TruXter’s Custom Computers

Considering taking some of the custom cases I have made over the past few months up to the local auto body shop and getting them powder coated and getting some bedliner sprayed inside to deaden the fan noises.
then running around the state locating the best deals on good computer parts and building up 5  gaming computers and selling them off to the public.
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I would most likely do side by side comparison computers . AMD processor with Crossfire ATI video cards  vs Intel with Nvidia SLI Video cards of equal quality and clocks.

 

Then of course the mishmash of AMD processor and Nvidia Video card vs Intel with ATI video card.

and maybe one SLI/Crosfire  of which ever is the fastest with which ever processor AMD or intel. Nothing under six cores.

Also have a benchmark below each computer and show the process of how I bench-marked them and screen shots and a handful of pictures

The idea would be to build the ULTIMATE GAMING BUDGET COMPUTER, get the best I can get for low price and make the computers look unique and have excellent ventilation with as many additional features as possible and maintain a budget.

Of course their will be assembly fees and shipping fees. possibly a couple competitions to win one of the computers (the ultimate of the ultimates). take the money gained and make one more computer but call it “the budget beast” and see how well it takes off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cricket’s Free Sanyo Zio Phone Android

I left T-Mobile.
Yep, I jumped ship. I went back to Cricket.
The phone that I traded my blackberry 8100 in for is a Sanyo/Kyocera zio. AKA KYOCERA M6000.
Since Cricket was giving away the Sanyo Zio if you trade in your working cell phone from your current carrier, I assumed I should.
This phone is not a brand new technology, at all. This phone was originally with Sprint back in early 2010 brought to Cricket in late 2010.
I was on a plan that gave me 300 minutes of talk time at a cost of $49 a month and I still had fave fives. To now, an unlimited everything for $55 a month.
The first thing was to call T-mobile and request my account number. The guy who answered the phone put on a sincere voice and Acknowledge that he knows that typically when people ask for their account number, they are about to leave the company. The guy asked me if there was anything i was in need of, to keep me from leaving. i let the guy know that I was not happy with how I have been treated so i am looking around, and my first step is to get my account number and that I may or may not leave T-mobile. Really, that was exactly true. I could have backed out of getting my phone number ported over to Cricket, at any time. The guy kept asking questions and hesitating, So i had to get stern with him ‘ look, I am considering leaving and you holding out like this is making me want to leave even more, i just need my number and will consider all option”. He said just about everything he could think of just short of “please don’t talk to other people, you will see how good things could be”, what ever he said. I just hung up because I got my account number. and that’s all I needed.

I gave the teller my account number, in less than 3 minutes the phone was in my hand with a temporary number on it. I got a text message and it said for me to text back with a code and my old number will be moved to cricket. I tried and it did not work. After I called the help line, I realized i wasn’t pressing they ‘*’ key first. My bad. Phone number was switched over to T-mobile just like that. Whole deal took less than 20 minutes to complete.

Cricket Splash Screen on The Zio

Cricket Splash Screen on The Zio

Ok. Time to grade the phone.
The Sanyo Kyocera ZIO from Cricket, by feel, is a lot like my blackberry, smooth.

Menu on The Sanyo Kyocera Zio Phone

Menu on The Sanyo Kyocera Zio Phone

Nice and thin, slick,no buttons to interface, touch Screen, except volume and camera. I have few complaints about
the camera button. Sensitive when I am not trying to touch the camera button, but doesn’t do squat when I hit that button on purpose. Volume buttons are excellent.

Volume Button on Kyocera Sanyo Zio

Volume Button on Kyocera Sanyo Zio

there is a data/charging connection on the lower left edge.
Headphone jack on the upper left edge, and an SD card slot on the mid right. All have caps.
Large speaker at the upper back
Pin hole mic on bottom edge.
Screen feels like plastic over glass. I could be wrong as to whether it actually is, it’s just the way the Zio feels to me.
Software.
Initial Storage space 180MB
Yes this an Android 2.2.1 system on the sanyo ZIO.

zio_display

zio software display

But
The pinch zoom feature, does not happen with this phone. Tap and zoom, yes.
Scroll ball, is a bit sticky and sluggish.
Huge Screen Perfect fit for downsized (not re-sized) hd movies
Watched Diggnation, Tekzilla and life Hacker from the revision 3 website and was impressed with the resolution and quality of the images and video, Nearly never a buffer time. sometimes The revision 3 server hiccups.
Camera takes a very high resolution video, even in room lighting. (never great to have just room lighting)
Every application I tried, all work fine.
There is some bloat ware that I had to root the phone to remove. Some bowling game demo and an “uno” game.
Many applications load constantly, you can not go into settings and turn them off like you could with the g1 on android 1.6. So battery life isn’t what it could be.
Nice fade when opening and closing apps. but again, sometimes sluggish. Keyboard seems to be miss calibrated, When you press the Letter ‘o’ you get the letter ‘p’ and so on… If you are a fast texting person, you will get frustrated. Just find the letter that the Zio mistakes you typing, and hit the far corner of the button you intend to pres. Works well that way.

Internet speeds for the Zio – using speed test app from android market
upload 700k
download 400k
That is about what I was seeing on T-mobile with their “Edge”.

Reception
At home and at work, my signal fluctuates between no signal, and two bars. but with that said, I received a call from a friend while I had 0 bars and the phone call sounded fine on my end, and the person on the other end never asked me what I was saying. I never heard anything unusual or anything that would hint of a bad signal, other than the caller’s T-mobile lag. Was sad when we both were on T-mobile, neither knew when to talk.
although I find myself back in 2003, holding the sanyo Zio up in the air to get a signal enough to send a text message. I don’t remember Cricket having this bad of a signal.

Back Of The Zio

Back Of The Zio

internet 10/10
software 8/10
hardware 5/10
reception 5/10 (I gave it a poor score then added some because the phone seemed to work even with no signal)
look 10/10

Full Over all Score is 7/10

And that is enough to make me feel as if I got another great deal.

Another unprofessional review from TruXter Tech Review and the budget Tech review

Low Cost Barebone from Compusa

ECS IC780M-A DiabloTek Barebones Kit – ECS IC780M-A Mobo, AMD Phenom X4 9750 CPU, Zalman CPU Fan, Centon 2GB DDR2 RAM, Seagate 320GB HDD, LG 24x DVDRW, DiabloTek ATX Mid-Tower Case, 400W Power Supply

 

To see images of this barbone budget computer build click here for images.

$199 for the beefy budget computer.

Specifications

ECS IC780M-A Motherboard

Processor Socket: AMD
Processor Interface: Socket AM2+
Form Factor: ATX
Processors Supported: AMD Athlon 64
AMD Phenom
AMD Phenom II
AMD Athlon II
HyperTransport Bus: 2600MHz (5200 MT/s)
Northbridge: AMD 770
Memory Supported: 400MHz DDR2
533MHz DDR2
667MHz DDR2
800MHz DDR2
1066MHz DDR2
Memory Type: DDR2
Number of Pins: 240-Pin
Maximum Memory Supported: 4GB – 32bit
32GB – 64bit
Number of Slots: 4
Max. Memory Supported Per Slot: 8GB
Channels: 6 Channels
LAN Type: 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit
PS/2 Keyboard Connectors: 1
PS/2 Mouse Connectors: 1
USB Ports (Total): 8
USB Rear Panel Ports: 4
USB Onboard Headers: 2 – (expandable to 4 USB ports)
LAN Ports: 1
IDE Headers: 1
Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s Headers: 4
ATX Power Connectors: 1 24-Pin Connector
PC Power Connectors: 1 – 4 Pin
PCI Slots: 3
PCI Express X1 Slots: 2
PCI Express X16 Slots: 1
RAID Support: Yes
RAID Modes: 0
1
10
AMD Phenom X4 9750 Quad Core Processor

Manufacturer: AMD
CPU Type: Desktop
Processor Interface: Socket AM2+
Processor Class: Phenom X4
Processor Speed: X4 9750 / 2.40GHz
Cores: Quad
Cache Size: 4MB L2 + L3
Fan: Not Included
Wattage: 125W
Additional Technologies: HyperTransport
MMX
Enhanced Virus Protection
AMD64
Cool’n’Quiet
Unlocked Multiplier: No
Instruction Set: SSE
SSE2
SSE3
Zalman Hydraulic Bearing CPU Cooler

Fan Type: CPU Cooler
Socket Type: 775
AM2
AM2+
AM3
1156
1155
Bearing Type: Hydraulic
RPM: 1400 ~ 2700 RPM
Connector(s): 4 Pin (PWM)
LG GH24NS50R 24x Internal CD/DVD Drive

Cache Size: 2 MB
DVD+R Write Speed: 24X
DVD+RW Rewrite Speed: 8X
DVD-R Write Speed: 24X
DVD-RW Rewrite Speed: 6X
DVD Read Speed: 16X
DVD-RAM Write Speed: 12X
DVD-RAM Read Speed: 12X
CD Write Speed: 48X
CD Rewrite Speed: 32x
CD Read Speed: 48X
Color: Black
Length: 6.5″
Width: 5.7″
Height: 1.6″
Weight: 1.5 lbs.
Load Type: Tray
Interface Type: SATA
Enclosure Type: Internal
Type: CD/DVD Drives
Centon 2048MB PC6400 DDR2

Memory Category: Desktop
Memory Type: DDR2
Memory Speed: PC6400
Memory Speed MHz: 800MHz
Memory Size: 2048MB
Total Memory Size: 2GB
Memory Modules: 1
Memory Channels: Dual
Memory Socket: DIMM
Pins: 240
Seagate ST3320418AS Barracuda Hard Drive

Drive Type: Internal
Capacity: 320 GB
Interface: SATA 3.0Gb/s
Interface Type: SATA
Spindle Speed (RPM): 7200
Buffer Memory: 16 MB
Average Latency (msec): 4.17
Temperature, Operating (°C): 0 to 60
Temperature, Nonoperating (°C): -40 to 70
Shock, Operating: 2 msec (Gs): 70
Shock, Nonoperating: 2 msec (Gs): 350
Diablotek CPA-9611B ATX Mid-Tower Case

80mm Fan Ports: 3
80mm Fans Included: None
Form Factor: ATX Mid-Tower
Compatible Motherboards: ATX
µATX
Side Panel Type: Vented
Power Supply: Not Included
External 5.25″ Drive Bays: 4
External 3.5″ Drive Bays: 1
Internal 3.5″ Drive Bays: 6
Expansion Slots: 7
Front USB Ports: 2
Front Audio Ports: 2
Depth: 17.5″
Width: 7.5″
Height: 17″
DiabloTek PSDA400 Power Supply

Form Factor: ATX
Wattage: 400W
Modular Cabling: No
Fan: 80 mm
Input Voltage: 8A@115 / 5A@230 V
+3.3V: 26 A
+5V: 35 A
+12V 1: 15 A
-12V: 0.5 A
-5V: 0.5 A
+5VSB: 2.0 A
Motherboard Connector: 20+4 Pin
4-Pin P4: 1
4-Pin Floppy Connector: 1
4-Pin Peripheral Connector: 4
SATA Power Connector: 4

All of that for $199 before tax.
Computer case, motherboard memory and processor with AMD quad core cpu, dvd burner. Everything a barebone system needs. Now all you need is an operating system. If you check my previous build your own budget computers, you will see that I have listed many inexpensive operating systems.
FY Tiger Direct and Compusa are the same company.

Budget Computer Build – Work Horse Edition

Another build of a computer for people on a budget. This one will be the fast, upgradable strong running computer, for cheap.
For Doing Office work with lots of horse Power. Peach Tree,Quickbooks,Autodesk any heavy resource software you can throw at this beast should be easy running and show very little weight on this machine.

Very Nice case for under $45.
Windows 7 Ultimate for under $130
1TB Hard Drive for under $55
Motherboard And Cpu Combo under $120 Athlon II X2 250 (2 x 3.0GHz – 2MB Cache – 4000MHz FSB)
4 Gigs Memory PC3-10600 under $35
500 watt Power Supply under $50
19 inch Monitor under $120

$555 Home built computer with Operating system still sealed in it’s package. Beating this price and power combo will not be the easiest task. Of course if you have any of these items, subtract it from the total and then see what  the cost would be. In most cases people will leave out the monitor and the Operating system (especial windows 7 ultimate) and consider that  a computer.

So the barebone computer would only coast you $305
TigerDirect

Latest Build Your Own Budget Computer

Today’s build your computer special is across Fry’s and Compusa and Tiger Direct. I did the computer parts prices a bit higher saying “under” for a reason. I didn’t feel like doing the math for everything so I estimated the tax cost on most items. so go ahead and use my totals to get a ball park figure of what this computer will cost you. The main purpose of a computer build like this one is for a media center. Or I would have chunked in a DVD drive instead of the blue ray. I saw the blue ray player and price hunted to make the entertainment center computer work
To complete your system as parted, how about you make your own DVR from Knopmyth, and then just use the windows 7 as an addon and not a must have. This is better than a DVR and you can use the machine for more than just a DVR.

Blue Ray burner $99

4 gigs DDR3 under $40

Nvidia Gforce 250 under $85

EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti SuperClocked Video Card $119.99* After Rebate
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AMD Pnenom II x3 under $75
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Great CPU Cooling under $35

Windows 7 Under $100
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2TB Hard driver under $85

MSI Motherboard under $85 (sorry didn’t research it much, make sure the processor works with this motherboard)

Large Computer case under $65

Enjoy your build your own. This is a fine custom computer. This is a custom budget media center computer.

If anyone wants prices on the machines I build (slightly more customized than just parts) Please respond below. Payments are up front. Machines can range from budget power computers, to high power gaming machines to media creation and media editing beasts. and anywhere in between.
TigerDirect

Personal Budget Software re-Review

A few months ago I found a free budget management software. I was quite pleased with what I found. At the time, the Software developer didn’t have any traffic That i could detect. I was skeptical about downloading the budget software.  I decided to run a few  scans form virscan.org. Clean. Not one issue with the budget software at all. So I installed the free software I got from TZIsoft.

I have written a few things on the net about how I am looking for a bank that has a better online banking interface, simply because I am not very good at keeping up with my records and budget. so I was quite desperate to locate a good safe personal budget software that wouldn’t  break me. Again, I can not keep record worth a darn. TZIsoft personal budget software, has been nothing but pure help. I really do appreciate all of the times I could just pop open this software and see exactly what my current spending range is. I have not had MS office on my laptop on years, but I have had open office on the laptop for quite a while, the personal budget software allows me to export my budget report to an MS Office file that is easily opened with open office. I then put the office file on my Droid phone and leave the house. I can then make adjustments through the day, to take the file back with me when I go home. Sometimes I email the thing to myself throughout the day with updates. Sure there are probably easier way of doing that part, but its cool to just know what could happen.

Free Personal Budget Software download page. Look at all of the acknowledgment  the coder has now received. You have to scroll to the bottom, that part is like an easter egg for you for you to find after the coder briefs you on the capabilities of the budget software.

Remember, this is a free budget keeping software. This software is not the be all end all software and will not prevent you from doing things you should not do. The writer of this budget and record keeping software made it to help you document your transactions and calculate your current spending limits. Anything you do not input into the budget software is on you. So if you mis-spend outside of your limit, the software maker nor I can be held responsible. Nothing is guaranteed by me other than I liked the software, it was free, and the budget software helped me greatly. I have not been paid to link to the free software nor have I been paid to leave my review. I have never met the coder but i did send a big thank you email and a copy of my first review of personal budget.

http://www.tzisoft.com/

Look around, there are more downloads and more software to try out from there.