What Have You Done Today - (Computer Version)

[Imari]

Just finished swapping parts around between my new computer and my old. Now I have i7-6700 w/ GTX 770 and an OC'd i5-2500K w/ GTX 950. Better that way round than the other, although I did have to switch PSUs as well to make it all not go up in smoke.

This will be the first time I've had a dedicated gaming machine. The 2500K can handle all the internet and photoshop and gentleman's entertainment, and the i7 can be pure games. Yum yum.

 

[dice1998]

One of my RAM sticks died so now i'm back to 8GB of RAM and I can't play The Witcher III with mods since I keep running out of memory every 5 minutes.

*edit*
Increasing my virtual memory seems to have helped me out.

 

[Swagger897]

Why must it be soo hard to find simple instructions when things don't work....


SSD wasn't being recognized before I tried cloning, so I did a few things on the interwebz to find out how to fix it. Turns out Magician doesn't work too well on W10 yet, so had to download the generic software (which worked much better).

Now I've got 170 gigs of space left, and everything flies around the place like crazy!!

Best part is no more strange cricket sounds on startup/cold.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

So my dad bought another monitor on Black Friday a while ago for his older computer. But as a "proof of concept" I set it up on my main computer for a dual monitor set up. Pretty cool. I'm probably not going to keep it like this though.

 

[Darla Starch]

Finally got around to installing Classic Shell and how did I get along this far without it?

 

[eran0004]

I made a dice script in Python 3.4. At first I thought it would be a simple "generate a random number from 1 to 6" script, but I soon realised that I wanted additional functionality, such as selecting the number of dice to be thrown, calculating the sum and the average values of the dice, an option to count only the top (or bottom) X values (e.g. throw three dice but only count the two highest) and an option to customize the dice values (e.g. instead of a simple range from 1 to 6 it could be three 1, two 2 and one 3, or a range from 1 to 100, or even a dice with letters and words instead of numbers).

So this is what the script looks like right now:

from random import randint

class Dice():
   
    '''This is a dice object, performing dice rolls.
number_of_dice is the default number of dice for this object.
dice_range is a tuple with the lowest and highest value of the dice,
typically (1, 6).
Use dice_values to create custom values for the dice.'''

    def __init__(self, number_of_dice=1, dice_range=(1, 6), dice_values = []):
        self.nod = number_of_dice
        self.set_values(dice_values, dice_range)

    def __convert_to_values__(self, rolls, top):       
        rollval = []
        isint = True
        for item in rolls:
            value = self.values[item-1]
            if isint == True and type(value) is not int:
                isint = False
            rollval.append(value)
           
        if isint == True:
            if top == 0:
                output = self.__sum__(rollval)
            else:
                output = self.__top__(rollval, top)
        else:
            output = (rollval)
        return output

    def __sum__(self, rolls):
        rollsum = sum(rolls)
        rollavg = rollsum / len(rolls)
        output = (rollsum, rollavg, rolls)
        return output

    def __top__(self, rolls, top):     
        if top > len(rolls):
            top = len(rolls)
        toprolls = []
        toprolls.extend(rolls[0:top])
        output = self.__sum__(toprolls)
        if output[2] != rolls:
            output = list(output)
            output.append(rolls)
            output = tuple(output)
        return output

    def roll(self, number_of_dice=0, top=0, top_to_bottom=True):
        low = self.range[0]
        high = self.range[1]
        if number_of_dice == 0:
            number_of_dice = self.nod
        rolls = []
        for i in range(0, number_of_dice):
            roll = randint(low, high)
            rolls.append(roll)
        rolls = sorted(rolls, reverse=top_to_bottom)

        if len(self.values) == 0:
            if top == 0:
                output = self.__sum__(rolls)
            else:
                output = self.__top__(rolls, top)
        else:
            output = self.__convert_to_values__(rolls, top)
        return output

    def set_values(self, dice_values = [], dice_range=(1, 6)):
        self.values = dice_values
        if len(self.values) > 0:
            self.range = (1, len(self.values))
        elif type(dice_range[0]) is int and type(dice_range[1]) is int:
            self.range = (dice_range[0], dice_range[1])
        else:
            self.range = (1, 6)

So, to start with you create an object of the Dice class, e.g.:

d = Dice()

^ That's a standard dice ranging from 1 to 6.

To roll the dice, call the roll function:

d.roll()

And that may give you an output like this:

(4, 4, [4])

^ First item is the sum, second the average and the third is a list of all the rolls, but I only used one dice so the list only contains one item.

Here is another example, rolling three dice and only counting the top two:

d.roll(number_of_dice = 3, top = 2)

And that may give you something like this:

(10, 5, [6, 4], [6, 4, 3])

^ First three items are the sum, average and list of the top two rolls. The last item is a list of all the rolls, including the third one that wasn't counted.

Another thing you can do with the dice is to assign custom values. Like this for instance:

cars = Dice(dice_values=["Volvo 142", "Saab 96", "BMW 2002", "Alfa Romeo Giulia"])
tracks = Dice(dice_values=["Spa", "Monza", "La Sarthe", "Red Bull Ring", "Nordschleife"])

cars.roll()
(["Saab 96"])

tracks.roll()
(["Spa"])

^ That's a basic car and track combination generator

 

[Rallywagon]

I spent the weekend rearranging my den after pulling out my racing rig. At this point it's been taking up to much room without enough use to justify keeping it around. The plan now is to make a custom pedal box and just mount to the desk. Please excuse the mess.

Still working on how/where I want to store my electronics crap. Most of it will end up in a box until after this semester and can get back into tinkering.

After getting that done I decided it was time to upgrade the cooling going to my video card. So I replaced the case fan feeding it fresh air with this monster.

Don't let the picture fool you, this 3 bladed beast came out of an old server. I happened to salvage 4 of these. 120mm of hurricane. Oddly, I have some... 60mm I believe, in the case as well. Those are louder at full tilt that this. Those were CPU fans for a Dell PE 2950. Running all AMD, making sure I have adequate air movement is a must. This summer I intend on building a custom case/desk and will probably move to liquid cooling as well.

These last couple of days though i spent working on this.

Those dots are leds I've added to my head set using K'Nex (over 20+ years old, these things are. My daughter uses them now). I'll get some better pictures when I get a button and some connectors for the battery. It's just a small lipo battery for a quad copter or something similar, a resistor and three LEDs. Soldered them up with some wire, used liberal amounts of hot glue good to go. All things considered though, it came out pretty good.
That was actually the easy part. Setting up the software. That is where I think you pay for the freeware stuff. Freetrack works great, in its GUI, but crashes every time I launch a game. Figuring out how to set up the camera setting so it saw just the LEDs took more steps then it should have, but getting it running smooth on the test pane wasn't to rough. But, trying it getting working on war thunder and elite: dangerous wasn't happening.
FaceTrackNoIR had some pros and cons. Face tracking actually wasn't bad. With some more tweaking it could probably work really good. Getting the LEDs to register took more work though. I never did get it working with elite: dangerous on its own. Then, last minute I decide to try opentrack tonight. Of the three, this one got the worst reviews. If the three, it was the only one that worked on its own with ED, without the need for any software configurations outside of the normal curve and hot key stuff. No lag, but there is shutter, and not a way to smooth it out that I found yet. By launching ed with open track running I can stop it, and then run FTNIR and get both face track and IR working, movement is a little smoother, but lag is noticeable. I'm hoping to get it working without using open track, and then perhaps work the lag out.
Sadly, the one that looked to be the best of them send to be unstable and even with open track it would crash when a game launched, and not run while a game was running. Another day of fine tuning should show some better results. It's got to be said, using this for ED while hunting a few bounties was neat. Using the LEDs worked great, though I need to maybe get a different resistor, I think the LEDs need to be a bit brighter. Face tracking worked reasonably well as well. It was a little more twitchy when looking around and a bit more laggy, but that maybe be fixable. I look forward to trying this in war thunder. Even with a bit if twitchiness it is way better than using a mouse or a hat switch to look around. If you are thrifty, head tracking is really worth looking into.
That said, this is my view, minus the "junk" on the left portion of the desk in the top picture, for the next few months, fighting the urge to get in my Viper and get some baddies.

 

[eran0004]

This is not so much what I've done today, but what my browser has done. It has created a new game: "Guess The Unvisited Links"

Edit: Maybe it cut out all the letters it needed to write a ransom note?

 

[BobK]

I picked up a Raspberry Pi 2 a couple days ago, and have been just generally messing around with it. Noticeably snappier performance than the older RasPi.

 

[David]

New parts for the computer arrived yesterday, so it was out with the old and in with the new.

i7 950 -> i7 6700K
EVGA GTX480(x2) -> EVGA GTX980ti
12GB DDR3 -> 16GB DDR4 Corsair Dominator Platinum 3000mhz (Probably pick up the other 16GB next pay day)
MSI x58 Pro-E -> MSI Z170A Gaming M5 motherboard
Custom Water cooling loop -> Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

Kept the Antec 1200 Case, Corsair AX1200 PSU, 500GB Samsung 840 EVO, and LG Bluray Drive.


Everything was super dusty and the cooling fluid had gotten pretty gross. It was a major pain to get everything back out because I never put a proper drainage port at the bottom of the loop so I had to pull all the cooling stuff out as one connected to piece to avoid a major mess.

 

[Grayfox]

Well not really "my computer"
But I modded my multimeters backlight

Not perfect but Ill fix it when I either want to change it(maybe green?) or when it starts to annoy me.

 

[Grayfox]

Well apart from doing the mod yesterday.
I just finished setting up my old router as an access point which I started yesterday as well.

Now I have whole house coverage of 5.2Ghz WiFi.

Also found out that 2.4Ghz Wifi can effect DVB-T reception.

 

[sesselpupser]

After adding a second access point to the wifi network in my flat (to try to fix the persistent connection issues we were having - no idea if it has worked or not yet), I've continued my uncharacteristic foray into the world of networking by bringing a couple of toys to work; the Raspberry Pi B+ that I never did anything interesting with and the ESP-01 that I bought maybe a year ago and never even powered on. I mean I have no idea what to use either of them for (which isn't true, I'd like to configure the ESP-01 to be a remote PC power switch so I can power on my home PC from work and I might make the Pi into a lab catalogue/general thing so I can actually go on holiday) but it's fun working out how to use them.

This ESP-01, though... It's pretty cool, super cheap and tiny but it does only come with two GPIO pins broken out, the ESP8266 chip does have a lot more than that though so there are other ESP-xx boards that break more out. If you're the type to play with Arduinos and Raspberry Pi, these are well worth picking up. I'm controlling this one with the 3v3 TTL cable I got for my Pi, so that's cool.

 

[Eks]

Cleaned out my PS3 for the first time in 3 years (basically since I've owned it).

I've never seen so much dust, not even when I took my Xbox 360 apart (which I had owned/played much longer before getting a PS3). I even found a dead spider beneath the optical drive.

It was even worse before taking the pictures. Massive bits of dust flew in every direction once I removed the top lid.

Pictures here:

Spoiler: Pic 1 | This is the space between the ODD and fan.

Spoiler: Pic 2 | A close-up of the fan, and the main reason why I took this thing apart: it would get incredibly noisy after long play sessions.

I went through the internals with compressed air and needless to say it looks much better now.

I originally wanted to do 'Before and After' shots, but I was much more worried about putting the PS3 back together properly, which I failed to do. Some plastic clips are broken, meaning some pieces are no longer flush (the glossy strips on the front and back are raised a bit, among other things), and all of the rubber feet refuse to go back into place. I have to be really careful now; moving the PS3 at all causes it to grind against the wood on my desk.

All of it really bugs me, knowing that my PS3 now has a few "structural issues" because I had to be an idiot. On the bright side, it runs so much cooler/quieter now. The difference is massive. 👍

 

[Swagger897]

Oh my god I haven't cleaned mine out for about 6 years.... Oh dear..

 

[Eks]

Oh my god I haven't cleaned mine out for about 6 years.... Oh dear..

I can only imagine how much dust is colonizing your PS3's insides..

 

[Davidies]

I haven't cleaned mine in 4 years. If it looks like that, that would explain the noise and freezing in games.

 

[Shaun]

I've never seen so much dust,

Oh dear dread to think what mine looks like then.
An original 60Gb Fatty bought on release day which I haven't cleaned since.

 

[TB]

Oh dear dread to think what mine looks like then.
An original 60Gb Fatty bought on release day which I haven't cleaned since.

Same here!

 

[Michelin]

Mine hasn't been cleaned in 5 years and it's a Slim 160GB... And I don't feel like messing with it and screwing something.

 

[Eks]

Do your PS3s sound like cheap hair-dryers, guys?

If the increased noise and heat generation aren't a bother, then it's better to leave it, @Michelin. It does NOT go back together as easily as it came apart.

 

[Michelin]

Do your PS3s sound like cheap hair-dryers, guys?

If the increased noise and heat generation aren't a bother, then it's better to leave it, @Michelin. It does NOT go back together as easily as it came apart.

Noise only goes up like a hair dryer with 2-3 hours of gameplay.

 

[Grayfox]

Did this to my TS100 yesterday
Custom Boot screen

 

[Shaun]

Do your PS3s sound like cheap hair-dryers, guys?

Since mine is connected to our surround system I don't no.

 

[Robin]

Oh dear dread to think what mine looks like then.
An original 60Gb Fatty bought on release day which I haven't cleaned since.

I've cleaned my original 60GB a few times and also changed the thermal paste because the stuff Sony used is appalling. It's so clean inside and out you could eat off it!

 

[Eks]

That looks incredible! I've honestly not seen a "fat" PS3 that is still in such good condition. Hats off to you.

 

[Ameer67]

Bought the TP-Link WR841N and flashed DD-WRT onto. Feels nice having all these extra settings compared to the stock firmware.

 

[sesselpupser]

Does anyone (@DQuaN, probably?) have any knowledge or experience of using or setting up a dynamic DNS service to access their home network from anywhere else? I want to set up a wifi device to boot my PC remotely but as far as I can tell I'd have to set up a dynamic DNS and route a port to it... Is it as straightforward as some have made it sound?

 

[DQuaN]

Yeah dyndns is fairly straight forward. You need either the capability on your router, or an application running on a computer that's always on. I assume you have a dynamic WAN IP?

What device are you using to boot the PC?

 

[sesselpupser]

Yeah dyndns is fairly straight forward. You need either the capability on your router, or an application running on a computer that's always on. I assume you have a dynamic WAN IP?

What device are you using to boot the PC?

Dynamic IP yes, the router might be tricky though since I don't have access to it - I have yet to ask my almost live-in landlord if he'd mind - and I don't know if it's compatible. The device was going to be an ESP-01 module but I could use a Raspberry Pi instead, I imagine there'd be dynamic DNS software for that... Maybe there is for the ESP 8266 too.