Tactical Gamer - Blogs - draeh http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/ Tactical Gamer is the PREMIERE mature online gaming community. We feature games such as Battlefield 2, Ghost Recon, Joint Operations, Operation Flashpoint, Armed Assault, World of Warcraft, Battlefield 1942, and more. Our community is geared around teamwork, strategy and tactics in a mature environment. en Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:59:13 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.tacticalgamer.com/images/styles/UndergroundStyle/misc/rss.jpg Tactical Gamer - Blogs - draeh http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/ I bought a house! http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/188-i-bought-house.html Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:49:46 GMT Image: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/291937/house/IMG_1955.JPG Closed on it this morning at 11. Now to pack... ugh. Then move... double ugh.


Closed on it this morning at 11.


Now to pack... ugh.

Then move... double ugh. ]]> draeh http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/188-i-bought-house.html Pulled the trigger on the case! http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/59-pulled-trigger-case.html Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:36:18 GMT
I'm not ready to buy the rest of the components, but I went ahead and bought the case to make designing the rest of the system easier. At the same time, I bought an aftermarket top plate and the radiator to test the fit.










After studying all the aftermarket top plates that Lian Li offers for their cases, I came to the conclusion that the T-71103 (pictured below) originally made for the PC-A7110 case should fit the PC-A71F.



A test fit confirmed two things. First, the T-71103 top plate fit and bolted in perfectly. Second, as suspected, the upper rear hard drive cage (pictured below) had to be removed because it interferes. Lian Li saved this location as an alternate power supply location and as such the cage is easily removed with 4 screws.





And the final picture with the top on and the front panel connectors screwed back in place.




That's a load off my mind. Originally it looked like I was going to have to machine the stock plate.

Up next, I will be fitting the 3 120mm fans and the Black Ice SR1 360 radiator, but first I have to get longer bolts.

Doh!

In all my excitement, I forgot to order them.
 ]]> draeh http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/59-pulled-trigger-case.html <![CDATA[I don't want to lose these...]]> http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/57-i-dont-want-lose-these.html Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:30:19 GMT These are just two TG gems that I do not want to lose...

Rick Slick's chuckler on situational awareness

Dirtboy's 2142 Evolution ]]> draeh http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/57-i-dont-want-lose-these.html Always remember to count starting with 0 http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/33-always-remember-count-starting-0.html Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:01:25 GMT I've just had an "anvil of enlightenment" moment. I've been struggling for about an hour trying to boot a custom Linux kernel on a custom ARM target. When you jump to the entry point of the kernel, a few processor registers must be set accordingly for the kernel to gather initial information about the system since there is no BIOS on an embedded target. The boot loader I'm using has a very nice facility for passing arguments in the registers prior to jumping to any code... Unfortunately for me, I "forgot" about the existence of register r0 and thus the arguments I thought I was passing into registers r1 & r2 actually ended up in r0 & r1.

I think its time for a small break before I continue... ]]> draeh http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/33-always-remember-count-starting-0.html The New Rig: I think I found a case. http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/30-new-rig-i-think-i-found-case.html Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:22:08 GMT The case in question is the Lian Li PC-A71F which is the same as the PC-A70F with a front door. It has the styling and minimalism I'm looking for as well as plenty of room inside for equipment. Its not a slam dunk though, some modding will have to take place.


First, the top cover has no cooling fans. There is an optional cover with a single fan, but I want two 140mm fans in the top cover to accommodate a nice twin fan radiator. You could eliminate the lower HD cage and install a radiator there, but now the heated air will be circulated inside the case instead of immediately blown out. I prefer not to do that. This means that I will need to have the stock cover custom machined. I will need to contact Lian Li for a CAD drawing of the cover so that I can plan the alterations.




Second, it has an upper rear HD cage that will need to go, but it's removable so that will be a cinch. As an added bonus, the removal of the upper HD cage allows for an additional 120mm radiator if necessary.




With the lower HD cage in place, the case can accommodate cards up to 390mm (15.35") in length. There is plenty of room in the base for not only the power supply but the cooling pump and reservoir as well. The motherboard tray is not removable, but at least it has a large cutout where the CPU backing plate is located if it ever needs replacing. It's not shown, but there is almost 2" of space behind the motherboard tray to accommodate cabling and/or tubing in my case. I wasn't too thrilled about the PSU "strap", but several reviewers had no problems with it. The PSU sits on a small tray raised off the bottom of the case so it can be mounted upside down if the "strap" impedes the operation of the fan.




My only concern is the machining of an already anodized surface. Scratches can be minimized by attaching the piece to another material for machining. If I had my druthers, I would prefer to pitch this idea to Lian Li and have them fab it. I will ask about that when I request a drawing of it.

All in all, I'm happy with it. ]]> draeh http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/30-new-rig-i-think-i-found-case.html The New Rig: Water cooling DDR3 memory http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/12-new-rig-water-cooling-ddr3-memory.html Sun, 31 Jan 2010 04:41:19 GMT Koolance (http://www.koolance.com/default.php) has a nifty water cooling block for memories. Their RAM-33 (http://www.koolance.com/water-cooling/product_info.php?product_id=860) water cooling block promises to circulate water all the way to the bottom of both sides of a memory stick. Coupled with... Koolance has a nifty water cooling block for memories. Their RAM-33 water cooling block promises to circulate water all the way to the bottom of both sides of a memory stick. Coupled with these sliding 180 degree U connectors, they provide a nifty clean looking water setup to keep memory cool.

I'm definitely going to keep this in mind as I design my water cooling system. ]]> draeh http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/12-new-rig-water-cooling-ddr3-memory.html The New Rig: It all starts with the case... http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/11-new-rig-all-starts-case.html Sun, 31 Jan 2010 04:09:58 GMT I'm in the planning phase of a new rig. I'm coming into some money and I want a top of the line rig to replace my aging system. First up is the case.

Requirements:
  • Must be able to fit two ATI HD 5970s
  • Must be able to fit all water cooling gear (radiator, pump, resevoir)
  • Absolutely no side viewing window.
  • Must have a removable motherboard plate.
  • If possible, all fan intakes should have some form of filter.
  • If possible, it should have smooth lines.

The case I really like is the Silverston FT02B, but it has two problems. It will not fit a radiator and a 5970 (its even shaky fitting the 5970 alone), and it has an annoying side view window. I contacted Silverstone about the possibility of new cases in the Fortress line. They responded that more are on the way, but could not provide details at this time. My current case is an Antec P180B. I prefer this style case with smooth lines and un-interrupted surfaces. Unfortunately it will not hold the necessary water cooling gear.

More to come as the search continues... ]]> draeh http://www.tacticalgamer.com/blogs/draeh/11-new-rig-all-starts-case.html