Eric L. Carlson's Home Computer System

Updated July 23, 2011

Go to My latest build (Internal components)
Go to Some of my newer stuff
Go to Some of my older stuff
Go to My (formerly) Compaq 633.Mhz system
Go to Review of my Compaq 633.Mhz system
Go to Previous custom 166.Mhz system
Go to Some of my even older stuff
Go to Software
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My latest build (Internal components) Initial i7 build: Feb 14, 2010
Manufacturer	Picture	Description/Model	Notes
Intel		Core i7-860 CPU	Quad core plus hyperthreading, 8M Cache, 2.80 GHz (3.46 GHz Max Turbo). The stock CPU cooler if very quiet at idle, and still pretty quiet under sustained heavy load.
Gigabyte		GA-P55A-UD4P Motherboard	System is running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
OCZ		OCZ3P1600LV4GK 4GB Memory	OCZ Platinum Low Voltage 4GB DDR3-1600 (PC-12800) Dual Channel Memory Kit (2 + 2)
Western Digital		WD1001FALS 1TB Hard drive	Caviar Black 1TB, 32.Meg cache, 7200 RPM
Antec		EarthWatts 380 Power Supply 80+ rated	380 Watts output capability is overkill considering the system idles at about 53 Watts output from the Power Supply (66 Watts input), and peaks (when artifically forced) at about 164 Watts output from the Power Supply (204 Watts input). It never even reaches 50% load, even when artifically forced, and idles below 20% load. Under normal operation, the computer spends most of its time at or near idle, so most of the time it's operating below the 80+ efficiency rating's range of 20-100% output power.
Antec		Quiet Case Sonata	Nice case to work with. The drive rails and trays are convenient. I replaced the stock case fan with the fan and speed controller listed below. The only reason I didn't use the stock fan with a speed controller is that I wanted a fan with an RPM sensor, which the stock fan didn't have. The complete system is now very quiet.
Sony Optiarc		CD/DVD Writer Sony Optiarc AD-7240S	24X SATA CD/DVD Rewritable Drive. DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, CD-ROM.
Samsung		CD/DVD Writer Samsung SH-S162L	16X EIDE/ATAPI CD/DVD Rewritable Drive. DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-R DL, DVD-RAM, CD-R, CD-RW, LightScribe. Includes Nero 6.6 software.
Cooler Master		Rounded drive cables	TTC-A24 for CD and DVD drives. (Not in use: TTC-F10 for floppy drive)
Vantec		120.mm case fan SF12025L	"Stealth" case fan. Not at all quiet at full speed, but very quiet at 950.RPM. This was the only non-quiet component in the system, so I added a speed controller (below) to make it quiet.
PCToys		Adjustable fan speed controller FanMate MAXX	Goes inside the computer, and has a knob to adjust the speed of the fan (above).
Asus		EN8400GS Silent/P/512M Video Card	PCIe X16 (unmodded)
Asus		EN8400GS Silent/P/512M Video Card	PCIe X1 modded (was PCIe X16) (The modded card is not part of my i7-860 system)

Some of my newer stuff (and old stuff I still use)
Manufacturer	Picture	Description/Model	Notes
HP		LaserJet 2100 TN laser printer	I have it connected via its built-in LAN connection.
Monoprice		Monitor arms (2) Model # 7562	I have these on both of my monitors, but I removed one of the two arm segments on each for more stability and less clutter. On the 24" monitor, I also had to tighten the rotation and swivel bolts to keep the monitor from rotating or drooping on its own.
Monoprice		Cat6A STP (Shielded) LAN cables Model # 5900, 5901, 5904	To reduce the potential for interference with my ham radio equipment, I replaced all my LAN cables with Cat6A shielded LAN cables. I wasn't actually noticing any obvious interference, but they are not expensive, so I upgraded my cables anyway.
Evoluent		Vertical Mouse 3 Wireless	My latest mouse. Still haven't decided if I like it any better than others.
Microsoft		Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000	My previous mouse, before I decided to try the Vertical Mouse.
Logitech		MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse	Heidi uses this mouse now.
HP		Monitor ZR24w	24" (actually slightly more than 24.1") IPS LCD monitor. 1920x1200. This is my new primary monitor, and the 1905FP is secondary, in portrait orientation.
Dell		Monitor UltraSharp 1905FP	19" PVA LCD, DVI & Analog inputs 1280x1024 Landscape & 1024x1280 Portrait orientations, 8-bit per pixel color, 20.ms, Built-in 4-port USB hub; Height, tilt, left/right rotation adjustable, wide viewing angle
Princeton		VL1916 19" LCD monitor	19" TN LCD, DVI & Analog inputs, 1280x1024. Not exactly a great monitor, but okay as a second monitor.
P3 International		Kill A Watt EZ P4460 AC power meter	Yes, I have both a P4460 and a P4400.
P3 International		Kill A Watt P4400 AC power meter
CyberPower		CP1500AVRLCD UPS	900 Watt/1500 VA Battery Backup
Canon		CanoScan LiDE 50 Scanner
Linksys		WRT54G v4 Wireless G Router	Running Tomato firmware.
Canon		i860 color printer
HP		LaserJet 5p laser printer	Still works great. I did add memory to it. It idles at only about 2 watts.
Belkin		F5U002 USB to Parallel port adapter	Used with the LaserJet 5p laser printer. It works great with XP and with Windows 7 64-bit, and I didn't have to install any drivers for it for either OS.
Vornado		Zippi desk fan	Very nice when you want a mild breeze at your desk and don't want a lot of noise along with it. Runs at about 15 watts.
Z-Line		Matrix 60" Glass Computer Desk
Staples		Tillman Leather Executive Chair	Color: Chestnut
Radio Shack		Automatic power strip, adjustable	Model 61-2781, circa 1989. Automatically turns off my speakers and desk fan when I turn off my PC. This one is adjustable, so it works correctly with the 6 watt sleep mode of my i7 system.
Power Sentry		Smart Surge Protector PPP3275WA/17	Previously automatically turned off my speakers and desk fan when I turned off my PC. Unfortunately, it would sometimes wake up when using the 6 watt sleep mode of my i7 system, and it isn't adjustable.
Creative		2.1 speaker system I-Trigue 3300	The sound is good, but the desktop speakers are heavy and tip over really easily (not exactly the smartest design), so I use Velcro straps to secure them to the side rails of my glass top desk, so they don't fall and shatter the glass. They also draw 15.Watts when sitting idle, so it's a good idea to turn them off when you're done using your computer.
Atech Flash		USB 2.0 card reader PRO-Gear SOLO	8-in-1 memory card reader. About 4 times faster than my old USB 1.1 card reader.
Generic		2.5" USB 2.0 drive enclosure	2.5" Hi-Speed USB 2.0 hard drive enclosure for IDE (Parallel ATA) laptop drives. Self-powered.
Adaptec		3.5" USB 2.0 drive enclosure ACS-100	3.5" Hi-Speed USB 2.0 hard drive enclosure for IDE (Parallel ATA) drives
Koutech		3.5" USB 2.0 drive enclosure EEU323	Clear Acrylic 3.5" Hi-Speed USB 2.0 hard drive enclosure for IDE (Parallel ATA) drives. Looks great, but the fan is loud, so I don't use it much.
Olympus		Digital Camera C-2100 Ultra Zoom	10x image stabilized optical zoom, 2.1 MegaPixel, SmartMedia memory cards. Still a great camera, and still used regularly. It's probably taken well over 40,000 photos.

Some of my older stuff
Manufacturer	Picture	Description/Model	Notes
Teac		CD-R/W drive CD-W516E 16x10x40	I tried updating the BIOS from 1.0a to 1.0c, and the drive had to be replaced under warranty, which took two weeks. The replacement drive wouldn't write to the brand of CD-R media I had been using with the original drive, but it worked fine with another brand of media.
APC	(See above)	Smart-UPS 1400	This died, and I replaced it with the CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD listed above.
BFG		GeForce 6200oc PCI video card
Matrox		G450 PCI video card
Intel		Processor 1.3Ghz Celeron	P-III based. 100.Mhz FSB. Retail boxed with (rather large) heat-sink and fan. Yes it's ancient, but it works reasonably well, runs very cool, and uses little power (the whole box draws about 60 watts input from the AC, even under load, when using an Antec EarthWatts 380 power supply).
Asus		Motherboard TUSI-M	Socket 370, Micro-ATX, SIS 630ET chipset, built-in LAN, Audio, Video, 5 USB v1.1 ports, 2 serial ports Using with 768.Meg RAM installed.
Seagate		Hard drive ST3160023A	160 Gig, 8.Meg cache, 7200 RPM Series: Barracuda 7200.7 Plus
BusLink		USB 2.0 card UII-PCIP	5-port High Speed USB 2.0 PCI card. NEC chipset. I plugged it in, and it worked.
LeadTek		TV/FM/Video Capture card	WinFast TV2000 XP Deluxe. Great for watching cable TV on my second monitor. It can record too, and has a nice remote.
CompUSA/FMI		Fan speed controller and alarm EQ40208B	Goes inside the computer, and has a 3-position switch to adjust the speed of a fan, and beeps if the fan stops spinning.
JustCom		USB switch JC-201ASU	2-computer to 1-device Hi-Speed USB 2.0 auto/manual switch. UPDATE 2: There is also a new version of the driver that fixes the problem by creating the correct reg keys during install. UPDATE 1: It's fixed. I contacted Justcom again, and the solution was to add the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Justcom\USBShare\ to both computers, and now the driver software remembers the selected printer, and automatically switches when printing. We're using Heidi's Canon i850 printer.
Wacom		Graphics tablet Graphire2	I'm actually using Heidi's Graphire 3 tablet, with my Graphire 2 pen (we can't find the 3 pen), instead of a mouse.
Dynex		USB Hub DX-H420P	4-port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 hub works powered or unpowered
SanDisk		USB flash drive Cruzer Micro 512.Meg	512.Meg USB flash drive
Logitech		USB Joystick Attack 3	I didn't really need one of these, but it was only about $10, so I got one just in case.
Belkin		Wireless G Router F5D7230-4	802.11g, 54.Mbps, 2.4Ghz, WEP, WPA
Belkin		Wireless G Desktop Network Card F5D7000	802.11g, 54.Mbps, 2.4Ghz, WEP, WPA. Probably includes support for WPA in Windows 2000, like the notebook card does.
Belkin		Wireless G Notebook Network Card F5D7010	802.11g, 54.Mbps, 2.4Ghz, WEP, WPA, 32-Bit CardBus. Includes support for WPA in Windows 2000.
Microsoft		Wireless G Notebook Network Card MN-720	802.11g, 54.Mbps, 2.4Ghz, WEP, WPA, 32-Bit CardBus. Requires 3rd-party software to support WPA in Windows 2000.
Bytecc		External drive enclosure ME-320US	USB 2.0 external 3.5"/5.25" drive enclosure Very loud cooling fan, so I don't leave it running.
Belkin		USB 1.1 hub F5U021	4-port USB 1.1 hub. I gave this to my father and got myself a USB 2.0 hub.
Siemens SpeedStream		Router 2604	4-port DSL/Cable router To replace my finicky Netgear router This one was much more reliable up until it died: the Status and Print Err lights remain red, the Power and Print Act lights remain green, and any ports with computers connected just flash slowly.
Artec driver		Scanner e+48u	600x1200 48-bit USB Flatbed Scanner I gave this to my father since he had more use for it.
Compaq		Monitor V70	17" CRT monitor Was second monitor for dual displays, now it's retired.
PNY		Video card Verto GeForce4 Ti 4200	NVidia chipset, AGP, 64.Meg, Dual outputs, I was running dual 17" CRT monitors each at 1024x768, 85.hz
Western Digital		Hard drive WD1200JB	120 Gig Special Edition, 8.Meg cache, 7200 RPM
Western Digital		Hard drive WD800JB	80 Gig Special Edition, 8.Meg cache, 7200 RPM
Western Digital		Hard drive WD400BB	40 Gig, 2.Meg cache, 7200 RPM To replace the painfully slow hard drive in my (formerly) Compaq system
Motorola		Cable modem SURFboard SB3100	A lot faster than dial-up!
NetGear		Internet Gateway Router RT314	Built-in 4-port 10/100 switch. It had problems maintaining connections, so I replaced it.
3com		PCI LAN card EtherLink XL (3C905-TX)	10/100
CTX		Monitor VL700	17-inch CRT
HP		Laser Printer LaserJet-3p	I had to replace the heater lamp in July 1998. Cost was $15 + $3 shipping from The Printer Works
HP		Ink Jet printer DeskJet 660Cse	Color. I donated this to charity long ago.
Microsoft		Wheel Mouse Optical	USB, PS/2 A nice sized, good quality, optical mouse at a reasonable price
Mouse Systems		Joystick BogeyMan	Set up in Windows Control Panel as: 1 = Thrustmaster Flight Control System 2 = CH Flightstick Pro 3 = CH Flightstick 4 = 4-Button flight yoke w/throttle
Palm		Palm computer IIIe	2.Meg, Serial data sync
PNY		USB FlashCard reader	For our Olympus digital cameras. Reads CompactFlash Type I/II, SmartMedia, IBM Microdrive Has been replaced with a USB 2.0 reader
PowerKinetics (PK Electronics)		Uninterruptible Power Supply Blackout Buster BU6	500.VA. Serial data connector for monitoring and automated shutdown
Radio Shack		Speakers AMX-16 (40-1363)	Built-in 5 watt stereo amplifier. For those who've asked, the power adapter is 16.VDC at 1.1A, center positive, so anything that can put out a clean 16.VDC at at least 1.1 amps should work.
Umax		Flatbed Scanner Astra 1200S	SCSI I donated this to charity long ago.
Adaptec		PCI SCSI card AHA-2940UW	For scanner and ZIP drive
Iomega		ZIP drive 100.Meg	Internal SCSI, 3-1/2", Blue

My (formerly) Compaq 633.Mhz system (See my review below) Now used as my secondary test system, running Linux and FreeBSD
Manufacturer	Picture	Description/Model	Notes
Compaq		Computer Presario 5BW220	Original specs: Celeron 633.Mhz, 15.Gig hard drive, 40x CD-ROM, 64.Meg RAM (shared with video), 1.44 Meg floppy, 56.K V.90 modem, on-board sound and video, keyboard, mouse, Windows ME
Intel		Motherboard chipset 82810e	It died, so I replaced it Built-in video and ESS ES1988 Alegro sound
Compaq		USB Keyboard SDM4540UL	Includes special feature keys
Compaq		IDE CD-ROM drive SC-140S	40x
PCTEL		PCI modem Platinum V.90	56.K, v8.00-9K-C
Maxtor		IDE Harddrive Quantum Fireball LCT1	Too slow, so I replaced it 15.Gig, 4400 RPM
n/a		Memory	One 64.Meg PC-100 SDRAM
n/a		Memory	One 256.Meg PC-100 SDRAM

Here's the Presario 5BW220 review I posted on www.iBuyer.net on Nov 9, 2000.

Good deal, but no powerhouse

I got mine at CompUSA for $400 after $100 mail-in rebate and $150 in-store rebate, so I can't complain about the price. I had to check the CompUSA web site for store stock every morning during the sale, and then run to the store as soon as they had them.

The best thing about this computer (other than the price) is that it is very quiet.

The worst thing is that it has a slow hard drive (only 4,400 RPM, compared to the low-end IDE standard of 5,600 RPM, and the high-end IDE standard of 7,200 RPM). A faster hard drive makes a big difference.

It comes in a useable configuration: while some other low priced computers have only 32.Megs of RAM, which is not sufficient if you actually plan to use the thing, this comes with 64.Megs, which is useable. There is a slot for one more SRDAM module, and I'll be adding another 128.Meg soon.

It comes with 3 free PCI slots (the fourth slot has a modem), but no ISA slots, so I couldn't use my old SCSI card for my scanner and ZIP drive. I had to get a PCI SCSI card. You also can't upgrade the video card since the video is built in to the motherboard, and there is no AGP slot.

It detected my new PCI SCSI card and my PCI LAN card with no problems. It also detected my IDE CD-RW drive, SCSI ZIP drive and SCSI scanner with no problems.

It doesn't have much room left for future expansion. I filled all the external drive bays with my old CD-RW drive and ZIP drive. There is space for a second internal hard drive, one more PCI card, and one more memory chip. There is only one serial port, but there are 3 open USB ports for external devices (the keyboard uses the fourth USB port).

The case design provides very easy access to all the internal components, which makes me very happy.

For now, it is an adequate replacement for my old 166.Mhz computer (check out my old computer at [This page]), but if I had built a new computer (which I had planned to do before I saw the sale), I would have built a faster and more expandable machine (at twice the price)

Previous custom 166.Mhz System
Manufacturer	Picture	Description/Model	Notes
n/a		Case Mid-tower	AT style case with power supply
Digital Research		40X CD-ROM drive DRCDROM40	Really a BTC BCD-40XH rev-U1.6
IBM		Keyboard AT	The real thing
MicroSpeed		Track ball PC-Trac	Serial
Abit		Motherboard (Pentium-class) PR5	PLL52C59 clock-generator chip. Intel 82371SB PCI Bus Master IDE controllers. Intel 82437VX Pentium Processor to PCI bridge.
Via/Cyrix		CPU (Pentium-class) PR166+	With fan and heat sink. 133.Mhz clock speed.
Actiontec		Modem (Internal/Windows) 56.k V.90 PCI PM560LH/PCI56019	Lucent LT Win Modem (Mars) Won't connect above 26,400 over my Verizon phone lines.
n/a		Sound card ISA	Drivers indicate Diamond Technologies DT197A30
Diamond		Video card 3D-2000, 2.Meg PCI	Using S3 Virge PCI(325) Windows 98 native drivers
Western Digital		Hard drive 6.4Gig	IDE - UDMA/33
n/a		Floppy drive 1.44Meg	3-1/2 inch
n/a		Memory 64.Meg RAM	Four 16.Meg EDO SIMMs

Some of my even older stuff
Manufacturer	Item	Model	Notes
Logitech		iFeel Mouse	USB, Optical Provides feedback to the user, but we stopped using this feature. I gave this mouse to Heidi for her laptop.
Epson		ZIP drive Parallel external 100.Meg	Same as an Iomega ZIP drive, except beige instead of blue I still use it with other computers
Phillips		Palm PC Velo 1	Wincows CE, Serial data transfer
Texas Instruments		Data organizer PS-6700	64.K, Serial data transfer
n/a		Speakers	Non-powered
SMC		PCI LAN card SMC1208T	10-BaseT
BenQ (Acer)		IDE CD Writer/Reader CDRW6206A	2x write/rewrite, 6x read. rev-1.3a.
Microsoft		Mouse	PS/2
Mouse Systems		Racing Wheel BogeyMan	(HINT: You set it up in Windows Control Panel as a joystick.) Click here for a picture of the instructions.
CH Products		Joystick	Rarely used. (HINT: It doesn't use drivers. You set it up in Windows Control Panel as a joystick.)
Adaptec		SCSI host adapter AHA-150x/1510/152x/ AIC-6x60	Driver ver-2.05. Came with SCSI ZIP drive.
Mustek		Flatbed scanner 600 II CD (Paragon 600 II SP)	Connected toAdaptec SCSI host adapter. Originally had its own SCSI host adapter.
AVerMedia	TV/FM card	TV/FM98	The reception was so bad I returned it
Diamond	Windows modem (Internal)	SupraMax 56i	It kept causing Windows error messages, so I replaced it I had to force it to V.34 mode to connect over my Verizon phone lines
USRobotics / 3-Com	Modem (Internal)	Sportster 33.6	It kept disconnecting (possibly because of noisy phone lines) so I replaced it
MediaVision	Sound card	Pro Audio Studio	Had compatibility problems, and the original company is out of business
Western Digital	Hard Drive	2.1Gig	IDE
Western Digital	Hard Drive	500.Meg	IDE
Samsung Electronics (also Samsung)	CD-ROM drive	SCR-830	8x IDE, rev-3.01 Didn't allow digital data extraction from audio CDs
n/a	CD-ROM drive	2x	With proprietary controller card
Conner (Now owned by Seagate)	Tape backup drive	TapeStore 250	Internal, uses floppy controller
n/a	Floppy drive	1.2Meg	5-1/4 inch
n/a	486 motherboard
n/a	Video Card		VESA Local Bus
Via/Cyrix	CPU	486DLC/40
n/a	Memory	8.Meg	Eight 1.Meg 32-pin SIMMS

Software (This list is very old. Maybe I'll update it someday.)
Manufacturer	Item	Version	Notes
PSPad	PSPad	4.3.3	Free full-featured programmer's text editor
Sygate	Sygate Personal Firewall	5.6	Free Personal Internet firewall and application control
IZArc	IZArc	3.5 beta 3	Free archive manager (ZIP, etc.)
Werkema	SpaceMonger	1.4	Free graphical drive use display - Excellent utility for cleaning up your files and freeing up drive space
FileZilla	FileZilla	2.2.x	Free FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client. Supports SSL/SFTP.
SpyBotSD	SpyBotSD	1.4	Free spyware removal tool
SeaMonkey	Mozilla SeaMonkey	1.0.x for Windows	Free Top-Notch Web browser & E-mail client suite
Ahead Software	Nero Burning ROM	6.6.x	CD/DVD writing software
IrfanView	IrfanView32	3.x	Free graphics file viewer and processor, with batch processing
Jasc	Paint Shop Pro	7 & 9	Photo editor
ACD Systems	ACDSee Classic	2.4x	Fast graphics file viewer and browser
ImageWalker	ImageWalker	2.2x	Photo manager, and web photo album generator
Macromedia (Allaire)	Homesite	4.5x	HTML editor
WinSCP	WinSCP	3.7.x	Free SCP (Secure Copy) client
PuTTY	PuTTY	0.58	Free SSH (Secure Shell) client
Microsoft	Windows 2000/XP	Windows 2000/XP Pro	Operating Systems
Microsoft	Office 2000/2003	Office 2000/2003 Pro	Office application suite

SpeedFan	SpeedFan	4.x	Free temperature monitor and fan speed control app
Grisoft	AVG Anti Virus System	6.0	Free Anti-virus scanner
Lavasoft	AD-Aware	6.x	Free spyware removal tool
7-Zip	7-Zip	3.13	Free archive manager (ZIP, etc.)
ZoneLabs	ZoneAlarm	4.5.x	Free Personal Internet firewall and application control
Knoppix	Linux	3.x	Operating System - Boots and runs from CD
RedHat	Linux	7.x/9.0	Operating System
FreeBSD	BSD	4.x	Operating System
SmartFTP	SmartFTP	1.0.xx	FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client
Ipswitch	WS_FTP	Limited Edition v5.0x	Free FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client

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