Tasks for the weekend – December 26, 2020

[Susan Bradley]

Youtube video here Like Amy, I use the end of the year to take stock, clean up and possibly upgrade.  It’s that time of the year that I ask myself if
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Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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SueW

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[anonymous]

I’m using a 112 bg hard drive in an my 8YO i7 64 bit machine (HDDs were EXPENSIVE back then). While I’ve been able to keep it uncluttered (about 1/3 spare disk space) it is getting close to time to put in a decent capacity SSD and {shudder} upgrade to Windows 10.

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[Paul T]

You can happily install an SSD and keep W7 for a while yet. We have guides for you.

SSD on W7
W7 with patches
W7 without patches

cheers, Paul

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[anonymous]

All very good but eventually I’ll need to jump to Windows 10. Switching hardware part isn’t an issue. BIOS (not UEFI) is an area I have no experience. Install a new 500Gb SSD and I will need BIOS lessons. On the bright side, my current Windows 7 licence is a Pro license, which will help take some of the helpless feeling away from operating Windows 10. The worry is where Windows 10 goes in future.

In anticipation of alternative OS suggestions, that’s not an option for me.

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[Paul T]

No need to change the BIOS to install an SSD. All you need is a SATA port and a 3rd party backup app. See this thread.

Advice for moving to SSD from SATA?

Go for it, best $30 you’ll ever spend.

cheers, Paul

p.s. you may need a SATA cable if you don’t have an external HDD, then you can clone in the machine.

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by Paul T.

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[OscarCP]

Actually I do not review my computer, in the sense of figuring out what hardware changes may be in order, because I am all thumbs and now I even have a Mac laptop that is hard even for a skilled and well equipped person to repair the hardware, or replace components. But aside from anything else, for the first reason I’ve mentioned (being a complete klutz) I have made a religion of really leaving my computers well alone and treating them with great respect.

I do spend as much as I can afford when buying a new one, when my current one is getting way over the hill and it shows, to make sure that I am going to have as much computer to do whatever I might conceivably need to for the foreseeable future, until the one I am buying now becomes so old and infirm that also has to be retired: plenty of RAM and HD or SSD capacity, a very fast CPU, and so on. So far, it has worked well for me: I’ve never had to take a computer to a shop to have it repaired, or to have it upgraded and, by now, I am on my fourth one, twenty two years after I bought my first PC. The first three lasted me an average of six years and change and my current one has already clocked three and a half years of service and is looking all set to last at least another three. Maybe I live a charmed life, but I am inclined to doubt that.

Windows 7 Professional, SP1, x64 Group W (ex B) & macOS Mojave + Linux (Mint)

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by OscarCP.

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[Seff]

When I switched my main gaming desktop on yesterday after a couple of days of inactivity a short amount of clattering noise before it all settled down normally reminded me that this is the time of year when I take the side off the case and give the inside a good dusting, especially the fans. That’s now duly done, and fingers crossed it’s not indicative of anything more significant such as a failing fan – so far so good! This machine is some 11 years old, but the case (including two of the fans) is probably the only remaining original component so I have no immediate plans to replace the machine (or my other desktop), my main replacement plan in 2021 possibly being my car.

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[Simon_Weel]

Computer review during christmas… no, not really. At the end of the year, prices are just a bit higher due to the holidays. Black Friday is one such example. Although it’s an US tradition, it’s introduced here in Europe as well. The only difference: in Europe, Black Friday lasts a whole week. And up to this friday-week, prices gradually go up. If compared, product X at a price of 50 euro about a month before ‘black friday’ will be 60 euro the week before black friday and at black friday, it will be 50 euro again. So the bargain’s are fake, most of the time.

At the beginning of the new year, I do make plans for that year, like which pc’s, monitors etc. have to be replaced with new stuff. For pc’s it depends for a big part if new machines will actually bring much performance improvement. On the Intel-front of processors, there’s not much to expect and the last years didn’t bring performance-jumps either. So this year I’ll be looking into AMD-based machines for the first time in my career. In the old days, AMD processors would throw a stick in the wheel every now and then. My idea was this wouldn’t happen with Intel-based machines. But things have changed and certainly, the AMD’s are on the top of performance processors charts. What complicates things a bit is the application we use most; Autodesk Revit. A very resource-hungry piece of software with it’s development stalled for years now. So much industry-analysts call it legacy software and some big architectural firms this summer wrote an open letter to Autodesk they have to pay more and more for subscription while software improvements lag way behind. For example, most times Revit uses a single processor core. So the last years, I shopped for pc’s with the highest single-core performance. Not necessarily the latest processors.

Autodesk acknowledged the pace of development is/ was too low, so it looks like they actually have plans to pick things up again. With things like multi-core support high on the list. With that in mind, I think it’s not a good idea anymore to invest in machines with the best single-core performance. On the other hand, if Autodesk delays the multi-core enhancements…..

Not yet sure what to do, but plenty of time to think it over. Summer is the time we buy new stuff….

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by Simon_Weel.

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OscarCP

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[OscarCP]

Looking long and hard at what is available before jumping to buy new peripherals and, of course, a new computer, I believe this is really essential to a long and happy computing life. I always look around, ask anyone that might know, read reviews (but taking them with a grain of salt), before deciding to purchase a particularly necessary and often expensive item of anything, in this case of computer hardware, that my previous research shows that I can reasonably expect to be a well-made product. To me, the cost of the item is secondary to its potential usefulness and longevity.

Windows 7 Professional, SP1, x64 Group W (ex B) & macOS Mojave + Linux (Mint)

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