My Computers

For those of you with a morbid fascination with my hardware. . . here it is in all it’s glory! ( I know I have a morbid fascination with my hardware. )

Primary Computer

“The Beast” – Custom Built

  • Processor: Intel Core i7 920
  • Cooling: Intel standard fan/heatsink combo
  • Motherboard: Intel DX58SO
  • RAM: 6 GB DDR3-1333 [Crucial]
  • Video Card: MSI NX8800GTS OC Edition w/320MB DDR3
  • Hard Drives:
    • 2x Western Digital Velociraptor 300Gb
      • Drive 1: Operating System
      • Drive 2: Applications
    • 1x Seagate 120Gb, 7.2k RPM, SATA150, 8MB Cache
      • Drive 3: Storage and Swap File
  • Optical 1: LG 20X DVD-RW DL Drive SATA
  • Floppy/Other: 3.5″ FDD/5-in-1 Card Reader Combo (FDD doesn’t work…)
  • Monitor: LG Flatron W1952TQ 19″ Widescreen (Resolution: 1440 x 900 / Brightness: 300 cd/m2 / Contrast: 10000:1 / Response Time: 2ms)
  • Mouse: Microsoft USB Wheel Mouse Optical
  • Keyboard: Logitech 350 USB
  • Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate
  • Chassis: Kingwin KT424-BK Aluminum Case
  • Power Supply: Kingwin Model ABT-600MW / 600 Watt
  • Benchmark Scores for “The Beast”

Notes About “The Beast”

This is the computer I use every day. Some of my activities include:

  • Web Surfing
  • Web Site Design
  • Graphics Editing
  • Video Editing and Creation
  • 3D Modeling and Rendering
  • Music Creation
  • Gaming
  • … and occassionally, work.

I like to keep my primary machine fast. Like, really fast. When it gets upgraded, the old hardware becomes either a secondary project machine or the file server below, ad infinitum. I know, my storage drive is smaller than the Velociraptors. So what of it?

Other Computers

File Server

  • Intel Pentium D 820 Overclocked to 3.73Ghz
  • 1024 MB DDR2 RAM
  • 80GB Seagate SATA 2.0 Hard Drive for Operating System
  • 2x 160GB Seagate SATA 2.0 Hard Drives for Storage
  • CD-ROM, Floppy
  • Gigabit Ethernet

This machine is my archive box. Holds ISO images of my software, music, DVD backups, and everything that I don’t want hanging around my primary machine taking up space.

Web Server

  • Intel Atom 330 1.6Ghz
  • 2GB DDR2-667 RAM
  • 120GB SATA HDD for OS, Storage
  • CD-ROM, Gigabit Ethernet
  • Ubuntu 8.10 LAMP Server
  • MediaWiki and WordPress software

This is the Web Server. It runs this website.

Mobile Beast

  • Lenovo ThinkPad SL500
    • Intel Core 2 Duo T5670
    • 1GB DDR2 RAM
    • 80GB HDD
    • DVDRW, Wireless, Ethernet, Modem, 4 USB, etc.

It’s no road warrior, but the thing is fast, cheap and most importantly, reliable. I guarantee it runs circles around machines twice it’s price and will last twice as long. Well, it is highly optimized, and I removed (read: wiped/installed Windows) all the factory stuff. I don’t need uber power on the road, I need snappy and longevity, and this is a great blend of the two.

Media Center

  • Intel Core 2 Duo E4300
  • 4GB DDR2-800
  • 1TB Seagate
  • LG Blu Ray, Logitech WiFi-G, WinTV-HVR-1800
  • Eventually: Logitech diNovo controller… mmmmmm…

I use this as a DVR and to watch Internet video on the 42″ Philips TV. WOOT!

The 386 Miracle

  • AMD 386 @ 33Mhz
    • soldered onto the motherboard, which I salvaged from a junk machine…
  • 4MB RAM (30 Pin SIMMS baby!)
  • 20 MB Hard Drive
  • 3.5″ 1.44MB Floppy
  • 24x CD-ROM w/Installed Driver
  • Windows For Workgroups 3.11 on DOS 6.22 w/TCP/IP Installed
  • ISA Full Color Video Card
  • ISA 10-Base Network Card
  • ISA Sound Card

What a miracle. This is one of my personal project machines, put together to see how powerful I could make a standard 386 machine. This original CMOS battery is still good, still keeps accurate date and time, and surprisingly, the BIOS is Y2K compliant! Since this is a custom build, I place it here and not in the museum, even though it is a relic. I also use it from time to time for some old DOS software and to back up old MFM disks of computers in my Computer Museum.

Other Hardware

At any give time, I have anywhere from 1 to several extra PC style computers, used for play, experimentation, personal research, POVRay render nodes and the like. The current list includes an old super-mini Athlon XP 2600+ used as a linux development box, and a couple of Athlon XP 1800+ machines used for experimentation.

Other than that, I have 15 or so “collected” computers, not for daily use. To see them, take a look at my Computer Museum.

  • My network is Gigabit Ethernet. It’s faster than the maximum throughput of my hard drives, so, YUM.
  • I run a Linksys WRT54GL with DD-WRT for my wireless and firewall. Super cool.
  • My network gear is a mix of Netgear and Linksys gear.
  • I have a little iRock 530 MP3 player I use when mowing the lawn or doing outside activities.
  • I own a Canon PowerShot something-or-other 2.0MP digital camera. It’s great for snapshots.