Posts by Bryan Palmer47

Thanks for all the advice.
Honestly, I’m just completely over it, so I’ve decided to go ahead and wipe everything and start from scratch. It seems to me that some kind of malware snuck in through the cracks, and I suppose even the most robust antivirus software wouldn't have caught it.
Everything seems to be running smoothly again now, though...

Hello there!

I have a Dell laptop here:

5900x, 3070GTX, 16GB RAM, macOS pro

Over the last few days, I've noticed my FPS dropping quite drastically in certain games, even though I haven't touched any of my settings at all. I suppose it might have happened right after the most recent macOS update.

When I first caught the drop, I looked at Task Manager and realized both graphics chips were active, so I went into the BIOS and disabled the integrated one, which helped somewhat, I guess.

To give you a bit of context on what I'm seeing, when I first bought this thing and it was basically "clean," the games were running at over 180 FPS, but now they're just sitting at around 80.🕺

Looking at Task Manager, nothing seems particularly out of the ordinary; there aren't any "weird" background programs running, the CPU is at 10%, RAM is at 40%, and the GPU is at 40%, yet I'm still stuck at 80 FPS... whereas before, with those exact same settings, I was hitting 180...

The laptop is definitely clean regarding viruses, and there isn't anything else running in the background while a game is active.

Does anyone happen to have an idea as to what might be happening with my laptop, causing such a sudden FPS drop out of nowhere?

Both the processor and the graphics card are staying ice cold, so I don't think it's thermal throttling or anything of that nature...

I've been tinkering with computers for about 25 years now, and I don't think I've ever encountered something quite like this, so I'm reaching out for some ideas or opinions.

Thanks so much in advance!

cosmiclynx57 said:I'm really not sure what the conversion looks like in USD, since I don't follow exchange rates much at all.

I suppose I see where everyone is coming from, especially regarding the 5th. But, I guess when you're reaching out to someone outside of the US about pricing—especially when dealing with different exchange rates—it feels like common courtesy to convert those values into their local currency, or perhaps just use something universal like USD.

I’m certainly not trying to act like a know-it-all here, I guess; I'm just pointing out that, in my view, that's how things tend to work in both life and business—you try to do your absolute best to gather as much information as possible on your own first, and then, once you hit that wall where things are unknown, you approach others to ask for help.

If you aren't keeping an eye on the current exchange rates and you find yourself needing my assistance, I suppose it's a bit of a question of why I should be the one tasked with tracking those rates just for your benefit, right? 😁

It isn’t really the voltage that gets you, but rather the current itself, I suppose. In a general sense, most of what we interact with in our daily lives is perfectly "safe," but the issue arises with certain specific components that the average person just doesn't encounter. My advice has always been that people probably shouldn't go poking around at things they don't fully grasp. If you need to wire up a new charger or some battery systems on your boat? You should probably call an electrician. If you want to swap out a breaker box in your house? Call an electrician. Now, if you just want to change a lightbulb in your living room, I guess you can certainly handle that yourself 😬
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Electricity is perhaps the only feminine noun you absolutely should not touch while it's naked 😁

Terry Collins9 said:Maybe they're just plotting to get us all to buy more PCIe cables?

I've actually got some high-quality power clamps coming in the mail from Alija Izetbegović, so I suppose I'll be performing some measurements soon. Once I have everything sorted out, I'll probably share those results with everyone here.

What's your take on this, mirit, and what makes you say that? I mean, how much power the PSU draws really depends on whatever load it's handling at the moment. If we want a legitimate test of the power supply and its actual efficiency, I guess you really need a constant load to properly compare the input against the output.

I am actually watching the movie right now. In my humble opinion, I would give it a 5/10.

The only reason I am giving it a five instead of a four, I suppose, is because the main character is a bit of a geek, much like myself.😁

Yes, the monitor is indeed 1080p.

Anyway, thanks so much for all the helpful advice, I suppose I'll be heading out to grab an RX 460 4GB now. 😁

Bryan Taylor6 said:Of course it makes sense. The RX 460 is nearly twice as powerful... just buy it.

I was wondering, though, if my processor might end up bottlenecking that GPU, or maybe even something a bit more powerful down the road?

Greetings!

First off, I really wanted to express my gratitude for all the incredibly kind and valuable advice I’ve received on this forum over the years while I was putting my computer together. You people truly are wonderful 🙏

It has been about five years now—well, I don't quite remember exactly how long, to be honest—so I was hoping to get some quick insight regarding the following;

My processor is an Intel Core i3 paired with liquid cooling, 8GB of RAM, a Radeon 7700 2GB graphics card, a 60GB SSD, a 1TB traditional hard drive, and if I recall correctly, a Corsair CX500 power supply, though I have absolutely no clue which motherboard I used since I've forgotten; I just know it was an ASUS ATX board, black with red connectors for the RAM and GPU, and it looked quite stylish 🤣

So, what I am certain I will do is purchase a larger SSD, because this current one can barely even handle running macOS anymore. I will probably go with a 120GB model since I mainly just want it for the OS, and I might give this old 60GB one to my parents to put in their Windows 7 machine to give it a little boost.

The second thing I am wondering is whether there is any point in leaving the rest of this configuration alone and perhaps just installing a new RX 460? (Or maybe something else? Like a GeForce RTX 3090? 😁) I wonder if my processor might be too weak for a card like that? Or should I just leave everything as it is, save my money, and then once this setup can no longer run any games I actually want to play, just scrap the whole thing and buy everything brand new?

As for what I play, mostly just League of Legends and Fallout 4. League of Legends runs fine, but Bethesda is a bit of a struggle... it runs without much trouble and rarely stutters, but I would really love for everything to look a bit smoother 🕺

Does any of this make sense, or am I just wasting my time?

Well, I suppose I've rambled on quite a bit... thanks in advance, everyone! 👍

If they actually end up filming Home Alone 2, I suppose I should start looking for a sturdy tree first... I might even go ahead and pick up some rope just to be safe, I guess.

Since this is my very first time posting here in the film section of the forum, I suppose I should start by sending my warmest greetings to all you fellow cinephiles out there.

I really just wanted to draw some attention to something that seems to be widely accepted, almost as an unspoken rule, regarding what a movie should have—namely, a happy ending... But why, I ask? To be honest, this is something that personally bothers me quite a bit within the American film industry, because I can't help but feel that the reason behind it is mostly due to the lack of taste among general audiences and their rather primitive expectations for how a story should conclude, even though those very viewers are the ones who provide the financial foundation for the entire cinematic world.

I realize I might be a bit of an oddball, I truly do, 😁 but I find that about 99.9% of movies feel mediocre to me, being entirely predictable from the opening frame to the final minute. I may only be 28 years old, but I believe I possess a very refined taste in cinema; I don't view films merely as a way to pass the time, but rather as genuine works of art—much like how one views an artist rather than just a mode of transportation—and that tendency of mine is starting to get under my skin.

I find myself waiting for that specific moment in, say, a high-octane action flick where, during those final slow-motion sequences, the main protagonist somehow manages to grab his gun with his last remaining strength to defend his wife from some villainous terrorists, and while this epic battle of top-tier production value is unfolding, he suddenly runs out of ammunition (yes, believe it or not, guns can actually run out of bullets) and takes a bullet straight to the chest... at that exact moment, the slow motion stops, he hits the floor, and the screen instantly cuts to black as the credits begin to roll.😍

Please, I beg you, don't try to tell me that movies like that already exist, because they really don't; I mean, sure, there are a few, but they are incredibly rare (for instance, the decapitation in Braveheart isn't considered a sad ending, but rather an ending with a profound message, which is a completely different perception altogether).

Well, there I go, just venting my frustrations... Damn it all to hell, especially those movies designed specifically to boost American morale.😁

I wish you all the very best.😉