Author Topic: Bought any computing stuff today? (Read 129687 times)

Maverick · « **Reply #100 on:** 11 January, 2014, 09:02:01 pm »

The Mac Mini has been struggling with Lightroom and Photoshop since I acquired a 24MP camera, so today I finally made the decision and purchased a new computer -

27" iMac
3.5GHz Quad core i7
8GB of Apple RAM (to be replaced with 32GB of Crucial RAM, saving £250 on Apple RAM prices)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB
3TB Fusion Drive.

Should be with me at the end of the week

I had been contemplating a new Mac Pro but (a) I could buy 2 of these iMacs for the price (b) it would be sensible to wait some time until all the problems/bugs are known and sorted and I'm getting frustrated at Lightroom NOW!

The Mac Mini is for sale in classifieds.

The_Mikey · « **Reply #101 on:** 11 January, 2014, 09:08:21 pm »

New 802.11n router: TP-Link TL-WR1043ND, it's replacing an ageing Netgear WGR614.

StuAff · « **Reply #102 on:** 11 January, 2014, 09:16:57 pm »

Didn't get it today, but further fettling of it today reminded me- a new to me Mac Pro (a 5,1- the last of the old version, rather than the new one). 3.33 hex core, 32GB RAM, 240GB SSD plus 3TB & 1TB hard drives. Goes like stink, and compared to the new hex core, only about 20-25% slower on most tasks for about a grand less (even before allowing for the HDs). Video card upgrade will close the gap still further. I was tempted (very) by the new one, but it's not that much better. Granddad (2.66 quad 1,1) will be staying on as backup.

TimO · « **Reply #103 on:** 12 January, 2014, 03:40:17 am »

I got an HP Proliant MicroServer towards the end of last year, since the older ones have dropped in price, with a newer one having just been launched.

Together with a couple of 3TB SATA discs (configured in a mirror) that'll keep my home storage needs covered for the immediate future, so long as I don't try to store too many ISOs on there.

It has four drive bays, so I can fit another pair of discs in there eventually, but for the time being I'm just going to use one bay for a 250GB disc and put the OS on that. I may revert to using the internal USB socket for a flash drive based OS eventually (I've been experimenting with FreeNAS on a 32GB one).

It's a nice bit of kit, even if a little noisier than the QNAP which it's replacing.

Afasoas · « **Reply #104 on:** 12 January, 2014, 10:24:03 am »

Must admit I do quite fancy one of those beasts.

That said, I've happily got the spare netbook chuntering away compiling my first customised Linux kernel (Gentoo). Fingers crossed that all works out! It's 160 GB storage should be adequate for what I want it to do:

Feanor · « **Reply #105 on:** 21 January, 2014, 07:52:16 pm »

Just taken delivery of a second 24" 1920x1080 display, so my main PC is now dual-headed with lots more screen space.
Mostly on account of the new job I'm doing, which is screen-space hungry.

It's an iiyama something or other, and it's much brighter and crisper than the old iiyama 24" it's sat beside. Not sure if I can put up with the faded yellow whites on the old monitor.

I suppose that's a 1st world problem.

David Martin · « **Reply #106 on:** 21 January, 2014, 09:42:46 pm »

A replacement glass for a tablet screen. Youngest carelessly managed to bounce his tablet and it is beyond economic repair. So I have ordered the right screen and will endeavour to fix it myself over the next few days.

Biggsy · « **Reply #107 on:** 20 May, 2014, 08:16:32 pm »

Today, I've ordered not one, not two, but three better* motherboards - described as "for parts or not working, customer returns, purchased from a major IT distributor". P7P55D-E Pro for only £17 each. None of these are left now, but see if the seller has anything else you might like: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/from_bits_to_systems/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

I'm gambling on at least one of them working. Keep an eye on For Sale anyway for any surplus from me.

* Better than the plain P7P55D-E I have already while being compatible with the same CPU.

Kim · « **Reply #108 on:** 20 May, 2014, 08:18:22 pm »

Whatever the collective noun is for Raspberry Pis.

interzen · « **Reply #109 on:** 20 May, 2014, 08:20:00 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 20 May, 2014, 08:18:22 pm

Whatever the collective noun is for Raspberry Pis.

Punnet.

David Martin · « **Reply #110 on:** 22 May, 2014, 08:39:12 am »

Bramble, but only if they are networked together

David Martin · « **Reply #111 on:** 22 May, 2014, 08:40:21 am »

Is that raspbery pis, raspberry pi, or raspberries pi as a plural? (or raspberry 2*Pi)

Dibdib · « **Reply #112 on:** 22 May, 2014, 09:06:15 am »

I assume you can only buy them in multiples of a baker's dozen.

/igmc

David Martin · « **Reply #113 on:** 22 May, 2014, 09:24:04 am »

I suppose that should be a round of Raspberry Pi, as they would be 2*R*Pi

Yes, mine is the coat with an auger in the sleeve.

Kim · « **Reply #114 on:** 22 May, 2014, 12:15:59 pm »

Right. So currently a punnet, becoming an IPv6 bramble at some point after I get the mechanical construction done.

Biggsy · « **Reply #115 on:** 24 May, 2014, 03:31:38 pm »

Quote from: Biggsy on 20 May, 2014, 08:16:32 pm

Today, I've ordered not one, not two, but three better* motherboards - described as "for parts or not working, customer returns, purchased from a major IT distributor". P7P55D-E Pro for only £17 each. None of these are left now, but see if the seller has anything else you might like: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/from_bits_to_systems/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

I'm gambling on at least one of them working. Keep an eye on For Sale anyway for any surplus from me.

* Better than the plain P7P55D-E I have already while being compatible with the same CPU.

UPDATE:

Board #1: Had things hand-written on a couple of the chips with marker pen; CPU socket contacts were damaged. I didn't even bother trying it.

Board #2: Looked in good condition so I tried it. Lived for a few seconds, then failed to do anything at all. Removing and replacing the coin cell didn't 't fix it. Maybe a BIOS chip problem? I dunno.

Board #3: Looked ok apart from excess thermal paste all over the place. Works fine! Now my PCIe SSD runs at full speed, even after resuming from standby, and I can have full-speed USB 3 and full-speed SATA 3 simultaneously.

All for less than the usual cost of a single second-hand one.

CommuteTooFar · « **Reply #116 on:** 19 June, 2014, 12:40:07 pm »

I bought a Dlink DSR-250N to make my little home network slightly larger and slightly faster. I also ordered a DLink DSL-320B but that is on back order. They will replace DLink DSL-2640B. I probably would have been happy just upgrading to a DSL-2750B but that would not be so flexible.

Biggsy · « **Reply #117 on:** 19 June, 2014, 03:16:14 pm »

Corsair Obsidian 450D case

Illustrated computer not included!

It's expensive considering it's mostly air, but nicely designed. Takes 140 mm fans without being too wide altogether to fit in a fairly narrow space.

Also bought a Corsair Force Series 3 SSD. Disappointingly, it's down to several times slower than claimed once real data is on it (as opposed to benchmarking when empty), unlike the OCZ SSDs I've been accustomed to. The access speed is still fantastic compared to HDD, though, of course.

Dibdib · « **Reply #118 on:** 19 June, 2014, 03:43:06 pm »

That's a ver' ver' nice case, although I tend to steer clear of the window panels these days, opting instead for (probably snake oil) soundproofing foam.

I've had an Akasa Eclipse for years now (one of these but without the window) . Solidly built, roomy inside and pretty quiet, although at some point I'll put some money into getting it "properly" silent.

Biggsy · « **Reply #119 on:** 19 June, 2014, 03:55:30 pm »

Quote from: Dibdib on 19 June, 2014, 03:43:06 pm

That's a ver' ver' nice case, although I tend to steer clear of the window panels these days, opting instead for (probably snake oil) soundproofing foam.

Me too! I've stuck soundproofing foam over the inside of the window!

(I couldn't find another case with the dimensions and features I wanted without a window). Actually, the foam will interfere with aerodynamics and cooling, but that's a compromise I'm happy to make.

I do think it's childish to "show off your work", as Corsair say the idea is. It's also annoying that all my Corsair PSU cables are entirely black, making it harder for me to customise them. Good PSU, by the way: RM750. The fan only comes on at 40% PSU load. Happened to get a load of Corsair stuff because that's what my favourite retailer, Scan, seems to major in.

David Martin · « **Reply #120 on:** 20 June, 2014, 02:17:12 pm »

Just bought a MIFARE card reader module for arduino..

..d

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #121 on:** 20 June, 2014, 03:23:45 pm »

500 Gb Seagate external hard disk. To cheer myself up after finding that both cassette decks in Larrington Towers are b0rked chiz.

Biggsy · « **Reply #122 on:** 20 June, 2014, 05:07:23 pm »

I got a 500 GB Seagate HDD today as well, but a super-quiet "video" 2.5" ST500VT000. They really are hard to hear, while being several times cheaper (and slower) than an SSD of similar capacity. Thirty-odd quid from Hong Kong (with no customs charge in my case), or fifty quid from CPC.

CommuteTooFar · « **Reply #123 on:** 26 June, 2014, 05:06:21 pm »

I had a dsl-320b on order at Dabs. They were clearly on some ship because quite a few resellers had no stock so I was content to wait. I logged daily into dabs looked at the sales page. On Tuesday morning I was pleased to see that the message changed from long delay to more than 50 in stock. Then in the evening I noticed that my waiting order was still 'processing'. So on Wednesday morning I canceled the order, I could continue to use the old router as an ethernet modem. Then I though of the reason I wanted the new modem in the first place. I found some at Morecomputers selected the 3-5 day free postage and it turned up today (next day). Dabs 0 - 1 More Computers.

Afasoas · « **Reply #124 on:** 11 July, 2014, 02:48:27 pm »

First purchase I've made in quite some time.
A micro server case for a new NAS-cum-media server.

On the hunt for a suitable mobo next...

Author Topic: Bought any computing stuff today? (Read 129687 times)

Afasoas

Afasoas