3 upgrades in 1 day

[Sei]

Hey guys!

Having created many threads regarding this, yesterday I finally achieved some closure.

http://www.techenclave.com/storage-solutions/looking-nas-custom-solution-storing-136277/
http://www.techenclave.com/pc-peripherals/new-cabinet-replace-my-el-139922/
http://www.techenclave.com/pc-buying-advice/upgrading-old-htpc-139921/
http://www.techenclave.com/pc-peripherals/pc-doesnt-boot-up-136276/ - It was the SMPS; a new Corsair CX 430 V2 :|


A big thanks to ALPHA17, cranky, Gannu, Jakob and many other members who chipped in and helped me get to a decision. You guys are awesome!

Another mention to my good friend eshaan who helped me with the cable management in the Circle cabinet way back in 2009

Mentioning havoknation here for Pune folks - he contacted me twice but a few hours after I had already bought the stuff. He stocks almost all of the stuff with Mumbai prices.


Yesterday was quite an eventful day for me. Upgraded from 2 computers to 3 and assembled all of them after cleaning each and every component since they had months of dust accumulated on them.

Work started at 10:30 A.M. and I wrapped up at 11 P.M. - only an hour break for lunch.

Before the pics, here are the 3 new/old setups that I will be managing now -

MY MAIN RIG
Intel E8500
Gigabyte G31
2 x 2GB GSkill DDR2
Galaxy Tri-fan GTX 260
WD 320 GB (OS drive)
WD 1 TB green (temporary - will move to file server once CX430 comes back from replacement)
Seagate 750 GB (temporary - will move to file server once CX430 comes back from replacement)

FILESERVER PLUS DL RIG
Intel Atom D425 on Gigabyte board
Corsair 4GB DDR 3
Seagate 160GB IDE (OS drive)
WD Green 2 TB
VIP 500 W (temporary - will remove once CX430 comes back from replacement)

HTPC
Intel Dual Core G630
Corsair 4GB DDR 3
Gigabyte B75M-D3H
Sapphire 6670
WD Black 1 TB (OS drive - future plan to move to file server once I purchase an SSD for main rig and get the 320GB here)
Seagate 1.5TB (temporary - will move to file server once CX430 comes back from replacement)

Alrighty, the pics then -

Finally, the Pièce de résistance - NZXT Lexa S

Damages - Calloused hands, sneezing fits that lasted the entire day, a very sore back and grubby paws on the cat

Money spent:
- Rs 14k for the Intel G630 + 2x 4GB DDR3 + Gigabyte B75M-D3H + NZXT Lexa S
- Rs 4k for the Intel Atom board
- Rs 2.7k for the Corsair CX430 V2

Future action:
- Normal 600VA UPS for the fileserver
- 2 fans for the Ultima 90
- 2 fans: 1 for the fileserver and 1 for the HTPC

Hopefully, this will help others decide on their fileserver configuration!

Fingers crossed that I don't have to open them anytime soon unless I want to.

PS: Had ordered this handy thing off eBay for ~350 bucks. Helped me quickly identify that the power supply was the culprit

That's it folks!
Thanks for viewing.

 

[ALPHA17]

Thanks @Sei, I hope these RIG(s) serve you well in the coming years.

 

[Ray]

your cat looks like garfield

 

[pratzgh1]

You could use your cat to clean those setups, she's got a good layer of fur!

 

[stalker]

Awesome cat dude!


OK rig

 

[Sei]

Thanks Sei, I hope these RIG(s) serve you well in the coming years.

All thanks to you man!

your cat looks like garfield

In some pics - not that fat

You could use your cat to clean those setups, she's got a good layer of fur!

She has cleaned the floor quite a bit.

Awesome cat dude!


OK rig

Thanks for the compliment on the cat. She's in her own fantasy world most of the time.

As for the rig, I don't play anything except TF2. My current monitor only supports 1680x1050. The GTX handles it at full graphics with 50-60fps. So, no point right now upgrading to anything higher. I will get an SSD soon but nothing apart from that at the moment.

 

[Gannu]

your cat looks like garfield

That's the first thing that struck me when I saw those snaps. :lol:

Anyways, good choice of components Sid. Let them serve you well for the years to come before TE forces you to do another round of upgrades.

 

[djmykey]

The cat is cute.... Yes yes your machines are awesome too :bleh:
I know assembling a machine after a lot of time can be tiresome. And cleaning.... that's a back breaker.
Good choice of components and cases. Only one word of advice. Disks > 500 GB are known to die for some reason when one installs an OS on them. I would rush buying those SSD's.
But if the manufacturers came up with some fix, then I'm OK with it.

 

[dexBG]

dawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww kitttyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

 

[sarang]

Awesome setup @Sei. Gotto drop-in at your place soon.

 

[asingh]

To be honest, out of the whole set up, I liked the cutie pie, cat the most...!

Congratulations...!

 

[Tenida]

I love the cute cat. Seriously it loooks like a garfield. I think she is naughty ennough
Oh yeah congrats for your upgrade

 

[cyberwarfare]

really like your setup. a few questions if you dont mind me asking
1)where did you get the atom board for. i might want to get one too as a headless unit
2)are you using the dl rig without a monitor?? if so then what software do you use for managing files on it.

cheers. and thanks a ton

 

[Black_Hawk]

Beautiful setup! I love the idea of the file server and followed your thread silently reading posts from experienced members like cranky. Hope to build something like your file server someday. Many congrats and happy data saving on the filer server mate!!

Oh yeah... that's one helluva cute kitty you have in your house.

 

[Onemufc]

Ha ha . Poor guy worked for 12 hours and the kitty gets all the attention.

Read through your threads and have to say nice work. Brilliant setup

 

[JuGGa]

Really cute cat <3

 

[asingh]

Ha ha . Poor guy worked for 12 hours and the kitty gets all the attention.

His fault for putting her in.

 

[Sei]

That's the first thing that struck me when I saw those snaps. :lol:

Anyways, good choice of components Sid. Let them serve you well for the years to come before TE forces you to do another round of upgrades.

Thanks a lot.

The cost was amongst the top priorities here because I wanted to find the balance between longevity and low costs. I guess it was easier because I was not upgrading my main rig and I had the advice and assurance of an experienced member like cranky. Let's see how it goes in the coming months.

The cat is cute.... Yes yes your machines are awesome too :bleh:
I know assembling a machine after a lot of time can be tiresome. And cleaning.... that's a back breaker.
Good choice of components and cases. Only one word of advice. Disks > 500 GB are known to die for some reason when one installs an OS on them. I would rush buying those SSD's.
But if the manufacturers came up with some fix, then I'm OK with it.

Yeah man, I really did have a bad backache. Even yesterday.

Yeah, I totally agree about having the OS on the WD Black 1 TB. The only consolation right now for me is that it is the HTPC so it's not on 24/7. Maybe 1-2 hours a day. I should get an SSD in a few months. That's next on my list for sure.

Awesome setup Sei. Gotto drop-in at your place soon.

You are most welcome to sirjee, but I have a very modest setup. Unfortunately, I don't have the patience and dedication like you guys.

To be honest, out of the whole set up, I liked the cutie pie, cat the most...!

Congratulations...!

Yeah, she's a handful at times. If you look at the scratches on my hands, you wouldn't call her a cutie pie then

I love the cute cat. Seriously it loooks like a garfield. I think she is naughty ennough
Oh yeah congrats for your upgrade

With the cat, it's more like sleep for 3-4 hours, play for 20-40 mins, then again back to sleep. During those 20 mins, she is really naughty.

really like your setup. a few questions if you dont mind me asking
1)where did you get the atom board for. i might want to get one too as a headless unit
2)are you using the dl rig without a monitor?? if so then what software do you use for managing files on it.

cheers. and thanks a ton

1) Atom board from eBay. It was not available on Flipkart when I was placing the order and when I did place the order, it was back in stock. Could have saved Rs. 500
2) It is going to be placed under/behind my computer table. So I can attach the monitor to it if I want to. Otherwise, I am going to install Windows 7 and use Remote Desktop to manage it as a normal desktop

Beautiful setup! I love the idea of the file server and followed your thread silently reading posts from experienced members like cranky. Hope to build something like your file server someday. Many congrats and happy data saving on the filer server mate!!

Oh yeah... that's one helluva cute kitty you have in your house.

Yeah, this file server took a long time coming. Also to convince my parents to have another computer in the house. I don't think my dad still really knows till now why I have bought this though he nods his head when I tell him.

Ha ha . Poor guy worked for 12 hours and the kitty gets all the attention.

Read through your threads and have to say nice work. Brilliant setup

Yeah, that's what cats are for. Regal and want attention without doing any work. Keep calling her all day and she won't come. But when she comes to you, you better pet her!

Really cute cat <3

Thanks a lot!

His fault for putting her in.

Looking at all posts, I am not sure whether I should have added her in here! I don't think most people are even looking at the computers that I assembled.

 

[ronnie_gogs]

Really nice upgrades and you have the cutest cat

Would like to know more about the power supply tester... Seems like a handy tool....

 

[Sei]

Really nice upgrades and you have the cutest cat

Would like to know more about the power supply tester... Seems like a handy tool....

Nothing complicated.

PC POWER SUPPLY TESTER 20/24 PIN PSU ATX SATA HDD SMPS | eBay

Just plug in the 24 pin and the mentioned LEDs should light up.

If they do, then move on to the HDD , 4 pin connector till you see which part is not working.

When I connect the 24 pin of my defective CX 430 V2, out of "+12V, -12V, +5V, -5V, +3.3V, +5VSB" only the +5VSB LED lights up. All of the them light up when I connected my VX450 and the other CX430 V2.