Shark Tower

Sid

Hello, I have just joined this site as it seems to be the only one that offers any usefull info on Shark towers with a discussion forum.
Excuse me as I am very much a novice.
I was recently given a Shark tower which has had the hard drive & three of the four Ram cards removed.
I am not a versitile user of computers however I have managed to use up all the space on my existing one ( as well as currupt it with something nasty ) - mainly with photos & music but would like to know I will have enough power & memory for my future adventures.
I would appreciate any info on what & where to buy. I live in a very remote place & the nearest computer place is about a 900klm round trip so its all on line stuff for me !
Many thanks,
Novice.

primesuspect

Welcome to Icrontic. First of all, I think it may be a confusion of terms, but what is a Shark tower?

If you have a PC that has had 3 of the 4 DIMMs (RAM cards) removed, we'll need to know what the model of the remaining one is to recommend new modules.

We need as much information about your PC as possible; any model numbers, part numbers, etc. would help.

Thank you!

Theironhand

Dang, your pretty far away.

The only thing I found on google about a "Shark tower" is some sort of tower: Thermaltake Shark Aluminum Full Tower.

Straight_Man

Is this your Shark Tower?

As to the three missing things of RAM, memory in other words, turn off your Tower, look at the piece/stick/DIMM of memory, and read what the label says and write that down then post that info here please. That info, strange as it sounds, will help us help you find the right kind of memory to add to go with it. Knowing what country you are in might help, too.

Sid

Hi Straight _ Man & primesuspect, thanks for the reply, yes that is the tower, Shark is the brand, but I cannot find any model number. From what I have found that appears to be their standard cabinet to which you can build a water cooled empire ! This one only has fans. There is a small sticker on the back that has a tick with N 12877 but I suspect its an inspection verification ? The label of the stick reads - LEGEND ( the brand I guess ) L3264D37-U61HDKSC. Then on the bottom - 265MB DDR400. I live in Australia & yes , Dang, we are pretty far away ! In the words of the great Australian band, ACDC - Its a long way to the top if want to rock 'n roll - for us - its a long way to the shop if you want a sausage roll !
Many thanks,
Sid.

Straight_Man

Ok, you MAYBE want a set of three more 256 MB RAM sticks, and they need to be of Double data rate 400 Mhz kind if you are going to stick with that Shark case and what is in it now and get a hard driive. The Shark model case is made by a company called Thermaltake. The computer in the Shark case is about 5-6 years old probably, unless someone redid what was inside it.

The most recent review on Newegg of that case was in 2006, so the case was popular 6 years ago. The power supply that came with the case (what you call the cabinet) is probably not big enough for modern inner parts of large capacity and modern kind.

Windows 7 wants 2 GB ideally of RAM, or more-- MAYBE your motherboard can take that but to figure that out you would need to look on the Motherboard (main board RAM is stuck onto) for model number and hopefully maker/mfr.

You will need some version of Windows or maybe Linux to put on a HD. Get model number of motherboard and we can try to help you figure out what will go with it as far as HD. While you are looking look at the power supply (big box at top back of case with watts and volts written on it) and see what it has in the way of a capacity.

This forum is in the US, so where you want to go online for computer stuff in Australia would be nice to know-- name of site if you can, if not then name of company and we can Google it and maybe help you shop. Parts may be hard to come by for the power supply in the case, and the motherboard may want stuff not easily available now. But you and we can look at least.

Sid

PS The Shark tower is not part of the PC I am using now. As I have been kindly given the Shark I am trying to build myself something with lots of power & memory that will see me through for some time to come as my present PC is old & tired & has a cold !

Tushon

You need to find model numbers on the motherboard and PSU. If nothing else, take a picture of the motherboard and we can help you look at the correct area.

QuadyTheTurnip

It's worth noting that Shark is not the brand name of the tower that Straight_Man linked. The brand name is Thermaltake, and the model is Shark. We're happy to help you here if we can, but if you're googling for more info, you may find it more helpful to google for "Thermaltake Shark" than "Shark Tower"

Sid

Wow, thank you one & all. This is my first forum so its all very exciting & helpful !
Right - I believe the main power supply box at the top was replaced & the one there now has an Enermax MODU 82 + with a 625W total output. The motherboard has CE FC GIGABYTE GA-K8NF-9 & is the only major identification I can see so I hope it is good enough to identify what I have. Also at the bottom of the motherboard are two empty ( of three ) horizontal slots as opposed to the four vertical ram slots. There is one "L" shaped circuit at the bottom that has one edge coupled to some external plugs of some sort. I hope that all brings me a bit closer to the mark.
Much appreciated you guys !
Sid.

Straight_Man

Ok, your motherboard can take a few kinds of HD(short for Hard Drive). External USB 2.0 HD will work for large storage.

A internal IDE (older style) HD of at least 80 GB in size will work for Windows. Or, in Australia, you might be able to find a SATA I HD (1.5 Gb/second Hard Drive) whihc will be faster and probably available in larger sizes than IDE HDs would be.

As to memory, the mainboard will take up to 4 GB of DDR 400 RAM (dual channel subtype). Suggest at least 2 GB, 4 GB if you can afford it. Get two equal-sized (capacity size) memory modules, whatever you do, dual channel RAM mainboards normally will not run with one memory card/module on them.

This is a transitional board, not newest but decent given what all it will do.

Power supply is big enough to handle your needs, but you might need to have a power line adapter cord from the IDE power connector to SATA power connector if you get a SATA I HD.

Can you take the Shark case with the stuff that came with it to a computer store, even given the distance? I think you might want some technical help to figure out what is best for it, beyond what we can do on a forum. Print and take this stuff in this thread with you, that should provide the tech some info he/she will need.

Tushon

PSU Specs
Mobo specs

Memory:
Type: Dual channel DDR400/ 333/ 266 -184pin
Max capacity: Up to 4GB by 4 DIMM slots

So something like this from your local stores/sites, and you want 4x1GB (so four sticks, at 1GB each) and just buy 4 of the same stick to guaranteet timing/voltage compatibility. $25 USD/stick is about what we would pay here, but I think there is a premium in AUD.

HDD choices (just pick a size), don't waste your money on an IDE drive, you have at least 4x SATA connections. 1TB are very common now, but you don't need anywhere near that much if you just want a working computer.

Sid

Thank you very much STRAIGHT_MAN,
I will phone up my nearest supplier to discuss what you have said & see what they can provide.
I will post the results in due coarse ( which given my location could take some time ! ).
Thanks again one & all,
Sid.

Tushon

oh and the other 3 slots you referred to:
1) PCI-Express X 16 slot, supports PCI-Express interface Graphics card
2) PCI-Express X 1 slots (can be used for sound cards or network card in certain instances)
3) PCI slots (PCI 2.3 compliant) (several possible options, keep in mind if you get a graphics card it may block one of these)

Sid

Hey thanks Tushon & Co.
Much appreciated, gives me some direction with relevant info I can use to find what I need.
Sid