What computer are you guys running?

[lam47]

I used to run a few different loops for water cooling. The performance is great but maintainence is just no fun so I opted for air. However now I have a 4870x2 which is hitting 100c and I am worried.

[Binge]

The 4870x2's fan is also LOUD past 40%.  I would definitely water cool my GPU if it weren't that the cost of the block is about 1/3 the price of the card I want to buy in the future.

Though if you ever do get back into things I recommend Watercool waterblocks above all else.  They have a low cost 4870x2 block that kills the competition

[lam47]

Watercool a make? I have not heard of them. I used XSPC full cover for my 8800 Ultra.
If I ever do go back I will have a look for them

[Binge]

Quality german engineering.  They are famous for their laminar flow channel count.  Here's the inside of my CPU block.




Their GPU blocks have similar build quality and take advantage of laminar flow and multiple deep, razor thin, channels.

[microsoft windows]

I don't have just one computer running but I have a whole table filled with crappy old computers running!

My good computer (I built it for free by rummaging through the computer garbage at work):
Windows 2000 SP4, 10gb hard disk (that's more than enough for me), 512 Mb RAM, 1.4 Ghz CPU, and an IBM M5-2 Trackball Keyboard! I also put in a strange CD drive that eats the CDs like some Macs do that I fished out of an old Compaq. I also put in a wireless card but I never found the antenna for it so that computer gets in the WiFi with an old pair of rabbit ears.

My crummy computer (This one I made out of trashed parts too)
Windows 3.1 running on MS-DOS 6, 128 Mb of RAM, 515 Mb hard disk, floppy drive (that's the only disk drive), 4450 Mhz CPU. I also installed Office 3.0 on it for laughs.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that 15-year-old Canon Bubble Jet BJ-200ex printer I use every day.

[Binge]

Hehehe.  You know a great resource for finding free computers?  Recycling centers.  It's cheaper for them to forget they took in a computer than actually recycle it.  A number of schools/businesses looking for a green tax write-off will use these places to dump "dated" technology.

[microsoft windows]

Hehehe.  You know a great resource for finding free computers?  Recycling centers.  It's cheaper for them to forget they took in a computer than actually recycle it.  A number of schools/businesses looking for a green tax write-off will use these places to dump "dated" technology.

I do something very similar to that except I get the trash at work before it goes to the recycling centre. I just call it making sure they only throw away trash.

[watduzhkstand4]

Nah, I fry my CPUs.  Never had one die yet.  Who cares - by the time you do they'll be cheap or more likely obsolete.

Yep at least mine didn't take a sh*t on me yet =P I run 3.6 @ 1.48 vCore because I have a really gay VID of 1.325v. I also live on the 3rd floor so the ambient temp is like 30c and load is like 70. LET IT FRY BABY!

[lam47]

That is some stunning machining there! Very delicate.
I will keep them in mind if I end up WCing my card.

Thanks

[VCheeZ]

Until recently I was running a QX9650 @ 3.6 on an x38 with 4gb DDR3 1333 and a GTX260 on two H2o loops. Now I am finishing up an AMD build consisting of :
Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition @3.7 on air
Asus M4A79T Deluxe
4gb OCZ 1600 DDR3
ATI 4870 1gb
OCZ 1010w psu
LG Blu-Ray HD/DVD
X-fi haqt Audigy
Logitech Z-5500
KDS 26" @ 1920x1200

Crossfire is the next addition

[timw4mail]

Until recently I was running a QX9650 @ 3.6 on an x38 with 4gb DDR3 1333 and a GTX260 on two H2o loops. Now I am finishing up an AMD build consisting of :
Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition @3.7 on air
Asus M4A79T Deluxe
4gb OCZ 1600 DDR3
ATI 4870 1gb
OCZ 1010w psu
LG Blu-Ray HD/DVD
X-fi haqt Audigy
Logitech Z-5500
KDS 26" @ 1920x1200

Crossfire is the next addition

I have a fairly similar setup.

[itlnstln]

I run some old piece of sh*t.

[Shuki]

Hardware:

Processor:    Intel E6850
MotherBoard:    Asus P5N32-E
HD:    Samsung Spinpoint 500GB
Monitor:    Iiyama Pro Vision 451 + Asus VW222U
Keyboard:    Deck 105 Key Legend
Mouse:    Razer Diamondback
Mousepad:    Puretrak Talent
Sound:    Creative X-Fi Sound Blaster
Graphics:    XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog Edition 512MB
Memory:    4GB DDR2 Ocz 800Mhz Platinum
O/S:    TinyXP Revision 09
Headset:    Audio Technica ATH-AD700

[o2dazone]

damn you look like a resourceful gamer - crt, keyboard way off to the side (i'm assuming you play like that right?) and a deck!

[Shuki]

Pretty much. Also it allows me to browse forums on my TFT and put my feet up on my bed However having my keyboard so far to the left does sometimes lead to typos when. I've sometimes type an entire keystroke to the left. Often I'll move my keyboard more central if I am typing anything of substance.

[Manyak]

I'm gonna have a new PC in just a few days!

I'll post up some pics when I start building it

[Shuki]

Got any parts in mind?

Do you have to run two graphics cards to have enough outputs for those 3 CRTs you run?

[DrunkenDonut]

I see the 900 cases are quite common. I have a couple at the office and one at home. My home file server is a dual opteron 1.4GHz space heater in a 900 case. My main desktop is actually not - a Macbook Pro 2.4GHz refurb from a couple of years ago. It travels from home to work, and back again. I can dual boot to Vista Business, and I have Tales of Monkey Island (the new series) in WinXP in a VM. Fun stuff.

[watduzhkstand4]

I love my 900 because I got it for $60 =D

[Shuki]

The Antec 900 you mean?

[keyb_gr]

This post is brought to you by Intel Pentium power - I dug out my first geekbox:

Gigabyte GA-586HX rev. 1.53 (no split voltage) with 512K L2 and tag RAM, BIOS 2.9p4
iP133
2x 128 MiB FPM
Matrox Millennium II 4 MiB
Seagate ST52520A, ST51080A (newer version) on primary IDE
Seagate ST34572N (Barracuda 4XL) on Dawicontrol DC-2975U (Ultra narrow SCSI)
Toshiba XM-5602B 8X CD-ROM
3.5" and 5.25" floppies
SB16 Value PnP OEM
Big, heavy but fairly rattly and resonant tower case styled after PS/2 80
230 W Enhance AT PSU of about 1991 vintage (same as case) in what apparently was once known as a "desktop" size (larger than your average modern-day AT or ATX PSU), with a 92 mm Panaflo (industrial quality, baby) running at full throttle.
I did some testing of the Chicony KB-5312 on that one, now it's back on the G80-3000HAD (which feels more classy by a mile).

This system mainly runs NT 4 or NT 3.51, currently the former (a DOS/WfW system also exists, Win95 is currently dead I think). I last touched this comp last year, so it's a bit outdated with Seamonkey 1.1.11 and Adblock Plus 0.7.5.5. Fortunately NT4 already supports MouseKeys (not quite as fancy as in 2000 onwards, but AFAICT only the speed modifier option is missing), and even the Scancode Map reg key works, so I have my usual backspaced Caps Lock now.

After 11 months, the clock was ahead of its time by 12 minutes, about in line with previously obtained values. The board has one of these infamous Dallas/ODIN chips with integrated CMOS battery, designed for 10 years, now at 13 years.

As you may imagine, this system is incredibly noisy - some fan noise here, some harddrive whine there, and obviously you're going to hear every harddrive access on the Barracuda clearly. And that given a power draw of only about 50 watts (peaking at little over 60).

Interestingly enough, Geekhack actually is pretty usable with such an old beast. I guess having plenty of memory, a nice chipset and a fast graphics card helps. Seamonkey takes a medium eternity to start up, of course, bottlenecked not so much by the harddrive but processor/memory performance. There still is plenty of memory free, NT4 by itself takes less than 40 megs after all.

[InSanCen]

I use a lower power box than I would like, due to an overused and overstressed PSU taking out my board and chip.

So, now it's a Athlon64 6400BE on a Gigabyte M57SLI-S4 with 6GB or RAM (Photoshop layers kill memory,  and yes, it's Dual-Channel 2x2GB+2x1GB). 1TB + 250GB Hard Drives, oh, and a Coolermaster Stacker STC-T01 (Antec 900... ugh, spit).

I multi boot with Win7RC (Soley for photoshop), Ubuntu 9.04, and Gentoo.

[TheSoulhunter]

Update:

- Added a second gamepad (PS2 pad via adapter) to play Streetfighter 4 with my GF
- One of the 500GB HDDs died 2 weeks ago -> Replaced with a 1TB one
- Put blank caps on my Filco... \m\ ^_^ /m/

[cmr]

At home I use:

Antec Sonata III
MSI MS-7519
Intel E7200, 2.53GHz dual-core CPU
4 GB some sort of RAM
2x Seagate ST3400620AS (400 GB SATA, in RAID 1)
2x Western Digital WDC WD800JD (80 GB ATA, one Linux root FS, one with Vista)
1x Seagate Free Agent Pro (1 TB USB)
(All disk drives encrypted except for /boot)
EVGA Geforce 9800 GT, 512 MB
Lite-On DVDRW LH-20A1S
Samsung 206BW 20" LCD, 1680x1050
Macally USB hub
Sony MDM-X4 four-track, pressed into service as a five-channel mixer
Logitech M-UAE96 mouse
Keyboard of the week

At work I use:

2x Dell Optiplex 755, straight out of the box
3x Dell 1908FP monitors
2x Dell-branded Logitech M-UAE96 mouse (really, seriously, this is my favorite mouse, for reals)
Keyboard of the week

All systems run Ubuntu 9.04.

[timw4mail]

Ewww... prebuilt.

[itlnstln]

Ewww... prebuilt.

Not that I would buy one myself since I can build for less money, but my Dell Precision T5400 at work is a beast.  I love it.  It's about a year old.  It has an Intel Xeon E5405 CPU and 4GB RAM.  It also has a Quadro NVS 290 (not the greatest, but it gets the job done for a Data Analyst).  I also have 2x 1908 FP monitors.

[microsoft windows]

I'm running a 2001 MicronPC ClientPro CN which was thrown away at work. It originally came with a 933Mhz Pentium III and 128Mb of RAM, but I souped it up to the most it can handle.

[ch_123]

Currently have -

Athlon X2 2.8GHz (likely to be replacing it with a Phenom II X4)
4GB DDR2.
Gigabyte motherboard with ATI 780G chipset.
nVidia 9600GT.
250GB and 1TB hard drives (Both Samsung)
620W Corsair PSU.
Lian-Li V350B case.
Arch Linux (main use) and Windows 7 (games)

Thinkpad T61 with -
2.2GHz C2D.
4GB RAM.
320GB hard drive.
nVidia Quadro 140M
14.1" screen
Same OS arrangement.

[cmr]

man the last thing i need at work is to worry about building boxes. the dell 755s are basically trouble-free.

[Moparx]

.

[timw4mail]

man the last thing i need at work is to worry about building boxes. the dell 755s are basically trouble-free.

My biggest problem with pre-built boxes is that they are pre-crappified.

If it weren't like that, I wouldn't care as much.

[Cake_Eater]

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.0 Ghz and 0.968-0.976 volts
Mobo: ASUS Rampage II Gene
RAM: 3 GB OCZ DDR3 RAM @ 8-8-8-21 ~1500 Mhz
HDD: 640 GB Western Digital Caviar Black
GPU: Sapphire Vapor-X 4890
PSU: PCP&P Silencer 750w
HS/F: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme w/ Noctua NF-P12
Case: NZXT Rogue (which I'm really starting to hate, I'm probably going to swap cases for a Silverstone TJ08)

All in all the build cost me around $1k and I'm more than satisfied with it.

[watduzhkstand4]

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.0 Ghz and 0.968-0.976 volts
Mobo: ASUS Rampage II Gene
RAM: 3 GB OCZ DDR3 RAM @ 8-8-8-21 ~1500 Mhz
HDD: 640 GB Western Digital Caviar Black
GPU: Sapphire Vapor-X 4890
PSU: PCP&P Silencer 750w
HS/F: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme w/ Noctua NF-P12
Case: NZXT Rogue (which I'm really starting to hate, I'm probably going to swap cases for a Silverstone TJ08)

All in all the build cost me around $1k and I'm more than satisfied with it.

nice build man! Just looking at the HS/F is already like $100 lol

[Cake_Eater]

nice build man! Just looking at the HS/F is already like $100 lol

I got really lucky with the TRUE actually, got it on sale from Directron and I got the Noctua from Xoxide. For those two after shipping I think I paid around $85. In the end I think it was worth it though, with the undervolt, the i7 is capable of running without a fan on the heatsink (100% load put it at around 65C, TF2 had it at around 55C). If I can swap my build out to the Silverstone TJ08 then I think I could manage without a fan on the TRUE which would be pretty cool.

[ch_123]

Just upgraded from an Athlon X2 to a Phenom II X4 955. I'm basically getting it for free as the old one is being sold off to a relative who is also paying me to do some other work on their PC. Time to play with my unlocked multipliers

[hacfed]

Neh, just another boring Q6600 G0 @ 3.8GHz stable on air. Antec 300 case (why would you need more?). Everything internal is pretty standard fare: Scythe Ninja II cooler, 3x120mm fans @ 800rpm or possibly less, 2x2GB DDRII 800MHz, one Seagate 1.5TB, some old IDE DVD-RW, two 8400GS cards (one 256MB, one 512MB) with passive cooling. Oh, Asus P5Q Pro motherboard.

The best thing about my rig is the tripleheadness, now it has a Model M, too, and if the CPU doesn't croak then this machine will last me for years to come. It's wayy more than I need, but then again it's nice to have an uptime measured in weeks and to just leave things running (presently, 4 VMs, Dynamips w/ 4 x 7200 routers, a zillion browser tabs and windows, IM/IRC, amarok, tilda, etc. I really do treat my machine like a desk-top: when an application is open, it tends to stay open... other things just get moved on top!

My system matters to me, but my monitors and peripherals and the data on my NAS matter more. Before I built this system (less than a year ago) I used, exclusively, a PIII 933MHz w/ 128MB RAM in the form of a Dell C600 laptop. I reckon fancy hardware is for gamers and pissing contests (and chavs, to an extent).

[ironcoder]

My biggest problem with pre-built boxes is that they are pre-crappified.

You mean they all come with Winbloze?

There is a middle ground which is what I use since I use my boxes for work and I can't afford any downtime...which is to find a shop that builds to order. Around here anyway it doesn't cost any more and usually costs a lot less than buying a machine with the same specs if you can even find one. Basically you go over what you want with a salesmen and pick a mobo, power supply, processor, cooling, video card etc. and in a couple of days your box is ready. They charge the same prices for building your box as they do for the parts as long as you have them build it up front.

[timw4mail]

You mean they all come with [Windows]?

No, I mean all the other crappy software in addition to the Microsoft operating system.

[microsoft windows]

Luckily I never have to deal with that. By the time a computer comes around to me, people have most likely uninstalled the excess software of re-installed Windows a few times.

[CX23882]

Currently using this as my main work PC and HTPC:

• Athlon X2 BE-2350 2.1GHz (undervolted to 0.875V 1.0GHz/1.075V 2.1GHz)
• Scythe Ninja heatsink, semi-passive from exhaust fan
• Arctic Cooling PWM fan as exhaust
• MSI K9AG Neo2-Digital motherboard
• ATI Radeon HD 3650 with passive Zalman VNF100
• 2.0GB DDR2-800 RAM
• Intel X25-m G2 160GB system drive
• Western Digital WD6400AAKS media/backups in Scythe QuietDrive box
• LG BD-ROM/HD-DVD/DVD±R drive
• Hauppauge HVR-2200 dual hybrid tuner
• Antec NeoHE 430W
• Windows Vista 32-bit

Provided that it doesn't die, I think I'll be sticking with this machine for a while. It's not any good for recent games but it runs Vista and Win 7 well, it decodes all video formats that it needs to, it's stable and it does it all very quietly and uses only 55W at idle. For the past 5 years it seems as if I've been upgrading something every 6 months or so (better DVD quality, Blu-ray support, h.264 hardware decoding, good VM performance etc), but at this point, I can't see anything that will necessitate upgrading this machine for more performance.

My other PC for gaming is a bit quicker (2.8GHz Athlon X2, 3GB RAM, GeForce 8800GT) but I play so few games these days that's hardly ever booted. That machine is a dead-end in terms of CPU - no Phenom support. My HTPC above does support Phenoms and Phenom IIs, but I don't want to mess with a working configuration! I suspect at some point the gaming PC will replace one of my servers if/when they die and I'll build a new gaming rig. Or maybe not. It would be nice to play GTA IV at maximum settings some day though.

[ironcoder]

No, I mean all the other crappy software in addition to the Microsoft operating system.

I know what you mean. I have an old laptop that needed a reinstall. I booted the so-called recovery disk and it installed tons of crap including trials that expire in 30 days, etc. (six years ago that is.) Then I remembered it took me a couple of days to clean up the new factory installation when I first got it.

There ought to be a law against dumping crap you don't want on you when you buy a new PC. It's like they get free advertising and you have to waste time uninstalling dozens of apps. Nowadays you usually don't even get a Winbloze disk when you buy a box with bloze preinstalled. Either you get a mirror image of the installation with all the extra crap that takes space on your HD (the ultimate ripoff- *two* Winbloze installs!) or you get a CD with an image like that. What other OS do you pay for and not get media? They should give you a real installation disk.

[microsoft windows]

Was your laptop made by Hewlett-Packard? They've got quite a reputation for loading excess software on their computers.

[ironcoder]

It's a Toshiba. I had several for work over the years and I finally bought one since they never gave me any problems. Great laptops, crappy OS and software.

This particular one was eventually converted to "Laptop from Hell" configuration with a 4-way multiboot of OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and Solaris.

[iMav]

I'm looking to build a new i7 system as a primary workstation and VM sandbox.  Looks like ram is going to be over half the cost (I'll likely max out the ram on whatever mobo I choose...and looking at 24GB ones right now).

[ironcoder]

That's awesome, iMav. I'd love to have a huge ram setup. How do you do that with 2G sticks?

[iMav]

That's awesome, iMav. I'd love to have a huge ram setup. How do you do that with 2G sticks?

The mobo's I"m looking at take 6 x 4GB sticks max.

[ironcoder]

I didn't realize they came in 4G sticks. Do they work on regular mobos or do you have to have something special? At least I could run 8 instead of the 4G I have now on a few of my boxes.

[TWX]

In response to OP, I'm currently using my Gateway MX7525 laptop, which is a re-branded E-Machines unit with a 2.6GHz Mobile AMD Athlon64 4000+ and a gig of memory.

My desktop here at home is a dual 3.06GHz Xeon machine overclocked to 3.45GHz with 4GB Ram.

My computer at work is a 1.3GHz AMD Duron on a Biostar M7VKQ motherboard with 512MB Ram.  It still has an ISA slot.  I use it because I'm not at my desk often and running the Access97 database for workorders doesn't require much.

[iMav]

I didn't realize they came in 4G sticks. Do they work on regular mobos or do you have to have something special? At least I could run 8 instead of the 4G I have now on a few of my boxes.

The mobo's would have to support the 4GB sticks.

[ironcoder]

I'll check mine, thanks. Show us a pic of your engine bay before meltdown