aaaaaactually. i can get a newer chip, too.

lol.

why would i get an i5 if it lacks hyperthreading? let me look at the i7s.

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/P9D_WS/HelpDesk_CPU/

rave board review.

it's asus. i know.

the one i bought in 1998 still runs. the one i bought in 2007 still runs. it's time for a new one. and, all three will still be running in 2027, when i get #4.

who will #4 be for, though?

don't get me started on #5....

"#5 needs input. iiiiiinpuuuuuut."

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6035/asus-p9d-ws-workstation-motherboard-review/index.html

i'm going to just compare benchmarks. the differences in the lines have to do with things like encryption that don't concern me much.

my pentium D was fast when i bought it. i'm surprised it's even listed here, really. but, i've never had a performance issue, either. really, i haven't.

the 4th gen i3s are clearly a dramatic improvement over the D. i should notice it. it's good enough.

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Pentium-D-340GHz-vs-Intel-Core-i3-4370/m5820vs2817

but what about the other board, with the ridiculous ram, just to compare?

the fastest 6th gen i7 is actually only about 50% faster than the fastest 4th gen i3, and some of them are actually slower. i don't know why intel is being so weird with it's names, but whatever.

here's another comparison:
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/494/Intel_Core_i3_i3-4370_vs_Intel_Core_i5_i5-6600K.html

...which is weird to me, because i thought the generation shifts were all about efficiency. how did the i3 end up more efficient? the i5 is twice as fast for hyperthreading, but i'm actually more concerned about single-threading, as i use a lot of older software, and i could very well be booting into 32-bit xp for quite a while, still. they're the same...

so.

my new machine will have this board/chip combo:
https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Motherboards/P9D_WS/specifications/  (~ 235 us)
http://ark.intel.com/products/77495/Intel-Core-i3-4370-Processor-4M-Cache-3_80-GHz (~$140 us)

if i want to stay in budget, that leaves me with around $200-$300 to build the rest of it, which is just going to be the case/psu, memory and some drives. but, it's an arbitrary ceiling. i wasn't expecting to upgrade desktop 2.

i've never put a machine together with my own hands from total scratch before. i'll have to think about that carefully. i might pay for assembly, just so i can blame somebody. plus, the stores have parts and cases. it might cost me less to pay for assembly than it would to pay for shipping.

or, maybe i can find it pre-assembled.

but, that's the new machine. it's not so new, absolutely. but, it will be a lot faster.

and, i guess i'd might as well swank it out with an ssd for programs and that extra 2 tb disc. i'll have to go through piece by piece and figure out where things ought to be before i decide exactly what i need. but, i should have ample optical drives, and most of the disc space, even. i'm going to need a second audiophile card, i guess. it's all very minor....

let's have a good singalong with a golden oldie.

c'mon, kids. you know the words...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoA_zY6tqQw

the president did campaign on a muslim ban, and he won that election.

the court will evaluate a number of legal questions, sure. but, it cannot overturn the results of the election.

the democratic legitimacy of the policy as an expression of the popular will will be central to the ruling, when it comes.

i'm realizing that i have no idea what processor is faster than any other anymore.

you'd think i7>i5>i3. but, apparently not. it's generational.

my initial feeling was that you'll never tell the difference: they're all really fast. but, let me try and get my head around this just a little....

it's probably the year i want to check. and, i'm probably fine with anything in the last five years. really.

well, i found one:
https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Motherboards/P9D_WS/specifications/

almost. so close.

firewire + 2 pcis means i don't lose anything in my recording studio. and, i can put dual 8s in, making it an upgrade that isn't ridiculous.

this is almost the board i want.

it would just be nice if i could take an i5.

but, that is the least of my concerns.

the other option, right now, is this:
https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Motherboards/B150-PLUS/specifications/

that can take an i7, but i'd have to dual at a ridiculous 2x16. i'll have to use my firewire pci card. and, it actually has less expansion and fewer usbs, although they're both ample.

there are some other options i might consider for the access point, but they'd involve buying pcie cards for firewire or lan, which strikes me as silly. right now, it looks like i'm doing an upgrade in the music room, primarily.

the only thing i can imagine 32 gb of ram being useful for is government surveillance.

the firewire thing is a kind of a big deal for me.

modern asus boards come with thunderbolt connectors on the board, but you have to buy a pci-e card. i'd then have to get an adapter.

the purpose of the setup is intrinsically connected to a 1394a device. any machine in this space needs to be designed to utilize that device. i will not be updating that device.

i'm not really happy about bringing a 1394a pci card into it, but it's certainly better than using the thunderbolt header..

i'm going to exhaust my options with asus. but i may have to move on.

so, they call vga ports "d-sub" nowadays.

back to the drawing board...

yeah. i may have jumped to conclusions regarding the idea of swapping the boards out, or moving the machines over at all. i need to slow down a tad and work this out a little more carefully.

why don't i list my options.

1)) i could leave desktop 2 where it is and buy a new desktop 3. if i do that, i'll want to get something cheap; 8 gb max. that will help me find the right specs, too. ps/2 outs. integrated video. no wireless. lots of usb. etc.

2) i could move desktop 2 in here (minus the peripherals) and buy a new desktop 3 (using some parts from desktop 2). in that case,

a) what os would i use for desktop 2? xp 32 winlited? xp 64 (winlited?)? 7 64? answer: i'd need to experiment. is this a minor oe major concern? dependent on optins.

b) can i find an ideal desktop 2 board? or an ideal desktop 3 board?

that's maybe where i should start: what can i find? can i find the perfect board for one or the other? and, if so, how can i adjust the other?

and, what if i find two ideal boards?

ideal desktop 2: basically the p5b-premium, except the chipset was iffy for 64-bit with 2007 tech. i need to experiment.
ideal desktop 3: 16 gb ram max (8 for now). no wifi. firewire in back. ps/2. ample sata & usb. integrated vga video.

k.

i'm going to search every single asus board for the ideals, and go from there.

so, what am i looking for in this thing?

i need:
- some firewire of some sort. that's obscure, today. especially in a non-mac. i happen to have a pci card. i could buy a pcie card. but, i'd rather it be native.
- i don't care about the video out. i don't game. it's a recording pc. i'd like a cheap monitor, too. so, i'd like an integrated vga out, please. otherwise, i'm either looking for a dvi monitor or a dvi-->vga, or sadly an hdmi---> vga, out. i'm not paying for an hdmi monitor to mix on.
- ps/2 mouse & keyboard would, in fact, be preferable, but this is minor. well, maybe one of those fail safe combos would be acceptable.
- i want four ram slots, because i'm only going to start with two. 16, 32, 64, whatever. i'll get there eventually. or, i may split my oczs in half to get desktop 3 up to 6/8.
- i'm actually not at all concerned about the processor. they're all really fast, nowadays.
- no wireless.
- 6+ sata connections.

also, these idea about swapping cases won't actually work. the new board won't have a floppy connector, or example, and the new case won't have space for a floppy drive. hey, i've been in scenarios where i've actually had to use it. if i'm buying a board with 6 sata connectors, it should ship in a large enough space to plug them in, right?

the only things i can't get around are the number of sata connectors and the number of dimms; and, i don't want a wireless card. i'll have to check each model for the ideal, then circle back. right now, i'm nodding off....

and, i went to find the manual, just to be sure.

this is the actual model:
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5B_Premium_Vista_Edition/specifications/

same form factor. and all the things i want, in here.