Hardware Archives - The Silicon Underground

Reduce the pinginess of a mechanical keyboard

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 12:03:18 +0000

A mechanical keyboard will always be louder than a membrane keyboard because of their physical characteristics. A membrane keyboard involves a plastic tray with some keyboard sliders striking a rubber membrane to make contact with a circuit board. Mechanical keyboards

The post Reduce the pinginess of a mechanical keyboard appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

A life hack to keep cables organized

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 13:03:09 +0000

We all have a supply of cables that we aren’t using at the moment, but don’t want to discard because we might have a use for them again at some point. And some people will tell you you shouldn’t do

The post A life hack to keep cables organized appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Is it time to stop buying used Dell Optiplexes?

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 13:03:14 +0000

I saw a YouTube video the other day saying it was time to stop buying used Dell Optiplexes, and he advocated building a new PC based on an AMD Ryzen 5 instead. But is it really as cut and dry

The post Is it time to stop buying used Dell Optiplexes? appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

A retro style mechanical keyboard

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 13:03:31 +0000

The resurgence in popularity of mechanical keyboards makes me happy. Today, you can get an affordable keyboard whose quality rivals those of the late 1980s and early 1990s but in a variety of sizes and styles and with a USB

The post A retro style mechanical keyboard appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Are IBM and Lenovo the same company?

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 13:03:54 +0000

Are IBM and Lenovo the same company? It’s complicated. They aren’t the same company, but it’s easy to see why someone might think they are at least related. For a while at least, they wanted it that way. So let’s

The post Are IBM and Lenovo the same company? appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

How to clean RAM sticks

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 31 May 2023 13:03:58 +0000

Normally, RAM isn’t something you have to think much about once you have it installed. But if your computer is having stability issues or giving memory errors, that can be an indication not all is well with your computers RAM.

The post How to clean RAM sticks appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Is a 500 GB SSD enough for gaming?

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 22 May 2023 13:03:33 +0000

I think we can all agree, you can never have too much storage space. But most of us don’t have unlimited budget for storage space, and we have to Make room in our computer budget for other things, like RAM,

The post Is a 500 GB SSD enough for gaming? appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Why my Ethernet cable is blinking orange

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 09 May 2023 13:03:20 +0000

It can be a little bit jarring to see a blinking light on your Ethernet cable when the device you plugged it into isn’t even powered on. Why is my Ethernet cable blinking orange? For that matter, why is that

The post Why my Ethernet cable is blinking orange appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Is a smartphone a computer?

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 14:03:07 +0000

Is a smartphone a computer? The short answer is yes. The reason why I answer that way is a little bit more complicated, but a smartphone meets every definition of a computer. Why a smartphone is a computer A smartphone

The post Is a smartphone a computer? appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Phone charger won’t plug in? Check this

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 14:03:05 +0000

The other day I went for a walk, threw my phone in my pocket like I always do, and didn’t think anything of it. But then when I got home, the charger didn’t want to plug in. Here’s what to

The post Phone charger won’t plug in? Check this appeared first on The Silicon Underground.