So I'm building a new PC... and some questions

[WildFire]

that computer definitely looks like it can run mIRC


seriously though, are you going to be overclocking at all? the i7 2600k screams but for most people it isn't needed since hyperthreading isn't used in many applications. but since you said this PC will be used for years and years down the road I guess it makes sense.

if money isn't a factor I would have to agree with getting an SSD. 10-15 second boot time brings a tear to your eye the first time ya see it

 

[Chieftess]

That's the primary use of the SSD I had in mind anyway. I just have to convince myself of the reliability, since I hear stories of it failing after a few weeks to months.

 

[Zelig]

That would be covered by warranty.

Data loss isn't an issue, since hard drives also fail and you need to have everything backed up anyway.

 

[TrailblazingScot]

Two screens are far superior to one - far more productive with my dual screen setup than previously.

 

[Zelig]

Two screens are far superior to one - far more productive with my dual screen setup than previously.

FWIW, I've heard from people I respect that they prefer a single large (2560x1600 or 2560x1440) screen to two smaller (1920x1200) screens for work purposes.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

And floppy drives are dumb. I haven't used a floppy drive in over a decade.

If you need to transfer a bunch of disks you can do so easily with a somewhat older computer... Just copy the files and send them over the network. If they're installation disks (which sometimes don't work when dumping the files into a folder... Nevermind the fact that any software on a floppy disk is bound to be awful outdatred) make the image (Roadkil's Disk Image might work; haven't really tested it yet) and then mount with Virtual Floppy Drive (sadly only works in 32-bit systems; maybe try a virtual machine).

 

[GoodGame]

Oh you know about Artic Silver and all that right? About cleaning the gray gunk off of the CPU cooler and replacing it with some Artic Silver (I'd recommend AS Ceramique, its less messy and has a long shelf life) to mate the CPU to the CPU cooler?

http://www.arcticsilver.com/ceramique.htm

 

[IglooDame]

FWIW, I've heard from people I respect that they prefer a single large (2560x1600 or 2560x1440) screen to two smaller (1920x1200) screens for work purposes.

I've heard both ways. I think it depends largely on what the work consists of. I vastly prefer two smaller screens, but my work frequently consists of looking simultaneously at multiple windows (Putty, RDP, textfiles, spreadsheets) and dragging a second window over to the second screen is pure bliss. Working on a spreadsheet where I need to view a lot of columns, thus dragging the right-hand edge across the second screeen and getting nearly 4000 pixels on it rather than 2500-some is great too.

 

[Maniacal]

SSDs will fail eventually, it's guaranteed.

So will hard drives.

So don't get either then, gotcha. What a useful post!

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

How about punch tape? That won't fail unless you accidentally tear it or it catches fire

 

[Zelig]

I've heard both ways. I think it depends largely on what the work consists of. I vastly prefer two smaller screens, but my work frequently consists of looking simultaneously at multiple windows (Putty, RDP, textfiles, spreadsheets) and dragging a second window over to the second screen is pure bliss. Working on a spreadsheet where I need to view a lot of columns, thus dragging the right-hand edge across the second screeen and getting nearly 4000 pixels on it rather than 2500-some is great too.

Hm, I dunno, once you get out of the habit of fullscreening all your windows, there's not a ton of difference between multiple or single monitors of equal pixels, for working with multiple windows.

 

[civ_king]

FWIW, I've heard from people I respect that they prefer a single large (2560x1600 or 2560x1440) screen to two smaller (1920x1200) screens for work purposes.

1440p and 1600p monitors can be really expensive

Oh you know about Artic Silver and all that right? About cleaning the gray gunk off of the CPU cooler and replacing it with some Artic Silver (I'd recommend AS Ceramique, its less messy and has a long shelf life) to mate the CPU to the CPU cooler?

http://www.arcticsilver.com/ceramique.htm

Actually the stock Intel stuff is more than sufficient, I've overclocked my i5-2500k with stock cooler and paste to 4GHz and it's running 50°C ish at full load which is pretty good actually

 

[Chieftess]

I've heard both ways. I think it depends largely on what the work consists of. I vastly prefer two smaller screens, but my work frequently consists of looking simultaneously at multiple windows (Putty, RDP, textfiles, spreadsheets) and dragging a second window over to the second screen is pure bliss. Working on a spreadsheet where I need to view a lot of columns, thus dragging the right-hand edge across the second screeen and getting nearly 4000 pixels on it rather than 2500-some is great too.

That's how I use my monitors at work, too, except I do programming. So, I'll have the code in one window, and the application running in the other. At home, two widescreen monitors wouldn't fit on my desk.

How about punch tape? That won't fail unless you accidentally tear it or it catches fire

My grandmother used those in her day. (No, really, she did. She even had to know binary!) But, I guess since that was the WWII generation, they probably worked with stuff resembling morse code, and even techincal manuals, so it wasn't that much of a stretch to interpret the holes in the paper as letters. Both my grandmothers worked on airplanes or for airplane companies during WWII, both grandfathers were in the service - supply lines I think, and one was overseas in Northern Africa chasing Rommel.

 

[GoodGame]

1440p and 1600p monitors can be really expensive


Actually the stock Intel stuff is more than sufficient, I've overclocked my i5-2500k with stock cooler and paste to 4GHz and it's running 50°C ish at full load which is pretty good actually

That is decent, but AS5 is usually claimed to do better than stock Intel paste, and Ceramique might have a degree improvement on AS5 (plus zero metal in the mix, so no change of short circuit).