Random Question Thread: Tech

[Caiyuo]

x1200 is a luxury now because the market started producing the smaller x1080 for the whole "FULL HD" thing that's slapped on fucking everything now, but don't let that get in the way. It's a gripe, but it's not that big of a deal and you're going to pay extra for x1200 now anyhow. (1080 is fine)

Also, HDMI and DVI are only "identical" in the sense they're both digital signals, but if you're planning to use your monitor for anything else, like a console, then HDMI inputs might be worth considering. List what else if anything you're planning on using the monitor with and you can get figure out what inputs you'll need easy. HDMI is also both audio and video in one, whereas DVI is just the video.

[Ayn]

I am completely lost when it comes to choosing laptops, and the options seem overwhelming, while some seem nearly identical. I've tried pitching for help before, but the thread got buried (likely, people were tired of the question).

So with Black Friday coming up, I'm eyeing some deals. Pretty much, I'm looking for something that's:

1 - Below $1000 (looking to stay in the $700-$900 range)
2 - Can do some so-so gaming (think things like Dragon Age/Witcher/Maybe Skyrim; no FPS type stuff. Maybe FF/Aion)
3 - 15 inch monitor
4 - Doesn't completely suck for battery life, but I've never owned a laptop (usually just build my own desktop).

Something that will be used for work and sometimes gaming, that I hopefully won't have to replace too soon. I really apologize for the idiotic questions, I just want to find something that works well. I've heard good things about Asus, mixed things about Dell, mostly good about Toshiba.

Can just reply or PM, but if not (I know the question's asked over and over again) I'll figure something out.

[Caiyuo]

well, it's harder to suggest with laptops since you have to give out specific models, but I just noticed 2 deals that might fit what you're looking for:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/1142852/

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/6337...=Google+Reader

giving out the general deal-site links since they give you the information as well as all the sites the deals are available at. ASUS is the most expensive, but you get a 15-inch 1080p screen, quad-core i7, 8GB ram and a dedicated graphics card; the only real downside being the 5400rpm hard drive that would normally be 7200rpm.

Here's the page for the graphics to see where it lies: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-...M.48313.0.html

[Ayn]

Thank you. The 5400 RPM HD does seem a bit sad on that Asus one (which looks great otherwise) but pretty much every laptop I've looked at seems to have that. Here's a few models I'd been eyeing:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834230185

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...114&CatId=4938

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

But who knows, maybe BF will show something else worthwhile.

Edit: Like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834230111

[Fereydoon]

This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009315

or this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo


Leaning towards the first one at the moment, in case I decide to get a PS3 or something and don't get a new TV yet.

[Ayn]

Alright, after some tweaking, I came up with two possibilities:

HP Pavilion dv7t Quad Edition series
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...ies&aoid=35252
Relevant specs:

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM (2.2 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz
1GB Radeon(TM) HD 6770M GDDR5 Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
17.3" HD+ HP BrightView LED (1600 x 900)
Free UPGRADE to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN
Weight: 6.72 lbs.
I upgraded the vid card/HD, so after taxes and such, the total comes to 887.18

The alternative is:

HP Pavilion dv6t Quad Edition customizable Notebook PC
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...ies&aoid=35252

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM (2.2 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz
1GB Radeon(TM) HD 6770M GDDR5 Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
FREE UPGRADE to 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
15.6" High Definition HP LED Brightview (1366x768)
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN
Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad
Weight: 5.7 lbs

This one is $801

Cliff notes:

$80 difference between the two (that I can see)

The more expensive model's heavier and has a larger display (I know some people have complained about the 17.6 scree on a laptop) and weighs slightly more. Both seem like a good deal.. any thoughts on this? Don't know much about HP machines.

[Caiyuo]

I wouldn't write off the initial ASUS because of the hard drive since it's one of the few 15-inch 1920x1080 laptops I've seen. The screen, the processor, the graphics, you're stuck with all of those, but if something's light on RAM or a hard drive you can actually upgrade later on. That's generally how I tend to gauge them, but also why I hate looking at laptops lol.

[Ayn]

Yeah, I wasn't going to write off the initial ASUS totally.. but those HP deals seem really, really good, don't you think?

[Caiyuo]

They don't seem bad, and I wish this benchmark had actual scores for The Witcher 2 and Skyrim, but between the graphics cards on the ASUS and the one that the HPs share, there seems to be a considerable difference. Here's some samples from notebookcheck:

Spoiler: show

Plus I tend to agree with 15-inch being kind of the sweet spot for laptops whereas I ended up returning the 17-inch one I'd originally picked just because it was fucking huge. Given that, the ASUS being the only 15-inch with 1080p whereas the HPs only even approach that on the 17-inch screen just seems to strengthen the argument for the ASUS. I'm obviously biased here from personal experience, but ASUS' rep also seems to be a lot more solid for laptops. I respect if you choose otherwise, though, I know big hardware purchased can be frustrating to decide on. Can always wait til Cyber Monday to see if anything better pops up too.

[Ayn]

Given that, the ASUS being the only 15-inch with 1080p whereas the HPs only even approach that on the 17-inch screen just seems to strengthen the argument for the ASUS. I'm obviously biased here from personal experience, but ASUS' rep also seems to be a lot more solid for laptops. I respect if you choose otherwise, though, I know big hardware purchased can be frustrating to decide on. Can always wait til Cyber Monday to see if anything better pops up too.

Good point.. and yeah, agreed 1000 times over on it being frustrating to decide on. I mean I could customize the 15 inch HP one to where it has the same resolution, but what you posted about the vid cards makes a compelling point. Sounds like any of them would be a solid purchase, but the Asus does have a bit more going for it than I noted initially.

I'll wait on Cyber Monday to make a solid decision. Thanks big time for the help.

[Caiyuo]

no prab

[Airenn]

Question:

ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 - AM3 - AMD 870 - DDR3 - USB 3.0 SATA 6 Gb/s- ATX Motherboard

This RAM

Corsair Memory Vengeance 16 Quad Channel Kit DDR3 1600 MHz 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM

And this CPU

AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Processor, Black Edition

How the FUCK do I overclock it? I've been watching videos but no setup I do works stably. Blue screeeeeens. I'm running the defaults now and while it's fine (much better than I've ever had) I'd just LIKE to be able to OC.

[hey]

Try increasing the voltage?

[Airenn]

I did that, I just couldn't find a good balance.

I get scared that I'm going to permanently break something. I'll work more on it tomorrow when I have the day off, but I couldn't find the "balance" that most people talk about.

Also, I've never overclocked and I don't know MUCH about what is too little and too much of voltage so I'm hesitant to make changes.

[Niya]

the normal OC balance cycle takes quite some time.
1. raise CPU speed a bit (raise multiplier by 1)
2. check is system is stable (prime95 or similar for several hours)
3. if stable, repeat #1 and #2
4. if unstable, raise core voltage by one step, then repeat #2

Be very careful with voltage increase, only raise when it's really necessary. If i'm not mistaken voltage increase influences heat generation by factor 4, plus internal leak voltages in the CPU can cause other problems.

And ONLY change the CPU clock/multiplier, don't mess with RAM (not worth it) or base clock (PCI(e) speed depends on it and can break your add-on cards)

[Caiyuo]

Is anyone aware of any VOIP services that allow black-listing of numbers like repeat-solicitors and the like? I've been checking out Ooma because of their premier thing that allows you to do that, but the first year ends up being like $30/month whereas the other services tend to be closer to $30/year. Is this possible with something like sipgate/asterisk?

[Eaglestrike]

So I just got myself a 2nd monitor (a TV) and was about to hook it up but as it turns out my video card only has DVI slots and the TV only has VGA, HDMI and composite slots and such, no DVI. The new TV is going to be my "main" monitor (since it's bigger and has a higher resolution), question is, does the cable I get really matter? I have a VGA to VGA cable laying around, should I get a VGA to DVI adapter? Or is cable choice important so I should go get a DVI to HDMI cable?

[hey]

Use an dvi->hdmi cable/adapter.

[Buffy]

I've been using this website for cabling, wiring, and converts for work. Their prices are amazing, and out of maybe 1000 products (real number) I've ordered over the last two years for work, only one didn't work when I received it, a surge protector.

http://monoprice.com/

Can't recommend them highly enough.

[Niya]

Eagle, DVI/HDMI only. There's really no reason to use VGA, i can't understand why the manufacturers still bother adding those ports...
With VGA the video gets transferred analogue, so double work for GPU and Monitor/TV. GPU has to convert the digital signal to analogue, pass it through the VGA cable, and the display then has to convert it back to digital to show it. Not to mention that the images can look really awful after this when the converter chips or cable aren't good enough.
Just get a DVI-HDMI cable or a fitting adapter and you should be fine. HDMI can be used for resolutions up to 1920x1200, (dual link) DVI can handle even higher ones up to i think 2560x1600 or something in that range.