[GTALUG] Ongoing war story (currently losing the battle)

Fri Jan 19 20:17:06 EST 2024

Thanks for the advice.  The MB is pre-UEFI, and maybe the sensible thing 
to do is to upgrade to a better MB+CPU and migrate as much of the 
hardware as will migrate.  I still have a lot on spinning disks, so 
something like a tower or mini-tower is not the right form factor to 
have -- unless, of course, I chuck all the older hardware, and move to 
nvme/ssd configuration (these days cases don't seem to come with lots of 
drive bays).  I've never tried a Beelink, but I have a delightful 
Minisforum that seems to be the wave of the future.  Old towers with 
spinning disks are certainly the wave of the past.

On 1/19/24 17:53, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
> | From: Peter King via talk<talk at gtalug.org>
>
> I don't remember you telling us what the older (now also failing)
> machine model is.  AMIbios from 2009 suggests to me that it predates
> UEFI.  If so, it probably isn't worth investing any time to fix it.
> Publish or perish (unless you have tenure)!
>
> (This system's problem could be as simple as a broken power switch.)
>
> A notebook or a miniPC might be a good stopgap.  You get to tune that
> suggestion to match your requirements.  Shopping too hard will waste
> your time too.
>
> A mini PC ought to just plug into your exiting desk setup.  When you
> are no longer using it, it takes little space in you cupboard,
> bookshelf or the back of your desk.  It is easy to stick in a bag to
> carry to another site.
>
> These BeeLink Mini PCs look OK to me but are not as deeply discounted
> as they have been.  You might well prefer Minisforum.  Support isn't a
> strong suit (but then your experience with Lenovo has been
> disappointing).
>
> All these are from amazon.ca.  The listings have coupons that come and
> go so the prices wander.  And there are so many listings of the same
> devices from the same vendor!  Some have an additional
> 10%-of-list-price coupon that I cannot see because I've used mine up.
>
> <https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.ca%2FBeelink-Computer-4-0GHz-Screen-Display%2Fdp%2FB09SYSPSSM%2Fref%3Dsr_1_12&data=05%7C02%7Cpeter.king%40utoronto.ca%7Ca97ddf7fa2d44dd6541c08dc19417faf%7C78aac2262f034b4d9037b46d56c55210%7C0%7C0%7C638413016304615956%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=KiIfTsoqjCi3rn4MMBit7E0irCAeb6bGTr51tb2ISCE%3D&reserved=0>
> $367 Ryzen 5 5560u 16G RAM / 500G NVMe SSD
> This is a notebook CPU.  Low power in both sense.
> Easy to update RAM and SSD but you cannot add, only replace.
>
> <https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.ca%2Fdp%2FB09P112VZJ%2Fref%3Dsyn_sd_onsite_desktop_0&data=05%7C02%7Cpeter.king%40utoronto.ca%7Ca97ddf7fa2d44dd6541c08dc19417faf%7C78aac2262f034b4d9037b46d56c55210%7C0%7C0%7C638413016304772226%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=GE0fYHxsPIWUjFCH9Ti90q1GYjwFBiG39Ii11bQAnt0%3D&reserved=0>
> $329 after coupon; same as above.
>
> <https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.ca%2FBeelink-Computers-5600H-32GB-500GB%2Fdp%2FB0C3VKV6DJ%2Fref%3Dsr_1_2_sspa&data=05%7C02%7Cpeter.king%40utoronto.ca%7Ca97ddf7fa2d44dd6541c08dc19417faf%7C78aac2262f034b4d9037b46d56c55210%7C0%7C0%7C638413016304772226%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=fo48%2B7lWtqgEhYznIOWb7Q0cg7OfL2%2BrhT%2FB93HXE5c%3D&reserved=0>
> $570 after coupon Ryzen 7 5800h 32G RAM / 1T NVMe SSD
> This ups each of the specs in the previous box.
>
> <https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.ca%2FBeelink-7840HS-Computer-Desktop-Display%2Fdp%2FB0CH7XHM7M%2Fref%3Dsr_1_5&data=05%7C02%7Cpeter.king%40utoronto.ca%7Ca97ddf7fa2d44dd6541c08dc19417faf%7C78aac2262f034b4d9037b46d56c55210%7C0%7C0%7C638413016304772226%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=YnmSEYMuqZk5Y3uiwLT5UpPVchyXfwhKxis2HfcrpIM%3D&reserved=0>
> $749.99 after coupon Ryzen 7 7840HS 32G RAM / 1T NVMe
> This adds a better processor with a better iGPU and faster RAM.
>
> Fun alternative: Best Buy has the Asus Ally gaming console, open box,
> for $549.99.  It has essentially the same guts as the 7840HS system
> but only 16G RAM and 512G SSD.  It has only one port (USB C / USB 4 /
> power) but a docking station fixes that.
> ---
> Post to this mailing listtalk at gtalug.org
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-- 
Peter King			 	peter.king at utoronto.ca
Department of Philosophy
170 St. George Street #521
The University of Toronto		   (416)-946-3170 ofc
Toronto, ON  M5R 2M8
        CANADA

http://individual.utoronto.ca/pking/

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