All Linux Things

I wanted to install some software this morning using HomeBrew on my 2008 machine with C2D@2.5GHz and 4GB of RAM. When I fired up HomeBrew I was told that I had components that could be updated so I ran homebrew --update. Homebrew installs everything from source.

It seems that the entire build environment is what needed updating. This machine which does well running the tasks I typically run. It really does show its age when compiling. It has been grinding away for close to an hour. It is hot all over. Putting it on my lap is uncomfortable, the keyboard is very warm to the touch and the fans are filling the room with warm air.

Both of the cores are at 99%, memory is all used and it is using swap like crazy. Overall I am glad I have machines with more horse power.

I avoid at all costs doing anything on my older systems that requires that much processing for long extended periods. Capacitors dont take kindly to high heat issues for long periods and honestly I dont have the patience. Heat can affect so many components negatively in situations like that. If you have a USB laptop fan where the laptop sits oin top of it, that might help. I have spent a lot of time diagnosing heat related issues on older hardware and replaced a lot of caps.

I did not buy the machine new, but I have had it for over a decade. It is a work horse of a machine. I used it to convert much of our VHS/DVD library to mp4 and there were a great many weeks it ran from dusk to dawn under full load working on that task. A computer should be able to run up to the limit of its specifications for however long is necessary. If not then it is either poorly constructed, or it does not meet its specifications.

I guess I would not replace caps damaged by the heat of operation, because to me that represents a failure of design and engineering and why restore a flawed device that will simply fail again as a result of the bad design and engineering. There are no doubts lots of caveats that can come into play there, so it is not completely black and white. However for me the bulk of my machines are just tinkerer toys and if they can not do what I want them to do, it is time to just find new machines, or perhaps something else to tinker on.

Glad your system has been that reliable over time with heavy usage. Ive seen some really nice well designed hardware thats had problems with extended heat scenatios causing cpu throttling, ram issues, cap issues.