General Computer Chat

[donavannj]

Why the heck would DHCP be doing that? o_o;;

@TeamFail: Start>Run>msconfig then click over to the "startup" tab. Then untick the boxes of the programs you don't want to start.

 

[Buoysel]

I kept switching between local servers with each test getting the same results.

 

[TheAppleFreak]

Screw all of you guys with your fast connections.

With something this slow, it's amazing that I can game without much lag. At least the ping is low.

 

[Purple Materia]

Ugh. My connection is balls. xD

 

[Archer]

Okay. I'm in a real dilemma. I have the older, better version of WLM, but I got a notification while logging in telling me to use the crappier, newer version to continue. What should I do? Can I bypass it?

I dropped it for Pidgin/Trillian, because I could see it going down a very dark road.

And in the MSCONFIG dialog, don't touch the services tab. You may also want to leave your display drivers, trackpad (if on laptop) drivers, AV client and sound drivers. Feel free to disable Adobe's crap on startup, as well as most stuff.

Purple Materia, I'm not saying it's not worth it, just that you get what's known as microstutter. Basically, although the theoretical framerate stays above a certain amount, the cards can lose sync and skip/stutter, where it feels like it's dropping to 20 fps for a split second. Not with all games, either, so it seems to be drivers. It happens in Dirt2 for me :cer_cry:, but not in Crysis

. I didn't get much chance to play around, because the card needs to go into a build, but my second 5770 should arrive in the post tomorrow. :cer_nod:

 

[Purple Materia]

Well that's good, at least there's that. :D

Let's talk temps. What temps do you get with your case and cooling setups?

 

[donavannj]

The services tab contains some services vital to Windows starting up.

 

[Archer]

Well that's good, at least there's that. :D

Let's talk temps. What temps do you get with your case and cooling setups?

That depends on the ambient temp. Idle with A/C on: CPU 39, GPU 51 (needs dust blown out.)

Well, what's up with the services tab? I have lots of programs that run in there that I never really use, well, very rarely.

I want to see the temps my PC is generating so I can identify an issue it may be having. How could I get that number? (Vista 32-bit) It's from the factory, and I haven't modded it any. But, the fan goes berserk when I have more than 50% CPU usage. And it ain't quiet, either.

Use CoreTemp, provided your system is newer than a Pentium 4/D. Probably dusty.

The services tab contains some services vital to Windows starting up.

Yes. And to be honest, you're usually safe if you tick the "[ ] Hide Microsoft Services" box, but still...

 

[Archer]

Okay. I'm in a real dilemma. I have the older, better version of WLM, but I got a notification while logging in telling me to use the crappier, newer version to continue. What should I do? Can I bypass it?

If you're using Vista or 7, you can go into the exe's properties and run in Windows 200 compatibility mode. It won't prompt you to upgrade. :cer_wink:

 

[Palkia]

Ugh. My connection is balls. xD

No, it isn't bad. Infact, i't almost made me cringe at how fast it was. :/

 

[Archer]

Ha. That's funny. I took it you saw my core's temps? I'm concerned, so while it's warm out, I'm going to get some compressed air and blow the dust out. I think constant 70ºC temps aren't good.

Hold the fan still, if you can. Although it's unlikely, the blades can spin past what they're made for and break if you're not careful.

No, 70*C is bad. What CPU do you have?

 

[Purple Materia]

You guys know how you can set hard drive icons on the Mac desktop, and it displays the stats? Kind of like this? Anyone know if I can pick up a similar feature in Windows?

 

[donavannj]

You guys know how you can set hard drive icons on the Mac desktop, and it displays the stats? Kind of like this? Anyone know if I can pick up a similar feature in Windows?

You can create a shortcut on your desktop, but I don't know of any method that can show you the stats.

 

[Archer]

You guys know how you can set hard drive icons on the Mac desktop, and it displays the stats? Kind of like this? Anyone know if I can pick up a similar feature in Windows?

Look into RainMeter

I'm not 100% sure, but IIRC, it's an intel of some kind. I'll have to look.

EDIT: AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dualcore

Good CPU, horrible heatsink. Clean the dust out, that should improve things. I mean, they ran hot, but that's too hot.

That's it, I'm selling the both of the 5770s and getting a better card. Which one? You guys can help me decide. Thinking at least a 6870. Maybe a 560 or 6950.

EDIT: Nearly ready to pull the trigger on a 6950. It's steep, but stuff it, they unlock to 6970s, after all.

 

[Purple Materia]

Look into RainMeter

I don't know why I didn't think of it first. :/
Thanks though.

 

[TheAppleFreak]

Ohey that's my desktop up there.

Rainmeter's a really nice tool. Check out my Windows desktop for a nice, somewhat futuristic skin that I use. Granted, this is just one skin out of hundreds, if not thousands, that are available, so you'll be able to find one that meets your needs.

Also, apparently Hackintosh!OSX hates my graphics card, but it doesn't matter since I barely use it anyways. I dunno, figure I'll just uninstall OS X since all I use is Windows nowadays on it.

 

[donavannj]

I'm considering finally getting a standalone video card for my desktop. Anyone got any decent midrange ones they can recommend? Or if I should even bother with a video card if I'm not going to go high end?

System specs in this post (desktop). Only things that have changed are the fact that I'm using only Windows 7 and my hard drive is a Seagate 7200.12. Still using the on-board video, which is supposedly an ATI Radeon 4000-something HD. The newest game I may be running on it any time soon is Civilization V.

 

[TheAppleFreak]

I'm considering finally getting a standalone video card for my desktop. Anyone got any decent midrange ones they can recommend? Or if I should even bother with a video card if I'm not going to go high end?

System specs in this post (desktop). Only things that have changed are the fact that I'm using only Windows 7 and my hard drive is a Seagate 7200.12. Still using the on-board video, which is supposedly an ATI Radeon 4000-something HD. The newest game I may be running on it any time soon is Civilization V.

How much you willing to spend? I hear the GTX 470 is pretty good.

 

[donavannj]

How much you willing to spend? I hear the GTX 470 is pretty good.

At most, probably $150-175. Preferably $75-125 range.

 

[Archer]

At most, probably $150-175. Preferably $75-125 range.

For $130, you can get an ATI 5770. For a little more, the Nvidia GTX460 1GB or AMD 6850.