LGR - Cooler Master Musketeer 2 VU Meters
Added 2020-08-30 21:16:00 +0000 UTChttps://youtu.be/zN9xAAAT3U8
Heh, yeah it's another one of those mid-2000s 5.25" drive bay devices with dancing VU meters and LED lighting. I can't help it, I'm drawn to these things like a moth to a flame.
This one is the Musketeer 2 from Cooler Master, something I learned about after getting the Thermaltake CircleFire that I covered a while back. Since that one sucked so bad I really hoped the M2 would fare better. After all, it certainly looks nicer in terms of construction and design -- unless you're into plasticky Guy Fieri aesthetics of course.
Does it meet my low expectations? Watch and find out! :)
As for the next couple videos, there are a few projects in the early stages of being worked on. I'll be taking part in #SepTandy this year, along with a whole bunch of other retro computing YouTubers, so that's a thing to look forward to. I've got a fantastic computer system from Japan that I've been wanting to review for, I dunno, ten years or something. And there's a new Sims 4 pack of, um... Star Wars Disney theme park stuff...? Yeah I dunno but I guess I'll cover it or whatever.
Have a good week!
Comments
Sounds like a fun gig. Computer hardware is so boring now.
Chris Rogers
2020-09-09 02:56:43 +0000 UTCI've gotten a dozen emails with that same link, no worries :p
LGR
2020-09-05 16:08:36 +0000 UTCI found a website with the Musketeer III for sale. I'm not sure how Patreon would react to me posting a eCommerce link in the comments so if you'd like the link just PM me. Looks like its about $35 bucks but not sure about shipping costs. Seems to be new old stock.
2020-09-04 21:00:28 +0000 UTCDefinitely did back then, you can see a number of them at 03:32 in the video!
LGR
2020-09-04 00:17:08 +0000 UTCWhen I saw these many years ago, I thought you had some more advanced versions that could measure temperature, fan speed, cpu voltage and stuff? After a quick google search I found modern versions, but I thought we had that around 2004 also.
Uncleawesome
2020-09-02 06:38:28 +0000 UTCI started working at a computer store in 1990, everything you have shown on the channel I personally have held in my hand and/or installed in some way to many customer computers, and my own.
2020-09-01 07:30:53 +0000 UTCI also appreciate Midtown Madness 2!
TBthegr81
2020-08-31 22:09:41 +0000 UTCHeck yeah, things like this would've gone a long way towards making your rig stand out. Cheap and useless, but pleasant. Kinda like Christmas lights, heh.
LGR
2020-08-31 17:54:36 +0000 UTCThank you! These things are always a fun little diversion in between larger projects :)
LGR
2020-08-31 17:53:46 +0000 UTCI wonder why seemingly none of the manufacturers of these things went to the effort of doing so. Can't imagine it would add *that* much towards total cost.
LGR
2020-08-31 17:53:22 +0000 UTCIndeed! I can't get enough of them, I've already got another half dozen I wanna show at some point, haha
LGR
2020-08-31 17:52:38 +0000 UTCThat would be most disconcerting.
LGR
2020-08-31 17:52:18 +0000 UTCGlad you enjoy the Blerbs! Not everyone deos. So they'll remain on a separate channel, there's no need to clutter up the main one and I'm doing quite well with the number of videos I upload as-is. There are legit reasons so many YouTubers end up with second channels for low-effort content, especially when it comes to tech stuff :)
LGR
2020-08-31 17:51:35 +0000 UTCIt really is a comforting little thingie. Doesn't do much of anything and it kinda sucks, but dang it, Cooler Master sure tried. Sort of.
LGR
2020-08-31 17:49:47 +0000 UTCThat it is! Nothing more, nothing less, just silly fun :)
LGR
2020-08-31 17:49:28 +0000 UTCExcellent!
LGR
2020-08-31 17:49:17 +0000 UTCI do wonder what it would do connected to a modern machine running something like that from SSDs.
LGR
2020-08-31 17:49:07 +0000 UTCNah, it's not quite substantial enough of a piece of hardware to make it an Oddware video. It's more just... a weird old case mod, like the Thermaltake CircleFire, which also wasn't released under the Oddware banner. Now, the Musketeer 3 with its vacuum tube amplifier? That would qualify, since it's actually doing something beyond aesthetics :)
LGR
2020-08-31 17:48:25 +0000 UTCDoes this qualify as “oddware”?
TroyTakesPhotos
2020-08-31 17:23:10 +0000 UTC"En garde!" I am surprised that the case is not in plastic; it looks not bad at all. They could have a put a clock or thermometer in the middle. The harddisk will probably hypnotize you when you run defrag, and the Flight Sim2020 would kill it ;-)
Laurent
2020-08-31 15:06:55 +0000 UTCI enjoy unusual 5.25" bay items, and I love VU meters, so this video was right up my alley :-)
Dan Fiscus
2020-08-31 14:38:32 +0000 UTC2.5 minutes in: okay welp yeah you covered everything hahaha
Peter Metzger
2020-08-31 12:50:24 +0000 UTCI'm about to watch so maybe you mentioned this, but I remembered the Musketeer being blue on the front and did some research - apparently I was thinking of the fan controller model. ANYWAY it turns out there was a Musketeer 3 as well, which for some reason had a vacuum tube displayed in the front. I mean, sure, I get how tubes affect sound, but I don't think anything jammed into a $50 drive bay accessory is going to actually IMPROVE it 😂
Peter Metzger
2020-08-31 12:47:28 +0000 UTCWhat a fun little thing!
Richard Kearney
2020-08-31 03:54:40 +0000 UTCLooking at the internal workings of that drive, I don't see enough discrete components to properly do fast switching for those VU meters, which probably lends to them being pretty sloppy and out of sync. There are single-component solutions for it but nothing in there looked like that either. In any case, I love these kitschy little doodads from the early 2000's. I love how nobody knew what to do with personalization and it bled over into all these awfully gimmicky things. Warms my heart.
avfusion
2020-08-31 02:29:42 +0000 UTCBy the way Clint just saw your Wasteland 3 CE Blerb - - for what it’s worth, I think you should integrate the Blerbs into the main channel. The content is compelling if casual and I bet you’d get more views. Also increases the frequency of updates for the main channel, which I think the YouTube recommendation algorithm cares about. Your off the cuff stuff is better than most channels’ prepared episodes. Just my two highly uninformed cents.
Joon Choi
2020-08-31 01:18:18 +0000 UTCAfter watching all of Techmoan’s videos about VU meters on his old HIFI components, I can’t help but look askance at “VU meters” like this that are entirely aesthetic. 😂 Tell me something useful Cooler Master!!
Joon Choi
2020-08-31 00:42:22 +0000 UTCGreat video, wonder if a compactor on the HD header would make the dial smoother moving.
Annabella Williams
2020-08-31 00:29:55 +0000 UTCNice!! It's always fun to look back at the crazy add-ons that were available. Anything to make your PC stand out from the crowd. Love it!
2020-08-30 23:30:31 +0000 UTCYEEEAAAAAYY! another plasticy-finkiky-absurd-weird thing to enhance your desktop computing experience! Love it dude! Keep it up!!
Jim Solblad
2020-08-30 22:24:13 +0000 UTCThe VU meter for HD activity is a cool idea, it would just need some filtering to average the flashing over a short period and it would look great and actually give a decent percentage - the same is needed for the audio VU meters, like real ones...
Kilrah
2020-08-30 22:16:41 +0000 UTCI've also heard of certain aircraft models where the fuel pressure gauge dances like the HD meter here, people pretty much fly like 👀
Hernando Heilbron
2020-08-30 22:00:30 +0000 UTCI just love your overwhelming enthusiasm over that new Star Wars Sims 4 stuff! You're not the only one who loves those 5.25" light shows... things... They do look neat even if they're pure crap...
Frederic St-Georges
2020-08-30 21:45:00 +0000 UTCThis unit is cool and all, but can it take you to flavor town?
Hernando Heilbron
2020-08-30 21:44:03 +0000 UTC
