Computer



			My main interest with computers is overclocking, which basically means making the computers components run faster than the manufacturers specifications, hence getting extra performance theoretically for free. I say theoretically because as a rule of thumb, the faster you ask components to run the more electricity they require and the more heat they generate, so you do need to make sure that you have adequate cooling for the components. This generally means buying higher specification (more expensive) coolers and making sure there is enough cool air getting into the case and that the warm air can get out. So there is a cost implication with overclocking but if like me you can buy a £100 processor and make it run at the same speeds as a £500 processor, then £40 on a decent cooler is not too much of a drawback. When I'm not overclocking then I'm usually gaming, browsing the internet, or catching up with emails.

		We have a Canon Pixma ip4500 printer and a HP ScanJet 4400c scanner to look after the obvious. The rest of the peripherals are based around gaming and especially Microsoft's latest Flight Simulator X. The mouse is a specialist gaming mouse from Microsoft, it's very precise especially as you can easily alter the scan rate to match your requirements. The Joystick and throttle combo is the Saitek X52, an excellent piece of kit, highly programmable with 23 buttons 3 Point-Of-View 'hats' 3 sliders and a mini joystick that acts as a mouse, there are 3 phases so each of the buttons / hats etc can be programmed with up to 3 functions. There is also a LCD display on the throttle unit which tells you what programming phase you are currently in and when you press any button it will tell you how it is programmed. Sound is taken care of either through a set of Logitech X-530 5.1 speakers or a pair of Logitech USB headphones or when flight simulating both, as the headphones can be used for voice communications whilst aircraft noise is played through the speakers adding extra realism. For gaming I also use a Belkin Nostromo N52 speedpad, which is basically an ergonomic mini keyboard which is designed to fit your left hand, the 15+ keys along with mouse wheel and 8-way keypad are all programmable with keystrokes or macro's so that all gaming commands fall naturally to hand.
			The actual PC consists of a Cheiftec Dragon case, which is a good sturdy piece of kit. I have modified the side intake to take a 120mm fan instead of the standard 80mm one so that the airflow covers a larger area of the internal components, and the amount of air introduced from the side of the case is greater. I have found that a side intake fan is much more effective than intake fans at the front of the case which generally have to contend with the external plastics and internal framework interrupting and restricting the airflow. But for good measure I have fitted a 120mm front intake fan as well. Under the front cover (non vented piece) are a couple of NEC 18x18 SATA DVD-RW drives, a floppy drive and a Vantec Nexus fan controller which allows me to adjust the speed on all the fans within the case including the all important CPU fan. This is a very useful piece of kit as it allows me to have very powerful (and noisy) fans in the case but to have them running slower in the winter when cooling is not a problem and faster in the summer when overheating can be a problem especially on a highly overclocked system.

			The heart of the PC is an Asus A8N-SLI SE motherboard. The CPU is a dual core AMD 4200+ the default speed for this is 2200 MHz (11 x 200 Fsb). Of course it is overclocked and running happily at 2900 MHz (11 x 264 Fsb)., more performance than AMD's top of the range FX62 processor for a quater of the cost. The CPU is cooled by a Thermaltake Big Typhoon cooler. Power is supplied via an 800w Tagan PSU. I have 3Gb of high spec memory, a 2 x 1Gb set of Corsair XMS and a 2 x 512 Mb kit of Patriot XBLK. Memory timings are 2-3-3-6. The picture here is actually out of date but it gives you the idea.

		The Graphics Card is a 512Mb Nvidia 8800GT, needless to say I have overclocked the card but need to purchase a good aftermarket cooler before I find out what it is really capable of. The Graphics card is connected to a 22" LG widescreen monitor which makes gaming that much more immersive. I have 3 SATA Hitachi Deskstar 7k250 drives, a 250Gb one for the operating system and software, a 160Gb one for data and a 80Gb one for Flight Simming. These drives are fast and quiet and won many favourable reviews. Case cooling is handled by 2 x 120mm intake fans one on the bottom front, the other on the side of the case and 2 x 80mm exhaust fans at the back of the case.