Looking good, my man, looking good! Has your Uncle seen it yet? Or is it a surprise?
Looking good, my man, looking good! Has your Uncle seen it yet? Or is it a surprise?
Nope, no surprise as he is the one funding the hardware to complete it.Originally Posted by DrPop
Looking good, my man, looking good! Has your Uncle seen it yet? Or is it a surprise?
And it looks like funds for the MB should be available tomorrow or Wednesday. Yipeeeeeeeee...!!!
They're here........
Time to get cracking!
Wahoo!!! That actually looks like a fun project. Never thought I'd say that about anything but a FULL size tower rig, but your little Mini Me is shaping up pretty cool!
The real question though, is can it crunch without overheating?
Update:
Last post = 03.15.2013
Today = 03.22.2013
So what happened?
Answer = A few things.....
But First,
Have a look see. Tiny thing isn't it...?
So after I get over eying the board like a giddy 9 year old on Christmas morning, I take a moment to read the board layout section of the user manual. (No comments from the Peanut Gallery)*
Oh and earlier that morning my Uncle decided he had some extra cash so he asked me about more storage. Our discussion led us to settle on a WD WD5000BPKT as Newegg had a Promo Code for $15 off.
Next Morning 03.16.2013, I begin installing.
Running out of room fast...... (Left PSU out so the pics will show something)
I double check all the hardware, need to keep the Magic Smoke inside them parts. Now for the moment of truth, I press the power button and.............. nothing.
Hmmmm, maybe I pressed the reset button? Let's try that again, and...... arrrg! Okay one more time, and..... God must be testing me!
After 10~15 minutes of troubleshooting I discover the problem is a broken connection between the case's power button and it's wire. Time for the ol' soldering iron.
Some time later: Okay, here we go........ and success! ---> Installed Windows, then MB drivers, ran WinUpdate, starting install essential utils, and...... noticed the Corsair SSD beginning to slow down then suddenly desktop locks up. Shut down and restart. Another freeze, so another cold boot. Next...??? BSOD of course. Damn! It must be the SSD flaking out. Guess my fix of it wasn't so great after allI realize God hasn't stopped the testing......... Out of frustration I decide to use a 2.5 HDD from one of my crunchers. Winner is Dark-Matter. Time to backup it's drive.
Even more some time later: Got the backup done and drive pulled. I mount it into the caddy and begin again. When I get to the same point of adding utils, system begins crashing like before. (I can now hear the call of the "Dark Side" of my brain)
So I try removing software one program at a time. Doesn't help. Okay Windows you win. Reformat ---> Reinstall Windows ---> Run WinUpdates ---> and...... More lockups & BSODs. Okay, time for some mechanical mayhem ala World of Tanks...
Next day, 03.17.2013
It is decided that Z-Wave really needs an SSD to reduce boot times and to hopefully help in keeping XBMC GUI snappy. I go through Newegg emails and viola! discount codes for refurb OCZ SSDs. Cool. After looking through the list and Goggling prospects for price comparison, the OCZ Agility 3
60GB gets the nod. Now back to figuring out why the system is having crashing fits.
Have you ever been in a situation that grows increasingly frustrating, and the whole time a little voice in the back of your thoughts keeps repeating something it says is the answer but the "loud" part of your thoughts says "That's nonsense"? And in the end, when you finally try that nonsensical thing, it works!???
Yep, your right. That was my experience with the fits. And the solution? Why a BIOS update of course. Duh......
Ahhhhh, much better
Next I finish the WinUpdates & drivers along with my list of utilities. Install XBMC and begin teaching myself how it works. Btw, its a really neat piece of software. Lots to learn
Next day, 03.18.2013
During my morning coffee ---> Ah-choo! Huh? What was that? Hmmmm, then Ah-choo, again. Oh heck no........ but then another ah-choo! By early afternoon I was completely miserable. The testing has shifted into overdrive....... By midnight I knew there would be no shut-eye. Later, the after the midday sun kind of later, the ah-choos begin to lose their efficacy. Late evening I'm back to tinkering with XBMC. And just before midnight Z-Wave is crunching with the GTX 460 I commandeered from another box. Somewhere around 3am I can finally go to bed.......
Next day, 03.20.2013
I can breathe again. Ahhhhh, much much betterAs early afternoon arrives, so does the Ugly Brown Truck. Yipeeeeee, two boxes with Newegg logos. Now I feel much better.
So I pull the caddy ---> Swap in new storage units ---> reassemble Z-Wave ---> Init drives, partition them & install Windows ----> Install chipset drivers ---> Run WinUpdate ---> Install other drivers & utilities ---> Install BOINC & import all files from previous install ---> Install XBMC ---> and..................................... it all works! Well, Hot Damn!!!!! I tinker with XBMC until evening. Now time for a movie. I go for something fun & something I hadn't watched in a long time, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.
Don't they make a cute couple? I <3 mixed relationships.
Next day, 03.21.2013
Just a day of mundane RL stuff. Not sure if the testing is over or its now just more insidious.......
Next day = today. So here we are. Z-Wave will do CPU crunching (Link) until I'm ready to connect it to TV and Home Theater. And that won't happen until the TOSLink & S-Video cables
we ordered today, arrive. Maybe Tuesday?
Have a great & healthy weekend.
Till next post, Peace.
*Note: I'll attach for a full 72 hours, either my HD-6970 or GTX-570, to the person's account who is 1st to correctly post the origin of that Gallery reference.
That post read like a thriller novel . . . for geeks and nerds!!!
That is amazing how small it is though. I had no idea until seeing that shot of the mono next to a CD. Wow! So just how powerful a CPU can you put into such a small space before it over heats?
While the box is small, about the size of a boot shoe-box, it does NOT deal well with CPU heat due to the layout of the Mini-ITX layout and the lack of airflow for a short air heat-sink. But with the mods F$ did, to allow a water-cooled solution, it works. Very nice, and very creative!That post read like a thriller novel . . . for geeks and nerds!!!
That is amazing how small it is though. I had no idea until seeing that shot of the mono next to a CD. Wow! So just how powerful a CPU can you put into such a small space before it over heats?
But let me throw this out. Same desktop (not mobile) i7 CPU, with just slightly less power. No discrete GPU of course, but it does include the HD 4000. Soon we will have projects that support it too.
@DP: Thx. Obviously I had too much time on my hands when I typed that out...
@Z: Very true, and it equally applies to most all Small Form Factor cases. And yeah, I remember your thread on the NUC & DS61.
But the potential heat issues with this Cooler Master case is the reason I was psyched to do this project. And though I believe I've made good headway, I know there is more I can, and will, do.
Plans for future mods
*Work on replacing PSU fan with high air flow unit. Also adding rpm control via external connector attached to PSU enclosure
*Mod left (discrete GPU) side of case cover to allow clearance for 3rd GPU coolers like the Accelero Twin Turbo II
*Mod right side of case cover for a quiet 140mm fan solution.
Oh and Z, if you look at the Free-DC stats, Z-Wave is crunching Collatz on the APU (Link), although not as fast as its closest discrete cousin.
Collatz supports embedded GPU now? I have been waiting to hear some news about it in the forum there.
Yep, it sure does. I just gave it a shot yesterday and its running....
click to enlarge
Z-Wave-On-Collatz.jpg
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