Why I have been MIA lately......

[gotFusion]

As many know I have used the same home computer for the past decade (with very minor changes to allow for newer windows versions to install).

I have been very happy with it and did not plan on swapping it out for another year or two. It "was" a dual xeon 2.4 ghz dual core Supermicro server board running @ 533 mhz with dual channel u320 Raid (http://www.supermicro.com/products/m...7505/X5DA8.cfm

When I put it together I opted for some screaming fast drives (15,000 rpm cheetahs) running in 2 raid 5 arrays of 5 drives each. These drives are the main reason this system lasted 10 years and still performed acceptably.

Well for some unknown reason I strayed away from shopping for server parts for my new twins and started looking at new "toys" for myself.

Over the past 3 days I have put together a new system and am finally back online using it (whew).

I kept my original 4U rck mount chassis that I have used for the past 15 years and I retained the Adaptec dual channel U320 hardware raid card and the 10 cheetahs but everything else went out the door.

Finished system is:

MB: Supermicro X7DWA-N
CPU(s): Xeon E5450 3ghz, 12 mb L2, 1333 fsb (two of them - 8 cores)
Ram: crucial 16 gb pc5300 buffered ECC
Video: Visiontek HD 5670, 1 gb gddr 5 (not a gamer but an ok graphic/photo editing card)
PS: Supermicro PWS-865-PQ 865 watt power supply

c:\ drive: OCZ RevoDrive 120 gb PCI express card based SSD

I kept the 2 U320 raid 5 arrays and have them set up as d:\ e:\ data storage drives.

I have to say that I am pretty impressed with the performance of the card based SSD.

OK so here are the obligatory build pics.

Chassis cleaned out - MB installed: http://www.gotfusion.com/toy/nude1.jpg

PCI express SSD drive and Video card: http://www.gotfusion.com/toy/pci-e-ssd1.jpg

Everything installed before buttoning up: http://www.gotfusion.com/toy/workstation1.jpg

Everything back to normal once again: http://www.gotfusion.com/toy/workstation3.jpg

With the help of Windows 7 EZ xfer wizard I was able to put humpty dumpty back together again with a minimum of tears.

[LBA]

Congrats! Always fun to sit down at a new computer. Although, it seems like at each upgrade, starting with the move from a 286 to a 386, I remember always experiencing that slight pang of disappointment over the dashed hopes that the new computer would finally make everything happen "instantly". Oh well, maybe the NEXT computer... enjoy this one.

Laurence

[Adendum]

Mike,

Nice one...but all that just to play solitaire all day and make the odd forum post?

[gotFusion]

Mike,

Nice one...but all that just to play solitaire all day and make the odd forum post?

I've been a computer hobbyist going back to the infancy of the "home computer".

My first system was an IMSA S100 front panel using the Intel 8080 CPU chip. I got the chassis as a completed unit but I got the CPU card as an empty circuit board, a bag of chips, sockets, miscellaneous resisters/xistors, and instructions (yea... a build it yourself kit). http://www.gotfusion.com/toy/imsai2.jpg http://www.gotfusion.com/toy/imsai6.jpg http://www.gotfusion.com/toy/s-100_8080.jpg Back then the OS was open source and if you wanted to add a piece of hardware you wrote the drivers, compiled the OS, and debugged.... endlessly debugged, but when it worked it made you feel good inside.

Over the years I have enjoyed playing around with both computer hardware and software, culminating in the neurotic mess you see today I still assemble my own web servers, write my own code, and in my "spare time" help others resolve their problems. I will continue to do so until my stubby little fingers can no longer move. I still get that "good feeling inside" when I see something I have done for others works for them.

[Adendum]

... I still get that "good feeling inside" when I see something I have done .....

Yeah, it's great when you complete solitaire and you get that cascade of cards!

[gotFusion]

Yeah, it's great when you complete solitaire and you get that cascade of cards!

Eeerrrr..... Yup...

[Adendum]

Errr.... It just occurred to me that maybe you have decided to take over from where NASA left of with the space program? You should build a second one for redundancy then!

[gotFusion]

Errr.... It just occurred to me that maybe you have decided to take over from where NASA left of with the space program? You should build a second one for redundancy then!

It will all be obsolete in a couple of weeks so why bother

[Steve H]

I had to wipe the droll from my chin when after reading and seeing the pics.

[Franklyn Halamka]

One thing MS got right was the easy trf wiz for windows 7. works slick. Nice box... Any issues with drivers?