I recently built the biggest, clunkiest iPad mini case ever, transforming my old Macintosh SE case into an iPad stand. But what to do with that empty case? Why, it's the perfect size for a custom Mini-ITX PC! Introducing my liquid-cooled Core i7 monster Mac SE! Creative Packaging After removing the original Macintosh motherboard, I was struck by its neat packaging in the … [Read more...] about My Core i7 Macintosh SE
Intel
My FreeNAS Build: Supermicro X10SL7, Intel Haswell Xeon, ECC RAM
In my last post, I talked about my decision to build a FreeNAS box. Today I'm going to dive into the hardware I selected, starting with the motherboard, CPU, and memory. FreeNAS runs on any PC hardware, but building a reliable and scalable storage solution means picking higher-end components. I selected a Supermicro X10SL7 server-class motherboard with 14 (!) SAS/SATA ports … [Read more...] about My FreeNAS Build: Supermicro X10SL7, Intel Haswell Xeon, ECC RAM
Plexistor Integrates NVDIMM for Every Application
I'm really excited about the prospects of memory-addressable flash. Moving flash closer to the CPU and addressing it as memory rather than block storage brings tremendous performance benefits, and is a once-in-a-generation radical change to system architecture. But questions remain as to how it can be integrated with today's applications. Now Plexistor is here with a promising … [Read more...] about Plexistor Integrates NVDIMM for Every Application
Impatiently Waiting For the Next MacBook Pro
I've been a MacBook Pro user since the last decade, switching for better hardware but staying for the better OS. I happily bought a 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display the day they were announced, but I've been using that same machine since 2012. Now I'm impatiently waiting to upgrade, holding out for Intel's new Skylake CPUs and the late-2015 or early-2016 MacBook … [Read more...] about Impatiently Waiting For the Next MacBook Pro
The Ideal pfSense Platform: Netgate RCC-VE 2440
After some frustration with stability and latency connecting my virtual pfSense router to my cable and DSL modems, I decided to switch to a physical box. I selected the Netgate RCC-VE 2440 as my hardware platform, since it's the same box that pfSense themselves use as their OEM bundle. It also checks all the boxes with a dual-core Atom CPU, four Gigabit Ethernet ports, and … [Read more...] about The Ideal pfSense Platform: Netgate RCC-VE 2440