Replaced my computer

CronoCloud Creeggan

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My started having issues with intermittent freezing/lockups and trouble booting in mid/late December, SMART wasn't giving me any error issues and the RAM checked out, I figure either there was a motherboard issue or the CPU was failing somehow, or else the hard drive was failing in a way SMART didn't pick up. (no temp issues). The issues started happening more frequently so I did a search for another office-style refurb. since the machine WAS getting long in the tooth and I wanted a more modern machine with a more modern CPU (and USB 3.0). I eventually chose a HP EliteDesk 800 G1 with an i7-4790 (3.6Ghz), 16GB of RAM and a 2TB hard drive. While out at the local Enormo-mart doing my weekly shopping a few days before the machine arrived, I picked up another external drive to do the /home backup. (I have one, but it's partitioned weirdly because I was dumb). While there I saw they had cheap basic SSD's, WD Blue's, so I picked one up.

I partitioned the new external ext4 and used deja-dup to do the backup I was worried about the old machine acting up again, but it made it through the backup thankfully. The new machine arrived Wednesday (yesterday), opened her up, slapped my RAM from the older machine in to take it up to a full 32GB (had a couple of older sticks to put in the old machine, just in case), installed the SSD (didn't have the special slide in mount screws for the SSD so I just laid it in the frame for now until the special m3 mount screws arrive), installed the video card (GTX 1050 TI SC 4GB) and put the Live XFCE spin in the DVD drive.

Sadly the machine's motherboard uses weird connectors for power so I couldn't slap in my cooler master 550W, but that's okay for now since the one in it is a 320w which is enough. I can get a cable and do some wire switching to hook it up, or I can seek out one of HP's 500w supplies, (which cost a bit over 100 bucks and are on backorder)

And yeah, the slightly more modern CPU helps with SL, I figured the old Phenom II x4 was bottlenecking the GTX1050 TI. I went from around 8 fps to around 20fps at the Teahouse with a similar number of people in view.
 

CronoCloud Creeggan

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Dakota Tebaldi

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My computer broke on Thursday; one power blink too many. I actually have a UPS and the computer is plugged into it, but the batteries are done and I've been putting off replacing them. The UPS is designed to switch seamlessly from utility service to battery when it senses power suckery and it does that, but since it's switching to dead batteries, the computer just shuts off instantly. It happens anytime there's a power flicker since the batteries went bad and like any self-respecting system would, eventually it just quit and wouldn't boot anymore.

I did troubleshooting stuffs and it's definitely either the motherboard or CPU. CPU failures I rarer so I'm leaning toward the former, but it could be either.

But I'm not going to get an exact replacement. My CPU is an FX 6300, it's sitting in an Asus Sabertooth 990fx which is an AM3+ slot board. It's old (built it 7 years ago) and new units of those are available but they cost the same as like a present-gen set of components. So although I didn't really want to spend money on this right now, I've decided I may as well upgrade. The new parts are on the way.

Ryzen 5 5600X
Gigabyte X570 AORUS Elite Wifi
2x8GB DDR4 RAM

The priority right now was buying a good CPU. The one I got is really the best one I could get for what I could spend and I hope to make it last as long as the FX 6300 did. The board is a highly decent mid. The RAM is cheap just because it's the least expensive thing to replace, I'm almost certainly going to buy something better very soon, I just needed something to get my computer working right now.

This is all going into the old case with the rest the old stuff, which I will also be slowly replacing a bit at a time over the next year or so, especially the case. The only old component I think I'm not going to reuse is my Corsair water cooler. I think it still works okay, but I don't know for sure and don't really have a good way of finding out safely. And even if it does work well, it's as old as the original build and could stop working any time. So I'll see how things go with the 5600X's stock air cooler and maybe buy a new AIO in the coming months if I feel like I need to; it used to be true that stock CPU coolers were reliably trash but that isn't necessarily true anymore if you're not using your computer to make toast.

A new system means I'll be able to run Windows 11. I've gotten used to Linux and I'm kind of an Isaac Newton fan; but the nifty new mobo and processor utilities are prolly Windows-only. I'll see how it goes.
 
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Dakota Tebaldi

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Going to have to update the BIOS in the x570 board in order for it to be able to take a 5000-series Ryzen. The board has a push-button BIOS flash function that doesn't need a CPU in order to work and that's good because I don't have any older Ryzens to put in it.

The video demos make it look pretty simple, but flashing new BIOS has always made me a little anxious since pretty much forever.
 

Katheryne Helendale

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Sooooo... How did it go?
 
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The video demos make it look pretty simple, but flashing new BIOS has always made me a little anxious since pretty much forever.
That makes me nervous too. A few months ago my love's hp laptop did a windows update and said oh by the way we need to flash your bios. Well ok, I'm plugged in with a full charge. It went uneventfully but I've never seen a computer do that before as a part of a windows update. I was quite stressed while it was happening.
 

Dakota Tebaldi

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Sooooo... How did it go?
Wow I never answered this did I. It went fine, I guess? :D

I just got a new video card, a Radeon 6700 XT. It's roughly equivalent to a 3060, if you're more fermiliar with GeForces. But I finally had to upgrade, since Blender only supports GPU rendering in Radeon cards now if they have RDNA architecture, so 5000-series or later basically. And I finally had enough money to get one for reasons.

The card came the other day, but I'm waiting to put it in until a new case I also bought gets here, sometime early next week. The new case is a Corsair 4000D. And with the last little bit left I got a new M.2 drive, since the motherboard I got last year has two slots for them and all of my drives are getting kinda up there in years.

My PSU will power the new card, but with not an ideal amount of overhead. So over the next few months it's saving up for a new PSU. And some kind of new CPU cooler after that.