Awesome Mac setup with analog system activity meters. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 08:13:07 am
content: Hello!Recently I came across this computer setup and I thought that it was fantastic! It features custom led lighting and analog system activity meters.Perhaps I am going to try to make something like this once I get into aurduino and micro controllers in general.Here is the link to the article:http://osxdaily.com/2012/06/23/dual-screen-mac-pro-analog-system-activity-meters/Enjoy!

author: PedroDiogo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 02:33:27 pm
content: First thing someone is going to say on this forum is that you could do it with a PC too and Macs are overpriced.I like it a lot, very clean and neat and great usage of a small space.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 03:01:54 pm
content: You know who has the most cramped but most awesome setup everywhere?NiHaoMikeHe cramped what is basically a full power desktop, atom system and a arm tablet-ish hardware into his ATX case

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 03:43:27 pm
content: Quote from: PedroDiogo on July 01, 2012, 02:33:27 pmyes it can be done on normal PC... 16 channel ADC, another 16 channel digital IO, for a complete programmable logic/analog control/DAQ. but i dont see much point in doing that

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 08:14:44 pm
content: Quote from: PedroDiogo on July 01, 2012, 02:33:27 pmAlso, I like the combination of the dark wood and the shiny aluminum.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 10:03:23 pm
content: what's the point of those old meters.The table, yes , the monitor case .. not so much . the 3 halogen spots will reflect in the monitors when they are on..Hiding all the other crap in the case aboe. nice too.But the 'old style meters ''' yuck... if you want ot go full steampunk i wuld have installed a n old fashioned frankenstein dual pole style knife switch to power up the mac...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Electrical_Machinery_1917_-_knife_switch.jpg

author: Fallingwater
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 12:57:32 am
content: QuoteI don't particularly see the point of doing it with any sort of system - I don't see why it would be any less useless on a PC than on a Mac.I mean, I suppose it's nifty if you have the "why? Because I can!" mentality, but anyone rational could point out a good few ways of achieving the same thing with far less expense and effort.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 03:12:02 am
content: Quote from: DaveXRQ on July 01, 2012, 03:01:54 pmThere's also a "triangle" power system in there as well. Think of the AC input, 12V battery connection, and regulated 12V output as the vertices of a triangle, with a DC/DC converter, front end converter, and battery charger as the sides. (Only the battery itself is outside the case.) All that is controlled and monitored by a PIC, so that the Atom subsystem can read how much power the system is using and perform advanced battery management. The PIC even has control over the large fan on the side, so that if it senses a sudden increase in power usage, it can rev up the fan before the components have time to heat up, allowing more Turbo Boost. (In practice, it can hold a full 3.8GHz Turbo on all 6 cores indefinitely even in a hot 85F room as long as the fan is at full throttle.)And as packed as it looks, there's plenty of room for a second video card, at least two SSDs, and another HDD.