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BLAKKDRAG0N · Jun 6, 2001, 08:33 AM

<I built a 1 Ghz Thunderbird system with a 30 gb ATA/100 drive and a 13 gb ATA/66 hard drive, using Windows 2000 Professional (the most "stable" M$ OS), 256 mb of PC 133 RAM, and lots of high end goodies. After two weeks on the Win 2k box, I've gone back to my iMac, and will never stray again.

I suppose we all learn from our mistakes. Anybody interested in a $3000 over-the-top Wintel box? I'll gladly trade it for a G4 400 tower... email me at: blakkdrag0n@hotmail.com for complete system specs.>

Nimisys · Jun 6, 2001, 12:15 PM

can i just see the complete specs here...3000$ seems like a hellava lot for just a 1ghz t-bird... 1500$ sounds more reasonable. also what went wrong on it?

BLAKKDRAG0N · Jun 6, 2001, 02:44 PM

Great signature, Nimisys!

Specs:

Antec bondi blue and ice mid-tower case, upgraded AOpen 300 watt ultra-quiet power supply, 3x 5.25 bays, 1x external 3.5 bay, 2x internal 3.5 bays, 80mm intake case fan, 80mm impeller-type exhaust case fan, sits right over the CPU

Asus A7V motherboard, specs here: http://www.asus.com/products/motherb...a7v/index.html
VERY overclockable, either BIOS controlled jumper free, or use jumpers and switches to configure it how YOU want it. Dual ATA/100 controller ports built-in. Very fast board.

AMD Athlon T-Bird 1000 mhz CPU with large heatsink and fan. 200 mhz Front Side Bus. 'Nuff said.

1x 256 mb PC133 RAM DIMM

1x Maxtor 30 Gb ATA/100 hard drive

1x Maxtor 13 Gb ATA/66 hard drive

Hitachi 12x DVD-ROM with Intervideo's WinDVD

HP CD-Writer Plus 4x4x32x CD-RW, with Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4

3DFX Voodoo 3 3000 4x AGP graphix card

Creative Ensonique 3D sound card

ATI TV-Wonder TV tuner PCI card (I also have an ATI TV-Wonder USB TV tuner I'll throw in, since it's for PC)

RealTek 10/100 BaseT PCI Ethernet NIC

Creative Modem Blaster/DSI hardware-based V.90/56k PCI modem

Licensed OEM copy of Windows 2000 Professional

All driver disks, documentation, and owners manuals.

All parts were bought new, retail. I probably overpaid, since I bought it all retail, but I'm impatient, and don't like waiting for shipping when I want something. I also like the convenience of being able to return defective equipment and getting it replaced that day.

I do stand corrected, though. $3000 is the value including my 21" monitor, which is not for sale...so that puts the value of the box itself at just under $2000.

Nothing went wrong on it, it just seems...CLUNKY, compared to Mac OS 9. I administer a Windows 2000 network, and I thought if I built the system right, I could make it feel more fluid and comfortable like my Mac, but I was wrong. I'm not a PC User, I just play one at work. At home, all I want is a Mac. I should have spent the money I invested in this PC on buying the G4 tower I really want, but I didn't. Any takers on a trade?

danbrew · Jun 6, 2001, 08:33 PM

Even at 2k, you overpaid. You also cannot legally buy a copy of Windows 2000 OEM unless you're a system builder and have an OEM agreement with an authorized distributor. Building one system doesn't qualify you as a system builder, btw.

Not flamming you, but the drives & the video card are about the only quality components in the system.

fwiw - free internet advice.

iCartman · Jun 7, 2001, 01:37 AM

I think it is a stretch to call a Voodoo3 3000 a quality component in the current marketplace. This guy got taken for a ride! He will be lucky to trade that heap for a bondi iMac (then again, eBay always has tons of suckers).

I'd say the 30gb Maxtor, dvd, power supply and the memory are the only quality components, the rest should be slapped in a box with an "e-machines" label.

Hopefully you can get a mac back.

Nimisys · Jun 7, 2001, 02:39 AM

yeah blakdragon you got taken for a ride even apple can't compete with.

the Mobo, and chip are good... ram is decent, but with todays prices it is not enough (my K6-2 recently got another 256 in it so its full at 512) the HDDs are ok, but nothing great and unfortunitly with the exception of the modem and possibly the nic (D-Link?) everything else is is OEM quality.

that HP cd-writer is a pain in the ass...
the DVD is ok but slow
The VooDoo 3 is well weak to put i mildly...a TNT2 M64 oem ard can trounce it
the Blaster isn't bad but not worh more than 30.. the Live would have been better
everyhting else is ok.

personaly i feel REALY bad for you.. you paid way to much for 3-4 generation old components. no wonder win2k felt so bad. i would try to return all but the modem, Case (psu included), Nic, HDD, CPU, MObo, Ram, tuner and get your money back. the system as it stands now would be hard to justify above 1000$ dollars. put a live value, radeon VE, plextor writer, pioneer dvd, swap the 13gb for another 30gb (raid'em) and the machine will be MUCH smoother. and will give you a better experience. double the ram and it will be very, very smooth.
but it also taught you an important lesson, that you really need to do some research before building and that system really needs balanced. an good cpu and os will die under crappy support hardware. Bl;akkDragon, i really wish i could expose you to well designed PC's and Win2k as they feel and perform much better than anything at CompUSA or any other large store could shop you.

depending on your price, i might be interested in the case, CPU and cooler, mobo and ram... but i wouldn't be able to buy right away.

BLAKKDRAG0N · Jun 7, 2001, 12:01 PM

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Danbrew, thanks for the lesson in OEM licensing. This is not the first system I've built, and yes, I do have an OEM builder's agreement. I'm an A+ Certified geek, and I've built over 100 PC workstations, and over 30 server systems. For business purposes, Wintel boxes are what I do. For personal purposes, I'm very anti-Micro$oft, and I love my Mac. This system was built over the course of a couple months of acquiring parts, and I know none of it is bleeding-edge hardware. But, to be perfectly frank, what I'm looking to trade it for isn't some tweaked out hot rod of a Mac. Look at actual system specs on a stock G3 400 B&W/G4 400 tower, and you'll find the following:

Integrated sound card (VS PCI Soundblaster 3D)
PCI or 2x AGP Rage 128 graphix card (VS 4x AGP Voodoo 3 3000)
Integrated NIC (VS PCI RealTek 10/100)
20 GB ATA/33 hard drive (VS 30 GB ATA/100 and 13 GB ATA/66)
128 mb PC100 RAM (VS 256 mb PC133 RAM)
32x CD-ROM or 5x DVD-ROM (VS 12x DVD-ROM)
100 mhz Front Side Bus (VS 200 mhz FSB)
1x 3.5" expansion bay, 3 PCI slots (VS 2x 5.25" and 3x 3.5" bays, 5 PCI slots)
No CD-RW drive, or place to install an internal CD-RW drive (VS 4x4x32x internal CD-RW)
400 mhz G3 or G4 processor (VS 1000 mhz T-Bird processor) you and I know actual clock speed doesn't mean dick when comparing PPC 7400 to x86, but I'd have to say, at this level of speed difference, they're comparable
Actual estimated value: $1000 (VS, according to Nimisys, $1000)

These specs were taken from everymac.com, including the estimated value. Estimated value on my machine definitely varies, but Nimisys's is at the low end. Looking at actual system specs, I'd have to say mine smacks the monkey's ass compared to a G4 400 tower. But that's not important to me. This is about personal preference, and I prefer a Mac. I figured one of the forum readers may have a G4 tower to get rid of so that they could build or buy a nice PC. This could be a win/win situation. Instead, I get criticism and undercutting judgements from those who would turn a blind eye to the difference between 200 mhz FSB and 100 mhz FSB, or 2x AGP VS 4x AGP, simply because they're pro-Mac biased.

yeah blakdragon you got taken for a ride even apple can't compete with. Really? $1799 for a G4 Cube? You may want to reconsider that statement.

Give me a break, guys. If nobody's interested in the trade on this forum, I'll list it on eBay, and somebody will end up with a nice PC, freshly formatted, with their choice of 2000 or ME, and I'll even preinstall Office 2000 for them. I'll take the money I get from that sale and drop it on a refurbed G4 400 tower. If someone is looking to swap their G3 400 B&W or G4 400 tower, drop me an email. Thanks again for your feedback and time.

Nimisys · Jun 7, 2001, 02:13 PM

BlakkDragon,

you said you aquired the parts overtime, right? then maybe it would be worth the value you listed it at, since you probably grabbed them a while ago before they deprietated in price. Not such a ripoff anymore. Hardware comparison as a basis, as compared to a G4 your system is more appealing, diffently. If your willing to sell portions of it, depending on the price (and how many week/paychecks it takes for me to get it) i would be interested in the core of the system: Case and PSU, CPU and Cooler, Mobo and Ram.

if you only want to sell all of it together i would suggest the For Sale/ Trade portion of HardForum.com, as it gets a lot of traffic, and ther are a lot of PC guys looking for parts.

As for it compared to the cube, i forgot about it... in Apples prodcut line up the cube fits in somewhat, real world its a high price decapitated machine with little room for growth.

cube-dude · Jun 7, 2001, 06:30 PM

This belongs in the Buy/Sell forum (on a PC board, he says under his breath)

Transfering . . .

Scotttheking · Jun 7, 2001, 07:44 PM

I'm interested in it, but I'm getting a Ti right now, so I don't have the cash.
How long can you wait to sell it?

--Scott

BLAKKDRAG0N · Jun 8, 2001, 08:21 PM

I'm not in a great rush to sell it, since I have my iMac to use for now. My ultimate goal was to bypass any exchange of cash and just swap it for a G3 400 B&W or G4 Tower. If that's not possible, I'd definitely prefer to sell it as a full package, rather than part it out. This will be my last post on this forum regarding this. Cube-Dude, sorry for the mix-up. If anyone is interested in trading their G3 B&W or G4 Tower, drop me an email at: blakkdrag0n@hotmail.com. Anyone interested in purchasing the system, drop me an email with an offer and a reply is guaranteed. Otherwise, look for it on eBay in the next week or so, and happy bidding.