Everex gPC2 for $119 with Free Shipping

[AgentTech]

Thanks for the reply looking forward to the Orgasmatron Numero Dos!

[sanitycheck]

The Orgasmatron ISO also works with the gOS development kit boards (VIA PC2500E) if you use a single SATA drive (the original Everex gOS systems used a PATA drive).

The Orgasmatron installation instructions suggest not adding memory upgrades before the installation, although mine did work OK with extra memory. The installation will fail if you disable any of the unused/unnecessary features in the BIOS before the install (e.g. 3.5 diskette, parallel port).

These VIA boards were sold by clubit.com which went out of business earlier this year. These boards, part of the VIA PC-1 series, do not appear to be available anywhere else in the US. VIA replied to an email about the boards, saying that they had no plans to market them here, as they were designed for "emerging countries and Asia Pacific regions."

Too bad, because availability of these boards meant you could stock a motherboard + CPU + fan spare for your PBX system for only $60, or build an Everex clone out of (better) parts (I used an 80Plus power supply, for example). I would assume that these boards by themselves are not available from Everex directly.

I hope to see an Orgasmatron release configured for a second low-cost computer or motherboard + CPU combination, just in case the Everex gOS systems go away. The Everex systems recently disappearing from Newegg's site is not a good sign.

[wardmundy]

Is this the right board???

http://www.techawave.com/techawave/i...ucts_id=585927

http://www.epartsandmore.com/Shop/Co...d/0/rid/126190

http://www.tamayatech.com/parts.php?i=PC2500ECOMBO

[sanitycheck]

Yes! Thanks for the links. Time to order some spares! For whatever reason, the search I did last week only turned up foreign vendors, or at least what I thought were foreign vendors.

I guess I can understand why VIA doesn't bother to market these low-cost, low-margin boards in the US. I'm just glad someone is bringing them in, though they must not be buying them directly from VIA.

Again, PC2500E + single SATA drive = Everex gOS2 (more or less) = Orgasmatron compatible. I also use those boards in other light-duty server applications.

[drmurdoch]

Another Walmart/Orgasmatron tip:

So long as you turn off the audio, COM, and other interrupts as necessary, the WalMart Special (unlike many Dells) functions quite well in an interrupt-intensive environment. Stated another way, the BIOS certainly supports disabling whatever interrupts are necessary to get most cards working reliably.

[speekeasy8]

The Everex systems recently disappearing from Newegg's site is not a good sign.

I've been wondering about that myself... and then I came across this today...

http://www.everex.com/products/products.htm

If you look closely, you'll notice that "gPC3" has been added to their list of Energy Efficient Desktops. There is no link for it yet, but I'd say that's a very good sign that Everex will be releasing something sooner than later.

[wardmundy]

NewEgg apparently has the new Everex gPC3 for $199. Any takers to see if the Orgasmatron II still flies??

[RayGannon]

NewEgg apparently has the new Everex gPC3 for $199. Any takers to see if the Orgasmatron II still flies??

It's an AMD Semperon with NVIDIA video and Broadcom ethernet. I'm guessing that means there's no chance the the munin restore of the Orgasmatron package would work ?

[wardmundy]

Hard disk and controller variations seem to affect Mondo restores more than other factors which typically are resolved by Linux on boot up. We'll just have to see.

[wardmundy]

NewEgg has some Everex gPC2's for $139. If you want a cheap way to get started with Asterisk, this is the ticket. We use two at home and have never had a problem. Just don't mix and match different types of RAM.