Coronavirus and General O/T Thread #2

Status
Not open for further replies.

jkutswings

hot piss hockey
Jul 10, 2014
11,126
8,918

FabricDetails

HF still in need of automated text analytics
Mar 30, 2009
8,162
3,918
I've been toying with building versus buying a new computer for a few years now. Nothing too fancy; just a solid setup for office use and occasional gaming.

Leaning towards this one, which will drop to $749 next week:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberp...-xt-1tb-hdd-500gb-ssd/6400451.p?skuId=6400451

The comments and reviews say that it uses decent (and non proprietary) parts.

You can always tweak a PC like I did.

My PC came with an HDD but I wanted programs to run off an SSD. And a better graphics card. So I got that (AND the bigger power supply) and designated Windows to run off the SSD.
 

Lil Sebastian Cossa

Opinions are share are my own personal opinions.
Jul 6, 2012
11,436
7,446
Hey, I was using a PC I originally built in 2011. The graphics card was a GTX 460 and I thought I was styling with a 1TB platter drive. Over the years I had put in an SSD updated the graphics card to a GTX 970, but it struggled with anything released in the last few years.

It's still running strong and it's going to the partner for her home work computer.



AMD Ryzen 5600x and RTX 3080 are the expensive (and hard to find) foundation.

My lady was getting the car repaired next to a local Microcenter so I scribbled down the model numbers on a piece of paper for her and thought, "Hell, why not, while you're waiting...". She went to the store, handed my note to the clerk and walked out with both those parts at 1pm the day the new AMD chips came out (they sold out instantly online). Keep in mind, for the 3080, people had been waiting in lines outside stores for 48+hours. So to just walk in on a random Thursday and get one... my dumb luck knows no bounds.

For people not familiar with the weird graphics cards shortages going on right now, here's a video that will give you a general idea how strange it's become.



I just wanted to use a funny emoji.
 

Lil Sebastian Cossa

Opinions are share are my own personal opinions.
Jul 6, 2012
11,436
7,446
I've been toying with building versus buying a new computer for a few years now. Nothing too fancy; just a solid setup for office use and occasional gaming.

Leaning towards this one, which will drop to $749 next week:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberp...-xt-1tb-hdd-500gb-ssd/6400451.p?skuId=6400451

The comments and reviews say that it uses decent (and non proprietary) parts.

Yeah, that's not bad. I would def check out what PSU it has. They usually use what they have, aka cheap out, on those.

You could prob build that one for a bit less than 749, but you could just mark the difference up as you saving the time not building.
 

jkutswings

hot piss hockey
Jul 10, 2014
11,126
8,918
We're already forcing people in their homes for seven hours of the day. Why not go the full 24 and really put a stop to this virus?
Why not remove 100 percent of the restrictions and just let things take their course?

See, I can suggest unrealistic options too.
 

jkutswings

hot piss hockey
Jul 10, 2014
11,126
8,918
Would be nice for everyone to be able to make personal choices.
But that's not how it works when it comes to public safety.

I don't have the option to not wear my seatbelt. Or yell fire in a movie theater. Or run a stop sign. My right to swing my fist ends at your nose, so to speak. When actions impact the safety of others, choice takes a back seat - and for good reason.
 

Bench

3 is a good start
Aug 14, 2011
21,245
15,042
crease
Yeah, that's not bad. I would def check out what PSU it has. They usually use what they have, aka cheap out, on those.

You could prob build that one for a bit less than 749, but you could just mark the difference up as you saving the time not building.

In my recent experience, it's basically the worst time ever to be building a PC yourself. This time was way more stressful and taxing than a decade ago, that's for sure.

DIY prices are often a little higher than the pre-built machines, which actually offer great value in this PC economy. However the big advantage of your own parts is you hand picked everything and have it customized to your whims. Is that worth the extra cash? Eh, depends. I'm fussy, obviously, so for me it's worth it. And I like to tinker.

However, I've found prebuild machines that basically match what I built pound for pound and at virtually the same cost - or even a little cheaper. Maybe the PSU isn't a Corsair with a 10 year warranty, but will that matter? Maybe? I dunno.

PSU costs are high. Graphics cards costs are high. There's inflated costs across the board due to COVID shortages and everyone working from home building PCs.

The only way I could come in at the same cost of some pre-built PCs from the big companies is if I found every item on my list on sale. And usually if an item is popular and on sale, it sells out fast. Like before I even know it's on sale. And then you're stuck trying to piece together all your parts over the course of weeks hoping you score that Black Friday price with all the other rabid gamers.

Anyway, nobody asked for any of this rant, but too bad. You just read it.
 

Bench

3 is a good start
Aug 14, 2011
21,245
15,042
crease

Noctua. A true man of culture. Love their products.

I wasn't sure if their massive black cooler would fit in my case, though. So I went with the bequiet! chonky ass boi.

This chonky boi ate my ram.

4c50de1f-7c18-49ad-a046-ee09d577f3fb._CR0,0,300,300_PT0_SX300__.jpg


It's overkill but I literally can't hear it running from a few feet away, which was the goal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ricelund

Konnan511

#RetireHronek17
Sponsor
Jul 29, 2008
9,619
3,337
Sarasota, FL
Weirdest/hardest thing for me during quarantine, dating again. Had a gf before quarantine started, then she moved to take care of her parents in late March. Now, 34, in one of the biggest party cities in the US, with a sweeping pandemic. At least I learned how to cook more betterer.
 

FabricDetails

HF still in need of automated text analytics
Mar 30, 2009
8,162
3,918
Weirdest/hardest thing for me during quarantine, dating again. Had a gf before quarantine started, then she moved to take care of her parents in late March. Now, 34, in one of the biggest party cities in the US, with a sweeping pandemic. At least I learned how to cook more betterer.

For what is likely an unhealthy emotional habit, I'm just not thinking about that part of life during these times. It's like Covid gave me the ultimate excuse. I'm also still not fully onboard with dating sites/apps. "I'm on my phone looking for a reason to get off my phone..." Haha.
 

Lil Sebastian Cossa

Opinions are share are my own personal opinions.
Jul 6, 2012
11,436
7,446

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 5 Rev. B 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Z390 Extreme4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Team T-Force Delta RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory
Storage: HP EX920 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage: Western Digital Red 3 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Red Devil Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Enermax Platimax D.F. 600 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
Monitor: AOC 27G2 27.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor
Monitor: AOC 27G2 27.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor
External Storage: Western Digital My Book 10 TB External Hard Drive

It's nice to be able to upgrade as you go along. This is several months of slow accumulation, really. I did test out Microsoft Flight Simulator via the Xbox Gamepass. It's f***ing gorgeous, but I'll be damned if I know how to fly. I just wanted to see the Ypsilanti Water Tower from the air.

I actually shucked a 10tb hard drive. Had to buy some kapton tape to block the "auto power off" function when it is used as an internal HD. That was fun.
 

Lil Sebastian Cossa

Opinions are share are my own personal opinions.
Jul 6, 2012
11,436
7,446
In my recent experience, it's basically the worst time ever to be building a PC yourself. This time was way more stressful and taxing than a decade ago, that's for sure.

DIY prices are often a little higher than the pre-built machines, which actually offer great value in this PC economy. However the big advantage of your own parts is you hand picked everything and have it customized to your whims. Is that worth the extra cash? Eh, depends. I'm fussy, obviously, so for me it's worth it. And I like to tinker.

However, I've found prebuild machines that basically match what I built pound for pound and at virtually the same cost - or even a little cheaper. Maybe the PSU isn't a Corsair with a 10 year warranty, but will that matter? Maybe? I dunno.

PSU costs are high. Graphics cards costs are high. There's inflated costs across the board due to COVID shortages and everyone working from home building PCs.

The only way I could come in at the same cost of some pre-built PCs from the big companies is if I found every item on my list on sale. And usually if an item is popular and on sale, it sells out fast. Like before I even know it's on sale. And then you're stuck trying to piece together all your parts over the course of weeks hoping you score that Black Friday price with all the other rabid gamers.

Anyway, nobody asked for any of this rant, but too bad. You just read it.

Yeah, I waas definitely thinking with a July 2019 mindset. You had the weird "I'm TOTALLY GONNA BE RICH FROM BITCOIN USING MY RX590!" GPU price bump and PSUs were going bonkers. Around 2017 was RAM at unreasonable prices. But when I build the rig I'm currently on last summer, it couldn't have been simpler. Reasonable prices pretty much all around except PSUs and you could still find those if you looked hard enough.

So I agree with Bench here, Jkuts. That's probably a good deal for that PC and you'll be able to have it just ready to go. It just always is worth a peek at the PSU because you simply don't know what they'll stick in there. That one is probably good, but for prebuilts where you don't actually pick the PSU, it's just worth the time to check.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jkutswings

TCNorthstars

Registered User
Jan 5, 2009
4,295
1,808
Lansing area, MI
Weirdest/hardest thing for me during quarantine, dating again. Had a gf before quarantine started, then she moved to take care of her parents in late March. Now, 34, in one of the biggest party cities in the US, with a sweeping pandemic. At least I learned how to cook more betterer.

Some crazy bingo and shuffle board parties eh? You looking for a sugar mama?
 

Leadzedder

Registered User
Jan 2, 2005
1,812
673
Claypool's not here to have a rational discussion. He's here to vent and complain. I'm done engaging.

Claypool is simply providing the other side of the coin. If your brain won't allow you to explore the alternative, that's on you.

You have the media and the majority of the population feeding you information and confirming your fear. Once you know this, if you ever do, you'll be outraged and embarrassed of how fellow man has responded.

99.98%
 
  • Like
Reactions: Red Stanley

Leadzedder

Registered User
Jan 2, 2005
1,812
673
But that's not how it works when it comes to public safety.

I don't have the option to not wear my seatbelt. Or yell fire in a movie theater. Or run a stop sign. My right to swing my fist ends at your nose, so to speak. When actions impact the safety of others, choice takes a back seat - and for good reason.


You have the choice to do all those things. You choose not to because of the possible outcome.

If you were lied to about the possible outcome of not wearing a mask, then I guess you would be misinformed and making a choice on incorrect information.

There is a global pandemic happening now but it doesn't have much to do with a virus. Compliance, conditioning, propaganda, stupidity and fear. Spreading like wild fire.

Wake up people.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Red Stanley

jkutswings

hot piss hockey
Jul 10, 2014
11,126
8,918
You have the choice to do all those things. You choose not to because of the possible outcome.

If you were lied to about the possible outcome of not wearing a mask, then I guess you would be misinformed and making a choice on incorrect information.

Wake up people.
OK, let's follow this particular rabbit hole for a bit.

Are you stating that those who do not wear masks are at no additional risk?
Or that there is no possible significant harm from contracting COVID-19?
Or that COVID-19 is a fabricated phenomenon to begin with?

I just want to make sure I have the right level of denial here, so I can respond accordingly.

Because for any of the above questions, if you skip right past the media - mainstream or otherwise - and talk to the doctors and nurses and other hospital staff that are actually interacting with the people who test positive for COVID-19, then you'd have a very different take on things.

Or are those people making things up too? Keeping family members from seeing their loved ones due to a power grab, or a buyout from the government seeking a New World Order perhaps?

As they say in the medical community, when you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras. This isn't some overly complicated, cloak-and-dagger situation. There's a new virus that's highly contagious. Most people experience mild symptoms, but there are very real instances of illness and death, and not just for the elderly. And until novel vaccines are proven out and circulated, the general population needs to do what they can to mitigate the spread.

But hey, keep on telling me that this is somehow all part of the, "fake moon landing, the earth is actually flat, and the Russians are brainwashing me by adding trace amounts of toxins to every seventeenth box of macaroni and cheese" theory.
 

Lil Sebastian Cossa

Opinions are share are my own personal opinions.
Jul 6, 2012
11,436
7,446
You have the choice to do all those things. You choose not to because of the possible outcome.

If you were lied to about the possible outcome of not wearing a mask, then I guess you would be misinformed and making a choice on incorrect information.

There is a global pandemic happening now but it doesn't have much to do with a virus. Compliance, conditioning, propaganda, stupidity and fear. Spreading like wild fire.

Wake up people.

No. The pandemic is because of the f***ing virus. Seriously, I get wanting liberty and wanting freedom to do whatever you please. It is what our country is based on and has been forever. But if there wasn't a literal modern plague floating around jamming our hospitals full of citizens and leaving pockets of our country and most of Europe and Asia and Brazil as damn hellscapes, we wouldn't be talking about all of these different methods.

Like I don't understand why it has to be all or nothing. Is COVID something that is going to end the world? No. It's not fatal enough and we do have plenty of strong actions that we have been able to and will continue to be able to take. Is it something we should take seriously? Abso-f***ing-lutely. We still don't know the long term (1-5+ years) impact of it on people's immune systems. If people have lasting heart/lung damage. We also don't really know the long term effects of sustained shutdowns on the mental well-being of the public. That's why we have to talk in reasonable terms and not get hooked up by demagoguery.

Claypool is simply providing the other side of the coin. If your brain won't allow you to explore the alternative, that's on you.

You have the media and the majority of the population feeding you information and confirming your fear. Once you know this, if you ever do, you'll be outraged and embarrassed of how fellow man has responded.

99.98%

Claypool is not offering any side of the coin. He is just saying "We shouldn't have restrictions because lockdowns don't work." No proof that they don't work, because that proof doesn't exist for the very short term. We are just booming again to scary levels of ICU usage. If we can keep our hospital usage down at a level where those who contract the virus can go get treatment, everything will end up being okay. But we simply cannot continue on the path we are in terms of letting it continue to spread unabated. Mathematics and exponential curves should point that out. We only had about three months of learning that already about how 1 turns into 2 turns into 4 turns into 8 and so on very very quickly.

Lockdowns will not prevent the spread of the virus nor will they eradicate the virus. They will, however, buy us time by disrupting the unchecked spread and allowing our public health workers some kind of little bit of respite.

We do need to keep clear heads about it and look critically at what the lockdowns or any restrictions put in place are actually doing and ensure that the governor or other political entities are not overstepping their bounds and doing things unilaterally when they don't have the power to do so.

Lastly, my brain doesn't countenance people ignoring the reality of the situation in that the virus spreading is very very bad and the economy/society grinding to a halt is very very bad. Like, those two things are not mutually exclusive. We need to pull the lever right now on doing something to throw a speed bump in the Rona's way. We can pull the lever on making sure we're addressing schooling, people's livelihoods (work), and other items shortly. "Throw the gates wide open" may be the opposite message of locking things down tightly. But neither of those are our best weapon to combat what's going on.
 

Lil Sebastian Cossa

Opinions are share are my own personal opinions.
Jul 6, 2012
11,436
7,446
OK, let's follow this particular rabbit hole for a bit.

Are you stating that those who do not wear masks are at no additional risk?
Or that there is no possible significant harm from contracting COVID-19?
Or that COVID-19 is a fabricated phenomenon to begin with?

I just want to make sure I have the right level of denial here, so I can respond accordingly.

Because for any of the above questions, if you skip right past the media - mainstream or otherwise - and talk to the doctors and nurses and other hospital staff that are actually interacting with the people who test positive for COVID-19, then you'd have a very different take on things.

Or are those people making things up too? Keeping family members from seeing their loved ones due to a power grab, or a buyout from the government seeking a New World Order perhaps?

As they say in the medical community, when you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras. This isn't some overly complicated, cloak-and-dagger situation. There's a new virus that's highly contagious. Most people experience mild symptoms, but there are very real instances of illness and death, and not just for the elderly. And until novel vaccines are proven out and circulated, the general population needs to do what they can to mitigate the spread.

But hey, keep on telling me that this is somehow all part of the, "fake moon landing, the earth is actually flat, and the Russians are brainwashing me by adding trace amounts of toxins to every seventeenth box of macaroni and cheese" theory.

Comrade, do not speak of OUR macaroni and cheese
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad