Computer Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread II

I have a front audio panel where I plug headphones in for "delicate" audio work. The headphone cable won't reach to the back one so that's not an option. Anyways because it's not really insulated there's a lot of static noise (the hard drive is right next to the panel and I can hear it processing stuff. I'm not sure if it's mechanical or electrical noise though.).

If I got one of those adapters you plug into a USB port and plug the headphones into that would it help? I checked a local store and they're not too much.

Zelig said:

It's better now, particularly in compact mode.

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So I get the impression this change was made just to accommodate annoying smart phones. Yes I do have a smart phone, and do use gmail on it, but this still annoys me. I have a 22 inch monitor, I have plenty of room. There is no reason to have all this stuff in submenus. It was pissing me off today when I couldn't figure out to add a new contact, so I just reverted to the old look temporarily. I hope they don't force me to use the new look in the future. Submenus are annoying and require additional clicks. Plus many features you don't know are there because they are hidden.

1) While browsing CFC (and it seems to be just CFC), I keep getting redirected to other sights when I try to open the "last page" option of threads. It redirects me to amazon.fr usually. Is this a sign of malware/virus? Because I think it is only happening on CFC.

I'm building a PC, and have a bunch of really really stupid question (I'm a noob). For primarily aesthetic (and neurotic) reasons, I want to use things I already have rather than buy new ones.



This far I've put all the things inside the case and connected everything except the chassis fan and leds & power switch. Here's the stupid questions:

-Is there a standard for the wires of the case and the connectors of MoBo, so that you really don't need to do anything else than plug them in?

-My chassis fan has 4 wires, but the MoBo has only three pins for it. What's with that?

-The MoBo manual has two pins for the powerswitch, which are labeled "pwr" and "ground". This is probably really really stupid, but is the other one supposed to be a grounding wire (for safety)? How does the power switch work then with just one wire? (I have two indiscriminate wires coming from the power switch).

Ah, can't really help you with any detail, but I build my own PCs also.

These tend to be at 5-6 year intervals and the last one was some time ago - and I have a sense that the kind of connectors you get change over time.

I think there are basically two kind of connectors
- motherboard to case for external lights and the suchlike
- power supply to motherboard - and this is where the greater scope for change comes in

Again, no detail (apologies), but you might want to consider changing your power supply within the case, and that might result in changing the motherboard connectors you have available.
Something for you to research...(and of course research first, change only afterwards)

And only now I re-read your post....
I think the grounding is achieved by screwing the motherboard to the case.
Chassis fan - don't know...

One thing I've noticed with desktops even from the same company is that the connectors are not always the same. You may just need to find a fan that has that connector and use that one instead.

Thanks, guys! I noticed again that google has answers to surprisingly specific questions, if you just know how to word them right. Apparently "ground" can mean also something we call here zero. I thought it means only ground as in earth.

So, I got my system up and running, it isn't neat, but it works!

EDIT: This edit was made with my new Ubuntu PC!

Atticus said:

EDIT: This edit was made with my new Ubuntu PC!

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Congratulations!

Feels good building your own, no?

Especially when it works.

aimeeandbeatles said:

I have a front audio panel where I plug headphones in for "delicate" audio work. The headphone cable won't reach to the back one so that's not an option. Anyways because it's not really insulated there's a lot of static noise (the hard drive is right next to the panel and I can hear it processing stuff. I'm not sure if it's mechanical or electrical noise though.).

If I got one of those adapters you plug into a USB port and plug the headphones into that would it help? I checked a local store and they're not too much.

Click to expand...

I will send this question up because I think people missed it with the bigger question. (I have saw other people do the same thing without getting infracted so I assume it is ok.)

Moderator Action: Warned for spam. You've been repeatedly told not to keep asking the same questions over and over again. Wait for someone to answer. If they don't, look elsewhere.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

PeteAtoms said:

1) While browsing CFC (and it seems to be just CFC), I keep getting redirected to other sights when I try to open the "last page" option of threads. It redirects me to amazon.fr usually. Is this a sign of malware/virus? Because I think it is only happening on CFC.

Click to expand...

Yes, it would be a sign of malware, but only happening on CFC is a bit odd.

Atticus said:

-Is there a standard for the wires of the case and the connectors of MoBo, so that you really don't need to do anything else than plug them in?

Click to expand...

Correct. Plug them in and you're done.

-My chassis fan has 4 wires, but the MoBo has only three pins for it. What's with that?

Click to expand...

The 4th pin is for motherboard control of the fan, called PWM control. Some BIOS call it "smartfan" or something similar, basically it is a way for the user to control fan speed manually (e.g., setting it to "low") or automatically via pre-set temperature settings (e.g., if the temp is 50c, run at 1800RPM, if it is 30c run at 900RPM, etc. etc.). The 3 other pins are for power, and technically that is all you need for it to just "work."

Therefore a 4 pin fan will work in a 3 pin power connector, but unless the motherboard features voltage control for the power, the fan will always run at full power without any "smart" fan control. I forget which 3 connections on the fan are the power and which one is for PWM (e.g., plug it on with the left one out or the right one out?) but just try it the other way if it does not work at first. It will work.

-The MoBo manual has two pins for the powerswitch, which are labeled "pwr" and "ground". This is probably really really stupid, but is the other one supposed to be a grounding wire (for safety)? How does the power switch work then with just one wire? (I have two indiscriminate wires coming from the power switch).

Click to expand...

It's the same connector, just plug in the two pin case power connector to that and you're fine. Look at the case power connector, is it or colored? If it has a + and -, the - is the ground. If it is colored, the black or white cable is the ground and the colored one is the power. If it is not colored or labeled in any way... shame on the case designer for making a confusing power LED connector!

edit: duh, saw you already had your questions answered...oh well hope this helps someone!

I have a laptop Toshiba Satellite C660/C660D and I would like to know which graphics card would be good because on Civ 5 for example if i put the leaders interactions up to high resolution it can't cope?

You can't add a graphics card to a laptop. You might get a USB add-on, but it won't be anywhere near the power of PCI card.

It depends with the laptop model. Some of them use integrated graphics which are never removable (fused into the motherboard), and some use cards. I don't believe any of the models of your laptop are upgradeable. And I don't think you can upgrade a C660 to the D version which has a Radeon video card. Best bet would be to ask Toshiba directly.

Atticus said:

I was looking MoBos at a store, and noticed one of them has 64 gb maximum of ram. The store clerk explained that it has support for 16 gb ram sticks (ddr3), "although it's completely stupid and nobody would ever use them".

I was baffled then, as I thought 4 gb was the biggest there is, but anyhow: are 16 gb ddr3 sticks completely stupid? Why? Would it be stupid to pay 10 euros more to have that kind of ability to expansions in future, or will the processor support (am3+) most likely be outdated when that kind of amounts of ram are accurate? Or will there be better ram by that time?

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Depends how long you'll have that PC, 8GB sticks might get reasonable soon

tokala said:

At least stupidly expensive

As an average consumer, you will not come close to even using 32 GB of RAM for the forseeable future. And yes, if you might find a use for it eventually, a AM3+ based machine will be horrible outdated by then.

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Two years ago they were like $1000 apiece

aimeeandbeatles said:

I have a front audio panel where I plug headphones in for "delicate" audio work. The headphone cable won't reach to the back one so that's not an option. Anyways because it's not really insulated there's a lot of static noise (the hard drive is right next to the panel and I can hear it processing stuff. I'm not sure if it's mechanical or electrical noise though.).

If I got one of those adapters you plug into a USB port and plug the headphones into that would it help? I checked a local store and they're not too much.

Click to expand...

Turn your computer 90 degrees so the rear panel is close to where you sit. Works for me!


@Atticus, 16 GB isn't completely stupid since Windows 7 64 bit will support it, and some applications might benefit from it. 4 to 8 GB is probably enough for most people though. It'd definitely eliminate the need for a HDD swap file. But probably you should consider a SSD drive as well if you are going for 16 GB of RAM.

GoodGame said:

Turn your computer 90 degrees so the rear panel is close to where you sit. Works for me!

Click to expand...

if I did that, my scanner would be pushed off the cabinet and crash to the floor and that's not good to have expensive electronics crashing to the floor.

Plus I would have to deplug my speakers and I'd rather not. My speakers do have a headphone but that would mean the headphone cable would be dangling in front of the monitor. I put it on top for better sound.

I now have a router and modem on top of my computer desk and the power surge bar on a small stand under the desk. There's a lot of cables that can get easily snagged and cause expensive (and not-so-expensive but annoying to replace) electronics to crash to the floor. I tried a twist tie but it did not work and I don't think string would work too well either. What would you people suggest.

Also, what would happen if you plug one power surge bar into another one? Would it not work? Would you get double-protection? Would it do bad things and destroy expensive electronics?

Every surge protector I've ever seen has come with a warning not to connect one to another ("daisy chain").

Is there a way to view one's avatar history?

That is, a history of all the avatars they used for a particular forum?

aimeeandbeatles said:

I have a front audio panel where I plug headphones in for "delicate" audio work. The headphone cable won't reach to the back one so that's not an option. Anyways because it's not really insulated there's a lot of static noise (the hard drive is right next to the panel and I can hear it processing stuff. I'm not sure if it's mechanical or electrical noise though.).

If I got one of those adapters you plug into a USB port and plug the headphones into that would it help? I checked a local store and they're not too much.

Click to expand...

Why not get an extension lead for the headphones? That won't cost must at all (a few pounds at most in the UK).