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custom-built/hotrod computers

#21
just swapped cpu and vid card in the old box I built for the wife.

put an Athlon XP2200 in place of her Duron 900 and put a cheap 128mb geforce in place of her old 32mb card.

She's happy with the speed bump.

I generally pick up cheap 2nd hand stuff from a couple "Bleeding Edge" friends. I get stuff for almost nothing that is 6 months to a year behing the bleeding edge.... you know, normal stuff :D
 
#26
you've inspired me to get off my lazy ass and get this thing where i want it :)

do you have mush experience with water cooling? i want to cool my cpu and gpu, how big of radiator do you think i would need? i'd like to go 2x120, but i have space limitations. would a single 120 work?
 
#28
rykn0w298 said:
yep

DFI nF4 Ultra-D
AMD X2 3800 @ 2740mhz
-using a Scythe Ninja for cooling, that thing is HUGE. I had to move my hdd into the 5.25" bays. I want to go water cooling soon though. It does keep it cool, temps max at about 42*C at full load with a quiet 12cm fan, even in this heat :smug:
eVGA GeForce 7800GT Co (470/1100)
Patriot 2GB mem. kit (sucks, won't OC at all)
OCZ Modstream 520 PSU
WD SE 250GB SATA2 HDD. it has some vantec hdd cooler that i used to move it out of the way of the HSF, but it doesn't really help anything.

i guess that's it as far as performance parts goes. I use an Antec case with the side window, but can't use the side fan because the damn hsf is in the way :spit:, i need some cooling on that gpu, i've been planning to make a new window since the old one is just held in by crappy little plastic rivits. i've also got some uv fans and lights to take advantage of the mobo's uv reactiveness. planning on some top windows and some other weird stuff along with the watercooling once i figure out what all i need.

she purrs like a kitten :)
Click to expand...

nice oc on your cpu.

i would recommend danger den or swiftech for watercooling stuff. i have a lot of koolance gear, and it's cool - different, i really dig the ram and hdd coolers - but the blocks are aluminum, and unless you use non-corrosive coolant you're going to get galvinization-corrosion with your brass stuff in your loop.

one thing to be aware of - thermaltake and koolance stuff uses screw-on fittings that don't work well with some kinds of tubing. specifically, tygon, vinyl stuff that has thicker walls. pain in the butt to fit together.
 
#29
froovs said:
im a self-emplyed 'puter geek for my dayjob

almost all the PCs ive built for folks havent been super duper belters tho

mostly its people wanting me to do them a dead basic box that will let them do a little light surfing and email aunt edna in australia, for as little money as possible

of course theres bugger all money in that for me

but believe it or not im not just in it for money

and i find that someone who i build a cheapo for invariably becomes a long term customer for a bit of tuition or troubleshooting anyway

cheers
Lucy
Click to expand...

i'd love to put together el-cheapo boxes for folks. that'd be fun.
 
#30
john turner said:
nice oc on your cpu.

i would recommend danger den or swiftech for watercooling stuff. i have a lot of koolance gear, and it's cool - different, i really dig the ram and hdd coolers - but the blocks are aluminum, and unless you use non-corrosive coolant you're going to get galvinization-corrosion with your brass stuff in your loop.

one thing to be aware of - thermaltake and koolance stuff uses screw-on fittings that don't work well with some kinds of tubing. specifically, tygon, vinyl stuff that has thicker walls. pain in the butt to fit together.
Click to expand...

The stuff that came with mine is called PC Ice, deffinately not water or in any way conductive. I like watching the little flow meter spinning around on my front panel, thats the only way I know the thing is doing something :p I would guess there is about 2 pints in my system including the little reserve tank in the back. The radiator is about 6" square. If I intenionally PUSH the processes/performance to the max like running Google Earth while re-drawing a bunch of complex CAD drawings at the same time, you can see the temp rise and the coolant flow increase allmost immediately. Do I need this.............No but it's cool :D
 
#31
john turner said:
nice oc on your cpu.

i would recommend danger den or swiftech for watercooling stuff. i have a lot of koolance gear, and it's cool - different, i really dig the ram and hdd coolers - but the blocks are aluminum, and unless you use non-corrosive coolant you're going to get galvinization-corrosion with your brass stuff in your loop.

one thing to be aware of - thermaltake and koolance stuff uses screw-on fittings that don't work well with some kinds of tubing. specifically, tygon, vinyl stuff that has thicker walls. pain in the butt to fit together.
Click to expand...

OK, John, that'll be enough from you. We are all geeks here, but you are like the Super Geek none of us really would ever want to even admit of being.
:D:D:D:p:hiding:
 
#32
FL Knifemaker said:
The stuff that came with mine is called PC Ice, deffinately not water or in any way conductive. I like watching the little flow meter spinning around on my front panel, thats the only way I know the thing is doing something :p I would guess there is about 2 pints in my system including the little reserve tank in the back. The radiator is about 6" square. If I intenionally PUSH the processes/performance to the max like running Google Earth while re-drawing a bunch of complex CAD drawings at the same time, you can see the temp rise and the coolant flow increase allmost immediately. Do I need this.............No but it's cool :D
Click to expand...

OK, yeah, you too!! :D:D:D:D
 
#33
FL Knifemaker said:
The stuff that came with mine is called PC Ice, deffinately not water or in any way conductive. I like watching the little flow meter spinning around on my front panel, thats the only way I know the thing is doing something :p I would guess there is about 2 pints in my system including the little reserve tank in the back. The radiator is about 6" square. If I intenionally PUSH the processes/performance to the max like running Google Earth while re-drawing a bunch of complex CAD drawings at the same time, you can see the temp rise and the coolant flow increase allmost immediately. Do I need this.............No but it's cool :D
Click to expand...

heh. pc ice is good stuff - i use fluid xp ext. non conductive, non corrosive, non toxic. if you have animals around, you have to be very careful with most pc coolants, as they usually have ethylene glycol in them (i.e. automotive anti-freeze), which has a sweet taste and is terribly lethal even in very small doses. less than a teasponful is enough to kill a cat, and not much more will do a dog in, or a child, and there's nothing that can be done once they ingest it.

on the other hand, the propylene glycol-based coolants are not toxic in small quantities (propylene glycol is an ingredient in toothpaste and cough syrup, among other things) and most importantly they are not sweet-tasting(tasteless actually) so they hold no special attraction to animals.

small leaks and drips are a part of watercooling - you don't want them, but you have to plan on them occuring. you don't want to use a coolant that will either short out your board or be hazardous to any animals or children who might be near by.

there is a winterizing solution for r.v.'s and boats that is prop-gly based. i use it for my secondary cooling loop in my comp (ram and harddrives) and it works nicely.
 
#34
john turner said:
nice oc on your cpu.

i would recommend danger den or swiftech for watercooling stuff. i have a lot of koolance gear, and it's cool - different, i really dig the ram and hdd coolers - but the blocks are aluminum, and unless you use non-corrosive coolant you're going to get galvinization-corrosion with your brass stuff in your loop.

one thing to be aware of - thermaltake and koolance stuff uses screw-on fittings that don't work well with some kinds of tubing. specifically, tygon, vinyl stuff that has thicker walls. pain in the butt to fit together.
Click to expand...
yea Danger Den all the way. I was thinking about the Swiftech Storm, but it's so hard to find. every place that carries it is out of stock. the DD TDX block is supposed to be one of the best anyway along with the maze4 gpu. who knows, i may just end up cutting a huge hole in the bottom of my case for a nice big radiator. hopefully i can push that OC a little further. i fear that it's the chipset holding me back though, but i can't get a different cooler on it because the gpu in the way..... speaking of I have 2 pcie slots, would everything run fine in the 2nd one?
 
#36
NJL said:
OK, yeah, you too!! :D:D:D:D
Click to expand...

Hey!! I'm not a GEEK though cuz I have no CLUE as to how any of the components go together or what they do!! Actually, after watching my buddy put everything together and fire it up, it seems easy. Everything plugs together, you might have to drill a hole for a sheetmetal screw or two. When it comes time to fire it up the first time, you just turn it on with the right disk in the right drive. Then keep repeating the process until everything is loaded. I don't think there is any magic to it. I think it's the geeks master plan to lighten our wallets !!!:hiding:

I put my dual head video card thingy in and figured out all the settings and got both my monitors to work. Maybe, I'm turning into one :ninja:
 
#37
rykn0w298 said:
yea Danger Den all the way. I was thinking about the Swiftech Storm, but it's so hard to find. every place that carries it is out of stock. the DD TDX block is supposed to be one of the best anyway along with the maze4 gpu. who knows, i may just end up cutting a huge hole in the bottom of my case for a nice big radiator. hopefully i can push that OC a little further. i fear that it's the chipset holding me back though, but i can't get a different cooler on it because the gpu in the way..... speaking of I have 2 pcie slots, would everything run fine in the 2nd one?
Click to expand...

the 2nd pci is for sli graphics cards. you can pick either one to put your primary card in if you only have one gpu.

go peltier all the way, man. they are not that hard to deal with, just have to properly waterproof the socket and the board. easy cheezy, and with awesome oc's. :smug:

interesting aside, the storm block was designed and originally made by a guy in austrailia. supposedly it's the best block around for pure water cooling. comes in silver too. :hyper: (not silver color, silver. )

put the radiator outside the case - there are many options available to get the tubing through the case wall, and having the radiator outside helps keep the internal temp lower. plus it looks cooler. :smug:
 
#38
Yup. I do, but I'm getting itchy feet to get out my screw drivers and tidy everything up. Infact, this thread has inspired me to do just that.

I'm going to move to an AMD64 system in September. I'm not too good on making the insides work properly, so not feeling upto watercooling. I move my PC around alot too, between University and Home, so I'm not sure if having a PC full of liquid is necessarily the best idea... :)
 
#39
Toasted said:
Yup. I do, but I'm getting itchy feet to get out my screw drivers and tidy everything up. Infact, this thread has inspired me to do just that.

I'm going to move to an AMD64 system in September. I'm not too good on making the insides work properly, so not feeling upto watercooling. I move my PC around alot too, between University and Home, so I'm not sure if having a PC full of liquid is necessarily the best idea... :)
Click to expand...

The guy that helps me with my website and pretty much biz in general has a HUGE laptop. I think it has a 17" screen. It's actually too big to use on a plane and the bottom of it gets pretty hot. :eek: But.............It's DAMN powerful and he can pick it up and move it wherever he needs to go. For someone travelling or needing to move a PC around, his rig looks pretty cool. It's not an Alienware but looks just like their big one. His cost a fortune but you get them configured as needed. He has this cool wireless laser projection keyboard thing also, I need one of them just for the COOOL factor, LOL!!! When he pulled that out, I almost fell out of my chair.
 
#40
I've built every computer I've owned since 1996. I prefer it that way, it's cost effective to me.

I'm not a gamer, although I love video games. I just don't have the discipline to regulate that part of my life, so I had to eliminate it completely. I also don't do 3D rendering or heavy non-linear video editing that requires a whole lotta processing power.

I've been getting into the micro-ATX cases like the Shuttle. Right now I have a couple of Biostar boxes that run as Linux and Win2K3 servers. But, I do find that heat can be an issue on these. Because of that, I had to get a tower for my main machine.

What I'd love to get instead of a fancy video card or processor is a faster hard-drive (Currently using SATA150) or a viable RAMdrive application. It would make audio editing and photoshop so much faster.
 

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