Random Technology Questions

[yoječ 487]

interfacelift.com has some neat HD wallpapers. If you're into cars check out netcarshow.com as well.

[SWEETSAPRIK 11,196]

That hdwallpapers site isn't that good IMO. A few of the images I saw were obviously just scaled up, or have the black bars to make them fit. Some are okay though, but there aren't that many there to begin with.

 

interfacelife is alright, I usually end up looking on deviantart or something. My resolution is 2048x1152 and there aren't many wallpapers in that size that aren't just scaled up from lower resolutions.

 

I agree with wolf, link us to an example so we can see if the image is getting to you in crappy condition, or if the image is in crappy condition to begin with.

 

[Kriskers 1]

@Everyone Who Kindly Answered To Me

 

Thank you! I figured out that the wallpaper itself was low detailed yet marked as Super HD. Now I just have to find some stuff to spice up my desktop

[gta_player5 172]

I didn't want to start a new topic for this question so I figured this would be the best place to ask. It's not a computer related issue, it's a television related issue.

 

I own a 20" Hisense LCD TV, model number TL2020 (click me for product user manual.). I've had it for about four years now and I've had no problems with it before. However, just now I was watching TV and I hear a noise like water hitting a stove top. Then a second later, I see steam rising from the top left corner of the TV. There is no water leak or anything leaking onto the unit, and I looked into it from the top and saw nothing. However, I did notice that there was a smell being emitted that smelled like chemicals, similar to ammonia. The television is still on, it's still working and the picture looks fine. I would just like to know if anybody know what this might mean? Did something break? Or, will the TV be breaking soon? I've tried giving you as much information as I can, because I would really like to know what is going on and I would really NOT like to buy another TV.

 

Any posts about this issue are appreciated.

[OverTheBelow 238]

I didn't want to start a new topic for this question so I figured this would be the best place to ask. It's not a computer related issue, it's a television related issue.

 

I own a 20" Hisense LCD TV, model number TL2020 (click me for product user manual.). I've had it for about four years now and I've had no problems with it before. However, just now I was watching TV and I hear a noise like water hitting a stove top. Then a second later, I see steam rising from the top left corner of the TV. There is no water leak or anything leaking onto the unit, and I looked into it from the top and saw nothing. However, I did notice that there was a smell being emitted that smelled like chemicals, similar to ammonia. The television is still on, it's still working and the picture looks fine. I would just like to know if anybody know what this might mean? Did something break? Or, will the TV be breaking soon? I've tried giving you as much information as I can, because I would really like to know what is going on and I would really NOT like to buy another TV.

 

Any posts about this issue are appreciated.

Get it replaced/checked. I'm definitely no expert on LCDs (liquid crystal displays), but it sounds like the screen quite literally has a puncture. Or maybe it is overheating, in which case an odd smell may be normal but steam.. not so much.

 

I'm just trying to connect the dots here.

[Ryan 3,954]

I'm looking at buying a new PSU in a a month or two, but I'm a bit unsure on what to get wattage wise though. Right now, I've got a 750W in my system, and it handles everything fine, so naturally I'm thinking I should replace it with a 750W. I've been doing some reading, and based on my system, it appears that I could easily get away with a 650W which would save me some cash. System wise, I've got an i7 920, 12GB of RAM, a GTX 285, dual 1TB drives. Also might be worth noting I've got five 140mm and two 120mm case fans all running directly from the PSU. I don't intend to ever do SLI or anything. And also, in about a year or so, I'd also like to upgrade my GTX 285 to a new nVidia card. Probably a GTX x60 or GTX x70 of whatever the current series is at the time. I'm thinking a 650W would do, but a 750W would give me much head room. If it matters, I'm looking at going with a Corsair PSU.

 

[anus 422]

Even a 600W PSU would do. Take a look at the charts here. Even the GTX580 only consumes 490W under Furmark.

 

You don't need 750W if you're not going with SLi since nVidia and AMD are trying to cut power consumption as much as possible, so future cards will probably use even less power than what's out today.

[OverTheBelow 238]

A Corsair TX750 would be just fine for you. Even with an SLI configuration.

[Ryan 3,954]

 

A Corsair TX750 would be just fine for you. Even with an SLI configuration.

I said I don't intend to do SLI.

 

Was thinking about going with one of the Corsair Professional Series Gold PSU's. It's modular, and I love the fact that the modular cables are all completely black.

 

@Warlord: Thanks for the info. Looks like it'll be a 650W then.

[yoječ 487]

In a few weeks (or 1-2 months) the new Corsair AX650 should be available (as of now there are only 750/850/1200W versions), seems like a perfect choice for ya. You might also consider getting Kingwin Lazer Platinum / Superflower Golden King 550W.

 

Why are you replacing the PSU anyway?

Edited July 31, 2011 by yojo2

[Ryan 3,954]

 

In a few weeks (or 1-2 months) the new Corsair AX650 should be available (as of now there are only 750/850/1200W versions), seems like a perfect choice for ya. You might also consider getting Kingwin Lazer Platinum / Superflower Golden King 550W.

 

Why are you replacing the PSU anyway?

The AX650 is already available here in Canada. I'll probably end up getting that.

 

As for why I'm replacing the PSU, the system was a pre-built, it came with a Delta Electronics PSU. I've been told they're the OEM for Antec's PSU's, so I'm not really worried about the quality or anything. Anyhow, my main reason for replacing it is because of the lack of cable sleeving, the lack of connectors, and the lack of cable length. None of the cables are sleeved, so the cables are a rainbow of colors which looks hideous inside a black case. Secondly, the cables are really short. The 4+4-pin CPU connector is barely long enough to reach the socket for it. It's right up against the motherboard, and is running in behind my video card. The PCI-E connectors are also barely long enough as well. Those are running directly from the PSU to the video card because of how short they are. And Lastly, there's hardly any connectors. There's 3 SATA connectors which all are used, and 1 molex connector which I've got all my case fans running off of.

Edited July 31, 2011 by Ryan

[yoječ 487]

As of today Delta is the biggest PSU manufacturer in the world - so you shouldn't worry about its quality. But yeah, since you've got an OEM version of the PSU it lacks sleeving and it has not many connectors. It's a typical thing on OEM PSUs.

 

But anyway, I'd really consider getting Kingwin LZP 550W. Despite being cheaper (at least on newegg), it seems to be a better all-rounder than Corsair AX. Kingwin also claims this PSU can be "overclocked" to 650W with Gold-level efficiency. It's not fully modular though.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?...N82E16817121080

You might check out its review on jonnyguru: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=...=Story&reid=219

 

Alternatively you might consider Seasonic X-650. Corsair AX650 is basically a rebranded X-650 with barely any changes. Newegg has some neat offer on that PSU.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?...N82E16817151088

[anus 422]

Jonnyguru is an awesome site! Highly recommended!

[Triple Penetration 2]

Please suggest me any ATI card that is in power level varying from NVidia 260GTX to 560GTX *better close to 460gtx* and it should be maximum 100 pounds.

 

I saw a few in ebuyer.com, they seemed to be same level as 460gtx, and for 99 pounds, but I don't know anything about ATI.

 

And also a motherboard that's up to 60 pounds and compatible with that card and most quad core processors, preferably Intel i7, but AMD equivalent is right too. Even better, if it would be good with 6 core processor.

 

You could top the prices a bit higher, but then it'd mean I'd have to wait longer to buy that. I don't even have that much money, but I can save that much in good time. So please, try to suggest me something.

[OverTheBelow 238]

 

Please suggest me any ATI card that is in power level varying from NVidia 260GTX to 560GTX *better close to 460gtx* and it should be maximum 100 pounds.

 

I saw a few in ebuyer.com, they seemed to be same level as 460gtx, and for 99 pounds, but I don't know anything about ATI.

AMD HD 5830, or if you are lucky you can sometimes find a 5850 at that price too. The little extra dosh (never more than £20 above the 5830) is definitely worth the performance increase and overclockability.

 

The 5850 is slightly faster than the GTX 460 on average, whereas the 5830 is pretty much equal or a mild bit slower.

Edited July 31, 2011 by OverTheBelow

[anus 422]

I recommend the 5850 too.

 

As for a motherboard, this one here for £62.99 is awesome for the price.

 

I'd stay away from AMD for CPUs right now. It's getting raped by Intel from all sides. If you want to go AMD, wait for Bulldozer where AMD will (hopefully) do some raping of it's own after so many years of taking it up the ass from Intel.

[fireguy109 535]

Looking through my magazine stack today, I found an ad for this-

 

http://www.genuinehotrod.com/itemgroup/PC-...Computer-Camaro

 

I'm not really good with Specs and what not, so I was hoping someone could tell me...

 

1. Is that a rip off?

2. Will that heat up more than my Toshiba Satellite? I.E. would cooling be an issue?

3. Would that be able to run GTA IV, GTA III, Mafia 2, Call of Duty Black Ops/MW2, etc?

 

Furthermore, does anyone know of any good USB splitters? I only have 2 ports on my PC and one is used for my mouse. I tried Amazon but the reviews for all the ones I found said every one was crappy and didn't work.

[OverTheBelow 238]

Eh, seems overpriced but the design is still sweet. Can't do much gaming on an Atom + Nvidia ION unfortunately.

 

Here you can see the little thing really struggling on most games at lowest graphical settings & resolution. It could be worse than Intel graphics.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-ION-2.24292.0.html

 

 

As for USB ports, there should be some more at the back of your computer - have you checked for any empty spaces back there?

[fireguy109 535]

Well, it's actually a Toshiba Satellite L655. There are 2 USB ports on the side, but there's nothing on the back.

 

And the ad sheet says that Camaro PC is perfect for "serious gaming".

[Slamman 130]

 

Looking through my magazine stack today, I found an ad for this-

 

http://www.genuinehotrod.com/itemgroup/PC-...Computer-Camaro

 

I'm not really good with Specs and what not, so I was hoping someone could tell me...

 

1. Is that a rip off?

2. Will that heat up more than my Toshiba Satellite? I.E. would cooling be an issue?

3. Would that be able to run GTA IV, GTA III, Mafia 2, Call of Duty Black Ops/MW2, etc?

 

Furthermore, does anyone know of any good USB splitters? I only have 2 ports on my PC and one is used for my mouse. I tried Amazon but the reviews for all the ones I found said every one was crappy and didn't work.

Nice oddity, but Atom is not a gaming CPU, bottomline, There was talk of working on a nVidia scaled back GPU for the requirements of handheld computing devices, I've not heard much report though. The idea was to pair Atom and nVidia graphics? Again, I'm kinda outta the loop, but it suggests some work could be proceeding on how to amp the Atom Intel CPU up to a better performer with integrated nVidia graphics instead of Intel. As above, ION was likely the concept I read as well, but these are on-going developments, the Atom will see a challenger if not already, for the Netbook market. Netbooks are as such because they lack an optical drive and are downsized laptops/notebooks

 

I believe they felt a combo GPU and CPU like that could be used for more applications then netbooking

Edited August 1, 2011 by Slamman

[Wolf68k 10]

 

Looking through my magazine stack today, I found an ad for this-

 

http://www.genuinehotrod.com/itemgroup/PC-...Computer-Camaro

 

I'm not really good with Specs and what not, so I was hoping someone could tell me...

 

1. Is that a rip off?

2. Will that heat up more than my Toshiba Satellite? I.E. would cooling be an issue?

3. Would that be able to run GTA IV, GTA III, Mafia 2, Call of Duty Black Ops/MW2, etc?

 

Furthermore, does anyone know of any good USB splitters? I only have 2 ports on my PC and one is used for my mouse. I tried Amazon but the reviews for all the ones I found said every one was crappy and didn't work.

 

It's also great for graphics work, serious gaming, and streaming hi-def video to your home theater

Wrong, hell no, and even more wrong.

 

Could you use it for graphics? Sure, if you're using MS Paint. Photoshop would work, don't get me wrong but it'll be a slug at times. For the average user and Photoshop it would be ok but for any serious graphics work then no. Forget 3D graphics works, again not to say it won't work at all but it'll be a slug.

 

Serious gaming: sure if you're serious about mine sweeper.

 

Hi-def video: I don't know of any netbook that can handle 1080p content and some struggle with 720p. Again this isn't to say you can't connect it to your TV and watch movies on it, just don't expect much.

 

The nVidia ION is said to be able to handle a lot of 3D games, so don't get me wrong there. And it can do 1080p hi-def display for movies and such. However when paired with the Atom CPU it can't do half what its potential is. nVidia themselves say the ION can handle WoW and Spore. I say whoop-de-freakin do. The original system requires for WoW, as well as Spore, is a nvidia FX card, aka a 5xxx series. Spore will even run an Intel GMA 950 graphics. And they both only need an Intel P4 or AMD XP, with WoW only needing 1.3Ghz and Spore at 2Ghz. Point being that the ION playing those games isn't much to brag about. With that Atom CPU it might be possible to play those 2 games and it can then you have to be serious about and if you are serious about WoW then your most likely not serious about cars and more so Camaros.

 

Here is a video where they show it off.

They also have a Corvette version...errr coming soon that is.

 

This is basically a netbook in a gimmick case. If you really like Camaros and you want something unique sitting on your desktop, and you're a serious (mine sweeper) gamer (yeah right), and of course your have the money to throw away on something like this. Then go for it.

However $800 US you can build a better system that really would be for a serious gamer.

 

[Simon Quinlank 59]

Does anyone recognise this? It has started coming up recently when I'm in-game and interrupts whatever I'm doing... is it a Windows warning? Because it looks shifty and I suspect it isn't.

 

 

Also it's appearing when my Core 2 Duo 6420 cores are running at about 45c each, is that too hot? If not, any ideas on how to disable this message? If so, what is the best way of cooling it... new fan? Thermal paste?

Edited August 3, 2011 by truthypants

[yoječ 487]

It doesn't look legit to me. Install HWMonitor and check what's the temperature of the GPU.

45C on CPU is OK.

[Simon Quinlank 59]

It doesn't look legit to me. Install HWMonitor and check what's the temperature of the GPU.

45C on CPU is OK.

8600GT (256mb) was running at like 110c... which I gather is too hot.

 

But does that necessarily explain the popup? If it's not legit, then perhaps my GPU running hot is merely coincidence? Which leaves me with two problems...

[yoječ 487]

110C is way too hot. I won't be suprised if the card goes dead any time soon. Still, I've got no idea what that popup could come from, but now that you mentioned GPU temp it seems somewhat legit.

[OverTheBelow 238]

I've got that popup before and it's definitely Windows. However it came up when none my components were actually overheating (which led me to believe it was a virus.. though after researching i discovered it wasn't). It was caused by a buggy reading of my harddrive's temperature.

 

It may be a virus trying to imitate Windows though, so definitely check it.

Edited August 3, 2011 by OverTheBelow

[Wolf68k 10]

What are you using to monitor the GPU temps?

Try using MSI Afterburner, which should also include Kombustor used to stress test the card. It's based on RivaTuner which is no more.

If the card is from eVGA then you should use their product, Precision which is also loosely based on RivaTuner (with a few things left out) and OC Scanner to stress test. Strangely you need an account and be logged in to get OC Scanner but not Precision. The only reason I say that you should use theirs is because if you contact eVGA about the problem they will tell you to use theirs despite what you are using, which works the exact same as MSI's and which gives the same reads as things like SIW and GPUz.

[Simon Quinlank 59]

What are you using to monitor the GPU temps?

Try using MSI Afterburner, which should also include Kombustor used to stress test the card. It's based on RivaTuner which is no more.

If the card is from eVGA then you should use their product, Precision which is also loosely based on RivaTuner (with a few things left out) and OC Scanner to stress test. Strangely you need an account and be logged in to get OC Scanner but not Precision. The only reason I say that you should use theirs is because if you contact eVGA about the problem they will tell you to use theirs despite what you are using, which works the exact same as MSI's and which gives the same reads as things like SIW and GPUz.

Various things... ATITool, HWMonitor, I started stress testing it using your link and it was approaching 100 degrees before I stopped it, it seems fairly conclusive.

 

Is it worth trying to cool it down? Or should I just buy a new card? It isn't a particularly good one, after all.

[yoječ 487]

If you aren't satisfied with its performance, then just go and buy a new one.

[Wolf68k 10]

Try blowing out the heatsink and fan on the card and the rest of case while you're at it.

What is the idle temp? When you ran the stress test, how long did it take to get to 100C?