Zotac ZBox ID80

Zbox ID80

After getting the Alienware machine, I found myself with an extra 20″ monitor and noticed that the Blue Diamond box was getting a little long in the tooth. It has been running Ubuntu 10 and while it works, it’s very slow. Time for an upgrade.

The Zotac Zbox ID80 plus was about $300 from newegg, and while they have versions that are with and without HDD and memory, the one I got had 2GB of ram and a 320GB HD. I didn’t really need the HD since I had one of that size, but the price really tossed that in for almost free. I did get 4GB of RAM for it for an additional $21. Continue reading “Zotac ZBox ID80”

Alienware Aurora R2

Alienware Aurora R2

I would never have bought a new Alienware computer again, although my Alienware Area-51 Desktop is still going strong. But a friend came across this 2010 Alienware Aurora R2 with a decent configuration for a song, as they say. So I couldn’t pass it up.

The case has not changed in the last couple of years. Still the same lighting, and the same door. Touch the Alienhead and the door gently slides down to access the media slots and DVD drive. this new computer is liquid cooled with a setup that looks like a alienware customized Corsair H80 single fan cooler. Instead of a lighted Corsair logo as the button to control the pump programming, the button is a lighted Alienhead. Continue reading “Alienware Aurora R2”

PS3 Died, New Vizio Blu-Ray Player

The PS3 died.

While playing a DVD, the machine suddenly stopped. I thought the problem was the BD player, and I disassembled the system, based on information on YouTube, to remove the DVD, which would not eject.

The system would run the BD motor each time it was started, but then stop and beep.

It is not certain that the problem is the BD drive. BD drives are going for about $60 on Ebay, so it seems to make no sense to repair the device. I’ll sell it on Ebay.

Update: The Vizio player was a bust. It had problems with my HDMI switch. The Sony BDP-S590 is a much better choice. I have had no problems with this model.

Continue reading “PS3 Died, New Vizio Blu-Ray Player”

Dekaron Evolution is fun and stable

Dekaron Evolution

In the past couple of weeks, I got bored with Wow and have gone back to Dekaron. Last April I was playing quite a lot on the private servers, and I have gone that way again.

Dekaron Evolution is the winner and I’ll be spending most of my time there.

Update: This server is gone as of Sep 2012. Apparently in-fighting among the owners and staff has led to it’s demise.

Continue reading “Dekaron Evolution is fun and stable”

Gerbil Has Died

The gerbil has died. Not sure what his ailment was, but he was clearly feeling bad yesterday. There was no obvious problem. One issue might have been his teeth, but careful examination showed that his teeth were fine. They were well trimmed so he had enough wooden clothes pins to chew on to keep them worn down. Not sure what happened.

Since Nov 2010, the gerbil has been a constant companion and friend. Watching my every move, he learned to come to the cage when he heard me in the kitchen or heard the bell from the toaster since it meant that I would be giving him a treat from something I was making for myself.

He learned to run around and through packing tubes next to his cage. He seemed to like to be chased through the tubes.

CutiePetutie [spelling vary] will be missed. But I will get another baby gerbil soon and see whether he learns as much about me as Cutie did.

– ww

Armor 90 System Built

Armor 90 Case

I’ve completed the build of the Core i7-2600 system and it works just fine.

Here are the details, but briefly the system is:

  • Core i7-2600 Processor.
  • ASUS P8Z68 VGen3 Motherboard.
  • 16GB memory
  • 1TB System Drive as a Stripe set of 2 500GB drives.
  • Thermaltake Armor 90 case
  • ASUS Nvidia GTX 560 Ti Graphics

I particularly like the lines of the Armor series of cases. I’ve already built a system using the Small Form Factor Armor 30 case. A key feature of the system is the Corsair H80 liquid cooling system, which was easy to install and works very well. This case is not appropriate for the larger H100 cooling system since there is no place at the top of the cabinet to attach the radiator, but the H80 fits very nicely on the back fan point. The H80 provides plenty of cooling for this processor. I have not overclocked the processor.

I’ve moved a 1TB single drive to this system from the Cyberpower system from last year, so this system has a data drive as well as the system drive pair. The system is now my primary system in my Gaming Battle chair.

– windy

 

Flying Carpet Mount

As a Warlock, my armor is cloth, so it is natural for me to have the tailoring skill. One of the exclusive benefits for Tailors is the ability to build a Flying Carpet. I have increased my Tailoring skill to 300+ and have been able to tailor a Flying Carpet mount. I had quite a bit of help from my Death Knight brother who helped with farming the cloth, and buying the other materials from the auction house. The Arcane Dust required is readily available, but the Golden Draenite is rare and quite expensive. Four Golden Draenite items are needed for the glowing globes at each corner of the carpet. Continue reading “Flying Carpet Mount”