Lipstick on a Pig – “Treasure Box” Refurbished Gaming PC Review

[Radium_Angel]

1 minute ago, Sheeto said:

I'll try my best to answer them.

Yeah, where'd you get the bling'd out sticky tape that cover's the PC, and how is it applied, by machine or by hand?

[Gyari]

7 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

Yeah, where'd you get the bling'd out sticky tape that cover's the PC, and how is it applied, by machine or by hand?

By hand. It's a wrap that's cut precisely for the model. As for where we get it, I'm not sure!

[Needfuldoer]

8 hours ago, Chuck652 said:

Windows 10 will not be sold after Jan 31st 2023 according to Download Windows 10 Home | Microsoft

Windows 11 won't install on these computers... short lived business model?

 

If the refurbishers are certified through Microsoft, they're getting discounted replacement licenses. They're not buying retail copies of Windows 10 Home for each one they sell.

 

Officially, they should be good until Windows 10 is sunset in 2025. Unofficially, the published Windows 11 system requirements are more like suggestions or guidelines than a hard requirement.

[TheHolyLancer]

On 12/7/2022 at 4:00 PM, Radium_Angel said:

 

Closest I could find...might give you a lead on a proper one

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255801036867664.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt&_randl_shipto=US

 

yeah thats all the things I can find too, since a 5.25 drive bay one is that much easier to deal with (I assume just plug in sata or even old molex power to it and slot it in) vs these more custom stuff that you more or less have to DIY more of.

 

welp that is too bad

[TheHolyLancer]

On 12/8/2022 at 8:01 AM, Gyari said:

Hey I've configured the Treasure Box computer! Not sure if this is one I've built but it's was very surprising to hear some discussion of our company from the largest tech content creator. If you have any questions or if LTT has any questions, I'll try my best to answer them. Thanks

not sure if you know, since I think it was another machine, but do you sell / know where I can buy those double stack 5.25 drive infinity mirrors?

 

I got a core x9 case with missing drive panel covers that I am currently covering with some foam for filtration over that I would love to replace with one of those so if you'd know I would love to have a link lol

[sub68]

On 12/8/2022 at 1:11 PM, NastyFlytrap said:

Money and ideologies never mix well, and you know which one's going to take a hike if a choice has to be made.

iirc bilibili can't give them the money due to them being in NA. I remember it was WAN show or smth I can't remember by the top of my head.

[sub68]

2 minutes ago, NastyFlytrap said:

Yes, but they are still spreading, and gaining an audience, and thats probably enough for Linus.

Yes, but remember NO ONE in china can view youtube so that's why Linus wanted to go into that market (Heck a bunch of his staff help in that) and with going into that media abiding with foreign rules does suck, but the consequences are really high like loosing a entire media market. Yeah you can see that I work in media fields Lol.

Heck I made a entire english paper devoted to chinese censorship, finnished it like two days ago.

 

Heck it reminds me of Foxxconn's shenzen iphone factory debacle, Foxxconn bassicly had to keep that factory separate (due to china labor laws) but can't put there rules (because geopolitics) but can't pull it out as its used to make iphones and uhm that would suck for apple and foxxconn (not too mention other compainies operating in that)

[Radium_Angel]

31 minutes ago, sub68 said:

finnished it like two days ago.

I'd love to read that. 

[sub68]

14 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

I'd love to read that. 

Sure I will PM you

[TempestCatto]

On 12/8/2022 at 2:47 AM, danwat1234 said:

-snip-

Running your own super computer node? Trying to crack the nuclear launch codes? Mining Doge Coin? Your electric bill must be a phone number haha. But for real, I'm really curious as to what you've got going on there.

[danwat1234]

24 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

Running your own super computer node? Trying to crack the nuclear launch codes? Mining Doge Coin? Your electric bill must be a phone number haha. But for real, I'm really curious as to what you've got going on there.

A whole lot of World Community Grid Mapping Cancer Markers. #3 spot but it varies from other users performance and i have SiDock and Rosetta@home attached to BOINC. .https://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/stat/viewStatsByMemberY.do?sort=points  Would be neat to set up a beowulf cluster over Windows 10 and AC WIFI..

[sub68]

37 minutes ago, danwat1234 said:

A whole lot of World Community Grid Mapping Cancer Markers. #3 spot but it varies from other users performance and i have SiDock and Rosetta@home attached to BOINC. .https://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/stat/viewStatsByMemberY.do?sort=points  Would be neat to set up a beowulf cluster over Windows 10 and AC WIFI..

Nice your contributing to that project, I work with people that give me Dell optiplexes so I have a lot of 2-4 gen intel machines just kicking around.

one is a build for my brother.

 

a inspirion I am going to be using for transcoding blurays.

a rando HP compaq that used to be the main machine just sits (network is borked)

( I might have some more but most have been salveged)

[tkitch]

1 hour ago, TempestCatto said:

Running your own super computer node? Trying to crack the nuclear launch codes? Mining Doge Coin? Your electric bill must be a phone number haha. But for real, I'm really curious as to what you've got going on there.

those boxes are not high powered.
going full tilt I'd be shocked if they cracked 100w (which I can't imagine that project is running them full tilt)

[TempestCatto]

1 hour ago, danwat1234 said:

A whole lot of World Community Grid Mapping Cancer Markers. #3 spot but it varies from other users performance and i have SiDock and Rosetta@home attached to BOINC. .https://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/stat/viewStatsByMemberY.do?sort=points  Would be neat to set up a beowulf cluster over Windows 10 and AC WIFI..

That's pretty cool actually. I never understood this stuff enough to get into it myself (it confuses me ;-; ) But good thing for smarter people that do!

[sub68]

1 hour ago, tkitch said:

those boxes are not high powered.
going full tilt I'd be shocked if they cracked 100w (which I can't imagine that project is running them full tilt)

Each one has atleast 4 cores at ~3.5ghz. 6-8th gen intel CPU's.

They have 4 times the cores as a PS3 and I remember some PS3 clusters were 8 of them so.

I count more than 100 PC so like 400 cores paired together sure its not alot but you can do some compute.

I am gonna assume this is 64 bit each 64 bit of intel i series can do 16 64bit FLOPS. so 100*16= 1600 FLOPS that not bad for a bunch of PC's hooked up

[danwat1234]

On 12/11/2022 at 7:11 PM, tkitch said:

those boxes are not high powered.
going full tilt I'd be shocked if they cracked 100w (which I can't imagine that project is running them full tilt)

Yeah, they all are at 100% 24/7.  6th gen Skylakes are about 70-75 watts at the wall. 4th gen crunches almost as fast as 6th but uses more power about 80W. 2nd gen not much. 

8th, 9th Coffee lakes i5-8500 85-90 watts, i7-8700 and i7-9700 ~95W but more efficient. It does add up. $700 or so + $100 green credits.  They all have a 180w or 200w mini-server style (hot dog) PSU. 4th gen and earlier is getting to be too inefficient but they were dirt cheap like $60 each shipped.

That rise in the light blue is 2021. Toward the end of the year i was completing my Chia farm (not profitable). Then BOINC mania since ~November 2021.

EDIT:: If you undervolt the i5-6500 or i5-6600 in a Dell SFF by 120mV, power consumption is about 50 watts. Maybe 55 with a hot-running hard drive. 

I5-8500 Dell or HP SFF; no undervolt (it's locked) but turning down the turbos to 50w package power gives ~70w at the wall but still 3.4GHZ all core BOINCing. 

@TempestCatto, it's just legos. When I get a new box I found from a popular auction site, I go into the BIOS and set 'Power On as what to do when it's plugged in so if there is a power outage it'll resume. Do a fan test.   I plug a USB into a new box and install Windows 10. After it's done I disable power management, windows updates, windows defender, set task bar how i want, disable app notifications, mute sound,  set computer name as seen on a network to something that makes sense because that will be used in the BOINC account i use to monitor., set up chrome remote desktop, setup BOINC. Set taskbar app pins.  Then i throw it onto the others and update my notes of where each machine is and i'm done. 

Edited December 20, 2022 by danwat1234
Added some efficiency data

[sub68]

2 minutes ago, danwat1234 said:

4th gen crunches almost as fast as 6th but uses more power about 80W. 2nd gen not much. 

Seems about right...

I rember my old i5 3470 has a higher TDP than my current machine but same clock

[sub68]

17 minutes ago, danwat1234 said:

4th gen and earlier is getting to be too inefficient but they were dirt cheap like $60

You would love the university I live near there surplus we're you can get 7th gen - 8th Dell sff optiplexs for like 50usd. 

It constant due to it being a pretty massive university, also idk anything electlly but we have 17c per kwh

[danwat1234]

27 minutes ago, sub68 said:

You would love the university I live near there surplus we're you can get 7th gen - 8th Dell sff optiplexs for like 50usd. 

It constant due to it being a pretty massive university, also idk anything electlly but we have 17c per kwh

I don't know why they would ever sell them. Just put in an SSD, 16GB RAM. Replace fans every 5 years, golden. They only sell locally eh? 

[sub68]

23 minutes ago, danwat1234 said:

don't know why they would ever sell them. Just put in an SSD, 16GB RAM.

To be fair this was 2021 I believe, they already have ssd (which were ripped out to resale). 

But atleast for the university computers are replaced every 5 years, these are generally computer lab. Also I know the university can A afford it and B has grants.

28 minutes ago, danwat1234 said:

They only sell locally eh?

Sadly yeah. The ebay store is usually camera gear etc

[danwat1234]

57 minutes ago, sub68 said:

To be fair this was 2021 I believe, they already have ssd (which were ripped out to resale). 

But atleast for the university computers are replaced every 5 years, these are generally computer lab. Also I know the university can A afford it and B has grants.

Sadly yeah. The ebay store is usually camera gear etc

Well feel free to pick up a pile when they have another round and heat your house! Maybe add cool RGBs. I saw a Youtube with cheap Aliexpress/eBay parts. 

You can get a 128GB SSD for $20

[sub68]

22 minutes ago, danwat1234 said:

Well feel free to pick up a pile when they have another round and heat your house!

Lol maybe I could start a render farm.

22 minutes ago, danwat1234 said:

You can get a 128GB SSD for $20

I love the 6th gen on up due to m.2 slots. I have a samsung 970 Evo in mine due to reliability issues.

[danwat1234]

5 minutes ago, sub68 said:

Lol maybe I could start a render farm.

I love the 6th gen on up due to m.2 slots. I have a samsung 970 Evo in mine due to reliability issues.

Render farm? How do you set up rendering/encoding of video across multiple computers? Or would you set it up as a cluster.  I'd set up BOINC too it runs in low priority

[sub68]

5 hours ago, danwat1234 said:

would you set it up as a cluste

I would do it as a cluster 

[YellowJersey]

You can tell that Linus isn't from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) just by how he pronounces "Toronto." It's pronounced "cherana!"

Also, given GTA traffic, their offices are probably more like an hour apart. The joke is, Toronto is an hour away from Toronto. One of the reasons I don't live there anymore (but I still like to visit).