Random Question Thread: Tech

[ringthree]

Well for gaming you don't need an I7, get yourself a 2500k, 3570k, or 4670k. And as for a GPU, it really depends what you want and how much you want to pay. 660ti is a good card or a 7870 or 660. It all depends how much you want to spend.

Yeah, you are speaking a foreign language to me about the processor. I want to spend about $900 for just the computer (no monitor, etc.)

[Seiji Okita]

Yeah, you are speaking a foreign language to me about the processor. I want to spend about $900 for just the computer (no monitor, etc.)

I'm not at my PC atm, but do you need a recommendation on a prebuilt PC or can you build one yourself? Those CPUs are the latest 3 generations of Intel I5s. Any of those three CPUs is a great place to start for a solid gaming rig.

Edit: those CPUs are the unlocked version of said generations of I5, the "k" denotes an unlocked Intel CPU that is easily overclockable.

[ringthree]

I'm not at my PC atm, but do you need a recommendation on a prebuilt PC or can you build one yourself? Those CPUs are the latest 3 generations of Intel I5s. Any of those three CPUs is a great place to start for a solid gaming rig.

Prebuilt. Doesn't need cutting edge graphics, just would like to run WoW and LoL on Ultra.

[Seiji Okita]

Prebuilt. Doesn't need cutting edge graphics, just would like to run WoW and LoL on Ultra.

Well I'm not really great with prebuilts, looking on newegg quickly though, something like this would be more than good enough for WoW.

http://www.Newegg.com/Product/Produc...tem=83-229-382

[ringthree]

Well I'm not really great with prebuilts, looking on newegg quickly though, something like this would be more than good enough for WoW.

http://www.Newegg.com/Product/Produc...tem=83-229-382

Thanks for the help. My wife wanted to know about this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227484

Edit: She said the one you suggested was better.

Also, why is an i5 better than an i7?

[Seiji Okita]

I7s major benefit is hyperthreading, and in gaming you are not going to see a performance increase from that. So from a gaming standpoint an I7 isn't worth the extra money. As for that cpu, its okay. The 650 GPU is better than the first one you linked... But its not a 'good' GPU. That said, you wouldn't have problems running WoW on it.

At the end of the day I just feel bad recommending these prebuilts. You could save so much money and get better specs out of a self build

[ringthree]

I7s major benefit is hyperthreading, and in gaming you are not going to see a performance increase from that. So from a gaming standpoint an I7 isn't worth the extra money. As for that cpu, its okay. The 650 GPU is better than the first one you linked... But its not a 'good' GPU. That said, you wouldn't have problems running WoW on it.

At the end of the day I just feel bad recommending these prebuilts. You could save so much money and get better specs out of a self build

Ok, how? Every time I price it out I get pretty much the same performance and the same cost. Any idea on a good build?

[Adajer]

Well for gaming you don't need an I7, get yourself a 2500k, 3570k, or 4670k. And as for a GPU, it really depends what you want and how much you want to pay. 660ti is a good card or a 7870 or 660. It all depends how much you want to spend.

Buy your CPU from Microcenter if you can, and get a combo motherboard deal.

Do not buy any Nvidia card that isn't 700 series. Right now, the 760 is the best bang for buck card out there imo. Only buy AMD cards if you really want the bundled games.

[TSFFXI]

Ok, how? Every time I price it out I get pretty much the same performance and the same cost. Any idea on a good build?

One big problem with prebuilt computers is that the choices they make for components don't always make sense, and most of the savings could be made up by choosing a less expensive case. For example, http://www.Newegg.com/Product/Produc...tem=83-229-382 uses a i5-3570k with a B75 motherboard. Only Z75 and Z77 motherboards can overclock unlocked intel processors, meaning you're paying $20 more for an i5-3570k instead of a i5-3570 which would function exactly the same. That set up is never going to need that much power, either. You could probably get away with a 500 w. power supply. It's not clear what brand of power supply they've used. I don't see any significant difference between that $90 case and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146084.

[Elizara]

Okay. Now that I got my pc basically ordered, I need to check on exactly what I need to burn to do a secure ATA wipe on my old HDD before I pull it out. (I have a CD burner on this puppy.)

Anyone know how to do that/what I'd need to burn? Well, other than the usual backups (I'd do that first)

[ringthree]

Thank you for the information so far, but I really don't understand what I would need to buy to build a computer. It seems like you would need interest in building a computer (as in it is something fun to do for you) to want to do so. I just feel like I should know a lot more than I do before building a computer. Any resources I can use to get an idea of what is involved in building one?

[hey]

but I really don't understand what I would need to buy to build a computer. It seems like you would need interest in building a computer (as in it is something fun to do for you) to want to do so.

Because you get a much better computer for less money. If you don't mind spending a couple hundred dollars extra for the same computer then don't bother.

[Isiolia]

Thank you for the information so far, but I really don't understand what I would need to buy to build a computer. It seems like you would need interest in building a computer (as in it is something fun to do for you) to want to do so. I just feel like I should know a lot more than I do before building a computer. Any resources I can use to get an idea of what is involved in building one?

There are various guides out there.
http://lifehacker.com/5828747/how-to...complete-guide
http://techreport.com/review/23624/h...h-report-guide

Or plenty more Google search results.

I don't think you necessarily need to approach it as a hobby/interest in order to do it. If you've reformatted PCs before, upgraded parts, that kind of thing, it's just a few more steps tacked on to that (along with doing all of those things at once).

It's something that's much more easily justified by the need or desire to use a PC for more than general office/internet use. Picking your own parts means you can put more money into the components that matter for what's relevant to you.
What this usually boils down to for gaming is that few if any prebuilt machines at a given price point will skew things as much towards the GPU as a purposeful parts selection would.

All that said, both CyberpowerPC and iBuyPower offer boatloads of options on their actual sites. I would just go through them instead of Newegg, since you can swap things around if you like - most of their configuration options are brand-name components, you just don't have to assemble it yourself.

If you want something simple, pick this special http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/4Independence_Intel_Z77 drop the CPU from the i7 to an i5 3570 or 3570k, putting it just under $900. (though you may need to pick a Windows option that will bump it back up)

[TSFFXI]

Thank you for the information so far, but I really don't understand what I would need to buy to build a computer. It seems like you would need interest in building a computer (as in it is something fun to do for you) to want to do so. I just feel like I should know a lot more than I do before building a computer. Any resources I can use to get an idea of what is involved in building one?

Tomshardware.com has a lot of helpful guides, people, and articles.

[Niya]

Okay. Now that I got my pc basically ordered, I need to check on exactly what I need to burn to do a secure ATA wipe on my old HDD before I pull it out. (I have a CD burner on this puppy.)

Anyone know how to do that/what I'd need to burn? Well, other than the usual backups (I'd do that first)

Any linux live distro will do. "Good old"
dd if=/dev/zero of=sdX
(replace X with the device name of your HDD, unplug any other disks you might have beforehand just to be sure you don't pick the wrong one)
will overwrite the whole disk with zeros. That's enough to wipe it.
Or, if you're REALLY paranoid... Use DBAN, it has presets for overwriting the disk countless times. Though it takes ages and isn't really needed.

[Elizara]

Thanks Niya. I am not that paranoid, I just wanna make sure any trace of the old system is off my current hdd (it's the boot hdd) before I move it to the new system. Well, after I back up my data. ^^

[hey]

You really don't need to do that, just reformat as usual.

[Tymon]

Completely removing all data from a HDD requires DBAN as mentioned above, and many pass overs, it also runs the risk of:

* Permanently damaging the drive
* Corrupted data sectors

Both of which are a much larger problem than infinitesimal amounts of retained data by doing a normal format and partition with your typical *nix partitioning application

[hey]

Completely removing all data from a HDD requires DBAN as mentioned above

Yeah, but there's no need to completely remove all of the data if you're still using the drive, and aren't worried about anyone stealing it.

and many pass overs

This is completely false. After one pass nothing can ever be recovered.

[LinktheDeme]

Hey I had a quick question regarding something server/coding related.

Which would take less bandwidth from a server. (not the individual although the individuals bandwidth would be nice to know as well)

Scenario one:

We have a php file that is iframed onto the main page. The php file on the main page displays only text characters and hyperlinks. In this scenario the php file is set with meta tags to refresh the php page every 3 minutes. Since the iframe is dependent on the php value, the iframe changes to reflect it and everyone is forced from 3 minutes of their entrance to reset that php page. Thus getting the new value on the php page

Scenario 2

We have a php file that is iframed onto the main page. The php file on the main page displays only text characters and hyperlinks. Rather than using metatags in the php file to refresh the page, on the main page is a script that only refreshes the iframe itself. The interval of refresh is the same. The value of the php file still changes just does not force a refresh of the php file, the script on the main page takes care of it by only refreshing the iframe. Downside to this is having a script on the main page

I think the argument is scenario 1 = a page refresh vs scenario 2 =only an iframe refresh. I think anyway but I figured I ask, either way emulate the main page to refresh slightly. Scenario 1 causes a slight refresh with all elements in tact just the iframe recognizes the php file forced a refresh so it changes that value. The second scenario is causing a slight refresh because the script is forcing the iframe to refresh. Or is it that there is no difference between the methods?