THE COMPUTER THREAD

[bettertomorrowamy]

I have a 13 inch MacBook with a 2Ghz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB of Ram.  I have Parallels running with a Windows XP partition, and a Ubuntu partition.

[RVR II]

SWEEET..

Just got my 22" KDS lcd monitor this evening (using it currently).. AWSOME!!

[leeving]

I'm expecting some new parts Friday night from Newegg.

INTEL |C2Q Q6600 2.40G ---- gonna try to overclock
TWIN2X2048-8500C5D -  2 gig
ASUS P5N-E SLI NF650I SLI
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB
Seagate 400GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA HD

Went to Fry's today and got a few things:

Case:  Antec p180 , got an 182 in the box---better cable management.
Soundcard:  Creative  X-Fi XtremeGamer
DVD Burner: Samsung 18x SATA

I have 2 Plextors in this current rig, but i am trying to stay away from IDE.  I also have a 250 gig SATA HD I'll be using, and then a 250G IDE external via Firewire.

right now I'm using a Athlon XP +3200  - ati x700 - 2g generic DDR ram,  a new 19" LG wide LCD monitor.  So this will be a nice change.

I'm gonna look into liquid cooling next month.


I got a good antec truepower 650w in this rig, so I'll be using that.

[PsypherPunk]

I was just wandering around the local charity shops on my lunch break and spotted one of these:



Want!

[jewishcarpenter]

I'm expecting some new parts Friday night from Newegg.

INTEL |C2Q Q6600 2.40G ---- gonna try to overclock
TWIN2X2048-8500C5D -  2 gig
ASUS P5N-E SLI NF650I SLI
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB
Seagate 400GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA HD

Went to Fry's today and got a few things:

Case:  Antec p180 , got an 182 in the box---better cable management.
Soundcard:  Creative  X-Fi XtremeGamer
DVD Burner: Samsung 18x SATA

I have 2 Plextors in this current rig, but i am trying to stay away from IDE.  I also have a 250 gig SATA HD I'll be using, and then a 250G IDE external via Firewire.

right now I'm using a Athlon XP +3200  - ati x700 - 2g generic DDR ram,  a new 19" LG wide LCD monitor.  So this will be a nice change.

I'm gonna look into liquid cooling next month.


I got a good antec truepower 650w in this rig, so I'll be using that.

That sounds pretty badass, I just built my brother a computer with these specs last weekend.

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
mushkin 550150 ATX12V 750W Maximum Power; 650W Continuous Power Power Supply
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor
Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel
Seagate 80GB SATA II 8MB Cache HD
and an old case I had that has some pretty good ventilation and his old DVD drives with some other misc. crap. I also gave him my copy of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and tested it out and it looks really nice on the highest settings. The only thing that sucks is the video card gets really hot when playing games or videos.

[RVR II]

This is my Apevia X-QPACK (nicknamed 'The Borg')


& This is what I'll be Upgrading it to Very Soon..

Asus P5L-VM 1394 Board

Specifications
•   Mfr Part Number: P5L-VM 1394
•   CPU: Socket 775 support Intel Core 2 Extreme/ Core 2 Duo/ Pentium D/ Pentium 4/ Celeron D processor; Compatible with Intel 06/05B/05A processors; Support Intel next generation 65nm CPU; Support Intel EM64T/EIST/Hyper-Threading Technology; FSB 1066/800/533 MHz
•   Chipset: Intel 945G & ICH7
•   Memory: 4x 240pin DDR2-667/533 DIMMs, Dual Channel, non-ECC/un-buffered, Max capacity 4GB
•   Slots: 1x PCI Express x16 slot; 1x PCI Express x1 slot; 2x PCI 2.2 slot
•   IDE/SATA: 1x ATA-100 channel; 4x SATA2 ports
•   Audio: Realtek ALC883 6 channel High Definition Audio CODEC
•   Video: Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Controller
•   LAN: Attansic PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
•   Ports: 8x USB 2.0 ports (4 rear, 4 by headers); 2x IEEE1394a ports (1 rear, 1 by header); 2x PS/2 ports; 1x Parallel port; 1x VGA port; 1x RJ45 LAN port; Audio I/O jack
•   Form Factor: Micro ATX, 9.6 x 9.6 inch / 24.5 x 24.5 cm
•   Package: Retail
Uses The Intel GMA950 Integrated Graphics (Moderate Gaming & Video) Or A Separate PCI Express X16 Video Card

Uses The Newer & Faster DDR2 667/800 (4 Slots Max 4GB)

Integrated Firewire (IEEE1394)


   Core 2 Quad Q6600
   (4 x 2.4GHz - 1066FSB
   8MB Cache) Processor
   Fan / Heatsink - Ultra Quiet Performance (Aluminun w/ Copper Core- 92mm fan - 34CFM - 19dBA)

3GB DDR2 800MHz (Dual Channel Kit) –
Ultra High Speed / Large Memory Capacity
Contains (2) 1GB and (2) 512MB Dual Channel
PC6400 DDR2-800 Memory Modules

[RVR II]

WOO-HOO!!!

JUST PLACED MY ORDER WITH "PORTATECH.COM" THROUGH 'PRICE WATCH':

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1 cb-intel Combo with Intel CPU
  Core 2 Quad Q6600 ( 4 x 2.4GHz - 1066FSB - 8MB Cache)
  Asus P5L-VM 1394

  Fan / Heatsink - Ultimate Copper Heatpipe (Copper Heatpipe Design - 92mm fan - 46CFM - 24dBA)

  3GB DDR2 800MHz (Dual Channel Kit) - Ultra High Speed / Large Memory Capacity

  Expedited Order Processing

  Assemble, Setup, Pretest, & Set CPU FSB & Power / Cooling - Motherboard Combo

2 Year Direct Replacement Warranty (With Free - Lifetime Tech Support)

1 plat-del Platinum Delivery Plan (Full Insurance - Heavier Packing - On Time Guarantee) $6.75

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Sub-Total: $679.83
  Sales Tax: $0.00
  Freight: $0.00 FREE
  Total: $679.83

[RVR II]

Well.. Things Didn't go exactly as planned for my upgrade listed above (but, they hardly Ever do..)

Everything went well initially; installing the board, etc., along with loading the drivers as well.

But then I tried to install the board I just took out to put into another computer (the clear acrylic one I am currently using), and..
It Just caused the Whole system to Crash to the point it would Not boot up under any circumstances! for over 6 hours I'd pull it apart & rebuild it, go into the BIOS to change a setting, but to No Avail! I just put everything back together as it was originally, and now have this spare MicroATX board, 3.4Ghz Hyperthreading processor w/ 3 GBs of Memory. Sooo.. I started thinking what the best option was to do with this extra board and stuff and decided to buy another portable desktop case:

  http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?Image=11-133-035-02.jpg%2c11-133-035-03.jpg%2c11-133-035-04.jpg%2c11-133-035-05.jpg%2c11-133-035-06.jpg%2c11-133-035-07.jpg%2c11-133-035-08.jpg%2c11-133-035-09.jpg%2c11-133-035-10.jpg%2c11-133-035-11.jpg%2c11-133-035-12.jpg%2c11-133-035-13.jpg%2c11-133-035-14.jpg&S7ImageFlag=0&Depa=0&Description=Thermaltake+VF1000BWS+Black+Computer+Case+With+Side+Panel+Window

along with 2 Lite On SATA 20x burners & 1) 750gb SATA hard drive & 1) 500gb SATA hard drive + 1) 400gb EIDE hard drive I had sitting around, I'll have built my 8th computer by next week! I Think I'll use it to store my MST3k episodes and also use it for my Pinnacle Studio 9 software I use for my RiffTrax conversions.

[hare.29]

Ha. My system owns ya'll's. My desktop at home is a 6+ year old system, 0.9GHz AMD processor, 0.75GB RAM, with a 128MB video card, 20GB HD, 160GB HD (where all my MST episodes live), 4X DVD burner, and a floppy drive. It ran win2K until about 1.5 years ago (XP now). But it does have a nice case. I've been meaning to upgrade it for the last two-three years, but it's so much work to figure out what to get, what's incompatible with what, etc. Maybe when I get a job offer here in a few months, I'll start an 'upgrade my PC thread' since there seem to be a lot of computer geeks here.

[RVR II]

Ha. My system owns ya'll's. My desktop at home is a 6+ year old system, 0.9GHz AMD processor, 0.75GB RAM, with a 128MB video card, 20GB HD, 160GB HD (where all my MST episodes live), 4X DVD burner, and a floppy drive. It ran win2K until about 1.5 years ago (XP now). But it does have a nice case. I've been meaning to upgrade it for the last two-three years, but it's so much work to figure out what to get, what's incompatible with what, etc. Maybe when I get a job offer here in a few months, I'll start an 'upgrade my PC thread' since there seem to be a lot of computer geeks here.

WHOAH!!!
You've Gotta Post some Pics of THAT One!!

[hare.29]

Heh. That's nothin'. My donation to my previous lab was a leftover-parts based machine that was based on an old P3 processor and an 8GB HD. And they'll use it, because stupid scientific equipment makers refuse to support their own technology if it's more than 15 years old. Hey, we're poor scientists, it works fine, why should we drop $20k just so we can use XP with it?

[Grillslinger]

Is it possible to upgrade a video card on a laptop?

[Chaos]

Usually not (or at least, not on your own). You'd have to speak to the manufacturer to find out. Generally speaking, laptops have built in, "shared" memory video cards, and are non-upgradeable. But if it was built with an actual card of some sort in there, the manufacturer should theoretically be able to update it for you if you send it into them or bring it into a local tech office (but don't count on it).

In my experience, if you even CAN upgrade a laptop, it's far cheaper to just get a new one with what you want in it from the get-go. OEMs still aren't building laptops very ecologically smart in Western countries.

[RVR II]

Well, I Finally got my 'Lan Box' put together after making some hardware changes..

Pros: The 'Heavy-Duty' Handle! Excellent break-down design and steel construction! Can easily fit over 2 Terabytes of hard drive storage in this case, along with 2 DVD burners, and fit a large ATI All in Wonder X1800XL video card comfortably!
Cons: Air flow design! With 2 hard drives blocking the intake fan on the front, the only other access for air flow is the side vents, and with a large video card, this air flow is resricted that much more. Easily rectified though by 'moding' it a bit with 2) 80mm intake fans, for more 'cross-flow' across the motherboard.
Other Thoughts: I even went with a 60mm to 80mm fan adapter to mount an 80mm fan where the optional 60mm fan could be mounted in the back. Overall, I will Definitly buy another one in the future!

All USB, and Firewire plug-in options with 6 ondoard SATA connections, 6 channel surround sound, added 3gb od DDR2 800, and a Q6600 Intel Core2 Quad processor.
This thing Is Friggin Fast!! And to top it off:

with TV. Don't do a lot of gaming, but the option is Definitly There now.. Perfect for my video editing software for my RiffTrax conversions!

[hare.29]

Ok, I'm building my new computer- dual-core AMD, 3GB RAM, etc. My question to you, valued forumites, is: What flavour of Windows should I go with? XP Home/Pro, Vista Home Basic/Pro/the other one. And, can I just get a system builder version or do I need a retail version? I've been running win2k and yeah, it's time to upgrade.