$372, I ordered the upgrade... wish me luck...

[davreh99]

Well I finally decided to bite the bullet and finally got the "wifeys" approval to order upgraded componants.

My old rig was doing fine, but you know how it is...

I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas, as I am waiting for my parts, so I had to tell someone!

Here's what I got... (all parts from TigerDirect.
___________________________________
CPU - Amd Athlon 64 x2 5000 Socket AM2 940 - NO FAN -
($74.99 - 5 instant savings)
$69.00 Item Number = CP1-AM2-5000B

Cpu FAN
- CPU (Socket AM2 940) Thermaltake TR2-R1 / AMD Socket AM2/939/754 / Aluminum / 92mm Fan / CPU Cooler
$14.99 Item number = T925-1168


MOBO
- Asus M3A78-CM Motherboard - AMD780V, Socket AM2/AM2+, MicroATX, Audio,
-Video, Hybrix SLI, DVI, DP, VGA, Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0 Serial ATA, RAID
$89.99 Item Number = A455-2408


RAM
- OCZ SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)
($59.99 - 30 rebate)
$29.99 Item Number = O261-7054


Case
- Apevia X-Master Desktop HTPC Case - Front USB, Firewire, Audio ports with 500-Watt Power Supply, (Black)
$79.99 Item Number = A107-1122


Hard drive
- Maxtor DiamondMax 21 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM
($79.99 -10 instant savings)
$69.99 Item Number = TSD-500M4
Shipping
$17.73
Total $402 and some change.
- minus a $30.00 rebate
(I will use and older sata drive for OS and I will still use Hauppauge pvr 150)

*I can't wait to test the dvi out to my rca
**I'm very curious how well the case will be...

Any thoughts on any componants?

[pcostanza]

I have the building bug but am waiting. Don't you just love how good the prices are now? Just got a Seagate 320GB SATA at newegg for $49. I'm putting it in an external case as a backup. You watch, by the new year, the 1TB's will be about $125.
I also think any ASUS MB is a good idea. They've never given me trouble.

[rob11252]

You watch, by the new year, the 1TB's will be about $125.

By new year? How about now? I've just ordered 1TB from dell for $110 + $6 in taxes.
This deal won't last long, though. To see it google dell member purchase program and search for 1 TB SATA NCQ Barracuda 7200.11 Internal Hard Drive.

[pcostanza]

Say what? I've been looking but didn't even think of Dell. I see what you're talking about but is it a refurb? I gotta take a look at this one very hard.
Thanks for the tip.

[davreh99]

Yeah, I was happy with the final cost. I did a lot of homework on the componants. Hopefully, I am getting the best bang for the buck.

By the way, has anyone tried the case I bought or the Asus Mobo?

[davreh99]

Well all the parts came in 2 nights ago. And I've been non-stop with work and "GBPVR 'n" since. Shoot I mowed the lawn last night at 9 oclock pm (yes it was dark)

Anyway, the set up went well, and I am very happy with the
Apevia X-Master case! Very slick, smooth and highly polished. The 500 watt power supply (120 mm fan) that came with it, along with the two 80mm case fans run more quieter than I thought.

The Asus board is defenitly a bonus! The DVI out to my RCA is looking very good. (I just need to spend some time to figure out why the screen is hanging off the tv, as I can't see the START menu or Right and Left edges)

The only thing that went wrong so far is that I can not get data off one of my 160 gb SATA drives. This is painfull as it has 2 years worth of movies converted to divx and xvid. Alot of work put into that drive. For some reason when I took out the other sata drive in my old machine I could not boot it up anymore. Then took out the other sata drive and put it in my new machine, then the new machine would not boot, unless I took the drive out.

[scb147]

The only thing that went wrong so far is that I can not get data off one of my 160 gb SATA drives. This is painfull as it has 2 years worth of movies converted to divx and xvid. Alot of work put into that drive. For some reason when I took out the other sata drive in my old machine I could not boot it up anymore. Then took out the other sata drive and put it in my new machine, then the new machine would not boot, unless I took the drive out.

Do you have an external case you could put the old drive into to put onto the new drive?

[davreh99]

I re-read my post and just let me clarify...
MY old pvr machine had an IDE drive for OS and 2 sata drives.
I took one drive out of the old machine and, then old machine did not boot.
Would hang in bios after reading hardrives
I took the last sata drive out of old machine, put into new pvr and new pvr would not boot.

External Case - do you mean something like USB to SATA external case, or another machine?

I think when I took out the 1st sata drive it fried the other one some how as it will not work in 2 machines.

I will try more ideas when I get a chance.

[scb147]

Yes, I meant a USB to SATA external case.

[ilovejedd]

Hmm, isn't SATA supposedly hot-swappable? Maybe you can try connecting your old hard drive after the machine has already booted. If you don't want a full external case, there are also SATA to USB converters available. I use the Apricorn PATA/SATA to USB adapter for general drive testing.