[cpd2009]

According to my browser, we are still on page 554, but maybe after I type this it will go to 555? Anyway...

As I mentioned in the chat, I decided to save up for an iMac. That sounds, well, preposterous for a PC guy like me. But if there is only one reason why I'm making the switch, it's the increasingly questionable Windows 10. I won't really go on again about the problems it's been having in regards to recent updates, but yeah, stability and speed are a concern. I could just move over to Linux full time, but my current Vidbox device doesn't seem to run on Ubuntu yet. Maybe it will work in another distro?

I also want to reduce the amount of clutter my computer desk currently has, and some kind of AIO system would free up electrical outlet space and leave a nice clean desk. Too bad most Windows-based AIOs use weaker CPUs and have crappy graphics performance. There are a few gaming AIOs out there. I think MSI makes those.

I know that if I buy an iMac, I will contribute to Apple's anti-consumer practices... unless I build a Hackintosh, but I'm not ready for that level of tinkering. You have to admit, macOS in itself is a very fine and stable OS. Too bad you have to buy a Mac or build a Hackintosh to experience it.

Now comes the next part, or parts. Should I buy new or refurbished? What specs should I seek out?

Tomorrow, I'm meeting up with my family again and will be doing some Christmas shopping in the city. Best Buy does have an Apple display, which gives me an opportunity to see the various iMacs in person. It's going to be a while before I end up buying one. Saving up for a Mac is going to take several months.

[cpd2009]

So, I got a Nintendo Switch for Christmas... early. Mainly because I won't be able to make it home for Christmas this year due to work resuming the day after. And I'm seeing my family this weekend during their Christmas shopping to make up for that.

First impressions are very good. The UI is very good. It completely lacks the lighthearted kiddy feel of previous systems and instead goes for a more modern design with simple colors and icons. There's no background music or ambient noise either. Even the Mii Maker gets demoted to the System Settings, and aren't front and center anymore.

As for Mario Odyssey, I'm too early in the game to give final judgement, but the graphics are obviously the best in the Mario series so far. I still have to test the dock out, but I'd imagine it's going to look great on my HDTV. Gameplay so far is typical of a 3D Mario platformer, but with a few refinements and changes here and there. Nothing too gimmicky yet outside of basic motion control special moves.

Not sure what else I will put on the system to tide me over until I can get more game cards. They do have all three of my favorite pinball sims in the eShop.

[cpd2009]

So, I found out today my credit card limit went up during last pay period. That would be the perfect time to get an iMac right?

Wrong.

I went to Best Buy today to see their Apple display, and they had both iMac variants nicely sitting on a desk straight out of an Apple store. I took a test drive of the 21.5 inch model, which is the $1,099 base unit. Wow... it's slow, because of it's 5400rpm 1TB hard drive. Very basic apps open fine, but try to start Final Cut Pro or iMovie and be prepared to wait. FCP took nearly two minutes to finish loading, with spinning beachballs galore. MS Word was also painfully slow as well, taking nearly 1 minute for the Welcome window to appear. My mom's old HP AIO opens MS Word faster than that.

The slowness of the iMac would leave a bad first impression on anyone thinking of switching to Mac, but of course, the Best Buy associates would use that as an opportunity to push the more expensive upgrades, which is a bit sketchy.

The 1080p display is also lackluster. It has good viewing angles and bright colors, but the text isn't as smooth and crisp as it is on their more expensive 4K models.

In short, my experience with the iMac there made me instead buy a WD Black 1TB HDD for Pearl. I was also considering getting a EVGA GeForce 1060 GPU, but I don't want to max out my credit card at all. I'll instead order another Corsair 8GB RAM stick for Pearl. The WB Black drive and the dual-channel RAM should help boost her performance quite a bit. And I will hang on to the receipt just in case the drive ends up being a dud like that WD Blue 1TB I had a few years ago. The drive has a five year limited warranty.

Now comes the time consuming part... backing up my files and deactivating my program licenses so I can install the 1TB drive. The old 500gb drive will replace Pearl's 80GB secondary disk.

After that lackluster iMac tryout, I'd rather save money to buy new Switch and 3DS games.

[huckleberrypie]

That WD Black drive sounds interesting, as most people tend to just use a WD Blue WD10EZEX and pair it with an SSD as the boot drive instead. And what 1060 variant are you referring to anyway?

[cpd2009]

I believe it was the EVGA GTX 1060, and it was priced around $250 on sale. I could have got it, since the WD Black was only $80, but I decided to wait after I use the new WD Black and get the RAM upgrade installed.

[huckleberrypie]

I believe it was the EVGA GTX 1060, and it was priced around $250 on sale. I could have got it, since the WD Black was only $80, but I decided to wait after I use the new WD Black and get the RAM upgrade installed.

There are actually a couple or so variants of the 1060, a cheaper 3GB flavour, a 5GB one, the original 6GB card, and a GDDR5X edition.

[cpd2009]

I do notice Pearl is a bit faster, but don't know if that's the WD Black HDD or the fresh Windows 10 install. Either way, everything running smoothly. No odd things happening with the new HDD so far.

I also find it very ironic that Google sites continue to nag you about Chrome, even as MS prepares to use the Chromium engine in Edge. Strangely, these nags don't show up in Firefox, based on past experience.

[cpd2009]

Remember that old QFX Android TV box I found at Menards earlier this year? I just remembered that it advertised a WiFi hotspot feature.

Given how my current CenturyLink router has a very crappy WiFi signal, I'm testing out the QFX box's Wifi hotspot to see if it's any better. I don't know if I'm simply putting my CenturyLink router in the wrong spot or what, but I can't get the thing to output a stable signal no matter what channel I try. My Switch and Wii U don't have a stable connection at all.

I scanned the Android box for potential malware using Malwarebytes when I originally purchased it back when, and it came out clean from what I remember.

[huckleberrypie]

Are you able to chain another router to your Centurylink modem with a wired connection and use the new router instead?

[cpd2009]

Are you able to chain another router to your Centurylink modem with a wired connection and use the new router instead?

Yep. The QFX box has an ethernet port, which was the only way to get stable internet from my CenturyLink router.


I have since turned off the CenturyLink router's Wifi radio and switched to the QFX box. My Nintendo Switch has a stable internet connection now, and hopefully any other Wifi device.