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Cantrip's Mobile Gaming Computer Quest Options
Cantrip
#1 Posted: : Sunday, November 18, 2007 1:12:24 AM
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Okay, so most of you know that I purchased C&C3 in April but had not been able to play until two weeks ago.  I purchased an EVGA 8600 GT card because they sold the last 8800 GT card 20 minutes before I got to the store.  I got a power supply in anticipation of getting returning the card and getting the 8800 and I got two memory sticks to add onto the empty slots.  I returned the power supply and the memory when I was able to get the card to work just with my 300 watt power supply and the memory was incompatible with my current memory.

So I talked to a guy at Fry's about my aversion to getting a new gaming laptop for like $3000 which will be obsolete when the video chip is obsolete and you have to get a new laptop because you can't change out the video card.   We then came across a small case which uses a micro ATX mobo.  Here's the case which will be about $100 with rebate.  It is an APEVIA X-QPack 2 with a 500 watt power supply.  It has three sides which have see-through Plexiglass.  There's a handle hidden in the front of the case.

http://www.apevia.com/product.php?pid=225






This case is small enough (15 x 11 x 9 inches) so that it will fit into my carry-on bag for flying with no problems.  I can get a 15 or 17 -inch LCD monitor which I can put into a laptop bag for flying.  While not a laptop, I can take it on trips and play TF2 with no problems, and I can use it at home as my machine to play while I'm on my exercise bicycle.

The sales guy put together a list of components starting with the small mobo (click underlined text for specs):

 Asus M2A-VM HDMI Socket AM2 Motherboard
$84.99

AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 6000+
ADX6000CZBOX - Box CPU - Socket AM2

$160.00

4GB DDR2 PC6400 QUAD KIT PATRIOT
$149.99

Seagate 500GB Serial ATA/300 16MB Buffer ST3500641AS-RK - Retail Hard Drive Kit.
$149.99

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
(Full Version) - OEM

$89.99

Thermaltake TR2-R1Socket K8/AM2 Cooler
$14.99

Total for parts listed yet to be purchased = $649.95. 

With case already purchased = $749.99.

I can use a keyboard leftover from machine upgrades at work.  I may be able to use an old hd with XP already on it from work. Would need to purchase a mouse, probably like the Razor I already have.  Hmm.  Need a DVD ROM drive I see. May be able to pull one from one of the three old machines sitting in the garage.

Oh yeah, I need a vid card, which I think can't be an 8800 GT card because it probably would be too long to fit in the case.  One with DirectX 10.  Probably another 8600 GT because it would certainly fit. Who knows.

I don't know yet how much a 15 or 17 inch LCD monitor costs, probably around $170 - $200.

The whole purpose of this is to have a machine to play on on my exercise bike, which is in a different part of the house.  But the main reason is to be able to take the machine on a plane and play at my destination. 

Thoughts?



You should be more like Cantrip.



Twitchy: "I pulled a Cantrip . . ."
GivePeaceAChance: "If the Tempest had nipples, I'd pinch that shit."
Xylicon: "I'm about to deliver my [Richard] in your face for posting that stupid shit. "
WDF?: "He keeps reaming me... night after night... I'm rather sore."
GivePeaceAChance: "OMG MY NIPS ARE HARD"
llenta: "cantrip, you fail!!!"
Filliam H. Muffman: "i'm on top of dick"
Murdy
#2 Posted: : Sunday, November 18, 2007 9:39:49 AM
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I have this for one of the boxes here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009118  works goood and its light.

Yes its time again to Play WTF did Murdy Just type
Robot Hell is real and i cant spell

yes im dyslexic
WDF? wrote:
lol fuck you, Murdy.

BadHorsie wrote:
I love it!
Sirusdv
#3 Posted: : Tuesday, November 20, 2007 2:48:33 PM
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http://www.sagernotebook...=71&action=customize

You can swap out the chip and even add / swap nvidia mobility cards.
I read ALL your private messages.


"I don't want the salami." -WDF

WDF: I told her that she could come over if she brought beer.
Sirus: Wait, you made the recovering alcoholic bring beer?
WDF: This shouldn't surprise you, this is me we're talking about... It'll be a test.
Cantrip
#4 Posted: : Tuesday, November 20, 2007 11:49:47 PM
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Murdy wrote:

I have this for one of the boxes here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009118  works goood and its light.



That's a 16ms refresh rate.  I thought 5ms was the slowest you wanted to go to avoid ghost images.  Does it matter?  - Was I lied to?  If it doesn't really matter, I can live with that price.

And here are a few acquisitions.  A new HP keyboard from work.  Also a Samsung 160GB HD (HD160JJ/P) that has an "immanent failure warning" which is why it was pulled, copied with Norton Ghost, and put on a shelf.  The one on the right is a Seagate Barracuda 7200.7  80GB HD (ST389911A) that was pulled from a machine that had hardware problems, but the HD is fine.  The Seagate is probably the one I will use.




So, keyboard saves me like five bucks.  Save forty bucks or so on the the HD and another $120 on Windows XP Pro because it's already on there.

Hmm.  What the hell am I saying.  Can't skimp on the HD.  Means I will have to get XP Pro from somewhere else.  May save these HDs for the computer experiment after that - Lexan case that is only has tall (flat) as the vid card is on the MOBO.
You should be more like Cantrip.



Twitchy: "I pulled a Cantrip . . ."
GivePeaceAChance: "If the Tempest had nipples, I'd pinch that shit."
Xylicon: "I'm about to deliver my [Richard] in your face for posting that stupid shit. "
WDF?: "He keeps reaming me... night after night... I'm rather sore."
GivePeaceAChance: "OMG MY NIPS ARE HARD"
llenta: "cantrip, you fail!!!"
Filliam H. Muffman: "i'm on top of dick"
Murdy
#5 Posted: : Wednesday, November 21, 2007 7:33:25 AM
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how but this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009087

and i have not has ghosting on the othe monitor but i dont play death mach on that box

Yes its time again to Play WTF did Murdy Just type
Robot Hell is real and i cant spell

yes im dyslexic
WDF? wrote:
lol fuck you, Murdy.

BadHorsie wrote:
I love it!
Qazster
#6 Posted: : Wednesday, November 21, 2007 7:57:45 AM
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Unless I am mistaken Windows XP only supports up to 3 GB of RAM. It will show 4 GB in the BIOS but only 3 GB in Windows.

Cantrip
#7 Posted: : Thursday, November 22, 2007 10:43:54 AM
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Thanks for the input on the monitors and the memory.  I read up on the memory and there seems to be an issue, but that may be with older boards.  Forgot to ask the guy about it.  Anyway, went back to Fry's yesterday when I found out they had the 8800 GT cards in.  The guys in other departments were surprised and went over to score their own since they have been sold out for weeks.

Here's what I got:



Front to back it's the mobo, 320GB HD, DVC/CD writer, XFX 8800 GT vid card, Microsoft XP Media, case, 64 AMD 3Gh processor, 4 GB (2x2) memory, thermal paste, fan for processor which may or may not fit.

Will put it together today.  It's 10:45 a.m. at the moment.
You should be more like Cantrip.



Twitchy: "I pulled a Cantrip . . ."
GivePeaceAChance: "If the Tempest had nipples, I'd pinch that shit."
Xylicon: "I'm about to deliver my [Richard] in your face for posting that stupid shit. "
WDF?: "He keeps reaming me... night after night... I'm rather sore."
GivePeaceAChance: "OMG MY NIPS ARE HARD"
llenta: "cantrip, you fail!!!"
Filliam H. Muffman: "i'm on top of dick"
Qazster
#8 Posted: : Thursday, November 22, 2007 2:37:27 PM
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Lol you have the same MoBo as me. It is a great Mother Board for the price, but for me I had to install RAID drivers because the driver disk it had didn't have any on it.

Cantrip
#9 Posted: : Sunday, November 25, 2007 10:06:28 PM
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Okay, so I didn't put it together until today.  Something to do with the many bloody Marys I had to numb myself from the TG party I didn't order.

Here's a view showing the 8800 GT card is as long as the micro ATX mobo:



Here it is inside the case.  No space problems:



Other side.  Had to get another CPU fan because the other one was a quarter inch too tall.



I talked to the guys at Fry's who were shocked that it fit and echoed my concern about heat.  So I got this exhaust fan which takes up two PCI slots, but is not powered by the mobo.  There's a blue fan on the right toward the back.  Tried to add a fan on the right in that empty space in the foreground, but I couldn't make it stick without interference - need some spacers.  So instead I popped out the metal panels on the floppy bay and the bay below the DVD drive. 



Here's the other side.  Fan up top and I added a tiny one to the left of the HD.



And the view from the top.



So it's finished.  I'm afraid to turn it on until I have someone look at it for me.  He hasn't called me back yet, so there it sits without power. 

Update later.
You should be more like Cantrip.



Twitchy: "I pulled a Cantrip . . ."
GivePeaceAChance: "If the Tempest had nipples, I'd pinch that shit."
Xylicon: "I'm about to deliver my [Richard] in your face for posting that stupid shit. "
WDF?: "He keeps reaming me... night after night... I'm rather sore."
GivePeaceAChance: "OMG MY NIPS ARE HARD"
llenta: "cantrip, you fail!!!"
Filliam H. Muffman: "i'm on top of dick"
Cantrip
#10 Posted: : Wednesday, November 28, 2007 11:41:22 PM
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Location: Parallel Universe
Hmm.  Just hooked up the machine to a monitor and turned it on. 

"DISK BOOT FAILURE.  INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER."

Should I not get some other option than that?  Like an F10 setup or some such option so I can load Windows?

And I don't know if this is good or bad, but the CPU is at 103 degrees F and the HD is at 79 degrees F after about ten minutes.  Need to replace that loud tiny fan I installed.

I'm shutting her down until I read up on what's wrong or one of you recognizes what's wrong.

: (



.
You should be more like Cantrip.



Twitchy: "I pulled a Cantrip . . ."
GivePeaceAChance: "If the Tempest had nipples, I'd pinch that shit."
Xylicon: "I'm about to deliver my [Richard] in your face for posting that stupid shit. "
WDF?: "He keeps reaming me... night after night... I'm rather sore."
GivePeaceAChance: "OMG MY NIPS ARE HARD"
llenta: "cantrip, you fail!!!"
Filliam H. Muffman: "i'm on top of dick"
BadHorsie
#11 Posted: : Thursday, November 29, 2007 12:20:22 AM
Rank: Fecal Impaction For the Win!


Groups: {pDs} Member, Registered User

Joined: 11/6/2007
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Location: Portland

Hmm it could be as simple as your BIOS is checking for disks in as incorrect order. I got that error numerous times. It's always easy to fix. That, or you could have a floppy disk in. I'm sure you don't. Now, I saved my old WIN ME start up disk, because even though that system might be crap, that start up disk is... well.. uber. For this type of thing anyway. If you don't have it, I could see if I can find my copy, and upload it to a file for you. That way, you could have a disc drive driver to start your WINDOWS CD and then that should be the fix.

Another thing - your 300 W power supply will have to go bye bye soon enough. 400 W minimum now I think for most systems. Vid cards and dual CPUs are power hogs.

Your heat issue - I use a HD cooler fan in my comp. That fan blowing on the HD moves enough air around on the inside that it helps to make a difference on the rest of the comp.

/shrug

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“I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression. You're right, we did it. We're very sorry. But thanks to you, we won't do it again.” - Ben Bernanke
Gnar
#12 Posted: : Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:22:12 PM
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My thoughts.... Computers in carry on bags? you realize you WILL be screened so hardcore by TSA. be sure to get to the airport 4 hours early and i would apply some petrolium jelly to your asshole before you get there.... you never know if TSA ran out.
Qazster
#13 Posted: : Thursday, November 29, 2007 2:41:25 PM
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Cantrip wrote:
Hmm.  Just hooked up the machine to a monitor and turned it on. 

"DISK BOOT FAILURE.  INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER."

Should I not get some other option than that?  Like an F10 setup or some such option so I can load Windows?

And I don't know if this is good or bad, but the CPU is at 103 degrees F and the HD is at 79 degrees F after about ten minutes.  Need to replace that loud tiny fan I installed.

I'm shutting her down until I read up on what's wrong or one of you recognizes what's wrong.

: (



.


Did you just hook up an old hard-drive and turn the machine on for the first time? If so you may need to reload windows again so it can be reconfigured. Just load windows on like a good SATA drive, or one in RAID 0 so it will load programs faster, and keep your old drive so you can transfer files back to your new drive that you use for windows. Also I have heard that 2 HD's running in RAID 0 is faster than one SATA HD.

Murdy
#14 Posted: : Thursday, November 29, 2007 2:56:04 PM
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check the HD make sure its set as master  and check the bios to see whats set to boot frist

Yes its time again to Play WTF did Murdy Just type
Robot Hell is real and i cant spell

yes im dyslexic
WDF? wrote:
lol fuck you, Murdy.

BadHorsie wrote:
I love it!
BadHorsie
#15 Posted: : Thursday, November 29, 2007 6:23:38 PM
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...and that they're all plugged in and done so correctly
If you support John McCain and/or George W. Bush, please click here.

“I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression. You're right, we did it. We're very sorry. But thanks to you, we won't do it again.” - Ben Bernanke
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