best cheap/free scores 1.1

[momaka]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Not sure about the rest of the world but in the US those are both very common.

In Europe too. Just not the UK/Enland - they're always special with everything!

I don't think I've ever seen a grounded (3-prong) plug on a receiver in the US, always just 2-prong

+1
Never seen it either -even in the rest of (mainland) Europe, where they have 230 V AC mains

maybe coz your mains voltage is half-missing!

LOL
But @ 60 Hz ... so slightly easier to break through skin capacitance.
Of course with 240V AC (or even DC), it just doesn't care about skin capacitance and current simply "brute forces" its way through you. .

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

2: unearthed metal chassis - great way to die if the primary side gets damaged inside.

So you're telling me that I have a "suicide receiver"?

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

benchmark on the drive:

Looks like it's failing!

[momaka]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Looks like it's failing!

Looks like you're quoting a post from 2011!

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

That's a really good video card! Prices of good AGP video cards are starting to go a bit crazy right now (well, ATI less than nVidia).

Make sure to keep it cooled well (under 55C at all times), as it's from the time of the Xbox 360 days and a bit failure prone. Better yet, also add a small heatsink (chipset HS from dead motherboard will do) on the ATI bridge chip (if it has one) on the back of the video card. Those tiny exposed dies run very hot and are another reason these cards stop working after a while.

I could try sourcing a big ASUS Geforce 210 heatsink. They're absolutely huge and can passively cool almost anything.

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

So you're telling me that I have a "suicide receiver"?

only if something really bad happens inside between the cord-grip and transformer.
like the switch melting-down.

[ratdude747]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Looks like it's failing!

Looks like you're quoting a post from 2011!

Do I even still have that drive???

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Free Dell Precision M6400, 3.06GHz C2D 8gb RAM (maxes @ 16gb), 250gb SSD & 1tb spinner, 1920x1200 display. Case has a few dings, but overall in good shape. Batt is toast, OS needed to be reinstalled (someone put W10 on it).

[dmill89]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

only if something really bad happens inside between the cord-grip and transformer.
like the switch melting-down.

RJARRRPCGP's Technics SA-EX140 has a "soft-touch" power switch (i.e. like a computer there is always standby power, when you press the button it sends a signal which trips the relay for the main power transformer), the only place the line goes to is directly to a power board at the back of the unit which is connected to the transformer and is fuse protected.


(a pic I grabbed from the internet)

The Onkyo TX-910 I posted has both a traditional power switch that disconnects the mains and a "soft-touch" on/standby switch, but the "hard" power switch is isolated from the case by a plastic button (the actual metal switch is on a circuit board, a square piece of plastic goes through the front panel and pushes the actual switch). I suppose if the power-cord was cut/rubbed through somewhere between the cord-grip and power board(something that would not happen during normal operation and would only occur after a faulty repair) it could energize the case but that is a risk of virtually any metal-cased ungrounded electronic device (just about every piece of audio-video equipment and many other common devices), a line-cord being rubbed-through outside of the case would be a bigger shock risk and that risk affects every electrical device that doesn't have a GFCI (aka: RCD).

[momaka]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

I could try sourcing a big ASUS Geforce 210 heatsink. They're absolutely huge and can passively cool almost anything.

Looked that up. Don't expect the x1650 to be cooled passively with that heatsink of the ASUS GF 210. The x1650 is rated for around 45-55W of TDP, depending on which GPU chip it has (90 nm vs. 80 nm). Either way, you will need a fan that blows a lot of air over the GF 210 heatsink to keep the x1650 cool. ATI seriously under-sized the stock coolers on the x1600 and x1650 cards, so consider something bigger than the stock one. Something like the IceQ Turbo on the on the HD4670 should be about right. I actually have one of those on a HIS HD4670 card (which is rated for 65W TDP), and that cooler is barely enough to keep the card under 60C in normal room temperature.

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Free Dell Precision M6400, 3.06GHz C2D 8gb RAM (maxes @ 16gb), 250gb SSD & 1tb spinner, 1920x1200 display. Case has a few dings, but overall in good shape. Batt is toast, OS needed to be reinstalled (someone put W10 on it).

I spoke too soon about the battery....It will run for ~1hr 45min. For a Dell precision, that's stellar! This post created from it....it replaced my m6300 I've used the last ~7 years. It has a C2D extreme x9100 @ 3.06, but it will run a C2Q extreme quad core @ 2.53, which is the fastest quad core it can take....choices choices.... I will max the RAM @ 16gb and upgrade the fx2700 512mb to the x3700 1gb...all this can be done for under $100!

[brethin]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Free Dell Precision M6400, 3.06GHz C2D 8gb RAM (maxes @ 16gb), 250gb SSD & 1tb spinner, 1920x1200 display. Case has a few dings, but overall in good shape. Batt is toast, OS needed to be reinstalled (someone put W10 on it).

Keeping it or selling it? If selling let me know.

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Keeping it or selling it? If selling let me know.

I'm going to diddle around with it for a bit and see how much I can hotrod it....after that, I may consider parting with it. I've been eyeballing a potentially cheap m6800, but from the m6600 and newer, Dell in their infinite wisdom decided to discontinue all 16:10 displays and jump on the 16:9 bandwagon....which is fine for a TV, but nothing beats 16:10 for a PC.

[ratdude747]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

I'm going to diddle around with it for a bit and see how much I can hotrod it....after that, I may consider parting with it. I've been eyeballing a potentially cheap m6800, but from the m6600 and newer, Dell in their infinite wisdom decided to discontinue all 16:10 displays and jump on the 16:9 bandwagon....which is fine for a TV, but nothing beats 16:10 for a PC.

The M6800's are nice... my secondary (plant floor beater) laptop at work is one. But still not cheap

The M6700 and M6600 has flimsy displays... ugh. pass.

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Scored an Benq Joybook A32 (Pentium M/512MB/60GB) and a Acer Aspire 5250 (AMD E-450/no RAM/ no HDD) for $12. Both working fine, although both need new keyboards (Benq has missing keys and the Acer has random presses) but otherwise both work fine, and the Acer looks amazingly clean.

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Quality monitor that had one a few years ago.

Yes, but the size limits how many you can use on a system.

And, the single video input means you can't (easily) "share" it between two systems (to justify the extra space consumed).

[mikay786]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Got some decent stuff at Carboot yesterday

Apple iBook G4 - no power adapter - untested - £10
sennheiser HDR 120 ii wireless headphones - £2 - I seen the transmitter at the same stall but didn’t click at the time they were supposed to go together! Hopefully next week it’s still there.

PS4 - £25 - banned online and hdd toast. Still a bargain as otherwise works fine for offline games.
2 x Xbox 360 slims 4gb, 2 pads £20
Apple magic wireless keyboard £3 working
Sony hdt-500 freview box. No remote or psu £1
Old Pentax asasi camera and loads of lenses £25 - bit of a punt probably a little too much £ for a punt they seem to be worth around £75+ so not too bad

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

damn, i would have loved that mac, it's the last of the candy-coloured ppc clamshell ones isnt it!!
btw, common fault is bad soldering on the charging socket.

[mikay786]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Speaking of the charging socket the damm power adapters seem to be pricy.

I’ve got loads of dell and hp 65w adapter lying about spare just trying to figure out if I can modify and use one of them. The jack looks like a phono style connector but probably a proprietary apple connector?

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

no idea.