Computers

[WinterGreenWolf]

7 hours ago, elshara said:




Haha! Mint's among my favourite's also for Linux. Ubuntu is, hit and miss. Debian, Fedora etc, all have their draws and setbacks. I use centOS mainly for my custom web builds. The one and only reason why I swapped out custom hardware for branded, is because they do the same thing.

Arch user here, and possibly FreeBSD in the future. I honestly prefer handbuilt rigs because they're cheaper per-capita than a storebought system, and often have the 'just what you want' nothing you don't' sort of mindset going on.

7 hours ago, elshara said:




The best Windows computer experience I've ever had was on HP as they tended to last longer than any other brand I've owned. MSI is a close second, but I've gone from a laptop to a desktop user in general because all the parts of a desktop are modular, the ones I buy anyways. Soldered on parts don't work for me, not when I can rip out a mother board, CPU and related Wifi card, swap them out and still have a tower to play with for extra slots. But building towers from scratch, means everything is custom including finding drivers that work with the motherboard and finding compatible parts. Branded PC's are just as good, because some of them provide documentation. Once you've seen many cases, I tend to find it doesn't matter what you buy because the best parts of the case are all replaceable. Windows on the other hand, has specific driver specifications that fall out of favour as it grows older. I've had issues where one day, an update caused my sound drivers to not work at all in Windows. But if I put Linux on, it recognized them right away. That's when and where I decided my next computer would be a desktop from a laptop. In fact my only need for laptops was portability. Now they make desktop PCs with Mini ATX cards in them, so I can carry the entire case in a backpack and you can get really great performance out of those custom machines just like you could a typical laptop.

Semi-agree with the 'modular' statement here, not all branded rigs are easily swapped / upgraded, also, it's not drivers you need to worry about: it's ROM compatibility on a lot of proprietary boards.




I've had a few driver issues with Linux, but mainly when AMD GPUs switched from Catalyst, to Crimson, to AMDGPU, AMD itself now contributes code to the Linux Kernel for driver support for their cards. Around 90% of a motherboards' functionality does not need a driver as they are industry standards. I also agree with you on Micro-ATX, and Mini-ITX boards, the only difficulty is things like a screen, mouse, keyboard... which a laptop has already. Soldered parts for me are a NO-GO as well.

7 hours ago, elshara said:




Everybody says custom is best. If you've got the money to spend, and the time to put cases and screws together, I'm sure it'd last you quite awhile. What I do is buy the base package of a computer, for its case alone, and then replace parts in it to get the best experience of brand support and customization once I figure out through the case documentation, what it can handle.

Custom is cheaper, takes lees than an hour to build with some experience, and every part comes with documentation. Branded is more for 'instant gratification' or for a chucker PC in a couple of years. The case is just a hunk of metal with size specifications, there's nothing special about them that sets limits.

7 hours ago, elshara said:




I love them both, but if Windows ever became less bloated, or this new Windows 10X became usable outside of major laptops, I'd consider switching to something lighter. Hackintosh for instance, that could be the best of both worlds. I'm keeping an eye out for their exit of intel based CPU's precisely for that reason alone, departing the X86 platform entirely. I find that with multiple computers, local intranets are priceless and with a NAS, some of that storage can be made external for just that reason alone making things a lot more convenient for multitasking.

Windows bloat and spying is why I specifically stay away from it all together.




An FYI on 'Hackintosh' and Apple: T2 and their crypto is making it a thing of the past, also they are indeed changing processor architecture, and will likely as usual, have crypto-signed hardware, making the task nearly impossible. Apple, like many 'big computer companies' like to spy as well, not ideal.

1 hour ago, silverwolf1 said:




There's me, & every computer I've owned since my first one was returned to Rent-a Center once I realized I 'could' build one. I've never had a new computer, and very few new parts, till this laptop I play with now (and hate, because I didn't build it), always other folks 'throw-aways I've scavenged. I'm always a little behind the new technology, but what I build works for me and that's what matters. Software wise, I struggle but pick up what I can here and there. I too beta Windows 10, but I'm more the "This doesn't work right for me but I don't know why. Here's the log." type of tester. It takes all kinds. For the record, the Rent-aCenter rig, an HP, was torn down 8 or 10 time while I taught myself to build 'em. It sorta worked when they got it back. *chuckles*

My first few rigs were store-bought ones, with parts added. Same with a friend of mine. He 'trash picked' PCs and pars for years. The rig I'm on now is my own build, but a bit behind.Works well though, especially with a lighter OS like Linux, older hardware tends to have more variety in what you can run.




I don't do 'hardcore gaming' anymore with my Shepherd partner, and I just have more irons in the proverbial fire. So having a 3K$ 'gaming rig' isn't as important.

59 minutes ago, heavyhorse said:




OH gawd no!  Never let someone else's lack of proficiency with something trample your success or expression of it!  




 




Our abilities vary.  That's it. 




My first experience with a computer was a Magnavox.  OK, yeah, that should tell you when that was.  It had the amazing ability to make stuff vanish without a trace.  You might find it in 6 months, a year, or never.  




I've had hand-me-down Macs ever since, never a new one but what was top-line one or two generations before.  Macs are basically stupid-proof.  You have to work at it to lose your work.  Got a lot of add-ons, upgrades, security, air-gapped back-ups (in case of ransomware or such I can just wipe the whole thing and boot from backup and only lose the last few weeks of activity).  




Speed?  Not.  A.  Thing.  Computer's very fast, SSD's all around.  But rural internet SUCKS BIG HAIRY BULL BALLS.  Downloads can take hours.  Uploads even slower.  My email literally says "No Internet Connection" at the top of the screen because it fails to detect the connection.  So no streaming for me.......  

First run-in with a PC was... '96? I think? An old IBM with DOS 5.x.. Ah the days of DOOM, Wolfenstein 3D... good times.. [img]<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/smile.png[/img]/emoticons/[email protected] 2x" title=":)" width="20" /> Windows 3.1 was interesting to learn for sure.




Also, can confirm on internet speeds: rural net sucks donkey dick (something, I MAYBE would try... that's another topic however [img]<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/tongue.png[/img]/emoticons/[email protected] 2x" title=":P" width="20" /> ). Streaming is ass at 3 Mbit, so is downloading any sizable file or game. But, I'd take this locale over any other, who knows? Elon Musks' 'Star Link' may take off well, 1 Gbit / Second Satelite to anywhere in the world is the estimate.