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WBPC

Since January 2021, I have been putting together my own workstation-class computer systems. Prior to this, the desktops I used consisted of upgraded pre-built systems, "gaming PCs" and converted laptops. Also since then, all systems under "WBPC" are to have ECC memory.

Polybutylene Terephthalate

"Polybutylene Terephthalate" (shorthand "PBT") is the codename given to the desktop computer system that currently serves as WBPC1 for general purpose workloads. The system is considered to be the "main PC" and almost all at-home work and entertainment (gaming) is done on it. It is normally used from eight (8) to fourteen (14) hours a day.

Unlike former systems which used Intel Xeon CPUs from 2010-2013, this build made use of modern components. It makes use of the ECC memory support of certain AMD Ryzen desktop CPUs and motherboards. In the past I avoided using Ryzen processors due to the uncertainty of ECC memory support. However, this time I was able to find a motherboard that I could ensure that ECC memory is supported. Others online were able to help me find out that the CPU's memory controller was configured for it with a feature within CPU-Z on Windows.

The "rebuild" of the system with the Cooler Master N200 case was mostly to make the system more portable while the motherboard was already in a microATX format. The idea to have the system more portable is from how there is the possibility of going on another long business trip or vacation. Though, bringing the desktop on trips may only be possible if traveling by road as it would be too difficult to transport the system on aircraft due to its weight and fragility.

Configuration

Current specifications as of May 2, 2024:

Monitors

Though not associated with the system as anything else can be connected, these are the monitors that I currently use with "Polybutylene Terephthalate"

Polycarbonate

"Polycarbonate" is the codename given to the system that is currently the lab/workbench desktop with the hostname WBPC2. This system was set up in the need for a small form factor desktop to take place of the much larger "Polyethylene" while maintaining support for ECC memory. The entire build cost less than US$100 in June 2023.

Configuration as of September 24, 2024:

Currently dual-boots Windows 10 and Linux Mint 21.1 XFCE.

Polyethylene

"Polyethylene" is the codename given to the Supermicro X8DAi desktop platform that I built in 2021.

Planning started in December 2020 and assembly started in January 2021. The system was used throughout 2021 up to the building of "Polyethylene Terephthalate" in December 2021. Throughout 2022, it was used as a lab workbench system for workflows such as virtualisation, emulation, CAD and EDA. Currently, it is used for showcasing computer assembly that I have done.

In February 2023, the motherboard was installed in a Supermicro CSE-825 2U chassis to use as my main server as I planned to sell off the Dell PowerEdge R710, R610 and HP ProLiant DL380 G7 that I was using at the time. Codenames that I choose for devices are linked to the motherboard and are not changed when the purpose or other parts such as the case or CPU are changed.

In August 2023, the motherboard was installed back in its original case, with the same RAM kit and the same graphics card in order to bring the system back to its original configuration after "Polycarbonate" and the HP BladeSystem servers took over the duties of the desktop and servers.

The color theme for the PC build was green/lime, teal and black. The green/lime was from the characteristic green PCB of Supermicro motherboards and the distinct green of the heatsinks of the Nanya memory modules.

Current configuration as of December 19, 2023:

Polyethylene Terephthalate

"Polyethylene Terephthalate" (shorthand "PET") is a desktop system that I put together in late 2021. It served as the "main" desktop for all of 2022. It had a variety of workloads such as running PC games, virtualization, EDA and running the Xactimate estimating software. It was the first "themed" build I have completed.

Configuration

Configuration from May 25, 2022 to January 13, 2023:

Note: From December 4, 2021 to May 25, 2022, the system used an Intel Xeon E5-2643, other than that, the configuration was the same.

Legacy

All computer-bound work I have completed surrounding Fort Myers Beach island was done on this system.

In January 2023, the successor "Polybutylene Terephthalate" was built, replacing "Polyethylene Terephthalate" as my "main" desktop PC.

On June 1, 2023, the system was permanently decomissioned after discovering that the motherboard damaged eight memory modules for unknown reasons. This could likely be result of still bent pins on the CPU socket. In March 2024, there has been plans to check the CPU socket again for bent pins and attempt to repair them.

During 2023, I started the plan for "Polyethylene Terephthalate v2", a redo of this system.

Polymethylmethylacrylate

Introduction

"Polymethylmethacrylate" (shorthand "PMMA") is the codename given to the HP ZBook Studio G3 laptop with an Intel Xeon processor that I have used since September 2021. Its main purpose is to serve as a mobile workstation for cases where a desktop system such as "Polybutylene Terephthalate" is not efficient to travel with such as trips or jobs that last less than a week. Its use of ECC memory and an Intel Xeon mobile workstation processor makes it a rarity but important for mission-critical applications.

In 2024, the laptop became my "main" laptop that I currently use for in-person college work

It is not by any means a "gaming laptop" and playing games on it is avoided. In late September 2024, to improve temperatures and battery life, the Nvidia Quadro GPU and Intel Turbo Boost was disabled. This showed a great improvement in temperature and battery life while performance in usual workloads was barely affected.

Configuration

Configuration as of January 8, 2024:

The system currently dual-boots both Linux Mint and Windows 10 Professional. The latter is rarely used.

The SK hynix Gold P31 was chosen specifically for its low-power operation being shown in benchmarks and its use of LPDDR4 memory for cache, which makes the SSD better suited for mobile applications such as laptops.

Polypropylene

"Polypropylene" is an experimental desktop system for testing the use of AMD Opteron processors in a desktop environment. The sytem was built after I was given an ASUS KCMA-D8 motherboard at 2nd Life Inc.

The device later became a "meme" build, resulting in the change of my Steam username to "IDSH1G-02A1F1C-13H" and the change of my profile picture to a edited picture of one of the ICs on the memory modules listed below. The joke was about the ICs being produced near Richmond, Virginia while the location on my Steam profile was of Richmond, Virginia. I unintentionally extended the joke with how my account appeared when I played through the game 'Micron'. The username and profile picture was changed to match my profiles on other platforms on January 1, 2024.

On January 24, 2024, the codename for the device was changed from "Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene" to "Polypropylene" due to ABS plastic in reality being made up of multiple monomers which does not follow the codename guide.

Configuration

Configuration as of December 14, 2023:

CTCL 2011-2025