PC or HTPC System and Specs

[brian32672]

This probably has been covered before.
But I was just wondering how many computer geeks are here.
This goes for PC and a HTPC

Here are my specs, and I plan on making this set-up or a new one into a full HTPC. (Will post pics as soon as I get around to it)


OS Windows XP Home SP2
1 Athlon 64 FX-55 Socket 939 (San Diego core)
1GB Kit DDR memory Geil Ultra Platinum PC4000 (2 X 512mb)
1GB Kit DDR memory OC System PC3200 (2 X 512mb)(backup memory)
1 ATI Radeon X800 XT 256mb All In Wonder Video Card
1 21" Panasonic monitor (PanaSync S21)
1 15" Sony Flat Panel LCD (SDM-HS53)
1 Western Digital Raptor 74 GB 10,000 RPM 8 MB SATA main drive
1 Western Digital 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB cache backup drive
1 Western Digital 120GB 7200 RPM 8MB cache (backup drive in storage)
1 Abit AV8 Socket 939 2000HT motherboard 2.6 Bios
1 Plextor 716A 16x DVD+-RW Firmware 1.09
1 12X DVD ??Brand?? Set for Region 2 dvd's
1 Super Flower Fan Bus Fan/Temp. Controller
1 120mm Silverstone Case fan (with fan controller)
1 Thermaltake Venus HSF (80mm fan)
1 Swiftech MCX64-V HSF (80mm fan)
5 Antec 80mm case fans
1 Demon 480 watt PSU W/1 80mm LED Fan and 1 120mm LED Fan
1 Ultra 500 watt PSU W/2 80mm LED Fans (backup PSU)
1 Logitech Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
1 Spare Athlon 64 3000 Socket 939
1 Spare Athlon 2600XP Socket A
1 Spare Starlogic Spiral Socket A HSF
1 Spare Soyo Dragon Plus Motherboard
6+ Spare Hard drives from 20gb to 7gb
1 Spare ATI Radeon 9800 Pro All In Wonder Video Card (This item may be sold)
1 Spare GeForce FX 5200 128mb Video Card
1 Spare GeForce 256 32mb Video Card
1 Spare Radeon Rage Fury Pro 32mb with TV/Out Video Card
1 Spare 52X cd Drive
1 Spare 32X cd Drive
1 Spare Antec Smart 350 Power Supply Unit
1 Lexmark X5270 All in one Printer, Scanner, & Copier
1 TrippLite Smart700 UPS Backup (for computer and monitor)
1 TrippLite Omnismart 300 UPS Backup (for cable modem and printer/scanner)
Many spare Modems, Ethernet cards, PSU’s etc...
Custom Antec case that I painted with Imron Blue Metallic Outside and Awlgrip White Inside
(these paints are for yachts, case also has very custom window-Not just square)
Games: (or at least the games I play sometimes) (I have way to many more)
Half-Life 2
Far Cry DVD Version
Diablo 2 & Expansion pack
Unreal Tournament 2004 DVD Version
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
My only downs are the
The fact that I'm using XP Home
Only a 2.1 Sound set-up 2 front speakers and a sub (motherboard capable of 5.1)

Edit:::: Forgot about Minolta DiMage Z2 512mb Sandisk Ultra 2 (for digital images)

Edit #2::: Just bought the X800 XT 256mb All In Wonder video card, and also forgot that I have a spare GeForce FX 5200 128mb Video Card - so it was just added to that list..
Also I have Corporate XP Professional edition (have not used yet) as well as Windows XP Home, XP Home W/Service Pack 2 (this one is actually still sealed), 98, 98 S.E., and that crap one Millennium.

EDIT #3:: Upped to a FX-55

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Wow, I think you reign in as supreme computer geek here at Audioholics. My wife and family would consider me a computer geek if you asked them, but without all the fancy equipment you have. I'm always getting calls to "clean up" slow moving computers.

PoweSpec 6242
2 internal hard drives - 7200 rpm Pioneer 40gb and
a 7200 rpm Western Digital
512mb DDR Ram
Pentium IV chip, 2.8 gHz (I had an AMD Athlon 1200Mhz that ran quicker!)
DVD drive/CDRW drive
Belkin 4 port usb splitter
Belkin power backup/surge protector; APC battery backup/surge protector
Olevia 20" flat screen LCD/TV with remote; response time 12ms and 500cd/m2 brighness/500:1 contrast ratio (can't imagine anything smaller!)
Labtec flat panel stereo speakers with 5" floor sub - sounds pretty good
Magicvision 640x480 webcam - very nice on a 20" LCD with msn/yahoo messenger
CA microphone with on/off switch - gotta have the on/off switch
Visioneer USB4400 scanner - old but works great
Logitech cordless mouse (killer!)
Canon i250 printer; Canon S400 and SD400 digital cameras (his and hers)
Motorola SB1500 Surfboard Cable Modem (I run about 5.0 Mbps)
More Reader Rabbit/Disney/Creative Wonders games than anything else
Spybot and Ad-Aware installed, as well as Yahoo's tool bar with popup blocker
The "old version" of Bear Share without all the spam! A must have.

 

[jaxvon]

Yay for computer geeks!

Brian, that's quite a setup you have going. I plan on building an A64 system sometime soon....once I get the money. My only worry is your choice of power supply. You should know, that is one component you should NEVER skimp on.

 

[jaxvon]

Heh, didn't see the other two. The Antec is okay, but these two....1 Demon 480 watt PSU W/1 80mm LED Fan and 1 120mm LED Fan
1 Ultra 500 watt PSU W/2 80mm LED Fans (backup PSU)

I'm not so sure about. I'd personally go for an OCZ, perhaps a Fortron, or if I wanted the best, PC Power and Cooling.

 

[brian32672]

Checked the Ultra, its 28 amps on the 12 volt side......

 

[jaxvon]

That's not bad, but check the specs on the PC Power and Cooling Turbo Cool 510:

Turbo-Cool 510 Deluxe Technical Specifications
AC Input
Operating Range: 90-264 VAC
0.99 power factor
auto-select
Frequency: 47-63Hz
Current: 10A @ 115V
Efficiency: 70%
EMI: FCC-B, CE

+5V @ 40A
+12V @ 34A/38A
-5V @ 0.3A
-12V @ 2A
+3.3V @ 30A
+5VSB @ 3A
continuous = 510W
peak = 650W
Regulation: 1% (+3.3, +5, +12)
5% (-5, -12)
Ripple: 0.5% (p-p)
Hold Time: 20ms
PG Delay: 300ms

And the 510W rating is at 50 degrees C, not 25 as all the other manufacturers rate their products. This thing is over 600W continuous at 25 degrees.

 

[brian32672]

I'd personally go for an OCZ,

They are good, but way overpriced.
If I bought anything from them, it would be memory...

Unfortunately, there are to many good and bad PSU makers.
And even some of the bad ones have an elite line.

Honestly, I have had no problems with these two. (second just for backup anyway)

I have had a problem (go figure this) with a Tru Blue Antec.

Even though the Demon is the lower rated one, I have all that stuff running close to 20 hours a day (for the last year), and it has had no quirks. A few Antecs including the one I have for another backup, have actually caused some strange problems.
Usually you will start to see one component at a time start acting up, and then its hard to trace back to the PSU (at least without a true load tester)
(Not the cheap, oh your getting voltage tester)

This system I have now has been running about the longest I have allowed a system to run. Basically since I have numerous hard drives, I will put a full (information I need) backup, then wipe out main drive and start fresh.

This is only to keep up with the big boys on the benchmarks. So far every system I have built, has been at least top 3 in its class. As far as 3DMark 01, 03, 05, SiSoft Sandra memory & cpu scores, Everest memory bench, PCMark 04, CPUBench 2003, etc....

The last decent upgrade I did was the Raptor 74gb 10K rpm SATA Drive. And it by itself will beat most single drive SCSI scores, and a lot of 7200 in raid0 configuration. Even now I still get a decent score with about 10 things running and all the crud on this machine from a year and I have not defragmented in about 2 weeks. I however am due for a new reinstall. Actually have a new Windows XP SP2 disc unopened. As well I have a Corparate Edition of Windows XP, that I have never used. (Might try that one next)

Here is a screen shot of SiSoft HDD That was running while I was typing this. But remember I usually get almost 15mb per second more with a clean install and nothing running in background.

 

[jaxvon]

Wow, that's some impressive stuff. I knew the Raptors kicked lotsa arse though. I'd spring for one, but for the kind of stuff I do, my budget, and the fact that I'm a space hog just steer me towards a high-capacity 7200RPM drive, like a Hitachi.

As far as PSUs go, yes I know the OCZ is kinda overpriced, but from what I've seen, it's built like a tank. However, I think if I was spending that kind of money, I'd just go for a PC Power and Cooling anyway (the 510 is $200).

 

[Cygnus]

Pics man, pics! Awesome system!

 

[Sheep]

ultra = good

the 500w ultra has 36A on the +12v rail. the only thing i have heard about it thats bad is the fans are loud, but i have 9 case fans, so i really don't care.

sheep

 

[Cygnus]

My custom built machine:
Motherboard:
ASUS A7V400-MX
Proccessor:
Athlon XP-2600+ (Barton core) (1.9GHz)
Videocard:
Gigabyte Radeon 9200SE
Sound:
Onboard AC97 5.1CH Sound (Using "Y" cable from this to AUX on my receiver)
RAM:
PC2700 400Mhz 768DDR

Built it in 2004 with my freind, Jason (aka "cenobyte")

 

[jaxvon]

Hey Cyggie...I think you should invest in a cheap soundcard with digital output. Believe me, when it comes to computers being connected to receivers, digital is the ONLY way to go. The analog channels on computers have so much noise in them.

 

[Cygnus]

Yeah, I'd like to find one. Who makes 'em and where would I get one?

 

[jaxvon]

Here ya go...a Chaintech from Newegg. $26 shipped and it has Optical out. Will work great, unless you need coaxial digital output, which would mean you'd need to get an optical to coax converter (like $18 at Parts Express) or this. A user here, Dillyo, has the same card and runs the digital output to his receiver and has had great experiences with it.

 

[WndrBr3d]

Antec Minuet ATX Desktop Case (Silver/Piano Black)
AOpen AK79G Max Motherboard
AthlonXP 2100+ (underclocked/undervoltage to 1800+)
768MB PC2100
nVidia GeForce 6600GT (1080i over Component)
80GB WD Special Edition (OS Drive)
200GB WD Special Edition (Mp3/Movie Drive)

The case only has two Ventec Stealth 90mm fans running at low low low RPMs... so it's a very silent PC. The CPU sits at like 140 though... but it's still stable.

 

[Tubes4Life]

Water-cooled Lian Li PC 1100B (Koolance PC3-724BK)
DFI NF4 SLI-DR
AMD FX-57
2GB OCZ Platinum PC3200 (2x1GB)
2x BFG 7800GTX
2x 74gb raptor (RAID 0)
2x Maxtor Diamondmax 10 300GB
Creative X-FI Elite Pro
PC Power&Cooling 850W PSU

ok. ok.

ULTRA Dragon gloss black
Asus A8V Deluxe
AMD 3500+ 90nm
1GB Ocz PC3500 CAS 2
XFX 6800GT
WD 80GB
WD 160GB
DiamondMax 10 300GB SATA
SB Audigy 2 ZS
Antec true-430

 

[brian32672]

the 500w ultra has 36A on the +12v rail. the only thing i have heard about it thats bad is the fans are loud, but i have 9 case fans, so i really don't care.

sheep

That is the new model you are talking about (the old model, mine has 28 amps) And the fans (2 blue led) are not loud by no means. However I am not sure on the new Ultras.

I have used that PSU in my other backup system that is the quiet pc. The pc with all of the specs above, is a little loud. But it does have something like 8 fans, which 1 is a 120mm. Believe it or not, the 120 is quiet, until its turned all the way up, and then it sounds like a jet plane. (well not quite like a plane, but you know where I'm coming from)


EDIT:: Just added a few things that I just picked up, to my original list post #1

 

[Sheep]

Brian, I wouldn't get an X800.

7800 is worth it, or wait for the ultra.

Heres my Rig.

Raidmax Scropio 420watt crapo PSU
Sapphire Radeon 9800pro 128mb(256bit) OC'ed to 421 core, and 375 ram(x2) w/ artic cooler VGA silencer(AS5 thermal compound)
Maxtor 80g harddrive SATA
Asus A7N8X E Deluxe with onboard DD and DTS (soundstorm)
AMD xp2500+barton M Oc'ed to 2.25 GHz(also AS5)
LG dvd rom
LG CD burner 52x32x52
4 coolermaster Blue 80mm LED fans Plus the stock case fans.
Thermaltake Volcano12 Copper Heatsink
2x 256 Corsair XMS pc 3200 DDR ram (adding 512)
Logitech MX duo
Logitech Z2200 2.1 speakers plus my HT


Think thats about it... I want to upgrade to a better case, possibly an antec, with a smart power 2 PSU.

Sheep

 

[Sheep]

Antec Minuet ATX Desktop Case (Silver/Piano Black)
AOpen AK79G Max Motherboard
AthlonXP 2100+ (underclocked/undervoltage to 1800+)
768MB PC2100
nVidia GeForce 6600GT (1080i over Component)
80GB WD Special Edition (OS Drive)
200GB WD Special Edition (Mp3/Movie Drive)

The case only has two Ventec Stealth 90mm fans running at low low low RPMs... so it's a very silent PC. The CPU sits at like 140 though... but it's still stable.

derrrrrr thats pretty hot, 32 db case fans that blow 33 or so cfm will not be that loud. 2 of them should help, and maybe some AS5?

Sheep

 

[brian32672]

Brian, I wouldn't get an X800.

7800 is worth it, or wait for the ultra.

Well the X800 XT AIW. Anyway, why not?
Have you seen these charts?
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050705/vga-charts-pcie-02.html#3d_mark_2005
Plus I have had numerous GeForce cards, and in the same price range the ATI cards always won.

Do you realize how much a GeForce 7800 Ultra would cost? Probably in the range of 675.00 U.S. for 10 extra frame rates, Uhmm, I think it would be a serious waste of money. Hey, but go for it.... Tell me how those frame rates are

Also even the Radeon ATI AIW X800 XT, is way overkill for me. Since 90% of my computer usage is surfing the net. I just keep planning on getting back to Half Life 2, just never seem to get around to it. Ever since I beat that game twice, I haven't been playing any games. Kinda waiting for the expansion for that game. I think its coming out really soon, I'll have to re-check.. Nope TBA... here http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2aftermath/index.html

Anyway if I wanted to spend under 600.00 then I would go for the new ATI here - http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-23717-2610-x-x-x

But like audio equipment, I will say this is IMO....