Off Topic Thread V2.0

Samuel T. Cogley

If like me you like tech videos, you might like this guy. I know it looks janky but give it a chance :pac: The VHS and Betamax thing he did held my interest and convinced me there's nothing new to format wars!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_g4cAXkz80

ZeroThreat

Just out of curiosity I compared NCIX with Mindfactory for all the main components of a build based around Kabylake/gtx1080/Z270.

After converting the NCIX prices back to € after using the current rates, they were slightly more expensive.
And this is before having to pay any possible tariffs or import taxes & shipping on stuff from Canada.

AlmightyCushion

ZeroThreat wrote: »

Just out of curiosity I compared NCIX with Mindfactory for all the main components of a build based around Kabylake/gtx1080/Z270.

After converting the NCIX prices back to € after using the current rates, they were slightly more expensive.
And this is before having to pay any possible tariffs or import taxes & shipping on stuff from Canada.

I thought Canada was normally expensive for electronics any way so I never would have figured they would work out cheaper than here especially taking into account VAT, import duties and international shipping costs.

Serephucus

They wouldn't. Canada is usually about 15-20% more expensive than the US, and most of the time buying from the US isn't worth it anyway.

cherryghost

Just put myself together an amazing value 2nd hand pc for 140 euro:
i3 2120
4gb RAM
250GB HDD
GT 1030

Runs most games pretty well!

Mickeroo

This seems like crazy good value considering the monitor is included: http://www.adverts.ie/desktops/full-gaming-rig/13152000#comments

cherryghost

Actually it was much less than 140 and its 120gb HDD + i3-550 instead (I had 140 in my mind for something else). About 120 total instead. I got this and arrived yesterday
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/RM-300-DESKTOP-PC-CORE-i3-3-2GHZ-4G-RAM-160GB-HD-WINDOWS-10/122531597397?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Got this (works out just under 70 euro)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07282J9XQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Installed last night, ran some stress tests and games and seems to be in perfect order. I'd say those machines are a bit of a gamble though but for such little money I couldn't say no.

Metric Tensor

Mickeroo wrote: »

This seems like crazy good value considering the monitor is included: http://www.adverts.ie/desktops/full-gaming-rig/13152000#comments

Unbelievable value. Is there a catch I'm missing?

TerrorFirmer

The good thing as well is that i7-860 or 870 for that socket go for about €30 2nd hand and they're still pretty good CPUs, even in stuff like Fallout 4 and Battlefield 1!

Icyseanfitz

just got eirs new 1000mbs broadband now i need to figure out how the hell to get my devices running that speed probably have to go wifi route as powerline adapters dont seem to work well in my house. was thinking of getting something like this and then an adapter for my desktop. Any opinions on decent adapters or doing this in general?

wotzgoingon

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

just got eirs new 1000mbs broadband ?

You jammy bastard. Enjoy it while thinking of peopel like me who barely get 3Mbps

Samuel T. Cogley

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

just got eirs new 1000mbs broadband now i need to figure out how the hell to get my devices running that speed probably have to go wifi route as powerline adapters dont seem to work well in my house. was thinking of getting something like this and then an adapter for my desktop. Any opinions on decent adapters or doing this in general?

Why bother frankly.

There's only so many devices you can stream 2160p stereoscopic porn to, the rest will do pretty much anything at 50Mbits so why waste the money?

(Sorry to rain on your parade, I'm sure it great on wired connections)

Icyseanfitz

as it stands nothing is really running anywhere near the 1000mbs speed. I connected my desktop directly with an ethernet to make sure i was getting what i paid for and it was hitting like 950mbs but unfortunately my desktop is not near the modem and im only getting 50mbs tops with my little tplink usb adapter best bet would be to run cat5 cables but thats not really an option either. so im stuck looking at how to boost the wifi and receive it, and when it comes to networking im lost!

Icyseanfitz

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Why bother frankly.

There's only so many devices you can stream 2160p stereoscopic porn to, the rest will do pretty much anything at 50Mbits so why waste the money?

(Sorry to rain on your parade, I'm sure it great on wired connections)

sounds like a challenge to me :pac:

Samuel T. Cogley

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

sounds like a challenge to me :pac:

Fair comment!

wotzgoingon

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

as it stands nothing is really running anywhere near the 1000mbs speed. I connected my desktop directly with an ethernet to make sure i was getting what i paid for and it was hitting like 950mbs but unfortunately my desktop is not near the modem and im only getting 50mbs tops with my little tplink usb adapter best bet would be to run cat5 cables but thats not really an option either. so im stuck looking at how to boost the wifi and receive it, and when it comes to networking im lost!

I don't know much about networking either but there is dedicated forums on boards that deal with that. Worth knowing in case nobody here helps you.

Bazzo

I've had a lot of annoying finicky little problems over the years but this one takes the cake. I bought a pair of bluetooth earphones to use mostly with my phone but figured it'd be nice to pair them up with the laptop anyway. Windows 10 REFUSES to discover them, and in fact refuses to discover anything(or at least I'm presuming, it can't see my phone either). I've spent the last 2 hours installing every imaginable driver version and going through every single troubleshooting guide I can find and NOTHING works. It's infuriating.

Serephucus

Internet:

Have a look at homeplugs. They send an ethernet signal over your house's mains. There are certainly decent wireless options out there, but generally for the money, homeplugs will give you a better experience.

Bluetooth:

Just to rule out the obvious: Your computer does have a bluetooth adapter in it somewhere, right? I haven't paired many bluetooth things to computers much, but anything I've tried usually works fine (with a €5 thing I got from Deal Extreme).

Icyseanfitz

Serephucus wrote: »

Internet:

Have a look at homeplugs. They send an ethernet signal over your house's mains. There are certainly decent wireless options out there, but generally for the money, homeplugs will give you a better experience.

Bluetooth:

Just to rule out the obvious: Your computer does have a bluetooth adapter in it somewhere, right? I haven't paired many bluetooth things to computers much, but anything I've tried usually works fine (with a €5 thing I got from Deal Extreme).

yeah thats what i was hoping to use and had been using with my old fttc connection, it was grand gave me 16mbs which was what my broadband's max was anyway. But now with the 1gig connection they are maxing out at around 25mbs (even though they are rated for 600mbs).
I can only assume the wiring in the house is dodgy or something is interfering badly with them, and ive no idea how to troubleshoot with them as i cant exactly check the powerlines

ED E

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

yeah thats what i was hoping to use and had been using with my old fttc connection, it was grand gave me 16mbs which was what my broadband's max was anyway. But now with the 1gig connection they are maxing out at around 25mbs (even though they are rated for 600mbs).
I can only assume the wiring in the house is dodgy or something is interfering badly with them, and ive no idea how to troubleshoot with them as i cant exactly check the powerlines

25 is poor but its not that poor. 1000Mb EoPs do 140ish so 600s doing 25 isnt terrible.

But this has its own thread.

Icyseanfitz

ED E wrote: »

25 is poor but its not that poor. 1000Mb EoPs do 140ish so 600s doing 25 isnt terrible.

But this has its own thread.

was renting a 40 year old council built house 2 years ago and got 40mbs on a 40mbs connection with the same adapters, oh will i ever see those speeds again :pac::pac:

Metric Tensor

Are you renting or do you own the house?

It might be worth just running a CAT6 wire from the hub to your computer by whatever means. Hide in skirting, attic, architraves, down the back of the wardrobe, etc. etc.?

iLikeWaffles

You wouldn't want to be running a cat5 off gigabit CAT6 will give you the speeds CAT5 is 100m/bits max cat5e is 1000 but cat6e is 10 gig iirc

Bazzo

Serephucus wrote: »

Bluetooth:

Just to rule out the obvious: Your computer does have a bluetooth adapter in it somewhere, right? I haven't paired many bluetooth things to computers much, but anything I've tried usually works fine (with a €5 thing I got from Deal Extreme).

Yeah, luckily it was one of the first things I checked as I'd never used the Bluetooth on my laptop before

Extensive googling leads me to believe it's a fairy common issue with Windows 10 unfortunately

Cuddlesworth

iLikeWaffles wrote: »

You wouldn't want to be running a cat5 off gigabit CAT6 will give you the speeds CAT5 is 100m/bits max cat5e is 1000 but cat6e is 10 gig iirc

Home networking isn't going to be seeing 10gig copper any time soon. In reality, 1 gig works quite well and the pinch point will usually be the up to 1 gig link for at least the next decade. Also Cat5e can do 10gig or close enough to it, just that the distances are shorter. Which usually isn't a problem in a house.

Is it your home or a rented house?

ED E

Maybe not Cuddle, Asus just dropped a 10G NIC for 99 USD.

The ASUS XG-C100C is available now at leading resellers in North America with suggested MSRP pricing of $99

All we need now is a cheapo unmanaged switch from netgear and its off to the races.

Icyseanfitz

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Home networking isn't going to be seeing 10gig copper any time soon. In reality, 1 gig works quite well and the pinch point will usually be the up to 1 gig link for at least the next decade. Also Cat5e can do 10gig or close enough to it, just that the distances are shorter. Which usually isn't a problem in a house.

Is it your home or a rented house?

the house is ours so not worried about damages or anything, im going to run a cat6 from the modem directly to the attic and into a switch, then run another cat6 from that into my office and into a router, and another cat6 from that into the pc, that should give me pretty good speeds right?

btw could do with a router recommendation as i know nothing about them

justsomebloke

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

then run another cat6 from that into my office and into a router

into a switch or access point with a switch, but not into a router. Also depending on your initial routers position you may want to allow cabling for one or more access points for better coverage in the house.

.G.

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

the house is ours so not worried about damages or anything, im going to run a cat6 from the modem directly to the attic and into a switch, then run another cat6 from that into my office and into a router, and another cat6 from that into the pc, that should give me pretty good speeds right?

btw could do with a router recommendation as i know nothing about them

The modem you mention is most likely actually a router. with built in modem so you don't need a seperate router. Mine is in my sitting room, I ran a cat 5e from it to my attic and installed a port switch up there, from there I have other cat 5e cables running to each room. Something like that is what you want, a port switch somewhere central that you can get to the other rooms from. In my case I had to go up the outside of the house to get to the attic. Have the cabling hidden behind the guttering.

Cuddlesworth

ED E wrote: »

Maybe not Cuddle, Asus just dropped a 10G NIC for 99 USD.



All we need now is a cheapo unmanaged switch from netgear and its off to the races.

Nothing says fun like a cheapo 10gig interface pumping at line rate into a cheap switch with no packet buffer. I don't expect much movement on that front regardless, moving packets at 10gig is complicated.

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

the house is ours so not worried about damages or anything, im going to run a cat6 from the modem directly to the attic and into a switch, then run another cat6 from that into my office and into a router, and another cat6 from that into the pc, that should give me pretty good speeds right?

btw could do with a router recommendation as i know nothing about them

I'd run two cables.

One leading into a wall plate beside the PC.
Another into the ceiling of the hallway. I would then buy a POE powered AP and mount it to your ceiling. It would be powered off a POE supply down by the router(comes included) and would give decent wireless to the second floor of the house.