what do you think of her

[The_Dunadan]

been working on picking the parts for the pc i'm going to build. pcs are a she, aren't they? sorry, sidetracked. anyway...here are the pretty pics of the things i have picked out so far.

MSI G4Ti 4400-VTD (MS-8871)
http://65.119.30.151/productimage/14-127-034-01.JPG
http://65.119.30.151/productimage/14-127-034-02.JPG

sound blaster live 5.1
http://65.119.30.151/productimage/29-102-147-01.JPG

430 Watt Enermax Whisper EG465P-VE Power Supply
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/100922.jpg

MSI KT3 ULTRA-ARU (MS-6380E-020) VIA KT333 DDR ATA133 SocketA MOTHERBOARD
http://65.119.30.151/productimage/13-130-330-01.JPG

KINGSTON KVR266X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2100 DDR RAM
http://65.119.30.151/productimage/20-141-007-01.JPG

MAXTOR 40GB 7200RPM Model
http://65.119.30.151/productimage/22-140-129-01.JPG

Thermaltake Volcano 7+ 3-Speed Fan
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/130110.jpg

amd athlon xp 2200+
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/120500.jpg

PLEXTOR PX-W4012TA-BPS/BLACK 40x12x40 CD-RW
http://65.119.30.151/productimage/27-106-215-01.JPG

Alps 3.5 Inch Floppy Disk Drive (Black)
http://65.119.30.151/productimage/21-103-201-01.JPG

decided to go with the KT-436BK-WM case (http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=100391&Category_Code=C1). its basically a lian li pc 60 with mod windows included, more features, and a cheaper price.
http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/100391.jpg


got any monitor recommendations?

what do you think of her?

[The_Dunadan]

its going to cost a little over a $1000. need a job first:unsure: my friend might be able to hook me up with this job at a place that puts together computers for schools. they pay 9 bucks an hour. i'm not getting my hopes up though.

[sdtPikachu]

...and where's the cold cathode tubes?

No case with window mods is complete without them.

Also, rounded IDE cables, like the funky ones from Akasa.

And you only got a monitor with a single VGA-out? Pfah!

I recently treated myself to a Lian Li PC 65 (with the factory fitted window mod), a blue mini cathode (red to follow shortly) and a spangly new heatsink for my P3 (a nice golden orb I picked up for a fiver - it now runs at a very chilled 27-35 degrees :D ).

It looks the dogs bollocks already.

I'm currently working on the designs for my PCI-slot lighting switching/external-mod-power-out setup, my modded keyboard, and I'm also going to make my own uber-cool mousemat once I can find the raw material required... once they're all finished, I'll take some pics and put 'em up.

Monitors... well, I am a CRT fan, and won't touch LCD's with a barge pole (very bad at things moving quickly, and the colour consistency is terrible).

I've seen some very sexy IBM trinitron monitors coming in 19" and 17" flavours, and the quality was flippin' fantastic. Plus they were refurbished models, and they were available for £275... pity I didn't have the cash...

P.S. if that enermax PSU is anything like the one in the computer my flatmate built (ie a huge black snake coming out of the thing), you'll have a job stopping it getting in the way of the HSF with the way the power socket is placed. Invest in some sticky cable ties!

I'll only be impressed once you mod your hard drive... ;)

http://www.bit-tech.net/images/article/66/dscf1201.jpg

[gekko]

Mmm... pretty.

How big of monitor?

[The_Dunadan]

I recently treated myself to a Lian Li PC 65 (with the factory fitted window mod), a blue mini cathode (red to follow shortly) and a spangly new heatsink for my P3 (a nice golden orb I picked up for a fiver - it now runs at a very chilled 27-35 degrees ).

It looks the dogs bollocks already.

I'm currently working on the designs for my PCI-slot lighting switching/external-mod-power-out setup, my modded keyboard, and I'm also going to make my own uber-cool mousemat once I can find the raw material required... once they're all finished, I'll take some pics and put 'em up.


:bowdown:

definately not going to buy a lcd, no money. looking for a 19" black monitor btw.

[Jason1]

all I have to say is that is one pimped out fan.

[manasecret]

Tom's Hardware has a guide to all kinds of monitors here:

http://www17.tomshardware.com/display/index.html

And just your luck, they have a fairly recent article comparing twelve different 19" CRT's, aqui:

http://www.tomshardware.com/display/02q1/020319/index.html

I'm partial to the CRT's, too. I'm not really sure, but I think most LCD monitors can't go over a resolution of 1280 x 1040 or something and I'm afraid that the one I got would have problems with fast movement (though I think that's a problem of the past). Only problem is I can't get too deep of a CRT (or lengthwise sorta) or else it won't fit on my dorm shelf. The one I have now is messed up, so I need one, but I'm still not sure on my decision...

db

[Blade Runner]

:eek: Monarch Computer has my motherboard on sale (http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=110060&Category_Code=Sale_Clearance) for $77 instead of the usual $110 something!!! I don't know whether I should buy or not? See, I've never actually ordered anything off the internet before. I'm a online shopping virgin when it comes to that.

Anybody ever order anthing from here? What should I do!?!?!?!?

EDIT: Thats not my motherboard. I feel dumb now:( The one I want is the ultra aru, thats just ultra.

[sdtPikachu]

Buying a brand new monitor is a waste of money. Buy a high end refurb or secong hand model and you'll sav eyourself a fortune; my online retailer of choice for funky stuff Kustom PC's (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk) had a load of dual-input 19" black flatscreen CRT's a while back for £275 - that's $412 in your moeny (of course, you'd more likely pay about $350, things being what they are).

Find a good s/h retail dealer, and get your monitor from them. End of story.

Bladerunner: buy online, always - it saves you a fortune. But first to a bit of research and check out the rep of the company you're dealing with. Just chuck "<name of company> sucks" or whatever into google and see what you can see. Don't just go by the word of friends, since they're a limited user base.

Also, if you're as paranoid as I am, you'll prefer to use places that accept cheques as well as credit cards.

[Blade Runner]

I don't know which kind of memory to get so I want your opinion. The ones I have been looking at are Corsair, Crucial and Samsung. Which one do you think is the best for my system?

[sdtPikachu]

Crucial. Every hardware endor I've asked says that Crucial make the greatest RAM ever, at least for my purposes...!

It depends alot on your motherboard what it can take (I am assuming DDR), but for sheer speed you want unbufferred. For the ultimate in paranoia (for running mission critical applications) you want ECC Registered bufferred RAM, which is slightly slower but every access process is checked to make sure there are no errors.

For a compromise between reliability and speed, go with bufferred unregistered.

If you go to the Crucial website (http://www.crucial.com) their "memory finder" will find out what mem your system can take. You'll either need the make of the mobo you're using (if you BYO), or the full name of your computer.

e.g. Personal computing > Dell > Dimension > Dimension 4500 will give you a selection of RAM for that computer.