Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by pastadudde

Advice regarding to buy new charger or new laptop

pastadudde — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 11:33:13 +0800

My dad has been using this Toshiba laptop that my older sister passed to him when she upgraded to a newer model.

The model is Toshiba Satellite L510, it's around 8 years old (I think) and the specs are of course, crap in today's perspective (I think back when my sister bought it it was considered a decent mid-range / budget laptop) - 8 GB RAM, 512 TB 5400rpm HDD, processor is Intel, but not sure what's the speed like. About 2 years ago, the battery started failing, requiring the laptop to be plugged in permanently to the charger. (if the battery died - while not being plugged in for charging, obvs - the BIOS time would go haywire.)

Today, the laptop can't be switched on anymore. Power indicator light is kaput. Charger light is on though, so I'm not sure whether it is the cable problem (the part that plugs into the laptop) - as in, there's some loose wiring; or the laptop has just run its course lol. and I do not have any way to test whether it is the fault of the charging cable, as I do not have any other laptops compatible with that cable.

I managed to find a seller on shopee selling the charging cable + charger for just under RM40, but I'm not sure whether I should just go ahead and get a new laptop for my dad. He uses it mainly for web browsing, email, checking market shares, Youtube.

Laptop cooler pads - do the number of fans matter?

pastadudde — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 18:36:03 +0800

Between these 3 models of laptop cooler pads, which of these is more worth the money:

3 fan (no LCD display for temperature; RM35)

5 fan (LCD display for temperature; RM50)

6 fan (LCD display for temperature; RM50)

.... or should I just stick with my 1 fan cooling pad that costs RM10? LOL

advice re : add on price for 1 TB HDD

pastadudde — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 13:04:28 +0800

Is it considered expensive to pay RM200 for add-on of a 1 TB HDD for laptop?

Costs include installation and the HDD brand is Toshiba.

Also, let's say if I bring my own external HDD - (I have a spare 1 TB external hard drive that has a faulty USB 3.0 port in the casing) - to the laptop seller and ask them to convert it into an internal hard drive for the laptop,would it cost much (or cost anything at all)?

Cost to repair USB 3.0 port on 2.5" external HDD?

pastadudde — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 22:26:33 +0800

What is the realistic cost of repariing the USB 3.0 port for a 2.5 inch external hard drive? I'm afraid of being ripped off when I take it to a shop for repair.

The hard drive I have is the TOURO HGST Mobile MX3 hard drive (1 TB).

As you can see from the photos I've attached, the USB 3.0 port is bent (I have used the USB wire with another external hard drive and it works perfectly, so I deduced that it was an issue with the USB 3.0 port on the TOURO external hard drive)

The hard drive itself is fine (speed and all) as long as I hold the hard drive and the wire in such a way so that it stays straight while I'm transferring data to and fro.

HSBC 0 percent interest Installment plans - LENOVO

pastadudde — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 10:57:21 +0800

Does anyone how many months is the HSBC 0 percent interest installment plan from LENOVO? Is there a choice between example, 12 , 24, 36 months?

Also, for anyone who purchased from LENOVO, how responsive is their customer service?

I emailed them a while ago to ask about trading in my old laptop to get a discount but they never gave me a clear answer about how much I would get from the trade in even though I sent in a thorough description of my laptop and the condition of it. I eventually gave up trying to get through to them. (I wonder if their customer service is outsourced to some random PRC person... maybe that's why. I had the same frustrating experience with TP-Link about 5 years back...)

customization for Lenovo IdeaPad gaming 3 (15)?

pastadudde — Sun, 07 Mar 2021 10:43:37 +0800

Would like some advice regarding these different configuration and pricing for Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 15 (done through Lenovo Malaysia Educator Store)

The key difference between the following configurations are the size of the HDD and SDD, and the graphics card . I would prefer to have a good out-of-the-box machine that I don't have to fiddle with myself to upgrade as I do not have much faith in myself at DIY repairs and disassembly - the only thing I would be confident at dong is maybe cleaning the inside of the machine (dust buildup etc) and perhaps slotting in a 2nd RAM stick.

If it helps, I mostly like to play action-adventure games / stealth gams / open world games e.g. Assassin's Creed series, Dishonored series, The Sims etc.

I will only be mentioning the Processor, HDD, SSD, graphics card and RAM (the other specs don't affect the price as it's in built into the machine) - all prices shown are after applying the 5 percent discount code given for Students/ Educators.

Configuration 1 : RM 3159.24
Processor : AMD Ryzen 5 4600H Processor (3.00GHz, Max Boost up to 4.00GHz, 6 Cores, 8MB Cache)
Memory : 8GB DDR4 3200MHz SoDIMM
First Hard Drive : 1TB Hard Drive, 5400RPM, 2.5", 7mm
Second Hard Drive : 512GB Solid State Drive, M.2 2280, PCIe-NVMe, QLC
Graphic Card : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti 4GB GDDR6 128bit

Configuration 2 : RM 3017.12
Processor : AMD Ryzen 5 4600H Processor (3.00GHz, Max Boost up to 4.00GHz, 6 Cores, 8MB Cache)
Memory : 8GB DDR4 3200MHz SoDIMM
First Hard Drive : 1TB Hard Drive, 5400RPM, 2.5", 7mm
Second Hard Drive : 256GB Solid State Drive, M.2 2280, PCIe-NVMe, QLC
Graphic Card : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti 4GB GDDR6 128bit

Configuration 3 : RM 2950.24
Processor : AMD Ryzen 5 4600H Processor (3.00GHz, Max Boost up to 4.00GHz, 6 Cores, 8MB Cache)
Memory : 8GB DDR4 3200MHz SoDIMM
First Hard Drive : 1TB Hard Drive, 5400RPM, 2.5", 7mm
Second Hard Drive : 512GB Solid State Drive, M.2 2280, PCIe-NVMe, QLC
Graphic Card : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR6 128bit

Configuration 4 : RM 2808.12
Processor : AMD Ryzen 5 4600H Processor (3.00GHz, Max Boost up to 4.00GHz, 6 Cores, 8MB Cache)
Memory : 8GB DDR4 3200MHz SoDIMM
First Hard Drive : 1TB Hard Drive, 5400RPM, 2.5", 7mm
Second Hard Drive : 256GB Solid State Drive, M.2 2280, PCIe-NVMe, QLC
Graphic Card : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR6 128bit

I would also like to ask whether it is worth it to upgrade the processor and RAM to :
AMD Ryzen 7 4800H Processor (2.90GHz, Max Boost up to 4.20GHz, 8 Cores, 8MB Cache) - adds RM220 to the price (before discount)
16GB(8+8) DDR4 3200MHz SoDIMM - adds RM150 to the price (before discount)

Also, in your opinion. is it worth it to upgrade the basic warranty to "premium care"? Here's a screenshot comparing what it offers:
https://i.imgur.com/lfVrvuW.png

Thank you in advance for any advice!

Can I trust this seller?

pastadudde — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 10:17:09 +0800

I was recently browsing through Shopee for gaming laptops as I was comparing prices against manufacturer's website etc, and I found this shop that sold gaming laptops at quite a low price (about half? 1/3 of most sellers / RRP) - https://shopee.com.my/z3ttse7gdd?categoryId...emId=3580683245

I was interested in this laptop in particular since I like the specs and found good reviews of it when I googled: https://shopee.com.my/-2020-AORUS-15G-(XB)-...7832.3580683245

I then messaged them (via the Shopee website) to ask whether they were brand new products, since such a low price point is usuaully a give away that it is refurbished.

The seller then asked for my phone number so that they could contact me via whatsapp, so I contacted them via that, and they asked me to check out their website:
https://c4-electronic.com/ (*I was curious and I plan to block the number if necessary)

I then told the seller via WA that if I were still interested, I would purchase through Shopee (because of the Shopee Guarantee, although I didn't tell that to the seller).

Their reply was "You can only order here*, if you want my IC I can send it to you okay"

*I assume by here, they mean the shop website

A few questions regarding Astro IPTV + Maxis Fibre

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 07:30:00 +0800

A few questions regarding Astro IPTV + Maxis Fibre

pastadudde — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 22:50:35 +0800

Hi there,

I was wondering if any helpful souls could clear these doubts / queries I have regarding the Astro IPTV + Maxis Fibre Internet package.

I am currently subscribing to
1. normal Astro service (satellite reception) - total bill RM 173.95 a month (RM153.95 + RM20 for HD)
2. Streamyx 1 mb/s + TM fixed line - total bill RM 100

So basically I am paying a total of RM273.95 (BEFORE TAX) a month for Internet, phone and Astro.

The Astro RM133 HD superpack along with the RM 123 (rm25 discount from RM148) Maxis 10 mb/s package plus Maxis fixed line number for RM 20/ month seems like a good deal for me because the total bill comes to RM276 (no tax).

However, I do have some doubts regarding some aspects of fibre Internet, especially because I live in a high-rise (Union Heights , Taman Yarl, OUG, KL).

Here are my questions / concerns:

1. For the Maxis fixed line, is there any need to install new phone wires / cables? Can my existing phone wire / cable (that connects to the wall) be used?

2. I understand that high rise buildings will either have Maxis propriety Fibre Optic Pathways or copper VDSL. I am guessing my condo is using copper VDSL because it is quite an old condo (I will check with the building management ASAP regarding this).

Are there any potential difficulties / problems for the technicians when it comes to setting up Fibre Internet through copper VDSL? Astro said Maxis will supply 15 meters of fibre wire for free but any extra needed will incur extra charges. I would like to circumvent that from happening if possible,

3. I have read on these forums that the default Thomson router given by Maxis is awful with a capital A. Is VOIP still bundled together with Maxis Fibre packages? As i understand, VOIP must be connected to the Thomson router to work.

(I still have my current TP Link WD821-ND router that is still useable and as noted above, I will most likely be getting a Maxis fixed line to replace my TM line.)

4. For canceling my TM phone line and Streamyx line, when should I do this? Before or after the Maxis Fibre and fixed line installed? If before, how many days before the installation of the Maxis Fibre should I go to TM and terminate their service?

I am also confused whether TM will bill me after I terminate my service if it's done say, in the middle of a month. E.g. If I terminate my service on the 15th of a month, do I still have to pay for the month? Would appreciate some advice.

Thank you to whoever who read this really, really long post. I would appreciate any helpful advice! muchos gracias

Edit: can a mod / admin please move this to the Getting Broadband Sub forum please? I wasn't fully aware of the rules yet when I posted this thread