Built 08 Sep 05 : 3DMark03 - 17,082!!!

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Igetshockedalot

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Built 08 Sep 05 : 3DMark03 - 17,082!!! Updated with 05 score

All,
Here is the parts list of the rig I built yesterday as well as some pics, a benchmark score, and some of the issues I encountered (lessons learned!). Hope you all enjoy! Physical build took @2.5hrs, software install @3.5hrs. I hope you enjoy the read as much as I enjoyed the build!!!!! I'm looking forward to your responses.

Parts (all from Newegg):
ASPIRE X-CRUISE-AL/420 Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply - Retail $85.00

Link Depot 10-inch 2 Connector Floppy Cable (Blue) Model ELFLP-10-BLUE - OEM $7.49

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $175.00

BFG Tech BFGR78256GTXOC Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $519.00

AeroCool AeroPower II+SE Aero-550W ATX 550W Power Supply - OEM $99.00

AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA4000BNBOX - Retail $368.00

OCZ Peroformance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail $228.41

NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive - OEM $8.49

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L200S0 200GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM $91.00

ViewSonic VP171B-2 Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor - Retail
Model #: VP171B-2 $329.99

Sunbeam FireLine Optical Mouse MS-2011-BK-BL Black 3 Buttons 1x Wheel USB Optical Mouse w/Blue Light - Retail $8.99

SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM $24.99

Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 - OEM $91.95
Subtotal: $2,045.80

I can't seem to figure out how to put pics into the body of the posts so I only attached the Screen-capture from the 3DMark03 test that we ran.

Problems I ran into:
-The cable that the case uses to connect the external hedphone/microphone jacks to the mobo is BARELY long enough and had to drape over the video card as a result.
-The case documentation was NONEXISTENT. Good luck trying to get either the case's fan controllers or the voltage gauge working properly. (We only got the fan speed controller to work)
-The BFG 7800GTX covers one of the mounting screws on the mobo, so make sure that you get that screw in prior to mounting the card. Also, on the A8N, I had to close the remaining clips for the empty memory slots to fit the vid card.
-The retail cooling fan with the 64 4000+ is a NIGHTMARE to install. I read a post on Newegg that stated that the fan required a "frightening amount of force" to mount... That is an understatement. Once you get the clips over the mount you then have to turn this flimsy feeling plastic arm to lock the fan onto the chip... It really feels like the arm is going to break so move SLOWLY.
-Don't bother with the lighted floppy drive, dvd-drive, or hd drive cables... They are not that great looking and require a lot more wire-hiding and power connecting than they are worth.
-PC initially had problems during boot up with error messages. Download of newest Win XP updates solved the problem.

Other:
-That case is QUIET! Even with all fans on full speed it still barely whispered.
-Using scarce components (ie 1 HD, 1 DVD-Rom drive, 1 Vid card, made this thing an airflow dream. Runs extremely cool even during benchmarking with stock cooling systems.
-Blistering fast. Smoked 3DMark03 and that's before any BIOS tweaks and zero overclocking.
 

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should have went with the DFI nF4 SLI-DR board, and a seagate hdd

and a better mouse. lol
 
meh, ASUS for AMDs = crap, of course this applies mainly to overclocking...running stock, well whatever as long as it's runs thats fine...their Tech support is awful though so I hope you never have problems with them.

Now start overclocking that graphics card, processor and RAM and hit 20K....well nevermind about the RAM since you have 2gb....2gb doesn't like to OC that well.

Shouldn't be too hard to hit 20K or atleast come very close to it though
 
Nubius said:
meh, ASUS for AMDs = crap, of course this applies mainly to overclocking...running stock, well whatever as long as it's runs thats fine...their Tech support is awful though so I hope you never have problems with them.

Now start overclocking that graphics card, processor and RAM and hit 20K....well nevermind about the RAM since you have 2gb....2gb doesn't like to OC that well.

Shouldn't be too hard to hit 20K or atleast come very close to it though

2GB just takes a bit more to overclock, how about 4 volts with uber mini ln held in little containers by a gravity changing machinne?
 
2GB just takes a bit more to overclock,
no, it simply won't overclock like 1gb will, and 1gb won't overclock like 512mb will...this is common knowledge...the more RAM you have the less it will overclock in terms of how fast you can get it, regardless of voltage given to them.
 
Nubius said:
Now start overclocking that graphics card, processor and RAM and hit 20K

So do you think the benchmark score is on par with / above / below what you would expect for this setup? Thanks!
 
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