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Broadcom vs Intel NIC

Dave Farquhar Hardware November 10, 2020March 2, 2022

My son was having trouble with the Realtek network card in his PC. The question was what to replace it with. Well, it wasn’t going to be another Realtek-based card. Should I get a Broadcom? Or an Intel? Let’s look at the pros and cons of a Broadcom vs Intel NIC.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Normal GPU temperature

Dave Farquhar Hardware October 15, 2020September 27, 2020

What’s a normal GPU temperature? That all depends on your GPU and how you use your system, but I can at least give you some guidelines.

Dave Farquhar

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Are tenkeyless keyboards good?

Dave Farquhar Hardware October 8, 2020February 3, 2022

I’ll admit it. I’m a keyboard snob. There are two reasons for that. My mind races much faster than most people can type, and on a good keyboard I could type at insane speeds in my prime. Secondly, I’ve had repetitive stress injury, and after a day of typing on cheap keyboards, I can feel it. I’m an extreme case, but if you’re asking about a specific kind of keyboard, that’s probably the opinion you want. So are tenkeyless keyboards good? I thought I’d hate them, but I was wrong.

Tenkeyless keyboards offer at least three advantages over a traditional keyboard. They’re cheaper, they take up less space, and they allow a better position for the mouse. If you’re not an accountant, they’re worth a look.

Dave Farquhar

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Can a storm damage a modem?

Dave Farquhar Hardware September 28, 2020September 12, 2020

In early August 2020, strong storms blew through St. Louis, causing power outages and other disruptions. A friend shared a story about the storm causing a modem to burst into flames spectacularly, then asked if it was real. It probably was. It’s entirely possible for a storm to damage a modem, sometimes in dramatic fashion.

Although it’s unusual, it is entirely possible for a storm to damage a modem. The damage can be partial, or complete.

Dave Farquhar

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What is a PS2 keyboard?

Dave Farquhar Hardware September 23, 2020September 22, 2020

Sometimes you’ll hear references to a PS2 keyboard, or, more properly, a PS/2 keyboard. It’s an old standard, and a fair number of newer computers can’t use them anymore. But what is a PS2 keyboard? And if it was good enough to last so long, why did it go away?

Dave Farquhar

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Laser printer streaks and how to fix them

Dave Farquhar Hardware September 14, 2020September 10, 2023

Laser printers tend to be fairly low-maintenance items. When they start printing streaks across your pages, that’s how you know it’s time for service. It doesn’t usually mean you need a new printer. In this blog post, I’ll tell you how to fix laser printer streaks.

Laser printer streaks usually mean the printer’s toner cartridge or drum unit has a problem. On some printers the drum unit is part of the toner cartridge, but on cheaper printers, it may be a separate piece.

Dave Farquhar

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Are Westinghouse TVs good?

Dave Farquhar Hardware August 25, 2020May 12, 2023

Westinghouse is an old, respected brand in the United States, and you can find Westinghouse TVs everywhere. But are Westinghouse TVs good? If they aren’t, it’s because Westinghouse TVs aren’t what they seem. Let’s start with who makes Westinghouse TVs.

Westinghouse TVs are made by Tsinghua Tongfang, a Chinese state-owned electronics company. Other brands made by Tsinghua Tongfang include Seiki and Element.

Dave Farquhar

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GT 710 vs GT 1030

Dave Farquhar Hardware August 20, 2020August 2, 2020

If you need a budget video card, there are probably two cards on your radar: The GT 710 and GT 1030. While the 1030 costs twice as much as the 710, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. The GT 710 vs GT 1030 comes down to a battle for the cheapest card worth having. Here’s how to decide which one is for you.

Both the GT 710 and 1030 are really intended for casual computing. But both of them have their use cases, especially in SFF desktops.

Dave Farquhar

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x16 GPU in PCIe x1 slot: The caveats

Dave Farquhar Hardware August 11, 2020September 19, 2023

Can you put a x16 GPU in a PCIe x1 slot, and will it work? It depends. There are several reasons you may want to do this, but you may run into some issues.

A x16 GPU functions just fine in a PCIe x1 slot. However, in most motherboards it doesn’t fit unless you modify the card or the slot.

Dave Farquhar

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Why do capacitors fail?

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Retro Computing July 22, 2020January 8, 2025

Bad capacitors are the bane of generations of consumer electronics. They plagued early 90s Amigas and Macs, early 2000s PCs, and cheap hardware even today. So why do capacitors fail? And how can you tell when a failed capacitor is a problem?

Capacitors fail when the electrolyte dries out, or when the gas inside them builds up to a point that it opens a safety valve and the electrolyte leaks out. A good capacitor takes decades to dry out, but a cheap capacitor can leak within a few short years.

Dave Farquhar

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