Time I bought a new PC - and I'd be glad of advice.
My present one is running well, though just occasionally I feel
something slightly brisker would be nice. Which is not bad as it'll be
14 years old in November! But it can't run Windows 11, and I need to
run Windows.
Time I bought a new PC - and I'd be glad of advice.
My present one is running well, though just occasionally I feel
something slightly brisker would be nice. Which is not bad as it'll be
14 years old in November! But it can't run Windows 11, and I need to
run Windows.
It has an i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3401 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical
Processor(s), with 18GB of RAM. It has two SATA SSDs, with a 4TB
spinning disk for backups. Graphics card is a 4GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX
1050 Ti (added later).
Also, might be worth waiting - seems like some innovations are arriving soon:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/nvidia-ai-personal-computer-9.7218820
Although whether you want to be a first adopter or not . . .
In article <10vknok$2f8sf$1@dont-email.me>, patchmoney@gmx.com says...
Also, might be worth waiting - seems like some innovations are arriving soon:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/nvidia-ai-personal-computer-9.7218820
Although whether you want to be a first adopter or not . . .
Yes - I'd seen that, and had been wondering. Google Gemini pulled
together useful answers to my questions: https://gemini.google.com/share/ffc87cb3f377
On balance, I do think I need the universal compatibility, though the
quantum leap in performance is of course attractive. I'm wary of being
an early-adopter too, so maybe in a couple more years when things have settled down I might invest in an RTX Spark laptop. (I note that the
OEMs will be concentrating on laptops and mini-PCs, rather than the
tower I feel I want.
It tries to pre-emptively summarise and generate replies
to texts for example - nothing of use to me. But then I'm hardly an AI power >user . . .
The reasoning and integrative power of these tools is awesome, and
we're only getting started in 2026.
On 02/06/2026 11:46, Philip Herlihy wrote:
The reasoning and integrative power of these tools is awesome, and
we're only getting started in 2026.
I agree it can be impressive.
Don't kid yourself, though, the tool isn't "reasoning" at all. It's >collating the results from a deep search of the knowledge available to its >model and then formatting that as an output using the terms of the
question. Any reasoning about the knowledge was done before it was put
into the database used by the tool.
It's just a very sophisticated cut-and-paste exercise.
Whether the output is any use depends on the quality of the data and on
the ability of the model to exclude false positives in the search. The >larger the database the higher the chance that there will be sufficient
true positives for the model to be able to recognize and exclude false
ones.
On 02/06/2026 11:46, Philip Herlihy wrote:
The reasoning and integrative power of these tools is awesome, and
we're only getting started in 2026.
I agree it can be impressive.
Don't kid yourself, though, the tool isn't "reasoning" at all. It's >collating the results from a deep search of the knowledge available to
its model and then formatting that as an output using the terms of the >question. Any reasoning about the knowledge was done before it was put
into the database used by the tool.
It's just a very sophisticated cut-and-paste exercise.
Whether the output is any use depends on the quality of the data and on
the ability of the model to exclude false positives in the search. The >larger the database the higher the chance that there will be sufficient
true positives for the model to be able to recognize and exclude false ones.
There's no "intelligence" there (though some might prefer to say
there's no "consciousness" there. It's a machine. It has distilled statistical patterns of language from huge datasets, and delivers
results according to algorithms. But you can't deny it's ability to
parse and recognise language - different prompts, even subtly
different prompts, produce different results, and in an appropriate
way.
Its ability to give objectively helpful answers to basic questions
mean that something like a smart speaker can be invaluable to
someone with confusion, for example.
I'll put it this way. The limitations are well-understood. The
benefits may be a surprise to some.
There's no "intelligence" there (though some might prefer to say there's >>no "consciousness" there. It's a machine. It has distilled statistical >>patterns of language from huge datasets, and delivers results according >>to algorithms. But you can't deny it's ability to parse and recognise >>language - different prompts, even subtly
different prompts, produce different results, and in an appropriate
way.
It has the ability to do that, but will not do so reliably ... or rather
it will "parse and recognise language" but not necessarily construct the >intended query or deliver the expected answer.
Also, the algorithms are (generally) non-deterministic. It's possible to
ask the same question twice and get different answers, even from the same
AI and algorithm. It depends on the AI system you're using, of course.
I'll put it this way. The limitations are well-understood. The
benefits may be a surprise to some.
Yes, *IF* the limitations are understood there can be surprising
benefits. Conversely, if people accept the answers without questioning
them they may be led badly astray.
I found that in my search for TS140 pinouts, same question, different answers, all wrong.
If you've got this far, thanks for indulging me. I had help from Jamie
and others back in 2012 when choosing my Dell Vostro 470, which was
surely one of the best purchases I've ever made. Any guidance from this "college" of experts will be gratefully received.
Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
I found that in my search for TS140 pinouts, same question, different >>answers, all wrong.
The problem is that to tell whether what it says is correct, you either
have
to know already or do a ton of background reading (not just any sources it >happens to link to). It's the kind of compulsive liar which will
assertively fill in gaps with whoppers just to keep it sounding plausible, >and unless you become an expert you can't which ones they are. But if
you've done that much background research then you don't need to ask it the >question.
ie it's a workload multiplier not a workload reducer.
Time I bought a new PC - and I'd be glad of advice.
My present one is running well, though just occasionally I feel
something slightly brisker would be nice. Which is not bad as it'll be
14 years old in November! But it can't run Windows 11, and I need to
run Windows.
It has an i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3401 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical >Processor(s), with 18GB of RAM. It has two SATA SSDs, with a 4TB
spinning disk for backups. Graphics card is a 4GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX
1050 Ti (added later).
What do I need it for? Well, Facebook, email, surfing, various AI tools >(online). General home office work, spreadsheets, Access databases,
Word. I doubt I'll get back to coding, but might finally get round to >fooling around with my graphics tablet and some "art" software (Corel >Painter). I do have a project for the next year which will involve some
CAD work - Chief Architect "Home Designer" which does 3D rendering. I
don't need that in real time (as I understand it that needs four figures >spent on a graphics card) but it would be good not to have to wait
tooooo long for a rendered "3D world" to appear.
I asked CoPilot what sort of Dell I should get. (I've always liked Dell
kit - good build quality and value for money) It made some useful >suggestions and seemed to steer me away from "workstation" level kit as >"overkill" for my needs.
But it also suggested using a builder like Scan to create a custome
machine from standard components, for value, maintainability and future- >proofing, and this might be the time I do that. It also said get a >processor way beyond what you need now (as you'll need it in seven years
if you're going to keep the thing) and get twice the memory you think
you need now. So I'm figuring pushing the boat out on an i9, and
starting with 32GB of RAM. I don't need a case that looks nice - it'll
be under my desk - just want it reasonably quiet.
I'm absorbed by AI - in my seventies I've never learned so much or so
fast in my life - especiallky since discovering OneNote to help me
organise my notes. Ideally I'd wait a bit longer for NPUs to mature, as
I suspect more and more AI processing will be local, but with "Extended >Support" due to end in October this is the time to move. I guess that
NPUs (or whatever comes next) may become bolt-ons in time, but it's
anyway a reason to go for a really fancy processor.
If you've got this far, thanks for indulging me. I had help from Jamie
and others back in 2012 when choosing my Dell Vostro 470, which was
surely one of the best purchases I've ever made. Any guidance from this >"college" of experts will be gratefully received.
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