Computer buffs??

[SilverStrike]

I'm not sure of any of you folks share in another hobby of mine, computer systems. I'm in the process of building out a new home system, with some fun toys

~ Exotic PC's dboX Alumina case w/ 3-way digital temp readout
~ Asus P4S8X mobo w/ 8X AGP, LAN, USB 2.0, 1394
~ Intel P4 2.53Ghz w/533FSB, 512k cache (overclocked to 2.8Ghz)
~ 512MB PC2700 DDR RAM
~ Maxtor 80Gb HD, UDMA-133, 7200 RPM
~ Sony DVD 16x/48x
~ Sony CDRW 52x/24x/52x
~ Gainward Geforce4 Ti4600 w/ 128Mb
~ CL Sound Blaster Audigy MP3
~ Thermaltake DragonOrb P4 CPU heatsink
~ rounded IDE & floppy cables
~ Fortron 420w PSU
~ Linksys 10/100 LAN card
~ Linksys 4-port 10/100 Router/Switch

The parts are coming in piece-meal, so hopefully I should have the system up and running in the next few days. Both Quake and Everquest will never be the same!

[Ken 01-Cobra]

Sounds like a nice system! I just ordered a new HP 2.8 Pentium 4 system with 1 gig of RAM, 120 gig HD, DVD-RW, CD-RW, Geforce 4 w/64 meg, 5.1 Soundblaster card, 4 USB 2.0 and 2 Firewire ports, with XP Professional. They offered a $200 rebate and a 1 year same as cash deal, so I thought it was a fairly good deal.

[johnbasf]

I only wish I knew what all that meant!!!

[smashedheadcat]

[quote][i]I only wish I knew what all that meant!!! [QUOTE]

Originally posted by Latham99
I'm not sure of any of you folks share in another hobby of mine, computer systems. I'm in the process of building out a new home system, with some fun toys

~ Exotic PC's dboX Alumina case w/ 3-way digital temp readout
**THIS MEANS THE CASE THAT HOLDS EVERYTHING IS NEAT LOOKING. ALSO, PROBABLY HAS A BUNCH OF FANS, AND A BEEFY POWER SUPPLY.

~ Asus P4S8X mobo w/ 8X AGP, LAN, USB 2.0, 1394
**LAN CARD, (FOR HIGH SPEED INTERNET), USB IS FOR DIGITAL
CAMERA'S, JOYSTICKS ETC.

~ Intel P4 2.53Ghz w/533FSB, 512k cache (overclocked to 2.8Ghz)
**THIS MEANS IT'S FAST

~ 512MB PC2700 DDR RAM
**RAM is RAM YOU CAN DO A BUNCH OF STUFF AT THE SAME TIME
~ Maxtor 80Gb HD, UDMA-133, 7200 RPM
**LOTS OF SPACE FOR GAMES

~ Sony DVD 16x/48x
**DVD PLAYER

~ Sony CDRW 52x/24x/52x
**CD BURNER

~ Gainward Geforce4 Ti4600 w/ 128Mb
**A VERY GOOD VIDEO CARD

~ CL Sound Blaster Audigy MP3
**MUSIC AND SOUND STUFF

~ Thermaltake DragonOrb P4 CPU heatsink
**HEAT SINK....VERY IMPORTANT ON HIGH SPEED, OVERCLOCKED CPU'S

~ rounded IDE & floppy cables
**I DON'T KNOW

~ Fortron 420w PSU
**I DON'T KNOW

~ Linksys 10/100 LAN card
**HIGH SPEED INTERNET

~ Linksys 4-port 10/100 Router/Switch
**?????

The parts are coming in piece-meal, so hopefully I should have the system up and running in the next few days. Both Quake and Everquest will never be the same!

[poolman]

Originally posted by Ken 01-Cobra
Sounds like a nice system! I just ordered a new HP 2.8 Pentium 4 system with 1 gig of RAM, 120 gig HD, DVD-RW, CD-RW, Geforce 4 w/64 meg, 5.1 Soundblaster card, 4 USB 2.0 and 2 Firewire ports, with XP Professional. They offered a $200 rebate and a 1 year same as cash deal, so I thought it was a fairly good deal.

I replaced my 200MMX machine with an HP something like what Ken has at Christmas, Compusa. The 200 MMX machine cost 3x as much! It was a Dell, now its my 3 yr olds "puter".

Stop laughing... I can never remember is it ever crashing!

Now my office machine is a p3....with some good stuff....28.8 modem and the like

[SilverStrike]

smashedheadcat got the descriptions right on the nose.

~ The rounded IDE cables are purely asthetic, they're cleaner looking than the run of the mill cables.



~ The Fortron 420PSU is a power supply

~ The Linksys 4-port Router/Switch is an external component, that allows you to network multiple PC together, and share an internet connection with your computers.

[smashedheadcat]

Originally posted by Latham99
smashedheadcat got the descriptions right on the nose.

~ The rounded IDE cables are purely asthetic, they're cleaner looking than the run of the mill cables.



~ The Fortron 420PSU is a power supply

~ The Linksys 4-port Router/Switch is an external component, that allows you to network multiple PC together, and share an internet connection with your computers.

Sweet!! Thanks for the info. I've got a friend that's ready to build my PC, that's why I know what some of that means. He says that the AMD processers have lower clock speeds, but send more info per clock cylce than the pentium 4's. he's looking at getting me an athlon processor, and over clocking it to some pretty impressive speeds.

[Ken 01-Cobra]

Originally posted by Latham99
~ The rounded IDE cables are purely asthetic, they're cleaner looking than the run of the mill cables.

~ The Linksys 4-port Router/Switch is an external component, that allows you to network multiple PC together, and share an internet connection with your computers.

Heh...ya shouldn't have to root around inside the machine enough to appreciate the rounded cables!

Yeah, the LinkSys works too. I still have a NetGear system I installed years ago. Works like a champ, still. We have 4 networked puters plus a laptop, a handheld and a game console that taps the internet through the one cable modem, and shares resources like the color printer, the laser printer, etc.

Josh...be REAL careful about overclocking an Athlon processor! It can lead to many unusual problems.

[STU]

Last week I added to my 1998 Dell 400 mhz windows 98 computer a second CD drive, a LiteOn Cd/RW, upped my 8 gig hard drive to 40 gig and upped my ram from 64 to 192.

Compared to before this baby flies. Cut 1 hour off my virus scan time.

But why do I get the feeling I am still outdated......

[smashedheadcat]

Originally posted by Ken 01-Cobra

Josh...be REAL careful about overclocking an Athlon processor! It can lead to many unusual problems.

Honestly Ken, I don't think it's the Athlon processor, it's definately AMD though. The guy said that with the fans, and heatsink(s) he's gonna install, overclocking this particular processor shouldn't be a problem, as it will be the same setup he uses currently. I'm gonna be able to use most of the stuff from my orignal computer, so it's not going to cost me much to build. DVD player, CDRW, hard-drive and floppy disk drives will all be re-used. Just getting a new case with plenty of fans, upgraded powersupply, heatsink(s), processor and the GFORCE 4 video card. Maybe a few other "here and theres" but that's about all of it. I had everything filled out and the money to do it with, but then the car sh*t itself.

[redsnake99]

Beware of that Everquest nightmare. It has sucked in and ruined many a young person's life. Getting hooked on that one is worse than crack. Many a parent is ready to sue!

[Ken 01-Cobra]

Originally posted by STU
But why do I get the feeling I am still outdated......

Heh...5 year old computers are outdated, any way you look at it! I have my old Pentium Pro 200 MHz with 64 meg of RAM and a 10 gig HD (?) sitting under my desk and I can't find anything to use it for. Nobody wants it, and it isn't upgradable enough to be useful. I figure it could be used as a print server, but I don't have that large a printer load.

[Ken 01-Cobra]

Originally posted by smashedheadcat
Honestly Ken, I don't think it's the Athlon processor, it's definately AMD though. The guy said that with the fans, and heatsink(s) he's gonna install, overclocking this particular processor shouldn't be a problem, as it will be the same setup he uses currently. I'm gonna be able to use most of the stuff from my orignal computer, so it's not going to cost me much to build. DVD player, CDRW, hard-drive and floppy disk drives will all be re-used. Just getting a new case with plenty of fans, upgraded powersupply, heatsink(s), processor and the GFORCE 4 video card.

Well, you do what you want Josh, but overclocking a chip is like constantly running an engine above redline. You might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later it will bite you. It will also lead to many interesting issues like random lockups, crashes, etc. that a normally clocked chip wouldn't get. And just because one chip does allow itself to be overclocked does not mean the next 10 you try will allow it. You MIGHT be able to get away with it, but I wouldn't do it. As always, your milage may vary.

[smashedheadcat]

Originally posted by Ken 01-Cobra
Well, you do what you want Josh, but overclocking a chip is like constantly running an engine above redline. You might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later it will bite you. It will also lead to many interesting issues like random lockups, crashes, etc. that a normally clocked chip wouldn't get. And just because one chip does allow itself to be overclocked does not mean the next 10 you try will allow it. You MIGHT be able to get away with it, but I wouldn't do it. As always, your milage may vary.

Thanks for the advice, but it's not going to be me building it anyway. Heck, it'll be months before I can get the funds figured out so I can have the guy build it. this cat is a really good friend, and said that he'd be there to help me with any issues. But, i'll tell him what you said, and then go from there.

[STU]

Originally posted by Ken 01-Cobra
Heh...5 year old computers are outdated, any way you look at it! I have my old Pentium Pro 200 MHz with 64 meg of RAM and a 10 gig HD (?) sitting under my desk and I can't find anything to use it for. Nobody wants it, and it isn't upgradable enough to be useful. I figure it could be used as a print server, but I don't have that large a printer load.

Thanks Ken, I don't play any games, music, etc. on the computer.

I only do email, message boards, web pages, appliance parts look up programs I have stored on my hard drive and business needs. This still does everything I need. I only added the cd burner to have a better media to store digital pictures on.

Before I upgraded I checked into getting a new tower. After I loaded it with all the best new stuff I was around $3,000 from dell (with out moniter or printer). That's why I went the route I did.