Sam's Computer Mods

Here is a description of my computer mods:

I am finally back again. After quite some time finishing up the black stealth I was getting a bit bored and desperately in need of a faster system.
Note that the Black Stealth has lasted me almost 3 years, and performances still not too shabby. I was able to play Half Life 2 at descent FPS and ran it at 1280x1024!

In any event I had so much junk on that system (though my Windows install was still very clean, even after almost 2 years not formatting it) that I decided it was time for something that could take it.

Enters the new system. I decided to go with AMD 64 939 platform (Nvidia nForce 4 chipset) since AMD is still coming out with X2 models and I just couldn't afford them at the time. I figured it would be the best route to upgrade (performance delta from an 3200+ to an X2 would be far greater than from a 3Ghz P4 to a 3.8Ghz dual core P4... at least on the current Intel platforms). I recently (Jan 1st 2007) upgraded the CPU to a Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (89W Toledo). Out of the box the CPU clocks at 2500Mhz (HTT 250, LT 4X, DDR@500Mhz, multi 10x). I'm sure I'll be able to squeeze a bit more out of this sucker but so far everything is running amazingly smooth.

So with a small budget in mind I went ahead and order the parts.

Part list (I'm sure I'll forget some but here it is):

Cooler Master Centurion 530 case with window (I didn't want it but oh well).
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W (not shown. I originally had a Sunbean Nuuo 550W... fried after about 1 year so I'm not taking any chances).
AMD 64 X2 4400+ 89W (batch 0614), replacing my sweet 3200+ (that's been running at 2650Mhz for a year w/o any issues).
Asus AN8-SLI (regular).
1GB Corsair XMS 3500 (2x512MB).
Thermalright XP120 heatsink. Thermaltake 120mm LED fan (2400rpm) (not shown).
3 120mm low RPM LED fans (2 intake, 1 exhaust).
2x XFX Geforce 6800 XT (with 256MB DDR3, 1100/450Mhz in SLI) (not shown).
Lite-on 18X DL DVD-/+RW.
Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS.
2 Hitachi Deskstar 250GB (8MB cache) SATA, RAID 0.

OS is still Windows XP Pro. Dual 19" CRT monitor setup. I also have an external 250GB Hitachi drive (in Buslink SATA/USB/Firewire enclosure).

So again nothing too fancy here. The videocards overclocks like crazy. So far I've been able to push it at 450/1100 core/mem with stock cooling. I don't have any plan on going water with this system. I went with air cooling mainly since the Thermaright XP120 is such an amazing heatsink.

The fans are controlled by the mobo via Speedfan. The system is dead silent even under full load with the fan blasting. I have been able to achieve some easy OC on the CPU but I have yet to play around with the 64 platform... not as easy as my old Athlon XP.

I haven't ran any benchmarks but as a reference point I am getting around 70-80FPS on America's Army with everything maxed out, 1280x1024 and filters on. Not too shabby since there is only 1 card... for now!

Anyways, this is pretty much it... Oh I just wanted to mention that the best $50 I spent on a computer system were for the Soundblaster card. I was debatting for a while whether to get an add-on Soundblaster or use the onboard 8 channels. I decided to go with the Audigy because of the added FPS (almost 10 extra FPS in HL2). I was simply amazed by the quality of the sound coming out of this system. Once tuned the Audigy sounds 1000x better than my old onboard sound... even on my 4.1 Cambridge Soundwork system. So again, get this card... it's a must. If you have some extra $$, check out the new Xfi... they looks sweet!.



	HOME AMD 64 SLI BLACK STEALTH REV 2 REV 1 LINKS EMAIL ME			Here is a description of my computer mods: I am finally back again. After quite some time finishing up the black stealth I was getting a bit bored and desperately in need of a faster system. Note that the Black Stealth has lasted me almost 3 years, and performances still not too shabby. I was able to play Half Life 2 at descent FPS and ran it at 1280x1024! In any event I had so much junk on that system (though my Windows install was still very clean, even after almost 2 years not formatting it) that I decided it was time for something that could take it. Enters the new system. I decided to go with AMD 64 939 platform (Nvidia nForce 4 chipset) since AMD is still coming out with X2 models and I just couldn't afford them at the time. I figured it would be the best route to upgrade (performance delta from an 3200+ to an X2 would be far greater than from a 3Ghz P4 to a 3.8Ghz dual core P4... at least on the current Intel platforms). I recently (Jan 1st 2007) upgraded the CPU to a Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (89W Toledo). Out of the box the CPU clocks at 2500Mhz (HTT 250, LT 4X, DDR@500Mhz, multi 10x). I'm sure I'll be able to squeeze a bit more out of this sucker but so far everything is running amazingly smooth. So with a small budget in mind I went ahead and order the parts. Part list (I'm sure I'll forget some but here it is): Cooler Master Centurion 530 case with window (I didn't want it but oh well). PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W (not shown. I originally had a Sunbean Nuuo 550W... fried after about 1 year so I'm not taking any chances). AMD 64 X2 4400+ 89W (batch 0614), replacing my sweet 3200+ (that's been running at 2650Mhz for a year w/o any issues). Asus AN8-SLI (regular). 1GB Corsair XMS 3500 (2x512MB). Thermalright XP120 heatsink. Thermaltake 120mm LED fan (2400rpm) (not shown). 3 120mm low RPM LED fans (2 intake, 1 exhaust). 2x XFX Geforce 6800 XT (with 256MB DDR3, 1100/450Mhz in SLI) (not shown). Lite-on 18X DL DVD-/+RW. Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS. 2 Hitachi Deskstar 250GB (8MB cache) SATA, RAID 0. OS is still Windows XP Pro. Dual 19" CRT monitor setup. I also have an external 250GB Hitachi drive (in Buslink SATA/USB/Firewire enclosure). So again nothing too fancy here. The videocards overclocks like crazy. So far I've been able to push it at 450/1100 core/mem with stock cooling. I don't have any plan on going water with this system. I went with air cooling mainly since the Thermaright XP120 is such an amazing heatsink. The fans are controlled by the mobo via Speedfan. The system is dead silent even under full load with the fan blasting. I have been able to achieve some easy OC on the CPU but I have yet to play around with the 64 platform... not as easy as my old Athlon XP. I haven't ran any benchmarks but as a reference point I am getting around 70-80FPS on America's Army with everything maxed out, 1280x1024 and filters on. Not too shabby since there is only 1 card... for now! Anyways, this is pretty much it... Oh I just wanted to mention that the best $50 I spent on a computer system were for the Soundblaster card. I was debatting for a while whether to get an add-on Soundblaster or use the onboard 8 channels. I decided to go with the Audigy because of the added FPS (almost 10 extra FPS in HL2). I was simply amazed by the quality of the sound coming out of this system. Once tuned the Audigy sounds 1000x better than my old onboard sound... even on my 4.1 Cambridge Soundwork system. So again, get this card... it's a must. If you have some extra $$, check out the new Xfi... they looks sweet!. [Back to top]