Maximum PC

The time has come to finally unveil the first rig I have ever built by myself. After asking many questions and receiving many answers, which can be found by clicking on this link, I have acheived something that I had never thought possible. A computer that in every shape and form, is a sight better than my wifes old piece of shit OEM Gateway. This success is attributed to the kind folks here at MPC who fielded many a n00bish question from me in these forums. But it is without a doubt that One4yu2c who is ultimately responsible as he took the time to both return my many PM's and e-mails with various questions and advice on making this build a successful one.

So, to wrap this up, my deepest thanks to you all here at the MPC forums who have helped me out, and a special plug to One4yu2c for being the one (lucky you!) who I repeatedly went to get advice from. Here are a few pics of the new rig. If you wish to see the entire album, please click on this link.

Before the Spaghetti:


Everything is Sleeved...:


...Even the Northbridge...:


...And the Eudemon Power/Hard Drive LED's Wires:


Case Buildup In-Work:


Finished!:






Lessons learned during this build:

1) Organize, organize, organize!
2) Don't try to build it all in one sitting. Space it out over a few days or weeks.
3) Have fun while doing it! It won't seem like work then.
4) Modding is fun!
5) 100% swapping clear molexes for black ones is a pain in the ASS.
6) 100% sleeving all wires in a build is a pain in the ASS.
7) 100% wire management in a build is a pain in the ASS.
8 ) Did I mention that 5, 6 and 7 are a pain in the ASS?

Seriously, this was a fun, educational build. I made many mistakes, and did a lot of stupid shit, (thankfully nothing was ruined, broken, or blew up in my face) but in the end I feel that because of these things I can now go on to build MY computer without any hangups since I have finished my wifes first.

Again, thanks to everyone who helped me out!

BTW, I invite anyone to spot a wire that was not sleeved save for the SATA cables and the IDE grounding cords/ribbon. When I say that this rig is 100% sleeved, I mean exactly that!

The goodies inside the build are:

Antec TruePower 550
AMD64 +3500 Winchester (90nm)
Silverstone SST-TJ03 case (x3 80mm x1 120mm)
x2 WD 74GB Raptors and one 120GB WD Caviar
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum mobo
OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 DDR PC-3200
Stock heat sink and fan that came with the proc
Arctic Silver 5 thermal grease
BFG 6800 Ultra OC AGP
Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum
Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM
Plextor 52x/32x/52x CR-RW
Silverstone Eudemon Fan Controller
NEC floppy drive

Lol, except for the case we have the same computer. Well, I have a 6800 Gt and you have an Ultra...but mine is oc'ed to ultra specs//And I have Ballistix RAM...

Anyways, nice PC!!!!

I build pcs very quickly, bout a day or 2, but the wiring is usually a mess, once i learn how to wire them the right way, ill be content. Usually, since im a lazy bastard, and i dont like pains in the ASS I usually just buy the larger cases nobody likes, and let all the wires sag somewhere where they dont bother my airflow

sweet system. cograts, and im just letting you know that you will officially be addicted to building pcs now.

Thanks for the kind words garetjax! After that monster thread, you damn well better have produced proof of a monster rig, and that you did.

It's always a pleasure to see a first time builder post his/her experiences in the forum, and I think it's great you provided pics and a breakdown of some things you learned along the way. Undoubtedly, you'll be an inspiration to others who are on the fence about building or buying.

Job well done!

awesome job!
the wiring looks amazing, it will also imporve airflow and lower temps a bit

great job! this just proves 14U2C is a nice guy after all!

what are you talking about hes always nice to me

he is a good guy was all i was saying...he was mean to NoRk though

Mmm... Spaghetti.

NICE rig by the way.



ATI deserved it.



I feel like I should make a user named "STOP_BEING_SO_LITERAL."

lol. mr humor again...

i didnt want to be mean so i just said that NoRk thing. there was some other thing too though

Nice job! Makes me kinda embarrassed of my wiring job. Should kick some serious ass.

I want you to do my wiring! I thought about sleeving but am FAR too lazy and impatient to do something like that. I've got my wiring where I can stand it now but I'm still not very happy with it.

I fully plan on posting pictures of my build once I a.) figure out how to do it and b.) get someone's digital camera.

sooo... how does a guy use the FTP space he gets from his school to post pics on MPC?

P.S. Seriously, if you live in the Minneapolis area, come do my wiring. I'll give you dollars.

Free Pic Hosting

Great Job! That looks better than a lot of veteran builds. And your parts are about spot on! Did the forums advise you throughout, because that just sounds like a killer little PC.

LOL, I like the braided cables comming out the side in one of the pics. Looks like Predator hair braid thingies.

Hey guys, thanks for all the kind comments about my first build. I cannot tell you how good of a feeling it is to not only be done with this project, but to see that other people appreciate and like what I have done. It's an awesome rush.

Anyway, to field a few questions. Chumly, the forum was instrumental in my picking out the components, putting everything together and advising me on the one or two problems that I encountered post-build. So yes, the forums helped throughout this entire build. Hell, I was posting questions about a new build back in late November, lol.

alevasseur14, sorry I do not live anywhere near Minneapolis I am afraid. I live on the west coast, near LA. It is funny that you bring up the paying dollars to sleeve your rig, because my wife said it looked so good, that I could probably make a business out of it.

As it is, I will never buy another OEM or pre-made computer again. You are so right Athlon, I am addicted to building my own!

Thanks again for all your kind words you guys! You are the one that made it happen!

Way to go garetjax! Not to reiterate everything that everyone just said, but I really like your sleeving/wiring job (lol you even wired the LED wires!!) Seriously, it's great to hear another person enjoying their first build. Good luck on all your future pc's. ;)

One question, you said you got the stock HSF that comes with the 3500+, but also that you bought some ArticSilver thermal paste. Why? Didn't the stock heatsink fan come with it's own method of sticking to the cpu, like a pad or something? I thought you only used ArticSilver when you replace your stock with a Zalman or something.

PS: I hope you post pics of when you decide to build your pc!

AS5 is superior to the consumer pads that come included on stock heatsinks. ANY heatsink will benefit from the use of Arctic Silver 5 and it's a low cost way of reducing your CPU temps. It's also easier to manage and clean if you ever need to the take the heatsink off.

You forgot #9- an Intel man can be converted to an AMD man, and can be converted without any harsh words. Advice was given, you really did your homework, that was one thing that stands out the most- research.

Oh, I had to show hubby this post. My peeve with him is how he can't stand wires being a mess. So, do tell, did you assemble it & get it going 1st before you sleeved everything?



Smart man, getting the wife's done 1st! lol Hey, how did you make out with the USB / Firewire hookups?




Nice.



LMAO! I'd have to agree. I still think parts of that post need to be stickied.



Didn't this actually begin with a post you made about putting the vid card in a Gateway?



Let's hope you won't have to build another for a while. When I saw the price of that case, I hit the floor. I couldn't imagine putting out the $$ for 2 of those!

oo do I see a 6800? Nice first build, it feels much better to have built a computer then buying a dell or something.. Nice Case.