The Official PC building thread - 4th Edition

Update on the new Monitor guys the Asus IPS 27"PB278Q is great still playing with the color adjustment but the res/color/detail is just amazing , I'm glad i spend the extra dollars and got the 2560 x 1440 resolution, it just didn't make sense to go with a 1920x1080 27" after having a 24" 1920x1200 but all is good and having a 27" screen is great, thanks for all the advice, sig updated

 

ASUS monitors are great and going with higher res you can't beat it, smart move...

 

I am tempted but damn they are still pretty expensive and I'd REALLY want to have a second video card.

Also, my ASUS monitor performs excellently for what it is. One of the newer generation TN panels that actually doesn't suck. More than adequate for my purposes. Nothing compared to the IPS panel in my 2407 but also paid less than a third the price.

 

Damn Steve no one can say your sitting around on your arse as they would say in the U.K. LOL, good for you in keeping yourself that busy, wish I could do the same but my bones are wearing down but I still keep pushing best I can, and Steve I'm always here, I read what you guys have to say every time a new post gets written, I never say much what in the hell am I gonna teach you guys lol, nothing I can think of besides asking for advise once in a while, and yes we are all well, the Misses and I of course are getting older and the kids are still a pain in the a#s but still love them.

 

A friend of mine at his computer shop near me has one, it took him a little time to get the adjustments right but after he did this monitor is awesome, wish it was not so pricey. Good luck with it.

 

This only applies to encoded DVDs done the same way as HD video - converted into usually DivX, XviD or similar format, and dropping the resolution accordingly. If you're doing it properly and keeping the full resolution you'd need 1.2-2GB or so, but still no need to keep it at the whole 4+GB size, other than to preserve the extras without having to go through the effort of encoding them.

 

I wouldn't compress any movie more then it already is unless I absolutely had too, especially DVD's. So the no need argument doesn't work for me as I want the best output possible, and yes I can see the difference. I'm a high fidelity person all the way and overly compressing music or video doesn't meet my standards, in fact when I want to enjoy music you won't see me playing MP3 music as it can sound horrible on my system.

 

Would have to agree with Movies there. Highest fidelity possible when possible. The differences between a proper DVD and a rip, even a good rip, are pretty immediate. Blu Ray I have yet to see a rip that approaches the original copy in quality. Maybe a few very good rips, but nothing compared to playing the actual media in my PS3.

Music on the other hand is a bit easier to do. I have tons and tons of lossless music. Mostly in FLAC or APE format. As long as it's above ~1000kbps there not much difference to a physical CD from the store. 64k and 128k MP3s are dire though and I try to avoid them, though sometimes it's unavoidable for some material that simply isn't available in a better bitrate. Also have some 192 which is a little better but still very lossy. 320kbps is the lowest I would listen to in an ideal world. The lowest my lossless music goes is about 750kbps for some albums. Not ideal, but still high enough bitrate for me.

Have roughly 60GB of music currently.

Happy 24th Bday to me

 

Many happy returns Jeff - didn't realise you were born only two days after my brother's wife...

 

Thats why we have DVD Rebuilder

 

Which I use, however if BD50's were cheaper I most certainly would not be using Rebuilder often.

I can notice more difference in my music if it is compressed in any manner more so then with movies however I am impressed with WMA Pro CBR 440kbit/s as it seems to be the best way to compress music right now. It doesn't sound as good as a CD/DVD-M but it is pretty close. I don't see the point in FLAC unless you want to compress a whole CD into one file otherwise it just isn't compatible enough for my needs and is no better then high quality MP3's which is more common, WMA beats both of them. I like Lossless but it truly isn't what they call it and Pro is better.

If you guys want probably the best mobile music player out there check out Neutron Music Player as it is a 64bit profession player and nearly meets the quality of my professional gear at home. It is definitively super high-end!!! I use it on my Samsung Galaxy S4 and totally love it, I don't think it would work on that s2 you have Jeff. LOL

 

I have yet to find an ideal or space efficient solution so am always open to new ideas I will admit I have "alternatively obtained" music so I am limited to what's available sometimes. A lot of the good 1000+kbps FLAC could stand to lose some weight if the quality could be retained.

A good chunk of my collection is lossless 1400kbps rips though so I have a good base to work from.

Installs and runs just fine on my S2. It does have really nice audio quality and good features. Thanks for the reference! Currently comparing to Winamp mobile, which is also quite good and well-featured.

Samsung overbuild their phones compared to the competition in my experience. It took the iPhone forever to catch up to the original Galaxy S. I believe the iPhone 4S finally surpassed the Galaxy S1 in power and features. The S2 is roughly double the speed. 1GHz single core vs 1.2GHz dual care, 512MB RAM vs 1GB RAM. Same graphics chip, but almost twice the clock plus better sharing with the main RAM. Have used an S1 and they are decent but can be laggy at times. My theory is that they just don't have enough RAM. At absolute idle my S2 uses about 300MB of its 1GB of RAM. The S1 is using roughly the same amount out of 512MB. Perfectly smooth for basic apps and the browser, but gets laggy if you do so much as enable a live wallpaper with graphical effects. Not ideal, but the S1 can be made to do some amazing things with its resources.

Apple had a crap system where the next generation was always absolutely superior and rendered the previous hardware useless. Samsung have grouped their upgrades closer together, so their older hardware seems to last much longer as far as app compatibility goes. I can run most things any S4 can. The only limit is true hardware features and certain games that need more horsepower. The S2 was blessed with great features, so it has fairly up-to-date capabilities. Also consider my 800 x 480 screen allows me some breathing room in games and apps, as it doesn't render the 720p of the S3 or the 1080p of the S4. In my personal experience the difference in sharpness from the S2 to the S3 is quite pleasant, but the difference between the S3 and S4 is much harder to tell, and more of a bonus than a major upgrade.

I wouldn't mind a fully featured S3 or an S4 like my current female interest uses, but the S2 was the sweet spot of the series, and has enough hardware capability to punch well above its weight. A 1GHz+ dual core and 1GB of RAM in a mobile device such as this is plenty.

I know you're just poking fun, but these tiny computers fascinate the crap out of me. Especially the Galaxy S2, S4, iPhone 4S and 5S are the pinnacle of their kind. I am very impressed by what these handheld devices are capable of. IMO Android allows for much more than iOS does, even given the much stronger Apple app market. That doesn't stop the iPhones from having impressive hardware specs though.

 

Jeff, Lossless is real good for compressed music and you can save space with 440Pro by using VBR if that is your need, CBR creates a larger file size since it is holding the space used at the same level always as I'm sure you know. I don't have tons of space either but I'm for high fidelity, grew up that way, so best quality possible is the way to go for me. In fact like you I have some compressed music from others that I can't even listen to when I'm seriously trying to enjoy the music, not using it for background fill. I do buy discs still and back them up which takes space but I do have a place were I can store that kind of stuff and it is dark and cool, perfect for storage like this. I also use backup HDD's to store on in disc's image & compressed modes, plus 2.5 in. HDD's to travel with and play off of. This way I cover most issues and should be safe unless I have a fire since I don't have a copy at a remote location.

I thought you may like Neutron, glad to hear that....

I was pulling your leg on the S2 as i know and agree with you that an S2 is basically as good as an S4, Samsung is the way to go over the popular iPhone.

Always fun,
Steve

 

Well, thought I'd treat myself to a new keyboard to celebrate my birthday. The Saitek Eclipse needs to be retired to backup duty soon. Simply getting beat up. Finally found something reasonably priced that I liked. Logitech G105. Nice looks, good build quality, nice key feel, really bright LED backlighting. One problem. It doesn't work. Certain keys type strings of random gobbledygook or extra letters. Tried on several different PCs. A little research shows this to be a hardware failure in the keyboard itself...

Closer inspection shows the package was previously opened, which indicates it was probably returned with that issue, then placed back on the shelf. Really should have grabbed the one behind it.

I wanted to have something nice. Eff me, right?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126327

Is really a nice and solidly built product. Back to the store tomorrow for an exchange. Really like the keyboard, but wish it worked. Soured an otherwise happy buy. It's the first keyboard since my long dead Eclipse II that's really caught my eye.

My $35 Saitek Eclipse has lasted for 5+ years relatively issue-free. I would hope this $50 keyboard would last at least as long. Have had excellent luck with other Logitech peripherals. Particularly their mice. On my second MX518 and still going strong. Mouse feet worn right off, paint and rubber grip material worn off in spots, but still functions perfectly. Just keep it clean. Super comfortable mouse. I couldn't imagine using a non Logitech mouse anymore, and I've used plenty of Razer and Steelseries mice. The Microsoft/Razer Habu was a close comparison. Excellent tactile feedback when clicking and wonderful ergonomics for my large hands. Poor build quality though. Broken click switch after about 4 or 5 months. I will admit that I'm not particularly easy on my peripherals. They are tools to me.

 

If they are tools you should take even better care of them truly. I won't buy Logitech keyboards myself they have not performed well for me and caused weird problems due to compatibility issues with other devices.

 

I have honestly had a squeaky clean track record with Logitech up until now. Went back to the Wal-Mart today and found that the other keyboard on the shelf had been opened as well, indicating it probably had the same problem. I decided to opt out of exchanging and get my money back. This is a damn crying shame. I was truly enamored by the keyboard. I will be heading over to Best Buy to take another look, but it's two towns over so it will have to wait until Sunday when I have more free time. Really starting to get frustrated by the lack of suitable keyboards for my needs. Is it really that hard to find a membrane keyboard with a no-extras layout and blue LEDs? I would take a look at some other models but they add so much random BS to the layout and make them practically unusable.

If you check out my detailed specs in my sig, nearly all of my major peripherals are Logitech. They have withstood horrendous abuse while functioning with absolute precision and reliability. None of the abuse on purpose mind you. I do attempt to take extra good care of my stuff. I am living by the skin of my teeth at times, so making every bit count is an imperative. Movies, you mention that tools should be taken care of. Well, all my other tools have a no-compromise lifetime warranty as well. No matter what, you should either have a tool in new or like-new condition. Tools are very serious business. Between my dad and myself we have some $30K+ in tools. Expecting 5 years of hard use out of a keyboard with regular cleaning is not unreasonable. They(Logitech) are the golden standard by which I measure all other PC related gear. Logitech maybe guilty of some cheap designs, but their true classics have more than withstood the test of time. The MX518/G400 is the only mouse I will use without exception. I demand absolutely uncompromising reliability and performance. Some things need some maintenance though as they are limited by their quality and design. I will give this Logitech G105 one more chance if they are available at Best Buy. It made a real impression on me upon first inspection. It would be very difficult to find its equal for my preferences.

 

And that is why you haven't had the compatibility issues that I and many others have had. If you have all devices of the same mfg you reduce the odds of them playing poorly together.

I use a Logitech trackball and it works well and no issues with other devices but keyboards that's a whole other issue. Even my sister who doesn't really know much about computers bought a Logitech keyboard a while back and had nothing but problems with it, she returned it and will not buy another one from them.

I also have a Logitech Webcam Pro 9000 but it hasn't been stellar, only the original drivers work well on my system.

And I have been using many different Logitech Race Wheels, those like my trackball have worked very well for the most part.

So in summation, I will not use or buy another Logitech keyboard even though I do like their trackballs and wheels.

Most of my tools are older then you guys and I also have mechanical keyboards that still work from from the 1980's but my mother is lucky to make it 2 years with her keyboards. If you are wondering those old keyboards are AT not PS2's. I finally bought her a mechanical spill proof keyboard, not cheap!, but I'm hoping she can make it 5 years without destroying the thing, so far so good but time will tell.

 

Curious. How hot would the Velociraptor HDD get in a laptop? Provided I remove the heat shield of course I'm not sure if its thicker size will fit in my laptop, but I am considering it. I'm also curious if my laptop puts out the required 12V for the drive. I guess there are ways I could test that.

 

Hmmm. I was afraid of that. I guess I could use the raptor for my Wii, and put the lappy drive back in. But I'd really like to not, and get an SSD for the lappy.

Guess I can find a cheapy SSD. Recommendations?

Actually, I shouldn't be cheap at all. I should figure high end, for my tower. And put the one in my tower, in my laptop

Liking the looks of this Mushkin!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226237
Hmmm, they seem to be hit/miss :S

Intel SSD reviews look very promising. I think I just may give them a shot.