General computer talk/advice

ah fuck the cringe dude
--- Post updated ---

 

Found a picture of my first real computer, not the PS/2 Model 30 I had when I was like 5 but the PC I actually played games n s**t on.



Still remember it's specs a Pentium 3 933mhz, 512mb of 133mhz ram, an Intel D815EEA2 motherboard, and a 128mb Nvidia TNT2 video card with a sound blaster live! sound card all built with used parts my dad gave me. I kinda miss that thing, got thrown away in like 2010 after years of reliable service. I've been looking for that case for years and never found one like it. I have fond memories watching southpark at 240p and playing Doom, Quake and even the Sims 2 on it but by that time it had some Athlon in it though. I remember that Athlon upgrade gave it a real kick in the nuts.

 

Not sure which one is stupid one, Windows or, me, but forgot to write up MAC address, which causes MAC to change and that of course causes Windows needing activation. Because Windows thinks being activated on other computer, I have to use phone to activate, naturally it is so that I don't have a phone to make life easy and simple

 

Just ordered parts for my new pc
Rip money

 

Luckily money never runs out, it just cycles around, avoiding my wallet like a plague!

So, what did you ordered?

 

Got a nice chair for my setup, going to be an improvement over the bare wooden floor against my bed And a desk, and I'm almost to a monitor.

 

After using my new power supply for a week i have to say im noticing performance gains in every game with it so i guess my old supply wasnt delivering the full power anymore

 

A ryzen build
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pdWvCy
I need to find a better monitor though, my current second screen for my laptop is a 1080/60hz one and a 1070gtx is overkill for that . But those higher resolution and refresh rate screens are so super expensive :/

 

Oh you silly one, just crank dynamic reflections up and it is solved cheaply

 

Score! A few free items I found:

 

is that a Dell Dimension 3100? they are well and truly awful to be honest, the motherboard only accepts Pentium 4s, and unless you do what i did (hacksaw the io shield away) then you can't replace the motherboard (i replaced the motherboard with one from an E520, and it has a Q6600 in it)

 

Do you guys play music/ game sound through headphones or speakers? Personally I am a big fan of speaker gameplay, but it does get quite obtrusive :/

On that note, what is the primary audio provision devise for your PC? I have a pair of Creative T40 Series 2 speakers, which are relatively unknown, but extremely good for their cheaper price-point as a mid range speaker set.

 

Im using a headset and like normal speakers more but because i use skype all of the time i cant use em

 

I have TPA3116 based amp, 3-way self made reflex cabinets with 8" woofers and huge enclosed sub from a car, I don't get that not enough boom some complain about higher rpm custom sounds sometimes, tends to be quite easy to get too much boom at lower end.

Sadly I have only Realtek ALC1150 producing sounds, I'm looking for new USB DAC headphone amp, which might work with TPA3116 just fine, but some say ALC1150 is quite ok, I'm not quite sure about that.

Tweeters or what you call them are really important to be balanced with rest of speakers, I had some cheap piezo things and it was hard to make out what words were spoken, yet again sung in a song, I had then second ones and those were equally bad, but not with high pitch horror, third ones work way I wanted to, clear without being glass shattering distorted.

I kind of strongly believe that any speaker made for computer use is not really very good, for the price of new computer speakers, one can pick up old amp and ok quality speakers used and get much better sound quality, but of course space is always an issue, especially with small rooms/desks.

Used active subs can be had for small money if you live in populated area, same with big amps and speakers, which would be even better in sound quality.

I mounted my speakers to wall, because simply there is no space on table for so big speakers, TPA3116 based amp is really small, especially compared to some AV amps which still would not drive passive sub, so always some compromises.

I don't need to use headphones, but let's be realistic, on city apartment, I would not invest to speaker setup, sound would travel to other apartments and that would just annoy people, so if I would live in a city apartment, I would get USB DAC + comfy headphones that are not for gaming or computer use, they might be fine, but I would look more what music shop or hifi shop would sell, so often gaming word adds to price of equipment.

It is same with motorcycling or any other hobby targeted product, look around and you get same performance for cheaper price, chain bar oil or bathroom cleaner works with motorcycle just fine with lot less cost, so be aware and very skeptical of anything branded for computer enthusiasts.

 

Headset. My audio setup is Is a Yamaha CR-620 Stereo Receiver hooked up via a USB DAC which powers two Wharfedale Triton 3 loudspeakers, or a pair of Dovedale W2's depending on what set I want to listen too. I'm a bit of an audiophile and love collecting vintage gear, not only because of the looks and quality of old gear but It's just generally a great way to get good sound for a decent price. You won't get something with the equivalent specs of my Yammie for £50, granted most of the modern gear £500 and up would blow my Yamaha out of the water.

 

Yeah a good DAC makes a world of difference. Good speakers are never going to sound good when fed a poor signal.

I have a hyperx cloud 2 headset which comes with its own usb DAC. Very good gaming headset for the price, sounds fucking great really though it's still not audiophile grade.
Did some testing of the supposedly 48khz 24 bit onboard DAC on my pc and the 16 bit 44khz usb DAC that the headset comes with, really does show off how much quality makes a difference as the 16 bit being a decent 16 bit DAC sounds better than the cheap crappy 24 bit.

 

I use Logitech Z5500's for my desktop with an Asus Xonar DX soundcard. An external DAC would have been nice but no one really seems to make surround sound PC dac's (haven't checked recently).

For my headphones I use Yammaha EPH-100's. They are kinda a pain in the arse these days due to their age and a slight design flaw in them but I still absolutely love the sound they make. They were discontinued a while back and according to most communities like headfi no one makes anything like them in terms of the sound signature and delivery.

Recently I have been considering a bluetooth speaker for use with my laptop, especially for when I go to my parents house or to use in the bathroom while in the shower. Currently I am at a loss between the JBL Flip 4 and the Denon Envaya Mini. The JBL flip 4 is brighter (in a bad way, sounds empty in the mids), has more bass, can go louder, waterproof with a longer battery life, the Denon has a sound signature that I prefer, better stereo seperation, is cheaper and smaller, but has battery issues and isn't waterproof so may not last long in the humid bathroom environment. The Flip 4 is also very difficult to buy in the UK at the moment since no one seems to be selling it yet.

I think I should cave and get the Denon. Hopefully a local shop with a price matching policy will have one I can listen to in person first though. Since you can only tell so much through videos.

However this guy's videos and massive database of bluetooth speakers is fantastic.


http://switcher.oluvsgadgets.net/

 

Yamaha is famous for making gear that has a completely flat, low distortion sound signature. Sterile is how I'd describe my Yamaha gear. It's why I love it so much.

 

I don't think I would class them as sterile since they are slightly V shaped afaik. But when paired with a matched stereo pair of SE1A's doing live monitoring it was disorientating as hell, since everything sounded just like real life but when I turned my head the directionality didn't change.

They are far far better than the Klipsch Image S4A2's I had before them though, they just fall apart and are too bass heavy imo, although klipsch's oval ear tips are very nice.

 

Tell me about it, it seems a lot of earphones and headphones are more bias towards bass, especially the cheaper ones. And even some not so cheap, cheaply built ones *cough* Beats by dre *cough* but then not many people who are looking for cheap 'cans care about quality. Just loudness and bass.