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spikegifted's stuff of dreams |
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Dream Rig, Dream Car, Drum Kit, Bass Guitar & Bass Amp
| This rig represents what I would dearly love to have if money was no object. The approach is very similar to that of the folks over at Ars Technica on their 'God Box': "Sure, some might argue that a God Box could only be accurately identified as a CAVE, but at Ars, for a box to be the pinnacle of power and wisdom, it needs balance and realism". | |
CPU |
Dual AMD Opteron DP Model 275 (2.2GHz) Dual Core (Yeap, this is the 'daddy' of x86 processors, right now! A true quad-core workstation require only the space of an average ATX or E-ATX case. It may not run as fast the single core CPUs, but the dual-cores are cooler with literally double the processing power. What's more, with AMD's commitment to a stable platform for workstations and servers, the motherboard will probably be suitable for the next generation of Opteron and beyond - just like existing boards will support dual-core via a simple BIOS update. Beat that, Intel!) |
Motherboard |
Tyan Thunder K8WE (S2895) DK8N Dual Opteron nForce4 Professional (The Opteron platform is maturing nicely! The nForce4 is the second generation of a third party chipset built to support dual-CPU operations. Unlike other SLI implementations (like the nForce4 SLI) nForce4 Professional provides two full 16-lane PCIe expansion slots to support the most demanding of graphics applications. Tyan, being one of the more respected server and workstation motherboard builders, is very capable of building mission-critical parts. They have pull out all the stops on the K8WE. Just look at the spec sheet - the amount of features they've managed to squeeze onto the board is just amazing. And with Tyan's reputation and experience, this should prove to be an awesome platform.) |
System RAM |
4GB (4 x 1024MB) Corsair Registered XMS3200 TWINX1024RE-3200LL 2-3-2-6 (The Opteron has a dual-channel memory controller built right into the core of the CPU and the C0 stepping models support DDR400 memory. Corsair's TWINX PC3200 modules are the best there is - low latency, super fast and rock solid stable - the units have tested for dual-channel operations and the registered DIMMs is just what the platform required. Additionally, four 1024MB modules means that each of the two channels of each of the CPUs will be filled, satisfying the CPUs' throughput bandwidth.) |
Graphics |
nVidia Quadro FX 4400 512MB PCI-e x2 in non-SLI mode (These cards are just plain awesome... It arguably delivers the fastest application performance with the highest quality graphics. I'm not going to run them in SLI mode, but instead choose to run them as two independent controllers in dual-screen mode - this should ensure that each display is taken care of by a dedicated GPU. Some may argue that I should list something like ATi's Radeon X850XT-PE or nVidia's GeForce 7800 in SLI mode, but this is a workstation. If I was putting together a gaming box, it would be a single processor rig, but the Quadro is still very capable as a gaming solution) |
Sound Card |
Terratec DMX6Fire 24/96 (The amount of support it provides, the sound technologies and the crystal-clear audio reproduction makes this card is a must have sound card for anyone, even those who don't much care about sound quality on a PC) |
Speakers |
Acoustic Energy Aego2 2.1 speaker system or Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 speaker system with ProMedia SWS subwoofer system (Speaker are the end of audio delivery line, so to pair up with an excellent sound card, you need excellent speakers. For the smaller setup, it is a difficult choice between the Aego2 and the ProMedia 2.1 setup. I believe both give equally good audio reproduction, but the Aego2 won my vote with its good looks. For the bigger 5.1 setup, it is a very easy choice - no-one makes better 5.1 speaker system than Klipsch. What's even better is the new line of complementary subwoofer system the ProMedia SWS. Adding that to the ProMedia 5.1 should really rock!) |
| RAID Controller | Adaptec SCSI RAID 3210s Dual Channel U160 RAID Controller with 128MB cache 64bit/66MHz PCI (I'm a strong believer in RAID technology and while Adaptec doesn't provide the best performance and probably not the value leader by a long way, I believe it delivers a strong and reliable solution for my needs.) |
SCSI Controller |
Adaptec SCSI Card 39320A-R Dual-channel U320 SCSI Controller PCI-X 64-bit/133 MHz (With this controller, it means that I'm not going to be using the onboard U320 SCSI, but I just love to have that PCI-X card!) |
Network |
Onboard nVidia Gigabit Ethernet controller |
Hard Disks |
Seagate Cheetah
X15.3 (ST318453LC) 18GB U320, 15,000rpm (boot) |
| DVD+/-RW | Plextor PX-712SA DVD+/- R/RW Serial ATA x 2 (Plextor is the best name in optical storage solutions. This unit can handle just about any form of optical storage technology. To add icing to the cake, this unit utilizes the Serial ATA interface. As most good DVD-ROM drive makers have now stop producing DVD-ROM readers, I'll need a second DVD drive to read the media, hence two of these Plextors are spec'ed.) |
Monitors |
Dual Sony PREMIERPRO 23 Wide Flat Panel LCD SDM-P232W/B (With native resolution at 1920x1200 and the WildCat4 7210's 3D anti-aliase maxed out at 1920x1080, 2 of these babies will give a 3840x1200 desktop, topping even Matrox's TripleHead capability!) |
Input |
Microsoft Natural Multimedia Keyboard and Logitech Cordless TrackMan Optical and/or Logitech MX1000 Laser Cordless Mouse or Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer (Very personal choices here. Both Logitech and Microsoft make excellent keyboards and mice, but I prefer Logitech's trackballs, though.) |
Casing |
Lian Li PC-78 Aluminum Server Tower (6 x 5.25" bays, 3 x external 3.5" bays and 12 x internal 3.5" bays, this monster can house my rig. I could have gone of a 'cube' case, but they're usually in steel while the Lian Li is in aluminum. Cooling capability is excellent as well.) |
Power Supply |
PC Power & Cooling Max-Performance ATX with PFC 510 XE/EPS12V (This is one heck of a PSU - 30A on 3.3V, 40A on 5V and 34A on 12V, peak power 650W! The only down side is that it is rather noisy at 44dB.) |
| Backup | Exabyte VXA-2 80/160GB Tape Drive Ultra2 LVD/SE Internal (Backing up data is so important, but I've little knowledge on the subject. This unit is recommended by Ars Technica's crew.) |
UPS |
American Power Conversion Back-UPS Pro 1000VA (This is what I need to make sure that my investment is not blown away with stupid power surges and outages.) |
OS |
Microsoft Windows XP Profession x64 Edition (This is an extension of a matured platform, it is still full of security problems; however, I'm not knowledgeable enough to dive into 64bit Linux. So unfortunately, this is the only chose of OS...) |
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Car... Like so many things in life is all about personal circumstances and
preferences. One person's ideal car may be someone's nightmare - from a
practical perspective. However, deep down, nearly everyone, whether he/she
drives or not, has a dream car. Of course, if I ask ten different people about their dream cars, I'll get 10 very
different answers. Such things are very difficult to get consensus. For me, the
best looking cars - one with most grace and style - with the performances you'd
expect are Ferraris. That's the reason why I've previously considered the
360 Spider my dream car.
The firm's track record in motor racing is unparallel and there is a glamour that is impossible to ignore or misplace. Through out the history of automobile, a great number of highly successful vehicles have been copied and reproduced in one shape or another, however, there is simply no successful attempts to copy a Ferrari. Why? There is a very simple reason - you simply can't look at the design of one part of a Ferrari and replace it with something different or to take one part of a Ferrari and slot it into something else. The whole car is designed with such detail and attention that to replace any part, you'll have to reshape the rest of the car to make it work. Each model is designed and built to emit grace and beauty. If I was to simply pick a high performance car, I can pick one from a list of nearly a couple of dozen of car makers. However, if style, grace and beauty are considered, there is only one - a Ferrari. When it comes to decide on which model from within Ferrari's current range, my decision is along a similar line of reasoning behind choosing a Ferrari as my favorite car - grace, style and beauty. Yes, I agree that the Enzo Ferrari is fast and it looks fast, but for me it looks like a good looking muscle car. The same applies to the Challenge Stradale. No, my dream car has to be the Ferrari 360. The overall styling, the subtle curves, the wholeness of the design, the beauty of the final product - all give you the impression that each of the details is there for a reason and each one of these has been looked at and crafted to make the machine as graceful as it is. There are two models within the Ferrari 360 range, the Spider (convertible) and Modena (hard-top). Each of these models exhibits all the qualities that would make it my dream car. However, my current favorite is the 360 Spider. |
| I first started
seriously taking up drumming when I was 12 and first gotten involved with a band when I
was 15. Anyone who knows anything about rock music knows that drums are the
engine to the music - it keeps the pace of the music, it drives the bass,
guitars and vocals. Drummer through the ages have been seen as the laughing
stock of bands as they're, by the limitation imposed on them by the instrument,
more technicians than musicians. They are simply not the same as the rest of
members of the bands. My early drumming influence (late 1970s and early 1980s) was the late Eric Carr of Kiss, hence the double bass drum. Of course, Eric used to use a lot of drums and my fascination in drumming big kits also sets in. Since I learnt drums on my own, it took me a while to get to grips with the basic techniques. During that time, I also came across the excellent drumming of Karl Palmer of Asia. Karl is another big-kit drummer and he wasn't afraid to experiment (he was one of the first people, if not the first, to use a full-size china gong live in concert). Another drummer that attracted my attention at the time was Phil Collins of Genesis. By that time, Phil was not only drummer of the band but also singer, but it was his drumming that I was interested in. His technique and timing was just bar-none. Of course, he's left handed, so it was interesting to see if I could drum like him - left handed. This improved my appreciation of the different co-ordinations required to be completely comfortable with a big drum kit. In the mid-to-late 1980's, I was introduced to the music of Rush. How I didn't come across this excellent trio of musicians before is difficult to understand, but once I found them, I just found them irresistible. The energy, the arrangements, the skills in handling their instruments, the vocals, the lyrics. Neil Peart (listen to some of his work - here and here) is a superb technician, musician and poet. Guess what, Neil is yet another big-kit drummer! Of course, my drumming heroes are not limited these four guys. Omar Hakim (Sting, Madonna and others) is another big idol. While he is not a big kit drummer, it is his versatility that really attracted me. Rock, pop, jazz, you name it, he can do it. Another drummer I listened to a lot was Roger Taylor of Queen. Queen was such an amazing band. One of the bands I was involved in back at school played nothing but music from Queen. The kit below was setup using an excellent drum designing utility (Pearl Masters Dream Kit Workshop) from the Pearl Drums web site. The kit is designed around a pair of bass drums, a relative deep snare and a standard 14" hi-hat. To covered a full range of toms, I choose to use concert toms at the high end (8" and 10") and floor toms at the low end (16" and 18"). The mid range is covered by regular tom toms. With the exception of the concert toms, I've selected the deeper bodies of each of the toms available for fuller and rounder sounds. An selection of various splashes, crashes, rides and china crashes builds up my selection of cymbals. |
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Being a drummer, the bass seemed to be a natural progression. After all,
being a drummer doesn't really make you visible. I
first picked up a bass guitar in the mid-1980s. However, the guitar never really
caught my imagination. The bass is the axle and the gearbox of rock
music. Together with rhythm guitar, the bass gives the music structure and
rhythm. It transfer the drive from the drums through to the leads (guitars,
keyboard, vocals, etc). But at the same time, the bass can be played in such a
way that it changes the speed of the music without actually changing the
fundamental rhythm. In my early teens, I spent a couple of years learning the
violin; but the violin didn't really ignite my interest. Then I switched over to
the cello at around the same time as when my voice broke (when I was around
14/15) I just felt more comfortable playing something a bit deeper. I finally
gave up playing any 'classical' instruments due to my busy school schedule and
my commitment to other activities. I first picked up a bass guitar when I was
17, completely out of curiosity. When I plugged the strings, the sound was
familiar (by then I was singing in 2nd bass in our school choir and chapel
chamber choir) and felt 'right'. And I was hooked... Unlike the drums, which I can name several major influence, I can only name one for the bass - Geddy Lee of Rush. The guy is simply the best. Of course, I listen and practice my bass on other artists like Guns 'N Roses, Def Lepard, Genesis, The Almighty, Korn and others, but in terms of real influence and admiration, Geddy is miles ahead of others in my book. (Listen to some of music from Rush - here and here) In terms of any dream bass rig, it will include both a bass that is capable of producing the nice warm but punchy rock sound as well as a powerful amp that can delivering the power of the music. My choice for the bass is the Fender Geddy Lee Limited Edition Jazz Bass, "a replica of the instrument Geddy has used extensively for both recording and performing in front of thousands of loyal Rush fans worldwide. Featuring an alder body with a maple neck/fingerboard (34" scale length; 20 Medium Jumbo frets with black fingerboard binding), this J-Bass is custom-fit with two U.S. Vintage Bi-Pole pickups (neck & bridge), and a Bad AssTM II Bridge" (from Fender's web site). I know this bass very well as I'm already a proud owner of a Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass (with an alder body, a graphite reinforced maple neck, a rosewood fretboard and a black finish). Geddy's bass has an almost identical body, a one-piece neck (maple), far better pickups and bridge and generally a higher quality finish. For the amp, it just has to be one from Marshall. I particularly like their Bass-State Series, specifically the Bass-State B150 Combo. The Bass-State Series features "Dynamic Bass System (DBS) - such as blendable valve and solid-state preamp stages, strong and effective primary rotary EQ network with a 7-band Graphic EQ, allowing detailed fine tuning of your tone" - some piece of kit, this is! And as the name suggests, it can deliver a body-shaking 150W (RMS) of base, this should be enough to give whatever room a good rattle. |
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