Random thoughts.... [Tech Edition]

JleeLink said:
Want to start learning a 3D modeling tool but cant decide if it should be 3DS Max or Maya
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Try both. Maya is multi platform though so it may be best to learn maya.
 
I'm actually considering getting a 13" MacBook Pro. Naive question to anyone that has one: does the battery really last 7 hours? :angel:

And how much better is the optional 9600M GT vs. the regular 9400? I don't plan to max it out playing Crysis, but I do want to watch HD movies and run Photoshop at a decent rate.
 
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BlaRo said:
I'm actually considering getting a 13" MacBook Pro. Naive question to anyone that has one: does the battery really last 7 hours? :angel:

And how much better is the optional 9600M GT vs. the regular 9400? I don't plan to max it out playing Crysis, but I do want to watch HD movies and run Photoshop at a decent rate.
Click to expand...
1) Well, the battery on my C2D Macbook gets, easily, 4 hours of use out of it, better if I turn everything non-essential off. I can only imagine that you'd get very close to 7 hours if your backlight was nearly off, no wifi, and no bluetooth.

2) My Macbook runs Photoshop quite well, and it'll even do 1080 HD on it's shitty little Intel GMA950 video card. Again, I can only imagine that a newer, better card shall do better.
 
Motherboard audio jacks:

http://img163.imageshack.**/img163/5184/capturemy.jpg

What do they all mean?
 
Orange: center/subwoofer
Black: rear
Grey: side channels
Blue: input
Green: front
Pink: mic
 
NecroJoe said:
Could you imagine the case you'd need to support 2 CoolerMaster V8s? :lol::lol::lol:
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You mean something like some of these cases.

Though I'd imagine someone buying that board would at least be putting the processors under water cooling, possibly phase change.
 
Oh, so all the other slots are for surround sound systems? My speakers only plug into the green jack, but surround sound systems will plug into each jack (except pink)?
 
^Except pink (mic) and blue (line in).
 
Apparently, all I need to connect my PC speakers to a PS3 are these:

31F8yarIIHL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

31pj2%2BkCazL._SL500_AA280_.jpg


As demonstrated in this video:

[YOUTUBE]PyfrTf8Ezig[/YOUTUBE]

As some of you may know, I am wondering if my new monitor has built in speakers so I can just plug in the PS3 via the HDMI port and both audio and video would work. The thing is, I am not sure about the monitor having speakers, and they wouldn't be that great anyway compared to my normal PC speakers (because, well, they're monitor speakers :p).

So basically, I would like to know which stores would sell these (I don't want to pay shipping for such small, inexpensive things). Do electronic stores like Future Shop and Best Buy have them?

Even though the sound will be coming from the old school RCA (red, yellow, white) cables, and won't be as good as normal HDMI audio coming from a big HDTV (or maybe PC speakers with a subwoofer, like mine, are even better than HDTV speakers...:dunno:), I think it should be just fine. :D
 
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Are they the built in speakers on the TV? I've heard not-so-good things about those. A good set of computer speakers with a sub would easily be better than the normal TV ones. What level of surround sound are you looking for?
 
You don't understand. :lol:

I'm just comparing sound quality between built-in HDTV and monitor speakers and normal PC speakers with a subwoofer, I'm only planning to connect my 2 normal speakers w/ subwoofer (not surround sound, I was just wondering what all those jacks on the mobo are for) to a PS3.

According to that video, all I need is two small adapters to get it to work.

I plug the red and white (yellow is video, don't need that because my monitor is HDMI) RCA cables from the PS3 into this:

31pj2%2BkCazL._SL500_AA280_.jpg


Then I connect the green connector from the speakers and the adapter above with this coupling:

31F8yarIIHL._SL500_AA280_.jpg


And it should work, right?

Edit: I couldn't find any local stores that sell those, so I would have to get them from ebay, I found these so far, are they the correct ones I need?

3.5mm Female to 3.5mm Female Coupler Extender Adapter

2 RCA Female to RCA Male Audio Converter Adapter24KGold

Edit 2: I even made my own guide just now. :lol:

http://img22.imageshack.**/img22/8393/8350v6.jpg

Is that all there is to it?
 
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^ Yes. I see nothing wrong with that. Very cheap parts, too.

My question:
I am soon to upgrade my computer, and I shall be transferring to a Laptop. This is likely to have a 320gb HDD, while I would like a 500gb one. I know it is possible (and easy) to replace the internal one, but I don't want to void any warranties.
So I was wondering if it is worth getting an external hard drive. If so - are there any specific makes that I should avoid/go for?
 
BlaRo said:
I'm actually considering getting a 13" MacBook Pro. Naive question to anyone that has one: does the battery really last 7 hours? :angel:

And how much better is the optional 9600M GT vs. the regular 9400? I don't plan to max it out playing Crysis, but I do want to watch HD movies and run Photoshop at a decent rate.
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I heard it's more close to 5/6 hours, which still isn't bad :-D

The 9600M GT is only available on the 15"!
The 9400M is still a pretty decent chipset, it handles 1080p HD movies in Quicktime without problems (and has a decent enough processor to handle them in VLC mplayer as well). Photoshop doesn't rely much on the graphic processor yet, so the more processing power / RAM you have, the better Photoshop will be able to run.

One word of warning though, I heard a lot of horror stories about Photoshop CS3/4 and Snow Leopard.
 
Speedtouch said:
^ Yes. I see nothing wrong with that. Very cheap parts, too.

My question:
I am soon to upgrade my computer, and I shall be transferring to a Laptop. This is likely to have a 320gb HDD, while I would like a 500gb one. I know it is possible (and easy) to replace the internal one, but I don't want to void any warranties.
So I was wondering if it is worth getting an external hard drive. If so - are there any specific makes that I should avoid/go for?
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The only thing I would think about is if you want to run it all the time or not. My laptop only has 3 built in USB ports. I wouldn't want to have 2 of them tied up with the HD all the time. Of course if you're running from a desk anyway you can just get a hub. I tend to compute from my lap.
 
As always right after Xmas LAN, my Logitech mouse decides I put too much strain on the wheel and decides to pretty much quit. I fucking love Logitech, but this is the 3rd year in a row thats happended now... 2 times with the LX8 that came with my desktop pro (been able to repair it once myself), and now its the MX1100 I had for 6 months...

//edit: Also, I'm an idiot and messed up a simple FW upgrade on the dsl modem. it updated forever, and afterwards had the same old FW. and because I moved the fucking thing the cabel to my apartment came loose and it took me like 15 minutes of shuffling back and forth down 2 flights of stairs 2 in the fucking morning to figure that out.
When I reconnected the router connected to it in my apartment, I forgot to replug the router to the wall socket from the basement... Another 10 minutes...
Now I'm drinking beer because I feel too stupid to be able to sleep...
 
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Speedtouch said:
^ Yes. I see nothing wrong with that. Very cheap parts, too.

My question:
I am soon to upgrade my computer, and I shall be transferring to a Laptop. This is likely to have a 320gb HDD, while I would like a 500gb one. I know it is possible (and easy) to replace the internal one, but I don't want to void any warranties.
So I was wondering if it is worth getting an external hard drive. If so - are there any specific makes that I should avoid/go for?
Click to expand...

You can change hdd in some laptops without voiding warranty. (atleast my Fujitsu was like that, they even provide instructions how to do it).

Anyway, I have a Buffalo external HDD. It had a Seagate drive, but it broke after 2 years.
 
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