Search found 406 matches

by andymcca
Sat Jul 25, 2015 8:23 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Fractal Design Node 202 Compact Gaming Case
Replies: 9
Views: 13196

Re: Fractal Design Node 202 Compact Gaming Case

This would have been a decent HTPC case for Kabini or something if only it could fit an optical drive. Maybe I'm in the minority these days, but I still can't functuon without an optical drive, and external ones look like crap in a media center.
by andymcca
Tue Dec 30, 2014 6:26 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Silencing a monitor on a Linux distro
Replies: 4
Views: 4290

Re: Silencing a monitor on a Linux distro

From the arch wiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/backlight There is a utility called xbacklight. In arch there is an xorg-xbacklight package. Deb probably also has one. Arguements are "-inc 40" and "-dec 40" according to the wiki. No idea if this is 40/100, 256, etc. Also no idea what it tri...
by andymcca
Thu Dec 25, 2014 9:51 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Silencing a monitor on a Linux distro
Replies: 4
Views: 4290

Re: Silencing a monitor on a Linux distro

Are you using an nvidia card with a binary blob? There used to be some good output settings in flgrx, but I noticed they were missing on my Mint17 install with 331-updates drivers. If you are on amd (with linux? Gasp.), try in amdcccle In either case the settings should reside in a X config file, I ...
by andymcca
Tue Dec 09, 2014 4:23 pm
Forum: Consumer Advocacy
Topic: Dubious Marketing
Replies: 78
Views: 155460

Re: Dubious Marketing

I have yet to find a silent computer. They all make noise if I drop them far enough.
by andymcca
Thu Mar 20, 2014 5:08 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: 84W Haswell vs 65W Core 2 Cooling -- Upgrade Required?
Replies: 4
Views: 5439

84W Haswell vs 65W Core 2 Cooling -- Upgrade Required?

What is the current thinking as far as cooling 84W Haswell parts goes? I have a 212+ cooling my Core 2 Duo system (rated 65W), and I generally sit at 35C idle, 52C full cpu load. The CPU cooler has a slow fan blowing towards a slow system exhaust fan. Do you think I would need a cooling upgrade if I...
by andymcca
Fri Mar 14, 2014 9:55 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Video editing workstation
Replies: 32
Views: 23485

Re: Video editing workstation

if you're doing a lot of graphics work, you'll need an upgrade more often than any other component (aside from RAM). It's worth pointing out that CUDA and OpenCL standards are still developing very rapidly. I'm less familiar with the OpenCL side of things, but for CUDA there are huge differences be...
by andymcca
Fri Mar 14, 2014 6:46 am
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: Video editing workstation
Replies: 32
Views: 23485

Re: Video editing workstation

Not all HDDs are created equal: the SV35 is more reliable, period. If something we know the opposite from BackBlaze: Enterprise Drives: Fact or Fiction? What Hard Drive Should I Buy? Those results are interesting, but: 17 drive failures when drives are being bought in bins is hardly significant. An...
by andymcca
Tue Jan 14, 2014 6:22 pm
Forum: System Advice / Troubleshooting
Topic: New build for software development
Replies: 14
Views: 7199

Re: New build for software development

Noob question. Is it OK to leave the fan completely OFF until a certain temperature is reached? What if it is not running for a few months or more. Will it have a harder time spinning up after that? (Like not driving a car for a year - liquids thicken, hoses crack, etc.). Even without the front fan...
by andymcca
Fri Dec 13, 2013 5:42 am
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini-ITX Case
Replies: 33
Views: 51466

Re: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini-ITX Case

This case looks like a microwave with a minifridge door on the side. :)
by andymcca
Sat Dec 07, 2013 10:45 pm
Forum: SPCR Article Discussion
Topic: Haswell comes to NUC
Replies: 34
Views: 35826

Re: Haswell comes to NUC

Enjoyed the 785G reference! Still using mine, too.
Are you running an Athlon II x2?

On topic: The aluminum is a nice touch. That case looks so well built...

Does that motherboard not conform to any of the common atx/itx formats?
by andymcca
Fri Oct 18, 2013 5:52 am
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1
Replies: 46
Views: 46007

Re: Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1

i like that up botton on explorer xp is classic shell the only way and how do u do it? There is no way to get an "up" button in 7 or 8 to my knowledge without a 3rd party program. People say that the address bar is like an up button, but the address bar lies a lot... I installed Classic Shell at wo...
by andymcca
Thu Oct 10, 2013 5:43 am
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: office 2003 or 2013 w/ribbon
Replies: 8
Views: 7374

Re: office 2003 or 2013 w/ribbon

I used Office 2007 for two years at work (3+ hours a day) and here are my comments: *I still couldn't find certain formatting options for charts and such without pixel hunting :( *The buttons on the ribbons change based on window size, screen resolution, etc. So just because you know where a button ...
by andymcca
Sat Sep 28, 2013 4:14 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: What is your thoughts on BeOS from 90s?
Replies: 15
Views: 13066

Re: What is your thoughts on BeOS from 90s?

You got me wondering KDE or Gnome? What do you think is more user-friendly and which distribution is most user-friendly? I think it depends on the user and what interface they are familiar with. At the moment my favorite is MATE (a gnome 2 fork/resurrection). MATE reminds me the most of Windows XP ...
by andymcca
Sat Sep 28, 2013 12:31 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: What is your thoughts on BeOS from 90s?
Replies: 15
Views: 13066

Re: What is your thoughts on BeOS from 90s?

Linux already "just works". I can plug in any piece of hardware older than a few months and it just magically works. 7 year old printer/scanner? Check. 13 year old webcams? Check. Laptop wireless controller? Check. Gone are the days of having to whip out ndiswrapper every time you installed a wirele...
by andymcca
Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:01 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Unwise to re-use a 6 year old Corsair TX 650W?
Replies: 2
Views: 3394

Re: Unwise to re-use a 6 year old Corsair TX 650W?

In my experience, dust buildup is the greatest risk factor for catastrophic PSU failure. Make sure the unit is nice and clean. From what I've read about systematic failure, after burn-in failure rates are roughly constant for most hardware. The PSU fan and non-SS capacitors might be exceptions, thou...
by andymcca
Fri Aug 16, 2013 5:05 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Hissing/squealing sound from motherboard?
Replies: 6
Views: 7439

Re: Hissing/squealing sound from motherboard?

what's interesting is it really seems like the power supply (which I've moved as far away as possible) is also making the same sound. Is that possible? ... I've already tried two power supplies (both are Seasonic Platinum Fanless SS-520FL) and both have the same result. Assuming the VRM is the culp...
by andymcca
Fri Aug 02, 2013 5:58 am
Forum: CPUs and Motherboards
Topic: Why I won't recommend a Haswell system until August+
Replies: 59
Views: 59187

Re: Why I won't recommend a Haswell system until August+

Do Win* and Linux guarantee a write cache flush before entering sleep?

If not, this could mean data loss on thumb drives.

Edit: Also, I'm too lazy to look. Is this an S3 only problem, or does it affect S5 too (probably not)?
by andymcca
Wed Jul 10, 2013 4:52 am
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Do Seasonic PSUs beep?
Replies: 3
Views: 3516

Re: Do Seasonic PSUs beep?

Maybe the motherboard battery voltage is low? I've never heard of getting an audible warning, but perhaps someone really wanted to protect your BIOS settings.

Edit: Does this only happen while the computer is on or off?
by andymcca
Mon Jun 24, 2013 5:56 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Replacement for 9600 GT
Replies: 16
Views: 12927

Re: Replacement for 9600 GT

It's also worth mentioning that if you use Linux with the proprietary binary blob drivers, nVidia is still way ahead. And (at least several years ago) I could only ever get vsync working in Linux on nVidia cards.

AMD drivers are Linux satisfactory these days, but not outstanding.
by andymcca
Sun Jun 23, 2013 8:36 am
Forum: Video Cards & Monitors
Topic: Replacement for 9600 GT
Replies: 16
Views: 12927

Re: Replacement for 9600 GT

You could buy almost any card <120W TDP and stick an Accelero S1 on it. This tends to be easier than finding a "just right" passively cooled card. You can also use it on future upgrades. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186054 The one issue I have with the Accelero S1 is that...
by andymcca
Sun May 19, 2013 8:57 am
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Help neutralizing idiocy
Replies: 30
Views: 23457

Re: Help neutralizing idiocy

trololololol?
Otherwise Mettyx zomg you're so right please go be content in your rightness and stop bothering the clueless rest of humanity who will never see the Truth.
by andymcca
Thu May 16, 2013 12:05 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Haswell's C6/C7 low power states and PSU compatibility
Replies: 44
Views: 51769

Re: Haswell's C6/C7 low power states and PSU compatibility

ALL X, past, current & future models are Haswell Ready TYVM for posting this. I had no idea the brand name was actually 'Sea Sonic' It looks like there is Seasonic USA and Sea Sonic Electronics (parent). http://www.seasonicusa.com/aboutus.htm I also did not know this. Edit: PS I see you are in the ...
by andymcca
Thu May 02, 2013 1:24 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Preferred SSD Brand These Days?
Replies: 13
Views: 10671

Re: Preferred SSD Brand These Days?

EDIT: Asus is going to be entering the SSD market, but maybe a bit expensive. search Google for 'Asus' ROG RAIDR Express' Interesting. Still trying to decide what the first result (bit-tech) means by two devices in "striped RAID 0" though :) Tom's confrims RAID-0. Does sound expensive though, betwe...
by andymcca
Thu May 02, 2013 12:48 am
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Preferred SSD Brand These Days?
Replies: 13
Views: 10671

Re: Preferred SSD Brand These Days?

IMHO Samsung and Intel have the best QA. But they charge a premium for it. This is definitely information that I value. Have you had QA experience with them, or is your information primarily an accumulation of reports/reviews? I go out of my way to buy ASUS products where they exist because of the ...
by andymcca
Wed May 01, 2013 10:48 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Preferred SSD Brand These Days?
Replies: 13
Views: 10671

Re: Preferred SSD Brand These Days?

I'd go with Intel or Samsung, nothing else. If i want a cheap SSD, i'd pick whatever suits my budget. But if i want reliability, it stays Intel or Samsung for me. Do you have an argument against Crucial? In the past Crucial was one of the better options. I will have to do some reading about the Sam...
by andymcca
Wed May 01, 2013 8:38 pm
Forum: Silent Storage
Topic: Preferred SSD Brand These Days?
Replies: 13
Views: 10671

Preferred SSD Brand These Days?

Greetings! I'm curious what everyone thinks about the various SSD offerings these days. Who provides reliable hardware these days? I would gladly accept a 10% performance hit for a lower likelihood of premature failure. My usage pattern involves massive small-file access and random database access, ...
by andymcca
Mon Apr 08, 2013 7:58 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Which 1500W Power Supply is the Quietest?
Replies: 85
Views: 36179

Re: Which 1500W Power Supply is the Quietest?

For CPUs: The Phenom 2 factory coolers had heat pipes. It may be that the higher-end (I7? Maybe I5?) Intel coolers have them. But I would personally go for an OEM part and a Cooler Master 212 EVO (or whatever they are calling it now). That part is ~$30, and is leagues better than any boxed CPU coole...
by andymcca
Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:20 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Which 1500W Power Supply is the Quietest?
Replies: 85
Views: 36179

Re: Which 1500W Power Supply is the Quietest?

I would estimate CPU power dissipation from heat outflow. This could done by measuring the rate of heat flow through a heatsink This is an interesting idea. In most of my (limited) PCB design experience, I have striven to use the ground plane as a heatsink for thermally significant components. I as...
by andymcca
Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:52 pm
Forum: Power Supplies
Topic: Which 1500W Power Supply is the Quietest?
Replies: 85
Views: 36179

Re: Which 1500W Power Supply is the Quietest?

It might be worth mentioning that (for Linux, anyway), having a second video card is convenient for CUDA debugging unless you want to code with X disabled. I guess I don't know about Windows SDK stuff though. I don't know if you can use integrated graphics for this. I use a cheap second card, myself...
by andymcca
Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:18 pm
Forum: Off Topic
Topic: Netflix on Linux! (ish)
Replies: 0
Views: 2311

Netflix on Linux! (ish)

Perhaps everyone who cares already knows this (the news is a month old), but: There is now a working WINE workaround for viewing Netflix on Linux. I tried the PPA from Erich Hoover per this guide: http://how-to.wikia.com/wiki/How_to_watch_Netflix_%28Watch_Instantly%29_in_Linux It worked perfectly on...