Whom is still rocking an Athlon / Phenom II (even X6), or a Core2Duo/Quad? X58 users too.

[WT]

I have an HP s3020n Slimline that I've had on the shelf for a few years. It was initially diagnosed with a bad PSU (an odd Flex-ATX size) but I nevertheless sourced a replacement, then upgraded its x2 3800+ to an x2 5400+ I had in the parts bin. It's just too cool to scrap, and I just can't find out what I want to DO with it !! I removed the HP Pocket Media Drive bay and added a small SSD to pair with the HDD, and I just cannot find a use for it these days. Everyone in my family has moved on to laptops or tablets, so it's collecting dust.

Its about 1/3 the size of my HTPC, but due to only offering one HDD bay, I won't be using it in that capacity. I've always wanted to do an ITX build, but for what I use them for, it just serves no purpose due to its diminutive size. I both love it and despise it for the same reason ! What I'd REALLY like to do is be able to play Skyrim on something so tiny, hooked up to my 49" TV.

 

[Johnny Ringo]

I have a Dell 3010 SFF (Small Form Factor), with a i5 3470, and 8 GB of RAM, with a 500 GB hard drive that I have connected directly to a 65" 4k TV via HDMI port. It is so small, it fits on a shelf on an entertainment center hardwired by Ethernet to my FIOS router.

You could do something similar with that HP.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

There's a fine line between dedication and madness in this thread

I just received an old HP multimedia machine, with an e3400 CPU or something along these lines.
And I just happened to find a q6700 in my parts box. Looks like I have another fun project on my hands.

 

[mopardude87]

Happens a lot unfortunately. Lets face it, most people are completely clueless about PCs. Add cost, and a little too smart salesperson, and you end up there quickly.

Side note, most don't even know better performance is an option. I've been humorously surprised a few times at peoples reaction when they're using some of my gear.

Buddy got it for free from a friend.Dealing with how dreadfully slow it was,i just caved in and asked how much he paid for it.Something THAT bad wow i just had to ask.Last cpu that had 512kb cache was what a pentium 4 2.4ghzs northy i had back in 2006?Heck by then the dang thing was not working out for me in BF2.

Last thing i ever messed with that was as slow was a 1.8ghz celeron 128mb xp pre sp1 Emachines.Before i knew anything about computers,i had to deal with that computer too and its constant slow to a halt constant freeze and bsod.That computer and its issues is honestly what got me into this hobby to begin with.Between the dvd rom biting the dust during a reinstall to dumping the rage 128 card for a 6200le then replacing the tower finally when it up and failed to post one day or even turn on with a lovely burning smell yay.My buddy sadly had no idea and paid like $400 for it when it wasn't even worth the dumpster space in a dumpster.

 

[Adawy]

- Phenom II x4 945 at 3GHz, 1.21V.
- Gigabyte 770 Chipset.
- Kingston 4GB 1333MHz CL9, 1.5V.
- Sapphire HD 6950 2GB with unlocked shaders at stock clocks, 1V.
- 160GB (2007) and 320GB (2009) 7200RPM HDDs.
- XFX 650W Bronze PSU. Used to have HEC 500W, but it died 2 years ago after 7 years of usage.

This PC is enough for Web browsing, watching movies, TV shows, playing old games and some new indie titles on either Windows 7 or 10.
I'll either upgrade this old champ by the end of next year, or get a new Console, we'll see.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I know that this strictly doesn't fit the title, but I'm going to include "FX-series" owners too, since I just built one.

FX-8320E brand new from ebay (imicro had one left!), like $80.
Gigabyte LMT78-USB3 6.0 brand new from ebay $100.
A random 4GB stick of DDR3, just for setup and testing. (Have some 2x8GB kits ready to throw in.)
Crucial BX500 256GB SATA 2.5" SSD (speedy and cheap SSD) $35
Cougar ATX case, with one USB3.0 and one USB2.0.
Rosewill Glacier 600W semi-modular ATX PSU
24X SATA DVD-RW, I think this one's am Asus, ran out of my cheaper Lite-On ones.
Windows 7 64-bit Home

At first, when I got it all together, it wouldn't boot. Ugh! It took me a long time to get the EPS12V connector (split) plugged in, no clearance, and I have big hands.

Turned out, after I had it all apart again, with the original Glacier 500W, and then with a bench-test PSU, that the original PSU was bad.

I had thought that the board was bad, since I could power-on, fans and power LED came on, but never booted, even after clearing CMOS, plus, I couldn't hold down the power button to turn it off. I had to use the switch on the back of the PSU. So, I figured PSU or board (after I had disconnected all the front-panel and SATA wiring). I had spare PSUs, so I figured I'd try that. It came to life with the bench-test PSU.

Oh, I tried swapping CPUs, too, in case it was a firmware issue, and didn't support FX CPUs off the bat, but had I checked the web site, the initial BIOS F1, has support for ALL FX CPUs.

I had some more Glacier PSUs, I swapped in a 600W, hey, free upgrade. It finally came together, and I installed Win7 and used the chipset IGP, which is entirely competent for 2D in Win7, including Aero effects. Pretty amazing, really, especially since I'm on single-channel DDR3.

I admit, I bumped the PSU while I was getting together the components, and it fell off of the case box, onto the floor, several feet. My floor is carpet over a cement slab, so it's kind of a hard fall.

I wonder if that killed it, if one of the intermediate voltages was out of whack, or if it was just DOA anyways. (Plenty of reviews like that, of people that DIDN'T drop their Glacier PSUs.)

Anyways, installing Updates now.

 

[burninatortech4]

I recently built an Athlon 5350 / AM1 ITX rig with 8gb of DDR3 and a 250GB 860 EVO for my cousin. It's used purely for web browsing and some light photo editing. I did need to add a 2gb RX 460 anyway since the integrated graphics were a lot weaker than anticipated. Total cost still under $175 (I did donate an unused SG13B case). It's definitely fine for his use case and I told him there's plenty of room in that case for a much more powerful build in the future.

He was about to buy a used AIO (720p) with a Penryn P8400, 4GB (DDR2?) and 200GB hard drive for $200. I feel like a hero.

 

[Markfw]

OK, not sure how old this is exactly, and if it qualifies, but I have a Dell E6410 laptop, that was deadfully slow, and I have a newer laptop, but I just put a 250 gig SSD in it, and from scratch am installing windows 10. I previously upgraded the memory from 4 gig to 8 gig.. So for $30 I may have a spare usable laptop.

I also have a Dell E4310 and am upgrading the memory from 4 gig to 8 gig and putting an SSD in it also, for my brother. We will see how that goes after I finish this first one. I think they both have 520m cpus (or something like that)

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Last cpu that had 512kb cache was what a pentium 4 2.4ghzs northy i had back in 2006?

My Ryzen still -only- has 512KB L2 cache. It's quite a bit faster then any P4.

Interestingly, a Dothan Pentium M back then had a full 2MB L2 cache. The later C2Ds had a whopping 6MB, which in dual die C2Q form made for a whopping 12MB(!) of L2...

Today, the cache setup has mostly moved to a blazing fast L1, a reasonably sized L2 and then a massive L3.

Last thing i ever messed with that was as slow was a 1.8ghz celeron 128mb xp pre sp1 Emachines.Before i knew anything about computers,i had to deal with that computer too and its constant slow to a halt constant freeze and bsod.That computer and its issues is honestly what got me into this hobby to begin with.Between the dvd rom biting the dust during a reinstall to dumping the rage 128 card for a 6200le then replacing the tower finally when it up and failed to post one day or even turn on with a lovely burning smell yay.My buddy sadly had no idea and paid like $400 for it when it wasn't even worth the dumpster space in a dumpster.

Ah, the Netburst Celerons. The less said about those the better...

But, really sounds like a dodgy PSU. There were a lot of those around back then. Also, were your mainboard using a VIA chipset by chance? They weren't known for their reliability and had poor driver support...

 

[mopardude87]

Ah, the Netburst Celerons. The less said about those the better...

But, really sounds like a dodgy PSU. There were a lot of those around back then. Also, were your mainboard using a VIA chipset by chance? They weren't known for their reliability and had poor driver support...

Not sure on the motherboard chipset.A cheap Hp Vectra Vl420 tower replaced it as my first ever computer,between the 1.8ghz P4 and 512mb with XP certainly was a way better tower which i never had issues with.Man the nostalgia with that computer,may be crazy enough to chase one down and deck it out to the max.3GB max ram support with a 2.4Ghz cpu and a 6800ultra which was my first ever gaming gpu upgrade would be quite fun.

 

[Riqqi]

Wow ;D

 

[mopardude87]

Not exactly sure if this one counts but i scored my buddy a Dell Desktop that has a i3 2100/4gb of ram/320gb hard drive and Windows 10 hard drive for $50 out the door.Ironically i was there purchasing some junk silver coins and besides the coins they have various other electronics.Pretty much a coin shop+they buy and sell electronics and video games as far back as Atari which is interesting.They even have a not for sale old school prison electric chain from like the 20's?The place is insane.

I3 2100 has some years on it,not even sure if people still use it so i figured it had to fit in this thread.He was the same guy i was attempting to fix up the C2D for.My friend has 2x 2x8gb 1333 kits so i slapped in a 8gb kit and the machine is running perfecto right now.Did run fine with the 4gb stick. He wants to play some GTA V like his main in the living room so perhaps i will put in a GT1030.Its one of those actual desktop type computers with a 230w psu.Card has to be low profile and he is hooked up a 720p t.v so the 1030 perhaps will be enough?

I really want to perhaps make a htpc out of the old C2D set up i had originally intended to set him up with.My main with its i7 8700 and 1070ti runs alright for gaming but when i watch things the noise is a bit more then i welcome.I guess i hate seeing something that can be used not being used?

 

[Johnny Ringo]

Not exactly sure if this one counts but i scored my buddy a Dell Desktop that has a i3 2100/4gb of ram/320gb hard drive and Windows 10 hard drive for $50 out the door.Ironically i was there purchasing some junk silver coins and besides the coins they have various other electronics.Pretty much a coin shop+they buy and sell electronics and video games as far back as Atari which is interesting.They even have a not for sale old school prison electric chain from like the 20's?The place is insane.

I3 2100 has some years on it,not even sure if people still use it so i figured it had to fit in this thread.He was the same guy i was attempting to fix up the C2D for.My friend has 2x 2x8gb 1333 kits so i slapped in a 8gb kit and the machine is running perfecto right now.Did run fine with the 4gb stick. He wants to play some GTA V like his main in the living room so perhaps i will put in a GT1030.Its one of those actual desktop type computers with a 230w psu.Card has to be low profile and he is hooked up a 720p t.v so the 1030 perhaps will be enough?

I really want to perhaps make a htpc out of the old C2D set up i had originally intended to set him up with.My main with its i7 8700 and 1070ti runs alright for gaming but when i watch things the noise is a bit more then i welcome.I guess i hate seeing something that can be used not being used?

I am like you in that I hate seeing something that still has a useful purpose being put into the landfill. My main daily use PC is 10 years old. I just can't get rid of it, as I see no reason to toss something that still works just fine. I drive a 19 year old SUV for the same reason. Sure it is a bit older now, but it still starts, still runs fine, has never left me stranded, and only requires an oil change every 6 months and some gas in the tank each week.

I recently bought an older i5 based PC that will eventually replace the one I am typing on now. $60. Tough to turn down at that price!

The ironic thing is that I have enough money to buy anything I want now, and don't. When I was young, I would buy everything on impulse, and wasted a lot of money.

 

[LV3]

My i5-750 is still kicking on daily in a family computer

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I3 2100 has some years on it,not even sure if people still use it so i figured it had to fit in this thread.He was the same guy i was attempting to fix up the C2D for.My friend has 2x 2x8gb 1333 kits so i slapped in a 8gb kit and the machine is running perfecto right now.Did run fine with the 4gb stick. He wants to play some GTA V like his main in the living room so perhaps i will put in a GT1030.Its one of those actual desktop type computers with a 230w psu.Card has to be low profile and he is hooked up a 720p t.v so the 1030 perhaps will be enough?

If you don't mind the power consumption (depending on board + PSU), i3-2100 + GT1030 makes for a fine HTPC. About the only thing it can't do is 4K Netflix. If that's a requirement, up to a 3GB 1050.

I am like you in that I hate seeing something that still has a useful purpose being put into the landfill. My main daily use PC is 10 years old. I just can't get rid of it, as I see no reason to toss something that still works just fine. I drive a 19 year old SUV for the same reason. Sure it is a bit older now, but it still starts, still runs fine, has never left me stranded, and only requires an oil change every 6 months and some gas in the tank each week.

Me too. On the bright side, it has left me with a very large computer spare parts catalogue. Which has come in handy on many occasions, since you just can't source some of that stuff anymore (or you'll pay trough the nose for it).

 

[sauria]

Q9450 on a P35 Board. Reliable for what it does.

 

[mopardude87]

If you don't mind the power consumption (depending on board + PSU), i3-2100 + GT1030 makes for a fine HTPC. About the only thing it can't do is 4K Netflix. If that's a requirement, up to a 3GB 1050.

This guy certainly won't be doing 4k any time soon.He is more of a its if it's not broken why fix it kind of person so unless his 32'' 720p bites the dust i can't imagine him replacing it till absolutely necessary.I can't even get him to invest in a ssd.

 

[Zophia]

My parents now have my old Q6600. Throwing a SSD in there makes it seem like a new machine and it runs plenty quick on desktop apps. They don't game on it though (or want to), it's a bit long in the tooth for that, even if it had an overclock.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I can't even get him to invest in a ssd.

That's really too bad. I know some people like that, mostly older folks, that may not have heard of, or experienced, what an SSD can do.

Of course, we enthusiasts, wouldn't go back to a HDD for an OS drive, if you paid us.

A friend of mine was working (well, I was doing it by phone, he was doing the physical work) on one of his relative's PCs, and it has a HDD. His has had an SSD since many years ago, and he was like, "Wow, this system is rather slow booting up." I was like, "Yeah, I know, right? You've been on an SSD since Windows 7."

I've promised his relative an SSD, but they haven't brought their PC to me for service. I fixed the last problem they had over the phone, saving them a trip and some money, but also didn't have the opportunity to put in an SSD for them.

 

[BUTCH1]

That's really too bad. I know some people like that, mostly older folks, that may not have heard of, or experienced, what an SSD can do.

Of course, we enthusiasts, wouldn't go back to a HDD for an OS drive, if you paid us.

A friend of mine was working (well, I was doing it by phone, he was doing the physical work) on one of his relative's PCs, and it has a HDD. His has had an SSD since many years ago, and he was like, "Wow, this system is rather slow booting up." I was like, "Yeah, I know, right? You've been on an SSD since Windows 7."

I've promised his relative an SSD, but they haven't brought their PC to me for service. I fixed the last problem they had over the phone, saving them a trip and some money, but also didn't have the opportunity to put in an SSD for them.

Yea, a SSD makes older CPU's bearable for sure, I'm still running a Xeon E5450 watercooled to 3.9Ghz, since I rarely game anymore it still fast enough. Gotta admit, it's been so long I do miss the fun of assembling a new rig and firing it up for that first boot. What also makes it faster is the fresh OS install without the bloated registry that will inevitable ensue.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Still using X58 for both my main and gaming computers. I even have spare X58 board and RAM. I think it's an EVGA 770? Not sure. But I have the first itteration of the AsRock X58, and moved from an EVGA 760 to a Gigabyte UD7 for the gaming rig.

 

[mopardude87]

That's really too bad. I know some people like that, mostly older folks, that may not have heard of, or experienced, what an SSD can do.

Of course, we enthusiasts, wouldn't go back to a HDD for an OS drive, if you paid us.

It somehow passed me up checking the age of this hard drive from his old C2D set up,its a 250gb WD from Feb of 2007!. I believe the motherboard is on its way out.It went from not posting to posting to randomly booting up then it just decided to work but the onboard video is showing everything from Bios to desktop in tones of blue.The behavior is random.I dusted it out completely despite really no apparent dust build up,replaced cmos battery and looked for any possible grounding issues.I see nothing obvious causing the issues.Sometimes it would boot up and then immediately shut down too.

Gonna prob hook up the 250gb,test and see if it has any various issues then slap it into his main rig in the living room.He won't bother buying a new hard drive atm,so currently he has a 80gb and 160gb.Not even sure if and when i upgrade and give him my 500gb 860 Evo and 1070ti if this guy will notice upgrades over a 80gb boot drive and a gtx660?He has to see something of a difference between mainly normal settings in GTA V at 1080p to all maxed out?One of my buddies i heard spent a good hour talking to him about the glory of him gaming at 4k and how he should get a 4k t.v. I had to laugh cause seriously you got better luck selling this man real estate on the moon.Or just maybe a chia pet that looks like Patrick stewart.He has had more then one of these one hour talks about 4k with him.Insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting different results.

 

[rvborgh]

i found something rather interesting last night with my old rig.

It seems most of the cores on my K10 based Quad Opteron 6100 setup are capable of running 3.8 GHz. Some 3.9 GHz. 3.8 takes about 1.325v. i haven't tried 4.0 GHz yet with voltage beyond 1.35v due to heating issues.

At 3.9 GHz i can only be running a single core at that speed, and the others 5 cores on the same die idling at .8 to 1 Ghz. i'm seeing between 52-54C on that die under load.

The main limitation seems to be heat and current. My 92mm Noctua NH-U9DO A3 coolers simply can't remove enough heat once voltages increase.

The nice thing is that since each G34 cpu has 2 dies... i effectively have a Phenom II X8 (8 cores at 3.8 to 3.9 GHz, and 40 others idling).

 

[Modular]

]

It somehow passed me up checking the age of this hard drive from his old C2D set up,its a 250gb WD from Feb of 2007!. I believe the motherboard is on its way out.It went from not posting to posting to randomly booting up then it just decided to work but the onboard video is showing everything from Bios to desktop in tones of blue.The behavior is random.I dusted it out completely despite really no apparent dust build up,replaced cmos battery and looked for any possible grounding issues.I see nothing obvious causing the issues.Sometimes it would boot up and then immediately shut down too.

How do the capacitors look? Had similar issues with my motherboards and it was a few bulging caps. Easy fix if you can solder.

 

[NTMBK]

The nice thing is that since each G34 cpu has 2 dies... i effectively have a Phenom II X8 (8 cores at 3.8 to 3.9 GHz, and 40 others idling).

A Phenom II X8 with very high latency between each core :|