# System for a friend :D



## AlienIsGOD (Aug 19, 2012)

So im helping a friend build a system for a low budget (roughly $300 once a month) and am wondering your thoughts on what i have picked out so far.

Thermaltake Commander MS-I Snow Edition ATX Mid Tower USB3.0 
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_112&item_id=046014

OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Power Supply
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_443&item_id=020479

MSI Z77A-G43 Socket 1155 Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_722&item_id=047788

 OR

Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H-MVP Socket 1155 Intel Z77 Chipset Dual Channel DDR3 
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_722&item_id=050847

Intel Series 330 120GB 2.5" SATA3 6Gb/s Solid State Drive
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1088&item_id=047838

Asus HD7770-DC-1GD5-V2
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_558&item_id=050283

Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_312_612&item_id=041084

Intel Core i5-3450 Quad-Core Socket 1155
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_65&item_id=045428

We plan to assemble over 2 or 3 months when his $$$ allows.  Thoughts on parts or alternatives for better or equal pricing is appreciated


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## AlienIsGOD (Aug 20, 2012)

anyone?


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## Aquinus (Aug 20, 2012)

I would drop the SSD or get a bigger one. 120Gb isn't a lot of storage, unless you can fit a rotational media drive in that budget. Both mobos look good, I've used Gigabyte and it acted a little weird before a BIOS update. I've had zero issues with MSI motherboards though (none that weren't my own fault that is.  )


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## MasterInvader (Aug 20, 2012)

My advice;

Change the Intel SSD for this one; [same price/size after mir, and its faster]
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1088&item_id=039124

Change the Asus7770 for this one; [only cost 4usd more, but the performance is way ahead]
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_559&item_id=038937


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## AlienIsGOD (Aug 20, 2012)

Aquinus said:


> 120Gb isn't a lot of storage, unless you can fit a rotational media drive in that budget.



Yea we are looking at adding 1.5 to 2TB HDD in the future, the SSD is just to get him going.  He only plans to play BF3, D3 and WoW for the foreseeable future.  

@MasterInvader,  He's an AMD guy so the 7770 is the best in the budget for him although we have discussed getting the 7770 for now and maybe adding a $200-250 card in the new year.  I'lll def throw the SSD on the short list, though im not a big fan of mail-in rebates.  I prefer to see the weekly deals at the store and just go by those discounts (thats how i got my LG IPS for $148 instead of $198).  The 7770 is being bought 1st as the deal lasts till the 7th or th 9th of Sept, the rest will be decided by the deals that are available on the 31st.


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## Fourstaff (Aug 20, 2012)

I would consider 7850, its a good deal more powerful than 7770 and not too much more expensive in terms of price/perf depending on how the offer goes. You might also want to consider other 3xxx processors depending on prices.


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## brandonwh64 (Aug 20, 2012)

I would go with the gigabyte board, I have had many issues with the lower end MSI boards. 

Also instead of 7770 get a 6870?


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## Widjaja (Aug 20, 2012)

Looks fine to me for a budget build.
Just add a large capacity mechanical drive later when has the need to download whatever.


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## AlienIsGOD (Aug 20, 2012)

this person is coming from HD4200 lappy so the GPU will be more than enough.


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## NHKS (Aug 22, 2012)

If you settle for the Radeon 7770 this could be a good deal - MSI Radeon HD 7770 for *$99.99* after $25 savings & $15 rebate but it ends 8/31.. 
But I guess with price cuts across 7000 series you might find such prices common in the coming weeks..


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 1, 2012)

so i went with this setup so far.  Core i3 2120 3.3ghz ($134), Asus B75M-LE mobo ($85 good deal IMO), and 2 x 4GB Patriot Signature 1600mhz ($35 on sale).  At the end of this month im going for a PSU, case, SSD and hopefully a GFX card (if not, he'll use the Intel HD 2000 for a month and get a better GFX card than a 7770).


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## JrRacinFan (Sep 1, 2012)

$35 for those sticks is a steal man. IMO, I would had bumped down to the 2100 for the extra $20 and put it into a better board, that's just me though. I would look into seeing if you can get a 2nd hand 560Ti, these things are pretty good.


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 1, 2012)

JrRacinFan said:


> I would had bumped down to the 2100 for the extra $20 and put it into a better board



the 2120 was the only dual core in stock at the store, and the board is alright for entry lvl ( he doesn't plan to O/C).  I also found it better to get that B75 and support for IB out of the box when he decides to go quad core.

Also, Canada Computers website was down all morning so i couldnt look for deals before hand, i just had to try and see all the deals on the price tags in store >_<


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 5, 2012)

So, can anyone recommend a PSU, SSD, and GFX (case is already picked out @ $55 but include that into the overall total) for $340 taxes inc. ?  Would like the SSD to be 120GB but brand is up to you guys.


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## UbErN00b (Sep 5, 2012)

Any Antec/Seasonic/Corsair 500w would be fine for this build, maybe look at tier 2 suppliers such as OCZ/ Coolermaster etc if you can get 600w+ 

OCZ Vertex3 are the best price/perf SSD drives right now

HD 7770 is a solid choice for light/medium gaming, if you can, stretch to an 7850 or equivalent but overall for a budget build I think the parts you already have and the ones I have set out above would make a rather nice budget gamer


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 5, 2012)

ya the GFX is temporary, he intends to get something beefier around Dec/Jan.


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## m&m's (Sep 5, 2012)

I would personally take the Mushkin Chronos 120GB even without the Mail-in Rebate it's a good price: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1088&item_id=040421


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 5, 2012)

m&m's said:


> I would personally take the Mushkin Chronos 120GB even without the Mail-in Rebate it's a good price: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1088&item_id=040421



Good find 

Also, would a 550Ti be better than a 7750/70 ?


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## m&m's (Sep 6, 2012)

The 550 Ti is faster than the HD 7750 but slower than the HD 7770. Take a factory overclocked HD 7770.


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 6, 2012)

AlienIsGOD said:


> ya the GFX is temporary, he intends to get something beefier around Dec/Jan.



why build now then?


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## ShiBDiB (Sep 6, 2012)

If $$ is a problem, why waste it on an ssd? Theirs still 0 need to have one, its a luxury item.


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 6, 2012)

shibdib said:


> if $$ is a problem, why waste it on an ssd? Theirs still 0 need to have one, its a luxury item.



+1


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 6, 2012)

money isnt overly a problem, he only has a fixed amount each month to spend and HE wants the SSD now and to grab a 1TB the month after this.  Gfx wise, that is what he stated, he may just be satisfied with a 7770 or 550Ti.  

He's never had a desktop before and wants to build a good one that will last.  The best way to do that is to buy a few pieces at a time each month until its working, he's using a laptop atm with HD4200 gfx so im sure any card will be an improvement anyhow.

Also, the lappy is somewhat beat up... missing some keys, etc.  I could always salvage the SATA drives from that and put it in the new rig.


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## ShiBDiB (Sep 6, 2012)

a 7770 or 550Ti wont "Last" and buying the ssd on a fixed income build still makes 0 sense... This is where you as the person he clearly believes knows more then he does about desktops tells him this stuff


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 6, 2012)

ShiBDiB said:


> a 7770 or 550Ti wont "Last" and buying the ssd on a fixed income build still makes 0 sense



not everyone needs the latest and greatest stuff.  Why not get an SSD at current prices? prices are right atm and why reinstall Win 7 twice? he only plays D3 and is going to start playing BF3, he's not a HUGE gamer.  So the choices i've made  or am deciding on are great starting points that he can upgrade in the future.  A 120GB SSD makes "sense" for the above reasons and the fact that my friend WANTS a SSD to start with.  Im not giving him bad advice in any shape or form.  A regular HDD can come in a month or so, its not like he's going to suffer in 30 days


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## ShiBDiB (Sep 6, 2012)

AlienIsGOD said:


> not everyone needs the latest and greatest stuff.  Why not get an SSD at current prices? prices are right atm and why reinstall Win 7 twice? he only plays D3 and is going to start playing BF3, he's not a HUGE gamer.  So the choices i've made  or am deciding on are great starting points that he can upgrade in the future.  A 120GB SSD makes "sense" for the above reasons and the fact that my friend WANTS a SSD to start with.  Im not giving him bad advice in any shape or form.



Your not giving him bad advice, ur just not giving him any fucking advice. He'd be better off going to best buy and having some clueless 17 year old pull shit out of his ass and try to sell him a laptop $500 overpriced and full of shit that doesnt make sense.

But whatever, its ur friend. And fuck it, not like you asked for our help or anything


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 6, 2012)

AlienIsGOD said:


> money isnt overly a problem, he only has a fixed amount each month to spend and HE wants the SSD now and to grab a 1TB the month after this.  Gfx wise, that is what he stated, he may just be satisfied with a 7770 or 550Ti.
> 
> He's never had a desktop before and wants to build a good one that will last.  The best way to do that is to buy a few pieces at a time each month until its working, he's using a laptop atm with HD4200 gfx so im sure any card will be an improvement anyhow.
> 
> Also, the lappy is somewhat beat up... missing some keys, etc.  I could always salvage the SATA drives from that and put it in the new rig.



the bigger the hdd or ssd the bigger the loss of data you want to keep. Back ups are a must. Optical disks n other hds/flash drives that are put away help alleviate this problem.

I would just get a Seagate 7200.12 or newer gen hd for the os. My bros machine boots in less than a minute despite being hd based. Heck i had to put in a Uefi/bios boot delay so i could get into it


Hey ShiBDiB you havin a bad day dude?


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 6, 2012)

ShiBDiB said:


> Your not giving him bad advice, ur just not giving him any fucking advice. He'd be better off going to best buy and having some clueless 17 year old pull shit out of his ass and try to sell him a laptop $500 overpriced and full of shit that doesnt make sense.
> 
> But whatever, its ur friend. And fuck it, not like you asked for our help or anything



Wow man, i think you need to remove yourself from this thread as your not helping at all.  Differences of opinions happen sometimes and resorting to above comments only shows your immaturity.  Like really, we disagree on a HDD and you go apeshit basically insulting me....  thats not the ShiBDiB i've come to know on  the forums........


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 6, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> Back ups are a must. Optical disks n other hds/flash drives that are put away help alleviate this problem.



Its funny atm externals HDD combos are priced better than standalone HDDs at my store >_< But ya i suppose we could get a 1TB and get the SSD down the road.  

As for graphics its better to have a 7770/550Ti than onboard Intel for 4 or 5 months.  Its not like my friend wants to put every single dime into this rig month after month.  Plan is to get the thing running enough to game daily and then he wants to upgrade down the road in places where he sees fit and I dont see that any different than what ppl do on this site


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## arnoo1 (Sep 6, 2012)

My opinion is ; if wants a high end sku(gpu) later this year why don't run the igp until he gets one,
But would keep the the ssd, i have one now for 6monts and i won't go back to a rig without one, hdd are just to slow
Also get a nice i5


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## Aquinus (Sep 22, 2012)

AlienIsGOD said:


> So in 6 days we will be buying the rest of the PC and we have decided to go with these parts:  Corsair CX 430w, Antec VSK 1000 case and a Sapphire HD7770.  Im going to give my friend a 250GB Sata HDD so he can buy BF 3 this month too.
> 
> The only question I have is will the CX 430 handle the GFX card along with the rest of the system?



It should work, but that's about it. It doesn't give you much headroom for overclocking or adding other components. 550-watt might be a better option, but that is just me.


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 22, 2012)

No overclocking is planned and he only intends to have 2 Sata drives connected.  http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine says 275 w recommended.  This is my friend's 1st homebuilt PC so its not inteneded to be a high end gaming rig, just a decent enouh box to play the latest games on REASONABLE settings.


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## Aquinus (Sep 22, 2012)

AlienIsGOD said:


> no overclocking is planned and he only intends to have 2 Sata drives connected.



You don't want to get close to maxing out the PSU. I always give myself plenty of headroom ever since a number of friend's computers got fried from over-voltage because it couldn't produce enough current. PSU is one of those things that you never want to skimp on because it is the one that that can kill every part of your computer and provides every part of your computer with power. It's important to make sure that power is stable and reliable. Plus, running PSUs harder makes more heat and heat is a common killer of hardware. I really think that 430 might be pushing it, even if it does work.


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 22, 2012)

can you recommend me one under $60 from this site? http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?cPath=33_442&bsort=0&brand=0&price=1&location=KING


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 23, 2012)

find a psu calculator


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 23, 2012)

the link i put up 2 post ago was a PSU calculator site   it said 225w max output and it recommended a 275w PSU


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 23, 2012)

get a 550 watter. reason is cuz later he getting faster gc later and a ssd/hdd


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## Aquinus (Sep 23, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> get a 550 watter. reason is cuz later he getting faster gc later and a ssd/hdd



Not just that, but running a PSU closer to max makes more heat which will degrade the device over time. It can also impact voltage regulation on some PSUs. All in all, make sure you have a good amount of overhead just in case. Also keep in mind that as PSUs get used and get older, their ability to produce max output goes down. It is a device susceptible to degrading over time.


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 23, 2012)

what about the thermaltake 600w ? http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_442&item_id=040842 or the Coolermaster 525w http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_442&item_id=051198 ?


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## Aquinus (Sep 23, 2012)

AlienIsGOD said:


> what about the thermaltake 600w ? http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_442&item_id=040842 or the Coolermaster 525w http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_442&item_id=051198 ?



They both look good. I like the 5 year warranty on the Thermaltake.


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## TRWOV (Sep 23, 2012)

550w is more than enough for a mid range rig. 700w might sound good but they aren't needed with all these energy efficient parts we have now to play with  ... but at that price I would also go for the 700watter. I just hope the price is still the same when he buys it 


The HyperX RAM is 1.65v. Not a _huge_ deal but it'll force your IMC to run at a higher voltage. Just FYI.


Why mATX? You can get a full ATX board for almost the same price: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_722&item_id=047652
Just saw the MSI ATX. NVM.

Everything else looks fine to me.


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 28, 2012)

so I have decided on a Sapphire 7770 for $120, a Tt V3 case for $45 and a Tt TR2 600w PSU for $55.  Im going to borrow him a 250GB Sata HDD for now so he can afford BF 3 today too   all in all not a bad 1st rig for someone on a budget


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## Widjaja (Sep 28, 2012)

AlienIsGOD said:


> so I have decided on a Sapphire 7770 for $120, a Tt V3 case for $45 and a Tt TR2 600w PSU for $55.  Im going to borrow him a 250GB Sata HDD for now so he can afford BF 3 today too   all in all not a bad 1st rig for someone on a budget



As long as he will be able to play with good enough fps in BF3 with his rig regardless of the amount of eye candy, great budget rig.


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 28, 2012)

Widjaja said:


> As long as he will be able to play with good enough fps in BF3 with his rig regardless of the amount of eye candy, great budget rig.



for now he will be using my Acer 19" so a mix of low/med settings @ 1366 × 768 should work well for now.


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## Crap Daddy (Sep 28, 2012)

AlienIsGOD said:


> for now he will be using my Acer 19" so a mix of low/med settings @ 1366 × 768 should work well for now.



You settled for Ivy quad?


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 28, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> You settled for Ivy quad?



no, I already purchased a Core i3 2120 and B75 mobo last month.


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## AlienIsGOD (Sep 28, 2012)

Help im getting power LED lights and the Green standby power light on the Asus motherboard but nothing starts up... can someone help me?


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 29, 2012)

Take ESD/Static Discharge Precautions for handling all Circuit boards/Integrated circuits.

bench run the board, take everything out of the case put on non conductive bench or table or even a box off the floor.

read motherboard manual

reset the CMOS/BIOS/UEFI by reading motherboard manual

clear all components of dust via can air or air compressor (take caution of condensation)

re-assure the CPU is inserted in the socket properly- re-apply thermal compound to CPU, if need be remove CPU and air clean the Socket and CPU itself.

remove and air clean ram and ram sockets- reinsert ram

remove and air clean GPU and all PCI E/PCI/AGP sockets- reinsert video card

Air clean the ATX and 4 Pin P4 or EPS 8Pin power connectors on the motherboard, do same on power supply.

hook up psu to Motherboard, power switch, and video card, keyboard and mouse and just see if the system will powerup then with video too.


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## Widjaja (Sep 29, 2012)

AlienIsGOD said:


> Help im getting power LED lights and the Green standby power light on the Asus motherboard but nothing starts up... can someone help me?



Start off bare bones just so you can get to the BIOS screen.
So no hdd or optical, no motherboard fan headers used, one stick of ram, unplug reset, rest LED and HDD LED, then try firing it up.
If it still does not work, switch to another ram slot.
But you probably have already read the instructions which state which slot one stick of ram is supposed to go into, so on to trying another stick of ram in the same slot.

Of course double check to see if 8/4 pin and 24 pin power connectors are firmly attached.


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## AlienIsGOD (Oct 1, 2012)

Tried everything and couldn't get it to post, so we took it to the service centre @ Canada Computers.  I think the PSU may be faulty, in any case its being serviced under warranty so any parts that need replacing are going to be done when working on the PC.  I wrangled that deal as the other parts were bought on Aug 31st and therefore still under 30 day in store warranty


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## AlienIsGOD (Oct 1, 2012)

So the tech called and the motherboard is DOA.  they are already fitting a replacement as we speak and all i have to do is bring the empty mobo box in.


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## eidairaman1 (Oct 1, 2012)

Thats good ol asus for you (see too many of them DOA or not working properly out of the box)


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## AlienIsGOD (Oct 2, 2012)

Here is the PC together


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## eidairaman1 (Oct 2, 2012)

AlienIsGOD said:


> Here is the PC together
> 
> View attachment 48582



time for cable management lol, Good Powersupply too


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## Widjaja (Oct 2, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> time for cable management lol, Good Powersupply too



The current cable management is the "I just want to get it up and running to play games" style.


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## AlienIsGOD (Oct 2, 2012)

its not that bad


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## Go2Sleep (Oct 4, 2012)

AlienIsGOD said:


> Here is the PC together
> 
> View attachment 48582



and this is why Alien is the man. Thanks for the help man


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## AlienIsGOD (Oct 5, 2012)

Go2Sleep said:


> and this is why Alien is the man. Thanks for the help man



No problem bro, at least we got the wireless sorted out and now the PC is living up to its potential


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