Lost in Space... . . .

[AJ@PR]

Hello everyone,

Fairly new here...
I started this up because I read this ball busting thread (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5064).
Then got inspired to get off my ass. :D

My current plans are... to... have a cool computer.

BACKGROUND::::
(( no need to read this... skip if you're tired ))

I started out with a server mother board.
I bought everything about 1 year ago...
I think.
Included was
- dual-proc mobo,
- processor (only one),
- 2GB RAM (:lick: slipped my mind which one)
- Nice ViewSonic 19" LCD
- HDD... I believe 250GB... IDE? The Lord Knows...

So the mobo was Extended ATX... so I checked NewEgg for a case,...
BUT, shipping was like $100 to my location.

Aha. Plan B.

Headed over CompUSA, they had one big ass $200 extended-ATX case.
More or less same deals as in NewEgg... but with Instant Gratification (tm).

CompUSA got the money.
I got the crate... I mean, case.

THE PLAN::::
(( no need to read this... skip of you're tired or if you just want to not know what's up ))

I'm completely open to suggestions... so please feel free to tell me to STFU n00bz.. .. g0 2 R4di0 5h4ck!!!.1.11..! two! !One!! !!



I found this guy fairly funny:::
:banana: :banana: :banana:

Neways... Here's a list of my current xMas Wish List...
I better represent Mr. Santa Claus or I'm gonna be bummed this year...
But fear NOT!!!! onez!! !!

For everything else, there Visa.
(or is that Master Card?)

WishList
Klingon WarShip Server
GIGABYTE MoBo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128323)
Core 2 Duo E6600 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115003)
2GB RAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227089)
320 GB SATA (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136039)
eForce 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143071)


Ok...

I was planning on getting stuff working, then starting with the mods.
The case is made out of aluminum...
I've got a Craftsman Dremel-type of thing.
I'm pretty courageous with it... :?

Liquid cooling, is in the definite future.
I have a crazy idea, I guess you people have already heard of it... but, using a water fountain cooling system, to cool a rez, that pumps throughout the system.

Well, so far, so good.

Hope you people enjoy this. :)

Peace

AJ

Woops... was going to post pictures, but I can't.
""You may not post attachments""
I'm searching, but I'm unsure if I got to meet a post-quota before.
Anyways, I'll sort it out soon.

[tybrenis]

For now, you'll have to use Imageshack or photobucket or something of the sort.

Anyways... welcome to the forums! I hope you enjoy your stay here. It sounds like you're heading in the right direction, and I like the waterfountain cooler idea.

Do you have a theme in mind? The best mods are based off of a common theme. Once you have that estabilished, the ideas will start to flow, and it'll also be easier for us to help you out.

[ESX]

Welcome and good luck to ya!

[AJ@PR]

Tybrenis,
I opened up an account in PhotBucket... thanks for the help! :)
I've added the theme-in-progress at the bottom of this post. :glasses:

ESIX,

Thanks for the welcome! :)

Recap ---> Pictures::::
Case1
Taa Daa!!!
Sticker still attached.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o196/45NN2121/Case00325001.jpg

Case2
You can see the PSU @ the rear. I believe I bought a 650W unit.... a good one. I'll have to check the recipts/eMails to make sure.
The case has provisions for another PSU @ the bottom.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o196/45NN2121/Case00325002.jpg

Case3
Opened up.
Sorry for the cable mess.
I realized stuff wasn't going to work, and I left everything as is. :(
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o196/45NN2121/Case00325003.jpg

Case4
More messy cables.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o196/45NN2121/Case00325004.jpg

Case5
PSU upskirt view.... Ooo La Laaa!
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o196/45NN2121/Case00325005.jpg

Case6
The other side (D'oh!)
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o196/45NN2121/Case00325006.jpg

The Beach @ PR
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o196/45NN2121/TheBeach.jpg

...........
As for a theme... I was thinking, that because the case is aluminum.... I can try and polish it, to see how it looks.

Maybe I can get a quasi-mirror-like finish on it.

Another thing, I wanted to... I know it sounds freaking crazy, but add plants to the case. Like add various potted plants on top, that fall down.
I dunno... maybe we can scratch that idea. :p

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! :)

Peace!,
AJ

[ESX]

Thats quite a nifty case. Did you think of the main theme yet?

[AJ@PR]

Thats quite a nifty case. Did you think of the main theme yet?

Hey ESIX,

I haven't nailed down the theme yet.

Maybe a "block" of aluminum?
Or maybe, technology + nature, with the computer parts and the plants.

Hmmm... I'm unsure.

:) Thanks for the reply ESIX!

[ESX]

No prob :) Im a beginner myself.
Bio-technology sounds awesome, like cyborg plants and stuff hehe :D

[DaveW]

I started this up because I read this ball busting thread.
Then got inspired to get off my ass.

Excellent! My message got out to someone at least :)

You know the guys on the boards will keep you right. There's nothing you can ask that someone here doesn't know the answer to!

-Dave

[AJ@PR]

You know the guys on the boards will keep you right. There's nothing you can ask that someone here doesn't know the answer to!
Thanks! :)

So far, super good!!! :D


Bio-technology sounds awesome, like cyborg plants and stuff hehe :D
:) Yeah... let's see what we end up with! :p


and I like the waterfountain cooler idea.
I was going to do a diagram sort of thing... but I'm not going to get around to actually "do it".... so I think maybe putting the idea out there...

The water-cooler thing will take up space... but, right now, that isn't such a big concern.
I thought a big ouside-the-case rez, with the water-cooler system cooling that.

Then, a pump moving water throughout the computer system. (proc, RAM, video card?, etc.)

I was thinking of using a pond pump... like the ones Home Depot sells.

Is there a reason *not* to use those types of pumps?
I would run it anyways hooked-up to a filtered multiplug...
It should provide plenty of water flow.

As to the temps... I'm going to do some reasearch to see how much do those water-fountain coolers actually "cool". How cold can they go.


------------------------
Mother Board thoughts:::
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128323)
vs.
ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131025)

I read all the description/specifications, but I'm not that well informed to make an educated guess.
My overview impression:::
The GigaByte board has newer chipsets... judging by the model numbers (HAhaha!)
The ASUS is costlier. (:?)

Peace
AJ

[Indybird]

First, Welcome to the forums

Second, these forums (and the internet) need more enthusiastic and interesting people like you, AJ@PR

Third, Dave, your message was for everyone on the forum but you got the attention of somebody not on the forum :?

Fourth, I really like where this mod is going, I like the whole Biotech, aluminum idea. I don't know about the Gigabyte but I have the P5W DH and let me tell you it is a great board with many cool features I probably could not do without.

-Indybird

[AJ@PR]

First, Welcome to the forums

Second, these forums (and the internet) need more enthusiastic and interesting people like you, AJ@PR

Third, Dave, your message was for everyone on the forum but you got the attention of somebody not on the forum :?

Fourth, I really like where this mod is going, I like the whole Biotech, aluminum idea. I don't know about the Gigabyte but I have the P5W DH and let me tell you it is a great board with many cool features I probably could not do without.

-Indybird
1-- Thanks!!! :D
2-- Thanks again! I'm pretty pumped about all this, and it has been but because of these boards. I mean, browsing NewEgg does *not* provide you with 0.01% of the ideas these boards and its members provide. I think I've been converted for life... :s

3-- RE: Dave's Message::: Yeah. I wasn't a member. I was just browsing... oogling over pictures... when I read that thread, I said "Go for it you lazy bum!!!" and registered. :)

4-- I think I'm going with the ASUS. Just one n00bz question::: why the heck do people have dual Ethernet ports? I completely missed the stage in history (probably somewhere between 1998 and 2006) when this started to become more common.


Have vines growing out of all the open spots in the case or something.. lol this mod sounds wicked!

w00t
-Jeremy

P.S. - Howdy :)
Hey J! :)
Howdy!!!
I like the vines idea.

Something like that... I thought about using Orchids because
(1) They trully are gorgeous
(2) My mom has about 5 gazillion of them... year-round there are flowering Orchids in her house.

Problem I see with orchids is that, they're too fragile, IMO (even though that plant is, a weed. For real.)
That, and I don't think they'll look good on the case.
They don't "droop" or anything...
So we can scratch the orchid idea...

I think some wikiBotanicals research is called for. :)

Thanks for all the ideas guys. I'll keep you all up to date.
Again, I hope I can order everything this week. :D
WuhuuuuUUU!!!!

Peace
AJ

[Indybird]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the dual LAN is for LAN partys; so you can have one port hooked up to the internet and the other port hooked up to other computers or the network.

[AJ@PR]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the dual LAN is for LAN partys; so you can have one port hooked up to the internet and the other port hooked up to other computers or the network.
That makes sense.

But I don't like it... cause, then... when I loose in a LAN game... I can't scream:::

DARN this shared ethernet connection!!!! I lost that frag because of it!!!! NOOOO!!!!!
:D

[ajmilton]

dual lan has a couple of purposes :P

if you want to run your computer as a firewall (custom iptables or whatever) or a gateway or something, 2 network connections are good for that :p

also several clustering techniques rely on having computers directly networked

if you're doing network backups, sometimes a gigabit connection between the backup computer and the computer being backed up is nice for speed, and you don't lose connectivity that way

[Indybird]

dual lan has a couple of purposes :P

if you want to run your computer as a firewall (custom iptables or whatever) or a gateway or something, 2 network connections are good for that :p

also several clustering techniques rely on having computers directly networked

if you're doing network backups, sometimes a gigabit connection between the backup computer and the computer being backed up is nice for speed, and you don't lose connectivity that way

theres some good smart reasons...
Its sorda funny though, I've never used dual lan and now you ask about and I just used today! What a coincidence!

[AJ@PR]

^^ Yeah... what a coincidence!

RE: The Riggz (sorry, I've come to call it that)
I was @ CompUSA today, and I saw the video card I'm ordering... the BFG Tech GeForce 7950GT 512MB....
Check this out: NewEgg sells it for $260.
CompUSA? ::: --> ::: $375 :eek: :eek:

Bastards. :twisted:

Anyways.... I'm definitely ordering stuff today.
Yiay!!! w00t w00t !!! !!
:banana: :banana: :banana:

I saw over at CompUSA some chipset (Northbridge) coolers from 'Cooler Master'. Small heat sink with a tiny 14CFM (I think) fan on top.
What's your guys' take on it?
Yes? No? Whatever?

Well, hope to give you guys an update soon.

BTW: I was thinking regarding the plants in the mod... and... I think it'd be cool to have some plants that have parts "highlighted" with UV lights.
Hopefully, the blue LEDs and the plants glowing with UV will look cool.

We'll have to wait (a little less now!) to see. :D
:bunny: :alien: :bunny: :alien:

Thanks for stopping by!

Peace
AJ

[Indybird]

I don't usually worry about chipset cooling, especially with a higher end board from ASUS (with the fancy heatpipes)

[Indybird]

I wonder if you put some harmless UV "liquid" in the plant's water if the plant would glow? THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME!!!!!!!!

[armadilloben]

First, Welcome to the forums

Second, these forums (and the internet) need more enthusiastic and interesting people like you, AJ@PR

Third, Dave, your message was for everyone on the forum but you got the attention of somebody not on the forum :?

Fourth, I really like where this mod is going, I like the whole Biotech, aluminum idea. I don't know about the Gigabyte but I have the P5W DH and let me tell you it is a great board with many cool features I probably could not do without.

-Indybirdhey indy how u like that mbo of ures this dude cant deicde to get the board ure using or a gigabyte mobo what do ya say problems bout the asus board? and would u have him buy it?

[AJ@PR]

hey indy how u like that mbo of ures this dude cant deicde to get the board ure using or a gigabyte mobo what do ya say problems bout the asus board? and would u have him buy it?
I...

Couldn't crack that.
I think it's 256-bit Blowfish algorithm encryption.
I'm unsure.

But I saw this in his sig, and it made me laugh out loud:::


every time u read my sig god kills a kitten
Hahahaa!

[Indybird]

As I said, I know absolutely nothing about Gigabyte board, but I'll give a little mini-review of the P5W DH.

The Asus P5W DH Deluxe motherboard has many features, mostly centered around the "Digital Home" idea. It supports all conroes and (with a bios upgrade) supports quad-core processors. It has two PCI-E X16 connectors (8x and 8x with dual cards), and is Crossfire certified. It has 4 DDR2 Slots that can run in DDR2 800.
Asus Features Include:
-AI NOS (An automatic overclocking feature)
-Overclock Profiles (Allowing you to save up to two overclocking configurations)
-Fanless Cooling (Uses all heatpipes so it is silent)

Digital Home features Include:
-ASUS Wifi-AP (Integrated Wireless)
-ASUS DH-Remote (Very functional IR remote with mobo controls)
-EZ Raid (BIOSless RAID 0)

There are many other features, Im just highlighting things I commonly use. I've got a Core 2 Duo E6700, 2GB of OCZ RAM and Dual ATI X1900XTXs. This board is a very stable overclocker. It includes many lower high-end overclocking options. I've had my 2.66GHz E6700 O.C'd to 3.5GHz on air for a month no prob. My DDR2 800MHz RAM is overclocked to 1066MHz. Crossfire works exactly as it should, no prob.
Pros
-Many useful features
-Overclocks well
-Crossfire ready
-Quad-core ready
Cons
-Small area around CPU for large heatsinks

Overall
Very good board, I really recommend you get this. Though the gigabyte may be a solid board this has many features you might want.

Hope that helps,
Indybird

[AJ@PR]

Overall
Very good board, I really recommend you get this. Though the gigabyte may be a solid board this has many features you might want.
Yes it did help. :)

Thanks!

I was going to order everything... added all to my cart @ NewEgg.com

Aaaannddd..... it wouldn't be a day without Murphy!...
TadaAA!!!!

The credit card "verification" number... the last 3 ones on the back?
GOD DAMN IT.... the "strip" on the back of the card, apparently, it was placed too far to the left... and the machine only printed out HALF a five...
I'm missing half of my five, and the other two numbers.

Thank you Murphy!
It was nice to see you again!!!!

.............................

Anyways, tomorrow I'll go to the bank, and check to see what I can do.

But, so far, here's the low-down:::
Subtotal: $1,158.95
Tax: $76.49
Shipping: $53.17
Total: $1,288.61

The shipping, I see reasonable over here to Puerto Rico.

But the tax... check this out:::
Additionally, all orders shipped to Puerto Rico via FedEx and USPS will be subject to a 6.6% excise tax for pre-customs clearance. For all orders shipped to Puerto Rico via UPS, the 6.6% excise tax will be collected from the customer directly for customs clearance.

Sooo... when the FedEx dude arrives, I've got to pay him $76.49 cash.
I guess it could be worse.
WTF... what ever.

Oh well... I hope I can do the order tomorrow.

Another thing::: I wanted to order the Tuniq Tower 120 cooler... but they're out of stock.
So, I'll keep my OC sheenannigans under wraps for now.

:( Semi bummed... but again... it could be worse.

Peace guys!
AJ

[ajmilton]

i'd guess it'd be the p5w-SLI. asus names stuff like that.

edit: clicky-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131031

[Indybird]

hey indy, is a there a comparable mobo from asus that runs SLi instead of crossfire? for us Nvidia geeks? :banana:

-Jeremy

I wish, because around christmas I was planning on making the switch to nvidia/SLI. The P5N-SLI is similar, but isn't the "Digital Home" series which is what I really want.

[AJ@PR]

w00t!

NewEgg just sent me the tracking number.

Package should be here on Friday...
which mean, I won't be going out during this weekend...
which means, my mate will be pissed-off that we didn't go out...
His bad.

I've got a new computer. :D
He'll understand...

w00t w00t