Completed System Pictures

[scuzzy]

Finally, here's the pictures you've all been waiting for. The main highlights of the system are:

1. Fong Kai FK-333 case
2. ASUS A8V Deluxe motherboard
3. AMD 64 3200+ CPU Winchester
4. 1GB (2x512MB) Corsair Value Select RAM
5. Seagate 160GB SATA HDD
6. PowerColor ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
7. Plextor PX-716A Dual Layer 16x DVD-R/W
8. Zalman HSF
9. LG 1980Q 19" LCD Monitor (8ms response)
10. Windows XP Home

As for the FK-333 case, it was a pleasure to work with. I love the case, and I appreciate Chandler for bringing it to my attention. I also grateful to Jeff over at Fong Kai for making it possible for me to get my hands on one.

***Click on any photo to get the larger image***

Here's the mobo with Zalman HSF attached to the CPU:



Here's a close-up of the hammer I used to seat the RAM:  ;D



Here's some internal case shots:









Here's the assembled Fong Kai FK-333 case:



And a closer shot of the Mitsumi combination floppy drive/USB flash reader:



And here's the completed system featuring the LG 1980Q monitor and Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse:



Lastly, here's a picture of the sorry packaging for the retail AMD CPU. I was not impressed:  >:(  If you click on the photo, you'll notice the broken pieces and dust of the green packing.


There weren't any real show stoppers in putting the system together. Probably the most difficult thing I had to do was to carefully remove the HSF support backing plate from the ASUS motherboard so that I could properly install the Zalman unit. After unscrewing it, I had to get a hair dryer to the backing plate to loosen the adhesive. I think I probably had a harder time opening the stupid heavy-duty package that the Zalman came in. :P

As much as possible, I routed/hid/bent cables as needed in an attempt to get a clean, uncluttered system. I think I did okay, but I will work on a few adjustments to clean it up some more.

Overall, I'm happy with the build - with one exception. I don't like the LiteOn DVD player. It's a noisy unit that vibrates too much, especially when compared to the Plextor that resides right below it. I will be returning the unit in favor of something quieter.

[Igloo]

she is beatiful ;D

that green packaging looks, well, aweful, to say the least (was that inside the big box?)

my alst hsf was in vacuum formed case.

[Bill]

Nice pictures, Scuzzy.
Looks like you accomplished the "uncluttered" objective rather nicely.

Have you figured out  the "all-in" cost?

Bill

[Mark H]

My AMD64 3500+ processor was package beautifully, so I don't think all AMD64 chips are packaged like yours. You must have been unlucky enough to get a "lemon" of a packaging job.

Mark H

[scuzzy]

The green foam-like insert was in the plain box that AMDs are packaged in. I didn't use the stock HSF, but it didn't appear damaged. The CPU was safely tucked in a small plastic container that was away from the HSF. I just don't understand why they would use such cheap packaging with a heavy HSF.

Anyway, the total cost of the system as shown is $2,022.39. The total includes S/H costs as well as local taxes. I'll be returning the LiteOn DVD-ROM unit in favor of an NEC ND-3520A 16x dual-layer burner (OEM) that I purchased off NewEgg for $51.99. Figuring in the refund on the LiteOn unit, that will bring the cost up by $9.07 to $2031.46.

Of course, there's still other software to purchase. The Plextor unit came with Easy Media Creator 7, but I will likely purchase Nero 6.6 instead. I may purchase MS Office 2003, and I will be getting a few other odds and ends.

[scuzzy]

As a side note, the system is reasonably quiet. It isn't silent, but it doesn't have a tiring sound. That is, until the LiteOn kicks in - then all bets are off.  ::) When the LiteOn is idle, the system has a reasuring "hush" sound to it.

Anyway, the system has a total of 4 fans: 1 case (120mm), 1 PSU (120mm), 1 HSF, and 1 VGA Silencer (for the Radeon 9800 Pro). The fastest fan is the one for the Zalman HSF, which spins around 2700 rpm. It came with a Zalman Fanmate, but I haven't installed it yet. The PSU fan has reached just over 1,000 rpm once or twice, but mostly spins in the low 900s. The case fan averages 1200 rpm.

I don't know how fast the VGA Silencer fan spins, but I can barely hear it when I switch it over to high. On low, I can't hear it at all. Mostly, I hear air rushing through the system, as the two 120mm fans move one heck of a lot of air without making  a racket in the process.

[Chandler]

Congratulations!  That is a beautiful looking system.  8)

As a side note, the system is reasonably quiet. It isn't silent, but it doesn't have a tiring sound.

That's how I'd describe mine.  It's quiet enough to not be intrusive but loud enough so that you can tell it's on, and the only noise it does make is "whooshing" of air rather than nasty bearing noises.  I'd guess it as being equal in noise to the VGA Silencer on Low.  Anything quieter would be very expensive to achieve.

That is, until the LiteOn kicks in - then all bets are off.  ::) When the LiteOn is idle, the system has a reasuring "hush" sound to it.

Have you tried Nero DriveSpeed?  You can set the read speed of most drives manually.  If you still want to replace the Lite-On then I find LG drives to be very quiet, and reliable (the LG 16x CD-RW I bought early 2001 is still going strong).

Anyway, the system has a total of 4 fans: 1 case (120mm), 1 PSU (120mm), 1 HSF, and 1 VGA Silencer (for the Radeon 9800 Pro). The fastest fan is the one for the Zalman HSF, which spins around 2700 rpm. It came with a Zalman Fanmate, but I haven't installed it yet. The PSU fan has reached just over 1,000 rpm once or twice, but mostly spins in the low 900s. The case fan averages 1200 rpm.

That sounds like an optimal fan configuration to me.  Some BIOSes offer fan speed control based on temperature, which may remove the need for the Fanmate.

Have you installed the AMD Cool'n'Quiet driver?  My system becomes unstable whenever I've installed it (make sure to change power profile in the Control Panel afterwards to make it work) so I've avoided it this time, but I'm curious as to how others get on.

[scuzzy]

I'm aware of software, such as Neo DriveSpeed, to control optical drive speeds. However, the Plextor spins at full speed without the racket that the LiteOn makes. I decided to give the NEC ND-3520 a try. This adds a second burner to the system for less than $10, and is a better quality unit than the LiteOn. If for some reason the NEC also makes a racket, then I'll use DriveSpeed.

I'll probably give the Zalman Fan Mate a shot later this week to see how it makes a difference in quieting the system even more. I'll also see how Cool 'n Quiet works. I know that you must use AMD's stock HSF, but ASUS provides its own drivers to get around that. Or something like that.

[Chandler]

With AMD's stock heatsink, I believe that there is a thermistor built onto it's fan which controls the fan speed.

Motherboard manufacturers realise that a lot of people don't want to stick with stock, and that most aftermarket coolers don't have temperature control, so the motherboard itself can control fan speed based on CPU temperature.

The 2nd solution can actually work better since it reads temperature directly from the CPU, whereas the 1st (AMD stock) solution goes by temperature of the heatsink (i.e. with 2nd the fan can start cooling much sooner).

A third solution is to turn off the motherboard's own fan management (Q-Fan, Smart Fan etc.) and use manual control (e.g. Zalman Fanmate).  The advantage that this has over motherboard fan speed regulation is that some fans don't respond well to PWM fan control (and click).

[Bill]

Scuzzy,

FWIT, given the price of MS Office 2003, you can get Word 2003 Upgrade for about $110.

Bill

[scuzzy]

Works Suite OEM sells for about $45 at NewEgg, and includes MS Word. My daughter needs both Word and Excel, so I'll shop carefully to get the best deal. Currently, she has MS Office 2000 Pro, which came with her Dell Dimension laptop.

[Bill]

I wish I'd known.  
Probably doesn't matter a tinkers **** but the version of Word in the Works Suite is 2002.  I can't imagine there is much difference between the 2002 and 2003 versions.
Heck, until a month ago Word 97 still worked for me!

Bill

[pat]

Nice system Scuzzy, I'm sure your daughter will appreciate your work and generosity.

I find myself using Open Office most of the time these days. There was a slight learning curve, it's very similar to the MS product, but there are some differences.
I think it's worth a look and you can't beat the price.

[scuzzy]

OpenOffice 2.0 is due out sometime soon, so that could be a consideration. I have until August to decide, so I have time on my side.

[Carskick]

That's a very nice build, Scuzzy. I'll bet it flies, and is very stable. What temps are you getting?

[scuzzy]

Thanks, Cars... Last time I looked, the temp was holding a steady 34C at idle. As for it being stable, I'm only guessing that it will be. The only thing I've done is to install Windows XP Home, but no drivers or other software as of yet. It's been sitting for the last couple days.

I don't plan on doing anything else with it until I get the NEC burner. After installing it, I will likely only install all drivers, then it will sit again until I determine what software I want to install. At best, I may install software to give it a good workout.

I did partition the HDD into 4 equal partions. After formatting, they averaged just over 38GB each.

[Whizbang]

When I saw the first pic, I was tempted to ask if that carburetor had turbo intake with four barrels and if that also came with dual tuned port exhaust.  ;D  Man, what a massive cooler!  I just got an oversized CPU CoolerMaster for my daughter and was at first wondering if it would be too much weight for the mainboard to handle.  

[scuzzy]

I hooked up the Zalman Fanmate to the CPU fan today to drop the fan speed from just over 2700 rpm to around 1850 rpm. I also set the BIOS to automatically control the chassis fan. This dropped the little noise that the system was making to pretty much zilch. The system is now exceptionally quiet beyond my expectations. I have to make an effort to hear the system running. :)

As for the CPU temperature, it is actually down to 33C at idle.

[Hoot]

Nice that you went VIA too :) I'm a VIA old timer myself. I originally started building with the VIA KT133 chipset back in the day. You should post that at viaarena for John Gatt and company to see. They have been looking for pics of nice VIA self built units in thier forums. I will be going back to VIA myself next time (S939). Very soon actually. You got one heck of a solid board there.