Upgrading season

T

tiraides

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Jan 8, 2004
Messages
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Since I have several upgrades in plan this year, and it's been a while since I made a quasi-legitimate build thread, I figure that I should start a makeshift worklog. Yes, I'll add pictures... but don't expect them right away.

Here's the tentative plan (in which the details will probably change randomly and frequently):
  • Upgrade my laptop.
  • Upgrade my current desktop system and send it to my brother.
  • Build a new Core i7 desktop system.
  • Build a miniITX system that will be used as a hardware-based firewall.
As for the starting point, here are my "before" desktop and laptop system specs:

MAIN RIG: Silverstone SG03 (w/ two Yate Loon D12SM-12 fans) | Silverstone ST60F 600W PSU | Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R | Intel C2D E6850 @ stock (w/ NT06 LITE) | 2x2GB G.Skill DDR2 800 | Seagate 7200.10 500GB | eVGA 8800GT 512MB | Windows XP Pro SP3 32-bit

LAPTOP: Dell Studio 15 (1535) | Intel C2D T5750 (2GHz/667FSB/2MB cache) | 3GB Hyundai DDR2 667 | WD Scorpio 320GB | Mobility Radeon HD3450 256MB | Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit
Click to expand...

This thread was supposed to be step one, but instead I decided to jump on the Dell special that was being offered last week. And boy, did I: I ordered the processor Sunday evening, and I received it Tuesday morning. :D

I have to pull a few more teeth from my brother, but for now, step three involves the purchase of:

a 2x2GB kit of DDR2 notebook memory
a 7200RPM laptop HDD (though I may get this instead)
some thermal compound (now which one?)

There's more that I have to do -- as I'm giving my desktop system a quasi-overhaul before I ship it out -- but I have to think about those things for a while longer. My goal is to have both of the above systems fully upgraded and to mail the desktop off to my brother by the end of the month. I know, it should be simple... but life tends to get in the way of even the best-prepared plans.

Of course, suggestions are always welcome, but I have a pretty good idea of how I want to approach everything. For now, these things won't change:
  • The goals of my hardware firewall is to make it as passive and low energy consuming as possible. A small box is also a good option, but I haven't figured out yet how small I could make it.
  • I don't plan on overclocking anything, VelociRaptors and SSDs are out of the question, and both desktop systems will be microATX/SFF rigs. Fortunately for me, there's now at least two decent X58 boards I could use for my new system.
  • My brother's getting Vista for his system. I'm going to experiment (more) with Windows 7 myself, but I'm not taking any chances on his computer. (The teeth that I have to pull from him are in regards to the programs that he'll be using.)
  • Purchases will have to be random and sporadic. Everything depends on the money that I have at the time, which is why I'm focusing on the upgrades first and the new systems last. While I will try to purchase as much (for the new systems) at once as possible, sometimes I'll have to jump on the occasional good deal.
We'll see what happens from here on out....
 
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Yay!

I love these kind of threads :)

Good luck with the upgrades!
 
Oh and to add a bit more:
- When are you planning to build the Core i7 system?
- Will you be stuck on your laptop while you gather the cash for a new Core i7 system?
- Besides the CPU, what else are you planning on upgrading in your current desktop? GPU? More RAM :)
- As for thermal compound, I'm personally a fan of MX-2 simply because I like the name better :) But AFAIK, the cooling difference between the thermal pastes you listed is pretty minimal, like 1-2C.
- Are you just getting that extra 1GB of RAM for your laptop simply because DDR2 prices are cheap or you actually need that extra 1GB of RAM?
- For your hardware firewall, what OS are you planning to use?
- For your hardware firewall, I recommend looking at some of the mini-itx cases here and here.
 
In order...

- Ideally, May. Realistically, however....
- Yeah, but I've been using my laptop primarily since September of last year.
- A new monitor, as well as a better video card for it. (Since my brother isn't much of a gamer, I was thinking about getting a used GTX 260 or HD4870.) A new case and power supply, since the SG03 was a pain for me to deal with -- and my brother has less patience with things than I do. (I haven't decided yet whether or not I'll reuse the SG03 for my new system. I'm kind of itching for a different case, so I could use a better CPU cooler.) The OS, of course; I'll probably reuse the XP license as a VM for my new system. I may add another 4GB of RAM, since my brother uses the Adobe CS.
- I know there's little difference performance-wise between the three, but I was leaning towards the OCZ Freeze compound myself.
- I'm getting the kit because it's relatively cheap. And because it comes from a reliable vendor in G.Skill. And because I want to use a 64-bit OS with this laptop.
- I haven't decided yet. I'm still trying to figure out the differences between the major Linux-based firewall OSes as well as what I want the firewall to do.
- Dude, they're in the FAQ. Actually, I've been planning some sort of miniITX firewall for years now.
 
Pictures of the "old" desktop -- the one that will become "his" desktop -- are coming this weekend.

No pics of the laptop -- if you're that curious, Google it. They all look the same.

One "random" purchase will occur this weekend. So far, I'm considering:

WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS (for my brother's "new" desktop)
WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS (for my new desktop, while using the newsletter promo code special)
WD Scorpio Black WD3200BEKT (for my laptop)
G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 667 SO-DIMM kit (for my laptop)
Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM DVD (yes, I know there are several combo deals with Ultimate in them...)
Samsung SH-S223F (for me... he can keep the Lite-On drive)
Vantec NexStar HDD dock (let's just say that I'll get a lot of use out of it)

I would like a couple ideas for a relatively inexpensive microATX mid- or mini-tower case. While I could go with the same one that I used earlier, I'd rather not give my brother the same one that I gave my aunt.
 
tiraides said:
I would like a couple ideas for a relatively inexpensive microATX mid- or mini-tower case. While I could go with the same one that I used earlier, I'd rather not give my brother the same one that I gave my aunt.
Click to expand...

I'm really digging this Coolermaster case since it has plenty of room for longer video cards (If I'm seeing things right):
$40 - Cooler Master Elite 341 RC-341C-KKN1-GP mATX Midtower.

Though I like the front look of this case better and the layout doesn't seem too bad:
$25 - Foxconn TW-080 NPS mATX Midtower Case

Hope the above helps
 
I see you're enjoying this as much as I am, Danny.

It looks like you've confirmed what I was thinking earlier: I should get the Elite 341.
 
tiraides said:
I see you're enjoying this as much as I am, Danny.

It looks like you've confirmed what I was thinking earlier: I should get the Elite 341.
Click to expand...

I am :)

Looks like the Elite 341 is a decent case so far
 
I'll be adding two Yate Loon fans to the order -- I'm not going to buy the case just by itself.

However, I may simply transfer the fans from my current case over to the new one.
 
Well, shopping's done, for now. (Pictures of the "before" build will be coming later on today.) Here is the overall damage so far (rounded to the nearest dollar):


Buy.com - $110

Cooler Master Elite 341 microATX case - $42
BFG Tech LS-550 550W PSU - $68

Dell Small Business - $244

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 processor (NewEgg link for reference)

NewEgg - $290

G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 667 SODIMM kit - $37
Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM DVD - $100
Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal compound - $7
Arctic Clean two-piece TIM removal and surface purifier set - $6
Asus HD4850 512MB video card - $130
(Plus $10 for shipping charges)

ZipZoomFly - $184

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 3.5" HDD - $70
Western Digital Scorpio Black 320GB 2.5" HDD - $80
Vantec NexStar USB 2.0/eSATA HDD dock - $34

eBay - $34

Dell Wireless 1510 802.11n internal wireless adapter card (Dell link for reference)

Total spent on myself - $208
Total spent on my brother - $654


I forgot to get the fans at this time, so for now, I'll reuse the ones that are currently in the Silverstone SG03 case. I'll decide whether or not I'll ship the case with those fans in place right before I actually ship everything (though I may buy the new fans within the next week or two anyways). Based on my "concrete" plans, I'll be using the stock HSF... unless something goes horribly wrong because of it.

In case you haven't guessed yet, the G.Skill SODIMM kit, the WD Scorpio HDD, and the Dell 1510 card are for my laptop upgrade. The wireless card will probably be my one and only eBay purchase (but, considering the comparative savings, maybe not...). The MX-2, the Arctic Clean set, and the NexStar HDD dock are also going to be part of the upgrading season project, considering all of the smaller tasks that I won't be discussing here.

Pictures of everything else will arrive when I receive everything else.
 
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Here are a few pictures of the "before" system. The thumbnails are linked to the actual full-sized pictures so I can encourage our 56k friends to view this page.



My entire workstation as it stands right now. My goal for this upgrading season is to replace just about everything... except the UPS (APC 1200VA), the keyboard and mouse (Logitech UltraX slim keyboard and MX518 mouse, along with a Ratpadz XT mousepad), and the headphones (Sennheiser HD 580). The "thing" on the upper left-hand corner of the top shelf is a digital scale that can handle up to 50lbs. (Yes, I'm keeping that as well.)

That means the monitor, printer, speakers, and even the USB hub have to go. Considering that I've used them for several years already, I won't miss them too much. In fact, I've shelved the Logitech Z-2300 set since taking that picture. I'll be using my Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0 set until I decide on some better speakers.

(I just bought the desk and chair the other weekend, so give me a month to try them out first. Then again, now I see why the Ikea Jerker was so popular. For the curious, the desk is an Ikea Fredrik "workstation" and the chair is a clearance-aisle Office Depot office chair... both of which I was able to buy for half price.)

Here are the "before" pictures of the computer that I'm overhauling for my brother.



(Yes, the pictures are crooked. No, I don't plan on taking any better shots right now.)

Only the motherboard, RAM, and DVD burner will be carried over to the new build. Even though I have the Q9550 now, I'm waiting until I have the rest of my parts before I put it in there. (And all of the items that I don't use will be listed in my FS thread. No, I won't cut a deal with you for reading through this entire thread -- so stop asking.)
 
tiraides said:
(And all of the items that I don't use will be listed in my FS thread. No, I won't cut a deal with you for reading through this entire thread -- so stop asking.)
Click to expand...

Darn! :D

Very clean setup there. I LOL'd at the PSU being outside of the case :) What are you planning on upgrading your monitor to?
 
The setup's only clean because I removed all of the crap that I had on it before taking the pictures. :p The makeshift utility cart is to compensate for the fact that I didn't go with my first choice -- the desk that I really wanted was the Ikea Galant L-shaped desk, but I balked at the $300+ price tag for the entire setup that I wanted.

The power supply is currently out of the case so I could perform some general maintenance inside. Since space is so tight (in all of the SUGO series cases), removing the PSU is often the first thing that has to be done (after taking off the side panel, of course).

I want the new monitor to be at least 24 inches. I'm fighting the age-old struggle of choosing between a good IPS/*VA panel or getting a cheap gaming TN panel. (My brother's getting a cheap 23-24 inch monitor. I feel like I'm being generous enough building this system for him.) I haven't determined whether or not I'm going back to performing some heavy gaming -- though I've recently bought a few games as if I were -- so the GTX 260 (Core 216) is the minimum that I'm looking at towards a video card. (If I can find a GTX 280 on sale, that would be great -- but it would also guarantee that the SG03 case will have to go on sale.)
 
Don't mind me, I'm just reading through all the fun I'm missing out on. :p

Your desk is yearning for a 37" LCD. :D
 
Here are a couple of more pictures. They would have been up sooner, except that I just picked up the hard drives from ZZF today. But hey, now I have everything (... I think...).



For those who were wondering why we recommend ZipZoomFly when it comes to ordering hard drives:



(I know... it doesn't eliminate the chances that a small HDD, like the WD Scorpio Black, would be bouncing around during transit. It just limits the amount of room for it to bounce around in. I still don't know whether or not that's a good thing.)

The overhaul of the desktop computer will commence some time this weekend. If I survive the rest of this work week, I may start upgrading the laptop Friday night. And around next weekend, unless a better deal comes through, I'll probably order the Asus VH236H and have it sent directly to my brother.

I'm still fleshing out some of the details of my new system. For the case, I've decided to get the Silverstone TJ08-B so I can finally use a real CPU cooler. (Don't worry, I'll order the Yate Loon fans at the same time. ;) ) As for the motherboard, I've all but decided to go with the Asus Rampage II Gene. But I need to get a better heatsink for the motherboard (which is a known trouble spot for those familiar with the board).

In one final act of pre-payday lunacy, I jumped a deal in the FS/FT forum for a retail (and unused, duh!) copy of Vista Ultimate... for $115 shipped. Counting that, so far I've spent:

Total spent on myself - $323
Total spent on my brother - $654

(And I doubt that I'll have any more yearning for a 37 inch LCD after I see the bill for purchasing an LCD monitor on NewEgg for a CA resident. I may have to think about where I get the monitor from... even ZZF shipped my stuff from a warehouse in CA.)
 
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I always did like see newly arrived hardware :) Especially well packed hardware;)

Anyway, nice find on the copy of Vista Ultimate. Yeah the increased CA tax has made me just a bit more conservative with my cash. I love Amazon.com :)

What HSF are you planning on using for the Rampage II Gene?
 
I haven't decided yet on the aftermarket HSF -- I'll probably use one of the "usual suspects." I've been meaning to ask enginurd whether or not the Thermalright Ultima 90 has been used on Core i7 processor. (I thought I recalled him using one before... maybe I'll send him a PM.) And I've been following lowteckh's thread in the SFF forum for ideas on the northbridge heatsink.

That reminds me... I need to update my FS/FT thread this weekend.
 
Here's the updated wish list for my Core i7 mATX build. Prices may change between now and the time that I order everything, so, for simplicity's sake, I'm currently sticking to a strictly NewEgg-only list (with the exception of the speakers, which I can't get there) with no promo codes or combo deals.

$99 - Silverstone TJ08-B microATX mid-tower case
$18 - Two Silverstone FN122 120mm case fans (for TJ08-B, at $9 each)
$120 - Corsair TX750 750W PSU
$250 - Asus Rampage II Gene X58 microATX motherboard
$280 - Intel Core i7 920 Socket LGA 1366 quad-core processor
$80 - Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 CPU cooler
$85 - G.Skill 3x2GB DDR3 1600 tri-channel RAM kit
$110 - Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA HDD
$24 - Samsung SH-S223F SATA DVD burner
$305 - BFG GeForce GTX 280 1GB PCI-E 2.0 x16 video card
$310 - Samsung T240 24 inch LCD monitor
$189 - Swan D200MkII 2.0 active desktop speaker set
=====
$1900 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

I'm going to use the above total price as the "baseline" -- and the goal, of course, is to stay well below that baseline amount. Questions, comments, and changes/recommendations to the above list are welcome, but please keep in mind that:
  • I'm not relying on only NewEgg for buying parts, nor do I expect to get everything at those prices.
  • The proposed timeline for this build is now at some point this summer. Whether or not it actually happens around that time is anyone's guess.
  • I already have the OS covered. And while I may be breaking my own rule about not needing Vista Ultimate, do you really think that I'm going to give my brother a better computer than mine?!?
  • That baseline total is a goal, not a requirement. I'm not going to die if I happen to go above that baseline. (But don't offer me suggestions on the "best things that money could buy.")
  • Yes, pieces from my old rig will go into my FS/FT thread. And I may link to said FS/FT thread in the future. No, you still won't get any discount from me. And I don't care if you've purchased something from me in the past -- the packing materials don't pay for themselves.
 
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Such an awesome Core i7 setup. One of the few Core i7 mATX setups I've seen in this part of the forum
 
Well, my brother's computer is running fine. Laptop's done, too. Other than having to find a few drivers that Dell didn't have -- why Dell doesn't offer 64-bit complete Vista support for all of its laptops, I'll never know -- the 64-bit installation went smoothly.

(Lesson learned: as long as you have a legitimate OEM license key, you can install whichever version -- 32-bit or 64-bit -- of Vista that comes with the OEM disc.)

I may have to "renegotiate" my earlier drug deal... we'll see how well that goes.

Due to work, not to mention the occasional lack of sleep, everything else that was planned this week will be pushed back a few days. Of course, pictures of the "new" desktop system will be taken prior to my mailing it off (which is tentatively scheduled for this upcoming weekend).

Now... should I work on the miniITX firewall next, or should I try to get the Core i7 system up and running beforehand? (Right now, I'm leaning more towards the firewall....)
 
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Heh, was out of town the last week or so. Nice case choice. Thats a lot of power for such a system, but it is hard to beat the cost effectiveness of that PSU. I've been so tempted by those ultimate drug deals, too, but I've been clean for years. :p I haven't seen the nor actually used an ultima90 on an i7 build yet. A quick google search yielded one forum user getting high temps with a 920 @ 4GHz w/ 1.34v (reaching 90°C at full load), so it doesn't look promising if you were aiming for that OC level.
 
While I attempt to get the energy to take care of a few more important tasks, I'm going to sit on the parts list for the Core i7 build for now. I want to get started on the miniITX firewall.

Here are some of the parts being considered for the build:

Intel D945GCLF2 Little Falls 2 Mainboard
M350 Universal Mini-ITX enclosure
D-Link DGE-530T Gigabit Ethernet PCI adapter
picoPSU-120 120W DC-DC PSU

(Suggestions, as always, are welcome. I won't guarantee that I'll listen to them, but I will consider them.)

I can get virtually any RAM module and stick it in the board, so I'm not concerned about that. I want 8GB for storage, but I don't know whether I should get the IDE-to-CF adapter and a separate CF card or try out one of the IDE flash modules.

And what's the consensus "best" Linux-based firewall software? I'm still racking my brain around that decision.
 
Now I remember why I've put off the ITX firewall for so long: Getting what I really want is going to be expensive.

Looking again at the M350 case, which I really want for this build, I realized that I won't be able to use any expansion cards... so I have to have a board with two Ethernet ports. And since I want Gigabit Ethernet, cheap and practical go right out the window.

So, do I get the MSI Industrial CX700 board with the 1GHz VIA C7 CPU, or the MSI Industrial IM-945GC with the Intel Atom 330 processor? The IM-945GC is cheaper and more powerful, but the CX700 fits closer along my lines of a virtually passive system. (I guess the "Will it fit?" test with the M350 will have to determine which one I should get.)
 
Now that I've had some sleep, I realized that the IM-945GC (with the Atom) is cheaper and does fit the case that I want.

And Danny, you're right about the adapter -- I can find a dual (CF) slot adapter for under $10 shipped. And I can find a 16GB CF card for around $40-$50 at NewEgg.
 
Real life "issues" have caused this thread to take a back seat for now. But things should be back to normal this weekend.

(In fact, I've put off shipping the Core 2 desktop and ordering the monitor so I could handle these issues. Don't worry; I promised everyone pictures of the completed system, and I intend on following through.)

In the meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out whether I'll be pursuing the Core i7 system or the mini ITX firewall as my next project. Which one would you guys rather see first?
 
Same, definitely firewall. Those are more fun to read.:)
 
Short update... a better one -- with pictures, promise! -- will come within the next day or so....

I made another drug deal today, this time for a copy of Microsoft Office (Standard). The long story short is that a friend was able to pick up a copy for me for... $50. Before I forget:

Total spent on myself - $323
Total spent on my brother - $704

Now, should I be the nice older brother and buy him a proper 24" monitor? Or, should I be cheap and lazy and go with the "imitation" model? I could go really cheap and really lazy.... (Oh hush! The bills don't pay themselves, you know.... :p )

But money issues have pushed building anything (new) back to at least mid-June. We'll see if my funds survive the havoc that is Memorial Day weekend.
 
I'd go with the imitation model and make sure that he's grateful for it :)
 
With no further ado, here are the after pictures....



I was still playing around with the computer a bit so I did what I normally do when testing things out: leave both sides open and get as many cables out of the way as possible. Next on the list is to get a refresher course on "cablegami" so I can clean up the rat's nest without obstructing airflow. (Yeah, I know... it's going to take a while longer.... :rolleyes: )

Next are some CPU-Z and GPU-Z numbers....




... and an HWMonitor screenshot added in, for good measure.

I know: You want to see the "good stuff." OK... let's start off with the HDTune chart...

HDTune-01.jpg


... and... wait for it...

WEIndex-01.jpg


... whu...? PCMark numbers? 3DMark? Oh, alright...

PCMark05: 9,483
3DMark06: 13,222

(Since everyone should know what PCMark and 3DMark are, I'm not going to post pictures.)

Before I forget, my new toy:



When on -- you press the big blue button, duh! -- it functions just like any other external HDD enclosure. I haven't tried to play with its "hot swapping" features, but since I don't want to risk ruining items that I may end up reselling, I might leave that one alone for now.

And yeah, I like it. I like it a lot. :D
 
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Man that Vantac looks nice! Wouldn't look out of place next to a Mac :)

Temps on the HDD doesn't seem too bad. Then again, the case is open..
 
Danny Bui said:
Temps on the HDD doesn't seem too bad. Then again, the case is open..
Click to expand...

I didn't really try to stress out the processor or the video card... yet. Those temperatures were taken before I ran all of the benchmarking software a few days ago.

I need to conduct one final burn-in with Prime95 and memtest86+ before I mail everything off. (That, and manage the cables so they don't look like the rat's nest they resemble now.)

tiraides said:
Now, should I be the nice older brother and buy him a proper 24" monitor? Or, should I be cheap and lazy and go with the "imitation" model? I could go really cheap and really lazy....

Danny Bui said:
I'd go with the imitation model and make sure that he's grateful for it :)
Click to expand...

criccio said:
Would he be able to appreciate the difference anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

My brother probably won't notice the difference (much), as I'm the one in the family (the majority of my immediate family is computer literate) who focuses the most on the hardware. However, I'm trying to be nice and give my brother something that I would use myself... and I've been itching for a "proper" 24 inch LCD for a while now.

I may perform one more Google search for a 24" monitor before I make the order this weekend.

= = = = = = = = = =​

I have a couple of thoughts on some upcoming upgrades.

One is the new computer. Due to my constantly shifting funds, plus a few unexpected-at-the-time future purchases (that are unrelated to this thread), I've decided to focus on the Core i7 mATX system as the next project. While the mITX firewall is something that I've been wanting to build for years now, I can better justify (to myself, anyway) building the mATX system first -- it will be the my multi-tasking workhorse.

I'm also considering a new wireless card for my laptop... yes, the same one that I've upgraded. It's not that the wireless adapter doesn't work, but I do want one that could utilize the dual-band Wireless-N capabilities of my router. And I've just found out that Dell has one available.

I will probably start using eBay and the FS/FT forum a bit more, as there are several smaller, cheaper components that I could buy there and store in preparation for my next upgrading project.

Funny story: One of my friends asked me the other day about the "old" 320GB Scorpio Blue (notebook) HDD that I replaced with the Scorpio Black HDD. I totally forgot about it until just now....

Well, let's just say that the 20GB first-gen PS3 that I bought for $300 just became a very wise move. :D
 
tiraides said:
Funny story: One of my friends asked me the other day about the "old" 320GB Scorpio Blue (notebook) HDD that I replaced with the Scorpio Black HDD. I totally forgot about it until just now....

Well, let's just say that the 20GB first-gen PS3 that I bought for $300 just became a very wise move. :D
Click to expand...

LOL! Nice :)
 
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