Dune2, taken from the marvellous 2d game from the nineties which I used to play until complete exhaustion made me go to sleep on my old Cherry keyboard.

Age/Occupation/Location?
I’m 26 years old and I’m currently finishing my masters thesis.

How long have you been a member of Guru3D forums?
October, 2004

What did you first come here for?
I think I first came to Guru3d for Nvidia OC and driver info, but I was quickly engrossed by the impressive amount of info you could get on any hardware topic.

What do you mainly use the system for?
I am mostly reading the Nvidia section and any hardware related forums.  I spend most of my time in the General Hardware and OC forums because I can still learn a lot of new stuff but also can help newbies with their problems.  I’ve been hooked on PCs since my first 8088 Peacock computer in 1990, so I know quite a bit already!

How much did you spend on the rig?
This rig is a combo of new hardware and spare parts from my old rig, which I assembled after my old PSU/mobo burnt out.  I invested about €900 in Jan ’05, keeping my optical drives and the then used RAM, HDD, etc.

How often do you update/buy a new rig?
The last update was a decent cooler for my vid card (Zalman VF700Cu, nice!) and some proper ram.  I suppose I’ll keep this one for at least 12-18 months, but I might be tempted into buying a DC processor when software is ready for it!  Usually, systems don’t get much older than 2 years with me.

What components are used (including any overclocks) ?
My A64 3000+ (Winchester) runs @ 2.4Ghz on a MSI K8N Neo2 P.E., which gives it a nice OC from its standard 1800Mhz.  The new G.Skill ram is coming along nicely.  I could actually run it much faster (@222 currently, but the CPU is limited, probably due to heat.  My GT runs @ 400/1100 standard, 430/1175 for benches, all very stable because of the Zalman HS/F.  I have a 160GB Seagate S-ATA drive, and my old 80GB WD P-ATA.  I’m annoyed by the Seagate drive though as it is way louder than my old drive, which is barely audible.  Oh, and I have a 19” CRT, which kicks serious ass in high-res gaming.  It’s a bit dark but I love it!

Why ATI or NVIDIA, why Intel/AMD?
I switched from Intel to AMD when I moved from the P3 to a 2600+ mainly because I figured that it gave me more bang for the buck.  These days, AMD delivers even more bang for less bucks, so why change back?  I have had decent ATi and Nvidia cards in my older systems, but I was so impressed with the 6800 series since the first time I heard about them that I just had to get one.  But let’s see what ATi comes up with in the next time round. I’m open minded enough to go for the best option (as a matter of fact, by now I would probably have gone for the X800XL - a wicked card for the offered price!!).

Does the system work as expected?
I LOVE my rig!!  My old OC attempts were decent, but nowhere near 600 MHz (hey, my first P3 had 500 MHz!).  Also, the vid card runs nicely @ Ultra specs, which makes it a beast!  Still, I am a speed junkie so I might need a faster CPU in the future.

What's the best part of your rig?
Hmm, tough call.  The 6800GT I guess.  I upgraded from a 5900XT, and the difference is plainly amazing.  Apart from EQ2, I can run everything on 1600x1200 and AA/AF without any trouble.

What sucks and should not have been bought?
I’m not all together sure if my RAM was the best choice.  I got it quite cheap on sale and it is good RAM, but I have to use a divider and that means I now have to run it below capacity.  Maybe I should have been less skimpy and should have bought some serious OCZ EL series RAM instead.  Overall, I’m very pleased, though!  What was a waste of money is the Microsoft wireless keyboard/mouse combo I recently bought.  In games, pushed buttons or keys seem to stop applying/pushing after some time, meaning you stop in the middle of a war zone or your high speed car slows down all of a sudden.  I have to repush the button which is really annoying!

Modified cases/video cards/other? Did you do it yourself? Walk us through it.
Except for added cooling, my case (Chieftec DX series) is as bought.  I installed the Zalman VF700Cu HS/F on my card, which turned out to be quite a hassle.  My original Aopen fan connector would not detach from the PCB , so in the end I had to cut the wires and insulate them.  I’m just glad the Zalman has to be plugged in directly into the PSU, otherwise I would have been in serious trouble. 

3DMark scores?
3D Mark 01 SE: 24,505
3D Mark 03: 13,336
3D Mark 05: 5,793
PC Mark 04: 4,623
Aquamark 3: 73,451

Future upgrades?
My PC is a bit noisy, so I am thinking about getting some watercooling.  I have read the article on Guru3d about "The AquaBox", and I have to say I am very impressed.  If I can lay my hands on one of those, I might be sold!  Also, dual core CPUs start coming up, maybe I might be interested in acquiring on of those in the future. But a new CPU is at least 9-12 months off, especially when I can get some WC and OC my current CPU some more!