Vertigo
05-19-2009, 03:55 PM
Project: Leviathan
I know, you're probably wondering why I'm making an entirely new thread. Well, I've had to scrap the project altogether and completely rethink it from the ground up. I had some serious setbacks that really put the kibosh on the whole thing. So, starting from the ground up what do I have to work with, and what are my goals? Well, my goal is still to have a stable setup for running multiple copies of World of Warcraft. Also, my wife and I are in a two bedroom apartment, so space is at a premium, especially considering my desk takes up a room by itself. So, what to do? Think like a New Yorker that's what. Why build out when you can build up? The idea, to build indentical rigs stacked on top of each other, saves a lot of space and keeps the backs of all of the PCs close to the monitors for easy hook up.
The budget rig I built a couple of months ago just doesn't cut it, that being said it's not a total bust.This machine will make a fine file server/media box. Since I originally intended to build one using similar parts, this is no loss at all. however the backbone of my multi-boxing setup is now in question. I was leery of using another AMD after the lackluster performance of this one, however I had a chance to sit down with a friend's PC and see how his was working. It was then decided that several things would be happening: First, my main computer is going to my wife. And I'll be building 3 PCs for myself. All based on the AMD Black Edition (parts list is at the bottom, all 3 PCs will be identical).
As a base, I'm starting with 4 clear Sunbeam HTPC cases from Xoxide:
http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/lev2/001.jpg
http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/lev2/002.jpg
Link to the case on Xoxide (http://www.xoxide.com/sunbeam-htpc-acrylic-clear.html)
I'm going to be using window tinting on the cases. The front of the case will have the intake fans replaced with a pair of 120mm fans for better cooling. Red LEDs will be used inside to give an eery glow with the tinted plexi.
Parts List:
» ASUS M4A79 Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard [ $189.99 ]
» SAPPHIRE TOXIC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 Video Card [ $224.99 ]
» CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply [ $119.99 ]
» AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb AM2+ Quad-Core Black Edition Processor [ $189.99 ]
» G.SKILL 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) [ $117.98 ]
» Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST380215A 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Hard Drive [ $36.99 ]
Total: [ $879.93 ]
Supplementary info:
I also have an SSD that will be in each PC. I'm also working on an idea to wire all 4 computers to respond to 1 wireless remote, ie I press the button all 4 boot up.
Monitor array information will be covered later.
I know, you're probably wondering why I'm making an entirely new thread. Well, I've had to scrap the project altogether and completely rethink it from the ground up. I had some serious setbacks that really put the kibosh on the whole thing. So, starting from the ground up what do I have to work with, and what are my goals? Well, my goal is still to have a stable setup for running multiple copies of World of Warcraft. Also, my wife and I are in a two bedroom apartment, so space is at a premium, especially considering my desk takes up a room by itself. So, what to do? Think like a New Yorker that's what. Why build out when you can build up? The idea, to build indentical rigs stacked on top of each other, saves a lot of space and keeps the backs of all of the PCs close to the monitors for easy hook up.
The budget rig I built a couple of months ago just doesn't cut it, that being said it's not a total bust.This machine will make a fine file server/media box. Since I originally intended to build one using similar parts, this is no loss at all. however the backbone of my multi-boxing setup is now in question. I was leery of using another AMD after the lackluster performance of this one, however I had a chance to sit down with a friend's PC and see how his was working. It was then decided that several things would be happening: First, my main computer is going to my wife. And I'll be building 3 PCs for myself. All based on the AMD Black Edition (parts list is at the bottom, all 3 PCs will be identical).
As a base, I'm starting with 4 clear Sunbeam HTPC cases from Xoxide:
http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/lev2/001.jpg
http://srsbusiness.org/files/worklogs/lev2/002.jpg
Link to the case on Xoxide (http://www.xoxide.com/sunbeam-htpc-acrylic-clear.html)
I'm going to be using window tinting on the cases. The front of the case will have the intake fans replaced with a pair of 120mm fans for better cooling. Red LEDs will be used inside to give an eery glow with the tinted plexi.
Parts List:
» ASUS M4A79 Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard [ $189.99 ]
» SAPPHIRE TOXIC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 Video Card [ $224.99 ]
» CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply [ $119.99 ]
» AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb AM2+ Quad-Core Black Edition Processor [ $189.99 ]
» G.SKILL 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) [ $117.98 ]
» Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST380215A 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Hard Drive [ $36.99 ]
Total: [ $879.93 ]
Supplementary info:
I also have an SSD that will be in each PC. I'm also working on an idea to wire all 4 computers to respond to 1 wireless remote, ie I press the button all 4 boot up.
Monitor array information will be covered later.