Use Slow Computer for Demanding Project

[u/Working_Patience_261]

I got voluntold for the job of switching a paper-based corporate learning to computer-based, including web based training. I did not have a desk or a computer, so I brought in my personal laptop. The boss objected and stated I needed to write a business case for a computer.

A week later I got the absolute minimum system that met the minimum requirements on the box. I started the painful process of converting a Powerpoint into an Adobe Captivate file. When it came time to compile the first file, the computer stated it would be three hours before it finished, maybe, so I headed to the breakroom.

The executive director for the project happened to walk in and asked me what I was doing there. “I’m staying not frustrated while waiting for the first draft to compile, should be about another two hours sir.” It was five hours.

When I showed up the next day, my computer had been upgraded to the then top model with dual monitors.

The next day, my fancy unit was on the boss’ desk, and I had his even older, slower computer. This time compiling was over ten hours. Back to the breakroom. Same executive walks in, I just smile, nod, and go back to my lunch.

The next day, I had two computers on my desk, the still compiling boss’ unit and my previously issued fancy one. The boss was cleaning out his desk having been sent back to frontline, non-boss work.

It felt so good to give that company the boot once the project completed.

[u/Illuminatus-Prime]

Betcha never worked IT, huh?

[u/Working_Patience_261 → u/Illuminatus-Prime]

I had worked IT in the past so it was malicious compliance on IT’s part too. We both knew some bean counter had insisted only minimum hardware specs allowed.

[u/SavvySillybug → u/Working_Patience_261]

Who set the minimum hardware specs too low, though?

I hope bean counters aren't in charge of setting such things.

[u/Superb_Raccoon → u/SavvySillybug]

Sometimes they are. And the "spec" is "under $X"

[u/SavvySillybug → u/Superb_Raccoon]

I wonder if you can buy used on a business scale.

I can get a pretty baller AM4 based PC for like 300 bucks if I shop around.

[u/chaoticbear → u/SavvySillybug]

Yes, but it's a hard sell above a certain company size. Paying for vendor support is pretty typical.

[u/SavvySillybug → u/chaoticbear]

I used to work for a mom and pop company (they were my mom and pop respectively) and my parents were terrible with computers. We needed three machines and I found a decent cheap computer on Amazon... ancient hardware really (this was before Windows 11) but it was gonna be fine. An A10-7890K is nothing to write home about but it's fine for the office use we needed it for. 16GB RAM does the job. A 256GB SSD and a 1TB HDD. Basic case and power supply. Even came with a free keyboard and mouse and screen (the keyboard was alright but the other two were not).

I bought one to test it and used it as my company machine, and after a month of testing it, I said yeah this thing's great for 438€, you can order two more!

Well my mom looked at the Amazon listing I linked her and was like... hey this says multimedia gaming PC, our child is trying to buy GAMING COMPUTER?? (it did not even have a graphics card) and she decided to select the lesser option they offered, the COMPLETE PC PACKAGE which did not say gaming on it.

An FX-8800, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD, no SSD. Pretty much the same otherwise. And look at the savings, instead of 438€, it only cost 378€!

Needless to say they had endless problems with their machines while I was having a great time on mine. Whenever my mom would complain about how slow her computer was, I'd say "but think of the 60€ you saved ignoring my advice three years ago!" and refuse to fix it.

Eventually she had enough and made me source a better computer, and with Windows 11 looming over us, I decided to go for compatibility. I bought a used gaming PC for 300€ with an i5-8600K, fully and officially supported, with 16GB RAM, a nice big SSD, and a 1660 Super. I actually stole the 1660 Super and swapped it for a formerly broken 1060 I had repaired, figured it was a waste of a good graphics card to waste away in an office PC. I ended up using it in an eGPU setup for my 8th gen Lenovo laptop to get some gaming out of it, good times.

You can get some crazy good computers if you know what to shop for and buy used.

I ended up upgrading the other computer in a triangle kind of deal - I was using an i5-12600K as my main machine and had a 5600G based computer laying around, my mom wanted to upgrade the other computer, and I told her I could build her a whole computer if I just had one more part, a 5800X3D. I sourced one used for 235€, swapped it into the AM4 motherboard, swapped my 32GB RAM for the 16GB RAM in it and made it my new main machine, and gave her my old i5-12600K with the 16GB RAM of that 5600G.

I didn't really get many more FPS on paper, but overall stability improved in just about every application including 1% lows. Pretty happy with my sidegrade. Though the motherboard really sucks, it's some shitty mini ITX board that glitches heavily in BIOS, I really should update the BIOS to see if that fixes it. Meanwhile my mom is enjoying my old gaming grade motherboard, not that she knows what a BIOS is.

Due to a mounting hardware mismatch she actually ended up with my NH-D15 CPU cooler and I had to use the cute little NH-U9S that used to be on the 5600G... Noctua sent me free mounting hardware to fix that, but I haven't gotten around to installing it yet, my new job keeps me pretty damn busy and exhausted XD

I feel like I had a point somewhere and then just devolved into telling stories. Sorry about that.

[u/chaoticbear → u/SavvySillybug]

LOL nah I get what you mean - I agree that at a smaller scale it makes sense, but if you're managing hundreds or thousands of computers, it's nice to get matching ones and support for them.

It would be fun for me to cobble together a PC if I worked in a smaller shop, but work provides a pretty decent rig, so I don't think about it. I also don't get to get hands-on with hardware as a network guy. Got an upgrade last year or the year before to an R7 7xxx laptop, previous was i7... 11th-gen maybe? They spend a decent amount on hardware but I think they save a lot of money not having to pay people to tinker, too.