PC Tech Thread

https://uk.crucial.com/

Only got 4GB sticks on there and out of stock elsewhere.

Oh... old RAM.

Go for corp sites: https://www.uk.insight.com/en-gb/searchresults/components/computer-memory?FK%5B%5D=&IS=on&slider_selected_low_price=0&slider_selected_high_price=200&slider_low_price=0&slider_high_price=200&currency_format=%C2%A30&LP=0&HP=200&C=C-1043&lang=en-gb&A-CNET-A00057%5B%5D=Non-ECC&A-CNET-A00486%5B%5D=1333&A-CNET-A00056%5B%5D=DDR3+SDRAM&SB=bs&PS=10&P=1&all=y

Old RAM, exactly.

Great digging on that link, appreciated. Found some Crucial on there.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Znjk8J

Latest iteration

Apart from the 2 x M2 slots, how do I go about getting as much internal storage as I can. Thinking 2 X SSD and then the 2 x 3.5 drives - could they fit an SSD caddy so I have 4 identical SSDs to rig an internal RAID? Any more for any more?

https://www.liqid.com/products/composable-storage/element-lqd4500-pcie-aic-ssd

also y u no X series board?

also there is a UK site:

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/

No x570 because the b550 is the only board I could find that has internal thunderbolt and AM4 compatible apart from the ASRock which has poor reviews and lots of comments about flaky thunderbolt.

Also it matches the GPU.. would much prefer the Z590 but Ryzens gonna Ryzen.

Edit:

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/threads/x570-vs-b550-ryzen-5000-thunderbolt.74105/

Attributed to 'someone on the internet': "If you were wanting thunderbolt specifically with that combination of uses and wanting the 5900x / 3900x, you definitely need X570, B550 just won't cut it." and "you want the Strix 570 as a minimum for the VRMs needed to keep the chip stable and performing higher"

Which doesn't sound promising for a Ryzen build..

Maybe just suck up having a thunderbolt add in card if I go with an X570 with thunderbolt headers e.g. Gigabyte Aorus range? Halp? But what about my matching gpu. *** pearl clutching intensifies ***

Maybe just suck up having a thunderbolt add in card

to me this makes more sense in a way

Powder coat recommendation thread?

Can anyone recommend some software that can keep a back up/mirror image of my hard drives.

In the past I used Carbon Copy Cloner on the Mac which was perfect.

Just need something to do incremental back ups each day, or constant mirroring if that's possible.

I was thinking of Backblaze but I need to have a 6TB backed up and nearby for recovery should it go down one day. I think Backblaze would take to long to get the data back.

If someone had one of those really thin HP Spectre x360 laptops from a few years ago then dropped a kettle bell on it so the screen is smashed to bits, the chassis is bent & it won't turn on; do you think it's possible to rescue any of the files from the hard-drive?

Erm.

Spinney drive or SSD?

If spinney then probably not... the platters may be smashed, the reading head alignment out... any number of things.

If SSD... really depends whether it got a direct hit or just a bit of a jolt and how much damage internally.

I'd say in either case that if the files are worth trying to rescue that it justifies the cost of a USB adapter to plug the drive into another machine and see if it's even readable.

SSD I think. Thanks - I'll try and take it to bits then buy an adapter then.
Going to buy one of those cheap refurbed ThinkPads - plugging a possibly damaged SSD via an adapter into a new laptop isn't going to break/fuse the new one is it?

Nope... a USB adaptor that connects an old hard drive to another machine is not going to harm the machine.

Exceptions: You have virus / malware and are going to execute stuff or had autoplay enabled (this doesn't sound like your issue) or you're using a USB-C adaptor and the power controller is f*cked and we're in the future (this does not apply to you today, it's hypothetical).

What type of Thinkpad are you looking at for what budget?

That's really useful thanks!

I'm kind of open to any laptop really, I just don't have the budget I had a few years ago - looking at the Thinkpads because they seem cheap & relatively powerful for the money. Maybe one like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-Laptop-Windows-10-Thinkpad-X260-Core-i5-6200U-2-30GHz-8GB-128GB-SSD-HDMI-/373060771011?hash=item56dc279cc3

Does that look any good?
Budget could go to around £500 - the only hard work would be occasionally recording music (home use only using an external USB audio interface), the rest just standard watching online lessons, browsing the net, video calls etc...

When buying an ex-corporate laptop, particularly a Thinkpad, ensure it doesn't have BIOS locked with a supervisor password. This may e.g. block use of ports/changes to boot order (thus making it impossible to reinstall OS from USB), and requires specialised hardware to crack.

And don't confuse that with administrator password.
Ask me how I know...

I use Linux, Ubuntu specifically... but if you have a copy of Windows, then I have a spare Thinkpad X1 Carbon 5th gen

Specs:

• Thinkpad X1 Carbon 5th Gen
  
• 16GB RAM
  
• i7-7500 CPU
  
  

Battery good and everything nice... no box though.

Looks like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X1-Carbon-5th-Gen-14-7th-i7-7500U-8GB-256GB-Laptop-Warranty/184624260233?hash=item2afc76a489:g:qDEAAOSwYodgA1MS

I've been thinking about selling it, and would for £500 on here, but the warning is that I would only leave a Linux installed and you'd have to source Windows if that is what you wanted.

I used this as a developer laptop for a couple of years for non-work stuff, but when I changed job last year I got a new work machine as well as buying a gaming machine when lockdown began... so this laptop hasn't been used in over a year and it's only 3 years since it was purchased new. It's completely unlocked, etc as it was a personal device. Warranty has expired. Minor marks on the lid as the most use it got was as a travel laptop, so being put in a rucksack for flights and such were the heavy use it saw - better in flight entertainment than the tiny screen on the back of a chair.

It's a good laptop, I'm just spoiled for machines.

That looks like a great offer but I need Windows & to buy a few other bits so I don't think the budget will go that far. Thanks for your help though!

Might just go for one of those cheap x260 or x270's on ebay, they look identical so will have to do some more research!

You can get a Windows licence for about a tenner.

My googling is shit, looked like about £100!

Or free if you have an old 7/8 activation code lying around

Dell Outlet...
https://outlet.euro.dell.com/

As much as Velocio's laptop is well priced, it's a few generations old and a new £500 laptop with an 11th gen i5 will be much quicker (although it won't look as slick as the X1 Carbon and the X1 will probably have longer battery life)

(the 8th gen chips were quite a jump up from 6th and 7th, and the current gen graphics have improved a fair bit too)

Something like the below. The prices there are ex-VAT but if you can find someone that's a student then you can get a 20% off code so you'll pay about the same as the listed ex-VAT prices.

1 Attachment

About $20 here now https://www.vip-scdkey.com/software/microsoft-pc-10-pro-oem_1227-20.html Probably others that are cheaper but I've used these a few times.

I think they're semi-legit ones. They're OEM ones which should technically be sold only as part of a new PC. I've had no issues with them though.

has anyone used 2.4ghz wireless mouse/keyboard though a USB switching hub? Does that work?