What's your latest tech purchase?

[lexluthermiester]

Thinkpad T420, paid whole 20EUR from this. Got also an A8-9600 as a bundle.

Nice! What OS are you going to use with it?

 

[Ruru]

Nice! What OS are you going to use with it?

Already installed Win10 Pro, I'll put Win11 later. Mainly I'll just test that every works etc

 

[PLAfiller]

Shout out to @Vayra86 for the patience There goes the best budget mATX case -> Chieftec BX-10B-OP/ JONSBO D30/ GAMEMAX Sparke MINI -> they are all the same thing.

The 3.5" HDD rubber grommets are pre-installed. In the accessory packet are included for the three SSD/2.5" drives. Also has stand-off removal tool, a few zip ties, pretty solid case badge (yes green is my favourite colour, so I find it quite nice). A velcro strap.

One of the bolts on the front panel is missing right off the factory , but I will add it when I build the PC. Turn on button has a very unsatisfactory click, but I use remote, so I don't really mind.

Really wanted the white version, but they don't stock it here, so I got the black one.

Also....solid front for DA win , I can throw in my PUCK right there and it will stick

 

[lexluthermiester]

Already installed Win10 Pro, I'll put Win11 later. Mainly I'll just test that every works etc

Nice. 11 runs well on that kind of hardware. I have a set of Dells that have similar specs and it runs well.

 

[Fokker]

Tech-ish. Much better illumination. I'm using a wireless, switched outlet to control it.

I played with the camera settings to give a much better true to life representation of the difference. It really is that much brighter.

 

[Ruru]

Nice. 11 runs well on that kind of hardware. I have a set of Dells that have similar specs and it runs well.

Put a 32GB microSD card as well for some lightweight games to install from Steam.

edit: this had an i5-2520M, 4GB & 320GB HDD initially. Doubled the RAM and put a 128GB SSD, also repasted the CPU and cleaned the heatsink.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Put a 32GB microSD card as well for some lightweight games to install from Steam.

edit: this had an i5-2520M, 4GB & 320GB HDD initially. Doubled the RAM and put a 128GB SSD, also repasted the CPU and cleaned the heatsink.

Is that the model with the NVS 4200M or Intel GFX?

 

[Ruru]

Is that the model with the NVS 4200M or Intel GFX?

Intel iGPU only. Realized that this lacks USB3.0 but I could get an Expresscard with one connector, also a more powerful charger and an i7-2630QM would be something.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Intel iGPU only.

That's ok. As much as the HD3000 was panned, it was still a decent performer.

also a more powerful charger and an i7-2630QM would be something.

I did some looking about and it seems that CPU should work with an updated BIOS. It's cheap here. YMMV.

Doubled the RAM and put a 128GB SSD

A really good upgrade would be 16GB of DDR3-1600, which that systems supports natively. 512GB SSD are cheap too. You'd have a very nice portable system at that point.

 

[Ruru]

That's ok. As much as the HD3000 was panned, it was still a decent performer.

I did some looking about and it seems that CPU should work with an updated BIOS. It's cheap here. YMMV.

A really good upgrade would be 16GB of DDR3-1600, which that systems supports natively. 512GB SSD are cheap too. You'd have a very nice portable system at that point.

Updated the BIOS already. I may put more RAM and a 256GB SSD later, but as I had 2x 4GB & 128GB SSD lying around, I put those to use.

The only negative thing about this is that this lacks USB3.0. I may get an Expresscard with USB3.0 as well.

 

[lexluthermiester]

The only negative thing about this is that this lacks USB3.0. I may get an Expresscard with USB3.0 as well.

I wouldn't worry about that unless you really need the bandwidth. If you're thinking about it for an external drive, for as much as you'll spend on an ExpressCard adapter, you could just get a bigger SSD.

 

[avidgamer121]

I wouldn't worry about that unless you really need the bandwidth. If you're thinking about it for an external drive, for as much as you'll spend on an ExpressCard adapter, you could just get a bigger SSD.

being that old it must have sata 2, just like my h61 did.

 

[Ruru]

being that old it must have sata 2, just like my h61 did.

SATA3.0 on this one and the laptop has QM67 chipset.

I wouldn't worry about that unless you really need the bandwidth. If you're thinking about it for an external drive, for as much as you'll spend on an ExpressCard adapter, you could just get a bigger SSD.

I'd rather have every possible gigabyte of SSD storage on my main rig, even with today's SSD pricing. I'd rather get more drives for that and maybe take one 240GB drive from it for the laptop.

 

[avidgamer121]

SATA3.0 on this one and the laptop has QM67 chipset.

nice for that basic laptop to have decent midrange chipset.

 

[Vayra86]

Shout out to @Vayra86 for the patience There goes the best budget mATX case -> Chieftec BX-10B-OP/ JONSBO D30/ GAMEMAX Sparke MINI -> they are all the same thing.

The 3.5" HDD rubber grommets are pre-installed. In the accessory packet are included for the three SSD/2.5" drives. Also has stand-off removal tool, a few zip ties, pretty solid case badge (yes green is my favourite colour, so I find it quite nice). A velcro strap.

One of the bolts on the front panel is missing right off the factory , but I will add it when I build the PC. Turn on button has a very unsatisfactory click, but I use remote, so I don't really mind.

Really wanted the white version, but they don't stock it here, so I got the black one.

Also....solid front for DA win , I can throw in my PUCK right there and it will stick

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Looks interesting though decisively budget-ey, doesn't it? It also costs 65,95 over here, as a D30 its even 95 euro! Is it 'best'... well you do get that fan for free compared to the A3, so there's that. But aesthetically? I'd get an A3 over this every time I think because it has some QOL features I don't see on yours (toolless / click-on side and top panels for example, its fantastic).

Still, thanks for sharing. Won't ignore that as an option going forward thats for sure... especially if you'd build for someone in more dusty environments or a smoker's room I bet that Chieftec will work out better than an all-mesh open enclosure. I think that should be the main motivator here to choose for one or the other: dust management and airflow requirements. I can guarantee you the A3 is going to run bulky GPUs cooler, for example.

 

[PLAfiller]

Looks interesting though decisively budget-ey, doesn't it? It also costs 65,95 over here, as a D30 its even 95 euro! Is it 'best'... well you do get that fan for free compared to the A3, so there's that. But aesthetically? I'd get an A3 over this every time I think because it has some QOL features I don't see on yours (toolless / click-on side and top panels for example, its fantastic).

Still, thanks for sharing. Won't ignore that as an option going forward thats for sure... especially if you'd build for someone in more dusty environments or a smoker's room I bet that Chieftec will work out better than an all-mesh open enclosure. I think that should be the main motivator here to choose for one or the other: dust management and airflow requirements. I can guarantee you the A3 is going to run bulky GPUs cooler, for example.

+1 you are spot on. The D30 is prohibitively expensive is what I found out too. The Chieftec glass version was sold here ~€56, the mesh version ~€53 and I paid for the Gamemax version ~€66.

The Lian Li A3 is no longer available where I am, it hasn't been for a while. The base version was about ~€87, the "wood" version ~€94. It IS the better case, no doubt about it, but not in my case (pun intended ). With the Chieftec you are getting almost the same lay out for a lot less over here.

 

[remixedcat]

S22 plus !!! Budget was 300 so I didn't do too bad!!

 

[de.das.dude]

S22 plus !!! Budget was 300 so I didn't do too bad!!
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great choice. I am still using my S22 5g, which is smaller, but i would have liked the extra battery capacity of the plus

 

[Kwadratowicz]

My case came today, but fans are funny, they've got holes in them 0.0 , and the panels are not that great, but it is cheap case .

 

[Outback Bronze]

Thought I'd better get ready for my 5090 (whenever that is )

 

[remixedcat]

great choice. I am still using my S22 5g, which is smaller, but i would have liked the extra battery capacity of the plus

How's yours holding up??

 

[wNotyarD]

I decided to bite the bullet and take a leap of faith:

Yep, expensive as heck as everything in this country is, but I wanted a light and snappy laptop which I can carry anywhere when needed and with long battery life. My current "gaming" laptop is too heavy and its battery can't cope anymore (not even 2h away from the mains while playing Solitaire).

 

[unwind-protect]

Intel Optane U.2 and 4x U.2 PCIe card.

Although it looks like somebody already has her paws on it.

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This thing loads DCS 2 seconds faster than my 2 GB sn850x. I guess DCS is a bit more dependent on throughput than I thought. Off into the Linux server.

 

[wNotyarD]

I decided to bite the bullet and take a leap of faith:
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Yep, expensive as heck as everything in this country is, but I wanted a light and snappy laptop which I can carry anywhere when needed and with long battery life. My current "gaming" laptop is too heavy and its battery can't cope anymore (not even 2h away from the mains while playing Solitaire).

Forgot to mention that I also bought a hub to go alongside it because 3 USB-C and nothing else. An HDMI port and some USB-A are still a necessity.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Thought I'd better get ready for my 5090 (whenever that is )

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Shame only the expensive pro model alarms it's like 100 usd for me to get one after shipping.

You also are limited by model depending on the varient you choose which kinda sucks I wish the plug was more standardized.