Questions tagged [hardware-rec]

Hardware recommendation posts should discuss how to make hardware decisions for oneself. Direct shopping recommendations are off-topic and will be closed, so be very careful posting hardware recommendations. For specific hardware shopping recommendations, please post in the Hardware Recommendations StackExchange.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
4 votes
1 answer
5k views

What motherboard can support dual RTX 4090 GPUs? [closed]

I am trying to build a deep learning PC using the following parts: 2x MSI Suprim X RTX 4090 graphic card 1x Intel core i9 14900K CPU 4x 48GB DDR5 RAM (most likely G.Skill or Corsair @ 5600MT~6000MT) ...
1 vote
3 answers
3k views

M.2 M key SSD in a B key socket

My laptop has two M.2 slots -- one being a “M” key M.2 2280 and one “B” key M.2. The problem is I have two SSDs that are both "M" key. Is there an adapter or something where I can connect a "M" Key ...
1 vote
1 answer
16k views

My laptop already has a USB-C port, but it doesn't support display output. Can I upgrade it?

I have a Lenovo Ideapad L340 Gaming Laptop. The laptop has an existing USB-C port, but it is a Gen 1 port and therefore does not support display/video output. I would like to use my USB-C dock to ...
3 votes
4 answers
3k views

What is the best ways to duplicate DVDs in bulk?

I have some instructional videos I am getting ready to release on DVD and I want to know what is the quickest and most cost effective way to produce these in bulk? I am open to both customized PC ...
20 votes
4 answers
7k views

What is this type of SSD called?

I have a very old laptop that was state of the art when originally released, back when SSDs were starting to enter the consumer market. When I bought mine, it was advertised as a 500 GB SSD Ultrabook, ...
0 votes
0 answers
192 views

Motherboard B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC (MS-7B85) showing red VGA light but GPU is not the issue

Built computer 2019, parts below, been working OK. After shutting down my computer, it refuses to give signal to the monitor. This has happened before but I usually just need to restart it 5-20 times ...
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Convert Bluetooth Headset to 3.5mm Stereo Out And Mic In (Duplex)

I know stereo 3.5mm jack to Bluetooth dongles exist for Bluetooth headphones. But what if this is for a Bluetooth headset with a Mic? Are there Bluetooth dongles for line-in also? For example, my ...
0 votes
2 answers
429 views

In laptop with Windows 11 I can adjust screen brightness from Windows. In a desktop with Windows 11 I can't --- should I buy a new screen?

In laptop with Windows 11 I can adjust screen brightness from Windows but in a desktop with Windows 11 I can't. This causes me to get an "eye pain" from a "brightness flash" if I ...
1 vote
1 answer
757 views

Which SSD can be Used for the 2nd SSD for Acer Swift 3 OLED (SF314-71-75MW)

I posted this question here because of this post: Hardware questions and Stack Exchange I ordered a laptop for which I cannot find official information about compatible SSDs. It is an Acer Swift 3 ...
1 vote
1 answer
48 views

Name of a device for keeping connectors of cables together

I have a few cables which I connect and disconnect to a laptop of mine, always together. I want to force the ends of these cables - the connectors and a bit of slack cable length - to not come apart. ...
1 vote
3 answers
255 views

What hardware device do I need so I can connect my phone with an ethernet jack to my wireless internet

I have a telephone which has an ethernet jack in the back (it uses VOIP). It will sit on the 2nd story of my house. My wireless router is on the first floor of my house. What wireless adapters/...
0 votes
1 answer
262 views

Is SD Express more energy efficient than M2 NVMe?

As laptop storage, for example, what would be more energy efficient, the new SD Express class cards or M2 NVMes?
0 votes
1 answer
596 views

SAS RAID controller or SATA for typical Windows 10 installation?

I purchased an HP Z620 recently. It came with one Xeon CPU, 32GB of RAM, and an LSI SAS 9212-4i controller. I'm planning to install Windows 10 on a typical SSD drive (non-NVMe). This machine has 6 ...
3 votes
1 answer
3k views

Is there a touch mouse which uses tap to click? [closed]

Is there a mouse that supports tap to click, i.e. generate left and right clicks without mechanically pressing a button? I've tried the Microsoft Touch Mouse, while the extra features for making ...
0 votes
1 answer
53 views

How to assess if my network card needs replacement?

I have an old Acer Aspire V7 for some eight years now and I am looking to replace a few of its components to give it a couple more years of lifetime. One of its parts that always sucked is the network ...
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

How can I determine which underlying chip a wireless adapter uses?

I'm having trouble with my wireless adapter, at the heart of which there's a Ralink RT2760 chip for which I keep getting hardware errors. Now, it could be that it's just my specific adapter, but I'd ...
-1 votes
2 answers
117 views

Research for SSD hard drive for a cheap slow laptop

Laptop specification: HP 15-db1000AU notebook with 64 bit AMD Ryzen 3 2.6 GHz with Radeon Vega Graphics, 4GB RAM, 500 GB 5600 rpm HDD with Windows 10 Pro The computer is very slow (long bootup time, ...
-1 votes
1 answer
96 views

RAM Compatibility w/ Motherboard & CPU [duplicate]

This is a followup to the previous question I asked which was closed for having asked stuff that would be irrelevant in the near future. So. I'm a beginner to building my own computer, so sorry if ...
0 votes
0 answers
14 views

Standalone testing of proprietary device drivers: seeking advice on h/w setup

I am part of a large scale project which uses proprietary cards. The project had acquired these cards back in 2015 and at the time of acquisition, the drivers supplied (including source code which we ...
2 votes
1 answer
411 views

Using the sound card of a DVD player with a surround sound system for my monitor [closed]

I've recently acquired a DVD player with a built-in 5+1 Surround sound system from a family member. I have been using streaming services quite awhile now so I really don't need a DVD player. However I ...
0 votes
1 answer
102 views

What's the best affordable high-speed SSD Hard drive if I want to upgrade the laptop? [closed]

What's the best affordable high-speed SSD Hard drive if I want to upgrade the laptop? I am using a laptop (Model: Lenovo Ideapad 700-151SK) and I did replace the original hard drive with Western ...
1 vote
0 answers
346 views

Can anyone tell if it is m.2 PCIe gen3x4 port?

Can anyone tell is it PCIe gen3x4 m.2 ssd port? Will it support m.2 nvme ssd? Thanks.
0 votes
1 answer
225 views

Does leaving the GPU attached damage it if I never use it?

I've built my own server PC which has been up and running for about 2 weeks now. Since the initial setting-up of the OS, it has not been plugged into a monitor - I instead just access it via SSH from ...
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

Windows 7 home premium(64) hardware limitations

I'm one click away of buying Intel I7 Ivy Bridge 3770 3.4Ghz Gaming Pc Computer 1tb 16Gb GTX 550 Ti 1Gb Z11+ the computer is without Windows but I have extra copy of Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit. ...
0 votes
1 answer
928 views

Server NIC vs PC NIC

Are there any differences between a Server NIC and a personal computer NIC? Can I use Intel X710 NIC (for instance this model: FH-X710DA4FHBLK) on my PC without problem? Specific motherboard needed? ...
2 votes
1 answer
5k views

Is disabling GPU reasonable for saving power during non-intensive usage?

Consider having a upper mid-level gaming desktop PC that is (also) being used for casual work like text-editing, browsing, audio playback. Could disabling the GPU (via "Disable device" in ...
-3 votes
1 answer
173 views

Compatibility between motherboard and ssd

I have a motherboard Gigabyte GA-H61M-S1. It's very old and it was prebuilt. I need to put a SSD for it to boost faster and for my work. The problem is that I don't really know which SSD is compatible ...
3 votes
0 answers
2k views

Oldest Intel CPU generation that supports Zoom video conferencing

I am trying to recommend a laptop to someone who will have to use it for a lot of Zoom meetings. I have a personal and work laptop, and my personal laptop is overwhelmed with Zoom conferences (even 1:...
0 votes
2 answers
48 views

Multiple drives, multiple OSes with no access between

I want to get a few more hard drives for my PC to install different operating systems on them, but I dont want any of the operating systems to have access to the other drives. For example: OS A, only ...
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is it worth it to upgrade a Toshiba Satellite C55-A5300 laptop given the latest productivity software requirements?

I would like to upgrade a Toshiba Satellite C55-A5300 laptop so it can be as useful as it can be nowadays. I haven’t needed to use much software for a few years now, and I’m not able to gauge whether ...
4 votes
0 answers
163 views

As of late 2020, is optane still worth considering?

If I want very fast NVMe storage for general usage, is Optane still a good option? In the past, I read that Optane/3D Xpoint was superior in situations that didn't just require raw throughput, mainly ...
-1 votes
1 answer
60 views

How to pick a laptop suitable for Linux installation? [closed]

Besides Dell I can't find a laptop sold that comes with Linux/Ubuntu installed and Dell is quite expensive comparatively speaking. What should I take into consideration to pick a laptop that I know ...
0 votes
1 answer
300 views

Are Intel Xeon E5-4xxx generally compatable if a board supports E5-1xxx and E5-2xxx?

I have an ASUS X99-M WS motherboard that has a LGA2011-3 socket and explicitly supports a number of Xeon processors, including many in the E5-1xxx and E5-2xxx range (v3 and v4). It seems that the ...
0 votes
1 answer
56 views

Can I use any GPU with a given set of hardware (CPU, RAM, etc.)?

I'm thinking of upgrading my GPU (an AMD Radeon R7 200 Series) with something more modern to be able to play videogames and render videos faster. The thing is that I'm not planning on changing my ...
0 votes
0 answers
77 views

Can the optiplex 790 be either vertical or horizontal? [duplicate]

Not sure which of these I have: ...the Mini Tower, Desktop, Small Form Factor, or the Ultra Small Form Factor but it's probably either the mini tower or desktop. I can say that the DVD drive ...
1 vote
2 answers
36k views

How to know the maximum supported RAM on my laptop?

I have an Acer Aspire 5738 laptop (without Graphics Card; only on-board Graphics). It came factory produced with 3GB DDR3 RAM (2GB + 1GB) and only 2 slots of RAM (which as mentioned, are factory-...
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

How can I find out how much BIOS ROM memory a motherboard have (for Ryzen 3rd gen support)

How can I find out how much BIOS ROM memory, a specific motherboard have, when in the specs of most motherboards it isn't listed ? I'm searching to buy Motherboard with 32MB BIOS ROM, but I can't see ...
0 votes
1 answer
313 views

USB3 host controller type for PC purchase (Azure Kinect DK)

Question How can I check that a Windows computer that I want to order will have a USB3 host controller from Intel, Texas Instruments (TI), or Renesas? What spec determines the USB3 host controller? ...
1 vote
4 answers
2k views

Does a faster hard drive cause a laptop's battery to drain faster?

I currently have a slow 5400 rpm drive in my laptop and I am looking at installing a 7200rpm drive. The new drive is reported to be 100 times faster than the old drive. The traditional advice would ...
0 votes
0 answers
143 views

Can I be certain it is the GPU causing issues with my PC?

Recently my PC has been randomly restarting. Sometimes it just restarts automatically, other times it just sort of dies, leaving a black screen. Nothing I can do seems to be able to restore it other ...
5 votes
2 answers
913 views

Can I install USB 3.0 USB bracket and header if my motherboard does not support USB 3.0?

I have Gigabyte GA-H61M-S motherboard and it does not support USB 3.0. My computer case has USB and Audio module but, its not working anymore. So, I am thinking to replace it with a good quality ...
12 votes
7 answers
48k views

Maximum number of monitors Win 7 Supports?

I want to set up a system with (9) monitors arranged in a 3x3 grid. Is this configuration possible with Windows 7? Does it max out at a set number of monitors? Any suggestions about known working ...
0 votes
1 answer
865 views

Bottleneck - PCIe gen 3 x1 device on PCIe gen2 x2 slot

Is there a bottleneck between a device with PCIe gen 3 x1 connection if connected to a PCIe gen2 x2 slot?
1 vote
0 answers
270 views

RAID card not detected

I recently picked up an ASUS P8B-E/4L motherboard to replace a S3210SH (8GB RAM limit). My brother donated an old LSI SAS3444e(1068e) RAID controller which is meant to drive the 6SAS 2TB HDD in my ...
0 votes
0 answers
203 views

How can I check compatibility between AWUS amplifiers and antennas?

What I would like to do I want to build a powerful combo for pentests using wifi adapter, amplifier and antenna. I don't have bought those components yet because I have a few questions concerning ...
1 vote
1 answer
55 views

Temporary freezes even on small load

I have the following setup: ASUS B360M-E TUF Aura Sync Intel Core i7-9700K 4.9GHz 16GB DDR4 3000 MHz Dual channel memory NVidia GeForce GTX 1660 6GB DDR5 500GB SSD Western Digital Blue Chieftec E85 ...
83 votes
6 answers
53k views

Can Intel Optane memory compensate for less RAM?

I currently have a laptop that is about two years old, and has 8 GB of RAM. I use my laptop for internet browsing, productivity applications, and programming, including data science within Spyder or ...
0 votes
0 answers
77 views

What factors determine the video quality and audio quality of a laptop's HDMI output signal?

This is more or less asking what do I need to do to maximize the quality of an output HDMI signal? What computer/hardware has the best HDMI output? I find my Mac laptop has better video output than a ...
0 votes
1 answer
78 views

Make my Raspberry Pi 3 safely accessible from outside my local network

I have a Raspberry Pi 3 at home, and I want to use it to control some devices there. with remote access via the Internet so I can monitor and control those devices when away. What are the best ...
0 votes
0 answers
3k views

Installing PCI Gameport on newer PC for older joysticks

I have an older gameport version of a CH Products joystick that I plan to use on my Windows 10 Pro. I would use a gameport to USB adapter, but they all have very limited "space" for buttons/ hats and ...

1
2 3 4 5
7