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Brickton
Solidworks 2012
I finally got Solidworks installed on my computer, so I'll be added a bunch of stuff here about that. I'll do some how-to's and if I have time tutorials. I'll also be showing off some of my projects that require a CAD.
Alienware M11X R2 Review
I don't do a lot of hardware reviews simply because i can't afford to purchase all the devices or get any sponsors to pay for review units. With that said I was in the market for a new laptop, and I had a few requirements.
After a little bit of searching I found the Alienware M11x R2, it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. The M11x is very small and lightweight but it has a lot of horsepower in its' tiny little frame. First off here are the specs
Yes the speed is a lot slower than my desktop but it has a lot more cores to process with making it more efficient. This little guy can crunch through a lot of data without being bogged down too much. Once I got it I started loaded all the data I needed for when I'm on the road. Once the data and applications were loaded up it was time to test this thing. I mostly bought this computer to do some development and a little bit of gaming. So I mostly tested against what I already had. The applications I compared against were:
- Intel Core i5/i7 Processor
- Dedicated GPU preferably an Nvidia card with CUDA
- A large capacity HD <250GB
- Small and lightweight
After a little bit of searching I found the Alienware M11x R2, it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. The M11x is very small and lightweight but it has a lot of horsepower in its' tiny little frame. First off here are the specs
- Intel Core i5 1.1GHz
- 8GB of Memory
- 320GB HD
- Nvidia Geforce M335 1GB Memory
- >5lb.
- Autodesk 3DS Max 2011/2012
- Blender 2.5
- Visual Studio 2010
- Netbeans 6.9
- Lightworks
I also had some issues with the M335 chipset as it was causing some of the applications to hang and crash for some unknown reason. As I researched some more into it the Optimus technology and I found out it has a couple of issues. Low and behold Nvidia released some new drivers for M335 and so far I'm not having any issues at all. Gaming wise City of Heroes and World of Warcraft ran really well on this computer. I haven't tried other games yet since this laptop doesn't have a DVD drive in it, and I haven't gotten around to getting a portable DVD drive.
Alienware has definitely made a small light weight PC that can still preform well. I would recommend this laptop to anyone in the market.
Power Supply Replacement
The other day I went to boot up my server and shortly after I pressed the power button I heard a "pop". I quickly unplugged the computer and wanted to check to see if I sent a power spike through all the components. So first thing I did was check to see how badly damaged the power supply was so I hooked it up to a power switch and a digital multimeter. As I turned it back on I smelled something burning and noticed some smoke. I guess that means this power supply wasn't going to be working anymore.
So I went to the store and bought a cheap power supply. (I know that cheap doesn't always last long but I was on a tight schedule.)
I hooked up the new power supply and checked each rail to make sure they were outputting properly.
The new power supply was good as it can be. So now it is time to put the power supply in and check the hard drives. Oh, but not too fast there sonny! The power supply's power switch wasn't in the same place as the old one! So the new one didn't fit in the case properly. Well it is time to mod the case a little....
Before mod
After Mod (I can't say this is my best work, but I had to improvise.)
Kai thought this was a good time to take a popcorn break before we put all the components back into the case.
So now I have everything in place, time to check the hardware.
I lucked out! The hardware was fine. I used the program SpeedFan to check the voltages and the temperatures. SpeedFan also has a SMART check that can display the health of your hard drives.
The multimeter didn't even register a volt on any rail so I assumed the motherboard and more importantly my hard drives were safe.
So I went to the store and bought a cheap power supply. (I know that cheap doesn't always last long but I was on a tight schedule.)
I hooked up the new power supply and checked each rail to make sure they were outputting properly.
The new power supply was good as it can be. So now it is time to put the power supply in and check the hard drives. Oh, but not too fast there sonny! The power supply's power switch wasn't in the same place as the old one! So the new one didn't fit in the case properly. Well it is time to mod the case a little....
Before mod
After Mod (I can't say this is my best work, but I had to improvise.)
Kai thought this was a good time to take a popcorn break before we put all the components back into the case.
So now I have everything in place, time to check the hardware.
I lucked out! The hardware was fine. I used the program SpeedFan to check the voltages and the temperatures. SpeedFan also has a SMART check that can display the health of your hard drives.
Hosting up and running
My new hosting is up and running. I got Joomla 1.5 installed and is now running. I got all the features that I had in the old Community Server 2.1 added to the new one. All users need to register again.
Right now I have Mandanite-studios.com and cs.brickton.net running on the same Joomla database. I'm going to be working on making some content and hopefully I can keep it up-to-date.
Hosting update
I've been extremely busy much more than I thought I would be I took on a lot more than I could handle in a acceptable amount of time. However I did manage to do some updates to my web page and I have to say these new updates will be pretty fun (I hope). I added mandanite-studios.com mandanite-studios.com to my hosting and I will be using it to display some CAD modeling and maybe some tips and tricks that I've picked up the last few years of using it. I originally had it on it's own hosting account but that was getting confusing, so I increased my original size hosting and linked it to brickton.net
Since Godaddy dropped its support for Community Server (and the price to use is crazy too). I will be looking for a new CMS that will manage both Brickton.net and Mandanite-studios.com
I'm also starting a few other projects but I have no details on them yet, I'm starting to realize they are both larger than I first expected them to be so I have to do some more research before I start them.
With that note I'm going to run to a store and get me a CoH CoH game card because this weekend is a double XP double XP weekend.
New Computer
For the last month or two I've been working at getting new parts to upgrade my desktop computer. After a daunting task of researching the parts I would like to use for the budget I put myself in I finally got all my parts.
This is what I put together:
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Processor
Gigabyte GA-Ep45-UD3P Motherboard
4 GB Ram from Mushkin
BFG Nvidia GTS 250 Graphics Card
I didn't have to get anything else since I had the parts already, although I did splurge just slightly on a new case.
Putting the computer together was kind of challenging since my case was a little smaller then I first thought. Fitting all the hard drives, vid card and memory with all the required cables was pretty hard, but I got it after a little minipulation.
I also opted to install Windows 7 Pro 64-bit OS to try it out. The install for this was horrendesly slow, but after the install the Win7 is blazing fast. The down side of a 64-bit OS is the lack of 3rd party software support. To help aid with this Microsoft release XP-mode which runs a virtual version of XP. It is very easy to setup and very easy to use I have used it for a few old games that XP itself barely supported.
Overall my experience with my new compter is a positive one there is some tweaks I need to make sometime in the future, but the system works very well currently.
I will be appending to this article when I figure some work arounds for some of the non 64-bit supported softwares out there.
This is what I put together:
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Processor
Gigabyte GA-Ep45-UD3P Motherboard
4 GB Ram from Mushkin
BFG Nvidia GTS 250 Graphics Card
I didn't have to get anything else since I had the parts already, although I did splurge just slightly on a new case.
Putting the computer together was kind of challenging since my case was a little smaller then I first thought. Fitting all the hard drives, vid card and memory with all the required cables was pretty hard, but I got it after a little minipulation.
I also opted to install Windows 7 Pro 64-bit OS to try it out. The install for this was horrendesly slow, but after the install the Win7 is blazing fast. The down side of a 64-bit OS is the lack of 3rd party software support. To help aid with this Microsoft release XP-mode which runs a virtual version of XP. It is very easy to setup and very easy to use I have used it for a few old games that XP itself barely supported.
Overall my experience with my new compter is a positive one there is some tweaks I need to make sometime in the future, but the system works very well currently.
I will be appending to this article when I figure some work arounds for some of the non 64-bit supported softwares out there.
Some of My Favorite Software for Notebooks
I wanted to compile a list of some of my favorite software titles that I use for my notebook. I hope you enjoy!
GIMP: GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, it is very similar to Photoshop but it is free. A lot of the tools that look just like the Photoshop tools but there are a lot of differences. I don’t have much user experience with this product simply because I’m not very artistic, but I use it when I need to make a simple edit to a picture.
Wikidpad: Make a complete wiki in a notepad style.
Crimson Editor : Your one stop shop for text editors, it can any type of text file and you can set the syntax type for easier editing, if you're editing source code. Column mode also allows you to edit multiple rows at once, this is a an amazing feature when you are working on large CSV files.
Google Chrome: A fast and easy web browser, The Google made a great browser and it keeps getting better.
CD BurnerXP : A simple solution to burning CD/DVD discs. The best reason, it's free.
VLC Media player : If you are tired of Winamp or Windows Media, or Heaven forbid iTunes. Use this puppy it is a small install and can play pretty much any media file.
Windows 7 and Live(MSN) Messenger
I have been running windows 7 for a while now and I'm really liking the new OS, however there is always a few thing that each OS has that just kind of annoys you. For instance I run MSN Live Messenger but on Win7 the messenger status is "pinned" to the taskbar(aka the Start bar along the edge of your screen), instead of running in the System Tray (where the clock is located). Well we are in luck and we can run MSN Messenger in the System Tray!
Step 1: Completely Close Live(MSN) Messenger
Step 2: Find the executable and right click on it and choose "Properties".
Step 3: On the Compatibitly Tab
Put a check the box in "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select Windows Vista (Service Pack 2)
Step 4: Click "OK" and run Messenger again
Step 5:
Step 1: Completely Close Live(MSN) Messenger
Step 2: Find the executable and right click on it and choose "Properties".
Step 3: On the Compatibitly Tab
Put a check the box in "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select Windows Vista (Service Pack 2)
Step 4: Click "OK" and run Messenger again
Step 5:
Tis the season to be depressed
December has rushed in and holidays are upon us, the crazies are making mad dashes to the mall to spend a stupid amount of money on a bunch of things they don't want nor need. And here I am sitting in the basement trying to hide from it all. Partly because I don't know if I'll have a job in a few weeks and I don't have the money to spend on silly gifts.
It also happened that I did not get my pay get last week. FANTASTIC! And it always happens when I make enough payments that missing it would screw me over. Anyways bitching about it won't get me anywhere (believe me I tried). No one cares if their mistake costs you money as long as they aren't out anything. The same week that my paycheck went missing, my iPod which I use to help keep my sanity in check on the way to work decided to crap out on me, and no longer syncs, format's nor allows any data to be written to it. Just great!
It also happened that I did not get my pay get last week. FANTASTIC! And it always happens when I make enough payments that missing it would screw me over. Anyways bitching about it won't get me anywhere (believe me I tried). No one cares if their mistake costs you money as long as they aren't out anything. The same week that my paycheck went missing, my iPod which I use to help keep my sanity in check on the way to work decided to crap out on me, and no longer syncs, format's nor allows any data to be written to it. Just great!
Enough of my holiday cheer, a snow storm is upon us here in Bismarck/Mandan and as soon as the wind chill gets better I plan to go sledding with Kai on a wicked hill by the in-law's place. Maybe we can make a few ramps to jump off of and some extra obstacles to work our way through. Overall I think it will be blast once we get some new sleds and some outdoors gear.
Also I plan to do some upgrades over the next few weeks to my computer, so I can run my CAD a little better, I have a lot of projects in my head and it would be more useful to have them drawn out, but my current computer doesn't do so hot when I'm running a CAD. I also found a site that sells and educational copy of 3DS Max for fairly cheep and is also packaged with Maya and Mudbox. I hope to do some work in these programs so I can get a little more proficient with them.
Fall is here!
So it is the end of September and the new semester has started. Hey, err... wait what did I just say? That's right even though I mentioned earlier how much I hate college I decieded to take up the 10 step program to help me quit. I took one class for this semester but I don't think it will be all that hard. I took the class to help me get a local job here in Bismarck since I'm having a bear of a time finding one with my other major. The class is Computer Science 1 which is programming in JAVA, so I don't think it will be bad. I always wanted to learn JAVA, now I have the time to do it!
I also started playing FFXI again after a 6 month hiades, I haven't play all that much since I'm still busy with work and my son but the little time I do get I make the best of it. I have mostly played in the campgain since I don't have the 4+ hours to devote to a party. After that I don't have much to say.
Since moving back to Bismarck I started working on a bank for my lego city, but I ran out of parts. I hope I get some more to complete it soon. I also started making some drawings for the hospital and the fire/rescue center. I have what I think a pretty good idea for the hospital, the space where I plan to put the hospital has a cliff on it to the shore line. I plan to have the building forward facing to the shore line and rather tall. I hope to make some CAD models of these but I doubt I will get to that until I get a local job. I also started working on some back stories for the city and the characters that fill it and I'm getting the pages put back together, I think I'll get them done by the end of the year.
Thats all I have for now.
I also started playing FFXI again after a 6 month hiades, I haven't play all that much since I'm still busy with work and my son but the little time I do get I make the best of it. I have mostly played in the campgain since I don't have the 4+ hours to devote to a party. After that I don't have much to say.
Since moving back to Bismarck I started working on a bank for my lego city, but I ran out of parts. I hope I get some more to complete it soon. I also started making some drawings for the hospital and the fire/rescue center. I have what I think a pretty good idea for the hospital, the space where I plan to put the hospital has a cliff on it to the shore line. I plan to have the building forward facing to the shore line and rather tall. I hope to make some CAD models of these but I doubt I will get to that until I get a local job. I also started working on some back stories for the city and the characters that fill it and I'm getting the pages put back together, I think I'll get them done by the end of the year.
Thats all I have for now.