Random Question Thread: Tech

[Arximiro]

Yeah, but what are the actual transfer rates you get on average from E-Sata, USB2, Sata3.0, and USB 3. XX MB per second? I guess it depends on the drive, but let's just use a 5400 rpm external for this since that is what I'm getting.

[mootsfox]

There aren't any drives that can cap out SATA or USB3, afaik.

SATA is a vague term, cause just saying SATA would imply the first rollout of SATA which is 150MB/s (1.5Gb/s with a leading and trailing bit). SATA II is 3.0Gb/s (300MB/s) and SATA III is 6.0Gb/s (600MB/s). There are a few drives that cap out SATA, a few SSDs that cap out SATA II and as far as I know nothing that really caps SATA III, but RAIDing chips internally and sending it through one port could easily do that.

Since USB is a shared bus, and literally shared by everything (it's a whore) in the computer, it's slow as fuck. USB 2.0 has a theoretical bandwidth of 480Mb/s (60MB/s). I've never seen a drive on USB 2.0 go over 30-35MB/s though. USB 3.0 is "up to" 5.0Gb/s. (~600MB/s) a tenfold increase. I've never actually used USB 3.0 for a drive, but I would assume that the connection is no longer the limiting factor.

eSATA is exactly the same as SATA II, just features a key-less connector and smaller size. It is basically an extension cable for SATA. It follows the same protocols and standards. (Will work with SATA or SATA II drives).

The best interfaces to use for data transfer are simply, the ones designed for it. USB 2.0 was not designed for disc data transfer, it's already a saturated bus. Use a SATA connection whenever possible since it's much much faster and more reliable.

[Callisto]

What is the coolest looking external HD 1tb+ I can buy? I got a 3tb WD my book essentials the other day, brought it home, then discovered it had a bright white led, wtf. I wish it had said on the packaging that it contains one blinding LED. I ended up just taking it back. I'd like to find one that looks cool and has blue leds, green would be ok too if there's no good blue ones. Maybe I'm being too much of a douche, but if I'm going to have one that's external and always connected I want it to look nice.

Thanks

Edit: Kind of liking this one not so much for the size but the look.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...847&CatId=4226

Would definitely go the route of getting an enclosure and hard drive separately, that's all external drives are but the price is a rip-off. I'm wary of a leather enclosure, idk how well that would work with heat if you intend to always have it on. You can get a sleek aluminum or plastic case and a drive with the exact same specifications for under $80.

[Callisto]

I'm hoping to score an SSD soon, but I had a couple of quick questions...can I easily transfer my current Win7 install and installed programs over from my current HDD, or do I have to do a completely fresh install for everything? Also, I'm not really sure how much space I should be looking for in one.

[sruon]

Transferring is always a bad idea, do a clean install.

As for size, depends... midrange size are too large for boot drives and too small for Steam/Games, still can get 100-150gb for the price I paid for my 40gb (I fit XIV + Win7 on it with 8 spare Gb)

[Arximiro]

I got a SSD a couple months ago, best purchase ever. Everything runs noticeably faster. I especially notice it when opening programs. Booting up is what people usually notice first though, it takes like 15 seconds. I agree never transfer do a quick install, it's so easy to do these days and it's the best way to avoid corrupting shit.

[Boyiee]

Figure out what you want on it. Most people do OS only, or OS+1game. I'm able to have OS+2games in 74gb.

[mootsfox]

OS, Firefox, Other heavily used programs.

It's a great feeling to have firefox load the instant you click on it.

[Kerberoz]

Yeah, better to put commonly-used applications than games on it, if you have to choose. You won't notice reduced load-times between maps as much as you'll notice firefox and photoshop starting instantly.

MMOs might be an exception, though.

[Omniyoji]

MMOs might be an exception, though.

Yeah just like the case with GT5, the SSD helps out with all bajillion tiny files.

[Kiehl]

After installing Windows 7 64, my ATI card no longer lets me select custom clock speeds or to enable manual fan control. This has been happening for ~6 months. I keep the drivers up to date and ATI CC. The card still runs fine but since I've gotten it (2 years ago), the tolerance for dust build up and the heat that it accumulates has gone way down. I have to pull the card out and clean it every 2 weeks.

Also, what's the life expectancy out of GPU's?

Edit: Ati Radeon 4750 I think is my card. At work and don't remember off the top of my head.

[Ramor]

When torrents are active what part of the torrenting process really makes the internet laggy? Every time we have torrents on in my house (or someone does) it gets laggy because obviously there's a lot of upload/download happening, all of my roommates say it's just the upload part that makes it laggy but I'm not so convinced, but I'm sure someone here knows what really clogs the tubes with torrents.

[sruon]

Depends what kind of connection you're using, ADSL for instance will bottleneck very easily if either stream is being used, try downloading while uploading at 90% of your capacity and vice-versa, it's not doable.

Some low-end routers can't handle the amount of connection that is being opened as well, causing such issues.

[Jimothy]

I just reinstalled Windows 7 on my laptop, and after getting about halfway setup here with all the programs I needed to put back on it, I realized I used a 32 bit disk when I was running 64 before. If I get a 64 disk, can I just use the "upgrade" option when installing or am I better off just formatting again and starting fresh?

[sruon]

Start fresh

[mootsfox]

When torrents are active what part of the torrenting process really makes the internet laggy? Every time we have torrents on in my house (or someone does) it gets laggy because obviously there's a lot of upload/download happening, all of my roommates say it's just the upload part that makes it laggy but I'm not so convinced, but I'm sure someone here knows what really clogs the tubes with torrents.

Who's your ISP? TimeWarner fucking throttles, I don't care who you ask.

What's your router? It's possible it's a combination of a shitty ISP and a shitty router. I can download at my max 1.8MB/s and be uploading at .5-1.0 and not have ping issues.

Your ISP is relevant here because we probably live a few miles away from each other.

[Ramor]

I'm fairly sure it's time-warner, I live in the bro district (N 4th, near frat row) but I've always had ping issues when I torrent things, even when I lived back in Maine and my last apartment, which had DSL rather than cable

[mootsfox]

I'm fairly sure it's time-warner, I live in the bro district (N 4th, near frat row) but I've always had ping issues when I torrent things, even when I lived back in Maine and my last apartment, which had DSL rather than cable

Dude I live on N. 4th near Iuka. Get WoW. They'll have to come and drop to your house, but so fucking worth it.

I can torrent with WoW, nearly maxing out my connection and not have ping issues. I do also have a decent router running DD-WRT and TCP Vegas, which rapes any QoS crap I've tried. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCP_Vegas

[Mikelee0351]

So I'm looking to do some upgrades to my desktop, and one of the things I am looking at is the CPU, I currently have an:

AMD Phenom II X4 810 Deneb 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 4MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor HDX810WFGIBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103650

I was wondering, can I upgrade to one of the new 6 core AMD's, without getting a new MOBO or anything? If I can, I'm looking at:

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103849

If not I'll probably end up getting:

AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition Deneb 3.5GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDZ970FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103894

So, is it possible? Also, any opinions on said upgrades would be appreciated.

[Isiolia]

I was wondering, can I upgrade to one of the new 6 core AMD's, without getting a new MOBO or anything?

Check your motherboard's manufacturer page. You might need a BIOS update, or you might have issues with the power requirements of some of them...but generally speaking you should be able to.