Core i7-860 PC
This was my second new desktop PC and third new PC overall (the second new PC being the HP-Compaq nx6125 laptop). It was purchased in November 2009 replacing the Pentium 4.
Unlike its predecessor, this PCs retirement was quite drawn out. In 2012 its server duties were moved to a dedicated machine. Starting in 2013/2014 gaming started moving towards Xbox consoles - first a 360, then an Xbox one. Then in 2018 a new laptop, a Thinkpad T470, took over mostly everything else except software development where the desktops multiple displays and better keyboard were a benefit.
A dock and KVM switch was purchased for the Thinkpad T470 in early 2020 allowing it to use the desktop PCs peripherals which largely put an end to using the desktop - the Thinkpad provided similar performance (it was purchased for battery life, not speed) while being portable.
By mid-2023 performance of this PC or the Thinkpad were nowhere near good enough so a new desktop PC (Ryzen) was purchased putting the this pc into retirement after over thirteen years of use - many of those years running 24x7. The laptop has now gone back to the purpose for which it was originally intended - controlling a telescope.
Initial Specifications
| CPU | Intel Core i7 860, 2.8GHz |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | Asus P7P55D EVO |
| RAM | 4GB |
| VGA | ATI Radeon HD5850 1GB |
| Drives | 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200PM LG GH22NS50 22x DVD-RW |
| PSU | Corsair 650W TX Series Ultra-Quiet |
| Case | Thermaltake M9 Black |
| Display | 2x LG Flattron L246WHX-BN 24" wide-screen |
| OS | Windows 7 Professional 64bit |
Final Specifications
This machine was in use long enough to see some components replaced more than once due to hardware failures. RAM and SSDs were replaced twice while case fans were replaced once.
| CPU | Intel Core i7 860, 2.8GHz |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | Asus P7P55D EVO |
| RAM | 8GB (upgrade to 8GB in 2012, replaced due to failure in 2016) |
| VGA | ATI Radeon HD5850 1GB |
| I/O | PCIe USB3.0 card (model ? ) |
| Drives | Samsung 860 EVO 500GB (replaced earlier 120GB Intel SSD 535 and Intel SSD 520, both died after a few years)
Lite-On iHES212 BD-ROM Lite-On iHOS104-32 BD-ROM (developed a fault but was never removed) 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200PM LG GH22NS50 22x DVD-RW |
| PSU | Corsair 650W TX Series Ultra-Quiet |
| Case | Thermaltake M9 Black |
| Display | 2x LG Flattron L246WHX-BN 24" wide-screen |
| OS | Windows 7 Professional 64bit |
Photos
Running on the dining room table prior to retirement, copying all data over the network to the new PC
Rear view
Inside view - dusty!