Bricks and Bots » Robots

How I Built My Computer for $975

brix — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:06:57 +0000

If you are looking for a fast and cheap computer, look no further than here. This one is good for mid range gaming, graphics, internet, or a future proof family computer.

Here are the components and prices from www.newegg.com

Intel E7400 Core 2 Duo processor- $119

Asus P5QL Pro motherboard- $84

Visiontek HD 3650 video card- $60

Western Digital Caviar SE 160 GB Hard Drive- $40

Cooler master 500 watt power supply- $30

Gigabyte SECC Black Case- $30

Kingston HyperX 2GB 1066 mhz RAM- $18

Samsung CD/DVD drive/burner- $22

Logitech G4 gaming speakers- $70

Razer Copperhead 2000 DPi gaming mouse-$54

Logitech g15 Keyboard- $80

Samsung 2232 22″ monitor- $209

Your choice of Microsoft Windows XP Home, or Windows Vista Home Premium- $89 or $99 respectively

If wanted-Linksys Wireless-N adaptor- $69

Total cost-$975 With Monitor, $750 without

To Build- follow ALL instructions that came with the motherboard, processor, and all other components.

1. Wait for all parts to arrive.

2. Take out Case.

3. Install Power Supply

4. Move all wires aside and install motherboard spacers and backplate.

5. Place motherboard on a non-conductive surface and install processor and heatsink/fan.

6.Install Motherboard in Case.

7. Install hard drives, optical drives, power buttons, and secure in bays.

8. Push 24 pin power connector into place on motherboard, and do the same with 4-pin connector(should be near CPU).

9. Plug in other power cables and SATA/ IDE cables.

10. Now for a test- plug in computer and push power button. The lights and fans should turn on. if not you have a problem. check power cables and other connections and try again. If all is well, you should hear a beep.

11. Install video, network, and sound cards, connect monitor, plug in mouse and keyboards, and proceed from there, following motherboard and operating system manuals.

12. If you did everything right, you should have a working computer soon. if you have trouble, feel free to leave a comment and I will try to help. You can find these items on newegg, or go to the amazon links here.

Living in Meatspace

brix — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:00:47 +0000

Final episode

Defective

brix — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:36:19 +0000

Check this out- Two defective robots arguing about a hand!

Robot Printables

brix — Sat, 31 May 2008 01:00:36 +0000

If you are looking for some fun robot printables, head over to Printables4Kids and check out the Robot Maze.

More robot related printables:

Transformers Maze

Lego Coloring Sheets

R is for Robot Coloring and Handwriting Page

For 9-12 year olds, check out Design Squad’s challenges

Visit HobbyTron.com for a large selection of robot kits and projects.

The NXT Generation of LEGO Robotics: LEGO® MINDSTORMS®! Order Today!

Bot arena 3

brix — Mon, 26 May 2008 16:00:14 +0000

Here’s a game where you build and battle robots. Have fun!

Bot Arena 3

Rockin’ Robots

brix — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 02:56:58 +0000

Robots are all the rage this holiday season. Here are some of our favorite robot videos!

Playlibrary had a great PCWorld clip of the Robotis Bioloid Robot Kit.
PCWorld’s blog featured a great highlight clip of many of the Robots in action.
Wowwee’s Panda does not even have a remote - you interact with it through touch.
Engadget has a good clip of three new robots from Wowwee – the Roboquad, Robosapien media, and a singing Elvis
And there is also a video of Asimo running. Cool stuff!

Lego Mindstorms 2.0 Moving Rocks

brix — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 19:32:53 +0000

Video from our Lego Robotics class where we used the LEGO Mindstorms NXT. The goal of this task was build a robot that could move as many rocks as possible from one side of the course to the other. Students had to change wheel sizes and design plow blades to determine the most efficient design.