Mission:"MegaRig"

[Gig-O-Ram]

I have talked about it for months, I have done lots of tech and product research and asked more questions than I can recall right now, but the time is finally near for me to begin work on my so-called "MegaRig" project, which some may have seen I had listed in my sig for awhile as my future rig.

I received my package from Newegg today, (PSU, RAM, HDD cooler) and I'm waiting for the stuff I got from Performance PCs.com (which is supposed to come next Tuesday).

I will show you guys the specs in a second, but first let me say that some may think that the name "MegaRig" might not be as fitting as it could be, given that I'm not going SLI or dual core. I suppose I could have, but I didn't have that much cash, LOL! But I chose that name for my build because for me, it's a HUGE step up from what I've been on, so to me anyway, it is aptly named.

OK, here is a detailed spec sheet (mod plans included) for what will become "MegaRig":

Power: Silverstone Zeus 560W PSU w/active PFC (>0.95 full load), 80mm Sanyo Denki fan, 20+4 pin, SLI ready, 90V ~ 264V (auto range), 78% efficiency, overload/overvoltage protection, +3.3 @38A, +5V @40A,+ 12@38A,-12V@1A.

Motherboard: DFI LanParty UT NF4-D, Socket 939, 2000MT/s HyperTransport, DDR400, Nvidia NForce4 Chipset, PCI-e x16, 2x PCI, 2x PATA, 4x SATA 1.5 w/RAID 0/1/0+1, onboard Gigabit LAN, IEEE 1394, 6x USB 2.0, Karajan Audio (Realtek 8 Channel), CMOS Reloaded, Genie BIOS, active NB cooling.

CPU: AMD A64 3700+, Socket 939, 2.2Ghz, San Diego core,64KB+64KB L1, 1MB L2, 90nm process.

RAM: G. Skill Extreme Series 2GB (2x 1GB) 184p Dual Channel DDR SDRAM Unbuffered PC3200 Kit with Heatspreaders, 2-3-2-5 timings on 2.6V- 2.75V.

Video Card: eVGA GeForce 7800GT PCI-Express x16, 256MB DDR3, 460/1100, SLI Ready, Copper HS.

Hard Disk: Maxtor Diamondmax 120GB IDE PATA133.
**SATA Drive(s) to come later.**

Sound Card: **To come later.**

DVD ROM: Toshiba 16x DVD/48x CD. (Got black face plate to match case.)

CDRW: Sony 52x CD-R, 32x CDRW. (Got black face plate to match case.)

Controller: Sunbeam 5.25” Windmill LCD display, 3 temp sensors, 10W/channel with support for seven fans.

3.5” Floppy: Yes. (Got new one - black -to match case.)

Cooling:
CPU: ThermalTake Big Typhoon w/controller.
Hard Disk: Zalman ZM 2HC2NP Fanless Heat Pipe Cooler with noise/vibration damper.
Case: AC Ryan Blackfire UV fans, all on the Sunbeam: 2x Green/Blue 92mm, 1x Green/Blue 120mm, 2x Red/Blue 92mm, 2x Red/Blue 120mm.

Case: Black Antec C600-B with USB 2.0/IEEE.

Case Mod:

Window kit: 480mm x 480mm AC Ryan clear window kit w/Black molding to be cut specifically for the panel mod.

Top Mod: Cut hole for 1x 120mm Red/Blue UV for exhaust and use Silver
reflective laser cut acrylic grill w/BioHazard design.

Rear Mod: Cut out existing case grills and replace 2x 80mm fans with 2x 92mm Red/Blue UV for exhaust and use 2x stainless steel 4 blade grills.

Panel Mod: Cut opening for clear window kit, and make holes in window for 1x 120mm Green/Blue fan for intake over 7800GT, and 1x 120mm Red/Blue fan for exhaust from RAM/CPU/MoBo w/stainless 4 Blade Grills.

Front Mod: Replace 2x 80mm fans with 2x 92mm Green/Blue fans. Will likely cut out existing grills for better airflow.


There you have it, Ladies and Gents...and with luck, the thing will POST and actually do what I want it to! That one box is coming next week, but I can start the build as soon as this weekend!

 

[shard]

When I upgraded from a 1ghz celly, I named my rig Godzilla

Looks to be very good, and it should boot, minus the chance of crap parts =/

 

[Gig-O-Ram]

When I upgraded from a 1ghz celly, I named my rig Godzilla

Looks to be very good, and it should boot, minus the chance of crap parts =/

Godzilla...I like that. Did you go from the Celly to the setup in your sig?

I have this paranoid fear that the board or the RAM might have some kind of problem, but the thing I'm most concerned about is the HDD. I'm moving it from my Intel to the new setup, and I did this four step registry thing (that somebody here gave me a link to) that is supposed to make it so I can move the drive without having to do an entire format/reinstall process. I merged the reg files like it told me to, so hopefully it will work. But, of course I still have the option to do it the other way if it doesn't work.

 

[Enablingwolf]

Yay, it is close to living!!

 

[shard]

Godzilla...I like that. Did you go from the Celly to the setup in your sig?

I have this paranoid fear that the board or the RAM might have some kind of problem, but the thing I'm most concerned about is the HDD. I'm moving it from my Intel to the new setup, and I did this four step registry thing (that somebody here gave me a link to) that is supposed to make it so I can move the drive without having to do an entire format/reinstall process. I merged the reg files like it told me to, so hopefully it will work. But, of course I still have the option to do it the other way if it doesn't work.

Yeah, I went from my celly to this rig

I had those exact same fears! I had a 10gb hd I was gonna use as a system drive until I could get a good sata one, but luck be told, and I was able to get my hitachi for dirt cheap ($40) Brand new.

Just be careful, take the neccesary precuations, and dont be afraid to ask questions if a problem arises. Hell just today I had to get some advice when my XP reinstall went awry, but I had patience and it all worked out, and now I have a crisp clean install, I am loving it

 

[Gig-O-Ram]

Yay, it is close to living!!

Good to see ya again EW! I am thinking about setting it up caseless for testing purposes, just to make sure everything important works, before I do the major surgery. I still have a few days to wait on my controller and other parts, but that's ok. I have the board, PSU, CPU, RAM and video card now, so at least I can work with that stuff. I'll just have to remove the HDD from the case is all.

 

[Flip-Mode]

Subscribed

 

[Enablingwolf]

Cardboard is your friend, if your going to be running caseless. I ran a board for months without a home. Just keep a can of air around to give it a shot or two every so often. When not in use a box on top of it will serve as mild protection. Heck even a box with some fans would work. Got to have the fan fix.