An Era Ends

[clocker]

Clocker says goodbye to watercooling.

In fact, I'm giving up on monster PCs altogether.

For the past few years I have spent uncounted amounts of money and endless hours assembling high performance, mostly watercooled, PCs for myself.
It was a hobby and I enjoyed it immensely.
I never actually used/exploited the capabilities of these beasts because quite frankly, I rarely do more than cruise the web and watch the occasional movie.
Mostly, I enjoyed the assembly process.

Since I bought the new car I've found a new way to squander my cash and energy so I've begun to liquidate (horrible pun intended) all the goodies that have been sitting idle for so long.
My coworker Eric and I collaborated on this latest (and nearly final) machine- he provided the hardware (dual socket 940 Opteron server board w/ 1GB registered RAM, 6800 Ultra vid card, 3 x 250GB Seagate HDDs) and I housed and cooled them (Coolermaster Stacker- extensively modified, Thermochill 3x120 rad, EK rez, Mpc355 pump w/ Petra top, DD Maze4 on the vid and D-tek and Swiftech blocks on the CPUs).

It is going to be used as a server by a local business (yes, the vid card is ridiculous in a server but it's the only AGP card we still had amongst us).





The cabling had not been finished in these shots, in fact, the PSU will probably be changed altogether but we await the customer's decision on budget.

I think my next PC is going to be a Shuttle or something like that but I really haven't looked into it much and probably won't till later this summer.

Was fun while it lasted.

[Skiz]

Clocker says goodbye to watercooling.

In fact, I'm giving up on monster PCs altogether.

For the past few years I have spent uncounted amounts of money and endless hours assembling high performance, mostly watercooled, PCs for myself.
It was a hobby and I enjoyed it immensely.
I never actually used/exploited the capabilities of these beasts because quite frankly, I rarely do more than cruise the web and watch the occasional movie.
Mostly, I enjoyed the assembly process.

Since I bought the new car I've found a new way to squander my cash and energy so I've begun to liquidate (horrible pun intended) all the goodies that have been sitting idle for so long.
My coworker Eric and I collaborated on this latest (and nearly final) machine- he provided the hardware (dual socket 940 Opteron server board w/ 1GB registered RAM, 6800 Ultra vid card, 3 x 250GB Seagate HDDs) and I housed and cooled them (Coolermaster Stacker- extensively modified, Thermochill 3x120 rad, EK rez, Mpc355 pump w/ Petra top, DD Maze4 on the vid and D-tek and Swiftech blocks on the CPUs).

It is going to be used as a server by a local business (yes, the vid card is ridiculous in a server but it's the only AGP card we still had amongst us).

Spoiler: Show

The cabling had not been finished in these shots, in fact, the PSU will probably be changed altogether but we await the customer's decision on budget.

I think my next PC is going to be a Shuttle or something like that but I really haven't looked into it much and probably won't till later this summer.

Was fun while it lasted.

It's always a bit tough to give up a hobby, but at least you've found something to replace it. What kind of car are you working on?

As for the Shuttle, they're quite nice and have come a good ways in the last five years. The thing I always hated about mine though was that you couldn't have two drives, but I see they've fixed that now with the P series.

I still have my XPC as a side computer for testing programs, downloaded OS's and the like.It has run almost 24/7 with the same 200W PSU for around five years now. It started making a hissing sound about 18 months ago, so I bought a 300W PSU to replace it once it goes out, but it's still running strong.

[thewizeard]

It's beautiful..We have followed your threads with continued awe, amazement and often laughter. Thanks for all that, and all the things I have learnt from you, personally

Fancy running a file-sharing server on that monster?

[clocker]

What kind of car are you working on?

I bought a 1991 Mazda RX7 in early December.
Took nearly a month and a half to learn enough about it to pass emissions but now that is handled I can begin the fun stuff.
I've been amassing parts for a major chassis overhaul (all new hydraulics/calipers/rotors/cylinders, etc. along with new suspension and bushings)- just waiting for the weather to cooperate. In the meanwhile, the interior has been stripped and slowly reassembled (with minor upgrades).
Still need two big ticket items- rims and exhaust.
Selling off this PC should just about cover the wheels but the exhaust is a dilemma...desmogging her will gain a healthy horsepower bump (which my non-turbo engine could really use) but I'd be gambling on emissions in two years when I need to retest.
What to do, what to do?

Here's what she looked like right after I brought her home (notice the neighbor's Christmas decorations)...


No recent pics yet but the black rear wing has been replaced with the correct red version and I've washed and waxed it, the paint is in better shape than I thought but the body has many small dings/dents that I'm unsure about dealing with.
No rust anywhere, in fact, the undercarriage is nearly spotless- not at all certain how that happens with such an obviously abused car but I was glad to see it anyway.

It is such a different animal than my previous car ('71 240Z) that it's taken a while to get used to it.
The Z was a real old-school sports car and this is a much more refined GT cruiser...it even has AC!
The biggest difference though is torque...the straight six Datsun had it in abundance and the rotary Mazda has none. I never even used first gear in the Z (didn't have occasion to pull any stumps) but the RX will barely pull from second.
There is an upside though...the rotary absolutely screams from 4k RPM up to the 8k redline and she'll cruise without effort at 120MPH (took a road trip to Casper, WY last month and got to try it out...).

Now that the weather is beginning to cooperate I can really start to get dirty.

Fancy running a file-sharing server on that monster?

This PC is destined to become the main server for an Elite Auto Glass franchise.
We're also selling them 20 workstation machines.

Maybe I'll actually get a Christmas bonus this year...

[accat13]

the paint is in better shape than I thought but the body has many small dings/dents that I'm unsure about dealing with.
No rust anywhere, in fact, the undercarriage is nearly spotless- not at all certain how that happens with such an obviously abused car but I was glad to see it anyway.

I wouldn't call that abuse for a 16-17 year car it looks rather well cared for to me...I doubt it has seen many winters...If that is the original paint it looks great....I'm sure it will look many times better when you finish with it....Just drive carefully

[clocker]

Yes, the paint is original but the car is what I would consider a "twenty footer"- looks great from a distance (or on an overcast day like the pics) but starts to show her age up close.

I'm combing eBay and the RX forums for new hood, doors, fenders and front clip- preferably already the correct color ( which is made easier by the fact that Blaze Red was the most popular color...).
I've already located some of these parts but shipping is brutal, both pricewise and transit damage likelihood, so I've put the exterior on hold till the interior (which afterall is where I spend the majority of my time) and the basic mechanicals have been dealt with.

I always drive carefully (thanks for the thought, BTW)- in over 45 years of driving I've never even gotten a moving violation.

[markyp23]

Yes, it's amazing the amount of money we waste on our PCs.

I am like you in that I get much better stuff than I need and my wallet feels the effects - it's so unnecessary, I should really learn to stop doing it.

Never had a watercooled setup before and so that may be my next venture.

Mark

[Virtualbody1234]

... I need and my wallet feels the effects - it's so unnecessary, I should really learn to stop doing it.

Never had a watercooled setup before and so that may be my next venture.

Mark

Can't you see that you failed to learn something?

Stop doing it!

[matt526]

That is an Awesome car I had one my self a few years back, until th engine stopped working. I didn't have the money to fix it then so I sold it for parts for $200 :-(. I would love to get that car back :-(

[suprafreak6]

i wish i had a car