The old computer in the cold cellar

[buster]

Ms Tao found this while getting wine from the cold cellar. Have been working on it. Surprisingly good. 6G memory and the CPR is: 

AMD Phenom(tm) 8650 Triple-Core Processor   2.31 GHz

I thought it was just an empty computer case. Also have parts from 'Adventures with an Old Desktop' which gave up the ghost 13 months ago.

We'll see what happens.

[Jason]

I didn't know she was living with you, Buster. Have you converted to fundamentalist Mormon recently and taken another wife?

Triple-core seems like such an odd thing. AMD just had to be different. I wonder how well it runs. I wouldn't try to put Windows 10 (certainly not 11) on it even if Microsoft claims it would be fine. But a light Linux distro, would be great, even one with KDE Plasma since Plasma isn't heavier than Xfce from what I understand. Do you know what kind of onboard graphics it's using or do you have a separate graphics card?

[buster]

"I wouldn't try to put Windows 10 (certainly not 11) on it even if Microsoft claims it would be fine."

It's running Win10 right now as I type. The good video card and the SSD make a difference. It also runs Kubuntu in VMWare.

[William]

I need to clean up my garage.  If anyone wants an old Phenom x4, 8GB DDR2, then let me know.  The only thing that's really salvageable is the mid-tower case (8 harddisk slots).

[Jason]

"I wouldn't try to put Windows 10 (certainly not 11) on it even if Microsoft claims it would be fine."

It's running Win10 right now as I type. The good video card and the SSD make a difference. It also runs Kubuntu in VMWare.

Cool, I thought it needed a quad-core or it'd be desperately slow. Maybe it would be without the SSD drive and video card. A slower drive means the processor is stressed longer (so less cycles for other tasks) not to mention defragmentation. And without a video card (or discrete video), RAM usage increases so you might only be left with 4 GB depending on your resolution, etc. Plus, shared RAM is much slower since it's "further" away from the graphics chipset.

However, I guess "slow" is relative though. I used to think the Toshiba laptop I bought from Mike was slow when I was forced to downgrade. But after 6 months, it seemed fine except when I switched between full-screen and window mode, there'd be a lag. Otherwise, it seemed to work well, and it was only an i3 processor running at 1.4 GHz with 4 GB RAM. It was a dual-core processor with hyperthreading which and old friend would have said was like 2 1/2 cores.

I should say Linux ran great on it. Windows 10 ran fine on it, at first. After a couple of years it was bogged down as Windows is known to do. It had an SSD drive but had onboard video with shared RAM and only 4 GB of that, so that didn't help.

When I went back to my old computer, it felt like lightning in Linux AND Windows 10.

You should get William's Phenom x4, Buster. That's 33% faster! And 33% more RAM! Now HOW much would YOU pay?

[buster]

"You should get William's Phenom x4, Buster. That's 33% faster! And 33% more RAM! Now HOW much would YOU pay? "

The biggest problem would be getting it. That's a long busy drive. And petrol is getting quite pricey. And I don't really need it, though I covet old stuff I can improve.

[Jason]

"You should get William's Phenom x4, Buster. That's 33% faster! And 33% more RAM! Now HOW much would YOU pay? "

The biggest problem would be getting it. That's a long busy drive. And petrol is getting quite pricey. And I don't really need it, though I covet old stuff I can improve.

I said that in jest. I used to be one for getting my hands on whatever computers I could. Now I try to keep things simple:

1. Desktop
2. Chromebook
3. Smartphone

My wife has her own desktop, iPad, and smartphone. The smartphone is old enough that you can't really put new apps on it so it's more like a feature phone. Her PC also doubles as our entertainment centre as she has the larger monitor.

Even six devices seem like too much sometimes. But they each have a use. I have 3 old PC cases that we use as either nightstands or monitor tables.

I have zero interest in resurrecting old PCs anymore. I've had people offer me stuff that I turned down. I don't have the room and, honestly, don't have the energy. Unless it's going to become a daily driver, it's just "stuff".

[buster]

I know, another old thread.

But I'm using this computer at the moment, and noticed the case was purchased by me in 2001. Very little left inside from that original computer, but in not too long it will be a quarter century old. In the computer world that's 3 or 4 lifetimes.

Someone who reads this thread might be younger than this case!