starkers starkers

Finally, I got One Of My Big Beasties Running Again.

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Finally, I got One Of My Big Beasties Running Again.

with one thing and another it has been a while.

from WinCustomize Forums

At long last, after various hold-ups and distractions, days when I felt like crap with vertigo and arthritis, I finally got my AMD FX 8350 in the Thermaltake Level 10 case up and running again.  Admittedly, there were a few things I needed to do to it - like install an AMD GFX card to match the CPU brand-wise, swap out some RAM and HDDS, etc - but that was just one part of a larger project.  I've also been remodelling my desk and reorganising everything so I'm not using as much deskspace, and that has had various stoppages and drawbacks that were out of my control.

First thing was waiting ages for some clamp-to-the-desk monitor stands, and then they were the wrong ones when they arrived... meaning I had to send them back [at their expense] and wait for the right ones.  That took the best part of 7 weeks.  Then I loaned my daughter some money and couldn't afford some hardware items [screws, hinges, etc] until I got it back some 4 weeks later.

As if that wasn't enough, we got the new that Bianca has liver cancer, all while my 12 y/o granddaughter was continually running away from home and rather behaving badly.  And could we get the authorities to help?  No, it was all too much trouble and they had more important cases.  It wasn't until the damage was done that Family Services decided they'd look into it.

So, with all the distractions and hold-ups, I've not had a productive time of it, but bit by bit I am getting there... if only slowly.  The next stages shouldn't take as long because I have all the parts and stuff I need.  It's just a matter of making a new stand to keep my Coolermaster Cosmos II of the ground, then setting up all the peripherals and desk inhabitants and I'm done.

All going well, I hope to be done by this time next week, then I can sit back, relax and enjoy it.  I must admit, it is so nice to be working with a faster machine than the HP 2-in-1 with a 13.5" screen.  Now I'm on a 32" screen and it's like suddenly inheriting a big swathe of real estate with vista views.

Anyhow, it's time for bed.

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229,018 views 34 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Wizard1956, reply 24

Maybe it's a good thing that it is so heavy. With that many fans, if you turned them all on high, the rig would fly away!

Yup, I reckon it would!   Even on half speed.... if it weren't so heavy. :grin:    The case on its own is 24kg, though the Coolermaster website says it's 22kg.  It's actually what's inside that weighs the most.  You wouldn't think a few PC components, things like CPUs; RAM; SSDs; graphics cards and optical drives would weight that much, but last time I weighed the beast, it was 78kg.  Mind you, there was 13 Hdds in it as well. 

I've added another 3 since then, and another 2.5" SSD, giving me 2 x 250 gigs for additional OSes.  Given the lousy direction Windows is heading, I'm thinking I may dual/triple boot with Linux Ubuntu and/or Mint to get a better user experience before Win 10 pisses me off entirely and I throw it under the bus.  There again, I do have a pretty decent third machine with 3x 120 gig SSDs in RAID for Linux distros, meaning I can boot the Intel machine faster with just the single OS.

Hmmm, decisions, decisions.  And I still have an XP machine that's connected to the main TV in the lounge room for gaming.  I also have 4 old cases and the parts to build another 4 machines that I can hand-me-down to family members when needed.  That's the thing with upgrading/building new PCs... the many left over parts that I have accumulated over the years.  And do I ever throw any out?  Nope!  Even old DDR 1 RAM, just in case somebody ever needs it.

|-)

Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting starkers, reply 26

I've added another 3 since then, and another 2.5" SSD, giving me 2 x 250 gigs for additional OSes. Given the lousy direction Windows is heading, I'm thinking I may dual/triple boot with Linux Ubuntu and/or Mint to get a better user experience before Win 10 pisses me off entirely and I throw it under the bus. There again, I do have a pretty decent third machine with 3x 120 gig SSDs in RAID for Linux distros, meaning I can boot the Intel machine faster with just the single OS.

Impressive hardware. :thumbsup:  

We shouldn't have to worry about Windows 10 or Linux. Windows 7 lets you do all things without pain, struggle and suffering. Should be on extended support forever. Win 8.1 is good too, but you have to tame it a bit more than 7. Windows 10 can't be tamed.

I have been tinkering a lot, especially with software. I feel jaded like the man who made this video (link below). I just wanna be trucking, looks so relaxing... |-) When I saw the tank behind his truck I thought of your 78 kg computer. You need one of those trucks to move it... I really liked this video for some reason, maybe because I also feel I have reached a point where having fun is more important than achieving things. Regarding Linux I feel it will be "almost there" for the foreseeable future. Good enough for lightweight use, but not good enough for more demanding tasks. Now I'm going to dream about shiny trucks. :zzz:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79gB-p9NGHI#t=705.259687

 

Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #28 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting anotherside, reply 27

Impressive hardware.

It's not bad, but I'd like the top-end Xeon on a x99 chip motherboard with 128gb of RAM and a GTX 1080Ti gfx card.

Yeah, in my dreams!  Still, I can't complain.  The i7 4970 was top-end in its day, and while its latter editions may be faster and better, etc, it more than adequately handles all my needs and then some.

As for the OSes, Windows 8.1 is my choice.  With Start8 installed it is pretty much the same as Windows 7 but faster.  Sadly, Win 7 has already lost mainstream support, and Win 8.1 will lose it far sooner than I'd like. That's why I'm hoping Ubuntu and Mint get their big boys pants on sooner rather than later and become more mainstream.  Having said that, much work has been done to allow Windows programs to run on Linux distros, so they're not entirely foreign to Windows users.

Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Well the SATA expansion card arrived today, so tomorrow I will do some reorganising in the Intel Beastie and fire her up then.  I would do it today, but I had already started something that I want to finish, and later on I'm told that I'm going out for dinner with my daughter and Shaunna to belatedly celebrate my 64th birthday last Saturday. And here I was thinking it had passed without anyone noticing

Besides, I've waited this long to fire her up, so what's another day?  Right?

Reply #30 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Well I didn't get any work done on the Intel machine due to heavy duty back pain and my legs not wanting to carry me far for very long.  Yeah, I've had a very subdued day with little to no activity at all, and even if I did manage to install the SATA card, there was no way I was going to lift it off the [relatively high] work bench and move it to where it's supposed to be, even with help.  Hopefully things will be better in the morning and I can achieve what I want.

On another note, Coolermaster have released an anniversary version of the Cosmos II. While it looks all sleek and very modern, I still prefer the original and wouldn't trade mine for quids.  For mine, the original is more stylish and is much classier looking.

While the smoked glass side panels of the anniversary version look okay, to a point, the original's side panels has support for ventilation fans, which I find more useful.  Besides, the back side panel of the new version shows a multitude of sins, with all the cabling showing up against a light aluminium motherboard tray.  Nope, I prefer the dark metal finish of the original, though I'm sure some will like the looks of the new version

Reply #31 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Ooops, made a boo boo

Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Ooops! What you done? 8|  

Reply #33 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Uvah, reply 32

Ooops! What you done? 8|  

Double post...;)

Reply #34 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Jafo, reply 33


Quoting Uvah,
reply 32

Ooops! What you done? 8|  



Double post...;)

Yeah, hit quote instead of edit.... 'edited' and posted before I realised. :blush:   Another sign it wasn't a good day. 

Unfortunately, it's not much better today.  It would only take 20 minutes to half an hour to rearrange things and hook up the drives to the new SATA card, but then it's being able to stand for that long and not exacerbate the pain.  I'll have a go at doing it in stages, but then it's getting it off the bench and moving it where I want it.  Steve is here to help, but he's not supposed to lift anything heavy, and I wouldn't put the burden on him if I'm not able to take the majority of the weight.

Oh well, I guess it's a case of do what I can and see what happens.