Upgrading the Dell T1650

With this Dell, I'm putting together the cheapest 3D workstation that won't drive me crazy with memory crashes. The entire system has cost me only 496.10 USD.

The primary upgrade for this PC will be the graphics card. Presently, it's installed with an AMD FirePro 2270 Graphics 512 DDR3. This is not good. Since I plan to use this as a temporary 3D workstation, I'm adding a nVIDIA Quadro K2000 Graphic Card with 2GB of memory. I purchased a reconditioned unit for 141.11 USD on ebay.

Here is the card SPECIFICATIONS: 

GPU Memory 2GB GDDR5

Memory Interface 128-bit

Memory Bandwidth 64.0GB/s

CUDA Cores 384

System Interface PCI Express 2.0 x16

Max Power Consumption 51W

Thermal Solution Ultra-quiet active

fansink

Form Factor 4.376” H x 7.97” L,

Single Slot, Full Height

Display Connectors DVI-I DL + DVI-D DL +

mini-DP1.2

Max Simultaneous Displays 3 direct, 4 DP1.2,

2 Win XP

Max DP 1.2 Resolution 3840 x 2160 at 60Hz

Max DVI-I DL Resolution 2560 × 1600 at 60Hz

Max DVI-I SL Resolution 1920 × 1200 at 60Hz

Max VGA Resolution 2048 x 1536 at 85Hz

Graphics APIs Shader Model 5.0,

OpenGL 4.4, DirectX 11

Compute APIs CUDA, DirectCompute,

OpenCL

Getting into the Dell is quite easy. Probably the easiest case I've opened. There is a pull latch on the side and the side panel lifts out.

The nVIDIA Quadro K2000 utilizes a PCI Express 2.0 x16. The furthest slot down on the left.

I would have liked to added an even better graphics card, but this Dell won't support anything better. It's PCI slot can only supply up to 75w. This card, at 51w is sufficiently rated, but any better card out there will require a higher wattage above the PCI max of 75w.

I'm also adding 8 more RAM to bring the total system RAM to 16. This unit utilizes 1066MHz DDR3-1066 PC3-8500, 240p DIMM, 1.5v. I'm using what I had in more old system. There are four slots located near the top right next to the Intel processor.

Last, I'm adding a 640 GB hard drive in the available slot below the 1TB drive that came with the unit. Unfortunately, there wasn't a cradle to hold the hard drive. I found one on eBay for 5.99 USD.

These cradles are very nice. They are flexible, holding the hard drive with 4 little pins instead of screws. It makes it a lot easier to install a drive.

The two bay slots are on the bottom right of the unit. The cradle slides easily in and locks with the cables in a comfortable position to attach.

This Dell came with a fresh install of Windows 7 Pro. My preferred OS at this time. I was easily able to use the attached serial on the Dell's outer case and register the OS with Microsoft. Any Dell Windows Pro recovery should work for a future fresh install.

Here is my new system specs:

The Windows experience index is low, but with my extra system RAM and 2GB graphics card, I'm able to get by with the heavy 3D modeling I'm working with.

Dell Precision T1650

The Dell Precision T1650 was released in 2012. It's  an entry level workstation that was designed to aggressively attack HP on the enterprise workstation front. Did it work? I don't know, but Dell is still around making good workstations, and I plan to use this one as an inexpensive temporary 3D graphics workstation.

The unit came with the following specs:

 Intel® Core i7-3770 Quad Core (HT) Processor
(8M Cache, 3.40 GHz/3.80 GHz Turbo Boost)
AMD FirePro 2270 Graphics 512 DDR3
with DMS59
8GB DDR3 Memory
2TB Hard Drive
DVD-ROM Optical  Drive
10/100/1000 Ethernet
10x USB 2.0 Ports
3x USB 3.0 Ports
Audio Out/Mic In
Windows 7 Pro

The MSRP during 2012 was 1889.00 USD. I purchased mine on eBay for 349.00 USD. I'll be  replacing the graphics card with a 2GB nVIDIA Quadro K2000 Graphic Card, more RAM and another hard drive.

Game Cheat

Cheat Engine is a program that searches for variables in a program and allows them to be changed. It's an open source program, that works well for vintage games.

One of my favorite games from way back, is Diablo (1996). I had a great time fighting my way to the end on this one. However, I'd like to revisit it at some time without all the fuss. This can be done easily with Cheat Engine. Most of the numerical values for the Diablo character attributes can be changed to create a character with god-like powers. This is how it works:

First, download the program from http://www.cheatengine.org/downloads.php. Install the program.

Start up the game program. Locate a value you would like to change. In Diablo there is a pop up with character stats.

I'm going to change the gold amount from 113 to something higher.

Next, hit the window key to hide the game in progress. Open the Cheat Engine application. A window will open like the one above.

Cheat Engine needs to know which program to search for variables. This is accomplished by going to File and choosing Open Process.

A list of programs that are currently running are listed. Choose the game. In this case, it's 00000C64-diablo.exe.

Now enter the present value that you want to change. In this case it's 113. Left-click on the First Scan button.

A large list of current variables holding the number 113 is listed. Not all of these are the correct ones. Usually only one or two variable addresses will be the correct location for the chosen value. 

To find the correct variable, go back to the game and change the value of the number to something different. In this case I added 6 more gold to make a total of 119.

 Hit the Widows key to hide the game program and look at Cheat Engine. Click on Next Scan. Now the correct address for the variable is indicated by the red highlighted 119 and a list of previous values (113 in this case) is shown to the right. There are two addresses for this variable.

Double-left click on the address lines and they will appear in the Game Cheat window below.

Click on one of the addresses and a pop up will appear. The value can be changed up to whatever the game program will allow for a maximum value. In this case, I'm changing it to 2000.

Sometimes, only one address will allow a new input. In this case, I tried to change the first address value, but the value would revert back to the original 119.  By changing the second address first, the both addresses changed from 119 to 2000.

The game character now has 2000 gold.

Running vintage Java applets

I have a program that requires an older version of Java to run. My modern Chrome browser and final version of Microsoft Explorer will not open the browser applet. I decided to create an offline version for my Dell Windows XP laptop.

The program is called Bsim. It's a web application that simulates a programming environment for study of robot behavior. It's an important addition to the book Robot Programming : A Practical Guide to Behavior-Based Robotics by Joe Jones and Daniel Roth.

First, I need to add Java to my Windows Explorer version 6. The proper Java package is Java SE Runtime Environment 6u16 and the file jre-6u16-windows-i586 can be found at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/java-archive-downloads-javase6-419409.html#jre-6u16-oth-JPR

Once Java is installed, Microsoft Explorer is ready for the applet. Since I want to run this offline, a few more steps are required.

Create a folder to hold the Java applet. Using a computer with Microsoft Explorer 6 with online status, save the page that brings up the applet. In this case, it's http://www.behaviorbasedprogramming.net/. 

Put the html document in the folder. Next, download the .jar application. This is rather tricky since it requires knowledge of the file name. In this case I guessed it would be bsim.jar. It was a correct assumption. Other applets may be accessed if you can get into the file directory.

To reiterate, I typed http://www.behaviorbasedprogramming.net/bsim.jar into the browser command line and hit enter. The file bsim.jar downloaded immediately.

Put the .jar applet into the folder. Now while offline, by double clicking on the html document of the saved web page, the Java applet will load and operate.

Dell Inspiron 9300

I need a native Windows XP laptop for various reasons, and after some research decided on a Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop. I found a unit on eBay for $70.00 that was reconditioned with Windows 7 and a stamp affixed to the keyboard to confirm it. 

Here are some of the specs:

• Released March 2005
• Intel Pentium M Processor 750 (1.86 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)-Sonoma
• 2GB RAM
• 80 GB (5400 RPM hard drive)
• 17 inch UltraSharp Wide Screen XGA+ Display (without TruLife, and it is a Samsung screen)
• ATI MobilityRadeon X300
• 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
• 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (53 WHr)

The unit works well, but I plan to convert it back to its original state by installing Windows XP.

First, I acquired a copy of Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 specifically marketed for Dell. I found one on eBay for slightly more than 10 USD. Installing and licensing was typical.Windows XP requires a validation from Microsoft in order to keep working past the 30 day grace period.

I do not want to operate my system on line, so my method of validation was by phone. I requested a text to be sent to my phone in order to initiate the process and a key was generated.

                 

Since I'm annoyed by some trivial matters, (as in this case) I had to replace the Windows 7 sticker on the keyboard with a Windows XP sticker. I found one on eBay for  $3.95 and swapped them out.

Installing the drivers for Windows XP was not difficult. By going to the Dell support site at http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/inspiron-9300/drivers , all of the necessary drivers for Windows XP can be downloaded.

First, locate the Service Tag number on the back of the Dell laptop. In this case, it's 64F0Z81. By using the reference on the Dell site, all the necessary drivers are collected for download.

Fully loaded, the Inspiron 9300 sold for 2,839 USD.  The average price for a Dell 9300 with my features  was around 1400 USD after coupons and rebates. In today's dollars that would be $1,740.07.

Replacing the LCD on a Macintosh Powerbook

A day after I purchased my PowerBook on eBay, it began to develop black lines along the bottom of my screen. I could literally watch a new row of pixels slowly blink out, sometimes forming an alternating pattern before becoming a solid line.

The lines continued to fill up the lower inch of the screen, though it seemed, that it would only be a matter of time before I lost an inch of the 9.8" screen. The solution to repair this was to simply replace the LCD screen. 

Taking apart the casing of the PowerBook's display housing is not a difficult task. It requires removing two screws using a T-8 torx driver. Then pulling down and away the display bezel.

Then four more screws need to be removed to detach the LCD display.

The trickiest part of this process is to remove the ribbon cable from the LCD display. It's a rather delicate ribbon, and removing it from the connector and the adhesive holding it to the LCD display must be exercised with care.

Disconnecting the inverter cable is the last operation before the LCD panel can be completely removed.

The most difficult operation for me in reassembling the unit was reattaching the ribbon cable back into the connector. 

It took multiple attempts to push the ribbon into the connector and slide the locking tabs back. 

Macintosh Powerbook 145

The Macintosh Powerbook was the first series of laptops manufactured by Apple. The Powerbook 145 was introduced on August 3, 1992. It's a mid-range system between the 100 and 170 line, featuiring a 9.8" monochrome passive-matrix display and a 68030 processor. Basically a Macintosh SE\30 with an LCD screen.

I've been looking for a 140 or 145 on eBay and found a good deal for the 145. To sweeten the deal, the owner had recently replaced the caps and the bios battery and included the System 7.1 OS disks,  manuals, and paper work for this model.

Unfortunately, a day after I got it, black lines started to appear at the lower end of the LCD screen. I contacted the seller and he offered to send me another 145 to use for parts. The next blog entry will cover how the LCD screen was replaced.

Here are the specifications for the PowerBook 145:

Requires System 7.0.1 to 7.6.1 (will not run on System 6 or earlier)
CPU: 25 MHz 68030
FPU: none
Performance: 3.8, relative to SE; 0.41, Speedometer 4
ROM: 1 MB
RAM: 2 MB RAM, expandable to 8 MB using a special 100ns pseudostatic RAM card
display: 9.8″ 1-bit 640 x 400 77 ppi passive matrix
ADB slots: 1 port for keyboard and mouse
serial ports: 2 DIN-8 RS-422 ports on back of computer
SCSI ports: HDI30 connector on back of computer
Hard drive: 40 or 80 MB
proprietary modem slot
Gestalt ID: 54
Size (HxWxD): 2.25″ x 11.25″ x 9.3″
Weight: 6.8 pounds

In November 1992, an ad has the PowerBook 145 selling for 2409 USD. That's $3,517.52 in today's dollars.