Input Devices

Logitech Keyboard and Mouse

Ever since Logitech showed PC users that mice need more than 2 buttons, we have been big fans of their products. I have Logitech mice with a polished tracking surface from long-term use, but that continue to track true with buttons that still have a tactile click. Innovations in mice, with optical mice with two sensors, to the newest MX series are signs of Logitech’s dedication to the details. Investing in a good, comfortable keyboard and mouse is well worth it given your continuous interaction with these devices.

Our preferred pointing device is the Logitech MX 700. It tracks as well as the best corded mice. When talking about mice tracking, there are two factors. One factor is how smooth and precise the motion, this is useful for fine photo editing purposes. The other factor is how it performs with fast movements, does it jump around when you flick your wrist? This latter point determines how game-worthy a mouse is. The addition of a rechargeable base also provides added value to the system. Logitech mice are never the cheapest, but over the many years that I have been using computers, I have never had to replace a Logitech mouse for equipment failure, only for technological advances. Once you find a mouse that you like it is hard to switch since a bad mouse can really interfere with your productivity and add to your frustration.

Logitech's MX700, and of course, FS fUnc pad

A keyboard is not just a keyboard. Logitech keyboards have a less mushy feel than many other brands, but are not as stiff as the old school IBM M keyboards. The wireless keyboard that comes with the MX wireless duo combo has some interesting features beyond your now standard shortcut buttons and volume control. Our favorite feature is the addition of a scroll wheel on the left side of the keyboard. For you right handers, this allows you to scroll effortless through a web page while writing notes with your right hand. We actually prefer the ergonomic Logitech keyboard that is now currently only available with the standard wireless optical mouse and not the MX. A perfect keyboard would be an updated ergonomic keyboard with the new features present on the elite keyboard. We ended up buying an old Logitech Cordless Desktop Pro just for the keyboard.

Logitech Cordless Desktop Pro

Cost: $100/$60

UPS

Servers should have uninterruptible power supplies or battery backups. A backup really shouldn’t be used to keep your computer going so that you can do more work, but should be designed to give you enough juice to shut down the system. There is more to a UPS than just capacity, however, and that is the issue of their output waveforms. Some of the low cost backups provide a square wave power output, which can confuse some active PFC or auto-voltage sensing power supplies. Improvements to the square wave output include a stepped sine wave and a true sine wave output.

In keeping with a reasonable budget, we chose a stepped sine wave 1500va battery backup by APC. APC has been making UPS devices for a long time, ensuring future replacement battery availability.

The APC BX1500 UPS

Cost $200

Gigabit switch

We went with the 8-port gigabit switch from Netgear, the GS108. This switch retailed for nearly $800 when it was first released a full year ago. Today it can easily be found for under $200. Compared to other switches, this model does not require a cooling fan for silent operation, and every port can be used as an uplink to another hub, switch, or router.

Netgear is also a rapidly expanding company with a recent successful IPO, so hopefully they will be able to continue to provide tech support for this product in the long run.

Cost: $200

ATA-133 controllers

We added a PCI Promise ATA-133 controller so we can run our four Maxlines as all master drives. This will improve simultaneous access performance and allows for an easy upgrade to eight storage drives.

Cost: $30

Floppy Drive

Some may cringe at the thought of a floppy drive, but it is still a good method for flashing the bios, although we are seeing more bootable USB key options. Nevertheless, with the Evercase we couldn’t use that top bay for anything else, so we got a Samsung 1.44MB floppy drive to fill in the hole.

Cost: $10

Misc

We used rounded cables for all our devices to facilitate airflow through the system. Our fans were just your standard ball-bearing models. We added a fan in front of the power supply to help exhaust the hot air from the top of the case and made a fan bracket to cool our system drive. More expensive fans are often less powerful because they emphasize quiet operation over power. Cat 5e cables were used to carry our gigabit network.