The (new) Official PC building thread!

I'll try running 3DMark again, see how my graphics performance has decreased.

 

Speaking of 3dMark, i got my quad at 3.6ghz but could still not get past 13,000 (12958)

I'll leave it at that i think. I do however need some help.

Any speaker suggestions?

Also, can't get COD4 running. If i get speakers..........problem solved?

 

Nah, getting speakers won't help, you need to reinstall your audio drivers.

 

@theonejrs

@Greensman

Yeh but you were around when they invented dirt. hehehe.

...gm[/quote]

boy i really got something started with this (old school thing) I can remember my first computer also it was a 386.i didnt build it.i got it out the news paper for 100 bucks,man.i thought .i had the stuff windows 95,64 mb ram,6 gb wd hard drive and on dail up.i was smokie back then getting on the internet.that's all i wanna to do get on the net it was lay down model.i blame my brother for getting me into this stuff God rest his soul.but.i came along way sense then and build alot of machines and helping other people.I think.i have over 20 builts in my life and it's fun cause you can sit back and see what you have done with your hands and built them the way you like.i found alot parts back then at thift stores and goodwills stores you never know what people give away,and i still go there today looking one mans junk is another mans treasure.i got that from my brother also.lol

And yea.i'm 39 here also 40 in august and a grandpa..

 

hey will check your email....

still looking at some mem. cant make up my mind yet...lol

 

http://i26.tinypic.com/drcosj.jpg

 

ddp,

I remember those! Worlds slowest 32 bit computer. I remember playing "Burgertime" on it and the little chef moved like he was wadding in Fudge! LOL!! The CPM machine with the 8" Winchesters, I bought at a garage sale. Paid $50 for the whole works w/4 Winchesters. never really used it as a guy that was also looking at it bought it all off of me for $200. He got my name from the seller, but the seller wouldn't tell him how much I paid! He offered $200 for everything, and I took it! I had a Timex-Sinclair, but I don't count that as a real computer, it was so damn tiny.

My first real computer was a Coleco Adam. I ran a business with it for a couple of years. It also used either a TV or a composite video monitor (Sakata SC-100). Bought an Atari ST-1024 after that. Best music computer in the world in it's day. Far better than the Mac and had a color 640x480 in 32 colors to boot! LOL!! It also did 600x800 in 4 colors! ROFL I had the optional 20MB external hard drive for it, on sale for $399! ROFLMAO!!

I'm 63, and I've built right around 250 PCs over the last 18 years or so. I got bored with computers in 98 and didn't own one for about 5 years. I missed all of the P2 and most of the P3. came back to computing in 03 when I moved to California. Hey, I had to have some place to throw away my money! LOL!! Most people don't realize how much more expensive it was back in the late 80s, early 90s. A decent (by the standards of the day) console, monitor, keyboard and mouse would cost you about $2000 to build. 386-40 by AMD, 4 MB 50ns 80 pin Ram, Trident 1MB video card, Sound Blaster Pro w/1x CD Rom, 40MB hard drive and a 1024x768 monitor. Memory got as high as $100 per MB for a while. That's why only the rich could afford 16MB! LOL!! I could build two of what I have now for less money!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Greg, nice speakers...

Seriously though that's a nice keyboard. What kind is it?

My first computer was a Pentium MMX that my Dad bought me when I was 5 years old. It still works today with the ORIGINAL copy of windows that was installed on it.

 

Keyboard - Saitek Eclipse 2

As for first PC, about 12mb ram........struggled to run 98.

P.S. - COD4 blows Crysis out of the water. Id go as far to say better graphics. I just rescued that pilot and loled when my guy crawled up the helicopter floor after getting shot down.

 

Greg: told you you'd like it, and I agree with you about the graphics being almost if not as good.
Abuzar: I use the same Saitek Eclipse II keyboard, and a very similar mouse.
Speakers are somewhat different though!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Digital-Multimedia-Theatre-Speaker/dp/B0006HBCL8


First PC:
P3 450, MSI microATX board, 128MB SDRAM SIMM PC133, 13GB Seagate Medalist HDD, 17" CRT @ 1280x1024,60Hz,16-bit colour.

 

@ russ thanks for your reply will order the memory. did not know that about using 1 stick very important information. shocked about sony drive thought lite on was better is that true?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3189533&CatId=1624

not based on actual information just what I heard.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3326100&CatId=2458
this hd is bigger for same price, is it not as good?


for a case i don't want a window and want lots of fans plan to oc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147037

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103011

which of these three is best?

 

Sony have used Liteon to make their products in the past as well I think. As of the moment, the Optiarc drives aren't bad, it's a Sony-NEC partnership.

That hard drive is fine, I've had good success with WD Caviar SE drives.
If you want a windowless case that's fabulous for cooling, I recommend
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146029
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119092

 

sammorris,

If you had known what I recommended to e_jones you might not say that!

I recommended the Seagate 320 with a 16 MB cache! LOL!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140

It's very fast and very quiet. Just put one in the D-940! Oh, and the price just dropped $5! I've been using the AS series drives with the Perpendicular recording technology and they are the quietest drives I've ever seen and not heard! LOL!! I can't hear mine with the side cover off unless I get right up to about 3-4 inches away from the drive. You can't even hear it spin!

The WD is a good drive, but it's my opinion that the Seagate is the better of the two! I've also had good success with just about every WD drive I've ever had, even the old noisy ones, but I would pay a few dollars more for the 16 MB cache!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Russ I have 3 of those Seagates. You're right they are quiet and fast!! Me likey.....lol

e_jones,
Of the 3 that you linked too the XCLIO is the most interesting but I have my doubts about those 250mm fans. btw I like the 2 sam linked too but you have to be happy with what you choose. When choosing a case for YOUR needs try to get what completely encompasses your criteria. You said cooling is your main concern so YOU should choose a case that allows enough fans and vents to provide that. good luck with your case hunt.

As for DVDRW drives you can select many out there that Lite-On makes. MOST are good but sometimes companies do make mistakes.

Here's a few "Lite-Ons" to look at.... linky

btw I can help you "flash" any of these to a few different models, just ask if you get one.

Oh and another thing.... Tiger Direct doesn't always have the best prices and neither does the EGG but I like the EGG for the item descriptions and item availability most of the time.

...gm

 

I noticed some are using a dvd rom in addition to a dvd burner is there an advantage to this combination. I mainly use a computer to "backup" dvd movies. Also can I burn two different dvd's on the fly at the same time with different applications without harming my equipment?

so of these three which is better?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16827106070,N82E16827106073&page=2&bop=And

 

e_jones,
I personally like the Sony/NEC/Optiarcs! I use them in all my customer builds, and all 3 computers in my house have them. They way the Sony part all came about is NEC had and exclusive with Optiarc to build their drives. Sony wanted Optiarc to build their DVD Burners, but couldn't, so they cut a deal with Nec and Optiarc, financed the expansion of Optiarc's production facilities, so Sony/NEC/Optiarc was born! They're relatively inexpensive, and the quality has been excellent on every one I've bought, and I've bought a bunch of them this past year!

I used to use mostly Lite-On before I discovered the NECs. They're pretty good drives, but fit and finish varies a lot from unit to unit, and they make more noise than the NECs. I particularly don't like their tray action as it's no where as smooth or as quiet as the NECs opening and closing! I haven't had any of the 15 or so that I've sold go bad though! The Philips are pretty good drives but I haven't come across very many of them. The worst drive I've seen yet in a name brand, was a Pioneer DVR-115DBK. I just installed one for a friend about a week ago that he had bought at a good price. It was extremely noisy, and vibrated very badly while installing XP-Pro. It may have just been a bad drive, but if I had bought it, it would have been returned!

You asked about why the DVD Rom as well as the burner. I watch a lot of DVDs on my computer as I have a nice widescreen monitor and a killer sound system, along with HD Audio. It's nice when burning DVDs as I can put the original in the Rom, the blank in the burner, launch RipIt4Me and forget it until the "Jetson's Doorbell" goes off and it's finished. besides, I can't see wearing out my DVD burner using it as a player. besides, they're inexpensive enough and I almost never get read errors with my Asus unless the disk I'm copying is really bad! That says a lot right there. It also seems to read troublesome disks where other's won't. I've only had 1 failure out of about 27-28 DVD burners and about 23 DVD Roms in the last year, and that was my own DVD Burner. My PS went South and took the burner with it! LOL!! Newegg replaced it with 3 days left on the warranty! I do get lucky, once in a while! LOL!!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Russ: My bad, didn't spot the 8MB Cache. I've been using 16MB Cache WD Drives for quite a long time now, I mistakenly thought they all had it!
Greensman: The Xclio case is dump, it wouldn't cool anywhere near as well as Russ' Coolermaster case, let alone something like an Antec 900.
e-jones: I've never had any issues with a standalone DVD-ROM drive, ever, so I'd recommend pretty much anything in that dept, my LG 48x16 drive has been good.

 

I have a Lite-On drive and it was a big mistake. This thing is LOUD!

If I run all my fans at full speed they are not even CLOSE to the sound this god-awful DVD drive makes. This thing sounds like a 60mm fanat something around 10,000 RPM, only this drive is a lot louder!

This is what I got:

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106070

EDIT: Bunch of Communist athiests at newegg. Won't even let me write god in a review because it's deemed "inappropriate"

 

sammorris,
I figured you just missed the 8MB cache! LOL!!

This is the one I really want! Two actually! LOL!! $239.98 for 1 TB!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

Not a bad a price either!

Best Regards,
Russ