Hope your stress test outcome is positive today. And that you get an extra good coffee afterwards.
Also glad you were able to get a helpful refi!
I’m still getting adjusted to having two “active” computers. After moving my desktop / studio upstairs to my office, I started using the laptop I bought ~3.5 years ago downstairs so I can be near BrendaK. (Acquired the laptop primarily for trips to SoCal as I got tired of using Jim’s ill-maintained and cluttered PC when I was out there for stuff exceeding the capabilities of my old Android tablet.)
The desktop’s still my “main” machine and has a built-in backup. Plus, I do a further weekly backup to a portable 1T drive that I can (hopefully) “grab and go” if need be. (I probably ought to get some offsite storage for critical business and music files, too.)
Thinking about installing SSDs in both machines (which would also permit a second drive in the laptop for automated backup). But since I’ve got plenty of storage for my needs on both machines and boot/access times aren’t a significant issue, it’ll probably be a while.
I am hooked on SSDs, they are cooler, quiet, and use less power. When I put one in my laptop it made a huge difference. The first one I bought was the smallest and also the most expensive, a 120 GB Intel for $200.00. The last one was a 500 GB Sandisk for about $65.00. The ones I am using now are 240 GB Kingstons I had replaced with the Sandisk drives so they are free now. I really have no need for more than 500GB as I use them for my boot drive only and prefer to keep that limited for backups and drive images. I have kind of an overkill situation for backups on my main PC but as you say, some off site would be a good idea and I don’t really have that covered.
SSDs are finally getting to a price point I’m willing to pay for them. 😉
But they’re a lower priority for me right now than some major purchases I would like to make next year, so we’ll have to see what happens with 2021 JimCo income.
Or lottery winnings. 🙂
(Many years ago, my Kentucky-bred audio engineering mentor referred to lottery tickets as his “Hillbilly Retirement Plan”.)
It is not hard, it just requires learning what goes with what and picking the components that meet your needs. For a basic PC I think one can buy a PC that is cheaper than what can be built, but building it lets you focus on the aspects that are important to you without spending a lot on muscle you don’t need. It also lets you use all quality components, no junk, and that can help it last longer and give less trouble. OEM computers tend to go cheap on things like power supplies, DVD drives, fans, and cables. These are often the things that go out and need to be replaced or lead to replacing the PC. That XP box I made in 2007 was working fine until a month or so ago, and I reused many of the parts like the power supply and drives. When you are comfortable inside the box you can replace most things too, and it is so much cheaper than taking it to someone. I used to burn 100 or more DVDs a month so I tended to burn the drives up. I bought good ones when they were on sale and kept them in stock so I could switch them right out, fast and cheap. I still do but don’t use them so quickly. I keep a good power supply on hand as well. I only buy Thermaltake now. When they are on sale I could pick up a 500 to 600 watt unit for $40.00 to $50.00. I often can reuse those, they just don’t seem to go bad. You do end up being your own tech support but it is fun and satisfying. I used to know what sockets worked with what CPU families but it has been a long time now. It isn’t hard to get on top of it. I think the key is researching the motherboards to get the mix of features you want. It takes time but can be rewarding. If you try, I hope you will share.
Happy Puppeh Tuesday, Gerbil Nation!
Good morning, Fatwa, Mac, and Sven!
Mac -- good luck today! I hope you studied sufficiently!
The COVID test for Mrs. Paddy’s coworker came back negative, so that’s a blessing. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers.
I helped Teh Younger build a computer a few years ago and he’s already looking at upgrades. Unfortunately he’ll need to swap out motherboards as he currently is running an Intel processor and AMD now holds all the top spots for both performance and price. I remember when it looked like AMD wouldn’t survive the processor wars.
I built PCs with both types. My first PC had a low end AMD and I was not impressed. Everyone was talking about the Pentium 4 so my next two had those. They were very hot and the cooling made a lot of noise, and still they tended to be hot, so my next one had the AMD Athlon plus 2400. It was faster for what I did and ran much cooler so the box I built was quiet and fast. Shortly after that Intel came out with the Core 2 Duo and it sounded great. When I moved to Texas I made a box using the Core2Duo 6850. Because I wanted a quiet box I got a big Zalmon cooler for the CPU. It was a very fast and quiet PC, it was my XP box until the mother board bricked itself recently. I like the Intel i3,i5,and i7 family now but I have read the AMD chips are leading, as you say. I don’t do new games or heavy video editing so I don’t need the fastest.
I would love to hear what he decides to go with if he cares to share.
Went fine; it was mostly annual roof maintenance (cleaning debris off flat and tile roofs, clearing gutters / downspouts, replacing broken tiles and refreshing sealants around all of the penetrations) and removing some abandoned satellite dishes.
We also repaired one small tile roof section. (All of the tile roofing was installed improperly at this place when it was built in the ’80s and we’ve repaired a lot of leaks on them since we started servicing the property around five years ago.)
Happy Gooooood Puppeh Tuesday, GN!
Mac --
Hope your stress test outcome is positive today. And that you get an extra good coffee afterwards.
Also glad you were able to get a helpful refi!
I’m still getting adjusted to having two “active” computers. After moving my desktop / studio upstairs to my office, I started using the laptop I bought ~3.5 years ago downstairs so I can be near BrendaK. (Acquired the laptop primarily for trips to SoCal as I got tired of using Jim’s ill-maintained and cluttered PC when I was out there for stuff exceeding the capabilities of my old Android tablet.)
The desktop’s still my “main” machine and has a built-in backup. Plus, I do a further weekly backup to a portable 1T drive that I can (hopefully) “grab and go” if need be. (I probably ought to get some offsite storage for critical business and music files, too.)
Thinking about installing SSDs in both machines (which would also permit a second drive in the laptop for automated backup). But since I’ve got plenty of storage for my needs on both machines and boot/access times aren’t a significant issue, it’ll probably be a while.
===================
Heh:
No. Coffee.
Thank you, Fatwa.
I am hooked on SSDs, they are cooler, quiet, and use less power. When I put one in my laptop it made a huge difference. The first one I bought was the smallest and also the most expensive, a 120 GB Intel for $200.00. The last one was a 500 GB Sandisk for about $65.00. The ones I am using now are 240 GB Kingstons I had replaced with the Sandisk drives so they are free now. I really have no need for more than 500GB as I use them for my boot drive only and prefer to keep that limited for backups and drive images. I have kind of an overkill situation for backups on my main PC but as you say, some off site would be a good idea and I don’t really have that covered.
Hiya, Mac!
SSDs are finally getting to a price point I’m willing to pay for them. 😉
But they’re a lower priority for me right now than some major purchases I would like to make next year, so we’ll have to see what happens with 2021 JimCo income.
Or lottery winnings. 🙂
(Many years ago, my Kentucky-bred audio engineering mentor referred to lottery tickets as his “Hillbilly Retirement Plan”.)
Happy Wednesday, GN. Echoing others: good luck on test outcomes, Mac and Paddy, and congrats on the refi, Mac -- that’s a real goodness.
How’d the job in Simi go, Fatwa?
Once again we are under a power shutoff/fire weather warning beginning today.
I’ve thought abut it often, but have never done it -- building a computer. Mac, you inspire me to at least thin about doing it again.
The swamp is still the swamp: how do you even cobble together a 6,000 page bill for anything? Stupid times indeed.
It is not hard, it just requires learning what goes with what and picking the components that meet your needs. For a basic PC I think one can buy a PC that is cheaper than what can be built, but building it lets you focus on the aspects that are important to you without spending a lot on muscle you don’t need. It also lets you use all quality components, no junk, and that can help it last longer and give less trouble. OEM computers tend to go cheap on things like power supplies, DVD drives, fans, and cables. These are often the things that go out and need to be replaced or lead to replacing the PC. That XP box I made in 2007 was working fine until a month or so ago, and I reused many of the parts like the power supply and drives. When you are comfortable inside the box you can replace most things too, and it is so much cheaper than taking it to someone. I used to burn 100 or more DVDs a month so I tended to burn the drives up. I bought good ones when they were on sale and kept them in stock so I could switch them right out, fast and cheap. I still do but don’t use them so quickly. I keep a good power supply on hand as well. I only buy Thermaltake now. When they are on sale I could pick up a 500 to 600 watt unit for $40.00 to $50.00. I often can reuse those, they just don’t seem to go bad. You do end up being your own tech support but it is fun and satisfying. I used to know what sockets worked with what CPU families but it has been a long time now. It isn’t hard to get on top of it. I think the key is researching the motherboards to get the mix of features you want. It takes time but can be rewarding. If you try, I hope you will share.
Happy Puppeh Tuesday, Gerbil Nation!
Good morning, Fatwa, Mac, and Sven!
Mac -- good luck today! I hope you studied sufficiently!
The COVID test for Mrs. Paddy’s coworker came back negative, so that’s a blessing. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers.
I helped Teh Younger build a computer a few years ago and he’s already looking at upgrades. Unfortunately he’ll need to swap out motherboards as he currently is running an Intel processor and AMD now holds all the top spots for both performance and price. I remember when it looked like AMD wouldn’t survive the processor wars.
Great news, Paddy.
I built PCs with both types. My first PC had a low end AMD and I was not impressed. Everyone was talking about the Pentium 4 so my next two had those. They were very hot and the cooling made a lot of noise, and still they tended to be hot, so my next one had the AMD Athlon plus 2400. It was faster for what I did and ran much cooler so the box I built was quiet and fast. Shortly after that Intel came out with the Core 2 Duo and it sounded great. When I moved to Texas I made a box using the Core2Duo 6850. Because I wanted a quiet box I got a big Zalmon cooler for the CPU. It was a very fast and quiet PC, it was my XP box until the mother board bricked itself recently. I like the Intel i3,i5,and i7 family now but I have read the AMD chips are leading, as you say. I don’t do new games or heavy video editing so I don’t need the fastest.
I would love to hear what he decides to go with if he cares to share.
COFFEE ! Yes!
Teh yay!
Drink until you get the jitters!
Drive-by:
Howdy, Sven and Paddy!
Mac --
Happy caffeine-guzzling.
Har!
Went fine; it was mostly annual roof maintenance (cleaning debris off flat and tile roofs, clearing gutters / downspouts, replacing broken tiles and refreshing sealants around all of the penetrations) and removing some abandoned satellite dishes.
We also repaired one small tile roof section. (All of the tile roofing was installed improperly at this place when it was built in the ’80s and we’ve repaired a lot of leaks on them since we started servicing the property around five years ago.)