What Have You Done Today - (Computer Version)

  • Thread starter tlowr4
  • 4,142 comments
  • 257,976 views
Diablo 2 resurrection
Hold Up Wait A Minute GIF by ABC Network


Diablo II has a remake and it's released? I have so many memories about Diablo II, including nearly failing 7th-grade math because I was more interested in playing it than studying for an exam. Time to bust out the Paladine and smite everything under the sun. Hopefully, the secret cow level is still a thing too.
 
Hold Up Wait A Minute GIF by ABC Network


Diablo II has a remake and it's released? I have so many memories about Diablo II, including nearly failing 7th-grade math because I was more interested in playing it than studying for an exam. Time to bust out the Paladine and smite everything under the sun. Hopefully, the secret cow level is still a thing too.
It drops tomorrow. The minimum system requirements are a bit beyond the original though.
 
Starting yesterday, I finally stopped being lazy and decided to do something about my old Photobucket being over its capacity since they decided to bait and switch years later. It slammed me a message stating I needed either buy a premium plan or delete my account and wouldn't let me do anything, but luckily all I had to do was close out of the tab and go to Photobucket again to get around it.

Been going back and re-uploading every picture I embedded here on GTP and deleting them from my Photobucket once I'm done. Originally I was just going to do this until my picture count was below the 250 mark, but I've decided I'm going to do this with every embedded picture I ever posted here that can be fixed. I'm thinking about deleting my old Photobucket account because ever since GTP12 gave users the feature to upload their own pictures here, I haven't really needed it anymore since, and I don't foresee myself ever using it again. Plus, given how Photobucket can't seem to make up its mind what it wants to be anymore and doesn't seem to be getting any better, I really don't care to use it anymore.
 
Last edited:
Not exactly today, but this is my freshly fired up new machine:

CPU:
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X @3700 MHz

CPU Cooler:
be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4

Motherboard:
MSI MEG X570 UNIFY (MS-7C35)

RAM:
16384 MB PC25600 DDR4 SDRAM - G.Skill F4-3200C16-16GTZRX
16384 MB PC25600 DDR4 SDRAM - G.Skill F4-3200C16-16GTZRX

GPU (from my old PC):
ASUS ROG STRIX NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, 8192 MB GDDR6 SDRAM

SPU (from my old PC):
ASUS Xonar Essence STX

PSU:
be quiet! Straight Power 11 850w+ Platinum

SSD 1:
Samsung SSD 980 PRO 1TB, 976.8 GB, NVMe

SSD 2:
Samsung SSD 980 PRO 2TB, 1953.5 GB, NVMe

HDD (just as a dump from my old PC):
ST2000DX001-1NS164, 1953.5 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s

BD-ROM (from my old PC):
HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH16NS40, BD-RE

OS:
Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (x64)

Case:
be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev. 2

Sooooooo fast and soooooooo quiet.
 
Finally finished editing my posts and reuploading my old photos that were previously embedded from Photobucket yesterday, the ones I could edit that is. However, I found out from Jordan that if they're viewed at least once on GTP, they get added to the image cache and will be visible regardless of what happens to my Photobucket. :lol: Requested for my Photobucket account to be deleted and got an email this morning saying that it had been, so now I can finally say good riddance to it! 👍

It was quite an interesting trip going back and seeing a lot of my old posts on here. You could tell I was new to the forums. :P
 
Last edited:
Upgraded to Windows 11 when it came out last week, so far pretty happy with it. 👍

Also ordered another 1TB SSD and additional RAM (bringing the total to 32GB) which I should be fitting tomorrow. :)
 
Today I completed a long series of upgrades for my Haswell-based PC.

I got it in October of 2015, maybe even posted about it in here a few times, and it's been my main PC ever since.

It started out like this, and since then I've (roughly in order):

  • Moved everything to an InWin small form-factor case
  • Cloned my Windows install over to a 1TB SSD, retired the original HDD
  • Upgraded GPU from a GT 720 to a GT 740 SC, then to a GT 1030, and finally now to a GTX 1650
  • Upgraded CPU from a Pentium G3240 to a Core i7-4790
  • Upgraded CPU cooler from Intel's stock cooler to a Noctua NH-Li9
  • Added a 1TB HDD for games in addition to the SSD
  • Zip tied two Noctua 40mm fans in various places in the case (one extra intake under the optical drive, one exhaust under the GPU) to help keep things cool.
  • Ran two green LED strips around the front and motherboard areas, powered by the PSU's Molex connector
  • Upgraded the InWin's factory case fan to a Noctua (4 total noctuas in here now, I earned my sticker).
  • Upgraded from 8GB to 16GB of DDR3 (most recent).
And the final result: Exterior shot, Interior shot

  • Case: InWin CE685
  • Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-4790S
  • GPU: GTX 1650 4GB
  • RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600
  • PSU: 300W Powerman TFX (included with case)
  • Storage: 1TB SSD + 1TB HDD + 500GB External SSD
  • Other: Asus Optical Drive, Molex-powered LED strips

These upgrades all began late last year, and finally finished today with the RAM upgrade. While I had upgraded GPUs before, everything else was a first for me. Made lots of mistakes and had many hiccups along the way, but it was a great experience. The final product is no beast, but it does everything I want well including games. Even handles Rocket League at 1080p/120fps.

Unless Nvidia releases a low profile RTX 3050, this is as far as I will take this build. I expect to get another 2-4 years out of it, then start all over with a modern CPU/motherboard for its replacement.
 
I've been getting more and more tired of having the giant white cube that is the Corsair Air 540 on my desk, and I was bored enough the other day to drive an hour to the nearest Microcenter just for something to do. Walked back to the PC cases so I could put my mitts on some of them, and ended up walking out with and Corsair 4000D Airflow and Logitech G560 speakers(plus a generic riser cable because I'm a sucker for vertically mounted GPUs).

Spent a few hours once I got home giving my PC a case-transplant.
20211026_005259.jpg

All of the internals are the same, but it looks way better and takes up less space than the old giant white cube.


Before:
20201209_204653.jpg

MVIMG_20190905_225618.jpg



After:
20211026_004906.jpg

20211028_001116.jpg



The light isn't nearly as overwhelming as my phone makes it look, but it gets the idea across. Super happy with the change-up, especially since the dark tint on the case makes it almost a solid black slab when I turn the LEDs off. Plus the vertical mount for the GPU lets the it show its good side while giving me a place to hide the probably-longer-than-they-need-to-be coolant tubes.
 
@Eks Sounds like you've been on a real journey with that rig. How are your temps? That case doesn't look like it has much scope for air flow.

@Minty Nice case swap. I think Corsair make some good cases. I built a system in their 280X (IIRC) and it was a great case to work in.

On my side, I've decided that it's time to replace the coolant in my rig. I'm going from an Alphacool clear blue to EK Cryofuel Solid Fire Orange. My tubing has discoloured quite significantly, so I've got 3m of tubing coming so I can replace it. I've also bought the Mayhems Blitz part 2 cleaning kit to run through the system, but I'm not afraid to pull the blocks off and clean them manually if needed. I need to reseat my GPU block anyway, and have sourced replacement thermal pads for that.

Finally, I've been getting quite a lot of thermal throttling on my M.2 drive, which seems to be permanently stuck between 52-55 deg C, so I've bought a Corsair Hydro X M.2 water block for it, and will add the drive to my loop.

Just awaiting time during a forthcoming week off work.
 
@Eks Sounds like you've been on a real journey with that rig. How are your temps? That case doesn't look like it has much scope for air flow.
It doesn't, but temps are surprisingly reasonable, all things considered. In the most intensive tasks, my CPU rarely exceeds 60C, with the GPU getting around 70-76C depending on what I'm doing. After extended sessions my internal SSD could reach up to 50C, which is what led to me installing one of the two 40mm PWM fans right in front of the drives.

Idle/web browsing, CPU sits in the low 30s with the GPU in the high 30s.

As small as they are, my two 40mm PWM fans really made a difference here, I feel. They move an impressive amount of air when they get up to speed.
 
I bought a Chromebook! The one I wanted was the Lenovo C340 Chromebook; however, it was not only out of stock and discontinued. So I bought a Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook. I am now learning what I can and can't do with a Chromebook. I have yet to settle in.
 
I cleaned my system, fitted the NVMe waterblock, re-seated my other blocks, and changed the fluid.

Pics:

Before (when it still had EK fans), showing the fluid, which was Alphacool Eiswasser blue

Drained, you can see how the fluid has stained the distro plate, and completely discoloured the soft tubing (this is after running Mayhems Blitz through the system for around 18hrs)

I pulled the blocks apart and cleaned them with a toothbrush and deionised water, which got rid of most of the staining. Unfortunately, the distro plate cannot be disassembled as there are screws concealed under metal decoration which is glued to the acetal.

Comparison of old tubing (still fitted to the radiator) and new tubing (lying on top)

This is the Corsair Hydro X waterblock for NVMe drives:

And here it is mounted, just below the CPU. You can see the 45-degree fittings I'm using to loop from the drive to the CPU. I didn't want to do a straight route with 90-degree fittings because there's a Z-height difference which made the tube look weird. As it was, I ended up twisting the fittings to create a slightly longer run to give the pipe enough space to complete the 180 degree bend.

Here's the system with the new coolant, EK Cryofuel Solid Fire Orange

And here with some lighting - my Lian Li fan controller has failed and I'm awaiting a replacement, which is why the fans are not lit up

You can't really see because it's blown out, but the RAM strips are orange at the outer edges with a white centre section. Overall, I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. I love the new colour.

Re-seating the blocks was a great plan. I've done a much better job of mounting the GPU block this time. So with the fans at 50%, and the system running mining software, fluid temp tops out at 36 deg C (11 degrees over ambient). GPU temps 45-55 degrees (-10 deg from prior) and the GPU hotspot (RAM) at 50 degrees (-55 degrees from prior), CPU at 50% load runs at 48 degrees C, and the NVMe drive is running at 38 deg (-14 deg from prior).

So, about 10hrs' work with all the draining, disassembly, flushing, cleaning, flushing, reassembly and refilling, but I'm really pleased with the outcomes, both visually and in terms of thermal performance.
 
Today I changed out the internet providers default router at the new house to a Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 (cause it was cheap on sale :lol: ).

Noticed a huge difference in range and a decent upgrade in wifi speeds. I do run most devices through ethernet cables, however mobile devices will get a new life now.

Now, its time for the more difficult part. Setting up a separate router to the rental apartment in the basement.
 
Today I've tried out a new HDMI Dummy plug to help when remote accessing my PC. Before I had the dummy plug I had to have the main monitor on the PC switched on when remote connecting or I'd just get a blank white screen on the computer I was connecting from. The dummy plug has fixed that now.

I've also been setting up a new Laptop I've got from work, which has been a much bigger pain that it should have been due to the encryption on it. But after a lot of difficulty getting it connected to the network, I hope it's good to go for working from home now.
 
Last edited:
I have had some small issues with my game SSD and now it's not even registering on BIOS. I have checked connectors, cables, ports.
I then checked with a known HDD and with the same cable and connector it did register.
So now I think my Game SSD is now borked.
I am getting an USB adapter to confirm this with out a doubt.
 
I just found out and attempted how to USB tether. I put my Chromebook online briefly to do so using my smartphone as power was knocked out to my house most of today.
 
I bricked my phone for the first time.

I got the Pixel 6 (short review here: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/what-phone-do-you-have.82338/post-13522225) a few months ago and promptly rooted it the day I got it. I was going to update it to the December update today but I followed the instructions for updating a rooted Pixel 6 wrong and completely bricked it. I had to reflash the original factory image which caused me to lose all my data. Thankfully, Google's automatic backups backed up most of my apps' data and Google Photos have my compressed backups, but I've lost all the original uncompressed photos I took. It's currently 4 AM and I think I have most things back to where I had them. Note to self, don't do things after 2 AM.
 
Last edited:
I bricked my phone for the first time.

I got the Pixel 6 (short review here: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/what-phone-do-you-have.82338/post-13522225) a few months ago and promptly rooted it the day I got it. I was going to update it to the December update today but I followed the instructions for updating a rooted Pixel 6 wrong and completely bricked it. I had to reflash the original factory image which caused me to lose all my data. Thankfully, Google's automatic backups backed up most of my apps' data and Google Photos have my compressed backups, but I've lost all the original uncompressed photos I took. It's currently 4 AM and I think I have most things back to where I had them. Note to self, don't do things after 2 AM.

Lucky it was a soft brick and not a hard brick
 
My RealTek Audio HD Manager effects have stopped working. No idea on why. Installing and updating hasn't fixed it either. Any ideas on why it wouldn't work?
 
Wall-mounted my spare 24" monitor. It had been sitting atop my computer (where the picture now is), but that was sub-optimal in many ways.

IMG_3688(1).JPG


With it positioned like this, the main 49" screen is straight ahead. If I want to look at the second screen, I just rest my head back on the chair's headrest. Should hopefully not be too bad, ergonomically-speaking.

I have already decided that (since the 49" screen is curved and the 24" screen is not) I'm not going to stress too much about the fact that the bezels don't match and are never going to be parallel. The way I'm seeing it, I'm getting "free" extra screen area from a monitor that would otherwise lie dormant in my garage. And I'm not sending this into one of those "roast your setup" videos.
 
Last night I stripped my Atari 1040STF down ready for cleaning and retrobrighting.

It's absolutely filthy. I know it was used in a factory at some point in its life and has spent the last 30 years in a box in someone's garage.
 
I finished(ish) building my Aida64 sensor panel. You can see the prototype of it from my post above.

1641920082564.png


Some of the alignments are a little off, which I will fix at some point, and I can probably bring out some more interesting information from the GPU.

Aida is over-reading the pump speed by around 20% and the fan speed by around 33% for some reason.
 
I finally did something I should've done a while ago and bought a powerline WiFi access point for the bedroom. Since having our baby I now usually have to do my video meetings from there and the connection isn't amazing (which is weird because our flat is tiny), it also has the secondary effect of enabling me to connect to the 5GHz network with good signal (there previously was no 5GHz coverage at all) so I can feasibly stream games in there with Moonlight or Steam Link. Not that I spend any time in bed not sleeping these days, but the idea that I could play PC games in bed is all I need. Well actually I should test it for latency but I'm sure it'll be fine.

I was really surprised by how easy it was to set up, I have to admit I didn't know that you can have multiple WiFi APs (including 2.4 and 5GHz) with the same SSIDs and passwords and devices these days are smart enough to automatically choose the stronger AP. I don't fully trust that my phone or laptop would ever pick the 5GHz signal automatically since it's likely to be weaker so I'll keep that separate, but it's cool that I don't need to have a different SSID just for the bedroom.

I also got a tech pouch. I recommend the tech pouch.
 
I started using Google Drive again to better be able to port files from my PC to my Chromebook. I was growing impatient trying to jack in a USB drive to my USB hub risking it not working. So I am willing to use my Google Drive to upload to and then download from my Chromebook from Google Drive. Since I previously disabled Google Drive, my PC shut down a bit faster. Now, though, it may be my best possible outlet to share files to my Chromebook.
 
I am slowly finishing up my setup.
I got a new monitor GFV22CB (Which is something like what I have but with DP and G-sync compatible.(However I am not quite sure if it's a VA or TN panel as the listing says VA but in user manual it says TN)) Just have to build or find a computer desk that is a bit longer than what I have to do a dual screen display.

Eventually I will be to where I am more happy with everything.

Edit:
Got my new monitor. Running G-Sync at 144 Hz. VA panel. Still adjusting it.
 
Last edited:
Upgraded my Pc

Bought a replacement case Fractal Torrent
CPU went from a i7-9700K to a i7-12700K ( no Overclock...so far )
Added a Samsung 980 Pro 2TB NVME for the Op system and a select game : Kerbal Space Program .
ASUS Rog Strix Z690-A MB , did the Bios update which I hate doing
750W Corsair PSU got slung in as I had it as a spare , added 3 extension cables , two GPU and one main 24 Pin .
Repasted the CPU with MX5
Swopped out the Standoffs with 4 replacements from Corsair for the LGA1700 Setup
Put my H150i Pro AIO back in with 6 120mm Notua Fans , Push Pull config
re-installed and re-pasted the GPU with MX5 ,
Added my GTX 1080ti with its NZXT water cooler and a 120mm Radiator + 2 x 120mm Noctua Fans , P/Pull config .
Used my DDR4 32GB 3200 mhz LXP Ram
Now using both my 2 TB SSD's for storage
Added 3 x 140mm Noctua Fans to the bottom of the case , which means I now have 12 Fans in total and it's very very quiet

I play a game that is very single core dependant so needed a better quicker CPU . With this setup I can now max out the Physics Delta and play in real time .

Ciniebench 23 test showed a almost 50% improvement in single core speed . So i'm happy .
 
Got my eye on the Torrent too, as someone who air cools I love the PSU on top design allowing for a healthy blast of fresh air to the GPU! Kinda hoping they do a compact version of it for those of us who don't need room for radiator + push/pull fans though.
Ciniebench 23 test showed a almost 50% improvement in single core speed
That's impressive, was the 9700K overclocked?

(I have 8700K at 5GHz - higher end AMD 5xxx and Intel 12xxx are the first to beat it significantly!)
 
Back