Sprocket Resurfaces...

[clocker]

Pics, please.

Fucking 28" monitor.

[j2k4]

I'll see what I can do.

I'm laying down Prophesy x64 at the moment.

Gotta deal with PhotoBucket.

[clocker]

You could always just open a new account.

[clocker]

Thought I'd discuss a few new developments today.

-I've had a copy of Ubuntu 8.10 kicking around for a while and thought I might give it a whirl.
Not willing to go through the dual-boot hassle- and having previously discovered that running the "Live CD" option mysteriously eats a Windows RAID array- I decided to simply unplug my already configured four drive array and install linux on my 64GB SSD.
I did so using my new external drive dock.

It installed fine and it took but a few hours to decide that although linux might have improved greatly, I'm just too hidebound to deal with it.
I seem to be one of the few who is perfectly happy with Vista- all my hardware works fine, I love the look and feel of the GUI and it's most glaring fault IMO, the terrible file transfer performance, is not a dealbreaker.

So, bye-bye Ubuntu.

As long as I was fooling around though, I decided to install Vista onto the SSD and see how it was affected by the poor read/write performance (this is a first gen- SATA 1- drive and averages read speeds of 54MB/s compared to the 4-drive RAID 0 array's godlike 320MB/s).


Latency on the other hand, is almost nonexistent.

Surprisingly, the install did not take much- if any- longer than before and the OS was extremely responsive.
Hmmm...

I've been involved in a discussion of case cooling on another forum and in the process took some readings with a laser thermometer of various areas of my case interior.
The Coolermaster 4-into-3 module- packed with four Seagate 250 drives and cooled with a 140mm fan- was one of the biggest heat producers in the whole case.
Not terrible- only 5° c over ambient- but still...

This module is also responsible for most of the wiring in the case, so eliminating it would make a rather large impact visually and power consumption-wise.
Using the new external drive dock, access to drives for storage is now almost as simple as inserting a flash drive and because it's eSATA connected, just as fast as internal drives.

I think I'm going to keep this setup, at least for a while ( nothing seems to last very long when it comes to Sprocket's configuration).
This also makes possible a few other changes I've been considering, so I'll be posting more changes soon.

On a side note...
For some reason, Vista's sleep function is working again...I have no idea why, but it's fucking brilliant.
Instead of shutting down the PC, I can put it in sleep mode and a simple keystroke wakes it up to full functionality in under ten seconds. It actually takes about 5-6 seconds to display the desktop but a few seconds longer to initialize the network connection.

I have long made shortcuts- placed in the Quick Launch area- for "Off" and "Reboot" and searched for a way to make a similar shortcut to "Sleep".
Google turned up all sorts of fairly involved methods, none of which appealed.
Finally, I tried a way used in XP and, viola! it also works beautifully in Vista.

I'm a happy boy.

[j2k4]

Thought I'd discuss a few new developments today.

-I've had a copy of Ubuntu 8.10 kicking around for a while and thought I might give it a whirl.
Not willing to go through the dual-boot hassle- and having previously discovered that running the "Live CD" option mysteriously eats a Windows RAID array- I decided to simply unplug my already configured four drive array and install linux on my 64GB SSD.
I did so using my new external drive dock.

It installed fine and it took but a few hours to decide that although linux might have improved greatly, I'm just too hidebound to deal with it.
I seem to be one of the few who is perfectly happy with Vista- all my hardware works fine, I love the look and feel of the GUI and it's most glaring fault IMO, the terrible file transfer performance, is not a dealbreaker.

So, bye-bye Ubuntu.

As long as I was fooling around though, I decided to install Vista onto the SSD and see how it was affected by the poor read/write performance (this is a first gen- SATA 1- drive and averages read speeds of 54MB/s compared to the 4-drive RAID 0 array's godlike 320MB/s).


Latency on the other hand, is almost nonexistent.

Surprisingly, the install did not take much- if any- longer than before and the OS was extremely responsive.
Hmmm...

I've been involved in a discussion of case cooling on another forum and in the process took some readings with a laser thermometer of various areas of my case interior.
The Coolermaster 4-into-3 module- packed with four Seagate 250 drives and cooled with a 140mm fan- was one of the biggest heat producers in the whole case.
Not terrible- only 5° c over ambient- but still...

This module is also responsible for most of the wiring in the case, so eliminating it would make a rather large impact visually and power consumption-wise.
Using the new external drive dock, access to drives for storage is now almost as simple as inserting a flash drive and because it's eSATA connected, just as fast as internal drives.

I think I'm going to keep this setup, at least for a while ( nothing seems to last very long when it comes to Sprocket's configuration).
This also makes possible a few other changes I've been considering, so I'll be posting more changes soon.

On a side note...
For some reason, Vista's sleep function is working again...I have no idea why, but it's fucking brilliant.
Instead of shutting down the PC, I can put it in sleep mode and a simple keystroke wakes it up to full functionality in under ten seconds. It actually takes about 5-6 seconds to display the desktop but a few seconds longer to initialize the network connection.

I have long made shortcuts- placed in the Quick Launch area- for "Off" and "Reboot" and searched for a way to make a similar shortcut to "Sleep".
Google turned up all sorts of fairly involved methods, none of which appealed.
Finally, I tried a way used in XP and, viola! it also works beautifully in Vista.

I'm a happy boy.

I've always thought you should publish (or link) those.

What will you do with the HDDs when they're not docked?

[clocker]

What will you do with the HDDs when they're not docked?

Not sure yet...doorstops maybe?

As usual, my little projects always seem to blossom into full blown nightmares.
Moderation is not something I do well.
Today was no exception, knowing full well I had social obligations to tend to.

Poor Sprocket.
Here's how she stands now...


Have big plans but no time to execute them today.
Tomorrow, as they say, is another day.

[j2k4]

As usual, my little projects always seem to blossom into full blown nightmares.
Moderation is not something I do well.
Today was no exception, knowing full well I had social obligations to tend to.

Poor Sprocket.
Here's how she stands now...


Have big plans but no time to execute them today.
Tomorrow, as they say, is another day.

Any wear and tear on your mobo has very little to do with voltage, I think.

Are the corners getting rounded yet.

[Detale]

LOL I always do the same exact thing, whenever I need to be somewhere I tend to start a project. What computer are you using while Sprocket is getting her makeover? Any teasers on the process?

[clocker]

Any wear and tear on your mobo has very little to do with voltage, I think.

Are the corners getting rounded yet.

Hey now, I'm a pro.
Besides, when shit like that happens it's called "patina"...I saw it on Antiques Roadshow.
People pay good money for old fuckups.

LOL I always do the same exact thing, whenever I need to be somewhere I tend to start a project. What computer are you using while Sprocket is getting her makeover? Any teasers on the process?

I have several old PCs, when neighbors upgrade they always ask me if I want their old machines "for parts".
Like any of their parts are worth a crap.

Oh, and here's your "teaser"...Sprocket decided that "resurfacing" was a lame idea- she's underwater again.

[Detale]

Hey now, I'm a pro.
Besides, when shit like that happens it's called "patina"...I saw it on Antiques Roadshow.
People pay good money for old fuckups.

LOL I always do the same exact thing, whenever I need to be somewhere I tend to start a project. What computer are you using while Sprocket is getting her makeover? Any teasers on the process?

I have several old PCs, when neighbors upgrade they always ask me if I want their old machines "for parts".
Like any of their parts are worth a crap.

Oh, and here's your "teaser"...Sprocket decided that "resurfacing" was a lame idea- she's underwater again.

Ahhh cool thanks, can't wait