Well, my Xbox purchase turned around and bit me in the butt. I was playing Forza and Oblivion pretty hard and it was getting a lot of use. I came home one day, hit the power button to get a 'cannot read disc' error. WTF? I tried it again, then popped out the Oblivion disc to find a circular mark scratched into it. I can only assume the 360 did it, seeing as the disc played the night before and had yet to be removed. So, off to Walmart, game and 360 in hand.

Some of you may remember that I got a $50 shopping card free with the premium system, which I used to buy Oblivion. At the return desk, I was telling them I just wanted them swapped... so the CSM refunds all the money (even the shopping card) into cash. $390 in hand I head to electronics. They're out of Premium 360 packages, so I call another Walmart to find their out as well and won't have them for a few days (I can get a discount at Walmart due to family, so I didn't want to go somewhere else.)

I left the store, money in hand with a devious plan: to build a PC. I had been planning to do it anyway, with the $50 gift card being the Xbox's purchasing incentive. Now with it biting the hand that fed it and Oblivion having a crap-load of mods available, I ventured back to a budget gaming system.

Anyway, here's what is headed my way:

AMD Athlon64x2 4600+
Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H (AMD 690G)
2x 1gb Mushkin DDR2 800 Ram
WD 160gb SATA HDD
HIS Hightech Radeon HD 2600XT 512mb (Crossfire)

All for $400. I still need a PSU upgrade, but it's not too big a deal at the moment unless I got Crossfire or overclock. The board also has Crossfire capabilities, though the second card runs in 4x (not 16x) mode. I'm tempted to buy another 2600xt and try it, then upgrade motherboard and cpu later on. We'll see.

Right now I've ripped my old Antec tower apart and I'm painting it a dark blue. I've also cut the side panel for a plexiglass window and bought a 'plasma' style light to go in it. It should look nice if nothing else. I also have plans for obtaining a 19" or 22" widescreen LCD, haven't decided which.

Cliff: Xbox ate the disc, I returned it and bought parts for a new gaming system.

wow ... i wish i was smart enough to build a new pc ... i really like the 360's though

I really partial to user mods and mouse and keyboard controls. I really despise controllers.

Building a PC is simple. It's like working on a car but easier. Everything has its place, you just plug wires and parts into slots and they only fit one way. No big deal.

but what about programing everything ??

All you do is slap in a Windows installation disc after you boot it up the first time and that does its thing.

Afterwards, just install the drivers for the parts in your system, much like you would if you installed new components.

No real 'programming' involved. You only run into issues if you get fancy with disc partitioning, RAID arrays, or other OSes.

wow ... that was way way over my head hahah

Back in the mid-late 80's I had a room mate that had a Tandy computer. You had to manually enter the program for what ever you wanted to do. He had a book of programs that was a good 3 inches thick. It took us a good day and a half to enter the program to play Black-jack and once you entered the program you would lose it all if the computer was turned off or lost power, which happened several times. Talk about getting pissed off when you nearly had the program completely entered and we'd lose power due to a thunderstorm.
I had another buddy that worked at a computer electronics store (Altex) and one day he brought over all the components to build his own computer. We put that together and he had a flight simulator installed on it. We quickly pushed the Tandy aside.

One time, a long time ago, someone said that computers were going to be so small that they would eventually weigh about a ton.

You know those Christmas cards that you open up and they play Christmas music? The entire WWII fleet had less computer power than one of those cards.

Computers have come a long way.

Wow I really hope that doesn't happen to my 360. My brothers and I just got one for Christmas and we've been playing it a lot lately (COD4 FTW!) so you've kinda got me scared now RooK. BTW, how long did you have it before it ate the disc?

Did you have it sitting vertically?

I've only heard of it scratching discs when you set it vertically, which is a bad way to have it anyway, since it blocks one of the major venting outlets. I bet if you had put it back down horizontally, it would have been fine.

I wouldn't worry about it, 98. Unless you have yours sitting the same way.

Ummm no of course I don't... I mean who would actually do something that stupid? Everyone knows it blocks one of the outlets, not to mention it could scratch a disc!

<-- Runs to 360 and gently sets it down horizontally

It's also good to set it on top of something smaller than it is, to dissipate the heat. And don't worry about it falling off, it's actually surprisingly well-balanced. I guess everything centers in the middle of it, because I tried to tip mine over when it was sitting on something really small, and I couldn't get it to go without really shoving it. Mine's on two stacks of CD cases, one at each end.

Fabricated single person furniture ftw.

I think computer threads are the fastest replies thread starters, along with new members (females) they can get lengthy quickly! LOL

What sites do you computer nerds get all your useful info?
I've seen this stuff used in sentences without typos!!!
My comp was custom built for my needs about two years ago. I do quite a bit of stuff, usually video editing (no game playing) and reading up on that stuff gets me lost.
I just don't think I have the time to cling to cars and computers at the same time (well I have time, just not the will power).

When I was younger, under 15, I would play video games all the time. Now with a modded XBOX, it only comes out during the holidays when friends and family come over and I still resist to play.

your computer was built by dell im assuming and guess what its not built for your needs its built for the person taking your order to get more money every part they "helped" you pick added more money to their pocket. (used to work for Dell) as for the 360 the ring of scratches is due to user error Everytime not the 360 it happens when the 360 is either vertical with no support or it is moved (bumped) while running. oh and the best place for PC parts is Newegg.com 4 GB of ram for under $100 im also getting a 19" wide screen for under $200.

Yep, I ran the Xbox vertical. However, seeing as it was designed to run that way, how can it be user error? Shouldn't it be a design flaw? There was no way I bumped it.

Jeremy, Newegg has a killer deal on an Acer 22" LCD for $228 and free shipping. I'm really considering buying it.

It is a design flaw, but a well-known and well-documented one that really only seems to happen with the older ones, or refurbished/used ones. It's easy to avoid, and there really was nothing "wrong" with it; you could have kept it.

I'm surprised they refunded you all the money and the gift card, since Microsoft's problems aren't Walmart's problems.

Ah, NO, it is not a freakin DELL.
Made by a local computer store.
Was built for college in mind.
I've added 1 gb ram on top of its 1 gb and a dvd burner. And a 300 ext hd. That's about it.

I just received the Samsung SyncMaster 2232GW Wide-Screen for christmas. So nice!
I still need to tinker around with the settings though.

I was too. I had actually intended to get myself another one until I found lack of supply with a wait period (darn post-Christmas shoppers!). Wally world still got $50 back when I bought GOTY edition for PC. So, their gift card didn't completely disappear.

20gtp02, some good sites for hardware reviews and info are:
http://www.tomshardware.com/us/
http://hardocp.com/
http://www.pcper.com/

A lot has changed since I built my first desktop back in '02 with an Athlon XP 1700. It's hard to keep up with new tech and what works best.

that is a nice monitor i might get one after the 19" the ram and a new video and sound card ill just make sure my video card will support dual monitors i just got my friends old one for $500 its only 2 years old and runs really well since he spent $1500 then for it but it wont run Crysis so he built a new one for $2000 and it still barely runs Crysis on high. hes already contemplating a new processor, video card, and more ram.

a good place to find hardware and such is:

Pricewatch.com

Newegg.com

MySimon.com

Frys.com

and AKO/DKO. If you have access to those military sites, you can navigate your way around and find Slick Deals, Hot Deals, or something like that.

so whats all needed to build a computer ... im kinda intrested .. it would be nice ... you know just to say that ive done it

Well, do you want to reuse an old components or start fresh?

Typically the case be reused as well as your optical drives, and in some cases the hard drive. It's best that everything else is replaced for compatibility and performance, except in rare cases. Such as, building a system with a motherboard that has enough cpus in the socket design to allow faster upgrades.

What do you want to use it for?

If you want a gaming system, it will cost more than say something for watching HD movies or just surfing the internet and office apps.

movies... surfing the net music office programs.

i have seen they have computers that you can use like a tivo that would be pretty BA it would be starting fresh

You can get away with a basic build with onboard graphics then. Most motherboards even include built in audio that would probably suffice for your music concerns.

So, a full system build with the basics:
CPU: AMD or Intel around $70
Motherboard w/ graphics/sound/ethernet: $60+
Memory: 1gb $30
Hard drive: 160gb is $50, you can go from there based on how much space you want.
OS: Win XP/Vista $90+
DVD-RW: $30
TV Tuner: For 'Tivo' you mentioned. $30+

If you're running something this basic, you can get away with a light PSU around 350w. $40~

So, around $400 total, you can have a PC that does what you require. You can probably cut corners, but I'd get a decent CPU since it does a lot of work with movie and music files. If you already have an OS to install, you can whack off the $90.

If you want a new case, I won't even mention prices or options. The sky is the limit. However, if you go with a micro ATX motherboard (a small layout), you can stuff it in those small LAN box cases that promote portability.

now is the time to buy memory 2GB on newegg.com for under $40.

If you have any questions about compatibility newegg has a 1-800 number you can call for live support to find out what kind of stuff is compatible with what you want to buy such as what kind of memory will work with this processor. they also have alot of compatibility walk throughs on their site.


they also sell prebuilt Pc's that you can match the specs with what you need it to do.

RooK, I gotta admit I'm pretty impressed...is there anything you ARE afraid to tackle?

Wow the prices are cheap Rook!
Is that all from one place and are those prices for decent name brands?

I have been trying to get my hands into welding, but I don't have the cash for a decent mig welder right now. I also handload ammo and have done some gunsmitthing, installing a beavertail on a 1911. That still isn't quite finished, but it's amazing what you can do with a homemade jig, a dremel, and a file. I'll try almost anything as long as I can find the info on how-to.

20gtp02: It's all at Newegg.com and all of it is decent name brands as far as I can remember. Note that those aren't 'top of the line' prices. If you want the best of the best, you'll pay, even from Newegg.

i should look into that .. it would be nice to say ive done it

I'm now surfing on a 19" LCD courtesy of Dell. Widescreen, 5ms response, 1000:1 contrast, for $180ish. Yummy. I also ordered the 500w Thermaltake PSU I posted a link to for Richard in another thread.

Now I'm broke.

Rook, after meeting you and seeing everything you had done to the Pink Panther ... I would have NEVER thought you were a geek.

Hmmm ... maybe I ought to make another trip over your way and bring my old system so you can build it for me.

Don

Yeah, I was a geek before a gearhead. I also dabble in websites (I work in xhtml/css) and can interpret php enough to let me work with cookier-cutter forum software. In my younger years of IRC, I used to also script on mIRC and made my own custom interface, music player, and other things. I couldn't do it now to save my life. I also play with Photoshop and have generated some 3d models for Operation Flashpoint.

I'd be more than happy to help you with your PC. However, depending on the age, there might not be much you can salvage for a new build. I'm basically chucking my whole 5yr old rig, minus the case (which is now a dark bluish-purple, with a custom case window I made).

Hey, Rook, where's that post you alluded to?

What post?

The post you talked about here.

Oh, it was in your PSU thread.

Tommorrow is when I get all my goodies. Then it's Oblivion time. Waiting sucks.

Good deal Rook.

I have built 4 PCs so far. It saves money and is fun.

It's alive! I'm typing on it right now. Only took about 2hrs from unboxing to bootup and windows install. I still don't have graphic drivers or sound installed. I've been spending the past hour doing WinXP Professional updates (yay). More to come.

lucky !!!

Not luck, that is Skill!
Skill like a Pink Panther!

Well, almost there. Got my graphics running (partially, I'm obtaining .NET 2.0 to run Catalyst Control Center) and I now have sound on my Creative 5.1 card.

Windows had me do 86 updates AFTER installing SP2. Sheesh. Hopefully the next update will include photos (after I get that working, heh) and some screenshots of Oblivion!

im still waiting for payday before i order my new ram. and possibly monitor if i have enough after paying bills.

Ok, finally got my camera hooked up and found my copy of PS. So here we go...

The stuff arrives and is ready to be assembled in my freshly painted case.


The Gigabyte motherboard.


Athlon64 4600+ X2 CPU and heatsink.


Now with both installed on the motherboard.


Time to put it in the case.


2gb (2x 1gb sticks) of ram installed (side-by-side in the yellow slots.


Power supply time!


HIS 2600XT 512mb graphics card.

Everything installed, wires zip tied and extras shoved in the top (keeps it neat below and from affecting airflow in the bottom). There are also 3 case fans, one back and two front (one is in front of the hard drive (the big thing with the yellow cord running to it)).


Setup prior to Windows XP install.


Windows XP being installed.


Fruits of the labor: Oblivion!

my dad has that same case, but he said that they didnt make anymore more of those. where did you find yours at

I've had that Antec case for just a hair over 5 years. I got it at CompUSA back then. I blew the Antec PSU that came with it the very first time I booted up... I'll never forget the smell.

It had been running an Athlon 1700XP system prior to this. Since I painted it, I've installed a flush LED rocker switch on the front panel (can't really see it in the pics) to run the 'plasma' light in the bottom of the case (which you can see). I've also sectioned the side panel (not pictured), which features a slightly cracked lexan window. Maybe I can get a pic of that later too.

ya cuz my dad is building a computer for my grandma, and he was looking for that Antec case because in his opinion it is the best case he has every owned. he has had his case for a while now also. He ended up getting a Centurion 534 case for my grandma cause they dont sell that Antec no more.

Congrats. Makes me want to build another one... but the two I have are working fine. I just enjoy building them.

This is the case I went with. Lots of fans, lots of room, and I love it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133132

Lookin' good!

yep, EXACT same PSU that I bought. Like I told Mike a few days ago, it's a darn shame that the PSU is SOOO drop dead sexy: I feel guilty for coopin it up in the case like that, ya know?

Glad you got yers workin too. good job on a sharp lookin calculator.