Curmudgeonly & Skeptical presents Boned Jello: New Computer

Saturday, June 26, 2010

New Computer

Upgrade here boss

After 7 years my HP-873N is beginning to groan under the weight of this multimedia world. I did this Woot last week, figuring that the sum of its parts, plus Windows 7 Home Premium, was easily worth $399. I currently have 1GB RAM and a 100GB fixed drive, so that right there is giggles. This is the civilized way of doing it, don't you think? I'm in no real rush, so stacked new atop old. When I get tired of setting up (and learning how to deal with) Windows 7, etc, I just swap about 5 plugs and cables and go home (here). Woot-woo. I want to thank y'all's generosity for giving me the wherewithal to do this. I love you guys.

Okay, listen while I burn rubber,

“

    * AMD Athlon ll X4 630 (P) 2.8 GHz (95W) with 4000 MHz HyperTransport 3.0 and Socket AM3
    * 6 GB PC3-10600 MB/sec (message as PC3-8500) 240 pin, DDR3 RAM installed (Upgradeable to 16GB)
    * 1 TB SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec) 5400rpm hard drive (drives use less power and support quieter, cooler-running desktop)
    * SuperMulti DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology optical drive
    * Integrated 10/100 Base-T networking interface
    * High Definition 8-channel audio with ALC 888S chipset
    * 15-in-1 (4 slot) memory card reader
    * 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front, 4 in rear)
    * NVIDIA GeForce 9100 video graphics chip set
    * Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) Operating System

”

Rodger the Real King of France 6/26/2010 08:26:00 PM 8 Comments

"If the number of Islamic terror attacks continues at the current rate, candlelight vigils will soon be the number-one cause of global warming. "
Argus Hamilton

8 comments:

Anonymous said...: Put a monitor on each computer, set them side by side, turn both computers on, install Synergy (free!), and use one keyboard/mouse to control them both seamlessly.

You can thank me after you try it, heh.; 6/26/10, 8:47 PM
pdwalker said...: I'll second the vote for synergy.

Or, if you have vmware, you can make a "copy" of your old computer and run it inside a virtual machine on your new desktop

(the converter may be available for free, and vmware player is also free - so it should only cost you time); 6/26/10, 8:59 PM
Rodger the Real King of France said...: Nah, I'm jus simple folk.; 6/26/10, 10:07 PM
Anonymous said...: When you are done you can try running Linux on the old machine and watch how well it performs. You can even dual boot (which means keep the old windows and all its files, reboot and run it when you want to.) You seem to like trying all this techie stuff give it a try.; 6/26/10, 10:32 PM
DJMoore said...: I'm currently running IOGear's MiniView (Model GCS632U, I think). It's a little pod with two sets of video/USB/sound cables that plug into two computers, and one set of connectors that plug into your USB Mouse, USB keyboard, monitor, and speakers. (At the computers, one USB cables serves both mouse and kyb.)

Double-tapping the Scroll Lock key switches between the two machines flawlessly. I've got Ubuntu running on my old desktop box, and Win 7 on my laptop.

It's definitely worth the $45 bucks to be able to go back and forth at will. If I have problems with one, I can go searching for tech support on the other. My desktop has a serial connection to the 8051 development board I'm playing with, the laptop doesn't. The desktop gives me 500MB of backup storage.

You have more important things to do than swap cables.; 6/26/10, 11:24 PM
DJMoore said...: Oh, and my mouse is a Logitech Wireless Laser, with the little tiny radio nubbin for my laptop. Absolutely no problem for either machine. I wish it had a couple of spare USB ports for my camera or graphics pad, but oh well.

Hm, I need to dig out my USB hub and see if that switches....; 6/26/10, 11:27 PM
Bob Hawkins said...: Your new machine has the clocks, it rocks, but it was obsolete before you opened the box!

When I use 2 computers I only have one monitor, and use a KVM switch to switch between them But I only do this when the main computer is number crunching, and use the second one to surf or play solitaire while waiting for output.

Turing word: "sonoct". Ah, the Hyundai Sonoct, new for 2011!; 6/27/10, 11:38 AM
Rodger the Real King of France said...: All computers are obsolete before they're even sold. Plus, I drive a 13 year old car because it gets me there.; 6/27/10, 12:21 PM

Saturday, June 26, 2010

New Computer

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