New Desktop parts list (RFC)

[Carol Haynes]

SIW is very easy to use. There isn't a free version any more but you can find the last free build at:

www.oldversion.com/windows/siw/

[4wd]

SIW is very easy to use. There isn't a free version any more but you can find the last free build at:

www.oldversion.com/windows/siw/

-Carol Haynes (January 10, 2013, 06:32 PM)

That appears to be build 0916, (Sep 16), a later version could be available at PortableApps, 1029l (Oct 29).

The last Home Edition one from the SIW website is even later, 1029r, but it needs to be installed and comes with OpenCandy.

[TaoPhoenix]

LookInMyPC is free, easy to use, and doesn't need an airline pilot's license to figure it out. It can create a comprehensive hardware profile report. It does a lot more too.  It's a nice utility to keep on hand.

-40hz (January 10, 2013, 05:56 PM)

Okay, here is my report. I turned off a lot of obvious stuff like browsers and hotfixes to keep it short.
http://www.freevoteu...kInMyPC%20Report.zip

[Carol Haynes]

SIW is very easy to use. There isn't a free version any more but you can find the last free build at:

www.oldversion.com/windows/siw/

-Carol Haynes (January 10, 2013, 06:32 PM)

That appears to be build 0916, (Sep 16), a later version could be available at PortableApps, 1029l (Oct 29).

The last Home Edition one from the SIW website is even later, 1029r, but it needs to be installed and comes with OpenCandy.

-4wd (January 10, 2013, 07:48 PM)

FWIW the portable apps version works just fine - extract the archive and then just double click SIW in the extracted folder.

[4wd]

LookInMyPC is free, easy to use, and doesn't need an airline pilot's license to figure it out. It can create a comprehensive hardware profile report. It does a lot more too.  It's a nice utility to keep on hand.

-40hz (January 10, 2013, 05:56 PM)

Okay, here is my report. I turned off a lot of obvious stuff like browsers and hotfixes to keep it short.

-TaoPhoenix (January 11, 2013, 05:08 AM)

Looks like it's an old, (by today's standards), Creative SB Audigy card that's been added - whatever software you're using is most likely leveraging the DSP on it.

Most modern CPUs would probably at least give it a run for it's money, especially given they can probably utilise their onboard stream processors to do the job.

[TaoPhoenix]

Looks like it's an old, (by today's standards), Creative SB Audigy card that's been added - whatever software you're using is most likely leveraging the DSP on it.

Most modern CPUs would probably at least give it a run for it's money, especially given they can probably utilise their onboard stream processors to do the job.

-4wd (January 11, 2013, 06:36 AM)

Heh - which is just fine! It's after all a rig from 2006. First gen quad core, and for the time it was an inexpensive touch that has proven useful. But even if modern cpu's could race it, if the cpu needs to do other things, then it's nice to have that as a different process. But thanks for confirming that I'm not a blithering twit! I knew we did *something*.  : ) 

The software is simple Audacity, and I only use about five features - the stuff I do is pretty simple, but I do a decent chunk of it.

[40hz]

^The Audigy/SB line were great sounding soundcards. Nothing wrong with having one of those in your rig IMO. I think they sound noticeably better than the onboard audio chips found on most modern mobos. Sad to see they're tomb-stoning all support for all of them with Windows 7. (An EE I know said there's no reason why they couldn't continue to work with just about anything. They're extremely well-designed devices.)
 
Too bad Creative made such great hardware and such problematic drivers and software. If they had gotten their act together on that score I don't think you'd have seen onboard audio take off the way it did on desktop PCs.
 

[TaoPhoenix]

^The Audigy/SB line were great sounding soundcards. Nothing wrong with having one of those in your rig IMO. I think they sound noticeably better than the onboard audio chips found on most modern mobos. Sad to see they're tomb-stoning all support for all of them with Windows 7. (An EE I know said there's no reason why they couldn't continue to work with just about anything. They're extremely well-designed devices.)
 
Too bad Creative made such great hardware and such problematic drivers and software. If they had gotten their act together on that score I don't think you'd have seen onboard audio take off the way it did on desktop PCs.
 

-40hz (January 11, 2013, 09:08 AM)

However, one interesting little footnote is that EMET notifier is a relatively new addition from this year, and it squawks about the Creative applet that starts when I boot, and shuts it down. I'm not sure what to make of that.

[40hz]

it squawks about the Creative applet that starts when I boot, and shuts it down. I'm not sure what to make of that.

-TaoPhoenix (January 11, 2013, 09:43 AM)

The EMET notifier is part of Microsoft's extended mitigation experience toolkit. It's designed to detect exploitable and hack-vulnerable code on your system. Which is not the same thing as malware. It's just code that has the potential to be compromised by something or somebody else.

It's probably complaining about CTLTask.exe



CTLTask.exe lets you ditz with your EAX effects on the soundcard. It's not something you need to have running at startup (or probably any other time ) so I'd just disable it from autostarting with msconfig or a similar utility. You can always launch it later if you ever do want to play with it.

Onward!

[4wd]

The software is simple Audacity, and I only use about five features - the stuff I do is pretty simple, but I do a decent chunk of it.

-TaoPhoenix (January 11, 2013, 08:19 AM)

I might be wrong but I don't think Audacity does any hardware accelerated processing, (ie. it doesn't make use of any DSPs), so the CPU will be doing it all.

[TaoPhoenix]

it squawks about the Creative applet that starts when I boot, and shuts it down. I'm not sure what to make of that.

-TaoPhoenix (January 11, 2013, 09:43 AM)

The EMET notifier is part of Microsoft's extended mitigation experience toolkit. It's designed to detect exploitable and hack-vulnerable code on your system. Which is not the same thing as malware. It's just code that has the potential to be compromised by something or somebody else.

It's probably complaining about CTLTask.exe
 (see attachment in previous post)
CTLTask.exe lets you ditz with your EAX effects on the soundcard. It's not something you need to have running at startup (or probably any other time ) so I'd just disable it from autostarting with msconfig or a similar utility. You can always launch it later if you ever do want to play with it.

Onward!

-40hz (January 11, 2013, 11:04 AM)

Thanks for the help as always! I've never used the toolbar, but I was hesitant to fully uninstall it because I didn't want to hose the whole sound card. But I forgot about msconfig which I haven't used in years. I'll have to poke at it again.

[TaoPhoenix]

The software is simple Audacity, and I only use about five features - the stuff I do is pretty simple, but I do a decent chunk of it.

-TaoPhoenix (January 11, 2013, 08:19 AM)

I might be wrong but I don't think Audacity does any hardware accelerated processing, (ie. it doesn't make use of any DSPs), so the CPU will be doing it all.

-4wd (January 11, 2013, 08:52 PM)

Hmm, so while the sound card has some abilities, are you saying I'm not seeing them? Hey Renny, does your program tap any of these advantages any better? I only use Audacity out of habit; it would be much more fun to use a DC program because then if I beg, plead, grovel, and brown-nose enough I might be able to get a bug fix in! 

[4wd]

The software is simple Audacity, and I only use about five features - the stuff I do is pretty simple, but I do a decent chunk of it.

-TaoPhoenix (January 11, 2013, 08:19 AM)

I might be wrong but I don't think Audacity does any hardware accelerated processing, (ie. it doesn't make use of any DSPs), so the CPU will be doing it all.

-4wd (January 11, 2013, 08:52 PM)

Hmm, so while the sound card has some abilities, are you saying I'm not seeing them?

-TaoPhoenix (January 11, 2013, 10:36 PM)

Pretty much, it'll just be using it for playback like any normal Windows program.

If you read here you can get direct access to the hardware for low-latency effects but you need to compile Audacity yourself in order to get it, (propriety reasons).

According to this page, on the Audigy you will only be able to apply any effects through ASIO across the stereo output whereas later models, (Audigy 2), allowed you to apply them on a per channel basis but it does list some software that can use the ASIO drivers.