VrOne
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ON-LINE REFERENCE DOCUMENTATION CARDINAL SYSTEMS, LLC 386-439-2525 www.cardinalsystems.net |
A SAMPLE BUILD IT YOURSELF COMPUTER – eKit945 – PCI EXPRESS
Description
The following computer example is an Intel single processed, Pentium-hyper-threaded or Pentium-D computer with an 800Mhz Front Side Bus with Dual Channel memory. This computer is well suited for all Vr Mapping applications including stereo roaming. A computer to be used for stereo compilation should have at least one gigabyte of memory and a computer to be used for image processing and orthophoto production should have two or more gigabytes of memory.
Below is listed the major components of several computer that we have built at Cardinal Systems and use for software development and demonstration. Also listed in blue is the authors’ opinion of that component. Items such as disk drive data cables are not listed here. Please read the manufacturers specifications for more information about each component.
NOTE: Please visit Build Notes for information that might save you some heartburn during the assembly of the computer.
NOTE: The data listed below is for information purposes. Cardinal Systems does not guarantee or endorse any of the products listed. Cardinal Systems does not guarantee this information to be correct and the opinions listed are from our experience and may not reflect your experience with these products. The user assumes all responsibility and liability for the use of this information.
The eKit945 and the eKit875
The eKit945 is based on the PCI-Express interface for the graphics card and on Serial ATA (SATA) for the disk drive interface. The eKit875, which was the previous UBuildComputer, was based on the AGP interface for the graphics card and the ULTRA ATA interface for the disk drive interface. The eKit945 is a newer design than the eKit875
Revision History
December 11, 2005 – Components chosen but computer not yet built and tested.
December 29, 2005 – Computer built and tested with VrTwo with NVIDIA FX 1400 graphics card and Intel 3.0GHz Pentium processor. Found to be faster than previous computer designs due to faster SATA 2 drives and faster hardware.
Photos of Computer
Click a photo to enlarge.
Component List
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Component |
Manufacturer Web page Part # |
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Motherboard
Asus P5LD2 Deluxe 945P P4/Pentium D/Celeron 1066FSB
LGA775 DDR2 ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA
Manufacturer
Product Specifications Opinion: This seems to be a
great motherboard with many on board features. Supports PCI-Express and has two of these
graphics slots along with an external Serial ATA port. Since manufacturers sell more single
processed motherboards than duals. These boards seem to be more reliable and
bug free than their dual processed brothers. |
13-131-539 |
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Processor
Intel Pentium® D Processor 930 3.0GHz, 800MHz FSB,
Socket 775, 2x1MB Cache, Dual Core The Intel Pentium D processor 840, 830, and 820 extend Intel's
Desktop dual-core product line. The Pentium D processor uses Flip-Chip Land
Grid Array (FC-LGA4) package technology, and plugs into a 775-land LGA
socket. The Pentium D processor utilizes the Intel NetBurst microarchitecture
and maintains the tradition of compatibility with IA-32 software. Opinion: Intel has basically
put two processors on a single chip with the Pentium D. As the Windows 64-bit operating systems
becomes a reality in the future this processor should be a great
performer. At the present time we
don’t see the Pentium D as being worth almost double the price with the
current 32-bit version of Windows. If
you have the money then prepare for the future and get the Dual Core processor
otherwise take a look at a Pentium 4 Hyper-threaded processor. |
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Processor
Intel Pentium® 4 630 Processor The Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 660, 650,
640, and 630Δ (this model is 630) on 90 nm process in the
775-land package and the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor
Extreme Edition on 90 nm process in the 775-land package are follow-ons to
the Pentium 4 processor in the 478-pin package, with enhancements to the
Intel NetBurst® microarchitecture. Opinion: A great performing
processor with the needed Hyper-threading that VrTwo roaming likes. Why the 3.0GHz processor instead of the
3.4Ghz? For graphics processing the
computer is normally bound by bus and memory speed. Although the motherboard keeps the
processor busy, the speed increase of the 3.4GHz processor is not worth extra
price. If you have the money buy the
3.4GHz version or some speed in between.
If you want to save some money go with the 2.8 or 2.4 Ghz processor. You won’t see a huge performance
difference. Just make sure it supports
Hyper-threading. |
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Memory
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2
667 (PC2 5300) System Memory Opinion: Although the ASUS
motherboard supports several memory speeds, try to use the fastest memory
that this board supports which is DDR2 667.
We have used the memory listed here in 2GB (2 SIMM) configurations
without problems. Notice that we
configure memory in multiple SIMMS.
This allows dual-channel memory access. |
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Case
Antec Sonata Quiet Mid Tower Case (Piano Black) w/400W ATX v2.0 Power Supply Relax. Your computer is still
running...but with Sonata you get to enjoy the Quiet. The Serenity. The
Tranquility. Totally engineered with quietness in mind, the Sonata features
low noise cooling, vibration-absorbing drive mounts, and a special TruePower
power supply. It won't disrupt your environment, and its sleek, piano black
finish will fit your style. Opinion: Roomy and QUIET with no silly lights
on the fans. Comes with a 400 Watt
Power Supply which is normally plenty of power. NOTE: If you purchase a case with a power supply make sure that it is an ATX
v2.0 power supply. This has a 24-pin
main power connector instead of the 20-pin connector that comes with the
standard ATX power supply. |
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Case
Antec Performance TX TX640B Mini Tower Case
(Black) w/400W ATX v2.0Power Supply When Antec's original Performance Series was launched in 1998 it
started the do-it-yourself high performance computing revolution. Now we
proudly introduce the third generation, Performance TX, redesigned and
updated for the latest technologies. All models are designed to meet Intel's
Thermally Advanced Chassis (TAC) design guide and come with ATX12V v2.0 power
supplies. Opinion: Roomy with no silly lights on the
fans. Comes with a 400 Watt Power
Supply which is normally plenty of power. NOTE: If you purchase a case with a power supply make sure that it is an
ATX v2.0 power supply. This has a
24-pin main power connector instead of the 20-pin connector that comes with
the standard ATX power supply. |
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ASUS Black 16X DVD+R
8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X
CD-ROM 2X DVD-RAM Read 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner Enjoy the power and flexibility of fast burn speed in a variety
of formats. Supporting DVD ± R/RW, the CR40 deliver class-leading
performance. Opinion: Who knows? This one was well priced
and seems to work. There are a million
choices for CD/DVD drives out there.
Be careful; there are two DVD formats, a plus (+) and a minus (-). We try to stick with the plus format. |
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Keyboard and Mouse
Microsoft
CA9-00001 Black 103 Normal Keys 3 Function Keys PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard Mouse
Included Opinion: This is a small,
light keyboard with a Microsoft optical mouse. Keyboard: There are a million
choices. Some have the necessary
buttons and others have too many buttons and take over your desk. Do I really
need a single button on my keyboard to check e-mail? Mouse: Optical is the ONLY way to go. More accurate than the old trackball
kind. There are no moving parts except
the buttons and wheel. No more
cleaning everyone else’s hair out of the trackball. |
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Western Digital
Caviar Opinion: SATA (Serial ATA)
2.0 at 3.0GB a second is the way to go.
The ASUS P5LD2 supports this faster interface and the new transfer rate
can be felt when loading huge images or roaming in VrTwo. Western Digital,
Maxtor and Seagate all make great disk drives. We had a few failures with IBM ( |
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Floppy Disk Drive
SONY Black 1.44MB
3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Model MPF920 Black Opinion: Do we really use these anymore?
We still put one in for old time’s sake. This
one cost $10.00. |
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Operating System
The
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional operating system is the best choice for
businesses of all sizes. Windows XP Professional integrates the strengths of
Windows 2000 Professional—standards-based security, manageability, and
reliability—with the best business features of Windows 98 and Windows Me—Plug
and Play, simplified user interface, and innovative support services—to create
the best desktop operating system for business. Whether your business deploys
Windows XP Professional on a single computer or throughout a worldwide
network, this new operating system increases your computing power while
lowering the total cost of ownership for desktop computers. Opinion: Windows 2000 is showing its age. Windows XP is a great operating
system. It’s almost as good and
reliable as UNIX. We recommend Windows
XP and do not recommend or support Windows 95/98/ME. |
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Graphics Card
PNY NVIDIA Quadro FX 1300 PCI Express 128MB DDR
Video Card PNY NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400 PCI Express 128MB DDR
Video Card PNY NVIDIA Quadro FX 3400 PCI Express 256MB DDR
Video Card PNY NVIDIA Quadro FX 4400 PCI Express 512MB DDR
Video Card The NVIDIA Quadro FX architecture takes application performance
to new levels by featuring an array of parallel vertex engines, a radically
new line engine and fully programmable pixel pipelines coupled to a
high-speed graphics DRAM bus. Pipeline efficiency is further multiplied by
NVIDIA's next-generation crossbar memory architecture, enabling
occlusion-culling, lossless depth Z-buffer, and color compression. Opinion: These are newer graphics cards based
in the NVIDIA chipset and is the most common card running VrTwo. A reliable, professional and well made
card. Keep in mind that NVIDIA has
made about a billion cards for the gaming crowd. We have found these cards to
perform well for stereo roaming. They
have also been reliable and have a normal size form factor so they can fit
into almost any case. The power
requirements of the Quadro FX cards are reasonable and most computers can use
a 380 WATT power supply. Since stereo roaming can involve two
images over a gigabyte each, it is impossible to place a whole image on the
graphics card. During roaming, system
memory buffers are filled and transferred to the graphics card’s frame buffer
as needed. Graphics cards with 128MB
work well with this design so the extra memory offered by the 3400 and the
4400 are not needed. As of January
2006, the Quadro FX 1400 offers the best performance for the price. For more information about the PNY
Quadro FX cards please visit the manufacturer’s web page at www.pny.com. |
320-4305 |
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Graphics Card
3Dlabs Wildcat Realizm 500 PCI Express 256MB The new Wildcat Realizm 500 offers high-end graphics
performance to Computer-aided Design (CAD) and Digital Content and Creation
(DCC) professionals ... for a mid-range price. Opinion: This looks like a
good stereo card with a nice form factor and acceptable power
requirements. As of January 2006, This
card has not been tested with VrTwo. |
Realizm 500 |
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Graphics Card
ATI FireGL V3200 PCI Express 128MB ATI FireGL V5000 PCI Express 128MB ATI FireGL V5100 PCI Express 128MB ATI FireGL V7100 PCI Express 256MB The FireGL™ Visualization series of workstation graphics
accelerators is designed specifically for the new, high-bandwidth PCI
Express® bus, and is architected to deliver unprecedented speed and image
quality for real-time visualization. True cinematic quality rendering of
complex geometry is now available for compelling animation, visual effects,
mechanical design and leading edge business communication. Opinion: As of January 2006,
These cards have not been tested with VrTwo. |
FireGL |
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Monitors
Opinion: When viewing 3D
stereo in VrTwo the monitor must be capable of a refresh rate of at least
100Hz at a resolution of 1280x1024.
Refresh rates slower than 100Hz can result in noticeable flicker to
the operator. At the present time, LCD
and non-CRT screens refresh rates are 85Hz at the maximum setting. The trend in display
technology is toward non-CRT display screens and finding CRTs with 100-120Hz
capability is more difficult. Please
see the help page on monitors. |
%20240-Pin%20DDR2%20SDRAM%20DDR2%20667%20(PC2%205300)%20%20Unbuffered%20System%20Memory%20Model%20VS2GBKIT667D2%20-%20Retail)
Build Notes
Connector for DVD/CD optical drives
The Asus P5LD2 motherboard has three IDE connectors. Two of the connectors are red and are close to each other and are for Ultra ATA 133/100/66 signal cables. These are labeled PRI_EIDE and SEC_EIDE. The third connector is on the edge of the mother board and is blue and is for an Ultra DMA 100/66 signal cable. This connector is labeled PRI_IDE.
Connect the DVD/CD drive to the third (blue) connector on the edge of the motherboard. Connection to one of the two other ports may result in the infamous “blue screen of death” during the installation of Windows XP with an error code of: Stop:0x0000007B (0xF78D2524, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000). Make sure you use the IDE cable with the blue, black and grey connectors and not any other cable. Also set the one drive to master and the other to slave and plug the grey connector into the master, the black connector into the slave and the blue into the motherboard.
This problem occurs when Windows sees the optical drive (DVD/CD) as a hard drive and is not able to start properly when plugged into the red connectors.
Power Supply for the ASUS P5LD2 Motherboard
Make sure the power supply you order for this motherboard is
the ATX v2.0 version. This has a 24-pin
(not 20-pin) connector main power connector.
The “Antec
SmartPower 2.0 SP-400 ATX12V 400W Power Supply 115/230” works well for most
applications.
External Disk Drive Enclosure
The
ASUS P5LD2 Motherboard comes with an external eSATA port which allows the
connection of external hard disk drives.
The beauty of this setup is the hard drives can be hot-swapped and the
interface allows the SATA-2 speed of 3GB per second. This speed is far superior to the USB 2.0
interface. Shown is the VANTEC
NST-360SU-BK disk drive enclosure in which you can place a SATA-2disk
drive. Search for "VANTEC
NST-360SU-BK" or “ESATA External Enclosure” on Google for more
information.