Friday, April 17, 2009

V does DIY

Hello, Hello!

It's been a month or thereabouts that I have not posted. Sorry if you've visited lately only to keep finding the last post over and over. I know when I followed some blogs it would frustrate me a little bit because of lack of updates. But there you go.

So what is the DIY that I'm referring to? Well, for a while I've wanted to put together a computer. Not one bought off the shelf, but one built by my own specifications and needs. The last PC I owned ran under Windows 95 and that was pretty brief. Since then I've been using a Mac.

Though I enjoy the Mac OS, I am not a fanboy. I'm bi. when it comes to platforms. Linux isn't that bad either, so I'm tri.

Anyway, I went over to NewEgg and proceeded to make my selections. I took some time off from work and waited for the goods to arrive.

Here's what I chose:

Processor: Intel Core i7 2.66 GHz

Motherboard: Asus P6T Deluxe V2

Memory: Corsair Dominator 6GB kit

Graphics Card: Sapphire ATI Radeon 4870 HD 512 MB

Power Supply: Corsair 1000HX 1000 W

Hard Drives: Western Digital Caviar 750GB and 320GB (OEM)

DVD burner: LG (OEM)

Heatsink Cooler: Cooler Master V8

Enclosure/Case: Antec 900 two

Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech Wireless/Laser Mouse

Monitor: Samsung P2370 23" - This was actually bought separately at BestBuy.

OS: MS Vista Ultimate SP1 64 bit. (OEM) (32 bit will not recognize memory over 3GB)

So on Tuesday everything got here and I set to work. Took my time and by Wednesday afternoon, I had everything put together and ready to power-up. The one thing I didn't do was put in the heatsink & cooler. I decided on the stock cooler. I don't know what I'm going to do with the V8 but maybe someday I'll decide to put it on if my system needs it. The thing is the size of my head! I have a feeling it's not going to fit my case though.

Anyway, I was really nervous putting my finger on that power button. I read so many reviews on some of these components that I chose where they either didn't work or arrived DOA or are faulty, etc. I was surprised and kinda shocked that everything began working so smoothly. Antec has these really nice fans inside the case with blue led lighting. When those lights turned on, the fans began to whir, and my BIOS began posting, I couldn't be happier. Yay!

So there we are. Prior to this, I thought about buying a Mac Pro but I think this was the more practical approach for my needs at this time. And this was a more fun experience rather than just opening a box and turning the thing on. I feel better about turning on my computer knowing that I pieced it together rather than it coming from an assembly line (even though the components are put together on the assembly line - but there it is.)

OK, that's as nerdy as I'm going to get with this post.

Music.

Very briefly, I'm taking the Red Radio approach to the new releases (Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys). I've had the opportunity to download these albums but skipped it. I prefer the old fashioned way of waiting for the release date and buying the darn thing and listening to it as intended. Though I've heard several of the new PSB stuff, I don't have the album proper.

That's all I got for now - But before I go, check this out.



Yeah, I had one of those too (Amiga 500). I go way back. :P

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is one good approach let me tell ya! There are some records that are best played when you can sit with the artwork and the liner notes and take in each track away from the computer. It's all about next week now.

kilgorsky said...

I've been running Linux for over three years now and even though I understand it better and better I'm getting frustrated with open source applications often not working the way they should. But there's no way I'm going back to Windows. Haven't tried Mac yet--they're ridiculously expensive over here.

V said...

The thing about open source is that if it doesn't work the way you like it, you go in there and change it. But you'd have to know how to program in C or C++.

I hear you on Windows.

kilgorsky said...

I see a lot of adavntages of developing open source applications but as you say, an average computer user--like myself--may have a lot of struggling to do. There are exceptions, of course. One that come to mind is a great office suit: OpenOffice. I love it and had already started using it when I was on Windows. With the 3.x version it even handles the ridiculously bloated MS Word 2007 .docx documents.