PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => Self Building, Upgrading & General Hardware Help => Topic started by: Simon on August 05, 2003, 14:40
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(https://www.pc-pals.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apax34.dsl.pipex.com%2Fsmileys%2Fwoocack.gif&hash=940c892fe36952ce7cb6ad36bb7e93797308111e) I've got the go-ahead to build a mate a PC from the ground up! No upgrades, no old parts, budget of £500! :D :D
This is the shopping list - pick holes if you like, but it's all been ordered now, so no going back, unless anyone thinks something might be a major disaster!
Asus A7V8X-X DDR M/Board (with 5.1 sound)
AMD Athlon XP PR2000+ CPU (didn't need anything bigger)
64Mb XFX GeForce 4 MX440 Gphx Card (with TV Out)
40Gb Maxtor Diamond Max 7200 RPM ATA133 Hard Drive
52x24x52 Lite On CDRW
Crucial 512Mb DDR Memory
Thermaltake Volcano CPU Fan (for up to AMD 3400+)
80mm case fan
Arctic Silver 3 Compound
Black case with 350W PSU
Epson Stylus C62 Printer
Windows XP Home Edition (OEM)
Round IDE / Floppy cables
Total, incl VAT + Delivery = £489.20
Also signed him up to Pipex, getting my FREE MONTH!! :P :P ;D ;D
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You missed the TV card :P
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I think I would have been tempted to put a floppy drive in Simon,(just in case),and if he is only having the one hard drive wouldnt you have been better getting one a little bigger as XP takes a fair chunk of the drive up by itself :doggie:
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Xp only takes up about 3 of 4 gig doesnt it Sandra . :-*.
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Yes Hookie,a lot more than 98 did but for a new PC I would be going for a lot bigger drive,(especially as the bigger drives are not much dearer than the smaller ones these days),unless he isnt going to do much other than use it for basic stuff.
Simon said he has already signed up for BB so he could fill that size of drive easily in under a month ::)
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You missed the TV card :P
64Mb XFX GeForce 4 MX440 Gphx Card (with TV Out) <<< What's this then? :P ;D ;D
I have ordered a floppy disc drive, Sandra, but forgot to put it on the list. Just a bog standard one for about a fiver. I don't think he needs a bigger HDD than 40Gb. Mine is only 40Gb, and it's still only about 20% full. He's not going to be downloading every available program under the sun, unlike some people!! :P He just basically needs something for Internet e-mail, and maybe the odd motor racing game.
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But can it get all the Tv Channels ? :P although TV out.. has it TV in to watch real Motor racing ;)
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But can it get all the Tv Channels ? :P
No. He's got a TV for that! It doesn't do the washing and ironing either, but he's got a wife for that!! :wahh:
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has it TV in to watch real Motor racing ;)
Maybe he has a television to watch TV on Hookie ;)
I cant see the point of watching TV on a pc,if youre that deperate and there isnt a TV in your pc room I would get a small portable :doggie:
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The graphics card isn't very good, won't matter if your mate doesn't want to play the newest games :)
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He won't. I have the MX400, which has done everything I've wanted it to do. My friend is 40 - he's not going to be a big gamer. ;) ;D
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I can be addicted to either can't I .. :sadgit:
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There are some people who are 40 and hardcore gamers ;) Someone I know's dad is 54 and is obsessed by strategy games
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I am a little over 40 :'( and I dont play games much but since I got my new graphics card and can see the trees properly at 50 feet in my Spitfire I enjoy playimng Combat Flight Sim 3 a lot more :doggie:
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I am a little over 40....
:funny: :pmsl: :lol: :dream: :-* :-* :-* ;D ;D
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:bitch:
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(https://www.pc-pals.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apax34.dsl.pipex.com%2Fsmileys%2Fheehee1.gif&hash=4cedfc4d873e04d55bdbc11d35d26a65d327e957)
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I am a little over 40....
:funny: :pmsl: :lol: :dream: :-* :-* :-* ;D ;D
:lol: boy you'll be in for it Simon.
A commision well done mate, hey I picked up a brand new tower build off that one I did for my mate. He took it home Saturday night, got visitors last night, who had a clapped out whatever running Win95. I happend to ring as part of my Customer Care Plan ;D and bingo.
Just a couple of points, I see the Mobo supports 8xAGP, but you don't say if the 4MX440 is a 8xAGP card, you can get em as 4xAGPS still, it would be a shame to have an 8x Mobo with a 4x card, I'd check it out mate.
Plus if you use Artic Silver compound instead of the conductive pad that comes with the Thermaltake cooler, the AMD warranty will be null and void, read it on here I believe not long since under Tech News I believe.
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...if you use Artic Silver compound instead of the conductive pad that comes with the Thermaltake cooler, the AMD warranty will be null and void, read it on here I believe not long since under Tech News I believe.
Thanks Tony. Glad you mentioned that, I hadn't noticed the pad, but then I hadn't got it out the box until just now. ;D ;D
I see the Mobo supports 8xAGP, but you don't say if the 4MX440 is a 8xAGP card, you can get em as 4xAGPS still, it would be a shame to have an 8x Mobo with a 4x card, I'd check it out mate.
Yeah, but I had a strict budget of £500, and I still have the mouse and keyboard to get. Unfortunately an 8x Gfx Card would be stretching things, and he could always upgrade later.
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On the front of the new case are two slots for USB ports. What do I need to utilise these? I'm assuming it's some sort of adapter with two USB ports on the end of two wires, but I'm not really sure what I'm looking for.
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I may be wrong :-\, but I think you normally get the cables & connectors included with the case.
All you have to do then is plug them into the motherboard.
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Nope, nothing like that in there Sean, just the usual screws and bits. Looks like I need something like a wire with 2 USB ports, that plugs into the board somewhere? Or perhaps a USB Card that you can plug additional ports into? I don't really know. I do know, however, that there's something sharp in there - I've just sliced the top of my finger, and it says there's supposed to be "no sharp edges"!
:youch: :'( :'(
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That's the trouble with cheapo cases Simon, you don't get all the bits and then you cut yourself to ribbons ::) :P :o
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Well, I've had a look round and can't seem to find anything that would do the job, but there must be something, or surely they wouldn't have put the holes there! How do front USB ports usually connect to the motherboard?
Edit: Ah! USB Extension Cables? Plug one end into the back and feed it through? But how do you get the front end to stick in the hole? Perhaps I'll just pretend they're not there!
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It may be worth checking with the people you got it from Simon. All the cases I have seen that have front mounted USB ports have the cables and connectors in-place.
Perhaps you have a case that missed Quality Control?
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Well, it's not exactly what you might consider a front mounted USB port, It's actually just two bits of plastic you can knock out to make holes for them! See below. And yes, it is a cheapish case. ;)
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Oh right! It's not what I though it was then ::)
I never seen any like that before :o
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You've been done mate,
Adept is right, if it is sold as a USB case, the case maker installs the ports and the cables which connect to a twin USB header on the motherboard.
Although the MSI KT333 Mobo I bought last year did not have USB ports directly off the Mobo at the back [ they supplied a 2 port adapter that fit in a PCI 'case' opening. And it connected to the board on a header, and another USB header was there for two front ports. The Sunteck case came with ports and cable, but they were 2 inches to short, bugger, had to get the soldering iron out.
Oppppppppppps over taken by events while I was having my supper, giving us duff info Simon. I told you, you should have got that nice little 'Beige' number, it has two USB ports on the front ;D
bloody flash southerners serves em right ....mutter mutter mutter ;)
The ASRock boards come with 4 USB ports at the back, and a 2 port header for the case USB's. But I think that is the standared these day's.
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Yeah, I got one of those adapters with the Abit board that is in my current PC, so hopefully one will be supplied with the Asus.
The case is not sold as 'a USB case', so I have nothing I could complain about. It's actually the same as the case for my own PC, but with a different front panel, because mine doesn't have those two useless little holes!
Ho hum, well if they want extra USBs, they'll have to get a USB card and some extension leads.
You're probably right Tony, I should have gone for the beige one, or even that cool black one they had. Bugger, bugger, bugger!
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Just make sure, if you have headers for two different USB standards on the board (i.e USB 1.1 and USB 2), that you connect the faster of the two USB buses to a location that's more easily accessible than the slower one.
Your mouse, etc., should go into a slower USB port, while any external storage devices and stuff that requires the movement of large amounts of data (such as a scanner), should go into one of the faster (USB 2) ports.
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I'm hoping to get the case tomorrow, so I can build it this weekend. Loading the HDD seems to take longer than the build. I like em to just be able to switch it on, fully loaded patches and security and all.
That Motherboard your going to use has 6 USB ports, four at the back and "cough" two for the front, but you wont be needing those ;) http://www.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A7V8X-X&langs=01 (http://www.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A7V8X-X&langs=01)
It's got front panel audio out as well,
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Things certainly have come a long way since I got this expensive, but sadly now obsolete, old box, way back in March 2002.
:aarrgh:
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Your right there Rodders,
I was just saying to Simon earlier tonight. My XP2000+ CPU is now 43% cheaper than it was less than a year ago when I bought it. A XP2000+ [equiv to a 2G Intel] can be had for £50 whilst a XP3000+ is ballpark £212, what will they be selling for next year I wonder?
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I'm almost tempted to get that other case, but that would delay the build, and the rest of the parts are supposed to be coming tomorrow, so I want to get on with it over the weekend. WTF, you live and learn. :D
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Yes indeedy. You've got to jump in somewhere.....and whatever you pick will be a laughable doorstop by the time the next edition of of your favourite computer comic comes out, so why worry! You're already screwed (whether you know it or not), and have just bought another expensive education.
:gofor:
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Just to put the tin hat on it, I just checked the website, and looked at the next one down the list, which is identical in every way to the one I bought, except it's got 2 proper USB ports built in to the front, and is only a little over £1 extra! I think the phrase rhymes with "Clucking Bell".
:doh:
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While I'm no expert, I think I'd have probably gone for the second one. ;D
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I'm hoping to get the case tomorrow, so I can build it this weekend. Loading the HDD seems to take longer than the build. I like em to just be able to switch it on, fully loaded patches and security and all.
If you "ghost" your original installation and main progs Tony you can clone it in a few minutes ::)
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Well you know Sandra, when I 'loaded' my mates HDD, it had about 2.77GB on it. And I thought right, image it and store it on my Image partition. Bugger would not do it, now his HDD was 5400 and mine are 7200rpm, I wonder if that had anything to do with it?
Anyway we will find out because I've got a 60GB 7200rpm HDD coming tomorrow, I'll try it with that. Otherwise I'll keep the initial installation "cough" shorter and ghost it.
Simon, I'm near to tears mate, reading your last post, but of course I know the story of the 60GB HDD.
See both me and Simon had ordered 40GB HDD's from CCL, anyway they were out of stock, and we are both itching to build our respective PC's. But before they came back in stock 60GB drives went out of stock, then came back in stock this morning, only £3.87 dearer than the 40G which was still OOS. So I'm on the blower and change my order, then I PM Simon starting the message 'Quick Quick Simon' sent it but then realised Simon had emailed me also with an 'Update'..... ....go on you tell em Simon ...I'm near to tears again :) ;D ;)
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You two are having it too easy ::)
Think of the hassle I am going to have this Saturday :(
A certain blonde from Wales has ordered a new hard drive and she is going to install it on Saturday and then install XP pro on it :o
Unfortunately she has my telephone number and I havent time to change it and go ex directory before then :'(
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MMMMMMM see what you mean, ;D
but hang on, Simons put a curse on my C: just after I wrote that last email, tears and all. My PC froze, never do that in 11 months since I built it. Only way out was a reboot, anyway got back up and running and clicked on shortcut to a data sheet I had done tonight but had not saved.
Missing file been moved, goes into explore, finds it opens it, last data input 16 July, plus my virus definitions were out of date it said. Funny I thought, so I looked in 'My Computer' and my Maxtor hard drive was missing, so it had defaulted to my Deckstar hard drive, which I made Slave after I installed this new Maxtor on 16 July. [ Maxtor are a bag of sh*te Simon, and I believe you may have two ;D ;) ]
So I disconnected the Dekstar, pressed the button and it booted to the Maxtor, how strange, run Norton and no virus found mmmmmmm
Done a virus check, all clear
Now I'm just looking back through the GoBack files around the time I posted that last post at 12.33am and at 12.28 am and 57 seconds I see Diskeeper kicked in, I wonder.
Bugger it, I'm off to Bed folk will think we are bothering Sandra ;) :-*
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I think that the only drives I would consider if I was buying one now are the Seagate or the Western Digital ones.
The new WD Caviar SE with 8mbs cache seem to be very good value at the moment if you shop around and are currently the only hard drive that comes with a 3 year guarantee :doggie:
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Oh, for Chrissake! Are we now saying Maxtor are sh*te, when I possibly have two coming?? I did do some research before I bought it (them), and they seemed to have a good reputation.
Anyway, to complete the story of my two hard drives, as Tony said, CCL were out of stock of the 40Gb, so I e-mailed them to say send the 60Gb instead. Found out then that that was also out of stock. Didn't get an instant reply to the e-mail, so phoned the next day to cancel the Hard Drive order, so they could send the rest out. Had also substituted the GeForce gphx card for an ATI Radeon, as the GeForce was OOS. Bloke said I should receive order by Monday. Went and ordered another Maxtor 40Gb from Watford Electronics, at virtually the same price.
Then I got an e-mail from CCL later in the day, saying thanks for my e-mail, and that the order had been changed as per my e-mail, and would be delivered today. Then read Tony's PM, and found that the 60Gb Maxtors were back in stock! So now I'm waiting to see if CCL send out the original order, with amendments, including the 60Gb Maxtor, in which case I will have two! And after all this, they're sh*te?? ::)
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I'd take a Maxtor or a Hitachi/IBM over a WD or Seagate any day of the week Simon :)
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I think that the only drives I would consider if I was buying one now are the Seagate or the Western Digital ones.
The new WD Caviar SE with 8mbs cache seem to be very good value at the moment if you shop around and are currently the only hard drive that comes with a 3 year guarantee :doggie:
OH NO THEY ARE NOT, CCL are offering Samsung Hard Drives with a three year warranty, but naturally.......they are out of stock ;D
Oh, for Chrissake! Are we now saying Maxtor are sh*te, when I possibly have two coming??
Nar, I'm only 'winding you up' Simon, it is probubly a boot sector issue I'm having, ah you have me near to tears again. ;D
I'd take a Maxtor or a Hitachi/IBM over a WD or Seagate any day of the week Simon :)
See Simon,
listen to the expert [and a bloke] ;D
ignore her from the high hill they called Pendle [in local folk law it's know as the haunt of witches] why do you think she is always about in the wee small hours, and gone by the dawn. :P
Just checked the order, and it's on the van for delivery to day :D
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Thank you Sean. ;) Bugger off Sandra! >:( :P ;) :-* ;D
I'm waiting in most of today for the delivery, so I hope it does flippin' arrive! Yesterday, I drove 12 miles to the Amtrak depot to pick up the case, and when I got back, there was another card through the door, from Interlink, who are next door to Amtrak! I would have gone up there again today, but want to be here if possible for the CCL delivery, as that is the vast majority of what I need to get started, otherwise, knowing the way my luck is going, it would mean a third trip up there on Saturday.
Of course, the way things are going, I'm fully expecting to sit in all day, and the goods won't arrive, or they will come when I have to go out for 40 minutes this afternoon.
Jinxed?? Me?? ::) ;D
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Well CCl gear arrived at 11.30 am, guy had a parcel under his arm, sign here mate. He was a Southerner with a goatee beard, straight away I thought ayup, lock yer pigeons up and keep the wippet in awhuse till he's gone :P ;)
I realised even if Doctor Who was working in CCL's 'Goods Out' department, you could not get the Midi ATX case in that parcel under his arm. Oh yes, your right there is a PC on the van for you. Of course it don't say it's only an empty case on the box, and he knew it was a delivery from a computer firm, oh hum as Simon would say. So I opened the parcel and checked the seals on all the boxes.
The hard drive, DVD drive and CD-RW drives came very well packed and cushioned, from damage. Happen as well because they, and the individual boxes containing the modem and the CPU, were just loose in a sealed CityLink plaggy bag!!!! Unlike Dabs and Novatech who pack the individual boxed components in a bigger box that is filled with cushioning material. But that said they are in perfect condition visually.
Simon, the luck your having mate, don't even go to the toilet till the order arrives. ;D
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I'm just loving this new project guys... :) Tony..your quality mate... ;)...but i just cant stop thinking about these guys (http://www.thechucklebrothers.co.uk/site/main.html) when i'm reading this thread..... ;) ;D :P 8)
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Call me impatient ::) but I rang CCL just to check it is on it's way, which they confirmed (no I didn't ask what they'd sent - that would spoil the fun!), and gave me CitiLink's number, which I duely rang about 12:45. "He will be with you in about 20 minutes, Sir", was the reply... and it's just arrived!!
Contain your suspense... be right back!! ;D ;D
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:goodnews: Well, it's all here, all nicely packaged, and all correct as per phone call, so no duplicate hard drive.
Surprisingly enough, CitiLink had got their act together, and the Maxtor (40Gb) from Watford came in the same consignment.
So, all in all I have to say I'm quite impressed with CCL. Had I chosen all 'in stock' items, I would have got the delivery the next day, and they were also one of the cheapest, only being beaten by Dabs, but Dabs do not seem to supply OEM Operating Systems. Redstore came very close, but did not have the Lite-On CDRW.
So now for the interesting bit, to delve into the case - where's those plasters?? :o
Happy Bunny, Sussex. ;)
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I'm just loving this new project guys... :) Tony..your quality mate... ;)...but i just cant stop thinking about these guys (http://www.thechucklebrothers.co.uk/site/main.html) when i'm reading this thread..... ;) ;D :P 8)
Well I just pi88ed myself when I clicked that link, cammy but your dead right ;D ;D ;D
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MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Simon,
LOOK (http://www.tonysugrue.co.uk/cclcase.JPG) a nice beige case, and no bloooood, I'll show you the Front USB and Audio ports......when my batteries recharge ;D
The quality is miles in front of that case I bought for the same money from Novatech. You could build battleships out of the steel they use for this case, and no sharp edges either ::) Think I'll have loads of screws left over though, I'll photo them and all ;D
You press studs into the back of the Mobo then slide it in to those slots on the back plate.Then you just pop two screws in those two studs you can see mid back plate in line with the top PCI slot.
No cheap tinny knock outs to cut your pinkies on ::) for the PCI slots neither, nice shiny blanking plates come in a seperate box...mmmmmmmmmmmm you'd have loved this case Simon ;D ::)
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I certainly picked the wrong case, didn't I? ;D ;D
Well, I'll be starting on it tonight, so who knows where this will lead! NURSE! THE PLASTERS!!
I think I might order that case, just to sit and look at it, Tony. :P :P
By the way, can anyone recommend a decent monitor? Max £120 (ish).
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What about this one Simon... from "cough" CCL (http://security.cclcomputers.co.uk/acatalog/) only £84.60 for a 17" 0.24mm Dot Pitch Triniton screen [my Dells are Trinitons, bloody crisp graphics and sharp print]
Look my mate only lives about three miles away, I'll have him pop in if you like. And if he says they are good, they must be, because he's a registered blind person...............well if he isn't he bloody should be ;D
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Thanks mate, but too late! Impulsive?? You know me! Actually I chatted briefly to our Master and resident round techie, who found a good review of the 17" CTX Monitor EX710F, so that's the one I went for, at CCL. Hopefully it will be here Monday, as it's in stock, but that might be wishful thinking. Probably Tuesday, which would suit, as that's the day my mate has off, and we hoped to do the installation then.
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Well I would have gone for that one as well because I spend alot of time [as you know] on the PC. It's TCO99 rated, meaning it is for commercial use, ie: for peeps peering at it for 8 hours or more a day in the office. Monitors for casual home use dont have to meet the same standards, so I just thought you could save a bob or two, I mean you must be way over your budget by now :'(
PS: is that another £7.50 down the swanny then in P&P ::) Simon just a thought, you don't teach Business Studies by any chance ;D ;)
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Batteries charged Simon.......
FRONT (http://www.tonysugrue.co.uk/casefront.jpg)
mmmnice (http://www.tonysugrue.co.uk/caseside.jpg)
look (http://www.tonysugrue.co.uk/caseback.jpg)at the a*se on that
mobo (http://www.tonysugrue.co.uk/mobo.jpg)
A really well put together case with a 350watt PSU for £30
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All I can say is B&^%&CKS!! ;D ;D
I'm just having a breather too. Started at 8:30, and got all the bits in, just need to start connecting up now. One bloody stupid design fault with the Asus Mobo (apart from the Quick Start Guide being in every language apart from English!!) is that the connector for the chassis fan is right over the other side of the board to the fan, thus meaning that the wire barely reaches, and renders two of the PCI slots out of commission. I suppose I'll have to get another chassis fan with a longer lead. The only way it fits at the moment is to run the lead underneath the gphx card (see pic).
Apart from that, and more blood, all seems to be going to plan.
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looking good Simon, considering what you bought ;)
Bloody silly that, putting the fan connector at the far end of the board. And the Drive connectors are tight on the HDD assembly, or is it just the angle of the dangle that makes it look like that.
On my ASRock the USB headers for the front of the case are just above the AGP slot right at the back, but the cables are just long enough.
Picture not right good, I took a couple with the flash, but they came out crap. Too close I suppose, but my office is in the downstairs loo, and I have to sit on the carzie to take photo's ;D
http://www.tonysugrue.co.uk/mobo2.JPG (http://www.tonysugrue.co.uk/mobo2.JPG)
Why dont you just solder some extensions onto that fan cable Simon.
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Why dont you just solder some extensions onto that fan cable Simon.
Because I haven't got a soldering iron, and have never used one in my life! :sadgit:
I have another problem - after it failing to detect the Hard Drive, until I realised I needed to swap the jumper on the CD Rom ::) I tried loading W2K Pro on to it, but it gets to the Formatting Partition stage (please wait...), and doesn't go any further. I waited at least 30 minutes, and it was still on 0% formatted. There was no sound coming from the HD, but the light was on permanently. I had to just switch it off in the end, as I need to get to bed. Any ideas would be helpful.
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Unless you absolutely have to Simon, put the HDD and CD-ROM on different IDE channels. That way they can both be jumpered as masters.
Are you sure the hdd has been detected correctly in the BIOS?
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Well I'm up and running with W2K Pro Simon, it normally loads in 30 mins start to finish, it's not an iffy disk is it ::) ;D
I loaded CD-Rom drivers from a floopy I have had since 1997. Which I got when I needed to reformat my week old PC, after my Big Brother naffed up my hard drive with Partition Magic. But don't let that put you off using PM Simon, it was the 'Barny Rubble' version back then in 97 ;D
Anyway I created one partition, and exited, removed floppy and rebooted with the W2K CD in. It checked drive integrity, formated in NTFS and loaded.
I've sent you it in an email mate, that might help...who knows I sure as hell don't ;D
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I had a bit of a problem, the Toshia DVD would not open, not even on my PC. So I opended it by using the recommended 'paper clip' realise method and it has worked ever since, must have been newness.
Mind you CCl did not put an audio cale in with either the DVD-CD or CD-RW drives. Audio cable supply with the drive seems to be a bit hit and miss with manufactures some how.
I year ago I got a audio cable with my Samsung DVD drive, but not with my Lite-On CD-RW drive but I got a R and RW disks with it.
Yet the AOpen CD-RW I got for my mates PC a fortnight ago had an audio cable and a CD-R and CD-RW disks, that was boxed. Both the Samsung CD-RW and Toshiba DVD for this new PC did not come boxed.
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Well things just go from bad to worse. Tried to install W2K last night, and it got to the formatting bit, then just stuck there. Had to switch off in the end to go to bed.
Tried again this morning, same results. Tried with XP disc, same result, although it did complete a 'quick' format this time. Upon re-booting, however, **WARNING!!** Save all data and change your hard drive immediately!! Smart system... something or other... hard drive failure imminent!!
F***!!
Rang Watford Electronics, and the bloke told me to go to the Maxtor site and download the PowerMax diagnostic tool, which I did. Ran the test, and found an error in the hard drive. Rang Watford back and they said they would happily replace it. Right, says I, so you'll send a new one right away? Today? Not a bloody chance. Won't send new one till they get the old one back. Not sure how I stand regarding the Sale Of Goods Act, but can't be arsed to find out. Won't use them again, and will insist on a refund, not a repair of replacement. :tony:
So now, I'm ringing round locally to see if I can get a hard drive for abour the same price, but not much luck as they're all retail versions, and cost about £30 more! Don't want to have to wait till Monday or Tuesday to get one from Dabs, or wherever, so just going up to P...P...PC World! :o :o :o ....
...Right, back from the depths of hell that is PC World with a new hard drive. Unfortulately they didn't have any Maxtors (although I've lost a little faith in them), so I had to settle for a Western Digital, with the same spec as the Maxtor, but a tenner dearer!!
All in, up and running, and will be spending the evening loading it up with software.
Just a point, The motherboard came with a CD, but I haven't used it, and everything's running. Apart from the sound drivers on it, do I need to inistall anything else? Same goes for ATI Radeon Gphx Card. XP has found the drivers, so do I still need to run the installation CD? I'm sure I didn't run these CDs when I built my own machine last year.
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XP has a lot of drivers included Simon so you probably wont need the CD at all.
It may be an idea to check if there are any later drivers available on the ASUS site if anything isnt working just as it should,as the CD ones will be as old as the XP ones presumably.
I have heard of a few people having problems with new Maxtor drives Simon,admittedly they were OEM and not retail boxed ones but they dont seem as good as the Seagate and Western Digital from what I have heard :)
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F***!!
Yes it sure is FUN making PC's ;D
Seriously that S.M.A.R.T. is handy though, which reminds me. I said ASRock bios setups don't support S.M.A.R.T. well I was wrong AGAIN ::) I found it under IDE controllers in the Bios, sooorrrrry.
:)
Hey Sandra, my 60GB Maxtor is fine, but my CPU is running a bit hot :-\ what temp is this new chip running at Simon with the Thermaltake Volcan ? I'm I right in thinking your own XP2000+ was running at 52C. ?
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Don't know about the new one, Tony, until I connect it all up again tonight.
The CPU on my own machine seems quite hot though, according to VIA Hardware Monitor, it's running at 61C, and the system temp is 52C. Changed slightly since I sent you the PM.
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(https://www.pc-pals.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apax34.dsl.pipex.com%2Fsmileys%2Fwoocack.gif&hash=940c892fe36952ce7cb6ad36bb7e93797308111e) Well, here it is. If you thought this thread was entertaining, you should have seen some of the PMs flying back and forth between me and Tony! ;D
I hate the door on the case, but my mate wanted is to stop his untra inquisitive 1 year old from pressing the buttons! A quick slap would do it for me... :-X ;D
(https://www.pc-pals.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apax34.dsl.pipex.com%2Fopen.jpg&hash=d46b9630e1469494da97770587729d2b1c2b3dd7) (https://www.pc-pals.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apax34.dsl.pipex.com%2Fclosed.jpg&hash=d30b65d2f1e061f987ed2238f4fa9cd1825b5712)
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Hey Simon,
It looks rather Coooooooool in that blue mate, but I don't know about yours but I can nearly fry eggs on mine ;D
So yesterday I bought a Thermaltake 'Smart Case Fan' from the local PC referb and new build company. I bought that fan because that is the only fan they sell to punters :-\
Straight away I dispenced with the wide open chrome 'go faster' fan grill. I mean small birds like a wren could nip into the case while the fan was swiched off and build a nest. And besides I reckon Grandchildren always look better turned out with a full set of digits on both hands.
And when I bolted it onto the fan aperture in the back of the case, it sounded like a vacumm cleaner, so thats going back. I tried one of my case fans in it and it was fine [noise wise, still boody hot though] so I'm awaiting a couple of those, and some thermal conductivity pads from CCl.
As Simon would say HO HUM ;D
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It's not blue mate, it's black, but that cr@ppy little digital camera we bought is colour blind! ;D
I like the beige drives on the black - it looks a little different, but as Tony said, coool!! 8)
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It's not blue mate, it's black, but that cr@ppy little digital camera we bought is colour blind! ;D
I like the beige drives on the black - it looks a little different, but as Tony said, coool!! 8)
Hey Simon,
we might both happen to have crap cameras from Novatech [I blame Rodders for that ] ;D ;) but we certainly have two 'HOT' puters ::)
CCl emailed to say they are on their way, and a keyboard and mouse, co's I'm sick of sharing one keyboard and mouse betweeb two puters :D
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Mmm, CCL have not e-mailed to say the monitor is on the way, even after I phoned them and said I needed it tomorrow. They said it was 'being picked' ready for dispatch. What, do they grow on trees then? I'll have to ring them again in the morning, but if they haven't sent it, they will have to have a damned good reason if they want me to use them again.
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:believe: I rang them this morning, and they said the monitor was still 'being picked', so I said sorry, but it's going to arrive too late now, and canceled the order. Bloke said OK, they would refund my card.
Mate went round to local PC shop, and got a nice Philips 107Es, for the same price, give or take a quid, which has a lovely picture, and he's very happy. Took rest of new PC round to install, and all went well. Got home....
.... and there was a card on the mat from CitiLink, who had called to deliver the sodding monitor which was still supposedly 'being picked', and had been cancelled! >:(
Got on the phone to the couriers and said don't try to deliver it again, send it back to where it came from. I will not accept delivery. Then rang CCL. :tony: They said it must have been a 'software error', and it had shipped, without showing on my account. Software error my arse! Operator error more like! Anyway, needless to say, CCL will be getting thier monitor back, and I would think they will be quite happy that I won't be dealing with them again!
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It's fun making PCs isn't it Simon? :lol:
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I would think they will be quite happy that I won't be dealing with them again!
I BET THEY BLOODY WILL ;D :-X
Now me on the other hand ?.no problems at all, just order throw car keys into long grass at the bottom of the garden. Sit back patiently and wait for the nice man to deliver, easy pezzie, you should give it a try some time Simon. :o ;D :P
Mutter?mutter?.bloody Southerners, instant this instant that, I want it yesterday ?.and don?t give me this ?but you only ordered today sh*t? it's not blooby relevent.
Get yerself some pigeons to pet and a wippit to stroke, paint the outside loo?and you?ll live longer?mutter?.mutter?.mutter ;)
PS: I've a REALLY COOL computer :-X :P
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Right, there may be a problem. The new PC is running at 47-50C CPU Temp, and 40C System Temp, but tonight, we had three bad freezes, which meant hitting the reset button. Also, all the icons disappeared off the desktop on each occasion. The second time, it even said "boot error - insert system disc" on booting up (although that may not be the exact wording). He then turned the machine completely off for 5 minutes, and restarted. Everything was OK, for a short while then it happened again.
I opened the case and checked the fans, which are both working. I also pushed the memory stick, and the graphics card, to make sure they were firm, and they seemed OK. I can't think what could have been the problem, but after we let it run with the case open for a while, it seemed OK.
Could this be an overheating problem? Any suggestions appreciated.
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Right, there may be a problem. The new PC is running at 47-50C CPU Temp, and 40C System Temp, but tonight, we had three bad freezes, which meant hitting the reset button. Also, all the icons disappeared off the desktop on each occasion. The second time, it even said "boot error - insert system disc" on booting up (although that may not be the exact wording). He then turned the machine completely off for 5 minutes, and restarted. Everything was OK, for a short while then it happened again.
I opened the case and checked the fans, which are both working. I also pushed the memory stick, and the graphics card, to make sure they were firm, and they seemed OK. I can't think what could have been the problem, but after we let it run with the case open for a while, it seemed OK.
Could this be an overheating problem? Any suggestions appreciated.
Well 47-50C ain't hot Simon, I cannot see it being that Mate, but you know me on software probs......I'm the last man to ask ....well after you that is :-X ;)
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Well, he was only writing an e-mail when it started, so I can't see it being that, but who knows? It was strange, in that first the mouse clicks did nothing, although the mouse arrow still moved, then the mouse froze, and that was that. Being a relatively gradual process, makes me think it's a hardware issue, but I could be wrong. I usually am. ;D
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Where's our Sooooondra when you need her, she ain't nipped over that blinking Channel has she for a Brief Encounter with mona me ::) :-X
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How long had it been running and did it freeze while trying to do anything else Simon ?
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It had been running at first for about half an hour, I think (I wasn't actually there when it started), then it froze when he was writing an e-mail. He rebooted and then it did it again after about 5 minutes. He called me after the second reset, when it wouldn't launch Windows, but can up with the 'boot error', when it said insert system disc and press any key to continue. He powered off, and I went round and started it up, and it started without problem. He started to write his e-mail again (the program loaded fine), but after 2-3 minutes, it froze again. I then opened the case, and pushed the cards and the connectors to make sure everything was seated firmly. We then started it up and ran it with the case open, and it was fine. We ran it for at least 30 minutes, then I put the side of the case back on, and we ran it for another 30 minutes - no problems.
As I said, according to the 'Asus Probe', the CPU temp was about 47C, and the system temp, about 40C, with the case open. With the case closed, both rose by 2 or 3 degrees, but nothing unusual.
Having thought about it, a couple of times before this freezing started, it has stopped for a couple of seconds two or three times before, but then carried on normally. I didn't think this was anything much out of the ordinary, but I'm now wondering if this was a lead up to the current problem? Could this be a dodgy CPU?
I don't think it's connected Sandra, but see your PM. :-*
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Having thought about it, a couple of times before this freezing started, it has stopped for a couple of seconds two or three times before, but then carried on normally. I didn't think this was anything much out of the ordinary, but I'm now wondering if this was a lead up to the current problem? Could this be a dodgy CPU?
I don't think it's connected Sandra, but see your PM. :-*
Oh that PM must be a juicy incriminating tasty little morsel, but hey Simon, look I got dropped on my head in my infancy, but it ain't affect me, now has it ::)
PS: your secrets safe with me mate.............Nurse ..Nurse....I cannot move my arms, is this white jacket ment to be this tight ?
Well I may be gone some time, as this new machine flies, making mine look slow, so I going to do what Chorley Dave does, a refomat and reinstall. I'll be using that Base W2K Image I've saved, plus if the worse comes to the worse, I have an Image of the setup as is. I'm never happy that I have got Outlook sorted backup wise, but here goes.
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OK, I'll admit it, ::) I DROPPED the CPU when I was installing it :o and it wouldn't sit in the slot because one of the pins was very slightly out of line. I very gently moved it back, and it fitted fine, as has been working OK up to last night. I would have thought the problem would have manifested before now if it was due to a damaged CPU, but hey, WTF do I know? ;D ;D
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Simon,
on my first PC I bent the power switch pins over connecting the cable from the front case to the Mobo. Sweated like heck when I straightened them up, but it works perfectly. Now whever it would stand a disconect to remove the board and then a reconnect is any bodies guess...but I doubt it >:( But I've learnt to be more gentle since then, touch like a butterfly now ;D
The CPU pins coming through that plastic body would protect the actual pin connection. And if it was related, I would have suspected you would have experianced probs from the off.
Chin up mate, it's just part of the learning curve, and in anycase you cannot help being a 'Hamfisted Five Thumbed' box builder....now can you? ;D :-X ;)
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Thanks, mate - you know who your friends are round here! ::) :P ;D
I had another thought - on the way round to my mates house, the case received a bump in the car (he's a bit heavy on the right foot!), which might have dislodged one of the cards, and my pushing them in may hopefully have sorted it. As I said, it ran for about an hour after I'd done that last night with no trouble.
I'll have to wait to hear from him tonight to see if the problem recurs again.
(https://www.pc-pals.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apax34.dsl.pipex.com%2Fsmileys%2Fheadbeat2.gif&hash=a3e645bfa94ce5a415ef3e563cdc1380e891140a)
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the case received a bump in the car
(https://www.pc-pals.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apax34.dsl.pipex.com%2Fsmileys%2Fheadbeat2.gif&hash=a3e645bfa94ce5a415ef3e563cdc1380e891140a)
Bumped in the back of a car, dropped on it's head, with possible brain damage, had it's heart drive ripped out straight after birth I mean build.......I wouldn?t be surprised if ACNE pay you a visit ;D
I've got this new PC to play with for at least ten days yet, I have it on all the time, hottest it's got to is 54C., and very quite. By the way I did not do a clean reinstall after all...I realized it was the Thirteenth......not that I?m superstitious ......just cautious ::) ;D
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Iv'e been following this thread with great interest.... well done you 2 its been very interesting.. the banter has been brilliant as is the tech knowledge, hopefully every body that has followed it can see that anybody can build a PC( not meant to be derogatary in anyway)
once again well done
just one thing though ;D iv'e ringed the picture
Hookstar
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I can't quite make it out, but it does seem to be some kind of toy.
Perhaps it's simply a nightie case. I'm sure Simon will be along later with a perfectly reasonable explanation. (https://www.pc-pals.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hogarth-hq.com%2Fsmileys%2Fmickey.gif&hash=436c144f7c85762fdc32c5e5eecf2d0609f2403a)
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Slippers ;D
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Gawd!! You lot don't miss a thing do you! ;D ;D
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It actually looks familiar Simon ;D..was it modelled on any body we know ;D
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Can't be Simon - too much hair!! ;) :bald:
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:P :chubby:
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Iv'e been following this thread with great interest.... well done you 2 its been very interesting.. the banter has been brilliant as is the tech knowledge, hopefully every body that has followed it can see that anybody can build a PC( not meant to be derogatary in anyway)
once again well done
just one thing though ;D iv'e ringed the picture
Hookstar
Cheers Hooky,
glad you enjoyed it, and yes your right it does show that anybody can build a computer. And no I'm sure Simon would not take your comment as a personal insult directed at him. ;D ;)
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...I'm sure Simon would not take your comment as a personal insult directed at him. ;D ;)
Not at all - especially as I realise it was directed at Tony. ;) :P ;D ;D
As far as future 'business' is concerned, I still don't have any firm decisions, but I am hoping to be able to start another build within a short time. ;)
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Well one of my future projects has been put on hold because the 'client' may be offered or accept a job involving overseas travel requiring relocation every six months, anybody built a laptop recently ;D