Computer Equipment

I spend most of my day working at the computer so my desktop is a pretty important bit of kit for me. It enables me to work fast and break things quicker.

I get quite a lot of people asking me "Oh, so what kind of machine do you use" and the first thing I must warn you - is that it is a Mac. Im sorry - it was hard for my parents too. This should explain why though.

So I think a kit rundown would be a great idea.

It is as follows

• 2x 2.66GHz Xeon Mac Pro
• 16GB RAM
• 2x 256GB Crucial C300 SSD's
• 6TB in general HDD
• 2x 24" Acer Monitors, 22" LG and 19" Dell
• Logitech DiNovo Edge
• Logitech Performance MX

So thats the tech stuff out of the way. You may notice a blue glow to the image which isn't photoshopped on, its my computer controlled lighting system powered by an Arduino Uno and a serial based USB application. There is also a Wacom Bamboo tablet for sketching, a 5.1 Creative sound system and of course and last a Guitar Hero controller.

Now I'm not going to go through explaining my buying decisions because frankly, most people wont care and if you do - you can drop me a note. All the kit I use I highly recommend with the exeption of the Mac Pro's graphics cards - the less said the better as Macs are well known for have old and rubbish hardware in the graphics department.

So here is an FAQ so that if you ask me, I can refer you to search my blog!

FAQ

Q1. Why do you need all this kit?

A. Its my job, a way to make a living. If you had to spend 8 hours a day behind a computer and had the ability to improve the experience, Im sure you would too!

Q2. What do you actually do on it?

A. I make websites. More specifically I develop web systems for businesses to manage all their orders, stock and clients.

Q3. Isn't programming mostly text files?

A. Yep, compiling takes a heap of processing power and when developing, I usually use local virtual machines to sandbox anything I'm working on to ensure everything can work in a fresh enviornment as well as an established one. It also helps when you are opening hundreds of tabs and files to have a heap of RAM available.

Q4. Why the Mac?

A. At the time of buying the computer - it was around 2009 and quad cores were only really strting to come out. I wanted a machine with 2 quad cores as it was going to be a long term investment and no motherboard manufacturer would make a dual i7 (similar to the Xeon's I have) motherboard so I settled with the Mac. The only other manufacturer around who was doing a similar machine was Alienware and as it was more expensive to get the Alienware, I settled with the blue pill. The other thing is the rediculous amount of RAM slots. It is expandable up to 96GB of RAM and for a desktop that is amazing (even by todays standards).

Q5. Why didn't you buy (INSERT NAME OF PRODUCT)?

A. Because it either wasnt around or if it was did not beat the price of my Mac and come with the correct amount of smug.

Q6. Why 4 monitors?

A. Gernally I have a few things I need to quickly flick between and it is quicker to look at another screen to be constantly flicking backwards and forwards. I recommend anyone using a computer on a daily basis for anything more than browsing the web should have two.

Q7. Well if 4 monitors are so much better, why not have more?

A. It would be overkill. When you have more than one monitor you find you notice that you have to keep track which screen things are on and this can slow you down if you can't multitask well. This get exponetially worse with the number of screens. My limit is 4 sadly. I can work at a pace with 4 faster than I can on 1. Not to say having another few screens around wouldn't hurt but I could not use them productively in my workflow. More just to monitor stuff like hits, clients, twitter, email, amusing cats - the usual.

Q8. Amsuing cats?

A. Yes. Cats with funny captions - infact its not just cats. Pretty much anything with a funny caption.

Q9. Do you get out much?

A. Sometimes. It depends how heavy the workload is and how difficult clients work is. Sometimes work needs nothing but focus in silence. Sometimes work needs creativity and working from a laptop in a forest, by a river or even up a mountain.

Q10. How much do you work?

A. Too long.

Q11. Where is this?

A. Im my bedroom in my flat. I do co-share an office over in Docklands with the lovely Fido but sadly with the Olympics on the horizon, Im not looking forward to working in London and will most likely be spending as little time as I can in the country. Not because I hate tourists. Its more I hate being able to taste them on the tube while I get to the office.

Q12. Why dont you drive?

A. You can't sleep and drive.

Q13. Yes you can.

A. No you cant.

Q14. How much did all the kit cost you?

A. I could look out all the receipts for all the upgrades and equipment but lets just say its probably quite a bit more than a cheap netbook from Comet. Or a small car.

Q15. Do you have any old hardware you'd like to sell/give to me?

A. I have a very long and intensive decomissioning system that takes years to go through. Things when out of my "main workflow" get moved to the "old" pile where a possible use is worked out. If not value to me is found, it is passed onto close friends or relatives. If it cannot find a home with them because everyone in my family has at least 5 computers or friends have no way to get it home, I find a less useful use for it like a paperweight or a seat (computers are very cheap seats that have built in seat warmers if you run folding at home). After this - some are torn to shreds to meet their new purpose. The ones that do survive intact and have no value to me, I give away. Drop me a message in the contact form if you are looking for... well anything and I'll see what I've got lying around.

Q16. I dont suppose you have RAM for a 1999 Dell?

A. Yes. Yes I do.

Q17. When will you be buying a new desktop seeing as you've spent loads of money on it?

A. When it breaks or gets too slow that it annoys me.

Q18. Can I see more pictures?

A. Yes, you can see them all on my images page.

Q19. Is that is?

A. Yes.