What did you do today?

[zovc]

Today, I've been taking it easy. I'm trying to figure out the next steps on a few projects.

I'm back in the US, and need to get a few things in order to become a functional person again. Trying to get some relatively easy-to-move furniture. Currently situated back with my parents in middle-of-nowhere Louisiana, but I'm trying to end up basically anywhere else. Haha

I went to an IKEA and saw this IKEA PS 2014 desk (What is that name???), and I'm apparently able to reclaim my old adjustable standing desk frame from my past roommates. I made a rough and ugly top for the desk, and the guy who moved into my old room apparently cut himself on the desk and hates it and wants to get rid of it. Lmao

So, I'm trying to make my own version of that IKEA "desk box" to mount on top of my desk frame, but I am really green when it comes to metal fabrication, and I don't think I have access to welding.

Angle aluminum and a few L-brackets on the wooden 'panels' seems like it should do the trick well enough, here's an attempt to convey the gist in sketchup.

I can't seem to wrap my head around a way to fabricate the corners of this aluminum frame without needing welding and/or a lot of really precise cuts to keep things from being unstable and not-square.

In terms of dimensions, I need to figure out a few things that I don't yet have my hands on. I want to mount a new Crossover monitor (34", 21:9) to the "back" of the box. I also need to figure out what kind of mount to use with my situation. But, the size and height of the monitor for comfortable use is probably going to be one of the main things that determines the size of the entire thing. I'm wanting the desk itself to be about 5 feet wide.

Any ideas on how I can fabricate that frame? Angle aluminum seems extremely cheap and pretty easy to work as far as attaching it to the wooden panels. Also, what is the mechanism/hinge that the IKEA desk is using called? Can I get a set of those, myself?

 

[Kmpkt]

Cleaned house. Took a joy ride in my sports car through some twisties to local bottle shop. Got a few growlers. Hit up a bakery on the way back. Nabbed some baklava and brownies. Listened to some good music all the way. Hopped on the web. Now, I'm here.

Sounds amazing.

 

[Biowarejak]

Got in a new Lithium Iron Phosphate battery for my bike and noted a dead LED on my replacement DIMMs, so mixed bag. Also training someone at work today and tomorrow so I get some extra pay, which is great

 

[Soul_Est]

Didn't get to hang out with any of my friends today. Finished working on one friend's computer. Decided to play some Warframe to test out its performance. Better than expected. Odd stutter in the menus and game but smooth throughout. Had the slider on the Joy-Con straps fail so I may just send the Nintendo Switch back for a refund (2nd time I would have returned one, ugh). Looking over the state of Mini-ITX motherboards for AM4. I found it saddening that even while being more expensive, many of the AMD boards lacked features that the Intel boards had; usually in the form of I/O. I decided to do a couple lists with just a CPU and motherboard just to get an idea of whether the price matters.

AMD:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor ($474.58 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX X470-I GAMING Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($293.78 @ Mike's Computer Shop)
Total: $768.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-07-28 21:36 EDT-0400

Intel:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($516.35 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($264.42 @ Mike's Computer Shop)
Total: $780.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-07-28 21:42 EDT-0400

Which it does not but the cut down I/O is cause for concern.

 

[confusis]

Tested, successfully, a HD7450a MXM card in my DeskMini. For science!

 

[el01]

you have no idea of the relatively cosmic lottery I struck at the moment, LOL ._.

Spoiler

(I was already out when skyguide popped a notification. Went out of the building to a clear night with some occasional floating clouds. I took the first few photos with my phone, and decided to just enjoy the eclipsing. Stayed around for super late supper and when I left the moon was pitch black o_o
when I hit home IT WAS STILL GOING ON. took out camera gear because couldn't do with potato pics and then 10 minutes later it uneclipsed over a long time. hit the sack halfway)

Spoiler

I wish my life was this fortunate ,_,

pics in a bit

Spoiler

Spoilerception!

Yesterday I was so tired that I went home and crashed, but here's what happened:

We were staying in a mountain town outside of Chengdu around Pengzhou, and after having a bit of breakfast and having tea with my parents' friends, we went on a massive hike around town, where I did see some cool things (toured their power plant, walked next to a small plot of land filled with corn). Then, we had lunch, continued having tea, walked around a small 古庄 (old town?), got 玉米馍馍s (these fried/steamed corn paste pastries), and went down to actual Pengzhou (it was around 7:00 then) to have hot pot. After setting my mouth afire, I had to take care of my parent's friends' friends' kids (the 14 year old was playing PUBG and stayed quiet, the rest were really loud). At around 11:30, we finally arrived home (Chinese people drink too much beer for their own good, that's what dragged on so long), and after a good night's sleep, we're here!

 

[el01]

Type in ''成都电脑城'' in Baidu and it seems there is an area with a few large computer malls. I have not been there but this seems to be the place to hit. They are along 一环路南二段 and 磨子桥.

OOF, I looked at a map today, it's kinda far away (I'm in Jinniu and I need to go halfway around 一环路 to get there.) I will probably go around the end of the week (after Wednesday).

 

[Soul_Est]

Started looking at this for Full Circle: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Sapphire-PULSE-ITX-Radeon-RX-570-4GB-GDDR5-PCI-E-HDMI-In-Hand-Ready-To-Ship/163169594426?hash=item25fdaa6c3a:g:ZwUAAOSwg5VbWSb3&LH_PrefLoc=1&_sop=15&_sacat=0&_nkw=pulse+itx&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=m570.l1313#shpCntId or this: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/rx-580-8gb-msi/263838665483?hash=item3d6e028b0b:g:3T0AAOSwDg1bSaQD&LH_PrefLoc=1&_sop=15&_sacat=0&_nkw=rx+580+itx&_from=R40&rt=nc Seriously considering the RX 570 as the full cost including import fees and shipping (oof) still bring it in ~$100 less BEFORE taxes for a new one in Canada. It would also offset the cost of RAM (double oof). That and the RX 580 is ~3 cm too long

 

[VegetableStu]

@Soul_Est something's wrong with those ebay links ._.

 

[Soul_Est]

@Soul_Est something's wrong with those ebay links ._.

That's odd. They're both loading for me. Anyone else having issues?

Pictures do say it better than I can atm:

Spoiler: RX 570 Pulse ITX vs. RX 580 8G V1

Sapphire RX 570 Pulse ITX:

MSI RX 580 8G V1:

 

[el01]

@tinyitx

I went to 成都电脑城(ChengDu Electronics City), specifically the 百脑one today to take a look. The first floor was completely laptops, I didn't like it very much, with salespeople throwing themselves at me advertising their brands. By the restrooms, there was an internet cafe sponsored by MSi. Sadly, I didn't have time to log in and play Overwatch to take a closer look at their machines .

The next floor was mostly phone accessories and I didn't take a very close look there. Nothing related there though.

The 3rd floor was the good stuff. Cases, motherboards, GPUs, etc. etc. I bought an H81 ITX board from Colorful, and an 500GB 3.5" HDD for my server. The seller I met with was very very responsible, showing us pricing options from TaoBao, TMall, and JD; along with showing us the health of the HDD/motherboard. There wasn't much ITX stuff (I guess in Chengdu there isn't much of a market for SFF PCs), but there were a ton of microATX and ATX motherboards. Also, I saw a strange form factor as wide as ITX (17 cm) but as long as microATX...

The 4th and 5th floors were rented out to other people, and finally the top floor had system builders (not of interest to me).

Pricing was fairly reasonable, so I'm happy

Finally, on my way out, I checked out the ThinkPad E480 (similar to the E485 I'm planning on getting), it was pretty nice...

Had lunch at 乡村基(a fast food Chinese chain), was really really good

The Chengdu subway was really really nice and clean. 3号 (3rd line) was really packed, but was really fast and effective. Then, 7号(7th line) was really nice and had almost no people. After a bus ride to Walmart to pick up some veggies (and to exhaust my bus card before the deadline), I got home and played some Subway Surfers/Temple Run. Yes, I know. I managed to prevent my grandma from watching养身堂(this Chinese "health" TV show that recommends 24-7 massage as a great way to stave off cancer), but then I realized my mom had a migraine. My mom woke up fine though around 8:00 local time. Yaay! I'm typing this from my uncle's much more comfortable apartment where I sleep, and I'm ready to go for a walk

 

[VegetableStu]

That's odd. They're both loading for me. Anyone else having issues?

dammit I wasn't clear, sorry ,_, they're anrdoezrs links

Also, I saw a strange form factor as wide as ITX (17 cm) but as long as microATX

oh they're also under microATX if I remember right o_o

 

[el01]

dammit I wasn't clear, sorry ,_, they're anrdoezrs links


oh they're also under microATX if I remember right o_o

jfc mein gott

 

[IntoxicatedPuma]

I went to 成都电脑城(ChengDu Electronics City), specifically the 百脑one today to take a look. The first floor was completely laptops, I didn't like it very much, with salespeople throwing themselves at me advertising their brands. By the restrooms, there was an internet cafe sponsored by MSi. Sadly, I didn't have time to log in and play Overwatch to take a closer look at their machines .

That street used to have more malls on it. There is one down near Kehua Bei Lu and YiHuan Lu but its been abandoned and shut down. There is also one around the corner from it near Xinnanmen but I think its also about abandoned.

Don't forget to eat Tian Shui Mian while you are there!

 

[Soul_Est]

Started looking at this for Full Circle: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Sapphire-PULSE-ITX-Radeon-RX-570-4GB-GDDR5-PCI-E-HDMI-In-Hand-Ready-To-Ship/163169594426?hash=item25fdaa6c3a:g:ZwUAAOSwg5VbWSb3&LH_PrefLoc=1&_sop=15&_sacat=0&_nkw=pulse+itx&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=m570.l1313#shpCntId or this: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/rx-580-8gb-msi/263838665483?hash=item3d6e028b0b:g:3T0AAOSwDg1bSaQD&LH_PrefLoc=1&_sop=15&_sacat=0&_nkw=rx+580+itx&_from=R40&rt=nc Seriously considering the RX 570 as the full cost including import fees and shipping (oof) still bring it in ~$100 less BEFORE taxes for a new one in Canada. It would also offset the cost of RAM (double oof). That and the RX 580 is ~3 cm too long

Really tempted to get the RX 570 or RX 580. I then took a look at the Ryzen 3 2200G and Ryzen 5 2400G. I figure, if I wait until next year to upgrade the machine, the cost/month for CPU and Video Card combined would be $11.77 and $18.83 respectively. Pretty good compared to the $50.00+ that I'm looking at now with a discrete CPU and Video Card. Hmmm...

 

[el01]

That street used to have more malls on it. There is one down near Kehua Bei Lu and YiHuan Lu but its been abandoned and shut down. There is also one around the corner from it near Xinnanmen but I think its also about abandoned.

Don't forget to eat Tian Shui Mian while you are there!

Ah, well... I've eaten what I've eaten

 

[tinyitx]

@tinyitx
I went to 成都电脑城(ChengDu Electronics City)....

Sound like you had a good day!

I used to go to the software section whenever I went to a computer mall/shop to check out any new Chinese fonts released. I think I have them all (or, almost all...lol) by now.

 

[el01]

I changed my logo! Yaaay!

The colors are for my various "idealized" color combinations: dark blue and yellow, darker (less flashy) red and grey, and grey+black.

 

[Biowarejak]

Wiped out on my moped due to a front brake issue. I'm fine, the median is fine, the bike is scratched to hell but fine. Just need to fix that brake. Ditching into the median was... fun. Oddly. Bike rubbed its sidewall on the curb because I took the turn too fast (loss of braking power) and I ditched. Thankfully I was able to pick it back up and have it running again before more traffic came along.

 

[VegetableStu]

nuts o_o hope you're not hurt too much