My first build

[Bill Nichols]

Having always purchased brand-name PCs for my gaming habit, I at last decided to try building my own PC.

Here's what I've bought so far; I intend to start building next weekend:

Intel i7 920 processor
Cooler Master V8 CPU cooler (probably overkill, I know0
Asus P6T motherboard
6GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 RAM
2 X EGVA GTX285 (SLI)
SoundBlaster X-Fi ExtremeGamer
WD 300GB Velociraptor HD (for performance)
Seagate 1.5TB Barracuda HD (for mass storage)
Cooler Master HAF 932 case
Corsair 1000 W. PSU
Vista Ultimate 64b

For sound, I'll be re-using my Logitech 5.1. Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse are still TBD.

I'll post pics as the build progresses.

:know:

[Respenus]

Looks like a solid build. Might I enquire about the price?

[goldorak]

Thats a pretty heavy rig :D . I wonder why 2 GTX285 though. :hmmm:
You're planning on simulating nuclear explosions or what ? :haha:

[AVGWarhawk]

Nice Bill! Get with Neal. He is thinking i7 core also. :up: Looking forward to the pics!

[Zachstar]

That is over 2000 dollars worth of parts!!

What are you? A prince or CEO?

[FIREWALL]

Sounds great Bill. :yep: You'll love the Power. :woot: :yeah:

[Onkel Neal]

Bill, that rocks. I will be watching with anticipation. This thread needs pics!:yeah:

[AVGWarhawk]

That is over 2000 dollars worth of parts!!

What are you? A prince or CEO?

Go big or stay home as they say:D Looking forward to the details of this Bill.

[Bill Nichols]

That is over 2000 dollars worth of parts!!

What are you? A prince or CEO?

Go big or stay home as they say:D Looking forward to the details of this Bill.

A long time ago, I came to the conclusion that the only way to keep my PC from becoming obsolete within 3 years is to go big. The PC I'm using now is a Dell XPS600 I bought 2-years ago for over $3000. Compared to that, my new build should be a bargain.

Simulating nuclear explosions? Naahh, just tired of being GPU-limited with the latest games!

[Zachstar]

Hmm any chance you could sell it to me for say 400 USD?

( I know that aint going to happen I just like the XPS cases and had to try :O: )

Its OK to go big but In my view there is still alot of bargain in going mid and snapping up the great deals like with AMD Tris and ATI 4670s

[goldorak]

Simulating nuclear explosions? Naahh, just tired of being GPU-limited with the latest games!

I hope you'll use a 30 inch display for those 2 gtx285. :D :salute:

[AVGWarhawk]

Simulating nuclear explosions? Naahh, just tired of being GPU-limited with the latest games!

Roger that Bill. I too tired of tweaking this and that just to see a damn game play some what decent. Not anymore with my latest. I do not blame you a bit for seeking something in your life that does not aggravate you:up:

[Zachstar]

Simulating nuclear explosions? Naahh, just tired of being GPU-limited with the latest games!
I hope you'll use a 30 inch display for those 2 gtx285. :D :salute:
I could not agree more with this. Matter of fact you mise well buy a full up LCD TV.

Oh and tho they advertise HDMI out. Do NOT use it! HDMI can output widescreen resolutions but if these cards have 7.1 PCM audio paths in use (They most likely do by expecting Spd/IF inputs) You will end up with a horrid picture.

Stick with DVI and use analog out for sound.

EDIT: I am not badmouthing HDMI BTW. Its PERFECT for Blu-Ray at 1080P with 7.1 but that is for movies

[CaptainHaplo]

Bill - if you run into any problems - post here and we will all do what we can to help. BTW - great choices. I would suggest you look at a second sata drive just for either storage - or better yet - a home for your swap file. Having the swap on a different drive can increase speed by a nice little chunk.

Also - once installed - make sure you check out www.blackviper.com (http://www.blackviper.com) for tweaking vista to its max.

[Zayphod]

That is over 2000 dollars worth of parts!!

What are you? A prince or CEO?

<georgecarlin> Well, if you're gonna play.......PLAY! </georgecarlin>

May as well "over-do" it, saves at least 2 or 3 upgrades next month, right? :rock:

[XabbaRus]

Bill are you having a mid-life crisis?

First the Evo now an uber computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[longam]

What no SCSI Raid 5? pfft

JK, That thing should run Office 2525 with no problem.

[Bill Nichols]

Bill are you having a mid-life crisis?

First the Evo now an uber computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Bill Nichols]

The build has begun!

I started yesterday. Thus far, I have everything installed except for my graphics and sound cards, and the power supply.

I would continue working, but I must get up at 4am tomorrow to catch a flight (business trip), and would rather not be falling asleep in my meetings.

I'm also taking plenty of pics. Soon as I return (Wednesday, I hope) I'll begin posting my assembly photos.

:woot:

[nikimcbee]

Nice Bill! Get with Neal. He is thinking i7 core also. :up: Looking forward to the pics!

Wow, thanks for contributing to my bonus/ coppenhagen spending money.:woot:

[Onkel Neal]

The suspense! Looking forward to hearing the details and seeing the pics!

[Bill Nichols]

Okay, nearly done!

Having always purchased brand-name PCs for my gaming habit, I at last decided to try building my own PC.

Here's the parts list:

Intel i7 920 processor
Cooler Master V8 CPU cooler (probably overkill, I know0
Asus P6T motherboard
6GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 RAM
2 X EGVA GTX285 (SLI)
SoundBlaster X-Fi ExtremeGamer
WD 300GB Velociraptor HD (for performance)
Seagate 1.5TB Barracuda HD (for mass storage)
Cooler Master HAF 932 case
Corsair 1000 W. PSU
Vista Ultimate 64b
Logitech G9 Gaming Mouse
Logitech Illuminated Keyboard

For sound, I'll be re-using my Logitech 5.1 wireless speaker system. I'll also be reusing my Samsung SyncMaster 245BW monitor.
Here are the pics I took during my build. There are a bunch of them, so I'm splitting them up into multiple posts.

Part 1 - Getting started and prepping the case.

Here are all the parts in one pile:

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/4630/pcbuild001.jpg

The case:

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8142/pcbuild002.jpg

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/6216/pcbuild003.jpg

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5822/pcbuild006.jpg

First step - install the back connector plate:

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/5653/pcbuild008.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/5048/pcbuild010.jpg

Using the provided template, identify which standoffs are needed for the motherboard:

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3772/pcbuild013.jpg

Here are the standoffs after installation. There are nine of them.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5325/pcbuild015.jpg

The motherboard, CPU and "Cooler Master V8" CPU cooler:

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/9157/pcbuild012.jpg


Next step: Installing the CPU, CPU cooler, and memory.

:know:

[Bill Nichols]

Part 2.

Installing the CPU onto the motherboard.

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/3995/pcbuild022.jpg

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/7786/pcbuild024.jpg

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/6836/pcbuild025.jpg

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6080/pcbuild026.jpg

Installing the V8 Cooler:

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/6289/pcbuild016.jpg

Insert the double-threaded screws into the two mounting brackets:

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4153/pcbuild017.jpg

Screw the brackets onto the base plate of the heat exchanger:

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4456/pcbuild020.jpg

Add the four rubber anti-vibration pads:

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8840/pcbuild021.jpg

Thoroughly clean the surface of the heat exchanger. Do the same with the exposed top of the CPU.

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4421/pcbuild028.jpg

Attaching the cooler to the motherboard is going to be a bit awkward. I'm going to do it the easy way... upside down!

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/645/pcbuild027.jpg

Add the heat exchange compound to the CPU. Believe it or not, this is all that is called for in the instructions that came with my compound.

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/7524/pcbuild029.jpg

Place the cooler on its back (with its legs pointing up) and carefully lower the motherboard onto the cooler. Install the support bracket and tighten everything down with the four nuts.

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/2738/pcbuild030.jpg

Here's what this monster looks like after installation:

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/3080/pcbuild031.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/4060/pcbuild032.jpg

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/5194/pcbuild034.jpg

Next we add our memory.

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/7899/pcbuild035.jpg

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/7155/pcbuild036.jpg

Finally, we mount the motherboard into the case:

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7964/pcbuild037.jpg

The ports on the back of the motherboard should line up perfectly with the back plate we installed earlier:

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/8943/pcbuild038.jpg


:know:

[Bill Nichols]

Part 3: Installing the drives and graphics/sound cards.

Now is a good time to attach the cables for the case's front panel to the motherboard:

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1213/pcbuild040.jpg

This case has lots of cutouts on the back side panel where we can route the cables out-of-sight.

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/373/pcbuild041.jpg

The hard drives sit in sliding trays, which makes installation a breeze.

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/79/pcbuild042.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/29/pcbuild043.jpg

The optical drive slides in from the front. The button I'm pointing to locks it in place -- no screws required!

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/8040/pcbuild044.jpg

The data cables for the drives are now attached to the motherboard.

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/4916/pcbuild045.jpg

Now it's time to install the graphics card. It's a monster!

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6585/pcbuild046.jpg

If one is good, two must be better! Each graphics card gets requires two power cables! Now you can see why I went with a 1000 Watt power supply. Note the SLI 'bridge' connecting the two cards.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7069/pcbuild047.jpg

The SoundBlaster card is the last to be installed.

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4656/pcbuild048.jpg

:|\\

[Bill Nichols]

Part 4: Power supply and cables.

The power supply mounts in the bottom of the case. I could have mounted it in the top, but it's easier this way.

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/8184/pcbuild049.jpg

The cable situation on the back side of the case is getting pretty messy.

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/2006/pcbuild050.jpg

A few zip ties help to get things a wee bit more organized:

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/291/pcbuild051.jpg

Voila! All the power cables are connected...

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/3176/pcbuild052.jpg

Except for the fan on the side cover. I wish that cable was a foot longer:

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/8292/pcbuild053.jpg

Time to button 'er up. Looking good, don't you think?

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/3561/pcbuild054.jpg

:|\\

[AVGWarhawk]

Looking very sweet Bill. And to think when we were kids a ball and new baseball glove was heaven:D

[Blacklight]

That's the largest master cooler I've ever seen !! :o

It looks like a car engine !

[longam]

Wow, that is so sweet. These cooling systems they have now just blow my mind.

[Onkel Neal]

Man, Bill doesn't do anything halfway :salute:

That fan is bigger than the one on my car. That thing is awesome.

[nikimcbee]

That's not a fan...
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/5194/pcbuild034.jpg

It looks more like a nuclear reactor:o

Does that monster come with an LN2 supply? How does the motherboard support that monster's weight.

[Bill Nichols]

That's not a fan...
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/5194/pcbuild034.jpg

It looks more like a nuclear reactor:o



:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

:lurk:

[NeonSamurai]

Not to be a downer but I have to say I don't much like the design of that case from the stand point of airflow and air sources. With a low front fan and the PSU sucking air from below the case you better put some air filters there, particularly the underside which will be trying to suck up every dust bunny and particle anywhere near it. and clean out the filters fairly regularly or your system may choke on dust. I know my old system which had a low mounted fan sucking air close to the ground would get choked with dust and hair and stuff and send dust all throughout the system. Filters should take care of that though as long as you clean them often enough especialy the one for the psu.

[goldorak]

I find the case very nice, except that it doesn't have a removable motherboard tray (and to think that CoolerMaster was the one that pioneered that concept years ago).
All in all that computer will seriously kick ass.
Now you can enjoy playing DW at 1000 fps and SH 3 and 4 at 500 fps. :D

[AVGWarhawk]

The case is very nice. If she is off the floor dust bunnies will stay on the floor. Mine is about 3 inches off the floor. I tell what is a big help for dust, shut the thing off if you are not using it. My daughters leave their computer on all the time. It gets loaded with dust. I shut mine down when done. No sense running it if I'm not using it. This practice greatly reducing the ever present dust sucking fans from running and for no good reason to be running. Some say that boot up takes forever, yadda, yadda, and leave it on. With my computer and with Bills computer, the power is lighting fast and boot up should be clearly under a minute. Mine is up and ready in about 40 seconds. So shutting it down and booting up later on is not a big issue at all.

Bill, I like the dual video cards:D It is electronic Viagra:D

[goldorak]

Bill, I like the dual video cards:D It is electronic Viagra:D

Yeah, thats some serious horsepower.
Hope the computer doesn't fly away with all the fans it has, including that huge side fan. :haha:

[Bill Nichols]

The case is very nice. If she is off the floor dust bunnies will stay on the floor. Mine is about 3 inches off the floor....

I keep my PC on top of my work bench, so dust is not a problem. (I learned a lesson long ago, when I had a PC fry from sucking dirt and pet hair off a carpet).

:arrgh!:

[AVGWarhawk]

Off the carpet for sure but I keep it on the shelf under the desk to keep the noise down there and not up by my head. However, my new computer with quality fans is very quiet and would be fine on my desk. I only hear the video card fan kick to high gear when running some heavy graphics.

Anyway back to you, were are you with the build? Fire it up yet?

[goldorak]

Off the carpet for sure but I keep it on the shelf under the desk to keep the noise down there and not up by my head. However, my new computer with quality fans is very quiet and would be fine on my desk. I only hear the video card fan kick to high gear when running some heavy graphics.

Anyway back to you, were are you with the build? Fire it up yet?

Noise is very hard to keep down in a high performance pc.
My case for instance doesn't have 30 cm fans, only (3) 12cm fans running at 800rpm. Its mostly silent, even considering the fan on the cpu.
What really frustrated me is the fan on the 9800gtx+.
Its pretty quite when I'm working on the desktop, but the moment I go into 3d mode playing some heavy 3d game the fan goes almost at full speed, from 40% to 70-80%.
Ok it keeps the gpu "cool" but the noise is for me unbearable. :damn:
ATI and Nvidia should learn to make high quality cooling without resorting to delta fans (who remembers those ? :haha: 6000rpm fans).

[NeonSamurai]

Good that you got it off the ground, that should limit the dust intake, though a case that size for most people would sit on the floor. Beyond that I can't really judge that case given that I do not have hands on experience with it. I am curious though of those who like the case design how many have hands on experience with it, or if your trying to judge it by eye as I.

As for the lack of a motherboard tray, its hardly surprising these days given the size of coolers for the cpu that your average case doesn't have it any more

last reguarding not shutting down a pc, well there are good arguments for leaving the system running, the main one being that it will extend the life of the system due to the micro surges the system suffers each time the power is turned on and off. Though since it seems that a lot of people don't keep their systems for more then 2-3 years, that argument becomes less relevant.

[AVGWarhawk]

Good that you got it off the ground, that should limit the dust intake, though a case that size for most people would sit on the floor. Beyond that I can't really judge that case given that I do not have hands on experience with it. I am curious though of those who like the case design how many have hands on experience with it, or if your trying to judge it by eye as I.

As for the lack of a motherboard tray, its hardly surprising these days given the size of coolers for the cpu that your average case doesn't have it any more

last reguarding not shutting down a pc, well there are good arguments for leaving the system running, the main one being that it will extend the life of the system due to the micro surges the system suffers each time the power is turned on and off. Though since it seems that a lot of people don't keep their systems for more then 2-3 years, that argument becomes less relevant.

My old system I turned off and on all the time. Worked for 5 years and is still going. The only thing that went wrong by turning it off and on....the on/off button broke. I went and got a new case with a new button installed. :D I prefer to shut it down and just for that reason....dust collecting while not in use.

[FIREWALL]

I have a CoolerMaster Cosmos 1100 S . All my fans filters includeing the one on the bottom for the psu slide out for easy maintenance.

I also keep mine on the desk.

[Bill Nichols]

Off the carpet for sure but I keep it on the shelf under the desk to keep the noise down there and not up by my head. However, my new computer with quality fans is very quiet and would be fine on my desk. I only hear the video card fan kick to high gear when running some heavy graphics.

Anyway back to you, were are you with the build? Fire it up yet?

I plan to power up and get everything running this weekend. Between travel, work and home stuff I need some time to rest before doing anything more that needs attention.

:zzz:

[Onkel Neal]

Yeah, and you probably need to get the go-ahead from Edison Electric. :shucks:

[longam]

I really hope your not going to limit this system with a desktop OS!

[AVGWarhawk]

Ok Bill, we are ready for you. Pull the big switch. :up:


http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q62/avgwarhawk/VerizonVHOElectricalSwitchGear-Carr.jpg

[longam]

http://hikaru.tea-nifty.com/robo/images/20040615_giga_e.jpg

[Bill Nichols]

I couldn't wait for the weekend. Last night, I powered up and everything runs smooth as glass. Vista and all my drivers installed with no problem. The Vista performance scores are all 5.9 across the board (does the scale go higher than that?)

This weekend's project: Hook up to the internet, get all the latest OS, etc. updates, then start installing apps. First on the list: SH4, of course!

:D :D :D :D :D

And oh, sorry about that momentary brownout on the East Coast last night....

:arrgh!:

[AVGWarhawk]

5.9 is the highest. I understand Windows 7 will go higher. Glad it is working straight out of the gate for you. How do you like Vista?

Nice site for Vista questions and answers. http://www.vistax64.com/

I find all kinds of tricks and tweaks here.


Also, register your version of Vista. I think you do it on the same page were you saw you the windows experience score.

[Onkel Neal]

I couldn't wait for the weekend. Last night, I powered up and everything runs smooth as glass. Vista and all my drivers installed with no problem. The Vista performance scores are all 5.9 across the board (does the scale go higher than that?)

This weekend's project: Hook up to the internet, get all the latest OS, etc. updates, then start installing apps. First on the list: SH4, of course!

:D :D :D :D :D

And oh, sorry about that momentary brownout on the East Coast last night....

:arrgh!:


Oh, so that's what that rumble was last night. :rock:

Congrats on the smooth build and startup, Bill. If I had built my own machine, I would still be on the phone with Intel, Windows, nVidia, et all tech support :dead:

[Greyghost]

Great build Bill. I just built my very first one as well two weeks ago. It's scarily similar to yours on specs too. I was extremely nervous wondering if it would start up. Surprisingly though, it was a lot easier than I thought. This thing eats up some power so I had to dedicate a socket just for the Rig itself to pull enough juice.

Only problem I had was a DOA motherboard the first go around but I'm up and running now and it was well worth it. The amount I saved building it myself was incredible. A machine similar to this prob would have run me an additional 1500-2000g just for assembly.

Here are my specs:

Intel Core i7 940 Nehalem 2.93GHz
ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution
6GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 SDRAM 1600
SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty
Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB x2
ASUS DVD Burner
COOLER MASTER HAF 932
Kingwin Mach I 1220W PSU
Vista 64

[Onkel Neal]

Ha ha! I see Bill has updated the Subsim News with Build a Killer Gaming Rig (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=148837&page=2) :yeah:

I was thinking of making a news link to this thread too, you beat me to it.

Bill, once you get your main apps loaded, are you going to make a backup like Neon suggested? :hmmm:

[Bill Nichols]

I have a 1 TByte Western Digital "My Book" external drive for backup. My backup software is Norton Ghost.

[Overboard]

I just came across this thread!, :damn: Glad to see you went with the HAF cooler master case, Man i have heard good things about this case (it has some of the best cooling there is) looks good to". Anyways i can't make up my mind between the HAF or the Antec 1200, both are excellent full tower cases, but i do like how the HAF lets you hide the wireing. Can you tell me if the HAF has filters for the fans
cause that is a big selling point for me. Thanks.

[Bill Nichols]

No filters with the CM fans.

:know:

[Soundman]

Congrats ! :woot: I can't help but to feel some envy and I'm thinking of doing a new puter myself. My current one still does a good job, but it's about four years old now and after upgrading some of the components over time, the processor is now the weakest link and so I'm thinking ahead. Looks like a killer rig you have put together. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of ballpark figure are we looking at for a similar rig? I have heard of substantial savings when building yourself, but would like to have an idea of how much.

[Overboard]

No filters with the CM fans.

:know:

That sucks, oh well looks like the Antec 1200 for me then Thanks BILL. :up:

[Bill Nichols]

Congrats ! :woot: I can't help but to feel some envy and I'm thinking of doing a new puter myself. My current one still does a good job, but it's about four years old now and after upgrading some of the components over time, the processor is now the weakest link and so I'm thinking ahead. Looks like a killer rig you have put together. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of ballpark figure are we looking at for a similar rig? I have heard of substantial savings when building yourself, but would like to have an idea of how much.

I think the grand total was somewhere around $2200. At least $1000 less than a similarly-equipped Dell or Alien.

:arrgh!:

[Soundman]

Thanks Bill, that sounds VERY reasonable and the way to go. Good info, thanks again. :salute:

BTW, it would be a simple thing to put your own filters in. Seems like some filter material cut to size, with a little velcro attached would do the job.

[NealT]

Bill, you are making me jealous...I have started to look for cases now...cause it is time I started to upgrade again...

Case first, that way I have a place to hide the parts...

:har:

[Novum]

just some thoughts here from a deckhand..

For storage i whould go with a Raid5 setup.. and for "speed" i should buy two good sata2 SSD disks and put them in Raid0

Good luck with your build, i have some friends that got roughley the same..
Its a kick ass machine!!! :up:

[Bill Nichols]

just some thoughts here from a deckhand..

For storage i whould go with a Raid5 setup.. and for "speed" i should buy two good sata2 SSD disks and put them in Raid0

Good luck with your build, i have some friends that got roughley the same..
Its a kick ass machine!!! :up:

I was thining about getting a second Velociraptor and going with Raid 0, but I've heard mixed comments about the ASUS Raid controller S/W and its compatibility with the Velociraptors. Also, trying to set up a Raid on my first build seemed like a complication looking for trouble.

:arrgh!:

[Onkel Neal]

Looks like you already have RAID forum posting going on :O:

So, how's it running? What have you loaded on it? Did you make your core backup? Did you know we have the exact same WD 1TB drive with Ghost?

[Bill Nichols]

Beginning to load apps now. First results are in: this thing is a beaut!

SH4 w/Trigger Maru, all maxed out graphics wise, runs smooth as silk. The real test was with the racing game rFactor. Again, graphics maxed and lots of cars on the track, my rig runs great and with stuttering at all.

:yeah:

[AVGWarhawk]

The only thing I know about Raid is it kills roaches. :88)

[nikimcbee]

Beginning to load apps now. First results are in: this thing is a beaut!

SH4 w/Trigger Maru, all maxed out graphics wise, runs smooth as silk. The real test was with the racing game rFactor. Again, graphics maxed and lots of cars on the track, my rig runs great and with stuttering at all.

:yeah:

With that "reactor" in there it better run great.:woot: how much did you spend on the whole thing?:D

[minsc_tdp]

Nice build man. Let me offer some advice, having done builds like this before:

1. RAID-0 is great with 2 drives but not with 3 or 4. Over time, fear will start to set in about failure, however. I would suggest you add extra drives if you haven't already and really, honestly and for true, back up your stuff. Ideally, Ghost your entire drive every week - like nuking stuff from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

RAID is fairly easy to set up, but can pose problems later when you decide to start re-partitioning, adding new operating systems, and generally moving things around. It starts feeling very fragile and paranoia starts to set in about doing anything, which will ultimately lead you to fully ghosting the entire drive before really doing anything, which is another reason I suggest setting up an arrangement like that (and testing it, ghost and restore with an OS) ahead of time.

2. The extra weight on the processor is a risk and you'll want to be careful moving it around.

3. Learn and use nHancer to really crank those graphics up

4. The Scythe S-FLEX fans with S-FDB (Sony Fluid Dynamic Bearings) freaking rock. I have like 7 of them in my monster PC and can barely hear it.

[Bill Nichols]

Glitch report:

Okay, after playing around all weekend with my new rig, I've found two glitches that I'd like to resolve.

1. When I select 'shutdown' in Vista (shutdown, not sleep), the computer powers down and then immediately re-boots. I've found some leads via Google on what the cause may be, starting with updating my Bios.

2. Loaded Call of Duty 4 last night. When trying to start the game, I get a message that says 'Cannot find DVD Drive' or something like that. Again, researching on Google gave me some leads (concerning the RealTek on board audio), but no joy there. I finally "solved" my problem by downloading a No-CD hack :o but that isn't a very satisfying fix.

Any suggestions are welcome!

:hmm2:

[FIREWALL]

It's taken on a life of it's own. :DL

Keep your gun handy Bill. :haha:

[goldorak]

Glitch report:

Okay, after playing around all weekend with my new rig, I've found two glitches that I'd like to resolve.

1. When I select 'shutdown' in Vista (shutdown, not sleep), the computer powers down and then immediately re-boots. I've found some leads via Google on what the cause may be, starting with updating my Bios.


Be careful when updating the bios. Don't ever do it from within windows. And most importantly be sure to have an ups because you never want the electricity to go out during those 30 critical seconds when you are updating the bios.



2. Loaded Call of Duty 4 last night. When trying to start the game, I get a message that says 'Cannot find DVD Drive' or something like that. Again, researching on Google gave me some leads (concerning the RealTek on board audio), but no joy there. I finally "solved" my problem by downloading a No-CD hack :o but that isn't a very satisfying fix.

Any suggestions are welcome!

:hmm2:

Wellcome to reality, where software houses and publishers will punish you for being honest. You have 2 alternatives to make COD4 work, either buy another dvd-rom drive and hope that the copyprotection is supported on that drive or use a no-cd.
This is one of those instances were using a no-cd actually makes sense.

[AVGWarhawk]

Glitch report:

Okay, after playing around all weekend with my new rig, I've found two glitches that I'd like to resolve.

1. When I select 'shutdown' in Vista (shutdown, not sleep), the computer powers down and then immediately re-boots. I've found some leads via Google on what the cause may be, starting with updating my Bios.

2. Loaded Call of Duty 4 last night. When trying to start the game, I get a message that says 'Cannot find DVD Drive' or something like that. Again, researching on Google gave me some leads (concerning the RealTek on board audio), but no joy there. I finally "solved" my problem by downloading a No-CD hack :o but that isn't a very satisfying fix.

Any suggestions are welcome!

:hmm2:
http://www.vistax64.com/


This site should help resolve your two glitches.

[Onkel Neal]

That's a good site, Chris :yep:

Maybe something on the Microsoft help page (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/228985)can help

Bill, do you have the latest COD patch? (http://www.fileplanet.com/197047/190000/fileinfo/Call-of-Duty:-World-at-War-Patch-v1.2---v1.3) Are your DVD drivers up to date?

Are you logged in as Administrator?

You may want to try clicking the Compatibility Mode: XP and then Apply.



I'll share this glitch story, I had a glitch installing Front Page on my XPS this weekend. I have been buying it since FP97 and all the upgrades, so when I installed it on my laptop, I installed FP97 (full program), the FP98 upgrade, then FP2000 upgrade, then FP2002 upgrade :dead:

On my new desktop, I put in the FP97 disk, the install menu came up, but when I clicked the install icon...nothing happened. I explored to the disk, clicked the setup file, nada. Wow, why would a MS program not install (other than it was made 5 years before the OS, lol).

Solution: I put in the FP2002 upgrade disk, began the install, it said it could not find the necessary program to upgrade. I then put in the FP97 disk and bam! Install complete :o It took about 45 seconds. Very weird but it seems to have worked.

[AVGWarhawk]

http://www.vistax64.com/

Bill,

I did a quick search at the link above. You are not alone. There are a few answers to your computer rebooting after shutting down. There are several things to check and I leave you to looking into those since, well, the computer is at your house:D

Anyway, the key words I used are "computer reboots after shutting down".

It is like a small quirk I had with Vista. It would not connect to the internet upon boot. I went into power management and unchecked "shut down this device when not in use"(internet network card). I guess MS is going green:88) I suspect you will find your cure in the power management area of Vista. Anyway, all my questions and problems have been resolved at this site. Plus there are a few real Vista Gurus that moderate and answer.

[Onkel Neal]

Welcome to our newest member, SUBSIM (http://www.vistax64.com/members/subsim.html) :D

[NeonSamurai]

As was said the problem with COD 4 could be a vista glitch, or that the copy protection doesn't like your DVD drive (which does happen).

Anyhow googled the cod issue

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=%22call+of+duty+4%22+find+dvd+drive&btnG=Search&meta=

I would also try googling your drive make (-review, etc)

Lots of copy protection schemes also hate many different types of dvd burning software (and virtual dvd drives) and will refuse to run if present.

[Bill Nichols]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I've been working on the re-boot issue thus far. Updated the BIOS, no joy. I've read in a couple of places that this issue happens with the ASUS P6T motherboard when two graphics cards are installed. That's exactly my configuration, so maybe there isn't a workaround, yet. Guess I'll just have to get used to punching the power button when I shutdown, before the PC has a chance to re-boot.

Regarding COD4 and my DVD drive, I did find a newer set of firmware and installed same. Don't know if it made any difference or not because I'm using the No-CD hack for COD4, and haven't had the problem with any other program thus far.

As you can tell, I'm having a blast :03:

[Vorperblad]

Good One! That's a Fast Rig! The best thing building it yourself is Personal satisfaction you DIY, technical Self discovery and of course a very nice Cost Saving. You know what you got in there, 'cause you put it in'dare!!!

What is the Tare Weight? What monitor you running>>?

Good work and Good Hunting.:yeah:

[Bill Nichols]

I have a 24-inch Samsung SyncMaster 245BW, wonderful monitor!

[AVGWarhawk]

I have the 22 inch Samsung. They are very nice monitors. :yep:

[NeonSamurai]

Personally I like my LG Flatron W2042TQ, really nice display with controls, and best of all has a switchable 4:3 ratio mode for older games. Only complaint is it didn't come with a DVI cable (only a VGA cable)

[FIREWALL]

A small question about the SLI vid cards.

I notice in the photo the top card is so close to bottom card that it's fan is blocked by bottom card.

Question : Do you forsee a cooling problem with top card ?

[Bill Nichols]

A small question about the SLI vid cards.

I notice in the photo the top card is so close to bottom card that it's fan is blocked by bottom card.

Question : Do you forsee a cooling problem with top card ?

Yes, I worry about that. I had the same configuration in my Dell XPS, and the top card typically ran 5-10 degrees hotter.
Unfortunately, the Asus motherboard calls out those two slots, specifically, for twin-SLI.

[FIREWALL]

I see. I guess there's no workaround that. I have same card liquid cooled as well as chpset and CPU.

I haven't played with overclocking and probably won't.

I haven't found a game yet that has brought my rig to it's knees. :haha:

[NeonSamurai]

Ya try Crysis in dx10 mode running 100% max detail & resolution

[Castout]

I couldn't wait for the weekend. Last night, I powered up and everything runs smooth as glass. Vista and all my drivers installed with no problem. The Vista performance scores are all 5.9 across the board (does the scale go higher than that?).........

No Bill the score doesn't go any higher than that. It used to be 5 only but MS upped it to 5.9 to reflect the hardware progress since. That is one MONSTROUS gaming rig. Never ever buy branded PC they are a rip off. I must ask this the new gaming rig is obviously not built just to play DW or SH3 what new games are you planning to run with that rig? I must say that If I were you I would try to avoid fans on my casing since no matter how quiet they do make a sound. Getting that exotic non fan cooling casing would be great but as it is it is already a one luxurious desktop PC . Congrats on the buy.

[Castout]

Ya try Crysis in dx10 mode running 100% max detail & resolution

Crysis? Not my type of game. Try empire Total War instead. Truth is that rig seems to be able to eat anything Bill throws at it. I don't think there's a PC game coming soon or available now that can slow that machine down. Unless Bill wants to play his games with multiple monitors or very large screen or with a few hundreds trojans and worms running or something like that.

[FIREWALL]

Ya try Crysis in dx10 mode running 100% max detail & resolution


My friend has it. Put it on my rig and, as he's familier with the game. I let him have at it at your specs.

IHHO my rig screwed Crysis in the arse. :D

[MR. Wood]

My hats off to you Bill That rig rocks :rock: Now you need a big screen for your rig

[The Bandit]

Awesome build Bill! How do you like the mounting system in that Coolermaster case? I am thinking of doing a new build this summer (old one is going to be 2 years old and I would be time to mid-life it with a new CPU ect but I am really liking the cooler master cases and really considering Core i7) EVGA is a great name for video cards, I always keep saying I am going to get one and never get around to it (went with BFG and XFX on my last video cards and they were always good). You should put Windows 7 beta 64bit on a spare HDD just to see how it runs. I have been using the beta for a few months now (it still a bit rough around the edges but I was really amazed at how well it works for a beta).

[AVGWarhawk]

I love EVGA cards. I have had two and both are still performing. They have a great forum as well. One of the forum gurus made a overclocking program for their cards specifically. It is super nice.

[Bill Nichols]

I'm just loving this machine.

Last night, I installed n-hancer and set up SH3 for best graphics, per a post I found in the SH3 forum area at Subsim. B-U-T-Ful!!!

Today I discovered how to get my RAM running at full spec speed (1600 MHz) instead of the default 1033 that the motherboard is set at.

:sunny:

[AVGWarhawk]

Sounds like you are really enjoying the computer Bill. That is what it is all about. Nothing like picking a game and not having to look at the requirments to run it. Just buy, load and go:up:

[U2222]

Bill,
How did you get SH3 to run under vista 64?
Regards,
U2222

[AVGWarhawk]

Bill,
How did you get SH3 to run under vista 64?
Regards,
U2222

SH3 will run under Vista 64.

[FIREWALL]

I have a good question for you Bill that nobody has asked yet. :DL


How doe's " Dangerous Waters " run ? :haha:

[Hitman]

Hey Bill, how come you forgot the flux capacitor? :haha:

I'd llike to see satellite view of your city when you turn that beast on, I'm sure the lights in the neighbourhood go down a lot!

Happy gaming :salute:

[Onkel Neal]

I'm just loving this machine.

Last night, I installed n-hancer and set up SH3 for best graphics, per a post I found in the SH3 forum area at Subsim. B-U-T-Ful!!!

Today I discovered how to get my RAM running at full spec speed (1600 MHz) instead of the default 1033 that the motherboard is set at.

:sunny:

What is n hancer??

I just got a bundle of the SH3/SH2 disks from amazon, I wanna see that SH3 stuff too.

[HunterICX]

What is n hancer??

I just got a bundle of the SH3/SH2 disks from amazon, I wanna see that SH3 stuff too.

http://www.nhancer.com/

its and advanced Control panel for your Nvidia card.

HunterICX

[Bill Nichols]

I have a good question for you Bill that nobody has asked yet. :DL


How doe's " Dangerous Waters " run ? :haha:


Actually, I'm having a wee bit of problems with DW. First, every time I start up, Windows puts up a dialog that wants me to install voice recognition. If I clear the dialog, it just pops up again.

Second, I'm getting ugly banding effects in the sky. Maybe I had those before, but I was hoping for a graphic improvement. (Nvidia control panel is set to its default settings.)

[Torps]

Very nice build, wish I had the funds avaliable for a build like that!

[zinosumatra]

When Vista prompts you to configure the voice rec, you can just go through the process and record dead air. The nagware will cease to interrupt you from that point forward.

I have a coolermaster case and mounted the bottom case fan so that it blows downward, sending the dust bunnies tumbling away. I never understood why they would have been installed otherwise, as it turns the system into one giant dust magnet. I have 13 case fans in total and have the air blowing from top to bottom, front to back, and inward toward the motherboard from both sides. The machine runs extremely cool, with CPU temp seldom going over 80 degrees. Perhaps that is overkill, but it is the order of the day, no? :salute:

[silent killer]

how about this.asus m3a79t deluxe,amd 9950 black box edt. quad core cpu ,corsair dominator 8 gig of 1066 8500 ddr 2 ram bfg 260 oc vid card ,1 tera bit wd hard drive with a samsung 22inch moniter at 2 mil sec response, going to install a amd phenom2 quad core 940 black box soon.also a bfg 280 vid card. eat your heart out.

[FIREWALL]

how about this.asus m3a79t deluxe,amd 9950 black box edt. quad core cpu ,corsair dominator 8 gig of 1066 8500 ddr 2 ram bfg 260 oc vid card ,1 tera bit wd hard drive with a samsung 22inch moniter at 2 mil sec response, going to install a amd phenom2 quad core 940 black box soon.also a bfg 280 vid card. eat your heart out.


And then you woke up from your dream. :haha:

[Dargo]

Just placed order of my new rig yesterday.


CPU : Amd Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition (4x 2600 MHz)
Motherboard: M3A79-T Deluxe
Memory : OCZ 4GB 1066-555 XTC Platinum
Power : Cooler Master Silent Pro M 700W
Case : Cooler Master Centurion 5
Video : ATI Radeon Sapphire HD4870 X2
Monitor : 22" T220 Samsung 2ms
DVD ROM : Sony NEC Optiarc DDU1675S-0B
DVD writer : Plextor PX-820SA
Hard disk : Western Digital WD6400AACS


Was really needed so that Dargo jr can use my old E8500 system he is using a P2 system now.

[Castout]

Time out time out :timeout:
You guys are killing me . . .

I'm going to send my resume to NSA so that I could play DW on their mainframe. Now eat that out.
No I'm not laughing.

[suribachi]

Hi,

I am considering either building a desk top killer rig for my home office or buying an Alienware laptop which would be ideal for those numerous business trips. My question is: Where did you buy all the individual parts, one warehouse type location or various websites? Years ago when I built a desk top I used a large Computer Magazine to locate and verify latest parts and best prices, sadly that bible which used to be an inch thick and full of suppliers etc... is no longer found on news stands. Any websites that you purchased from and would recommend? I am hoping to make up my mind on which path shortly.

[Bill Nichols]

I bought mostly from Newegg and MicroCenter.

Good luck if you decide to build, you won't look back.

:DL

p.s. for my business travel, I carry a Dell XPS M1530. Heavy, but works fine with the games I play while in the hotel.

[Dekessey]

Impressive rig!

I notice all the fans on it, how noisy is it?

I had a few on my previous machine and it was unbearable. I used to call it Hoover. :DL

[Bill Nichols]

Actually is surprisingly quiet. Big fans mean lower RPMs means less noise. The Dell I had prior to this was much louder.

[NeonSamurai]

Hi,

I am considering either building a desk top killer rig for my home office or buying an Alienware laptop which would be ideal for those numerous business trips. My question is: Where did you buy all the individual parts, one warehouse type location or various websites? Years ago when I built a desk top I used a large Computer Magazine to locate and verify latest parts and best prices, sadly that bible which used to be an inch thick and full of suppliers etc... is no longer found on news stands. Any websites that you purchased from and would recommend? I am hoping to make up my mind on which path shortly.

Just poke around Google and you can find many different sellers. If you want to buy locally use the Yellow Pages then see how many have websites, that or again use Google and put your city in the search.

[FIREWALL]

Hi,

I am considering either building a desk top killer rig for my home office or buying an Alienware laptop which would be ideal for those numerous business trips. My question is: Where did you buy all the individual parts, one warehouse type location or various websites? Years ago when I built a desk top I used a large Computer Magazine to locate and verify latest parts and best prices, sadly that bible which used to be an inch thick and full of suppliers etc... is no longer found on news stands. Any websites that you purchased from and would recommend? I am hoping to make up my mind on which path shortly.

This is where it pays off to put your country under your Avatar.

It can help us zero in on where to recomend where to shop.

I live in Ca. USA but, I buy from TigerDirect in Florida USA.

I save on sales tax (none) and free shipping if order is big enough.

Can't help you if we don't have some idea where you live.

Something to think about when you ask where to shop.

Good luck on your build. :up: