| The New Tido PC Project! | |
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Tido - Student  |
It's been long overdue... Way back when in 2001, I bought a computer: a Dell Dimension 8100. It was quite the rip-roaring machine for it's day. It's specs go something like this: 1.3Ghz Pentium 4 (Socket 423, 400mhz FSB) 256MB PC800 RDRAM (2x128) 40gb Maxor HDD (EIDE 7200RPM UDMA 100) GeForce2MX 32MB Video Card (With TV out, whoa!) Dell 250W PSU 56K V.92 Modem Creative Soundblaster Live! Value DVD/CDRW 3.5 Floppy Drive 1 80mm fan with one of those cheap scoop things. Oh yeah, it came with Windows Me...ahahaha Also got a Dell Keyboard, mouse, speakers, and 15" LCD, which was pretty hi-tech in '01. Little did I know I was making a huge mistake for games. Upgrades: 1.3Ghz to 1.5Ghz (people are starting to throw away computers like mine) An additional 256MB of PC800 RDRAM so now I am 4x128=512MB GeForce2 to GeForce FX 5200 128MB (another give away) Linksys 802.11g Wireless PCI Card It's had it's share of problems. It's been fried by lightening once, and also the PSU once caught fire, which was exciting to say the least. I think it cost me somewhere around $1,600. Right now I know what all of you are thinking: "how can you play jk3 on that thing?!" The answer is very carefully. I tweak the hell out of my CFGs so my jk3 resembles an Atari game. It's ok as long as you don't have more than 3 people in a room, then it gets bad. Whenever I play, I stay at 100% CPU without flinching. And don't ask me about Doom3 and HL2, I've never seen them and never will on this machine. It's time for a new rig. But the Dell beside me now is the last computer I will ever buy from someone. This time around I'm going to venture into a new world and build my own. While I have plenty of experience taking apart and putting back together computers, having my bros at the JA on my back would help alot. Goals for the new system: Can run anything currently out there, and run it well. Hold it's own for a couple years. Be very upgradable. Cost no more than $1000USD. ################################################# Concept 2 ################################################# Case Antec SuperLANboy :$79.00 (ordered!) This case gets good reviews and I also like how it has 2 120mm fans. I've worked on a few computers that had 120's and I've been a big fan (no pun intended, couldn't resist). Also I don't need 4 bays for optical drives so the savings on height work for me. Motherboard ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe :$154.00 (ordered!) The idea here was build for the future. I'm a bit bittersweet about my Dell in how quickly it's motherboard became the laughing stock of standards. This mobo should be spiffy all the way up to Athlon X2 processors, PCI-E (SLI if I wanted), and SATA2. The Deluxe has gotten mixed reviews but after talking to way too many people on the phone, I've confirmed that Asus has fixed all it's issues and the Deluxe is a solid mobo. Processor AMD Athlon64 3500+ Venice :$219.00 I'm unable to put down the fat cash for a FX-55 or an X2, so this seems good enough. The Venice core has cool things going for it (ok I'll quit with the puns already). It was built with a new process that makes it run better and cooler...also means it's very overclockable. I'm not sure if I want to take that route or not, but it's nice to know it's there. RAM 1GB (2x512) CorsairXMS PC3200 :$124.00 Going a little thin on the RAM here to save $, but the hope is to upgrade in the future and occasionally I get some amazing deals on RAM from work. Hard Disks WD Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM :$183.00 Damn I want to get 2 of these and RAID 0 them, but problem one is $ and problem 2 is risk. With RAID 0, if one of these puppies die, I lose the info on both drives. That might still be peachy if I only have stuff like the OS and programs on it and none of my personal files, but problem 1 still lingers. Seagate 300GB 7200RMP (freebie) :$0 I can get Hard Drives (other than raptors) at rediculously low prices, if not for free. No dirty dancing required. GFX Card XFX GeForce6800GT 256MB :$55.00 (ordered!) For $55, this is a no brainer. DJ-Sith is selling me is 6800GT since he is getting an OC version. The GT will last long enough until cards like the 7800GTX or even better ones are more affordable. Soundcard Creative Audigy2 ZS Platnium Pro :$55.00 (ordered!) Another card from DJ-Sith, this soundcard should be more than enough for me. Power Supply Aspire 520W :$54.00 Power supplies scare me. I hope this has enough power and enough quality that I don't have a repeat of the Dell incident. I'm still not sure on PSU's. Optical Drives DRV Dual Layer DVDRW 16x/CDRW (freebie): $0 Freebies rawk! Misc 3.5 Floppy Drive (freebie): $0 I've got piles of these, anyone want one? Total: $923.00 This is my second concept idea and is very close to what I'll end up with. Your suggestions are always welcome! This post was edited by Tido on Aug 25 2005 07:38pm. |
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| Comments |
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tarpman - The Tarped Avenger 
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Quote: I love Apple's, but unfortunatly one won't do. Gotta find something else that runs the evil XP. /me pokes Tido with VMware  _______________ Saving the world, one kilobyte at a time. |
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Tido - Student 
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I love Apple's, but unfortunatly one won't do. Gotta find something else that runs the evil XP. |
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Bo - Student 
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Sounds sweet man. Hey, max your fps out at 120 tho, you get optimal physics that way. Further jumps and such.  _______________ I know whats been troubling you...... |
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DJ Sith - Jedi Council 
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Laptop? Laptop?? _______________ My car is made of Nerf. |
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Tido - Student 
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I have built it. It is wonderful. It's soooo freaking fast . RAID for the win, no doubt. Having 2 SATA 3.0GB/s drives in RAID 0 is just amazing. That with all the other cool stuff combines to make a system I couldn't be happier with for the price. I can run jk3 on the fullest settings I can get and have close to 300fps. It's so weird seeing this game like this; I had no idea the Quake3 engine was capable of looking like this! I installed WinXP Pro in no more than 10 minutes with the slowest part being me typing stuff in . When I start Windows, the little loading animation doesn't even complete one pass before Windows loads. Despite having 6 fans in this thing, it's quieter than my old Dell (with 2 fans). That's probably better case design, 3 120mm fans, smarter fan control, and rubber grommets on everything . Everything is pretty cool to. The CPU hovers around 33 when idle, I haven't gotten a load temperature yet. Mobo around 38. The hardest part of the entire install was finding a 3.5 disk that wasn't completely screwed up for the RAID drivers. I probably threw away 15 old disks doing that . I have only a few issues to resolve. The biggest is if I do multible downloads in Firefox, they will be corrupt. I'm not sure if this is an issue with Firefox, RAID, SATA 3.0gb, or the NV Firewall. IE does it less but will do it once in awhile. This thing so smokes though. On the old Dell, running Rhapsody uses a consistant 33% of the processor. The new PC breezes through Rhap with a CPU usage of 0%-2%. That's probably because of the obviously faster AMD64 and also the processing power of the Audigy 2. JK3 ran at a solid 100% on the Dell, but now I am only using about 50% with everything on max. So to wrap it all up, my first self-build experiance has been a great one. I built a great PC at a great price. Total price of the entire build came out lower than I have posted here. I was more than $200 under budget! Now for a laptop, which work now requires....ugh. And as for the old Dell? Well it will spend the rest of it's days living the life of a little linux box  . This comment was edited by Tido on Sep 21 2005 03:03am. |
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Bo - Student 
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Yes yes how goes it? _______________ I know whats been troubling you...... |
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R2D2 - Staff 
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How's the computer Tido? _______________ "Do or do not, there is no try" Jedi Master Yoda Dual Saberist |
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Tido - Student
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I don't expect to have any trouble finding that, but I'll let ya know if I do. Besides, Creative's extra software is notorious for being way over the top . |
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DJ Sith - Jedi Council 
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Woohoo! Glad all the stuff made it over. I just realized I forgot to pack the sound card's driver CD. Let me know if you need an ISO of it. _______________ My car is made of Nerf. |
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Tido - Student
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Quote: Looking great soo far Tido Doesnt adding to it each time you order a new component make you really impatient? Ahahaha yes it does! I'm waiting on the last components I need to make this thing start up and I'm going nuts. I check my tracking numbers way to much and pray for fast drivers . Got the video card and sound card from DJ Sith! It is the heaviest video card I've ever owned  . I guess that's a good thing . The soundcard's I/O station is pretty cool and I know I'll have a lot of fun with that! Bah drive faster damn UPS driver! |
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tarpman - The Tarped Avenger
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Quote: You may also want to look at getting a Flux Capacitor for any critical errors so you can make a quick jump back in time and bingo problem solved. rofl... yeah. And don't forget to bug each and every place you buy from about freebies like shirts, mousepads, and pens. _______________ Saving the world, one kilobyte at a time. |
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DJ Sith - Jedi Council
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Thats why I do overnight shipping now when I order parts. I'm so impatient. _______________ My car is made of Nerf. |
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Mreoton - Student |
Looking great soo far Tido Doesnt adding to it each time you order a new component make you really impatient? |
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ozzcoz - Cosplay Nerd 
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*looks at Tido's pic* *looks to the humming blue thing to his right* SCHWEET! _______________ A wizard did it. |
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Jade Jedi - Retired 
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You may also want to look at getting a Flux Capacitor for any critical errors so you can make a quick jump back in time and bingo problem solved. _______________ *CLICKEH->Never risk the Fett Man|*Download my Saber here. Made by master craftsman Pink Floyd_Mintaka + his 2002 & 4000 comment's [Laz's 700th comment][BDKawika's 600th comment] & Owner of a TOWEL award!!|Master: Sared Padawans: Rage-Ball and Dante Eagle.|*Jade Jedi at The Jedi Academy Archives "There's only one Return and it's not of the King it's of the Jedi" Randal Clerks 2 The top 10 reasons why I procrastinate: 1. |
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Tido - Student
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picy! Also Jade I think you'll like Thermaltake's Xray Cup Holder/Cigarette Lighter This comment was edited by Tido on Sep 04 2005 01:20am. |
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Jade Jedi - Retired
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And it should have a cup holder, not one of those standard cup holders but one that can take one of those BIG cups like from 7/11, yeah. _______________ *CLICKEH->Never risk the Fett Man|*Download my Saber here. Made by master craftsman Pink Floyd_Mintaka + his 2002 & 4000 comment's [Laz's 700th comment][BDKawika's 600th comment] & Owner of a TOWEL award!!|Master: Sared Padawans: Rage-Ball and Dante Eagle.|*Jade Jedi at The Jedi Academy Archives "There's only one Return and it's not of the King it's of the Jedi" Randal Clerks 2 The top 10 reasons why I procrastinate: 1. |
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SilkMonkey - Distributor of Cold Ones 
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I have a Super Lanboy case...its so damn awesome. _______________ |-HK-47 -SilkMonkey: You are receiving a warning for being_too_sexy. If you do not stop, action will be taken against you.|| (11:13:43) � Virtue dances for Silk ||Smiling owner of Smilykrazy's 6000th comment =) ||Odan Wei's Proud Big Brother|| Janus is my official TaruTaru Cuddly Animal Type Person. ||(@Virtue) Or you could just be a man and set fire to your genitals.....you won't fall asleep for days after that.......trust me.||Thomas Skywalker er for sexy for sitt eget beste!!!!| Not changing sig until the JA loosens up. (Started: Aug 31, 2005) |
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Lackeh- Retired - Student 
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Looks like it's gonna be good Tido. _______________ A champion is someone who keeps getting up; even when they can't. Founder Of the Jedi Academy Adlut Support Group. PIE!!!!! Padawan of Katan. Brother to MOTREC, DarkDragon, (SKX)DarkBlade, Jacen Aratan, Achilles, Kool_Aide, EvilSquirrel, and Katan's Padawans. |
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Tido - Student
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So I'm about halfway there. Got the case, mobo, and RAM. Waiting on DJ Sith to send his video card and sound card, and I'm waiting on the processor, PSU, and harddrives (2). |
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Tido - Student
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I bought some RAM . |
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JK13 /// jaws. - Student 
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dont worry about low storage eitehr! if you can get a 300 gb hd for free then its prolly ok to spluge for the Raptor, i mean 4 sec boot time is hard to resist  _______________ It's a false hologram, it IS artificial... |
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tarpman - The Tarped Avenger
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With regards to the hard drive(s), I wouldn't worry too much about the possibility of one of them dying if you do decide to go with the Raptors. My 20GB Caviar has outlived 2 consecutive Seagates and no less than 3 consecutive Maxtors. _______________ Saving the world, one kilobyte at a time. |
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Tido - Student
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Posted Concept 2. Still not sure on the Raptors, PSU, or the RAM. |
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JK13 /// jaws. - Student 
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you can have multiple video cards for multiple monitors as long as you have pci-express or 1 agp card and a pci card too. BUT to have 2 cards that share the workload of 1 app, (and share the work on 1 display, like playing a game) you need 2 identicle nVidia boards that are configured for SLI. At least until ATI comes out with its competeing technology, doubbed "crossfire" _______________ It's a false hologram, it IS artificial... |
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