Lemur's New Rig

[Xiahou]

The case really isn't that big. Fat, but short. The way I like my men.

I will confess that I am going to cheat on the build.

Phony!

[Lemur]

What a day. Seriously, I was having one of those, I have had it with these monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday-to-Friday plane kinda days.

Drove through a whiteout blizzard to work, only to find that 80% of the staff didn't make it in. Felt like a complete idiot. Who commutes from Wisconsin to Chicago in one of the worst storms of the year? This idiot, that's who.

Seriously, today I was making Theon Greyjoy-level bad decisions from start to finish.

Ahem.

Anyway, me and my Nerd Prime buddy met up in my dining room, and we put together the new rig. I told Nerd Prime about how I was cheating by using him, which resulted in him forcing me to do an awful lot of the assembly and wiring myself. I blame all of you for shaming me.

Anyway, pics were promised, so here they are:

The Lemur rig build, live, in 3D, colorized, and with a happier ending.

[HopAlongBunny]

Glad to hear you had a safe trip :)
The "rig" looks very nice; keep us updated on how it performs

[Beskar]

Where is the Linux, Lemur?!

[Lemur]

Where is the Linux, Lemur?!

Wasn't planning on loading this up with hippie commie Linux anytime soon. It's a gaming and work machine, both of which do well under Windows.

But hey, should the need arise, there's always a nice distro out there ...

[drone]

There is no way the Org will fit on that thing. You need more disk capacity!

[Lemur]

The Great Migration has begin. It's like Oregon Trail, but with less dysentery.



Putting new 2 terabyte drive in NAS. That means migrating everything from the 1 terabyte drive across the bus. This has been an interesting challenge. (Yes, I know there are many other ways I could have moved 530 gigs of home server data, but forcing the Synology to do it across its own bus was by far the fastest way.)

Now shuffling things around. Wife wants my old gaming/work PC for her own, so I need to decide which hard drives go where, and what will happen to the old machine. I'm kinda leaning toward a fresh install of Win7 to minimize any trouble from her "new" PC, but there's something to be said for just cleaning up the current install.

Then moving some sort of HD into the new Cube, finishing cleaning up the home office, and finding appropriate desk space for everything.

I could also use this moment to back up the years of photos and music locked into my long-obsolete G5 ... but that seems like a lot of work for a Sunday.

-edit-

Man, I have to say, Synology really has their software dialed in. That could have (should have) been a lot more painful. In short order:

1. Put in new HD, was offered to extend current volume or create new one.
2. Since my intent was to get rid of the old HD, told it to create "volume 2" using storage manager.
3. Used backup utility to move absolutely everything from volume 1 to 2.
4. Re-created shared folder structure at the top level of volume 2.
5. Used file station to move everything back into the correct places.
6. Told the NAS that I wanted it to dismount volume 1.
7. And then everything just ... worked.

Honestly, I expected more blood and gore and pain and lamentation.

[Myth]

I like your SSD. I would also have gone for the I7. The 16 GB of RAM is good. What is medium speed for you? 1333 MHz?

[Husar]

Instead of an i7 you can also get a Xeon I hear. A Xeon is apparently a cheaper i7 without the on-board graphics (that you don't need for gaming anyway).

[Lemur]

I would also have gone for the I7. [...] What is medium speed [RAM] for you? 1333 MHz?

Y'all are a bunch of i7 snobs.

In this instance, I meant 1600. Any faster and the price gets nutty.

-edit-

Forgot to mention, I am also experiencing Windows 8.1 for the first time on this rig. Speaking as a Lemur whose experience has been limited to Win7, OS X, and (recently) the Cinnamon desktop in Linux Mint ...

... this interface is kinda infuriating. I mean, I'm a little bit of a nerd, so I can figure it out, but I have feels for the normal user.

Seems like almost every screen has a different metaphor for navigation. And the default setting do not nudge you toward the Microsoft apps—they buck and shove and grunt and basically try to force you into the Microsoft apps, many of which you really don't want to touch. All of these traps can be undone, if you have a vague idea of what you're doing.

But for the average user? Like Bill Clinton, I feel their pain.

[Xiahou]

Dude, why would you inflict Windows8 on yourself?

I've pointed all the hapless Win8 users I know towards Start8. It seems to at least make the unbearable bearable. Now, if they'd just listen to me in the first place and not get Windows8....

[Husar]

That's the most useless extension there is, it's like using a wheelchair when you could learn to walk instead.

[Xiahou]

That's the most useless extension there is, it's like using a wheelchair when you could learn to walk instead.

I think that's a more apt description for Windows8 itself. Microsoft has removed functionality in order to meet their arbitrary decision to (attempt) unify the desktop & tablet experience. There's no valid reason for removing the Start menu.

[Gregoshi]

There's no valid reason for removing the Start menu.

Sure there is. Microsoft is getting back at us for joking all these years about "Why do we have to click the 'Start' button to stop the computer?"

Surely they were saying, "Who's laughing now, wise guy?" when they released Win8.

For the record, I think Win8 is a turd. My latest annoyance regarding Win8 comes from wondering why I couldn't play a DVD on my computer with Windows Media Player. After searching Microsoft's knowledgebase, they apparently decided that hardly any PCs these days have DVD/Blu-ray drives, hence it was easier to remove the functionality to annoy everyone than it was to leave it in there. They made a lot of bad assumptions about their market with Win8. I'm also THRILLED that they own Skype now. My user experience with that went from nary a problem to problems just about every time I try to use it. Buying Win7 is looking better and better every day.

[Myth]

1600 is great, i have 16 gigs of that, you can't utilize faster ram for gaming anyway, your motherboard and/or GPU will be the bottleneck then. What is your BUS speed on the MB?

Windows 8.1 was inflicted upon me at work. The stupidest thing is having to drag the top of the window all the way down on my HD monitor to close it, instead of clicking X like it's been the case since Windows 3.11

Sure it might be great for the next something-pad, but it sucks lollipops for a PC with a mouse and keyboard.

[Husar]

I think that's a more apt description for Windows8 itself. Microsoft has removed functionality in order to meet their arbitrary decision to (attempt) unify the desktop & tablet experience. There's no valid reason for removing the Start menu.

Which functionality of the Start menu that you loved so much was removed?
Shutdown is a click or two more now but it's not removed.

My latest annoyance regarding Win8 comes from wondering why I couldn't play a DVD on my computer with Windows Media Player. After searching Microsoft's knowledgebase, they apparently decided that hardly any PCs these days have DVD/Blu-ray drives, hence it was easier to remove the functionality to annoy everyone than it was to leave it in there.

That's a valid criticism, they removed the entire MPEG-2 codec IIRC, you can however get the K-lite codec pack for example to get the functionality back, which is not an excuse for the removal though. The quality of free codecs also varies a bit but new drives often come with a DVD player software that includes a codec.

I'm also THRILLED that they own Skype now. My user experience with that went from nary a problem to problems just about every time I try to use it. Buying Win7 is looking better and better every day.

I haven't had any big issues in team conferences using the Skype app, you can however still install and use the normal desktop client that you need in Win 7 anyway. The new app has some potential but is still lacking in many areas. Sometimes I receive calls right away and sometimes I get the notification an hour after someone tried to call me. That definitely begs for improvements.

Windows 8.1 was inflicted upon me at work. The stupidest thing is having to drag the top of the window all the way down on my HD monitor to close it, instead of clicking X like it's been the case since Windows 3.11

Sure it might be great for the next something-pad, but it sucks lollipops for a PC with a mouse and keyboard.

Yes, or you can open the bar on the left side of your screen by moving your mouse to the upper left corner and close all open apps except the one that is currently on screen. I think the system is designed just like it is on your phone, where you often let apps just run in the background and clean up once in a while. I also have the habit of wanting to close them right away though. Desktop applications still have the x however and I do not make all that much use of the new "metro/modern" apps anyway.

For the record, my gaming PC still runs Win 7 but working with Windows 8 on my notebook is absolutely no problem, in fact I think it has quite a few advantages, multi-monitor support is better, you can access the Start screen on both monitors, I can access applications much faster using the start screen than using the old start menu. I mostly work on the desktop anyway and the new apps I use mostly for the weather widget and the mail app, the rest is relatively secondary and there is nothing forcing the new type of apps on you. If you want you can run all desktop applications.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Windows is annoying by default, though bearable. A large part of that is the cluelessness of the 3rd party developers who seem intent on committing every cardinal sin, crime against humanity and inventing new ways to make your life miserable. There is no need for Microsoft to add to that, yet they do. Oh they do.

As for annoying: Windows 8 runs two graphical subsystems side by side. While you could run Windows 7 and previous in a VM and merely shake your head in disgust at the sheer awfulness of its performance; now you can't shake your head anymore for fear of making the VM hang if you look at it funny.

[Xiahou]

Interesting though it is, the discussion of Windows 8(.1)'s merits (or lack of) probably should have their own topic rather than junking up this thread about Lemur's PC build...

If people want to continue the discussion, I'd be happy to split the last few posts into a different topic.

[Myth]

I'm sticking with Windows 7 until the next one comes along. It's my experience that they are always a hit and miss version. 95 - huge improvement over 3.11, 98 - nothing new, apart from maybe FAT32. 2000/NT were server versions so I exclude them. XP - awesome. Vista - complete bollocks. 7 - awesome. 8 - the only new stuff I see is aweful compared to 7 (I just have the one monitor anyway). So I'm waiting for 9 or whatever they call it.

Also, an unrelated picture:

[Ja'chyra]

Lemur

How did you get on with your hybrid drive, I'm thinking of getting one till the SSDs get a bit cheaper, I run my OS from a SSD but was going to move to hybrid for my music and videos.

Thanks

[Lemur]

The hybrid drive is actually meant for the kids' computer. My storage drive in the big boxen is actually a bog-standard WD drive.

Hybrid drives are nice if you don't want to plonk down for a sizeable SSD, but you want to give a laptop or a desktop a bit of oomph.

[ICantSpellDawg]

I never knew what was so different about linux. I had never fully understood the difference between an operating system and a user interface - believing that a UI was simply a component of an OS, but now I do and it makes all the difference in the world.

[Lemur]

I never knew what was so different about linux. I had never fully understood the difference between an operating system and a user interface - believing that a UI was simply a component of an OS, but now I do and it makes all the difference in the world.

Well, in fairness, the UI is a component of the OS. That ain't wrong.

Tried to find a handy graphic that would illustrate the architectural differences between Windows and Unix. Failed. I'll look again later.

Meanwhile, here's a rather opinionated (but not inaccurate) summary of 10 differences between Linux and Windows. Not really the comprehensive 40,000-foot view I was looking for ...

-edit-

Also note that Linux is just one variant on Unix. Here's a family tree that might help clarify where all of the bits and pieces come from, their heritage, their parentage, and so forth.

[Husar]

It's very opinionated.

I find searching the interwebs fro Linux commands incredibly tedious and don't feel like spending a year just to learn them all. And it's almost necessary to do so, especially if you use the adjustableness of the interface to make it disappear and then don't know how to get it back (did that once). As for stability, last time I installed a Linux Mint, it crashed during the login after the first restart. Installing some versions of Linux when you have no internet access is also almost impossible or rather boring as I found out because I have no discs with Linux programs here. The central application repository is indeed a good idea in general, but it also lists tons of programs that may not run on your version of Linux and I found quite a few that crashed on startup etc. And then Microsoft has that new Store since Windows 8.

It's not like I hate Linux, we are just not made for eachother and I think Windows is usually easier to maintain and use for the average user and people who do not want to delve deep into command line stuff and source code. And Apple is apparently even more so but also even more closed, but they all contribute to IT in general and they all have their target audience. I wouldn't really recommend Linux to my grandma just like I wouldn't recommend Windows to someone who wants to edit the source files of his system. I'm very much at peace with Windows, especially since I even stopped changing my wallpapers regularly because I really have better things to do with my computer than fiddle around with the OS all day. YMMV of course.

[Lemur]

Well, the funny thing about Apple's OS X is that it's wildly popular with technophobes and deep nerds, and not a lot in-between.

Designers and filmmakers don't give a flying monkey about how closed the system is, they just like having their tools on a stable platform. And deep Unix nerds like having an easy version of Unix on laptops. Or as one Unix Admin friend of mine put it back in the day, "Hey man, you have no idea what it means to have a version of Unix on a laptop that just works."

I do 95% of my work in a Windows environment, so I should probably just shut the hell up.

-edit-

Here's a not-terrible whitepaper about the architectural differences between Windows and Unix. Still looking for some sort of handy graphic that can illustrate the big differences. Still failing.