Author Archives: tim

Custom build specifications for Amazon EC2 cr1.8xlarge

Posted on September 9, 2013 by tim

Ever wonder what the big Amazon instances would cost if you bought one (instead of rented)? Here is an attempt to answer that question. Note: Amazon EC2 provides more than just the hardware (e.g. network connectivity and bandwidth, for starters), … Continue reading →

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Amazon EC2 PassMark per ECU

Posted on August 18, 2013 by tim

Ever wondered what an Amazon ECU is worth in terms of a PassMark-CPU Mark value? (see cpubenchmark.net for PassMark scores). One way to calculate the PassMark per ECU value comes directly from Amazon’s information where they describe the hardware behind … Continue reading →

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AMD Server

Posted on July 6, 2013 by tim

After a ten+ year hiatus, I built another (inexpensive) AMD Server machine. That first AMD machine cost less than $400. I didn’t quite match that cost, but I got pretty close. The CPU and the RAM were $20 off each. … Continue reading →

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ZFS Machine

Posted on March 10, 2013 by tim

I finally got around to building a highly reliable storage system. Currently, that requires two disk drives and ZFS. And ZFS, in turn, requires something other than Linux. I ended up with FreeNAS. With mirror (RAID 1), ZFS will “self … Continue reading →

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Portable Power Build

Posted on March 23, 2012 by tim

Using pieces from upgrades and from good deals, I put together a new “portable computing platform” machine. It started with an employee discount on the Core i7. It gained momentum after the 12GB to 24GB upgrade of the 920 left … Continue reading →

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Tim’s Rule on Agile

Posted on February 29, 2012 by tim

Tim’s Rule on Agile: If you read a description of Agile practices and do not find at least one thing wrong per page, then you do not have enough experience to make Agile work. Tim’s first corollary to the Rule … Continue reading →

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Core i7 Upgrade

Posted on January 5, 2012 by tim

The youngest and I upgraded the core i7 machine from 12GB (6×2) to 24GB (6×4) of RAM tonight. Although hard drive prices remain x4 expensive, the RAM is x4 less expensive. The upgrade means I’ll be running a few more … Continue reading →

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Sandy Bridge Replacement

Posted on April 8, 2011 by tim

Today, we [oldest and I] replaced the ASUS P867 motherboard with the brand-new replacement from Newegg.com. The box is labeled “P8P67 Pro New B3 Revision Rev 3.0”. The replacement went very nicely – lots of cables [it is a motherboard, … Continue reading →

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Sandy Bridge Assembly

Posted on February 5, 2011 by tim

The family assembled the core i5 machine today. The oldest actually connected the last piece (the Sata cable to the 1TB drive, after the OS was installed). Windows 7 experience numbers (out of 7.9): CPU: 7.5, Memory: 7.9, Graphics: 7.5/7.5, … Continue reading →

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Sandy Bridge Recall Part 2

Posted on February 2, 2011 by tim

After learning the problem with the chips resides in the SataII connectors, I felt lucky. I had already ordered a SataIII SSD and a SataIII HDD, so I was already planning on using the SataIII connectors. Plus, by getting the … Continue reading →

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