CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Non-Audio Stuff => The Geek Cave: Home Theatre, Computers, and More! => Topic started by: Luckbad on September 24, 2015, 12:20:29 AM
-
I know of three manufacturers who talk about clean 5v power into all or some of their USB ports: Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte.
I've been having motherboard problems, so I used my protection plan to replace my motherboard with a Gigabyte Z97X Gaming GT.
It has USB DAC-UP on two ports.
I thought that just meant clean 5v power to them, but I was happy to discover another bios setting: You can turn off the power on those ports!
If you have a self-powered dac, you can give it a super clean signal. That's awesome.
-
Finally have the new motherboard running completely with Windows 10. Good lord it sucks to go to Windows 10. You can't just install Windows 10 if you get the free upgrade--they literally make it impossible even if you hang out on the phone with them for 2 hours (I tried).
You have to install your previous version of Windows, then likely you will have to get all of the latest updates (I had to this time, I didn't last), then you can install Windows 10 on top of it. What a pain. I guess this is how they're going to sell copies (make you give up after a few reinstalls).
Now... I don't have a DAC to plug those fancy ports into. I had to sell all my best crap for now so I'm just using a sound card.
-
Well ... you do get Win10 for free. And once you have performed the upgrade from a running Win7 or Win8 system you're free to install Win10 from scratch as many times as you want. Turns out (shocker!) Microsoft isnt in the business of giving their product away for free to just about anyone, instead they only give it away for free to users who have bought from them inside the last six years (!). How dare they, right?
-
I've been having motherboard problems, so I used my protection plan to replace my motherboard with a Gigabyte Z97X Gaming GT.
It has USB DAC-UP on two ports.
I thought that just meant clean 5v power to them, but I was happy to discover another bios setting: You can turn off the power on those ports!
If you have a self-powered dac, you can give it a super clean signal. That's awesome.
That is very cool. I thought it just had some slightly cleaner power as well.
-
Clones Audio has a power supply for the Mac Mini
http://www.clonesaudio.com/#!product/prd1/4303637915/power-station-mac-mini-spec.
It's basically a linear regulated 12V supply
-
Well ... you do get Win10 for free. And once you have performed the upgrade from a running Win7 or Win8 system you're free to install Win10 from scratch as many times as you want. Turns out (shocker!) Microsoft isnt in the business of giving their product away for free to just about anyone, instead they only give it away for free to users who have bought from them inside the last six years (!). How dare they, right?
Sadly this is only half true. First, you can't clean install Windows 10 ever if you upgrade for free. You always have to upgrade from an activated installation of Windows 7 or 8, which is a hassle (especially if you have to get the latest updates, which I did this time. It takes like 4-8 hours to install Windows 10 because of it). We also don't yet know what happens after the 1 month expiration of your previous install that they've talked about (you can downgrade back to your previous Windows for a month after installing 10). Does it eat your key and you can never install Windows 7/8/10 again? That's the suspicion. Nobody knows because they won't give a straight answer.
In any case, it's a cool idea and nice move to get people to try Windows 10. I just hope it isn't a kiss/curse. First crack is free. Want to reinstall Windows 10 OR the version you upgraded from? Oops, you have zero Windows keys now and owe use $200 this time.
-
I suspect after the 1 month window they delete the Windows.old folder, so you can't go back without pain and suffering.
-
Sadly this is only half true. First, you can't clean install Windows 10 ever if you upgrade for free. You always have to upgrade from an activated installation of Windows 7 or 8, which is a hassle (especially if you have to get the latest updates, which I did this time. It takes like 4-8 hours to install Windows 10 because of it). We also don't yet know what happens after the 1 month expiration of your previous install that they've talked about (you can downgrade back to your previous Windows for a month after installing 10). Does it eat your key and you can never install Windows 7/8/10 again? That's the suspicion. Nobody knows because they won't give a straight answer.
Thats untrue. Here is how it works:
Somewhere deep inside the OS internals is your windows serial key. That serial key determines which version of windows you're authenticated to run (e.g. 7 Home or 7 Enterprise or 8 Professional etc. [it is agnostic towards x86/x64 however].) Once you run the upgrade routine for the Windows 10 upgrade, this very routine reads the windows serial key from your system and changes it to a Win10 serial (and authenticates it as such with Microsoft). From this moment on your old Win 7/8 serial is a Win10 serial. (I dont think there's any going back therefore, but I'm not certain about that). Then the upgrade installs. NOW the windows serial key deep within your system is a Win10 serial. What you have to do if you want to perform a fresh install is that you simply have to find that serial by using one of the many applications that allow you to read out such things or by locating it yourself in the registry/sysinfo. Once you got your serial written down somewhere, you can format away and install fresh from USB (not sure if optical disk is even an option, but you'd want a bootable USB stick for conveniences sake). Once Win10 is installed it asks for your serial, you type in what you've written down and you're good to go.
-
For those who don't know, your Windows 10 serial key has been locked to your motherboard, if you bought an OEM copy or upgrade copy, since Windows Vista.
-
I tried to exactly that. Two different apps to grab the serial before fresh install and it wouldn't authenticate.
I'll look into it again next time I have to reinstall.
-
Oh, god, Windows.
Inertia makes it hard to make the break, but once you do, it is such a relief to be free of all that crap :)p4
-
Oh, god, Windows.
Inertia makes it hard to make the break, but once you do, it is such a relief to be free of all that crap :)p4
I hope to god you're a Linux and Android user. Because if you're an Apple user that is the most ironic thing I've read in a long time :D .
-
I'd use Linux if my wife didn't use the same machine and I wasn't a gamer. I used to dual boot but stopped once I realized I was never bothering with Linux anymore.
-
Finally have the new motherboard running completely with Windows 10. Good lord it sucks to go to Windows 10. You can't just install Windows 10 if you get the free upgrade--they literally make it impossible even if you hang out on the phone with them for 2 hours (I tried).
You have to install your previous version of Windows, then likely you will have to get all of the latest updates (I had to this time, I didn't last), then you can install Windows 10 on top of it. What a pain. I guess this is how they're going to sell copies (make you give up after a few reinstalls).
Yes you can, and no you don't. I just did it on a friend's new W8.1 celery laptop. Use the media creation tool. Either just download it to do an in-place upgrade, or tell it that you want to install on a different machine if you plan to do the double install method in order to get a completely "clean" fresh install.
When you install the upgrade, it will convert your key to a Windows 10 key. You can look up this new key after the W10 upgrade is installed using something like Produkey, but you don't actually need to know what it is, just run the Windows User Experience thingy in the CP, and Windows will tie the W10 key to your system. If you don't care about having a totally clean install at that point you're done, but if you want to do that, you'll need to use the "install on a different machine" method and boot from that. Install without a serial number, you don't need one. After it's installed, run the User Experience thing again, it will recognize your hardware and that you already had a W10 key tied to it from your previous in-place upgrade install. Done.
-
When you install the upgrade, it will convert your key to a Windows 10 key. You can look up this new key after the W10 upgrade is installed using something like Produkey, but you don't actually need to know what it is, just run the Windows User Experience thingy in the CP, and Windows will tie the W10 key to your system. If you don't care about having a totally clean install at that point you're done, but if you want to do that, you'll need to use the "install on a different machine" method and boot from that. Install without a serial number, you don't need one. After it's installed, run the User Experience thing again, it will recognize your hardware and that you already had a W10 key tied to it from your previous in-place upgrade install. Done.
This is more/better information than 2 hours of bouncing between Microsoft support techs. Thanks!
-
Am I in the minority of loving Windows 10?
-
Am I in the minority of loving Windows 10?
Nope, I dig it now that it's fully functioning.
-
I hope to god you're a Linux and Android user. Because if you're an Apple user that is the most ironic thing I've read in a long time :D .
Relax! Your fears are unfounded :)p4
The only time I recall actually working on an Apple computer, the job was to install some software so that it would talk to a Unix machine. Somehow, they have just never come my way, and, no, I never sought them out. I tried to help a friend with a new iPhone recently, but only because she was mostly new to any phone with the concept of "smart." No, I'm not an Apple person at all.
The only Apple thing I wish I'd bought is... shares :)p8
I'd use Linux if my wife didn't use the same machine and I wasn't a gamer. I used to dual boot but stopped once I realized I was never bothering with Linux anymore.
My wife was given a Windows phone. By this time, she was used to her Android tablet, and soon wanted the same for her phone. We needed to replace the 10-yr-old laptop that she uses. I told her that the Ubuntu model was cheaper, and if she really hated it, I'd buy and install Windows. It has never been necessary. Even I discovered that Unity is not as horrible as I thought it was --- although I'd never choose it for my desktop... and there go Ubuntu, the MS way: your desktop is going to change because we say so. No thanks: MATE for me. We are a Microsoft-free household, at last!
(In the spirit of full disclosure, there is still an XP partition on my disk, but I expect its bits have all rusted up by now)
On the topic of Motherboards :)p4...
I do think that it would be a good idea if you people with Windows would run one of the DPC-Latency checkers on your board/system and publish the results. Never mind night-and-day (ie subtle ;) ) differences, DPC latency can render a PC utterly useless for audio, and I do wonder if there are boards that suffer from it even without other added components.
-
I'll try to check my latency tonight after I get home post-Windows 10 installation. I kept having audio issues until I started checking and eliminating issues related to DPC latency.
I always check with LatencyMon to be sure it's in the green nowadays. I used to use DPC Checker but it stopped being accurate from Windows 8 on.
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
-
I think that if people can test machines, post make, model and whether good, bad or ugly, Then google can find it, and it will be a service to the world.
-
I used to be a CS:GO gamer, so I have tons of wierdo bios settings etc to reduce input lag and DPC latency.
I dont have new hardware. 3570k @ 4,8ghz and a gigabyte UD3H. I took this screen with 5 fans open in Chrome, Tidal playing music and JRiver open.
(http://i60.tinypic.com/zklc12.jpg)
-
Hmm...can't add an image. Or I don't know how to...
With about 10 tabs in Chrome, Foobar2000 playing a FLAC, VNC to my Linux box, Steam and LatencyMon, latency was below 151 microseconds. Still suitable for real-time audio.
Biggest offenders were Foobar2000 and WindowsDefender.
-
Am I in the minority of loving Windows 10?
From the admittedly limited time I spent with it I thought it was fine, but didn't see anything particularly tempting me to upgrade from W8.1 with Start Is Back installed. The half and half start menu is certainly an improvement over the start screen, but I still don't care at all about the live tiles, or using any modern apps, and I have no interest in Cortana whatsoever. I'll probably roll my Win machines over to it eventually once the majority of remaining bugs have been dealt with and all of the necessary drivers are in place, but I'm certainly in no hurry, and my main office machine will be staying put with Linux Mint LTS.