Reader's Rigs - Crafter

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Username?
Crafter

Age/Occupation/Location?
I am 23 years old.
Im currently a system administrator consultant employed by the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal where I received my Bachelor Degree with majors in Business Information Systems and Economics.
I live in South Africa.

How long have you been a member of Guru3D forums?Since April 2005

What did you first come here for?
I was looking for Aquamark3 and came across Guru3D. To my surprise there was a lot more to it than just a download site. Ever since then, Ive checked back daily and find the article and reviews of great interest.

What do you mainly use the system for?
Games, Internet, Movies, Music

How much did you spend on the rig?
Now thats difficult. Ive build it up over the last 3 years. Id say counting the Big Steps to get the rig to where it is today say R7500 R8000 about US$1250 $1350

How often do you update/buy a new rig?
Well, there is always something new going into my rig, mainly small things more than large upgrades. This year Ive been adding something about every 2 months. The last big step was moving from my XP2500 (Barton) -> Running at 3200+ on a Gigabyte 7N400-L and a Pixelview FX5900XT to a -> A64 3000+ with a Gigabyte K8NS and a 6600GT
The A64 came first then sold the FX5900XT for the GT.

What components are used?
Athlon 64 Sock754  3000+ running at 2500Mhz with 1.55VCore (Newcastle)
Gigabyte K8NS Nforce 3 250 etc
1GB Kingmax Super RAM DDR400 (2.5, 7,3,3) using 2x512meg
Gigabyte G power Pro cooler
Gigabyte 6600GT stock cooler 550 Core and 1100 Mem AGP 8x
Maxtor 120gig HDD 7200RPM 2Meg ATA133
Seagate 30gig 5400 RPM 2Meg in a removeable bracket (Mainly a drive to transport movies, games, music)
Aopen 350w PSU 24 pin with converter to 20 pin
Leadtek TVXP2000 Tuner Card Expert Ed
Aopen 17 Monitor
Aopen DVD +- Writer 16x  DL
Logitec MX510 Blue Mouse USB
Logitec Natural Keyboard PS2
PCI 56k Modem
1.44 Stiffy dirve
Vantec Cable Sleeves and Molex kit
WinXP Pro SP2

Copyright Guru3D.com 2005

Why ATI or NVIDIA, why Intel/AMD?
It started off as a matter of price, buying a system on a budget meant AMD and I was not going to settle for a Celeron (Yuk!) Most of my gaming buddies all have AMD rigs, any Intel supporters are greatly out numbered!
When I was considering the A64, it was less about price and more about performance. An Intel P4 was in reach in terms of price, but the A64s performance in games knocked the socks of the Intel chips. The logical choice was and still is AMD A64.
Well for graphics cards Ive tried both sides of the fence, I had a 9600Pro before the FX5900XT and was pleased with it performance. Some how I always seem to come back to Nvidia. Nvidia has mainly been on AMDs side so it maybe seems only natural I use Nvidia. Besides the 6600GT cant really be touched by any offerings ATI has for the same price AKA -> x700pro and XT.

Does the system work as expected?
Not at first, little issues with RAM and a BIOS update needed sorting out. Now, works like a charm rock solid!

What's the best part of your rig?
A64 Newcastle 3000+ that can push 2500Mhz  -  must be similar to a A64 3800+ spec
And my Gigabyte G power Pro Cooler needed to keep the above cool (So they could be considered one favourite part?)

What sucks and should not have been bought?
1.44 Stiffy Drive

Modified cases/video cards/other? Did you do it yourself? Walk us through it.
I put a Perspex window in the case myself. Used a Jigsaw to cut the side of the case and then got the firm where I purchased the Perspex to cut an 80mm fan hole. I used Aqua silicon (Clear) seal to stick the Perspex to the case side.

Copyright Guru3D.com 2005

3DMark scores?
Latest ones using 76.45 Forcewave
3Dmark01 > 20058
3Dmark03 > 8915
3Dmark05 > 3820
Aquamark3 > 60044

Future upgrades?
Ill be moving onto a socket 939 platform by the end of the year and look at moving onto a 6800GT. Im waiting for the G70 to be released in the hopes this will lower the price of the 6800GT.

Copyright Guru3D.com 2005


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