PC Tech Thread

I've rolled back their shitty firmware. Let's see how it goes now with 3.11.7.

wtf is with Scan.co.uk?

7 emails in 20 minutes giving the most absurdly granular updates.

"You have ordered some RAM"
"Your order has been confirmed"
"Your order has been processed"
"We have sent you an email confirming the order"
"We have sent you an email confirming that the order has been processed"
"John went to the toilet, but he's back now, and will look at your order in 5 minutes"
"5 minutes have passed, John is looking at your order now"

Next week: "Yeah, no, we never had it in stock in the first place"

Also: discovered that my motherboard / BIOS has been "optimising" my RAM speed from 3600 down to 2133MHz since, I'm assuming, forever.

2133MHz is simply the standard for DDR4. DDR5 is 4800MHz. Motherboards default to those speeds for the sake of compatibility above anything else.

Hope you're ready for all the emails from DPD tomorrow.

Crashing in PUBG roughly 5 times a day with new update. I presume it's some memory issue as that's been the cause in the past.
It fully crashes as though someone has held the power off. Then when I reboot the monitor doesn't recognise a video signal so I have to switch off the PSU and disconnect the kettle lead. Wait 10 secs, reconnect, switch on PSU, switch on computer power.
Only PUBG. And always happens since their last update (2 weeks ago).

Classic Christmas question. My aunty has a 10yo pc that came with Windows 8, has been upgraded to windows 10.

I want to buy an external hdd to back it up for her, but need it to be compatible. I assume a basic usb one?

Yep pretty much. If she doesn't have usb c, you'll need usb a. 10 years old pretty much guarantees usb a

I seem to remember my WD passport came with some sort od adapter to use with older computer USB a ports?

Wasn't cheap but still working (not really helpful with a sample size of one)

Wouldn't expect there'd be any compatibility issues between a USB C drive and ten year old computer, other than the cable.

Seems most come with a C - C cable which will be no use without an adapter, which may or may not be included. Regardless, any USB A to C cable should work. Just not at the advertised maximum speeds.

Thanks all. As I thought, but I’m a Mac only guy.

Got home from a week away to find Logitech z906 speakers completely dead. Bit of googling and some disassembly later and it looks like a pretty common problem - burned out resistors on the mains side of things. This is a set that were replaced within warranty after the first ones I bought failed.

Tried three mobile phone/laptop/pc repair places locally but unsurprisingly none of them wanted to touch it. Bit pissed off that what looks like a relatively simple repair (provided it hasn't caused further damage) might mean binning an otherwise functional system.

Also a bit annoying that the only apparent replacement is yet another Logitech z906. Would be no point even unboxing anything other than the subwoofer.

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I can send you an old one where I knocked off a tiny component - you may be able to just swap out that side of it.

Remind me next week when I'm back home, and I'll check.

The Haringey Repair Cafes might be worth a try
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/haringey-repair-cafes-461019
Or there's the place on West Green Road that does repairs, Caversham Radio or Amersham or something. Near the Langham junction.

Thanks for the offer, much appreciated. Gonna try the place aggi (thanks also) suggested and see if they reckon a repair is possible.

Saw one post on reddit saying the black stuff covering everything degrades over time and becomes conductive, which I guess explains why it's a common issue.

Hey all - taken a recent return to posting here to see if I can get some advice.

Is this a good idea? https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/ptXzpB

If link doesn't work:

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler
MSI PRO B650M-P Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-5200 CL40 Memory
Intel 670p 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
XFX Speedster SWFT 319 Radeon RX 6800 16 GB Video Card

TBF, other than the CPU it's mostly stuff picked from other people's lists so might be some howlers.

I already have a case (CoolerMaster N400 Mid Tower ) and a 750 watt PS (Novatech 750 Watt Power Station Non-Modular Power Supply 80 PLUS Bronze OEM). I bought both 8 and half years ago (with advice from here as well!) but assuming they're still useful for this kit?

Would I be better (in terms of savings vs performance) to drop to the 5800X3D, which is about half the price? That would also mean an AM4 mobo (presumably a bit cheaper) and maybe a lower-end GPU (if sensible with the CPU).

I'd like this to last another 8 years or so tbh.

It'll mostly be for work (fairly computationally and memory heavy), but I do enjoy the occasional game.

Intel 670p 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4

I'd spend the extra to get a good PCIe4 SSD like a Samsung 990 Pro. The reliability of the Intel 720p has been questioned, which isn't a good sign for something you want to last a decade.

Did you sort it?
if not worth asking these guys, I have seen them repair other eletronics and they were super nice in myt dealings
https://maps.app.goo.gl/SUX2Yj5fxMdxYFbQ7

In other news, would anyone like to my old case, a Corsair Obsidian 550d, for free?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8eA7RR5q30

Very spacious case, very very solid, with the option of running in quiet mode or air flow mode.

Good

• It does include a 5.25" to 3.5" drive bay adaptor so you can mount two more there and an 120mm extra fan (includes a magnetic air filter)
  
• also includes a USB 3.0 card reader in a 5.25" drive bay adaptor
  
• It is in excellent condition.
  
  

Bad

• Its missing one of the 3.5/2.5" drive cages (the one directly under the 5.25" bays), so you can only mount 3 of those drives in the anti shock mount things.
  
  
  

Collection from Woodford, but I could deliver locally in east london. I can also include some fans for a reasonable price too if you want.

Left it with Caversham. Having charged a tenner to take a look at it they're gonna attempt a repair. Fingers crossed...

Cheers - was just looking at pulling the trigger on this. An extra £100+. Argh... I'll probably still do it, but I hate spending money.

An extra £100+. Argh

I'm about to drop nearly £3k on a new computer and monitor. The one I'm on now is a month short of its 10th birthday, so less than a pound a day if the new one lasts as long.

Fair. I'm skipping the monitor question for now. Which probably makes dropping £400 on a GPU pretty pointless. Might rethink everything.

If you were going to plug a computer into a TV pretty much permanently for source material (pornhub, youtube, etc) would you get something like those micro PC things (Intel NUC?) or should I just treat myself or my partner to a new laptop and use an old laptop for it?
She could probably do with a new laptop soon but that would also mean having to deal with her old one as the TV source unit. I guess if I cleaned it up and tweaked it a bit it could be ok. We're using that now for the most part. I guess I'm asking if those NUC/micro PC thingies are worth it for media playing duties

I have done this for over a decade, and have set numerous up for loads of friends / family inc. user @amey My recomendation is to get an enterprise SFF desktop (Dell/HP/Lenovo).
They are small, low power, take normal components, easily upgradable and importantly cheap on eBay.

There are some even smaller form factor ones like the HP Elitedesk Mini's which use laptop components

https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project-tinyminimicro-home-lab-revolution/

Good shout

Sounds like a reason to head into the office and "procure a machine for testing purposes"...

Are any better than the others? Pretty sure we're balls deep in HP kit at work but knowing them, HP make the most expensive whilst also being the shittest.