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What's the most unusual (but useful) piece of technology you own?

SGM
By SGM
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As the title reads, what's the most unusual yet useful piece of technology you own? 

I don't have any (yet) but I'm interested in seeing what;s out there. 

The only time incorrectly is spelled incorrectly is when it is spelled incorrectly.

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Surface Pro 3?

• NCASE M1 • i5-9600k • GTX 1080 FE • Z370N-WIFI • SF600 • NH-U9S • LPX 32GB • 960EVO •

I'm a self-identifying Corsair & Nvidia Fanboy; Get over it.

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Probably not unusual tech but I'm probably unusual for having them but I have like 11 CPU's sat doing nothing.

DESKTOP - Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H Processor - Intel Core i5-2500K @ Stock 1.135v Cooling - Cooler Master Hyper TX3 RAM - Kingston Hyper-X Fury White 4x4GB DDR3-1866 Graphics Card - MSI GeForce GTX 780 Lightning PSU - Seasonic M12II EVO Edition 850w  HDD -  WD Caviar  Blue 500GB (Boot Drive)  /  WD Scorpio Black 750GB (Games Storage) / WD Green 2TB (Main Storage) Case - Cooler Master 335U Elite OS - Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate

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Id say remote start in my truck. 

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In this day and age... a pager. I still use mine for some very specific applications.

~Remember to quote posts to continue support on your thread~
-Don't be this kind of person-

CPU:  AMD Ryzen 7 5800x | RAM: 2x16GB Crucial Ripjaws Z | Cooling: XSPC/EK/Bitspower loop | MOBO: Gigabyte x570 Aorus Master | PSU: Seasonic Prime 750 Titanium  

SSD: 250GB Samsung 980 PRO (OS) | 1TB Crucial MX500| 2TB Crucial P2 | Case: Phanteks Evolv X | GPU: EVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 (with EK Block) | HDD: 1x Seagate Barracuda 2TB

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In this day and age... a pager. I still use mine for some very specific applications.

That awkward moment when you realize pagers are actually making a comeback (smartwatches).

PSU Tier List | CoC

Gaming Build | FreeNAS Server

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i5-4690k || Seidon 240m || GTX780 ACX || MSI Z97s SLI Plus || 8GB 2400mhz || 250GB 840 Evo || 1TB WD Blue || H440 (Black/Blue) || Windows 10 Pro || Dell P2414H & BenQ XL2411Z || Ducky Shine Mini || Logitech G502 Proteus Core

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FreeNAS 9.3 - Stable || Xeon E3 1230v2 || Supermicro X9SCM-F || 32GB Crucial ECC DDR3 || 3x4TB WD Red (JBOD) || SYBA SI-PEX40064 sata controller || Corsair CX500m || NZXT Source 210.

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My SHIELD is pretty useful for when I get bored, but it's just too odd a form factor and device type.

Main Rig: CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | RAM: 32GB (2x16GB) KLEVV CRAS XR RGB DDR4-3600 | Motherboard: Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX | Storage: 512GB SKHynix PC401, 1TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus, 2x Micron 1100 256GB SATA SSDs | GPU: EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra 10GB | Cooling: ThermalTake Floe 280mm w/ be quiet! Pure Wings 3 | Case: Sliger SM580 (Black) | PSU: Lian Li SP 850W

 

Server: CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3100 | RAM: 32GB (2x16GB) Crucial DDR4 Pro | Motherboard: ASUS PRIME B550-PLUS AC-HES | Storage: 128GB Samsung PM961, 4TB Seagate IronWolf | GPU: AMD FirePro WX 3100 | Cooling: EK-AIO Elite 360 D-RGB | Case: Corsair 5000D Airflow (White) | PSU: Seasonic Focus GM-850

 

Miscellaneous: Dell Optiplex 7060 Micro (i5-8500T/16GB/512GB), Lenovo ThinkCentre M715q Tiny (R5 2400GE/16GB/256GB), Dell Optiplex 7040 SFF (i5-6400/8GB/128GB)

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That awkward moment when you realize pagers are actually making a comeback (smartwatches).

I thought about that... :P significantly more functional that a pager though.

I'm talking about one of these ancient bricks of technological marvel though...

Pager_12.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

:P

The batteries for this sucker are somewhere around $18/cell. last years though... :P

~Remember to quote posts to continue support on your thread~
-Don't be this kind of person-

CPU:  AMD Ryzen 7 5800x | RAM: 2x16GB Crucial Ripjaws Z | Cooling: XSPC/EK/Bitspower loop | MOBO: Gigabyte x570 Aorus Master | PSU: Seasonic Prime 750 Titanium  

SSD: 250GB Samsung 980 PRO (OS) | 1TB Crucial MX500| 2TB Crucial P2 | Case: Phanteks Evolv X | GPU: EVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 (with EK Block) | HDD: 1x Seagate Barracuda 2TB

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Id say remote start in my truck. 

That sounds pretty useful actually though you'd have to be careful not to leave it in gear without the parking break on. :P

The only time incorrectly is spelled incorrectly is when it is spelled incorrectly.

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A random 8GB USB thumb drive (used for making bootable Windows media in a pinch, or installing drivers for friend's computers), a smartphone (useful for communication with others, quickly looking something up, playing music during an event, or setting up a hotspot when no internet access is available), and chewy trail mix bars when you've been up for 18 hours and need that extra little push to make it through the day. 

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Cooling pad for my laptop. Not common but keeps the thing cool af even when I'm gaming. My GPU tops out at like 55 Celsius with it.

CPU: AMD FX-6300 4GHz @ 1.3 volts | CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO | RAM: 8GB DDR3

Motherboard: Gigabyte 970A-DS3P | GPU: EVGA GTX 960 SSC | SSD: 250GB Samsung 850 EVO

HDD: 1TB WD Caviar Green | Case: Fractal Design Core 2500 | OS: Windows 10 Home

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USB 3 to SATA/IDE adapter. That thing has saved me more times than I could count. That or the several usb extension cables I have.

I've built 3 PC's, but none for myself... In fact, I'm using an iMac that my dad bought for me as my desktop. Awkward...

Please don't say "SSD drive." By doing so, you are literally saying "Solid State Drive Drive" and causing my brain cells to commit suicide. The same applies to HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express).

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I have this weird retractable usb/aux cable set with detachable heads for different iPhones and mini usb devices.

Case:Define R4 | MOBO:ASRock z75 Pro 3 | CPU:i7-3770k 4.0GHz | CPU Cooler:H100i | GPU:970 Strix | RAM:Hyper X 16GB | 


Peripherals:ATH-M50x Limited Blue Edition | K95 RGB | M65 RGB | Blue Yeti MIC | (3x)1920x2080 Acer Monitors


 

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Of all things, probably the Logitech G700S Micro USB cable. It's a basic (if quite large) micro USB cable, but it's about twice the length of a typical one. Nice for hooking my phone up to the back of my PC. Also, useful since I just leave it sitting on the desk and can simply grab it.

 

Also, I guess my Apple keyboard, it's thin enough to just shove behind my desk or next to my PC, useful if I have a second machine on my desk for whatever reason.

 

Additionally, an old 4th Gen iPod Nano I have is rather useful, great for having a device that is less valuable then my phone for exercising and other things where I want music but don't want to risk my more expensive device. And it can be used as a flashdrive.

Normandy - Intel Core i5 3470, 8 GB Corsair Vengenace LP, EVGA GTX 960 SSC, Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H-MVP, WD Blue 1 TB, Seagate 320 GB (steam), Seagate 320 GB (experimental, second OS, etc), Windows 8.1 + Ubuntu 14.10

Garrus - HP Stream 11

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EnergyMeter_290.jpg

This thing, my trusty energy meter.
Without it, I would've never known that my cheap micro usb cable I got on ebay were barely able to even deliver 2W of power to my tablets... Replacing it when a proper cable, that cost me $12 for 10feet (a bit too long... but the 3 feet model was $9... so, yeah... I'd rather have more than not enough.) which is actually able to deliver 10~12W of power, actually able to charge my tablets in about an hour compared to the previous 10 hours...
I also know that my PC barely even consume 400W on Max load, in a worst case scenario with prime95 and kombustor running, so if my PSU ever give out, I can just take a 500W one instead.

 

 

 

The batteries for this sucker are somewhere around $18/cell. last years though... :P

Surely you can find some cheaper alternatives on dealextreme or some other place on the web?

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3700x / GPU: Asus Radeon RX 6750XT OC 12GB / RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8GB DDR4-3200
MOBO: MSI B450m Gaming Plus / NVME: Corsair MP510 240GB / Case: TT Core v21 / PSU: Seasonic 750W / OS: Win 10 Pro

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My ouya has to be one of the most strange, yet useful devices I own. Full media capabilities, game streaming, and emulation.

ouya-16gb.jpg

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I have a bunch of old Pentium 4's, and a USB to IDE, laptop IDE, and SATA adapter. Along with a power brick that only has one ground connection (which is a pain for things like my Sentry Mix 2).

Main rig on profile

VAULT - File Server

Spoiler

Intel Core i5 11400 w/ Shadow Rock LP, 2x16GB SP GAMING 3200MHz CL16, ASUS PRIME Z590-A, 2x LSI 9211-8i, Fractal Define 7, 256GB Team MP33, 3x 6TB WD Red Pro (general storage), 3x 1TB Seagate Barracuda (dumping ground), 3x 8TB WD White-Label (Plex) (all 3 arrays in their respective Windows Parity storage spaces), Corsair RM750x, Windows 11 Education

Sleeper HP Pavilion A6137C

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Intel Core i7 6700K @ 4.4GHz, 4x8GB G.SKILL Ares 1800MHz CL10, ASUS Z170M-E D3, 128GB Team MP33, 1TB Seagate Barracuda, 320GB Samsung Spinpoint (for video capture), MSI GTX 970 100ME, EVGA 650G1, Windows 10 Pro

Mac Mini (Late 2020)

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Apple M1, 8GB RAM, 256GB, macOS Sonoma

Consoles: Softmodded 1.4 Xbox w/ 500GB HDD, Xbox 360 Elite 120GB Falcon, XB1X w/2TB MX500, Xbox Series X, PS1 1001, PS2 Slim 70000 w/ FreeMcBoot, PS4 Pro 7015B 1TB (retired), PS5 Digital, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo Wii RVL-001 (black)

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This old fan (powered by the keyboard's usb port) and those two USB hubs make a nice cooling solution for my early '08 24" iMac.
Without this little peripheral the thing got shockingly hot.

post-45148-0-96321100-1415675730.jpg

Dream-phone: USB type-c (3.1), 1440p, 5-inch, removable battery, 32gb RAMdrive, sd card slot, stock Android, transparent atomic purple build, 9050 mah battery, waterproof AF, nuclear powered, ac wifi is fine.
                           OR a one-of-a-kind iphone that runs Android.

 

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I have a laptop cooling pad that heats up my laptop even more...

Mutsuki:

CPU: AMD A8 5600K @ 4.2GHz | Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-DS2 (rev. 1.0) | RAM: 2 x Kingston Low Profile 4GB 1333MHz | GPU: Sapphire R7 260X OC 2GB DDR5 2xDVI | HDD0: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM 3.5" (SATA II) | HDD1: WD Elements (WD Blue 1TB 3.5" SATA II) connected via USB 2.0 | HDD2: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm (SATA II) | DVD: Samsung DVD+RW combo drive | PSU: FSP Hexa 600W | Case: Aerocool PGS V | Cooling: DeepCool Gammaxx S40 (stock fan), 2x 120mm Aerocool fan 1xDeepCool 120mm fan from a scrapped heatsink

eMachines D732Z | CPU: Intel Pentium D P6100 | GPU: Intel HD 3000 | RAM: 2x Kingston ValueRAM 2GB 1066MHz SODIMM | HDD: Hitachi 320GB 5600RPM

Acer ES13 | CPU: Intel Pentium N4200 | GPU:  Intel HD 505 | RAM: 1x 4GB (unidentified) DDR3L | HDD: (unidentified) 500GB 5600RPM

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3d printer

 

temporary-18.jpg

Case: Phanteks Evolve X with ITX mount  cpu: Ryzen 3900X 4.35ghz all cores Motherboard: MSI X570 Unify gpu: EVGA 1070 SC  psu: Phanteks revolt x 1200W Memory: 64GB Kingston Hyper X oc'd to 3600mhz ssd: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1TB ITX System CPU: 4670k  Motherboard: some cheap asus h87 Ram: 16gb corsair vengeance 1600mhz

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

 

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3d printer

That. Is. Awesome! 

​What stuff have you made on it?

The only time incorrectly is spelled incorrectly is when it is spelled incorrectly.

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That. Is. Awesome! 

​What stuff have you made on it?

a bunch of random stuff like headphone holders along with some parts for my friends company.

Case: Phanteks Evolve X with ITX mount  cpu: Ryzen 3900X 4.35ghz all cores Motherboard: MSI X570 Unify gpu: EVGA 1070 SC  psu: Phanteks revolt x 1200W Memory: 64GB Kingston Hyper X oc'd to 3600mhz ssd: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1TB ITX System CPU: 4670k  Motherboard: some cheap asus h87 Ram: 16gb corsair vengeance 1600mhz

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

 

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An old trackball mouse and an old keyboard (which is broken two weeks ago) for opening my BIOS. Somehow my corsair K70 and M65 can't do that

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My pen and note pad I carry with me.

So much faster and easier to take and look up notes I've made vs trying to do it on my phone.

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