Lets see your computers
01-10-2008, 01:29 AM
#1
Lets see your computers
I ended up building a new gaming PC over the holiday break, as I built my old PC back in 2002, and it was showing its age.
I upgraded it after getting back on with Boeing, but still it was slow by today's standards and only AGP, not PCIe for the video end.
I built the new one also to be able to handle any game and future games that come along.
Here are the specs on it.
Antec 900 gaming case with 2x120 mm fans up front, 1x120 mm fan back aft, and one HUGE 200 mm fan on top of the case to expel the hot air.
The 120 mm fans all have blue LEDS in them, and look cool.
The case is virtually silent with these big fans, as I have them set to low (3 speeds) but on low they move a lot of air.
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15900
Power supply is a 650 watt Thremaltake Toughpower unit made for SLI as it has 2 dedicated plugs for powering the NVIDIA graphics cards.
CPU is the Intel Conroe 3.0 GHz duo core, 2 GB of Corsair Dominator RAM, Pioneer DVD/CD burner, Creative X Gamer soundcard, eVGA 8800 GT video card superclocked from eVGA and with 512 MB of RAM.
Motherboard is the Asus P5N 32-E.
Seagate SATA II (faster than the older SATA 1s I guess) 320 GB.
Will be adding another one just like it for the D drive down the road.
I have an older Seagate USB 200 GB external one I use for backup purposes.
I have a new Leadtek TV tuner card on the way from Newegg, as I pilfered one of my TV cards from the old PC, but it is not behaving well with the soundcard in the new PC.
It uses a cable from the TV card to the soundcard, and it is just not working right.
The new card that is coming uses no cable, all the info is on the PCI bus, and will work out much better.
I use my PC to record television like you would use a VCR, then I play back the shows through cable to my TV out in the living room.
Got a new keyboard, it is the Deck Legend, a good one for gaming.
All the keys have green LEDs underneath of them, and you can adjust the brightness of them.
The company that Deck is under makes keyboards for police cars, so these are very heavy duty, and the keys have a nice loud clack/click to them, not mushy like cheaper boards.
Asus MW221u 22" widescreen LCD monitor, retired the Dell 20.1" widescreen to the guest room for the old computer.
Still using the Logitech Z680 5.1 speakers, as they are hard to beat.
They are loud, clear, and pump out good tight bass.
I have an identical set hooked up to the TV, and also run an optical cable from the TVs DVD player so playing back movies sounds great, real surround sound in 5.1.
The laptop is the Dell Inspiron 1720 running Windows Vista Home Edition..
17" widescreen, and a 2.0 GHz duo core Centrino CPU.
Totally wireless, and it can sniff out a Wi-Fi spot if you are near one.
It can also hook up to the 'Net with the standard CAT5 cable.
I had an old laptop, but it is nothing like this one.
The old one is slow, has Windows 98 on it, and is not wireless.
Running a Motorola 5100 Surfboard cable modem, presumably this is what works best with Comcast.
Linksys/Vonage router for the PCs and also for my telephone which is with Vonage, and a Linksys WAP 54G wireless access point to provide wireless in my home.
I finally set up a wireless network over the Christmas break too.
Half the fun of getting a new computer is to build it yourself too.
I had the shop mount the motherboard and CPU, and I did the rest of the work to it.
Their prices were actually less than Newegg this time, so I spent the money locally for a change on putting this together.
This little shop was also cheaper for the Linksys WAP 54G than Newegg and also local Best Buy, but I bought it from Best Buy not knowing this shop had it for about $15 less.
Great little family owned business.
A few of the pictures are blurry, as I had the flash off and the room light off to try and show the keyboard and the PCs fans lit up.
I upgraded it after getting back on with Boeing, but still it was slow by today's standards and only AGP, not PCIe for the video end.
I built the new one also to be able to handle any game and future games that come along.
Here are the specs on it.
Antec 900 gaming case with 2x120 mm fans up front, 1x120 mm fan back aft, and one HUGE 200 mm fan on top of the case to expel the hot air.
The 120 mm fans all have blue LEDS in them, and look cool.
The case is virtually silent with these big fans, as I have them set to low (3 speeds) but on low they move a lot of air.
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15900
Power supply is a 650 watt Thremaltake Toughpower unit made for SLI as it has 2 dedicated plugs for powering the NVIDIA graphics cards.
CPU is the Intel Conroe 3.0 GHz duo core, 2 GB of Corsair Dominator RAM, Pioneer DVD/CD burner, Creative X Gamer soundcard, eVGA 8800 GT video card superclocked from eVGA and with 512 MB of RAM.
Motherboard is the Asus P5N 32-E.
Seagate SATA II (faster than the older SATA 1s I guess) 320 GB.
Will be adding another one just like it for the D drive down the road.
I have an older Seagate USB 200 GB external one I use for backup purposes.
I have a new Leadtek TV tuner card on the way from Newegg, as I pilfered one of my TV cards from the old PC, but it is not behaving well with the soundcard in the new PC.
It uses a cable from the TV card to the soundcard, and it is just not working right.
The new card that is coming uses no cable, all the info is on the PCI bus, and will work out much better.
I use my PC to record television like you would use a VCR, then I play back the shows through cable to my TV out in the living room.
Got a new keyboard, it is the Deck Legend, a good one for gaming.
All the keys have green LEDs underneath of them, and you can adjust the brightness of them.
The company that Deck is under makes keyboards for police cars, so these are very heavy duty, and the keys have a nice loud clack/click to them, not mushy like cheaper boards.
Asus MW221u 22" widescreen LCD monitor, retired the Dell 20.1" widescreen to the guest room for the old computer.
Still using the Logitech Z680 5.1 speakers, as they are hard to beat.
They are loud, clear, and pump out good tight bass.
I have an identical set hooked up to the TV, and also run an optical cable from the TVs DVD player so playing back movies sounds great, real surround sound in 5.1.
The laptop is the Dell Inspiron 1720 running Windows Vista Home Edition..
17" widescreen, and a 2.0 GHz duo core Centrino CPU.
Totally wireless, and it can sniff out a Wi-Fi spot if you are near one.
It can also hook up to the 'Net with the standard CAT5 cable.
I had an old laptop, but it is nothing like this one.
The old one is slow, has Windows 98 on it, and is not wireless.
Running a Motorola 5100 Surfboard cable modem, presumably this is what works best with Comcast.
Linksys/Vonage router for the PCs and also for my telephone which is with Vonage, and a Linksys WAP 54G wireless access point to provide wireless in my home.
I finally set up a wireless network over the Christmas break too.
Half the fun of getting a new computer is to build it yourself too.
I had the shop mount the motherboard and CPU, and I did the rest of the work to it.
Their prices were actually less than Newegg this time, so I spent the money locally for a change on putting this together.
This little shop was also cheaper for the Linksys WAP 54G than Newegg and also local Best Buy, but I bought it from Best Buy not knowing this shop had it for about $15 less.
Great little family owned business.
A few of the pictures are blurry, as I had the flash off and the room light off to try and show the keyboard and the PCs fans lit up.
01-10-2008, 07:42 AM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Godfrey, Illinois
Posts: 940
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've been using an Alienware Area 51 customized for me since 2003. It's worked great for Battlefield, Photoshop and other programs. Only problem is some of the plastic parts have broken off, including the CD/DVD tray cover and of course Alienware doesn't cover cheap plastic stuff on their computers. Good computer but I'll never buy from Alienware again because they're way overpriced and you could have Circuit City build nearly the same PC for a lot less.
01-10-2008, 08:10 AM
#4
That is a bummer they do not cover the plastic on that.
There are a lot of companies out now that make gaming laptops.
For a long time it was only Alienware.
Paul, I dig the new keys.
It just came yesterday from the man in brown, and I hooked it up right away.
I am so use to my old Logitech Elite keyboard though with the buttons to open up MS Outlook for my email, and the home button to launch Firefox.
This new board has no extra keys on it, it is all basic, so now I have to use the shortcuts in the tray next to the Start button.
Having the LEDs on the keys makes it easier to type too.
It came with extra custom key caps which I will put on over the weekend.
Included is a tool to pull of the standard caps for:
A S W D and some other keys that are used in gaming to move around the maps.
A = <--
D = -->
W = up arrow to go forward
S = down arrow to back up
It looks pretty cool at night too with the lights on the keyboard and the PC.
Blue LEDs on the keyboard would have matched better, but green is easier on the eyes I think when typing.
Gotta match to play in Friday night, so the board will get a good workout in UT III.
There are a lot of companies out now that make gaming laptops.
For a long time it was only Alienware.
Paul, I dig the new keys.
It just came yesterday from the man in brown, and I hooked it up right away.
I am so use to my old Logitech Elite keyboard though with the buttons to open up MS Outlook for my email, and the home button to launch Firefox.
This new board has no extra keys on it, it is all basic, so now I have to use the shortcuts in the tray next to the Start button.
Having the LEDs on the keys makes it easier to type too.
It came with extra custom key caps which I will put on over the weekend.
Included is a tool to pull of the standard caps for:
A S W D and some other keys that are used in gaming to move around the maps.
A = <--
D = -->
W = up arrow to go forward
S = down arrow to back up
It looks pretty cool at night too with the lights on the keyboard and the PC.
Blue LEDs on the keyboard would have matched better, but green is easier on the eyes I think when typing.
Gotta match to play in Friday night, so the board will get a good workout in UT III.
01-10-2008, 09:59 AM
#6
Thanks Joe.
I have been setting aside money each payday for several months to build the new PC.
I was going to piece it together from Newegg until I found out how much cheaper the local shop was.
Down the road I may pull the duo core and slap in a quad when the prices come down on them.
I am amazed though how cheap prices are now compared to when I built my last one.
I have been setting aside money each payday for several months to build the new PC.
I was going to piece it together from Newegg until I found out how much cheaper the local shop was.
Down the road I may pull the duo core and slap in a quad when the prices come down on them.
I am amazed though how cheap prices are now compared to when I built my last one.
Trending Topics
01-10-2008, 01:41 PM
#8
Contributing Member
Corey, I feel so...small. My new Dell laptop is only 15", whaaaa. 
Seriously amazing gaming rig, congrats! That keyboard is exactly what I've been looking for since my office resembles a cave at night. Where can I get a deal on one, they don't show up on the usual deal websites.
Does your desk have a rear opening for cross-ventilation? That thing must pump out the heat.
Have fun, now it's time to look into a computer gaming chair (unless it would slow you down).
Seriously amazing gaming rig, congrats! That keyboard is exactly what I've been looking for since my office resembles a cave at night. Where can I get a deal on one, they don't show up on the usual deal websites.
Does your desk have a rear opening for cross-ventilation? That thing must pump out the heat.
Have fun, now it's time to look into a computer gaming chair (unless it would slow you down).
01-10-2008, 02:03 PM
#9
Bob, you can go here.
http://www.deckkeyboards.com/
Mine is the 105 key Deck Legend.
http://www.deckkeyboards.com/legend.php
There are only two resellers of these, I bought mine directly from Adam.
Tell him Corey sent ya
They are pricey, but perhaps the last keyboard you will buy.
Plus they warranty them too, even if you mod the thing.
I went with a PS/2 version, as I have my BIOS set to turn on hte PC when I tap the spacebar.
USB keyboards do not support that, unless like the prior Logitech Elite USB keyboard I have had for years, I has a PS/2 adapter on it, and it worked.
Adam tells me though that their USB keyboards will not work with one of those adapters, I am not sure.
Here is the adapter I was running to turn the old keyboard from USB to PS/2.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...0387&CatId=469
Here is their number.
http://www.deckkeyboards.com/customersupport.php
http://www.deckkeyboards.com/
Mine is the 105 key Deck Legend.
http://www.deckkeyboards.com/legend.php
There are only two resellers of these, I bought mine directly from Adam.
Tell him Corey sent ya
They are pricey, but perhaps the last keyboard you will buy.
Plus they warranty them too, even if you mod the thing.
I went with a PS/2 version, as I have my BIOS set to turn on hte PC when I tap the spacebar.
USB keyboards do not support that, unless like the prior Logitech Elite USB keyboard I have had for years, I has a PS/2 adapter on it, and it worked.
Adam tells me though that their USB keyboards will not work with one of those adapters, I am not sure.
Here is the adapter I was running to turn the old keyboard from USB to PS/2.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...0387&CatId=469
Here is their number.
http://www.deckkeyboards.com/customersupport.php
01-10-2008, 02:34 PM
#11
Contributing Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Appleton, Wi. USA
Posts: 903
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just finished mine last week,
ASUS M2N SLI Deluxe
PNY GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB BFG
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Dual-Core
ANTEC 900 Case (Awesome Quiet, cool fan switches and purty blue lites)
Thermaltake Toughpower w/ QFan 500 W PSU
Seagate 300GB Ultra 16 Sata II (X2)
Nokia 445XI MultiGraph 21" CRT Monitor (got 2 more just like it, when they die I'll get new)
Corsair DDR2 PC2-5300 2GB (x2)
SONY CD/DVD Dual Layer Burner
Kinda close to yours Corey, great minds think alike.
5 other home build's still in use 1 gig to 2 gig, a half dozen old school's 386, 486, Pentium, P II's and a Commadore II.
My main use is a 1.5G PowerBook Aluminum, backlit keyboard, 2G DDR, 120 HD, bluetooth and airport (picks up open networks all over the place, most are unsecured) and a 1.33 G Powerbook (my backup lap). I use 2 Airport Extreme bases and both Mac and PC live in harmony.
ASUS M2N SLI Deluxe
PNY GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB BFG
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Dual-Core
ANTEC 900 Case (Awesome Quiet, cool fan switches and purty blue lites)
Thermaltake Toughpower w/ QFan 500 W PSU
Seagate 300GB Ultra 16 Sata II (X2)
Nokia 445XI MultiGraph 21" CRT Monitor (got 2 more just like it, when they die I'll get new)
Corsair DDR2 PC2-5300 2GB (x2)
SONY CD/DVD Dual Layer Burner
Kinda close to yours Corey, great minds think alike.
5 other home build's still in use 1 gig to 2 gig, a half dozen old school's 386, 486, Pentium, P II's and a Commadore II.
My main use is a 1.5G PowerBook Aluminum, backlit keyboard, 2G DDR, 120 HD, bluetooth and airport (picks up open networks all over the place, most are unsecured) and a 1.33 G Powerbook (my backup lap). I use 2 Airport Extreme bases and both Mac and PC live in harmony.
01-10-2008, 03:40 PM
#13
Contributing Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Appleton, Wi. USA
Posts: 903
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
When I first opened the box I though OMG I'm gonna need a better headset this thing gonna sound like a plane taking off. Put it together and for a second it was "Whoa cool" then "Oh No, the fans aren't working" then "WTH they are running" and right back to "Whoa Cooooool". Even the fan on the new graphics card was quieter than the old ATI 9600. Haven't made the jump to Vista yet and maybe not for a while since my modified gaming version of XP Pro hasn't failed me yet. At least now I don't have the neighbors thinking my bath exhaust fan is on when it's really the computer.
01-11-2008, 11:57 AM
#14
Contributing Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: COTKU,Ontario,Canada
Posts: 11,334
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Bath exhaust fan haha...
Corey deck does make them with blue LEDs according to the site...
I wonder if they ahve them with a dvorak style keyboard...
Its a keyboard design that came out years ago it is supposed to be more intuitive then a qwerty style... nobody seems to have them though...
Personally I'm saving for a laptop since I need the portability... maybe I'll grab a mem. stick in the meantime......
Corey deck does make them with blue LEDs according to the site...
I wonder if they ahve them with a dvorak style keyboard...
Its a keyboard design that came out years ago it is supposed to be more intuitive then a qwerty style... nobody seems to have them though...
Personally I'm saving for a laptop since I need the portability... maybe I'll grab a mem. stick in the meantime......
01-11-2008, 12:04 PM
#15
Corey deck does make them with blue LEDs according to the site...
I wonder if they have them with a dvorak style keyboard...
Its a keyboard design that came out years ago it is supposed to be more intuitive then a qwerty style... nobody seems to have them though...
Personally I'm saving for a laptop since I need the portability... maybe I'll grab a mem. stick in the meantime......
I wonder if they have them with a dvorak style keyboard...
Its a keyboard design that came out years ago it is supposed to be more intuitive then a qwerty style... nobody seems to have them though...
Personally I'm saving for a laptop since I need the portability... maybe I'll grab a mem. stick in the meantime......
Blue would have matched the PC lights, but the green is easier on the eyes.
I was playing a little UT III at 2:30 am this morning (before I had to leave for work) in the dark, and it is so easy to use the keyboard with the LEDs cranked all the way up.
I have seen the dvorak boards before, I bet you can find one if you Google it.
01-11-2008, 12:36 PM
#16
Contributing Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: COTKU,Ontario,Canada
Posts: 11,334
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yeah I did google it just after I posted here... lots of interesting stuff... history and science of design, 3 canadian sources for a dvorak style [sorry no US sources lol] instruction link for converting a qwerty, several euro sub-varients, etc. all accessible by typing "dvorak keyboard" in the google window and selecting the first (wiki) link...
haha
edit green LEDs lights... how very BORG of you Corey...
I really want to get one of those vocal sub-routine thingies so when I start up the machine I can have it talk to me with some BORG/HAL-esque type nonsence...
ie "Data node 7 alpha functioning within normal parameters anti-intrusion protocal in effect" [borg voice- sytem start-up with anti-virus/spyware filters on]
"I can't do that Dave" Hal voice instead of stupid windows bong bong...
LOL
haha
edit green LEDs lights... how very BORG of you Corey...
I really want to get one of those vocal sub-routine thingies so when I start up the machine I can have it talk to me with some BORG/HAL-esque type nonsence...
ie "Data node 7 alpha functioning within normal parameters anti-intrusion protocal in effect" [borg voice- sytem start-up with anti-virus/spyware filters on]
"I can't do that Dave" Hal voice instead of stupid windows bong bong...
LOL
Last edited by aviator; 01-11-2008 at 12:42 PM.
01-11-2008, 02:13 PM
#18
Contributing Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Appleton, Wi. USA
Posts: 903
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
01-11-2008, 02:48 PM
#19
Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /2001/tma1/wav/cantdo.wav on this server.
I am not so sure I like this "better" soundcard, the Creative X-Fi Gamer one.
I was wearing my headphones and any windows playing wav file such as when you dump the recycle bin, my Outlook mail wav when I get mail, was garbled in the headphones.
The headphones would play OK with a game, iTunes, or another source though.
I had the headphone plugged into the back of the soundcard along with a double jack for the sound out to go to my 5.1 speakers.
Upon looking in the Creative speaker panel, there was an option to auto detect when headphones were inserted.
I checked it, and my 5.1 speakers went to 2.1, and the headphones came to life and they played the Windows system event wav files just fine.
Pull the headphone jack out of the soundcard or the extra plug they have up front on the tower, and the speakers automatically go back to 5.1 surround again.
I do not like this, as this means I can not leave the headphones plugged in all the time if I want to use them without having to go into the Creative setup panel and disable them and then turn them back on again.
This may be a better high powered card, but I prefer the Audigy 2 ZS over this one.
It did not mess with the headphones at all.
The shop was out of the other one, so I went for this one since it was a newer design.
It is a good one, it will just take some getting use to.
You don't have permission to access /2001/tma1/wav/cantdo.wav on this server.
I was wearing my headphones and any windows playing wav file such as when you dump the recycle bin, my Outlook mail wav when I get mail, was garbled in the headphones.
The headphones would play OK with a game, iTunes, or another source though.
I had the headphone plugged into the back of the soundcard along with a double jack for the sound out to go to my 5.1 speakers.
Upon looking in the Creative speaker panel, there was an option to auto detect when headphones were inserted.
I checked it, and my 5.1 speakers went to 2.1, and the headphones came to life and they played the Windows system event wav files just fine.
Pull the headphone jack out of the soundcard or the extra plug they have up front on the tower, and the speakers automatically go back to 5.1 surround again.
I do not like this, as this means I can not leave the headphones plugged in all the time if I want to use them without having to go into the Creative setup panel and disable them and then turn them back on again.
This may be a better high powered card, but I prefer the Audigy 2 ZS over this one.
It did not mess with the headphones at all.
The shop was out of the other one, so I went for this one since it was a newer design.
It is a good one, it will just take some getting use to.
01-11-2008, 03:01 PM
#20
Contributing Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Appleton, Wi. USA
Posts: 903
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This one seems to work.
http://www.moviewavs.com/php/sounds/...ile=cantdo.wav
http://www.moviewavs.com/php/sounds/...ile=cantdo.wav
