The "A Night At The Opera" Computer, December 2003

A Night At The Opera

A Night At The Opera Computer

The custom build starts with a motherboard & CPU. Items are carefully chosen to meet the needs of the user. Motherboard is an ECS KTec1234, version 8. Features onboard sound, USB, ATA 133. CPU is a 1.6 Gigahertz AMD Duron, picked for efficiency and power saving. Memory is 132 megabytes of DDR RAM. This is the foundation for a great Internet station, solitaire console and letter writer.
A Night At The Opera Purple Motherboard

The Antec True Power power supply can provide 350 watts - really an over-spec for this machine. This will allow the power supply to operate at below demand, giving it long life and quiet operation.
A Night At The Opera Power Supply

Case in point. The Barovelli 'Night At The Opera' computer is contained in a sexy red trimmed AOpen tower case. Metallic Red trim is not often seen in stodgy business or geeky systems.
A Night At The Opera Case

Power supply is installed with sound deadening gaskets and special order fasteners to reduce noise that can be caused by mechanical vibrations transmitted to the chassis.A Night At The Opera Soundproofing

Motherboard is carefully attached to the steel case. Purple motherboard - oooh!.
A Night At The Opera motherboard installation

Video card is the ATI Radeon 7000. This card is a proven design for the specifications for the applications used by the customer.
A Night At The Opera Video Card

The case and computer come together. The case provides front panel sockets for USB, headphones and microphone. The ECS motherboard interfaces perfectly.
A Night At The Opera Front Panel Wires

How do I get the wires right? RTFM, of course.
A Night At The Opera RTFM

Maxtor hard disk drive fits in a removable carrier for easy installation.
A Night At The Opera hard disk

DVD-ROM installs the top drive bay.
A Night At The Opera DVD install

The top drive bay is best for appearance sake. I could not find a sexy red DVD drive.
A Night At The Opera drive bay consideration

Power distribution for all the parts. Cables are neatly routed and attached to the case.
A Night At The Opera cables

Pop the other side cover off and tuck unused wires away.
A Night At The Opera hiding cables

Free labor leaves money for some extras. The CPU fan is upgraded to a Cooler Master heat pipe. This is a quieter CPU fan.
A Night At The Opera CPU Fan

The case fan is also a little bit more than standard - an LED orange & blue jobby.
A Night At The Opera case fan

Last bit of bling bling, triple laser LED pointed toward the grille gives the box the look that something is alive in there.
A Night At The Opera laser LED

The laser LED in action
A Night At The Opera is alive

Diagnostic and burn in. Test for stability. Install operating system and applications
A Night At The Opera OS Install

Once the computer is certified, it gets the label - a mark of quality.
A Night At The Opera badge

CPU: AMD Duron 1.6 Gigahertz CPU.
RAM: 128 Megabytes.
Hard Disk: Maxtor Diamond Max 40 Gigabytes.
System Board: ECS KTec1234.
USB Ports: 6.
Sound: Onboard VIA AC'97.
Optical Drive: LiteOn DVD ROM.
Case: AOpen Steel Mid Tower.
Power Supply: Antec True Power 350.
Cooling Fans: Cooler Master Heat Pipe, 2 Antec fans in power supply, blue & orange case fan.
Bling Bling: LaserLed case light, lit case fan.

Footnote 2009. This machine is still in use and has been very reliable. I've upgraded it once in 2008. Mom brags about it. nuff said. Sorry for the bad photos.