The PerFect Gaming Rig

[Lt.Col.Claymore]

the Perfect Gaming Rig
Please put you system Config also Heré
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Processor : intel Pentium4 3.0ghz Fsb 800mhz w/HT
MotherBoard : Asus P4c800-E-Deluxe
Memmory : 2GB Corsair XMS DDR PC-3200 - 4 x 512MB
HardDrives : 2 x 120 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7
FrontDrive 2 : 8-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader
FrontDrive 1 : 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
CD-RW : Lite-On 52x32x52x CD-RW - Black
DVD-ROM : ASUS Type >unknown<
Case Tower : Thermaltake V2000a
Case Power :W0019 Purepower 480W++ PFC
CpuCooling : A1715 P4 Spark 7+ Xaser Edition or Aquarius III
Video Card : (original) ATi Radeon 9800 Xt
SoundCard : Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS - 7.1
Keyboard : Termaltake :A1806
Mouse : Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 - USB
OS : Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Speakers : Logitech® Z-680 5.1 500-Watt THX Speakers
Monitor : NEC 17" MultiSync FE771SB Flat CRT - Black

this will hopefully be my Future System

[Stan]

Nice one...
2GB RAM seems a bit overkill. 1GB is more than you need if you are not into heavy 3D apps.
I assume that the 2 HD will be striped?

My gaming box is an "old" dual PIII 1GHz with 512MB RAM, RAID0 with 2 IBM HD, SBLive and GeForce GTS 64MB. I bought this more than 3 years ago. It cost me a fortune at that time. Fortunately, I am still able to play UT2003, Mafia, MOHAA and Total War @ at very good frame rate!

I am saving up for my next big upgrade! I've spent too much money on my latest dual Xeon server and my wallet is complaining! (not to mention the wife as well ;) )

Stan

[Centurion]

The next rig - probably amd - +2gightz - I run with 398 in my current rig - and DVD player with help - replace the TV in the bedroom.

Then my sweetie would have a gamer rig to lan up and take on the bots.

Cheers - nice specs - C

[fluxy]

Not bad! I'd swap the Z-680 for the Klipsch though. The Logitech's bass is a bit 'loose.'

Right now Im looking at a dual Athlon w/ 1GB (to start), 2 x 250GB (RAID - mainly for peace of mind; got gigs and gigs of data), and ATI A-I-W. Hopefully, in the next few months I'll be able to afford a 30" panel. I'd most likely go AlienWare (Black)...
http://www.alienware.com/Images/sub_page_images/prd_system_cyborg_green.jpg

BTW: neat keyboard (http://www.thermaltake.com/images/products/KeyM/1stEdition/a1806silver.jpg). They should consider a bluetooth model.

[a Bill]

Why such a tiny monitor lt.col.claymore?

I use my web surfing box for games. P4 2.4c, 512m PC3200, ATI Radeon 8500 (original), SB Live! (full original), Logitech dual optical mouse, MS Natural keyboard (original), Z-560 speakers, a bunch of other junk and a Dell 2000FP monitor.

See, even my low end cheeseball web surfing box gets a good monitor. You can stint on lots of things but never stint on your monitor, keyboard and mouse. 20" or bigger is a good start :)

[Lt.Col.Claymore]

why a tiny monitor becouse i had Great fun with my old 17" and
whas happey with it until my dad buyed an 15"TFT for games
it sucks badly bud it good aganst eye strain must say

Greez p.s Alienware Area 51 Extreme is also very good

got Self 2 old Dragon case's her one is 100% original state

[Lt.Col.Claymore]

The Games i have and play

1. Quake 2 + Reckoning
2. Quake 3
3. Return To Castle Wolfrenstein + Enemy Territory
4. Half-Life Generations 3
5. Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries
6. Mech Commander 1+2
7. Midtown Maddness 2
8. Unreal Tournament 2k3
9. the Ultimate Doom 95 (singed by john Carmack)
10. C&C Generals
11. C&C Red Alert 2 + Yuri's revenge



the Game i still whant to have

1. Doom III
2. Quake 4
3. Quake 3 Team Arena
4. C&C Generals (Zero Hour)
5. Unreal II the Awakening
6. Soldier of Fortune 2
7. Flight Simulator 2k4
8. Unreal Tournament 2k4 (Ut2k3 For sale)
9. Half-Life 2
10. Halo 2 + Halo: Combat Evolved
11. Battle-Field 1942 + all Expansion packs

and thats the list of game i have and still whant to have !!

and all they should work with my system becouse a Radeon 9800 Xt
is an damn good 3D video Card

Greating

[a Bill]

I'm waiting on Doom 3 too, like about a million other people :) When that comes out I'm upgrading for real.

Go for the big monitor, it makes games even more fun. LCDs are actually very good with first person shooters but I can see where cost might make a difference. In CRTs I prefer Trinitrons but you should look at a few different monitors to see what works for you. Initially you see the faint lines in a Trinitron but after a bit you don't see them anymore so don't worry about that. Go for 20" or larger, skip the smaller stuff.

When you spend money on a computer upgrade you're good for maybe a year before you're outdated. When you spend money on a great monitor your good for the life of the monitor. It really does make a big difference and it's one that lasts much longer than your computer.

[Lt.Col.Claymore]

i like an NEC 17" MultiSync FE771SB Flat CRT - Black
better i have it tested once and i whas pretty pleased about it

but my old Hansol 720 whas also good but had the problem of shaking
image if i whent above 1024x768 at 75Hertz so i use an NEC
more often then a TFT if i am at L.A.N party's
now you know why i like a CRT 17" More then a TFT/LCD 15"

and dont for get to vote my poll about my system i have put above

Best Regards

[EndobioticChaos]

Nice. But honestly, I like my own better.

[BBA]

I think the listed stuff makes for an awesome machine...but not ultimate. For that you either need a P4 3.2 EE or a Athlon FX 64.

I think what WOULD BE the ultimate gaming machine to take to lan parties would be the Shuttle SN85G4 mini pc (http://us.shuttle.com/specs2.asp?pro_id=389) with the 9800 XT (or an all in wonder XT when they come out with it). Take that with the XP3200 FX 64 bit and add an Audigy 2 ZS plus a 200 GB sata Maxtor drive (or the slower 300 GB ata HDD), Sony DRU510 DVD+/- R/RW multi plus a few gigs of reg ddr PC3200 mem and you will pretty much have the fastest machine available...BARR NONE!



But, since I'm not made of money... what I have:

Game rig: XP3200 (at 2.4GHz), Via KT600 Dragon Ultra Platinum, Chenbro screwless case cooling modded by myself, 512 MB PC3200, ATI 9700 Pro (volt modded/hacked as a 9800 Pro running at 400/360) Maxtor 200 GB SATA drive, 16X DVD, Sony DRX-U500UL USB2/Firewire DVD +/- R/RW, Toshiba 16X internal DVD, Liteon 40X CDRW, Haupaugge WinTV/FM tuner with a Herc Fortissimo III 7.1 sound card.

My other gaming rig is an AOpen AX4C MAX 875P with an older 2.0a P4 running 2.66GHz with a Zalman 6500 copper heatsink), case cooling mods by myself, two WD 120 GB 8MB ATA drives in raid 0, one Barracuda 40 GB ATA drive, an HP 24x CDRW, a Toshiba 16 X DVD, a Radeon 8500 (it's faster than the GF4 4600 I gave away now the drivers are better), a TB Santa Cruz sound and 512 MB of dual channel Crucial PC3200.

I think my next upgrade will be a P4C with HT on the AOpen machine and some better memory.

Of course: That Shuttle 64 bit mini WILL BE in my future. :)

[NDC]

I noticed you put "this will hopefully be my Future System". How soon this may be for you, I have no idea. But this system won't stay ultimate for long at the rate better computer hardware is released...

[Lt.Col.Claymore]

hope full in 5 months but if it will take longer il sure update my list
of Hardware in the time and yes New Hardware is coming in fast lately ther is already the Fx 5700u and Fx5950u
so its till a Big Question of what is actualy the Best 3D Card
but thats Hard to find out Whit those new ones

Greez Albert ;-)

[NDC]

Yeah, in 5 months, there will be many enhanced hardware available...

[BBA]

I think ATI is definitely better than nvidia.

There is a reason for this as well: nvidia once had a goal to be the best video card maker. They had lots of competition in many brands, like stuff from 3dfx and powervrand even ati...
That worked out well for nvidia...they hired hte brightest engineers and everything was great.

Once nvidia concquered all...made the top spot and ruled unencumbered, ati decided it wanted the top spot.

Well...nvidia got to a point where it saw a need for more marketing than innovation, and being the most advanced was no longer a goal. Aparantly, the management at nvidia started excrimenting in the engineers cornflakes and ATi was hiring.

Basically, the best talent nvidia had went to work for ATi and now ATi has the BEST hardware as a result of having the best talent.

It's not about what WAS the best...it's about who wants to have the best tomorrow and who they hire says that louder than anything in real world results.

nvidia has become a company of marketers, and ATi has made itself into the company of innovators.

On top of all that...nvidia's new strategy is to not have anymore driver updates except for once a year. How stupid is that?

[Lt.Col.Claymore]

just Véry Stupit to do with an new driver they can make
the GeForce 4Ti and FX Series A lot Faster but they should
look more at the game engine for some games and make
some sort of 3D Engine list giving them the power they need
should be good i thingk

But Still Nvidia got Strange ways of cooling there VidCard
just look at the FX5950 how Strange can it get today
and if whe take a look at the Radeon 9800Xt (Stock)
that is Better and Ati is Cheaper too

Greez

[KURT KOKAIN]

MY SYSTEM CONFIG.


ALIENWARE PREDATOR CASE.
MB-ASUS P4PEGOLD P4PE/LAN/1394/SATS-UAY.
CPU PENTIUM 4 3.6GHZ 512K L2 CACHE 533MHZ FSB.
MEM 1GB DDR PC2700 CORSAIR.
H/D 2X120GB WESTERN DIGITAL 8MD CACHE.
ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB.
16XDVD ROM.
PLEXTOR PLEXWRITER PREMIUM 52X.
1.44 FLOPPY.
ATECH 6 IN 1 PRO MEDIA READER.
SOUNDBLASTER AUDIGY 2 PLAINUM 6.1.
INTEL PRO /1000 MT GIGABIT DESKTOP ADAPTER .
LOGITECH ZX 550 ..500WATT .

PURE GAMES........ :.} NEC 18inch MULTISYNC LCD 1880SX LCD.

KURT

[BBA]

You meant to say P4 3.06 GHz.

[N.H.B]

Go here and see N.H.B (post 671 is my last pic)

www.abxzone.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26699&perpage=15&pagenumber=45

[robin801]

don't know if this is a good gaming machine but here's my specs--

epox 8rda3+
barton 2500+xp@2700
radeon 9600xt video
corsair xms 256mb(i know i need more)
nec dvd+rw
lite-on 52x cdrw
2x80 gb hdd stipe 0 raid
on board sound
logitech z560
1.44 floppy
win2k pro

robin

[Shyguy]

robin801, actually what you have there is a pretty good average gaming system, the only thing I'd upgrade on that system is the RAM to 512 or 1GB & A high quality sound card, SB Live, Audigy1 or 2, or M-Audio. Pretty decent vid card for now, plenty of storage, & CPU speed.

Here's my Systems (not everything just the basics, except Primary #1)

Primary #1: (temporarily down)

Athlon XP 2200+
Coolermaster Jet 7 HSF & fan controller
Aopen AK77-333
512MB PC2700 CL2.5 (2x256)
MSI GF4Ti4200 64MBDDR
SB Live! (with spdif)
Kawasaki 100watt 5.1 Digital & Pro Logic reciever
Back-up speakers: A 2.1 (4.1 capablewith additiional satelites) set of Digital only Boston Acoustics
10/100 NIC
ATA100/133 RAID 0,1,0+1 controller (just being used as an extra EIDE controller right now)
ATI TV Tuner
Yamaha CDRW 16x10x40
Hitachi DVD 6x
80GB WD Caviar ATA100/133 2MB cache 7200 RPM
80GB Seagate Barracuda ATA100 8MB cache 7200 RPM
10GB WD Protege ATA100
internal ZIP100
1.44MB floppy
Antec HD cooler with 2 temp sensitive 40mm fans & LED readout for HD temp & case temp
Antec Plus 1080AMG case with 430 watt True PSU
WinXP Home
& plenty of air flow with 2 rear 80mm Manhatten LED case fans, 1 front 80mm Manhatten LED case fan, 1 front 80mm Antec case fan, 1 side panel 80mm Antec case fan, PSU fan, Jet 7 CPU blower, GF4 GPU fan, chipset fan, Antec HD cooler fans (2x40mm), also a couple of Antec Cobra round drive cables.

Future upgrades in the next month GFFX 5900XT & 17" .20mm Flat screen CRT.

Primary #2:
Athlon XP2200+
Aopen AK79D-400VN
512MB PC2100 (2x256 in dual channel)
GFFX 5200 128MBDDR
SB Live! Value
10/100 NIC
40GB WD Caviar ATA100/133 2MB cache 7200 RPM
Matsushita 2x DVD
Philips CDRW (can't remember speed, but faster than one above)
internal ZIP100 drive
1.44MB floppy
Avus Titanium Mid Tower case (generic) with 300watt PSU
Logitech 2.1 speakers
Dell 14" SVGA 1024x768
WinME

Back-up system:
AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.3GHz
FIC AZ11e
256MB PC133
on-board sound (AC97)
3DFX Voodoo 3 3500 16MB
2 x 10/100 NIC's
32x CDROM
30GB WD Caviar 2MB cache ATA100/133 7200 RPM
Generic ATX Mid tower case with 250watt PSU
several cooling fans mounted in case including a 120mm mounted in case at 45 degree angle with twisty ties for vid card & CPU cooling, & one PCI Slot blower fan
WinME

& the "dust collector":

unknown Gigabyte Super Socket 7 board
AMD K62 @ 500MHz
32MB PC100
3.2 GB HD
generic 32bit sound card
2xAGP 4MB Trident 3D video card
32x CDROM
STB/Gateway TV Tuner Card
Creative Labs MPEG Decoder card
1.44MB floppy
Generic ATX mid tower unknown wattage PSU
Win98

[robin801]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-283&catalog=147&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0

just bought 2 sticks of this memory to put into my system.

TB Santa Cruz sound card.

robin

[Shyguy]

Damn, thats one hell of a deal on DDR400, especially on High Performance RAM.

[robin801]

i'm hoping to overclock my system when i get my new ram.

i have it overclocked a little bit now.

2500@2700

need a few more case fans.

case temps 38
cpu temps 45

robin

[Shyguy]

bout average, my case temp is around 32 (Then again, ive got about 10 or 11 fans between everything in the case, 5 intake fans, 3 exhaust, & CPU, GPU, Chipset) , not sure about CPU, gotta DL one of those utility's that access the bios to find out.

Wow, just cranked down the CPU blower all the way (Jet 7) & the LED readout for the temp sensor for case temp on my HD cooler actually dropped 2 degrees, then cranked it up to max, & increased 2, gotta be where the sensor is, have it dangling right smack dab in middle of case.

I wonder how much I can OC my 2200+ to without frying anything?

[robin801]

my new ram will be delivered on Friday.

really looking forward to the weekend. lol

robin

[Shyguy]

Yeah, Im so happy right now, got my reinstall of XP done last night & updated everything, even latest GF drivers, for some reason it has a few extra features that didn't showup last time I installed it, anyways now I can play MOHAA with every graphic option cranked to max, & still get silky smooth framerates, plus use high sound quality with music on, all this i couldn't do with the slower system with on-board sound & the voodoo3, also gotta remember to install Neverwinter Nights & Elite Force 2 tonight also, took the day off from work, called in sick cause my back & shoulders were sore from yesterday & monday at my one job & sunday from my other, (all heavy stock work), so I'm taking advantage of it, to put in some lost gaming time,also gotta remember to buy that FX5900 or XT & get COD free (i'll probably get the XT or SE & save 20 or 30 bucks)!!!