PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

[Uranium-235]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

True it might get to that point. It depends on what future mutations turn out to be and how often future versions mutate

edit: But further study might yield some mRNA advances that could help

[Topcat]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

edit: But further study might yield some mRNA advances that could help

mRNA isn't exactly a new thing, it's been around in vaccines long before covid....but I also agree that covid variants could indeed speed up the progress of mRNA technology....I can also see booster shots in the future for those already vaccinated. Those not vaccinated, variants will simply be added to the full vaccine when they do get it. The antivax'ers;

[lti]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

2018 was shit, because of the insane video card prices!

RAM prices were high, too. I remember the advice then being to buy the smallest amount of RAM you thought you might be able to get away with. I didn't listen, and I don't regret it after I started using virtual machines.

My current computer actually runs well, unlike the one I had when you made the older thread you referenced. I haven't touched it (aside from cleaning) since I built it.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

but when new GPU's are selling for x2 their MSRP, and used ones are going for exponentially what they *should* be worth, that's nuts!! I guess it's typical 'supply & demand', but holy shit!!

We're far from being out-of-the-woods! They are still charging ridiculous prices!

[Topcat]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

We're far from being out-of-the-woods! They are still charging ridiculous prices!

GPU's, yea. I could probably get a good ~900 for my 24gb Quadro M6000. It was a freebie in a box of whatnot that came from the a university. It didn't even look like it had even been used. In a bag, zero dust in the fan, and no screw abrasions on the bracket.... How wasteful, but I was happy! A Quadro FX5800 will still bring 100 bucks, and by today's standards its a big turd. It's mind-boggling the prices of some stuff right now.

I have 9x catalytic converters laying loose in the cabin of a junk car. A friend of mine that owns an auto & muffler shop told me to bring them by Monday, he deals directly with an actual recycler (no middleman), and he's paying 200~300 cash for each cat!! I chop the pipes off them and got them all ready to go for Monday!!

Easy $1800!!

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

I got super creative on January 3, 2020, I suddenly found a bunch of new goodies in stock at the West Lebanon, New Hampshire Best Buy and got everything for my first Ryzen build!

I didn't need to get a PSU or SSDs, because I had them already.

The motherboard for my first Ryzen build, the MSI B450 Tomahawk, failed unexpectedly in summer of 2022, in August, IIRC.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

The motherboard failure at TechPowerUp:

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/t...dented.298550/

[Topcat]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

I sold 10 tower PC's to a hobbyist tech last Friday for $50ea, complete and running. They weren't anything stellar....some Xeon modded Optiplex 380's & C2D/C2Q and a couple early gen I-series.... 4gb RAM and spinning HDD's... He was happy to get them and I am happy they're not here anymore. No idea what he wanted them for, didn't ask. They all had Mint on them.

That's the first time I've sold any towers in quite some time. AIO's and Laptops still sell though.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

Video card prices are dropping! The first-half of 2021, really sucked poops!

But, still needs to get a lot better, before we consider it back to all-normal!

Well, even in summer of '21, I doubt it was even as reasonable as March of '22!

Even in late-March of '22, the prices were still higher than I liked!

That's when I got my Radeon RX 6600 XT and in July, 2022, my Radeon RX 6750 XT honker!

[eccerr0r]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

is it possible to get a (fast!) GPU card that won't die ...
so far only my slow old cards survive ... except for API changes...

[Topcat]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

FWIW, the only tower I sold this year other than the ones above was about 2 weeks ago... 7th gen I7 HP.

Sadly, I've been parting out some of the larger early I-series towers; as they're worth more in scrap than they are intact. Perfectly usable, and I hate doing this....but I just can't keep them all....and they just don't sell. I get ~$2.25/lb for I-series motherboards. The average board weighs a little over a pound....so when you have a 32x30x30 bin filled to the top with them, that's a decent chunk. Ebay prices, they might go for ~$20 shipped....but by the time I pack & ship and pay the fees, I'm right back at about ~$3 for the board.....and I don't have to deal with stupid people if I sell it to the scrapper. I don't think anyone outside us weirdos or the gamers want big clunky towers anymore. Laptops and AIO's still sell though.

There's also a good bounty for scrap HDD's.... I gave a bunch away, but the ones that come from places that I simply can't resell the drives for data security reasons, the scrappers buy the punched/broken remains. They then pay me a separate bounty for the boards off them.

I've also noticed that ANYTHING 3DFX has been going for bigger than usual prices; and actually selling....and there's a lot fewer listings around for 3DFX hardware than there used to be (I do watch in search of good deals). Once upon a time you could get a voodoo1 for ~$40 or so.... You're lucky to get one today for under $100. It's a good thing I already have a little collection of them....

[lti]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

I feel like this is another dark period for PCs. We're seeing rising prices for everything (even "gutless wonder" power supplies are $50 now instead of $10) and massive increases in power consumption. In the case of Intel, there appears to be an architectural flaw in 12th-gen and newer that results in the system randomly going unresponsive for short bursts under basic use while being extremely fast under load. People have been calling it "latency," but I don't know if that's the best description of the problem. I don't think it's worth upgrading from my i5-8500, but if it suddenly takes a shit, I'm going to try AMD (I say "try" because they probably have their own performance problems and chipset bugs that I'm not aware of). If I need to replace my laptop, I don't know what I would get because of the general lack of choice in prebuilt systems and bizarre configurations (if I were a conspiracy guy, I would even say that they're trying to make AMD look bad with their stupid configurations).

This contrasts with the last time I had a negative opinion of the PC market, where I saw poor performance in the Sandy Bridge era (worse IPC than a Core 2 Duo) and benchmark manipulation to hide it. I managed to avoid AMD during that time, but they were supposed to be even slower.

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: PCs aren't extinct! (version 2.0)

What is the latest generation ( I5 or I7 would be preferable ) of Intel or ADM based processors that are worth a shit ( because I thinking of buying a desk top computer) but I have also heard of issues with certain generation processors or the GPUs having issues which I want to stay away from as well ( used is what I am looking for )

lti

I am with you on the laptop computers because I almost bought a new one but I could not find the configuration that I wanted for what I wanted to pay for it I got more features and a better video card with a desktop for about the same amount of money so that what I bought instead

Any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks

https://www.ebay.com/itm/29590531854...id=20060927900

Dell Latitude 7490 Business Class Laptop i5 8GB 256GB SSD Windows 11 Pro Grade A for $239.00 is this a good buy for what this computer is