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    posted a message on Your favourite song/music genre.
    d
    Posted in: Culture, Media & Arts
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    posted a message on Headset Mic Stopped Working
    I got a new headset like a month ago... I started getting some problems with the cord coiling around itself but it wasn't too bad. Then next thing I know it's a coiled mess and barely reaches from my computer to me, so I decided to take it out and try to straighten up the kinks. Did all that, thought everything was fine, then I plugged it back in and a small coil already came back. I untwisted the coil, and as soon as I did that I heard a sort of pop sound in my headphones similar to when I mute it or unplug the mic jack.... and now I don't have a mic. I can still listen through the headphones perfectly fine, just the mic has completely stopped working and picks up nothing. I tried different ports, I tried checking sound settings and everything but nothing worked. I'm pretty sure there's no fixing it but god damnit I may as well see if there's anything because I just effectively wasted 60 dollars only for this to break after a month.
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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    posted a message on I'm looking for a new headset
    I've had these Turtle Beach X11s for 2 years now... they've served me well but they're at their limit and hardly work now...
    I really have no idea what mic to get, so I figured I'd come here and see if you guys know of any.

    Preferably I'd like the headset to
    1. Be somewhat cheap. I'm not really willing to spend more than ~$50 on one.
    2. Have headphones which actually cover your ears. Meaning, something more similar to this rather than this.
    3. Coil-free cord. This was a huge problem with my X11s. There were times where I'd have to uncoil and stretch out my cord to reach me from my computer 2 feet away from me. Even though the cord could've easily reached across my entire room if it weren't coiled around itself. I won't be able to stand a headset if it's going to get like that again.
    4. Good mic quality. I will be using it for recording things like commentaries.
    5. This isn't a big deal, but preferable... having a switch on the headset itself to mute it.

    I think that's about all I'm looking for in a headset. I'm not really sure where to look, so if anyone has some recommendations, let me know. Worst comes to worst I might just pick up X11s again for like 30 dollars.
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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    posted a message on Transferring Windows 7 to a second HDD?
    So I picked up a new HDD and I need some way to get Windows 7 on it. I have a disc, and tried it, but the installation failed (presumably because it was scratched up, but I dunno for sure) so that's out of the question. Is there any possible way for me to just copy over Windows 7 to the new HDD?

    (Also preferably, is it possible to transfer just Windows 7? Cause I don't want to sit here for 3 days copying hundreds of GB of stuff.)
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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    posted a message on How does this build look?
    Quote from the_goofy_goober

    AMD processors work just as well as Intel processors in every day computing and gaming. Also, AMD will work for editing videos. I have an AMD Phenom II 1100T Black Edition (6 cores at 3.3Ghz), and it preforms very well while editing and rendering the gaming videos I make. Intel CPUs would only show there power when making videos with CG and LOTS of major editing.


    Yeah, I (used to) render a lot and I also have an AMD processor. It's definitely passable, but I've heard from a friend of mine with an i5 that he can do real-time renders, whereas for me, a render would take roughly 2 to 3 times longer than the video.

    That being said, I only have a Phenom II X4, I'd imagine an FX is much more comparable to an i5 than my old hunk o' junk, haha.
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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    posted a message on How does this build look?
    Quote from Hakumisoso

    Do you have to use microcenter? You can get better deals online and places like newegg typically ship in like 2 business days.
    Also, the build does need revising.

    He plans on heading up to microcenter tomorrow, so I'd imagine so.
    And do you mean it needs revising as in it's not as good as it could be, or needs revising as in there are incompatibilities?
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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    posted a message on How does this build look?
    My friend was looking to buy an Alienware, to which I promptly decided to be a smartass and tell him why he should build instead, so I came up with this.

    CPU: FX 6100 Black Edition 3.3GHz Hexa-Core Socket AM3+ Boxed Processor ... $109.99
    http://www.microcent...Boxed_Processor

    Motherboard: M5A78L-M LX PLUS Socket AM3+ 760G mATX ... $0.00
    http://www.microcent...AMD_Motherboard

    GPU: 02G-P4-2662-KR NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Superclocked 2048MB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 ... $199.99
    http://www.microcent..._x16_Video_Card

    RAM: HyperX Red 4GB DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800) CL 9 Desktop Memory Module (x2) ... $73.98
    http://www.microcent...p_Memory_Module

    PSU: PDA-750BW 750W ATX Modular Power Supply ... $69.99
    http://www.microcent...ar_Power_Supply

    HDD: WD Network Red 1TB IntelliPower SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (NAS) WD10EFRX ... $75.99
    http://www.microcent...RX_-_Bare_Drive

    Case: HAF912 Mid Tower ATX Computer Case ... $57.99
    http://www.microcent...X_Computer_Case

    OS: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit OEM ... $99.99
    http://www.microcent..._SP1_64-bit_OEM

    Monitor: e2252Swdn 22" LED Monitor ... $99.99
    http://www.microcent..._22_LED_Monitor

    Which comes to a total of around $800 - $820 with a mouse and keyboard. The computer itself, without the OS and without the monitor is around 580 dollars which is pretty good.

    He plans on going to microcenter, so that's why all of the prices are from there. (The mobo is $0.00 because it comes in a combo with the CPU) He said the Alienware he was looking into was about $854 and had an i5. The CPU isn't quite an i5 but if he isn't rendering videos or something, I figure an AMD CPU will do just fine. (I'm actually unsure of the comparison from that CPU to an i5, but I've always been under the assumption that most AMD processors are slightly worse than intel but cheaper)

    Are there any incompatibilities with this build? Anything that could be changed to be better? I'd prefer it not be much higher than the price now, as the whole point of getting the build was supposed to be because it was cheaper. I whipped it up in 20-30 minutes of just browsing, so I wasn't too thorough on finding the best deals.

    EDIT: I also realize I could cut down the 1TB to 500GB probably.
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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    posted a message on Your Music is not Superior Because it's More Emotional
    Quote from 23232323

    I disagree in part. Saying a song, like any work of art, is more emotional and therefore superior to another is a perfectly valid assessment.


    How so? Is the purpose of music to "be emotional"? Do we measure the quality of music via how many tears you cry when you listen to it?

    It's one thing to just plain be in the mood for "emotional" music sometimes. In that moment, maybe you are thinking you'd rather listen to a sad song. But it's another to claim that any song that is emotional is far better than ones that aren't. Like I said, some people listen to music for some emotional journey, others listen to music because it sounds good and it entertains them.

    Where you might listen to a song and think "wow, those lyrics are so deep. I love this song," others might think "I don't like this song. I listen to music for good sounds, not some sob story from a singer." I personally tend to lean towards the latter most of the time. I want to listen to rock n' roll because it just plain has an appealing sound to it. I want to jam out and enjoy the music. I'm not interested in reflecting on my personal emotional journey via music, that's not why I listen to it.

    So to pretend music is objectively better because of your subjective taste in songs is not a valid assessment.
    Posted in: Culture, Media & Arts
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    posted a message on Your Music is not Superior Because it's More Emotional
    This section is notorious for doing this.
    "I hate rap, I'd rather listen to my indie punk alternative band because their lyrics are meaningful"

    It's fine if you like that music, but don't pretend your music is somehow better because it's emotional. I personally don't really care if a song is emotional. If it sounds good, I'll enjoy it. Anything from AC/DC and Warrant all the way to Tupac and Biggie. I understand that people just plain don't have the taste for certain genres of music, for example I absolutely cannot enjoy screamo because of the singing. But to pretend your music is somehow better because it has a deep emotional meaning is ridiculous. Some people listen to music for that, other people not so much. Taste in music is subjective.

    Also, somewhat related, stop with the idiotic assumptions that all rap is about hookers and money. Sure a lot is, I'll be the first to say that there are a lot of horrendously bad rap artists out there. But I'll also be the first to say, there are rappers (like Tupac) that have several songs just as "deep" if not more so than your "super emotional indie underground postcore alternative band."
    Posted in: Culture, Media & Arts
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    posted a message on Help setting up SFML 2.1 with VS 2012?
    Can someone honestly just guide me through it, step by step like I'm a god damn 5 year old, on how to set this up.

    I tried this tutorial 3 different times, all of the times following it exactly and thoroughly... yet it didn't work. Then I gave a a shot, and yet again, after following it very carefully two times through, it doesn't work. I do everything the exact same as the tutorials, make sure I am very careful not to do anything differently. Yet it never works. I'm just about ready to give up on this already, it's so painfully frustrating when I sit through every last second of a 14 minute tutorial (with many pauses and backtracking to make sure I did it right) only to get a big slap on the face and a "­f you" from Visual Studio telling me how the same thing worked for him but not for me.

    So someone, please guide me like I'm a 5 year old on how to setup SFML, or alternatively, link me to a guide that actually works and troubleshoot for me if it doesn't work.

    EDIT: Okay, I gave it one more go. Again, not working. One of the errors I'm getting is "error C1083: Cannot open include file: 'SFML/Graphics.hpp': No such file or directory" which doesn't make sense because it very clearly exists..
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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    posted a message on Livestreaming with 2 Mbps Upload.
    Anybody got some tips on getting the best quality streams under 2 Mbps? I tried searching around, and didn't find much. I did read that 720p livestreams are actually possible under 2 Mbps but they didn't give settings so I don't know how true that is.

    I'm using XSplit, the quality is set to "10" and I've found that the max VBV max bitrate I can set is ~1200 kbps before I start dropping frames. Also, the preset is "veryfast", and the resolution is the default stage resolution.

    This is about the quality of what I have right now:


    Which is okay, but since I tend to do Civilization streams, it's not a type of game that is very watchable at 480p. Is there anything else I can modify to get better resolution? I've heard Open Broadcaster is good, but I've never given it a shot. Would it possibly increase quality?

    I'm basically just looking for the best possible setup for livestreaming with a bad upload speed.
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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    posted a message on Insanely Long Defrag (and some other questions)
    Quote from fm87

    Chkdsk can take a while. Run it overnight instead.

    You should be able to hit esc to cancel.

    Didn't work. And yeah, I did some math and stage 4 (what it's on now) will take 7+ hours at the rate it's going.
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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    posted a message on Insanely Long Defrag (and some other questions)
    (Forgive me for not responding to your other posts, I'm on my tablet and this thing is slow as hell)
    Anyways, is it possible to cancel chkdsk /r? I don't think it's going anywhere, it's been stuck at 16% on stage 2 for over an hour and a half now. I'd rather run it over night than be computerless all day.
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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    posted a message on Insanely Long Defrag (and some other questions)
    Quote from fm87

    Again, those examples do not use anywhere near as much CPU power as civ 5 does.

    You're comparing a moderately graphically intense game that chugs CPU power as if it were beer, to moderately CPU intensive games that chug GPU power as if it were beer.

    Yeah that makes sense. I would like to note though, I just ran speccy while playing for ~5 minutes and it appears that the GPU was having more trouble with temps than the CPU by the looks of it.


    Then again, it does appear that my idle temps (or at least my GPU) are a little too high for my liking... might have to do with running two monitors though.
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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    posted a message on Insanely Long Defrag (and some other questions)
    Okay, so I tried to do chkdsk /r
    and I got this

    I'm assuming I'll just have to wait till I restart before I can do anything with it?

    Quote from fm87

    Because JC2 is a console port and does not utilize a lot of CPU, while civ5 is running tons of code and math in the background and is designed for a PC with excess processing power.

    Well I suppose JC2 was a bad example. Most somewhat graphically intensive games that I own don't run nearly as hot as Civ 5. Civ 5 is pretty much running at temps you'd expect out of BF3 or Witcher 2. I suppose it could be because it's designed for PC like you said, but I don't recall it ever running at such high temps previously. I wouldn't guess that a strategy game, even with all it's math and code, would be as demanding as high-end games. I'm not an expert though, so I can't really be the judge on how it should and shouldn't be, haha. But it's particularly unsettling because I tend to play Civ for several hours at a time and I don't know if I'm burning out my PC by doing so. (I'll run speccy while playing and see some actual temps.)

    I also noticed that when my brother plays Civ 5 (on his far worse computer) it doesn't even make a sound. Then I play it and it practically sounds like an airplane taking off. Could have to do with the overall high temperatures in my area lately, but I dunno.
    Posted in: Hardware & Software Support
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