small stress test...

[VJ]

It is actually sad to think how old my computers are... The dual xeon is almost 12 years old, my laptop is nearing 9 years and the latest computer I have is a an Zotac mini pc (atom) that already has 4 years... I used to get new computers every 2-4 years, but now I just can't bring myself to spend the money on them. They are good enough for what I need (of course, having passed the studies has also helps in not having to be so up to date). On one hand, I would love to get a new one, but I 'm not sure I'll use it enough to justify the purchase...

[Umfriend]

Yup. Although a new computer would save a lot of money on power consumption. You could probably have better perfromance than the dual Xeon from a Core i3-4xxx and a single SSD. No Gfx card, no 10/15 Krpm HDDs and a 54W TDP CPU with video out. My lappy is 2 yo and my PC 4 years. I fear they'll do just fine for at least another 5 years.

It is amazing really, but we have seen CPUs go from 66Mhz (Pentium) and less (8Mhz 68K/8088, 1Mhz 6510) to 4Ghz but the frequency battle sorta ceased in, what, 2005? Since then, it has been about IPC improvement, thermal performance and increased core-counts. But it just does not give the same kind of kick-ass improvement experience. Sure, if you use real multi-threaded apps (such as SQL Server) then it helps but even there the main jump I have experienced has been IO related. Hurray for SSD.

[VJ]

Yes... But the dual Xeon runs perhaps a few hours per week, at most 10. I use it mainly as a backup and to configure some things (I work all day with a computer, I don't feel like it when I get home :-)). So for such small usage, power consumption probably does not matter that much. The atom runs a few hours per day on average, but it is not power hungry.
My plan still is to get a new HTPC someday, and perhaps have it double as file server (or just get a NAS); the atom can take over the tasks of the current dual Xeon. But I don't know when... perhaps this year, perhaps a few years from now? One thing I see as that we will need more storage at one point... so that may be the issue that will come.

You are right on the CPU things... My first computer had 4 MHz... In a way it is good that things evolved the way they did. Increasing the "snappiness" of a computer is now more a balancing act between the different components. Part of me would love to just get rid of all the old computers and just get all brand new ones, just for the fun of it...

[Umfriend]

I don't really get the HTPC thing, unless you really want to browse the internet using the TV. But then, I never tried or really explored it. I really like my current setup where I have a server (somewhere deep down in my house) that does it all: backups, DLNA server (from which I can stream to the TV), file server, mediabrowser through the internet (i.e., I can view media on the server from anywhere), webserver and Rosetta powerhouse. The only thing I can image is that I'd buy something like a UD7007 (Marantz) that would stream music from the (DLNA) Server as well perhaps. With HTPCs, or what I read about them, it is just too many concessions people need to make. Not a huge lot of storage, either processing power or silence, should it have a DVD/BR player and, if so, are the D/A converters good enough or is it connectable to a receiver that may not have that many digital inputs or whatever.

[VJ]

Well, I built one, but it got destroyed in a shipment. Still, it gave me some experience and with properly chosen hardware it is possible to get a powerful enough system that is quiet (mine got a bit noisier under heavy 3D, but it was dead silent for full HD playback; ok it only had 1 harddisk).
I know what you mean though, and a good media player can get you a long way, with far less maintenance issues. But we like some retro gaming (whole collection of old point and click adventures, or some other games - perhaps some more modern ones too?), which is surprisingly fun on a big screen. It also avoids any problems with formats (e.g. all my dvds are ripped in ISO format). I feel it is possible to add more harddisks and keep it still silent, in which case it can act as a media server, but I'm not 100% sure. My plan would be to try it, and if it turns out to be too noisy, a NAS box is easily bought, and the disks are easily moved.

Edit: o, and some TV channels offer their programs for free streaming on their website. As we don't have a TV, it is still useful to be able to watch the news or so.