Posts Tagged PC

Xi3 5 Series Modular Computer Review

by James Valle

This 5 Series is a unique cube-like computer with a classic motherboard that has been divided into three interconnecting boards, the CPU board and two I/O boards.

The model of this 5 Series is the X5A-5342US00, running Windows 7 and it is powered by an AMD Ahtlon Dual-core 64-bit 3400e processor. It comes with a 64GB Solid State Drive and 2GB of DDR2 RAM.

Features.
 Useful life of 6 – 10 years
 Low energy use (20 Watts)
 Significant TCO (total cost of ownership) savings vs. standard PCs
 Easily upgradeable & modifiable
 Very small footprint
 Boots Windows 7 in under 25 seconds
 Runs x86-based Operating Systems and Software

In the package, it contains the computer, power adapter with cord, start-up guide and the limited warranty booklet.

The modular computer has a nice brushed aluminum housing with vented chromed sides. On the front you have the Xi3 logo, nothing on the other two sides and on the backside is the I/O panel.

Starting on the top left and going down, you have the Ethernet port, Sound in Sound out and the Mic inputs. To the right of the Ethernet port, you have two video connectors, the Display Port and the Dual Link DVI+VGA connectors which both support dual displays. Here you have the power adapter port and the power button. Below that, you have 6 USB 2.0 ports, one is dedicated for the keyboard and two eSata ports.

The things we liked about this computer are:
– The AMD Athlon processor
– Solid state drive
– Supports dual displays
– Upgradable and modifiable
– Supports multiple operating systems like Linux

There were very few things we didn’t like about the Xi3. We didn’t like that the maximum amount of RAM you can have is 2GB and we weren’t too fond of the price which was about $600.

This would be a great computer for the industrial control market, medical industry, computer labs, retail service kiosk, or even at home as a basic computer or multimedia computer.

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Tech Precautions To Take In Advance of Hurricane Sandy

by James Valle

With Sandy coming to hit the Mid-Atlantic area this evening, there is some tech precautions you can take.

Have flashlights available with new batteries and use them sparingly.

If you have a landline (copper line) at home, make sure you have a single line corded phone available that does not require a power adapter or batteries. This will allow you to have have phone service.

Make sure you charge your rechargeable batteries, and portable electronic devices; like cellphones, laptops, portable hot spots, tablets, and any other portable electronic devices you can use for communicating to others. If you have to use your cellphone, make sure you use it sparingly as possible to preserve power. Have cellphone car chargers available when you loose power. If you need to communicate to others, text messaging is more successful than calling. Here is a great app you can download on your smartphone to call or text for free, called Viber.

If you have to use your computer, make sure you have a very good surge protector/backup battery. While using your computer, this would also be a good time to backup your data before you loose power. If you do not need to use your computer, We highly recommend powering off your computer(s) and disconnect it from the electrical source, even if it’s connected to a surge protector. After major storms in the past, we have seen too many computers damaged even when they were turned off but still connected to a electrical source.

If you have computers at your business location, this would be a good time to turn them off and disconnect from the electrical source, especially if you know you will not be back until after the storm. Make sure your computers, battery backup and other computer devices are off the floor just in case there will be any flooding in your area.

Other than that, everyone be safe and use common sense!!

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Review of the Adafruit Pi Box

by James Valle

If you purchased a Raspberry Pi credit card size computer, you probably want to use it with an enclosure to offer protection around the circuit board. There are many brands and models out there, but after searching we found the Adafruit Pi Box which we really like.  It gives the Raspberry Pi both protection around the circuit board and also gives it a very sexy appearance displaying the components of the board.

The Pi Box is held together by clips, which Adafruit refers to them as dragon claws.  This makes it easy to clip the acrylic sections together or easily remove them. You can order an Adafruit Pi Box for $14.95 from the Adafruit store. They are very popular, so there is a 5 – 10 day wait before they are back in stock. If they are out of stock, you can have Adafruit notify you via e-mail when they are back in.

Here is our video review for the Adafruit Pi Box. Enjoy!

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Raspberry Pi Overview and Raspbian Installation

by James Valle

The Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized single-board computer developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation with the intention of stimulating the teaching of basic computer science in schools.

The Raspberry PI has a Broadcom BCM2835 system on a chip which includes a 700MHz processor, videocore IV GPU, and 256MB of RAM. The Raspberry Pi does not include a built-in hard disk, but uses an SD card for booting and long term storage. You can also install a hard disk via USB. There are two Raspberry Pi versions available, the Model A which is priced at $25.00 and Model B priced at $35.00. Model A comes with one USB 2.0 port and no ethernet port. Model B comes with two USB 2.0 ports, a 10/100 ethernet (RJ45) port, a HDMI port, a 3.5mm audio jack output and a composite RCA output.

To power the Raspberry Pi, you will need a micro USB cable and a minimum 700mA – 1200mA, 3.5w, 5v USB AC adapter. The Motorola USB phone chargers are the best ones to use because most have a rating of 700mA – 1500mA. If you are running resource intensive applications or plugged in peripherals that draw more current, make sure the mA rating is enough to support it.

Today, we will be installing Raspbian, which is the newest version of Debian, optimized for the Raspberry Pi. Applications run faster on Raspbian than other distribution of Linux ported to the Raspberry Pi. You can download Raspbian from the Raspbian’s website.

Before proceeding, you will need a USB keyboard/mouse combo, SDHC/micro SDHC memory card with a minimum of 4GB to install Raspbian. A monitor that supports either HDMI or composite RCA video cable is needed.

Here is our video. Enjoy!

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