We interrupt this WoW Blog to talk about some geeky stuff....

It was funny that Effraeti was talking about building her computer, because I got a new shiny this weekend... a new computer!

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WARNING!  GEEK COMPUTER TALK AHEAD!
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR WORLD OF WARCRAFT INFO YOU WON'T FIND IT HERE!
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It's been 3 years since I bought my last computer, and for "tax purposes" it's best to get a new computer every 3 years, so it was a good time to get one.  Lushnek also wanted a new computer and he always wants to spend outrageous money on top of the line stuff, so I thought WHY THE HECK NOT!  He asked me what I wanted to get, and I was happy to go with his choices, though I do prefer NVidia cards, not for any reason other than I've always had one and I like them.  I had a feeling we were going to go down the monstrous huge heavy path again (our GTX 295s were so huge back then!).  I also said I needed more HDD space for video rendering and editing and I do like my video cards to support to DVI outputs for both my monitors so I can always blog or edit pictures and videos while I'm waiting during a raid wipe for everyone to get back.

So Lushnek sends me a pic of our new Christmas presents, all packed up and ready for us to pick up from the store.


But the most impressive (or maybe OUTRAGEOUS) thing I think was the box the video card came in!  It looks like a damn TOOLBOX!  I don't have the green packaging anymore because I was too excited to get into the box to get at the card so I have to take this pic from Gigabyte's website.


It comes with a gaming mouse!  No wonder the thing was damn expensive.  The mouse itself is not bad, it's a 5 button mouse and comes with a 20g and 3x 6g weights to load into your mouse.  I don't like playing with a light mouse, I prefer a heavier mouse anyway.  So I took a picture of it with my 2 year old son for perspective.  Don't mind the mess.



So I am sure you're wondering what I've wasted my money on?  Well, have a look:

CPU: Intel Core i7 3930K 3.8GHz
GPU: Gigabyte GTX590 (OMG it has 3 DVIs!!!)
MB: Gigabyte GA-X79-UD5
RAM: 32GB (4x 8GB) Corsair
Storage: 2x 120GB SSD and 2x 3TB HDD
Case: Coolermaster HAF in black

I thought my last case was big but this one is even bigger.  At least it fits under my desk.


Computer building is not something you do with toddlers around.  Lushnek came by on Friday night with all the goodies and hubby rolled his eyes at the amount of STUFF we had.  He told me it was a waste of money.  A good computer is never a waste of money, IMO.  Cheaper than a wedding dress and I have to spend lots of time with it so I might as well make it look and go nice, right?  So I had to get the kids into bed before I could start putting my new toy together.

Building a computer is a bit like putting Lego together, really.  Roshii asked me why I would build my computer.  I have been doing it for my last 4 systems.  The first time was a bit daunting, but there was a sense of satisfaction when you finish doing your first one.  It comes with instructions if you don't know what to do, or have difficulty seeing all that teeny tiny writing on the motherboard.  If I was doing it all by myself, I would have been a bit more proactive.  As it was, everytime I got stuck about something, fortunately Lushnek was sitting nearby doing his computer so he could lend me a hand.  I remember being anxious about putting the CPU in... where was the little triangle??  I couldn't see it and I didn't want to put it in the wrong way or BAD things might happen!  Of course, when I closed the cover on top of it there was the triangle on the outside of the cover - SOO useful... NOT.  Putting the cooling system on it was a bit of a headache - I have never used one of those Corsair Cooling systems before (fan not liquid) but it required me to take out one of the fans from the case to install.
It looks like me we can use this to breathe underwater....

I'm really bad at making things tidy inside the case.  All those fancy rubber holes in the case for threading cables in and out - geez, I never would have thought I would do much of that because I just used to pile the cables in all over the place inside, but I admit it looks a lot neater with it tied up nicely inside.  And the solid states fit nicely into one slot, one on either side of one of the sliders in the bay.  They're so teeny tiny... so cute!

So my computer is up and running, I haven't got my data drives yet, just the SSDs so have the system up and running, but not really much else on yet.  That's the worst thing about setting up a new computer, getting EVERYTHING back on, and digging out all those stupid serial numbers again, and then sifting through all your junk deciding if you want to keep it all or not.  I'm happy though, this beastly machine doesn't growl like a beast, it's not too loud (though I haven't worked it hard yet in terms of graphics loads) and it has a nice little sliding cover to hide the power and reset buttons from prying little fingers.  Nothing worse than doing a long blog post and suddenly the computer shuts off and a guilty little face is looking up at you with his hands on the magic button...

So what's going to happen to my old computer?  I was going to donate it to Roshii but he didn't think it was good enough so maybe my parents will be happy to take it off my hands.  I gave them my old G5 mouse last time, I think all the buttons are wasted on them though :P  So take a look at my "free" Gigabyte M8000X and see if I should swap my G9 for it... (though I'm tempted to anyway since button 4 and 5 are a bit iffy lately and I am not getting a lot of Wild Growths off because the buttons don't work that well sometimes)


What's the worst thing about building your own computer?  THE RUBBISH.  All those nicely packaged boxes turned into a roomfull of styrofoam, cable ties, instruction leaflets, plastic wrappers, screws, leftover bits, and random cardboard and plastic casings that I had to spend an hour just trying to put into the recycling and regular rubbish bin.  I was almost tempted to pay someone to get rid of the whole damn mess.

I'm sure I'll get lots of flak for throwing money on a huge system that is way overpowered for what I need.  But, I think of it this way - people like to drive around in their fancy cars... Porsches, Ferraris, M5s and zippy little Golf GTIs.  I don't have a fancy car, but I have my fancy computer.  And it's my money I saved up.  I can buy whatever the hell I want, as long as it lasts me another 3 years :)

Comments

  1. wow! your little story reminded me of when I built my computer in feb 2010! And I went a little over the top with my purchases too. Although I got mostly midrange things and a very exspensive graphics card at the time. But you know what? It was sooooo worth it! I'm happy and that's what it should be about! It's your computer, you should do as you please =D

    Happy to hear you build your own too =)

    I have a cooling fan to put on, but never ended up putting it in lol. And my system is lacking in the SSD compartment...but at the time I was estactic with my purchase and I still am happy with what I have =)

    Impressed with your new vid card, I have the 570 (also a nvidia fan)

    With 1 year left on my system I should start saving now! lol but well I'm hoping it lasts a bit longer than that. (maybe nows the time to kickstart my craft hobby stuff to sell - proceeds) ok now I'm rattling on and not commenting on your WONDERFUL post

    I might have to book a consult with Mr. HK on my next puter purchse =D

    And so what's if its over powered...you've made me envious and that's a good thing!

    Hope it purrs well for your daily needs for the next three years =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Faith - Thanks Faith! I love my computer, though it is twin to HK's now. And I'm glad you understand about the whole loving your computer thing. I actually wrote this post so I can look back in a few years and think OMG I can't believe I thought that system was any good it's so slow now :P

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  2. Looks good Nav. I remember the last computer I ordered, the delivery guy said he usually delivers those systems to busnesses :P

    Well I have been known to work from home and yes it was a tax deduction too

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  3. You drive that Porsche with pride Navi! Psshaw! Blasphemy! There can be no such thing as an overpowered system! Mine was new last October I think and although I picked out the parts I was lazy and let the shop put it together but I love it! So much quieter than the last one!

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  4. Navi out of jealousy I must tell you that GeForce 600 series is just released.
    What power supply did you get? That 590 do require some serious power and it does generate some serious heat. ( that's why I went with a Radeon 6870 recently when I changed video card.)
    Your old case is similar to mine, is it the Antec ninehundred or that other thermaltake one (forgot the name).
    I used to cheat reinstalling by just migrating my old hd across. You can try that and just image your disc to the see. Put your Windows on the SSD and maybe wow or your most frequently used things there. Don't defrag SSD or put swap or temp etc folders on your SSD. I am sure you know all these...
    I am still using Q9550 from many years ago ><

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    1. Yea the 680 came out the day after i picked up the goods ><
      Tho the 590 is still just ahead of it being a SLI card. And surprisingly its not that hot either, runs cooler than our previous GTX480's did/
      Power supply is an Antec High Current 1200W :)
      And yea the old case is the Antec 900

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    2. What about power consumption?

      Enjoy your power bill :-)
      1200w that`some serious power
      Ksret

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    3. @Ksret - I installed solar panels on my house to offset my huge computer generated electricity bill :) besides, it shouldn't be drawing that power all the time!

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  5. BTW you can check how good your fan is by checking frostytech.com. they have the most comprehensive reviews I know.

    Yours looked like water college system

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  6. My computer case is on its fourth set of internals, the DVD writer is in its third computer and the graphics card is in its second :) I tend to go gradually. What was your old card, maybe I can take it off your hands - or swap it before your folks get it :)

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  7. Hey Nav, its an Intel i7 3930k, it has a little more grunt than then 930 :P

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    1. Whoops! Edited :) Was that our old one? gosh :)

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