So, seeing as there seems to have been some interest (or perhaps it
was dread?) in the topic, let's talk about my new PC.

And - since this is probably all you /really/ are interested in -
here's a picture of the new machine on my "test bench", shortly after
its unboxing:

https://imgur.com/a/4g1fDoc

(and yes, I later peeled off the clear plastic covering on the window.
I am not a monster).

Overview:

The new PC is impressive-enough kit; an i9-13900K CPU, 32GB DDR5-6000
RAM, 2 Samsung 990 Pro 1TB M2 drives, and a GeForce 4080RTX (it's also
got other stuff, but those are the most important bits). It's not the
fastest machine available, but it is no slouch either. I have
confidence that it will run any game I throw at it at a reasonable
framerate for years to come. It's unfortunately all wrapped up in a
garish chassis with an open window and too many LEDs, but that is
unfortunately par for the course if you're stupid enough to buy from
a boutique PC reseller like I did.

Benchmarks show anywhere from a 2 to 18 times speed improvement over
my previous PC, depending on the benchmark and what is being tested.
No surprise the biggest improvement is on the CPU side of things; I've
jumped from a 4-core 2nd-generation i7 CPU to a 13th-generation i9 CPU
with 24 cores. The thing BLAZES through the 7Zip benchmarks! The
graphics improvements are less noticeable; my former 1080GTX is still
a very capable card, and it kept framerates high enough for my needs
(especially since all my monitors are stuck at a 'mere' 1920x1080; no
4K gaming for me). Of course, the new 4080RTX has a lot better support
for ray-tracing, so there's that.

Some specific comments on the hardware:

- I'm really glad I splurged on the SoundBlaster Audigy RX. The
on-board sound built into the motherboard is fine, but the system only
has a limited number of audio-out ports. Plus, even to my aging ears
there is a noticeable difference in quality between the onboard and
discrete sound cards.

- Similarly, I'm happy that I purchased a PCI-E card that expanded the
number of USB ports available to me. With only 6 type-A USB ports (4x
2.0, 2x 3.2) on the rear panel, and 2x USB 3 type-As on the front
panel, I would have been severely restricted in connectivity. The
added 7 type-A USB3s from the PCI-e card, and another 7 type-A USB3 on
an external hub mean I can have all sorts of junk hanging off my rig!
Yay! ;-)

- All those LEDs are annoying. I can turn most - but not all - of them
off. There are a couple buttons on the chassis that let me alter the
color and patterns. No software was included to control it, but a
download from the motherboard manufacturer fixed that lapse. I assume
that if I keep fiddling about with it, I'll eventually figure out how
to dim all the lights, but I haven't gotten there yet. In the
meantime, I've learned I can set the LEDs to change color based on
temperature, so that's neat. But I still could done without all the
lights entirely.

- The chassis is disturbingly tiny. My previous rig was a full-tower
with six 5.25" external drive bays (and many more inside); tinkering
and upgrading the old PC was a joy because it had so much room inside!
This one feels cramped in comparison, and there's much less space for
future upgrades.

- While this PC is largely silent, it isn't quite as noiseless as my
previous computer. Don't get me wrong, under normal circumstances you
won't notice it's running, but - when the machine is working hard, and
if the room is silent, and if you strain to listen - you can hear the
pump on the liquid cooler chugging away. I mean, sure, we're talking
pin-drop levels of noise here, but still, that's louder than my old
PC. ;-P

- The worst part of the new PC is Windows 11. I haven't been a fan of
any of Microsoft's interface alterations since Windows 7, and Windows
11 is four generations of changes I don't like. But - at least not
with my main PC - I'm not willing to jump ship from Microsoft yet, so
I have to endure all the new nonsense. But at least I got it to
install without having to create a Microsoft account...

Conclusion:

All in all, the PC is an acceptable upgrade. The biggest issue is
that, as far as performance is concerned, I'm not really seeing that
much difference in actual usage. That, though, has more to do with the
fact that my former PC remained so capable, despite its age. Still,
that older computer was definitely reaching the end of its usable
lifespan - mostly due to its older CPU, which was the biggest
bottleneck in performance - and I wanted a machine that supported
newer technology (M2, DDR5, etc.) better than my current rig. I wanted
something that would let me tweak it into usefulness for the next ten
years, and that's what I got.

Thus, this isn't really an upgrade that excites me, but rather is more
of necessary maintenance to keep up with the times. This isn't a fault
of the hardware or my choices; instead, it is just a reflection of how
PC technology has plateaued as "good enough". I do feel I got value
for my money and - I expect - I'll happily use this machine for years
to come, but I just don't have the same level of joy about getting it
that I did with my previous PC. That previous PC took me to a next
level of gaming; this one is newer and faster, but not quite as
revolutionary. Which is fine... just not as exciting.

>https://imgur.com/a/4g1fDoc

Awesome! congrats on the build, does look small though

>- I'm really glad I splurged on the SoundBlaster Audigy RX.

neat.

>No LED software was included to control it, but a
>download from the motherboard manufacturer fixed that lapse.

I've heard nothing good about any motherboard software, but shrug.

rms

On 14/05/2023 16:50, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> - All those LEDs are annoying. I can turn most - but not all - of them
> off. There are a couple buttons on the chassis that let me alter the
> color and patterns. No software was included to control it, but a
> download from the motherboard manufacturer fixed that lapse. I assume
> that if I keep fiddling about with it, I'll eventually figure out how
> to dim all the lights, but I haven't gotten there yet. In the
> meantime, I've learned I can set the LEDs to change color based on
> temperature, so that's neat. But I still could done without all the
> lights entirely.

I really don't like LED's on PC unless that have a functional purpose.
So my current motherboard does have a large LED's strip but that do
server the purpose of at least seeing if there's power supplied to the
board.

On Sun, 14 May 2023 17:34:38 -0600, "rms"
<rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:

>>https://imgur.com/a/4g1fDoc
>
> Awesome! congrats on the build, does look small though

It feels small too.

It isn't, really, of course, or at least, it's not any smaller than
any other mid-towers. But compared to the full-sized tower I used
previously, it feels tremendously cramped.

And that lack of space isn't helped by the liquid-cooling rig, with
its ridiculous tubing, or the enormity that is a modern GPU.

The design of PC cases has changed over the past ten years too,
especially with the decline of mechanical HDDs and optical drives.
There's a decreased need for large drive bays in the front; the
expected use is either M.2 SSDs (latched flush onto the motherboard)
or SSDs (tacked flush onto the back of the motherboard mounting
panel). And the enclosure around the power supply blocks off a lot of
what was once empty space. So things look a lot tighter than they are.

Still, it is a lot smaller than I'd prefer. I am thinking that maybe,
after the intial flush of novelty wears off, I might just transfer the
innards of the new PC to the chassis of the old one... which will have
the added benefit of hiding all the LEDs.

> I've heard nothing good about any motherboard software, but shrug.

I've never really had any problems with motherboard software, but
neither can I give it any glowing recommendations. In my experience,
it usually works but isn't particularly well optimized and too often
have interfaces designed more to show off features than actually let
you access them easily.

I may eventually find some third-party software to control the LEDs
instead of the stuff from ASUS, but that's a project for the future.
Right now, the motherboard software gives me at least some control of
the excessive amounts of glow emanating from my PC, so that's what
I'll use until I wrangle the rest of my PC into a usable condition.

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> So, seeing as there seems to have been some interest (or perhaps it
> was dread?) in the topic, let's talk about my new PC.

> And - since this is probably all you /really/ are interested in -
> here's a picture of the new machine on my "test bench", shortly after
> its unboxing:

> https://imgur.com/a/4g1fDoc

> (and yes, I later peeled off the clear plastic covering on the window.
> I am not a monster).

I think that warning side looks cool. I usually keep my plastic
coverings on unless they interfer. :P

> Overview:

> The new PC is impressive-enough kit; an i9-13900K CPU, 32GB DDR5-6000
> RAM, 2 Samsung 990 Pro 1TB M2 drives, and a GeForce 4080RTX (it's also
> got other stuff, but those are the most important bits). It's not the
> fastest machine available, but it is no slouch either. I have
> confidence that it will run any game I throw at it at a reasonable
> framerate for years to come. It's unfortunately all wrapped up in a
> garish chassis with an open window and too many LEDs, but that is
> unfortunately par for the course if you're stupid enough to buy from
> a boutique PC reseller like I did.

> Benchmarks show anywhere from a 2 to 18 times speed improvement over
> my previous PC, depending on the benchmark and what is being tested.
> No surprise the biggest improvement is on the CPU side of things; I've
> jumped from a 4-core 2nd-generation i7 CPU to a 13th-generation i9 CPU
> with 24 cores. The thing BLAZES through the 7Zip benchmarks! The
> graphics improvements are less noticeable; my former 1080GTX is still
> a very capable card, and it kept framerates high enough for my needs
> (especially since all my monitors are stuck at a 'mere' 1920x1080; no
> 4K gaming for me). Of course, the new 4080RTX has a lot better support
> for ray-tracing, so there's that.

> Some specific comments on the hardware:

> - I'm really glad I splurged on the SoundBlaster Audigy RX. The
> on-board sound built into the motherboard is fine, but the system only
> has a limited number of audio-out ports. Plus, even to my aging ears
> there is a noticeable difference in quality between the onboard and
> discrete sound cards.

> - Similarly, I'm happy that I purchased a PCI-E card that expanded the
> number of USB ports available to me. With only 6 type-A USB ports (4x
> 2.0, 2x 3.2) on the rear panel, and 2x USB 3 type-As on the front
> panel, I would have been severely restricted in connectivity. The
> added 7 type-A USB3s from the PCI-e card, and another 7 type-A USB3 on
> an external hub mean I can have all sorts of junk hanging off my rig!
> Yay! ;-)

> - All those LEDs are annoying. I can turn most - but not all - of them
> off. There are a couple buttons on the chassis that let me alter the
> color and patterns. No software was included to control it, but a
> download from the motherboard manufacturer fixed that lapse. I assume
> that if I keep fiddling about with it, I'll eventually figure out how
> to dim all the lights, but I haven't gotten there yet. In the
> meantime, I've learned I can set the LEDs to change color based on
> temperature, so that's neat. But I still could done without all the
> lights entirely.

> - The chassis is disturbingly tiny. My previous rig was a full-tower
> with six 5.25" external drive bays (and many more inside); tinkering
> and upgrading the old PC was a joy because it had so much room inside!
> This one feels cramped in comparison, and there's much less space for
> future upgrades.

> - While this PC is largely silent, it isn't quite as noiseless as my
> previous computer. Don't get me wrong, under normal circumstances you
> won't notice it's running, but - when the machine is working hard, and
> if the room is silent, and if you strain to listen - you can hear the
> pump on the liquid cooler chugging away. I mean, sure, we're talking
> pin-drop levels of noise here, but still, that's louder than my old
> PC. ;-P

> - The worst part of the new PC is Windows 11. I haven't been a fan of
> any of Microsoft's interface alterations since Windows 7, and Windows
> 11 is four generations of changes I don't like. But - at least not
> with my main PC - I'm not willing to jump ship from Microsoft yet, so
> I have to endure all the new nonsense. But at least I got it to
> install without having to create a Microsoft account...

> Conclusion:

> All in all, the PC is an acceptable upgrade. The biggest issue is
> that, as far as performance is concerned, I'm not really seeing that
> much difference in actual usage. That, though, has more to do with the
> fact that my former PC remained so capable, despite its age. Still,
> that older computer was definitely reaching the end of its usable
> lifespan - mostly due to its older CPU, which was the biggest
> bottleneck in performance - and I wanted a machine that supported
> newer technology (M2, DDR5, etc.) better than my current rig. I wanted
> something that would let me tweak it into usefulness for the next ten
> years, and that's what I got.

> Thus, this isn't really an upgrade that excites me, but rather is more
> of necessary maintenance to keep up with the times. This isn't a fault
> of the hardware or my choices; instead, it is just a reflection of how
> PC technology has plateaued as "good enough". I do feel I got value
> for my money and - I expect - I'll happily use this machine for years
> to come, but I just don't have the same level of joy about getting it
> that I did with my previous PC. That previous PC took me to a next
> level of gaming; this one is newer and faster, but not quite as
> revolutionary. Which is fine... just not as exciting.

Damn, you got a fancy gaming PC. I thought this was about OLD PC you
found by the sidewalk or where-ever it was. ;P
--
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." --Luke 19:10. Slammy Momday! Thanks God 4 no NBA playoff games & Apple's software updates, & less people outside!
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
> On 14/05/2023 16:50, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> > - All those LEDs are annoying. I can turn most - but not all - of them
> > off. There are a couple buttons on the chassis that let me alter the
> > color and patterns. No software was included to control it, but a
> > download from the motherboard manufacturer fixed that lapse. I assume
> > that if I keep fiddling about with it, I'll eventually figure out how
> > to dim all the lights, but I haven't gotten there yet. In the
> > meantime, I've learned I can set the LEDs to change color based on
> > temperature, so that's neat. But I still could done without all the
> > lights entirely.

> I really don't like LED's on PC unless that have a functional purpose.
> So my current motherboard does have a large LED's strip but that do
> server the purpose of at least seeing if there's power supplied to the
> board.

Ditto. Unless LEDs are cheaper than non-LEDs. :)
--
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." --Luke 19:10. Slammy Momday! Thanks God 4 no NBA playoff games & Apple's software updates, & less people outside!
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

On Tue, 16 May 2023 06:50:51 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

>
>Damn, you got a fancy gaming PC. I thought this was about OLD PC you
>found by the sidewalk or where-ever it was. ;P

No, there's been a disappointing dearth of new hardware available on
that front.* The best I've seen recently was a computer monitor in a
skip a few weeks ago, and that didn't look too exciting, and it was
raining to boot.

I don't know if this is just a sign of people holding on to their tech
longer, or if other scavengers are beating me to it. Either way, I
don't like it.

I mean, this PC arrived a week ago; I'm over it already! I need
something something NEW! ;-)

* or side, depending on where they leave their trash for pickup. ;-)

On 16/05/2023 15:21, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Tue, 16 May 2023 06:50:51 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>
>>
>> Damn, you got a fancy gaming PC. I thought this was about OLD PC you
>> found by the sidewalk or where-ever it was. ;P
>
> No, there's been a disappointing dearth of new hardware available on
> that front.* The best I've seen recently was a computer monitor in a
> skip a few weeks ago, and that didn't look too exciting, and it was
> raining to boot.
>
> I don't know if this is just a sign of people holding on to their tech
> longer, or if other scavengers are beating me to it. Either way, I
> don't like it.
>
> I mean, this PC arrived a week ago; I'm over it already! I need
> something something NEW! ;-)
>

Where I live it's pretty rare, and by that I mean almost never, see PC
hardware 'disposed' of on the pavements or indeed a skip. What is
somewhat common is people putting a box of books or children's
games/toys out in a box.