Ask HN: Can I see your rig? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Can I see your rig?

29 pointstux59 comments

Get your geek hat on and show off your rigs; computers, servers, devices preferably use imgur. Also, at least short summary of what's in the picture(s) models preferred :-)

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I think there are two types of people. Those who still fetishize hardware, and the rest of us who just care about the product created by the hardware. A carpenter (I don't speak from experience, merely from analogy) is probably more proud to show off something he's made than the tools he used to make it.

Especially true of photography. Countless friends love showing off their lenses and whatnot. I'm always more interested in the pictures than the lenses.

HN is full of people talking about how they work, what tools they use, what their processes are. Your hardware setup is a component of that, so it seems valid to ask about it. I don't feel it is fair to act like you are superior to people who "still fetishize" it.

Of course people are more proud of their results. And we see plenty of that on here every day. This was a simple question to see people's systems, not an implication that it was more important than other aspects of the work people do.

(And BTW, the guys who I know who do carpentry and masonry work absolutely have some tools they like to show off.)

and the third type is the people who "fetishize" both :-) In hacker world I think they are called "Grey Hat" ;-)

Why would caring about the product preclude anyone from also appreciating the hardware used to create it?

> A carpenter (I don't speak from experience, merely from analogy) is probably more proud to show off something he's made than the tools he used to make it.

Grandfather was a shipwright then a cabinet maker, he absolutely loved showing of his workshop.

He was the one who taught me "If you use something for more than an hour a day buy the best you can afford".

Same thing in the guitar world. I used to be one of those guys who thought it was about the gear. It's not; it's about the player.

http://i.imgur.com/n1aP1Dw.jpg (home)

Nothing exotic, i5-2500K, 32GB RAM, ATI HD69502GB, 120GB SSD, 1TB spinning rust, runs Xubuntu 14.04.

Screens are 2xX23LED and the ubiquitous Dell 2412M

Laptop is a Dell Vostro 3750 upgraded to 16Gb RAM.

i5-2430 (I think I forget) running Xubuntu 14.04

http://i.imgur.com/WbSUsxK.jpg (work)

i5-3570K, 32GB RAM, ATIHD7something I forget, 120GB SSD, 1TB spinning rust, runs Xubuntu 14.04

Screens are 3xDell 2412M

Keyboards are the truly exceptional Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000

Very nice, thanks for including the specs. I prefer using 3-LCDs too, just perfect for my development needs.

Why no mousepad ? :o

Both are Laser mice, simply not needed :)

I get obsessed about rigs once every few months and spend a few days browsing:

http://reddit.com/r/battlestations

http://reddit.com/r/macsetups

I tend to stop looking when I see one like this: https://i.imgur.com/EzWOJvI.jpg

I just pause to admire it, make some mental notes, and brainstorm a development of my own. Where did you find this? I would like to contact the owner

It's the 4th highest rated post in r/battlestations

https://www.reddit.com/r/battlestations/top/

I never saw the appeal of watercooled PCs with windows and lights, but found myself with a huge amount of time of my hands due to a serious injury that took me out of work. I decided to indulge myself one time before the idea of building such a thing is obsolete.

Here are some pics, it's a work in progress - https://imgur.com/a/WWsna#0

The case is a Case Labs Mercury S8 with a custom powder coat. It allows the motherboard to sit horizontally. The graphics cards are Nvidia GTX 980s with custom made waterblocks. There are large radiators concealed in the top and the bottom of the case. The two round, red things you see in the pictures are Laing D5 water pumps. The 'Midnight Express' theme is inspired by the film and the music of Giorgio Moroder. A number of parts have been laser engraved with the artwork. Everything is controlled and monitored by an independent microcontroller (Aqua Computers Aquaero 6, you'll see it in the pictures.)

Ongoing build log is here - http://www.overclock.net/t/1529623/build-log-midnight-expres...

Mine: http://urza.cc/pc2013/

If you don't mind, can you elaborate on the mouse some more?

How long did it take you to get used to it, how is the accuracy for progrmaming/office-type work, have you used another vertical mouse you can compare it to?

The mouse is fantastic, I swear by it. It took maybe couple hours to adjust and maybe couple days to be absolutely comfortable with the buttons. I ended using AutoHotKey to switch function of "middle" and "right" buttons, but that is just my personal preference). Whenever I am forced to use regular mouse somewhere it feels just wrong for my wrist, so unnatural. The pen is just natural. I wrote with pen all my school...

I can only compare with MS Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse which I only tried briefly and didn't like it at all.

I will definitely buy again the penclic mouse.

It's funny though when I have visitors and they try to do something on my computer.. some people get it more quickly then others, geeks are ok after few minutes, non-geeks usually give up and let me do it :)

My back hurts just looking at that last shot.

For me this is a minimalism dream. I would have a couple of towers of books though. :)

PS: The icons are wrongly referenced and not loading on my FF 37.0.1 (http://urza.cc/pc2013/.\Cicons\Cico_silence.png)

That's pretty cool!

I love the idea of completely silent computer, but sadly, I don't think it's compatible with performance or gaming. Though now I wonder if there's GPU that can be turned off completely when not in use and use integrated one. Kinda like Optimus, but for desktop.

(also, czc has been cheaper than alza for years)

My current desktop build is a fast i7[0] with a GTX 970, but I can't hear it at all right now. You can have great performance without fans or with large diameter fans that turn slowly and quietly under normal load. This is especially true with newer, more efficient hardware that draws less power and produces less heat.

[0] http://encosia.com/i/overclocked-4th-generation-i7-4790k/

my 4 year old desktop is near silent, I bought the biggest cooler I could and didn't overclock it plus used high quality 120mm fans.

Other than dusting it once every few months it's requires no hassle.

Yeah, a quality CPU cooler with a large fan makes a big difference in noise level. Getting that and the GPU setup right is key.

External GPUs can't come soon enough...

Frankly, most current generation laptops are more than powerful enough for most of the things I do. Adding a GTX 750 TI level GPU would probably be enough to cover the rest of my use cases (light 1080p gaming).

http://www.banggood.com/EXP-GDC-Laptop-External-PCI-E-Graphi...

(i have not tried this)

Haha interesting find.

Although I'd prefer something a bit more mainstream. Maybe a USB Type-C based solution?

My x230t with a 750Ti plugged into an exp gdc http://imgur.com/DQUvEn5

sorry for the messy cables everyone ;C

Very cool setup, thanks for sharing.

+1 for the keyboard choice, the 4000's kick ass!.

http://i.imgur.com/WbSUsxK.jpg / http://i.imgur.com/n1aP1Dw.jpg

I love the passive cpu heatsink, it's a true work of art.

The picture with the hammock is pretty cool!

This is my 2009 vintage Acer netbook running Lubuntu: http://i.imgur.com/xU1IhRY.jpg

Looks like Aspire One, I have the red one running XFCE 4.12 on Arch Linux for SecureSkype (AUR) :-)

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+SeanMcBeth/posts/24Sf5t1YUU6?pi...

The tower is a home-built deal that is getting a tad old. At the time I built it, the Intel i5-2550k was a good processor, and 8GB or RAM was on the excessive end of the scale. The GPU is a GeForce GTX 570, which was also top of the line at the time. So yeah, it's getting a weeee long in the tooth for some of the stuff I'm doing (I'm sure you can see the Oculus strap on top of the tower).

Ancient Microsoft natural keyboard. They flattened the wave design in future iterations so I never bought another one. I switch between this and a Unicomp.

The display is the Acer T232HL, which is a really nice, 1080p, 10-point-touch LCD that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Also has integral speakers, which is nice, because otherwise I only have headphones connected to the thing.

Yep, this is my livingroom. I'm a freelance software developer. This is my office. I also rent space from http://cove.is. If you're in the DC area, check them out, they are cool.

A few weeks back I read a comment on HN about the RIPE Atlas project. It sounded fun (and I wanted a free probe!) so I sent off an application. Completely forgot about it after that until on Monday, out of the blue, a package from the Netherlands turned up with a tiny probe in it :)

It's now happily running on my desk: http://imgur.com/XA9UwTy

Very tiny box, is there a model on it ?

Yep, it seems to be a re-badged TP-LINK TL-MR3020

Yeah I thought it looked like one of the TP-LINK boxes, but was not sure. Thanks for the model. Have you tried running pfSense on it ?

Hadn't occurred to me actually (although I normally opt for openwrt when playing around with consumer routers).

Think I'll leave the probe as is.

You can also try "Untangle" on it, but its more resource hungry.

The old (original?) ones are even smaller. https://imgur.com/mKBqksU (Standard business card included for reference)

Unfortunately, mine stopped working a few weeks ago. Originally started using it in July 2011.

Nice! Was that also a re-branded TP-LINK device? Any idea what model?

I knew that question was coming.

It's a Lantronix XPort Pro: http://www.lantronix.com/device-networking/embedded-device-s...

RIPE Atlas also has some code on github: https://github.com/RIPE-Atlas-Community

It seems to me that as a professional, I am rewarded for maintaining the smallest differentiation in my rig from bone stock hardware and software configurations. The more that is different about my setup, the more time I spend debugging and symlinking includes when something doesn't compile etc.

Maybe this is a sign that I'm not doing enough "cutting edge" work.

This is definitely true at the office, but at home, a very quiet Hack Pro in a Fractal Design case with a GTX970 provides a very solid box that I just can't complain about.

Paid 100$ for a used Chromebook ARM, running crouton. Cheap, silent, x86-free.

Do you have any pix of it or at least model ?

Not without dinner first.

Please start a new thread "Ask HN: What do you eat for dinner ?" instead :-)

I have this one. Like it? http://i.imgur.com/Ybznz.jpg

Holy shit you must be rich!

To be honest, i lied. Its actually one of my fathers company ;)

Must be running Windows 10 on it.

Impressive.Can it play skyrim?

My dream setup once I get my own place would include, among other things, a 4K 40"+ TV as the main monitor, on a slightly lower platform behind a hybrid standing desk + treadmill combo (don't ask me how this is going to be physically possible... still working out the details in my dreams), with a nice view of the ocean as the backdrop instead of a boring blank wall. ;D

http://www.michevan.id.au/content/sit-stand-desk/

Motorised sit/stand desk with three 24" monitors. I mostly work remotely from home, so this is my home/work/office space where I spend far too much time. Run ArchLinux with KDE as my desktop.

Use to have dedicated servers (at Hetzner and Webair), but switched to digitalocean. Have an old thin server laying around, pentium 4, was thinking about doing something with it, but it makes so much damn noise. For day to day use, I'm using a MacBook Air (2012 model), still very happy with it.

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