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

[SadTech]

I LOVE this thread! I have learned so much from it..

 

My dumb question is kinda obvious but I just put in another monitor at home and I use one for Windows media player for TV and movies while I use the other for Diablo III. Diablo III got a little laggy when I have the other screen on.. is it really that demanding to have both playing at once?? 

 

Diablo III isn't even that demanding of a game to play. 

 

I do have a old as balls gfx card but everything else on my computer is top notch.. i5 8gb ram.

 

my GFX card is a ancient ATI 1950x but it still runs DIablo III perfectly, there is just that tiny bit of slow down when the other monitor is on. Is it just my shitty GFX card or is this to be expected??.. It is still very playable and looks fine but I can tell things take a little longer to pop up like in inventory when I click it.

[WinNut]

But wouldn't motherboard manufacturers need to design firmware that is compatible with PCI-E CFX?

The BIOS is what determines CFX/SLI compatibility, special code is written that allows the cards to talk to each other. Don't quote me on this, tho.

[fezme7]

are there any good Wireless Mechinical Keyboards?

[Glenwing]

what is wled and how does it compare to tn/va/IPS?

 

WLED is white LED, it's how the monitor is illuminated.

[FranktheDinosaur]

The point of distilled water is to not have any living organisms in it. Taking it a step further,

you can use demineralised water, which has all of its minerals (basically food for organisms)

removed as well. Demin water is basically pure H₂O.

 

Silver indeed dissociates in water, but it acts as the opposite of minerals: it's an antimicrobial

additive. It inherently kills organic life in the water, making it not gunk up as quick compared

to plain water.

 

Thanks! I always thought that the distilled water was to minimize the risks of shorting something out if there was a leak.

[0s4x]

What's with cherry mx green switches?

cherry mx greens are a heavier blue. Both are clicky and tactile. 80 grams of pressure is needed on green to activate the switch, but only 50 grams on blue switches for activation.

[elecxonica]

I LOVE this thread! I have learned so much from it..

 

My dumb question is kinda obvious but I just put in another monitor at home and I use one for Windows media player for TV and movies while I use the other for Diablo III. Diablo III got a little laggy when I have the other screen on.. is it really that demanding to have both playing at once?? 

 

Diablo III isn't even that demanding of a game to play. 

 

I do have a old as balls gfx card but everything else on my computer is top notch.. i5 8gb ram.

 

my GFX card is a ancient ATI 1950x but it still runs DIablo III perfectly, there is just that tiny bit of slow down when the other monitor is on. Is it just my shitty GFX card or is this to be expected??.. It is still very playable and looks fine but I can tell things take a little longer to pop up like in inventory when I click it.

Yes. The graphics card has to render what's happening on both screen, ala dual screen gaming. You could run your second screen on your iGPU and possibly get a slightly higher FPS.

[Internet Swag]

Do I connect case fans to my PSU or to my motherboard? 

 

Can I install case fans before installing a motherboard? 

[MG2R]

what is wled and how does it compare to tn/va/IPS?

As Glenwing explained: WLED is just short for White LED. It is the technology

used for the monitor's back light.

 

TN/VA/IPS are different technologies for the actual LCD panel (that gets

illuminated by the back light, producing a visual image)

 

 

While we are on the topic of graphics cards what Stream Processors?

A stream processor is the term for general purpose processing units

used by AMD. Those are the processors that are used when using GPUs

for GPU computing. The more you have, the more work can be done in

parallel. They are so-called SIMD processors, which stands for Single

Instruction, Multiple Data. Basically, that means that all the processors are

able to perform the same instruction on different data sets in parallel.

 

 

Thanks! I always thought that the distilled water was to minimize the risks of shorting something out if there was a leak.

While it is true that pure H₂O doesn't conduct electricity, it would be of little

use for preventing shortages. First, all metals will put ions into put H₂O. Some

more than others, but all metals will, making the water conduct again over time.

Second, dust on the components will make water conduct as well, so unless the

computer is SOOPER clean, pure water won't help preventing shorts in case

of a leak.

 

 

Do I connect case fans to my PSU or to my motherboard?

If you have the option of connecting your fans to a motherboard, that would

be preferred. Most motherboards these days have adjustable fan controllers,

making your fans only ramp up when it's actually needed.

 

 

Can I install case fans before installing a motherboard? 

 

I'm afraid I don't quite get your question... Do you mean the physical installation?

If so, then yes, do as you please, just install them in the order that's easiest.

[BaconComputing]

Why do all of my brother's laptops' motherboards' keep crashing? He isn't doing anything wrong with them, but everything seems to crash in one way or another.

[Spoilt]

Why do all of my brother's laptops' motherboards' keep crashing? He isn't doing anything wrong with them, but everything seems to crash in one way or another.

1) Your brother is too shy to tell the truth.

2) Laptop's components are highly integrated. Manufacturer/PC repair shops will tend to replace the whole board rather than just the faulty parts because it is easier, less room for errors and can be more profitable.

3) Depending on your brother's IT knowledge, it probably just an overly simplified way of the repair guy telling you what he did to fix the laptop. Could possibly be a scam too.

[Tech_Dreamer]

would a headphone sound better if it's connected to a low end sound card rather than a some what advanced motherboard ?

[Sharp_3yE]

OK this is going to so sound utterly stupid, but I am totally confused with this as there are so many different ways and ugh everyone says the other is bad But How do you correctly apply thermal paste/compound. I have seen more than 10 different ways of doing it all claiming which one is better i trust Linus and Logan with the pea technique but is it really the best?

There is no "BEST" way just as long as you get a good amount that spreads everywhere. Not to much but not to little. Some people do an X, others just do the one dot aka the pea method in the center, others put multiple dots. DOESN'T MATTER! Just get it on and you can just let the heatsink spread the paste. Don't need to spread it with your finger.

[Spoilt]

There is no "BEST" way just as long as you get a good amount that spreads everywhere. Not to much but not to little. Some people do an X, others just do the one dot aka the pea method in the center, others put multiple dots. DOESN'T MATTER! Just get it on and you can just let the heatsink spread the paste. Don't need to spread it with your finger.

You do realize that you are replying a message that is almost a year old by now right?

[Maslofski]

so i5s are suposed to be quad cores, but mine is a dual with hypertreading. will games use all 4 or just 2, and 4 when games support it?

[WoodenMarker]

so i5s are suposed to be quad cores, but mine is a dual with hypertreading. will games use all 4 or just 2, and 4 when games support it?

The 4 threads would definitely not be used if not supported. Games generally do support hyperthreading but just don't benefit much from it.

[Maslofski]

The 4 threads would definitely not be used if not supported. Games generally do support hyperthreading but just don't benefit much from it.

 

so i basically got a i3 labeled as i5

[FireFox]

so i basically got a i3 labeled as i5

 

That is all they are mate, the Core i5 (Clarkdale) is a Core i3 just with Turbo Boost and maybe one or two more features that I can't think of

[FireFox]

so i5s are suposed to be quad cores, but mine is a dual with hypertreading. will games use all 4 or just 2, and 4 when games support it?

 

You need to Lynnfield Core i5's (LGA 1156) for the quad core ones.

[WoodenMarker]

so i basically got a i3 labeled as i5

That is all they are mate, the Core i5 (Clarkdale) is a Core i3 just with Turbo Boost and maybe one or two more features that I can't think of

Sort of. It's just that not all i5's are quad cores.

[FireFox]

Sort of. It's just that not all i5's are quad cores.

 

I know, Clarkdale are dual core and Lynnfield are quad cores, I think it is the 700 series Core i5's are the quad's and 600 series are the dual's

[ThatAngryGnome]

What does a Hyper Threading do?

Hyper Threading allows for a single processor core to "virtually" become two cores. Watch this: 

[mthilton]

What does a Hyper Threading do?

I will show you the way, using a linus video  

 

[Yummychickenblue]

How do you overclock a CPU? I have heard it is vastly different than a GPU.

[WinNut]

How do you overclock a CPU? I have heard it is vastly different than a GPU.

MOAR MULTIPLIERS!!!!!!!!!

 

You slowly crank the multiplier up and if it becomes unstable give it moar volts (increase by .1 of a volt)