(Part 2) Best products from r/hardware

We found 44 comments on r/hardware discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 1,563 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.

Top comments mentioning products on r/hardware:

u/loubs001 · 2 pointsr/hardware

Agree. It depends on what you want to know, and how much you're willing to commit to learning. It's a big world. Code is a nice book if you want a very very simple explanation of the basics of bits and bytes and logic gates. It might be a good place to start, though it's intended for a non-technical audience and you may find it a little TOO simple. A proper digital systems book will go in to much more detail about digital logic (AND gates, flip-flops etc.). You might be surprised just how easy to learn the fundamentals are. I learned from Tocci which I found to be excellent, but that was a long time ago and I'm sure there's many other good ones around.

That's pretty low level digit circuits though. If you are really serious about learning computer architecture, I'd highly recommend Patterson and Hennssey . It covers the guts of how processors execute instructions, pipelining, caches, virtual memory and more.

If you're more interested in specific, modern technologies... then obviously Wikipedia, or good tech review sites. Especially reviews that focus on major new architectures. I remember reading lots of good in depth stuff about Intel's Nehalem architecture back when it was new, or nvidia's Fermi. There's a wealth of information out there about CUDA and GPU computing which may give you a sense of how GPUs are so different to CPUs. Also when I first started learning many years ago, I loved my copy of Upgrading and Repairing PCs , great for a less technical, more hobbyist perspective.

Lastly, ask questions! For example, you ask about DDR vs GDDR. Deep inside the memory chips themselves, actually not a great deal of difference. But the interface between the memory and the processor are quite different, they're designed for very different purposes. I'm simplifying here but CPUs have relatively low levels of parallism, they tend to operate on small units of memory (say a single value) at a time, they have quite unpredictable access patterns so low latency is essential, and the cores often work tightly together so coherency has to be maintained. With GPUs, they have a very predictable access pattern, so you can load much larger chunks at a time, latency is less important since you can easily keep your processors busy while memory is streamed in, and the GPUs many many tiny processors for the most part all work on separate words of memory, so coherence usually does not need to be maintained and they have much less need for caches.

The "L" (Level) naming for caches is quite simple. Memory that is closer to the core is faster to access. Generally each core has it's own L1 and L2, with L2 being slightly slower but there's more of it, and all cores share an L3, slower still but way more of it. Memory on the cpu is made out of transistors and is super fast but also takes up alot of space. Look how big the L3 is (here)[http://www.anandtech.com/show/8426/the-intel-haswell-e-cpu-review-core-i7-5960x-i7-5930k-i7-5820k-tested] and that's just 20MB. external ram is obviously much slower, but it is made out of capacitors and has much higher densities.

u/[deleted] · 2 pointsr/hardware

Alright, incoming rant.

Let's start off with the difference of 5.1 vs 7.1, shall we? The logitec set is only $10 more expensive and it's full 7.1 not just 5.1, surely it's got superior sound quality! Well, no. No it does not. Why? It's a pair of headphones, and this particular pair is powered by two drivers. Now this raises the question, what the hell is a driver?!? Put simply, a driver is the speaker cone, it makes the sound. Technically, it's a piece of <material> ringed with <metal> with a small disk in the middle, with a high powered magnet behind it, that's where the power consumption is from. The magnet receives anywhere from 44.1 thousand to 192 thousand on/off signals per second, depending on your sound card's settings and capabilities.

But back to that 5.1/7.1 thing. The logicec set decodes the audio in 7.1, which means if you play back something in 7.1 out of the computer, it will not be converted to your setup at that stage. The feature of 5.1 or 7.1 is strictly a *marketing gimmic. Any headphones made by almost any company other than sennheiser, audio technica, shure, head-direct, or <other makers of fine small driver gear> will be only meh sounding, and importantly, only powered by 2 drivers.

So, what exactly does 5.1 vs 7.1 mean in this case? Well, it means jack shit. At the driver level, both of them convert to 2.0, meaning two channels, left and right. Typical 7.1 would be front center, front left, front right, rear right, rear left, right, left, bass (bass being the 0.1). 5.1 is the same without the dedicated left and right outputs. The problem here? I just told you these headphones only have two outputs, and will only ultimately read to left and right. Sure, logitec vied for the chip that costs an extra $2 so they can write 7.1, but that means nothing here.

Understand that the 7.1 vs 5.1 is meaningless now? Good.

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Thermaltake has stuck to the more technically relevant specs in their listing, terms like "diffuse-field equalized " and nominal ohms mean nothing to the end user, and again, with only two drivers will make no difference at the end of the day.

What you should take form this is that both sets have the same reproduction range (high to low / vice versa) and have the same impedance (sound dampening/time treating, nothing to be worried about, 32ohms is normal.) Your Ohm count only needs to be raised when doing mega-scale amplifying, because high frequency sound moves faster than low frequency sound and you might get audible "tearing" without adjusting it on the ultra-loud end. Again, nothing to worry about, this doesn't matter here.

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So, blah blah blah rant rant rant, what do I recommend? Well, I recommend getting a good pair of headphones, and a cheap mic. This is the internet and your voice is being transmitted at anywhere from 16 to 84 kilobits per second (your music is probably being played at 128 or 320kbps), in short, studio mics won't have studio level performance for this.

So, recommendations.

Do you want in-ear headphones (some are called earbuds, what I will recommend here are IEMs, in-ear monitors [a monitor is an expensive driver/speaker cone])? Or do you want over-ear headphones? Over-ear phones typically have better quality, but can be uncomfortable. Likewise, in-ear phones will be more convenient, but probably sound a bit worse and have a bit less bang for your buck, while possibly being less comfortable.

IEMs:

1 - Absolute sonic clarity, across the board even and neutral reproduction: HeadDirect RE0's + Zalman mic - total: $95.09 - These babies sound much more like the dramatically more expensive IE8s than otehr ~$100 headphones, top notch recommendation. The average listener would probably miss bass, however.


2 High bass - Bose IE2 + Zalman mic - Total: $111.05 - This is your best bet if you want the best sounding headphones at face value, the drivers in these are pretty damn bass heavy and will sound amazing to the common man, an audiophile would want something with more neutrality and better across-the-board sound quality. Additionally, the stayhear tips are surprisingly effective, if you wanted to take them out with you. Jogging, riding a bus, in a car, they won't fall out.


-

Over-Ear's

1 -best quality Sennheiser HD555's + Zalman mic - Total: $116.07 - worth every penny.

u/arrcanos · 1 pointr/hardware

I'm just going to copy/paste my reply from another thread.

So...here are a few suggestions at this price range:

Audio Technica ATH-M50x: $120 (Probably the most recommended headphone ever. Somewhat boomy bass at times). http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR86

Ultrasone HFI-580 S-Logic: $132.98 (Tighter bass than the M50x, typical Ultrasone v-curve, and pretty fun). http://www.amazon.com/Ultrasone-HFI-580-Professional-Closed-back-Headphones/dp/B00101UHS8

Beyerdynamic DT770: $137.58 (Another classic. Built like a tank. Probably the second "brightest" pair of cans on this list next to the Ultrasone 780). http://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-770-PRO-250-ohms/dp/B0006NL5SM/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1463101103&sr=1-2&keywords=dt+770

AKG K553 Pro: $172.99 (My office cans. These are fairly flat with slightly accentuated bass. Their mids are a bit veiled. They can be had for $120 on Massdrop sometimes and are probably worth closer to that amount than the $170+ they usually go for).

Ultrasone HFI-780 S-Logic: $173.85 (Currently wearing these right now while while listening to Hotel California. These headphones have a strong v-curve and can be fatiguing due to how bright their treble is. However, with the right music, they can be really, really fun). http://www.amazon.com/Ultrasone-HFI-780-Professional-Closed-back-Headphones/dp/B00101XVH2

I almost always suggest Audio Technica M50x at this price range. That's not because I think they're the most fun or balanced. It's because they're a great entry level headphone for someone that doesn't know exactly what they want from their daily driver. If someone is sure that they like a nice v-curve, I'm not afraid to suggest Ultrasones or Beyerdynamics.

Add in a cheap desktop mic and you're good to go.

u/Caret · 2 pointsr/hardware

As someone else mentioned, the Hennessy and Patterson Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach, and the Patterson and Hennessy Computer Organization and Design are the de facto standards (I used both in my Comp. Eng. undergrad) and are really fantastic books (the latter being more "software" oriented so to speak).

They are not EE textbooks (as far as I know) but they are text books nonetheless. A great book I found that is slightly dated but gives a simplified review of many processors is Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture which is less technical but I enjoyed it very much all the same. It is NOT a textbook, and I highly, highly recommend it.

Hope that helps!

u/delecti · 0 pointsr/hardware

One important detail you didn't mention is whether you care what type of speakers you're looking for. I'm assuming PC speakers, and you mention that the ones you replaced were 5.1, but do you want another 5.1 set or would you be ok with 7.1, 9.1, 2.1, 4.1 etc.

I personally use Logitech X-540 speakers. They're 5.1, work great, and have a nifty feature that can output to all 5 satellites using just stereo audio. So if I'm listening to music it'll put the vocal track on the center, keep the left/right front as they would be, and put the instrumentals from their respective side on the rear channels. It's not perfect, but it sounds good in certain circumstances.

$82 on Amazon

u/thraex · 3 pointsr/hardware

I have a cheaper, more powerful, dual purpose solution for you:
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-120V-Electric-Quick-Pump/dp/B0009PURX6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300253561&sr=8-1-spell

I've been using this for dusting for a while, it works great. It's also good for inflating your mattress. When using a powerful duster, always remember to hold the fans still with your hand, so they don't get damaged by overspinning.

u/sandals0sandals · 1 pointr/hardware

Hey there, sorry for the slow response. The good thing is that you can likely pick up any dual antenna router without worrying about range.

That said, I would recommend looking at the DIR-655 from D-Link. I feel bad about it because it's been out for years, but at the same time that means the hardware and firmware are mature. You can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DIR-655-Extreme-N-Gigabit-Wireless/dp/B000LIFB7S/

The DIR-655 should be good for up to about 2000 to 2500 square feet, which in your case means that you'll have a strong signal throughout the apartment.

The only thing the DIR-655 doesn't have is dual band- meaning it can't transmit on 5Ghz wireless N. Dual band is nice because it's a "wifi only" signal, but not everything supports it yet. Looking forward, if you do a lot of media streaming and want to do that streaming wirelessly, you may want to look at the DIR-825, found here: http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DIR-825-Extreme-N-Dual-Band-Gigabit/dp/B001F7HLRC/

The only drawback is that the 825 is a dual antenna model, which will put its signal at about 1500-2000 square feet.

u/plaig · 1 pointr/hardware

meh(scroll down to the UPDATE: area to see the relevant section).

Before even seeing that review, I was going to recommend Klipsch ProMedia 2.1, which can usually be found for less than a hundred dollars on your local Craigslist(I got a perfectly working set from 2009 for $70). Yes, they're old, but yes, they're still the king of awesome/cheap, for the most part.

Don't bother with the wireless ones unless you find them at a comparable price (which you probably won't).

Otherwise, there's always the M-Audio AV40 (mark I, not II) if you're more into accurate reproduction of sound.

If neither of these is expensive enough for your tastes, I shall bow and take my leave, as you will need to find another product specialist to help in your higher-end range. I've never felt the need to spend $400+ on computer speakers, but perhaps when I own a home I'll get something along those lines. The z5500 is still an excellent set, though, so I'm not sure what you're looking for...

u/-TheDoctor · 1 pointr/hardware

I got this one to use at work and I love it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079HTZQYV

Paired it with some o-rings to help keep my co-workers sane and it was a really great keyboard for the price, especially with full rgb. Their software works great for custom rgb patterns too.

u/Cheech47 · 2 pointsr/hardware

Consider something like this: http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DIR-655-Extreme-Gigabit-Wireless/dp/B000LIFB7S

It still has the router/wireless functionality, but you can swap the included antennas (probably only a 2dBi gain) and replace them with 5's or even 9's if you're feeling frisky. Putting a parabolic dish on the back of your existing access point turns it into a directional antenna, with the beam width based on the parabola of the dish you're using. Not to mention that you need to tune the focal length of the dish-to-antenna (how far away you should place the radio from the dish), it's going to be more hassle than it's worth. If you really wanted a directional signal, you can always buy a directional antenna for the D-Link (or whatever), and you would know exactly how many degrees the beam is and where you need to place the antennas. No sense reinventing the wheel.

If you had a little cash to spend, you might consider something like this: http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-MCAB1001-Coax-Ethernet-Adapter-Black/dp/B001N85NMI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1320344857&sr=8-3

I've got these running in my house and they are AWESOME. I was able to move all the network infrastructure (cable modem, firewall, access point) to an upstairs room while providing a hard network line to my PC in the downstairs living room with no speed issues at all. And since I'm not burying my antenna someplace where I can't see it, wireless signal has improved.

u/Slyons89 · 2 pointsr/hardware

If it makes you feel any better, I've purchased 3 Deathadders for $35 each. They might MSRP for $50 but they go on sale frequently. The mouse manufacturers know this.

On the flip side, high quality mechanical keyboards just keep getting cheaper. I got this one on Amazon recently and it's awesome, I like it way more than the previous Razer and Logitech keyboards i've had. And it's like less than half the price.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079HTZQYV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

u/DeeDoubs · 2 pointsr/hardware

Vacuum cleaners are supposed to be pretty bad for some reasons, but my mom used one when I was a kid and we never had any problems on that front. These days though, I use one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500P-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001U899HQ

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They are a little pricy, but they do a good job and you won't have to deal with replacing canned air.

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I'd also recommend a small brush for getting the fans.

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EDIT: https://www.amazon.com/Brushes-Portable-Cleaning-Keyboard-Interior/dp/B07CQH78NS

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Something like the toothbrush looking one will do good for cleaning fans off. Alternatively you can just use a cheap toothbrush.

u/sin0822 · 7 pointsr/hardware

There is a market for this type of NUC, especially as an alternative to a console, it would turn your TV into a full blown gaming PC. I use mine as my office PC since I don't want a full blown PC case since i move things around a lot. It is upgradable as far as RAM and storage goes as well. Also, this looks more like introductory pricing, as you can see, its predecessor launched in the mid $700s and was significantly less powerful: https://camelcamelcamel.com/Intel-NUC-mini-NUC6i7KYK-Core/product/B01DJ9XS52 and now goes for around $500. Reading some of the customer reviews for its predecessor reveals some of the use cases, and people are pretty happy with the form factor: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-NUC-mini-NUC6i7KYK-Core/dp/B01DJ9XS52#customerReviews There are 193 reviews, so I am guessing Amazon sold a few thousand.

u/Grummond · 1 pointr/hardware

Absolute best deal I know of, are these: http://www.amazon.com/HiFiMan-RE-0-In-Ear-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B001MQ8BL6

They rival the sound quality of the Shure SE 535's, I own both and honestly don't care which ones I use. The Shure's are $400-500, the RE0's are $79. Your choice.

The RE0's have most of the clarity, detail and soundstage of the better Etymotics models, but much better bass. And at a much better price.

u/wa_elander · 1 pointr/hardware

I have tested different ones but this one has probably been my best purchase so far, Low noise and the output is roughly 489 W for the 500 w version and that has worked great for my recent builds


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014G2OUG2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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u/kwazyivan · 2 pointsr/hardware

If you can find one, thats great but make sure it doesnt block the cpu cooler.

Do note that in case the ssd gets too near the cpu cooler, the overheated air from the ssd will probably get sucked in by the cpu cooler and thats not advisable when you're trying to cool the cpu.

Also a piece of advise, it would be wise to clean the cpu cooler with an Air Duster (link below) as it currently looks clogged.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fellowes-Performance-Free-Invertible-Duster/dp/B00564NCQY?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-ffnt-uk-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00564NCQY

u/kor56 · 1 pointr/hardware

I would advise against those "home theater systems." They are nice and compact, but "nice and compact" isn't usually a good thing for speakers.

If I were you, I would pick up some nice powered monitors with a >5" cone, and no sub woofer. The sub that comes with those packages probably has a 6", maybe 8" driver, and often is turned up too much, which is why a lot of cheap systems sound kind of "farty." If you get a nice monitor you will have much clearer sound. Powered monitors usually have 1 RCA connector, which would probably go to the TV's sound output. Then if you have a DVD player hooked up to your tv over HDMI, you can also get sound from that.

I use some bookshelf speakers (dm-602's from ebay) and a reconditioned denon reciever from ecost (you can get one of these for >$150). I've heard good things about these as well.

Also, speaker stands. If you do go the monitor/bookshelf route (and you should), get some speaker stands.

u/Vince789 · 3 pointsr/hardware

Found the new one on Amazon, has the new controller

Marketing info is the same/similar as the old Shield TV

e.g.

old

> Expand your entertainment with the best gaming streamer experience that’s 3X more powerful than Apple TV.

new

> It's everything you want in one game-changing device that's 3X faster than competitors

So its probably the same, which explains why they didn't talk about improved performance during the keynote

u/dturpen · 1 pointr/hardware

I agree with Tekar, I had these Logitechs for a few years, and they were great and cheap.

They've since come out with a newer model, which I'm sure is even better.

u/Swollendeathray · 1 pointr/hardware

Logitech G35. USB w/7.1 surround sound. Super comfortable and durable as well.

*also the inner band is metal which was a big deal for me. I've snapped the band on quite a few headsets.

u/woried · 1 pointr/hardware

Thanks for the help everyone! I'm going into the city tomorrow to pick up the NEC EA231WMI-BK or order the Dell UltraSharp U2311H. Since I used to work with Dell, I know how their monitors function, so that will be my fall back if the NEC doesn't work the way I like it to.

u/xenetic · 9 pointsr/hardware

I use my Sennheiser HD650 every day at my desk for nearly a year, they're practically as good as new. But they pretty much stay in only two places (on my head or on this

In any case, if I had to go with a gaming headset, it would probably be the Logitech G35

u/Lynngineer · 2 pointsr/hardware

By 650+ do you mean the [GeForce GTX 650]
(http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-1024MB-Graphics-01G-P4-2650-KR/dp/B00966IU4M/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1380592302&sr=1-1&keywords=gtx+650)? This would get the job done nicely for my "normal" software development? And worst case I would use DVI,DVI,DP+adapter, right?

But If I want to rotate back to horizontal and have the stepson over and blow his mind with BF4, then I need something more like the GeForce GTX780?

Am I getting the general gist of what you're throwing out? (Thanks again, your help is steering me in the right direction and at the right research.)

edit - small question

u/freshmas · 2 pointsr/hardware

My $265 NEC EA231Wi is an excellent monitor in every sense of the word.

u/DoTheEvolution · 1 pointr/hardware

Strange, you are choosing between $200 and $400 monitor and both are TN? It looks like you just randomly grab some ^^


NEC EA231WMI

IPS panel not TN

23"

16:9

VESA Mounting


or SAMSUNG F2380 with cPVA panel


or you can go with some 27" TN panel, some Samsung, LG or DELL will do just fine

u/DaFox · 4 pointsr/hardware

He probably means the G35.

I would actually recommend you avoid headsets, as they are not particularily good at anything. alexistukov's recommendation is [almost] mine as well.

u/jmknsd · 1 pointr/hardware

I learned mostly from:

http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Architecture-Fifth-Quantitative-Approach/dp/012383872X

But this has alot of information in it, and was the book for the prerequisite of the class I took that Used the above book:


http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Organization-Design-Fourth-Architecture/dp/0123744938