Re: upgrading old PCs (RAM... overclock or not)?

On 5/31/2024 11:42 PM, philo wrote:
> On 5/31/24 5:41 PM, Paul wrote:
>> On 5/31/2024 4:56 PM, philo wrote:
>>
>>> I used to build all my machines but no longer do so because I get so many cast-offs.
>>>
>>> My newest one is an 8 core i7 3.8 ghz
>>> It runs Win10 incredibly well and Win11 too...but I had to do the hack to get Win11 installed>
>>>
>>> My main Linux machine is a quad core i5
>>>
>>> That particular machine was the *only* one I ever purchased already made and I felt guilty. I was going to build one but this was offered on eBay with no OS at a price too good to refuse.
>>>
>>> It was packed wrong and the case was crushed in shipping but all else OK>
>>>
>>> I notified the seller and since there was no way I could make a claim with the shipper, he offered me a nice partial refund when I told him I could re-case it.
>>>
>>> It was a bit non- standard and I had to do a bit of modification to get it re-cased...so I consider it a home built machine and no longer feel guilty. LOL
>>>
>>> Anyway as the the 8 core machine, though I do have Win11 installed on a drive, I'm not using that...I'm fine with Win10
>>>
>>> When support for Win10 ends, maybe by then I'll have a board that officially supports it.
>>>
>>>
>>> I use the Win10 machine for scanning and doing professional quality prints and don't need to even keep the machine on-line.
>>>
>>
>> By the time you got some "whizzy" machine, it would
>> already be obsolete :-) Some people learned that, by
>> buying a new laptop with a too-weak NPU in it, then Microsoft
>> announces they want a stronger NPU. That's the kind of
>> reward you get, for buying new.
>>
>> I had two machine die (chipset), so that put me in the market
>> for a new one.
>>
>> The techpowerup article, lists the 32M SuperPI 1.5 time as 354 second (a little
>> less than six minutes) for my processor.
>>
>> On my machine here, I get 358 seconds on Win10 (4 seconds slower)
>> and 374 seconds on Win11. The run to run variation is a lot higher than
>> I'm used to, and that's because of the closed loop control on the newer
>> machines (turns down speed if it's too hot, basically). Even though the
>> cooler is rated at 250W, there are still signs that more cooling would
>> be better. On machines in the past, you only worried about cooling
>> as far as "Tmax" was concerned, but now you have to consider "what
>> the machine thinks of your setup", which is not the same thing.
>> If the machine seems "nervous" or "twitchy" in CPUZ, then the
>> cooling likely isn't good enough.
>>
>> The RAM in the machine is DDR4-3200 CAS16, so pretty tame stuff.
>> It's possible the DDR4-3200 JEDEC is CAS22.
>>
>>     Paul
> 
> 
> Since most folks are now using their phones to do everything, my computer repairs have dropped from having two or three machines on the bench at all times, to now not even getting one computer repair a month
> 
> I also restore vacuum tube radios.
> 
> Someone had me check out a 98 year old Atwater Kent designed to run off batteries. After I built a supply for it.. amazingly it worked ...needing no repairs !
> 
> I think that was a first.

The batteries for those old radios, that would be one expensive habit.

That's the reason the battery radio I was given by someone, it
never got to run, because I couldn't afford the batteries. It took
two 45V batteries and some lump of a thing for filaments.

That could be why your set worked. It wasn't retired because it
was non-functional, it was retired because someone didn't want
to buy any more batteries for it. Mr.EverReady back then, must
have been rolling in the dough.

*******

When Windows 10 expires, I expect you'll be up to the ceiling
with "donated computers" :-) You won't lack for spare parts at
that point. There is a ChromeOS installer, if you want to put
ChromeOS on a machine. Or Linux, if the machine owner is
prepared for that. At this point, Linux can't be more complicated
than Windows is (KB5034441 they won't fix). My laptop, on a
Repair Install, put the emergency boot image (WinRE.wim)
on the wrong partition, but at this point, I've stopped caring
about "perfection". Fixing that is like "pushing on string".

    Paul