Escapist Tech Support: General Tech Advice and Questions

Mister Mumbler

Pronounced "Throat-wobbler Mangrove"
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Figured we might as well have an umbrella thread here.

So, to anyone here who listens to vinyl records, what are some good recommendations for turntables? I'm looking for something at a good price with maybe some options for further upgrades, but most importantly needs a lid. My current player gets the job done, but the cheap needles and lack of top (combined with a dog and a ceiling fan that is almost always on) mean I have tons of hair buildup while playing my music.
 
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Drathnoxis

Became a mass murderer for your sake
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Figured we might as well have an umbrella thread here.

So, to anyone here who listens to vinyl records, what are some good recommendations for turntables? I'm looking for something at a good price with maybe some options for further upgrades, but most importantly needs a lid. My current player gets the job done, but the cheap needles and lack of top (combined with a dog and a ceiling fan that is almost always on) mean I have tons of hair buildup while playing my music.
Get an mp3 player. You can fit 100 000 records in the space of one.
 
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Phoenixmgs

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Elvis Starburst

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MP3 Players are really expensive nowadays. Inflation and all that :LOL:
If you're looking for the hardcore audiophile ones, sure. Shanling makes some really nice MP3 players of all ranges. I have the M1 myself, and when I need to use it, it does the job just fine. And they only get better from the M1, which is fairly entry level for their product range. Give em a look if you're ever in the market, I find they do a much better job than FiiO in the OS department
 
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Phoenixmgs

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If you're looking for the hardcore audiophile ones, sure. Shanling makes some really nice MP3 players of all ranges. I have the M1 myself, and when I need to use it, it does the job just fine. And they only get better from the M1, which is fairly entry level for their product range. Give em a look if you're ever in the market, I find they do a much better job than FiiO in the OS department
I had a Cowon player awhile back (before smart phones) that played Xvid AVIs without needing to convert them, which was amazing at that time. Also, Cowon players have BBE DSP effects that really improve the sound. I now use their software player (jetAudio) on my PCs and phone.
 

Gergar12

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I have 8TB HDD, and a 1TB M.2 SSD. The only problem is that I am starting to run out of storage. I may have to upgrade to a 4TB M.2 SSD. Unless PS5 allows 12-16 TB HDD. They only allow 8TB...
 
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Elvis Starburst

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Anyone know of a program that lets me add 2 audio files/streams together and allow me to cross-fade between them with a slider of some sort?
To elaborate a little... for D&D, I wanna be able to have a more calm version of a song playing normally. Once things amp up, I wanna be able to smoothly transition to the more exciting version without having to start the song over. That way I can make the calm one fade out, and have the other version fade in at the same time.
Any ideas?
 

Phoenixmgs

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Anyone know of a program that lets me add 2 audio files/streams together and allow me to cross-fade between them with a slider of some sort?
To elaborate a little... for D&D, I wanna be able to have a more calm version of a song playing normally. Once things amp up, I wanna be able to smoothly transition to the more exciting version without having to start the song over. That way I can make the calm one fade out, and have the other version fade in at the same time.
Any ideas?
Maybe Voicemeeter, it says you can do 2 sources playing on the PC. At worst, you can make a sound file where one song is the left channel and the other is the right channel and move the balance from left to right to crossfade between the 2.
 

gorfias

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I hope they pin this to the top. Good idea to have sort of an umbrella, general questions and observations thread.

I am planning my next build and am surprised that the SSD stick slots are so close to the heat generating graphics card. Must not be a problem as it seems pretty standard on mother boards.

1677176860376.png
 

Elvis Starburst

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I hope they pin this to the top. Good idea to have sort of an umbrella, general questions and observations thread.
Last post: November 27, 2021
Oof... not so sure about the popularity of this thread, as good an idea as it is
 
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Chimpzy

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I hope they pin this to the top. Good idea to have sort of an umbrella, general questions and observations thread.

I am planning my next build and am surprised that the SSD stick slots are so close to the heat generating graphics card. Must not be a problem as it seems pretty standard on mother boards.

View attachment 8026
Should be fine so long as it gets some airflow from the fans. If in doubt you can always stick a heatsink on there, if fits with the gpu there (it doesn't in my system for example), tho i'd say that's only really necessary if you intend to a lote of intensive write operations.
Last post: November 27, 2021
Oof... not so sure about the popularity of this thread, as good an idea as it is
An advice thread like this kind of relies on a large userbase to sustain. And we, eh, don't.
 

Absent

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That's... certainly a take
Been on gog before galaxy, saw all the lost steam-less gamers asking for help and begging for a client. IT TURNED ME INTO WHAT I AM.
 

Gordon_4

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As in : they manage to install a game as long as it's integrated to a client. 😒
Installing a standalone game is no different from any other software. You run the executable - usually called something helpful like ‘InstallNewHotnessGame.exe’, point towards a folder of your choice and then press the next and/or ok buttons until it starts doing stuff on its own and then tells you it’s done. And like that you’re done.

But I tell you what, I won’t apologise for liking the single application management client era of video games because I remember what it was like in the before times. Where you had to check all manner of shittily put together publisher or developer websites and forums for the latest patches or hotfix information. I don’t miss that shit in the slightest and since gamers are still the ones modding and doing community fixes for this stuff, its fair to say a lot of them are indeed tech savvy
 
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RhombusHatesYou

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But I tell you what, I won’t apologise for liking the single application management client era of video games because I remember what it was like in the before times.
You don't have to apologise for having a wrong opinion.

Or, should I ask which fucken single application management client?

Half the time not only do you have to deal with the top layer client (frex, Steam), you then have a Publisher client (and for superspecialfuntimes a developer client as well) and then the game launcher. After a small period of glaciation, the game may actually launch... or it might not... or you don't know because you wandered off to take a shit and catch up on your reading.

I'm not saying what we had before was better but there were a lot less barriers between player and game... but of course after seeing the success of Netflix Steam, everyone wanted a slice of that streaming online game sales pie.
 

Gordon_4

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You don't have to apologise for having a wrong opinion.

Or, should I ask which fucken single application management client?

Half the time not only do you have to deal with the top layer client (frex, Steam), you then have a Publisher client (and for superspecialfuntimes a developer client as well) and then the game launcher. After a small period of glaciation, the game may actually launch... or it might not... or you don't know because you wandered off to take a shit and catch up on your reading.

I'm not saying what we had before was better but there were a lot less barriers between player and game... but of course after seeing the success of Netflix Steam, everyone wanted a slice of that streaming online game sales pie.
As soon as Steam was a success, it was only a matter of time before big publishers wanted to get out of paying Valve their 30% cut. Additional clients were bound to pop up. Besides there isn’t an opinion I could have on game management clients without pissing someone off; if I wanted everything on Steam, I’m in favour of monopoly in the space. If I’m in favour of anyone being able to put up to their own storefront then I support devs/pubs holding their games hostage to yet another goddamn account. So fuck it, I prefer the Steam/Origin/BattleNET ecosystem that I have.

uPlay is hot garbage though Jesus Fucking Christ.