Parts shuffle (lots of pictures)

Well, I took a trip to Boston over the weekend for the CRASH-B rowing event.  While I was there, I stopped by quite possibly the greatest store know to man, Microcenter.  Microcenter sells all sorts of electronics and computer hardware.  For this project, I picked up a new video card that I was actually surprised they had on the shelf, given that it's an older generation of card.

This card is significantly more powerful than the previous card I was running.  And while I was testing out this new card, I discovered it was running way hotter than it should've been.  I figured it was probably because of the hot processor.  Turns out, after a little more research, the processor I was using had a maximum power draw of 95 watts, and the cooler I was using was from a 65 watt one, which led to unnecessary heat output from the system.  So, I decided to swap processors.  If anyone has ever wondered how a processor chip fits into a motherboard...

Heatsink removed.

Retention bracket released.

Processor chip lifted out of the socket.  That's 775 pins down there.

My Celeron E3200 'dropped' (more like carefully placed) into the socket..

Retention bracket back in place, with a glob of thermal paste (which helps transfer heat away from the processor.)

As a result of this little upgrade, my 3Dmark06 score, which was 2140 before, is now up to 8698.  Basically, besides for more long-term stability testing, this computer is ready to be submerged...

On a different note, last Thursday, I met with my mentor, Mr. Sauve.  He hadn't really had a chance to look through my previous blog posts, so we spent some time watching a few videos on youtube to give him a better idea of what I was planning.  After realizing how awesome my project is, he was really excited for me.  He also gave me free access to the stockpile of acrylic and the laser cutter in his room.  As this break week moves forward, my plan is to come up with a few brainstorming sketches for an enclosure.  When we come back to school in a week, I can start refining my design and start cutting pieces.  Exciting times ahead.