ok, how does this system look?

[Eric]

All prices in Canadian. total: $1124. Gaming. Bang for the buck.
Hoping for cool and quiet.

Mobo:
11851 GA-K8NXP-SLI GA-K8NXP-SLI nVidia nForce4-SLI S939/800
Dual-DDR400 PCX-x16-SLI 2xGLAN SATA-II-RAID IEEE1394b 7.1 Audio
$235.00 atic -need to order

CPU
Athlon64 3000+ S939 512K Athlon64 3000+ (1.8GHz) S939 512K 800FSB HS &
FAN $185.00CD atic. winchester
dual channel

RAM
12217 VS512MB400x2 1GB PC3200 Memory Kit (2x512) 1024MB (2x512MB)
PC3200 DDR400 CAS 2.5 Memory Kit $200.00 atic

Video Card
N368 6600GT 128M PCX eVGA 6600GT 128M DDR TV-o, DVi-i PCI-Express
$240.00CD atic, in stock.

Burner:
NEC 3520A Dual 16x DVD±RW, DL: 6x DVD±R NEC ND3520A Dual 16x8x16x
DVD±RW, Dual-Layer for DVD±R 6x 2M oem Beige $78.00 instock at atic
ND-3520A

HD:
Seagate 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive ST380817AS $88 atic in stock.

case:
SLK3700BQE BK 19" ATX 19" ATX 10bay 7slot BLACK ATX 350W PS FRONT
USB2.0 Quiet 120MM-FAN $98 in stock at atic

Questions:
1) does anything look screwed up? Too much motherboard for the rest
of it?

2)I will overclock and may add and additional video card later. Will
the 350W power supply be enough?

3)Any other suggestions for changes or anything at all?

4)How does this look for bang-for-the-buck?

5)Any good retailers in Lower Mainland of BC Canada to buy computers
at other than NCIX and ATIC?

thanks
Eric

 

[Tony Hill]

All prices in Canadian. total: $1124. Gaming. Bang for the buck.
Hoping for cool and quiet.

Mobo:
11851 GA-K8NXP-SLI GA-K8NXP-SLI nVidia nForce4-SLI S939/800
Dual-DDR400 PCX-x16-SLI 2xGLAN SATA-II-RAID IEEE1394b 7.1 Audio
$235.00 atic -need to order

CPU
Athlon64 3000+ S939 512K Athlon64 3000+ (1.8GHz) S939 512K 800FSB HS &
FAN $185.00CD atic. winchester
dual channel

RAM
12217 VS512MB400x2 1GB PC3200 Memory Kit (2x512) 1024MB (2x512MB)
PC3200 DDR400 CAS 2.5 Memory Kit $200.00 atic

Video Card
N368 6600GT 128M PCX eVGA 6600GT 128M DDR TV-o, DVi-i PCI-Express
$240.00CD atic, in stock.

Burner:
NEC 3520A Dual 16x DVD±RW, DL: 6x DVD±R NEC ND3520A Dual 16x8x16x
DVD±RW, Dual-Layer for DVD±R 6x 2M oem Beige $78.00 instock at atic
ND-3520A

HD:
Seagate 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive ST380817AS $88 atic in stock.

case:
SLK3700BQE BK 19" ATX 19" ATX 10bay 7slot BLACK ATX 350W PS FRONT
USB2.0 Quiet 120MM-FAN $98 in stock at atic

Questions:
1) does anything look screwed up? Too much motherboard for the rest
of it?

If you ask me, yes. Really you're spending a LOT of extra money to
get SLI capabilities which, IMO, probably aren't going to be at all
worthwhile. Spending $100 less on the motherboard for a standard,
non-SLI nForce4 board, would allow you to go at least one step higher
on the processor or alternatively it's about half of what you need to
go up to a GeForce 6800GT card on the video front.

Remember that a single GeForce 6800GT card is usually faster than 2
6600GT cards in SLI mode, and it's likely that for the same will be
true for the next generation of cards as well.

2)I will overclock and may add and additional video card later. Will
the 350W power supply be enough?

If you do decide for 2 video cards than you might be a bit light on
the power supply side. Each of those cards and you're processor are
going to be consuming up close to 100W as far as the PS is concerned
(ie taking into account some inefficiencies throughout). That's not
leaving much room for everything else in the system.

3)Any other suggestions for changes or anything at all?

You may or may not find that the integrated sound is up to par for
gaming. This is something that you can always test out first with the
integrated sound and then upgrade later if you so decide, but it is
something to keep in mind.

4)How does this look for bang-for-the-buck?

Pretty good.

5)Any good retailers in Lower Mainland of BC Canada to buy computers
at other than NCIX and ATIC?

I buy from NCIX pretty much exclusively, and I'm way over in Ottawa.
They've done good by me..

 

[George Macdonald]

All prices in Canadian. total: $1124. Gaming. Bang for the buck.
Hoping for cool and quiet.

Mobo:
11851 GA-K8NXP-SLI GA-K8NXP-SLI nVidia nForce4-SLI S939/800
Dual-DDR400 PCX-x16-SLI 2xGLAN SATA-II-RAID IEEE1394b 7.1 Audio
$235.00 atic -need to order

CPU
Athlon64 3000+ S939 512K Athlon64 3000+ (1.8GHz) S939 512K 800FSB HS &
FAN $185.00CD atic. winchester
dual channel

RAM
12217 VS512MB400x2 1GB PC3200 Memory Kit (2x512) 1024MB (2x512MB)
PC3200 DDR400 CAS 2.5 Memory Kit $200.00 atic

Video Card
N368 6600GT 128M PCX eVGA 6600GT 128M DDR TV-o, DVi-i PCI-Express
$240.00CD atic, in stock.

Burner:
NEC 3520A Dual 16x DVD±RW, DL: 6x DVD±R NEC ND3520A Dual 16x8x16x
DVD±RW, Dual-Layer for DVD±R 6x 2M oem Beige $78.00 instock at atic
ND-3520A

HD:
Seagate 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive ST380817AS $88 atic in stock.

case:
SLK3700BQE BK 19" ATX 19" ATX 10bay 7slot BLACK ATX 350W PS FRONT
USB2.0 Quiet 120MM-FAN $98 in stock at atic

Questions:
1) does anything look screwed up? Too much motherboard for the rest
of it?

Yes a bit too much mbrd compared with the rest - basically why go SLI on
the mbrd for a mid-range video card... but especially mismatch on power
supply.

2)I will overclock and may add and additional video card later. Will
the 350W power supply be enough?

For a PCI Express video card of that power you should really be looking at
a dual rail ATX12V 2.0 power supply with a 24-pin main ATX connector, since
your mbrd (any PCI Express mbdr) will have that 24-pin connector. You
might be able to get by with the Antec Truepower 380 P/S and a 20-24 pin
adaptor but I'd prefer to do it "right". Don't even think about overclock
and/or dual video without the right P/S. Check out the spec for ATX12V
2.01 at www.formfactors.org ... and good luck finding someone who makes
one.

3)Any other suggestions for changes or anything at all?

4)How does this look for bang-for-the-buck?

Looks good but shuffle some cash around a bit or spend more.

Not clear who makes the RAM you have there -- VS512MB400x2(?) -- but I'd
recommend getting the Crucial 512MB DIMMs with only eight chips per module.

 

[Eric]

ok, how about changes as follows...

mobo:
GA-K8NF-9 GA-K8NF-9 nVidia nForce4-4X S939/800 Dual-DDR400 PCX-x16
GLAN SATA-RAID IEEE1394b 7.1 Audio $145.00

1) Disregard adding a second video card.

Is the power from the case ok now do you think? Will I be able to oc?
Also, are the connectors matched right?

Should I go for this case instead?
SONATA Sonata Antec Sonata 18" ATX Tower w/ TruePower 380W Power
Supply (Black) $120.00 in stock

FYI:
1) All prices were before tax.
2) Shipping is not an issue as I will pick it up from retailer.
3) Ram listed is made by Corsair.

Also, should I switch to this hard drive? another seagate-can't really
afford the Raptor...
$107.00 Seagate 120G 8M SATA 7200 Seagate 120G 8M SATA150 7200rpm
IDE 3.5" on sale.

thanks from much for all your help
Eric

 

[George Macdonald]

ok, how about changes as follows...

mobo:
GA-K8NF-9 GA-K8NF-9 nVidia nForce4-4X S939/800 Dual-DDR400 PCX-x16
GLAN SATA-RAID IEEE1394b 7.1 Audio $145.00

I don't know about current Gigabyte mbrds, though I saw some complaint
about the DIMM slots being awful close together. I have grudge against

1) Disregard adding a second video card.

Is the power from the case ok now do you think? Will I be able to oc?
Also, are the connectors matched right?

Should I go for this case instead?
SONATA Sonata Antec Sonata 18" ATX Tower w/ TruePower 380W Power
Supply (Black) $120.00 in stock

That'd be better and it's what I have for my nForce3 (MSI Neo2 Platinum)
Athlon64 3500+ system - it's quite quiet and the Truepower 380S goes up to
24amp on the +12V but check that since it was 18amp until last Fall... you
don't want old stock with the lower output. Obviously it has a 20-pin main
ATX connector, which *can* be plugged into the 24-pin socket on the mbrd
but you might be better at least putting a 20 -> 24-pin adapter on it. To
tell the truth I'm not sure what the deal is there: whether the extra 12V
pins go to a separate power plane on the PCI Express mbrd, or if it's just
to reduce current going through the connector pins and solder joints...
anybody know??

FYI:
1) All prices were before tax.
2) Shipping is not an issue as I will pick it up from retailer.
3) Ram listed is made by Corsair.

Some have had the Corsair Value Select RAM work OK with an Athlon64; others
have had trouble. With the 8-chip Crucial modules I suggested, you only
have a single rank per channel which allows safer and possibly faster
operation -- that's what I have and it runs 3-3-3-8-1T -- and allows an
upgrade without lowering the DRAM clock from DDR400.

Also, should I switch to this hard drive? another seagate-can't really
afford the Raptor...
$107.00 Seagate 120G 8M SATA 7200 Seagate 120G 8M SATA150 7200rpm
IDE 3.5" on sale.

I like the Seagate drives - quiet is worth something to me and they were in
the fore with FDB and quieter head movement. If the extra $$ doesn't hurt
you too much, extra disk space is always nice to have; performance-wise I
don't think there's any difference between the two drives.

 

[Keith R. Williams]

I don't know about current Gigabyte mbrds, though I saw some complaint
about the DIMM slots being awful close together. I have grudge against
them dating back many years and won't touch them.<shrug>


That'd be better and it's what I have for my nForce3 (MSI Neo2 Platinum)
Athlon64 3500+ system - it's quite quiet and the Truepower 380S goes up to
24amp on the +12V but check that since it was 18amp until last Fall... you
don't want old stock with the lower output.

$120 is a tad high though. NewEgg has them for $99. Even with S&H
it's $115.

Obviously it has a 20-pin main
ATX connector, which *can* be plugged into the 24-pin socket on the mbrd
but you might be better at least putting a 20 -> 24-pin adapter on it.

Why? All you're accomplishing here is to add connectors in series and
more wire. The impedance of the supply goes up slightly and gains
nothing I can see.

To
tell the truth I'm not sure what the deal is there: whether the extra 12V
pins go to a separate power plane on the PCI Express mbrd, or if it's just
to reduce current going through the connector pins and solder joints...
anybody know??

If there are more wires coming from the supply, 24 pins is a gain. If
you're putting an adapter in series with the connector, I don't see any
gain. I'm willing to listen to an authoritative reason though.

I like the Seagate drives - quiet is worth something to me and they were in
the fore with FDB and quieter head movement. If the extra $$ doesn't hurt
you too much, extra disk space is always nice to have; performance-wise I
don't think there's any difference between the two drives.

I kinda like Seagates too, but Staples has pATA 160GB Maxtors on sale
for $70, so were I going to buy today (I'm *thinking*, ok?) I think I'd
go that way (<50 nanocentabytes is pretty impressive). I have a 160GB
Seagate SATA drive that's just generating heat :-(, but at least it's
doing it quietly. ;-)

 

[George Macdonald]

$120 is a tad high though. NewEgg has them for $99. Even with S&H
it's $115.

This is Canucki-bills though.

Why? All you're accomplishing here is to add connectors in series and
more wire. The impedance of the supply goes up slightly and gains
nothing I can see.

Well that's what I thought after I posted - it just moves the worst case
connector up the wire a few inches but see below....

If there are more wires coming from the supply, 24 pins is a gain. If
you're putting an adapter in series with the connector, I don't see any
gain. I'm willing to listen to an authoritative reason though.

The question I have is: are both +12V pins on the 24-pin ATX connector just
connected to the one +12V plane on the mbrd?... or are there separate +12V
planes?... which are weakly interconnected? If there aren't separate
planes, why do we need four new pins (+12V, +5V, +3.3V and COM) rather than
just dumping more current through the old 20 pins?... future-proof? OTOH,
if there are separate planes, then the 20-24 pin adapter is useful - no?

The extra pins for 24 are said to be for the PCI Express reqts - note that
PCI Express video cards don't have a drive power connector like recent AGP
cards. I guess the bottom line is, if you want to be picky, get a power
supply with a 24-pin connector, which kinda restricts choice of case right
now... unless you want to swallow the cost of two power supplies. The
case/PS suppliers are dragging a bit on this - here's what Antec has to
say: http://www.antec.com/pdf/article/ATX12v2.html but Intel is talking
about a lowish end mbrd there. It's all a bit confusing/frustrating.

I kinda like Seagates too, but Staples has pATA 160GB Maxtors on sale
for $70, so were I going to buy today (I'm *thinking*, ok?) I think I'd
go that way (<50 nanocentabytes is pretty impressive). I have a 160GB
Seagate SATA drive that's just generating heat :-(, but at least it's
doing it quietly. ;-)

Maxtor pissed me off on the last one I got... in a rush at CompUSA. Their
diags wouldn't work with the nForce2 controller and a year after an update
had been promised it was still showing as "available soon". The bloody
drive went belly up about that time... after signalling occasional ATAPI
errors in the System log for a while. Of course when I put it in a system
where the diags worked... no errors to correct! Yeah, I know you can get
a lemon from any mfr but on top of all that, they would not issue an RMA
over e-mail - insisted I join the telephone queue.

 

[keith]

This is Canucki-bills though.

Oops! Missed that detail. Nevermind! It's a *wonderful* deal! ...at
least before the GST and PST. ;-)

Well that's what I thought after I posted - it just moves the worst case
connector up the wire a few inches but see below....

....and adds more crap in the supply. I don't see *any* justification for
this widget. You'll have to show me here. These things may not be
*quite* as bad as "monster-cable", but at least they arent' as expensive.

The question I have is: are both +12V pins on the 24-pin ATX connector
just connected to the one +12V plane on the mbrd?...

Certainly. A second plane would be nutz. Heavier copper would be far
cheaper, were it needed.

or are there
separate +12V planes?...
No.

which are weakly interconnected? If there
aren't separate planes, why do we need four new pins (+12V, +5V, +3.3V
and COM) rather than just dumping more current through the old 20
pins?... future-proof? OTOH, if there are separate planes, then the
20-24 pin adapter is useful - no?

Connectors can only take so much current. OTOH, if the board needs more
connectors to pass the current, so does the cable. ...all the way back
to the supply's guts. Adding wire and connectors in series is dumb.

The extra pins for 24 are said to be for the PCI Express reqts - note
that PCI Express video cards don't have a drive power connector like
recent AGP cards. I guess the bottom line is, if you want to be picky,
get a power supply with a 24-pin connector, which kinda restricts choice
of case right now...

Now, perhaps. When they're needed, they'll be there. A silly cable isn't
going to move that date a day.

unless you want to swallow the cost of two power
supplies. The case/PS suppliers are dragging a bit on this - here's
what Antec has to say: http://www.antec.com/pdf/article/ATX12v2.html but
Intel is talking about a lowish end mbrd there. It's all a bit
confusing/frustrating.

I'm not looking at this from a press-release standpoint, rather an
engineering one. If the power is needed, and I have no doubt that at some
point it will be, another cable in series with the power supply (no matter
how many cables/connectors) is not going to help. It can only hurt.

Maxtor pissed me off on the last one I got... in a rush at CompUSA.
Interesting.

Their diags wouldn't work with the nForce2 controller and a year after
an update had been promised it was still showing as "available soon".
The bloody drive went belly up about that time... after signalling
occasional ATAPI errors in the System log for a while. Of course when I
put it in a system where the diags worked... no errors to correct! Yeah,
I know you can get a lemon from any mfr but on top of all that, they
would not issue an RMA over e-mail - insisted I join the telephone queue.

Oohh. Not good. Maybe I'll wait for the next step down. Seagates from
NewEgg are only about $20 more expensive than the above. I was looking
for more space on this machine though. It looks like SATA isn't going to
make it. I may upgrade the Win-machine in a couple of months and move it
there.

 

[Tony Hill]

ok, how about changes as follows...

mobo:
GA-K8NF-9 GA-K8NF-9 nVidia nForce4-4X S939/800 Dual-DDR400 PCX-x16
GLAN SATA-RAID IEEE1394b 7.1 Audio $145.00

Seems decent.

1) Disregard adding a second video card.

Probably a wise choice IMO. The 6600GT should be plenty for even
uber-gamers for at least a year or so, and by that time you'll
probably be better off buying a while new video card rather than
trying to hang a second on off this one.

Is the power from the case ok now do you think? Will I be able to oc?

Power should be ok. I don't know about overclocking, but it should be
fine.

Also, are the connectors matched right?

I don't really know what the deal is with the connectors these days.
Gigabyte only specifies a standard 12V ATX power supply (20-pin main
connector plus an extra 4-pin connector... all current power supplies
should be fine in this regard). At least that's the best I can tell.

I don't know that anyone is actually using the 24-pin ATX connectors
that George and Keith were talking about, despite the fact that some
spec says they need to be used. It's all rather confusing.

Should I go for this case instead?
SONATA Sonata Antec Sonata 18" ATX Tower w/ TruePower 380W Power
Supply (Black) $120.00 in stock

The Sonata is a better case, and from what I understand the biggest
difference is that it's supposed to be quite a bit quieter than the
case/power supply you've selected. If I were buying the system, I
would go for the Sonata just for the lower noise factor if nothing
else.

FYI:
1) All prices were before tax.
2) Shipping is not an issue as I will pick it up from retailer.
3) Ram listed is made by Corsair.

Ram should be fine, Corsair makes decent stuff. I don't think
Gigabyte has a list of supported memory for their boards, but the
Corsair Value Select stuff usually makes the list for other Athlon64
boards.

Also, should I switch to this hard drive? another seagate-can't really
afford the Raptor...
$107.00 Seagate 120G 8M SATA 7200 Seagate 120G 8M SATA150 7200rpm
IDE 3.5" on sale.

Uhh, depends on whether or not you need the extra space! I think the
other drive is also an 8MB cache drive and they're from the same
family of drives, so performance should be identical. Basically it
just comes down to a question of whether or not you think 80GB will be
enough drive space or if you would prefer 120GB.

 

[Eric]

The deed is done but problems ensue...

Purchased:
CHAINTECH NVIDIA **nForce4** Ultra Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket
939 CPU, Model "VNF4/Ultra"

Athlon64 3000+ S939 512K Athlon64 3000+ (1.8GHz) S939 512K 800FSB HS &
FAN winchester dual channel

Corair12217 VS512MB400x2 1GB PC3200 Memory Kit (2x512) 1024MB
(2x512MB) PC3200 DDR400 CAS 2.5 Memory Kit

N368 6600GT 128M PCX eVGA 6600GT 128M DDR TV-o, DVi-i PCI-Express

Burner:
NEC 3520A Dual 16x DVD±RW, DL: 6x DVD±R NEC ND3520A Dual 16x8x16x
DVD±RW, Dual-Layer for DVD±R 6x 2M oem Beige $78.00 instock at atic
ND-3520A

HD:
$107.00 Seagate 120G 8M SATA 7200 Seagate 120G 8M SATA150 7200rpm
IDE 3.5" on sale. atic in stock.

case:
SONATA Sonata Antec Sonata 18" ATX Tower w/ TruePower 380W Power
Supply (Black) $120.00 in stock atic.ca

Problem:
Power supply has indeed a 20pin main power connector while the Mobo
has a 24 pin slot. Hoping it would work anyway I have plugged the
20pin into the middle of the 24pin slot.

Power supply has 3 Mobo power cables, 20pin, 4pin and 6(not pin-more
like slot). Mobo only has the slots for the main power and the 4pin,
not the 6slot. Maybe it's not necessary.

Everything is plugged in securely. Power switch at back of case is
set to "on". I plug in power cable to back of case and the case and
power supply fan come on but all else is quiet. No cpu fan activity.
No floppy drive seek. No hard drive spin. Nothing. I pressed both
the buttons at the front of the case and for some duration, nothing.

Any ideas?
Eric

PS-I did go right throught the mobo and case manuals as I went along.

Eric

 

[Never anonymous Bud]

The deed is done but problems ensue...

Purchased:
CHAINTECH NVIDIA **nForce4** Ultra Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket
939 CPU, Model "VNF4/Ultra"

Athlon64 3000+ S939 512K Athlon64 3000+ (1.8GHz) S939 512K 800FSB HS &
FAN winchester dual channel

I know 8 people that have bought A64 systems.

Not ONE of them is currently fully satisfied,
several are on the verge of taking them back for refunds.

 

[George Macdonald]

I don't really know what the deal is with the connectors these days.
Gigabyte only specifies a standard 12V ATX power supply (20-pin main
connector plus an extra 4-pin connector... all current power supplies
should be fine in this regard). At least that's the best I can tell.

I don't know that anyone is actually using the 24-pin ATX connectors
that George and Keith were talking about, despite the fact that some
spec says they need to be used. It's all rather confusing.

Well I'd been led to believe that *all* PCI Express mbrds would have the
24-pin ATX power connector -- remember PCI Express video cards don't have a
socket for a drive power connector -- and all the ones I've seen so far
have. A look at the pics at NewEgg of this GA-K8NF-9 mbrd show what looks
like a 24-pin socket with 4 positions plugged off. Whether the plug is
removable as needed... something to find out.

The Sonata is a better case, and from what I understand the biggest
difference is that it's supposed to be quite a bit quieter than the
case/power supply you've selected. If I were buying the system, I
would go for the Sonata just for the lower noise factor if nothing
else.

It's a nice case and yes it's quiet... and the Truepower 380S with 24amps
on the +12V should be more than enough. I still can't figure what the deal
is wth the holes on the sides at the top which spell out Antec - dumb idea
if you ask me, getting air flow what looks well controlled then adding a
bunch of holes at the top which don't do anything for overall flow and just
suck dust in - I'm thinking of glueing some mesh behind them. I hear the
new version does away with those holes.

 

[George Macdonald]

The deed is done but problems ensue...

Purchased:
CHAINTECH NVIDIA **nForce4** Ultra Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket
939 CPU, Model "VNF4/Ultra"

Athlon64 3000+ S939 512K Athlon64 3000+ (1.8GHz) S939 512K 800FSB HS &
FAN winchester dual channel

Corair12217 VS512MB400x2 1GB PC3200 Memory Kit (2x512) 1024MB
(2x512MB) PC3200 DDR400 CAS 2.5 Memory Kit

N368 6600GT 128M PCX eVGA 6600GT 128M DDR TV-o, DVi-i PCI-Express

Burner:
NEC 3520A Dual 16x DVD±RW, DL: 6x DVD±R NEC ND3520A Dual 16x8x16x
DVD±RW, Dual-Layer for DVD±R 6x 2M oem Beige $78.00 instock at atic
ND-3520A

HD:
$107.00 Seagate 120G 8M SATA 7200 Seagate 120G 8M SATA150 7200rpm
IDE 3.5" on sale. atic in stock.

case:
SONATA Sonata Antec Sonata 18" ATX Tower w/ TruePower 380W Power
Supply (Black) $120.00 in stock atic.ca

Problem:
Power supply has indeed a 20pin main power connector while the Mobo
has a 24 pin slot. Hoping it would work anyway I have plugged the
20pin into the middle of the 24pin slot.

NO, not the middle - the 20-pin connector goes into the socket leaving 4
positions on the mbrd connector at *one* end empty. Look at the pic here:
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.../13-128-268-04.jpg&CurImage=13-128-268-02.jpg
which shows the Gigabyte mbrd with what looks like a plug in those "spare"
4 positions - pin-1 of the 20-pin connection is still pin-1 in the 24-pin
arrangement. The connector socket and the P/S wire's plug are keyed so
you're not supposed to be able to do things wrong here... though I admit
I've no experience.

Power supply has 3 Mobo power cables, 20pin, 4pin and 6(not pin-more
like slot). Mobo only has the slots for the main power and the 4pin,
not the 6slot. Maybe it's not necessary.

Everything is plugged in securely. Power switch at back of case is
set to "on". I plug in power cable to back of case and the case and
power supply fan come on but all else is quiet. No cpu fan activity.
No floppy drive seek. No hard drive spin. Nothing. I pressed both
the buttons at the front of the case and for some duration, nothing.

Jeez I hope nothing got damaged by plugging the ATX power connector in
wrong... probably not since the mbrd power-on pin is hopefully not being
triggered since it's connected to constant ground, though the +5VSB is
connected to the new +12V1 with the connector in the middle.

 

[George Macdonald]

I know 8 people that have bought A64 systems.

Not ONE of them is currently fully satisfied,
several are on the verge of taking them back for refunds.

Might indicate you should take more care about the "people" you know. I've
done 4x Athlon64 systems, 2x 754s and 2x 939s, with VIA and nForce3 mbrds
and they are all running like champs. It helps if you can figure how to
put a mbrd power connector in before connecting to the wall.

 

[Eric]

George, you Rock!

Now I'm off to an Anandtech overclocking thread where a guy has exact
same chip and board and I think he got to 2.5 with standard
cooling-from 1.8. I'll prob just go to 2.2 tho.

thanks buddy
Eric

 

[keith]

Might indicate you should take more care about the "people" you know. I've
done 4x Athlon64 systems, 2x 754s and 2x 939s, with VIA and nForce3 mbrds
and they are all running like champs.

As is my Opteron 940. My only complaint is the SI9114 SATA controller and
Linux, but that's hardly an AMD issue.

It helps if you can figure how to
put a mbrd power connector in before connecting to the wall.

Is there a story you'd like to tell here, George? ;-)

 

[George Macdonald]

As is my Opteron 940. My only complaint is the SI9114 SATA controller and
Linux, but that's hardly an AMD issue.

Time to learn how to do Linux SATA drivers??

Is there a story you'd like to tell here, George? ;-)

Hmmm, this whole 20/24-pin connector business has been extremely badly
handlled. I'd been led to believe that the keying made it nigh impossible
to put the 20-pin plug into the 24-pin socket the wrong way - apparently
not. Add in the EPS12V standard which is also 24-pin...compatible pin
arrangement but different ratings, AMD's ATXGES which has a completely
incompatible pin arrangement and the way Intel snuck ATX 12V 2.x out with a
couple of lines in their mbrd manuals on the subject... it could have been
done better.

Of course, Antec's Neopower supply with sockets on the P/S box for just the
cables you need is how things should have been done all along -- I hate all
those extra cables cluttering things up inside a case -- but it doesn't fit
the usual PC price profile.

BTW have you seen this thing:
http://www.crucial.com/ballistix/content.asp?key=dream_machine_finished ?
Click through to Voyeurmods for a selection of favorite OC parts: pumps,
hoses, manifolds - quite a different kind of PC.

 

[keith]

Time to learn how to do Linux SATA drivers??

Me? I'm no programmer. I don't even know how to spell 'C'!

Hmmm, this whole 20/24-pin connector business has been extremely badly
handlled. I'd been led to believe that the keying made it nigh impossible
to put the 20-pin plug into the 24-pin socket the wrong way - apparently
not.

Hmm, without a big hammer, I wouldn't have guessed anyone could make this
mistake. The keys sorta fit!

Add in the EPS12V standard which is also 24-pin...compatible pin
arrangement but different ratings,

My board really wants EPS12V, but it wasn't too much of a stretch to read
further and figure out the ATX12V stuff. I must admit I was quite leary
of plugging in a drive connector into the motherboard, but that's what the
instructions said! It didn't smoke, so the instructions weren't all that
bad.

AMD's ATXGES which has a completely
incompatible pin arrangement and the way Intel snuck ATX 12V 2.x out
with a couple of lines in their mbrd manuals on the subject... it could
have been done better.

Everything "could" have been done better.

Of course, Antec's Neopower supply with sockets on the P/S box for just
the cables you need is how things should have been done all along -- I
hate all those extra cables cluttering things up inside a case -- but it
doesn't fit the usual PC price profile.

Another connector in the poewer path. I'm not sure I like this either.
Connectors == trouble.

BTW have you seen this thing:
http://www.crucial.com/ballistix/content.asp?key=dream_machine_finished
? Click through to Voyeurmods for a selection of favorite OC parts:
pumps, hoses, manifolds - quite a different kind of PC.

"Different"? Ok, that it is. Sorry, but I'm not turned on.

 

[Tony Hill]

Well I'd been led to believe that *all* PCI Express mbrds would have the
24-pin ATX power connector -- remember PCI Express video cards don't have a
socket for a drive power connector -- and all the ones I've seen so far
have. A look at the pics at NewEgg of this GA-K8NF-9 mbrd show what looks
like a 24-pin socket with 4 positions plugged off. Whether the plug is
removable as needed... something to find out.

Hmm... I checked on Giga-byte's site and it only looked like a 20-pin
connector, though I have to admit that it's tough to tell from a
picture. Either way, it's all a mess if you ask me. No one seems to
have it straight!

It's a nice case and yes it's quiet... and the Truepower 380S with 24amps
on the +12V should be more than enough. I still can't figure what the deal
is wth the holes on the sides at the top which spell out Antec - dumb idea
if you ask me, getting air flow what looks well controlled then adding a
bunch of holes at the top which don't do anything for overall flow and just
suck dust in - I'm thinking of glueing some mesh behind them. I hear the
new version does away with those holes.

But George! Just imagine how cool it would look with neon pimp-lights
behind those holes! It would make you're computer WAY faster! :>

 

[George Macdonald]

Certainly. A second plane would be nutz. Heavier copper would be far
cheaper, were it needed.


No.

Good - thanks for clearing that up; that was the main point of confusion
for me in this whole mess.