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Mr_Smartepants

Member Since 19 Feb 2011
Offline Last Active Yesterday, 02:34 PM
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Topics I've Started

HP N40L Microserver and USB3 card $265 after MIR (NewEgg)

16 January 2013 - 12:31 AM

HP N40L Microserver and USB3 card $265 after MIR (NewEgg)
Here are the affiliate links if you need them:
Newegg.com

http://www.newegg.co...mbo1192698-LM3A
Combo is $329.99 before $65 (combined) mail-in-rebates.
HP ProLiant N40L Ultra Micro Tower Server System AMD Turion II Neo N40L 1.5GHz 2-Core 2GB (1 x 2GB) 1 x 250GB LFF SATA 658553-001
HighPoint RocketU 1022A PCI-Express 2.0 x1 Low Profile USB 3.0 Controller Card

Prices good for the next 25 hours. Expires 11:59PM PST, 1/16/2013.

Hitachi 4TB SATA3 Deskstar 7K4000 $199 each at Fry's

28 September 2012 - 12:09 PM

http://www.frys.com/product/7057131
Retail box. $199 each. ($0.05/GB)
Limited to in-store pickup only, and 2 per household.

Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK)

27 August 2012 - 11:19 PM

Microsoft released their new replacement for WAIK. This contains updated versions of DISM and other tools required for servicing Server 2012 and Windows 8 images and is backward compatible with Windows 7 (and Vista to a certain extent).
Download: http://www.microsoft...s.aspx?id=30652
More info: http://msdn.microsof...ibrary/hh825420

50GB of free cloud storage at MediaFire

26 August 2012 - 01:04 AM

Source: http://reviews.cnet....from-mediafire/

Website: http://www.mediafire.com

As indicated in the title, they're offering up to 50GB to free account users. There are limitations though.
Individual file sizes can't exceed 200MB. Also it's not a "syncing" service, you need to upload through their web interface or their install-able desktop app.

I should also note that for anyone thinking of using MediaFire for backups, there's no way to batch-download your archived files -- unless you upgrade to a Pro account (which costs $9 monthly and includes a wealth of other extra features).


Proposed upgrade for my primary desktop

12 August 2012 - 09:10 AM

I'm planning on rebuilding my primary desktop machine. We have many notebooks in the house but this is the only tower desktop machine and serves as my primary workstation/gaming rig and HTPC for the kids. To be fair, I do more general purpose work (software code, VMware, Office, DVD-transcoding, photo/video editing) than actual gaming. The last game I played was Portal2 about 4 months ago. (I've been busy). I also don't plan on doing any over-clocking at all. Stock speeds are fine.
The main reason for the upgrade (got the itch) is because the SATA controller is being saturated by my current drive setup and I want to use the drives for their advertised speeds! ;)
(links/prices from Newegg)

Current build:
Case: Antec P182
PSU: Seasonic M12II SS-500-GM
Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS4
CPU: Intel Q6600
RAM: 8GB DDR2 (OCZ & Geil)
GPU: EVGA Nvidia 8800GTS 512MB
SSD: OCZ Agility3 120GB
RAID: 2x Seagate ST2000DM001 in RAID-1 (onboard Intel controller)
Audio: Asus Xonar DX

I plan on migrating several components to the new build, namely the SSD/RAID, GPU & Audio.
I plan on buying 2 more of the Seagate 2TB drives and making the data-RAID a 3-drive RAID-5 with one hot spare.
I plan on keeping the GPU for now but it'll get upgraded once I get fed up with gaming performance, which is fine for me.

New build:
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium)
PSU: Seasonic X-650 Gold SS-650KM
Mainboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4
CPU: Intel Core i7 3770S (Ivy Bridge)
RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair XMS DDR3-1333 - OR - 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair XMS DDR3-1600 (I can't decide, same price)
CPU cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper-212-Evo
GPU/SSD/RAID from above. RAID using onboard Intel controller.

The leftover parts (case/mobo/cpu/ram) will eventually be used to build a replacement Home Server. I may or may not buy a decent RAID card for this potential server.
RAID card: Highpoint RocketRAID 2720SGL

I can't find the RAM on the ASRock compatibility list, so I'm open to suggestions. My only concern with other RAM types is I've read the clearances on that board with that cooler make the RAM choices low-profile.
I've never used an ASRock board before. I'm partial to Gigabyte/Asus.
Am I missing something? Thanks in advance for your opinions.