pastol
10-17-2008, 08:55 PM
I should have posted this a long time ago, but I'm a bum. Back in March when someone suggested that I stop shopping and build my own PC, I said "Yeah, right!"http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/pastol/crazy.gif But I started thinking about it and very quickly (luckily) found this site. It was the single most important source of influence, encouragement and knowledge as I went forward. And not to sound dramatic, it was really moving into dark scary territory for me. I only posted one question when I first started. But the site was a daily source of answers. And following Rob's directions gave me a real sense of confidence. I do appreciate Rob and all of you who are around all of the time for that.
Here's the funny part. It only took me about maybe a month from deciding I would, to completion. All the way I kept thinking, I'm going to turn this thing on and I will sit and stare at a blank screen and listen (MAYBE) to the fans whirling. The one rule I broke was that I never put juice to this thing until it was completely done. And when I did, it came up like a champ. Had 2 small problems. So small that neither stopped the machine from working and I knew immediately what the solution was to both. Anyway, I took it down, fixed those 2 things, brought it back up, loaded Vista and I was on my way. I could not believe it. So after a day or so I moved the PC to its permanent resting place, all proud and happy and excited. While setting up my desk and cables and all, I had the machine on, and (Yeah, you know where this is going) dumped a huge glass of water on it. Did I mention I bought a Cooler Master with top vents? Instant DEATH! For 20 years I have had a PC and never one spill on any of them. Had to replace the MB. Other components checked out OK. Beyond that, it has been wonderful. Again, thanks to Rob and all of the regulars here. We all know who you are. Here is what I built:
COOLER MASTER RC-690 Mid-Tower Case
ANTEC TruePower Quattro TPQ1000 1000W Power Supply
ASUS P5K PRO LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
INTEL BX80570E8400 Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00 GHz 1333 MHz Socket 775 6MB Desktop Processor
4x Crucial Ballistix 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory
EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB Serial ATA 10,000RPM Hard Drive w/16MB Buffer <== C drive
Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer
Western Digital My Book Essential 2.0 WDH1U5000N 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive <== for backups
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive <== added yesterday
ASUS 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe
ASUS 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive
SAMSUNG 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive
Rosewill RCR-102 52-in-1 USB 2.0 Card Reader
D-Link DGL-4100 10/100/1000Mbps GamerLounge Broadband Gigabit Gaming Router
Acer AL2216Wbd 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP support 300 cd/m2 700:1
Logitech Bluetooth Desktop MX 5500 Revolution Keyboard and Mouse
HP Officejet 4315 Scan/FAX/Copy
I want to do it again! I can barely stop myself and I don't need another one.
Here's the funny part. It only took me about maybe a month from deciding I would, to completion. All the way I kept thinking, I'm going to turn this thing on and I will sit and stare at a blank screen and listen (MAYBE) to the fans whirling. The one rule I broke was that I never put juice to this thing until it was completely done. And when I did, it came up like a champ. Had 2 small problems. So small that neither stopped the machine from working and I knew immediately what the solution was to both. Anyway, I took it down, fixed those 2 things, brought it back up, loaded Vista and I was on my way. I could not believe it. So after a day or so I moved the PC to its permanent resting place, all proud and happy and excited. While setting up my desk and cables and all, I had the machine on, and (Yeah, you know where this is going) dumped a huge glass of water on it. Did I mention I bought a Cooler Master with top vents? Instant DEATH! For 20 years I have had a PC and never one spill on any of them. Had to replace the MB. Other components checked out OK. Beyond that, it has been wonderful. Again, thanks to Rob and all of the regulars here. We all know who you are. Here is what I built:
COOLER MASTER RC-690 Mid-Tower Case
ANTEC TruePower Quattro TPQ1000 1000W Power Supply
ASUS P5K PRO LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
INTEL BX80570E8400 Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00 GHz 1333 MHz Socket 775 6MB Desktop Processor
4x Crucial Ballistix 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory
EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB Serial ATA 10,000RPM Hard Drive w/16MB Buffer <== C drive
Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB Serial ATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer
Western Digital My Book Essential 2.0 WDH1U5000N 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive <== for backups
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive <== added yesterday
ASUS 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe
ASUS 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive
SAMSUNG 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive
Rosewill RCR-102 52-in-1 USB 2.0 Card Reader
D-Link DGL-4100 10/100/1000Mbps GamerLounge Broadband Gigabit Gaming Router
Acer AL2216Wbd 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP support 300 cd/m2 700:1
Logitech Bluetooth Desktop MX 5500 Revolution Keyboard and Mouse
HP Officejet 4315 Scan/FAX/Copy
I want to do it again! I can barely stop myself and I don't need another one.