Author Topic: Please help me build my new computer, DC! (Read 209001 times)

superboyac · « **Reply #225 on:** January 08, 2009, 06:33 PM »

Yes, but the motherboard must (sorry for the emphasis, but it's the rule nowadays) have enough SATA cables in the box to connect as many SATA devices as it allows. Still, extra cables can't hurt
-Lashiec (January 08, 2009, 06:17 PM)

I think you're right. In the newegg pictures it shows a bunch of cables and stuff.

40hz · « **Reply #226 on:** January 08, 2009, 06:34 PM »

Gigabyte's retail boxed versions always come with a nice collection of cables, unless they've radically changed the way they do business.

If the Newegg pix are correct, it looks like you should get 4 SATA connector sets; a floppy and CDROM cable; and what looks like an external header for 2 SATA ports.

You s/b all set.

---------

BTW: Yet another Avatar, SB?

(That one would make a nice case badge!

)

<EDIT: Whoops! Looks like you guys already nailed it before I could hit SAVE.

>

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #227 on:** January 08, 2009, 06:41 PM »

True motherboards generally come with cables. Not necessarily the best quality though!

As for other devices - even retail DVD drives and hard drives rarely come with any cables - or even fixing screws (which is plain mean as every drive needs screws to install it and it isn't necessarily an upgrade where you can reuse the old ones).

40hz · « **Reply #228 on:** January 08, 2009, 06:56 PM »

As for other devices - even retail DVD drives and hard drives rarely come with any cables - or even fixing screws
-Carol Haynes (January 08, 2009, 06:41 PM)

Is that unique to the UK? Every retail drive (HD and CD/DVD) I've bought in the last five or so years has come with screws and cables. The only exception was a couple of floppy drives that came with absolutely nothing other than a swappable (Black/white) faceplate. (But I suspect that's because they're doing some "Aversion Therapy" behavioral modification on floppy buyers.)

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #229 on:** January 08, 2009, 07:28 PM »

I don't know but over the years I have purchased numerous hard drives and optical drives bot OEM and retail boxed and I have yet to receive a cable or screws. The only difference I can see with retail boxes for optical drives is that you usually get a copy of Nero (now it is usually the lite version and a version out of date and restricted to that make/model of drive) an for hard drives you might get a utility disk and a longer warranty.

superboyac · « **Reply #230 on:** January 08, 2009, 10:46 PM »

BTW: Yet another Avatar, SB?
-40hz (January 08, 2009, 06:34 PM)

He he, yeah. This is the good one...it goes with my name. The other one was specifically for the autocad portion of my website.

superboyac · « **Reply #231 on:** January 11, 2009, 10:45 PM »

OK, I'm done ordering all my newegg items, as well as the two monitors. Whew! That's was a lot of money! Hopefully, I won't have any rma items.

superboyac · « **Reply #232 on:** January 13, 2009, 11:52 AM »

I'm 99% done ordering all my parts. The only thing left to get is the audio mixing board, which most of you don't care about. I've updated the first post for the actual prices of everything:
[Click here to return to first post and see updated system components & price]

Thanks to everyone here for helping me choose all the parts. This is definitely going to be an amazing computer in every way. It's also the most expensive computer I've ever put together. But I use it so much and for so long, I felt it was worth it. My last computer lasted me 7 years (and still going strong!) and the only premium parts in it are the battery and the hard drives. Everything else in it is on the budget side of things. To give an idea of what I'm using right now:
--19" CRT monitor
--MSI cheap motherboard (from 2001)
--Intel Pentium 4, 1.7 GHz
--768 K RAM (Kingston)
--ATI 9600XT, 128 MB (this was a replacement in 2004 when my cheaper card got fried because of a bad power supply)
--Cheap $50 case
--$100 PSU (replacement of the bad PSU from 2004)

So, this new one will be a huge luxury for me. This old computer is the one I have hundreds of programs installed that I talk about here every day. I've played Doom 3 on this baby. I've done all my music stuff on it. I've dabbled a little with graphical design and video editing (minimal). I think I've extracted every ounce of power I could from this rig. Sure, if I couldn't afford anything, it could still last longer.

One thing I will admit, I am a very patient man. For a long time now, I have to often wait 5-6 minutes for everything to be booted up and running. Many apps get excruciatingly slow. I've almost forgotten what it feels like to have an instantaneous response while clicking things with the mouse.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #233 on:** January 13, 2009, 12:01 PM »

We want to see some photos when its done ....

How about a "Build your own PC ... " tutorial thread with lots of pictures?

superboyac · « **Reply #234 on:** January 13, 2009, 12:20 PM »

We want to see some photos when its done ....

How about a "Build your own PC ... " tutorial thread with lots of pictures?
-Carol Haynes (January 13, 2009, 12:01 PM)

I'm going to write a nice formal article about it on my website, with pictures and everything. And it will be all on one page, so it will probably be a long article. One thing I learned from all this: I HATE all these multi-page articles from these hardware review sites. Seriously, what is UP with that!!? Who started this? I can't stand how one site will do something, and then everyone will start copying it just because their website content is similar. Who's the person that said, "I have a hardware review site, so I should make all my articles 7 pages long." It's so freaking ridiculous. Most of these articles go way overboard, they literally have like 2 paragraphs per page. It uses up about 2 inches of your screen, maybe an inch and a half wide. Absolutely insane.

I had to read so many articles for this website, and they were ALL multi-page articles. Such bullshit, excuse my language. Intro, packaging, benchmark 1, benchmark 2, benchmark 3, analysis 1, analysis 2, analysis 2, summary, conclusion. I'm so sick of it. I'm tired of people turning the web into a useless advertising machine. All anyone cares about is where you click. Click here to expand, click here to continue, click here for single page. Get the F--- out of here.

One thing I pay very close attention to on my website is the organization and content of it. I want it easily readable, I want the articles to be a pleasant experience. I want the navigation as easy and painless as possible. I don't do multi-part articles unless the subject matter warrants it. I try not to have too much area wasted on side panels and extraneous stuff besides the main article (although I can't control this as well as I'd like until I learn to modify the themes better). I am very concerned about productivity, efficiency, and most of all a relaxing and fun experience.

Why do all these people feel like they have to make every part of life a living hell for everyone just to make money? People need to understand that there is a ton of money out there for people who do things right and make life easier for people. You don't always have to cheat or take shortcuts. I can't even watch TV anymore because of the amount of commercials. I wait for a series to come out on DVD, and watch an entire season in one weekend. That's nice! And you know what?! Even when they put series available on the web, like NBC does with The Office, they make that a living hell by making you watch a commercial before the episode plays. And why is the commercial always louder than the episode?! Furthermore, why does it seem like the commercials always run flawlessly on the computer, but there will often be hangups or choppy video for the actual episode?! Why don't the commercials every have issues? This is not just NBC, this is all video websites with commercials. Hmm...makes you wonder. And then networks wonder why people download episodes. I'll tell you why. You download an episode, and it runs flawlessly and very speedily on even your old-ass computer.

We all have enough of our own personal problems to be barraged by these other things that needlessly complicate our lives. Time is precious.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #235 on:** January 13, 2009, 12:23 PM »

I think the reason sites use multipage articles is for speed of loading. Don't forget some people are on narrowband packages (such as dial up) so they don't necessarily want a 10 page article with 30 pictures that takes 10 minutes to load.

Not sure but it probably also helps with boosting search engine rankings because one article might generate 10 index entries.

superboyac · « **Reply #236 on:** January 13, 2009, 12:28 PM »

I think the reason sites use multipage articles is for speed of loading. Don't forget some people are on narrowband packages (such as dial up) so they don't necessarily want a 10 page article with 30 pictures that takes 10 minutes to load.

Not sure but it probably also helps with boosting search engine rankings because one article might generate 10 index entries.
-Carol Haynes (January 13, 2009, 12:23 PM)

There may be some truth to that, but I suspect that the speed of loading has very little to do with it. Why would yahoo all of a sudden make us click a button to expand an article with no pictures? If they really cared, they would remove all the the ads around those little-bitty paragraphs and put the article pictures in their place. I'm almost sure they could care less about loading speed.

Deozaan · « **Reply #237 on:** January 13, 2009, 01:15 PM »

I'd think it has a lot to do with more exposure to advertising.

superboyac · « **Reply #238 on:** January 13, 2009, 01:34 PM »

I'd think it has a lot to do with more exposure to advertising.
-Deozaan (January 13, 2009, 01:15 PM)

True. The bottom line is that it ends up being a miserable experience for the readers. But I suppose it's not different than other mediums like TV or movies. 1/3 of a TV episode is commercials. 1/2 hour of previews for movies. Un-skippable portions at the beginning of DVD's for disclaimers.

How about sports highlights? What about replays during games? All of these things are ruined by reasons other than what the viewer wants. Ugh.

40hz · « **Reply #239 on:** January 13, 2009, 02:31 PM »

[/quote]

I'm going to write a nice formal article about it on my website, with pictures and everything. And it will be all on one page, so it will probably be a long article.
-superboyac (January 13, 2009, 12:20 PM)

All on a single page? You are my hero!

One thing I learned from all this: I HATE all these multi-page articles from these hardware review sites. Seriously, what is UP with that!!? Who started this? I can't stand how one site will do something, and then everyone will start copying it just because their website content is similar. Who's the person that said, "I have a hardware review site, so I should make all my articles 7 pages long." It's so freaking ridiculous. Most of these articles go way overboard, they literally have like 2 paragraphs per page. It uses up about 2 inches of your screen, maybe an inch and a half wide. Absolutely insane.

I think part of it is motivated by click ad revenue considerations; and the other part is everybody gearing up for mobile browsing on netbooks and cellphones.

Why anybody would want to read a detailed tech article on a tiny screen is anybody's guess, but that's my

But it comes as no surprise. Half the web design articles I'm seeing keep pushing RSS feeds and formatting for handheld devices as the major design objective. And considering how half the websites out there seem to be using either a CMS or blog engine, unique web design seems to be going the way of the dodo for most sites.

Welcome to the World Wide Strip Mall™.

superboyac · « **Reply #240 on:** January 13, 2009, 04:03 PM »

Yeah, those are interesting issues definitely. I can understand wanting to be able to get web information while being mobile. That's really cool. But at the same time, we have huge monitors to read articles. So which device gets preference? I say keep the websites intended for monitors, rss feeds are great for phones and mobile devices. Also, if you really have to, something like the iphone's ability to zoom in and out of regular websites is nice to have. But I'm with you, If I'm going to be doing a lot of reading, I'm not going to do it on my phone.

Eventually, at least for me, it becomes an issue of time. I used to chat after I graduated from college. But it becomes this thing after a while, where you realize it takes 5 minutes to say through chatting what would take about 30 seconds on the phone. And a lot of chatting is just mindless. It's fine if your young and single for a while, but then do you really want to waste your time with this? I don't. I don't have time for chatting, commercials. I try to avoid stupid little phone calls too. If I have something to say, fine. But I don't ever just talk endlessly about nothing anymore.

Anyway, this is getting way off topic. I'll probably devote an article or new thread to this sometime.

I'm excited about my new computer! People are going to think I'm crazy for spending all the money, but I think it was done intelligently. Sure, I could have cut down a little, but not that much, really.

f0dder · « **Reply #241 on:** January 13, 2009, 07:04 PM »

I'd think it has a lot to do with more exposure to advertising.
-Deozaan (January 13, 2009, 01:15 PM)

My sentiment exactly.

superboyac: take a sh!tload of pictures while assembling the PC. I love doing that myself

superboyac · « **Reply #242 on:** January 13, 2009, 11:46 PM »

Yikes!!
I just received my Cooler Master Cosmos chassis. The only thing I can say is this:

it is big. Make no mistake about it, this is a very large case! It can eat my current case for dinner, and have my laptop for dessert.

Holy crap!! I didn't expect it to be that big. It's ok, it's kind of cool. It's a beast!

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #243 on:** January 14, 2009, 03:36 AM »

We want a photo of you standing inside it

I just hope all your cables are long enough. My case is very large too and I can't easily make use of the built in Firewire/USB/Audio panel connections because some of the fitted cables can't reach the bottom of the mootherboard where the connectors are!

superboyac · « **Reply #244 on:** January 14, 2009, 10:40 AM »

We want a photo of you standing inside it

I just hope all your cables are long enough. My case is very large too and I can't easily make use of the built in Firewire/USB/Audio panel connections because some of the fitted cables can't reach the bottom of the mootherboard where the connectors are!
-Carol Haynes (January 14, 2009, 03:36 AM)

I'm way too big, I'm 6'3". But I was surprised by how big it was relative to me. I guess I've never seen one of these full-size towers before. I had to check to see if it fit under my desk at first (it did). I sure hope the cables are long enough!

40hz · « **Reply #245 on:** January 14, 2009, 10:49 AM »

Our spies were out snooping as usual and scored this sneak shot of Superboyac, at the keyboard, firing up his new baby for the first time.

And what a Baby it is, folks! Watch out girls! This is one guy who knows what he wants - and knows how to get it.

Righteous Build SB.

superboyac · « **Reply #246 on:** January 14, 2009, 11:29 AM »

HAHA!! It took me several minutes before I noticed the freakin logo! Crazy guy!

superboyac · « **Reply #247 on:** January 15, 2009, 10:40 PM »

Just received my Granite Digital external enclosure. Initial thoughts:
--I like the simple design. Two indestructible pieces of aluminum. I like that it doesn't have fans or anything.
--There's no lock-in mechanism. The tray just goes in and out. Like, if you tilt it, the tray will start sliding out. So the only thing holding it in is the sata connection between the drive and the enclosure. Not a big deal, since everything's a tight fit. I don't plan on tilting it and swinging it around anyway.
--No esata cable included. Boo!
--Overall, I like it. I like metal, and I like simplicity.

f0dder · « **Reply #248 on:** January 16, 2009, 04:57 AM »

--There's no lock-in mechanism. The tray just goes in and out. Like, if you tilt it, the tray will start sliding out. So the only thing holding it in is the sata connection between the drive and the enclosure. Not a big deal, since everything's a tight fit. I don't plan on tilting it and swinging it around anyway.
-superboyac (January 15, 2009, 10:40 PM)

Sounds like a very bad design decision to me, unless the enclosure supports hotplug and is specifically made for easy disk swapping.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #249 on:** January 16, 2009, 05:11 AM »

They are specifically designed for hot swapping drives and so it isn't surprising that they just pull out.

Looking at Digital Granite's website they do spare trays (so in theory you could have a number of drives mounted in trays and hot swap them instantly when you need to).

They also do racking systems - see http://www.granitedi...om/sataproducts.aspx