General computer talk/advice

Upgraded to 4790k...

...on an H97 motherboard.

And believe it or not, I can overclock it. It doesn't let me change voltage or multiplier, but it does support pre-made OC profiles going up to 4.8GHz, although it's not stable at that frequency.

Unfortunately my aftermarket CPU cooler uses intel's godforsaken pushpins to mount it, so naturally that's impossible to mount well and even less so in a tiny mITX case, so today I've found the time to disassemble the rig down to the mobo just to get the cooler on right. I thought I mounted it right the first time, but the chip hit 85C in a few seconds on the stress test at stock speeds so something's up.

Of course I didn't pay retail for the chip, I bought it used (but unopened) for $300 CAN ($230 USD) so I'm not upset about not being able to take advantage of OC abilities. Although, it's stable enough to do a bananabench at 4.6GHz without crashing but I can't push it any harder for the above mentioned thermal reasons... I can't bench it at all really as even at 800mhz "power saving mode" it's still overheating cause the cooler isn't right.

Will be interested to see the performance differences in BeamNG, in terms of maximum vehicles as well as my suspicions around the performance drops on graphically intensive maps actually being CPU overhead getting in the way, especially with particles.

 

Found a old Packard bell keyboard in our loft, it's a pretty small keyboard and has a pretty long USB lead along with a USB port on it, so I grabbed it and after determining it works, cleaned it up and now I'm using it as a keyboard for in bed so I don't have to leave the cozy warmth of bed while watching videos before sleep. According to the little PCB this keyboard was made in 2001.

 

Bought a $3 crappy Chinese LED light strip for my case on amazon, but I don't have any ancient connectors for it... scissors and a little electrical tape should work!

Spoiler

 

Finally got Windows Update to work on my laptop hence the newer version of the sh*ttyest browser ever

I used WSUS Offline Update to get some updates which Windows Update required to work. Also got Service Pack One installed.

My battery is broken but I can wait 4 Months for a new laptop at Christmas. I have a new battery ordered.

 

My Dell Latitude D600 (named Elli after the Norse goddess of old age) that is running Lubuntu has a rather strange networking quirk. To get it to its networking to work properly (having already connected to wifi and acquired IP address), I have to ping the WiFi router (other parts of the internet also work, I usually use Google's public DNS or my router) until I get a response (usually 200+ requests before a response), then I can use the internet. I have to keep pinging while I use the internet. And the weird thing is that it deals with DHCP in only a couple seconds, and it recognizes when a host is unreachable. It just doesn't like connecting to the internet properly.

 

I am slightly tempted to buy another SSD for my computer in order to put a Win10 install on it. Ever since I moved to PC I have been wanting to play Halo and Forza again, the combination of them both being on Win10 makes installing a copy of it as a secondary (tertiary cause Linux?) OS very tempting. Since I can get any Recent MS OS (I think it cuts off at pre Win2000) for free through Uni.

I mean honestly I would have preferred Halo Reach, but if the new one works, it could be a lot of fun.

 

Shall I buy it?

 

I'm thinking about getting a Thinkpad T420 (not a T420s or T420i).

I know I want the 1600x900 screen, but I'm not sure about some other stuff.
Should I get one with Nvidia graphics? Are they less reliable than ones with only Intel graphics?
Should I get an i5 or an i7? An i7 would be nice, but I'm not sure if I need it. I'm not going any lower than an i5 though.

I'm not going to be doing much on it, mainly web browsing.
If I were to game on it, I'd only play games with low requirements (90s - 2000s).

 

Nvidia graphics are more powerful, but if you are only using it for web browsing and light gaming you can get Intel graphics and the i5. There is no difference in reliability.

 

I'm so glad PATA cables where replaced by SATA... That being said working on this old socket 7 Pentium machine brings back memories.

 

Hey, @Eastham! Any advice on getting a T420? (See my above post)

 

T420s is a slim model, that's what the "s" indicates, the CPU is soldered to the planar "motherboard" on these models. I'd go for a T420 or a T420i model with the Nvidia GPU go for an. I5, all the I7's in the T420's are hyperthreaded dual cores. You can upgrade later on to a hypethreaded quad I7 later like a 2670QM, just be ware that you'll be pushing the limits of the cooling system with one of these.

 

I think the only upgrades I'd be likely to do (if needed) would be RAM and HDD/SSD. The i5 options for the T420 are hyperthreaded dual cores too.
From what I can tell, the T420i only has one i5 option and no Nvidia graphics option. Is this true?

So you're suggesting an i5 model with Nvidia graphics?

I know to be wary of Thinkpads with the Supervisor password set.

(I like blue enter keys. )

 

From what I believe the T420i was like the basic base model, an I3 with Intel graphics. I'd get the I5 ones because you're saving money, the I7's aren't much faster than the I5's, we're talkin' single digit difference, Nvidia GPU would be great to have, the Intel integrated chips can't run any games, the Nvidia chips can at leased do Beam on low to mid settings, plus it's always nice to have the extra graphics horsepower laying around. The supervisor password can be bypassed but it requires soldering skills and a very steady hand. The thing that drew me to ThinkPads was the unusual design, boxy and kinda sleek in a way to me at least, the TrackPoint is what sealed the deal, once you get used to it you'll never use the trackpad again. I also love the blue enter keys and the gray function keys on the pre Lenovo IBM ThinkPads.

 

heh


got a Pentium pro machine(that big tower). Has a bunch of 50 pin scsi drives. Pic is of the one 2gb in it. from around 1995


dont mind the optical drive sticking out, needed some way to boot it.

 

Mmmmm, all that beige goodness. I suppose the cable mess in my Pentium machine isn't helped by the Baby AT case it's all crammed into. Is that a PS/2 Model 50 in the top pic?

 

@Eastham
So, I'll be looking out for a T420 (not an i or s model) with:

• A 1600x900 display.
• An i5 (or an i7 depending on price).
• Nvidia graphics. (I won't be using it as a BeamNG.drive machine though.)
  
• No supervisor password (I don't think I'd be able to do the bypassing trick).

I think that's what drew me to them too.

The first time I used a TrackPoint-like device was on an HP Compaq TC1100 that my school provided to new students in 2005.

I enjoyed using that computer. I still have a pen for one of those.

2006 students started with HP Compaq TC4200s. They looked ok and they had a pointing stick, but I never actually used one.


They later replaced those with HP 2133 Mini-Notes. I hated those. Sure, they felt nice to hold, but they had tiny glossy screens, felt slow and the palm rest got surprisingly hot.
I wished I had the TC1100 back.

 

yup! good eye!. sadly cant get it to turn on, inside of psu looks fine, so its not that. Please tell me though, is a cpu supposed to go in that blue socket?

with 486 upgrade. does a cpu go in brown this socket as well?


EDIT
well looks like they are co processor sockets. so that answers that question. now why wont it turn on

 

Does it make an attempt to fire up? Could be dirty contacts in the switch inside the power supply if it doesn't even fire up. If the fans spin it's not the PSU if the fans don't spin the PSU is bad.

 

yea, doesnt even try to turn on. What else could go wrong in the psu? None of the caps look bad, and the fuse is not blown. anything else i should check?