PC Tech Thread

That's it! 👍

I have VLC player installed under Manjaro Linux and it seem to have an issue with the speed of replay on some ripped files, I guess I could give it a try for the Windows installation.

I'm retiring an old desktop and replacing with a NUC and a more powerful desktop/NAS which will sit in a cupboard.

Pondering what to do with the GTX 970 graphics card in it. Not sure whether to flog it or put it in the new desktop (which has a 5600G).

I very rarely game other than a bit of steam link occasionally, not sure what the extra power drain on the machine would be. On the other hand, not sure if selling it would be worth it as it's a pretty old card.

Any thoughts?

You'll never get more for a GTX 970 than you will at the moment, on eBay they're going for the same pirce I paid for my 1080 a few years ago, but on the other side you will have to pay a lot to replace if you change your mind.

Random one if anyone can help, new work laptop only has one USB C port, and the charger is USB C.

Problem, I used a Displayport to USB C cable from monitor to laptop on old one, as the HDMI on monitor is sketchy.

Anyone know a decent mini hub thing that I can plug the USB C charger, and monitor cable into?

I can't seem to find anything suitable, only hubs with loads of other slots on, and none that seem to have two USB C ports, and don't really want to buy a new monitor. Thanks.

search-ninja?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/InLine%C2%AE-Adapter-Type-C-Female-Gen-2/dp/B07YM7PL9L

Sorry think I might not have made sense, basically I need to plug two USB C cables into one USB C port on the laptop, and one of them is a charger.

No, reading again it is clear.

I bought one recently so skimmed it first time, as I thought I already knew what you needed.

EDIT
No idea if this is still relevant: https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2150871-usb-c-male-to-usb-c-female-splitter-hub-adapter-cable

Cable Matters Triple Monitor USB C Hub (USB C Dock) with 3x DisplayPort, USB-A and USB-C, Gigabit Ethernet, and 100W Charging - Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 Port Compatible for Windows https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B086DXLF37/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_RVYXZ2JQ3HYGGPCM1WH5

Spenny.

I'd probably get one of these https://smile.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-Type-C-Digital-Multiport-Adapter/dp/B01LYJQ5ZD and a HDMI to displayport cable.

I'd be wary of whether the USB-C ports on docks would also carry video (although if I can find my dock and my USB-C monitor cable I'll give it a try).

EDIT: what are you running your monitor at? If it's > 1080p I'd get something else.

Turns out the laptop also has a 'slim tip' charger socket too, so I can get around this by getting a different charger cable. Phew.

Anyone got an old graphics card they'd sell on? Something under the 50 quid mark?

I got a new work laptop the other day.

Laptop is connected to monitor by single USB-C cable. Monitor acts as a hub with keyboard, mouse and webcam plugged in. USB-C cable also does power, sound and display.

Worked fine yesterday, today the monitor isn't showing up as a sound device. Tried rebooting a few times. Monitor on and off. Unplug and replug the cable. Still no change.

As nothing is showing up in the sound settings or device manager I'm not really sure to get to the bottom of this. Any bright ideas?

have you installed the drivers for the monitor / upgraded your laptops thunderbolt drivers?

.

(deleted because didn't realise post was so old)

I don't have admin rights so nothing beyond what auto-installed when I plugged it in. The fact that it worked for a couple of days makes me think it was originally set up OK.

Best answer is probably escalate to work IT then sorry

This might sound very silly, but have you tried plugging the USB-C cable in the other way round?

Am sure I've read there are cases where it can make a difference.

Edit: I guess that assumes it was disconnected between working and not.

Cheers for the suggestions. I tried flipping the cable (although it wasn't disconnected between yesterday and today) but it made no difference.

It working and then not working is the strangest part. Although I think there's been some brief glitches with my keyboard and mouse today so something may be a bit fucked.

Although it's a work laptop it's a home monitor so I can't imagine the IT team will be that much help. Will try my old laptop again to see if that still works OK.

Finally bought another backup drive... needed moar space in a single HDD and would like to backup and restore quicker.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Professional-G-DRIVE-Enterprise-Class-Ultrastar/dp/B095K7H943/

Bought that because it's 18TB, and it's a 7,200rpm and USB-C.

The My Book is cheaper (but hardware encryption so if the enclosure dies you lose everything) and the Elements is cheaper still (but a much slower disk and older USB too).

This one I'll get to 80% full immediately, but it retires the toil of using 5 older 4TB drives and having to apportion part of the backup to each drive manually (these are my external cold backup drives).

Laptop is connected to monitor by single USB-C cable. Monitor acts as a hub with keyboard, mouse and webcam plugged in. USB-C cable also does power, sound and display.
Worked fine yesterday, today the monitor isn't showing up as a sound device. Tried rebooting a few times. Monitor on and off. Unplug and replug the cable. Still no change.

This now appears to work fine. I did nothing to get it working so fuck knows what was going on.

What do people do with their old PCs? I've built up a new computer, first since 2016 but now I've got a big steel box with components that is taking up space. Toyed with the idea of turning it into a media server for the house, but it's probably overpowered for that and will just add to the electricity bill.

If it's still good for gaming, etc... can you reset the OS and find a 12y old in your wider family or network who wants a Minecraft PC?

^ pretty much what I did. clubmate's son was after a PC

I did take out the 3080 to put into my new PC, because I'm not that generous

I think I currently have 3, possibly 4, computers in my loft. Must get rid of them.

Happy to buy that 970 off you for an insultingly low price for ^^ kid above :D