Sonata I, meet Sonata III

[cvrefugee]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate forum to post this, but I'm so freaking excited I had to share my joy with all of you! My last computer I built was back in April 2004, which I named Sonata (after the Antec case). It has undergone various upgrades since then, and at its final configuration it consisted of:

• Intel Pentium 4 @3.4GHz (Prescott)
• Abit IS7
• 2GB DDR400 Kingston HyperX
• eVGA 6800GT 256MB w/Accelero X1
• 80GB + 400GB Seagate PATA
• SoundBlaster Audigy SE
• Plextor Premium 52X
• NEC 3520AW DVDRW
• Scythe Katana Cu
• Antec Sonata case + 380w PSU

It has been running Vista since the betas and still runs it very well. However, I believe the motherboard has been slowly dying. The onboard audio gave out a few months ago and the computer as a whole has been slowing down ever since I installed SP1. I haven't been able to game on it for a long time since I was stuck with AGP. Well, last Friday (on the 4th of July) I decided to check out the sale over at Fry's Electronics. When I left I ended up with this (and other stuff I bought online):

• Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @3.0GHz
• ECS G31T-M
• 2GB DDR2 800 Crucial Ballistix
• Asus Radeon 4850 512MB
• WD 150GB Raptor X + 640GB SATA
• Optiarc AD-7190S DVDRW
• Zalman 9700CNPS LED
• Antec Sonata III + 500w PSU
• Seagate Freeagent 750GB

After rebates ($100) this entire system will only cost me just a hair over $800. Yes, I know the motherboard sucks and I don't have 4GB of RAM, but it will serve me well. If any of you are curious how I got so much stuff for such a cheap price I can tell you how much I spent on each item. You won't believe the prices! Here are some pics:

I tried my best at cable management using 3/8" plastic tubing
http://pic.phyrefile.com/a/an/...7/11/compstuff_004.JPG

The Zalman HSF is beautiful AND dangerous
http://pic.phyrefile.com/a/an/...7/11/compstuff_006.JPG

The Raptor is loud but really fast
http://pic.phyrefile.com/a/an/...7/11/compstuff_007.JPG

I love the minimalist design of the Sonata series
http://pic.phyrefile.com/a/an/...7/11/compstuff_008.JPG

 

[crimson117]

I would have skipped the raptor and gotten 4gb or even 8gb ram.

Oh, and enjoy OC'ing that chip... on my similar setup below (which also cost about $800 AR), I hit 3.6GHz without even trying 🙂

 

[cvrefugee]

The Raptor was $99. Actually I bought two for $99 each and I plan on selling the second one for $150 on eBay, making it only $50. And I got the RAM for $17 after rebate. I was trying to save money 🙂

 

[Alex C]

Originally posted by: cvrefugee
If any of you are curious how I got so much stuff for such a cheap price I can tell you how much I spent on each item. You won't believe the prices! [/L]

I'd like to hear, I'm looking to build a similar system.

 

[cvrefugee]

Originally posted by: Alex C
I'd like to hear, I'm looking to build a similar system.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @3.0GHz + ECS G31M-T - $170 @ Fry's
2GB DDR2 800 Crucial Ballistix - $17 AR @ Fry's
Asus Radeon 4850 512MB - $145 AR/AC @ Newegg
WD 150GB Raptor X + 640GB SATA - $99 @ Best Buy + $89 @ Directron
Optiarc AD-7190S DVDRW - $18 AR @ Fry's
Zalman 9700CNPS LED - $20 @ Fry's
Antec Sonata III + 500w PSU - $50 AR @ Fry's
Seagate Freeagent 750GB - $130 @ Fry's

Add tax and you get the idea.

 

[Alex C]

When did you get the Antec Sonata for $50? It's at $140 now 🙁

 

[cvrefugee]

4th of July sale...they had some killer deals.

 

[Chiropteran]

I hate you for having Frys. Why can't they expand to the east coast?

 

[cvrefugee]

A few questions:

When I first put together the system, the BIOS reported idle temps of 25C, after I installed my video card it went up to 32C. Using CoreTemp/RealTemp/SpeedFan give me totally different temp readings. Are these accurate? I just re-seated the HSF and the temps went down a little bit (1 or 2 degrees).

With the stock BIOS I could not disable SpeedStep, so I updated it to the latest version which subsequently fixed that issue. Is SpeedStep useful and should I leave it enabled or disabled?

My Zalman is running around 1200rpm (lowest setting) and so is the exhaust fan. Would raising the fan speed help with the temp issues?

Last question: RealTemp is telling me that Core 0 has a stuck sensor. Should I exchange the CPU at Fry's or is this a non-issue? The idle temp is stuck at 44C (or 54C with CoreTemp).