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Cyclohexane
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New Computer Details and Pics

Post by Cyclohexane »

My old computer decided enough was enough and I had to reformat and reinstall everything. This is basically my work machine now.

I recently put together a new machine with the help of the clan and I am extremely happy with it. The details of this thread are here (if your bored and looking for something to read).

I decided to go with Microsoft Vista 64... The main issue I have is that the external hard drive I use to backup my files does not work with a 64 bit operating system. That means, I do not have any of my old files on my new machine yet. I know very little about networking (they do share a hub for DSL) but currently looking into one of those dual USB cables for easy transfer between two machines. I have just been using the new computer as a gaming system for now.

1.) Any network guys in the clan that know how to easily share two Windows XP and Vista 64 machines? I have plenty of instant messaging services if to hard to write about.

For those of you interested, I attached the specifications (and notes and links) in an Excel spreadsheet along with how much I paid and where I bought it.

Download Here

I saved a ton of money compared to buying a pre-built gaming setup and saved a few hundred buying things on sale / online as well. It just took a little longer to get everything waiting for different parts to go on sale but I feel good about it. I could have used a lot of my old components but decided I wanted to give the old computer to my wife for her business instead of trying to share.

The 900 Antec case is awesome. My temperatures are always in the 30’s even after playing a couple hours straight. The problem is the fan noise. If I set them low, I cannot hear anything but it does not stay as cool. If I set them high, the components stay nice and cool but it is a little loud. I have 5 case fans (2 front inlet, 1 rear outlet, 1 top outlet, and 1 side inlet directly on video card), not including the CPU fan, video card, or motherboard fan (8 total), that I would like to be able to control and monitor. The motherboard can only monitor the CPU, motherboard, and 1 additional fan.

2.) Is anyone here familiar with fan controllers? I’ve seen some controllers that fit into a 5 ½” bay but nothing that really stands out. Has anyone used one with great success?

I have a few new games (the ego shooters with graphics on high) but I will be returning to AOE3. I tell you, it is nice being able to play in the highest settings, even the foot prints in the snow with absolutely no lag and enough RAM to run pretty much whatever I want in the background. With this motherboard, I can still add 4 more GB of 800 MHz RAM (8 GB total), upgrade to a PCI 2.0 video card, or even add a second video card in SLI mode.

For all the techno geeks in the clan, here are some pictures of the setup:

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Early Christmas for Cyclo!

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I love this case (Antec Nine Hundred Gaming Case) and highly recommend it to any gamer. That is a Antec NeoPower 650w Blue ATX12V V2.2 EPS12V Power Supply at the bottom.

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ASUS P5N-D

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Intel Quadcore Q6600 (64 bit 2.4GHz)

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That is a XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler. This thing was a b!tch to install but man it works great and really looks cool through the see-thru case.

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A picture of the motherboard chipset fan and fan on the CPU cooler.

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Kingston 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

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Maxtor L01F500 500GB (SATAII -3.0 GB/sec, 16MB buffer, 7200 RPM, 3 Year Warranty) hard drive and a standard SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW (SATA)

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EVGA 512-P3-N802-AR GeForce 8800GT

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Some cable management. I could do better here, but you try playing with cables when you have a working new machine.

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Right on top of the video card for extra cooling. The intake and exhaust fans and all equipment placement was thought out in advance. While the cables look sloppy, they are not in the way of the air flow.
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Last edited by Cyclohexane on Thu May 22, 2008 8:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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StrokeyBlofeld
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by StrokeyBlofeld »

Looking good. Love that CPU cooler, looks a little like a Thermaltake. Glad you got one, they can make a huge difference to your temperatures.

As for the fans being noisy, this is a common complaint from Antec 900 owners. If it bothers you that much, you could replace the supplied fans with high quality "quiet" fans (I know some Antec 900 owners who did this) which makes a huge difference.
As for fan controllers, there is a massive range to take your pick from, it just boils down to your price range.
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Cyclohexane
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by Cyclohexane »

I'll add a night shot in if I can remember to tonight. Really looks cool in the dark. So far, only my 5 year old son has really appreciated the neon blue lights...
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MNBob
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by MNBob »

Looks great. I'll probably be building a new system sometime this year as well. I hope to stick with a Shuttle XPC system. I just like the quieter and smaller footprint.
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by joe4holly »

(L)amazing (L)
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Palehorse
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by Palehorse »

1) I have an 802.11 b/g Wireless Router, 1 XP Home on a wired connectionto it, 2 the others using Linksys PCI cards, and a VISTA laptop on all base settings talking to the others, except for 1 XP machine which is a the default gateway to the internet. The VISTA PC did not work straight off, at least as far as internet connectivity. It could always see the LAN and other machines and recognized the gateway, but could not see the internet. I think a Windows push to my XP boxes fixed that. Now the VISTA machine just works, with all settings on nominal default, auto detect blah blah blah


2) I have 6 fans on mine, and after sometime using a BIOS based quiet cool type system, I decided I'd rather live with the noise, and not have lag issues when things heated up and the fans were catching up and speeding up. It sounds like a Teradyne 3 bays test console, but it helps to drowned out my cussing when NAV kill my hunts :D
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Palehorse
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by Palehorse »

P.S. Love your new system. Makes me want to upgrade again, just for phun
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by RascalJones »

I've been thinking about building my own recently too.
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Cyclohexane
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by Cyclohexane »

Here's a night shot. If I turned the flash on, it doesn't do it justice. Anyhow, this is my bling bling...

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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by joe4holly »

Wow . mine looks like that as well in the dark but only one front fan .
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sylvalex311
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by sylvalex311 »

I really like your new computer and you didn't even spend that much money!
I don't understand your rebate for the failed video card. Why is it so much more than what the original card was worth?
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by RascalJones »

So.....have you PLAYED any AOE on it yet?
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Cyclohexane
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by Cyclohexane »

[quote=""sylvalex311""]I really like your new computer and you didn't even spend that much money!
I don't understand your rebate for the failed video card. Why is it so much more than what the original card was worth?[/quote]

The original card was an AGP video card and I bought it a couple years ago (AGP are more expensive). I could have easily spent $350 on a state of the art video card (like mine was 2 years ago), but I decided to go with an 8800GT which is slightly older but still competative. For the money, you get the most bang for the buck here. It is an awesome card, all the reviews I read about the new 9800, were not so impressive. Better yes, worth $170, no.

I paid $45 for the warranty on the card, it really paid off.


[quote=""RascalJones""]So.....have you PLAYED any AOE on it yet?[/quote]

A little yes, but not much. I've been so busy with other things, it's not fair to the family to also be playing video games. My son is learning to read, and I have to set priorities.
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Re: New Computer Details and Pics

Post by RascalJones »

Oh, I know about those priority things.
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