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  • Showing only topics in ~tech with the tag "pc". Back to normal view / Search all groups
    1. Recommendations for wireless earbuds for extended PC use?

      I've always been a speakers kind of guy because I'm not a fan of how bulky headsets are, but because of the fun of Zoom meetings and things, I've kind of gotten over my hatred of headphones. That...

      I've always been a speakers kind of guy because I'm not a fan of how bulky headsets are, but because of the fun of Zoom meetings and things, I've kind of gotten over my hatred of headphones. That said, I'd still prefer to commit to earbuds rather than big, bulky GamerTM headphones long-term. Instead, I'd like to pivot to earbuds.

      So my first problem is: I've always been under the assumption that 2.4Ghz dongle is superior to Bluetooth, but apparently modern Bluetooth is almost/practically as good. If that's the case, I wouldn't care about getting a Bluetooth-only set, but that does mean dropping more money on a dongle for my PC.

      My other caveat is that I hate having to pause what I'm doing to charge something. The only wireless thing I own is a headset I use for Zoom meetings and things, and it's a Arctis Wireless that can easily do 20+ hours without a charge. I would be using these for my weekly RPG that I run online, which is almost always 8+ hours long, not counting me watching videos/listening to music in the leadup to to the game.

      So yeah, with that in mind-- low latency and battery life are my big things, and I don't care about a microphone at all, but I'd like it to be fairly budget-friendly. Again, it just seems like... since I last used headphones 15+ years ago, things have changed a lot and even just googling and reading opinions on reddit-- all the opinions are varying and often opposing on what I should be shooting for.

      I don't care all that much about brand loyalty, or what color it is, or anything like that, either. So, what all would anyone here recommend?

      15 votes
    2. Inquiry: Looking for a frontal hotswap PC case

      I'm hoping I might have some recommendations for a computer chassis. So far I've gotten away with using a couple of Fractal Designs, even got my hands on an old Cooler Master XB Evo recently that...

      I'm hoping I might have some recommendations for a computer chassis. So far I've gotten away with using a couple of Fractal Designs, even got my hands on an old Cooler Master XB Evo recently that I never got to put into use.

      Basically, I'm looking for a chassis with something like 6-10 hotswap 3.5 drive bays. Preferably horizontal, but vertical is begrudgingly acceptable. Are any of you aware of such a chassis, or am I forced to start looking at racks instead?

      Alternatively, do any of you have experience with hacking together a case and installing drive bays?


      Bit unrelated side-note: The front micro-jack in one of my cases has broken off (headset wire looped around the office chair) and Fractal Design wouldn't sell me a replacement. Any idea where I might find a female audio connector? I'll happily do a bit of soldering if necessary, I just don't know what the part called or where to look for it.

      14 votes
    3. Advice on GPU upgrade wanted

      So I'm in the market at the moment for a GPU upgrade. I haven't spent a dumb amount of money on something stupid in a while now and I'm thinking this Christmas season is the time. My only problem...

      So I'm in the market at the moment for a GPU upgrade. I haven't spent a dumb amount of money on something stupid in a while now and I'm thinking this Christmas season is the time. My only problem is, I've been really out of the loop since the Great Shortage. I've heard AMDs cards these days are actually more than complete jokes, and NVIDIA has been getting too big-headed and making some poor consumer choices. So a switch to AMD sounds like it might be viable for me.

      At the moment, I've got an RTX 2070 8GB. I've read that lately, games have been utilizing VRAM like crazy so I want to bolster my numbers on that front. Was looking at 12GB cards since the 24GB ones are all ludicrously priced. At the moment, I'd say my budget is around 500/600 USD. Is AMD worth switching to at the moment? Or should I go for something like a 4060?

      21 votes
    4. Computer savvy people of Tildes, do you have any advice re setting up a new MS Windows personal computer?

      Any advice should be suitable for a non tech person who knows how to google and follow instructions but not code in any way. Can anyone suggest which firewall and or antivirus might be best? All...

      Any advice should be suitable for a non tech person who knows how to google and follow instructions but not code in any way.

      Can anyone suggest which firewall and or antivirus might be best? All suggestions for making life easier while dealing with a new machine are welcome.

      37 votes
    5. Upgrading my Gaming PC or starting afresh

      Hello everyone, my CPU died and I'm at a crossroads and hoping for some advice. I bought my rig 4 years ago second-hand. It was originally built in 2017 using high-end parts. It was not something...

      Hello everyone, my CPU died and I'm at a crossroads and hoping for some advice. I bought my rig 4 years ago second-hand. It was originally built in 2017 using high-end parts. It was not something I was looking for TBH, but at the time GPUs were hard to get and it was a crazy deal. Here is what's left of the rig:

      • Motherboard - ASUS x99 Deluxe II, fits Intel i7 LGA2011-v3 CPU socket
      • PSU - EVGA Supernova 850 T2
      • RAM - 32GB, 4 sticks of G.Skill Trident Z 3200 DDR4
      • GPU - EVGA 1080 Ti Founder's Edition 11 GB
      • Case - In Win 904 plus - large and spacious case
      • Storage - Couple of Samsung SSDs
      • CPU Cooler - Have ditched the Corsair AIO, picked up a lowest tier fan for $10 to keep it booting while I figure out what to do

      Options I'm floating.

      1. Get a compatible CPU, but that socket is harder to come by for my MOBO and likely to be second hand + get a new CPU cooler, and upgrade GPU.
      2. Replace MOBO, GPU, and get a new CPU and CPU cooler. The PSU is 6 years old but it's decent quality and 850 watts should be enough?

      Price range/goals:

      • Happy to spend a bit on something that is mid to slightly upper range, but not high end. Thinking $$ will go into the GPU and CPU (maybe $600-800 USD ea?), something reasonably good that's just before the latest gen to get a discounted price. If replacing MOBO, something simple and medium range would be ideal.
      • Play some current AAA games like Baulder's Gate 3 and Elden Ring decently, at medium-high settings (not ultra), and don't need super high FPS.
      • Ideally supports 4k resolution for desktop use but for gaming I'd be mostly sticking to 1440p/1080p.
      • I don't want to overclock (those days are over)
      • Likely to sell in 2ish years, don't need heaps of futureproofing
      • If replacing MOBO, open to going to the AMD ecosystem for price/performance ratio. I've only ever used Intel so know less about AMD systems.
      • Don't need raytracing, DDR5
      • For CPU cooler I don't mind AIO but if anyone has any non-water cooled recommendations I'm all ears

      I'm at a bit of a loss at what to do, and there are not many PC-building threads here on Tildes, so I thought I'd ask for some advice. Anyone have opinions on option 1 or 2 above, or is there a third option I'm not thinking of? And does anyone have part recommendations? Thanks in advance.

      27 votes
    6. What's the first thing you do when you get a new computer?

      Just got a new laptop. Downloaded firefox plus a few extensions, found a thing that fixes Windows 11's weird task bar, deleted the bundled McAfee, installed steam, GOG, and Epic and switched...

      Just got a new laptop. Downloaded firefox plus a few extensions, found a thing that fixes Windows 11's weird task bar, deleted the bundled McAfee, installed steam, GOG, and Epic and switched everything to dark mode. I feel like I'm forgetting a ton of things, but I'm not sure what.

      What do you include as part of the standard setup anyone should do with a new computer?

      61 votes
    7. Low/no latency wireless headphones for PC - Recommendations

      I need to replace my Logitech G935s, the plastic on the top broke on me. Ideally I would replace with something with: more battery life better sound stage well built/premium feel It's very hard to...

      I need to replace my Logitech G935s, the plastic on the top broke on me. Ideally I would replace with something with:

      • more battery life
      • better sound stage
      • well built/premium feel

      It's very hard to tell what is good out there - with so many options, and my concern is if I just buy any bluetooth enabled headset it will introduce audio latency which isn't something I can live with in games. But I cannot stand having a cord attached that gets all twisted up.

      I'm not tied to it having an attached mic, as I can buy one separately but its a plus.

      Anyone out there have any good recommendations? What does everyone else use?

      19 votes
    8. Fanless x86 mini PCs are getting absurdly fast and cheap

      Pretty much what the title says - I’ve been looking for something small and not too expensive to run a few VMs on recently, and I’m just genuinely amazed at where the tiny SBC space is at right...

      Pretty much what the title says - I’ve been looking for something small and not too expensive to run a few VMs on recently, and I’m just genuinely amazed at where the tiny SBC space is at right now.

      The Celeron N5105 seems to be the go to choice at the moment. You can get an entire machine running that CPU that’s slightly smaller than an old double CD jewel case, for $150. Less than $200 if you want 16GB RAM and a fast NVMe SSD in there too. Four decent quality 2.5GbE NICs thrown in as a bonus. And it’s not that much slower than my expensive full size desktop from late 2020.

      Part of me thinks I’m just getting old - phones have been plenty of people’s primary computer for years now, after all - but there’s something about having a real standalone x86 PC that size for literally 1/5th the price of a flagship phone that just blows my mind.

      7 votes
    9. These are my old PC spare parts. I wanna build a new PC. What's the best I can do with those? (details in the post)

      So I disassembled my old PC, and there are a few spare parts that I believe are still good. According to the technician, the motherboard is fried. I have no way to test this, so I'm believing him...

      So I disassembled my old PC, and there are a few spare parts that I believe are still good. According to the technician, the motherboard is fried. I have no way to test this, so I'm believing him for now.

      I wish to use those parts on a new desktop PC, but I have no idea where to begin... what do I need to buy new? Of what kind/brand/specification/pricepoint?

      So here's what I got:

      • AMD Ryzen 5 2400G processor
        • with the AMD cooler that came with it
      • 1TB 7200RPM non-SSD hard-drive
      • 1 Ballistix by Micron 16GB 2400MHz RAM stick
      • 1 240GB WD Green Sata SSD M.2 2280

      I may have access to another 8GB RAM stick of unknown origins from my partner's old PC, but she's a bit protective of those things so I'll way for her to be home to open it in front of her :P

      There's a power source attached to the case, which reads ATX-600W. Image1, image2.

      The computer case itself is a little beat up but I don't care about looks at all. Its external dimensions are 34.5cm by 35cm, with a width of 16cm. Here's how it looks (Xbox controller for scale).

      I wanna build a new machine with the goals of:

      • video editing
        • so Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, some audio work, and maybe streaming.
      • gaming
        • nothing super high-end, I'll probably get one or two 1080p 24" monitors because 4K reduces my options quite a bit. But here are some of the games I'm looking forward to playing (all MMOs): World of Warcraft Classic and Retail, FFXIV, Guild Wars 2, and the upcoming Ashes of Creation (which I believe is an Unreal 5 game).

      My budget (including the monitor or monitors) is roughly 1400 US dollars. I understand that is not a lot of money for the majority of Tildes users, but that is just my reality. My 1400 US dollars PC is very much a luxury around here.

      If needed for budget purposes I can get just one monitor now, and another down the road.

      So, what's the best I can do?

      Thanks! ;)

      10 votes
    10. Transporting a desktop PC

      So, next year, I will spend two 3-month periods at a place that is 1400km away from my home. Because of my somewhat large, superfast dog, with a tendency to run away and topple people, I will have...

      So, next year, I will spend two 3-month periods at a place that is 1400km away from my home. Because of my somewhat large, superfast dog, with a tendency to run away and topple people, I will have to go by car, dog in hand (don't worry, I won't be driving :P). Each roundtrip amounts to 42 hours on the road.

      At the same time, I'm budgeting for a new desktop workstation for gaming and video editing (so both fun and work). I could get a much inferior gamer laptop with the money, but I wanna have a good machine for things like Adobe After Effects, and the inferior part bothers me quite a bit.

      Hence the question: how can I safely transport a desktop PC plus monitor for an 84-hour car trip? Should I take it "whole"? Disassembled? Or not at all? I really don't wanna screw up my brand-new PC!

      6 votes
    11. PC cases without transparent side panels

      Hi folks! I am, unfortunately, probably going to have to build a new PC soon; my beloved Thelio-r1 is slowly failing, and while my original plan was to buy a Ryzen 7 5800X and keep riding this PC...

      Hi folks! I am, unfortunately, probably going to have to build a new PC soon; my beloved Thelio-r1 is slowly failing, and while my original plan was to buy a Ryzen 7 5800X and keep riding this PC for another three to five years, I don't know that I'll actually be able to make that work.

      I like the NXT H510 I used for my boyfriend's gaming build, but the thermal performance isn't amazing and, most importantly, I hate tempered glass!

      Yes, I understand that people want to show off their (ridiculously!) expensive components. I understand that lots of things have RGB. However, metal is cheaper, easier to work with, doesn't shatter, and I can modify it if I need to.

      So, does anyone know of a good mid-tower PC case with decent airflow, up-to-date features (no 5 inch bays, good cable management hardpoints, a cable hiding bay, etc.), and no tempered glass or, preferably, acrylic?

      Thank you!

      16 votes
    12. Why do computers running Windows get progressively slower over time?

      I promise this is a genuine question and not a Windows hit piece. Every Windows computer I've ever had has slowly gotten laggier over time until my impatience has forced me to reinstall the OS to...

      I promise this is a genuine question and not a Windows hit piece.

      Every Windows computer I've ever had has slowly gotten laggier over time until my impatience has forced me to reinstall the OS to get the speed boost that comes with a fresh copy. In the schools I've worked in, computer labs and carts full of Windows machines have slowly sunsetted, becoming wholly unusable over time. I think Chromebooks have taken over education in part because they have a snappiness to them that sticks around for a long time, unlike the decay demonstrated by Windows computers.

      In my current job, I was issued a Windows computer and a Chromebook at the same time, when I was hired. The Chromebook is still chugging along just fine, but the once fresh and quick Windows computer is now ramping down. I know it's not because of startup or background programs latching on over time because I don't have admin rights and thus can't install anything! I'm not a power user either. I really only ever run a browser with minimal tabs, along with the very occasional instance of office software and/or PDF reader. That's it. And what used to be instant and quick is now like... trudging... through... sludge...

      Is there some fundamental design flaw in Windows? Am I finding a pattern where none exists? Do I not have enough experience with other OSes to know that this is true for them too? I'd love someone's insight on this topic.

      26 votes
    13. What are some must-dos when you are setting up a new PC?

      What are some of the must-dos, must-installs, must-uninstalls, and must-alters of setting up a new PC? I'm getting my first new PC in 5 years on Sunday and the old one is really showing its age. I...

      What are some of the must-dos, must-installs, must-uninstalls, and must-alters of setting up a new PC? I'm getting my first new PC in 5 years on Sunday and the old one is really showing its age. I would like to avoid that as much as possible in order to keep the PC running smoothly as long as possible. I'd also like to optimize its performance and have useful software tools.

      Thank you for any advice,
      gbbb

      35 votes
    14. Transferring main drive from C: to D: or E:

      I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, so please let me know if I should post this to a different group instead. I have 3 drives on my current PC, but the C: drive is almost full (it...

      I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, so please let me know if I should post this to a different group instead.

      I have 3 drives on my current PC, but the C: drive is almost full (it keeps bouncing around between 2-1 GB left) and it seems to be slowing some programs down. Most noticeably Audacity stores temporary files in C: while I am working on large files and it often changes wait times on an edit to upwards of 30 seconds (meaning literally nothing happens for 15-45 seconds and then the change takes place, even if it's only a simple few second deletion).

      Is there a way to set my D: or E: drive as the default drive of the computer so I can clear out some space on my C: drive and use the extra space I have on those drives? Thanks for any help or information you can give me.

      8 votes
    15. My phone started to play the same thing my computer was when playing YouTube

      Oddly all off a sudden, while I was watching a video, my phone started to play the same sound as my PC speakers. It was kinda of cool, like my phone was a second speaker. But it did it...

      Oddly all off a sudden, while I was watching a video, my phone started to play the same sound as my PC speakers. It was kinda of cool, like my phone was a second speaker. But it did it automatically. Anyone else see this? I have access to YouTube music now so maybe that's a new feature or something?

      edit: My device is Windows 10 PC using regular Chrome and Google Pixel XL (Android P)

      7 votes