PC Overhaul - Stage 1

Hi everyone,

Its been a really long time since I last update my blog. Anyhow, I am back... :)

Recently, I have decided to upgrade my own PC as I was building one for my gf... Surprisingly, hers is about as old as mine (In terms of the core system).

Its then that I realised that I have not lost the PC geekiness in me... haha... I am still every bit as in love with PCs as I was when I was younger... Btw, my core system is about 5 yrs old... so its also about time...

I started reading up on the forums I use to go to for ideas and recommendations. And soon discovered that I was still able to keep up to date with the technologies rather quickly to find out the best value for money/performance system...

For your info, usually the best value isn't the cheapest but it would be a PC that will give the PC enthusiast the bang for their buck.

Ok... Lets give my system a good introduction... hehe... Lets talk about the old stuff first and those that I decided to change and keep...

Parts that I kept
Casing
- CoolerMaster Praetorian PAC-T01 Chassis (First appeared in 1999 (~$600) and I waited 5 yrs before I actually bought one (~$200)... For cost reasons... )
Drives
- WD Raptor 10k RPM 74GB
- Maxtor DiamondMax 10 7.2k RPM 160GB x 2
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 160GB (IDE, very very old drive)
- BenQ DVD writer (can't be bother with the specs for this one) but works fine

Parts that are to be replaced
Motherboard
- Asus P4P-800
CPU
- Intel P4 2.4C (OC to 2.8)
RAM
- Patriot DDR 400 512MB x2
Power Supply
- SilverStone 500W PSU (Very good unit but sadly cannot be used in the new one)


NEW Parts going in
Motherboard
- Asus P5Q-E (Avid followers of Asus: This board does not disappoint and it sure lives up to it name of being a very complete Motherboard for PC enthusiasts. Its not the most 'high-end' board but the board with almost everything you need.)
CPU
- Intel Core2Duo E8200 (2.66Ghz , L2 6MB)
Ram
- Cosair XMS2 DDR2-800 Matched Pair (1GB x 2)
Power Supply
- SilverStone ST75ZF Zeus 750W PSU (One quiet Power Monster)
Add-on Cards
- Leadtek Winfast TV2000 Xpert

When I got my parts back home and really had a good look at my PC, I realised that it really collected a lot of dust and dirt for the past 4 yrs I last touched it.. It was so scary that I decided to do a PC Overhaul before putting anything new things in. So I began my PC overhaul project, removing all the old parts from the chassis and dusting and wiping them clean. Once all the parts are removed, I set to work on cleaning my chassis inside out. It took me ard 5 hours to clean everything (from removing covers, grills and internal fans; to cleaning the grills where the air intake is, cleaning the filter mesh on the front and top of the chassis, cleaning all the fans that are present (all 4 of them) one by one.) But the end result is just fantastic, seeing your chassis like new is a good feeling...

Okay... So now its time to get the new parts in... The core system went in first... together with one HDD that I was going to use as the boot drive and the DVD drive.... obviously to install Windows.. The reason for doing so is..... you see this is Stage 1.... So there is more stages to come in this project... :) Will update soon in due time.... In the meantime, some photos for enjoyment.. hehe