I had it build, right here in my ‘office’, in October 2009.
It was a veritable space heater!
I stopped using it 2-years ago.
It was my hot backup. During that time, LUCKILY, I did NOT need to use it as such. It just sat there.
I had it hand-built at home. I did over-configure it, on purpose, & it proved to be the right thing. 12 years & going strong — & as fast/powerful as a new, mid-range. We got it up & running on the day ‘Windows 7‘ became available for general use. I had pre-ordered it from Microsoft & the DVD arrived by FedEx on the morning we were ready to go. I have stayed on Windows 7 since — on this PC.
I have written & published 30 books on this PC. That must be a record.
But, it was time to get it a new home. Still a powerful GAMING machine. Giving it to a friend who will repurpose it & sell it. He gets to keep the MONEY for Christmas! A gift. A special gift.
Click to ENLARGE. From an e-mail I received from ‘Eversource‘.Click to ENLARGE. Click here for a more detailed post on this new PC.
I know it is because of my new PC & printer BECAUSE I set out to reduce my electric bill with these two purchases.
By PC, I refer to my Desktop PC which is really the ONLY computer I use — other than my Android tablet & Pixel 6 Pro phone. I don’t have a laptop. Laptops are physically too small for my needs. [I do have two other desktop PCs as backups.]
I got this new PC in late October last year after using my prior desktop, continuously, on a daily basis (unless I was travelling) for 12-years!
My main desktop PC stays on for an average of 14-hours A DAY, 7 DAYS a WEEK. So, it uses a fair amount of power. I have known that.
My old, 12-year old PC was a power-hog. I knew that.
When I was designing the new PC I was DETERMINED to get one of the new, energy efficient CPUs. I lucked out. I got a 6-core, i5-11400F (4.4Ghz) with a MAX power draw of 65W. Yep, max. 65 Watts. That is less than an average incandescent bulb. The 6-core i5 was ALL that I needed. Yes, I had downgraded. My older PC had a i7 — albeit a 1st gen i7 from 2010. This i5, of course, is faster & uses much less power. WIN-WIN.
I also retired my laser printer. I still have it, but it is powered off most of the time. That was another power hog. Instead, I now have a cheap, but efficient ink-jet printer.
That is how I reduced my electric bill by over 20%. Only major change we made. Still use the same amount of A/C etc. & we did get any new (more efficient) A/Cs in the last year.
Click to ENLARGE. 65″ TCL 6-Series 4K TV (from Amazon (who else)).
No, this was not planned as such. No, this was not supposed to be my Christmas in November. It just transpired as such. I kind of wish that it didn’t happen as such. It was too much. Really screwed up my plans & schedule. But, now, TODAY, I am relieved that all three of these major purchases are now in the ‘read mirror’, so to speak.
Getting a new TV, right now, was definitely not, ever, in the plans. The 47″ Philips, which we got in June 2007, a few months after we moved into this house, was old, BUT it still displayed a vivid, brilliant picture. It was better than many new TVs I would encounter. But, at 14 years, it was old. We had been waiting for it to die. It had outlasted all other major electrical/electronic appliances in this house, bar the dishwasher — by years. We are on our 4th refrigerator, 3rd microwave & 2nd set of washer/dryers. We used to joke that it seemed indestructible. But, about 3 weeks ago, while I was having my lunch watching TV, the picture flashed, & the TV went black. I thought it was dead — finally. Not so. When I recycled power, the picture came back, but the left side of the screen was noticeably darker. I tried all the tricks. No luck. It was time for a new TV — after 14 years.
We had talked about getting a 65″. And that is what we did. Got a 6-Series TCL from Amazon. I knew that TCL was a decent brand, & the price was reasonable. Also got a TCL Sound Bar — again from Amazon.
The 47″ TV was not wall mounted. It was on a stand. I wanted this wall mounted. I really had no desire, however, to do the mounting myself. So, I looked around. I would have gladly paid the $450. That was not an issue. But, many of the places INSISTED on a monthly membership program. I did NOT want to sign up for that. I don’t need external support on a regular basis. Plus, ‘Best Buy’, ‘Geek Squad’, was not accepting online bookings. You had to visit a store. I couldn’t be bothered. So, I decided to do it myself.
I did 3 weeks of research, off-and-on. I agonized about it. Finally, after much searching, found a SLIDING, full-motion mount. I bolted it to the walls last night. It worked out flawlessly. It was exactly, 100%, what I was looking for. It wasn’t too hard to install.
Click to ENLARGE. The sliding, full-motion mount.
This morning I hired a big, strapping 15 year old boy from the neighborhood to help me lift the TV. He was here for about 40 minutes. He got quite the deal. In addition to me paying him (over the top) for 1 hour, I also gave him, per his wish, the old 47″ TV, the Philips DVD/Sound Bar & the TV stand. He was happy. He was going to put it all in HIS room. So, it all worked out.
Right now I am still using my 9 month old external ‘Roku’. I didn’t have the time or energy to mess with the built in Roku.
Click to ENLARGE. Yes, the two BENQ monitors, 27″ & 22″ (on purpose). The PC is on the ground, on the left.
Click to ENLARGE. The PC is the BIGGER box. The smaller box, with the two green lights, is my 3TB, RAID 1 ‘Drobo’ that holds all my photos from the last 5 years.
The specs for this new PC, from ‘AVADirect‘ — to replace my 12 year old PC. Yes, until a few minutes ago I was using a trusty ol’ PC that I had, hand-built, in October 2009! So, this is a BIG DEAL for I. As my friend ‘Joe’ would say a ‘BFD‘.
Click to ENLARGE. I did NOT go totally overboard. i5, rather than i7. But, splurged on 32GB of memory. I know what is important. 6-cores is overkill for one. Just 2, at most, would have sufficed.
The HUGE difference between Old & New — power consumption & heat dissipation.
Click to ENLARGE. My office. Colorful like I & surrounded by my toys — the once that are not in the garage, family room or drive.
I fully appreciate that this is a very indulgent & ego-centric post. Sorry. But, this is a ‘BFD’ for I. To say I am fussy, persnickety, fastidious & paranoid about my MAIN, WORK PC is an understatement. Given that I spend at least 8 hours, each & every day I am at home, in front of my main PC means that I form a very close personal relationship with it. It has to be just right.
That is part of the reason I did not get this new PC till now — 12 years after the last one. I new it would be traumatic.
You can laugh. It took me 3 years to get around to finally getting this one. The family get on nagging me in that they knew the other one was old, very old.
This PC was delivered on October 27, 2021 — exactly 4 weeks ago. It has taken me that long to get it to the level that I would be comfortable using it! To be honest, I thought it would take much longer. I was planning to keep on using my old PC until it died — & keeping this (‘$2,000’) PC in ‘mothballs’. But, once I started playing with it, I liked it.
My old PC ran ‘Windows 7 Professional‘. I was worried that I would, given my old age, have difficulty mastering ‘Windows 10’. I was wrong. ‘Microsoft’ has done a good job.
So, here I am. Seated at a new PC after 12 years. Please wish me luck. I am going to need it. Thanks.
I opted for a ‘Quiet Workstation’. Exactly what I wanted. Didn’t want a gaming PC.
Click to ENLARGE. My ‘Quiet Workstation’ PC from AVADirect. It is totally utilitarian. Not flashy & but packs a fair punch.
Click to ENLARGE. This was my configuration. ‘Joseph Mundy’ was an enormous & invaluable help. See below for for more contact information. Click to ENLARGE.
After12 years I really was in need of a new PC — just in case the old one finally gave up the ghost.
I had looked at AVADirect, on & off, for a few years. I kind of knew how to configure a PC with them. So, I had another crack — this time more committed than in the past.
I had worked out that I needed to be looking at a ‘workstation‘ rather than any other category. For one, this was the only way I was going to get the type of multi-port video card I wanted — without spending $1,300 just for the card!
I soon ran into problems trying to get the right case — in terms of size. That is how I serendipitously met ‘Joseph Mundy‘ — who proved to be marvelous. He walked me through all the steps. Once, I put together an initial configuration he carefully looked over it & made some brilliant suggestions. Some had to do with circumventing the chip shortage & hence delays. All his suggestions were spot on. I was very grateful.
I made the changes suggested by Joseph, too a gamble on the availability of the PNY video card I wanted, & placed the order. It took them about 9-days to get all the parts in place — including a keyboard & mouse from ‘Logitech’. Joe kept & eye on it throughout the process & kept me appraised via e-mail. It was built & tested exactly 2-weeks after I had placed the order. I had it, 2-days later, via FedEx. That wasn’t bad.
It came in a HUGE, tall box. The main part of the PC well packaged & protected. Maybe too much! I had trouble pulling out all of the pink foam padding packed inside the case. I was worried that I would damage some of the innards. I didn’t have to worry. Alas, the one additional hard drive that I had ordered, mounted on the other side of the case, didn’t do as well — & had not been protected with padding. It had come loose. It was flopping & flapping around. I panicked. But, I was able to get it out & slide the plastic drive carrier back into the rack. That too worked. Just to be on the safe side I got a local PC guy to come & check the whole PC before I powered it up. He checked all the parts & made sure that they were all good.
The PC fired up, in Windows 10, first time. No issues. Most of the updates had been done. It was clean. NO bloatware. We checked it.
I am happy. Very happy. Looks like a decent PC. Will this one also serve me, basically hassle free, for 12-years? Wow. That would be quite the thing. That would get me to 80. I probably wouldn’t want another PC at that age — ASSUMING I live that long. 12 years! That is a long time for an old guy like me.
But this was great. Two thumbs up for AVADirect. I am happy to recommend them. I will even get another from them if I have to. Joseph Mundy made a difference. Not sure whether it would have gone this smoothly without his help. Thank you, Joseph. I owe you.
Click to ENLARGE. It is totally utilitarian. Not flashy & but packs a fair punch.
Click to ENLARGE. I did NOT go totally overboard. i5, rather than i7. But, splurged on 32GB of memory. I know what is important. 6-cores is overkill for one. Just 2, at most, would have sufficed.
My TRUSTY, OLD PC from October 2009.
The HUGE difference between Old & New — power consumption & heat dissipation.
I can’t believe my old PC is now 12 years old. It is still going strong. I am writing this on my old PC. I plan to continue using it …
I got the new PC from Avadirect. That worked out. I will do a separate post on that experience. It was not bad. Quite positive actually.
I had my old PC hand-built at home. I did over-configure it, on purpose, & it proved to be the right thing. 12 years & going strong — & as fast/powerful as a new, mid-range. We got it up & running on the day ‘Windows 7‘ became available for general use. I had pre-ordered it from Microsoft & the DVD arrived by FedEx on the morning we were ready to go. I have stayed on Windows 7 since — on this PC.
I have written & published 30 books on this PC. That must be a record.
With the new PC the emphasis was on power usage & heat dissipation.
The new one has a 65W CPU vs 125W in the old. It also runs significantly cooler. I like that. It is also amazingly quiet. That was another feature.
Having 32GB helps. SMILE. Yes, it flies … as it should.
Well, I will keep you posted. Wish me luck.
If the new PC lasts me 12 years it will, of course, be my last!
