My Computer

6\11\99: First I will start with my old computer. Purchased about a year ago it's a Dual Pentium II 266. The specs are as follows. The computer is still plenty fast but it was time for something new.

Tyan S1682D Tahoe2 ATX Dual Pentium II motherboard.
2 Pentium II 266 CPU's.
260watt power supply.
Supermicro ATX computer case.
128MB PNY EDO RAM.
ATI All In Wonder 4MB 2D video card.
VooDoo2 12MB 3D video card.
Soundblaster 64 audio card.
3 1\2 floppy drive.
24x cdrom drive.
7gig UltraDMA Maxtor Hard drive.
USR 56k modem. (reused for new system)
17.2gig UltraDMA Maxtor Hard drive. (reused for new system)
3com PCI Ethernet card. (reused for new system)
Motorola Cybersurfer cable modem. (reused for new system)
NEC Multisync E700 monitor. (reused for new system)
Altec Lansing speakers. (reused for new system)
Generic keyboard. (reused for new system)
Standard 2 button Logitech mouse. (reused for new system)                                                 

The heart of the new system revolves around a Kryotech refrigerated computer case. It uses thermal phase technology and cools the CPU via a thermal "cool plate" that attaches to the CPU. The advantage with this is that the CPU stays very cool. Because of this you can safely overclock the CPU to a higher speed then it was rated for. I chose a PIII 450Mhz CPU for this. Right now it's running at 621Mhz which exceeded my expectations. In the future I may try 643Mhz but my goal is a fast stable system and at 621Mhz this can be achieved...any higher and things might not be as stable. The case has a LCD temperature readout in the front and it currently hovers around 24 degrees Celsius (about 75 Fahrenheit) which is allot cooler then the normal 100+ degrees Fahrenheit for a non cooled CPU. The only thing I don't like is that the LCD display is not backlit. I'm currently working with Kryotech to get one built. Also I am thinking of different modifications to get the system to cool the CPU even more. I noticed the air is drawn through the system from the back by pulling the air in. Upon further inspection the actual heat exchanger is in the front of the unit. I think by adding a fan blowing into the unit across the exchanger the temp might drop even more. You can read more about the Krotech case at www.Kryotech.com. The specs of my new computer are as follows.

Kryotech Renegade refrigerated ATX computer case.
Abit BX6 Revision 2 jumperless motherboard.
PIII 450Mhz CPU overclocked to 621Mhz.
300watt power supply.
128MB Corsair PC133 SDRAM.
Panasonic 5xDVD\32xcdrom.
VooDoo3 3000 AGP 2D\3D video card.
Creative MPEG2 DVD video card.
Soundblaster LIVE sound card.
3 1\2 floppy drive.
USR 56k modem.
17.2gig UltraDMA Maxtor Hard drive.
3com PCI Ethernet card.
Motorola Cybersurfer cable modem.
NEC Multisync E700 monitor.
Altec Lansing speakers.
Generic keyboard.
Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer with optical eye.

                The Kryotech has arrived                                           View of the case

         View of the case with cover off                       View of the "cool plate" that attaches to CPU

    View of the PIII processor in stock form          View of the same PIII processor with heatsink drilled off

  View of the "cool plate" bolted to CPU                  View of the heat exchanger and compressor

Update 7\6\99: Kryotech made me a custom backlit LCD display so now the temp is visible at night.

Update 10\11\99: A custom cooling condenser was made for the unit that brings down the CPU temp to 14C on a average day. This is the current limit for the system without getting condensation.