation devices work.
\n\nI'd like a router (with possible additional access points) to cover the entire house and a bit of the yard. This is roughly 4000 square feet across two levels.
\n\nI do not want to build a Linux based router for this. I understand that such distributions exist. I'm not interested in that. I want a single device (router) and possibly complimentary access points where I just need to configure things.
\n\nAdditional nice to haves:
\n\nI'm guessing the budget for this router and an access point or two that can handle all of this will be less than $1,000.
\n", "Title": "Router that can support multiple wired and wireless networks/vlans", "Tags": "|networking|router|access-point|", "Answer": "Having had a very similar use-case, I highly recommend Ubiquiti EdgeMax Routers for managing your network. They are high quality options (with some nice security and resource delegation features) and have many models that support Power Over Ethernet on at least one port. They also work well when establishing the kind of subnets you are talking about. I've used one in combination with my modem to form a gateway for quite some time. Just a couple of $60 models to separate the concerns of managing the two different networks (so that a problem with one doesn't mean a problem with the other) and to allow isolation of the network you don't want reachable by guests would do the trick. This also gives the option of setting up two subnets for your networks if you get three routers, all for under $200 together. They're also usually about the size of a cell phone.
\n\nI was running this through a mid-range Asus router, but it failed as an AP unless I also allowed it to run its own subnet and function as a router. Even then, reliability was sketchy. I recently replaced it with an Ubiquiti AP-Pro, which supports both bands under one network ID. It has its own software for managing access and has an option for activation and management of a guest network with restrictions as to what guests may do. The unit is weather-resistant and is designed to be wall- or ceiling-mounted if you like, so it's possible to even mount them externally. It also has a second ethernet port for bridging or connecting a computer directly to the wired connection, making it easy to chain multiple across a house instead of setting up a mesh network or configuring the device to repeat a signal and lose bandwidth. I currently use only one of these on my second floor of my 5000 sq ft home; a direct connected device consistently gets nearly 1Gb/s speeds on the internet (which is max 1Gb/s), a wireless-AC connection one floor down usually gets 500Mb/s minimum, and my son's connection across the house never drops below 200Mb/s. The unit cost me about $90 as it connects to the PoE on the router for power, but you can get an injector for about $20 if you need to supply power another way.
\n\n3x Ubiquiti EdgeMax = $180 (because this gets you DHCP 3x and separates your APs entirely based on network)
\n\n3x Ubiquiti AC-Pro = $270-340 (depending on power connection and presuming you need more than one due to geography)
\n\n4x Decent wall Surge Suppressor (if you hook up your units with PoE Injectors instead of normal PoE) = $80
\n\nHuge spool of Cat5e (6 is a waste for 1Gb and down) = $80
\n\nCrimping Tool = $30 (because crimping your own cables is infinitely cheaper in the long haul)
\n\nEthernet plug headers = $10
\n\nTotal: $650 - $720
\n" }, { "Id": "9550", "CreationDate": "2018-08-02T01:32:43.280", "Body": "I currently have a 5 year old HP laptop running Windows 7. I live in a rural area where our internet speeds are 1 MB or less. I am actually able to do skype calls and online video chats with people online even with my poor internet connection (it is very low quality but it works).
\n\nWindows 7 is starting to get a bit old and I was thinking that it was time to get a new laptop. The first laptop that I got was a HP Stream 15 or 14 inch screen with 4 GB of RAM. I know that it is not a powerful computer, but I mostly just browse the web and use skype. Unfortunately, Windows 10 has such large updates that 100% of my internet connection is always consumed by updates. My DSL modem is running/sending traffic continually. At times, it is very difficult to even get it to load google. The HP Stream has behaved like this even when it was new - so it doesn't have a virus and I installed a virus checker and did a scan to verify that it has no viruses. My Windows 7 laptop does not consume large amounts of bandwidth like the HP Stream. I also tried setting my wifi connection to be metered, but it still consumes all of my available internet bandwidth.
\n\nThe next device that I tried was an Acer Chromebook. I know that skype doesn't run natively on chromebooks, but I found some online browser based video chat websites and tried using one of these (there is also an online version of skype). However, about 10 minutes into the chat, the entire labtop's screen goes black and it crashes.
\n\nSo I've now tried both Windows 10 and Chromebooks. Windows 10 would be fine if it could download multi-gigabyte updates (I've even left my HP Stream on overnight in hopes that it would download the updates, but it is still not done in the morning). Chromebooks would be fine if they didn't crash.
\n\nWhat is a good recommendation for a labtop that would work well on a super slow internet connection? Should I look for a new windows 7 labtop? Macs are too expensive for me to try.
\n", "Title": "Laptop for video conferencing on slow rural internet connection", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Chromebooks can run Android apps, the problem with that is that you will see more frequent updates of apps and Skype for example is quite big for what it does (~150MB). If you are lucky you may notice that updates get smaller with newer operating systems like Chrome OS, Windows 10 or Fedora which should be able to use delta compression and only download the new bits. At least Fedora should be able to do that with DeltaRPMs which it uses by default. I don't know how it plays out for flatpak updates or Silverblue though.
\n" }, { "Id": "9564", "CreationDate": "2018-08-03T12:45:51.930", "Body": "I have checked a few questions here regarding the GPU and bought the 1080Ti.\nNow I am trying to figure out the rest of the configuration and it should be below 1000$.
\n\nI have seen that i5-8600K sounds like a good option and I would like to go with 8th generation. However, now I am stuck with choosing the appropriate motherboard and cooling units.
In my country I have available:\nGIGABYTE Z370 AORUS GAMING 3 REV.1.0 and ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-H GAMING which i have available for 230$ and 280$ respectively.
I am also considering Gigabyte Z370 HD3 which is a cheaper option 150$.
Please note, that I do not need anything shiny (RGB LEDs etc.) but single PCI x16 is required. On top of this, I will need a suggestion for cooling.
\n\nAlso, it would be great if someone could tell me which boards play nicely with Linux (Ubuntu).
\n\nAny suggestions are more than welcome, even which brand seems better to you.
\n", "Title": "Deep Learning Hardware (PC/Ubuntu)", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|motherboard|cooling|", "Answer": "You should go with the Gigabyte Z370 HD3, since it is the cheapest option meeting your requirements. However, if your configuration requires a lot of RAM which you didn't mention, the most expensive option (ASUS configuration) offers 4 slots of RAM. According to the intel spec sheet for the i5-8600k, the maximum supported memory per slot is 32 gb. It's up to you whether you feel you will need more than 32gb of RAM in the future.
\n\nIt's worth mentioning the GIGABYTE option has 2 m.2 SATA slots meaning you could potentially have two m.2 sata SSDs (The Samsung 970 Evo's are an affordable high performance option.)
\n\nOther recommendations
\n\nI took the liberty of checking your location on your Stack exchange profile which states you are from Montenegro, and a cursory google search tells me that you are not officially a part of the EU. This makes recommending you specific hardware not subject to additional shipping or tax import costs very difficult, however; here is an exhaustive list from pc part picker sorted by price that meets or exceeds your stated requirements. You can cross-check the prices you find there with your local purveyors. The site will also let you double check your builds for compatibility.
\n" }, { "Id": "9571", "CreationDate": "2018-08-04T10:39:24.713", "Body": "I don't know if this is a weird question, but here it goes: I would like a laptop without a GUI. I want to exclusively use the command line. I want to install Linux in it. The laptop should be small, 14\" tops. It should have an excellent battery life, and good wifi. Hopefully, the hardware will be supported natively, without binary blobs.
\n\nI have a Asus Transformer TF101. I installed Archlinux in it. It was a permanent \"work in progress\". I really liked the small form factor, and the battery lasted forever (given the fact that I had 2 batteries when using the keyboard attachment). But it died on me.
\n\nI'm not a masochist. I read Brian Lunduke's article. But I feel the GUI takes focus away. I want to use it mainly to write code (using VIM) while commuting. Listening to music (with cmus or mpv). Email (with alpine or mutt) and text based web browsing (with lynx and/or w3m). I want something that doesn't weight too much, while at it.
\n\nAny suggestions?
\n", "Title": "Small laptop for command line use", "Tags": "|laptop|linux|", "Answer": "If you're going to spending all your time in the command line, I don't imagine you're going to be needing all that much processing power, or even a dedicated graphics card. I looked up your TF101 tablet and it looks like you were happy with the performance you got out of a 1 gb of RAM and a tablet processor. To maximize battery life, I've recommended 2 4-cell Li-ion battery equipped laptops and a 6 cell li-ion battery. All laptops have 4 gb of RAM. Each laptop is an 11.6\" laptop, about an inch and a half larger than your old tablet.
\n\n![\"TMB117-MP-C2G3\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/c4CAh.jpg\")
This is the cheapest laptop that meets and exceeds the performance of you old system.
\n\n![\"SP111-31-C2W3\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gFb4D.png\")
Get this if you want something that feels more like the tablet you used to have. This is one of the 360 laptops that can turn into a tablet but also has a keyboard. Slightly heavier than option 1.
\n\n![\"Revolve](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pMjUf.jpg\")
This laptop is like option 2, but it's monitor can spin 360\u00b0 on its axis in two directions. This option has a lot more storage and a significantly better CPU. Consider this option if you have the money.
\n\nI am using EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply for my current build, and my load seems to be 470W. For my computer monitors, I am using Lenovo LT2452P. So, I need one power cord for PC and one for the monitor.
\n\nQuestions:
\n\nIf your load is 470W, then even at 110V (worst-case scenario), you are using 4.3A. According to the AutoZone guide, even at the thinnest (18AWG) wire, you can run 13 Amps through it (which is >3 times what you are using), and having it heat only to 150\u00b0F. Therefore, you can run the 18AWG wire without any problems.
\n\nIn general, when asking this, you should include the length of the power cable, and the temperature you'll use it in -- as it makes a huge difference. For example, I had a 24AWG cable that could handle ~150A at below freezing, which is ~35 times as much as your scenario -- precisely because it is only a couple inches long. One time I used it at above a freezing temperature, and it melted the isolation off of it.
\n" }, { "Id": "9583", "CreationDate": "2018-08-06T01:53:29.313", "Body": "(Yes, I\u2019ve seen this question which is very similar, however my specs include the word gigabit. Also the only current answer to that question was written by someone that didn\u2019t understand the meaning of \u201cdual-WAN\u201d and made an incorrect assumption about its meaning.)
\n\nI\u2019m looking for a gigabit multi-WAN (or dual-WAN) Router for use in an automatic failover application. I have a problematic cable connection which fails several times a month. With my current level of home automation I can simply no longer accept that failure.
\n\nThe cable modem is already a separate device (i.e. not an all-in-one combo device). I have also already purchased a Netgear LB2120 4G cellular modem, which was supposed to also handle the failover routing (oddly the cable company blocks the device as a failover router, I can use it as a modem behind another router tho). LB2120 also has no means of external configuration. At the moment switching internet connections is as manual as walking in and swapping plugs, which doesn\u2019t work if I\u2019m not home.
\n\nI\u2019ve also already tried purchasing, and recently returned to vendor, TP-Link TL-ER5120 v3 which should have solved the problem, but doesn\u2019t because it has an odd firmware bug which seems to block ports on the local network. (Specifically in testing port 3389\u2013I suspect many others). There is a bizarre long email chain with TP-link support where the initial entry level support associate validates my claim \u201cin the lab\u201d. She passes the case to \u201csenior level support\u201d who consistently argues there is no problem found, and continues \u201ccoaching\u201d me on setup. There are several really odd things that make me suspect about the \u201csenior\u201d techs understanding of his job, he insists: Static IP (not DHCP reservation) must be used, he also insists the client end (not the server end) be assigned the static IP, and finally he admits he is not using 5120 v3 but an older 6120 model that is \u201cvery similar\u201d to mine. He consistently tells me I don\u2019t understand what to do, that I\u2019m not following his instructions (even though I tried it his way and sent screenshots proving that I did). There is also now another user in the TP-link public forum same complaint
\n\nRequirements include:
\n\nGigabit router, Multi or dual \nWAN with load balance/failover configurable options.
DHCP server, with reservations
Port Forwarding (i.e. opening an external port pointing to a specific internal IP and port).
No WiFi required (I already have a wired dual band AP in a centrally located position that provides excellent WiFi coverage).
not Enterprise level pricing (I can find this router many times over for $900+, however hardly any under $200, and only about one under $100).
~50 clients connected between a mix of wired and WiFi (but any gigabit router should handle that).
configureable remote access (I shouldn\u2019t actually need, but the fact the the Netgear LB-2120 has none exposes the potential need)
So to further reiterate, this router must have the ability to handle at least two internet (WAN) connections, one primary and one failover.
\n\nEdit 2020-05-30: (this question has gotten a lot of attention just lately). As indicated in the comments to the marked answer, two year ago I purchased the Ubiquiti ER-X. I was very happy with the choice, however 2 years later, I\u2019ve just recently upgraded to the ER-12. The three elements that factored into the upgrade. 1) primary internet was upgraded to 1000Mbps (the ER-X didn\u2019t perform well, even with hwnat enabled). 2) the router was running a VPN which was rarely used but slow for streaming video 3) the added hardwire ethernet jacks allowed me to eliminate a switch. Configuration and scripts transferred almost without modifications.
\n", "Title": "Multi-WAN gigabit Router", "Tags": "|networking|router|internet-of-things|", "Answer": "Inspired by a series of articles by Jim Salter on Ars Technica about building a Homebrew router, we moved routing functionality of our network onto our application server and it has been working well.
\n\nThe server itself is Dell R220 (shallow 1U) with a four Ethernet ports. Our main network is plugged into one port, our DSL modem into another, and our cable modem into another, leaving us a spare port for network link aggregation later if necessary. We even have a DMZ machine for one of the modems attached via a VLAN.
\n\nThe server cost us less than $150 including shipping and is obviously old, but serviceable server grade kit with ECC memory rather than a built-to-a-price-point mini PC with restricted CPU performance (and power consumption). Any free server on your network with enough Ethernet ports may be suitable instead though.
\n\nWe run Proxmox as the host operating system (ZFS root pool for the win), then run OPNsense in a virtual machine as our router, with the modem Ethernet ports & DMZ VLAN only being accessible from within the VM.
\n\nWe also run all of our Docker instances on this machine, so it would be powered on 24/7 anyway, and the extra load of the router VM is relatively small, even when maxing out internet use.
\n\nThis solution is one I would consider for any network that is any more complex than a simple one-line one-modem/router combination.
\n" }, { "Id": "9598", "CreationDate": "2018-08-08T13:37:59.293", "Body": "I create parts using MasterCam software (https://www.mastercam.com/en-us/). Essentially this is CAD/CAM software and I would like to buy a better printer than the one I have. I dont need a plotter.
\n\nHere are my requirements:
\n\nMinimum:\n - 11x17\n - Laser\n - Ability to print higher detail
\n\nPreferred:\nColor
\n\nMy budget is less than $1,000.
\n", "Title": "Printer Recommendation for CAD drawings", "Tags": "|printer|", "Answer": "I use the following Color Ink Jet printer for printing my color and B&W 11\" x 17\" CAD drawings: HP DESKJET 1220C PARALLEL USB PRINTER\nWhile this is not a laser printer its prints are of good quality.
\n\nThere is currently one for sale on eBay for $125 plus shipping.\nhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-DESKJET-1220C-PARALLEL-USB-PRINTER-USED/123299758165?epid=1800332047&hash=item1cb53d0055:g:SOoAAOSwNDFba1kR
\n\nBest regards, Bob
\n" }, { "Id": "9603", "CreationDate": "2018-08-09T08:34:44.830", "Body": "I am a novice when it comes to hardware world. If this is not the appropriate site, I request the moderators to redirect me to the correct one and close this question :).
\n\nMy objectives pertaining to the laptop:
\n\nOnly ONE os - RHEL(enterprise or developer, I haven't decided). Dell laptops come loaded with Ubuntu and are 'RHEL certified'. I didn't understand what they meant, also, I want only RHEL, to begin with.
\n\nWhat would save a 'considerable' amount - buying from the provider with above features preconfigured or simply buy the hardware without OS(bare metal) and then install RHEL by myself? If there isn't much difference, I would prefer to buy from the provider.
\n\nConfiguration to suit development needs:
\n\nIt seems you were correct about laptops being more expensive in Sweden. As far as I could surmise it appears it will be cheaper to order a laptop from the USA and pay for international shipping. I seems that Sweden doesn't charge any import fees or VAT as far as I can tell. You also ask:
\n\n\n\n\nWhat would save a 'considerable' amount - buying from the provider with above features preconfigured or simply buy the hardware without OS(bare metal) and then install RHEL by myself?
\n
There's a third option, buy hardware that already comes with an OS (most system do) and then install RHEL yourself. The procedure is identical even if it came without an OS.
\n\n![\"GL62M\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/cxQoA.jpg\")
Comes right out of the box with 32 gb of RAM. Unfortunately, this laptop is not capable of an upgrade up to 64 gb of RAM, despite the i7-7700 HQ being capable supporting 64 GB of ram over 2 slots. Also if you're wondering about the powerful discrete graphics card, laptop manufacturers catering to this level of RAM capacity usually end up being gaming capable laptop purveyors where this is standard. This just so happened to be the cheapest laptop I could find. Perhaps if you use your Red Hat linux system for video rendering this may be more useful. MSI doesn't sell laptops directly.
\n\n![\"P51](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Nar6e.jpg\")
This option explicitly supports 64 GB of RAM. Most mobile systems don't really support 64 GB RAM upgrades because there isn't really a market for gratuitously expansive memory in laptops, as most people would purchase a non-mobile desktop/server system for the average user case scenario (hosting, servers, etc.). If you are thinking about 64 GB of RAM in the future, I would advise explicitly buying a 64 GB supported laptop out of the box as it is likely most laptops will only have 2 slots for memory meaning an upgrade will be a full replacement, as you won't be able to add to your existing memory infrastructure. Effectively, you will need to buy 2 32 GB memory sticks which will cost you in the ballpark of 1793.59 - 3587.18 kr. If you try and skimp on RAM costs, it is also likely you will buy poor latency (Higher CAS latency values) RAM, which will have inferior timings and therefore more delay. If you want to purchase a configurable system from the manufacturer here's a link.
\n\nEdit: Dell precision series response (link was too long to fit in a comment). This is the cheapest (purchasing directly from manufacturer) precision series laptop configuration that supports 64 GB of RAM. It will cost you 38,076.75 Kr, and isn't a very good deal.
\n" }, { "Id": "9614", "CreationDate": "2018-08-10T16:29:48.880", "Body": "Recently I found a 'Win SBS Prem 2003 1-2CPU 5-CAL' server. It's fully operational and appears to have adequate hardware (64 GB ram, 2 Intel Xeon CPU's, 1Tb hard drive). It runs Windows Small Business Server 2003. My question is if I could run Windows 10 on it or upgrade to a more functional software. I thought of booting from an external drive, but there really isn't any information online which tells me how to do that. My concern is that the hardware might not be compatible.
\n\nThanks!
\n", "Title": "Can I use a 2003 server as a desktop computer? (See desc.)", "Tags": "|server|windows|", "Answer": "The only way to find out if the operating system you want will work on that hardware is to try it out. I'm guessing that the reason you're asking this question in the first place is because you want to save money on hardware and this server you found (used, maybe?) looks too good to be true. As with most things in life, it probably is.
\n\nThe main issues that I can think of with this kind of hardware are power draw, noise, and graphics. Even if it seems like you're getting a great deal, you might end up spending more money in electrical bills over the course of the time you own the server than you would if you just bought a new, energy-efficient desktop. Additionally, the cooling for server-oriented machines is designed to get maximum airflow and dissipate the most heat, without any regards for noise level. If you use the machine near where you're working with it (as with most desktop deployments), you probably won't like how loud it will be. Finally, if you think about how most server-class machines are used, graphics is not too important. Most servers run headless (without a monitor) and so do no graphics whatsoever. If you can stand the other two annoyances, the lack of modern-ish graphics might be a deal-breaker if you intend to run a graphics-intensive operating system like Windows.
\n" }, { "Id": "9617", "CreationDate": "2018-08-11T11:16:54.710", "Body": "I have just had my third desktop PC in four years fried by an apparent power surge during a thunderstorm. We rent an ancient house in Western North Carolina (read: \"awful Duke Energy electrical grid and wiring that was installed shortly after Ben Franklin went kite-flying\"), so I can't fix any of that.
\n\nFour years ago, there was a (probably) lightning-generated surge that took out a (turned off) desktop PC, my beloved gaming rig, one monitor, the ISP's modem, my Linksys router and an electric blanket.
\n\nYesterday, another lightning-generated surge took out my (turned off but plugged in) gaming rig and, weirdly, whatever gizmo there is in the ISP's Arris router that handles ethernet connections - its wifi still works.
\n\nNeither of these surges damaged anything else and they didn't knock out the power or blow a breaker.
\n\nIs there a surge suppressor that can protect electronics from this kind of thing? The fellow from the ISP that replaced the modem four years ago told me that nothing can contain a surge like that and that the only sure way to protect my gear is to unplug it during electrical storms. Is he right?
\n", "Title": "I really need to find a surge suppressor that works!", "Tags": "|power-supply|", "Answer": "Lightning is a hard problem.
\n\nI'd love to say there's a slick little product you can \"Amazon and it's done\", but not all problems can be solved that way (plus, other answerers are already doing that.) That said, I promise there'll be some products mentioned.
\n\nOn the high side of the transformer: Transformers are pretty good surge suppressors, so suppressing surges on the \"high\" side of the transformer helps a lot. Power distribution lines (the big 2400V lines that are the top row) have a couple defenses. First, a \"top wire\" (OHGW) that is set above the 3 bare conductors - its job is to catch the lightning bolt instead of the conductors. Second, a lightning arrestor device connecting each conductor to ground. It has an engineered gap - wide enough to stop 2400V from arcing to ground, but still allow lightning to leap to ground. These can wear out/burn up from strikes, and leave too-wide a gap to be effective. You can't do anything about this stuff. But you can walk your neighborhood distribution lines (on the high side of your transformer) and see if Duke has installed them, and shout a lot if they haven't.
\n\nMake sure your house's grounding/earthing is tip-top. I realize you're a renter and can't do this. But correct, modern grounding is an absolute requirement for some surge suppression systems to work, and certainly to qualify for any \"power strip warranties\". Surge suppressors need ground as a place to dump the surges! All electricity wants to return to source, and natural electricity's (lightning) source is the earth. If you can't make your house's grounding tip-top, don't bother with surge suppressing power strips or whole-house suppressors. They won't work.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/5p7dI.png\")
Make sure comms entrances are also grounded. Code requires that your cable TV, phone/DSL etc. lines go through a lightning arrestor on the outside of the house. These arrestors need to be very well grounded, ideally just a few feet away from a ground rod (better: two) going into the earth. A renter might be able to pester the ISP to fit quality surge suppressors on cable/phone. However, if the ground wire is thin, and has to be carried some long distance to get to the ground rod, it's almost a waste of time.
\n\nDefend against neutral problems. Problems with neutral can cause voltages that should be 120V to fluctuate wildly between 0 and 240V. However this is easily handled by auto-ranging switching power supplies - the kind rated to function on a range of voltage such as 100-264V or 90-306V. They autorange on the fly, and when they get a spike that's below 264V, they just treat it like more usable power. Many products are already this; just make sure yours are.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JtrNe.png\")
A whole-house surge suppressor. Again a renter can't install this. Siemens, Eaton etc. are big players in industrial power distribution. They make whole-house surge suppressors. These are hardwired right into the service panel. In some cases they tap the mains, otherwise you hang them off a 60A breaker.
\n\nIf you were hardcore, I suppose you could buy a large metal electrical box, put a cord and strain relief on it, and a whole-house surge suppressor and some sockets. Voil\u00e0, the world's biggest baddest surge suppressing power strip.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/bBwx5.png\")
Air-gap your connectivity. Lightning can't leap across WiFi. If there's any way to WiFi your connectivity, do it. If you feel you can't, then make sure your demarcation point surge suppression is tip-top, and maybe add some in-house surge suppression too. (but this is pointless if your grounds are rubbish.)
\n\nBuy quality power supplies. Since it sounds like you build your gaming rig, don't treat the power supply like an afterthought or buy one for the flashy lights. Buy the best. Server tier power supplies are not excessive at all. A good power supply can take a lot of hits, because that's its job. VESA isn't famous for taking surges. Buy ones that are.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/G2FwG.png\")
An isolation transformer. Here's something a tenant can do! However these things are massive with an iron core and copper windings. Transformers (like the one on your neighborhood's utility pole) are huge inductors tuned to one frequency: 50 or 60 Hz depending which continent you are on. Like any large inductor, they only like to pass 50/60Hz, so they tend to block spikes and surges. If you have any other lightning arresting in place, that should keep spike voltage low enough that it won't leap the transformer's insulation. Place your equipment on the isolated side of the transformer, and it should see almost no external noise.
\n\nI am reluctant to say \"ground the isolated side of the power supply\" if your house's grounds aren't very good. It may be better to leave it an isolated system, except then you'll end up with an islanded ground. I'd fix that with GFCI. Every piece of interconnected equipment needs to be on the isolation, except for modems and routers - otherwise the connecting cords will simply carry the spike around the isolation transformer.
\n\nAcquiring an isolation transformer can be tricky. First, it's not a step-up/down transformer. You can just up-n-buy one from Amazon, but the price may hurt. I see \"5 KVA\" service transformers all the time on Craigslist for $100 or so, and those'll work just fine as an isolation transformer with an excess of capacity -- but you'll need a 240V power source and some help from an electrician to set it up. In that case I would probably get a small rack and set it up like a PDU. Craigslist sometimes sees 1.5 KVA transformers that are much lighter weight.
\n\nYou need an isolation transformer of appropriate size (look on your equipment's nameplate for its rating in VA [similar to watts but not quite the same], otherwise multiply amps by your line voltage: 120 or 230V). Expect cheap gaming rigs to have numbers in the 1200 VA range (yes I know the power supply says \"850W\"!) If you can measure actual peak draw with a Kill-a-Watt, you can go with that number instead.
\n" }, { "Id": "9655", "CreationDate": "2018-08-23T10:07:53.563", "Body": "I have found a few old Kickstart projects, such as this, which consist of a case (not on-topic), containing a Real Time Clock and battery power for the Pi.
\n\nSome have a few extra features, such as a display, extra USB ports, or solar power panel, etc.
\n\nDoes anyone know of anything with at least the capabilities of the referenced project? (or even where I can buy one of those)
\n", "Title": "Raspbery Pi case with Real Time Clock and battery power", "Tags": "|raspberry-pi|real-time-clock|battery|", "Answer": "The PiJuice HAT includes a battery solution for the Pi, and has a built-in RTC. There's additional features/add-ons available as well.
\n" }, { "Id": "9687", "CreationDate": "2018-08-30T08:19:14.280", "Body": "I will soon own a laptop that I will need to use for work. I currently own a desktop which I use for my personal stuff, whose set-up I love (two monitors, my old mechanical keyboard, etc.).
\n\nI want to use that same set-up for work so that I don't need to work on a tiny screen with a tiny keyboard. However, it'd be painful to switch from my desktop to my laptop and back every day by disconnecting and reconnecting all the cables.
\n\nI want to know what hardware set-up I could use to achieve a way of easily transitioning my peripherals from one machine to the other.
\n\nThe connections I would need to switch are:
\n\nIt has been suggested to me to connect the keyboard and mouse to the monitors if possible, so that only the monitors need to be switched somehow, I leave this here in case it's useful.
\n", "Title": "Set-up to quickly move from desktop to laptop and back", "Tags": "|laptop|desktop|", "Answer": "If you didn't want to keep the same monitors, you could use something like Mouse Without Borders.
\n\nA KVM switch would also do the trick.
\n" }, { "Id": "9701", "CreationDate": "2018-09-05T02:32:45.200", "Body": "I am in the market for a Chromebook. This will be a second machine, like a Kindle Fire with a keyboard. I'm not imagining any kind of power use at all, just streaming, reading, word processing, surfing, and monitoring of videos and photos as I shoot them. But that's not to say that I couldn't discover that I like using it for other things too.
\n\nAlmost all of the Chromebooks on Amazon have 4GB RAM, but some have as much as 16GB.
\n\nComparing my options on Amazon, I think my priorities are (in order):
\n\nAm I likely to actually experience significantly better performance with more RAM?
\n\nFor comparison, here are two Chromebooks with dramatically different sticker prices (obviously for more reasons than just RAM):
\n\n\n\n\n", "Title": "What benefit would I see with more than 4GB RAM in a Chromebook?", "Tags": "|laptop|memory|chromebook|", "Answer": "I want to mention that there are also models with 8GB of RAM and more options to choose from in the price range between $350 to $1500.
\n\n\n\n\nI am in the market for a Chromebook. This will be a second machine, like a Kindle Fire with a keyboard. I'm not imagining any kind of power use at all, just streaming, reading, word processing, surfing, and monitoring of videos and photos as I shoot them. But that's not to say that I couldn't discover that I like using it for other things too.
\n
Kindle Fire with keyboard, that pretty much is how I use my Asus C302 and I also think of it as: \u00bbnah, it's not running anything fancy.\u00ab But actually it can amount to quite a lot and there is not much left of 4GB RAM even though I usually use it with GalliumOS and Firefox which is a bit more aggressive with memory management (you should stick with Chrome OS though!).
\n\nEdit: on second thought, I cannot imagine making good use of more than 8GB with your usage patterns at the moment. I had a laptop with 16GB for two years, not used for gaming or hosting more than one virtual machine, RAM was just rather cheap at that time.
\n\nFrom the point of view that a Chromebook is a piece of computer hardware with a keyboard and a 10-15 inch screen that runs a webbrowser to display websites it may look like 4GB are sufficient. At the moment.
\n\nThe best way to find out if 4GB is enough for you would be open Chrome's Taskmanager during your usual desktop browsing and check how much Chrome consumes. Some extensions also consume additional RAM, websites tend to grow and be designed more responsive, also people usually have several tabs open or pinned. 4GB is okay for now but on top of my head knowing the browsing habits of people around me and my own and that a Chromebook may well last 5 years or more while being regularly updated with security updates and new features(!), I'd recommend to spend a bit more money to get an 8GB model at least.
\n\nFrom another point of view I have watched 2GB Chromebooks and HDMi sticks suffer under the load of poorly written iframe Grafana & Kibana madness for months. You don't want to run out of RAM if it can be avoided.
\n\nChromebooks also feature Android Apps and Linux apps (Crostini). It is still not a full fledged desktop experience like a Mac or Windows computer but you certainly have the possibility to make use of more than 4GB RAM now or in the future. Some people may argue that you could close some rather unimportant tabs or that the browser should manage background tabs better but I don't think that is a good solution as you may want to use a split view to view more pages at the same time, work with multiple monitors (small portable monitors exist) or just have the information ready when you need it (and no network access).
\n\nThe benefit is to not run out of RAM, which results in significant system slow downs. Also typically RAM cannot be upgraded on Chromebooks. I'd give the same advice for Chromebooks as I'd give for any laptop that you are going to use the next couple of years: 4GB RAM is not enough, get 8GB and have peace of mind.
\n\nEdit 2018-09-12: There is another point to consider: the processor.
\n\nTo keep it simple: try to avoid Intel processors where the model number starts with an N.
\n\nThese are out-of-order low power CPU designs and different from typical mobile CPUs. They have been marketed as Atoms but also as Celerons and Pentiums. If you can afford to spend more money get a device with at least a Pentium processor without an N in the model number, or even better an m3/i3 or m5/i5. Intel has been very liberal with names and letters which is very confusing for consumers after some generations/years.
\n\nGoogle is likely going to present a successor to the Pixelbook in a few weeks. Keep your eyes open you may find a good deal for the old model. If that's not an option you can check reddit where a user posts a Bi-Weekly Buying Advice Thread, here is the latest one at the time of writing: https://www.reddit.com/r/chromeos/comments/9ci9bd/biweekly_buying_advice_thread_sep_2_15/
\n\nI live in Germany where Chromebooks are rather unpopular, so there isn't much advice I can give where to get the best deal in your region.
\n\nFinal note: I also do have a Lenovo N22 with said Celeron N processor, It gets work done (it's the one I tortured with iframes) it's just not that kind of device you were initially looking for, a convertible for a bit more than $500 and 8GB should be a good choice for the next 5 years.
\n" }, { "Id": "9705", "CreationDate": "2018-09-05T23:49:06.703", "Body": "I'm trying to build a device made up of several other devices all connected using USB A cables. The amount of room on the cables taken up by the \"human sized\" ends requires a larger enclosure than I want to use. Other than purchasing raw USB connectors and soldering them myself, where can I purchase cables with minimal ends?
\n\nI've tried the google approach, Mouser, etc.
\n", "Title": "Where to purchase USB cables without \"human sized\" ends", "Tags": "|usb|cable|", "Answer": "One option you have would be to use a straight circuit board with appropriate traces, if the minimalistic approach is your objective. I have what is described on Gearbest as a USB flashlight:
\n\n![\"USB](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/kJefR.png\")
It is a 1.92 mm thick piece of circuit board that fits well into the USB port of my powerbank. The price for five is US$1.13 from gearbest. This is one example.
\n\nAdditional searching has discovered a link to a site called eLabBay which sells prototype boards that are a bit more bulky than the USB flashlight:
\n\n![\"prototype](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/FnnrY.jpg\")
You would be able to ignore the header pins and cut away the wings to further reduce the profile, if needed. At bit more expensive at US$6.48, but it's also just another example.
\n\nThere are circuit board services which will produce boards from your design. In larger quantities, I'd expect the prices would be better than this last one, but requires that you create a design. I did a quick search for \"pcb service\" and the first return showed ten pieces for five dollars and that was only one entry. There may be others at lower prices.
\n\nOf course, all of this does require that you perform the soldering, but it's not as finicky as doing so with typically stock small gauge USB wire.
\n" }, { "Id": "9712", "CreationDate": "2018-09-07T15:15:37.577", "Body": "I have a set of bluetooth earbuds and I have been using them with my MacBook running High Sierra. I use them for Slack calls and the quality basically sounds like I'm talking on my phone. I understand Apple's official advice is to switch to the internal microphone, but that defeats the purpose. I was wondering if there was a specific wireless headset that will give me the same quality as a pair of dumb wired earbuds.
\n\nI want to add that I did a decent amount of investigation on my own. I understand The driver macOS uses is SBC when playing just audio and SCO when using the Handsfree profile. I've even been able to enable AAC when playing audio, but none of this has helped me. I've basically just accepted the fact that the Bluetooth driver that macOS uses for the Handsfree profile is terrible quality and there is nothing I can do about it.
\n\nI just want to know if there is a wireless headset that will give me the same quality as wired earbuds.
\n", "Title": "Wireless Headset Quality", "Tags": "|audio|bluetooth|headphones|", "Answer": "As of today Bluetooth stack has changed a lot since. The new HFP 1.6 supports better voice quality (16 kHz, 16 bit) with the mSBC codec, still very compressed and with fair quality but noticeable better. Long story short, getting a BT +5.0 dongle and headset should make it work.
\nAlternatives such as FastStream or AptX LL bidirectional, are hard to find a pair that dance together. I have a set of FS in BT 5.3 and voice works as HFP 1.7 instead.
\nWhen the upcoming standard LC3 codec gets globalized (currently optional in BT 5.3), HD calls will be a fact. Will take years though.
\n" }, { "Id": "9722", "CreationDate": "2018-09-09T16:55:39.927", "Body": "I need to add a RS232(Serial Port) connection to my pc, and unfortunately I'm unable to use RS232 to USB adapter, only direct RS232 connection, I have seen this item: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/MYLB-DB9-RS232-to-10-pin-Ribbon-Cable-Connector-Adapter/32735919280.html?\nand that seems nice, but I have no idea how to connect something like that, I'm pretty sure that it shouldn't be connected through the PSU, as I don't recall seeing anything similar from a PSU, so I assume you need to connect it directly to the motherboard somehow, which I believe is correct, but still, I don't know how to connect it to the motherboard, and if I even can, here are pictures of my motherboard:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Tn2ju.jpg\")
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/dAMg6.jpg\")
My motherboard is MSI B75MA-E33, so Im not even sure its the correct place to ask, but hopefully someone can help me here, thanks! :)
\n", "Title": "Adding RS232(Serial Port) to motherboard", "Tags": "|motherboard|pc|rs-232|", "Answer": "That MYLB DB9 RS232 to 10 pin Ribbon Cable Connector Adapter goes into that JCOM1 pin header in your top picture.\nYou have to make sure that pin 1(of JCOM1) and the red line(of ribbon cable) are on the same side. You may (or may not) need to also enter BIOS to enable COM1 (or Serial) settings, though usually(with any motherboard really) their defaults are already set and COM1 is enabled.
I'm looking for a graphics card that minimizes the amount of time taken to upload 4k video frames from Opencv to the GPU. OpenCV uses opencl behind the scenes to do GPU related calculations but I've found that the upload/download time to the GPU is the biggest bottleneck. How do I go about evaluating GPUs and what specs should I be looking at on the graphics card to see if it has the attributes I'm looking for (uploading to graphics card quickly with 4k frames)?
\n\nEdit:
\n\nIdeally I'd like the machine to cost <= 500 dollars in total, including the GPU (I am open to building a completely new machine for this).
\n\nEdit 2:
\n\nIn short, the gist is to build something optimized as much as possible for OpenCV (with OpenCL) and video processing high res (4k) in general
\n", "Title": "Choosing Graphics Card for OpenCV", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|", "Answer": "I've tried to keep your budget as close to $500 as possible making every micro optimization that I know of.
\n\nOptional HDD Suggestion:
\n\n\n\nGPU Choice
\n\nForemost, typically the most expensive part of a high-end custom build tends to be its GPU, where the latest 1080 and 1070 GPUs cost about your entire budget alone. In order to reduce cost I decided to recommend you a GTX 1050 which should be able to render 4K at 60 fps, I don't believe the C++ OpenCV libraries are terribly inefficient so you should be good there.
\n\nCPU Choice
\n\nThe i5-8400 is on par with the i7-6700K in terms of performance with the exception of floating point calculations where it lags behind a little bit.
\n\nSSD Choice
\n\nThe PM 961 outperforms the 2.5\" Samsung 860 EVO with a whopping 1496 MB/s seq read and 722 MB/s seq write. If you're not familiar with them, the Samsung EVO's are well known for being one the best valued SSDs and can pack quite a punch. I have an 840 EVO and can attest to its performance.
\n\nRAM Choice
\n\nI had to skimp on the RAM to try and save money. I did however try to find RAM with the lowest CAS latency.
\n\nIn order to save money on the Motherboard, I had to use a motherboard that only supports up to 32 GB of RAM despite the i5-8400 supporting up to 64 GB of RAM split over 2 slots. Also the cheap-o case I recommended doesn't have front panel USB 3.0 ports.
\n\nIn case you missed it, here is the PC Part Picker page for this build which will help you automatically track the best place to buy each part for your build.
\n" }, { "Id": "9736", "CreationDate": "2018-09-12T12:28:20.127", "Body": "I'm planning on buying a new laptop for some productivity and maybe a bit of gaming too.
These are the main specs/price I want to get:
\n\nIntel i7 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD or 512GB SSD16GBnVidia GeForce GTX1050 4Gb 14 inches or 15 inches1500 EURThe only option I could found was the model:
\n\nASUS Vivobook Pro 15 N580\nIs there any similar options, even for other brands?
\n", "Title": "Recommendation laptop for productivity and some gaming?", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Dell G3579 $1350 + free shipping (1162.18 euro)
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/zyMLu.jpg\")
Note: Google search using \"gaming laptop 500gb ssd 1tb hdd gtx 1050 16gb ram\" gives a handful of options that fit your needs.
\n" }, { "Id": "9744", "CreationDate": "2018-09-14T01:30:36.057", "Body": "The current price of i7-3770k in my place is (7000PHP) ~ 130USD while i5-3570k is only (3500PHP) ~ 65USD.
\n\nIs the extra 4 threads really to pay for a double price? I mean it is not a real core right? They are both quad-core processor but the i7 has 4 more threads than i5.
\n", "Title": "Is i7-3770k really worth buying than i5-3570k?", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "When it comes to comparing CPUs in an objective way without having them on hand, the quickest way to estimate how a processor will perform, and therefore, its value you is to look at benchmarks between the processors. Here, we can see the effective speed is pretty negligible, but the average user benchmark for multi core scenarios is markedly faster.
\n\n\n\n\nI mean it is not a real core right?
\n
Well, it depends on what you define as a \"real core\". Take a look at Intel's article on its Hyper Threading technology for a sense of the mechanics behind the theoretical cores.
\n\nIn terms of \"is it a real core\" in a \"does it do anything?\" sense, the 4 theoretical cores does make a measurable impact as the i7 has a faster Multi Core Integer and Floating Point calculation speed by about 33% and a bench marked multi core speed of +39%.
\n\n\n\n\nAre the extra 4 threads really worth paying double the price?
\n
The four extra cores on the i7 are \"theoretical\" or hyper thread cores.
\n\nWhether it is worth it, really depends on your user case scenario. Something like video encoding may benefit more from the increased multi-thread speed, while a badly written single threaded game might not see as much benefit.
\n\nMy guess is if this computer is going to be for general use, you could probably get away with the i5. Computer enthusiasts making gaming builds typically downgrade to i5 variants of their i7 processor when their budget demands it, as it is usually better to reallocate those resources for a higher end GPU.
\n" }, { "Id": "9754", "CreationDate": "2018-09-17T00:18:47.600", "Body": "I need a keyboard which has an extra key in the area of the left thumb.\nI need this extra key to bind it to the mouse left button, because I use graphic tablet a lot and it's next to impossible to work normally without a mouse click functionality. Currently I use Autohotkey and bind the LWin key to emulate the mouse click, but it is inconvenient\nbecause the LWin key is in the 'dead' zone and I need to make extra movements all the time so it is quite painful.
So I need a keyboard which has some extra key in the thumb area i.e. where the space bar normally is. The problem though - none of the standard keyboards have them (they only have a huge spacebar as everybody knows).
\nI've spent a lot of time googling and I have found something that looks promising:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/EMiRI.jpg\")
source: http://mc.pp.se/dc/kbd.html
\nIt's a Japanese keyboard. This seems exactly what I am looking for, because there are extra buttons on the bottom row. All Japanese have them so I could buy one, BUT: the problem is, I am not sure how this extra key (left to the spacebar) will act normally if I use Windows and e.g. standard US layout? Will it be possible to make use of it by binding it to the mouse click with Autohotkey? Or maybe there are some Japanese keyboards produced for EU/US market with those keys as a bonus (would be ideal)?
\nAlso I have found another possible solution: ThinkPad Lenovo keyboard with trackpoint:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2GZBM.jpg\")
But I don't like it because it's not full-size, and I don't really need\nthe trackpoint.
\nOne option which looks promising as well is MS Natural Ergonomic 4000:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Of3jA.jpg\")
because of two extra buttons below the spacebar. Again Not sure if they can be used to emulate mouse click.
\nSo ideally I want something like the Japanese keyboard, but only if I can really make use of those keys\nin the bottom row.
\nQuestions:
\nIdeally the keyboard should be easily available and not very expensive. Obviously there is something\nlike ErgoDox, but I am not ready for this investment of money and time yet.
\n", "Title": "Keyboard with extra thumb keys (below or near the spacebar)", "Tags": "|keyboards|windows|ergonomics|graphics-tablet|", "Answer": "So, here is my \"happy end\" story. I could not find more good options \nso I was a bit on the fence about what to buy ... and know what? Recently I was in the local computer store and what did I see! There is a keyboard sold which is exactly what I need. It is A4Tech X7 G800V model, a budget (~30$ in Russia) keyboard with extra buttons below the space bar.
\n\nNow I am really puzzled why google was so inefficient on this when I ve been searching for \"keyboard with extra buttons\", \"extra key row\" etc. and what not - nothing valuable popped up.
\nAnd almost by accidence I have noticed this keyboard in the local computer store.
I have bought it and have been testing it for a week, and I am very pleased, so I've \neven decided to write about my experience so far.\nHere is a link to the product: \nhttp://x7.a4tech.com/product.aspx?id=87
\n\nimage:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/T1ENz.jpg\")
Note: there is another very similar keyboard, G800MU, but it is not suitable for the described needs, because it has no possibility to reprogramm the extra keys, whereas the G800V has this possibility, so be cautious when buying.
\n\nSo what I get:
\n\nFully reprogrammable extra keys - 15 keys total (gray keys marked with G and a number). \nThere is a software \"X7 Oscar Keyboard Editor\" in the downloads and its very easy to use - no reboot \nrequired to reprogramm the keys. So you can reprogramm any G-key to any key, mouse button, or even some macros and more. And that is really cool. Absolute no problems or glitches with that so far.
\n\nOverall very good build quality and materials (despite first impression mainly because of childish red WASD keys).\nIt is a membrane keyboard, but feels really good and smooth - low resistance force and short travel reminds me of \nsome 90's Chicony keyboard feel.
\n\nNow to the best feature - extra keys below the spacebar is what I needed so much: now I have both mouse buttons \non my keyboard in a comfortable position under my thumb and don't need any software tweaks and manipulations. \nWorking on a graphic tablet finally became comfortable (thanks heaven and a4tech).\nSo I just disable the \"click on tip touch\" feature in the graphic tablet driver and bind the G-7 key as left mouse button.
\n\nVery nice bonus - an extra key (G-11) near the ESC key - for now I have bound it to 0 key so I can type numbers like 10, 20, 30, 01, etc. with left hand easily.
\n
Few minor issues that I have noticed:
\n\nStrange decision from a4tech to place the left Alt key below the Z key and to put G12 extra key on its place - this is IMO mistake, BUT - you can easily reprogramm this G12 key to Alt and the problem is solved, that's what I did, so in \nthe end my Alt is even better placed than on many modern keyboards.
\nThe G1-G4 keys (oval keys on the left side) are really hard to press, no idea why they made it so. Definitely those could be more useful if they worked with less force.
\nThere is no replacement keycaps for those red silicone keycaps (not a real issue though).
\nThe legs are a bit small, I'd want to raise the angle more -- needed to put some 10 mm blocks under the legs \nto raise the angle more, but that is individual preference I think.
Happy end :-)
\n" }, { "Id": "9761", "CreationDate": "2018-09-18T17:52:10.470", "Body": "Okay, we found an extra HP NC522SFP Dual Port 10GbE Gigabit Server Adapter (468332-B21) at a site and I got it put into an HP Proliant server and it sees it, loaded drivers, etc.
\n\nI read over the QuickSpecs and according to this, it seems you have to use either an SFP DAC cable or get a fiber optics SFP GBIC module and I cannot find anything about any copper SFP GBIC modules to use for a transceiver.
\n\nQuestion:\nDoes anyone have any recommendations on any verified and confirmed compatible GBIC adapters that work with this card that is copper and either 1 GbE or 10 GbE that gives just an Ethernet port to plug in an Ethernet cable?
\n\n\nSomething like this is desired
\n \n\n
\nWould like to avoid these
\n \n\n \n
\n
OK, three part answers:
\n\nI am unaware of SPF(+) to copper interfaces. That does not mean that they do not exits.
\nIf they do exist then compatability is not a guarantee, so a call to HP is probably a good idea. If only to get an article number to search further on, since I expect the HP price to be 'not low'.
Based on the goal that you just need two additional 1 GbE ports:
\nSwap the card. PCI-e cards with 2 or even 4 interface to regular copper are common, relative cheap and just work.
I linked to two potential cards, but theere are many more than just these two:
\n\nI/O Crest 4 Port Gigabit Ethernet Intel i350-AM4 Chipset PCI-E X4
\nMentions server 2012 support on the box.
Quad 1GBit Intel PRO/1000 VT Quad Port Server Adapter LP PCI-E EXPI9404VT
\n2 more ports and is still affordable.
For future compatability and less down time (e.g. not swapping to a newer card if you get a more capable switch in the next year or two), try regular copper cards with higher speeds.
\n\nThere are now desktop cards which support old format (100/1000mbit), but also 2½Gbit, 5Gbit and 10Gbit. Those could be used at the old speed with the current switch, and with a more modern switch you could do higher speeds.
\n\n
\nSome more notes:
\nWe have at least two generations of these cards already, and that the older ones draw a relative high amount of power. That makes this a trade off between adding a classic 1GBit multiport card now and upgrading later. Or spending a relative large amount now and having less downtime later.
Modern DP proliants (G9 or G10) often come with something called 'flexible LOM', where you can choose for native 10Gbit rather than for a few 1Gbit ports.
\n\n\n\nQuick googling finds a few examples of 10Gbit copper, but at not entirely trivial prices. ![\"Two](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PmH1z.png\")
One of which seems suitable for a server with high internal airflow and no single point of failure fan.
And as always:
\n\nI am in the process of looking for a new computer (most likely a tower) and wanted to hit up this subreddit since people seem pretty legit here and a lot of good advice has been shared.
\n\nPersonally, I'm looking for something with decent enough specs to do dev work and other data science related projects. Thinking this will land in the realm of:
\n\n1) 16/32 GB of RAM
\n\n2) 4 cores, 2 threads
\n\n3) Anything from 3.0Ghz and above
\n\n4) And definitely an SSD of at least 512 GB for storage. I would like the ability to run any VM if desired
\n\n5) Would be willing to shell out $500, but I'm a frugal person by nature, so if there are some dope deals out there, I wouldn't be opposed.
\n\nI am pretty hardware naive (something that I am working on ;) ), and the past few days of searching has revealed to me that I know next to nothing about anything haha. If anyone has any suggestions, I would be more than interested. Also, any hardware related books, because if I'm working in software, I should at least have a better understanding of my machine.
\n\nAll responses and help is much appreciated!
\n", "Title": "In search of a new machine for dev/data science work", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|desktop|", "Answer": "I would aim to build the rig that would be easy to extend in the future by adding more RAM, SSD storage, graphics card, changing CPU for stronger and what not. Therefore, the Mo-Bo (Motherboard) is the most important component. It will either provide additional connectivity, multiple PCI-e lanes and modern CPU family, or you will have to throw it away when upgrading anything. The CPU family is a thread in itself: would you like to go red or blue (AMD/Intel)? Which generation? This dictates the Mo-Bo choice. But I will try recomending couple of things. \nJust looking at logicalincrements and swaping the GPU for better storage:
\n\nOverall cost of components from above: 400$ - 550$. If you do not have PSU and case, you'll need at least PSU. Use this calculator to get Wattage when you will decide on components: https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator . PSU is quite important so do not go with shady brands.
\n\nThis was team Red. Now Intel build:
\n\nAnd now for the fun part:
\n\nMo-Bo: ex. MSI Z370-A PRO. But as usual: take into account: 4 slots for RAM, M2 slot with NVMe support, USB ports number and version, audio card and chipset. If you do not plan on overclocking consider chipset H370 like in ASRock H370 Pro4. As you can see, the 8th generation of Intel processors is complemented by 3xx Mo-Bos. The higher the letter (B, H, Z) the better the chipset is = the more PCI-e lanes you have and more customizable the build is.
Overall cost of components from above: 470$ - 650$. And again - at least PSU. Case can be handy though too. Do not worry buying used case or RAM. Do NOT buy used PSU.
I setup a clean install of Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon on a 2007 Sony Vaio laptop with Core2Duo processor and 2 GB of memory. It has the original 160 GB HDD. I set the computer up for my parents and it works fine, but occasionally, it seems to lag a bit. The most demanding task that my parents will throw at it would be watching a Youtube Video at 1078 x 768 or whatever the resolution laptops of that era used. 99% of the time it will only be used for web surfing. Would installing a modern SSD remove the lag or is my bottleneck somewhere else? I'm thinking the processor should be sufficient and the minimum requirement is 1 GB of memory, 2 GB recommended. If it's just an SSD, I can order a small one, I just don't want to put more than about $50 into it since it's such an old laptop.
\n", "Title": "Linux Mint Cinnamon on Core2Duo?", "Tags": "|linux|ssd|", "Answer": "\"Seems to lag a bit\" is quite a wide definition. An SSD will speed up start-up of applications and responsiveness of the system when the HDD is under load. You can tell pretty easily if the HDD is slowing the computer down by listening to the seek noise. 2 GB RAM is also not much these days, so it also could happen that you'll hear the hard drive being busy because it's swapping to disk. Linux Mint MATE should be less memory hungry.
\n\nIf the computer stutters when playing video, that would be a different problem, it would mean that the CPU is too slow to decode it and the GPU is not helping because it's either too old/weak (doesn't support decoding modern video formats) or it potentially could but Linux drivers don't support it.
\n\nYou can see CPU and memory usage in a program called htop (can be installed from the repositories), that can also tell you where the problem could be. In any case, don't expect any miracles. I've been running a very highly clocked Core 2 Duo with 8 GB RAM and an SSD on a motherboard from 2007 and sometimes could not figure out why it was so slow compared to a nimble laptop with 2014 tech. It's just... old :)
\n" }, { "Id": "9784", "CreationDate": "2018-09-24T09:29:20.693", "Body": "I've scoured the internet and understand the following for cctv installation at home.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/qCtym.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/wVvZ0.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/5XQrS.png\")
1. IP Camera(s) (Bullet or Dome)\n2. POE Switch to power the IP Camera(s)\nNow I'm undecided on the following
\n\nManufactures recommend using NVR (Network Video Recorder) to see and record the network feed.
\n\nMy question is the following
\n\nIf I connect the POE switch to my windows 10 machine and use a security software like blue iris does it not replace the NVR?
\n\nP.S I need a monitor, mouse, HDD in both cases. Using POE switch I save on electrical wiring too.
\n\nPlease help understand.
\n", "Title": "What parts make up a cctv installation at home?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|home-security|ip-camera|poe|nvr|", "Answer": "Use the NVR.
\n\nIt\u2019s a dedicated piece of equipment that will consume less energy than a windows 10 computer. NVR\u2019s also contain different hard drives that are specifically made for constant writing and over-writing of video (they last longer).
\n\nIn my house the NVR is tucked away (and cleverly disguised) on a closet shelf. This adds to security as an intruder likely wouldn\u2019t be able to find it. (They steal it and you lost your video of the event.) (Remember if you choose to hide yours that it does need proper ventilation and should not be in an unconditioned space like an attic.)
\n\nWe did need to attach a keyboard, monitor, and mouse to the NVR briefly during initial setup. We set the password and configured the network settings. Once that is done we shut the system down and removed the keyboard, monitor, and mouse. Then powered it back up without. This configuration is called \u201cheadless\u201d, and the unit has been in use for years without monitor, keyboard or mouse. Any of our windows computers can be used anytime to view and download video, and the computers don\u2019t need to be turned on all the time.
\n" }, { "Id": "9791", "CreationDate": "2018-09-25T07:26:15.037", "Body": "I am looking forward to invest in a good GPU/ASIC for Machine-Learning research. I do not want to choose any of NVIDIA's consumer-grade GPUs as they are mainly gaming oriented and the price I'd be paying wouldn't be justified as I won't be using any game-play oriented features like Ray Tracing. And also, the previous generation GPUs' prices have gone up despite the launch of new 20XX series making the 10XX not a good buy.
\n\nAMD's consumer-grade GPUs aren't still powerful enough as their counterparts and their enterprise-grade GPUs are too costly and don't justify the price to performance ratio.
\n\nRecently, Habana Labs announced their ML oriented chipset but its samples ship Q2 of 2019 and I might consider waiting if it is justified.
\n\nSo, are there any Good consumer grade ASIC/GPUs for ML?
\n\nP.S: I don't mind library support
\n", "Title": "ASICs for Machine Learning", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "The closest to what you are asking is NVIDIA Tesla - it's dedicated, does not have even single DP / HDMI output, it's power efficient and is optimized for 'AI'. See NVIDIA Tesla T4, NVIDIA Tesla V100, NVIDIA Tesla P100, NVIDIA Tesla P4/P40. Whether it's most cost efficient depends on many factors. If you're buying for a larger institution, take a look at data center solution based on Tesla V100.
\n\nThe second candidate would be NVIDIA Jetson. It looks to be designed for ML / AI in robotics, as an end-to-end solution (as opposed to agent communicating with server). It's a dev kit, including ARM CPU, GPU, RAM, eMMC storage and 2 DeepLearning accelerators, at a price tag of 2.5k $ (but it's small!). \nI could not find any benchmarks, but they state, that it's 20 times faster and draws 1/10 of electricity than it's predecessor, NVIDIA JETSON TX 2, which was benchmarked ex. here.
\n\nHaving said that, it really depends on your use cases - if you will profit from it's modularity, dont' have any other hardware bought for the setup and will use it as embeded (like you'd use RaspberryPi), that NVIDIA's Jetson is perfect. If you want to make a server for AI, I would consider RTX 2080/2080ti as user9313 suggests and NVIDIA Tesla line, and peak whichever is most cost efficient for you - which is impossible to say without knowing the framework / library you'll use. Also, as mentioned by user9313, the cloud is already a viable option, not only Google 1,2 but also Microsoft has good APIs and even cloud IDE.
\n\nAlso, adding to the wish-list other projects to keep an eye on:
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "9805", "CreationDate": "2018-09-27T21:30:38.300", "Body": "I originally asked this question on AskUbuntu, but I haven't gotten any replies so I figured I'd also ask here.
\n\nI am looking to set up an e-mail server with Ubuntu Server, although I am open to alternate operating systems if you have any suggestions that may perform better for my use case. I will have some 19,000+ devices using it to send and receive e-mail. The majority of these devices will probably not be heavily used, as only a few of our clients use the e-mail feature in these devices.
\n\nBased on the recommendation of another StackExchange user, I will likely be setting up virtual mailboxes for these devices to cut down on resource usage.
\n\nMy planned software stack for the mail server will be Postfix, Dovecot, and MySQL. If there are alternatives that would perform better for my use case, please let me know.
\n\nThe current usage data I have from our old system shows about 14GB of data across 7,684 messages received and 22GB of data across 11,321 messages delivered per week, adding up to around 56GB across 30,736 messages and 88GB across 45,284 messages received and delivered per month, respectively. As a rough estimate, I would say that the server will probably be sending/receiving around 100 to 200 GB across around 100,000 messages per month.
\n\nI do not need a large amount of storage per mailbox. The devices receiving mail will only be looking at the messages once to parse them for simple text-based commands. Sent mail does not need to be stored on the server at all, and received mail will be deleted from the server as soon as it's processed by the device.
\n\nBased on these figures, I would like to know what the minimum system requirements would be for the server to be able to handle this volume of messages/data smoothly.
\n", "Title": "System requirements for e-mail server processing 100 to 200 GB of e-mail per month", "Tags": "|server|", "Answer": "If you are going for cloud solution, processing power is the main concern, as opposed to the network bandwidth - which would be primary concern if you'd be buying server yourself. The throughput you specify should be easily handled by any modern PC. Let's focus on the peak throughput - you calculated it is 23 messages/min, let's make it 100 for a pessimistic scenario. As the single outgoing message is at max 10MB, that means a pessimistic 1GB/min ~= 17 MB/s.
\n\nFor minimal requirements & recomendation:
\n\nCPU: I would reccomend any at least quad physical core processor with benchmark value at least 10 000 here: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
\n\nRAM: the second most important component. I would recommend 8GB minimum - it will depend though on what distro you choose and specific software. Also - you mentioned databse, yet you said you will not be storing the e-mails - the database caching can take considerable amount of RAM, so if you plan on using databse only for logging, 8GB should suffice, but not for much more.
\n\nMo-Bo, PSU and other components are not a concern if you go with hosting.
\n\nComparision, for the on-site server:
\n\nSo with a budget less than 200$ a month, you can calculate, that 2000$ server will reach a full ROI compared to hosting provider after 10 months, excluding electricity and upkeep cost.
\n\nWould you like to include electricity and faulty drive(s) swap:\nThe electiricty cost can be estimated at around 400$ per year serverpowerusage. This makes 12 months of ROI.\nAccording to this article you can expect 0.1 failure rate in two years per drive ~= 1 faulty drive in twenty years. This is negligible.
\n\nAlso, you need to calculate the cost of man-hours to setup and maintain, and theese are the biggest. There is also a bigger chance of data loss and problems, would you forget abiout spare PSU, ECC RAM or disk swap. You need to calculate it yourself.
\n\nWould you consider buying the server, that's what I'd reccomend paying attention to:
\n\nCPU - it's not a bottleneck in this usage scenario assuming you buy any decent new server, but the older platform you will get, the more troubles in the future you will have upgrading. I'd say go with latest chipset, leave one socket empty and buy cheapest XEON for the second. It will be idle anyways most of the time.
\n\nRAID support and hot plug of HDD and PSU is a must.\nRedundant PSU is a must also.
\n\nAs for RAM - just remember to buy ECC ram - you have a server on site, so you can easilly increment. Start with one stick of 8GB or 16GB. More important is the board, which should have planty of space to add new RAM dies (12-24 ideally).
\n\nWhichever way you'll go: keep in mind the 3-2-1 backup mantra: 3 copies at 2 different media with one copy at different location.
\n" }, { "Id": "9814", "CreationDate": "2018-09-29T11:22:37.613", "Body": "I got a 22\" monitor in my bed (it is hanged on the wall), it is connected to the computer using a HDMI cable, which can carry sound signal too. My problem is that my monitor doesn't have an audio out connector, so I can't plug my headphones in it.
\n\nAnd then, I need a device that can take the HDMI signal and split it in two:\n- send the HDMI signal to the monitor\n- provide an audio out 3.5 mm socket so I can connect my headphones in it
\n\nand then, the device should contain the following connectors:\n- HDMI in, to recieve the signal from the computer\n- HDMI out to connect to the monitor - or simply a short HDMI plug\n- stereo 3.5 mm audio socket so I can connect my headphones in it
\n\nThe device should be small enough so I can stick it to the back of the monitor.
\n\nIs there any device like this?
\n\nIf not, then I probably need a computer monitor with audio out - this should be a common feature already, since the monitors with HDMI can already receive audio signals, so they should also offer that signal using an audio out connector.
\n", "Title": "HDMI splitter with audio out", "Tags": "|hdmi|splitters|", "Answer": "You'd probably need a
\n\nwith this setup you also need two HDMI cables.
\n" }, { "Id": "9830", "CreationDate": "2018-10-02T15:13:04.863", "Body": "I want to get a new laptop and I've been making lots of research. I've narrowed my two choices down to two laptops with their processor as intel core i7-7500U and intel core i7-8550U Processor. I'm not sure which is better but i'm assuming i7-8550U will be better because well, it's 8th Gen.
\n\nI have the differences between the both of them from intel's website compare. Kindly help me decide which is better. I will be using the laptop for programming, school work and casual gaming(fornite and overwatch).
\n\n core i7-7500U core i7-8550U\n# of cores 2 4\n# of threads 4 8\nprocesor base frequency 2.70GHz 1.80GHz\nMax turbo frequency 3.50GHz 4.00GHz\nCache 4MB smart cache 8MB smart cache\nConfigurable TDP-up frequncy 2.90GHz 2.00GHz\nConfigurable TDP-down 7.5W 10.0W\nMemory Type DDR4-2133,LPDDR3-1866,DDR3L-1600 DDR4-2400,LPDDR3-2133\nGraphics Max Dynamic Frequency 1.05GHz 1.15GHz\nOpen GL support 4.5 4.4\ni7 8550u has twice the core count/threads, higher IPC, higher boost (which matters more as in intensive task it will turbo boost and not stay within stock clocks) and fair better in benchmark. Despite 8th gen being more power hungry, U chips should not eat up too many battery life. 9 hours of surfing web for HP X360 i5 7500u and around 8 hours for the 8th gen counterpart
\n\nCinebench gets almost twice the points on
\n\nMulti core: ![\"Cinebench](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/OfNFt.jpg\")
And some substantial increase from single core: ![\"Cinebench](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/i94rE.jpg\")
Also, if you game on intel's HD graphics, be aware it's not the best choice and Fortnite isn't the lightest game to run, that is if you keep your expectations low and lower some settings/resolutions. Both processor run Intel HD 620 so the difference should not be far off. If you want, there are laptops with low powered MX130/150 graphics that isn't going to increase price a lot and does pretty well Link to a review for HD 620
\n" }, { "Id": "9835", "CreationDate": "2018-10-03T08:59:39.277", "Body": "There are considereble price differences between EVO and PRO series of Samsun SSDs.\nIs it worth it to buy a PRO series?
\n\nWhat is the difference between EVO and PRO in first place?
\n", "Title": "What is the difference between Samsung EVO and PRO SSD", "Tags": "|ssd|", "Answer": "I believe the main difference is hard drive durability/life time. Depending on the series of the Samsung SSD, the pro sometimes have faster read and write. The newest 850 series in particular does not seem to be all that different in performance with the exception of write speed.
\n\nIn general, the EVO series are going to be much better value, and usually the better option. Personally, if I was willing to spend the money on a 850 Pro series, I would just go with the 960 evo NVMe M.2 SSD if you have the interface to support it. It's MSRP is lower and it actually outperforms the 850 pro by a huge margin.
\n\nEDIT:\nI double checked and actually the 970 EVO is the latest of that series and it's market value is lower than the 960 and faster to boot. My points don't change, however.
\n" }, { "Id": "9860", "CreationDate": "2018-10-09T20:23:24.703", "Body": "I would like a mouse that has copy and paste solely programmed into it.
\n\nThe peculiarity about this is I don't what a mouse that simply has buttons but has the keyboard shortcuts programmable into the mouse.
\n\nThe big advantage of this for me is that I can use it on linux/mac/windows machines with out any additional software.
\n\nEdit: So apparently the keyboard shortcuts are hardware wired based on the configuration software often but not always. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seDYxGhrc4A This gives me some hope of getting one that works for all 3 operating systems ideally. I have messed with Karabiner Elements on macOS and can likely get that one to at least partially work. He is using the AJazz GTX mouse.
\n", "Title": "Hardwired Programmable Mouse", "Tags": "|mice|", "Answer": "In terms a fairly cheap option, take a look at the Logitech G203. I like it because it has six buttons but looks like a regular mouse(not the gaming mice).
\n\nIt works in Linux & Windows as long as you configure it in Windows initially. I'm not sure about macOS.
\n" }, { "Id": "9863", "CreationDate": "2018-10-10T03:56:04.373", "Body": "I need a system with absolutely no wireless capabilities for my small business that will solely operate through a wired LAN. Since I have no need for WiFi or Bluetooth, I\u2019d prefer not having to deal with contigencies stemming from possible unauthorized wireless injections or WiFi packet sniffers. I\u2019m not willing to simply turn these wireless signals off through my system, because I for one know, there exists many firms which have stringent rules against the use of WiFi chips within their mainframes. Thus, I\u2019m just not content with having any sort of antenna within my system. I\u2019m currently considering getting a chrome box because I won\u2019t need the system for any hardcore applications, but simply an internet connection. Any useful resources would be helpful.
\n", "Title": "Does a System with Absolutely no Soldered Antennas Exist?", "Tags": "|wifi|desktop|security|home-security|", "Answer": "Let me clean up the question a bit as I understand it first; you want a device that will give you internet capabilities for a browser and possibly some other applications (but mostly the browser). It cannot have a wireless network interface component because you are concerned with infringing on company policies regarding wireless access within their networks (a mainframe is a very different thing and has nothing to do with wireless networking).
\n\nBefore I answer, I'd like to point out that any company worth anything at all has abandoned the practice of forbidding wireless devices, as cell phones exist and are microcomputers with wireless network accessibility. Any company with which you'd want to associate will have a modern philosophy about cybersecurity and prohibit unauthorized connections technologically so you don't have to worry about it.
\n\nYou will be hard-pressed to find a notebook computer that doesn't have wireless LAN access. Most motherboards have them built in and your only option to disable them is via the BIOS, which is effectively a secure way to make the machine behave as if it has no wireless card at all (since a BIOS hack is not a realistic problem). All Chromebooks have WLAN access components. Most laptops do not possess a normal network jack anymore and you'll need to get an external RJ45 port on a USB dongle to use physical networking lines.
\n\nSince laptops simply aren't made without WLAN capability anymore, your only option other than just disabling it yourself is to physically remove it yourself. Some Dell Latitude and HP models have the card (the size of a small cracker) in a slot on the motherboard with two screws holding it down and antennae that lead to the monitor. Disconnect the antennae wires, wrap their contacts in electrical tape, and remove the card.
\n" }, { "Id": "9886", "CreationDate": "2018-10-13T16:03:51.433", "Body": "I have this HDD from an old laptop I no longer possess and I would like to retrieve the data that's on it. I was wondering what kind of connector I would need to connect it to my PC. I saw another similar here but I am not quite sure I understand the solution that is given and if it is applicable to my own HDD.
\n\nHere is a picture:
\n\n![\"HDD\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/hNfaA.jpg\")
and another one:
\n\n![\"top](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/UH3iV.jpg\")
Your HDD is a Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000BEVT 500GB. In the first picture it seems that the HDD is wrapped in something. If this is the case, remove this piece.
\n\nYou can read your HDD's full specs on cnet or newegg.
\n\nIts interface is SATA 3 Gb/s - 7 pin Serial ATA. Looks for this in your favorite vendor.
\n" }, { "Id": "9888", "CreationDate": "2018-10-13T19:51:21.507", "Body": "I would like a desktop computer which is fast and snappy for common \"power user\" workflows (eg. coding IDEs, 20+ Chrome tabs, Blender, Audio Editing, Web/File Server, Backup server) and also has the capability to run deep learning algorithms on it (one nVidia RTX 2080 ti to start, maybe another down the road). The problem, as I see it, is that Intel doesn't really offer any high-performance CPUs (>= 5GHz overclocked) with more than 16 PCIe lanes. I've seen different reports about whether NVMe drives use up these PCIe lanes or if they are routed through a different set of platorm PCIe lanes, but if they do use up some of these lanes then I am immediately dropped down to 8x performance on the graphics card. Even if not, it means dropping down to 8x performance once I have 2 graphics cards.
\n\nBearing in mind that a setup like this will reasonably end up with 2 NVMe drives and 2 graphics cards, am I better off going with a lower clockspeed Xeon or AMD Threadripper so that I get the PCIe lanes?
\n\nI'm getting the impression, based on current hardware options, that I can have a fast desktop PC or a capable server / deep-learning platform, but not both.
\n", "Title": "Is a Deep Learning + High Performance Workstation impossible with current hardware offerings? (Late 2018)", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|pcie|", "Answer": "It really depends on how deep you want to go when it comes to your deep learning projects, and how long you are willing to wait, which could be a long time- depending on your project and how much computing it requires to output qualitative results.
\n\nMy primary workstation is a Dual E5-2697 v2, 128 GB RAM, Dual TITAN GPUs, and an 8x1TB SSD RAID 0 Array over SAS. It's a workhorse; the CPU rates 22000 using Passmark and is in the 99th Percentile. The 2X GPUs rate at 92nd Percentile...
\n\nThat said, it's a heavy duty system (The original build was roughly $20,000- though it could be built now using the same components and buying used for far less)- but it even wouldn't really be a \"great\" system for workload heavy deep learning setups, such as video/image/audio projects.
\n\nYour best bet would be to buy a good system, I would say don't buy \"best\", but 6 months post release- it's so much cheaper that way. Go single processor, highest OC you can afford, and a decent GPU.
\n\nThen use the money saved to run your actual deep learning projects on Google Cloud Compute or Amazon's AWS.
\n\nYou can build your VM Instance on Google's Cloud Compute Platform, keep it off which will only incur minimal charges for the IP and system image; then power it up with 1, 2, 4, or even multiple VMs running NVIDIA V100 GPUs.
\n\nThe V100s will really give you the power you want and while the 2080 card may appear nearly as fast on benchmark charts, it simply can't do what a V100 can, such as FP64, it can host 32GB of RAM which vastly improves it's ability to handle large data sets rather than having to pipe in and out smaller subsets, and you can rent them at the pre-emptable price of roughly $0.80 per hour. (GPU only)
\n\nThe 2080 may be touted as \"80% as fast\" as a V100 but if your project would benefit from FP64 and larger ram allocations, it will rip past what your 2080 can do- it's why the card costs 8 times what a single 2080 is priced at.
\n\nAdd to that you can instantly launch a 2 x V100, or 4x V100 VM Instance, and suddenly you are machine learning speeds are 20x, 30x, or far more, than what your system could do.
\n\nUltimately, it will boil down to: I can run this machine learning project on my system and obtain the results I want in 9 days, OR, I can launch a VM, pay $8.00 an hour, and get my results back in 7 hours.
\n\nUsing this method you can build your projects on your system, then when you actually are ready to let the machine go to work and do the work, you can put your VM online, transfer your project and assets, and put the V100s to work for a few hours, or a few days.
\n\nBut a high end deep learning system on Google's platform - using the pre-emptable price; may cost you $4 an hour; what it will be able to do in 12 hours will far surpass what you would be able to do in days, if not weeks and weeks of runtime.
\n\nThe cost of one V100 is over $8000. Save the cash, rent the cards by the minute when you need them. And costs will drop as newer cards become available.
\n" }, { "Id": "9890", "CreationDate": "2018-10-14T06:21:14.547", "Body": "My friend recommended me this
\n\n\n\nEverything there is almost perfect.
\n\n5k lumen. Very short throw. I want distance to the wall to be at most 2 m. The smaller the better.
\n\nThe thing is my wall is around 5m. Xiaomi laser can do 3.75 m (150 inch).
\n\nThe throw doesn't have to be that short though I like it.
\n\nMy only concern is screen size. Can I push this xiaomi laser to make a 5m diagonal screen instead?
\n\nDistance 2m is fine. So about .4 throw ratio.
\n\nFull HD. Higher better, but not if it's too much more expensive. Good contrast. If you have other criteria of what's good, let me know.
\n\n$5k max budget. But if I can get a very good one for $1500-$2000 I would need a good reason to shell out another $3k.
\n\nI know about projector central. Been looking for it. Still can't decide.
\n\nOh ya, if possible, something popular enough that I can find it in tokopedia.com
\n", "Title": "all I need a projector that is like Xiaomi Laser but with Bigger Screen", "Tags": "|projector|", "Answer": "First of all, I'd like to start by saying that the throw ratio for this projector = 0.133 is very good. If you put a different lens on it, for example that can focus when 70cm away, then your image would be 210\" wide. In other words, you can get a larger image size simply by moving the projector farther from the wall, provided you can find a lens that can focus that distance. The projector you posted is very, very good.
\n\nThe bad thing is, that projector lenses are actually what comprise the majority of the price. For example, if you look through the examples below, it seems that the lens needed to project such a wide image so close, itself can easily cost $5000 or more. Therefore, if you can purchase a lens to project a 150\" image with such a low throw ratio, for such a low price -- I'd take it.
\n\nHowever, in case you are truly dedicated to getting a larger image, I will outline your choices. I checked the projectors on Tocopedia, and the below projectors are not available there; however, all of the below projectors are sold by companies which Tocopedia carries, so I suspect you can get them easier than some other products.
\n\nOption #1: you can buy the NEC PX803UL with a NP39ML lens. As you can see, this would result in an image of 100 - 350 inches, with a Throw ratio of 0.38 : 1.
\n\nOption #2: the Hitachi HP-WU9750B or LP-WU9100B, with a FL-920 lens. Again, this would result a Throw ratio of approximately 0.327, and an image of 100 - 350 inches.
\n\nOption #3: In case you can have a little bit of leeway, and mount your projector 2.1m away instead of 2m away, there is the Hitachi CP-SX12000 or CP-X10000J with the USL-801 lens. Its Throw Ratio is 0.42, and it can project an image 40 - 700 inches. This lens only costs $2500, which is pretty cheap, so it might be worth buying this lens first, and seeing whether you can retrofit it onto a cheaper projector.
\n\nThe projector itself, although fairly expensive, actually has specs a little worse than the projector you posted. For instance, for the SX12000 it's 1050x1400 pixels instead of 1920x1080, 2500:1 contrast ratio instead of 5000:1, etc.; the specs are even worse for the CP-X10000J. But then again, the price of this projector is about half the price of #1 and #2.
\n\nBottom line: I think that the projector you posted is very cheap, considering it has true HD, and such a high contrast ratio. It is also about half the price of the last projector I posted, so is a good deal. If you are willing to sacrifice image quality, and so much more money, in order to get a bigger image size, then projector #3 is your best choice. But even then, I would buy the lens first, and only buy the projector if I cannot find a way to retrofit the lens onto a cheaper projector. The first two projectors are great, but very expensive.
\n" }, { "Id": "9902", "CreationDate": "2018-10-18T17:21:23.530", "Body": "I have a Moto E5 Play, which does not have built-in NFC capabilities. I'd like to be able to use Google Pay and other apps that require NFC. Are there NFC transmitters/readers that plug into the 3.5mm audio jack? (Kind of like Square, but with NFC capabilities, not mag stripe) I'd like to leave the USB port free for charging, which is why I'm asking about the audio port.
\n", "Title": "Are there NFC transmitters/readers that plug into the 3.5mm audio port on my phone?", "Tags": "|android|nfc|", "Answer": "I don't believe that the thing you're searching for is possible at this time. While there are external NFC addons, they are (as far as I know) designed for taking payments rather than mimicking general NFC android capabilities. (Details and store page for one of these) The problem you run into is that some \"flavours\" of android (the modified versions used by individual device manufacturers were not designed for NFC, so adding the functionality is nigh on impossible. If you have settings for NFC in your device menus, there might be chance and further investigation could be worth it.
\n\nIf you do decide to keep investigating, while I couldn't easily find one currently for sale, there are many NFC modules designed for a micro SD slot, however be careful with these as it seemed unclear whether they were intended to add NFC functionality or if they were simply standard micro SD cards which allow a person to access the files on it through NFC.
\n" }, { "Id": "9926", "CreationDate": "2018-10-23T07:29:25.273", "Body": "I need a short HDMI cable (Male-Male) to connect a Raspberry PI 3B+ to a HDMI Switch (the monitor is shared between the Raspberry and a PC). It should have 10 cm or maximum 20 cm and I have difficulties finding such thing. When searching for it, I land on pages for products like micro HDMI cables, HDMI to VGA adapter cables or even HDMI extension cords.\nThere is a good store in the area where I live specialized only in cables for electronics and the shortest HDMI cable they have is 50 cm.
\n\nI guess I'm not the only one who has to share a monitor between a PC and a micro computer like Raspberry PI so a good answer to this question might be quite useful.
\n", "Title": "Short HDMI cable - 10 or 20 cm for Raspberry PI", "Tags": "|hdmi|cable|", "Answer": "While I don't know what country you're in so I can't be sure of this suggestion, these offerings are available on UK Amazon (1) (2).
\n\nI found these with a search for \"Short HDMI Cable 0.1m\". There were a lot of offerings at 0.25m, but these were the only ones I could see shorter than that.
\n" }, { "Id": "9939", "CreationDate": "2018-10-25T17:54:53.500", "Body": "Are you aware of some displays meeting requirements mentioned in title? I was looking for a long while but couldn't find anything. Most panels with all mentioned features are 4k or miss HDR. Could you recommend me anything?
\n", "Title": "QHD + 144Hz + G-Sync + HDR + IPS + 27\u201c-32\u201d?", "Tags": "|displays|", "Answer": "Here are G-Sync HDR equipped 1440p, IPS monitors that can ship to the UK today (I gleaned this off your profile). I could only find monitors that come with 165 Hz, but if it is an absolute necessity you have 144, you can set this in your operating system. The technical specs seems pretty much the same so take your pick of brand. Be ready to drop some serious cash if you want monitors with these exact specs.
\n\nFor reference: PC Part Picker query
\n" }, { "Id": "9947", "CreationDate": "2018-10-26T13:15:21.537", "Body": "For my scientific research I need to know the most popular phone processors to know their FLOPS parameters. But I can't find a some resource about it. I could find the best mobile processors only (but I need the average parameters, not the best).
\nDoes anyone know sites or some another ways where to get a list of the most popular phone processors?
You could look at this: https://deviceatlas.com/blog/most-popular-smartphones
\n\nIt gives the 12 most popular phones by country.
\n" }, { "Id": "9961", "CreationDate": "2018-10-29T08:07:52.210", "Body": "I would like to buy an Android phone for gaming under 15000 rupees ($250). The budget can be increased slightly if the phone has better features.
\n\nAny suggestions with the specifications are most welcome.
\n", "Title": "Android phone under 15000 Rupees Indian currency ($250)", "Tags": "|android|", "Answer": "As my needs honor play was the best in 250$ and satisfied most my needs.
\n" }, { "Id": "10000", "CreationDate": "2018-11-02T16:43:50.893", "Body": "I'm newbie with pc-building and I found the gigabyte's page of the product this:
\n\n\n\n\n1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe 3.0 x4/x2 SSD support)\n * Supports only M.2 SATA SSDs when using an AMD Athlon\u2122 200-series/ 7th Generation A-series or Athlon\u2122 APU.
\n
And now my question is:\nDoes that note mean that I can only use M.2 SATA when I have an Athlon and if I have ryzen only PCI-E? Or maybe that it doesn't support PCI-E with Athlon and with ryzen both?\nI have an M.2(B+M) SSD that should support both, but I'm not sure if it will be compatible with a ryzen 2600X.
\n", "Title": "Gigabyte motherboard M.2 B450 DS3H specification grammar", "Tags": "|motherboard|ssd|", "Answer": "It is indeed an ambiguous wording, but it definitly means that Athlon / 7th gen APU will only allow SATA mode and others will allow both.
\n\nSo you won't be limited to SATA with your A1000 with a 2600X.
\n" }, { "Id": "10006", "CreationDate": "2018-11-03T15:16:31.407", "Body": "Looking for a recommendation from users who personally tested some laser rangefinders (laser-tape). (So do not want recommendations based on the device specifications - (marketing blabla))
\n\nCriteria:
\n\nThe low distance accuracy is the crucial point, because all tests what I saw says, that the laser rangefinder is accurate only at distances above 2 meters or like. At lower distances usually the measuring error is even 5 - 10 mm or more. So, let say if I want measure the inner width of my doorway (78.4cm) want get accurate result (max.) +- 2mm.
\n\nWould be nice to also have
\n\nbut the low-range accuracy is the really needed feature.
\n", "Title": "Laser rangefinder (laser tape) for indoor - low range but high accuracy", "Tags": "|home-electronics|laser|signal-processing|calculators|", "Answer": "I have a Bosch DLR165, which appears to have been produced around 2010. It's possible that I purchased mine that far back, or from eBay in later years. I found only one in today's eBay listing, but based on my experience with this one, I'd purchase a newer Bosch product with confidence.
\n\nThe manual lists the maximum range at 50 meters, within your requirements. The manual also states a minimum of 50 millimeters. This I checked moments ago. I cannot attest to the precision/accuracy, but can confirm that when placed on a metric ruler, it reads 50 mm. I used an uncalibrated eyeball to place the tool and the opposite surface, but suggest that it would be within the specified 1.5 mm capability.
\n\nWhen moved one mm closer, an error message appeared.
\n\nFor a different type of test, I measured the span of my door frame. The top and bottom measured 2 mm narrower than the center of the vertical section of the door. When I placed the aforementioned ruler under the tool (1.9 mm thick), the measurement was reduced by 2 mm, indicating that my door frame is warped and that the tool recognized the distance change. Repeated measurements resulted in consistent results.
\n\nThis specific unit meets the \"nice to have\" list as well. As noted in the manual, there is a trigonometric mode that requires one to measure the two legs of a right triangle and the device will calculate the hypotenuse. I have not tested this feature, but have confidence that it will work as described.
\n\nI have used the continuous measuring mode as well. It is unremarkable in operation and works fine.
\n\nBosch has a reputation (in my alleged mind) of creating quality products. It's certainly possible that this device and others from the same company would be made in China, but in such cases, oversight results in expected quality. A not-necessarily-marketing blah-blah review can be found at The Gadgeteer from which the image below has been presented.
\n\n![\"bosch](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/yKV3n.png\")
The photo shows \"Assembled in Malaysia\" invalidating my China reference, but that was 8 years ago.
\n" }, { "Id": "10007", "CreationDate": "2018-11-03T16:31:41.487", "Body": "I'm currently looking to buy a new Windows tablet for drawing. The problem is that I couldn't find an affordable tablet without any pen lag. The only tablets I know that have low lattency when drawings are the iPad 6 and iPad Pro. Are they any affordable windows tablet that has no significant pen lag ?
\n", "Title": "Windows Tablet with no pen lag", "Tags": "|tablet|", "Answer": "Personally, the people that I know of that engage in graphic design typically use and recommend drawing pen tablets like these rather than consumer touchscreens, particularly due to the fact touchscreens do not have good (if at all) pressure sensitivity. These drawing pen tablets do not seem to have any lag.
\n\nThere are also specialized drawing tablets, on which you can draw directly on, however; they tend to be very pricey compared to cheaper \"dumb\" input pen tablets (like the wacom drawing tablet specified in the link above) that I see most beginners start with.
\n\nI am also not an artist and cannot speak to the durability or usability of these drawing pen tablets. As a result I am not comfortable directly recommending a specific tablet because I cannot speak to its efficacy. I hope this answer is ultimately able to help narrow down your hardware choices.
\n\nUseful link on Article covering best Drawing Tablets.
\n" }, { "Id": "10020", "CreationDate": "2018-11-06T12:55:22.157", "Body": "I want to clean my ASUS 15.6\" (16:9) LED backlit FHD (1920x1080) 60Hz Anti-Glare Panel with 45% NTSC display.\ncan anyone tell me the right way to do this. thanks.
\n", "Title": "how to clean LED Anti-Glare Panel display?", "Tags": "|laptop|monitors|displays|led|", "Answer": "You could use a commercially available screen cleaning kit like this one from Amazon. You could also potentially use a soft microfiber cloth with water and a tiny amount of dish soap (put the slightly soapy water directly on the cloth and not the screen and make sure the cloth is only damp and not dripping wet). Make sure you do NOT USE abrasive or astringent cleaners as they can permanently damage your screen.
\n" }, { "Id": "10035", "CreationDate": "2018-11-08T04:58:28.700", "Body": "My motherboard just died on me, and I am wondering if I should just stick to the same kind of motherboard (AM3+). If i do I would be able to reuse the cpu, ram, and psu for a bit longer. Is it even worth it to keep using the CPU and RAM, or should I just upgrade to another kind of motherboard and get a newer CPU? Is AM3+ obsolete at this point? If I should upgrade, what should I upgrade to for the motherboard and CPU?
\n\nI mainly use the computer for gaming (at medium to high settings) and a bit for light programming work.
\n\nMy Current specs are:\nCPU: AMD FX-6300 6 core -\nMotherboard: AsusTek M5A78l-M/USB3 - AM3+ -\nGPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3gb - \nOS: Windows - \nRAM: DDR3 - \nSSD: Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500 GB - \nPSU: EVGA 600W - \nOS: Windows 10
\n", "Title": "Should I stick to AM3+ or upgrade to something else?", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|", "Answer": "Based in its CPU benchmark score, this CPU gives middle-of-the-road performance, but it is 6 years old. That said, performance increases over time have slowed a lot.
\n\nIf your system is able to fo everything you need it to and your usage case is unlikely to change in the next 12 months or more, and the motherboard is less then $100, it's financially reasonable to replace the motherboard and defer a new purchase.
\n" }, { "Id": "10038", "CreationDate": "2018-11-08T10:22:55.057", "Body": "As there any headphones (open or semi-closed) that can amplify the noise around instead of canceling it? I like to bike with the headphones on, but I need to hear the traffic around. I used earbuds before, but they are easy to lose and not that comfortable.
\n\nThe best implementation I'd love to have is where I can smoothly control the configuration between full active noise-cancelling and noise-amplification.
\n\nThey should be also wireless.
\n", "Title": "Headphones with noise amplification", "Tags": "|headphones|", "Answer": "In order to hear sounds around you in a proper manner, consider that bone conduction headphones will leave your ears open, while allowing you to enjoy music or other sounds. This type of design also allows your ear's natural direction finding characteristics to function, as very little of the surrounding ear is blocked by bone conduction headphones.
\n\nI've used two different types and the wireless ones are certainly the most convenient.
\n\nIn some states, it is unlawful to have earbuds or earphones, but bone conduction designs do not block the ear and are not unlawful, although it may be necessary to explain to an uninformed uniformed law enforcement officer of the difference.
\n\nI've owned two models of AfterShokz and can recommend them for quality sound and functionality.
\n\nThere's a review of a few models and manufacturers here:\nhttps://www.everydayhearing.com/hearing-technology/articles/bone-conduction-headphones/\nthat may be useful in your decision process.
\n" }, { "Id": "10040", "CreationDate": "2018-11-08T13:00:39.743", "Body": "We're preparing an exhibition and I'd like to know what are the chances of interference between individual exhibitors.
\n\nI know that:
\n\nVive Pro can use up to 16 Base 2.0 stations
\n\nVive Pro can use Base 1.0 stations
\n\nVive can't use Base 2.0 stations
\n\nVive can only use 2 Base 1.0 stations - if it catches a signal from a third one, nuclear meltdown ensues.
\n\nI would like to know what happens when:
\n\nVive Pro that is tracked by Base 2.0 stations accidentally detects signal from Base 1.0 station
\n\nVive is that is tracked by Base 1.0 stations in the signal of Base 2.0 station - I know it can's use their signal, but can it cause interference?
\n\nAny experience?
\n", "Title": "Mixing Vive+Vive Pro+Base 1.0+Base 2.0?", "Tags": "|vr-headset|", "Answer": "I don't have live experience with Vive. However, the Vive FAQ says,
\n\n\n\n\nImportant: Use only the same version of base stations together. Different base station versions are not interchangeable.
\n
In other words, if Vive Pro accidentally detects the signal from a Base 1.0 station, it will cause significant interference. The reason for that is, that the IR method of communication prevents Vive from locking on to a signal (which would be possible for it to do if the communication were entirely in BlueTooth). Therefore, when another signal of the same frequency comes in, it will cause a disruption.
\n\nThat being said, it's worthwhile to keep in mind that since IR is a more-or-less unidirectional signal, you still should be able to make it work if you are very careful to make sure that the signals from the two base versions do not intersect. Theoretically anyways. In practice, as I said, I never used Vive before, so it might be harder than it seems.
\n\nLet me know if this doesn't answer your question fully.
\n\np.s., in the future, such questions belong on SuperUser.
\n" }, { "Id": "10042", "CreationDate": "2018-11-08T15:07:22.823", "Body": "Can anyone recommend a budget/value 34inch 4k monitor mostly for business but also some light strategy gaming.
\n\nAlso, do I need anything else? Like a 4K HDMI cable?\nWill it function with a typical business laptop? (probably integrated graphics, can they drive 4k?)
\n\nAnyone have any experience going up to a 34inch for coding and work? I've read its amazing on blogs, but curious if its worth the price tag.
\n\nThanks for the help.
\n\nLM
\n", "Title": "34 Inch Ultrawide for Business - Light Gaming", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "As an owner of Viotek GN34C that has a 1440x3440 resolution I can say that it is really amazing and a huge upgrade from 1080 and from standard 16:9. It is very easy to open two programs or web pages side by side, without running into all sorts of weird layout issues that you get on a 16:9 monitors. Definitely worth it.
\n\nOther than Viotek I can suggest you to look at something like Samsung CF791, Samsung C34J791 or Microboard M340CLZ, as they all have WQHD VA panels manufactured by Samsung and might be cheaper depending on your location, but keep in mind that original Samsung monitors use Quantum Dot technology, which other similar monitors don't have.
\n\nYou would need a DisplayPort cable to make use of the 100Hz refresh rate, though, or at least HDMI 2.0 to run it at 60Hz.
\n\nIf you are going to be using it with a modern business laptop you shouldn't see any problem with running programs in WQHD, but it would struggle to run modern games with decent FPS.
\n" }, { "Id": "10049", "CreationDate": "2018-11-09T05:21:36.320", "Body": "So i'm thinking of purchasing a DELL XPS 15 with a screen resolution of 15.6\" 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160).
\n\nI already have a very nice DELL Ultrasharp 27 inch monitor with a screen resolution of 2560 x 1440.
\n\nI did the research and i believe it's better to use the USB type-c (laptop) to DP (monitor) to connect both instead of the USB type-c (laptop) to HDMI (monitor).
\n\nIs this correct? Is DisplayPort 1.2 better then HDMI to connect a laptop to a monitor?
\n\nIf yes, my monitor comes with a mini DP... Should i use the USB type-c (laptop) to mini DP (monitor) instead of DP 1.2?
\n\nAlso, what is the negative points of having to different resolutions connected? I guess i just want to make sure that i'm making the right decision before investing on a expensive laptop. Thanks all.
\n\nFor more info, here are the connectivity specs from my DELL Ultrasharp U2715H:
\n\nConnectivity 2 HDMI(MHL) connector 1 Mini DisplayPort 1 DisplayPort (version 1.2) 1 DisplayPort out (MST) 1 Audio Line out (connect your speakers) 5 USB 3.0 ports - Downstream (4 at the back, 1 with battery charging) 1 USB 3.0 port - Upstream
\n", "Title": "Can I connect a 4k (3840 x 2160) laptop to a 2560 x 1440 monitor?", "Tags": "|monitors|hdmi|multiple-monitors|display-port|", "Answer": "It is true, DP is a little better (e.g., it supports a higher refresh rate); however, regardless of which one you end up going with, the differences between DisplayPort and HDMI are not very major. Unless you have some technical reasons why one would be preferred over another (e.g. you're running several of these screens, which would overload the CPU, and you need the one with the least CPU usage), either one works just fine, as long as your screen can play the sound which your computer sends. (some lower quality screens have trouble playing HDMI sound)
\n\nAnd for the second part of your question, the negatives to connecting different resolutions are also quite minor. For example, when you need to move from one window to the other, you'll be able to move your mouse to, e.g. upper right corner to switch to the other screen, but moving your mouse to the lower right corner will not move it over to the other screen (or vice versa). However, that is quite a minor disadvantage, and for all practical purposes, you should be fine.
\n" }, { "Id": "10063", "CreationDate": "2018-11-11T21:01:11.417", "Body": "I have an HP Omen X laptop 17.3\"
\n\nThe \"E\" key came off as I was foolishly trying to remove to clean a spec of food underneath. In doing so, the plastic component which connects the key to the laptop broke and I need a replacement. Customer support only offers to replace the whole keyboard which seems quite excessive to me.
\n\nSpecifically, the perimeter of the hole which allows the plastic to \"hook\" onto the laptop has broke.
\n\nWhere might one find a spare plastic \"foot\" for a particular laptop's keyboard?
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/RFQDK.jpg\")
I don't know if this is the same company from which I've purchased key caps in the past, but a quick search with the terms \"replacement key cap omen 17 laptop\" resulted in a number of links. One of the more promising links: Quickfix Laptop Keys provides a number of Omen model identifiers. It appears that you would get three pieces including the plastic hinge and the cup.
\n" }, { "Id": "10071", "CreationDate": "2018-11-12T22:56:20.043", "Body": "I am looking for an ultrabook or a lightweight laptop to replace my old Lenovo.
\n\nThe main applications I use are development (Mainly in number crunching and Machine Learning, for the intensive applications), the Adobe suite (especially premiere pro, after effects and photoshop), and a few old games. The rest is mostly a matter of taking notes and web browsing. I operate a dualboot to optimize all of those tasks.
\n\nMy minimum requirements are 12Gb of RAM, a small GPU, and enough memory to be comfortable, with a SSD being a plus. I'm more of an AMD fan as far as CPUs are concerned but I'm sadly unable to find any laptop coming with Ryzen CPUs.
\n\nOh, and as I intend to carry it around quite a lot, 13-14\" screens are almost mandatory.
\n\nI don't want to spend over 1,200$ - except maybe for an outstanding config.
\n\nI came across the Asus UX410UF-GV049T, which has an 8th gen Intel Core i7, a 1 Tb HDD, a 256 Gb SSD, 16 Gb of RAM and a Nvidia GeForce MX 130 2G, with a sale making it worth just 1,000$ ; should I go for it or do you have a better option to propose ? I intend on keeping it at least 4-5 years si I'd like to have a second opinion :)
\n\nThank you for your time,
\n\nFrost
\n", "Title": "All purpose, high end Laptop/Ultrabook", "Tags": "|laptop|high-end|", "Answer": "If you are looking for price, an HP EliteBook 725 G3 would be your best bet, with a 12.5\" HD screen, and prices starting at $649 right now.
\n\nBut, in fact, for only $899, you can get the Lenovo ThinkPad E485 with a 14\" HD screen, and a Ryzen (yes!) processor. ($799 if you're willing to drop the SSD requirement.) Notice that SSD size upgrades are very cheap for this model; I'd pay the $100 to upgrade to the 512GB SSD if I were buying this.
\n\nOf course, there are many more choices. Many.
\n" }, { "Id": "10072", "CreationDate": "2018-11-12T23:25:18.440", "Body": "I'm looking into gaming laptops and when I look at reviews for ones I'm interested in assuming they list the model number I often find the last 2-3 characters are different. It's also common on online stores to have slightly different model numbers. For example: Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-51-785A on Micro Center and Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop PH315-51-78NP on Amazon, and countless examples of just saying Acer Predator Helios 300 and giving the release year. It's all so confusing. Are there any portions of the string i can ignore. As far as I can tell the PH315 is important. I also noticed the 785A had a 512 gb ssd while the 78 np had a 218 gb ssd.
\n", "Title": "How Relevant are model numbers when looking for reviews", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|", "Answer": "Yes, the PH315-51-78 is the \"main\" model number. The \"5\" stands for 512GB of memory (otherwise, it carries 256GB of memory). The letters after that stand for the types of wireless interfaces supported. For example, the \"A\" stands for \"All\", which are a,b,g,n,ac. The \"NP\" means only the ac internet is available. Other than that, there is no difference between them.
\n" }, { "Id": "10082", "CreationDate": "2018-11-14T08:50:11.153", "Body": "I'm looking for a proper replacement card (or cards) for my current R9 290X cards. I currently run two of them in CF (three will not increase the performance significant, only the power consumption).
\n\nCurrent specs (with the R9 cards):
\n\nThe card(s) should perform well (60 FPS+) with a 5760x1200 resolution, and should be able to handle games like \"Shadow of the Tomb Raider\" maxed out.
\n\nCan anyone recommend a card, or a CF/SLI setup?
\n", "Title": "Replacement graphics card for a R9 290X CF setup", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|high-end|", "Answer": "5760x1200 is 6,912,000 pixels, which is 1 billion less pixels than true 4k resolution (3840\u00d72160, 8,294,400 pixels), so 4k framerates could be comparable to 5760x1200 framerates (but take it with a grain of salt, as for ultrawide resolutions like 5760x1200 the GPU would need more memory to load textures).
\n\nSo it might be worth to get two GTX 1080 Ti and use them in SLI - according to benchmark they will outperform 2080 Ti for almost the same cost:
\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiK0bomLrvM
\n\nThat is unless you want to throw money and get two 2080 Ti in SLI - nothing would beat it, but you would spend $1000 more for a marginal increase in performance (and a chance of getting a faulty GPU, since Nvidia's 20xx series were having a lot of troubles and bad chips).
\n\nYou should also consider upgrading your RAM and SSD to max out your rig performance, to something like this Intel Optane in RAID 0 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167440 for storage and at least 32 GB of RAM either at 4133MHz and 17 CAS latency like this G.SKILL F4-4133C17Q-32GTZR https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232677 or this 4700MHz Corsair CMW16GX4M2K4700C19 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820236447 and also investing in custom professional liquid cooling for your rig, as this will allow you to OC your GPU's and CPU even more.
\n" }, { "Id": "10084", "CreationDate": "2018-11-14T13:40:37.253", "Body": "What I want is to record a stereo input signal on a USB drive or SD card, without the use of a laptop.
\n\nThe reason is I play in a rock band, and during rehearsals it would be nice to be able to record the output of our mixing device. We don't need all 16 outputs, just a simple stereo mix will do (we have mic-ed/lined all singers/instruments).
\n\nI want a cheap solution (otherwise I can bring my laptop), but I see many dictaphones with microphones builtin, but not with a (stereo) audio input.
\n", "Title": "Looking for a device to record a stereo signal on USB drive/SD card without a laptop", "Tags": "|usb|audio|music|audio-recording|sd-card|", "Answer": "Since you modified your requirements, I am posting an answer, in case someone needs the first answer for the old requirements. What you would need is, a recording mixer. And unfortunately, those are simply not optimized for being cheap. If you needed to replace your mixer, then it would not be a big price difference to simply buy one that does recording also.
\n\nHowever, you will be pleasantly surprised that I did find one professional audio recorder for less than $100. Professional. Sitting there in the middle of all the other products for $500, $300, $1000. Technical Pro UREC7 is a rack-mountable device that can not only record audio on an SD or a USB professionally, but has all the adjustments for treble and bass, supports RCA inputs and outputs, etc. Very fortunate to have found one so cheap.
\n" }, { "Id": "10101", "CreationDate": "2018-11-15T16:14:52.287", "Body": "I am looking for a cheap x86 machine for learning OpenStack and other crap and I was wondering if such a system exists. The system should meet the following requirements:
\n\nI understand that there might be some other talks how to achieve what I want, if so, please paste me the URL to it.
\n\nThank you.
\n", "Title": "Cheapest x86 machine with remote power mgmt?", "Tags": "|mini-pc|embedded-systems|", "Answer": "Are you looking for new or used?
\n\nThe cheapest new x86 PC's you can get without monitor from somewhat known brands are:
\n\nUP Core - https://up-shop.org/up-core/271-up-core.html\n
1-4 GB RAM, 16-64 GB eMMC storage, Intel Atom X5 Z8350, 99$USD for cheapest options
ASUS Computer Stick VivoStick - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883221244\n
2 GB RAM, 32 GB eMMC, Intel Atom X5 Z8350, 119$USD
Or you can shop for prebuilt Celeron systems on AliExpress, since there are plenty of options and you can also pick what hardware will be installed (RAM, SSD, CPU):
\n\nXCY Pocket Mini PC - https://ru.aliexpress.com/item/XCY-Intel-Celeron-1007U-10/32859512422.html\n
2 GB RAM, 16 GB SSD, Intel Celeron 1007U, 92$USD
Mini PC Celeron J1900 - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Mini-PC-Celeron-J1900-Quad-Core-Windows-10-Dual-LAN-2-COM-Fanless-Mini-Computer-Celeron/32839489621.html\n
2GB RAM, 30 GB SSD, Intel Celeron N2810, 104$USD
Other than those options some used laptop might have more power in sub-100 price range, but you would need to choose carefully.
\n" }, { "Id": "10115", "CreationDate": "2018-11-16T19:56:24.163", "Body": "I have a Dell U2415 24.1\" (16:10) display and I've very pleased with it, except this morning I found out one of the kids hit it with a pan and cracked its display panel.
\n\nNow I need to buy a new computer monitor and I was thinking of buying the exact same model, only I've stumbled upon this LG 29UM69G-B 29\" (21:9) display at pretty much the same price and I'm tempted to buy it instead.
\n\nI've compared the specs of both monitors found them to be equivalent in most respects except the LG would give me a much bigger desktop at the same pixel size (~0.26cm if my calculations are right).
\n\nMy only concern is that the LG seems too cheap?
\n\nMy question is - Am I missing something in the comparison between the two displays? Is there some disadvantage in the LG display that explains its lower price compared to other 29\" displays?
\n", "Title": "Please help me choose between this Dell 24.1\" 16:10 display and this LG 29\" 21:9 display", "Tags": "|displays|", "Answer": "The main difference between the LG and the Dell monitor is that the LG monitor has an \"Ultra-Ultra-wide\" aspect ratio, meaning that you will have a lot more horizontal real estate. I've heard of 21:9 aspect ratio monitors feeling like the real estate of two normal computer monitors which might be a plus or minus to you depending on your usage scenarios. The LG also has a higher refresh rate at 75 hz which technically makes it slightly better for gaming, though most people find 60 to be enough to suit their tastes.
\n\nAddressing your concern for price, I think that the Dell monitor is a bit over priced. I find that certain big name brands in particular tend to over price their products in comparison to others that have similar specs. I believe that this is the case here at a $400 list price, which is what 2K and 4k monitors can go for. In my experience, DELL products, in general, tend to be either hit or miss when it comes to good value.
\n\nBetween your choices in a purely objective sense, the LG monitor will probably be of better value as it has a pixel density of 2.76 (+33% megapixels), has a slightly higher refresh rate (+25% Hz), and also supports AMD FreeSync (this is an anti screen tearing technology see link for more details, I believe you need an AMD GPU for this to apply).
\n" }, { "Id": "10122", "CreationDate": "2018-11-19T01:37:22.140", "Body": "I currently have a mini tower containing an SSD, one 2TB HDD and one 3TB backup HDD. Thanks to this Stack site, I recently installed an Arctic Freezer 11 LP for a CPU cooler, which is now the only fan in my system apart from the one on my Corsair VS550 PSU (which faces backwards, towards the rest of the components).
\n\nI feel like I need an exhaust fan in there just to offset the high temperatures of my drives, the SSD in particular:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/9XUPS.jpg\")
However, I know very little about coolers, so I'm unsure whether a back exhaust fan would be installed to the inside or the outside of my mini tower's back grill. If it's the former, then as well as fitting in the case's back grill size of around 10 CM/3.5 inches, the exhaust fan in question would also need to have a depth of less than one inch to prevent it colliding with the Freezer 11 CPU cooler.
\n\nTo add to the conundrum, I'm on a low income, so the cheaper the proposed fan is the better.
\n\nTL;DR: I'm looking for the cheapest, quietest low-profile exhaust cooler that will fit in my PC.
\n\nWould really appreciate some help with this one, I understand there's a lot to consider.
\n", "Title": "What is the cheapest, quietest low-profile exhaust cooler that will fit in my PC?", "Tags": "|cooling|", "Answer": "Coming from someone with a lot of fans in his system ill share what my experience with them is. The amount of fans is not nearly as important as a good air flow. You need a good way for air to get into you case and (what most people forget) you need a way for air to be blown out of your case. It would be counterproductive to get the one but not the other and as you stated you only have a fan on your CPU and PS this is a bare minimal of fans. (Are you sure your case does not have any fans?).
\n\nMy advice for you would be to see where the air goes now and how you want to get rid of said air. If your desktop is placed inside a desk, hugging the back wall or tucked in a corner be aware that that seriously limits the air flow out of your case. If I was in your situation I would place it in an air flow rich place and not on the floor (which attracts a lot of dust).
\n\nIf you want to buy only a single fan
\n\nPlace a fan in the front of your case (if your case allows that) blowing into your pc letting the hot air be taken from this flow to the back of the case.
\n\nIf you want to buy two fans
\n\nPlace a fan in the front of your case blowing inwards and place a fan at the back blowing outwards. This would allow cool air to be mixed with the hot air your PS and CPU fan are blowing into the case. The fan at the back would collect this mixed air and blow it out the back since the fan in the front causes the air to be blown to the back of your case. (Dont place it close to the back wall though!)
\n\nFor brand recomendations, personally I really like the be quiet! series and the Silent wings 3 are also quite cheap ~20/25 euro's.
\n\n(Oh and also, cyber monday is comming up ;) )
\n" }, { "Id": "10138", "CreationDate": "2018-11-23T05:44:02.820", "Body": "Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming 7577, some basic specs:
\nModel: The exact model number is 7577-92774
\nService Tag: ==REMOVED==
\nBIOS: Upgraded to the latest version (1.6.1)
\nCPU: Intel\u00a9 Core\u2122 i7-7700HQ - 7th gen. = Kaby Lake
\nRAM: 16GB single memory stick
\nGPU: I disabled the integrated in the OS, and have NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design and 6GB GDDR5 active
\nNetwork: The laptop is connected to my router via Cat.6 ethernet cable
\nDisplay: UHD 3840 x 2160, 15.6 inches
\nSystem: Linux Mint 19
\nThis question is all about storage, current configuration:
\nSSD #1: M.2, NVMe PCI-Express, Toshiba, 512GB, KXG50ZNV512G (original part)
\nSSD #2: 2.5 inches, SATA III, Samsung, 250GB, 850 EVO (replaced HDD with this temporarily)
\nIn spite of Dell's recommendation, I intend to replace both of these SSD drives. The question is not about if to replace them; it is about what to replace them for. I am an IT guy and use my computer 12 hours a day. I literally go for the best overall value and / or performance if the price limit allows it.
\nThe price limit for both of these drives should be in total 10000 CZK ~= 385 EUR or 440 USD. I live in the Czech Republic, please take it into account and test in the beginning if the drive you are suggesting is available on our market, you can use for instance this page, which is my favorite: https://www.czc.cz/
\nThe answer with the most upvotes will get realized.
\nConditions for the answers:
\nInclude suggestion for both of the drives in one answer.
\nFormulate the suggestion and structure it well, take your time.
\nIt should include a direct link to https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/
\nA picture of the drive is welcomed for a better viewer experience.
\nYou should include a text explaining why that SSD is better for me, e.g. overall value, performance, etc.
\nPrimary (NVMe) SSD will be used for the Linux system itself and performance-driven applications and games, while the secondary (SATA) SSD will be used for storing stuff like virtual machines, which I don't really need to run at peak performance and other data like thousands of pictures, some videos, etc.
\n", "Title": "What SSDs (NVMe + SATA) to a high-performance laptop", "Tags": "|ssd|", "Answer": "I thought about writing a comment first, but since it will be relevant to other people I will write it as an answer.
\n\nThere are a few things you need to consider when doing this upgrade:
\n\nDo you really need NVMe SSD? NVMe speeds reach into thousands of MB/s, it sounds impressive, but in real computing, you would see a marginal difference, the real difference being in 2-8%, according to my estimates. Compiling AOSP on my SATA SSD loads my Ryzen 1700x CPU up to 90-95%, and your laptop has a much weaker 7700HQ. Most of the heavy computing you do will be CPU-bound, and upgrading SSD won't help it. You might see some apps taking a second or two less to load.
The only real use for those speeds is actually doing backups. If you can't stand to let them run overnight, then having SSD's is a plus. But with NVMe SSD's you still would be IO bound - to run a backup at SATA III speed you would need at least a 5 gigabit speed, while your laptop only has a gigabit Ethernet adapter, that is just as fast as a decent HDD.\nEven a 10 gigabit would max out at ~1200 MB/s, which your Toshiba KXG50ZNV512G is capable of delivering. To get even higher speeds you would need a Thunderbolt port. You would also need a storage that supports those kinds of speed, so either a RAID 0 NAS or another NVMe SSD.
Samsung's 860 aren't quite as good as you think. Its speed is a bit of a cheat - it uses a cheap flash and a fast caching storage, so after the cache gets filled its speed drops to 120-150 MB/s. If you were to use it intensively you would notice a performance drop.
So, my suggestion is:
\n\nGo for a single 1TB Samsung 970 Pro M.2:
\n\nIt costs about 11400 CZK on the website you suggested, it delivers one of the best SSD performance, and it is the most cost-efficient solution. SSD prices drop and storage increases, buying a 500 GB SSD now would require a sooner upgrade and make it less reusable in future. You would also be able to install your VM's on it, and in this case, it might actually improve VM's performance.
\n\n![\"Samsung](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Gkiqm.jpg\")
https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/497261/Samsung-SSD-970-PRO-1TB
\n\nAnd an M.2 to SATA adapter. You already have a working SSD, so why not reuse it?
\n\n![\"M.2](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/yPRhy.jpg\")
I have seen benchmark results from Geekbench https://browser.geekbench.com/ and also from Passmarks. But I would like to see the benchmark results of a given model (say Dell Precision with ... configuration). Where can I find these results?
\n", "Title": "Finding a benchmark result", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "You might find it on notebookcheck, but if you don't, simply look at similar laptops. The cooling system may change a bit the performance, but you can see that in reviews and then evaluate if your model might be slightly better/worse that the benchmark you found.
\n" }, { "Id": "10150", "CreationDate": "2018-11-23T18:24:32.307", "Body": "I don't fully understand all the subtle differences between different mobo models. I know 470x supports SLI and think b450 doesn't. I also know some mobo models have wifi, faster Ethernet and/or better sound and some have more USB ports/PCIE slots. Some even boast a better VRM heatsink (?), not sure if I should care? Also, some boards have negative core voltage and precision boost, I am guessing I shouldn't care cause these have to do with OC? Also, some VRMs are 10 phase (?) and some are 6 phase?
\n\nBecause I don't care about audio and I don't need fast Ethernet or wifi and I don't understand why I should invest in VRM, I am thinking of buying this model:\nAsrock B450M-HDV. Q: Are there any serious disadvantages to it? I am buying it cause it got nice reviews and it's very cheap.
\n\nIs there any other important feature I'm missing that I might want to consider?
\n\nI am planning to purchase Flare X AMD compatible DDR4. I don't understand what this compatibility means? Should I care about it?
\n\n\n\n\n[Flare X (for AMD)] Designed for the latest AMD Ryzen\u2122 processor.
\n
I am buying the 2400Mhz model. How much oomph do you get by opting for the 3200Mhz model?
\n\nI am planning to juice this thing with Corsair RM550x. It should be sufficient. Why should I care about PSU rating like platinum/titanium/gold/bronze? Do they matter? Why would anyone buy the expensive ones?
\n\nMy main question is how do you distinguish between components that you can't benchmark with 3dmark or cinebench? How do you know they are \"better\" budget options? How is it measured? What is the added value? How significant is it?
\n\nThe computer will be used for occasional Blender rendering, video editing and mild amounts of gaming. I don't have a budget constrain but I want to hit the sweet spot where you get the best value for your money.
\n", "Title": "Picking the right memory, psu and mobo for a ryzen 2700x + gtx 1070 ti non OC build?", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|power-supply|", "Answer": "Lots of question, lots of answers.
\n\n\n\n\nI don't understand the differences between different mother boards' chipsets.
\n
The difference is pretty well explained on the Wikipedia page of AM4 socket. Mostly SLI / CFX support and number of ports / slots.
\n\n\n\n\nI also don't understand how to quantify the difference between motherboards with the same chipsets. How do you measure these differences? Which features matter and why (I am not doing SLI)?
\n
Motherboards can include a whole lot of features, like dual bios (two BIOS chips onboard), more slots, better design, software features (OC suites, etc). The quality of components can also vary. The question is: what are you going to need ? And if you don't know, which is probably the case, ask yourself what you're gonna do with the mobo (OC, multi GPU, etc), you'll have the answer.
\n\n\n\n\nHow do I measure latency? How much does it affect performance? I don't understand if 3200hz matters.
\n
I'll advice watching LTT video on ram speed.
\n\n\n\n\nAlso, there are a lot of different kinds with 3200Mhz, what are the differences and how do you know? Some brands like and models like FLare X say they are for AMD. What the hell does that mean? How do you make sense of it? Is other memory specifically for Intel?
\n
The chips on the sticks can be different. Please notice that Ryzen are quite more tricky on frequency than Intel CPUs, it's harder to achieve high frequency, or to the cost of a higher latency. That's why there are \"Ryzen optimized\" rams. This does NOT mean that other rams won't work with Ryzen, it means that other rams COULD possibly not run at their maximum speed / minimum latency on Ryzen.
\n\nWhen I said different chips, I meant different ranges, from different manufacturers. That can be a way of choosing your ram, especially for Ryzen. You can rely on this table for chips ranges. This is an extract of what is written above the table:
\n\n\n\n\nIn general (on Ryzen) you can expect up to 3466 MHz (without BCLK-OC) with Samsung B-Die (on AGESA 1.0.0.6+ Bios Versions), up to 2933 MHz (without BCLK-OC) with Samsung D/E/S-Die (AGESA 1.0.0.5+). Hynix A/M-Die are mostly working @ 3200 MHz with AGESA 1.0.0.5+. Do note that Dual Rank RAM is faster than Single Rank. E.g. 2933 MHz Dual Rank is faster than 3200 MHz Single Rank.
\n
It was written for 1st gen Ryzen, but is still quite accurate today.
\n\n\n\n\nI don't understand what 'SSR' and 'PX' mean? I also don't understand if I should care. How do you tell the difference between these things?
\n
I would say SSR and PX have to do with the platform used, but I wouldn't put money on it. What you should care about is the range, a Focus Plus (e.g. SSR 550 FX) isn't the same range as Prime Platinium Ultra (e.g. SSR 550 PD2) and the quality is not the same. Once again, how much you should care depends on what you want / need. Of course, if you have a low budget, you're not going to head toward the highest end 1KW PSUs.
\n\nI would recommend to consider SuperFlower and FSP as well, they're part of the biggest PSU manufacturers with Sea. Evga is also very good, using SP, FSP and Sea parts. If you don't know if your PSU is good, look at that table. It'll probably give you reviews for the model you're looking for, once you found it.
\n" }, { "Id": "10152", "CreationDate": "2018-11-23T21:21:13.177", "Body": "I'm dealing with a 3.5 inch floppy drive and I'm curious if there's any way to get a USB drive's data directly into the place where the floppy drive would usually be inserted. Is there such a device?
\n", "Title": "Getting a USB into 3.5 floppy drive", "Tags": "|usb|adapter|floppy-drive|", "Answer": "There isn't a device which allows a 3.5\" floppy drive to read off of Flash memory, simply because the drive itself works through the traditional mechanical means of its media. Such a device would be similar to a car tape-deck adapter for a CD player, and would be prone to failure anyway.
\n\nThere are many, many devices like this one which will allow you to use USB disks with a 3.5\" bay, however. They require connection to the USB headers on your motherboard or an expansion card purchased separately.
\n" }, { "Id": "10154", "CreationDate": "2018-11-23T23:11:10.573", "Body": "I'm planning on adding an SSD to my old DELL Inspiron N5110, using a caddy to put the SSD there instead of the optical drive, but I don't know the size of the caddy that I should buy, 9.5mm or 12.7mm
\n\nMy laptop's optical drive is a \"TSSTcorp DVD+-RW SN-208BB\", I searched all over the net and I didn't find it's size.
\n\nIs it a problem if I get a bigger or a smaller caddy?
\n", "Title": "which HDD caddy for my Dell Inspiron N5110", "Tags": "|ssd|", "Answer": "The CD/DVD RW Drive dimensions in Dell Inspiron N5110 laptop are 128(W) x 12.7(H) x 126.1(D) mm.
\n\nThe Model No. is DS-8ACSH.
\n\nMore Info. can be found from this official link: http://www.liteonodd.com/datasheet/DS-8ACSH_Datasheet_EN.pdf
\n\nMany people were not sure about the right size of caddy for Dell N5110. Hope this helps.
\n\nThe right caddy height is 12.7 mm.
\n" }, { "Id": "10169", "CreationDate": "2018-11-28T06:05:21.363", "Body": "I have a Lenovo ThinkPad 11e with an Intel Celeron CPU N2940 and 8 GB of memory (Crucial Single DDR3 1600 MT/s). Intel's website states the Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type) is 8 GB, but I would like to have 16+ GB?
Because of that, I am considering getting a new 11.6\" laptop, such as the Yoga models which come with 16 GB, but the RAM is soldered (which is a deal breaker), its CPU is only a dual-core (unlike Celeron's quad-core), and it has only 1 USB slot.
\n\nIn a perfect world, I would like a 11.6\" laptop that has memory extendible to 32 GB and all the physical plugins that are on the 11e (i.e., HDMI connector, Ethernet Connector, Media card slot, and 2 USB 3.0 connectors). I've searched dozens of websites and it seems that Lenovo ThinkPad 11e is the most suitable, except for the max 8 GB of RAM.
\n", "Title": "New 11.6\" laptop with 16GB RAM", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|memory|", "Answer": "Your big problem is that you want it to have normal computer connections on the case, honestly. \"Slim and Light\" is the main thing people look for when scoping out their laptop's casing, so even some ASUS Republic of Gamers laptops still only have two USB ports and very little else for connectivity.
\n\nI would recommend looking into a Sager. They specialize in customized gaming laptops, and most of the cases they use still appear to have the connections you requested. Your size requirement is in your way on the RAM; 13\" and smaller machines have a lot of tech packed in a small space, and actual physical size of the motherboard is influencing the number of RAM slots you have available or even necessitating permanent integration. The problem isn't the CPU having a limitation, but the motherboard's physical capacity.
\n" }, { "Id": "10184", "CreationDate": "2018-11-30T22:56:21.140", "Body": "I love using trackballs on bed/couches as I don't need to worry about the surface at all. However, tablets are cutting down on usb-A ports and I don't want adapters hanging off my tablet so I'm looking for a Bluetooth trackball. It seems that the only options are the Logitech ergo mx and a Japanese trackball Nakabayashi. These are really expensive. Does anyone know if there are any cheaper alternatives?
\n", "Title": "Are there any budget Bluetooth trackballs?", "Tags": "|bluetooth|mice|trackball|", "Answer": "Unfortunately, trackballs are a fairly narrow market with not a ton of demand; unsurprisingly, this means that prices aren't exactly the most competitive. Finding something cheaper than the $50 Nakabayashi mouse with Bluetooth unfortunately is a rather tall order, and unfortunately, hackey solutions like converting a wired mouse to wireless or converting proprietary wireless signals just aren't practical\u2014both in terms of price and the end product.
\n\nThe Ergo may not be the cheapest mouse, but you're getting a solid mouse for that money. My (albeit limited) experience with their gaming and MX Master mice has been extremely favorable\u2014something that's reflected in numerous reviews. Given how much time you're likely to spend with a mouse, IMO, it's worth getting something good.
\n\nIf you're still uncomfortable with the price, you can monitor for sales or consider buying used, both of which should net you some savings.
\n" }, { "Id": "10217", "CreationDate": "2018-12-07T01:52:50.207", "Body": "Preferably, it would screw in to an existing light socket. RC car type frequencies/range (27-49MHz or so). No wifi, please.
\n", "Title": "Remote control light socket", "Tags": "|remote-control|", "Answer": "Would 310MHz be acceptable? If so, the well-developed X10 system may be useful. An introduction is available. Lamp socket modules are available.
\n" }, { "Id": "10237", "CreationDate": "2018-12-11T14:06:51.997", "Body": "I have this two components that support ECC memory:
\n\nOn the other hand I have this memory
\n\nYes, it does work together.
\n\nYes, this motherboard will run both ECC and non ECC ram (always in non ECC mode though) according to AnandTech.
\n\n\n\n\nWill the opposite case work?
\n
Depends. ECC unbuffered memory should work on non ECC memory, from LinusTechTips.
\n" }, { "Id": "10240", "CreationDate": "2018-12-11T18:47:08.773", "Body": "I currently cannot boot my PC due to an incompatible memory. \nI am looking for ECC ram compatible with these components:
\n\nI know the motherboard and the CPU can run ECC memory, but apparently I am not able to find a memory really compatible.
\n\nI have tried:
\n\nI am pretty sure it is the RAM causing problems, since with other DIMMs it boots seamlessly.
\n", "Title": "Asus X470 compatibility with ECC RAM", "Tags": "|memory|compatibility|", "Answer": "Your motherboard does support ECC memory, but probably not registered. If you absolutly want ECC memory, try to find ECC Unbuffered memory, like Crucial CT16G4WFD824A for example.
\n\nFIY, another related question that was asked yesterday, Will a non-ECC memory work with motherboard and CPU that supports ECC?
\n" }, { "Id": "10252", "CreationDate": "2018-12-14T08:33:58.397", "Body": "I usually try to be pretty vague, but I think details will help here.
\n\nMy wife needs a mobile device that she can put in her clipboard and take with her at work. She works in schools (at district level) and sometimes needs to show technical information to teachers. However, her job has her covering more than one school location, all subject areas and all grades. Printing out this information and bringing it along wouldn't be possible.
\n\nHer issued laptop is too bulky to walk around all day with and the organization will not be providing this hardware. So I will be procuring it and setting it up for her.
\n\nFile Management might look something like this
\n\n 1) ALL FILES\n A) Elementary School\n i) First Grade\n (1) Science.pdf\n (2) Math.pdf\n (3) Reading.pdf\n ii) Second Grade\n (1) Science.pdf\n ..etc\n B) Middle School\n C) High School\nRequirements
\n\nNon-requirements
\n\nIf need be, I can load an O/S on whatever device, if that's what's best, as long as it remains simple to use. She is tech savvy.
\n\nNot really sure on budget, just something that would work. Cheaper is better, maybe keep it under $300 USD.
\n", "Title": "Tablet with easily used file explorer for loading pdf files", "Tags": "|tablet|", "Answer": "File explorer, PDF reader, etc, are not issues for nowadays tablets, every single one can do it.
\n\nNow if you're looking for a tablet around 10\" with a good battery life, Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite could be great. I bet it is even totally overkill for just displaying some PDF files.
\n\nA ~120-140 USD tablet would still be more than enough, like a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2016 or a Lenovo Tab 4 10.1.
\n\nThen install a decent file explorer like ES Explorer or whatever you want, and a PDF reader if it does not have one already, and that's done.
\n" }, { "Id": "10256", "CreationDate": "2018-12-14T16:36:33.080", "Body": "I am looking for a single board computer to discover the possibility of using them as a computing unit to support my laptop.
\n\nI would like to try four or five of those SBCs and use them for scientific computations, and communicate the data to my laptop for visualization via ethernet cable. The platform should be able to run python, c, fortran and latex codes. I would like to have 10GB of free disk space to write data on each one of the SBCs after installations. Memory is typically the bottleneck during the computations. No WIFI, GPIO, HDMI, USB3.0 etc. is needed on SBCs.
\n\nI want to start with a budget around $300-$500 and I would like to know if somebody already tried it and could recommend me a SBC brand or specification and share some experience to help me start. The questions in my mind for the moment:
\n\nAfter a survey, I have three options in December 2018: Rock64, omega2, parallella but I am not sure if any of these are good for my project or if I am missing something\u2026
\n\nI hope this question helps many others who wants to start this.
\n\nThanks for your help!
\n", "Title": "Single board computer to support laptop for scientific computations", "Tags": "|cluster-computing|sbc|", "Answer": "As you mention that memory is a bottleneck in your computations I would imagine that the rock64 is the best solution with 4gb of memory.
\nIf you want to make a cluster of these you will have to do some work creating a frame, compact power supply and integrate a network switch.
If you want a small high performance server with a lot of memory to do computations on I'd go with a single intel NUC.
\n\nBut if you are looking for a cheap and simple way to get into cluster computing and experimentation I'd advice looking into a raspberry pi combined with the cluster hat.
\n\nThis set up would consist of the following:
\n\nI have no experience with this set up yet but am planning to buy it at the end of this month so I have done my research.
\n\nThe good bits:
\n\nThe down sides:
\n\nMy Laptop is ASUS ROG GL553VD Model, Here is its Summary Hardware Specification:
\n\nI would like to ask for a SSD Hardware Recommendation, as I found that 128GB storage is not enough for me, these are my concerns for the SSD Upgrade:
\n\nI mostly use my Laptop for Android Mobile Apps Development (using Android Studio Software which is very Performance Demanding), I would like the SSD faster enough to handle Android Studio or other commonly used development software (such as Visual Studio, etc).
I would like to Clone my Digital Licensed Windows 10 from my current 128GB m2 PCIe Nvme SSD and Boot the Windows 10 in the Hardware, so it is expected to able to support Clone Windows Feature and able to boot up in a very fast manner.
I would like to ensure the Hardware to be Cost-efficient type, where it does not Overprice (such as low price ADATA SSD compare to high price SAMSUNG SSD)
I would like the Hardware to be As Reliable as possible
Storage Space should above 300GB.
Budget Around RM500 (USD 120).
I been considering whether to replace my current 128GB m2 PCIe Nvme SSD to a new 512GB m2 PCIe Nvme SSD or I should simply get a new SATA SSD which would keep my current 128GB m2 PCIe Nvme SSD instead,
\n\nMy Biggest Concerns is:
\n\nYour Experienced recommendations, advises, opinions is much appreciated.
\n", "Title": "Should I upgrade my Laptop with a New m2 PCIe Nvme SSD or SATA SSD?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|ssd|sata|", "Answer": "Personally I would not throw away that 126 GB PCI-e SSD as you've already paid good money for that drive. Based on your spec sheet, you have one more SATA III slot that can accept a 2.5\" Drive. Unless your PCIe drive is giving you problems from a speed perspective it is not worth replacing that drive. You likely won't see that much of a speed difference in visual studio build speed unless you're like me and have allocated a part of your RAM for application development (I build applications on a RAM disk for speed and even with non PCI-e drives it can build GB sized applications almost instantaneously).
\n\nThat being said, you should keep your Visual Studio related program files to your primary SSD and send all your other junk to a slightly slower SATA SSD or HDD. This is going to be a lot more economical especially with the budget you specified.
\n\nI've recommended you Drives that can ship to a Malaysian address today.
\n\nIt turns out this SSD option is exactly your budget. Owning a 840 EVO I can tell you these SSDs are excellent and come at a very reasonable price. Also here is a Amazon link in case you find Amazon can offer a better price for your location. I'm not familiar with the South-Eastern Asian Markets so it's hard for me to cull prices specific to Malaysia.
\n\nIn addition, I'll recommend a HDD, as you may not need that much speed for your additional files. HDD are very much under budget and I've taken care to recommend you one of the highest benchmarking HDDs at its price point. Here's the Amazon link for this as well.
\n\nFinally if you really want, you can completely replace your PCI-e SSD with another one. I would recommend the Samsung 960 Evo, but only the 250 GB variant is under budget. Samsung also comes with cloning software so you can make a completely copy of your system onto any Samsung SSD and just plug it in and operate like normal. I've used Samsung's cloning software and can tell you its pretty painless.
\n" }, { "Id": "10290", "CreationDate": "2018-12-20T21:55:33.727", "Body": "It still amazes me that it's almost the end of 2018 and still no one seems to have been able to, to my knowledge, find or create such a device. I did however gather some more information, so here I go.
\n\nTo clarify what the adapter should be able to do:
\n\nThe USB-C male port is for the host device, aka a phone.
\n\nThe USB-C-PD female port is for power. So it could be connected to a wall adapter with a C-C cable and provide power to the host device (and maybe also for the second device).
\n\nThe USB-C data female port is for USB devices that can be connected to the host device, aka a flashdrive, mouse or 3.5mm dongle (with DAC).
\n\nFor reference, I own a USB-C hub that does all these things, however it's very large (especially for a phone) since besides these ports it also packs in an extra USB-C port and two USB-A 3.1 ports. I'm talking about the Aukey CB-C48\nhttps://www.aukey.life/products/cbc48-usb-c-hub-2-port-usb-3-0-2-port-usb-c-1-port-usb-c-with-pd. This device existing, shows that the idea of a \"splitter\" is actually possible, just never done before (to my knowledge).
\n\nThe size I'm looking for is around this size: ![\"this](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/RbtmB.jpg\")
\n(Don't be fooled by its appearance, the adapter in the picture only wires the lines regarding power one way, while it wires the lines for Analog-Audio-over-USB-C the other way, which is great, if you have a phone with a DAC and only want to use it for headphones but not for anything else.)
Another option would be this form factor: https://hackaday.io/project/26263-pd-buddy-wye. (This one works the other way around, allowing your phone to fast-charge over PD from a charger and connect to a PC via USB. It doesn't allow the phone to be the host.)
\n\nFinally I found another adapter of which I do not know whether it works: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KSZMG5J?pf_rd_p=1581d9f4-062f-453c-b69e-0f3e00ba2652&pf_rd_r=SMDQYBNA8X75H9EGVK16. These types of adapters have a DAC inside them,thus enabling phones without a DAC to connect to USB-C headphones (or dongles) without DAC. At least that's what I've gathered from the descriptions. However, I don't know if the port can also be used for other USB peripherals. The seller did tell me it didn't work with mice/flashdrives, but it did work with the 3.5mm dongle from Google, which is odd, because it does have a DAC inside and thus is a completely normal USB peripheral, just like a mouse for instance. I did order one to test what's true and what isn't about these. When mine arrives, I'll update the post.
\n\nEdit 1: Another item I found was the Cusby, a failed indiegogo campain: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cusby-first-usb-c-modular-expandable-adapter and http://www.cusby.com/. In particular their \"power port\" module does exactly what I'm looking for. Unfortunately they've been silent for 3 years now, so yeah...
\n\nSo if anyone finds anything, please let me know and if anyone has the capacity to design and build such an adapter also let me know. I really hope it can be realized!
\n", "Title": "Is there, or could anyone make a tiny 1 to 2 USB-C \"splitter\" hub that only contains a female USB-C-PD port and a female USB-C data port?", "Tags": "|usb|hub|power|adapter|splitters|", "Answer": "These small splitters should be avoided at all costs. As Benson Leung's post explains
\n\n\n\n\nThere are no active components inside. It bridges many pins (power, data, gnd, cc) among the three USB-C connectors). What this means is that your phone or laptop can negotiated much higher voltage than vSafe5V, and that will just magically show up on the other USB-C receptacle.
\n \nIf the other USB-C receptacle has a headphone or a USB-C thumbdrive or a USB-C Yubikey that is only 5V tolerant, it will be destroyed.
\n
A later post by someone much less famous but nonetheless correct:
\n\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "10291", "CreationDate": "2018-12-22T06:17:27.183", "Body": "A proper adapter would need a buck converter for 5V, a power switch on the downstream data port, and two USB PD interfaces with good firmware that implements proper derating. Essentially a full blown charge-through hub.
\n
I'm looking for external GPU options for a power boost for a mid-2015 MacBook Pro 15 inch. It is used for animation production and 3D rendering, using software such as Aftereffects and Maya.
\n\nI don't have any knowledge of hardware systems, so I'll appreciate any information on what would my the best options for this for a budget around 700-750$ ? I was thinking of buying an AMD RX 580. Is that a good choice?
\n\nPlease keep in mind that my Macbook is Thunderbolt 2, and I'm going to have to use the eGPUs with a Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adopter I guess. (I don't know if that matters.)
\n", "Title": "Best graphic cards and eGPUs for MacBook Pro 15\" mid-2015", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|rendering|", "Answer": "First and foremost: what card is best for you will depend heavily on your specific workload, down to often even relatively small details. Things from what you're modeling, render settings, and even what format you're exporting to can influence what card works best for you massively. Unfortunately, spending more doesn't mean you'll be getting better performance, and outside of the very best Quadros, doesn't even guarantee the same level of performance. What I'm trying to do here is provide you with a general recommendation of what will probably be good given your (somewhat varied) workload. If it turns out that you're really doing one thing in particular, either come back here for more specific recommendations or contact the developer/a third party consultant who specializes in the tech for a specific recommendation.
\n\nSecond: I am by no means an expert when it comes to hardware-accelerated GPGPU. The world of GPUs, even compared to others in the industry, is a particularly messy one, and I make no pretense that I understand it all or even close to it. If you want a brief and very interesting (while slightly terrifying) look into the world of graphics, I highly recommend this post on the Dolphin Emulator blog on ubershaders.
\n\nThat said, let's get into it.
\n\nUnderstanding what GPU is best for you requires understanding how GPUs interface with software. Based on your background, I'll assume you understand the basic premise between APIs, but it's worth reviewing them in specific for macOS, since it in particular sits in a bit of a weird space when it comes to graphics APIs. For the purposes of these programs, macOS has three different graphics APIs: OpenCL, CUDA, and Metal. OpenCL is cross-vendor and cross-platform, working on AMD, Nvidia, and Intel (plus others) GPUs with Apple's out-of-the-box drivers on macOS. CUDA is specific to Nvidia GPUs but cross-platform, installable with Nvidia's web drivers on macOS. Metal is the newest of the bunch, written by Apple for their OSs with support for AMD, Nvidia, and Intel (plus others) GPUs. So, which to choose? Well, it's not so simple. Metal and CUDA tend to provide \"better\" access to the hardware, at the cost of the developers. Although Metal might seem like the obvious first choice, because it's so new and specific to Apple's OSs, performance is often somewhat lackluster, if developer support exists at all. OpenCL might seem like a solid bet, but because Apple wants to push Metal, it refuses to provide drivers past version 1.2, even outright deprecating it with the release of macOS 10.14 Mojave (somewhat ironic given Apple is the original author of OpenCL.) Additionally, Nvidia GPUs tend to perform worse with OpenCL compared to CUDA. CUDA, meanwhile, suffers from the obvious burden of only supporting Nvidia GPUs and lackluster support from Nvidia themselves.
\n\nThis has left software vendors in a bit of a tight spot. Many have existing support for OpenCL (and sometimes CUDA) based hardware acceleration, but don't see a clear path forward. No matter what option they choose, they're either alienating part of their consumer base on the basis of their hardware choices, getting less performance than they could, or spending more time and resources developing their software. As a result, developers have basically scattered when it comes to what graphics API they use on macOS.
\n\nFor this reason, this will be considered on a program by program basis, along with hardware.
\n\nAs it stands, Media Encoder still favors OpenCL over Metal for encoding. Or maybe not? Initial testing with Adobe Media Encoder 2019 (which has a bunch of improvements on the Metal front) actually yielded a 11% (1:20 vs. 1:30) improvement with Metal transcoding from a H.264 screen recording to H.264 Youtube 1080p... so maybe not? In any case, I won't be considering this for now because of the wonky state of Metal at the moment (more on this later.)
\n\nLet's get down to the benchmarks:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/NKmyf.jpg\")
Conclusion? More raw power is better (but not by a ton); Nvidia is favored somewhat over AMD; \"Pro\" features don't matter.
\n\nUnfortunately, numbers for the RTX series aren't available here. However, we can still get a pretty good idea of things.\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/8t2UG.png\")
AFAIK, Maya doesn't support GPU-based rendering. While I believe there are other renderers which do, I don't feel I'm qualified to talk about them here.
\n\nConclusion? More raw power is better; AMD and Nvidia appear roughly equal; \"Pro\" features are favored by ~5-20%, but which features are important is unclear.
\n\nUnfortunately, SPECviewperf numbers aren't available for Cinema 4D AFAIK, and I haven't been able to find a good replacement. Will update if I find something.
\n\nCinema 4D is really simple: no support for GPU rendering!
\n\n...until it's not. While the \"normal\" rendering engine doesn't support GPU acceleration, Cinema 4D offers the ability to use a variety of other rendering engines, including Arnold, Octane, Redshift, and even Blender's Cycles engine. However, these might as well be considered separate programs, so I won't actually be covering those here.
\n\nExcept, starting with release 20 on September 1st, 2018, Cinema 4D includes built-in support for the Radeon ProRender rendering engine, with support for OpenCL and Metal based acceleration. Unfortunately, because it's new, numbers are hard to come by. So far, all I've managed to find is this set:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/t0u8r.png\")
Note also that these numbers are with OpenCL on Windows 10 Pro and don't include the RTX series.
\n\nConclusion? More raw power is better; AMD is favored over Nvidia; \"Pro\" features don't matter. However, things are fast-moving.
\n\nBased on your budget, ~$500 seems reasonable for your graphics card.
\n\nFrankly, the extra expense of a \"pro\" card doesn't make sense for the relatively minimal gains in Maya. Because of the much better availability of consumer cards, I'd highly recommend one of them over a pro card.
\n\nGoing for straight power, a used GTX 1080 should be well within reach; and, if you're willing to shop around a bit, a GTX 1080 Ti should be doable. Right now, AMD's offerings just aren't competitive at this price point; used 10 series cards are far cheaper and available compared to Vega cards, and no AMD card can match the 1080 Ti ATM.
\n\nHowever, it must be noted that Nvidia cards are currently unsupported on Mojave, and other than Kepler, Metal drivers are absent, making it impossible to upgrade to Mojave. However, it seems likely that Nvidia will release drivers (with Metal support) in the future. Just when exactly that future is is unclear. In the meantime, stay on High Sierra.
\n\nNote also that Thunderbolt 2 and Nvidia eGPUs are unsupported by Apple and require extra work for macOS compared to the plug-and-play of an AMD card on Mojave with a TB3 equipped Mac. Since you've got a Thunderbolt 2 equipped laptop anyways, I'm going to recommend this setup anyways. Just keep this in mind.
\n\neGPU.io is a fantastic resource for everything eGPU related, from hardware recommendations to build guides. Information is generally quite recent, and the forums there are extremely useful.
\n\nI'm going to recommend using a Thunderbolt 3 eGPU enclosure with an adapter, rather than a Thunderbolt 2 enclosure. While Thunderbolt 2 enclosures can be cheaper, they're usually harder to find, have much, much lower power limits, and aren't great for upgradability.
\n\neGPUs are a bit strange in that there are a bunch of different enclosures available, all of which are fairly valid choices. While I'm going to make some recommendations, if you find yourself looking at something else, there's nothing wrong with that. Again, the eGPU.io buyer's guide is a fantastic resource.
\n\nThis box is a pretty good deal at $670... if you can find one. Unfortunately, as far as I can find, they're completely out of stock in normal retail channels. However, they're still in good supply from 3rd party resellers for around $600 with the card, and often significantly less without the card.
\n\nThey're both very similar budget enclosures, each with a few trade-offs. Winner of each category gets asterixes:
\n\n | GearBox | Node\n\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013+\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013+\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\nPSU type-location | fATX-int | *SFX-int*\nPower delivery (PD) | *60W* | 15W\nIO | *2x USB 3.0, 1x Ethernet* | None\nFrankly, most of these features are probably unimportant given your laptop and the already beefy PSUs included out of the box. So, it's really a toss-up IMO.
\n\nIt's bigger, has a full sized PSU, and looks prettier. It also costs more. IMO, nothing more than a runner-up if you think the others are too ugly.
\n" }, { "Id": "10297", "CreationDate": "2018-11-03T21:21:56.567", "Body": "\n\n\nClarifying note: I'm looking for device types that aren't regular computer monitors (see this question if you're looking for a list of lightweight monitors), but could be used as such (e.g., pico projectors), or some tricks to make regular computer monitors more transportable (e.g., removing the stand).
\n
Whenever I travel by plane, I need to have a few computer monitors as soon as possible after I arrive to my destination. I use a multi-monitor configuration (ideally at least 2 external monitors in addition to my laptop). The computer monitors should be decent enough for coding purpose, i.e. 1920x1080 resolution or higher, and somewhere between 24 and ~27 inches.
\n\nAre there any such products that can be easily transported in my luggage while traveling by plane?
\n\nAll the solutions I found so far are not satisfying:
\n\nI would suggest using something like this.\nThese are folding / sliding screens from behind your monitor. Great for when you want to carry your laptop, but you should be able to do some serious work.
\n\nhttps://www.yourslide.com/ (Kickstarter)
\n\nhttps://www.razer.com/eu-en/project-valerie (Razer's implementation)
\n" }, { "Id": "10306", "CreationDate": "2018-12-25T02:07:50.530", "Body": "Are there any decently priced 10-Gigabit Ethernet switches? Any 5-port ones under $100?
\n\nI'm mostly asking out of curiosity, so this isn't an XY problem.
\n", "Title": "Decently priced 10-Gigabit Ethernet switches?", "Tags": "|networking|ethernet|switch|high-end|", "Answer": "Absolute lowest price I could bring one down for is 185.73. You'll notice that regardless of your low port requirement this switch has 24 ports. This just happened to be cheaper than switches with lower port quantities. I suspect that 10-Gigabit switches are only really used in enterprise level applications as you are unlikely to actually pass the Gigabit mark without the proper servers, cables, or otherwise environment.
\n" }, { "Id": "10321", "CreationDate": "2018-12-29T09:04:37.497", "Body": "Dear hardware enthusiasts, I need your advice.
\n\nMy 4 years old gaming PC is currently running 2x GTX770 in SLI. I plan to upgrade to a single powerful gaming card. My budget is enough for GTX 1080 Ti, RTX 2080, or below.
\n\nI'm considering two aspects:
\n\nI do not plan to do another major investment so I will rather buy a lower card if the more powerful would make no sense on this setup. What card would you recommend me and why?
\n\nMy current setup:
\n\nAny feedback will be appreciated.
\n", "Title": "2x GTX770 SLI --> New card", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|gaming|", "Answer": "If you have the money, go for the 2080. It has a smaller architecture, meaning it has lower power consumption and it runs cooler, however all of this is in theory, your mileage may vary. However the 2080 has better support for Real time Ray Tracing, and has support for a bunch of other technologies including DLSS. So if I were you I\u2019d go for the 2080. And it would be pretty hard to have bottlenecks with the 4790K especially at high resolutions where the graphics card would be more taxed than the CPU
\n" }, { "Id": "10354", "CreationDate": "2019-01-03T14:05:28.673", "Body": "I have a Gigabyte F2A88XM-HD3 motherboard which has 4 memory slots. In two of these slots I have two Corsair CMV8GX3M1A133 1333 Mhz DDR3 8G modules.
\n\nI have found
\n\nhttps://eu.crucial.com/eur/en/advisor
\n\nto search motherboard-compatible memory modules but that does not tell me whether it will work with my existing modules.
\n\nHow can I find 8G DDR3 memory modules that work flawlessly with my existing Corsair modules?
\n", "Title": "Searching memory for motherboard and existing memory", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|compatibility|", "Answer": "The closest you will get to 'flawless' is a matched set of 4 sticks that are specifically recorded as compatible by the mobo manufacturer.
\n\nThis is not an option for you, if you want to re-use your existing RAM. You could instead buy a matched pair of sticks of the same model as you currently have. While not a fully matched set, you should not have any problems.
\n\nYou are not going to be able to buy a pair of Crucial sticks that are perfectly compatible with your existing Corsair one. However, if you buy a pair that are both supported by the mobo and have the same timings (e.g. 9-9-9-24) as the Corsair ones, you almost certainly won't have a problem. Usually the RAM timings are included in the RAM specs in the online stores.
\n\nAnd even if you put RAM with the same speeds but different timings, most modern motherboards can be configured to work in some sort of Auto mode that will find the best fit for your installed RAM. And almost certainly you will not notice any difference in real-world performance or reliability.
\n\nSummary: If it were me, I'd buy 2 more of the Corsair sticks or would get 2 x near identical Crucial sticks and would expect them to work without any problems, but if you want a placebo level of reassurance, buy a matched set of 4 sticks.
\n\nNote: it is a good idea when you get new RAM is to run MemTest86 overnight to tease out any potential problems - if you RAM passes such a test, you know you are in good order.
\n" }, { "Id": "10368", "CreationDate": "2019-01-06T09:07:14.203", "Body": "I am trying to design an employee tracking system, to track employees from room to room, for saftey purposes.
\n\nSomewhat obviously, if requires each tracked person to carry a device which uniquely identifies them.
\n\nWhich will obviously have to be battery powered, with enough battery life to last a full working shift, let's say 12 hours?
\n\nIt is becoming apparent that I am looking at Bluetooth Low Energy \u2013 unless someone can make a compelling argument for WiFi, ZigBee., etc.
\n\nPlease, bear in mind that the device and battery must be worn in an industrial environment, so should be robust, and also easy to charge when needed \u2013 at worst overnight, ready for the next shift.
\n\nThe device need only identify itself, as it passes various access points (presumably by pairing with them, or offering to do so?)
\n\nLooking at the List of Bluetooth profiles , I am guessing at the Proximity Profile (PXPP) ?
\n\nIn any case, what I do not want \u2013 close as it is - is a cheap sports/fitness band. What I would like is something very like that :
\n\nThe Flora Wearable Bluefruit LE Module looks good, but
\n\nOn the plus side it seems easy to program \u201cAfter you connect to the Bluefruit, you can send commands wirelessly in under 10 minutes\u201d. Also, \u201cBuilt in over-the-air bootloading capability so we can keep you updated with the hottest new firmware. Use any Android or iOS device to get updates and install them\u201d seems a big plus.
\n\nIs there any other cheap (preferably sub $50) wrist wearable which is programmable, preferably with a snap-in coin/cell battery?
\n\n[Update] I now have a strong preference for BT 5, rather than v4, but can't seem to find any. The reason being that the BT 5 spec has provisions for proximity, which could save me a lot of effort on triangulation.
\n", "Title": "Off the shelf cheap wearable BlueTooth Low Energy device", "Tags": "|bluetooth|battery-life|tracking-devices|passive-tracker|programmable|", "Answer": "I feel that Hexiwear is a pretty good platform, although a little expensive. I feel it ticks most of your boxes:
\n\nYou might initially be thrown back by the small battery (190 mAh) but:
\n\nRegarding deep sleep - in such an application it is pretty much required, not an option to be explored.
\n\nAs a bonus you have a pulse oximeter and heart-rate monitor which could detect some health conditions in your employees (like fainting, there is even a tutorial on that).
\n" }, { "Id": "10371", "CreationDate": "2019-01-06T15:50:04.880", "Body": "I want to buy a computer which is quiet, i.e. I can leave it in my bedroom without noticing it (under normal load; I might rarely do some heavy processing, where I can accept that I would hear the fan, or on lots of HDD access, it's ok if I quietly hear the HDD; mostly very similar to my MacBook). Also, it should not consume too much energy (because it should run permanently; again similar as my MacBook). It should come in a tower where it is easy to install further disks or other hardware (unlike my MacBook). It also should have wifi.
\n\nInitially, this will mostly be a fileserver, running Linux. Maybe additionally some software like Perkeep, which needs lots of RAM (10GB or so) as far as I know. But maybe I want to run some other stuff (some scripts, maybe home automation stuff) later on it as well.
\n\nI was looking a bit around. But already for the power supply, I did not found much without an active cooler.\nMaybe water cooling? But as far as I know, this also has some active cooling element?\nI would prefer a solution which only comes with passive cooling, if something like this exists.
\n\n(Related question is here, but I don't really want a mini PC (or at least not necessarily). Preferably I also want to buy the individual components separately and configure it how I like it, at least if that is cheaper.)
\n", "Title": "Quiet/fanless computer", "Tags": "|server|cooling|nas|quiet-computing|fanless|", "Answer": "The majority of PC noise is cooling related...
\n\nIn addition to Soleil's good suggestions...
\n\nI'm looking for hardware configuration pieces of advice. I'm having 2 computers, one hyperconvergent server, and one workstation for which I'm planning the hardware. The workstation will be for dev and research. For this one, in a nutshell I'm having 2 hardware possibilities, A and B. I'm having 2 important factors: 1) ethernet speed 2) cuda compute. Other factors: system stability at factory frequencies and overclocked ones, extensibility.
\n\nA. Maximus XI Formula Z390, two 2080ti with NVlink, and a connexion to a hyperconvergent server through a 10Gbit (switch and server) ethernet connexion. The Formula had only 5Gbit connexion. The two 2080ti will have 8x and 8x connexion with the motherboard.
\n\nB. Maximus XI Hero Z390, two 2080ti with NVlink, one 10Gbit PCIE 4x for the connexion to the 10Gbit server. I think I'll have 8x and 4x connexion with the 2080ti, and 4x for the NIC 10 Gbit.
\n\nIn a nutshell I have 5Gbit and 32 lines vs 10Gbit and 28 lines.
\n\nQuestions:
\n\nMany thanks.
\n\n[0] http://timdettmers.com/2018/12/16/deep-learning-hardware-guide/
\n", "Title": "Motherboard + NIC advice for dev/research workstation", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|motherboard|network-adapter|", "Answer": "The option A (Formula) is more interesting (and less expensive) since we got:
\n\nSwitching to Skylake-X is interesting when:
\n\nIntel platform is more interesting than AMD's due to the HPC support and ecosystem (both hardware and software).
\n" }, { "Id": "10373", "CreationDate": "2019-01-06T21:48:57.643", "Body": "I already have an ASUS UX430 laptop that works perfectly with 2 HDMI displays, which totals 3 displays with the integrated display; this my own personal display.
\n\nI needed another laptop and identified the ASUS UX433FN laptop which is about the same as UX430 but a little more \"high-end\".
\n\nI just received the new laptop, an ASUS UX433FN, but it appears it doesn't support 2 HDMI displays like the previous model UX430!! I mean 1 HDMI display is connected on the integrated HDMI plug, and the second display is connected through the USB-C (SuperSpeed+ USB 3.1 Gen 2) plug of the UX433.
\n\nI'm very much disappointed by ASUS here, because the very same setup is working with the UX430 (SuperSpeed USB 3.1 Gen 1), but not the UX433.
\n\nI'm wondering:
\n\nIs it a temporary lack of software support? Note that I tested with Ubuntu 18.04LTS as well as a daily build pre-version of the future Ubuntu 19.04, and also with MS-Windows 10.
Is it a hardware limitation of the ASUS UX433 compared to the UX430?
What hardware solution would you recommend?
\n\nA reseller suggested I buy an additional HDMI graphics card to plug on USB 3.0... What do you think of this?
\n\nThanks in advance for any help.
\n", "Title": "ASUS UX433FN how to have multiple HDMI displays?", "Tags": "|usb|hdmi|display-port|", "Answer": "ASUS does not provide display support on the USB-C connector for the UX433 (nor for the UX333). Display support is present for the equivalent 15\" model UX533.
\n\nThe only clue is a small difference in the technical specs.
\n\nhttps://www.asus.com/us/Laptops/ASUS-Zenbook-14-UX433FN/Tech-Specs/
\n\ndoesn't mention the display:
\n\nInterfaces 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C\u2122 (up to 10Gbps)\nwhereas this page:
\nhttps://www.asus.com/us/Laptops/ASUS-Zenbook-15-UX533FD/Tech-Specs/
clearly states that it is supported:
\n\nInterfaces 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C\u2122 (up to 10Gbps) **with display support**\nThanks to Yisroel Tech for the original answer.
\n" }, { "Id": "10402", "CreationDate": "2019-01-09T22:42:15.147", "Body": "UPDATE: even though I have accepted an answer, I will be very happy for any other suggestions.
\nI've been a frequent laptop user for years and whenever I needed a new desktop keyboard I managed to get a laptop-like (think ThinkPad x220 or older) keyboard that had:
\nRecently, I'm unable to find anything like that - non-chiclet keyboards I have seen usually have too long travel distance.
\nAcceptable disadvantages:
\nDo you have any recommendations?
\n", "Title": "Slim, scissor-switch, non-chiclet (old ThinkPad-like) wired (USB) keyboard", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "I use a wired Cherry Stream JK-8500 keyboard, which I can recommend.
\nIt has some multimedia keys, but fortunately they do not occupy or overlap with the positions of any standard keys. That aside, it meets all your criteria.
\n" }, { "Id": "10403", "CreationDate": "2019-01-10T04:00:54.660", "Body": "I am keen to purchase a monitor stand that will allow me to have, in horizontal alignment, three 32\" monitors in landscape orientation. Is this possible? Any recommendations?
\n", "Title": "Side by side monitor stand for three 32\" monitors in landscape", "Tags": "|multiple-monitors|monitor-stand|", "Answer": "It certainly is possible. It is not gonna be very cheap though...
\n\nTwo such products are:
\n\nAlso make sure the weight specs are enough for your need.
\n" }, { "Id": "10429", "CreationDate": "2019-01-14T13:25:55.470", "Body": "Let me clear up as best I can...
\n\nI am contemplating pulling the trigger on a refurbished Lenovo M92P OEM Desktop Tower that I found for cheap online, the tower looks like this -->
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/f8Fs4.png\")
Currently, the system that I have my eye on is outfitted with an i7 3770 NON-K,8GB of DDR3 RAM and a 500GB HDD from Western Digital.
\n\nIf I were to buy this system, I would want to turn this computer into a cheap gaming rig, and therefore would upgrade the internals to make it game ready.
\n\nThe upgrades I would make would be a GTX 1080 Super JetStream from Palit (2x4pin connectors), one more stick of 8GB DDR3 for dual channel memory support and a cheap 128GB SSD as boot.
\n\nNow the issue that I am facing is that the PSU that comes with the system is not up to the task, and I know it will fail on me should I go ahead with the upgrades mentioned earlier.
\n\nMy question is simple, which PSU is best for an OEM Machine like this, that uses proprietary connectors and other devices that are not standard?
\n\nA side note, my other issue with this is the main power connector on the motherboard, as it is not a standard 24 pin connector.
\n", "Title": "Best PSU Option for a Lenovo M92P OEM Full Desktop?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|memory|ssd|power-supply|", "Answer": "You can buy any quality 600 watt powersupply and up for your system. Usually anything above $40 with 80 Gold efficiency and up is considered good, make sure to look up the reviews for the power supply. You shouldn't need to spend more than $100.
\n\nHere are some options -
\n\nIn regards to the non standard connection the only one I see is the 14 pin power connector on your motherboard. This can be solved by buying a 20/24 pin adapter to 14 pin adapter on amazon for lenovo/IBM machines.
\n" }, { "Id": "10436", "CreationDate": "2019-01-15T01:39:28.473", "Body": "I'm a web-designer/developer/coder.
\nMost of my time is spent staring at lines of code, the resultant web pages, and vector graphic layouts. I do occasional bitmap image editing, read technical books as PDFs, and typical office stuff. My web pages can be quite graphically 'busy' with panels that flip and transparency fade effects. Reading low contrast text gives me a headache.
Over many years I've only had to buy three screens, so I'm quite a novice at this. But, given that I spend many hours looking at my screen every day, I need to get it right.
\n\nI'm replacing a failed Iiyama E2207WS
\n(22\", 16:10, 1680x1050)
If it hadn't failed I'd still be happy. But as it has I'd like to replace it with something better.
\n\nI'm looking for a monitor with the following characteristics:
\n\nI think I've found a good stand to get the monitor down low and angled, but I'm open to anything better:
\nWearson WS-03A Adjustable LCD Monitor Stand
I was strongly considering
\niiyama ProLite XUB2495WSU-B1
\nespecially given the anti-flicker and low blue light features,
\nbut this Hexus review suggested that the black levels and contrast are poor.
So I'm now leaning towards the Dell UltraSharp U2415
\nGood review here, and top choice here
** ...and leaning away again having read this Amazon review: \"While the overall colour was good, the whites were too blue on mine. Adjusting the Colour Temp in the menu is a waste of time as it auto selects certain temps. 5700k is far too red and 6500 too blue, and nothing in between.\"
\nAnd, like the reviewer, I also hate fiddly touch (in)sensitive buttons and ludicrously bright LED 'on' lights.
I'm lost.
\n\nAny advice much appreciated.
\n", "Title": "Good desktop screen for a web designer / developer", "Tags": "|monitors|web-development|monitor-stand|", "Answer": "Answering my own question (it was solved by Bennett Yeo in the comments to my question)
\n\nFirst I tried the iiyama ProLite XUB2395WSU-B1 as I was happy with iiyama before.
\nI didn't keep it for long as:
the reported max height of 385mm is actually 410mm
1920x1200 is too many pixels to fit into a 22\"/22.5\" screen
\nWhile it is possible to adjust the font sizes of Operating System display fonts, with such a small pixel size (unless you have the eyes of a hawk) you might well need add-ons/extensions for your browser(s) to increase the font size of every web page.
Then I tried the Dell U2412M as suggested by Bennett Yeo in the comments to my question.
\n\nThe first one I purchased had a strong colour cast across the screen: pink/yellow on the left ranging to green/blue on the right. I sent it back and ordered one from another source. And this one I've kept.
\n\nWhite isn't perfectly white, as suggested in some other reviews. But, colours are consistent over the screen and, if I'd had the iiyama, I would probably have activated the 'reduced blue' mode and ended up with exactly the same result.
\n\n24\" diagonal is right for a 1920x1200 screen: I increased the OS display fonts by 1pt; web pages are comfortable to read without adjustment.
\n\nThe on/standby light is integral with the on/off button and is a completely unobtrusive gentle orange/blue.
\n\nThe system for adjusting screen settings is the best I've ever seen. Four blank mechanical buttons on the right (above the on/off). Pressing any button activates the menu. Each option in the menu is adjacent to the button which activates it. Brilliant.
\n\nI have the screen on 'text mode', with brightness adjusted down (20) and contrast adjusted up (80). And for me that gives a very comfortable display.
\n\nThe extra screen 'real-estate' -- 1920x1200 in 24\" vs 1650x1080 in 22\" -- is a pleasure, as I get more vertical text space for viewing/editing code, and more space overall for editing graphics.
\n\nAt its lowest, the top edge of the screen is 410mm above the desk, and the bezel adds another 20mm.
\nI would prefer it lower and, if I purchase another stand to achieve this, I shall post an update to this answer.
\nNB, if you're thinking of doing the same, the stand attachment area is recessed into the back of the monitor by about 6mm. Which does make attaching/detaching the original stand very easy, but does mean that the Wearson WS-03A Adjustable LCD Monitor Stand that I was thinking of using won't work on its own as it has a 'lip' at the bottom of the attachment plate. It is possible to purchase spacer kits, or simply another stand which fits inside the recess. And remember to check the size of monitor it will hold, quite a few are only only recommended for up to 22\".
So I'm currently looking at
\nWearson WS-03A Adjustable LCD Monitor Stand
\nplus
\nPart King\u00ae Vesa Bolt / Screw / Washer / Spacer Kit
\nor
\nWearson WS-03UP VESA Monitor Stand on its own.
\nor...
I have a 2010 model Dell SP2309W 23\" monitor. I want to know what wire do I need to buy inorder to connect it to my Ubuntu 14.04 Dell Latitude 3560 laptop. (Online it says 3540 but on my command line is like anjanesh@anjanesh-Latitude-3560:)\n
This is how the bottom of my monitor is\n![\"This](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2TMME.jpg\")
The ports pictured are:\nLeft (almost out of picture) - HDMI\nMiddle - DVI\nRight - VGA
\n\nYour laptop has HDMI and VGA ports.
\n\nCables usually have the same type of connector on both ends, but you can get different ones, and there are adapters the can change the connector at one end. So you could use quite a wide variety of cables.
\n\nHowever, the simplest, best quality and most future-proof option would be a standard HDMI cable.
\n" }, { "Id": "10467", "CreationDate": "2019-01-19T22:27:06.893", "Body": "Due to some poor airflow in my case i'm looking to replace my default case fans and add 2 more.
\n\nAs a case i have Sharkoon AI7000 and my mb is Aorus X470.
\n\nI've been looking around in my local market and i stumbled upon 3 fans.
\n\nOne is the Arctic Bionix F140 which has PWM PST (sharing)- https://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/bionix-f140.html
\n\nThe other one that was recommended to me was Noctua NF-p14s redux https://noctua.at/en/nf-p14s-redux-1200-pwm (to use as 2* intake fans).
\n\nAnd for exhaust i was recommended the 1500 pwm version of the Noctua https://noctua.at/en/nf-p14s-redux-1500-pwm
\n\nSince on paper the Arctic fan seems to be better i thought i'd ask here too.
\n\nAny tips ? Both have the same price in my country (1$ difference) and i need 5 (2 front, 1 back, 2 top).
\n\nThe airflow in my case is a bit bad (got RTX 2080 with Ryzen 7 2700X and my GPU seems to make my CPU hotter), more on the issue here -> https://superuser.com/questions/1395950/fixing-airflow-in-pc-case/1395957?noredirect=1#comment2105355_1395957
\n\nIf you've got any other recommendations i could look them up to see if they are available in my country, but i'd like to stay in the same price range if possible (since i need 5).
\n", "Title": "Case fans - 140mm", "Tags": "|cooling|", "Answer": "Try this link: Hope it helps,\nhttps://mdcomputers.in/nzxt-aer-rgb-2-140mm-hf-28140-b1.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw8NfrBRA7EiwAfiVJpTkNCAPsmRtGpgPLexaFjdqd3kj4arbMjIBcL0nS0q2kZWhUsaMmyxoCI9IQAvD_BwE
\n" }, { "Id": "10472", "CreationDate": "2019-01-20T19:27:31.253", "Body": "There are many models of bathroom scales around that will transmit body mass, body fat percentage etc. measurement to a mobile app or web-based client software for tracking and analysis.
\n\nI am looking for smart scales that function offline, without sending measurements over the Internet to a manufacturer's cloud servers.
\n\nThis is because I want:
\n\n(Scales that only work properly with a server half around the world are such a bad idea it should be punished \u2026)
\n", "Title": "Cloud-free smart bathroom scales", "Tags": "|tracking-devices|", "Answer": "To avoid a lack of updates needed to fix software issues, let's require that the scales model is either (1) currently in production, (2) supported by a manufacturer's software for their whole range of models or (3) supported by a third-party, open source software that is ideally in current development.
\nWithin these requirements, I found:
\nBeurer diagnostic bathroom scales with the orange "beurer connect" logo (14 models). These all work with the Beurer Health Manager app (Android / iOS), for which "the full range of functions can be used locally without registering" (source). In addition, the Beurer BF700 / 710 / 800 models are supported by openScale, an open source app for smart scales.
\nAt least in 2014, these were the only off-the-shelf bathroom scales that do not require cloud storage (source), and so far I am not aware that this changed for the better.
\nopenScale supported scales. This includes the Beurer BF700 / 710 / 800 models from above, 23 other commercial models, and a generic hack to transform any scales with LCD into a supported smart scales.
\nWithings Body, previously Nokia Body. This is a wifi connected scale talking unencrypted JSON, at least in the original model from 2010 to at least 2013. This hopefully still applies (but I can't yet confirm), and hopefully also applies to the Withings Body+ and Cardio models.
\nThere are instructions here and here (including small applications) to modify it so it talks to your own server rather than the manufacturer's servers in the cloud. That own server could be for example a Raspberry Pi in your local home network, making the scales independent of an Internet connection.
\nWhile the wifi connection is easier to work with than Bluetooth when developing your own software, the wifi solution involves DNS bending which is a "dirty hack" that you might not like.
\nI'm looking for an Intel CPU with higher core and suitable for programming. Aspects are as follows,
\nAspects:
\nI don't care power consumption.
\nThanks a lot!
\n", "Title": "What's the intel cpu for consumer with best value?", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "I happen to have just built a new PC with Intel i9-9900K\nit has 8 core and 16 thread for $700 CAD.\nI think it's best for the buck if you are looking for higher core counts and thread counts as well.
\n" }, { "Id": "10521", "CreationDate": "2019-01-27T21:18:17.263", "Body": "My goal is to obtain a productivity setup with quad (four) monitor setup that can handle 3 1440p monitors, and 1 4k monitor for movies (no gaming on that specific monitor). Would 1070ti be enough or do I need another better GPU?
\n\nAlso, I understand for good quality I will use display port and HDMI 2.0 or higher port. Any CPU, Ram size recommendations?
\n", "Title": "Recommended GPU for watching movies on 4k or 1440p quad monitor setup", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|multiple-monitors|displays|", "Answer": "Specifically answering for Nvidia GPUs:
\n\nA GTX 1070ti will have no problem at all running 3 2560x1440 monitors and 1 4K for video and desktop computing as long as you are using the correct display outputs and monitors that support HDMI 2.0, DVI-D, or Displayport.
\n\nYou should theoretically be able to run 4 4K screens off of any 10XX, or 20XX series card, or a higher end 9XX series as these nvidia architectures all support 4 displays.
\n\nFor the rest of the hardware:
\n\nCPU and RAM usage typically goes up as you have more applications open to fill the 4 screens, this will vary greatly depending on what those applications are though. If you update your question with specifically what applications you are using, then I can give a recommendation suited to your workload. Otherwise, any quad core CPU from the recent AMD or Intel series and at least 8GB of RAM will likely be sufficient.
\n\nEdit:
\nOne more thing that I should mention is regarding 4K video playback. It is possible that some applications or browsers could ignore the video decoding features of your GPU and work the CPU very hard to decode the 4K video. In those cases it's best to have as fast of a CPU as possible. This is likely only going to show up with outdated applications or drivers.
I need a new laptop. I am not considering building a desktop. I work with 3D modeling of furniture/ambients and rendering software such as sketchup/vray and I need mobility.
\n\nShould I invest in a notebook that offers older processor and the latest GPU or the opposite latest processor with an older GPU ?
\n\nLets assume I dont care about HDD and both options have at least 8GB RAM for the Operating System.
\n\n(i.e.: i7-6700HQ + GTX1080 or i7-8750H + GTX 1050)
\n", "Title": "Should I go for better processor or better GPU for graphics rendering?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|processor|rendering|", "Answer": "As a general rule, I'd recommend having a GPU of the same calibre and age as your CPU. And given your needs, this may well suit you.
\n\nI'm not an expert in all this graphical stuff, but AFAIK most modellers (inc SketchUp) tend to need to do linear calculations and thus are usually restricted to a single core, so the speed of an individual core is key - so get a good CPU.
\n\nWhereas renderers like VRay usually use CUDA on the GPU, so perhaps you should prioritise your GPU? VRay and some other renderers can supplement/help their GPU using the CPU, so spare CPU cores may be useful.
\n\nSo in short, get the best CPU & GPU there is!
\n\nA bit impractical if you are budget-limited? Of course, so have 3 options:
\n\nSo which do you do most of?
\n\nBack to your sample configs, it is worth noting that the performance gap between the i7 6700HQ and the 8750H is approx 40% (based on user benchmarks). The gap between the 1050 and the 180 however is about 250%. If you want to adopt my balanced recommendation, you'd pair the 6700HQ with a GTX1060 or better.
\n" }, { "Id": "10543", "CreationDate": "2019-01-31T07:14:27.663", "Body": "Recently, my brother has decided to go into Video Editing and Special Effects. He currently has a a laptop, with a Core i5-7300HQ, A GTX 1050 4GB, 8GB DDR3 and a 1 TB HDD. Now. while these specs are pretty decent for a mid range gaming laptop, I don't think it will cut it for using software like Premiere Pro and After Effects, as well as Final Cut Pro X.
\n\nFrom what he tells me, he says that the projects he is going to be working on will be \"large\" and \"graphics intensive\".
\n\nSo I've decided to build him a desktop workstation with a budget of around $1000 USD. I've managed to source a Workstation (Brand new) with the following specifications -
\n\nNow, I've already made up my mind about the PSU and the Storage situation in this rig, as it stands. The PSU I am definitely throwing out, and swapping in with more rated output to support more recent PCI Cards. As for storage, I'm going to throw in a cheap 512 GB SATA SSD into the mix, as a boot drive as well as a dumping drive for all important projects.
\n\nThis Workstation takes up $400 of my budget (including shipping). The PSU I want to swap in will cost around $100 shipped, and the SSD will cost around $100 as well, so I am already $600 USD deep into this video editing rig.
\n\nNow onto the question at hand, with the remaining budget at hand, I've narrowed my GPU options down to 3 potential candidates, namely the GTX 1070 8GB from Gigabyte, the Sapphire R9 Nano, and the Strix R9 Fury (NON-X). All of these graphics cards come in at the $400 mark, so price isn't an issue here.
\n\nI'm not too clued up on the ins and outs of video editing and special effects, so I am not sure what features to look out for when selecting a card for this type of use case. But from what I can tell by reading online forum threads, like on Reddit and Tom's Hardware, the AMD Cards suffer a lot when using these programs, as the OpenCL Support just isn't there, as opposed to the OpenCL Support on the GTX 10X Series.
\n\nI hope I am wrong, and that I have been reading rubbish.
\n\nMy question is this, out of the three GPUs listed above, which is the best GPU to get for this use case and why?
\n\nIf you have any other GPU recommendations, please don't hesitate to suggest them, any help would greatly be appreciated.
\n\nAs always, thanks for viewing!
\n", "Title": "GTX 1070 vs R9 Fury vs R9 Nano for Premiere Pro and After Effects?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|desktop|video-editing|", "Answer": "After watching videos on Youtube from LinusTechTips, HardwareCanucks and JayzTwoCents, I have concluded that the best GPU for this use case would be the GTX 1070 8GB, as it uses CUDA to encode and transcode footage using the OpenCL API. While the AMD cards do support OpenCL and Vulkan support, it just isn't as optimized as Nvidia's offerings at the same price point, meaning that video encoding and just in general editing will take longer when compared to a 10-series Pascal GPU.
\n\nThis also boils down to driver optimization and feature support coming from each respective manufacturer. One thing to note is that Linus used the GTX 980 Ti as the high end Nvidia GPU at the time, so the performance of that card is very similar to a 1070, hence my decision. The GTX 980 Ti essentially mopped the floor with AMD's offerings, no matter how small the gain was over team red.
\n\nThe 1070 also features lower power consumption and better performance when compared to the other 2 AMD cards I talked about in the original post, which is always ideal for any PC, whilst also allowing for some great 1080p gaming, or maybe even 1440p if we are feeling a bit adventurous.
\n" }, { "Id": "10577", "CreationDate": "2019-02-04T10:24:45.710", "Body": "I am getting tired of cross compilation.
\n\nI am looking for:
\n\nI don\u2019t need the following, though won\u2019t reject anything with, if it doesn\u2019t affect the price too much:
\n\nTo summarize, I am looking for something like a Raspberry Pi Zero W, with an some flash storage and an Intel processor which will let me develop on Windows / Linux without cross-compilation.
\n", "Title": "Cheap Intel based SBC", "Tags": "|sbc|cheap|intel|", "Answer": "There is not much choice:
\n\n\u256d\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2565\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u256e\n\u2502 Name \u2551 UP board \u2502 ATOMIC Pi \u2502\n\u255e\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u256c\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u256a\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2561\n\u2502 Price \u2551 > $ 109 \u2502 > $ 35 \u2502\n\u2502 Flash \u2551 16 - 64 GB \u2502 16GB \u2502\n\u2502 UART \u2551 1 \u2502 1 \u2502\n\u2502 GPIO \u2551 40 \u2502 26 \u2502\n\u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2568\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\nA use-full Atomic Pi wiki here.
\n" }, { "Id": "10579", "CreationDate": "2019-02-04T16:27:25.567", "Body": "I have a laptop and I am looking to get a portable screen for my laptop.
\n\nSome of them have separate video and power connectors, but others give power and video over a single USB 3.0 cable. I really don't want to power a second monitor from my laptop, because that will really drain my laptop's battery. Instead I would like to power it from a battery pack.
\n\nI was thinking that some sort of USB Y shaped cable would do the trick. Then I could plug it from my laptop (male data) AND batterypack/wall (male power) TO my portable monitor (data + power)
\n", "Title": "Is there a USB 3.0 male (power +data) toY-Split USB male (data only) and usb male (power only) cable?", "Tags": "|usb|portable|power|cable|", "Answer": "I found one on Amazon, USB 2.0
\n\nhttps://www.amazon.com/HIGHROCK-Enhancer-Female-Charge-Extension/dp/B00NIGO4NM
\n\nThis is a USB 3.0 cable
\n\n\n\nIt uses the power of both connectors to power the female connector.
\n" }, { "Id": "10647", "CreationDate": "2019-02-17T21:35:40.513", "Body": "I am trying to buy the most reliable case fan known to man. The Fans noise level can be as loud as it wants. The fan has to have good enough airflow. The fan has to last a long time. Those are really the only requirements. As far as size.. probably the most common sizes whatever that happens to be. Size is not really important to me. But if I was forced to pick a size, I would have to pick the most common as of right now. Which seems to be: 120mm, 140mm, and 80mm seem to be the most common types as of right now.
\n\nA good example, and I don't want people to dwell on this very much, is enterprise. What type of fans does enterprise use? I know IBM sometimes uses a company called Delta.
\n", "Title": "What is the most reliable computer case fan you can buy?", "Tags": "|case|", "Answer": "For the consumer side I would recommend a Noctua industrial series fan. I can't say much about the enterprise products as I am not familiar with them.
\n" }, { "Id": "10660", "CreationDate": "2019-02-20T17:27:46.713", "Body": "I need a recommendation for a wireless access point (WAP) that can sustain a network with the following features:
\n\nI'd be happy to understand which parameters are important to look at when evaluating a router considering the above requirements.
\n", "Title": "High Performance Wireless Access Point for Closed WiFi Network", "Tags": "|wifi|router|", "Answer": "The \"routers\" that are available via the retail channel are not suitable for high demand type applications. Additionally, you said that you already had a \"router\" that acted as a DHCP server so there's no point in getting another one. All your need is a wireless access point or WAP.
\n\nI use the Ubiquiti UniFi AC Pro, not only for my clients, but in my home as well. It's one of the best and most reliable WAPs I have used and is priced at around $150 which is comparable to a high end \"retail router.\"
\n\n![](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/zBWcb.png\" "\\"Ubiquiti")
Key Features
\n\nYou can get more information as well as a full full datasheet from their website.
\n\nSolution
\n\nNote that without doing a site survey, it's possible you may need more than one AP given what obstructions (i.e. walls, large furniture, RF generating equipment, etc. - WiFi is still subject to the laws of physics).
\n\nClients will associate with the WAP and get their IP from the existing \"router\" with DHCP server because in essence all you're doing is \"upgrading\" the cheap WiFi chipset and radio bundled with your router for an \"industrial strength\" one.
\n\nPersonal note... I had this exact WAP support about a dozen guests (including children) at my home with most streaming Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, etc. and they outstripped my Internet bandwidth before this AP got bogged down (the software comes with reporting capabilities).
\n" }, { "Id": "10697", "CreationDate": "2019-03-02T08:07:24.133", "Body": "We have Verizon service with a FIOS Quantum Gateway router model FIOS-G1100. The power wart is going bad and we need to replace it. On occasion the device looses power. Putting a meter on the barrel connector shows no potential. Beating the power wart on the floor restores the connection.
\n\nAccording to Fios Quantum Gateway USER GUIDE, p 210, the power supply is 12V DC 3.0A. However it does not list a part number or specification for the barrel connector.
\n\nWhat is the part number for the power supply? Or, what is the specification on the barrel connector.
\n\n(The power wart is so fragile I don't want to unplug it for fear it will die completely).
\n", "Title": "Verizon FIOS Quantum Gateway replacement power supply?", "Tags": "|router|power-supply|", "Answer": "A quick search for FIOS-G1100 power adaptor suggests its a KSAS0361200300HU made by ktech power. There's an amazon link here. Its designed for that model - I can't quite tell what the barrel size is and you can tell the barrel polarity from the amazon image as being center positive, if you wanted to get an equivilent replacement
\n" }, { "Id": "10702", "CreationDate": "2019-03-04T16:00:31.447", "Body": "I'm looking for a docking station to read some old hard drives. The hard drives are:
\n\nAny tips?
\n", "Title": "Hard drive docking station recommendation for old hard drives", "Tags": "|hard-disk|sata|docking-stations|", "Answer": "If it's just for just for reading some hard drives as you stated in your requirements, a simple universal USB to SATA adapter is more than enough.
\n\nThese have both IDE and SATA interfaces as well as an external power brick to to provide the power that desktop drives need. Most are able to support both 3.5\" (desktop) and 2.5\" (laptop) drives. USB 3.0 ensures fast data transfers.
\n\nI have this model in my desk right now: UNITEK USB 3.0 to IDE & SATA Converter
\n\nThis one is not the cheapest, but at less than $30, it's very reasonable. I've bough cheaper and have had them fail within a short time. I've been using this one for about 3 years now so it's definitely worth it.
\n" }, { "Id": "10714", "CreationDate": "2019-03-06T20:33:43.380", "Body": "I do not game or code...so is buying a i3 o i5 really worth the $200 instead of getting a quad core pentium say n5000?
\n", "Title": "Intel quad core pentium vs i5", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|", "Answer": "Intel Pentium n5000 is an SoC (System on Chip) and is an Atom-based processor. You can't compare it with a desktop based or laptop series i5. The right question would be to compare systems as in whole. Specify what notebooks you are comparing and the usage you are looking to do with it.
\n\nA notebook with n5000 will feature low-load applications. It consists of burst speed i.e normally it would idle at a clock speed of 1.1 GHz and when required would top to 2.7 GHz. So, if your usage is limited to docs and limited multitasking than a notebook of this power is likely to be sufficient.
\n\nSuggestion
\n\nComparing with your suggested laptops this is what I can suggest.
\n\nInstead of the two laptops, I'll ask you to look into this one. Matches all your need and has a better display than the Lenovo IdeaPad 330. Acer Aspire E 15 - Core i3. The core i5 comes with a beefy processor and a graphics card which from the likes of it is not your need. Hence, my suggestion would be to go for the newer 'Acer Aspire E 15 - core i3' which is more powerful and a bit future-proof and doesn't make a hole in your pocket.
\n" }, { "Id": "10722", "CreationDate": "2019-03-08T08:29:33.737", "Body": "I was wondering whether it is best to have an HDD+SSD or SSD solution in a laptop computer. What are the advantages of each and what should I be looking for?
\n\nThanks.
\n", "Title": "HDD+SSD or SSD, which solution is best?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|", "Answer": "I use SSDs in all of my computers, laptops and desktops. SSDs are more reliable than HDDs and use less power, which can be important in a laptop. They are also extremely faster. However, HDDs are cheaper and can come in larger capacities. If you don't mind spending a bit extra for a large boost in speed and don't need a large amount of space go with an SSD. You can find them up to 4 TB but 1 TB ones will run between $150 and $100 dollars. If you need upward of 1 TB and don't want to spend $300 to $600 for a 3 to 4 TB SSD, go with an HDD, or possibly use a 500 or 250 GB SSD for your OS and a secondary HDD for storage, assuming your laptop has two slots.
\n" }, { "Id": "10846", "CreationDate": "2019-04-01T21:46:08.387", "Body": "![\"fan](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vQhvU.png\")
All I can say about the cable is that it delivers power to fans, but I'm not sure what to search in order buy more since one of them broke.
\n", "Title": "What is this connector", "Tags": "|power|", "Answer": "A quick google search starting with \"trailer wiring connector\" had led me to believe that using \"2 way flat connector\" may be the answer you seek.
\n\n![\"two](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Rd9DO.jpg\")
The above image is from an amazon link, but you'll also find this type of wiring at auto parts stores and possibly a few warehouse/big box stores.
\n\nTypically used for automotive applications, they provide some semblance of weather proofing as well.
\n" }, { "Id": "10880", "CreationDate": "2019-04-08T12:55:59.113", "Body": "I want to make a stomp box with a single button that will record an event time. I\u2019d like the box to be able to record the event directly to a web database (there are plenty of ways to do this, but I\u2019ll probably write a PHP api to listen for the connection).
\n\nWhat hardware would be best? I\u2019ve got experience with the Arduino board, but I \u2018d prefer that the box run off AA batteries. My previous Arduino projects have been a bit power-intensive.
\n", "Title": "Making a WiFi event recorder", "Tags": "|arduino|", "Answer": "Instead of choosing an Arduino board, use an ESP8266 variant which natively supports Arduino sketches. You can use a relay or directly connect a button to the I/O pins and detect whenever a button is triggered - triggering the server to push the timestamp to a database, increasing the count of the stomp in the database. Instead of writing a PHP application. An easy choice would be to push data to Firebase - unless you find this task more tedious.
\n" }, { "Id": "10887", "CreationDate": "2019-04-09T20:24:38.300", "Body": "I have a Ryzen 2600 and I won't OC. I find the default cooler too noisy (I don't have heating problems, max temp after a stress test was 67\u00baC).
My priority is reducing noise. I have checked some candidates and I've seen their max dB, but most of the time I won't have my CPU at 100%.
\n\nI have the following candidates: Thermalright Le Grand Macho RT, Thermalright ARO-M14G, Noctua NH-U12S SE-AM4 and Be Quiet! Dark Rock 4. The prices are approximately the same.
Which one do you recommend me? Thank you!
\n", "Title": "Fan for Ryzen 2600", "Tags": "|processor|cooling|", "Answer": "Finally I bought Be Quiet! Dark Rock 4. I can't compare with the other ones but it is what I was looking for. I barely hear it.
\n" }, { "Id": "10909", "CreationDate": "2019-04-12T06:59:13.587", "Body": "I'm looking for a PCIe-based SATA card, to add more internal SATA-III ports. While a great many of them exist, most are based on an old Marvell series of controllers or the equivalent ASMedia (ASM1061?) controller, which only support PCIe 2.0. Due to a lack of motherboard PCIe slots, and a desire to maximise speed with minimal lanes taken, I would like a card that at least supports PCIe 3.0 transfer speeds.
\n\nI do not need a specific card suggestion (while one would be nice), if I can get a controller model I can chase down further. New and second-hand are both fine.
\n\nHard requirements:
\n\nSoft requirements, descending order of importance:
\n\nOptional, nice-to-have:
\n\nUnimportant:
\n\nBudget: soft cap of $200, though I'm open to higher if necessary
\n", "Title": "PCIe v3.0 SATA-III controller", "Tags": "|pcie|sata|raid-controller|", "Answer": "Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of higher-bandwidth SATA controllers. The closest I can find are PCIe 2.0 x2, which is available on some StarTech cards. They are based on the Marvell 88SE9220/88SE9230/88SE9235 controllers.
\n\nGiven the lack of SATA options, the next best avenue is a SAS HBA, which supports SATA drives when the appropriate cable is used. Here, there are a great many options. This reddit comment (archived) is a useful introduction to SAS.
\n\nUnfortunately, while some low-lane SAS HBAs exist (seems to be mostly under the RocketRAID brand, with questionable reviews), the majority are at least x8. Luckily, these cards are electrically compatible with fewer lanes, and the physical fit can be solved in one of several ways:
\n\nLSI (now Avago, now Broadcom) seems to be the easiest option, especially if second-hand is acceptable, as these are often decommissioned from servers. There is a list of various models, along with a spreadsheet and glossary.
\n\nFor the specific purpose of a card that supports PCIe 3.0, the following options are suitable (non-RAID options picked for simplicity and price):
\n\nThese cards can then be coupled with a SFF-8643 (not the older SFF-8087) to SATA cable, and can connect up to 8 drives without expanders.
\n\nNote that the SAS2308 controller apparently does not support x2 and will probably drop to x1 mode when given a x2 slot.
\n\nThe non-LSI-branded cards (especially the IBM ones) can sometimes be flashed with LSI non-RAID (\"IT mode\") firmware for simplicity; there are many guides available for doing so.
\n" }, { "Id": "10942", "CreationDate": "2019-04-17T12:13:01.053", "Body": "I have the H110M motherboard with 2 4gb sticks of RAM, the motherboard has 2 memory sockets and I wanna increase my memory.
\n\nShould I buy a new motherboard with 4 sockets and then 2 8gb ram sticks, or just buy a 16gb stick and remain with the current motherboard?
\n", "Title": "New motherboard and 2 8gb sticks or current motherboard and 1 16gb stick?", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|", "Answer": "I would recommend purchasing a kit of 2x8GB DDR4 RAM (2133mhz or 2400mhz), replacing your existing RAM entirely. If you wanted to go to 32GB, you could purchase a kit of 2x16GB DDR4 RAM as well, although 16GB is more than enough for the typical user. Then just sell your existing RAM kit (2x4GB) locally, online, or save them for another system. The 2x8GB kit should run around $50-60, and then you can sell your existing kit to help offset the cost. The H110m is a 6th/7th gen Intel-compatible motherboard (1151 socket). They are not the easiest to come by, although I have personally purchased three in the last two years. Due to the current low availability of these boards, the cheap cost of RAM, and the wide-availability of RAM, I would recommend purchasing a kit of RAM over a new board, and call it a day.
\n\nGood brands for RAM: G.Skill, Corsair, Crucial, HyperX
\n\nHere is an example: https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-2400MHz-Desktop-Memory/dp/B017NW5NZY/
\n" }, { "Id": "10974", "CreationDate": "2019-04-22T15:41:42.697", "Body": "I am looking for a Wi-Fi router, in the 100-200 $ price range, with the following characteristics:
\n\nProbably, the question would get more attention and answer(s), if it was posted on networkengineering or serverfault.
\n\nPrimary options, I came up with:
\n\npros:
\n\ncons:
\n\npros:
\n\ncons:
\n\nOther options to consider:
\n\nI am looking for Raspberry PI 3 alternative board which would give me:
\n\nOrange PI 3 is perfect for my needs except that company does not or no longer produces casing. But casing is very important for my needs.
\n\nPlease advice me any alternative board. Thank you.
\n", "Title": "Rasperry Pi alternative with USB 3.0, Ethernet port, and casing?", "Tags": "|usb|raspberry-pi|ethernet|", "Answer": "Well I looked around the web, and I found these options:
\n\nThe Rock64 or the RockPro64 are good options.
\n\nAs for today, these are the only ones with USB 3.0 from Pine64.\n
I recommend checking the wikipedia page seeing what model suits the best your needs. You can find without any problem a case on amazon.
\n" }, { "Id": "11018", "CreationDate": "2019-04-28T08:11:54.730", "Body": "My brother is getting a new laptop and wants to get into coding. I just need to know the specs of the type of system needed to just run code, as in stuff like the processor, RAM and anything like that.
\n", "Title": "What are the requirements of a new computer to run code?", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "While I would echo what A.Barth says about 'any computer will do', I would just caution that you don't want a completely crap computer.
\n\nYou don't need a super powerful machine, or a good GPU etc.
\n\nHowever, as programming does require a quick feedback loop, it's incredibly tedious if you're having to wait a couple of seconds for things to run etc.
\n\nThat said - I'm a professional web developer, and I was able to get by fine with a second hand laptop that I bought for about $US500 a couple of years ago.
\n\nAt a minimum I would suggest that the computer has a SSD, at least four cores, at least 8GB RAM, preferably 16, and if they're running Windows, use Windows 10.
\n\nThere are plenty of second hand (Look at ex-commercial) laptops you can get for around $US500 that fit this.
\n" }, { "Id": "11040", "CreationDate": "2019-05-02T15:24:33.330", "Body": "me and some colleauges want to use cluster-computing to do fast deep learning inference. We thought about using OpenVINO by intel as to do so. However, OpenVINO requires 6th to 8th generation Intel Core or Intel Xeon processors.
\n\nOur processors are:\nIntel Xeon Gold 6130
\n\nIs it correct that the second digit is the generation? I thought the Xeon Gold 6130 was released in Q3 2017, so I am surprised how it can be 1st generation...
\n\nThanks for your help!
\n", "Title": "How to find out the generation of my Intel Xeon Gold 6130 processor?", "Tags": "|processor|cluster-computing|intel|", "Answer": "Intel Processor naming
\n\nOn Desktop and Mobile processors, the first digit after the brand modifier is the generation, as explained here
\n\n![\"Desktop](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/mxt6n.png\")
On Server and Workstation, it is the second digit that counts, as said here
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/KmWU7.png\")
OpenVINO requirements
\n\nWhat Intel says on their webpage the requirements are is:
\n\n\n\n\n6th to 8th generation Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 and Intel\u00ae Xeon\u00ae processors
\n
That means, you car use Intel Core processor, but it has to be from the 6th to 8th generation, or you could use any Xeon processor
\n\nConclusion
\n\nYour CPU is good to go.
\n" }, { "Id": "11062", "CreationDate": "2019-05-06T17:35:00.373", "Body": "I am currently building a new PC so I'm looking to give away my previous self build from 2011'ish to the kids. What I was wondering is would a modern graphics card, say something like a GTX 1660Ti be suitable for a GPU upgrade. I see from the spec that it still supports PCIe v3.
\n\nWill the old CPU & Memory bottleneck the GTX 1660Ti significantly? If I decide to refresh the custom look would a decent overclock help?
\n\nSpec
\n\nCPU : Core i7-2700K
Motherboard : Asus Rampage Gene IV (PCIe 3)
Memory : 16GB DDR3
GPU : GTX 580
Storage : SSD & HDD
PSU : Corsair HX1050
Custom Water cooling loop (CPU & GPU) - Needs some work.
Personally I am using an i5-4460 (similar to your 2700k in performance I believe) with a 6 GB GTX 1060 and have not noticed any issues playing Far Cry 5 (which is about the only recent AAA I played) or any other games on a 2560x1080 screen. The only game which forced me to fiddle with graphics settings was GTA V. I have been forced to enable FPS capping in Divinity: Original Sin 2 due to alt-tab issues.
\n\nYou might notice issues with a higher resolution display.
\n\nThe only time I noticed a real CPU bottleneck was when rendering 3D scenes using CUDA in Blender Cycles.
\n" }, { "Id": "11067", "CreationDate": "2019-05-07T14:43:46.160", "Body": "I'm looking to buy a new phone and I'm in need of an advice. I want something smaller and I have found a 4.6inch Android smartphone which is great for me (Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact). It is all around a good phone but it has a screen resolution of only 1280x720 pixels. For me that's perfectly okay, I even like it because that means better battery life since it has to render much less pixels. But what I'm afraid of is that app or web developers would stop supporting smaller resolutions like this one in near future and I would be left behind with my decent but low-res phone. Because of the low resolution I'm also considering a Sony Xperia XZ1 (not the Compact one) which has 1920x1080 screen resolution but it is a much bigger phone which I really don't like and would like to avoid (on the other hand it's much cheaper only 250 eur vs 350 eur for the Compact, but price is not the priority in this case).
\n\nAnd also this is my first Android smartphone (I have Lumia 820 and before that I had Lumia 800) so I don't know how it works in the Play Store with the support of so many different phones. (For example does the developer define a specific devices which are supported and anyone with a different device isn't able to install the app? Or is there a minimum supported resolution defined for each app and phones with a lower resolutions aren't able to install the app?)
\n\nThank you for the answers.
\n", "Title": "Is it safe/wise to buy a smartphone with 1280x720 resolution display in 2019?", "Tags": "|android|smartphones|", "Answer": "The device has around 319 PPI - it's good enough.
\n\nTake the two paragraphs below with a grain of salt since I'm not a web or mobile developer - my colleagues are and this is what I managed to remember from talking to them.
\n\nAs for support in web apps - what websites use are not physical pixels but rather a \"standardized pixel\" which is size in pixels normalized to a standard PPI.
\n\nFor apps in Play Store - devices list API level (fancier Android version), possibly some hardware requirements (sensors?) and possibly resolution - but this would again be stated using those \"standardized pixels\".
\n\nLastly: gsmarena review lists the XZ Compact's endurance rating as 108h which is a stellar result (typical results are in the 70-80 range).
\n" }, { "Id": "11086", "CreationDate": "2019-05-09T11:23:27.360", "Body": "I am new here and this my question regarding my graduation project.\nI want to control the Arduino board from ESP32.
\n\nFor example, a temperature sensor will be connected to the ESP32, when ESP32 read a certain temperature then will send information to the Arduino board. The Arduino board - connected to relay to switch the fan - will understand that is hot and turn the relay.
\n", "Title": "Sending order from ESP32 to Arduino Mega", "Tags": "|arduino|", "Answer": "From what you have asked, It looks quite straightforward to me so I am assuming that you are new to controllers. Apologies otherwise. What you need to do is:
\n\nI am looking for a cable, and I can't find it at all at any store.
\nThe cable has : one pin going to the headset(on the right). The other two are the normal Mic(middle) and Out for audio(left) of a PC. And a microphone in the bottom of the picutre.
\n![\"Cable\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/n9WaO.jpg\")
\nDo you know what this is called ?\nOr any suggestion for a workaround ?
If you can't find such a cable you can replace it with two:
\n\nThose products are just an example.
\n\nAs a bonus without the splitter you can use this as a headset with your mobile phone.
\n" }, { "Id": "11127", "CreationDate": "2019-05-15T21:51:35.613", "Body": "I'm a big fan of Touhou games (PC-98 and Windows Era).
\n\nI wanted to make a custom console to be able to play them on tv (a plug and play like console).
\nFor the PC-98 games, I was able to use a Raspberry PI with retroPie.
But now, I'm stuck for the windows games. I tried using Wine with a Linux environment to at least see if it would work. Which it didn't.
\n\nOne of my friends recommended me to get a microcontroller with an x86 processor for that task. So I searched for a list of microcontrollers with that kind of specs but only found some that cost more than 70\u20ac.
\n\nHere is a list of the specs I at least need to run these games :
\n\nI don't know if anything with these specs exists for that price, but I hope that I can at least get some possible alternatives
\n", "Title": "Microcontroller to run x86 application", "Tags": "|gaming|windows|", "Answer": "Take a look at the Atomic Pi - it definitely satisfies all your hardware requirements. As for DirectX 9 and DirectSound those are software features which I am unable to comment on, although Wine might work in this case. The board should be able to run Windows too though.
\n\nIf you want to check if the games work under Wine on x86 Linux try it on your PC first. You might also have a look at PlayOnLinux which greatly simplifies the process on running games under Wine.
\n" }, { "Id": "11180", "CreationDate": "2019-05-24T13:09:30.667", "Body": "I am looking to acquire a Core i7 7700 (non k) in a week or so.
\n\nMy current build:
\n\nI have searched online on forums, etc., but most of the sites are people asking about the 7700k variant. So my worry is that the H75 will not be strong enough to cool the 7700. Will I have to get a new CPU cooler or should it be strong enough?
\n", "Title": "Will a Corsair H75 cooler be enough to cool a Core i7 7700?", "Tags": "|processor|desktop|", "Answer": "Okay, So I went ahead and bought the CPU, and honestly it runs just fine.
\n\nTemps are around 25'C on idle, and up to 40'C in game. In a hot environment it goes up to 55, but have not seen it go any higher than that.
\n" }, { "Id": "11194", "CreationDate": "2019-05-26T23:45:42.957", "Body": "I would like to know what the height equivalence is, which should be taken into account for a 21: 9 monitor versus a 16: 9 monitor.
\n\n![\"monitor](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Nelcd.png\")
For example, a monitor 21: 9 of 24 \", this one has less height than one of the same size in inches of one with format 16: 9.
\n\n![\"monitor](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JH92N.png\")
PD: Remembering that the size is taken mainly by the diagonal
\n", "Title": "Equivalence in height between monitors 21:9 and 16:9", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "This is the site you want and need :)
\n\n\n\nYou can add your own dimension in pixels, and the diagonal. \nYou then click in the plus sign, and it will add the screen you defined. You can do this multiple times, the tool will compare the screens. ![\"First](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/1alra.jpg\")
![\"Second](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/XgljP.png\")
I am seriously considering buying a 9.7 iPad, but I have an Android phone and I am not sure about the compatibility between these 2. Is the hotspot functionality from my Android device going to work with the iPad? Is it going to be easy to connect to my Linux & Windows PC?
\n\nThank you.
\n", "Title": "Is it worth buying an iPad if I have an Android smartphone and Windows computer?", "Tags": "|pc|tablet|apple|", "Answer": "There shouldn't be any issues with hotspots. As for Linux/windows connectivity it depends what do you wish to do with your device. If you only wish to transfer songs/videos/pics then it will be fine with Windows through iTunes since Apple has a version for Windows. With Linux it gets a bit tricky. There isn't a version of iTunes that Linux supports natively, but you can get it running with WINE. In my personal experience (I use iPhone+iPad with Windows PC) it took quite some time to get used to iTunes, but once you do it works great.
\n" }, { "Id": "11218", "CreationDate": "2019-05-30T14:43:20.590", "Body": "I need to control some USB smartcard readers from a virtual machine (linux), can you recommend a device with good drivers to let the VM see the physical USB devices connected like a physical computer?
\n", "Title": "Sharing USB device over ethernet to virtual machine", "Tags": "|usb|virtual-machines|remote-control|", "Answer": "If I understand you correctly, you're looking for a device with at least one USB port. Any USB device connected to that \u201dhub\u201c will be \u201dshared\u201c to the VM. If that's the case, I suggest you to search the internet for the following word combinations:
\n\nUSB over IPUSB over ethernetethernet USB device serverethernet USB sharing stationI've seen deviced by these brands: Silex, SEH, coolgear, DIGI, SIIG, StarTech.
\n" }, { "Id": "11221", "CreationDate": "2019-05-31T09:40:07.230", "Body": "I apologise in advance if I have posted this in the wrong stackechange site, I wasn't quite sure which to post it on and this one seemed like the best match.
\n\nI am looking for a very low end GPU for my 10 year old PC. It would be for running linux and occasional light gaming (Minecraft and maybe some emulation, not exactly sure what I want to do with it yet)! The reason I have decided to not stick with the card integrated to the motherboard is because I would have to downgrade to a very old Linux Kernel version to use the proprietary driver, and the 'nouveau' open source one isn't very good. I just wanted to clarify I'm not expecting (or wanting) a gaming pc, I just wanted to run a newer kernel and have fewer graphical issues. It's current system specs are as follows:
\n\nSystem information report, generated by Sysinfo: 27/05/2019 17:18:20\nhttp://sourceforge.net/projects/gsysinfo\n\nSYSTEM INFORMATION\n Running LinuxMint Linux, the LinuxMint 19.1 (tessa) release.\n GNOME: 3.28.2 (Ubuntu)\n Kernel version: 4.15.0-20-generic (#21-Ubuntu SMP Tue Apr 24 06:16:15 UTC 2018)\n GCC: 7 (x86_64-linux-gnu)\n Xorg: 1.19.6 (25 October 2018 04:11:27PM) (25 October 2018 04:11:27PM)\n Hostname: jeremy-ixtreme-M3720\n Uptime: 0 days 0 h 49 min\n\nCPU INFORMATION\n GenuineIntel, Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8300 @ 2.50GHz\n Number of CPUs: 4\n CPU clock currently at 2000.092 MHz with 2048 KB cache\n Numbering: family(6) model(23) stepping(10)\n Bogomips: 4999.94\n Flags: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl cpuid aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 xsave lahf_lm pti tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority dtherm\n\nMEMORY INFORMATION\n Total memory: 7724 MB\n Total swap: 2047 MB\n\nSTORAGE INFORMATION\n SCSI device - scsi3\n Vendor: ATAPI \n Model: DVD A DH16AASH \n SCSI device - scsi4\n Vendor: ATA \n Model: ADATA SU650 \n SCSI device - scsi6\n Vendor: Generic \n Model: USB SD Reader \n SCSI device - scsi6\n Vendor: Generic \n Model: USB CF Reader \n\nHARDWARE INFORMATION\nMOTHERBOARD\n Host bridge\n NVIDIA Corporation MCP73 Host Bridge (rev a2)\n Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] MCP73 Host Bridge\n PCI bridge(s)\n NVIDIA Corporation MCP73 PCI Express bridge (rev a1) (prog-if 01 [Subtractive decode])\n NVIDIA Corporation MCP73 PCI Express bridge (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])\n NVIDIA Corporation MCP73 PCI Express bridge (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])\n NVIDIA Corporation MCP73 PCI Express bridge (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])\n ISA bridge\n NVIDIA Corporation MCP73 LPC Bridge (rev a2)\n Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] MCP73 LPC Bridge\n IDE interface\n NVIDIA Corporation MCP73 IDE Controller (rev a1) (prog-if 8a [Master SecP PriP])\n Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] MCP73 IDE Controller\n\nGRAPHIC CARD\n VGA controller\n NVIDIA Corporation C73 [GeForce 7100 / nForce 630i] (rev a2) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])\n Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] C73 [GeForce 7100 / nForce 630i]\n\nSOUND CARD\n Multimedia controller\n NVIDIA Corporation MCP73 High Definition Audio (rev a1)\n Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] MCP73 High Definition Audio\n\nNETWORK\n Ethernet controller\n Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101/2/6E PCI Express Fast/Gigabit Ethernet controller (rev 01)\n Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] RTL810xE PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller\nOther specs not listed there include:
\n\n250 Watt PSU (likely awful, the one included in the pre-built. Pretty sure it's proprietary too. I understand upgrading this would be hard, though I will do it if it is the only way forward)
\n\nOne PCI slot
\n\nOne PCI Express slot
\n\nAnd I am on a tight budget. I am fine with a card at or under \u00a350, new or second hand. I can check whether the latest Linux kernels support it so you don't have to, but I would imagine most GPUs made within the last 5 years are still supported.
\n\nEDIT\nCurrently thinking about one of these or one of these
\n", "Title": "Low end GPU with a 250 watt PSU", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|linux|desktop|smps|", "Answer": "With a 250w psu you won't get far. I think the strongest card you would be able to run is either a Gtx 750 ti, or a RX 460, which will have to be under clocked. Neither of these require an external power cable and pull around 60 watts.
\n\nJust make sure your power supply can supply enough amps on the 12v rail, and you should be fine.
\n" }, { "Id": "11234", "CreationDate": "2019-06-02T10:40:57.177", "Body": "I'm looking at buying a new laptop. I run Debian Linux as my primary operating system; however, I would like the option of booting up Windows 7 once in a while.
\n\nHow can I be totally sure a machine will run Windows 7? I will have absolutely no opportunity to return it if it doesn't; I'll have to get it right the first time.
\n\nPlease, no comments about how Windows 7 is end of life, is not maintained, is not protected against the latest security exploits, is not the latest and greatest, or that anything it can do can be done in the current version as well.
\n\nI trust Windows 7 (sort of) and will not move on.
\n", "Title": "How can I be sure a new laptop will run Windows 7?", "Tags": "|windows|", "Answer": "You should basically look for something with a bit of an older CPU.
\n\nThis is from the official Windows Processor Requirements page from Microsoft:
\n\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "11255", "CreationDate": "2019-06-04T11:52:29.617", "Body": "Intel Processors
\n \n
\n Up through the following 6th Generation Intel Processors (Intel Core\n i3/i5/i7-6xxx, Core m3/m5/m7-6xxx, and Xeon E3-xxxx v5), and through\n series equivalent Intel Atom, Celeron and Pentium ProcessorsAMD Processors
\n
\n Up through the following AMD 6th Generation Processors (A-Series Ax-8xxx & E-Series Ex-8xxx & FX-870K)
I want to write an app that assesses your reflexes. Basically it makes a sound you have to punch a target and the programme tells you your reaction time. I am not sure what to use for the target part. I was thinking of either a cheap mic as the sound of the impact would loud enough to be picked by the programme and that would the cue to stop the stop watch, or maybe an optical mouse same principle if you punch in front of the mouse the cursor will move and that is the signal for stopping the stop watch. \nAny ideas would be welcome, the system doesn't have to be perfect and can be a tiny bit makeshift. \nThanks in advance
\n", "Title": "Connect a switch to my PC for a buzzer type of app", "Tags": "|usb|switch|microcontroller|", "Answer": "I would get a Raspberry Pi because it has GPIO pins.
\n\nThen connect a Limit switch to a GPIO pin.
\n\nWhen the person punches the target the limit switch will close and you can mark that down.
\n\nThe limit switch, of course, has to be placed behind the target.
\n" }, { "Id": "11271", "CreationDate": "2019-06-05T16:09:03.167", "Body": "I would like to buy, HP Spectre x360 with intel i7 8565U, 16 gb RAM, 512gb ssd with intel uhd 620 but I am not sure If I will be able to run some app emulators for development, I will do some Programming and maybe some gaming as well but I am not intending to play games with intensive graphics like GTA5. Is it worth to buy, will it be enough?
\n", "Title": "Is i7 8565U, with 16 gb RAM, 512 SSD with intel uhd 620, only integrated good enough for Android studio?", "Tags": "|video|web-development|video-editing|game-development|", "Answer": "if you are using emulator, it will get better performance if you have a dedicated GPU... Its Good to have one, but its not a requirement, modern intel UHD graphics should be sufficient. ... Android app development doesn't require much of a GPU... but i always recommend to go for gaming laptops because they are specially designed for speed and high processing capabilities. Well HP spectre x360 is also among the best laptops on which you can rely blindly
\n" }, { "Id": "11275", "CreationDate": "2019-06-06T17:47:17.250", "Body": "I am planning to purchase 4th generation Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 i7-4600U 2.10GHz 2.70GHz model. Also, I am thinking of latest version of 8th generation if it has lot of performance difference. Regarding this I have 2 questions.
\n\nWhat is the performance difference between Intel i7 4th generation with 8th generation?
What is the meaning of 2.10GHz 2.70GHz. Is it related to speed or something else?
Guide me whether intel i7 4th generation is it sufficient enough or 8th generation is better?
\n\nNote: Main usage is Python programming for data science point of purpose, not for graphical and gaming related purpose.
\n", "Title": "[Laptop]: what is the performance difference between intel i7 4th generation with 8th generation laptop?", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|intel|", "Answer": "Well if your budget allows you to upgrade to i7 8th gen then i will recommend you to go for it. But this does not mean that i7 4th gen is troublesome it's one of the good processors till today and for programming it won't be any trouble so if you want you can easily carry out your work on i7 4th gen. \n2.10 GHz is meant for processor's clock speed with which it processes data.
\n" }, { "Id": "11292", "CreationDate": "2019-06-07T20:48:43.643", "Body": "I am planning to move an Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 and its FX-6350 CPU (default TDP 125W, max temp 61C) into a new chassis with a GeForce 1070 and a 680W power supply.
\n\nI am looking at a series of CPU coolers from BeQuiet! ranging from 125W to 250W.
\n\nIf I really dial that motherboard up, What's the maximum power consumption of that CPU if highly overclocked, so I can determine how much cooling would be needed on that CPU?
\n", "Title": "How much heat would an AMD FX-6350 emit if overclocked?", "Tags": "|processor|desktop|cooling|heat-sink|", "Answer": "According to the ASUS website, the board only supports a max of 140W so in theory your cooler doesn't need to be any better than that anyways.
\n\nHowever, that motherboard doesn't really have the VRMs required for significant and reliable overlocking. You can do it, but the lack of heat sinks on the VRMs and it only being a 4+1 design is likely going to hold you back from getting the most out of your CPU. Overclocking reviews for that board don't look so great.
\n" }, { "Id": "11302", "CreationDate": "2019-06-08T19:02:59.557", "Body": "I want to buy a new business laptop where I want to install Ubuntu 18.04 as OS with following characteristics:
\n\nHave you some recommendations for me? And some experiences, because I read in some articles with driver problems when using a docking station for two external monitors.
\n", "Title": "Recommendation of business laptop with OS Ubuntu 18.04", "Tags": "|laptop|linux|ubuntu|", "Answer": "Short, spec based recommendation is the Lenovo X390 Carbon.
\n\nI'm assuming you're in Europe but not the UK, so the price on Lenovo's Irish site is \u20ac1730-1800 (i7, 16GB soldered RAM, 512GB-1TB SSD). Changing keyboard to German, French etc is free. When I checked on the Irish site, a 1TB SSD was only \u20ac30 more than a 512GB and they're giving away a free Moto One Phone :-).
\n\nSuper long version, because upgrading to a new Linux based machine (even without the work and touchscreen reqs) is always a dice roll:
\n\nThere's a number of great touchscreen laptops that are conveniently around \u20ac2k e.g. Dell XPS variants, Lenovo X1 variants, HP Spectre and Envy variants, Huawei Matebook X etc.
\n\nBecause your livelihood depends on it, you can't afford downtime with installation, driver issues (funtime imo), support communication and returns uzw. However with current support, the touch screen requirement on Linux is limiting. Do I have any experience with touch screen laptops running any version of Ubuntu? Nope. But at least someone else does. Forums show others who have Ubuntu installed on similar Lenovo laptops with/out touchscreens without issues.
\n\nSo you'd like Ubuntu 18.04.02 LTS Hardware Certification. The Hardware Certification is usually based on a manufacturer installed version of Ubuntu rather than a standard Ubuntu, but it is very encouraging nonetheless. Having 18.04 support listed by Lenovo themselves inspires further confidence that you've taken as many steps as you can to mitigate risk.
\n\nAs of now, 18.04.02 LTS hardware certified and touch screen leaves the Lenovo X390 Yoga and X1 Extreme. Under \u20ac2k leaves the X390.
\n\nLoads of ports: Thunderbolt 3 and HDMI (next section for dual external monitors), 2 x USB Type A ports, micro SD card slot which can have a SIM slot for LTE.
\n\nThe charger is 65W via USB-C. Less cables, less hassle.
\n\nThe X390 Ubuntu hardware cert lists Wacom in the hardware details. For this kind of money, its nice to doodle in a meeting while pretending to take notes. The pen slots into the machine and automatically charges.
\n\nYoga flexibility - laptop, tent, tablet.
\n\nThinkpad keyboard.
\n\nPrivacy cover for camera.
\n\nThe only known downsides I can foresee at this point would be the lowish screen brightness at 300 nit and the fingerprint scanner is currently not supported, probably never will be.
\n\nI'll try not to moan too much...I've had nightmares with proprietary TB3 docks, even on Windows with drivers and BIOS up to date. Almost all I've seen require Windows drivers. Even if those work, you'd have spent nearly \u20ac200 for the chance it might work with some functionality on Linux :-O. I used Windows To Go for automatic BIOS (saved a little Unetbootin time) and driver upgrades. With Bitlocker enabled, that kept privacy invasive corporate IT away.
\n\nNow I just connect one monitor via HDMI and the other through a generic USB Type C hub into a TB3 port. The hub has another HDMI port for the other monitor, USB ports for peripherals and an Ethernet port. No dongle mess. Am I downgrading the bandwidth of a TB3 port to USB 3.1? Yes. Am I limited to 2 monitors on HD? Yes again but I don't care, because it works on every screen, every time, needs no power supply and cost a fraction of a TB3 dock. A similar setup should work for all/most Linux laptops.
\n\nYou could walk into Saturn/PC World etc during off peak hours with a live 18.04 USB and try any docks/hubs you have access to. Make a deal with the sales rep that you'll buy if dual external monitors work etc.
\n" }, { "Id": "11316", "CreationDate": "2019-06-12T01:40:37.260", "Body": "i have 140 drivers & 200+ not more than 300 bookings from passengers within 24 hours. So, i want to deploy my taxi app on a cloud server. Same uber concept but this one is using taxi. Can someone recommend me the amount of computing power i need to run this taxi app for a smooth transaction in a month. Like the amount of Ram, Storage, CPU's etc etc.
\n\nUm using PHP LARAVEL 7, SQL XAMPP, CSS, HTML.
\n\nYour help is highly appreciated. Thank you.
\n", "Title": "How much computing power(Server Resource) i need to run my taxi app?", "Tags": "|server|web-development|web-server|", "Answer": "Server resource not only depends on its user, but also upon which language it was written in.\nFor example a simple PHP Application can run with just < 100 MB of RAM. But a Java application (Spring Boot) requires >200 MB for an sample app.
\n\nFor roughly calculating the RAM requirements, run the application with just 10 users (drivers or passengers) and note down the difference between the RAM usage when idle vs 10 users & divide by 10. You will get RAM Usage for 1 user. Then multiply it by the number of users.
\n\nBut this method will not work for the CPU recommendations. So specify the programming language your application was written in.
\n" }, { "Id": "11337", "CreationDate": "2019-06-14T13:18:42.040", "Body": "I have a laptop with GPU 940M and a desktop with GPU GTX 980. \nBoth are capable of performing deep learning task on their own using Pytorch or Tensorflow.
\n\nHow can I use them both together for a deep learning task?\nDo I have to connect them together through a server?
\n\nIf so, what are the keywords to search for a tutorial?
\n", "Title": "How can I use two computers for deep learning?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "A server is just another computer. Therefore, you don't need one in order to have a network between your two computers. Instead, you have a choice:
\n\nYou can purchase a switch and connect your both machines to the switch.
\n\nThe cheapest switches cost less than ten dollars, and allow to plug five or eight devices. Note that you also have to have two Ethernet cables. Ensure first that both of your computers have a network adapter.
Or you can buy a crossover cable to connect the computers directly without a switch.
\n\nWhile this solution is cheaper, it is also the least scalable. If, in the future, you would want to connect a third device, you wouldn't be able to do that if every device has only one network adapter.
If you have a router, there is possibly a way to either connect two devices through Ethernet to it, or to use Wi-Fi. In this case, you don't need to purchase anything extra.
Once you have your local network set up, you can start exploring the capabilities of distributed computing.
\n" }, { "Id": "11349", "CreationDate": "2019-06-15T23:43:32.690", "Body": "Per the post subject, is there an x86 computer like this that I can still buy or otherwise acquire in 2019? Used or refurbished is OK as long as it is still reliable. I want a low-cost, low-energy, fanless, small, 80686 (including CMOV instructions, so VIA C7 is OK but VIA C3 is not) or x86-64 computer with at least three SATA ports using normal connectors, as used by 2.5-inch HDDs and SSDs, instead of mSATA to replace some full-size ATX tower computers with fans and using Core 2 and earlier hardware platforms. Ideally, I want to continue using the current installations of Ubuntu 10.04.x LTS for x86-32 from 2011 because it still works for my application so I want to avoid the chore of upgrading the OS only to use a newer computer. The primary market lifetime (correct term?) of x86 motherboards is frustratingly short for someone like me who still does not have a newer than Core 2 era x86 computer in 2019 because the Core 2 era and earlier x86 computers I use still suffice for my application. I use the same computer hardware until the hardware, such as through-hole electrolytic capacitors, fails. I have found some small, such as Mini-ITX, motherboards with at least three SATA ports using normal connectors but they seem to no longer be for sale by the time I find them, years after they were released. For example, here is a fanless AMD x86-64 Mini-ITX motherboard with six SATA ports using normal connectors:
\nhttps://www.asus.com/Motherboards/C60M1I/
\nUnfortunately, I cannot find anywhere that still sells this model. The hardware does not need to be current; the computers I want to replace use hardware platforms aged at least a decade. I really want to avoid the chore of upgrading the OS only to use a newer computer but I can try to upgrade the OS if necessary or maybe only retrofit a build of a newer than 2.6.32.x Linux kernel into the current installation of Ubuntu 10.04.x LTS from 2011. I think even a Pentium II computer will suffice for my application if it meets the SATA requirements. I need one Ethernet port, preferably (at least) Gigabit Ethernet; Fast Ethernet is the minimum. I prefer Intel over Realtek for Ethernet controllers but Realtek should suffice as long as it is reliable. I live in Canada. On NewEgg.ca , I can filter Mini-ITX motherboards to only those with at least three SATA ports, which eliminates all but two models. One of these models was eliminated because it costs over 1 000 CAD and I do not remember why the other model was eliminated. On Amazon.ca , I can narrow down motherboards to Mini-ITX but cannot filter the results by cooling type (fanless) nor by number of SATA ports. It seems that most models of Mini-ITX and smaller x86 motherboards only have up to two SATA ports using normal connectors. Some motherboards may have at least three SATA ports including mSATA sockets but the drives I am currently using are 2.5-inch or larger and I want to continue using them instead of having to buy mSATA drives. I bought 2.5-inch SATA SSDs instead of mSATA SSDs because I bought the drives for use with microATX or larger motherboards that use normal SATA connectors instead of mSATA; I thought it was better to reduce the number of connectors required to connect the drive to the motherboard to reduce long-term reliability problems caused by connectors than to have more modularity/interchangeability by using mSATA drives. As for the definition of \u201csmall\u201d, I want microATX at the largest. As for \u201clow cost\u201d, I am used to paying <=15 CAD for an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU and around 50 CAD for a used or refurbished Socket T AKA LGA775 motherboard when I buy five of the same model of motherboard at once. Yes, I realise that these computers have fans but I am trying to give an idea of what I mean by \u201clow cost\u201d. Anyway, Amazon has too many models of Mini-ITX motherboards to go through them one by one to see if any are fanless and have at least three SATA ports using normal connectors. I did find this Core 2 era Mini-ITX motherboard with four SATA ports using normal connectors but I do not know if it is feasible to use this motherboard without any fan?
\n\nEdit #1: I prefer to buy x86-64 hardware in case I later need to use an x86-64 OS but, because I am currently using an x86-32 OS, I can still use an 80686 computer with CMOV instructions.
\nI searched this database of single-board computers for x86 computers with SATA connectivity:
\n\nbut the only computers with at least three SATA ports looks like they will cost far too much and, regardless, they are overkill for my application.
\n", "Title": "Recommendation for small, low-cost, low-energy, fanless, 80686 or x86-64 computer with at least 3 SATA ports using normal connectors instead of mSATA", "Tags": "|motherboard|sata|embedded-systems|mini-pc|fanless|", "Answer": "I ended up buying five fanless AMD APU-based Mini-ITX x86-64 motherboards on eBay: three of the Asus C60M1-I because that was all the seller had then one Asus E35M1-I and one Asus E35M1-I DeLuxe. These models of motherboards are from around 2011, still support legacy boot even though they use EFI instead of BIOS, and the r8169 driver for Realtek Gigabit Ethernet controllers in the Debian/Ubuntu releases from around 2011 to 2013 seems to work well with the Gigabit Ethernet controllers integrated on the motherboards. I am still using the same OS installations on the same physical SATA SSDs but, with a single order from Mini-Box.com, I used the picoPSU to eliminate the fans in the power supplies and used the M350 enclosure to shrink the chasses from full-size ATX to Mini-ITX, only 2.5 litres per computer except for the external AC adapter for the picoPSU and one of the computers has the third SATA SSD sticking out with the top of the chassis not installed because this model of chassis is only designed for one or two 2.5-inch drives so the third drive does not fit normally in the chassis. I placed the order on 2023\u201108\u201115 for six of the ENC\u2011M350\u2011PWR (M350 Enclosure with PicoPSU-80W and 60W adapter kit) at 79 USD each = 474 USD; six of the M350 HDD bracket for mounting a second 2.5-inch drive in the M350 enclosure at 2.79 USD each = 16.74 USD; and six of the \u201cP4-POWER-MINI-Barracuda\u201d \u201cP4\u201d Mini Power Cable for PicoPSU-80 at 1.35 USD each = 8.10 USD and with quotation marks because calling this cable a P4 as in Pentium 4 cable is both an anachronism and a misnomer because it is simply the 4-pin 12-volt CPU power cable for ATX12V motherboards covering many more generations and varieties of hardware than Pentium 4. Anyway, the subtotal is 498.84 USD plus 78.47 USD for DHL to deliver the single large parcel from Mini-Box.com in Fremont, California to me in Delta, British Columbia = total price 577.31 USD converted to CAD because I have a Canadian credit card account. This solution still works well since I assembled the Mini-ITX computers in the summer. I chose the 80-watt picoPSU board because apparently only the 80-watt model has the connector for the 4-pin 12-volt CPU power cable that is needed for the Mini-ITX motherboards I am using. The M350 enclosure/chassis has a black plastic cover for the front to hide a SSD or other USB device connected to the front USB connectors and presumably to dampen the light from the supernova blue LEDs on the front of the enclosure but I did not install these covers because they seem unnecessary. Even though all five of the Mini-ITX computers are on the desktop as in furniture in my bedroom, I can still sleep with the room lit by all of the supernova blue LEDs on the front of the enclosures but some persons may dislike all of this light at night. This model of enclosure does not have a reset switch nor a drive activity indicator light but I guess someone who is into hardware hacking more than me and wants these hardware features could add their own switch and LED to connect to the headers on the motherboard. I will try to add before and after photographs after posting this answer. Edit: I lost motivation to follow through on adding before and after photographs even though I already have photographs from months ago that I could use.
\n" }, { "Id": "11350", "CreationDate": "2019-06-16T02:18:53.357", "Body": "I'm planning to buy a graphics card for my ryzen 3 2200g such as Rx570 and i m getting this from three OEM like Asus, Gigabyte And Msi These are the models :-
\n\nGigabyte Radeon RX570 4GB GDDR5 PCI-E Graphics Card Here price 13k for 4gb
MSI RX 570 ARMOR 8G OC Gaming 256-Bit 8gb Gdrr5 Directx Graphics Card\nHere Price 16k for 8gb
ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX 570 O4G Gaming OC Edition GDDR5 DP HDMI DVI VR Ready AMD Graphics Card (ROG-STRIX-RX570-O4G-GAMING) Here price 16k for 4gb
Which of three will be worth buying and which has the top performance will 8gb by msi is better than asus rog 4gb line up any suggestions and explanation all i need i will like to do gaming on 1080p such as Pubg and GTA V etc and little bit Vmware, Android studio etc which of them will fit with ryzen 3 2200g to get the best performance.
\n", "Title": "Which of them is worth buying", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "It's always nice to have the exta buffer, so I'd say go for the 8gb card, but if money is tight, there is nothing wrong with choosing the 4gb card. The only time it will really come into play is if you want to play a game, or run a simulation that is extremely demanding, i.e. that uses more than 4gb of VRAM.
\n\nI myself have a 4gb and a 8gb card, and the amount of games that are affected by the difference is very little. All three of these cards will however be bottlenecked, but not a lot. So I'd say for future proofing, go for the 8gb variant!
\n\nEdit - Another thing to look at are the display ports you'd be using. If you don't need a DVI port, rather go for the cards with DisplayPorts and HDMI ports
\n" }, { "Id": "11353", "CreationDate": "2019-06-16T09:21:47.767", "Body": "I'm looking for a mouse that's longer than the traditional standard mouse.
\n\nReason: I'm beginning to get minor pains in the forefinger and middle finger of each hand. (I swap hands frequently as soon as I feel any pain from one hand.)
\n\nI've discovered that if I use a STRAIGHT finger (rather than a curved finger) to press a button, the pain almost disappears in any hand.
\n\nNormally, my finger would contact the mouse on the TIP of the finger. But if I use a straight finger, I'm touching the button with the pad of my finger, very close to the first joint nearest the fingertip. So, my straight finger actually overhangs the front of the mouse, by about 1cm.
\n\nSo, I'm looking for a mouse that's about 1cm longer than the traditional mouse. (It would also need to be symmetrical, in other words it can be used with either hand.)
\n\nThe following Google search found nothing. The purpose of \"-mat\" was to eliminate the thousands of extra long mouse mats.
\n\nextra long mouse OR mice -mat\nI would be grateful for any suggestions.
\n", "Title": "Where can I get a longer mouse?", "Tags": "|mice|", "Answer": "I think you should be looking for an Ergonomic Mouse.
\n\nThose are the mice that are longer and/or physically laid out for improved arm and finger positioning.
\n\nProducts like the Logitech MX Master 2S Wireless Mouse or the (cheaper) Anker Ergonomic Optical Wired Vertical Mouse
\n" }, { "Id": "11362", "CreationDate": "2019-06-17T07:42:11.490", "Body": "For now I need to replace the current hard-drive because I heard some loud clicking this morning. I am not in a position to upgrade my full PC.
\n\nMy idea is to get the best storage I can with the aim of transferring it to an updated PC next year sometime.
\n\nFor this reason, I am not worried about whether the (discontinued Intel DH61WW, ca. 2011) motherboard bottlenecks performance, etc as long as I can move whatever I buy into a modern Desktop later on (which would then be able to make full use of the NVMe SSD).
\n\nI have tried looking into whether there is support. But I am having difficulty understanding whether an M.2 slot is required, or if a PCI-e 4x slot will suffice. Is it possible to install a converter (from PCI-e to NVME, etc).
\n\nThis is what I am looking into atm. How does one find out whether I have what is needed to support it?
\n", "Title": "Does Intel DH61WW motherboard support NVME in any form? Which is the fastest storage it can make use of?", "Tags": "|desktop|ssd|pcie|compatibility|", "Answer": "The SSD you linked is an M.2 SSD. In order to connect it to a computer without an M.2 slot, you would need to purchase an M.2 to PCIe adapter card.
\n\nHowever, given that you're planning to use the SSD to replace your failing hard drive, I'm assuming that you want to use it as a boot device. To my knowledge, NVMe drives are only supported as boot devices on Haswell CPUs or later, and even then, support is very patchy (M.2/NVMe support has only really become stable and standard in the last couple of generations of CPUs). Your motherboard has a LGA1155 socket and H61 chipset, which indicates that you have a Sandy Bridge processor. Additionally, the H61 chipset is the most basic chipset for this generation, and as such would not incorporate any new, experimental or upcoming features. Therefore, it is almost certain that your motherboard will not support an NVMe device for booting.
\n\nAlthough it might be possible to use the NVMe SSD as a secondary drive, I suspect that you will run into many technical issues along the way which may render the SSD incompatiable with your system. I wouldn't recommend going down this route.
\n\nInstead of buying an NVMe SSD, I would recommend simply getting a standard 2.5\" SATA SSD. The speed difference between a SATA and NVMe SSD is usually not noticable during general use, and only really makes a difference if you are using the drive for read/write heavy workloads (e.g. as a scratch disk for video editing). The money saved from buying a SATA drive would also allow you to buy more storage for the same price. Finally, you are unlikely to run into any compatiability issues with SATA, whilst an NVMe SSD is almost certain to give you grief on older systems.
\n" }, { "Id": "11363", "CreationDate": "2019-06-17T07:53:51.287", "Body": "I need a device that can act as a server (accept and send HTTP requests), and display an image. I want it to be as cheap as possible. I know i can use a Raspberry Pi, but i need something cheaper. I've heard that i can use some of these: ARM Cortex M, STM32, Esp32. Any other recommendations ?
\n", "Title": "What device should i use in this situation", "Tags": "|development|mini-pc|microcontroller|", "Answer": "To show a QR Code it's enough a black/white display. The resolution should be equal or greater than the size (in rows/cols) of your QR Code. Check this page about QR Code versions.
\n\nYou can find serial display (SPI, I2C or UART) for few dollars. The size depends at which distance you need to read the QR Code (i.e. check this)
\n\nAbout the controller: you didn't say if you need an Ethernet or WiFi connection. Anyway, you can choose whatever you want (or find) with at least:
\n\nFor WiFi connectivity a NodeMCU or similar boards can do the job with a couple of dollars. If you need Ethernet it would cost more, either using an Arduino board with an Ethernet shield or any MCU with a WIZNet module connected.
\n\nOf course you have to write the firmware to receive the data to display the QR Code on the display.
\n" }, { "Id": "11384", "CreationDate": "2019-06-19T13:32:30.670", "Body": "I have been looking around and haven't been able to find an answer to this so hoping you guys can help.
\n\nI have been tasked with finding a way to power a Raspberry Pi 3B+ (using the PoE Hat) as well as an Adafruit Amplifier remotely using only PoE power.
\n\nInitially the thought came to me to use a PoE splitter but I was concerned about the split of power and if PoE would continue through to the RPi to power it or if it was only Data passthrough.
\n\nMy next thought was to use the 5V GPIO Pins on the RPi to power it but, I quickly realized that it wouldn't be enough power to get the speakers loud enough for the application.
\n\nIf anyone has had similar problems/solutions any assistance would be appreciated.\nCheers
\n", "Title": "Raspberry Pi 3B+ PoE Amplifier Suggestion", "Tags": "|raspberry-pi|amplifiers|poe|", "Answer": "So after many hours of testing different methods to go for maximum volume (which was required) we ended up running 2 PoE lines and used a PoE splitter because it was significantly cheaper then running a power line (involves hiring an electrician and can get expensive. Very quick).
\n" }, { "Id": "11397", "CreationDate": "2019-06-20T17:12:08.667", "Body": "I've got a low-end laptop (a Dell Inspiron, running Ubuntu) which satisfies 95% of my needs perfectly. It's not just that I like and it happens to be low-end; I like it because it's low-end. I like that it's light and thin, and that I don't have to be too paranoid about spilling tea over it.
\n\nHowever, now and then I like to play video games; in particular, I really like Crusader King II. I tried installing this on my laptop, but it runs like ice-cold molasses, unplayably slow.
\n\nSo my question is, Is there any kind of hardware that I can plug into my current laptop, as you would a removable hard drive, that will allow me run to CK2 at a reasonable speed? Or would I have to get a whole new computer?
\n\nI'm more than happy to be told this is a stupid question. I suspect it might be. But I thought I'd check before spending money.
\n", "Title": "Plug in-able CPU/GPU?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|", "Answer": "Generally a laptop can only have one CPU. So unfortunately there is nothing that can be done on that side.
\n\nFor the graphics card it may be possible to upgrade to a desktop GPU using a Thunderbolt GPU Enclosure. This type of device requires a Thunderbolt connection on the laptop. The GPU will only output video to its own connectors so a separate monitor is almost always required. Lastly, these devices don't normally specify Linux support so you may need to figure it out on your own.
\n\nOther bits of info that may be relevant:
\n\nIn my opinion, you are better off buying a new laptop to avoid the headaches and the expense of these adapters and a monitor.
\n" }, { "Id": "11402", "CreationDate": "2019-06-21T11:58:48.130", "Body": "I would like to put two SSD drives into my T110 II and have two 3.5\" bays free. I have read in various places that the T110 II doesn't support SSD natively, but I also have a PERC H200 controller with two conventional drives attached, and I have also read in a few places that this should work. All I need is a 2.5\" to 3.5\" adapter.
\n\nWhen I e-mailed Dell to ask for a part number they told me that I can't fit SSD into my configuration, so now I don't know where I stand. They have been unhelpful and unforthcoming, and won't give me the part number I've asked for. They just repeat that it isn't supported and so don't do it.
\n\nPlease could someone settle this for me: can I put two SSD drives into my tower, in any configuration, but preferably RAID, and if so what adapter could I get to do it?
\n\nThanks in advance.
\n\nCharles
\n\n[EDIT] As suggested by K7AAY, the result from WMIC:
\n\nManufacturer: Dell Inc.
\n\nModel: PowerEdge T110 II
\n\nName: MYSERVER
\n\nSystemType: x64-based PC
\n\nUPDATE: I purchased two Samsung V-NAND 860 QVO 2Tb SATA 6Gb/s drives and connected them to the two remaining cables in my server. Ctrl+C at boot-up to start the PERC H200 Config Utility and selected the drives in RAID 1 formation. It took nearly 24 hours to complete initialisation, but I discovered that I could actually use the drives during that time. They work perfectly, so yah boo sucks to Dell for bad (wrong) information. I have challenged them on this but they have not replied (no surprise there).
\n", "Title": "Using SSD in PowerEdge T110 II", "Tags": "|ssd|", "Answer": "Page 2 of the spec sheet specifies the Drive Bays as
\n\n\n\n\nCabled options available:
\n
\n Up to six 2.5\u201d SATA SSD or SAS drives or Up\n to four 3.5\u201d SAS, nearline SAS, or SATA drives
and the drive types
\n\n\n\n\n2.5\u201d SATA SSD, SAS (10K)
\n
\n 3.5\u201d SAS (15K), nearline SAS (7.2K), SATA (7.2K, 5.4K)
So I fail to understand why Dell spoke contrary to their own specifications. Perhaps another try may yield a tech there who's willing to actually read the spec sheet of your system? Or, have you tried turning it off and then turning it back on again?
\n" }, { "Id": "11411", "CreationDate": "2019-06-23T08:45:11.910", "Body": "I'm looking for a super small computer that can have:\n64gb DDR4 ram\n3TB SSD or NVME or something smaller(physical size)\nSuper fast processor, better than an intel i7 chip or smaller.\nAnd a super small but powerful graphics card allowing 8k video to a VR headset.
\n\nThe size of this computer has to be the size of an iphone SX MAX or three of them put together front to back.
\n\nPrice doesn't matter.
\n", "Title": "Smallest but fastest computer?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|pc|", "Answer": "A product like this is non-existent.
\n\nToday's component sizes are way bigger than this, so it is not possible to fit those specs into such a small thing.
\n" }, { "Id": "11412", "CreationDate": "2019-06-23T16:22:50.827", "Body": "So I have a TV in my room I'd like to able to use to remotely connect to my gaming PC from, but I am trying to find a solution for this that wont cost much.
\n\nFor context, I have the TV and PS4 in my room because they are both super quiet and dont interfere with my sleep. The gaming PC I keep in the office (just a room away) since the LED's and fan noise sometimes disturb my sleep, and I have a different setup for office use (coursework, game dev, etc).
\n\nBasically, instead of buying a whole new gaming PC for the bedroom, I want to have a means to connect to it, play games, and use peripherals such as my PS4 controller/a Vive HMD without having them directly connected. All while running as quietly as a PS4 while in use, and totally silent when not in use.
\n\nNow to the r/computerbuilding aspect.
\n\nIve thought of a couple options for how to make this work, but I want to explore some of the options more and see what would really be best before dedicating to a build.
\n\n1) Smart TV My current TV doesnt have any wifi functionality so ive considered buying a smart 4k tv 55\" (same dimensions as the current one). Costwise this is probably around the middle, id imagine a cost of 600 to 700 $, however id be upgrading to 4K as well. My concerns with this are that I dont think there is any way to actually control the PC (except maybe using CEC with the tv remote) unless I pair this with a thin client.
\n\n2) Thin Client This would probably be very low cost compared to other solutions (200 or under), but I have little experience with thin clients. It seems since they dont use RAM or an HDD they run their own unique OS. So it seems it could be a bit more complex than using RDP from a Windows thick client. Also concerned that there may not be enough ports for USB peripherals, or that it could handle processing 4k/VR.
\n\n3) Thick Client This would maybe run somewhere in the middle of the road but could potentially end up costing as much as #1. Maybe I am misunderstanding what a thick client is, but by my definition it is a low spec PC (has RAM and HDD vs the thin client) that can offer functionality itself (like running Windows and a browser/low usage apps on its own), but would primarily rely on the server (for my purposes likely via RDC) to offload the heavy processing. I like this option because I have more control and options for what hardware I use, specifically with more ports on the mobo), but I am used to doing ATX factor builds. Problem is, I am not sure I can make this small enough (would have to be smaller than MicroATX probably), cheap enough (ideally under 300$), and quiet enough (dont have experience with fanless/minimal fan builds) to be practical. I also expect a PS4 controller would probably work over RDC but I am less confident if a Vive would also work under this setup.
\n\nSo right now I am leaning towards 2 or 3 (I dont have pressing need for a TV upgrade), but I am a bit on the fence since this is somewhat unfamiliar territory for me.
\n\nHere are some specs for my setups that might be relevant.
\n\nBedroom: 55\" SHARP 1080p TV (manufactured something like 2013) PS4 Slim 5 channel speakers w/ sub Input/output audio mixers that mix audio between up to 4 devices, and outputs to 4 devices (the speaker system uses 3 of these lines for fine tuned control of channels)
\n\nOffice: 3x 21\" Dell monitors, wall mounted Crosshair V Formula Z mobo housed in a Level 10 GT Thermaltake chassis AMD FX-8390 (a bit older but good performance for me), watercooled-single radiator ASUS ROG Strix 6GB GDDR5X GTX 1080 32GB (8x4)DDR3 Corsair Ballistix RAM 1000w XFX PSU - 80+ Titanium rated 2TB Samsung 850 Pro 2.5\" SSD 3x 4TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM HDDs in Raid 5 for 8TB storage w/ parity (software raid via FlexRaid-T)
\n\nAnd for internet 250mbps + 5ghz WiFi, networked w/ a 5-port unmanaged switch in office. Direct ethernet to PS4 and PC. May get a switch for the bedroom as well if more ports would help.
\n\nWould be interested on hearing some thoughts and opinions on possible setups and which options may work better than others, or even alternatives im not aware of.
\n", "Title": "Looking for solution for gaming via remote desktop", "Tags": "|gaming|networking|remote-control|thin-client|", "Answer": "First, if you plan on using Windows Remote Desktop you will have the following issues:
\n\nThere are better remote desktop/streaming solutions available though:
\n\nSteam In-Home Streaming requires a device that can run Steam. Android supports it too. You can use Steam to stream any game installed on the server PC, not just games you own on Steam.
\n\nYour GTX 1080 also makes you a good candidate for using Geforce GameStream, which requires either an Nvidia Shield device or another PC/Android device (using a third-party client). If I recall correctly, Steam In-Home Streaming uses the same GPU features as Geforce GameStream to encode/compress the video, so the video should look nearly the same.
\n\nOn to the hardware recommendation:
\n\nA low-end PC with HDMI (thick client) would be all you need to experiment with all 3 of those streaming solutions. With low-end hardware you could even go as far as using fanless coolers and simply avoid connecting any LEDs that may bother you.
\n\nIf you want to keep cost down, an Android box should be able to use the new Steam In-Home client for Android. These things can cost as little as $60 and will work with the DualShock 4 controller over bluetooth. Of course an Android smart TV should be able to run this app too.
\n\nLastly, I am not aware of any solution to stream VR from one PC to another.
\n" }, { "Id": "11415", "CreationDate": "2019-06-23T20:07:50.890", "Body": "I'd like to ask you what is CPU architecture, in an oversimplified way. I'm learning node.js and recently I saw a code console.log(os.arch()). The result was x64. What does that x means? Thank you!
\n\n\nI'd like to ask you what is CPU architecture, in an oversimplified way.
\n
This question isn't relevant to this Stack Exchange community, but I will try answer it before anyone flags or closes this question.
\n\nA CPU architecture is basically a name for the design of a CPU; If many CPUs support the same features then it can be said that those CPUs share an 'architecture'. It is especially useful to programmers to know that they can write code once that will run on all CPUs that implement that architecture.
\n\nThe os.arch() function will usually return one of these two architectures on a PC:
The 'x' in 'x86' is a sort of wildcard to represent any CPU from a family of CPUs which all shared a similar design & instruction set. One such CPU was the Intel 80486, which is where the '86' comes from. Thus, 'x86' was adopted to refer to CPUs that implement this common architecture.
\n\nLater on when AMD introduced 64-bit CPUs, they initially called this architecture amd64, but then Intel came up with their own design and soon the 'x64' term was invented to refer to 64-bit CPUs in general.
\n\nThe purpose of the os.arch() function is to identify the CPU architecture that your node application is running on.
I have a problem with a pc using intel core i7 gen 4. And would like to test it with other pc that using i5 gen 4. Is it Match vice versa with the mother board? And how about the driver installed in windows? Should I update?
\n", "Title": "Processor replacement", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|windows|intel|", "Answer": "If I understand correctly you want to test a core i5 4th gen cpu in the same Lga 1150 gen motheboard. There should be no problem. As long as it's still a 4th gen cpu on a 4th gen motherboard you will be good. About the drivers, I'd say update to the newest ones you can get, or if you're worried about security (Thank you Windows), rather wait until they are sure about their updates not being able to break your computer
\n" }, { "Id": "11457", "CreationDate": "2019-06-27T02:38:09.110", "Body": "So I dug up an old laptop (Lenovo flex 2-15\") because I was looking for something to potentially start gaming on just for fun in spare time and very strongly need a better cpu. It has a i3-4030U 1.9ghz core but the problem is that it is soldered to the motherboard. Is this something that can be undone by professionals and upgraded for cheaper than just buying a new laptop or finding a newer one to upgrade?
\n", "Title": "replacing a soldered i3-4030u", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "A web search for Lenovo flex 2 15 processor upgrade gave results that showed that the processor is Ball Grid Array (BGA) soldered so it is not upgradeable.
\n\nWhile one can technically desolder and re-solder a BGA processor, it would require specialized equipment like a BGA rework station and a lot of skill. It's very unlikely you could find someone to do that for you for a reasonable cost that is less than replacing the laptop. That's if you could even find an appropriate processor to upgrade with.
\n" }, { "Id": "11467", "CreationDate": "2019-06-27T22:38:53.340", "Body": "To avoid long explanations:
\n\nIs there a device that allows me to remotely turn the computer off and on again by ssh (or something else) and plug it into the power switch pins ?
\n", "Title": "Remote physical reboot", "Tags": "|remote-control|power-control|", "Answer": "If the machine actually crashes, you won't be able to SSH it in order to reboot it.
\n\nSince you say this is a server machine, your best guess would be to check how the machine is connected to the power grid. Most would be plugged into a PDU, and many PDUs can be administered socket by socket, so if the machine is unreachable, you can order the PDU to turn off, and then turn back on the specific socket. If the machine is connected directly to an UPS, you'll probably have a less granular control, i.e. you'll be able to turn on and off groups of sockets, but not individual sockets. It's up to you to determine, in this case, if there can be a reserved group just for this server.
\n\nOnce the power is back on, either the server is configured to boot automatically (or you can set this option in the BIOS), or you need to use Wake-on-LAN to force it to turn on. Check with your system administrator about the security aspects of Wake-on-LAN, since in many locations, Wake-on-LAN packets would be blocked by default.
\n\nIf, instead, you're talking not about a hardware server, but a virtual machine, things should be much easier: check the documentation for the virtualization technology that you use in order to know how to force reset a VM.
\n" }, { "Id": "11479", "CreationDate": "2019-06-30T06:03:04.317", "Body": "What should I upgrade ram or SSD? I have a MacBook pro mid 2012 with 500gb hdd hard drive and 4gb ram. I am a mobile app developer by profession. My hard drive is mainly free with 400+ gb free space. So Should I upgrade the ram or change to SSD?
\n", "Title": "Upgrade ram or SSD?", "Tags": "|memory|ssd|", "Answer": "Considering 4GB Ram for app development (and if not heavily resource intensive app development like games, design, cad, etc requiring more than 4GB) on a 2012 MacBook Pro - upgrading the HDD to a 500GB+ SSD will provide the greater performance. I recommend at-least 500GB so you can keep at-least 30%+ free SSD space to maintain optimal performance. There's an instant performance increase waiting for anyone running an OS on an SSD with less than 30% free space - free up over 30% and enjoy.
\n\nThe performance of SSDs declines after having less than 30% free space due to the way they distribute the read/write operations more effeciently across completely empty blocks rather than fragmented blocks - although you still don't need to defrag SSDs, they automatically re-arrange the data as needed, but with additional data fragment arrangement processes when the free space is too low (even with TRIM enabled to help with deleted/marked-deleted files). This performance drop is even more prominent in near-full HDDs and moving data seeking platter(s) and needle(s) but due to different ways of handling read/write operations for nearly full (more fragmentation prone) drives.
\n\nFor RAM, having enough to run the OS and needs is first priority - to stay away from using the Virtual Memory backup (additional Virtual RAM on the slower HDD/SSD). After this, topping off your speed from the minimum to the maximum supported by your Motherboard+CPU can provide some additional performance but usually not as significant of an increase as switching from HDD to SSD and increasing RAM capacity on a system that constantly relies on Virtual Memory (doesn't have enough RAM to meet your needs). Faster memory speed is more noticeable in specific applications, but many mistaken it to significantly help increase things like FPS in gaming which is more dependent on the CPU and GPU. Often the cost/performance ratio may not be worth the upgrade if you're only increasing the ram speed a few levels up what's supported, but going from the minimum to maximum supported by a Mobo+CPU may still be worthwhile after the storage speed and capacity are taken care of first.
\n\nTL;DR: Replacing an HDD with an SSD is usually the best way to revive & boost an older system like a 2012 MacBook Pro.
\n\nNotes: \n-New MacBook Pros have RAM soldered to the motherboard and can't be upgraded without replacing the entire board with the same compatible board with more RAM (rage table flip indeed).
\n\n-Be sure to check the maximum RAM capacity and speed supported by your motherboard (verify CPU support on the RAM speed too). All 2012 MacBook Pros support up to 16GB Ram.
\n" }, { "Id": "11521", "CreationDate": "2019-07-04T12:07:41.023", "Body": "What exactly difference between Video Capture rate, Frame Rate and Refresh Rate in video processing ?\nCan we change FPS of CPU graphics ie. rate of Frame per second or not? if yes then how ?
\n", "Title": "difference between Video Capture rate , Frame Rate and Refresh Rate in video processing", "Tags": "|video-adapters|video-editing|video-capture|video-game-console|", "Answer": "Before explaining what's Video Capture rate, let's read what's Refresh Rate and Frame Rate.
\n\nRefresh rate represents how many times the actual TV, video display, or projected screen image is completely reconstructed every second. The idea is that the more times the screen is \"refreshed\" every second, the smoother the image is in terms of motion rendering and flicker reduction.
\n\nIn other words, the image looks better the faster the screen can refresh itself. Refresh rates of televisions and other types of video displayed are measured in \"Hz\" (Hertz). For example, a television with a 60hz refresh rate represents a complete reconstruction of the screen image 60 times every second.
\n\nAs a result, this also means that each video frame (in a 30 frame per second signal) is repeated twice every 60th of a second. By looking at the math, one can easily figure out how other frame rates relate to other refresh rates.
\n\nRemember those cool little flip books where a pad of paper had an image on every page, and when you flipped through the pages quickly, the image would appear to animate and move? This is essentially how video works. Whether digital or old-school film, video is a series of still images that, when viewed in order at a certain speed, give the appearance of motion.
\n\nhttps://techsmith-13.wistia.com/medias/bzujp1kl5e?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640
\n\nFrame rate is the speed at which those images are shown, or how fast you \u201cflip\u201d through the book and it\u2019s usually expressed as \u201cframes per second,\u201d or FPS. Each image represents a frame, so if a video is captured and played back at 24fps, that means each second of video shows 24 distinct still images. The speed at which they\u2019re shown tricks your brain into perceiving smooth motion.
\n\nVideo Capture rate is just on how many FPS (Frames Per Second) the video will be captured/recorded. As we read above, with more FPS the video stay smoother, and with less FPS, it stays more \"laggy\".
\n\nNow let's talk about
\n\nFPS can easily change while you're using the computer. Heavy tasks like playing games can decrease your Frame Rate, while just using your Browser it's almost not going to change your Frame Rate (FPS).
\n\nHigher resolutions decrease Frame Rate (FPS), since the image to load is heavier.
\n\nThere are many ways of increasing your FPS, I suggest this website.
\n\n\n\n\nHow is the frame capture rate and Refresh rate depends upon each other?
\n
Remember that FPS is how many frames your computer is producing or drawing, while the refresh rate is how many times the monitor is refreshing the image on the screen. The refresh rate (Hz) of your monitor does not affect the frame rate (FPS) your GPU will be outputting. However, if your FPS is higher than your refresh rate, your display will not be able to display all of the frames your computer is producing, so although the refresh rate doesn\u2019t technically limit the frame rate, it does effectively set a cap.
\n\n\n\n\nIf I have 60Hz monitor then how much fps Video Capture card needed so that I don't want to loose any frame while capturing through video?
\n
As we read above, the refresh rate (Hz) doesn't really matter if we're speaking about frame rate (FPS), so just record your video at 60 FPS and it's all set.
\n\nSources: https://www.lifewire.com/video-frame-vs-screen-refresh-rate-1847855, https://www.techsmith.com/blog/frame-rate-beginners-guide/, https://www.avadirect.com/blog/frame-rate-fps-vs-hz-refresh-rate/ and my knowledge.
\n\nI hope this satisfies your doubts.
\n\nBrhaka
\n" }, { "Id": "11555", "CreationDate": "2019-07-09T00:49:57.563", "Body": "So I have an old HP laptop which died years ago. I removed the 2.5 Seagate HDD and wanting to use it as external hdd.
\n\nHowever I am confused as to what type of enclosure should be used.
\n\nFyi I have little knowledge in hdd and all that stuff, so I found out there are 4 'jumper pins' .
\n\nThe problem is when I browse the available enclosure they only have the SATA connectors and the jumper pins doesn't seem to connect anywhere. At least from my perception
\n\nI just wanna make sure before buying\nIs this okay/supposed to be this way?
\n\nThanks in advance
\n\n*Im using stackexchange app and it doesn't allow me to post images, I dont know why\nBut the HDD is 320GB Seagate Momentus 5400.6
\n", "Title": "2.5 inch HDD enclosure with jumper pins?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|drive-enclosure|", "Answer": "It is supposed to be this way.
\n\nThose jumper pins are not used to be connected to something. Instead, you use jumper shunts to connect the pins together. A jumper shunt, by the way, is this thing that you can see on many motherboards, or on all old IDE hard disk drives:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/LOjcj.jpg\")
The goal is to be able to specify a bunch of options, such as slowing the transfer rate down, or, in the case of IDE drives, it was used to distinguish between the master and the slave. The exact use of those jumpers depends on the manufacturer and the model. In the case of Seagate Momentus 5400.6:
\n\n\n\n\nIf the host system does not support SATA 3Gb/s operation, place a jumper on pins 1 and 2 to limit the drive to 1.5Gb/s operation.
\n
Source: PDF manual, page 32.
\n\nIt doesn't tell what would happen if you put a jumper shunt on pins 2 and 3, or 3 and 4, or put two jumpers together.
\n\nNotice that the manual tells explicitly on page 2 that:
\n\n\n\n\nIt is not normally necessary to set any jumpers or other configuration options.
\n
Therefore, just use an ordinary enclosure, connecting SATA and power.
\n" }, { "Id": "11573", "CreationDate": "2019-07-11T18:27:48.537", "Body": "My motherboard AX370-Gaming K5-CF has 2 Sata Express ports as depicted in the manual in page 17 between the normal sata ports.
\n\nhttp://download.gigabyte.eu/FileList/Manual/mb_manualga-ax370-gaming-k5_e.pdf
\n\nOn top of the ports it says \"Lotes\"
\n\nI was wondering what cable fits in there. I bought a standard esata cable online but it's double the size this port has. The cable I bought is this one but it's double the width. Like a normal sata cable whilst the port is half the size
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/BBZ6e.png\")
The small one is not the SATA Express connector. Each SATA Express connector consists of two ordinary SATA connectors and the small one, all in line.
\n\nHere, you see two SATA Express connector on the motherboard: a used one and a free one:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/00MCX.jpg\")
Similarly, here's a SATA Express cable:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vFXib.jpg\")
You may also be interested by What Is SATA Express? article.
\n" }, { "Id": "11600", "CreationDate": "2019-07-15T17:22:35.247", "Body": "Currently, I am using 3 monitors on my desktop PC as I run a software with many windows and I save and restore the layouts(work space) of these widows.
\n\nI am planning to move to the could and was wondering how this would work in the cloud world. What I am not quite clear about \n1. Can I configure the cloud VM to have 3 monitors just like the way I have it\n2. Or am I thinking about this wrong, I just expand the RDP window across my monitors and then just work with it.
\n\nPlease provide any insights as to how is it generally done in a multiple monitor setup.
\n", "Title": "Multiple Monitors Remote Desktop VM in Cloud", "Tags": "|multiple-monitors|", "Answer": "RDP support multiple monitors, you can check that option in the client settings.
\n\nThe number of monitors depend on the client, not the server.
\n\nIf the remote OS support it, it will work.
\n\nMake sure your apps working well on remote session by connect to your current pc from a different one.
\n\nSee Server OS restrictions here: https://support.steadfast.net/Knowledgebase/Article/View/107/0/using-multiple-monitors-with-windows-remote-desktop
\n\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "11625", "CreationDate": "2019-07-18T11:23:29.073", "Body": "When connecting to Windows 7 computers, only computers that are running Windows 7 Enterprise or Ultimate can be connected to in multi-monitor mode. When connecting to Windows 8.1, only computers that are running Windows 8.1 Professional or Enterprise can be connected to in multi-monitor mode.
\n
Which Graphics card will be the best value for money for this configuration? Suggestion will be appreciated.
\n\nCore i5 9600kGigabyte Z390UDCorsair Vengeance LPX 1x16GB 3200MHzSSD 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 250GBAntec 550WattCryorig H7Going by https://gpu.userbenchmark.com, calculating \"value\" with the following equation:
\n\n(\"Effective 3D Speed\" / Price in Dollars) and assuming your price bracket is at most $500, which seems to be about 2/3 of the cost of your computer, and assuming that ray tracing hardware is unimportant, the AMD RX 5700 XT appears to be your best \"value\" options.
Compare the \"value\" of the RX 5700 XT to other popular graphics cards:
\n\nI bought my pc six years ago and now want to replace my graphcis card.
\n\nI'd like to play the upcoming games like Starfield and maybe The Elders Scrolls 6 with this new card. I'm looking for a product that costs around 300 euros and is compatible with the other pieces of my computer.
\n\nHere is my computer spec:
\n\nGraphics card : AMD Radeon 7850 HD 2 Go
\n\nScreen resolution: 1920 x 1080
\n\nMotherboard : ASUS H97M-E
\n\nPower supply: Antec Basiq 500 Watts
\n\nProcessor: Intel i5 4690 3.5 GHz
\n\nRAM : 2 x 4 Go DDR3
\n\nOperating system : Windows 10
\n\nThanks for your help.
\n", "Title": "Graphics card replacement for a 6 year old pc", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Don't get confused. Go for
\n\n\n\n\nNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
\n
This would be best GPU for your configuration at $270
\n" }, { "Id": "11656", "CreationDate": "2019-07-23T08:05:27.820", "Body": "I've just started a Diploma of Software Development (Australia), and I'm wondering what specs I should look at in a laptop.
\n\nI am looking at putting an i9 in my desktop soon for video editing, and so I'm wondering if I will be able to get by with a Surface Laptop 2 with an i5 and 8GB RAM. I'd prefer not to spend $2k on a laptop so I can spend more on the PC, but I'm completely inexperienced with creating Windows Programs. We're coding mainly in C# and so it'd be nice to be able to test programs during my 2 hours of train riding each day.
\n", "Title": "Which Laptop for Software Development?", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|intel|", "Answer": "Try to buy a laptop with at least below configuration
\n\nProcessor: Intel core i5 (8th gen or Above)\nRAM: 8Gb DDR4\nStorage: 256Gb SSD
\n\nYou can go for 16gb if you want to spend little more. This configuration will kill all kind of programming IDE's required hardware specifications.
\n" }, { "Id": "11686", "CreationDate": "2019-07-27T12:09:36.390", "Body": "I'm about to buy a new laptop computer. I might want a better NVidia GPU on my own computer in the future, and it would be great to keep that option open without buying an expensive machine right away.
\n\nI didn't find such information on any laptop available online, so I fear this generally does not exist, at least not for lower-cost models. This PCWorld article from 2015 suggests that it's possible for some laptops made by the manufacturer Clevo.
\n\nThe question: Are there laptop computers in the range of 1000-1300\u20ac (-1500 USD) that allow to upgrade the GPU? If not, what would be the minimum price for such a computer, if they exist?
\n", "Title": "Do Laptops exist that allow to swap the GPU?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Nowadays, this isn't really possible - as of now (2019), there are no laptops that have exchangeable GPUs that I'm aware of. However, eGPUs are a way that you can upgrade the GPU of a laptop, though they lack the portability of an inbuilt GPU and are typically rather expensive.
\n" }, { "Id": "11690", "CreationDate": "2019-07-28T18:38:16.100", "Body": "I have a bunch of 5V devices (Raspberry Pi and Arduino devices, and LED strips) that need a power supply. I'm currently using a bunch of transformers from BTF Lighting (the ones shown on the image below, not the black ones) which work well, but have one major caveat: they all consume four to five watts of power, even when not powering anything at all.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/EEK3A.png\")
When the number of those devices is limited, this is not a big deal. However, as I do more and more \u201csmart home\u201d-type projects, 5W multiplied by the number of transformers remaining on permanently starts to be problematic.
\n\nOrdinary phone USB chargers have a consumption of less than 0.1W when not powering anything. I would be glad to use them, but they are mostly rated 2A or 3A. This is perfectly fine if I need to power a Raspberry Pi, but not OK for a LED strip (5V, 4A transformers from BTF Lighting were heating a lot when used with one strip + Raspberry Pi + Arduino, so I'm relying on 5V, 12A transformers, or on 20A transformers when needed).
\n\nSo, where can I find a transformer which would match the following requirements?
\n\nExcept for #2 a standard ATX power supply for a PC. If you can find a small PCB with screw adapters, you can cut off the molex/sata end solder them to the PCB. Short the 2 pins together on the ATX 20/24 pin plug and you have power.
\n\nI know this adapter is $10 + $3 shipping and handling, but it works with any ATX PSU.\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/xs7LQ.jpg\")
https://www.amazon.com/20-pin-Supply-Breakout-Module-terminal/dp/B07KDX5CK8
\n\nSo that plus the PSU could put you slightly over the budget, but you can re-use the adapter on any future PSU.
\n\nNewegg also has
\n\n\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/1JlHC.png\")
This one has 2 12v which combined would be 29A
\n\n\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/R0i7a.jpg\")
I am currently deciding between two laptops:
\n\n(Both Refurbished)
\n\nThe X1 is a fairly new model, much more so than the T460, but it has lower RAM and storage than the T460, an older model with better RAM and storage. The X1 is superior in terms of CPU, however.
\n\nI want to pick the laptop that will have a longer lifespan and will give me solid performance overall for the tasks that I will which include:
\n\nVideo/Photo editing will have a frequency of rare to none.
\n\nWhich laptop is better for my purposes?
\n", "Title": "ThinkPad T460 with high RAM/Storage & i5 or ThinkPad X1 Carbon with medium RAM/Storage & i7?", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Some things to consider:
\n\nI would go with the T460 because of the additional RAM and storage. I think you will be able to use it longer.
\n\nThat being said, both are great laptops.
\n" }, { "Id": "11714", "CreationDate": "2019-08-01T13:16:41.413", "Body": "I am looking for a device which offers
\n\nI have been looking online, and I found this device:\nhttps://www.pure.com/nl/dab-radio/products/move-t4/black
\n\nBut if possible, I would like to have something a little cheaper.
\n", "Title": "FM/DAB radio which allows to connect bluetooth headset", "Tags": "|bluetooth|headset|", "Answer": "I decided that the device I'm looking for does not exist.\nI created it by combining a DAB+ radio with a Bluetooth transmitter.
\n\nDAB+ radio: https://www.vr-radio.de/DAB-Digitalradio-im-Holzgehaeuse-FM-2-Weckze-ZX-1771-919.shtml\nBluetooth transmitter: https://www.ugreen.com.cn/products/bluetooth-4-2-audio-transmitter
\n" }, { "Id": "11731", "CreationDate": "2019-08-03T18:05:54.310", "Body": "For an intensive video processing workflow (lot of sequential reading and seeking), I selected the 2TB Seagate FireCuda 510 SSD M2 and the 2TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus; they have few differences:
\n\nThe other features are not significantly different. What do you recommend for my usage?
\nI already have a 970 Evo Plus 1TB for the system and for a part of the scratch work; both SSD will be on the Z390's PCIe channel.
Both will be lightning fast. After investigation, the 970 is only a bit faster on sequential transfer such as big files, and a bit slower on games and program folders; i.e. for video seeking it will be faster. FireCuda accumulates all the advantages (speed by small margins, twice lifetime/reliability (like 970 Pro), 25% lower price).
\n\n[1] https://www.pcmag.com/review/366078/samsung-ssd-970-evo-plus
\n\n[2] https://www.pcmag.com/review/368665/seagate-firecuda-510
\n" }, { "Id": "11737", "CreationDate": "2019-08-05T02:55:20.743", "Body": "I don't know if this is the place to ask this but I'll try anyway. Asking for a friend so I won't be able to provide all the information.
\n\nThey want a general purpose laptop to use for school and a little bit of gaming. The gaming won't be high end at all so it doesn't need to be super powerful or anything. A few requirements are below.
\n\nWindows 10
\n8 GB of RAM
\n512 GB Memory
\n$500 - 600
If any other information is needed ask and I'll try to find out
\n", "Title": "I would like to find a laptop for general purpose use and a little gaming", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "\n\n\nAcer Aspire E15 at $599.99
\n
* 256GB SSD is far more faster than 500GB HDD *
\n\nI want to start a project using java to make led strips in my room react to the audio being played (preferrably via mp3 on my phone/pc, not just through picking up on sound in my room). However, I don't know what LED strips i need/what to look for in them that would allow me to control them via a java program and not their built-in music sync programs.
\n\nI know there are LED strips like these:
\n\n\n\n\n\nBut I don't know if I would be able to control those via my own program (probably running on a Raspberry Pi board). So basically, what LED strips would allow me to control them via a \"music sync\" program of my own?
\n", "Title": "Which LED strips should I buy for a music sync project?", "Tags": "|led|", "Answer": "There are many kind of LED strips, however, if you work with Raspberry (or any MCU), I guess you want to use addressable led strips (like WS2811, WS2812, WS2813).
\n\nThe reason is that you can switch on the Red/Green/Blue color of each LED separately.
\n\nIf you don't want that, use non addressable LED strips (of course these are cheaper).
\n\nThe difference between WS2811, WS2812, WS2813 is (among others) the fact that if one LED is broken, the remainder of the strip still works.
\n\nAlso there are LED strips who can handle water/liquid slightly better (for outdoor use).
\n\nSome differences (from Differences):
\n\n(Update after remark from Arseni below):
\n\nExcept for a led strip you also need:
\n\nI use Logitech media server, installed on a NAS, to stream music. I like using my android tablet to control the server. And I would like to always see what track is playing. But I don't like to keep the tablet's screen on in the background for long periods of time, in order to conserve the battery. I could buy another, cheap, tablet and keep it always plugged in to the mains, but I would prefer that it wouldn't have a battery (out of concerns that it might overheat or explode).
\n\nSo, is there a cheap, small device with a screen and wifi, that doesn't have a battery and runs connected to the mains? Something like a mounted wall display, I guess.
\n", "Title": "Cheap, small device that has wifi and touchscreen, and can run a browser", "Tags": "|wifi|touchscreen|smart-home|", "Answer": "I am trying to spec a rack mountable server to power 5 large screens, each of which will use HDMI to connect to the server.
\n\nThe screens will be used in an IT Operations room and will be displaying browser based dashboards via grafana, nagios etc, so the IT technicians can monitor the environment.
\n\nThe resolution needs to be good enough to read small text, charts and graphs. There is no strict requirement for 4k , although if possible within the budget, 4k would be great.
\n\nMy budget is between \u00a31000 to \u00a31400 GBP ($1200 to $1650 USD.)
\n\nThe server needs to be mounted within a comm's cabinet, if required the form factor can be a tower type and placed on a rack tray.
\n\nThe dimensions can be no greater than;
\n\nIdeally the server would be a Windows server, although *nix will be acceptable if it is right for the task. Additionally although I do enjoy the build it yourself approach, this is for an enterprise environment so ideally it would be as 'out the box as possible', although I do not mind if graphics cards need to be swapped out or display adapters need to be used.
\n\nFor reference I had looked at Dell Precision 3930, with dual NVIDIA Quadro P400 and HDMI display adapters, but it is to large for the comm's rack.
\n", "Title": "Rack mounted server for x5 HDMI display screen", "Tags": "|server|displays|", "Answer": "So after looking extensively for a single host that would meet these requirements, it does appear as the size restrictions cannot not be met without breaking the budget.
\n\nHowever, I did find an ideal solution; x3 micro-form-factor Dell OptiPlex 3060's. Each supports 2 monitors/4k screens via HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. I used DP/HDMI adapters to support up to 6 screens total. (although I only need 5.)
\n\nThey also fit on a 1U shelf perfectly (2 will sit side by side on a shelf.)\nAs for the budget they came in well under \u00a3900 meaning they where over \u00a3300 under budget.
\n" }, { "Id": "11821", "CreationDate": "2019-08-15T12:24:44.977", "Body": "It would be very helpful if you could share this, because I'm trying to convince my boss that my company's budget is not adequate, but I can't find any relevant data anywhere to prove my point.
\n\nIf you can, please specify if computers are desktop or laptop and the renewal rate of the hardware. The size of the company would also be interesting to know.
\n\nI'm grateful for any response.
\n", "Title": "What is your company's budget for computers used for software development?", "Tags": "|laptop|desktop|", "Answer": "Actually, pricing is one of the least important things to check for a company.
\n\nWhat is more important, and what can influence your manager much better, is to write down, what it SAVES when you have faster/better computers.
\n\nExample: Assume to compiler a full build takes 30 minutes on a slow computer and 10 minutes on a fast computer. This saves the developer approximately 10 minutes (assuming he cannot do much useful stuff in the mean time). Assuming a salary of 50 dollars/hr, saving ten minutes saves 50 * (20/60) = 16.67 dollars.
\n\nAssume you do 10 builds per week, it saves 167 dollar per week. \nWhen the faster computer cost 1000 dollars more, after 1000/167 = 6 weeks, the computer is paid back.
\n\nThe complication is that sometimes it's hard to calculate (what if your manager says you can do something useful in the waiting time? Probably you have context switching time loss etc).
\n\nBut in general, if the faster computer can saves you considerable time, the salary losses outweighs the cost of a computer by far.
\n" }, { "Id": "11824", "CreationDate": "2019-08-15T23:23:06.760", "Body": "I wonder what's needed to transmit analog TV using a computer.
\n\nThe requirements would be:
\n\nMulti-channel transmission would also be nice, maybe using multiple desktops for different channels and multiple virtual audio cards for each channels audio.
\n\nPreferably a PCI-E Card one could just connect to an antenna cable but an SDI Graphics Card with some external \"converter\" would also be an acceptable solution.
\n\nI've found very little information on this on the web but while working at a computer store I once got my hands on a PCI card I think did just this for hotels
\n", "Title": "Transmitting analog TV using a computer", "Tags": "|video|", "Answer": "I think what you're looking for is an RF Modulator that works on typical computer video outputs (such as VGA, HDMI, or DisplayPort). I did a little looking and found some on Amazon, so I know that it's possible, though I don't have any experience with any of them to actually recommend one over another. I don't know if it might be easier to find a HDMI-to-RCA adapter that you then connect to a more \"normal\" (or at least easier to find) RCA RF Modulator. (All those links are just for examples; there are plenty of products from plenty of brands and plenty of retailers out there.)
\n\nNote that in order to share \"the full screen\", you'll need to use a pretty low resolution on the computer, just because NTSC and PAL don't have that many lines of video available compared to what people are used to nowadays.
\n" }, { "Id": "11829", "CreationDate": "2019-08-17T00:04:40.910", "Body": "I have a couple of systems that I need to connect to my WiFi that only have access via an Ethernet port. When looking around I see a ton of cheap WiFi extenders/APs that have built in Ethernet ports, but from what I can see online these can only be configured as WiFi extender (creating a shadow WiFi network) or as an AP (creating a new WiFi network).
\n\nWhat I am after is something that bridges my WiFi to Ethernet but does not act as an extender or AP. Does such a thing exist? Or can things like the Netgear AC1200 WiFi Range Extender or TP-Link RE350 AC1200 Wi-Fi Range Extender actually be configured as I want?
\n\nI can't tell from looking at the user manuals online, and I don't want to drop $20-$30 just to find out that a device can't do what I want.
\n", "Title": "WiFi to Ethernet bridge that is not an extender or AP", "Tags": "|wifi|networking|network-adapter|", "Answer": "After looking around I discovered that OpenWRT firmware can be set up to do exactly what I want, and that GL.iNet products come pre-installed with OpenWRT. So I am going to try a GL-AR150
\n" }, { "Id": "11848", "CreationDate": "2019-08-21T09:16:53.233", "Body": "I'm looking for a SBC/\u00b5C board for an university lab course. The objective of the course is to teach various levels of hardware-related programming, from simple bare-metal ISR in assembler, till complex OS mechanisms in some more high-level language (C, Rust).
\n\nMy requirements are:
\n\nWhat systems should I consider?
\n", "Title": "SBC for educational purposes", "Tags": "|embedded-systems|sbc|", "Answer": "A quick search shows you might have some luck with Beaglebone or Beagleboard with regards to emulation. OTOH those boards are cheaper then most JTAG debuggers.
\n\nI know of three companies manufacturing Cortex-A processors which have openly downloadable documentation:
\n\nI would like to control a Raspberry Pi 4 with my smartphone (for my drone). Now I'm looking for an interface between the RPi and my Android phone.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nHere are some that I have looked at, but do not meet my requirements:
\n\nThanks for your Hardware Recommendations!
\n", "Title": "Long range interface between a Raspberry Pi and a smartphone?", "Tags": "|wifi|smartphones|raspberry-pi|", "Answer": "Question moved to raspberrypi.stackexchange.com
\n\nVisit raspberrypi.stackexchange.com for the solution.
\n" }, { "Id": "11877", "CreationDate": "2019-08-26T12:16:24.843", "Body": "This is 2019.
\n\nIs there any adapter that can display the video signal of a HDMI/DP device like a tv-box, PC or Notebook to a thunderbolt 3 Display?
\n\nThe other way around doesn't count.
\n\nEdit: Delock has made it! It should be at least compatible with all USB-C Alt mode compatible displays.
\n\nThey also have good HDMI male to DP female adapters with an extra usb for power on the HDMI side, not at 4k@60hz like on the first cable, but still.
\n", "Title": "HDMI/DP PC to USB-C Thunderbolt 3 Monitor", "Tags": "|usb|hdmi|thunderbolt|video-adapters|cable|", "Answer": "Looks like Delock has made one explicitly called USB-C to bidirectional DP Alt mode Cable!\nEveryone, hooray for Delock!
\n" }, { "Id": "11903", "CreationDate": "2019-08-29T18:54:12.680", "Body": "I recently did a little research on several different industrial embedded computers for a project that I am working on. It turns out that a lot of these industrial fan less PCs can be purchased with the Intel 4th Generation Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 i5 Processors, which had a launch date in 2013.
\n\nSince these are new industrial PCs, does this mean that even though Intel is marketing 8th, 9th, 10th and so on processor, they are still manufacturing and supporting the older generation of processors?
\n\nOr does this mean that at some point in time, that specific company (Advantech) bought an over abundance of these processor and now they are continuing to sell these industrial PCs until they run out?
\n\nDoes this mean that they are selling Intel processor that are past the life cycle and a different hardware industrial PC should be selected?
\n", "Title": "Does Intel manufacture older generations of Intel Core processors?", "Tags": "|processor|pc|mini-pc|intel|processor-architecture|", "Answer": "Intel does announces the end-of-life for their CPUs, you can check the status of a specific CPU model on their website.
\n\n\n\n\n[are they] still manufacturing and supporting the older generation of processors?
\n
It is possible that a few specific CPU models are still being manufactured at the request of a significant customer or for providing long-term support.
\n\n\n\n\ndoes this mean that at some point in time, that specific company (Advantech) bought an over abundance of these processor and now they are continuing to sell these industrial PCs until they run out?
\n
That is a valid explanation if you see that it is \"Discontinued\" on the website; Most socketed CPUs from the 4th generation are, and the ones that still say \"Launched\" are almost entirely CPUs that would never have been sold in a retail box or stand-alone. (They are mobile CPUs to be installed by an OEM.)
\n\n\n\n\nDoes this mean that they are selling Intel processor that are past the life cycle and a different hardware industrial PC should be selected?
\n
I would look for newer hardware anyways, especially for a fanless system since the newer generation chips use less power to provide the same (or better) performance.
\n" }, { "Id": "11915", "CreationDate": "2019-08-31T13:39:26.047", "Body": "I need a disk array like those which we can just add a new hard disk but using sd cards rather than disk. Does it exist?
\n\nhttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/HP_EVA4400-1.jpg/440px-HP_EVA4400-1.jpg (something like this but with sd cards or micro sd cards)
\n", "Title": "Does exist a SD card disk array?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|data-storage|raid|raid-controller|", "Answer": "You could buy a 4-port SD card hub for ~US$63.
\n\nHowever, you could easily make your own: SD card readers are available for less than $US2, and a 4-port USB hub for ~US$6, so you could assemble a similar 4-SD card hub for \n\n
You don't state your purpose, so it's hard to understand what you need.
\n\nIf you're trying to make copies of SD cards, e.g. as OS for a batch o microprocessors, there are SD drive duplicators.
If you're trying to simulate a \"drive carousel\" or CD/DVD array, be aware that flash memory is much slower than SDD or HDD, and more expensive than HDD. A large HDD could be partitioned into a virtual array of disks.
I'm search for a monitor that can handle an input signal of 4k at 60fps, over its HDMI input.
\n\nI've found the Dell Ultrasharp U3219Q that have a HDMI port. As you can see in its online manual, page 14 in the table :
\n\n\n\n\nPorts and connectors : 1 x DisplayPort version 1.4 (HDCP 2.2)\u2022 1 x HDMI port version 2.0 (HDCP 2.2)
\n
But, in page 16, again in the table :
\n\n\n\n\nElectrical specifications
\n \nVideo input signals : HDMI 2.0*/DisplayPort 1.4**, 600 mV for each differential line, 100 ohm input impedance per differential pair
\n \n...
\n \n\n
\n- Not supporting HDMI 2.0 optional specification, including HDMI Ethernet Channel (HEC), Audio Return Channel (ARC), standard for 3D format and resolutions, and standard for 4K digital cinema resolution.\n ** HDR is supported, but HBR3 is not supported; DP 1.2 is supported.
\n
So, this is an HDMI 2.0 input port, but it doesn't support HDMI 2.0 specification ? What am I supposed to understand there ?
\n\nDoes anyone have this monitor and can attest if this port allows or not a 4k@60 input signal ?
\n\nThank you !
\n", "Title": "Can the HDMI input of the Dell monitor U3219Q handle a 4k@60fps input signal?", "Tags": "|monitors|hdmi|4k|", "Answer": "\n\n\nCan the HDMI input of the Dell monitor U3219Q handle a 4k@60fps input signal?
\n
Yes.
\n\nThe footnotes on that page of the manual can be rephrased like this:
\n\n\n\n\nSupports HDMI 2.0, but without optional specifications ... such as 4K digital cinema resolution (4096 x 2160).
\n
If you look at the page right above \"Electrical Specifications\" you can see that the monitor does support 3840 x 2160 @ 60hz as long as the video device supports HDMI 2.0.
And another note on 4K terminology:
\n\n3840 x 2160 and 4096 x 2160 are both casually called \"4K\" but to avoid ambiguity the former is referred to as \"UHD\". The Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) have used \"4K\" for their 4096 x 2160 resolution too, so it is more specific to refer to that as \"DCI 4K\" or \"Cinematic 4K\", which is what Dell has done in your manual.
I am Currently Looking for a Thermal Camera which either has an lcd screen which can be be extended away from the camera or simply a high quality thermal camera which can be programed into an lcd. Prefferable at reasonable price that is. Another option that I'm open to also i buying a premade thermal camera but i dont really know which ones can detect small scale temperature differences (I.E Pests on walls or the Ticks on the body of a dog.
\n", "Title": "Small Form Factor Thermal Camera", "Tags": "|raspberry-pi|camera|arduino|", "Answer": "AMG8833 is a popular thermal camera which has an accuracy of 2.5 \u00b0C (4.5 \u00b0F). The benefit is that it's commonly used, and has a pretty decent support. The drawback is its tiny resolution, 8\u00d78 pixels only. It costs around $40.
\n\nMLX90640 is another, although less popular, choice, with its increased resolution of 32\u00d724 pixels and an accuracy of 1.5 \u00b0C. You can get it for $70. Using one is more difficult than AMG8833, especially regarding to the hardware requirements:
\n\n\n\n\nPlease be aware that the MLX90640 requires complex calculations by the host platform so a regular Arduino Uno (or equivalent) doesn't have enough RAM or flash to complete the complex computations required to turn the raw pixel data into temperature data. You will need a microcontroller with 20,000 bytes or more of RAM. To achieve this, we recommend a Teensy 3.1 or above.
\n
For $240, you can get Lepton 2.5 thermal camera module which comes with an impressive resolution of 80\u00d760 pixels, but a disappointing accuracy of only 5 \u00b0C.
\n\nFlir website lists more models, including Lepton 3.5 camera core with its 50 mK thermal sensitivity (the same as 2.5 version) and a resolution of 160\u00d7120 pixels. The camera core seems to be sold for about $270, but I can't find it in a form of a module to be used with Raspberry Pi.
\n\nOr you get more specialized models such as Neutrino SX12 with a sensitivity of 25 mK and a resolution of 1280\u00d71024 pixels. You'll need something other than a Raspberry Pi to power that thing. I can't find its price, but I won't be surprised to find that you have to pay more than a thousand dollars for a device like that.
\n" }, { "Id": "11987", "CreationDate": "2019-09-10T14:45:23.777", "Body": "I'm looking to get rid of my old HDD (my xbox HDD is dying so prob put it in that) and replace it with an SSD. I would like to make use of the M.2 port on my motherboard if I can.
\n\nThis is my motherboard Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H
\n\nI had looked at getting this WD Blue but just before hitting buy I noticed that the transfer rate wasn't what I was expecting.
\n\nI don't know much about M.2 so I'm not sure what kind will work with my motherboard.
\n\nAny help would be appreciated.
\n", "Title": "Looking for a compatible M.2 drive for my motherboard", "Tags": "|motherboard|ssd|data-storage|", "Answer": "The motherboard specifications say the following about your M.2 port:
\n\n\n\n\n1 x M.2 Socket 3 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA & PCIe x4/x2/x1 SSD support)
\n
That means any M.2 drive should be supported by your motherboard. Except drives that are wider than 22mm, or longer than 80mm. (2280 = 22 x 80 mm)
\n" }, { "Id": "11993", "CreationDate": "2019-09-11T17:06:26.367", "Body": "Are there any consumer-priced, single-band (5GHz / 802.11ac only) WiFi routers, i.e., ones that only have a 5GHz radio?
\n", "Title": "Single-band, 5GHz only WiFi router?", "Tags": "|wifi|wireless|router|", "Answer": "Routers and WiFi devices have to undergo certification to have the \"WiFi\" branding. Any router that does not have a 2.4 Ghz radio would not be backwards compatible with IEEE 802.11 b/g/n and may not qualify for the \"WiFi\" branding.
\n\nI have never seen a \"WiFi\" router with only a 5 Ghz radio. But you can disable the 2.4 Ghz radio in many routers though. It is possible that a router with only 802.11ac support can exist, but it may be hard to find a product like that using the \"WiFi\" brand as a search term.
\n\nFor now, I would not recommend seeking out a product that explicitly avoids having a 2.4 Ghz radio. It wouldn't be guaranteed to work with other WiFi devices unless it was WiFi certified too. Some day the WiFi Alliance may decide to deprecate the 2.4 Ghz standards and this answer may no longer be correct.
\n" }, { "Id": "12038", "CreationDate": "2019-09-17T19:30:41.463", "Body": "I'm looking into buying an Asus pg65uq when it's available, but I noticed something strange - it claims to support HDR10 while at the same time only supporting 8bit color. Doesn't those two contradict each other?
\n", "Title": "8bit panels and hdr", "Tags": "|displays|", "Answer": "An 8-bit display can use FRC to expand its perceived color range. It essentially dithers a pixel between two colors in time rather than with neighboring pixels.
\n\nMany monitors do this, in fact a lot of displays that support \"16.7 Million Colors\" (24-bit Color) are actually 6-bit panels using FRC.
\n\nIf you are trying to decide between monitors, I wouldn't let this detail become a deciding factor. You are very likely looking at a monitor right now that uses FRC and you may not have noticed. It would be hard for most people to notice the quality improvement of a true 10-bit panel without FRC vs 8-bit with FRC.
\n" }, { "Id": "12051", "CreationDate": "2019-09-19T10:56:45.850", "Body": "I'm looking for an upgrade from my i5 6600.\nWorkload - ML prototyping in Keras and heavy IO, compression etc.
\n\nI'm considering Ryzen 9 3900X + MSI X570-A PRO. What architectures in this price area (around 1000$) would you recommend, having in mind mostly multicore perforformance per $?
\n", "Title": "CPU for Machine Learning", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|", "Answer": "Two assumptions first:
\n\nIn the current market and in your budget you will likely not be able to get a better CPU.
\n\nThe Ryzen 9 3950X is supposed to come out soon but it is supposed to be 50% more expensive by MSRPs from the launch event. Counting by retail prices in my country (Poland) this will put the X570-A PRO + 3950X at around 1150 USD. Of course the price might be different in different countries.
\n\nAnother option is to invest that money in the overall build quality, primarily the motherboard and cooling, and try to eke out more performance but the returns here are minimal.
\n\nPersonally, if you are unable to stretch your budget or wait for the 3950X, I would spend maybe 50$ on a bit better motherboard and keep the rest for the next GPU upgrade.
\n\nEdit: I don't know much about the data transfer patterns in ML vs games, but ML uses much more memory so it might benefit greatly from PCIe 4.0 once next-gen GPUs implement it
\n\nEdit 2: new release from AMD states that we are two months off from the 3950X, not a week or two as originally planned
\n" }, { "Id": "12069", "CreationDate": "2019-09-23T03:02:26.450", "Body": "I'm wondering whether such a device exists.
\n\nThe following shows what I'm asking about:
\n\n+----------+ +---------+\n| | | +<----> USB #1\n| Computer +<---------->+ USB Hub +<---------> USB #2\n| | Ethernet | +<-----------------> USB #3\n+----------+ +---------+\nSo the computer would connect via Ethernet to a device which \"transforms\" the TCP or UDP packets in USB signals. The advantage would be that we'd have full speed for all the USB's on a 10Gb network.
\n\nThe USB #1/2/3 is where I'd connect my mouse, keyboard, stick drive, printer, etc.
\n\nHere is my complete list of devices at the moment:
\n\nI also have a need for USB Power to recharge the phone, although that's not mandatory. My server has only 4 ports on the back. There is one which is internal. And also it has two for the front panel, but it is on a head which is not compatible with the case cable connector.
\n\nOne reason I need more ports now is that I do not have PS/2 connectors on this new server. My old one used the keyboard/mouse on its PS/2 connectors. Miscalculation on my part, although I did not expect the front panel connection issue.
\n", "Title": "Are there USB hubs that connect to an Ethernet port?", "Tags": "|usb|ethernet|hub|", "Answer": "If you are using Linux there is something called USB over IP. There are is even a tutorial on setting it up on Raspberry Pi. So grab a 30$ single board computer and you are done. There was some Windows effort on this but it seems dead now.
\n\nOtherwise if the distance is not that big and your computer (a notebook presumably) supports it I would look into USB-C docking stations. Some of them are even integrated into displays. Or just a high-performance USB hub. Once I have seen an (expensive) USB 3.0 extender with active devices on both and which used about 30 meters of fiber.
\n" }, { "Id": "12083", "CreationDate": "2019-09-24T11:11:21.253", "Body": "I'm building an RFID scanning apparatus, which is going to be attached to a potato harvester, and I'm trying to find a suitable antenna. Because of where said antenna is going to be placed on the harvester, it will have to be extremely rugged. The word rugged in this context means:
\n\nIt can withstand being bashed against various surfaces: the ground, wooden boxes, hedgerows, etc. (I thought perhaps a \"whip\" kind of antenna, which could bend rather than break under pressure, might be suitable, but I don't know where to find one.)
It is resistant to damage from wind and rain.
Any suggestions?
\n", "Title": "Bendable UHF Whip Antenna for RFID Scanner", "Tags": "|rfid|", "Answer": "Rather than rugged, think repairable/replaceable. You could use any mount and adapt it to take a length of 2 mm dia. (12 gauge) copper wire. If bent, it can be straightened by hand, and if broken, replaced for <\n\n
An advantage of the less robust approach is that soft copper wire is less likely to cause damage to the harvester if ingested, or to personnel. Think \"just small potatoes\".
\n" }, { "Id": "12102", "CreationDate": "2019-09-26T07:58:04.977", "Body": "I need to know the cheapest but best quality server that can host data (not games) for a college esports team. it will mostly be used for holding game files and documents for the team. I do not have access to Windows Server and am trying to make it work on Windows 10.
\n", "Title": "Need help with file server", "Tags": "|server|nas|", "Answer": "By your comments you are looking for a Network Attached Storage. Instead of buying a regular PC, buy a dedicated device, like one of these QNAP NASes.
\n\nIf you absolutely must do it yourself any PC which can run your OS of choice would suffice for a small team. What you may want if you are going with Windows is to get a motherboard which supports RAID and use it.
\n" }, { "Id": "12115", "CreationDate": "2019-09-28T04:33:46.227", "Body": "I got a new laptop (ThinkPad X1 Carbon) but it only has one USB-C port. I also have a USB-C portable monitor (Asus ZenScreen) that gets its power and data through the single port USB-C connection to the laptop.
\n\nSo now I have both devices sucking battery life with no way for me to provide external power.
\n\nThere are plenty of USB-C hubs that can pass power through to the laptop, while also providing signal output, though it seems only to full VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort outputs, none that have USB-C output....
\n\nIs this a limitation of the USB specification?
\nOr is it a rare use-case and not enough vendors out there building such hubs?
Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock Pro (https://www.belkin.com/thunderbolt-3-dock-pro/P-F4U097.html) seems to have what you want, a TB3 port to charge your laptop and a TB3 port for a monitor, with external power.\nCalDigit TS3 Plus (https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus) has TB3 both upstream and downstream, but the website mentions using DP for the monitor... not sure if you can use the downstream TB3 for the monitor.
\nOr you can upgrade to a MBP, and then use iVANKY products, which are the best on the market and you can rock quad 4K displays with TB4.
\n" }, { "Id": "12169", "CreationDate": "2019-10-08T18:02:04.037", "Body": "I have a music calculator, which has an audio output port. So I can plug in headphones or speaker on it.
\n\nBut now i want to connect it to a computer as input signal like microphone.
\n\nIs there any convertor or circuit can solve the problem?\nOr any good idea or recommend? Thanks for helping.
\n", "Title": "How to convert an audio output signal to input signal?", "Tags": "|audio|", "Answer": "You can use a male-to-male 3.5mm audio cable like this one to connect the music calculator to the PC's microphone or 'AUX' jack. It will work just like a microphone.
\n" }, { "Id": "12238", "CreationDate": "2019-10-19T11:54:54.343", "Body": "I am seeking an STM32 with wifi, BT, display and on-board debugger (I think that they all have that, but am not 100% sure; I don't want to use a JTAG probe). Does anyone know of one?
\n", "Title": "Seeking an STM32 with wifi, BT, display and on-board debugger", "Tags": "|sbc|", "Answer": "There is a series called STM32WB with integrated WiFi and Bluetooth, there is a STM32WB Nucleo available.
\n\nThere is also an F413 discovery board but it doesn't have Bluetooth, WiFi only.
\n" }, { "Id": "12260", "CreationDate": "2019-10-22T08:32:51.437", "Body": "I work in an office that can be very chatty at times. In order to concentrate during noise peaks, I need headphones with very good noise cancellation.\nI tried the Bose QC35 when they were released, since they allegedly had some of the best noise cancellation. This was before ANC was nerfed by firmware updates.
\n\nBut they just did not cut it for me. While the active noise cancellation is pretty good overall, it does a poor job at filtering out voices and speaker phone calls.\nAdding more noise to drown the ambient noises (i.e. playing music) works, but only if I set the volume so high that it gets distracting by itself.
\n\nAre there any ANC headphones that do a better job than the Bose QC35, especially for cancelling out conversations and phone calls?\nUsing passive noise cancellation would not be socially accepted in the environment I work at, so ANC headphones it is ;)
\n", "Title": "Noise-cancelling headphones better than Bose QC35", "Tags": "|headphones|", "Answer": "I understand and feel your pain in an almost daily occurrence!
\n\nI personally use the Sony WH-1000XM3. I find it to be a lot better than the Bose you mentioned. It's a bit cheaper than the Bose as well.
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "12266", "CreationDate": "2019-10-23T00:26:10.500", "Body": "So I got a whole bunch of monitors (A LOT) and from the collection there are about 6 identical 17\" 4/3 ratio monitors that I wish to make a grid from (3x2 forming 12/6 or 2/1 wide ratio). I want all six displays to form one display and be connected to one port on my computer. So in other words, I want them acting as sub-displays.
\n\nI know it is possible to achieve this using software and by having all monitors connected directly to the computer. But I do not have enough ports for them and I am using GTX 1080 to handle my 3 main displays setup (this should be an extra). And I also wish for the configuration to work with my laptop when necessary (has HDMI port).
\n\nTherefore, is there a hardware setup that is affordable and can be used to unify these monitors as one? If so, where can I find it?
\n", "Title": "Combining identical monitors to form one large display", "Tags": "|monitors|multiple-monitors|splitters|", "Answer": "\n\n\nis there a hardware setup that is affordable
\n
The kind of device you are looking for is called a Video Wall Controller and they are typically a commercial-use device for store signage, billboards, restaurant menus, etc.
\n\nMany of them are actually standalone devices that render their own output from a video file or website, and do not always support direct video input. Make sure you any model you are interested in does have a video input.
\n\nThey are in the ball park of $1000 for one that can do up to 8 displays.
\n\n\n\n\nBut I do not have enough ports for them and I am using GTX 1080 to handle my 3 main displays setup
\n
You can sometimes install more than one GPU in a computer, and for $1000 you could definitely find a GPU that supports 6 displays using DisplayPort outputs. Many GPUs can support small (2x2, 1x3, etc) video walls with hardware acceleration, so it is a proper \"hardware\" solution. Each monitor will probably also need an active DisplayPort adapter unless they have a DisplayPort input.
\n" }, { "Id": "12328", "CreationDate": "2019-11-01T10:21:34.903", "Body": "I am a post-doc researcher working on computational modelling projects.
\n\nIn my spare time, I like to code open-source projects on some topics outside of my university role. I intend to set up a low-cost home workstation for this purpose which shall also double up as a small NFS server for the family.
\n\nUnfortunately, due to family commitments and medical bills, I can't afford a high end machine.
\n\nAre there any NUC or other mini PCs out there that have 4 physical cores for below \u00a3250 ($300) in the UK? Considering that adding RAM in a mini pc is quite difficult, I am thinking about 8GB DDR4 RAM. It will probably run CentOS or Ubuntu server.
\n", "Title": "Low cost quad-core mini pc options", "Tags": "|processor|mini-pc|thin-mini-itx|", "Answer": "You can check the specification below to build a PC
\n\nProcessor: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G ( CPU Cores: 4; Threads: 8; GPU Cores: 11; Base Clock: 3.7GHz; Max Boost Clock: 4.2 GHz; Memory Channels: 2) $145
Motherboard: Gigabyte B450M-S2H (CPU: AMD Ryzen; Chipset: AMD B450; Memory: 2 x DDR4, Max. 32 GB; 3 x PCI Express slots) $70
RAM: G.Skill RIPJAWS-V 8GB 2666bus Desktop RAM $40
HDD: SEAGATE BARRACUDA 1TB 7200 RPM SATA DESKTOP HDD $43
CASE: Any decent casing with Power Supply $30
Total price of the build is around $325, You can adjust the price downgrading the processor if you can't go beyond $300
\n\nNB: You can buy a SSD later when you have money for boot drive, which will boost the performance of your PC
\n" }, { "Id": "12370", "CreationDate": "2019-11-10T15:01:13.853", "Body": "I have a home built computer with an ASRock Z68-Pro3-M motherboard and an Intel Core i5. It's a good computer and does what I need. However, I'm sometimes in the need of doing screen recordings and with Windows 10's Xbox Game Bar it says it cannot record due to insufficient hardware. I'd like to upgrade the system by adding a graphics card.
\n\nMy monitors are HDMI and DVI, and maybe some day I'll add a third monitor, so that capability would be nice. There is an available PCI 2.0x16 slot (blue) on my board that I'm thinking is the best option to use.
\n\nCan anyone recommend something that will work for this? I've read that I need to find one that supports Intel Quick Sync H.264, NVidia NVENC or AMD VCE, but I'm not entirely sure if that means I have to have one from one of those manufacturers or if I can get something like a cheap MSI card that costs a bit less.
\n", "Title": "Graphics card for recording screen video (Win 10), PCI express 2.0 x16 slot", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|windows|", "Answer": "Intel Quick Sync is only available from Intel's integrated graphics. If you're using integrated graphics you probably already have this feature. Make sure you have the latest drivers installed for your motherboard and integrated graphics. Your motherboard supports something called \"Lucid Virtu\" which allows a dedicated graphics card and integrated Intel graphics to appear as a single GPU to the OS. This feature should be disabled (in BIOS if possible) and the drivers for \"LucidLogix\" or \"Lucid\" should be uninstalled. It is possible that they can interfere with the Quick Sync feature.
\n\nNVidia NVENC was introduced on the GeForce 600-series. That was several years ago and at this point, almost every NVidia card except the cheapest models have the NVENC feature. You can buy pretty much any \"gaming\" tier GeForce you'd like.
\n\nAMD VCE was introduced in the Radeon 7000-series, which is also several years old. Practically all of AMD's GPUs since then support VCE. Once again, you may buy pretty much any \"gaming\" tier Radeon card you want.
\n\nLastly, you don't actually need any of these features to record your screen. Before these hardware-accelerated features existed you could use software like FRAPS. These days I would recommend OBS Studio, which is much newer and open source. It doesn't need the hardware features but it can use them if you have it.
\n" }, { "Id": "12386", "CreationDate": "2019-11-12T11:34:48.183", "Body": "Are there monitors, preferably wall-mounted, where one can upload files e.g. from an USB-stick for a presentation without connection to a PC or Laptop?
\n", "Title": "Monitors for presentation without PC", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "There are various media players for ~US$35 and up that can play a presentation in a standard video format, e.g. MP4 or AVI, through a television, if the TV does not already have that capability. If the presentation is in another format, e.g. MS PowerPoint or LibreOffice Impress, you'd need a small PC, such as @CaldeiraG suggests.
\n\nAnother option might be a large tablet computer, with LibreOffice installed.
\n" }, { "Id": "12387", "CreationDate": "2019-11-12T11:53:27.540", "Body": "Two second hand refurbished laptops: One is Lenovo Thinkpad T450 with i5 5300U CPU, the other one is Lenovo Thinkpad X230 with i7 3520M CPU. The RAM and hard drive will be exactly the same on both machines. (16 RAM, 1TB HDD).
\n\nI understand that T450 is a newer machine, but its CPU is i5 5300U, I read that the U series of CPUs are sluggish comparing with the M series.
\n\nThe older machine X230 comes with i7 3520M CPU which has more cache (4MB smartcache) and slightly better benchmarks than i5 5300U.
\n\nWhich machine is a better choice for running VM, virtual labs, coding & studying?
\n", "Title": "Is i7 3520M in an Older Machine Better Than i5 5300U in a Newer Machine?", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|", "Answer": "\n\n\nWhich machine is a better choice for running VM, virtual labs, coding & studying?
\n
Aside from the CPUs, there are several attributes of the laptop models themselves (size, weight, shape, screen, keyboard, etc.) that you will need to personally weigh into your decision. I can't objectively say which machine is better for you, but at least we can objectively compare the CPUs in question.
\n\nAccording to user-submitted benchmarks, the i7-3520M is only 10% faster than the i5-5300U on average.
\n\nThe i7-3520M CPU was a high-end CPU from 2013 intended for gaming laptops and mobile workstations when it released. In 2013 it would have been one of the best choices for your kind of workload.
\n\n\n\n\nI read that the U series of CPUs are sluggish comparing with the M series.
\n
The i5-5300U CPU is a low-power CPU from 2015 intended for ultra portable (thin & light) laptops that allows long battery life. In 2015 this CPU would not have been suitable for your workload compared to the i7 'M' models available at the time.
\n\nThat doesn't mean that all 'U' CPUs are worse than all 'M' CPUs though. The age difference between these two CPUs has allowed Intel to close the gap through architectural improvements. If you were to look at a current-gen 'U' CPUs from 2019, you may find one that is faster than the i7-3520M!
\n\nThe i5-5300U being a newer CPU gives you some advantages over the i7-3520M that are worth trading the 10% advantage for:
\n\nIf none of the points above appeal to you, then the i7-3520M is still a faster CPU in terms of raw performance.
\n" }, { "Id": "12440", "CreationDate": "2019-11-22T17:38:13.540", "Body": "I want to upgrade my laptop to have an external GPU. What's the state of things in late 2019?
\n\nI would prefer not to remove my WiFi card.
\n\nDoes such a thing exist for USB-C as well? My laptop has a USB-C port without support for Thunderbolt 3 and with reduced Bandwidth of around 5 Gbit/s. It also has a free USB 3.0 port. What's the optimal solution for me?
\n\nP.S Does this fit me?
\n\nRelated answer: https://superuser.com/a/1097008/1023037
\n", "Title": "State of eGPUs for laptops in late 2019", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|usb|pcie|", "Answer": "\n\n\nWhat's the state of things in late 2019?
\n
There are currently two ways to install an external GPU to a laptop.
\n\nBy using an internal PCIe connection and a cable leading to a PCIe GPU enclosure.
\nThis is often done through the port for the WiFi card. If your laptop is new enough it might have a spare M.2 port that supports PCIe for an SSD or a cellular modem.
By using a Thunderbolt 3 port and a cable leading to a PCIe GPU enclosure.
In the near future USB 4.0 will incorporate the Thunderbolt 3 protocol. This will likely cause the current Thunderbolt 3 enclosures to be supported by a large number of laptops with USB 4.0 support.
\n\n\n\n\nDoes such a thing exist for USB-C as well?
\n
No and yes.
\n\n\"USB-C\" is a specification supporting USB 3.x. There is no support for exposing PCI express through USB-C.
\n\nThunderbolt 3 is an entirely separate specification that supports USB 3.x and PCI express. It also uses the USB-C connector but the port is considered a \"Thunderbolt\" port, not \"USB\". Thunderbolt devices usually require a superior quality cable too.
\n\n\n\n\nWhat's the optimal solution for me?
\n
It looks like the adapter you linked might work with the WiFi slot, but it will be significantly slower than a Thunderbolt 3 connection, and may bottleneck the GPU. If your laptop is new enough you might need to use an M.2 version of a kit like that, since many WiFi cards come in an M.2 slot now.
\n" }, { "Id": "12444", "CreationDate": "2019-11-22T20:55:25.280", "Body": "Think of an A/B box. Do those exist in reverse? Say I have an expensive looper and don't want another, or maybe I have a talk-box that I want controlled by both a keyboard and a guitar without having to also switch what my mic is plugged into. Does there exist a pedal or something that has two inputs and one output, where the two inputs don't affect each other? I would be satisfied by something that doesn't even mix the levels of the two instruments, but other people may want that, so include that if there is one.
\n", "Title": "Signal \"joiner\" for guitar and other electric instruments?", "Tags": "|music|", "Answer": "You might just need an A/B box.
\nMost A/B boxes are just a simple switch between the two jacks.
You can use them for two inputs, one output.
\nOr one input, two outputs.
Just trying to figure out what is the difference between M.2 PCIe NVMe and M.2 2280, PCIe-NVMe, TLC ??
I need to choose one.
\n\nI mean which one is better?
\n\nThanks
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/KVhAs.png\")
Repeating comments as an answer.
\n\n2280 is the size designation for an M.2 card, such as an SSD. This is the typical size for a PC.
\n\nTLC is the type of memory used in the drive. It stands for Three Level Cell which means that each cell holds three bits. This is again typical for a consumer drive. MLCs, with two bits per cell, are used in high-end drives like the Samsung Pro series, while QLC, with four bits, are used in low-end drives like the Intel 660p.
\n\nWhile this is likely a duplicate entry, but personally I would pick the one with more details, otherwise you could get a terribly overpriced Intel 660p.
\n\nIf that price is in USD the drive is expensive anyways - if you can and are able to put in the drive yourself, get something like the Kingston A2000 which has a suggested price of 99 USD for a 1 TB model. It should be good enough for any non professional uses.
\n" }, { "Id": "12455", "CreationDate": "2019-11-25T14:06:48.990", "Body": "What is the best CPU and motherboard under $300 for playing the Java Edition of Minecraft?
\nI already have a graphics card, 256GB SSD and a 600W PSU.
\nI'll also use it for normal computer usage.
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler - YD2600BBAFBOX - $115
Motherboard: Asus Prime B450M-A/CSM AMD Ryzen 2 AM4 DDR4 HDMI DVI VGA M.2 USB 3.1 Gen2 mATX Motherboard $77
Links provided below to buy these products
\n\nProcessor: Link to buy the processor
\n\nMotherboard: Link to buy the motherboard
\n\nNB: You can buy B450 motherboard from any decent brand
\n" }, { "Id": "12476", "CreationDate": "2019-11-30T00:20:57.563", "Body": "I'm having difficulty finding a Independent Portable 4K Capture Device that Records at 4K 60fps to SD or MicroSD.
\n\nBy independent, I mean it does not require a computer; it is its own computer by itself.
\n\nBy portable, I mean that I don't want something as large as PC tower.
\n\nI want perfect pass-through 4K 60fps quality while viewing what I'm recording live, and I want the exact 4K 60fps quality while viewing what I've recorded. I expect this to be expensive; that's ok.
\n", "Title": "Independent Portable 4K Capture Device that Records a 4K 60fps to SD or MicroSD", "Tags": "|hdmi|portable|display-port|4k|video-capture|", "Answer": "The Elgato 4K60S+ seems to check all of your boxes:
\n\nIt also has HDR10 capabilities.
\n\nhttps://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/game-capture-4k60-s-plus
\n" }, { "Id": "12486", "CreationDate": "2019-12-03T05:00:08.377", "Body": "I'm looking for a small server to prepare my business item and collect data(some blog articles).
\nI'm planning to run solution written by PHP or Python.
\nSo, what I want to ask is which one is better, VM on the desktop I'm using(i7-930 with 16GB RAM) or an old laptop(i3 3217U with 4GB RAM)
\nCurrently, I'm running IIS server with Windows 10 Pro on the old laptop.
\nBut still I'm considering other options.
\nI tried Ubuntu Server on laptop, but I can't configure WLAN because it doesn't have Ethernet port on it and solutions on the Internet not worked.
\nOn the other hand, only problem using VM on my desktop is I play various games on it.
\nSo what should I choose?
If it's only for personal use then you don't really care about performance, a Raspberry Pi 3 would be enough (but beware filesystem errors).
\n\nOtherwise get something cheap in the cloud. Hosting websites, especially if you want it up and running almost all the time has so much hidden costs (Internet, UPS, electricity, labor) it turns out cloud solutions are the cheapest option.
\n" }, { "Id": "12494", "CreationDate": "2019-12-04T08:54:25.850", "Body": "I am helping my brother build a budget computer for his studies as animator.
\n\nRight now the budget is very low, so I opted to buy a good CPU to futureproof any of his needs and buy a better graphics card in future upgrade.
\n\nI did some research and I came up with the following processors:
\nAMD Ryzen 7 2700X
\nAMD Ryzen 5 3600
Which do you think is the most suitable for this build.
\n", "Title": "CPU recomendation for animator`s computer", "Tags": "|processor|pc|rendering|", "Answer": "I would recommend the Ryzen 5 3600 for these reasons:
\n\nThe 3600 has faster single core performance, and almost matches the multi core performance of the Ryzen 7 2700X because of that. The Ryzen 7 2700X does a little better in CPU rendering benchmarks but you should be using a GPU for rendering anyways. That would make this small advantage irrelevant.
The CPU needs only 65W, which is a ~40% power reduction over the 2700X.
\nThat means the included CPU cooler will be adequate, and the system will not be as noisy.
The 3600 has an improved architecture that provides several advantages over the 2700X:
\n\nPCIe 4.0 Support
Infinity Fabric 2 - The DDR frequency no longer determines the CPU's internal fabric speed. Pairing a 2700X with cheap DDR4 RAM will have a greater consequence on overall performance than a 3600 with the same RAM would.
Significantly improved AVX2 capabilties.
\nThis instruction set is used in a lot of number-crunching applications, including video encoding. (Which an animator will be doing every time they export a video!)
My recommendation is based on both of these CPUs being the same price though. They are close enough in performance that whichever is less expensive is probably the better value.
\n" }, { "Id": "12508", "CreationDate": "2019-12-05T21:20:39.863", "Body": "I have wanted to set up a NAS for ages. I recently moved house and had to buy a new fibre modem/router. It has two USB 3.0 ports, and it'll be switched on all the time, so I figured it might be a low cost, low power way to get my NAS going.
\n\nI want my NAS to be RAID 1, so I was looking at enclosures like the ones suggested here and here. However, I'm a bit nervous about compatibility issues between the USB enclosure and the router. Do devices like these always work nicely together these days?
\n\nIf I were plugging the enclosure into my PC, then I would feel confident that I could sort out any driver issues. But with the router's OS, I pretty much have to hope it just works, else I'm stuffed.
\n\nThanks for any tips or suggestions!
\n", "Title": "USB3.0 RAID 1 enclosure that can be connected to my new router", "Tags": "|usb|nas|raid|drive-enclosure|", "Answer": "\n\n\nDo devices like these always work nicely together these days?
\n
This depends on the dual-bay enclosure that you buy, but most of them appear to the computer as a USB hub with either one or two USB storage class devices attached to it.
\n\nWith the enclosure that I have used before (Mediasonic ProRaid), there is a physical switch to select how the disks are used. When it is in RAID 0 or 1 mode, the PC can only see one drive which is the virtual disk created by the RAID. I have tested this enclosure with multiple operating systems and it seems to work as a plug & play USB drive, like any other USB hard drive or stick would.
\n\nSince your router does support USB storage, I expect that most USB RAID 1 enclosures will be detected by the router as a single drive.
\n" }, { "Id": "12510", "CreationDate": "2019-12-06T06:10:20.543", "Body": "I'm going to build a computer, but I'm stuck on choosing a processor. I found two processors: Intel Core i7-9700K and i7-9750H. The 9750H, according to the official site, is a bit faster and has more threads. But, on Intel's website it's marked as Mobile. Does that mean it's incompatible or it's not recommended to use it in a desktop computer? If that's the case, can 9700K fill up like everything from gaming through 3D animation to programming?
The 9750H is a mobile processor, meant to be soldered to a laptop motherboard. It will not fit in a a desktop motherboard, nor will you be able to buy one. So for a desktop you don't have a choice. Unless you buy a notebook.
\n\nThat said, why would you buy the 9700K now? According to benchmarks the cheaper Ryzen 7 3700X is slightly slower in some tasks (single or light threading), but can be significantly faster in others (heavily threaded).
\n\nThat said, what you mostly care about, both for games and 3D is single core performance and the GPU. Games tend to be lightly threaded, same as mesh editing. For programming it depends on your language, although I suppose build in any language are paralleled nowadays. Autocompletion in the IDE is more of a single thread stuff as well.
\n\nAs a side note - you definitely want an RTX. With both Blender and V-Ray supporting RTX it's a no-brainer as long as you have the budget. I've seen benchmarks where Blender render times were cut in half using hardware RT vs pure CUDA on the same card.
\n" }, { "Id": "12522", "CreationDate": "2019-12-08T17:22:07.873", "Body": "Initially I'm having 4GB of RAM in my Lenovo Ideapad 330 laptop.
\nNow I want to know if it is possible to add an extra 4GB of RAM to a total of 8 GB of RAM.
\nIf yes, what will it do to the performance?
You can upgrade your RAM by replacing the current one as this laptop has single RAM slot, but can't add another extra RAM due to lack of RAM slot.
\n\nYou can check the video I am providing the link below, how to upgrade RAM of your laptop
I am in the unfortunate position of needing a wired network connection for my laptop. I also need to attach and remove the cable several times a day. A 10 foot cat 6 cable works great, and I have bought many of them. But I would like to find a cable with a more durable connector. After a few months of use, the little plastic locking latch/clip breaks off. I know these connectors are not designed for heavy use, but is anyone aware of cables with more durable connectors? Or even just a source for more durable connectors (I can assemble my own cables)?
\n", "Title": "Where Can I Get a Durable cat 6 Ethernet cable", "Tags": "|ethernet|cable|", "Answer": "I first used \"rugged ethernet connector\" for search terms, but changed to \"industrial ethernet connector\" after seeing those terms in the search results.
\n\n![\"rugged](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PsuCm.png\")
The above photo is courtesy of TE Connectivity, but other links appeared from the search, which may be better suited or less expensive, or easier to find.
\n\nThis TE model certainly appears rugged and durable. No broken plastic clips when they are made of metal!
\n" }, { "Id": "12548", "CreationDate": "2019-12-14T08:52:41.843", "Body": "I've read that they are not so fast and also that reliability is a factor.
\n\nMy notebook is 8 years old now so I guess that all these new fast SSD memory technologies are useless for me, but I need something that will not break down (and I loose all my data). I need it for media, video and photo production.
\n\nCan I trust the Patriot brand?
\n", "Title": "Patriot P200 SSD for old Asus Zenbook", "Tags": "|laptop|ssd|", "Answer": "Judging reliability of an SSD that hit the market less than a year ago is kind of difficult. And the actual question here (can I trust brand X) is much too broad to be answered conclusively. Patriot sells lots of different SKUs, at different price points, and for a different target audience.
\n\nSo let's rather have a closer look at the actual model you are interested in, the P200 SSD. Here is a test of the 1TB model: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/patriot-p200-1-tb-ssd/11.html
\n\nWhile it mostly performs on par with similarly priced SSDs, It's biggest weakness is that it is a DRAM-less SSD. Which is why it struggles with intensive random read/write workloads. To a point where the difference becomes noticeable, even in real-world applications.\nIf we take a look at the prices for the 500GB model, the difference between the P200 and for example a Crucial MX500 is only about 3\u20ac in my part of the world. Add another 8\u20ac, and you can already afford a Samsung 860 Evo.\nIn my personal opinion, the minimal price difference is not worth the potential performance difference for your applications.
\n\ntl;dr: invest a little bit more, and get different SSD with DRAM cache
\n" }, { "Id": "12549", "CreationDate": "2019-12-14T11:56:29.523", "Body": "Not sure if this is the right place to be asking this question. But since this is hardware / PC related, and not woodworking, I think it would be the best place.
\n\nI'm currently in the planning process to build a new dining table, that would be able to operate as a tabletop table, specifically card and/or pen and paper. For this, one of the ends will include a table-\"wing\" for the Gamemaster. In this wing I want to install two angled monitors and connect them to either a mini-pc or a custom built ITX pc. The PC itself is not the difficult part, the monitors are however.
\n\nThe requirements for the monitors:
\n\nSome people have suggested that I simply scavenge some old laptops or monitors. While other people suggest trying to locate some on Ebay (or similar).
\n\nI was thinking that perhaps some of the people in this stackexchange might have experience with these types of custom builds.
\n", "Title": "Custom Build Tabletop Table", "Tags": "|gaming|monitors|thin-mini-itx|", "Answer": "There are ready made available, for example this Waveshare one.
\n\nScavenging laptop displays requires some effort since they don't use standard connectors and you need to track down adapters which work with this specific model.
\n" }, { "Id": "12577", "CreationDate": "2019-12-18T23:07:46.437", "Body": "I need recommendations for a cheap display monitor for use in CCTV door access.
\n\nTo save electricity the monitor will remain powered off at all times, until somebody needs to answer the front door and manually switches on the display monitor. It is crucial, therefore, that the chosen monitor is able to display video extremely quickly from the moment it is powered on.
\n\nVideo input will be from an IP CCTV camera via its local BNC / phono output.
\n\nBTW, I found it impossible to construct a search query for this question on Google.
\n\nThanks for any helpful assistance.
\n\n20/12/2019 - Update
\n\nI've discovered the Samsung SMT-1935 is made for the CCTV market, used monitors are available cheaply, but I'm having difficulty persuading sellers to check the power-on time with a BNC feed.
\n", "Title": "Display monitor with fast Boot-up / Picture-on time", "Tags": "|television|hdtv|", "Answer": "I found a better solution to the problem which is to have the monitor powered by a PIR motion sensor located outside above the front door.
\n" }, { "Id": "12582", "CreationDate": "2019-12-20T14:38:41.830", "Body": "My laptop only has no Ethernet connection, but I've been successfully using AX88179 (USB3.0 to 10/100/1000M Gigabit Ethernet Controller) for a few years now. Yet as soon as my Internet connection became higher than 100 Mbps, it seems I hit Asix' limit.
\nI've tried asking here and was told it's probably because of the adapter (I've tried using both Cat5, Cat5e and Cat6 cables - the latter of which gave me 1 Gbps in another house).
\nI tried contacting Asix but they haven't even bothered to reply.
\nI therefore consider buying a new adapter, but the tricky part is my laptop only has 2 USB ports. One is USB 3.0 and the other is USB 2.0. If I understand correctly, only USB 3.0 can be used to achieve 1 Gbps.
\nIn other words, the adapter I need should also serve as a USB 3.0 hub so I'll be able to connect other devices in general and other USB 3.0 devices particularly.
\nDo you know of any such device, which company is reputable enough to ensure I get 1 Gbps plus has technical support that actually replies?
\nWhat I want is:
\n![\"1](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/srxVb.png\")
What I don't want and so far have is:
\n![\"100](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/sq1Gb.png\")
Currently using:
\n![\"USB](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/mNeQm.png\")
Ended up with Unitek 4-in-1 USB 3.0 Ethernet Hub. Unlike Axis, it doesn't even need a special driver!
\n![\"Unitek](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/lDQbCm.png\")
I'm looking for a laptop that can boot into at least two different systems in the way where I don't need to worry about future/sudden issues. However, I'll need to buy a high performance laptop with the following minimum requirements:
\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n- \n
CPU: Intel i7- 8th generation
- \n
GPU: GTX 1050ti ( at least 4GB)
- \n
RAM: 16GB DDR4 2666Mhz
- \n
SSD: M.2 / NVMe
- \n
OS: Windows 10
- \n
M.2 with or without SATA 3 space: at least 2TB available to upgrade
- \n
Price limit: $2200
- \n
Laptops with good finish is better
Please, give me a list of the best laptops that you've found. Thanks :)
\n\nPs: I'll install Ubuntu and thinking about one more distro too, setting a triboot system maybe.
\n\nNOTICE: I'm from Brazil and live here, at the moment I've found some laptops available in my country that I'm interested in, such as Dell G5 5590 and Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315 (but I don't know if they'll run Linux distros smooth with a dual/triple boot system). However I can take a risk and buy imported Dell G7 7590, for example, if Dell Brasil doesn't sell products like this until March.
\n\nADVICE: Just tell me what are the best laptops (hardwares) models, as it is a hardware recommendation topic. Some brands doesn't allow the owner to install Linux OS on its laptops and if someone do it they alert about possible damages that brick the HARDWARE.
\n", "Title": "Which laptops are appropriate to set a dual boot system (Windows and Linux)?", "Tags": "|laptop|linux|windows|", "Answer": "I have chosen systems available to ship to Brazil today and assume that you are using USD rather than Brazilian Reals. I was able to match and exceed your minimum specs easily with a budget of 2.2K USD.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JH8Ue.png\")
Features MSI's magnesium-aluminium alloy which is excellent both for weight and head dissipation. I own an MSI and have never heard of multi-boot issues with the manufacturer as they typically make customization of hardware and software relatively painless. I have seen more than a few people install Linux on MSI computers before. Partitioning your hard-drive and then installing another operating system in that partition will certainly not brick your BIOS. The easiest way to configure multi boot with Linux + Windows will be the guide I have linked in the comment under your question.
\n\nMSI laptops are usually configured for instant access to SSD, HDD, WiFi Card Module, and battery so I see no issues for storage upgrades if you need it. If you upgrade storage I would endorse buying an M.2 to SATA adapter and switching the existing SSD to secondary.
\n\nAs for any potential lack of knowledge or being out of the loop with GPUs, I can assure you that the GTX 1650 benchmarks a modest 8% higher in terms of effective speed according to benchmarks, meeting and exceeding your graphical requirements.
\n\nFinally if you would like a full comprehensive lists of laptops meeting your requirements and available for shipping to Brazil or would like to push the price further down, here is a link to my search query.. Asus, MSI, and Dell are all fine to dual boot and I don't see any reason Aorus wouldn't either though I have not heard of this company before.
\n\nRegardless, normal user operations done to your hard drive (partitioning, changing bits aka installing OS's) should never have any impact on your BIOS.
\n" }, { "Id": "12589", "CreationDate": "2019-12-22T14:27:54.620", "Body": "My PC is kinda old by now, but I'm trying to save money. This puts me in a unique situation that I'm not sure how to tackle. My current setup is this:
\n\nCPU: AMD FX-8350\n
\nGPU: GeForce GTX 750Ti \n
\nMemory: 16 GB
Now this GPU is a little old I wanted to upgrade it. I bought a second hand GeForce 1060 6 GB, but it doesn't work. I've ran several benchmarks and tests and got advice online - some people think the card is dead and the seller lied to me, others think this old CPU is creating a bottleneck. I don't know.
\n\nThe best thing is to probably buy a new PC, but I don't have a lot of money right now I need to be cautious. My thinking is - ok, I can buy a newer GPU - if it works well, then fine\u05ea I only spent that money. If it doesn't, then that means I need to replace my CPU and motherboard, but I didn't waste any money because I'll still use the GPU I bought.
\n\nWhich brings me to my question - what's the best GPU I can buy right now that'll work with my old CPU, but if I end up replacing that CPU will still be good enough for next couple of years?. Note I don't really care if it's an Nvidia or AMD card.
\n", "Title": "What GPU should I buy that'll work for my current setup and be useful if I upgrade my CPU?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "I'm going to give you two options and leave them up to your to decide whether the price warrants the difference in performance. These are solid option that far outstrips the DOA 1060 you recieved and should be capable of lasting you for at least the next five years if not the end of the decade (assuming nothing else in your computer breaks down). Capable of hitting far above 100 fps for top triple A title games today.
\n\nI've decided not to recommend you any newer AMD GPUs to prevent you the headache as your cpu lacks a integrated gpu. Some of the newer AMD GPUs only support UEFI rather than Legacy BIOS and can prevent you from booting from your boot loader to your operating system.
\n\nMake sure you apply the promo at checkout. If you have Amazon prime you should be able to get them to price match Newegg if you prefer Amazon's shipping services.
\n\nBased on benchmarks it seems that if you are going to purchase a 2070, it only costs a little more for a somewhat noticeable difference. The 2080 is not that much better than the 2070S, however; the 2080S benches about 16% higher than the 2070S, and whose performance would be noticeably different.
\n\nOn a different subject, your CPU is not terrible for the setup and will probably not be too much of a bottle neck as most games are GPU bound rather than CPU bound. You might be able to achieve slightly better performance with a newer top of the line CPU, but an upgrade like this would likely be of higher benefit if you are doing heavy multi-cooperative computation or heavy video processing/encoding.
\n" }, { "Id": "12591", "CreationDate": "2019-12-23T02:04:54.987", "Body": "I got excited to see the Casio SA-76, which almost fit the description, but it doesn't have a 1/4 inch jack output.
\n\nI do not care about timbre or sound quality, because I want to run the keyboard through a vocoder while having access to the voices on my other \"real\" keyboard.
\n\nBy smallest, I mean fewer than 49 keys. Smaller means lighter, and it's more aesthetic to have a tiny keyboard sitting on top of my other keyboard.
\n\nEDIT: Just to clarify, I don't mean a MIDI controller, but a keyboard that outputs its own tones.
\n", "Title": "What's the smallest + cheapest keyboard that has a 1/4 inch jack output and runs on AAs?", "Tags": "|audio|music|", "Answer": "I occurs to me that my exact specification is satisfied by taking the Casio keyboard mentioned, which only has a headphone output, and use a 3.5mm male to 1/4 inch female adapter.
\n" }, { "Id": "12608", "CreationDate": "2019-12-28T18:57:37.260", "Body": "I have Gigabyte GA-H61M-S motherboard and it does not support USB 3.0.\n
\n
\nMy computer case has USB and Audio module but, its not working anymore. So, I am thinking to replace it with a good quality panel.\n
\n
\nNow, I have found this one product which meets my requirement. I have to connect it to USB header on motherboard. But, it says its for USB 3.0. \n
\n
\nSo, my question is whether this panel will work or not with my motherboard. I know that if it works then it will give me speed of USB 2.0 only but, will it work at all or not?
This will fit any motherboard with a free pci-e slot.
\n\n\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/MWwr4.png\")
NOTE I am not endorsing this model vs the 100 variations found on amazon. Any will work to varing degrees.
\n" }, { "Id": "12612", "CreationDate": "2019-12-29T09:00:34.067", "Body": "Recently, my Nexus 7 2013 (Wi-Fi only), died.
\n\nI am looking for a replacement, but things changed since I last required a tablet and I am not sure on what the next pick should be.
\n\nWhat I am looking for in Nexus 7 replacement is:
\n* Similar form factor (size)
\n* Ideally an additional memory card slot
\n* Relatively latest version of Android
\n* (If possible LTE support, but if not fine as well)
I looked into such tablets like Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e. It has additional memory card slot and Android 9 present. It is of different size, than Nexus 7, but that could also be fine.\nI am a bit sceptical about Samsung in general, especially after the exploding phone battery fiasco.
\n\nThanks for any recommendation,
\nMerry Christmas.
UPDATE
\n\nForgot to mention, that it needs to be affordable (Apple out of the question). Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e in my country I find a bit too expensive 439\u20ac.
\n", "Title": "Recommendation for Nexus 7 replacement", "Tags": "|android|tablet|", "Answer": "I believe that the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0\u201d (2019) fits the bill (and is the only one like this from a non-Chinese brand.)
\n\nIt's not big (while not 7\" display it is only 8\" display and the screen-to-body ratio is much smaller than the Nexus 7 because t has smaller bezels.) Has a Micro SD card slot. Has one before the last version of Android. And is pretty affordable.
\n\nAnother honorable mention goes to the Lenovo Tab M8 FHD which is very similar, but specs are better and also the screen-to-body ratio is better.
\n" }, { "Id": "12615", "CreationDate": "2019-12-30T05:06:04.360", "Body": "This may or may not be a duplicate question, but please read on before deciding.
\n\nSo I have tried the foscam brand, but found that they have the you figure it out approach to setup. I have never set up a tabletop indoor security camera before and found foscam to be a pain. There was something about using some IP, but was never sure if it was the IP of my router. If it was the IP of the camera, then tough because I had no clue what it was or where it was.
\n\nSo basically, I am looking for an indoor tabletop camera that I can control from my iPhone, even if I am 3 to 10 hours away from my home.
\n\nI found that foscam worked great if I was home, once I left home, I could not connect to the camera via the foscam app.
\n\nSo I am looking for something with excellent documentation on how to setup, preferably does not require me to use third-party cloud storage and preferably does not require me to go to NO IP or some other website to complete setup.
\n\nSomething that is as easy as 1, 2, 3 and now I am off to Paris and can still open an app on my iPhone and view what my camera sees. Or something close to it.
\n", "Title": "Indoor tabletop security camera that does not require outside cloud storage and easiest to setup", "Tags": "|video-camera|home-security|", "Answer": "Wyze Cams are simple to setup and simple to use. While they have cloud storage capabilities, they do not have to be used. You can put in a high capacity microSD and record right to the card. The live cameras can be accessed remotely, as well as the footage. They have fixed cameras and cameras that pan. Did I mention that they're inexpensive as well? You can purchase them directly from Wyze, Amazon, Micro Center, or Home Depot.
\n\nCheck them out: https://wyze.com/
\n" }, { "Id": "12630", "CreationDate": "2020-01-02T23:28:27.260", "Body": "I want to buy this transmitter/receiver but in specifications I see everything about audio only. Can I use it with my PC to connect keyboard or mouse?
\n", "Title": "Is Bluetooth transmitter/receiver fine for connecting mouse/keyboard?", "Tags": "|bluetooth|", "Answer": "Based on the information and drawings on the link you've provided, it appears that the USB port is supplying power and very likely power only. The double-ended cables provide for audio source/destination for the bluetooth aspect of the device.
\n\nThis means the answer to your question is quite likely NO.
\n\nA quick search discovers a product available that explicitly presents as mouse/keyboard capable:
\n\n\n\n![\"ebay](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2le5d.jpg\")
I could buy type-B USB OTG host hub like this (4th selection) and type-B female/type-C male. But do I need some special adapter which supports OTG? Or maybe it's better to buy type-C OTG host hub?
\n", "Title": "Is it better to buy OTG host hub with type-C or micro type-B if I have B and C compatible devices?", "Tags": "|usb|android|", "Answer": "It is better to use type-C
\n\nAs more devices are moving to type-C and you can phase out your\nadapter for type-B over time.
Type-C also has more capabilities and you will be handicapped later\non by converting from B to C. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB-C
Your HUB does not need to specify OTG as it a standard that is\naddopted by the device your are attaching it to (IE your smartphone).\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_On-The-Go
Here is a USB-C hub that has worked very well for me across desktop, laptop, and smartphone: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GDHD3VC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
\n\nEdit to answer comment: \nYour first question is answered above. Your second question is answered below.
\n\nHere is an image of what you are likely to find inside the adapter: https://images.app.goo.gl/AVwQqKQCk6SfeSMj7\nThe unused pin you see is used to sense whether your phone should act as the host or the device. When it acts as the host you are in the OTG mode.
\n\nYou could purchase a USB-B to A OTG adapter and a USB-A to C adapter but there is no guarantee that your older devices will support this. If you want to make sure both devices work, you could get 2 OTG adapters: one from B to A and one from C to A, and then use a USB-A hub.
\n" }, { "Id": "12636", "CreationDate": "2020-01-03T14:35:00.520", "Body": "I just replaced my old Apple Cinema monitor (1680x1050) with an AOC curve gaming display (2560x1440).
\n\nMy current setup does not seem to enjoy pushing that many pixels on the screen, laggy and jerky, I had to reduce the game (fallout 76) resolution to be playable; but I'd like to upgrade to something that would let me play at full resolution.
\n\nI don't remember the wattage on my Power Supply, but If I remember, I got one that was over-powered.
\n\nI know my motherboard is old and not really upgradable.
\n\nUpgrade motherboard/cpu or upgrade gpu ?
\n\nI'm not certain what is the limiting factor here.
\n\nI've bitten the bullet and upgraded most of my components:
\n\nThanks.
\n", "Title": "Hardware upgrade path for high gaming resolution", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|motherboard|", "Answer": "If you're going to upgrade something on that system, upgrade the GPU. Even the fastest CPU your mainboard supports (an i7-3770K) is only 50% faster in multi-threaded performance, and less than 5% faster in single-threaded performance; the fastest modern CPU is less than 50% better single-threaded, gaining performance mostly by virtue of having 32 cores. In comparison, there's plenty of headroom for improvement in the GPU, and more GPU is what you need to push more pixels.
\n\nYour existing GPU has a TDP of 120 watts. Since you don't know how much extra capacity your PSU has, I'm going to recommend an upgrade with a comparable TDP: the GeForce GTX 1660 Super, for around $230. Benchmarks give it a performance of 2x to 3x that of your current card, and unlike the GTX 960, reviewers considered it worthwhile to benchmark at resolutions above 1920x1080. Since the card's fairly new, there's not yet much variation between manufacturers, so pick whichever card is cheapest (or looks the best, or whatever minor criterion is important to you).
\n\n(Another upgrade option, much cheaper, but without much expected benefit, is another 8GB of RAM. The P67 chipset is capable of dual-channel operation, so if you're seeing single-channel, it's because you've only got one stick of memory (likely) or the memory isn't in the correct slots (less likely). Faster memory doesn't give much of a performance boost, though.)
\n" }, { "Id": "12644", "CreationDate": "2020-01-04T16:18:14.877", "Body": "Suggest me 3m Micro to A-Type USB and Type-C to A-Type USB cable with not less than USB 3 with not less than 2A support. I tried to find these but didn't find anywhere.
\n", "Title": "Suggest me 3m Micro to A-Type USB and Type-C to A-Type USB cable with not less than USB 3 and with not less than 2A support", "Tags": "|usb|cable|", "Answer": "Though I cannot personally vouch for the integrity of any of these cables, StarTech, C2G, Cable Matters, and Tripp-Lite are all fairly reputable manufactures who produce cables that fit your description.
\n\nThere are no cables of this length that I would be comfortable recommending. Per the @USBCGuy spreadsheet, the only cable in this category I'd be comfortable recommending is this AmazonBasics 0.9m one, which otherwise meets your requirements.
\n" }, { "Id": "12650", "CreationDate": "2020-01-05T03:13:23.503", "Body": "I'm wondering about the pricing. I'm about to decide my next Intel CPU and according to cpu-world.com
\n\n![\"img\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/dsuUx.png\")
the i9-9960X has a higher frequency and otherwise the same properties as the i9-7960X. However, the 9960X is currently available for 860 Euros, while the 7960X requires almost 1700 Euros. What am I missing?
\n\nIn general, I was considering to buy a 16 core Intel CPU. I currently have an 8 core i7-5960X which served me well during the last years.
\n", "Title": "Difference Intel CPU: i9-7960X and i9-9960X", "Tags": "|processor|intel|", "Answer": "Since the question seems to be mostly about the price difference, and not about technical differences between the two generations of CPUs, I will limit my answer to the former.\nSomewhere between these two generations of Intel CPUs, AMD happended. Their Threadripper CPUs and Ryzen CPUs with high core counts more or less forced retailers to lower their prices for Intel X299 CPUs, particularly the Skylake-X lineup. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-skylake-x-price-cut-cascade-lake-x
\n\nThen with the current 10th generation of X299 CPUs (e.g. I9-10980XE) Intel lowered MSRP for their CPUs significantly. See https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-cascade-lake-x-pricing-availability-launch-specifications-10th-generation,40526.html
\n\nSo don't let the price difference fool you into thinking the older 7th gen CPUs are that much better than current 10th gen Cascade-Lake X CPUs, or 9th gen CPUs. They just did not get the price cuts, because they are too old to be relevant in today's retail market.
\n" }, { "Id": "12653", "CreationDate": "2020-01-05T17:38:13.263", "Body": "According to Intel the i9-9900T was launched in Q2'19 but I can't find it in any retailers or online.
\n\nI have tried some other T designated CPUs and no luck with those either.
\n\nI am interested in the T designated CPUs for their low power specs, which imply lower heat dissipation hence lower noise in their cooling.
\n\nIs the i9-9900T available for end-users at all?
\n", "Title": "Intel Core i9 9900T", "Tags": "|processor|desktop|intel|", "Answer": "Some CPU models are only sold to OEMs in trays for building PCs, such as the i9-9900T in this case.
\n\nThere are many resellers selling CPUs from a tray, which MechEng has pointed out in their answer. So they are technically available to end-users but they are essentially 2nd-hand CPUs. Without sealed retail packaging, you might not be able to tell whether it has been installed in a system before.
\n\nKeep in mind that Intel's tray CPUs are not covered by any warranty. The only support you will have for the CPU will be from the reseller, if any.
\n" }, { "Id": "12654", "CreationDate": "2020-01-05T17:49:57.873", "Body": "I have a desktop computer on my home office room that is far from the internet router. This computer has a network cable to the router so it has internet connection. But when I'm on this room, my SmartPhone and my other laptop computer can't use the WiFi from this router (because it's out of range).
\n\nI would like a recommendation of a (dual band) Wireless Access Point that I can plug the internet cable in, but also has another cable output for my desktop PC. Most of the Access points I find has only one Ethernet port, and the ones that has two, one is labelled \"WAN\" and the other \"LAN\", which makes me a bit confused.
\n\nI also would like my desktop computer to be on the same IP range of the other devices, I don't want to make another network inside my network, as I have a printer and NAS drive on the network. I have tried to use another router on this wired connection, but it makes another network for my devices inside my room, also the network name is different so SmartPhone takes some time to switch from one network to another when I'm walking between both networks.
\n\nDoes such product exists?
\n\nTL; DR:
\n\nPlease, recommend me a Wireless AP or Router that:
\n\n![\"Drawing](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/EKKcC.png\")
Direct Answer:
\n\nThis Access Point has what you are looking for and should work.
\n\nRecommended:
\n\nYou can use any old access point if you purchase a separate switch. I recommend specifying that it is Gigabit and has the full bandwidth for all ports like this one. Then plug the connection to your router, the PC, and the access point all into the switch in your bedroom.
\n\nI recommend this route because you can keep the switch for many years to come as you replace your router and AP with newer models.
\n\nUsing a second router:
\n\nTypically using the WAN port on your router will cause it to act as a Router, Switch, Access Point, NAT, and Firewall. However, you can disable these features and have it act as just an Access Point and Switch. You will need to look through the settings on your router and configure it to do so.
\n" }, { "Id": "12661", "CreationDate": "2020-01-06T15:57:30.963", "Body": "Under \n - RS. 40,000\n - core i5 8th gen\n - branded laptop\n - only for study purpose browing and learning \n For online courses
\n", "Title": "Suggest laptops for students", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "On criterias from the question (almost) any notebook in this price category will be fine for you.
\n\nBut you can check for example HP Elitebook 840 G2, Lenovo IdeaPad Slim. At least in European market it is hard to find i5 for 500 euro. Actually you do not need i5 to watch training videos and browse.
\n" }, { "Id": "12671", "CreationDate": "2020-01-07T13:33:50.507", "Body": "I'm a new (and currently the only) IT guy at a small company (around 20 employees). I'm looking to get a small server for our company so that we could manage access to shared storage and sync outlook tasks/calendars and maybe eventually do some light processing on it. We currently don't have a dedicated room for a server (as they are noisy) so we would need to put it in one of the offices. I was thinking of reusing a nice gaming rig and adding a bit of extra RAM to use as a server as we don't have very high demand for data processing and not many users at once. What sort of specs are recommended for running a Windows Server (mostly for Microsoft Exchange).
\n\nI don't have any experience with building and running servers so sorry if I'm asking or saying something stupid.
\n\nThanks in advance!
\n", "Title": "Small company server", "Tags": "|server|windows|cheap|", "Answer": "\n\nsmall company (around 20 employees)... small server... access to shared storage and sync outlook tasks/calendars... and maybe do some light processing on it
\nWhat sort of specs are recommended for running a Windows Server (mostly for Microsoft Exchange).
\n
my first recommendation would be to talk to your boss, chief information officer, or president (depending on company) because today doing what you are asking is no longer a trivial matter, especially regarding data security, legal requirements, lawsuits, etc. So you don't just want to build any old computer/server and have it wherever. Talk to whoever would be held accountable for such a problem should it arise,
\nthat may then lead to a dedicated server room being made available, having locked door or badged access, where you can set up resources and have it functional and reliable... reusing a nice gaming rig is not professional.
\nbasically... workstations (i.e. your thought of gaming rig) are desktop pc's which will be limited to ~ 64gb or ram and are expected to be used by one person at a time. A server can be the same hardware, but will be in a rack server form factor, hold greater than 64gb of ram, and allow for better networking capability, to allow reliable and better performance to run MS exchange mail server and provide a data share.
\nyou may want to look into NAS - network attached storage, which will be separate disks and hardware to provide data storage which would be separate from an MS exchange server; having one server do everything increases likelihood of everything not working one morning when something fails (and it will) so you have to plan all that out and understand what you actually need vs want vs budget. For however small a company, you just don't throw a gaming rig together to allow the company to do business; if it needs to be "cheap" then you may want to rethink your business strategy. You can find small business servers from DellEMC or HPE, you would call them tell them what you need and they will advise you on the type of hardware to be used, and you can always get refurbished/reconditioned if you are looking for less expensive equipment.
\n" }, { "Id": "12674", "CreationDate": "2020-01-07T16:58:04.890", "Body": "My PC has a clock speed of 2133 MHz. Can it work with a 2666 MHz memory module?
\nI have 2 DIMM slots. Are they compatible with UDIMM memory modules?
My processor is an Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz.
\nBaseBoard Manufacturer: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
\nBaseBoard Product: H110M-A/M.2
\nBaseBoard Version: Rev X.0x
\nBIOS: 19/09/2016 / UEFI\nSMBIOS Version: 3.0
Reference:
\nhttps://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/ct2k32g4dfd8266
The memory you linked to will not work with your hardware.
\n\nBut the issue here is not the maximum memory frequency of 2666 MT/s. Pretty much all DDR4 memory has an SPD profile for DDR4-2133, because that is the common baseline for DDR4. If you put compatible DDR4-2666 into your system, it will be clocked at DDR4-2133.
\nThe problem here is capacity: While your CPU could support a total of 64GB of RAM, your mainboard only supports up to 32GB of RAM total: https://www.asus.com/de/Motherboards/H110M-A-M-2/specifications/\nSo the maximum amount of system memory you can use is 2x16GB, and not the 2x32GB you linked.
Edit: also, UDIMM is the only type of memory you can use in your system. RDIMM and LRDIMM are not supported.
\n" }, { "Id": "12702", "CreationDate": "2020-01-11T15:19:40.567", "Body": "I live in a region where I don't have the luxury to have my radio channels of choice on the FM band, but I am addicted to waking up with the chatter of the radio.
\n\nDo you know of any well-designed alarm clock that treats internet radio streams the same way the other alarm clocks treat FM radio? Namely, being able to use internet radio presets as the morning alarm.
\n\nNote: I don't want a bedside computer, but rather a simple product like Wakey minus FM plus internet radio.
\n", "Title": "Alarm Clock streaming internet radio", "Tags": "|wifi|audio|music|alarm-clock|", "Answer": "Based on the product you linked and your aversion to \"bedside computers\", I selected alarms with a similar rear-projection type display.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/bOH69.jpg\")
Luckily for you, Amazon has an upcoming version of the Alexa-equipped Echo Dot that meets all the requirements. It's got a dimmable display, all the normal Alexa bells and whistles (including Bluetooth and Hue integration), and supports musical alarms with TuneIn, SiriusXM, and iHeartRadio (and if you have a change of heart and and decide to switch to to a streaming service, Amazon Music, Spotify, and Pandora.) Best of all, like all rest of the Echo line, it's quite cheap (as the hardware costs are subsidized by Amazon.) Unfortunately, they won't be back in stock until March 1st, 2020, but as long as you're willing to wait, it's a pretty solid box.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ci3fl.jpg\")
If you want better sound quality, prefer Google Assistant to Alexa, or just don't want to be quite so basic, Sony sells the SG50. Just like the Echo Dot, it's got Bluetooth, a dimmable display, and all the fancy bells and whistles that come with Google Assistant, including support for TuneIn, SiriusXM, and iHeartRadio (and again, Google Play Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, and Pandora.) Do note that there have been some (not super widespread?) reports of issues with internet radio on Google Assistant though.
\n" }, { "Id": "12706", "CreationDate": "2020-01-12T21:58:24.740", "Body": "I'm looking for a dock that will allow my gf and I to connect 2 HDMI monitors and 2 USB mouse/keyboard devices to both a Macbook Air (2015) with thunderbolt 2 and a modern dell laptop with thunderbolt 3. The laptops would not be connected at the same time, I just want the capability to dock either one. Also charging capability for the laptop would be ideal, although I'm aware this probably might not be possible with the macbook over thunderbolt 2 -> 3 conversion.
\n\nMy thought was to buy a dock that supports tb3, for the dell and then use a tb2 -> tb3 adapter to connect the macbook to the dock.
\n\nSomething like this:
\n\nMacbook (TB 2) ---> Converter (tb2 -> tb3) -----> TB3 Dock
\n\nAND:
\n\nDell TB3 (TB3) ----> TB3 Dock
\n\n\n\nWould this even work? What would be our cheapest option here?
\n\nThanks!
\n", "Title": "Dock recommendation for Macbook Thunderbolt2 and Dell Thunderbolt 3 laptops", "Tags": "|hdmi|thunderbolt|docking-stations|", "Answer": "The adapter you linked is not bi-directional, and may not work for your application. This adapter is bi-directional and should work for your application. Note: This adapter does not allow power pass-through, so you will need to have the dock or dongle connected to its own power for this to work.
\n\nThe dock you linked is a good choice. I think it will work well for you. Because you asked for a cheaper option, you can use a \"dongle\" with power passthrough instead of a \"dock.\" Here is one that has the ports you asked for.
\n" }, { "Id": "12714", "CreationDate": "2020-01-14T06:25:54.550", "Body": "I am looking for an audio switch for a 3.5mm headset. There seem to be tons of options (e.g. this) for a normal 3.5mm stereo switch, but they all do not support microphones.
\n\nThanks!
\n", "Title": "3.5mm audio switch/selector", "Tags": "|audio|headset|", "Answer": "This sounds like doing what you are looking for:
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "12718", "CreationDate": "2020-01-14T11:23:07.837", "Body": "I have a program that sends data to a USB port in order to configure connected device. I have been wondering if it's possible to copy a single signal to multiple devices.
\n\nFor example, this program sends specified data to COM1. I'm wondering if there's an USB cable that would be interpreted as COM1 and could be connected to multiple devices on the other end, essentially mirroring received data to all of them?
Sorry for the short answer, but unfortunately, USB just doesn't work like this. Because of... protocol reasons that we won't dive into here, USB doesn't have anything really resembling this capability. The closest you'll get is a standard hub or KVM.
\n\nHowever, what does exist are serial splitters. Since it appears that all you're doing is using a COM port, what you could do is use a USB -> serial adapter, split the serial port into several serial ports, convert the serial back to USB (or whatever you'd like), and proceed to plug those into whatever target computers you're using. If that sounds like one too many adapters, StarTech even the ICUSB2324, a convenient USB to quad serial adapter.
\n\nHowever, there's a reason we don't all have USB and serial splitters plugged into our computers. There's almost always a better way of doing things, unless you're working with specialized, legacy hardware. Networking and virtual serial ports exist for a reason, and you're almost certainly better off using one of those. Without more info on your application I can't really say that with 100% certainty, but it's probably true.
\n" }, { "Id": "12726", "CreationDate": "2020-01-15T07:04:29.823", "Body": "I have a HP laptop
\n\nI want to upgrade my HP 15 ay122ne (i7-7500U 8GB RAM 1TB HDD 4GB graphics)
\n\nCan anyone please help me with the following:
\n\nFor max performance, which is better, a 2.5\" SSD or m.2 SSD ?
How much RAM can I upgrade on this laptop- can I insert another 16 GB DDR4 into this laptop ..like whats the maximum it can support running windows 10 ?
My laptop isn't slow or anything but I want to take out the HDD inside it and use it as an external storage device in a USB HDD enclosure, and also to experience how fast SSD works (I have never used a laptop with SSD).
\n", "Title": "m.2 vs ssd which is better", "Tags": "|laptop|memory|hard-disk|ssd|", "Answer": "https://www.performance-computer.com/learn/ssds-compared/\n\nSATA3 Hard Drive SATA3 SSD NVMe SSD\n~100 MB/s Read 530 MB/s Read 3,500 MB/s Read\n~100 MB/s Write 500 MB/s Write 3,000 MB/s Write \nM.2 is a form factor, it technically has nothing to do with speed or performance.
\n\nYou can get m.2 storage (to replace your disk or ssd) and this storage can connect either via the SATA3 protocol or NVMe protocol.
\n\nSATA3 is limited to 6 gbit/sec, which then connects to the PCIe bus.
\n\nNVMe is a protocol allowing a direct connection to the PCIe bus, it not limited to the 6gbiy/sec transfer rate limitation of the sata3 interface, and is thus faster.
\n\nhttps://www.crucial.com/usa/en/m2-with-pcie-or-sata
\n\nusing an m.2 form factor storage device having a sata3 interface, will be no different than using a typical 2.5\" form factor solid state disk (SSD) which also using the sata3 interface.
\n" }, { "Id": "12730", "CreationDate": "2020-01-15T15:16:00.323", "Body": "I have a USB-C screen (Lenovo ThinkVision P27H) which I want to connect my laptop to, so that I just need one wire for charging and video.\nThe screen also features a USB hub, which is why I would like to connect my USB mouse and keyboard to the screen, so that I really just need one wire.
\n\nHere comes the problem: I want to run a desktop PC with the same screen (but not simultaneously), and this PC also uses the same mouse and keyboard.
\n\nSo, what I'm looking for is a solution that allows me to use my peripheries on both machines without plugging in and out my mouse and keyboard everytime.
\n\nThe screen only features one upstream USB port, which is the USB-C one. My desktop doesn't have a USB-C port.
\n\nI thought about something like a USB-C switch, or more like a \"splitter\" (one USB-C in, two USB-C out) that I can connect to the screen. Then I could connect my laptop to this switch, as well as a USB-C to USB-3 adapter to talk to my desktop PC. My hope is that this enables me to use the USB hub of the screen no matter which device I'm currently using.
\n", "Title": "How to connect USB peripheries to USB Hub on monitor and desktop PC without unplugging?", "Tags": "|usb|monitors|mice|", "Answer": "The product you're describing does exist... kind of. However, because it's a niche product, there are only really two implementations I'm aware of\u2014both of which are very expensive and don't really do quite what you want.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/GQ52D.jpg\")
Though the exact branding and seller varies, there are at least two (1, 2) identical versions of this hub for sale. It features two switchable USB-C connections (with power passthrough), two USB-A in, one HDMI 1.4 out, and a USB-C power port. Notice the HDMI out: while this will work just fine, you'll have to drive your monitor off HDMI\u2014not USB-C. This means that you won't be able to use the USB hub in the monitor without a second adapter to plug it in to the USB plugs on the front. Eugh.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/zAORZ.jpg\")
Again, we've got two switchable USB-C connections, several USB-A in, and a DisplayPort out. Again, we've got the same issue, where you'd need an adapter to use the hub in the monitor.
\n\nAnother option to keep the single-cable functionality is just to have your laptop connect to a USB-C hub, which then breaks out into a \"standard\" display interface and USB, then runs into a KVM. Is this discarding one of the key features of your monitor? Yes. Is it cheaper and cleaner than getting a USB-C KVM? Maybe, depends on your idea of cleanliness. But it's almost certainly cheaper. Depending on what specs you end up deciding you want, you can get a hub for about $30 and a KVM for about $40. If you choose to go this route, I can definitely make some more specific suggestions.
\n\nThrough the power of networking and software, you could get most of the functionality of these hardware solutions with almost none of the hassle. Using something like Synergy, you can share your mouse and keyboard over the network. However, since this would require the laptop to be plugged in, even when you're using the desktop, I'm going to assume this is probably a no-go. Further, other USB devices aren't shared, so if you wanted to (for example) plug in a USB drive, you wouldn't be able to use the hub.
\n\nThis is probably going to sound really stupid, and in a certain sense, it is. However, it's also probably the cleanest, nicest way to get what you're looking for. Currently, several monitors offer built-in KVMs and USB-C, with convenient switching between them. Are they all more expensive than the P27H? Yes. But will they also offer a lot of other benefits, including greater resolution, size, or color accuracy (depending on the model)? Yes.
\n\nI won't go too in depth into each monitor right now\u2014again, if you decide this is the right path for you, I'll be happy to help more\u2014but here's a quick overview.
\n\n48.4\", 5120 x 1440 @ 70 Hz, VA\n2x HDMI, 1x DP, 2x USB-C, 2x USB-C hub, Ethernet, headphone jack
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/HdRdE.jpg\")
34\", 3440x1440 @ 100 Hz w/ FreeSync, VA\n1x DP, 1x HDMI, 1x USB-C, 1x USB-B, 4x USB-A hub
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/0HfKU.jpg\")
43.4\", 3840 x 1200 @ 120 Hz, VA
\n\n1x HDMI, 1x DP, 2x USB-C, 1x USB-B, 4x USB-A hub, headphone jack
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/qqJIz.jpg\")
34.1\", 3440 x 1440 @ 60 Hz, IPS
\n\n2x HDMI, 1x DP, 1x USB-C, 2x USB-B, 4x USB-A hub
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/DjRli.png\")
31.5\", 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz, IPS
\n\n1x DP, 1x HDMI, 1x USB-C, 1x USB-B, 4x USB-A hub
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/rWH6H.jpg\")
I use OnePlus 6 smartphone which I bought about 18 months ago; I generally really like this smartphone and generally happy I bought it.
\nPutting aside the cannot-be-deleted and in-my-opinion-crappy \"Zen mode\" of the Oxygen (Android) OS of One Plus.
I was always annoyed from the fact that Android always necessitated me to have some applications installed even if I didn't want them installed and only let me \"disable\" them, if at all to have and couldn't delete them.
\n\nThis has become very annoying with new apps of Andorid 10, that I can't even disable, such as:
\n\nI also always had an application which I always found redundant: \"Sim toolkit\".
\n\nWhat smartphone doesn't necessitate me to have any application besides basic applications (as defined):
\n\n?
\n\nNote: I also use native Notes apps often but I wouldn't necessarily want to use one that come with such smartphone (I might want to integrate my Microsoft Windows notes with those of the smartphone so I would need another app).
\n", "Title": "What smartphone doesn't necessitate me to have any application besides basic applications (as defined)?", "Tags": "|smartphones|mobile-phone|", "Answer": "I wouldn't suggest moving from an Android to a iOS (due to iOS's weird way it handles restoring from an Android backup) but if you wanted it from brand new, no contacts or pictures, iPhones are pretty reliable and don't force many apps on you. It comes installed with some useless apps for most people, but pretty much all of those can be deleted. Here are the apps on an iPhone that are forced (this is on a iPhone XR, on iOS 13.3).
\n\nThere are productivity apps avalible, and a file app but those are optional.
\n" }, { "Id": "12756", "CreationDate": "2020-01-22T07:54:30.723", "Body": "I am thinking of creating a device that will detect water leaking/ water detection. I am currently using this:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/VR9JS.jpg\")
And this one I want but it is costly and not available on Amazon India or flipkart :\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/mgZV6.png\")
I don't know if there is a small alternative for water detection as good as them. I tried searching but what I am getting was these sensors. So if you guys know any small size sensor to detect water presence please let me know. And if it comes with buzzer it will be a lot of help.
\n", "Title": "small size Alternative of raindrop sensor", "Tags": "|arduino|", "Answer": "I made a diy flexible sensor for diaper-free time - not exactly what OP asked but still might be helpful. You can make it smaller with thinner tape and sheet but still probably not comfortable/usable within diaper. (Side note: Good diapers actually have wet color-changing strip on them, which is much more practical. You can just replace them every 3-4 hours or look at the strip.)
\nI used adhesive copper tape (2cm wide) to make the rain sensor-like pattern on top of OHP transparent printing sheet. I also printed out the pattern on OHP sheet to help lay out the tape (visible from back). This makes for a nice large A4-size sensor which is flexible, waterproof and not easy to tear. Then I use 2 alligator clip to attach to 2 rails and connect to mcu. It would be nice to upgrade to a single clip with 2 connectors to make it quicker to detach.
\nOne issue I noticed is that human body resistance can also trigger false positive if you sleep directly on it (think of resistance of skin between two closest fingers of the sensor, not whole body resistance). Rather, I use a super-thin 20GSM hospital/salon-purpose bedsheet which is laid out on the sensor and lay the baby on this bedsheet. Because it's very thin and absorbent, as little as 3 drops of water easily soak to the bottom side and activate the sensor while increasing the non-wet resistance to infinity (beyond multimeter measurement). It's also more comfortable to sleep on.
\nFront side -\n![\"Front](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gJymA.jpg\")
Back side -\n![\"Back](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Rjf20.jpg\")
20GSM hospital bedsheet example - https://zjhuachen.en.made-in-china.com/product/XxNRpFUvEScu/China-Disposable-Nonwoven-Bed-Sheets-of-Waterproof-Oilproof-20GSM-Spunbond-Non-Oven-Fabric-PP-Polypropylene-Non-Woven-Cloth-for-Beauty-Salon-SPA.html
\n" }, { "Id": "12759", "CreationDate": "2020-01-23T05:28:24.760", "Body": "I am looking for a Single Board Computer which would be used for the following purpose:
\n\n1) Scan a QR code through a QR code scanner attached to it.
\n\n2) Send the text of the QR code scanner to a backend and retrieve data, which would be displayed on a display attached to the SBC.
\n\n3) The SBC would be continuously functional and will have to be robust enough to run 24/7 in an external environment.
\n\n4) Should be capable enough to power a QR code scanner.
\n\nThe SBC would connect to the backend through WiFi.\nRaspberry Pi satisfies a lot of these criteria, but I am a bit apprehensive about how robust it could be. Any suggestions for what SBC could be potentially used for such an application?
\n", "Title": "Selecting Single Board Computer for Project", "Tags": "|sbc|", "Answer": "You get any robust SBC. The handheld scanners already convert the QR code to text so you don't need to worry about vision recognition. It might be easier if your scanner has a virtual COM mode rather then the usual keyboard simulation.
\n\nIf you truly want to play with vision recognition then nothing beats nVidia's Jetson - SBCs with integrated nVidia GPU. AFAIK similar hardware is used both in Nintendo Switch and Tesla's autopilot.
\n\nPersonally I'd get an SBC based on an i.MX processor since they have good Yocto support, including Qt. Something like this: https://www.digi.com/products/embedded-systems/single-board-computers/connectcore-6-sbc
\n\nThat said, the only issue with Pi's robustness, as far as I'm aware, are power cuts - if you power it off when it's writing to the SD card it might damage the filesystem. And being rated only to work in non-freezing temperatures.
\n" }, { "Id": "12765", "CreationDate": "2020-01-23T19:00:36.543", "Body": "I have a very particular workload that requires GPU (OpenCL mandatory) acceleration.\nHowever, from what I hear, GPU are optimized for floating points computing, where the task I need acceleration for requires a lot of Integer computing, and those Integer computing scores are kinda hard to find.
\n\nMore specifically (out of the whole data sent to the GPU), the workload consist of:
\n\n- 60% of 8 bits unsigned integer, mostly used for performing ADDITIONS (adding random bytes together)
\n- 20% of 64 bits unsigned integer, again, mostly used for performing ADDITIONS (adding random bytes together)
\n- 20% of 32 bits floats, used for performing trigonometry on results from previous Integers sums
Unrelated points that may affect the choice :
\nA lot of memory chunk transfer ([1 MB to 30MB]) from the CPU -> GPU, and vice versa, by multiple threads at the same time.
\nThe more memory, the better.
\nSpeed is important, but multiple GPU is an option if necessary.
All OpenCL benchmark I can see do not have these specific informations (mostly, Integer related information) in their score.
\n\nDo you have a GPU in mind that would be convenient for such task ?
\nThanks a lot guys !
From the benchmarks found here\n, the GIOPS (Integer Operation Per Second) for the Nvidia 2080Ti is second only to the RTX Titan, but for 1/3 the price.
Since this specific workload contains a lot of small chunck of memory transfer, It seems like two 2080Ti(s) are the logical choice all domain (budget, memory IO, ram, computing power) considered.
I would like to run a multimedia windows application to run on a compact single board computer.
\n\nHere are the requirements:
\n\nI am wondering if there is any Single board that can match the above requirents?
\n", "Title": "Single Board Windows PC with 4K HDMI input and 4K Output", "Tags": "|pc|hdmi|4k|development-board|", "Answer": "Assuming we allow 4K@30 output, getting 4K out is a pretty simple task since most every board supports HDMI 1.4. Unfortunately, encoding a 4K stream, even at 30 Hz, is an extremely demanding task, and putting that requirement on an SBC makes things... complicated. Let's run through some of the options.
\n\nIntel embed-oriented processors\u2014namely Apollo Lake and Cherry Trail\u2014contain support for the MIPI-CSI interface, and there are a variety of boards with support for these processor lines. However, only a few actually have a the requisite connector on the board. From most to least powerful, they are the UP\u00b2 and PICO-APL3, UP Core Plus, Up Core and ROCK Pi X.
\n\nInterfacing with the MIPI-CSI port can be accomplished through the use of an HDMI to CSI bridge. Toshiba manufactures three such chips: the TC358743XBG, TC358840XBG, and TC358870XBG, the latter two of which support 3840x2160@30. However, there is no reference or development board available to my knowledge, and the only consumer boards available\u2014the Auvidea B100, B101, and B102\u2014use the TC358743XBG. Additionally, these boards rely on a V4L2 driver to interface properly\u2014something that obviously isn't available on Windows. While it's possible that they'd work just fine with Windows, it's hard to say. Outside of these, you'd be resorting to designing your own board or trolling AliExpress for an appropriate board.
\n\nFurther, Apollo Lake and Cherry Trail processors are... not powerful. I wouldn't trust them to perform a high quality software encode, and given they only have HD Graphics 505 at best, I wouldn't trust them to handle it with Quick Sync Video either.
\n\nI know you've already discussed it to some extent, but the Jetson does make a fairly compelling case. It's got the most powerful GPU of any SBC I know, and 4K encode with NVENC should be will within reach\u2014and NVENC looks good, even compared to a software encoder. Unfortunately, it's obviously not going to run standard Windows, so unless your application happens to run on Windows 10 on ARM, you'd have to refactor your application. Further, it uses MIPI-CSI for video input, not HDMI, which puts us back in the same situation as the x86 boards where there's (as of yet) no adapter.
\n\nSimilarly, there are a number of boards with HDMI video input. Unfortunately, most of these boards aren't particularly powerful, nor do they support standard desktop Windows, giving us many of the same problems as before.
\n\nThis is probably the most reasonable option. Given the availability of USB and PCI-e based capture cards, using a capture card with a powerful board would allow for everything to work\u2014just with some extra effort and hardware. Given the widespread availability of this type of SBC (and similar NUCs), I won't attempt to enumerate every possible board. However, using software, Intel's Quick Sync Video, Nvidia's NVENC, or AMD's VCE are all possible depending on which exact hardware you get (though you should note that VCE in particular falls behind the others.) Some manufacturers you may want to look at include Udoo, Up, Aaeon, and Ibase.
\n" }, { "Id": "12770", "CreationDate": "2020-01-24T09:22:07.323", "Body": "I am looking for a keyboard (and optionally a mouse) that is Bluetooth-enabled and backlit and can switch between different Bluetooth devices (pc and tablet/phone).
\n", "Title": "Multi Device Bluetooth keyboard and mouse", "Tags": "|keyboards|bluetooth|mice|", "Answer": "Any of the following Logitech Keyboards with their \"Easy-Switch\" technology will allow you to switch between multiple devices via Bluetooth. They have three buttons or a 3-way dial to switch instantly between up to three devices.
\n\nI personally use the tenkeyless (TKL) Logitech K480 at work since it can switch between 3 devices and has a tray for my cell phone. If you'd like a numberpad, the Logitech K780 is a good choice. Here are all of the keyboards that Logitech sells direct-to-consumer that contain the Easy-Switch technology. For some reason the K480 is on its own page here. Most Logitech keyboards can also be purchased online or at Brick-and-Mortar stores such as Amazon, Best Buy, Micro Center, Newegg, Staples, Walmart, ect.
\n\nAs far as mice go, Logitech continues with their MX Anywhere lineup. Any of the MX 2S or 3 series mice will have Easy-Switch. They also let you copy files on one PC and paste them on another which is a nice feature to have. You may find the MX Anywhere 2S here.
\n" }, { "Id": "12780", "CreationDate": "2020-01-26T06:07:16.680", "Body": "My old laptop is now out of service, but it had a very nice FHD screen that works with this cable, while I'm missing a second monitor for myself.
\n\nI've seen this post and was wondering if there was any off-the shelf tool that would allow me to use the screen as a second monitor, even if without the stand at first.
\n\nAnything that accepts HDMI or display port as input would be great. Something that ships internationally would be nice too.
\n", "Title": "Tool to reuse old laptop screen as a monitor", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "We need to find out what that panel actually is. Let's try searching for Inspiron 7520 LCD replacement panel: https://www.google.com/search?q=dell+inspiron+7520+lcd+replacement+panel this is not fruitful immediately but it does lead to https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/Dell-Inspiron-15r-7520-SE-screen-model-number/td-p/4304809 tells us the screen Dell part number is DC9YJ. Progress!
\n\nFeeding that into Google https://www.google.com/search?q=dc9yj we quickly find (it's in the result list, even) the panel is compatible with LP156WFC(TL)(B1). (A quick countercheck shows it's resolution is indeed FHD)
\n\nOur next and last search is for the driver board for that: https://www.google.com/search?q=LP156WFC(TL)(B1)+driver+board which leads us to
\n\n\n\nwhich is what you are looking for I believe.
\n" }, { "Id": "12794", "CreationDate": "2020-01-28T09:45:57.140", "Body": "I am searching for a power relay to switch between two 24V power supplies. Currently I use two separate 5V relays switched on from the same digital output.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ILuox.png\")
something like this
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Lb1s8.png\")
I looked in RS and Mouser but am not able to find anything useful. Since there are footprints available I guess such relays exist and hopefully for my requirements.
\n", "Title": "5V 2 channel relay for <50V", "Tags": "|switch|", "Answer": "You are looking for a DPDT (double pole, double throw) relay. This has a schematic like this:\n![\"RT-1-DPDT-8A\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Yqny3.jpg\")
You can find such relays in stock at multiple suppliers, though I highly recommend digikey.\nHere's a list of 5V DPDT Power Relays with over 2A:
\n\nDigikey.com - 5V DPDT Relays (through hole)
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "12814", "CreationDate": "2020-01-29T09:40:55.927", "Body": "I am looking to build a system where many VR Headsets are remote controlled by one device on the same LAN. The idea is that all headsets boot directly into the slave app, which for now only shows a video after that is started on the remote control. Ideally I am looking for standalone devices like the Oculus Go, but some comfort like wireless could be sacrificed for improved usability.
\n\nI want that each slave VR Headset automatically searches the network for a master remote, so it can poll to download new videos from it. After all slaves have the video file it can be started from the remote to run on all devices simultaneously.
\n\nWhich VR Headset brands are best used to design such an app? Many seem especially restricive about booting into a 3rd party app by default. Any recommendations?
\n", "Title": "Most open VR Headsets for developers", "Tags": "|development|vr-headset|", "Answer": "The Oculus Go or Oculus Quest are probably your best bets. Put them in Kiosk mode to boot into your application, bypassing the traditional Oculus Home screen.
\n\nHere is an article with instructions: https://theslidefactory.com/kiosk-mode-oculus-quest/
\n\nAlternatively, Oculus is making an Enterprise Edition if you need more features and support: https://uploadvr.com/oculus-quest-enterprise-edition/
\n" }, { "Id": "12815", "CreationDate": "2020-01-29T10:48:38.143", "Body": "I am looking for a device which is able to route at least six arbitrary USB 2.0 inputs to at least six arbitrary USB 2.0 outputs (6x6 matrix). It should have an interface like ethernet or RS-232 to control the routing. There should be no device emulation like KVM switches do, the simpler the better.
\n\nSo far the only device I found which meets my needs is the 8x8 matrix switch Smart-AVI MU-88.
\n\nUnfortunately, the price of the device is far too much for the budget of my (private) project. Are there any cheaper devices with the same or at least nearly the same features?
\n", "Title": "Cheap 6x6 (or better) USB 2.0 matrix switch", "Tags": "|usb|", "Answer": "I solved it with a combination of the following devices:
\nThe price was high but still okay buying used devices.
\nIt turned out the device emulation (keyboard and mouse) is not a problem in my case, it even helped!
\n" }, { "Id": "12819", "CreationDate": "2020-01-30T08:24:03.540", "Body": "I'm looking for an alternative for RPi4 that seems not ready (yet?) to run run Qt/QML applications on framebuffer using hw acceleration. A lot of people have the same problems but no ones provide answers, so I'm afraid there's no much interest on both sides (Qt and RPi) to make the stuff available.
\n\nI need a board with the following features:
\n\nI've successfully written and ran a Qt/QML application (albeit with a simple interface) on a custom baseboard for the CM3 running Raspbian Lite without X. Not through framebuffer but using the VC .sos provided for the Pi. If you used framebuffer on the Pi you likely used Qt without hardware acceleration. Qt has a separate QPA backend using VC libraries directly.
There are alternatives, but they are usually development kits and SoMs with their carrier boards rather then SBCs. Those are targeted at professionals who design custom devices with such processors.
\n\nYou can for example look at Toradex i.MX 6 Quad SoM which is a Qt reference platform. They have Yocto support too. The SoM with it's carrier board will set you back about 200 euro though.
\n\nThe official i.MX 6Quad Sabre board is 450$. And that's for SoCs which tend to be on the cheaper end of the range for their performance point.
\n\nApart from the i.MX there are other series of SoCs which you can look at with their own SoMs and devkits, such as:
\n\nThe cheapest option would be the BeagleBone Black which is also the only hobbyist/maker board which has a chance of fulfilling your requirements that I know of.
\n\nApart from the Pi's BCM2 every other SoC mentioned above has full documentation available (I often compare BCM283x's measly 150 pages to total 6k pages of datasheet+manual of the Sitara SoC found in the Beaglebone).
\n\nLastly, there is a lot of maker boards with Allwinner or Rokchip SoCs but those are not fully open AFAIK.
\n\nSource: general knowledge gathered from working professionally with embedded systems (both Linux and MCUs).
\n" }, { "Id": "12824", "CreationDate": "2020-01-31T20:10:14.157", "Body": "I am not sure I truly understand what these specs mean for a laptop LCD matrix:
\n\nWhich values are better when picking a screen?
\n", "Title": "Laptop matrix parameters like wide color gamut, white variation, haze?", "Tags": "|laptop|displays|", "Answer": "Here is a simplified explanation of each specification and their effect:
\n\nWide Color Gamut (WCG): This simply is a qualitative measure of the number of colors the LCD display can use as opposed to the standard Rec.709 gamut. This generally means more vibrant colors, as opposed to a standard display. This is because:
\n\nYou should use a LCD display with a WCG for a better picture and color fidelity. If this isn't necessary then go for a standard Rec.709 gamut.
\n\nWhite variation: It is the difference in luminance of the LCD at different spots of the LCD screen. Refer to this note:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/CiE19.png\")
Thus, a higher white variation means difference in the white brightness in individual spots of a fixed viewing angle. This should be the lowest possible for visual accuracy.
\n\nHaze: This refers to Reflective Haze. Haze is the measure of how much reflections are diffused. A higher haze rating usually means an anti-glare coating which is increasingly matte. This generally makes colors less pop out, but with a decrease in reflections. \nHere is a comparison picture of different levels of haze and the effects on reflections and color: \n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/viHH7l.png\")
Generally, under high ambient light, a higher haze is better for increased readability and visual acuity. If there is little chance of reflections or no ambient light is needed, then the haze percentage doesn't need a higher than 25%, which increases apparent color accuracy.
\n" }, { "Id": "12826", "CreationDate": "2020-02-01T11:07:55.000", "Body": "on my monitor now I'm on 0% brightness and during the day it's ok for me, but at night is much too bright, and I don't know at what specs to look at when buying a new monitor that will be able to get much lower brightness.
\n\nI switched from a sony vaio laptop with TN screen to a MVA monitor (Benq EW2430)\nand 0% brightness is ok for me during the day, but sometimes, evening/night I need it much lower brightness. I'm trying to pick a new monitor but I don't know how to choose one so that it would be able to provide a much lower brightness lower boundary.
\n\nIt will also be nice if I could control the monitor brightness from windows 10 right side bar (that you open when clicking button next to the clock), like with laptops, in my current one I can control the brightness only by touching the monitor physical buttons.
\n\nplease note: \nI can change the brightness in the video card settings but it's not the same as actually lowering monitor brightness, I would prefer to buy a new monitor
\n", "Title": "how to pick a lower brightness monitor", "Tags": "|monitors|displays|", "Answer": "Display brightness should be in the specs as nits or candelas per square metre (symbol: cd/m2). Each model offered you should have a specifications page or document on the Internet you can reference, if not printed in the device manual. Look for the lower number in the range of nits from lower to higher.
\n\nAlternatively, polarizing computer display filters are inexpensive and easy to add to nearly any display.
\n" }, { "Id": "12829", "CreationDate": "2020-02-02T17:09:34.370", "Body": "Idk if this is the right site to ask, correct me if im wrong :)
\n\nI'm about to change my iPhone 5S to some android based phone. My budget is about 150$. I'm from Belarus, so that might affect what phones are available for me. I'm looking at a Redmi Note 7 for around $130 dollars. I was wondering if there are better phones out there that would work for what I need. I am okay with getting a used phone also.
\n\nThe phone should be <=6.2\", with fingerprint sensor ofc, and a good battery life
\n\nThe phone needs to be comfortable for me to use, 4G capabilities (Don't want to downgrade in download/upload speeds)
\n", "Title": "Budget android phone to upgrade to from an iPhone 5S", "Tags": "|android|smartphones|", "Answer": "my choice for the specifications that you made has got to be blu vivo XL5
\n" }, { "Id": "12832", "CreationDate": "2020-02-03T02:02:23.543", "Body": "New to programming and current development environment is on an iMac (schools). Looking at purchasing a Mac Book Pro 16 inch and I have been able to research all of the other hardware questions I had but how much RAM is actually needed. I will be developing apps in Xcode and Android Studio using emulators, as well as some VM's for Laravel projects. The iMac is from 2013 and doesn't run great so I can't really use that as a baseline. Key points, I'm not looking to waste money on memory that I won't use, for future-proofing only looking at a 2-3 year commitment, and other than using Xcode I know PCs are cheaper but I prefer Mac's setup.
\n", "Title": "Purchasing a Mac Book Pro 16 inch, trying to figure out how much RAM I will need", "Tags": "|laptop|android|web-development|virtual-machines|apple|", "Answer": "There is always a use for more RAM. I always suggest getting the most possible. All depends on the budget.
\n\nAs for the bare minimum I'd recommend: 16GB of RAM
\n\n16GB of RAM is the base spec of the Macbook Pro 16. Which is good enough for most people. Unless you run Xcode, Android Studio and Laravel all at the same time (which would probably kill your CPU anyways), you should never have issues with lack of RAM.
\n" }, { "Id": "12845", "CreationDate": "2020-02-05T05:11:54.867", "Body": "After trying multiple headsets, earphones, and any other shape of wireless audio device, with issues each time, I realized I have two choices:
\n\nSo here I am. My requirements are, I would have thought, simple. But surprisingly rare in practice:
\n\nI'm not particular about the shape, but if it's in-ear, I'd rather drivers that are less than 5mm, so they actually fit in the ear canal. If over-ear, I'd prefer material that doesn't gradually disintegrate, leaving pieces of itself everywhere.
\n\nUnfortunately, most of the \"features\" I'm looking for don't appear in technical specs, and some of them are hard to find even in user reviews. I'm tired of gambling (and losing), so I'd really appreciate if someone can confirm owning a headset that satisfies all of the above.
\n", "Title": "Looking for a simple wireless headset with microphone", "Tags": "|wireless|audio|headphones|headset|microphones|", "Answer": "I've been using the Logitech G933 for almost a year now, and it's been answering my requirements.
\nI want to upgrade my Lenovo Thinkpad x220 with an SSD, but I'm not sure how much storage capacity I should target, maybe around 200-300 GB should be sufficient.
\n\nWhat product do you recommend?
\n\nThanks
\n", "Title": "What's the most recommended SSD for a Lenovo thinkpad x220?", "Tags": "|ssd|", "Answer": "Performance will be limited by the SATA-II drive interface designed for the original HDD, so spending extra money on high performance SSDs would be a waste.
\n\nThe aforementioned Samsung and Crucial SSDs do have a good reputation. If you are buying to use it with Windows, make sure the manufacturer includes a free S.M.A.R.T. diagnostic app to work with your version of Windows.
\n" }, { "Id": "12860", "CreationDate": "2020-02-07T02:39:43.663", "Body": "I have to fix a Thinkpad X250 back cover that's cracked. I have on hand a X260 back cover, but would have to order one for the X250.
\n\nFrom various product pages I see hints that X240/X250 use the same exact back cover, while the X260 is not mentioned.
\n\nCan anyone advise?
\n", "Title": "Thinkpad X250 to X260 back cover compatibility?", "Tags": "|laptop|wireless|displays|", "Answer": "Back cover is quite vague. The LCD back cover? It isn't compatible:\n![\"x250\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/8eI4Cm.jpg\")
![\"X260\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/M9k8ym.jpg\")
The antenna placement isn't the same. Also, the hinge isn't the correct type.
\n\nIf you are talking about the back (bottom cover), it isn't compatible either:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fJBUTm.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/232Uum.jpg\")
The USB ports are not all at the same location.
\n" }, { "Id": "12865", "CreationDate": "2020-02-08T10:16:25.713", "Body": "I've never planned to upgrade my CPU. However, most of the components in my PC have been upgraded, and the CPU is now the performance bottleneck. It doesn't flinch except for gaming where it is maxed out, while the GPU still have quite a way to go before being maxed out.
\nThe Intel CPU is the Core 2 Quad Q6600 and is now worth 10$ on ebay. In the same Intel CPU family, there is the Core 2 Quad Q9650 at around 20$.
\nSo for around 10$ net, I could switch from 2.4 GHz to 3 GHz. This is quite cheap to upgrade, but I'm clueless as to how much better it would be. Also, there might be some other potential compatible models that I'm unaware of because I don't know what I should look at to know if a CPU is compatible or not with the Pegatron-made Benicia 1.01. I'm guessing CPUs released today don't fit anymore.
\nAccording to pc-specs, the CPU socket for the Pegatron Benicia 1.01 is BGA 1023. Does that means that any CPU with this socket is compatible?
\nI know there are many questions here, but hopefully these questions will help understand the needs.
\n", "Title": "CPU upgrade on motherboard Pegatron Benicia 1.01?", "Tags": "|processor|gaming|pc|upgrade|", "Answer": "I went the Q9650 route and maxed out the ram and bought an MSI Geforce GT1030 GPU and less than $200 my 15 year old HP pavilion has received a new lease on life, it handles Valorant and other online games just fine (Not triple A games though). (I upgraded the Power supply to a 450W earlier so it isn't the original one).
\n" }, { "Id": "12871", "CreationDate": "2020-02-09T16:53:30.457", "Body": "What Graphics Card (GPU) would give me the best bang for the buck to use with a Valve Index VR Headset?
\n\nI don't want to spend more money than I need, but I don't want the VR experience to suffer either.
\n\nWould I notice any difference between the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 and the RTX 2070?
\nOr would a Graphics Card like Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 OC Rev2 HDMI 3xDP 6GB do?
Any tips from someone with experience from using a Valve Index VR Headset with any of these graphics cards?
\n", "Title": "A Graphics Card for an excellent experience with a Valve Index VR", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|vr-headset|", "Answer": "=> Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti
\nI am using it, excellent in gaming and decent enough for VR experience.
\n" }, { "Id": "12876", "CreationDate": "2020-02-10T17:45:03.063", "Body": "I'm about to buy a server, for a Django system (Ubuntu + Django + nginx + postgresql) I have two options:\n\u00a0\nDual Intel Xeon 5420 16GB DDR2 240GB SSD\nor\nI7-2600 16GB DDR3 240GB SSD
Which of these setups would you recommend?
\n", "Title": "Server: Dual Intel Xeon 5420 vs I7-2600", "Tags": "|processor|server|", "Answer": "My main computer (at it now) is an i7-2600k. I built it myself, installed Windows 7 Ultimate, and have run it for years. It's getting old, but I still love it. Best home computer I've ever built or owned.
\n\nHowever, I completely disagree with @Natsu. The i7-2600k is not a server CPU:\n\n
Now, this is assuming you are getting ECC RDIMM memory with the Xeon setup, and the motherboard supports the X5450 (it should, same CPU family). If not, then you aren't getting a true server, but rather a glorified home computer. I build and use both types of machines, \"home/small business\" desktops and full-on enterprise servers. The difference in memory is worth it if you want reliability. What is the difference? You know those random crashes, lockups, or errors that just don't make any sense? Unrecoverable memory errors are often the cause, and with Non-ECC Unbuffered RAM, they occur about once a month, while with ECC Buffered RAM, they happen about once a year. Power issues, heat, sunspots, proximity to nearest nuclear power plant, and many other factors affect these rates, but that's about average, 1/mo vs 1/yr.
\n\nMake sure to get a server chassis, not some Rosewill or Corsair case, if up time is important to you. Multiple hot-swap fans, dual hot-swap power supplies, hot-swap drive bays, out-of-band management, all contribute to the qualities that make a server a server.
\n\nI buy HP Proliant DL380 G6's: 4x 1Gbps NICs + iLO mgmt port, 6Gbps SAS RAID controller w/512MB cache, 2x 72GB 10k SAS drives, 2x450W hotswap power supplies, 2x E5504 Quad core 2.0GHz, 8GB DDR3 ECC RDIMM @ 1333, for $85.
\n\nI can upgrade to 2x X5660 Hexa-core @ 2.8GHz for $50, and put in 8x 146GB 15k SAS drives in RAID10 (584GB yield) for $80 (refurbished). Memory prices constantly change, but right now 2x 8GB ECC RDIMMs is $25, so $300 will max out the machine w/24 sticks for 192GB RAM.
\n\nAdd misc. cords, some more RAM, rails, spare parts, tax, shipping, $300-$400 total for a great little server. Since I'm buying refurbished, I like to keep 25% replacement on-hand: I get 2 extra drives for every array of 8 (one server), and 1 extra power supply for every 2 servers (each having 2 PS in them). In over three years, I've had one drive die (RAID10, so I swapped it out, no problem), one motherboard die (when we moved to a new building, hmmmm...) and no power supply, CPU, NIC, or memory problems.
\n\nI don't know where you are or what's available to you, but my advice is this:\nIf you need a server, buy a server. These 10 year old HP's do a great job on the cheap, and they are but one possibility.
\n" }, { "Id": "12884", "CreationDate": "2020-02-11T15:50:43.553", "Body": "I plan on building a high end gaming PC this summer with these specs:
\n\nCPU: Intel Core i9-9900KF\n GPU: Nvidia RTX 2070 Super\n RAM: Corsair DDR4 64GB (4x16 GB) at 3000mhz\n Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 LGA1151\n SSD: Samsung 860 EVO 1TB M.2\n HDD: WD Black 6TB 7200rpm 3.5\u201d\n PSU: Corsair RMx 850W 80+ Gold\n Case: Thermaltake V100
\n\nI have a \u2018Be Quiet Dark Rock Slim\u2019 CPU Cooler, but I want to put an AIO Cooler in the build. I am worried that my i9-9900kf will run too hot, and won\u2019t allow proper cooling if I want to overclock the CPU. I have space in my desktop case for a 3 Fan or a 2 Fan AIO Cooler. I want to know if I would see any temperature difference in the two fan AIO cooler vs a three fan AIO cooler at base and turbo clock speeds. I am still indecisive on what AIO cooler I want since I haven\u2019t done good research in the AIO cooler market.
\n", "Title": "Two fan vs Three fan IAO Cooler", "Tags": "|processor|gaming|cooling|", "Answer": "It is not the heat flow (aka Watt) that makes CPUs like the I7-9900K(F) run rather hot, but the high heat flow density (Watt/m\u00b2). These chips are pretty small.\nHence the limiting factor is heat transfer from the CPU die towards the coldplate and into the water, not heat dissipation of the radiator.
\nA 240mm radiator is more than capable of dissipating the heat flow from these CPUs, there will be little to no difference compared to a 360mm radiator, provided CPU block and water pump are the same. If 2-3 degrees are worth the investment to you, then go for a 360mm radiator. Otherwise, 240mm is enough.
First off my apologies if this in the wrong forum, I'm not quite sure where to post this. My boss is asking me to pull data (if possible) from the device in the picture below but I have no idea what wire goes into this. Perhaps one that could connect to a USB? I was hoping someone here would know what it's called and/or have any info about it. Thank you.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IEN6g.jpg\")
To get the data from this controller you will need one of these cables:
\n\nAmazon -serial port ------------------------------------------------------------USB- Amazon
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/QdZX7m.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/LF75jm.jpg\")
And the software. The software you need will be called RSLinx (Classic) Lite. This is the only one that can connect physically to this device.
\n" }, { "Id": "12897", "CreationDate": "2020-02-13T08:01:57.467", "Body": "I'm looking for a new smartphone to replace my aging OnePlus 6.\nI tried replacing it so far with...
\n\nMy requirements are:
\n\nI've found a few promising devices so far - I like the Nubia Red Magic 3S, but it seems to be hard to source in Germany.\nPrice doesn't really matter, but should be adequate for the performance.
\n", "Title": "Smartphone recommendation", "Tags": "|smartphones|", "Answer": "1.Realme X2 Pro
\n\nThe Realme X2 Pro is the cheapest phone with 90Hz display in India right now. apart from the headlining refresh rate feature, it also packs Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset, a 6.5-inch Fluid AMOLED Full-HD+ screen, and among the highest fast-charging tech in the industry. The Realme X2 Pro is a first-ever flagship offering from the brand, designed to take on the likes of the Redmi K20 Pro and OnePlus 7T.
\n\n2.Nubia Red Magic 3s
\n\nNext in the list of phones with 90Hz screen is nubia\u2019s gaming-focused Red Magic 3s smartphone. The handset is an iterative upgrade from the Red Magic 3 smartphone, which was introduced earlier this year. The Red Magic 3s sports a 6.65-inch Super AMOLED display that bears 90Hz refresh rate, DC dimming, HDR support, and full-HD+ (1,080p) resolution.
\n\n3.ASUS ROG Phone 2
\n\nThis gaming-focused phone has 120Hz refresh rate display. The ASUS ROG Phone 2 features a 6.59-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling. The screen has fair amounts of bezels that houses front-firing speakers for an immersive gaming experience. To take care of that high refresh rate, the ROG Phone 2 houses an astounding 6,000mAh battery with 30W fast charging support.
\n\n4.Google Pixel 4 series
\n\nAlthough the Pixel 4 series is not coming to India, it\u2019s one of the smartphones out there to sport 90Hz screens. Both the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL sports display with a high refresh rate. The handsets are the latest flagships from Google that comes running Android 10 out of the box and features dual rear cameras with a dedicated telephoto lens.
\n\n5.OPPO Reno Ace
\n\nThe OPPO Reno Ace is the first smartphone from the brand with 90Hz screen. OPPO has introduced the handset only in China so far. It\u2019s a mid-range offering that sports a 6.5-inch 1080p OLED display that bears refresh rate of up to 90Hz refresh rate and 135Hz sampling rate for a smooth experience. The screen also features a waterdrop notch that accommodates selfie camera and optical fingerprint scanner for biometrics.
\n\n6.Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
\n\nKey Specs
\n\nAndroid v10 (Q)
\n\nPerformance(Excellent)\nOcta core (2.84 GHz, Single Core + 2.42 GHz, Tri core + 1.8 GHz, Quad core)\nSnapdragon 855\n8 GB RAM
\n\nDisplay(Very Good)\n6.7 inches (17.02 cm)\n1080x2400 px, 393 PPI\nSuper AMOLED Plus
\n\nCamera(Excellent)\n48 MP + 12 MP + 5 MP Triple Primary Cameras\nLED Flash\n32 MP Front Camera, No Front Flash\nBattery(Very Good)
\n\n4500 mAh\nFast Charging\nUSB Type-C port
\n\n7.Redmi K20 Pro
\n\nKey Specs\n Android v9.0 (Pie)
\n\nPerformance(Excellent)
\n\nOcta core (2.84 GHz, Single Core + 2.42 GHz, Tri core + 1.8 GHz, Quad core)\nSnapdragon 855\n8 GB RAM
\n\nDisplay(Very Good)\n6.39 inches (16.23 cm)\n1080x2340 px, 403 PPI\nAMOLED
\n\nCamera(Very Good)\n48 MP + 13 MP + 8 MP Triple Primary Cameras\nDual LED Flash\n20 MP Front Camera
\n\nBattery(Very Good)\n4000 mAh\nQuick Charging 4.0\nUSB Type-C port
\n\n8.Asus 6Z
\n\nKey Specs\n Android v9.0 (Pie)
\n\nPerformance(Excellent)\nOcta core (2.84 GHz, Single Core + 2.42 GHz, Tri core + 1.8 GHz, Quad core)\nSnapdragon 855\n6 GB RAM
\n\nDisplay(Good)\n6.4 inches (16.26 cm)\n1080x2340 px, 403 PPI\nIPS LCD
\n\nCamera(Very Good)\n48 MP + 13 MP Dual Primary Cameras\nDual LED Flash\n48 MP + 13 MP Dual Front Cameras, Dual LED\nBattery(Excellent)
\n\n5000 mAh\nQuick Charging 4.0\nUSB Type-C port
\n\n9.Black Shark 2
\n\nKey Specs\n Android v9.0 (Pie)
\n\nPerformance(Excellent)\nOcta core (2.84 GHz, Single Core + 2.42 GHz, Tri core + 1.8 GHz, Quad core)\nSnapdragon 855\n12 GB RAM
\n\nDisplay(Very Good)\n6.39 inches (16.23 cm)\n1080x2340 px, 403 PPI\nAMOLED
\n\nCamera(Very Good)\n48 MP + 12 MP Dual Primary Cameras\nLED Flash\n20 MP Front Camera
\n\nBattery(Very Good)\n4000 mAh\nQuick Charging 4.0\nUSB Type-C port
\n\nHopefully These Phones May Fullfill Your Requirements.
\n" }, { "Id": "12907", "CreationDate": "2020-02-14T13:34:41.057", "Body": "After having my questions closed as off-topic on superuser.com, I'm trying my luck here:
\n\nI currently have an MSI X99S SLI Plus motherboard (5-6 years old) which I'd like to keep, but I'd like to add Thunderbolt 3 connectivity to my PC (mainly for connecting a modern low-latency audio interface).
\n\nEdit to make sure it's on-topic here:
\n\nI'm looking for a recommendation for a specific hardware product that will allow me to connect a TB3 external audio device to my PC, if such product exists.
\n", "Title": "add Thunderbolt 3 connectivity to MSI X99S SLI Plus", "Tags": "|motherboard|thunderbolt|", "Answer": "Unfortunately it does not appear that your board can support a TB3 add-in card. The reason for this is because it does not have a THB_C port.
\n\nMSI X99S SLI PLUS Specifications
\n\nHere are some examples of add-in cards that are compatible with motherboards that have a THB_C port:
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "12917", "CreationDate": "2020-02-16T22:04:06.200", "Body": "I am looking to build an application that needs to display a QR code, and I want to minimize the cost of it.
\n\nI just need a preferably square display, capable of displaying a simple QR code with a short url, nothing more.
\n\nCan anyone recommend me something that is as cheap as possible? Thanks
\n", "Title": "Low resolution display for QR Codes", "Tags": "|displays|", "Answer": "If your QR code is small enough (64x64 pixels max, so version 11) you can use an OLED display driven by a SSH1106 or SSD 1136. They can be controlled over I2C or SPI and don't draw a lot of power. Biggest drawback is that most are a bit small, maximum QR code size is 14.7x14.7 mm.
\nThey sell for about US$2.50
\n" }, { "Id": "12933", "CreationDate": "2020-02-20T16:20:59.723", "Body": "I am looking for a type of digital watch where hours and minutes would show as binary, e.g. with an LED on for a 1 and off for a 0. So 12:30 would show as:
\n\n\n1100:011110\n\n\n
(since 12 = 1*8 + 1*4 + 0*2 + 0, and 30 = 0*32 + 1*16 + 1*8 + 1*4 + 1*2 + 0*1). With lights, it would give:
\n** : **** \n\n\n
It would both be fun and useful training for finding patterns and reading in binary. Ideally it would switch from endian-ness, big or little.
\n\nI have found items advertised as \"binary digital watch\" which have an LED next to an hour or a minute, but I want a watch only in binary.
\n\nI imagine it would be feasible with a microcontroller like a microbit or Arduino Nano and addressable LEDs.
\n\nDoes it already exist, or has anyone built something similar?
\n", "Title": "Binary digital watch", "Tags": "|microcontroller|led|", "Answer": "There are a number of binary clock designs on Instructables, as well as a few binary watch models. Due to a sign-on requirement for searches, the above link now goes only to Instructables. Use "binary watch" in the search box for the same results, or go to the instructable with this result:
\n![\"binary](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/4QcwD.jpg\")
One great aspect of Instructables is that you can begin with a post you like and modify it to meet your requirements.
\n" }, { "Id": "12935", "CreationDate": "2020-02-21T14:54:14.937", "Body": "I would like to buy a new laptop, and this issue appeared:
\nIf there is a notebook with 1.4 ghz proc, and there is an another with 2.6 ghz from the same serial, how this parameters related to the battery draining.
\nI mean if I use the #1 for general purpose, and the #2 for general purpose, is there a countable battery draining time?
The TDP of an i5-8269U is 28 watt.
\n\nTDP = thermal design power = most power cpu will draw when running @ 100% = one of the best ways to gauge a CPU's impact regarding power draw.
\n\n\n\n\n\n\nif I use... for general purpose... is there a countable battery draining time?
\n
probably not.
\n\nGeneral purpose use will rarely get cpu usage high; would kind of have to define what you mean by \"general purpose use\".
\n\nThe i5-8269 is an 8th-generation Intel Core i5. You mention the #1 is the base 13' mac: 1.4GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor but do not specify the CPU model number. In any case if both CPU's are an 8-gen cpu then for general purpose use those CPU's are likely not run anywhere 100% thus they will typically down clock in frequency to save power. This is known as frequency scaling or cpu throttling.
\n\nas I type this, the i7-6700k in my win10 desktop pc is a 4ghz cpu having TDP of 91 watt, but is currently only running at 0.8 ghz per CoreTemp, thus drawing very little power. Basically every late model cpu will operate this way, such that you shouldn't worry about power draw based on cpu for general purpose use. But if you game or crunch numbers then the cpu would draw extra power and reduce laptop battery life.
\n\nIf you have to choose between two cpu's, both being 8th-generation Intel Core i5, then choose the one having the highest base clock frequency. That will provide better performance whenever needed, which should be rarely because you said \"general purpose use\". Laptop cpu's are very good now at power management and it would be incorrect to assume or infer that a higher frequency cpu will always draw more power.
\n" }, { "Id": "12944", "CreationDate": "2020-02-23T12:14:52.553", "Body": "I have three screens connected to my PC and I want to rotate one of them so that it's vertical. I'm not talking about rotating the image; I know I can do that in Display Preferences. I am talking about physically rotating the monitor itself.
\n\nUnfortunately, none of my three screens have stands which would allow the user to pick if he wants to position the screen vertically or horizontally - only the horizontal placement is possible.
\n\nHowever, this is not acceptable for me and I am looking for a way to bypass this. Is there an extra piece of equipment that can be strapped on to the monitor or the stand that would allow the monitor to be vertical?
\n\nThese are the screens that I have:
\n\nCheck if any of your display has a Vesa Mount. The mount itself uses 4 screws in a 75 or 100 mm square so you can use the screen in any orientation. 3rd party stands are easily available online, ranging from no-names to big brands like Dell or Iiyama. There are stands, wall mounts and desk edge mounts available. Most don't allow free rotation of the screen - you would need to unmount the screen and replace it into another orientation.
\n\nBe warned though, I've had issues with cheap mounts sagging (the last vertical angle hinge).
\n\nAlso, two people are recommended for assembly.
\n\nSince you listed your monitors in comments, the Dell E2218HN does have a mount, Dell even lists it as compatible on their MSA14 Single Monitor Arm Stand. That one is mounted to the back edge of your desk. While expensive, this is just an example product and there are cheaper ones. There is also a stand but I am not 100% it will be high enough for you to mount a 22\" vertically on it - it should be. The Phillips PHL 223v5 has a mount as well.
\n\nDo note that TN displays (both your Dell and Phillips) don't have good vertical angles, regardless of manufacturer boasts. I have a 22\" Iiyama which had pivot in factory stand, with supposed 160 degrees vertical and it still does not look good.
\n" }, { "Id": "12965", "CreationDate": "2020-02-26T23:10:59.427", "Body": "I\u2019m developing kind of a POS system for my school cafe. It doesn\u2019t need to work with payments, instead it works with the member system. The system will be running in Raspberry Pi and Python, connecting to the member system API.
\n\nWhen a customer buys something, they enter their member number and that should go to a database with the amount they purchased.
\n\nI want the customers to enter their number in a pin pad; however, I don\u2019t know what pin pad I should use. I have read on Verifone and Ingenico pin pads but they require an encryption key by a merchant, but since we won\u2019t be working with payments, security is not that essential.
\n\nI thought about using keypads, but I can\u2019t find one that includes a mini screen and is rugged enough for this type of application. I appreciate any suggestions on the matter, or if I\u2019m better off going with a touchscreen for the Pi.
\n\nThank you!
\n", "Title": "What Pin Pad for Raspberry Pi POS with no payments involved?", "Tags": "|keyboards|raspberry-pi|", "Answer": "I would recommend a membrane 3x4 keypad from adafruit, I Just bought one and the keys are really easy to press and the pinout is easy to understand.
\n" }, { "Id": "12969", "CreationDate": "2020-02-27T12:02:10.000", "Body": "Suggest me gaming phone with LCD display without notch and rounded corners. With custom ROMs available and dual sim.
\n", "Title": "Suggest me gaming phone with LCD display without notch and rounded corners", "Tags": "|smartphones|", "Answer": "Considering you are opting for a gaming phone here are some recommendations:
\n\nAnd many more!!
\n" }, { "Id": "12981", "CreationDate": "2020-02-29T07:32:29.680", "Body": "I don't know it the image sbelow are too much info, or too little. Feel free to correct me.
\n\nI have a desktop which I use only as a file serve/continuous backup.
\n\nIt is runnig slowly and I thought that could benefit from more RAM (agree, or do I need a new motehrboard?).
\n\nIt has 2 @
\n\n\n\n\nCapacity 4 GB
\n
\n Manufacturer Kingston
\n Model 99U5584-005.A
\n Type DDR3 / PC3-12800
and two empty slots. I was thinking of adding 1 @ 8gB, which ought not to be too expensive & see it perfomance improves.
\n\nBUT, I can't find an exact match for the current RAM.
\n\nWhat to do?
\n\nI hope that this is enough info :
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/SyxOQ.png\")
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/7Rjst.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/havEn.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/dxViI.png\")
Your motherboard manufacturer Gigabyte recommends a pair of matching DDR3 2400(OC)/2133/1866/1600/1333 MHz dual channel memory modules, up to 32 GB each. AMD Memory Profile (AMP)/ Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules are accepted.
\n\nGigabyte published a list of qualified memory modules from 1 GB - 8GB in size for your review.
\n" }, { "Id": "12986", "CreationDate": "2020-03-01T06:53:35.243", "Body": "I'm currently looking to upgrade my current Samsung Ultrabook I got in 2013 to a new MacBook Pro 16\" with the following specs:
\n\n2.3GHz 8\u2011core 9th\u2011generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz\n16GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory\nAMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory\n1TB SSD storage
\n\nI'll be using this MacBook Pro to dive into my software development and machine learning/AI career, and just wondering if these specs will be sufficient? I'm extremely unlearned in computer hardware, so I am unsure what exactly each spec might help me with, but if anyone would care to explain, it would be greatly appreciated.
\n\nI'm wanting to keep the price tag lower than $4k.
\n", "Title": "Hardware specifications for new laptop performing general software development and ML/DL experimentation?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|processor|ssd|development|", "Answer": "You don't really need an upgrade in anything.
\n\nThe common mistake of beginners, that they think, having a bigger/larger/stronger computer is a requirement for doing things uncommon for ordinary computer users. It is not.
\n\nI type this answer for you on a 2006 macbook running a 32-bit Linux. Although for development, I use mostly servers (these are strong) and laptops (these are roughly like yours).
\n\nNot that is important, how strong is your computer, what is important, what do you develop on it.
\n\nFurthermore, you have a strong laptop. It can't be really upgraded, because
\n\nWe can formalize your specification so:
\n\nThen the answer is this: buy the costliest laptop from $4k and you will end up with two laptops. But you don't need this second laptop.
\n\nToday, AI development means most likely by using the video card as a massively parallel CPU, thus this $4k laptop would likely need a strong GPU, if you would really need it.
\n\nYou need these. Use a part of the $4k to buy AI books in the university book store (or rent them from the internet). Most internet sources are still nowhere to the quality of the paper books in an university book store (library). The current world works so, that you can learn a lot from the Internet - the difference between a graduate and an internet programmer is what can't be.
\n" }, { "Id": "13000", "CreationDate": "2020-03-03T09:49:15.767", "Body": "Are there power banks with two USB type C ports?
\nPreferably 20,000 mAH capacity, but 10,000 mAH would also be fine.
I don't care about USB type A or micro USB ports.
\n", "Title": "Power bank with two USB Type C ports?", "Tags": "|power-bank|", "Answer": "After a quick search, I found these battery devices:
\n\nThere are others mophie powerstation USB-C 3XL Battery with one USB-C as output, and another one as input (in order to charge the PowerBank), I am not sure if that suits you:
\n" }, { "Id": "13001", "CreationDate": "2020-03-03T11:21:32.043", "Body": "I'd like to find a solution for my grandpa who's severely hearing impaired to help him participating in the daily life. More specifically, I thought about an on-the-fly speech to text recognition with a very simple, large user interface on a tablet. Small enough to carry it around without bothering, but larger then a casual large mobile phone.
\n\nI thought about a tablet with a good microphone in combination with \nGoogle Live Transcribe because I was impressed how Google translate works nicely for on-the-fly translation which is built on the mentioned API. However I don't want to buy a random tablet just because of its screen but not able to catch multiple people in a room clearly because of a bad mic.
\n\nDo you have recommendations for hardware or software for that purpose?
\n", "Title": "Dictation tablet with Google Live Transcribe for hearing impaired", "Tags": "|tablet|microphones|adaptive-technology|", "Answer": "Any tablet with a 3.5mm four-pole TRRS (tip-ring-ring-sleeve) jack (socket) for headphone will also accept an external microphone.
\n\nAn external microphone will
\n\nSome microphones are directional, to zero in on a particular person or group of persons; but even the cheapest external mic will almost always outperform a chassis mic.
\n\nYou may want a breakout cable (another one) with the 3.5mm TRRS (tip-ring-ring-sleeve) plug to end in separate 3.5mm jacks for microphone plus earphone/headphone, if simultaneous earphone or headphone use is desired.
\n" }, { "Id": "13019", "CreationDate": "2020-03-07T17:47:13.257", "Body": "I'm looking for tiny drone for taking some pictures/video while traveling.\nAt least image quality should be pretty decent. 720 for video would be fine. \nFlying time of couple of minutes will be fine. No preferences for altitude/distance. And it should be allowed to be taken on the plane.
\n\n(Not sure what else to include here as don't really use drones)
\n", "Title": "Small drone recomendation", "Tags": "|drone|", "Answer": "This $60 kit (FOB Destination) or drone, battery, charger, controller, and miscellany packs up into an included hardcase 8.3\" x 5.2\" x 2.6\", which fits in an overhead luggage bin of even commuter aircraft. The battery is well under commercial airline regulation limits. It provides 1080P video and the drone's video records on iOS or Android smartphones.
\n\n![\"Folding](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/AzAVx.jpg\")
My laptop is GS63VR 7RG Stealth Pro: https://www.msi.com/Laptop/GS63VR-7RG-Stealth-Pro/Specification
\n\nSince provided AC adapter is too heavy, I'd like to buy a smaller compatible charger.
\n\nThe specification table says its battery is '3-cell, 51Wh'.\nThis makes me think charger with 51W output is enough.
\n\nHowever, the output of provided AC adapter is 180W.\nDo I actually need such high power charger?\nOr, is it safe to use lighter one because the battery requires 51W only?
\n", "Title": "Charger for MSI gaming laptop", "Tags": "|laptop|adapter|", "Answer": "The specification of your laptop battery is 51 Wh, which is a unit of energy. Overly simplified, the battery could provide a power of 51W for 1 hour. Or 102W for 30 minutes. Again, it is not quite that simple, but the examples here are not entirely wrong either, and should allow you to get an idea of what this unit means.
\nThe specification of your charger is 180W, which is a unit of power. I.e. it is able to provide a sustained power of 180W.
Consequently, the two specifications are not interchangeable. If you use a charger specified for less than 180W, your laptop might not recognise it at all, or it will run with reduced performance. Or in the absolute worst case, the charger blows up, which might even cause damage to your laptop. Powerful laptops these days are often designed in a way, that the battery alone can not provide enough power to run all components at maximum performance. Instead, they require the charger(s) to provide enough power. And the other way round: some laptops can even draw more peak power than the charger is designed for. In these cases, the battery is used to provide the delta, discharging it despite being connected to an outlet.
\n\nTo answer your question: depending on which charger you buy, it might not be safe to use one rated for less than 180W. In any case, using a lower powered charger will result in lower performance of the laptop, or the charger might not be recognised at all. I strongly advise against using a charger rated for lower power than 180W in your case.\nJudging by the main components of your laptop alone (GTX 1070, Intel CPU with 45W TDP), it definitely needs a charger that can provide 180W.
\n" }, { "Id": "13032", "CreationDate": "2020-03-10T19:52:08.800", "Body": "I have a customer that would like to have a display that detects when a human walks up to a screen (distance like from a standard terminal) that sensor then needs to trigger a display of some data.
\n\nexisting conditions:
\n\nWhat kind of sensors should I look at?
\n", "Title": "sensor for human detection", "Tags": "|tablet|", "Answer": "I would start with a pressure sensitive floor mat which gives a switch closure when someone steps on the mat, or an infrared sensor which senses a person by reflection from an infrared LED. The latter does work on folks wearing black, BTW. Either would be monitored by an Arduino controller which, when presence is selected, provides power to the monitor through a relay.
\n" }, { "Id": "13037", "CreationDate": "2020-03-12T18:15:57.960", "Body": "I am looking for a small laptop to match my RCA Voyager Pro. For me, this is a matter of character and style. I want something with decent specifications that I can fit in my pocket (see table below):
\n\n+-------------+----------------+\n| Screen | Under 9\" |\n| RAM | 8GB+ |\n| SSD | 300GB+ |\n| Processor | Intel Core i3+ |\n+-------------+----------------+\nI came across something called the One Netbook One Mix 3S Yoga, which seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. However, after reading the customer reviews, I realized that this laptop has a problem with overheating.
\n\nThis was the only the only pocket-sized laptop I could find the internet. Is there a different one I may have overlooked?
\n", "Title": "Is there a mini-laptop I can buy?", "Tags": "|laptop|mini-pc|", "Answer": "GPD is THE brand for such toys.
\n\nBut your list of requirements I think isn't realistic (and in a way not even relevant.) Even normal big laptops don't usually match those specs so why would you look for them in a miny device and then expect it shouldn't even be overly hot... (And TBH, comparing to the RCA Voyager Pro which has 1 GB RAM why are you looking for 16 GB?....)
\n\nIf you do consider going with GPD, there is the 8.9\" GPD P2 Max and its smaller brother the 7\" GPD Pocket 2
\n" }, { "Id": "13049", "CreationDate": "2020-03-17T08:58:18.287", "Body": "This looks like a lovely little toy, but I am unclear which antenna to use with it , and those on the site cost more than double the price of the receiver itself. It collects ADS-B (aircraft info) which I intend to process in software.
\n\nI am a pure software guy, with no knowledge of hardware, who is thinking of buying such a receiver to play around with it.
\n\nI live two miles from a major airport. Any idea if I could get away without an antenna (told you I know nothing of hardware ;-)? If not, what's the cheapest I can get, with post & package to the UK? I would prefer to use it indoors, if at all possible, rather than running a cable out to the garden, or even hanging it out of an upstairs window.
\n\nAnything else that I need to know?
\n", "Title": "Cheap SMA antenna for this ADS-B (aircraft info) receiver", "Tags": "|antennas|", "Answer": "UK amateur radio stores will have SMA antennas and connectors, as SMA is the most common connector for handheld transceivers. Please specify you want a UHF antenna for monitoring 1090 MHz ADS-B/MLAT aircraft transmissions. Conventional aircraft voice radio is 108-136 MHz AM; make sure to specify to the seller you need 1090 MHz. Also, make sure to get a standard male connector as there are 'reversed male' SMA connectors.
\n\nMy Yaesu VX-5 HT receives aircraft UHF transmissions with its factory stock two metre rubber duckie antenna 20 miles LOS from PDX, but you can also obtain a connector and coax to attach it to an antenna in a window or an exterior omnidirectional antenna if that's not enough signal for you.
\n\nA vertical antenna is preferred as aircraft radios use vertical polarization.
\n\nHow cheap is cheap? Here are rubber duckie 1GHZ capable SMA antennas which attach to the receiver, a broader selection of all that vendor's 1GHz capable antennas, another vendor's choices, and other selections. Put the receiver module near a windows on a pie plate or other flat metal object to provide a ground plane.
\n\n1GHz UHF mag mount antennas can be ordered with the SMA connector to get it further away from the module if needed.
\n\nIf you need cheaper, get an SMA male to PL-259 female connector and a metre of stiff, solid copper bell wire at a hardware store, or out of your junk bin. Wrap the bare end of one piece of wire around the exterior of the PL-259 (larger end) connector and run that to a radiator or other ground. Take the rest of the wire, strip off a couple of cm on one end, fold the bare wire with pliers, and jam it into the interior of the PL-259; the other end goes straight up into the air. See illo at https://images.app.goo.gl/ku2TSmUQCsTuviYv7 ; more ideas are at \nhttps://survivalcomms.wordpress.com/2016/04/29/basic-antennas-for-vhf-uhf-field-communications-part-1/
\n\nAnd, get a license! It's fun!
\n\n73 and best regards.
\n" }, { "Id": "13062", "CreationDate": "2020-03-18T13:57:22.060", "Body": "I want to share a pair of Dell S2719DC 27\" QHD (2560 x 1550 @ 59 Hz) resolution USB-C monitors between two 2018 MacBook Pros. The MacBooks dual-boot to run either MacOS 10.15 Catalina and Windows 10 (work & personal). Each MacBook can drive two monitors by USB-C as is.
\n\nI'd like a USB-C matrix switch with four USB-C inputs and two USB-C outputs, so I can plug each laptop's 2 USB-C ports into the switch, and decide which PC uses the monitors at any moment. I've done a lot of Googling and come up empty.
\n\nThis effectively, but all using USB Type-C connectors:
\n\nMonitor Monitor\n | |\n +----++----+\n ||\n Switch\n || ||\n +----+| |+----+\n |+----+ +----+|\n || ||\nWork Home\nLaptop Laptop\nDoes anyone know if such a product exists?
\n\nThanks in advance,
\n\nSteve.
\n", "Title": "USB Type-C Switch for Monitor Sharing between PCs", "Tags": "|usb|kvm|usb-c|", "Answer": "1) A pair of Acroname Programmable Industrial USB Type-C 4-Port Switches controlled by a NUC, micro PC, or creaky old lappie could do the trick. Sure wish they had a manual switch, though, to make switching easy.
\n\nUSB-C 3.2 for video is so new, and devices for all the different versions of USB-C are so inconsistently implemented because of all the things it can do, that we're just not seeing much stuff which ain't spendy.
\n\n==
\n\nNow, since the MacBookPro supports Thunderbolt 3 on the USB-C we have a less spendy solution.
\n\n2) StarTech.com has a Thunderbolt 3 device with one USB-C 3.2 in, two 3.2 USB-C out. The second StarTech out port could be converted to HDM(I). Since your monitors also accept HDM(I), adding such a conversion cable provides the second signal to each monitor. Then, an app which runs in Win10, an iOS phone/tablet or Android phone/tablet tells your monitors to toggle (pro version) between the USB-C 3.2 A/V data input to the monitor and the HDMI A/V data input to the monitor.
\n" }, { "Id": "13079", "CreationDate": "2020-03-19T06:56:40.773", "Body": "I am looking for a tablet, which I will use only for email and, possibly, browsing (reading news items only). No games, videos, music, etc.
\n\nBluettoth is not required; I am undecided about a SIM card.
\n\nI would prefer Linux, but could live with Android out of the box, especially if I could install Linux over it.
\n\nThe device should be large enough to read, but should fit inside a jacket pocket, so maximum size about that of a Kindle Paperwhite.
\n\nBattery life is of great importance to me, to the extent that I would prefer a back & white, or greyscale screen, if there were such a tablet.
\n\nThe cheaper, the better, but features mentioned above take precedence.
\n\nEnd of question, only read further if you want an explanation.
\n\nBackground: my current 'phone suffered an accident, and I am replacing it. It is a Ulefone Power with a 13,000 mAH battery (yup, you read that correctly). I generally charge it every 5 or 6 days (side note, I can heartily recommend all UleFone models; this is my 5th or 6th over the years. Affordable, full featured, cheap, but realisable).
\n\nAs per my question How can I escape Google?, I don't want my soul tracked by Gogole, Facetweet, etc (I don't even use them - directly - but they are tracking me). So, I have decided to switch to a dumb 'phone.
\n\nI recall only ten years ago getting months between charges on a small, greyscale, Nokia, so will look for something similar.
\n\nI only really use a 'phone when job-hunting. Every 12 months or so, as I am freelance. A handful of people use WhatsApp, but I can retrain them to use SMS.
\n\nBeyond that, I have become accustomed to having email on the go, rather than just reading & replying when I get home of an evening. I have also taken to reading news headlines in the browser. A device that will let me do those with a modicum of privacy (let me worry about that) and a long battery life would be welcome.
\n", "Title": "Linux or Android tablet with long battery life and cheap", "Tags": "|linux|android|tablet|battery-life|cheap|", "Answer": "How about
\n\nHello community. I just bought an HP laptop (HP 15 da1032) about a month ago, but i noticed that the laptop was heating with minimum amount of work load (i tried installing Eclipse),it goes around (39 C), and there is only ONE fan and ONE heat pipe for cooling the CPU (i7 8565u) and the GPU (NVIDIA MX-130), and the laptop back panel is Plastic. Now i want to know is there a better fan or heat pipe for my laptop? or is there any back panel that fit with my model? i searched online but i couldn't find something talk about replacement.
\n\nhere is a picture of my laptop inside:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/MnTXZ.jpg\")
PS: There is some videos on YouTube trying to re-apply the Thermal Paste, i thought my laptop would not need this cause it's new.
\n\nand, i heard that back panels that are Aluminum or Magnesium alloy will do a better job for cooling, will this really help with my laptop? i was wondered if it's available for my laptop model. Thanks
\n", "Title": "Is there any FAN upgrade option for HP 15 da1032?", "Tags": "|cooling|heat-sink|", "Answer": "No. You are left with what the manufacturer deemed an acceptable cooling solution. Also, there are no replacement parts made from different materials.
\n\nChanging/reapplying high quality thermal paste can give better results, even if the device is new. Liquid metal compounds offer the lowest thermal resistance, but can cause damage to your machine, both in the short term (they are electrically conductive) and in the long term (they don't get along well e.g. with copper).
\n\nBut it seems like you might be seeing a problem where there is none. The only temperature you mentioned is 39\u00b0C, which is completely safe and normal for modern mobile CPUs. Under load, they usually run above 90\u00b0C.
\n" }, { "Id": "13083", "CreationDate": "2020-03-19T13:41:37.973", "Body": "So I came across this great article about getting 660 frames per second from a Raspberry PI and its default camera, and was wondering is there any way to crank the setup up with possibly higher frame rate camera and faster processing hardware?
\n\nAs far as I understand there should be a MIPI Camera Serial Interface (more) (and more) on both camera and recording device, and the rest is just a software issue. I did some search and found something like this.
\n\nSo asking for any research advice, maybe there are some specific keywords I can search for, or maybe some brand.
\n", "Title": "Camera and motherboard with Camera Serial Interface", "Tags": "|raspberry-pi|camera|video-camera|video-capture|", "Answer": "This post explains how the poster created a four-lane board he's selling to double throughput, and also provided a lot of technical background.
\n\nThis seller of Pi cameras may also have useful gear.
\n" }, { "Id": "13093", "CreationDate": "2020-03-20T12:03:12.730", "Body": "I am looking for a potential upgrade to my laptop. I want a Windows 10 machine; something smaller, lighter and more portable than what I now have, preferably with a metal shell. I have a budget of about \u00a3250.
\nThe CPU needs to be at least at the level of an AMD A9-9410, or better, as this is what my current laptop has.
\nOther features that are necessary are: at least 32 GB of storage and at least 4 GB of ram with room to add an M.2 SSD, full HD 1920x1080 screen, as thin and light as possible. It must run Windows 10.
\nNice-to-to-haves would be USB type C, and backlit keyboard.
\nPlease can you advise me on what to buy? I have seen brands like CHUWI, Jumper and Teclast. that all seem to do these standards of laptops. Thank You!
\n", "Title": "Which Windows laptop should I buy for near \u00a3250?", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "In the US, finding a new laptop under $265 USD (That is the equivalent to 250 euro) is tough, but I have found a couple that might interest you. US laptops might be different than what European laptops can offer in build though, so keep that in mind. The only issue is you're not going to find an M.2 expansion slot on a budget laptop. Even my Dell Inspiron Gaming Laptop doesn't have one.
\n\nLenovo IdeaPad This option has pretty much everything you want. It has 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Windows 10 and a nice AMD CPU that is extremely similar to your CPU. I don't see an M.2 slot.
\nASUS VivoBook L203MA This is another nice option. 4GB of RAM, 64GB of eMMC Storage, Windows 10, and a decent CPU. The screen isn't Full HD, it is 720p (1366 x 768). This even has a USB-C port.
\nHP Elitebook 8470p This is an AWESOME laptop if it was new. This is a refurbished laptop, but that means you will get a lot more bang for your buck. Speaking from experience, this is a stellar CPU and RAM config with 8GB of RAM. 500GB HDD (SATA) and you can remove this one and add a bigger 2.5\" SATA drive down the road, DVD/CD Drive, 720p screen and a backlight keyboard. This is one of the best ones you can find below $250 USD.
If I had to purchase one for you, I would buy the HP Elitebook 8470p. It is a great laptop with some stellar hardware under the hood, and you'll enjoy the added speed compared to what a new laptop would be in that same range.
\n" }, { "Id": "13102", "CreationDate": "2020-03-22T07:52:28.267", "Body": "I have an MBP for work. I want to have a dedicated development environment for private projects to not mess up my work setup. Also, I wanna run Linux (just Ubuntu something).
\n\nThe MBP is currently connected via USB C 3.1 to a display featuring a USB hub providing mouse and keyboard connectivity. The nice thing here is, of course, that I only need to connect one single USB C cable to have these things:
\n\nSo, in a sense, it replaces a docking station.
\n\nFirst I thought about just buying a Dell XPS 13. I mean it runs Linux natively and has USB C 3.1. So I could just go ahead and switch between the MBP and the Dell.
\n\nThen I thought, why would I even need a laptop. I have an older notebook at home and a mini PC would be just enough.
\n\nLong story short, is there a mini PC (up to 900 Euro) out there with the following specs:
\n\nMandatory:
\n\nKinda mandatory, but not a deal-breaker \"in case\":
\n\nNice to have, but optional:
\n\nMultiple Intel NUCs meet all those specifications, except for the power supply by USB-C (they all include their own power supply). Intel themselves confirms QHD compatibility on at least one model.
\n" }, { "Id": "13104", "CreationDate": "2020-03-22T10:04:13.730", "Body": "I have 100 Mbps broadband plan. I want to limit it to 1 Mbps for guest network so that streaming and other things would work smoothly on my main network. Which router is suitable for me(in India)?
\n", "Title": "Need suggestion for WiFi router", "Tags": "|wifi|router|", "Answer": "I know in the US that the Netgear Nighthawk series allows for this and works well. I have a Netgear Nighthawk R7800, and that works a charm. We previously had a Netgear Nighthawk R6900P and that also worked a charm. These routers are quality routers but may be pricy in India.
\n\nI'd recommend one of these:\nNetgear Nighthawk R6700,\nNetgear Nighthawk R6900P,\nNetgear Nighthawk R7000P, or\nNetgear Nighthawk R7800
\n\nAll of these will last long, well-rated in the US, reliable, user-friendly and have room for expansion. They'll cover a 3-story house well and even outside of the house.
\n\nIf you want a mesh network (a series of small routers linked together), I would use the Eero mesh system they will cover .7 acres of land extremely well and if there are any slow-spots in the house/property, you can buy more than just one pack of three and hook it up. They are extremely user-friendly and easy to set up. The only issues with them are that you can't set them up with a computer, you must use the Eero app on an Android or iOS device, and you can't limit the speed on the guest network.
\n" }, { "Id": "13118", "CreationDate": "2020-03-24T09:40:04.127", "Body": "I want to replace an ASUS RT-AC1200G+ router.\nCurrently, it is supporting around 20 wireless devices in my office.\nI am looking to support more than 50 wireless devices in my office in the near future.
\n\nIs there a good metric to look at for wireless routers to determine what is the maximum number of concurrent users it can support? Or is there an assumed limit of \"X\" number of devices regardless of brand and model?
\n", "Title": "What criteria to use to pick a wireless router for a large number of users/devices?", "Tags": "|wifi|", "Answer": "There's no standard assumption for the number of users, for that's dependent on the processing power of the router and many other factors. This is a complex subject which is why there are WiFi industry certifications for admins.
\n\nGiven your use case of 50+ users in an office with at most one gypsum wall, I believe a more powerful router with more processing power than the Broadcom BCM47189 and BCM43217 processors in your existing ASUS router would be desirable. Also, a new router should conform to the new WiFi 6 802.11ax standard, and be capable of security with WPA2, WPA3, and 802.1X WPA Enterprise with a RADIUS Server. The latter may not be desirable now, but if you find later on you need that, you're prepared.
\n\nYou can expand the network coverage with additional Wireless Access Points, or another router, later if you need to.
\n" }, { "Id": "13121", "CreationDate": "2020-03-25T02:14:51.747", "Body": "If I bought an internal SSD to replace current hard drive for my 2011 MacBook Pro would it take full advantage of a newer SSD say like a 1 TB drive?
\n\n\n", "Title": "2011 MacBook Pro and internal SSD, is it worth it?", "Tags": "|laptop|apple|", "Answer": "There are many tutorials of good quality and reliability which address the issue of drive replacement for a version 8.1 second-generation 2011 MacBook Pro. Many users have found this to be a worthwhile upgrade.
\n\nMay I suggest you look at the guides on YouTube, starting with those from iFixIt? Those were very popular with the Mac team of the community computer rebuilding/reuse center I volunteered at for many years.
\n\nEvery PC, MacBook, and MacBook Pro which was donated to us had its HDD or SSD replaced, wiped to milspec standard, and then reused in a different chassis to assure no user data ever fell into the hands of another user. The process is not daunting by any means.
\n\nReplacing the factory 5400 RPM HDD with a new SSD will not only improve performance, and reduce power consumption (and therefore reduce waste heat as well as prolong runtime on a battery charge), but the factory HDD is past its expected five year lifetime by now.
\n\nAs to data migration, there are multiple drive cloning apps available which make the process practical. However, before you pick up the first tool, I would make a backup to an external drive, network-attached computer, or the cloud, and verify the backed up data matches the source; then, repeat the process to a different external drive or a different cloud provider.
\n\nNote: Do NOT shop for an NVMe SSD as those are incompatible; you would want a SATA-III SSD.
\n" }, { "Id": "13127", "CreationDate": "2020-03-25T17:20:34.683", "Body": "Similar to this question, but that is 5 years old and Canada based.
\n\nI am looking for a cheap all-in-one (print & scan/copy) printer, USB connection (I don't mind paying an extra fiver for WiFi, but can live without it).
\n\nI am thinking \"total cost of ownership\", so want something that won't break the bank when it comes to buying refill ink.
\n\nMust be deliverable, in the UK (owing to Corona virus lock-down), and soon (amazon seems to be de-prioritizing some ares, including tech, in favour of others, such as food).
\n\nI need to something printed, posted and received in the UK by the end of the month.
\n", "Title": "Cheap all-in-one wifi printer with cheap ink (deliverable soon in the UK)", "Tags": "|printer|cheap|", "Answer": "The cheapest that I could find - that is available for delivery during the epidemic - was \nan Epson Expression Home XP-2105 Wireless Inkjet Printer for \u00a339.99, plus \u00a33.95 delivery (same day).
\n\nI imagine that, as usual, it will come with half-cartridges. But, frankly, I am coming to see that buying a new printer is cheer than buying ink, so will probably continue to do so in future. If I buy a dedicated scanner, or just keep this printer to use its scanner features, then I can buy even cheaper printers in future, with no scanning capability.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fLszY.png\")
Printer:
\n\nCompatible with PC and Mac.\nA4 print speed - black text: 8ppm (pages per minute).\nA4 print speed - colour text: 4ppm (pages per minute).\nUp to 5760 x 1440dpi print resolution.\nUp to 5760 x 1440dpi colour print resolution.\nFits paper up to A4.\n50 sheet paper capacity.\nUses 4 ink cartridges.\nRecommended ink: Starfish 603. \nScanner and copier:
\n\n1200 x 2400dpi optical resolution. \nConnectivity:
\n\nSuitable for photo printing.\nWireless/WiFi enabled.\nEmail Print.\nMobile print enables printing direct from your smartphone or tablet through brand specific apps. \nGeneral information:
\n\nPhoto editing software included.\nWeight 4.82kg.\nIncludes Full set of Ink, Power Cable & Instructions Manual.\nInk cartridge included.\nSize H19.3, W37, D45.5cm.\nEAN: 8715946665443. \nLooking at this page https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/53438/intel-core-i3-2350m-processor-3m-cache-2-30-ghz.html It mentions that 16GB of memory is supported but then it says \"dependent on memory type\". Are they referring to the speed of the memory or the manufacturer?
\n\nHas anyone put 16GB in a Lenovo x220i i3?
\n\nThanks
\n", "Title": "Will a Lenovo X220i with i3 support either 1066/1333?", "Tags": "|laptop|memory|upgrade|", "Answer": "\"Dependent on memory type\" is just a standard disclaimer, it does not apply here. The phrase applies e.g. to CPUs that support both UDIMM and RDIMM, with the latter enabling higher total memory capacity. It does not refer to memory speed.
\n\nA better source for information on Thinkpads is https://thinkwiki.de/X220\nIt's in German, but the memory section states that 16GB will work in an X220, using two 8GB DIMMs.\nAnd I have seen quite a few reports from people using 2x8GB in an X220.
\n" }, { "Id": "13154", "CreationDate": "2020-03-28T20:39:54.513", "Body": "I have a Lenovo P51 laptop with the Quadro M2200 graphics card.
\n\nI'm wondering if this hardware supports VR gaming?
\n\nIf not, would it be possible or sensible to use and external graphics box connected over Thunderbolt?
\n", "Title": "VR with Quadro M2200", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|gaming|", "Answer": "Your Lenovo P51 Laptop may be able to run VR if you use an external GPU box (also called eGPU's) because you have a Thunderbolt 3 port, which is what that uses.
\n\nHere are some GPU boxes: Razer Core X (In RGB and Non-RGB 'flavors') and Gigabyte GPU Box with a Nvidia RTX 2080ti, Nvidia RTX 2070, Nvidia GTX 1080, Nvidia GTX 1070, or AMD RX 580 GPU's
\n\nIf you wanted the Razer Core X, you would need to pair it with a minimum of a GTX 1060. I strongly recommend you getting a GTX 1660Ti over the GTX 1060 because new GTX 1060's are hard to find, and going to be expensive for an older piece of hardware. The GTX 1660TI is the best bang for the buck that would run VR.
\n\nIf you wanted the Gigabyte's GPU box, I would purchase one with an Nvidia GTX 1080, Nvidia GTX 1070 or an AMD RX 580.
\n\nThese are the GPUs that will work and I recommend, in order of most to least powerful:
\n\nI wouldn't buy anything above an RTX 2060 Super without buying a laptop, where at that point, I'd find a laptop with an RTX 2060 or higher in it because you're going to be saving money at that point (and maybe even some bottlenecking from happening).
\n\nHere are some GPU links that I like (In order from least to most powerful):
\nNvidia GTX 1060 (Minimum) $400
\nNvidia GTX 1660Ti $300
(Thank you MechEng and K7AAY for adding the information about the Gigabyte eGPU and pricing of GPU's to put in the eGPU, I'm sure 'Barrymac' appreciated it as much as I do)
\n" }, { "Id": "13158", "CreationDate": "2020-03-29T17:29:43.350", "Body": "What's the best laptop under $800 for Linux gaming? I'll use it for Minecraft and general computer stuff. I'll install Linux Mint as the operating system.
\n\nRequirements:
\n\nBest means highest FPS in Minecraft.
\n", "Title": "Best laptop under $800 for Linux gaming?", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|linux|", "Answer": "I would suggest anything with a GTX 1660TI or lower for a GPU. I would assume GTX 1080 or lower will play nicer with Linux due to the GPU's being older and have more robust drivers. Those are going to be cheap, powerful enough for gaming in Minecraft and still leave you with plenty of battery life to use for 7-8 hours if you configure the power usage correctly. (Just be aware that prices are inflated due to the COVID-19 outbreak)
\n\nI'd recommend the following:
\nDell G3 15in Gaming Laptop w/ GTX 1050
I have the 2017 version of this laptop (running windows) and I love it. No issues with gaming performance on Minecraft and even more demanding titles like Rainbow Six Siege, BeamNG.Drive, COD: BO4 and Titanfall.
\n" }, { "Id": "13176", "CreationDate": "2020-04-01T01:01:49.940", "Body": "I plan on building a gaming PC to play FPS, racing sims and VR games. I want to know what graphics cards are capable of running those style games at it's maximum presets at 1440p 144hz. These are the parts that I currently planning on putting in the system. I would like to spend around 500-750 USD on a GPU, but don't want to skimp on a GPU's quality or performance either. I'd also like this card to be a triple fan GPU.
\n\nCPU: Intel Core i9-9900kf (Plan on OC'ing)
\nCPU Cooler: Be Quiet! Dark Rock Slim (with two fans, in push/pull config)
\nMOBO: Gigabyte Z390 Gaming X LGA1151
\nRAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 64GB (4x16) DDR4-3000
\nSSD: Samsung 860 Evo 1TB M.2
\nHDD: Western Digital Black 6TB 7200RPM
\nGPU: Nvidia RTX 2070 Super
\nCase: Thermaltake V100 (With 5 120mm Case fans)\nPSU: Corsair RMx 850W 80+ Gold
Would the Nvidia RTX 2070 Super run video games at 1440p 144FPS at settings high/very high settings without Ray Tracing? (The reason behind that is because my family member has the RTX 2080 TI and doesn't like RT b/c it impacts framerate too much)
\n", "Title": "Nvidia GPU that can play games at 1440p 144hz", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|gaming|nvidia|", "Answer": "Not consistently according to the NVIDIA specs found at their website. A search in their Support Forum and also in their knowledgebase found no comments regarding improved performance if ray tracing is turned off.
\n\nHowever, Inamdar in NVIDIA Chat Support did say \"Yes, if you use the game without ray tracing the fps and performance will increase. We can't comment about the FPS (rate). FPS depends upon the game and configuration. It can't be constant.\"
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/6KUA2.png\")
We need Wifi APs for a small business.
\n\nHowever, there are various expectations what I can't foresee. The last what I want, that trivial things, what the hardware could easily do, are simply impossible because we have no root access to our own devices.
\n\nIn Germany, AVM!Fritz is a very popular AP solution (it is even common that home ISPs simply make their devices obligatory), however they are regularly racing to make their systems so un-configurable as possible; and this added them to my blacklist. I did the same by Cisco, on similar reason (they are also wanting regularly a lot of money for firmware updates, and their relative recent devices from 2013 had a weak signal strength).
\n\nMy ideal image is that I could simply ssh into the AP to reconfigure it.
\n\nIt should be also acceptable to layman bosses. Thus, it should be an AP with a Google-able manufacturer name (not bad if it is not common, but it needs to have a name). I should be able to point that \"I found this (link) device from ..., I suggest to buy it for ...\", and it should look as a reasonable suggestion.
\n\nActually, any AP is okay, if
\n\nAn access point is an access point because it only officially supports access point firmware. If you must have the label \"Access Point\" on the device, then it will be a device that is sub-par to what you would be able to get by just purchasing a small all-in-one linux computer such as a thin client.
\n\nAn access point that runs open linux is no longer an access point, it's just a computer, even though it may look exactly like an access point. New thin clients can be somewhat expensive, but older models that can be purchased as \"new old stock\" can be found in the $100-$200USD range and would provide more than enough performance to act as an access point and/or router.
\n\n\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "13183", "CreationDate": "2020-04-01T13:50:29.447", "Body": "I have a Thinkpad T480 that has the stock Intel Core i5-8350U vPro MB (1.70ghz) CPU in it. It really just is not enough CPU for what I do with it once I dock it and hook it up to my dual monitors. I haven't been able to find any information on compatible CPUs or if the upgrade is just plug and play or if its soldered. I was thinking of upgrading to an Intel i7-9700 9th generation but I don't know if it is compatible or not. Just hoping for a recommendation on what to purchase that will fit.
\n", "Title": "CPU Upgrade Recommendations Thinkpad T480", "Tags": "|processor|intel|upgrade|", "Answer": "The Ball Grid Array used in the Core i5-8350U CPU of the Thinkpad T480 is factory-soldered, and I would not even try to remove it to upgrade the CPU for any one of three choices:
\n\n1) Unsoldering and resoldering BGA CPUS is very difficult without factory-level tools
\n\n2) The chipset, also permanently soldered onto the motherboard, limits your CPU choices.
\n\n3) Laptops are very carefully designed to exhaust waste heat, and adding a hotter CPU likely shortens the lifetime of the other components. You're limited to 25W maximum TDP, 10W normal for safe operation.
\n\nAlternatives:
\n\nA) If you need more GPU, likely since the T480 relied on the Intel UHD Graphics 620 in the APU, an external GPU device can be added, connecting via the USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C / Intel Thunderbolt 3 (Power Delivery, DisplayPort, Data transfer) interface.
\n\nB) You may also consider upgrading the PCIe (NVMe) drive, following instructions starting on page 69 of your hardware manual, if you are bound by drive performance. That would require finding the model of drive you now have before shopping for a faster drive, but Lenovo's tech specs for that device don't show that information. Therefore, I'd suggest (assuming Windows, since you did not mention Linux):
\n\nI'm building my first gaming pc, and I have a question about PCI express versions. I'm looking to purchase a CPU for a budget system. I'm torn between two of them, the AMD Ryzen 5 2600, and the 3400g. From what I've researched, the 2600 is faster, put it has one problem. It only has PCI express 3.0, instead of the newer 4.0. I did the research, and PCIe 4.0 has double the bandwidth. I use wireless connection for my internet. Can someone explain this to me? Do I need double the Bandwidth or is it just a nice perk to have? Much appreciated.
\n", "Title": "I have a question about bandwidth and the key differences between PCI express versions", "Tags": "|processor|pcie|", "Answer": "For the foreseeable future, in an entry-level personal computer, PCIe 4.0 is rather nice-to-have instead of a must-have. Or to put it differently: there are much better ways to spend excess budget than on this feature. more RAM, (larger) SSD, faster CPU, faster GPU, you name it.
\nVery few devices benefit from the increased bandwidth in a way that would be noticeable to the end-user. WiFi is definitely not one of them, the bandwidth here is not even close to saturating PCIe 3.0 links.\nYou also would need a PCIe 4.0 capable motherboard to unlock this feature. So far, only X570 motherboards have PCIe 4.0 in the consumer space. And these are way to expensive to be justified in a budget PC.\nIn addition to that, a Ryzen 3400G does not even have PCIe 4.0. The Ryzen 3000 APUs are still based on the Zen1 architecture, hence only PCIe 3.0.
I'm going to build a pc for video editing, android studio and gaming at 1080p in future by adding gtx 1650 super but am confused between 3 processors
\n\nWhich of them will be suitable for my needs i will not able to buy gpu till three month after this build so getting worry if i go for 1600 or 3500 without gpu how it will boot up but if i go with Apu i have to compromise with cores and threads which leads to more time in export videos at 1080p and 4k so if there is any solution please let me know.
\n", "Title": "Amd Cpu Or Apu Under 10k", "Tags": "|processor|android|video-editing|ryzen|", "Answer": "if you can buy the GTX1650, ignore the
\n\nR5 2400G = 4 cores 3.6 GHz base 3.9 GHz boost clock RX11 Vega graphics \nfor the card is far superior to onboard graphics.
\n\nSo, it's a battle for your budget, when it's time to buy, of the the
\n\nR5 1600 = 6 cores 3.2 GHz base 3.6 GHz boost clock
\n\nvs.
\n\nR5 3600 = 6 cores 3.6 GHz base 4.2 GHz boost clock (3500 discontinued)
\n\nplus whatever else AMD comes out with.
\n" }, { "Id": "13212", "CreationDate": "2020-04-05T22:55:05.097", "Body": "This BBC article documents how some printers secretly print faint dots which identify the printer as well as the date and time a page is printed.
\n\nHow do I choose a printer which won't do this?
\n", "Title": "How do I avoid my printed pages tracking me?", "Tags": "|printer|", "Answer": "Don't buy or use a color laser printer. The EFF has been advised \"all major manufacturers of color laser printers entered a secret agreement with governments to ensure that the output of those printers is forensically traceable\".
\n" }, { "Id": "13214", "CreationDate": "2020-04-06T11:26:04.820", "Body": "Is there a device that allows two or more connected USB devices to communicate, yet their power be supplied by an external source (such as a USB power bank or charger).
\n\nI tried to make this illustration to clarify what I mean.
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/TS885.png\")
USB-C hubs with power pass-through are fairly common. Often sold with the Power Delivery (PD) mark followed by the power rating for that device. Here is one such hub that I use regularly to connect peripherals and charge simultaneously. However, this hub does not have a USB-C slave connection.
\n\nHubs that also have a port for a USB-C slave device are more rare. Since you want to have an attached device that is also USB-C, I would recommend this one. You plug your main device (phone/laptop) into male connection, your USB-C device that is the slave (flash memory, etc) into the bottom port, and the charger plugs into the port on the side.
\n\nExample:
\n\n Laptop ---[_Hub_]---- Phone\n |\n Charger\nAn image is a 2d array with each point denoting a color combination of basic RGB (one pixel, basically). So, when it is displayed or relayed to laptop/desktop monitor, how does it work? Is the monitor a 2d array, i.e, if we open up the monitor are we supposed to see any grid structure?
\n", "Title": "Is laptop/desktop monitor screen a 2d array?", "Tags": "|laptop|monitors|", "Answer": "Yes, it is a two dimensional array.
\n\nYou won't see a grid, as human vision isn't good enough.
\n\nLet's engage in gedankenexperiment. Let's pretend your 19\" (diagonal) display is 1920x1280, in a 16:9 aspect ratio. (Please substitute your own data for the display diagonal, horizontal, and vertical size.) The line from A to B, or the line c, below is 19\".
\n\n![\"Illustration](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/lLov8.png\")
c^2 = a^2 + b^2 as per the Pythagorean theorem
\n\n19*19 = a^2 + b^2
\n\n361 = a^2 + b^2 where a = (9/16) times b (derived from our 16:9 aspect ratio)
\n\n361 = (9/16)b times (9/16)b + b^2
\n\n361= 81/144 times b^2 + b^2
\n\n361 = 0.5625 times b^2 + b^2
\n\n361 = 1.5625 times b^2
\n\n231.04 = b^2
\n\n15.2\" = b which has 1,920 pixels, so there are 126.3 pixels per inch. You can't see that fine.
\n" }, { "Id": "13228", "CreationDate": "2020-04-08T23:20:41.190", "Body": "I would like to make some significant upgrades to my home network which, right now, is comprised of a cable modem, wireless router, and a few wireless devices in various rooms. But wireless is nowhere near as fast as a wired connection, plus I'm adding some PoE cameras which will obviously require PoE. The hardware I need is pretty clear, but I'm concerned about running Ethernet cable in my attic considering that I live in Las Vegas, NV, which is EXTREMELY hot in the summer months (sometimes 115 degrees F). My assumption is that the attic probably exceeds the maximum operating temperature of most Ethernet cables (some are rated for up to 167 degrees F), but I don't actually know the precise temperature in the attic during the summer.
\n\nGiven that Las Vegas is a modern city I can only presume that others have overcome this issue. Or maybe I'm overestimating the heat in my attic. My roof uses a light-colored terracotta tile, so I'm sure that's better than a black roof but don't really know. Any recommendations?
\n", "Title": "Cat6A Runs in Hot Attic", "Tags": "|networking|cable|", "Answer": "1) Use Plenum rated cable which is more heat tolerant, such as L-Com bulk cable, which tolerates up to 105 degrees Centigrade.
\n\n2) Add solar powered soffit fans to cool the attic space, which has the beneficial side effect of lowering your A/C cost.
\n\n3) Do both.
\n" }, { "Id": "13230", "CreationDate": "2020-04-09T03:25:39.543", "Body": "I got my hands on an old PC heat sink, intel 775 I think.
\n\nWill this fit on my i5-8400 8th gen?
\n\nAnd if it does, what side does it go on?
\n\nThe copper core is indented on one side and sticks out the other
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ceiOI.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JReHU.jpg\")
It isn't going to fit.
\n\nThe LGA 775 socket CPUs are a different form factor, 37.5mm square, than the i5-8400 which uses an LGA 1151 socket.
\n\nThe distance between the screw-holes for the heatsink of an LGA 775 is 72 mm. Such heatsinks are not interchangeable with heatsinks for sockets that have a distance of 75 mm, such as the i5-8400 which uses the LGA 1151 socket.
\n" }, { "Id": "13233", "CreationDate": "2020-04-09T09:49:27.143", "Body": "What does the Cross-Platform Rating in a Price performance comparison page of a CPU on PassMark mean? What kind of performance does it reflect? It seems the kind of performance it reflects is more like what Average CPU Mark does, which is basically multi-core performance. If so, what is the difference between these 2 numbers?
\n\nMore specifically in my case, I am comparing these 3 CPUs to decide which one to buy: AMD Ryzen 7 3800X vs AMD Ryzen 9 3900X vs AMD Ryzen 9 3950X. The CPU Mark of the 3900X is lower than 3/2 of that of the 3800X, while the Cross-Platform Rating of the 3900X is higher than 3/2 of that of the 3800X. I am going after multi-core performance, so I am wondering whether the 3900X gives me 3/2 of multi-core performance compared to the 3800X.
\n", "Title": "What does the Cross-Platform Rating on PassMark mean? What kind of performance does it reflect?", "Tags": "|processor|ryzen|", "Answer": "From Passmarks own version log: https://www.passmark.com/products/performancetest/history.php
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/3xcZi.png\")
It's just that: a bunch of benchmarks cobbled together into a single score. Only the devs know how well these benchmarks scale to multiple threads, and how they weigh the individual results to condense them into a final score. So maybe don't focus too much on this.
\n\nLet's rather look at the CPUs themselves. A 3900X has a 50% higher core count compared to a 3800X. And it increases almost all CPU resources by at least 50%. Some shared resources like L3 cache even increase by 100%. If we stopped here, it would be safe to assume that the 3900X is 50% faster than the 3800X, at least in multi-threaded benchmarks with ideal scaling.\nWith 2 notable exceptions:
\n1) Thermal design power is the same. This causes the 3900X to run at lower clock speeds when all cores are loaded heavily. Dropping the performance increase to a bit less than 50%, at least if the user does not overclock.
\n2) Memory bandwidth. While the 3900X has almost double the write memory bandwidth compared to the 3800X (due to 2 chiplets vs. 1 and limited bandwidth from chiplets to the IO-die), the read memory bandwidth is practically the same. This causes less than 50% performance advantage in benchmarks (and applications) that become memory bandwidth limited at higher thread counts.
In conclusion: The 3900X can be nearly 50% faster than the 3800X in multi-threaded benchmarks and applications. But as always, it depends on the application.
\n" }, { "Id": "13246", "CreationDate": "2020-04-10T11:38:28.883", "Body": "I found some Canton passive speakers and connected them with an audio jack cable to my PC but nothing happened.\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/OJwTt.jpg\")
\nI did some research and found out that these are passive speakers and they need an amplifier.
Then I looked for an amplifier on Amazon and found this:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/r792r.jpg\")
I thought amplifiers were big chunks so I am not sure this little thing does the work of the middleman to play music from my laptop to the speakers.
\nThe amp Amazon link: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/dp/B01LY7RYQO/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=verst%C3%A4rker&qid=1586534369&sr=8-10
\nDo you know if that amp will work and what else do I need to make this work?
\n", "Title": "Will this amplifier connect these speakers to my PC?", "Tags": "|pc|audio|speakers|music|amplifiers|", "Answer": "The cable for dual RCA jack audio output and also for 3.5mm ring-sleeve-tip auto jack output is included with the device, as is the power supply, so it's complete.
\n\nFor one Euro less, I would go for the https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07W4JHGKS/ which includes the 3.5mm cable and delivers 50W RMS, but the reviews on the product you chose show it's acceptable.
\n\nFor either, replacing the 12VDC power supply with a 24VDC power supply would provide more volume.
\n\nBoth are digital amps so you won't get the 'golden sound' an audiophile would want, but I'd accept it.
\n" }, { "Id": "13248", "CreationDate": "2020-04-10T16:48:33.903", "Body": "I need to record blood pressure with a blood pressure cuff interfaced to an Arduino uno module so the data can be logged. I searched the web for a such a device, but could not found anything useful.
\nWhich modules should I look for?
\n", "Title": "Need a blood-pressure measuring module recommendation for arduino", "Tags": "|arduino|", "Answer": "When I hear you ask for a module, I think of an Arduino \"Shield\" but you dont need one of these. You can connect what you need directly to the board, but it will be easier if you use a breadboard.
\n\nThere is a really good paper here that describes the measurement process and even shows the low-pass amplifier they used to read from the pressure sensor. You can place only the sensor inside the inflated portion and have the rest outside, or you can use a full module that is placed inside the chamber.
\n\nYou will also need an air pump to inflate, and a solenoid valve to deflate. Both the pump and solenoid use 12V, so you will need a set of relays. Make sure that you have a way to restrict the airflow out, so that it deflates slow enough to get precise measurements.
\n" }, { "Id": "13265", "CreationDate": "2020-04-13T13:05:24.360", "Body": "I have a TOSHIBA P50-C-10G laptop. and want to upgrade the internal drive from HDD to SSD. I am considering either SATA or NVMe, but I'm not sure if my computer has support for NVMe. I opened it up and found what looks to be a motherboard port for the NVMe card, but it doesn't have the dock to put the card in it. The pictures are down below. Is it possible to somehow add the dock and would it even be supported?
\n\n![\"NVME](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/iTFm5.jpg\")
\n![\"NVME](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/LLRzd.jpg\")
P.S. If there is a better forum or stackexchange site, please let me know.
\n", "Title": "Can I add an NVMe SSD to my motherboard?", "Tags": "|laptop|motherboard|ssd|pcie|upgrade|", "Answer": "Additional logic is required in the motherboard's chipset which your Toshiba does not have (after a review of its specifications, linked in your question above). So, it will not work.
\n\nAlso, PCIe SSDs AKA NVMe have a slightly different connector than SATA SSDs as shown below.
\n\n![\"NVMe](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/DhpyW.png\")
\n![\"SATA](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Lw28g.png\")
![\"M.2](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/mIwjb.jpg\")
I can't see an M.2 connector in the photo, so I looked for other photos, and found a wider and sharper photo from this page. There's no connector for any M.2 drive, so you must use a 2.5\" SATA SSD to replace the original Toshiba MQ02ABD100H HDD. Here's a video showing how to open it up.
\n\nWhat you had circled to the right above the ribbon cable connecting the motherboard to an i/o daughterboard is where an M.2 connector might have gone, as evidenced by the post which looks like the right size to hold a fastening screw for the left side of an M.2 card, but there's no connector for it at the left side on the circuit board. It's very common to reuse circuit boards for different models and only put the connectors on the board which are required for a specific model.
\n" }, { "Id": "13275", "CreationDate": "2020-04-14T23:52:36.527", "Body": "I want to replace a HDD (Seagate ST1000LM035-1RK172) in a Lenovo Flex 5-1570 (Type 81CA) with an SSD. I am looking for 500 GB or 1 TB. Is this SSD SAMSUNG 1TB 860 EVO-Series 2.5 compatible for my Lenovo ?
\n", "Title": "How to buy the right comptabile SDD drive to my lenovou labtop", "Tags": "|laptop|hard-disk|ssd|", "Answer": "Your laptop can hold a 2.5\" SATA SSD like the Samsung 860 Evo. So a clear yes to your question.
\nIt can also be expanded with an m.2 NVMe SSD, in case you want to keep your hard drive for more total storage.
Which is better for scientific and engineering computation/simulations, the Intel i9-10900X or the AMD R9-3950X?
\n\nThe R9 has 6 more cores, whereas the i9 has doubled memory channels.
\n\nIs it possible that in many use cases R9's real performance is limited by DDR bandwidth?
\n\nR9's TDP is 105W, i9's TDP is 165W, but there are rumors that i9's real power can be 300W+ at normal full load.
\n\nWhat are the zero and light load whole system power consumption? Hope it is less than ~50W.
\n\nDon't know why all AMD's CPU with 4 memory channels are far more expensive or why doesn't AMD have a CPU with 4 memory channel with ~12 cores.
\n\nR9 also have more cache: 72MB. https://images.anandtech.com/doci/15062/AMD%20Fall%20Desktop%20Announcement%20Briefing%20Deck-page-002.jpg
\n\nR9's DDR frequency is a higher than i9: 3200 VS 2933, DDR bandwith is 51GB/s VS 93GB/s
\n", "Title": "Choosing a CPU: Intel i9-109xx vs AMD R9-39xx", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "There are indeed fields of computing where Intel's X299 lineup still performs better than AMD's Ryzen 3000 series. And even offers better performance per dollar. Engineering/scientific simulations like CFD and FEA is one of these areas. Source: I have been working in this field for many years now.
\n\nYou already mentioned the key specification here: memory bandwidth. AMDs Ryzen CPUs stop scaling at around 6-8 cores due to a lack of memory bandwidth when running parallel CFD codes. See for example the results here: https://www.cfd-online.com/Forums/hardware/198378-openfoam-benchmarks-various-hardware-14.html#post763993
\n\nIntel CPUs can draw a lot more power than their rated TDP for short periods of time. That's how turbo boost works. So can AMD CPUs. Unless you are overclocking heavily, you won't see 300W sustained power draw from an I9-10900X. Not even close https://www.anandtech.com/show/15039/the-intel-core-i9-10980xe-review/2
\n\nLess than 50W idle power consumption for a whole system on an HEDT platform might be a bit optimistic. You will probably end up in the 70W range with a typical configuration. But this figure does not depend on the CPU alone. Motherboard, drives, GPU... all play a role here.
\n\nWhy doesn't AMD release a Threadripper CPU with less than 24 cores, at a more reasonable price?
\n\nI can only speculate, and there will be a lot more reasons than I can come up with in a short paragraph. But one of the most important ones will be this: AMD is a relatively small company compared to Intel. So far, their goal is not to cover every niche possible with the perfect product. That was Intels goal. And let's face it: scientific and engineering computations on moderately priced workstation PCs is a niche application.
\n\nMore L3 cache is nice to have, but outside of edge-cases, it can not completely make up for a lack of memory bandwidth.
\n\nBtw: if you are looking for a cheaper TR3000 alternative that better fits your requirements, AMD still has something in their lineup: Epyc 7302P. The CPU and the boards are not exactly cheap, but still much better value and higher total performance compared to the cheapest possible TR3000 build.
\n\nEdit\nforgot to mention this: especially with your applications in mind, I would highly recommend faster memory than DDR4-2933 or DDR4-3200 for both AMD Ryzen 3000 and Intel Cascade Lake-X CPUs. DDR4-3600 is around the sweetspot for price/performance.
\n" }, { "Id": "13287", "CreationDate": "2020-04-16T10:32:11.827", "Body": "Years back I bought the cheapest Logitech keyboard for my computer as I felt they \"are all the same!\". I hadn't used it in a while, but since working from home now I'm using a lot and it has really dawned on me the last couple of weeks just how loud and stiff the keys are. I'm pretty certain my neighbour two doors down can here me tapping at the keys it's that loud. Each key feels like a brick when I'm pressing it so I really need to upgrade.
\n\nWhat are people on here using or could recommend? I'll be primarily using it for programming, with some use of Photoshop and gaming at some point.
\n", "Title": "New keyboard for programming wanted", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "In the end I went with the Logitech K800. Watched many videos of top rated keyboards and many were still as loud, if not louder than my current one. Even top mechanical ones with low key were surprisingly loud in the videos. The K800 was extrememly quiet and although well above my initial budget, it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.
\n" }, { "Id": "13288", "CreationDate": "2020-04-16T10:52:16.310", "Body": "May I know whether Microsoft Surface Book capable for running Mechanical Engineering apps efficiently?
\n\nI am using software such as MATLAB with simulink, STK, AutoCAD, solidworks, and ANSYS workbench.
\n\nI am a research student and my next laptop should be travel supportive, and fir within a budget of 500 Euros.
\n\nMicrosoft Surface Book, i5, 6th generation 128 SSD, 8 GB RAM are the specs of this laptop.
\n", "Title": "Is the Microsoft Surface Book capable for running Mechanical Engineering apps efficiently?", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "It will run these programs. How well depends on your expectations. It's a dual-core CPU with relatively low clock speeds. At least the RAM is configured in dual-channel mode, but it's only 8GB, and can not be upgraded. Same with the tiny SSD. While that could technically be upgraded, it is not straightforward at all. Ifixit gave it a 1 out of 10 for repairability https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Microsoft+Surface+Book+Teardown/51972
\n\nIf I had 500$ with your requirements, I would get something like a Thinkpad T460p with a quad-core CPU. While it may not look as sexy as a surface book, it can easily be upgraded and serviced. The latter is a rather important trait for used laptops. And it beats the Surface Book in the performance department.
\n" }, { "Id": "13293", "CreationDate": "2020-04-16T17:57:57.373", "Body": "I have a notebook PC with 2 micro-USB Type C ports and no other video output, and a PC with DVI and HDMI.
\n\nI have two other monitors, both of them have HDMI, DVI, and VGA ports, and if I recall correctly, DisplayPort as well.
\n\nFinally I have a USB keyboard and mouse.
\n\nI would like to buy some device that will be connected to all monitors and to the USB mouse / keyboard, and that will allow me to use both computers with the same keyboard / mouse, selecting witch monitor to use (also both) for each specific computer.
\n\nAny advice?
\n", "Title": "USB switch for monitors", "Tags": "|usb|hdmi|displays|switch|usb-c|", "Answer": "The Workstation
\n\nThe cheap route is to use a USB-C Hub. I have used this one across many devices and can vouch for it.
\n\nThe fancy way, you can get a USB-C Dock that is basically the same thing but is meant to be stationary, so has its own power supply and more functionality.
\n\nBoth of the above options would turn your desk into a generic \"Work Station\" at which you could sit down with any USB-C device and connect to all your peripherals.
\n\nKVM
\n\nIf you want to have both computers at the same desk always on and easily swap back and forth, you are looking for a KVM (Keyboard Video Mouse). Unfortunately, USB-C is relatively new and I do not know of any that run directly from USB-C yet available.
\n\nThere are may kinds of KVMs available. Some split video cables, some split USB connections, and others that split both separately. You could convert from USB-C to USB-A and then go to one of these.
\n\nWhat to look for
\n\nUSB-C is the connection and is part of Thunderbolt 3 but the two are not the same.
\n\nYou can charge many devices through the same port you connect to the hub. The first device I listed has this functionality, known as power pass-through. Often sold with the Power Delivery (PD) mark followed by the power rating for that device.
\n\nIf you are going to use one computer on each monitor and want to share a mouse and keyboard, you can use software like Synergy. It's a great software that I have used many times.
\n\nNote
\n\nThere are several very similar questions on this site and no perfect answers. It's a messy area to search for, but once you know what your looking for you can find the solution that works best for you.
\n\nEdit: Answer to comment
\n\nFor keyboard and mouse, there will be absolutely no problem going to USB-A. The only problem is that you said your computer only has USB-C outputs and no video output. I would recommend going from laptop to this cheaper hub and then from this hub's HDMI and USB-A to the above linked KVM. Use the first Hub I linked in the exact same way if you also want power pass-through.
\n" }, { "Id": "13305", "CreationDate": "2020-04-17T13:39:59.887", "Body": "I want to buy an external drive to run SSD, without touching my Windows HDD. However, this is a little investment so I am wondering if you can answer my few questions. Here are my laptop specs:
\n\nHonestly, it runs very slowly, 5-10 minutes to startup, ~1 minute to start Microsoft Word. This is not the best laptop but this is not the question here. The questions are:
\n\nI have already tried Dual Boot and it was good but I want another drive for Ubuntu now (don\u2019t try to change my mind)
\n\nThank you for your answers!
\n", "Title": "Is buying a SSD for Ubuntu a good deal?", "Tags": "|laptop|ssd|ubuntu|", "Answer": "I will recommend you to go with 256GB SSD and install Windows/Ubuntu on it, Performance will increase a lot. I regularly upgrade older system with ssd and use HDD as storage. Go for it.
\nYou could buy an internal 2.5" SSD, then use it in the desktop. Later you could buy an enclosure and put the internal 2.5" SSD into the enclosure to use it as an external drive.
\nYou could use the external drive on multiple computers, even boot from it if the system supports USB boot. You would need to make sure all systems support uefi or legacy (mbr) and format the external to the partition standard you choose on the systems.
\nThis question is about how to install Ubuntu on an external drive.
\n" }, { "Id": "13306", "CreationDate": "2020-04-17T13:54:24.887", "Body": "I'm planning to update some components on my PC and I want to know if I can buy two more modules of RAM without compatibility issues.
\n\nThis is the new motherboard I will be buying, a Gigabyte B365M-DS3H. It has 4 slots for RAM; now, I only have 2 on my Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2H.
\n\nI want to buy the two remaining RAM modules and go for the 32GB of RAM (8GB x4) because sometimes 16GB is small for my work. Currently I have two HyperX Fury DDR4 2133 C14 8GB (CPU-Z says: DDR4-2134, Part number KHX2133C14D4/8GB) and I'm wondering if I could buy a pack of two of any of these newer models:
Kingston HyperX Fury Black DDR4 2400Mhz PC-19200 2x8GB CL15Kingston HyperX Fury Black DDR4 2666Mhz PC-21300 2x8GB CL16Kingston HyperX Fury Black DDR4 3200Mhz PC-25600 2x8GB CL16 (Too fast for the motherboard?)Kingston HyperX Fury Black DDR4 3466Mhz PC-27700 2x8GB CL16 (Too fast for the motherboard?)My concern is that even though the new motherboard supports 2666/2400/2133 MHz, my older RAM runs at 2133MHz and it will be different compared to the new RAM.
\n\nIs this a compatibility problem ?.
\n", "Title": "Is there a compatibility problem with these RAM modules at different speeds?", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|desktop|compatibility|", "Answer": "Since you can not overclock memory on Intels current \"Bxxx\" motherboards, no matter which memory you buy, it will run at DDR4-2133, the slowest common denominator.
\n\nI would not expect any compatibility issues with these low memory frequencies.
\nIt may be possible to overclock to DDR4-2666, but you can't really know until you tried. I would not count on that.
Edit: by the way, there is no \"too fast\" for memory. All higher end memory can be run at lower frequencies. It's just a waste of money.
\n" }, { "Id": "13313", "CreationDate": "2020-04-18T08:43:33.200", "Body": "I want to build a PC; not like a gaming rig, but instead, a computer from scratch.
\n\nThere's a great set of videos here), but instead of the MOS 6502, a clone processor to make computing history, a 486-based processor. I automatically assume it would be easier if I used a processor with a DIP 40 socket instead of something with a ton of pins. It both just has less pins, which would be easier, and would be much easier for prototyping. I also need something power-efficient, because I plan to eventually put it into a laptop form factor.
\n\nNot related to my processor question, but also, if there is a better site to post this question, please tell me. I barely ever ask questions on Stack Exchange. Anyways, suggestions are greatly appreciated.
\n", "Title": "Which CPU should I use in my first scratch 486 build?", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "This list of CPUs and their sockets shows you would be limited to two very historical CPUs indeed, the 8088 and 8086, if you use a DIP40 socket.
\n\nNeither of those are 486-based, nor will they will execute the full 486 instruction set. To run the full 486 instruction set, you'd need a PGA socket (of which there are many, listed in the first link in the first sentence) or a slot (op cit.).
\n\nI was repairing PCs, and teaching dealers how to repair them, back when CPUs came in slots, and I will tell you PGA sockets gave us a lot less trouble than slot-based CPUs.
\n" }, { "Id": "13351", "CreationDate": "2020-04-22T13:32:39.370", "Body": "I currently have a system with an Intel CPU and an integrated GPU (see below). I am pondering adding a more powerful GPU, say, along the lines of these:
\n\nhttps://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1070-gv-n1070ixoc-8gd/p/N82E16814125893\nhttps://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1060-gv-n1060ixoc-6gd/p/N82E16814125903?&quicklink=true
\n\nThe specs of my system are as follows:
\n\nMotherboard: https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813157504?Item=N82E16813157504
\n\nMemory (x2): https://www.newegg.com/corsair-8gb-240-pin-ddr3-sdram/p/N82E16820233366?Item=N82E16820233366
\n\nPower Supply: https://www.newegg.com/silverstone-sfx-st30sf-300w/p/N82E16817256097?Item=N82E16817256097
\n\nCPU + GPU: https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i7-4th-gen-core-i7-4790k/p/N82E16819117369?Item=N82E16819117369
\n\nCPU Cooler: https://www.newegg.com/noctua-nh-u9b-se2/p/N82E16835608016?Item=N82E16835608016
\n\nHDD1: https://www.newegg.com/seagate-1tb-st1000lm014/p/N82E16822178340?Item=N82E16822178340
\n\nHDD2: https://www.newegg.com/seagate-barracuda-4tb-st4000lm024/p/N82E16822179105?Item=9SIAAY9AWM5481
\n\nMy question is whether adding the new graphics card will prove too much for the 300W power supply. The estimate I have made was 88W for the CPU, based on the so-called Thermal Design Power or the amount of heat the sink needs to dissipate. I also know that the new card will require about 120-180W of power, depending on the model. This leaves us with about 100 Watts for everything else in the machine.
\n\nBasically, the question is whether I should be able to make this work without swapping the power supply. I really like the latter and am not sure whether the company still makes something similar.
\n\nHow can I estimate the power consumption of the rest of PC?
\n\nHow much \"allowance\" and \"breathing room\" should one have in form of the wattage not taken up by anything to make the system stable and not shut down suddenly because of lack of power?
\n", "Title": "Adding Video Card to PC: Power and Wattage Considerations", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|pc|power-supply|power|", "Answer": "We can do the math to calculate the power consumed by CPU cooler, motherboard, RAM, and HDDs for each rail (bus, or voltage specific circuit) of the power supply ('PSU'), relying on the specs of each component. Go back to each manufacturer's website to find their spec sheets; don't rely on the reseller's data, and use the startup current as that's the maximum amperage .
\n\nAvailable power from your 300W PSU per page 4 of the manual:
\n\n\nVotage * Amperage * Tolerance factor = Max Watts\n Rail Amp Tlrnc Watts\n +12V 22 0.96 253W \n -12V 0.5 0.89 5.3W \n +5V 20 0.94 94W * Max combined 103W \n +3.3V 21 0.94 65W * Max combined 103W \n SB 2.5 0.94 11.7 standby +5VDC\n\nThe Tolerance factor allows for variations in the load and line regulation.\nFor example:
\n\nDrive 1, the Seagate ST1000LM014 uses 1 Amp at 5VDC at startup, or 5W on the +5V rail
\nDrive 2, the Seagate ST4000LM024 uses 1.2 Amps at 5VDC at startup, or 7W on the +5V rail.
\nBut, the Asrock Z97E-ITXac motherboard has no power consumption data, so you'd need to contact Asrock support to find what its maximum power draw would be, separate from the CPU, RAM, and other components.
Adding 120-180W of additional power draw to a system with a 300W power supply is risky, and I would not do it without an accurate verification of what the current power consumption is.
\n\nMy conclusion: Upgrading the power supply would be wise.
\n" }, { "Id": "13371", "CreationDate": "2020-04-24T13:44:04.340", "Body": "I'm working on a software that measures the facial skin temperature, a kind of 'fever detector';\nIn order to test the software, I want to check if my detector correctly works with objects with temperatures around 37.5 - 39 C, but I cannot find a 'device' that can be used for such measurements. A kind of thermostat, but it should keep static temperature on its outer shell.\nI tried to use a cup with hot water, but its temperature is being decreasing too fast, I would like to have an object with static temperature.\nAny advices on which device or object can be used are highly appreciated.
\n\nPS Soldering iron and Curling Hair with adjustable temperatures are working in too high temperatures range.
\n", "Title": "Temperature detection > device with adjustable temperature", "Tags": "|thermal-imaging|", "Answer": "Small objects (like an 8 oz/237 ml ) cup of hot water will lose heat quickly, especially if uninsulated, so will exhibit a quick drop in temperature.
\n\nA larger warm mass will hold its temperature for a longer period of time, as will an insulated mass. Therefore, use a vacuum-insulated ('Thermos'TM) bottle filled with warm water for your calibration.
\n" }, { "Id": "13373", "CreationDate": "2020-04-24T16:28:49.403", "Body": "The problem is that my work laptop goes to sleep after 15 minutes. I have no control over these settings, I icannot install any software on the computer, nor can I plug in unauthorized USB devices.
\n\nMy thought is something that rests on the touchpad and somehow moves around (actual xy movement, rocking, or movement contained within the perimeter of the device. A wind-up toy that moves.
\n\nWhat can you suggest?
\n\nEdit:\nHaving done more research, the best solution might be to modified an interactive cat toy that runs on AA batteries.
\n", "Title": "Looking for device to keep laptop from sleeping", "Tags": "|touchpad|", "Answer": "Maybe a completely different solution. Regarding the 'not able to install software' : there is a whole ecosystem of 'Portable Applications'. These are applications that do not require any admin-rights or access to protected directories like Program Files or Windows.
\n\nOften they can be \"installed\" by extracting a downloaded ZIP-file. For instance this one: https://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=1738 (\"prevent sleep\").
\n\nHowever, you might want to run them by a virusscanner first. I have some experience in (my opinion) false positives, where the IT-guys forced me to reinstall my whole laptop because some 'heuristic scanner' found some programming techniques that hackers also employ.
\n\nFurthermore, test if your screensaver/locker can be stopped just pressing the control or alt key. This doesn't yield real keystrokes but might prevent locking. Putting a weight on the control-key shouldn't be to difficult.
\n\nGood luck!
\n" }, { "Id": "13377", "CreationDate": "2020-04-25T06:11:28.200", "Body": "My desktop has an i3-4130 along with 4 GB RAM and no dedicated graphics card. \n I am about to get a laptop, and want to evaluate these three:
Acer Predator Helios 300 - Core i7-9750, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, 256 GB SSD, 6 GB GeForce 1660Ti
Asus Zenbook Duo - Core i7-10510U, 16 GB RAM (DDR3), 1 TB SSD, 2 GB GeForce MX250
Asus TUF Gaming A15 - AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, 256 GB SSD, 6 GB GeForce 1660Ti
[There's some uncertainity in models of A15]
\n\nI'm just a student but I like programming so I do use Android Studio, Visual Studio Code, PyCharm, and some other IDEs which require less resources than how much Android Studio does.
\n\nSometimes I need to create my own assets for my application, so I use PhotoShop.
\n\nI do make some videos for YouTube and I wish to use Adobe After Effects which I have actually used once on my desktop and as you will expect it ofcourse took my an hour to render a short video.
\n\nEach of the above laptop have some attributes that I like but are confusing me.\nMy first preference is the Predator Helios 300 for sure, except it's battery but this is acceptable because it's just powerful.
\n\nActual confusion arises due to Asus A15 which is launched recently (yet to be launched in India) because the processor as per I've heard is faster than the i7. But again, some people said me that I should go for Intel because it's reliable. I don't know if AMD lasts less than Intel. Should be a Myth just like when people compare Snapdragon and Mediatek. [Asus TUF Gaming F15 has Intel Intel\u00ae Core\u2122 i7 10750H but looks like this one will take a long time to arrive especially in India]
Also A15 has a plastic build with 3 heat sinks while Predator is all metal with 4 heat sinks.
\n\nComing to the last one, I definitely wanted the Zenbook Duo for its second screen which indeed is very useful. But, it has DDR3 RAM, weaker graphics, and only 2GB of video RAM. It does have a 10th Generation i7, but it is labelled U, meaning it is low powered.
As I have mentioned earlier I need to use After Effects so I can drop idea of getting the Zenbook Duo.
\n\n[Zenbook PRO Duo is way too much expensive than these 3 so that's not an option for me]
\n\nTUF Gaming A15 is available with 90Wh battery which could be helpful.\nThere isn't much difference else. But plastic body, can it be less rigid than Predator? That's why I'm confused else Predator is a good choice.
\n\nThe aggressive gaming style of laptop won't be a problem; the Predator looks nothing less than a beast. I would be mostly home and wrapped around that charger, but even if I'm out, the Predator gives at least 2-3 hours of battery life [on light tasks, anyways won't be gaming outside of course] so shouldn't be an issue.
\n\nWhich one should I go for? All these laptops are in price range of around 1300-1500 USD [1 - 1.20 lakh INR].
Also I hope it won't affect the performance if the laptop was released 1 year. The Predator, was launched in April 2019.
\n", "Title": "Which of the mentioned laptops should be better for my needs?", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|processor|memory|intel|", "Answer": "Since the Acer Zenbook Duo only has DDR3 RAM, and the inferior MX250 GPU, I'd rule that out.
\n\nYour PH315-52-76WX model of the Acer Predator Helios 300 looks like a good buy, but the Model B07S8D3C8J TUF Gaming A15 with 256 GB M.2 NVMe SSD, Ryzen 7, and 1660Ti GPU has a faster internal drive and WiFi 6, whereas the Predator only has WiFi 5. Of course, if you will use Ethernet instead of WiFi on large file transfers, that's irrelevant.
\n\nThe plastic chassis of the TUF may be less of a drawback since it has been tested to meet MIL-STD-810H standards, and its 90 Watt-Hour (8+ hrs of web browsing) battery plus the 144Hz display at 1920x1080 is attractive.
\n" }, { "Id": "13388", "CreationDate": "2020-04-28T13:10:39.790", "Body": "Basically like the surface pro. However, I think I want a bigger space and something that I can fix more easily.
\n", "Title": "Repairable touchscreen laptop/hybrid under $500", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Dell's Inspiron 2-in-1, Lenovo's ThinkPad S1 Yoga, and some HP Touchscreen PCs are the only major competition to the Microsoft Surface devices, but none of their i5 or i7 machines will fit in your budget.
\n" }, { "Id": "13393", "CreationDate": "2020-04-28T18:07:04.623", "Body": "What PC (laptop or desktop) would be good for a relatively newbie coder who'll be entering a UX/UI boot camp soon?
\n\nA little background: I'm a lifelong PC/windows users (I'm coming from the business world), and while I've purchased and tried a few Apple/Mac products in my life, they've never quite gelled with me. I tend to dislike the fact that they're SO proprietary, i.e., I resent spending money on special chargers and cables, and I dislike the garbage bin (sorry, I'm nitpicking).
\n\nI'm located in the US (New Mexico), so I'll probably be ordering something though we do have a Best Buy here in town, currently closed due to COVID restrictions.
\n\nBudget is somewhat open though I'd prefer to be under $2K if possible.
\n\nIn any case, should I view this opportunity as my foray into the Mac world, or should I stick with PC-based tech since that's what I'm most familiar and comfortable with?
\n\nThanks for sharing your tips and thoughts, particularly if you've been in a similar position.
\n", "Title": "Recommendations for UX/UI Bootcamper / newbie coder", "Tags": "|pc|apple|", "Answer": "Lenovo's ThinkPad P73 (model part number 20QRS00100) is an excellent machine for just under two kilobucks today when ordered from Lenovo, with a 17.3\" screen, Core i9-9750H CPU, 16 GB of (expandible) DDR4 RAM, a NVIDIA Quadro T2000 GPU, and a 512 GB SSD. It's fast and upgradable, the screen's large, and it's very easy to service when you need to beef it up. Lenovo's documentation is first rate, and IBM Global Service will stand behind you.
\n\nI'd recommend Lenovo ThinkPads over other machines with the same specs because of the last two items, even if I had to pay more.
\n" }, { "Id": "13418", "CreationDate": "2020-05-04T08:13:19.623", "Body": "My PC only has USB-A ports. I want a hub which I can connect (so it needs USB-A connection) and which provides both USB-A and USB-C ports. I do not need any of the fancy optional features USB-C can provide like Thunderbolt, DisplayPort or high power output, just plain USB 3 will do.
\n\nThe only devices I could find so far are of the Docking Station category with a very steep price tag. All the normal hubs I found with USB-C ports have a USB-C uplink connection as well.
\n\nThe lack of such a device made me wonder, if there might be a technical (or legal) reason that such a device cannot exist.
\n", "Title": "Hub with USB-A uplink and USB-C ports", "Tags": "|usb|hub|usb-c|", "Answer": "Technical reason: A USB-C device must be driven by a USB-C 'uplink' port in the PC. Since your PC does not have a USB-C port, no USB-C device can connect.
\n\nTherefore, I'd suggest adding a USB-C card such as a $19 card from NewEgg, or a $25 card from Amazon. Both connect to PCIe slots on your desktop motherboard, so please check that you have the necessary card slot available.
\n\nIf your PC is a laptop, there's no solution for it, as the ExpressCard expansion card slot does not support USB-C.
\n" }, { "Id": "13437", "CreationDate": "2020-05-06T22:09:17.457", "Body": "I am looking for a cable modem that has the ability to shut WiFi on and off. I need the modem to be DOCSIS 3.0 at the least. The network I\u2019d be using this for is Spectrum. Are there models that are compatible with the requirements I have?
\n\nSearches I\u2019ve made have turned out modems that have WiFi but no switch to turn it on or off.
\n\nUpdates:\nA physical button would great but access to the panel for on/off would be acceptable too. Ideally this would be one item housing both the modem and router. Setups that use both can work if none exist. For channels, my preference is 16x4 but 24x8 will si too.
\n", "Title": "Cable modem with WiFi on off switch", "Tags": "|wifi|router|", "Answer": "Any 'Gateway' device (cable modem + router) and any router allow you to disable the WiFi, if my no other means, changing the wireless LAN's IP address or network name.
\n\nhttps://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear-nighthawk-dual-band-ac1900-router-with-24-x-8-docsis-3-0-cable-modem-black/4403100.p?skuId=4403100
\nand
\nhttps://www.bestbuy.com/site/motorola-dual-band-ac1900-router-with-16-x-4-docsis-3-0-cable-modem-black/5619201.p?skuId=5619201
are immediately available from Buy More and have 24x8 channels as well as WPA2-PSK encryption and 802.11ac WiFi.
\n\nThe Motorola is Spectrum-certified, whereas users of the Netgear say it does work on Spectrum.
\n" }, { "Id": "13449", "CreationDate": "2020-05-10T20:23:22.650", "Body": "I want a new PC, mainly for work, plus other minor stuff like browsing, Netflix, and Skype. I work in economics research, therefore I need to easily work with reasonably big datasets (say, ~25Gb of data) and pure, brute computational power for simulations, model estimation, some light machine learning task. I write code mainly in R/Python/Julia/Matlab/Stata languages, plus LaTeX for writing presentations and articles. I can get some discount on Dell machines through my Uni, which restricts the options to basically two alternatives:
\n\nBoth machines fit the portability requirement, as I can also work at a conference without carrying around a stone slate. The after discount prices are close enough (<1500\u20ac).
\n\nHere comes my question then: which one should I favour, knowing my work needs? As of now, ports and expansible RAM on the Latitude are an advantage that comes at the cost of separated AC port and thickness, while the XPS has fewer ports, RAM is soldered but has more portability and is powered via USB C (one less charger to carry around)?
\n\nPlease note that when I am at office I usually use a second screen if that helps in any way.
\n\nedit: 15\" would be ok but are usually much more pricier and less portable.
\n\nedit II: got in touch with Dell's Sales, the Latitude 7400 can be powered by a USB-C charger (so a dock station can work, too) and not only with the barrel ('Coaxial') plug.
\n", "Title": "Portable laptop for academic research", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|memory|multiple-monitors|portable|", "Answer": "The XPS with a i7-10710U has more processing cores than the i7-8665U which could help it tackle multiple simultaneous programs or threads. Performance improvement in programs, which are not memory-bound will be lower. It could take advantage of faster memory access, but Dell chose slower memory for the XPS. Ouch!
\n\nThe Latitude with a Core i7-8665U advantage can run at a higher operating frequency than the i7-10710U, and its memory is faster (2400 MHz vs 2133 MHz).
\n\nSince the memory is faster and more expandable, Windows 10 Pro is included (so it can join domains), and the warranty is three years instead of one, I favor the Latitude.
\n\nA more detailed comparison chart is available for review. It shows the Latitude has a USB 3.1 Gen 1 without PowerShare, a USB 3.1 Gen 1 with PowerShare (allows the battery on your laptop to charge a USB device), and a Thunderbolt\u2122 3 w/ DisplayPort & Power Delivery. PowerDelivery, in theory, allows charging in and charging out, but I would confirm that with Dell Latitude Sales as to power in capabilities over the Thunderbolt port; they're making bucks off the sale, they should help.
\n" }, { "Id": "13451", "CreationDate": "2020-05-11T15:06:06.420", "Body": "One of my friends has problems with the 3.5mm audio jacks on the front of his PC. He's not technical enough to look into fixing those and what that implies. With lockdown all over the place, it's hard to go to a specialised shop right now, so we want an alternative to make this work.
\n\nThe audio jacks on the back of the case work well, but the headphones cable is not long enough to allow to sit comfortably at the desk. I would like something like a little hub (mc+headphones) he could connect to the back of his PC and leverage those ports via this extension.
\n\nWe looked at a few things but some were not what we were after:
\n\nDesktop adapter for specific desks with the round hole cutouts This one only works if you have those corner holes in your desktop, so not great a great fit.
Front Panel The person can't be trusted to open the case and install this since they have no experience with this.
USB to 3.5 mm not really excited about, they are usually short and the 1 working front USB port is used for other stuff.
Creative Sound - Desktop audio control module Something like this module would be nice, but without the entire card since opening the case is not an option.
I have one of these hubs on my keyboard, but his keyboard does not have one, unfortunately.
6) How about a 3.5mm male-3.5mm female four pole TRRS (tip-ring-ring-sleeve) extension cord?
\n\nThe four pole is needed since it's a headset, not just headphones (which only need three pole, tip-ring-sleeve). Examples shown at https://www.google.com/search?psb=1&tbm=shop&q=3.5mm%20headset%20extension%20cable .
\n\nPlease confirm the plug on the end of his headset looks like the plug shown in those pix.
\n" }, { "Id": "13456", "CreationDate": "2020-05-12T14:51:12.713", "Body": "I'm looking for a low-profile PCI-Express video card that will support 1080p on at least 2 monitors simultaneously. That's easy to find, but I'm also wanting one that has the versatility of having all 4 of these ports:
\n\nIt is easy to find inexpensive video cards that can do dual monitors at 1080p via all 3 of these ports: HDMI, DVI, and VGA. However, I can't find one that can do \"all of those ports plus Display Port\".
\n\nThis is for a fleet of work computers. I just want to make sure that each one these computers has the flexibility to connect to what ever monitors are available at any given time I try to set them up (without using external adapters).
\n\nI need low profile because the video card will be installed in these bottom two slots (which are smaller than a full size PC slots):
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IIB0k.jpg\")
First of all, VGA is analog and the rest are digital. This limits somewhat your options because, in case of NVIDIA graphics cards, the 900 series was the last one to support analog video through DVI-I. According to this reply, there are some old AMD cards that also support it and you also might be able to convert between Display Port and VGA.
\n\nIn other words, it is fairly easy to convert between digital connectors (DVI, HDMI) using a passive adapter. However, you need an active adapter to convert the signal between analog and digital, which are usually quite expensive.
\n\nAs a result, this is an example of a card that might suit you:
\n\nOn the bottom, it has (from left to right):
\n\nApart from that, it looks like a low profile card (although \"low profile\" are usually considered the cards that occupy one slot and don't require external power), but I am not sure if it fits your case. You might want to take some measurements to be safe.
\n\nYou might also have price and availability issues, as these card are a coupe generations old and you would probably only find them used. Since they are for a fleet of work computers as you say, the card than I linked above would probably be considered overkill.
\n" }, { "Id": "13495", "CreationDate": "2020-05-18T17:05:35.663", "Body": "My scenario is that at ground level I do not have phone signal.
\n\nAt around 20m height I get quite a good phone sinal, including internet.
\n\nI would like to use an Android phone to use it for voice calls from my computer (perhaps via wifi/bluetooth) and have good signal antennas to catch as much signal as possible from the cell tower.
\n\nAlso, I will use it as hotspot, hence the need for good wifi and bluetooth signal.
\n\nI have tried this with my iPhone, but unfortunatelly, I cannot have voice calls when the iPhone works as hotspot.
\n", "Title": "Android phone with powerful signal antenna (eventually exended), good Bluetooth and Wifi range", "Tags": "|wifi|smartphones|bluetooth|", "Answer": "Since very few cellphones nowadays have external antennas, and they are not Android but are 2G only, a cellular repeater or femtocell at 20m elevation is recommended.
\n\n![\"Layout](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/dRLB7.png\")
It must match the cellular voice and data frequency bands used by your provider, wherever you are, and may require regional regulatory approval. They will work, as adding another cellphone (Android or otherwise) may or may not work, especially since the sensitivity and rejection figures needed to determine if that second phone would work well are rarely published. A repeater also eliminates the need for another cellphone and another SIM card.
\n\nAn active repeater adds signal gain, whereas a passive repeater doesn't. Therefore, an active repeater is preferred.
\n\nThe following picture shows two antennas coupled together; if there's an active repeater between the antennas instead of just cable, that would be ideal and much more likely to work with no problems, rather than an unamplified passive approach.
\n\nIf there is no femtocell or cellular repeater approved, let's talk about external antennas coupled through low-loss cable to form a passive repeater. \n![\"passive](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/4KFRa.png\")
L50 ohm LMR400 cable would be my choice for cable; see https://info.wilsonpro.com/ty-installationguide/ and https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/blog/understanding-coaxial-cables-the-complete-guide for more.
There are apps for your phone which can provide the location of the cell towers you connect to at that 20 meter height. A Yagi-Uda or other directional antenna can be pointed at that cell tower, and a cable dropped from that position to your cellphone. However, that depends on knowing what frequency bands your cellphone carrier uses, as directional antennas are very frequency-specific.
\n\nBoth of those suggestions let you continue to use your existing iPhone, and its Bluetooth connectivity, without buying another SIM card and paying for another cellular device every month.
\n" }, { "Id": "13500", "CreationDate": "2020-05-20T11:24:52.680", "Body": "It should give power to them, and give a SATA connection to them. Roughly so:
\n\n![\"HDD](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/g8sZO.jpg\")
...except that I want to put 3.5'' SATA drives in it.
\n\nWhat I want, externally: simple SATA slots, connected to the drives directly. All \"intelligent\" solutions, particularly complex NAS servers, etc. are all big no-no. I only want a physical storage for the hard disks, the NAS part is done by me.
\n\nNice to have, but not a requirement, if at least some of the HDDs can be hot-swapped (removed without screws).
\n\nPrice should be consequent to the near-zero electronics. (Obviously it should be cheaper than a NAS.)
\n", "Title": "HDD rack container", "Tags": "|hard-disk|rack|", "Answer": "This is a rack-mounted JBOD (Just a Box Of Disks) 19\" enclosure for 3.5\" SATA drives.
\n\n\n\n\n\nBoth are hot-swap compatible if your controller supports that. Controller cables are readily available from that source, once you make a selection of what you want, but the standard SATA port on a motherboard is designed to control just one drive, so for an enclosure like this, you will need a 2-port JBOD controller (or more ports) for the number of SATA drives you plan to use.
\n\n19\" rack-mount drives the price up; if you would accept a freestanding cabinet, the price drops, but you would need to specify the number of drive bays.
\n" }, { "Id": "13503", "CreationDate": "2020-05-20T17:14:00.567", "Body": "A project needs a small touch display to control an alarm system in public buildings. requiring:
\n\nThe display doesn't need to be very big (4\" or even less would work), and the resolution doesn't really matter either, as long as it's adequate for buttons and text.
\n\nIf you know how visual elements are configured to the display (for example by using QT), that would be helpful.
\n\nOnce the prototype has been built, more of the displays will be ordered. Example image:
\n\n![\"picture](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fWRiF.png\")
Thanks for any help or direction!
\n", "Title": "Small Touch Display Recommendation with RS485 Connectivity", "Tags": "|displays|", "Answer": "4D Systems offers many different displays.
\n\nThe key advantages are:
\n\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/oqNvI.png\")
I want to buy a new laptop and after some research, I have two candidates. The prices almost match, but I can't buy both best CPU and GPU in my region.
\n\nI found one laptop with CPU i9-8950HK (gen 8, 6 cores, clockspeed 2.9GHz) and with GPU NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000, and one with CPU i9-9980HK (gen 9, 8 cores, clockspeed 2.4GHz) and with GPU NVIDIA Quadro T2000.
\n\nThe problem is that I found that Quadro RTX is much more powerful.
\n\nI need the computer for (primarily):
\n\nBoth GPUs are very OK for game development. But if I understand correctly the Quadro RTX is better for ML.
\n\nSo I ask:
\n\nHow much is gen 9 better than gen 8, also consider 8-cores vs. 6-cores but higher clockspeed?
Is the difference between the CPUs will affect more than the difference between the GPUs? Note that if I cannot do ML with Quadro T2000 there's no choice and I'll but the first laptop - ML is mandatory, but all three usages are equal in need.
If the computers are roughly equal I prefer the second because of the weight (1.78kg vs 2.6kg).
\n", "Title": "Which Laptop Should I Prefer: i9-8950HK with NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 or i9-9980HK with NVIDIA Quadro T2000", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|processor|intel|nvidia|", "Answer": "Here's comparisons of the two CPUs which show the superiority of the i9-9880HK:
\n\nhttps://versus.com/en/intel-core-i9-8950hk-vs-intel-core-i9-9880h
\n\nhttps://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-Core-i9-9980HK-vs-Intel-Core-i9-8950HK/3451vs3246
\n\nhttps://www.notebookcheck.net/8950HK-vs-9980HK-vs-9880H_9900_11341_11348.247596.0.html
\n\nAnd comparisons of the T2000 (Notebook) to the RTX 3000 (Notebook) show the advantage of the GDDR6 RAM in the latter:
\n\nhttps://www.notebookcheck.net/Quadro-T2000-Laptop-vs-Quadro-RTX-3000-Laptop_9858_9854.247598.0.html
\n\nhttps://technical.city/en/video/Quadro-RTX-3000-mobile-vs-Quadro-T2000-Max-Q
\n" }, { "Id": "13524", "CreationDate": "2020-05-24T12:32:16.977", "Body": "I've had a couple of shredders in the past, this AmazonBasics one being the most recent. They both broke, and as far as I can tell for the same reason: The optical sensor died. This means that the shredder mechanism works perfectly, except it can't tell that a paper is being pushed in the hole, and therefore it never activates the engine.
\n\nI've had some luck with cleaning the optical sensor using an alcohol pad, but that doesn't always work.
\n\nI'm sick of this problem. I want a shredder that:
\n\nDoes anyone know of a shredder that meets these criteria?
\n", "Title": "High-security shredder that doesn't depend on optical sensors", "Tags": "|home-electronics|", "Answer": "63 quid gets you this P4-level 220VAC shredder. Sadly, Big River Trading Company's website detected my Americanese dialect and would not allow me to ask Is the paper input sensor mechanical or optical?
\n" }, { "Id": "13550", "CreationDate": "2020-05-28T13:41:28.837", "Body": "I am going to be buying a new laptop but I am stuck between the following three choices. I would appreciate any advice that would help me make the best decision.
\n\nLaptop Use:
\n\nIdeally, I would like to choose the best of the following three systems but I am not sure which of them would fit me the best.
\n\n1. System 1:\nHP Envy 13-aq1020TX
\n\n2. System 2:\nASUS ZenBook 14 UX433FA
\n\n3. System 3:\nAcer Swift 5 SF514-54T
\n\nAll of them have something better other having some other thing better, I am just not able to choose from.
\n\nAny comments are & other laptop recommendation is highly appreciated. A Google Sheets comparison chart follows.
\n\n![\"Comparison](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/BQGjL.png\")
Would your budget reach up to a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme 2nd Gen, superior in every way to the other three except in audio? (See the comparison chart added to the question.) It's what I have, and I love it; the extra two cores help, and Windows 10 Pro allows me to connect to domains in networks. Over two years in, battery life still > 3 hours.
\n\nYou will appreciate the faster RAM in the Lenovos.
\n\nIf not, I would suggest a Thinkpad Legion Y540 (also six-core) or other ThinkPads in the \u20b990,000-\u20b9149,999 bucket. ThinkPad documentation is the best in the industry, and the IBM Global field service included in the warranty is excellent. These are machines which likely will last through your school years and beyond without repair; I write this on a 2010 ThinkPad T420 still in service a decade later.
\n" }, { "Id": "13562", "CreationDate": "2020-05-29T09:36:57.160", "Body": "I am searching for a USB (A or C male) to TOSLINK Adapter (female) in order to keep my audio signal digital as long as possible.
\nWhat is important that I do not need to install specific drivers (this is especially important for Linux).
\n==
\nAlternatively it could be coaxial S/PDIF instead of TOSLINK.
\n", "Title": "USB (A or C) to TOSLINK Adapter for Linux", "Tags": "|usb|linux|audio|windows|audio-adapters|", "Answer": "I found an audio interface from Behringer - the UCA222 (for about 23 EUR - as from Jul/2020) which looked pretty promising and cheap. It has input and output RCA sockets, as well as a 3.5 mm headphone jack with a volume control wheel and of course S/PDIF via TOSLINK.
\nFortunately I found a block diagram of the audio chip (CM6533) used within the UCA222. That showed me that the digital output is almost a "pass-through".\nI spoke with the Behringer team. They told me most of their devices are class compliant - so Linux should work too.
\nThat's what I finally bought and it works quite smoothly. The AD/DA components are probably not the best (haven't tested them so far) but that's why I connect it via a S/PDIF switch to a high quality DAC.
\n" }, { "Id": "13614", "CreationDate": "2020-06-04T17:38:06.420", "Body": "While connecting our small school to a new building, we're facing a problem: a tiny road splits \"campus\" in two, and we're not allowed to pass fiber cable over the street. Initially, we were planning to lay a 10Gbit fiber optic cable.
\n\nAre there any radio repeaters/antennas that can reliably keep the connection with an optimal quality grade? Distance between two points 8/10 meters. What costs, equipment and performance (speed & latency) may I expect?
\n", "Title": "Reliable, high performance radio link?", "Tags": "|wireless|", "Answer": "BlackBox offers professional radio bridge links, but you are not limited to radio: A no-license-required infrared laser bridge can provide one or 10 gigabit/second of bandwidth as described at https://hackaday.com/2016/03/10/gigabit-ethernet-through-the-air/ , at http://www.koruza.net/features/ , and http://quickstart.koruza.net/ for less than two thousand Euros (VAT & freight not included).
\n\nRun a gigabit or 10 gigabit LAN connection to a point on walls which face each other. You can use power over Ethernet or bring out a 24VDC connection capable of 6W of power.
\n\nMount a two kilo, 18 cm x 12 cm x 12cm, Koruza box on each wall.
\n\n![\"Diagram](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/cSc4H.png\")
Align each laser to point at each other with the green laser included.
\n\nThen, turn off the aiming laser, and the eye-safe infrared laser in each Koruza box will connect through snow, dust, rain, and fog.
\n\nI would expect < 1ms latency per this study .
\n\nKoruza is not the only vendor of infrared optical laser bridges, BTW; BlackBox also offers professional grade infrared laser optical bridges as well as 60 GHz radio bridges, and Ronja offers a DIY 10 Mbps optical kit if you are have severe budgetary constraints.
\n" }, { "Id": "13663", "CreationDate": "2020-06-18T14:06:32.850", "Body": "I'm looking for a laptop for my wife to use for home use. She primarily needs to browse the web and print documents. I'd like to find a laptop at an excellent price-point that will last a long time.
\nSpecifically:
\nI've heard that refurbished industrial brands should work well for this, so I've been considering a refurbished Dell Latitude. Others have mentioned that Lenovo Thinkpads are a good choice, but I've heard too many reports of those failing.
\nMy question: What brand do you recommend, and are there reputable sellers who will cover warranty returns if, e.g., the battery fails within 90 days?
\n", "Title": "Durable, low-cost, browsing laptop", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "I would go without hesitation for a Dell Latitude.
\nI loved the E6510 (15.6'') / E6410 (14.1''). They're robust, a dream for maintenance, and are easy to clean. Both support 8GB DDR3 (confirmed), maybe 16GB.
\nPrevious E6500 (15.4'') / E6400 (14.1'') series are similar for maintenance.\nThose Core 2 Duo are still performing very well with Vista with only 4GB DDR2 (or even 2GB !), if coming with a dedicated graphic chip (Nvidia NVS 160M) and a professional grade SSD. (Word or Excel opening in less than 1 second on Windows Vista.)\nThey are probably a little aging for Windows 10. I haven't attepmpted this.\nE6500 / E6400 had the issue of peeling speakers paint.
\nMore recent series, with the E6520/E6420 and E6530/E6430 design, are also very good, although maintenance is a little less easy, as having more than one screw on the bottom to open them. The E6530/E6430 brought USB 3.0, altough E6510/E6410 series allows adding a USB 3.0 socket though the use of an ExpressCard and have an eSATA socket as well.
\nLater series (e.g. E6540) are less reparable, at least for the display panel assembly which is monolithic. (The LCD panel is sealed.)
\nIf the notebook stays at work or home most of the time, I would go with a 15''.
\nIn your case, I would pick the E6510 (easier to clean) or the E6530 (more recent).\nNewbies focus too much on the RAM amount. I would'nt.\nA dedicated graphic chip (NVIDIA), the processor and an SSD instead of an HDD are way more important.\nFor instance, I have some old E6500 with Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA 160M graphics and 4 GB RAM that still beat more recent E6520 with i5 but standard Intel GMA graphics. Both have a good SSD.\nThe question is always where the bottleneck is. It is useless to have tons of RAM if the processor cannot follow or if the HDD is slow. Nowadays it is rare going out of RAM with standard desktop use. 4GB often suffice and 6GB is comfortable.
\n" }, { "Id": "13674", "CreationDate": "2020-06-20T04:05:51.120", "Body": "With working I mean GNU/Linux temperatures should not exceed Windows' ones by 10 C\u00b0 with low performance profile.
Preferably powersaving support over multi monitor configurations should be present into free driver.
\n", "Title": "Cheapest (jun 2020) discrete GPU with working powersaving on GNU / Linux multihead", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|linux|multiple-monitors|power|", "Answer": "After six months of usage I can say\nMaarten Bodewen\nsuggestion for the Radeon 580RX has been wise.
\nI wouldn't suggest a PSU with less than 850 watt of power to anyone else going this way, though.
\n" }, { "Id": "13688", "CreationDate": "2020-06-23T12:39:06.250", "Body": "I'm looking for a device that can record GPS coordinate and save them to SD card, without the need for SIM card. I need this so I can tag my photos on laptop when I get home. GPS for my camera is way too big, I want something I can put in my backpack and forget about and only need to charge it once in a day (it would be nice if the battery last few days).
\nThe only devices I've seen are GPS navigation with a map and spy devices or localizators with sim card.
\nIdeal whould be device (small computer) that save single file each day to SD card. that can be read from SD card and processed. I already have script in python that tag my photos based on GPX or CSV files created using Android app called GPS logger.
\nDo you know any devices like this? I have GPS in my phone but I always forget to turn it on when I'm shooting photos, because GPS consume more power and I can't have it always turn on.
\n", "Title": "GPS device that save location on SD card without the need of SIM card", "Tags": "|gps|microsd|sd-card|", "Answer": "I have personally used an Arduino with a GPS module an SD Card module to plot GPS coordinates. This is a bit of a DIY project and requires some programming, but given your StackOverflow reputation this should not be an issue for you at all and has the added benefit of being customisable to your exact needs.
\nThe Arduino can be powered using a powerbank which, depending on the size, would easily last more than a day.
\nBelow is a map of the route which I took, the blue line is the path I walked and the red line is the GPS points read from the SD card - as you can see the results are quite accurate for an inexpensive system.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/17fWA.jpg\")
I have two notebooks, one is Win10 PC (HDMI), second is Macbook Pro 15 Retina 2015 (HDMI, and two Thunderbolt 2's port).
\nPlease recommend: one big monitor (30", 32" or biggest) with the ability to simultaneously connect two laptops, so that I can either switch between sources, or work in parallel (picture in picture).
\n", "Title": "Large monitor for two notebooks (WinPC and Macbook Pro)", "Tags": "|laptop|monitors|hdmi|windows|apple|", "Answer": "Fortunately, it is easier as we could see on the first spot.
\nTwo trivial solutions:
\n(2) has also the advantage, that you can use a single keyboard/mouse for both of your laptops.
\nExactly which monitor(s) do you like you use, is already up to you (note, typically monitors live longer as the laptops, so a wise decision is relative more important).
\n" }, { "Id": "13704", "CreationDate": "2020-06-27T22:41:11.857", "Body": "I would like to connect one USB Headset to two separate computers, hearing the audio of both at the same time. USB Switches exist, however they only allow one computer to control the headset at a time. It most certainly needs to be a special device that knows how to handle sound data and mixes it from two different sources. Does something like this already exist? If possible, buying one is the preferred option however I may also invest some time and tinker it with a raspberry pi if some tutorial for this exists.
\n", "Title": "Connect one USB headset to two devices, playing both sounds simultaneously", "Tags": "|usb|audio|sound-system|", "Answer": "You want a "Sound Mixer". If you are working with analog audio signals, there are several options: Here is a cheap one that has 4 inputs and here is a battery powered option with better quality that has 2 inputs.
\nUnfortunately there are not any devices that share a USB connection between multiple hosts. That is just a limitation of USB. USB was designed as a master-slave system for peripherals, as such, it has a strict "Tree Network" topology. This means, no matter how you slice it, multiple hosts (computers) can't share a USB device. Similar issue on this recent question.
\nBecause it is common to want this functionality, there exits several software solutions. I know this is outside the context of both this site and what you want, but its really the only option. This is where the Raspberry Pi you mentioned may come in.
\nYou can find many options by searching for a way of sharing either the USB device, or the sound source over a network. A good example of this is the program Synergy. The original version of the program (there is a second more complicated version now) shares your mouse and keyboard between multiple computers by connecting your peripherals to one computer that acts as a server and sends its kb/m inputs over to another computer through a network. The program running on the second computer decodes this information and presents it to the operating system as a kb/m. The second computer can't access the keyboard or mouse directly, it only gets the keystrokes that are sent to it.
\nTo do this with Audio there are programs like PulseAudio and Virtual Audio Cable. I can't say I have experience with either program so you may want to do your own research on them. You could use a Raspberry Pi to act as the host that you plug your headphones into, but you will probably not see any benefit over letting one of your computers be the host unless neither of those computers will always be available.
\n" }, { "Id": "13711", "CreationDate": "2020-06-28T18:51:59.057", "Body": "Until about 10 years ago, Asus used to build a series of cheap, lightweight laptop called EEE PC, which later got discontinued. I am looking for something similar in terms of price, but with more power.
\nIs there any cheap (< $150), ultraportable laptop which completely support GNU/Linux operating systems (no wifi/graphics driver issues), has at least 4 gb ram, and 10-12 inch display?
\nI primarily intend to use it for software development, web browsing, and reading PDF documents.
\nSo far, I have found GPD Pocket, but it's screen is really small (7 inch) for reading/multitasking, and it costs about $600. I was looking for something cheaper. I feel that something may already be available, because there are lots of mobile devices with about 4 gb ram available under $150, and the technology is not too different (I am okay with an ARM laptop).
\n", "Title": "Alternative for Asus EEE PC that supports GNU/Linux out of the box?", "Tags": "|laptop|linux|", "Answer": "I'd also suggest a used Thinkpad. Specifically the X series of Thinkpads if you want a laptop on the smaller EEE PC end of the spectrum.
\nI'd recommend looking at models from the X220 onward. The X220 though, is a firm favourite in the community for a number of reasons. It was the last X series Thinkpad to come with the old style (and almost universally said to be) superior keyboard. It was the first generation to have Sandy Bridge processors, which saw a sizeable jump in performance. And as it's one of the most popular models amongst enthusiasts, resources for modding, upgrading, fixing, and repairing them, be it in hardware or software, are plentiful.
\nJust bare in min that if you were to get an X220, you'd need the i7 CPU version in order to get USB 3.0.
\nThe X220 is a favourite of Thinkpad fans but my recommendation would still hold true for later models such as the X230, X240 etc... There is one more thing to keep in mind though. Thinkpads are/were business laptops. They were sold by the thousands to big business. They were known for being durable and perhaps as a result of that reputation, a lot of them saw a tough life. So it's all too common to finnd ones for sale that are in poor condition. When buying a Thinkpad, pay close attention to the screen's hinges, the bezel around the screen, and the corners of the main body. If you wanted, you can always ask for further advice on the condition or price of a Thinkpad that's for sale, one one of the Thinkpad community's forums.
\n[NOTE] There was a EEE PC style series of Thinkpads but they were rubbish, not worthy of the Thinkpad name.
\n" }, { "Id": "13713", "CreationDate": "2020-06-29T16:32:08.460", "Body": "I'm looking for a US wall-plug charger which supports Qualcomm Quick Charging 3.0 (QC 3.0) or later The trouble is that while there a re many chargers with one QC 3.0 port, and other 5V 2.1A ports, I need multiple QC 3.0 ports.
\nHere are the requirements:\nThe charger must...
\nIt would be nice if the charger could...
\nThere is no preference to whether the charger uses USB C or USB A, nor is there a preference to whether the charger is corded or direct plug.
\nThe closest thing I found is the following, but I would highly prefer a 4-port charger:\ndual port QC 3.0 charger
\n", "Title": "What multi-port wall USB-chargers exist which support QC 3.0?", "Tags": "|usb|power-supply|", "Answer": "Baseus GaN 120W PD charger would be the one to consider.
\nhttps://a.aliexpress.com/_BPxnjT
\nIt doesn't exactly has 4 ports, but it has 3 ports that all support QC and some support PD. I have a cheaper 65W model, which can support 2 ports working in PD or QC mode simultaneously, but doesn't support QC on all ports at the same time, but I think this one is much more powerful, and so should be able to support all three ports working in QC mode, especially since it says the three ports can deliver "60w+30w+30w".
\n" }, { "Id": "13725", "CreationDate": "2020-07-02T16:07:21.830", "Body": "I have a 34x14 monitor so I want to SLI for games. I have an i7 8700 3.7 on a good motherboard.
\nI've been told my card won't work with new cards. It's a
\nGigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming OC 8G
\nThis only matches used cards? What's the issue?
\nI should just get two new 2080s?
\n", "Title": "SLI with Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming OC 8G", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "The Support page shows that it supports SLI, but you need to pair your card with an identical one. If you have the original 2080, not the Ti or Super variants, then you need to find an original card. This can be hard to do as they have mostly phased the original out in favor of the Super, but that doesn't make it impossible.
\n" }, { "Id": "13753", "CreationDate": "2020-07-08T16:51:47.430", "Body": "This is my first question on this StackExchange site, so please let me know how I can improve it.
\nI am interested in a Windows laptop (I need to program with it - including Android Studio), but besides this I want to use it also to make music (ReasonStudios, here the requirements, and being able to use with a synth keyboard), and performant enough for making timelapse video (including GoPro, not necessarily 4K).
\nSo the requirements are:
\n-8 GB RAM
\n-at least 1TB storage
\n-Windows 10
\n-Intel Core i7
\n-Monitor with at least 1280 x 768 resolution
\n-I am Not a big expert about the graphic board, so I cannot really say whatare the best requirements for video editing
\nFor the needed characteristics I saw a gaming laptop (OMEN by HP 15-DH0039NL).
\nIs it a good one? Would you suggest some other laptop?\nMy budget is <1700\u20ac$ (but of course depends on the value)
\nThanks a lot!
\n", "Title": "Windows laptop for programming, make music and editing videos", "Tags": "|development|windows|music|video-editing|", "Answer": "For HP I would recommend:
\nIf you can afford it, I would definitely go for the first one since it has everything you're looking for. The second one has a graphics card not as powerful as the first one, and "only" 512GB of SSD (note that you could add a very good external hard disk drive and stay below $1700 total).
\n" }, { "Id": "13832", "CreationDate": "2020-07-26T13:34:49.693", "Body": "First off: yes there are many questions similar to this, but most of them are very outdated (Most recent I've seen is 2016).
\nI am looking for a laptop for general use, which for me is programming and light gaming (minecraft and similar). The features I'd like are listed here in order of importance (top = highest importance):
\nI intend to run linux on the laptop but it's probably fine on most laptops, if there's an option with no operating system then that would be a bonus but it's not exactly common.
\nMy budget is \u00a31000/$1000 but I can go maybe \u00a31-200 over if absolutely necessary.
\nThanks in advance!
\n", "Title": "Looking for a laptop capable of light gaming and programming for under \u00a31000/$1000", "Tags": "|laptop|linux|", "Answer": "I'll second the recommendation for the Thinkpads\u2014you might even be able to grab a T or X series within your budget depending on launch offers\u2014but since you mentioned Linux, I thought it would be remiss not to mention there are a couple of 4800H laptops with options for Linux preinstalled, no OS or even no storage, including the Schenker VIA Pro, the Tuxedo Pulse 15 and the new Slimbook, KDE or otherwise, all roughly at that \u00a3/$/\u20ac1000 price point. Some of them plan to offer 4K OLED displays as upgrades, but that would probably take things outside your price range. They're also a good deal cheaper if you can import from a Chinese reseller, say through a friend travelling through or living there.
\nAs I understand it from a couple of reddit threads (1) (2), the chassis is from the same ODM, TongFeng. Some benchmarks are available here and a comprehensive english review on youtube. The battery life seems to be quite good thanks to the large 91 Wh battery, and you should see well over 5 hours of battery life, closer to 8 to 12 hours. Gaming laptops with the new Ryzen and a larger ~90 Wh battery option should honestly achieve similar run times under light to idle loads, and even a smaller batter should meet your 5-hour target, though obviously if you wanted to use the GPU heavily for video editing or something that would take a toll.
\nThe performance may different significantly due to cooling, so looking at the specific models you plan on buying would be better, but there are quite a few comparison benchmarks of the Ryzen APUs from, e.g. Notebookcheck. Notably, the 4800U seems to trade blows in single core performance especially, though the increased power limits shows in multi-core workloads. They are likely essentially the same chip with different binning and enabled cores. The Vega 7 iGP is honestly comparable with the MX250 performance-wise, and I doubt you will have any problems with lighter games like Minecraft. Heavier games may require lowered settings, resolution or both to run at 60 FPS.
\nThe display covers 100% sRGB, which is not bad, though at the price range of a euro reseller you can probably get the better panels on, e.g. the TUF A15 which would have similar gamuts and a high refresh rate. Unfortunately, it does not have a second M.2 slot or a 2.5" drive bay, which limits expandability, and the keyboard backlight is poor. Overall, I would recommend it over laptops from larger OEMs if the combination of the H-series CPU and 1.5 kg weight interests you, if you want the convenience of the SSD-less configuration option or preinstalled Linux, or if you can get it from China yourself for a lower price. Otherwise, the Thinkpad will likely a good deal cheaper, and at your full budget you might be looking at laptops with the RTX 2060 instead. If you do end up going with a laptop from a more well known company, consider mentioning it to their sales that you don't need a Windows or a drive included. It's possible that they'll be willing to bump up some other hardware, include free accessories or even give you a discount, and the worst that could happen is they'll say no.
\n" }, { "Id": "13847", "CreationDate": "2020-07-30T10:36:15.820", "Body": "I'm looking to get a server that I can run Ubuntu on, with the primary purpose of running the SPARK Pro toolset. I want lots of cores (\u226512) and lots of RAM (\u226524 GB), but I don't need much disk space, basically just whatever's required to install bare Ubuntu, the SPARK Pro toolchain, and the source code I want to do my proof/implementation work on. I definitely don't need a monitor, as I'm planning on SSH'ing into the server using VS Code. When I put in my requirements for NewEgg (I also want it to be relatively inexpensive: I limited it to $750), I got nothing but blade servers.
\nFocusing primarily on this HP Proliant DL360P (though I'm not committed to that particular option), I was wondering if it'd be possible to put this into some other form factor other than a rack. E.g., for not too much more money to get a box I could house it in.
\nNote (in response to @Wasabi in a now deleted post at the Engineering Stack Exchange): I don't know if I need a case, but I'm assuming I'd want something to reduce dust getting into places it shouldn't. I could be wrong. If someone knowledgable tells me I don't, using the "bare metal casing" counts as "some other form factor" for the purposes of my question. "Have you considered this really small, cheap rack?" also counts. I'm just looking for a reasonable solution to having a machine that suits my needs located in my home office, so frame challenges are welcome.
\nEdit to add: I'm also willing to do some custom modifications to hardware (e.g., add RAM) after the fact.
\n", "Title": "Is it feasible to use a blade server (e.g., HP ProLiant) without a rack?", "Tags": "|rack|", "Answer": "\n\nI want lots of cores (\u226512) and lots of RAM (\u226524 GB), but I don't need much disk space
\n
\n\nI also want it to be relatively inexpensive: I limited it to $750
\n
your < $750 and lots of cores is contradictory, but...
\nThe basic desktop/workstation (traditionally with a monitor) are no more than dual socket- meaning only 2 cpu's. They don't offer that much real estate, not like a rack server and you won't have many DIMM slots but they typically do 128GB of RAM no problem.
\nNot blade server but rack server is what generally offers the most real estate and would allow for up to 4 cpu sockets. And would have the most DIMM slots available providing for 768GB to 1.5TB of RAM. $750 would only buy you a few DIMMS here. But a rack server is not required to be put in a rack, you can lay them on a desk, they will take up some space obviously, or you can lay them on their side on the floor against the desk. Expect to pay over $10,000 for a 4 socket rack server having whatever N-core cpu's and however much RAM. Try Dell's online build your own for something like 4-socket PowerEdge R840 to get an idea.
\nhttps://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/cty/pdp/spd/poweredge-r840/pe_r840_12850_vi_vp
\nAlso check out supermicro. For what it sounds like you are wanting, look for a used/refurb rack server.
\nYou can sometimes buy all rack server components and build your own, but expect to pay over $750 just for the main board that is rack server style. Then add in power supply, cpu, ram, fans, and so on.
\na blade from a blade server can be tricky depending on what it's from, it implies its a blade of a larger system so don't assume a blade removed from that kind of system can operate on it's own like a standalone computer. So in this context no don't expect to use a blade without the rest of the blade server. If you have the entire blade server, then that implies you then have multiple blades... installed into some chassis. This chassis whether that's installed in a rack isn't a requirement.
\n" }, { "Id": "13850", "CreationDate": "2020-07-30T23:10:30.680", "Body": "I'd like to record both HDMI and composite signals, in that it records the audio and video to a device for retrieval later without any computer connection required.
\nIs there any available hardware that can record and capture 1080p HDMI and composite signals?
\n", "Title": "Way to record / capture HDMI and composite signals?", "Tags": "|hdmi|video-capture|", "Answer": "Asking this question led to using the search terms of "offline hdmi capture", where a device from agptek was found (video: 2017, LinuxTechShow, "Record Your Gameplay Without A Computer") and is as shown below:
\n![\"Picture](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZEvRh.png\")
I'm using my smartphone (Samsung Note 10+) for online classes. I use Zoom for video-conference.\nI mount the phone on a tripod and position it so that my writing desk is visible.\nI then use SmartView (i.e. Miracast) to mirror my phone screen to a TV using Amazon Fire-stick. Speaker and Mic are from the smartphone only.
\nThis setup works quite well except for the following problem -
\nI frequently need to mute/unmute. The only way to do this is to reach out to the smartphone screen which is very inconvenient (it is mounted on a tripod facing down on my writing desk)
\nHow can I solve this? Can I buy some external mic mute/un-mute switch? Or some other hardware? Any other tips?
\n(I searched online for some products could not find many options. Bluetooth speakerphones from Jabra etc get very expensive for me)
\n", "Title": "Video-Conferencing: External mute / un-mute switch for smartphone (Samsung Note 10+)", "Tags": "|video-camera|", "Answer": "You probably just need a better microphone with an on/off or mute/unmute button. I'd focus your searches around "vlog microphone" or "android mic mute button". Vloggers will use external mics for better sound, although very few that I've found have built-in mute buttons.
\nHere's I think half of what you might be looking for:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/LOFqb.jpg\")
\nhttps://www.amazon.com/Microphone-Condenser-Indicator-Gooseneck-Recording/dp/B07N2WRHMY/ref=psdc_3015406011_t3_B07WLWN2ZT
Big beautiful mute button right on the base, but its input is USB, so maybe a USB to Headset adapter along with it: https://www.amazon.com/usb-headset-adapter/s?k=usb+headset+adapter
\nThis bluetooth headset has a mute button "on the headset arm": https://www.amazon.com/YAMAY-Bluetooth-Cancelling-Headphones-Microphone/dp/B07L13Y3K2/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=android+mic+mute+button&qid=1596779860&sr=8-4
\nOr you could go with a smaller earpiece perhaps: https://www.amazon.com/TOKSEL-Bluetooth-Cancelling-Hands-Free-Compatible/dp/B0882WC8FX/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=android+mic+mute+button&qid=1596779860&sr=8-8
\nOr maybe this desk microphone with volume/mute controls: https://www.amazon.com/Microphone-MAONO-Condenser-Headphone-Livestream/dp/B07SGB9329/ref=sr_1_14?dchild=1&keywords=android+mic+mute+button&qid=1596779860&sr=8-14
\nHope this helps.
\n" }, { "Id": "13903", "CreationDate": "2020-08-13T13:57:53.093", "Body": "Is it possible to use an USB power meter like the UM24C (https://liutyi.info/um24c/) to measure the energy consumption of a smartphone (in detail, I would to measure the current drain)?
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/q9HJO.png\")
For example, I'm executing an app and I would to measure the energy consumption of the smartphone when the app is in execution (of course I will not have the maximum of the accuracy, but just an estimation; better than nothing).
\nIt seems that it is possible (i.e. connect the USB meter to a energy source, and after connect the smartphone to the power meter), but I would like to have a confirmation about it. By the way, (i) I have a good USB cable with a low resistance, (ii) I cannot remove the battery of my smartphone, (iii) I connected the INPUT of the power meter to a power bank or a computer. It make sense?
\n", "Title": "USB Power Meter to measure Smartphone Energy Consumption", "Tags": "|smartphones|measurement-devices|", "Answer": "You cannot measure the phones power consumption this way. The USB dongle will only see the current being used to charge the battery of the phone not the power the phone is drawing from the battery.
\nYou could use an application on the phone that monitors the phone battery and logs its usage. No external device can monitor the power the phone is using. This will be a fairly inaccurate measurement just because phones can generally only reference the battery voltage to determine its charge status.
\nIf you are willing to risk a phone the way to do this would be to open the back of the case, get to the battery connector, de-solder the phone's positive terminal and connect a current meter in line of this rail like shown below,
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fO6JZ.jpg\")
The multimeter would then be able to measure the actual amount of current being drawn from the battery by the phone. This would give you the most accurate results, but does risk damaging the phone.
\n" }, { "Id": "13929", "CreationDate": "2020-08-19T15:38:57.423", "Body": "I am looking to make an app that detects door movement (not with motion sensors, but with a gyroscope), but I want to use Android Things for this project. I've been looking around, but so far, I haven't found anything yet.
\n", "Title": "Is there an Android Things kit that includes a gyroscope sensor?", "Tags": "|android|", "Answer": "No. Android Things only had the base kit. You'll have to buy and integrate any additional hardware components yourself.
\nFor a gyroscope in an IoT project use something MPU6050 based:
\nlike: Adafruit MPU-6050 6-DoF Accel and Gyro Sensor - STEMMA QT Qwiic
\n" }, { "Id": "13970", "CreationDate": "2020-09-01T19:35:04.943", "Body": "I'm looking for an FPV racing drone that has a sturdy frame and comes with everything I need (except VR goggles if it links with your phone).\nI also don't have a soldering iron so I won't be able to solder. I usually buy off of amazon, and if it's sold on there, that'd be great. I want it to have blade guards as well that make it able to fly indoors. I'm an experienced pilot, so it doesn't have to be beginner friendly. I don't want to have to spend over $200 on this, too. Thanks in advance!
\n", "Title": "FPV Racing Drone Reccomendation", "Tags": "|drone|vr-headset|", "Answer": "There are many drones on the market. What are you looking for? Do you want the drone to have a good battery or maybe durability?
\nI can recommend EMAX Hawk Sport 5. It comes with a great design and overall quality. It's under $200 too.
\nDon't forget to check these sites. Maybe you'll find something useful.
\nhttps://mydroneauthority.com/reviews/best-racing-drones-for-sale/
\nhttps://uavcoach.com/fpv-quadcopter-drone-systems/
\nhttps://www.aniwaa.com/buyers-guide/drones/best-fpv-racing-drones/ (2019 list)
\n" }, { "Id": "13971", "CreationDate": "2020-09-01T21:57:37.900", "Body": "I need a new phone to replace a Moto G7 Power that I dropped in a lake. I would buy it again but I can't find it anywhere for near its original price (I saw one on eBay for \u00a3250, double its original price). I'd like to find a similar phone for a similar price of \u00a3100-\u00a3200. Requirements in order of how important they are to me:
\nGood battery life. Moti G7 Power had 5000mAh which admittedly is overkill, but the more the better (>=4000mAh would be nice)
\ndecent screen: Moto G7 Power had a 720p 19:9 display which was probably it's weakest point, a 1080p screen would be nice but I'll compromise on the screen if necessary.
\nRelatively stock android: so not Samsung, I want a pretty standard version like that of Motorola phones. Android 9 is my OS of choice because it's relatively recent but also still has the old-school navigation buttons that i can't live without.
\nUSB-C: is very cool
\nDecently fast processor, basically anything will do to be honest, and enough graphics power to play 1080p60 YouTube smoothly (probably not even necessary to specify)
\nThanks for any and all suggestions in advance!
\n", "Title": "Looking for low-mid phone with good battery & screen", "Tags": "|android|mobile-phone|battery-life|battery|", "Answer": "Everything you mentioned feels like Xiamomi phones should do the work. You can get Mi 8 lite for ~\u00a3200
\nsize: 156.40 x 75.80 x 7.50 mm
\nscreen: 1080 x 2280 px (6.26") 403 ppi
\nbattery: Li-Ion 3350 mAh (yes, it's lower than you wanted but it's hard to squish power and a good battery to make it under 200 GBP)
\nCPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
\nIncluding Android 10 and USB-C cable
\nOr Moto G9 / Moto G8. They are similliar to that one you had before.
\n" }, { "Id": "14017", "CreationDate": "2020-09-13T03:13:15.900", "Body": "I'm finally catching up w/ the 21st century and bought my first pair of truly wireless earbuds: the Sony WF-1000XM3.
\nMy issue is that audio quality degrades significantly when I connect them to my computer and enable the microphone. To do this, I have to switch from High Fidelity Playback (A2DP Sink) to Headset Unit (HSP/HFP), which forces the output to go from Stereo to Mono.
\nFor ~$200+, I was hoping to have better audio quality than my cheap wired earbuds+mic. I already bought 2 other earbuds at different price points and noticed similar or worse issues. Tried with Airpods Pro as well, but since I'm not on a Mac, I could never get the mic working.
\nIn short, I'm wondering if things change significantly with something like the Sennheiser Momentum 2 (or higher price point), or if I should consider non-truly wireless earphones, if I want quality audio and mic?
\n", "Title": "Are there any truly wireless earbuds that support A2DP while using the microphone?", "Tags": "|wireless|bluetooth|headphones|microphones|audio-quality|", "Answer": "The A2DP or HSP choice is afaik a limitation of the bluetooth standard itself. You'll need to wait for an update of the standard for that to be fixed, but I'm not aware of such an update being in the works. Perhaps some company will come with a proprietary mode that improves this. The Plantronics/Poly headsets with the BT600 dongle do that to an extent, with that dongle they can run in HSP mode with stereo sound, but the sound is still limited to a 16 KHz sampling rate instead of the 44.1 for hifi sound, so that is clearly audible. If that is good enough, there is the Poly Voyager 6200 UC if you can live with a neckband.
\nAs you figured out, you will want to look for a wireless gaming headset. The connection is often described as 2.4GHz, lag free, or uncompressed. It appears that wireless gaming earbuds (truly wireless or with ears connected) with such a connection do not exist. Keep watch of this SoundGuys page, especially the Notable Mentions section, if you want to find out if the situation changes. They update their "best of" pages when new headsets come out. Currently it says the Epos GTW 270 Hybrid is the only pair of true wireless gaming earbuds on the market today, and importantly its microphone doesn't function when connected to the 2.4GHz dongle.
\nedit\nI realized there is a bluetooth technology that supports this. It's called the faststream codec, though it is not really a new codec, just a different configuration of the standard SBC codec. Unfortunately it is very hard to find faststream supporting headsets. Google found the Creative Outlier Sports, though it is not true wireless. You'll also need a bluetooth audio dongle that supports faststream, because current desktops and phones don't.
\n" }, { "Id": "14111", "CreationDate": "2020-10-07T11:12:19.407", "Body": "My old Texas TI-83 is dying on me after some 20 years of extensive use. It served me well, but it's quite crude when it comes to programming-related arithmetic. Specifically binary/dec/hex conversions, as well as bit-wise arithmetic. For such, I've relied on custom programs made by myself, that tend to get cumbersome interfaces to the point where I don't use them, but fire up calc.exe on the computer instead.
\nSo I'm looking for a similar graphing calculator similar to the Texas TI-xx product family, but one more suitable for programmers, if such a beast exists. That is, easily accessible ways to use the various features of the old calc.exe in Windows, when set to "programmer mode".
\nRequirements:
\nGiven that you're already familiar with the TI-83, I suggest considering the TI-89 Titanium. In language and UI design it's a descendant, but it is \u201cmodernized\u201d in a lot of ways and has many additional features.
\n\n\nEasy way to convert between hex, dec and bin bases, with a few button presses rather by than executing a custom program.
\n
You can enter numbers like 0hAA and 0b1011, and print them with the \u25b8Hex, \u25b8Bin, and \u25b8Dec operators, or set the default output format to any of the three bases.
\n\nSupport for integers with different word sizes: byte, word, double word etc (8, 16, 32 bit).
\n
Only 32-bit is available; you'd have to do bit masking yourself to simulate smaller sizes.
\n\n\nSupport for bit shift, OR, AND, NOT and similar binary arithmetic.
\n
shift(value, count) provides a 32-bit sign-extending shift. or, and, and not act bitwise on integers.
\n\nThe ability to type out the whole calculation/equation on the display as done on Texas calculators. Not "one operand at a time" as in more classic/simplistic calculators.
\n
Yep, it's a TI! Also, if I remember correctly, the TI-83 text entry defaults to overwrite mode \u2014\u00a0the TI-89 defaults to insert mode like modern text editors.
\n\n\nTrigonometry supported and easily accessible (like on the Texas ones). Radians + degrees.
\n
Yes. Trig functions are on the main keyboard, radians and degrees are available as a mode setting, and you can also enter and read vectors in polar or rectangular form.
\n\n\nMust support engineering notation.
\n
Yes. The TI-89 has a dedicated key for entering the exponent "E" (which is a distinct character from text/variable-name "E". There is also an "engineering" output option to always use exponents that are multiples of 3.
\n\n\nSome manner of graphic display (LCD, TFT etc). Resolution doesn't matter.
\n
160 \u00d7 100 LCD, no backlight. You can plot functions and also draw arbitrary graphics from programs. The normal input/output view fits 5\u00bd lines of text (at minimum height; divisions and matrices and such are taller), and you can scroll up easily to review and recall previous results.
\n\n\nActual buttons. (If I liked typing on touch screens, I'd use the app on my phone instead.)
\n
Check!
\nFeatures/differences you didn't ask for but are noteworthy compared to the TI-83:
\nTip: First thing to do is to go into the settings and turn off "Apps Desktop", so you always start at the "Home" regular calculator input mode.
\nThe TI-89 Titanium is still in current production and can also be found cheaply on the used market (presumably from ex-students).
\nI hear that the TI-92 / Voyage 200 has the same operating system but adds a QWERTY keyboard, which may be of interest for quickly typing operator names. However, there is no model of this line in current production, and I am not familiar with the functionality of the newer TI-Nspire line.
\n" }, { "Id": "14178", "CreationDate": "2020-10-21T23:01:04.073", "Body": "I have a computer connected to a TV that currently uses a wireless keyboard (Microsoft Wireless 3000 v2.0).
\nGenerally it works fine for basic things like Netflix where there isn't much input, however, if I play games I often end up not being able to move in game.
\nThis is either to do with batteries running out or some sort of interference (I'm not 100% sure).
\nInterestingly I don't have the same problems with the mouse.
\nI'd like to buy a keyboard with a long cable ~9ft so that I can plug it in and also be sitting reasonably far away from the TV.
\nIt has to be a USB cable as I don't have a PS/2 port.
\nIt needs to be a full size keyboard but it doesn't need an extra number pad.
\n", "Title": "Is There A USB Keyboard With A 9ft Cable?", "Tags": "|usb|keyboards|cable|", "Answer": "The keyboard request you've put in sounds like you would like a mechanical tenkeyless keyboard. It sounds like you would dislike chiclet or membrane keyboards which are usually more low profile. Mechanical keyboards prevent ghosting keys, are usually a lot more sturdy, and have a much farther key travel distance than scissor switch membrane keyboards. Your request for looks cool to a 7-year old suggest you would like backlighting, and it is actually hard not to get keyboards lit up like a Christmas tree for mechanical keyboards at the price range.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/yhOiV.jpg\")
10 Ft Cable, and braided with aluminum for durability. Chances are with a cord this long in a common area with a TV someone is bound to snag something on it at some point. This should give you some piece of mind.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/j77p2.jpg\")
Keyboard that matches your request and has tactile feedback. Not a lot of reliable review data.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/X2HsZ.jpg\")
First off, this keyboard is 87 tenkeyless and slightly over your 30 cm requirement. The reason I'm also recommending this keyboard is b/c it appears in several syndicated articles as a budget mechanical keyboard and has Cherry MX switches which I'm familiar with and are typing this recommendation with. Cherry MX is a household name for most casual and professional gamers.
\nGiven my familiarity with the switches, reliable reviews I would consider this keyboard as well. Finally, you may want to play a racing game in the future and these typically lend themselves best to using the arrow keys, particularly if there is some sort of gear control on the cars.
\n" }, { "Id": "14186", "CreationDate": "2020-10-23T15:29:43.527", "Body": "I've been searching for it in tokopedia and many specs aren't clear. Many "full hd" monitors are actually HD ready.
\nOne thing that may qualify is this monitor
\nhttps://www.tokopedia.com/utamaglodok/lg-led-tv-24-inch-full-hd-24tk42-garansi-resmi-lg?whid=9811
\nIt's LG LED 24tk42
\nHowever, I cannot find the actual LG website that list the specs. There is the spec for LG 24TK4225 and those are HD ready and not full HD
\nI wonder if there is a site to compare specs for LED or if someone knows the exact item I can buy
\n", "Title": "I need 24 inch monitor LED with the following specs", "Tags": "|monitors|led|", "Answer": "These are top picks around 100$\nFHD with built in speakers
\nThe below ones are without speakers but have audio Jack\nFHD with audio jack for headphones.
\nI have a MacBook pro which has 2 thunderport 3 ports. It connects to a HDMI monitor via HDMI cable, an ASUS ZenScreen MB16ACM which connects via usb-c.
\nI want to use the ZenScreen in portrait mode so I can only use the usb-c port, not the usb-a adapter. The other screen is using a usb-c hub to connect to HDMI. So if I use both screens I cannot charge the MacBook.
\nIs there a MacBook docking station which is able to:
\nSo I only need to connect my MacBook with the station by 1 cable, and the station would output video to both screens?
\n", "Title": "Recommendation of a usb-c docking station for a MacBook pro, an ASUS Zenscreen MB16ACM and a HDMI monitor?", "Tags": "|hdmi|usb-c|", "Answer": "To understand why this is kinda a pain, we need to understand what's actually going on when we connect a monitor up to the various ports available to us. I've talked about this a bit before, but that focused on a slightly different case, so it's worth re-writing here.
\nUSB-C is a specification for a physical connector type (like USB-A, USB-B, mini USB, and micro USB), not a protocol in itself. While the physical connector does allow/limit what can be carried, it does not in itself specify what is carried. USB-C can carry (or not carry) USB data (ranging in speeds from 2.0's 380 Mb/s to 4.0's 40 Gb/s (upcoming)), power, or any one of the display-oriented "Alternate Modes" (DisplayPort, MHL, HDMI, and confusingly, Thunderbolt Alternate Modes respectively.) These alternate modes are how most inexpensive USB-C dongles work, as they allow almost entirely passive operation. Even dongles such as Anker's 7-in-1 that have separate power passthrough and data ports still use this mode, using a sort of internal USB hub to support the multiple USB devices while directing display functionality to the HDMI port. As a consequence, the data port on these devices cannot be used to output separately to another display, as the alternate modes only carry signaling for a single display (more on that later.) While you may be able to get the displays to mirror, they definitely won't act as separate displays.
\nThunderbolt is... complicated. However, for the purposes of what we're doing, we can focus on a few main things. First, unlike USB, Thunderbolt supports daisy chaining for up to six devices; however, it does not support hubs. Second, although Thunderbolt 3 uses the USB-C port, it does not use the alternate modes to carry video, and instead embeds its own DisplayPort stream alongside the "main" PCI-e data stream. As a result, we can use a Thunderbolt hub with multiple displays. Unfortunately, the hardware required to support these devices is way, way more expensive; the specialized nature doesn't help costs either.
\nAside: USB 4 is effectively Thunderbolt, but handled by a different standard organization. Since your particular computer has Thunderbolt, I'll be using the term here, but you can consider them to generally be interchangeable.
\nIn terms of options, I'd recommend either the OWC 14-Port Thunderbolt 3 Dock, the Cable Matters Thunderbolt 3 Dock, or one of Kensington's various docks (potentially the SD5300T, as it's the cheapest and has requires no HDMI adapter.) They're all about $200, and they all fit the basic requirements (charging, HDMI/DP and USB-C video output), so it's just a question of what extra features you want (max power delivery, audio out, number of Thunderbolt ports, number of USB ports, SD connectivity, Ethernet, etc.
\nIt's at this point thought that you might notice that the video outs on these hubs vary a bit\u2014yet they all say they support HDMI, even if they have no physical HDMI port. It's time to talk about...
\nDisplayPort is a video interface connection and the underlying video carrier for Thunderbolt and most USB-C-only displays. DisplayPort also contains two important features:
\nSo what does this matter? Well, the first means that any can use a DisplayPort port (including Mini DisplayPort) or Thunderbolt port as an HDMI output; if the dock you want doesn't have HDMI, don't fret. The second means you'll need to be careful choosing, as you'll only have a maximum of two display outputs (one HDMI/DisplayPort/USB-C and one daisy-chained Thunderbolt.) Basically, you'll need at a minimum need 1x USB-C out (for your portable display) + 1x HDMI/DisplayPort out (for you normal display.) Some example configurations that would work:
\nI know you already mentioned that you don't want to use this, and I agree\u2014albeit for different reasons. Still, it's worth going over.
\nDisplayLink, unlike the other things mentioned, uses a software solution to push a display signal over a normal USB interface. While this does solve the need to get another dedicated display signal and would allow you to use a cheap adapter like the Anker one linked earlier, DisplayLink comes with some annoying restrictions:
\nWhile I'm sure the orientation problem is fixable, these issues are not. As such, I'm going to agree that staying away from DisplayLink\u2014even though the cost is very minimal due to the included solution\u2014is a good idea.
\nSidenote: I'm assuming you have an Intel based MacBook Pro, as Apple Silicon devices currently don't support eGPUs.
\nGiven how expensive these Thunderbolt hubs are, there's one other option. Basically, an eGPU is just an external graphics card connected over Thunderbolt. This has some advantages and disadvantages:
\nPros:
\nCons:
\nHowever, in your particular case, there's an additional complication: the USB-C port on your monitor. Unfortunately, most graphics cards don't have a USB-C port. There are a few cards which implement VirtualLink, a proposed USB-C alternate mode that isn't quite the same as the other standardized Alternate Modes, but from a practical standpoint, is often largely compatible. So far though, the only graphics cards with USB-C ports are select Nvidia RTX 2000 and AMD Radeon RX 6000 cards. Unfortunately, Nvidia cards haven't been compatible with macOS since High Sierra (before the 2000 series debuted), and all RX 6000 series cards are out of stock everywhere due to supply issues. Additionally, the RX 6800, the cheapest compatible card currently available, retails for $579, with scalpers currently asking $850+. Yikes.
\nStill, if you can benefit from the performance and if you're willing to either wait for cheaper cards or pay the price, I'm going to recommend getting an eGPU. Between the increased performance and additional outputs, it offers a much better upgrade path\u2014assuming Apple adds eGPU support for Apple Silicon. Given the limitations though, I understand if that's not your ideal path.
\nStupid as it may sound, you can get a pretty reasonable monitor for $200. Unless you have a real love for your ZenScreen, you may be better off getting another monitor\u2014either a desktop one, or a different portable one.
\nIn terms of other portable displays, I see two main options: 1. Get another dedicated display that has the option for separate power and data channels (likely USB-C for power and HDMI for data). 2. Get an iPad and use Sidecar (or, if you want to use an older model, Duet Display.) Again, I'm going to dismiss using a DisplayLink monitor for the reasons outlined earlier.
\nOkay, yeah, this one is really dumb. Still though, it'll get you the full performance while costing next to nothing, since all you need is a cheap passive USB-C dongle with HDMI and power passthrough\u2014of which there are tons. Yes, it's not as elegant having one cable go to the ZenScreen and one to everything else, but when faced with the proposition of spending $200, maybe it's an okay trade-off.
\nFirst, props for reading this whole thing; I know it's a long one, but unfortunately, this stuff is kinda a mess. Unfortunately, the standard are complicated, and everyone made different trade-offs with different goals in mind. What exactly is the right solution for you is going to vary; however, I hope this can at least set you on the right path. If you have any further questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I'll be happy to help more.
\n" }, { "Id": "14275", "CreationDate": "2020-11-24T11:27:10.867", "Body": "I'm looking for a desktop switch/hub/amp/splitter (whatever you want to call it), which ideally outputs to 7.1 surround 3.5mm jacks (the green, orange and black ones - not sure what the official name for this is).
\nMy base use case is that I want to have a second line to my computer speakers so I can plug my laptop in when I'm using that, so as a minimum I need a 2-in, 1-out arrangement. But I'll happily buy something more 'heavy duty' if needed, though I'd prefer it to be not much larger than a desktop headphone amp/DAC or similar.
\nAt the moment, the best I can find is this (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nobsound-Switcher-Passive-Selector-Splitter-Black-RCA-Version/dp/B07CQXRRRV?ref_=ast_sto_dp). This has the 2-in, 1-out arrangement, and I have an RCA to tri-3.5mm adapter for the speakers to handle the output. This isn't ideal though as it will lose the surround sound for the computer which is currently plugged directly in to the speakers.
\nI know there will be no surround sound from the laptop (which is fine), so really all I need to do is hook in to the green line with the laptop, but if I could get this in the form of a switch/hub to swap on the fly that would be great.
\nOther ideas I've not considered are welcome!
\n", "Title": "Desktop amp/switcher/splitter", "Tags": "|audio|speakers|splitters|", "Answer": "Actually ended up (sort of) solving this in a fairly low tech way as I detailed at the end of the OP. I used a Y-splitter from the PC output and laptop output into the 'green' channel, so they are both connected simultaneously.
\nUnfortunately, this doesn't allow for full use of the surround, but I get stereo plus sub via the green channel with my speaker set up so this is good enough for me while using the laptop anyway.
\nJust thought I'd post to offer some closure to the thread.
\n" }, { "Id": "14277", "CreationDate": "2020-11-24T18:39:53.733", "Body": "I'm looking for a monitor for my desk, but I have one mayor restriction. I have only 30 cm of space between the desk and a window. I'm searching a monitor that fit in that height. I have been searching for a monitor with adjustable stand and for ultra-wide monitor with that height but I can't find anything.
\nAlso, the monitor should:
\nI prefer an ultra-wide monitor, so I can put away the laptop, but I don't really care. The most important thing is that it fits into the height I have.
\n", "Title": "Looking for a monitor to fit in a 30 cm height place", "Tags": "|monitors|monitor-stand|", "Answer": "LG's 29UM69G-B and 29UM59A-P are both 29" 2560x1080 ultrawides with USB-C and HDMI, with the 29UM69G-B apparently being the updated version. It's juusstt over the 30 cm mark at 32.8 cm without the stand; however, it still gets my recommendation as there are no other USB-C equipped ultrawides that are this small. Worst come to worst, you can strip the plastic housing off the monitor, which should hopefully get you a centimeter or two.
\nIn terms of mounting, both monitors support a standard 75x75 VESA mount and weight only 5 kg, which is well supported by almost all monitor arms. Most monitor arms are shorter than the monitor when mounted level with the desk; here's an example of an adjustable arm set to a low position with a small monitor. Notice that the top of the arm is still below the top of the monitor, even though the monitor is below the top of the base (where the desk would be):\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JSHEf.jpg\")
I recommend using monitorarms.co to find an arm that's within your budget and fits your mounting/look preferences. They have a convenient chooser, as well as well-documented specs for a ton of arms.
\n" }, { "Id": "14295", "CreationDate": "2020-11-30T18:08:43.943", "Body": "I am looking for a motherboard, which
\nFrom 32GB, there is a lot. For 64GB, I found nothing.
\n", "Title": "AM 3+ socket mainboard with at least 64GB DDR3 support", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "As @peterh mentioned, 970 and 990 boards (generally) support 64GB of RAM (ignore the ECS boards that list 128 GB, that's incorrect.) Since these boards aren't widely available anymore (due to their age and relatively limited popularity), a specific recommendation is pretty much useless as it's entirely dependent on what you can find on the relatively-volatile used motherboard market.
\nHowever, given the cost of 16 GB DDR3 UDIMMs, you may find it cheaper to just upgrade your entire platform (either to one with DDR4 support or with more RAM slots.) Given the age of the FX platform, you'll probably get a nice performance and feature set bump along the way too.
\n" }, { "Id": "14305", "CreationDate": "2020-12-02T14:28:23.397", "Body": "Does it really exists as for now? I want 3Tb or 4Tb of external storage.
\nI am searching particularly for a capacious HDD able to store my files and I want it to have fast interface onboard, at least USB3.0 Gen 1 or USB3.1.
\nSo far I wasn't able to find it anywhere neither in my region nor globally: the only one I found was Transcend ESD250C which is only 960Gb, couple of Seagate models not more than 1Tb, and a suspicious Lacie brand, which doesn't seems trustworthy.
\nIs there any well-known vendors which produce the stuff or it hasn't been developed yet?
\n", "Title": "Large external 2.5\" HDD with USB Type C connector?", "Tags": "|usb|hard-disk|usb-c|", "Answer": "You can simply buy an external Hard drive case plus a hard drive of your choice.
\nFor a 3.5" drive, I've found this two options:
\nThen, you can attach any 3TB, 4TB or 6TB 3.5" drive you wish.
\nIn case wou want to use a standard USB 3.1 enclosure, you can easily find USB 3.1 to USB C cables.
\nA lower capacity solution but faster, and much lighter is to buy a M.2 USB C enclosure (UGREEN, Sabrent, Orico, etc.) plus a M.2 SSD drive (Corsair, Western Digital, Crucial, etc.), like a 4TB Corsair @ 580\u20ac, a 2TB WD, Crucial or Corsair, all of them at around 280\u20ac). The advantage of this solution is that you have a really light-weight external drive.
\nAnother alternative would be to have a USB RAID enclosure for 2.5" drives:\nLogiLink ua0285 USB 3.0
\nFinally, another solution but probably a one you are not interested in (not very portable) is to have a Detached USB Storage (DAS) Raid solution for 3.5" drives like:
\nThis might be a bit too fictional but here's the scenario. Task is to store small amount of data (Less than 1Mb) for centuries to come.
\nEnvironment specs and possible hazards follows:
\nThe storage solution is expected to be available after 100 years of dormant rest(will not be connected to an electric circuit, will not be read). In these circumstances, what is the best storage device to ensure data that is stored will be safe and ready to be read after 100 years ?
\nFor the sake of experiment, assume that the budget is unlimited or trivial.
\nHarddisks, SSD's, floppy disks, optical drives and many other are available and can be considered. My bet is harddisk, since logical gates or latches in SSD might be released after a long period of time with no electricity. Meaning the data will be lost or partially corrupted.
\nEvery idea counts, thank you.
\nPS. Not certain if this is the right stack site for this question. Couldn't find a one that qualifies better.
\n", "Title": "Long Time Storage Solution", "Tags": "|usb|hard-disk|ssd|data-storage|", "Answer": "http://www.norsam.com/rosetta.html\nhttp://www.norsam.com/lanlreport.html
\nhttps://www.extremetech.com/extreme/132793-the-10-million-year-sapphire-hard-disk
\nThe Sapphire disc should last long enough.
\nThere was even a kickstarter for it. Apparently now you can actually do it from this website http://www.fahrenheit2451.com/
\n" }, { "Id": "14342", "CreationDate": "2020-12-09T16:10:33.867", "Body": "I want a wireless mouse to use with my MacBook Pro 2018.
\nRequirements:
Any price is fine.
\nNon-solutions:
\nQA:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IyWeK.jpg\")
It's quite expensive at an MSRP of $99.99, but both it and it's cousins have been very well received by critics, and frankly, given it's feature set and backing from Logitech, I consider it well-worth it since you mentioned that price isn't a big issue for you.
\n" }, { "Id": "14355", "CreationDate": "2020-12-14T20:30:57.607", "Body": "We're seriously considering upgrading (read: replacing) a small handful of workstations (desktops) for our department at work. No in-house IT, so I'm asked to do a suggestion myself.
\nThe workstations will mainly be used for EPLAN (including Pro Panel, 3D) and AutoCAD, which are poorly optimized and primarily running single-threaded. So most of it is fairly straight-forward, except I'm not sure what kind of GPU to put into it.
\nThe company behind Eplan suggests a Quadro 600 (don't laugh, it sports a whopping 640 MHz GPU clock) on their website. Which makes little sense, since that card was released 10 years ago and has been end-of-life for quite some time now. I know that specific card is more of a minimum-requirement than an optimal one anyway, so we need more power than that. Probably a little under the range of a GTX 1060, but that's primarily aimed at gaming and a bit expensive (cheapest one currently goes for 225 euros). Perhaps an RX 570? Probably still overkill and I have no experience with that series.
\nWe don't need to run Crysis at 60 FPS. We need some dedicated RAM, but not that much. We need 1 monitor that draws 3D relatively smooth and 2 others for secondary tasks. Preferably all on DisplayPort, but 2 DP and 1 HDMI will work fine too. Preferably something that's still in production and a good bang-for-your-buck ratio. Perhaps a professional version (with 3 monitor connections) of a GT 1030 makes sense?
\nMy gut tells me we need a base clock speed of 1250 MHz or higher, but I couldn't tell you why if I wanted to.
\nIn short:
\nThe rest of the system is still flexible, so there's not many limitations. If it needs PCIe 3.0 x16, I'll get a board that supports it.
\n", "Title": "GPU in new CAD workstation", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|desktop|multiple-monitors|display-port|3d-display|", "Answer": "For a work environment I would recommend nvidia quadro. Not the p600 or p620 those are likely to be too small and under perform although they would work and be the cheapest option. The previous model line goes P1000, P2000, P4000, [P5000], P6000. With price going from least to most expensive. I think the current model line right now is RTX but buying the P model ought to save you some money and would perform just fine.
\nThe P2000 is still a thin 1 slot card and does not require supplemental pcie power from the power supply. I would recommend either this or the P1000.
\nThe P4000 is still a 1 slot card but requires supplemental power so make sure something like that will work in your setup.
\nThe P6000 is a dual slot card requiring supplemental power, and quite expensive. I would not get this unless you know you can make use of its performance.
\nThey would all support up to 4 monitors, the cards only have DP outputs so plan for dp-to-hdmi adapters and whatnot.
\nThere's the ongoing debate of geforce vs quadro, and geforce while you can often get the same performance or better for less money the quadro is business oriented and will provide stable drivers, no shenanigans, and may allow specific configuration for 3d render of graphic or CAD software whereas geforce would not. For business you typically do not worry about the 20% markup or whatever for the quadro line of graphics cards vs the consumer geforce. Getting a new card less than $180 usd that's not likely to happen. If you're running on a 19" monitor 1280x1024 then a p620 would probably be ok, but a 27" @ 2560x1440 or better then you'll be wanting a p1000 and a 4k monitor probably a p2000.
\n" }, { "Id": "14370", "CreationDate": "2020-12-16T15:16:37.190", "Body": "looking for a native Linux 4.x kernel supported 4K capable graphics card for occasional graphical console admin work.
\nI share a massive 55" 4K TV between my workstations and savers, and it grates me to work on the servers at 1920x4080 with gnomes 'Kindergarten' sized native text and icons. At 4K the entire output is reasonable and pleasant, but only my workstations have cards capable of driving that.
\nLooking for a recommendation on what to get that I can purchase 2nd hand as cheap as possible from ebay.
\nThe price-cutoff point is what I use today for 2x Linux workstations I have - AMD RX 560 at ~$80 from ebay.
\nI was hoping for something much cheaper - $20-$40 range.
\n", "Title": "Low Cost, Server, Linux 4.x Graphics card with support for 4k for graphics consolee", "Tags": "|linux|4k|", "Answer": "A few seconds after posting I got my answer - AMD R7 250 available from $30 will do the trick.
\n" }, { "Id": "14375", "CreationDate": "2020-12-17T16:39:03.487", "Body": "I picked up a couple SAS HDDs that I would like to place in an external enclosure. However, I am struggling to find any that supports SAS HDDs. Does this exist? Could you please recommend any? I would ideally like that enclosure to support JBOD or RAID 0/1 and have a USB interface. Anything below $200 would be alright. No other constraints (power / size / noise). A simple search did not yield any results.
\n", "Title": "External Enclosure for 2 SAS HDDs", "Tags": "|hard-disk|raid|drive-enclosure|sas|", "Answer": "you can just amazon "external sas".
\nfor example "HighPoint RocketStor 6414S 6Gb/s SAS/SATA 4-Bay Storage Tower Enclosure" for $289.
\nyou are not likely to find anything economical, not with SAS. SAS is server work environment, not for home use. If you picked up a couple sas disks you may want to just cut your losses now if this is for personal use. You will still need to get something like an SFF-8086 external sas cable to connect the sas enclosure to your computer, and then you will need an internal pcie SAS [raid] card within your pc- brand new a genuine dell of lsi/avago can run you $1000 depending where you buy it from otherwise you can get lucky finding one for $100 on amazon. A used Dell PERC H730P for $245 i see on amazon. But you will need to cobble it all together, and you take your chances.
\nyou would be better off amazon'ing a SATA external where 4+ TB is the norm now and very economical. Even if you got those sas disk(s) for free, it's not worth it when sata disk prices are as low as they are.
\nnote: SAS hardware can support sata disks... sata disks can plug into a sas backplane and they make SAS-to-SATA breakout cables. But a SAS disk cannot plug into a SATA connector. And be aware there are various SFF-#### cables supporting sas so you have to make sure all your hardware can plug into each other.
\n" }, { "Id": "14440", "CreationDate": "2021-01-02T21:25:01.240", "Body": "I need a USB-C splitter to connect my power adapter and an external SSD drive to my laptop, which has a single USB-C port, used for power input.
\nTo the moderators - This is the copy of a previous post which has been canceled because "off-topic". I am looking around for a USB-C splitter to buy, and not asking to troubleshoot hardware or technical support for hardware. What follow are technical details about what I need and what I found on the market so far. Please, let me know if this is good enough or if I need other changes to comply with this forum requirements. Thank you.
\nWhat I could find so far are products which are designed for mobile phones (e.g. Belkin USB-C Splitter), which do not support the power requirements and bandwidth I need.
\nI understand you cannot get data from two USB-C inputs and make them flow into a signle USB-C output, but this is true only if the sum of the input data flows is larger than what the interface can handle.
\nI know you can connect devices with a serial topology, but you can do it only if the devices have two USB-C ports, which is rare.
\n", "Title": "Why do proper USB-C splitters not exist? [RETRY]", "Tags": "|usb|power|splitters|usb-c|", "Answer": "There is no USB-C splitter come out this year because there is not single produced chipset for USB-C Splitter/Hub.
\nAnd if your laptop using USB-C for charging input there, the data pin is locked automatically because it was for reading voltage and making it to lock the pin for setting data input or voltage input in charging mode.
\nExplanation in USB-C pin:![\"Click](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JDNSf.jpg\")
\nFrom:medium.com
The CC2 port basically detecting the port whether it is for charging input or drawing power from it for the OTG/connected device..
\nYou can try to draw and connect the USB2.0 interface but I will not do it while charging :) is too risky for precious SSD. Use a cheap USB 2.0 Flashdisk if it works then you can do it for your SSD but your SSD will be downgraded to USB 2.0 Speed. for using 2.0 interface.
\nPS: the risk worth your laptop or SSD. choose wisely :)
\n" }, { "Id": "14473", "CreationDate": "2021-01-11T14:34:19.183", "Body": "I am looking for an active USB 3.2 Gen 1 -- or preferably Gen 2 -- hub which comes with at least ten usable ports, half of which should be USB-C sockets and the other half of which should be USB-A sockets.
\nI would prefer for the uplink to be USB-C based. From my cursory research on the topic this may even be a technical requirement, but I wasn't a 100% clear when I finished researching this topic.
\nNo need for the various "standards" for quick charging.
\nPS: to my knowledge, I do have two USB-C uplink ports built into my PC.
\n", "Title": "Looking for an active USB 3.2 Gen 1 (or 2) hub with at least 10 ports, half of which are USB-A and USB-C respectively", "Tags": "|usb|hub|usb-c|", "Answer": "A larger USB hub will always contain multiple USB hub ICs daisy chained inside so getting a single device is not necessarily advantageous. But, searching, say, Newegg for usb 3.2 gen 2 hub finds a ton of of devices these days, that's not a problem any more.
\nThe problem is bandwidth. 10 ports at 10 gigabits would consume 100 gigabits and there's absolutely no way currently to get this much bandwidth. The most bandwidth you can potentially get out of a laptop is utilizing four PCIe 4.0 lanes (like from an M.2 socket utilizing a OCuLink riser with a redriver). Actually. Lenovo's new ThinkBook 14+ 2024 will feature OCuLink , the GPD Win Max 2 also has it. That's 64Gbps. The One Dock can convert that to a PCIe slot. Alas, AFAIK there no USB root hub connecting over PCIe 4.0 so this avenue while promising currently doesn't go far.
\nUsing more traditional interfaces, the best we can do is USB4. The ADT-Link UT3G is utilizing the ASMedia ASM2464PD and can nearly provide as much bandwidth as PCIe 3.0 x4 possibly can, benchmarks showed around 30Gbps. You can add a dual ASM3142 card like the SI-PEX20233. Each ASM3142 provides two 10gbps ports from two PCIe 3.0 lanes -- it's slightly oversubscribed but not terribly.
\n" }, { "Id": "14512", "CreationDate": "2021-01-22T19:47:40.773", "Body": "Looking for a small, dedicated device to perform the same function as an authenticator token app. Ideally, open source with the ability to select and display tokens without connecting to anything.
\nThink traditional RSA hardware token, only with the ability to add other tokens and flip through them.
\n(I don't see a related tag for anything like this, feel free to edit)
\n", "Title": "Hardware token supporting multiple 2FA codes", "Tags": "|security|", "Answer": "The Molto-1 by Token2 is a programmable, multi profile hardware token. I own one of those for a few months now and use it on a daily basis.
\nThe Molto-2 supports 10 different profiles, 6 or 8 digit codes and SHA-1 and SHA-256 hash algorithms. Google Authenticator uses 6 digit codes with SHA-1, so the Molto-1 is fully compatible.
\nProgramming happens with an Android app over NFC, so be sure to use a smartphone you trust. Alternatively the Molto-1i supports iOS. RTC resynchronisation also happens with the app. The app itself has pretty rough edges, but you can figure out how to use it.
\nOne downside is the non-replaceable battery. It is supposed to last 4-5 years, and it has a battery indicator warning you early enough when it's running low.
\nI just realized they have a new multi-profile hardware token, the Molto-2. It is USB-programmable and features a bigger display for presenting QR codes, as well as USB HID emulation for automatic entry of TOTP codes on a computer.
\n" }, { "Id": "14613", "CreationDate": "2021-02-19T07:07:37.030", "Body": "Because of the nature of my work, I need a laptop with a big screen, 6-8 cores and a large battery. A network port would be good too, if possible. My budget is about 1200-2500$. But the problem is, I only either find gaming laptops with really expensive GPU's (and that run out of battery incredibly quick because of them, since they are always running) and lots of features I'll never even need or incredibly expensive design Notebooks that are way above my budget (Like the XPS 17) that often don't even have any usb ports.
\nSo whats a good laptop with some CPU horsepower, that can run for a long time without being plugged in and has a large screen?
\n", "Title": "Whats a good 17 inch work laptop with many cores and a large battery", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "Your current laptop is actually quite decent, but as you are using a power savings CPU this is likely limiting your compile speed as mentioned.
\nThe class of laptop you are looking for is a workstation laptop. These are typically sold for use in specialized business contexts. Because of your requirement of no GPU due to battery concerns, this means that we are forced to throw out a significant segment of the market as Gaming laptops are usually going to deliver best bang for the buck for the specs that you desire.
\nI decided to push your budget in favor of higher quality components.
\nBecause I am recommending a laptop you can buy from DELL directly, this configuration is customizable depending on what you want specifically. I've just pre-selected what I suspect you would desire (e.g. lowest resolution screen to reduce power consumption).
\nIf you are seeking to lower the price I found a lower spec-ed configuration on newegg for $1,174.99, but I could only find refurbished laptops of the 17" size variant. At that price point I didn't think you would want to shoulder the risk of the battery already been somewhat worn and therefore sacrificing your battery life. You could also try looking on Amazon, but the spec filtering on there is rather lackluster.
\nA final note I would like to attach, is that if you find the performance to be sufficient, and want to extend battery life, you could try installing the Intel XTU CPU utility and purposefully shortening the turbo boost time (recommended) or try undervolting (not recommended if you value system stability). Note that voltage has a squared relationship with power consumption, while frequency has a linear relationship.
\n" }, { "Id": "14619", "CreationDate": "2021-02-20T12:04:38.313", "Body": "So I'm looking for a new keyboard to replace my Microsoft sculpt ergonomic. I really like the sculpt but before the sculpt I had an other Microsoft ergonomic keyboard where one could remap the left spacebar to be backspace. This is such an underestimated feature on ergonomic keyboards!
\nBest candidates so far:\nMicrosoft sculpt (missing my key feature otherwise perfect), Logitech ergo K860 (missing my key feature, wireless), Matias ergo pro programmable (separate pieces, not wireless, programmable).
\nRequirements
\nBig plus otherwise
\nMechanical or not doesn't matter.
\nSuggestions?
\n", "Title": "Replace Microsoft sculpt. TKL, wireless and programmable", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "So for posterity, I went with the X-bows Natural. It is not wireless and doesn't have a separate numpad. There is a more expensive one with this feature. I've flashed the center backspace key to be delete and the left spacebar to be backspace. The process is easy with videos on X-bows website explaining how to do it.
\nIt needs some getting used to but this seems like a good fit for me. I get the feeling that the keyboard actually forces me to be more correct with how I type since the columnar layout makes it stranger to not use the correct fingers for typing.
\nThe keyboard is mechanical with silent brown switches. There is also backlighting.
\n" }, { "Id": "14656", "CreationDate": "2021-03-06T16:20:04.087", "Body": "Mh, difficult to summarize... I don't like fat bulky smart watches that only display the time when I wiggle my wrist or press a button.
\nOn the other hand, features like motion sensors and whatever on your wrist, and phone notifications, can be helpful at times. I was very interested when learning about the Skagen Jorn Hybrid HR smart watch (a rebranded Fossil HR Hybrid smartwatch), which still looks ok in size, an uses an always-on epaper display.
\nUnfortunately, it seems to require a Fossil online account for everything, even to display local notifications from my phone, or to perform sleep recording, which is a no-go for me.
\nWhile trying to validate whether this is true, I also learned about the Sigma iD.RUN HR, which claims to also work "offline", but does not really look like a classical watch.
\nI'm not really looking for recommendations, which by nature are strongly opinion-based, but rather hints which smart watches are there at all which come close to what I have in mind (in descending order of priority/importance):
\nEspecially information about whether a cloud / online account is required, and for which features it's needed / which data is exchanged seems to be really hard to come by. For the Skagen HR, even the tech specs on the website didn't mention the mandatory online account.
\n", "Title": "\"Watch-like\" Smart Watch With Android Notification Support but Without Mandatory Cloud Synchronization", "Tags": "|smart-device|wearable-technology|", "Answer": "In the end, I now ended up with a Skagen Jorn Hybrid HR, which is technically identical to the Fossil Hybrid HR watches.
\nYes, by default it also forces you to use the Fossil cloud services - but I learned about Gadgetbridge, an Open Source and Free Software Android app which supports a whole bunch of wearables without the need for any cloud service at all.
\nBTW, Gadgetbridge also supports the Pebble mentioned above, besides some Fitness wrist bands and similar devices.
\nFor many of the supported devices, this is supposed to work mostly flawlessly.
\nIn case of the Skagen Hybrid watch, this solution definitely isn't for everyone, as you need to obtain the watches' crypto key in order to fully enable its features. But if you're technically savy, it works thanks to the amazing effort lots of developers put into the software, and the Skagen then is really close to my dream solution...
\nIt runs about 2 weeks with one charge, has analog hands and an always-on epaper display which can show custom widgets with measurements etc. It also comes with some pre-installed apps for smartphone music player remote control, weather forecast, stopwatch and timer, and, thanks to Gadgetbridge, in addition allows custom apps and widgets to be written and installed.
\nJust testing it now since a few days, but so far it looks really promising!
\n" }, { "Id": "14753", "CreationDate": "2021-04-04T04:55:14.327", "Body": "I am looking for a wireless mouse that has continuous scroll. Mostly i find wheels that have a discrete movement and are not sensible to small turns in the scroll. I would like that even an small amount of change in the scroll wheel to result in a small scrolling in the display, and a smooth spinning wheel, free of this markdowns as well. How can i know if a mouse has this feature or not? what is the name of it?
\nI found this "infinite scroll" technology that probably does what i want but its not exactly the same, as far as i understood. Also the examples of such mice i've seen are Logitech G series, specifically G305, which people say have small size and wouldn't fit for me, although it seems to be not that small. I've also found that Logitech M510 has a wheel that moves "freely enough" but i'm not sure what this means exactly. So i'm looking for recommendations of a wireless mouse with this feature for big hands or some information that leads me to it. Thank you.
\n", "Title": "Mouse with continuous scrolling", "Tags": "|wireless|mice|", "Answer": "Logitech Wireless Performance Mouse MX (I own 3) has a physical button that turns "detents" on and off. When in the free running position, one slightly faster than normal flick of your finger will make the mousewheel spin for almost 20 seconds (i think they originally called this Hyperscroll, but can't find a reference to it now). It is a large mouse. Uses rechargeable or replaceable AA battery (for me a nice feature). A third party program allows even more settings than normal. Google "uberOptions".
\nThe MX Master (version 1? Only tried a friends one) free-runs automatically when the mousewheel goes over a certain speed and reverts back to detented under that speed. It has a manual (non mechanical) override button too and from memory the speed threshold can be set. (called Magspeed). At the time I tried it (18+? months ago) the setting software was a new system and annoyingly dumbed down... they claimed they were going to add features, but I don't know the status now. Used a proprietary rechargeable battery, advantage longer use time, disadvantage you can't just pop another battery in when it dies on you.
\nLogitech has a "Smooth Scrolling" plugin for Firefox, but it didn't work well for me when I first tried it over 2 years ago (apparently conflicted with my 3D mouse). Also, apparently doesn't work with their gaming mice.
\nNote there's a setting in Windows for the amount of lines scrolled per wheel increment... I believe it's 3 by default, but you may prefer less by the sound of it.
\n" }, { "Id": "14764", "CreationDate": "2021-04-08T07:35:07.020", "Body": "I want to keep hold of my current 42\u201d smart hd tv for now and buy a 4K / blu ray / 3D / hdr player and a sound bar.
\nMy tv has an audio optical input.
\nMy blu ray player has an audio optical output which I plug into my tv, it also has connectors and speakers.
\nI\u2019ve looked at sound bars and 4K players and they both have a single audio optical port.
\nI want to still be able to watch stuff on my smart tv apps (Netflix etc). And from my Apple TV.
\nSo not just watch I want to use these with the sound bar and a new player.
\nSo my question is how will my tv smart apps, Apple TV and 4K player play sound through a sound bar if one device doesn\u2019t have 2 audio optical ports?
\n", "Title": "How can a sound bar play sound with single optical ports multiple devices?", "Tags": "|hdmi|4k|sound-system|blu-ray|", "Answer": "If you connect everything up through HDMI, it should work fine. I myself only use one optical connection from my TV to my receiver, because my receiver pre-dates HDMI. So the audio data from my PS4 goes through HDMI to the TV which passes it through the TOS-link to the receiver. I haven't encountered any problems with codecs. All codecs that the receiver supports work and otherwise it just falls back to PCM channels.
\nSo in short, I don't think you will even need optical connections, since you are buying them all new.
\n" }, { "Id": "14765", "CreationDate": "2021-04-08T07:41:11.973", "Body": "Most manufacturers of NAS appliances (like Synology etc) have compatibility lists that sum up which hard drives are compatible with their models. How important is it to follow these? Are all SATA drives created equal, but are some drives more equal than others?
\nAre there drives that consume power out of spec? Or generate more heat than the enclosure can dissipate? What are the considerations?
\nI'm asking this from the Home and Small Business, entry-level device, perspective. My experience with building computers is that if the form factor fits the enclosure and the connector fits, it always Just Works\u2122.
\n", "Title": "How important are HDD compatibility lists for NAS appliances?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|nas|compatibility|", "Answer": "Some drives are not intended to be used in RAID.
\nThe reasons can vary. Sometimes drives are just not built to run 24/7 and will die prematurely in a hot RAID box. Another concern is whether the hard drive firmware has a bug or incompatibility with certain SATA or RAID controllers.
The manufacturer's compatibility list is confirming that the RAID controller in the NAS and the drive firmware do not have any incompatibility. There are always going to be drives that were never considered though, and could be completely fine in that NAS.
\nOne of the more important features that a hard drive can optionally support for RAID is TLER or CCTL. When a drive doesn't have this it may lead to false-positive critical errors showing up in the NAS when a drive takes just a little too long to respond. (So the NAS thinks it's dead.)
\n" }, { "Id": "14775", "CreationDate": "2021-04-13T08:09:00.460", "Body": "I just bought my shinny new screen and the last one I bought was 8 years ago.
\nIt's Xiaomi 34" Curved 144Hz Gamining Monitor
\nOn Windows 10, I was surprised to see there is a resolution: 6880 * 2880!!!
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/mw1xG.jpg\")
Oh dear, I checked the specs of this monitor, but on its official website, it's 3400*1440.
\nI also checked in Ubuntu 20.04, I do not have that high resolution.
\nCould anyone explain why this is happening?
\nBtw, my GPU is NVIDIA RTX 2080 Ti.
\n", "Title": "Why is there a 6880*2880 resolution on my Xiaomi 34\" curved monitor", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|monitors|windows|", "Answer": "One option might be that you have Nvidia DSR enabled.\nto check: open up Nvidia control panel, go to Manage 3d setting and search for DSR-Factors. in your case 2.00x might be enabled
\n" }, { "Id": "14799", "CreationDate": "2021-04-24T09:29:29.343", "Body": "I\u2019m looking for a graphics card compatible with the Fujitsu Primergy tx100 s3p, any recommendations? I will mostly use it for development using Android Studio on Ubuntu.
\n", "Title": "Graphics card for Fujitsu Primergy tx100 s3p", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|ubuntu|", "Answer": "Pretty much any card will work, as long as your power supply can handle it. Are you using the stock power supply, or have you put a new one in? If you have a new PSU, I like the GTX 650 Ti as a cheaper GPU. Works pretty well for ~$50 USD used. What's your budget?
\n" }, { "Id": "14825", "CreationDate": "2021-05-02T00:33:30.553", "Body": "I am looking for a wireless "home security" type camera that has an onboard web interface I can access, instead of one that forces me to sign up for an external service - even a "free" service.
\nI started out years ago with the D-Link DCS-930 and DCS-932L wireless cameras, which allow direct wifi access, and wrote my own (very simple) website to access them remotely from my phone. Unfortunately, those cameras gradually stopped working over time, and their direct replacement, the D-Link DCS-936L, has also been discontinued.
\nI have tried more modern camera models from Wyze and D-Link, but they have removed all direct access and now demand that you pipe your camera video through their "free" sites in order to use their hardware.
\nI would rather keep direct control of the video feeds from inside my home, instead of sending them through a server at Google or Ring or D-Link or Wyze where they could be watched by - well, anybody, really.
\nIs anyone aware of a wireless camera that still has this capability?
\n", "Title": "Wireless home security camera that doesn't require a service signup?", "Tags": "|home-security|home-electronics|", "Answer": "I've purchased a couple of years ago an in-house wireless camera system made by Tonton, currently available via Amazon.
\nI did not want any requirement for outside network access and the linked system does not appear to require it. The router engages the cameras automatically and does share my home network, but that merely allows me to view the cameras via my phone on my local network, rather than to have to change to the camera routers network to do so.
\nThe image quality is quite good and the installation was easy. Probably the most difficult aspect of installation is mounting the cameras in the desired locations.
\n![\"tonton](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PF4sN.jpg\")
Image courtesy Amazon link
\n" }, { "Id": "14841", "CreationDate": "2021-05-05T16:35:22.783", "Body": "So, I am thinking of getting a better gaming mouse under 20$ which could get me good cps. This is as I would like to learn breezily, and godbridging in minecraft bedwars.
\nI have currently seen only redragon phaser m609 and m601, and I have seen some youtube tutorials on how to drag click on m601, but I am unsure that if this is my best choice. If anyone could recommend me a better mouse, it would be really helpful.
\nAlso, I don't know if I can ask these type of questions here, if I can't, then please tell me where can I, and I will ask this question there.
\nI live in India, and I am okay with price range of under 2000 inr. Also, I would prefer mice present on Amazon/Flipkart.
\n", "Title": "Is the redragon m601 good for drag clicking?", "Tags": "|gaming|mice|", "Answer": "I bought the M601 redragon mouse, and it seems to be working perfectly for its price. I get around 17-20 short dragging and 25-30 long dragging. I know you have probably bought a mouse given that you asked this 8months ago. Although I would recommend the m601.\nTips for more cps:\nMake sure your fingers aren't wet-moist when drag clicking.\nTape could help although I managed to get 30+cps without it.\nYou could use the adhesive of sticky tape, dab it on the mouse buttons and it should help.\nThe more you use the mouse the better cps you get, for example out of the box I could just get 17long drag.\nI hope this could help, I'm really late to answer your questions I just started to use this website.
\nHappy New Year!!
\n" }, { "Id": "14860", "CreationDate": "2021-05-10T15:03:05.777", "Body": "I'm facing a problem with this motherboard trying to make it work with 6 pcie GPU's for eth mining.
\nCurrent setup:
\nI'm currently using RaveOS (raveos.com) as OS to mine with ethminer.
\nI was able to make it work with 5 GPU, using slots PCIEx16_1 and PCIex16_3 and PciEx1_1, PciEx1_2 and PciEx1_3, the problem comes with slot PCIex16_2, I found no way to make it work.
\nTried several bios setup combinations with no luck. OS is not able to found any GPU on slot pciex16_2.
\nNote 1: I'm using risers on 6 GPU.
\nNote 2: Tested every GPU + riser alone and they are working, so I guess all parts are working correctly.
\nDoes anybody has any experience with this?
\nThanks in advance
\nEDIT
\nFollowing Bob answer, I found this on the motherboard manual:
\n![\"Asus](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/7IhrA.png\")
So, Ryzen 3200 + Vega does not appear to support PCIex16_2 lane...\nI have to confirm this and mark appropiate answer.
\n", "Title": "Asus Rog Strix b450-f and 6 pciE GPU", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|motherboard|pcie|", "Answer": "Your cpu only has a limited number of pci-e lanes available. Sadly I can't find the official documentation but from different forums and other people with these issues it appears that the 3xxx series apu does not support a second PCIex16 slot.
\n" }, { "Id": "14867", "CreationDate": "2021-05-11T22:33:19.033", "Body": "I have a Senheiser HD 559 which comes with a cable that has an 6.3 mm jack connection. Now I wanna connect this heaphone to a normal PC with a 3.5 mm female jacket. Unfortunately every (and with every I mean high quality brands product and cheap brand product) sell 6.3mm Female Plug to 3.5 mm Male Jack Stereo Adaptor, which always have a loose contact. So I wanna buy a cable that connects my heaphone and has a direct 3.5 mm male jacket which can be connected to any device directly.\n![\"In](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/NNv16.jpg\")
You don't say what type of connector is on the other end, but my guess would be it's a 4-pin 2.5mm jack. Those are sometimes used for balanced headphone signal. The cables are not very common, but knowing what plug it is you should be able to find and order one.
\n" }, { "Id": "14874", "CreationDate": "2021-05-13T01:38:02.947", "Body": "I'm looking for a recommendation on adding storage to the laptop if I don't want to swap the current m2 drive on my laptop.
\nI have a brand new HP 17-cn0021nr laptop, and I want to upgrade the storage capacity. It has an installed m2 SSD, and I could either replace that or add another. When looking over the motherboard(image 1), I noticed there is a connector labeled "HDD", near a spot that looks like its intended for a 2.5" drive. I don't recognize this connector.
\nThe motherboard has a label of "17N-8L-TGL," but I can't find specifications online for the unused port.
\n![\"Motherboard\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/zS5N7.jpg\")
![\"Close-Up](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/y3ozI.jpg\")
![\"Alternate](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Wl1Gi.jpg\")
Its a standard hard drive - what you're missing is a cable that breaks out the ZIF socket to a regular HDD. The Service manual is a great starting point.
\nYou're looking for a Hard drive cable L22526-001 - and you should be able to find it easily by searching for the part number L22526-001
In short: I\u2019m looking for a hardware/software solution to handle an amount of data, which should be accessible from multiple devices including iPhone and protected from unauthorised access.
\nIn detail:
\nI\u2019ve got a file repository of some 500GB with that I want to check in from once a day to several times an hour. Most of the data is confidential, so I can\u2019t carry it around on an unprotected USB stick.
\nI want to access the repository from any of my devices, namely two Windows 10 PCs (home and work), a Windows 10 laptop and necessarily iPhone 11 Pro. (If no iPhone were involved, then the task would be trivial.)
\nThe repository must be accessible regardless of the Internet connection, so cloud storage isn\u2019t an option. The solution should probably include a physical storage device that I can keep on hand.
\nThe data must be protected with a password I need to enter exactly once per connection to a device. E.g., so that I can connect the repository to iPhone, then enter a password and gain full access to the data without re-entering the password until disconnected.
\nI also don\u2019t want a physical combination lock, fingerprint scanner, etc. on storage device; only a regular old-school password to enter on a PC or iPhone to which the device is connected.
\nI\u2019ve tried an iDiskk device that can work as an external drive for iPhone, but it doesn\u2019t support password encryption.
\nThere might be some kind of specialty adapter that can connect a regular external SSD to my iPhone and works with a dedicated app, but I haven\u2019t found one.
\nSo I would appreciate your suggestions.
\n", "Title": "An external iPhone-compatible storage device with password protection?", "Tags": "|data-storage|encryption|", "Answer": "Since I got no response on a few dozen of discussion websites (not only here), I had to do my research, and here\u2019s the result.
\nI was able to connect an encrypted USB flash drive to my iPhone and manage files on the drive. The general appearance of the solution is shown on the picture:
\n![\"Connecting](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/08Jw8.jpg\")
The effect is determined by several factors listed below.
\niOS version. According to Apple, external drives in Files app are supported since iOS 13.0, and support for encrypted drives was added in iOS 14.0 (see Files section in both sources). I\u2019ve used iOS 14.6 on iPhone 11 Pro A2215 (MWC72RU/A).
\nExternal storage device connectivity options. I\u2019ve tested several USB devices, and I\u2019ve no information about other connection types (e.g., SATA or Bluetooth).
\nThe device\u2019s USB version. All my storage devices were USB 3.x, and I don\u2019t know if USB 2.0 is going to work, too. I picked out the relatively old Kingston Data Traveler HyperX 3.0 (256GB) for this example.
\nA way to physically connect the storage device to iPhone. I\u2019ve used Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter, and it seems to be the only adapter that can work in my case. The name of the adapter is quite misleading because you can use it not only with a camera, but with other external devices as well.
\nThe adapter has two ports: USB 3.0/3.1 Gen 1 (for connecting an external device) and Lightning (for powering it, if necessary).
\nPowering. After connecting a device, you might see the message: \u201cThis accessory requires too much power\u201d.
\n![\"This](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Wxsuw.png\")
That means you need to connect a power source to the Lightning port but beware of the pitfall: not every power source is going to suit. For instance, a 63W Belkin adapter (WCH003vf) that I usually use to charge the iPhone didn\u2019t work for me. But an original 20W USB-C Power Adapter with an USB-C to Lightning Cable did the trick.
\nI didn\u2019t look more into this issue, but it\u2019s surely not about wattage.
\nOrganization of data on the storage device. I tested devices of the GPT partition style only, and formatted them to FAT32, exFAT and APFS (case-insensitive), with exactly one partition occupying the entire device. In all cases, the devices were accessible from iPhone just fine when unencrypted. The device is showing up in the Files app (it\u2019s named Kingston in my case). Encryption works in APFS only, and iPhone prompts for a password.
\n![\"An](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/feL5T.png\")
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0![\"iPhone](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/rAPNd.png\")
I think case-sensitive APFS would also work, although I haven\u2019t checked.
\nFormatting a storage device to APFS with encryption can be tricky if you don\u2019t happen to have a Mac at hand, but I was able to do with macOS in a virtual machine.
\n" }, { "Id": "14920", "CreationDate": "2021-05-30T10:57:58.017", "Body": "I have an older PC - (I7/3770K @ 3.5GHz, 32Gb DDR3) with an ASUS GeForce DUAL-GTX1060-O6G 6 GB card. I currently have 2 22" IIyama 1680x1050 monitors.
\nI'd like to upgrade my monitors to 2 x 32" 4k monitors.
\nMy usage is 99% non-gaming - mostly software development, Word/Excel, and browsing. Gaming tends to be older games - Tomb Raider, Elite Dangerous.
\nMy question is will my pc + card run these monitors?
\n", "Title": "Will ASUS GeForce DUAL-GTX1060-O6G 6 GB run 2 4k monitors for development?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|multiple-monitors|4k|", "Answer": "Acording to manufacturer specifications. Yes
\n" }, { "Id": "14925", "CreationDate": "2021-05-31T09:43:38.810", "Body": "Only 2 things really interest me - long battery life & cost - sub \u00a3250 ~= US $ 350, Eur 290 .
\nI am replacing an old UleFone Power which had an 1100maH battery (!). I don't care that it was a brick - I loved it.
\nI use my 'phone for Email, WhatsApp, SMS and occasional 'phone calls & to browse, generally to read the news.
\nI *never* play games, stream videos, use any social networks, listen to music, etc. And I don't care too much about camera quality.
\nA reasonable amount of memory would be nice (NFC would be a bonus, but I don't expect it).
\nI have no problems with non-mainstream brands. What can you recommend?
\n", "Title": "Sub GBP \u00a3250 Android 'phone with long battery life - as of June 2021", "Tags": "|android|smartphones|cheap|", "Answer": "In fact, I bought a Samsung M31 in the end - and am very pleased with it. As news, it would have been too expensive, but it was released the previous February, so had been around for 16 months, causing the price to drop into my range.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/TxsCR.png\")
In the meantime though, UleFone have released one with a 13,200 mh battery, which I would probably have bought had it been available when my last one died.
\n" }, { "Id": "14927", "CreationDate": "2021-06-01T02:28:29.463", "Body": "I heard that transistors have two main purposes, amplifying signals and switching on and off very quickly.\nI also heard that relays can acts as switches. Relays rely on a magnetic force pulling the switch of another circuit on and off.\nWhat are the advantages and disadvantages of relays and transistors, and in which cases should wae use both?
\n", "Title": "What are the pros and cons of Relays and Transistors", "Tags": "|switch|", "Answer": "The main difference is that relays switch a different circuit while transistors switch the circuit that the transistor is in.
\n" }, { "Id": "14929", "CreationDate": "2021-06-01T04:32:59.160", "Body": "What is the difference between an LED and a lamp? If they are different, how can I tell if a component is a LED or a lamp?
\n", "Title": "What is the difference between an LED and a lamp?", "Tags": "|led|", "Answer": "there are a lot different Lamps, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamp for "Lamp (electrical component)\nLED may be used as for "LED Lamps" or for the electronic part.\n=> A lamp may contain a LED.\nA Lamp can be light bulb, vacuumed, with a special wire, glowing if voltage attached to the light bulb. A lamp usually has a socket - and a defined operating voltage.
\nTo recognize it as LED Lamp:
\nIf the wattage is not printed, you may use a energy monitor (a device as wall plug providing a socket and a display) but the heat dissipation will be much more with a glowing light bulb as with a LED.\nNote: A LED also emits heat but usually not hot enough to boil a drop of water.
\n" }, { "Id": "14948", "CreationDate": "2021-06-04T19:32:53.330", "Body": "I'm not sure If I can buy one of these Cards for My HP Compq pro 6300 microtower :\nGTX 750ti or GTX 950
\nI'm not Hardware expert, But I think that there must be enough space for the card, and that the power supply should be sufficient, And I'm not sure of these 2 points.
\nN.B The computer is in its original state ( I mean no modification or addition have been done to it) So any reuired info about the model is as in its factory specs page
\n", "Title": "Can I buy GTX 750ti or GTX 950 for my HP Compq pro 6300 microtower", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "If you have a 6pin GPU power connector coming out of your power supply, you can do 950, but else, buy a 750ti
\nYour power supply should be strong enough to hanlde both of these cards, but the gtx 950 has an extra power connector. So if you don't have that availible, the 950 won't be compatible :((all possible gpu's for that pc don't have 6pin power, so it could be that you don't have that)
\n" }, { "Id": "14955", "CreationDate": "2021-06-08T04:18:44.777", "Body": "I'm trying to set up a sort of community service project.
\nI want to teach coding to people who otherwise wouldn't be able to learn to code because of financial constraints. I'm hoping to be able to supply computers so that I can teach people who don't have access to a computer. In order to do that, I would need to have computers that are cheap enough to get a few, but capable enough to run code.
\nRight now, I'm thinking of teaching in Processing, so basically the only thing I need to be able to do is install Windows, OS X, or Linux, and then Java, and then Processing. I am open to suggestions for other teaching strategies, but this isn't really the place for that.
\nI'm open to just having computer parts in a box along with a display and keyboard, but I don't have any experience finding cheap hardware that will be compatible and do what I want. Mainly, I want the computers to be as cheap as possible while still being able to run windows, mac, or linux. The cheaper I can get them, the more people I can help.
\n", "Title": "Cheap computers for teaching coding", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|motherboard|displays|", "Answer": "Consider to make a post to your local forum covering toss-away items of value. Yahoo once had Freecycle, which has morphed to TrashNothing. One is permitted to post requests. Because you don't object to using Linux (free), you can note to prospective contributors that you would be erasing the computer, removing concerns of personal information being released or accessed.
\nI suggest this because you can accomplish your goal with lower performance computers running a light version of Linux (or older, still supported version) and prevent electronic waste simultaneously.
\nI have collected a number of machines from clients, erased them, installed Linux and have given them to homeless people, people of low income, etc. You could consider to poll the local mom-and-pop computer stores for similar circumstances.
\n" }, { "Id": "14960", "CreationDate": "2021-06-08T20:45:45.863", "Body": "I have a question for the connoisseurs of PCI-e technology and graphics cards. I have an old NUC lying around in a closet. It has a specific case where there is more space than the Intel one.\nAlso, it has a mini PCI-e (x1) Gen2 slot.
\nI want to recycle it into a retro console and old PC games. To upgrade it a little bit, I found on the internet :
\n\nI intend to make the following assembly:
\n MXM GPU > MXM to PCI-e (x1) adapter > PCI-e (x1) to mini PCI-e (x1) adapter > NUC\n![\"Setup\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IEl4v.png\")
I understand it is uncommon, but beyond the financial or performance aspect, do you think that this assembly could be technically feasible?
\nThanks for your kind help.
\n", "Title": "Is my PCI-e setup proposal technically possible?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|pcie|adapter|", "Answer": "This is probably not going to work.\nThe mini pcie card can supply a peak power of 3.3V at 1A.\nFrom what I can find an mxm gpu always needs more power than this and unlike a normal gpu it has no external connections.
\n" }, { "Id": "14982", "CreationDate": "2021-06-15T13:47:56.557", "Body": "My mother uses an old computer with Intel DG45ID motherboard. It has an internal GMA 4500 GPU which supports up to 2048*1536 resolution (I assume the mobile GPU is no more capable than the desktop variant). I have a 2560*1440 monitor (Dell U2717D). I connected it to the computer with an hdmi cable and the maximal resolution offered is 1920*1080 (actually 1920*1200, but that is different aspect ratio). I bought ASUS 210-SL-TC1GD3-L external graphics card. It lists 2560*1440 as its maximal resolution. However, when I installed it into the computer and connected the monitor, it still offers just the same 1920*1080 resolution. How come?
\nThe software is Ubuntu 18.04 and I installed the proprietary Nvidia drivers, but that did not change anything.
\n", "Title": "Can motherboard limit maximal resolution with external graphics card?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|motherboard|", "Answer": "In the end the problem was not in the motherboard, but in the graphics card - it would only support the maximal resolution over DVI, not HDMI, so I had to get another graphics card.
\n" }, { "Id": "14991", "CreationDate": "2021-06-16T19:24:56.057", "Body": "My laptop has 2 batteries. The laptop uses one of them until 5% and then starts using another one. Isn't this percentage bad and harmful for first battery?
\nDetails:
\nVendor: LGC
\nModel: 45N1735
\nTechnology: Lithium Ion
\nLaptop: Thinkpad t440
\n", "Title": "Best time for charging battery", "Tags": "|battery|", "Answer": "Yes, but only if it's left on 5% for a long time (half a week or so)
\n" }, { "Id": "14992", "CreationDate": "2021-06-17T01:41:02.937", "Body": "My desktop computer has been getting tend to freeze with high frequency so I've been trying to buy some new component(s).
\nI bought the computer during Jan~March 2016
\nGPU is 3~5 years.
\nMotherboard and cpu is ~6 years.
\nSo I bet that I should buy a new gpu or motherboard.
\nSo, as gpu inside the motherboard is not broken, there is 2 options .
\nOne of which is to attach a new gpu to the motherboard.
\nThe other one is to change the motherboard.
\nI know that doing both is best for solution for freeze but at this time I want to try one of them.
\nWhich way is best you think?
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/2vTx2.png\")
Version: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6500 CPU @ 3.20GHz\nVoltage: 1.1 V\nExternal Clock: 100 MHz\nMax Speed: 3600 MHz\nCurrent Speed: 3200 MHz\nStatus: Populated, Enabled\nUpgrade: Other\nL1 Cache Handle: 0x003A\nL2 Cache Handle: 0x003B\nL3 Cache Handle: 0x003C\nSerial Number: To Be Filled By O.E.M.\nAsset Tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.\nPart Number: To Be Filled By O.E.M.\nCore Count: 4\nCore Enabled: 4\nThread Count: 4\nCharacteristics:\n 64-bit capable\n Multi-Core\n Execute Protection\n Enhanced Virtualization\n Power/Performance Control\nI attached the graphic card
\nI will report the result of it soon.
\nAfter the installtion of the graphic card
\nThe smoothness has been seemingly bit ameliorated but not a complete solution.\nThe resolution of the display has been greatly improved but I don't want it. I just want a smoothness with no freeze.
\nThe freeze occured from gradual less smoothness.
\nI think I may should have bought cpu rather graphic card.
\n", "Title": "Attaching a new graphic card (GPU) or Changing another component(s) of the desktop computer to resolve high frequencty of freeze", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|motherboard|", "Answer": "This sounds like an overheating of the CPU due to a poor transfer of heat between the CPU and its cooler. I have the same issue with my Dell laptop I'd buy some thermal paste, I will link a paste that I personally use for my high-end gaming system, and you would replace the thermal paste from the cooler and cpu. You would want to make sure all of the old paste Is off the cooler and the CPU before you apply the new paste. You'd apply a large pea-sized dot in the center and then re-mount your cooler.
\nThermal Grizzly Kyronaut Thermal Paste
\n" }, { "Id": "14999", "CreationDate": "2021-06-19T20:43:12.743", "Body": "Is there a USB graphics card? I know the USB 3.0 speed would be the bottleneck, of sorts, but any additional graphics would be better than nothing.
\nIf there isn't, is there a PCIe female to USB male conversion card to plug a graphics card in to? I can't buy a new computer, and it needs to be USB - I don't have any PCIe slots to use.
\nThanks!
\n", "Title": "Is there such a thing as a USB graphics card?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|usb|gaming|", "Answer": "There technically is. It uses the Thunderbolt standard which runs off the USB-C cable. They are typically called eGPU's and can ship with a GPU in it, but are often just the enclosure. Below are some examples.
\nThe user Salocor, who replied to the post first, also makes a good point with a NVME M.2 to PCI-E converter being an option. Due to those not intended for often removal and are fragile, they aren't exactly a solution if you want to take your laptop on the go often. A Thunderbolt 3 eGPU enclosure like those listed below are a better option if you care about portability.
\nRazer eGPU Enclosure
\nCooler Master eGPU Encosure
\nASUS ROG eGPU Enclosure
\nDell/Alienware eGPU Enclosure
I have regular, wired speakers and I use them for the computer. How can I use them wirelessly, by Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, from a smartphone or tablet?
\nI guess I need a Bluetooth device that connects to the speakers and gets power from a regular USB charger or from a powered USB hub.
\nCan anyone help me to find such a device on Amazon? I prefer something cheap, under $20 if possible.
\n", "Title": "How to use regular (cabled) speakers by wireless?", "Tags": "|bluetooth|speakers|", "Answer": "I think this is what you are looking for. I have a device very similar to this one and it works great. I\u2019ve used it in the same situation as the one you described.
\n" }, { "Id": "15011", "CreationDate": "2021-06-22T02:56:06.533", "Body": "I am trying to work out the easiest setup for listening to music from one device via two headphones. My friend and I like the same music but prefer headphones to earphones (which are kind of gross to share anyway) but don't like annoying other people with our music. I suppose a wired or non wired solution should be ok eg. via bluetooth pairing? We usually store all our music on our phone.
\nSorry if this is a stupid question, I have looked online for a solution but haven't found anything yet and so thought maybe I'm looking for the wrong thing. I couldn't even find too many images of people sharing headphones so maybe we're just weird and no one does this except us?
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/jyyzS.jpg\")
You can daisy chain headphones, or use passive splitters, like this one I found on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088686SKJ/
\n" }, { "Id": "15033", "CreationDate": "2021-06-27T16:43:06.267", "Body": "I don't need a super fancy monitor, but I would like it to support displayport daisy chaining. All the monitors I can find with this feature are >$300
\n", "Title": "$100-$200 monitor with displayport daisy chaining", "Tags": "|monitors|display-port|", "Answer": "I have a Dell U2417H that supports DP daisy chaining. You can find used monitors on eBay for ~$120. Besides supporting DP daisy changing it is a very good monitor. The picture quality is great and it even has a built in USB 3.0 hub for easy access to your USB ports.
\n" }, { "Id": "15039", "CreationDate": "2021-06-28T00:11:42.173", "Body": "I've replaced a motherboard and a CPU but still I've been suffered by a high frequency freeze problem.
\nEspecially a freeze occurs as I use vscode. In sometime, just opened the vscode caused a freeze.
\nSo the memory and the SSD are two of the remnants components which is (are) cause (s) a freeze.
\nDue to the economic problem, I can only replace memory or SSD.
\nWhich should I replace (or attach a memory)?
\nThe below components are mine:
\nThe minimum temperature of the CPU is around 32 celsius
\nWhat I got typed:
\nsudo hwinfo --short\nResults in this:
\n![\"hwinfo](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/0qDTL.png\")
I mounted this dual-memory to my motherboard and the problem of freezes has not been solved.
\nSo I bet the ssd is the criminal.
\n" }, { "Id": "15048", "CreationDate": "2021-06-30T19:38:30.057", "Body": "I want to mine some altcoins via NiceHash with two graphics cards 24/7 or at least in the evening and night. I was wondering if my PSU is good enough for my setup since I want to buy an extra graphics card. My PC setup:
\nCORSAIR RMx Series RM750x - 2018 Edition
\nMSI Z490-A PRO Motherboard
\nNZXT Kraken X63 RGB Liquid coolingsystem
\nAdata XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB SSD
\nIntel Core i7 10700K
\nG.Skill Ripjaws V F4-3200C14D-32GVK
\nAsus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3080
\nGeForce RTX 3060 TI
\nCan my 750W PSU start and sustain this setup or not?
\n", "Title": "Which PSU do I need for this setup?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|power-supply|", "Answer": "Short answer: No
\nLonger answer, maybe
\nWith only a 3080, your system would draw around 550W. Add 200W for the 3060ti, and you get 750W. If RTX 3000 series would not have mega power draw spikes and nothing is OCed, 750W is just enough for you. Because RTX 3000 series have mega power draw spikes, I would reccomend going at least 200W above that (+-1000W).
\nAlso, to stay under that 1000W mark, try undervolting your graphics cards a bit in MSI Afterburner. It should not impact performance, it can even improve performance and it reduces power usage.
\nFor power supply brands, I would reccomend Corsair and Seasonic.
\n" }, { "Id": "15050", "CreationDate": "2021-06-30T22:33:09.393", "Body": "I'm looking to upgrade someone's gaming PC and was wondering if I will notice any difference between these two RAM modules on a Ryzen 5000 CPU. I'd get 4 8GB sticks so the capacity will be the same and both sticks will be from Corsair. I know to some extent timings matter, how tight they are and clock speed matters, but not sure what is more important, timings, latency, or clock speed.
\nKit A - 3200mhz CL16, 16-18-18-36 @ 1.35v
\nKit B - 3600mhz CL18, 18-19-19-39 @ 1.35v
Considering it's being run on a Ryzen processor I would reccomend using the 3600mhz kit.\nAmd has a thing called Infinity Fabric. You usually want to have this running at a 1:1 ratio of the Ram Base clock. But it's also responsible for some communication within the cpu itself.
\nBy using higher base clock RAM, the Infinity Fabric speeds increase. Causing an overal performance increase of the CPU itself.
\n" }, { "Id": "15064", "CreationDate": "2021-07-03T09:38:42.877", "Body": "My univ require me to take photos of papers of answers of exam and send it via internet and mail papers via post office to the univ to be cheched whether any correction wasn't done or not.
\nI need the camera which can take a moderate resolution(no blur) photos of answers of exam.
\nI don't intend to use it to take a scenery.
\nI just want a cheap camera(I guess it is able to be connected with usb) which can take a photo with no blur of written texts.
\nCan you tell me your recommendations?
\n", "Title": "Which gadget is suitable for just taking a photo of answers of exam with pc?(The laptop-embedded camera is bad for it)", "Tags": "|camera|", "Answer": "There are many inexpensive "webcams", such as this for ~US$20. Perhaps your university can provide one from stock. Set it up so that it photographs the size of the paper laid out on the desk, and outline, using tape, the area to place a page.
\nAn alternative is to use a scanner, such as those built into many printers.
\n" }, { "Id": "15078", "CreationDate": "2021-07-06T17:48:32.617", "Body": "On my laptop I have 16 GB of RAM. I see that it supports up to 32 GB and I have to increase it.
\nThe technical details of the RAM already present is as follows:
\n$ sudo dmidecode --type memory\n# dmidecode 3.2\nGetting SMBIOS data from sysfs.\nSMBIOS 3.0.1 present.\n\nHandle 0x000E, DMI type 16, 23 bytes\nPhysical Memory Array\n Location: System Board Or Motherboard\n Use: System Memory\n Error Correction Type: None\n Maximum Capacity: 32 GB\n Error Information Handle: No Error\n Number Of Devices: 2\n\nHandle 0x000F, DMI type 17, 40 bytes\nMemory Device\n Array Handle: 0x000E\n Error Information Handle: No Error\n Total Width: 64 bits\n Data Width: 64 bits\n Size: 16 GB\n Form Factor: SODIMM\n Set: None\n Locator: ChannelA-DIMM0\n Bank Locator: BANK 0\n Type: DDR4\n Type Detail: Synchronous\n Speed: 2667 MT/s\n Manufacturer: Kingston\n Serial Number: 2D178A3E\n Asset Tag: 9876543210\n Part Number: ACR26D4S9D8ME-16 \n Rank: 2\n Configured Memory Speed: 2667 MT/s\n Minimum Voltage: 1.25 V\n Maximum Voltage: 1.35 V\n Configured Voltage: 1.2 V\n\nHandle 0x0010, DMI type 17, 40 bytes\nMemory Device\n Array Handle: 0x000E\n Error Information Handle: No Error\n Total Width: Unknown\n Data Width: Unknown\n Size: No Module Installed\n Form Factor: Unknown\n Set: None\n Locator: ChannelB-DIMM0\n Bank Locator: BANK 2\n Type: Unknown\n Type Detail: None\n Speed: Unknown\n Manufacturer: Not Specified\n Serial Number: Not Specified\n Asset Tag: Not Specified\n Part Number: Not Specified\n Rank: Unknown\n Configured Memory Speed: Unknown\n Minimum Voltage: Unknown\n Maximum Voltage: Unknown\n Configured Voltage: Unknown\n\nI was thinking to buy a RAM module from Amazon and mount it myself on my laptop.
\nCan I do it?
\nWhich module do I have to buy?
\nI need to increase my RAM to the maximum possible level.
\nPlease specify which commands do I need to run and report if you need more technical details about my laptop.
\n", "Title": "Which RAM to buy?", "Tags": "|laptop|memory|", "Answer": "You can, but if you don't use 90+% of your ram, it should not impact performance. You should buy a 16GB stick (or a 1*16GB kit) with a 2667Mhz speed. To make it fit in the socket, use DDR4 SODIMM. To ensure the best compatibility, try buying the same stick that is already in your laptop (google Kingston ACR26D4S9D8ME-16). To install the ram stick, you can use the instructions given by @MANAV of see if the laptop manufacturer has a video explaining how you can upgrade the ram. If your laptop allows to, also enable XMP or DOCP to get a little extra performance
\n" }, { "Id": "15084", "CreationDate": "2021-07-08T05:14:30.563", "Body": "I have an entry-level gaming laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce GPU and I like to cap the few games that I play on it to 60 fps. Would an expensive gaming monitor that can handle refresh rates well beyond 60 Hz be (1) a waste of money and (2) problematic? I've read that using an overpowered monitor on a relatively underpowered GPU may cause performance issues. However, can't I just buy a G-SYNC capable monitor and have the NVIDIA GPU bring the monitor's refresh rate down to 60 Hz when I play games?
\n", "Title": "Would a G-SYNC monitor prevent performance issues for underpowered GPUs?", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "I think you've misunderstood what people mean.\nThe refresh rate of your monitor has no impact on gaming performance. It only decides how often your monitor can show a new frame every second.\nWhat can impact performance is monitor resolution. However you can always choose to render a game at a lower resolution and let it upscale. Or use Nvidia DLSS if availible.
\nYou also do not need a G-sync capable monitor for this, especially considering that with a G-sync monitor the monitor refresh rate is dynamically ajusted to the framerate of your game. Basically already dynamically doing what you are asking. If you then limit the maximum refresh rate. you're only denying yourself extra visible frames if they are availible.
\nHowever if you really wish to reduce the refresh rate of your monitor for other reasons you can do this by right clicking on the desktop and selecting display, then scroll down and click 'advanced display settings' there is a drop down to edit the refresh rate.
\n" }, { "Id": "15102", "CreationDate": "2021-07-17T17:33:57.950", "Body": "I've shortlisted 3 entry level scanners of my budget.
\nI'm not really sure if LIDE 400 and Canoscan LIDE 400 are same or different, but I couldn't find any difference other than dimensions and a sticker printed on one of them.
\nCanon India refused to tell if both are same and different. They were saying both are same. Only one of them is listed on Canon India website (i.e., Canon LIDE 400) They said contact Amazon. Amazon told me that both have different sellers and seller is sending under different name. But the MRP price difference of Canoscan is almost double on Amazon.
\nBut anyway, I did my research and I couldn't find single difference between them. Because I was able to find Canoscan on Canon UK website and its specifications were same. So I am assuming they are same just sold under different names. I don't have proof though.
\nNow, all 3 have almost similar specifications. Same sensor, same DPI and same document size.
\nI didn't go into extreme details but I compared basic details which I should know and which I understand.
\nNow I can't make a decision. The thing is, on Amazon India, Epson V39 has better reviews. Canon LIDE 400 has a bit less good reviews. However, like I had said, Canoscan LIDE 400 is also listed on Amazon India, which has better reviews.
\nSo overall, I feel people are doubtful about Canon LIDE 400 or Canoscan LIDE 400.
\nWhich makes me feel V39 is better. I read many articles/videos online, which also listed LIDE 400 slightly better than V39.
\nWhat I would scan is mostly A4 size pencil drawings on Bristol paper. Or A5 paper. Sometimes A3 paper (I know A3 is not supported but I would use multiple scans and later combine them). So main focus is A4 drawings. On rare occasions, colored photos and maybe paintings.
\nSo is there any other criteria which I can use whether to go with Epson or Canon?
\n", "Title": "Which brand should I go with if I want to scan my artworks?", "Tags": "|scanner|", "Answer": "Regarding your LIDE 400 and Canoscan LIDE 400.\nThey are probably the same, but have different names since the seller forgot to type the full name and omitted "Canoscan" from "LIDE 400".
\nI would go with Canon since they also make cameras and that expertise might go into their scanners. They probably both perform the same if they are the same price since scanners are a commodity item and are not obscuring their quality with luxury pricing.
\n" }, { "Id": "15117", "CreationDate": "2021-07-24T15:41:22.400", "Body": "I have an HP OMEN 15-en0003ns laptop with 16GB RAM I use for editing video. It came with 2 Samsung M471A1K43DB1-CWE 8GB SODIMM DDR4 3200MHz memories. I've recently been gifted 2 Kingston FURY Impact KF318LS11IBK2 8GB SODIMM DDR3 1866MHz memories for my birthday. Now, right off the bat I would think it's obvious that going from 3200MHz to 1866MHz would be a step down BUT checking the price for both memories I see the Samsung ones are a lot cheaper than the Kingston Fury ones... So is that just a brand thing or are the Kingston Furys better in any other meaningful way?
\nShould I change my Samsung memories for the Kingston Furys or am I better off with the Samsung ones and I should sell the Furys and buy something else?
\nOther specs of my Omen:
\nIf you're currently using the Samsung modules, that means your laptop uses DDR4.\nThe DDR3 modules you've been gifted will neither work nor physically fit.
\nSell (or return) the Kingston DDR3 modules and get some extra DDR4 modules if you have RAM slots left unused in your laptop.\nIf you only have two RAM slots, you'd want to get 2x16 GB modules, preferably at 3200 MHz too, like the M471A2K43DB1-CWE.
\n" }, { "Id": "15120", "CreationDate": "2021-07-26T03:26:03.333", "Body": "I am using Lenovo y520. now everything is fine. but I want to increase the ram and ssd to 1TB. I am not sure about the spec of this laptop eg. the extra slots for SSD and the exact spec for the ram.
\nis it possible to increase them without removing the existing one ?\nPS: I tried to reach support within the period of warranty but they did not respond well.now it is not within the warranty period. it comes with one SSD and RAM so i just want to add more budget doesn't matter. but hardware must support the system environment.
\n Device name some device name\nProcessor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7300HQ CPU @ 2.50GHz 2.50 GHz\nInstalled RAM 8.00 GB (7.86 GB usable)\nDevice ID some device id\nProduct ID some product id\nSystem type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor\nPen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display\n![\"storage](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IKfKO.jpg\")
![\"storage](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/H1uJB.jpg\")
\nthx\nsayantan
The laptop supports up to 32gb of ram in the two slots it has.\nTo see whether you can add or have to replace. Check task manager. Under memory there is a used slots indication.
\nit seems to have one 2.5inch sata slot and one pci-e m.2 slot availible in total.\nthat seems to be all the space you have.
\n" }, { "Id": "15146", "CreationDate": "2021-07-31T14:18:08.033", "Body": "I just purchased a new motherboard with two M.2 slots and am trying to decide whether to get two separate 1TB SSDs or one 2TB drive. I'm looking at the Samsung 980 Pro, which is currently listed at $200 for the 1TB model vs.just over $400 for the 2TB. (Pretty much the same price either way).
\nThe obvious advantage of the one chip solution is that I'll have a spare slot available for a future upgrade but I'm wondering if having separate Linux and Windows partitions on the same drive would hurt the performance. I do a lot of data processing on fairly large datasets so anything I can do to maximize input/output speeds is a big help.
\nIn case anyone's curious, my other components are:
\nWith SSDs, assuming all else is equal - same speed, size etc, then there is no speed advantage in having two separate drives.
\nInstead you have an element of redundancy. If one fails, you still have the other - less 'eggs in one basket' syndrome.
\nAs both OSes are not going to ever be running simultaneously, I'd see this as the only real advantage. [you could belt & braces further by having recovery for each on the other drive], though you would presumably have both backed up externally anyway.
\nSSDs don't care 'where' data is on a drive - they don't map partitions to actual physical locations like an old spinny rust HD - so unless you're running them too full [over 80% consistently] then I don't see wear being a decider either way.
\n" }, { "Id": "15150", "CreationDate": "2021-08-02T00:39:40.213", "Body": "With the end of working in offices. I tend to work in coffee shops and I have a tablet that I bring as a second screen.
\nOne thing that this working situation changes is that I carry my work laptop around. I kind of want to avoid being "at work all of the time" so it might be nice using a computer that isn't my work laptop but that starts to mean carrying around a lot of stuff.
\nOne idea that came to mind is that maybe I could use something like a raspberry pi and use my tablets as a monitor (like I already do to get a second desktop monitor). There are quite a few "mini computers" - but after considering this for a second (and looking at some hardware) I realized that a lot of these mini computers didn't come with a monitor.
\nSo this made me think - is there a compact way to use a raspberry pi without a power supply. Are there other computers with a similar form factor? Could I use an external usb battery like I can for my phone? Is this all a silly idea?
\n", "Title": "\"Laptop\" without a screen. I.e. a lightweight PC with a battery", "Tags": "|laptop|power-supply|raspberry-pi|portable|", "Answer": "If you are OK with using a lower powered computer like a raspberry pi, then I say go for it! A raspberry pi can run off the same battery bank your phone, just make sure the power bank has a 3.0V output, such as this one. (source: https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/114239/pi-4-maximum-power-consumption#114245).
\nAnother idea: if you have a Samsung Galaxy S8, Note 8 or newer, (a quick way to check is to see if you have a USB type C charging port. If you do, your Galaxy is compatible) you can use Samsung Dex. This uses a USB C to HDMI adapter (such as this one) to output an HDMI signal to a monitor and uses your phone as the trackpad/keyboard. You can also use Bluetooth peripherals with Dex.
\n" }, { "Id": "15182", "CreationDate": "2021-08-13T02:06:13.003", "Body": "I am planning to buy new laptop. Need some suggestions from you guys.
\nHere is some details:
\nCan be used for multi - tasking (open several words file, excel, pdf, google meet at same time) without lagging
\nuse SSD with capacity 256 GB or more
\nI plan to use video editing software like camtasia and playing game like Minecraft
\nBudget: if possible, around $700. If not, around $1000
\nMy preference is towards ASUS but I am willing to consider other brands
\nMost of the time I will use it at workplace so portable laptop is not really my top priority (but I am open to that option as long it meets criteria 1 to 4)
\nScreen size maybe around 14 - 15 inch
\nSince I don't really need to travel a lot, for battery life maybe only need a decent one, around 2 - 4 hours
\nOS: windows
\nOther information (not sure it is helpful): I am using ASUS Vivobook A442U right now
\nThank you guys
\n", "Title": "Need a suggestion for buying new laptop", "Tags": "|laptop|ssd|", "Answer": "The most popular laptop on hardware.info meets all your requirements, except screen size. Its the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 (82KU00CKMH) (link is in dutch)
\nMultitasking: You need enough cpu cores for this, and a ryzen 7 just has that. You also need 16GB of RAM, and this laptop also has that
\nStorage: The NVMe SSD (fast ssd) is 512 GB
\nSimple gaming and video editing: That CPU can handle it at once if needed :) and the Vega 8 is good enough for Minecraft at 60FPS.
\nBudget: Currently for sale for 650 euro's, which is about 750$ US
\nBrand: Sorry, ASUS didn't have much in the 10 most popular laptops...
\nPortability, probably better than my laptop, which is pretty portable
\nScreen size: a little over 15 inch
\nBattery life: In the hardest HWI test, it lasted 217 minutes, which is about 3 and a half hours
\nOS: Windows comes preinstalled, but if you don't like windows, you can use a different one (POP OS is my favorite)
\n" }, { "Id": "15191", "CreationDate": "2021-08-16T13:41:03.483", "Body": "Does twice the cpu benchmark score mean it can get a job twice as fast?\nLet\u2019s say I bought a cpu that has twice the single thread performance score of what I used to have. Does this mean it can complete a job twice as fast? Assume the program I\u2019m using is not multi threaded. By single thread performance score I mean numbers on websites like this https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html
\n", "Title": "Does twice the cpu benchmark score mean it can get a job twice as fast?", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "Yes, it could mean that unless the increased processing causes other resource contentions.
\nFor example if you run out of RAM your speed will drop.
\nIf it accesses the hard drive a lot, and you only have a standard motorized hard drive instead of an SSD or NVMe you could easily have a bottleneck here.
\nIf it downloads data from the network or internet that could become a new bottleneck.
\n" }, { "Id": "15197", "CreationDate": "2021-08-17T08:44:00.217", "Body": "I have 2 USB-C monitors where the computer powers and provide data transfer to both. I use a lot of progressive web apps as part of my day to day. MS Teams as one, is a major resource hog and without two monitors is ok, but with all the web apps open, Teams and the two monitors, I am noticing it all slow down.
\nQuestion is can ARM architecture run this kind of setup with more RAM or do I actually need a better processor?
\n", "Title": "Minimum requirements to power 2 USB-C monitiors on ARM architecture", "Tags": "|memory|multiple-monitors|processor-architecture|", "Answer": "RAM is a big issue with multiple apps open, and ARM is very competative with x86 (see Apple M1), so if you see high RAM usage while using teams, try upgrading RAM.
\n" }, { "Id": "15215", "CreationDate": "2021-08-21T08:59:29.723", "Body": "I have a Nintendo switch to play Mario Kart, but I also use the controllers to play Dirt Rally on my laptop/desktop. Since my brother also plays Mario Kart, I want to have a second controller so he doesn't ask me for the controllers while I'm playing Dirt Rally. But since I want to also play on my Linux desktop, I don't want an extra pair of Joy-cons, because those are hard to pair with Linux. I also want an analog stick, so I can steer better in Dirt Rally. Analog triggers are nice, but not neccesary.
\nUpdate: I found that Steam remote play is also a thing, but thats also tricky to use because Steam crashes, so thats also not a good option.
\nUpdate: I removed Linux, because Steam and Wine bugged so hard I could not play Dirt Rally
\n", "Title": "Which game controller is usable on Windows and Nintendo Switch without extra acessories?", "Tags": "|gaming|linux|windows|video-game-console|", "Answer": "I know it's an old question but I have found the Gulikit controller, it has magnetic sticks (no stick drift), has support for Switch (on Switch mode), Windows (on Xbox mode) and Linux (also Xbox mode although Switch mode is also supported on Linux). It also has analog sticks and triggers on both sides, Switch layout and a pretty long battery life. It can also be used wired in Switch mode and has turbo functionality
\n" }, { "Id": "15226", "CreationDate": "2021-08-24T09:22:29.983", "Body": "I would like to have a solution to equip an average Windows 7 / 10 laptop with line-in input (stereo, 250-500 mV). All the USB sticks I found at Amazon have only the microphone input (2-5 mV).
\nA microphone input has another voltage level, is a mono input, the signal goes through preamplifier with the curve suitable for microphones.
\nI need a normal stereo line input with voltage level ten times higher than for microphone and without the preamplifier.
\nFormerly there were very cheap ($10...$25) ISA/PCI/PCIe/PCMCIA/ExpressCard card devices with line in and a good quality. Nowadays laptops do not have any of these connectors inputs except USB. Even ExpressCard seems to be retired.
\nDo you know some solutions except buying a super huge professional external sound card of suitcase size for $250 ?
\n", "Title": "Stereo line input for a laptop", "Tags": "|usb|", "Answer": "My recommendation would be a full external soundcard that has line-in support, that is not super big.
\nThe best I can do that actually does have a line-in and is more or less plug-and-play is this:
\n\n" }, { "Id": "15245", "CreationDate": "2021-08-29T14:56:27.810", "Body": "I'm stuck in a dilemma.
\nTo buy an external HDD for back up and use existing HDD for my desktop or
\nBuy SSD and use it as a primary while using the existing HDD(connected to the PC) as a backup for data?
\nI'm using an AMD fx processor with 6 cores and existing HDD is 500Gb.\nmy work involves running programs with lots of computations per second.
\nI'm looking for a solution which is more reliable in keeping my backup data safe.
\n", "Title": "SSD and HDD: Failure probabilities", "Tags": "|hard-disk|ssd|", "Answer": "In order to truly protect against drive failure your should invest in a RAID 6, unfortunately it needs a minimum of 4 drives and a controller card so it going to get expensive.
\nIf you need to protect against data corruption, then you need a backup system to another drive and/or cloud backup.
\n" }, { "Id": "15248", "CreationDate": "2021-08-30T16:42:58.327", "Body": "I have a bunch of GoPro (J-Hook Buckle) mounts and was wondering if there's a webcam that could reuse these mounts.
\nA lot of webcams have fixtures that'll allow you to rest the webcam on your monitor. Some of small tripods but I like the versatility that GoPro's offer and would like a webcam with the same level of versatility.
\nAny ideas?
\n", "Title": "web cam with gopro mount?", "Tags": "|webcam|", "Answer": "You could use a GoPro as webcam! :)
\nCurrently, GoPro Webcam mode is supported on:\n\u2022 HERO9 Black\n\u2022 HERO8 Black\n\u2022 HERO7 Black\n\u2022 HERO6 Black\n\u2022 HERO5 Black\n\u2022 HERO4 Black\nSource: https://gopro.com/en/us/news/how-to-use-gopro-for-webcam
\nOr you could use a 3D printed structure to be able to use basically any webcam with the mounts.
\n" }, { "Id": "15249", "CreationDate": "2021-08-30T22:55:49.777", "Body": "I'm looking for a temporary & budget PC for software development (JS with VS Code).
\nI found attractive and comparable in terms of price used PC models with i7-4790 (HP 800 G1 SFF) and i5-6500 (HP 800 G2 DESKTOP). Both of them seem to meet my requirements.
\ni7-4790 has higher clock speed (3.6-4.0 GHz vs 3.2-3.6 GHz), more threads (8 vs 4), more cache (8MB vs 6MB) than i5-6500. The only parameter it seems to be worse in is supported RAM which is DDR3 vs DDR4 of i5-6500. But this seems od little importance for my use case. Also in various benchmarks i7-4790 seems to visibly surpass i5-6500, eg, but not only:\nhttps://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-4790-vs-Intel-Core-i5-6500/2293vs3513
\nThe upgradebility seems to be not a factor, because the motherboard for 4790 will not support 4790k and the one for 6500 will only support i7-6700 which seems to be on par with 4790 in benchmarks while being more expensive. \u200b
\nI'm inclined to buy i7-4790. Is there any reason why all the above factors might be misleading and it would be better to choose i5-6500 after all?
\n", "Title": "i7-4790 vs i5-6500 for JavaScript development", "Tags": "|processor|pc|", "Answer": "I would highly advice not using pre-built models from big brands.
\nUsually the upgradability is either limited by the UEFI/BIOS or by the Power Supply (non standard, with low wattage).
\nGo for AMD Ryzen CPU's based machines from custom assemblers (check reviews on Internet) which offer the best bang for buck currently. 3XXX compatible (2020 cpu's) motherboards are usually 5XXX (2021 CPUs) because they are shipped with the last BIOS version.
\nEdit: after comment :\nI'll recommend going for a 6XXX Intel platform for two reasons :
\nI want to save my SSD of my Asus Zenbook UX390UAK but my Display does not work anymore. Is there a DisplayUSB-Adapter without need of 3rd-party Driver and works Plug&Play with WIN 10. If this could be done, I can save the internal SSD on an external HDD by using Acronis True Image. Thanks for any\nhelpful advices.
\n", "Title": "Display broken - what kind of USB-VGA/HDMI DisplayAdapter works with WIN 10 on Asus ZenBOOK UX390UAK", "Tags": "|usb|hdmi|windows|", "Answer": "You don't have to install an external display to rescue your ssd. You can in most cases take the ssd out of your computer and install it in a different pc. If you still want to connect a different display, you can use this adaptor: https://www.amazon.nl/DEKNEI-Ethernet-TF-kaartlezer-compatibel-C-apparaten/dp/B08RHJF6GY/ref=asc_df_B08RHJF6GY/
\n" }, { "Id": "15282", "CreationDate": "2021-09-03T18:04:49.493", "Body": "Is it possible to record audio by a smartphone in DSD format i.e. PDM technology?
\nI guess the smartphone hardware should be able to transduce analogue sound waves into a digital bitstream in DSD format.
\nAre there any smartphones with such capability available to purchase?
\n", "Title": "Recording audio by smartphone in DSD format i.e. PDM technology", "Tags": "|audio-recording|", "Answer": "Unless a device has the capability to sample audio 2.8 million times a second (5.6 for "Hi def" version), Then No.
\nThis requires a pretty specialized chip and/Including an extremely accurate Clock and ADC voltage/PSU to have a noticable advantage over common methods. Wikipedia "Direct Stream Digital" has a link to NativeDSD Database (by nativedsd.com), but it's play orientated, not record. I only looked at the Sony entries (since they championed the format) and no phones there. I'm sure a phone app could produce a DSD file, but it would be converted PCM for sure.
\n" }, { "Id": "15312", "CreationDate": "2021-09-19T00:32:54.810", "Body": "I've started making a list for a new build I'm doing, since my current desktop is starting to get some problems. But getting to the CPU, I'm really split about the choice of CPU. I've decided that I'm most likely gonna go with an Intel core I7, but I can't decide if I should go with the 10th or 11th gen, and I also can't decide if I should go with the K or KF model. As far as I understand the only diffrence between K and KF is that K has integrated Graphics and KF doesn't, but then KF is slightly cheaper.
\nIs it just a waste of money to buy K instead of KF since the build will include a GPU? And is the difference between 10th and 11th gen, enough to make up the difference in price?
\nThe choices are between:
\nFor context, the rest of the build looks something like this:
\nI mostly use my desktop for gaming, but from time to time, I also do some video editing and rendering, 3D modeling, some programming, and VR gaming.
\nI have all these parts available at my local shop so that isn't a problem, but would also love to hear peoples suggestions. All input is greatly appreciated, I'd love to learn something new, Thx
\n", "Title": "New desktop build, Which I7 CPU to choose", "Tags": "|processor|gaming|desktop|", "Answer": "Everything seems fine but I would suggest you to go for an AMD CPU instead of the intel one.
\nAMD competes toe to toe with intel in most games and surpasses intel in a lot of games as well. Also AMD is better oriented for a professional workflow like rendering etc. The 5800x even has a lower TDP than the intel 11700k.\nAlso make sure that the cooling is sufficient, you would probably need an AIO for the same if not a good dual tower air cooler like the Noctua NH D15 or bequiet Dark Rock Pro.
\nIf you are absolutely going with intel then I don't find much merit in getting the 11th gen over 10th gen for games. But in cases of workflows like rendering etc 11th gen would give a bit of an advantage. KF is a better choice if you have a GPU available at hand, but if you dont then you wont be able to run your PC until you get a GPU.
\nAlso I am not saying this as an AMD fanboy I already have the 10700k, but the heat this processor gives out is insane.
\n" }, { "Id": "15316", "CreationDate": "2021-09-20T08:36:50.557", "Body": "EDITED:
\nI recently upgraded the screen of my computer, which was an HP 2229h from about 10 years ago, to a much more recent and better screen: an AOC U32E2N (https://eu.aoc.com/en/products/monitors/u32e2n).
\nThis new monitor can operate at a much higher resolution. However, I have noticed that the monitor refresh rate (connected with DisplayPort) is at 29Hz instead of the 60Hz that were set with the old monitor.
\nThis monitor can handle 60Hz so the monitor is not the problem. The cable can too, I bought it on purpose. Hence, I have two questions:
\nI have a quite old motherboard and a quite old graphic card. Both, however, did the job quite well until yesterday. I am not a heavy gamer anymore so I don't need an ultracapable hardware graphics-wise. I make music on my PC though and that requires a lot of CPU.
\nWhich one would you update first, why, and with what if have any suggestions?
\nHere are my specs:
\nGraphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570
\nScreen resolution: 3840 x 2160
\nMotherboard : ASUS P8H67
\nProcessor: Intel i5-2550K, 4 x 3.40GHz
\nRAM : 8 GB DDR3
\nOperating system : Windows 10 (x64)
\nAccording to PC-specs: "Released on 29 Dec 2010, the Asus P8H67 is now over 10 years old, which means it is extremely out of date and is based on very aged technologies."
\nAlso my graphic card turned 10 this year. Hence, I would like to know which one in your expertise is the main culprit of slowing everything down with the resolution increase. I suspect the motherboard, but I'm no IT engineer.
\nAlso, before someone brings it up: yes, I am going to expand that RAM to 16GB of a newer kind than DDR3 :)
\n", "Title": "Screen change made half of my hardware obsolete: what to upgrade first?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|motherboard|performance|nvidia|", "Answer": "\n\ncould my the graphic card (NVIDIA GTX 570) be the limiting factor in the refresh rate?
\n
It is absolutely this.
\nThe GTX 570 is too old to have a DisplayPort that can handle 3840x2160 at 60hz.
\nUpdate your GPU, the CPU can survive a while longer.
\nYou can easily tell if your CPU is the limiting factor by looking at the CPU usage in Task Manager. If the whole CPU or a single core is at 100% while performing a task, a faster CPU would do better. If not, then more information is needed to determine what is slowing things down.
\n" }, { "Id": "15331", "CreationDate": "2021-09-24T19:52:26.270", "Body": "I have bought this cable in order to use a separate USB adapter to power my desktop hard disk (3,5")
\n![\"USB](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/764hU.png\")
At one end is a normal USB male connector, and on the other end is an adapted 15-pin plug. These are the connected pins, I believe. Which I think they are correct pinned
\n![\"SATA](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/z9eVn.png\")
Should I connect anything else to turn the hard disk on? Or should this be enough? Am I doing anything wrong?
\nThere are many cables like the one in the image below, but what I want is to manage the data cable be independent from the power cable. Is that possible? I was looking for a cable 7-pin SATA male to USB male but I couldn't find any. I want to connect the disk to a Raspberry and use a different power adapter to make it work.
\n![\"data](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/VnuDE.png\")
Any suggestion would be appreciated.
\n", "Title": "Why using an adapted 15-pin SATA connector, my Hard Disk does not turn on?", "Tags": "|usb|hard-disk|power-supply|sata|power|", "Answer": "That device won't work on 3.5" HDD drives because USB-A doesn't have the 12v rail those drives need.
\nUSB-C has various ways of delivering higher power, but not USB-A.
The solution is an external power supply or something with USB-C with a PD specification.
\n" }, { "Id": "15351", "CreationDate": "2021-10-01T08:02:21.830", "Body": "Number of slots must be many. Main purpose is to store whatsapp sms and that's it.
\nCheap price.
\nCheapest cost per sim.
\nBeing able to run multiple whatsapp account is a plus. So something like secure folder feature in Samsung
\n", "Title": "Recommend me phone with multiple sim slots", "Tags": "|smartphones|", "Answer": "The Gigaset GS190 32GB Grey is \u20ac100 and has dual sim, about as cheap as you can go with dual sim. There are cheaper options, but I don't know if those can run whatsapp.
\n" }, { "Id": "15354", "CreationDate": "2021-10-01T18:16:51.030", "Body": "I am looking for a hub where I can plug the power supply, a couple USB accessories and FROM the hub run a long cable to the computer.
\nSo the hub has to sit right by the power supply and, on my desk, I'd have only a single cable going to the computer.
\nBut all hubs I find are like this:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gmYJv.png\")
They have a short cable that goes to the computer and expect the power delivery to come from the longer cable. They're designed to sit by the computer, which is exactly the opposite of what I'd like.
\nI've tried one and it didn't charge when used in a "reversed" configuration.
\nDo they exist?
\n", "Title": "Looking for a USB-C hub with power delivery where the hub sits by the power supply (for MacBook Pro)", "Tags": "|hub|usb-c|", "Answer": "Would your issue be solved with a hub that has a replaceble/removable cable\nlike this one?
\n" }, { "Id": "15358", "CreationDate": "2021-10-02T01:18:17.387", "Body": "I am in search of GPU to run OpenCL code which mainly solves Navier-Stokes equations. I would like to get something that is not-so-pricey but something that could crunch some heavy numbers. The code is mainly written in single precision data types, but I would also like it so that it can do some decent double precision calculation also.
\nAccording to Geekbench OpenCL benchmark chart card with higher FP32/FP64 doesn't really seem to be reflecting better OpenCL performance: NVIDIA A6000 has FP32 of ~40 TFLOPS and NVIDIA RTX 3090 has ~35 TFLOPS, yet NVIDIA RTX 3090 has higher placement in the chart.
\nSo, I was wondering what really dictates GPU's OpenCL performance? Are recent architectures usually better in OpenCL? Does having higher compute unit or processor count (CUDA cores for NVIDIA or Stream processor count for AMD) affect OpenCL performance?
\nThanks.
\n", "Title": "What dictates OpenCL performance for GPU?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "A GPU is kind of like a whole sub-computer on its own add-in board.
\nKeeping all of that in mind, these factors all affect performance in different ways and the performance will vary depending on the program you want the system to execute. This is true for both CPUs and GPUs. A benchmark only tells you how fast that program will run. A different program will have different performance.
\nUltimately you cannot know ahead of time what GPU is best for your OpenCL code unless somebody has already run that specific code on the GPU and benchmarked it. Every OpenCL program is going to utilize the GPU in a unique way. If your program does lots of simple floating point operations in parallel with the bare essential memory I/O, it will probably end up running better with the GPU that has a better theoretical FLOPS benchmark. But programs are never that simple, so FLOPS measurements are useful as an upper bound for performance; Not an average.
\n" }, { "Id": "15359", "CreationDate": "2021-10-02T06:42:17.443", "Body": "I'm planning to buy New Precision 15 3561 Mobile Workstation, it supports dual hard drives.
\nFor drive one, I picked 1 TB SSD
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/UG7Si.jpg\")
and opted for 6 cell 97WHr battery
\nFor 2nd additional drive, these are the below options I have
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/LvCzI.jpg\")
If I opt for Additional 2.5" 2 TB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive, the battery 4 cells 64Whr battery should be selected.
\nI'm confused to pick the option here. Does Using both SSD & SATA Hard drive impacts Laptop Performance?
\nCan someone shed some light on choosing up the hard drives & battery?
\n", "Title": "Does Using both SSD & SATA Hard drive impacts Laptop Performance?", "Tags": "|laptop|hard-disk|", "Answer": "\n\nIf I opt for Additional 2.5" 2 TB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive, the battery 4 cells 64Whr battery should be selected.
\n
This is probably because the larger battery takes up the space where a 2.5" HDD can be installed.
\n\n\nDoes Using both SSD & SATA Hard drive impacts Laptop Performance?
\n
There is no surprise here, things that run on the SSD run at the SSD speed. Things that run on the HDD run at HDD speed. But since there's more stuff using power in the laptop the battery will be drained quicker. HDDs can conserve power by going to sleep if you make sure they're not being used in the background. If the HDD motor is running often, it will consume a little extra power and shorten the battery life.
\n\n\nCan someone shed some light on choosing up the hard drives & battery?
\n
It depends which matters more to you:
\nIs battery life the most important thing? -- Then get the 6 cell battery.
\nYou can always plug in a USB hard drive and get extra storage space that way.
Is tons of storage space without having to carry an external HDD important? -- Get the SATA HDD and "normal" battery. (4 cell batteries are typical)
\nNow just wanted to make a disclaimer, I came from the iPhone side. and this is my first time in 5 years that I have used any android phones. So I have got myself a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, and when I read the device specifications, it stated clearly that it has a Snapdragon 888 as it\u2019s Chipset, and a Adreno 660 GPU. Now when I see these hardware, I expected the phone\u2019s gaming performance to be excellent. But instead, when I jumped into Genshin Impact, it just gave me approximately 30-35 fps and Call Of Duty mobile on approximately 50-60 fps when the screen is capable and is expected to display 120 fps. I understand how games are demanding and all but the fact that phones like the Asus ROG Phone has the exact same chipset and GPU but from review videos on Youtube the games ran with such high frame rates as if it\u2019s on a RTX 3090 and Core i9 11th gen or something. My question is, what has caused the difference in performance between these devices and if it is possible at all, how can I tune and tweak the system to get better performance?
\n", "Title": "With the same hardware, how is my phone getting worse performance than other phones?", "Tags": "|gaming|smartphones|", "Answer": "Cooling. When a cpu/soc/gpu gets hot, it slows down to get less hot. The ROG phone has a bigger heatsink than the samsung galaxy Z flip 3, and the ROG phone also has active cooling vs the samsung, which has passive cooling. That makes the ROG phone's SOC less hot so it slows down less. If your hands are getting warm during a mobile gaming session, you can improve performance by putting a random casefan under the phone so it has active cooling.
\n" }, { "Id": "15377", "CreationDate": "2021-10-06T11:20:56.383", "Body": "So, I have a desktop which have a free RAM slot available and can host up to 16gb of RAM and I now need to fill the slot since I need to increase my computer computation power.
\nThis is my current hardware:
\n\n\nCPU INTEL COMET LAKE I3-10100 3.6G (4.3G TURBO) MB ASUS PRIME H410M-D
\nVGA-DVI-HDMI SSD-SOLID STATE DISK M.2(2280) NVME 250GB
\nDDR4 16GB 3000MHZ HX430C16FB4/16 KINGSTON HYPERX FURY BLACK
\nPower supply ATX 500W FORTRON MOD. HYPER K PRO HK-500 80PLUS ACTIVE PFCCL16
\n
Problem is I can't find that specific model to buy. What I can find is this:
\n\n\nKingston FURY 16GB DDR4 3000MHz CL16 Beast Black RAM 1x16GB, PC4-24000, CL16, voltage: 1.35V, passive cooling and XMP 2,0
\n
And, since I am no expert in hardware, I wonder if these two are compatible and if the one that I am planning to but will work. Any suggestions?
\n", "Title": "Are these two RAMs compatible?", "Tags": "|memory|compatibility|", "Answer": "Most computers parts, unfortunately, are being built for a rather short period of time these days... as you just found out.
\nFor memory to be compatible, you want to find a replacement which has at least the exact same number of pins (like 288), speed (3000Mhz), and technology (DDR4).
\nFurther, there are features such as ECC which, if not present on one stick will not work at all (as far as I know) and at times can generate issues (i.e. "break" the memory).
\nA good idea is for you to check your motherboard memory compatibility chart. However, it's likely that they would not have updated it with newer sticks... so it's probably not going to be that helpful.
\nFinally, if you plan to keep the old stick, you can test with one new stick and if it looks like you can use one or the other but not both together, then purchase a 2nd of the same new model and that should work together. It makes it a bit more expensive (unfortunate), but probably better than not being able to increase your RAM at all.
\nIn terms of speed, like others said, it won't per se go faster since your CPU will remain the same. However, you will indeed be able to run more software together and avoid swapping to disk, which is definitely a great way to make things go faster on your computer (i.e. you don't have to close/re-open things all the time).
\n" }, { "Id": "15388", "CreationDate": "2021-10-08T16:54:28.833", "Body": "I have searched high and low for a set of ear pods that check all my boxes.
\nLet's say cost is not an issue, cheap or expensive, either works. They need to be true wireless earbuds, no over ear or buds connected by a wire.
\nI need a pair of earbuds with the following features (at a minimum).
\nI almost purchased the Jabra Elite 85t, but you can only use the one "bud" in mono mode, which was a deal breaker.
\nDoes anyone have a hardware recommendation for me here?
\nThanks in advance!
\n", "Title": "Wireless Ear Buds With Multipoint, ANC, and Mono Pod Usage", "Tags": "|bluetooth|headphones|earphones|", "Answer": "I ended up buying the Huawei Freebuds Pro, which seem to check all the boxes.
\nEdit: can confirm, they check all these boxes. Good purchase.
\n" }, { "Id": "15401", "CreationDate": "2021-10-11T21:50:14.093", "Body": "I am planning to build a new tower pc. I saw that some premium motherboards offer 10Gb LAN. However, I think it would be cheaper to buy a 1Gb LAN motherboard and a 10Gb LAN PCI card. Is there any downside of this setting regarding speed? Or any other downside in general?
\nI found this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/87ln4g/10_gbs_ethernet_motherboard/
\nHowever nobody gave a specific answer regarding potential downsides.
\nI plan to use the LAN for my internet and NAS (my internet provider and NAS both offer 10Gb)
\n", "Title": "Downside of a 10Gb PCI vs 10Gb motherboard", "Tags": "|motherboard|network-adapter|", "Answer": "The few downsides of a second faster network card are that its bigger and it can be more expensive, but it can be used to upgrade an old pc for cheaper than replacing the motherboard. If you already have a motherboard, don't buy a new one, but if you still need to buy a motherboard, you can get a premium motherboard with fast networking.
\nThere is another risk with a second network card though, they all (afaik) use PCIe 1x. That means that if you want 10gbps, you need to plug it in a pcie 3.0 or 4.0 slot, and those are only the 16x and m.2 slots on cheaper motherboards (like my B450m a pro max from msi)
\n" }, { "Id": "15402", "CreationDate": "2021-10-11T23:15:49.277", "Body": "I'd like to be able to switch between a Windows and a MacOS laptop using the same 2 external monitors (for the sake of this conversation, we'll say they are fairly new Dell 27 inch monitors, let me know if other properties are important I guess) plugged into a USB hub.
\nI thought this would just be a matter of choosing a type C hub with the right inputs but after reading some it seems this may not be the case? I want to extend not mirror across the screens, also. Can anyone make a hub/port recommendation?
\n", "Title": "Which dual monitor hub that can switch between MacOS and Windows should I use", "Tags": "|windows|multiple-monitors|hub|usb-c|macos|", "Answer": "I think you can use this one from amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Monitor-Display-Docking-Charging/dp/B08BYJYC5K
\nAccording to the description, it supports extending your desktop over USB-c, but it only works if you have thunderbolt or DP alt mode on both of your laptops. Your monitors need both displayport and hdmi for it to work properly, because there is only one DP and the hdmis are mirrored. (I have not tested this, I do not use USB-c docking)
\n" }, { "Id": "15414", "CreationDate": "2021-10-14T19:23:48.087", "Body": "I'm going to study informatics at the University. For this I want to choose a computer that is able to deal with the necessities there and is fast. I scanned the internet and stepped into the zbook series of HP. Now my question is whether HP ZBook 17 G3 or 15 G3 fulfill my requirements since I also want to use it for writing and dictating in Microsoft Office. What do you think according to the description I gave or are their other informations you need? Do you have any model recommendations for me?
\n", "Title": "Which PC to choose for my studies?", "Tags": "|pc|windows|performance|", "Answer": "Both are a bit OP for studying informatics (I use an upgraded hp probook 650 g1). If you can get an Asus VivoBook 15 with an intel core i5 and 16GB of ram, that will be more than enough. Most times, you don't need a fast gpu, but a decent cpu, ssd and RAM are needed, and thats what that laptop has. A low price is also good for students, and this one costs about half of those zbooks.
\n" }, { "Id": "15425", "CreationDate": "2021-10-20T01:13:08.767", "Body": "I am going to get a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and an eGPU chassis for my computer. I have a MacBook Air (I Know NVIDIA isn't supported for macOS) and use the eGPU on bootcamp.
\nI have heard that your CPU can bottleneck GPU performance. The main reason why I am purchasing this GPU is to increase Blender Cycles render times. How much bottleneck will my CPU have on this GPU?
\nIntel Core i5 8210Y (1.6 GHz, Dual-Core, 4 threads)
\n8 GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz RAM
\nMacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)
\n", "Title": "How much of a bottleneck will I get with a 3060 Ti and Core i5", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|macbook|", "Answer": "\n\nHow much bottleneck will my CPU have on this GPU?
\n
With Blender, probably none, because its done fully on CPU, or fully\non gpu. So if you set the render target to CUDA, it will have gpu speeds, no matter of your CPU speed.
\nCPU frequency is not a measurement of performance. Your Intel i5 Y-Series has aggressive power management maintain strict thermal limitations. The 3.6 GHz turbo speed will only briefly be obtained, most of the time the CPU will be at a slower clock speed. Turbo is not loke overclocked speeds where it is always at the higher clock speed.
\nFor Blendor the CPU is mostly just used to displaying results and dispatching rendering commands to the GPU. This CPU should be fast enough for that task.
\n" }, { "Id": "15430", "CreationDate": "2021-10-22T17:34:38.940", "Body": "Okay so I had finalized ryzen 5600G APU because I can't afford GPU at the moment. So I'll add a GPU after couple of years when it get cheaper.
\nSo far, I had read that there's not much difference between 'Processing' performance of an APU and equivalent CPU.
\nFor example, the 5600X CPU. It is same as 5600G but just lacks an integrated GPU.
\nNow, I just read following things somewhere - Pros and Cons of APU:
\n![\"image\"](\"https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71C7eaA9E1L._AC_SL1500_.jpg\")
![these](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/sD39s.jpg\"){kind=link}
![two](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/KL89c.jpg\"){kind=link}
![This graph](\"http://www.ocinside.de/media/uploads/cpu_cooler_compare_full_rpm.jpg\"){kind=link}
![Additional Images of Interface](\"https://www.gargoyle-router.com/wiki/lib/exe/detail.php?id=screenshots&media=screenshots:14_quotas.jpg\"){kind=link}
![Netgear wg111v3](\"http://firmware.netgear-forum.com/ntgfirm/img/produit/WG111v2h1_back_lowres.jpg\"){kind=link}
![Phanteks fan hub](\"http://i.gyazo.com/b2d3f2f75cf48491cfcd5ccbc64aa8db.png\"){kind=link}
![just a pic](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZqxBJ.jpg\"){kind=link}
![link](\"https://www.msi.com/asset/resize/image/global/product/product_9_20161213150334_584f9d46be2de.png62405b38c58fe0f07fcef2367d8a9ba1/1024.png\"){kind=link}
![this picture](\"https://www.displayport.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/devices-stack.jpg\"){kind=link}
![https://i.stack.imgur.com/dzGRF.jpg](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/dzGRF.jpg\"){kind=link}
![Windows Key](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/sG0IB.jpg\"){kind=link}
![the AutoZone guide](\"http://repairguide.autozone.com/znetrgs/repair_guide_content/en_us/images/0900c152/80/1c/02/e5/medium/0900c152801c02e5.gif\"){kind=link}
![have you tried turning it off and then turning it back on again](\"https://www.cipher-it.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ITCrow.jpg\"){kind=link}
![https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/HP_EVA4400-1.jpg/440px-HP_EVA4400-1.jpg](\"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/HP_EVA4400-1.jpg/440px-HP_EVA4400-1.jpg\"){kind=link}
![https://images.anandtech.com/doci/15062/AMD%20Fall%20Desktop%20Announcement%20Briefing%20Deck-page-002.jpg](\"https://images.anandtech.com/doci/15062/AMD%20Fall%20Desktop%20Announcement%20Briefing%20Deck-page-002.jpg\"){kind=link}
![just under two kilobucks today when ordered from Lenovo](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Io9Ca.png\"){kind=link}
![this](\"https://kvm-switch.de/images/product_images/original_images/DP02UR-F.jpg\"){kind=link}
Pros:\n\nSmaller size - In form factors without enough room for a GPU, an APU is quite discrete.\nSize to power - For they're size, they're impressive!\nCrossfire capable - GPUs can be added in crossfire for upgradability.\n\nCons:\n\nLess power - APUs can't pack the same punch as a GPU.\nShared memory - APUs use the same memory for CPU and graphics, limiting the amount.\nLimited GPU crossfire options - Not everything works with these.\nI quite don't understand what he meant by crossfire, but in the 3rd cons, he said limited GPU crossfire options. Not everything works with these...
\nSo what I've concluded from this con is that 5600X will have more options of compatible GPUs (when I will upgrade) whereas 5600G will have less options available of compatible GPUs. (This is what I've concluded. I don't know the reasons, if any, for this)
\nFor example, it could be possible that 5600X supports 10 different GPUs. But 5600G will support only 7 of them.
\nSo is it true for these processors?
\nI can make my final buying decision based on only this. If there's no compatibility issue, I'll go with 5600G otherwise I'll buy 5600X and a cheap separate GPU.
\nSo which one should I buy given that I don't want compatibility issues later?
\n", "Title": "Should I buy APU or CPU keeping in mind I will add a GPU in near future", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|motherboard|pc|", "Answer": "Most modern CPUs are "APUs" and I actually recommend getting something with onboard graphics. 5600G is a better option here.
\n\n\nI can't afford GPU at the moment
\n
This is a great reason, especially in the great everything shortage to get a CPU with a decent onboard GPU.
\nI have an older/worse/laptop grade ryzen and... those things don't too bad, and even hold up well with casual gaming. I'd second Irsu's suggestion of getting dual channel ram, and the fastest you can afford
\nTo start with - while setting up, and in future, it gives you a 'known good' graphics output for setup and testing.
\n"Crossfire" and "SLI" are vaguely obsolete and are ways to "tag team" two identical CPUs. The 'replacement' for it is explicit multi GPU. This is not a factor here.
\nThe integrated GPU can be disabled if a discrete GPU is in (or kept enabled) - in windows 10 and better, you could, in theory, set some applications to use the integrated GPU specifically for various reasons.In my case, I run additional monitors off my onboard graphics.
\nThere's no downside, or compatibility issues with a integrated GPU other than that "you're potentially paying a little bit more for silicon you arn't using". In this case, it feels like a much better option than buying a "cheap" and probably overpriced GPU you're going to not need when you get your proper GPU.
\n" }, { "Id": "15442", "CreationDate": "2021-10-27T12:41:37.447", "Body": "My motherboard supports PCIe 3.0. If I use an NVMe PCIe Gen4 on an X16 slot of PCIe 3.0 (by common adapters) instead of an M.2 socket, do I get the full speed of the PCIe 4.0 NVMe?
\n", "Title": "PCIe 4.0 NVMe on X16 PCIe 3.0", "Tags": "|motherboard|ssd|pcie|", "Answer": "\n\nIf I use an NVMe PCIe Gen4 on an X16 slot of PCIe 3.0 ... do I get the full speed of the PCIe 4.0 NVMe?
\n
PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0 are like different "languages" that are used over the same physical connection. If your PC does not "know that language" it will fall back to the lowest common version of PCIe that both devices support.
\nI expect that the adapter will work, but it will work with PCIe 3.0 speeds.
\n" }, { "Id": "15444", "CreationDate": "2021-10-27T16:22:07.020", "Body": "I've been looking around for VRMs, and some of them mention being 'Digital VRMs'
\nWhat is the major difference? What are the advantages/inconveniences with having a 'Digital VRM' instead of a 'normal VRM'?
\nOr is the 'Digital VRM' thing just a marketing ploy?
\n", "Title": "What is the meaning of a 'Digital' VRM solution?", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "First, for those stumbling across this question who don't fully understand what the VRM's job is:
\nA VRM is a fine-tuned DC to DC power supply for voltage-sensitive electronics like a CPU or GPU. It usually has multiple "phases" that it switches between to ensure that the average voltage output is stable, and so that the components don't have to work for 100% of the time and overheat. (4 phases means each phase is supplying power 25% of the time)
\n\n\nWhat is the major difference? What are the advantages/inconveniences with having a 'Digital VRM' instead of a 'normal VRM'?
\n
Modern CPUs can decide how much voltage they need to get a certain task done, or to help itself cool off. They tell the VRM to provide a target voltage over a digital connection. This allows the VRM to use a feedback loop so it can control itself based on its own output versus the target output.
\nOn an Analog VRM, the target voltage is compared to the actual voltage in an analog circuit that uses transistors. It is designed to always adjust voltage to make the difference between the two signals be as close to 0 as possible. This is an older/simpler design and works just fine. In fact, analog systems can be very accurate and still show up on "high end" motherboards.
\nOn a Digital VRM, there is a microcontroller that reads all of the voltage values in digital and uses algorithms & math to set the output voltage. Normally using a PID controller. The microcontroller allows the VRM to be "smarter" about how it outputs voltage and may be aware of other conditions in the system to better manage the power.
\nGenerally speaking, analog VRMs respond faster and are cheaper to make.
\nDigital VRMs are very complex and require a lot of tuning work to make them effective; But if they are designed properly they can do the job well while also providing many extra power management controls or features. (In the BIOS or motherboard software)
In either case, there can be poorly designed VRMs that do not perform well, and really high quality VRMs that can handle extreme overclocking. There is no general answer to which is better.
\nTL;DR:
\nI want to purchase an AMD Radeon 5500 XT to improve FCPX renders and faster Blender renders.
\nI assume this would be a eGPU. Does macOS support this video card?
\n", "Title": "Does the Radeon 5500-XT support macOS Metal?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|macos|", "Answer": "According to Reddit and Geekbench, Yes
\nSources: https://www.reddit.com/r/eGPU/comments/igul8w/macos_10156_and_gigabyte_radeon_rx_5500_xt_oc_8g/
\nhttps://browser.geekbench.com/metal-benchmarks
\n" }, { "Id": "15453", "CreationDate": "2021-10-30T18:17:56.820", "Body": "I started hosting a MC server on a dedicated machine at home for a week now and I wanted to get something a bit better, it runs with a few plugins - 5GB ram dedicated to the server.
\nSo, my budget is around \u00a3100 just for the cpu, (motherboard in that range is also great! xD) new or used. I want to know what would be an optimal CPU for a rough 50 players online, with plugins, and 15 chunk render distance.\nAt the moment i run a AMD Athlon x4 880k and 8GB 2133Mhz memory DDR3 (5G to server) but even at 4 players online i see the MSPT over 35 and the server TPS often goes below 20 (50 players is unreachable xD) - currently on latest build of Purpur.jar and PopOS! Linux.
\nI have read online that Xeon is better, NO, Ryzen is better, no this, no that.... so..... WHAAT ONE IS BETTER LMAO! I have heard that the only thing that matters is Single Core Performance, so an Intel core i3-10105F is within my budget as it beats a 3700x in this application. Is this good for what i need, or can i get better in any way..... any feedback is welcome. Thanks! :D
\nif neither of these cpu's could run 50 players at once, how much would they be able to run?
\n", "Title": "What would be an optimal CPU to get for a Minecraft Server for around 100$ if any? (50 player server)", "Tags": "|processor|gaming|pc|server|performance|", "Answer": "You can get a Ryzen 3 3100 and overclock it. Also run Ubuntu server, because its faster than Pop OS. Also make sure your internet connection is fast enough, because I host a minecraft server myself and I am bottlenecked by my upload speed. If the cpu is too expensive, you can cheap out on the motherboard, any B450 board will do. Forget Xeons, those are too expensive for what they do.
\n" }, { "Id": "15460", "CreationDate": "2021-11-02T10:43:11.010", "Body": "I have a bunch of 2.5" HDDs lying around, I'm never going to use them in a laptop as they're too slow. However, they'll work fine as a media server.
\nWhat I'd like to do is bung them in a RAID array and have them accessible by the network by my various devices.
\nWhat are my hardware options for achieving this?
\nWhen I google 'wireless nas' I get things like the Synology DS220+ - but these things are expensive - is that really what I need?
\nWhat about a simple hard drive enclosure - attached directly to my router? Would that work?
\n", "Title": "Wireless hard drive enclosure to make use of my old spinning platter HDDs", "Tags": "|nas|", "Answer": "There are many options here, the question you have to ask yourself is how much work do you want to put into it?
\nA NAS is essentially a full computer that is self-contained in a nice little enclosure. You can either get one of the premade ones like the Synology one you mentioned, or build your own, or simply connect them to an old computer and share the hard drives with Windows SMB.
\nI will say this, the Synology one will be much easier to configure and manage. The DSM management software is very well made, just a point and a click to accomplish most tasks to get your stuff running.
\nAs for the hard drive enclosure connected to your router, that depends on your router. Are you asking about an external enclosure to a router's USB port? If your router supports sharing external storage via its USB port, then yes you could. If it only supports DLNA then it won't work as a full NAS. You'll have to check with your router specs to know for sure.
\nI use an external hard drive dock to connect my HDDs to my computer.\nFrom there, you could SMB or NFS share them on your network and devices could access them, but only when connected to a computer. Again, an old computer laying around would suffice if you really wanted a NAS. But the Synology would be the better option in my opinion.
\n" }, { "Id": "15461", "CreationDate": "2021-11-02T12:53:54.497", "Body": "I have a desktop at home. The CPU is i5-6400. Internet search shows me the processor can use DDR4-1866/2133 or DDR3L-1333/1600 @1.35V. I opened the case and found there are two slots, both having DDR3L-1333 4GB modules installed (total 8GB, DIMM module).
\nI learned I can't insert DDR4 modules becaus the slot is not compatible. Of course I could update to two 8GB DDR3L-1333 modules, but can I upgrade the memory with two 8GB DDR3L-1600 modules? (total 16GB, faster memory). Is there any CPU grade for the memory interface speed?
There is an advantage of running faster memory, although its not much. If you can get the 1600mhz dimms for about the same price or a bit more expensive than the 1333mhz dimms, get the 1600mhz dimms
\nThe performance uplift is small though, so if the 1600mhz dimms are a lot more expensive than the 1333mhz dimms just get the 1333mhz dimms.
\n" }, { "Id": "15466", "CreationDate": "2021-11-02T22:00:52.517", "Body": "What is better for blender rendering (Cycles X)
\nMore GPU RAM (8GB, 128-bit), or faster speeds (6gb, 192-bit)
\nAKA
\nRadeon RX 5500 XT or Radeon RX 5600 XT
\n", "Title": "More GPU Ram or faster speed?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "If you have enourmous things to load in, more ram is probably better, but if you do pretty small things, faster ram is better
\nAlso the difference between a 5500xt and 5600xt is bigger than only the ram. The 5600XT has much more compute units than the 5500xt, and therefore, its way more powerful (according to amd.com, 14.38 TFLOPS for the 5600xt vs 5.6 TFLOPS for the 5500xt). I think for most applications you are better off with the 5600XT.
\n" }, { "Id": "15474", "CreationDate": "2021-11-05T19:46:35.540", "Body": "I searched everywhere and the closest I found was QuadHead2Go which is an overkill and too expensive... this is a sketch I made:
\nQuestion I made with a sketch on reddit
\nSo if anyone has any idea of a cheap product that does that, I appreciate it... or even so the name of what it is... I thought slicer would be a godd fit but couldn\u00b4t find anything with that query
\n", "Title": "I want a 4k monitor slicer into 4 1080p monitors", "Tags": "|hdmi|multiple-monitors|splitters|", "Answer": "I purchased this:
\nhttps://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21970
\nwhich was exactly what I needed, and it worked great on windows and linux
\n" }, { "Id": "15493", "CreationDate": "2021-11-11T19:51:40.370", "Body": "I hope you can guide me, there is the motherboard
\nASUS Micro ATX PRIME B550M-KBased on the official specs it is supposed to do so.\nBut in several pages like this, can't cofirm the capacity or it's marked as update needed (plus several comments here and there contradictories, someone says no and there someone says yes). As of today, I'm not aware of any motherboard that support it without flashing (this makes me wonder if the official info is right or its a bait to buy this).
\nThanks in advance!!
\n", "Title": "Does the ASUS Micro ATX PRIME B550M-K motherboard support Ryzens 5xxx series out of the box?", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|memory|compatibility|", "Answer": "That motherboard does not support ryzen 5000 out of the box, and also does not support BIOS flashback, so if you want to get ryzen 5000 working, you need an extra cpu, ram and gpu to flash the bios.
\nThe AsRock B550 PG Riptide does support ryzen 5000 out of the box
\n" }, { "Id": "15508", "CreationDate": "2021-11-15T19:46:12.113", "Body": "Im thinking on buy several motherboards A520M-A II CSM , but I don't know if these are able to support the Ryzen 5 5600G and the Ryzen 7 5700G. In the cpu list support only appear the
\nRyzen 5 5600GE (3.4GHz,35W,L3:16M,6C) \nRyzen 7 5700GE (3.2GHz,35W,L3:16M,8C) \nthis are, AFAIK, not the same models than the intended to install.
\nAnd Im concerning this since this motherboard does not have a method to update the bios without cpu, in the event this aren't supported. Perhaps I'm too pesky, since it is supposed to support the 5xxx but after it has been updated to AGESA 1.2.0.3b, and the board seems to be released with a prior version.
\nI hope someone could give me a hint, if this processor are supported or confirm if it can be updated without cpu (the button in the back panel or inside the board).
\nThanks to all.
\n", "Title": "Cpu support for the asus PRIME A520M-A II CSM", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|compatibility|ryzen|", "Answer": "Most times, you choose your cpu and feature set, and then go here to ask which motherboard is best... To make things even weirder, those Ryzen 5xxxGE processors are validated since a non-existing BIOS.......
\nThe ASUS prime B550M-A WIFI II has a similar feature set as the A520, but it will surely support those cpu's. If it fits in your budget, try that one.
\n" }, { "Id": "15511", "CreationDate": "2021-11-16T20:45:30.513", "Body": "I'm upgrading my desktop computer, it's a computer for development, I don't understand much about hardware though. Could somebody please tell me if the processor Intel Bx80684I99900K Intel Core I9-9900K is compatible with my PC? I'll leave the link and my pc settings bellow for clarity. Thanks in advance!
\n\n![\"CPU](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/cxfa0.png\")
\n![\"Mainboard](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/QE4Og.png\")
Chers!
\n", "Title": "I wanna upgrade my pc and want to know if the procesor is compatible", "Tags": "|processor|intel|upgrade|", "Answer": "The 1151 socket has two versions. Your i3-7100 is a Kaby Lake generation CPU that uses the original 1151 socket version.
\nThe i9-9900K and all other Coffee Lake generation CPUs use a new version of the 1151 socket that is not compatible. This version is often referred to as "1151-2".
\nThe "1151" in the socket name is the number of pins the socket has, and unfortunately that naming scheme can lead to confusion when two completely different sockets use the same number of pins. Things get even more confusing because these two 1151 sockets use the same physical CPU dimensions.
\n" }, { "Id": "15516", "CreationDate": "2021-11-18T08:03:16.290", "Body": "I want to insert a HDD into Dell Precision 3561.
\nThe specs says:
\n\n\nOne 2.5-inch hard drive / SATA AHCI
\n
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ndepG.png\")
I tried with a 1 TB HDD (Western Digital WD BlueTM 2.5-inch HDD, wd10spzx-21z10t0). However, I don't see the common possibility to connect the HDD. On the picture you may see the HDD slot (currently with a black plastic part as a placeholder in it). But the only possible connector is on the side of that slot.
\n![\"HDD](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/meJqd.png\")
Eventually, Dell send me these parts. Note, that asking in the shops did not yield much as they tell that Dell does not give any information. So you can buy at Dell only and some parts are really expensive (M2 screw about 12 EUR).
\nHDD case:\n![\"HDD](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/5hCw0.png\")
Adapter:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/SvYtV.png\")
I want to insert a SSD into Dell Precision 3561.
\nThe specs says that there are two M.2 2280 slots for solid-state drive 256 GB/512 GB/1\nTB/2 TB.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/KXa97.png\")
I tried to insert a SAMSUNG 860 EVO which could fit the slot. However, either in boot menu nor in Windows the SSD is recognized.
\nNote: the SSD is not clean: It contains Ubuntu, GRUB and NTFS partitions.
\nHere is the picture of the slot:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/DEWnf.jpg\")
What do these texts mean: "This SSD requires termal plate" and "no hybryd Optane/SATA?
\nThank you for your help!
\n", "Title": "Insert correct SSD", "Tags": "|ssd|", "Answer": "The Samsung EVO 860 is a SATA SSD so it would not work. Try an NVMe SSD like the Kingston A2000 or try a SATA to M.2 and put it in the 2.5in bay.
\n" }, { "Id": "15525", "CreationDate": "2021-11-21T15:26:26.697", "Body": "I\u00b4m thinking of upgrading my NVME drive of my Asus ZenBook Duo. I was thinking of upgrading it with a Samsung Evo 980 Pro 1TB. I use my laptop for all kind of tasks (also editing videos, rendering etc. but not like crazy...). So I was wondering, how I keep the drive in a good temperature (mainly the controller).
\nI was thinking of a thermal pad as cooling support. I was reading several times that the Samsung Evo 980 Pro tend to get warmer than other drives.
\nThe label of the Evo 980 Pro seems to have a cooling effect. Should I remove the label still or add a thermal pad on the label?
\nSadly the Samsung product-page doesn\u00b4t contain a manual, where I could try to figure something like that out.... ("Unfortunately, this information isn't currently available for this product."). I found couple of information's on other sites (but mainly other drives...), but I\u00b4m looking for someone, where does have some experience with the Evo 980 Pro.
\n", "Title": "Cooling NVME drive in laptop", "Tags": "|cooling|", "Answer": "You can keep the label. If it assists cooling, it should transfer the heat to the outer heat sink (normally air or something built into the motherboard). If you want your laptop chassis to be the ssd heatsink, you can add a thermal pad on top of the ssd. BTW, that is also how some modders made Macbooks a lot faster (M1 and intel based)
\n" }, { "Id": "15539", "CreationDate": "2021-11-25T20:04:07.663", "Body": "I just chanced upon a $200 keyboard that had both function keys and media keys.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pzYRc.png\")
Modern software IDEs have many, many keyboard shortcuts. They frequently use the function keys. But, on my keyboards I tend to have the keys dedicated to media control - since I value quick action to the volume controls. This reminded me how clumsy it is to have to use the fn key in combination with other modifiers.
Can anybody recommend a modestly priced keyboard which either has both sets of function keys AND media keys, or which at least has function keys plus volume controls?
\n", "Title": "Is there a keyboard with both function AND media keys", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "I have the sharkoon skiller SGK5, which has 5 media keys, a volume wheel and all standard function keys. It also has 5 programmable macro keys, but I don't tend to use those (they are not so easy to program). It has rubberdome switches, is connected over USB and has some basic rgb (perfect for me). In Belgium, it is availible for \u20ac42 in AZERTY and QWERTY layouts (a lot cheaper than $200).
\n" }, { "Id": "15545", "CreationDate": "2021-11-28T14:02:57.740", "Body": "I have an old monitor with a dual DVI-D input and was wondering whether this card is compatible:\nAsus DUAL-RTX2060-O6G-EVO
\nI can see that it has the right DVI-D (digital) port, and that its maximum resolution is way above 1080p, but is doesn't explicitly say if the DVI-D port outputs dual DVI (my monitor's native is 2560x1600)
\n", "Title": "Any idea if this GPU (Asus DUAL-RTX2060-O6G-EVO) has dual DVI?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|compatibility|dvi|", "Answer": "Answering my own question:
\nFrom ASUS support chat: it does not support dual link DVI.
\n" }, { "Id": "15546", "CreationDate": "2021-11-29T01:46:47.300", "Body": "I took apart the battery and brushless motor from my e-skateboard and want to use it in my own project.
\n![\"batter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/xFfOF.jpg\")
![\"motor\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/FVp9q.jpg\")
![\"remote\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/XmPMa.jpg\")
And here is the product manual if it helps.
\nI really want to re-use the existing hardware, i.e. battery, ESC, motor and or maybe the remote so that I reduce the cost of this project.
\nBut once I took apart the battery and found there is no interface/socket for me to connect the ESC PCB connected to the battery to my RPi(if anyone could figure out how to connect this ESC to RPI, I'd love to hear about that), then I have 2 solutions to get the battery and motor work with my RPi.
\nThe most preferable approach is to re-use the existing ESC but I think it's too hard as I mentioned before there is no interface/socket to do that.
\nThen my 2nd preference is the option 1 as option 2 is hacky(because I need to use 2 of these set of hardware for the 2 rear wheels and not sure whether the 2 remotes will interfere each other, also the remote requires charging).
\nSo if I go with option 1, I will need to know what's the voltage, operation current and peak current of the motor.
\nFrom the picture I show above, I can see the battery voltage and its current which are 24V, 2.2Ah. Also from the manual I can see that the watt for motor is 150W. From these information, will I be able to confirm that the Motor also uses 24V and 2.2 A current?
\nI want to proof my thought by measuring the motor.
\nBut the problem is the motor has 3 cables, so how am I going to measure its voltage and peak current?\n(Btw, I have multi-meter)
\nUpdate:
\nI use multi-meter and checked the battery's voltage: 28.27V.\nAlso searched the battery against its model GB T 18287-2000 and found this:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/TlFvf.png\")
Here is the link to this PDF, table is on the page 2.
\nAs it mentions, the Charging/discharging (fast) is 30A *3.5h,\nthe Pulse discharging current (max) is 180A.
\nNot sure whether is this the max discharge current or not?
\n", "Title": "How to detect the voltage of a brushless motor", "Tags": "|battery|", "Answer": "A few misconceptions for your device. The battery voltage is 24. The capacity is 2.2 ampere-hours, not 2.2 amperes. This (Ah) is the equivalent of the size of your gas tank, while a current measurement (A) would be more representative of the size of the pipe from the gas tank to the engine. Bigger pipe, more flow, but that's not important.
\nYou have three wires to/from the motor. These devices are typically considered brushless DC motors, also called three phase motors.
\nThe motor controller takes user input and converts it to pulses to the motor, in the correct frequency and the correct order to create the desired speed and direction.
\nYou can expect that the motor has a voltage range rather than a specific voltage, but applying a voltage that is too low will provide insufficient power to move. Applying a voltage that is too high will certainly move the wheel/motor, but going too high means heat. Too much heat is bad.
\nWith a 24v battery, using that figure as a baseline is a good start. One of my brushless motors is rated to 36v, but the manufacturer explained that the motor had sufficient components to handle 48v but I'd have to get an appropriate controller.
\nYou can easily locate a 24v brushless controller, aka ESC, electronic speed controller and a servo tester to experiment with the motor. Your current figure should be checked at the battery, as the three leads for the motor are going to have pulsed current and will not be easily read with a digital or analog meter. One could determine useful information with an oscilloscope, but that's not part of the question.
\nWith respect to the current draw, you've noted that the motor is 150 Watts. 150 divided by 24 is approximately 6 (amperes) at maximum power. Your ESC should be rated higher than that and a ten ampere ESC gives you some leeway.
\nThe battery does not have a label indicating C rating (maximum discharge current) but it's safe to consider that 6 amperes (maximum) current draw (slightly less than 3C) is within normal limits.
\nOne should aim to limit discharge of a lithium chemistry battery to no more than eighty percent depth, providing for (2.2 x 0.8) 1.76 ampere hours capacity. Pulling 6 amps at maximum current provides for somewhat less than 20 minutes operating time. This also matches with the battery marking of 52 WHr on the label. 150 Watts motor power divided by the approximately 50 WHr figure gives you one-third of an hour (20 minutes). It's unlikely you'd be operating at full current and for the purposes of this answer, 3 amperes current gives you about 40 minutes operating time between charges.
\nConsider also to install a current measuring/counting device such as a watts-up meter to the battery of your new construction. This provides you with instantaneous current reading but more useful, it provides total ampere-hour consumption. You can zero the device after the charge is complete, and check it regularly during use of the device, ceasing to enjoy your ride prior to reaching the 1.76 ampere-hour threshold.
\n" }, { "Id": "15566", "CreationDate": "2021-12-05T10:00:14.347", "Body": "I plan to build workstation based on supermicro X8DTi-LN4F. I'm aware it's very old but I'm buying it in very decent money. The only problem with this mobo is lack pci-express x16.\nAccording to the spec available on supermicro site it supports only pci-e x8 (means 25W limit), but looking at mobos picture it looks like one slot is x16 mechanically. Any ideas which card I may insert there without worries? I'm not going to run games on it, just desktop (probably some Linux of FreeBSD with Xmonad) usage but in 4k.
\n", "Title": "Which graphic card for supermicro X8DTi-LN4F motherboard?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|server|pcie|power|", "Answer": "Get a cheap GPU with DisplayPort 1.4 or HDMI 2.0. A GTX 1050 or RX 560 will do.
\n(edit, probably take one with a power connection if there is a 25W limit from the slot)
\n" }, { "Id": "15572", "CreationDate": "2021-12-08T12:43:36.710", "Body": "Unfortunately, the laptop I'm using only has USB 2.0 ports, which really slows down data transfer rates to this external hard drive:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Lhes9.png\")
\nSamsung Portable SSD T7 USB 3.2 1TB
Fortunately, the laptop does have an eSATAp port which is capable of very fast transfer rates. So, on Amazon, I searched for a USB C to eSata adapter.
\nHowever, none of the ads seem to acknowledge the directional aspects of what I'm trying to accomplish; it is not clear (from reading any of the product descriptions I've read) that any particular product would successfully be able to accomplish transferring data to this external SSD (shown above) from the laptop's eSata port.
\nI fail to assume that just because something physically plugs two things together that it will function in both directions. This reservation was confirmed, for example, in this answer I found for this product:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/JPDYw.png\")
Does there exist a solution that does indeed work in reverse?
\n", "Title": "How to Transfer Data from an eSata Laptop Port to a USB C External SSD", "Tags": "|usb-c|adapter|", "Answer": "TL;DR: I don't think what you are looking for exists; And if it does it still won't work for your Samsung drive.
\nUSB can support communication with pretty much any device as long as that device implements the USB protocol and the host PC has a driver to go with it. There are all kinds of devices out there that connect SATA drives to USB ports by wrapping the SATA drive messages inside the USB messages. (See UASP)
\nSATA is an entirely different kind of data bus that is highly specialized for storage devices. The messages being sent out of the eSATA port on that laptop are in a language that USB devices don't understand or expect to receive over the wire. Also, there is no such thing like a "USB message wrapped in a SATA message", so USB clients can never be connected to a SATA port.
\nIf an adapter like this existed it would be very complex and probably introduce a lot of opportunities for data corruption. It would have to emulate what the device on each end expects and convert the content of the messages between the two protocols.
\nIn the end, even if the adapter did exist, you're trying to connect a drive that doesn't even use SATA! (The Samsung T7 uses NVMe storage technology)
\n" }, { "Id": "15578", "CreationDate": "2021-12-10T03:55:57.043", "Body": "I want to connect a device to my home network. The device only have a RJ45 port and doesn't have any usb port. The device isn't far from my Wifi router, but I would prefer not to pass a wire through walls and ceiling. Instead, I was thinking to use a simple adapter that convert Wifi to an ethernet wire.
\nBut here the thing, it turns out that the only hardware I can find to fill in for this role are wifi extender,repeater and hotspot. Given the device to connect isn't far from the router, those hardwares would just broadcast Wifi waves on top of those broadcasted by my router and therefore, could end up actively help make my entire Wifi network worse by creating noise. I'm not willing to sacrifice on the quality of my Wifi just to plug a single dumb device. If it come down to it, I will punch hole in walls and ceiling before doing that.
\nIs there a device that simply connect to an WIFI network and convert the signal to an Ethernet port or cable?
\n", "Title": "Is there no simple Wifi to ethernet rj45 adapter?", "Tags": "|wifi|ethernet|network-adapter|adapter|", "Answer": "There is such a thing as a "wireless ethernet bridge," but I don't know of any consumer models, only industrial models like this one probably more than you're willing to spend, but it's a place to start.
\n" }, { "Id": "15592", "CreationDate": "2021-12-14T20:54:05.190", "Body": "I am a computer science student who has done game development for a decent time now, but I have been doing it on a Alienware M15 R2. It works pretty well still. The problem is I also use it for school work and for general browsing, but this laptop drains battery fast and get's extremely loud. (It's a gaming laptop with a 2070 in it)
\nRight now I am considering the MacBook Pro 14, Razer Blade 14 and XPS 15. They look real nice and preform well. The Mac does well on battery, is quiet, better keyboard than previous years. The Blade 14 and XPS have windows though. I don't like Mac OS but I wouldn't mind getting used to it and I don't spending the money if it means a better experience. If Unity runs better on this device than any other, then 100% I'll get it. But if there is a windows device that has similar performance, doesn't get that loud and good battery then I'll take that.
\nAny other recommendations besides these? Anything that has good battery life and performance? Any rumors for devices coming out in the near future?
\n", "Title": "What is a good laptop for game development in 2021/2022? (Unity)", "Tags": "|laptop|development|quiet-computing|game-development|", "Answer": "The Asus RoG Strix G15 G513IE-HN004W is almost what you need, it performs good, has Windows (if needed, you can probably dualboot Linux), it has a dGPU, which is useful for testing, it has an 8-core Ryzen CPU, which is good to reduce compile times. The only less good thing is it only goes 3-5 hours on battery, which is less than the 3 other laptops you mentioned...
\n" }, { "Id": "15608", "CreationDate": "2021-12-17T20:49:20.537", "Body": "I have an old 5.1 sound system (Desktop Theater 5.1 by Cambdrige Soundworks) that was designed for connection to a PC, it's input is via 3 3.5mm audio jacks (one for front, one for rear, and one for centre+sub). (see this image to get the idea)
\nIt still works, so I would like to connect it to a Smart TV (LG OLED48C14LB), but the only outputs from the TV I think will work (i.e carry 5.1 channels) are the SPDIF and eARC.
\nI have looked at the thread Plugging a 3-cable 5.1 speaker system into a single 3.5mm jack but that talks about plugging into a PC or Mac, which isn't what I'm after.
\nI have had a look on Amazon, and I found this sound card, but it's a sound card, so I assume it needs an OS to work, and I'm guessing the smart TV won't support it.
\nI also found this adapter box, so I could plug my 5 speakers in, but I would lose my sub woofer, as it is the hub for the other speakers, and doesn't accept RCA in, only 3.5mm jacks.
\nIs there something like the adapter box, but converts eARC or SPDIF into the 3.5mm jacks?
\n", "Title": "Convert from Smart TV eARC or SPDIF to front, left, center & sub 3.5mm cables", "Tags": "|audio-adapters|", "Answer": "I have found a solution that works.
\nI bought the SOUTHSKY 5.1CH DAC Converter, and three RCA to 3.5mm cables (for example).
\nI plugged the SPDIF cable into the TV and the Southsky box, then used the converter cables to connect the RCA to the 3.5mm cables and then into the amp/subwoofer. All 5.1 channels worked.
\nIf there is a more elegant solution, I would happily hear it.
\n" }, { "Id": "15635", "CreationDate": "2021-12-28T22:30:42.300", "Body": "I want to know the max xfer speed for a SanDisk Extreme Plus microSD XC 1 V30 card in order to figure out if using a 10Gbps USB hub (Gen 2) would be faster than a 5Gbps USB hub (Gen 1). In other words, if the microSD XC 1 V30 speed is 5Gbps or less, then using a Gen 2 USB connection would buy me nothing.
\n", "Title": "microSD extreme plus xfer speed over usb", "Tags": "|usb|microsd|", "Answer": "All SD card readers are using USB 3.0 (3.1 gen 1 / 3.2 gen 1) and even the UHS-II (fastest sd cards) are not bottlenecked by USB. Just gen an SD card reader with UBS 3.0 and it will be enough.
\n" }, { "Id": "15651", "CreationDate": "2022-01-03T10:03:06.377", "Body": "I'm currently specing out my home network, and while going 'full' 10GBe capable is tempting, my options for upgrades are limited. I'm looking at a Unifi Switch Flex XG . 2.5GBe is broadly supported and is a coming thing. While switch options for gigabit are plentiful (and I already have a low cost managed gigabit switch)
\nSo here's what I'm looking at
\nEssentials:
\nLow cost. 300USD will get me a 10GBe Switch. I'm half certain I can get a modern unmanaged 1Gbe switch for maybe 20USD. I'm looking to pay ~100USD per 4 ports. At some point a second flex XG would make sense, but I'd rather not be plonking down another 300 USD for a switch that ends up being connected to a 2.5GBps media center box and a tele.
\nCompact - Most of the switches in my wishlist or currently in use don't have a ton of 'wasted' space. I don't want a switch that has 5 ports, and 5 ports space worth of panel and blinkenlighten. Being able to fit in the same footprint or slightly bigger than the Flex XG would be nice.
\n2.5Gbe (minimal requirement) or better support
\nNice to have
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/NLhi6.png\")
Its 2023 - and there's switches that ticked all my boxes. The one I got was listed in aliexpress as the "HORACO 2.5GbE Ethernet Switch 4 Port 2500Mbps Network Switcher 2 Port 10G SFP+ Slot Home Lab Hub Internet Splitter Plug and Play", and the model is ZX-SWTGO24AS. There's an entire class of these switches, but this was at half off, at around 45 USD when I bought it. I went with the 4+2 since much of the rest of my network was 10g capable.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/rTAgL.png\")
I'm using the 2 SFP+ cages - one with an off brand DAC and one with a base T module from the same company. Amusingly the SFP+ module cost almost as much as the switch. I've not tested all 4 port at once but this class of switch appears to handle all 4 ports in other people's testing, and I've tried running speed tests through the 10G ports with good results.
\nIts also got screw holes, and practically is nearly as small as my old gigabit switch.
\n" }, { "Id": "15690", "CreationDate": "2022-01-17T14:08:12.207", "Body": "How can I have an estimation on training time of a ML algorithm based on the number of GPU CUDA cores? I am about to buy a Desktop and I want to know what GPU is best concerning the money I am about to spend.
\n", "Title": "Calculate the training time of a ML algorithm based on CUDA cores", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "The fastest AI gpu under \u20ac1000 is probably the RTX 3060 ti, and if you are lucky, RTX 3070. I know, those are cards for $500 MSRP, but gpu shortage... (thanks scalpers and miners). High prices aside, these are really nice cards when it comes to AI, they can even run some AI models in real time (AKA DLSS). I don't know how they preform with training AI models, but I guess the performance would be similar.
\n" }, { "Id": "15713", "CreationDate": "2022-01-27T10:02:11.700", "Body": "The official documentation of this laptop indicates that the laptop can take a maximum of 32GB RAM. The configuration however does not show that it accepts 16GB x2.
\nCan this laptop take 16GB x 2 RAM?
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ytw2w.png\")
The configurations are what HP can send with the laptop, but sure, why not do 2x16GB of RAM. How else will you get 32GB?
\nOkay now I need to get serious. Normally, the maximum memory size is determined by the BIOS and the memory controller. The maximum size per stick is determined by the memory controller, and also the optimal number of sticks. For your cpu, the optimal number of sticks is 2, the maximum size is 32GB per stick and the BIOS says the max total amount is 32GB. So 2x16GB should totally work, although HP does not have out of the box configurations that have those.
\n" }, { "Id": "15820", "CreationDate": "2022-03-14T10:36:25.247", "Body": "My partner and I will be buying an apartment and moving into it soon, and because we don't really watch TV or play on screen-dependant consoles, we're thinking of installing a video projector on the ceiling and using the wall as a screen. A colleague of mine had told me of all the upsides of having a NAS, and it does seem quite advantageous.
\nI was wondering if it would be possible to hook a NAS (don't know which brand or model I would need) to a videoprojector via an HDMI cable or equivalent, or if I would need to use a computer to link the two together, for example a Raspberry Pi with very basic software installed. Big upside if the setup can also handle audio, both playing alongside the video being sent to the projector, and independantly just as back ground music.
\n", "Title": "NAS to video projector - do I need a Raspberry Pi?", "Tags": "|audio|raspberry-pi|video|nas|", "Answer": "Most NAS don't have HDMI,DisplayPort or etc output. This is your biggest challenge.
\nMaybe you can find a projector that will connect to your NAS directly, but it is likely your going to find you have limited video format support.
\nThis is where a raspberry Pi or similar comes in handy as you can load Plex or Kodi or one of a hundred other thing onto it which will convert the video for you to whatever your projector supports.
\nA Pi 4 has wifi support so it could connect to the NAS wirelessly and the Pi 4 has HDMI and an audio port for you to connect to your projectors.\nYou will likely need samba for file sharing.
\nSo the Pi 4 idea will likely offer significantly more options. If you need to decode h264 or h265 you will likely need something faster than a raspberry Pi 4.
\n" }, { "Id": "15841", "CreationDate": "2022-03-24T15:13:00.247", "Body": "I have an old Lenovo Ideapad Y560, and it has access panels for everything (CPU, fan, disk, RAM, internet card, the computers were so easy to repair back then) but I am still stumped on what this could be.
\n![\"1\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Jlk8k.jpg\")
![\"2\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/tjbrG.jpg\")
![\"3\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/xn99d.jpg\")
I suppose that this is slot for Mini-SATA (mSATA).
\nIt has 8 + 18 pins and has appropriate space for device like this:
\nhttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Intel_525_mSATA_SSD.jpg
\nAlso there are two places for holdings with screws.
More description:\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#Mini-SATA_(mSATA)
\n" }, { "Id": "15851", "CreationDate": "2022-03-27T08:54:00.180", "Body": "I'm thinking about getting a large monitor that also can be used as a television.
\nThe monitor I'm thinking about (Aorus FV43U) has DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.1, and USB-C ports. I have an older graphics card (Geforce GTX 1070 ti) and I'm trying to understand if the monitor will even work to it's full potential here. As far as I understood it, my graphics card has no HDMI 2.1 capabilities but has DisplayPort 1.4. Would this be sufficient?
\nI'm not well versed with hardware, and actually had the wrong cable on my last monitor, so I'm trying to make sure the configuration actually works before I buy the monitor.
\n", "Title": "New monitor, older graphics card - will they work together?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|monitors|", "Answer": "The AORUS FV43U will be at its full potential with the following display mode:
\n3840 x 2160 (UHD), 10-bit, 144 Hz, with Freesync and HDR
DisplayPort 1.4 on the GTX 1070ti will support the following mode at maximum:
\n3840 x 2160 (UHD), 10-bit, 120 Hz, with Freesync and HDR
I would say that is close enough, and even at 60Hz this monitor is going to look amazing. If you're playing newer games in UHD then the 1070ti might not reach 120 FPS anyway. You can always change the display mode to make some trade-offs too:
\n2560 x 1440, 10-bit, 144 Hz, with Freesync and HDR
\nor
\n3840 x 2160, 8-bit, 144 Hz, with Freesync
I have found on shopping sites that small PSUs are little cheaper than 500+ Watts PSU.
\nSo I want to buy the lowest one because I have no plans for adding external GPU.
\nI would be using 2x8 GB RAMs and Micro ATX motherboard (something like entry level B450 or B550). And I would use only stock cooler and no overclocking.
\nThe official docs of this APU says:
\n\n\nDefault TDP: 65W
\nAMD Configurable TDP (cTDP): 45-65W
\n
I am not sure if there's actually a relation between 65W and the Power Supply I need.
\nOr if it means the minimum PSU you need for this APU is 65W - I am not really sure.
\nI also found on a site which recommended minimum 300W power supply for this APU without any dedicated GPU. And the recommendation was a little more (350W) if you want to use some entry level GTX GPU like 1050ti.
\nBut they didn't give any reason for this. But this lead me to conclude that it can be used for less than 500W power supply easily.
\nSo, I would like to know what minimum range of power supply unit for this APU. So that it gives quite the same performance which a higher PSU like 500 or 600 Watts would give.
\n", "Title": "Minimum PSU for 5600G (no dedicated GPU) without compromising the performance?", "Tags": "|pc|power-supply|", "Answer": "Enough is enough. If you can get a quality 300W PSU, that will give you more reliability than a cheapo 600W one. Where I live, quality PSU's don't go as low as 300W, the lowest is 400W. Get them from a reputable brand (NOT aliexpress or Gigabyte, Seasonic or Corsair are better) and preferably with 80+ Gold rating.
\nBTW the power supply never impacts performance, only reliability and stability.
\n" }, { "Id": "15857", "CreationDate": "2022-03-28T18:50:13.337", "Body": "Looking to buy a new laptop, and needed some options to choose from because I'm totally unaware of laptop characteristics and how they help. Ideally I would like to purchase a laptop\n1)Latest Windows Version
\n2)Can handle R-studio, Python, SAS, SQL data science softwares
\n3)Also, because I run many simulations I'll need a laptop sith good RAM so can handle many data simultaneously
\nMy budget is up to \u00a3800 and advise on what should I look will be really helpful
\n", "Title": "Laptop Recommendation for Data scientist, with good RAM", "Tags": "|laptop|windows|", "Answer": "The Asus ZenBook 14 UM425UAZ-KI023T is probably what you are looking for, apart maybe a Framework. It has a fast CPU (R7 5700U), enough RAM (16GB), SSD, Windows 10 (although I am pretty sure it will work better with Linux, most laptops do, and forget about Windows 11, AMD processors work better with Windows 10 and Linux, Windows 11 is just for Alder Lake) and under \u20ac800 where I live.
\n" }, { "Id": "15860", "CreationDate": "2022-03-29T10:12:12.567", "Body": "Not a whole lot is known yet about SP5, Zen4, or where Intel will be when these AMD products are available. However, will (any) current AMD CPU's fit the SP5 motherboards / socket?
\n", "Title": "Will any AMD CPU fit SP5?", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|", "Answer": "Short answer: No.
\nLong answer: No. SP5 will probably have more than 6000 pins, using LGA, while the current EPYC CPU socket has about 4000 LGA pins. The current Ryzen cpu is also not compatible, because it uses PGA. Only Threadripper is remaining then, which also has 'just' 4000 pins. Today's CPU's don't support enough pins, and I'm not even talking about DDR5, PCI-e Gen 5, ...
\n" }, { "Id": "15866", "CreationDate": "2022-03-31T03:53:35.430", "Body": "Is there a video camera that can output in HDMI real time 60 FPS, with a least a 720p resolution and with zoom functionality?
\nI'd like to be able to easily display things on a larger HDMI screen with low latency. (tablet, phone, papers, objects, etc.)
\n", "Title": "Video camera that outputs in HDMI in real time, 60 FPS, at least 720p, with zoom functionality", "Tags": "|displays|projector|", "Answer": "\n\nGiven I don't know what to look for, this is my research.
\n
your specs of HDMI and 60 fps and at least 720p are pretty low... such that a 10 year old might laugh and say my phone does better...
\nwhat used to be 30fps and 720p, the norm now is 60 fps and 1080p.
\nmy motorola phone for example:\nhttps://www.verizon.com/smartphones/motorola-edge-5g-uw/\nvideo : 4K UHD (30fps), FHD (60/30fps)
\nFHD = full high definition @ 1920 x 1080p, which is now becoming the old standard.\nUHD = ultra high definition which is the now common 4k resolution at 3840 x 2160p.
\nBoth are 16:9
\noff the shelf go-pro's and knockoffs are all 4k these days, typically at 30fps.
\nbut just google 4k 60fps camera or camcorder for starters
if you buy a high end video camera you can almost always dial its settings down from 4k to 1920x1080 and 30fps.
\nmost everything is going to show up as still camera, but they all have video recording capability so look at the video recording specs. Find the one supporting the largest SDHC card you're willing to buy, 4k @ 60fps will eat up storage quick.
\nhttps://camerajabber.com/which-cameras-shoot-4k-video-at-60fps/
\nWhich cameras can output 4k60 via HDMI\nhttps://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4475627
\nspoiler: Fujifilm X-T3 about $1000 and Panasonic camcorder WXF995 about $800
\n" }, { "Id": "15874", "CreationDate": "2022-04-01T07:55:25.040", "Body": "I'm from India.
\nPlease recommend:
I've been working with these a while. I picked up a pair of X540-T2 - they're 'server' cards, so run a little hot, though there's a version with a fan. The T suffix means native copper support so you don't need a SFP.
\nThey're PCIe 2.1 x8 for TWO ports, and you can run a single port at full speed (tested by speed test) on a x4 slot with no issue. The x550 is a newer version that'll work on x4, but I've not found them cheap on the secondary market. They're about 90usd + shipping on aliexpress, but prices vary wildly - as of 2023. they're down to as low as ~20 USD or less. They are EOL but the current intel drivers support them. They won't downgrade to 2.5 or 5 gbps, so you'll need a 10gig copper capable switch or connect them directly. On windows the drivers are excellent and easy to use, and as older cards they're well understood. They have a mild tendancy to overheat, so run it on a system that's capable of cooling it. While both these cards are "obsolete", they're common and supported with current drivers.
\nI've not tried it yet, but most modern low cost 10Gbps cards are based off Aquantia chips - they'll work with the 'slower' multigigabit standards and are about the same price as my x540 for a single port. They do PCIe x4 and seem a better option in quite a few ways. I believe asus sells one, as well as various chinese vendors like comfast.
\n" }, { "Id": "15875", "CreationDate": "2022-04-03T09:15:03.980", "Body": "I bought a 2 TB external hard drive from Seagate and on the first day it stopped working. Probably something broken inside. I never had expected that it will get damaged so easily.
\nSo I'm reconsidering my decision to buy a new storage. Basically I need to store less frequently used data I have in case I need it in future. I want it for long term.
\nAlso I'm surprised even when I handle my laptops roughly sometimes, it doesn't affect my laptop disks at all. They work fine. Maybe they use something better?
\nShould I try bigger like 3.5" hard drives? Would they be more safe?
\nAnother decision would be to buy SSD but I really can't afford that.
\nSo, given all that, are there any other external hard drives that are less prone to damage? Maybe size of disk also matters?
\nAlso, I don't need something eye catchy. I don't care how it looks from outside. I want a reliable storage for long term and something that won't stop working so easily. I feels like a really big loss when you buy something new and it gets damaged on its first day. I hope you understand my dilemma.
\n", "Title": "Are portable 2.5 inch external hard drives more prone to internal damage?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|data-storage|backup|", "Answer": "any size drive will have the same size and plastic making up the SATA connector (power and data). Or SAS connector.
\nUnless you break that connector, which 99% of the time is poor user judgement plugging or removing cables, nothing out there is different.
\nA 3.5" drive will be a traditional spinning hard drive, and while they are pretty tough I've dropped them in the parking lot with no ill effects, they will never be as robust as a 2.5" Solid State Disk that has no moving parts.
\nAfter that don't leave it like on a car dashboard in summer to cook to 180\u00b0F, they typically don't like that.
\nI bought a 2 TB external hard drive from Seagate and on the first day it stopped working.
\nIt happens. Warranty replace it, and move on.
\n" }, { "Id": "15876", "CreationDate": "2022-04-03T17:19:12.267", "Body": "There is the option to buy a new PC Desktop, about the memory ram, there are these two options
\n![see this image to get the idea](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vf2lW.jpg\"){kind=link}
![https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Intel_525_mSATA_SSD.jpg](\"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Intel_525_mSATA_SSD.jpg\"){kind=link}
Memory Kingston Fury Beast, 16GB, DDR4, 3200 MHz, PC4-25600, CL16, 1.35V.\nMemory Kingston Fury Beast, 16GB, DDR4, 2666 MHz, PC4-21300, CL16, 1.2V.\nAt a first glance the first seems better than the second due the MHz value. But being curious - the reason of this post - observe that the volts values are different too: 1.2 vs 1.35
\nBecause I am not an expert, about the volts
\nQuestion 1:
\nQuestion 2
\nConsider the two questions involving performance and time life concerns.
\n", "Title": "Memory RAM for PC - is important the voltage value for performance and impact in the motherboard?", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|performance|", "Answer": "The best recommendation based on how you asked would be...
\nThe 1.35v is within spec for DDR4 and is nothing to be worried about. The 1.2v is the original reference voltage for the DDR4 spec when it first came out however long ago. Nearly every motherboard supports 1.35v.
\nBest thing to do is for the motherboard make/model you're thinking about, check their QVL (qualified vendor list) and RAM compatibility before you buy RAM. You are not required to buy any specific RAM they list, use it as a reference such that if they list a bunch of 1.35v dimms at the higher clock speeds then you can be sure that mobo supports that clock speed. But, for example, if that list only shows up to DDR4-3200 and doesn't list any DDR4-4xxx, then don't go buy a DDR4-4xxx dimm.
\nThe lower clock speed dimms all run at the reference 1.2v DDR4 voltage. All the performance ram simply runs at 1.35v in order to get that higher clock speed. There's very little to be gained or lost by trying to decide between the 1.2v or 1.35v other than theoretical power usage but that may even be a mute point since typically ram automatically downclocks itself to work with the ram speeds the motherboard is looking to use... which is to say even a DDR4-5133 may still work on a motherboard that doesn't advertise it supports it... but I'd only try that if I already had the ram in hand versus buying it and hoping it worked. A 1.35v dimm will not have any kind of negative impact.
\n" }, { "Id": "15877", "CreationDate": "2022-04-03T18:15:15.660", "Body": "For a PC Desktop to be buy it in these weeks, there are the following SSD options:
\nSSD HP EX950, 512GB, M.2, 2280, PCIe Gen 3x4, NVMe 1.3.\nSSD HP EX950, 1TB, M.2, 2280, PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3.\nSSD Samsung 970 EVO PLUS, 250GB, M.2, PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3\nSSD Samsung 980 PRO 1TB SSD M.2 2280, PCIe Gen 4.0 NVMe 1.3c\nSSD Samsung 980 PRO 2TB SSD M.2 2280, PCIe Gen 4.0 NVMe 1.3c\nTo do the correct choice, I want to know
\nNote just in case - the PC Desktop is going to be used for Development and Server purposes with Ubuntu - is not going to be included other OS directly in the same PC. But yes other OS through Virtual Box is going to be included.
https://insights.samsung.com/2021/10/07/pcie-4-0-vs-pcie-3-0-whats-the-difference/
\nThe Gen as in generation refers to PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0.
\n4.0 has double the performance of 3.0, you can look all that up on google. The key point is whether you're motherboard supports PCIe 4.0 or not, PCIe was released in 2017 but nothing pcie 4.0 came to market for a while. It's been a while since I looked into it, but that's what you want to look in to.
\nThe x4 reference is the pcie lanes that the m.2 ssd is using; there's x1, x4, x8, x16. graphics cards use either x8 or x16. The amount of pcie lanes that an ssd uses I believe is x4... they throw that x4 into the ssd marketing to wow buyers, because, x4 just sounds b@d@ass added on with all that other technical jibber jabber. I don't think m.2 ssd, because of the size of it can do more than x4 you would need more pins and a full size pcie slot that is now a few inches long as opposed to about 1 inch.
more reading:
\nhttps://www.trentonsystems.com/blog/pcie-gen-4-reference-guide
\nhttps://www.makeuseof.com/best-budget-pcie-4-motherboards/
\nhttps://www.cgdirector.com/guide-to-pcie-lanes/
\nbe aware there are 2 kinds of m.2 ssd's. NVMe and SATA m2.ssd. So be sure to get the correct one for your motherboard, many support SATA m.2 ssd and only the higher end motherboards and servers offer m.2 nvme ssd.
\nhttps://www.backblaze.com/blog/nvme-vs-m-2-drives/
\n" }, { "Id": "15899", "CreationDate": "2022-04-20T02:54:12.227", "Body": "I've heard a lot on YouTube reviews that 6500 XT is better than GTX 1650 but there's one bad thing about it. 6500 XT renders video at very slow speed especially in Premiere Pro (maybe rendering is done by CPU and not this GPU. I'm not sure how it works.)
\nSo I can prefer 6500 XT any day for its better gaming. But I also have to render some videos. If there's significant difference between render times and 1650 render speed or video editing is better, I can sacrifice 6500 XT's extra FPS in gaming. I would choose 1650.
\nGiven all that, is 1650 better in video editing and render speed as compared to 6500 XT? (Provided all other PC components are same).
\n", "Title": "Does GTX 1650 encode/render videos at better speed/performance than RX 6500 XT?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|video-editing|rendering|", "Answer": "According to https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/radeon-rx-6500-xt-review,23.html, the 6500XT is faster in OpenCL than the 1650 Super in Cuda. But if your video edit software only supports CUDA and not OpenCL, the 1650 is faster. Since Premire Pro supports both, I would reccomend getting the 6500XT, but make sure the render device is your graphics card since CPU's also support OpenCL.
\n" }, { "Id": "15902", "CreationDate": "2022-04-20T14:31:20.113", "Body": "I have started looking into eGPUs and their capabilities. My reason for using an eGPU is for coursework in CADD. I currently run a virtual machine to run the software for my classes (see list below). I have been able to run Revit 2022 successfully but I fear that as my classwork will start delving into more rendering my VM won't be able to handle the demand. One of my classmates heard me talking to an instructor about eGPUs and he offered to sell me a Razer Core X at a really good price. I am mostly interested in performance for CADD work but gaming would be a bonus.
\nSo here is what I am wondering:
\nSoftware for coursework:
\nApple laptop specs:
\nVirtual Machine specs:
\nAfter researching and real-life tests here are my following conclusions:
\nYes. As per the VMware Fusion 12 Release Notes:
\n\n\n\n
\n- \n
External GPU support
\nFusion provides support for external GPU when an external GPU is connected to the host. Choose the Prefer External GPU option from the Fusion UI.
\n
The key is in the technical specs for the built-in vs external video card. The minimum supported card by macOS is the AMD Radeon RX 470. The comparison for these two cards from Technical City graphics card comparison tool:
\n| Specification | \nAMD Radeon RX 470 | \nIntel Iris Plus Graphics 645 | \n
|---|---|---|
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | \n2048 | \n48 | \n
| Core clock speed | \n926 MHz | \n300 MHz | \n
| Boost clock speed | \n1206 MHz | \n1150 MHz | \n
| Number of transistors | \n5,700 million | \nno data | \n
| Manufacturing process technology | \n14 nm | \n14 nm | \n
| Thermal design power (TDP) | \n120 Watt | \n15 Watt | \n
| Texture fill rate | \n154.4 | \n50.40 | \n
| Floating-point performance | \n4,940 gflops | \nno data | \n
This is hard to answer with too many variables. In short, whatever you can afford. I was able to get an MSI AMD Radeon RX 570 Armor 4GB OC for $130. This gave me a performance boost of over 300% (3DMark 11 benchmark tests).
\n" }, { "Id": "15917", "CreationDate": "2022-04-23T08:12:12.880", "Body": "I have my PC and unfortunately, it\u2019s not a new one. I have motherboard P8Z77-V LX. So, I\u2019d like to extend or replace old RAM which\u2019s 8GB to increase it up to 32GB at least cos I want to develop games on Unity + AR + .NET / C#. In additional l\u2019ve my old HDD it\u2019s 500GB Seagate ST500DM0 which\u2019s broken & doesn\u2019t work properly cos I was used SWAP & it has killed HDD. Well, I want to replace it by SSD. Let\u2019s say SSD by Kingston.
\nMy question is what RAM & SSD can I buy for this motherboard P8Z77-V?
\n![\"Specs](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/SUgSm.jpg\")
PS: Yes, I know I have to buy GPU also, but I'm going to do it later :)
\n", "Title": "What RAM and SSD can I buy for this motherboard P8Z77-V?", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|hard-disk|ssd|", "Answer": "for RAM always consult the manufacturer documentation... it's free... it's easy... no probably needs
\ngoogle "P8Z77-V motherboard" results in
\nhttps://www.asus.com/us/SupportOnly/P8Z77V/HelpDesk_Knowledge/
\nchoose memory/device support and look for RAM QVL (qualified vendor list) as well as the basic user's manual.
\nhttps://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1155/P8Z77-V/E7074_P8Z77-V.pdf
\npage 2-6 You may install 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and 8GB unbuffered and non-ECC DDR3 DIMMs into the DIMM sockets. There are 4 sockets, so at most you can have 32gb total RAM using 4x8gb DDR3 DIMMs.
\nthe RAM QVL will list approved memory speeds and timings, such as F3-19200CL10Q-32GBZHD
The QVL shows DDR3 1600 up to DDR3 2600. If you buy DDR3 greater than 2600, they will typically down clock and still work to meet the motherboard which is limited to DDR3 2600 but you do take your chances in doing so. With DDR3 being obsolete kinda you may only find cheaper DDR3-3200 for example, which is ok, but ideally choose something comparable to the RAM QVL. You do not require the GSkill or Corsair make, or only those makes listed on the QVL, while they are probably the better/best out there the no-name brands on amazon or elsewhere will work. Just go by DDR3 between 1600 and 2600 and a kit of 4x8gb dimms. There is an SSD QVL from ASUS you can also reference as well, although any sata ssd on amazon will work. consult the documentation and email ASUS for confirmation before buying a pcie nvme type storage device to hold a bootable operating system.
I was thinking of purchasing a new mouse, since my current mouse is not working properly. I was thinking of getting a mouse that is lightweight and can double click. I would prefer that it can drag click as well, but it is not compulsory to be able to do so.\nIn short,\nQualities the mouse should have :
\nLightweight
\ncan double click
\ncan be purchased in India and is under 50$
\nI have found a mouse that is lightweight but I can't find any help online so as to if it can drag click or double click. This (Redragon m908) is the mouse I am talking about. Can anyone recommend me such a mouse, or tell me if the Redragon mouse can double click?
\n", "Title": "Good cheap mouse for double clicking and can be purchased in India", "Tags": "|gaming|mice|", "Answer": "As far as I know, double clicking and dragging are software features, not hardware features, so as long as the mouse is consistent with its clicks (and your OS supports it), you can double click and drag click. This means you should get a mouse with good reviews, and you are probably good with double clicks as well.
\n" }, { "Id": "15934", "CreationDate": "2022-05-02T05:37:09.623", "Body": "I was looking at this specific GPU named RX 550 / Radeon 550. Later I found out that is two variants. 2GB DDR5 and 4GB DDR5.
\nThen I realized one more difference: 2GB variant has 64 bit memory interface and 4GB has 128 bit.
\nPrice difference is not a problem to me. It's not very significant.
\nI also checked official specifications especially about memory which shows the memory interface differences:
\n2 GB variant:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/i5xKV.png\")
4 GB variant:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/WbnKq.png\")
Why I feel 4 GB variant can not be a good choice:
\nI read some comments on Reddit that this GPU is not powerful anyway. So it won't be able to use 4GB anyway.
\nSome people say 128 bit is better than 64 bit as it will allow faster speed.
\nMaybe 128 bit memory interface is only used because it has 4GB memory? It has nothing to do with a fact like 128 bit is better than 64 bit? I'm not sure. That is also what I'm curious about.
\nGiven all that, which one would give better performance on same PC for same games? And do 64 bit and 128 bit difference matter in this particular case?
\n", "Title": "2GB (64 bit) GPU vs 4GB (128 bit) GPU", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|memory|ryzen|", "Answer": "https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html
\nRadeon RX 550 @ 128-bit 4gb ddr5 is higher up with a score of 2718, priced at $158.
\nRadeon 550 @ 64-bit 2gb ddr5 is 2nd from the bottom with a score of 1958, priced at $99.
\nRX550 = 50watt, Dx 12.0, pcie 3.0 x8, core clock 1100 mhz, memory clock 1750 mhz, opengl 4.5, overall rank = 406
\n550 = no data, Dx 12 says 14 frames/sec.
\n\n\nWhy I feel 4 GB variant can not be a good choice...
\n
the 4gb variant is the better choice between those specific two, as benchmark scores (if u believe them) also point out. The redit rationale about not being able to use all 4gb anyway is ridiculous. If it uses 1mb of video ram or 1000, 128-bit will operate twice as fast as 64-bit, simple as that! Where the rubber meets the road is in the comparisons between clock speeds of everything, which i cannot find for 550. But like with all other graphics cards makes/models the variants are always faster... usually the result of minor overclock, and sometimes extra ram.
\nThe RX550 is better than 550; the 550 will not outperform the rx550.
\nThere are many better cards than RX550.
\nRadeon RX6400 @ $160 second from top at best value chart: https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html
\nthe biggest factor may be in 550 not supporting latest versions of openGL and DirectX where the RX550 will, so that reason alone will likely make rx550 better than 550. The "550" probably went obsolete a few months after release when AMD got the rx550 selling, now the "550" is just obsolete already built cards that haven't been recycled yet where sellers are just looking to offload them.
\nwhat i could find: https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-550.c3407
\n550 shows same clock speeds as RX, so no, no way it'll ever be better than rx550; all amd probably did was update the memory bus to 128-bit and double the vram circa 2017 to compete with market competition.
\nhttps://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-rx-550.c2947
\nand given the fraud in the graphics market, hard to tell 550 from rx550 from 560 and 570; what you find as "rx550" advertised as 128-bit 4gb ddr5 you might get a 64-bit 2gb card so be careful with end of life stuff like that.
\n" }, { "Id": "15947", "CreationDate": "2022-05-05T19:48:03.110", "Body": "I have HP EliteBook x360 1030 G7 Notebook 13" laptop. It's built-in monitor has Full HD resolution and 60Hz refreshing rate.
\nI'd like to buy some kind of external monitor 24" or 27" to use with it. For example this or this
\nIn case the external monitor will have 2K or 4K resolution or / and high refreshing rate i.e. 144Hz - will it be possible to use it with my laptop connected directly with HDMI cable?
\nI mean will the external monitor work in it's high resolution / high refreshing rate in this case?
\nIn case I will need to perform some setting on the laptop to set the external monitor refreshing rate / resolution - will it be kept in case I change the external monitor? I'm working in hybrid mode - 2 days a week in the office (with some big monitor there) and 3 days at home, so I'm switching between monitors almost each day.
According to HP's website, your laptop contains a HDMI 1.4b port and 2 Thunderbolt ports capable of DisplayPort 1.2. These will be the limiting factors as to which resolutions and refresh rates your laptop can run, assuming you purchase cables running at that standard or higher and the monitor supports at least that standard or higher.
\nHDMI 1.4b specifications say that it can handle up to 3840\u00d72160 at 30 Hz, and 1920\u00d71080 at 120 Hz. However, HP's website says your laptop is capable of up to 4k (3840x2160) at up to 60 Hz using the HDMI port.
\nDisplayPort 1.2 should be able to handle 1920x1080 at up to 240 Hz, 2560\u2009\u00d7\u20091440 at up to 165 Hz, and 3840\u2009\u00d7\u20092160 at up to 75 Hz. However, at this point there are no official guidelines restricting companies from calling their DisplayPort ports whatever version they want, so there is no way to know for sure.
\nIn conclusion, you should be able to run either of the monitors you linked at full resolution and refresh rate using Thunderbolt to DisplayPort or HDMI (assuming you get compatible cables).
\nIn my experience with a similar HP laptop, I could not get 4k at 60 Hz working on HDMI, but it worked with DisplayPort over Thunderbolt. 1440p at 75 Hz worked with DisplayPort as well, but I never tried HDMI.
\nIf you need to change refresh rates or resolutions for specific monitors, it should auto-detect and keep your settings every time you use that monitor as well.
\n" }, { "Id": "15958", "CreationDate": "2022-05-07T09:47:53.433", "Body": "I have ASUS M5A97_R20 AM3+ https://www.asus.com/SupportOnly/M5A97_R20/HelpDesk_Manual/ motherboard. With two PCI-E x16 slots and want to use M.2 NMVE -> PCI-E x16 adapter to attach the disk, is it possible to boot from such disk?
\n", "Title": "Is it possible to boot form M.2 NMVE on old motherboards?", "Tags": "|ssd|adapter|", "Answer": "Most motherboards can boot from PCIe based storage, though it's difficult to guarantee it will work on a specific board without trying it.
\nIn reference to you other question, you will not be able to boot from a software Raid. If you want to set up a Raid AND boot from it, you will need to use a hardware raid card like this: highpoint card\nBut these are much more expensive than normal adapters.
\nTypical application is to use a USB drive to boot from and put everything else on a software Raid using the cheaper adapter.
\n" }, { "Id": "15989", "CreationDate": "2022-05-19T21:13:09.133", "Body": "Looking to increase range of cellular internet (while not moving) as much as possible
\nLooking To get 20mbs in remote outdoors where there is a weak (but existing) signal.
\nwhat Robert said in the comment... cell repeater... is close. Look for Cellular Booster. Loaded on amazon, minimum price is around $130 currently. You can spend $500 easily on a good one, and upward of $1000. There's plenty of online articles and reviews and you can buy direct from manufacturer if you prefer... weboost, wilsonamplifiers,
\nThe better ones in my opinion are those with the outdoor antenna being a yagi type of directional antenna; use "network cell info lite" on an android phone and it's map feature to identify which direction the cell tower is and then point the yagi antenna that direction (I know kinda catch 22 needing signal to know where the signal is coming from).
\nThe indoor antenna (i.e. repeater) comes in a few flavors and strengths... one room power, whole house power, small business office coverage, etc. That's where the price goes up.
\nyou said mobile internet. If by that you mean getting cell signal on the go... as you move around in your car, they have mobile cell boosters with an omni directional outdoor antenna (because as you move the location of the cell tower changes you wouldn't have a yagi on your car) and then the indoor repeater antenna is much lower power because all you need to cover is the inside of your car or rv.
\nimportant : know the carrier and band your phone uses, and who you care about getting service for, not all boosters work on all service providers and bands. For example I am verizon and use band 13... in the specific home location where I have weak signal ... boosters that don't explicitly state covers band 13 will not work in my specific scenario. Plenty of times I've seen.... i've got full bars but he doesn't... elsewhere where there is a booster/repeater being used and it's because one person's phone is verizon and the other person is at&t, or sprint, or whoever else, on different bands that the booster does not work on. So be sure to look into those details regarding band and carriers supported by cell boosters, the cheaper ones will be limited in who they boost, the one's that boost everything are $1000+. Use app on your phone (android = network cell info lite) to identify the band of your cell, what band it is serving and if it is 4G, or 3G; 5G currently is iffy don't expect to simply buy a booster and get full bars of 5G.
\n" }, { "Id": "16007", "CreationDate": "2022-05-25T03:11:47.007", "Body": "So I've been playing an FPS game which gets around 70~80fps usually. Upgrading my graphics cards is not an option now, so I'm willing to buy a monitor with 144hz, but I'm not sure if it would make any difference because of the fps I'm getting now. From your experience, would it be worth in terms of gaming performance?
\n", "Title": "Is it worth getting a 144hz monitor when FPS games go only 80fps?", "Tags": "|monitors|performance|", "Answer": "As long as you get the same resolution, nothing will change in performance.
\nThough, if you match your graphics card with the monitor: AMD GPU + monitor with Freesync Premium / NVIDIA GPU + monitor with G-Sync, it can actually make your gameplay seem smoother/more pleasurable to your eyes, in games where your FPS may drop. Thanks to "low frame rate compensation (LFC)", your monitor will adjust its refresh rate to match your frame rate, so no tearing occurs.
\n" }, { "Id": "16013", "CreationDate": "2022-05-31T23:54:29.653", "Body": "My notebook (Dell Precision 5520) has Thunderbolt 3.
Thunderbolt 3 provide 40Gbps (double the speed of Thunderbolt 2).
\nIn terms of video it has\n8 lanes of DisplayPort 1.2 (High Bit RTE 2 (HBR2) and MST).
\nIt should support two 4K 60 Hz displays.\nBut I don't need 4K screens. I need Full HD screens, but I need not 2, but 3 of them.
\nWhen I look at specifications for Docking stations, I see that those of them that provide 3 screens require "HBR3 or Displayport 1.4" or "DP1.4 with DSC"
My question is - will I have a 3 screen docking station working from my Thunderbolt 3?
\nBecause from the bandwidth perspective it sounds like more than enough for 3 FullHD screens.\nAnd 8 lanes of DisplayPort 1.2 should cover 3 screens.
\nBut, maybe there is another reason to request HBR3 or Displayport 1.4 to work with these docking statins?
I bought Dell Thunderbolt Dock (WD19TBS) it worked fine. It allowed me to utilize 3 FullHD displays just fine. It was actually more than FullHD, it was 1920x1200, thus the Thunderbolt-3 can do it.
But there was a catch. My notebook (Dell Precision 5520) can only run 3 displays. So if I use 3 external displays with my docking station, my laptop display is getting turned off.
\nMy notebook (Dell Precision 5520) is not the only one suffering from it. It is a new trend, new laptops these days have kind of 2 video cards. In my case it is Nvidia Quadro M1200 with 4Gb of video memory and Intel HD Graphics 630 with shared memory. Nvidia Quadro M1200 - designed to have no video outputs, it works like a "slave". Intel HD Graphics 630 - is a "master" in this context. So the "master" sends all the heavy calculations to be processed by the "slave" and only displays what is returned by the "slave". Thus, even having 4GB of video memory and "Nvidia Quadro" on board, the overall configurations still limited to the number of screens that the "master" video card can provide.
Lucky we have displaylink on the market, they make chipsets that work like external video cards. For example DL-6950 chipset has 2 outputs, the maximum resolution is 3840x2160 (UHD) if both video outputs are being used. This chip is used to build a number of Adapters. Popular Startech USB32DP24K60 USBA2DPGB and little known ELECABLE
\n" }, { "Id": "16014", "CreationDate": "2022-06-01T04:10:30.087", "Body": "I want to know what is the proper SSD for my Dell Latitude E5550 i7 5th gen., 8GB RAM. Right now I have a HDD and wish to upgrade my computer a little bit. I found the user's manual and the spec sheet online, where the storage options are described (right column of the image). The storage capacity is clear enough, nevertheless, I don't know whether if I can install any SATA SSD, i.e., SATA II or III, or maybe there's a limit related with the SSD speed. What dimensions of SSD are compatible and which will be the best?
\nThanks in advanced.![\"Storage](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fSmXZ.png\")
All 2.5in SSD's should work, and at full speed. I personally love the Crucial MX500, since it's cheap and availible in packeges up to 4TB. I don't reccomend using the 4TB model though, since that may be limited to 2TB if your BIOS does not support GPT.
\n" }, { "Id": "16016", "CreationDate": "2022-06-01T07:50:58.900", "Body": "I have a USB-C female port in my car and my smartphone only has a micro USB connector. Is there any risk to plug my phone in with a micro USB/USB-C adapter?
\nI know that USB-C can deliver up to 100 W of power and I'm not sure if the integrated USB-C device in my car will be "smart" enough to limit the power delivered. I cannot find any information in the car manual neither find a definitive answer on the internet.
\n", "Title": "Micro USB phone into USB-C integrated slot in a car", "Tags": "|usb|usb-c|", "Answer": "It will be safe to use a type-C to micro type-B adapter.
\nThe 100W power delivery that USB-C provides can only be used by another USB-C device. That's because there are extra pins that communicate the power requirements and allow both devices to agree on a power mode.
\nIf those pins aren't connected (like when converting to USB 2.0 or 3.0 Type A/B), then the USB-C port will deliver the standard 5V power over the power pins to remain backwards compatible. There will be no harm to the phone.
\nThis backwards compatibility might provide only 900 mA of current as that's what USB 3.0 specifies. It might be a slower charge than those 12V car outlet chargers can do.
\n" }, { "Id": "16018", "CreationDate": "2022-06-01T19:29:06.073", "Body": "I'm looking for a keyboard that can execute macros stored in onboard memory without installing any drivers or software. It's fine if software is required to set them up, but they need to be used on a computer with very few permissions. Anyone have any recommendations? Trying to keep it under $100 if possible.
\nIf I can make the macro without having to record actual keystrokes, that would be a bonus.
\n", "Title": "Looking for a keyboard that can run macros without installing software", "Tags": "|memory|keyboards|", "Answer": "I think the Sharkoon Skiller SKG5 stores macro's and can run them without Sharkoon software. Although you do need the Sharkoon software to set them up, I think it flashes it to the keyboard, so it can also be used on other computers. It is also avalible in AZERTY and QWERTY layouts.
\nAbout price, I don't know the price now, but when I bought mine, it was \u20ac40.
\n(BTW I cannot test anymore if you can run the macro's without software, the Sharkoon software only runs on Windows and I don't use Windows anymore)
\n" }, { "Id": "16025", "CreationDate": "2022-06-03T18:07:40.030", "Body": "I need to find an inexpensive router that supports DHCP reservation via MAC address.
\nThis is for a production test system for some custom hardware devices that we manufacture. The devices support DHCP and start out with a fixed MAC address. I want to have the router assign a fixed IP address as soon as the device boots up so my test software can ping it to verify that the ethernet port is working. Then, I will disconnect that device and connect another.
\nSo the router needs to support DHCP reservation and be able to sense when the client hardware has been disconnected and a new one reconnected.
\nAnd like
\nDoes anyone have suggestions?
\nThanks.
\n", "Title": "Need inexpensive router that supports DHCP reservation", "Tags": "|router|", "Answer": "I've had good performance out of the Archer series: Archer A7\nThey are cheap, last forever, and they can do DHCP reservations.
\nFor my test systems, I run Open DHCP on my computer, assign it to run on a specific IP address and give that IP address to the port I have connected to the equipment. Then I put reserved addresses in the config file if I want them.
\n" }, { "Id": "16044", "CreationDate": "2022-06-09T11:10:17.453", "Body": "I am looking at buying a cheap-ish 4K monitor to use with my computer as well as an Xbox Series X and a PS5.
\nAs such I need at least 3 inputs. The computer can do Displayport, the two consoles only HDMI.
\nAs such, I need at least the following:
\nLast time I purchased a monitor I ended up with a Philips after two rounds of returning the unit to the store because they kept promising that both the HDMI ports supported 4K @ 60Hz, when in truth only one of them did.
\nThis piece of information is not readily available either, so how can I know what the ports support? Most of the time they just say "supports 4K @ 60Hz, and got 2 HDMI ports", and that included the two monitors I had to return as well as the third I finally got that supported it.
\nSpecifically, I'm looking at this monitor here:
\n\n\n\n
This lists two HDMI ports and the specs also says HDMI version 2, but that's exactly what the two Philips models I had to return did as well, they just silently hid that the 60Hz support was only available on one port.
\nMy fallback plan is to just make it the stores problem, again, by explicitly stating I need a monitor with two HDMI ports with support for 4K @ 60Hz, and then just keep returning it until they give me one that works, but this makes it hard to sort of figure out what kind of budget I need.
\nAny advice would be most welcome.
\n", "Title": "How to know if a 4K monitor with 2x HDMI supports 60Hz on both?", "Tags": "|monitors|", "Answer": "I cannot tell easily from the samsung monitor, but you can also get the LG 27UL550-W (link to Tweakers), which, according to DisplaySpecs has double HDMI 2.0 and DP 1.4. The features and price are similar (both IPS, both 4K 60Hz, both FreeSync, the LG is about \u20ac90 cheaper where I live) so if your shop has both, first try the LG, if it doesn't work, continue blaming the shop if they didn't tell you that it maybe does not have double HDMI 2.0.
\n" }, { "Id": "16065", "CreationDate": "2022-06-17T13:03:07.573", "Body": "Is core i7 10th (10710U) gen 16gb ram with uhd graphics better or core i5 10th (10500H) gen 8gb ram with 4gb GTX 1650 for like pentesting and sone GTA 5 and csgo and call of duty asking for laptops like msi gf63 thin is core i5 and dell xps 13 7390 is i7?
\n", "Title": "i5 with gpu vs i7 without gpu which is better", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|gaming|pc|intel|", "Answer": "Agreed, Discrete GPU will be better for gaming, at least in this case. So its a toss up, either get better cpu with the i7 or better gpu with the i5.
\n" }, { "Id": "16074", "CreationDate": "2022-06-20T04:00:13.370", "Body": "I am looking for a Micro USB to Lightning cable. (i.e. micro USB at one end, Lightning at the other end)
\nAny recommendations? I've checked out Amazon and Best Buy to no avail.
\nRequired in order to hook up this mic to my iPhone.
\nThanks!
\n", "Title": "Looking for a micro USB to lightning cable", "Tags": "|usb|microphones|cable|", "Answer": "From the linked site, in the accessories section, this cable appears to be the match:
\nhttps://apogeedigital.com/shop/2-meter-micro-b-to-lightning-cable-for-mic-plus
\n![\"USB](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/90rax.png\")
Direct paste from link:
\nCompatible with MiC Plus, HypeMiC and Jam Plus\nFor connecting to iPad, iPhone or iPod with Lightning connector\nWhich desktop should I buy for dual booting Ubuntu and Windows? Or running Ubuntu in a virtual machine with windows? I understand that the Mac Pro is a very fast machine but I don't know about what software is available as it is a somewhat closed environment. I do development on Python and R on the Ubuntu platform and office stuff on the Windows. Now I use two computers, but have space for only one.
\n", "Title": "Which desktop should I buy for dual booting Ubuntu and Windows?", "Tags": "|windows|ubuntu|", "Answer": "Go to a website like HP, Dell, or Slimbook and select these components:
\nThis is about the best price to performance for developing on a virtualization platform right now.
\nI would recommend that you use Ubuntu as your main OS and put Windows in a VM. Any linux distro will need to reboot less than windows and will make a better host OS.
\nIf you buy it from Slimbook, you can have them install Ubuntu and add the windows VM yourself later. They will also setup dual boot for you if you choose that option in the OS category. If you purchase from Dell or HP, they will come with Windows installed and you will need to setup the dual boot or VM of Ubuntu yourself.
\nAt this link, you can configure these options for 784\u20ac at the time of posting:
\nI have a small home server for which I want to buy an external drive (SEAGATE BACKUP PLUS HUB 6TB HDD). Without going into details, it is currently the only way to increase the available storage space.
\nIs it healthy for such device to stay plugged in for a long time? More precisely, the data will not be read and written continuously, but at certain intervals (sometimes up to several dozen minutes, sometimes every few hours). For convenience, however, the drive will need to remain plugged into the server via USB all the time.
\n", "Title": "External drive plugged in for long time", "Tags": "|usb|hard-disk|data-storage|", "Answer": "peruse the Western Digital website, last I looked they had various models of 3.5" drives... such as red, blue, green, look specifically for the models that are rated for powered on all the time and choose accordingly for read/write performance and frequency. I only mention WD because what I remember their website presented a model layout that was to the point, I'm sure all the other makers (seagate, toshiba, whoever) have similar model lineups. Whether the disk is internal to a computer tower of external which it really isn't, the disk is still in a case. Any external usb connected disk would operate no different, while always plugged in it would actually be off until you tried to read/write from it and take a couple seconds to spin up.
\n\n\nIs it healthy for such device to stay plugged in for a long time?
\n
yes, especially when your operating system power policy spins the HDD down and or powers it off, same goes for SSD's. My old 3tb hdd's, in my tower, one mounted as D: (data) and E: (bkup) my D: disk is always on when the computer's on but 90% of the time the E: disk is powered off by windows because I never access it until I need to copy something from D: to E: to back it up. The same would/should be the case for your external usb disk given how you mentioned non-continuous read/write needs of it.
\n" }, { "Id": "16092", "CreationDate": "2022-06-25T00:18:10.733", "Body": "just bought the components for my first build:
\nI'm quite unsure of the motherboards power consumption but the GPU and the CPU consume from 512-475 (According to tomshardware the CPU can reach 142 watts) so will this system work fine or not.
\n", "Title": "Is 750 watts enough for a Ryzen 7 5800X and a MSI RTX 3080 gaming Trio Z", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|pc|power-supply|compatibility|", "Answer": "You should be fine with 750watts, I plugged in your parts list in PC part picker and the wattage was about 550 so a 750 is almost 200 watts more(counting in case fans and other peripherals) but if you want o be safe can go up a level to 800-850 watt PSU https://pcpartpicker.com/list/
\n" }, { "Id": "16096", "CreationDate": "2022-06-26T08:10:54.007", "Body": "I'm looking at two graphics card models from Asus:
\nAs you can see, both are RTX 2060 graphics cards. I compared their official specifications and they have exactly same tech specs except following:
\nO6G\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/XqI8V.png\")
6G\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/37LXU.png\")
So, I believe the only difference in both is the clock speeds in Boost and Gaming modes. O6G seems better (if more == better).
\nThe price difference is not huge but O6G is little more expensive.
\nApart from that, my main doubts in choosing one of them are:
\nI've also read here and there that factor OC cards can have little less life as compared to default ones.
\nSo given all my doubts, which would you recommend? Would you still recommend O6G?
\n", "Title": "O6G vs 6G graphics card from same brand", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|pc|cooling|", "Answer": "The O6G is probably better binned silicon by Asus which is tested to be more stable at higher boost clocks. But looking at all your concerns it looks like the 6G is a better fit for your needs, since the difference might not be that great for the money and you want to keep it at stock speeds without tweaking. IMO just go for the 6G, at the very worst, if you wish, you could probably OC it to match the 06G if you ever get comfortable with Ocing. Thats why the 06G was created, for folks who dont want to OC their GPU's
\n" }, { "Id": "16133", "CreationDate": "2022-07-07T11:39:53.043", "Body": "I've long been hunting in all the local stores and online but cannot find a single unit like this, which is baffling to me.
\nI'm talking about some sort of small audio player which consists of only one or two speakers, a volume knob, a power button, a pause/resume button, a "next" and "previous" button, and a memory card slot.
\nI can find ones which have a cassette player, radio, CD, etc., as well as a USB socket, but I don't want those for these reasons:
\nIt should support MP3 and FLAC files. If there is only one "track" (file) on the memory card, it should loop it perpetually.
\nMy purpose of this would be to put on a 30-minute recording of the soundtrack of "Zora's Domain" from the 1998 video game Ocarina of Time to play constantly while I'm in the kitchen as a soothing background sound.
\nI currently have a white noise machine in the kitchen, but sadly it only has a few baked-in sounds that loop and no slot for a memory card (or USB). It eventually gets on my nerves to hear the white noise and such sounds.
\nAlso, in Christmas time, I would replace the Zora's Domain file with some digitized classic Christmas music tracks from my childhood which can play instead.
\nI'm not looking for anything that uses "Bluetooth" or whatever and requires some other device to be "streaming" data to it, or which requires "wifi"/Internet.
\nIs this really such a niche concept that there is no such thing?
\n", "Title": "Is there a minimal, cheap device which just plays sound files from a small memory card?", "Tags": "|audio|music|mp3-player|", "Answer": "You should search for portable bluetooth speakers.\nMost units will include a memory card slot and enable playback of files directly, which should do what you want.
\nIt's unlikely that you'll find a unit that ONLY includes a memory card slot and no bluetooth/radio/usb/etc. There just isn't enough demand to justify "simpler" devices and the extra cost associated with the features is likely minimal.
\nBy doing a quick search for "Bluetooth speaker with memory card slot" on Amazon, I found several speakers that would accomplish what you need for a fairly low cost (around $30USD). No doubt that other vendors or brick-and-mortar stores will also carry a selection.
\nSadly, if you absolutely do not want other features, you'll probably have to learn how to make it yourself or pay someone to do so.
\n" }, { "Id": "16136", "CreationDate": "2022-07-08T01:33:08.123", "Body": "I have a problem with disconnecting DisplayPort cables. Almost all other connection cables are normal, but with dp it is another story. Some dp cables has latches - a locking mechanism. It does not allow you to just pull the cable to unconnect it. You need to press the mechanical button that will release latches.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/q7H0Y.png\")
This was probably designed for "reliability", but that really brings nothing more than problems! This button is hard to press sometimes, and is inconvenient even when you can do it. And there are situations when you just physically cannot press it, leaving you in locked down position.
\nIn my case, I cannot disconnect dp cable before I remove the DVI cable, see picture:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/3Pmgc.jpg\")
I disassembled my cable, and unfortunately, I doubt I could successfully remove that mechanism and then assemble the cable again.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ron36.jpg\")
I know there are cables without latches and I can purchase such to replace mine. But still there are situations when you cannot just replace cable. In my case, the DisplayPort to hdmi adapter also has such latches, and I suffer from this same problem.
\nSo the question is: does such adapter exist that can take a male displayport connector with latches, and output the male displayport but without latches? In other words, can I remove latches by placing adapter and not by modifying the cable itself?
\n", "Title": "Is there an adapter to remove locking latches on DisplayPort male connector?", "Tags": "|display-port|cable|adapter|", "Answer": "I have found the item on AliExpress called "Converter DisplayPort Male to Female". It is for some reason hard to find in search, even when I know the item is in stock, try with the following request: "HD DP Video Converter DP1.4 To DP Female Mini DP Adapter" or "DP-090-A".
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/jRVXk.png\")
You can "disable" latches by using this adapter. And you do not need to break your existing cables.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/EctrB.png\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/sbVBB.jpg\")
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/7BBX4.jpg\")
Note, there is a similar item - dp female to male adapter, that looks like this:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ctQik.png\")
Do not buy it, because it has latches on itself.
\n" }, { "Id": "16160", "CreationDate": "2022-07-23T11:35:28.917", "Body": "(Hey, so i was searching for a (relatively) cheap pair of in ear wireless headphones with decent audio quality, ac doesn\u2019t matter to me. Now i stumbled upon a seemingly good deal on a pair of lg tone headphones but) looking up the difference to other versions, i couldn\u2019t even find official specs for all of them. It\u2018s confusing - it\u2019s nothing complicated, nonetheless some aren\u2019t even listed anywhere besides (trusted) retailer sites. So: what is the difference between all the lg tone (free).. fp 9 8 7 6 5 fn 6 7 5u etc etc ?
\nStuff like:
\nQuality
\nDesign changes
\nRelease date
\nQi charging case
\nThat interesting/funny uv case feature
\n(And if you want, you could maybe note own experiences if some models should be ignored anyways.)
\n", "Title": "LG TONE earbuds - what\u2018s the difference?", "Tags": "|audio|headphones|earphones|", "Answer": "Ok, i somehow found it now:
\nfn4 are pretty much just true wireless headphones without any extras (although some, like me, actually don't like active noise cancelling anyways because many implementations create pressure and hurt your ear even more over time) but still cost more than some others at this point in time.
\nfn5u has active nc and the uv anti bacteria cleaning
\nfn6 is the same but qi charging box instead of active noise cancelling
\nfn7 has all of the above
\nAs it seems there's none which's audio features you can't control via the extra app.
\nThe dfp lineup seems to have more microphones and LG claims them to have better audio. Their shape also seems slightly different to me, although which design is better may be subjective. Furthermore the feature to use one bud as microphone for whispering on phone calls seems exclusive to the dfp line-up and ear caps from some medical material. They still have the uv cleaning btw.
\nBesides that:
\ndfp3 (not even meridian sound if that really makes any difference)
\ndfp5 (ac)
\ndfp8 (ac and qi loading case)
\ndfp9 (no qi but \u201eplug and wireless\u201c)
\nI hope this is a simple helpful list for anyone who wants to buy a pair.
\nAlthough the better ones aren\u2018t really budget products anymore of course.
\n" }, { "Id": "16162", "CreationDate": "2022-07-24T11:10:38.367", "Body": "I would like to build a linux computing cluster (multiple identical PCs connected via high speed networking so that they behave, for scientific calculations, like a single big "PC", with almost the entire computing power of the combined PCs, summed up). I would like to go from the start with SFP+ but I have no idea what specs should such switch meet and if any of those bellow are ok for this task:
\nNow, I know there are better alternatives, but buying from ebay/amazon is not the route, for the moment (I have no idea how much the international/custom taxes will be and the postal service, from my country, has the bad habit of loosing packages).
\nTA
\nR
\n\n\n
\n- Would any of these work for me?
\n
The CRS317-1G-16S+RM and TL-SX3016F definitely will, and they both have good support.
\n\n\n\n
\n- Which one of the above you would recommend? And why?
\n
I use the CRS317-1G-16S+RM with a number of 10G SFP+'s. I'm very happy. Well other than Mikrotik's command line interface is so much more difficult to understand than Cisco's. I've never tried the TP-Link cli.
\nI'd go Mikrotik over TP-Link due to cost.
\n\n\n\n
\n- Which one has the ability to transfer as much data as possible, but\nalso being configurable from Linux?
\n
The Mikrotik wins by a hair on data, but those values are best case scenario. You wouldn't know which is best in your environment unless you tried both. Even then, you likely couldn't notice without precise measurement.
\nMikrotik 239.5833 Mpps\nTP-LINK 238.08 Mpps\nLinux is simple, both support ssh connections to management.
\n" }, { "Id": "16164", "CreationDate": "2022-07-25T15:11:47.553", "Body": "I am struggling to understand USB type-C specifications in terms of power supply,
\ntook me a lot to figure out about USB data bandwidth but now that type-C is used to charge
\nmobiles need to learn more.
\nQuestion seems simple to me, hope so. I need a fast charging USB adapter and looking
\nonline I found out one that says super-speed and has a detachable USB type-A male to type-C male cable, nobody lists the tech specs clearly, but as far as I undestand a type-C to type-C cable could carry a lot of power, while a\ncable type-A male to type-c male could do less. So what is the max Volt/current/Wattage of USB cable type-A male to type-C male ?
\nThis is a picture of what I call a USB cable type-A male to type-C male, just to be sure I am getting it right.![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ePoE8.jpg\")
I am editing the post because of the first answer and what it states:
\nso why I am getting this kind of specs for the usb charger with female type A plug ? reads 5V 9V or 12V :
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fPIpo.png\")
Charging is quite simple. It depends on the maximum current in Amperes(Amps) that the cable can carry. The maximum Amps that any USB charge cable needs to carry is 5 Amps (5A). As long as it can carry truly carry this much current without overheating, and the wires are wired correctly on to the connectors you should be fine in any use scenario. The voltages don't matter and the wattages don't matter with regards to the charging cable. The only other thing to note with regards to unprotected cables without the emarker chips, resistors etc. are that as long as you are using the correct charger (for that particular device - does not have to be the original one, just one that is truly compatible with it-even third-party ones) it should work out fine.
\n" }, { "Id": "16177", "CreationDate": "2022-08-03T07:28:18.307", "Body": "As you know RTX 2060 was relaunched with 12GB VRAM and other changes like more cuda cores but less bandwidth.
\nI checked performance of both on various benchmarking websites and they are more or less same for 1080p gaming. I'm interested in buying the 12GB version for following two personal conclusions:
\n12GB is obviously a lot more than 6GB. Even if this card is basically similar as old one in terms of other specifications, it's still better than 6GB memory, by some percentage. For example, it might not be powerful enough for 12GB, but maybe its performance won't degrade upto 7GB or even 8GB.
\nIt might perform better in non gaming tasks like video editing and basic 3D modelling, irrespective of similar specifications apart from VRAM.
\nNow the other thing is, when it was relaunched, it was criticized by almost everyone. Mainly for its price. And many people say it isn't even powerful enough for 12GB so it's a scam. I'm not sure how true is it especially the "powerful enough" thing.
\nI really don't think pricing is factor now because the pricing has become much better today, the only concern remains about the performance. Not sure if I am going to see any benefit of 12GB at present or near future.
\nI can't afford a display greater than 1080p in near future. And I have no plans either. But I think that maybe in next 2-3 years games might need a little more than 6GB for 1080p gaming. So I'm not sure if I should invest in 12GB or 6GB. The price different isn't that big.
\nLike I said, right now their performance benchmarks are more or less same. But if this 12GB makes the card a little more better as compared to 6GB variant in near future, especially in gaming, I would prefer the 12GB one.
\nSo which one do you recommend?
\n", "Title": "RTX 2060 6GB vs RTX 2060 12GB in near future", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|gaming|video-editing|nvidia|", "Answer": "Definitely go with the 12GB variety, always err on the side of more VRAM rather than less. I was looking up Forza Horizon5 VRAM allocation, at 1080p extreme settings it uses almost 8GB as per KitGuru
\n" }, { "Id": "16190", "CreationDate": "2022-08-08T07:47:28.353", "Body": "I am upgrading a 2005 built computer running Windows XP (I know!).
\nI can not determine two things:
\nSystem: Host: linux Kernel: 5.4.53 x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.3.0 Desktop: JWM 2.4.0 dm: xinit \nMachine: Type: Desktop Mobo: N/A model: nForce serial: N/A BIOS: Phoenix v: 6.00 PG date: 09/13/2003 \nCPU: Topology: Single Core model: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ bits: 64 type: UP arch: K8 rev: 8 L1 cache: 128 KiB \n L2 cache: 1024 KiB \n flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 bogomips: 3989 \n Speed: 2000 MHz min/max: 800/2000 MHz Core speed (MHz): 1: 2000 \nGraphics: Device-1: NVIDIA NV43 [GeForce 6600 GT] vendor: eVga.com. driver: nouveau v: kernel bus ID: 02:00.0 \n chip ID: 10de:00f1 \n Display: server: X.Org 1.20.8 driver: nouveau compositor: picom resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz \n OpenGL: renderer: NV43 v: 2.1 Mesa 20.0.8 direct render: Yes \nAudio: Device-1: NVIDIA nForce3 Audio vendor: Biostar Microtech Intl Corp driver: snd_intel8x0 v: kernel bus ID: 00:06.0 \n chip ID: 10de:00da \n Device-2: Creative Labs EMU10k2/CA0100/CA0102/CA10200 [Sound Blaster Audigy Series] driver: snd_emu10k1 v: kernel \n bus ID: 01:08.0 chip ID: 1102:0004 \n Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.53 \nNetwork: Device-1: Realtek RTL8169 PCI Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Biostar Microtech Intl Corp driver: r8169 v: kernel \n port: c800 bus ID: 01:0d.0 chip ID: 10ec:8169 \n IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: 00:e0:4c:b8:5b:fd \nDrives: Local Storage: total: 373.93 GiB used: 571.5 MiB (0.1%) \n ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD2500JB-00REA0 size: 232.89 GiB speed: <unknown> \n serial: WD-WMANK5912436 rev: 0K20 scheme: MBR \n ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Seagate model: ST3120022A size: 111.79 GiB speed: <unknown> serial: 5JT113FM rev: 3.06 \n ID-3: /dev/sdc type: USB vendor: SanDisk model: Cruzer Blade size: 29.25 GiB serial: 4C531001570928117361 rev: 1.00 \n scheme: MBR \nRAID: Hardware-1: VIA VIA VT6420 SATA RAID Controller driver: sata_via v: 2.6 port: b000 bus ID: 01:0c.0 \n chip ID: 1106.3149 rev: 50 \nSensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 60.0 C mobo: N/A \n Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A \nInfo: Processes: 109 Uptime: 35m Memory: 985.2 MiB used: 270.9 MiB (27.5%) Init: SysVinit v: N/A runlevel: 35 Compilers: \n gcc: 9.3.0 alt: 9 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17 running in: urxvt inxi: 3.0.38 \n\nlshw\n description: Desktop Computer\n width: 64 bits\n capabilities: smbios-2.3 dmi-2.3 vsyscall32\n configuration: boot=normal chassis=desktop\n *-core\n description: Motherboard\n product: nForce\n physical id: 0\n *-firmware\n description: BIOS\n vendor: Phoenix Technologies, LTD\n physical id: 0\n version: 6.00 PG\n date: 09/13/2003\n size: 128KiB\n capacity: 512KiB\n capabilities: isa pci pnp apm upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect socketedrom edd int13floppy360 int13floppy1200 int13floppy720 int13floppy2880 int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer int10video acpi usb agp ls120boot zipboot\n *-cpu\n description: CPU\n product: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+\n vendor: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD]\n physical id: 4\n bus info: cpu@0\n version: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+\n slot: Socket A\n size: 2GHz\n capacity: 2GHz\n width: 64 bits\n clock: 201MHz\n capabilities: fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 syscall nx mmxext x86-64 3dnowext 3dnow rep_good nopl cpuid 3dnowprefetch vmmcall cpufreq\n *-cache:0\n description: L1 cache\n physical id: 8\n slot: Internal Cache\n size: 128KiB\n capacity: 128KiB\n capabilities: synchronous internal write-back\n configuration: level=1\n *-cache:1\n description: L2 cache\n physical id: 9\n slot: External Cache\n size: 1MiB\n capacity: 1MiB\n capabilities: synchronous internal write-back\n configuration: level=2\n *-memory\n description: System Memory\n physical id: 1a\n slot: System board or motherboard\n size: 2GiB\n *-bank:0\n description: DIMM\n product: None\n vendor: None\n physical id: 0\n serial: None\n slot: A0\n size: 1GiB\n *-bank:1\n description: DIMM\n product: None\n vendor: None\n physical id: 1\n serial: None\n slot: A1\n size: 1GiB\n *-pci:0\n description: Host bridge\n product: nForce3 Host Bridge\n vendor: NVIDIA Corporation\n physical id: 100\n bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0\n version: a4\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n configuration: driver=agpgart-amd64\n resources: irq:0 memory:e0000000-e7ffffff\n *-isa\n description: ISA bridge\n product: nForce3 LPC Bridge\n vendor: NVIDIA Corporation\n physical id: 1\n bus info: pci@0000:00:01.0\n version: a6\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n capabilities: isa bus_master\n configuration: latency=0\n *-serial\n description: SMBus\n product: nForce3 SMBus\n vendor: NVIDIA Corporation\n physical id: 1.1\n bus info: pci@0000:00:01.1\n version: a4\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n capabilities: pm cap_list\n configuration: driver=nForce2_smbus latency=0 maxlatency=1 mingnt=3\n resources: irq:5 ioport:4c00(size=64) ioport:4c40(size=64)\n *-usb:0\n description: USB controller\n product: nForce3 USB 1.1\n vendor: NVIDIA Corporation\n physical id: 2\n bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0\n version: a5\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n capabilities: pm ohci bus_master cap_list\n configuration: driver=ohci-pci latency=0 maxlatency=1 mingnt=3\n resources: irq:22 memory:ed003000-ed003fff\n *-usb:1\n description: USB controller\n product: nForce3 USB 1.1\n vendor: NVIDIA Corporation\n physical id: 2.1\n bus info: pci@0000:00:02.1\n version: a5\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n capabilities: pm ohci bus_master cap_list\n configuration: driver=ohci-pci latency=0 maxlatency=1 mingnt=3\n resources: irq:21 memory:ed004000-ed004fff\n *-usb:2\n description: USB controller\n product: nForce3 USB 2.0\n vendor: NVIDIA Corporation\n physical id: 2.2\n bus info: pci@0000:00:02.2\n version: a2\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n capabilities: debug pm ehci bus_master cap_list\n configuration: driver=ehci-pci latency=0 maxlatency=1 mingnt=3\n resources: irq:20 memory:ed005000-ed0050ff\n *-multimedia\n description: Multimedia audio controller\n product: nForce3 Audio\n vendor: NVIDIA Corporation\n physical id: 6\n bus info: pci@0000:00:06.0\n version: a2\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list\n configuration: driver=snd_intel8x0 latency=0 maxlatency=5 mingnt=2\n resources: irq:22 ioport:d800(size=256) ioport:dc00(size=128) memory:ed001000-ed001fff\n *-ide\n description: IDE interface\n product: nForce3 IDE\n vendor: NVIDIA Corporation\n physical id: 8\n bus info: pci@0000:00:08.0\n version: a5\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n capabilities: ide pm isa_compat_mode pci_native_mode bus_master cap_list\n configuration: driver=pata_amd latency=0 maxlatency=1 mingnt=3\n resources: irq:0 ioport:1f0(size=8) ioport:3f6 ioport:170(size=8) ioport:376 ioport:f000(size=16)\n *-pci:0\n description: PCI bridge\n product: nForce3 PCI Bridge\n vendor: NVIDIA Corporation\n physical id: a\n bus info: pci@0000:00:0a.0\n version: a2\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n capabilities: pci normal_decode bus_master\n resources: ioport:9000(size=16384) memory:eb000000-ecffffff memory:40000000-400fffff\n *-multimedia\n description: Multimedia audio controller\n product: EMU10k2/CA0100/CA0102/CA10200 [Sound Blaster Audigy Series]\n vendor: Creative Labs\n physical id: 8\n bus info: pci@0000:01:08.0\n version: 03\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 33MHz\n capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list\n configuration: driver=snd_emu10k1 latency=32 maxlatency=20 mingnt=2\n resources: irq:16 ioport:9000(size=32)\n *-input\n description: Input device controller\n product: SB Audigy Game Port\n vendor: Creative Labs\n physical id: 8.1\n bus info: pci@0000:01:08.1\n version: 03\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 33MHz\n capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list\n configuration: driver=Emu10k1_gameport latency=32\n resources: irq:0 ioport:9400(size=8)\n *-firewire:0\n description: FireWire (IEEE 1394)\n product: SB Audigy FireWire Port\n vendor: Creative Labs\n physical id: 8.2\n bus info: pci@0000:01:08.2\n version: 00\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 33MHz\n capabilities: pm ohci bus_master cap_list\n configuration: driver=firewire_ohci latency=32 maxlatency=4 mingnt=2\n resources: irq:17 memory:ec005000-ec0057ff memory:ec000000-ec003fff\n *-firewire:1\n description: FireWire (IEEE 1394)\n product: VT6306/7/8 [Fire II(M)] IEEE 1394 OHCI Controller\n vendor: VIA Technologies, Inc.\n physical id: b\n bus info: pci@0000:01:0b.0\n version: 80\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 33MHz\n capabilities: pm ohci bus_master cap_list\n configuration: driver=firewire_ohci latency=32 maxlatency=32\n resources: irq:19 memory:ec004000-ec0047ff ioport:9800(size=128)\n *-raid\n description: RAID bus controller\n product: VIA VT6420 SATA RAID Controller\n vendor: VIA Technologies, Inc.\n physical id: c\n bus info: pci@0000:01:0c.0\n version: 50\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 33MHz\n capabilities: raid pm bus_master cap_list rom\n configuration: driver=sata_via latency=32\n resources: irq:16 ioport:9c00(size=8) ioport:a000(size=4) ioport:a400(size=8) ioport:a800(size=4) ioport:ac00(size=16) ioport:b000(size=256) memory:40000000-4000ffff\n *-network\n description: Ethernet interface\n product: RTL8169 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller\n vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.\n physical id: d\n bus info: pci@0000:01:0d.0\n logical name: eth0\n version: 10\n serial: 00:e0:4c:b8:5b:fd\n size: 1Gbit/s\n capacity: 1Gbit/s\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list rom ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt 1000bt-fd autonegotiation\n configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 duplex=full ip=47.18.1.25 latency=64 link=yes maxlatency=64 mingnt=32 multicast=yes port=MII speed=1Gbit/s\n resources: irq:17 ioport:c800(size=256) memory:ec006000-ec0060ff memory:40010000-4001ffff\n *-pci:1\n description: PCI bridge\n product: nForce3 AGP Bridge\n vendor: NVIDIA Corporation\n physical id: b\n bus info: pci@0000:00:0b.0\n version: a4\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n capabilities: pci normal_decode bus_master\n resources: memory:e8000000-eaffffff memory:d0000000-dfffffff\n *-display\n description: VGA compatible controller\n product: NV43 [GeForce 6600 GT]\n vendor: NVIDIA Corporation\n physical id: 0\n bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0\n version: a2\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 66MHz\n capabilities: pm agp agp-3.0 vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom\n configuration: driver=nouveau latency=32 maxlatency=1 mingnt=5\n resources: irq:16 memory:e8000000-e8ffffff memory:d0000000-dfffffff memory:e9000000-e9ffffff memory:c0000-dffff\n *-pci:1\n description: Host bridge\n product: K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration\n vendor: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD]\n physical id: 101\n bus info: pci@0000:00:18.0\n version: 00\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 33MHz\n *-pci:2\n description: Host bridge\n product: K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map\n vendor: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD]\n physical id: 102\n bus info: pci@0000:00:18.1\n version: 00\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 33MHz\n *-pci:3\n description: Host bridge\n product: K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller\n vendor: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD]\n physical id: 103\n bus info: pci@0000:00:18.2\n version: 00\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 33MHz\n *-pci:4\n description: Host bridge\n product: K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control\n vendor: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD]\n physical id: 104\n bus info: pci@0000:00:18.3\n version: 00\n width: 32 bits\n clock: 33MHz\n configuration: driver=k8temp\n resources: irq:0\n *-pnp00:00\n product: PnP device PNP0c02\n physical id: 1\n capabilities: pnp\n configuration: driver=system\n *-pnp00:01\n product: PnP device PNP0c01\n physical id: 2\n capabilities: pnp\n configuration: driver=system\n *-pnp00:02\n product: PnP device PNP0c02\n physical id: 3\n capabilities: pnp\n configuration: driver=system\n *-pnp00:03\n product: PnP device PNP0b00\n physical id: 5\n capabilities: pnp\n configuration: driver=rtc_cmos\n *-pnp00:04\n product: PnP device PNP0700\n physical id: 6\n capabilities: pnp\n *-pnp00:05\n product: PnP device PNP0501\n physical id: 7\n capabilities: pnp\n configuration: driver=serial\n *-pnp00:06\n product: PnP device PNP0501\n physical id: 8\n capabilities: pnp\n configuration: driver=serial\n *-pnp00:07\n product: PnP device PNP0400\n physical id: 9\n capabilities: pnp\n configuration: driver=parport_pc\n *-pnp00:08\n product: PnP device PNPb006\n physical id: a\n capabilities: pnp\n configuration: driver=mpu401\n *-pnp00:09\n product: PnP device PNPb02f\n physical id: b\n capabilities: pnp\n configuration: driver=ns558\n *-scsi\n physical id: 1\n bus info: scsi@4\n logical name: scsi4\n capabilities: scsi-host\n configuration: driver=usb-storage\n\n# dmidecode 3.2\nGetting SMBIOS data from sysfs.\nSMBIOS 2.3 present.\n34 structures occupying 938 bytes.\nTable at 0x000F0000.\n\nHandle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 20 bytes\nBIOS Information\n Vendor: Phoenix Technologies, LTD\n Version: 6.00 PG\n Release Date: 09/13/2003\n Address: 0xE0000\n Runtime Size: 128 kB\n ROM Size: 512 kB\n Characteristics:\n ISA is supported\n PCI is supported\n PNP is supported\n APM is supported\n BIOS is upgradeable\n BIOS shadowing is allowed\n Boot from CD is supported\n Selectable boot is supported\n BIOS ROM is socketed\n EDD is supported\n 5.25"/360 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h)\n 5.25"/1.2 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)\n 3.5"/720 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h)\n 3.5"/2.88 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)\n Print screen service is supported (int 5h)\n 8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)\n Serial services are supported (int 14h)\n Printer services are supported (int 17h)\n CGA/mono video services are supported (int 10h)\n ACPI is supported\n USB legacy is supported\n AGP is supported\n LS-120 boot is supported\n ATAPI Zip drive boot is supported\n\nHandle 0x0001, DMI type 1, 25 bytes\nSystem Information\n Manufacturer: \n Product Name: \n Version: \n Serial Number: \n UUID: Not Present\n Wake-up Type: Power Switch\n\nHandle 0x0002, DMI type 2, 8 bytes\nBase Board Information\n Manufacturer: \n Product Name: nForce\n Version: \n Serial Number: \n\nHandle 0x0003, DMI type 3, 17 bytes\nChassis Information\n Manufacturer: \n Type: Desktop\n Lock: Not Present\n Version: \n Serial Number: \n Asset Tag: \n Boot-up State: Unknown\n Power Supply State: Unknown\n Thermal State: Unknown\n Security Status: Unknown\n OEM Information: 0x00000000\n\nHandle 0x0004, DMI type 4, 35 bytes\nProcessor Information\n Socket Designation: Socket A\n Type: Central Processor\n Family: Duron\n Manufacturer: AMD\n ID: 48 0F 00 00 FF FB 8B 07\n Signature: Family 15, Model 4, Stepping 8\n Flags:\n FPU (Floating-point unit on-chip)\n VME (Virtual mode extension)\n DE (Debugging extension)\n PSE (Page size extension)\n TSC (Time stamp counter)\n MSR (Model specific registers)\n PAE (Physical address extension)\n MCE (Machine check exception)\n CX8 (CMPXCHG8 instruction supported)\n APIC (On-chip APIC hardware supported)\n SEP (Fast system call)\n MTRR (Memory type range registers)\n PGE (Page global enable)\n MCA (Machine check architecture)\n CMOV (Conditional move instruction supported)\n PAT (Page attribute table)\n PSE-36 (36-bit page size extension)\n CLFSH (CLFLUSH instruction supported)\n MMX (MMX technology supported)\n FXSR (FXSAVE and FXSTOR instructions supported)\n SSE (Streaming SIMD extensions)\n SSE2 (Streaming SIMD extensions 2)\n Version: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+\n Voltage: 1.4 V\n External Clock: 201 MHz\n Max Speed: 500 MHz\n Current Speed: 2010 MHz\n Status: Populated, Enabled\n Upgrade: ZIF Socket\n L1 Cache Handle: 0x0008\n L2 Cache Handle: 0x0009\n L3 Cache Handle: Not Provided\n Serial Number: \n Asset Tag: \n Part Number: \n\nHandle 0x0005, DMI type 5, 20 bytes\nMemory Controller Information\n Error Detecting Method: 8-bit Parity\n Error Correcting Capabilities:\n None\n Supported Interleave: One-way Interleave\n Current Interleave: One-way Interleave\n Maximum Memory Module Size: 32 MB\n Maximum Total Memory Size: 64 MB\n Supported Speeds:\n 70 ns\n 60 ns\n Supported Memory Types:\n Standard\n EDO\n Memory Module Voltage: 5.0 V\n Associated Memory Slots: 2\n 0x0006\n 0x0007\n Enabled Error Correcting Capabilities: None\n\nHandle 0x0006, DMI type 6, 12 bytes\nMemory Module Information\n Socket Designation: A0\n Bank Connections: 0 1\n Current Speed: 10 ns\n Type: Other\n Installed Size: 512 MB (Double-bank Connection)\n Enabled Size: 512 MB (Double-bank Connection)\n Error Status: OK\n\nHandle 0x0007, DMI type 6, 12 bytes\nMemory Module Information\n Socket Designation: A1\n Bank Connections: 2 3\n Current Speed: 10 ns\n Type: Other\n Installed Size: 512 MB (Double-bank Connection)\n Enabled Size: 512 MB (Double-bank Connection)\n Error Status: OK\n\nHandle 0x0008, DMI type 7, 19 bytes\nCache Information\n Socket Designation: Internal Cache\n Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 1\n Operational Mode: Write Back\n Location: Internal\n Installed Size: 128 kB\n Maximum Size: 128 kB\n Supported SRAM Types:\n Synchronous\n Installed SRAM Type: Synchronous\n Speed: Unknown\n Error Correction Type: Unknown\n System Type: Unknown\n Associativity: Unknown\n\nHandle 0x0009, DMI type 7, 19 bytes\nCache Information\n Socket Designation: External Cache\n Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 2\n Operational Mode: Write Back\n Location: Internal\n Installed Size: 1024 kB\n Maximum Size: 1024 kB\n Supported SRAM Types:\n Synchronous\n Installed SRAM Type: Synchronous\n Speed: Unknown\n Error Correction Type: Unknown\n System Type: Unknown\n Associativity: Unknown\n\nHandle 0x000A, DMI type 8, 9 bytes\nPort Connector Information\n Internal Reference Designator: PRIMARY IDE\n Internal Connector Type: On Board IDE\n External Reference Designator: Not Specified\n External Connector Type: None\n Port Type: Other\n\nHandle 0x000B, DMI type 8, 9 bytes\nPort Connector Information\n Internal Reference Designator: SECONDARY IDE\n Internal Connector Type: On Board IDE\n External Reference Designator: Not Specified\n External Connector Type: None\n Port Type: Other\n\nHandle 0x000C, DMI type 8, 9 bytes\nPort Connector Information\n Internal Reference Designator: FDD\n Internal Connector Type: On Board Floppy\n External Reference Designator: Not Specified\n External Connector Type: None\n Port Type: 8251 FIFO Compatible\n\nHandle 0x000D, DMI type 8, 9 bytes\nPort Connector Information\n Internal Reference Designator: COM1\n Internal Connector Type: 9 Pin Dual Inline (pin 10 cut)\n External Reference Designator: \n External Connector Type: DB-9 male\n Port Type: Serial Port 16450 Compatible\n\nHandle 0x000E, DMI type 8, 9 bytes\nPort Connector Information\n Internal Reference Designator: COM2\n Internal Connector Type: 9 Pin Dual Inline (pin 10 cut)\n External Reference Designator: \n External Connector Type: DB-9 male\n Port Type: Serial Port 16450 Compatible\n\nHandle 0x000F, DMI type 8, 9 bytes\nPort Connector Information\n Internal Reference Designator: LPT1\n Internal Connector Type: DB-25 female\n External Reference Designator: \n External Connector Type: DB-25 female\n Port Type: Parallel Port ECP/EPP\n\nHandle 0x0010, DMI type 8, 9 bytes\nPort Connector Information\n Internal Reference Designator: Keyboard\n Internal Connector Type: PS/2\n External Reference Designator: \n External Connector Type: PS/2\n Port Type: Keyboard Port\n\nHandle 0x0011, DMI type 8, 9 bytes\nPort Connector Information\n Internal Reference Designator: PS/2 Mouse\n Internal Connector Type: PS/2\n External Reference Designator: \n External Connector Type: PS/2\n Port Type: Mouse Port\n\nHandle 0x0012, DMI type 8, 9 bytes\nPort Connector Information\n Internal Reference Designator: Not Specified\n Internal Connector Type: None\n External Reference Designator: USB0\n External Connector Type: Other\n Port Type: USB\n\nHandle 0x0013, DMI type 9, 13 bytes\nSystem Slot Information\n Designation: PCI0\n Type: 32-bit PCI\n Current Usage: Available\n Length: Long\n ID: 1\n Characteristics:\n 5.0 V is provided\n PME signal is supported\n\nHandle 0x0014, DMI type 9, 13 bytes\nSystem Slot Information\n Designation: PCI1\n Type: 32-bit PCI\n Current Usage: Available\n Length: Long\n ID: 2\n Characteristics:\n 5.0 V is provided\n PME signal is supported\n\nHandle 0x0015, DMI type 9, 13 bytes\nSystem Slot Information\n Designation: PCI2\n Type: 32-bit PCI\n Current Usage: In Use\n Length: Long\n ID: 3\n Characteristics:\n 5.0 V is provided\n PME signal is supported\n\nHandle 0x0016, DMI type 9, 13 bytes\nSystem Slot Information\n Designation: PCI3\n Type: 32-bit PCI\n Current Usage: Available\n Length: Long\n ID: 4\n Characteristics:\n 5.0 V is provided\n PME signal is supported\n\nHandle 0x0017, DMI type 9, 13 bytes\nSystem Slot Information\n Designation: PCI4\n Type: 32-bit PCI\n Current Usage: Available\n Length: Long\n ID: 5\n Characteristics:\n 5.0 V is provided\n PME signal is supported\n\nHandle 0x0018, DMI type 9, 13 bytes\nSystem Slot Information\n Designation: AGP\n Type: 32-bit AGP\n Current Usage: In Use\n Length: Long\n ID: 88\n Characteristics:\n 5.0 V is provided\n\nHandle 0x0019, DMI type 13, 22 bytes\nBIOS Language Information\n Language Description Format: Long\n Installable Languages: 3\n n|US|iso8859-1\n n|US|iso8859-1\n r|CA|iso8859-1\n Currently Installed Language: n|US|iso8859-1\n\nHandle 0x001A, DMI type 16, 15 bytes\nPhysical Memory Array\n Location: System Board Or Motherboard\n Use: System Memory\n Error Correction Type: None\n Maximum Capacity: 1 GB\n Error Information Handle: Not Provided\n Number Of Devices: 2\n\nHandle 0x001B, DMI type 17, 27 bytes\nMemory Device\n Array Handle: 0x001A\n Error Information Handle: Not Provided\n Total Width: Unknown\n Data Width: Unknown\n Size: 1024 MB\n Form Factor: DIMM\n Set: None\n Locator: A0\n Bank Locator: Bank0/1\n Type: Unknown\n Type Detail: None\n Speed: Unknown\n Manufacturer: None\n Serial Number: None\n Asset Tag: None\n Part Number: None\n\nHandle 0x001C, DMI type 17, 27 bytes\nMemory Device\n Array Handle: 0x001A\n Error Information Handle: Not Provided\n Total Width: Unknown\n Data Width: Unknown\n Size: 1024 MB\n Form Factor: DIMM\n Set: None\n Locator: A1\n Bank Locator: Bank2/3\n Type: Unknown\n Type Detail: None\n Speed: Unknown\n Manufacturer: None\n Serial Number: None\n Asset Tag: None\n Part Number: None\n\nHandle 0x001D, DMI type 19, 15 bytes\nMemory Array Mapped Address\n Starting Address: 0x00000000000\n Ending Address: 0x0007FFFFFFF\n Range Size: 2 GB\n Physical Array Handle: 0x001A\n Partition Width: 1\n\nHandle 0x001E, DMI type 20, 19 bytes\nMemory Device Mapped Address\n Starting Address: 0x00000000000\n Ending Address: 0x0003FFFFFFF\n Range Size: 1 GB\n Physical Device Handle: 0x001B\n Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x001D\n Partition Row Position: 1\n\nHandle 0x001F, DMI type 20, 19 bytes\nMemory Device Mapped Address\n Starting Address: 0x00040000000\n Ending Address: 0x0007FFFFFFF\n Range Size: 1 GB\n Physical Device Handle: 0x001C\n Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x001D\n Partition Row Position: 1\n\nHandle 0x0020, DMI type 32, 11 bytes\nSystem Boot Information\n Status: No errors detected\n\nHandle 0x0021, DMI type 127, 4 bytes\nEnd Of Table\nIdea # 1
\nCPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($278.95 @ Amazon) \nCPU Cooler: *Noctua NH-L9i-17xx chromax.black 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler ($54.95 @ Amazon) \n OR Noctua NH-L9x65 33.84 CFM CPU Cooler @ $59.85\n OR Noctua NH-L9x65\nMotherboard: MSI MPG Z690 CARBON WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($349.99 @ Amazon) \nMemory: Kingston FURY Beast 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR5-5200 CL40 Memory ($56.37 @ Amazon) \nMemory: Kingston FURY Beast 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR5-5200 CL40 Memory ($56.37 @ Amazon) \nStorage: Samsung 980 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon) \nStorage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 8 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon) \nVideo Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1650 G6 4 GB D6 VENTUS XS OC Video Card \nOperating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 32/64-bit ($269.99 @ Amazon) \nTotal: $1251.60\nIdea 2:
\nCPU: Intel Core i3-12100F 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($121.00 @ Amazon) \nCPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S redux 70.75 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.95 @ Amazon) \nMotherboard: ASRock B660 Pro RS ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($127.98 @ Amazon) \nMemory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($56.99 @ Amazon) \nStorage: Samsung 980 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon) \nStorage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 8 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon) \nVideo Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1650 G6 4 GB D6 VENTUS XS OC Video Card \nPower Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 650 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Amazon) \nOperating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 32/64-bit ($229.99 @ Amazon) \nTotal: $860.88\nOpen for more ideas!
\n", "Title": "Old PC Upgrade Recommendations", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "I went for Processor and Mobo combo which isn't 100% upgrade friendly but allows me to save about $200 and I am not planning to keep upgrading this build to newest and latest. I also picked open box power supply in favor of better quality and keeping my final price low. Video card is not the top off line but, it has just enough cores for my light video editing.
\nPros:
\nCons:
\nSpecs:
\nCPU: Intel Core i7-11700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor\nCPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55 CFM CPU Cooler\nMotherboard: Asus Prime Z590-P WiFi ATX LGA1200 Motherboard\nMemory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory\nMemory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory\nStorage: Samsung 980 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive\nStorage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 8 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive \nVideo Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB Phoenix Video Card\nPower Supply: PowerSpec PS 750BSM 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply\n\nTotal: $889.80\nI need to upgrade Asus X455LDB disk, what would you suggest, considering following requirements for the SSD
\nby the way,Is there any difference in life time or performance in 256GB and 512GB?
\n", "Title": "SSD upgrade of Asus X455LDB", "Tags": "|hard-disk|ssd|", "Answer": "Crucial MX500 500GB
\nThis is about the best SATA SSD series that I know of, they are not very expensive and are availible from 1/4 TB to 4TB. With your budget, 500GB is probably the best option.
\nI'm getting a little off-topic here, but if you want to transfer your files, I reccommend booting from an Ubuntu live ISO (on a USB stick or DVD) and using dd to transfer your files, and Disks to resize the partition so your OS (Linux, Hackintosh or Windows) sees the extra free space. (and for the diamond mods, I include this so there is not an off-topic question about transferring your OS that I have to close)
\nAbout the durability, the larger the SSD, generally it can also be used longer, because you can write more to it since you have more NAND cells you can write to. Although each NAND cell can only be written to about 360 times, with a larger SSD you have more of them so they wear down less quickly (or you write more to your SSD, but don't do that too much)
\n" }, { "Id": "16222", "CreationDate": "2022-08-22T11:23:07.237", "Body": "Is this monitor Dell p1913 suitable for coding as the second monitor?
\nIt has 1440x900 high resolution.
\nI already have an Acer monitor 27",
\nI was looking for the second monitor for practising coding in Python for online courses on statistics?
\nCould anyone give me an advice? Thanks.
\n", "Title": "Is this monitor Dell p1913 suitable for coding as the second monitor?", "Tags": "|multiple-monitors|", "Answer": "Yes it is suitable as a second monitor. Not as primary monitor though since the resolution is too low.
\n" }, { "Id": "16223", "CreationDate": "2022-08-22T11:50:50.980", "Body": "Because Raspberry Pi's are hard to get nowadays, I'm looking for an alternative single board computer.
\nI've seen several sites that list all kinds of alternatives, but those websites don't talk about the thing that is most important for me: software compatibility.
\nIdeally, I want to be able to pull an SD card out of a Raspberry Pi, put it in the alternative SBC and turn it on. But maybe that's too much to ask. It would already be very nice if I can add a few drivers to my Raspberry Pi OS installation and then be able move the SD card between the Raspberry Pi and the other SBC back and forth.
\nWhat single board computer is the most compatible with Raspberry Pi?
\n", "Title": "Software compatible alternative to Raspberry Pi", "Tags": "|raspberry-pi|sbc|", "Answer": "RockPi are widely in stock, better performing single board computers. They do generally support most RPi Hats, with exceptions suck as PoE Hats.
\nThey do cost more than RPi 4, but have generally better and faster hardware.
\nThe RockPi has an RK3399 SoC arm64 CPU, roughly 50% faster to twice as fast as RPi4/3 and is binary compatible for applications. RockPi will not run Rasperberry Pi OS, but have many more options.
\n" }, { "Id": "16242", "CreationDate": "2022-08-29T13:23:16.877", "Body": "I'm looking for an android phone for react native development. I recently bought a iphone 6s for like 20\u20ac and I'm pretty impressed by it's speed considering its so old.
\nCan you guys recommend any android phones, that are kinda the same fast or faster but don't cost much?
\nI was thinking about a google pixel 1 or so for maybe 50\u20ac if I can find one, but maybe there is something better and cheaper?
\nUnfortunately the android emulator is just too damn slow and buggy on my 10 years old mac laptop..
\n", "Title": "Cheap old android phones like iphone 6s for React Native development", "Tags": "|android|smartphones|development|web-development|", "Answer": "I ended up buying a used Google Pixel 2 for like 100\u20ac from a refurbish online shop.
\nWhat I didn't come up with when I created the post was to check geekbench mobile benchmarks.\nI was trying to find a cheap android phone that is close as fast as the Iphone 6s.\nBut to my suprise, "good" android phones are pretty expensive!\nOld used Iphones are much cheaper and more available!
\nI also didn't want a super cheap fucked up phone from like walmart or so.\nI wanted something that I can rely on, that will work properly and has a proper screen with kinda accurate colours.
\n" }, { "Id": "16246", "CreationDate": "2022-08-29T17:07:50.607", "Body": "The concern of my question is about router security via updates.
\nI used to have various Modem/Routers (eg. Belkin, TpLink, etc.) over the years to connect to my ISPs. All followed the same pattern: Manufacturer supported them well at the beginning, the devices were receiving regular updates, then some years later they were reaching end-of-life and there were no more updates.
\nAlso, I want to change the way things are connected at home.
\nInstead of having every device connected directly to the Modem/Router, I want to have everything connected to a Router (To-be-purchased), and then have that Router bridged to the Modem provided by the ISP.
So the question is:
\nCould you please suggest any Router devices which receive regular long-term updates for many years? The longer the better.
(FYI I have looked into Mikrotik, OpenWrt but I don't know for how long they provide updates. Also, I wouldn't mind purchasing a business-oriented device if it suits my needs)
\n", "Title": "Looking for Routers with long-term updates", "Tags": "|networking|router|security|", "Answer": "Its a bit of a "frame challenge" but if you want longevity over power efficiency, don't buy a consumer router. Get an X86 box with at least two ports - I think the N5150s are the current darling and give you multigig ports, but I've been running this since 2018 on a customised ubuntu linux build with multiple ethernet ports.
\nSince its a generic machine, you basically get updates forever (or as long as the project you're using for the router backend is supported). They don't do wifi as well as as a dedicated AP or router but that's heavily on the hardware end.
\nThere's many router centric distros you can use - Vyatta, and pfsense come to mind - but quite a few support x86 based boxen. I split off my APs for various reasons, and honestly, I've not found a wifi AP I'm delighted with but for a router, I like this option.
\n" }, { "Id": "16254", "CreationDate": "2022-08-31T14:39:50.197", "Body": "According to HPE, the model HPE ML110 G9 processor E5-2603v4, supports RAM 16 GB up to 1866 MHz
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PMkmK.png\")
According to the QuickSpecs of this model, it comes by default with 8 GB RAM 2400 Mhz
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/zYUAp.png\")
According to the dmidecode command on linux, this server provides the following information:
\nsudo dmidecode --type 17\nout
\nSpeed: 2400 MT/s\nConfigured Memory Speed: 1866 MT/s\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ve7X5.png\")
But this command is somewhat confusing with the information it provides
\nWhat I want to know is that if I can upgrade the RAM of this server to:
\n16GB (1x16) DDR4 ECC RDIMM 2R (1866 or 2133 or 2400 or 3200 Mhz)
\nthanks
\n", "Title": "I would like a RAM recommendation for HPE ML110 G9 E5-2603v4", "Tags": "|linux|server|", "Answer": "from your HP link :
\n\n\nWhat I want to know is that if I can upgrade the RAM of this server to:
\n16GB (1x16) DDR4 ECC RDIMM 2R (1866 or 2133 or 2400 or 3200 Mhz)
yes, but using only one RDIMM (you say 1x16) you will not be maximizing performance
\n" }, { "Id": "16264", "CreationDate": "2022-09-02T22:45:59.273", "Body": "Hey, how could I connect an antenna cable to a laptop without using a TV Tuner, in order to reproduce Live TV content? What would I need to do?\nIt's possible that while trying to do it without a Tuner I accidentally end up making a homemade version of it.
\n", "Title": "Connect Antenna Cable To Laptop Without TV Tuner", "Tags": "|laptop|television|", "Answer": "Your laptop does not have the hardware needed to receive TV signals, but you can get a USB tuner like this rather than use a set-top-box type.
\n" }, { "Id": "16274", "CreationDate": "2022-09-07T09:26:11.423", "Body": "I have a pc with this configuration and my power supply is 650W\ndo I need to upgrade my power supply if I add a Western Digital Blue 4TB Hard Disk Drive?
\ncore i5 10400F,\nAsus TUF 2060,\nWD Blue 1TB,\nSAMSUNG 970 Evo Plus,\n16GB RAM,\nB460m-a Motherboard,\nA Green Z2+ hero case with 5 fans.
\n", "Title": "do i need to upgrade my power supply after adding a new hdd drive?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|power-supply|upgrade|", "Answer": "adding the hard disk drive you mentioned, any hard disk drive for that matter, draws up to 5 watts and at idle is 3 watts. you do not need to upgrade from an existing 650 watt power supply to accomodate an additional 5 watts.
\n\nif you are short on sata power connectors, amazon or ebay a molex to sata_power adapter: Cable Matters 3-Pack 4 Pin Molex to SATA Power Cable (SATA to Molex) - 6 Inches $7.
I have a lap top Asus ROG and these 2 LG monitors and I'm trying to connect them in the best possible way. If I'm not mistaken, since my lap top can only go to 120Hz, I assume I can't use the whole potential of the monitors(144Hz), but you can correct me if I'm wrong. My lap top has 1 HDMI 1.4, 1 mini Display Port and 1 USB-C slot. So, I was thinking, mini display port to display port from my lap top to a Display Port splitter, and from the splitter,2 display port to display port cables from the splitter to my monitors. Is that the best way to use the most out of the monitors refresh rate on my lap top or is there a better solution to this? Thanks in advance for your help!
\n", "Title": "Connecting 2 monitors to my lap top, best options", "Tags": "|laptop|hdmi|multiple-monitors|display-port|", "Answer": "I don't think you have to use splitters. You can use a Mini DP to DP adapter to connect one monitor, and connect the other one over HDMI. On the one connected over DP, you should be able to get 144hz, the refresh rate of external monitors is not bound to the refresh rate of your laptop monitor. On the one connected over HDMI, you may only be able to do 60hz because of the bandwidth limitations of HDMI 1.4.
\n" }, { "Id": "16294", "CreationDate": "2022-09-14T11:54:19.223", "Body": "My current system is dell inspiron 15 core i5 7th gen 5567, 8GB RAM,1TB HDD. I'm upgrading it with 500GB SSD and 8 GB RAM.
\nTake my example, I'm a CS graduate trying to learn full stack web development.
\nMy usage of laptop would be learning from videos, reading articles and writing code in IDEs and running them. I'm getting lots of DRAM-less SSDs for a good price, so I'm wondering if I should grab them or not. Are there any benefits that a SSD with DRAM would offer me?
\nI'm hearing that DRAM-less SSDs wear and tear quickly and could be slower as well.
\nThe reason for having to learn this information is because I'm not getting other good SSDs in my country like MX500 of Crucial or 870 EVO of Samsung.
\n", "Title": "What advantages does a SSD with a DRAM possess?", "Tags": "|memory|ssd|data-storage|upgrade|", "Answer": "DRAM less SSD's are indeed generally slower and generally do wear out faster. Because of this, I reccomend getting some more money and get the MX500. Regardless of your SSD choice (all are better that a hard drive). I reccomend installing Linux since it's easier to install some servers for web devving like Apache and PHP (those only run on Linux AFAIK). Seeing how old your CPU is, VMs are not really handy.
\n" }, { "Id": "16302", "CreationDate": "2022-09-15T23:14:39.977", "Body": "Maybe this is more of a networking issue, but other than a card with Solidworks-recommended specs, is there a graphics card for a machine that will be running Solidworks that will best allow me to RDP to that machine (Windows 10)? I would like this to work sort of how Fusion360 does, using the Solidworks machine like it is 'in the cloud'.
\nBefore anyone says "just use Fusion" - I have Solidworks and will be using that.
\n", "Title": "Want to use Solidworks through RDP - Any graphics card recommendations", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|windows|", "Answer": "Ok, so after some more googling, I found that using the GPU during an RDP session can be done after the RDP 10 update with some registry changes and a GPU that is DirectX 11.0 compatible.
\n\nhttps://knowledge.civilgeo.com/knowledge-base/enabling-gpu-rendering-for-microsoft-remote-desktop/
\nThere are more references to this that can be done with some googling.
\n" }, { "Id": "16328", "CreationDate": "2022-09-25T12:22:19.220", "Body": "I have the following PC that I just purchased, but I don't care for the BIOS, and when I enable Hypervisor and install Hyper-V in windows server 2022 it will no longer boot. I have spent many hours in troubleshooting this. I like the system as a whole, but I am use to custom built PC's.
\nMy question is, if I purchase a motherboard that is compactable with the CPU, RAM, etc, will I be able to use the existing chassis and the PSU? If not, do you have suggestions?
\nPC: https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-z2-tower-g9-workstation-desktop-pc/2100987204/manuals
\nMotherboard that I would like to replace it with: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1668940-REG/msi_pro_z690_a_lga_1700.html
\nThe PC that I purchased: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1700670-REG/hp_6h907ut_aba_z2_g9_twr_i712700.html
\n", "Title": "Replacing the motherboard with a different one in an HP z2 Tower G9", "Tags": "|motherboard|", "Answer": "Probably not gonna happen
\nThat PC has a custom PSU/mobo/case and they need to be replaced all at the same time to avoid incompatibilities or the case screws shorting out the back of the new mobo. Since that PC uses the HP Z2 Workstation standard for motherboard and PSU, it can't be replaced with ATX components.
\nFor next time, maybe check out r/buildapc or this site before getting a new PC
\n" }, { "Id": "16340", "CreationDate": "2022-09-29T11:18:12.957", "Body": "In our institution we have two RTX 3080 GPUs and we want to find out, if it is better to have every GPU in separate PC or if it'd be better to have both GPUs in one PC. Would it be possible to e.g. run one analysis on 1st GPU and use 2nd GPU for training DL model (both GPUs connected to one MB) or maybe parallelise DL model training to both GPUs to speed it up? (although what I have red it is quite challenging to program DL model to make it work).
\nI just want to know, if it'd be more cost-efficient to place both GPUs to one PC (so we'd buy one PC case, one MB and one power supply) or if it'd be better to separate both GPUs to two PCs.
\nThank you :)
\n", "Title": "Single or multiple GPUs for Deep Learning", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "having mentioned RTX, as in Nvidia, assuming it's CUDA code then yes there is the programming capability to choose which physical GPU among many that are present in a single system. But if you already have that code, and you are dependent on whomever wrote the code, then said deep learning code may not have been written with multiple physical GPGPU's in mind.
\nRegarding cost and multiple GPGPU's or GPU's (graphics cards) the cost of however many of those is the baseline.... to fit many into one server or workstation I believe will be more expensive than buying a $100 motherboard off newegg having one PCIe 4.0 x16 slot to accomodate just one graphics card. To fit two RTX3080 size graphics card into one PC type workstation you are generally looking at eATX size motherboards, a larger case, power supply and all associated stuff, such a mobo will run $500+ I believe.
\nAnd then there's servers: such as Supermicro 4U gpu models, and Dell r940xa, having up to 10 pcie slots that could accomodate 4+ double width graphics cards like the RTX3080... you're looking at BMW 5 or 7 series car price range.
\n" }, { "Id": "16367", "CreationDate": "2022-10-09T20:52:45.813", "Body": "I have a Dell Precision 3520 with the following specs regarding to RAM:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gkk16.png\")
Slot 1 is filled (see below), slot 2 is empty.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/f79iR.png\")
In some sites RAM is presented to upgrade which is barely available, so I like to buy RAM from some local dealer. My questions are:
\nThe RAM I have in mind is a Crucial CT16G4SFD824A (16 GB DDR 4 SODIMM 2400 MHz, CAS latency 17, voltage: 1.2V, ECC Type: Non-ECC\nor:\nCorsair Vengeance CMSO16GX4M1A2133C15 (16 GB, DDR4, 2133 MHz, CAS LAtency 15, 1.2V, Non-ECC)
\nThere are more types, but just some to show as example.
\n", "Title": "RAM effects for upgrade", "Tags": "|laptop|memory|upgrade|", "Answer": "So the first effect is the RAM would run at double the speed. This will give you a performance boost of 0 to 50% (depending on the workload). Also your RAM capacity doubles so if you are now running low on RAM, you could be tripling your performance (if I'm being optimistic).
\nNow let's look at your concerns
\nThe BIOS will choose RAM settings that are based off of the JEDEC settings and will in theory choose the fastest one that is on all modules. If you buy the Crucial stick, this will probably mean both sticks will run at 2400Mhz.
\nSee 1. Since it will take the fastest one compatible with both modules, it's probably better to get the same speed for there to be a bigger chance of it picking the wanted speed.
\nThe BIOS may adjust the speed to fit the slowest stick. This means if you mix CL17 and CL19 RAM it would probably run at CL19.
\nPlease don't do that. Your laptop probably only has 2 SODIMM slots and getting 3 sticks means you have to remove one and that won't give much of a performance boost. If you don't have one, spend that $60 on an SSD, which will give you a mayor improvement in OS/app loading time.
\nFrom the example sticks you have shown me, the Crucial RAM fits your current RAM the best, so that will be your best bet. It's also $6 cheaper where I live.
\n" }, { "Id": "16370", "CreationDate": "2022-10-10T07:02:42.443", "Body": "I have been trying to find this for years.
\nDoes anyone know of a completely flat keyboard without any physical keys? Just the letters typed on the flat keyboard.
\nLike this Lenovo Yoga Book has.
\nAny help would be much appreciated.
\nFingerworks Touchstream. The printed design looks a little bit 3D but actually the keyboard surfaces are completely flat. It just relies on touch, no force or impact is necessary. It also has some cool features like multi-touch gestures. I never had one but I knew someone who had one who highly recommended it for anyone suffering from repetitive stress typing injuries.
\nDifficulties: It has been discontinued since around 2005. Used ones turn up on eBay, etc., but not necessarily in working condition and the software would be very out of date by this point. It was expensive to begin with and price has only increased. Also, it looks like something from the dot-com era.
\n" }, { "Id": "16407", "CreationDate": "2022-10-19T14:16:18.610", "Body": "I have a Western Digital Scorpio Blue (WD500BEVT) 2.5" 500 GB HDD which, as purchased years ago, is in an enclosure with a Mini-B USB connector (Yes, MINI). When I transfer files to/from my PC, I get a transfer rate of 30-35 MB/s. I also have a Seagate SRD00F1 500 GB drive which has a USB 3.0 Micro-B connection Wikipedia image of connectors. This drive achieves 100-105 MB/s, or roughly 3 times faster than the other drive.
\nWould getting a new case with a USB 3.0 micro-B connection for the WD drive allow it to transfer at a rate comparable to the Seagate?
\n", "Title": "External HDD enclosure effect on transfer speed", "Tags": "|usb|hard-disk|drive-enclosure|", "Answer": "Ok, I thought I'd circle back and answer my question, since I went ahead and got the enclosure.
\nI tested the transfer rate of the drive in its new enclosure, it sustained 80 MB/s for some files, but on average it's 65-70 MB/s, which is about twice as fast as before, so it's an improvement.
\nAbout the drives themselves: The WD drive is definitely not of the same type as the Seagate one. I don't dare open up the Seagate case since it doesn't look like it was meant to be opened easily. But in any case, when it's plugged in, SCSI is part of the description, which I think is why it gets up to 100-105 MB/s. (Edit: due to it spinning at a higher RPM)
\nIn any case I'm happy with the outcome.
\n" }, { "Id": "16408", "CreationDate": "2022-10-19T16:52:01.813", "Body": "So, I am working on opening a computer company (called Opportunity Computing in case you were wondering) and my first concept, the ME mark 1, requires a motherboard that can handle the heavy-duty jobs that ME mk1 is designed to do. It needs to have enough computing power to be used professionally but not so much that it would be (too) expensive. I Emphasize that my budget isn't really in great shape right now due to reasons I'd rather not mention.
\n", "Title": "What kind of motherboard would be good for my PC? How much does it cost?", "Tags": "|motherboard|desktop|low-cost|", "Answer": "I found this one. I don't know if it is compatible with windows 11 though.
\nI would recommend trying to update to windows 11. Though I do warn that this is only a 1rst generation ASUS motherboard. I hope ME mk1 goes down well with those who buy it!\nbuy the motherboard here
\n" }, { "Id": "16424", "CreationDate": "2022-10-22T00:22:55.140", "Body": "I'm configuring a ThinkPad X1 Carbon, and looking at the SSD. What is the difference between M.2 2280 PCIe TLC Opal and M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Performance TLC Opal? From what I've read elsewhere Gen4 is faster+more expensive, but on the Lenovo page Gen4 is actually cheaper (screenshots below). What's going on?
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/v7lnq.png\")
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/gynaR.png\")
I just did a chat session with Lenovo to ask the difference between the two. Basically the Gen4 Performance is the better SSD and it's cheaper at the moment because of their supply chain cost.
\n" }, { "Id": "16466", "CreationDate": "2022-11-12T12:41:19.513", "Body": "I have this really neat laptop from 2010 that I want to refurbish. I want to replace the RAM and disk together with the CPU. According to the HP manual: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02066162.pdf - the best supported CPU is 7 620M but the best CPU supported by the Mobile Intel\u00ae QM57 Express chipset would be the i7 i940XM. The problem with the latter option is that the CPU is rated 20W higher than the i7 620M and it is not 32nm but 45nm.
\nI still have to ask the dumb question of: if I increase the cooling and use a beefier power supply, would the i7 i940XM not work? What else limits the CPU compatibility?
\nAlso, is there a site where I can find laptops with a specific CPU? I have got access to many HP laptops, and maybe I could salvage the aforementioned CPUs from there.
\nWhat upgrades would you recommend (not looking at the cost) to maximize the performance of this laptop?
\nWhat do you think the performance benefits will be from such an upgrade I am describing here?
\nPS. This is mostly just for the learning experience, not that upgrading a 10+ year old laptop is a good idea. Also, if it matters, I plan to use the most barebones version of Gentoo linux so that I have the most performance while using it.
\n", "Title": "Upgrading cpu on the HP EliteBook 2740p", "Tags": "|laptop|processor|", "Answer": "I\u2019d recommend not attempting, for many reasons:
\nIf you have a lot of experience doing this, go for it. The worse thing that happens is you destroy the CPU and logic board.
\nIf you are wishing to do this as a learning experience, there are far too many variables that will be difficult to isolate or learn doing this. Choose another project with less variables.
\n" }, { "Id": "16475", "CreationDate": "2022-11-15T08:00:13.900", "Body": "My little kid wants to learn touch typing, but has little hands (7yo). The letters-zone in regular keyboard is too big.
\nI'm searching for pc USB keyboard, with regular keys layout, preferably full one (104 keys), that is smaller than the standard one, by 10/20/30 percent. I don't care if it's mechanical or not. And I don't need specific printed language (or print at all).
\nI couldn't find one in AliExpress nor in any other internet store. Are there any? Recommendations?
\n", "Title": "Small keyboard/keys for kid with little hands that want to learn touch typing", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "I've found some. The trick is not to search small/mini keyboards, but to specify size: 10 inch keyboard, or 9/8/7 inch. There are some variaty, e.g.: this, this, and this.
\nAbout the size: The centeral keyboard part (from tab/shift/control to the backsapce/enter/shift) of normal keyboard is about 11inch. And the small ones come basically in those sizes: ~10inch, ~9inch, and ~7.8inch.
\nImportant to check before buying: Not all of the keyboards conatin function keys. Also, not all of them conatin tiny-bumps on "F" and "J" keys, and those are important for touch typing. Lastly, not all keyboards support PCs (but most of them do).
\n" }, { "Id": "16482", "CreationDate": "2022-11-17T11:10:57.503", "Body": "I'm shopping for a Gigabit Ethernet switch
\nLacking 2, there is the TL-SG1016DE.
\nUpdate: Lacking 4, the DGS-1100-05PDV2.
\nFinal update: thanks to the accepted answer, I checked the PoE out capability of the device (an RB1100AHX4 router) that was supposed to power my switch thru it's upstream port. Turns out this has PoE in but not PoE out, as I was told. My whole plan thus can not work.
\n", "Title": "Gigabit ethernet switch with VLAN management powered thru PoE", "Tags": "|switch|", "Answer": "Cisco C3560CX-8PT-S has remote management, up to two PoE upstream power sources, 8 ports, wall and rack mountable. You can power with a single PoE+ upstream or two PoE upstream.
\nThey are readily available on eBay for reasonable prices now.
\n" }, { "Id": "16491", "CreationDate": "2022-11-20T17:53:28.580", "Body": "I have a Winbond BIOS chip W49F002UP12B and I want to program it using an USB programmer. I know the form is called PLCC32.
\nI found this adapter. I think it's the right one.
\nBut I do not know which programmer to use.
\nI found the K150 programmer. There is a long list of supported chip types. But I don't know them and which type mine is.
\nThan there is the SP200SE programmer. It explicitly says it's for Winbond. But it also says it's for SCM 24/93 chips. So I don't know if it works for my chip.
\nCan anyone tell me which programmer to use? Please tell me one from Aliexpress under 15\u20ac (shipping included). Thanks.
\n", "Title": "Which USB programmer can be used for a Winbond PLCC32 BIOS chip?", "Tags": "|motherboard|memory|", "Answer": "K150 you mentioned is wrong, since it's PIC only (PIC's are 8 bit micro-controllers from Microchip).
\nI believe SP200SE will not work either, since I was able to find a document that mentions support only for Winbond W78.
\nWhat you are looking is something like this:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/nu5lI.png\")
Description specifically mentions it is able to program Winbond W49F002, which is your case.
\nAnyway, looks like W49 is rather old stuff dated around 2000, so finding this kind of outdated programmer might be tricky. Good luck with your search!
\n" }, { "Id": "16499", "CreationDate": "2022-11-21T20:06:00.043", "Body": "Normally, searching for Thunderbolt adapters, we get things doing
\nThus, we can connect a thunderbolt laptop to a HDMI monitor and USB keyboard.
\nWhat I want, that is the exact opposite.
\nI have an old laptop without a Thunderbolt connector. I want to connect it into a Thunderbolt cable. So I need a thing where
\nOn this way, a normal and such an "inverse thunderbolt adapter" could work like a remote console for old laptops.
\nDoes such a thing exist? Webshops and search engines show up always only the "forward" variant, unfortunately.
\nP.s. normally, thunderbolt gives also power. That is a no-issue in my case (I can live with it if it can not happen).
\n", "Title": "Adapter to connect old laptops into thunderbolt display/usb", "Tags": "|usb|hdmi|thunderbolt|adapter|", "Answer": "The adapter you want does not exist.
\nThunderbolt is not bidirectional, there is a host side and a client side in its design.\nIn the normal "forward" adapters the host is the computer, and the computer has a chipset inside that essentially converts the Thunderbolt device into a PCI express device. It is closely integrated with the CPU or southbridge on the motherboard. Thunderbolt cannot even be added to PCs that don't have it (at the time of answering, USB 4.0 might change that).
\nIn that "reverse" adapter you proposed, the adapter would have to be the thunderbolt host because the laptop is not. That would require a rather high performance embedded CPU and OS to allow the thunderbolt end to function at all. This is cost prohibiting for a simple video adapter and I expect that is the reason why nobody has made one as a product you can buy.
\n" }, { "Id": "16537", "CreationDate": "2022-12-06T08:06:45.147", "Body": "I work for a software company. When we sign new clients, the old software supplier makes a 'dump' of their database that we can then import. However, 99 out of 100 times we manually have to do a lot of things with these dumps to make them compatible with our software.
\nSince these dumps can be pretty large (the sheet itself can be up to 500mb - 1gb) and contain 100's of thousands or millions of records), we need a really good PC that can handle this well. When we open one dump, it can take up to 30 seconds. When we save some of the changes we've made, it can also take somewhere between 10 - 30 seconds.
\nFYI, the PC we're doing this on right now has these specs
\nI basically need a PC with a really good SSD, Processor and RAM. There won't be any gaming, so a really simple or cheap GPU will be just fine.
\nWhat are your hardware recommendations?
\nBTW: not looking for an upgrade. We need a new build anyway.
\n", "Title": "What hardware do I need for large large (Excel) data dumps (NO gaming)?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|motherboard|memory|ssd|", "Answer": "Opening a file that large is memory intensive and single core limited.
\nDepending on active memory not used by cache, you will need at least that much ram. Reboot, then open a sample file and check your memory usage.
\nSo you should look at single core performance of about Geekbench 5 of 1,700 or more. Your CPU ranges from 1,200 to 1,700 depending on GHz.
\nI regularly use large files like that in Excel for macOS on a MacBook Pro M1 Max Geekbench 5 of 1,780 with 64 GB ram. It\u2019s usable.
\n" }, { "Id": "16569", "CreationDate": "2022-12-21T12:46:48.603", "Body": "I've recently (December 2022) learned that Apple no longer sells wired keyboards. My touch-typing has become extremely optimized for one of their USB keyboards and I'd like to find a suitable replacement. I use older Linux hardware, so anything with a battery or wireless-only features is not suitable, nor am I interested in increasing the number of adapters and dongles in my apartment to fit a new wireless keyboard to older hardware (these can be lost, and introduce points of failure).
\nI do not know the official name/# of this model, but it can be described as: Aluminum body, USB-A cable, ANSI layout, shallow profile, slight angle, thin keys, numeric keypad, and essentially indestructible until you spill coffee on it.
\nI would like a replacement that replicates the discontinued keyboard in terms of
\nNice to haves:
\nWould anyone happen to know of any keyboards that approximate these specifications?
\nI can provide arguments defending my sensorimotor inflexibility and arbitrary hardware preferences, but I trust this community is sufficiently familiar with diversity, both neurological and in terms of practical and aesthetic technology preferences (:
\nOther possibly relevant notes:
\nBefore @Tetsujin's answer, I impulse bought an aluminum keyboard from a company called Matias, which claimed to be making clones of Apple's old keyboards. The keyboard arrived. It resembles the apple keyboard, but isn't sparking joy.
\nHowever, I can confirm, per @Tetsujin's answer, that the keyword "Apple A1243 US" does return some suppliers on eBay within the UK. I will be ordering one of those now.
\nIn the long term, the secondary market for "Apple A1243 US" will dry up, in which case the search remains open for a keyboard that is:
\nI suspect that the answer is pretty simple and there are some default keyboards e.g. from Dell or something that will meet these requirements with a bit of "neural recalibration".
\nI think for my purposes the low profile, low force, and low travel distances, will be the most important for preventing inflammation and pain in the small joints of the fingers. Obviously matching other aspects of geometry and kinematics would be a plus for allowing over-trained touch-typing motor programs to transfer, but I'll admit that other physical parameters might allow even fast pain-free typing with some practice.
\n", "Title": "Replacement brand for Apple ANSI wired keyboard with numeric keypad?", "Tags": "|usb|", "Answer": "If you're looking for similar options from other brands: Logitech and Cherry have wired keyboard options that work well with Apple and you a search for them on Amazon. If not, you can find decent second-hand options at Amazon too.
\n" }, { "Id": "16586", "CreationDate": "2022-12-28T08:24:21.393", "Body": "All my life I have bought all my gaming PCs with Intel CPUs.
\nI always face a major issue, though: 2 to 3 years after buying a new PC, when I try to replace my 2 to 3 years old GPU with a brand new latest 2x to 3x more powerful GPU to match my gaming needs, my Intel CPU always becomes the bottleneck. I can\u2019t even just upgrade the CPU to latest generation to match the GPU because the motherboard won\u2019t allow it. As a result, just to use a new GPU, I have to buy a completely new PC!
\nAre AMD motherboards better future-proofed so that after 3 to 4 years I could upgrade my CPU to match new GPU speed without buying a whole PC? Or is Intel also more future proof in recent products they release?
\nI\u2019m buying a new PC again, so this time I\u2019m trying to decide: Should I go AMD or Intel; which will be better future proofed?
\nIf history repeats itself, then only AMD motherboards can support the next few generations of CPU and Intel will not; right? Will an AMD socket AM5 motherboard support Zen 5 and Zen 6 CPUs too?
\nWill Intel launch any socket which will support a few more future generations?
\n", "Title": "Between Intel or AMD, whose latest motherboards will support more numbers of future generations of CPU sockets and specifications?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|motherboard|intel|nvidia|", "Answer": "At r/buildapc we don't really look at future proofing since it's generally more expensive and not really that good.
But if you are looking to upgrade your CPU every 2 or 3 years, you are currently better off with AMD. They have a reputation for supporting their sockets pretty long (AM4 was 5 years, AM5 is gonna be at least 3 years) while Intel tends to makes their socket incompatible after 2 generations of CPUs (1 1/2 to 2 years).
\nIf you are upgrading often, AMD and the higher end B650 boards are probably best for you.
\n" }, { "Id": "16626", "CreationDate": "2023-01-11T19:10:20.803", "Body": "I have a Tp-Link Archer TX20U Plus dual-antenna USB adapter, connected via USB cable to my desktop workstation, and I'd like to know if it's safe to position it on the top of the case of my workstation.
\nCould there be interference or other kinds of malfunctions?
\n", "Title": "Is it safe to position a dual-antenna WiFi USB adapter on the top of a computer case?", "Tags": "|wifi|desktop|antennas|", "Answer": "yes
\nif you consider a microwave oven which operates at 2.4ghz the same frequency as old 802.11g, has it's door grill screen mesh about the same size as a computer case vent mesh, and if the computer case is largely metal... even if one side is transparent plastic... the antenna on top of the case won't have a radiation pattern going downward into the case.
\nNot to mention motherboards that come with wifi, 802.11ac and ax which happens also in 5Ghz; their little wifi antenna that connects via SMA to the back of the motherboard where the USB ports are (which i would consider a less safe antenna placement in terms of possible interference) and they all work with zero problems caused.
\n" }, { "Id": "16653", "CreationDate": "2023-01-23T06:53:49.407", "Body": "The purpose is to run some bitcoin wallet and will rarely be opened or anything.
\nI want to run electrum, exodus, that's it. Maybe anti malewarebytes.
\nI got some cheap computer but my partner want something that can run windows 11. Maybe with TPM I guess.
\nI am thinking of some mobo and CPU combination. Speed is not important as long as it's not too slow.
\nWhat would be the one I should buy?
\n", "Title": "What is the cheapest computer (mobo/CPU) that can run windows 11", "Tags": "|processor|", "Answer": "Just saying, maybe if it's some kinda server you are better off with a second hand PC and install Linux, since that is generally more stable. The rest of the answer works both for Windows 11 and Linux.
\nIf you can still get it around \u20ac50, the AMD Athlon 3000G is an excellent CPU for your use case. You don't need a GPU to POST or boot, it's cheap and can run basic server stuff (like a bitcoin wallet that does not mine too, or a web server like Apache for your bitcoin wallet interface). For the motherboard, I have the MSI B450M -A pro MAX. It has most features you would want on a server, except ECC support, and should work perfectly with the Athlon 3000G (I have not tested this though, but according to the MSI website it does)
\n" }, { "Id": "16672", "CreationDate": "2023-02-01T22:11:22.930", "Body": "I have an Asus X55LAB, here are the specifications:
\nThe laptop has an accessible 2nd RAM slot. I know I should buy a SODIMM card. I've heard a lot and some of it is contradictory. So, my questions are:
\nThanks to all, I appreciate some guidance here.
\n", "Title": "Which RAM should I buy?", "Tags": "|laptop|memory|", "Answer": "So for RAM you need the same generation for it to work, that's it. If you get uneven size sticks, the performace will drop when one of the sticks is full (but it will be similar as with one stick of RAM). Brand doesn't really matter although to get XMP working better you do generally want the specs and the brand of the chips to be as close as possible. DDR4 won't fit though since your mobo only supports DDR3(L)
\n" }, { "Id": "16673", "CreationDate": "2023-02-01T22:14:25.123", "Body": "why GPUs, generally are in another electrical board (video card) and are not like CPUs to be installed in the motherboard?
\n", "Title": "why video cards/GPU are not like CPUs in terms of installation into a computer?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|", "Answer": "for the consumer market, as in the average person building a home pc from parts acquired from newegg or amazon, yes it seems like GPU's are not like CPU's in terms of their installation into a computer - with the GPU being on a separate piece of hardware (the graphics card) that plugs into the motherboard via PCIe slot (and use to be an advanced graphics port (AGP) back in the day).
\nBut a GPU is very much like a CPU, in terms of die form factor. And there are direct motherboard installations. The best example being the SXM2 form factor from Nvidia. You won't find this in the consumer market, this is in the enterprise / corporate realm where you are looking at a rack mount style server that costs upward of $50,000.
\nDell has a model C4140 for example that incorporates some number of SXM2 style Nvidia gpu's, V100 model and later. I'm sure there are similar offerings from other big manufacturers like HP, Supermicro, and so on.
\nThe gpu is however many mm in length and width, and dissipates N watts, and requires cooling, just like a cpu. Whether it's on a separate piece of hardware with it's own heat sink and fan, and is modular and plugs into the mainboard via pcie slot... or is incorporated onto the mainboard and has a heat sink on top of it just like the cpu does and uses case fans for cooling, is just form factor and is trivial.
\nlook at https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Enterprise/GPU-Server/G190-G30-rev-100
\nwe get gpu incorporated in to the cpu currently, with Intel's integrated graphics for example, so you can have a motherboard that has vga/dvi/hdmi/dp ports on it and you're not required to install a dedicated graphics card to get graphics. Will the consumer market ever see higher end gpu capability that sort of comes with on-motherboard gpu like the SXM form factor? with just 1 gpu there's no real good reason to go SXM style over modular pcie graphics card. SXM shines over pcie when you have multiple gpu's doing hard core gpu type of [cuda] processing, not just rendering graphics to a monitor to play a game. but who knows.
\n" }, { "Id": "16720", "CreationDate": "2023-02-28T17:51:30.423", "Body": "When purchasing a new laptop, which Wi-Fi standards are recommended for a college student that will be paid for by a frugal parent?
\n802.11b\n802.11a\n802.11g\n802.11n\n802.11ac\n802.11ax
\n", "Title": "When purchasing a new laptop, which Wi-Fi standards are recommended for a college student that will be paid for by a frugal parent?", "Tags": "|laptop|wifi|network-adapter|", "Answer": "802.11ac is the norm today, and that will work with everything. If you buy a laptop and it doesn't have 802.11ac (or ax or something newer) you are getting shafted.
\nwhen 802.11ac in the future doesn't suit your needs, buy a usb-to-wifi adapter that provides you 802.11ax, or wifi6, or wifi7... etc.
\n" }, { "Id": "17761", "CreationDate": "2023-03-22T23:26:50.787", "Body": "In the past, I used to buy desktop in USA and there was a clear switch at the back of the cabinet to switch the input voltage from 220v to 110v and vice versa as mentioned here.\nI am planning to buy this one:\nhttps://www.costco.com/.product.100941399.html?EMID=B2C_2023_0322_DiningFocus\nfor my nephew in India.
\nShould I buy it? Upon checking with HP and Costco sales/customer service - there is no such switch in this desktop.
\n", "Title": "Does this destop has voltage switch capability?", "Tags": "|switch|", "Answer": "![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/XDcKL.jpg\")
\nYes @Tetsuhin - you are right. I can see this on the power supply.\nIt's Cooler Master PS-4601-1 power supply made for HP.\nIt can take 100V-240V
Can I play Plasma on the MacBook Air M1 base model?\nMaybe using Parallels? The requirements mention GPU. But there is a GPU in the MacBook Air M1 base model. Could it run the game?
\n", "Title": "Can I play Plasma on the MacBook Air M1 base model?", "Tags": "|gaming|macbook|", "Answer": "there is an example of somebody playing Plasma this way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI2KY4ZOenM
\nI think the developers of Plasma mentioned that there may be a Mac version too later.
\n" }, { "Id": "17804", "CreationDate": "2023-04-13T06:18:41.947", "Body": "When looking to purchase a laptop, I am finding it difficult to find one with the specification I prefer and an ethernet connection.
\nWhen, for example, uploading a pre-built website to a hosting server, a decent connection speed is preferred as it can take a while on WiFi. Ethernet is far faster than WiFi speeds.
\nIs there a reason ethernet connections are not being provided on many laptops now?
\n", "Title": "Why are ethernet connections disappearing from new laptops?", "Tags": "|wifi|networking|ethernet|performance|", "Answer": "Probably fake answer that laptop manufacturers are gonna give you: yes, we need to make laptops thinner and ethernet ports are too big.
\nProbably real answer: Cost saving. Good network controllers can cost like \u20ac40 and spending money on 2 is not really that cost effective. So they only spend money on the one most peoples prefer using, which is wifi. It's not because they are too big (both HP and Framework have used/are using smaller ethernet ports that extend to a full size when you plug the cable in), but the main reason is probably cost savings
\n" }, { "Id": "17810", "CreationDate": "2023-04-16T11:19:20.393", "Body": "What can you recommend for playing video files with dolby vision?\nAlso it should support the passthrough of all the lossless audio formats through HDMI (Dolby TrueHD, DTS-MA, atmos).\nI would like to keep the budget for this at 70 eur 150 EUR.
Currently I use H96 max x3 box with CoreELEC, but it can't output dolby vision. The tv I'm using is LG C1. I like the minimalistic approach of the CoreELEC software, but I'm willing to adapt if some other combination of software brings more supported formats. And for the sake of more options - any other software is welcome in the answers.
\n", "Title": "Android tv box for dolby vision and lossless audio formats passthrough", "Tags": "|android|hdtv|set-top-box|", "Answer": "Looks like this is cheaper alternative:\nBOXY with Dune HD Media Center, ~100 \u20ac\nhttps://www.dune-hd.com/products/boxy
\nIt is on the way to CoreELEC developers.
\nUpdate: This device is locked and not possible to run CoreELEC on it.
\n" }, { "Id": "17813", "CreationDate": "2023-04-17T10:01:14.160", "Body": "I couldn't find any definitive answer so I'm asking here if putting more of the budget towards a high end GPU is more beneficial vs a better CPU when it comes to Adobe Aninmate? The computer would not be used for gaming and will solely be for Adobe Animate. I just don't know if that software relies more on CPU or GPU to do its thing and need some guidance.
\n", "Title": "Would Adobe Animate get huge benefits from a high end graphics card?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|", "Answer": "If you check the requirements for this software you will see the only things related to GPU are OpenGL version and DirectX version. Nothing more.
\n(Feel free to compare it with Lightroom or Photoshop requirements where is clearly visible you need powerful GPU for better performance)
\n" }, { "Id": "17818", "CreationDate": "2023-04-21T15:15:08.567", "Body": "When searching for a cheap video card for image recognition all the articles seem to have the AI learning in mind. But that is now what I need.\nSo the use-case is:\nI have a small laptop based server running homeassistant and surveillance recording software. I am running an image recognition software on the images from 2 cameras ones a minute on the CPU. This is working fine but I would like to increase the frequency and probably even number of cameras. All this while not increasing the power usage a lot and in tight budget. The PC has a single PCIe 1x that can be stuffed with a riser.\nIs there something that could be just better than CPU or is it a waste of time?
\n", "Title": "PCIe 1x cheap video card for image recognition with existing model", "Tags": "|video-camera|home-security|video-capture|smart-home|", "Answer": "TPU is what you need.
\nCoral USB accelerator could be used.\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/h8Kjq.png\")
They were originally $79.99, but unfortunately availability suffers and its near impossible to find one that that price.
\nOne amazon user said
\n\n\nI use it to offload video motion detection from my frigate\nhome-assistant instance. It moves the load to the TPU, meaning I can\nrun my 7 CCTV cameras at 15 fps. Which previously would not have been\npossible without putting my CPU at 50% load.
\n
Can be found on amazon and at other retailers, but at a wide range of prices.
\n" }, { "Id": "17819", "CreationDate": "2023-04-21T16:18:20.067", "Body": "I'm buying a new monitor for a system using the video card "Intel HD Graphics 4400". (I'm thinking about buying this DELL S3422DW. I'm wondering how good of a monitor I can buy that will be decently supported by this video card.
\nI did a test using a large monitor and the video card seemed to display okay at a resolution of 3840 x 2160. However, I noticed the mouse seemed to have a delay. I don't own the monitor, so I can't easily test it again --- it didn't occur to me then to try to see if there was something wrong with the surface where I was sliding the mouse on. I did a second test using another mouse --- a wireless one and I did use a mousepad that's usually used by it --- and I saw the same delay.
I was wondering --- could it be that the mouse is drawn by the video card and somehow it is slow at those high resolutions? (Or was the optical mouse just in a bad surface for it?)
\nI have a 46" TV at home and the video card is able to get 1980 x 1080 on this TV. I don't see a delay in the mouse at all. (But could it happen at 3840 x 2160? Does that make sense? I have no idea.)
The more pixels you have to draw, the more work has to be done by both CPU & GPU.
\nThe Intel HD 4400 was not a 'good' GPU when new & is now a 10-year-old design [no longer supported by Intel or Microsoft]. It's an on-chip device which was used on Intel CPUs for a couple of years between 2013 & 2015. To know more detail we'd need to know the exact CPU model number.
\nThere is a big difference in the amount of processing needed to power an "HD" display compared to a "4k". The display you propose is going to fall somewhere between these - however, a bigger issue night be in whether the GPU supports an ultrawide [WQHD 3440 x 1440 @ 100Hz] configuration at all. I very much doubt it will be able to run it at 100Hz.
\nIt would be wise to research not only what maximum resolutions your computer supports, but also whether there is support for this type of ultrawide display at all.
You may be better off looking at a more 'regular' 2k configuration - a 27" 2560x1440 display for instance.
\n" }, { "Id": "17824", "CreationDate": "2023-04-22T14:05:23.697", "Body": "Our CCTV server has been down for days and the reason seems quite obvious: the switch to start/stop it has melt. \n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/tzF5Q.jpg\")
\nHopefully the motherboard is OK.\nSo we are looking for a complete kit to replace the switch:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/0mPT7.jpg\")
\nThe contact looks quite basic with I guess the switch connecting the two pins:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/8NzEz.jpg\")
\nThe name of the components would be a good start, or references to buy quickly perfect.
The damaged switch is known as a single pole single throw rocker switch, also SPST rocker switch. The only critical aspect of this switch is the size of the opening. Conveniently, you have the opening at hand and take measurements to match the resource you choose. Amazon and eBay will have this item, although my search on Amazon produced less rectangular shaped switches. eBay search results abound with more appropriate looking shapes of varying sizes. Small, medium and large.
\nMcMaster-Carr is another source. Note that the options are for NO and NC, normally open and normally closed. You'd want NO which means the switch is off unless activated. Steer away from M marked switches, which means Momentary, requiring that the switch be held in order for it to be on.
\nThe connector on the switch can be found locally, specifically at an auto parts supply store. Bring the new switch with you to ensure you get the right size connector and splice a pair on the existing pigtail. Polarity/position doesn't matter for this sort of installation.
\nA switch should not fail in the manner shown. This implies that the current capacity was under-valued or there is a problem with the device causing more current to be drawn than expected. Your replacement switch may experience the same problem. It is advised to monitor the switch for high temperature at the connectors immediately after installation and periodically after.
\n" }, { "Id": "17828", "CreationDate": "2023-04-24T07:53:05.603", "Body": "I recently bought a batch of 6 "WD elements" external HDDs and quickly found out that - for three of them - the write performance was precipitously degradating. Circumstantial evidence points to shingled (SMR) technology: format followed by trim restores acceptable writing speed, again degrading when used space goes above 50%.
\nThese disks (used for backup) need replacing, and I am of course going to avoid SMR like the plague, but how? Transparency in labeling does not appear to be WD's forte, and I am wondering how to tell SMRs apart from non-SMR, i.e. brands and telltale labels I should look for.
\nIdeas? TIA
\n", "Title": "How to avoid SMR HDDs", "Tags": "|hard-disk|", "Answer": "I can't guarantee 100% reliability but you could use https://nascompares.com/answer/list-of-wd-cmr-and-smr-hard-drives-hdd/. I've looked up my drives and they're all correctly reported as CMR.
\nA while back, when customers had bad experience with server drives that were SMR in disguise, WD ended up issuing a semi apology with an explanation of their Red drive strategy: https://blog.westerndigital.com/wd-red-nas-drives/
\nFor the past 5 years, I've been buying dozens of drives ranging from 8 to 20TB, all from their Elements brand (most of the time, it's a WD Purple inside the case) and so far, so good. When I found their blog post in 2020, I took it as a good rule of thumb that 8TB and above == CMR, no matter the "color". I've applied this logic since then and so far, not one SMR drive in the bunch. Quite a few Helium filled drives though.
\nBut if you're less confident with this logic, it doesn't hurt to double check with the first link.
\n" }, { "Id": "17844", "CreationDate": "2023-05-01T14:18:26.540", "Body": "It's an old 2007 Nokia 2760 flip phone.
\nWhat port is this? I have searched everywhere but can't find any info. If this is a USB port, what USB plug it receives, or if something else\u2026?
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/NMHWN.jpg\")
The official manual simply ignores that port
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/lFAe5.jpg\")
It's a port for the Nokia CA-50 USB data connectivity cable. Used by phone models 1200, 2600, 2650, 2680, 2760, 1650.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/oaRKC.jpg\")
I have a Samsung 4gb 2666Mhz ddr4 SODIMM memory installed (but working on 2400Mhz due to motherboard limitation). More info about this RAM here https://semiconductor.samsung.com/emea/dram/module/sodimm/m471a5244cb0-ctd/
\nand here
\nhttps://download.semiconductor.samsung.com/resources/data-sheet/M471A5244CB0-CTD00.pdf
\nThe CL of the installed memory is 19.
\nI want to add another 4gb one but it is from a different brand (Crucial).\nI found these 2 in the market but I couldn't decide (since they also have a different organization(rank x organization): 1Rx8):
\nCrucial 4GB DDR4-2400 SODIMM CT4G4SFS824A
\n\n\nTechnology DDR4, Density 4GB, Module type SODIMM, DIMM type Unbuffered, Voltage 1.2V, Speed DDR4-2400, CAS latency 17, Extended timings 17-17-17, PC4-19200
\n
Crucial 4GB DDR4-2666 SODIMM CT4G4SFS8266
\n\n\nTechnology DDR4, Density 4GB, Module type SODIMM, DIMM type Unbuffered, Voltage 1.2V, Speed DDR4-2666, CAS latency 19, Extended timings 19-19-19, PC4-21300
\n
I wanna know if it is possible to mix RAMs of different brands. If it is possible, what points do I need to consider to choose the one to buy.
\n", "Title": "Installing RAMs with different brand, CL and other differences", "Tags": "|laptop|memory|", "Answer": "First check if your BIOS even lets you change the memory settings at all, many don't. If your motherboard BIOS allows you to tweak enough settings it is likely but NOT guaranteed you will find compatible settings.
\nYes, but with limitation.\nYou will have to use the worst timings for ALL memory chips.\nSo even though some memory supports 17-17-17 the worst times are 19-19-19 and you will have to use those for ALL memory.
\nAcross every category you will need to use the worst numbers, which in memory timing that usually means the largest number.
\n" }, { "Id": "17869", "CreationDate": "2023-05-13T07:25:08.160", "Body": "What would be a good option to digitize a historic photo archive (both paper and negatives)? Price is not a constraint, but there's only one person to take care of the process, so it has to be as automatic as possible.
\n", "Title": "Professional scanner for photos with feeder", "Tags": "|scanner|", "Answer": "One possible scanner is Canon CanoScan 9000F Mark II. It support 35mm, 120 format films out of the box. Up to A4 for reflective materials. I am afraid larger films must be scanned by hand and also by hand the person should apply corrections (for negatives). The scanner support up to 9600DPI (for films) and 4800 DPI for reflective materials. Can scan up to 12 frames from 35mm strips or 4 frames in single operation. Support up to 48 bits colour depth (if you need colour scanning).
\nPer specs you can scan A4 /300DPI for 7 seconds, around 50 seconds for single 35mm frame (time is the same if they are in row)
\nP.S. As humble recommendation please consider reading "FADGI Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials" for some ideas how to best preserve the materials in digital form.
\n" }, { "Id": "17934", "CreationDate": "2023-06-17T01:51:52.783", "Body": "Will my MSI MPG Z590 10th/11th gen Gaming Carbon wifi motherboard be outdated soon? Using for UE5 and game programming
\n", "Title": "Should I toss my MSI z590 motherboard and start over?", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|", "Answer": "At its core the z590 chipset with a good 11th gen chip is more than enough to do whatever you want to do.
\nHowever since you are building a new pc rather than deciding to keep an existing one. It all depends on what kind of deals you can find.
\nThe main thing to consider when looking around is that an intel 13400(or f) is about as fast as an intel 11700k. On the AMD side that is roughly a 7600, or a 5800x.
\nSo if you go out looking for parts, make sure that the cost is the same or less than that of a newer setup with an added motherboard, and you should be alright.
\n" }, { "Id": "17938", "CreationDate": "2023-06-18T06:42:33.857", "Body": "I want to run something by people here to see if I'm on the right track or if I'm wasting my time.
\nI found my old desktop computer from almost 15 years ago. After some initial research, I get the impression that I can make this computer a productive machine with just a few upgrades. I want to use this machine for Zoom conferences, and use it to do light video editing of my video meetings and online seminar/lectures that I attend.
\nHere are the specifications that I was able to retrieve for my machine:
\nRight now when I use the machine, the windows operating system might freeze randomly while I'm browsing the internet and watching youtube. I can reboot to get back to using the computer. But some time later, things can randomly freeze again. I tried replacing windows with Ubuntu 22.04 with a GUI, and similar freezing issue still occurred.
\nI wonder if my freezing issue is the result of insufficient memory? 4GB does seem too little.
\nHence I was contemplating the following upgrades:
\nDo you think these upgrades will allow me to use this computer for zoom conferences, editing online meetings/lectures that I've recorded, do some computer programming and database programming (sql server, mysql etc...) ?
\n", "Title": "Will upgrading my 15 year old computer make it powerful enough for video editing?", "Tags": "|processor|motherboard|memory|", "Answer": "As to the self-suggested upgrades:
\nYou could try bumping the ram to 16gb, but DDR3 has a lot of compatibility issues across platforms, motherboards, speeds, etc. It's not like DDR4/5 where you get memory profiles that at least helps a lot.
\nGoing from a spinning drive to an SSD could be a massive boost to say the least.
\nIf you want to try it, go for it. I would set a strict budget for your upgrades to under $100USD, it really isn't worth spending any more than that in terms of trying. And even then, this is only if you're really budget constrained to begin with. You might be able to find a donor PC, or a much newer used option, depending on where you are at, on Facebook marketplace, ebay, craigslist or other options (buyer beware).
\nGetting over 8gb ram is really essential for running anything with a modern browser. You did mention trying Ubuntu, which itself is rather bloated and 4gb was never going to cut it there. You could try a less resource intensive UI distro such as KUbuntu or Linux Mint (Mate). The browser will still be your biggest bottleneck.
\nUnfortunately this may well still be insufficient for general use today. You might consider a 7000 series AMD laptop or mini pc that has RDNA3 level graphics, which are halfway decent for integrated and better than most lower cost GPUs from a few years ago or older.
\nYou're honestly looking at about 8 cpu generations, the first half at 5-10% improvements generationally, and the latter closer to 25%. That doesn't include increased cores and clocks. It's really a massive difference.
\n" }, { "Id": "17948", "CreationDate": "2023-06-24T12:40:14.410", "Body": "I have an old ITX PC. The essentials of the spec are currently:
\nThe video card and PSU are recent upgrades. The rest is around 10 years old.
\nSince replacing the PSU it has run reliably, however the fan is a bit louder than I would like. I believe the noise comes from the CPU fan which is the original. (I replaced the case fans with quiet models and it made no difference). That said, it isn't unbearable (maybe 25-30dB).
\nI am looking to upgrade the motherboard, CPU and memory for much improved performance. I am considering:
\nI would also upgrade the video card in the future, but not right now.
\nSo, this is pretty high end (which is what I want) without going crazy.
\nWhat I am wondering is how the heat generated would compare with the current configuration. On paper, the new CPU has a lower power consumption than the old one (65w vs 84w) and probably better power management, so I am hoping the fan would be quieter. I am not sure how the motherboard will compare (I guess it is not a big factor) or the memory (possibly more, because there is more of it, but again, not a big factor).
\nThe PC will have various uses from running AI models to reading emails. So my ideal system would be able to handle the former case whilst being almost silent in the later case. I'd also want some headroom to slap a bigger video card in later.
\nAny advice on what difference the proposed upgrades would make (if any) would be much appreciated.
\n", "Title": "Upgrading the motherboard, CPU and memory on a 10 year old ITX system", "Tags": "|pc|mini-pc|upgrade|", "Answer": "Without more context usually I would assume that a GPU, then CPU upgrade would be the most effective at handling ML proccessing than anything else. While being a slightly older GPU by today's standards, I would not consider an RTX 2060 to be anything to sniff at. My estimation is that CPU/GPU upgrade effectiveness would largely depend on the AI/ML model's software implementation to exploit the hardware.
\nAs far as future proofing upgrades of the GPU, you can check a resouce like pc part picker to perform what-if scenarios as it automatically filters by GPUs your motherboard are compatible with, if you decide your GPU isn't up to your standards. Perhaps you may want to consider the possibility of leaving spare slots for SLI, though I'm not familiar enough with the latest AI/ML standards to know how effective that is for your context.
\nIn the case of your memory upgrade it's likely you'd already know if you were bumping up against a 8 gb limit assuming you monitor your system at all. If you're not coming close enough to the upper limit of that where your operating system is writing to the page file (on HDD), or using memory compression (increasing CPU load) you'll probably not see that much of a performance upgrade in that respect besides possibly some slight increase due to longer life of main memory caching.
\nThe largest performance gain you'd see from your memory is that fact that it has a significantly higher operating frequency than your former memory which will increase the over operating throughput of the system.
\nAs far as your concerns with fan noise, higher end components tend to have a better chance of having fan speed control software through vendor applications which you could control directly to run at a slower quieter speed, at the cost of overall performance.
\nIt sounds like your PSU is the most noticable component in the system so without direct control over these fans, assuming there is some sort of software/bios avenue for it, would be to decrease the power consumption of the overall components, thus leading to less thermal dissipation. There are a couple ways to do this, which mostly involve utilizing overclocking tools to limit your maximum frequencies, or voltages. Note that thermal dissipation is a function that scales linearly with frequency but has a squared relationship with voltage.
\nYour easiest bet outside of fan control software would be underclocking via software overclocking tools like Intel XTU or Asus's GPU overclocking software. If you're capable of dealing with overclocking from the BIOS more power to you. Otherwise, I'd be remiss to mention that messing with voltages is going to be more difficult than limiting maximum frequency.
\nLastly if the individual components are giving you trouble with sound you have the option to switching to water cooling (like an AIO (All-in-one) water cooling kit for you CPU for example) which will allow you to have minimal sound without sacrificing performance.
\n" }, { "Id": "17971", "CreationDate": "2023-07-08T06:50:07.340", "Body": "I want a fast, portable Linux system for development purposes; I need to be able to compile in parallel, preferably 16 cores, a Swedish keyboard, and 2-3 TB storage; I liked the following.
\nhttps://slimbook.es/en/store/slimbook-executive/executive-1-comprar
\nhttps://www.pcw.fr/ (but they don't seem to come with a Swedish keyboard)
\nDo you think I have many alternatives, or should I choose the slim book?
\n", "Title": "Fast laptop that can run Linux, 8-16 cores, 16-23 GiB RAM, => 2TB storage, Swedish keyboard, available in EU?", "Tags": "|laptop|linux|", "Answer": "So I would reccomend the Framework laptop, although it's not availible in Sweden (yet) or with Swedish keyboard layout (yet) although it is availible with multiple QWERTY layouts and with a clear layout. It has CPUs with up to 14 cores I think (on Intel 12th gen), has 2 RAM slots (each of which supporting 4-32GB RAM) and one SSD slot (which officially supports up to 4TB but I think you can technically do 8TB too). The ports are customizable and installing Linux is pretty easy. I use mine for developing too (although mine is 11th gen Intel) and I like it, although I also had to use keyboard stickers because when we ordered it they didn't have a Belgian keyboard layout yet (and that is the one I'm used to)
\n" }, { "Id": "17981", "CreationDate": "2023-07-12T17:18:05.593", "Body": "How important is the number of PCIe lanes when choosing a graphics card for gaming? My computer is still PCIe 3 and I'm concerned, whether or not a PCIe 4 x 8 graphics card like the RX 6600 will cut it for me. Should I rather invest in the RX 6700, which seems to be the cheapest PCIe 4 x 16 graphics card?
\nAs I understand it, PCIe 4 has double the throughput of PCIe 3. Thus, PCIe 3 x 16 has the same throughput as PCIe 4 x 8, correct? A RX 6600 with its 8 lanes in my PCIe 3 system would have the equivalent of just 4 lanes throughput, right? I wonder if that's enough.
\nFor context, if anyone wonders, I have a Ryzen 5 3400G CPU in a Asus TUF B450M-PLUS Gaming mainboard with 16 Gb of RAM. My display is 1080p, but my next upgrade might be a 2560x1440 monitor.
\n", "Title": "Importance of the number of PCIe lanes", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|pcie|", "Answer": "\n\nAs I understand it, PCIe 4 has double the throughput of PCIe 3. Thus, PCIe 3 x 16 has the same throughput as PCIe 4 x 8, correct?
\n
Correct.
\n\n\nA RX 6600 with its 8 lanes in my PCIe 3 system would have the equivalent of just 4 lanes throughput, right?
\n
Careful here. You still get 8 lanes of PCIe 3.0 if the card has 8 PCIe 4.0 lanes.
\nThe RX6600 will run at 8x PCIe 3.0 in your board, and will get around ~7.8 GB/s.
\n\nShould I rather invest in the RX 6700, which seems to be the cheapest PCIe 4 x 16 graphics card?
\n
That depends on the games you play.
\nThe PCIe bandwidth is not directly scaling how much FPS a GPU can achieve. In some games you will find that running on 4x lanes has a negligible impact while other games will use as much bandwidth as they can get.
This article from TechSpot shows some benchmarks of the same GPU used on different PCIe bus configurations for a variety of games. For most of the games they tested the performance drop going from 16x PCIe 4.0 to 8x PCIe 3.0 was around 5%. For Doom Eternal it was a significant 18% performance drop. So there isn't a general answer and the games you want to play should factor into your decision.
\nMy opinion is that for most games this drop in bandwidth is not going to be enough to cause buyer's remorse.
\nIf you're wondering about a game that wasn't benchmarked you can sort of judge whether it will lose FPS with less bandwidth based on some things about the way the game works and its engine.
\nMy position was recently eliminated at a biotech where I worked for 17 years and am in the process of looking for a Windows development laptop that I can use for some training classes that I am taking in Azure technologies such as Azure DevOps, Azure Portal, Containers (Docker and Kubernetes) to get my skill set up to speed so I can hopefully find a new job.
\nI have a laptop, but it's terribly underpowered and have been doing some research however thought that I would check here as well..
\nThanks in advance
\n", "Title": "Can Anyone Recommend a Windows Development Laptop?", "Tags": "|development|web-development|", "Answer": "If there is no budget/region limitations the Framework 12th gen DIY laptop is probably best. It's repairable, stirdy and if you tell them to include Windows they will, but if you are gonna go work in Azure, you can save \u20ac150 by going Linux. It's power is pretty ok (I use the 11th gen and it's still pretty powerful) although the battery life isn't amazing on 11th gen but I think they partially fixed it on 12th and 13th gen
\nEdit: Since you are gonna be working in Docker and it might be nice to be able to test locally on Linux. WSL is possible though but that doesn't work as nice
\n" }, { "Id": "17990", "CreationDate": "2023-07-16T16:07:15.957", "Body": "I am looking for a TV 32". I do not want an Android TV, my preferred OSes are Tizen and webOS.
\nWhen I filter for 32" TV I don't find any that support 4K. It come in several online stores only 1080p tv.
\nIs there a specific reason for this? I thought 4K was standard today (2023)?
\n", "Title": "TV with small diagonal (32\") without 4K resolution? Is that still up to date?", "Tags": "|monitors|television|hdtv|", "Answer": "a 32" TV, even at 1080p, can be difficult to view from a distance, as a TV (not computer monitor) should.
\nI've bought a 32" TV @ 1080p rather than the 720p; if I were to do it again I would get the 720p because it is a TV I am not less than 3 feet from it like a computer monitor.
\nA 32" @ 4K would not be good as a TV.
\n32" @ 4k is good as a computer monitor, if you face is less than 2 feet from it, and is good visually for gaming and video watching.
\nSo yes a 32" TV sold at stores having less than 4K resolution is still up to date.
\nThe 32" 1080p TV I bought, viewing from couch ~10 feet away, I cannot read the directv stream guide channel nor much of the Roku channel listings. If that were 4K resolution it would be horrible.
\n" }, { "Id": "18017", "CreationDate": "2023-07-24T15:40:14.943", "Body": "I got Asus PRIME B650M-A WIFI II Motherboard and Ryzen 5 7600 CPU.\nI have already bought a Kingston Fury DDR5 5600MT/s RAM (part number KF556C40BBA-16); later on I found it's only XMP (Intel) certified, while I would prefer one that is EXPO (AMD) certified.\nShould I return it to buy one with EXPO or keep it?\nWhat will be the consequences if I keep it? (mainly in terms of performance)
\n", "Title": "Which RAM Module should I pick?", "Tags": "|pc|", "Answer": "There is no real difference. I also have XMP RAM on AMD (DDR4) and that works perfectly without XMP, with XMP and even with a minor overclock
\n" }, { "Id": "18022", "CreationDate": "2023-07-26T21:18:19.090", "Body": "I have an ASUS Vivobook 14 laptop (model: X412D) which seems to have a partial disk failure: the computer boots to BIOS. The Windows OS on a live USB stick failed the repair process. I was able to retrieve the data with a live Ubuntu session from an USB stick, now I would like to change the hardware.
\nIt seems like the computer was not equipped with a "standard" HDD or SSD disk (empty area on the bottom left without any connectors); hence I believe the equivalent hardware is part of the motherboard.
\n![\"ASUS](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/LTpUS.jpg\")
Examine B4 and any connected squares, and you'll find there is a card-edge connector at the right end and a securing screw on the left end. This is an nvme PCIe solid state drive. I expect you can look up the specifications for your specific model computer and you may also find those specifications under the metal foil. The foil is a heat transfer medium and likely contacts a surface on the removed cover.
\nA small cross-tip screwdriver is all that is needed once the replacement is ready to be installed.
\nAccording to the ASUS web site for that model, you have also a conventional spinning drive at B5, which may be the location from which you were able to retrieve your data and may not be defective/damaged.
\n" }, { "Id": "18035", "CreationDate": "2023-08-02T13:56:54.957", "Body": "I need a card that will give me another 4k HDMI or DP output on my Dell Inspiron 3668.
\nThe case will hold a full-height card, but the power supply is weak so it won't support a hungry GPU.
\n(This is just for office use so I don't need a GPU. Current MoBo has Intel HD Graphics 630 but only one HDMI output.)
\n", "Title": "Card to add second 4k display output to workstation", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|4k|", "Answer": "Pretty much every GPU released in the last several years has 4K support and HDMI/DisplayPort connections. Even the "bottom of the barrel" GPUs have these features now.
\nThe NVidia GT 1030 is one such card that usually does not have any extra power connector requirements and should support 2x 4K screens.
\nBe advised that you can continue to use your motherboard graphics with the new card too. For example if you need two DisplayPort connections and each only has one.
\n" }, { "Id": "18057", "CreationDate": "2023-08-12T03:48:34.077", "Body": "About 4 or 5 times a year I need to use my laptop while travelling and I would like to carry a second screen. My current one is an old ASUS thing. It is fat and has split USB cable, which works only half the time because of its power requirements.
\nI ended up buying this from Amazon
\ncocopar Portable Travel Monitor 15.6 Inch 1080P FHD USB-C Portable Screen with Dual USB-C Mini HDMI Portable Monitor for Laptop PC Mac Surface Xbox PS5 Switch, with Cover VESA Mountable
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/RdJ8r.png\")
I have a UMPC (ultra mobile PC) GPD Win 3 as Pictured below. My goal is to use this with a USB-c enabled monitor and get more than 2 hours out of it (I can only do this while using the battery's power). I want to provide power to the device while using the monitor at the same time. I believe a need a special docking device? I cannot find something that does this.\nI hope you'll excuse my use of images to explain the problem:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Y4GQL.png\")
\nNormally while "on the go" I can bring a Bluetooth keyboard and power the device. I could also use a generic USB-c to USB device to plug in multiple USB things.
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/t6JwA.jpg\")
\nUsing the dock I could use an HDMI conneciton and power the device at the same time. The problem here is that I'm using the wrong monitor.
![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/wtCIS.jpg\")
\nConnecting up the monitor and everything I want works except that the device is not powered. The power does not go through the monitor into the PC
There are devices (USB-c splitters) that look like this which only work for headphones and typically say that they are not for use with monitors:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/mWTAE.png\")
My question is what sort of device can I purchase to send power in to the PC while allowing a monitor connection to be made.
\nGraphically it would look like this:\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/hJgLn.jpg\")
\n\nuse a USB-c enabled monitor and provide power to the device
\n
This has been an almost unattainable goal for a long time. Chaining Thunderbolt docks had downstream USB C ports which were capable of DP alt mode, however most of these were big desktop docks with separate heavy AC/DC bricks supplying more than 100W. A notable exception was the JEYI Thunderdock mini which used a USB PD power input. However, it didn't work correctly with a <100W adapter and so JEYI changed it to contain a small 100W GaN power supply. This and the StarTech DKM31C3HVCPD were the only solutions I am aware of. Both were very expensive, though. Nowadays with USB4 there are more such adapters built around the Intel JHL8140 USB4 endpoint chipset. Examples are the Sparkle Travel Dock and the j5create JCD401.
\nAnother solution is to combine two adapters:
\nThe disadvantage of doing this is you need a PD source with two ports.
\nHowever, these days there are adapters/cables which can take a USB C signal from the phone/laptop containing a DisplayPort signal, another from a PD source and has a third USB C port which contains the same DP signal and power from said source. Often only part of it: the adapter will send some to the host as well. Compared to the solution above, these solutions only use one power port from a PD source. Once again his blog contains a list of USB-C -> DP alt mode + power delivery \u201csplitter\u201d (or merger depending on your perspective) devices, this list is much, much shorter, at the time of this writing only contains four devices.
\n" }, { "Id": "18070", "CreationDate": "2023-08-16T06:20:33.257", "Body": "I am looking for a KVM switch under $70USD. All I need to do is switch 2 HDMI ports and 2 USB Ports (for wired Keyboard) into one HDMI and one USB.
\nI dont need to switch the mouse as I have enough room on teh desk. I am also not sure how a wireless logitech mouse would switch anyway.
\nI have looked around, but they either seem to be 500+ or they look too cheap in terms of quality.
\nMy usage is Windows desktop primarily. For a few hours a week, I want to use a raspberry pi gui. At present I have a separate keyboard and mouse. I have both hdmi cables plugged into my monitor. And I go into the monitor's setup to switch the source over. I do use putty for cli.
\n", "Title": "Looking for a KVM Switch for HDMI and USB (Keyboard)", "Tags": "|kvm|", "Answer": "I recommend this Camgeet($57): it has good reviews, HDMI 2.1, USB 3, is within budget, and I'm a sucker for metal housing.
\nGreathtek build's sturdy KVMs. They have a cheap one($22), but it's only USB 2. Their expensive one($90), is USB 3, but out of your budget.
\nIf you want USB 3 and can settle for HDMI 2.0, there are many clones, but I recommend this Giimake($31) because it has it's own power supply.
\nYou can go super cheap with an HDMI switch($12), but then you either need two keyboards, or a software solution. While I have had great experience with Synergy, I do NOT recommend using it unless you have separate monitors for each computer.
\n" }, { "Id": "18082", "CreationDate": "2023-08-21T10:24:29.357", "Body": "I am looking for a laptop
\nHere are some minor details that I will be assuming when writing this answer:
\nThere are no good laptops with HDD booting anymore, so I will assume an SSD is also ok. Windows is currently also only Windows 11 on new laptops but you can still install Windows 10 on most of them.
\nThe one I would reccomend is the Framework 16 DIY. If you spec it out with 2x8GB RAM and a 1TB SSD, you would come out a little under $2000. For that kinda money you are getting an ultra repairable laptop (I have the Framework 13 and I have heared that the 16 is even better) with a Ryzen 7 7840HS and later the possibility for a GPU. You can connect up to 3 external displays if I'm correct (although you could technically have 6 HDMI ports but that's just stupid). The only downside is is that it has a backlit keyboard but I think you can turn it off. There is no option to buy a Windows 10 license (thanks Microsoft) but you can still install Windows 10 and then buy it later in the Microsoft store
\n" }, { "Id": "18095", "CreationDate": "2023-08-25T21:50:15.177", "Body": "![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ddpep.jpg\")
I need your help to identify the following TV audio cable;
\nIt's being connected to my LG TV monitor to the 'headphones' connector, it's shorter than aux cable (connecting aux cable to the headphones connector is falling out of the connector ('too long')).
\nHow such a cable connector called, and where can I get it ? Am I missing something ?
\nThank you very much.
\n", "Title": "What is the following TV audio cable called?", "Tags": "|audio|television|cable|", "Answer": "Search for audio splitter cables. Then scroll until you find the matching plugs/sockets in type and dimensions.
\nIt is not clear whether the single end is a socket or a plug. This is close
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/OKi2M.png\")
I want to do atomic simulation of proteins using CUDA.
\nI am preparing to purchase a Lenovo laptop. The available GPU options are: the GeForce RTX 4070 and Quadro RTX 5000.
\nWhich one would be better for my purpose and why?
\nWherever I see any benchmark, I see that GeForce outperforms Quadro by miles. If that is so, why is Quardro even in the market?
\n", "Title": "Accelerated computing: GeForce RTX vs. Quardo RTX", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|", "Answer": "Simple, Quadro RTX is based on Turing, and the RTX 4070 is based on the Ada architecture. Turing is way older (it was used in the RTX 2080 for example) so that's why the 4070 is faster. That doesn't mean Quadro is useless, there are Ampere based Quadro cards (like the RTX A6000) and those are faster than the Geforce 4070 in some use cases (like the ones that require 40GB of RAM) so there is still a use case for Quadro cards, you are just comparing Turing to Ada, and Ada will AFAIK always win
\n" }, { "Id": "18104", "CreationDate": "2023-08-29T00:41:26.343", "Body": "I've recently bought an NVMe SSD. The model is called "WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD" (4 TB) and comes without a heatsink (according to the homepage of Western Digital). However, there's some sort of a black (and very flat) "pad" attached on top of the SSD, and I'm asking myself if that's a heatsink.
\nPictures can be seen here:
\nhttps://www.westerndigital.com/products/internal-drives/wd-black-sn850x-nvme-ssd#WDS400T2X0E
\nOn other NVMe SSDs one can see the different components, such as the controller, but this model has that flat pad attached to it.
\nDoes anyone know if this is a heatsink, and whether I can/should add (another) one?
\n", "Title": "Question about the heatsink of my NVMe SSD", "Tags": "|ssd|heat-sink|", "Answer": "It is without a heat sink. The picture may be a generic one for all models.
\nIt says it's Part#: WDS400T2X0E
Further down it says
\n\n\n" }, { "Id": "18113", "CreationDate": "2023-09-02T03:52:51.097", "Body": "Product Numbers
\n
\n1TB , Without Heatsink\nWDS100T2X0E
\n1TB , With Heatsink\nWDS100T2XHE
\n2TB , Without Heatsink\nWDS200T2X0E
\n2TB , With Heatsink\nWDS200T2XHE
\n4TB , Without Heatsink\nWDS400T2X0E
I have all Ubiquiti hardware so I want to stick with it. The USG is hopeless for security in that if I enable the Threat Management System the throughput drops to 85Mbs (there is a warning is the setup about it). So, I don't have it on.
\nI am looking at these two
\nUbiquiti UniFi UDM-PRO Dream Machine Pro 10G HyperFibre Router, 10G SFP+ x2\n
\nUbiquiti UniFi UDM-SE Dream Machine Special Edition 10G HyperFibre Router, 10G SFP+ x2
\nI can't figure out why the second one is more expensive (apart from the SSD and POE support). $700 is a lot to pay for this.
\nMy priorities are
\n| Specification | \nUDM-PRO | \nUDM-SE | \n
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | \n442.4 x 43.7 x 285.6 mm | \n442.4 x 43.7 x 285.6 mm (17.42 x 1.72 x 11.24") | \n
| Weight | \n3.90 kg or 3.99 kg With Brackets | \n4.95 kg (10.91 lb) | \n
| Interfaces | \nNetworking; (8) 10/100/1000 RJ45 LAN Ports, (1) 10/100/1000 RJ45 WAN Port, (1) 1/10G SFP+ LAN Port, (1) 1/10G SFP+ WAN Port | \n(1) WAN: 2.5 GbE RJ45 port, (8) LAN: 1 GbE RJ45 ports,(1) WAN: 10G SFP+ (1) LAN: 10G SFP+ | \n
| Management | \nEthernet In-Band, (1) Bluetooth BLE | \nEthernet, Bluetooth | \n
| POE Interfaces | \n\n | (2) PoE+ IEEE 802.3at (pair A 1, 2+; 3, 6-), (6) PoE IEEE 802.3af (pair A 1, 2+; 3, 6-) | \n
| IDS/IPS Throughput | \n3.5 Gbps | \n3.5 Gbps | \n
| Processor | \nQuad ARM Cortex-A57 Core at 1.7 GHz | \nQuad-Core ARM\u00ae Cortex\u00ae-A57 at 1.7 GHz | \n
| System Memory | \n4 GB DDR4 | \n4 GB DDR4 | \n
| On-Board Flash Storage | \n16 GB eMMC | \n16 GB eMMC Integrated 128 GB SSD | \n
| Max Power Consumption | \n33W | \n50W | \n
| LEDs | \nHDD Activity, RJ45 Link/Speed/Activity, SFP+ Link/Speed/Activity | \n(1) 1.3" touchscreen | \n
| ESD/EMP Protection | \nAir: \u00b1 16 kV, Contact: \u00b1 12 kV | \nAir: \u00b1 15 kV, contact: \u00b1 8 kV | \n
| Operating Temperature | \n-10 to 40\u00b0 C (14 to 104\u00b0 F) | \n-10 to 40\u00b0 C (14 to 104\u00b0 F) | \n
| Operating Humidity | \n5 to 95% Noncondensing | \n5 - 95% noncondensing | \n
| Certifications | \nCE, FCC, IC | \nCE, FCC, IC | \n
Concern With external HDDs for NVR, presumably they can't be on RAID.
\n", "Title": "Looking to replace my Ubiquiti USG with something faster", "Tags": "|router|gateway|", "Answer": "After I made the table in my question for comparison, I realised that there were two differences. The UDM-SE has an SSD and POE's. Downunder the difference in price was $700.
\nSo, I have purchased the UDM-PRO
\n" }, { "Id": "18139", "CreationDate": "2023-09-13T13:45:58.313", "Body": "I had purchased Bluedio headphones, but they turned out to be rather useless. They
\nMy plug in ones work fine every time, so the hardware on my PC is ok.
\nI am looking for over ear wireless (BLE), chargeable headphones
\nI bought the Sony Mk3 and Bose 700, and ended up returning the Sony. Both were very similar and had excellent noise canceling. They came out with the Mk4 shortly thereafter that had all the features that I chose the Bose for.
\nI have been using my Bose 700 5 days a week for 2 years and the battery life has dropped from 21 hours to 16 hours per charge. I have had to replace the ear cups twice, but otherwise they look brand new despite what I have put them through.
\n" }, { "Id": "18179", "CreationDate": "2023-09-29T12:40:59.237", "Body": "All of the wired (i.e. not Bluetooth, wifi etc) stereo PC speakers that I've come across have ~1m cables between the two speakers that are hard-wired at either end. Therefore the only way to extend the distance between the two is to splice the cables, which with my limited skills is never that durable. What I'm looking for is a speaker set that either has a longer 2m+ cable, or connects to the second speaker with unpluggable cable e.g. with a 3.5mm jack, which I can easily extend with an extension cable.
\nThanks
\n", "Title": "Are there any wired PC speakers that connect the second speaker either with a 2m+ cable, or with a unpluggable cable?", "Tags": "|cable|speakers|", "Answer": "You could always use a "real" speaker system where the speakers have electrical terminals for speaker wire and have to be attached to an amp. Look for "bookshelf" speakers and a stereo amplifier. No reason you can't use this with a normal PC, and it might even sound better than most of those "all in one" desktop speaker systems.
\nI have a set of these Micca COVO-S speakers attached to a SMSL SA-36A desktop amplifier. This uses speaker wire that I had to cut to the right length.
\nYou could also look at buying some "active" or "powered" studio monitors for PCs, which are like bookshelf speakers but they have all of the electronics inside the left or right speaker, then some speaker wire runs from the main unit to the other unit.
\nI would suggest the Mackie CR3-X speakers for something that's completely ready to use with a PC and doesn't take up too much desk space.
\n" }, { "Id": "18189", "CreationDate": "2023-10-07T18:34:07.317", "Body": "I am looking for a WiFi USB dongle or WiFi+Bluetooth USB dongle with the following requirements:
\nMust-haves:
\nNice-haves
\nThe best I could get so far by searching on Amazon for "driverless USB WiFi adapter" was a bunch of devices that pose as a USB mass storage and offer you to install the drivers from it (here is one example), which violates must-have requirement 2.
\nThe second-best I could find is a product that has drivers built-in into Windows 11, but not Windows 10.
\nMaybe anyone had the same problem and found the product that solves it?
\n", "Title": "WiFi USB dongle with no need to install a driver in Win10", "Tags": "|usb|wifi|", "Answer": "OK, since nobody has responded, I have just bought an (almost random) USB dongle to give it a try and it worked.
\nTLDR: TP-Link Archer T3U Nano (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KTDXPY3)
\n(Full disclosure: I am NOT an Amazon affiliate and I do not benefit from sales of this product in any way)
\nTwo things were very frustrating in the process of search and selection:
\nAnyway, I just bought a product that was coming from a well-established manufacturer (although not from the free world). The product description was as ambiguous as all other product descriptions, and it also ships with a CD, which hints that driver installation would be needed, but to my amazement, it just picked up a stock driver that ships with Windows 10 and worked without asking for any driver installation on a machine that was not connected to the network (so it is not possible that the driver was quietly picked up from Windows Update).
\n" }, { "Id": "18196", "CreationDate": "2023-10-11T08:47:16.827", "Body": "Consider the following configuration:
\nQuestions:
\nIn the end, I bought the Samsung memory, tried the configuration and it works.
\nMaybe others might find the following answers useful, but I can NOT guarantee it's going to work on you specific configuration too:
\nI'm familiar with USB-C wireless transmitters/receivers for video/audio transfer, but are there any designed specifically for file transfer? I'm looking to connect one to an external hard drive, allowing me mobility with my laptop around my apartment while the drive rests on my console. Do such devices exist? Any recommendations or insights would be greatly appreciated.
\nFor context, I work with large-format graphic design files in programs such as InDesign, which require the files to be linked. It's getting to be too much for my internal HD, so I was hoping for something fast enough that I could continue to work on it as it is stored remotely.
\n", "Title": "USB-C Wireless transmitter and receiver for file transfer?", "Tags": "|wireless|usb-c|", "Answer": "Your comment referencing a constant synchronization between the remote drive and your work files suggests that a software solution may serve your requirements. I use Allway Sync which supports network shared drives, NAS systems, etc and the configuration of a given backup plan allows for live/dynamic/instant synchronization, barring open file conflicts, although I believe that one can override that limitation as well.
\nI'm aware there are other sychronizing programs on the market, but uncertain of the flexibility of configuration. Some are free and Allway Sync has a free trial with limitations. The cost of the Pro version isn't presenting itself on the linked site. I believe that I paid US$20, although it was so long ago, I would expect the price to have risen.
\n" }, { "Id": "18224", "CreationDate": "2023-10-26T13:48:01.100", "Body": "So a bit over a year ago, I moved to a new laptop, and connected an external USB hard drive with the files from my old one. Since then, I used the external drive, labeled as Elements (E:), as a second drive, leaving it plugged in at (nearly) all times, working directly out of it, and mapping several taskbar items, shortcuts, program settings, etc. to directories in the external drive. I'd run many programs from it, leave programs stored in it open for long stretches of time, use performance-heavy programs from it, and work in very deep directories (For example: E:\\****\\****\\****\\****\\****\\****\\****\\****\\****\\****\\)
For a while, this worked without issue, but eventually, the drive started automatically disconnecting during heavy use. After a while, it stopped doing it, but it came back again, and now it's just inevitable whenever I'm working off of the drive or using things on it for any moderate amount of time. Through some research, I've found out that the drive is very much meant for backups only, and not constant heavy usage, so I've been wanting to replace it with a different one more suited to the task.
\nI'm planning to use Robocopy to move the files over from the original, since system images won't work because the drive disconnects partway through, and Robocopy should allow me to continue where I left off after it reconnects, and I'm planning to label the new drive as Elements (E:).
For context, my current external drive is a WD Elements 2TB portable HDD, connected by USB. It's 3.5", 5400rpm, "Bus Powered," USB 2.0/3.0, and has a flash memory size of 2. My laptop is a ThinkPadT15p with 2 USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and is running on Windows 10. In spite of it being a laptop, I usually just leave it on my desk, only really moving it to one other place in the house when I have company or taking it with me when traveling.
\nI've tried researching it myself, but I haven't really been able to find much information about what would fit my specific needs, and I'm not knowledgeable enough about how drives actually work to fully understand the differences between SSD and HDD, or to evaluate the specs of individual products. Again, I'd like it to effectively just be a second working drive, being available 100% or near 100% of the time, able to withstand heavy use, and at a similar speed to my current drive. It also needs to be at minimum 2TB, though it would be nice to upgrade to 3 or 4. That's just a nice-to-have though.
\nIn regards to budget, I'm willing to go up to around $300, maybe a bit past, but only if it's actually going to last at least a few years without having to be replaced. If I'm just going to have to replace it in a year again anyway, then I don't want to pay more than $100. However, if you have recommendations outside of my price range and feel that the ones in my price range won't adequately suit my needs, then I'd still appreciate if you mentioned that.
\n", "Title": "USB External Drive fit for constant and heavy usage", "Tags": "|usb|hard-disk|ssd|data-storage|reliability|", "Answer": "The price of SSDs has now dropped sufficiently that there is no longer any real need to have to consider HDs at all. They're bulky, delicate & easy to damage by dropping etc.
\nSSDs are 'unbreakable' in ordinary use - of course they may not stand up to being run over by a bus or dropped from a 3 storey building, but for daily knocks & scrapes they should last 'forever'.
\nThe will wear out eventually, as will anything, and people seem to have this fear of them being 'used up' rapidly, because they do have a finite wear limit stated by the manufacturers. In practise this wear limit is not a particularly limiting factor, especially on larger drives. My own 1TB boot drive SSD is now nearly 9 years old & still good according to SMART tests. It is in constant use on a computer that never even ever goes to sleep.
So - find yourself a big box retailer*, something like Curry's in the UK or maybe Best Buy US & get something from a name you've heard of.
\nSamsung, SanDisk, Crucial, Seagate, WD etc
UK prices are under \u00a3250 for 4TB.
\n*Big box retailers will sell exactly what it says on the label. Amazon & eBay etc, you're not always quite so sure of what you get. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
\n" }, { "Id": "18235", "CreationDate": "2023-10-30T23:31:40.247", "Body": "I installed some wireless IP cameras in my parents' house. They work great. The only problem, especially for them who are over 65 years old, is how to watch them quickly and easily.
\nCurrently, they need to open a slow mobile app or a computer, which may or may not be on at the time, whenever they hear a suspicious sound or someone at the door. By the time they finally manage to do it, it's almost always too late.
\nBasically, what they need is some way to keep the camera images running all day on a monitor. Something that is very common for wired cameras.
\nIs there any equipment or solution that allows this? Something like a DVR but for wireless IP cameras.
\nI thought about buying a cheap laptop that would stay on 24/7 for this purpose, but it's hard to accept that there isn't a dedicated solution better than that. Can someone help me please?
\n", "Title": "Solution for viewing wireless IP cameras in real time on a monitor", "Tags": "|monitors|camera|home-security|ip-camera|dvr|", "Answer": "Just find out, with Romen's help, that the hardware I'm looking for is called a Wireless Multi-channel NVR. Not exactly a DVR.
\n" }, { "Id": "18239", "CreationDate": "2023-10-31T22:00:44.297", "Body": "It's hard to find a product selector with the option to select on detailed product spec.
\nI'm looking for a mobile phone power bank with roughly the following spec, although I could be flexible for "near misses":
\nIve looked online but its hard to find that kind of info easily across current and recently discontinued models. Maybe someone knows more than I do what's around that might suit?
\n", "Title": "Mobile power bank shortlist", "Tags": "|power-bank|", "Answer": "I'd recommend this INIU 10000 mAh battery bank
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/zsD3X.jpg\")
I'd consider this 18000 mAh battery bank as well, but it's from a less reputable brand and it isn't available in the UK.
\n" }, { "Id": "18244", "CreationDate": "2023-11-02T09:18:16.553", "Body": "Recently I have decided to upgrade my laptop screen and after doing some research I have found BOE NV156FHM-N61 as a candidate. One of the major reason i am upgrading is because my current display is TN panel and hence having severe viewing angle issue, so this candidate has to be IPS to resolve the problem. The confusion here is that the website i mentioned is saying that the panel type as a-si TFT, while others are saying its IPS, even my local shop is sayig it is IPS. I have heard TFT-LCD and IPS LCDs are completely different. Can somebody clear this confusion? also the panel i mentioned is really IPS or something alternative to IPS? I am looking for a REAL IPS, not any alternative.
\n", "Title": "confusion between A-SI TFT vs IPS TFT", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "The NV156FHM-N61 is an IPS panel.
\nTFT (thin-film-transistor) LCDs are the dominant panel technology for all LCDs. Both IPS and TN panels are types of TFT panels. In other words, all IPS panels are TFT panels, but not all TFT panels are IPS panels.
\n" }, { "Id": "18254", "CreationDate": "2023-11-04T16:45:32.857", "Body": "After more than 10 years, my laptop is finally broken. Actually, it's been announced for about 2 years now, but all new laptops seem to have serious defects for me personally. There is no DVD drive and you can't simply remove the battery. I'm looking for a new laptop that doesn't have these two defects. The laptop should have an Intel processor.
\nI don't pay any attention to weight or any design things at all, and I'm especially not a fan of Apple products. The laptop should have as large a hard drive as possible, but the access speed on it isn't that important, so I don't necessarily need an SSD. In addition, a proper graphics card wouldn't be bad, but it's not a must.
\nTo perhaps make it clearer why I need a DVD drive, I would like to install the operating system myself and then I would also be able to use the laptop as a portable DVD player.
\n", "Title": "Laptop with DVD drive and removable battery", "Tags": "|laptop|", "Answer": "![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Wt9GS.jpg\")
As far as I'm aware, the Panasonic ToughBook series is the last remaining line of laptops that offers user swappable batteries (i.e. you can change the battery without disassembling the laptop.) Both the ToughBook 40 and ToughBook 55 models offer DVD and Blu-Ray drives.
\nIntended as ruggedized "do-everything" laptops, these guys boast just about every type of I/O, along with IP54/66 water/dust and MIL-STD-810H/MIL-STD-461G environmental ratings (for the 55 and 40 respectively.) They also come with the thickness and price tags to match\u2014these are not consumer-friendly thin-and-light laptops. For reference, the cheapest SKU with a DVD drive and Wi-Fi is the FZ-55FZ-1QAM, at a whopping $4,381\u2014and that's without a second battery. The version with a Blu-Ray drive, the FZ-55FZ065AM, has an MSRP of $4,723. However, if you really want that swappable battery, it's your only option left. That said, I would ask you to consider if you could use an external DVD drive and a battery bank; it would probably be cheaper and lighter, provide a more versatile and performant experience, and be more pleasant to use day-to-day.
\n" }, { "Id": "18261", "CreationDate": "2023-11-06T18:00:58.243", "Body": "Is there an e-reader you'd recommend for reading Wikipedia? If so, why do you like that one?
\nThere is nothing quite like the wiki-linked articles Wikipedia offers for exploring non-fiction topics. But reading these articles from a self-lit LCD screen is much harder on my eyes than reading paper pages. For that reason I am looking for an e-reader that is not self-lit, enables access to Wikipedia, with easy navigation of wiki-links. I would likely also load PDFs onto the device - books and webpages I want to read offline.
\nI don't know much about e-readers and will probably get a used one to avoid buying new electronics. Big bonus if it is a 'lower environmental impact' device.
\n", "Title": "What E-reader is good for browsing Wikipedia and navigating its wiki-links?", "Tags": "|e-reader|", "Answer": "![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/awo2b.png\")
Pros:
\nCons:
\nWhile there are e-readers with cellular data support and built-in web browsers that can access Wikipedia\u2014notably the Kindle Oasis ($250), which includes it for free\u2014using a web browser to read Wikipedia on an e-reader is frequently a subpar experience:
\nAs such, I'd recommend using an offline version of Wikipedia. While you'll have to connect to Wi-Fi if you want to download the absolute latest copy of a page, Wikipedia isn't the kind of site where you need the latest updates all the time. In particular, I'd recommend using Kiwix to download and browse Wikipedia offline. Kiwix uses the open-source ZIM format1, which supports hotlinks, images, formatting, and more; it's supported by the Wikimedia foundation; and it's available for a wide variety of platforms, including Android (via Google Play, F-Droid, or as an APK.) You can easily fit the entirety of English Wikipedia, with images, onto a 128 GB microSD card. Since all the BOOX models support microSD cards and run Andriod, you should have no problem loading Kiwix onto them. Plus, you can download other Kiwix libaries\u2014including StackExchange!
\nSince the BOOX devices are intended as e-readers, they support plenty of e-book formats, and there's no restrictions on what stores or libraries you can use. Also, since they're running normal Android, you can also run whatever other apps you want, including your preferred PDF viewer/editor.
\n1 While popular Kobo line of e-readers used to unofficially ZIM files, this feature has been removed and no longer functions on firmwares released after 2016. Given that this method was always sort of sketchy and no longer functions at all without a lot of work, I can't recommend a Kobo.
\n" }, { "Id": "18280", "CreationDate": "2023-11-13T22:31:22.263", "Body": "I have an array of Wi-Fi cameras at a location very distant from my wireless router. I have installed an extender as near to the cameras as possible, but the connection is very slow (I believe the signal travels over 100 ft). At times, I also have a hotspot device which is much nearer and much faster. Unfortunately, these cameras (Wyze) can only be configured to connect to one wireless network at a time and so they have no automatic switching capability like smartphones.
\nI would like a device that is able to connect to the extender (always available) and the hotspot (when available), then repeat the signal (whichever is stronger; the hotspot) with a single SSID - this way it appears to the cameras as just one network. I am unsure if this would cause issues due to the inconsistent IP addresses.
\nI have not managed to find such a device searching the web, the closest I can think to do is to make my own \u201ccustom\u201d router with e.g. a Raspberry Pi. Before I plunge into that, is there a pre-existing device like this?
\nThanks for your time.
\n", "Title": "Looking for a device that can connect to multiple wireless networks and repeat the signal as one SSID", "Tags": "|wifi|router|", "Answer": "![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/6rWc1.png\")
Since most of the data is going from the cameras to the house, we want to add another access point near the cameras with solid TX power. Very roughly speaking, it's easier to receive than to transmit, so we're probably better off putting the powerful AP close to the cameras. We can then keep your EAP225-Outdoor close to your house, where it'll act primarily as a downlink for the EAP610.
\nSome of the other options I considered but ultimately decided against:
\nI'm interested in purchasing a Lenovo Legion 5 laptop (Legion Pro 5 16IRX8). In the manufacturer's technical specifications sheet, it is mentioned that the laptop has slots for 2 SSDs (Up to two drives, 2 x M.2 2280 SSD up to 1TB), but from what i can understand, this is just what Lenovo offers. Will SSDs with larger capacities work? I'm interested in adding 2x4TB SSDs (after purchase of course).
\n", "Title": "Upgrading Lenovo Legion 5 to have 2 4TB SSDs", "Tags": "|laptop|ssd|", "Answer": "You are correct, you can put larger drives in the slots, the 1TB is just what Lenovo offers as part of the spec. You will end up with the pre-installed SSD extra, since most laptop manufacturers don't offer to ship with no drive installed, but you can just turn it into an external drive with an inexpensive NVMe USB enclosure (Amazon or similar)
\nI would also recommend having a look on youtube for "Legion Pro 5 16IRX8 tear down" guides so you know what you will need to do in order to replace the drives. A quick review shows there are several and the procedure looks pretty straight forward - , just make sure you fully shut down the laptop and disconnect the battery before you remove/replace SSDs.
\n" }, { "Id": "18285", "CreationDate": "2023-11-15T06:07:10.213", "Body": "I\u2019m looking to add an outdoor WiFi setup to my home with three goals in mind:
\nHere's a hastily drawn diagram:
\n![\"crappy](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/rcHMa.png\")
Are there any systems that would accomplish both of these in one?
\n", "Title": "Are there any outdoor WiFi bridge and access points in one device?", "Tags": "|wifi|networking|", "Answer": "These are two very different use cases: a high-bandwidth, omnidirectional network for near the house, and a low-bandwidth, directional network for the shed. You'll be much better served by using two separate access points.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/OtSKK.png\")
As far as I'm aware, there are currently no Wi-Fi 6 compatible DD-WRT access points/routers. I'm also not aware of any outdoor rated Wi-Fi 5 access points that are DD-WRT compatible. You could definitely still go with an indoor DD-WRT compatible access point, but I think there are better options.
\nI'm recommending the Ubiquiti U6 Enterprise, since it's powerful with good coverage, supports Wi-Fi 6, is relatively easy to manage, isn't insanely expensive, and most importantly is IP65 rated so you can mount it outside (though I'd still put it under cover.) That said, if you don't like Ubiquiti there's plenty of other valid options; something from Ruckus or Aruba might be good, though likely more expensive. You could also use multiple inexpensive access points from someone like TP-Link.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/BPkJ7.png\")
Since it seems like you don't need a ton of bandwidth, but do need a lot of range and (more importantly) need to go through a lot of trees, I think a lower-frequency radio makes sense. Cambium is basically the only remaining manufacturer for 900 MHz radios (Ubiquiti used to make them, but no longer does.) You'll need one at each end, but given that budget doesn't seem to be a huge deal and these are fairly affordable used, I think it's a good strategy.
\nYou may also want to add Yagi directional antennas for better signal strength. Cambium makes a 12 dBi antenna (the N009045D003A - $100), but you could use any 900 MHz Yagi antenna.
\n" }, { "Id": "18337", "CreationDate": "2023-12-09T00:39:11.973", "Body": "I have been using Brother multifunction printers a for a long time. The latest one is MFC27700. Because it has a colour scanner and does reasonable black printing. And I have had a separate compact Fuji printer CP305.
After the last android update, the new mobiles can no longer print to the Fuji. The old ones can, because the app is already installed. And I had promised the MFC to the boys when they shifted out to a flat, which is happening now.
\nSo, I am looking for combination laser printer/scanner for a home office
\nBased on @Tetsujin's advice, I have decided on HP Color LaserJet Enterprise MFP M480f. The resolution is not as high as I was hoping, but in NZ, the prices are stupid. This was $1399+GST.
After ordering it, I discovered there was no stock in NZ, delivery unknown. So I have bought Brother MFCL8690CDW Colour Laser Multifunction Printer for Business / Education / Medical Centre. This was much cheaper at $746+GST, and I very happy with it.
I'm a VR developer and need to keep multiple headsets both connected to my computer (as clients) and powered - where their expected continuous draw will be >2A, closer to 2.4 or 2.5A on average.
\nWhat makes me nervous about most of the "USB-PD breakout dongles" on Amazon, advertising both USB3 data transfer and 100W PD capability, is that I have a hunch that the PD port is designed to also be the port connected to the host device. I don't want to plug one of those into my workstation just for it to try to backfeed 100W into my mobo - I want it to feed 100 (or 15, who's counting) watts to the VR headset while still treating the headset as the client.
\nDo these devices work that way?
\nAre there any (pro-level or not) hubs that are capable of supporting this data connection model while supplying this high power level to multiple ports at once? (I've seen numerous hubs that advertise 7 or even 10 "2.4A" ports but only come with a 48W power adapter - so clearly only capable of supplying full power to at most 4 ports concurrently.)
\n", "Title": "USB hub with >=2.4A power *and* data", "Tags": "|usb|", "Answer": "Turns out this was more difficult than I though it'd be to find. Apparently the search term I was missing was "BC 1.2", short for the USB Battery Charging 1.2 Compliance Plan\u2014the part of the spec that allows for higher current charing over USB, without USB-PD.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/ecCaT.png\")
As you've found, this (along with its harder-to-find 4-port sibling) appears to be the only USB-A hub with all 2.4A ports. A few other manufacturers also sell the same hub with their branding on it, but the Wavlink branded one is the most consistently available and cheapest. Hopefully you should be able to use at least 3-4 of the ports consistently at full power, even if you can't get all of them at 2.4A. You could try a higher amperage power supply (it's not going to hurt anything), but I certainly wouldn't guarantee it does anything.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Tnk1a.jpg\")
It's not the most efficient solution in terms of ports/$: of the six ports it provides, only four provide data (though all provide at least 2.4A of charging.) That said, if you're going to be plugging and unplugging your devices frequently, the convenience of a front-panel solution might be worth the extra cost\u2014even if cases with 5.25" bays are harder to come by these days. Plus, it uses a USB 3.1 Gen 2 internal header, so you'll get a bit of extra bandwidth (even if that doesn't matter much.)
\nSetting aside the benefits of extra controllers/bandwidth, it's actually cheaper to just buy PCI-e cards than to buy hubs (strange as that is.) Given that these appear to be more reliable in terms of power delivery and how much cleaner this makes things, I figured I'd throw these in here as well.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/GQLBo.jpg\")
It sure isn't the quickest card in the world\u2014it's using an older USB 3.0 controller\u2014but it's quite cheap, and supplies 5V/3A to each port. Given that the Quest is natively a USB-C device anyways, a couple of these seems like it'd probably be the cleanest solution in my mind (assuming you have the PCI-e slots.)
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/xYJPl.jpg\")
For a few dollars, you can trade two of the USB-C ports for three USB-A ports (plus an extra controller.) All ports still get 5V/3A of power. While FebSmart does make a few other cards, including a 5-port USB-A card, those only supply 5V/2A to each port, so I've left them out.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/g3bYg.jpg\")
It's a bit pricier, but you get a lot more for your money. You get a proper ASMedia controller rated at 10 Gbps per port, with the top two ports supporting 30W USB-PD, and the bottom two supporting 45W USB-PD.
\n" }, { "Id": "18345", "CreationDate": "2023-12-14T12:59:44.937", "Body": "This used to exist, the Lenovo USB-C Laptop Power Bank was 290g but it's discontinued. The Omni Mobile 12800 was 270g but it's discontinued as well.
\nWhat alternatives are available end of 2023?
\nThe Nitecore NB20000 is 324.5g, I wonder whether we could do better.
\n", "Title": "At least 45W power output at most 300g power bank?", "Tags": "|power-bank|", "Answer": "\n\n\n45W Power delivery output, [\u2026] weighs only 200g
\n
And this one is actually available right now although the US is crossed out and only CA shows availability -- Canada I guess.
\nThere's the Elecjet Apollo Pro and while I can't find the exact weight it stands to reason this 9000mAh power bank can't be much more than 200g either. Alas, it seems to be a Hong Kong exclusive. The Elecjet Apollo Ultra has received widespread praise (or perhaps it's just puff pieces? hard to say but there are some positive posts on reddit too) but it seems it's no longer available either.
\nAnother would be the Excitrus Power Bank Air but is also gone so much so the myexcitrus.com page is now a parked domain. (I have an Excitrus 65W charger and it's great, verified by a teardown review.)
\n4Smarts has a Power Bank Pocket Slim 10000mAh 45W and I see a a few French sellers on eBay. As a bonus it even supports through charging although this image suggests it only charges at 27W while discharging at 45W. The page doesn't have the weight, amazon.com claims 6.7oz or 190g.
\n" }, { "Id": "18350", "CreationDate": "2023-12-16T20:16:37.057", "Body": "I'm contemplating the use of U.3 drives in my next desktop PC build, although I have no direct experience with them. (The reason for considering them is largely because I want to be able to run at least some of them in RAID 1 and rotate the drives out periodically; having hot-swap capability would also be nice. Given that M.2 drives are generally right on the motherboard, swapping them out is much less convenient. My current build uses SATA drives but they are now unacceptably slow, relative to the NVMe competition.)
\nI have found some U.3 enclosures for between 2 and 6 drives (also some U.2, and indeed some say they can do both). These are typically 5.25 inch units with front-opening ports for inserting/removing drives.
\nThe cabling also seems to be straightforward, though I confess I've slightly glossed over that part so far.
\nHowever, connecting the drives to the motherboard is less obvious, as I can't find U.3 host adapters. I strongly suspect I'm missing the point somewhere, so this is the main point on which I'd really appreciate some guidance...
\nI have found multiple different PCIe x16 cards which have 4 SFF-8643 connections, but all of these say they are for U.2 drives.\nSince I have read that U.3 drives can be used in U.2 backplanes (but not vice-versa), perhaps such cards would actually be an acceptable way to proceed? (Perhaps they are the only way to proceed in fact?!)\nI've yet to find a single U.3 PCIe card, which baffles me.
\nI'll note that I've also found adapters which allow an M.2 drive to be converted to U.3 (or U.2) form factor. I would certainly consider using these as part of my setup (it seems to be slightly easier/cheaper to buy M.2 drives than U.3 in the <= 4 TB range), since with a multi-drive enclosure I'd still get the benefits of easily swapping out drives, and I'd just need as many adapters as M.2 drives to keep things really simple. (I don't yet know if this would permit hot-swapping.)
\n(Regarding the actual enclosures, cables, PCIe cards (etc.) that I've found, I'm not sure it's OK to insert links to commercial offerings here so I'll not do that right now, but happy to add some if this is permitted.)
\nPS: I have also found PCIe cards onto which a single U.3 drive can be mounted, but I don't see much benefit in these for my application.\nPPS: this is my first question on this part of the network, and I'm hoping this is the right place to ask it...
\n", "Title": "Using U.3 drives in a desktop PC", "Tags": "|ssd|desktop|drive-enclosure|", "Answer": "I have also searched and I was not surprised to land at microsatacables -- in all things SFF/PCIe and similar they are a well known and reliable vendor. They have a PCIe Gen 4 OCulink (SFF-8611) to U.3 (SFF-8639) Cable and a U.3 Female (SFF-8639) to Mini SAS HD (SFF-8643) cable.
\nYou can read more on U.3 here which mentions
\n\n\nA U.3 NVMe drive is backward compatible to U.2 drive bays
\n
so presumedly any U.2 cable would work too. We can create a single U.2 drive bay with a U.2 SFF-8639 NVMe SSD to PCI-e 4X Adapter. This is also available in cable format from adt-link, a well known company for PCIe risers: PCI express 4.0 x4 to U.2 (SFF-8639) Extension Cable.
\nThis forum post confirms
\n\n\nthe CBL-SAST-0956 cable works with my Micron 7450 Max U.3.
\n
The CBL-SAST-0956 is an OCULink - U.2 cable.
\nSo no matter how you get four PCIe lanes off the motherboard, be it a PCIe 4.0 x4 slot, an U.2 connector or an OCUlink connector there is a cable for it -- just get the U.2 cable if nothing else is available.
\n" }, { "Id": "18371", "CreationDate": "2023-12-29T18:40:54.447", "Body": "I've had a Corsair K70 RGB Pro for my laptop for quite a while. However, a recent accident with a coffee cup has, sadly, ended that one's use. I need a good, new, mechanical keyboard, which will be used for coding and a little bit of gaming. It must be wireless, and I don't really want a palm rest because my desk is a little too small for a laptop and a massive keyboard, I don't care about RGB, whether it has it or not, and it must be a Windows layout. I don't really mind on the size, but I'd prefer a TKL keyboard now, just because I never use the numpad. Any suggestions? UK QWERTY please Budget is anywhere up to ~\u00a3170
\n", "Title": "New Mechanical Keyboard for Coding", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/VHH3O.png\")
This is going to be your best, no-compromises all-rounder. It's got every feature you could want in a classic keyboard, and at a pretty reasonable price.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/PlOdO.png\")
The build quality on this keyboard isn't quite as fancy as the Keychron Q1 Pro\u2014it's a plastic chassis, and the included keycaps are PBT with dye-sublimation instead of double-shot ABS\u2014but for the price, it's real hard to complain. In any case, it should still beat your K70 by a mile (although it's not liquid proof :P).
\nI want to buy a GPU for amateurly using and fine-tuning LLMs or LMMs. I don't have enough money for buying RTX4090. I can buy RTX4060 TI 16GB VRAM or RTX4070 12GB VRAM. But i am so confused.
\nWhen I tried to use LLMs on a 15 VRAM GPU azure cloud instance with vLLM docker images, So many LLM didn't work because VRAM not enough errors thrown from CUDA. I understood VRAM too important for using LLM with CUDA. RTX4060 slower but have more VRAM, RTX4070 faster but have less VRAM. Actually I don't need high speed because I don't have a real time process problem.
\nIf I have RTX4070 But I never use Mistral 7b (with awq or not). Then this is expensive garbage.
\n\n\nDo you guess VRAM requirements will be reduced?
\n
no. problem sizes will only become larger in the future, requiring more VRAM on the GPU if a GPU is to be used. They may refine the code (llama2.cpp, llama.c) to be more memory efficient but i doubt that will compare to the inherent memory required based on model size and model size will always become larger.
\n\n\nDo you guess VRAM will be increasable with RAM ([i am thinking] because Apple M3
\n
not sure what you are asking. yes VRAM on nvidia cards will increase in the future, just like anything else and has we have noticed over the years starting from 1,2,4 gb now up to around 32gb per pcie card such as a RTX 4000 series now has. Will it coincide with DRAM DIMMS that are modular and allows someone to plug in and upgrade I do not think so. Will VRAM get up to 64gb and 128gb like we see on consumer motherboards probably. Will VRAM approach the ~768gb RAM limit of the x86-64 cpu currently, I think it is possible for a niche market but not for the consumer market.
\n\n\nWhat do you think about this problems
\n
Large Language Models (LLM) which I know little about, a quick internet search responds with Running large language models on a home PC? - You will need at least 350GB GPU memory on your entire cluster to serve the OPT-175B model.
\nSo it will depend on your LLM that you are playing with and what VRAM requirements you are dealing with. Playing with LLM's seems to be highly VRAM dependent, 350gb and mention of cluster gives the distinct impression that processing LLM's at home is not easily done and if so on very small models.
\nyou also mentioned docker, which is in regards to containerization, I would look into being sure that running in a cloud instance with containers that the clustered (more than one) VRAM of many GPGPU's is actually accessible, that may be a reason why you are seeing errors such as VRAM not enough. Make sure the amount of VRAM reported within the container (docker) is correct.
\n\n\nWhich GPU would you choose?
\n
of the three you listed the one with the most RAM, but if that's 16gb, or even 32gb, and LLM's generally need > 100gb or whatever then recognize that reality and understand the VRAM needs for whatever LLM's you are working with. Current market price of a used Nvidia V100 gpgu having 16gb can be found around $1000 USD, they do come as 32gb and new is up to around $5000 USD, and that is with them a few generations old now (turing, ampere, current is now hopper). You would need ~4 V100's to have > 100gb of [distributed] VRAM possible along with the associated hardware to connect those. Saying low-budget and LLM in the same sentence is not realistic (yet).
\n" }, { "Id": "18385", "CreationDate": "2024-01-03T18:38:34.683", "Body": "I have had some problems with my laptop recently, and I wanted to change the current hard disk drive. On task manager, the hard disk drive is labelled as ST1000LX015-1U7172. From Googling, I understand that this is a 2.5 inch SATA Internal SSHD Hard Drive with 7 mm Form Factor. I am looking to replace this with an SSD.
\nI was worried about compatibility, and I just wanted to ask for advice on here as to whether what these SSDs may fit in place of the current HDD, and if you have any recommendations.
\nMy laptop is a ROG Strix G531GU for context. Thank you!
\n", "Title": "Upgrade HDD to SSD for ROG Strix G531GU", "Tags": "|laptop|gaming|ssd|", "Answer": "That Crucial and Samsung SSD are fine, although I personally have preference on the Crucial MX500. Here in Belgium it's pretty cheap, it will fit on any spot where there used to be a SATA HDD, and is availible in capacities between 250GB and 4TB. It also has a DRAM cache which makes it so things slow down less under heavy load. Although the price has increased lately, it's still an okay price since it's high quality (\u20ac80 for the 1TB model)
\n" }, { "Id": "18391", "CreationDate": "2024-01-04T22:13:27.220", "Body": "I have these devices that use USB-C to charge:
\nThis is the wall power adapter I am trying to use to charge the headphones and the baby sound machine via a USB-C to USB-C cable, but it does not work.
\nMy question is:
\nhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B099W69QL6
\n![\"USB-A](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/r4ADe.png\")
The headphones and sound machine only charge if I use a USB-A (for the wall outlet) to USB-C cable (pictured below).
\nI just bought brand new Anker cables, so I know they cannot all be defective.
\n![\"USB-A](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/SNonL.png\")
I think the issue is the basic consumer products you are attempting to charge can only charge a 5 volts at 1 amp (5W) and cannot negotiate with a higher wattages wall charger.
\nI say this without having solid specs on this, but I personally have converted to all USB-C items on my MacBook Air and have some items that can technically charge via USB-C but only do so when I connect them to a 5W USB-A charger. Items like a no-name \u201cAidisun\u201d bike flashlight and such.
\nLook at what your KOOPAO (!?!) can charge at:
\nNowhere does it say \u201c5V/1A\u201d but somehow that comes through with the USB-A connection?
\nIt baffles me, but my bet would be that all of the consumer products you mention:
\nWhile they might have a USB-C connection, they can only work with USB-A connections because the manufacturers somehow did not set their devices with proper power negotiation circuits? They are effectively \u201cdumb\u201d USB devices that can only take what they are given but only if not above a certain (5 volts at 1 amp) wattage?
\nI wouldn\u2019t waste time with new cables or even a new charger. Sorry to say, I don\u2019t believe the promise of USB-C charging across devices exists. Especially when makers of USB-C chargers and devices that claim to be cable of USB-C charging are so opaque about power requirements.
\nFWIW, I just tried this out but if I connect a USB-A (Male) to USB-C (Male) to a USB-A (Female) to USB-C (Male) adapter I can successfully charge by crappy \u201cAidisun\u201d bike flashlight. According to my USB-C power meter, power is sent at 2.5W (5V/0.5A) which is pretty low.
\nSo I wonder if this the case where some consumer devices that have USB-C power adapters charge at 2.5W (5V/0.5A) but somehow can\u2019t negotiate with higher wattage AC adapters? Like if it is less than 5W (5V/1A) on pure USB-C to USB-C it doesn\u2019t know what to do?
\nMy guess is your USB-C to USB-C charging problems won\u2019t go away with a new AC adapter because the problem is ultimately with the consumer devices themselves.
\n" }, { "Id": "18414", "CreationDate": "2024-01-07T21:44:44.333", "Body": "I'm inspecting NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050. According to the NVIDIA official web, this card has 8GB memory. However, some laptops that state have this card, also say it has 4 GB. For instance, HP Victus 15. I have inspected some of those NVIDIA itself advertises (see this list), and the same happens.
\nSo does the RTX3050 have 4GB or 8 GB? If the mentioned card has 2 versions, is there any laptop finder that allows to specify how many graphic card's GB I want?
\n", "Title": "Difference, in graphic cards memory, between NIVIDA official page and laptop specifications", "Tags": "|laptop|graphics-cards|memory|", "Answer": "It's fair to say Nvidia's graphics card marketing names suck. To make a long story short, laptop graphics cards and desktop graphics cards generally aren't the same\u2014i.e. an RTX 3080 (desktop) is not the same chip as a RTX 3080 (laptop), and won't perform the same. Even if they were the same chip, modern GPUs are typically power and thermal limited; thus, in a laptop, any GPU can only perform as well as that laptop's cooling allows it. The TL;DR of this is that the only reliable benchmark for laptop GPU performance is... a benchmark of that specific laptop with that specific GPU. Which sucks, and is crazy confusing for consumers, but that's where we've ended up.
\nThat said, we can at least get a vague benchmark by comparing what hardware is in each laptop; generally, the easiest way to do this is by looking at GPU chip code names, such as this Wikipedia table for the GeForce 30 series.
\nAs you can see, the GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop always uses a GA107 chip (the same as some, but not all desktop RTX 3050s, but that's another can of worms.) However, where the desktop card comes with 8 GB of VRAM, the mobile version can come with either 4 GB of 6 GB of VRAM. Even more confusingly, the 4 GB version of the card is also a slower version of the GA107 chip, with fewer CUDA cores and stream processors. Eesh.
\nAnyways, all this to say: despite having the same name, they're not the same really. It's marketing. The best we can do is provide you with a more specific laptop recommendation, given your budget and your needs. If you can edit your post with this information, we can help you better.
\n" }, { "Id": "18437", "CreationDate": "2024-01-18T03:12:32.557", "Body": "Where can I find some hardware SMS gateways (GSM modems?)? SMSEagle's seem good, but I'm looking for something cheaper and without many bells and whistles.
\nThe SIM800C below claims to "Support 2G 3G 4G SIM Card", but I don't think it does; I am looking for something it, though, but for 4G LTE or 5G:
\n![\"SIM800C\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/lIWUC.jpg\")
A SIM7600X-H device fits the requirements; it's 4G LTE (Cat. 4) and works in North America.
\nSee Waveshare.com's SIM7600X 4G Module wiki page.
\n" }, { "Id": "18441", "CreationDate": "2024-01-18T18:10:39.757", "Body": "Back in early 2022 my brother built my amazing PC for me, sadly he is no longer with us.
\nHe was the always the hardware guy and I was software guy. So I am out of my depth but I really want to figure it out.
\nI am looking to upgrade to a GPU that is much more optimal for my line of work, which is cleaning and editing dense scanned 3D data (Photogrammetry). A lot of the workstations at my workplace use the NVIDIA RTX A6000 and I really like its performance.
\nI want to upgrade my GPU to the A600, but I am having a hard time figuring out if the other parts of my PC will be compatible with it.
\nMy current build consists of:
\nHow do I do determine if the NVIDIA RTX A6000 will fit in the case?
\nHow do I determine if my current motherboard is compatible with the NVIDIA RTX A6000?
\nHow do I determine if my current CPU is compatible with my the NVIDIA RTX A6000?
\nHow do I determine if my current PSU will provide optimal power for entire build, (once the NVIDIA RTX A6000 is added)?
\nAny help and insight would be most appreciated!
\n", "Title": "Does my motherboard support the NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPU?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|motherboard|pc|", "Answer": "\n\nHow do I do determine if the NVIDIA RTX A6000 will fit in the case?
\n
The specific model of the A6000 that you linked says it is 10.5" long. If you're shopping for a different manufacturer/model of A6000 just make note of the length from that manufacturer's specifications webpage.
\nYour case is the Meshify 2 XL which fits GPUs up to 13.3" (340mm) so there is no concern here about whether the A6000 will fit. FYI this case can fit even longer GPUs if you remove the metal structure for the hard drives, then it can fit practically any GPU ever.
\n\nHow do I determine if my current motherboard is compatible with the NVIDIA RTX A6000?
\n
The RTX A6000 requires a PCIe 16x slot, ideally that should be PCIe 4.0 but the GPU is backwards compatible. The physical dimensions of PCIe has never changed, and they almost always have forwards & backwards compatibility to allow old motherboards to use new GPUs, or old GPUs to work in new motherboards.
\nYour motherboard is new enough to have PCIe 4.0 so there is no concern about losing performance anyway. The A6000 will fit and it will be compatible with the motherboard.
\n\nHow do I determine if my current CPU is compatible with my the NVIDIA RTX A6000?
\n
There isn't really a case where a specific CPU and GPU would be incompatible unelss it's something unusual like vendor-locked hardware for servers, or an engineering sample that's missing entire features. In general you can trust that any retail consumer CPU will support any GPU, there are standards to ensure this stuff "just works".
\n\n\nHow do I determine if my current PSU will provide optimal power for entire build, (once the NVIDIA RTX A6000 is added)?
\n
The specs page for the A6000 (again, make note of the specs for whatever model you actually buy) says it can draw up to 300W of power.
\nYour CPU and the other components in the system can probably draw near 200W, so the total power required for everything to run at peak load would be somewhere around 500 to 600 Watts.
\nYour power supply is already a whopping 1600W which is enough to be using multiple A6000 GPUs if you wanted.
First-time asker here (let me know if there's a better stack for this)
\nI recently bought a secondhand Lenovo ThinkServer TS460, intending to run a home media server on it using UnraidOS. Here's Lenovo's Product Guide. The specific machine that I bought came with a RAID Controller (It appears to be the ThinkServer RAID 520i PCIe Adapter) connected to a board via MiniSAS that connects to all four available disk bays via SATA, and powers the four disks via this 8-pin connector (the port it connected to is labelled BP8_PWR_CON1). Here's some pictures:
\n![\"The](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/qnIor.jpg\")
The motherboard minus the RAID Controller
\n![\"The](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/4Hm6w.jpg\")
The RAID Controller PCIe Adatpter
\n![\"The](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/XECGz.jpg\")
The "front" of the board that bridges the four disk bays to the RAID Controller - note the MiniSAS Port and the 8-pin power cable
\n![\"The](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Cd0Ws.jpg\")
The "back" of that board - note the four SATA ports for the disks
\nThe power supply is actually a pair of hot-swappable redundant 450 W AC (100 - 240 V) Modules (from the product guide: probably Lenovo's ThinkServer 450W Hot Swap Redundant Power Supply). The power supplies slot into a board that has all the power ports for the motherboard components:\n![\"Board](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/vTze4.jpg\")
UnraidOS specifically states in their docs that it doesn't really support the use of hardware-based RAID controllers, but I figured that's ok - I'll just pull out the RAID controller and the board that connects to it via MiniSAS and connect my disks to the four available SATA ports on the motherboard.\nHowever I can't find a port to power the SATA connections. The product guide says that up to four disks are supported via the on-motherboard SATA ports, so it seems that what I want to do is in-spec. My understanding is that I'm looking for a 4-pin port (ideally labeled SATA pwr or something like that), but I don't see one...
\nOpen to other creative suggestions, Thanks
\n", "Title": "How can I power SATA HDDs given this motherboard?", "Tags": "|hard-disk|server|power-supply|sata|power|", "Answer": "The breakout cables are directional.
\nIf you choose to bypass the backplane, the forward breakout cable is what you need. You can search for the SFF-8643 (Host) to 4X SATA (Target) or forward breakout Cable on Amazon.
\nIf you choose to bypass the HBA/RAID card, you can use the ThinkServer OEM reverse breakout cable FRU 00HV802.
\n" }, { "Id": "18451", "CreationDate": "2024-01-21T22:31:44.057", "Body": "My search engine queries turn up a lot of result for the reverse, whether it's possible to use the Wi-FI M.2 slot for an M.2 SDD (e.g. NVMe).
\nThe computer I ordered has an NVMe M.2 slot and a 2.5 HDD SATA connector. Since I don't have any NVMe disks, I'm thinking of connecting my M.2 SATA SSD (which I currently use via an external USB enclosure) to the 2.5 HDD SATA connector using an M.2 to SATA adapter.
\nThis leaves me with a single free M.2 slot. Is this NVMe M.2 slot compatible with, say, Intel AX20x0-based Wi-Fi cards? Can I use the SSD M.2 slot for a Wi-Fi card?
\n", "Title": "Can I use the SSD M.2 slot for a Wi-Fi card?", "Tags": "|wifi|compatibility|m.2|", "Answer": "Yes. I recommend the Sintech M.2 M-Key M.2 Key E Module,NGFF WiFi Card to M.2 Key M Adapter Card.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/P6m9x.png\")
It is worth noting that under certain conditions PCI-e lane allocation may mean that if you use both M.2 slots, some PCI-e slots may have reduced (or no) bandwidth. As such, you may or may not actually get any benefit compared to using the "normal" PCI-e adapter card that's typically included with standalone Wi-Fi cards. If you can provide your exact motherboard, we can provide more specific information.
\n" }, { "Id": "18465", "CreationDate": "2024-01-28T00:40:56.010", "Body": "I'm looking to upgrade to a slightly more powerful gaming laptop. I have the specs I want in mind but just want recommendations of brand and model that match, some pros and cons of each, and maybe a roughly expected price range for a device of these specs.
\nI currently have a MSI cyborg 15. This has an Intel i5-12450H, RTX 3050 and 16GB DDR5 RAM. It's great for playing regular GTAV online but when playing on custom servers with heavy graphics, it can struggle now and then, especially if its set to 144hz instead of 60hz. For university, I also use it for compiling and rendering 3D games, hosting servers, and complex mathematical computations (e.g. calculating mersenne primes)
\nDesired specs:
\nI've chosen these specs because they're better than what I currently own but I think still withing my price range. Specifically I stated the 3070 and not a 4000 series GPU because based on all my research the 3080 and even 3070 will still outperform a 4060.
\nMy price range is preferably \u00a31200-\u00a31400. I believe the 3070 will better fit that price range. I don't really know how to compare the 3000 series and 4000 series so if there are RTX 4000 series laptops that would have equivalent performance to one with the 3070 then I'm open to knew ideas.
\n", "Title": "Laptop recommendations for these specs", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|processor|gaming|memory|", "Answer": "Intel and AMD just released new laptop chips, in the form on Meteor Lake (Core Ultra) and Hawk Point (Ryzen 8000) chips respectively at CES 2024. A bunch of laptop manufacturers debuted or announced laptops with these chips at CES, but most of them either aren't out yet, aren't widely available, or target a higher end price point then you're looking.
\nAs such, in the coming weeks, I'd expect there to be two classes of laptops that work well for you:
\nMany of the former category just aren't available yet\u2014especially in the UK. Conversely, getting a good deal in the second category may take a little deal-hunting with your local retailers, as they try to clear out stock to make way for new models.
\nAlright, with that said, let's get into some of the contenders. This really isn't an exhaustive list just due to the fluid nature of the market at the moment, but I'll go over a few that I think are worth looking at.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IaJH9.jpg\")
Compared to some of the other offerings we've seen in the past year or so from other vendors, the m16 R2 isn't anything crazy. It's using a solid display, but not an OLED; it's not huge, but not small; it's not bad looking, but it's not sleek (IMO.) Still, it's a nice step forward, bring a much reduced footprint compared to the previous generation m16. And, for the price, it's pretty good value for the latest Dell has to offer... except, that as far as I can tell, it's not available in the UK yet. I'd expect it to come soon, but I don't have a definitive timeline.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/6sHxA.jpg\")
Asus's refresh of their popular G16 is looking pretty good. While it strangely lacks Wi-Fi 7, it's a minor oversight in an otherwise compelling device. I personally find the refreshed look to be quite aesthetically pleasing, especially in white. However, the OLED panel here is the real star of the show, and it's got good reviews so far. The big sticking point is the price. The device isn't actually out yet, so we have no idea how much it'll cost... and I wouldn't be surprised if it's out of budget, unfortunately.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/fGDZb.jpg\")
Out of budget, but worth a mention.
\nThere's very little info available on this laptop (Lenovo doesn't even have a page up yet for it, only the Pro 7i Gen 9), but given the lack of an OLED screen, I struggle to see it being more compelling than the Zephyrus G16 unless you care deeply about Lenovo's keyboards or it's priced very competitively. In any case, it's not out yet.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/kLbM9.jpg\")
Still out of budget, but this deal from Curry's is pretty compelling. I do have a bit of a personal aversion to Gigabyte due to their... less than stellar... support staff if something goes wrong, but the hardware is reasonably solid.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/H6LvC.jpg\")
It's a great laptop, but for whatever reason, it seems to be weirdly expensive in the UK; an identically spec'd version of this laptop was $2179 (about \u00a31700) in the US before CES 2024, yet it's somehow more expensive now. Don't ask me how. If it happens to come up on a steep sale, I'd recommend it, but otherwise you'd probably be better off waiting on the new G16.
\n" }, { "Id": "18469", "CreationDate": "2024-01-28T07:02:03.373", "Body": "Why do mechanical keyboards have 2x USB plugs? Ordinary keyboards only have one.
\nFor example Logitech G G815 has 2x USB plugs, also the whole previous models. Why is that? I have tried it and it is enough to plug in one plug.
\n", "Title": "Why do mechanical keyboards have 2x USB plugs? Ordinary keyboards only have one", "Tags": "|usb|keyboards|", "Answer": "As mentioned on their site, one is a passthrough port. So, you can plug something close by instead of at the PC. And it not true that mechanical keyboards have 2X USB ports.
\n\n\nCOMPATIBILITY
\n
I think I'm looking for a bit of a unicorn. I've done a lot of searching, and found plenty of programmable keyboards, plenty of full sized keyboards, but the only one I've found that is full sized, programmable, and US style is the Keychron Q6.
\nAre there any others? I'm not opposed to the Keychron; I would just like other options if they exist.
\n", "Title": "Full sized (104-key US/ANSI) programmable keyboard (Via)", "Tags": "|keyboards|", "Answer": "The MONSGEEK M5 is also full sized and fully programmable using QMK/VIA.
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/4M441.png\")
Keychron also makes the V6, C2 Pro, K5 Pro, K10 Pro, and Q6/Q6 Pro/Q6 Max, all of which support QMK/VIA.
\n" }, { "Id": "18474", "CreationDate": "2024-01-29T22:12:42.363", "Body": "I have an ancient laptop that officially maxes out at 384MiB; that's 128MiB soldered on the mobo, and a 256MiB SO-DIMM. I've swapped the CPU from a 1.5GHz Intel Celeron, with a 2.4GHz Pentium 4 (it boots!) and I believe that by replacing the CPU, the machine might allow more RAM, and I'm also hoping that it might allow for faster RAM?
\nNOTE: The Pentium 4 did previously run at 2.4GHz (in an Intel desktop MOBO), and lshw shows it as product: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.40GHz, however it appears to be running at 1.8GHz... which is probably a good thing both in terms of power and thermals. It appears to be running fine (on mains power anyway) and is stable.
Obviously, it's horrendously slow and the P4 probably won't help much. But if I could install 1GiB RAM, then it might be vaguely usable.
\nAttached are photos of the original 1.5GHz Celeron, the replacement 2.4GHz Pentium 4 (I can't read the label but lshw says it's version: 15.2.7), and the existing 256MiB SO-DIMM.\nYes, the P4 has a heat-spreader on it which makes fitting the heatsink + fan... somewhat challenging... but that's fine!
![\"Intel](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/LTurP.jpg\")
\n![\"Intel](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/pMJIP.jpg\")
\n![\"SO-DIMM\"](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/GGYSb.jpg\")
Update 2024-02-12:\nThe 1GB RAM I ordered arrived today. I installed it and... the doesn't seem to work. Photo of the new ram anyway:
\n![\"enter](\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/IzYSl.jpg\")
It would help if you specified exactly what model of laptop that you have, but with what i'm assuming to be your model is a 2002 Dell Inspiron laptop 2600/2650 which in this case the max amount of memory it can handle is 512mb and if there is only one slot then 384mb will probably be the limit unless you can try and use a 512mb stick and see what happens but to be honest I don't see it being worth the headache. It's a 20 year old laptop you can only expect it to be anything but fast, you could use it as a retro gaming machine or even run MS-DOS and learn some legacy stuff if that interests you at all.
\nTLDR: No you can't upgrade to 1gb of ram due to the limitations of the hardware.
\n" }, { "Id": "18482", "CreationDate": "2024-02-04T08:18:17.510", "Body": "I have an old MacBook Pro 2012 that I would quite like to resurrect, however it is INTENSELY SLOW, even after a reinstall of MacOS High Sierra. It has 16GB RAM and a Core i7, so I can't see those being a problem...
\nDoes anyone have a good recommendation for an SSD drive to put in the MacBook? Preferably larger than the 240GB disk it came with.
Mid 2012 or Retina? For the Mid, anything that fits - 2.5" SATA [you can even get a caddy to put a 2nd in place of the DVD drive].
\nThe Retina is more complicated [& not one I've ever had apart] See https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/macbook-pro-retina-display-faq/macbook-pro-retina-display-how-to-upgrade-ssd-storage.html
\n" }, { "Id": "18502", "CreationDate": "2024-02-09T11:05:46.657", "Body": "current setup is:
\nMB: MSI H510M-A PRO
\nCPU: i5-11400
\nGPU: Gigabyte intel arc A310 Windforce (x16 physical, x8 4.0 utilized)
\nM.2: PCIe 3.0 x4
The requirement is to add 10GB-sfp+ card (currently looking into Intel X520-DA1). As I understand current, current mobo doesn't support bifurcation (or at least no such option in current BIOS firmware and no info in manual), so using riser card isn't an option seems to me (or maybe is, would be nice if there's a solution). If not - looking for a mobo replacement for the same platform (i.e. LGA1200) but to support both GPU and new NIC. NIC isn't purchased yet, so any x4 10Gb SFP NIC is also acceptable.
\n", "Title": "Looking for mobo to support pci-e x8 GPU and x8 nic", "Tags": "|motherboard|pcie|", "Answer": "Q470, Z490, W480, Q570, Z590, and W580 all support a a 2x8 configuration for CPU PCI-e lanes. However, I believe only Q570, Z590, and W580 are guaranteed to support a 2x8 CPU + 1x4 chipset configuration for PCI-e lanes, though some Z490 boards such as the Maximus XII Hero do support it. These boards should support your current hardware without the need for bifurcation.
\nI believe any board on this list should work for you; currently, the cheapest board available new is the MSI MAG Z590 TORPEDO at $238.98. That's pretty pricy for an older board; given that this generation hasn't been current for a little while, I think you'll be better off with a used board.
\nAside: If you're having trouble finding a used board, I can help point you to some specific listings.
\n" }, { "Id": "18513", "CreationDate": "2024-02-11T16:57:18.580", "Body": "I am upgrading an old Lenovo ThinkCentre I got cheap of eBay (a ThinkCentre M72e SFF - i3-2120, 4GB, 240GB) and I desperately need to speed it up - a new CPU should do it. I have an old i7-2600 lying around, but with no cooler. What cooler can I get for this CPU that will fit in my case? It must be powerful, because I frequently put this machine under load.\n
- Must be air-cooled\n
- Must fit in my SFF case an on my motherboard\n
- It's cramped inside, and my GTX 1650 LP takes a bit of space, so it can't be intrusive around the CPU\n
- For anyone who doesn't know, it has a socket LGA1155
This might be something that might work for you it's from Noctua, a little pricey but very low profile and efficient and should be more than enough for that cpu to keep it cool.
\n\n" }, { "Id": "18574", "CreationDate": "2024-03-27T18:25:08.420", "Body": "A Lenovo P16 laptop with a NVIDIA RTX 4000 can use up to 230 W power. The proprietary barrel power supply can provide it, but a standard USB-C docking station only provides about half of that.
\nIf I intend to use the GPU at full power, do I need to buy a docking station that provides 230W+ USB-C? Does such a thing exist? Or do I need to keep the barrel charger in also?
\nIs it possible to not use the barrel charger, and for the laptop to draw the extra power from the battery, which will charge slowly from the docking station (of course, this will only work if I use the GPU for only short periods of time).
\n", "Title": "How to run a 230W laptop + GPU from a USB-C docking station?", "Tags": "|graphics-cards|power-supply|usb-c|power|docking-stations|", "Answer": "The Lenovo P16 Gen 2 with the RTX 4000 supports USB PD 3.0, which maxes out at 100W (20V/5.0A). While there are USB-C chargers that can supply up to 240W (48V/5.0A), these chargers are using the newer USB PD 3.1 spec, and the Lenovo P16 Gen 2 won't be able to draw the full 240W even if you get one of these chargers.
\nAs such, you'll need to either use the slim-tip charger, or to rely on the battery when at peak load. For day-to-day use, you probably won't be drawing 230W continuously, so the latter is probably fine; however, you'll definitely want to make sure you have the slim-tip charger on-hand for when you need it.
\nAside: there are adapters that will let you use a USB-C charger with a slim-tip computer; however, they appear to max out at 100W currently. While higher-wattage versions may come later on, I wouldn't necessarily count on it.
\n" } ]![Wikipedia image of connectors](\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USB_2.0_and_3.0_connectors.svg\"){kind=link}
![image](\"https://b2b.4smarts.eu/media/image/product/5676/lg/540654%7E9.jpg\"){kind=link}