The Case and Power

Alright, so here's the case. It's a sharp looking case if I do say so myself (and I do) and it has a window on the left side wall that satisfies my unjustified need of being able to peer in at the electronics inside at any time in order to 'make sure they're working'. 

The reason I chose this case aside from the fact that I like the way it looks is that it was within the budget and it had a 3.5" bay on the front to put an SD card reader or USB 3.0 jack between the existing USB 2.0 jacks, and it seemed to be able to accommodate good airflow. The case also allows for liquid cooling which is something that could be added later. One downside was that though there are 4 hard drive bays,  there is a fan at the front of the case that prevents the drives from sliding completely in which requires that they be mounted toward the back of the rails.

 All and all, I'm satisfied with the case. I'm even more so satisfied with the power supply. Thats not really all that surprising though, since power supplies just keep everything running and this one has. The 750W Silencer MK II has been providing juice to the rest of the components like it should be and hasn't had any problems, so I have no choice but to assume its doing its job and pretend that its saving me a lot of money with its '80 Plus' Sliver certification. This certifies that it runs at 80% or more efficiency under various loads, which is pretty cool since older power supplies can be pretty inefficient.

The power supply fits nicely in the base. Though it should be noted that in this picture, I had not yet flipped the power supply. I turned it fan-side down so that it would have its own sort of closed-circuit air flow since there is an air vent on the bottom of the case (the case is also raised) and at the back of the case.

There are a ton of power connectors shown here that will connect to the various components to provide them with their 'blood'. Not every connector is used, in fact, many aren't and will remain in a cluttered mess at the bottom of the case until expansions are made and components are added that they can power. But until then, they will just hang out.

-Joe

Computers as Brains :P

Being that the last post I made was in April and it is now nearly July, those of you that know me might be willing to bet that I didn't wait this long to start building this computer. Alright, so this monster is complete and I haven't been willing to pull myself away from the fun of tweaking and toying with it long enough to put together a coherent post. So I figure there's no better time to make the attempt than today!

A computer needs at least:

1. A CPU (Central Processing Unit) - As the proverbial 'Brains' of the computer, the CPU performs a great many number of calculations in a very short period of time. Click HERE for a better collection of info and explanation that I can give. 
2. RAM (Random Access Memory) - It can be thought of as the short-term memory of the machine. As the CPU rips through its calculations it needs a place to store the new information, especially if it will be needed again soon for other calculations. Information comes and goes from the 'short-term' memory much faster than it would to commit it to the 'long-term' memory making it ideal to keep up with the speedy CPU. Click HERE for the wiki.
3. Hard Drive (Storage) - This would be the long-term storage. Information written to the Hard Drive won't be lost if the computer is powered down like it would be in the RAM. However, relative to CPU speeds, it seems the equivalent of FOREVER to write information to the Hard Drive, which means that only information worth remembering is committed to the 'long-term' storage. Click HERE to learn about the basic idea, and HERE to learn about Solid State Drives (same but different).
4. Video Card/Controller - If we are going to stick to my analogy, this component would be the computers' Visual Cortex. At its most basic function, it will take information from the CPU and translate it into a video signal for a monitor or TV. The Video Card/Controller is responsible for rendering 3D objects and displaying them. Click HERE to read the Video Card wiki.
5. Sound Card/Controller - Best described as the Primary Auditory Cortex, this component will take information from the CPU and translate it into a sound signal for speakers or a receiver. Basically it is the sound equivalent of the video card. It also handles translating an analog sound signal from a microphone to digital information that can be stored. Read about it HERE.
6. Motherboard - Well, I may be grasping at straws but I'm thinking that this might be analogous to a collection of Neural Pathways. In the same way that Neural Pathways connect one part of the brain to another, the motherboard connects shuttles information from one component to another. The CPU, RAM, hard drive, video card, and sound card are all directly connected to the motherboard. For example, the motherboard could move information such as that contained in a video file from the hard drive to the CPU, then from the CPU to and from the RAM, then from the CPU to the video and sound cards. Click HERE for the wiki.
7. Power Supply - Alright, we're moving away from the brain! The power supply would be the heart of the computer body. While it takes no part in processing information, it provides (pumps) electricity (BLOOD!!!) to the CPU (Brain) and other components (Other brain parts!) in order to allow them to function and process information. Detailed Power Suppy info is HERE.
8. Computer Case - The brain and its supporting components are a fragile lump of tissues that need protection that only a skull can provide. Like a cranium, the computer case provides a protective home for all the components. Computer case info HERE.

So without further adieu (French for delay?...) I'll sum up the details of the starter pack I put together over weeks of my researching and learning. 

1. CPU - The AMD FX-8120
2. RAM - Corsair 'Vengance' 16gb 1600Mhz
3. Hard Disk - Seagate 1tb Hard Drive, Patriot 60gb SSD
4. Video Card - Sapphire 6850 - 100315L
5. Sound Controller - Onboard 7.1 HD Audio (incl. on motherboard)
6. Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-990FX-UD3
7. Power Supply - PC Power & Cooling 750W powersupply
8. Case - Raidmax Blade-White case

In retrospect, the easiest part of building a computer is putting it together. I find that researching components and planning a design with components that makes sense for the applications to be the brunt of the work. However, putting it together is easily the most fun! In my next post, I'll share some pictures of the cool computer parts as they are placed together in their skull.

-Joe

Excuses and Opportunities

Alright, this has been a long time coming and may well be a good project to start on. I'm just shy of 3 years out of college and currently using my die-hard but nearly dead zd8000 HP Pavillion laptop from the end of high school.

No need to bring out the number line to start counting on - that makes it a 7 years young laptop. What an excellent long-living gift from my Grandfather. However, make no mistake, its still going but its anything from strong: The battery is fried so it must always be on AC, effectively making it a minature desktop; The CD drive is dead, making PXE or network booting the only way to install operating systems; It is incapable of running windows! There was (I think) a motherboard-fail that jacked up the onboard video which windows can't bear, leaving a jumbled mess of a screen whenever windows is booted; Old-ass BIOS, no USB booting for this sucker which is terrible news for a Linux junkie (still a humble newb, but wannabe junkie still); No hardware virtualization support, apparently the CPUs with support came out just months after I got my laptop.

Ok, so its old but it still runs Fedora 14 like a champ, so why abandon this classic comp? If all the reasons above weren't enough (they weren't), when the HP started choking on all the java and flash that seems to be written into every webpage these days, it was over. Sites like Pandora and 9gag were killing it and even tomshardware could cause a crash. So after 7 years of fufilling all my computing needs, it finally has become functionally obsolete...Thank God!

I've been itching to build a computer again since I watched my friend build herself a fine machine a couple months back and now with this excellent excuse (opportunity) I can finally build another desktop!