Post yer rig!

[Dreamstalker]

The CS computer thread...so, whatcha got?

My main rig "Navi" (sitting more-or-less dormant in NM right now...currently fighting with my mom to let me bring it here):
--A64 3500 (2.2GHz stock, currently overclocked to about 2.5GHz...I could go higher but have a feeling my powersupply is the problem; I also don't want to go higher than that if I'm not able to closely monitor it) with a Thermalright XP-90 heatsink
--Fortron Bluestorm 500W PSU (I think the dual 12-volt rails are the overclock-limiter)
--Asus A8V Deluxe mobo
--1GB OCZ Gold PC3200 (2x512)
--SB Live 24-bit soundcard (my onboard sound died mysteriously in March and I still haven't figured out why)
--Samsung 160GB SATA HDD
--NVidia FX5200 video card
--Thermaltake SViking case with Silverstone 120mm case fans (case may be replaced soon as I'm finding it's a royal pain to work in)
--secondhand LCD monitor and keyboard
--Razer Diamondback mouse
--Windows XP Home (my school used Windows-only apps though so I couldn't go Linux).

My laptop is a Linux box and as soon as I can get drivers, etc sorted I plan to switch Navi over.

I have a build log and photos on my site :) One of these days I plan to play with watercooling...

[LostMyMind]

my main computer is a:
3800+ Athlon 64 X2 Dual (not overclocked)
Samsung SyncMaster 793mb (I don't like LCD monitors)
Asus A8something deluxe (the nforce chipset)
onboard soundcard (I'm deaf, the on board one is good enough)
NVidia FX7800 GT video card (:love: this card)
case is an Nemesis, not sure who makes it, but it's very nice to work in. got glow lights and window, 2 case fans, plenty of space for more HDs.
WinXP Pro.
2 160 GB hard drives, each drive set up for boot (2nd drive for programming or clean boot if needed)
*edit forgot to say how ram I got
2G (I believe kingston might be corsair)

[Ringtail Z28]

My main system is an Athlon64 3000+
GeForce 6200 128MB PCI-E video card (I plan on upgrading this)
Samsung 160GB SATA HD
1GB RAM (I should add more)
24 bit Soundblaster (but no speakers)
17in Sony LCD monitor
Windows XP (because I can't use Linux)

I have an old system for DOS games
60Mhz Pentium 1
420 MB HD
24 MB RAM
Soundblaster 16Pro
1MB Video
Windows 3.11 and DOS 6.2

[COMINATCHA]

I have a computer that has a moniter and a keyboard, which is handy when it comes to writing replies such as this one, even though it's a crappy reply *hangs head in shame*

[Knightmare]

I have an out-of-the-box Gateway.
Intel P4 processor 540 "supporting Hyperthread Technology"
speed is 3.21 GHz
1 GB (I upgraded) DDR memory
200GB hard drive
DVD burner
Tons of USB and firewire ports
Media card reader
Crappy video card (will be upgrading this week to something much better)
17" ViewSonic CRT monitor (this thing has the best picture!)
Standard audio card, but hooked into a 500 watt receiver with 100 watt subwoofer
A broken keyboard (the SPACE key sticks alot)


I think I'm too old to care if my case has blinking neon lights on it. I'm the only one that uses it, so why spend the extra money? It's silver, still has all the stickers on it (too lazy to take them off) and works extremely well. It plays my games (but not the new ones, hence the new video card. I'd like to go NVidia, and under $150. ANY RECOMMENDATIONS??).

[Dreamstalker]

For the first 2 years in college, my only computer was a laptop (first Toshiba, then Dell when the Toshiba died out of warranty; miraculously I managed to resurrect it). When it became clear my Dell wasn't up to handling some of the applications I was using (and the thing overheats badly)--and I got bit by the overclocking bug--I decided to build my own as a for-credit project for my CS degree (I would have built it anyway, but my advisor said I could get course credit for it so why not?).

I still have the Dell, but I think the battery has gasped its last (will not hold a charge).

The one I'm using now is my mom's Compaq desktop...ah, the temptation (damn good overclocking board and chip, yet as it's still under mfr warranty I don't want to do anything that could possibly void it and get me yelled at)

[Dreamstalker]

Asus A8something deluxe (the nforce chipset)

A8N-SLI? Nice...

I'm debating whether to build a whole new rig at one point or just keep upgrading Navi until I can't find parts for socket 939/AGP anymore.

[NightWolf]

AMD 64 3500 OC'd
2 gig Corsair XMS PC3200
Abit AN8 Mobo w/fanless heatsink (Heatpipe cooling)
Thermaltake ThermalRock Case (Super sweet case!!)
ATI x800 GTO2 flashed and OC'd to X850 XT PE standards
X-Fi Extreme Music Sound Card
Logitech 5.1 280 watt THX speakers
Zboard Merc KB
Logitech G5 Mouse
Aopen DVD-RW
Seagate 160 IDE
Maxtor 80 SATA

She may not be much any more, but she was da bomb when I first put her together.

[LostMyMind]

<snip> Crappy video card (will be upgrading this week to something much better)
<snip>
It plays my games (but not the new ones, hence the new video card. I'd like to go NVidia, and under $150. ANY RECOMMENDATIONS??).
Any Nvidia card is better than ATI. Just make sure it's using a nvidia chip. I've had good success with EVGA and PNY cards. They're alittle more cheaper than the rest but tend to follow Nvidia specs more than most other do.

But it's hard to recommend exactly what card for you without knowing what slots your computer supports (as well as what type of games you're planning to go after). Basically try not to get the cheap cheap ones, they tend to not have all the features available because the chip didn't pass the test to be a full-out chip. But you can pick up a very good card that will perform very well for 99% of the games out there for under $100 (US).

[NightAngel]

Okay since it was brought up... NVIDIA RULES.
Sometimes you can find very good deals on this website:
http://www.pricewatch.com/

My computer is a CigTech (my hubby's online name) custom made beauty.
Specs:
Obviously, I use an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 card.
It runs TS2 without a hitch.
The case is a lovely tan color.
The sound card had a cobra on the box when we bought it.
It's got a monitor and a keyboard.
Pentium III
Windows XP Pro.
Uhm... my C drive has 111GB of usable space.

And now you know why I married a tech... :D

[NightWolf]

I used to use Pricewatch. About 3 years ago I started useing Pricegrabber.com. Most of what I buy I can sum up in 3 places....

New Egg
Zip Zoom Fly
Tiger Direct

I've had such great luck with them. I find lately Pricewatch has been a crapshoot for me. :( Had too many bad experiences with retailers. I guess you just have to be mindful of the reviews.

[RichS]

RS13 (My primary system)

AMD Athlon X2 3800+ processor
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard
1 GB (2X512MB) Crucial Ballistix DDR400 memory
evga (nVidia) 7800 GTX 256MB PCI-E X16 video (only 1 right now, SLI later)
Creative X-Fi sound
ATI TV Wonder Pro TV-Input
Lian-Li PC60 aluminum case
Enermax Liberty 620W modular power supply
Mad Dog (NEC) 16X DVD +/- RW Dual Layer drive
Lite-On 52/32/52 CD-RW
Mitsumi 7-in-1 memory card reader/floppy drive combo
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA Primary hard drive
2 250GB (1 Maxtor, 1 Seagate) 7200RPM IDE storage drives
Samsung SyncMaster 730B 17" LCD
Logitech Cordless keyboard/MX700 wireless mouse combo
Logitech Z3 speakers
Running Windows XP Pro

Also used NewEgg & ZipZoomFly for most of it through Pricegrabber - good stuff.

[gbm85]

Desktop

Athlon 64 3000+
1GB DDR400 RAM
GeForce FX 5700LE
1x 200GB 7200rpm Western Digital
1x 160GB 7200rpm Maxtor (I think?)
Dual-layer DVD+/-RW
No monitor ATM (computer is back in NC)
Windows XP x64
Fedora Core 4

Laptop

Pentium 4 2.66GHz (uses a regular desktop processor)
768MB DDR RAM (never got around to upgrading)
Radeon 9000 w/ 64MB dedicated RAM (necessary for San Andreas :p) & S-Video out
15.4" screen (best laptop screen I've ever seen)
Integrated Broadcom 54G wireless
60GB drive (not sure of rotational speed)
Windows XP Professional
Fedora Core 4 (upgrading to FC5 soon)
DVD-RW
Built-in floppy (oh so rare these days, especially on laptops)

[Acolyte]

First, my desktop, AKA Avalon:

AMD Athlon X2 4200+ Processor (Absolutly SMOKIN' processor.)
Asus KV8 Series Motherboard
WDC800 80 Gig SATA HD
WDC3200 320 Gig USB2.0 HD (IDE, mounted in a USB chassis)
Some generic Sony combo-drive.
BFG GeForce 7800+ 256 MB Video Card

Avalon is currently in my grandparent's Crown Vic somewhere between here and southern Ontario, since I was taking it with me to Windsor, but sure as hell aren't going to put it on the plane. So, I'm typing this from:

Arias, my laptop. It's a stock Dell Inspiron 6400 (http://configure.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=ca&CS=CADHS1&l=en&OC=OCINSP6402_FEAT_E2) laptop, and much awesomeness, especially since I got it for just over $1000.

[Mr. Rude]

Just about like ringtails' rig....

AMD 64 3000+
1 gig kingston (dual channel) 3200
A8V Deluxe Mobo
Nvidia Geforce 6200 256 Mb
160 Gb WD
80 Gb Maxtor
Using onboard sound
XP Pro
:D

edit & gbm85s' rig too...lol

[Dreamstalker]

Hmmm...seems we have a little Asus fanclub going here. Just out of curiosity why did you pick these boards? Mine was the cheapest at the time and Jordan had good luck with his (although I "defected" to AMD...bad me).

[LostMyMind]

I picked Asus because out of all the motherboards I've worked with or own. I couldn't even think of how many, too many. I've only had one Asus motherboard go bad on me. The other brands, nothing but problems for most of em. Plus Asus tend to keep up with their BIOS updates and most others don't.

[Mr. Rude]

As lostmymind said...That & 3 year warranty is nice. By the time the mobo is out of warranty, you've probably upgraded ;)

[Ringtail Z28]

I went with Asus because it was the cheapest board that supported both 939 pin CPUs and had a slot for PCI-E video cards.

[Acolyte]

They're a good, solid and reasonably cheap brand. Perfect!

[Pagan]

Well, I feel like a complete dork! My computer, whom I call Hal (as in, "Open the pod bay door Hal"!), is a Dell XPS 200. It's got an 80GB hard drive, which is actually plenty for me. Even if I go back to editing the newletter I used to edit. I've only used 8GB. But it does have a dual-core processor (Pentium D) and a DVD/CD burner (Maxtor 6LO8OMO, which, I'm ashamed to say, means nothing to me). The two things I absolutely love though is my 19" flat panel and the, seemingly, 15 bazillion USB ports (a few in the back, two on the front of the hard drive and two on the monitor). The cover of the hard drive is about 3-1/2" wide and about the size of an album cover (damn, just dated myself!) with silver top and front and white on the sides. It's not a belch-fire like some of yours, but he does what I need and I love him! :p

[Dreamstalker]

Some days I wanted to change Navi's name to Hal (as in "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dreamstalker"...basically things that should have worked did not and there was no reason for it). Eventually everything got sorted though...then the onboard sound died and I don't know why.

Solid board, fit my price point at the time of the build, and usable for a good while yet.

The only thing I don't like is the Windows-based bios flash utility (never used it myself, but I've witnessed it frying a few bioses). I use the oldschool floppy method.

[Sunsetsky]

My computer is an emachine. I have a flat screen monitor made by Samsung. I can't remember what the size is though. As for the size and stuff...I have no clue. I got this computer on sale a few years ago at Best Buy during Black Friday. It was the last one. :D

[RichS]

I chose Asus because of reliability - I haven't had one go bad on me yet.

Notice I said me, because we've used Asus boards for customers' systems that 2 of them have gone bad, and getting an RMA for them is like pulling teeth...:mad: One of the boards, I've been trying to return for replacement for over a year now.

[LostMyMind]

:lol: getting a RMA is like pulling teeth because it happens so rarely that nobody knows what to do when a request comes in for one :lol:

Any motherboard will die if you don't do the basics to protect it. Surge protecter and power cleaning (for places with dirty power). Most people treat their computers like they treat their TV. Just plug it in the wall it'll be fine. :banghead: Took me years to get my parents to get an good UPS for their computer to "clean" the power.

[Kiwi]

I have a computer that has a moniter and a keyboard, which is handy when it comes to writing replies such as this one, even though it's a crappy reply *hangs head in shame*

haha you totally stole my idea and you did it so well

hahaha that was hilerious!!!

I was going to say

silver and black box, falt colour screen, laptop, bond, james bond :p

[RapidPad0]

Hahahaha!

I have a stock HP pavilion from 3 years ago. 2.5 ghz, had 256 mb ddr ram until I bought a 512 card so now im up to 760, intel celeron CPU, and... wait for it... wait for it... a 64mb video card. LOL! Try playing World of Warcraft with a 64mb video card, I dare you.

Needless to say, you can get used to anything, because I can actually play with insane choppy laginess with only occasionally wanting to kill myself. I often look at my roomate's screen when my character is standing next to hers just to see what a new piece of equipment REALLY looks like...

[chryso]

Foxconn 748K7AA Mobo
Athlon XP 2400+
1 Gig Kingston 3200
1 80GB WD Caviar (op sys drive)
1 160GB WD Caviar (Game/Application drive)
nVidia 6600 GT 128 MB (AGP)
Lite-On LDW-851s DVD Burner
Logitech® MX 518 Mouse

I have been eyeing a deal the past few days on Newegg where you get a free mobo with an AMD 64 3400+ for $99.

[NightWolf]

I have been eyeing a deal the past few days on Newegg where you get a free mobo with an AMD 64 3400+ for $99.

Just be careful on the mobo type. I've seen some really bad deals on the mobo end of the deal.

[LostMyMind]

But at that price, toss the motherboard and use the processor in another motherboard. :lol:

[Mr. Rude]

And if your going to get a 939 socket, I'd recommend the 3700. 1 Meg L2 cache. ;)

[Phoenix79]

My home computer is a Gateway . . . I got it on an employee purchase plan just before they stopped doing it, and a year before I got laid off. It's about 3 years old now, but it works for me!

2gb Pentium 4 processor
1024 mb ddr(I think) ram
80gb 7200 rpm hard drive
64mb NVidia GeForce 4mx (the MX causes issues with newer games, thank goodness for driver and software updates!)
10/100 network card
56 k modem
21 Inch Diamondtron CRT Monitor (couldn't afford the flat panel at the time)
Soundblaster Audigy sound card

That's all I can remember right now. I mainly just use the computer for games, but am planning on getting it back on the internet in the next month or two.

Phoenix

[LostMyMind]

64mb NVidia GeForce 4mx (the MX causes issues with newer games, thank goodness for driver and software updates!)
MX causes issues because, MX is a failed chip that didn't pass all the test. MX series disable the "advance" features that failed. Which makes it a great video card for most people (cheap and pretty good).

However most games now days require those "advance" features, which is why you run into those problem. Should be easy and cheap to upgrade, just going to Geforce 4 (plain or Ti) should be a major boost. It's old enough now you should be able to find it pretty cheap.

[Tejas]

my computer:

Apple eMac 1.25 Ghz processor
768 Meg of ram
80 Gig Hard drive
DVD burner that has been flashed to do DVD+R DL
with a 60 gig iPod Video

[Dreamstalker]

Notice I said me, because we've used Asus boards for customers' systems that 2 of them have gone bad, and getting an RMA for them is like pulling teeth...:mad: One of the boards, I've been trying to return for replacement for over a year now.
Both of the machines I've recommended for family (both Compaqs...ugh...I offered to build them rigs, but no) have Asus boards. I think Compaq does something to them besides rebranding however...a stick of RAM I added to a family friend's machine threw a hissyfit after almost a month :confused: Timings matched, all of a sudden the board decided it didn't like it.

[LostMyMind]

Yes, compaq does tinker with the boards. It's not the same kind you can buy direct from ASUS. I believe Dell does that too.

[Mr. Rude]

Ooooooooooooooo......Dell....

Bro-in-law had an older optiplex that should have taken PC 133 ram...nogo. The picky POS would only take 100. I was not amused. :pissed:

[RichS]

Just an update, a little off-topic...but

:angel: hallelujah! :angel: I finally got RMA's approved for both boards!

Since I'm essentially the manager now (short story, my boss left for another job, his parents don't know beans about fixing computers, so I'm the main guy until the building sells), I made an executive decision and spent the money on phone calls to Asus. 10 minutes later, I had an RMA. :)

And...

Ooooooooooooooo......Dell....

Bro-in-law had an older optiplex that should have taken PC 133 ram...nogo. The picky POS would only take 100. I was not amused. :pissed:

Dells are always picky about memory - We carry Kingston in stock, and the off-the-shelf sticks don't work in Dells. We always have to special order Dell model-specific RAM from Kingston.

[LostMyMind]

:lol: did the folks over at ASUS say "WTF, what was done to the boards?" before giving you the RMA :lol:

[RichS]

:lol: did the folks over at ASUS say "WTF, what was done to the boards?" before giving you the RMA :lol:

Probably should have :lol:

Actually, the lady I dealt with was very kind. After she confirmed that I was calling on behalf of a retail store (a reseller), everything was OK.

Only 2 boards failing of the 20 some odd computers we sold is still good - we switched to Intel parts over a year ago to take advantage of their Channel Partner program, and we've had a couple of their boards fail also.

[Phoenix79]

Should be easy and cheap to upgrade, just going to Geforce 4 (plain or Ti) should be a major boost. It's old enough now you should be able to find it pretty cheap.

I would, but alas, Phoenix is broke (I could afford about $20 right now, that's it)! I got Heroe's of Might and Magic V the other day as a gift, and it wouldn't work at first. Then I updated my video card drivers to the most current possible on Nvidia's website, and found a patch for the game on gamefaqs.com, and viola, it works!

Eventually, I will be getting a new card, for sure!! I have both Prince of Persia games (gifts), and neither of them work at all. I would like to try them eventually!!! :-)

Anyone have suggestions for a good card that will run current games, that is in the $100 range? I'll be looking to purchase one in a month or two. Thanks!!!

Phoenix

[Mr. Rude]

Pheonix, what motherboard do you have?

[Phoenix79]

You know, I have no idea. I should have listed that earlier, duh. Sorry about that!

I'll check out my computer at home this weekend, and will post back on Tuesday (yeah for Labor Day!). Thanks!

Phoenix

[Dreamstalker]

My computer is an emachine. I have a flat screen monitor made by Samsung. I can't remember what the size is though. As for the size and stuff...I have no clue.
Jordan now has an emachines; he's going insane trying to find a non-OEM bios for the board (I don't think that exists) so he can overclock stuff. I told him if he wanted a new rig, I could help him find AMD-based parts for cheap and even donate some of my unneeded working ones...or I suggested getting a Compaq as they use Asus boards and can be tweaked if you're willing to do the research.

I finally managed to get both Compaqs under my care to take more RAM...for some odd reason only factory-matched pairs will work at all.

I've now discovered that my chipset is the problem (apparently the VIA chips suck for overclocking) so I'm trying to find an NVidia socket 939 Asus board that still uses AGP (if absolutely needed, I could go PCI-E, but am trying to save cash).

RichS, my stepfather has a Dell Dimension that in theory takes PC3200...I got a gig of OCZ. Think that will work?

[LostMyMind]

IMHO VIA chipset suck in general. Avoid them if you can.

[RichS]

RichS, my stepfather has a Dell Dimension that in theory takes PC3200...I got a gig of OCZ. Think that will work?

My first response would be no, but you can use OCZ's System Configurator to check: http://configurator.ocztechnology.com/

[Mr. Rude]

My A8V Deluxe mobo has VIA K8T800Pro + VT8237 chipsets. Just ensure the BIOS is updated. My overclocking skills are still in the newb range. But, I have my 3000+ Venice clocked at 2.3 Ghz (up from 1.8) with stock cooling. Nice & stable, runs cool. Oc'd at 9 x 256. ;) ......

......Embrace your inner geek :beam:

PS: it has AGP too soooo....I'd say if you can snag a cheap one, try it out.

[Dreamstalker]

That's my board. I've got it at 2509 or thereabouts, but can't seem to get higher and I don't think it's my PSU. Latest functioning bios that I know of (I'm in Boston, it's in NM so I can't easily check).

[Mr. Rude]

Dream, when you can check, please send me your settings :) ...I know we can go up to about 2.7 on stock cooling. But, 2.5 would be nice.