Buddy needs a new PC - existing S939 dual-core rig with 4x 512MB DDR1

[Torn Mind]

The money Larry burns trying to sell or even give away desktops that are long obsolete would be better spent trying to get people to buy a NAS from Synology or QNAP with a markup and then pay him for "support" if they can't set it up. "You mean this thing can help me access my files from out of the house, like in a coffee shop or friend's home, and on my phone too!".

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm not quite sure where you are getting that idea that someone interested in a basic / low-end desktop, might also cross-shop with a NAS. Ok, I admit it, I think EVERYONE should have a NAS, or some sort of central server, in their home or office. At least for centrally storing files, IF you have more than one person / more than one PC or device. It really makes file archiving and sharing a lot easier, and simpler than flash drives, and faster too, generally. (Not that flash drives don't have their uses too, especially for booting off of.)

But with a NAS, filled with beefy HDDs, you then generally don't need beefy HDDs on each client PC, unless they're for gaming, you can stick a 128GB SSD in there for the OS/boot drive. (PCI-E NVMe preferred, of course.)

 

[DaveSimmons]

I'm not sure most people need a real NAS. My cheap-ish Netgear router has a USB port for attaching a $50 1 TB USB hard drive or a flash drive. That would be enough for most users since their PC is not likely to die at exactly the same time as the USB drive.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm not sure most people need a real NAS. My cheap-ish Netgear router has a USB port for attaching a $50 1 TB USB hard drive or a flash drive. That would be enough for most users since their PC is not likely to die at exactly the same time as the USB drive.

Yes, but those are so very, very slow. You get 3-10MB/sec, rather than 90-100MB/sec.

 

[whm1974]

The money Larry burns trying to sell or even give away desktops that are long obsolete would be better spent trying to get people to buy a NAS from Synology or QNAP with a markup and then pay him for "support" if they can't set it up. "You mean this thing can help me access my files from out of the house, like in a coffee shop or friend's home, and on my phone too!".

With the Larry been spending on long obsolete crap, he can have a nice high end rig along with a notebook with decent specs.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I thought about a Ryzen Mobile laptop. But I'm going to wait until they're "more refined" maybe. Don't really want to be an "early adopter" for a longer-term purchase. And not a huge fan of ultrabooks, with non-removable batteries. I tend to keep my laptops a long time. At least until the display hinges go out violently.

 

[hoorah]

Yes, but those are so very, very slow. You get 3-10MB/sec, rather than 90-100MB/sec.

Most people's time isn't all that valuable.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Most people's time isn't all that valuable.

That. Also, most people aren't moving that much data on a regular basis.

 

[escrow4]

What is this obsession with 4K? All my media is 1080p or below with zero interest in anything higher. If I was buying a new TV today it would be 1080p, same with a monitor. You need a lot of space and a very good internet connection to boot for 4K. And why would someone with ancient tech jump straight into 4K VR porn? Eh? You should just give him a modern quad ideally with a 256GB SSD and a fresh mobo/PSU that will last for years. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Hans Gruber]

What is this obsession with 4K? All my media is 1080p or below with zero interest in anything higher. If I was buying a new TV today it would be 1080p, same with a monitor. You need a lot of space and a very good internet connection to boot for 4K. And why would someone with ancient tech jump straight into 4K VR porn? Eh? You should just give him a modern quad ideally with a 256GB SSD and a fresh mobo/PSU that will last for years. Nothing more, nothing less.

I have a 4k TV with Roku OS. It streams 4K streams via Amazon though I could upgrade my netflix to 4k. It streams through my Wireless AC router at speeds of 150mps-200mbps. Blu-Ray is a fixed standard as far as codec's and compression are concerned. With streaming they can compress the 4k content and upgrade the compression and change it entirely. When they fail customers complain when they succeed customers notice nothing. So in theory streaming 4k in the near future may not require more bandwidth than 1080P streams.

With that said I have not had a single stutter or freeze of my 4K content streaming wireless through my built in Roku.

 

[hoorah]

What is this obsession with 4K?

I have a 4k TV with Roku OS

I have an HTPC, a few 4K movies, and recently upgraded to a new 4K TV. I assumed I'd have to pick up a new GPU for the HTPC to be able to play 4K videos, and the cheapest at the time was the GTX1050 or 1030. Even the 1030 was $100 (during one of the mining crunches).

I ended up with a 4K TV with the roku built in, and the thing can play the 4K files natively from my file server, no HTPC needed. Problem solved I guess. No need for a GPU. Actually, I've almost completely abandoned the HTPC on that TV since Roku does everything I want.

 

[piasabird]

I have an H110 gigabyte board with a 6100 i-3 and it seems to play all the video on YouTube. My wife watches a lot of news streaming like Fox and some Korean channels she likes. Never added a video card. I think it only has VGA, HDMI, DVI. Purchased the CPU MB Combo at Micro Center. I am guessing a motherboard with Display port just costs more. Might be cheaper to hook it up to a TV.

 

[VirtualLarry]

What is this obsession with 4K? All my media is 1080p or below with zero interest in anything higher. If I was buying a new TV today it would be 1080p, same with a monitor. You need a lot of space and a very good internet connection to boot for 4K. And why would someone with ancient tech jump straight into 4K VR porn? Eh? You should just give him a modern quad ideally with a 256GB SSD and a fresh mobo/PSU that will last for years. Nothing more, nothing less.

As has been mentioned, it's less of an "obsession" (at least, for desktop users and video content, as opposed to die-hard PC gamers always trying to push the envelope), and more of a "4K UHD HDTVs are now a mainstream standard".

 

[B-Riz]

This thread has been a roller-coaster!

Is the new computer decided upon?

 

[VirtualLarry]

This thread has been a roller-coaster!

Is the new computer decided upon?

Well, I've got parts (except for more RAM, darn DDR4 prices...) to build a pair of Socket 1151 (SKL/KBL) rigs.

Built one today, decided to throw in a G3900 SKL Celeron, it's OK, not the greatest performer, but barely adequate for web browsing and listing to music. (Ok, it's probably better than that, but 6C/12T CPUs have spoiled me a bit.)

I was planning on throwing in one of my G4560 KBL Pentium CPUs, for the better performance and better online video decoding.

I wasn't sure if the H110 boards needed a BIOS update, though, so I put in the SKL CPU first. Turns out, they have the next-to-newest BIOS already, so I guess I could have dropped in the G4560.

Could stand for more than just 1x4GB DDR4-2133. Would like to get 2x4GB DDR4-2400, but that's like $83-85, for the cheapest GSkill and Geil value RAM on Newegg.

Sigh. That's 25% of the build cost, maybe 30%. The other big cost was the 240GB SSD, for $75. (It was a Sandisk, and wasn't especially on sale.)

I've got two friends that could use PCs right now, one with a dead PC, and one with an older Athlon II X4 that I keep trying to get him to upgrade, but he probably won't until it dies.

 

[ao_ika_red]

This thread has been a roller-coaster!

Is the new computer decided upon?

It is. From giving FM1 system, some story about 4k screen, and it ends up with new SKL system.

 

[B-Riz]

Well, I've got parts (except for more RAM, darn DDR4 prices...) to build a pair of Socket 1151 (SKL/KBL) rigs.

Built one today, decided to throw in a G3900 SKL Celeron, it's OK, not the greatest performer, but barely adequate for web browsing and listing to music. (Ok, it's probably better than that, but 6C/12T CPUs have spoiled me a bit.)

I was planning on throwing in one of my G4560 KBL Pentium CPUs, for the better performance and better online video decoding.

I wasn't sure if the H110 boards needed a BIOS update, though, so I put in the SKL CPU first. Turns out, they have the next-to-newest BIOS already, so I guess I could have dropped in the G4560.

Could stand for more than just 1x4GB DDR4-2133. Would like to get 2x4GB DDR4-2400, but that's like $83-85, for the cheapest GSkill and Geil value RAM on Newegg.

Sigh. That's 25% of the build cost, maybe 30%. The other big cost was the 240GB SSD, for $75. (It was a Sandisk, and wasn't especially on sale.)

I've got two friends that could use PCs right now, one with a dead PC, and one with an older Athlon II X4 that I keep trying to get him to upgrade, but he probably won't until it dies.

Fleabay has this for $70, not sure how overclockable it is though.
NEW Kingston KVR24N17S6/4 DDR4-2400 4GB/512Mx64 CL17 Memory 2x4G PAIR

 

[VirtualLarry]

Fleabay has this for $70, not sure how overclockable it is though.
NEW Kingston KVR24N17S6/4 DDR4-2400 4GB/512Mx64 CL17 Memory 2x4G PAIR

Thanks, got a pair, but they were $80, not $70 any more.

 

[B-Riz]

Thanks, got a pair, but they were $80, not $70 any more.

Dang, that's a bummer. I am using a set with a 2200G on an Asus B350-F, hoping they clock to 2666.

 

[piasabird]

As a slightly old person (60) let me weigh in on this. When people get to about the age of 40 their eye sight starts to get worse. So I often dont want to sit too far from the TV because then I would need glasses and have to go to the doctor to get better glasses. The only other solution might be purchasing a 65" screen TV I can see further back. My mother had a large screen TV and I guess she paid a large sum of money on. So to replace that screen, she would have to spend about $4k on a new 4K screen. Sometimes it is just a matter of being on a limited budget.

Older people have house payments, Medical Insurance, Car insurance, electric, heating, cooling, House maintenance, etc. to pay for. If you live in your parents basement maybe you can afford a large new TV every 2 years.

 

[hoorah]

I found a socket 1155 basic HP box at my town's recycling center the other day with a pentium G2020 cpu and 4GB of ram. The hard drive had been removed but otherwise the system works fine. Larry should dig through the rest of the pile - he could build systems for all his friends with what people throw away near me.