Personal computing discussed

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by confusedpenguin
Fri Jul 05, 2019 5:15 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: Old Monitor suddenly expensive
Replies: 5
Views: 3796

Old Monitor suddenly expensive

I bought a Dell U2715H monitor about a year ago when I bought a new computer. I've been thinking of buying something new, just because I want something bigger, like a 32 or 42 inch display. When I bought my Dell monitor about a year ago it was around 450 dollars. Now the price has skyrocketed to 700...
by confusedpenguin
Mon Apr 08, 2019 2:23 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: So what are you using for computer audio?
Replies: 156
Views: 42052

Re: So what are you using for computer audio?

Right now using a Sound Blaster ZxR to drive a pair of Klipsch R15PM speakers paired with a 100 dollar Polk Audio 10 inch subwoofer. When playing with groups in wow and chatting with them on discord I use the Sennheiser GSP 600 headset.
by confusedpenguin
Tue Mar 26, 2019 8:30 am
Forum: Gaming
Topic: Suggest Games with 4K graphics
Replies: 16
Views: 5803

Re: Suggest Games with 4K graphics

Quest for Glory (EGA version) for MS-DOS. :-)
by confusedpenguin
Sat Feb 23, 2019 9:24 am
Forum: Gaming
Topic: What are you playing right now?
Replies: 965
Views: 212059

Re: What are you playing right now?

World of Warcraft. Got Void Elfs, Lightforged Draenei, and Dark Iron Dwarves all unlocked. Got a 120 Night Elf Rogue named Stabbymcgee who needs a guild. Level 20 Pandaren Hunter (alliance) named Fattymcgee, a level 60 human priest named Paddyoreilly, a level 10 gnome monk named Undurpants, a level ...
by confusedpenguin
Wed Jan 02, 2019 9:24 am
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: why monitors have better picture than tvs?
Replies: 25
Views: 11075

Re: why monitors have better picture than tvs?

How big is your television? It might have something to do with pixel density, or how many dots per inch there are. If there are more pixels packed into the same area on the monitor than the tv, then that might be the answer as to why the monitor looks better. Also, modern televisions often to some p...
by confusedpenguin
Thu Dec 27, 2018 8:11 pm
Forum: Gaming
Topic: My top first person shooters
Replies: 20
Views: 5227

Re: My top first person shooters

Since it hasn't been listed yet,

Hexen
by confusedpenguin
Wed Dec 26, 2018 11:50 am
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Best place to Cross the rocky mountains in january?
Replies: 42
Views: 7346

Re: Best place to Cross the rocky mountains in january?

If you are crossing through Idaho, I will tell you the southern Idaho freeways can be pretty bad in the winter, and one way or another you are going to be climbing some mountains. If you are in California, I'd say stay along the coast all the way to Canada and then head east. I don't know how Montan...
by confusedpenguin
Wed Nov 28, 2018 10:16 pm
Forum: General Software
Topic: Antivirus software
Replies: 37
Views: 9708

Re: Antivirus software

Believe it or not Norton Antivirus is very good these days. It is subscription based I believe and it is what I use on my Windows 10 PC. I know everyone says Windows Defender is good enough but I Norton gives me info on what it is doing, whether it is stopping a virus or blocking an attack from a ma...
by confusedpenguin
Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:00 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: Replacing PC audio setup
Replies: 12
Views: 7500

Re: Replacing PC audio setup

I bought a pair of Klipsch R15PM bookshelf speakers that have their own built in amp and I'm happy with them. I might purchase a subwoofer for them later but they do well on their own. Originally prices at $500, I got them on sale for $350. I already have a Sound Blaster ZxR to hook them to but they...
by confusedpenguin
Fri Nov 02, 2018 4:00 pm
Forum: Gaming
Topic: Blizzcon
Replies: 81
Views: 10506

Re: Blizzcon

I would love to see Blizzard remaster World of Warcraft with ultra-realistic graphics running on an Engine like CryEngine, Unreal, or Unity.
by confusedpenguin
Fri Jul 06, 2018 10:16 pm
Forum: Linux, Unix, and Assorted Madness
Topic: Sound playback in virtualbox
Replies: 2
Views: 6957

Re: Sound playback in virtualbox

Perhaps that is something the people at Oracle would know. It would be nice if there was an easy way to tell. I've always had a habit of changing the pulseaudio settings and settle the resample method to src-sinc-best-quality. It definitely makes a huge difference when running Linux as the native op...
by confusedpenguin
Fri Jul 06, 2018 5:28 pm
Forum: Linux, Unix, and Assorted Madness
Topic: Sound playback in virtualbox
Replies: 2
Views: 6957

Sound playback in virtualbox

I'd like to know how a virtual machine accesses the sound hardware. I have virtualbox set up to run Intel HD Audio and am running Linux Mint as the guest OS. Is there any resampling or downgrading of the audio quality by the time it reaches my speakers from the virtual machine? How do virtual machin...
by confusedpenguin
Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:21 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: Good speaker for ZxR
Replies: 43
Views: 14000

Re: Good speaker for ZxR

So, I ended up getting a pair of these. It has Bluetooth, optical in, and usb in, but I just hooked them into the RCA line-in output. They were a bit over my budget but at $350 dollars I can say I'm not disappointed. Loud, clear, and I could get a sub for these but I think they have plenty of bass a...
by confusedpenguin
Thu Jun 07, 2018 1:11 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Nasa to make Major Martian Announcement
Replies: 17
Views: 3649

Re: Nasa to make Major Martian Announcement

They probably found The Doctor's broken sonic screwdriver.
by confusedpenguin
Tue May 29, 2018 10:05 pm
Forum: Processors
Topic: How Apple Dethroned Intel As the World's Most Innovative Chipmaker
Replies: 105
Views: 12853

Re: How Apple Dethroned Intel As the World's Most Innovative Chipmaker

The way I understand it ARM processors are decent for performing one task at a time, and to do a different task they need to be switched to do a different task in software. Not a good way to multitask. For raw horsepower, I don't think ARM will be able to beat the x86 design, based on, well, the way...
by confusedpenguin
Fri May 25, 2018 4:03 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: Wow, I have an IBM Model M (or do I?) (pics!)
Replies: 22
Views: 5030

Re: Wow, I have an IBM Model M (or do I?)

Rule of thumb. Anything older that IBM made is worth keeping, especially if it is in good condition. A lot of that older stuff was bulletproof too, maybe literally as they had heavy metal plates in them or they could be used as a melee weapon. It looks like some of those Model F keyboards are going ...
by confusedpenguin
Wed May 23, 2018 9:01 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: Good speaker for ZxR
Replies: 43
Views: 14000

Re: Good speaker for ZxR

I just receiver the SB ZxR card via UPS today. Installed it and it sounds great on the pair of AKG earbuds that came with my old Galaxy S8 smartphone. They will suffice until I order the speakers. I'm not a fan of earbuds as they make my ears hurt after wearing them too long. I looked at a pair of S...
by confusedpenguin
Tue May 22, 2018 9:59 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: Good speaker for ZxR
Replies: 43
Views: 14000

Re: Good speaker for ZxR

Unfortunately was spoiled with a computer I had about 8 years ago that had an ASUS Xonar Essence ST in it. And yes, I could hear the difference. I have considered the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 system again as that is what I had before. I know some onboard audio has been improved, but unfortunately the on...
by confusedpenguin
Tue May 22, 2018 9:22 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: Good speaker for ZxR
Replies: 43
Views: 14000

Re: Good speaker for ZxR

Looks like it. Based on one of the reviews the quality control isn't very good. They box and ship them without testing them first. But if they are a good value for the money, I can always RMA them for a replacement until I get some that come off the assembly line in good working order. I'm willing t...
by confusedpenguin
Tue May 22, 2018 8:48 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: Good speaker for ZxR
Replies: 43
Views: 14000

Re: Good speaker for ZxR

Those monoprice speakers look like they might do the job just fine. Looks like I'll need to make sure and buy a 1/4" to XLR adapter or cable though. How do those compare sound quality-wise to the AudioEngine A5+?
by confusedpenguin
Sun May 20, 2018 6:07 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: Good speaker for ZxR
Replies: 43
Views: 14000

Good speaker for ZxR

Just ordered a Sound Blaster ZxR from Amazon. I'm looking for a good set of speaker under 200 bucks. Doesn't need to have a subwoofer. Just a good set of speakers that will let me hear every detail in the sound and bring the best out of the sound card. Mostly gaming, but some High-Res Flac Lossless,...
by confusedpenguin
Mon Aug 21, 2017 6:02 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Eclipse on August 21
Replies: 76
Views: 19912

Re: Eclipse on August 21

I live in Idaho in the path of totality. My place is about 10 miles from dead pinpoint center. When it hit totality it dropped about 20 degrees and the ring around the moon became a soothing bright blue and I was able to look at it without glasses. Looking around it looked like I was standing on ano...
by confusedpenguin
Mon Apr 17, 2017 2:26 pm
Forum: Processors
Topic: 80387 math coprocessors
Replies: 61
Views: 10817

Re: 80387 math coprocessors

Aye, the 386-SX was 32-bit internally, 16-bit externally. I had one, and it wasn't fast. And yet... it was awesome at the time. It was fast enough to run Wing Commander. At the time, that was all that mattered. I remember having to edit the config.sys file constantly when switching back and forth b...
by confusedpenguin
Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:34 pm
Forum: Processors
Topic: 80387 math coprocessors
Replies: 61
Views: 10817

Re: 80387 math coprocessors

Ok, cool. :-) I guess now it's just doing the homework to find out which compiler game companies used on specific games, just out of curiosity. I'd like to know how much of my childhood was spent playing games where a math coprocessor wouldn't have been sitting idle if the computer had one.
by confusedpenguin
Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:28 pm
Forum: Processors
Topic: 80387 math coprocessors
Replies: 61
Views: 10817

Re: 80387 math coprocessors

I don't know much about programming. I successfully compiled a Linux Kernel by pure luck, kind of like making the perfect chicken on a charcoal grill. So if a game were compiled by the MSDOS C compiler, would it have automatically detected the coprocessor and taken advantage of it? Or does support h...
by confusedpenguin
Sun Apr 16, 2017 7:39 pm
Forum: Processors
Topic: 80387 math coprocessors
Replies: 61
Views: 10817

80387 math coprocessors

I recall my parents old computer having an empty socket for an Intel 80387 Math Coprocessor. I knew what it was for, but I always wondered if it would have made games run faster. I was an Ultima junkie, mostly wasting away my teenage years playing The Black Gate and The Serpent Isle. Would installin...
by confusedpenguin
Fri Apr 14, 2017 8:41 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Anyone repair anything today?
Replies: 1407
Views: 199169

Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Fixed the water pump on my car. Stupid front wheel drive so the engine is mounted sideways. The water pump was 25 bucks, and two gallons of antifreeze was 20 bucks. So, about 45 bucks to fix it myself. Would have cost at least $300 for a mechanic to do it.
by confusedpenguin
Thu Mar 30, 2017 9:13 am
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: Having trouble finding new speakers.
Replies: 36
Views: 6725

Re: Having trouble finding new speakers.

I've been in the same dilemma. Trying to find the perfect speakers at a reasonable price point. It isn't going to happen. You may need to compromise on quality and what you want, or save money for some good ones. I would advise staying away from the Klipsch 2.1s. They switched to a cheaper amp and t...
by confusedpenguin
Sun Mar 19, 2017 6:01 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: What are you listening to RIGHT NOW?
Replies: 4343
Views: 784999

Re: What are you listening to RIGHT NOW?

Arctic Sonata - Last Drop Falls

next on the playlist

Kontrust - Just Propoganda
by confusedpenguin
Sat Mar 18, 2017 6:40 pm
Forum: Linux, Unix, and Assorted Madness
Topic: Is Linux getting easier to use then Windows?
Replies: 157
Views: 20807

Re: Is Linux getting easier to use then Windows?

I wouldn't say Linux is easier to use than Windows. After install, PulseAudio is configured pretty crappily. I had to install gedit, then go edit the daemon.conf file for PulseAudio and change the resample method to src-sinc-best-quality and trust me, with a decent set of speakers, you will notice, ...
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