PC questions that don't really deserve their own thread.

[Vex]

GAMING PC RELATED QUESTIONS THAT DON'T REALLY DESERVE THEIR OWN THREAD​

I originally wanted to just ask a quick question about my gaming PC to you guys, but then I realized that it probably wasn't all that important enough for it's own thread. I figured there were a lot of newer members who can't make their own threads but would like to ask a few troubleshooting related questions as well. This thread will serve as that hub for now. So feel free to hijack this thread if ya want to.

Anyways, I am not really having trouble per se -- rather I just wanted to know what is the best, lightweight fan control software I could use. I want to monitor my temps on both gpu and cpu as well as fan speed (RPM). I had been using MSI afterburner, but is that really the best? I don't really like its layout. I recently uninstalled it because it was giving me a "rtcore64.sys" error when trying to update it. So I'm done with that.

I guess the main thing I am looking for is really a temperature monitor software because my BIOS seems to be doing a good enough job on fan speed control.

I also heard read that "speedfan" was garbage as well. So I am avoiding that one.

Any help would be appreciated. And feel free to use this thread for those little questions :)



-----------
For a more focused discussion on pc parts/building, go here:

Resetera Official PC Builders Thread (Updated 3/23/20)

The PC Builders Thread ("I Need a New PC") v3 PC - Tech - OT

Welcome to the PC Builders Thread, where we talk about computer hardware! Whether you're upgrading your existing computer, want to build a new one, have a question, or just like talking about computers in general - we've got you covered! Now with even more ARGB! CPUs: BUY (5/2023) Best: Ryzen...

www.resetera.com

 

[famousmortimer]

I bought a gaming PC. I think I understand some stuff but know I don't understand most. Thanks for making this.

 

[Ge0force]

What motherboard do you have? My MSI Z370 SLI Plus comes with a desktop app to read and control fans speeds.

 

[Joe Spangle]

Coretemp is a good little program that i used to use. Not sure if its still current.

Hey - this is my first post here. Hello.

 

[Einherjer]

Never had a problem with afterburner it's good, especially if you want to overclock as well, all of the other tools i tried over the years like speedfan where inferior in my opinion.

 

[Vex]

What motherboard do you have? My MSI Z370 SLI Plus comes with a desktop app to read and control fans speeds.

Click to shrink...

I have the ASRock fatal1ty killer. I may have to dust off my manual and see if it came with anything.

Coretemp is a good little program that i used to use. Not sure if its still current.

Hey - this is my first post here. Hello.

Click to shrink...

Welcome! And I will give Coretemp a shot.

 

[Ge0force]

Since I've installed the fall creators update on windows 10, I'm having stuttering in all my games, even when the framerate is high. Older games that I've been playing for a long time like R6 Siege stutter as well.

I have a gtx1070, i7 8700k and 16gb ddr4 3000mhz, in combination with a 1440p@144hz Gsync monitor. Everything should be smooth, but since the Windows upgrade it isn't anymore. All my drivers are up to date.

Anyone experienced the same problem? Any suggestions how to fix this?

 

[Oynox]

Why are there no HDR displays?

 

[SunDimension24]

Why are there no HDR displays?

Click to shrink...

There are HDR monitors
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/pc-m...-c27hg70-the-world-s-first-hdr-gaming-monitor
http://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-32UD99-W-4k-uhd-led-monitor
https://www.amazon.com/BenQ-Photogr...tag=georiot-pcg-20&ascsubtag=pcg-458549410-20
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Scre...ag=georiot-pcg-20&ascsubtag=pcg-1881649817-20

They are just really expensive right now. There should be more budget-friendly monitors coming out next year.

 

[Rolfgang]

Since I've installed the fall creators update on windows 10, I'm having stuttering in all my games, even when the framerate is high. Older games that I've been playing for a long time like R6 Siege stutter as well.

I have a gtx1070, i7 8700k and 16gb ddr4 3000mhz, in combination with a 1440p@144hz Gsync monitor. Everything should be smooth, but since the Windows upgrade it isn't anymore. All my drivers are up to date.

Anyone experienced the same problem? Any suggestions how to fix this?

Click to shrink...

The Creator's Update added a new 'feature', which forces Vsync and is called Fullscreen Optimization. It screws with Gsync bigtime. You can disable it per game by going to Properties and untick the Fullscreen Optimization option.

 

[Blabadon]

Can I download a Dark Souls 3 save if I have a screenshot of my last stats? I lost my save due to no cloud saves.

 

[Oynox]

There are HDR monitors
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/pc-m...-c27hg70-the-world-s-first-hdr-gaming-monitor
http://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-32UD99-W-4k-uhd-led-monitor
https://www.amazon.com/BenQ-Photogr...tag=georiot-pcg-20&ascsubtag=pcg-458549410-20
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Scre...ag=georiot-pcg-20&ascsubtag=pcg-1881649817-20

They are just really expensive right now. There should be more budget-friendly monitors coming out next year.

Click to shrink...

Alright, let's reformulate my question: Why are they so expensive right now? Is it harder to fit HDR technology in smaller sized screens? Also, any guesses how budget friendly they will be?

 

[Ge0force]

The Creator's Update added a new 'feature', which forces Vsync and is called Fullscreen Optimization. It screws with Gsync bigtime. You can disable it per game by going to Properties and untick the Fullscreen Optimization option.

Click to shrink...

I'll try this, thanks for the suggestion. It's so frustrating that Microsoft breaks something for win32 games with each update. I may even start to believe Sweeneys conspiracy theories if this keeps happening...

 

[demosthenes]

I like this thread. I want to buy my girlfriend a gaming laptop for Christmas as she wants to play basic stuff. So maybe I don't even need a gaming laptop. She wants to do stuff like minecraft, stardew valley, etc. Do I need a mobile graphics, or will integrated be just fine?

 

[Nerdkiller]

What kind of clock settings should I set on my i5 6600K? Vanquish seems to run poorly at 4k on my GTX 1080 laptop.

 

[joecanada]

Ah I have one that just came up. Just got EA access its great, but I loaded up wing commander privateer as it's the only game I never played in the series...... however the graphics are pure blocks, like lego size blocks lol . at first I though wtf I remember this game having decent graphics, but something is obviously wrong..... it's like dot matrix .....

also bonus question - picked up fallout so I could properly tell the old school crowd that fallout 4 did it better (lol) but I got it free on steam? I think a while back........ it only loads to a black screen nothing else, is there any fixes available?

 

[Mhj]

I have a 34" 21:9 monitor at 3440x1440 in the middle, with another 25" at 2560x1440 on each side (3 monitors in total). I'd love to replace this with a single monitor. When do you think we will have the tech to have a ultra wide monitor with at least this pixel count?

I'm thinking perhaps at least 2160 in pixel height and 8k+ in width with whatever form factor that makes physical sense.

 

[super-famicom]

Whenever I put my PC to sleep, it wakes up after a second or two. I haven't moved the mouse or anything. It wasn't always like this, but started to happen about 2 months ago. I've resorted to shutting my PC down, which isn't a problem since I have an SSD and it starts back up in 10 seconds. But is there anything I can do to fix sleep mode? This is a gaming PC running Win10 that I built last July, I can post specs later if needed.

 

[joecanada]

Whenever I put my PC to sleep, it wakes up after a second or two. I haven't moved the mouse or anything. It wasn't always like this, but started to happen about 2 months ago. I've resorted to shutting my PC down, which isn't a problem since I have an SSD and it starts back up in 10 seconds. But is there anything I can do to fix sleep mode? This is a gaming PC running Win10 that I built last July, I can post specs later if needed.

Click to shrink...

I think I stole this from the build my pc thread but basically on windows 10 there is a list of programs that override sleep, that list can get pretty long. you have to actually go into sleep settings (maybe look up a video) and disable either all or the programs you select.... mine is better after some fiddling I think it only wakes from sleep for very specific things (however there's always a fucking steam update when I want to play now lol).

 

[Vex]

Whenever I put my PC to sleep, it wakes up after a second or two. I haven't moved the mouse or anything. It wasn't always like this, but started to happen about 2 months ago. I've resorted to shutting my PC down, which isn't a problem since I have an SSD and it starts back up in 10 seconds. But is there anything I can do to fix sleep mode? This is a gaming PC running Win10 that I built last July, I can post specs later if needed.

Click to shrink...

I think I stole this from the build my pc thread but basically on windows 10 there is a list of programs that override sleep, that list can get pretty long. you have to actually go into sleep settings (maybe look up a video) and disable either all or the programs you select.... mine is better after some fiddling I think it only wakes from sleep for very specific things (however there's always a fucking steam update when I want to play now lol).

Click to shrink...

To add to this, your motherboard may have a setting that allows it to wake up from Ethernet port activity. It may be called "wake on lan" or something similar. You'll have to goto your bios to disable this.

 

[Rizific]

after the latest windows update, my pc opens up whatever chrome windows/tabs i had open before shutting it off last. it also no longer automatically applies my nvidia control panel settings. nothing i googled fixes the chrome thing. how do i stop this bullshit.

 

[Premium Ghoul]

Thanks for making a thread like this, I've had an issue that I've wanted to know more about for a while.

Ever since I started using two monitors with different refresh rates (main monitor is 144Hz, second one is 60Hz) I've experienced several annoying issues with video playback on the lower refresh rate screen. Youtube, Twitch, and Netflix (played through a browser or the W10 app) will all stutter in various ways if the window is sitting on the 60Hz screen but it will always be smooth if I move the window over to the 144Hz screen.

Here's a gif I made that demonstrates one of the more frustrating and most consistent issues I've had.

It shows me playing a 60fps Youtube video on the 60Hz screen and repeatedly making the playhead UI pop up. This causes the video to stutter so much that it actually appears to stop buffering and will stall out briefly. Obviously this isn't a normal practice for me but it easily demonstrates what the real issue is: This sort of stuttering occurs every time subtitles appear on Netflix. Any show that heavily features subtitles, any international film, I simply can't watch them because of how awful the stutter is.

Here's a short list of the problems I have:

- Youtube stutters heavily whenever the playhead is brought up.
- Youtube stutters heavily whenever an 'information' popup appears in the top right corner.
- Twitch video will pause for a full second every five or six seconds while audio keeps playing.
- Twitch video performance will slowly degrade over time (appearing to drop frames when it isn't).
- Netflix video will stutter for 1-10 minutes upon starting a video.
- Netflix video will stutter heavily whenever subtitles appear on screen and for a while after they've left the screen.
- Netflix video stutters heavily when the playhead UI is brought up.

With all that said, I actually do have a solution that I've been using for a few months, and that is to simply run the 144Hz monitor at 60Hz. This fixes all the problems I listed above.

Here's another gif showing the same 60fps video from before, but this time both monitors are at 60Hz.

What I hate about this solution is that in 2017 with a GTX 1080 I apparently can't run my monitors at different refresh rates or it'll make videos stutter. Having two monitors at different Hz has got to be a pretty common setup at this point so I'm curious if anyone else has this problem and could maybe help shed some light on it. My guess is that it's something to do with hardware utilisation because video played through a properly GPU accelerated video player doesn't stutter at all at any refresh rate combo.

 

[joecanada]

Thanks for making a thread like this, I've had an issue that I've wanted to know more about for a while.

Ever since I started using two monitors with different refresh rates (main monitor is 144Hz, second one is 60Hz) I've experienced several annoying issues with video playback on the lower refresh rate screen. Youtube, Twitch, and Netflix (played through a browser or the W10 app) will all stutter in various ways if the window is sitting on the 60Hz screen but it will always be smooth if I move the window over to the 144Hz screen.

Here's a gif I made that demonstrates one of the more frustrating and most consistent issues I've had.

It shows me playing a 60fps Youtube video on the 60Hz screen and repeatedly making the playhead UI pop up. This causes the video to stutter so much that it actually appears to stop buffering and will stall out briefly. Obviously this isn't a normal practice for me but it easily demonstrates what the real issue is: This sort of stuttering occurs every time subtitles appear on Netflix. Any show that heavily features subtitles, any international film, I simply can't watch them because of how awful the stutter is.

Here's a short list of the problems I have:

- Youtube stutters heavily whenever the playhead is brought up.
- Youtube stutters heavily whenever an 'information' popup appears in the top right corner.
- Twitch video will pause for a full second every five or six seconds while audio keeps playing.
- Twitch video performance will slowly degrade over time (appearing to drop frames when it isn't).
- Netflix video will stutter for 1-10 minutes upon starting a video.
- Netflix video will stutter heavily whenever subtitles appear on screen and for a while after they've left the screen.
- Netflix video stutters heavily when the playhead UI is brought up.

With all that said, I actually do have a solution that I've been using for a few months, and that is to simply run the 144Hz monitor at 60Hz. This fixes all the problems I listed above.

Here's another gif showing the same 60fps video from before, but this time both monitors are at 60Hz.

What I hate about this solution is that in 2017 with a GTX 1080 I apparently can't run my monitors at different refresh rates or it'll make videos stutter. Having two monitors at different Hz has got to be a pretty common setup at this point so I'm curious if anyone else has this problem and could maybe help shed some light on it. My guess is that it's something to do with hardware utilisation because video played through a properly GPU accelerated video player doesn't stutter at all at any refresh rate combo.

Click to shrink...

Sorry I don't know if this is related but I have two different monitors , one IPS and the other is my LCD TV. Same refresh rate but different sizes , etc. Anyway I gave up on extended screen because I couldn't flip anything back and forth at all.... It would stretch stuff beyond the borders , screw up all my desktop icons, other weird stuff. I've just found that win 10 doesn't handle different types of displays well and there's plenty of others online saying the same. But hope you get a fix though. I just run them mirrored now with no issues.

 

[Ramathevoice]

Great idea for a thread, but isn't this kind of splitting the ERA PC gaming community? Most of the PC enthusiasts on here are probably already in the PC building thread, and if it's anything like on the old forum most of these questions could be asked over there.

No time right now but will come back and help out with some of these questions later if needed :)

 

[Ge0force]

after the latest windows update, my pc opens up whatever chrome windows/tabs i had open before shutting it off last. it also no longer automatically applies my nvidia control panel settings. nothing i googled fixes the chrome thing. how do i stop this bullshit.

Click to shrink...

I had the same problem, and I found a solution on reddit:

"I fixed it by going to the Task Scheduler (search Task Scheduler in Start Menu) and going to \Microsoft\Windows\WindowsColorSystem You should see a task called Calibration Loader. Right-click it and select Properties. Go to the Triggers tab in this new window.You should see two triggers here, "At Log on" and "On connection to user session" Disable them both by clicking on them and unchecking the "Enabled" box at the bottom of the window."

This fixed the problem for me.

Also, be sure to disable the Game Bar.

 

[SnakeyHips]

I guess the main thing I am looking for is really a temperature monitor software because my BIOS seems to be doing a good enough job on fan speed control.

Click to shrink...

I use MSI Afterburner for all my temps as it not does CPU temps, the graphs are a nice visual rather than just numbers and you can also OC your GPU from it. You can customise the graphs too so you can like either get specific temps for each core or a general one. You can only do GPU fan control with it though but most CPU fan control is BIOS based anyway.

 

[Zepp Twofist]

What I hate about this solution is that in 2017 with a GTX 1080 I apparently can't run my monitors at different refresh rates or it'll make videos stutter. Having two monitors at different Hz has got to be a pretty common setup at this point so I'm curious if anyone else has this problem and could maybe help shed some light on it. My guess is that it's something to do with hardware utilisation because video played through a properly GPU accelerated video player doesn't stutter at all at any refresh rate combo.

Click to shrink...

I have the same setup as you and have had some frustrating issues with running youtube/netflix/twitch in full screen on a secondary monitor as well. I figured it was the DRM plugin that causes this since local video never stutters at any time. I never made the 144+60hz connection before though. My half assed solution is to run videos in windowed mode on Internet Explorer when I watch stuff on the secondary monitor, but that is hardly ideal.

 

[Joe Spangle]

I like this thread. I want to buy my girlfriend a gaming laptop for Christmas as she wants to play basic stuff. So maybe I don't even need a gaming laptop. She wants to do stuff like minecraft, stardew valley, etc. Do I need a mobile graphics, or will integrated be just fine?

Click to shrink...

I have a dell xps something or other which i believe has integrated graphics and i have managed to play Stardew Valley and similar games on it. It does get the fans going but i think it handles them fine.

 

[Rizific]

I had the same problem, and I found a solution on reddit:

"I fixed it by going to the Task Scheduler (search Task Scheduler in Start Menu) and going to \Microsoft\Windows\WindowsColorSystem You should see a task called Calibration Loader. Right-click it and select Properties. Go to the Triggers tab in this new window.You should see two triggers here, "At Log on" and "On connection to user session" Disable them both by clicking on them and unchecking the "Enabled" box at the bottom of the window."

This fixed the problem for me.

Also, be sure to disable the Game Bar.

Click to shrink...

sweeet! will be sure to give this a try once i get home, thanks!

 

[funky]

Ever since installing the Creators Update for W10 my colors are super dark every time I boot. I can go into Nvidia control panel and get it back to normal but after every reboot it reverts to super contrasty and dark.


Googling gives me a bunch of people with the same issue and 50 different solutions. Anyone else have this and found a fix?

 

[dgrdsv]

super contrasty and dark

Click to shrink...

Do you have a HDR monitor?

 

[ODDI]

What is up with the Forza Horizon 3 PC port? The game crashes on boot. I've read some online messages saying there's a conflict with the game and Nvidia cards?
Can someone help?

 

[ShinySunny]

Can anyone answer this for me. I spent a whole day figuring it out.

This is what I am using for WiFi+BT:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HF8K0O6/?tag=era0f0-20

My Intel Bluetooth would turn on and off, on and off, on and off...until my device manager just says eff you, Error 10, no power. Please reinstall driver...
So I did a Reinstall, uninstall+deletion of files, download driver, update driver with Window...nothing works of course.

So I opened the case, unplugged the WiFi+BT pci card out, changed the USB+9 pins connector to a different header 9 pins on the MB, scanned for hardware change=>downloaded up drivers.
Wifi works, BT keeps spamming me with Error 10.

I have disabled it because notification will go crazy if I don't.
People are saying Fall Creator patch is the reason why BT will not work.
But why though?
This is driving me crazy.

I don't want to do a fricken Reset to get rid of the Fall patch...so any solution out there beside just buying a $5 BT dongle?

 

[poptire]

I have a potentially dumb question, since my rig is running fine.

Instead of buying a new gaming PC I decided to upgrade from my Radeon 6850 to a 1060 6GB.

My PSU is a 400w Antec with a 6-pin PCI Express power cable but the 1060 uses 8-pin. It came with an 8 to 6 pin converter that I'm using and it seems to be working fine, but am I losing any functionality by not having a straight 8 pin connection from my PSU?

 

[ilium]

Windows installed that new update yesterday despite my best efforts to delay it as long as possible, sneaky *******

Bookmarked this thread just in case...

 

[Deleted member 7756]

Windows installed that new update yesterday despite my best efforts to delay it as long as possible, sneaky *******

Bookmarked this thread just in case...

Click to shrink...

I downloaded this tool to stop the anniversary update. Hasn't screwed me yet.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/2/2/f22d5fdb-59cd-4275-8c95-1be17bf70b21/wushowhide.diagcab

 

[Sky87]

Ever since installing the Creators Update for W10 my colors are super dark every time I boot. I can go into Nvidia control panel and get it back to normal but after every reboot it reverts to super contrasty and dark.


Googling gives me a bunch of people with the same issue and 50 different solutions. Anyone else have this and found a fix?

Click to shrink...

Known Nvidia issue at the moment, unsure if there are workarounds though. https://forums.geforce.com/default/...hread-released-12-7-17-/post/5254817/#5254817

Try calibrating your colors through your monitor instead for a temporary solution if you can.

 

[funky]

Do you have a HDR monitor?

Click to shrink...

Nope.

But whatever combo settings I messed with in the Nvidia CC fixed it.

 

[Chittagong]

Is that BIOS font we see when computers shit the bed, is it hard coded into the BIOS itself? I.e. does the BIOS contain the pixel descriptions of each letter?

 

[ss_lemonade]

Why does RE 7 still make my TV display in HDR, even after disabling the HDR game setting?

 

[ieu]

I have a potentially dumb question, since my rig is running fine.

Instead of buying a new gaming PC I decided to upgrade from my Radeon 6850 to a 1060 6GB.

My PSU is a 400w Antec with a 6-pin PCI Express power cable but the 1060 uses 8-pin. It came with an 8 to 6 pin converter that I'm using and it seems to be working fine, but am I losing any functionality by not having a straight 8 pin connection from my PSU?

Click to shrink...

No, however you may be pushing your power supply a little bit harder than it can deal with - if you're worried plug in the components you have in to pcpartpicker and it'll estimate the power supply you'll need to handle that hardware.

 

[dgrdsv]

Is that BIOS font we see when computers shit the bed, is it hard coded into the BIOS itself? I.e. does the BIOS contain the pixel descriptions of each letter?

Click to shrink...

Yes.

 

[SnakeyHips]

I'm interested in getting a GSync 144hz monitor but find fluctuating frame rates more of an issue than a lower but constant frame rate like 60hz. I understand a higher frame rate is better but isn't it harder dealing with a constantly fluctuating frame rate (unless it's constant 144 which wouldn't be the case for all games) than not?

 

[Dylan]

I'm interested in getting a GSync 144hz monitor but find fluctuating frame rates more of an issue than a lower but constant frame rate like 60hz. I understand a higher frame rate is better but isn't it harder dealing with a constantly fluctuating frame rate (unless it's constant 144 which wouldn't be the case for all games) than not?

Click to shrink...

You can solve this by using a frame limiter, which many games support directly in their options nowadays. So this way if you can do a solid, 140Hz, you at least have that option.

 

[Ramathevoice]

I'm interested in getting a GSync 144hz monitor but find fluctuating frame rates more of an issue than a lower but constant frame rate like 60hz. I understand a higher frame rate is better but isn't it harder dealing with a constantly fluctuating frame rate (unless it's constant 144 which wouldn't be the case for all games) than not?

Click to shrink...

One of the main functions of G-Sync is smoothing out fluctuating framerates so that you don't notice them.

 

[Duxxy3]

I'm interested in getting a GSync 144hz monitor but find fluctuating frame rates more of an issue than a lower but constant frame rate like 60hz. I understand a higher frame rate is better but isn't it harder dealing with a constantly fluctuating frame rate (unless it's constant 144 which wouldn't be the case for all games) than not?

Click to shrink...

With gysnc the fluctuating frame rates aren't really noticeable.

 

[galv]

Can I download a Dark Souls 3 save if I have a screenshot of my last stats? I lost my save due to no cloud saves.

Click to shrink...

Download a savegame from somewhere (I think most save packages include various progression points so you can use the one that's closest to your progress), use Cheat Engine to modify your stats to match and make sure that you don't play online.

It's not a perfect solution but it is what it is. There is a cloud save mod for all the Dark Souls games on the Nexus, I'm at work right now so I can't link it.

 

[SnakeyHips]

You can solve this by using a frame limiter, which many games support directly in their options nowadays. So this way if you can do a solid, 140Hz, you at least have that option.

Click to shrink...

True but then I'd have to deal with a different frame rate for each game depending on how well my PC can run it which I'm not sure how I'd find. Like it'll be hard going from a 140fps game and jumping onto a 60fps limited game would be hard. How do you find doing that?

One of the main functions of G-Sync is smoothing out fluctuating framerates so that you don't notice them.

Click to shrink...

Ah okay didn't know that. Just thought it was always displaying the framerate you have but with no screen tearing. Is it pretty much just a very variable vsync then?

 

[ninnanuam]

I think i have a problem with DVI on either my monitor or my 1080. HDMI is still working.

is there any way to confirm which one is busted via software because i dont have a spare monitor

 

[SnakeyHips]

I think i have a problem with DVI on either my monitor or my 1080. HDMI is still working.

is there any way to confirm which one is busted via software because i dont have a spare monitor

Click to shrink...

What's the problem exactly?