Desktop showoff time again

Daerandin

Daerandin

Well-Known Member
My home desktop setup has evolved quite a bit over time, as I would suspect is true for many people. I used i3wm for several years but I decided to try out the Wayland display server instead of X.org. Most of the Window managers for X.org do not work on Wayland (although some do), so I decided to try out one of the window managers made specifically for Wayland: Sway.

First off is my clean desktop, I have downscaled the image a bit since my full resolution is 2560 x 1440

clean_desk.jpg


This is a tiling window manager, so windows will always be covering the full desktop. Next is both a browser and terminal open, to see how windows appear.

full_desk.jpg


I have not really bothered to edit the configuration for sway that much. What I did do was write some Python to create output for the status bar at the top of the screen. By default it only shows the clock and there is no in-built configuration for other information. Thankfully, it's quite easy to modify, just create a script that prints to stdout whatever you want the status bar to display. I write it in python so that I could more easily implement a form of caching for some of the data. I put my script on my github: https://github.com/Daerandin/swaybar_status_python/blob/master/get_stats.py

This is also a fairly new computer so for those interested my hardware is as follows:
Motherboard: Asus ROG Zenith Extreme Alpha
CPU: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X, 16 cores
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H115i Platinum, Liquid cooler
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
RAM: 32 GB, Corsair Vengeance LPX
SSD: 2 TB, Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2
 
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This is one of the few times I wish we had a broader and more numerous membership.
While I can and do admire the work of my betters; I also see the gap that exists between us in preparation. The best I can do here, is to draw circles in the dirt with my toe and look about sheepishly hoping one of the big kids will show up to play with you.

You did however awaken me a bit to my extreme dependence upon Mint to make a workable online life. Forgive me for my asymmetric posting

When I was a lad of about sixteen I went out my front gate and looked up the street to see Donny a kid of about 12 years we were cordial but from a distance imposed by our ages.

At the time a revolution in Bikes and what could be done with a bike had taken place but had escaped my notice.

Donny was in the middle of the street, there was almost no traffic, maybe a car every ten minutes. He was on one of the new small frame mountain bikes.

I waved, Donny smiled.

Then he put the bike on its nose and bounced around in a circle. The he put the bike on it rear wheel, same dame thing!! He proceed to show me circus trick after circus trick. He waved and then sped off.

I looked over to where my paperboys bike was parked and realize I had missed the whole point of having a bike! My bikes took me places, Donny's bike was a place he could go.

Your just on a whole other level and these Linux tricks you do amaze and delight me.
 
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Thanks for the kind reply, and you are absolutely right. For me, Linux is a place for me to go and spend time. But anyone can modify the visual look of your desktop, even just downloading and using a different theme.
 
Very nice setup Daerandin!
Can you add all of your hardware specs to the initial post!

By the way, that is the most minimal desktop I've ever seen! Congrats and ENJOY!
 
booman said:
Very nice setup Daerandin!
Can you add all of your hardware specs to the initial post!

By the way, that is the most minimal desktop I've ever seen! Congrats and ENJOY!
Click to expand...

I have added the specs of my new computer to my first post. And yes, I really enjoy a very minimal setup. Anyone else feel like showing off their setup?
 
Holy Mother!!!
16 core CPU, 32 GB Memory and a 2TB Solid State drive??? WOW!
How much did that cost you?

Also, were you able to have everything shipped directly to your home?
 
I will admit that it did cost a bit. I was actually most surprised by the price of the motherboard, it was about the same price as the CPU. In total, this system cost me roughly 35000 NOK, and with current exchange rates that comes up to about 3650 USD. That does not include the price of the monitor, so it is only the cost of the components and case for the computer. But I had some leftover money after I sold my old apartment so I decided to spoil myself with a computer like this.

Any packages that can't fit in the mailbox have to be picked up at a nearby package pick-up point, so I had to get all the computer parts from a pick-up point. In my case it is in a nearby mall, just a few minutes away, so it's easy for me to collect packages.

I do want to say that I'm quite sold on the M.2 SSD's. They are very small and blazingly fast. I might never go back to the old SATA drives.
 
Wow, that is a supercomputer in my mind! I'm surprised they don't ship it to your house. Still at least you can pick up the parts yourself.
I haven't bought parts from a store in about 16 years. There was an electronics store in town that sold computer parts. It was really big, then it went out-of-business. Frys Electronics took over and I only go there for emergencies. But when I was teaching a class on Computers 101, Frys Electronics was across the street from the school. So we would go on a field trip and price out computers from scratch.

I didn't realize you got an M.2 1 Terabyte drive!!!??? Wow, that must have been expensive.
They are nice, I've messed with them in Laptops. Even bought an external drive so I could quickly image a laptop to the external. Like a rescue drive.
 
Oh it is a 2 Terabyte drive, and the interface is M.2, and yes the drive was expensive.

We used to have a computer store in my town, where you could buy components or ready built desktops. But the shut down a long time ago, at least 15 years ago if not longer. The only place I can get components is online, but we do have a very nice online store for computer parts in Norway, and they have a very impressive selection.
 
Daerandin said:
This is also a fairly new computer so for those interested my hardware is as follows:
Motherboard: Asus ROG Zenith Extreme Alpha
CPU: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X, 16 cores
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H115i Platinum, Liquid cooler
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
RAM: 32 GB, Corsair Vengeance LPX
SSD: 2 TB, Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2
Click to expand...

Super duper!

Any over clocking going on at your house? ":O}
 
No overclocking here. The CPU definitely don't need that, and the GPU also performs exceptionally well so I don't see any need. Besides, the GPU reaches some fairly high temperatures while gaming some of the more demanding games so I don't want to push it any further.
 
CPUs today are beyond overclocking now that they can throttle their speeds.
I've never overclocked and never will... he he
 
3.2 gig chip at 4.8 full out. Looks like an overclock to me.True it only runs at this speed when it needs to and I want it to.. For me that's not a problem.

Check out what Intel sells it 3.2 chip for and what a 4.8 chip would cost stock.
 
booman said:
CPUs today are beyond overclocking now that they can throttle their speeds.
I've never overclocked and never will... he he
Click to expand...
And now that horses are fast we no longer race them?

I know my time has past...But it won't be gone until I am.":O}
 
booman said:
Holy Mother!!!
16 core CPU, 32 GB Memory and a 2TB Solid State drive??? WOW!
How much did that cost you?

Also, were you able to have everything shipped directly to your home?
Click to expand...
We really have to excuse Boo he's a family man and money is dear! Why the poor man can barely afford the nine computers he has.So when he catches one of us spending and lavishing money on a single box, he's compelled to do a times nine in his head and it never comes out looking very sense-able.

But he does have a rather pleasing sense of humor.":O}
 
My wife is using a laptop currently, but I have been wanting to build her a "small" desktop computer. However, with the current GPU market, that's not going to happen for a very very long time. I'll not buy any new GPU's until that market has come back to normal again.

Still, I do like my idea. You see, my wife prefers to sit in the couch with a small table, so laptop is obviously suitable. But I don't know how many times I've had to replace fans on aging laptops, and replacement fans for laptops are usually expensive. Opening up certain laptops can also be a full-day job. I'll never forget a certain Asus laptop where I had to dismantle it completely, just to replace the fans!

My idea was to go for one of those Fractal Design Cube dekstops. They look like this:

cube.jpg

Here's a video on it:

It can fit a Mini-ITX motherboard, which can give 2 RAM slots. And it can even fit a decent GPU in there, as long as the power supply is not too big. I was surprised that you could actually build a pretty powerful computer in a little box like this. You can even fit a liquid cooler for the cpu, although I'm not sure if that would be worth it. If the liquid cooler radiator has two fans, then it works well. But single fan radiators actually perform worse than normal air cooling. This little box would rest on the little shelf under the table. I would then get wireless mouse and keyboard for my wife, along with a USB monitor that looks like this:

asus-MB169C-plus.0.0.jpg

So the table would not be quite as cluttered, the monitor could easily be flipped closed and put under the table. I was actually super excited to build her a computer like this. Personally I would not want this for myself, but it would be a lot of fun to build and see how I can fit everything in that little box. Of course, the current GPU market put those plans on hold.
 
Your a good man, I hope she knows this.":O}
it all looks quite doable to me, but then I've never met a computer I didn't like.
OK I have. But I try hard not to remember them.":O}

Laptops, I have never used one.Like your self I don't like not being able to open them up and play.. I understand that some need portability, poor devils. But I need my play time with covers off.":O}
 
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