Legit Reviews

Got the thumbs up from the pops to build him a new family PC!

What I already have:
Gigabyte GA-73VM-S2 LGA 775 motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128079
1x1Gb DDR2 667 Super Talent - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820609085
400W FSP Group PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817104952
19" KDS widescreen LCD monitor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824155052
BFG 7800GT (my old one)
2 DVD/CD-ROM burners (IDE)
1 OEM Windows XP 32-Bit OS System License

What I ordered:
Cooler Master Centurion microATX case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811119088
Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53Ghz Wolfdale - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115052
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136218
1x1Gb DDR2 667 Super Talent - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820609278
2x120mm Scythe S-Flex SFF21E Fans - http://jab-tech.com/product.php?productid=3256

While choosing the CPU I noted to my dad that Gigabyte's CPU support list only lists the E7300 as being TESTED compatible with the GA-73VM-S2 motherboard, although the only obvious difference between the two chips are the stepping/revision (unknown) and the clock speed (+0.13Ghz extra on the E7300).

I already know that my ASUS P5N32-E SLI motherboard officially supports the E7200, AND that the E6750 works beautifully in the Gigabyte, so if in fact the E7200 does NOT test compatible with the Gigabyte board, we'll both win:
He'll get a 2.66Ghz E6750 in his machine and I'll get a better overclocking 2.53Ghz E7200

Pics of the build to come!

Looks like a solid family build. ^_^

As ever, look forward to the pics.

Dan

Well it seems that your dad's pc is better than my oldmans box,
My oldman is running my old Pentium D 805, 1Gb ddr 400 and a 6600GT, I just couldnt kill that 6600gt i clocked it and everything it wouldnt die i was able to play crysis on it a low! Rather well too

lol my dad's comp is AMD Athlon 3200+ with 1.5gb of ram, i tried to play wow on it and i have learned all computers are not created equal

my dads computer is an athalon xp 1.8ghz with 512mb of ram and a geforce 5200 its disgusting to think that that was once my rig

I remember having to build my dads pc, and old 680i and E4600. Both are brilliantly reliable for doing practically everything. Shame hes not a gamer, feels like that motherboard is going to waste (and xfx like to rub that in my face when updating drivers).

yea my dad has an athlon 3000+ w/ 512MB ram and a 6200 GT. I will be giving him mine though soon.

So you know JUUUUUST how good this new pc will be, here are some CPU-Z shots of the current one :D





Not a bad build for its time, but that time ended at the last BIOS update in 2002

My Dad's running my first PC....Dell L1000r (P3 @1 ghz). Going to give him my oldest home built Intel 850EMV2 (Rambus!) w/P4 @ 3.06ghz (hyper threading!). Beats the old E-Machine my sister gave him.

LOL, I fired up my first Intel PC a while back - a Dell Dimension P166
P1 @ 166MHz
1.6GB HD
16MB RAM
Number9 Graphics with 4MB VRAM
Oh, and a SB16

Dude, I was rockin! Fastest chip on the market and the setup only cost my around $3300

Oh, and the very first family computer was our old Apple IIE... It still runs...

I think both invoices are somewhere. I looked for them at my parents place a while back but didn't find them. I would love to post 'em.

Everything from Newegg is in today :D (2 days earlier than predicted delivery date) and the Scythe fans are supposed to be here tomorrow!
Pics to come tomorrow as I'm working on finishing a paper for a class due tomorrow at the moment...

But just as soon as that paper is printed, new PC here I come :D

good luck, there's usually a lot of cursing involved in the installation process

I have to order mine piece by piece, otherwise it would be too big a project to do, and i have a habit of avoiding big projects

My project is finished, relatively speaking.
I need as long a 12v (4-pin) molex connector extension as I can find... (like this one)
Its tooooooo tight a fit over the GPU. I'd much rather snake it under the motherboard.

Also, I need a 4-pin (regular) molex-to-6-pin-pci-molex adapter for the supplemental power on the GPU. (like this)
I can run Windows, but the Nvidia manager says something like "not enough power detected, throttling video card down". I have spare cables, can I just chop and splice? Or would that be asking for trouble?

Depends how good you are at chopping and splicing!

I think i remember Nate saying he has a box full of Molex to PCIe adapters, I'm sure he'll send you one over if you ask nicely.

Damn bottom mounted PSU's with short cables!

Dan

lol more like "stupid non-modular PSUs" (it's mounted at the top, just has short cables and no way to change things.
If Nate happens to see this thread maybe he'll offer, but I'm not looking for a handout here. I'm also a freakin GENIUS. x.x
Ordered 2x120mm fans (one for intake one for exhaust) and the only 120mm mounting area is the intake. The exhaust is a dual 80mm configuration. o.o

DMB2000uk wrote:Depends how good you are at chopping and splicing!

I think i remember Nate saying he has a box full of Molex to PCIe adapters, I'm sure he'll send you one over if you ask nicely.

>>>Damn bottom mounted PSU's with short cables!<<<

Dan

It's not just me!!! It's not just me!!! Hallelujah, it's not just me!!!! The curse is broken!! >Munchkins & Oompa-Loompas singing in 5-part harmony with Donkey, Shrek and Sarah Palin ( I wish she was a fictional character) dancing in the foreground<

Sorry!

Anyway, I love the Wolfdales. Just put an E8400 in a new build and it was plenty quick under load. Have the 7200 in our accounting PC and simply love it. Haven't OC'd them yet (cause they're not mine) but I'll bet they can really scream. Price is amazing too!

"can I just chop and splice? " StoptheKIlling, I was in the same boat yesterday and considering the same thing. Decided against it on a $2500 server! Would be hard to explain if the customer ever saw it.

Jack

Thought the same thing, asked the dad for his opinion and he handed me his credit card "better safe than sorry" he says.

Couldn't agree more.

stopthekilling77 wrote:Thought the same thing, asked the dad for his opinion and he handed me his credit card "better safe than sorry" he says.

Couldn't agree more.

lol, he considers handing you his credit card safe? JK

post the pics!

Will do, I have class in a few, but afterwards I will definitely oblige!

Alright! Here's the original slapped-together shot!


Some S-Flex Scythe goodness...


The GPU shot, and a glimpse of just how tight the 12v 4-pin CPU power connection is.


Crappy Intel HSF #1 and crappy Intel HSF #2... Tweedledee and Dweedledum, I say (also managed to fit in not just the drink but my feet too! AWESUM!!! xD)


Tweedledee and Dweedledum's close-up.


Tweedledum installed.


Gently using the tried-and-true dual ziptie method to keep the CPU power connection out of the HSF's way.


Last internal shot (for now)


Finished product (until I get sick of this HSF and convince the father to lend me his Visa to remedy the situation :D )


This build was really fun! I'll play around a little with the OC (currently at 2.8Ghz, 34C idle) but this is a desktop machine for general family use, so I probably won't venture much past 3.0Ghz.
Enjoy!