Recent content by brownbat

This is reposted from LinuxTechTips user Queek, but given the number of forum posts I've seen wondering about solvents without an authoritative answer, I thought it'd be useful to include something here from an actual chemist. Isopropyl alcohol (otherwise known as rubbing alcohol or surgical...

Check out the chemist's guide to cleaning computer parts: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/175677-faq-can-i-use-______-to-clean-my-pc-components-the-go-to-answer/ tl;dr - isopropyl (98% or greater) is your best bet, link discusses risks of other options. You can get high concentration...

> A true benchmark would involve testing between multiple systems. I'll leave that to you...:) I actually really do want to benchmark this, even though it's a completely academic question of no real practical value. There may be something wrong with me...

Thanks for your reply, I can see now a little clarification would help. > Don't base a parts list on speed of application install. As I said, this isn't for a build (it's not in the build section for a reason). This is a question about how hardware affects installation times (if at all). Think...

If you wanted software installation to be as fast as possible, would you prioritize a new CPU (because installs involve a lot of unpacking compressed files), or a new SSD, maybe m.2 (because installation requires writing a lot of files)? This is probably dependent on the particular program, and...

Sorry you don't have an answer yet. SpaceMarine2142 asks a similar question here (where I have basically the same answer): http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3062623/600-build.html GamersNexus had a few builds focused on Overwatch at different price tiers (all below $1k)...

Sorry you don't have an answer yet. ValiantFlame asks a similar question here: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3065635/overwatch-computer-build.html GamersNexus had a few builds focused on Overwatch at different price tiers (all below $1k)...

Purpose: By day, this box will sit in a room and stream Hulu (for maybe 10 hours a day - endurance is helpful). It's alter ego: LAN party guest once a month for Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch. I don't need Ultra settings. I could even be sweet-talked into medium if absolutely necessary...

Good article, but I wish it would have included RAID 0 setups.

Thank you both, the additional info was very informative, palladin.

Best answer selected by brownbat.

Oh, RAID 0, btw. (Sorry!)

I'm in Windows 7, have a couple 40g Intel SSDs, Intel i5-750 processor, and an ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 mobo. I've never set up a RAID before, but it seemed easy to do through the BIOS, so I set up RAID 0 there. Now I notice rozar's comment* that BIOS managed RAIDs are maybe far less efficient...

I'm wondering about this too. I think the standout differences I can identify are port selection (lots of cable friendly stuff vs. lots of PC speaker audio jacks and a VGA port you should never use), better built in speakers are likely on the TV, possible built in tuner on the TV (? can't...

Best answer selected by brownbat.