M
MJ
I'm thinking of building 3 systems with Pundit R barebones boxes. Anyone
care to share opinions/experiences with this box?
Cheers
Mark
care to share opinions/experiences with this box?
Cheers
Mark
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C
Christian Pedersen
I have a Pundit-R myself. As they look pretty cool, they have some
shortcomings:
1. Add a Prescott CPU, and the fans will go balistic! The CPU-fan fitted
arent the quietest one - you can add a Pabst-fan or whatover to reduce
noise. Also, the 'smart' fan-control alters fanspeed at very short
intervals, and you'll probably go nuts from hearing the adjusting every
second. Believe me, it's very annoying. I've disabled the fan control in the
BIOS, and added a Zalman Fanmate instead, keeping the fan steady at a around
1600rpm. If you're gaming, you'd want to go higher.
2. No drivers for Windows 2003.
3. Somehow, between my Pundits SATA-controller and the HD, there occurs some
errors, resulting in the Windows XP/2003 driver to adjust to PIO, which
causes miserable HD I/O around 40MBs burst. That's crap. There are some
workarounds for Windows XP, but since I'm running 2003, I haven't tried
them. BTW, this is not a problem when going P-ATA... go figure.
4. Adding a regular CD-ROM drive, will cause bad airflow, and keep the
PSU-fan running at a higher pace. The system is really packed, and the S-ATA
and P-ATA connectors are placed right in front of the PSU. A CD-ROM
installed will leave less than a inch for cables. with everything fitted.
For a more silent system, you can leave the CD-ROM out, if applicable.
That's what I do, anyway.
If you're going for gaming, note that the GPU isn't a powerhouse. There is
no AGP-slot. In some games, it's acceptable, but leave new stuff out.
If you're doing a PVR-setup, you might want to check out compatability. I've
had issues with my Terratec Cinergy 400 locking the system up. No BSD, no
errors, just a plain lockup. Never solved it. This wasn't a problem on my
earlier Dell.
I think the (black) Pundit-R is one of the best looking systems I've ever
laid eyes on. But it has some shortcomings with regards to compatability and
cooling. Add a Northwood CPU, and it will run quieter. I've considered using
a Celeron 478 for creating a very silent workstation, but haven't gone
further with that yet.
Oh yeah - if you're adding anything to the PCI-slots, beware that you might
need some casebending in order to get the riserassembly in and out during
installation. Some cards are just a tiny bit too tall, and the Pundit goes
by the book.
Good luck!
Christian
shortcomings:
1. Add a Prescott CPU, and the fans will go balistic! The CPU-fan fitted
arent the quietest one - you can add a Pabst-fan or whatover to reduce
noise. Also, the 'smart' fan-control alters fanspeed at very short
intervals, and you'll probably go nuts from hearing the adjusting every
second. Believe me, it's very annoying. I've disabled the fan control in the
BIOS, and added a Zalman Fanmate instead, keeping the fan steady at a around
1600rpm. If you're gaming, you'd want to go higher.
2. No drivers for Windows 2003.
3. Somehow, between my Pundits SATA-controller and the HD, there occurs some
errors, resulting in the Windows XP/2003 driver to adjust to PIO, which
causes miserable HD I/O around 40MBs burst. That's crap. There are some
workarounds for Windows XP, but since I'm running 2003, I haven't tried
them. BTW, this is not a problem when going P-ATA... go figure.
4. Adding a regular CD-ROM drive, will cause bad airflow, and keep the
PSU-fan running at a higher pace. The system is really packed, and the S-ATA
and P-ATA connectors are placed right in front of the PSU. A CD-ROM
installed will leave less than a inch for cables. with everything fitted.
For a more silent system, you can leave the CD-ROM out, if applicable.
That's what I do, anyway.
If you're going for gaming, note that the GPU isn't a powerhouse. There is
no AGP-slot. In some games, it's acceptable, but leave new stuff out.
If you're doing a PVR-setup, you might want to check out compatability. I've
had issues with my Terratec Cinergy 400 locking the system up. No BSD, no
errors, just a plain lockup. Never solved it. This wasn't a problem on my
earlier Dell.
I think the (black) Pundit-R is one of the best looking systems I've ever
laid eyes on. But it has some shortcomings with regards to compatability and
cooling. Add a Northwood CPU, and it will run quieter. I've considered using
a Celeron 478 for creating a very silent workstation, but haven't gone
further with that yet.
Oh yeah - if you're adding anything to the PCI-slots, beware that you might
need some casebending in order to get the riserassembly in and out during
installation. Some cards are just a tiny bit too tall, and the Pundit goes
by the book.
Good luck!
Christian
C
Christian Pedersen
BTW, you can use Speedfan as well. Upon startup, Speedfan overrules the
builtin fancontrol. It's OK if you're going for a workstation setup.
Christian
builtin fancontrol. It's OK if you're going for a workstation setup.
Christian