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Username?I am the Duke_of_Dudes
Age/Occupation/Location?
I am 15 years old. I work as an assistant to a heating/air conditioning installer.
How long have you been a member of Guru3D forums?
Since my interest in computers began at the age of 12, I discovered the Guru3d site, and have visited frequently for questions and product reviews. I am new to the forums, having only joined a couple days ago.
What did you first come here for?
If I remember rightly, I first came to Guru3D for your review on the Intel Pentium 4 2.8 processor.
What do you mainly use the system for?
I mainly use my system for hardcore gaming. I play BF2, CS: Condition Zero, Far Cry, Halo, Doom 3. I also use my system as my multimedia system. I have it hooked up to my Xbox, VCR, and Cable Tv.
How much did you spend on the rig?
When I bought it in the summer of 2005, I spent 600 dollars for all the parts. Later on I got a new monitor, mouse and keyboard, another 512mb of Ram. So probably I have spent somewhere around $1000 on it.
How often do you update/buy a new rig?
I update my rig every 3-6 months or as necessary. I will never own a top of the line rig, but with my job now, I can afford upgrades.
What components are used?
I have an AMD Athlon 64 2800+ CPU running at 2025 mhz. I have a ECS 755-a2 motherboard, and 1 gig of Geil Value DDR400 running at 224 mhz. FSB with 2.5-3-3-6 timings. My video card is a Sapphire Radeon 9600XT 128mb. Running at 560/642(2x321). My hard drives are 2 Western Digital Caviar 40gb drives. I have a Aspire X-dreamer 2 case, Logitech LX500 keyboard, Sunbeam fireline mouse, Sony Stereo speakers, a Flexiglow Mousepad, and 1 DVD writer + a CD writer.
Why ATI or NVIDIA, why Intel/AMD?
I have an ATI Graphics card because of the low price and good performance. The 9600XT is a very good card for ovderclocking, and when I bought it, it seemed like a worthy card, and it is. I use AMD because I don't trust Intel. AMD processors are made for gaming and much cheaper then Intel Processors. Also, I do not like the idea of having a processor run at 50 degrees Celsius as most Intel Processors do.
Does the system work as expected?
It works far better then I expected. After upgrading to 1 gigabyte of RAM, the system ran flawlessly and without any problems.
What's the best part of your rig?
The best part would probably have to be the cooling I have put into the case, and all the pretty lights it has. I have the Sunbeam Chameleon light controller, and 3 LED fans. The case looks very lit up and looks really good in the dark.
What sucks and should not have been bought?
I probably shouldn't have bought the Sony stereo speakers. They are ok for some music, but when I am gaming, I really would like to have 5.1 channel surround sound. I bought the speakers because I was already overbudget and I didn't have enough money for something fancy. The speakers will be my next upgrade.
Modified cases/video cards/other? Did you do it yourself? Walk us through it.
I bought a Coolermaster Aero blower fan and mounted it in the 80mm fan slot outside of the case. The fan is very effective at moving air, and since it is in front of the processor it gives me a better CPU temperature. I have also put a fan from a Intel Socket LGA755 heatsink that I acquired a while back. The fan blows air into the video card cooler which has lowered my temperatures 3C for the VPU. I have very tidy cable management inside the case. The only things you can see are the IDE cables and some power cables.
3DMark scores?
3D Mark 01SE - 12585
3D Mark 03 - 4534
3D mark 05 - 2749
Future upgrades?
I want to get a new set of speakers soon, preferably 5.1 channel surround sound. I will also get a water cooling kit soon, or I might just build one myself. I may get a 250GB SATA hard drive for more space soon too.
