Questions tagged [computer-hardware]
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Is it true that the only moving parts of a CPU are electrons?
Somebody I know claims that the only moving parts of a CPU are electrons.
Is that true?
I've tried to find an answer myself but I only get resources that describe at length how CPUs work in general ...
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How is it possible to mount this PSU for 19' rack?
As a part of a project I need to deliver all hardware as 2x 19" Racks. One components of the hardware is two of these power supplies.
Can these supplies be fit/mounted on 19" Racks in a way? ...
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Why Ball-Grid Arrays are More Heat Resistant
I read that for Ball-Grid Arrays, the BGA's act like a thermal dissipator because there are more channels, so it is more heat resistant as opposed to Thin-Quad Flat Pack which uses pins.
Is this ...
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How realistic is the "death by CRT monitor" scene from Final Destination?
First of all, I realize that not only is this a fictional scene in a movie, but a movie (series) particularly infamous for its ridiculous, over-the-top death scenes.
Yet, I have heard of basically ...
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Second small surface one integrated CPU
I was changing the thermal paste of my CPU and I noticed, there where two metallic surfaces but only one was covered with thermal paste. The heatsink-plate is big enough to cover both surfaces, though....
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What is the proper way to get Arduino to "push" a button for me on a separate circuit?
So I built this little circuit in tinkerCAD and it does "work" but I feel like I'm not using these transistors correctly. Is there a more proper way to do what I'm trying to do here? I want ...
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Can I weld a copper pipe into a CPU heat sink for better cooling?
I have an old laptop which I revived with the addition of a SSD. The problem now with this laptop is that it gets very hot causing thermal shutdowns in the middle of work. I thought of a lot of ...
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How can the DVR/NVR handle many cameras while PC can't?
First of all, I apologize for lack of information, but I have to start somewhere.
For those who have knowledge about this topic, can you tell me how PC can not handle more than 8 cameras while DVR/NVR ...
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Create a virtual board as often seen on YouTube
I have seen a lot of YouTube videos that use a virtual board for teaching. For example, in the video link below, how can I do the same thing? What are the steps in details in order to be able to ...
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Question on HDMI and DisplayPort Compatibility
I have a very simple question: If a PC has a DisplayPort output, can I plug in my monitor which supports HDMI?
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Is fiber to computer(without the use of LAN cables in between) possible?? Are any further developments getting carried out towards this goal?
All of us know well that the fiber to home(FTTH) connections are a trend nowadays. Every nation is planning to replace the existing metal wires with optical fiber cables. But we also see that the ...
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Server rack modifications - strong enough?
Question: Can I modify this rack and have the result still strong enough to hold the content?
I have a server rack made from Steel. However it is 1980's old and doesn't quite conform to modern ...
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Are there tools to design and test experimental hardware and firmware through emulation?
I'm a programmer and I'm interested in testing an idea I have for a SATA intercept hardware device. I'd like to design a custom piece of hardware involving SATA connections, splitting of signals etc. ...
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243
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Filling gaps in heatsink design to improve thermal conductance?
I am currently pondering modifying my laptop's heatsink and am curious whether I stand to gain any benefit at all.
The CPU and GPU (similar heatsink design) reach high temperatures (90°C +) under load ...
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How much energy do all the world's emails use?
I have heard high level statistics and headlines around
blockchain uses more energy than the Netherlands
I am interested to compare this quantitatively to other utilities, for example email and ...
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127
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How to measure time taken to run SCPI commands? [closed]
We all know that every program takes time to run. Normally in Python, the time built-in Python library would be sufficient to measure time-taken to run code. How may I determine how long a SCPI (...
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Is using your mouth and lungs to blow away dust inside your computer somehow bad for the computer?
Bottles of compressed air are very expensive where I live. While it would be nice and ideal to have and do a "proper" cleaning, I've always used my mouth and lungs to blow air onto the dust ...
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How long can I reasonably expect my external USB HDDs and memory sticks to last?
I have a number of external USB HDDs (nearly all of them 2.5") in my fireproof safe. They are between 7 and 9 years old. (For a period of two years, I bought one almost every month until I had ...
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Is there no longer such a thing as varying quality of hardware for USB memsticks? [closed]
I'm trying to buy a new 128 GB memstick, for the first time in a very long time. It's going to store important files, and while I will have at least one "copy", I still don't want either of ...
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Has there been any deliberate implementation of combinational logic soft error correction in any consumer-level product, like a CPU/microcontroller?
It is well known that many error detection, mitigation, and correction methods, such as parity or ECC, have been available in large memory banks, like for RAM, for decades now, and even in CPU caches ...
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2 complement code and Carry, Zero, Overflow and Negative Flags
Assuming I have a negative 8-bit number represented in 2 complement code, let's say -12, what number can I add to it to set all flags mentioned in the title (Zero, Negative, Overflow and Carry), or at ...
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Is there a solution for USB Multiplexing, i.e. passing data between different devices by sharing/splitting a USB connection?
Forgive me if my title is vague, I will attempt to explain my issue. I don't know if such a solution exists and I have tried searching without any luck.
I would like to utilize a passive USB protocol ...
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Tiny white spot continuously appearing on the Laptop screen
As I mentioned in the title, I am continously seeing this white spot, which as per my assumption, based on some Googling, is a pixel turned on, on the Laptop screen.
But the thing is, if I visit any ...
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Is it possible for laptop speakers (versus external speakers or headphones) to pick up radio signals?
Heard a strange sound a couple of times last week while web browsing. It sounded very much like I was listening to someone's microphone (e.g. the sound was static-y, it sounded like papers were ...
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Climate control in data centers
I'm a student currently working on a market research project on the HVACR industry, and I'm having trouble nailing down a simple answer to these questions (it may be there are no simple answers, as so ...
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What purpose do the "angled tabs" on a PCIe bracket serve?
In the PCIe specification (see page 75), the "short arm" of the bracket has two cutouts; one for the slot that the retaining screw fits in, and another square cutout that has additionally had the ...
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Network Switch with Togglable Ports
I'm a software engineer that works on custom embedded devices. I program these devices through a typical RJ-45 ethernet cable. In most cases, I can connect my computer to these devices through a ...
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187
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Sealing thrips out of monitors
I don't know if this is the correct forum as I can't find any suitable tags.
We operate some of our equipment in fields inside tents. Our big problem is thrips/thunder flies. They somehow make it ...
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Ryzen 5 2600x Rev. A versus Rev. F: What is difference in revs?
My son built a computer a few months ago with Gigabyte m/b and Ryzen 5 2600x. He bought the parts at a local Computer Super-Store and built it.
I liked it so much I bought the parts at the same local ...
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How to add external sensor data to pictures, canon DSLR, hot shoe, electronics
Here's a challenge -
I am trying to add different sensors data (height,temperature,distance by laser) to pictures i take with a canon DSLR camera.
Would it be possible to connect different sensors ...
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Memory management in for multiple cores of a processor
I come across a question-'How big an address space should I allocate for each ARM A53 core in a mobile processor?' What is the answer for this?
Does it refer to memory management in SoC?
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How to detect what wattage that my Windows laptop is receiving via USB-PD?
I don't know too much about USB-PD. I understood that USB-PD requires negotiation between the charger and the receiver. So probably my Windows laptop (Dell XPS 9570) should be able to know the current ...
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What happens when an LCD screen shuts off?
I read about how an LCD screen works here, and it made me wonder what actually happens when the screen shuts off. Based off of this, I can think of several possibilities:
Electricity is supplied to ...
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motion gesture and axis definition
I read something about defining hand gesture, which include mid-air hand gesture (e.g a peace sign with the two fingers moving one after another), touch-based gesture (e.g. on touch screen), and ...
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How can I transmit signals from pre-amplifiers to a laptop nearby using bluetooth?
I am trying to collect signals from preamplifiers (Aquarian Audio preamps, PA-4) and have them sent to a laptop nearby wirelessly, I have not found a dedicated device for this process, and the ...
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How to find the smallest change in voltage
You are comparing different A/D converters that will have 3.2 V and -3.2 V as their positive and negative reference voltages, respectively. Out of the following, converter _ can resolve the smallest ...
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DIY Thermal Solution [closed]
What would be the best way to design a sealed computer containing a gas or liquid circulated by a fan/pump to cool the components? ( With a metal case ) Then the computer would not be susceptible to ...
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What is the white colored connector circled in red in the picture of a laptop motherboard called?
This is a picture of the back of my laptop (An ASUS S550CM) with a motherboard/HDD/RAM access panel removed.
The white connector connects the motherboard with the laptops back panel which in turns ...
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281
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How does punched card computer circuit design work?
I am trying to understand the underlying process of computer circuits from the beginning. I am reading about punch cards. I have come across several youtube videos and articles which are useful.
...
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Computer "Ports", port scans and daemons
If I do a port scan from the internet, do I hit a bundle of wires that are physical ports into the motherboard (like a PCE port)?
Or do I actually go into the operating system and interact with the ...
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Use two passive CPU coolers on one single CPU?
I aim on building a silent, completely passively cooled PC, with no moving parts at all (I am aware that it is cheaper to go for an inaudible computer instead, using low speed fans. This is not the ...
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Why laptop keyboard has so many bus lines?
I changed one laptop keyboard on the new one and while changing it I noticed that it has 30 line bus.
But from my VLSI practice, I know that keyboard can use only 1 data line and 1 clock line (PS/2) ...
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Similarities between OBD-II and VGA
I'm working on a project to make a Heads Up Display in my car. I need a way to present my project in front of my class, for I obviously cannot bring my car into the presenting room. My professor ...
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Connect a GPU to a mobile FPGA using
Please indicate if this question would be better asked on other fora, I'm not an engineer but computer scientist, and have very little experience with FPGA's / ASICs.
As far as I understand from ...
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How is "16.7 million colors" in a display calculated?
How is "16.7 million colors" in a display calculated?
Also, is it a software or a hardware thing (the 16.7 million colors)?
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Why are corporate printers so large?
I often seen printers like this in offices and schools. Considering how we can have printers small enough to fit on a desk, why are these printers taking up half a room? What are they capable of doing,...
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How to make factory machine hard disk drive more durable? How much its estimate life span?
I wonder how can I make hard disk drive more durable? Specifically, I works in a factory environment. And almost every few months, hard disk drive in some of the factory machine are corrupted, and ...
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How do mechanical keyboard switch mechanisms relate to the force graphs?
I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I'm curious about what contributes to the asymmetry of force-distance graphs provided by keyboard switch manufacturers?
For example, it is common ...
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How do we specify among a shim, spacer, and washer?
Our small radio-control model cars have shims, spacers and washers. I am tasked with clarifying the manual and getting parts naming consistent.
We have these items from less than .5mm thin up to 1/8"...
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Deep out-of-order buffers
I was reading about the new Intel Xeon Phi processor on Intel's site
https://software.intel.com/xeon-phi/x200-processor/remote-access
and ones of its features is:
Highly-parallel performance: ...
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