George's custom built PC I (donated to my niece)

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PC II

Last Update: 7-9-98

What's New??
Dropped my (4)16MB SIMMS (64MB total)
for (4) 32MB EDO SIMMS for a total of 128MB of memory
"Upgraded" to Windows 98


Intro:
During my search for a new computer (Spring of 96), I became unimpressed with the pre-built systems that were out there (they have gotten somewhat better lately though). The systems were either too pricey or they didn't have the exact components that I really wanted. So, I figured I would give it a go and build my own system. It would cost less, have the exact components, be a learning experience (ie. I would understand how the system was put together). The details are below, but bascially it is a Pentium 200 system with 128MB of memory, 8 GB of Fast SCSI-2 Hard Disk, 4x SCSI CDROM, (all devices are SCSI, no IDE garbage in my system!) 4MB Matrox Millenium video, Soundblaster AWE32 PnP sound card , etc... etc... I would have to say that the build went pretty well. I hit a few snags here and there but I got her up and running within a day or two. The Plug and Play aspect of Windows 95 worked pretty much as advertised (having all new hardware helped I am sure).

Update 7-9-98:
Well, I just upgrade my memory to 128MB.  That should be the last upgrade to this system that I do.  My future plans are to build a new Pentium II system sometime after the new year (1999).  Prices should be even lower then, so I am shooting for at least a Pentium II 450 with 128MB of memory on a ASUS P2B-LS motherboard (Adaptec UltraSCSI2 and Intel 100/10 LAN interface on the motherboard), at least 8GB of Hard Disk, a Matrox Millenium G200 video card, Voodoo 2 (not sure which brand yet) 3D video card,  Creative Sound Blaster LIVE sound card, Plextor UltraPlex 32X CDROM (or the new ASUS 40X), Panasonic CW-7902 CD-Recordable Unit, and whatever else I can think of. Of course in 6 months this wish list may change to something even newer and better. :-)

Here are all the details of this system....

Motherboard: Tyan Titan III (rev. 3) motherboard with 512K (6ns) Pipeline Burst Cache (info)

CPU: Intel Pentium 200 (upgraded from a Pentium 133) these are/were non-MMX.

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98 (the most expensive Windows 95 Service Pack ever released! :-)

Memory:128MB (four 60ns 32MB EDO SIMMS) I removed my four 16MB 60ns FPM SIMMS which cost me over $740 in 1996 and replaced them with four 32MB EDO SIMMS which cost me a total of $92 in August of 98!!!

Audio: Creative Labs Sound Blaster AWE32 PnP with 8MB of RAM (model 3980)

Video: Matrox Millenium with 4MB WRAM (I typically run in 1024x768 in 24bit color) (info)

3D Video: Diamond Monster 3D (awesome for running 3D Games).

Floppy Drive: Sony 1.44MB floppy

Disk Controller: Adaptec 2940 PCI SCSI Master Controller (controls my 3 Hard Drives, CDROM, Optical Drive and Scanner).

Hard Drives: Quantum Fireball ST 6.4 (6.4 GB) SCSI, QuantumFireball 1080S (1 GB) SCSI and a SeagateST31200N HAWK (1 GB) SCSI.

Removable Media: MaxOptixTahiti 2 (1 GB SCSI removable Magneto-Optical drive) NO LONGER USE (VERY UNRELIABLE)

CDROM: Sanyo 4X SCSI (caddyless) CDROM Drive

Scanner: HP Scanjet 3c (24bit color scanner)

Video Capture: Snappy 3.0 from Play Inc.

ISDN Terminal Adaptor: U.S. Robotics Sportster ISDN 128K (more info) (removed ISDN in favor of a cable modem on 3-21-98)

Ethernet Interface Card: 3ComFast EtherLink XL (3C905-TX, PCI, 10/100 (RJ-45)

Cable Modem: Motorola Cybersurfer

Modem: U.S. Robotics Courier V.everything (X2 56K capable external fax modem)

Monitor: NEC MultiSync XE17 (an excellent 17 inch color monitor)

Speakers: NEC Audio Tower Speaker System

Mouse: Microsoft IntelliMouse 1.1a (PS/2 port compatable)

Mouse Mat: 3M Precise Mousing Surface info (hey, I warned you about the computer dweeb factor!)

Game Controller: MadCatz Panther XL (combines a premium joystick with the Assassin 3D (see below)

Joystick: LogitechWingman Extreme Digital (dropped in favor of the Panter XL (see above)

Other Controllers: FPGAssassin 3D (great for Quake!) (dropped in favor of the Panter XL (see above)

Keyboard: NMB RT8255C+ (has a nice click feel to it)

System Mid-Tower Case: Karrie KCS226

OTHER LINKS

Tom's Hardware Guide (a great resource for PC hardware information)

I've had enough, send me back to The George Cifrancis Home Page!