Andromeda XE™ - the new computer system @ Digital Media eXtremE Studio

[Allan Gabriel]

(you need to have DivX Web Player installed to see the video above)

      Well this is not really what our new system looks like, but it has been code-named after the strongest, sexiest and the most realistic and reliable ship ever in Sci-Fi TV Shows. Today I'm going to present to you a new simple computer configuration but capable of a lot of tasks and designed to be used with Windows Vista Ultimate and all the new PC video games. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Andromeda XE™:

      The main idea behind this computer system was to create a very stable and very compatible system that would be capable not only to cope with but to also perform outstandingly good when working under Windows Vista Ultimate and to be able to handle wonderfully all the new gaming requirements of today. I have handpicked the components myself as the system had to be as cost-effective but still very efficient performance wise. Therefore I selected the AMD X2 64 generation of CPUs because they are energy efficient compared to the Core 2 Duo CPUs from Intel. Basically the whole system is AMD powered, as the video card and motherboard chipset are made by AMD. So here's the components list, with the approximate prices as well:

      Well I doubt a case like the one in the picture above can be easily found as it was a limited edition, but basically you can find in your local shops good looking computer cases (Alienware like), but also with a lot of space inside them.

      Next would be the computer screen: it is very important when choosing the brand of the screen, especially if it's a LCD one - to make sure you have the right one as this component, later on, will be responsible for the sharp and crystal clear image you would expect - as always, I would select an ASUS one as it does have an extremely good quality, it has a lot of branded features meant to give you an excellent multimedia visual experience (also with HD features), with a very good range of compatibility and reliability and best of all - it has a very tempting price, the ASUS VW191S has the price of about 320$:

Keyboard:

http://www.directron.com/kb608wt.html or http://www.directron.com/kb608bk.html

Logisys Multimedia Pro Illuminated Keyboard, PS/2 + USB Interface - just in case you turn off the lights in the room (23$).


And the Mouse:

A4tech X-766FS:

      Fan & Heater Design Keeps your Hands Warm in Winter and Cool in Summer so as to Help Locate your Hand Accurately During the Most Intense Game Play ! 3 Modes Shift Switch. Adjustable Switch in the Mouse Bottom ,it can Shift 3 Modes: Wind / Normal / Hot. Arm yourself with the powerful and patented 3xFire Button -rapidly fires 3 shots in shooter games with just 1 click-increasing target accuracy. In Game 5 DPI Shift Ability with Color Indication DPI Levels: 400 - 800 - 1200 - 1600 - 2000 DPI without software driver (!). Tilt Wheel Technology Scrolls in 4 Directions for Greater Efficiency. Designed with Extreme Fast Acceleration Up to 500 Hz Report Rate/Second ,4 Times Faster than the Normal USB Mouse's. Enhanced Software Performs a Complete Keyboard Simulation Interface for Players to Set their Favorite Game Commands in Programmable Buttons.The Favorite Game Commands can be Consecutive Gaming Scene such as Run, Jump, Crouch, Throw Grenade and Change Weapon - All Moves can be Consolidated into 1 of the Available Programmable Buttons. Because it is a rather special mouse, the prices would range around 40$ (yeah, you could buy a cheaper mouse - but you'll miss all the fun in all applications that need a really high precision mouse - it fits right into the palm, and also it is very convenient with the cooling module).

      The CPU, as I mentioned above, would be an AMD X2, socket AM2 (according to your budget you can select one of the models from X2 3800 up to X2 6000, boxed editions - because you also get a cooler with the retail box). I know that many specialists would choose a different cooler for the CPUs, but the one in the box does the job pretty well, noise-wise is acceptable too. Just in case you want to perform an overclock - you may want to look for either a water cooling solution (which I'd never recommend unless you always have loads of money for computer components at your disposal - worst case scenario: just in case the water spills out - it's like Hell breaks loose - you are likely to lose your system - and since the warranty of the companies selling such water cooling solutions is in many cases questionable - it's really not worth the trouble!) or a more powerful and advanced AMD CPU cooler. But usually I never recommend overclocking as this process tends to shorten the lifespan of the overclocked components and by the way, let's say for example you afford to but the X2 6000 version - what's the point in overclocking that?? This is a very stable system we're presenting here, not some "enthusiast" overclocked "rabid dog" version which does not last in the long run, nor is it really reliable. AMD X2 6000 price is around 270$.

The mainboard will be ASUS M2A-MVP 480 Crossfire Edition:
- Support AMD Socket AM2 CPU
- AMD 480X CrossFire Chipset+ATI™ SB600
- PCI Express architecture
- Dual-channel DDR2 800/667/533
- 1394a support
- AMD Live!™ Ready
- Realtek High Definition Audio, 6-channel CODEC
- S/PDIF out on back I/O port

CPU Features
Supports AMD Socket AM2 Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 / Sempron

      The motherboard supports AMD socket AM2 single-core Athlon 64/ Sempron and dual-core Athlon 64 X2/ Athlon 64 FX processors with 2MB / 1MB / 512KB L2 cache, which is based on 64-bit architecture. It features 2000 / 1600 MT/s HyperTransport Bus, dual-channel un-buffered DDR2 800 memory support and AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology.

AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology

      M2A-MVP supports AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology, which monitors system operation and automatically adjusts CPU voltage and frequency for a cool and quiet environment.

Dual-Core CPU

      Enjoy the extraordinary CPU power from the latest dual-core CPU. The advanced processing technology contains two physical CPU cores with individually dedicated L2 cache to satisfy the rising demand for more powerful processing capability.

ATI Features

      AMD 480X CrossFire boosts image quality along with rendering speed, eliminating the need to crank down screen resolutions to get the high image quality you want. CrossFire ignites with the higher antialiasing, anisotropic filtering, shading, and texture settings you desire. Adjust your display configurations, experiment with your advanced 3D settings, and check the effect with a real-time 3D-rendered preview within ATI's Catalyst™ Control Center to rule your CrossFire system.

Memory Features
Dual-Channel DDR2 800

      DDR2 is the next generation memory technology to replace the current DDR. With the highest speed up to 800MHz, DDR2 memory provides great performance for 3D graphics and other memory demanding applications.

      Yes, the motherboard above can be replaced with the more expensive version that has the AMD 580 Crossfire chipset, but these motherboards tend to be rare, very good but rare, I barely found the AMD 480 Crossfire version (about 140$) due to the fact that these models were sold very fast at my local shop.

      The video-card will be the one directly responsible for the eye-candy that you will see on your screen: GeCube Radeon HD 2900XT, with 512 DDR3 - 350 euro - 400$ - around these price values (the Diamond 1GB DDR4 model is sexier, but it's kinda' expensive - almost 580$ and not accessible to many people yet). The GeCube radeon HD 2900XT features:

- Core Clock: 743MHz, Memory Clock: 1.65 Ghz (default speeds)
- Dynamic game Computing Technology
- @ 320 Unified Stream Processor
- @ 512-bit memory interface
- @Dynamic geometry Acceleration
- @High-Speed 128-bit-HDR (High Dynamic range)rendering
- @Physics processing support
- @Up to 24X Custom Filter Anti-Aliasing
- Plug-and-play CrossFire support
- ATI Avivo HD Video and Display Technology
- @built-in HDMI with Multi-channel 5.1 surround audio
- @Dual dual-link DVI with full resolution HDCP support
- @HD video playback
- @Dual 30-bpp display processors
- Optimized for Windows Vista with comprehensive DirectX 10 and DirectX 9 support
- The breakthrough for the playback of Blu-ray™ and HD DVD discs
- ATI Avivo™ HD technology includes fully integrated HD audio capabilities and supports playback of multi-channel (5.1) audio streams.
- HDMI and Audio Feature Support
- Plug and Play CrossFire™ Support (Native CrossFire through DVO)
- Windows Vista with comprehensive DirectX 10 support
- OpenGL 2.0 support

      We added an extra branded XE™ Cooling System (not to be found in shops - but you can use a better or bigger case cooling fan to your liking) that will help the original ventilation fan in keeping the video card at a slightly better cooler temperature than the default one (up to -10 Cesium degrees lower) . As you can see in the picture below, the extra fans have been placed easily on the back of the video card (and can be also removed easily):

      The memory is also a very important component, and as it is known, the more, the better and the faster the memory is, the faster the system will run. I have selected the OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 / 800MHz / ATI CrossFire™ Certified Edition / Dual Channel Memory (2x1GB) - around 160$, so that it will have 100% compatibility with the whole Crossfire setup:

      The Power Source (PSU) - for many reasons, like the power demanding video card (also if you're thinking of getting 2 of those), the extra cooling fans and the overall power demands, I chose the Toughpower 600W from Thermaltake, 130$, (it does have a lot of power connectors, including the 8 pin + 6 pin connectors very necessary for the video card, especially the 8 pin one that enables the overdrive function in the Catalyst ATI video driver panel which allows you to overclock the video card - even here I wouldn't suggest you to push the limits too much as the clock frequency has a very good default value already):

      Any type of Floppy Drive would be OK. Don't laugh, sometimes you might need that - you never know, so you have to be prepared.

      Hard Drive - well I'd recommend any from the Western Digital (reliable and fast), from 120 GB storage space and above (the motherboard has 4 x SATA 3.0Gb/s connectors and 1 x IDE connector - you can either choose SATA Drives or 1 IDE Drive according to your needs)

      Optical Drive - At the moment it's not worth buying a BluRay or an HD DVD Drive as these are yet very rare and have very high prices - but an ASUS DVD Writer should meet your demands, one from the latest generation, like the ASUS DRW-1814BL - the Light Scribe drive enables CD images and disc labels to be burned onto disc using the same drive that is used to burn the data. You can make a label wherever and whenever you want with your PC or burner. Simple, Compatible and Flexible:

      Well, that should do the trick. Many people would love o have a system like Andromeda XE™. You may wonder why I have said Windows Vista Ultimate and not just Vista - well, the point is - I know it is rather expensive and you probably would be able to "live" with the Home Premium version, but seriously now, everybody wants what's the best but at a decent price - and since the software price can't be modified much, you can "play" with the price of the components by choosing the right ones for your needs. Again, why a system based on the AMD and AMD Crossfire Setup? Well, the system can be upgraded "performance wise" if you add in another ATI HD 2xxx video card, and in the system above I'd recommend another HD 2900XT - in order to improve seriously the visual processing speed. Another advantage of the ATI Radeon HD 2XXX series is the HDMI output, which gives both video and audio at a very high quality, which means that if you already have an LCD HDTV HDMI Ready like the ones in the SONY Bravia series - you can connect the video card to the TV through the DVI-to-HDMI connector:

      In the image above it is shown how to connect the DVI-to-HDMI adapter, but you should mount it after the card is installed into the PC case, not before (the image above is just for presentation purposes). Once you have attached that adapter, you can buy an HDMI gold plated cable (golden contacts on the connectors are the best as they offer the best signal transmission):

      Such a cable can be ordered from Contact Media: http://www.contact-media.co.uk/highd...roducts-14.htm (we have the 10m version for our system). The ATI Radeon HD 2900XT has the "HD" in its name, because like the whole ATI HD 2XXX series, it sends high quality video and audio 5.1 sound signal through the HDMI cable. If you connect the cable to a HDMI Ready TV set like the one in the picture below, you'll be totally amazed - it's a blessing to watch all your movies in HD:

      This computer system with all the necessary fans, cables and connectors costs around 1700$ -which in my opinion is a lot cheaper than other brand name computer and it offers far more than those. HDMI Ready TV Set not included, of course, , I assume you have one already or intend to buy one soon - the main idea is that all these cool components when put to work together - they bring a fully featured, very reliable, powerful and good looking multimedia home system! If you already have a sound amplifier with 2 large speakers you can consider yourself very lucky to put it to work with the system above. High frame rates in advanced new games with all effects enabled and more? Not a problem! ATI has a lot to offer in this segment. HD movies and DVDs? BRING IT ON! This is pure ownage: the 8800 NVIDIA video cards don't offer HDMI with video and audio 5.1 - so that is another reason why we think ATI cards are more compatible with Windows Vista (Ultimate) - better drivers, higher compatibility, unparalleled multimedia capabilities (HDMI - crystal clear video, 5.1 audio; video capture module; ATI AVIVO™ HD video and display module).

      What else can I add? We have this system already at the Digital Media eXtremE Studio and it is performing like a champion. We're waiting for the release of 2 games this year: "Hellgate: London" and "Unreal III". This system is definitely Hellgate-London Ready - a powerful computer for the game that it is said to be the greatest ever made.

This Computer System is:

Here's another thing that will make you smile , dedicated to the Andromeda TV Show:

      PS - to the readers who liked this configuration and were inspired by it: you can register an account here at the Xenon Web Magazine™ and leave a "thank you" reply in this article thread.

[LPS]

After testing your computer Allan I must say, it's top notch. The video card was quite impressive, its performance is overwhelming. Also, I liked the audio, especially what was in the Winamp playlist. *giggle*

I'm looking forward to playing something with you and Curly, UT 3 maybe. :)