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"Argh. Bloody Computer."

Ok. So my pc is still crashing, and i havn't got a clue what's causing it. It happens usually when im playing a game or something. But only usually simple games such as flash or java, not proper games.

Also my cathode light thing, keeps flashing when i knock the PC even the slightest bit, and i turned it off.

I've not connected my FireWire up yet cos I didn't have anything that needs it.

Moving to and from Uni shouldn't be too bad cos my dad is gonna drive me. The hardest bit will be carrying it from the car to the room. It should fit under the desk in the room, cos the desk can't be lower than the top of the case or you wouldn't be able to sit at the desk. I've got a flat panel monitor as well, which should save a bit of space...

I dont think its an easy case to nick :D Top USB ports are very usefull when connecting a digital camera etc. I would have liked to have the firewire on top usable as well but the lead doesnt reach the motherboard
:( so had to put the two extra connections round the back.

Moving the case to and from Uni will be a pain wont it? Also will it fit in the room as Uni dorms are pretty smallish :D

I've got the Xaser III Blue Supertower. I know what you mean about the looks, but I think it looks quite nice now. Weighing 17kg empty, I keep mine under the desk as well, which is where the top access USB ports etc are useful.

I'm taking it to Uni with me, so if anyone tries to nick it, they'll have fun. Not only can I lock the front and side panels, but if they try to take the whole thing, they won't exactly be able to run with it!

My favourite case at the mo is the CoolerMaster Praetorian ( http://www.coolermaster.com/index.php?LT=english&Language (SPACE) _s=2&url_place=product&p_serial=PAC-T01-EK&other_title= (SPACE) +PAC-T01-EK+Praetorian ). If you stuck some LED/UV fans in the front grill and got a side window for it iit would look amazing.

Images:

http://www.scan.co.uk/images/products/99882-A.jpg

http://www.scan.co.uk/images/products/99882-B.jpg

Nimco wrote:
> I can vouch for GlobalWin. Very good PSU, no problems so far. Adrian,
> what case have you got? Not a Thermaltake one is it?

Yeah a Xaser 3 black super tower. I know people hate it etc and I wasnt too fussed about the blue thermaltake logo but I wanted a nice big sturdy case and one with lots of fans as I was very paranoid about heat due to my last computer.

The look has grown on me, and it is under the desk so I dont sit looking at it. It is very sturdy and the rails to fit hard disks, CD/DVD drives are excellent. Great that you require hardly any tools to fit it together etc. Dust filters really work as after nearly 12 months there is only a little bit of dust that has gathered on the fans etc, no where near as much as if the dust filters were not fitted. You do have to clean the dust filters out about once a fortnight, just stick them under the tap and then dry them off, takes 5-10 minutes and then your ready to catch some more dust :D

I can vouch for GlobalWin. Very good PSU, no problems so far. Adrian, what case have you got? Not a Thermaltake one is it?

Aoe wrote:
> I'll invest in another fan and a new PSU then. What PSU should i go
> for? And what fan? And what direction should i have my fans going?

I like Enermax, Antec, or Globalwin.

As of the fans, it depends where it is. Have it so the air flows from front to back, and have all your fans going that way.

I'll invest in another fan and a new PSU then. What PSU should i go for? And what fan? And what direction should i have my fans going?

Temperature is all relative to the room temp. In the winter when the house is colder in the day with no heating then my XP2800 is less than 40c. In the summer then the temp nearly went to 60c just idling and light cpu usage. I have 7 fans in the case, not excluding the 2 PSU, motherboard and graphics card. CPU heatsink and compound are decent, but I think the compound wasnt applied too well so might cause a few degree higher temps. Personnally I am not worried about temps as it hasnt cause me any problems even during the hot summer months.

As others have said a major cause of system unstabability is the PSU. My old PC crashed alot and I thought it was something heat related, but it was probably the cheapo 300w PSU that came with my £30 case. Learnt my lesson and got a decent case and a 460w Enermax PSU which was £65. A decent PSU is a must as well as a good built case. It seems that people who build computers settle for the cheapest case with PSU so that they can get the better CPU etc.

Mine 2800+ on air cooling is 28oC Idle, 32oC load, using Coolermaster CPJ-some funny numbers and Arctec Silver 5.

PSU is one of most common causes of crashes, cos it causes the CPU to reset if there is a power fluctuation or something.