I’ve been thinking about building myself a new desktop machine for a while now, but I finally got around to it this weekend after the motherboard in my old machine failed. Here’s what’s in the new one:

  • Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 (2.66 GHz)
  • Asus P5K-V (1333 MHz FSB, integrated video)
  • 2GB Corsair Twin2X PC2-6400 (4-4-4-12)
  • Antec Solo case
  • Corsair VX450 power supply
  • WD Caviar 500 GB SATA hard drive
  • Asus DRW-1814BLT SATA DVD burner

It also has a few components from my old machine, namely a 250 GB PATA hard drive, Hauppauge HVR-1600 ATSC/NTSC tuner card, and M-Audio Omni sound card.

Initially I was experiencing choppy sound and mouse movement whenever the hard drive was active, but I solved the problem by downloading the latest drivers for the JMicron PATA/SATA controller from the manufacturer’s website. Also, the memory was running at 5-5-5-18 timings by default, but I easily fixed that in BIOS. I used Norton Ghost to move Windows to my new SATA hard drive.

This machine is smokin’! Prime95 is running about three times as fast as before, and I can’t believe how fast BeyondTV starts up. The new case is great too. It has way better ventilation than my old one, and I love having USB ports and audio jacks on the front!