I am a technology savvy entrepreneur and I have noticed quite a few bloggers and media artists showcase their computer setups. I am a strong believer that form follows function and will almost refuse to use any piece of technology that seems like it was designed by an art failure. I upgrade my hardware constantly and love buying new gadgets (especially when it helps my business).

This page is dedicated to showcasing my work setup, and how I use the technology in my work and daily life. Professionally I am a graphic designer, video editor, web developer, blogger, and web marketer. When I’m not using my computer for work, I am also an avid gamer! My interests also include cosmology which explains why I have given the names I have to the computers in my network.

“Andromeda” – AMD Phenom II based with Nvidia Graphics and Solid State Storage in an Antec Chassis

Meet Andromeda. I have named this setup after our nearest galaxy Andromeda because of my choice of chassis, with its large 250mm overhead fan dispersing the LED lights circling around it. It is also my primary workhorse computer and the most powerful system in my network.

Deployment Applications: Graphic design, video editing, web development, blogging, gaming, Apple TV streaming server.

System Components

Purpose/Use Review/Comment Potential Future Upgrade CPU AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8 GHz Fast, but Core i7 would be much sweeter. Intel Core i7 920 3.2 GHz Motherboard ASUS M3N78-VM It’s an el-cheapo motherboard. My next mobo will be far better. ASUS X58 Rampage II Extreme ROG Graphics Card BFG Nvidia GTX 260 OCX 896 MB PCI-E Fast, but not nearly fast enough especially when you are gaming at 2560×1600 resolution! BFG Nvidia GTX 295 H2O 1792 MB with Watercooling Memory 8 GB OCZ Gold 1066 MHz DDR2 Plenty of RAM for my needs. Corsair 12 GB PC10666 DDR3 Memory Hard Drive 1 x OCZ Vertex 128 GB Solid State Drive (internal) 1 x Seagate Barracuda 1.5 TB (internal) 1 x LaCie 500 (external USB) The OCZ Solid State Drive is blisteringly fast. Super fast response and system start up load times. 1.5 TB is partitioned into 2 volumes for my media library and projects. External LaCie drive is strictly for backup of my important files and data. May upgrade to eSata. 2 x 256 GB OCZ Vertex Solid States in RAID 0 Arrary Optical Drive LG DVD-RW I don’t really need much more than the standard DVD drive. I don’t watch movies on my computer anyway. LG BlueRay Recordable Chassis Antec Skeleton Love the way it looks when it’s rotated to its side. The arches look sweet, but looks ugly displayed front facing. Power Supply Antec Quattro 850watt Sufficient power for my current setup. Ultra X3 1100watt CPU Cooler Standard Cooler Cooling is enough for what use my system for. Will upgrade to liquid cooling on my next system makeover for overclocking. Danger Den cooling Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Evaluation Copy Build 7077 Windows 7 is a joy to use and comes with some great new features. The speed and look of the OS is fantastic. Microsoft Windows 7 Official Release Display(s) 2 x 22” Dell22 LCD1 x 30” Dell 3007WFP Ultrasharp LCD The flanking 22” LCDs are for my digital “Post it notes”, email, and Sykpe/MSN conversations. 30” is for all my primary work.

Input/Output Devices

Purpose/Use Review/Comment Potential Future Upgrade Mouse Logitech MX Revolution Highly programmable mouse that works great for performing many shortcuts. Saves lots of mouse movement across my 3 LCDs. Keyboard Logitech Illuminated Keyboard A super sexy and great feeling keyboard. Pen Tablet Wacom Bamboo Fun Medium Pen Tablet with Mouse Nifty tablet which I use with Photoshop for precision retouching and presentation diagram drawings. Web Camera Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 Great high resolution camera with excellent sound pickup and low light and wide angle features. I use it extensively for my Skype meetings. Speakers/Headset Logitech 5.1 Surround Sound System Logitech Digital Precision PC Gaming Headset Great sound quality, but my next upgrade I’m going top-of-the line. Logitech Z-5500 Digital THX Surround Sound SystemTritton AXPRO 5.1 headphones with 8 speakers Printer HP Colour Laserjet CP1215 Great stand alone colour laser printer.

Miscellaneous

Purpose/Use Review/Comment Potential Future Upgrade Monitor Stands Allsop Redmond Monitor Stand Looks sexy and great material. Had to construct wooden supports to help support the weight of the monitor due to a design flaw with the stand. Power Management P3 Kill-A-Watt PS Great power bar that provides clean power and protection to all my equipment. Also has a display to report power wattage usage of all attached devices and other power stats. Highly recommended! APC Smart UPS Office Mobile Storage Patriot Xporter Magnum 64 GB USB Flash Drive

“Discovery” – Dell XPS 13″ M1330 with 128 GB Solid State Drive

I have named my primary laptop Discovery after the space ship Discovery because it is always traveling and I take it everywhere I go. It is very important that I have Internet at all times to communicate with business partners and have Skype conferences on a daily basis. For that I have mobile broadband on a USB dongle which I can connect to my other laptop if I need to. My Dell XPS is my primary communication tool which has all my scheduling and project information. It is constantly synced with my Blackberry Storm. The solid state drive is super fast and quiet, and allows for super fast boot up from system sleep.

Deployment Applications (on-the-go): Graphic design, video editing, web marketing, web development, blogging.

“Pluto” – Acer Aspire One 8.9” with 6 cell Battery

This netbook is named Pluto strictly for its size. I only use this laptop when I travel and go to locations where I may leave my computer unattended. For that reason, I do not leave any sensitive data on the hard drive (filled mostly with music and movies). With the six cell battery I have enough power to blog, web surf, check my emails, and watch a full length movie with power to spare.

The Aspire One is also set on Dual Boot with MacOS X Leopoard and Windows XP. Just in case I ever encounter any Mac files and simply for the pure novelty of it.

Deployment Applications: Web Surfing, E-mail, Skype, Blogging, Mobile Entertainment.