- Joined
- May 9, 2008
- Messages
- 504
I've seen a lot of threads with some common questions, this forum is very busy and I would like to help out witch each thread, but sometimes it's hard to keep track. I encourage anyone else to step into this thread with their experience and help me answer questions as well!
I'm not going to say I'm the guru on this forum, but I certainly do know a lot about hardware, building, and repairing a computer. Almost too much some would say. I would like it if everyone who has any sort of problem on their minds and is seeking advice to post here, or pm me on steam and or IRC. My steam id is nossr50, if you do not have me on your buddy list.
I'll start with a few basic rule of thumb questions a lot of people ask
Q) Can you help me with a budget of $500?
A) I can help you with any budget from $400 to $3000 for those of you who invest a lot of money into your machine.
Q) What operating system should I use?
A) I recommend XP for a lot of games, even the DX10 games, but if you have the horsepower and want to try out the DX10 features in a game Vista is fine as well, SP1 cleaned up a lot of Vista's issues but not all, be warned that you will generally get lower performance in DX10 mode. The optimal setup is to have one partition for windows XP, one for Vista, and if you like unix your favorite distro (Mine is ubuntu).
Q) I don't know anything about building a computer, can I build a computer?
A) Of course, building a computer is always intimidating for people doing it their first time, but it is actually very simple. There are many guides on the internet and each part you receive will have instructions, but you can also ask me. I prefer to talk with you in real time if you are currently building the computer, I live in the USA and I could call you or use Ventrilo to speak with you, I can also use IM clients, I don't mind which.
Q) Do you recommend manufactured computers?
A) To be honest, I would never recommend one. But I know some people have parents that aren't willing to take the risk, or they themselves aren't willing to. In this case I can review your budget and find you the best manufactured PC for your money, you will have to order it online most of the time.
Q) Do you have any recommended websites for information on hardware, prices, or tutorials?
A) Yes I do, I have a lot in fact!
For USA - Http://newegg.com
For Canada/USA - Http://tigerdirect.com
For other countries: You will have to do some google searching to find the best online dealer, 9 times out of 10 you will find parts at least half off on the internet.
For part reviews, and guides: www.tomshardware.com
For GPU comparisons: http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php
To see what's currently in your computer: http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php (This doesn't show everything)
Q) How do I tell what I have in my computer?
A) If you download the program CPU-Z it will tell you the most about your computer, alternatively using windows go to Start -> run -> Dxdiag to find out information there as well. CPU-Z will often give you the option to memory dump your information to an html or txt document, if you can upload that somewhere that would be great, another thing that helps is taking screenshots of all the tabs and information CPU-Z can show you.
Q) Will you be able to tell me what parts I should upgrade and or buy?
A) Certainly, beware that most manufactured computers have some severe bottlenecks when it comes to upgrading.
Q) What if my computer just isn't working?
A) I can easily help with that whether it's related to the hardware or software, it matters not to me. I suggest reading my note at the end of this thread and running an anti-virus and spyware scan first. If you are running unix, or macintosh you are better off finding someone more experienced than me to deal with those issues. I can help to some degree.
More common questions will be answered when they are needed.
Note: I cannot help you with viruses and spyware removal, there are many programs out there that can though! So if you are experiencing trouble on your computer that seems unrelated to hardware I suggest running a test and installing my favorite anti-virus AVG. You can use Ad-Aware or Spy Bot Search And Destroy to find ad-aware and spyware. If you have problems with your router or network, I cannot help there either, I can recommend calling your ISP and seeing if your connection works fine without the router, which would mean that the router is causing problems.
If I haven't gotten to your post and it's been at least 24 hours, you can email me at [email protected] or PM me on this forum to bring it to my attention. As always, for the other tech savvy members of eGO feel free to volunteer your help in this thread as well.
I'm not going to say I'm the guru on this forum, but I certainly do know a lot about hardware, building, and repairing a computer. Almost too much some would say. I would like it if everyone who has any sort of problem on their minds and is seeking advice to post here, or pm me on steam and or IRC. My steam id is nossr50, if you do not have me on your buddy list.
I'll start with a few basic rule of thumb questions a lot of people ask
Q) Can you help me with a budget of $500?
A) I can help you with any budget from $400 to $3000 for those of you who invest a lot of money into your machine.
Q) What operating system should I use?
A) I recommend XP for a lot of games, even the DX10 games, but if you have the horsepower and want to try out the DX10 features in a game Vista is fine as well, SP1 cleaned up a lot of Vista's issues but not all, be warned that you will generally get lower performance in DX10 mode. The optimal setup is to have one partition for windows XP, one for Vista, and if you like unix your favorite distro (Mine is ubuntu).
Q) I don't know anything about building a computer, can I build a computer?
A) Of course, building a computer is always intimidating for people doing it their first time, but it is actually very simple. There are many guides on the internet and each part you receive will have instructions, but you can also ask me. I prefer to talk with you in real time if you are currently building the computer, I live in the USA and I could call you or use Ventrilo to speak with you, I can also use IM clients, I don't mind which.
Q) Do you recommend manufactured computers?
A) To be honest, I would never recommend one. But I know some people have parents that aren't willing to take the risk, or they themselves aren't willing to. In this case I can review your budget and find you the best manufactured PC for your money, you will have to order it online most of the time.
Q) Do you have any recommended websites for information on hardware, prices, or tutorials?
A) Yes I do, I have a lot in fact!
For USA - Http://newegg.com
For Canada/USA - Http://tigerdirect.com
For other countries: You will have to do some google searching to find the best online dealer, 9 times out of 10 you will find parts at least half off on the internet.
For part reviews, and guides: www.tomshardware.com
For GPU comparisons: http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php
To see what's currently in your computer: http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php (This doesn't show everything)
Q) How do I tell what I have in my computer?
A) If you download the program CPU-Z it will tell you the most about your computer, alternatively using windows go to Start -> run -> Dxdiag to find out information there as well. CPU-Z will often give you the option to memory dump your information to an html or txt document, if you can upload that somewhere that would be great, another thing that helps is taking screenshots of all the tabs and information CPU-Z can show you.
Q) Will you be able to tell me what parts I should upgrade and or buy?
A) Certainly, beware that most manufactured computers have some severe bottlenecks when it comes to upgrading.
Q) What if my computer just isn't working?
A) I can easily help with that whether it's related to the hardware or software, it matters not to me. I suggest reading my note at the end of this thread and running an anti-virus and spyware scan first. If you are running unix, or macintosh you are better off finding someone more experienced than me to deal with those issues. I can help to some degree.
More common questions will be answered when they are needed.
Note: I cannot help you with viruses and spyware removal, there are many programs out there that can though! So if you are experiencing trouble on your computer that seems unrelated to hardware I suggest running a test and installing my favorite anti-virus AVG. You can use Ad-Aware or Spy Bot Search And Destroy to find ad-aware and spyware. If you have problems with your router or network, I cannot help there either, I can recommend calling your ISP and seeing if your connection works fine without the router, which would mean that the router is causing problems.
If I haven't gotten to your post and it's been at least 24 hours, you can email me at [email protected] or PM me on this forum to bring it to my attention. As always, for the other tech savvy members of eGO feel free to volunteer your help in this thread as well.
