Other Peripherals: Dobly Home Theater 5.1 Virtual Surround Audio Speakers
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit
Other notes: its a Acer Aspire 7730G from 2007 wich originally came with Windows Vista. Its nearly 13 years old but its still a very decent laptop for gaming aswell as for business work.
Far from my first PC, but my first custom built one had a Core 2 Duo, so I have a fondness for those. Cool to see them still being used.
I thought I posted here before but I just looked and apparently I never did. I guess it's fitting, in a way, as this is soon to change.
Desktop:
Super old picture, but if I were to take a picture now, the only difference in appearance (key words) would be an additional hard drive and a different video card, so I'll lazily reuse this old one. If I remember I'll get a proper picture of it as it is now since I'll be changing much (motherboard, CPU, RAM, and operating system) soon. Everything else is being carried over and the GPU will be upgraded in the next year or two as it's still plenty for me right now.
Actual differences; Three hard drivers were added (1x 5 TB and 2 x 4 TB), but two of the existing ones pictured were removed (the other two remain but are currently unused for anything), the SSD was replaced with a larger one, the optical (DVD) drive was removed, and the video card changed a couple of times. That GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1 GB sadly died, and I used a much weaker GeForce GTS 650 for a while (emergency timing and it was cheap even for what it was). It has an eVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB right now.
The case was added a few years afterwards, which also necessitated a new PSU, but otherwise, the rest is the same "core" it's been since late 2011, just with a couple of video card upgrades. So, can't complain as it's lasted from nearly a decade ago.
Fractal Arc Midi
EVGA G2 750W PSU
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
Core i5 2500K
16 GB DDR3 1600 MHz
GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB
1 TB Western Digital Blue SSD
~14.2 TB storage across various Western Digital mechanical hard drives
Windows 7 Home 64-bit (is that last part redundant yet; do 32-bit operating systems still exist?)
HTPC: (or, Desktop 2 used for streaming connected to TV)
Again, old picture from when I first got it (early-mid 2012?), but other than now having more RAM modules, a picture taken now would look identical.
It's a Dell OptiPlex 380.
Core 2 Duo E8600 3.33 GHz (I think it had a E7200 or something originally)
8 GB DDR3 1333 MHz RAM
GeForce GT 430 1 GB
256 GB Crucial SSD (taken from the above, the original 250 GB mechanical drive was likely failing)
Windows 7 Professional (soon to Linux likely)
The other add-in card is a wireless adapter, but it's connected via ethernet. This thing, sans the video card, was what I originally played Minecraft on back in 2012 on version 1.2.5. A render distance of 4 was painful. With the video card, it actually manages 1.14 well enough (render distance of like 12 or something?). That world I originally started with lives on today. Connected to a low resolution 720p (1366 x 768) Sony Bravia TV from like 2009 that I'm still perfectly satisfied with picture-wise but is small for the room it is in these days.
Laptop:
No pictures. It's a Dell Inspiron 15-3537 from like 2013 or 2014 or something. I... barely use it so I may as well not have it, but it's not worth selling either so I use it for the rare thing here and there. I'm happy with it despite the low end and aged hardware outside of the low end glossy TN panel.
Core i3 4010U 1.7 GHz (I think?)
6 GB DDR3 RAM, unsure of speed (may upgrade to 16 GB later for more and to get "proper" dual channel and not the pseudo way it works with modules of differing amounts)
Windows 7 Pro (originally replaced Windows 8, may also go to Linux)
The above also plays Minecraft about as well (honestly maybe slightly smoother) as the HTPC at the same render distance, although at a slightly reduced visual experience (no anti-aliasing).
Until my main desktop is upgraded (I have the important stuff but I'm waiting on getting the Windows 10 key), that's it. I had others but I don't need more than two (sort of not counting the one used for HTPC purposes). The only one I regret getting rid of was my old Dimension 4100 all those years ago. It was my first purchased PC and the second PC that was solely mine (so no family PC being counted). It'd make a fantastic Windows 98, 2000, or early XP era PC.
Far from my first PC, but my first custom built one had a Core 2 Duo, so I have a fondness for those. Cool to see them still being used
Yeah Core 2 Duos are still very common and i think that they are still very good processors theres even a model going up to 3.3 Ghz (as far as my knowledge goes) wich shows that the Core 2 duo is still a Usable Processor even to this day, more than a Decade after its discontinuation.
I can't recall if I posted in here or not. Anyway, my current setup is:
Primary rig:
Core i7-7700k @ 5.2ghz
ASUS ROG Maximus IX mobo
16GB RAM
Samsung 970 Pro 512GB M.2 SSD (for OS and performance intense games)
3TB Seagate SATA (less intense games and misc storage)
1TB WD SATA (for VeraCrypt)
ASUS STRIX-OC GTX 1080
PCIe WiGig adapter
Corsair Carbide series AIR 540 case
Corsair AIO watercooling block for CPU
LG Bluray burner
ASUS 24" LCD
AOC 22" LCD (portrait mode)
ASUS 22" LCD
Dynex 42" LCD TV
Wireless HTC Vive Pro virtual reality setup
Windows 10 Pro
HTPC:
Core i7-960
ASUS P6T-Deluxe V2 mobo
16GB RAM
OCZ 256GB 2.5" SSD
GTX 1050Ti
Thermaltake Shark case
138" Epson 5050UB "monitor"
Windows 10 Pro
Media Server:
Opteron 2.6ghz
ASUS M2N-LR mobo
8 GB RAM
Chenbro RM-4140 4U rack mount chassis
Areca ARC-1160ML2 RAID controller
PNY 120GB 2.5" SSD (OS)
42TB RAID6 array of 16x HGST 3TB SATA (media)
Windows Server 2012
Storage "overrun" machine:
AMD A4-6300
Gigabyte F2A88XM-D3H mobo
8GB RAM
Plextor 128GB SSD (OS)
3 8GB Seagate SATA drives (media)
1 2GB Seagate SATA drive (media)
Hitachi Bluray burner
Windows 10 Pro
Random machines:
2 2U HP DL380G5 servers Win2012 (AD, DHCP, DNS, Minecraft)
2 1U Dell PE150 server Win7/Ubuntu (1 for network monitoring, 1 idle)
1 1U Intel server Win2012 (web, MySQL, SFTP)
17" Macbook Pro OSX laptop
Toshiba S855 Windows 10 laptop
I filled up my 42 TB array a year or so ago, ever since then I just grab drives and add to one of my spare boxes as needed lol. I setup a DFS root and wrote a script to collate media across all the drives in that box + the array to make it nice and simple to find everything.
Farewell, Windows 7. You will be missed (that said, I'm also not minding Windows 10 so far, for the most part).
It's nice to not be constrained by RAM any more (DDR4 RAM prices in 2020 somewhat disappoint me, and I heard they were worse a few years ago). Interestingly, that was what necessitated my upgrade more than the CPU did (though that was an incoming concern anyway too).
Good enough for me. I'll look at Zen 3 later, and upgrade the video card a year to two from now, and probably be good for a number of years again (well, higher resolution/refresh rate monitor maybe after all that, but that's not as pressing to me, and a 1440p/120 Hz+ IPS won't be cheap I guess).
Oh, and the CPU is under a load doing a task at the moment so those aren't idle for the CPU; the temperatures are therefore a bit high (going between 59C and 62C; it usually idles around 42C I think). It's still safe, but higher at stock than I was spoiled with on my old one while overclocked, and it's also currently using the stock CPU heatsink and fan, but that will be changed within the next month or two. Once it is, I'll try and remember that updated picture.
Yea, when I built the box I figured that'd last me forever. (sigh) Between that and my other box I'm at 68 TB overall and I only have ~12 TB free. Twelve sounds like a lot, until you consider BluRay rips are like 50 GB each lol
Oh, yeah, I know video and HD stuff (like 4k especially but even enough 1080p or 720p) eats through storage like nothing. Glad the worst I deal with is image and picture stuff, games, or the rare video recording, so my storage is plenty for my needs for now (do want to get a 1 TB or 2 TB NVMe drive eventually though now that I have a board that supports it). All my video viewing needs are low and met through simple Netflix and Hulu.
Far from my first PC, but my first custom built one had a Core 2 Duo, so I have a fondness for those. Cool to see them still being used.
I thought I posted here before but I just looked and apparently I never did. I guess it's fitting, in a way, as this is soon to change.
Desktop:
Super old picture, but if I were to take a picture now, the only difference in appearance (key words) would be an additional hard drive and a different video card, so I'll lazily reuse this old one. If I remember I'll get a proper picture of it as it is now since I'll be changing much (motherboard, CPU, RAM, and operating system) soon. Everything else is being carried over and the GPU will be upgraded in the next year or two as it's still plenty for me right now.
Actual differences; Three hard drivers were added (1x 5 TB and 2 x 4 TB), but two of the existing ones pictured were removed (the other two remain but are currently unused for anything), the SSD was replaced with a larger one, the optical (DVD) drive was removed, and the video card changed a couple of times. That GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1 GB sadly died, and I used a much weaker GeForce GTS 650 for a while (emergency timing and it was cheap even for what it was). It has an eVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB right now.
The case was added a few years afterwards, which also necessitated a new PSU, but otherwise, the rest is the same "core" it's been since late 2011, just with a couple of video card upgrades. So, can't complain as it's lasted from nearly a decade ago.
Fractal Arc Midi
EVGA G2 750W PSU
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
Core i5 2500K
16 GB DDR3 1600 MHz
GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB
1 TB Western Digital Blue SSD
~14.2 TB storage across various Western Digital mechanical hard drives
Windows 7 Home 64-bit (is that last part redundant yet; do 32-bit operating systems still exist?)
HTPC: (or, Desktop 2 used for streaming connected to TV)
Again, old picture from when I first got it (early-mid 2012?), but other than now having more RAM modules, a picture taken now would look identical.
It's a Dell OptiPlex 380.
Core 2 Duo E8600 3.33 GHz (I think it had a E7200 or something originally)
8 GB DDR3 1333 MHz RAM
GeForce GT 430 1 GB
256 GB Crucial SSD (taken from the above, the original 250 GB mechanical drive was likely failing)
Windows 7 Professional (soon to Linux likely)
The other add-in card is a wireless adapter, but it's connected via ethernet. This thing, sans the video card, was what I originally played Minecraft on back in 2012 on version 1.2.5. A render distance of 4 was painful. With the video card, it actually manages 1.14 well enough (render distance of like 12 or something?). That world I originally started with lives on today. Connected to a low resolution 720p (1366 x 768) Sony Bravia TV from like 2009 that I'm still perfectly satisfied with picture-wise but is small for the room it is in these days.
Laptop:
No pictures. It's a Dell Inspiron 15-3537 from like 2013 or 2014 or something. I... barely use it so I may as well not have it, but it's not worth selling either so I use it for the rare thing here and there. I'm happy with it despite the low end and aged hardware outside of the low end glossy TN panel.
Core i3 4010U 1.7 GHz (I think?)
6 GB DDR3 RAM, unsure of speed (may upgrade to 16 GB later for more and to get "proper" dual channel and not the pseudo way it works with modules of differing amounts)
Intel HD 4400 onboard IGP
128 GB SSD (replaced 500 GB 5,400 RPM mechanical drive)
Windows 7 Pro (originally replaced Windows 8, may also go to Linux)
The above also plays Minecraft about as well (honestly maybe slightly smoother) as the HTPC at the same render distance, although at a slightly reduced visual experience (no anti-aliasing).
Until my main desktop is upgraded (I have the important stuff but I'm waiting on getting the Windows 10 key), that's it. I had others but I don't need more than two (sort of not counting the one used for HTPC purposes). The only one I regret getting rid of was my old Dimension 4100 all those years ago. It was my first purchased PC and the second PC that was solely mine (so no family PC being counted). It'd make a fantastic Windows 98, 2000, or early XP era PC.
Yeah Core 2 Duos are still very common and i think that they are still very good processors theres even a model going up to 3.3 Ghz (as far as my knowledge goes) wich shows that the Core 2 duo is still a Usable Processor even to this day, more than a Decade after its discontinuation.
I can't recall if I posted in here or not. Anyway, my current setup is:
Primary rig:
Core i7-7700k @ 5.2ghz
ASUS ROG Maximus IX mobo
16GB RAM
Samsung 970 Pro 512GB M.2 SSD (for OS and performance intense games)
3TB Seagate SATA (less intense games and misc storage)
1TB WD SATA (for VeraCrypt)
ASUS STRIX-OC GTX 1080
PCIe WiGig adapter
Corsair Carbide series AIR 540 case
Corsair AIO watercooling block for CPU
LG Bluray burner
ASUS 24" LCD
AOC 22" LCD (portrait mode)
ASUS 22" LCD
Dynex 42" LCD TV
Wireless HTC Vive Pro virtual reality setup
Windows 10 Pro
HTPC:
Core i7-960
ASUS P6T-Deluxe V2 mobo
16GB RAM
OCZ 256GB 2.5" SSD
GTX 1050Ti
Thermaltake Shark case
138" Epson 5050UB "monitor"
Windows 10 Pro
Media Server:
Opteron 2.6ghz
ASUS M2N-LR mobo
8 GB RAM
Chenbro RM-4140 4U rack mount chassis
Areca ARC-1160ML2 RAID controller
PNY 120GB 2.5" SSD (OS)
42TB RAID6 array of 16x HGST 3TB SATA (media)
Windows Server 2012
Storage "overrun" machine:
AMD A4-6300
Gigabyte F2A88XM-D3H mobo
8GB RAM
Plextor 128GB SSD (OS)
3 8GB Seagate SATA drives (media)
1 2GB Seagate SATA drive (media)
Hitachi Bluray burner
Windows 10 Pro
Random machines:
2 2U HP DL380G5 servers Win2012 (AD, DHCP, DNS, Minecraft)
2 1U Dell PE150 server Win7/Ubuntu (1 for network monitoring, 1 idle)
1 1U Intel server Win2012 (web, MySQL, SFTP)
17" Macbook Pro OSX laptop
Toshiba S855 Windows 10 laptop
I filled up my 42 TB array a year or so ago, ever since then I just grab drives and add to one of my spare boxes as needed lol. I setup a DFS root and wrote a script to collate media across all the drives in that box + the array to make it nice and simple to find everything.
The changes I mentioned earlier.
Farewell, Windows 7. You will be missed (that said, I'm also not minding Windows 10 so far, for the most part).
It's nice to not be constrained by RAM any more (DDR4 RAM prices in 2020 somewhat disappoint me, and I heard they were worse a few years ago). Interestingly, that was what necessitated my upgrade more than the CPU did (though that was an incoming concern anyway too).
Good enough for me. I'll look at Zen 3 later, and upgrade the video card a year to two from now, and probably be good for a number of years again (well, higher resolution/refresh rate monitor maybe after all that, but that's not as pressing to me, and a 1440p/120 Hz+ IPS won't be cheap I guess).
Oh, and the CPU is under a load doing a task at the moment so those aren't idle for the CPU; the temperatures are therefore a bit high (going between 59C and 62C; it usually idles around 42C I think). It's still safe, but higher at stock than I was spoiled with on my old one while overclocked, and it's also currently using the stock CPU heatsink and fan, but that will be changed within the next month or two. Once it is, I'll try and remember that updated picture.
Wow, that is a lot of space, haha.
Yea, when I built the box I figured that'd last me forever. (sigh) Between that and my other box I'm at 68 TB overall and I only have ~12 TB free. Twelve sounds like a lot, until you consider BluRay rips are like 50 GB each lol
Oh, yeah, I know video and HD stuff (like 4k especially but even enough 1080p or 720p) eats through storage like nothing. Glad the worst I deal with is image and picture stuff, games, or the rare video recording, so my storage is plenty for my needs for now (do want to get a 1 TB or 2 TB NVMe drive eventually though now that I have a board that supports it). All my video viewing needs are low and met through simple Netflix and Hulu.