Build finished.

All done my build, using it now, as a matter of course...


Motherboard: Gigabyte EP43-UD3L
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Q8200 2.33Ghz Quad Core
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB
Sound: Creative X-FI XtremeGamer PCI
PSU: Corsair tx750w
RAM: 8GB Corsair XMS-2 (4*2GB)
HD: 750 GB SATA Seagate Barracuda
Optical: LG Super-Multi DVD-RW+- DL w/ Lightscribe

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64


runs excellently. I had problems getting it booted originally... tried for 5 minutes. thought I fried it. Then I looked over... and saw that I had forgotten the RAM!  ... once I got that in booted up straight away


I'd like to thank Calum who was a great help in putting this together... he's on vacation now but he'll be back eventually saved me a bundle and I got more for my money then I would have.

temps: I'm not overclocking... and it idles around 40-50c, which is a bit hot; it doesn't break 70 under load.. (best I can do right now for load is Doom 3; on high quality. runs great, now I can play the game for the first time  ) As far as the temps go, I'm in the middle of a heat wave (averaging 30 celsius... it was actually 40 degrees in my room this morning) so I have a feeling that is a large contributor to the slightly high temps. The case actually had two 120mm fans included, so as far as internal case airflow I believe things are quite good; as I speak the air coming from the side exhaust feels cool, the CPU is hovering in the mid-50's (which makes me think perhaps I should reapply the thermal one of these days) and the GPU is 69 (but this card runs hot anyway, I hear)



All in all a successful and very satisfying build; planned upgrades:

I have a lot of boring panels on the front. I'm going to fill those up, probably with a media card reader. Also, I'm probably going to replace the X-fi (if only so I can put it back into my previous desktop) with a PCI-E Fatality when funds permit; opting for the one with the breakout box will fill another panel. (I hate boring panels. they must be noisy with various connectors, regardless of how redundant they might be. I'm just that way)

No floppy drive.... not that I have a shortage, but rather because all the floppies I have have biege bezels... the one I do have that has a black bezel is in a 5 1/4 rail and has had the 720K/1.44MB hole detector diode replaced with a switch(apparently doing so you could buy 720K disks and easily format them to 1.44MB with no ill effects)... this works fine but in this case the switch has been places as part of the larger floppy drive assembly... and while that would certainly match with the case and allow me to use up a front panel (why am I obsessed with not having empty space...) at the same time I was too lazy to look for my other FDD cable that included the "slot" connector it required. I could have removed the small pin/slot connector adapter included as part of the 5-1/4 assembly but I'm too lazy to do that as well. perhaps another time.

Also I cannot find the drive. That was probably the deciding factor. 

[Moderator]

Nicely Done...hats off to Calum also.

Is there room on that board for a Southbridge fan ? ?
I added one to mine and it helped lower temps by between 3 and 5c...

I'll have to take a gander next time I pop it open- I forgot to plug in a few irrelevant LEDs (the power LED and the two blue LEDs used to light up the rounded edge vents. Also might try re-pasting with my Arctic Silver instead of the paste that was already on the heatsink; see if that helps any. Could be while fumbling with the.. erm- complicated heatsink mechanisms I might have caused some inconsistincies with the thermal paste.

[Moderator]

Solid capacitors....nice shopping !

Looks fantastic, congrats on the new system, look forward to some pictures. Also added the SBCC icon to your profile.

Sweet build!

Thanks Nathan, I took some pics while building it; just haven't gotten around to resizing them and uploading them yet 

[Moderator]

Well hurry up willya ? ?....

       

PICS!!!!!!
Nice build!!
But one question... Why do you need so much ram?

Lol I hope your using 64bit version

Lol I hope your using 64bit version

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64

Why does nobody give the same thought to a NIC that they give to everything else?

They just go along with the integrated solution, nothing special.

Won't someone think about the NIC's?

Why does nobody give the same thought to a NIC that they give to everything else?

They just go along with the integrated solution, nothing special.

Won't someone think about the NIC's?

well, I have a PCI Gigabit NIC but that's staying in the PC I bought it for. 

If it makes you feel any better after I get my PCI-E X-Fi Fatal1ty I might spring for a PCI-E network card... but currently the on-board is performing well.

There's nothing particularly noteworthy that makes  one NIC necessarily better then another; I've never really noticed much of a difference between the various brands that I've used (SMC,D-Link and Realtek... I have some other NICs that I've never used).


In fact, I may put to you that if the NIC is so important, why do we not weigh the various options of USB controllers? Because hardware wise they are virtually the same. Obviously then the deciding factor is software; and since personally I try to keep that to a minimum (that is, just the driver).

I'm not using the on-board sound if your against on-board components. Which brings me to another point- Now, the on-board sound kinda sucked in comparison to my X-Fi- it was usable, in the same way as my old CT4016 card- that is, basic functions. So why does this not extend then to the network card?

Well, the way I see it- Realtek is not really a Sound circuitry manufacturer. They have been creating Network cards/chips/circuitry for a while, (think, ISA bus) and I'd like to think they got pretty good. (in a similar comparison look how far creative has come from the Game Blaster). It's only fair to lift the benefit of the doubt and allow a company that has specialized in network hardware (AFAIK) for a good portion of their existence to do so in an integrated solution. 

Why would you need a new pcie nic?  Doesnt that board have dual 10/100/1000 built in?

Why would you need a new pcie nic?  Doesnt that board have dual 10/100/1000 built in?

quiet, I'm appeasing Quantos.

I probably won't get one though, no. too much other junk I don't use.

What do you mean, "dual" 10/100/1000... I have one port, not two ()

Ohhh.  Well if you would have got the p45 for the same price on a different site you could have 2

why would I want two....

Good question......
One of the useless features you have just to show off

I could always throw in one of my other NICs... besides, what's a X-Fi Fatal1ty good for if not to show off?

[Moderator]

Well you could then hookup a crossover cable and network yourself for no reason....

I think I might just do that...
Have any links or something telling me how?

Well you could then hookup a crossover cable and network yourself for no reason....

hmm, that sounds dirty. And  therefore worth doing.

Will I need goggles?

[Moderator]

Yes.

  it's impossible to see with these goggles on.

Oh wait, nevermind. they weren't goggles. they were cucumbers. I'll keep looking.

quiet, I'm appeasing Quantos.

I probably won't get one though, no. too much other junk I don't use.

What do you mean, "dual" 10/100/1000... I have one port, not two ()

ROFL, I think I'm appeased.

I just wonder why nobody worries about an integrated NIC when they do worry about everything else being integrated.

P.S. - Nice build.

I just wonder why nobody worries about an integrated NIC when they do worry about everything else being integrated.

well, sound and video have a lot of difference in quality between integrated and separate- including different buses- Network components are more or less the same integrated or otherwise, since there is a limited number of network vendors and chips.


P.S. - Nice build.
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