Off Topic Chit Chat

[RandyDSok]

Randy, do you have a 775 water block and a pump?

Not even... I don't even use water cooled systems for my own stuff... no need in most cases... ie no high end graphics/video work.

On equipment that is available new... I don't stock, I special order each new part as needed. I only keep on hand, some old parts no longer available as new and then not many.

When there was a margin in parts sales... keeping stock made sense... there is no profit margin in them any longer. I only make money when there is real labor involved...

 

[Tony]

Yup, I know what you are saying. I'm just looking to do an 'over the top' system and I already have the 360 rad and res. Just need the block and pump.

 

[RandyDSok]

Yup, I know what you are saying. I'm just looking to do an 'over the top' system and I already have the 360 rad and res. Just need the block and pump.

Going "over the top" now isn't done by a brute strength CPU any longer.... it's achieved with SSD's instead. Decent ones will give you about 10x the performance of a 7200rpm HD ... ultra high end ones go another 5x faster than that ( which I haven't even seen nor could afford lol )

So go with one for your boot drive and one for your working/scratch drive and then add another for large storage. The decent SSD's are currently going for about 0.25 per Gb...

 

[Tony]

That is not the over the top that I was talking about. I am going to do an 'out of case' rig that is going to be part of the new studio. I have SSD's, I have fast computers, now I just want something that people ask... Why??? And the answer is, "because I can" lmao. And yes, the crap HDD's have to go for the boot drive. I'm working on that. I have plans on getting 6 enterprise drives for my NAS, if I can ever get it to work correctly. But i keep losing shares which kills the entire array. Seriously thinking about just going with Windows Server... I'm tired of this buggy as hell freeware crap.

 

[RandyDSok]

I've quit messing with array's .... I no longer believe they are worth it. In the time it takes to rebuild or recover... you can create an exact image of a drive on another drive to use as a fallback... then couple that with a realtime sync for new file additions. Refresh the image from time to time. I also use a offsite backup copy of the most important stuff... ie my work files are kept also on my home and visa-versa as an added measure of security.

 

[Smoggie]

I also used to run RAID arrays but these days I dont see the point. I just use an SSD for boot drive, a conventional HDD for data and another HDD which i have set up to create backup images weekly.

Back in the day I also used a water cooled rig with peltier thermo-electric elements that had my CPU and gfx card running at below zero degrees C temperatures.. I couldn't be bothered doing that now.

 

[Tony]

Wow, I'm getting my balls busted hard over this one lmao. The only reason I'm using raid0 is because the drives are so slow. If one drive goes down, I lose everything, I know that and had that happen before. But I'm out of SSD's and have to use what I have laying around. And yes, SSD's are getting cheap as hell. But still out of my price range right now. I'm just barely keeping my head above water, but need to complete this studio.

 

[RandyDSok]

Giving suggestions is not busting balls...

... although I was feeling awnrey tonight and had hoped for a good opening ... unfortunately you did fail at that lololol

 

[Tony]

hahaha, I couldn't give you a setup like I did in that other thread a couple months back.

Well, I have the computer running and I have set it up where I can access it remotely but only on LAN. That is definitely going to be my computer for out in the studio. I'm thinking about upgrading the dual core that is in it (1.6 slow pos) with my Q6600 quad core (not much faster, but it will take one HELL of an OC. I have had it stable over 4ghz). Problem is, that mobo only has two slots for memory and I have two 2GB sticks in it, and it's running out of memory. And trying to find 4GB sticks of DDR2 memory is almost impossible lol.

It's a work in progress, but I will get it.

Anyone have an SSD they want to give away lol.

 

[Tony]

Well, the computer hated having 7 put on it. With only 4gb of RAM it just wasn't enough. Kept up there about 95%. So I put XP on it and that is what I'm posting from now. With Pandora running and multiple windows in chrome going, I'm at 1.05GB of RAM used. I think I can accept this. And, the cpu is not going crazy like it was on 7. Guess this system is just not meant for the newer systems. XP it is. I missed this version anyway lol. Now it's time to install VMWare...

 

[Tony]

Well, the studio is coming along nicely. It's much better now that I have a computer out here and I'm able to play some music. Right now, I have 2/3rd's of the desk built that I'm going to use for the close up shots and also where my computer is. In order to get the last 1/3rd, I have to build another 4'x2' desk. They are holding the last piece for ransom lmao. No worries though, I will get it done, some day.. Until then, I'm stuck with 2/3rd's of a desk lmao.

Finding a place for all of this stuff is proving to be quite hard. This is decades of crap that has just been stacking up. And I am the one that has to find a place for it all. Not an easy task I will tell you that.

On a side note though, I was supposed to receive a package today... But instead, it took this package 6 days to go from Inglewood Ca. to Compton Ca. 6 friggin days!!! I'm going to have a little chat with my vendor on this one and you had better bet it's going in the video review of this 'product'. That is uncalled for in every sense, I don't care how much they saved on the shipping.

Okay, venting over. But I REALLY wanted that package today lmao. I think the one coming from China is going to get here before the one that was sent from California... How stupid is that....

Okay, now the venting is over hahaha.

I will try to get a video up if any of you are interested in seeing the new studio before it's completed.

 

[Tony]

So I gave up on that crap computer with a 1.6ghz dual core. The thing just would not run worth a crap. So, I had to do something different.

First thing I did was tear out all of the drives and mobo from my NAS. I really didn't want to do this but I plan on going a different way with the NAS. This opened up a great looking case that has room for 6 drives. The mobo that I decided to toss in it is my old Asus P5Q Pro board with 8GB of RAM and my favorite, the Q6600 2.6GHZ Quad Core CPU. Man I love this cpu. I have put a stable 4-4.5GHZ OC on this thing before. It ran hot as hell, but I did it lol.

So with the mobo, ram and cpu installed, I had to find a GPU. The one that I had on this took a dump so I had to come up with something else. And the only other gpu that I had laying around was out of an old dell. It supports HD, but that is about it lol. There is not even a power connector on this thing. So no big time rendering with this machine, yet lol.

From there, I decided to completely kill my NAS and use those drives in this computer. I have a total of 6 drives plus the CD/DVD drive. However, one of the drives is not showing up for some reason. I think it's because it's plugged into a port that I need drivers for, and the friggin drivers will not install on this thing for some reason. I will keep trying, but it's only a 200GB drive so it's not a bit loss.

So there you have it, I have built my old, favorite computer again. This is the setup that taught me about how to build computers, work on them and tweak them to run anything. And yes, if I had my old GPU, it will run Crysis on max res lol. It will not, however, run the new Crysis lol. But I would not know what I know now if it wasn't for this great little setup.

 

[leedude1]

Tony,

That was all GREEK to me my man but it sounded impressive as all hell , sites still up and running so you done good .

 

[Tony]

Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with the site other than being the computer that taught me about computers lol. I have been doing a lot of stuff that is not RC related (and missing some AWESOME flying weather) trying to get this new studio up and going and helping my brother in law swap engines in two POS cars lol. But, I have a stack that is getting larger by teh day of stuff that I need to review so videos will be coming very soon.

 

[RandyDSok]

Not a knock on Tony's stuff...

It's just not any more impressive than say a car/truck... the engine or motor... transmission and things... It's certainly cool to change out a cam shaft with one that has a degree or so more timing... install a ported and tuned intake manifold... change out the 2 barrel carb for a cool 4 barrel carb.

With a computer ( if you'll overlook some analogy flaws )... the CPU is the engine, the motherboard is like the transmission directing the power ( data ) where it's needed... the RAM memory is sort of like a carb or injectors on a more modern vehicle and the more air ( memory ) you get, the faster things run.

The stuff is cool... but I think impressive may be an overstatement. There is a little bit of complexity as there is with cars and such, but it isn't really rocket science once you've done it a bit...

Working with your hands... thinking a little bit or learning a new craft... they all take a little work but usually not as much as some "think" ( using the term lightly ). Don't be just a luser... if something breaks, take a little time and fix it... dig into it. Getting hands on with the things that interest you or perhaps some things that don't ... can be rewarding if you just let it.

 

[Tony]

I think when he typed "luser" that he meant "user" but fat fingered it lol.

But he is right, Once you do it a few times, it becomes second nature. Just like setting up a head on a helicopter, or a gyro. Do it a few times and all is golden from then on.

And don't let Randy fool you, he was busting my chops. I don't think he likes "old school" lmao.

 

[leedude1]

Your absolutely right. For the most part I do "dig in" but some things just don't do it for me.

Ive learnt (especially over the last year or so) that time spent on stuff that isnt important to you or your loved ones, is wasted. Some is necessary and needs to get done like home repair, cutting the grass and maybe fixing the mower so you can cut the grass ...but other than that I'm generally on a pc all day at the office, and my home usage is limited stuff and as basic as it gets so the need for bigger, better, faster when it occurs usually means I need a new machine.

So it may not be complicated if you know what he's talking about. Eddy Van Halen probably thinks "Eruption" is a piece of cake, and Jackson throwin' down a moon walk was just another day in the life..

But when I look at things, you nailed it on head when you said take the time to get into it if it interests you... but if I cant, and you (or some one else) can, it means you took the time.... and I can, and always will appreciate the effort that some one has put in to get there.... complicated or not. It is not necessarily because it would be beyond my ability but ...just not interested enough to do so.

I've spent enough time trouble shooting my crashed birds and soldering two hairs together to get something else in the air to know what I enjoy and what would frustrate the hell out of me.... because Im dicking with something I shouldn't. Hell I could knit myself a sweater if I took the time to learn , but the interest level on that one is about at the same level ... but I would be impressed as all hell watching grandma going at it with the needles .

 

[RandyDSok]

Some of the lightning from the storm that moved through the area tonight... Norman, Ok Nov 02, 2016

 

[RandyDSok]

Saw a young buck today while at a clients house... 4 point. Only taken with my smartphone since I forgot my camera today and probably wouldn't have had time to get if from the truck even if I had it with me.

 

[RandyDSok]

The full Beaver Moon ( aka SuperMoon ) taken on Nov. 13th 2016 from Norman Ok ...

Other names for this Moon are the Frost Moon and Snow Moon