Jump to content
GreaseSpot Cafe

Building a new computer


igotout
 Share

Recommended Posts

Here I go again building a new computer. I tried buying one off the shelf to save time but I just couldn't find what I really wanted.

I do not consider myself an expert at this but I certainly enjoy it and will post here what seems to be new today and what I learn along the way. I might need help too! icon_eek.gif When finished I'll show off a few pictures.

I am copying the look and feel of this clear acrylic case as shown here called Bushido:

Clear case

I already have the case and it looks sharp with lights embedded into the acrylic itself.

I decided to go for an Intel Motherboard with a 3.2G 800MHz processor, this one here:

MSI Intel Motherboard

Yeah, I know AMD Athlon is somewhat faster but I do not care for their company at this time. Both are outstanding anyway.

This motherboard has it all. Many of the features I may never use, but they are there.

One new feature I like is, Quote:

• Online update BIOS/Driver/Utility.

• Live Monitor auto-detects and suggests the latest BIOS/Driver/Utilities information.

Finally!

Oh, and this board has PCI Express slots.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This motherboard is nice. Almost too many choices. For example it has 10/100 Lan, Gigabit Lan and 802.11 g wireless connectivity. The wireless is so fast I am having 2nd thoughts about the need for hard wiring anymore. Does anyone know if there is a chance of improved performance if I use both? Or does it just default ot the weakest link? The Gigabit Lan seems a bit faster than the 10/100.

And that motherboard Live Update is fabulous! It does what it says and searches their site for all manner of bios updates, drivers, utilities and even the live update software itself. (There must be a dozen things related to this board.)It gives you a clear listing of your version number of a bios or driver compared to their latest version of a driver on their site and mentions the fixes and patches. Then at a click of a button it downloads and installs. It nice that bios updating has become so easy.

With everything patched and freshly installed including the chipset this 3.2 processor is fast! And I haven't even overclocked anything yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No it wouldn't. It will pick ONE and it would pick Ethernet over Wireless. And the wireless wouldn't be helpful in really helping the Ethernet connection anyway. The Ethernet is way faster than your Internet connection anyway.

Now if you want to see speed on the inside, from your computer to your wife's lets say, then get a router that actually makes use of the Gigabyte Ethernet settings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do believe that all of the devices will default to the slowest "nic" on the network.

Most of the "nic's" are auto-sensing. Example: if three devices were on the same network. one with a 10mbs nic, another with a 10/100mbs (auto sense nic) and another with a 10/100/1000mbs (auto sense nic) All devices will default to the 10mb speed.

icon_smile.gif:)-->good luck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad my son built both of mine with the high quality AMD processors.

And what a difference 2 x 512 memory cards makes.

The biggest difference I saw from one computer to the next of the 2 new ones, was better performance by adding a superior video card with a nice chunk of memory.

I wish I did both with transparent sides. The second one has a transparent side and the blue lit fans work nicely as a soft nightlight. The guts don't impress me, but the light is nice. It also is easy to tell when the dust needs removal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

This thing is fast and looks fabulous too. I'll do pictures some day when I am not working so much.

Yeah, almost done. Shopping for double monitors now like these.

Samsung

I like this setup too.

Triple monitors

What I really want is two of these side by side or on top of each other:

30" Apple Cinema

But at $2800 each that ain't gonna happen right now. I might get one of them. Not sure yet until I see more and find out more. Lots of questions.

Claus is fine. We have been doing lots of painting for him and they need much more. He likes our service and always gives us lots of work each year. Here is where he works. He is in charge of the whole facility.

PErforming Arts Center

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Glad you saved face Cathy.

I am having endless problems with this card by ATI.

ALL IN WONDER PCI EXPRESS

Do not buy this card!

Better to stick with Nvidia cards in my opinion, especially for multi-monitor.

ATI's TV products are lousy IMO. I shoulda known.

BEtter to get a stand alone TV card like this one from Hauppauge.

Watch & Record TV on your Computer

Ordered two Nvidia cards (to handle triple monitors).

Nvidia 6800 with dual DVI, PCIexpress

Returning the sucky ATI card for a full refund. It was hard to convince them to do that. Lots of tech support and troubleshooting first.

Who has the time!!

Remind me never to build a computer again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...