Project: Leviathan

[Vertigo]

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/banner.png

Recently my wife and I moved from a house on one side of town, to an apartment on the other side. Much better part of town, closer to work and school. And the cops actually come to this neighborhood when you call them. One thing however; became painfully apparent in the move, the amount of space my computer rig uses.

And since I'm about to add a fourth and final PC to the the beast I realized that I needed to rethink the whole setup. Right now there are wires tangled in every direction behind my computer desk. So after reevaluating the situation I decided to do a bit of work to streamline the whole setup, and organize things better. In addition, all of my computers will match.

It also bares mentioning that I not only play World of Warcraft, but I'm a multi-boxer, I run five account simultaneously. My setup is a hybrid of hardware and software. That, is the reason why I'm using so many computers, and also why my monitor configuration is so important. If you've seen my Animus mod, you'll be familiar with the main rig of this setup. Though it's getting a cosmetic change to match the rest of the overall mod. I'll be replacing the front bezel, but keeping the animus modded bezel in storage for posterity.


http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/cases.png

First, the cases. I'm using Lian Li 7B Cases. I've made 2 wooden tables to hold the cases, and keep them off of the carpet. (pics coming soon). These are 20 inches x 32 inches, with 6 inch tall legs, the top is inch thick pressed board. I'll be cleaning these up and varnishing them soon. These two will go side by side behind my desk, and since I'm in an apartment I'll also be adding some attachments to help organize my cable mess. More on that later. Each of these mini tables will hold two computers, a power strip, and cable organization hooks, etc.

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/monitors.png

On to the monitors, I'm using 3 Ergotron monitor stands to organize the 4 monitors. In the middle, I have 2 DELL ULTRASHARP 2208WFP 22 Inch Wide screen Monitors. These are stacked one on top of the other as in the pic above. The bottom being my main work/gaming screen, and the top being my media box screen. I tend to listen to iTunes, browse the internet for wow info or run Adult Swim.com or even watch movies while I'm playing. On either side of the wide screens I've got a pair of Samsung 940N 19 Inch Monitors, these are also on Ergotron stands, but rotated at a 90 degree angle. This allows me to run 2 wow accounts stacked on top of each other in a decent sized resolution.

The two secondary gaming computers don't need to be "too special". I'll be running dual core processors, a $100ish video card, and 3 gigs of RAM. What concerns me is the cooling, I want to simply use air cooling however I'd like to get some fans that aren't so noisy. The Thermaltake fans I bought for Animus are like a jet engine, however the ones I have in my old mod Infernis are actually really quiet. But I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask if anyone has a suggestion on fans that can move some air and not make ridiculously high amounts of noise. Meantime, I'm going to be at work deciding on the actual design specifics of the mod. I should have something a little more concrete soon, thanks for reading.

More coming soon...

[SXRguyinMA]

this thing looks crazy :up:

[Pointy_Stick]

It also bares mentioning that I not only play World of Warcraft, but I'm a multi-boxer, I run five account simultaneously.

This. If I ever understand why people do this, I will know everything there is to know about people.

Nice looking setup though. Wish I had that sort of cash to burn. Will be watching.

[gntlkilr]

if you want quiet, noctua. 24.99 at frozencpu.com for a 12 cm

[Vertigo]

This. If I ever understand why people do this, I will know everything there is to know about people.

Nice looking setup though. Wish I had that sort of cash to burn. Will be watching.

I can only speak for myself, but I will say this: I have the money to have a hobby, so why not? When I was young, I didn't understand why my father spent inordinate amounts of money on fishing supplies, he and I talked about it one day and he told me he spends around $3000 per year, easilly. Not including charter expeditions to the Gulf, etc. He considers that part of vacation expenses. And he's a garbage man, he hauls garbage 40+ hours per week, and makes decent money doing it.

Eventually, I got older and realized who was I to question his hobby? I mean it's not like any kids ever went hungry, or bills weren't paid, etc. He told me once when I was fishing with him, that it was important to have a hobby. And it didn't make any sense to me until I did grow older. There's a lot of things that can muddy your life, if you let them. An argument with the wife, the dog crappin on the carpet, etc. So, having an outlet is important. It's what keeps workin class stiffs from shooting up a Mc Donalds (Falling Down style).

As for why, specifically this hobby, and this level of devotion to it? I enjoy it, having my own group to run is both challenging and rewarding, much in the same way that computer modding is, anyone can build a computer. But it takes someone with that special blend of nerdy and crazy to mod the hell out of it, just because they can. Playing my own group has another advantage, I get to pick and choose when I play, how involved I am in playing. And ... who I play with ... I've been playing games like WoW for a long time. And I'll tell ya, I've had my fill of 12 year olds screaming obscenities into vent because a rogue out rolled them for a sword, or any number of annoyances I don't want to listen to or deal with.

So, I have my own group. I play at my pace, if I need to log off in the middle of an instance, I can ... and I don't feel any remorse, because, the group doesn't have to replace me. I am the group. And if some friends are on, particularly friends of mine from the west coast I don't get to see IRL very often since I moved, then I can always do something with them. Basically, doing this allows me the opportunity to enjoy my hobby on my terms, and for less money per year than my father spends on his. Sorry for the length, but I think I understand the curiosity and definitely am accustomed to questions, because I get them all the time in the game. :P


if you want quiet, noctua. 24.99 at frozencpu.com for a 12 cm

These I will definitely be checking out, right now I'm using some super cheap Rosewill red LED fans in my older computer. And they seem pretty quiet, but one of the fans itself died after about 6 months of use. Which leads me to be a little leery of getting more.

[Pointy_Stick]

My post meant no offense. I dislike WoW vehemently, but if people enjoy playing WoW, I say let them, no matter how strange that seems to me. And honestly, I had never even considered the possibility that people would play as their own group, which makes a lot of sense really given the majority of WoW's clientele.

And when I said "Wish I had that kind of cash to burn", I was making reference to the fact that I wish I could afford that sort of monitor setup. I wasn't being critical, I was being envious.

Anyway, good luck with the build. I can't live out my fantasies of over-the-top computing power myself, so I look forward to being to do so vicariously through you!

[Vertigo]

hehe, I didn't take offense, like I said, I'm accustomed to questions. People see five guys running around that look almost identical with a 1 letter difference in their names and they get curious. I've learned the best way to handle it is to just explain and go on.

[gntlkilr]

Noctua 12 cm fan, 17dba w/o resistor, w/ resistor 6dba. and thats at 48CFM

http://www.noctua.at/images/products/fullsize/noctua_nf_p12_1.jpg (http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5379/fan-268/Noctua_NF-S12-1200_120mm_Fan_48_CFM.html?tl=c15s60b32)

I have 6 in my chieftec server case and you can't hear it from more than 4 ft away. I hear the power supply more than the fans. Just haven't changed the PSU fan yet. Its on the list tho.

[Vertigo]

Thanks gntlkilr, ordered 8 of the 120mm and 8 of the 80mm fans. Also got hold of some sheetmetal for my mod ... I won't say much beyond that ... because I want it to be a surprise ^_^

[DonT-FeaR]

sweet... hmm sounds like my next order... like 10 fans lol

god luck/work

[The boy 4rm oz]

Dude, your last mod was wild.

I am the same as pointy_stick on the whole aspect. I have seen to many friends pulled into the craze, many of them dropped out of school to play full time or because they were failing due to the game. I myself played the trial and found myself playing way way too much At the end of the 14 days I had a level 20 Tauren warrior and a level 17 hunter, way too much time spent lol. I admit I did have fun but I have an addictive nature and an MMO would be very bad for me lol.

I am liking the screen set up shown above, wish I could afford one lol.

Waiting eagerly for more :D.

[Vertigo]

Well, there's four of those cases. And each holds a pair of 120mm and a pair of 80mm fans. I've also ordered some thermal sensors and a few other things, switches for fan controls and the like.

[SXRguyinMA]

nice fans :D

[Thorn]

hehe lianli :D i love lian li :D

[gntlkilr]

Ya kno, you're probably the reason that frozencpu was out when I went to order the 6 12 cm Noctua I need for my wife's and my cases. LOL

Ah well. So far its looking good. I love the monitor setup.

I have a somewhat similar idea but for my exchange and file servers (using matching cases). Using Chieftec cases. Heh. it'll be much easier with my new mitre and table saws.

[Vertigo]

I've decided to make the jump to Vista, since I'm loading 5 (sometimes 10) seperate copies of a game simultaneously however, hard drive speed is becoming a bottleneck. With that in mind, I've decided to make my main boot drive an SSD (Solid State Disk), from my research it looks like I should receive about a 200% increase in loading speeds, this includes Vista boot times. Once I have everything working I'll put together a review/comparison along with some benchmarks.

Both computers start with this
Master Drive: OCZ Core Series SATA II 60 gig SSD - link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227360)
Slave Drive: Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200 RPM SATA - link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148309)

I also decided to stick with 2 PCs rather than 3. I figure I can just give the second PC a little more oomph for less cash. It'll also allow me more control, with less effort. Here's the finished parts list:

Main Rig
Q6600 Quad-Core
EVGA 780i Motherboard
2 Gigs Corsair Dominator RAM
EVGA GeForce 8800 GT Overclocked 512MB Vid Card

Secondary Rig
Processor: Q6600 Quad-Core - link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017)
Motherboard: ABIT AW9D Max - link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127011R&Tpk=AW9D)
RAM: 4 Gigs G. Skill RAM - link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122)
Video Card: PowerColor PCS+ HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 - link (http://www.powercolor.com/mi/products_features.asp?ProductID=2339")

[The boy 4rm oz]

Specs look really good mate. Should be a ton of power.

[Vertigo]

Made some changes in the parts list above, notably dropped one computer from the setup.

[Vertigo]

A bit of an update:
I've decided since I'm keeping the computers behind my computer desk, out of arms reach to add a couple of external CD ROMs. This keeps all of my drive bays free, and ready for a facelift. And also lets me pop in a game disk or something if need be. I'm going to make an enclosure for the DVD drives on my desk that'll bolt on and fit the new look of the desk (once I'm done with the desk mods, I'll be painting it to match the computers and the little case stand I made.)

Here's the case stand, just some quick work with glue and some scrap wood. I'm going to add some "wire management" for all these power cables and crap in the back, then get this thing varnished.
http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/casestand.jpg

As for the drive bays, I'm going to use some bolt on pieces like these from mnptech, however they're going to be engraved.
http://www.mnpctech.com/Billet_Computer_Drive_Bay_Cover.html

Here's a rough idea of how the drive bay cover will look once it's engraved and plated. (Thinking Copper or Smokey Nickel plating)
http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/bezel.jpg

More coming soon.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Lovely design for the bay cover.

[Vertigo]

Alright, not much to show for now. Some plans have been changed, after speaking with the wife.

First: I'll be doing another mod along with this project, she's getting her first gaming computer. As a result, the 2 Samsung monitors will be going to her.

This doesn't leave me short on the monitor front however. And brings me to the next relevant point of all of this. I've been doing some testing to see get an idea of just how much oomph I need to run 2 copies of the game at a time. I've found that a dual core works fine, infact my old Infernis PC is running four atm fairly well, and it's a socket 939 AMD 5200+. So, knowing now that I'll be getting back a little more cash than expected from tax returns (hurray) and the new lowered specs for the build, I'm going to be actually building two cheaper systems, each with a pair of monitors. I'll be a little more specific soon, I'm trying to iron out all of the details. The finished setup will look something like this:
http://vboxing.net/blog/media/blogs/images/shamans.jpg

I'll have more soon, I'm working out refinishing my desk (it's gotten some nasty marks in it from our recent move) and I'm going to be adding some wiring harness work to the underside of the desk to help keep things organized. So ... stay tuned for the insanity.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Sounds great mate. Yeah WoW isn't very resource hungry so lower end systems will work fantastically. I can't wait for some pics.

[Vertigo]

A bit of an update:
First, this weekend I suffered a tragic push forward on this mod project. My old rig Infernis passed away. The motherboard is fried, and ... it's a socket 939. It's cheaper to completely rebuild than to try to replace these 939 parts. The upside of this? I got the parts together for a pair of what I think will be quite capable gaming rigs to replace this old one. I'm going to be putting these into some cheapo throw away cases temporarilly while I work on modding the Lian Li cases.

Here's the specs (minus psu and case)
Motherboard: EVGA 113-M2-E113 AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI ATX
Processor: AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core
Video Card: EVGA GeForce 9600 GT Superclocked Edition 512MB
RAM: G.SKILL 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Hard Drive: OCZ Solid Series 2.5" 30GB SATA II Solid State Disk (SSD)

Hopefully I'll be able to post some actual pics of progress very soon.

Edit:
Somewhat offtopic, I was recently interviewed by The Escapist Magazine for an article about Multiboxing, here's the article (I'm cited as Hor)
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_191/5813-Multiboxing-to-Level-80-Nirvana

[The boy 4rm oz]

Specs sound good mate. Personally I would go for a 80GB mechanical drive over the SSD. SSDs tend to slow down a lot after a certain amount of time and require formatting to keep them running smooth, too much hastle for me lol.

Congratz on the feature in the article.

[Vertigo]

Well, I've got 500g data drives for each of these already. So the only thing that will be on the SSDs will be OS and some programs (like World of Warcraft and FRAPs) Basically, I decided to go for the best of both worlds. SSD for quick load times and traditional SATA drives for raw data.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Yeah I guess, I'm still gonna wait for SSD technology to mature before I commit though lol.

[DonT-FeaR]

/\ yeah same ... i want and ssd but im gunna wait to

[The boy 4rm oz]

Once memristors take hold we won't need any HDDs. Ahh to dream to dream lol.

[Vertigo]

I was going to wait myself, but I had the opportunity a little while back to play around with a vista system running an SSD and it was really surprising how much of a difference it makes. The interesting thing is, the parts listed above only amounts to $430.

Edit:
One other thing, I'm wondering about the operating system now.
Do I go with Vista?

Or wait on the new OS?

Opinions, anyone messed with the beta of the new OS yet?

[mercerman318]

I've tried the new OS, but not enough to give a fair opinion on it... so far i'd say it's pretty good.

Just as an aside, if you haven't purchased the parts yet, and you are only plannin on running one monitor it might be a good idea to get a 9800 GT since your already paying so little. The 9800 can use Hybrid SLI with the integrated video in the motherboard and give you that much more of a boost for gaming

[The boy 4rm oz]

I thought hybrid SLI only shut down the GPU for 2D tasks such as word processing etc, not lend extra power to 3D apps, I'm probably wrong.

As for the OS. Vista works very well with newer hardware and a min of 3GB of RAM (especially for gaming). Windows 7 uses a lot less system resources than Vista allowing it to run very well on lower specced machines (much like XP). The minimum system specs for Windows 7 are as follows:
CPU: 1GHz+
RAM: 1GB+
GPU: 128MB DX9 compatible
HDD: 16GB free
Optical: DVD-ROM (optional)
In it's BETA stages Windows 7 shows performance gains over Vista. I recently read a review where a Nvidia GTX295 and an Intel 3.2GHZ Duel Core managed a 4% increase in 3DMark Vantage and a 5.5% increase in 3DMark06. That's pretty good considering it's still in BETA stage. I have also seen similar gains in much lower end systems.

You could always use Vista and install the Windows 7 BETA over it and use it until the BETA expires in September or you could buy a retail copy of Vista and hope they sell Windows 7 upgrade pack upon release like they did with XP for Vista. Personally I think Windows 7 will be great for us gamers, especially with all the new technology and rendering systems they are introducing. The sad thing is we probably won't see a retail version until mid-end 2010.

[nevermind1534]

I thought hybrid SLI only shut down the GPU for 2D tasks such as word processing etc, not lend extra power to 3D apps, I'm probably wrong.

I thought hybrid lent power for stuff and there was a different feature for other ones that just shut it off to save power for 2D stuff, but you might be right.

[mercerman318]

You guys may be right, either way it's power saving or extra gaming performance, still might be a good idea :D

[Vertigo]

Since I'm going to be using these almost solely for playing MMOs like World of Warcraft and Warhammer. These games tend to be pretty forgiving on the video card, but can be incredibly demanding on the hard drive and ram (especially when loading multiple copies of the game client simultaneously, and running in highly populated areas on those various clients). That's my primary focus with this setup. To give you an idea, each computer will be runninng 2 clients with a resolution of 800x600 each, with video settings on low for maximum performance. My main rig/client is the only one that has everything cranked to the max.

[Vertigo]

JUST submitted my order with newegg.com:

2 LIAN LI PC-65B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112040) -$20.00 Instant [ $239.98 ]
2 EVGA 113-M2-E113 AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188036) $20.00 Mail-in Rebate [ $179.98 ]
2 EVGA 512-P3-N866-TR GeForce 9600 GT Superclocked Edition 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130445) $30.00 Mail-in Rebate [ $199.98 ]
2Thermaltake TR2 RX W0146RU 450W ATX12V Ver2.2 Modular Passive PFC PFC Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153057) -$10.00 Instant [ $111.98 ]
4 G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122) -$10.00 Instant [ $159.96 ]
2 AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor Model HD960ZWCGDBOX - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103244) -$20.00 Instant [ $199.98 ]
2 OCZ Solid Series OCZSSD2-1SLD30G 2.5" 30GB SATA II Solid State Disk (SSD) - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227372) [ $192.00 ]

Total: $1,283.86

Today I also got a couple of copies of Vista Premium Ultimate 64 edition. Now I gotta run to Auto Zone for paint and the hardware store for some screws and things.

[The boy 4rm oz]

That's is a really good price for two systems.

[DonT-FeaR]

im jealous...

[Vertigo]

Yeah I thought that was a good price, as they're primarilly for dual boxing I didn't want to go overboard. But as cheap as ram is, I figured crank it to 8 gigs per box. Hopefully these will perform quite well. Also, I'm seriously considering flipping the second box. IE, taking the frame apart and moving the motherboard, etc to the other side. So I have a mirror image PC setup. 1 box with window on the left, and one box with the window on the right. We'll see, I've been looking for an excuse to get a rivet gun anyway.

[The boy 4rm oz]

I think that is a really cool idea, two identical inverted systems. Will look awesome.

[Vertigo]

Damn, now I'm concerned. A friend pointed something out today that might be a problem:


The PSU does not meet all of the power requirements of the video card.

EVGA specifies a power supply with a minimum of 400w total capacity (you're ok there) but also a 12v supply that can supply up to 26 amps, your PSU's 12v supply has a 16 amp peak. The day of the independent multiple 12v rail has come and gone because of todays high draw video cards.

Check out something like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as…N82E16817703016 with a single 12v rail with a 36a capacity. PC Power and Cooling was my psu of choice until last night, when I got a DOA unit for a rig I was building for a friend...

Everything's already otw, the psu won't go to waste if it doesn't work with that card. Since I've got a media box I was putting together that could definitely use it.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Hmm, I don't think you will have a problem running the cards, I am pretty sure my PSU doesn't cover the minimum specs for an 8800GTX but it runs fine.

[Vertigo]

Yeah, I'm going to go with it and see how it works. The PSU and Vid Card were actually linked for a discount, along with several other PSU combinations that didn't meet the amp requirements. So ... I dunno, weird. Infact, come to think of it I don't think the PSU in the computer I'm typing on matches the vid card for amps either. It's a Thermaltake Toughpower hooked up to an 8800GT OC, and it's been working beautifully for about a year. According to the tracking info I'll know for sure Friday after work!

[Vertigo]

First, I need to explain a few things. I've had some setbacks during the course of this project. Until a couple of weeks ago I had 3 computers and a laptop at my desk. One computer was my media box (which has suffered from hard drive failure). Another was my old gaming rig, some of you might remember my Infernis PC project from a few years ago, this thing performed like a trooper for a long time with 0 problems, then a few weeks ago it froze and has never restarted.

I found out my ex roommate spilled Mtn Dew in the computer before I moved out. I don't think it was on purpose, but I'm surprised the computer lasted as long as it did after that. That left me with my laptop and my main rig. Both of which are still running perfectly fine. Below is the last pic of the whole thing up and running:

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/001.jpg

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/002.jpg

Infernis (the dead rig) is pictured on the right.

So, I decided to strip Infernis and see if I could find anything working in it. I salvaged the DVD drive for my new boxing rig, my old video card (7950 GTX), and 2 gigs of PC3200 OCZ ram. So my media box is about to get an upgrade.
Sadly, the motherboard is covered in the sticky remnants of my ex roommates misshap.

The DVD drive was similarly grungy, but functional. Some elbow grease and some alcohol based LCD wet wipes cleaned it up nicely.

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/003.jpg

The present!
Today I got a big surprise from brown:
http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/004.jpg

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/005.jpg

I got to work tearing thru packaging and assembling things with my lucky screwdriver (yes I have a lucky screwdriver, don't judge me.)

I was a bit concerned about how I was going to mount the SSD, but I was glad I ordered another Sytrin Masscool HD Cooler. I did a review on these a while back, and I'm hooked. If you're going to get an SSD this is a VERY handy option for easy mounting of the SSD.

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/006.jpg

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/007.jpg

In the end everything fit quite well, infact hiding all of the cables went smoother than I expected. Overall, it looked like a clean setup and I was ready to install the power supply.

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/008.jpg

And here's where our story takes an unfortunate turn. See, in my rush to get everything ordered ... and my glee at actually having enough cash to order everything last week. I neglected to read carefully over the stats for the power supply, I just kinda looked at the Thermaltake Toughpower ones. And picked on that was around 500 watts (I have a 650 in my main rig that works beautifully) unfortunately, the 450w I ordered doesn't jive with my setup. First, it has the 24 pin connector, but not the 4x4 connector. So ... for now no new computer, basically. Tomorrow I'm going to hit best buy and see IF they have a suitable power supply in stock. If not, I'll be taking the one out of my main rig just to get Vista going and make sure everything's working properly. Worst case scenario, I'll have my replacement PSUs next week.

As an aside, I haven't had a chance to do any of the painting or modding on the cases yet. Weather has been ... unpredictable at best here in Arkansas the last week. Hopefully that'll turn around soon and I can get to work on the flip and get the case panels painted with their new black and red paint job. Thanks for reading ... more coming soon.

[DonT-FeaR]

bad luck with the psu man... looks like a good system...

[The boy 4rm oz]

Man a real shame about Infernis, a very good mod. Also sucks to hear about your PSUs, have you looked at the Antec EarthPower range?

[Vertigo]

I'm looking at this Ultra PSU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276574&CatId=1079

It fits all of my criteria and is pretty inexpensive.

[nevermind1534]

I managed to spill mountain dew inside of my computer case while it was running (2L bottle at a LAN party), and it kept going, nothing happened.

[Vertigo]

*nods* I dunno if it was the Mtn Dew that killed it, I just know it happened. The Heatsink is covered in goo, same with the motherboard. So ... bleh. Either way, it's not working anymore.

[nevermind1534]

It gets pretty nasty once it dries. I waited a few months before I cleaned it up, and it was still all sticky and catching dust. I hope the damage to your compy is minimal.

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

there prolly is far too much sugar to conduct eletricity lol

[DonT-FeaR]

lol true... i managed to take my pc... no sides or top... and kept it drink free...

[Vertigo]

I snagged a new PSU from Best Buy today, a 550w after a few hiccups, Vista's been loaded and I'm installing some drivers and software. Installing on this SSD is SLOOOOOOW but it reads SOOOOOOO fast. Going to sleep now while all these updates are going. I'll have some pics soon.

[The boy 4rm oz]

That's great news mate, unusual for an SSD to write that slowly.

[Vertigo]

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/009.jpg

I finally managed to get a working PSU last week from Best Buy, I've been ridiculously busy with work lately so haven't had a lot of opportunity to play with the new toy. Just been configuring Vista settings, getting KaVoom and Keyclone setup, as well as getting the Sym Linked copies of WoW on the SSD.

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/010.jpg

A bit of wire management and installing both hard drives, then it was time to fire up the OS.

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/011.jpg

The motherboard has an onboard graphics card, which gave me some headaches, I'm not used to having onboard graphics and forgot to disable it after I installed drivers and all for the new EVGA card. Which put my Windows Experience score at 1.0 lol. It also caused a lot of freezing and errors when trying to boot the system. But I figured it out and it runs like a dream now, infact this computer actually boots faster than my main rig running Windows XP. Which was about twice the price a year ago.

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/012.jpg

Side Panels will soon be painted with the same Cherry Pearl paint I used on the interior of Animus. I'll be leaving a black "racing stripe" down the center/top of each case, with the sides being solid red. Windows I'm considering tinting black or replacing with dark plexi.

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/013.jpg

Left screen is hooked to my laptop, middle to my main rig.

http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/014.jpg

Right screen is the new machine (L1). Four symbolically linked copies of world of warcraft, load time for all four copies... 7 seconds. The SSD SCREAMS through these loading screens.

And a shot of my assistant, Buster.
http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/leviathan/015.jpg

Phase 1 of the mod is now over, I've got the kinks worked out of the parts I'm using and it's time to get to work on the other computers in the setup. The final step will be getting the monitors mounted and cleaning up the room (it's a mess right now, and will only get worse as the modding continues).

More coming soon, thanks for watching.

[darthperil]

Thats an awesome setup. I have never tried multi boxing but you have inspired me to give it a whirl. Keep up the good work, can't wait to see it finished.

[The boy 4rm oz]

Very nice setup. I am really thinking of getting into WoW, one of my mates has a spare account he can give me. I played the 14 day trial then went off to play other MMOs but none of them can currently live up to WoW, except Warhammer Online, I need to download the trial for that ;).