Subj : Re: USB lock up - poo! To : Barry Martin From : Ky Moffet Date : Thu Feb 24 2022 15:15:00 BARRY MARTIN wrote: > Hi Ky! > > > Right: some devices essentially don't wear out so an old is just as good > > as brand new. Paying $100 for a new CPU vs. paying $50 for used -- > > works for me! Paying $80 for a used CPU.... unless rare I'll spring the > > extra $20. On eBay some of the used CPUs were going for more than sale > > price of the new! And just to counter-balance, I did end up buying the > KM> Yeah, there's a lot of scalping going on. > That and probably not staying up with current pricing. Some stuff, scalpers snarfed up and it's not even available elsewhere. The problem has been so severe that one of the vidcard vendors tried to make no-resale a condition of sale, but of course that didn't fly (not legal in the US, either). > KM> Yeah, comes as a nasty surprise when you expected Workee Now! > Yup: it's not like one an just stick the old heatsink and fan on > something else -- like a video card. Basically buying to throw out. Or why I have a box full of crappy AMD heatsinks, aka scrap aluminum. (of course I didn't buy them, but they fell on my head along with some AMD mainboard, since deceased.) > KM> Mineral oil is thermally conductive but not electrically > KM> conductive. Presumably that's what they used (it's what's inside > KM> transformers). > Right -- just seems counterintuitive. As for the transformers could be > explained with the insulation on the wires. Wrong, but semi-logical. Water is conductive so we expect every liquid to be, but ain't so. > KM> RAM generally does more for performance, for sure. How much did > KM> you get? > 32 GB (2x16). The 16 GB pair (2x8). Price comparison to 4x8 was less > expensive. Probably the minimum any everyday system should have nowadays. And this way when you see another 32GB at a good price, you can upgrade it sufficient to last the life of the system. > KM> I like to max out RAM when I can. Tho it'll be a while before > KM> Fireball gets maxed (can do 192GB; presently 64GB). Also, can't > KM> claim I really have a good reason for that much. 32GB can get > KM> squeezy with current browsers, but I don't do anything needing > KM> more than 64GB. > KM> Well, yet! > > That's part of my considerations: my current needs are (list) and looks > like the future will require (list), so let's allow for that. As for > the RAM, the usual memory utilities show I probably could get by with 8 > GB (hmm: I'm using 7 currently - that's higher than normal) but > apparently there is usage not shown: the space is available so is used, > or loaded or something. Theoretically we can get by with 2GB, the OS specs tell us so. The moment you start running a browser, that goes out the window. > KM> Yeah, when I find myself with a higher-resolution monitor that it > KM> can't handle, then I'll consider a higher-end video card. > > EGA Rulz! Herc monochrome -- in amber!! Preserved like a fly. > > KM> 1080 is plenty for video. Can be a little inadequate for a > KM> desktop. > > Though that depends on the eyeballs viewing that Desktop! And whether you have Little Teeny Eyes. https://people.well.com/user/bubbles/LilTEyes.txt > > > KM> Those aren't dust bunnies, they're dust buffaloes!! > > Really! Apparently the lack of proper cooling was causing the CPU to > > throttle some as after the surgical removal it seemed to run better. > > Not to mention quieter: no dust buffaloes drumming on the fan blades! > KM> Must have been really packed... maybe it was a buffalo jump. > Their residue was fairly compacted! My theory is when the refurbishing > was done they got missed: stuck in the dark hood, a dark colour -- > refurbisher probably gave the unit a good general air blast plus the > usual extra squirts into the hiding places. Nothing popped out - good > to go! Ah, yeah, that can happen. Especially if it's got cig smoke residue; that stuff is like cobwebs mixed with glue. > Here the dust family continued to happily add members, until that > fateful day when bursting at the seams extended to the fan blades. > (Me:) Who's that knocking in there? That's a different sort of knock-knock joke... > > KM> What vidcard does your New! Improved!! system get?? > > None: it's integrated. Which is sort of funny as the 'old rule' was to > KM> Ah, I forgot. > > Geeze, you'd think amongst the thousands of other things you memorize > you'd memorize that! Apparently I only remember your broken stuff. > > > avoid integrated graphics as stole from the system's memory. ...So to > KM> How much video memory does it allow? I'm fine with integrated > KM> graphics so long as it's some reasonable amount. (Unlike the Dell > KM> quadcore that only allows 8MB, that's MB, as shared video RAM. > KM> Uh, no.) > > Uh. let's see.... HDMI and DisplayPort "supports a maximum resolution > of 4K 60Hz". ...Well, I'm not finding the number -- maybe depends on > the CPU? https://duckduckgo.com/?q=video+ram+required+for+4k&t=h_&ia=web Consensus for video RAM seems to be: 2GB for viewing 4k. 8GB for 4k gaming. 32GB or more for editing. Someone did some tests, mostly gaming: https://www.tweaktown.com/tweakipedia/89/much-vram-need-1080p-1440p-4k/index.html Geez, I hadn't been to that site in ages. Used to subscribe to their newsletter, but then they went paywall and I said what you got that they don't got? But they seem to have figured out that's not competitive. > > answer the question, whatever graphics provided by the i5-12600K via > > the HDMI and DisplayPort. Might have to get a DP-to-DVI adapter for the > > second monitor. Not sure what I have in the adapters box. Also > KM> I just ordered several random ones for no reason other than > KM> "don't have that one". > > They're good to have on hand before needing! Also why I sometimes order > spares of stuff when I'm ordering the one I need. Yeah, if I use one, I'll probably use another! One might think this went too far when I ordered a matched pair of motherboards... but they became Gremlin and Dink and I got many years use of them. (And now they're worth more than I paid.. Tyan 440BX boards with lots of slots. Once in a while I get someone wanting to buy 'em.) > KM> I can attest that at least with the very small fans, a locked > KM> motor can make a whole lot of heat, way more than the CPU it's > KM> supposed to cool. > > Heard of twice-baked potatoes? We now have twice baked CPU! That was literally true. Someone gift me a PC that persistently crashed .... their "tech" couldn't fix it. (No wonder, obviously had never opened the case. Sorry, your tech is either incompetent or a scammer, and considering the guy supposedly built this POS too, I vote scammer.) So I opened it up and... the CPU fan was PACKED with cig smoke residue, and the fan was seized, but when I powered up I found the motor was still running, and it had been so hot for so long that the whole assembly crumbled at a touch. Bakelite is temperature-stable up to about 325F, and even then takes a while to go brittle. So THAT is how hot it had been... for a LONG TIME. Well, no freakin' wonder it always crashed after just a few minutes! Mind you, this was a lowly Pentium III 500MHz, and that CPU can scrape by with a passive heatsink. It just doesn't get all that hot. So the fan motor was a great deal of the heat source, evidently more than the CPU. The mainboard was also corroded and magic smoke came out of the onboard video... anyway, Gremlin needed a CPU upgrade. So I swapped in this one, and... power blip, then nothing. Restarted... powered on, but nothing. Restarted again, and after a long delay it came up ... and was perfectly fine. CPU was in use til Gremlin was retired ten years later, and NEVER CRASHED. I was astonished. No AMD CPU of the era survived an overheat event, but this old Intel survived a nuclear apocalypse!! þ RNET 2.10U: ILink: Techware BBS þ Hollywood, Ca þ www.techware2k.com --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .