The Official Computer Tech Support Thread

[Scarlett O'Hara]

Originally Posted by noise

use this freeware app called gpu-z, it will tell you what gfx card you have
GPU-Z Video card GPU Information Utility

alternatively, go here, download their helper app, and enter the name of the game you're interested in. it will scan your machine and let you know if you're worthy.

Can You Run It

[Guybrush]

Originally Posted by noise

use this freeware app called gpu-z, it will tell you what gfx card you have
GPU-Z Video card GPU Information Utility

alternatively, go here, download their helper app, and enter the name of the game you're interested in. it will scan your machine and let you know if you're worthy.

Can You Run It

Originally Posted by Vanilla

Oh come on! You don't need more programs to get information about your hardware

Simpler way : In Windows, just click the start menu, choose run and write "dxdiag". Press enter!

[noise]

...but more is better

[Guybrush]

Originally Posted by noise

...but more is better

That may be if your hobby is bloating your computer with software you have little use for.

[noise]

oh come on! GPU-Z is a single exe that doesn't need to be installed and doesn't write to the registry. stick it on a storage partition and use it when you need it. or just delete it when you're done. it's a handy utility, and it offer a lot more info than dxdiag.

[Guybrush]

Originally Posted by noise

oh come on! GPU-Z is a single exe that doesn't need to be installed and doesn't write to the registry. stick it on a storage partition and use it when you need it. or just delete it when you're done. it's a handy utility, and it offer a lot more info than dxdiag.

I wouldn't call it handy if it does something you don't need it for, but I haven't tried it so I won't say that the amount of info you get from it is not satisfactory ..

.. But I'd say the information you can get from dxdiag without the program is. There's a lot of info on those dx tabs! Only very rarely should anyone have a need for a lot more info about their hardware/system than you find there.

[Freebase Dali]

Originally Posted by toretorden

I wouldn't call it handy if it does something you don't need it for, but I haven't tried it so I won't say that the amount of info you get from it is not satisfactory ..

.. But I'd say the information you can get from dxdiag without the program is. There's a lot of info on those dx tabs! Only very rarely should anyone have a need for a lot more info about their hardware/system than you find there.

dxdiag will tell you basic information, which might help someone who just wants to know basic info about their system. In Kaleigh's case, dxdiag is fine.

Where CPUZ comes in handy is that it gives you VERY detailed information about your CPU, motherboard, caches, memory, memory slots and timing, graphics, etc. CPUZ is a must-have if you ever want to upgrade any parts in your computer and need a reference to details that actually matter when you're deciding what's going to be compatible.
For it being the very small, very free, and very detailed program it is, it's just worth it and is far easier to use than physically disassembling your computer and hunting for decals and information after you realize that dxdiag failed to provide important information and you, say, ended up buying DDR3 RAM when your motherboard doesn't even support it.

It's a good benchmarking tool and although a lot of the information given would probably go over most non-tech people's head's, at least they'd be able to use it when asked by someone who needs that information if they're reccommending upgrades or diagnosing problems/compatibility issues.

There really isn't a reason NOT to use CPUZ over dxdiag, unless your hard-drive is so full that you can't spare 1.68 MB of space for a straight up executable.

[music_phantom13]

HELP I got this goddamn Windows System Defender thing on my computer from a website. I stopped the process, and I thought I got rid of the .dll files, registry keys, and all that crap. But, there's a folder left under C:/LocalData called Defence which contains an application called smss. I'm pretty sure it's from the damn spyware thing. I never clicked anything, just immediately ended the process. But I can't delete that folder because it says I need permission, and if I give permission, it keeps prompting that I need permission over and over if I click try again. Any ideas?

[noise]

try running Malwarebytes in safe mode, that should do the trick...

[Guybrush]

Originally Posted by music_phantom13

HELP I got this goddamn Windows System Defender thing on my computer from a website. I stopped the process, and I thought I got rid of the .dll files, registry keys, and all that crap. But, there's a folder left under C:/LocalData called Defence which contains an application called smss. I'm pretty sure it's from the damn spyware thing. I never clicked anything, just immediately ended the process. But I can't delete that folder because it says I need permission, and if I give permission, it keeps prompting that I need permission over and over if I click try again. Any ideas?

You're likely not the only one who has a problem with this so there's a lot of good information on the net.

I did a google search and got lots of results -> results