Fileserver from spare parts

LazyManc

LazyManc

LazyManc

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Joined
21 May 2003
Posts
1,365
Ok, here's the situation. I've had a P4 rig for the last 3 or 4 years and a couple of days ago there was a loud POP and now it won't turn on. I'm pretty sure the motherboard has blown, but I can't spot any destroyed capacitors.

For the last year or so all i've really used it for is light web browsing, TV and network file storage for media (XBMC / flatmates, etc). I'm thinking I can relegate it to soley a file sever / torrent client because I have a laptop I can use for the other stuff (providing I buy a usb tv card).

Current parts are as follows:
Abit IC7-G [most likely dead]
P4 2.8Ghz [northwood I think, also possibly dead]
Some big copper thermaltake HS
2x 512mb Corsair DDR
LianLi PC60
Antec 500w ATX PSU
2x 36gb WD Raptors RAID 0 [got my email on it but everything else is safe]
HDDs in various sizes with media on them: 120gb ide, 160gb ide, 2x200gb sata
NEC dvd-rw

I guess my question is, what's worth salvaging, what's worth replacing, or could I replace the lot with £300-400? Obviously if I can get away with spending little i'd prefer that option.
 
LazyManc said:
2x 512mb Corsair DDR
LianLi PC60
Antec 500w ATX PSU
2x 36gb WD Raptors RAID 0 [got my email on it but everything else is safe]
HDDs in various sizes with media on them: 120gb ide, 160gb ide, 2x200gb sata
NEC dvd-rw
Click to expand...

These are worth keep for sure, can be used with numerous setups.
 
From looking around though it doesn't seem that there are many socket 478 boards available these days, and if the cpu does prove to be dead, I will need to replace the mobo/ram/cpu, but what with?

I forgot to mention, I have an AGP GF6800. I guess AGP boards are few and far between as well? :S

Can I get mobo/cpu/gfx/ram/couple of big (500gb-ish) hdds for <£400 ?
 
are you sure the system is dead? usualy a pop sound is probably the psu thats died. id test a different psu out on that system before scrapping it.
 
LazyManc said:
I forgot to mention, I have an AGP GF6800. I guess AGP boards are few and far between as well? :S
Click to expand...

There are a couple.

LazyManc said:
Can I get mobo/cpu/gfx/ram/couple of big (500gb-ish) hdds for <£400 ?
Click to expand...

Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 5000AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £55.99
(£65.79) £223.96
(£263.16)
Intel Celeron D 326 2.53GHz (LGA775) - Retail Intel Celeron D 326 2.53GHz (LGA775) - Retail £20.99
(£24.66) £20.99
(£24.66)
Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA (Socket 775) PCI-Express/AGP DDR2 Motherboard Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA (Socket 775) PCI-Express/AGP DDR2 Motherboard £36.99
(£43.46) £36.99
(£43.46)
Sub Total : £281.94
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £50.91
Total : £341.80
 
Intel Celeron D 326 << can this be passively cooled?

Interesting... might be worth me spending a bit of cash, sticking it in a cupboard and then not worrying about it for a few years.
 
Check the Members Market for old 478 boards going cheap... or other auction sites. May be able to find the identical board and do a straught swap. That's what I do. :)
 
Right I've tested the PSU and it's definitely dead, not so sure about the motherboard and CPU being dead now...

I'm thinking I might just go ahead and replace the system anyway as I'd like to have a passively cooled system and it's caused me other problems in the past.

Can the Pentium D mentioned above run with just a huge heatsink and no fan?
 
LazyManc said:
Right I've tested the PSU and it's definitely dead, not so sure about the motherboard and CPU being dead now...

I'm thinking I might just go ahead and replace the system anyway as I'd like to have a passively cooled system and it's caused me other problems in the past.

Can the Pentium D mentioned above run with just a huge heatsink and no fan?
Click to expand...

The 9.xx series are quite cooler as they have the 65nm chips. I have a 930 which sits at 38c idle under air ( overclocked from 3Ghz to 3.6Ghz mind ).

I have just switched the fan off on my Akasa AK-961 and with the heatsink only it sits idle @ 55c with just case fans on. **Smacks fan back on 100%** :eek:

Maybe one of these without the fan may do it justice.
 
i have the pentium d dual core 925 processor.

not too expensive and it has handled everything i have thrown at it.

(CSS, creating dvd's, Sharing music over network)

i cant rember the temp but i am using the stock heatsync.

i am also using the mobo stated earlier.

basic overclocking options. (can easily get a my 3ghz to 4ghz)

and the option of upgrading to pci-e is good,

Jackassuk56
 
jackassuk56 said:
i have the pentium d dual core 925 processor.

not too expensive and it has handled everything i have thrown at it.

(CSS, creating dvd's, Sharing music over network)

i cant rember the temp but i am using the stock heatsync.

i am also using the mobo stated earlier.

basic overclocking options. (can easily get a my 3ghz to 4ghz)

and the option of upgrading to pci-e is good,

Jackassuk56
Click to expand...

i got my Dual Core 930 up to 4Ghz but had to increase the vcore to 1.45 and hit temps of 68c under Orthos.
 
Right, bought a Corsair 520W PSU, the Antec was dead, but I think it may have taken the mobo / cpu with it.

The PC powers up now, but no graphics (tested with 3 cards) and it doesn't beep if you turn it on without the RAM or CPU in. Does that suggest motherboard?

Can anyone suggest a mobo that supports raid 5, and has onboard gfx with a pci slot for future upgrading?
 
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