|
I couldn't do that: changing keyboards is traumatic enough (all the keys are in subtly different places, and have different travel depths so I misskey, a lot), changing KB, and mouse, and monitors, and ... that would be horrific! 
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
|
|
|
|
|
only my machine changes, not my keyboard, mouse, or my dual 27" monitors. If I had to give up my monitors, that would be horrific for sure.
|
|
|
|
|
And that's continuity past your 3 years, isn't it? 
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
|
|
|
|
|
My comments were centered on the "development machine". I don't consider peripherals to be part of the development machine.
|
|
|
|
|
My home development machine (I maintain several software systems for my own use and for my friends) is 4-5 years old, or is it six now? I ask: Why would I care to replace it? I always choose (at least) "upper middle class" when I make investments, to make them last longer, and this machine has got all the interfaces I need, the CPU speed I need, the RAM space I need. I add another disk now and then (or replace with a bigger one) - that comes without saying when you play around with digital video.
Fortunately, mainstream moved away from floor standing PCs many years ago, so there is very little pressure from the environment to continously upgrade to the latest bells an whistles that you don't need. (But colleagues and friends certainly laugh at my outdated (that is, 3 years old) smartphone that doesn't even have the latest Android version...)
|
|
|
|
|
... I guess it's probably older than that by a strict interpretation of the "rules":Quote: Even if you've replaced all the bits many times over, only count the date you purchased the initial unit.
Back in the late 80's I bought an Amstrad 1640, and replaced it completely with a DX4 based clone in the early 90's (to play Doom2, natch) - this was called "RT", short for "Rottwielers Test...s".
Not one part of the Amstrad was used in "RT", and not one part of RT exists in my current machine.
But ... as I upgraded, a bought a new case here, a new motherboard there, new HDD's, ... the keyboard stayed the same for decades until half the letters had worn off, and the springs started to go. The mouse lingered, but were upgraded ...
So technically, despite there being nothing older than 10 years - even the mouse is younger than that, I think - this system has continuity right back to 1994 ...
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
|
|
|
|
|
Mine is like that, the case is probably the oldest part from about 2002.
One of the still frequently used disk drives says it's been powered on for more than 10 years ...
|
|
|
|
|
I had to change the case a few years ago when the PSU died, and I realised I needed a bigger one (both in Watts and physical dimensions / cooling)
I'd suggest backing up the old drive: it's never a case of "if" a drive is going to fail, but "when", sadly.
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
|
|
|
|
|
Also, the standard mainboard size changed at some point in time, didn't it?
Of course you got all these smaller variants, but I believe that the "full size" boards of today are bigger than those of the 1980s and maybe 1990s. I don't remember when this happened, but it was one of the reasons why I couldn't keep my old case when I upgraded the mainboard.
|
|
|
|
|
That and heatsinks grew, plus the PSU needed the extra ATX connector, PCIE power, Molex & SATA power, ...
Yes, you can buy converters, but ... fewer connections means better reliability.
Don't even get me started on fitting an SSD in a case without 2.5" mountings! Cable ties work, but I probably shouldn't really admit that in public. 
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
|
|
|
|
|
We may be frustrated by "all" the changes, but then...
A few weekends ago, I dropped down in my recliner, PC keyboard on my lap, and started writing a small memo of "Formats I have met" - both physical / material and logical. It started out with different digital storage media and peripheral interconnects (including varying plugs: I have used 9 out of the 14 different plugs that exist with SCSI). I listed my analog sound, photo and film/video physical formats. The different battery sizes that has been required by various equipment. The list of lightbulb sockets grew far beyond what I expected.
The total list-of-lists is unbelivably large and varied, even when restricted to the formats I have actuall handled myself, one way or another.
Actually, I do not yet have a section for "main board formats", but it will be one of the shortest lists in the collection. The period of active use is also very long, so the formats/year ratio is far lower than for lots of the others.
Now, computer busses is a different matter. For a given main board format, you have a multitude of plugin card standards, especially for the graphic display cards. I don't think I ever could mode a display card from an old to a new main board. I think it has stabilized somewhat now, but 10-15 years ago, it was a mess. You never could move memory chips, either.
For some strange reason, this doesn't apply to screens. My very first PC screen, 30 years ago, used a VGA interface. My current screen works well on VGA - I use it when I occasionally connect one of my older PCs as a second source. At home, VGA and HDMI are the only two I have ever used. (DisplayPort I use only at work.) So while some PC formats change more often than I change my T-shirt, a few of them are great examples of stability that should be held up for others to learn from.
|
|
|
|
|
Member 7989122 wrote: For some strange reason, this doesn't apply to screens.
I know what you mean! Of my three monitors, one is VGA, one is HDMI, and the other is DVI. The Surface has DisplayPort, but nothing else does - I may one day get a DP to HDMI converter, but probably won't bother.
About the most consistent connector I can think of is the mains lead - but even then, only at one end!
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Never throw anything away, Griff
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
|
|
|
|
|
OriginalGriff wrote: About the most consistent connector I can think of is the mains lead - but even then, only at one end!
For stability over time: Yes. For consistency across the world: Well... For a small starter, take a look at Plug & socket types - World Standards[^]. If you travel a little around, you may need quite a selection of plug adapters. (I haven't met all of these, only A B C E F G).
But there are more. Nowadays, ceiling lamps have their own special sockets, called DCL. In Sweden, another socket (like a circle with a cap cut off) was used before DCL became a European standard. IKEA sold quite a few lamps with those plugs, so the buyers had to install that kind of socket. I never had any myself, but a couple of my friends have got them.
For three-phase power tools there are at least two sockets in use ("CEE"). Here in Norway it is because we use two different 3P connection schemes: IT uses three wires, 230V between any pair. TN adds a fourth "neutral" wire: Each of the three is 230V away from the neutral wire, between each pair of the three there is 400V. This requires two different plugs (although at any one location, only one is in use).
The last few years we have had an electrical car crazyness here in Norway (I haven't yet jumped into it myself). Thre has been a selection of sockets dedicated to char charging: "Mode 3 Type 1" and "Type 2", "CHAdeMO","CSS/Combo", and Tesla has got its own variant of "Type 2". Some cars may be charged from CEE sockets as well. If your family has two cars, there is a good chance that you have used at least two, maybe three different ones.
So even for mains connection, there is quite a selection. But you are right: Each country tend to have a single one of them as a very consistent socket for standard household appliances.
If you extend the scope beyond household AC from the power company, and look at eg. plugs for connecting solar panels, you've got another selection. Here in Norway, the market seems to stabilize on "MC4", but you should look out, especially when buying stuff abroad or "special offers": A few other sockets are in use, especially on older models. For low-voltage power distribution (e.g. in off-grid mountain cabins), another handful of alternatives are used, the most common being a socket-C-like variant with asymmetric pins so it can be inserted only one way. I have used that, but switched ower to BNC plugs. In my car, I have used both the old style "big" cigarette lighter socked and a smaller one (that never made any great success) for coolers, light and electronics.
And so it goes, on and on, more and more formats as you dig deeper down in your box of equipment that requires a power connection. Some are long-lived and stable, but along with that comes all those "special" or short-lived alternatives. I have got a significant collection of equipment that are no longer useful because I can't supply the power any more. (Or I can't buy that kind of storage media, or light bulb type, or mainboard with the right bus, or telephone service, or ...)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What make and model, pray tell... 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
-
The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
-
Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
|
|
|
|
|
HP ProDesk 600 G4 SFF. I know it's an overkill, but the boss pays for it. 
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks for the tip! 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
-
The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
-
Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
|
|
|
|
|
You can also customize the build. So the model and make does not matter a lot, you have several choices among the processor, memory, intel optane memory (unnecessary if you're going with SSDs which you should), what kind of Real time data backup you want (only RAID 1 is available). Also, the price varies accordingly.
Mine I think will be relevant for the next 3 years at the least.
|
|
|
|
|
This is an IBM "portable" PC from the early '80s, with a built-in CGA monitor, enormous power supply, and back-breaking metal construction. Probably nuclear EMP-proof, too.
It has long since stopped being my "main" development machine.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
|
|
|
|
|
You still haven't answered the OP's original question: How old is your "main" development machine? 
|
|
|
|
|
I did, in the survey. 3-5 years.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
|
|
|
|
|
My employer just issued me a new laptop on Friday. It'll probably be weeks until I'm productive again.
|
|
|
|
|
My employer made the mistake of buying us $4500 laptops, at the time they were state of the art thinkpads with the brand new mobile PIII chips. They were hot back then. I played GTA3 on it just to see if it could do it (it could)
Yeah, that was a productivity killer. The machine would be an utter dog these days but oh well.
When I was growin' up, I was the smartest kid I knew. Maybe that was just because I didn't know that many kids. All I know is now I feel the opposite.
|
|
|
|
|
General 
News 
Suggestion 
Question 
Bug 
Answer 
Joke 
Praise 
Rant 
Admin 
Submit an article or tip
