The saga of the Cheap Bastard PC...part 4...

[Descent]

Well...I was so hyped last night...I was thinking, "Wow! I can't wait to play Daikatana on this thing!" Well, it froze, screen blanked, then just seemed to suck dick. I was OCing the video card and the CPU, so I set them back, and now it's just going suicidal. It's freezing every few minutes! I'm going nuts trying to figure it out...I have tried everything besides the CPU and the PSU.

*GASP* Could I have killed my baby when I overclocked it? Only time will tell...

I think I am going to stick that 450MHz K6-2 in my laptop into it and see if it will stop freezing then...

[Fire_ze_Missles]

Wait, How fast is the processor in your gimp-ass computer? Well whatever it is, it can't be good, if your attempting to upgrade to a 450 mhz amd k-6. Man, my very first computer what a 333 mhz k-6. Instead of being cheap, why don't you just go get a super nice computer, since they are pretty cheap nowadays, and quit suffering with the headaches of a cheap ass computer?

[vicodincasserole]

i have been thinking of putting together a box like that to run dedicated file sharing for a small mp3 server at home. all i need is a mobo

[junglizm]

why are you trying to run games on a dinosaur? jesus man, a lan party is supposed to be fun. you're trying to run demos on archaic hardware? ROFL

i have been thinking of putting together a box like that to run dedicated file sharing for a small mp3 server at home. all i need is a mobo

i have a 500MHz linux box running samba and raid5 for that;) linux makes old coputers fun again.

[vicodincasserole]

i used to have a 486 upgraded to 66mhx (with a heat sink too!!) 8 ram running peanut linux. i couldnt get samba setup tho so i ditched the project. well that and the bios battery was toast.

[Descent]

I already have a nice PC. It has a 1.8GHz Duron OCed to 2.0GHz (2400+ speeds), 512 RAM, OCed Radeon 9200 (I sold my 9600XT, I'm using this card on loan from the guy I sold it to), 80GB HD, Aspire X-Dreamer II case, etc.

I built this box for kicks a few weeks ago...

Anyway, I got it working :). I put in a 450MHz K6-2 from my laptop, and IT FUCKING SCREAMS! It runs Descent 3 like you wouldn't believe...

I plan to put a 500MHz K6-2 in it, some more RAM (about 768), a 60GB HD, and have a quad boot of Server 2003 (My favorite OS, kicks ass for gaming), Win$hit 98, Fedora Linux, and Longhorn. I looked at the minimum specs for Longhorn, and if I soup up this machine, it should run great. I just hope a newer version has leaked onto the net...4051 is old news...

[junglizm]

Win$hit 98 and Longhorn.

why bother with 98? why bother running buggy alpha's?

[Shurikane]

Because Win98 can play DOS games.

[Fugly]

I don't understand...Daikatana sucked ass...why go through the trouble?

[Descent]

Well...I want to run 98 for two reasons: Descent 3 and DOS games. D3 won't run on XP. Whoops, looks like I forgot about Sonic CD. I need it for that too.

Anyway, Daikatana did not suck ass.

Let me ask you this: Did you play it? Or did you just go by the magazine's reviews? At the time, there was this whole Anti-John Romero/Ion Storm movement going on in the industry. Everyone was pissed, so they gave Daikatana a bad review. The magazines bought into the largest bias that may have ever existed in the gaming industry. The man made Doom. He can do no wrong. The N-Gage version of Red Faction was horrible, but isn't it kind of hard make an FPS for a crappy little device like that?

Install the demo. See what you think. The first level is not that great, but the rest of them really are. You should do a Froogle. You can pick up Daikatana for as little as $1.40. It just may be the best dollar you have ever spent.

Hey, I have a TNT2 video card in this thing, and it runs Daikatana like shit. It does not seem to have AGP enabled for OpenGL, and all my OpenGL apps run like shit...Read part 3 of this saga. I can't really seem to find any newer drivers that work.

[junglizm]

Because Win98 can play DOS games.

well i guess if you need to play 6-7 yr old games games it's worth it. i still don't see the point in taking the time to install and attempt to run longhorn.

[Fugly]

Well...I want to run 98 for two reasons: Descent 3 and DOS games. D3 won't run on XP. Whoops, looks like I forgot about Sonic CD. I need it for that too.

Anyway, Daikatana did not suck ass.

Let me ask you this: Did you play it? Or did you just go by the magazine's reviews? At the time, there was this whole Anti-John Romero/Ion Storm movement going on in the industry. Everyone was pissed, so they gave Daikatana a bad review. The magazines bought into the largest bias that may have ever existed in the gaming industry. The man made Doom. He can do no wrong. The N-Gage version of Red Faction was horrible, but isn't it kind of hard make an FPS for a crappy little device like that?

Install the demo. See what you think. The first level is not that great, but the rest of them really are. You should do a Froogle. You can pick up Daikatana for as little as $1.40. It just may be the best dollar you have ever spent.

Hey, I have a TNT2 video card in this thing, and it runs Daikatana like shit. It does not seem to have AGP enabled for OpenGL, and all my OpenGL apps run like shit...Read part 3 of this saga. I can't really seem to find any newer drivers that work.
Romero was at one point my personal (and a lot of others peoples) god. But he blew it with this. I refuse to listen to reviews about all things( ign,Ain'titcoolnews.com can suck my asshole) and yah I played the game about an eon ago and I thought it still sucked. Descent 3 is fun...that I could understand. But there are so many damn good games out there (i.e. COD: Allied Assault...Burnout 3) I just don't care so much, I spend so much damn time and money on new stuff it just seems excessive.

[Descent]

You may not be a nostalgia nut like I am...

Personally, I think Romero is god, and will always be god. He knows how to make a good game, not to mention him and me have just about everything in common...including a love for extremely sick humor. He's also funny as shit.

[Fire_ze_Missles]

Personally, I think Romero is god, and will always be god. He knows how to make a good game, not to mention him and me have just about everything in common...including a love for extremely sick humor. He's also funny as shit.


Sounds like someone has a crush :)

[Fugly]

Sounds like someone has a crush :)
Who doesn't? Have you seen his sexy long hair ROWR!

[Descent]

Sorry, he cut his hair back in 2002. He donated it to charity.

I want to meet John Romero more than any other person on the planet. It's mainly because we have just about everything in common...when I make it big in the game industry, I bet him and me will be the best of friends. One of the best things that happened to me was when he responded to an email I sent him :). Even though he responds to every bit of fan mail, it enlightened me. I felt like I had just made contact with my own personal god.

Also, I fixed the freezing...The Pentium 133 is fine, my mobo was shorted to the case. It seems to be hauling ass again though, this thing fucking screams!

[PMS247]

Dude - You need a Dell.

[Descent]

Dude, Dells suck. Anyone who is a tweaker/hardware geek is fucked if they buy one of those. They use custom motherboards/power supplies/case form factors. Did I mention you can't overclock them? Also, their tech support isn't worth shit. If something goes, you're fucked.

[junglizm]

Dude, Dells suck. Anyone who is a tweaker/hardware geek is fucked if they buy one of those. They use custom motherboards/power supplies/case form factors. Did I mention you can't overclock them? Also, their tech support isn't worth shit. If something goes, you're fucked.

they use dell branded OEM mobos. ie an intel system from them will come with an intel board branded as dell.(this is the main reason they can't be overclocked) their power supplies and cases are standard form factor, maybe not always ATX, but they follow standards. i've worked enough places with corp/govt contracts with dell to know that. their tech support only sucks for normal home users, their corp/contract support is actually quite good, should you ever need to resort to it(as a last resort). i'm not taking up for dell though, i hate pre-fabbed PCs, they're for grandmas and the computer illiterate.

[Descent]

Well...if you do know that, can you tell me the pinouts on a Dimension 440 case? I want one of those cases badly...they just use that gay ass ribbon cable for the front panel connectors.

Also, Dell systems do NOT use standard power supplies. You want proof? Look at the pinouts for a Dimension 4400 PSU. It is missing either the negative or positive (can't remember which one) 3.3v rail. It has one, but not the other. Worse, there is absolutely no adapter for that system...

I know for a fact they use Intel boards. I did a lot of research on that Dell board inside my bro's old computer. In the event something on it fails, we would most likely do a transplant with a cheap Asus mobo and a new PSU. It's not worth paying those high prices for a board that may die on you again...

I have had nothing but bad experience with newer Dells, in terms of parts. Nothing is upgradeable, and worse, you pay through the nose when a part fails.

All I can say is that Dells are some of the world's worst computers. When it gets outdated, you're fucked. Time to buy a whole new system.

I would rather work on my K6-2 450MHz shitbox than a new Dell. Why? If I save up for a few months, I could turn it into a much nicer system than the Dell.

[junglizm]

Well...if you do know that, can you tell me the pinouts on a Dimension 440 case?

Cases don’t have pin outs, cables do however.:)

want one of those cases badly...they just use that gay ass ribbon cable for the front panel connectors.


I don’t know that system specifically, I’m not tech support so I wouldn’t know anyway. All the corp dells I have seen use standard components though.

Also, Dell systems do NOT use standard power supplies. You want proof? Look at the pinouts for a Dimension 4400 PSU. It is missing either the negative or positive (can't remember which one) 3.3v rail. It has one, but not the other. Worse, there is absolutely no adapter for that system...

Can you name any other models that do this also? i'm Not doubting you I’m just curious because what you’re saying is contrary to what I’ve seen.

I know for a fact they use Intel boards. I did a lot of research on that Dell board inside my bro's old computer.
Yeah, I just said that.

I have had nothing but bad experience with newer Dells, in terms of parts. Nothing is upgradeable, and worse, you pay through the nose when a part fails.
I won’t dispute that they suck, but some of their components are upgradeable.



I would rather work on my K6-2 450MHz shitbox than a new Dell. Why? If I save up for a few months, I could turn it into a much nicer system than the Dell.
I doubt you’ll be turning any 450MHZ box into a better PC than a new dell, but that’s not saying much.

[Fire_ze_Missles]

Damn, he just owned you.

[Descent]

Not exatcly...correcting people is not 0\/\/ /\/ 1 /\/ 9 them.

And when I said pinout, yes, I was talking about the case. It has a little panel on it that is in some drastic need of reverse engineering :).

When I say "Can't Upgrade," I'm talking about it in the long run, like things that MUST be swapped in two years, like the mobo and CPU.

All Dells made after 1996 have custom PSUs. The Optiplex GX series and the Dell XPS Gaming series have the same pinouts for the PSU, they are just different wattages.

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/dellconverter.html

The dreaded adapter required to recussitate an old Dell with a dead PSU.

Also, when I said "I can save up and turn the K6-2 into a better PC," I meant that I could swap out the mobo, video card, RAM, etc. until I had a sexy shiny new system. I hate shit that uses custom parts, because I am a tweaker.

[junglizm]

Damn, he just owned you.
that wasn't my intention, i'm not 14 nor do i need gratification from "owning" anyone on the internet.



And when I said pinout, yes, I was talking about the case. It has a little panel on it that is in some drastic need of reverse engineering :).

When I say "Can't Upgrade," I'm talking about it in the long run, like things that MUST be swapped in two years, like the mobo and CPU.

All Dells made after 1996 have custom PSUs. The Optiplex GX series and the Dell XPS Gaming series have the same pinouts for the PSU, they are just different wattages.

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/dellconverter.html

The dreaded adapter required to recussitate an old Dell with a dead PSU.

Also, when I said "I can save up and turn the K6-2 into a better PC," I meant that I could swap out the mobo, video card, RAM, etc. until I had a sexy shiny new system. I hate shit that uses custom parts, because I am a tweaker.


yeah i knew what you were talking about when you said pin uots, i was adding some comedy to the post. i don't see how you wouldn't be able to upagrade the mobo and cpu as long as you stay in the same form factor. granted often times you can't upgrade just the cpu. i've seen it done and done it before, but it just on chance that you didn't buy a 1.7GHz cpu with a board that only supports 1.7GHz cpu's(a marketing strategy). fair enough about the psu's however i'd still have to argu that their corp workstations and servers use industry standards. if you swap out all that from the 450MHZ box, all you'll have is the original case, i wouldn't call that making a 450 better than a new pc. maybe you worded it weird or i read it weird.

[Descent]

The cool thing about upgrading the 450 would be that I could actually use the parts for a good purpose :). The old parts could be used to build yet another shitbox.