Recent content by taterworks

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    Dell Optiplex FX160 - No HDD Spin Up

    Gosh, it's been a while since I've been in here, but I've got an issue that is perplexing me. I have a Dell Optiplex FX160 that I bought to convert into a linux-based FLAC audio-streaming client, and the machine I bought had no HDD, only the NVRAM. I bought a hard drive kit (including the...
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    RAID 5 Problem: GeForce 9300 (Nf 730i) - Blue Screen

    Hello Gentlemen (& Ladies), I've run into a perplexing issue while attempting to set up a RAID 5 array in my home theater PC. The intrinsic backup provided by the RAID 5 scheme is more attractive than needing to have a 1TB drive on standby just to back up a 1TB HD. The system drive will be a...
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    75 watt RMS receiver into 50 watt RMS speakers

    Going a little further: A clipped sine wave causes tweeters to fry first because it introduces a great deal of upper-frequency harmonics to the musical signal (which occurs as a result of the hard 'knee' where the amplifier's output hits the rails). The tweeter's lightweight voice coil can't...
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    75 watt RMS receiver into 50 watt RMS speakers

    Right, clipping blows voice coils because it causes the chopped-off parts of the sine wave to begin to look more like a square wave. Even though the amplifier no longer has the headroom to track the waveform beyond the ability of the amp's power supply rails to supply voltage, the amp's output...
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    Speaker bass port question

    No, in the case of the B&W, those plugs are definitely there to help the speakers integrate with a sub, not for an intended aperiodic damping alignment. Having designed a few aperiodic boxes myself, a foam-filled port is far from ideal for an aperiodic vent. If you were using these speakers...
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    Secret BOSE Technology Revealed.

    There's a How It's Made episode about speaker drivers somewhere on YouTube if you're interested in learning how it's really done. It was filmed at the Canadian pro audio manufacturer Belisle Acoustics, who makes their own drivers for their "Transparence" brand of pro audio speakers. Some...
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    Component -> HDMI adapter

    It's called a 'transcoder', and it isn't cheap. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe...fm?&Partnumber=252-140
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    Need advice on speakers

    I'm personally a fan of Definitive Tech's ProCinema series speakers. You can get them locally, if you have a Best Buy with a Magnolia home theater shop inside. Try the ProCinema 600 system. Their design is tasteful -- I've always found the KEF eggs too 'weird'-looking for me. You ought to be...
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    Recommend a system build for me

    I'd say so. I'm not sure how long it's been since you've looked at processors, but things are quite different from the way they were in the days of Intel's NetBurst-Into-Flames architecture and the Pentium 4. These days, new processor architectures place more emphasis on efficiency, doing more...
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    Can I get away without a fan on a tower cooler?

    The two coolers to use for this sort of thing are the Scythe Ninja Plus and the OCZ Vindicator. Not every tower cooler is as suitable for fanless operation as another, since fin spacing also plays a role in the heatsink's effectiveness under passive convection. If the fins are spaced closely...
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    My new computer parts, are they any good?

    I probably don't really have to tell you this, but if you aren't planning a RAID array, a single 500GB drive will be easier to work with (you can partition it if you really want multiple "drives") than two separate 250GB drives. So, you'll probably want to go to a single 500GB drive. I've long...
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    If I was lacking power in my PSU...

    There is no technical reason why your power supply would cause your computer to run more slowly. Your PC will either run fine, or experience random restarts, or not boot at all, but it won't simply run slower if there are power problems. Look elsewhere for the cause of your issues. I'm quite...
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    Antec Solo Front Panel Grounded?

    The Solo's front panel features an aluminum layer that is adhesive-bonded to a plastic panel, like the P180. There's a nice large (1-1.5mm) buffer region between the aluminum panel and the front ports that is just plastic. However, if you received a static shock, all that charge had to have gone...
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    Can someone please recommend a good heatsink/fan for an ATI X800 video card?

    Surprisingly, Thermaltake's recent TMG coolers are actually very quiet. You could use the TMG AT1 for your particular card.