asus a7v8x raid help

[ratdude747]

scoren another computer. 99 bucks got me (@ goodwill):

sturdy foxconn case with room for 4 cdrom, 1 floppy, 4 hd (one canbe converted into a 2nd floppy)

shitty allied powersupply- 5 bad caps but thick metal/wire, decent heatsinks, working fan, good guts, yc primarys, jun fu (i think) secindarys, re-solderable pcb

40gb wd hd, floppy, 16x dvd-rw. 24x cd-rw, 50x cd-rom (3 cd drives!)

stock athlon cooler (filled with dust)

geforce2 64mb, clogged heatsink with dead fan

256mb ram

corrupted xp install

amd athlon xp 1800+

asus a7v8x mobo:

integrated sound

6 usb ports

6 pci (one asus bluepci)

agp-8x

2 ide

1ide , 2 SATA raid

gigabit ethernet

2 firewire

also had an upgraded sound card- 5.1 channel e3dx pci w midi/gameport

case had one 80mm case fan in back

case has a 80/92mm spot in back, 2 80mm spots i sise-by side on front, vents on sides, front, and back.

now for questions:

1. did i get a good deal?

2. are allied psus wort recapping?

3. why does the computer only detect 1 hard dirve on the raid controller when i have 2 ide drives on the raid port. drives set to cable select.

i will mpost pics soon. different graphix card (old one has new cooler on it and is in another machine), swapped allied psu for a delta, upped ram to 768mb, removed 40gb hd and added a 320gb and a 160gb. removed sound card. moved case fan to front and added another 80mm in back. cleaned out dust bunnies. re-greased cpu cooler (had thermal-gum on originally)

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

sorry, my lappy doesnt type well. sorry for bad spelling.

[weirdlookinguy]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

CPU cooler doesn't use grease. I hope you meant thermal compound (AS5, etc).

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

you meant the white stuff that comes in a tube? i meant thermal grease.

a;so, raid solved, it is one channel. i need to save up for SATA if i want raid. kinda dumb to only put one channel. also, evey raid card ive seen has the ide dual-channel.

still, good or bad deal?

[weirdlookinguy]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

Yeah, that stuff. Thermal compound is just a fancy name for it.

It's an older system, XP-era. I maintain a computer with that same cpu and a similar board for someone and it does basic web browsing/music duties well. But it's still an old machine. $99 could have gone farther.

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

ok, so i got screwed. but everything i have seen for 99 as a whole machine was p3 era stuff. 100 will oly get you a kinda-old mb and cpu. no case.

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

i am using linux and it does everything no problem. dv video editing too.

i am intending to use it as a dual-monitor server/workstation ish machine. good one to web surf, play some games, do eveything. my emachines has no place. my compaq is a tv/media center.

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

besides, only the board would be 40-50 bucks. cpu- 20-30. case- 40-60. hd, 10-20. dvd-burner- 30-50. cd burner- 25-25. it adds up.

[weirdlookinguy]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

How is this system better than the emachines? Doesn't it [the emachines] have a faster CPU and a modern (pci-e), freshly recapped board?

Also you're looking in the wrong places for used systems. Craigslist is your friend if $100 is only getting you P3 systems.

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

i dont do craigslist. everybody i know got scammed there. i was using ebay. remeber this came with a NICE case.

the emachines needed no recapping, does have a nice cpu, but has no video expansion port, no good spots for hds (2 ports with poor ventalation/, no raid, 4 sata but 1 ide, no overclocking potential, cramped case. it was meant for a different purpose. not a server.

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

note- the metal looks like that of a flimsy pos, but i doent bend like one and is thicker. no model no. on it, passed quality control in nov. 2002, foxconn embossed in base of machine. also has good ventalation.

the psu needs a recap, but is very nice otherwise. strong metal. thick wire. big heatsinks. plenty of guts. 5v chip, not the 4-trans. job. good pcb for recapping.

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

the chepist listing on ebay of my exact model

everything cheaper was the a7v8x-x (no ide raid port) or a7v8x-ma (2 mem slots, no ide raid).

and thats only the board

the case isnt on ebay.

the cpu was cheaper- 11 bucks average

[weirdlookinguy]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

??? Scammed on Craigslist? How can you get scammed on a site where the actual transaction is in person?

I thought you upgraded the emachines with a KeriProductions kit.

EDIT: eBay values don't mean much, but if you're trying to convince yourself that you got some super good deal, be my guest.

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

i did, but i killed the board when i tried to upgrade the wimpy chipset heatsink. used wrong set of pliers to extract the pins.

i keep on hearing of people getting raped there and people not showing up for pickup. also a lot of trash postings. ill check criagslist, but i dont want to be handed a dead board with no warranty

how much was the system worth, then?

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

the no-ide-raid version goes for 40 bucks on amazon, fyi

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

none on craigs list.

[ratdude747]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

dont forget the 6.1 channel soundcard.

[KeriJane]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

Hi Ratdude

Here's my thoughts on RAID

Don't use any "onboard" RAID solutions. Chipset RAID uses the CPU excessively and you end up with a slowdown. "Cheap" RAID cards that list for under $100 generally are "Software RAID" as well.

For RAID to work at all well, expensive "Hardware RAID" cards seem to be required. These have their own processor and usually a heatsink.


Learned it the hard way,
Keri

[kc8adu]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

i have several p4 class boxes here that i would sell for about $125 ea.
they have been gone through,recapped if needed,reloaded,ect.
1 has a card reader and all have dvd burners.
so 99.00 for a project machine is not so great.
there are cheap boxes on craigslist but they are cheap because they have issues.
still deals and steals to be found if you look and are quick.
meet in person and be able to test what you are buying.
if selling no checks,paypal,ect.cash on the spot and look for counterfiets.
only 1 bad experience here and that was a drunk that showed up and refused to leave.i finally gave him the option to leave on his own or leave in 2 or more parts in a meatwagon or the coroners black suburban.he left quickly!
most folks on cl have been great to deal with.goodwill otoh has gotten greedy on their junk.

[370forlife]

Re: asus a7v8x raid help

At my local goodwill all they have are crap packard bell p1 machines for $75.

The only reason I got a old dell xps with a 733mhz, 512mb ram, and a nvidia 7300gt was because the guy that sold and kept up the machines there instantly knew I knew what I was talking about and knew what it was worth. I walked out of there with it for $25.