Tech Things You Dont Know But Are Too Afraid To Ask.

[eshbop]

I think I already know the answer to this but what is the difference between a SATA II and SATA III cable and which one should I use to connect a SATA III device to a SATA II port.

The cables are identical. Use either.

[chirag.rh]

What are Cherry MX Key Switches and also what is the difference between Cherry MX Black/Blue/Brown/Red etc... ?

[Vitalius]

In what situations is faster RAM truly useful?

I know heavy video editing and rendering, but is that it? Does it make a difference for photo editing (big ones, I'd assume it would)?

But, more specifically, why doesn't it matter for gaming, but does for rendering/video editing?

Also, since Hyper Threading depends on errors being made and waiting time on the RAM (that's how it works, btw), does faster RAM actually hinder Hyper Threading's "extra cores" aspect, or does it help it?

... Mine are more technical than I thought they'd be.

[rashdanml]

What are Cherry MX Key Switches and also what is the difference between Cherry MX Black/Blue/Brown/Red etc... ?

They're mechanical key switches. Each key on the keyboard is a spring-loaded switch. The differences:

 

Red - less force required, linear switch. Very soft to the touch. Unanimously good for gaming. Your experience may vary. No distinct click unless bottoming out the key. Some may not like the lower force needed for key presses, as it's fairly sensitive.

Black - more force required than Red, again linear. Slightly more resistant. Good for gaming. Your experience may vary. No distinct click unless bottoming out the key.

Brown - about the same force as Red key switches, non-linear. Has a tactile bump that indicates when the key is actuated. Best balance of typing and gaming.

Blues - bit more force required than Browns, non-linear. Tactile click sound when key actuates. Best for typing, decent for gaming (subjective).

 

Those are the standard four. The others are:

 

Green - Tactile click of blue combined with the heavy spring of Black. Roughly speaking. May be a louder click too. They actually require a fair bit more force than Blacks.

Clear - Tactile Bump. Basically a heavier version of the MX Browns.

 

Covers all of the common/uncommon MX switches. There are other types of Mechanical key switches.

[joelthezombie15]

They're mechanical key switches. Each key on the keyboard is a spring-loaded switch. The differences:

 

Red - less force required, linear switch. Very soft to the touch. Unanimously good for gaming. Your experience may vary. No distinct click unless bottoming out the key. Some may not like the lower force needed for key presses, as it's fairly sensitive.

Black - more force required than Red, again linear. Slightly more resistant. Good for gaming. Your experience may vary. No distinct click unless bottoming out the key.

Brown - about the same force as Red key switches, non-linear. Has a tactile bump that indicates when the key is actuated. Best balance of typing and gaming.

Blues - bit more force required than Browns, non-linear. Tactile click sound when key actuates. Best for typing, decent for gaming (subjective).

 

Those are the standard four. The others are:

 

Green - Tactile click of blue combined with the heavy spring of Black. Roughly speaking. May be a louder click too. They actually require a fair bit more force than Blacks.

Clear - Tactile Bump. Basically a heavier version of the MX Browns.

 

Covers all of the common/uncommon MX switches. There are other types of Mechanical key switches.

what about the hybrid ones? (forgot the name) 

[chirag.rh]

They're mechanical key switches. Each key on the keyboard is a spring-loaded switch. The differences:

 

Red - less force required, linear switch. Very soft to the touch. Unanimously good for gaming. Your experience may vary. No distinct click unless bottoming out the key. Some may not like the lower force needed for key presses, as it's fairly sensitive.

Black - more force required than Red, again linear. Slightly more resistant. Good for gaming. Your experience may vary. No distinct click unless bottoming out the key.

Brown - about the same force as Red key switches, non-linear. Has a tactile bump that indicates when the key is actuated. Best balance of typing and gaming.

Blues - bit more force required than Browns, non-linear. Tactile click sound when key actuates. Best for typing, decent for gaming (subjective).

 

Those are the standard four. The others are:

 

Green - Tactile click of blue combined with the heavy spring of Black. Roughly speaking. May be a louder click too. They actually require a fair bit more force than Blacks.

Clear - Tactile Bump. Basically a heavier version of the MX Browns.

 

Covers all of the common/uncommon MX switches. There are other types of Mechanical key switches.

Understood. Thanks! That was detailed and simple to understand. Appreciate it.

[Skrumpi]

Why are there feet on the bottom of keyboards? I never seem to use them, is it just an ergonomic thing?

Although it's seen as an ergonomic thing. I read an article today that was kind of interesting.

 

It said the having the feet out could actually be bad for you due to your wrists being bent upwards more. The only reason to use your keyboard with the feet out would be if you cannot touch type well and therefore need to look down at the keys more. The feet elevate the keys a bit more so you can see the lettering on the keys more easily. If you can touch type well it is apparently a disadvantage if you have the feet out. Here's a link to the article :

 

http://www.bakkerelkhuizen.com/ergonomics/feet-in-or-out/

[Torand]

My guess is because they have different needs. like US has $ and UK has the Fancy E. And there are probably other reasons like as far as i know you guys use commas in (Fancy E)3,50  and we use periods $3.50 so for ease of use it might be different. im kind of talking out my butt right now but to me it makes sense.

 

Also thanks for the response.

 

UK uses period as well:

 

$4.50

£4.50

but when using Euro's, such as in France, then they use a comma:

 

€4,50

[LDX]

how do you use linux?

 

LOL I have been there too

 

Installed Crunchbang and never figured out how to setup a decent desktop

just called apps with the "run" tool

[smjpl]

Why are Ducky & Filco considered the best mechanical keyboards?

 

What makes for a good quality keyboard? I see Linus always doing a flex test to measure quality. The reality is my QPad mk-50 never leaves the desk. The switches are made by cherry so they have their own quality control. I have no fancy lights to break etc. Why is Ducky/Filco better than my Qpad? Is it fanboys? (I will probably get some hate for that one  :P)

[LDX]

Okay here I have a good one really useful...

 

Proper coloured slot positioning for Ram Dual Channel on Intel and then AMD

Pics might be useful

[fishymamba]

Although it's seen as an ergonomic thing. I read an article today that was kind of interesting.

 

It said the having the feet out could actually be bad for you due to your wrists being bent upwards more. The only reason to use your keyboard with the feet out would be if you cannot touch type well and therefore need to look down at the keys more. The feet elevate the keys a bit more so you can see the lettering on the keys more easily. If you can touch type well it is apparently a disadvantage if you have the feet out. Here's a link to the article :

 

http://www.bakkerelkhuizen.com/ergonomics/feet-in-or-out/

 

Very interesting! Thanks for posting this!

[target39]

 

 

My Questions:

 

What are RAM timings and why are they important?

 

What exactly is cas latency? and what does it affect?

 

How do you know what voltage to set your CPU at when overclocking?

 

How do you overclock RAM?

 

So post away and remember no question is a stupid question.

 

1: RAM timings are the amount of cycles between each "stage". Basically, the lower the better since it will obviously take less time, giving you faster performance. The reason you don't see crazy timings (i.e. CL7)  at higher speeds (i.e. DDR3-2400) is because it is too unstable to run at lower timings with normal air cooling. The first timing is CAS, or CL timing. The second timing is called the Row Address Strobe to CAS delay, or tRCD. This is usually the second timing in a RAM timing label. Just because it has lower timings, doesn't mean it's faster. If comparing two modules with different timings and frequency, use the formula: (CAS Timing/Frequency) x 2000 = time in nanoseconds.

 

2: CAS latency is the same as the CL timing. CAS stands for Column Address Strobe. This is the amount of CPU cycles between sending a reading command and the time to act on it. It affects the RAM's performance because it plays a part of measuring the RAM's speed. Again use the formula: (CAS Timing/Frequency) x 2000 = time in nanoseconds. Higher frequency does not always mean it's faster. We can prove this by comparing two modules.

 

Module 1: DDR3-1600 7-8-7-20 = (7/1600) x 2000 = 8.75ns

Module 2: DDR3-1866 9-10-9-28 = (9/1866) x 2000 = 9.646ns

 

As you can see, Module 2 has a faster frequency, but its slower timings make it slower by almost a ns. Obviously, the everyday user won't even know the difference, so get whichever is cheaper.

 

3: Know the safe voltage range your CPU can run at to lower the risk of frying your CPU. It also depends on what type of cooling you will be running at though. Sub-zero overclockers can set their voltages a bit higher than the normal air and water cooling overclockers. Run your system at stock first and torture test it with programs such as prime95 while recording temperatures. If your load temperatures are satisfactory at stock (75°C max at 100% load), feel free to bump up the voltage by between 25-75mv increments while also bumping up the frequency by 100mhz, and <25mv at 50mhz once you start hitting higher temperatures (85°C at 100% load).

 

 

4:Make sure you have the right RAM chips to overclock to begin with and the right cooling. Hynix chips will OC differently than Samsung chips, and so on. 1.65v is always a safe bet when OC'ing 1.5v modules. If it is already at 1.65v stock, OC it to 1.7v if it has adequate cooling. It is essentially the same as overclocking CPUs, but it gets tricky with timings and multiple modules.

 

If you see anything wrong with my answers, feel free to correct me as this is just my understanding of things.

[joelthezombie15]

Why are Ducky & Filco considered the best mechanical keyboards?

 

What makes for a good quality keyboard? I see Linus always doing a flex test to measure quality. The reality is my QPad mk-50 never leaves the desk. The switches are made by cherry so they have their own quality control. I have no fancy lights to break etc. Why is Ducky/Filco better than my Qpad? Is it fanboys? (I will probably get some hate for that one  :P)

So ducky and filco are made by the same OEM so lets get that much straight. They use very high quality and strong parts such as the plastic and metal and pcbs and all these things. secondly they build the damn things like a tank. so while flex test is one of the best indications as to why a keyboard is so good it is also a factor of the quality of components and the sturdyness of the build.

[gill2k]

The different sockets aren't difficult to desypher, if there was more than 1,000 different sockets then fair enough lol

 

There are only three from Intel, 1150, 1155 and 2011 that are mainly used (disregarding older ones) and four from AMD, I don't see it as difficult or confusing :P

 

Fair enough.  I just haven't gone to Intel in a while. I used X4 955 for a few years where AM3/AM3+ reigned for a long time.

[ajoy39]

What is flash? How do you do it? ...How to flash ...cartoons?

*cough*

Adoeb Flash... Adoeb Falsh...CS... 6. A dobe ...a dobe. :3

( Ahaaa... References. :3 )

What I want to know is. Why is Adobe Flash CS6 so darn expensive?!

Because it is the most pirated software suite in the world, which of course only makes it pirated more driving up the cost further. It's a never ending cycle and that's why they are moving to the subscription model. 

[MrJakePrince]

My guess is because they have different needs. like US has $ and UK has the Fancy E. And there are probably other reasons like as far as i know you guys use commas in (Fancy E)3,50  and we use periods $3.50 so for ease of use it might be different. im kind of talking out my butt right now but to me it makes sense.

 

Also thanks for the response.

I'm from the UK and we do not use commas in our prices we use full stops (periods for you yanks) nations that have the Euro as their currency I believe use the comma to separate numbers but that doesn't happen in the UK :)

[joelthezombie15]

I'm from the UK and we do not use commas in our prices we use full stops (periods for you yanks) nations that have the Euro as their currency I believe use the comma to separate numbers but that doesn't happen in the UK :)

Well like i said my french teacher said EVERYONE in europe uses them so i just figured ive never been there so i will trust her.

[MrJakePrince]

Well like i said my french teacher said EVERYONE in europe uses them so i just figured ive never been there so i will trust her.

Yeah I think a lot of people say Europe when they mean mainland Europe because as cultures the UK and the rest of Europe are rather different we're more similar to the US than mainland Europe I would say, seeing as most non native americans are descendants from the UK

[MrJakePrince]

The cables are identical. Use either.

The cables are the same but the connectors on the device e.g. hard drive and the motherboard are not, SATA II can only achieve 3GB/s whereas SATA III will have 6GB/s so just watch out that you have a SATA III connector

[smjpl]

So ducky and filco are made by the same OEM so lets get that much straight. They use very high quality and strong parts such as the plastic and metal and pcbs and all these things. secondly they build the damn things like a tank. so while flex test is one of the best indications as to why a keyboard is so good it is also a factor of the quality of components and the sturdyness of the build.

 

Okay but for someone who will never move their keyboard, is worth paying the extra cash? Are the Ducky/Filco worth it in my scenario (same for most people)? I have found very little info on mech keyboards actually braking. Usually its little things like back lights that go. I don't have my keyboard very long. How often do people go through them (as long as they didn't do something stupid)?

[Magic8Ball]

If you turned an anti-static bag inside out, would it still be unsafe to put a part on it?

 

Why don't GPU manufacturers flip their designs so the PCB faces down and the fans point up?

[joelthezombie15]

Okay but for someone who will never move their keyboard, is worth paying the extra cash? Are the Ducky/Filco worth it in my scenario (same for most people)? I have found very little info on mech keyboards actually braking. Usually its little things like back lights that go. I don't have my keyboard very long. How often do people go through them (as long as they didn't do something stupid)?

Unless you are a angry gamer or have a cat that likes throwing crap off your desk any mech (if it is a decent brand) will last longer than a membrane. 

[T345]

My guess is because they have different needs. like US has $ and UK has the Fancy E. And there are probably other reasons like as far as i know you guys use commas in (Fancy E)3,50  and we use periods $3.50 so for ease of use it might be different. im kind of talking out my butt right now but to me it makes sense.

 

Also thanks for the response.

US Fancy S $

UK Fancy E £

EU Fancy C €

[joelthezombie15]

If you turned an anti-static bag inside out, would it still be unsafe to put a part on it?

 

Why don't GPU manufacturers flip their designs so the PCB faces down and the fans point up?

I think it would be fine but i would say just put it on the box to be safe.

 

and i too was wondering this.