Computers and Technical Help

[MaryKB]

I'm pasting my response to @cardgame from that other "many questions" thread, because I don't feel this kind of thing is just random, and often some of us need help with things we just don't understand. I'm basically computer literate, and I can write in SQL and SAS and such, but honestly I've got no idea when it comes to how this thing really works. But I know so many of you (*wink* *wink* @Birdjaguar) are like computer super gurus, and I'm sure I'm not the only person who will sometimes need help.

Well anyways, I'm sorry, sometimes I just feel like I really need to justify my reasons for making a new thread, lol!

I don't know what a sound bar is, but I'm assuming it's a speaker output. If it isn't already, and assuming it has the correct cable, plug it into the 'line out' in the back of your PC. That's the ideal slot for it. If this is null and void, you could try the 3.5mm audio jack, usually in the front. Make sure it's plugged all the way in - once I only plugged my headphones in like 99% of the way and only one cup worked, because it wasn't fully connected. If both of these ports produce problems, I'd get a refund for your purchase. One of them probably has interference from the internal electronics, which is what is producing the buzz, if it's not just a defective unit entirely. If buzzing continues from all source outputs, I'm going to assume it's defective. Is it horribly loud or just horribly toned?

Well it's got a usb plug in, and I have it going into the back of my computer. Does it matter if my monitor can do sound? One time for some reason my computer switched from my sound bar to my monitor, and it took me a while to figure out how to transfer it back over, I don't even remember how I accomplished this.

I wouldn't say this sound's terribly loud, but it's like a static buzzing, and it's persistent. I'm really saddened, because I like how it looks, and it really does sound good for when it's playing something I want (and I really like having this little knob right behind my computer keyboard so I can adjust it.

And I have another question ... my headset makes this horrid echo sound when I talk, it's like I'm in a canyon or something. Should I just buy a new one? I don't even know how or why this is happening ... also when I plugged it in, I hear a really bad sound from that too and I don't understand why.

Ugh, so frustrating! Please, any advice would be so lovely and very deeply appreciated

 

[Samson]

I shall just point you in the direction of this thread...

 

[MaryKB]

Oh dear, I'm so sorry ... would a moderator please kindly be willing to merge my thread into that one? I'm terribly sorry, I don't venture out of Off Topic or Civilization 6 much and I didn't even know there's a computer forum.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

My 5 cents says there's no harm in having a computer thread in OT. After all, not everyone ventures to the computer forum, and when they do they don't necessarily get timely answers to their problems, or the thread devolves into arguments over which browser or operating system is best.

If OT can have half a dozen video threads and other threads that should really be in A&E, it seems that it's not too wild a suggestion to have a computer thread here, too.

 

[AmazonQueen]

My 5 cents says there's no harm in having a computer thread in OT. After all, not everyone ventures to the computer forum, and when they do they don't necessarily get timely answers to their problems, or the thread devolves into arguments over which browser or operating system is best.

If OT can have half a dozen video threads and other threads that should really be in A&E, it seems that it's not too wild a suggestion to have a computer thread here, too.

Its also got a videogames thread and fairly frequent sports threads, which belong in other forums too.

 

[El_Machinae]

I watch CFC on my Android, and very often the screen I'm looking at will redirect to some type of spam advertising. This basically never happens on other web-pages.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I watch CFC on my Android, and very often the screen I'm looking at will redirect to some type of spam advertising. This basically never happens on other web-pages.

Have you mentioned this in Site Feedback? Dealing with adspam is something you might ask Petek about.

 

[Synobun]

CFC's intrusive malware ads have been getting reported for years. One gets ban-hammered and three replace it. The provider (Curse) is comfortable delivering unethical and disruptive ads, and there's not really anything Thunderfall or the other admins can do about it.

 

[Birdjaguar]

CFC's intrusive malware ads have been getting reported for years. One gets ban-hammered and three replace it. The provider (Curse) is comfortable delivering unethical and disruptive ads, and there's not really anything Thunderfall or the other admins can do about it.

As a lifetime site supporter I never see any of those.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I'm pasting my response to @cardgame from that other "many questions" thread, because I don't feel this kind of thing is just random, and often some of us need help with things we just don't understand. I'm basically computer literate, and I can write in SQL and SAS and such, but honestly I've got no idea when it comes to how this thing really works. But I know so many of you (*wink* *wink* @Birdjaguar) are like computer super gurus, and I'm sure I'm not the only person who will sometimes need help.

Well anyways, I'm sorry, sometimes I just feel like I really need to justify my reasons for making a new thread, lol!


Well it's got a usb plug in, and I have it going into the back of my computer. Does it matter if my monitor can do sound? One time for some reason my computer switched from my sound bar to my monitor, and it took me a while to figure out how to transfer it back over, I don't even remember how I accomplished this.

I wouldn't say this sound's terribly loud, but it's like a static buzzing, and it's persistent. I'm really saddened, because I like how it looks, and it really does sound good for when it's playing something I want (and I really like having this little knob right behind my computer keyboard so I can adjust it.

And I have another question ... my headset makes this horrid echo sound when I talk, it's like I'm in a canyon or something. Should I just buy a new one? I don't even know how or why this is happening ... also when I plugged it in, I hear a really bad sound from that too and I don't understand why.

Ugh, so frustrating! Please, any advice would be so lovely and very deeply appreciated

My experience with headsets is pretty old, but it used to be that cheap ones were terrible and if you want one that works well, spend more.

 

[Hygro]

I watch CFC on my Android, and very often the screen I'm looking at will redirect to some type of spam advertising. This basically never happens on other web-pages.

I get this too on my iPhone. It generally happens when I sleep my phone while on CFC and reopen it.

 

[FriendlyFire]

And I have another question ... my headset makes this horrid echo sound when I talk, it's like I'm in a canyon or something. Should I just buy a new one? I don't even know how or why this is happening .. also when I plugged it in, I hear a really bad sound from that too and I don't understand why.Ugh, so frustrating! Please, any advice would be so lovely and very deeply appreciated

Static on the line is generally cause by wires twisting and then they become worn. Often one of the headsets will stop working correctly
First thing you want to try to see if by straightening or turning the wires you can cancel out the static, echo and sound issues if this dose work, use duct tape just to hold it in the wires in that position. To really fix it you need to restrip the damaged twisted section of the wiring. Its likely you will find the wiring and rubber casing has been broken.

 

[AdamCrock]

Don't know if this is going to be much help but once I had this wireless mouse which created interference with my speakers. You can try and shut down wireless devices and see if it helps. As for the echo - can't help You there sorry, I never used headsets

edit: oh and speakers are basically electromagnets so be sure You don't have anything magnetic near them

 

[Truthy]

I watch CFC on my Android, and very often the screen I'm looking at will redirect to some type of spam advertising. This basically never happens on other web-pages.

I get this too on my iPhone. It generally happens when I sleep my phone while on CFC and reopen it.

As mentioned, it's spam getting into ad delivery networks. And it does happen on a lot of other sites. Just some companies who are dominant in the ad market (Google) are better at fighting spam in their ad networks, so it's less common. You can use a content blocker like AdBlock or AdGuard on your phone to prevent the redirects.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

This comes at the perfect time, since I need some help with buying a computer.

So I was looking to "build" a PC online with PCpartpicker.com, then order all the parts individually and put it together. But I'm unsure, how difficult is it for a layman? I've done a lot of stuff.. put new GPU, PSU, Hard Drives etc into an existing rig, I know where most parts are located, but I have never built one from scratch. I think the most difficult part is mainboard, CPU and thermal pasta. how easy is it to screw up? should I buy a "base" PC that is already built and then add GPU and stuff seperately? I'm pretty confident about this, but don't want to rush and screw up.

It'll be a PC suitable for older games, heavily modding games, recording, editing and rendering.

CPU AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
GPU MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
Probably 16 gigs ram

Rest I haven't really decided on yet, I also don't really know what to look for, I'm more concerned with it all fitting together

maybe @Birdjaguar you can give me some good input

 

[Synobun]

At this stage, it's effectively like building with LEGO. Making sure you buy compatible parts is more difficult, but straightforward if you use a service like PCPartPicker or Logical Increments.

It really is as simple as just having a YouTube video playing while you do it if you're worried. It'd take extremely bad luck or incompetence to screw it up.

Edit: I wouldn't bother buying a "base PC," it's very unlikely this would be financially beneficial and it doesn't make building any easier. Just make sure the case you buy can fit your parts (rare for this to be an issue nowadays since GPUs and PSUs are no longer the size of a 2x4, but still).

 

[Synobun]

Oh, you edited your post.

Honestly, you might be better off doubling the RAM. Some of the newer games on the horizon are likely to have 16 GB as a minimum, especially poorly optimized indie titles. But make sure the mobo you get can support that much RAM. My mobo, crappy mobile one as it is, can only support 2 sticks of up to 8 GB RAM, for example.

If you have 32 GB, as well, there are applications available (like DIMMDrive) that will allow you to RAM-load games or other programs. This can help a lot with games that tend to chug after a while. And you can safely do this without running into issues as 32 GB is likely way overboard.

An SSD is a given. They are more reliable now so you don't have to worry too much about getting a big drive and then having it fail. Samsung is still the best, IIRC, and 1 TB drives aren't too expensive these days. Compared to what they were priced at a couple years ago, anyways.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

thanks for the answer! I already have an SSD. one thing I am always unsure about is whether or not RAM really differs in quality.. like am I better off buying 32gig of really cheap RAM (what I've always went with) or 16gig of better quality/more expensive brands? Is any individual 8gb stick as good as the next one or are there big quality/performance differences between different brands? cuz I could probably buy 32gig of whatever brand for the price of 16gig Corsair or Kingston

not really sure about 32gigabite tho, my current PC has 8 and is performing pretty well (I'll give it to my gf as a gift so we can play more hardware intense games together, she only has a laptop from 2012 and somehow treats her electronics so well that they barely age. her iPhone is from before 2011, and she bought it used..)

probably the best bet would be to buy a mainboard that could support 32gig, and then stock up if I feel like I need more RAM. by the it should be cheaper, too!

 

[Synobun]

Well, you get what you pay for. Average consumer RAM isn't really expensive anymore, even if you go with Corsair, unless you get higher RAM speed. And higher RAM speed is mostly useless unless you do a lot of multitasking with intensive programs (like modding, but I'm not sure Skyrim modding really qualifies for it being a worthwhile investment).

Read the reviews of whatever RAM you're looking at, and make sure it's for PCs. Don't buy from eBay, of course.

There are articles out there that talk about min-maxing RAM configurations, and it takes a lot of precise work for minimal differences. So long as you get a brand that is reliable, it doesn't matter all that much (IMO, anyways). For example, this article talks about RAM speeds, and it concludes that it doesn't really matter all that much with gaming. One of the comments notes that it's better to do 2x4 instead of 1x8, or whatever the equivalent is of the RAM size you're shooting for, due to channel use. Minor differences, even on that front.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

I managed to finalize my build and would love if @Synsensa and @Birdjaguar could have a crack at it, especially in terms of incompatibilities and everything fitting together. Here it is: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yYK8TC

- Does everything fit into the case?

- Do GPU / RAM / CPU / PSU work with this mainboard? PCPP says yes so far.

- Does the PSU work with this setup, is it the correct wattage/voltage and will it provide enough energy? Estimated wattage is 297W.

- Do I need anything extra? I obviously have mouse, keyboard, monitor et cetera, I mean purely for the tower PC.

- Do these parts "harmonize" with each other, or could this be done better?