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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 and converted laptops. Also since then, all systems under "WBPC" are to have ECC memory.

WBPC1

"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 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. The first time it was brought with me for an extended period of time was in November 2024 with the annual trip to Syracuse, New York.

Starting January 2025, the system is no longer used for gaming as a Steam Deck took over this task along with the Windows + Linux Mint installation being replaced by Fedora Linux. This was mostly done to reduce distractions and to move from Linux Mint.

Configuration

Current specifications as of January 9, 2025:

Monitors

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

WBPC2

"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 January 9, 2025:

Currently dual-boots Windows 10 and Linux Mint 21.1 XFCE though this may change soon.

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. As of January 2025, the system is used to showcase an example of a complex PC build I have completed. It has made an appearance during the Brightpoint Connect event at Brightpoint Community College in October 2024. It is also used to test the ability of software to run in environments without AVX instruction support though this rarely an issue.

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.

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.

Following the abrupt server reconfiguration in January 2025, the motherboard was put back into the Supermicro CSE-825 chassis to be used as the virtualization server for the time being.

The color scheme 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:

Configuration following the January 2025 Server Reconfiguration:

Former WBPC1 - Polyethylene Terephthalate

"Polyethylene Terephthalate" (shorthand "PET") was 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 that I have done for Atlantic Estimating from November 2022 to February 2023 including locations in Fort Myers Beach, Florida and Salisbury, Maryland have been completed 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.

MWDL1

Introduction

MWDL1 is currently the name 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.

In August 2024, I have started to use this laptop on a regular basis starting the Fall 2024 college semester.

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 were barely affected.

On January 23, 2025, the former LCD, the Samsung LTN156HL02-001 was switched out for the current Innolux N156HCA-EAC.

Configuration

Configuration as of January 8, 2024:

The system currently dual-boots both Linux Mint and Windows 10 Professional. The latter is rarely used. I may switch to an install with Fedora without Windows.

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.

CTCL 2011-2025