[Case Gallery] GATEWAY PC SLEEPER

[amd64skater]

To view this case mod, go here.



Specs:
GATEWAY 827GM MEDIA CENTER PC///AMD ATHLON64 3500+ (NEWCASTLE)O/C @2.517 GHz/DIAMOND VIPER ATI X1300 PCIE 256MB/1 GIG PC3200 DUAL CHANNEL 256MBx4/LITE ON 16X DL DVD RW/50X CD ROM/MSI MS7093 MOBO/WINTV TUNER CARD/WESTERN DIGITAL 200GB HD@7,200 RPMS 2MB CACHE/WINDOWS XP MCE 2005/8 IN 1 CARD READER

Mods:
3 AEROCOOL XBLASTER 80mm FANS@4,000 RPMS@54 CFM/1 MASSCOOL PCI SLOT FAN@4,500 RPMS@16 CFM/1 AEROCOOL 60mm FAN@3,800 RPMS@40 CFM/DIAMOND VIPER ATI X1300 PCIE 256MB CARD/ACER AL1751 17" LCD MONITOR/LOGITECH Z-2300 THX 2.1 200 WATT RMS SPEAKERS

WHEN I BOUGHT THIS PC IN APRIL OF 2005 I ONLY HAD ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY THE TOWER ONLY SO I NEEDED TO GET THIS PC UP TO PAR BOUGHT AN ADDITIONAL 512 MB OF RAM FOR ONLY $60.NEXT I BOUGHT MY MONITOR AN ACER AL1751 MONITOR 700:1 RATIO AND 8MS DVI/VGA FOR ONLY $230 NEXT I NEEDED SOME VIDEO GOT THE X1300 PCIE FOR ONLY $99.AFTER THAT NEEDED SOME TUNES THEN FOUND THESE LOGITECH THX Z-2300 2.1 200 WATTS RMS 400 WATTS MAX NORMALLY $150 FOR $60 AT TIGER DIRECT/NOW CAME THE COOLING PART WELL BEING ON A BUDGET BEING A COLLEGE STUDENT AND ALL I BOUGHT 3 AEROCOOL XBLASTER 80mm FANS @$11 EACH 1 TO REPLACE THE EXHAUST FAN 1 TO REPLACE CPU FAN AND 1 ON MY HARD DRIVE. THEN GOT A MASSCOOL EXPANSION SLOT FAN TO COOL MY VIDEO @$7. THEN GOT A AEROCOOL 60mm FAN TO PUT IN FRONT OF MY POWER SUPPLY TO HELP MORE AIRFLOW @$5. I WANTED TO KEEP IT LOOKING STOCK BUT HAVE ENOUGH AIRFLOW WITH THE CRAPPY CASE DESIGN IT DOESNT HAVE A FRONT INTAKE SLOT FOR FRONT AIRFLOW SO I HAD TO MAKE THIS CASE MOSTLY AN EXHAUST CASE. BUT IT DOES STAY COOL AT FULL LOAD 30 CELSIUS AMBIENT 39 CELSIUS CPU AND 26 CELSIUS ON THE HARD DRIVE AT IDLE ITS 21 AMBIENT 26 CPU AND 17 HARD DRIVE. NOW JUST NEED TO REPLACE MY PSU AND CABLES AND SOME LIGHTS AND ITS SET JUST NEED TO WAIT A LITTLE WHILE.NOW WITH THE TOWER COSTING $809 AND EVERYTHING ELSE IT CAME OUT TO $1,303 NOT BAD AT ALL AND IT WORKS GREAT WITH UNREAL TOURNAMENT 2004 (USERNAME:AMD64_3500+) IF YOU WANTED TO KNOW NORMALLY PLAYING ON SERVER NETCADES MUTATORS OF DEATH. THIS IS THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK PC U COULD GET . ANY ?'S OR SUGGESTIONS EMAIL ME AT AMD64SKATER@YAHOO.COM

 

[nine7]

Here's a suggestion, never ever put a pc component of any kind on the floor, especially when it's carpet!

floor + $pc part$ = expensive piece of nonworking hardware

 

[MDK22]

Um All Caps Is Annoying Lol

 

[Clocked]

Not really a budget build... i mean 1300... thats an arvage build... if that was a turly custom computer it would cost less then 1000

 

[amd64skater]

suggestions please!!!!

If u guys can give me some suggestions to help with this work in progress im building this pc on a really tight budget so i have to find things to make this pc better plus i will be getting more ram to make it a 4 gig rig and rounded ide cables and neons. like i said if u have a suggestion on this pc i will check and see if any ideas can be used and in my budget and i will update my pics when i have added more to this pc.

 

[wazzledoozle]

I suggest you remove the caps, and insert some grammar.

 

[zekrahminator]

there were alot of mods there that usually go underappreciated...I see SOME attempt at cable management, which I know can be a pain inside a retail case of any sort. You also did a good job trying to keep your GPU cool for extra modding (but try moving that cyclone down a slot, I dont think its making direct contact with the GPU heatsink, so its not really doing your GPU too much good). replacing CPU heatsinks/fans also was a good idea.

 

[zekrahminator]

If u guys can give me some suggestions to help with this work in progress im building this pc on a really tight budget so i have to find things to make this pc better plus i will be getting more ram to make it a 4 gig rig and rounded ide cables and neons. like i said if u have a suggestion on this pc i will check and see if any ideas can be used and in my budget and i will update my pics when i have added more to this pc.

lol 4 gigs in a budget build? 4 gigs would eat you're budget alive! Stick with one gig of RAM if you really want more then 512MB at all. and look for stuff around this area-
-Used CRT/your TV $0
-XP Home $100
-Gigabyte s478 motherboard $70
-P4 2.4ghz $120
-Cooler Master Case $50
-WD 80GB SATA $50
-1 GB RAM PC3200 $70
-DVD reader/CD burner $20
-9800SE (softmod it later) $70
-Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer (dont
softmod without this or something
like it) $20-30
-Consider an aftermarket CPU
cooler, Intel doesnt make the
northwoods anymore... $10-40
Total Cost without shipping- $580

With Estimated shipping from
Newegg.com- $640

 

[MDK22]

Isnt bad if its your first time dabling with this stuff. I have been doin it for a while now.

Cheap + Insane = 90% Chance of Failure, Over 36hrs of Effort and Hardwork, Over another 36hrs of research on parts etc, and 1% Chance that it all works out and u are considered a god. Cheap in my book is under $1k.

Not to mention im working on a list should be done by end of the month for computer builds cause shortly i am going to try and setup a computer building company. The thing that seperates me from the rest of the guys is i will overclock the parts for you if you want for a price of course. I put an exhaustive amount of research into this and still alot to come.

Btw for what you spent i could do this base build Add a XFX 7800 GT $250 Change ram to 4 Gigs 2x 2GB XMS Dual Channel Kits Add $500. So for about the price you spent i have an incredible computer. And i would still have the other to use as a ftp server or somethin. But like i said i have done this for a long long time.

But believe me you could have done a lot and i mean alot worse then what you did. You should see some horror shows people have built. It also depends on ur region if ur in the Continental US u could have done what i did otherwise you did pretty good.

 

[bruins004]

Not bad. But just like what everyone said, this is not a budget build. I wouldnt even consider my rig a budget build and I spent $800 on mine (6 months ago). It is very similar to what MDK listed. I personally would consider a budget build prob. $600 or less. Also, it is interesting to see these budget builds since people usually OC them and make them as good as double what they are worth.

MDK22 I am also in the business of making computers. However, I have not OC anything yet and am really interested. I spend a lot of time researching, asking questions and building PCs, its quite fun. Gotta get rdy for certification this year too which will be quite kewl. I was wondering if you could give me any tips and where to start with OCing. Figure I could try it on a cheap system (looking to build one since I got a few spare parts round and a free desk). Thanks and drop me a message some time.

 

[Polaris573]

You did a great job, but if you are going to start modding the case and adding neon lights and such you might want to consider buying a case that would do it justice. You can pick up a coolermaster centurion for around $50. They're pretty good cases.

 

[nine7]

You did a great job, but if you are going to start modding the case and adding neon lights and such you might want to consider buying a case that would do it justice. You can pick up a coolermaster centurion for around $50. They're pretty good cases.

I would stick with the current case and modifiy it, which is much cheaper. I'm not sure about a gateway, but you might run into a problem fitting the PSU from that case into a aftermarket one.

There are plenty of tutuorials on how to paint, cut, or whatever. For less than $50, you can give it a whole new look.

The cheapest thing you could do is take those decals/stickers off!

 

[amd64skater]

ok its not a budget build

ok its not a budget build but i am trying to make it better on a budget so i research hours on end to find things i can do to it for cheap plus anyone have any ideas on some side panel mods i can do to this i dont have tools to cut it yet but im going to get some what works best like a dremmal tool or something. also can tell me how to overclock this cpu on this board if it can be done or should i not do it dont know some one tell me

 

[Drewstyle]

Nice cpu, to be a custom rig I would ditch the gateway case and do the cables like you mentioned .

 

[amd64skater]

i like the case

Nice cpu, to be a custom rig I would ditch the gateway case and do the cables like you mentioned .

i like my case i want it to appear stock but not be inside. everytime i goto lan parties they laugh at first then r like ok u got some balls in there we were wrong then i get the im sorrys and its all good after that i know i dont have the best but i dont have to worst either

 

[bruins004]

Does the x1300 keep you back in games? Just curious how the x1300 does.

 

[amd64skater]

x1300

Does the x1300 keep you back in games? Just curious how the x1300 does.

the x1300 is pretty good but the only drawback it only has 4 pipelines but it does keep up with many games like fear,ut2004,and counter strike but it does way better than my old x700 and for the price its not bad at all the x1300 can hold its own

 

[xvi]

Yeah.. I agree with most of the comments. It's not really a budget, although it is a sleeper. My machine is about 2-3 years old. Sempron 3100+, Radeon 9800 pro, DFI LanParty UT nForce3 250gb, 512mb Corsair XMS PC3200. It owned all the games out at the time. I spent less than $800. Since then, I've sold my 3100+ and bought a 3400+ and an X850 Pro for a total of about $150. HL2 maxed (no AA/AF) and I get 60+FPS average. Battlefield 2, Need For Speed, and most other games can go maxed and still be smooth.

Next time, I'd just go for a custom build. A budget build Athlon 3500+ and x1300 shouldn't cost more than $500 US.

By the way, you should have that sub at least 2 feet away from any electronics (especially storage devices) that you don't want to risk turning into paperweights. I doubt it will hurt much, but keep that in mind when you bring things around it such as credit cards, flash drives, hard drives, etc.