Rival Rockets » PC Builds

Proof of Concept: The Economic Server Build

Kit — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:10:24 +0000

Last weekend I had just received all the parts to complete what I felt was a pretty exiting build. With the primary goal of low power consumption and secondary goal of fits-in-my-house, I chose MSI’s new “Nettop” barebone:

MSI Wind Nettop 100

Intel Atom 330 (Dual-core with Hyperthreading!)
Small Form Factor (11.8″ x 9.5″ x 2.6″)
Low Power Consumption (31 Watts idle, according to my Kill-A-Watt)

Okay, so now for some pictures:

Here we see that the machine is quite an exercise in minimalism.

Rather than waste what few bay expansion options I had, I opted to install this SATA hot-swap bay in place of a seldom-used CD drive for future storage/backup needs!

Here is a shot of the front of the "mini-server" after the SATA bay was installed. Note the presence of the multi-card reader...

MSI “Netserver” Final Specs

CPU: Intel Atom 330 Dual-core @ 1.6GHz with HTT
- This processor appears as four logical cores to the OS which could come in handy for dealing with many threads at once (simultaneous background tasks and multiple server requests)
Memory: 2GB SODIMM
- For the stripped down Linux Distro I’m using, this is overkill. But at $19 there was no reason not to go for max capacity!
Storage: 74GB Raptor 10,000 RPM
- A trusty old standby from a previous PC build, rated at twice the lifetime of standard hard drives and for continuous operation, this is server-grade stuff.
Network: Gigabit Ethernet

Conclusion

So far, I’ve been quite pleased with how the build went—there were a couple of snags when I set out to install the OS from a USB stick, my advice: just plunk down the cash for an external CD drive and save yourself the grief.

Low Power Consumption, Kills 66% Fewer Baby Seals!

Operating between 30-40 watts, the Nettop platform sucks far less electricity from the wall than my daily PC (which idles at around 150 watts!), the Intel Atom has some serious “green” cred. (sorry Brian, I couldn’t avoid using the preppy word ). Not to mention, stands to take a chunk out of monthly power bill.

Derek’s 2008 Build

Kit — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:57:19 +0000

Modest Build:

Processor: Intel E8400 @ 3.01 GHz
Video: ASUS 9800GT Ultimate (OC to 725 MHz core)
RAM: Corsair XMS 2×1GB (CAS latency 4)
Storage: Seagate 250GB SATA

Here are the 3DMark06 Scores:

SMS2.0 – 6301
CPU – 2838
SMS3.0 – 6239
Return to Proxycon – 52.41 fps
Firefly Forest – 52.6 fps
CPU1 - 0.89 fps
CPU2 - 1.44 fps
Canyon Flight – 60.53
Deep Freeze – 64.25
3DMark06 Composite Score -13269

Katie’s 2008 Build: “Mystique”

Kit — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:03:32 +0000

One of the biggest reasons I’ve been neglecting my blog is the recent influx of computer building adventures

I present my sister’s new gaming machine: Mystique

Processor: Intel E8500 @ 3.17 GHz
Video: EVGA 9800GTX+
RAM: Corsair XMS 2x1GB (CAS latency 4)
Storage: WD 640GB SATA

The unboxing:

Update: Note that I initially used the stock heatsink, but we quickly decided to upgrade it to the tried and true Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 which, as always, brought peace of mind that the CPU was in good hands.

Ignore the dazed looking fool in this pic...

Bottom cage out to accommodate the gargantuan proportions of the 9800GTX+

Behind the door: two quick-access covers for the intake filters.

Note the required removal of the bottom hard drive cage. This actually worked out well for two reasons. First, the 9800GTX+ is massive, and wouldn't have fit with the cage installed; also, use of the additional front intake fan forces the "sacrifice" of a cage so it worked out quite well!

9800GTX wants all your PCI-E powers!

Final setup, wiring complete.

All your base belong...

Here are the 3DMark06 Scores:

SMS2.0 – 6513
CPU – 2992
SMS3.0 – 6409
Return to Proxycon – 54.19 fps
Firefly Forest – 54.35 fps
CPU1 - 0.94 fps
CPU2 - 1.52 fps
Canyon Flight – 62.26
Deep Freeze – 65.92
3DMark06 Composite Score -13759

Sean’s Summer 2008 Build: “Manticore”

Kit — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:31:00 +0000

Old parts out...

New parts in all their glory. Antec Three Hundred case next to the eVGA 8800GS

eVGA 8800GS, a cost-effective performer.

Antec Three Hundred front

Old case on the left, new case on the right. The Three Hundred made for a small size increase.

Three Hundred actually has a nice build inside, this picture does it no justice.

Donated parts mixed in with new parts—all freshly installed, ready for first power-on test.

Here's a closer look, note that the Three Hundred adopts the bottom mounted power supply approach.

A very close look to examine the video card's clearance.

Power-on checks out, and the Windows XP OS switched from Sean's old nForce3 to the newer nForce4 with nary a complaint!

Grats Sean! Well done!

Airwalker HTPC Build

Kit — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 03:06:00 +0000

This is for size comparison, the old media PC is that grey server tower to the left, the new home of its parts in the foreground.

Here is the old case opened up, this illustrates how this server case was pretty major overkill for my media setup, notice the excess of space around the motherboard and room for six hard drives.

Transplant compete and ready for testing.

New media PC case. The idea was to build it to fit into a standard entertainment rack… it fits, but barely.

Here is a picture of the final setup. The rack will look better with the shelves filled