Relic's Rig
Posted by / 20020914-12:12:00 GMT+8
Category / Relic's Command Bunker
Category / Relic's Command Bunker
Relic's Rig
Specs for my current machine (rig!):
At first I had all the bits leftover from my last computer, which was a Pentium 133, 32Mb RAM and a 1.5Gb HD.
I then built a PIII 500 with 128Mb RAM, a 13Gb HDD and a Geforce. :>
Later it was upgraded to a PIII 733 and I added another 128Mb RAM.You can follow the rest of my ongoing hardware adventures below...
The Project:
Attempt to upgrade my motherboard without Win98 noticing.
The Method:
Boot into Safe Mode and remove ALL devices.
Remove AOpen AX6BC Pro (BX) and install AOpen AX3S Pro (815). Cross fingers and start up.
The Result:
All seemed to be well, although there were errors along the way. I expected some.
But in the end, I just kept getting memory errors.
The Alternative:
Re-install Windows. Sounds simple enough.
The Unexpected Obstacle:
Errors started appearing during Win98 Setup.
I checked Setup.txt for more information, and got a helpful diagnosis like: ...may be caused by a virus, low conventional memory, bad media or hardware problems.
The Process of Elimination: >
This involved eliminating everything, so I had a minimal system. Still no good.
The Revelation:
You know when you're drifting off to sleep, and you are visited by one last thought on your way to noddy-noddy land? This was mine: 16 chip DIMM.
The Problem all along:
These new motherboards require DIMMs with less than 16 chips each.
Its to do with the fact that they don't have a memory buffer, in order to increase performance.
The Solution:
Although I had two sticks of same brand 133MHz 128Mb RAM, the older one has 16 chips and the newer one 8.
I took out the older one and haven't had a problem since.
The Next Step:
Sell off one 128Mb DIMM so I can buy another 128Mb DIMM and make my motherboard happy.
- Intel Pentium IV "Northwood" 2.26GHz with a Volcano 7+
AOpen AX4G Pro motherboard
2 x 256Mb Kingmax 400MHz DDR RAM
Asus Geforce4 V8640 Ultra 128Mb DDR RAM
2 x 60Gb IBM Deskstar HDDs
Aopen H600A Case
Panasonic 16x DVD 40x CDROM
Panasonic 8x Writer 4x Rewriter
Philips 107E
MS Intellimouse Wireless Explorer
Logitech Cordless Freedom keyboard
Altec Lansing ACS54 5 piece speaker set
Enermax EG465P-VE 431W Power supply
At first I had all the bits leftover from my last computer, which was a Pentium 133, 32Mb RAM and a 1.5Gb HD.
I then built a PIII 500 with 128Mb RAM, a 13Gb HDD and a Geforce. :>
Later it was upgraded to a PIII 733 and I added another 128Mb RAM.You can follow the rest of my ongoing hardware adventures below...
The motherboard switcheroo
The Project:
Attempt to upgrade my motherboard without Win98 noticing.
The Method:
Boot into Safe Mode and remove ALL devices.
Remove AOpen AX6BC Pro (BX) and install AOpen AX3S Pro (815). Cross fingers and start up.
The Result:
All seemed to be well, although there were errors along the way. I expected some.
But in the end, I just kept getting memory errors.
The Alternative:
Re-install Windows. Sounds simple enough.
The Unexpected Obstacle:
Errors started appearing during Win98 Setup.
I checked Setup.txt for more information, and got a helpful diagnosis like: ...may be caused by a virus, low conventional memory, bad media or hardware problems.
The Process of Elimination: >
This involved eliminating everything, so I had a minimal system. Still no good.
The Revelation:
You know when you're drifting off to sleep, and you are visited by one last thought on your way to noddy-noddy land? This was mine: 16 chip DIMM.
The Problem all along:
These new motherboards require DIMMs with less than 16 chips each.
Its to do with the fact that they don't have a memory buffer, in order to increase performance.
The Solution:
Although I had two sticks of same brand 133MHz 128Mb RAM, the older one has 16 chips and the newer one 8.
I took out the older one and haven't had a problem since.
The Next Step:
Sell off one 128Mb DIMM so I can buy another 128Mb DIMM and make my motherboard happy.
One thousand Megahertz
The Upgrade
733Mhz to 1000Mhz CPU
The Addition
IBM 40Gig hard disk
The Problem
One gigantic heatsink
I made sure I had a motherboard that would support my new CPU, but I didn't anticipate how big the heatsink that Intel are supplying with the 1Gig would be. There was no way it was going to fit without ripping some important looking bits off my motherboard. I had to buy a different heatsink.
So before you join the club, make sure you've sourced some alternative heatsinks...
733Mhz to 1000Mhz CPU
The Addition
IBM 40Gig hard disk
The Problem
One gigantic heatsink
I made sure I had a motherboard that would support my new CPU, but I didn't anticipate how big the heatsink that Intel are supplying with the 1Gig would be. There was no way it was going to fit without ripping some important looking bits off my motherboard. I had to buy a different heatsink.
So before you join the club, make sure you've sourced some alternative heatsinks...
Joining the AMD side
The Upgrade
Athlon 1.4GHz CPU, Asus A7M266 motherboard, 256Mb DDR RAM
The tricky part
Making sure I got the right power supply and heatsink/fan combo to suit the fickle Athlon setup.
Choices, choices
After reading this review on Overclockers Australia it seemed I had a wide range to
choose from. But finding one I could get locally narrowed that down quick smart. I settled on the Thermaltake Mini Copper Orb. It wasn't the top performer but it has an improved clip to allow easy attachment and removal which can be a real issue.
As for the power supply I would have been happy with an AOpen 300W, even though it appears that 300W is the minimum requirement. Also, some generic 300W+ power supplies can't handle the load. Unfortunately I couldn't find one anywhere. I did, however, find a 400W option, so that should cover it. :>
Gulp
Although I've built and rebuilt quite a few PCs I was nervous about this one. I know about too many horror stories regarding Athlons, and if I stuffed up this one I would be computerless. A very undesirable situation - the might as well be in a coma type...
Attaching the cooler was interesting. I've never had to apply my own thermal paste. And if I didn't do it right, the CPU (and possibly the motherboard) would overheat and fail. Permanently. No pressure though. :P
Phew
All seems to have gone well. On first attempt it didn't boot or respond at all, but that turned out to be thanks to the power plug to the floppy being half pulled out. After that it was smooth sailing!
Athlon 1.4GHz CPU, Asus A7M266 motherboard, 256Mb DDR RAM
The tricky part
Making sure I got the right power supply and heatsink/fan combo to suit the fickle Athlon setup.
Choices, choices
After reading this review on Overclockers Australia it seemed I had a wide range to
choose from. But finding one I could get locally narrowed that down quick smart. I settled on the Thermaltake Mini Copper Orb. It wasn't the top performer but it has an improved clip to allow easy attachment and removal which can be a real issue.
As for the power supply I would have been happy with an AOpen 300W, even though it appears that 300W is the minimum requirement. Also, some generic 300W+ power supplies can't handle the load. Unfortunately I couldn't find one anywhere. I did, however, find a 400W option, so that should cover it. :>
Gulp
Although I've built and rebuilt quite a few PCs I was nervous about this one. I know about too many horror stories regarding Athlons, and if I stuffed up this one I would be computerless. A very undesirable situation - the might as well be in a coma type...
Attaching the cooler was interesting. I've never had to apply my own thermal paste. And if I didn't do it right, the CPU (and possibly the motherboard) would overheat and fail. Permanently. No pressure though. :P
Phew
All seems to have gone well. On first attempt it didn't boot or respond at all, but that turned out to be thanks to the power plug to the floppy being half pulled out. After that it was smooth sailing!
The AGP card switcheroo
Step 1
Yank out the Asus V7700 Pure.
Step 2
Insert the Asus V8200 Pure.
Now I just need to get my monitor back from the hospital....
...as it turned out, after months of surgery my monitor was declared dead and I had to accept a Philips replacement monitor... :(
Yank out the Asus V7700 Pure.
Step 2
Insert the Asus V8200 Pure.
Now I just need to get my monitor back from the hospital....
...as it turned out, after months of surgery my monitor was declared dead and I had to accept a Philips replacement monitor... :(
Getting DDRed
DDR motherboard:
AOpen AK77 Pro
AOpen AK77 Pro
DDR memory:
2 x Crucial 256Mb DDR
2 x Crucial 256Mb DDR
New Athlon to celebrate:
Athlon XP 1800+ (soon replaced with an XP 2100+)
AOpen H600A
Athlon XP 1800+ (soon replaced with an XP 2100+)
AOpen H600A
Cooling solution:
Volcano 7
Digital Doc 5 fan controller/voltage monitor
A case full of fans :>
Volcano 7
Digital Doc 5 fan controller/voltage monitor
A case full of fans :>
The Geforce 4 debacle
The upgrade:
Asus 8460 Ultra (GF4 4600)
Asus 8460 Ultra (GF4 4600)
The problem:
The "Infinite loop" error prevented my from playing any games. At all.
...to be continued
The "Infinite loop" error prevented my from playing any games. At all.
The solution:
Regretably, after many hours trying to solve this problem, I changed over my system to a P4 and an Intel board. Problem fixed.Maybe it was a voltage issue, maybe it was an AGP timing issue, I've read them all and nothing worked for me. Pity, I really liked working on my rig while I had an Athlon.... lots of cooling to play with :P
Regretably, after many hours trying to solve this problem, I changed over my system to a P4 and an Intel board. Problem fixed.Maybe it was a voltage issue, maybe it was an AGP timing issue, I've read them all and nothing worked for me. Pity, I really liked working on my rig while I had an Athlon.... lots of cooling to play with :P
Life with a Pentium IV
System changes:
Pentium IV "Northwood" 2.0GHz
Intel 845G motherboard
Enermax EG465P-VE 431W Power supply
Pentium IV "Northwood" 2.0GHz
Intel 845G motherboard
Enermax EG465P-VE 431W Power supply
P4 update:
Pentium IV 2.26GHz
Swapped stock HSF for a Volcano 7+
AOpen AX4G Pro motherboard
2 x Kingmax 256Mb DDR sticks @ 400MHz
Swapped drives for 2 x 60Gb IBM Deskstars
Pentium IV 2.26GHz
Swapped stock HSF for a Volcano 7+
AOpen AX4G Pro motherboard
2 x Kingmax 256Mb DDR sticks @ 400MHz
Swapped drives for 2 x 60Gb IBM Deskstars
Cosmetic enhancements and security
...to be continued
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