PosCore Update 2024

Driven largely by my desire to run a local large language model for image generation, I determined that the cost of a new video card (while extreme) is still significantly less than the subscription cost I was paying for access to image generation software. So, I committed to upgrading my video card.

This alone would have triggered a new iteration, except I am fairly slow to update these things. In the interim, my 1TB Western Digital Blue SSD wore out and started peppering my computing experience with errors and crashes. This could not have come at a worse time, as the proliferation of AI services and data centers across the world has driven an insane price increase in all things memory. The hard drive which would have cost under $100 a year ago is now close to $500. What a gut-punch.

Iteration 16 .:|:. "Local LLM"

CASE:  DeepCool Macube 310 (white)
MB: Asus ROG Strix B550-F
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
RAM: G.Skill TridentZ Neo 32GB DDR4 3600
HSU: Corsair Capellix H100i
PSU: Seasonic FOCUS PX-850W

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 SGOC 12GB
HDD1: Samsung 990PRO 2TB SSD M.2

HDD2: Western Digital SN850X 2TB SSD M.2
OS: Windows 11 Professional

PosCore Update Review

 Another project a few years past new, the PosCore system was finally updated from its aging Intel Core architecture to a signigicantly snappier Ryzen platform in 2021. Given the unstable market and tragically inflated pricing during the pandemic, some compromises were made.

Iteration 12 .:|:. "Superconductor Shortage Nightmare"
CASE:  DeepCool Macube 310 (white)
MB: Asus ROG Strix B550-F
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
RAM: G.Skill TridentZ Neo 32GB DDR4 3600
HSU: Corsair Capellix H100i
PSU: Seasonic FOCUS PX-850W

GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 Ultra
HDD1: Samsung 980Pro 500GB SSD M.2
HDD2: Western Digital SN550 1TB SSD M.2
OS: Windows 10 Professional

After the market settled somewhat, the computer was upgraded again to the newer generation Ryzen 5700x with noticeable performance gains to match the investment. This allowed the displaced CPU to be handed down to the MalsCore project.

Iteration 13 .:|:. "Modernity"
CASE:  DeepCool Macube 310 (white)
MB: Asus ROG Strix B550-F
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
RAM: G.Skill TridentZ Neo 32GB DDR4 3600
HSU: Corsair Capellix H100i
PSU: Seasonic FOCUS PX-850W

GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 Ultra
HDD1: Samsung 980Pro 500GB SSD M.2
HDD2: Western Digital SN550 1TB SSD M.2
OS: Windows 11 Professional

Proposing Excitement

With Intel continuing to patch its Core chipsets into lower performance for each new exploit discovered, I have determined the line must be abandoned. Sadly, both the Core and Infonexus platforms are based on Intel's chipsets, meaning we are in for some hurt. 

The official launch date for AMD's newest designs (Ryzen 7 and Navi 10) is 7/7, which means August to September is really the earliest time I could reasonably expect to start to piece together any form of upgrade. It's not very long to wait, but preliminary price modeling places a basic build somewhere in the $1300 range, which is a really, really big ask.

Currently there are other more pressing needs than the waning performance benchmark of our main system. I am looking at an upgrade somewhere along the lines of:

Ryzen 7 3700X
Asus ROG Crosshair VIII
G.Skill 32 GB RAM
Navi 10 Pro (or GeForce 2060, depending on how benchmarks pan out)

It is entirely possible to abandon the Navi 10 GPU in the build, given that nVidia might be cowed by AMD's growing pressure into finally reducing the prices for it's graphics cards to reasonable levels. If a good 2060 can be had for under $300, it will represent an ideal solution for the aging 960 even if the Navi 10 proves light years ahead in capability.

AMDLS Update In Hand

I've placed all the parts on order and the AMDLS is about to become the IntelLS. The name won't change, though, since "Intel" fails to match my initials. This is going to be my first Intel build, as years of bad experiences with Intel-based computers have thus far kept me away from the chip manufacturing giant.  So, what will the parts be? Well, first a word about the layout of my systems.

AMDLS had, in its last iteration, been transformed into my permanent LAN computer, taking up residence at a friend's house in anticipation of my spending more time gaming socially than I have in the past. As it turns out, gaming in general is something I have very little time for these days, so the AMDLS computer has lain mostly dormant since this transition.
The other part of this change which was significant was the transition of cases. For years, the AMDLS system made its home in the excellent Fong-Kai FK320B super mid-tower. During the crossfire build of 2009, I moved the whole system into the tiny Ark WB-27 case with a custom chromalusion paintjob. This case was far too cramped from day one. Transitioning into the LAN role, I felt it was time to move to a more portable base for the system, and opted to move it into the amazing Cooler Master Storm Scout 2 case. This case, at last, matches the excellent cooling capabilities of the old Fong-Kai but exceeds its predecessor in portability, weighing significantly less and being endowed with a handle for carrying.

It is important to me to keep the Storm Scout as the LAN computer case. I had considered moving the AMDLS back into the venerable Fong-Kai upon its return home, but have decided to return to the Ark WB-27 instead. This might seem an odd choice, but I've been noticing the noise output of the Fong-Kai more and more these days. The current iteration of the Delyth PC is sitting in a Fong-Kai case in our living room, where AMDLS will end up. The noise is not extreme, but it is enough to be annoying. It is my main goal to eliminate the majority of this noise pollution from our main living space. My vision for the AMDLS is that it would be unnoticeable unless we desire to use it.
This has informed my decision to move the computer back into the Ark WB-27 since that case, for all its space limitations, was always very successfully a quiet enclosure.

But the most important part? What new hardware is coming into play?
Sadly, nothing high-end. Those days are currently in the past and not at all in the future. This is a decidedly midrange PC, but also a significant upgrade over the "high-end" parts which have defined the AMDLS for years. Without further adieu:

PSU: OCZ 700W Modular
MB: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690
HSU: Corsair HydroCool H50
RAM: G.Skill RaptorX 16GB DDR3 2400
GPU: Asus Strix GeForce GTX 960
HDD1: Samsung 840EVO SATA SSD 120GB
HDD2: Western Digital Blue 500GB
ODD1: DVD-RW
OS: Windows 8
CASE: Ark WB-27

AMDLS Proposed Update

With AMD all but bowing out of the mid-range enthusiast gaming PC market, there is little choice left but to move the old standby AMDLS to an Intel-based build. It will retain its name, though. Although Intel has already moved forward a generation with its chipsets, I will favor Z97-based motherboards for the planned move into the midrange. Although the Asus Z97Pro is a nice board, it's higher pirce is due to extra features which I don't have a use for, meaning this build will also depart from its Asus foundations in favor of a Gigabyte board. Finally, although GeForce video cards come standard with many extra, useful features, I think I may opt for the Radeon solution which consistently offers more power for the price. However, there are some good prices on the new GeForce 970, which would be a potentially viable (but much more expensive) option. Therefore, the baseline setup for now is:

MB:    Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H
CPU:   Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell (3.2GHZ)
RAM:  G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200)
GPU:  Gigabyte Radeon R9 270x 2GB

Alternate GPU: Gigabyte GV-N970G1 GeForce GTX 970 4GB

PosCore (AMDLS) Iteration List

Iteration 16 .:|:. "Local LLM"

CASE:  DeepCool Macube 310 (white)
MB: Asus ROG Strix B550-F
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
RAM: G.Skill TridentZ Neo 32GB DDR4 3600
HSU: Corsair Capellix H100i
PSU: Seasonic FOCUS PX-850W

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 SGOC 12GB
HDD1: Samsung 990PRO 2TB SSD M.2

HDD2: Western Digital SN850X 2TB SSD M.2
OS: Windows 11 Professional

Iteration 15 .:|:. "Only for the Fans"

CASE:  DeepCool Macube 310 (white)
MB: Asus ROG Strix B550-F
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
RAM: G.Skill TridentZ Neo 32GB DDR4 3600
HSU: Corsair Capellix H100i
PSU: Seasonic FOCUS PX-850W

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 SGOC 12GB
HDD1: Western Digital SN850X 2TB SSD M.2

HDD2: Western Digital SN550 1TB SSD M.2
OS: Windows 11 Professional

Iteration 14 .:|:. "Maindrive"

CASE:  DeepCool Macube 310 (white)
MB: Asus ROG Strix B550-F
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
RAM: G.Skill TridentZ Neo 32GB DDR4 3600
HSU: Corsair Capellix H100i
PSU: Seasonic FOCUS PX-850W

GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 Ultra
HDD1: Western Digital SN850X 2TB SSD M.2

HDD2: Western Digital SN550 1TB SSD M.2
OS: Windows 11 Professional

Iteration 13 .:|:. "Modernity"

CASE:  DeepCool Macube 310 (white)
MB: Asus ROG Strix B550-F
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
RAM: G.Skill TridentZ Neo 32GB DDR4 3600
HSU: Corsair Capellix H100i
PSU: Seasonic FOCUS PX-850W

GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 Ultra
HDD1: Samsung 980Pro 500GB SSD M.2
HDD2: Western Digital SN550 1TB SSD M.2
OS: Windows 11 Professional

Iteration 12 .:|:. "Superconductor Shortage Nightmare"
CASE:  DeepCool Macube 310 (white)
MB: Asus ROG Strix B550-F
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
RAM: G.Skill TridentZ Neo 32GB DDR4 3600
HSU: Corsair Capellix H100i
PSU: Seasonic FOCUS PX-850W

GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 Ultra
HDD1: Samsung 980Pro 500GB SSD M.2
HDD2: Western Digital SN550 1TB SSD M.2
OS: Windows 10 Professional

Iteration 11 .:|:. "The Death of a SSD"
CASE:  Ark WB-27 (w/ Duplicolor Mirage Purple/Green Paint)
MB: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690
RAM: G.Skill RaptorX 16GB DDR3 2400
HSU: Corsair HydroCool H50
PSU: PC Power & Cooling "Silencer" 750W
GPU: Asus Strix GeForce GTX 960
HDD1: Samsung 860Evo 250GB SSD SATA
HDD2: Samsung 970Evo 500GB SSD M.2
HDD3: Western Digital 500GB Blue 7200RPM SATA
OS: Windows 10 Professional

Iteration 10 .:|:. "Homebody Extended"
CASE:  Ark WB-27 (w/ Duplicolor Mirage Purple/Green Paint)
MB: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690
RAM: G.Skill RaptorX 16GB DDR3 2400
HSU: Corsair HydroCool H50
PSU: PC Power & Cooling "Silencer" 750W
GPU: Asus Strix GeForce GTX 960
HDD1: Samsung 840Evo 120GB SSD SATA
HDD2: Sandisk 120GB SSD SATA
HDD3: Western Digital 500GB Blue 7200RPM SATA
OS: Windows 10 Professional

Iteration 9 .:|:. "Homebody"
CASE:  Ark WB-27 (w/ Duplicolor Mirage Purple/Green Paint)
MB: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK
CPU: Intel Core i5 4690
RAM: G.Skill RaptorX 16GB DDR3 2400
HSU: Corsair HydroCool H50
PSU: PC Power & Cooling "Silencer" 750W
GPU: Asus Strix GeForce GTX 960
HDD1: Samsung 840Evo 120GB
HDD2: Western Digital 500GB Blue 7200RPM
OS: Windows 8.2 Professional

Iteration 9 .:|:. "LAN Hobo"
CASE: CoolerMaster Scout2 Mid-Tower
MB: Asus M3A78-T
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 940BE (3000MHZ)
RAM: OCZ 4GB DDR2 1066
HSU: Scythe Katana3
PSU: PC Power & Cooling "Silencer" 750W
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce 560Ti
HDD1: OCZ Agility3 120GB
HDD2: Western Digital 500GB Blue 7200RPM
OS: Windows 8.2 Professional

Iteration 8 .:|:. "A Second Long Haul"
CASE: Ark WB-27 (w/ Duplicolor Mirage Purple/Green Paint)
MB: Asus M3A78-T
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 940BE (3000MHZ)
RAM: OCZ 4GB DDR2 1066
HSU: Scythe Katana3
PSU: PC Power & Cooling "Silencer" 750W
GPU1: Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 (@ crossfire)
GPU2: Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 (@ crossfire)
HDD1: Western Digital 500GB Blue 7200RPM
HDD2: Seagate 250GB 7200RPM
ODD1: Lite On DVD-RW PATA
ODD2: LG DVD-RW SATA
ODD3: LG DVD-RW ESATA
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

Iteration 7 .:|:. "2009 Upgrade"

CASE: Ark WB-27 (w/ Duplicolor Mirage Purple/Green Paint)

MB: Asus M3A78-T

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 940BE (3000MHZ)

RAM: OCZ 4GB DDR2 1066

PSU: PC Power & Cooling "Silencer" 750W

GPU1: Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 (@ crossfire)

GPU2: Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 (@ crossfire)

HDD1: Seagate 500GB 7200RPM

HDD2: Seagate 250GB 7200RPM

ODD: Lite On DVD-RW PATA

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit

Iteration 6 .:|:. "The Long Haul"
CASE: Fong-Kai 320BK
MB: Asus A7N8X-DLX
CPU: AMD AthlonXP 3200+ (2200MHZ)
RAM: Corsair XMS 1GB DDR400
HSU: Thermaltake Volcano 12
PSU: Enermax 550W
GPU: ATI Radeon 9800PRO
APU: Creative Labs Audigy Platinum EX
VPU: Matrox RT.X100
HDD1: Seagate 40GB 7200RPM PATA
HDD2: Western Digital 30GB 7200RPM PATA
HDD3: Seagate 160GB 7200RPM SATA (x2 @Raid 0)
ODD1: Creative Labs 16x DVD-ROM PATA
ODD2: Plextor PX-708UF DVD-RW IEEE1394
OS: Windows XP Professional

Iteration 5 .:|:. "Video Editor Supreme"

CASE: Fong-Kai 320BK

MB: Asus A7N8X-DLX

CPU: AMD AthlonXP 2100+ (1733MHZ)

RAM: Generic 1GB DDR266

HSU: Thermaltake Volcano 9

PSU: Enhance 300W

GPU: Gainward GeForceFX 5600U OC

APU: Creative Labs Audigy Platinum EX

VPU: Matrox RT.X100

HDD1: Western Digital 30GB 7200RPM PATA

HDD2: Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM PATA

HDD3: Seagate 80GB 7200RPM SATA

ODD1: Creative Labs 16x DVD-ROM PATA

ODD2: Kenwood ZEN 72x CD-ROM PATA

ODD3: Plextor PX-708UF DVD-RW IEEE1394

OS: Windows XP Professional

Iteration 4 .:|:. "One Thousand Megabytes!"

CASE: Fong-Kai 320BK

MB: Asus A7V266-DLX

CPU: AMD AthlonXP 1900+ (1600MHZ)

RAM: Generic 1GB DDR266

HSU: Thermaltake Volcano 7

PSU: Enhance 300W

GPU: Asus V8200DLX (nVidia GeForce 3)

APU: Creative Labs Audigy Platinum EX

HDD1: Western Digital 20GB 7200RPM PATA

HDD2: Western Digital 40GB 7200RPM PATA

ODD1: Creative Labs 16x DVD-ROM PATA

ODD2: Kenwood ZEN 72x CD-ROM PATA

ODD3: Iomega Zip650 CD-RW USB

OS: Windows XP Professional

Iteration 3 .:|:. "Speedy Dragon"

CASE: Fong-Kai 320BK

MB: Tyan Trinity S2390

CPU: AMD Athlon Thunderbird 800MHZ

RAM: Generic 256MB PC133 SDRAM

PSU: Enhance 300W

GPU: Hercules 3D-Prophet II "Kyro"

APU: Creative Labs Soundblaster Live Platinum 5.1

PCI: Creative Labs DXR3 DVD Decoder

HDD1: Western Digital 8GB 7200RPM PATA

HDD2: Western Digital 40GB 7200RPM PATA

ODD1: Creative Labs 16x DVD-ROM PATA

ODD2: Iomega Zip650 CD-RW USB

OS: Windows 98SE

Iteration 2 .:|:. "Voodoo"

MB: Tyan Trinity S1590S

CPU: AMD K6-2 350MHZ

RAM: Generic 128MB PC100 SDRAM

PSU: 235W

GPU: Voodoo 3 3500

APU: Ensonique AudioPCI 16

PCI: Creative Labs DXR2 DVD Decoder

HDD: Western Digital 8GB 7200RPM PATA

ODD: Creative Labs 5x DVD-ROM PATA

OS: Windows 98

Iteration 1 .:|:. "My First PC"

MB: Tyan Trinity S1590S
CPU: AMD K6-2 350MHZ
RAM: Generic 128MB PC100 SDRAM
PSU: 235W
GPU: nVidia RivaTNT
APU: Ensonique AudioPCI 16
PCI: Creative Labs DXR2 DVD Decoder
HDD: Western Digital 8GB 7200RPM PATA
ODD1: Creative Labs 5x DVD-ROM PATA
ODD2: Mitsumi 4x CD-R PATA
OS: Windows 95