Random thoughts.... [Tech Edition]

Turns out my network issues were the modem actually slowly dying. Oh well...the network switch is quieter and smaller than the router, so I suppose it's not all bad.

This is now the 3rd time our AT&T modem has died on us in about 6-ish years. This will be our 4th modem.
 
NecroJoe said:
Turns out my network issues were the modem actually slowly dying. Oh well...the network switch is quieter and smaller than the router, so I suppose it's not all bad.

This is now the 3rd time our AT&T modem has died on us in about 6-ish years. This will be our 4th modem.
Click to expand...

Do you have the modem on a UPS, preferably one with AVR?
 
Why would you power the modem via an UPS?




Oh, right, I forgot the power grid in the US is dilapitated... :huh:
 
Eye-Q said:
Why would you power the modem via an UPS?

Oh, right, I forgot the power grid in the US is dilapitated... :huh:
Click to expand...

Not exactly in this case. The AT&T branded modems ship with some particularly wretched cheap power bricks that pretty much define twitchiness, any power deviation can cause them to do some weird things; I've actually taken a meter to some of them after the systems have failed and seen more than a couple dumping wall current into the output which was something like 9-12V. The UPS is to ensure that there's a clean, solid power feed to them at all times with as little deviation as possible, which extends the life of the shitty wall wart. All the 2Wire and Motorola made units that I've installed with UPS systems are still working, including my own personal 8 year old unit. About half of the ones I installed at clients who rejected a UPS have failed, usually within a year.

I'd also point out that power quality varies greatly not only around the US but around Europe. Check out the graphs on the Wiki article here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_power_quality
 
Last edited:
Spectre said:
Do you have the modem on a UPS, preferably one with AVR?
Click to expand...

No, no UPS. Our power is generally fairly "clean" here though, and the circuit used is the the newest circuit in our panel.
 
NecroJoe said:
No, no UPS. Our power is generally fairly "clean" here though, and the circuit used is the the newest circuit in our panel.
Click to expand...

The power around here is 'clean' as well, but a UPS with AVR greatly extends the life of these modems even so. You might do well to get one - and connect the rest of your computing gear to it as well.
 
Spectre said:
The power around here is 'clean' as well, but a UPS with AVR greatly extends the life of these modems even so. You might do well to get one - and connect the rest of your computing gear to it as well.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know it's what we *should* do...on the plus side, the modem getting replaced every couple years does mean that we get the newest stuff, and each time they do, it's always a newer unit with better Wi-Fi, so I don't necessarily want to spend more money just for the modem, especially since we both have mobile LTE devices to tide us over...and a UPS is one of those things that are like insurance where you don't need it until you do...
 
Last edited:
chaos386 said:
If it's running Ubuntu, can't you run an xserver on the PC you're remoting from and forward everything over SSH instead of VNC?
Click to expand...

I found a very cheap (10 ?) HDMI adapter thingy that emulates a monitor with up to 4K resolution. That fixed the problem.

Now new problem: My NAS is stored in a rather "remote" location in the house, and I cannot really connect to it with a network cable. I tried LAN over powerline, which gives me around 100-200 Mbit/s. I also tried WiFi, which results in around 150 Mbit/s. Now if I could somehow combine the two...
 
I see Ethereum mining is still a thing :p
 
Last edited:
I wanted to get one of those PocketC.H.I.P. devices (https://getchip.com/pages/pocketchip) as it seems like a fun way to get into small electronic circuits and to have a small handheld linux console.

It's built in Shenzhen, which is right on the border with HK, but somehow they don't seem to deliver to HK... Annoying.
 
gaasc said:
I see Ethereum mining is still a thing :p
Click to expand...


Yes, it is still around. The GPU market has been hit hard by the miners too. AMD cards are almost impossible to find, and midrange Nvidia cards are getting that way. Right now the best deals are high end cards, and that is not right. At some point the market will burst and all of these cards will be dumped back into the supply stream.


 
Last edited:
GRtak said:
At some point the market will burst and all of these cards will be dumped back into the supply stream.
Click to expand...

...as used, "pinned-at-100%-24/7-since-installation" cards with dodgy long-term prospects...but with that, perhaps some good deals due to over supply.
 
NecroJoe said:
...as used, "pinned-at-100%-24/7-since-installation" cards with dodgy long-term prospects...but with that, perhaps some good deals due to over supply.
Click to expand...


The upside is not that bright, but right now it is a seller's market. Some of the mining specific cards are hitting the market too.
 
Apparently that whole "pinned at 100%" thing has pretty irrelevant effects on performance.

[video=youtube;44JqNJq-PC0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44JqNJq-PC0[/video]
 
Random thoughts.... [Tech Edition]

How do you do fellow kids?

I have no idea what's going on right now. :lol:

Because of these crypto currencies, video cards aren't available?
 
yup.

The video cards are very good to do the calculations needed to "make" the cryptocurrency (that sound you hear is people cringing over the use of the word make). and because right now you can actually mine at a profit with consumer-level cards, people are buying them in bulk and using them on crypto currency farms.
 
You can get them, but they are hard to find. The best way to get a AMD 4 or 500 series card is to buy a prebuilt system. And one Nvdia 1080 deal I tried to grab for a friend was gone minutes after it was posted on reddit.
 
How do you allocate calculations to graphics cards in the first place? I didn't think you could make software that's not video related to force it's calculations onto the graphics card.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top