New Computer Time...

Spinning Hat · Post by **Spinning Hat** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 10:17 am

So, I've been gone all summer, and been really busy, and a pretty good boy, as far as I can tell, and since the ex-wife got my PC, and I was stuck with this notebook, (Whcich still isn't bad, it's only a year old.) I thought it was time to build a new machine, since it's been over 3 years since I last did one for myself. So, without further ado, here's what I got:

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe mobo (Socket 939)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
1GB Patriot PC3200 DDR (Dual Channel Kit CAS Latency 2-3-2-5)
Leadtek Winfast PX6800 Ultra TDH (It's a GF6800 Ultra)
2 WD 160Gb SATA 3Gb HDDs, and I'm gonna give RAID 0 a try
LiteOn DVD Dual Layer DVD Burner
LiteOn DVD-ROM
Aspire 520W PSU
Saitek Eclise Keyboard,
17" Zenith 715Z LCD Display.

I was gonna get the GF7800GTX, but the eVGA deal with a free eVGA mobo ended before I ordered, so I had to cut back a bit, and get a good mainboard... But other than that, pretty solid system, no?

XMEN Iceman · Post by **XMEN Iceman** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:11 am

Very nice dude...very nice....I am jealous.

Spinning Hat · Post by **Spinning Hat** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:55 pm

I'm in process of putting this thing together, and since I bought OEM Drives instead of retail I have one question - there's 2 power connectors on my drives, and do I need to hook up both of them, or just one? My PSU has SATA plugs wired right into it, so I'm not sure, first tie using SATA and all.

Post by **XMEN Gambit** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 5:39 pm

I think you just use the one power connector. Do you have one old-style connector and one SATA power connector?

Sharpster · Post by **Sharpster** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 6:04 pm

Nice, how much did all of that cost ?!

Spinning Hat · Post by **Spinning Hat** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 10:02 pm

The drive has an old 4 pin connector and an SATA power connector on it. I plugged in the SATA powwer only, and it's up and running.... Damn is it ever FAST!

Sharp - With my monitor and everything it was about $1750 on newegg.

Now my next question - I partitioned the first drive for 20Gb when I installed windows, and now I forgot to do the other free space, and now I can't... Do I have to reformat everything and do that, or is there some easier way? I've never had this problem before, and it's getting to be a little agrivating....

Post by **XMEN Gambit** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:20 pm

No, you don't have to start over. You can partition the remaining space anytime without destroying the first one. I'm not sure if you can do that through disk manager in Windoze or if you have to boot to a command prompt and run fdisk. A Knoppix CD, or other Linux LiveCD, can do it too - all you have to do is partition it, then go back into windows and format it. The linux tool is called "parted" for PARTition EDitor. Some linux partition editors will even allow you to resize your windoze partition if you later discover you made it too large/small, but there is an element of risk to that with any tool.

Where it MAY be a problem is in Windoze registry. If you installed something off your CD (drive D) and you format another partition which is now D, then whatever you installed may later complain because it can't find the installation CD on drive D.

XMEN Ashaman DTM · Post by **XMEN Ashaman DTM** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 1:31 am

If you have XP or Win2k...

Be sure to login with an administrator account:

Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel

Then select Administrative Tools. Then Computer Management.

Select and expand Storage. And highlight Disk Management.

You should see your drives as shown here:

http://home.myuw.net/mcraw/images/drives.jpg

Just right click on the unpartitioned space, and select create partition...

It's that easy.

Spinning Hat · Post by **Spinning Hat** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 7:25 am

Thanks Guys. Asha, that';s the quickest easiest way I've ever created a partition on a hard disk. This is the first system I've had with SATA drives, and they've got a few quirks all their own, that's for sure.

XMEN Ashaman DTM · Post by **XMEN Ashaman DTM** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 2:16 pm

Sharpster · Post by **Sharpster** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 2:22 pm

That keyboard is awesome... im jealous...

Spinning Hat · Post by **Spinning Hat** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 5:42 pm

I went and got some Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Speakers today, and Bf2, and I'm downloading the 1.03 patch as we speak. I watched the opening movie and I had goosebumps from it. It ram WAY better than on my old machine, and it's flawless. But I'm a little upset that BF2 doesn't support 1280x1024 resolutions to "optimize" the game to my screen resolution....

XMEN Ashaman DTM · Post by **XMEN Ashaman DTM** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 6:31 pm

You should download the FEAR demo. You'll definitely get goosebumps.
Trust me.

Post by **XMEN Gambit** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 7:44 pm

SH, there are ways to force a particular res out of the game. Command-line parameters, I believe, just don't know what they are right now.

BTW, there was a news report here this week that DFW airport is short 30-40 ATC folk, and of course more are on the way out the door due to age.

Spinning Hat · Post by **Spinning Hat** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 11:31 am

I'll have to do some diggin on that then... I know there's controller positions open all over, and I'm going to Kansas City this Wednesday for an FAA Job fair.. If I get hired, I'll be a controller at Kansas City Center in Olathe, KS.