Another "I'd like input on my new PC" thread

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  • Knottscott
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2004
    • 3815
    • Rochester, NY.
    • 2008 Shop Fox W1677

    #16
    Originally posted by BobSch
    Congratulations on the new computer. I built my last desktop machine and it's nice to be able to get exactly what you want, isn't it.
    It is indeed ...and it's surprisingly easy to assemble the hardware into the case.
    Happiness is sort of like wetting your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.

    Comment

    • Knottscott
      Veteran Member
      • Dec 2004
      • 3815
      • Rochester, NY.
      • 2008 Shop Fox W1677

      #17
      For those interested, I've been playing around a bit with overclocking the new PC (one of the benefits of using an aftermarket motherboard). The AMD FX4100 has a stock CPU speed of 3.6Ghz. I generally keep it in the 4.3Ghz range, where it's been stable. I get a little nervous when I go much higher, but it ran well all day yesterday at 4.8Ghz (confirmed with CPU Speed Pro). I've read that someone has taken it as far as 5.9Ghz, but I don't believe I have sufficient cooling to attempt that.

      I've been really happy with the FX4100 so far....for a processor in the $80-$100 range, it's really pretty fast.
      Happiness is sort of like wetting your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.

      Comment

      • Stytooner
        Roll Tide RIP Lee
        • Dec 2002
        • 4301
        • Robertsdale, AL, USA.
        • BT3100

        #18
        That is pretty good. I had mine (i7 2600K 3.4 GHz) up over 55 GHz at one time (not very stable and pretty hot), then dropped it back to 5 GHz for a long while. Maybe a year.
        Recently dropped it a bit further to 46.36 GHz. Temps idle around 29 C. A little cooler than at 5 GHz. I get the same efficiency in my CAD with either of those settings.
        I think to get better in it, I would need better graphics card.
        Mine is just a minimal Nvidia GeForce 210.

        I think you should set it to where you are comfortable with the temps and performance and let it ride. The cooler and more stable you can keep it, the longer you will have it.
        Lee

        Comment

        • LCHIEN
          Internet Fact Checker
          • Dec 2002
          • 20913
          • Katy, TX, USA.
          • BT3000 vintage 1999

          #19
          i got an XION XON160 case for my wife's new pC and the PS fan is hugely loud. Esp. since we use it for streaming video. The case fan and CPU fan are reasonable.
          I've already ordered a Power supply touted as ultra silent in order to be able to use this for streaming media.
          Loring in Katy, TX USA
          If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
          BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

          Comment

          • Knottscott
            Veteran Member
            • Dec 2004
            • 3815
            • Rochester, NY.
            • 2008 Shop Fox W1677

            #20
            Originally posted by LCHIEN
            i got an XION XON160 case for my wife's new pC and the PS fan is hugely loud. Esp. since we use it for streaming video. The case fan and CPU fan are reasonable.
            I've already ordered a Power supply touted as ultra silent in order to be able to use this for streaming media.
            I ended up with a similar case for this build (XION XON180), that had an "alleged" 500W power supply included. It was loud, and extremely lightweight....it'd have to be struck by lightning to get anyway near 500W of output. I sold it on CL for $15, and reused my Corsair CX500 PSU on the new build....much more solidly made and quieter.

            5.5Ghz is zipping right along Lee!
            Happiness is sort of like wetting your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.

            Comment

            • Stytooner
              Roll Tide RIP Lee
              • Dec 2002
              • 4301
              • Robertsdale, AL, USA.
              • BT3100

              #21
              I have a 900 watt PS and can't really hear it.
              I also have 5 fans at about 120 mm and can't hardly hear those either.
              I have the Corsair radiator cooler and don't hear that much.
              I have had some loud stuff, but I was pretty lucky with my build.
              This is the case that came with it and the 5 fans were in it already. Most of this was in a bare bone type thing. I just bought some extras to add on. I doubled the Ram to 16 GB and it came with a 60 GB SSD just for cache.

              I did have another fan installed on the original CPU cooler, but took it out. It was loud.
              I used it in one of my cnc control boxes. You certainly can't hear it over a cnc machine.

              It cost me, but I like it alot.
              Last edited by Stytooner; 12-31-2012, 05:36 PM.
              Lee

              Comment

              • LCHIEN
                Internet Fact Checker
                • Dec 2002
                • 20913
                • Katy, TX, USA.
                • BT3000 vintage 1999

                #22
                My Kill-a-watt says that the PC only drew about 100 W from the AC side. Given that these supplies typically run 85% efficiency near full load and probably less when lightly loaded, I imagine the whole DC side load is probably around 75-80 W. So the waste heat in my power supply that' needs to be cooled by a fan is only 20-25 watts. A fully loaded power supply at 500W and 85% efficiency needs to remove 75W of heat from the power supply so an inexpensive power supply will runs its fan full blast all the time to remove a potential 75W. I could probably slow the fan down 66% and it would still be cool enough.
                Loring in Katy, TX USA
                If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                Comment

                • Charlie R
                  Forum Newbie
                  • Jun 2007
                  • 90

                  #23
                  Wonder if anyone has built a PC kit and if it came with instructions. Have seen low priced kits at Tiger Direct and Newegg but neither would tell me it they came with instructions so I bought a Gateway on sale, assembled, tested, and warranteed.

                  Comment

                  • Cochese
                    Veteran Member
                    • Jun 2010
                    • 1988

                    #24
                    Originally posted by Charlie R
                    Wonder if anyone has built a PC kit and if it came with instructions. Have seen low priced kits at Tiger Direct and Newegg but neither would tell me it they came with instructions so I bought a Gateway on sale, assembled, tested, and warranteed.
                    PC Kits are always a lesson in compromise, and I usually don't recommend them. You're better off matching parts from different sources to get the best value or performance your dollar can get.

                    There's really no instructions to build a computer per se. You ground yourself to prevent frying your motherboard, you take care not to bend pins on the CPU, and everything else is pretty obvious. There are vids on how to use thermal grease and anything else that might tighten ones sphincter.
                    I have a little blog about my shop

                    Comment

                    • LCHIEN
                      Internet Fact Checker
                      • Dec 2002
                      • 20913
                      • Katy, TX, USA.
                      • BT3000 vintage 1999

                      #25
                      Originally posted by Charlie R
                      Wonder if anyone has built a PC kit and if it came with instructions. Have seen low priced kits at Tiger Direct and Newegg but neither would tell me it they came with instructions so I bought a Gateway on sale, assembled, tested, and warranteed.
                      Pretty much there is no single instruction to build a PC unless you get someones instructions on the internet and then it will be generic.

                      If you get a bunch of components my recommendations will be this: follow the instructions that come with the CPU and heatsink/fan and maybe the motherboard and install the CPU and heat sink to the socket on the MB. If you have bought an aftermarket heatsink, then the heatsink instructions override the CPU's heatsink instructions. Then follow the instructions that may have come with the Case and install the motherboard to the case Usually this will not be real clear as to how to get the rear panel into the case but it may be obvious once you've done one or two. Then if the power supply is separate then you also need to install this into the case. Sometimes the power supply comes with instructions, or the case tells you how, usually there's only one realistic way to install it that makes any sense. If you have DVD drives, HDD and other equipment the case instructions should tell you how to mount them; you may have to move them around if cables are too short or something.

                      Finally the motherboard manual will describe all the connections you need to make from all the switches, indicators, audio ports and USB connectors to the motherboard. The labeling on the case wires may not match what the MB manual call it, so you have to be adaptable to match names. Then put in all the power connections, then the fan connectors. you may use all or none of the fan connectors depending upon the case and the MB configurations.

                      Then put in any Graphics cards and bus cards, additional connector plates etc. Connect up the connectors to the MB, the graphics to auxiliary power and bridges, and the SATA data and power cables to the storage drives. The information on these will be found in the graphics card manual, the mother board manual.

                      Because there are so many possible configurations you will need to be somewhat aware of what all needs to be done, know what each part and cable is for (for troubleshooting) and read all the individual manuals and make some choices about which is applicable. If it doesn't fire up at once, you will need to be saavy enough to figure out which part is at fault. Good luck.

                      This all applies whether you buy a semi-complete kit (and it by no means is complete, just the major parts) or order all the parts yourself.

                      I've probably built about 10 or a dozen PCs from parts, usually I'll buy up parts for the next PC over time when they're on sale or recycle parts from older PCs (that don't affect performance) so I can save money and get satisfaction of building a custom PC.
                      Last edited by LCHIEN; 01-02-2013, 04:23 PM.
                      Loring in Katy, TX USA
                      If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                      BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                      Comment

                      • Stytooner
                        Roll Tide RIP Lee
                        • Dec 2002
                        • 4301
                        • Robertsdale, AL, USA.
                        • BT3100

                        #26
                        I agree.
                        There are not real kits that I have seen that have step by step instructions.

                        On a slightly different topic, most computers can be updated or added on to somewhat, though technology progresses pretty rapidly.

                        I was amazed about a year ago.
                        I pulled an older (maybe 3 years old) E-Machine open. I looked in amazement. There was absolutely nothing extra that could be added to this box. It was a meager system and was intended to stay that way. I had not ever seen that before that I recollect. It was just odd looking to me.
                        Lee

                        Comment

                        • Charlie R
                          Forum Newbie
                          • Jun 2007
                          • 90

                          #27
                          Appreciate your taking the time to reply to my question about PC kit instructions.

                          New Years greetings & Best Wishes to all.

                          Comment

                          • greenacres2
                            Senior Member
                            • Dec 2011
                            • 633
                            • La Porte, IN
                            • Ryobi BT3000

                            #28
                            I built one a year ago, and did a lot of looking at assembly sites. Tiger Direct and New Egg both had some general assembly articles on their sites at that time--most likely still do. I also stumbled across this site in a search http://www.kitchentablecomputers.com/index.php and found it helpful as well.

                            All, even Tiger Direct and New Egg, of the assembly articles i saw were outdated in some form--but probably were two weeks after they were published.

                            The build--MSI mobo with the 760 chipset, AMD Phenom II X6 1035, 16 gb RAM, Seagate 1 tb HD, Radeon 6450 w/1 gb RAM, CooolerMaster Centurion 5 case, Thermaltake power supply. With Windows 7, the total net of rebates was under $300--but not by a lot. A year later, and the FreeCell cards still shuffle fast with no signs of wear on the Queens!!

                            earl

                            Comment

                            • Knottscott
                              Veteran Member
                              • Dec 2004
                              • 3815
                              • Rochester, NY.
                              • 2008 Shop Fox W1677

                              #29
                              Charlie - Google is your friend when venturing outside your knowledge base. Desk top PC's are remarkably simple devices from an assembly standpoint. 15 -20 minutes is about all it takes to piece one together from start to startup. Connections are proprietary, and therefore fairly intuitive. The fun (and confusion) begins when things go wrong when loading an operating system or software, but sometimes things go very smoothly, and there's a ton of info available online.

                              The barebones kits are what initially got my attention. The prices looked good, and I think you'd end up well ahead of a premade Dell, HP, or Gateway, but most of the kits have component or two thrown into the mix that might be a bit less desirable than if you chose the components a la cart. On the plus side all the components should fit and work well together. If you piece everything together on your own, you need to check compatibility. For ~ $300 I've put together a pretty capable PC that currently has a 4.3Ghz AMD processor, a Thermaltake aftermarket CPU cooler, 24GB DDR3 RAM, a nice midrange Gigabyte mother board, a high quality 500W power supply, blue ray player, graphics card, 480 GB hard drive, and a new case with extra fans. It's no dream machine, but it's on the impressive side for the money spent in comparison to buying a new PC.
                              Last edited by Knottscott; 01-06-2013, 08:24 AM.
                              Happiness is sort of like wetting your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.

                              Comment

                              • Charlie R
                                Forum Newbie
                                • Jun 2007
                                • 90

                                #30
                                Thanks again. Appreciate the link, encouragement, and the benefit of your experiences.

                                Comment

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