[Tattoo]

Okay, this is my first attempt at modding a PC. I built my current rig with some help about 3 years ago, and it's ancient. I finally decided to build something new. The more i heard and read about modding, the more interested i became. So, i'm going to try to do this new build right!

I'm ordering parts as i can afford it. This way i can get a decent rig without having to worry about coming up with a huge lump of cash all at once. Since I already have a comp to work/play on, it's not a big rush like my current setup was.

Here's what i just ordered so far.

Thermaltake Armor (black heavy sucker with side window)
Sunbeam NUUO PSU (read lots of good things about this one on here)
Corsair XMS 2x512 kit (2-3-3-6 timings)=90
Arctic Silver thermal compound
Liteon DVDRW w/ Lightscribe and 5x DVD-RAM burning
Liteon DVD-ROM/CDRW combo drive
(both black bezels)

Saitek illuminated keyboard
Logitech G5 gaming mouse.

That's it for now. Should be here about the middle of next week, and i'll post some start pics. Once the case gets here i'm going to get some measurements and start buying more supplies needed (cables, lights, etc).

Hopefully i'm off to a good start. I've got some good ideas for this case. I just hope most of them are do-able.

 

[Chosen]

Welcome to the forum! Looks like a nice setup but no mobo gpu or cpu

 

[HardwaterH4ck3r]

Sounds good for now...that's how i built my current computer...over a course of several months.....3 of which were spent planning and fabricating my case,,,more power to ya man...however that G5 is a waste of money...having used the mX518 and the G5, i found the MX to be far superior...and much cheaper....but, whatever floats your boat...

BTW, that PSu kicks ass..I have two....

 

[Tattoo]

Ahhhh. Well, i'd read nothing but good about the G5. I don't do a LOT of gaming these days, as compared to a few years ago, but I did want something than a generic or crappy logitech mouse like i've been stuck with every time. lol but thanks for the encouragement.

as for mobo, gpu, etc... i haven't finalized anything (especially because it will be a couple weeks at best before i have the cash to order it) but here are some rough plans so far.

mobo: Asus a8n32 or MSI diamond (true x16 mobos)
cpu: AMD Athlon 64 x2 4400+ (better if i can afford it, but that one would suit me okay for awhile)
if i go aircooled: zahlman hs (forget the name, but it's the huge one that's so popular)
if i go watercooled: either a thermaltake bigwater kit, or that snazzy koolance exos kit. (or if i can get the huevos, build my own kit)
gpu: 7800GT (1 now, 1 down the road) not sure of makers yet. suggestions are always welcome
hdds: 2 raptors (along with the 2 80gig maxtor ide's and 1 120gig seagate i already have)

the mods and stuff i'm going to keep hush for now, until i can start getting the stuff together and post as i go!

and thanks again everyone for the warm welcome. I forgot to mention this is my first post here, but obviously nothing gets past you guys. lol

 

[Chosen]

instead of the 2 raptors get 3 times the space and raid 0 a pair of 250gigs with the same if not more speed as far as im aware the true x16 pci slots cannot be completely utilized by any current chipset the gpu looks good and if your into multitasking and not so much games that cpu looks fine. Or you could go with the 3700 SD

Edit. that popular cooler your thinking of is the big typhoon (shudders) darn review juggernaut. From the reviews iv read some Scythe models outperform the BT by in some cases 10C ;P

 

[HardwaterH4ck3r]

Mmmmk, lemme help you choose things.....

Go for the eVGA...they have lifetime warrenty, and they even protect if you do damage overclocking (sometimes).

If you go for aircooling....i would stay away from the ZALMANS unless you use the FS-C77, but that is a little heavy, and there's no heatpipes, which leech heat away quicker...i would go with ThermalRight XP-120 or ThermalTake BigTyphoon, both with 100+ CFM fans.

If you go the water route. it is much more cost effective to build your own, but make sure you get a case that fits it. i didn;t want to do watercoolign at first, so i didn;t account for them in my original case design, and i had to do extensive modifications to get my WC to fit. Make sure you have adequate room, and the Koolance EXOS 2 is good, but not worth the price. I would use DangerDen or swiftech products.

For the Board, i would go with the ASUS, but i wouldn;t do the 32....i would go with an a8n-sli prem, just becasue even with 2 cards, there isn;t an astronomical amount of performance boost, and 270 for a board is a bit steep in my book.

Go with the 4400+ or the 4800+...i easily overclocked my 4400+ to 2.6 in the first couple days, and with W/C i got it to 2.8 stable 12 hour PRIME.....I'm sure i could have gotten that 4800 past 3.0 though........if i was to stumble upona couple grand though...i would go for that FX-60.....but that's unlikely

i hope it helps.....

 

[Tattoo]

Thanks guys. I'll definitely look into your suggestions. I'm headed to newegg to get some visuals now.

 

[Tattoo]

Phase one has begun. This phase consists of...

finally recieving the case and some other parts. lol Tomorrow i'll be sitting down with the case to bond with it. <3 Then i'll start getting ideas and doing some measuring.

Here's some pics.

http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor1.JPG

http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor2.JPG

http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor3.JPG

http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor5.JPG

http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor10.JPG

http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor12.JPG

more updates to come soon!

 

[foxracing4500]

lol well I hope your project goes better then mine, I think I have a defective mobo OR I need to update the bios/switch the ram and tweek a few settings in the bios for my A8n32 to display a signal to the monitor. anyways check it out if ya want in my sig.

 

[Namrac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tattoo Phase one has begun. This phase consists of... finally recieving the case and some other parts. lol Tomorrow i'll be sitting down with the case to bond with it. <3 Then i'll start getting ideas and doing some measuring. Here's some pics. http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor1.JPG http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor2.JPG http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor3.JPG http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor5.JPG http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor10.JPG http://home.valornet.com/blondie72770/Armor12.JPG more updates to come soon!

God that's a beautiful case.

I'm hoping to get either a 17" LCD Monitor or the aluminum version of the Xaser Armor for my birthday.

 

[tweako_420]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tattoo Ahhhh. Well, i'd read nothing but good about the G5. I don't do a LOT of gaming these days, as compared to a few years ago, but I did want something than a generic or crappy logitech mouse like i've been stuck with every time. lol but thanks for the encouragement.

As long as its one of the newer mice.
Its all preferance.
I infact LOVE my G5 and chose it over the MX series or the G7 or the copperhead. And I actually went to Futureshop and tried each one for a few minutes each so I got a first hand review on each.

 

[Tattoo]

ups lost my shipment somehow, with my dvdrw, psu, mouse, keyboard, ram. I talked to newegg friday, and they're going to refund, so i can reorder the stuff. ugh.

Ah well, nothing is going in til i'm done modding anyway. Been looking at plasma disks, but so far they all either don't say what the voltage is, or they're 6v. I don't know enough about electronics really. Might have to talk to the local radio shack and see about a 12v to 6v transformer i suppose.

Still trying to come up with more ideas. Hopefully everything will turn out nice

 

[Tattoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Namrac God that's a beautiful case. I'm hoping to get either a 17" LCD Monitor or the aluminum version of the Xaser Armor for my birthday.

Thanks. I love the case already. lol

I considered getting the aluminum version, but several reviews i read noted that it felt rather flimsy. Looking now at how huge this case is, i don't think that would be a good thing.

 

[Tattoo]

Well, my package showed up, so i'm happy again. Went and picked up my mirror piece today, and some of those nice BEIFA uv gel pens at the local Target. I'll post some pics tomorrow.

As for some plans, i decided if the price is right, i'm going to go with powdercoating. Checking out dragonmodz.com kinda helped me decide, with their nice anodized screws and rivets. I'm calling the bike shop that i normally deal with tomorrow, and see who they use and try to get a quote. If it's decent, tomorrow i'll be drilling rivets!

Pics to come!

 

[Tattoo]

Powdercoating is a go. Got a good quote from a local place, so i spent yesterday tearing apart the case screw by screw, and rivet by rivet. My poor case. lol

Here's some pics. Dropping off everything tomorrow, and should only be a couple days before it's ready to pick up!

 

[Tattoo]

got my lumindisk wired up to plug directly into the psu. thanks to zittware over at WizD forums for helping me figure out how to do it!

 

[Tattoo]

and yes, that's my current setup. had to practice with the lumin on my old setup, in case something went wrong. didn't want to lose my brand new psu! lol. hence the reason i'm building a new rig and modding it. that thing is about 3 years old, and drives me crazy!

but the good news is the lumindisk works great. if anyone needs help with one, just look me up! was pretty easy once we had the components figured out.