Asus T3-p5g965

[Acidmax]

I did the same, when i first saw it i instantly searched all stores for it and i was very shocked and pleased to see Scan stocked it! Despite initial dissapointments, its running great, and maybe with the addition of that Reserator2 it will be the ultimate system

Phillip are you going to be changing the PSU if its going to be a gaming rig?

Also, note that the PCI slot is actually behind the PCI-E slot on this system.

[Phillip @ Scan]

Acidmax,

we are trying this in our QC dept now. We don't like changing PSU's from barebones as a rule but if we find we need the extra juice we may have to look into this. If you keep your eye on our gaming section in the 3XS systems you should see the system shortly.

[snedger]

Might get one myself if the price is not too much more than DIY.
I suppose I might have to if all the T3 stock gets used.

[Acidmax]

Phillip did you by any chance find out what those Unknown devices are? I keep getting an Unknown Device and a PCI Simple Communications Controller in the device manager but i've installed all the drivers, reformatted etc.

The front card reader seems to work now, i just put a card in, didnt work, took it out and put it back in, and suddenly everything is detected!

IDE still fails on burning, i wonder if its the DVD Rom thats faulty. Anyone here tried a SATA DVD writer before?

[snedger]

I've actually gotten around to ordering this at last!
The T3 is actually on "Today Only" , but 'tis a coincidence.
Might have it by Wednesday, but will probably miss the delivery and have a lovely 40 mile drive to the depot at the weekend

[Phillip @ Scan]

Acid,


sorry i missed your post. We did not seem to have any issues but we are building one of these to ship to our sister company.

I will keep my eye on the progress and let you know if they come up with similar problems

[Acidmax]

NP Phillip, thanks. It might be because im installing everything manually, never liked driver CD's, but i did make sure i include everything thats on the CD..lets see what snedger finds aswell!

I've decided to go with a Reserator on this and get a SATA DVD writer, once funds are cleared

[snedger]

I may not have this for a while.
Realised today that order wasn't getting picked 'cos E6300 OEM out of stock, so upgraded CPU to E6400.
Just rechecked everything and can see that the flipping monitor is now out of stock! Not even that bovvered about a screen! I could change that tomorrow I suppose, but I bet summat else will be out of stock then!

Totally approve of going SATA with the DVD!
I'm toying with the idea of making a mini keyboard plinth that will hold an external optical drive.

[snedger]

At last I've joined the Asus unsupported barebones club!
Few points:

• case is much more attractive than the pictures - it's platinum, I thought it was going to be beige. Vertical sliding front door, pop out optical door and subltle blue lit power button and HDD are very cool
• assembly was really easy. As Acidmax says, BTX CPU cooling comes with it and is worth using over the Intel cooler.
• very quiet. Probably worth researching a quiet optical drive. My NEC 7137 is not that loud, but stands out because everything else is just about silent.

I'm really happy so far.

[Acidmax]

Im glad you like it, i dont know why im having trouble with it, i still cant figure out those unknown devices, or why my IDE drive is failing, i missed the RMA date but ill just buy another (gone are the £80 dvd writer days).

What drivers did you install snedger?

I think the BTX platform works here, it keeps it quiet and relatively cool! If however you use the CPU at 100% for more than 10 mins the fan comes on really loud!

I'll be installing the Reserator1 V2 in this baby soon though, and post some pics of my setup for you!

[snedger]

I installed all the drivers on the supplied CD.
Couldn't get the windows bios update to happen, app. just sat there.
Over the phone I tried to get my son to install version 14.25 graphics driver, but it failed - will have a look myself later. Going to try to see what CS:S is like.
And when I tried to turn off this morning Windows update decided that it wanted to apply 61 updates - nice!

What (where from?) updates have you made post stock CD install?

I don't have any DVDs to try writing to - but is there anything that you want me try?

[Acidmax]

I did a clean install, i didnt use the CD, installed: Intel INF -> Ethernet -> VGA -> Sound

All the drivers i downloaded off the net (newer versions).

About the DVD, nah its ok, ill just get me a SATA dvd writer. I dont understand why PATA is still around, but im glad this system comes prepared for a SATA optical drive!

Will let you know once the whole thing is setup!

[snedger]

I got the latest Realtek Ethernet driver and it may be my imagination, but it did seem to make networking slicker - especially some ping times.
Got the latest graphics driver installed by downloading the developers version.
Could then run CS:S, which looked excellent at first, but then disappointment took over when I measured FPS at only 9-10. Changing settings to lowest and even making it 640x480 did not give any more FPS.
I was going to test out Medieval 2: Total War on it, but managed to stop myself spending more money yesterday and I'll put the game on xmas list instead (do you hear that santa?!).
Might put in a graphics card next year, but the person I built it for is more than delighted player spider solitaire on widescreen 19".

[frumpet]

Hi Acidmax / Snedger,

Sorry to gatecrash your problem thread, but I'm also very interested in this barebones.

However, I noticed that the scan website lists SATA I in its specification and not SATA II. Could either of you guys that have hands on experience with the T3 confirm whether or not it actually supports SATA II?

Seems a bit strange that a new barebones based on the latest 965g chipset would not include SATA II..

Thanks in advance.

[Acidmax]

Frumpet, its SATA II dont worry. But there's no RAID.

SATA drive installed successfully, its the way to go in this system for anyone planning on buying, get a SATA DVD writer!

Now, waiting for funds for that Reserator1 V2! I checked the mobo, i think it would fit!

Phillip @ Scan do you think its possible to get the Scan lab to confirm whether the CPU Water Block (ZM-WB4 Gold) is compatible with this motherboard? Thanks!

Snedger, the onboard graphics are shockingly bad! Intel promised amazing new onboard graphics, but they totally missed the mark with the G965! If you want something proper, better get a graphics card!

[snedger]

I have a Samsung SATA II drive working fine without having to use a jumper to set sata 150. And the lightning speed that complete Office 2003 got installed indicates to me that there are no problems at all in that department.
On the Asus website the overview specifies SATA II.

Acidmax,
The PC has been site installed now and I doubt whether a game CD/DVD will ever get inserted again in that unit
It's going to spend its life as a working PC, there should be a society to prevent such cruelty.