Spartaton

I would suggest you start with learning Python as it's one of the easiest languages to use. Once you have the basics of how to code, I would suggest using Java to learn about object oriented programming. You can make programs that you can launch from your desktop (although I dislike GUIs in java) and/or mod Minecraft with it . After you have a grasp on object oriented programming I would suggest using the free version of Unity to make some games (games such as hearthstone, city skylines, etc. are made with Unity). It uses c# which is similar to Java for the basics. From there you can dive deeper into c# as a language and make apps for windows.

Generally it's not too hard to make game AI that could beat anyone. All it comes down to are the rules, what a player can do, and game theory (if applicable). Take connect 4 for example, it's a solved game; the first player will always win when playing perfectly, even against a perfect opponent. So it would be pretty easy to make a perfect bot for that game. I didn't read everything above, but it sounds like your game is simple, but complicated enough, so you may not be able to create an unbeatable bot without machine learning. However, depending on the rules and what a player can do, you could probably make a bot that's pretty hard to beat. After all, the bot doesn't need to be perfect, it just needs to be better than the people it plays against. P.S. Since I make games I'd like to point out that games don't really use artificial intelligence in terms of the actual bots you might play with/against. A term I like to use is artificial stupidity. They miss their first shots when you pop out of cover, they don't all shoot you at the same time, stuff like that. Bots aren't there to be perfect, they're there to make the game fun.

Well I just realized what time it is, and I need my laptop for tomorrow so I've gone ahead with the reset. I know there wasn't a lot of time to reply; I guess I got carried away trying to fix it on my own.

Hey, wanted to see if anyone here has suggestions before I resort to resetting Windows. The issue is with Windows 10 (64-bit) on my Gigabyte P57 (gtx 1070 and 7700HQ) laptop. I put off updating for a while because it always asks me to update in the middle of class, and today my computer crashed (blue screen with the :(). When it was restarting it said windows was updating, which I thought was a bit strange. Anyways, I decided I would finally update windows. The usual banner that shows up in the middle of my screen after a few minutes of being on did not show up, so I checked for updates manually. The update in question is https://bit.ly/2riJ4Jw (KB4093105) and my installed update history says it has been successfully installed (twice), but it also says it requires a restart to finish (7 times). Check for updates always thinks it up to date when I log back in, but after checking is says I don't have the Cumulative Update for Windows 10. Now for the strange parts. Every single time the update fails I have to log in twice. Yes, I type my password (correctly), hit enter, but instead loading my desktop, it loads that screen right before you enter your password. I enter my password a second time and it loads the desktop. Also, 2 times my keyboard stopped working, once before I was able to log in and once after I had been logged in for about a minute. One time my wireless mouse was not working, which was the same time my keyboard stopped working before I was able to log in. So, any ideas? Or should I just get on with the reset and re-installation of programs?

I think I've solved most of the issues with the original post. I can fix any existing problems when I get home tomorrow evening.

sumofus.org is saying that Bell, Cineplex, Rogers, and Shaw "are pushing to create an internet "blacklist" of certain websites that all internet service providers in Canada would legally have to block.", called the "Internet Piracy Review Agency" (IPRA), with no court oversight. According to sumofus.org the vote is happening tomorrow. Currently there is a petition on sumofus.org to "stop the corporate control over our internet". In the article on huffingtonpost.ca, comments from the companies behind this push seem to unanimously say that this is to fight against piracy. Rob Malcolmson (senior VP at Bell) said "Many of the most prominent global players in the piracy ecosystem operate out of Canada as a relative safe harbour, and Canadians made 1.88 billion visits to piracy sites last year.". I think it's pretty obvious that this is a bad thing for us consumers and should be stopped. This is a very slippery slope leading towards the banning of any site, not just those meant for pirating. Since there is no court oversight to this blacklist it probably wouldn't be that hard, or take them that long, to start using this blacklist to their advantage. Imagine if Shaw and Rogers (owners of Canadian streaming service Shomi) used their influence to put any competitor (such as Netflix) on this blacklist. Other sites covering this topic include michaelgeist.ca, and iphoneincanada.ca.

I was looking at 280mm AIOs for my new build and the Swiftech H240 X2 caught my eye. The only issue is there seems to be a lot of reviews on newegg saying that it leaked, which is not something I want to deal with the first time I buy an AIO. I also remember hearing somewhere (forget where it was) that you shouldn't mount them vertically (like front of the case), does anyone know if this is true? I want to mount whatever I end up getting frontally, so I hope not. With that being said, what are your thoughts on Swiftech AIOs? Should I get one? If not, what do you suggest I look into? (looking for 280mm, low pump noise)

Thanks. I've already built my new PC, I'm just looking into sprucing up the old system to potentially sell it since the i7-960 still seems like a capable CPU. You learn something new everyday. I'll keep that in mind. I know it's PCIe 2.0. From what I've looked up it seems like it doesn't make that much of a practice difference.

I'm re-purposing my old pc which has an i7-960 in it. Since the pc is so old I might have to add some expansion cards if I want more modern functionality (such as usb 3.0). I couldn't find any info on how the i7-960 deals with PCI-e lanes myself so I was wondering if anyone here knew.

I built a new pc with a 1080, but figured my old one might still have some life left. It's 7 years old, but was top of the line back then. So, I moved the old components into a newer case, got everything working, and plan to test how it performs with my 1080 in it. If it does well my plan is to replace some parts, such as the gpu, and sell it.

I know it's to do with various components in the pc, but that's about it. I figured the answer would be what it is, but wanted to make sure before I made a mistake. Better to be safe than sorry. Edit: Plus I've only ever heard it talked about in terms of upgrading an old gpu to a new one, which doesn't really shed that much light on the topic.

Say I've got a gtx 1080 and put it in a computer that bottlenecks it down to the performance of a gtx 1070. Would this mean that the computer would not bottleneck a 1070, or could it still bottleneck a 1070?

The old Alienware Area 51

I'm just using information from here: http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19454479 If it doesn't work in the end I can return the adapter I bought and get my $3.55 back

I'm reusing the aio from my old Dell computer, and it has a weird connector for the pump. Apparently a fan connector works fine for power, but how would I know the pump is actually working after I plug it in? I can provide power to it without turning on the computer, so would I just be able to hear it running (or something) or do I just have to turn on the computer and check the temps?

Thanks guys, just wanted to be sure

I'm reusing old parts. The PSU, a Dell R622G, has different mounting points. So 2 screws actually line up, a hole can be drilled for 1, but the other screw is in the rectangular gap so it wouldn't provide any support. It's a bottom mounted PSU, and it has no fan. I'm just wondering if for some reason it would not be safe to only mount it with 3 screws (like could it become loose when the case is moved). PSU: https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Dell-Without-Precision-Compatible/dp/B005OAV3NE

Well it was mounted to the same components before. I'm not sure about the back plate as it's screwed to part of the case. I don't know if it's for structural reasons (because the back plate is plastic) but I figured I can find that out myself. I'm just seeing if there's any reason not to reuse something that I may not know about. I intend to test anything I consider reusing before I actually spend money. Like I said above, I'm just seeing if there's any reason not to reuse something that I may not know about. As for the Hyper 212 I intended to say it's $10 (give or take) more expensive than a new fan.

Just tore apart my old PC and it had a 120mm all in one cooler. It could be up to 7 years old (bought the PC used so I don't know exactly). I know for a fact I'll be using an i7-960 and I plan to overclock. As someone who knows nothing about liquid cooling there's a couple things I want to know: Is there any reason why I shouldn't reuse it at all? I would probably need to buy a new fan for it (but I do have thermal paste). With that in mind is it still worth it or should I just spend $10 more and get something like a Hyper 212? This is the alo: https://www.amazon.com/W550R-PP749-Dell-Alienware-Compatible/dp/B009I2YW96/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 More about the processor: http://ark.intel.com/products/37151/Intel-Core-i7-960-Processor-8M-Cache-3_20-GHz-4_80-GTs-Intel-QPI

I am using the old psu. I can't figure out whether using an old all in one has negative consequences (like the liquid evaporating over time or something). Plus like I said, it might not be compatible with the new case. It might not even have a back plate that I can remove from the old case to use. So I'm just getting options ready. As for the case it was a nightmare just to take apart and I can't imagine what it would be like trying to build in. Plus there's cons like there being no front usb 3.0 ports, no dust filters, and terrible airflow among other things. Not to mention the fact that I had to unplug everything from the daughter boards in order to be able to remove the power supply. Which means the vents at the top of the case won't work, limiting the rather large case to a single front fan intake that has a built on shroud that covers 2/3 of the airflow.

I would like to work at a computer shop at some point, but this is just me trying to turn my old computer into a little bit of money. Plus with university coming up (and the big deal everyone makes of it) I don't know if I'll have time for a job. Also I intend to ask whoever is buying it what resolution their monitor is and discuss with them what gpu they want. So the 1060 is not a certainty. Probably more likely to be a RX 480 or RX 460.

Well the i7-960 is out of the old computer I checked. It seems like it might be slightly (as in barely) larger than ATX, but it has all the ATX mounting point. I will keep the case until I can confirm it fits in the new one. But you've probably never taken apart an old Alienware Area 51. I'm talking at least 100 screws and 10 large pieces. Not to mention all the extra cables for the 2 daughter boards (which are non-essential to computer components but essential for the case). Plus the 6 3.5" bays (6 screws each) which needed to be removed. I made sure to check. It should be fine, but I do plan to test everything before I spend most of the money. Speaking of which, is it safe to run the i7-960 without a CPU cooler just to install windows and make sure everything works?

What do you guys think: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/BbsVwV Please note: The mobo is actually this: https://www.amazon.com/MS-7543-VER-1-0-Motherboard-Mainboard/dp/B01850CV1C (with the old Alienware area 51 BIOS) My ram is Samsung, not kingston The PSU is actually this: https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Dell-Without-Precision-Compatible/dp/B005OAV3NE (2x 8/6 pin and 2x 6 pin) My main concerns are about the Hyper 212 and the the GPU. I've never overclocked before (which I intend to do) and I want good thermals so this can last. I do have a 120mm all in one that was in the computer, but it could be up to 7 years old (it's old enough that with no screws the thermal paste was able to hold the whole all in one up and there wasn't even that much) and it might not even be compatible with the case (which I already bought) because it has short tubes. For the GPU all I really want to know is what you think I can get before bottlenecks become an issue. I've checked and PCI-e 2.0 doesn't seem to be a bottleneck, but I'm wondering about the CPU, especially since there will also be the USB expansion card. Also my plan is to sell the PC. So do you think with a 1060 there will be room for some profit or do you think I should go for something less expensive (if so, what).

Maybe so, but would a rx 480 out perform the 1060 3gb. If it is true that the 1060 3gb is ~$50 cheaper than the normal 1060 then you can find a rx 480 for very close to the same price.

I would never dare.