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Here's the start. That's the fabulous Antec LANBoy case (a brand new one) and a rockin' Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition motherboard. Amos has already installed the Antec 500 watt modular power supply. Everything, with the exception
of the LANBoy case, came from NewEgg.com. The case came from
a place in Houston called DirecTron. Both vendors have been great! |
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Here's Amos, clowning around! Right next to my new megabucks super computer! How dare he? Desn't he realize
what a serious business this is, building a new gaming computer? |
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Here's Amos, actually working on the computer! We put a GeForce 7600GT video card in it, along with an Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual-Core CPU, 1 GB of matched Corsair PC2 6400 DDR2/800 memory, a 250 GB Western Digital SATA drive, and a Lite-On 16x DVD burner along with a Sony DVD-ROM and a Rosewill multiple-format media card reader. The motherboard has the top-notch nForce 590 chipset, two 10/100/1000 LAN ports, eight USB 2.0 ports and two Firewire ports, plus an eight channel ADI AD1988B on-board sound processor. The LANBoy case allows two USB ports to be brought to the front, and two of the USB ports are used by the Rosewill media reader installed in the 3.5" bay. All the other ports, except one of the Firewire ports, are accessible from the back, and I can add a second Firewire connector for the other Firewire port if I ever need it. My first desktop ever without
a floppy drive! |
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Here's the completed computer, up and running, ready to have rFactor and GTR2 installed. It's running Windows XP Pro. Even though the NightMonster has a dual core processor, my research suggested that since current games don't take advantage of dual core yet, and finding 64 bit drivers for some hardware can be a pain, the solid and well-known XP Pro would be the safest choice for now. I can always go to XP x64 later. Note the snarl of wires inside. I know it looks kind of messy right now. We just wanted to get the computer up and running; I'll take care of the wires later. Also note the funny little round white antenna sitting on the top of the case, sticking up its middle - sorry - only finger into the air. This is for the onboard WiFi built into the motherboard. This onboard WiFi controller can let the computer be either a Wireless Access Point or a "Station", a client which attaches to another WAP or router. Great for going to LAN parties, if I ever find one that is devoted to racing sims! This is so cool! Shortly after
we installed Windows, Amos was able to connect his laptop to
my LAN through the NightMonster's WiFi and do his homework! |
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Here it is, completed! It's sitting on a special stand I built of poplar, an especially non-toxic, non-aromatic wood. I used brass-plated hardware, just to make it look nice. The stand keeps the NightMonster off the floor, away from the dust, and up where I can reach it easily and gaze at it in rapture whenever I get bored. (Ok, I know I'm over the top! I'll cut it out now.) This stand replaced the white wooden kitchen chair seen in the photo above. I know, it's a nice chair, but it just wasn't up to the standards of the NightMonster! The stand is on glides so I can easily pull the NightMonster away from the wall and desk if I need to work on it. Hence the door handle, serving as a sort of drawer pull. In the background is a desk
made of glass and powder-coated steel for minimum toxic emissions,
plus my printer, a new Samsung 931B monitor (pretty toxic, unfortunately!)
and a beloved Logitech "Old Red" force feedback wheel
that I borrowed from my brother Nate. |
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Here's the view I get just before I step into the cockpit. Gorgeous, isn't it? One thing about glass desks, though: they really let you see that tangle of wires! I'm going to have to spend some time with some wiring loom... Note the little blue tower to the right of the monitor. This is a TrendNet KVM switch, which allows me to share mouse, keyboard, monitor, and sound between the NightMonster and my laptop. This is really nice, because it keeps clutter on the small desk to a minimum. Imagine what that desk would look like with another keyboard on it! The laptop, by the way, is
hiding under the keyboard. When the wheel is not in use, it goes
on the floor next to the pedals, and the keyboard goes on the
slide-out drawer next to the mouse. |
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And here's the NightMonster from the driver's seat! Isn't she pretty? After she'd been running for a few days, I realized that her clear side and blue-glowing fan were just begging for more lights inside, so I ordered some cold cathode tubes from CaseCooler.com, along with a sound-triggered controller. I know, all those lights don't
make it work any better. But it sure looks cool!
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The NightMonster staring you in the face. Don't worry, it won't bite! I'm almost sure of this. |
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Here you can see the DVD drives and the sound-triggered light controller just below. The Rosewill media reader is in the 3.5" bay on the left, and on the right is a pop-out drawer holding spare screws, a screwdriver, and other miscellaneous bits. So cool!! |
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And finally, here's a closeup! See the NightMonster's beautiful guts! I spent some time doing a reasonably decent job of routing and bundling all the cables. I think it looks pretty good,
don't you? |