Tested these two board+ CPU combos and a mildly rusty 650watt Thermaltake PSU finally. MSI p67 board + 2500k and a H-97 Asus board with a 4690k. Haven't done more than test post. But it turns out a 980ti I thought was toast might be ok as well. 5 + 1 bonus out of 5 parts tested to post at least.

Modern hardware acquired, time to get into some modern activities!

HP z440 workstation Update:
Guys HP only NOW Offically supports this computer up to Win-11 and Microsoft is providing driver support for this hardware in Win-11
And Win-11 installs on this computer just fine. just make sure to install the additional drivers from Windows Update.
Make sure you update the bios first.
HP Bios update link: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/hp-z440- … station/6978828

8-cores, 16-thread Xeon CPU Computer with ECC Memory support, Bifurcation support, Nvme support,
LSI HBA SAS controller support, 700 watt PSU, etc. This computer checks all the boxes.
Up to 256gb ECC Memory
Capable of Supporting over 22 Hard drives or Sata SSD’s using PCIe HBA and Sata controllers.
Or lots of PCIe Nvme SSD's using adapter card or Pcie Nvme thunderbolt accessories.
Has a PCI slot for old Sound cards.
Video card power adapter link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/373554461365?hash=it … ABk9SR8LtoLeOYw

Its the Best deal on EBay for $90 to $150

If you just want a Reliable Workstation computer at home or small business this is a great deal.
Very customizable PC.
Mine is Rock Solid Reliable. Never Crashes or Hangs. Power Saving modes work perfect.
This computer is Built like a Tank with Quality Steel sheet metal lockable case and Xeon CPU.
It just plows threw any task you ask of it.

Decided to max out my AM4 B550 system - upgraded from an R5 3600 to an R7 5800X3D.

Munx wrote on 2023-12-16, 14:32:

Decided to max out my AM4 B550 system - upgraded from an R5 3600 to an R7 5800X3D.

That's a awesome upgrade. I'm hoping to build my wife a system based around that CPU in the spring.

Munx wrote on 2023-12-16, 14:32:

Decided to max out my AM4 B550 system - upgraded from an R5 3600 to an R7 5800X3D.

I approve.

165 Terrabytes on the Cheap. ( NOT Cheap components just inexpensive )
Guys, I put together this computer for under $300 USD
8 Hard drives for a total of 165 Terrabytes

Don’t throw away those old hard drives. Put them to good use in a computer like this.

Less expensive than putting together a “45-drives computer” or “Fractal Design R5 computer”

Components:
HP z440 computer ( $90-to-$150 )
CPU - Xeon 1660v4 , turbo boost speed 3.8ghz. 2697a-v4, ( 16-cores, 32-threads ) ( $40 )
Memory - 64gb , ECC , DDR4-2133p ( $50 )
Hard drive controller - LSI HBA 9300-8i SAS controller with Sata cables ( $50 )
Fans - USB Dual 180mm ( $15 )
Video card - Nvidia GT 730 ( $ 30 )
SSD - Crucial Sata 2.5 ( 500gb )
Boot Drive PCIe Nvme SSD with PCIe adapter card ( 500gb )
Network Card PCIe 2.5gb. ( $20 )
WIFI / Bluetooth - USB dongles ( $25 )
Hard drives at Extra cost
Hard drive Cage link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/374822067807?hash=it … ABk9SR87_qfSUYw

I put together this base computer configuration for under $300 ( hard drives extra cost )

Full driver support by HP and Microsoft in Win-10 and Win-11

Runs Win-10 and Win-11, and Linux.

Hardware Drivers are Plug & Play install automatically with Windows update.

Supports Nvme drives, DDR4 RAM and Bifurcation.

Supports over 22 hard drives or Sata SSD’s with addition of LSI PCIe HBA controller

Rock Solid HP Reliability and Stability. Never Crashes or Hangs. Power Saving modes work Perfect too.

Runs fairly Quiet too.

This is the Best Computer Deal on eBay.

45-Drives HL15 computer Video Review link:
https://youtu.be/8ePuJM0Nr4c?si=Mf7rcFNDsT4do3E3

8 hard drives with a total of 165Tb is over 20Tb of space per disk. so you would need one of the 22Tb disks, which wouldnt be 165.
It pedantry I must admit but its a thing.

Just leave your movies on the Blueray discs they came on, its a whole lot cheaper in the long run, that or if you really much indulge then pay to stream them, that will be cheaper too.

Bought a Lenovo T480 laptop. Condition was great. Backlit keyboard and full hd screen. The 8th gen i5 and built in graphics is enough for my usage.

I was interested because I've heard so much about this allegedly "last good ThinkPad". A cool thing is that it has two batteries so you can actually change battery on the go. (Not sure if i ever will.)

Upgraded the ram to 16 gb and ordered a new (large) external battery because it only held ca an hour of charge.

Over all i think it's a pretty nice computer that will keep me satisfied for a couple of years, but the plastic is a bit thin. I prefer the sturdy feeling of my ibm t42p.

I keep looking at those. I think you have to keep a Model M keyboard handy for a melee weapon though, 4d3 bludgeoning damage.

Latest junk. Belongs in here just I think rather than retro thread yet, it's gonna get more modern usage and is useless I think for games. I am getting the idea that the time is ripe to buy a 3D Printer, they have matured, and I think there is a glut probably followed by a drought and reduction of players in the market which may result in locked down ecosystems and all that nasty crap so get something decent and fairly open now is the goal. Thus I need to be learning something like Blender to handle 3D models with, and I hate trying to do any drawing type work with a mouse, I have high mouse accuracy for everything else, but drawing just pisses me off. So thought this little bugger would be a help. Officially it maxed out at win7 support, unofficially you can get it working in 10, but fie on that I say fie, it will get used under linux most likely for Blender stuff. Thing is, not sure if prior linux support got killed in the great 32 bit dumping of a couple of years back.

Anyway, big mac combo priced thriftstore pickup, seems to be all there..

Felt a little regretful after selling my old R5 3600 - afterwards spotted an A320 AM4 motherboard for sale for just 25 moneys locally. Still grabbed it and then got an R5 1600 (12nm AF variant) to go with it for 30. So overall, I still got both for less than the 3600, which I sold for 70. The DDR4 RAM I had laying around is rated at just 2133 (I actually have DDR3 that's as fast as this), but it will have to do. I finally have a system to replace my LGA1155 Xeon home office build, which can now go towards an ultimate Win XP build.

IMO A320 boards are way better than any of the recent "budget" stuff AMD has on offer, since A520 boars will not support any CPU older than ZEN 3. Not being able to use an old used CPU kind of means that your "budget" board is not very "budget friendly".

Also got a couple of mid-late 2000's coolers - a Gigabyte one and a classic all-copper Zalman. Both fit on AM4 and provide ample cooling while giving some airflow for the VRMs, but both also use 3pin connectors for the fan, so they just spin at 100% and I really dont want to keep setting the fan speed manually with the controller. They will find their way onto an older system instead.

Nice, I keep seeing R5 2600s pop up for decent prices here, but used AM4 motherboard pricing in my local market is wacky. Stuff people panic bought at high covid prices and now want 100% of their money back after beating on it for two years, umm, no. Though weirdly the GPU pricing is somewhat sane, and that was more affected by demand spike. One thing I worry about though is some of those lower/mid older AM4 boards could support later Ryzen with a BIOS flash, but only at the expense of first and second gen support. Which would be rather awkward if I happened to buy one with original CPU support flashed out and didn't have the right CPU to flash it back.

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-01-08, 15:22:

Nice, I keep seeing R5 2600s pop up for decent prices here, but used AM4 motherboard pricing in my local market is wacky. Stuff people panic bought at high covid prices and now want 100% of their money back after beating on it for two years, umm, no. Though weirdly the GPU pricing is somewhat sane, and that was more affected by demand spike. One thing I worry about though is some of those lower/mid older AM4 boards could support later Ryzen with a BIOS flash, but only at the expense of first and second gen support. Which would be rather awkward if I happened to buy one with original CPU support flashed out and didn't have the right CPU to flash it back.

Is it even possible to flash these AM4 motherboards back ? Any manufacturerer 'better' than others in that regard perhaps ?

bestemor wrote on 2024-01-09, 10:28:

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-01-08, 15:22:

Nice, I keep seeing R5 2600s pop up for decent prices here, but used AM4 motherboard pricing in my local market is wacky. Stuff people panic bought at high covid prices and now want 100% of their money back after beating on it for two years, umm, no. Though weirdly the GPU pricing is somewhat sane, and that was more affected by demand spike. One thing I worry about though is some of those lower/mid older AM4 boards could support later Ryzen with a BIOS flash, but only at the expense of first and second gen support. Which would be rather awkward if I happened to buy one with original CPU support flashed out and didn't have the right CPU to flash it back.

Is it even possible to flash these AM4 motherboards back ? Any manufacturerer 'better' than others in that regard perhaps ?

I never saw any board actually lose meaningful CPU support, I believe they only lost support for first generation APUs at most. Even that is a rare thing. My B450 Tomahawk for example did not have the flashrom space required for the complete CPU data, and a result had a complete overhaul of the UEFI interface which basically resulted in losing all eyecandy and turning B&W but it still managed to support all AM4 processors - I am using a 5600X with it currently.

bestemor wrote on 2024-01-09, 10:28:

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-01-08, 15:22:

Nice, I keep seeing R5 2600s pop up for decent prices here, but used AM4 motherboard pricing in my local market is wacky. Stuff people panic bought at high covid prices and now want 100% of their money back after beating on it for two years, umm, no. Though weirdly the GPU pricing is somewhat sane, and that was more affected by demand spike. One thing I worry about though is some of those lower/mid older AM4 boards could support later Ryzen with a BIOS flash, but only at the expense of first and second gen support. Which would be rather awkward if I happened to buy one with original CPU support flashed out and didn't have the right CPU to flash it back.

Is it even possible to flash these AM4 motherboards back ? Any manufacturerer 'better' than others in that regard perhaps ?

I really wouldn't put much trust into any manufacturer as this can change after a single company meeting. Looking up BIOS notes is the best option before buying.

Also on this AM4 topic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxiPAow4fDQ Looks like this socket is getting more CPU's nearly 8 years after launch.

Munx wrote on 2024-01-09, 12:10:

bestemor wrote on 2024-01-09, 10:28:

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-01-08, 15:22:

Nice, I keep seeing R5 2600s pop up for decent prices here, but used AM4 motherboard pricing in my local market is wacky. Stuff people panic bought at high covid prices and now want 100% of their money back after beating on it for two years, umm, no. Though weirdly the GPU pricing is somewhat sane, and that was more affected by demand spike. One thing I worry about though is some of those lower/mid older AM4 boards could support later Ryzen with a BIOS flash, but only at the expense of first and second gen support. Which would be rather awkward if I happened to buy one with original CPU support flashed out and didn't have the right CPU to flash it back.

Is it even possible to flash these AM4 motherboards back ? Any manufacturerer 'better' than others in that regard perhaps ?

I really wouldn't put much trust into any manufacturer as this can change after a single company meeting. Looking up BIOS notes is the best option before buying.

Also on this AM4 topic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxiPAow4fDQ Looks like this socket is getting more CPU's nearly 8 years after launch.

Well, when I was researching these AM4 boards, I just recall Asrock in particular having lots of warnings and notes on their BIOS pages for these boards, while many other makers did not or to a much lesser degree - though if that was because of informational negligence/subpar BIOS pages or different technical approaches in the hardware I have no idea. Hence my question, on the off chance someone has tested such a downgrade on any/several actual boards etc.

Fax me……… 😀

I have been using HP All-in-One Office jet printers since their first release back in 1990’s
I have to admit they feel pretty cheaply made today but they do work better and print faster too.

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-01-08, 04:50:

Latest junk. Belongs in here just I think rather than retro thread yet, it's gonna get more modern usage and is useless I think for games. I am getting the idea that the time is ripe to buy a 3D Printer, they have matured, and I think there is a glut probably followed by a drought and reduction of players in the market which may result in locked down ecosystems and all that nasty crap so get something decent and fairly open now is the goal. Thus I need to be learning something like Blender to handle 3D models with, and I hate trying to do any drawing type work with a mouse, I have high mouse accuracy for everything else, but drawing just pisses me off. So thought this little bugger would be a help. Officially it maxed out at win7 support, unofficially you can get it working in 10, but fie on that I say fie, it will get used under linux most likely for Blender stuff. Thing is, not sure if prior linux support got killed in the great 32 bit dumping of a couple of years back.

Anyway, big mac combo priced thriftstore pickup, seems to be all there..

My interest for a 3d printer has also increased lately. Not sure what to get, but I don't think I need a huge one.

Blender is cool, i was learning it while I was looking into writing a computer game. I ended up making procedural forests. It is an amazing software! Downside is that you end of yearning for a better graphics card though, my 1070 doen't cut it. 🙁

Joakim wrote on 2024-01-15, 16:19:

My interest for a 3d printer has also increased lately. Not sure what to get, but I don't think I need a huge one.

I would definitely advise you to buy one capable of at least 200x200x200 mm - as you get used to "I'll just print it", you will find yourself needing more print size 🤣 My Ender 3v2 is 220x220x something. It's ok, but sometimes ... 😉