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What's going on with my computer? (The computer help thread)

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  • edited November 2015

    Just bought a new desktop computer to practice using Autodesk's 3D Max modelling software. I've not even turned it on yet.

    [ . . . ]

    I asked whether it was a clean Windows install with no Asus bullshit and I was told it was but I don't think she actually knew. I asked about whether I'd get a disc with Windows 10 for a clean install but it was not included. They charge an extra £40 for it! I decided not to get it. Should I just live with it? I don't know whether it's even a problem or not.

    It's usually not a problem. If your computer has preinstalled crap you don't need, you can just uninstall it.

    Also, £40 is a surprisingly good deal for a Windows disc. We'd usually have to pay over $100 for it in the U.S. It would probably be a good idea to get it anyway, just to be safe.
    The reason I've not turned it on yet is because I discovered I need an HDMI cable as the monitor cable I had was unsupported...
    The prices for HDMI cables are practically chump change nowadays. They've gone down dramatically over the years. They cost roughly nothing on Amazon.
    The lady in the shop tried to sell me McAfee but recalling Steve and Daikun's exchange I rejected that. Which one ought I to use?
    See Scott's advice.

    If you're really that worried that someone not-so-tech-savvy might ruin your computer, though, I'd recommend just sticking with Microsoft's default Windows Defender. It's free and doesn't slow your machine down like other third-party AV programs.
    Post edited by Daikun on
  • edited November 2015
    There used to be open links to just download the windows 7 iso from Amazon for free if you knew where to look. I wonder if the same is true for Windows 10?

    Edit: Yeah Microsoft just straight up lets you download the .iso so just do that since you have the key already.
    Post edited by ninjarabbi on
  • edited November 2015

    There used to be open links to just download the windows 7 iso from Amazon for free if you knew where to look. I wonder if the same is true for Windows 10?

    Yes. You can just download the Win10 ISO from Microsoft's website.

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

    Note: I made this post before ninjarabbi did the edit.
    Post edited by Daikun on
  • edited November 2015
    oops double post
    Post edited by ninjarabbi on
  • Fantastic. I'll make my own. :-) I'm really excited to be on windows again and to have a purpose beyond playing games on it!
  • edited November 2015
    I beleive the latest edition is made to activate with your Windows 7 key.
    Post edited by Pegu on
  • The lady in the shop tried to sell me McAfee but recalling Steve and Daikun's exchange I rejected that. Which one ought I to use?

    Just use the built in Windows firewall and anti-malware unless you're going to dodgy sites on purpose.

    I asked whether it was a clean Windows install with no Asus bullshit and I was told it was but I don't think she actually knew. I asked about whether I'd get a disc with Windows 10 for a clean install but it was not included. They charge an extra £40 for it! I decided not to get it. Should I just live with it? I don't know whether it's even a problem or not.

    You don't need the disk, boot it up register a Microsoft Live Account with it.
    Then press Windows key and type in "reset", there should be a setting option which says "Reset this PC", click the clean install and the machine will reinstall Windows 10 from scratch, at this point you can either register with a Live account or make it a generic local login.

    The reason I've not turned it on yet is because I discovered I need an HDMI cable as the monitor cable I had was unsupported...

    Cheap HDMI cable or Display Port, based on your monitor.
  • edited March 2016
    So, my audio is being fucky. It gets this weird delay reverb thing when I turn the volume up too loud. I recorded it on my phone so people can hear what I'm talking about. Turning up the volume on my stereo instead of the computer doesn't do the same thing, so I figure it must be a problem with the computer. Currently updating Windows and then probably reinstalling the drivers, but if you guys know something else that could be causing it I'd be grateful to know what it is.

    EDIT: Disabling and reenabling the drivers worked.
    Post edited by Greg on
  • Greg: What hardware and OS do you have? Sometimes, turning the drivers on and off can only be a temporary solution. You might want to consult this thread in case more problems turn up.
  • edited April 2016
    Any idea why a wireless nic would suddenly become slow as balls? It's not like I took off the antennas and forgot to re-attach them or anything. Also, it's one thing to fail entirely, and quite another to just sort of start half working. In my experience, the former is much more common.
    Post edited by Pegu on
  • You never know, maybe there was some sort of short and something just got damaged. Could you try it on another pc to see if its not some software issue?
  • I don't have another desktop to test on. Would a reflow attempt be a bad idea?
  • Yeah, that was probably a bad idea.
  • Wait. Wait. Reflow as in "Reflow the solder"?
  • Yeaaah I'd have to recommend against that. If you don't even know what the issue is, poking around with a solder gun is a good way to break it completely.
  • Wait a minute. Kludge. Does it rhyme with fudge or, uh, yuge?
  • Today I went and dusted out my desktop and HTPC. Unlike Rym who apparently had a case full of dust and broken fans, I had the opposite situation. The insides of the cases looked like new. There was a non-zero amount of dust on the edges of fanblades, but they were all spinning. All the boards and drives looked almost as clean as new. Even before cleaning, I think the insides of those boxes are the least dusty part of my apartment. I guess I actually setup the positive pressure properly, unlike some other people. No noticeable difference in computing performance after cleaning.

    Also, I want people to know that I'm using the stock Intel cooler on my i7-3770K and it runs at about 37C/100F. According to the Internet, the average temp of an i7 is 50°C - 65°C. Who keeps telling me that cooler isn't good enough, and you need a better one?
  • edited April 2016
    Starfox said:

    Wait a minute. Kludge. Does it rhyme with fudge or, uh, yuge?

    I usually read it like fudge but I've heard multiple people pronounce it the other way so that might be the correct way.
    Apreche said:

    Today I went and dusted out my desktop and HTPC. Unlike Rym who apparently had a case full of dust and broken fans, I had the opposite situation. The insides of the cases looked like new. There was a non-zero amount of dust on the edges of fanblades, but they were all spinning. All the boards and drives looked almost as clean as new. Even before cleaning, I think the insides of those boxes are the least dusty part of my apartment. I guess I actually setup the positive pressure properly, unlike some other people. No noticeable difference in computing performance after cleaning.

    Also, I want people to know that I'm using the stock Intel cooler on my i7-3770K and it runs at about 37C/100F. According to the Internet, the average temp of an i7 is 50°C - 65°C. Who keeps telling me that cooler isn't good enough, and you need a better one?

    Seriously, everyone needs to do this if they don't regularly. Now my case probably gets more dusty than others because I lost some of the expansion port covers years ago when I was young and dumb and have them covered with electrical tape, but it makes a really noticeable difference in noise and performance. I took the heatsink off my cpu for the first time about a month ago, and there were dust bunnies next to the processor and through the heatsink. After getting all the crap out, the average temp went down at least 20°-30°.

    Post edited by ninjarabbi on
  • Starfox said:

    Wait a minute. Kludge. Does it rhyme with fudge or, uh, yuge?

    I usually read it like fudge but I've heard multiple people pronounce it the other way so that might be the correct way.
    Thank you. Fudge. Who are these freaks saying klooj?
  • Starfox said:

    Starfox said:

    Wait a minute. Kludge. Does it rhyme with fudge or, uh, yuge?

    I usually read it like fudge but I've heard multiple people pronounce it the other way so that might be the correct way.
    Thank you. Fudge. Who are these freaks saying klooj?
    Probably the same people who pronounce .gif as jiff.
  • Actually, now that you say it... These people at work talk about "jit", the version control software.
  • Starfox said:

    Starfox said:

    Wait a minute. Kludge. Does it rhyme with fudge or, uh, yuge?

    I usually read it like fudge but I've heard multiple people pronounce it the other way so that might be the correct way.
    Thank you. Fudge. Who are these freaks saying klooj?
    Yo.
  • Apreche said:

    Today I went and dusted out my desktop and HTPC. Unlike Rym who apparently had a case full of dust and broken fans, I had the opposite situation. The insides of the cases looked like new. There was a non-zero amount of dust on the edges of fanblades, but they were all spinning. All the boards and drives looked almost as clean as new. Even before cleaning, I think the insides of those boxes are the least dusty part of my apartment. I guess I actually setup the positive pressure properly, unlike some other people. No noticeable difference in computing performance after cleaning.

    Also, I want people to know that I'm using the stock Intel cooler on my i7-3770K and it runs at about 37C/100F. According to the Internet, the average temp of an i7 is 50°C - 65°C. Who keeps telling me that cooler isn't good enough, and you need a better one?

    We have a bad dust problem thanks to the massive construction near the apartment. I have to dust my PC every few months.

    As for the average temperature, that's under load. My ancient i7 runs around 39C without any real load. Put a full load on it for a while and chart the temperature.

    You are right that you don't need anything but the stock cooler for most i7s. The only time you do is if you get the higher clockspeed K editions that draw 30+ more watts. If you get those higher speed chips, AND you load them heavily for more than a burst at a time, they'll get hot and slow themselves down, wasting the money you spent on the faster chip.

    But yeah, 90% or more of people who replace the stock cooler do it for no reason.
  • Mine is the K kind that goes faster. It's 3.5Ghz, but can supposedly go to 3.9. I've never noticed any slowdown. Never noticed a speed-up either. My computer is just always fast at everything.
  • Apreche said:

    Mine is the K kind that goes faster. It's 3.5Ghz, but can supposedly go to 3.9. I've never noticed any slowdown. Never noticed a speed-up either. My computer is just always fast at everything.

    Apply a few lumetri effects to some 4k video and try to see it in a multicam setup in Premiere ;^)

    Also, my old chip only goes to 2.6, and that's at the TOP. My computer is very old compared to yours.

  • Can you get an m.2 adapter for pcie 2.0?
  • I've never seen an m.2 adapter. But I've seen motherboards that appeared to have two m.2 slots.
  • Apparently pcie3.0 to m.2 is a thing. And pcie3.0 is backward compatible with 2.0 but idk.
  • There are SSDs that just plug into PCIE slots.

    Although the main market for those is enterprise hardware so I don't think they're precisely cheap...
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