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I have the Logitech MX Revolution. If you like the way that it cups your thumb, it's a fine mouse. I prefer the G7's more rounded shape.

A bit confused over the Blu-ray drive. There are 2 drives from LG, where one is the Retail version and the other is an OEM version with a price difference of $50. I know that the Retail version comes with PowerDVD to play Blu-ray movies. Is there any other difference?

The retail might come with a SATA cable or different color faceplate. Then again I've seen OEM drives pack those in as well. Either way, nothing major in my experience. I always buy OEM optical drives.

Could someone quickly tell which is the better card of the three? HIS Hightech H483FN512P Radeon HD 4830 vs ASUS EAH4830/HTDP/512MD3 Radeon HD 4830 vs SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830? Thanks in advance.

The Asus card has faster memory. The Sapphire card includes more output adapters than the other two. The HIS lacks a PCIe power adapter, if you need that.

Thanks JustAnEngineer. I was looking to see if there were any flaws with either card (heat issues etc.) and the comments about the cards all seemed minor. I went ahead with whatever was cheapest and the Sapphire is (with the free shipping).

faster memory FTW!

eric93se wrote:

faster memory FTW!

Awww, couldn't you be a few minutes faster? I couldn't find any review showing a noticeable advantage with the 200 MHz increase, so I just went ahead.

Now in dilemma between Logitech MX 5500 Cordless Desktop ($ 90) and Logitech MX 3200 Cordless Desktop ($ 50).

do you really need wireless?

eric93se wrote:

do you really need wireless?

Actually, no. I just thought it would be nice to have. Have any corded suggestions? I need to visit Best Buy or Staples to have a look at some of the models JAE suggested.

Honestly, if you don't need to be mobile with your keyboard/mouse, then its a waste of $$, and you've got to put AA batteries in them every month or two.

eric93se wrote:

Honestly, if you don't need to be mobile with your keyboard/mouse, then its a waste of $$, and you've got to put AA batteries in them every month or two.

Really? Now given I have a laptop mouse but my Logitech V450 has been using the same two AA batteries since early August now. That's with at least two hours of use a day as it's become my primary mouse, I love it. I can't really imagine why a desktop mouse would consume much more other than less aggressive sleep switching.

The keyboard/mouse is the only thing that is remaining right now. Went around to Circuit City, Best Buy, Staples last evening and had a look at the limited models they had for display. Most of them had keys which have a 'clicky' sound and with a high travel distance (comparing with laptop keyboards).

There were some posts advising against wireless keyboards unless I really need them.

Here are my impressions
* The contoured ergo keyboards or the middle-split keyboards don't really appeal to me. Perhaps it helps those who do fast touch-typing.
* Liked the keyboard in the Logitech S520 Cordless Desktop. But its wireless.
* Liked the Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard. As a brand preference, would prefer something like this in Logitech.
* Liked the contoured mice though. The Logitech LX3, for example, felt nice.
* The Logitech MX 3200 Desktop is a very nice combo - soft keys and nice contoured mouse. But, it is wireless. And the guys at the store were not aware of a wired counterpart similar to it.

I have the Logitech MX3000 on my living room PC. I use rechargeable NiMH batteries in the mouse and keyboard. The keyboard needs fresh batteries once or twice a year. The mouse needs fresh batteries about every two months.

Microsoft keyboard and mouse products are just as high quality as Logitech. In fact, I believe Logitech actually designs and manufacturers and they're branded as Microsoft. Not unusual in the computer world.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

I have the Logitech MX3000 on my living room PC. I use rechargeable NiMH batteries in the mouse and keyboard. The keyboard needs fresh batteries once or twice a year. The mouse needs fresh batteries about every two months.

Any comments on the set?

Selected the Logitech MX-310 mouse and the Logitech USB Standard Access Keyboard 600. Comes to $65 including shipping

InTeGeR13 wrote:

Selected the Logitech MX-310 mouse and the Logitech USB Standard Access Keyboard 600. Comes to $65 including shipping

$65 isn't bad. Spending the proper amount of money and research to select key components to your system is important. People often overshadow items like mice and keyboards because they're not flashy and can't be represented on a benchmark graph but let us be honest. A good mouse has just as much to do with your computing experience as a expensive graphics card.

Skrying wrote:

$65 isn't bad. Spending the proper amount of money and research to select key components to your system is important. People often overshadow items like mice and keyboards because they're not flashy and can't be represented on a benchmark graph but let us be honest. A good mouse has just as much to do with your computing experience as a expensive graphics card.

Now, that's encouraging, though most of my research was on Newegg reviews and yesterday's little tour of hardware stores.

On to the building phase now - got the CPU installed and the heatsink above it, along with the RAM. I am going to let it stay till I get the drives tomorrow. It was a nervous set of moments as I tried getting the heatsink to 'click'.

Received all the parts except the monitor and spent a whole evening connecting. Bit scary in parts, but it went without any major difficulty. And then I switched it on - it calmly started breathing. I will be getting the monitor today, so that should complete the package.

I will be installing Vista and running some stress tests overnight (over the weekend?). I did read about Memtest, Prime95, Orthos in the Recommended Stress Program thread. Are there any new/better stability testing apps since then (2006)?

Well before loading windows its best to run memtest86+ for a couple passes, that way you know your memeory isn't corrupt and going to give a bad windows install.

eric93se wrote:

Well before loading windows its best to run memtest86+ for a couple passes, that way you know your memeory isn't corrupt and going to give a bad windows install.

eric93se, thanks. I will start off with Memtest86+ first then. Any particular sequence of programs I would have to run?

Fedex came with the monitor. Me was not at home (was at work), so they left a note that my signature is required. I can't collect it from their office too, because Fedex Ground policies tell that the 3 attempts should be done first. I don't understand it. Anyway, might take half day off on Monday waiting for the package.

I don't have a spare monitor around, so the assembled machine is going to sit idle over the weekend.

There's a new Linpack frontend named Linx that will really put your CPU and cooling to the test. Linpack can generate more heat than even Prime95 small FFTs.

FedEx ground are not the same customer-oriented absolutely positively have to get it there overnight folks that you're used to at FedEx Express. Nor are they the bumblers at FedEx Home Delivery. It's like they're different companies.

Fedex Ground has finally listened. The monitor was delivered this morning and wow it looks nice. Let's start with the final installation soon.

First pass of Memtest86+ completes with no errors. Second pass is about to complete. Will start with Vista installation after that.

Ha ha, posting to TR from the new machine. Thanks all of you guys. Will post pics soon. Should run some Linx overnight.

Cool stuff, pics please!
I just pulled the IHS off my e7200, and working on getting it optomized, so far its 7-8C cooler with it off!

InTeGeR13 wrote:

Ha ha, posting to TR from the new machine. Thanks all of you guys. Will post pics soon. Should run some Linx overnight.

Apparently, 'soon' meant 2 weeks. The machine has been great to work with, so far.

General comments:
* Build - The build looked easy after I was done with it, compared to how scared I was, when starting. No 'blood sacrifice' either.
* OS - Windows Vista installation was a breeze. Took lesser time than the XP installation on my earlier Pentium Prescott machine. But, it did take a brief while to start and I wondered if something was wrong.
* Monitor - The monitor is impressive. Was a little too big when I first saw it, but now used to it. Thanks JustAnEngineer.
* Processor - Satisfied with the performance so far. CoreTemp is showing temperatures under 50 C for the cores.
* Folding - Resumed folding for Team 2630. Folding on both the CPU and GPU alternatively.
* Audio - The audio volume seems a little less for my taste. I am used to keeping it at around 70-80% but here with all maxed (all apps in the volume control), I still don't get the feeling it is loud enough. These Denon headphones sounded louder on the Toshiba laptop I was using earlier. Is there anything on the BIOS I need to do?
* Rebates - Missed the RAM rebate date. Hoping the motherboard rebate form reaches by this week.
* Gaming - Downloaded the demo of NFS Prostreet and played it. I think it is using the full resolution and that caused the less-than-smooth experience. The level of detail on screen is nice.

Pics:

. .

Thanks again to all in these awesome forums who helped me out. Special thanks to eric93se for the various suggestions throughout the decision process.

InTeGeR13 wrote:

* Audio - The audio volume seems a little less for my taste. I am used to keeping it at around 70-80% but here with all maxed (all apps in the volume control), I still don't get the feeling it is loud enough. These Denon headphones sounded louder on the Toshiba laptop I was using earlier. Is there anything on the BIOS I need to do?

Does that mean no one here has faced this problem with audio?