easymode

A few years ago I built a machine with a case I got from an Epicpants deal and it was great. Then I got a new job and the box ended up in the corner neglected for far too long. Now it's time to correct that. I'm also open to suggestions on how to overhaul the box and I'm definitely down for some CRT tips as I'm a complete noob when it comes to CRT knowledge.

Todos:
Clean up the box
Get XP working
Replace old spinner?
Find a CRT
Hardware Upgrades?

Current Hardware Specs:
CPU: Intel Core2Duo E8500 3.16GHz
Motherboard: Asus P5E-VM DO
Memory: 2GBs
GPU: NVIDIA MSI NX8800GT
HDD: Seagate 320GB

Current form:

: IMG_3557.JPG (118.38 KiB) Viewed 1819 times

I thought I recognized that case! Glad it's being put to use.
So, you have a Q35 board... that one can't use my beloved Xeon... however, I didn't realize the Q9550 and 9650s were so cheap now... This'll work if you have a new bios.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/389693369786
https://www.ebay.com/itm/162283817988

If you are on 32-bit Windows XP, I'd add 2 more GB of RAM.

For CRTs, the best part is that they all look amazing. So, you'll want to consider a few things:

size: If you sit close, 17-19 is plenty. If you can sit back a few feet, 20-22" is glorious (but expensive).
resolution: I actually play almost everything at 1280x960 or 1600x1200. My monitor can go a little higher and my previous one had a native res of 1920x1440, but I find that games just look amazing at anything above 1280, and I prefer higher refresh rates like 90hz. 90hz on a CRT looks better than 500hz on an OLED imo.
price: The bigger ones with high resolutions can get spendy.
WATCH OUT FOR: brightness, focus, and color accuracy... oh, and burn-in. Many of these old monitors are dim compared to how they used to be, so try to get a bright one. Sometimes this can be fixed, but sometimes that requires taking apart the monitor which can be tricky and extremely dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

As far as the tech... The Sony Trinitron and Mitsubishi Diamondtron stuff looks really sharp. The later Viewsonic models also look amazing. It's really hard to go wrong with many of these though.

Oh, and if you go with an SSD, remember it's best to format it in another PC first:

Code: Select all

diskpart
list disk
select disk 0 or whatever your SSD is... MAKE SURE OR YOU MIGHT DESTROY ANOTHER DRIVE
clean
create partition primary align=1024
format fs=ntfs quick
active
exit

Thanks @ward I've got those upgrades on order now. I also managed to find some cathode lamps to lighten the case up a bit inspired from your video on the topic.

I think I have a 256GB SSD laying around somewhere I could allocate to this.

I'll keep the CRT tips in mind as I hunt around locally. I can't imagine shipping a CRT would be affordable nor do I believe it would survive the trip.

Yeah, I do not recommend shipping a CRT. I read that about 50% are damaged in shipping. Feel free to post what you find locally here for feedback.

ward wrote: Apr 1st, '26, 11:04
however, I didn't realize the Q9550 and 9650s were so cheap now...

And QX9650s, if you want a little bump. However, I haven't kept up to date on pricing for it, so I don't know if it's still cheap or it's going the same way with the QX9770 and an even rarer QX9775; though the latter is an LGA771 CPU and it's best suited with Intel's D5400XS board, along with the CPU's exact twin.

I had a system with the QX9650 but sold it last year. Bit regretful.

Destroyed007 wrote: Apr 3rd, '26, 05:50
And QX9650s, if you want a little bump. However, I haven't kept up to date on pricing for it, so I don't know if it's still cheap or it's going the same way with the QX9770 and an even rarer QX9775; though the latter is an LGA771 CPU and it's best suited with Intel's D5400XS board, along with the CPU's exact twin.

I had a system with the QX9650 but sold it last year. Bit regretful.

The QX parts are a tiny bit faster, but remember they are 130W chips, so about 35W more than the regular versions. So they require more cooling. If they are about the same price, maybe go for it, but I think they are 2-3x the price these days. So, it's really a question of value when it comes to that extra 2-3% in some tasks/games.

As for cooling units... I prefer 120mm fans since they are easy to swap for newer/quieter ones if you want. Something like this is enough for the extreme and plenty for the regular CPUs:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/286699752375

At 130W, that could explain the bonfire nature of that PC I sold last year. It should have some form of Speedstep. Maybe that wasn't even enough to tame down those CPUs.

I remember when I saw the QX9650s on AliExpress, the sellers are like selling them next to nothing cause there were heaps. The more AND more expensive QX9770 however did sell pretty well; so well it took a bit of searching to find some available.

EDIT: I do also want to mention with these Core 2 Extreme chips, using a good, aftermarket cooler or AIO (good luck finding one for the LGA775 socket) and having an adequate case ventilation is a must, from my experience.

The parts are starting to trickle in.

: IMG_3573.JPG (186.6 KiB) Viewed 1646 times

I actually forgot I had some tubes in my main desktop, they were just switched off for whatever reason. I do miss the nice soft glow of a good cathode.

I kinda want to strip the case down to the bare metal to touch up some of the paint/scuffs. I'd also like to either source some new plastics for the drive mounts or maybe take a stab at modeling them so I can 3D print some replacements. Though I have enough projects on my hands as is right now and with me starting a new job next week I'm sure things are going to get really busy.

All the parts have arrived and I finally have some downtime to get to work on this best. Gonna start ripping it apart and do a full rebuild. I'll post pictures after it's done.

very nice

let us know how it goes, those core 2 quads could still hang in stuff even years later, saw vids of either a q6600 or q9300 with like 6gb ram and an HD 7790 gpu playing BF4 64 player multiplayer back in the day

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