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| CASE |
The Eagle
Mid-tower is an in-expensive aluminum case. It's not for the overclockers
as it doesn't offer much in the way of cooling or options to mod
for
cooling. It's a lightweight, sharp looking, in-expensive case. Simple
as that. The aluminum is very thin and it does have some sharp
edges
especially around the 5.25" bays as a couple of us found out
the hard way. It has a plastic front bezel and a plastic window in
the side to help show off some of that hardware. Plastic is a cheap
alternative to acrylic but is not as clear or scratch resistant.
It
does offer front side USB 2.0 connections and microphone in/outs.
It also offers a place for frontside Firewire ports but they did
not
include this option.
|
| MOTHERBOARD |
He made
a very wise decision on the motherboard and went with the KT333 SOYO
Dragon Ultra Platinum Edition. This is one sexy silver board. I was
able to play around for a short while with it and found it very easy
to find/adjust options in the BIOS and also very easy to plug everything
in. It offers the VIA KT333 chipset and offers many options for overclockers
as well as some very nice add in features like the audio I/O ports.
This is an additional piece that has a toslink (fiber) in and out.
Coax digital and standard RCA's. It offers built in Dolby Digital
6-Channel sound, NIC, USB 2.0, VIA 333 MHz chipset and other standard
affair.
|
| PROCESSOR |
He chose the tried and true AMD Athlon XP 2000+ as his CPU of choice.
This is a very fast and yet affordable processor. I'll not bore you
with the details other than it runs at a speed of 1667MHz but as we
all no, CPU speed is not a true justifier of performance. This chip
will hold its own against a P IV 2.0GHz and typically perform better.
|
| HEATSINK |
When you buy a retail packaged processor it will come with a HSF.
He purchased his OEM which means you only receive the chip itself.
If you know you will be adding your own HSF then you can usually save
a couple bucks by buying the OEM version. He opted to use the Goliath
HS and bought it without the extremely loud Delta that it generally
comes with. He also got a 60mm-80mm adapter and a 47 CFM Panaflo 80mm
to keep the airflow up and the noise down.
|
| POWER
SUPPLY |
The PSU
is a very important part of the PC and so many overlook it. If you're
not getting a continuous supply of power then you will observe BSD
and other problems quite frequently. Enermax has always been good
to me and quite a few others out there. There are better brands out
there but for most people including some of the most hardcore OC'ers,
Enermax will do the trick. He opted for the 350 watt Quiet Series
with the manual controlled (rheostat) fan. This gives you the ability
to take an already quiet PSU and lower the volume by turning the fan
down. I might also mention that this is the nice metallic blue colored
Enermax you may've already seen. Very nice color.
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