Well after waiting so long to get permission to order the parts, I did it last weekend. This Thursday I started on the build and finished it that night. I was tired though so I didn't try to POST. That afternoon I double checked my work and the computer turned on fine. Everything worked but the front panel LED and HDD LED which I fixed later. Definetly exciting! I networked over all my data from my old PC (the Dell you see in a photo) Friday, which took a long time. And today I am here with the news and photos!
Here's the specs:
Case: NZXT Lexa ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case (Lovely, good stock cooling, and easy to work with)
CPU: AMD Opteron 146 2.0 GHZ 1MB L2 Cache Processor (Running at 32-34ºC idle, 43-46ºC maximum load with no overclocking yet)
GPU: eVGA GeForce 6800GS 256MB PCI-E Video Card (Runs all my 'current' games on max with very high fps )
RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-pin DDR SDRAM System Memory
HSF: Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu 2 Ball Blue LED Cooling Fan (Must replace backboard to use and has a useless controller that is ugly and takes up space.. sigh)
PSU: Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 500W Power Supply
Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo4-F 939 nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard (Great motherboard, but has the backplate glued to it which caused me problems)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar 250GB 16MB Cache SATA 3.0GB/s Hard Drive
Optical Drive: NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner
The installation went very well except for when I was about to install the Zalman HSF (lucky I tested how it'd fit before putting on the AS5) and realized I'd have to replace the metal backplate on the motherboard with one that came with the HSF. Turns out it was glued to the back of the motherboard, so I had to heat it off with a blow dryer which was very aggravating. Keep that in mind if you are getting a MSI K8N Neo4-F or a similar MSI board with an aftermarket HSF that requires a different backplate.
Anyway, enough rambling, photos and stuff:
The blue LED lightning is not really visible because of the very bright flash from this digital camera I was using.
As you can see in the last photo, my desk is currently positioned in a rather bad spot. You can't see the inside of the case unless you lean over against the wall! Just need to get a longer ethernet cable and tv antennae cable and I can swap their places.
I guess the next thing to do is overclock, hehe.
Edit: I just noticed you can't even see the temperature monitor or the front panel lights because of the flash... blah!
Here's the specs:
Case: NZXT Lexa ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case (Lovely, good stock cooling, and easy to work with)
CPU: AMD Opteron 146 2.0 GHZ 1MB L2 Cache Processor (Running at 32-34ºC idle, 43-46ºC maximum load with no overclocking yet)
GPU: eVGA GeForce 6800GS 256MB PCI-E Video Card (Runs all my 'current' games on max with very high fps )
RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-pin DDR SDRAM System Memory
HSF: Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu 2 Ball Blue LED Cooling Fan (Must replace backboard to use and has a useless controller that is ugly and takes up space.. sigh)
PSU: Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 500W Power Supply
Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo4-F 939 nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard (Great motherboard, but has the backplate glued to it which caused me problems)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar 250GB 16MB Cache SATA 3.0GB/s Hard Drive
Optical Drive: NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner
The installation went very well except for when I was about to install the Zalman HSF (lucky I tested how it'd fit before putting on the AS5) and realized I'd have to replace the metal backplate on the motherboard with one that came with the HSF. Turns out it was glued to the back of the motherboard, so I had to heat it off with a blow dryer which was very aggravating. Keep that in mind if you are getting a MSI K8N Neo4-F or a similar MSI board with an aftermarket HSF that requires a different backplate.
Anyway, enough rambling, photos and stuff:
The blue LED lightning is not really visible because of the very bright flash from this digital camera I was using.
As you can see in the last photo, my desk is currently positioned in a rather bad spot. You can't see the inside of the case unless you lean over against the wall! Just need to get a longer ethernet cable and tv antennae cable and I can swap their places.
I guess the next thing to do is overclock, hehe.
Edit: I just noticed you can't even see the temperature monitor or the front panel lights because of the flash... blah!