My new, yet un-named, PC
I have amassed the following hardware thus far:
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Abit BH6 motherboard with the Intel 440BX Chipset. Features: 1 AGP, 5 PCI, 2ISA, 100/66FSB Override, Softmenu II jumperless MB (yes, I decided to avert my "manhood-like" tendencies and go with what has now proven that it works extremely well!), a plethora (see what I mean about averting "manhood-like" tendencies!) of FSB frequency support (in MHz...66, 75, 83, 100, 112, 124, 133 plus the 2 to 3% turbo feature), 3 DIMM slots, ATX Form Factor. The ATX Form Factor means that the board has the ports built directly onto the motherboard without the need for cables to mount to the case so that you can access these outside the case: two USB Ports, COM1 and COM2 Ports, LPT1 Port, PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard Ports.
This is currently the "overclocker's" dream board.
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Mushkin Inc. PC-100 CAS-2 Latency 128MB DIMM made with Samsung -GH chips (rated one of the most stable memory sticks to overclock).
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Creative Labs Sound Blaster LIVE! PCI Sound Card, retail boxed. This card also has a digital-ready Joystick Port, analog audio input OR digital audio input from the CD-ROM, daughter slot bracket with additional input/outputs plus extra speaker outputs for four speaker, "surround sound" capability. This card is also fully compatible with programs in DOS, unlike some PCI sound cards.
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In-Win Q500A Full Size Tower Case equipped with 300W power supply (I settled on this case due to it's large number of drive bays and cooling capacity, although I underestimated the amount of vertical real estate this thing takes up!). My case arrived damaged, but a new one is on the way and is due next Monday...drats, well, I can wait a couple of more days! It's very useable, but the left side panel was shifted slightly and does not mate with the front plate well, not noticeable unless you really look at it, but hey! I would know it's imperfect!
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Maxtor DiamondMax 2500 Plus Series, 7200 RPM, 10GB UDMA Hard Drive (91000D8). It appears that Maxtor has really started beefing up their reputation with the release of their recent DiamondMax and DiamondMax 2500 Plus drives.
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Cambridge SoundWorks PCWorks three-piece speaker system (two satellite, one subwoofer)
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Toshiba XM6202B, EIDE, 32X, Mode 2 capable CD-ROM drive with Digital Output along with the Analog Output.
Plans for finishing the system (at this weekend's Market
Pro Computer Show) are to purchase a Celeron 300A processor
(and overclock to 450MHz) or a P2-450 processor, video card (I haven't
settled on one, I'm leaning toward the ATI
All In Wonder Pro 8MB AGPx2 card due to it's tuner capabilities, but
the changing face of 3D gaming may change me over to another card...I
don't know if I really want to get a Voodoo2 card and may opt for
one of the combo 2D/3D Accelerator cards like the G200 or Voodoo2
Banshee), a Hard Drive Cooler for my new Maxtor HD, and look for a
good CD-RW 4x2x? Drive. Jury is still out on the Zip drive, I'm going
to network the two PCs, so I shouldn't need the Zip for file transfers.
What I will transfer from my old system (which is going to my kids)...the Maxtor UDMA drive, the Diamond SupraExpress 56K modem, and I will keep the Cambridge SoundWorks speakers and give them the new PCWorks speakers instead (hey, it is my perogative, so I get to keep the best ones!). I will also keep the WYSE monitor.
What I will transfer from my old system (which is going to my kids)...the Maxtor UDMA drive, the Diamond SupraExpress 56K modem, and I will keep the Cambridge SoundWorks speakers and give them the new PCWorks speakers instead (hey, it is my perogative, so I get to keep the best ones!). I will also keep the WYSE monitor.
"The
Changeling"*
*It's quest: to become the perfect PC
My PC is always in a state of change. Constant upgrades, constant tweaking, and the occasional catastrophic sterilization!
The current snapshot:
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Mustang Technologies R534e Motherboard w/SIS-5571 chipset
(if you own this motherboard, you can get the latest flash bios (R534E###.BIN) at the Mustang Technologies FTP site. You will also need the Award Flasher Utility) -
Award 4.51PG PnP (Plug n Pray) BIOS
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Micron Technology 80MB EDO RAM / 60ns 72-pin SIMMs (2 sticks of 32MB and 2 sticks of 8MB)
PRIMARY IDE PORT:
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HD C:\ Western Digital Caviar AC36400 6.4GB UltraDMA
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HD D:\ Maxtor DiamondMax Ultra-DMA 85260D6 5.2GB*
(the drive is a 5.1GB, but I got one of the first ones that touted
"extra 100MB free for a limited time only!" Uh...gee...thanks...)
I had a lot of issues with the FAT getting corrupted and crosslinking of files. With Maxtor's help, I set the PIO Mode manually to 4 in my BIOS, rather than "AUTODETECT". Strange, but this got rid of the errors!
SECONDARY IDE PORT:
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HD E:\ Western Digital Caviar AC33100 3.1GB
TERTIARY IDE PORT (USING MY SOUND BLASTER-IDE CARD)
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CD-ROM DRIVE M:\ 12X to 24X Toshiba XM-6102B CD-ROM drive M:**
(Why use M: as the drive letter? Because I got tired of reinstalling CD-ROM software everytime I added a new drive!) -
Iomega SCSI-Insider ZIP Drive (Drive F:\)
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Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16-IDE
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Diamond Multimedia SupraExpress 56i SP Modem
Diamond has admitted that 56K modems manufactured by them with ROM Code Version less than 0.519 (you can get this by issuing an ATI3 command in a terminal program, like Hyperterminal, part of the resulting dump will give you the ROM info). If yours is less than v0.519, then check the Diamond Supra 56K FAQ section to find out how to get a replacement. -
Also, from Diamond, a Stealth 2000 3D 4MB EDO video card
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Creative Labs 3D Blaster Voodoo2 12MB PCI 3D Accelerator add-on video card
Using the 3D Control Center Utility, I have moved ALL 3D chores to this card and disabled the 3D handling on my Stealth...first impression of the CL3DBV2? Absolutely awesome! -
Cambridge Soundworks Soundworks (nope, that's not double-speak...it's their Soundworks Series speakers) three-piece speaker system (two satellite, one subwoofer) which I got for a steal from Best Buy in June, clearanced out for $49 and it was only missing the speaker wires, box and manuals! Absolutely awesome sound. I have a Cambridge Ensemble III system on my Kenwood Stereo system and wouldn't hesitate to recommend Cambridge speaker systems to anyone!!
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ALL housed in a cool Enlight EN-6680 Mid Tower Case. This case is a dream for people like me that is always tinkering under the "hood" to get that extra .00001% performance gain!
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Operating system is Windows 95
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HP Deskjet 692C Printer
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Visioneer PaperPort Strobe scanner
*replaced my Seagate
2.1GB ST32140A Medalist HD.
**replaced the s l o o o w 4X Goldstar
R540G CD-ROM Drive.
I rearranged my hard drives and reinstalled Win 95 on 3/16/98...I swapped my WD 6.4GB HD with my WD 3.1GB HD (E: -> C: and vice-versa).
This page was created on June 4, 1997
©1997 - 2004 by Jerry L. Morris, Sr.