In my case, I just like to be comfortable. I upgraded my PC last spring : Asus motherboard M4N68T V2 Phenom 2 x6 1055T 2x 4GB DD3 1333 Some graphic card (a radeon HD 5570 apparently...I didn't even remember) 2x500 GB HD Some old DVD player and DVD burner An old ugly box around that. Plugged to a "beautiful" internet box designed by Philippe Stark (it's not a joke) and optical fiber (optical fiber is maybe the most beautiful thing in the world, after the Paris-Brest, of course).
2.6GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5300 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM 256MB (shared) Intel GMA 3100 integrated graphics chip 640GB Hard Drive Dual-layer DVD burner Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit For more details see here. I haven't changed or replaced anything.
Generally I agree with you regarding buying more than you really need. However, computers are one of the items where I disagree with you. If I were someone who bought a new computer every other year, I would agree with you. However, I only really buy (or build since I build my own desktops) computers every 7 or 8 years or so. With how quickly the world of computers changes, I've found that it's better to buy the absolute best processor, the largest hard drive, the best optical drive, and the most RAM capacity you can afford as this generally means that you will be able to go for a longer period of time before you have to upgrade anything.
Hehe.... I'm happy to report I got my X9100 cpu. I had some temperature issues at first, but after properly spreading the thermal grease on the cpu and gpu, temps don't exceed 70 degrees in gaming for example... I even stress tested the cpu for 26 mins... 70-72 degrees C stable and constant under load. Well, that and I unvervolted the cpu so that when it's running at maximum frequency of 3.06Ghz on both cores, instead of using 1.2V, it's using 1.1V (which means that by reducing the current I probably dropped the temps by about 5 to 10 degrees C - I hadn't tried running stress tests without the undervolt). Love it, though I'm still considering putting copper shims of 2x2cm by 1mm on the gpu, cpu and northbridge to see if I can force another 10 or 15 degrees drop in temps (that would definitely be sweet). Current laptop specs: CPU: X9100 Core2Extreme 3.06Ghz GPU: 9700M GT GDDR3 RAM: 8GB SO-DIMM DDR2 800Mhz HDD: Hitachi Travelstar 7k500 - 500GB/7200rpm The final potential upgrade I might consider is to put an SSD into the primary hdd bay for OS and programs, then yank out the optical drive and place a caddy in it's pace and put the HDD inside (but I'll probably do this at a later time).
They'll help some, but don't expect miracles. Your best bet is uning quality thermal paste and clean the computer regularly with pressurized air Juicy specs, mate. As for the extra hdd. I used the same trick inmy Asus before i dicovered it has two hdd slots. (one was hidden inside the computer, covered by a piece of plastic.) You'll have a slighly lower transfer speed, but unless you're using an SSD in the optical slot, you wont notice it. If you run a normal mechanical HHD, it wont make a difference.
Oh I regularly clean my laptop manually (at least once per year)... but I never use compressed air (because there's a good chance it can push the dust further inside the system which can induce damage - and it can be unreliable). As for thermal grease, I do use a quality paste... it's Zalman STG2 - these temps I'm getting are essentially the same with what a guy got applying MX-4 on his (same) laptop with same specs. I'm hardly expecting 'miracles' with copper shims... 70 degrees during games or just doing CPU intensive work is amazing by itself (especially for an extreme cpu of 44W)... I just want to do it to see how much lower the temps can go. Copper shims can be very effective and applying paste in the same manner like I did now, below and on top of the shims will essentially produce a 'mini heatsink'. I'll be happy if the temps go down by another 5 degrees C... though I'm hoping 10 or 15 degrees less would be achievable (under load of course - I don't really expect idle temps to go down) because some people were able to get that much reduction. Also keep in mind that this is an Acer 5930G so it's cooling system wasn't exactly perceived to be 'the best' if you know what I mean, but what I got with an extreme cpu shows that cooling can be more than adequate if you know what you're doing. Original specs of this laptop when I got it (Nov/1st/2008) were: CPU: P7350 (core 2 duo, 2.0Ghz per core) GPU: 9600m gt gddr3 (underclocked 9700m gt actually - chips are identical - only clocks are diff) RAM: 3GB DDR2 HDD: 250GB 5400rpm Lol... I undervolted the gpu years ago to 0.89V via flashing and OC-ed it to 9700m gt levels (20%) through Nvidia Control panel. As for the SSD... actually, I was thinking on connecting it where my HDD is now and use a caddy option to replace the optical bay with the said HDD (hitachi) (essentially I'd have 2 drives... and the HDD would predominantly be used for storage - OS, installed programs and games would be on the SSD).
Not if you disassemble the cooling system and only clean that. I could disassemble the cooling system on my old laptop by removing 11 screws. A cpu swap took 3 minutes flat. My current laptop i slightly more difficult to disassemble. But i disassemble and clean in every three or four months anyway. (You would to if you worked in the auto repair industry.) Although, i try to avoid bringing it to work and use my Toughbook instead. Good choice, I use the same. Its nice to meet someone who has both the knowledge and will to mod laptops. Most people look at a disassembled laptop and run away. We laptop modders are an endangered species, I'm afraid.
lol... well, I do like to tinker with laptops, that's for sure, but only in a manner that is relatively safe of course because it's not as if I currently have cash growing on trees.
Well if you look carefully there isnt anything more on there than I Need, its all peripherals and such...I also like the tower on the desk, but that would take up more space.
I'm not that crazy about cloud storage. There's something to be said in keeping certain things in the cloud for better retrieval in the field... but not really for general storage. I don't like the premise of having every single bit of electronic data in a cloud that would essentially require very fast/reliable speeds (something the ISP's can be cheap with like idiots even if there's no real technical reason to be - their lack of upgrading their networks is not my problem - they also have tons of money needed to get the job done, but we still get what we get). Furthermore... the chances of your data being compromised is a bit higher in the cloud since for the most part, there would be nothing more than standard security measures in place that others with decent technical skills could break through relatively easily. As I said, I can see the advantage of keeping certain aspects in the cloud... but definitely not things that are huge -space wise and everything else that you might need at any time (and with inherent unreliability of ISP's, internet connections, let alone fast ones can't be guaranteed globally - especially in areas where they have no coverage).
Not so with DropBox (which I use regularly). It has near military-grade encryption measures which would take about a million years to break.
Unless the authorities ask them nicely. And they they'll give 'em the keys to the mansion without a second thought. No ta, highly encrypted drives in my own servers will do nicely. I don't trust anyone else but myself with my data.
That's with brute force techniques. There are others which would take less time, and let's not forget that once quantum computers become mainstream (if it happens anytime soon given how companies seem content in giving us revisions of older technologies instead for some time to come to boost their profits) it's not gonna be an issue. Plus, as ares93 already said... if the authorities want your information for whatever reason, your security measures mean squat and they get access to it. With physical storage, the risk of this is reduced, and you can likely erase the content in a hurry if you want to. And I don't ascribe to the premise that 'you're innocent if you have nothing to hide'. That's a load of garbage meant to erode people's privacy. I'm sorry, but even if I'm 'innocent', that doesn't give the 'authorities' the right to have access to my data at their leisure. If certain people want ALL of their data out into the open, fine... I have nothing against that... even I place certain things out into the open, but there's a limit to what I put out, and the data that's 'limited' is can only be accessible to me... not the authorities, my family or close friends... just me.
I have two drives with electromagnets mounted above them. Theoretically that should erase the drives when i activate them. Or when the wrong fingerprint or password is used more than three times. All in all, i consider my system quite safe. Then again, if someone gains access to my computer, they can control pretty much anything in my flat and in the workshop i share with my mates. If my car wasn't scrapped, they could start it as well with a push of a button. Call me paranoid, but considering the damage that can be done, I'd rather err on the side of caution.
Pfft! Check these out: CPU: 486 DX2 66 MHz RAM: Yes HDD: Enough to store 4 MP3s! Cooling: I think the fan broke in about 1998. PSU: Hamster on wheel. Graphics: Not really. Motherboard: Dusty. Case: 90s beige.
So there have been quite a few changes: 1. Win7 Ultimate Edition..discovered my processor supported 64 bit!!!! Who knew! Upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit....so I could...upgrade the RAM from 3 GB to 4.5GB PC6400. Actually took out a 512mb and put in a 2GB stick. Did a clean install, never had a PC run so fast!! Dual Core Intel 2.3ghz-Same 500GB HD-Same, but I found out it runs at 7200rpm Multi Drive DVD-CD Burner-Same 24 bit Soundblaster HD card New 1GB DDR3 Gigabyte HD6570 graphics card-Same, but that was brand new. This card is the overclocked edition. New 32" Hitachi Ultrathin LED monitor. Love this thing! 400 Watt power supply New Dual-Band N Router(Not in the pictures)-Now in the picture to the right of the tower. New wireless Logitech Mk320 keyboard and Mouse(Not in the pictures)-Now in the pics Brand new Cyber Acoustics 32 watt speakers...they have an aux jack for my mp3 player and bass control right on the LED lit control pad. The old printer died on me so I have a brand new Canon printer. RAMA
CPU: Intel i5-2500K overclocked to 4ghz cooled with a Prolimatech Genesis cooler. Used to have liquid cooling until about 4 weeks ago when I switched back to air cooling for convenience reasons. The temps are still fine even setting all fans to minimum with the fan controller. MB: ASrock Fatal1ty P67 Pro RAM: 16GB gskill ripjaw x video: AMD HD 7870 2x 120gb Vertex 3 SSD and a couple of normal hdd's. Everything in CM Stacker case. I've even built the pc myself. I'm such a nerd. I also love my IPS-panel screen (reasonably big) which totally owns TN-panels for photo work. Using a Roccat Isku keyboard (very happy with it) and a Roccat Kone+ as my rodent.
^That's quite the setup. I'm sure the Roccat Isku is nice and all, but at that price why not go mechanical? (loving my new Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition)