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LogicalDrm

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  1. LogicalDrm

    LTT/Forum App

    By LogicalDrm,

    These questions seem to be more common now than ever. This is list of link to all of those threads. Or as many as I can find. Under each link is quotes from my reply and any official/semi-official if given. Note that this list doesn't cover times this has been asked in old Features and Suggestions thread in its many iterations.
     
    Btw. If you know thread which isn't listed, tag me (for new ones) or PM (for old ones, >1 months).
     
    *UPDATE*
    July 8th: Moved 2016 and 2017 to their own posts. Side note; No posts that I've seen since May. Whole month. FPC app requests aren't counted. May 9th: Moved 2015 to its own post. Removed some stats from yearly posts. Considering of change in order (current is from newest to oldest). Jan 5th: Moved 2014 to its own post. Added booksmarks to my browser for faster editing in future. Dec 31st: Moved 2013 to its own post, with improved date system and more stats.  
    Latest LMG level answer for the question:
     
    Latest administrator level answer for the question:
    Latest moderator/dev level answer for the question:
     
    Stats (Date & Time uses CET which is -1 for my own timezone and +1 UTC. Times in 24h format.)
    Total topic created on subject: 85
    Yearly stats - 2013: 17 - 2014: 14 - 2015: 13 - 2016: 27 - 2017: 14
    Yearly average (until 2016): 17.8
    Most in month: 7 (May 2013)
    Monthly average (until Dec 2016): 1.5
    Most in a Day... Just kidding. No, seriously: 2 (Jan 5, 2017)
    Shortest time between topics: 15h 45min (Jan 5, 05:41 - Jan 5, 21:26, 2017)
    Longest time between topics: 104d 7h 28min (Mar 17 - Jun 26, 2014)
    Latest: Aug 2, 11:54, 2017
    Oldest: Jan 3, 18:20, 2013
     
    To-Do:
    Change date to more easier to read. (WIP) Move each year to own post and link here (WIP)  
    Dates in format DD/MM/YYYY (until 2016)
     
    2017
     
    2016
     
    2015
     
    2014
     
    2013
     
  2. LogicalDrm
    (Almost) ALL Topics talking about having LTT/Forums app in 2017
     
    Main post with all statistics:
    2017 Stats (so far)
     
    Total topics created: 14
    Most in month: 4 (January)
    Average in month: 2.4
     
    Aug 2nd
     
    July 19th
     
    May 13th
     
    May 8th
     
    Apr 27th
     
    Apr 12th
     
    Apr 2nd
     
    Mar 31st
     
    Mar 5th
     
    Feb 15th
     
    Jan 23rd
     
    Jan 21st
     
    Jan 14th
     
    Jan 5th
     
     
  3. LogicalDrm
    I haven't done anything that would require benchmarking in ages. Last change made to my old log file was 2014 after I changed some case fans and wanted to check if they did something to temps. This July I changed graphics card which is something I would say anyone should run their own sequence after. So after any bigger change (CPU/GPU mainly) anyone should run same benchmarks they have run before change. I will come back to this in a moment. In my situation need was really big. I went from 2011 midrange card to 2013 top end card. Something that in paper is bit better than 280X, card that I was eyeing for upgrade year ago. Yes, talking about used cards. Upgrade was from GTX 560Ti factory OC'd to reference GTX 780. Benchmarks would look awesome. In numbers if not actually, but thats more about nature of tests themselves.
     
    So why this post? Well, so I can refer to it when someone asks advice about benchmarking. Since my last run was 3 years ago and I haven't really played any new games, all my game benchmarks are pretty bad choices. Like NFS Shift and Battlefield Bad Company 2. There might be Battlefield 3, but thats it. This new batch won't have any real gameplay. Because of two reasons. 1. I still lack good games for realistic benchmarking, Battlefield 4 is probably on the heavier side. So nah on games. And 2. I don't want to buy games just because I could get good benchmark out of them. Even games with benchmark tools would be just for it since I don't play 3rd person single player adventure/action games (Metro 2033, Tomb Raider, Witcher 3). This will be list of benchmarks which are free and provide good base for anyone looking to create their own sequence.
     
    1. What is my "sequence"?
     
    I use term "sequence" to describe procedure where I run multiple tests, check temps and mark down scores. Marking down scores and temps is good practice in general. Not just for bragging, but to check how much you spending money actually improves the systems performance. So my sequence involves having few monitoring software open, taking numbers in notepad and running several benchmarks one by one. Yes, it will take some time, some 1.5h for me. But you need to do it once and then you can just refer notes later if someone asks something. I've used temp readings many times to advice on high temps under stress tests and idles on my older hardware.
     
    To actual point. I have 10 software, 12 tests, 1 main monitoring software with 2 others running, notepad with template for scores and temps and FRAPS for one odd out fps reading. I cover tests later. I happen to have 2 monitors, but all this can be done on one monitor. 2nd is good for having all monitoring software there. Like in this manor:

     
    So MSI Afterburner is present because of habit of looking at graphs. I actually don't use it for GPU temp monitoring anymore, but habit of looking at fan and temp graphs remains. Main screen is where I look at GPU temp when test is running. Mainly since its new piece and I want to see how my fan settings are holding. Main software here is RealTemp with GPU temp monitoring open. I reset Maximum readings after every test to get reliable readings for all tests individually. Under them all is my normal main monitoring software, OpenHardwareMonitor. Notepad is on main monitor since I don't need it until after test finishes.
     
    Things I do and would recommend. I have habit of doing this after cold boot. I would recommend booting before running sequence. Its easiest way, since there's least amount of extra software running on background. For this sequence I added way of closing all extra stuff I have open. Skype, several driver software's, basically anything except multimonitor manager, fan controls and virus scanner. Some might close virus scanner too, but I don't mind it. Then another boot after all testing is done. To get everything working as normal. I would recommend setting any fan profiles like you are going to use them before running test on new components. Makes more realistic comparison. As for temps, I have idle's. Which I will take after first test has run. Reason being that idle's coming directly from boot will be lower than what you are going to see any other time. For testing temps I use max temp. Its most relevant. Since RealTemp shows temps for all cores, I use average with easy count. Take highest and lowest and split difference with upward rounding. Like 66C and 58C would be 62C (8/2=4, 58+4=62C) or 67C and 60C would be 64C (7/2=3.5, round up 4).
     
    2. Tests and score keeping
     
    Let's start with synthetic benchmarks. I will give some background on why I use software listed here, where to get it and what settings to use (if needed).
     
    3DMark https://www.futuremark.com/downloads/3dmark.zip
    If you have had gaming PC for some time, you know this software already. Futuremark's (Yay! for Finnish company) 3DMark has been industry standard for almost 20 years. Its combined benchmark, meaning that it tests both GPU and CPU within single run. First 3DMark I've used is 3DMark03. I've had 05, 06. Vantage and 11. 3DMark06 was used for long time because of its DX9 support. Until Vantage with DX10.1 it was only thing to test new hardware reliably. Thats important. Because of the way benchmarks work, if you change something the score will also differ. So comparing two results between different versions of software can cause issues. I first noticed this fact with FurMark.
     
    But back to 3DMark. Free version has 3-4 tests. Most common is FireStrike which is for current gen gaming PCs. You can run it with lower end hardware if you are like me and want before upgrade scores to compare. I also used tad lighter SkyDiver. Mainly because I couldn't get 06 running anymore. So let both tests run, mark score to notepad, mark max temps for GPU and CPU, remember to let temps go back to "idle" in between and reset max readings before running the test. Thats it. Free version doesn't have any settings to toggle. Only thing I would like to toggle is Demo.
     
    CINEBENCH R15
    Yes, they actually have product name in caps. Maxon makes professional 3D modeling and animation software as their main source of income. But Cinebench has become one reason for their homepage to get constant traffic. It has 2 tests, individually for CPU and GPU. GPU uses OpenCL, CPU renders image using all available threads. Cinebench gives some comparison for similar systems, but I wouldn't look that graph too much. I also don't think it as very taxing software. Run tests for both CPU and GPU, with temp normalization in between.
     
    This is among those software with this batch that has single part focus on testing. I don't have just for CPU, but I might look into that part more. Intel Extreme Tuning Utility has CPU testing, but I don't know if it works with AMD. Anyway, having whole benchmark just for single component has some advantages. Like if you'd like to test air cooling myth about radiating GPU heat. So running GPU only test would raise only GPUs temp notably and do something to CPUs temp also. I don't look at utilization when I run these tests, but it could be one thing to check also if you want to gather more data.
     
    Catzilla http://www.catzilla.com/download
    ALLBenchmark's test is different from the two above because it  has very noticeable sound effects and music. Otherwise its just another combined benchmark. I've used it since I heard about it from OC3D's TinyTomLogan. TTL is someone who's opinion on OC and CPU performance means a lot to me. I've picked other go-to software from him with OCCT, a stress test software for CPU. But back to Catzilla. Basic version only has 540p benchmark, but you get 720p one by creating account to their site. Easy thing with Google, Twitter or Facebook linking. Rest of the stuff is like before.
     
    RealBench https://rog.asus.com/rog-pro/realbench-v2-leaderboard/
    ASUS' RealBench is combined test which uses real life tasks for benchmarking. Image manipulation, rendering, video encoding and multitasking. Besides giving total score, you get score per test. I mark all of them down. I got to see how much GPU did bottleneck CPU on CPU heavy tasks. Result? Not that much. But some.
     
    UserBenchmark
    This is new to my lineup. I haven't looked much into what it actually measures. But looks to be lighter side combined test. I would say it replaces Novabench I had on earlier lineup. Results are given in three categories, for Gaming, Desktop and Workstation in percentage. I marked those percentages as results.
     
    Heaven and Valley
    These two from Unigine are pure GPU tests. Heaven is what is commonly used for GPU OC testing, temp testing and benchmarking by reviewers. Valley is bit heavier, so I'd say running them both is good practice. Like with 3DMark, there are more tests you can use. I used highest presets for both, Extreme for Heaven and ExtremeHD for Valley.
     
    FFXIV: Stormblood
    Like said earlier, I don't have real gameplay benchmarks in this set. So this game from 2013 is lower end gaming benchmark for me. It has preset for Mazximum settings, but I pumped those bit more. You can check my settings from PDF attached. I use score as scoring, but you could have also given FPS.
    (FFXIV_Stormbloo_benchmark_LoGiCalDrm_config.pdf)
     
    Star Swarm http://store.steampowered.com/app/267130/Star_Swarm_Stress_Test/
    This game engine benchmark is free on Steam. Released 2014 by Oxide Games, guys behind Ashes of Singularity, its has capability of simulating space battle game. There are few options to simulate different style of games. I used Attract with Extreme settings. Score will be given as average FPS. You can select some other combination, important part being that same settings are used before and after any upgrade made to keep score consistent.
     
    demo2 https://files.scene.org/view/parties/2015/assembly15/demo/demo2_by_ekspert.zip
    This one is something I cooked up. Its newer than both other gaming style benchmarks, its done with Unreal Engine 4 and I have no clue if it has any relation to real world or not. Its Demo made by group called Ekspert for Assembly LAN Demo Compo 2015, in which it placed 2nd. There are few remarks I want to make about demo's and demoscene before going actual benchmarking part. Demoscene is all about digital art. Animation, coding, graphics, music, indie game development. At least in Europe, many software and game dev companies have their roots deep into demoscene. If you are doing the things I mentioned above and want to show off your skills by competing, maybe look if there are parties/compo's held in your area. The two known Finnish companies with demoscene background are Futuremark (surprise, surprise) and Rovio. One for making first PC demo at the time when Amiga and Commodore 64 were main platforms, other for making mobile game back when those were played on Nokia N-Cage's.
     
    Now back to benchmarking part. Demo2 doesn't have built-in scoring system. So I've used FRAPS to calculate average FPS. Running 1080p version gives warning about using Fraps for recording purposes, but loads just fine after that. I start benchmark counter as soon as demo starts and check scores afterwards. Nothing more to it.
     
    Others?
    As I said along the lines, I would like to have more modern game benchmarks, as well as CPU only benchmark. So I will be looking around for those and adding them here. If someone reading this has ideas about free or cheap games with included benchmarks, please let me know.
     
    3. Scores and comparison
     
    At this point you should have raw data text file. Something like this one I'm using:
    benchmsrk.txt
    Which includes system specs for each test cycle. This would be the file you are updating during tests. Feel free to use it as template or comparison. But what now? Well, you can just compare by eye results, use it to quickly refer temps and so on. But what if you want know how much better system performance is after upgrade. Thats where Excel (or Sheets, Calc and so on) comes in. Copying results to Excel (&co) can be annoying, but do it once to get template correct and maybe adjust .txt file to help in future. Here's my .xlsx for reference. Also free to be used as template or comparison:
    benchmark_LoGiCalDrm.xlsx
     
    In file I've got some extended system info and notes about tests. Which are pretty much same as in here. But main thing is +- column (Excel hint: add < ' > in front of symbol to exclude any automatic formula). It calculates how many percentage better new score is compared to last. Works best when score changes less than 100% or new score is over twice the value of old. Formula used is pretty simple:
    =(<new>/<old>)-1 Shown in percentage. You can add color coding and such if needed. If new value are over twice bigger, remove <-1> to get accurate score.
     
    There's some oddness in that file in CPU temps. I had issue with Speedfan missing fan profiles for 2 front intakes. Which I fixed after I had changed to new GPU. So those are something to ignore.
     
    4. Conclusion
     
    I hope this helps those who are new to benchmarking. Note that this is just how I do things and you should be taking it as guide or advice. Make it your own. I will be doing some fixes along the lines, but as I will not be getting major upgrade in few years, its quite possible I'll be making another batch of tests when next upgrade is on me.
  4. LogicalDrm
    (Almost) ALL Topics talking about having LTT/Forums app in 2016
     
    Main post with all statistics:
    2016 Stats
     
    Total topics created: 27
    Most in month: 4 (April)
    Average in month: 2.25
     
    Dec 31st

    Dec 18th

    Dec 12th

    Nov 14th

    Nov 12th

    Nov 9th

    Oct 26th

    Oct 16th

    Sep 21st

    Sep 11th

    Sep 2nd

    Aug 20th

    July 29th

    July 28th

    May 24th

    May 20th

    May 5th

    Apr 26th

    Apr 24th

    Apr 11th

    Apr 4th

    Mar 19th

    Mar 7th

    Feb 24th

    Feb 14th

    Feb 7th
     
    Jan 20th (before forum update)

  5. LogicalDrm
    (Almost) ALL Topics talking about having LTT/Forums app in 2014
     
    Main post with all statistics:
    2015 Stats
     
    Total topics created: 13
    Most in month: 3 (August)
    Average in month: 1.1
     
    Nov 7th

    Sep 10th

    Aug 21st

    Aug 10th

    Aug 6th

    Jul 11th

    Jul 1st

    Jun 21st

    Apr 7th

    Mar 24th

    Feb 26th

    Feb 24th

    Jan 16th

     
  6. LogicalDrm
    (Almost) ALL Topics talking about having LTT/Forums app in 2014
     
    Main post with all statistics:
     
    2014 Stats
     
    Total topics created: 14
    Most in month: 2 (July, September, October, December)
    Average in month: 1.2
    Shortest time between: N/A ( - )
    Longest time between: N/A ( - )
     
    Dec 27th
     
    Dec 17th
     
    Oct 23rd
     
    Oct 7th
     
    Sep 29th
     
    Sep 27th
     
    Aug 22nd
     
    Jul 30th
     
    Jul 9th
     
    Jun 29th
     
    Mar 17th
     
    Mar 9th
     
    Feb 20th
     
    Jan 24th
     
  7. LogicalDrm

    Topics created in 2013

    By LogicalDrm,

    (Almost) ALL Topics talking about having LTT/Forums app in 2013
     
    Main post with all statistics:
    2013 Stats
     
    Total topics created: 17
    Most in month: 7 (May)
    Average in month: 1.4
    Shortest time between: 1d 8h 23min (May 1st 18:41 - May 3rd 03:04)
    Longest time between: 80d 19h 28min (Feb 8th 21:13 - May 1st 18:41)
     
    Dec 22nd

    Oct 31st

    Sep 18th

    Aug 22nd

    July 11th

    June 21st

    June 3rd

    May 31st

    May 27th

    May 14th

    May 9th

    May 5th

    May 3rd
     
    May 1st

    Feb 8th
     
    Jan 21st
     
    Jan 3rd

  8. LogicalDrm
    So basicly I'm heading off Battlefield 4. I'll still do thoughts on patches if any major balance related comes. But as I'm taking some time off game itself, I need first to get back in to be able to analyse patch impact. In meanwhile....
    This will be english side of my personal blog in which I post irregularly about my tech hobby. And this little thing I just got will be first in that sense.
    LINE5 A985 Headphone Out Switcher
    I use computer bacily as only device producing audio. No TV, no radio (my alarm doesn't count), not really need to use phone for that. To listen any audio I have 3 devices. Really crappy speakers, Sennheiser HD-555 hi-fi headphones and SteelSeries Siberia V2 Black&Gold gaming headset. In order to use all I need to switch between output jacks. For this purpose I've had cheap, plastic media switcher. It did its job well until the point where Siberia arrived. After that I found having two options. Either switching between cables or using both headphones with splitter. I used the first method for awhile. Not really best choise if you want to keep everything in good shape. Luckily for me both Sennheiser and SteelSeries use golden jacks which are really durable. The plastic switcher wasn't so lucky. So I went for second option and modded switcher to its current condition. So it has 3 holes and volume slider. I ended jamming it to full since I control volume with keyboard. The three holes are for mic (not in use), speakers (button down) and headphones (button up). I've been looking for replacement for over an year, along with my brother who has similiar troubles. And then @Slick offered a solution, in his own not-so-clear way.
    So basicly Slick showed off product that he had got for headphone etc. testing. Good thing since I wanted that one too. Problem was that Slick pronounced name wrong (LineP) and since it was on Afterparty (plus I don't have Twitter or want to bother him with stuff like this) there were little to none ways to track the product down. Only after doing yet another random search on eBay and Amazon for switchers I got lucky hit. The LINE5 A985. I started second part of tracking and looked for reviews, unboxings and maybe manual. What I got was happy surprise. LINE5 A985 was listed on DealExtreme, Singapore/Hongkong company with lots of cheap but quality stuff and free shipping. After bit fiddling I placed my order.
    Now to real stuff. The product arrived like all other stuff from DX. Some soft bubblewrap around the box itself. Main reason why I only buy cheap and basic stuff anyway. Products own box was really big, had lots of pics and basicly manual written on side. I opened it and was like 'Ok, this is interesting...' The unit is size of palm (see the pics). The box had only it inside along with some cables. All were wrapped with closed cell foam. Insane proofing for something so simple. The cables were slim style 3.5mm male to male in various colors. I'm pretty happy with just those. They cost around 3€ piece here and I paid $23 for whole product. So 4*3€ is already same as price in euros. Besides they are nice slim style which is generally better.
    Unit itself is brushed aluminium. It has little rubber feet at bottom, knob for selecting input or output and total of 8 holes for jacks. That would be 4 in and 4 out. You can open it with allen key and flip PCB around. For this you also need to open both ends. In all it feels pretty solid. Jakcs click into place and don't just fall off. On minus side the finish isn't very good and edges are bit sharp. Also knob wiggles I little but those are minor things. Major problem is that knob is on input side of interface. I guess this is since the product is meant for having multiple input devices.

    Usage. You can use it two way. Either have multiple input devices or multiple outputs. You can't have both. I tested this by having dual in-ears (Sennheiser CX-400 and CX-300 II) and using both pc and phone as inputs. If you have two inputs connected, knob switches between them. If you have only one, it switches between outputs. You can still connect multiple outputs and have audio in all of them. So every hole outputs same signal. Same goes when you only have one input and several outputs. You can use any of holes to plug input device and all will work.
    Quality. I can't really say anything about durability. That would come after 6 months of use. I switch outputs maybe 3-10 times a day. Mainly evenings from speakers to headphones but also mid day when gaming for awhile. And also at evenings from general audio to gaming. Audio quality is uneffected. All ports work. I'm really impressed. My only concern is knob. Like I said before, it feels bit fiddly. But for price I'm really happy.
  9. LogicalDrm
    Once again our favorite game to be patched has got some news. This is for Naval Strike launched today. So here are my thoughts about some selected fixes and changes. You can find full list here.
    GENERAL FIXES
    Funny and sometimes annoying. Nothing major but sure helps cleaning roofs on Flood Zone.
    These are bit more important. Before you had to aim to some jump with jet in order to get it into air before trees. I don't have ECM on any vehicle atm but that sounds important fix.
    “NETCODE”
    Ah... the infamous netcode gets something.
    Oh... we had inside joke about this one. I play more on HC servers so I don't know how it was on normal mode.

    And...? This doesn't tell so much.
    PROGRESSION
    Nothing for me... yet. But sure will help my friends who are at max level.
    WEAPONS / GADGET TWEAKS
    Bit more power to my shotgun.
    (Quotes not wroking...) These are important only if you play mostly Metro. Though in many servers nades are restricted. But in those that are "No rules", these will bit reduce LVG spam.
    GRENADE TWEAKS
    Another Metro spam stoooer.... NOT.
    AIRCRAFT TWEAKS
    Haven't feel this being problem. Or not major at least.
    This feels bit scary actually. Those things do nice damage already. You can destroy attack boats fast and now even faster.

    Some jet tweaks. I haven't used JDAM since its so hard to use. I'll try it and see if its valid to use as anti-vehicle weapon. Maybe to destroy AAs. On Stealth change... I don't really know how its gonna change things. It will make my job as protecting jet easier but I have feeling that everyone will have 30mm cannons now.
    Thats all for now. If you want to read more of my thoughts, subscribe. I don't do topics on PC Gaming anymore because those get too much "BF4 is buggy shit" posts.
  10. LogicalDrm
    Finally BF4 gets massive balance patch. Now I have covered most of this in my earlier post http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/108970-my-thoughts-on-battlefield-4-jan-30th-and-upcoming-patches/ won't comment on same things. There are several things in this patch that I have opinion and I hadn't commented on last time, so here goes.
    This is only my opinion. I'll quote changes and give my thoughts on them. You can check whole thing in here http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf4/forum/threadview/2955065226155386316/
    General fixes
    The most important things. Wait, what?
    Into what, I ask...
    Sounds fun. Was there problem....?
    You can "rapid fire" shells without it being problem. But I've seen few times tanks with too fast firing. And when you don't have it, its annoying.
    Minor things but welcome ones. Last one particularly. I hate when firing half of clip into someone and they seems to survive without hits.
    This sounds interesting. I like the part where you push boats back to water. No more waiting squadmate to do so with another boat. If only they would fix that same thing on tanks and apcs.
    Spectator mode
    I don't use this feature much and so won't paste anything. Overall there is some good and imo some not so good changes. Since spectating is mostly used for casting matches I feel that DICE has focused more towards general pubbers with these changes.
    Grenade balances
    I didn't cover these before and there isn't much to cover. Just this:
    For now minis have been almost better than M67. Huge change. Makes Metro fun again. Or more fun than it was. Or not.
    Pistols
    Last time I didn't have anything to say on these. Now I have something.
    Good thing. I use QSZ-92 atm and I like it. Its like M9 of BF4 with current M9 being shadow of BF3 version.
    For weapon and vehicle changes check my post on PC Gaming section (link at beginning).
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