My new build

[Wolverine@MSU]

Our latest home project was to regrout the tile in our tub/shower surround. After 25 years of hard water, some of it was getting pretty thin and it was ripe with black mold/mildew. Unfortunately, the idiot who lived in the house before us decided that window caulking would be a good replacement, so about 1/3 of it was redone with thick beads of hardened caulk. Fortunately, I had an engraving tool and made some "grout saws" out of old utility knife blades, and after a few days of digging at it, and some clean up with a hand grout-saw I got all the old stuff removed and regrouted with latex enhanced/mildew resistant grout. All that's left to do is caulk the corners and seal the grout.

But I digress

I pointed out to "she who must be obeyed" that we had saved several hundred dollars by doing this ourselves, and that I could sure use an upgrade of my computer (I had just ordered 10 high-end laptops and 2 desktop systems for the lab, so I was a bit envious). I did a little shopping around and came up with the following:

Purchased from NewEgg:

Intel Core 2 Duo 6750 processor (2.66 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB) $212
Asus P5K-VM motherboard (with onboard graphics/sound) $117
2 Gb Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 (800 MHz DDR SDRAM) $70*
Sigma 585 Watt power supply $40*

Purchased from CompUSA:

2 Gb Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 (800 MHz DDR SDRAM) $90*
* after rebates

I got the processor & MB first and had an old case and 350 W power supply. The MB only has one IDE connector but 4 SATA connectors. I started by connecting a CD-ROM and my IDE hard drive from the old computer. I thought I might be able to "borrow" some RAM from one of the lab computers, but there was a mixup in the ordering and they weren't here yet, so I stopped by CompUSA to pick up the 1st pair of memory sticks. Got it all together and Windows XP wouldn't boot; not even in Safe Mode. Must have been enough of a difference from the original hardware that it choked. Had to do a "Repair Install" and then things worked fine.

Since all of my drives from the old computer are IDE, I was able to get a spare PCI-IDE card from our departmental computer guy (free) and started adding drives. After I got all the hard drives installed (4 x IDE and 2 X SATA), along with a DVD-ROM and DVD burner, and hooked up the USB flatbed scanner and USB slide scanner, along with 4 additional USB ports on the front, the thing wouldn't even POST reliably (which is why I just ordered the 585 W power supply). After removing some of the devices and drives, I've got it working with the 2 x 250 GB SATA drives and the 2 DVD drives.

The first thing I did was to load up a saved game from Blue Streak. I had 142 trains and was on the year that I won the Gold. On my old system, the graphics were getting a bit jerkey, especially when there was sky visible, but on the new system, it rolled along like a dream. I cranked it up to maximum screen resolution and maxed out all the graphics options. Still smooth as silk. No stutters at all. Tried it out on a CPU intensive panorama stitching program and it went so fast I couldn't keep up with the status displays! Man, this thing ROCKS!!!

I was looking for a MB that would accept some of my old hardware, like graphics card, sound card, and memory, but almost everything that accepts Core 2 Duo processors is PCI-express and 240-pin memory. The Asus has only 2 PCI slots, and a 16X PCI-e and a 4X PCI-e but with the onboard graphics and sound, the only things I see being in the 2 slots are the PCI-IDE card and a modem. The MB is based on the latest Intel chipsets (G33 I think) that incorporate the Intel Accelorated graphics, and it has 8-channel High Definition audio and Network built in. It supports Firewire and has three internal USB connectors so you can add an additional 6 USB ports. I had read about some problems with VIA-chip based MBs so I stayed away from them. Most would have needed additional cards for graphics and sound (another $200 or so). For the price it's a bargain. Micro-ATX form factor, so it slipped right into the old case (after repositioning a couple of chassis mounts), but gets a little tight with all the cabling.

Can't wait to get the new PS and get the thing buttoned up.

[Gwizz]

You were so quiet, I thought you were away on vacation.
Sounds like you have a mean machine.

[thegrindre]

My gaming machine is about 2 1/2 years old, now, and you guys are startin' to catch up and even pass me. Man, I'm startin' to get jealous, now...

Sounds great! :D

[Wolverine@MSU]

You were so quiet, I thought you were away on vacation.
Sounds like you have a mean machine.

I was in and out throughout the summer and was gone the whole week of July 23. Not much to say. As someone once said: It's better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you're a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

Anxiously awaiting the release of the public version of the "upgrade".

[wsherrick]

Ok, that's it. I am going to have to upgrade. I just bought a 200 something dollar Radeon 1950 graphics card and my game performance is about the same as it was with my envidea card. At 80 trains and above the engines lose their smoke and after so much time my graphics quality and speed begin to slow somewhat, though I can still stand it Now then, since I my computereeze comprehension is at the, "See Dick Run," level. What in the heck did you just say in layman's terms. Could I print out your post and take it to my local Circut City and say, Make this, I command you?" Or is there more that this enquiring mind needs to know?

[Wolverine@MSU]

You probably won't be able to go to Circuit City to have it done. Instead, find a local computer store and talk to them about it. Ask about whether they can get the parts, and how much of a markup they will charge for the parts. Maybe you can talk them into letting you supply the parts and have them put it together for you if they will charge additional to order the parts. Chances are you can still use your own case, and perhaps power supply (Asus recommends at least 400 Watts for that particular motherboard). Depending on the type and number of hard drives and CD/DVD drives you have, they may be able to be used in the new computer.

Be sure that you get RAM that's compatible with the motherboard and processor. The Asus website gives a list of all memory modules that are compatible (and have been tested) with their motherboards, as do most other motherboard manufacturers.

If you have any mechanical skills, such as being able to remove and replace components, you could look at "Barebones" systems that usually come with a case, power supply, and some of them let you customize the motherboard/processor/memory configurations. Then all you have to do is remove the drives from the old case and intall them in the new one.

There are literally hundreds of motherboards to choose from, and it can be a daunting task to try and find the one that's right for you. From what I've read, you want to try and get one that's based on an Intel chipset. Some people have been reporting problems with boards based on the VIA chipsets.

Do a Google search with " Intel chipset motherboards" and "barebones computer systems" as a start.

[wsherrick]

Thanks for the reply, Wolverine. I took a look and there is so much stuff out there I don't know where to start. After I wade through all the information I will ask everyone what they think is the best choice. I have a Compaq computer with an Intel processor with 1.5 RAM, I think. I bought a lot of additional memory when I got the computer and I still have some 70% of available space left. I guess my computer is not using its memory efficiently enough or not at all. Just be patient with my ignorance on the subject.

[canis39]

wsherrick, if you are still interested in upgrading to a better system but you don't want to do it yourself, take a look at CyberPower. i just got a new custom system from them and i couldn't be happier.

[Knave]

The Intel boards that accept the core two processors seem to all require 1.8 volt memory. And Intel has a list on their website that details what brand and models meet their requirements. We used that list and had good results. There is a lot of hype about memory. Some manufactures touting their high end brands and their high performance brands. I just read a benchmark test where the high end memory was tested against the "value" memory. Any difference was minimum. The Bare bones systems or talking to a local builder may be the way to go. In both cases you need to know what it is what you want. Otherwise you get what they can't sell. Good luck. It can be a daunting task. It took me two weeks to figure out what dvd-drives to get for The Wife's computer. Newegg is a good place to peruse. The customer reviews can have pearls of wisdom packaged between piles of bs. Remember we are here to help.

Rick, Hp has a new game machine. Blackbird 002. 5500 us dollars.

[wsherrick]

Thanks a lot guys!! I am going to do the upgrade or replace the box all together, I still don't know. Right now I am at the point where my head just wants to explode.

[Hawk]

If you get a new computer you'll probably get Vista shoved down your throat.
In my opinion, not one of Micro$oft's crowning achievements.

[Gwizz]

Didn't MS stop demanding that retailers put only Vista on their new computers and now say XP is allowed.

[Hawk]

Sort of. I think it is a limited choice though. Maybe only on certain systems me thinks, although not 100% sure on that.

[Wolverine@MSU]

So I've had the aforementioned computer for about 4 months and I'm really pleased with it. It has reasonable onboard graphics for most applications, but when it comes to RT3 it's sorely lacking. Water reflections aren't rendered, and after a little while of playing, the graphic detail goes to pot. Compared to my computer at work, it's downright primative. Unfortunately, the motherboard doesn't have an AGP slot that could have used my old card. Sooooooo.......I'm in the market to get a PCI express video card, and wondered if anyone had any suggestions for or against any particular card. Being the frugal one, I don't want to spend a bundle (no more than 100 bucks or so) but I want a "trouble-free" card with robust drivers.

[WPandP]

When I did my major upgrade last year, I opted for the Nvidia 8600 GT, as the best bang for the buck, a title it probably still holds. It was $90 at the time, at my local Micro Center, but you might be able to find them cheaper now. I went with Nvidia because my new MB supports SLI, but if that isn't an issue for you then you could probably find ATI cards from the same generation at a similar price, though I think the Nvidia's of that generation are better cards.

[Gwizz]

Prices are dropping fast with the lack luster sale of PCs.

Intel just dropped the price of its' chips. I think I heard by 30%. Not sure of that.

Might be a good idea to wait a bit to see if the price of computer parts continue to drop.

[Silverback]

If you want to run RT3 an ATI card is probably better and essential if you want to use Vista with the later RT3 patches. The magazines I read seem to say ATI are better value for money at present.

[Wolverine@MSU]

I'm running Win XP and have no intention of EVER "upgrading" to Vista.

[Hawk]

I'm using an Nvidea card on XP and I haven't experienced any problems with RT3, even with running 150 trains in a scenario.
I will add, I'm running an older vid card. Ge-Force 7600 GT KO with 256 MB RAM. My machine has 2 GB RAM.

[thegrindre]

Yes, that is true, Gwiss. It's now up to the seller on whether he wants to offer it or not. Not many do and the reason I opted to have this one custom built with XP Pro instead.

I saw HP's at $5500 and went with a custom build for about half that price.

I believe your mistake was in buyiung on board components. I don't recommend it and you shouldn't really do it. I'm not sure just what you can do about replacing that vid card, now Wolverine@MSU.
I suggest saving up and replacing that MB, vid card, and sound card with separate components to straighten things out. Sorry...