I call it...FrankenKludge...how would you rate it?

[Izaran]

My system has rightfully earned it's unusual name from the absolute mess of parts in it. Some of the parts I can't even ID completely (Power Supply, see below), but this system is gonna get a major overhaul in December, and I will repost then...

The motherboard...

Ah the most vital part of the computer...can't use anything without it. Mine...jacked from a free HP dc7700 Convertible Mini Tower, so naturally a Micro ATX FF. It's got an upper limit of 8GB 800Mhz DDR2, holds the aging with dignity 775 LGA Socket, sports 4 SATA II connectors, a PCI Express x16 1.0, and two PCI sockets. Can't tell you the NB or SB, and the heatsink won't screw into a standard Intel mounting bracket, so the board is gerry-rigged into my next component...the case.

The case...

Ultra Black Defender ATX Mid-Tower Case: not a bad case for budget, and it fits all my drives, PSU, and in a strange fashion...my gerry-rigged motherboard...still bolted to the mounting plate from the HP case. Not much to say here...it's black, medium size, and we've had it for years.

The power supply...

I can't say much...it's as old as the case, 350W, 2 SATA connectors, too many Molex to count, and a 24 pin and 4 pin CPU.

The processor...

Remember I mentioned the aging 775? Yeah...the CPU is also an aged war veteran of my college Library. A Pentium D 945 (Presler) clocked in at 3.4Ghz...old, but stable. Coated with Arctic Ice under the massive and ultimately evil heatsink.

the memory...

This is where FrankenKludge gets really kludgy...in a hurry. 3.5GB of...2x 1GB PNY 667Mhz DDR2,1x 1GB Crucial 233MHz DDR2, 1x 512MB Kingston 533Mhz DDR2. So naturally I sank speed for volume. But it works!

the storage...

Prepare for serious experiments...1x 40GB 7200 RPM, 1x 500GB WS Cavier Green, 1x 160GB WD, 1x HP OEM DVD-ROM Burner /w Lightscribe. Total partitions: 9...that's right...9 Simple Volumes spread out over 3 hard discs. the 500 is split into 4, the 160 split into 4, the 40 is single.

The video...

14.3in Dell OEM monitor, and an HIS ATI Radeon 4670 1GB, completely overclocked to as far as the Catalyst Control Center will allow me. The monitor is standard VGA.

The fans...

Due to the pin connection issues with the one motherboard fan connector, I cannot use my built in case fan. In stead I have used the cpu fan from another computer sitting loose in one of the empty drive bays, to eject excess heat...and it only works so-so.

Well that's my FrankenKludge...it's amazing it runs at all...let alone the fact I can run Skyrim in Medium-High (It doesn't like grass very much), and I am able to run CoDMW2 at ultra with exceptionally good frame rates over 40, sometimes peaking at 70 on a 1280x1080 display.

So Forums...tell me...how would you rate FrankenKludge on a scale of 1-10, and a grade of F-A based on the followed percentages

A= 90-100%
B= 80-89%
C= 70-79%
D= 60-69%
F= >59%


Tis a long post, but I am in a humorous mood.
If you wish, post what you would do to change it to run Skyrim at Ultra...if possible retaining as many parts as possible.

I have in mind to replace the mobo with a Gigabyte GA-G41MT-S2P and 8GB of 1333Mhz DDR3 RAM. Also intend to get a new cooler, and PSU but those can wait. I am still hunting actively for a cheap (or free) Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad.

 

[nutmanmatt]

My system has rightfully earned it's unusual name from the absolute mess of parts in it. Some of the parts I can't even ID completely (Power Supply, see below), but this system is gonna get a major overhaul in December, and I will repost then...

The motherboard...

Ah the most vital part of the computer...can't use anything without it. Mine...jacked from a free HP dc7700 Convertible Mini Tower, so naturally a Micro ATX FF. It's got an upper limit of 8GB 800Mhz DDR2, holds the aging with dignity 775 LGA Socket, sports 4 SATA II connectors, a PCI Express x16 1.0, and two PCI sockets. Can't tell you the NB or SB, and the heatsink won't screw into a standard Intel mounting bracket, so the board is gerry-rigged into my next component...the case.

The case...

Ultra Black Defender ATX Mid-Tower Case: not a bad case for budget, and it fits all my drives, PSU, and in a strange fashion...my gerry-rigged motherboard...still bolted to the mounting plate from the HP case. Not much to say here...it's black, medium size, and we've had it for years.

The power supply...

I can't say much...it's as old as the case, 350W, 2 SATA connectors, too many Molex to count, and a 24 pin and 4 pin CPU.

The processor...

Remember I mentioned the aging 775? Yeah...the CPU is also an aged war veteran of my college Library. A Pentium D 945 (Presler) clocked in at 3.4Ghz...old, but stable. Coated with Arctic Ice under the massive and ultimately evil heatsink.

the memory...

This is where FrankenKludge gets really kludgy...in a hurry. 3.5GB of...2x 1GB PNY 667Mhz DDR2,1x 1GB Crucial 233MHz DDR2, 1x 512MB Kingston 533Mhz DDR2. So naturally I sank speed for volume. But it works!

the storage...

Prepare for serious experiments...1x 40GB 7200 RPM, 1x 500GB WS Cavier Green, 1x 160GB WD, 1x HP OEM DVD-ROM Burner /w Lightscribe. Total partitions: 9...that's right...9 Simple Volumes spread out over 3 hard discs. the 500 is split into 4, the 160 split into 4, the 40 is single.

The video...

14.3in Dell OEM monitor, and an HIS ATI Radeon 4670 1GB, completely overclocked to as far as the Catalyst Control Center will allow me. The monitor is standard VGA.

The fans...

Due to the pin connection issues with the one motherboard fan connector, I cannot use my built in case fan. In stead I have used the cpu fan from another computer sitting loose in one of the empty drive bays, to eject excess heat...and it only works so-so.

Well that's my FrankenKludge...it's amazing it runs at all...let alone the fact I can run Skyrim in Medium-High (It doesn't like grass very much), and I am able to run CoDMW2 at ultra with exceptionally good frame rates over 40, sometimes peaking at 70 on a 1280x1080 display.

So Forums...tell me...how would you rate FrankenKludge on a scale of 1-10, and a grade of F-A based on the followed percentages

A= 90-100%
B= 80-89%
C= 70-79%
D= 60-69%
F= >59%


Tis a long post, but I am in a humorous mood.
If you wish, post what you would do to change it to run Skyrim at Ultra...if possible retaining as many parts as possible.

I have in mind to replace the mobo with a Gigabyte GA-G41MT-S2P and 8GB of 1333Mhz DDR3 RAM. Also intend to get a new cooler, and PSU but those can wait. I am still hunting actively for a cheap (or free) Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad.

I give it a 8.65968496 cause i love budget/random builds! Heck you might be able to run sky rim on ultra as it is now with overclocking.....i run it on ultra with my system and its not much better than that lol. Of course with the whole fan thing it will probley overheat........so get some more fans going and your good to go!

 

[Izaran]

I give it a 8.65968496 cause i love budget/random builds! Heck you might be able to run sky rim on ultra as it is now with overclocking.....i run it on ultra with my system and its not much better than that lol. Of course with the whole fan thing it will probley overheat........so get some more fans going and your good to go!

Thanks! I can;t overclock this motherboard, it's OEM. BIOS is sadly...locked. But! the GPU is clocked to the limit, and I tried running it on ultra...again my RAM and CPU did not like grass very much. But with the new motherboard I am getting...I should be able step up the clock a bit. And budget builds can surprise folks...I seriously did not expect the performance I have on this rig.