The computer and electronics super geek thread

[VT 1010]

Good rig, and choice of motherboard too. Mine is almost the same as yours, except I got dual GTX295s and a ASUS Rampage II Extreme motherboard. The P6T is great cause there is less of a failure rate, my Rampage failed a week into use.

Just to let you know, if you chose to have dual 5970s, you will not have room for a wireless card. I have to use a USB dongle when I am not LANing. With the multiple monitor support for 5970s right now, I would only get one, plenty of power. If you can, just chuck in one 128 GB SSD for the OS and it could possibly beat out my rig.

I don't intend to do wireless since it'll only be a couple of feet away from my router--plus I'll save cash. Right now, I'm still looking for a pair of 5970's though. I can't believe there's still a shortage...

Would an SSD just for the OS really speed it up that much? The difference in specs would indicate it, but is there a major difference in real world performance? I'm genuinely curious if the HDD would actually be a big bottleneck.

[shiroikaze]

It's kinda funny how Microsoft likes to add and remove

I don't intend to do wireless since it'll only be a couple of feet away from my router--plus I'll save cash. Right now, I'm still looking for a pair of 5970's though. I can't believe there's still a shortage...

Would an SSD just for the OS really speed it up that much? The difference in specs would indicate it, but is there a major difference in real world performance? I'm genuinely curious if the HDD would actually be a big bottleneck.

There is a noticeable difference. But if you're not going to put all your programs on the SSD, I don't think it really makes a difference. (Though my 500GB Samsung loads plenty fast for me really )

^this video shows some decent examples.

Edited April 18, 2010 by shiroikaze

[mikeszekely]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the performance bump you get from an SSD (or, for that matter, a 10,000 RPM platter) is NOT worth the difference in price/GB.

A 64GB Kingston SSD with good speeds is around $130. You can find 2TB 7200 RPM SATA II drives for that price. If my math is right (not saying it is, I'm lousy with numbers) that puts the SSD at something like 30x more per GB. And while I'd love to see SSDs become standard in notebooks (better battery life and less moving parts!), the pros just do not outweigh the price con. Not yet, anyway.

[azrael]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the performance bump you get from an SSD (or, for that matter, a 10,000 RPM platter) is NOT worth the difference in price/GB.

A 64GB Kingston SSD with good speeds is around $130. You can find 2TB 7200 RPM SATA II drives for that price. If my math is right (not saying it is, I'm lousy with numbers) that puts the SSD at something like 30x more per GB. And while I'd love to see SSDs become standard in notebooks (better battery life and less moving parts!), the pros just do not outweigh the price con. Not yet, anyway.

Agreed. Save some cash and get more storage space.

[myk]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the performance bump you get from an SSD (or, for that matter, a 10,000 RPM platter) is NOT worth the difference in price/GB.

A 64GB Kingston SSD with good speeds is around $130. You can find 2TB 7200 RPM SATA II drives for that price. If my math is right (not saying it is, I'm lousy with numbers) that puts the SSD at something like 30x more per GB. And while I'd love to see SSDs become standard in notebooks (better battery life and less moving parts!), the pros just do not outweigh the price con. Not yet, anyway.

Lol. I shoulda' talked to you before I bought my 74G raptor drive. It cost, well I don't remember how much it cost, but I got a whopping 74G HD when I could've gotten a much larger drive for the same price...

[Vince]

Speaking of an ultimate gaming rig, I'm looking to build my next one soon. I would appreciate the thoughts and opinions of this thread's more knowledgeable members.

CPU: Intel Core i7-975

Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe V2

RAM: Corsair Dominator 8GB DDR3 1333

GPU: (2x) ATI Radeon HD 5970

PSU: hec Cougar 1000

Case: ABS Canyon 695

HDD: (2x) WD Caviar 1TB 7200rpm

OS: Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit

I'll be using an X-Fi Ultimate and two BD drives from my old system as well.

If anyone has any other recommendations or anything, my hardware budget is about $3600-$3700 or so (I can get a legal copy of W7 for $20, so that's not a factor here). I also don't intend to do any overclocking either.

BTW...does anyone know where I can even find two 5970's in stock?

good stuffs, i say up the spec a bit to a 980 and the new ASUS mb (you know, the one support 6 cores), 600 gb velociraptor could be even better.

[VT 1010]

good stuffs, i say up the spec a bit to a 980 and the new ASUS mb (you know, the one support 6 cores), 600 gb velociraptor could be even better.

I thought about the 980, but since it didn't support DDR3 1333, I figured I'd stick with the 975--plus it saved me some cash. I also went with two 7200rpm drives for capacity (this is an area in which I am in great need), not to mention it made more financial sense. My budget was thrown out of whack when I had to change the power supply, plus you have to include paying a premium for the graphics cards (each $100 over MSRP). Despite the price tag of this computer, I'm not rich or anything, so cost is certainly factor. That motherboard does seem pretty nice though. Either way, it's irrelevant since the parts are on their way.

[Vince]

I thought about the 980, but since it didn't support DDR3 1333, I figured I'd stick with the 975--plus it saved me some cash. I also went with two 7200rpm drives for capacity (this is an area in which I am in great need), not to mention it made more financial sense. My budget was thrown out of whack when I had to change the power supply, plus you have to include paying a premium for the graphics cards (each $100 over MSRP). Despite the price tag of this computer, I'm not rich or anything, so cost is certainly factor. That motherboard does seem pretty nice though. Either way, it's irrelevant since the parts are on their way.

either way, it will probably be the fastest computer in miles for a long time.

[Ghost Train]

And the ongoing I-Phone prototype drama continues: Vid Don't mess with the A, they will come after you in full tactical gear MW2 style, lmao!

(Personally, I think this whole episode has been staged my Big Brother Steve.)

Edited April 27, 2010 by Ghost Train

[azrael]

And the ongoing I-Phone prototype drama continues: Vid Don't mess with the A, they will come after you in full tactical gear MW2 style, lmao!

There would probably be less press if the Apple employee's name wasn't released or if we didn't find out he paid money for the phone.

[light]

That whole apple situation seemed to be to amazing dont you think?

It has the seasoning of "make up something so people will come and loook at our stuff"

Just think about it; It just happens to be that person working for Apple "just happens" to take one of the most important new technologies for the company on a routine lunch and "just happens" that a person "just happens" to pick it up and "just happens" that person is a Apple freak and "just happens" to notice the phone is a new proto type and " just happens" that he has media friends that boost the media out of the ceiling on the issue.

Just happens

[mikeszekely]

That whole apple situation seemed to be to amazing dont you think?

It has the seasoning of "make up something so people will come and loook at our stuff"

Just think about it; It just happens to be that person working for Apple "just happens" to take one of the most important new technologies for the company on a routine lunch and "just happens" that a person "just happens" to pick it up and "just happens" that person is a Apple freak and "just happens" to notice the phone is a new proto type and " just happens" that he has media friends that boost the media out of the ceiling on the issue.

Just happens

Yeah, Jason Chen "just happens" to pay $5000 for the prototype, and then cops "just happen" to show up with a warrant and seize a bunch of Chen's stuff, and Chen "just happens" to be under felony investigation now.

Nevermind that Apple is one of the most secretive companies on the planet (an employee was supposedly fired for showing Steve Wozniak an iPad minutes before they actually went on sale, IIRC). Nevermind that no one "just happened" to have media friends (Gizmodo had an open bounty out for information on yet-to-be-released Apple products). Sure sounds like a marketing stunt to me.

[light]

Yeah, Jason Chen "just happens" to pay $5000 for the prototype, and then cops "just happen" to show up with a warrant and seize a bunch of Chen's stuff, and Chen "just happens" to be under felony investigation now.

Nevermind that Apple is one of the most secretive companies on the planet (an employee was supposedly fired for showing Steve Wozniak an iPad minutes before they actually went on sale, IIRC). Nevermind that no one "just happened" to have media friends (Gizmodo had an open bounty out for information on yet-to-be-released Apple products). Sure sounds like a marketing stunt to me.

Well explain to me how it "just happened" that with all the "just happened" security and firings; explain how this employee still has his job and went to lunch with one of the top new products of Apple?

It is amazing how that "just happened"

[mikeszekely]

Well explain to me how it "just happened" that with all the "just happened" security and firings; explain how this employee still has his job and went to lunch with one of the top new products of Apple?

It is amazing how that "just happened"

Prototype devices need testing. An Apple employee in possession of a prototype device (disguised as an iPhone 3G) is not an unbelievable occurrence. A guy getting toasted at a bar and forgetting his phone is similarly believable.

In any case, I've yet to see anything that definitively says Powell keeps his job, just suggestions that he will. Right now a lot of eyes are on Apple, and it'd be really bad PR if they canned Powell.

Your turn. Explain how a felony investigation is a marketing stunt.

Edited May 3, 2010 by mikeszekely

[eugimon]

Well explain to me how it "just happened" that with all the "just happened" security and firings; explain how this employee still has his job and went to lunch with one of the top new products of Apple?

It is amazing how that "just happened"

I know someone who works at apple, this was no publicity stunt.

[Vince]

Well explain to me how it "just happened" that with all the "just happened" security and firings; explain how this employee still has his job and went to lunch with one of the top new products of Apple?

It is amazing how that "just happened"

Product field testing happens all the time, anybody remember when this person worked for the Chinese manufacturer lost his prototype iphone 3gs, he hung himself... that was sad.

Anyway, from what I understand, the whole video was based on the believe that it was a real iphone prototype that belongs to Apple.

At the very least, I can see receiving stolen property charges against Gizmodo, since there is actually no way to tell if the phone was left in the bar, or taken when nobody was watching. And then who goes take apart someone else's stuff rather than returning them to the owners? To make it worse, they make sure the whole world knows. common sense?

[mikeszekely]

Product field testing happens all the time, anybody remember when this person worked for the Chinese manufacturer lost his prototype iphone 3gs, he hung himself... that was sad.

Anyway, from what I understand, the whole video was based on the believe that it was a real iphone prototype that belongs to Apple.

At the very least, I can see receiving stolen property charges against Gizmodo, since there is actually no way to tell if the phone was left in the bar, or taken when nobody was watching. And then who goes take apart someone else's stuff rather than returning them to the owners? To make it worse, they make sure the whole world knows. common sense?

As I understand it, Gizmodo returned the iPhone once Apple claimed it, and no larceny or grand theft charges were filed. The felony charges are more like theft of trade secrets, which is why Gizmodo and Chen are going with the "journalists are exempt" defense.

[azrael]

As I understand it, Gizmodo returned the iPhone once Apple claimed it, and no larceny or grand theft charges were filed. The felony charges are more like theft of trade secrets, which is why Gizmodo and Chen are going with the "journalists are exempt" defense.

No charges have been filed, period. The DA is still investigating the matter. Gizmodo, Chen, and the parent company Gawker, are using the defense that Chen is a journalist, and therefore, protected by law from revealing his source when the police got a warrant to search his home for evidence. As I said, this probably won't have been such as big a deal as it was if there was no money exchanged.

[David Hingtgen]

Ever since, I dunno, XP SP3, maybe earlier, the saved .htm files on my hard drive like to try to access that web page "live" when opened rather than simply reading what is saved on the drive. That's the whole reason I saved them, to access them offline and load quickly. Is there any way to force Windows to simply READ a saved .htm file, rather than always try to "load" it?

It's especially annoying when there's some active X or java in the page, as it tries forever to load it before it gives up. It kind of defeats the whole purpose of saving a page to the hard drive in the first place.

[Vince]

Ever since, I dunno, XP SP3, maybe earlier, the saved .htm files on my hard drive like to try to access that web page "live" when opened rather than simply reading what is saved on the drive. That's the whole reason I saved them, to access them offline and load quickly. Is there any way to force Windows to simply READ a saved .htm file, rather than always try to "load" it?

It's especially annoying when there's some active X or java in the page, as it tries forever to load it before it gives up. It kind of defeats the whole purpose of saving a page to the hard drive in the first place.

could be javascript, could be html onload action. can't tell you without seeing the code. open it in text editor and see if you can found 'onload' or 'location'.

[light]

Ever since, I dunno, XP SP3, maybe earlier, the saved .htm files on my hard drive like to try to access that web page "live" when opened rather than simply reading what is saved on the drive. That's the whole reason I saved them, to access them offline and load quickly. Is there any way to force Windows to simply READ a saved .htm file, rather than always try to "load" it?

It's especially annoying when there's some active X or java in the page, as it tries forever to load it before it gives up. It kind of defeats the whole purpose of saving a page to the hard drive in the first place.

i know what you mean but I have no answer for that one.

[myk]

Man. Got hit with a virus or something for the first time in all of my computing lifetime, which spans over 12 years. Now, keep in mind that I NEVER run firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spyware, NONE of that stuff and even with me going to sites where no browsers have gone before I've never had any problems. Meanwhile, I've got people like my gf and some friends that are generally benign folk who use the internet for "good" things like school, work, etc. and they get viruses and whatnot almost monthly.

Anyway, what happened to my computer was something I've never seen before: I couldn't open anything, nothing as simple as notepad, the control panel let alone any programs. Have you guys ever been hit with anything ? If you have, what were the symptoms and how did you go about fixing your system? I'm just trying to get information for when or if this happens again. I've always been under the impression that once you're infected, especially at the registry level, wiping everything clean is the only way to go...What do you guys say?

[Vince]

Man. Got hit with a virus or something for the first time in all of my computing lifetime, which spans over 12 years. Now, keep in mind that I NEVER run firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spyware, NONE of that stuff and even with me going to sites where no browsers have gone before I've never had any problems. Meanwhile, I've got people like my gf and some friends that are generally benign folk who use the internet for "good" things like school, work, etc. and they get viruses and whatnot almost monthly.

Anyway, what happened to my computer was something I've never seen before: I couldn't open anything, nothing as simple as notepad, the control panel let alone any programs. Have you guys ever been hit with anything ? If you have, what were the symptoms and how did you go about fixing your system? I'm just trying to get information for when or if this happens again. I've always been under the impression that once you're infected, especially at the registry level, wiping everything clean is the only way to go...What do you guys say?

low level format then reinstall windows will pretty much fix it

[light]

Before that try to restart it a few timez; and let window preform a startup check.

[azrael]

... Now, keep in mind that I NEVER run firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spyware, NONE of that stuff and even with me going to sites where no browsers have gone before I've never had any problems.

Boy...wearing a "kick-me" sign running 'round the 'Net like that.

[shiroikaze]

Have you guys ever been hit with anything ? If you have, what were the symptoms and how did you go about fixing your system? I'm just trying to get information for when or if this happens again. I've always been under the impression that once you're infected, especially at the registry level, wiping everything clean is the only way to go...What do you guys say?

I'm too cheap to pay a monthly subscription for antivirus/firewall updates. I'm glad Microsoft came up with Security Essentials. So often times, whatever bundled security suite I had would expire after some time. Then if I get hit, I just backup my stuff and do a factory reset and I get to restart my trial again .

Sometimes, just rolling back to previous state using System Restore would do the job fine. But if not, might as well start over with a reformat. I hardly find those fixes provided by Norton, McAfee, etc to be useful at all. They're kinda like band-aids, they'll probably get rid of the offending infection but the damage has been done already.

The things that I have been hit with are:

Some weird crap installed in Program Files, Windows, or System folders that refused to be uninstalled or deleted

Some weird file that replicates itself

Constant errors

Computer slowing down due to too many bogus processes

Restarting every x minutes (sometimes with countdown timer)

Windows Infected with trojans, viruses, and spyware? Installing (without permission) "Windows Antispyware" for you now!

And oftentimes it happen when I'm not even in the scary part of the netborhood. At one point, I actually got infected by LAFToys.com. =\

Now that I think about it, alot of the times that I have been infected were from looking up a site through a search engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc). Oftentimes when you want get a question answered, or looking up general search terms, you'll get sites that look as if it does pertain to your search but are totally suspicious sites; on the first pages no less. I don't trust some of the sponsored links on top or on the side of the listings either, though nowadays I think they (Google, MS, Yahoo...) gotten stricter with the sponsors.

Edited May 9, 2010 by shiroikaze

[BeyondTheGrave]

Anybody here of or use Western Digital WD TV Live HD Media Player?

Reason I ask is currently I'm using my xbox 360 to stream content to my TV but it can't do too many video file types. The other alternative is build a computer just for video content.

[VT 1010]

What software are you using on your PC for streaming? You may want to try TVersity or something. That's what I use for my PS3 and there's very little I can't watch using that.

[VF-19]

Anybody here of or use Western Digital WD TV Live HD Media Player?

Reason I ask is currently I'm using my xbox 360 to stream content to my TV but it can't do too many video file types. The other alternative is build a computer just for video content.

I'd consider the Patriot media box too. Better remote, the ability to put a hard drive IN the unit, built in bit-torrent, optional wireless (with a dongle), and I'm sure a few more that I don't remember. I've got it, and I love it. Patriot Media player page

My brother has the Western Digital box, and he likes his too.

[mikeszekely]

Man. Got hit with a virus or something for the first time in all of my computing lifetime, which spans over 12 years. Now, keep in mind that I NEVER run firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spyware, NONE of that stuff and even with me going to sites where no browsers have gone before I've never had any problems. Meanwhile, I've got people like my gf and some friends that are generally benign folk who use the internet for "good" things like school, work, etc. and they get viruses and whatnot almost monthly.

Anyway, what happened to my computer was something I've never seen before: I couldn't open anything, nothing as simple as notepad, the control panel let alone any programs. Have you guys ever been hit with anything ? If you have, what were the symptoms and how did you go about fixing your system? I'm just trying to get information for when or if this happens again. I've always been under the impression that once you're infected, especially at the registry level, wiping everything clean is the only way to go...What do you guys say?

First off, consider installing Microsoft Security Essentials after you get everything fixed. It's free, it's lightweight, and it performs quite well for being basic protection. Also consider grabbing the similarly-free Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and running that from time to time. It's not as pro-active as MSE or other AV software, but I've found it to be better at removing infections that get by your regular AV software.

Second, I've seen infections similar to what you're describing, in that you're locked out of running the most basic of programs, but they're almost always accompanied by some kind of fake AV popping up and promising to unlock your computer if you'll only give them your credit card number. These kinds of malware are very annoying to get rid of... they'll block you from running stuff like Malwarebytes that you might use to get rid of them. If you try booting into Safe Mode, they do a great job of hiding from scanners, so you're still infected when you boot back into regular mode. At work, I usually end up googling which processes, files, and registry keys are at the root of the issue and manually fixing them.

Before you go getting out your Windows discs, if you can get to a clean computer there's a version of Malwarebytes that you can run from a USB flash drive... just rename it ie.exe. You can also download a distro of Linux that can run an AV software from a live CD. Lifehacker recently ran an article describing how to do just that.

Edited May 11, 2010 by mikeszekely

[Hiriyu]

Just got my Eyefinity rig up and running over the weekend. It involved a migration to Windows 7 64bit from XP, an upgrade to an HD5870 from my HD4890, and the addition of 2 more 24" LCD panels, but all I can say is its uber gaming bliss.

Mini-Rant: I will say for the record that Windows 7's startup recovery software is a retarded throwback in that it is truly retarded. I installed 7 on a fresh HDD, but have my previous XP drive installed in the system as well, dual-bootable. W7 found a file that it did not like (a "corrupted" device driver) on my XP drive, and refused to boot because of it. Nevermind that the file in question resides on a completely different physical drive than the W7 OS resides on, and nevermind that the file in question was a driver for a completely different operating system, with the driver not even installed on the W7 installation; 7 just did not like it, and refused to boot due to its presence. Instead, Win7s response was to automatically backdate my install to a previous restore point, disregarding that the "corrupted" file in question was present during the initial install and susbsequent 8-10 boot cycles. In general, I have a problem with software that thinks it knows more about what I want to do than I do, and when it is demonstrably wrong.

/Mini-Rant Over

Aside from that, Win 7 actually seems pretty nice

[myk]

I appreciate the input regarding my run-in with the virus. I'll try the stuff you guys listed...

[Vince]

Just got my Eyefinity rig up and running over the weekend. It involved a migration to Windows 7 64bit from XP, an upgrade to an HD5870 from my HD4890, and the addition of 2 more 24" LCD panels, but all I can say is its uber gaming bliss.

Mini-Rant: I will say for the record that Windows 7's startup recovery software is a retarded throwback in that it is truly retarded. I installed 7 on a fresh HDD, but have my previous XP drive installed in the system as well, dual-bootable. W7 found a file that it did not like (a "corrupted" device driver) on my XP drive, and refused to boot because of it. Nevermind that the file in question resides on a completely different physical drive than the W7 OS resides on, and nevermind that the file in question was a driver for a completely different operating system, with the driver not even installed on the W7 installation; 7 just did not like it, and refused to boot due to its presence. Instead, Win7s response was to automatically backdate my install to a previous restore point, disregarding that the "corrupted" file in question was present during the initial install and susbsequent 8-10 boot cycles. In general, I have a problem with software that thinks it knows more about what I want to do than I do, and when it is demonstrably wrong.

/Mini-Rant Over

Aside from that, Win 7 actually seems pretty nice

I'm fixing to get mine Eyefinity up, got 2 5850 because one of them is a gift. I've got 2 problems, first my desk is not big enough for everything on it, second the main monitor is a 28" 1900x1200, I don't want to by 2 more of those since I have a pair of hp 22" sitting around. so my eyefinity will run at 1600x1050 for now.

Does it require special version of the games to have them span across screens?

got pix?

[Hiriyu]

Hey Vince,

You don't need any special versions of games for it to work, it just works, albeit with varying degrees of success from title to title. It's not really hardware-related, but has to do with how various games cope with ultra-high resolution and FOV settings. Mine is 5760x1080 (3x 1920x1080).

I've got a largish pile of games that I still need to install, I haven't tried any FPS games with it yet. I've also got a ton of flight sims that are waiting in the wings for installation. So freakin time consuming

Some games that I've played with and work well so far:

X3: Reunion

Sins of a Solar Empire

Pirates

rFactor

GTR

GTR2

GTL

NFS Shift

Test Drive Unlimited

Defcon

I haven't taken any actual pictures of the setup (it's just three monitors on a desk, heh), but here's a quick screenie:

ss1.bmp

Edited May 12, 2010 by Hiriyu

[Vince]

Hey Vince,

You don't need any special versions of games for it to work, it just works, albeit with varying degrees of success from title to title. It's not really hardware-related, but has to do with how various games cope with ultra-high resolution and FOV settings. Mine is 5760x1080 (3x 1920x1080).

I've got a largish pile of games that I still need to install, I haven't tried any FPS games with it yet. I've also got a ton of flight sims that are waiting in the wings for installation. So freakin time consuming

Some games that I've played with and work well so far:

X3: Reunion

Sins of a Solar Empire

Pirates

rFactor

GTR

GTR2

GTL

NFS Shift

Test Drive Unlimited

Defcon

I haven't taken any actual pictures of the setup (it's just three monitors on a desk, heh), but here's a quick screenie:

That's good to know, there is not much info on eyefinity online. i just don't want to buy 2 more 28's only for gaming. got AvP with the 5850, it should be nice. then i might just suck it up when I found a right size desk, these things are getting expensive. do you use a displayport adopter or your monitors have displayport on them?