PC Tech Thread

Possibly very lazy, but... Laptop recommendations for general family use? Haven't bought a new computer in about 10 years and very behind with what processors I should be looking out for, how much RAM is standard/necessary etc etc.

Fairly small list of requirements:

1. Max usage case is light photo editing (and maybe point and click/strategy gaming..)
   
2. Open to refurb options, particularly for bang - buck ratio
   
3. Won't be lugging it around much, but 15 inch screen seems about right?
   
   

Anything I should be looking out for? Budget is around 500.

Did this get resolved? An amalgamation of a few sources below;

If both machines are running Win10 and are on the same wifi network;

Open Settings on the laptop which will be a second screen
Click System
Click Projecting to this PC
Choose your settings
Go to the other PC or laptop
Press Win-P and click on Connect to a wireless display
Wait until your other laptop is detected
Select it and choose whether to duplicate or extend

Did this get resolved?

In the sense that I took one person's word for it not being seamless and decided not to bother... Which typing after an 8pt step guide seems really lazy, so you've guilt tripped me into trying it out.

Plus I'm doing less drafting at the moment and have barely touched xls in ages so 2 screens don't seem as important this week.

Caveat: I've not tried it, just remembered seeing it somewhere so looked it up again. Would be interested to hear how you get on.

Well I've just spent too long making coffees and can't do much before getting mini-H up, so I'll give it a crack and let you know.

Receiving laptop forewarned me that:

This device might have trouble displaying your content because its hardware wasn't specifically designed for wireless projection

(it's a ~2012 middle of the range Acer)

Seemed to fall out at pt6. Found my BT headphones next to the laptop immediately, then after a bit found a neighbour's LG TV and then an Echo Dot. For some reason it didn't believe it was plugged in.

Once "able to connect when not plugged in" was switched it connected. Warned me about the hardware again. Then failed to connect.

If it worked it would actually be really good and pretty simple. It picks up devices it's already found really quickly.

Quick search of the eminently unhelpful MS Support pages looks like the Receiving laptop's firewall settings might need adjusting - which makes sense as irrc they're on the strictest.

Anyone interested in a Samung T5 externall ssd drive (500Gb)? It's been sat in a drawer for ages and not used... they're around £90 new so £55 posted?

Odd network problem:

Laptop looks at a folder on NAS to find music files. I've mapped the folder as a network drive. There is an Ethernet connection between the laptop and the NAS.

Usually this works fine but sometimes, the music streaming software can't see the files on the NAS and says they aren't available. Even though I can go through the NAS navigator or Windows explorer and see the folder and the files.

Now that I'm using Roon, it's even more annoying then it was when I was using JRiver MC, as Roon just seems to forget the whole library and then has to re-load it again when you manage to get it to "see" the folder.

Any thoughts on why this might happen?

I think I'm going to get a SSD and connect it to the laptop via USB, to get rid of the problem, and then mirror the SSD to the NAS. I already have a 2.5" caddy so just need a 1Tb SSD.

Any reason to get a particular brand / model?

I'm looking at this one:

https://www.ebuyer.com/871714-samsung-860-qvo-sata-iii-2-5-inch-1tb-ssd-mz-76q1t0bw

First guess would be that the drives are sleeping. Sometimes I have to try and play something twice on Plex as they haven't come back to life when I first try and play.

Agree with @aggi.

Even though I can go through the NAS navigator or Windows explorer and see the folder and the files.

This data may be cached.

Ok, thanks both. I'll try to read a file, then re-start the streaming software and see if that clears it.

Thinking about getting an RTX card for training myself up in real-time visitation. If anyone sees any mega bargains on 2070 Super/2080 in the next couple of months, please give me a heads up. £500 on a GPU still feels a bit steep to me at the moment with no immediate payback. Apparently Nvidea might be announcing the next generation of Ampere cards in autumn so I'm hoping their old ones will fall in price a bit.

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/nvidia-enthusiast-turing-graphics-card-discontinued/

I think that rules out any chance of discounts before the Ampere launch.

I see, well it's all speculation I suppose, but sounds valid enough. I know nothing about how these pricing cycles work.

I was hoping I might have got some money off a 2070 super....

Now I guess i'll have to wait you to upgrade and get your cast offs again!

before I send it off somewhere, is anybody capable of recovering data from a fried HDD? It stopped working when I was at high altitude (which is apparently the cause) and was removed and replaced, but it would be cool to get the files back. Would be prepared to pay of course.

@dropped.bars when you "fried" is it a ssd or spinning disc? What symptoms did you get after? I've used a data recovery tool, which was free and bypassed the OS and file system to recover files and parts of files etc. I'll dig out the name.
Edit: it's this https://www.cgsecurity.org/

I have a 12 yo who's been going on about getting a RGB case for ages and for various reasons I've decided to surprise him with one. But I seem unable to find out if one exists that is compatible with Steelseries PrismSync. Does that exist?

Only Steelseries can use PrismSync cos it's their own software. What's the case? You can get rbg controllers that you plug the fans in to them to the motherboard which may be an easier solution

its the disk. When I tried to boot up my laptop it would never make it passed the loading screen.

I've had the HDD taken out and swapped it with a SDD which has solved the issue.

Thanks for sharing that. I'll look into it and see if it can help.

@Dropped.Bars sounds like the tool I pointed you at will work. Check the instructions but you need some way of accessing the disc from the app, so it need to be in a caddy or in the machine again.

If it's stopped working completely (you said 'fried'), data recovery software isn't going to be much use. One thing that a data recovery firm might try is to replace the circuit board with a new one from the same model of drive.

for general backups, is it worth going for SSDs?

Haven't decided on a case yet. His requirements are basically anything with a window and some sort of lighting on the front. My thought was that it would be neat if that light could be synced with his keyboard, mouse and headphones.