Early Christmas

[SpeedBump]

Well, my Christmas gifts came early this year. I been wanting to build a new Gaming PC, and the wife gave me the ok to buy my parts. She said "Merry Christmas" as I started ordering them. They came in Friday and I stayed up till past 5am puttin it all together and loading it up with software. This thing SCREAMS!

List of components:

Black Thermaltake Soprano Full Tower,
OCZ Modstream 520 Power Supply
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor
eVGA 133-K8-NF41 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
eVGA 256-P2-N518 Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 x16 Video Card
Dell 1905FP Ultra Sharp 19" LCD Monitor
1Gig Crucial PC3200 DDR400
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 6Y200P0 200GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA133 Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 20Gig 7200 RPM Hard Drive
Black NEC ND-3550A Dual Layer DVD Burner
Plextor PlexWriter 482448* External CDRW Burner
Logitech Z-530 5.1 Speaker System
Black Logitech Keyboard
Microsoft night Vision Wireless Mouse
Canon Pixma 4200 Printer
Canon Fb620* Flatbed Scanner

Here are a couple pics of it up and running. Anyone else getting new HardWare or a new Rig from Santa? If so, post it up and tell us about it. Heck, even if you aren't gettig new stuff, just post up what ya running now.

http://users.adelphia.net/~cinnamonlou/pics/newpcparts.jpg
http://users.adelphia.net/~cinnamonlou/pics/newpc.jpg
http://users.adelphia.net/~cinnamonlou/pics/newpc2.jpg
http://users.adelphia.net/~cinnamonlou/pics/newpc3.jpg

[phreakboy]

Very sexy, definetly on my list of things to build, just gotta spend some cash on some other stuff first, If you dont mind me asking what did you spend on the main computer, motherboard,cpu, ram,case?

[peeweesp]

I c you play call of duty. what other games do you play. im into most of the halflife 2 mods, Dod Source, Cs source, battlefield 2 a bit.

[SpeedBump]

Very sexy, definetly on my list of things to build, just gotta spend some cash on some other stuff first, If you dont mind me asking what did you spend on the main computer, motherboard,cpu, ram,case?

Case....$98.00 but kinda misleading. The case came with a 430W PSU, but I took it out and put in a higher end OCZ that cost $120.00. I think the bare case runs around $75.00

CPU....$400.00

MoBo.....FREE!!! Really, it was. It was a promotional deal from EVGA. Buy their GeForce 7800GT Video Card and they give you the MoBo free. The GT was $379.00 You can still get this deal at NewEgg, Tiger Direct & ZipZoomFly. If you were to atually buy the MoBo, the cheapest I have seen it was $129.00

RAM.....Cheap now only $85 for a pair of 512s. When I bought mine a while back, I paid about that for ONE stick.

I got everything from NewEgg this time, but I have also bought lots from Monarch Computers. Both great Online Retailers.

[CorbinKale]

Nice rig, SpeedBump! You are no novice, judging from the clean cable management. I build custom PC's, and my favorite suppliers are Newegg and Monarch, too. Great deals and super fast delivery.

My gaming rig is a little dated, but since the slowest link in online gaming is the online part, it will last quite a bit longer:

A7N8X-E mobo
AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (Barton) CPU
2 x 1 gig DDR sticks OCZ RAM
2 x 74 gig Raptors in RAID 0
Radeon X800 Platinum
Audigy 2 ZS with breakout box
Klipsch 5.1 with dual sub
Thermaltake 'Xaser' case
Thermaltake PurePower 680
Thermaltake Hardcano 13 (fan controller/memory card reader)
Philips 190S 19" LCD
Saitek Eclipse keyboard
Sony DVD ROM (to save wear on my burner)
Sony DVD RW

Currently playing World of Warcraft. Horde on Archimonde and Alliance on Feathermoon. I love being a geek. :lol:

[350Xhilaration]

No Computer Christmas stuff here. Staring at a computer 10 hours a day is enough to take the hobby right out of it. I just got done working on a server at work over VPN for the last 3 hours.

At work, they decided I needed a new workstation since my P4 3.06, 1GB RAM, dual DVDRWs, Dualhead vid with 19" CRTs system was getting a bit slow!!! LOL!! So, the old rig from work is coming home!!!

The one I use now is really starting to get long in the tooth and needs life cycled as do the others.
P4 1.8GHz,
1 GB RAM
60GB HDD
30GB HD
Ti4400
Philips DL/DF DVDRW
21" Philips CRT

The other 4 are:
PIII 933
512MB-1GB RAM
2-40GB drives in each
CDRW or DVD ROM
4 port KVM with a Viewsonic P815 21"

I'll find a KVM to hook it to or maybe make it my main pc. I might take my old one and get clusterKnoppix going with the other 4 PCs. Too many computers and too little uses for them. Right now most of them are FC4 boxes with Samba shares for ripped DVDs and music so my kids can hit the movies without destroying the actual DVDs and I can access my music over the wireless on my laptop(s).

What I lack in quality, I surely make up for in quantity.:crazy:

Speedbump has definitely come a long way. Nice machine!! (and fewer calls to me with self inflicted wounds :naughty: )

[SpeedBump]

Corbin, your rig looks to be "stout" for sure. I got a question, do the Raptors really make that much of a difference? (10000RPM?) I just cant see spending the cash on them for the increase in performance. I figure it CAN'T be that much. Anyway, I got some more upgrading to do in the near future....need a sound card for sure. I have a Hercules Game Theater XP sitting here in the box, but it has an external control box that takes up valuable desktop space (not to mention the PITA drivers....gotta UNPLUG from the LAN/Internet Connection ** you install them :crazy: ) I am leaning towards the Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Music card. Another upgrade will be my memory. I want registered DIMMS...more than likely 2Gig. Oh ya., I NEED A NEW MOUSE!!!! I just bought my son a new Logitech MX518. Awesome Mouse. This MS is great for everything BUT gaming. The darn wheel is the "improved" one. It has NO distinct "click" as you scroll it up and down. Kinda makes it near impossible to switch weapons in FPS...(Boom! HeadShot!!!) Rolls right on past the intended weapon/item. I want to go with the Logitech G5 Laser. One step up from his MX518. Has a little better DPI than the Optical. The only other thing I want to change...This case came with 2 nice big 120mm case fans, but they are ORANGE!!! YUK! They GOTTA get switched. While I am at it....the 80mm window exhaust fan will get swapped out too. Plannin on a pair of RED LEDs and a single BLUE LED for the window. That will look great with my PSU's BLUE LED Fan.


While I am chattin bout Gaming Rigs...here is a rundown of the other one here. My son's PC.

Black Rosewill MidTower with a Thermaltake 430PSU
Asus K8V-SE Deluxe MoBo
Athlon 64 3400+
MSI GeForce 6600GT
1 DIMM, 512Mb PC3200 DDR400 RAM (Stole the other 2 sticks (1 gig) for my new PC! :naughty: )
200Gig Maxtor Diamondmax 7200RPM
Nec Dual layer DVD Burner
21" Logisys CRT Monitor
Logitech MX518
WireLess Internet Keyboard

My daughter's outdated but still functioning PC

Dell Inspiron Case
Abit MoBo
Pentium III 933
Geforce 3 Ti200
1gig PC133 RAM
40gig WesternDigital HD
Soundblaster Live
Mitsumi CD Burner
Sanyo or Sony DVD Rom
19"CRT


I also got enough spare parts to build another similar to this one, but really have no need for another slow PC. This spring....build it, sell it cheap at the YardSale.

BTW, I played WOW for a bit, not really into it. Got a friend who is 100% addicted to it. I STILL play Diablo II LOD. Lots of COD, Lots of CS and still enjoy AOE. BF2 is ok, but too slow paced. Far Cry scared me too much so I quit playin it! LOL!!

Do you ever run any of the benchmarks? Aquamarks 3, 3D Marks2003, 2005?
80,000+ on Aquamarks, 16,600 on 03, 7900 on 05. Wicked 4 Sure.

PS, I know the benchmarks are not REALLY that important, but it will give a good idea of performance compared to other Gaming Companies PCs....Alienware, ABS PC, MicroPC, Dell XPS, VooDoo, Vicious PCs, Falcon Norhtwest...so on.


Get some pics of your PCs up.

[traxxasx]

lol that thing looks pretty bad@ss. i to am going to upgrade me pc with some stuff but wish i could get a new one, but not enough money. Im going to get a more power full power supply, then a Radeon 9200 video card, then a 1gig stick of ddr ram. thats about it, just to make my counter strike source, game not soo laggy.

MY comp. as it stands.

DEll. xp
2.40 GHz 384 MB of ram
video card integrated crap!!!!.

[Billy Golightly]

What version of AOE? I'm a decent player at The Conquerors expansion pack :D I love FPS's, but their pretty much impossible to play on dialup. My puter is about 2 years old now but still holds its own pretty well:

AMD Athlon FX51 Socket 940 2.2Ghz 1mb cache CPU (Operton platform)
Asus SK8V motherboard
4x512mb of Registered dual channel Corsair PC3200 ram
Asus Radeon 9800XT (AGP Motherboard :()
Hard disk space is close to 700GB.
2x120GB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm IDE drives
2x36GB Raptors 10krpm SATA drives in RAID0
1x320GB 7200rpm SATA drive for storage. I can't remember the make, I think its a Western Digital.


It'd be neat to find a common game a bunch of members have and get together and play it one night.

[traxxasx]

hey if anybody wants to get down on some counter strike source, im down. but i kinda got banned for 4in1 hacking :) lolololo. so i can only play non secure servers. and i usally play xtf clan scoutzNknives. pm if * wanna play that server some time.

[SpeedBump]

What version of AOE? I'm a decent player at The Conquerors expansion pack :D

It'd be neat to find a common game a bunch of members have and get together and play it one night.


Conquerors is great. That is what I play, well used to play lots...been a while. Sucks trying to get a game up. Sooo many arsebags out there. Takes more time getting INTO a game, than actually playing it. Most times I end up frustrated and go play me vs 3 CPU oponents.

We can get together for a game sometime. Anybody else up for some AOE II?

[SpeedBump]

hey if anybody wants to get down on some counter strike source, im down. but i kinda got banned for 4in1 hacking :) lolololo. so i can only play non secure servers. and i usally play xtf clan scoutzNknives. pm if * wanna play that server some time.
Aimbot? That sucks. Not to be rude, but hacking is total BS. Anyway, I can get into some CS...BOOM! HEADSHOT!!!....Source. Maybe this friday night I can get some time to play either game...you guys let me know.

[Billy Golightly]

That'd be really cool. Do you use the zone? Whats your nick on there and I'll add it to my list. Mine is GC_HondaATC

[SpeedBump]

Speedy_Tecate4 is mine, I got you in now. If we play, you gotta promise to take it EZ on me for a while...like I said, been a while. :-)

[Tri-ZNate]

Here is the one I built like 3 years ago for my grandpa which he still uses

Enermax Case
640 mb ram
20gig HD
I think a Radeon 512mb video card
4 fans including my power supply
thats all the important stuff.

The one I'm running is a HP of some sort
736 mb ram
2.80 GHz
160gig HD
CDRW/DVD+- writer
regualar CD drive
Memory card reader
Liquid Video Flat screen LCD


How many of you play Starcraft and the Diablo II Expansion?

[CorbinKale]

I got a question, do the Raptors really make that much of a difference? (10000RPM?) I just cant see spending the cash on them for the increase in performance. I figure it CAN'T be that much.

Concerning the Raptors, yeah they are worth it. The HDDs are presently about the slowest thing in the PC. Going from a 7200 rpm single HDD to 10k rpm Raptors striped? Hell yeah there is a big difference! I'd say about a 20% boost in speed. My HL2 load screens stay up about 3 seconds, lol. I wrestled with it for several months before I took the plunge. I was skeptical about any performance boost, too, but I am VERY happy with them. Kinda like going from dialup to high speed, you NEVER want to go back to the slow setup. The Raptors come with a 5 year guarantee, too. Had 'em for about 18 months with no problems. Defrag is an experience, though. It goes so fast, but it sounds like the HDDs are tearing themselves out of the case! Everyone I talk to says this is normal and that is the only time they make that noise, but it is a little unsettling the first time you hear it. :lol:

I don't run benchmark software. I judge my happiness in equipment by my perception of how it performs, not with a dipstick, lol.

[SpeedBump]

Thanks for the info...guess I gotta start savin $$$ AGAIN! Speed Costs money, how fast ya wanna go? Right?

Oh, ya. Since last post, I installed a small diag prog and then realized...DUH!! I installed my DIMMs in single channel arrangement!!! What a dope! Well, I got them reconfigured to run in Dual Channel and wow, big jump in perf. Bangs out nearly 90k now in Aquamarks, and just shy of 9k in 3D05.
I also messed around with my CPU overclockin it some. I gotta spend some more time reading up on this particular board. The multipliers for the FSB and the RAM Bus run together. I need to figure out how to "lock" the Mem Bus to be able to raise the FSB without clockin the RAM too. I have been able to OC it from the stock 2.2 up to a stable 2.4, and a max of 2.5. The 2.5 is a bit too high, random locks and reboots. I don't plan on running it at the higher clocks, just messin with it for fun to see what I can get outta it. Do you do any overclocking? Modified cooliing? Later.
BOOM!! HeadShot!

[CorbinKale]

Yeah, it is important to put your DDRs into the blue slots! I have made that same mistake, so I can't really laugh too hard. Below is a site I have read for years. Good reviews, industry insight, ideas for projects and tables for overclocking. Enjoy!

http://www.overclockers.com/

I don't do any overclocking, myself. I have been toying with the idea of putting a watercooling rig into my main PC, but I have held off. Having just moved home to Texas, I might decide to go ahead with those plans next summer, heheheh. My priority is to get my 350X rolling, again. The only modified cooling I have done is buy a portable AC unit that I point directly into my case on hot days, lol.

[Tri-ZNate]

overclocking is so easy and if you go too far it wont even start, so you just take the battery out, put it back in and go a setting lower. Gotta love it.

[CorbinKale]

Yeah, OCing the CPU is easy, but then you want to OC your memory, then you have heat issues to solve so you can take it one more step, on and on... I would get into it, but it is an endless cycle of incremental steps and physics bottlenecks that my personality would get trapped in. I decided years ago that I would just be happy with the factory settings and save my sanity, lol. If I needed a small OC to be able to play a certain game, I might do that until I made a hardware upgrade, but I am not going to do it as a hobby.

[SpeedBump]

I got my PC OC'd. CPU is running @ 2.4.....stock is 2.2. VideoCard 500/1200, stock is 470/1100 and the Memory is currently @ 436 up from the Stock 400 (DDR 200) It makes a big difference with stuff OC'd. I don't get into it like some of those guys. They make LIQUID COOLING UNITS, UBER fans and even a fanless all aluminum PC Case. (around $1500 for JUST THE CASE!) The case is actually a HUGE HEATSINK. Very cool.

[SpeedBump]

Quick add ......
The Orange Fans in my new case looked like poo, so I ordered up some new ones. Got a pair of 120mm Blue LEDs, and a 80mm Red. Here are a couple pics of it. It is actually AS bright as it looks. Way happy with these.