Build Log (part I)

[beefwellington]

This weekend I headed down to my ancestral home in Devon, and got together with the old gang for my first go at PC building since around 2005. The PC is for me and my fiancee Amanda, for when we eventually move in together (she's geekier than me...:p), so halving the cost meant this worked out at under 400 quid each, with the downside of having to share it

Because I'm useless and haven't decided on a case yet, Dukey very kindly lent me the Chieftec from his old rig, which had been gathering dust (as you'll see later...) for 5 years or so. Look out for part II of the log when I get a new case.

Sorry about the ridiculous amount of pics, I've made them all fairly small so hopefully shouldn't have any problems. Also most of them are a bit blurry, think the camera was on the wrong setting and nobody noticed!

Introducing the cast:
Me
Amanda the lovely (and lucky :rolleyes:) fiancee
Louis (Dukey)
Nick (Polo)
George (polargimp)
Tashi the Tibetan Terrier

Without further ado:


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/oldpc.jpg
Nick and Louis get to work stripping out the old machine


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/mandahelp.jpg
Manda gets stuck in


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/lazygeorge.jpg
George does absolutely nothing


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/oldbits.jpg
The Chieftec is empty!

We found a few interesting things in Louis' old PC, including two very different fan speed regulators:

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/gatewatch.jpg
The ridiculously OTT Gatewatch...

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/resistor.jpg
...and the ridiculously simple resisitor (have actually used this as one of the fans was particularly loud THUMBS)


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/dustycase1.jpg
The case was very dusty after being on a farm for 5 years


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/dustycase2.jpg
Dusty case is dusty


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/cleaning.jpg
Me and Louis attack it with a vacuum cleaner and a brush


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/tashibrush.jpg
Tashi the insanely fluffy dog also makes a good brush


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/newbox.jpg
With the Chiefy cleaned, it's time for open the big box from Aria :D


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/newstuff.jpg
Group shot


BBQ interlude!

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/potatosalad.jpg
Louis makes potato salad

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/bbqsauce.jpg
I knock up some BBQ sauce

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/chicken.jpg
And we Nando's up some chicken

OM NOM NOM!


And back to the PC:

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/mobo.jpg
Shiny new mobo

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/moboin.jpg
CPU, RAM and cooler on, mobo goes in


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/gpubig.jpg
The HD6950 is MASSIVE! But will it fit in the case?


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/gpuplan.jpg
I has a cunning plan!


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/gpuin.jpg
It fits easily with one of the HDD mountings removed


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/lolcables.jpg
Cable management fail


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/jobdone.jpg
Job done!


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/power.jpg
It powered up - that was enough for us, so at this point we headed off for a night out in town. :beer:nana:


http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/comfytest.jpg
The next day we installed Windows and all that jazz, and I set it up with the 40" HD TV and reclining armchair



Will post some benchmarks etc later, and probably have a go at OCing over the weekend. Haven't got any new games on it yet, so the only thing I can say performance wise is that with at stock it gets around 250 fps on CS:S with max settings. Also I'm loving the difference the SSD makes to boot times, definitely glad I went with it in the end. The Chieftec is still doing a sterling job 5 years on, although 4 80mm fans doesn't make it the quietest of PCs!

Big thanks to Dukey for lending me the case, and to all the guys for helping out as I'm definitely a bit of a noob atm. Also thanks to everyone who helped me choose the components on the forums!

All in all an epic weekend :D

[scrivz69]

Great build log mate.

[Sarky]

Awesome build log, very interesting and different too!

[mikeyuk3]

good build log, rather good read :) you all did a good job there : D reminded me of family guy some how???

[lucas4]

looking awesome :thumb:

wat an upgrade :D!

how do u find that mobo? and does it have a USB 3.0 header :D?

[Smifis]

Looks like a fun day :D

[Josh]

Looks like win. Get a lovely Fractal case or something ;)

[enemyofsauron]

Great log, especially liked the fluffy dog brush and the mad look with the saw ! :p

Be interesting to see what case you eventually go for for the final build ...

[uyr]

hehe turning a computer build into a social event, glad it all turned out well, although some raging photos could have been interesting :cool:

[NipNip]

Looks very nice. I see what people mean about the size of that card now. Need to check my case choice will fit it

[gray.woodford]

awesome log dude, cant wait till you get a new case now

[aspdend]

Nice build log - good to see a group effort and a bit of fun...

[Dukey]

That was a good day :) and nice to see the Chieftec living again!

But you missed "Polargimp get's on down with a hen party" :D

http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/788/snv30216.jpg (http://img816.imageshack.us/i/snv30216.jpg/)

[Polo]

Nick (nmpolo)

Just Polo. :P

[Grissom1138]

Looks great...Hope you moved the two half drunk beer bottles from above your new build :-)

[theste]

nice build :thumb:

[beefwellington]

Just Polo. :P

Fixed!

As for the case, I originally wanted something cheap to keep costs down, but it's very tempting to go for something like a FD - has to look pretty as neither of us is a fan of the "gaming" looks of most cases these days :p

[Sniperdude]

Great build log

Very sporting of you allow a young Boris Johnson Look alike to watch :thumb:

[zeameth]

bbq interlude lol, case looks pretty good from the outside to be fair :)

[Dukey]

Very sporting of you allow a young Boris Johnson Look alike to watch :thumb:

Haha! :D

[FlasH]

Great build log guys. Love the fact that George is just sitting there doing sweet fa. Gutted I missed out on this (even your build Dukey :( ). Still not long before I'm back!

[Polo]

Great build log guys. Love the fact that George is just sitting there doing sweet fa. Gutted I missed out on this (even your build Dukey :( ). Still not long before I'm back!
You miss out on mine too. :P Should be tomorrow I think.

[Dukey]

Great build log guys. Love the fact that George is just sitting there doing sweet fa. Gutted I missed out on this (even your build Dukey :( ). Still not long before I'm back!

You get to help me try and fit that Dark Rock Advanced though! stupid tall RAM :/

[Mr. Grapes]

top notch build log :D

added bonus of geek girl content :thumb: if only there were more of them around. my wife's geekiness isn't in alignment with mine so we're both misunderstood by each other...

[MoonPig]

Very nice. And as said previously, different. I like it :)

[gbh4]

Great build log and looks like a fun day.

Like the pics of the dust, it amazes me how some PCs keep going sometimes!

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

lol awesome :D

[FlasH]

Hey Bill,

Got that BitFenix Shinobi case out on the bench at the moment. Do you want to know anything about it? Photos etc?

Pretty decent case. The front and top are covered by that 'soft' touch rubbery material. Didn't think cases were meant to be felt :D

I'm a Fractal Design fan (got the Define R2 Black Pearl) and it is a really nice case. The R3 has addressed some of the issues in the R2, such as improve the cable management, although for £50 the Shinobi case is a steal.

[ZodiarK]

FROM THIS MOMENT FORTH

all builds logs should be like this +1 dude hope your happy with it.

[Dukey]

FROM THIS MOMENT FORTH

all builds logs should be like this +1 dude how your happy with it.

But I built my PC alone in an attic :(

[beefwellington]

Hey Bill,

Got that BitFenix Shinobi case out on the bench at the moment. Do you want to know anything about it? Photos etc?

Pretty decent case. The front and top are covered by that 'soft' touch rubbery material. Didn't think cases were meant to be felt :D

I'm a Fractal Design fan (got the Define R2 Black Pearl) and it is a really nice case. The R3 has addressed some of the issues in the R2, such as improve the cable management, although for £50 the Shinobi case is a steal.


Timmeh! TBH I'm moving away from the Bitfenix, I'm not a fan of the window on it, but in a review I read the side fan was the one that made the most difference to cooling so I wouldn't want the non-window version without it. Might as well post some pics and comments though :)

Originally I wasn't looking to spend more than around 50 on the case, but I'm absolutley loving the R3 (and I think Manda quite likes them too, which helps!) - you know how it goes with budgets lol. Louis' old beast is doing fine for now so will probably sit tight for a bit, but if I had to pick now I'd go FD I think!



Update:

Wild Tangela appeared!

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/lolcables.jpg

Bill used Cable Mangement...

http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/beefwellington/PC%20Build/cables.jpg

...it's not very effective.

[ZodiarK]

twist all the front panel connections then plug them in.

[FlasH]

Looks great tbh Captain Naffpants. I'd also have to recommend the FD over the BitFenix having owned both :D

I cba to photo lol, just put it back in the box and people keep hassling me at work. Need to decide what to do with it. Only got it as it was £17 :D

[Dukey]

Chiefy has never looked so good :cool:

Took a few pictures of my build but plan on taking some more later on, and when I get a cooler that fits :P

Managed to get the cables quite a bit better than this by pulling the slack out the back:

http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/5822/snv30311.jpg

.......





































Until you go 'round the other side:
http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/2728/snv30309.jpg

:picard::picard::picard::picard::picard::picard::p icard::picard:

[Dukey]

Captain Naffpants

I lol'd :D

[Polo]

But I built my PC alone in an attic :(
Want to come up to London tomorrow to make mine? I'll provide the BBQ if you do. :P

[Dukey]

Want to come up to London tomorrow to make mine? I'll provide the BBQ if you do. :P

Unfortunately work exists :(

[Polo]

Unfortunately work exists :(
So do holiday/sick days. ;)

[Pancake]

It looks like you had fun with the build, and thats what counts

[Bombalur]

Great build log guys. Love the fact that George is just sitting there doing sweet fa. Gutted I missed out on this (even your build Dukey :( ). Still not long before I'm back!


I cleaned the BBQ! and it was a right state.

gah!

[beefwellington]

I cleaned the BBQ! and it was a right state.

gah!

Did a cracking job on the BBQ mate! Also provided entertainment by being absolutely hammered for most of the night :)