Your computer setup (and any funny stuff about it)

[Randox]

I salvaged as many parts from my previous computer as possible, and while I've replaced all the important hardware since, I still have the DVD drive and SD card reader. Only issue is that my case has no proper mounting point for an SD card reader, so I had to settle for something a bit more improvised:

-I found my whiteboard eraser fluid by taking this picture

I keep the cover plate over it (like the one between the reader and DVD drive) when not in use. Easy enough to take off and reattach. I've also kept the faceplate for the SD card reader, incase I forget where something goes, or I have a case that can mount it properly in the future. Mostly I just use it to grab pictures off my phone.

Also, I have the most...slapdash triple monitor setup I've ever seen, created by not throwing out monitors since 4:3 was a thing:

-Immediately to the right of my right screen is my TV, also hooked up to my computer (duplicating my main screen).

-I normally keep the left screen off and the center screen in front of the keyboard. Only moved it for demonstration purposes.

-That's a Wombat Crossing sign. The top got cut off.

-My Stereo is from 1999, making it closer to my age of birth than the present day (SA-AK47; still going strong, excellent quality!)

-I have a back scratcher. Everyone should have a back scratcher!

-Everyone should keep a stormtrooper helmet on the shelf above their TV. You never know when you might need it!

Edited March 22, 2016 by Randox

[T.A.P.O.R.]

8 hours ago, Majorjim said:

Hmm, I have no idea what a sub hub is..

Darn autocorrect!

USB hub.

[stibbons]

My desktop machine is named thunk, and I built it last August specifically for running KSP. I was taking my KSP controller to demo at the local mini maker faire and my annual bonus had just cleared, so I thought I should treat myself to a new rig to run it on.

• i5 4690K
• Asus H97-PRO gamer motherboard
• 16GB DDR3 RAM
• GTX970  video card.
• And a new Antec P100 case. 

I ran it with a stock CPU cooler, overclocking the 3.5GHz i5 slightly. But a couple months ago I splashed out on a new liquid AiO loop. I'm finding the fans a bit louder than it used to be, especially since I run Linux whenever possible so go without fan speed control. But it's currently clocked to 4.8GHz, and I'm pretty sure I can get it to 5 with some more tweaking. 

[T.A.P.O.R.]

13 hours ago, stibbons said:

My desktop machine is named thunk, and I built it last August specifically for running KSP. I was taking my KSP controller to demo at the local mini maker faire and my annual bonus had just cleared, so I thought I should treat myself to a new rig to run it on.

• i5 4690K
• Asus H97-PRO gamer motherboard
• 16GB DDR3 RAM
• GTX970  video card.
• And a new Antec P100 case. 

I ran it with a stock CPU cooler, overclocking the 3.5GHz i5 slightly. But a couple months ago I splashed out on a new liquid AiO loop. I'm finding the fans a bit louder than it used to be, especially since I run Linux whenever possible so go without fan speed control. But it's currently clocked to 4.8GHz, and I'm pretty sure I can get it to 5 with some more tweaking. 

I must look at your build thread.
Mine is still unfinished due to a deliberate attempt to focus on my studies.

I've just scored 4 x 19" wide screen monitors for free (wife's work is throwing them away). My 26" is beginning to die, so these will make an "interesting" backup.
They don't have any stands with them, so I need to get a fancy pants 4 X VESA mount. 

[p1t1o]

13 hours ago, T.A.P.O.R. said:

They don't have any stands with them, so I need to get a fancy pants 4 X VESA mount. 

Oh, you mean something like this?

(Check out the chunky frames on those LCDs!)

Edited March 23, 2016 by p1t1o

[T.A.P.O.R.]

10 hours ago, p1t1o said:

Oh, you mean something like this?

(Check out the chunky frames on those LCDs!)

More or less, but I haven't seen a bezel on a monitor like that in many a year.

Even though these ones only have analogue inputs the picture is pretty good and the text is crisp (unlinke my older 19"4:3).

[Rainbowtrout]

Currently I have a prebuilt. Its (slightly) redeeming features are an i3 3240 @ 3.4GHz, a Radeon 6670 2GB, and 8GB of DDR3 RAM. Nothing too special, but it can run KSP, Skylines, etc. quite well on Medium. Somehow, it runs GTA V on *just* above lowest settings @ 30-50 FPS. I'll likely upgrade it some time this year, probably to an i5 and a GTX 900 series or something. I want to play GTA at a higher graphics setting than old-gen consoles, and also I want to play Fallout 4. 

[WinkAllKerb'']

the funny suff about my computer, is not the computer in itself but it's best friend: the "cat fur particle" in the fans xDr

Edited March 25, 2016 by WinkAllKerb''

[Kinglet]

The 2011 iMac in all of its super-low-end graphics card glory.

send help

Edited March 25, 2016 by Kinglet

[Slam_Jones]

(Long-winded story warning, apparently)

Custom-built my machine in early-mid 2012: AMD FX-4100 CPU, Radeon HD 6850 GPU, 4gigs of DDR3, full tower case.

Originally started as a NewEgg build-it-yourself deal, however the first Motherboard that it arrived with turned out to be DOA (dead on arrival).  I intended to send it back to NewEgg for a refund, but never exactly got around to it.  It ended up kicking around in the trunk of my car for a year or two.

Anyway, I didn't feel like ordering another motherboard and waiting for it to ship in, so instead I went to my local Fry's electronics and bought a new motherboard.  Took it home, attempted to install, and inadvertantly broke it.  I took it into Fry's and they basically said it wasn't something they could cover with the warranty, without coming right out and telling me I broke it.  Embarressed, I didn't mention that I broke it either, and it ended up kicking around in the trunk of my car next to the other dead Mobo.

Finally, I went back to Fry's, bought a new Motherboard (at this point, I was buying a $70 motherboard, where the original was only $40 or so), installed it correctly, and used that set-up for a few years.

The first component to die naturally was the PSU (power supply), after about a year and a half.  Ordered a new one, installed it, no issues.  Next to go was another fault of mine... In late 2014 (over a year since the previous replacement), I was cleaning out my PC and learned why you should hold down the fans so they don't spin when you blow air through them... if you force the fans to spin backwards, it screws up their ability to turn the right way, resulting in a very angry, overheating, loud GPU.  I ended up replacing it with an R9 270 (a decent upgrade).  The first one was DOA, but I quickly RMA'd it and got a new one in a week or so.

All was well for a while.  I ordered some additional RAM in May of last year, upping it from 4 gigs to 12 gigs total.

Sadly, a few months later in September, my dog got into my room and managed to knock my PC 3 feet from the desk to the (luckily carpeted) floor.  It was hanging mostly by the cords plugged into the back, and the front face panel was halfway off.  After calming myself down and reminding myself that the dog obviously didn't do it on purpose (I love my dog too much to be mad at him), I did what I could to figure out what had been affected.  With some experimentation done, I determined it was either the CPU or the Motherboard that was broken, and since I didn't want to go through any more trial-and-error, I just ordered the modern versions of the Mobo and CPU.  Both ended up slightly upgraded (CPU went from FX-4100 to FX-4350, for example) but not too much to be a huge improvement.  I just wanted my PC to work again...

I also ordered a new HDD a few days later (it wasn't working properly either, and I believe it probably took some damage in the fall.  The replacement died after about a month, so I ordered a different brand.

No huge changes since then, but I have gotten a few nice little goodies:

- A 5.1 surround-sound speaker system
- A new 43" monitor (it came bundled with an XBox One, both for about half price...), and
- A new case, because it looked cool:

 

Perhaps not the most interesting story, but it's the story of my PC  (which is named El Muerte, by the way)

 

Current specs, if anyone is interested:

 

Spoiler

- Thermaltake Level 10 GT chassis

- 990FXA-GD65 Motherboard (socket AM3+)

- FX-4350 CPU (4.2 gHz)
(Also bought a Hyper 212 EVO meme-fan for when I eventually upgrade... don't feel like the 4350 needs it currently)

- Radeon R9 270 GPU (2 gB DDR5, 256-bit)

- 12 gB DDR3 RAM (2x2gig + 2x4gig)

- 1x 1Tb HDD (C:)  &&  1x 500Gb HDD (Q:)  &&  250Gb SSD (Z:)
(Yes I like to put random letters for everything that's not C: )

- Thermaltake 500W PSU

- Logitech G27 Racing Wheel (includes shifter, pedals)

- Logitech something-or-other 5.1 speaker system

- CoolerMaster something-or-other lighted keyboard/mouse combo

- Two of these things filling in my 5.25" drive bays: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817995093
(very useful for spare wires, screw, small tools, thumb drives, etc)

 

Edited March 31, 2016 by Slam_Jones

[WinkAllKerb'']

hehe

&

https://www.passmark.com/search/zoomsearch.php?zoom_query=386+dx&search=Search

Edited March 25, 2016 by WinkAllKerb''

[T.A.P.O.R.]

I have an old P4 slimline desktop that I use to run reaper and a handful of VST's (I pretend to make music).

The sound cards are fairly fancy PCI jobs, but they belong in an ATX case. Obviously not going to fit on the slimline.
What i did was cut a hole in the case with a nibbler and use some PCI extenders to hang the PCI card outside the case.

All working fine for a year or so until I got some new cupboards and needed to rearrange.

So I got everything wired back together but the darn PC wouldn't boot.

Why?

I pulled everything apart again and tested piece by piece.
Well... the thing about those PCI extenders, they don't have any direction guide in the socket at the end of the cable.
My sound card fit in no probs. It was about half an hour later that I realised my mistake.
I put the card in backward.

Yup, with no rigid chassis to guide me, I plugged it in, in the wrong direction.

[RA3236]

Nothing special here:

2x Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9300 at 2.50GHz

ATI Mobility Radeon HD2600

4Gs of RAM

It plays MC pretty well (the info is from f3 screen), KSP is playable and it is good for other stuff.

[daniel l.]

My Computer knows exactly when the worst times are to lose USB peripheral connection and cuts off the mouse &/or keyboard at just the right moments to make me explode.

[Mjp1050]

My PC, Xbox, VCR and ChromeCast are all hooked up to the same screen.

Multitasking is impossible. 

[pincushionman]

15 hours ago, Mjp1050 said:

My PC, Xbox, VCR and ChromeCast are all hooked up to the same screen.

Multitasking is impossible. 

Is this a bad thing?

Man, it's been ten years since I've used a VCR. Still have one, though.

[Jeb Coleman]

My system. 

Intel pentium D 940 3.2Ghz 

4GB DDR 2 Ram 

ATi Radeon HD 6450 

crashes at over 200 parts and runs at 12.5Fps