New compy!!

[SrGuapo]

I bought and assembled my first computer last week! I put it all togeher in about 4 hours tuesday night, and I installed Windows today and got rolling. I'm really happy with it. No unexpected issues. no weird beep codes. No damaged hardware.

Here are my specs:

Epox "9NDA3+" nForce3 Ultra,
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ winchester,
Mushkin value RAM (2x512MB) CAS 2.5 (though it seems to default to 3-4-4-8),
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB SATA,
NEC 3520A 16x double-layer DVD+-RW,
Antec Super Lan Boy case,
Antec TruePower 480W,

and... don't laugh:

a Sapphire ATI Radeon 9200SE

total: 830 after shipping (I aleady had the video card). I know I got ripped for the CPU (through newegg) but it is a bit late now...

Don't worry, the card will be replaced soon (As soon as I get $400 for a 6800gt). Other than that, the PC is amazing. I load windows in about 10 seconds. Everything is faster (My old box is a P3 500, so no surprise).

I haven't started OCing yet (first timer as well), but the PC seems fast enough already. I can't wait for my pay check next week!

 

[Zap Brannigan]

The 6800Gt is going to blow your mind going from a 9200.

Congrats! You built yourself a nice rig man!

 

[JBDan]

Good deal Guapo I remember when you first told me about getting that machine back in late Nov. Glad you got it and no issues on top of that! Njoy that machine You should have quite a good time if you are in to oc'ing

 

[amol]

good job, great machine (once you get the 6800GT )

 

[CheesePoofs]

Take some screenshots of new games with your 9200 and then look at the same games when you get your 6800gt, it should give you a good laugh ....... and make you appreciate the new card that much more.

 

[SrGuapo]

Originally posted by: CheesePoofs
Take some screenshots of new games with your 9200 and then look at the same games when you get your 6800gt, it should give you a good laugh ....... and make you appreciate the new card that much more.

I am planning on running 3Dmark to get some kind of comparison. 05 won't work with this card (it needs SM 2.0, so it claims). I don't want to get to busy installing crap, because I will probably have to reformat in the next couple of days (I may have accidently put windows in the wrong partition ). Maybe I will burn it to a CD with my spiffy new NEC burner...

Also, I was just playing in the bios and I cranked up my HTT to a whopping 205 MHz. CPU-z reports it as 206, so that gives me a cklock speed of 2060 MHz woohoo. Maybe I'll get the balls to up it some more tonight...

 

[imported_Xtreme]

could you post some pics of your computer? Congrats on getting a new computer! I can't wait to upgrade from my Pentium 2 to an AMD 3500+!

 

[JBDan]

Originally posted by: Xtreme
could you post some pics of your computer? Congrats on getting a new computer! I can't wait to upgrade from my Pentium 2 to an AMD 3500+!

Becareful after you get that new rig. You might go into severe shocK!

 

[JBDan]

Originally posted by: SrGuapo

Originally posted by: CheesePoofs
Take some screenshots of new games with your 9200 and then look at the same games when you get your 6800gt, it should give you a good laugh ....... and make you appreciate the new card that much more.

I am planning on running 3Dmark to get some kind of comparison. 05 won't work with this card (it needs SM 2.0, so it claims). I don't want to get to busy installing crap, because I will probably have to reformat in the next couple of days (I may have accidently put windows in the wrong partition ). Maybe I will burn it to a CD with my spiffy new NEC burner...

Also, I was just playing in the bios and I cranked up my HTT to a whopping 205 MHz. CPU-z reports it as 206, so that gives me a cklock speed of 2060 MHz woohoo. Maybe I'll get the balls to up it some more tonight...

Woah you need to back off some! Thats getting a little dangerous. Take it slowly to be safe. LOL :0

 

[SrGuapo]

woohoo, just got the CPU to 2.2 GHz (220x10) without so much as a touch to the vcore. I also set my timings back down to 2.5-3-3-6. I've gotten into windows fine (obviously) and I don't notice any instabilities, though I haven't run any checks yet...

I don't have a digital camera (or functional scanner) so pictures are out of the question for now. It is probably all for the better, since my my wires are pretty out of control. I do really like the case though. It is a bit small (I have big hands, so it was difficult to get the mobo onto the standoffs), but nothing too bad. The PSU and fan LEDs are nice, as well (and they match, conveniently). The system is relatively quiet (except for the NEC burner, but even that is quieter than my ancient 4x CD-ROM) and the seagate tnds to chatter a bit when seeking.

I was really surprised by how easy it was to set up. I just followed the steps on mechbgon's guide (thanks alot, btw) and took it slowly. The heatsink was easy to get on, and even the RAM wasn't too bad (but I have at least done this before). When I did my bench tests, I had fully expected something to go wrong and smoke to appear, but everything went fine.

 

[SrGuapo]

I finally finished downloading 3Dmark03. I got 568 marks. It just shows how grahics-oriented these benchies are... It will definately be interesting to compare with a new graphics card.

 

[Amaroque]

Originally posted by: SrGuapo
I finally finished downloading 3Dmark03. I got 568 marks. It just shows how grahics-oriented these benchies are... It will definately be interesting to compare with a new graphics card.

Graphics oriented? Well, it is called "3Dmark"... I thought that implied 3D graphics.

BTW The Winchester cores will usually do 2.4GHz w/o touching the Vcore, in most cases.