PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => Self Building, Upgrading & General Hardware Help => Topic started by: bat69 on December 21, 2002, 22:05
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WOOHOOO
I've just finished loading up all the drivers, associated software and giving it a whirl around the block and it worked straight away ;D ;D ;D
I'll post a pic here when I remember to 'borrow' the work camera and take a pic
I'll also post a spec when I get a little more time too
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This had better be worth waiting 3 months for, Bat! So what else does it do? 8)
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After all this time, I would expect it to make the tea and do the hoovering as well!! :D
But seriously, well done Bat! Glad you got it all going - now I suppose you'll tinker with it and break it!! ::) ;D ;D
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I have one thing to say
About bloody time too!
Can't wait for the photos now Bat ;D ;D
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Ohhh yessssss ;D ;D >:D >:D
Once its had a little time to settle in, I'll be tinkering with it, overclocking it and making it sooo much better. Still have a few bits to get for it, like a TV card and another 512Mb of RAM etc
Its so much faster than the one I have, its blindingly quick in comparison, so I'm happy ... and I've got things just right on this too ... spent a lot of time making sure every detail is spot on, like lapping the heatsink, rounding all the cables etc ::)
I've got it looking quite pretty too, but not got the window in it yet ;)
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Congratulations Bat! I can't wait to see it either. ;D
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Did you get any help from these little guys, Bat?
The Story of Andy's Computer (http://lego.bebee.dk/)
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That's brilliant Rodders,
I could have done with their help today, I had that many speakers, all over the place ... 7 of them :o they would have made life so much easier ;)
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Seven speakers? Sounds like the Audigy 2 then. Am I getting warm? :)
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Yup ... Audigy 2 Platinum with the Inspire 6.1 speakers ;D 8) >:D
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Glad you got it all sorted at last Bat,I dont think I could have coped with another 3 or 4 when I etcs ;)
All you need now is some BB and you'll be supersonic :-*
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Right the spec of the new Bat-Machine ... at the minute ;)
Full tower case - modified to have 1 intake fan (another LED fan is planned) and two exhaust fans
375W power supply -- 450W is planned
Asus A7V8X motherboard with RAID, LAN, sound ... and lots more - 6 USB 2.0 ports + Firewire + Gigabit
AMD XP2400+ (Thoroughbred B) chip --- to be overclocked >:D
Thermalright SLK800 copper heatsink -- with the core surface lapped to a perfect mirror finish
Arctic Silver 3 thermal compound
Thermaltake Smart Fan 2 with the thermal probe attached to the CPU
Kingmax PC2700 DDR RAM 512Mb --- another is planned very soon
Creative Audigy 2 Platinum soundcard
Creative Inspire 6.1 speakers
Hayes V9.2 Data Fax Voice Modem
MSI GeForce4 Ti 64Mb graphics card
LiteOn 16x DVD
LiteOn 48x24x48 CD-RW
Asus iPanel front end display
Maxtor Diamond Max 9 7200rpm ATA133 80Gb Hard Drive --- another is planned for the RAID set up
Panasonic FDD
Tripple fan HD bay cooler
19" Pure Flat CRT monitor
Microsoft MultiMedia Natural keyboard
Logitec dual optical mouse
I've also changed the LEDs on the front panel to different colours for added p'zaz
All cables are rounded Akasa ones, apart rom the ones I've rounded myself
And probably lots more I haven't mentioned ;D
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I know it's a rude question, but I'll ask it anyway - ballpark £££??
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That's a lot of kit just to play Solitaire Bat ;D ;D
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I know it's a rude question, but I'll ask it anyway - ballpark £££??
I know for a fact that the one stick of ram he has at the moment cost more than the PC I am currently using Simon ::)
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I'll be able to play very fast tho Adept ;)
Simon ... I don't even want to start adding it all up :o ;) I'm just happy to have the machine I've dreamed of for a very long time ;D
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I am sorry to have to tell you Bat but as of the second you switched it on for the first time it became obsolete and is soon to be last years model ;)
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Good lad bat, it sounds like a flying machine alright, sod pictures lets have a video :)
mind you like Adept say's it's taken you long enough :P but you did right in that you got exactly what you wanted. I on the other hand have kicked myself for not getting a Raid board and PC2700 memory, because it was out of stock at the time, and I was an impateint little git.
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Thats a shame Catch, I was getting very frustrated waiting for the memory ... I did really want the nForce mobo, but got impatient too and opted for the VIA KT400 mobo, still it wouldn't have made that much difference until I get a XP2600+ CPU, and as I've spent a small fortune on this bit of kit and a different mobo will be out then, I'm not bothered.
Yes Sandra, it was outdated about 2 months ago ;) but it should serve me well and it is very capable of being upgraded with new bits when its necessary ;D
Now the fun starts over the holiday period ... the tinkering and overclocking ... see what I can squeeze out of it >:D >:D >:D
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Let's have a picture!! :D :D
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Impatience is a terrible affliction isn't it Catch? I remember when I ordered my Vigor wireless router that it was out of stock and I had to wait several weeks for it to come in. I was very tempted to buy an alternative but now I'm glad I waited. The look of joy on Mrs Clive's face when she uses her laptop anywhere in the house made the wait more than worthwhile. ;D
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Let's have a picture!! :D :D
Be patient Simon .... I'll take one as soon as I can and rest assured it will be posted straight away :)
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Ok, I've just borrowed a camera and have just taken a picture.
You'll have to wait until tomorrow for a pic of its internals >:D
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WOW!! :D
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Flippin' 'eck. That's a big one Bat.
Is the Stella bottle an option? Or is it standard on your machine ;D 8)
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Ohh the Stella bottle was added as an essential accessory .... helps keep the operator cool, when trying to keep up with the machine ;)
The box will go on the floor once I've finished overclocking it ... Its only on the desk so I can easily keep a check on temperatures, voltages and speeds displayed on the front panel
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I do like the front panel - in fact, I'd quite like one myself - where'd'ya geddit??
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That's the Asus iPanel, but it only works with Asus mobos .... but do not dispair ... there are others available. Its very useful, it shows the boot up operations .. speed of the CPU, FSB and memory bus .. voltages .. fan speeds. It also has hotkeys on to open programs, web pages, email and programmable keys, and it also has two USB ports .. very useful I thought :D
I got this one from www.aria.co.uk others are available from www.overclock.co.uk www.over-clock.co.uk www.theoverclockingstore.co.uk
I'll hunt some out if you want?
EDIT: Here's a link to one (http://www.overclock.co.uk/moreinfo.php?id=959)
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Oh very nice Bat! It's very nicely designed. I love all those knobs and switches. ;D
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hi bat
looks very impressive ;D ;D ;D
especially the santa early detection radar on top of your monitor to get those prezzys just as they arrived.
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Thanks guys. :)
The radar didn't work too well ... either that or I'd had too many on xmas eve :-[
I like twiddling Clive >:D
And as the outside doesn't do justice to the effort I put into it .. two hours alone lapping the heatsink surface to polish it to a mirror finish to get the best heat transfer, and hours making, stripping and coiling the cables that I couldn't buy. So here's a pic of its guts 8)
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Well, my mobo is an Abit KG7, so if you happen to come across anything, Bat, that would be great. In the meantime I'll check out those links. I'm also looking for a nice new keyboard - perhaps an IBM?
By the way - that looks well 'ard, Bat!! 8) ;D
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Well if you want to pay £50 for a keyboard, I would definitely recommend the one I've got. Its probably the best keyboard I've ever used and is also feature packed and easy to configure (it does it itself 8) - after loading MSN, I went to configure the designated hotkey and zipedee, it had already done it 8))
Vantec produce a few front panels with differing facilities, and there are some LanLi ones too
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Well, I wanted an IBM K/B so I've just ordered one for just over £30 (incl shipping). It has integrated USB hubs, which will be really handy!
I'm definitely going to have a look for one of those front panels as well - I don't care what it does, as long as there's lots of flashing lights! ;D ;D
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That's a pretty full machine you have there Bat. No wonder it took you such a long time to build.
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Actually, assembly wise, it didn't take too long ... it was all the preparation that took the time. I wanted something that would overclock well and just be the best I could get it .. so I had a couple of dry runs first to make sure I could get the cables in the best places and determine the lengths of the cables I had to make.
There's still a TV card to be sourced and a memory cooler to go on the RAM, as well as another 512Mb stick, and another HD, although I might convert to Serial ATA when they are more readily available .. I might even go to a hardware DVD decoding card too.
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Nice looking bit of kit there bat, does Mrs bat know how much your planning on forking out on the bat machine ? :o Are those polostyrene takeaway curry dishes your using as case feet? if so I hope you cleaned em out first ;D
You may have started a new trend in, showing your internals. I may take a picture of mine to show how the clueless newbie installation differs from the no expense spared pro version. That's if the flash will work on that cheap camera I bought, it's running at a set of batteries a flash nigh on, so it was expensive really >:(
Edit by Rodders: Are you just gagging to learn more about digital cameras? No wurries, simply click here (http://www.pc-pals.com/index.php?board=28;action=display;threadid=1007;start=0) to learn why this thread was split, and why you shouldn't take all your clothes off the very minute someone explains that they're a photographer.
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I agree Rodders, although I borrowed this camera, we used Duracel batteries at work until the charger arrived and they didn't last long at all. :- A digital camera is on my wanted list now :D I will be asking advice shortly ;)
Not quite curry cartons Tony :P but close ;). They will be replaced with castors when the box goes on the floor ::)
And no Mrs Bat knows little about this :o ... I had to divorce her inorder to get the puter I've always wanted :o ;D 8) ;D >:D >:D
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Nice to see a bloke getting his priorities right!! ;D >:D >:D
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All I need to do now is study that "Wierd Science" film and find out how those kids made Kelly LeBrock appear ;) :P :P >:D
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hi bat
looking good O0
a word of warning though !
don't let any small pets within 5 feet of that cpu fan or they may well get sucked in. >:D ;D >:D
it looks like it would give a dyson vacuum cleaner a run for its money. ;D ;D ;D
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Well even tho I've just put one of those QTec 550W PSUs in the Bat-machine, I think I'll be getting one of these (http://www.cluboc.net/reviews/power/kingwin_kwi450wabk/index.htm) Kingwin ones ... the QTec one was only going to be a temp measure until I got a quality PSU.
I will also be putting in another HD for the XP and Linux operating systems, and another 512Mb RAM just to make it sing a little better. And I'll be tempted by the rheobus that fits into the 3.5" bay to help keep the noise levels down when all I'm doing is surfing/downloading.
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And when you finally complete the bat machine, will you be producing other flavours of ice cream ;D besides the obligotary Vanilla ?
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It has to be Tutti Fruity now ... ;)
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Now there's an idea for a new thread! (https://www.pc-pals.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apax34.dsl.pipex.com%2Fsmileys%2Fwoocack.gif&hash=940c892fe36952ce7cb6ad36bb7e93797308111e)
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Nice kit bat, sorry not got round to looking at it before.
I have to go the opposite way to you though and build em compact, i have more fans expelling than cpu power..hehe there so damn squished in.
I didnt see any lazer led's.. how come?
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haven't quite got round to the stage lighting in the case yet ... that's the next project ;D
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And for anyone that may be wondering what Laser LEDs are, or look like ... have a little look at this (http://www.monkeyreview.com/reviews/review.php?num=233)
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And soon I'll want to put a better PSU in the box ... THIS ONE (http://overclockersclub.com/kingwin450divinepowerreview.php) looks just the job, although I'd like more than 450W ... 500W or more would be nice :o ;D
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Dont know anything about the make or specs for this Bat but a friend of mine uses this place all the time and he rates most of the stuff they sell highly :-*
http://www.3bsystems.co.uk/
550Watt ATX PSU Dual Fan Only £39
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That will be the QTech PSU Sandra ... its possibly the only one at that price ... and its already in my tower
I'm just thinking about getting something with better quality components, not that the QTech is junk, just want to protect my investment a little more ... and the thermally controlled fans are a nice touch
Thanks Sandra :-*