New Uber Box

11-27-2001, 09:59 AM

Alright. I know a lot of people out there are interested in building kick-ass systems. I'm not sure how many of them read The Cellar, but they should, dammit. And when they do, here's some information that's helpful to them (and maybe you, too!).

I am building a new system to replace my current workhorse. Said workhorse will become a development machine.

I will, for the rest of this post, write mostly in lowercase, because that is my general style and that's how I wrote this.

At the bottom, you will find a link to a page with actual pictures of the construction work. Yay!

I will, of course, post here again when new updates are made.

Those with suggestions (not likely I'll take them, 'cause I've thought this through a lot - but make them anyway, I might, and even if I don't, someone else might find them useful) are encouraged to post them. Questions are welcome. General praise is encouraged. Flames are too, unless they're from jaguar, because we already know how he feels about me

All that having been said, let's get this show on the road...

<hr>
first, let us state our goals.

<ul>
<li>to have an obscenely fast computer
<ul>
<li>processor speed is important
<li>the amount of ram must exceed all rational bounds
<li>the storage system must be sizeable enough to store all my data, yet FAST.
<li>the video card must be capable of giving me the best possible performance, both in 2d graphics drawing as well as 3d game rendering
</ul>
<li>to have an extremely well assembled machine
<li>to be able to operate two machines (syphon and the new machine) from the same desk
<li>the case, as well as all of its externally-viewable components, must be black
<li>to have deafening audio
<li>to operate with the other computers on the network seamlessly
<li>to be able to watch dvds, if i so desire
</ul>

this is a fairly long list. fortunately, with adequate research, i am absolutely confident that this can be accomplished.

it should be noted that money is no option. no expense will be spared. this computer should last me for at least a year. the only upgrades that will be allowed: added storage space and increasing the amount of ram (more on this later).

having the components already selected, i think it's time to get down to business.

<ul>
<li>operating system - debian gnu/linux. as anyone that knows me is aware, this is the single most important part of the setup. it's the biggest pain in the ass to put in the box and without it, everything else is worthless. i choose debian for a number of reasons. it's easy to administer. it's easy to install new applications. it's easy to perform a system upgrade. its filesystem layout makes sense. it's rock solid, so i won't need to worry about rebooting when i don't want to. in short, debian makes sure that my computer is ready for me when i need it.

<li>case - lian li pc12. this case is all aluminum, save the black plastic front bezel. the construction is sturdy, yet it is light. the aluminum will act as a large heatsink for the warm components on the inside. two fans are included on the front and one on the back (though we will replace these with panaflo premium fans, for added reliability), so this will keep air moving. the motherboard tray slides out wholly intact, meaning that i can remove it with the add-on cards still in place. nearly everything comes off with a thumb screw or four. the hard disk mounting area, in the front behind the fans, is easily removeable for future additions. all in all, this is one of the very best mid tower cases that can be bought today. it is, of course, black.

<li>motherboard - tyan tiger mp (s2460). tyan has a reputation for excellence and stability, and this board stacks up. it is capable of holding three gb of ram. four ide devices with full support for ata/66 & ata/100. four usb. amd 760mp chipset for dual athlon processor goodness. and, of course, six pci slots & one agp for my video card. very nice motherboard.

<li>processors - amd athlon mp 1800 x2. can't possibly waste such a motherboard with only one processor. the athlon mp 1800 is currently the fastest on the market. that makes it the easy choice. heating problems with amd processors should not be a problem - adequate steps will be taken to ensure good airflow in the case, as well as to ensure that the heat of the processors is dissipated thoroughly. both of these running in tandem should guarantee that i have one of the fastest personal computers in the world (at least for a week or so).

<li>ram - crucial 256mb pc2100 x 4. while 1024 isn't as high a number as i would like (2048 was the intended amount of memory for this computer), crucial is not producing 512mb dimm's at this time. this is unfortunate, because crucial is the best memory manufacturer and i will not buy from anyone else. fortunately, the price of the ram is, as of current, only $140, so this is a cost i can afford to eat - i'll put in the 512's when they come out, or shortly thereafter.

<li>power supply - eg465p-ve 431 watt psu. 431 watts is important because i'll be running a dual processor configuration. this guarantees a high power draw. this, combined with the rest of the components in the case, guarantees that i will need 431 watts. enermax makes solid products, and their power supplies are certified to power amd products. plus, with an intake fan on the bottom of the power supply, airflow in the processor area will be increased. this makes the choice of power supply fairly easy.

<li>video card - leadtek geforce3 titanium 500. 64 mb of ddr ram. 10-12% increases over the geforce3. and a lower initial price tag. very nice. this will keep my frames per second very high in quake3, and it will be able to drive my monitor at the highest resolution, color depth & refresh that it can support. because nvidia has released drivers for linux, their cards tend to work very well under my operating system of chice. this is an easy pick too.

<li>sound card - creative sound blaster live. we need something that will offer four channel output, but it also must be well supported in linux. thankfully, the sound blaster live does work well in linux. it's not as easy to set up as its older brethren, but it will do the job quite nicely.

<li>network card - 3com 905cx model. any one of the derivatives of this line will work very well. the main consideration here is linux support. fortunately, solid drivers do exist for this card, so support is not an issue.

<li>main hard drive - seagate cheetah 36gb ultra 160 scsi. 36 gigs will be plenty to house the operating system and my apps. ultra 160 scsi is important because it helps us in meeting the goal of overall system speed. scsi drives will copy, read & write data faster than their ide counterparts. scsi drives are also generally better constructed, as scsi is understood to be the basis of many mission critical applications. therefore, scsi drives are generally engineered properly. i should never suffer a system crash because of this drive, and the system will run faster because everything is being read from an 10,000 rpm, ultra 160 drive. it's all good.

<li>scsi controller - adaptec 19160. it's not too expensive and will do what i need it to do. adaptec makes the best scsi products. there really is no choice here.

<li>secondary hard drive - ibm 60gxp 61gb ata/100 ide. at 7,200 rpm's, this drive is pretty quick. it's also noted to be a solidly engineered drive. this is important, because it's going to be storing all my data - mp3s, videos, pictures, etc. 61 gigs is spacious enough that i'll have room to grow for a year or two.

<li>dvd rom - samsung 19k1504. 8x dvd playback, 40x cd. it's black. it looks good. it will be the second and probably last device on the ide bus. it also offers me the ability to watch movies in linux. whether or not i do this shall be seen at a later date - i didn't put a dvd player on my 27" tv so i could watch movies on my 19" monitor. but i'm leaving the option open. i also chose dvd because an increasing number of software vendors are releasing their products on dvd now - including suse and debian. note that last one there - very cool.

<li>floppy drive - panasonic ju-256a226p. what a model number. but anyway, it's a black floppy drive. this is important, as i have said. there's not really much else to write about the flopy drive - i'll probably use it once, to boot the install routine. otherwise, bfd. normal floppy.

<li>keyboard - despite the fact that i am not a fan of microsoft, they happen to make excellent input devices. the microsoft natural keyboard is really the only way to go for me. i am so used to typing with the split keyboard that it's a pain to use anything else. i had my company buy me one for my office, and it's all i use at home.

<li>mouse - razer boomslang 2000. i already have this, and it's staying. the mouse is ultra responsive, large, heavy, and fits my hand well. it also boasts a 2000 cpi, or coordinates-per-inch, which makes it the most precise mouse on the market.

<li>mouse pad - func surface 1030. this matters to me for a number of reasons. i need something that's easy to clean, offers a good tracking surface for my mouse, and doesn't move around all over my desk. i don't like fabric mouse pads - they tend to make the mouse dirty. i opted for the func because it has two sides that can be used, as well as a mouse cord clip. this works by making a loop of your mouse cord, ensuring that it doesn't get snagged on the end of your desk or whatnot. this works surprisingly well. i will continue to use func mouse pads as long as i can buy them.

<li>monitor - sony fd trinitron f400. 19 inches of flatscreen love. .24 aperture grille. it just looks good. what can i say, i love the trinitron picture tubes. i will continue to buy sony monitors. simply put, this is one of the best monitors on the market.

<li>speakers - klipsch promedia 2.1 x2. these speakers are absolutely incredible. they sound amazing, even at high volume. their subwoofers produce this rich, deep bass that can only be appreciated by feeling it. it's hard to sum up how good these speakers are by saying anything other than "these are the best computer speakers that money can buy." two sets of them will give me four satellites and two subwoofers for a pretty amazing sound experience.

</ul>

now, i should explain something. i am going to use the new computer, currently under the working title "das tier" (german for "the beast"), right along side my current "main" box, syphon. i am not buying a new mouse, mouse pad, speakers or monitor. i already have these, and they still work perfectly. syphon itself will remain intact, but its external peripherals (the ones stated above) will be shared with the new machine via a kvm switch. so...

<ul>
<li>kvm switch - belkin soho f1ds104t kvm. this is consistently reviewed as the best kvm switch on the market. it supports up to four computers, switched between either by buttons on the front of the unit or by simple keyboard commands. it has an upgrade-able firmware, meaning that bugs can be fixed without the need for an exchange. it features a cable management system, where all the cables flow neatly out of the back of the unit. it also features speaker switching, so a single set of speakers (or headphones) can be used on multiple computers, one at a time. it also features support for usb peripherals. this is highly desireable because it means that i can later use my current mouse and keyboard on a usb-only computer, such as the sun blade 100 that i plan on purchasing some time in the not-so-distant future. belkin even offers support for mac & sun, which is good. the switch also stands upright, so it takes up little desk space. this is definitely a bonus.
</ul>

other considerations: cooling is an issue. with a 10,000 rpm drive and two hot processors in the case, the temperatures are bound to rise. fortunately, by taking a proactive measure against overheating, i expect this to be a non-issue. first and foremost, airflow inside the case must be good. ribbon cables will be folded along the sides & bottom of the case whenever possible. this means, for example, that I will likely place the scsi card in the bottom pci slot on the motherboard, as that will allow me to fold the cable along the base. since the hard drives will be stored in the bottom, this is convenient. another option is rounded cables, which, by taking up less space, allow a greater air flow. these are expensive, however, and possibly unnecessary. so, they will not be purchased unless my cabling solution is not adequate.

there will also be a blowhole in the top of the case, with a 120mm fan blowing air up & out. the purpose of this is to act like a chimney, so that the air over the processors keeps moving. with two fans sucking air in through the bottom front of the case and three sucking air out (1 x 120mm in top, 1 x 80mm in back, 1 x 80mm in power supply) and one sucking air up from the card area (in the bottom of the power supply), air will definitely be moving. this is a wholly good thing.

i also expect to disassemble the computer every 3-4 months and remove the dust from the inside. dust can make a sizeable difference in the temperatures inside the case, so i plan to keep the inside rather clean.

of course, by having an all-aluminum case, i am already conducting heat away from my peripherals and out into the bedroom. all around, i don't expect heat to be too much of an issue.

and that's pretty much that. all of these components should work well with linux as well as each other, and will stack up to be the fastest computer i've ever owned and one of the faster personal computers around (that is, of course, until intel releases a 4 ghz processor). the listed components, combined, will meet the above stated requirements, as well as providing me with a very productive corner in my bedroom.

<hr>
Alright. Now. I actually need to build this thing. To do that, I need components.

Here's what I've got so far:

<ul>
<li>case
<li>all fans and mounting accesories
<li>floppy drive
<li>dvd rom drive
<li>sound card
<li>network card
<li>power supply
<li>RAM
</ul>

What I do not yet have: U160 card, KVM switch & cables, motherboard, hard drive, video card, processors.

I will buy these parts in that order, just as I have bought everything in a specific order: from parts that are least likely to significantly decrease in price to parts that are likely to decrease in price. That's why the processors are last.

Anyway, I actually started construction on this. There isn't so much I can do without some of these pieces (namely, a motherboard would be great so I could actually mount the cards I do have and whatnot). But I have done a fair bit of work, and here's a link to a page with pictures:

http://www.digipulse.org/images/dastier/dastier.html

That includes installation of the power supply and front and rear fans, as well as pictures of the completed mini-projects, the case itself and the top blowhole. Fear the pictures - they're ~500K for most of 'em. But they're fairly good shots and show how this is turning out. This is the kind of thing I'm interested in, and I thought some others might be as well.

I will post updates here when I get the new parts and install them. I expect this project will be completed by the end of December or so.

Enjoy.

11-27-2001, 09:59 AM	#1
dave Guest Posts: n/a	New Uber Box Alright. I know a lot of people out there are interested in building kick-ass systems. I'm not sure how many of them read The Cellar, but they should, dammit. And when they do, here's some information that's helpful to them (and maybe you, too!). I am building a new system to replace my current workhorse. Said workhorse will become a development machine. I will, for the rest of this post, write mostly in lowercase, because that is my general style and that's how I wrote this. At the bottom, you will find a link to a page with actual pictures of the construction work. Yay! I will, of course, post here again when new updates are made. Those with suggestions (not likely I'll take them, 'cause I've thought this through a lot - but make them anyway, I might, and even if I don't, someone else might find them useful) are encouraged to post them. Questions are welcome. General praise is encouraged. Flames are too, unless they're from jaguar, because we already know how he feels about me All that having been said, let's get this show on the road... <hr> first, let us state our goals. <ul> <li>to have an obscenely fast computer <ul> <li>processor speed is important <li>the amount of ram must exceed all rational bounds <li>the storage system must be sizeable enough to store all my data, yet FAST. <li>the video card must be capable of giving me the best possible performance, both in 2d graphics drawing as well as 3d game rendering </ul> <li>to have an extremely well assembled machine <li>to be able to operate two machines (syphon and the new machine) from the same desk <li>the case, as well as all of its externally-viewable components, must be black <li>to have deafening audio <li>to operate with the other computers on the network seamlessly <li>to be able to watch dvds, if i so desire </ul> this is a fairly long list. fortunately, with adequate research, i am absolutely confident that this can be accomplished. it should be noted that money is no option. no expense will be spared. this computer should last me for at least a year. the only upgrades that will be allowed: added storage space and increasing the amount of ram (more on this later). having the components already selected, i think it's time to get down to business. <ul> <li><u>operating system</u> - debian gnu/linux. as anyone that knows me is aware, this is the single most important part of the setup. it's the biggest pain in the ass to put in the box and without it, everything else is worthless. i choose debian for a number of reasons. it's easy to administer. it's easy to install new applications. it's easy to perform a system upgrade. its filesystem layout makes sense. it's rock solid, so i won't need to worry about rebooting when i don't want to. in short, debian makes sure that my computer is ready for me when i need it. <li><u>case</u> - lian li pc12. this case is all aluminum, save the black plastic front bezel. the construction is sturdy, yet it is light. the aluminum will act as a large heatsink for the warm components on the inside. two fans are included on the front and one on the back (though we will replace these with panaflo premium fans, for added reliability), so this will keep air moving. the motherboard tray slides out wholly intact, meaning that i can remove it with the add-on cards still in place. nearly everything comes off with a thumb screw or four. the hard disk mounting area, in the front behind the fans, is easily removeable for future additions. all in all, this is one of the very best mid tower cases that can be bought today. it is, of course, black. <li><u>motherboard</u> - tyan tiger mp (s2460). tyan has a reputation for excellence and stability, and this board stacks up. it is capable of holding three gb of ram. four ide devices with full support for ata/66 & ata/100. four usb. amd 760mp chipset for dual athlon processor goodness. and, of course, six pci slots & one agp for my video card. very nice motherboard. <li><u>processors</u> - amd athlon mp 1800 x2. can't possibly waste such a motherboard with only one processor. the athlon mp 1800 is currently the fastest on the market. that makes it the easy choice. heating problems with amd processors should not be a problem - adequate steps will be taken to ensure good airflow in the case, as well as to ensure that the heat of the processors is dissipated thoroughly. both of these running in tandem should guarantee that i have one of the fastest personal computers in the world (at least for a week or so). <li><u>ram</u> - crucial 256mb pc2100 x 4. while 1024 isn't as high a number as i would like (2048 was the intended amount of memory for this computer), crucial is not producing 512mb dimm's at this time. this is unfortunate, because crucial is the best memory manufacturer and i will not buy from anyone else. fortunately, the price of the ram is, as of current, only $140, so this is a cost i can afford to eat - i'll put in the 512's when they come out, or shortly thereafter. <li><u>power supply</u> - eg465p-ve 431 watt psu. 431 watts is important because i'll be running a dual processor configuration. this guarantees a high power draw. this, combined with the rest of the components in the case, guarantees that i will need 431 watts. enermax makes solid products, and their power supplies are certified to power amd products. plus, with an intake fan on the bottom of the power supply, airflow in the processor area will be increased. this makes the choice of power supply fairly easy. <li><u>video card</u> - leadtek geforce3 titanium 500. 64 mb of ddr ram. 10-12% increases over the geforce3. and a lower initial price tag. very nice. this will keep my frames per second very high in quake3, and it will be able to drive my monitor at the highest resolution, color depth & refresh that it can support. because nvidia has released drivers for linux, their cards tend to work very well under my operating system of chice. this is an easy pick too. <li><u>sound card</u> - creative sound blaster live. we need something that will offer four channel output, but it also must be well supported in linux. thankfully, the sound blaster live does work well in linux. it's not as easy to set up as its older brethren, but it will do the job quite nicely. <li><u>network card</u> - 3com 905cx model. any one of the derivatives of this line will work very well. the main consideration here is linux support. fortunately, solid drivers do exist for this card, so support is not an issue. <li><u>main hard drive</u> - seagate cheetah 36gb ultra 160 scsi. 36 gigs will be plenty to house the operating system and my apps. ultra 160 scsi is important because it helps us in meeting the goal of overall system speed. scsi drives will copy, read & write data faster than their ide counterparts. scsi drives are also generally better constructed, as scsi is understood to be the basis of many mission critical applications. therefore, scsi drives are generally engineered properly. i should never suffer a system crash because of this drive, and the system will run faster because everything is being read from an 10,000 rpm, ultra 160 drive. it's all good. <li><u>scsi controller</u> - adaptec 19160. it's not too expensive and will do what i need it to do. adaptec makes the best scsi products. there really is no choice here. <li><u>secondary hard drive</u> - ibm 60gxp 61gb ata/100 ide. at 7,200 rpm's, this drive is pretty quick. it's also noted to be a solidly engineered drive. this is important, because it's going to be storing all my data - mp3s, videos, pictures, etc. 61 gigs is spacious enough that i'll have room to grow for a year or two. <li><u>dvd rom</u> - samsung 19k1504. 8x dvd playback, 40x cd. it's black. it looks good. it will be the second and probably last device on the ide bus. it also offers me the ability to watch movies in linux. whether or not i do this shall be seen at a later date - i didn't put a dvd player on my 27" tv so i could watch movies on my 19" monitor. but i'm leaving the option open. i also chose dvd because an increasing number of software vendors are releasing their products on dvd now - including suse and debian. note that last one there - very cool. <li><u>floppy drive</u> - panasonic ju-256a226p. what a model number. but anyway, it's a black floppy drive. this is important, as i have said. there's not really much else to write about the flopy drive - i'll probably use it once, to boot the install routine. otherwise, bfd. normal floppy. <li><u>keyboard</u> - despite the fact that i am not a fan of microsoft, they happen to make excellent input devices. the microsoft natural keyboard is really the only way to go for me. i am so used to typing with the split keyboard that it's a pain to use anything else. i had my company buy me one for my office, and it's all i use at home. <li><u>mouse</u> - razer boomslang 2000. i already have this, and it's staying. the mouse is ultra responsive, large, heavy, and fits my hand well. it also boasts a 2000 cpi, or coordinates-per-inch, which makes it the most precise mouse on the market. <li><u>mouse pad</u> - func surface 1030. this matters to me for a number of reasons. i need something that's easy to clean, offers a good tracking surface for my mouse, and doesn't move around all over my desk. i don't like fabric mouse pads - they tend to make the mouse dirty. i opted for the func because it has two sides that can be used, as well as a mouse cord clip. this works by making a loop of your mouse cord, ensuring that it doesn't get snagged on the end of your desk or whatnot. this works surprisingly well. i will continue to use func mouse pads as long as i can buy them. <li><u>monitor</u> - sony fd trinitron f400. 19 inches of flatscreen love. .24 aperture grille. it just looks good. what can i say, i love the trinitron picture tubes. i will continue to buy sony monitors. simply put, this is one of the best monitors on the market. <li><u>speakers</u> - klipsch promedia 2.1 x2. these speakers are absolutely incredible. they sound amazing, even at high volume. their subwoofers produce this rich, deep bass that can only be appreciated by feeling it. it's hard to sum up how good these speakers are by saying anything other than "these are the best computer speakers that money can buy." two sets of them will give me four satellites and two subwoofers for a pretty amazing sound experience. </ul> <p> now, i should explain something. i am going to use the new computer, currently under the working title "das tier" (german for "the beast"), right along side my current "main" box, <u>syphon</u>. i am not buying a new mouse, mouse pad, speakers or monitor. i already have these, and they still work perfectly. syphon itself will remain intact, but its external peripherals (the ones stated above) will be shared with the new machine via a kvm switch. so... <p> <ul> <li><u>kvm switch</u> - belkin soho f1ds104t kvm. this is consistently reviewed as the best kvm switch on the market. it supports up to four computers, switched between either by buttons on the front of the unit or by simple keyboard commands. it has an upgrade-able firmware, meaning that bugs can be fixed without the need for an exchange. it features a cable management system, where all the cables flow neatly out of the back of the unit. it also features speaker switching, so a single set of speakers (or headphones) can be used on multiple computers, one at a time. it also features support for usb peripherals. this is highly desireable because it means that i can later use my current mouse and keyboard on a usb-only computer, such as the sun blade 100 that i plan on purchasing some time in the not-so-distant future. belkin even offers support for mac & sun, which is good. the switch also stands upright, so it takes up little desk space. this is definitely a bonus. </ul> <p> <u>other considerations</u>: cooling is an issue. with a 10,000 rpm drive and two hot processors in the case, the temperatures are bound to rise. fortunately, by taking a proactive measure against overheating, i expect this to be a non-issue. first and foremost, airflow inside the case must be good. ribbon cables will be folded along the sides & bottom of the case whenever possible. this means, for example, that I will likely place the scsi card in the bottom pci slot on the motherboard, as that will allow me to fold the cable along the base. since the hard drives will be stored in the bottom, this is convenient. another option is rounded cables, which, by taking up less space, allow a greater air flow. these are expensive, however, and possibly unnecessary. so, they will not be purchased unless my cabling solution is not adequate. <p> there will also be a blowhole in the top of the case, with a 120mm fan blowing air up & out. the purpose of this is to act like a chimney, so that the air over the processors keeps moving. with two fans sucking air in through the bottom front of the case and three sucking air out (1 x 120mm in top, 1 x 80mm in back, 1 x 80mm in power supply) and one sucking air up from the card area (in the bottom of the power supply), air will definitely be moving. this is a wholly good thing. <p> i also expect to disassemble the computer every 3-4 months and remove the dust from the inside. dust can make a sizeable difference in the temperatures inside the case, so i plan to keep the inside rather clean. <p> of course, by having an all-aluminum case, i am already conducting heat away from my peripherals and out into the bedroom. all around, i don't expect heat to be too much of an issue. <p> and that's pretty much that. all of these components should work well with linux as well as each other, and will stack up to be the fastest computer i've ever owned and one of the faster personal computers around (that is, of course, until intel releases a 4 ghz processor). the listed components, combined, will meet the above stated requirements, as well as providing me with a very productive corner in my bedroom. <hr> Alright. Now. I actually need to build this thing. To do that, I need components. Here's what I've got so far: <ul> <li>case <li>all fans and mounting accesories <li>floppy drive <li>dvd rom drive <li>sound card <li>network card <li>power supply <li>RAM </ul> What I do not yet have: U160 card, KVM switch & cables, motherboard, hard drive, video card, processors. I will buy these parts in that order, just as I have bought everything in a specific order: from parts that are least likely to significantly decrease in price to parts that are likely to decrease in price. That's why the processors are last. Anyway, I actually started construction on this. There isn't so much I can do without some of these pieces (namely, a motherboard would be great so I could actually mount the cards I do have and whatnot). But I have done a fair bit of work, and here's a link to a page with pictures: http://www.digipulse.org/images/dastier/dastier.html That includes installation of the power supply and front and rear fans, as well as pictures of the completed mini-projects, the case itself and the top blowhole. Fear the pictures - they're ~500K for most of 'em. But they're fairly good shots and show how this is turning out. This is the kind of thing I'm interested in, and I thought some others might be as well. I will post updates here when I get the new parts and install them. I expect this project will be completed by the end of December or so. Enjoy.

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