I love my job. Look what I'm building next!

[Luke122]

If you lived near my company, I would pay you more than that per hour... Finding someone skilled and dedicated with building systems is hard. Plus our customers _expect_ cable management even if the system never gets opened.

As much as I'd love to live down there and work with you, I dont think I could handle the fires, earthquakes, water rationing, etc.

I think I'll stick around here, on the edge of the rockies.

[Airbozo]

As much as I'd love to live down there and work with you, I dont think I could handle the fires, earthquakes, water rationing, etc.

I think I'll stick around here, on the edge of the rockies.

Hmmm, no fires near me for decades, one _minor_ earthquake since '89 and no real water rationing (yet) just conservation.

The real issues in California? Cost of housing (highest in the nation), cost of gas (highest in the nation) and traffic. Good thing I am next door to the nations salad bowl so my food cost is down...

[khalie]

If you lived near my company, I would pay you more than that per hour... Finding someone skilled and dedicated with building systems is hard. Plus our customers _expect_ cable management even if the system never gets opened.

Too bad i live in Poland i could do that job all day long

[MaxOC]

If you lived near my company, I would pay you more than that per hour... Finding someone skilled and dedicated with building systems is hard. Plus our customers _expect_ cable management even if the system never gets opened.

true. normal airflow management is easy the modders version of great cable management where you cant see any of the wires.... a lil harder lol. i dont really worry about cable management in my computer since i have 10+ fans doing a push pull throughout the computer.

so uh where do i need to move if you knwo anybody in tucson that i can do taht for tell me.

btw. if i got paid 10 a computer i could make more than 10 an hour lol

[Luke122]

Ok, assembly is underway.

Cable management? What for?

Sorry Airbozo, but I can't get a clearer pic of the heatsinks making contact.. I'd have to pull the board out again. Anyways, it wasnt that serious, and I'm sure if I had just rotated the Intel heatsink, it would have been fine. Oh well..

I'd like to do a mini review for you all right now:

1. Cooler Master Elite 330 Case

Completely tool free case with clip in drive mounts, one clip to remove all your cards, pop-off face plate, and thumbscrews for the panels. Cheap, solid, relatively lightweight, and loads of room for expansion.

2. Antec Phantom 500w PSU

This thing weighs a friggin' TON. Super solid build, and soooo quiet. Haven't stressed it hard yet, but even with the fan set on 1 ( 3 settings, 1 is "regulate PSU temp @ 47degrees) it's barely noticeable. Gripe: Only the mobo wires are sleeved, and the rest are really long. Good for a bigger case, but a total nightmare in this case. Also, the power plug on the back is crooked.. not seriously, but enough to notice now that I'm sitting here looking straight at it. Good thing it's on the back of the case and you wont likely see it much.

3. Patriot PC2-6400 Ram (2x2gb Kit)

Heavy ass heatsinks make for some hefty ram. Looks cool, but I could see the large heatsinks causing troubles mounting in some boards. It was a tight squeeze on this board, but they are in there.

4. EVGA Nforce 680i SLI mobo

Kickass black PCB, very cool heatsink (with heatpipe), solid build, cool layout. Gripe: Front panel audio connectors have the stupidest labelling ever; the manual isnt clear about using standard ac97 type connectors for the front panel (Sense_send, Sense_return? uhh.. mic?) 6 USB connectors on the back and 2 expansion ports on the mobo for additional USB ports.. but not for a front usb, unless you want to forget using the extra back ones. Minor bitch there, since, like I said, already 6 on the back.

I'll add more after I power this mofo up.

[Airbozo]

Yes, the FP audio funks me up too. I have never had the need to connect it though. I think I saw what you meant about the clearance issue. Is it with the top (in that photo anyway) voltage regulator heat sink?

BTW, one of my "cons" is the really stiff drive cables. When I tried to route them to hide them on the last build they kept pulling out. Another "con" was the fact that the sata cables that come with the mobo do not fit in the 1/2 sata ports on the mobo but they do work fine in 3/4/5/6 (or should I say 3/5/4/6 )ports. It is due to the clips. They fit if you push them in, but I have broken the housing on one system before I realized it.

[Luke122]

Yes, the FP audio funks me up too. I have never had the need to connect it though. I think I saw what you meant about the clearance issue. Is it with the top (in that photo anyway) voltage regulator heat sink?

Exactly.

BTW, one of my "cons" is the really stiff drive cables. When I tried to route them to hide them on the last build they kept pulling out. Another "con" was the fact that the sata cables that come with the mobo do not fit in the 1/2 sata ports on the mobo but they do work fine in 3/4/5/6 (or should I say 3/5/4/6 )ports. It is due to the clips. They fit if you push them in, but I have broken the housing on one system before I realized it.

Again, I completely agree. I've decided not to use any of the SATA cables that came with it, as they are not only stiff (and dont fit in 1/2 as you said), but are too long. I've got a bunch of shorter ones from DVDRW's that are nice and red, so I'll be putting them in shortly.

RAID config on this board was way easier than that Intel S3000AH board.. I had to use an IDE dvd drive to install on that one, then replace with a SATA drive after the install. On this board, select which ports you want to be part of the RAID, and go. So much nicer. I've never actually used one of these boards before, and I have to say I'm completely in love with it.

So much nicer to work with, and looks killer.

BTW, the floppy drive is only in there for the install (RAID drivers), and wont be in the final build.

[Airbozo]

That board was my first choice for my Bubble Gum Mod, but I could not pass up the deal I got on my Striker Extreme...

The next high end system I spec is going to use that board. The support is great too. Not that you would need it since the board is also rock solid once they fixed the bios issue (last year).

[Luke122]

How big is your bubblegum machine?!

[Airbozo]

How big is your bubblegum machine?!

Big. This big;
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...bubble+gum+mod


I am making the custom power cables now, since I want to keep the PSU in the base, so the cables will have to be extended by ~30". I had to use larger wire to prevent to much of a voltage drop. Going to try and finish the mockup and test to see what the voltage drop is this weekend.