Building PC, Custom Builds, and Software...

Discussion in 'Science, Technology, and Green Energy' started by meowkittenmeow, Apr 11, 2019.

  1. meowkittenmeow

    meowkittenmeow Well-Known Member

    I was curious if anyone else builds Personal Desktops or customizes their hardware/software on their devices (tablets, laptops, Desktops, phones etc.). If so, let me know what specs you are running. I'm genuinely curious.
     
  2. Thump

    Thump Well-Known Member

    I recently upgraded from a GTX 970 to an RTX 2060 graphics card and went from 16gb of ram up to 32gb of ram. My desktop and games run so much smoother now, it's like night and day.
     
  3. meowkittenmeow

    meowkittenmeow Well-Known Member

    Dude!!! I can only imagine the drastic difference. I run a 2080 ti and 64gb of ram. I am going to transition to rainbow vomit whenever comet lake comes out (currently on a 9900k). Rainbow vomit meaning that I am upgrading to RGB ram (my case and fans have RGB already). My extended mouspad is a QCK Prism from Steelseries. And I am using a Logitech Orion Spectrum for my keyboard. My mouse is a G603. I am really waiting for comet lake to come out because I want the 10 cores that they will somehow fit in their comet lake CPU. I just fear having to get a brand new Motherboard (Either way I only buy Asus).
    What kind of Peripherals do you have?
     
  4. missshyness

    missshyness Active Member

    I upgraded some components on my big box mac computer, added more ram, upgraded the bulky 3.5 inch hard drive to a solid state one for the startup disk. It is a bit old now, but so far so good, it is a solid beast of a machine, all aluminum box, and much quieter with a solid state drive.

    Instead of a mouse, I use a wacom tablet, and don't plan on going back to a mouse, it allows me to use a pen like device for clicks and I can draw with it too.
     
  5. meowkittenmeow

    meowkittenmeow Well-Known Member

    Big Box? Do you mean the old Mac towers? They do build a very long lasting product. Which ssd did you use? Something that old wouldn't have an M.2 compatibility unless maybe you changed out the motherboard. If you changed out the motherboard and still ran Mac OS, that would be awesome. I'm genuinely curious now. And SSD definately makes a computer faster especially when compounded with updated ram. What CPU does it have? I might get a Mac and screw around with it. I've never owned one I have had an iphone/ipod/ipad, just never a laptop or desktop).

    Also, in regards to the Wacom Tablet, do you use it for graphic design or drawing? I actually felt that the recent Ipad's tracking was a bit more intuitive and more in line for drawing than Wacom's current iteration.
     
  6. missshyness

    missshyness Active Member

    yes, by big box, I mean the older big mac pro towers, the ssd is a Samsung Evo. did not do any thing with the motherboard, left that alone. Its been a while since I looked at its specs, I think it is a quad core cpu, it was a mid 2010 model built or manufactured in 2012 before they went to the new “trashcan” cylinder model mac.

    Yes, I have used the Wacom for a graphic design class and a little drawing, but their drivers are a bit flakey now, and do not seem to work as well with newer macs, but it has worked well with my mac pro, much better than a mouse, those now feel clumsy in comparison. I also have an ipad pro and apple pencil, like this too, I take notes in it and do a little drawing on it. It feels pretty close tp pencil and paper, but is a little more slippery on the slick screen, but I like it, I like going paperless.

    You should try out a mac some time, read up on them, they can be very reliable machines, I have never had a virus on one yet, knock on wood. The older mac pros could be a good place to start, they are solid and heavy.
     
  7. meowkittenmeow

    meowkittenmeow Well-Known Member

    I will probably get a laptop, as I am running out of desk space. I have dual audioengine A5+ speakers on each side with two recently purchased Samsung 31.5 inch curved 4k monitors. I could probably still fit a laptop on the left end of my desk, but I would have to move my speakers below my desk in order to fit an actual 27 inch mac. I, personally, think it would mess up the current aesthetic. But, a laptop might just fit. I read that they are pushing for a 17 inch macbook next year, so I am waiting on it. The way I understand it, is by extending the screen size, they can extend the body allowing for more airflow and more components while maintaining a thin laptop. I have heard that the current macbooks are running rather hot these days.
     
  8. missshyness

    missshyness Active Member


    Yes, mac laptops can get hot, I have a mac laptop as well, and it the summer it gets hot, almost too hot to touch, I installed an app on it that can control the fan speeds. As the mac laptops got thinners, there was less space for cooling.

    That is the one thing I like about my big mac, it has space for cooling, and I can swap parts out, if the monitor dies, I can get a new one, whereas their imacs are all in one and a pain to deal if they need repairs, and they are harder to upgrade.
     
  9. meowkittenmeow

    meowkittenmeow Well-Known Member

    That was almost always the biggest issue with closed systems. But, damnit they make a solid and reliable product. lol, I might have to move a few things around and get a Mac just out of curiousness. That OS looks quite beautiful.
     
  10. meowkittenmeow

    meowkittenmeow Well-Known Member

  11. missshyness

    missshyness Active Member

    Yes, I like the cleanliness and simplicity of of mac os. My desktop mac is a bit out of date now, but it all works nicely together and I am remembering the saying do not fix if not broke. I have an older monitor with it too.

    I have been contemplating upgrading it to the new os Mojave, I like the dark mode theme in it, but I would have to upgrade some parts in it, like it’s graphics card, and the update to High Sierra first.

    But it all works now, even if it is a little old, I may sometime, but I fear some of my apps might be too old for the new os and stop working, like my Wacom. So I am now torn between leaving well enough alone or tinker more.

    Wow, I am aware of some of the monitors are now are huge, unfortunately my desktop is already crowded, and a monitor like that would not fit.

    I am trying to work on decluttering my desktop space, but other things took priority and have had to put all that on hold.
     
  12. meowkittenmeow

    meowkittenmeow Well-Known Member

    Have you considered getting a new desk? My first desk was rather conservative (classic executive desk). Then I went minimalist and purchased an electronic adjustable desk. The 80 inch width leaves a lot of room for me to place what I need to trade. And I still have room for my speakers, as well as my headphones and phone stands. The height adjustment allows me to stand and work as well (not a good idea to sit around all day). It’s worth a look if you have the room.
     
  13. missshyness

    missshyness Active Member


    Yes, but I am in a dorm like sized space, what I have now is an old dark wooden desk, it is solid, would work well in an earthquake, but yeah, am definitely in a bind for space.

    By the way, do you have external hard drives? if so, what type? I have gone to portable ones, since I travel a bit and they are useful, they work with both my desktop and laptop, and take up less space on my desk.

    Yes have read there is a new modular mac, but those are way out of m price range, but would be better in a small space.
     
  14. meowkittenmeow

    meowkittenmeow Well-Known Member

    I used to use HDD drives, but I recently stepped up to external ssd. Samsung makes a solid encrypted ssd for about $999. For a less expensive option, Sandisk has a 2 tb ssd for 3-$400. 2 TB is the largest you can get so far.
     
  15. missshyness

    missshyness Active Member

    ooh, yeah, I would love a big capacity ssd external hard drive, but they are a bit too much for me right now, I assume and hope prices in the coming years will drop on those. Right now I am using some 4tb portable western digital hard drives and so far so good.

    So for now, solid state drives for internal mac boot up drives and high capacity portable external hard drives.

    I am also going more and more to cloud storage, I use google drive now for most school work and other documents.

    It is quite something on how technology has changed and fast.
     
  16. meowkittenmeow

    meowkittenmeow Well-Known Member

    Finally purchased the 3950x. It was unavailable for 2 months. I might use a custom loop on this new rig.
     
  17. Beasty

    Beasty Well-Known Member

    You must be doing some serious gaming.
     
  18. meowkittenmeow

    meowkittenmeow Well-Known Member

    Not actually. I make rigs to code or to trade off of. But, I like my specs to be maxed out.
     
  19. Beasty

    Beasty Well-Known Member

    That's what's up! I hear that.
     
  20. meowkittenmeow

    meowkittenmeow Well-Known Member

    I have a love hate relationship with my new computer case. The damn thing is waay too big, but, after I finish applying the 13 RGB fans, I’ll feel better.
     

Share This Page