My farm

[don_xvi]

I know, I know, "This thread is useless without pics" and I may take something later, but I don't feel good right now, just sent this list to a friend, thought I'd describe the arsenal:

9 Computers (plus the IPCop router)
2x Q6600 on MSI open box mobos
1x Q6600 in Windows computer
1x E6300 in would-be file server (with the 3 unplugged 500GBs!)
1x dual Athlon 1800MP (runs Kubuntu instead of ubuntu) in bedroom
1x dual Athlon 2500XP-Ms (maybe 2600s)
1x Sempron 3100+ (was once going to be a HTPC)
1x P4 2.5
1x Celeron 1100 PeoplePC (runs WinXP)

Everything not described elsewise runs ubuntu, and everything but the router is chuggin away !

[jcool]

Wow... that's quite some firepower you got there :)
Wonder if I'll catch you with my planned new workstation rig :D
Do these Q6600's run overclocked?

[WrigleyVillain]

Nice Don. Very nice. If only I had the freakin' space...

Excellent avatar as well... :up: :)

[don_xvi]

A couple of those Q6600s are in the ramp-up process for overclocking, one is on a mobo that doesn't like to OC. grrr.
As for space for this kind of thing... 6 of those are in about 50 sq ft of floor space, just the corner of a formerly unused room ! Wait till you see the pics ! LOL

[[XC] serlv]

Nice farmlet! :)

That 50 square feet section sounds packed!

[StyM]

where's the pic ? :D

[[XC] junglemaster]

Now I know why you have smoked me in recent daily numbers :D

[don_xvi]

You guys better watch out now, I just OC'ed the ol' P4 2.5 (which was running at stock after being shelved for quite some months) to 3GHz ! Look out for me now ! LOL
Plus I just ordered one of those $60 A/R IP35-Es so I can overclock the main Windows rig (that's a Q6600 with lots of room to go !) for more output.
Plus the ongoing ramp-up on the pair of quads. Should I try & get another before that hot deal at MicroCenter ends ? :rolleyes:

So, in the picture, from lower left corner is:
2x Athlon XP-M 2500s (or 2600s, I don't recall) modified to MP (note dual squirrel cage blowers)
Sempron 3100+ (actually in a case !)
Q6600 (those dual orange 120s are on a Gemini II cooler)
Q6600 (barely visible next to the empty case) with stock C2D cooler (!)
Celeron 1100 (in the PeoplePC case) under the desk (the only thing running Windows in the pic)
E6300 at the far right

The E6300 is connected to the right hand monitor and keyboard.
The pair of quads, Celeron1100 and dual XP2500s are hooked through a KVM to the left hand monitor/keyboard. The Pentium233 laptop the left hand keyboard sits on is just to help keep the desk from floating away, and the Bacardi & Coke Zero in the Van Halen coozie on the right end of the desk is for consumption ! LOL And yes, this does draw enough current from one circuit that the voltage has dropped to 114 according to the Kill-A-Watt.

P.S.- sorry, it's a cellphone camera world ! :shrug:

[123bob]

Nice farm going there. :up: You might find a cheap set of shelves for the gear on the floor, like Rip and Viet use. That seems to work real well for them. You'd be able to fit more in that way and keep it all from getting stepped on when the Bacardi count gets too high...:rofl: (Brandy and coke is my usual. ;) )

What is the microcenter deal? Is it only at the stores? Someone mentioned it on the thread I had on the Fry's deal....I have no store near here, so I'm just curious.

Regards,
Bob

[Hymay]

What is the microcenter deal? Is it only at the stores? Someone mentioned it on the thread I had on the Fry's deal....I have no store near here, so I'm just curious.

Regards,
Bob

Yeah, I was jealous about that one too, but it was an instore only deal.. 199 for a q6600. Damn the backwoods!:shakes: :shakes: Too hick to even warrant a fry's anywhere close.

[[XC] riptide]

Nice farm going there. :up: You might find a cheap set of shelves for the gear on the floor, like Rip and Viet use.
Bob

Heres the wooden shelves atm. That printer is coming out of there to make room for the 4th Quad. If/When I get more ambitious, I'll be using plastic shelves as shown where all my parts are. I have a spare set of that plastic shelving and it cost be €30. If I needed, I can fit 2 rigs on each shelf on the plastic.

[don_xvi]

And to think, I cleaned up (actually just moved some of the junk out of frame) to take my pic ! What was I thinking ? ;)

So many plans, in such a state of flux. There shall soon be a day of reckoning, in which the computer farm will be "right-sized". Mom asked for a quadcore, so she'll get one (don't worry, she crunches, enthusiastically, too !), and extra junk that's been pressed into service this winter will be offed. Once that's complete, I hope to not have anything left to sit on the floor ! :( Good for geek value, bad for the electric bill, especially once the A/C kicks in ! :yepp: I need to start planning out the final network configuration soon. Main computing home, fileserver, backup/practice fileserver, HTPC (????)

It sure is fun for now, though ! :D

P.S.- riptide, I like that loading on those shelves with the heaviest item on top. Is that really bowed, or does it just look like it in the pic ?

[[XC] riptide]

And to think, I cleaned up (actually just moved some of the junk out of frame) to take my pic ! What was I thinking ? ;)

So many plans, in such a state of flux. There shall soon be a day of reckoning, in which the computer farm will be "right-sized". Mom asked for a quadcore, so she'll get one (don't worry, she crunches, enthusiastically, too !), and extra junk that's been pressed into service this winter will be offed. Once that's complete, I hope to not have anything left to sit on the floor ! :( Good for geek value, bad for the electric bill, especially once the A/C kicks in ! :yepp: I need to start planning out the final network configuration soon. Main computing home, fileserver, backup/practice fileserver, HTPC (????)

It sure is fun for now, though ! :D

If you go shelving you'll never look back. See the footprint on the ground... same as one Good sized PC case. Also it helps in easy maintenance. Change sticks of ram/gfx/cooling solution or to troubleshoot? Just walk over to it and work on it. No cases or motherboard screws to fiddle around with. And of course maximum ventilation and aids in the fititng of MB fans. Just gravity keeps them in place. :)

Also as for network.. I'm on all wireless. :) Printer I'll get going on teh bluetooth at some stage with a BT print server

[[XC] riptide]

And to think, I cleaned up (actually just moved some of the junk out of frame) to take my pic ! What was I thinking ? ;)

So many plans, in such a state of flux. There shall soon be a day of reckoning, in which the computer farm will be "right-sized". Mom asked for a quadcore, so she'll get one (don't worry, she crunches, enthusiastically, too !), and extra junk that's been pressed into service this winter will be offed. Once that's complete, I hope to not have anything left to sit on the floor ! :( Good for geek value, bad for the electric bill, especially once the A/C kicks in ! :yepp: I need to start planning out the final network configuration soon. Main computing home, fileserver, backup/practice fileserver, HTPC (????)

It sure is fun for now, though ! :D

P.S.- riptide, I like that loading on those shelves with the heaviest item on top. Is that really bowed, or does it just look like it in the pic ?

Yes its bowed with weight.... and no... the heaviest is not on top. See those two cases full of Lever Arch filing? Damn heavY! Full of Heavy books.
The shelving came with wall brackets so if I wish I can loop them at the midpoint of the supporting colums and screw into the wall.
The shelving only moves if I pull at it, and it would take a concerted effort to take it down.
The weight distribution is good atm. If I put the heavy crates of books on the bottom and there was strong force pulling the lot forward?... the weight of the books would casue the shelving pieces to come apart and the top would fall off.

Where they are, is ideal. they do not add TOO much of a torsion force if i pull at the shelving and still keep the centre of gravity low.

[[XC] serlv]

Hey, Don, unless that is an apartment you might like to run a couple of dedicated 20A lines into that room.

[123bob]

Yeah, I was jealous about that one too, but it was an instore only deal.. 199 for a q6600. Damn the backwoods!:shakes: :shakes: Too hick to even warrant a fry's anywhere close.

That was one heck of a deal!!:eek: I would have loaded up on that. Too bad I wasn't paying attention. I could have had one of you guys pick me some up, for a small handling fee of course...:rolleyes: Something like, keep one quad, send me the other ten? I'd still be money ahead....:)

riptide;2809309']If you go shelving you'll never look back. See the footprint on the ground... same as one Good sized PC case. Also it helps in easy maintenance. Change sticks of ram/gfx/cooling solution or to troubleshoot? Just walk over to it and work on it. No cases or motherboard screws to fiddle around with. And of course maximum ventilation and aids in the fititng of MB fans. Just gravity keeps them in place. :)

Also as for network.. I'm on all wireless. :) Printer I'll get going on teh bluetooth at some stage with a BT print server

If I had it to do again, I would seriously consider this approach. It's cheaper, and like Rip says, easy to maintain the gear. I went all racks, which is probably a bit more appropriate since my gear is located in the garage, along with all my dust makers for woodworking tools. I could have mitigated that with a cheap shower curtain though.
Something to think about. Of course, those sexy black racks do have some geek appeal...:D

Oh well, I'm procrastinating on building the new machine. I better get moving in order to get it crunching tonight....

Regards,
Bob

[Movieman]

Looking at these pics of these nice,neat,orderly PC rooms is just disgusting..
I mean where's the fun of taking 20 minutes to find that spare PSU?
2 Hours to find spare ram?
15 minutes to crawl,hurdle and snake your way over to your PC chair?:rofl:
No, I refuse to post pics newer than 3 years ago.
The Board of Health may have infiltrated this thread!:p:

[MotF Bane]

Looking at these pics of these nice,neat,orderly PC rooms is just disgusting..
I mean where's the fun of taking 20 minutes to find that spare PSU?
2 Hours to find spare ram?
15 minutes to crawl,hurdle and snake your way over to your PC chair?:rofl:
No, I refuse to post pics newer than 3 years ago.
The Board of Health may have infiltrated this thread!:p:

How about a twelve inch deep pile of various fans, wires, cables, sleeving, tubing, and who knows what else on top of a "school" desk?

[Movieman]

How about a twelve inch deep pile of various fans, wires, cables, sleeving, tubing, and who knows what else on top of a "school" desk?

Peh..Amateurs..I got a bigger pile than that of just empty cigarette packs!:ROTF:

[SiGfever]

These are what I have in my computer room for my servers and junk.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100095394

But I do recommend sealing the particle board shelves before using, they out gas like a some-biatch. I used a clear water based polyurethane.

[sierra_bound]

I would definitely try to get those power supplies off the floor where dust, hair, etc. tend to settle. I would also keep that can of acetone away from any place that gets warm.

[Movieman]

How about a twelve inch deep pile of various fans, wires, cables, sleeving, tubing, and who knows what else on top of a "school" desk?

A few weeks aqgo I posted a pic of the "alcove" off of my main room.
The pic was done in 2002 or 2003 when things were at least a small mess.
Poor Martijn is still going thru shock theraphy after seeing the pic!:ROTF: