Random Question Thread: Tech

[Isiolia]

So a friend of mine moved away and left me his computer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883113109

I am not too great at computer components and which parts can be placed in which computers, so I was looking for some suggestions on a Graphics Card to put in this PC.

You should have an available slot. The main thing to check would be the power supply capacity in your particular variant. The specs say 300 or 500W - a 300W is pretty meager for a discrete GPU, a 500W is usually enough for a single card, outside of higher end models. If you pop the side panel off, the capacity is likely listed on a label on the PSU.

Most half-decent cards these days would wind up being CPU limited by that machine. On the AMD side, provided your PSU can handle it, I'd consider a Radeon 5770 (6770 is largely the same), or a 6850. Probably a GTX 460 1GB on the nVidia side?

[Aylee]

Trying to use my laptop to stream movies onto my tv now. I have it connected via a vga cable (only option for the laptop) I have picture but no sound :/ any ideas?

[Mafai]

Trying to use my laptop to stream movies onto my tv now. I have it connected via a vga cable (only option for the laptop) I have picture but no sound :/ any ideas?

A VGA (Video Graphics Array) cable is strictly video. I believe the only output that supports audio/video would be HDMI.

You could turn up your sound on your laptop, or try to find a way to input audio to your TV. This would most likely involve a receiver.

Another idea would be to use something like TVersity or PS3 Media player (this is software that allows you to steam over your network) and use your xbox / ps3 (if you have one) to stream from your laptop. This wouldn't require anything except both your PS3 / laptop to be connected to your network.

[Jojimbo]

VGA cable doesn't carry any sound (only HDMI), you will have to use a separate cable (something like headphones on laptop > audio in on TV) or use laptop speaks/speakers connected to laptop.

[Aylee]

Another idea would be to use something like TVersity or PS3 Media player (this is software that allows you to steam over your network) and use your xbox / ps3 (if you have one) to stream from your laptop. This wouldn't require anything except both your PS3 / laptop to be connected to your network.

I stream from sites like icefilms.info that require to me to have a certain version of DIVX installed on my system. Would I be able to do it like this?

ATM I have a ps3/360 and been using gfs computer as a media center (although shes getting tired of having to play sims on the plasma because it gets hot as hell in there. I also have a 5 year old alien ware laptop but its on its last leg and for outputs only has 1 div port (using div-vga adapter to connect it to the tv). What would be my best option? I would like to DL the movies to a hard drive to watch in the future but idk if its worth it when can just stream when online. What would be my best option? buy a cable and use the laptop till it dies (not far away)? Would ps3/360 streaming work since i need DIVX and if so what can i search to learn how to do it? If not would it be cheepr to build i pos desktop just for streaming? or just go to walmart and buy a 300 dollar tower?

[hey]

I stream from sites like icefilms.info that require to me to have a certain version of DIVX installed on my system. Would I be able to do it like this?

ATM I have a ps3/360 and been using gfs computer as a media center (although shes getting tired of having to play sims on the plasma because it gets hot as hell in there. I also have a 5 year old alien ware laptop but its on its last leg and for outputs only has 1 div port (using div-vga adapter to connect it to the tv). What would be my best option? I would like to DL the movies to a hard drive to watch in the future but idk if its worth it when can just stream when online. What would be my best option? buy a cable and use the laptop till it dies (not far away)? Would ps3/360 streaming work since i need DIVX and if so what can i search to learn how to do it? If not would it be cheepr to build i pos desktop just for streaming? or just go to walmart and buy a 300 dollar tower?

Using what you already have, you have two main options:

1) connect laptop to tv using VGA, and use either your laptop speakers or seperate speakers/head phones for audio.
2) Stream from your computer to ps3 with tversity (or something similar for x360).

Option 2 won't allow you to stream from the internet (afaik), while option 1 doesn't allow you to use your tv speakers.

Personally, i'd just settle for option 1, and maybe spend $20 on some speakers, but if you want to spend a few hundred, getting a cheap computer to do the job would certainly work too.

[Aylee]

Using what you already have, you have two main options:

1) connect laptop to tv using VGA, and use either your laptop speakers or seperate speakers/head phones for audio.
2) Stream from your computer to ps3 with tversity (or something similar for x360).

Option 2 won't allow you to stream from the internet (afaik), while option 1 doesn't allow you to use your tv speakers.

Personally, i'd just settle for option 1, and maybe spend $20 on some speakers, but if you want to spend a few hundred, getting a cheap computer to do the job would certainly work too.

just spent a grand on a tv to have as a make shift theater room (have surround set up for it) really dont wanna be reduced to listening to my movies with laptop speakers lol. I'll look into the streaming you mentioned but if i do decide to go with the cheep tower option would it save me any to build one? or better off just buying a 200 dollar tower from Walmart?

[hey]

Ah, in that case yeah, forget the laptop speakers.

It'd be cheaper to buy a reciever to get audio from your laptop to your tv (something like this for example, except you may want to check past the first google result), but you mentioned your laptop was olde and wouldn't last long, so it might be easier to just buy a cheap computer, which would probably even handle good 1080p video better than the laptop depending on how old it is.

For something really cheap, it's probably not even worth the effort to build one yourself, and it may not even be cheaper at all.

[Isiolia]

If you're going for bottom of the barrel, off the shelf tends to be cheaper, especially if you go with a legit Windows license (assuming you aren't just using Linux for the media PC).

Building gives you better ability to pick and choose parts. The guts of my HTPC cost under $300 when I built it a few years ago, but I already had a HTPC case with drives in it (and have since put an SSD in, tried a few different video cards, etc).

'course, there's also the middle ground of snagging an old machine like a Core2Duo or whatever, which are still well above what you need for video (doubly so if you have hardware acceleration for the formats you're watching via the video card).

If I recall your earlier posts about this, your HTIB receiver has optical-in? You could probably use something like this on the laptop for audio, if your TV doesn't have an audio input for the VGA cable (in which case you could just use a cable like this).

[Aylee]

If you're going for bottom of the barrel, off the shelf tends to be cheaper, especially if you go with a legit Windows license (assuming you aren't just using Linux for the media PC).

Building gives you better ability to pick and choose parts. The guts of my HTPC cost under $300 when I built it a few years ago, but I already had a HTPC case with drives in it (and have since put an SSD in, tried a few different video cards, etc).

'course, there's also the middle ground of snagging an old machine like a Core2Duo or whatever, which are still well above what you need for video (doubly so if you have hardware acceleration for the formats you're watching via the video card).

If I recall your earlier posts about this, your HTIB receiver has optical-in? You could probably use something like this on the laptop for audio, if your TV doesn't have an audio input for the VGA cable (in which case you could just use a cable like this).

I'll probably just go buy something like the second cable you mentioned until the laptop dies Then maybe buy a cheep ass desktop to stream from. Thanks for all the advice

[Stromgarde]

My current video card is experiencing problems and I need to replace it, but I've heard that ATI is supposed to be coming out with 'something new' sometime this month. Anyone with an idea of what that might be and if so what I should go for?

[Isiolia]

My current video card is experiencing problems and I need to replace it, but I've heard that ATI is supposed to be coming out with 'something new' sometime this month. Anyone with an idea of what that might be and if so what I should go for?

They haven't been specific, other than claiming Q4 2011 - last year's lineup started with the 6850 and 6870 in late October, likely leading to speculation that the new cards would start to appear around then this year.
However, their new parts are 28nm, which is a new process for them, and may be giving them problems. Could be a couple weeks...could be pushed back to next year. AMD hasn't said.

[Ramor]

I can't get flashflashrevolution to work on this computer (my roommate's, it's a mac and I'll be honest it's done nothing but piss me off since I've started using it). I can't get FFR to work in any capacity in either chrome or safari, although every other flash based webpage I've ever tried hasn't had any issue working. It's a mac, I have no idea what OS (snow leopard I believe) and according to adobe's website chrome will automatically update flash so much like everything else involved with this Mac, I can't seem to do it by myself unless the almighty Mac gods allow me to change it by the grace of their hand only.

Also, the scroll wheel function for this Mac is a bit weird, it's sort of like a parabolic curve in terms of how it functions and I want it to be just a linear scroll wheel if that makes any sense....basically if you scroll a little bit the page moves real slow, line by line, but if you try to scroll down a page it'll basically go from scrolling in very small increments to scrolling like the whole fucking page at once with no nice middle ground, I've tried looking through the Mac options but I'm either not seeing the correct Mouse related options or what I'm looking for doesn't appear to exist? Is there some way I can change the scroll function?

[AvidLoki]

Sooooo Ive been downloading quite a bit lately and my hardrive/fllash drives are getting rather full, I'm looking to buy a 1 terabyte external hardrive but want to do some hw on a good one first.

Does anyone have any good suggestions in terms of possible brand and price range?

[Omniyoji]

Any way to download a vid off of Hulu?

[Purrrfect]

Sooooo Ive been downloading quite a bit lately and my hardrive/fllash drives are getting rather full, I'm looking to buy a 1 terabyte external hardrive but want to do some hw on a good one first.

Does anyone have any good suggestions in terms of possible brand and price range?

My suggestion is to not look at 1tb drives. Go 2 or 3. You'll be glad in about a year, probably less if you're just starting to to dl shows/apps. As to particular ones, I'd guess pretty much any would be fine, but the ones that are assembled products typically have some sort of backup software crap on them or some such. I prefer the simplicity of my dock that I can just stick an internal drive into and go. (I'm also needing to pick up another drive as my 2tb is filled up now >< ) I have this one currently but wish I had picked up one of the dual drive docks.

[Purrrfect]

Any way to download a vid off of Hulu?

There are firefox plugins for downloading off youtube and such, there may be some general flash object recording plugins that would work for hulu.

[AvidLoki]

My suggestion is to not look at 1tb drives. Go 2 or 3. You'll be glad in about a year, probably less if you're just starting to to dl shows/apps. As to particular ones, I'd guess pretty much any would be fine, but the ones that are assembled products typically have some sort of backup software crap on them or some such. I prefer the simplicity of my dock that I can just stick an internal drive into and go. (I'm also needing to pick up another drive as my 2tb is filled up now >< ) I have this one currently but wish I had picked up one of the dual drive docks.

Daaaamn thats a lot! Im nowhere near that (yet)!

Thanks for the info! Since you mentioned it, Im actually looking at getting that double dock later on since I don't have that much saved atm. For now I will take your word on changing the size from 1tb to 2.

Im probably looking into buying this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822165293

since the form factor is listed at 3.5", it should fit on that dock correct?

[Mellema]

Daaaamn thats a lot! Im nowhere near that (yet)!

Thanks for the info! Since you mentioned it, Im actually looking at getting that double dock later on since I don't have that much saved atm. For now I will take your word on changing the size from 1tb to 2.

Im probably looking into buying this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822165293

since the form factor is listed at 3.5", it should fit on that dock correct?

No, the Buffalo you are looking at is already encased, the docking station is for connecting internal HDDs.

[Kerberoz]

Why does the movie industry keep upping resolution while keeping the same slideshow framerate? Seriously, 540p@60fps looks superior to the same video at "full HD" 24fps.