Post your workstations 2011

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gigatexal said:
this is OT but whats the diff between a mech keyboard and ur average 30 dollar usb one?
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Well the average 30 dollar keyboards mostly use rubber membranes... some people might prefer that, but I am not one of those people. That being said, I do like some of the laptop style keyboards that use rubber membranes and a scissor mechanism. Mechanical keyboards are in a whole other league (in my opinion) and they offer much more tactile feedback when typing, they seem less fatiguing to my fingers, and I happen to be one of the people that prefer that "clack-clack" sound they make! :)
Now there's different types of mechanical key switches too, and some prefer one over the other... me... I have always liked the Cherry MX Blue key switches myself, which is exactly what are in the Black Widows. These have a very short actuation distance of 2mm and they still offer plenty of feedback even at that short travel... this allows my to type and process keystrokes much faster than I can on normal keyboards. The mechanical key switches are also more durable and last longer than traditional rubber membranes... and did I mention that they just kick ass! :D

That was a bit long-winded I guess... but hopefully it gives you an idea of the differences, well in my opinions at least.
 
I really like the idea behind small keyboards and then game pads. That may be my next set up after I get tired of the Saitek Cyborg. I want to go mechanical next and a Filco seems like the right idea :).
 
overlord20 said:
I really like the idea behind small keyboards and then game pads. That may be my next set up after I get tired of the Saitek Cyborg. I want to go mechanical next and a Filco seems like the right idea :).
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I am a fan of small boards too, even though I am currently using and loving my Razer Black Widow Ultimate... though I wouldn't mind losing the num pad. That being said, the num pads on the Widows can be mapped for anything you'd like (mine is currently mapped for hotkeys I need in Sony Vegas 9 Pro).

Filco boards are definitely one of the ways to go! :)
A Filco paired with a Logitech G13 might be a nice combo... if only the G13 had mechanical keys, or if Razer would make one that uses the same Cherry MX Blue switches that they use in the Widows! :D
 
I had an old dell d620 and thought the keyboard was second to none lol, guess mech keyboards are not for me.
 
schapman43 said:
I've started putting my gear back together after the move. Still need to get all the servers and such into the rack. The network infrastructure is in for the most part but I still need to terminate a few jacks and such around the house and the patch panel in the utility room. Speaking of patch panels, I still need to reconnect the data rack with the server rack..... I also sold my old desk and my main machine so I'm stuck using some stuff I through together. I'll work on all that as time goes by.

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That is the best workstation pic I have seen in months.
 
TooBooKoo said:
I am a fan of small boards too, even though I am currently using and loving my Razer Black Widow Ultimate... though I wouldn't mind losing the num pad. That being said, the num pads on the Widows can be mapped for anything you'd like (mine is currently mapped for hotkeys I need in Sony Vegas 9 Pro).

Filco boards are definitely one of the ways to go! :)
A Filco paired with a Logitech G13 might be a nice combo... if only the G13 had mechanical keys, or if Razer would make one that uses the same Cherry MX Blue switches that they use in the Widows! :D
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I like the small keyboard path too. Right now I am rocking the MS Arc. While not mechanical, it is nice and small, and I'm not picky about the action of the keys.
 
matrix563 said:
schapman43, what color is the rug i need some for this place i am trying to buy :)
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LOL, that is a damn good question. It was in the house when we moved it. I really like it though. I hate really light carpet because it always looks dirty.
 
Nocturn3Ev1l said:
Why? because of the racks? go to networking pics topic and you will see...ahah :D
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Agreed, really isn't much there for a workstation right now. However my work setup is pretty slick.

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3 pretty crappy 22" Acer LCD's over 3 LED Backlit Asus monitors. R.A.T. 5 Mouse, X Trac Pad, Leupold Otaku Brown Keyboard, Noppoo Blue Keyboard.

Off to the right is a 47" LG LCD for monitoring the network and various other systems.
 
Modred189 said:
I like the small keyboard path too. Right now I am rocking the MS Arc. While not mechanical, it is nice and small, and I'm not picky about the action of the keys.
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Yes indeed! I gotta say, the Arc is a nice little board... I use one for my laptop since I'm not too crazy about my laptop's keyboard (it's a Compaq =\). I am not really crazy about the little arrow keys on the Arc... but the keys feel so good to me that I can overlook that little minor detail, not to mention it's a pretty good looking keyboard too! :)
I say give the Arc smaller, individual keys for the arrow keys rather than that 4-way rocker thing and we have a perfect little wireless board.
 
TooBooKoo said:
Yes indeed! I gotta say, the Arc is a nice little board... I use one for my laptop since I'm not too crazy about my laptop's keyboard (it's a Compaq =\). I am not really crazy about the little arrow keys on the Arc... but the keys feel so good to me that I can overlook that little minor detail, not to mention it's a pretty good looking keyboard too! :)
I say give the Arc smaller, individual keys for the arrow keys rather than that 4-way rocker thing and we have a perfect little wireless board.
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HOLY CRAP YES. The arrow KEY is awful, but I use them so infrequently, I don't mind too much. It does seem to go through batteries faster than my old MX5500.
 
Modred189 said:
HOLY CRAP YES. The arrow KEY is awful, but I use them so infrequently, I don't mind too much. It does seem to go through batteries faster than my old MX5500.
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I'm not too experienced with wireless keyboards so I can't compare the battery usage to anything personally, but I can live with it.
Yeah I don't use the arrow keys all that much either... really just when I am going through a large folder of photos in the photo viewer thing... I can live with that too though.
I never was too crazy about the Arc mouse... but they did pretty well on their keyboard.
 
TooBooKoo said:
I'm not too experienced with wireless keyboards so I can't compare the battery usage to anything personally, but I can live with it.
Yeah I don't use the arrow keys all that much either... really just when I am going through a large folder of photos in the photo viewer thing... I can live with that too though.
I never was too crazy about the Arc mouse... but they did pretty well on their keyboard.
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Agreed. I tried the Arc mouse and was not terribly impressed. I have yet to really find a GREAT mobile mouse. I had a microsoft 4000(?) and it was pretty good until the reciver melted. :eek:
Now I have the Razer Orochi, and it's nice, but still not quite what I am looking for, whatever that is.
 
Modred189 said:
Agreed. I tried the Arc mouse and was not terribly impressed. I have yet to really find a GREAT mobile mouse. I had a microsoft 4000(?) and it was pretty good until the reciver melted. :eek:
Now I have the Razer Orochi, and it's nice, but still not quite what I am looking for, whatever that is.
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Melted receiver? :eek: indeed!
I've never had my hands on the Razer Orochi... looks good though.
Have you tried the Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX? It's a good little mouse I think, but it was still just a little small for my hand... I just use my old G9 with the cable zip tied right now, LOL! I've been looking for the perfect size/performance wireless mouse too... well good luck to us both then I suppose. I love my G700 I use on my desktop, but it's a little large to carry with my laptop. I wish they would make a wireless mouse with the same size/shape as the G9 and that would be great... oh and leave off all the lights and high powered junk so I can get some good battery life from it... that would be my perfect mobile mouse I think.
 
TooBooKoo said:
Melted receiver? :eek: indeed!
I've never had my hands on the Razer Orochi... looks good though.
Have you tried the Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX? It's a good little mouse I think, but it was still just a little small for my hand... I just use my old G9 with the cable zip tied right now, LOL! I've been looking for the perfect size/performance wireless mouse too... well good luck to us both then I suppose. I love my G700 I use on my desktop, but it's a little large to carry with my laptop. I wish they would make a wireless mouse with the same size/shape as the G9 and that would be great... oh and leave off all the lights and high powered junk so I can get some good battery life from it... that would be my perfect mobile mouse I think.
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the anywhere mouse is pretty slick. bought it originally for my laptop, but since i like it so much i'm going to use it with my new desktop. not too fond of the scroll wheel though.
 
adavbn said:
the anywhere mouse is pretty slick. bought it originally for my laptop, but since i like it so much i'm going to use it with my new desktop. not too fond of the scroll wheel though.
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I agree... it's a nice little peripheral, but the scroll wheel could use a little work. All in all I think it's great though. I just wish it had a little more beef on it... I have larger hands though.
 
cyberkost said:
Looks like glass Galant (from IKEA)
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The glass Galant is bitter-sweet. It's an amazing desk to use for reflective lighting, and it can make for the perfect desk outlook if done right.
But being glass, and with my heavy-handedness and clusmeyness, it wouldn't last long haha.
 
Curlack said:
The glass Galant is bitter-sweet. It's an amazing desk to use for reflective lighting, and it can make for the perfect desk outlook if done right.
But being glass, and with my heavy-handedness and clusmeyness, it wouldn't last long haha.
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I'm with you. I'm hard on hardware, (no idea why), and thus I use a thick wood desk.
 
Picture of my setup on the desk I built, and yes I know my speaker placement kind of defeats the point of it being a 5.1 setup, but I can't really mount the rears behind me like I should.

New%252520Computer%252520Setup.jpg
 
Dregoth said:
Picture of my setup on the desk I built, and yes I know my speaker placement kind of defeats the point of it being a 5.1 setup, but I can't really mount the rears behind me like I should.

New%252520Computer%252520Setup.jpg
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I believe we have the same speaker system, the Logitech X-540 Multimedia Speaker System - right?

How have you found it? I've had it for about 7 months now and loving it really. Only fauly is that when I put the bass to middle or higher and the volume to about 65% on the wheel, my speakers will sometimes screech at me for a second on songs, usually ones with high notes. I think I may have blown something haha.

I don't have mine on the wall ethier though, mainly due to lack of care and effort, but still I think they sound great.
 
Curlack said:
I believe we have the same speaker system, the Logitech X-540 Multimedia Speaker System - right?

How have you found it? I've had it for about 7 months now and loving it really. Only fauly is that when I put the bass to middle or higher and the volume to about 65% on the wheel, my speakers will sometimes screech at me for a second on songs, usually ones with high notes. I think I may have blown something haha.

I don't have mine on the wall ethier though, mainly due to lack of care and effort, but still I think they sound great.
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Yep X-540's I like them and think they sound great for my use. I forget how long I've had em for, but it's been a while. Haven't noticed the screeching you describe, but I don't think I have the bass very high I don't think.
 
I'm a bit of an audio nut so anything branded logitech or pretty much any other "computer" hardware brand gets my soul in a twist. Anything will produce "sound" the goal is matching real life or at least what was heard in the studio while mixing which takes alot more finesse and luck but not necessarily a ton more cash.

My starting suggestion to anyone is start with stereo. Most surround systems do just end up all on one desk. Its not your fault its just desks aren't entire rooms so mounting rears in mid air fails. Here is what I suggest for a simple stereo speaker system.

A set of these B652's http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-652
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Bought my first set when they appeared here. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20016275-47.html Can't recommend anything else since they are awesome.

A quality amplifier (Ask your parents if they have anything old (pre 90's old is best). I run a set on an old Niles TVA-50 which can only be had on ebay now..
niles_tva50large_400x400_s.jpg

and my other set with a 10" Design Acoustics passive sub off my father's (now my) Pioneer Spec-2 amp and the experience is mind blowing.
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I've heard good things about this but haven't tested it. http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=310-310
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Or if your more serious I'd go with the basic Onkyo stereo amp. http://www.probroadcastsupply.com/p...per-Channel-Stereo-Amplifier-ONK%2dM282P.html
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Only other issue I see with this path is most people (not everyone but most) use onboard sound which is a NO-NO. No matter what any motherboard manufacturer says about their sound it is all crap. You need a high quality DAC like on the Xonar or Onkyo series of soundcards if going direct to an amplifier. If you don't mind going external or are interested in some portable clarity I've been eyeing this puppy..

NuForce External DAC and Headphone Amp with Stereo RCA and Coaxial digital outs. http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-uDAC-2-Black-Headphone-24bit/dp/B003Y5FRNS?&tag=rnwff-20
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If you are going to use digital out and a surround receiver the DAC built into that unit will be responsible for decoding. (Certainly wont be as good as a dedicated sound card or external DAC but better than onboard!!)

Other then that just work on placement.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/F12Bwth2/SpeakerPlacementMK2.png
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the best you can and go from there.
 
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would a car amp work as an amp (noob that i am i ask) and would a 7.1 stereo reciever work also to put this all together?
 
gigatexal said:
would a car amp work as an amp (noob that i am i ask) and would a 7.1 stereo reciever work also to put this all together?
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A car amp in could work but you wouldn't want to use it because most have a very low signal to noise ratio, But a 7.1 receiver will work.
 
awesome my dad has some hardware but it looks like ill only get it if nothing from his estate sells.
 
gigatexal said:
awesome my dad has some hardware but it looks like ill only get it if nothing from his estate sells.
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Im sorry about your father.

Vintage stereo equipment is some of the best sounding stuff you can get. I have a older pioneer stereo receiver i have been meaning to renovate to find a use for.
 
gigatexal said:
would a car amp work as an amp (noob that i am i ask) and would a 7.1 stereo reciever work also to put this all together?
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mannyman said:
A car amp in could work but you wouldn't want to use it because most have a very low signal to noise ratio, But a 7.1 receiver will work.
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Yeah the issues with using a car amp is quality of signal is lost without setups in the many hundreds of dollars. Most if not all are 4 ohm or lower and you would need a powerful 12 volt supply to run it. A wall transformer will melt.

A 7.1 will work fine. Whats the brand, model and stated power output?

mannyman said:
Vintage stereo equipment is some of the best sounding stuff you can get. I have a older pioneer stereo receiver i have been meaning to renovate to find a use for.
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Yeah, I have researched it and to buy the same 30 year old Spec 2 amp used on Ebay, a fully working and or restored unit is $1,100+. So I baby it. Not like I have much of a limit with two tiny monitors and a 10" sub. 250 real watts per channel is alot.

I could never see hooking that sort of rare old amp up to my PC however. It would put too many hours on it. That kind of thing goes on in its own room. You close your eyes and an hour later it goes off. Music Accomplished By the way I only play uncompressed flac wav's from my old Archos 604 or 605 through the docking station directly wired to it. Those Archos have great little DAC's in them but don't natively support flac.
 
ZeosPantera said:
Yeah the issues with using a car amp is quality of signal is lost without setups in the many hundreds of dollars. Most if not all are 4 ohm or lower and you would need a powerful 12 volt supply to run it. A wall transformer will melt.

A 7.1 will work fine. Whats the brand, model and stated power output?



Yeah, I have researched it and to buy the same 30 year old Spec 2 amp used on Ebay, a fully working and or restored unit is $1,100+. So I baby it. Not like I have much of a limit with two tiny monitors and a 10" sub. 250 real watts per channel is alot.

I could never see hooking that sort of rare old amp up to my PC however. It would put too many hours on it. That kind of thing goes on in its own room. You close your eyes and an hour later it goes off. Music Accomplished By the way I only play uncompressed flac wav's from my old Archos 604 or 605 through the docking station directly wired to it. Those Archos have great little DAC's in them but don't natively support flac.
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The one I am talking about is a Pioneer sx 650, Got it from a friend who lived in an apartment, It works fine just dusty and a little beat up all of the fake wood is pealing off. Opened it up and it had a few cockroaches in it.
 
Wilo said:
Raging, is that a 27" Samsung? Also, very nice rig.
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Nah, 24". That said, I highly recommend it if you’re thinking about getting one.

Should the price drop a little more, I will probs get another :p

or this...HUGE thing, but I would use it as a tv.....
 
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