What computer(s) are you using? Home/Work 2018

[fencepost]

My daily driver is a ThinkPad T510 with an i5-M540 and a 240GB Samsung 840 Pro and NVidia graphics. Could maybe stand a bump from 6GB to 8GB, but meh. The only thing that's caused it to labor recently was starting to use DigiKam - I had it build signatures for all photos, check for duplicates which I'm still pruning, and do its experimental face finding and recognition which was OK but would've been better if I'd done more tagging myself first.

I also use a ThinkPad T430 with a MSATA Samsung SSD and 16GB, plus the old HD still in there for bulk storage (and because I was too lazy to pull it). Also an i5, but i5-3210M and only the Intel graphics.

Both at 1600x900, but the T510 is on a docking station with a 23" external as well. In theory the T510 is the desk machine and the T430 travels with me, but I've actually just been popping the larger one out and taking it along recently.

I should probably see if I can scrape up the $$ for a ThinkPad 25.

 

[mikeroq]

Bullet holder from a 50pack box of 9mm rounds.

Huh I never thought about using one of those! That must be one with a sealed bottom.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Huh I never thought about using one of those! That must be one with a sealed bottom.

Yes...not just open holes like the amber plastic ones for Remington .22s.

 

[mikeroq]

I should chime in that our front POS computer is a 486..................................beat that

 

[MichaelBits]

Hmm, well, where to start... I kind of collect them...
Quick basic list, or I'll be here all day writing this down.

HOME

Gaming and production (work) PC.
- Built several years ago and still runs like a champ. Don't do much gaming anymore so meets my needs.
- 1TB Samsung SSD, i5 3770k, 16G ram, Bluray. Don't remember which VC is in it off hand.
HTPC
- AMD A10, 8G ram, bluray, 120G SSD, 4x4TB HDD, 2x3TB HDD, 6 tuner cable card, 2 tuner digital card, etc...
Surveillance
- Old HP mini with a Q6600
- Used just to display security cameras on a screen in the living room.
Kitchen
- HP slim with a Q6600 hooked to a touchscreen on the counter.
Laptops
- Have 4 laptops (various types) I use around the house, generally use each one for a specific purpose.
In the works
- Have a Dell mini with a 4th gen i7 that was recycle fodder. Took it home and got the parts for it (under $100) and will be fixing it up soon when I have a chance. Probably be for my girlfriend to use.
- Custom FreeNAS box. Going to build one out of an old metal kitchen cabinet I have. Will have a motherboard, HDDS, and power supply in the bottom section with the security DVR and a Synology DiskStation in the top section. Whole cabinet will be on a battery backup with cooling fans built into it as well.

WORK

Main Desktop
- HP PRO 6200 with an i5 and 8G ram.
Transfer Desktop
- Custom built from parts I had on hand. AMD FX 8 core, 8G ram, 3x2TB HDD's, dual hot swap bays.
Recovery
- An old HP pro with a dual core I run linux on for DDrescue.
Service
- HP Elite Revolve Laptop. Decent specs, and it fits in my service bag easy.
Other
- 3 AiO's I have placed around the repair area for general usage. Looking up a ticket, notes, whatever.
- Various laptops used for testing and whatever. One is connected to one of my old stereo receivers to stream music.

Think that covers most of them....

 

[sapphirescales]

I'm starting to think that there are two ways of winning this contest...

Geez, don't feel bad! All my stuff is old and very used.
I look at all these sooperdooper units and think "I'm doing it wrong?"

Yeah guys, don't feel bad. It was never my intention to show anyone up or make anyone feel bad. The triple monitor Mac I got traded in from a client. I got their 2011 27" iMac and both monitors for $800. They only had a few hundred hours on them since my client was mobile and rarely used them. Then I sold the original 2011 iMac for $800 because I knew that sooner or later the GPU would bite me in the butt, and I bought a new base model 27" iMac with the only upgrade being the 256GB SSD. Once you've had a computer with an SSD, you really can't use a computer with a hard drive as the main OS drive anymore. I upgraded the RAM myself for pretty cheap compared to what Apple wanted to charge.

The other computers you see I've had since the 1990's and I've upgraded gradually since then. My Invoicing computer was originally a Dell Optiplex from 1995 that I inherited from my grandmother. I upgrade on average one part per year. Every 10 years or so every part gets replaced.

The only computers I've bought new was my business laptop and that HP. Microcenter was having a Black Friday sale on it. Regularly $1,200 I got it for about 1/2 price. I just couldn't resist. The Macbook Air I got traded in.

My computers are 1-5 years old, and my oldest part is 12 years old in these machines. I didn't just go out and spend $15,000 one day on a whim. I'm not that irresponsible. I mean, I have the money. I could go buy a new $100,000 car tomorrow WITHOUT financing if I wanted to. But I drive a 2005 Cadillac Escalade. I have an Escalade because SUV's are safer and it wasn't much more than the Chevy Tahoe or the GMC Yukon when buying used.

But anyway, don't feel bad guys. My setup has been many years in the making, and I didn't get it all at once. It's actually cheaper in the long run to continue upgrading what I have vs. throw it all away and buy a whole new system. Besides, unlike a lot of you, I actually NEED this much power to do my job. If I didn't, I'd have a much more modest setup.

 

[Markverhyden]

View attachment 8632

Is that an old school tuner or amp at the bottom of your pic?

 

[Your PCMD]

Is that an old school tuner or amp at the bottom of your pic?

Its a Yamaha HTR-5730. My machine connects to it and its goes out to Polk Audio T15 speakers and a Polk Audio PSW505 sub. Had this setup for years.

 

[GTP]

Business:
4 of Dell OptiPlex 7010
DIYPC Alpha-GT3 test case
2 Apple iPAD's for mobile POS

Home: 2 near identical systems (Green is mine)

OS: Windows 10 Professional (x64) Version 1709
CPU: Intel Core i7-7700k (delidded)
MOBO: Gigabyte Z270M-D3H Motherboard
SSD MAIN: Samsung 960 EVO 250GB NVMe
HDD: WD Blue 4TB
MEMORY: 32 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4-3200
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
MONITOR: Acer ER320HQ 32"
CASE: InWin 301
COOLER: Aigo 240mm Radiator for mine and Hyper 212 EVO for wifes

@Barcelona may recognize whats on top of the computers.

View attachment 8632

I'm rubbing my hands together in anticipation and chuckling like a kid who knows what he's getting for Christmas!!

 

[sapphirescales]

Who feels bad?

Every penny I don't waste on flashy toys goes into my business or other investments - I'm perfectly fine with that!

Smart attitude. If I didn't need this much power I wouldn't have these systems.

 

[TECCS]

Main Pc
OS: Windows 10 Professional (x64)
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500k (sandybridge not overclocked)
MOBO: Intel Corporation DQ67SW Motherboard
SSD MAIN: Sandisk 250GB
HDD: WD Blue 1TB
MEMORY: 8GB mixed brand
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series
MONITORS: 2 xAOC
CASE: Cronus 3705
COOLER: Artic cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2
Disk Drive: bluray

All secondhand or user traded or given to me except the drives.

Second/test Pc

Mac mini 2012
OS: Windows 10 Professional (x64)/osx high sierra
CPU: Intel Core i5
SSD MAIN: samsung evo 840
HDD: 500gb
MEMORY: 8GB
MONITORS: 1 acer

was a personal one before not needed in the home.

Gaming pc similar to top business except aio cooler 16gb ram and gtx1060 3gb

 

[mikeroq]

Besides, unlike a lot of you, I actually NEED this much power to do my job.

Shots fired!

 

[Your PCMD]

Yeah guys, don't feel bad. It was never my intention to show anyone up or make anyone feel bad.

I could go buy a new $100,000 car tomorrow WITHOUT financing if I wanted to.

You were saying?

 

[Kitten Kong]

Smart attitude. If I didn't need this much power I wouldn't have these systems.

Dare I ask, why you need so much power in so many machines?

What do you do, which is different from the rest of us, who get by with what we have?

 

[Your PCMD]

Dare I ask, why you need so much power in so many machines?

What do you do, which is different from the rest of us, who get by with what we have?

He's a miner. Got that crypto fever.

 

[mikeroq]

He's a miner. Got that crypto fever.

Nah he doesn't have enough graphics cards for that.

 

[Alexey]

I got this

ASUS X99-E WS,
i7-6900K,
64GB DDR4 (Kingston HyperX I recall, 4x16GB modules),
GeForce GTX 750Ti,
1TB Intel 540 SSD,
LSI SAS 9271-8i + 6x 6TB WD spinning drives,
Power supply like 1000W something, can't recall manufacturer.

 

[Alexey]

Geez, don't feel bad! All my stuff is old and very used.
I look at all these sooperdooper units and think "I'm doing it wrong?"

Probably not. I have the rig I have because I need it in my line of work. I was actually considering dual processors when I was building this, but decided it would not be cost-effective for me.

 

[Kirby]

I'm not using anything that impressive, actually. The best computer I have is my HTPC which I recently built and mentioned in other threads. 8GB of RAM, i5-6400 4 core processor, Asus Q170T/CSM mini-ATX motherboard. The sweetest thing about it is the Corsair Obsidian 250D case.

To be fair, though, I couldn't care less about computers. I know, strange for a computer guy, but it's true. I only ever liked the technical end of computers. The tinkering. That's why I absolutely love being a computer tech. Back in the day I did some gaming and some tinkering pretty much non-stop. My then girlfriend, now wife used to get upset with me for being on the computer until 3 AM. Then I started doing it for a living. My computer knowledge went WAY up. It's a lot harder to fix other people's problems than your own because other people use their computers differently and, thus, have other problems. But the joy I got from computers went way down to pretty much zero unless I'm working on them. I still LOVE working on computers. I love to fix them. But I reached the end of the Internet years ago (and some things you can't un-learn), I've always had a bad memory, so now I find that I'm much less capable of learning new things and you just can't get more technical than fixing, in a good week, 6 or 7 computers a day that you've never touched before that day. So there's not much left that interests me; not much I need a lot of power for. Building that awesome rig just doesn't give me the satisfaction it once did. Once it's done, there's nothing I want to do with it.

I will be building a new work PC soon, though. Right now I have case and motherboard, an Asus TUF Z370-Pro Gaming motherboard. I haven't decided yet on 8GB or 16GB of RAM, but I think I'll go with the i5-8400 processor. That is, unless all the bills are paid and I have an extra $175 in my pocket at the time to go with the i7-8700k. I kind of want to go big with it, but then I kind of don't want to spend any more money than I have to on it. But, since it's a work computer and "faster" means "work done sooner", I'll probably go as big as I can afford when I decide to do it.

 

[mikeroq]

@Alexey is that your home, work, or is it one in the same?