My DIY desktop Xmas present (pics...56k'er ... ... Well, over Xmas I decided to build my parents and lil brother a computer rather than get them all separate gi ...

ImOnAPlain51 · 01-08-2006, 02:36 PM

Well, over Xmas I decided to build my parents and lil brother a computer rather than get them all separate gifts. I guess guntizzle influenced my decision with him buying a lappy for his parentals. Unfortunately for them, this was no AW.

This was my first DIY and had quite a bit of fun doing it. I really had no time to research the parts and had to do it fairly quick with the parts available at Fry's Electronics...as I flew to Dallas for New Years. I didn't really have time for NewEgg, but I probably could have saved a few dollars there. I tried to make this a budget friendly computer, that would play some moderate games (AOEIII is probably the most gfx intensive game that will be played right now). I also tried to make it where they could upgrade to better parts in the future...with their own money.

Parts

AMD Athlon 3200+
ABIT UL8 939-p motherboard
512 x 2 Kingston Dual Channel 3200 DDR 400 Ram
ATI Radeon 9600 XT 256mb video card
100gb Maxtor 7200rpm Hard Drive
Pioneer DVD-RW
US Robotics modem
CoolerMaster Centurion Case w/window
2 6" Blue Cold Cathode lights
1 Sleeving Kit
________
$680 w/tax

The computer runs great. I did have a a BSOD problem, but played around with it for a while and isolated it to a bad stick of RAM. Everything runs smoothly now. Before I took it to them, I played a few games on it and was pretty impressed. I played FarCry on the highest settings just fine. I installed BF2 also, which ran fine...just not at highest settings. After taking it to them, my lil brother promptly loaded up Age of Empires III and I set to max settings. It handled the large map with max teams just fine. I put the blue lights in there for my lil brother (12yrs old), thought he'd think they were cool when they are on.

My parents were so excited they let us go buy a new LCD for it to replace the old Samsung Syncmaster crt monitor. So it has a new ViewSonic 17inch now.

All in all, I had a lot of fun doing it. It was a good learning experience for me. I realize now what a bi*&^ cable management can be and how fun sleeving is! The ATI card did better than expected, however I kinda wish I would have got the 6600 nVidia, but I think this will be a good system to get them started.

BTW....this is replacing a 750mhz Compaq w/integrated video and 256mb of RAM.

Some Pics

motherboard

Working on sleeving

Window

...my plant looks like it's going to die

Side shot...I drilled a hole and installed an on/off switch for the lights in the upper corner, I guess I took the pic before I did it.

that's an Alienware box...so I guess I can post this in the AW forums now

lit up

I'd appreciate any feedback on the system and what I should do next time if/when I build another DIY.

Yang88She · 01-08-2006, 02:41 PM

nice job and pc's for xmas are always a good thing

Craig · 01-08-2006, 02:44 PM

Nice work!

Alienslime · 01-08-2006, 03:20 PM

looks great

redphyve · 01-08-2006, 03:45 PM

Great job!

Jordan1 · 01-08-2006, 04:00 PM

Good job! Nothing like building a PC.

OD-BLOODED-1 · 01-08-2006, 05:06 PM

Looks great man

Zelly · 01-08-2006, 05:20 PM

Awfully nice of you to do that for them.

booga · 01-08-2006, 05:30 PM

Nice DIY rig!

Now go water your plant. You have neglected it during this project.

PC Gaming Freak · 01-08-2006, 06:52 PM

The last pic is awesome it looks like it is filled with blue luminated water! This get me motivated! I only wish I had a $1,000 laying around I could make one with!! I think my next desktop will be a DIY computer but thats aftre I get a AW Labtop for my High School graduation present but thats still like 3 years away! I sure hope my rig last me tell then!! But I can alway put in a new prossecer and up the graphics and ram...

Freak

ImOnAPlain51 · 01-08-2006, 08:05 PM

Thanks everyone for the comments!

I sat through about 5 straight episodes of Matlock putting that sleeving on and trying to figure out what to do with the cables.

Freak...thanks, I thought the blue lights added a nice touch, lil brother really liked it.

booga...plant watered, it is recovering now.

After doing a DIY it feels like your lil baby...I'm ready to build myself a gaming computer.

DarthBeavis · 01-08-2006, 08:20 PM

If you really loved them you would have used twin Geforce 7800 GTX 512s and added liquid-cooling.

ImOnAPlain51 · 01-08-2006, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarthBeavis

If you really loved them you would have used twin Geforce 7800 GTX 512s and added liquid-cooling.

Nah, I think busting my a$$ working and going to school to pay for it and still making ends meet probably means more to them than sticking in a bunch of ridiculous equipment in it that I can't afford right now and they don't need.

DarthBeavis · 01-08-2006, 09:18 PM

Love has a price

You did well. Is your Mom hot?

ImOnAPlain51 · 01-08-2006, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarthBeavis

Love has a price

A girl I tried to pick up on the street corner said the exact same thing to me.

As for mom....well, not even gonna go there.

01-08-2006, 02:36 PM	#1
ImOnAPlain51 Happy Holidays Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Texas Tech Posts: 5,888 Credits: 328	My DIY desktop Xmas present (pics...56k'ers beware) Well, over Xmas I decided to build my parents and lil brother a computer rather than get them all separate gifts. I guess guntizzle influenced my decision with him buying a lappy for his parentals. Unfortunately for them, this was no AW. This was my first DIY and had quite a bit of fun doing it. I really had no time to research the parts and had to do it fairly quick with the parts available at Fry's Electronics...as I flew to Dallas for New Years. I didn't really have time for NewEgg, but I probably could have saved a few dollars there. I tried to make this a budget friendly computer, that would play some moderate games (AOEIII is probably the most gfx intensive game that will be played right now). I also tried to make it where they could upgrade to better parts in the future...with their own money. *Parts* AMD Athlon 3200+ ABIT UL8 939-p motherboard 512 x 2 Kingston Dual Channel 3200 DDR 400 Ram ATI Radeon 9600 XT 256mb video card 100gb Maxtor 7200rpm Hard Drive Pioneer DVD-RW US Robotics modem CoolerMaster Centurion Case w/window 2 6" Blue Cold Cathode lights 1 Sleeving Kit ________ $680 w/tax The computer runs great. I did have a a BSOD problem, but played around with it for a while and isolated it to a bad stick of RAM. Everything runs smoothly now. Before I took it to them, I played a few games on it and was pretty impressed. I played FarCry on the highest settings just fine. I installed BF2 also, which ran fine...just not at highest settings. After taking it to them, my lil brother promptly loaded up Age of Empires III and I set to max settings. It handled the large map with max teams just fine. I put the blue lights in there for my lil brother (12yrs old), thought he'd think they were cool when they are on. My parents were so excited they let us go buy a new LCD for it to replace the old Samsung Syncmaster crt monitor. So it has a new ViewSonic 17inch now. All in all, I had a lot of fun doing it. It was a good learning experience for me. I realize now what a bi&^ cable management can be and how fun sleeving is! The ATI card did better than expected, however I kinda wish I would have got the 6600 nVidia, but I think this will be a good system to get them started. BTW....this is replacing a 750mhz Compaq w/integrated video and 256mb of RAM. Some Pics* motherboard Working on sleeving Window ...my plant looks like it's going to die Side shot...I drilled a hole and installed an on/off switch for the lights in the upper corner, I guess I took the pic before I did it. that's an Alienware box...so I guess I can post this in the AW forums now lit up I'd appreciate any feedback on the system and what I should do next time if/when I build another DIY. __________________ _________________________.:.sR.:.__________________________ Area 51-m5500 Review Area 51-7500 P2 Review Dell 1330-Arrived on 1-29-08! DIY Desktop Review

01-08-2006, 02:41 PM	#2
Yang88She I'm 2 s3xy 4 my shirt Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: ATL, GA Posts: 6,797 Credits: 2,813	nice job and pc's for xmas are always a good thing __________________ \| Qmicra v2 SFF \| DFI P45 LanParty Jr. \| Q9450 Yorkfield \| Thermalright Ultra 90 \| 2x Sapphire 4870x2 \| 4 x 2GB G.Skill PC8000 \| Corsair 1000HX \| \| 2 x 1TB Samsung F1 \| 300gb Maxtor External \| 500gb Hitachi External \| 1TB Hitachi External \| 1TB WD Caviar External \| SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD \| \| Samsung 46" A550 1080P \| Gateway xhd 3000 \| Icemat Siberias \| SteelSeries 5L \| DGL 4500 \| \| Logitech Dinova Mini \| Logitech G5 \| Logitech G15 \| Logitech z5500's \|

01-08-2006, 03:20 PM	#4
Alienslime Don't thread on me! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 530 Credits: -63	looks great __________________ A-51 m7700 2x1 gigs of ram 7800gtx dual80 gig hd's raid 0 audigy 2 zs ------------------------------- aurora 7500 black with blue lights amd 5200+ dual 250 gig hd's raid 0 dual 8800 gtx's sli 2 gigs high performance ram x-fi sound card 3d mark06 10060

01-08-2006, 03:45 PM	#5
redphyve Darth Dingo Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: The United Kingdom - Home of Arsenal Posts: 4,188 Credits: 983	Great job! __________________ Red

01-08-2006, 04:00 PM	#6
Jordan1 >>>>>>>> Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,200 Credits: 971	Good job! Nothing like building a PC. __________________ strafeRight >>

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01-08-2006, 02:44 PM	#3
Craig Registered User Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 7,083 Credits: 1,714	Nice work!

01-08-2006, 05:06 PM	#7
OD-BLOODED-1 Alienware Gamer Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ottawa , IL Posts: 1,498 Credits: 291	Looks great man __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad processor OC'd @ 2.6 (Q8300), 8GB DDR2, NVIDIA Evga GeForce GTX 280, Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS, Vista 64-bit, Thermaltake 850W Asus Arctosa keyboard Asus Death Adder mouse 23" Asus HD LCD... the Alien lives again! 3DMark 2006 - 13703 3DMarks

01-08-2006, 05:20 PM	#8
Zelly Adios! Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Convent Station, NJ Posts: 5,145 Credits: 115	Awfully nice of you to do that for them.

01-08-2006, 05:30 PM	#9
booga Alien ******* Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1,510 Reviews: 1 Credits:** 248	Nice DIY rig! Now go water your plant. You have neglected it during this project. __________________ Area-51m:Sentia - Cyborg Green - Review and Pictures at http://www.slacker.net Update to review after over two years of use. Pentium® M with 1 MB Cache 1.6GHz 400MHz FSB, 512MB DDR PC-2100 1x512 SO-DIMM, Intel® Extreme Graphics 2, 14.1"SXGA+ 1400x1050 LCD Display, 40GB 5400 RPM ATA100, Intel® PRO/Wireless 2100, 24x10x24 CD-RW/8X DVD Combo

01-08-2006, 06:52 PM	#10
PC Gaming Freak Spankey (online name) Join Date: May 2005 Location: Michigan / At my rig Posts: 891 Credits: 117	The last pic is awesome it looks like it is filled with blue luminated water! This get me motivated! I only wish I had a $1,000 laying around I could make one with!! I think my next desktop will be a DIY computer but thats aftre I get a AW Labtop for my High School graduation present but thats still like 3 years away! I sure hope my rig last me tell then!! But I can alway put in a new prossecer and up the graphics and ram... Freak __________________

01-08-2006, 08:05 PM	#11
ImOnAPlain51 Happy Holidays Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Texas Tech Posts: 5,888 Credits: 328	Thanks everyone for the comments! I sat through about 5 straight episodes of Matlock putting that sleeving on and trying to figure out what to do with the cables. Freak...thanks, I thought the blue lights added a nice touch, lil brother really liked it. booga...plant watered, it is recovering now. After doing a DIY it feels like your lil baby...I'm ready to build myself a gaming computer. __________________ _________________________.:.sR.:.__________________________ Area 51-m5500 Review Area 51-7500 P2 Review Dell 1330-Arrived on 1-29-08! DIY Desktop Review

01-08-2006, 08:20 PM	#12
DarthBeavis Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: ... Posts: 11,392 Benchmarks: 1 Credits: 3,205	If you really loved them you would have used twin Geforce 7800 GTX 512s and added liquid-cooling. __________________ Check out my blog: http://www.outoftheboxmods.com

01-08-2006, 09:18 PM	#14
DarthBeavis Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: ... Posts: 11,392 Benchmarks: 1 Credits: 3,205	Love has a price You did well. Is your Mom hot? __________________ Check out my blog: http://www.outoftheboxmods.com

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