Random thoughts.... [Tech Edition]

I got my first Arduino project up and running, I have to say I'm pretty chuffed even though it's nothing really complex.

I have to sleep in the same room as my file server, containing six WD Red disks, a rather noisy combo when running. The rest of the server runs silent without them, so last year I developed scripts to disable the Storage Spaces volume and change the power plan to cause the disks to quickly spin down and stay offline during the night. Sometimes I need to manually override this, but going on to the machine and running the appropriate task was less than convenient. Now, using a Pro Micro Arduino clone, some keyboard shortcuts and serial feedback via Powershell I can quickly see the disk status and manually set it via these buttons.

The same, modified script is used for the original timed control so the lights update automatically on schedule.


For anyone interested, the Spaces volume consists of six WD Red 3TB disks and two M.2 128GB SSDs, running a two-way mirror setup and tiered so that the SSDs help boost performance.
 
Talking to a friend about his current PC building project that has seemingly gotten out of hand. He has this case, and is going for a similar look as this one. Somebody asks, "How much is this going to cost you". His response made us all laugh. "I am not sure I want to know". Sounds like many car projects that I am aware of over the years.

For those that want to know, I will list some of the components as best as I can recall. Intel i7 8700K, 16 GB ram, 1080 with a liquid cooling block already installed, 2x 560 mm rads, 2 pumps, covers for the pumps, 2 giant glass reservoirs, 2 lights for inside the reservoirs, 9x 140 mm fans, a bunch of glass tubes with I don't know how many connections, some custom back plates and SSD covers. The case is a Thermaltake Tower 900.

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I can just hear the money blowing away. Also, 8700k, 1080 and only 16GB? I take it he will mostly do gaming?
 
Yes, he is primarily a gamer.
 
Yeah the 16GB RAM seems odd but if it isn't needed... Also why not a 1080Ti? It's clearly a money-no-object build (as mine kind of was when I built this 8700k machine) so surely that's the obvious choice now as a gamer.

I took my first step yesterday into the world of keycaps, ordering a DSA Dolch set with all the trimmings from Signature Plastics. Totally unjustifiable cost so I won't even try, monkey see - monkey want.
 
Matt2000;n3551227 said:
Yeah the 16GB RAM seems odd but if it isn't needed... Also why not a 1080Ti? It's clearly a money-no-object build (as mine kind of was when I built this 8700k machine) so surely that's the obvious choice now as a gamer.

I took my first step yesterday into the world of keycaps, ordering a DSA Dolch set with all the trimmings from Signature Plastics. Totally unjustifiable cost so I won't even try, monkey see - monkey want.


It really did not start out as a ultimate build, it just got out of control. The real problem started when he seen that case. That case is fairly large, and it looks empty if you don't put things in there. He also started looking at what others have done with that case, and that made it worse. :lol:

He bought this 1080, and it already has the water block on it. He also paid $100 less for it. The 1080TI version is almost $200 more than the normal price.
 
Matt2000;n3551227 said:
(as mine kind of was when I built this 8700k machine)
How's that treating you, incidentally? did you delid to control the thermals?
 
gaasc;n3551234 said:
How's that treating you, incidentally? did you delid to control the thermals?

It's been almost flawless even without delidding, I'm not overclocking it beyond the automatic optimisation so that helps. After a few weeks the auto fan controls settled down nicely and no matter what the task it now runs almost silently. Adobe and Intel have helped out by adding a new hardware acceleration feature that uses the onboard graphics to accelerate renders, along with the Nvidia card. it isn't perfect yet but when the sweet spot is found it makes an incredible difference.

Ultra HD Blu-Ray is still causing me some hassle. Nvidia still haven't added PAVP to their drivers, so I still have to use the onboard graphics. HDCP 2.2 detection is hit and miss with this though and it doesn't detect the HDR on my new Samsung TV either, where the Nvidia card does. When you get there though the UHD movies are gorgeous, I bought Blade Runner 2049 last week and it's simply stunning. This new TV (a direct replacement for the 40" LG with less input lag and HDR support) has motion smoothing that while impressive and great for normal TV, just looks odd when watching a movie. In most cases anyway, the panning shots in BR 2049 looked amazing when they were smoothed out.
 
GRtak;n3551210 said:
For those that want to know, I will list some of the components as best as I can recall. Intel i7 8700K, 16 GB ram, 1080 with a liquid cooling block already installed, 2x 560 mm rads, 2 pumps, covers for the pumps, 2 giant glass reservoirs, 2 lights for inside the reservoirs, 9x 140 mm fans, a bunch of glass tubes with I don't know how many connections, some custom back plates and SSD covers. The case is a Thermaltake Tower 900.

What an obscene waste of money for an 8700k + 1080 build.
 
I don't really disagree, but it is something he likes, uses everyday, and looks at daily. Why not make it something you want to look at an appreciate?
 
Yup. Fun remains long enough after you've forgotten the price

*cries in Impala*
 
gaasc;n3551323 said:
Yup. Fun remains long enough after you've forgotten the price

hmmm...even if it's o so pretty, after 2 weeks you're used to the looks, and isn't worth the money anymore...
 
bone;n3551405 said:
hmmm...even if it's o so pretty, after 2 weeks you're used to the looks, and isn't worth the money anymore...


Would you say the same thing about a car? Why would you buy a Ferrari when you can get similar performance from a much cheaper Corvette?

I get what you are saying, but this is also very subjective. This is also not what I would do. I have my own crazy PC build that I want to do. ;)
 
euh...i would get a normal ferrari over a ferrari with a fancy bodykit?
even if it looks awesome...
 
Yeah, if we must do a car analogy relating to that awful cooling/TDP ratio, then the more accurate car analogy would be like installing a super overkill high end exhaust on a stock completely ordinary car.

And yeah, it's OK to throw away money on things you enjoy.... but judging from the fact he bought a used GPU, and the GPU is a 1080 not a 1080ti, and the CPU is an 8700k not a 8086k let alone an HEDT CPU, he doesn't have money to throw away. So the money spent on the pointless cooling probably should've gone to the GPU, CPU, storage or RAM, basically anything but the extra cooling, which nets him nothing.

Those dual-everything watercooling setups are really for guys who have run out of component selection to throw money at. (We're talking double 1080ti's or Titans, X299, 32GB RAM MINIMUM, huge nvme storage, etc)
 
Where did you ever get the idea that the GPU was used? He bought it brand new from the EVGA site. The 8086 was not even for sale when he bought the CPU.
 
GRtak;n3551430 said:
Where did you ever get the idea that the GPU was used? He bought it brand new from the EVGA site. The 8086 was not even for sale when he bought the CPU.

1. You said "
with a liquid cooling block already installed
" which implies a previous owner installed it. For factory watercooled cards there are brand names and terminology (like EVGA Hydro Copper or Asus Poseidon, and "Hybrid" in case of hybrids) to avoid confusion.

2. Also who would ever buy a new 1080 when it's 2 years old and about to be replaced in roughly 1-3 months, and the 1070ti and 1080ti exist, so I assumed it was used.
 
Sorry I did not remember the nomenclature for the card?

The new Intel chips are due out soon too, maybe he should just start all over then?/ sarcasm
 
GRtak;n3551434 said:
The new Intel chips are due out soon too, maybe he should just start all over then?/ sarcasm

The whole point was that he way overspent on cooling. Not which GPU generation he chose which was just a way of estimating his budget.

But. Speaking of architectures.

No matter how you spin it, it's an extremely stupid thing to do to buy a brand new GPU at this time of the GPU release cycle. The new architecture release is IMMINENT in terms of nvidia releases which is a roughly 2 - 2.5 year cycle.

If he wanted a Pascal card then he should've bought a 1070ti in the midrange or a 1080ti if he wants high end.

If he wanted an old midrange card on the cheap, the 1080's price is still relatively high right now because it's Pascal and it's the PRIMARY nvidia card for mining, and the price will drop severely when the new architecture is out. So a used 980ti probably would've been a more sensible buy right now until the next gen cards are out.

If he wanted just any midrange card in general then he's passing on AT LEAST 20% performance by not waiting for next gen, and probably more than that depending on application. That is way above the gaming performance uplift you get from a next gen CPU or really any other part besides the GPU.
 
You missed this post.

GRtak;n3551231 said:
It really did not start out as a ultimate build, it just got out of control. The real problem started when he seen that case. That case is fairly large, and it looks empty if you don't put things in there. He also started looking at what others have done with that case, and that made it worse. :lol:

He bought this 1080, and it already has the water block on it. He also paid $100 less for it. The 1080TI version is almost $200 more than the normal price.


The 1070ti is not available with the same water cooling option from EVGA. The current price for graphics cards is also back to MSRP here.

Regardless, this is what he has, and I am done defending his choices.
 
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