Hey Tom, that old computer you gave me, with the Radeon 5830 and the giant Coolermaster heat sink, do you remember what chip was on that?
I've gone out and bought some new parts and used the power supply and case from that old computer, but I think my son is kinda interested in taking the old innards (motherboard, chip, ram) if it's decent speed. For the life of me I can't remember what it was.
Quote from: Thorin on March 06, 2015, 03:53:26 AM
Hey Tom, that old computer you gave me, with the Radeon 5830 and the giant Coolermaster heat sink, do you remember what chip was on that?
I've gone out and bought some new parts and used the power supply and case from that old computer, but I think my son is kinda interested in taking the old innards (motherboard, chip, ram) if it's decent speed. For the life of me I can't remember what it was.
I believe it was a intel QX6600 cpu. But it may have also been a AMD Phenom 9550. The machine is not a speed demon, but its not a slouch either, especially if you give it a decent gpu.
I found RAM
If you want RAM
I found some
What kind of RAM?
I have old RDRAM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDRAM), I wonder if it's worth anything. It's from 1999, I think. It's not useful anymore, since Rambus and its RDRAM lost the format war to DDR SDRAM.
And I'd bought some new parts because the old, old Dells I have couldn't keep up when my youngest was playing Club Penguin, if there were a lot of Penguins (user avatars) on the screen at the same time. So I bought a new motherboard and i5-4460 chip, 8GB of RAM to go with it, and then I figured I should switch over to an SSD so I bought that too, and then I figured I could speed up one of the old Dells by putting an SSD in it and moving the RAM from the other Dell into it. And then I needed a new copy of Windows, since my Dells are running XP. And then I needed a new monitor, because one of the eight year old Dell monitors was really fuzzy and had wavy lines running through it. And then I was gonna stuff the new components in the old Dell case, but the Dell case doesn't have a cutout where the connectors are in the back and they don't line up with the holes and we couldn't find the dremel cutting attachment so then we changed tack and used the case that Tom gave me but the front panel audio doesn't appear to work so now I'm looking at either buying another case or a dremel cutting tool. And then I had these two video cards, so I installed the smaller one, a 9800GT I got from Mr. A, into the Dell to replace the 8400GS fanless I used to have that I'd bought because of quietness.
That turned into a stream-of-consciousness paragraph :)
Anyway, so now I have:
- working computer: a micro-atx case with an Intel E6550 chip, 4GB of RAM, 240GB SSD, nVidia 9800GT, 750w PSU, and the old 1TB HDD that was in there before
- working computer: an atx case with an Intel i5-4460 chip, 8GB of RAM, 240GB SSD, using integrated graphics, 550w PSU
- partial computer: a micro-atx case with an Intel E6550 chip, no RAM, no drive, nVidia 8400GS, 300w PSU
- parts: an atx motherboard with Intel QX6600 chip, 4GB of RAM, ATI 5830 vid card, nVidia 8400GS vid card
If I could cut an opening in the back of that partial computer's micro-atx case, then I could move things around and end up with three working computers.
Oh, I also had a great time poking at computer innards with my son. We had completely stripped everything out of the Dell micro-atx case before we realized it didn't have a proper cut-out for the new mobo's connectors.
Probably can pick ATX or mATX cases up for 20-40$ depending if you care about quality or new vs used. new ok cases can be $40 with no psu.
Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX
8GB of DDR3 1600 CL9 240 Pin DIMM kit
Still in the box
Spoiler
I found it in a bag of goodies I thought I lost at Fraga a couple years ago, I have my old wired XBox360 controller back yay
Quote from: Tom on March 06, 2015, 11:34:25 AM
Probably can pick ATX or mATX cases up for 20-40$ depending if you care about quality or new vs used. new ok cases can be $40 with no psu.
I actually have 2 ATX cases that I'm going to recycle, if you want one let me know. One is a VERY DUSTY but low noise Antec 900 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
Just needs a good cleaning, has a DVD drive in already
Well I don't have need for that RAM right now, as I bought a mobo with two slots and then bought two 4GB sticks. But it is pretty much the RAM I needed, as I bought DDR3 1600 CL10 240 pin sticks. If you have zero use for it, though, I'll take it off your hands and plan for another replacement computer within the year...
I'm definitely interested in that Antec case. Mostly because I want the front headphone jack to work so my son can put on his headphones while playing on the computer. Penguin Diner is a fun game, but hearing "hello" every twenty seconds does get annoying when I'm trying to work. No worries about dust, that's easy to clean away. What's the other case you're getting rid of?
Yeah, I literally found RAM in a BAWLs draw bag I had kicking around and was like "oh yeah, I forgot about this" (at the time I didn't have a mobo that would take it) and now that I do have a machine that can use it it's maxxed out so I'm good
The case is in good shape, just a bit dusty, I can clean most of the crud out of it for ya. Pretty much everything's in it except for the HDDs, when the mobo kicked it I just pulled all my disks out and didn't go back to it.
I have a spare video card you can have too (470 GTX)
Nobody else wanted it :)
Remember a couple of years ago you gave me your old 9800 GT? You gave it to me in a 470 GTX box. I think I need that 470 just to "complete the collection" :) It'd probably do better than the integrated graphics, I think. Although this machine really doesn't get taxed that much - Minecraft is barely ever played on there anymore, and the only other real workload is Club Penguin and Plex Media Server.
So the mobo in the case is shot? That sucks, I remember you buying this case a few years back for Fraga. Like I said, happy to take it second-hand. Is there a power supply in there? If not, I get to do a little more tooling around inside cases as I move PSUs around, I'll get my son to help again, he liked it.
So to sum up, I'll take your Antec 900 case and your 470 GTX and your 8GB DDR3 RAM. I might even be able to get a little home server built outta parts for my son to play around with, since he's thinking about enrolling at NAIT in DMIT (one stream of which is basically the new CST).
Yep, there's a PSU in there, though how trustworthy it is is questionable ATM
I'm still not sure if the board shorted or something else
I got most of the dust out of the case, though I'm sure there will be more in there once you take everything out.
- I didn't test the PSU
- I didn't unmount the mobo (I didn't want to lose the riser screws)
- Still not sure if the mobo is shot or the PSU
I'll hunt around for a spare power cable but not sure if I have any kicking around.
Anyway, I got that, the vid card and the ram all ready to roll.
Now I'm gonna take a shower because DUSSSSST
I'll assume the PSU is bad and not use it, just in case. I have several spare power cords, no worries there. See you in a bit.
Okily dokily
I have a couple "spare" PSUs, that i was going to use, but ended up changing my mind on things.. They aren't give-aways though. One is a Seasonic X-850, and the other is a Seasonic X-1250. Both Gold rated. they are really good power supplies. but probably overkill for your needs :o
I tried with other PSUs and the motherboard doesn't post. Too bad, that's a cool looking LED-enhanced motherboard. Two of the four sticks of RAM got yoinked for my son's machine, which is cobbled together from Tom's old stuff. He's quite happy with it so far, even though it's all old gear. AMD Phenom 9550 quad core, 6GB of DDR2 RAM (8500 and 10666, so it's running at 8500), SSD for teh speedz, 470GTX. Now to convince him to stop playing and go to bed. Oh, and he doesn't have internet on it because there's no internet cable in the basement. So he'll be buying a wireless adapter, I'm sure. Or I might come home to a hole drilled in the floor...
Before:
chip: Core 2 Duo 6550, memory: 2GB DDR2 (5300), video: 8400 GS, drive: 250GB HDD (7200RPM), psu: 300w
chip: Core 2 Duo 6550, memory: 2GB DDR2 (5300), video: 8400 GS, drive: 1TB HDD (7200RPM), psu: 750w
drobo: 2TB storage (1TB HDD (7200RPM) x4)
After:
chip: Core 2 Duo 6550, memory: 4GB DDR2 (5300), video: 9800 GT, drive: 240GB SSD, psu: 750w
chip: i5 4460, memory: 8GB DDR3 (?), video: onboard, drive: 240GB SSD, psu: 620w
chip: Phenom 9550, memory: 6GB DDR2 (8500), video: 470 GTX, drive: 240GB SSD, psu: 500w
drobo: 3TB storage (1TB HDD (7200RPM) x5)
Parts Left Over
chip: Core 2 Duo 6550, core 2 Duo 6700
memory: 1GB DDR2 (10666) x2, 2GB DDR3 (?) x2, 4GB DDR3 (?)
video: 8400 GS x2, 8800 GTS, HD 5830
drive: 1TB HDD (7200RPM)
psu: 300w
mobo: Dell Foxconn (yeah, not good for much)
case: Dell case (only fits Dell mobos unless I dremel it)
I could buy another mobo and chip and case, and replace that last Core 2 Duo E6550 as well. But first I want to see how it does running with 4GB ram instead of 2GB, and with an SSD. Hopefully it does better than the old configuration.
I could also actually cobble together another Core 2 Duo based machine with low ram but decent video.
THANKS TOM AND MR. ANALOG FOR PARTS DONATIONS
Eh anytime pal!
Quote from: Thorin on March 08, 2015, 10:41:56 PM
Now to convince him to stop playing and go to bed. Oh, and he doesn't have internet on it because there's no internet cable in the basement. So he'll be buying a wireless adapter, I'm sure. Or I might come home to a hole drilled in the floor...
Jokes on you I have internet down here now muhaha
Damn I have too many Skyrim mods, waiting for them to download is pretty boring T_T
I am pleasantly surprised at how much of a difference it made to my eight year old computer to add 2GB of RAM (now 4GB total), add an SSD, and install Win8. It's quite usable these days. And it turns off when not in use, but starts back up about three seconds after you wiggle the mouse. Which is good, because its video card is loud when running (compared to a fanless card, anyway).
Nice! I'm glad that stuff is all working out for ya
It's really amazing how much faster a computer feels when you add more ram (and you were memory constrained before). Especially when you have a mechanical hdd ;) The SSD helps, but I'm not sure it helps as much in your case, at least for day to day stuff (presuming you leave everything running..). Oh and I think win8 has enhanced its file/disk cache to be much more like linux's so files stay cached in ram if you're not using all your ram, which speeds things up significantly (even if you have an ssd).
Moving from spinning rust to SSD is always noticeable.
Quote from: Lazybones on March 27, 2015, 10:10:29 PM
Moving from spinning rust to SSD is always noticeable.
Sure. Though not as noticeable as going from 2GB to 4GB ram in windows 7/8. Chrome likes to sit at 1GB on launch, open a few tabs and its up over 2GB and climbs rapidly from there. Now add a bunch of other apps, and you're swapping pretty badly.
Quote from: Tom on March 27, 2015, 11:35:01 PM
Quote from: Lazybones on March 27, 2015, 10:10:29 PM
Moving from spinning rust to SSD is always noticeable.
Sure. Though not as noticeable as going from 2GB to 4GB ram in windows 7/8. Chrome likes to sit at 1GB on launch, open a few tabs and its up over 2GB and climbs rapidly from there. Now add a bunch of other apps, and you're swapping pretty badly.
Yes, well you should not have less than 4GB of ram for a win7/8 x64 desktop that is for sure.
Well my computers were winxp before, and 2GB of ram on winxp eight years ago worked okay.
I agree with both of you, both the ssd (instead of "spinning rust", nice way to put it) and the increase in ram helped. I'm just surprised with how much it helped, I thought my CPUs were ancient and not capable enough. Turns out they weren't the bottleneck.
I almost never run out of CPU on my server VM cluster. Always low on ram and have disk IO issues.
Been talking to all flash enterprise storage vendors lately there seems to be clear signs that disk will be replaced by flash in high and probably medium enterprise storage. I think disk will remain for archiving and super large storage demands for a little longer.
IM (Intel/Micron) Flash is claiming they'll have up to 10TB 2.5" SSDs by next year. They started producing 32-48GB per /die/ chips (imagine when they start layering multiple dies as well). Pretty insane. At that point I'm betting price will start dropping quite a bit, and I won't need to bother with rust anymore.
"spinning rust" will become the new magnetic tape :P I thought my CPUs were a bottleneck simply because of how old they were. The E6550 (http://ark.intel.com/products/30783/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E6550-4M-Cache-2_33-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB) was released in Q3 2007, although Dell must've gotten them early because I got the computers at the end of Q2 2007.
An' yeah, Tom, hopefully the price comes way down.
Quote from: Thorin on March 28, 2015, 01:14:47 PM
"spinning rust" will become the new magnetic tape :P I thought my CPUs were a bottleneck simply because of how old they were. The E6550 (http://ark.intel.com/products/30783/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E6550-4M-Cache-2_33-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB) was released in Q3 2007, although Dell must've gotten them early because I got the computers at the end of Q2 2007.
The only thing that makes those older cpu's feel older is the weight of the OS and software. They really aren't that crappy.
Quote from: Thorin on March 28, 2015, 12:41:21 PM
Well my computers were winxp before, and 2GB of ram on winxp eight years ago worked okay.
:sigh: I miss XP and its incredibly low system requirements... Who cares how "instantly" your OS loads and gets you to the desktop, if it's painfully slow for most things after only a couple apps are running #CanIgetAnAmen
You realize I upgraded my computers because WinXP was no longer working adequately on this hardware, right? Maybe the original XP was lightweight, but by SP3 it wasn't, and neither was Flash nor Java.
XP also probably wouldn't do that great with newer hardware, or say 4GB+ ram. It's not very good with SSDs, tons of ram, or many cores... Also newer GPUs may have issues with XP and driver support.
I think we often forget that we upgrade the OS to support NEW hardware and NEW requirements for software..
I sometimes have to go back and deal with older OS, such as XP and 2003 server at which point it becomes VERY clear why the NEW OS is superior.
There are some rather MASSIVE changes that happen ever few generations that you DO NOT want to go back on.
Windows 95.... Native TCP/IP support, Early DirectX support
Windows XP.. Native WiFi Support
Windows 7 ... Native System images support and official HAL separation, TRIM for regular SATA drives, TRUE x64 support / became the preferred release over x86
Windows 8.X ... Native SSD support, true tablet support, native touch screen support throughout the OS
I should note that recently I upgraded my main workstation HD to an SSD... At first I tried to use Clonezilla, but then it donned on me that Since windows 7 you have been able to do a FULL image based OS backup with the machine Running none the less and restore using the native backup tool.