Computer Died

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Jonny_B

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Oct 14, 2004
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It isn't too serious, the hdd's should all be fine. There seems to be a very weird problem either with the video card or motherboard. Either way I need to replace just about everything for compatibility reasons. Video card, Memory, CPU and Motherboard, and I'll need a SATA hard drive so I can leave what little PATA space they offer now for my old data drives. If anyone wants to pop in with any advice it would be appreciated. I'm going to try to put together something relatively decent, but budget is the major concern. If I can play games that are two years old I'll be happy, and all my drafting is 2D, no rendering. Oh, and I'd like to get a sleek looking case.

Right now I'm starting with an Intel Core 2 Duo base and going to build from there as I do research. I've been out of the loop for a while. Updates to come.
 
April25 said:
Sucks having a computer break down during the holiday season when everyone is strapped for cash.
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I know it. Now beyond all the other people on my list I have to shop for me. So I'm sitting at my local internet pub drinking Shiner Bock and surfing newegg. I'm just glad that *knock on wood* I didn't lose any data.

hawk82 said:
Building your own or buying an OEM like Dell?
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Building my own. Right now I'm looking at the following:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor
ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard
OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
Antec Sonata Designer Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W PSU

which I'm sure is overkill for my needs, but despite the budget concerns i've only ever bought nothing but the cheapest components before, and I feel like splurging. (see note about drinking above... I left my credit card at home on purpose)

Going to delve into the confusing world of video cards right now.
 
Just added:

MSI RX2600XT-T2D512EZ Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDMI

now I'm at $709.95. If anyone sees an obvious place to pare that down, short of armed robbery, let me know.
 
Jonny_B said:
Just added:

MSI RX2600XT-T2D512EZ Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDMI

now I'm at $709.95. If anyone sees an obvious place to pare that down, short of armed robbery, let me know.
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May I suggest the nVidia 8800GT? It's the HOT shit right now and will keep you playing newer games for years to come...
 
The WiFi on the ASUS boards is kinda iffy. You have to load drivers + their application to manage the WiFi. You'd be better off getting a separate PCI or PCI express WiFi card. Probably get a stronger signal too. Other than that, the ASUS boards are nice.

Personally, if I were building a new computer, I'd get an aftermarket cpu heatsink/fan. The stock Intel Socket 775 heatsink sucks ass. The stupid plastic screws almost never hold properly. I prefer the aftermarket solutions that have a metal backplate that goes under the motherboard, and then the heatsink screws down with metal screws into the backplate. Solid and never comes off by accident. Plus you'd probably get better cooling as in lower temps and quieter fan.

You going to get a dvdburner for your system? I like the Liteon dvd burners. Get one that is SATA and not IDE, so you don't need a big obtrusive IDE cable. DVD burners are the same price as CD burners, so you might as well get the DVD burner. Shouldn't have to spend more than $40 on this either.
 
i'm probably going to stick with the cheaper video card because I haven't played a new game since civ IV came out. As long as I can play quake 3 and BF i'll be happy.

good info on the wifi card. i'll keep a third party card in mind for the future. i'm going to see if any neighbours even have open APs first.

I'm going to use the plextor dvd-burner I have in my old machine.

definitely going to have to add an aftermarket cooler. forgot about that. going to fanless if possible.
 
Only way to go fanless would be to watercool your computer. Aside from that, you pretty much have to have at least one fan in your computer, one on your CPU, and most video cards these days have a fan on them. Plus the case should have at least one fan on it, either front or back. After that, you really don't need that many fans in the case.

The larger the fan is, the more air it pushes at a lower decibel level. So if your case takes 120mm fans, that's awesome. You can try the fans that come with it or go with quieter fans.

Man I wish I had cash to build a new computer. P4 2.4ghz 1gb ram 6800gt is showing its worn down teeth. blargh
 
hawk82 said:
Only way to go fanless would be to watercool your computer. Aside from that, you pretty much have to have at least one fan in your computer, one on your CPU, and most video cards these days have a fan on them. Plus the case should have at least one fan on it, either front or back. After that, you really don't need that many fans in the case.

The larger the fan is, the more air it pushes at a lower decibel level. So if your case takes 120mm fans, that's awesome. You can try the fans that come with it or go with quieter fans.

Man I wish I had cash to build a new computer. P4 2.4ghz 1gb ram 6800gt is showing its worn down teeth. blargh
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is that why i raep u in q3? :fly:
 
Jonny_B said:
i'm probably going to stick with the cheaper video card because I haven't played a new game since civ IV came out. As long as I can play quake 3 and BF i'll be happy.

good info on the wifi card. i'll keep a third party card in mind for the future. i'm going to see if any neighbours even have open APs first.

I'm going to use the plextor dvd-burner I have in my old machine.

definitely going to have to add an aftermarket cooler. forgot about that. going to fanless if possible.
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You could always go with a pair of cheaper video cards and run SLI if the board you selected can handle it. I've been doing that whenever possible since the voodoo2's were last year's model.
 
kiwi said:
I'd get a hot pink case, hot pink is all the rage with high school boys right now.
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We could paint the media box case pink and put hello kitty stencils all over it if you want. It'll be a good conversation piece! A conversation that I imagine would go like this:

Some Guy: Hey, what's with the pink computer? Is that your daughter's?

Me: Oh no, that's mine. I have a thing for VERY young japanese girls in school girl outfits, and I try to find ways to attract them to the house.

*awkward silence.

*Some guy turns to leave, never to return to our home. The home is quiet once more.
 
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KNYTE said:
We could paint the media box case pink and put hello kitty stencils all over it if you want. It'll be a good conversation piece! A conversation that I imagine would go like this:
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I was setting up a satellite receiver last night, and you can tell it what kind of TV you have, so the remote will work with it. One of the brands of TVs listed was "Hello Kitty". There was also a brand called "Nad":fly:
 
JPatrick said:
I was setting up a satellite receiver last night, and you can tell it what kind of TV you have, so the remote will work with it. One of the brands of TVs listed was "Hello Kitty". There was also a brand called "Nad":fly:
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Kyle used to work with a guy named Nad.
 
Watercooled computers kick ass. They allow you to take drinks during extended gaming sessions, and then after a while can be converted to urine cooled.
 
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