As an important subsection of general nerdery (and maybe to take a load off of The Help Desk?), the hardware forum is a place for praise/distress/questions/exhibitions concerning the physical side of computing. From all of the computer oriented people already at XKCD, hopefully this will make a good outlet for technical knowledge.
The Magic Smoke?
The magic smoke comes from a running joke concerning the destruction of electronic equipment. Magic smoke is built into every chip and component when it's at the factory. If the smoke ever escapes from your computer or device, then it's damned near impossible to get back in.
What goes here?
-Reviews
- Mostly current hardware, but the classic reviews are always a good addition.
-Troubleshooting
- Is your computer acting up?
-Computer Recommendations
- Whether you need a laptop for school or you're building/buying a system for the first time.
-General Hardware Threads
- Computers, parts, or manufacturers, stuff, etc.
-Projects
- Personal projects, school projects, modifications, hands on stuff.
-General Hardware Related Questions-
- Overclocking, Hardware Help, Etc.
-Anything Else that Seems to Fit
- If it sounds right then post away.
What doesn't go here?
-Anything that seems to fit better in The Help Desk
- This can be a bit of a tough call sometimes, but more on as it pans out. Any hardware related difficulties are welcome here.
-Anything not hardware related
- Self explanatory for the most part.
General Posting Rules:
- Debates are very welcome, but KEEP IT CIVIL. Try to see things from other people's points of view.
- Fanboyism is not welcome. It's one thing to love a brand or product above all else; and another to be blind, deaf, and dumb about it.
- When posting pictures, please be reasonable with their size. 800x600 is a good middle ground, unless the picture warrants a greater size. You can spoiler tag giant pictures if you have to.
- Keep the trolling to a minimum. Voicing your opinions is fine, but keep it respectful.
- There are no stupid questions, only ones that Google can answer faster than we can.
- I'm not a grammar nit-picker, but forming coherent sentences is the best choice for all of us.
- Don't post links to or discuss pirated software/content. This includes operating systems, applications, games, music, movies, and anything else that's copyrighted or isn't free.
- Don't harass other users. You didn't come out of your mother knowing all there is to know about computers. You had to learn what you know, and so does everyone else.
More to come as we figure things out. I'm an easy going person, so as long as you're not a jerk everything will be cool. If I'm wrong about some tech/hardware advice, please call me out on it. I'm not the type of person to get offended if I'm wrong or made a mistake. This forum is as much about hardware advice as it is about learning.
