Chairman_Mao wrote:I've always thought of watts like speed (eg miles/hr), which is a rate as you say. Therefore watt-hours is the distance traveled. So if you used 1000 watt-hours in one hour, that means your device was running at 1000 watts does it not? I admit I could be misunderstanding the relationship between the two but that's what Wikipedia seems to say.
The PC has a 550w power supply so I'm guessing there's no way it can actually pull a 1000w without blowing a fuse? I can always check the readings from the kill-a-watt again.
yeah seems like the first read was off somehow, definitely shouldn't be burning that much unless your PSU is extremely inefficient, which seems unlikely.
As I understand it, when a PSU is rated at, say 500W at 80% efficiency, that 500W would be the draw from the socket and it would supply up to 400W to components.
As I understand it, when a PSU is rated at, say 500W at 80% efficiency, that 500W would be the draw from the socket and it would supply up to 400W to components.
I came across this site, which runs their tests assuming that the PSU's claimed wattage is its output, not what it draws from the wall.
They take a deep look at the PSUs they test, it's kind of enlightening to read. For example this review will make sure the reader never ever considers a generic PSU ever again.
Generic PSU's are like putting a ticking time bomb in your $750 PC.. Sure even the good PSU's can blow components in your system when they go.. but with the cheap ones you've upped that risk fairly dramatically.
Dear GWJ,
So I got my tax return recently, and my plan was to use it to either upgrade my computer, or grab a new one, but i'm hemming and hawwing over my options. I've been over what i'm using currently, and it seems that this machine desperately needs a new video card, before the current one gives up the ghost.
What i'm indecisive about is whether I want to get a new video card, and keep using this machine... or try and find a lappy for myself.
Let me be frank about what I want and need. I'm pretty much past wanting cutting-edge everything, I want it to fit my needs and my budget. And i'm not interested in spending much more than $350 on a new video card, or more than $900 on a new laptop.
What I need for the immediate future is something I can begin learning/doing graphic design with (Specifically Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator), and that can at least handle gaming on the level of, let's say Just Cause 2.
I couldn't build a PC to my price specifications, so i'm asking the braintrust here what might be a better idea: Just upgrading my video card and keeping my current PC (which seems to be running fine, mind you), or spend a bit more and get a spanking-new laptop?
Try this as a starting point: http://www.logicalincrements.com together with www.pcpartpicker.com
Wow. Wow. That Logical Increments site is amazing. And then some.
avggeek wrote:Chairman_Mao wrote:I've always thought of watts like speed (eg miles/hr), which is a rate as you say. Therefore watt-hours is the distance traveled. So if you used 1000 watt-hours in one hour, that means your device was running at 1000 watts does it not? I admit I could be misunderstanding the relationship between the two but that's what Wikipedia seems to say.
The PC has a 550w power supply so I'm guessing there's no way it can actually pull a 1000w without blowing a fuse? I can always check the readings from the kill-a-watt again.
yeah seems like the first read was off somehow, definitely shouldn't be burning that much unless your PSU is extremely inefficient, which seems unlikely.
Looks like I was off by an order of magnitude on my initial readings
So here are the readings from running the kill-a-watt for 3 hours:
Power draw at boot - 112 W
Power draw at default idle - 70 W
Power draw at powersave idle - 54 W (CPU active, screen active, 4/6 drives spun down)
Power draw at full load - 97 W (All drives active, screen active, All CPU cores at 100%)
Total power usage in 3 hours - 0.1 kWh or .03 kW per hour.
Chairman_Mao wrote:avggeek wrote:Chairman_Mao wrote:I've always thought of watts like speed (eg miles/hr), which is a rate as you say. Therefore watt-hours is the distance traveled. So if you used 1000 watt-hours in one hour, that means your device was running at 1000 watts does it not? I admit I could be misunderstanding the relationship between the two but that's what Wikipedia seems to say.
The PC has a 550w power supply so I'm guessing there's no way it can actually pull a 1000w without blowing a fuse? I can always check the readings from the kill-a-watt again.
yeah seems like the first read was off somehow, definitely shouldn't be burning that much unless your PSU is extremely inefficient, which seems unlikely.
Looks like I was off by an order of magnitude on my initial readings
So here are the readings from running the kill-a-watt for 3 hours:
Power draw at boot - 112 W
Power draw at default idle - 70 W
Power draw at powersave idle - 54 W (CPU active, screen active, 4/6 drives spun down)
Power draw at full load - 97 W (All drives active, screen active, All CPU cores at 100%)
Total power usage in 3 hours - 0.1 kWh or .03 kW per hour.
heh phew! That makes much more sense.
So Newegg has a deal today (24 hours only) on a 250GB Samsung SSD for $150. I was planning on waiting but that seems like a price I can't pass up. It's normally $210, but this is a deal that only activates if you're signed up for newegg e-mails. Not sure if it'll work if you sign up for the e-mails today.
Promo Code: EMCYTZT2903
Also: Deal valid between 9:00am on 2/9/13 to 8:59am PST on 2/10/13
So Newegg has a deal today (24 hours only) on a 250GB Samsung SSD for $150. I was planning on waiting but that seems like a price I can't pass up. It's normally $210, but this is a deal that only activates if you're signed up for newegg e-mails. Not sure if it'll work if you sign up for the e-mails today.
Promo Code: EMCYTZT2903
Also: Deal valid between 9:00am on 2/9/13 to 8:59am PST on 2/10/13
Not that it's bad, but that's the lower grade 840 vs the pro. Has a lower grade of memory. TLC NAND vs MLC NAND in the 840 Pros. TLC is slower and has a shorter life span than MCL memory.
Probably won't matter that much, just making sure you were aware of the differences.
Anandtech still gave the 840 a good review, despite the trade off in memory quality.
Thanks MannishBoy, I think I'll still bite on it. It won't be for a gaming rig.
Chairman_Mao wrote:avggeek wrote:Chairman_Mao wrote:I've always thought of watts like speed (eg miles/hr), which is a rate as you say. Therefore watt-hours is the distance traveled. So if you used 1000 watt-hours in one hour, that means your device was running at 1000 watts does it not? I admit I could be misunderstanding the relationship between the two but that's what Wikipedia seems to say.
The PC has a 550w power supply so I'm guessing there's no way it can actually pull a 1000w without blowing a fuse? I can always check the readings from the kill-a-watt again.
yeah seems like the first read was off somehow, definitely shouldn't be burning that much unless your PSU is extremely inefficient, which seems unlikely.
Looks like I was off by an order of magnitude on my initial readings
So here are the readings from running the kill-a-watt for 3 hours:
Power draw at boot - 112 W
Power draw at default idle - 70 W
Power draw at powersave idle - 54 W (CPU active, screen active, 4/6 drives spun down)
Power draw at full load - 97 W (All drives active, screen active, All CPU cores at 100%)
Total power usage in 3 hours - 0.1 kWh or .03 kW per hour.
What kind of setup is this? This is a box ito which you've thrown some drives. Anything special, or just a cheap mid-tower thingy?
What kind of setup is this? This is a box ito which you've thrown some drives. Anything special, or just a cheap mid-tower thingy?
I didn't have enough space for a mid tower, so I used a mini-ITX Board and a SFF case. The case required the use of a low profile CPU cooler, but that's the only "non-standard" thing. Everything else is regular PC parts including the OS (Ubuntu 12.04)
Ubuntu is standard? What type of radical Linux talk that??
Ubuntu is standard? What type of radical Linux talk that??
Does running XFCE instead of Gnome for my desktop make it more radical?
Nvidia's bundle when buying new 650/660+: In game stuff for World of tanks, Planetside2, Hawken F2P games
Asking for a friend:
Budget - $1700 (cdn) max.
Looking for a powerful computer that will last him for a long time.
He wants a dedicated audio card, as he does a lot of audio editing and stuff.
Lots of downloading stuff off of the internet and watching it.
Open to dual video cards for dual monitors, but not a necessity.
Games are not a priority, but his current computer is about 10 years old, so game-playing may come into it if one strikes his interest.
He is looking for info on good SSD drives as well as mid-tower cases and really reliable power supplies.
He already has a monitor, OS, keyboard, etc, so that is not needed.
Asking for a friend:
Budget - $1700 (cdn) max.
Looking for a powerful computer that will last him for a long time.He wants a dedicated audio card, as he does a lot of audio editing and stuff.
Lots of downloading stuff off of the internet and watching it.
Open to dual video cards for dual monitors, but not a necessity.
Games are not a priority, but his current computer is about 10 years old, so game-playing may come into it if one strikes his interest.
He is looking for info on good SSD drives as well as mid-tower cases and really reliable power supplies.He already has a monitor, OS, keyboard, etc, so that is not needed.
If his computer's 10 years old is he using a CRT, a basic 4:3 flat panel, or an HD display? If not the latter, he may want to look into a display. In any event, as is often the case 'round these parts, knowing what resolution he's displaying will help determine what GPU/CPU combo will be a good fit. The rest seems to hang on this, generally.
A nice LCD is a big part of the overall "experience" of any PC (gaming or otherwise).. I for example can't imagine living in my spreadsheets, powerpoints and word docs without 3 27" Screens at work.
Dual video cards aren't necessary for dual monitors. Unless his budget includes getting a second monitor, he should be able to get a very good computer with ~$500 to spare.
Here's a possible start to a build, sort of like the one I recently built: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/CVvx
The PSU has lots of extra wattage, so it can be stepped down to ~500W for some savings (though "80 Plus Gold" is a good thing). Add a video card, audio card, and case [I'm happy with my Define R4 made by Fractal Design but there are some good ones for cheaper] and you're good to go.
If his computer's 10 years old is he using a CRT, a basic 4:3 flat panel, or an HD display? If not the latter, he may want to look into a display. In any event, as is often the case 'round these parts, knowing what resolution he's displaying will help determine what GPU/CPU combo will be a good fit. The rest seems to hang on this, generally.
The monitor is more recent...a Samsung SyncMaster 2232 LCD.
Dual video cards aren't necessary for dual monitors. Unless his budget includes getting a second monitor, he should be able to get a very good computer with ~$500 to spare.
Right, AMD will run I think 6 off of one card with the right adapters. You can run two without attaching anything extra, but 3+ require an active DVI Adapter.
Not sure exactly what one Nvidia card can do, but I know it will do two with just one card.
Now if you want to game on multiple monitors, you might need more horsepower. But I just game on one and use my second for media and communications software like Vent.
The GTX580's we use at work have two DVIs and 1 DisplayPort, so I'm assuming you can run 3 monitors off them, though I haven't tried more than 2 (a Dell UltraSharp 27" LED and a Wacom Cintiq).
The GTX580's we use at work have two DVIs and 1 DisplayPort, so I'm assuming you can run 3 monitors off them, though I haven't tried more than 2 (a Dell UltraSharp 27" LED and a Wacom Cintiq).
You definitely can do that with the 680s. The one issue to be aware of is that you must have 2 in SLI in order to do Nvidia surround. So, while a single 580 or 680 (and probably the cheaper models) can push 3 displays, it won't be able to take advantage of the Nvidia surround feature for gaming. A single AMD card can run 3 displays and also do Eyefinity.
Can anyone help? My hard drive croaked a while back and I just got my new one in today. I bought a copy of windows 8 and started up the computer with it and the new hard drive installed.
As I'm trying to instal windows 8, I get the error "a media driver your computer needs is missing. This could be a DVD, USB, or hard disk driver. If you have a cd, DVD, or USB flash drive with the driver on it, please insert it now."
Is there any way to find out what I'm missing? A google search hasn't done me much good.
Go to the BIOS and make sure it sees your new hard drive. If not, make sure it's plugged in 100%
Can anyone help? My hard drive croaked a while back and I just got my new one in today. I bought a copy of windows 8 and started up the computer with it and the new hard drive installed.
Is there any way to find out what I'm missing? A google search hasn't done me much good.
Windows 7?
obirano wrote:Can anyone help? My hard drive croaked a while back and I just got my new one in today. I bought a copy of windows 8 and started up the computer with it and the new hard drive installed.
Is there any way to find out what I'm missing? A google search hasn't done me much good.
Windows 7?
Stop that!
obirano wrote:Can anyone help? My hard drive croaked a while back and I just got my new one in today. I bought a copy of windows 8 and started up the computer with it and the new hard drive installed.
Is there any way to find out what I'm missing? A google search hasn't done me much good.
Windows 7?
Yeah. I know. I already bought this though.
Bios does see the hard drive.
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