[Case Gallery] Simple and inexpensive

[stillz]

To view this case mod, go here.



Specs:
MSI K9AGM2-L mobo-w-AMD Athlon 64 3000@1798Mhz
2Gig Super-Talent DDR2 pc4200 533 Ram
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 320 (@600proc/1000mem)
500 watt dual fan psu
Klipsch KG 2.1 THX speakers
NEC multisync 17" monitor

Mods:
Cut a hole in the top of the case (like the old voodoo rigs). fan blowing out the top, fan pulling in bottom front. Dual fan psu

I had less than $600 to spend on upgrades. I had the case and psu already, so i blew $550 on 2gigs of ram, mobo/cpu combo, and the 8800gts. Everythings air cooled. Temps run fairly cool. Nothing overclocked but the graphics.
3Dmark06: 5020
3Dmark03: 27000
Not to bad of performance for the money spent.

 

[mullered07]

sorry man but that 8800gts is seriousley bottlenecked by your cpu i even beat you in 3dmark06 you should be getting 8000+ with a good setup man

 

[stillz]

sorry man but that 8800gts is seriousley bottlenecked by your cpu i even beat you in 3dmark06 you should be getting 8000+ with a good setup man

Yeah, I definately agree with that. I wished that I had gone with at least a 5200-5600 x2 proc. It really wouldnt have run me that much more. Unfortunately, hind sight is 20/20! Next step will be to upgrade the proc, and mobo. Mobo has locked multiplier and fsb, so no o.c.ing for me. 3dmark06 cpu test for red valley drops to .223 fps!!! Thanks for the feedback.

 

[NinkobEi]

question, what did you use to cut the hole in the top? is your case alluminum? looks like a good idea if it works.

are you running socket 939?

 

[stillz]

proc is socket AM2 (940). Hole was cut unceromoniously with a dremel tool cutting wheel. Works great with the psu and the top fan exiting heat build up, and the bottom fan bringing in cooler air. I had this case set up back when I had the (antique) asus A7V (last pc133 before ddr) 1100 T-bird socket a (unlocked and oc'd) and a screamin' ATI radeon 9800 se 8X AGP. 2 gigs of PC133!!! I'm glad I could finally afford the upgrade!

 

[theonetruewill]

I second the bottleneck statements massively. I've got a 7600GT and I get 4309 in 3DMark06. Now that should scare you. Your bottleneck is frankly bordering on the ridiculous. (No offense meant in the previous statment) I cannot tell you how much faster your system would run with a better processor. And your gaming performance....well frankly you would be saying

.....WOW!

A whole lot more.

 

[NinkobEi]

well its a good thing you have an AM2 board..also, im surprised they even make AM2s that slow..I mean wow. at least you have plenty of room to upgrade..I'm on this 939 board and my only option will be a FX-60. but by the time I get money for one I'm sure they'll be all but sold out.

 

[erocker]

Awesome job! I'm glad you put your money (or lack there of) where it counts! Once you get around $140 bucks, you can get the x2 3600+ brisbane and a tforce550 mobo, which when overclocked will give you a significant boost and may even use less power (not sure?). Then some DDR2 800 memory will do you good. Oh Yeah! Good luck building it up man!

 

[erocker]

well its a good thing you have an AM2 board..also, im surprised they even make AM2s that slow..I mean wow. at least you have plenty of room to upgrade..I'm on this 939 board and my only option will be a FX-60. but by the time I get money for one I'm sure they'll be all but sold out.

Actually you can get a X2 4400 right now. That's what I'm thinking of doing.

 

[Fox34]

Nice job on the 8800! I hate to repeat but serious bottlenecking, get a nice dual core you will be rockin. The RAM is also nice, and a good idea for cutting fans holes next time, use a hole saw with a normal drill, look em up if you don't know what I mean, but yours look great although. Maybe next a clear side panel, some cathodes and paint job?(not to mention proc lol)

 

[pheonix]

what type of 8800gts are you using? is it superclocked version?

 

[stillz]

what type of 8800gts are you using? is it superclocked version?

Nope. Just the budget gts. I think it was $285, free shipping. The bottom line gts runs just as fast as the oc and xxx versions. I use ATI tool to adjust my clock and memory settings, and RIVA tuner just to set the fan to 100% output on startup. I dont know why the run 'em slow out of the gate and keep the fan set to 60%...I guess to charge a premium to go faster. I been keeping an eye out for a good deal on an 5600 X2, would make things real nice!

 

[EviLZeD]

nice comp aslong as you get 30 to 60 fps in new games high settings the proc is fine imo

 

[BIOXblade]

i feel sorry for the fact that you did so little research before building your pc if i were you i would have keep the processor but have bought a mint motherboard like an asus cross hair and a good cpu cooler then overclocked you cpu to fauk after you had a bit more money get a cheap sata 2 hd and in a few months buy a new cpu and get some better ram total price of doing this is under 200 pounds (ebay)

also the fact you only get 5000 in 3d marks 06 and i get 7000 with an overclocked 7900gtx just
shows the bottleneck effect

 

[acousticlemur]

i have the 939 version of that cpu you should be able to get 2.5 with out any problems with a dif mobo. i can get 2.7 with mine but i have to have the voltage higher than i would like to maintain stability. other than that i like it, simple & cheap!! looks good.

 

[stillz]

i appreciate the feedback, guys. Really, the fact that i'm locked into the proc/mobo that i am is my own fault. Did not do enough research on available products and technology. Reason for that is becuz my aftermarket cpu fan on my t-bird died, and I was computerless for about 2 years. I am getting caught up on present hardware and learning some new tricks as well. Just wish I could have researched more before I blew my wad (of cash).

 

[aspire]

I voted 1/10 because:

Dude, really fugly...

 

[Sovereign]

8/10

Good : AM2 setup will allow a nice array of affordable future upgrade options should you ever decide to. Good choice for and money well spent on the video card especialy. Basicaly money well spent on everything except maybe the CPU itself.

Bad : Only a 3000+ single core. Memory is a tab bit on the slow side as well...

Comments : I gave you an 8 because I thought you did a fairly decent job picking parts while being out of the loop, as you mentioned earlier. Also gave you an 8 to make up for the previous retard that gave you an unjustified 1 rating.

P.S - I think I have that same case! I just recently got it from my father as he had bought it awhile back and never used it. So I took it and threw together a very simular system that you had in it previously! Same 1.1Ghz Athlon T'bird and a gig of PC133 SDRAM coupled with a Radeon 9100 128MB vid card and it is currently being used as the "family" PC.

 

[Wile E]

Not bad, other than the cpu, and maybe try to hide the wires a little better. 6/10 from me.

Too bad you can't overclock. I picked up a DFI NF UltraII M2 on Newegg for $80, and it clocks like a champ. The SLI version of the board is only $5-10 more. If I were you, I'd buy something like that, and then OC what you have until you can get something better. Doing that will at least ease the bottleneck a little.

 

[Mussels]

I voted 2/10 because:

Sorry but i'm giving a low score. As much as you may love this PC, that video card is crying in agony because of the rest of your specs (CPU especially)

 

[newtekie1]

I voted 2/10 because:

Plain case with no mods and a bunch of stickers looks ugly. A good machine for the money spent, but still ugly.

 

[stillz]

Yup...Next money will be for a new proc... spent some time looking, and the 5600 X2 seems to be a good proc for the money. Then maybe a motherboard that I can adjust multiplier, bus, voltage, and SLI support. I'm actually happy with the way my games run...(quake 4 at minimum 60fps on all settings(sans 1200x1600) w 16Xaa, ultra texture, trilinear, etc.), but I know new games will be even more demanding, and it's always fun to go even faster.....just becuz. I really dont think I'll put blacklights or diodes or anything real flashy...think of it as a "sleeper".