Hardware/OS Geek Thread

[Slateman]

Hmmm ... I have 6 gigs of RAM in my laptop .... I wonder if going to 12 would be worth it ...

[The Chief]

Hmmm ... I have 6 gigs of RAM in my laptop .... I wonder if going to 12 would be worth it ...

What sort of things do you use it for and how anal are you about closing programs you're not actively using?

Some people think you need at least 64 gigs of RAM, but 128 is better

[MarquisDeSade]

What laptop will allow 12GB of ram?

[The Chief]

I'm just clowning on Colodar with that part.

[Slateman]

What sort of things do you use it for and how anal are you about closing programs you're not actively using?

Some people think you need at least 64 gigs of RAM, but 128 is better

Games. It's a desktop replacement.

Honestly, I'll probably just buy a new one when the Geek Squad warranty is up on it *shrugs* That will be three years, so by then, I will be due for a new model anyways.

[The Chief]

Slateman I figured it out.

If you like browsing with 150 tabs open across 3 different browsers, then you DEFINITELY need MOAR RAMZ

[hammondsnats]

If you're talking about broadband speed, I used speedtest.net.

And my go to antivirus program is Microsoft Security Essentials.

good call.

and thanks to you saltydad, too!

[Slateman]

Slateman I figured it out.

If you like browsing with 150 tabs open across 3 different browsers, then you DEFINITELY need MOAR RAMZ

Or if I want to listen to MegaDeath while blasting Reapers in ME3

[Terpfan76]

Or if I want to listen to Megadeth while blasting Reapers in ME3

ftfy

[PC]

Anybody want a golden pc?

http://on.aol.com/video/are-you-a-computer-king--how-about-a-golden-pc--517467042

...running Vista   

[cmdterps44]

So I was looking at my computer specs and I feel like they might be outdated a bit. I pretty much got some of the same things Nathan got when he was building his PC a few years back. For the most part, my computer runs really well. I can run games on high or above for the most part but I would still like to update my PC at some point.

The two things that I want to upgrade on (again, I'm oblivious on this stuff so tell me if I should or shouldn't) are

1. Memory - I'm at 6gb at the moment. Is it worth it to move to 8gb?
2. Processor - I have a Intel i5 750 @ 2.67 ghz. Should there be a reason to upgrade the processor?

Also, my video card is a AMD radeon hd 5800 series but I feel comfortable with that for quite awhile.

On the subject of the processor, how do I overclock it and what is the benefit of overclocking it and such?

[Nathan]

Upgrading the processor is going to require upgrading the motherboard since the new line uses a different socket.

[HalfSmokes]

I fell like bandwidth,  video cards,  and ram not necessarily processors are the limiting factors for how well out things run now

[cmdterps44]

Upgrading the processor is going to require upgrading the motherboard since the new line uses a different socket.

Ah, screw that then. But yeah, when would it be necessary to upgrade a processor?

I fell like bandwidth,  video cards,  and ram not necessarily processors are the limiting factors for how well out things run now

I think I'll purchase two 4gb memory sticks at some point in the future and replace one of my current memory sticks. I think my video card is current enough to handle graphics for quite awhile.

[HalfSmokes]

Ah, screw that then. But yeah, when would it be necessary to upgrade a processor?

If the rest of your system matches the specs for something,  but your processor doesn't

[cmdterps44]

If the rest of your system matches the specs for something,  but your processor doesn't I

I mean (again being oblivious to much of PC hardware) does a processor ever lose it's kick/die off after a period of time?

[HalfSmokes]

I've never had one die before either it was obsolete,  the laptop it was in had other problems and I replaced the whole thing, or the mother board cracked,  but the last time I really needed much power at home,  was before the advent of super high end graphics cards,  so things have probable changed. 

[Nathan]

I mean (again being oblivious to much of PC hardware) does a processor ever lose it's kick/die off after a period of time?

It never "slows down" if that's what you mean, but it newer games might not run as well because it's not fast enough.

I saw amd has an 8 core processor out now, 4 GHz turbo boost up to 4.2 GHz, and it's only $199.  I wonder how it stacks up to current Intel offerings.  One good thing about amd is that it seems they don't switch socket designs every few months so it's easier to upgrade without needing to also upgrade your motherboard.

[cmdterps44]

Also, the reason that sparked my question regarding the processor had to do with something that happened in my computer. I was gone for the weekend so I normally shut off my computer when I'm away. When I started up my computer today, I heard one of the fans in my computer making noises. I believe it was hitting some wires. It might have been the fan over the processor or some other fan. I don't know. Anyways, this is the second time that's happened and now this is the second time I'm experiencing this problem:

Whenever I play games after this incident, everything within the game is glitchy and shaky. It'll be worse for games that demand more like BF3. Normally, I can play BF3 without any problem on all high settings. But when this problem occurs, I can't even play the game. Everything freezes and skips as if I were lagging horribly. I was playing DOTA 2 today and the game runs smooth for the most part up until every one is grouped together and all of the spells occur. That's when the same problem starts happening. Does anyone have an explanation for this?

[GburgNatsFan]

You have a bad cooling fan and something is over-heating? Graphics cards often have cooling fans, too.

If this is a desktop, take the side off the unit and look for dust inside of it. Vac it out gently. Vacuum out the power supply's cooling fan (from the outside).

Also, my old HP desktop, when started from off, used to run the fan really hard a few times, like it was "testing" it. Is that what you are hearing?

Also, the reason that sparked my question regarding the processor had to do with something that happened in my computer. I was gone for the weekend so I normally shut off my computer when I'm away. When I started up my computer today, I heard one of the fans in my computer making noises. I believe it was hitting some wires. It might have been the fan over the processor or some other fan. I don't know. Anyways, this is the second time that's happened and now this is the second time I'm experiencing this problem:

Whenever I play games after this incident, everything within the game is glitchy and shaky. It'll be worse for games that demand more like BF3. Normally, I can play BF3 without any problem on all high settings. But when this problem occurs, I can't even play the game. Everything freezes and skips as if I were lagging horribly. I was playing DOTA 2 today and the game runs smooth for the most part up until every one is grouped together and all of the spells occur. That's when the same problem starts happening. Does anyone have an explanation for this?

[Nathan]

250 GB Samsung SSD for $150 after rebate.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5247114&sku=S203-8004

[imref]

we set up a Raspberry Pi IIb over the weekend, total cost including speakers/keyboard/mouse, was around $100.  The $65 kit came with a USB WiFi plug, case, and 8 GB SIM  card with raspidian.  So far my son hasn't done all that much except play minecraft and hack it,  but the performance is decent for what we paid.

[Nathan]

It can handle Minecraft?

[imref]

It can handle Minecraft?

it's a simplified version of it, you can only play against other computers on the same network.  But there are hacks that can extend it, he's been playing with them but i'm not sure how far they will take the game.  It's a pretty slow processor with only 1 GB of RAM.