The Bridge

whereas g-sync literally needs proprietary hardware

@Chippies Right, but the benefit being it is supposedly more tightly tuned for each model

@twobugs you like to spend lots of money, AMD is too cheap for you right now :P

Basically on the last link you dropped, you can switch to 2tb hdd, a 1x16gb ram if you want to upgrade to higher number in the future and remove Windows and buy it elsewhere

1:12 PM

@Yuuki I was referring back to a wierd "Can you beat Bolt off the blocks" game thing

@twobugs not necessarily, there's pros and cons for both technologies

I remember reading early freesync wasn't completely squashing ghosting, but I'm sure it has improved since then

that seemed to be inaccurate

@twobugs huh, that is very similar to my build (fixed link)

404 list not found

1:16 PM

@Chippies wrong link. Ping me when you fix - mobile doesnt show edit icon

Yuuki

@sequoiad Ah, I see. There was a false start disqualification in the semis, so that's what I was thinking about.

that was weird of me, I specifically made sure to not copypaste that link, yet I did...

@arda link fixed

Here's a slightly lower version of my super high-end pcpartpicker.com/list/GmcF8K

@Chippies thanks

I don't even bother watching the 100m tbh, rather watch the heptathlon

1:17 PM

@twobugs will you ever need the 32gb of RAM?

I mean, I know you stream, but do you also edit and render videos?

I mean, with enough chrome tabs maybe

fair enough, chrome loves ram

That sounds like a challenge, I think my dev machine here has 32

Oh, 20

That's a weird amount of RAM to have

oh also, I recommend 144hz. I didn't feel any difference between 60hz and 144hz when I tested, but I certainly played better much better on 144hz :)

This thing is a beast anyway

1:19 PM

@arda if you want high quality image AND 144hz, you'll need to pay up through your nose

@Frank in regards to this question, where do we have documentation that questions about graphics cards are off topic?

In fact I tested. On 60hz screen with csgo, I got to silver 5. On 144hz, I got to Nova 2 (4 ranks higher)

@Chippies I played on 700usd screens

most reasonably priced 144hz monitors are still on old TN panels

and also @Frank in that same regard, how do you assume that a game is mentioned only in passing, despite being explicitly stated in the question, and tagged with that game?

it also really depends on what he's playing

1:21 PM

@Kaizerwolf Apply the tech support acid test.

difference between 60 and 75 hz is noticeable, but going above 100hz is not very practical for non-competitive non-fps gaming

@Frank Throw acid at the question and if it burns through your monitor then you need to buy a new one?

@Frank is that the one where we tip the user in a vat of acid?

@Unionhawk 20 ramz? u shud torrent moar ramz 4 da gamez init bruv

there's also games that don't support fps above 60 and some (skyrim, fallout 4) introduces weird physics glitches at 144 fps

1:22 PM

I'm not really sure what that means, so my questions stand

@Chippies That's a fair question

My current build has 32gb but there was a big sale on RAM when I was buying

@twobugs if I were you, I'd get 16gb and see where it gets you

Do you play modded minecraft? Then you probably need 32gb of ram

if you ever need more, you can just add more

@KevinvanderVelden truf

I actually upgraded to 16 in part because of this

1:24 PM

8gb is not enough nowadays tbh

Because I literally couldn't run FTB and chrome at the same time on 8

I went for 16 initially, might upgrade to 32 when needed but not needed right now really...

@arda depends on how you use it

16 is the new 8

if you're using the PC as a dedicated gaming machine, 8 is enough

1:24 PM

and 8 is the new 4

@Chippies This depends

if you want to run everything on your PC in the background, as well as chrome with 20+ tabs, 8gb is hardly even close to enough

Well, mostly it depends on "modded minecraft" and "google chrome"

@Unionhawk and 4 was the new 2

and so it goes, back to KB

@Unionhawk google chrome wouldn't be running on a dedicated gaming PC

BUT HOW WOULD YOU ACCESS GAMING DOT STACKEXCHANGE DOT COM?

1:25 PM

@Unionhawk Let me know how that works.

get rid of chrome and everything else that's not the game you're trying to run and 8gb is enough

Eh I don't think going down from 32gb is going to save me all that much

And I typically always have chrome with a bunch of tabs open

@KevinvanderVelden You, too. What happens to new users when exposed to acid?

What happens when old users are exposed to acid?

Probably the same thing

You get bat poop

1:26 PM

I'll probably rent a VM because I have to run this script which either takes days with swap or needs at least 10gb ram

CC @Sterno

Q: Are questions about a graphics card's drivers off-topic?

-4

I posted this question: 'Windows installer has stopped working' error message when installing AMD Catalyst Drivers from v12.2 until the current drivers (v12.10), which immediately got closed as off-topic and downvoted, and got comments like "Isn't this a more SuperUser question than it is gaming?...

discussion allowed-questions off-topic-content topic

@Unionhawk They all start playing PkGo

More or less directly applicable

(data indexer)

1:27 PM

I like how this deal for a (cheap and crappy) smart watch absolutely does not want to say which smart watch it is

well if you want a minimal SmartWatch, you should get pebble

alright then, so at this time, what's the point of even having the graphics-card tag?

hell I'd even argue that graphics cards have become one of the most important aspects of gaming, and gaming related questions, especially in the time span of 4 years (since galacticninja's original meta question)

The price differential between my "high end" and "high end -1" is like $150 :P

I mean, I'm sure I can save more on my -1

High end -2

@arda I'm mostly looking at it from a "This is 30 euros for 2... can I root them for tiny wifi enabled displays"

1:30 PM

@Kaizerwolf As it relates to gameplay, we can still help

@Kaizerwolf well all of these things: gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/graphics-card

As it relates to generic graphics card stuff, nope.

@KevinvanderVelden ah

@Frank the question was not about drivers or even any type of software

@arda yeah, for which it'd be really helpful to know what they bloody are ><

1:31 PM

@Chippies It was literally about upgrading drivers.

@Frank the question was "does my gpu support opengl 4.5 and can I update it in software?" and the answer is "no, it's a hardware specification that your gpu does not meet"

@Frank no, it was about opengl support and the misconception that it is something that can be updated through software

Q: What security issues should I look out for in PHP

28

I just starting out learning PHP, I've been developing web apps in ASP.Net for a long while. I was wondering if there are any PHP specific security mistakes that I should be looking out for. So, my question is what are the top security tips that every PHP developer should know. Please keep it t...

php security

AHA! Thank you reverse image search, it's apparently a "UWatch U8" or similar

> Register globals is an aberration. It's the ultimate security hole ever. For example, if register_globals is on, the url yourdomain.com/foo.php?isAdmin=1 will declare $isAdmin as a global variable with no code required. I don't know why this "feature" has made it's way to PHP, but the people behind this should have the following tattooed on their forehead: "I invented PHP Register Globals" so we can flee them like pest when we see them!

why would that ever be a thing

Which I can get from china for 11 dollars and change

1:32 PM

Like who thought to themselves "golly ge, that's a good idea"

@Chippies And still not a gaming issue.

@Frank since it directly relates to a certain game, it really depends on how it's worded

@Frank in this case, OpenGL is a direct gaming interface, run through a graphics card. I'd say that qualifies as a gaming related question, and the user took it a step further to add No Man's Sky on to it

the only thing I can think of being an issue is that if worded wrong, it's basically "can I run this" question

My phone may have possibly regressed in battery usage. SIGH.

1:34 PM

@twobugs so, it uses less battery now?

@Chippies Except it doesn't directly relate.

@Kaizerwolf No, OpenGL is a 3d graphics renderer.

you know what I meant

Let's pretend I edited in "so I can run No Man's Sky"

Also not specific to gaming.

it's run through the graphics card anyway

1:35 PM

@Unionhawk Still doesn't pass the acid test.

@Wipqozn I think it's off by default for a decade or so now. It's certainly an extremely dangerous feature, but it's not really a current feature anymore

@Frank "this game requires opengl 4.5, I have this gpu, can I update my opengl version to 4.5?" There, that's a legit gaming question

@Unionhawk the original question is literally tagged with No Man's Sky and is mentioned in the question

@Chippies Nope, it burns it as quick as before

I need @Frank to give my phone another talking to

@Chippies Nope. Still not gaming.

1:35 PM

@Frank explain how please?

Since last time that was all it took

@Frank name one reason why the average user would even know or care about opengl besides gaming

^

@Kaizerwolf Its not about the game at all. Take out the game, the problem for upgrading still exists.

it's a technical question, just in a gaming context, which is a grey area.

1:36 PM

but OpenGL is still a gaming related utility or service

@Chippies Irrelevant to the point.

@Kaizerwolf Nope.

MBraedley

@Wipqozn I should have looked at the expanded url because yeah, that is stupid scary.

@MadScientist Yes, but why was it ever a feature?

@sequoiad right, a grey area in which users who think it's not a valid question for our site overshadow users who think it's fine

It takes instructions and makes pretty graphics.

Doesn't make us experts in it in any sense.

1:38 PM

@Frank we're experts in knowing about opengl versions in relation to games that uses it

@Chippies At absolute best, we can know which version a game needs.

i guarantee if this same question were to be directed to SuperUser, without any modifications, it would be closed as off topic and directed back to Arqade

Anything beyond that is irrelevant in the context of gaming.

php.net/manual/en/security.globals.php

> Perhaps the most controversial change in PHP is when the default value for the PHP directive register_globals went from ON to OFF in PHP » 4.2.0. Reliance on this directive was quite common and many people didn't even know it existed and assumed it's just how PHP works.

@Frank we should also know that opengl can not be upgraded beyond what the specific gpu supports on a hardware level, which is all that needs to be said in the answer

1:39 PM

@Kaizerwolf Who said anything about directing it to SU?

Controversial? no wonder everyone thinks PHP developers are terrible.

the meta post implies that questions like this belong on SU

in other words - if your gpu doesn't support the opengl version required, you can't run the game and will need to replace the gpu

@Chippies And how is knowing that about gaming?

@MadScientist I was reading and listening to some stuff about German politics particularly WRT the recent migrants. It's really interesting. I don't really feel like I can comment on it with how little of the context I understand, but the discussion fascinates me

1:41 PM

@Frank how is it not about gaming?

what is it about if it's not about gaming, in this context?

OpenGL

Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) is a cross-language, cross-platform application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics. The API is typically used to interact with a graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve hardware-accelerated rendering. Silicon Graphics Inc., (SGI) started developing OpenGL in 1991 and released it in January 1992; applications use it extensively in the fields of computer-aided design (CAD), virtual reality, scientific visualization, information visualization, flight simulation, and video games. OpenGL is managed by the non-profit technology consortium...

Graphics cards aren't considered gaming specific hardware. That includes upgrading, updating, fixing, et all.

Ultimately gaming experts should know about the hardware involved.

of course you can remove everything related to the game and make it not about gaming, but that's just cherry picking

rendering 2D and 3D graphics

1:42 PM

@Frank computers and consoles aren't gaming specific hardware then either

@Kaizerwolf No mention of games at all.

"The API is typically used to interact with a graphics processing unit"

I guess steam isn't gaming specific then either, since it has social aspects to it too

which, in today's technological age, means playing video games

@Chippies Computers, definitely not.

1:42 PM

sure, people buy a graphics card in order to render movies and such faster or in better quality

Consoles and Steam exist in a wodgy area.

but the plain fact is, GPUs are used more for gaming

Arperum

@Kaizerwolf Word uses a GPU to render stuff on the screen. Word is not a game.

Can we answer it?

@Arperum in opengl though?

1:43 PM

Yes.

can someone post the question in question?

if this is how we want to approach graphics cards, then the tag should be done away with.

Should we answer it? I say yes again.

Q: AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series Graphics Card with OpenGL 4.2

0

I was wondering if I could update OpenGL to 4.5 from 4.2 with the AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series Graphics Card. I am trying to play No Man's Sky and was wondering if OpenGL 4.2 is the highest update for AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series.

steam graphics-card no-mans-sky

I'd be up for more clearly delineating what we do and don't support for those, but currently, we take them unquestioningly.

Arperum

1:43 PM

@Chippies Not a clue. I kinda crashed into the room.

@Wipqozn Because it makes it so easy to write a script accepting input from a query parameter. But yeah, it should have been obvious that it is a truly terrible idea from the start

if we want to split hairs about graphics, then to be honest, the close votes are always going to win. so at this current juncture in the site's meta, what exactly is the point of the graphics-card tag? the "acid test" could always be used with a subjective sense to completely ruin the intent of the question, most likely ending with all of the closed

@Arperum well, windows is rendered in gpu since vista afaik

Q: Graphics card question- does it go here or in Superuser

14

I have a problem with my graphics card sometimes not working. It's not limited to a single game. Would that question belong in Arqade or Superuser?

discussion allowed-questions

10

Q: Where should I ask half-hardware-half-game-related questions?

If I had a question about hardware and a game itself (in particular, my hardware is malfunctioning and not all games/programs detect the hardware), should I be asking it here (at Arqade) or Super User? In case, the question is: What should I do when my controller isn't detected by my syste...

discussion allowed-questions

@arda Answerability as a decision point makes for crappy decisions.

1:45 PM

What's this? Positively voted meta questions and answers?

8

Q: hardware questions?

How should questions related to gaming hardware be handled?

discussion hardware

WHAT MADNESS IS THIS

@twobugs You can easily get a very skewed image of the situation depending on which sources you listen to.

all these meta posts are great, but unless we have a clearly defined definition of what (very limited it seems) questions we can answer about graphics cards, then the confusion will continue'

@Wipqozn Except we've already decided graphics cards aren't gaming specific, so this one isn't relevant.

1:46 PM

@Frank I think it's time the meta revisits this, then.

@Kaizerwolf +1

@Kaizerwolf Feel free.

@Kaizerwolf If you want to make a new meta about this topic, then feel free.

@MadScientist That's what I figured, would you recommend any particular sources for good overviews?

the argument can be pretty strongly made that graphics cards, and their utilities like openGL, are purely for gaming purposes.

1:47 PM

I think LPMF's answer in the first one works well

Revisiting certain meta decisions every couple years is a good idea

@Frank is there like any gaming specific thing though?

@Kaizerwolf We literally went through that exact argument four years ago.

@Frank unless there's a specific meta that bans all gpu related questions, I don't see how this is not gaming specific

I'll have to make the post later, since I'm at work now. But I'll do it

1:47 PM

At least bring something new to the argument.

Arperum

@Unionhawk I don't know, I'm kinda tired from driving back and forth to my girlfriend twice in three days. I drove ~1000km this weekend.

even if you say consoles, some people use them as media centers

speaking of, I'll be back in a bit, but ping me with anything important or questions or whatever, I'll see it eventually

@twobugs I'd just stay with reputable newspapers, so not Reddit and not British tabloids

@Chippies Graphics cards aren't considered gaming specific. So that bans all GPU questions not in relation to games.

1:48 PM

@Frank but this is in relation to games

@Frank This is correct. We don't consider GPU by itself to be gaming related, or gaming isue.

@Chippies No, its not. Its playing magic word syndrome.

@MadScientist Okay, neat. Thanks!

@Frank I disagre about magic word syndrome

There's no magic word syndrome going on here

Yeah, I mean, really what the question comes down to is "can I go to OpenGL 4.5 on this card"

1:49 PM

what if the question was "No Man's Sky tells me I need opengl 4.5 and won't run. My gpu does not support opengl 4.5. WHAT CAN I DO?"

It means we could put in, "in game x" into any GPU question to make it on topic.

it's just debate over upgrading your driver in order to get a game working is a game speciifc problem

@Unionhawk Exactly. No game, problem remains.

I'm inclined to agree with @Frank on this one

Can someone start a meta?

1:50 PM

gaming tech support questions are on-topic, right?

Although the problem originates from a game, SU would probably be a better avenue

@Chippies For all that we suck at it, yeah.

if the user had no idea what to do, and was just "game keep crashing help", and e came along with "you need to upgrade your GPU", then it would be on-topic - but that's not the case here. the user already knows the problem, and they just need help upgrading their hardware - that's SU

@arda I was going to later, I'm working now though

Yeah, if the question was literally @spugsley's "NMS is crashing wat do", then... it'd be a duplicate

1:51 PM

@Frank so, if the question was "The game is telling me that it requires opengl4.5 to run and won't start. What's wrong and how can I fix this?" would it be on-topic?

I agree it's it's a bit borderline, though. If someone wanted to make a meta to further clarify our gaming related hardware policy that would be fine with me.

But since it's "I see NMS crashes because of X how do I fix X" then it's more borderline

@Chippies Then we should be duping it to our, "you don't meet the minimum system requirements" question.

@Chippies I think technically it just crashes with no explanation, but I'm not sure

Because that's going to be in the minimum system reqs, I hope.

Q: What is the difference between the Atlas path and the Explorer's path?

1:54 PM

so, basically:
"my game is crashing. what do?!"
- add more info to question
"my gpu doesn't have required API version. what do?!"
- fuck off, off-topic

Lazers 2.0

3

Early on in the game, you get a choice to follow the Atlas or to forge your own path as an explorer. What are the differences between these two paths?

no-mans-sky

-1

Q: Games to play with my friend on Mac I have a PC

im looking for a first person shoting game to play with a friend, but he is on mac and im on PC! A multiplayer game. Thank you

pc os-x windows-10 first-person-shooter

the question can very easily be answered without any harm to anyone

I find @Frank is often fighting the wrong battles

@Chippies answerability makes for poor decisions.

Yes, we can answer it. We can answer game recs, too. Do we?

That's a terrible comparison and you know it

@Frank closing all the questions that are in gray area without even attempting to help the user makes for poor user experience

1:56 PM

@Chippies Closing game recs makes for poor user experience too. So?

and judging by the fact that you thought that the question was about driver update, you aren't even 100% sure of what the question is about

47 secs ago, by Unionhawk

That's a terrible comparison and you know it

game recs suffer from innumerable other problems.

@Unionhawk Hyperbole drives home points so well, though!

@Frank game rec helps 1 person, a tech support (a very popular question right now, I would assume) could help many

@Chippies yes

1:57 PM

@Chippies Whether we can or can't answer it is irrelevant.

does context overrule question, and is it made clear where such question should be? if not, can the question be moved to a more relevant place without putting the user off said community?

It makes for really, really crappy decision making.

Also, @Chippies, if you disagree the question should be closed given our current policies then I'd suggest csting a reopen vote

I don't see this as a grey area at all. Its straight up about GPUs, and that isn't gaming specific.