The Computer Question Thread

[Lone_Bullet]

Finally new monitor. 

Dell S2417DG.

expensive thing but I needed a new monitor that will ( hopefully ) last a while.

 

We'll see...

[paranoiddroid]

Ok a further post in the lenovo t510 saga.

 

The registry issue is fixed via format and reinstall from scratch

 

Now when it starts up the mouse works but as soon as you get into windows it stops letting you click the left button

 

Drivers are the current drivers all settings show it as working so there's nothing wrong BUT it doesn't work all the tine

 

At times it works it seems arbitrary current theory is since the F8 key is next to the jammed key that that's doing something disabling the trackpad button so does that key have an affect on the mouse?

 

And I need a source for a new keyboard is ebay gonna br the best option

[amateurstuntman]

It depends, does it have a picture of three rectangles in blue on it?

 

That's the input method cycler.

[paranoiddroid]

Yeah it turned out to do something with the ultraNav pointing system. So sorted that and now fixed the microsoft update issue so its actually thinking like its a true lenovo machine so my biometric stuff will work which is nice

 

Ok I need a recommendation for a mechanical gaming keyboard and a gaming mouse.

 

 

Is a razor for £80 secondhand a good deal? (from a pc shopthats a gaming pc specialist with the original box and its ben refurbished and cleaned and stuff)

 

Also has anyone seen anything on 'cougar' gaming keyboards - german made they offer mechanicals but also do some weird hybrid 'scissor switch key' that's half mechanical key half electronic key sensor.

 

If I go mechanical im thinking MX Cherry switches is what i want for speed and feel whilst still having the security of being hard to trigger an accidental key is that about right?

 

How is Ebay for ordering Spares/repairs for Lenovo stuff? Iv been screwed before ordering parts off ebay for laptops so just double checking.

[amateurstuntman]

OK, is the £80 for a keyboard or a mouse?

 

That's too much for a mouse.

This is a flippin' great mouse:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00N93QXIS

 

Keyboards are pricey, I like the Ducky Shine.

 

Any keyboard with Cherry switches is good though.   There are more than just one type though.

There are a load of colours for tactile or linear and clicky or silent or combinations thereof with different spring tensions.

 

A lot of gamers like red, silent linear.

I prefer blue or green, clicky and tactile.  Green are stiffer than blue.

 

 

I have a switch tester if you want to borrow it.

[Tinkerton]

that you've still not posted to me yet. grumble.

[hitmanNo2]

I have a switch tester if you want to borrow it.

Don't all Humans come with 10 switch testers as standard?

[amateurstuntman]

I knew I was going to post it to someone.

 

OK, whoever gets it first posts it to the other one.

 

Who wants it first?

[Tinkerton]

send it to droid first, she's likely more in a position to purchase a mechanical keyboard than I am right now.

[paranoiddroid]

whats the switch tester for?

 

my next purchase will be the new Lenovo keyboard for the laptop and the mechanical keyboard for gaming will be second and the £80 was the price for this,

 

http://www.razerzone.com/gb-en/gaming-mice/razer-naga-epic-chroma

 

second hand but, the box was there, it has barely been used and its had a full refurb from the factory.

[amateurstuntman]

Do you need the MMO buttons?

I personally hate them.

 

Also, it is very expensive because it has RGB (colour select) lighting.  If you do not need that then the non-chroma version of the same mouse is cheaper.

 

 

Which Lenovo keyboard are you thinking of?  I have the UltraNav USB travel keyboard in the leather sleeve that I have no use for, you can have it for a few quid.

 

A switch tester is block of buttons (in this case a number pad) that has different switches for each button so you can press them and feel and hear which ones you like the most.

Mine has the most popular Cherry switches, the Razor ones, some Gateron ones and some others for you to test so you can pick a keyboard with the switches you like the most.

 

The differences are marked.  It is fairly important.

[paranoiddroid]

OOH then I am VERY interested in trying the switch tester out.

 

the keyboard is the actual laptop keyboard of a Thinkpad T510.

 

honestly I hate the lighting stuff on gaming kit, not really something I am too bothered about.

 

 

the MMO style quick access buttons, I dunno really I'm left handed but use a mouse in my right out of habit as every system I have used has been setup for left handers. I could do with a couple of buttons on the mouse that I can assign for use when playing fallout type games and fps games.  

 

(Reload, Interact, grenade throw, maybe hotkey assign a few weapons and health/drug items rather than using the numpad option.

 

most of my mates play MOBO and MMO games and I do struggle at times with speed when getting combos of attacks timed right with a basic keyboard and mouse so liked the idea but as I haven't used them nopt really sure how well they'd work vs getting on my nerves in practice.

 

the ROCCAT Nyth looks interesting with the ability to swap and tailor buttons based on needs at the time

 

the madcatz stuff looks like its dropped off another planet plus from my console years I don't really trust madcatz gear,

 

its all got a bit complicated with type of mouse grip being a thing when picking a mouse.  I guess I'm at the stage of just starting with the high end gear and getting a bit lost 

[amateurstuntman]

Understandable.

 

It can be a bit intimidating.  Ask any questions you want.

[paranoiddroid]

ok so what exactly do the mouse grip style questions mean and with the weight change stuff does adding or removing a 6g weight make a massive difference in feel?

 

secondally with the mouse buttons being programable is that handled outside of the game or inside the gameas and are all games going to be compatible with the options and if I map say the reload button and the Critical button to the buttons mounted on the side of the mouse does that disable the button on the keyboard or does that mouse button just offer a secondary option for triggering it? With keyboards that offer additional 'macro buttons/ when I go into the games control settings if I select say grenade aim and set it for Macro button one, will the games controls editor recognise that button exists the same way it does when you press say, Q when it prompts you to press the key you wish to assign.

 

Similarly both the Razor the MadCatz and the Noccnx mouse offer a button which basically fools the right mouse button into thinking its being held down to allow for you to say in WOW move the camera freely without having to constantly hold the button down. Is a setting like that something all games will recognise and is dealt with by the mouse driver or will I have to go into the games settings to allow.

 

I have seen some of the MMO mouses coming with plugins that allow you to map buttons for WoW from within the game, the same way that you drop and place buttons on the number bar from the spell/ability book normally.if a game doesn't have that plugin how do I program my setup, tabbing in and out of the game and using the mouse software or will the computer recognise in the games settings that I have these extra buttons accessible

 

looking at keyboards, why do they offer a metal key upgrade kit for the WSAD buttons does that give those buttons sufficiently different a feel that someone gaming could tell the difference?

 

Thye final questions for now, Would you go wireless or wired for both Keyboard and Mouse? (I'm going to want long cables in general for when I'm ill and playing from bed and I hated how slow my usb mouse was in 2009) what is the superior connection for pepherials Serial or USB, does USB vs USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 make a difference in the speed imputs are registered by the machine and when it comes to mice, what is best for gaming, the laser, the ball or the other one?

[amateurstuntman]

Grip style is a palm grip or claw grip or hybrid.

 

Do you hold the mouse with the finger tips or the whole hand?

 

6g makes a big difference to the inertia and centre of balance.

 

Programmable buttons depends on the device, some things need a piece of software running in the background, some have a program that tells the mouse which button presses to send.

I prefer the latter.

 

Without wanting to pry, how are your legs? Could you use a foot pedal?  I have a 4 button gaming foot pedal I don't need that you could have for a few quid.

It is called a Stinky.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stinky-Gaming-Footboard-Foot-Controller/dp/B00EOPT5ZS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479893963&sr=8-1&keywords=stinky+foot+pedal+computer

 

 

You can set that thing to button presses natively and use that together with Autohotkey with it to control macros.

 

Autohotkey can do all specialist gaming input macros and such you could need.  Including all the WOW stuff.

 

 

If you get a keyboard with Cherry switches then yes, you can get a million different specialist buttons for WASD.

I prefer a rubberised finish, you can get textured buttons too.  I have seen full metal but they are discontinued:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/eSports-Silver-Metal-Cherry-Switches/dp/B017LYD5UY 

 

You should be able to find vapour deposited chrome finish plastic buttons.

 

To find them, you need to search for Cherry Key Caps.

 

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/keycap-mod-packs/wasd-cherry-mx-keycap-set.html

 

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/printed-keycap-singles/textured-cherry-mx-keycaps.html

 

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_30416.html

 

 

 

Keyboard - Wired 100%

Mouse.  I go wired, however some people like a wireless mouse.

 

Linus did a sponsored video about Logitech and the new G900.

The claim is that there is zero noticeable lag.

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/576974-wireless-mouse-technology-testing/

 

I still like a wire though.  A braided one.

Seriously, the mouse I linked to is Boss, it has user swappable Omron switches and a 3988 (see below).

 

 

Input, USB is the standard.

No keyboard can fill A USB3 bus, some can have a higher polling rate on a USB2 bus.

Keyboards using PS/2 naturally have n Key rollover, not all USB boards have it so make sure you get one that does.

 

No balls darling, all mice should be laser.

You should look for one that has the Pixart PMW3366 or PWM3988 sensor in it, the PWM3310 is nearly as good.

 

 

Hope that helps...

[paranoiddroid]

Dang it the stupid net crashed ok retyping.

 

So my grip using finger tips and resting heel of the palm on the rear of the mouse body is pretty much a claw grip.

 

I'd prefer to go wired but may need longish cables for when I'm laid in bed unwell (I'm getting a trolley type desk thing to use just as soon as I can find one that doesn't look like a hospital tray table)

 

The foot pedal could be ysable depending on how I'm sat/feeling etc would have to have a think about setup.

 

Omrom switches are the user assignable imputs right? That you can tailor to your prefered triggers/setup.

 

As for mice does the type of pad still affect what you have to use? (last time I really looked at anything laser vs ball vs the other one was limited based off what your desk/surface was like) i tend to prefer the thin grippy surface of an mtg playmat usually. Taking my own to lan events to stop the keyboard sliding.

 

I'm a bit confused by what you meant software vs program do you mean one option is something constantly running in the background that translates for the game so the thing goes mouse button i put - software - game vs a piece of software that is setup once then is done and the game registers the imputs directly?

 

It seems like as soon as I ask something it leads to three more questions and i must sound massively useless/thick here.

 

Iv just decided if I'm building something/throwing money into a setup then i may as well upgrade the experience beyond the £20 keyboard and mouse combos iv always used.

 

Final question n-rollover?

[amateurstuntman]

The mouse I linked to has an interchangeable cable, you can use the supplied one or a 5m one if you like.

Good keyboards have that too.

 

Omron make switches, they are a quality Japanese manufacturer with a good reputation.

Usually the switches are soldered to the logic board, on the mouse I linked to they are a push fir.  They are just the switches for the left and right click.

 

Modern optical mice with the above mentioned sensors will work on damn near anything, I use mine on a plain black neoprene mouse mat big enough for the keyboard to go on too.

Non-slip, great minds etc.

 

What I meant is that some things will need a program running in the background and some things (like the stinky foot pad) have a companion program that tells the pad what signals to send for each key press and the on board electronics do that.

The Microsoft X-Box elite controller is like that which is handy because you can only program it on a Win 10 computer but I use mine on a Win 7 computer.

Any time I want to reprogram it I have to move it onto the other computer.

 

 

N-key rollover is a thing left over from how some cheaper USB keyboards register inputs.

So, a lot of keyboards have a system that knows which column and row of button you have pressed i.e. if you press "S" it knows you pressed the 3rd button in on the 4th row down, or whatever.

That works fine when you type but doesn't work in games where you could be holding down multiple buttons simultaneously.

 

Crappy keyboards might have 4 key rollover where they promise to work if you hold 4 buttons down but might bork out and go nuts if you press 5.

 

Good keyboards will have a high quality controller and design features that mean you can hold down as many keys as you like and it won't go bonkers and start sending all sorts of key presses you didn't ask for.

[paranoiddroid]

Aaaah that make more sense and urrgh that programming sounds like a pain for the Xbox controller its a nice controller though

[amateurstuntman]

I really want to watercool my PC.

 

Please tell me it is a stupid, pointless waste of time.

[Lone_Bullet]

It's stupid and pointless.

Aircooling cools just as well for the CPU now-a-days, is more maintenance intensive, quieter and involves no risk.

 

Get some Noctua's or equal performing brands and a blower style GPU.

 

 

[DrAlexanderTobacco]

^^^^^^^^ Lone Bullet's nailed it IMO. Water-cooling sprung up during a dearth of air-cooling innovation. Now air-cooling's caught back up again.

[Lone_Bullet]

Not to mention the nice high performance look of huge nickel plated cooling towers!

 

Wish Noctua would do GPU cooling...

 

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

[amateurstuntman]

I am stuck with my 1080 and when overclocked it sounds like a jet engine.

[Horsem4n]

Don't want an aftermarket cooler like this?

 

https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=9SIA2W05287015&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-Mobile&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-Mobile-_-pla-_-VGA+Cooling-_-9SIA2W05287015&gclid=Cj0KEQiA7qLDBRD9xJ7PscDCu5IBEiQAqo3BxCIv-9au87sGUlpnhPMZVZBdWas1nqmYtTl02Rz2wVkaAoWl8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

[amateurstuntman]

Eh, that looks like the cooler I already have.

I'm starting to feel a bit of buyer's remorse on this classy, there just isn't any support, I'd probably have been better off with an FTW card but at the time of purchase there was only £20 between them.