Saddle Magic vs Larry Lopez & the Spiders From Mars!

It started life as an Acer desktop computer, an "AcerPower FVc": a 2.93 mHz Pentium 4 based machine with 512 MB of DDR SDRAM. Running on Windows XP Pro sp2. An 80 Gig SATA Hard Drive, a DVD/CD-RW Combo drive, a 1.44 MB 3.5 inch FDD. Integrated PCI Graphics and Microsoft's Realtek sound with 5.1 surround sound outputs, a microphone jack and 4 USB 2.0 ports on the back of the case. Plus a serial, parallel and ethernet port. On the front it has two USB ports plus a microphone and speaker jack.

Within the first week the machine received an additional case fan (in the side panel) and an Ultra ATA/133 E-IDE RAID controller with a 160 Gig Seagate Barracuda IDE Hard Drive, to provide a purpose in life.

Of course this could not be my machine without a "Touché", Synaptics Touchpad.

For a monitor I have a 17" LCD (StarLogic). For sound I swap the front output between a pair of powered speakers (Altec Lansing) and various headphones. My stereo system is more permanently attached through the back panel for serious listening.

Initially it was on-line via an external USB dial-up modem, a couple months later that was usurped by a Verizon, 768/128 DSL connection (the cheapest/slowest one). With that I set up a small wired network for all my machines and my daughter's PC.

As you can tell, I am not a gamer. Overall, I would rate this machine as not great, but not shabby either. Basically it's a work station, but it suits the purpose I have and since my budget is severly limited, it didn't cost much.**

It took six months for the next upgrades, a NEC ND-3550a DVD dual layer burner and a 19 in 1 multicard reader/writer, which added four media card slots and a third USB port to the front panel. Now all the exposed drive bays are filled.
[/IMGRIGHT]
As the summer progressed the side panel fan was upgraded. I also installed dust filters over the back and side vents. The machine lives with me in a room along with six birds, there is no lack of 'bird dust' and small feathers in the air. The filters allow me to go up to three months without having to blow out the case, power supply and CPU heatsink.

In December of '06 I acquired a high output 92mm fan (150 CFM) and so upgraded the rear case fan. The high output fan can really scream! Thankfully the machine regulates its speed, keeping it down around the silent level, unless the temp starts to go up. I also placed a temperature probe in the case, a cheapish indoor/outdoor thermometer with a wired probe, single display with a slide switch to change between them. It was no longer being used and this looked like a good new home. I figured it could come in handy during the warmer months, but only if it had been in place for a while so a baseline temperature could be established.

Then, we lived happily ever after... Until two things happened. I started ripping my Cd's and downloading a bit of music, plus I discovered the GOM Player. The GOM Player works so nice I started downloading a little video too. The combination of these started to and was very rapidly filling my 160 GB drive.

In May of '07 it must have been divine intervention that pointed me to a shiny new Seagate Barracuda 250 GB SATA drive. It mounted beautifully and works like a charm. There is only room for one more drive in the case.

This brings us to the end of July and the first of August. It has been warm out off and on, when the room temperature hits about 90°F, my high output fan starts kicking up a few notches. Sometimes to the point it drives me out of the room. A big cleaning was due as the last one was in May when the 250 GB drive was installed. So I opened the machine and blew it out, I went as far as removing the front panel, so I could mount the thermometer and tuck in the excess wire. While behind the front panel I noticed there were mounting provisions for a case fan, so off I go mounting a 92mm fan in front of the internal drive bays.

So all is well and good again. Unfortunately, my baseline temperature has been lost with the shifting of drives plus the new fan. I have to wait for the current warm spell to end before establishing a new one.

**I mentioned cost...
Here's the breakdown. Most everything was one sale or special when purchased:

• AcerPower FVc, PC ......... $621 ----- www.newegg.com
• NEC DL DVD Burner ..... $32 ----- www.newegg.com
• Seagate 160 GB IDE drive .... $50 ----- CompUSA
• Seagate 250 GB SATA drive ... $67 ----- www.newegg.com
• ATA/133 E-IDE RAID control.. $19 --- CompUSA
• Upgrade IDE Cables(3pr) .... $9 --- www.surpluscomputers.com
• Multimedia Card Reader ... $16 ----- www.newegg.com
• Case fans, 92mm (4 ea) .... $19 ----- www.allelectronics.com
• "Touché" Touchpad ......... $9 ----- www.ebay.com
• StarLogic Monitor ...... (legacy) --- OfficeMax
• Altec Lansing speakers ...(legacy) --- OEM from last machine
• External USB 56k modem .... $23 ----- CompUSA
• Belkin KVM Switch ......... $18 ----- CompUSA
• Fast Ethernet Switch ...... $22 ----- CompUSA
• MasterPower 525VA UPS ......$38 ----- CompUSA
• Power strips and cables ... $45 ----- HomeDepot, BigLots(www.biglots.com)
• Thermometer w/ probe ....... $8 ----- Walmart
• Dust Filters ............... $1 ----- HomeDepot
• Total .......... $997 --- Actual cost listed, including taxs and shipping.

In comparison, my last new computer was a 233mHz Pentium MMX, 32mb RAM, 3.6 GB HDD, Win95 + software bundle, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers. I bought it from a now defunct surplus dealer in Washington State. New in the box, manufactured 8 months before I bought it, delivery date 5 January 1998. List price, $2400. I paid $1006 inclusive. After many repairs and a few upgrades it is still alive and well, it sets next to the new machine and is used on a weekly basis.

The last machine went seven years on top and is still in use going on ten years. As I recall its first break-down was after the third year.

Well, it appears the new machine has passed its second anniversary on top, no failures or break-downs to date. Eight years from now I hope to say it's still a good machine.