Introduction

Well the plan here was to create a server running Windows NT 4 sp5 out of spare parts and a bunch of tiny harddrives.  Great thing about NT is that you can 'software RAID' harddrives together, so if you have 10 little 2 gig harddrives (and enough controllers for them) you can make 1 20 gig partition. And I did it.  Well, kinda.  Problem was, with all those harddrives in a simple midtower ATX, heat, even with a Intel Pentium 166MHz, becomes an issue.  In fact I had 256mb of SIMMs that proved it to me.  So after pretty much smoking 4 64mb SIMMs, I decided it was time for some fans.  I cut some holes and put some in and heres the final product.

Again many hours spent at www.hardocp.com and www.hardforum.com for some tech support by the best overclockers out there, plus a terrific way to waste an entire day away.  Alright, so the box is built, the specs are below.  I'm not even going to bother with bench testing it, because its used as a big ass storage box and not anything with the need for speed.  Maybe later on, ill run Sandra Drive Bench and Network Bench, because those might matter.

Components

Processor:        Intel Pentium 166MHz with MMX

Heatsink:          Passive Stock

Motherboard:   Micronics Mi-H Plus 55?

RAM:
Bank 0:            64MB SIMM 70ns
Bank 1:            64MB SIMM 70ns
Bank 3:            64MB SIMM 70ns
Bank 4:            64MB SIMM 70ns

Video:              S3 Virge GX

Storage:           Drive 1(boot) 
                        Drive 2(storage)

Drives:              Crappy 4x standard CD-ROM (missing faceplate)
                        Standard 1.44mb 3.5" Floppy

Sound:              On Board

Network:           SMC 10BT

Case:                Generic Midtower ATX
PS:                   Stock 230 Watt
Fans:                 3x 80mm Antec Case Fans (1 exhaust side, 1 intake front, 1 intake side)

Monitor:            15" Dell (Sony) Trinitron .26 dp

Keyboard:         Generic Memorex 

Mouse:              Generic 3 button PS/2

OS:                   Windows NT 4 Service Pack 5

Pictures 

(Click to enlarge)

Conclusion

Yea, I know, it's jam-packed and looks like crap on the inside, and the airflow is probably crap too, but the fans blow over the processor, RAM and harddrives, and thats all that really matters.  Also, you know how damn hard it is to pack 10 harddrives and a CD-ROM into a midtower ATX case?  I think I did a damn good job.  And at 50 gig, it makes a useful addition to my desk with minimal space.

-Brian

Email me: bjahns@uwm.edu  Back to the Evil page: evil.brianjahns.com  Home: www.brianjahns.com