My parents are using a Dell Inspiron paired with a Logitech M235 wireless mouse. Everything was running perfectly until about a month ago, but now things have taken a bizarre turn:
1. Every single time they jump on a Skype call, the mouse just dies. It completely cuts out. And once the call ends? Forget about it. The mouse won't come back to life unless I physically unplug the receiver and plug it right back in.
2. The exact same thing happens whenever they plug a USB drive or an external hard drive into the laptop.
They're running Windows 8.1.
Has anyone else dealt with this kind of nonsense?
I tested the mouse on my work laptop and it works flawlessly, so the mouse itself isn't the issue.
A buddy of mine is looking to buy a PC tower—just the tower, mind you—for up to $1833 in cash. He’s based out of Washington, D.C. He hasn't decided between Intel or AMD yet, so I probably need to put together two separate builds so he can actually make a choice. He isn't planning on overclocking anything, but he definitely wants an SSD paired with a 1 TB HDD in the setup. Right now he's rocking a 19'' monitor, but he plans to upgrade to a 24'' by the end of the year. He wants to run Windows, though he's worried that if he goes with an SSD, he might have to compromise too much on the other components. He also wants 8 GB of RAM and, honestly, whatever the best graphics card we can find is. Oh, and he needs someone to actually assemble the damn thing for him.
The outlet is on the right, but my power strip stretches all the way to the left side of the desk where I've got the TV, PC, monitor, and speakers all plugged in. I’d love to just move the tower over to the right side of the desk—really would—but there's a catch. The HDMI cable connecting the TV to the computer isn't long enough, so the PC has to stay on the left. And then, to make matters worse, the speaker cable won't reach the tower if I try moving the speakers to the right side either. So, everything is stuck on the left! 😁
The outlet is on my left, and man, this cable is way too short! 😁 Other than that, the speakers are killer.
EDIT
Actually, the PC tower is on the left, and if I try to put the speakers on the right, the cable connecting them to the tower is just pathetic—it’s way too short.
Just a heads-up for anyone else thinking about picking up these speakers: the power switch is located on the back of the unit. It’s a bit of a nuisance, honestly.
Just wanted to drop a quick note to say I finally pulled the trigger on those Genius SP hf 1800 speakers. They’re a bit bulky—honestly, kind of a mouthful on my desk—but I can live with the footprint once I get used to them. The sound quality? Absolutely stellar.
Is there actually a massive speed gap between an SSHD and a standard 7200 rpm HDD? Is that performance boost even worth the extra cash? I've been doing some digging, and I saw someone on an international forum arguing that for a desktop setup, you won't even notice much of a difference between the two. So, I'm seriously considering ditching the SSHD in graniteharbor85's rig and just swapping in a basic 7200 rpm HDD instead. Then, maybe in two years, if prices finally tank, I'll just throw in a 500 GB SSD.
Just like the title says, I am looking to buy a brand new desktop by $2000. I can go slightly over budget (maybe max $2167). I'll be paying cash.I also need someone to handle the actual assembly because frankly, I have no idea how to build one myself.
Don't worry about the monitor, speakers, keyboard, or mouse—I'm all set there.
My current monitor is a Dell UltraSharp Monitor (24'', Full HD at 1920x1080).
Whether it's Intel or AMD doesn't really matter to me. I've used both in my old rigs and they both did their jobs perfectly fine without any headaches. That said, I find myself leaning toward Intel (don't ask me why), but if an AMD setup offers better value or the same performance for less money, then obviously I'll go with AMD.
Regarding graphics cards, I'm totally indifferent between ATI or Nvidia. My main priority is just getting the best possible visuals and detail in my games.
I want 8 GB of RAM.
I'm looking for a build that will allow for easy upgrades in 3, 4, or even 5 years without needing a complete overhaul. You know, maybe swapping in a new GPU later or just adding more RAM sticks.
Good cooling is a must; I don't want to deal with overheating issues.
And a high-quality case with decent sound insulation. My last computer was loud enough to drive me crazy, and I really want to avoid that buzzing noise.
For storage, I prefer an SSD, though I noticed you guys offer those hybrid SSHDs which are cheaper. I could live with that, provided I don't need more than 500 GB. Honestly, I don't need anything larger than that.
Primarily, this machine is for playing the following games at the highest settings possible: - Grand Theft Auto V - Batman Arkham City - Assassin's Creed IV - Batman Arkham City - Grand Theft Auto V - if it ever hits PC - PC - Skyrim - Dragon Age: Inquisition - Path of Exile - PC - Skyrim - Dragon Age: Inquisition - Path of Exile - PC - Skyrim - Dragon Age: Inquisition - Path of Exile - Maybe some Need for Speed or Madden / FIFA
Also, I'm selling my old desktop. If any of you companies do trade-ins where you take old gear toward the price of a new one, let me know—I'd love to go through a shop like that.
I'm planning on a budget of $2167, but please make sure that includes Windows. I really don't want to mess around with bootable loaders and installers.
Benjamin King2 said:Look, the PSU is just some generic 300W unit, probably something you'd find at a gas station, with $17 optics. It’s hardly anything worth hiking the price over.
I wasn't planning on a massive price hike anyway. I just wanted a ballpark figure for the ceiling. I'm not even aiming for the max; I'll probably list it $100 lower because I need to scrape this cash together ASAP for a new desktop build. Honestly, I think I can pull maybe $1,000 to $1,200 out of this, which is basically just a fifth of what I'm planning to dump into the new rig. That should be fine. Now, if I could just actually find a buyer!
Benjamin King2 said:I’m looking at comparable Intel and AMD platforms, so I’m factoring in current component prices too. For instance, you can grab an Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 for about $50, and frankly, it smokes both of those AMD chips easily.
The only way you're lowering the price on a full build is by praying someone actually wants to buy it, because let's face it—those old buckets are everywhere. If you actually want to offload this junk, you have to undercut everyone else selling similar garbage just to get noticed. Maybe someone picks up a single part if their own setup dies, but they don't need power. These aren't machines for anything serious.
Look, if you can pick up a brand-new budget PC for $667 that handles basic tasks, nobody is going to shell out $500—or whatever price you think this scrap is worth—for used gear. Plus, there's zero warranty. Something could snap tomorrow and you'll be left holding the bag because you have no clue how the previous owner treated the thing.
If I were selling those two rigs, I’d ask $300 for the Catalyst one and maybe 1200 for redpilot14’s (both are missing cases and optical drives, and redpilot14's is missing the PSU too). If they don't move, you drop the price. Period.
Finally back home. Thought I’d give you some more details so you can actually make a decent estimate. Here’s what we’re looking at:
Dammit! 😁 I’m not even picking up a new laptop until Wednesday when I get back to NYC, and honestly, whether I can squeeze a decent deal on an extra HDD depends entirely on if I opt for the 128GB or the 256GB SSD. I’ll be shopping for that on Wednesday too, so my plan is to head straight to the official service center to have them swap everything out immediately. That way, I should have the whole machine ready to go in about seven days! 😁
What kind of cash can I pull for a 500 GB 7200rpm HDD? It's brand new. Pulled it right out of a Dell Latitude 3440 laptop that had an Intel Core i3 inside—swapped it out for an SSD immediately.
David Sanders4 said:I don't think that really matters, honestly... if you plug in an old-school PS/2 mouse with a trackball, it works just fine, so I seriously doubt this one wouldn't be compatible either.
Anyway, I'll do a quick Google search and see what the consensus is!