The Rancho Mondo Superalien
A Pentium 4 Computer Hand Built by Jim Fish |
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The Rig
This is a custom-built mid-level all-purpose computer. It will not score the best on any individual benchmark -- but does deliver a very good price to performance ratio.
I decided to build a Pentium based machine (as opposed to an AMD Athlon 64 based machine) because of several factors. Two of the most important are that the Pentium CPUs support Hyper Threading technology and dual-channel memory architecture. This, coupled with the other major components (primarily, motherboard and memory) makes this computer outstanding at multi-tasking. It has the foundation and hardware to handle many heavy-duty computing tasks at once, without noticeable drag on any application. It performs well at office apps, internet, gaming, and graphics. |
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Another strong reason was the motherboard. Everything proceeds from the motherboard what chipset(s) are used, what processors can be used, memory requirements, expansion capabilities everything. The Asus motherboard that I chose is packed with great features (enumerated below), and high among those is the outstanding BIOS. It is so feature-rich that it is known as the "over-clockers dream", as there are special BIOS screens to facilitate precise tweaking of motherboard, CPU, RAM, and video. |
The Specs
Case
 Aspire X-Superalien Aluminum Server Chassis with 500W Power Supply, Model ATXA6SW/500
Case Type: Full-Tower, 1.0mm aluminum
Drive Bays: 5.25" x 5 (External), 3.5" x 2 (External), 3.5" x 5 (Internal)
Expansion Slots: 7
Front Ports: USB2.0 x 2, IEEE1394 x 1, Mic x 1, Speaker x 1, and 2 LED temperature displays
Cooling System: 80mm Blue UV Sensitive LED fans x 6, w/ 2 fan speed controls
Dimensions: 18.6"D x 8"W x 20.5"H
Motherboard
 Asus P4P800-E Deluxe i865PE Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU
Supported CPU: Intel Pentium 4 (Prescott Ready)
Chipset: Intel 865PE + ICH5R
FSB (front side bus): 800/533/400MHz
RAM: 4 x DIMM for Dual Channel DDR400 Max 4GB
IDE: 2 x UDMA 100 by ICH5R, 1 x UDMA 133 by Promise 20378
Slots: 1 x AGP 8 X, 5 x PCI, 1 x ASUS Wi-Fi
Ports: 2 x PS/2, 2 x COM (Rear 1), 1 x LPT, 1 x LAN, 8 x USB2.0 (Rear 4),
2 x IEEE1394 (Rear 1), 1 x GAME, Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: ALC850 8-CH
Onboard LAN: Marvell 88E8001 GbE
Onboard 1394: VT6307
Onboard SATA/RAID: 2x SATA RAID 0/1 by ICH5R, 2 x SATA RAID 0/1/0+1 by Promise 20378
CPU
Intel Pentium 4 3.0C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache, Hyper Threading Technology
Core: Northwood
Operating Frequency: 3.0GHz
FSB: 800MHz
Cache: L1/12K+8K; L2/512K
Socket: Socket 478
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2
 CPU HSF (heatsink and fan for CPU)
Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu Pure Copper CPU Cooler for Intel Socket 478
Dimensions: 109 (L) x 109 (W) x 62 (H) mm
Bearing Type: 2 Ball
Nominal Speed(RPM): 1350~ 2400
Heat Sink Material: Pure Copper
Noise(dBA): 20~ 25
Adjustable fan speed controller enables control of noise and fan performance.
RAM
 Mushkin 184 Pin 1GB (512MB x 2) DDR PC-3200 Level One Dual Pack
Speed: DDR400 (PC3200)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2-3-2
Video Card
 ATI Radeon 9800Pro Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP
Chipset/Core Speed: ATI Radeon 9800PRO/380MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 128MB DDR/680MHz
BUS: AGP 4X/8X
Ports: VGA Out (15 Pin D-Sub) + TV-Out (S-Video + Composite Out) + DVI
Support 3D API: DirectXฎ9, OpenGLฎ2.0
Cable/Accessories: 2 DVI to D-Sub Adapters, 2 Cables, Driver CD, Manual
Max Resolution@32bit Color: 2048 X 1536 @ 85Hz
Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 160GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model ST3160023A-RK
Capacity: 160GB
Average Seek Time: 8.5 ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA100
Features: 350 Gs non-op shock, 3D Defense System
Optical Drive 1
NEC 16X Double Layer DVDฑRW Drive, Black, Model ND-3500A BK
Write Speed: 16X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW, 4X DVD+R9, 16X DVD-R, 4X DVD-RW, 48X CD-R,
24X CD-RW
Read Speed: 48X CD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM
Interface: ATAPI / E-IDE
Buffer: 2MB
OS Support: Windows XP/ 2000/ ME/ 98SE
Optical Drive 2
Lite-On Black 52X32X52X16 Combo Drive, Model SOHC-5232K
Write Speed: 52X CD-R, 32X CD-RW
Read Speed: 52X CD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM
Interface: ATAPI / E-IDE
Buffer: 2MB
OS Support: Windows XP/ 2000/ ME/ 98SE
Features: SMART-BURN. SMART-X. VAS to reduce vibration & noise during recording & reading.
Sound Card
 Turtle Beach 6-Channel PCI Sound Card, Model "Santa Cruz"
Channels: 6
DSP: Cirrus Logic SoundFusion
SNR and Frequency Response: >96dB, 10Hz - 120KHz (-3dB)
Max Sampling Rate: 48kHz
DAC/ADC: 20-bit/18-bit
Hardware Decode: Dolby Digital
Hardware Polyphony: 64 Voices
PC Interface: PCI2.1
Connectors: Line in, Mic in, Line/Headphone out, GAME/MIDI, Versa Jack, CD in, AUX in
Special Features: DVD Audio, Sensaura HRTF 3D positional 360ฐ Audio, DirectSound 3D, EAX 2.0,
A3D 1.0
Modem
Zonet V.92 56K PCI Data/Fax Modem, Model ZFM5620-CF
Interface: PCI V2.2
Standards: V.92 and earlier ITU standards, Group 3
Chipset: Conexant
DTE Rate: 115200bps
Fax Speed: 14400bps
Floppy Drive
Teac 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model FD235HFC291
Capacity: 1.44MB
Interface: 34 Pin Standard Floppy Connector
Form: 3.5 inch
Media Type: All Standard 1.44MB & 720KB 3.5 Floppy Diskettes
Keyboard & Mouse
Microsoft Black Multimedia Keyboard & Wheel Mouse Optical Bundle PS/2 102keys
Interface: PS/2
Number Of Keys: 102 keys + 17 Function Keys
Palm Rest: Detachable
Mouse: USB/ PS/2 Wheel Mouse Optical
Features: Enhanced F Key Functionality, Multimedia Center
Thermal Compound
Arctic Silver Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound, Model "Arctic Silver 5", 3.5-gram ( 1 cc. ) tube
Performance: 3 to 12 degrees centigrade lower CPU full load core temperatures than standard thermal compounds
Coverage Area: The 3.5 gram tube contains enough compound to cover at least 6 to 10 large CPU cores, or 2 to 5 heat sinks.
Operating System
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack SP1a
Monitor
Samsung SyncMaster 997DF-T/T 19" DynaFlat CRT Monitor
CRT Type: DynaFlat CRT
Dot Pitch: 0.20mm (H)
Max / Optimal resolution: 1920x1440 @ 65 Hz / 1600x1200 @ 76 Hz
Frequency / Bandwidth: fh: 30~96kHz; fv: 50~160Hz / 250MHz
Features: DynaFlat, MagicTune, Natural Color Pro
Dimensions & Weight: 17.5" x 18.0" x 16.4" (WxHxD), 40.0 lbs
Graphics Tablet
Wacom ArtZ 6" x 8", pressure-sensitive
Speakers
Labtec (an old pair, to be upgraded ASAP to Logitech Z-5300 5.1 speakers)
Printer
Epson Stylus Photo 780 inkjet
Scanner
Visioneer Paperport 6000
UPS (uninterruptable power supply)
APC Back-UPS LS 500 |
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A Note on Cooling
I spent a little over $100 extra towards special cooling measures (solid-copper heat sink/fan, special silver thermal compound to mount the HSF, case upgrade aluminum with six 80mm speed-controlled fans, and LCD temperature displays), as the Pentium 4 CPUs in the 3.0 GHz range and up are known to get very hot. Evidently these measures have worked well. Intel says the P4 3.0GHz CPU with stock HSF has an operational core temperature of 62C at idle. The R.M. Superalien runs at less than half that, averaging 30C after 4 hours operation. |
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Final Thoughts
This is a great system with plenty of power, capabilities, and expandability for now, and in the future. It is easily expandable, with a monster 500W power supply, and 12 drive bays. (It IS a server case, after all). The motherboard supports six IDE drives (2 of them SATA). It will be no problem to add another optical drive and a couple more hard drives. And there are two slots waiting for another matched pair of 512MB dual-channel RAM, boosting system RAM to 2GB.
Not counting the research and preparation, it took me two days to build the Superalien. But I went VERY slow taking my time and triple-checking everything before I went to the next step. Must have worked as it fired right up just as it was supposed to when I plugged it in and turned it on. (I know surprised me too ;-) It's taken me four times longer to put the software together than it did to put the hardware together but I've got a butt-load of programs, and I'm taking my time making fresh installs for all (gathering updates and drivers, etc.).
I purchased 100% of the parts for the Superalien from the on-line computer geek store Newegg.com. I highly recommend them they are a great place to research computer items before purchase, as they have links to manufacturers and reviews, and also customer reviews and feedback very informative. To build the Superalien in September 2004 took $1400, including shipping. This included the keyboard, mouse, and OS but does not include monitor ($200), or printer, scanner, speakers, graphics tablet, and UPS (addl. $700)
If you, or someone you know, needs a web site constructed for their business, or needs a consultant for Internet matters please visit the Rancho Mondo website ( http://www.ranchomondo.com/ ). There you can find links to websites I have done. Or, if your needs are smaller a web presence such as this "birth announcement" page can be done for birthdays, reunions, anniversaries, announcements, etc. I can be reached by email at: or by phone at: 1-512-559-2614. |
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2004 All rights reserved.