Letters
Broken Bluetooth
I’ve just finished building my
new PC, and I’ve had difficulties
with Bluetooth. It’s mentioned
in the motherboard manual
as being part of the ‘Wireless
Communication Module’ together
with Wi-Fi, but nothing else
is said about it. My old PC had
no Bluetooth, so I bought an
inexpensive USB 2 dongle, which
worked fine.
However, I was surprised and
disappointed to find that my
£2,400 new PC provided a poor
Bluetooth signal, making the
keyboard occasionally erratic and
the mouse unusable. I spent hours
installing the latest drivers, as well
as trying (and failing) to get the
old dongle working, but nothing
helped. Then a friend suggested
that the PC’s metal case might be
interfering with the signal from
the motherboard’s Bluetooth
signal. Sure enough, removing the
case’s sides fixed the problem, but
I didn’t want to leave the innards
permanently exposed.
I then found that the motherboard
comes with an antenna, which I
had assumed was just for Wi-Fi,
since the manual simply calls it
a ‘Wi-Fi antenna’. I’d ignored it
because my PC uses Ethernet, but I
wondered whether it might assist
the Bluetooth signal as well, and
indeed my mouse and keyboard
then suddenly began to work.
I was undoubtedly slow in
realising what was happening,
but it might have helped if the
Gigabyte User Manual had issued
a warning.
JIM WESTHEADBen: Indeed, there are all sorts of
problems with using an internal wireless
adaptor with no antenna – there’s
potential for interference all over the
place plus, as you said, it’s encased in
a box too. In fairness to you, it doesn’t
sound like your manual was much help.
Hopefully, printing your letter will help
anybody else in the same boat.CRTs vs LCDs
I used a high-quality 22in
Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2070SB
CRT monitor up until around three
years ago. I got it for £15 locally from
eBay, but it cost £1,000 new – no
one wanted old bulky CRTs then,
but I had the desk real estate for
it. It went up to 2,048 x 1,536 at
86Hz, and up to 160Hz at lower
resolutions, although the refresh
rate was simply to eliminate eye
fatigue on CRTs. It had no need for
G-Sync, FreeSync or any of that
nonsense and there was no lag. You
could also choose which resolution
you wanted, depending on what
you were doing.
I replaced it with a 27in LG 4K
IPS FreeSync monitor, and a 27in
Acer XF270HU 144Hz IPS FreeSync
display. However, the CRT was better
at motion, especially over the Acer,
which didn’t feel comfortable to
view – I use it for my music PC now.
Modern screens produce a crisper,
sharper image (especially text), while
a CRT produces a more natural image.Please send us your feedback and correspondence to
[email protected]FEEDBACK
APRILIssue 201^2
on sale on Thursday, 2 AprilWhen’s the next issue out? The higher-end CRTs were
the pinnacle of very established
technology, whereas LCDs are still
relatively new – even now, the
ultimate test of lip sync in broadcast
is performed on tiny CRTs that cost
£15,000. What became a faff with
my CRT was the lack of VGA outputs
on graphics cards. Even when using
an adaptor, it was a pain getting
Windows and games to recognise
the resolutions and refresh rates my
monitor could use. I had to use some
very non-intuitive software to force
the resolution. With the IPS displays,
I know I can buy a graphics card and
it will just work.
STUART HARRISONBen: I remember that Mitsubishi
monitor from the time, Stuart, and I
was highly envious of anyone who had
one. Having a high-quality aperture-
grille tube with that size of diagonal,
and at those resolutions, was amazing
at the time. It took me quite a long
time to finally give up my last CRT (a
19in Sony Trinitron) and take the LCD
route, but I don’t think I’d go back now.
High-quality CRTs definitely have their
benefits, but I think for most people
they’re outweighed by their drawbacks.Letters
Broken Bluetooth
I’ve just finished building my
new PC, and I’ve had difficulties
with Bluetooth. It’s mentioned
in the motherboard manual
as being part of the ‘Wireless
Communication Module’ together
with Wi-Fi, but nothing else
is said about it. My old PC had
no Bluetooth, so I bought an
inexpensive USB 2 dongle, which
worked fine.
However, I was surprised and
disappointed to find that my
£2,400 new PC provided a poor
Bluetooth signal, making the
keyboard occasionally erratic and
the mouse unusable. I spent hours
installing the latest drivers, as well
as trying (and failing) to get the
old dongle working, but nothing
helped. Then a friend suggested
that the PC’s metal case might be
interfering with the signal from
the motherboard’s Bluetooth
signal. Sure enough, removing the
case’s sides fixed the problem, but
I didn’t want to leave the innards
permanently exposed.
I then found that the motherboard
comes with an antenna, which I
had assumed was just for Wi-Fi,
since the manual simply calls it
a ‘Wi-Fi antenna’. I’d ignored it
because my PC uses Ethernet, but I
wondered whether it might assist
the Bluetooth signal as well, and
indeed my mouse and keyboard
then suddenly began to work.
I was undoubtedly slow in
realising what was happening,
but it might have helped if the
Gigabyte User Manual had issued
a warning.
JIM WESTHEAD
Ben:Indeed,thereareallsortsof
problemswithusinganinternalwireless
adaptorwithnoantenna– there’s
potentialforinterferencealloverthe
placeplus,asyousaid,it’sencasedin
a boxtoo.Infairnesstoyou,it doesn’t
soundlikeyourmanualwasmuchhelp.
Hopefully,printingyourletterwillhelp
anybodyelseinthesameboat.CRTsvsLCDs
I useda high-quality22in
MitsubishiDiamondPro2070SB
CRTmonitorupuntilaroundthree
yearsago.I gotit for£15locallyfrom
eBay,butit cost£1,000new– no
onewantedoldbulkyCRTsthen,
butI hadthedeskrealestatefor
it.It wentupto2,048x 1,536at
86Hz,andupto160Hzatlower
resolutions,althoughtherefresh
ratewassimplytoeliminateeye
fatigueonCRTs.It hadnoneedfor
G-Sync,FreeSyncoranyofthat
nonsenseandtherewasnolag.You
couldalsochoosewhichresolution
youwanted,dependingonwhat
you were doing.
I replaced it with a 27in LG 4K
IPS FreeSync monitor, and a 27in
Acer XF270HU 144Hz IPS FreeSync
display. However, the CRT was better
at motion, especially over the Acer,
which didn’t feel comfortable to
view – I use it for my music PC now.
Modern screens produce a crisper,
sharper image (especially text), while
a CRT produces a more natural image.Please send us your feedback and correspondence to
[email protected]FEEDBACK
APRILIssue 201^2
on sale on Thursday, 2 AprilWhen’s the next issue out? The higher-end CRTs were
the pinnacle of very established
technology, whereas LCDs are still
relatively new – even now, the
ultimate test of lip sync in broadcast
is performed on tiny CRTs that cost
£15,000. What became a faff with
my CRT was the lack of VGA outputs
on graphics cards. Even when using
an adaptor, it was a pain getting
Windows and games to recognise
the resolutions and refresh rates my
monitor could use. I had to use some
very non-intuitive software to force
the resolution. With the IPS displays,
I know I can buy a graphics card and
it will just work.
STUART HARRISONBen: I remember that Mitsubishi
monitor from the time, Stuart, and I
was highly envious of anyone who had
one. Having a high-quality aperture-
grille tube with that size of diagonal,
and at those resolutions, was amazing
at the time. It took me quite a long
time to finally give up my last CRT (a
19in Sony Trinitron) and take the LCD
route, but I don’t think I’d go back now.
High-quality CRTs definitely have their
benefits, but I think for most people
they’re outweighed by their drawbacks.