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

[smjpl]

Here is my understanding of it.  It gives each core the ability to process 2 things at once.  But essentially it takes 1 task, splits it into 2 tasks and runs it at the same time.

 

I know what it does but I am wondering how it does it and what are the effects. Probably a bit too in depth for the "Tech things you don't know but are too afraid to  ask" thread but I've just gotten sucked in at this stage.

 

Example:

The computer does recognize 8 individual cores (2600k) and they all work in random sequences (random to me that is). You see them increase at different rates when doing tasks like opening documents etc. Can the OS determine which is a logical core and which is a physical core? So something like running a game (demanding task), doesn't run on a logical core and gets better processing power (resulting in better fps etc) from the physical core?

[fishymamba]

How does more power stages help? And their confusing marking (i.e. 8+1, 4+1...)

 

It can help, but it also depends on the quality of the components used. Asus  uses a 8 phase power design for the CPU on most of their boards, but they use very high quality components that can deliver lots of current. 

Some other companies have 16+ phase designs but they use lower quality components so the end result is very similar. Also there is no point of crazy VRM systems unles you are going for crazy world record overclocks, 8+1 should be more than enough for 90% of users. 3+1 or 4+1 is good enough if you are not going to be overclocking, but it depends on the power requirements of the CPU. I remember there was a strain of AMD motherboards with cheap(3+1/4+1) power phases that blew up when used with the 125W FX-8350. 

 

8+1 means that there are 8 phases for the CPU, and 1 for the RAM. 4+1 is 4 for the CPU and 1 for the RAM. People forget that RAM needs stable power too, especially when overclocking. 

[Salmiakbal]

Why is everyone highly criticizing EA ALOT?  Check on linus meme on off-topic and ALOT of jokes are about EA?  

Hating on EA is the next big thing dude

You don't hate EA, you're not part of the pack

Also the ''meme'' topic is truly the most unfunny part of the forum, but that's just my opinion

 

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)

It's the quality. Flexing it is a good measurement for the stiffness and thus quality of a keyboard. It just feels very solid to type on, like a tank.

Of course you also pay for the name a bit. I'm sure they could be cheaper

 

Posted from a Filco :D

[Jay123]

What is this thing people refer to as being EAed?

It's a joke started on the livestream. It basically means it's been messed up because EA mess everything up.

[Jay123]

Great idea for a thread

[rashdanml]

Here is my understanding of it.  It gives each core the ability to process 2 things at once.  But essentially it takes 1 task, splits it into 2 tasks and runs it at the same time.

I'm going to see if I can try to explain it based on an explanation I read elsewhere.

 

Take the i7. It has 4 physical cores, and it "creates" 4 virtual cores that are weaker than physical cores. When the processor gets a task, assuming the task is programmed to be multi-threaded, it gets split into 4 chunks to run on the 4 physical cores. While the cores are processing parts of the tasks, some processing power may be left over; the second task is split up and processed using the left over processing capacity, so it's basically processing 2 tasks in parallel. The left over processing power is essentially the virtual cores. As the first task is finished, the second task gets bumped up to run on the physical cores and the third task runs on the virtual cores.

 

I may have made all of that up. :lol: That's how I visualize it though.

[Alex(PlayMedium)]

So basically, they're probably the best but if you can get something that suits your needs at the right price, get it and it will be fine.

 

Cheers for your replies.

exactly.

I for example have a quickfire TK, because I want a short keyboard for portability and more space for my mouse, but I somethines actually use the numberpad, so a normal tenkeyless wouldn't suit me well, but the TK does and it is the only kb out right now with such a layout and it is availible in my fav switch type(brown) so I went for it, don't regret it.

[Night]

You can put the card into a 16x slot though

But I cant put my video card in a 4x slot. Sound cards should be above cideo cards just about always so that the cideo card can suck in as much air as it can and the sound card passivly cools by letting heat rise up into the top fans in your case.

That makes more sense then putting a video card in an 8x for example and running a sound card in a 16x.

[christoi]

How does more power stages help? And their confusing marking (i.e. 8+1, 4+1...)

 

This article explains it very well:

http://www.overclock.net/t/973918/a-clarification-of-phases-also-re-exploding-gtx590s/0_40

 

If you want some more info about motherboard VRM's, you may also want to watch

videos. The quality of a VRM is based on a lot more than just the phase count (as the article states), so the video covers other aspects that are important. Not all of it applies for Haswell boards though, since it's quite a bit different.

[joelthezombie15]

Great idea for a thread

Thanks.

[greenroost1445]

what is the power rating on the power supply is needed to power a 8800gtx?

[rashdanml]

what is the power rating on the power supply is needed to power a 8800gtx?

450W recommended. Odds are, it requires less for actual gaming: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2006/11/08/nvidia_geforce_8800_gtx_g80/18

[greenroost1445]

ok another one... which one would be better performance gt620 or gtx 8800?

[joelthezombie15]

if a PSU is 80% efficient what exactly does that mean?

[rashdanml]

if a PSU is 80% efficient what exactly does that mean?

Take PSU Capacity, say 500W. That capacity is 80% of the power drawn from the wall. So, if the PSU is running at max capacity, it's drawing 625W from the wall. Conversely, when measuring power consumption from the wall, you multiply that by 0.8 to figure out how much the system is actually using.

Also, the PSU can actually be more efficient depending on percentage load. A PSU at 50% load can have efficiencies higher than 85-90%. So in the previous example, 50% load would be 250W, and the power draw from the wall would be 278W assuming 90% efficient.

Efficiency = Actual Power consumption by system / Input Power from wall socket

[greenroost1445]

if a PSU is 80% efficient what exactly does that mean?

 

 

The 80 PLUS® performance specification requires power supplies in computers and servers to be 80% or greater energy efficient at 10, 20, 50 and 100% of rated load

http://www.plugloadsolutions.com/80PlusPowerSupplies.aspx#

 

so like when it draws power the converted power has to be at least 80% of the power drawn from the wall

[greenroost1445]

Take PSU Capacity, say 500W. That capacity is 80% of the power drawn from the wall. So, if the PSU is running at max capacity, it's drawing 625W from the wall. Conversely, when measuring power consumption from the wall, you multiply that by 0.8 to figure out how much the system is actually using.

 

Also, the PSU can actually be more efficient depending on percentage load. A PSU at 50% load can have efficiencies higher than 85-90%. So in the previous example, 50% load would be 250W, and the power draw from the wall would be 278W assuming 90% efficient.

damn you beat me to it

[chirag.rh]

if a PSU is 80% efficient what exactly does that mean?

PSUs will waste 20% or less electric energy as heat at the specified load levels, reducing electricity use and bills compared to less efficient PSUs.

[Wi RoZ]

I know what it does but I am wondering how it does it and what are the effects. Probably a bit too in depth for the "Tech things you don't know but are too afraid to  ask" thread but I've just gotten sucked in at this stage.

 

Example:

The computer does recognize 8 individual cores (2600k) and they all work in random sequences (random to me that is). You see them increase at different rates when doing tasks like opening documents etc. Can the OS determine which is a logical core and which is a physical core? So something like running a game (demanding task), doesn't run on a logical core and gets better processing power (resulting in better fps etc) from the physical core?

The virtual cores are just VIRTUAL. They use the parts of the core that are not used by thread (or task if you prefer) 1 for thread 2. So when you are gaming, the more demanding gaming processes will be handled by the real cores in the first place. However, if the game supports multi-threading, those virtual cores may come to the rescue by making sure that the data is processed faster compared to the "same" not HTT-enabled processor.

[calebp123]

if a PSU is 80% efficient what exactly does that mean?

Are you talking about the whole 80+ thing? That means that the psu has been tested and has 80% efficiency under 20%, 50%, and  100% of the load on the psu.

[rashdanml]

ok another one... which one would be better performance gt620 or gtx 8800?

http://www.hwcompare.com/12950/geforce-8800-gtx-vs-geforce-gt-640-ddr3/

Can't find GT 620, but assuming GT 640 > GT 620, 8800GTX is better.

 

Benchmarks: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/gf8800-games.html

Can't find any for GT 620, but it's not a very good gaming card.

[codytappen]

what is stopping companies like Samsung from producing portable media player with more than 160GB of storage?

Apple already has the market under control (not a to big a market either) and I'm sure they're aware that Apple will litigate over them having a similar product to an IPod Classic, and the cost/risk of going to court isn't worth it.

[Carter]

Back to joelthezombie15's question though, can you tell me (us) about ram timings and cas latency? It's something I've wondered about for a while but many of the explanations I have read are a little confusing :)

[Beskamir]

What is this thing people refer to as being EAed?

oh you didn't watch the livestream? well linus and slikc used EA as a verb on a livestream once and bacisally making the new word that means do something that only EA could do. (dlcs, drm, expansions, day 1 dcls, usless crap to break your game, rushed game, etc)

[Cobalt]

What exactly is SCSI and SAS??