My main PC, which is an AMD 2500 XP is being demoted to a linux system running ipcop as a firewall PC.
My current photography PC (http://www.poasters.com/index.php?topic=11374.0) has became my new main PC minus the 80 GB Seagate harddrive.
The new photography PC is going to likely be an intel conroe system. Since I am going out of town the first week of October, I won't order parts until I get back. This means it won't go together until mid October the earliest. When I order, I will poast what I ordered and then I will poast pictures of the build and PC when completed.
Mark H
Well, the old machine is now an ipcop machine stopping all of the bad stuff from getting into my network. I still haven't ordered any parts for the new build. ::) I guess I have just been busy doing other things.
Now that I have inadvertently delayed ordering stuff, prices have dropped some and better technology has emerged. Maybe I should always wait. Not!!!!!
I will post pictures of the new build once I get some stuff ordered and received.
Mark H
PS - Second time I posted this as the first one probably did not make the transition to the new forum.
I wish I had been able to get another Biostar 6100 939 board before the prices on the 939 X2 AMD processors went through the proverbial roof. That board is the most praised of any for all time. The new AM2 Biostars and even other AMD AM2's do not have anywhere near the customer approval of that board. The 6100 Northbridge produces better video than many video cards and some SLI setups. The problem is that the AMD 939 X2 processors are so scarce that the prices have jumped $100.00, when you can find them.
I have my son's old AMD 1333/Soyo K7SVTA Pro unit sitting here beside the computer "megapolis" gathering dust. It is unreliable and not worth fixing, but I have got to get in the mood to toss it. :-\
Since this is going to be used for photography, I decided to go with an Intel Conroe processor or AMD X2. That will make my home an AMD and Intel home.
Mark H
Quote from: Whizbang on January 09, 2007, 08:36 hrs
I wish I had been able to get another Biostar 6100 939 board before the prices on the 939 X2 AMD processors went through the proverbial roof. That board is the most praised of any for all time. The new AM2 Biostars and even other AMD AM2's do not have anywhere near the customer approval of that board. The 6100 Northbridge produces better video than many video cards and some SLI setups. The problem is that the AMD 939 X2 processors are so scarce that the prices have jumped $100.00, when you can find them.
I have my son's old AMD 1333/Soyo K7SVTA Pro unit sitting here beside the computer "megapolis" gathering dust. It is unreliable and not worth fixing, but I have got to get in the mood to toss it. :-\
I know what you mean. Luckily, the Opteron 939s are available at reasonable price. The 165 is $154 on newegg, and is 1.8Ghz with 2MB cache.
I have finally ordered a new system. Below are the items I ordered with links to the manufacturers where available, otherwise it links to Newegg. I plan on poasting pictures when complete in a week or two.
Asus P5B Deluxe (http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=307&model=1295&modelmenu=1)
Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo Processor (http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9S8)
Thermalright SI-128 Heat Sink (http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main_product_si128.htm)
2 sets (4GB total) Crucial 2GB kit (1GBx2), Ballistix 240-pin DIMM, DDR2 PC2-6400 - the price on this site is way higher than I paid (http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?imodule=BL2KIT12864AA804)
Sapphire Ultimate X1950 Pro w/inclued Zalman 900 cooler (http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=172&grp=3)
Western Digital 150 GB Raptor X - main drive (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=190&Language=en)
Western Digital 36 GB Raptor - Photoshop CS Drive (http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=245)
2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB - one for data storage and one for mobile backup (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=Barracuda_7200.10_SATA_320.3_GB&vgnextoid=2d1099f4fa74c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a32a2f290c5fb010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&reqPage=Model)
Western Digital caviar SE16 250 GB - mobile backup drive (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=133)
Lian Li RH-48B Mobile SATA Rack w/2 extra trays - last one on page (http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Mobile_Rack/SATA.htm)
Lian Li CR-33B black card reader (http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Accessories/Other_Card_Reader.htm)
Plextor PX-760A DVD-RW (http://www.plextor.com/english/products/760A.htm)
Sony DDU1615/B2 DVD-ROM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827101131)
Mitsumi Black Floppy Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821104101)
Silverstone ST85ZF Powersupply made by Etasis (one of the best PSU makers) (http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-85zf.htm)
Lian Li PC-G70B Case - I will be modding this case (http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chassis/Server_Full_Tower/Classical/S_C_PC-G70.htm)
Assorted cables, fans, ect...
Mark H
I'm planning on using Windows XP 32 since I have a licensed copy that is not on a machine now (due to putting Linux IPcop on the machine that had the copy of XP). I am thinking about Vista 64, but will load XP 32 as well for a dual boot system if I get it since my scanner will only work with Windows XP.
Mark H
I have received most everything, but now I have to wait for a claim to be process since UPS has apparently lost my video card and floppy cable. :(
Mark H
That must be soooooo frustrating - I feel for you.
My package was found by UPS and it is on the truck for delivery today, so I will have a video card. ;D Now I need to wait until I get my case and power supply. I bought them from Performance-PCs since they had a better price than Newegg.
Mark H
I received my case, power supply and a few other items. After the delivery, I was thinking I have everything now, so I can put the computer together this weekend. Wrong answer! :( I am missing the accessory box that comes with the Lian Li case I bought. I have no screws, no motherboard standoffs and no feet among other things. I will have to call the company tomorrow and tell them to overnight my box for a Saturday delivery! If I can't get it on Saturday, then it is another week delay as I will be in California on business next week. :(
Mark H
Crikey! ::)
I'd be looking for something to kick right now..........
I have the new system running Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit OS on my desktop out in the open air. The company I ordered the case from did what I demanded by sending the missing loose case accessories next day air with Saturday delivery. I should get them tomorrow so I can move the PC from my desktop to the case and then back on my desktop. ;D
I will post pictures when complete, but I'm not sure if they will be this weekend or next weekend due to me being in California all week on business.
Mark H; I thought about kicking something, but decided I liked my cat too much. :)
Well no plans for taking it on the plane. Just need a screw driver tip to jumber the power on pins and presto, there is power. ;D
Now UPS calls and says they don't deliver to my area on Saturday and the package needs rescheduled!! We talked to them and they are supposed to call us back as I am willing to meet with them to get it. Can you say IDIOTS? They take the sender's money saying they will get it to me on Saturday, then they load it on the truck at 6:30 a.m. to deliver and call us to say they can't today.
Mark H; Where is that cat!
>:( The missing parts will come on Monday when I am in California. I had to clean up the area since I didn't want PC parts laying around for another week. :'(
I guess no pictures for a couple of weeks due to no motherboard standoffs!
Mark H
Back from California and the PC is built and running. I am typing this message on the new PC. I will post pictures one of these days. But my priorities are finalizing all sofware setups and learning Windows Vista 64. So far, it is running great! ;D
Mark H
Here are some pictures of the new build. I noticed the window was quite dusty after taking the picture of my Raptor X hard drive. :(
It might need some more cable management, but I have a ton of cables hidden. There are so many drives in the case that it is hard to hide all the wires.
In case you wonder where the keyboard is located, it is black and located in the center keyboard drawer.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/mwhals/Build%203/PC-0001.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/mwhals/Build%203/PC-0002.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/mwhals/Build%203/PC-0003.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/mwhals/Build%203/PC-0004.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/mwhals/Build%203/PC-0005.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/mwhals/Build%203/PC-0006.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/mwhals/Build%203/PC-0008.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/mwhals/Build%203/PC-0009.jpg)
Are the cables mostly from the power supply? They are usually the hardest ones to manage, which is why I now favor modular cables.
Regardless, overall it looks nice. How does it perform, and what's the noise level?
All the blue cables are SATA, IDE or Floppy cables. The grey/black cables are PSU cables. With it being a tall case the PSU cables can't be easily hidden since they are stretched out. All of my fan cables and case cables are well hidden.
Overall, it is no noisier than my other case seen in the link of the original poast. It has all 120 mm fans and the top/side fans are very low noise.
As to performance, it is by far the fastest machine I have ever used. I can install a program, download a file, play chess and have a virus scan running at the same time with no noticable drop in performance. I attribute this to the 4 GB of RAM and the dual core processor.
Windows Vista 64 was a little of a pain to install, but it runs very nice. I have much less problems with it than when XP first hit the market.
The biggest problem is that I can't get my front SATA cage to work as a truly hot swap system. I have to insert a hard drive before booting up and the other way around. My AMD 64 machine shows all SATA drives as removable units when running XP. The new machine, being an intel system, does not work that way (XP or VISTA) even though I have it set up correctly in BIOS (AHCI). I am thinking there should be an add-in SATA card that will work as a hot swap system, but I'm not sure.
I love the new system and new flat panel monitor. I had to move my previous second monitor to my other machine after its monitor bit the dust.
I will enjoy the great speed now, since it will eventually be slow when programs get a few generations of versions.
Mark H
Quote from: JA on February 26, 2007, 15:16 hrs
Mark, your link at the top has been dead for a while.
Are you running Vista 64 bit?
I just fixed the link. It must have gone dead after the forum change is all I can think happened. The link will lead you to my other PC, which serving as our main PC (It now has a solid side with no window per wife's preferrence).
I am running Vista 64 bit, which I mentioned in the poast before yours. ;)
Mark H