Official Computer Help Thread

[DenimRogue]

Use the online sources like https://besttechexpert.guide/ to find all the necessary info and compare prices. Do remember you should build the computer around the powerful CPU (Ryzen from AMD or i7 CoreDual from Intel). Also, nowadays the actual RAM should be at least 8 GB.

 

[Contrabardus]

That's true. CPUs tend to last longer than most other hardware if you futureproof and go high end.

A good powerful CPU will likely last you through two or three GPU upgrades.

 

[Shirotsume]

A good CPU these days will likely last you slightly less than a decade. I put a gen 1 i7 in the computer I built in ~09, and I replaced it early this year. Not because I had to, but because I was changing MOBOs to get better features like DDR4/USB3/PCI slots/etc. Nothing was maxing out the CPU.

 

[chronodekar]

A good CPU these days will likely last you slightly less than a decade. I put a gen 1 i7 in the computer I built in ~09, and I replaced it early this year. Not because I had to, but because I was changing MOBOs to get better features like DDR4/USB3/PCI slots/etc. Nothing was maxing out the CPU.

Does this also apply for games like Skyrim or Fallout? As in; do those games not get CPU bound, and having a more recent CPU would make them playable? (playable = 60FPS).

Or .. to ask the question in another way, can a gen1 i7 play Fallout 4 with say ... a 1080 nvidia card at max settings with 60FPS? Assume a resolution of 1920x1080.

I was under the impression that CPU upgrades were important for gaming. Please, correct me if I'm wrong?

And before you ask, no I'm not mixing up CPU and GPU. I doubt if a 880 GTX could play a game released this year comfortably (AAA games, that is).

-chronodekar

 

[Shirotsume]

I mean, I was playing skyrim at (unmodded) max settings with a gen 1 i7 and 2x HD 7870s. (Not that the crossfire actually did anything for skyrim, so you can consider it a single 7870)

Now, that said, some games ARE CPU bound, World of Warcraft being the classic example. That said, most games that are genuinely CPU bound are typically pretty old, and even though they're CPU bound there's an 'effective limit' on how much effect a good CPU can get you, and most midrange CPUs will get you there.

As for Fallout 4, I have zero idea. I despise what the fallout series has become and do not play it. From what it looks like though, this person seems to find it A-OK.

 

[Shirotsume]

Sorry for the double post- One thing I SHOULD point out is that the above video is with the i7-930 overclocked from 1.8Hz to 3.8GHz.

That said, the i7-930 was a card that was all but explicitly made for overclocking. You could hit 4.0 with hyper 212+ (which is what I did).

But yeah, as long as you get a top of the line card that has headroom, you're gonna be good for a long while.

 

[da_fox2279]

I need to replace old, damaged HP Envy-17t; I'm thinking of getting an HP 17.3" AMD A9. I'm a casual gamer, who really plans on using it for browsing, streaming, and misc things. Is this a good choice?

Also, would it be possible to connect the new laptop to my old one to access/copy some things, like my IE favorites or some .txt documents I didn't get a chance to save to my external hdd?

 

[Antimatter]

For some reason, my windows will nto boot on first startup. I always have to turn the PC back off and on again.

I think I need to reinstall windows or something, it's done this even after changing cpu/motherboard.

 

[zerohour]

two problems on two different computers, using the same hdd.

-shift keys don't work on the first one. took it apart and keyboard cable is still connected to the motherboard. would assume the keyboard is just getting old, but it;s both of them instead of just one.

-second computer boots fine, but during the bootup the screen starts flashing on and off, before settling on a blank black screen. worked fine earlier in the day. no idea what happened.

 

[roting_CORPSE]

anyone know what the hell is up with Reddit. it asks me to change password but when I get to the screen to change said password my browser freezes.

bot chrome and firefox.

 

[chronodekar]

just checking; is this the url you are using to change password?

https://www.reddit.com/prefs/update/

-chronodekar

 

[roting_CORPSE]

that and the email link the sent me.

 

[chronodekar]

Perhaps it's something with the new reddit page? Try the old one in incognito mode. i.e. login to here = https://old.reddit.com

and after that try changing your password here = https://old.reddit.com/prefs/update/

-chronodekar

 

[da_fox2279]

Does anyone know how to shut down the speakers on a TCL tv (model 43S403) when hooking up a soundbar (Vizio model S3821W-CO)? I'm trying to get it to work, but I can't get the tv speakers off, so I get that damn double echo bit.

 

[mgsaintz]

TCL should have built in setting for that, Settings>Audio>TV Speakers>Enabled/Disabled.

 

[da_fox2279]

Thank you. I couldn't figure that out... In retrospect, seems obvious.

 

[da_fox2279]

Edit: Removed. Got the info elsewhere. Sorry to have bothered y'all.