my pc reveiw - 640x480 pics

[trav]

Hello all, here is a reveiw of my computer, with (fixed, 640x480) pictures :)

Whats it got?
Processor: PIII Coppermine 866Mghz
Motherboard: DFI CA64-EC
Memory: 512MBSDR-RAM - 168 Pin
CD-R/RW: M a t s h i t a CD-R/RW - 8X/4X
CD-ROM: Sony CDU5112
Videocard: ATI RADEON 7200 A-I-W
Soundcard: Creative Ensoniq AudioPCI
Operating System: Windows XP Professional

OK, heres the pictures:

This is my computer in my room:



Here is the computer tower close up, yeah, there used to be a PIII sticker in the lower-right-hand-corner, but I took it off

because it was all ripped and torn and didnt look good:


The top CD drive is the M a t s h i t a burner and the bottom drive is the Sony CDU5112.

Here is my DFI CA64-EC motherboard, the components - Top: ATI RADEON 7200 AIW, Second bottom: Ensoniq AudioPCI,

Bottom: Network Card




Heres a closer look at my ATI RADEON 7200 AIW and Ensoniq AudioPCI


The ATI videocard has a fan, as we can see :)

Here is the back of the tower, with everything (well almost everything, ill get to that later), plugged in:


You see that theres only one cord plugged into my soundcard, right? Thats for my JVC MiniSystem. Now, I usually have

two more plugged in there; Middle: Microphone cord, and very right, my Line-In (for copying old tapes for backup)

Here is a closer look at the ATI RADEON 7200 AIW:

those yellow plug-ins (if you dont know already) are for Compsite In/Out and that black one is S-Video.

Here is a closer look at the Ensoniq AudioPCI:

Green (yeah, its there, its just covered by my cord for my speakers), is for speakers, pink is for microphone and blue is for

Line In.

Here is my printer:

This printer is an HP PSC AiO, its got: scanner, fax machine, photocopier and printer

Overall:
I need more RAM, but its good for what i do, listen to CD's (mainly with the M a t s h i t a, because the Sony is a bit slow), play games (thats why i need more RAM) :)

Well, I think thats it :) Hope you enjoyed (and do enjoy in the future) my pc reveiw :)

[Mark H]

Well, I think thats it :) Hope you enjoyed (and do enjoy in the future) my pc reveiw :)

Well, the pictures look good, but I'm still waiting for the review. :P

Mark H

[trav]

Ill put that in there :)

- -- -
fixed :)

[trav]

ive seen alot or "reads", but no reply's...does no one want to comment on my PC :'(

[Hoot]

Hi Travis. Your PC is dusty dood ;) Nice pics. Get a can of compressed air man - get that dust out. I would put the tower to the left of your CRT, and turn the printer facing the chair. If you are into your case alot you could get some nice finger screws for the back of the case. You could also get some fairly cheap rounded IDE cables to unblock the tangled standard IDE cables you got there. Other than that ...nice pics man! Always nice to see workplaces of others- to me it gives a personality to the poster :) You can also get a cheap nice cloth office chair for your office at Wal Mart for $40.00. I would consider a fan for outake air in the back of the case too., and one in the front if you don't have one.- Keep us posted on your progress!

[Roopert]

Nice machine Travis! You should see the dust bunnies running around in my old PII system :) There is even some rust (I lived in Virginia for 2 years right on the ocean and EVERYTHING rusted, including my toaster oven which I had to toss because it got so bad.

Printer is nice as well! I went a little overboard with my chair situation. I dragged the LazyBoy into my den (hehe). Took a some time to get it just right, and my wife yells about it, but its nice.

Post some scores! I am building a new system and would love to see how your video card does. It's on my list and am also looking at the ATI 9600XT.

Take care,

C

[trav]

Yea, i gotta clean the dust outta there :( ....im gonna post my PCPitStop scores :D

[trav]

here are my results from PCPitStop

[Mark H]

You will get better performance from Windows XP is you upgrade your RAM to 512 megs.

Mark H

[trav]

Yep, i gotta do that :D mabye this weekend i will :) one question, i have 256 in one of theEDIT three slots, do i just add another 256 stick to my existing config? does it matter what brand it is or anything? I know to add SDRAM, but how many pins?

Thanks,
Trav

[trav]

Also, do i buy 3200? or other?

[Chandler]

PC133

[Roopert]

Nice! I'll use this to bench mine once its together. Thanks Travis. I'll try to take a few pictures too. Mind you, I'm from the all GO no Show school of thought. Meaning it will be ugly, not smart looking like yours.

[trav]

Hey Roopert, I dont care if it doesnt look good ;) pics are still cool dude :D

and, mine doesnt look TO smart, unlike some other ones that have ALL the bells and whistles (not case mods, i juet mean hardware ;) )

[trav]

Also, i want to buy a SCSI card, what kind of connectors do these have on them? Is it like an IDE plug, only on a PCI card?

[Mark H]

A SCSI card uses a cable that is different from an IDE cable to connect to drives. The drives are daisy chained. SCSI drives are quite expensive for the amount of storage you actually get. Check into prices before you buy as you likely don't need the performance from them.

Why do you want a SCSI card?

Mark H

[trav]

I want a SCSI card because my IDE is full (refer to reveiw - "whats it got?")
Or, if there is such a thing as an ISE PCI card, that'd be cool :)

[Chandler]

The Promise Ultra100TX2 or Ultra133TX2 is what you need.  They give you two more UDMA IDE ports (4 more devices).

[trav]

The Promise Ultra100TX2 or Ultra133TX2 is what you need.  They give you two more UDMA IDE ports (4 more devices).

Arent those controllers? or are they cards? whats a controller. sorry, i know its a dumb question

[Mark H]

They are actually both. The card is a IDE controller and gives you two more IDE slots meaning four more drives possible.

Here they are at Newegg:

ULTRA100TX2

ULTRA133TX2

Mark H

[Tranquility_Base]

Or be cool and get a Serial ATA add on card so u can get SATA and RAID :D
Actually SATA is hardly worth the extra cost, but since ur IDE is full u might have a lot of cable clutter, so SATA would be a welcome addition here.

[trav]

Oh, cool, can  you buy these at futureshop?

[Mark H]

I just looked at futureshop.com and they don't sell any hard drive controller cards. Newegg has them.

Sata150 TX4

They also have some SATA/IDE combo controllers by Promise Technologies.

Complete Listing of Promise Controllers

Mark H

[trav]

Hey there mark :)

I found a PCI-to-IDE card on the futureshop.ca website

Cicero PCI-To-IDE interface card

[Mark H]

Hey there mark :)

I found a PCI-to-IDE card on the futureshop.ca website

Cicero PCI-To-IDE interface card

Travis,

I suggest you get the one I linked a few poasts earlier. It is the Ultra100TX2 and is only 28 dollars. The one you linked above is 60 dollars. That is a big difference in price. Even the Ultra133TX2 is better priced at 37 dollars.

Give the one you have linked a look and you will see it can only connect to drives smaller than 128 GB. The Ultra133TX2, I believe can connect to larger drives and is less.

Mark H

[pat]

Mark, if I recall correctly Trav is in Canada. Computer prices are quite a bit more up there and newegg doesn?t ship there.

[Mark H]

Mark, if I recall correctly Trav is in Canada. Computer prices are quite a bit more up there and newegg doesn?t ship there.

Oh! Thanks for the information. I was wondering why he didn't seem interested in Newegg.

That explains a lot.

Thanks Pat! :)

Mark H

[trav]

Yep :) its true :)

OK...i have BIG NEWS!
but ill leave it for the next poast.....

[trav]

I HAVE JUST OVERCLOCKED (AS OF 5 MINUTES AGO) MY SYSTEM FROM 866Mghz TO 910Mghz!!!!

[Mark H]

Just make sure your temperatures are in line and your system is stable.

Mark H