I am running a system in bad need (personal point of view) of upgrade/replacement.

CPU = 423 pin "2.0"gHz P4
Dell Dimension mobo
7200 rpm 80 gig HDD
512MB PC 800 RDRam
32x CD/RW
8x DVD ROM
250MB scsi Zip drive
Leadtek 4600ti nVidia Video Card with 128mb ddr
Floppy
17" Dell LCD
OS ....... WMe



Edited by - Indy11 on 5/26/2004 8:30:10 AM

Edited by - Indy11 on 5/26/2004 10:10:11 AM

My system runs as well as I need it to...but lets face it, thats never enough is it?!!

Athlon XP 2600 CPU
MS-6712 KT4 Ultra Via DDR Socket A ATX Mobo
1Gb PC2700 DDR RAM
Maxtor 740X 60Gb
52x24x52 IDE CDRW
Standard Floppy
Sapphire Radeon 9000 Pro All-in-Wonder AGP
Creative Soundblaster Audigy2 PCI
10/100 PCI Ethernet Card
Creative Modem Blaster 56K V.92 PCI Int Modem

All wrapped up in a pretty SunTek Silver Acrylic 300W ATX Case Silver with a BT Broadband External Modem and Wacom A5 Graphics Tablet to boot. I run 2 monitors over an extended desktop, the primary being a 21" Flat screen and the secondary a 17" bog standard.

err...think thats it...oh...and I'm running Windows XP Professional on my baby

Grom - swap you your "bog standard" 17" screen for my weener 14" monitor.....

Yes - that is the monitor size, its not a typo!
Who says size doesn't matter is lying.

oooh sorry to hear that chap...surely you can pick up an old 17" second hand nowadays for next to nothing?

...and here's me complaining to myself because I want another 21" to even out my extended desktop sorry chap

i am in the market for a better Sound card and a new HDD was wondering if you guys have any insights on a good one....i was planning on getting that audigy 5.1 deal that creative has but i am not sure if it is worth it and on the HDD i was thinkin a 7200 rpm maxtor 80gb or higher....

but at least my graphics and memory are doin ok just need to make more space and better sound

can't advise you on hard drives, but I'm sure the guys here will be able to, but I can advise you on sound. I use an Audigy2 for pro mixing and output...you're not gonna do any better than it in its price range...I'd HIGHLY recommend it.

my main pc (guess it's primary function)

MSi 865PE Neo2-P mobo w. RAID and SATA
Intel P4-2.4ghz -----> o/c to 2.8ghz (rock solid)
Akasa King Copper heatsink & regulated fan
Antec 450W Trupower regulated psu
ATi Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb w. Coolermaster heatsink/blower/fan assembly
1gb Corsair DDR 400
2x Seagate Barracuda 80gb 7200 ATA133 in Raid-0 (faster than my previous SCSIs)
SB Audigy 2 Platinum
3Com Courier v.Everything external modem (special work purposes)
Gigabit LAN
Aopen DVD-RW 5x
Sony DVD-ROM 48x
Sony multimedia s/sound spkrs & subwoofer (actually nicked off a hi-fi but works just fine)
Samtron 76e 17" monitor
MS Intellimouse Explorer wireless rat
MS Intellipoint Multimedia wireless k/b
MS Sidewinder 2 f/f joystick
Epson Stlus C82 printer
Epson Perfection 1670 scanner
5gb/10gb HP Colorado Travan TR-3 tape backup
1.44mb floppy
6in1 internal card reader (just fitted)
Iomega internal Zip250 drive

Windows XP Professional & SP1
(dual boot to Red Hat Linux for work stuff)

some crappy case that just happens to have loads of room and 4 case fans, 2 transverse fans and double hdd fans. Case aesthetics are totally unimportant to me.

APC 500 psu w. surge protection

routed 1mb cable b/band via LAN

(main function of this pc? eBay and other online shopping, and Mrs Taw's hotline to ff & Locutus)

as to hdd's, Seagate Barracudas are my fav at the mo' followed by Western Digital. Maxtors are a bit prone to getting hot and failing, although they're q fast.
And grom's bang on about the Audigy 2, you won't get anything as outstandingly good as that for less money.



Edited by - Tawakalna on 5/27/2004 12:47:59 AM

@Taw,

Are the Maxtors quiet? Someone told me they are VERY much the quietest of the ATA and SATA set.

damn TAW thats a powerhouse awesome machine is it a custom build from the ground up? cause thats what i have been doin to an extent....and a big ole question to ya how do you overclock a CPU or vid card...been reading it can be a good idea so just wondering your insights and windom

@grom....thanks for the advice i will look at one today if Comp Usa has one

Ed, yeh the Maxtors are quiet but they run very hot, so if you must use them, cool them. My choice would be the Seagates though.

Shadow, yes it's a custom build. O'cing is dependent on many factors not least of which is cooling! but providing your hardware will let you o'c, it cn make q a difference. There are limits though, bu these are found largely by trial and error. The MSi mobo you have should let you use "dynamic overclocking" - check the manual for how to do this. Works a treat for me!


Edited by - Tawakalna on 5/26/2004 2:27:56 PM

thank you thank you thank you

i am adding as many cooling fans as my setup allows cause i am not goin to have one of those mobo meltdowns i have read about in computer mags lately....its amazing how much heat is generated ya know.....

has anyone ever heard of a cooling system called...pelter cooling system and those expencive water cooling systems??? i read a little excerpt about em in computer gaming monthly but they never elaborated on em...kinda screwy huh...but do any of you guys know anything about em?

the only thing i know about em is they cost a bunch, at least that is what the article said. From what they say and i quote.....

" If you are really into overclocking, look into peltier or water based cooling systems. They're complecated and expencive, but they'll keep your system cool enough to chill a beer right in the case!"


"To live is to die....but living is to die slowly..why waste time on trivial things just play as hard as you can"

Compaq 6016US

Processors :1 fast Pentium II, Revision 0602 ("x86 Family 6 Model 6 Stepping 2, AuthenticAMD"
Physical_memory :768MB installed, of which 442.4MB available (42% load)
Hard_disk_space :57238MB available, of which 44153MB free
DVD-Rom :Mapped to drive E:Keyboard :IBM enhanced (101- or 102-key) keyboard (12 function keys)
Mouse :3 buttons
Modem :Conexant HSFi V90 V92 56K PCI Modem
Usb_ports Port 1: NonePort 1: None, Port 2: USB Mass Storage Device, Port 3: Intel(r) PC Camera CS110, Port 4: None, Port 3: Microsoft USB Wheel Mouse Optical, Port 4: EPSON Perfection1250Port 1: None, Port 2: None
Operating_system :Windows 5.1.2600(2000)
Oper_system_type :Windows 2000 Type Unknown
Suite_Type :No Suite Installed
Windows_directory :C:\WINDOWS
System_directory :C:\WINDOWS\System32
Tmp_directory :C:\DOCUME~1\Michael\LOCALS~1\Temp
Temp_directory :C:\DOCUME~1\Michael\LOCALS~1\Temp
Plus_extension :Not installed (this is NT)
Pen_extension :Not installed
Security :Not installed

BROWSER_INFORMATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Default_browser :IE (6.0.2600.0)
IE_Version :6.0.2600.0000
Active_Desktop :Installed

64mb video Nvidia 420
CDRrw drive, Iomega 100mb Zip drive
Labtec speakers
intel web cam
EMachines Monitor

Windows XP


Edited by - Finalday on 5/26/2004 4:22:15 PM

Here's mine:

Shuttle AK32L motherboard
AMD DURON 1.3Ghz
300watt Power supply.
256meg SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9200 SE
Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer
60 gig harddrive
Micron 17 inch monitor
Four USB ports, two in front, two in back
3.5inch floppy drive(duh!)
Mad Dog Multimedia Entertainer 16x DVD drive
Generic Keyboard
Nyko AirFlo mouse(comes in handy for the sweaty-hand types, like me)
Creative Labs Inspire 5300 5.1 speaker system
Gravis Gamepad Pro (gameport version)
Modem: ActionTec Gateway external modem for DSL

That's my system, runs most games fairly well. I use it for movies and music as well.


"Here I am, enjoying my 2nd Amendment rights, and you people have to freak out on me."

AMD XP 2800+ (Barton)
Gigabyte GA-7N400-L
1gb geil PC3200 DDR
Hercules Radeon 9800 Pro
19" Iiyama monitor
17" daytek monitor
21" TV (Great for watching DivX movies from my PC )
160gb ATA133 7200RPM Maxtor Hard Drive
Samsung DVD-ROM (Black)
Samsung 52x24x52 CD-RW (Black)
SB Live! 5.1 Digital
Hercules 5.1 Classic speakers.
Antec SX1040BII case
400w Antec PSU
Logitech Internet navigator keyboard
Wireless Optical 5 button mouse w/charger.