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It is not as critical as you might think.
I am still using a 3770k with 32G. It has 4 cores (8 threads) and I can (and have) run a half dozen different VMs at the same time, and never use more than 25% of the CPU. While I certainly won't recommend a CPU that old, pretty much any more modern CPU should do the trick.
I would recommend water cooling -- not necessarily a custom setup, but a "complete" system. They are nearly the same cost as a fan. Just put one in my daughter's new computer. Otherwise when your CPU does pull out all of the stops, the fans can get pretty noisy.
I do not game either -- however, I use a 1080 graphics card. Not for framerate, but to get good high resolution and for use in parallel applications.
And a SSD for drive C is essential.
The system is old, but other than a couple of GPU upgrades, it has been more than adequate development.
Now, if you need very large data storage, your cost can rise substantially by the time you implement a good RAID (preferably RAID 6).
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I love the feature in text editors when you highlight a word (or even have the caret blinking in the word) and all other instances of the same word highlight. I use this feature all the time.
Such a small and simple thing but it sure makes my life easier.
Social Media - A platform that makes it easier for the crazies to find each other.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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My favourite text editor feature is the one where it replaces every 10th letter with a different letter (or symbol).
At first I thought it was just my clumsy fingers, but it's just far too consistent to be that, so must be the tools, amirite?
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Random letters replacing the ones on the page with the ones that are in my head
In my case it's called Arthritis!
It's been 6 months since I joined the gym and there's been no progress. I'm going there tomorrow in person to find out what's really going on!
JaxCoder.com
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If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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After years (decades, when I think of it) of using client versions of Windows for development machines, and putting up with forced reboots after updates at random times - despite Microsoft's best efforts towards providing more "flexible" reboot options now given to users - I finally gave up a few months ago and built a Server-based VM for all my development work. Server 2019, more specifically. Primary reason: based on my experience, rebooting a server operating system has remained a sacro-sanct thing, in that a Windows Server would never, ever reboot on its own and you had to have an admin explicitly initiate a reboot process or at the very least, click on a Reboot Now button. I've had instances where a reboot prompt had been patiently waiting on the screen for weeks. Server would never take it upon itself to go ahead and do it on its own.
Long story short: I RDPed into that dev VM this morning, and was greeted initially by an empty desktop, and then saw a couple of Explorer windows being restored to a bunch of folders I last used. But all my running apps (including 2 instances of VS 2019) were gone. Exactly as might happen on a Windows 10 machine that just got rebooted. The following confirmed my suspicion:
(Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_OperatingSystem).LastBootUpTime
20200115191127.667503-300
So, it rebooted at 19:11:27 last evening. I know exactly what I was doing at that time. I had left my dev VM running, after telling it to go ahead and install Tuesday's updates, and left it alone once the download process was initiated. I then went to dinner, came back, and at that exact time, I know I was playing GTA5 on my game machine (a separate box).
This is now the second month in a row (just after Patch Tuesday) that this happens to my dev box. WTE, MS? I can't imagine this should happen on a server OS, in a data center, running important tasks. Why is this happening in my VM? (and no, the host OS was not rebooted)...
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I can confirm what you are saying.
We actually had production systems running as VMs and they were set to not reboot but did actually reboot. Our IT dept investigated and had captured details and reported to Microsoft (via our service account) and at the time (a couple of months ago) MS said it was a bug.
I don't have the details but I believe there was a fix.
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raddevus wrote: they were set to not reboot
There's an option to allow the updater to automatically reboot a server?
Who in their right mind would even make such an option available?
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Mark_Wallace wrote: There's an option to allow the updater to automatically reboot a server?
I may have mis-stated that.  I'm not sure there was an option to "not reboot".
I just remember that they all restarted and IT had said the way they had configured them was to insure that they did not reboot.
But, I agree with you about it being crazy. We were all astonished that the VMs had restarted and it was all related to the new update practices.
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raddevus wrote: MS said it was a bug.
[rolls eyes]
"A bug".
That was something I've been able to reliably count on since Windows 2000. They just can't help themselves but to go and fiddle with things.
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When I remoted into my Azure server this morning, I saw a notification that 'Updates were installed' and thought the same thing. Luckily I didn't have any work in progress and luckily customers aren't hitting that server when it restarted apparently at around 0400 this morning.
For Win10, I do appreciate the new little icon in the system tray that gives me some warning.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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I run Windows, including an older server, the same way: via VM's . To manage all Internet activity, I purchased a router/firewall that has application control capability along with normal rules blocking/allowing.
Down at the office, we have 2 such. One of the categories is Windows Updates. I can control (either block, log or both) by all machines, some machines (or none). I can also set a schedule.
For the office, we have a wireless AP for customers and suppliers. It is on a separate public IP address with its own firewall. I block all social media (farcebook and such), webmail and other stuff. Block by IP in the firewall to block streaming. Costs money, but well spent AFAIAC.
Some time back, I set rules to block outbound to every IP group that Windows used to phone home. I think it required about 8 rules. Cut back on activity. Our routers have very flexible logging capability and built in Wireshark. Won't quote any brand names because every time I recommend anything, the recommendee winds up getting screwed. 
If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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Cool story bro.
How is this preventing updates (I do install them) from automatically rebooting a server OS, when it's supposed to wait for me to tell it to go ahead?
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It prevents the updates, not the reboots. I can allow them when it is convenient or when I disable the rule.
If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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I have zero problem with blocking/allowing updates with WSUS--that's what it's for. Nothing gets installed without me approving it first. That's not the problem I was reporting.
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Did you known the Beatles sang about coffee? "Latte Be"
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Good point, I think I will get one, or may a Tea...
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Not unlike the Rolling Stone's diet-beverage song: "Gimme Seltzer".
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Seltzer, back in the day that would not be on their rider... 
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W∴ Balboos wrote: "Gimme Seltzer"
Afterbath.
"Five fruits and vegetables a day? What a joke!
Personally, after the third watermelon, I'm full."
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To say nothing of "I Need You", "I'm So Tired", and "Los Paranoias" (when they tried to quit).
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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We're in the process of moving everything over to the cloud.
In order to get to visual studio to do dev work, we have to VPN into the network, RDP to a "jump box", and then RDP from there into our dev environment.
While we're VPN'd into the remote network, we can't access email or a web browser on our local machine. This means we're completely cut off from communications on our own local network.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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That sounds exactly like what we're discussing here for even local work, I'm glad to hear it works so well and I've been wrong this entire time!
When I mentioned in meetings that the concept sounds really complicated, will be a drain on productivity due to having to log in/out of the VPN to look up references, and frustrate the developers to the point of hurting morale all I get is blank stares. It must take a government mindset to come up with solutions using such out of the box, counter-intuitive thinking.
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We don't have access to it yet, so we don't really know if it will work, or how well. If history is any indicator, it's gonna be dog-ass slow if we can even maintain something resembling reliable connectivity.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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