My Rig

I recently made quite a few changes in my home desktop computer. Finally, its worth something to write about.

The changes I made recently are PSU, Graphics card, DVD Writer, Case/Chassis, Fans, Keyboard and Mouse.

I had to change the chassis, as the old one was getting very cramped after installing the  new PSU and GTX 260. It was also getting overly heated. My whole computer table was burning hot from the heat generated. I started exploring my options. I had narrowed it down to 2 brands, Thermaltake and Coolermaster. I eventually chose coolermaster for two reasons. First, thermaltake was not available in my city (had to wait for atleast a month). Second, when I saw coolermaster, thermaltake went out of equation. Its much(solid) better built than thermaltake, looked really hot and coolermaster is better brand name.

I was choosing between Thermaltake Strike MX Series VI6001BNS and Cooler Master RC-690-KWN1-GP RC-690 with Transparent Side Panel. Both are similarly priced.

Here’s the breakdown of the components I am having:

Case / Chassis
Cooler Master RC-690-KWN1-GP RC-690 with Transparent Side Panel Mid Tower Computer Case
Comes with:
Front :120 mm Blue LED fan x 1, 1200 rpm, 21 dBA
Rear : 120 mm standard fan, 1200 rpm, 21 dBA
Top : 120 mm Blue LED fan x 1 (Purchased separately)
Bottom : 120 mm fan x 1 (This is the one that was replaced from left side panel),
Left: 120 mm Blue LED fan x 1, 1200 rpm, 21 dBA (Purchased separately)
A total of 5 (2 normal + 3 LED) independent fans + 1 fan in PSU + 1 fan on processor + 1 fan on GPU = 8 fans.

This case comes with a very neatly integrated cable manager. The front and top of the case are all aluminium mesh. Looks really neat. Power and rest buttons are located on the left side and 2XUSB 2.0, 1Xheadphone, 1XMic, 1XeSata, 1Xfirewire are on top.
The case has a tool-free design. PCI cards, 5.25″, 3.5″ drives can be easily installed and are supported by latches.
PSU is located at the bottom of the case.
The case came with 3 fans, I installed 2 more LED 120mm fans. Its properly ventilated now. I ran the system for 10 straight hours yesterday without any heat problems.
I read reviews before buying this case. Mostly people have written that the left panel is hard to remove. Mine was pretty easy to remove. I got the transparent side panel, maybe that’s the reason.
I got this as standard: Transparent Acrylic Side Window Panel (RA-690-KWN1-GP)
On Coolermaster website, this is listed as an accessory.
Here are the case details on official website: Coolermaster CM690

PSU (Power Supply Unit)
Corsair CMPSU-450VX 450W Power Supply – ATX 12V v.2.2 450 Watt
1 x Main connector (20+4Pin),1 x 12V(4+4Pin),6 x peripheral,6 x SATA2 x Floppy,1 x PCI-E
I know, that I need atleast 550Watt supply. Will do it later.
More Details

Processor
Model: BX80569Q9550
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield
2.83GHz  Quad-Core Processor
12MB L2 Cache
45nm
1333Mhz
LGA 775
95W
Official Link

Mainboard
Intel® Desktop Board DP35DP
Official Link

GPU (Graphic Processing Unit)
Nvidia GeForce XFX GTX 260 Core (216 Processor Cores)
Core Clock 576MHz
Memory Clock 2000MHz
896MB 448-bit GDDR3
PCI Express 2.0 x16
HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Official Site

Memory (RAM)
4GB (Dual Channel) Transcend 2X2GB
240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM
PC2 6400 800 Mhz.
Model JM800QLU-2G
More details

HDD (Hard Disk Drives)

1 X 500GB Hitachi:
HITACHI Deskstar P7K500 HDP725050GLA360 (0A35415)
500GB
7200 RPM SATA
3.0Gb/s 3.5″
More Details

1 X 500GB Seagate
Barracuda ES.2 ST3500320NS
500GB 7200 RPM
SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″
More Details

1 X 320GB Seagate
Barracuda 7200.11 ST3320613AS
320GB 7200 RPM
SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″
More Details

Optical Drives
Sony Internal DVD Writer DVD±RW
20X SATA
Lightscribe
More Details

Display
Dell S2409W Full HD 1080p Monitor (TN – Twisted Nematic Panel)
Native resolution: 1920X1080 (Full HD)
16:9 Dynamic Aspect ratio
HDMI high quality digital connection
DVI-D, HDCP, VGA
300 cd/m2 (typical)
1000:1 (typical) Contrast Ratio
5ms response time
Official Link

Keyboard
Apple Aluminum Thin Keyboard with Numeric Keypad
Ultrathin anodized aluminum enclosure
2 USB 2.0 Ports
Official Link

Mouse
Apple Mighty Mouse (Wired)
Touch Sensitive Buttons
Scroll Ball
Customizable: Choose from either 4 button or 1 button
Official Link

Besides all this I am using following peripherals:

1. 500va UPS
2. Linksys WRT-54G a/b/g Wireless Router
3. Beetel 220BX ADSL Modem
4. Western Digital 120GB Passport 2.5″ Black external USB hard drive
5. Kingston 16GB Pen Drive
6. Logitech Gamepad
7. Creative 2.1 Channel Speakers
8. All-in-one card reader (supporting SDHC)
9. Bluetooth 2.1EDR Adapter
10. Sony noise canceling headphones (MDR-NC6)

PS. A sepcial thanks to Mr. Navneet Sharma, Mr. Amit Sharma and Mr. Aman Chagotra from Tricad Computers for helping is sourcing the components and helping in the install.

As they say, A picture is worth 1058 words.Here are a few pictures of my rig with the new Coolermaster Case (I know, its not one of the cleanest installs, but its good by my standards):

Here are a few pictures of my old CPU is old desi/chinese case. Just see how cramped it is. This is why I changed the case:

• June 12, 2009 -- Rig Reloaded: More Bling | More Power (0)

1. 

   Harry says:

   May 26, 2009 at 5:23 am

   Looks like you have spent some time getting those pictures and this post. I personally have quit using desktops a couple of years ago. I just use laptops now so that I can move around with my work.
2. 

   admin says:

   May 26, 2009 at 6:47 am

   I did spend some time writing this post. Collecting pictures was easy.

   I have been using laptops for past 4 years. There were 2 problems.
   First thing, they get slow with time. A laptop is meant to last for 1.5 year (2 years max).
   Second, I realized that I don’t need a laptop. I work either from home or office.

   Desktops are more powerful and the possibilities are endless.
   Ofcourse, if you need portability, laptop is what you will want.
3. 

   Sharat Jaswal says:

   May 26, 2009 at 7:47 am

   Your CPU looks kinda alien-atic!
   In the purest of sense. That’s a compliment!

   Your old PC didnt look too bad as long as that monstrous GeForce XFX GTX 260 Core is present in there.
4. 

   admin says:

   May 26, 2009 at 7:50 am

   Thanks Sam.
   It didn’t look bad, but as you can see it was cramped.
   And you know the whole omelet story.
5. 

   byte-me says:

   February 13, 2010 at 6:12 am

   No HDMI???? or Blu-ray????

   Looks like a waste of time…..
6. 

   byte-me says:

   February 13, 2010 at 6:15 am

   There is one thing I have never been able to grasp….. why would you want to put light in your case….

   ….the damn thing sits under the desk.

   ejoy it…. but don’t hurt your back lookong at it all day long
7. 

   admin says:

   February 13, 2010 at 12:55 pm

   It stays on top of the table.
   Right next to the monitor.
   And it looks awesome.

   @byte-me : My computer does have a HDMi port.
   And i dont need Blu-Ray. Thats why its not there.