Ultimate Games Machine [Archive]

manitoubalck

Nov 9, 2003, 07:40 PM

Originally posted by madamimadam
You are making an assuption that I bought everything from one place
:)

no I'm not. Take the BROKEN (don't buy this machine in it's current condition) parts back to where you bought them. I've been to Brisbane, it's big but not huge. What's the issue with going to a few different stores to get a few different components replaced.

My computer has parts form 4 different stores in it, and I have no trouble getting broken parts replaced from where I bought them.

hugemullens

Nov 9, 2003, 07:56 PM

oops. :) I should check the currency next time.

madamimadam

Nov 9, 2003, 09:25 PM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
no I'm not. Take the BROKEN (don't buy this machine in it's current condition) parts back to where you bought them.

I also mentioned in the other thread that I have had multiple DOAs which should automatically tell you that I have taken them back.

manitoubalck

Nov 9, 2003, 10:27 PM

Forgiver me but waht does DOA mean? I'm not a huge fan of acronyms.

If you got replacements of the power supply, and anything elese that was broken what are you complaining about?

madamimadam

Nov 9, 2003, 11:11 PM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
Forgiver me but waht does DOA mean? I'm not a huge fan of acronyms.

If you got replacements of the power supply, and anything elese that was broken what are you complaining about?

**Sigh**... I wish you could have read the thread before posting

I received a replacement that was also DOA and the replacements take a while to come through unlike the 24hr turn-around with Apple. It is such an anti-climax, frustration and excitment killer to have to wait weeks to get your machine working instead of days or even a day most of the time.

DOA = Dead On Arrival

manitoubalck

Nov 10, 2003, 12:18 AM

Originally posted by madamimadam
**Sigh**... I wish you could have read the thread before posting

I received a replacement that was also DOA and the replacements take a while to come through unlike the 24hr turn-around with Apple. It is such an anti-climax, frustration and excitment killer to have to wait weeks to get your machine working instead of days or even a day most of the time.

DOA = Dead On Arrival

So you bought the products over the net, they didn't work when you built the machine and you got sent another part/s and they also didn't work.

Either
1. You can't build computers,
2. You have gotten really, and I mean really unlucky
3. or Maybe you should not buy stuff over the internet (from the US I'm guessing,) so you can actually go in to a store (with your fried computer,) have a whine and make sure that the replacement part works before you go home home.

I have never bought computer parts over the internet and currently don't intend to.

P.S: Did you make sure the power supply was on 240V, not 110V. I've seen power supplys fried buy not having them set correctly.

plinkoman

Nov 10, 2003, 12:55 AM

man, you should keep that thing, you have a tibook to use while you **** with it to get it working, and once it is working, it should be a pretty damn nice machine....
for a pc...

madamimadam

Nov 10, 2003, 01:04 AM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
So you bought the products over the net, they didn't work when you built the machine and you got sent another part/s and they also didn't work.

Oh dear... at what point did I start buying the product over the web??? I buy from distributors

Either
1. You can't build computers,

I can build just fine, thanks

2. You have gotten really, and I mean really unlucky

It is more likely that this is the case given that it is rev1 product and there isn't the same quality control you would expect from a company such as Apple.

P.S: Did you make sure the power supply was on 240V, not 110V. I've seen power supplys fried buy not having them set correctly.

I've already told you that I have used the PSU in another computer.

Maybe you should stop being such a cynic and just accept that I tried it with an open mind thinking I was going to get up with the coolest games machine around but am leaving now because I don't believe the troubles to be worth the gains. At least I have given it a try, unlike the many around who just bag out the opposition without even thinking about taking a look to see what they are like.

Originally posted by plinkoman
man, you should keep that thing, you have a tibook to use while you **** with it to get it working, and once it is working, it should be a pretty damn nice machine....
for a pc...

You know, I probably would but, as I said in my first post, I went too far over budget. Obviously I had the money to buy the gear but now that I have bought it all I can't justfy spending that much on a machine that just... well... games.

manitoubalck

Nov 10, 2003, 02:47 AM

Originally posted by madamimadam
[B]It is more likely that this is the case given that it is rev1 product and there isn't the same quality control you would expect from a company such as Apple.
B]

Sorry my mistake, When you said DOA I assumed that you bought them off the net, rather than from a local distibuter.

The new 15" Power books, the last gen of the G3 iBook, just to name a few apple products that have suffered greatly in resent history, Every company has issuses with products.

Hang on, Do you expect someone to buy the computer in it's current non-working condition?

madamimadam

Nov 10, 2003, 04:32 AM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
Hang on, Do you expect someone to buy the computer in it's current non-working condition?

OH GOD NO

The computer SHOULD be fixed tomorrow... I have a meeting with the supplier tomorrow morning and we'll be getting the problem repaired.

manitoubalck

Nov 10, 2003, 05:56 AM

Good to see, let me know how it pans out.
Sorry for taking a few stabs at you but I just wanted to know what you just told me. good luck:)

Since you live in AUS do youreslf a favour and buy this months issue of 'PC PowerPlay' There's a great write up on the Athlon 64 vs the P4. If nothing else, it's worth a read.

madamimadam

Nov 10, 2003, 07:15 PM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
There's a great write up on the Athlon 64 vs the P4. If nothing else, it's worth a read.

That's a bit of a rough write up... they are barely comparable.

I am a bit of an AMD boy myself if I have to make a choice between the two companies.

MrMacMan

Nov 10, 2003, 07:56 PM

The ultimate Gaming Machine is one you can get for $3000 on alienware and then build it yourself for a thousand or more dollars less.

My friend did it.

2.4 P4, decent Hard Drive, Video card, Mother Board ... all that Jazz for a ton less.

madamimadam

Nov 10, 2003, 08:04 PM

Originally posted by MrMacman
The ultimate Gaming Machine is one you can get for $3000 on alienware and then build it yourself for a thousand or more dollars less.

My friend did it.

2.4 P4, decent Hard Drive, Video card, Mother Board ... all that Jazz for a ton less.

A P4 2.4 is ultimate????

My system is less "ultimate" now that I have been forced to sell the Raptors seperately... at least everything is working now, though.

Too bad after getting the machine all working some idiot backed into my car. :(

manitoubalck

Nov 11, 2003, 05:09 AM

Originally posted by madamimadam
after getting the machine all working some idiot backed into my car. :(

Can't catch a break can you, Your having a really bad run.
Hope you luck improves in the near future

madamimadam

Nov 11, 2003, 06:26 AM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
Can't catch a break can you, Your having a really bad run.
Hope you luck improves in the near future

Thanks... I have MOST of the machine working now... just installing XP but it is taking forever because of the crap I had to go through to get the SATA RAID going and now that it is going it is taking its sweet time formatting the drives... but hey, "always look on the bright side of life"... its working... minus the fact that I have not set up the fans properly yet so they are on full all the time and I have broken off one of the cables on the temperature reader which will have to be fixed/replaced before I sell this baby but those are pretty mild things really.

Out of interest, why was my only option for formatting NTFS? While I know the benifits of NTFS over FAT32, I thought it interesting that I didn't have a choice.

BTW, interesting situation... the cable colouring on the Logitech speakers is different from the colours on the ports on the motherboard so, at the moment, I don't know which cable goes where. The details of the ports is in the instruction booklet for the MoBo, I am sure, but I just thought I'd mention it... I would have thought everyone would be nice and use standard colours but it is kind of like the AV companies that make yellow, red and black RCA cables instead of yellow, red and white... there is a standard but some people just like to make their own choices. :)

madamimadam

Nov 11, 2003, 07:22 AM

Well, here it is, my first message from my Athlon64.

There are a lot of things I have noticed about this system, both good and bad. Browsing Windows is infinitely faster than browsing OSX but, at the same time, the default theme for XP spends too much time with cosmetics and not enough time with usability... things are just too big. This will be helped when I put my 19" monitor on here tomorrow but it will still be an issue unless I find another theme I like.

Browsing web pages, on the other hand, is SO clunky... how do you Windows users deal with that????

Edit: OOOKKKK.... 32 updates available for XP SP1 and 25 are security updates.

Edit2: Looks like most scrolling is a little clunky... might be the monitor and GPU... I'll comment again after putting on the new monitor and installing all the correct drivers.

manitoubalck

Nov 11, 2003, 04:09 PM

Windows XP is a great operating system when you
a) download all the latest drivers, security and other updates.
b) when you turn off all the pop ups.
c) when it's not viewed on a 15" fish bowl (like I have)

When you refer to clunky I'm not sure what you mean. I can't remember the graphics card you have but the latest drives from nVidia or Ati should fix that problem

As far as the speakers go black=white since all the other colours are taken account of:)

Also now that you sold your 2 WD raptors what HDD's are you using?

Powerbook G5

Nov 11, 2003, 04:37 PM

What do you mean about browsing windows is infinitely faster than on OS X? Do you mean clicking on them? They all load and appear instantly for me or nearly instantly. I'd be pissed if an OS took time to load between them like my roommate's HP laptop with XP Home does when switching and browsing My Computer.

As far as your Athlon 64 finally working, that's great. I am also an AMD fan compared to Intel so I am glad to see AMD with such a great processor/motherboard now.

madamimadam

Nov 11, 2003, 06:08 PM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
When you refer to clunky I'm not sure what you mean. I can't remember the graphics card you have but the latest drives from nVidia or Ati should fix that problem

Like I said in my edit, I'm holding off on the clunky comment... I've now installed the drivers for my 9800Pro so when I get home from work I'll try again and see what I think.

As far as the speakers go black=white since all the other colours are taken account of:)

LOL, true, I was more interested in the fact that my mobo has something like green, red, blue (you guys would know better) but the cables to the speakers are yellow, black and green. Looks like my guess was correct on where to put the cables (had a 50/50 chance since green matched green). Yellow matched red and black matched blue.

Also now that you sold your 2 WD raptors what HDD's are you using?

I actually haven't... I plan to sell them seperate so I can sell the machine easier but I am using them in the machine at the moment in a stripe. I am not feeling hopeful that anyone is going to buy this machine, atm.

Hey, how do I tell the machine not to look for PATA drives on start up... I have it finding the SATA RAID first but it still looks for PATA drives after that.

[QUOTE]originally posted by PowerBook G5
What do you mean about browsing windows is infinitely faster than on OS X? Do you mean clicking on them?

Yes, I have always found Windows faster in this arena but the Athlon64 lets me browse MUCH faster than a G5 which I contribute solely to the OS.

Also, I was getting MUCH faster loads and downloads on the net in Windows.... iTunes came down at 660KB/s over cable vs. about 450KB/s on the Mac... could be just the connection at the time but I think it is just genuinely more efficient.

If only these computers didn't do such a good just of making my life hard.... I was thinking today, good that I did choose a PC for gaming because gaming is possibly the most counter-productive thing you can do on a computer and I am doing it on possibly the most counter-productive platform. ;)

Powerbook G5

Nov 11, 2003, 07:46 PM

Oh, you mean web browsing? That depends solely on your ISP I think. I browse and download much faster with Safari than I ever did with IE on the 2.8 GHz Dell I used for a while at home. It's even faster than IE 5 was on my PowerBook with OS 9. I thought you meant actual OS-level Finder window/Explorer window browsing.

As far as boot sequence, you should be able to set the boot options via BIOS on startup and enable/disable devices such as the PATA drives on boot unless PCs have changed that much since I used to build them.

G5orbust

Nov 11, 2003, 09:48 PM

That sounds like a kick arse machine. I wish I had the cash, but Im not a big fan of the Thermaltake case... Im a coolermaster guy myself.

Mind posting some pictures for us? Its free to post em here :) The outside, innards, monitor and so on and so forth. Oh, and one of you doing some crazy pose infront of the computer so we know its real. :cool: :D

Powerbook G5

Nov 11, 2003, 10:55 PM

I'd like to see some close up shots of the Athlon 64 and the GB motherboard.

madamimadam

Nov 11, 2003, 10:59 PM

Originally posted by G5orbust
Mind posting some pictures for us? Its free to post em here :) The outside, innards, monitor and so on and so forth. Oh, and one of you doing some crazy pose infront of the computer so we know its real. :cool: :D

ROFL... how do you know what I look like????
:)

I'll get some for you this arvo but, MAN, my gf is going to dump my ass out of embarrasment that her bf is taking pictures of himself next to a computer
LOL

Can't say there is much to see, though... what would you like pictures of, exactly?

I'm still getting LOTS of bugs with the system which I am certain have to do with the way I built it. The machine will not shut down, it restarts instead. The fan controls still don't work. And I think I mentioned that I broke the CPU temp reader. LOVING the Logitech Mouse and KB Duo... SO getting a set for my PowerBook.

Edit:
Originally posted by PowerBook G5
I'd like to see some close up shots of the Athlon 64 and the GB motherboard

Woops... this post wasn't there when I replied. You don't seriously want me to remove the heat s and fan do you??? I'll have to do that when I get a new CPU temp reader thingy so I can post that then but I've already been wasting the thermal paste with the number of times I've mucked with the system.

G5orbust

Nov 12, 2003, 12:17 AM

Originally posted by madamimadam
ROFL... how do you know what I look like????
:)

I'll get some for you this arvo but, MAN, my gf is going to dump my ass out of embarrasment that her bf is taking pictures of himself next to a computer
LOL

Can't say there is much to see, though... what would you like pictures of, exactly?

I'm still getting LOTS of bugs with the system which I am certain have to do with the way I built it. The machine will not shut down, it restarts instead. The fan controls still don't work. And I think I mentioned that I broke the CPU temp reader. LOVING the Logitech Mouse and KB Duo... SO getting a set for my PowerBook.

Edit:

Woops... this post wasn't there when I replied. You don't seriously want me to remove the heat s and fan do you??? I'll have to do that when I get a new CPU temp reader thingy so I can post that then but I've already been wasting the thermal paste with the number of times I've mucked with the system.

Come on, just take pictures of the damned thing already and stop stalling. We can tell if the picture is digital/scanned if you dont feel like taking a pic of yourself.

manitoubalck

Nov 12, 2003, 12:22 AM

Originally posted by G5orbust
Oh, and one of you doing some crazy pose infront of the computer so we know its real. :cool: :D

LOL, What ever turns you on:)

manitoubalck

Nov 12, 2003, 12:25 AM

Since you probably woont see it on ebay, have you considered keeping it?

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 12:33 AM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
Since you probably woont see it on ebay, have you considered keeping it?

Might not have a choice.

I do like the machine but it is really expensive... hard to justify the cost

Originally posted by G5orbust
Come on, just take pictures of the damned thing already and stop stalling.

LOL
I only appear to be stalling because I can't take the pics until I get home tonight

manitoubalck

Nov 12, 2003, 12:35 AM

It's just after 4:30 in Brisbane and your on macrumors, call it a day, take a company camera and take the pics.

G5orbust

Nov 12, 2003, 12:42 AM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
LOL, What ever turns you on:)

That does not turn me on. Naked women do. So do hot girls at my school.

There, glad we could clear that up.

manitoubalck

Nov 12, 2003, 12:46 AM

Originally posted by G5orbust
That does not turn me on. Naked women do. So do hot girls at my school.

There, glad we could clear that up.

At the time of posting I was and still am:
1. Unaware of madamimadam's sex,
2. madamimadam's age,
3. madamimadam's physical apperance.

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 12:49 AM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
At the time of posting I was and still am:
1. Unaware of madamimadam's sex,
2. madamimadam's age,
3. madamimadam's physical apperance.

Well, I'll have to send in a picture... hopefully it won't upset you
:)

Actually, if you break down the palendrome that is my handle, you can work out both my name and sex and my DOB is in my info.
:)

manitoubalck

Nov 12, 2003, 02:08 AM

Ok, so just post the photos.

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 06:45 PM

I've compressed the hell out of them so as not to upset anyone but there are here. I'm not REALLY sure what you want pictures of so I took ones of everything but am only posting a couple.

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 06:46 PM

Inside with the fan door closed

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 06:46 PM

Inside with the fan door open

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 06:47 PM

The Raptors

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 06:47 PM

RAM

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 06:48 PM

RAID

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 06:50 PM

BIOS - IDE

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 06:51 PM

BIOS - PC Health

Powerbook G5

Nov 12, 2003, 06:52 PM

The case looks kind of ugly in blue, especially with all the different colored components. And damn, that's a lot of wires...no wonder why you easily broke one. Reminds me of my Gateway PII way back in the day when I was a PC user...that was one mess of wires, cards, and jumpers all over the place.

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 06:54 PM

What else should I be posting????

Powerbook G5

Nov 12, 2003, 06:58 PM

Could you post any closeups of the Athlon 64 or is it covered by the heatsink/fans?

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 06:59 PM

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
The case looks kind of ugly in blue, especially with all the different colored components. And damn, that's a lot of wires...no wonder why you easily broke one. Reminds me of my Gateway PII way back in the day when I was a PC user...that was one mess of wires, cards, and jumpers all over the place.

Hey... I like the blue
:)

Also, the blue goes well with the blue light on the gigabyte motherboard if you have the clear side to the case but I didn't want to introduce the problem of electromagnetic interferance into the system. The case comes with cables ties and such for cable management but I've not bothered since I might need to change some things.... either way, though, with THAT many cables, it is hard to make it look neat.

Could you post any closeups of the Athlon 64 or is it covered by the heatsink/fans?

It is most certainly covered

I'll have to take it apart when I put on the temp reader so I'll take a picture then.

manitoubalck

Nov 12, 2003, 07:20 PM

Cheers for the pics, PowerBookG5 that what all PC's look like on the inside, reason being they account for expandablity unlike the apple machines.

Yeah I wouldn't mind some pics of the actual proc itself, (PowerBook removing heatsinks is no big deal.)

Great machine

Powerbook G5

Nov 12, 2003, 07:24 PM

Removing the PII from its packaging was a real PITA, though. I stopped building PCs back in the PII/PIII era, so it's been a while.

manitoubalck

Nov 12, 2003, 07:27 PM

Fair enough I built and Athlon 2500+ system last week, and stuck mine in a new case the week before that.

I might even post a pic of it though you'll be discusted.

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 07:27 PM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
(PowerBook removing heatsinks is no big deal.)

Except that I've done it so many times that the thermal paste is on its last legs and next time I remove the heat sink I am going to have to clean the plates and re-apply.... a lot of effort so some geeks can see a small, square piece of metal with pins hangs out the bottom
:)

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 07:30 PM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
Fair enough I built and Athlon 2500+ system last week, and stuck mine in a new case the week before that.

I might even post a pic of it though you'll be discusted.

For me, it is the case that makes it mine... the only thing that defines what cpu and gpu ect ect you have is how you prioritise your money. If you REALLY want a high end computer, you can have it. The case, however, says something about you.... could just say you don't care what it looks like as long as it does the job but that is still saying something.

Powerbook G5

Nov 12, 2003, 07:37 PM

If there were a case for a PC like the PowerBook/PowerMac (or a hybrid aluminum/Cube), I'd be all over it. I love the whole brushed metal look. It's the cleanest design I've seen yet. It would be pretty awesome to see a brushed metallic case in a suspended crystal cube kind of like a new aged PM Cube.

manitoubalck

Nov 12, 2003, 07:41 PM

Originally posted by madamimadam
For me, it is the case that makes it mine... the only thing that defines what cpu and gpu ect ect you have is how you prioritise your money. If you REALLY want a high end computer, you can have it. The case, however, says something about you.... could just say you don't care what it looks like as long as it does the job but that is still saying something.

Dam right it doesn't matter what it looks like. It's a tool. The reason I swaped cases is because the PCI & graphics cards wouldn't fit properly in the old one.

manitoubalck

Nov 12, 2003, 07:43 PM

The Xaser case is a blue anodised brushed Aluminim case from what i've seen, can you conferm this madamimadam? I had a look at one earlyer today and thats what it appeared like.

madamimadam

Nov 12, 2003, 08:01 PM

Originally posted by manitoubalck
The Xaser case is a blue anodised brushed Aluminim case from what i've seen, can you conferm this madamimadam? I had a look at one earlyer today and thats what it appeared like.

I'm not good with metals but it depends which one you get

Mine has an Aluminium front plate with a steel chassis

Rower_CPU

Nov 12, 2003, 08:02 PM

"rounded cables"

They make a huge difference in air movement as well as being able to work in your case...not to mention the aesthetic improvement. ;)

Also, a few zip ties and all your other wiring would be neatened up.

Powerbook G5

Nov 12, 2003, 08:10 PM

I had to zip tie the wires in my Gateway, remove the cheap heat guide thing they had on top of the processor that did no good, remove a bunch of crap that was originally installed, and get a second PMU and two extra fans to make it manageable and halfway decent. It was really annoying and those PIIs were the very definition of "melt down" back then. Definitely clean up those wires, though, it's surprising the difference of night and day it makes when you need to mess around inside your computer when you tame that wired jungle in there.

jefhatfield

Nov 13, 2003, 12:42 AM

when i get a new computer, i will need a PC for my studies and for C++ and visual basic, and i learned that sometimes games can screw things up with my files or the long term functionality of the machine, especially when i have to save a file in visual basic 6.0, so i would opt for a dedicated gaming machine like an x box or play station 2

on the mac side, i would not use it as a gaming machine though i know it is more than capable

manitoubalck

Nov 13, 2003, 02:33 AM

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
"rounded cables"

They make a huge difference in air movement as well as being able to work in your case...not to mention the aesthetic improvement. ;)

Also, a few zip ties and all your other wiring would be neatened up.

Rounded cables are great, I'm not a big fan of zip ties because they are trouble to remove

Powerbook G5

Nov 13, 2003, 09:06 AM

Nothing that a trusty pocket knife or pair of scissors can't handle. Hell, the metal case in my old PC had sharp enough edges that I could just saw them off within seconds.

manitoubalck

Nov 13, 2003, 06:08 PM

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
Nothing that a trusty pocket knife or pair of scissors can't handle. Hell, the metal case in my old PC had sharp enough edges that I could just saw them off within seconds.

knives+computers+electrical cables=Bad news in my books. Maybe a rubberband, but I just lent mine hang free.

Powerbook G5

Nov 13, 2003, 06:20 PM

Well I would hope you'd be careful with a pocket knife regardless of what you are cutting. Either way, it is usually better to organize if even just to make it easier to fix/upgrade or simple add to the ease of cooling in your system.

madamimadam

Nov 13, 2003, 07:05 PM

My question is... if you don't have a clear case, why bother
If it works, don't fix it
:)

manitoubalck

Nov 13, 2003, 08:36 PM

Originally posted by madamimadam
My question is... if you don't have a clear case, why bother
If it works, don't fix it
:)

My case doesn't even have doors, on either side. It's open air, runs pretty cool.

jefhatfield

Nov 14, 2003, 06:03 AM

Originally posted by madamimadam
My question is... if you don't have a clear case, why bother
If it works, don't fix it
:)

the people who end up fixing a perfectly good machine and destroying end usually end up becoming techies and its a disease which culminates either in a job, certification, or a degree which can be a two year deal, four year deal, all the way up to eight long years at university...the tinkering with computers addiction often ends when the person in
qustion

has kids and gets married and sometimes in that order

gets married but has no kids but has a jealous wife/husband who sees computers as a mistress

or works the real world and realizes its not about doing good work but playing the corporate game and staying clear of anyone who wants to stab you in the back for corporate gain