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Building Crowbar's computer


Crowbar

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How is the weight of the PSU homer? Is it heavier than it looks? I've never used those and stick with those that I know say what they are. Is there a lot of heat being generated from it? Is it really hot coming out of the back?

 

I would say go with the PSU for now and see how it goes for you. I just do not know anything about those and from my experience with PSU's that come with the case are junk. When we build Athlon 1.3 T-bird systems with one HDD and one CD-rom, then those are more than enough. If you are building an Athlon-64, then I would consider something more reliable. $80 on a good PSU now can possibly save you money later. Also a good one acts as a good heat exhaust.

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The Thermaltake PSU is one of the heavier types, it runs cool and quiet. Quieter than the Enermax Whisper I replaced. The fan is dynamic so if it has load it runs a little faster, but never loud. It's definitely a Enermax/Antec quality of PSU.

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Homer,Jul 7 2004, 10:17 PM] The Thermaltake PSU is one of the heavier types, it runs cool and quiet. Quieter than the Enermax Whisper I replaced. The fan is dynamic so if it has load it runs a little faster, but never loud. It's definitely a Enermax/Antec quality of PSU.

Thanks. Sounds like a PSU I am going to look into. What is the Amperage rating for the 12v Rail?

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Homer,Jul 8 2004, 12:59 PM] 17-153-006-10.JPG

The amps are low on the 12v rail at only 18A. But it should be ok to start.

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Just a thought,

 

With an a7N8X delux mobo from newegg and a 2500+ barton AMD, you get SATA if you want and the 2500+ is OCable to a 3200+. the CPU is 90 bones...

 

but then again, if you are going for longevity, a 64 bit mobo and cheaper 64 CPU gives you the option of upgrade down the road.

 

Also, I've never been impressed with built-in sound...even the premeir on-boards don't have the clarity.

 

Oh, and see what Corsair has for twin stick XMS RAM packages...matched sticks run great in dual channel, and have more potential for OCing than the value sticks.

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The XMS RAM is prohibitively expensive for Crowbar's budget. The Value Select will get him 95% of the performance at half the price. The Athlon 64's aren't designed like Athlons and P4's for OC'g high on low CAS RAM. I'm actually running Corsair VS right with my A64 now just fine.

 

That setup looks nice Crowbar, if you need a little more oomph and the budget allows the 3000+ is around $223.

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wow...had $500 in cash in my hands... all gone now. and no computer parts to show for it. marriage really sucks sometimes. but, things "needed" to be bought. and some stuff didn't need to be bought but was anyway. so I've got to wait a little longer.

 

nope Homer...that budget ain't allowing anything close to a 3000+ right now.

 

:bang::bang::bang:

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still trying to find the best "bang for the buck" on Newegg here. Don't even think about giving me another site to go to, cuz I'm overwhelmed with one right now.

 

I found a different case, no real bells or whistles to speak of, but it's only $16 and it's got plenty of room. Reviews on it are good too.

 

RAIDMAX Beige 10-bay Case, Model "ATX-208" -RETAIL

 

 

That power supply seems to be a good choice ( this one > Thermaltake Silent PurePower, 420W ATX power supply )

But I was wondering what people's thoughts are on this particular supply I found in the Refurb section: REFURBISHED: GOLD TRUE 500W ALUMINUM POWER SUPPLY Think it'll be any good??

 

 

Also, I wanted to run this by everyone. It's also a refurb, it's the A64 2800+, but instead of the normal "Newcastle" core, it's got the "Clawhammer" core from the higher end A64s. It also claims a full 1MB of L2 cache, which I thought was only found on the A64 3200+ and above.

Mobile AMD Athlon 64 2800+, 1MB L2 Cache, 64-bit Processor 62W - OEM It's a mobile processor...I assume that won't matter?

 

 

To go with that I've picked a refurbished Heatsink/Fan combo:

REFURBISHED: Arctic Cooling CPU Cooler For AMD Athlong 64/ Opteron, Model "Silencer 64 TC" -RETAIL

 

and a refurb motherboard:

REFURBISHED: GIGABYTE K8T800 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU, Model "GA-K8VT800

 

 

Finally, to add some speed, I found what I think is a great deal: OCZ Performance Series Dual Channel Kit 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3500 - Retail and it's even retail :o

 

 

subtotal: $513.84

shipping: $18.99

 

Grand Total: $532.83 :wub:

 

 

comments?

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(edited)

Aren't the mobile processors for laptops? :unsure:

 

And I think your motherboard supports

RAM: 3x DDR400/333/266 Max 3GB

and you're putting in PC3500 RAM? That's DDR 433 :nono:

 

--TaPe

Edited by TaPe
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hmmm, good eye on the motherboard RAM support...

 

guess I'll have to find another motherboard, or get slower RAM.

That RAM would work but I wouldn't recommend it. The higher RAM would work but just run slower. Get the Corsair CAS = 2.5 stuff. You're on a budget and don't really need to spend the extra $70 on 3% better performance. I'll say it again: You don't need expensive RAM unless you are going to overclock, and even then A64's don't need hi-po stuff like P4's unless you are doing extreme overclocking.

 

Don't get the mobile chip. By the time you added the heatsink you were within $10 of a retail desktop A64 with a stock HSF which is a very good one btw.

 

I'd personally not get a "refurb" mobo or PSU, or really anything for that matter. Some goof probably shorted it out and they just put the "returns" into the "refurb" bin. Asking for hassles and I can tell that you don't need any.

 

Get one of the cheapie $70-90 Chaintech A64 mobos, they seem to be popular and good performers.

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i'd go for as much refurb stuff as you could. Looks good, i would skip that gold PSU though, for sure. And definately get some Kingston valueram, or a-data, you won't notice a difference, i promise.

 

i've got 2x512 pc3200 i'll sell to you cheaper then anything on newegg if you want them.

 

tape, how many boards you seen around that support RAM faster then DDR400 ? ^_^

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Ok goofballs that does it. I have 2 sticks of 512mb in my A64/3000+ system currently.

 

Corsair XMS Extreme Memory Speed Series 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200

Cas Latency: 2-3-3-6 1T

$118 currently

 

Th other:

 

Corsair Value Select 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200

Cas Latency: 2.5

$83 currently

 

 

I'm gonna pull one at a time and run some benchmarks - I'll be back in a while with the numbers.

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so....

 

2 sticks of Corsair Value Select? $171 (OEM)

Or Kingston ValueRAM: $175 (retail)

 

The thing with the processor, that's a 2800+ with 1MB of L2 cache and the better Clawhammer core. 2800's aren't supposed to come with that core or that L2. So it seems to me like it's a great deal. I suppose I could be wrong.

Boards...I looked at the reviews for all the <$100 boards, and I think I'll take a chance with a refurb, might change my mind though. I remember reading reviews on a refurb ASUS nForce2 refurb from Newegg, there were 80+ reviews, everyone loved it. Guess I'm just trusting.

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