What's your latest tech purchase?

[Magic Cube]

With all due respect, Palit/Gainward always made high quality products, and there's nothing "low tier" about it. Enjoy.

Not latest tech but:

Not always but last 10-15 years Palit/Gainward has done good stuff maybe.

Story from years ago. If you have ever owned Gainward Geforce 6800LE AGP, I would say it was disaster. These cards had so called black screen problem. Screen just would turn black when running 3D applications. I had two cards from Gainward. If somebody remembers Geforce 6800LE AGP-versions these where unlockable in Rivatuner.

First card didn't have anything to unlock and just crashing when more shaders/pixel pipelines where enabled and I did RMA it as screen turned black in most of 3D applications even as a stock. But second card was almost at the 6800 Ultra levels, overclocked nicely and pixel and shaders where unlockable to 16/5. 16/6 did work but clocks did result errors on screen. But card had also same black screen problem.

How did I get it running: Someone found there was two certain voltage testing holes on pcb, this is where you soldered capacitor between these holes and card overclocked nicely, fixed black sreen and if you had good capacitor installed->better the overclocking result.

Too bad I did sell this card years ago. I once was third in 3Dmark results in 6800LE category, until PCI-e and SLI results where listed in same category. I just miss this kind of tweaking.

 

[stinger608]

Someone on your local network was controlling it. If you leave it on default, every android device on your wifi can control streaming devices

The amount of times i've seen family members trolling the less tech literate older family for a laugh only to see them absolutely melt down and throw out the hardware or disconnect it from the internet entirely

LOL, it was always just the wife and I. Kids are all grown up and out of the house.

And, I monitor my network and don't have an outside source controlling the network.

 

[Mussels]

LOL, it was always just the wife and I. Kids are all grown up and out of the house.

And, I monitor my network and don't have an outside source controlling the network.

Doesn't mean a thing, when every smartphone and PC can control it.

It's entirely possible you or the wife are watching random videos and a chromecast button and off she goes.


Hell even attached HDMI devices can remote control the TV these days, and if your older TV didnt have HDMI-CEC or it was disabled that'd explain it
My sons switch can change HDMI channels and even colour profiles on the TV, so can my early-gen BD player

 

[Hachi_Roku256563]

Bought a HTC VIVE
quite honestly best piece of tech Ive ever bought
Ill attach some photos later

 

[nomdeplume]

Free 4K 55" Samsung UN55KU6300F

 

[Shou Miko]

Free 4K 55" Samsung UN55KU6300F

Free????

There most be a story here.

 

[8BitZ80]

TI-89 Titanium calculator, great condition but sold for parts for basically the cost of postage. Arrived totally dead although as I suspected the PCB battery contact pads had corroded and weren't making contact anymore. It's a stupid design and the main cause of failure for these calculators.

My solution is to spread solder onto the pads so that they provide a reliable electrical contact. Works great.

<--- Pads fixed with solder


Internals below for those interested. The biggest chip is actually not the processor, it's an ASIC with all the I/O controllers and glue logic. The actual Motorola 68000 processor is the smaller chip closer to the battery pack with the Freescale logo on it. And there's the Sharp 4MB flash memory off to the side.

 

[Arco]

@PooPipeBoy Overclock it!

 

[GamerGuy]

Bought a 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD to go into my main rig, I know it's not exactly the best, but it suits my need, that is, to store my games:

It's gonna replace my 2TB Samsung SATA SSD, which will go into building the 3900X which I now have lying around. I have a spare PSU, HDDs, SSDs, in fact, everything I need to build a new 2nd gaming system (my 6900XT would most likely go into this rig), only thing I need to buy is a mobo for the 3900X.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

Last week got a bit spendy.

Gigabyte RTX4080 Aero OC & Asus Loki 1kW ATX3.0 SFX-L PSU. (No flamey adaptor cable needed!)
Both fit nicely into my O11D Mini

Don't worry about the AIO "screen" being obscured. It's just a backlit piece of plastic, not an actual screen.

 

[wheresmycar]

Not sure why its taken so long to grab something like this to make life a little easier! Just needed something to fire up plex on the tele (+ a couple of useful android apps)... bored of saving stuff to USB or hooking up the laptop or even smart screening from a phone (which sometimes fails) to get our weekly dose of videos/etc. I had plex running on a minix U1 box some time ago which i believe the plex app was pulled or the device no longer supported it... worked on and off anyway and poorly optimised for that sort of hardware/software. Haven't set it up yet... hope ROKU does it seamlessly better!!

 

[nomdeplume]

Free????

There most be a story here.

I needed a screen of some sort and one came up at a very livable price while I was endlessly procrastinating.

One quirk, only way to turn it off is depowering or leaving it on with no active input until internal programming shuts it off. Just using a separate power strip that can be easily flipped off until I have time to examine what the issue is.

 

[Mussels]

I'm buying rubber fan gaskets for some fans

I found this product "M3 magnetic screw set"

And this review

Who wants to try it?!?

 

[Psychoholic]

Picked up 14TB External drive for backups $199.99
WD easystore 14TB External USB 3.0 Hard Drive Black WDBAMA0140HBK-NESN - Best Buy

Thought about shucking it, but its fine in the USB enclosure now since it just does nightly rsync's to it off my server.

Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sdc1 13T 6.6T 5.5T 55% /backup

 

[onemanhitsquad]

One would have to admit that at one time Texas Instruments was a pretty strong company . Those pocket brains like that were pretty stout.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

FFS, the new heatsink still isn't here. UPS and/or the USPS, possibly got hacked.

It took unbelievably long at reportedly still being in Springfield, Massachusetts, then reportedly is in White River Junction, Vermont, north of me! For all I know, my sister (even though I'm 42, lol) is going to do a charge-back, any day now! It should have been here last week! This has been so bad that I wondered if there was a motor vehicle accident!

 

[Mussels]

Okay seriously, fan gaskets are discontinued - what the eff do we use instead?

 

[maxfly]

Noctua just released their fan gaskets...no idea what product number they are.

 

[sam_86314]

At the beginning of the month, I picked up a PineTime smartwatch for around $40 shipped.

For the last few weeks, I've been using my $70 Pixel 3 as my main phone and the PineTime as my main smartwatch...

...and I really like it! I've been surprised by the build quality and especially the usability since it seemed like just a toy for programmers.

Because it's a Pine64 product, they list out the specs. It has a Nordic Semiconductor nRF52832, which is a 64MHz 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 CPU, 64KB of RAM, 4MB of onboard storage, and a 33mm 240x240 IPS capacitive touchscreen. The body is made of aluminum, and I can't tell if the display is plastic or glass. Despite those specs, the OS runs very smoothly.

It runs InfiniTime by default, which is open-source. It came with 1.6.0 installed on it, and I updated it to 1.11.0, which you literally just download from Github and flash it using the GadgetBridge app (which is also open-source). There are even other OSes that you can run on it.

It has some basic features that my other smartwatch, a Fitbit Versa 2, doesn't have. For example, this $40 watch can control media apps on my phone. The $130 Versa can only control music stored on the watch itself. And, of course, it does the other basic smartwatch stuff like displaying notifications and keeping track of steps and distance walked.

While I might not keep using the Pixel 3 as my main phone for too much longer, I might keep using the PineTime as my main watch. I like it more than my Fitbit Versa.

 

[Mussels]

Noctua just released their fan gaskets...no idea what product number they are.

they specifically say they wont fit on non-noctua fans, i'd happily cut bits off to make em generic


These fans are gorgeous, but don't seal great

Sides: pretty typical.

The ends however, need *something*I'll just use gaffer tape if it comes down to it, as the colour matches.
(Gaffer tape is great for this sort of job as its cloth based and not vinyl/plastic - so its heat resistant, doesnt stretch and the adhesive doesnt leave residue behind)

A gasket would be ideal for noise reduction too, but isn't neccesary

I uhh... have some loot. A build log is coming soon, with lots of close up pics.

I'm gunna do a TPU style "watercooling for beginners" guide based on Alphacools Core Storm 360mm ST30 water cooling Set (With a few optional extras like the helix res and the second rad)

Edit: lol crystaldisk snuck into that screenshot of a photo that's hilarious

Theres a few things alphacool did really really right with this stuff. A smaller, safer ARGB connector - but a standard one (3 pin JST) and included adaptors to the regular ARGB connector. Daisy chain ARGB headers on all the fans. 5 fittings on each res (so you have drain and fill ports no matter the orientation, it's awesome)
Comes with a single quick disconnect (I'm unsure why ONE and not two, but I got an extra)
Oh and to mock EK with a far cheaper option, the fittings come with coloured O-rings!

AND A SIPPY CUT WITH EXTRA LONG STRAW OPTION

 

[plastiscɧ]

Okay seriously, fan gaskets are discontinued - what the eff do we use instead?

Noctua just released their fan gaskets...no idea what product number they are.

maybe kinda this.

NA-SAV2 (noctua.at)

'gasket' (noctua.at)

 

[Mussels]

maybe kinda this.

NA-SAV2 (noctua.at)

those are anti vibration screws but they dont solve the issue of air gaps reducing effective pressure through the radiator - see the above post (lotta images, and i edited a second batch in)

 

[plastiscɧ]

those are anti vibration screws but they dont solve the issue of air gaps reducing effective pressure through the radiator - see the above post (lotta images, and i edited a second batch in)

youre right sorry.

maybe u ve got a mate with a 3D printer? for the gasket.

 

[maxfly]

those are anti vibration screws but they dont solve the issue of air gaps reducing effective pressure through the radiator - see the above post (lotta images, and i edited a second batch in)

They were just in the news recently...

Noctua Introduces NA-IS1 Inlet Spacers for Suction Applications and NA-SAVG2 Gasket Set

Noctua today introduced its new NA-IS1 intake side spacer frames for suction or "pull" type applications where fans draw air through obstacles such as grills, perforated plates, mesh panels, filters or radiators. By offsetting the fan from the obstacle, the NA-IS1 can significantly reduce influx...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[plastiscɧ]

They were just in the news recently...

Noctua Introduces NA-IS1 Inlet Spacers for Suction Applications and NA-SAVG2 Gasket Set

Noctua today introduced its new NA-IS1 intake side spacer frames for suction or "pull" type applications where fans draw air through obstacles such as grills, perforated plates, mesh panels, filters or radiators. By offsetting the fan from the obstacle, the NA-IS1 can significantly reduce influx...

www.techpowerup.com

ye my 2nd link found it as well.