new system build

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by ctal

My sentiments exactly, on my new build that has the same case except in silver and with a window. Everything about it simply seems perfect (for those who can accommodate its size), with the one very very minor exception that the power switch feels a little flimsy.

-- Al

yeah the overall size is a bit hefty...but I don't really mind when compared to all the other positives about the case...I agree about the power switch too (as well as the Reset button)...I feel like I need to really firmly push it all the way in for it to feel right

[ctal]

I should make clear to everyone that I consider its size (a little under 24x24x9") to be a very strong positive; it's just that not everyone can accommodate a case that size. But if you can, it makes possible fantastic cooling (with up to 9 120mm fans, depending on how you configure it, and the ability to accommodate very tall cpu coolers), and it's a pleasure to work in.

I should also single out for special praise the noise levels, especially considering how many fans there are. It's audible, but what noise there is, is pleasant in character. Also, the rubber hard drive mounting hardware it comes with does a very good job of keeping the noise from my three hard drives in check. These include a 150gB Raptor, which can make quite a racket if mounted on a flimsy resonant structure.

Regards,
-- Al

[traveler]

polonyc2 -

Did you flash the BIOS in your Maximus Formula to the Rampage Formula BIOS yet? Seems like every Maximus Formula owner has.

The Rampage BIOS is outstanding. It's amazing what ASUS put in the for the enthusiast. Things that no other manufacturer of motherboards gives to the enthusiast owner.

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by traveler

polonyc2 -

Did you flash the BIOS in your Maximus Formula to the Rampage Formula BIOS yet? Seems like every Maximus Formula owner has.

The Rampage BIOS is outstanding. It's amazing what ASUS put in the for the enthusiast. Things that no other manufacturer of motherboards gives to the enthusiast owner.

I was reading about this over at the XtremeSystems forums...seems like a lot of people are flashing their BIOS to the Rampage BIOS...I'm still a little hesitant to do this until I feel 100% comfortable flashing a different board's BIOS onto my Maximus Formula

ASUS just released a new non beta Maximus Formula BIOS last week (BIOS 1201)...I just flashed my board from BIOS 0907 to 1201 earlier today and everything is running good

[traveler]

If ASUS doesn't come out soon with its ROG X48 DDR3 board soon, I might go Rampage Formula.

It's neck and neck right now for the Rampage Formula and the Maximus Extreme.

I hope that tie breaker comes out soon.

[polonyc2]

just cleaned the front fan filters on my Lian Li PC-A70B...very simple to do with this case but I still hate cleaning them...but since I seem to get a lot of dust build up in my place (especially during the summer time) I like to clean them every few months...dried them out by placing them over the air conditioner for 5-10 minutes

while I was at it I also cleaned out the computer area itself (desk, monitor, compressed air for inside of case etc)...I'm glad its over

[traveler]

Hey ... I see you have G.Skill in your sig now. I thought you had Mushkin?

I'm not surprised to see G.Skill though. I just gave up on my 2 x 2GB OCZ Reaper HPC PC2 8500 RAM. Even ASUS telephone tech support says says OCZ and current ASUS motherboards don't get along well. I just ordered a set of G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit from Newegg. That's the Pi Edition series. I like those new Pi Edition extended heat spreaders! I didn't know G.Skill had that feature.

I hope they work.



__________________
Asus X48 Rampage Formula / Intel Q9450 / 2 x 2GB OCZ Reaper HPC PC2 8500 / VisionTek Radeon HD3870X2 OverClocked Edition /
Western Digital Raptor X Hard Drive / Two Western Digital Caviar RE2 WD5001ABYS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives /
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro 7.1 / Creative Gigaworks S750 7.1 Speaker System /
Lian Li 343B cube case / PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Crossfire Edition

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by traveler

Hey ... I see you have G.Skill in your sig now. I thought you had Mushkin?

I'm not surprised to see G.Skill though. I just gave up on my 2 x 2GB OCZ Reaper HPC PC2 8500 RAM. Even ASUS telephone tech support says says OCZ and current ASUS motherboards don't get along well. I just ordered a set of G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit from Newegg. That's the Pi Edition series. I like those new Pi Edition extended heat spreaders! I didn't know G.Skill had that feature.

I hope they work.

I always used G.Skill with this build...I went with them after doing a lot of research and determined that they were the best fit for my system...it came down to G.Skill and Super Talent for my build and in the end I chose G.Skill...glad I did too, havn't had a single problem with them...running 4-4-4-12 timings and even lowered the DRAM voltage a bit as well and it is still 100% stable

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

the G.Skill Pi Edition memory looks really nice...was reading a review on their PC2-8800 memory some time back...hope it works out for you

this is the memory you bought correct?

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

[traveler]

Originally Posted by polonyc2

[snip]

the G.Skill Pi Edition memory looks really nice...was reading a review on their PC2-8800 memory some time back...hope it works out for you

this is the memory you bought correct?

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

That's the stuff!

I was considering the 8gig kit in the 8800 flavor but decided not to. Let's see how this works first. Then maybe the 9600 flavor ....



__________________
Asus X48 Rampage Formula / Intel Q9450 / 2 x 2GB OCZ Reaper HPC PC2 8500 / VisionTek Radeon HD3870X2 OverClocked Edition /
Western Digital Raptor X Hard Drive / Two Western Digital Caviar RE2 WD5001ABYS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives /
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro 7.1 / Creative Gigaworks S750 7.1 Speaker System /
Lian Li 343B cube case / PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Crossfire Edition

[polonyc2]

this was the review I read a month back on the 8800 Pi 4GB kit...

techPowerUp :: G.Skill F2-8800 Pi Series CL5 4GB Kit Review :: Page 1 / 4

with memory being so cheap nowadays I might upgrade to the Pi series myself...my current G.Skill comes with the 6 layer PCB

[traveler]

Originally Posted by polonyc2

yes that's what I have...and all I see is brushed black aluminum...I never actually took out the adapter or bezel for the floppy since it came pre-installed with the case...all I did was hook up the wires...I should take it out one day to look more carefully
[snip]

Ever take it out and look at it yet?

As you might have seen from my new build thread, I'm having floppy drive mounting problems. My floppy drive works fine just sitting there free in the drive bay. But as soon as I bolt it into the drive bracket it stops working.

If you get the chance, please let me know if when they built your floppy drive unit whether or not they used any shims or washers or spacers between the floppy drive itself and the floppy drive bracket in the area by the screws that fasten the drive to the bracket. Or if the drive bracket sides are pulled flush against the drive housing by the force of the screws being tightened. Your floppy drive bracket does just slide right out the front of the case on rails, right? Also, what brand is the floppy drive?

Thanks polonyc2.



__________________
Asus X48 Rampage Formula / Intel Q9450 / 2 x 2GB OCZ Reaper HPC PC2 8500 / VisionTek Radeon HD3870X2 OverClocked Edition /
Western Digital Raptor X Hard Drive / Two Western Digital Caviar RE2 WD5001ABYS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives /
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro 7.1 / Creative Gigaworks S750 7.1 Speaker System /
Lian Li 343B cube case / PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Crossfire Edition

[ctal]

Hi again, Trav -- I have the same PC-A70A series case as Poly, actually two of them that I built recently, both bought from the same source (Performance PC's), with the same floppy and adapter bracket. There is no brand name indicated on the floppy. It is held to the metal brackets within the bay adapter directly (flush), with just the usual screws (similarly to how it would be mounted in a 3.5" bay if the case had one). The adapter mounts into a cage that surrounds all of the bay devices, just as if it were an optical drive or other similarly sized device, with the usual screws. There are no rails, though.

-- Al

[traveler]

Originally Posted by ctal

Hi again, Trav -- I have the same PC-A70A series case as Poly, actually two of them that I built recently, both bought from the same source (Performance PC's), with the same floppy and adapter bracket. There is no brand name indicated on the floppy. It is held to the metal brackets within the bay adapter directly (flush), with just the usual screws (similarly to how it would be mounted in a 3.5" bay if the case had one). The adapter mounts into a cage that surrounds all of the bay devices, just as if it were an optical drive or other similarly sized device, with the usual screws. There are no rails, though.

-- Al

ctal, thank you very much for your reply Bud!

So the two vertical plates on the floppy bracket are screwed tight against the sides of the floppy drive. Hmmmmmmmm. Four screws? Two on each side?

Then the bracket is bolted to the drive bay. Hmmmmmm. Any rubber mounts as Lian Li does with hard drive mounting?

And no rails. I just looked at pictures of the PC-A70 case and see the upper drive bay mounting system. Not that I think the slot rails would matter. Picture from the rear of case showing the nine front drive bays with rails The floppy assembly (as well as the hard drive cages, fan assemblies, water cooling bays, etc.) slides in from the front of the case on the twin rail slots in each drive bay and secure with a thumb screw.

Wonder what brand the floppy is. If you get a chance to check, you can tell by the rear of the floppy drive. Each manufacturer places the IDE connector and the power connector in a different location on the back of the drive.



__________________
Asus X48 Rampage Formula / Intel Q9450 / 2 x 2GB OCZ Reaper HPC PC2 8500 / VisionTek Radeon HD3870X2 OverClocked Edition /
Western Digital Raptor X Hard Drive / Two Western Digital Caviar RE2 WD5001ABYS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives /
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Elite Pro 7.1 / Creative Gigaworks S750 7.1 Speaker System /
Lian Li 343B cube case / PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Crossfire Edition

[ctal]

Trav -- Yes, 4 screws total, and no rubber thingies at all for any of the devices mounted in the front bays, just for the hdd's. I looked at the performance-pcs.com site, and the floppies they sell separately are made under the brand names Alps, Mitsumi, Sony, and LianLi. The LianLi's look different, so it is one of the other three.

Are you sure you are using the right kind of screws? They are the same as the screws used for optical drives (an M3 metric thread, 1/4" long excluding the head), but are different than the ones used for hdd's (6-32 type, and only 4mm long).

-- Al

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by traveler

Ever take it out and look at it yet?

As you might have seen from my new build thread, I'm having floppy drive mounting problems. My floppy drive works fine just sitting there free in the drive bay. But as soon as I bolt it into the drive bracket it stops working.

If you get the chance, please let me know if when they built your floppy drive unit whether or not they used any shims or washers or spacers between the floppy drive itself and the floppy drive bracket in the area by the screws that fasten the drive to the bracket. Or if the drive bracket sides are pulled flush against the drive housing by the force of the screws being tightened. Your floppy drive bracket does just slide right out the front of the case on rails, right? Also, what brand is the floppy drive?

Thanks polonyc2.

looks like Connecticut Albert beat me to the punch

looks like we both got our cases through Performance-PCs with the floppy drive/adaptor built in...looks like he gave you the layout of the floppy inside the bracket...I'm curious myself if they list the floppy manufacturer anywhere on the drive itself so I'll take a look at that later tonight...I have a separate Mitsumi floppy/USB card reader that I was planning on putting into this build but since Performance-PCs threw in a generic floppy which is functioning fine there was no need to switch it out