Personal computing discussed

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by ChicagoDave
Wed Mar 15, 2017 11:56 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: Need a new office chair.
Replies: 76
Views: 19812

Re: Need a new office chair.

I have those fancy $1000 Herman Miller Aeron chairs at work, and I realized what makes them special is the mesh fabric on the back and bottom. With a solid material like leather, the stuffing behind it eventually wears down. With a quality mesh chair your only wear comes from the material stretching...
by ChicagoDave
Thu Mar 02, 2017 2:10 am
Forum: Graphics
Topic: High-End Graphics Card for Video Games
Replies: 50
Views: 15644

Re: High-End Graphics Card for Video Games

I absolutely agree on the RX480 4GB. It is a bit excessive for 1080p but the price difference from the 470 can be as little as $20-30, which buys ~10% more performance. I think this little bit of future-proofing is probably worth it. On the other hand, the move to the RX480 8GB or the 1060 is proba...
by ChicagoDave
Sat Feb 25, 2017 5:39 pm
Forum: Announcements
Topic: Joining the Religion & Politics Forum
Replies: 421
Views: 422612

Re: Joining the Religion & Politics Forum

Can I please have access as well? thanks
by ChicagoDave
Sat Feb 25, 2017 5:34 pm
Forum: Networking
Topic: Getting wireless to an outbuilding
Replies: 15
Views: 10698

Re: Getting wireless to an outbuilding

My expensive but hopefully futureproof TP-Link AD-7200 gives my cellphone a signal 200 feet away through a brick wall. This is assuming google maps is accurate - I had roughly 4 x 50ft "sticks" from my living room to the next street's intersection. Phone is a cheapo Moto G Play, so I'd ima...
by ChicagoDave
Thu Feb 23, 2017 7:20 am
Forum: Gaming
Topic: Good grief, take a break. Another gamer dies...
Replies: 17
Views: 3207

Re: Good grief, take a break. Another gamer dies...

Well this hits pretty close to home for me, not because I knew/watched the streamer (I didn't) but because of the long stretches of gaming I've done. I'm going to admit to something that no one, not even my closest friends know about. For several years I was doing a lot of cocaine...it was top notch...
by ChicagoDave
Mon Feb 20, 2017 1:38 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Cutting my soda habit in half.
Replies: 112
Views: 12657

Re: Cutting my soda habit in half.

I've made I my first week without drinking more then a bottle a day of soda. I hope I can make my second one next week. Great job whm, keep it up! Are you keeping a journal, or formally tracking your soda intake? Whenever I'm trying to break a habit I put small check marks on my calendar to note wh...
by ChicagoDave
Mon Feb 20, 2017 1:21 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: Side/back surrounds height for gaming?
Replies: 9
Views: 3258

Re: Side/back surrounds height for gaming?

I suppose the main question is whether you can aim the speakers up or down. If you can point them down towards your ear, then I don't see why you couldn't mount them 20ft above your head. However if they have to face straight ahead I'd limit the distance to probably that quoted 2ft for movies. I thi...
by ChicagoDave
Mon Feb 13, 2017 7:23 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Getting Tired of Gross Pics
Replies: 25
Views: 10241

Re: Getting Tired of Gross Pics

uBlock Origin + uMatrix = no gross toes or boiling lemons in a pot of water.  Let's face it, adblockers are absolutely necessary these days due to ad networks not vetting the ads which can inject malware or redirect you to imposter sites.  Whitelisting is the only way until the ad networks clean up ...
by ChicagoDave
Mon Feb 13, 2017 2:53 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Cutting my soda habit in half.
Replies: 112
Views: 12657

Re: Cutting my soda habit in half.

I completely stopped drinking pop/soda about ten years ago and never looked back.  Diabetes runs in my family and my mom was a dental hygienist growing up so it didn't take much effort for me.  Once you make drinking water/tea/coffee your natural "fix" for thirst, it's really easy to skip ...
by ChicagoDave
Mon Jan 09, 2017 7:20 pm
Forum: Visual Haven
Topic: Dell 4K oled monitor cancelled - again
Replies: 13
Views: 15118

Re: Dell 4K oled monitor cancelled

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but don't OLED panels still have some considerable downsides?  The last I looked into it there were still concerns over longevity and color shifting over time.  It seems like the manufacturing it's self is mostly a solved problem, but the underlying technology still ...
by ChicagoDave
Fri Dec 02, 2016 9:40 pm
Forum: Networking
Topic: What Router do you use?
Replies: 108
Views: 15094

Re: What Router do you use?

I recently bought the TP-Link AC5400 and love it.  I waited years and years for decent quality AC routers to drop to my target ~$70 range but it just never happened.  Was struggling with 4meg/sec on the 2.4ghz band so I finally bit the bullet and went all in with the "Tri-Band" 5400.  Has ...
by ChicagoDave
Fri Nov 25, 2016 11:21 am
Forum: Graphics
Topic: Best low profile video cards available (April 2018)
Replies: 345
Views: 484005

Re: Best low profile video cards available (August 2016)

I know a few posters on this thread (myself included) have been looking for single slot cards.  Just saw that HIS is making a single slot RX460, it looks nice!  No word on price/availability but that'd be pretty decent for a HTPC. http://www.hisdigital.com/gb/product2-940.shtml The SKU is HS-460R4TCNR
by ChicagoDave
Sun Nov 20, 2016 7:24 pm
Forum: Hot Deals
Topic: Intel 600P 512 GB M.2 SSD for $129 @ Newegg
Replies: 1
Views: 1990

Re: Intel 600P 512 GB M.2 SSD for $129 @ Newegg

As great of a deal as it looks, the SLC cache issue is keeping me away.  I spent a few hours reading about it last night, for those who don't know: The 256gb model has an SLC cache of 8.5gb and the 512gb model is 17.5gb.  Basically the drive is close to par (but still slower) with the Samsung 950 dr...
by ChicagoDave
Tue Oct 25, 2016 3:40 pm
Forum: Graphics
Topic: GTX 1050 and 1050Ti reviews
Replies: 35
Views: 4963

Re: GTX 1050 and 1050Ti reviews

Here's reviews of the MSI 1050 2GB and MSI 1050Ti 4GB cards with TONS of cards to compare it to

http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/ms ... iew,1.html
by ChicagoDave
Tue Oct 25, 2016 3:38 pm
Forum: Echo Vale
Topic: The Great Re-Encoding
Replies: 64
Views: 9682

Re: The Great Re-Encoding

Good job on finishing the project. I use EAC for CD > FLAC rips (I use settings that used to be required for some high end torrent site whose name escapes me) For FLAC to anything else I use Foobar.  Used to use DBpoweramp, and I like it but Foobar is free and can be used for more than just transcod...
by ChicagoDave
Mon Oct 24, 2016 4:26 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: Are there any true Tech sites around?
Replies: 70
Views: 11864

Re: Are there any true Tech sites around?

My daily run through is Ars, Anand, Tech Report, and Guru3d.  As others have said Ars used to be better, and Anand used to be way better.  Only recently have I checked Guru3d..they have great video card reviews and summarize some of the gossip on from other sites. I also check out http://phys.org/ w...
by ChicagoDave
Mon Oct 24, 2016 4:17 pm
Forum: TR Sports
Topic: 2016 World Series
Replies: 46
Views: 8573

Re: 2016 World Series

More of a futból fan but...Go Cubs
by ChicagoDave
Fri Oct 14, 2016 2:03 pm
Forum: Visual Haven
Topic: Wanting new monitor, research ends in confusion
Replies: 95
Views: 27298

Re: Wanting new monitor, research ends in confusion

The other thing I'd consider, if work is your primarily use and you've got the cash for future-proofing, is a 34" or larger  3440x1440 ultrawide. I think it's worth seeing something like the LG 34UM88C-P in person. It's not for everybody, but I really dig it as a dual-screen replacement, with ...
by ChicagoDave
Thu Oct 13, 2016 2:39 pm
Forum: Gaming
Topic: Civilization VI coming out on October 21st
Replies: 29
Views: 4051

Re: Civilization VI coming out on October 21st

Looking forward to playing it although I'll be holding off until a GOTY edition comes out including all of the DLC.  Also won't play until there's a Throne Room/Palace mod :)
by ChicagoDave
Wed Aug 03, 2016 1:25 pm
Forum: Graphics
Topic: I've got a GTX 1060... [UPDATE]
Replies: 22
Views: 4321

Re: I've got a GTX 1060... [UPDATE]

Just found this review of the EVGA 1060 SC mini/ITX card. http://www.legitreviews.com/nvidia-evga-geforce-gtx-1060-video-card-review_184301 Pertinent part regarding noise/heat for SFF/htpc builds: UPDATE 7/22/2016: EVGA sent over a new ‘FanStop’ vBIOS for the GeForce GTX 1060 SC that allows for semi...
by ChicagoDave
Tue Aug 02, 2016 1:13 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: HTPC Keyboards (Bluetooth)
Replies: 16
Views: 3032

Re: HTPC Keyboards (Bluetooth)

So not sure how I got the wrong URL, but this is the IO Gear keyboard I have. https://www.amazon.com/Multimedia-Keyboard-Trackball-Wireless-GKM561R/dp/B002H0BOBA And.....unfortunately it appears to be sold out/discontinued :/ No experience with the one I linked in the earlier post. Mine's on its las...
by ChicagoDave
Mon Aug 01, 2016 2:22 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: HTPC Keyboards (Bluetooth)
Replies: 16
Views: 3032

Re: HTPC Keyboards (Bluetooth)

Not clear if you need an actual mouse or not, but I use this for my HTPC. https://www.iogear.com/product/GKM681R I dunno what's up with Amazon's current pricing, but I've bought two of them from there for ~$40 USD. Many other retailers have them for right around that price. Has left and right mouse ...
by ChicagoDave
Thu Jul 21, 2016 12:56 pm
Forum: Mobile Tech
Topic: Need help choosing a tablet
Replies: 24
Views: 3819

Re: Need help choosing a tablet

Sorry have no specific recommendations but honestly I'd just go to your local Wal-Mart and find a dirt cheap one with a big screen. Assuming she'll just be reading a news app, email and checking the weather, she won't need anything special.
by ChicagoDave
Wed Jul 20, 2016 8:30 pm
Forum: Graphics
Topic: TR needs a GTX-1060 Poll time!
Replies: 16
Views: 2742

Re: TR needs a GTX-1060 Poll time!

Please please please yes. That's the exact card I'm planning to buy for my HTPC/1080p gaming box. In particular I want to see the thermals and fan noise levels of the mini cards, I can't find reviews anywhere for them (or the mini 1070s for that matter). In my use case, it'll be going into my beauti...
by ChicagoDave
Tue Feb 16, 2016 3:29 pm
Forum: Processors
Topic: Waiting for Kaby Lake?
Replies: 21
Views: 6587

Re: Waiting for Kaby Lake?

Kaby Lake will have native support for HDCP 2.2 (the 4k/UHD/new Blu-ray) copy protection. Only way to get that now is to purchase a motherboard with an Alpine Ridge controller, or a new discrete video card. As of 3-4 months ago the only mobos shipping with Alpine Ridge controllers were select Gigaby...
by ChicagoDave
Tue Dec 29, 2015 4:58 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: New UX303UB and Cleaning Her Out
Replies: 5
Views: 2546

Re: New UX303UB and Cleaning Her Out

If it's the "Microsoft Signature Edition" it shouldn't have any bloatware at all. It's Windows 10 and nothing else. I just bought the same ultrabook about 3 weeks ago (had to return it because there were obvious hardware issues but will buy one again after my vacation) Any W10 computer I s...
by ChicagoDave
Mon Dec 14, 2015 6:34 pm
Forum: Networking
Topic: Wireless on Switch
Replies: 7
Views: 1942

Re: Wireless on Switch

I'm not entirely clear on what the 2x48 port switches are there for besides providing more internal ports (might be segmenting the network?). If they're purely for providing more connections, I'd do modem > router > switch > pc modem > router > AP Router should properly run DHCP and assign IP's to a...
by ChicagoDave
Thu Dec 03, 2015 9:36 pm
Forum: Processors
Topic: Where are the G4400 and i3-6100 reviews?
Replies: 41
Views: 9839

Re: Where are the G4400 and i3-6100 reviews?

I spent a good portion of the weekend researching the various Skylake i3's for htpc/router builds and found this review to be very informative. In particular check out the 2nd page measuring power draw - virtually no difference between the 47 watt chip and 35 watt. overclock3d dot net/reviews/cpu_m...
by ChicagoDave
Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:20 am
Forum: Processors
Topic: Where are the G4400 and i3-6100 reviews?
Replies: 41
Views: 9839

Re: Where are the G4400 and i3-6100 reviews?

I spent a good portion of the weekend researching the various Skylake i3's for htpc/router builds and found this review to be very informative. In particular check out the 2nd page measuring power draw - virtually no difference between the 47 watt chip and 35 watt. overclock3d dot net/reviews/cpu_ma...
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