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:

Early Christmas for Cyclo!

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.

ASUS P5N-D

Intel Quadcore Q6600 (64 bit 2.4GHz)




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.

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

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

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)

EVGA 512-P3-N802-AR GeForce 8800GT

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

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.