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In a message dated 1/6/2002 1:35:43 PM Pacific Standard Time,
omega-digest-request@xxxxxxxxxx writes:
>
> Date: Sun, 6 Jan 2002 09:55:57 -0700
> From: "Gary Fritz" <fritz@xxxxxxxx>
> To: "omega list" <omega-list@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: the ultimate .............
>
> I think the multiple mobos in one box is an interesting idea. Might
> be able to get some efficiency of airflow/cooling etc, maybe make the
> beastie a little quieter than N separate boxes.
>
> Noise is a concern for me. All those fans are quite a distraction.
> I've already got 4 computers within 4 feet of me. Thank God one of
> them is a laptop & virtually silent. Now I'm looking at buying or
> building a dual-CPU monster, and it will probably be as noisy as the
> other 4 combined. :-( If I end up building it, I'm going to put
> some effort into researching the quietest fans.
>
> Too bad the boxes have to be nearby. If I could stick them 20' away
> I could put them into the next room and noise would be no problem.
> The CD drive, printer, etc would be inconveniently far away, but I
> think I could live with that. But I don't think the video cable for
> the monitor can be that long. Or is there a solution for that?
>
I have three computers in a closet about 10 feet from the desk. (One is dead
right now.) I connect them into a KVM switch, and run a 25-foot
video/mouse/keyb cable to the monitor/mouse/keybd. Since the dual system
has dual monitors, there is a second video cable, and this monitor can't be
switched. These cables are high-quality cables: they use tiny coax cables
for each color instead of straight wires. With this type of cable you can
go up to 100 feet. You can get these cables from Raritan (KVM company -
www.raritan.com). The Raritan cable has a mouse and keybd cable molded onto
the video. Convenient, but bulky. I just got a third video-only cable from
L-Com - very thin, 25 feet long. (P/N CTL3VGAMF-25T - it was hard to find in
their computer. www.l-com.com). If you live in an area that has big
electronics parts stores you may be able to get such a cable there.
My KVM is a Belkin. Personally I don't like Belkins now. It works most of
the time, but has a tendency to hang, and I have to open the closet and push
the button (I normally use the hot keys for monitor selection.)
A dual-cpu system isn't necessarily noisier. Last summer I put together a
dual 800 system and it is much quieter than the old 450. There are some very
quiet power supplies and fans available; Enlight is one. Check out
www.pcpowerandcooling.
There are two fancy KVM concepts. One is to encode the KVM signals and
transmit them over CAT-5 cable (CAT5 extenders they are called, and can go
1000 feet. It's a long walk to that CD-ROM). The other is to convert to
TCPIP ! Then you can monitor your systems over the Internet. I'd like one
of those, but they are mucho expensive right now. Cybex and Raritan make
those.
If you need quite drives, try the Quantum AS series. Quantum was bought by
Maxtor, but they still make the AS drives. There is one model that even has
an air bearing.
donc
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