Finally got rid of the AMD setup as a "main rig" and got rid of the Pentium 4 as a "second rig" and went Core 2 Duo, again.. so I figured I'd post up some pix and info.
I just completed my main rig today, and everything is in place. First off, lets start with some random pix.
Got these Z-5500's. I have to say I'm impressed. For gaming you simply can't beat 'em. I'd say they're right up there with my Klipsch ProMedia's in Music too.
Heres some sweet box shots of the two new motherboards I chose for my new rigs. What a coincidence!
Here is the MATX AM2 board I got.
It's a K9VGM-V. $45 + Shipping @ Newegg, can't beat it. Its a simple board, and has all I need for now & future additions to the rig, PCI-E x16 being one of the main ones. Has a VIA K8M880 chipset I think. Not much of an overclocker but the BIOS surprised me. It has some vDimm adjustments (1.8-2.1v in 0.5v increments) as well as HTT adjustments from 200MHz to 232MHz. One thing I really like about it is the fact that it's crazy stable. I haven't had the rig crash yet on me and to be honest, I'm surprised because well, its a $45 MSI board, I didn't expect much.
The main rigs board! Sick lookin' board.
The heatpipes and heatsinks are actually copper too (scratched them a bit with a razor in a discrete spot). This one cost me a whopping $99 after rebate. Hows it OC? Well, for one, see this thread. The BIOS on this sucker is awesome. Voltage adjustments for everything, good RAM timings selection, very stable as well. Has some sick onboard diagnostic LED's too (see: pic).
Ohh yeah. You read it right. 4GB :worship:
Pretty sick 'eh? $110 on Newegg. Clocks like a mutha too. Was benching @ 1060MHz 5-5-5-15, 2.2v yesterday. See: this thread. Oh yeah, almost forgot..
Which now looks like..
Got it used for $155 shipped on XS. Not bad!
I just completed my main rig today, and everything is in place. First off, lets start with some random pix.
Got these Z-5500's. I have to say I'm impressed. For gaming you simply can't beat 'em. I'd say they're right up there with my Klipsch ProMedia's in Music too.
Heres some sweet box shots of the two new motherboards I chose for my new rigs. What a coincidence!
Here is the MATX AM2 board I got.
It's a K9VGM-V. $45 + Shipping @ Newegg, can't beat it. Its a simple board, and has all I need for now & future additions to the rig, PCI-E x16 being one of the main ones. Has a VIA K8M880 chipset I think. Not much of an overclocker but the BIOS surprised me. It has some vDimm adjustments (1.8-2.1v in 0.5v increments) as well as HTT adjustments from 200MHz to 232MHz. One thing I really like about it is the fact that it's crazy stable. I haven't had the rig crash yet on me and to be honest, I'm surprised because well, its a $45 MSI board, I didn't expect much.
The main rigs board! Sick lookin' board.
The heatpipes and heatsinks are actually copper too (scratched them a bit with a razor in a discrete spot). This one cost me a whopping $99 after rebate. Hows it OC? Well, for one, see this thread. The BIOS on this sucker is awesome. Voltage adjustments for everything, good RAM timings selection, very stable as well. Has some sick onboard diagnostic LED's too (see: pic).
Ohh yeah. You read it right. 4GB :worship:
Pretty sick 'eh? $110 on Newegg. Clocks like a mutha too. Was benching @ 1060MHz 5-5-5-15, 2.2v yesterday. See: this thread. Oh yeah, almost forgot..
Which now looks like..
Got it used for $155 shipped on XS. Not bad!
)
