[Toptube]

[CubaLibre]

[Toptube]

[internisus]

[internisus]

[internisus]

I just found this monitor, which seems like a slightly better version of the one I was about to buy. The only differences I notice are 800:1 vs. 700:1 contrast ratio and built-in speakers. This new contender has a silver frame and is worth $10 more, but the savings counter that and offer it for the exact same price. I don't care about or even want built-in speakers, and a silver frame is less preferable to black. Should I stick with the original or get this one instead?

I guess the most important question is whether the higher contrast ratio is better and worth putting up with a silver border.

[Toptube]

[internisus]

[Toptube]

a shorter drive means physically, from front to back, it is shorter. check the dimensions for the drive. If newegg doesn't list them, the manufacturer's site will, which newegg links directly to.

I'm probably being more aggressive regarding using a cheap no name power supply because recently I was burned by a not so cheap semi-no name power supply. I also answered a question that I have been wondering for a long fucking time:

If I have one of the most silent CPU coolers on the market and one of the most silent GPU coolers, then why the hell is my computer still pretty loud?

power supply was not damn expensive and made by one of the probably 3 really truly good brands for power supplies. So for the first time ever, I did it.

My computer is now comparable to my PS3 regarding noise. Its never as quiet as the quietest my PS3 can be, but it doesn't get any louder than the loudest my PS3 can be.

[internisus]

[internisus]

oh man that is a lot of tax =(

Is it pretty easy to find RAM at local stores? I might wait until next week to buy that.

[psiga]

Dunno if you're willing to dick around with rebates, but: http://www.techbargains.com/tellafriend2.cfm/114773
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[internisus]

I was going to get this for $26.50 after rebate, but I literally don't have enough money to buy everything right now. I'll just have to buy RAM at a store next week when I get my next check; I won't want to wait for it to ship once I've received all these other parts. The RAM is the only thing I'm leaving off; I figure it will be easy to come by.

[internisus]

Okay, that's it. It's done. I bought everything I need except the RAM. Now to browse Steam and think about game prices.

Thank you all very much for your help! I'll be sure to use this thread to talk about post-op matters such as "wow this computer chip is really neat" or "zomg I can't believe how amazing it is to browse the web in widescreen." And possibly "I can't figure out how to build the computer help =(" but we'll see.

I'm kind of depressed now. It's the guilt of spending money.

[internisus]

Oh, awesome, Bioshock finally came down from $50 to $30. Unfortunately, CoD4 is kind of the FPS I'm most itching to play. I'll just have to "bide my time" with STALKER, Bioshock, Portal, and HL2: Episode 2. Shouldn't be too bad a time.

[internisus]

WTF, Episode 2 is $30 and Portal is $20. Doesn't Valve have a way to buy these games without paying the full cost of the Orange Box?

[Felix]

ram will cost at least twice as much from any store.

[CubaLibre]

[internisus]

Man. For some reason, newegg claimed that my bank's payment authorization failed, but my bank says they never got the request. So I made a mistake somewhere, I guess. It's weird.

Anyway, I've got to place the order again now, but I think I'm going to swap out the keyboard and mouse for some RAM because I'll be able to buy a keyboard and mouse at a local store for not-too-insane prices (right?), even if they aren't totally ideal models.

I'm pissed about the Orange Box. I might actually pirate Portal. Fuck Valve.

Also, I'm thinking about giving EVE another shot. That'll be a hell of a lot of bang for my buck, and I'd like to see it on a nice computer/monitor instead of this pile I've been using. I'll just take another 21-day trial and hope that the skill system doesn't depress me too much now that I'm ready for it.

[Felix]

[internisus]

Ha! Maybe later. I'm also downgrading to the Seagate Barracuda SATA 250GB w/ 8MB Cache. That's basically Portal bought right there.

Any ideas where to shop for keyboard and mouse locally? I'm not sure right now whether I want to get the same models I had picked out, but I'd at least like to know a good bet for cheap but not too crappy stand-ins. Circuit City's a bit far away. We have Best Buy, Target, a few small place, and I don't know what else.

I'm going to have all the cables I'll need included with stuff like the motherboard and case, right?

[internisus]

[internisus]

The new order's also failing to get in touch with my bank to make the transaction for some reason. I've never seen this happen before. I spoke to two different customer service reps; the first checked my numbers over the phone and resubmitted the payment info, and after I got another failure email the second one told me that she can't really do anything other than resubmit again. But after 24 hours of failures they'll do a manual submission, which probably means they'll actually call my bank.

Fuckin' weird. Not killing me though, because if this stuff ships Monday it'll be perfect timing to get it maybe Thursday as I'll have just finished some work.

[Toptube]

[internisus]

[internisus]

Okay, so, my friend is very, very strongly encouraging me to cancel my order and buy a pre-fab machine, which I can then supplement with one or two improvements. There are many excellent deals on such machines at this forum. So right now I'm torn.

Also, here is a fantastic deal I think on an EVGA 8800GT with 512MB. $190 with Google Checkout. Shipping is free, and it's only $10 more than the superclocked 9600 in the order that's stuck on hold right now. Should I get that instead?

[Sushi K]

Prefabs can be cheaper, but they can use proprietary drivers and parts that may not mesh well.

Also the windows installation is usually full of crap.
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[internisus]

[Felix]

UNNNNGHHHHHHH

skye, figure out what you want, christ.

if you get an 8800, you can't have a small case.

do you even want a small case?

[internisus]

Fuck, nevermind. I don't want to go back on this, and I don't want a prefab. And that 8800GT deal is contingent upon a $30 rebate I can't wait for. I'm sticking to the order.

Sorry for all the second-guessing. I don't think I've ever spent $1100 at once before.

[internisus]

[Toptube]

[internisus]

Well, you have to understand that my only inclination towards SFF is aesthetic and due to the fact that I know myself well enough to predict an irrational sadness until I fill every slot and bay in a tower case if I've opened it even once. I've never been inside a computer case and my perspective is all hear-say, so I'm very easily influenced.

But I trust you guys a lot, and I'm not going to rethink the purchase anymore. Just have to get it processed tomorrow; I guess the debit card is a problem for some reason.

[Toptube]

the only thing more expensive about SFF are the cases. Especially the really nice ones. The Mobo's overall are actually cheaper and most give you free video which is great for people who just want a small, quiet multimedia machine.

[Toptube]

your case has two drive 3.5 drive bays. put your optical drive in the top bay. use the open space of the bottom one to manage and hide extra cable length. there is also a space between the mobo tray and the front of the case that is good for running cables as well.


Here is a great deal on a factory recertified samsung 22 w/speakers.

[Kappuru]

we told you many posts ago that SFF was going to cost more, stop second guessing yourself and just order the damned thing.
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[internisus]

I don't know what newegg's problem is, but it took them from Thursday until this evening (with way too many phone calls on my part) to successfully charge my damned bank account. And then they charged my account twice for the sound card! But a guy told me I'd definitely have my stuff Thursday, Friday at the latest though, so I'm on schedule to have a great weekend.

I need to buy: A router, a mouse pad, and a static-killing wrist band. Or do I? I read the instructions here for putting everything together, and while it's more involved than I expected I think I'll be okay. But I'm worried about the static issue. I don't usually give/get static shocks except when it's cold and I get out of my car. Around the house? Never. So, what do you think: do I really need an anti-static wrist band? Are there alternative (free) precautions that I can take? (I live in New Jersey, not a particularly dry climate.) I'm going to get the router (somewhat) locally through Craigslist, and I figure it can't be too hard to find a mouse pad nearby.

Got my new headphones today! Plugged them in and listened to the soundtracks for Battlestar Galactica while working. The percussion is immediately impressive, and of course instrument differentiation and texture are far improved compared to the shite I was using earlier. But the overall tonality feels somewhat cold--sweeping, thick orchestral movements don't feel as much like they envelop me. I suspect that this may be because my crappy headphones blended so much together, leading me to develop that as a false standard for bigness. In any case, I'm sure I'll get used to the Grados. I'll try a wider variety of music tomorrow. I'm also looking forward to hearing the difference my sound card will make; this initial impression is based on just a discman.

Since I spent most of my money on hardware, I've been thinking that my best bet for mileage with games will be to go with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and EVE-Online initially. I tried to get into EVE once and liked it, but it didn't take--largely because I was put off by the time requirements for learning skills and the thought that I'd always be "behind" everyone else. After reading a lot of online literature, I see now that skills are not necessary for effective action; the game is far more tactical than I had given it credit for. I'm pretty excited to try again and dedicate myself to the game more fully; I've already planned the general scope of each of my three characters.

But all this stuff is being packed for shipping right now, and that's pretty exciting too!

o 1 x EVGA 512-P3-N862-AR GeForce 9600GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
o 1 x APEVIA X-QPACK2-NW-BK/500 Black Aluminum Body/ Front Mask MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
o 1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6550 - Retail
o 1 x GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
o 1 x Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA804 - Retail
o 1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
o 1 x Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP support - Retail
o 1 x SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM
o 1 x Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
o 1 x Turtle Beach RIVIERA 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

[Toptube]

Your headphones will get better after a week or two of sem-frequent use. All speakers need to be "broken in". With headphones its probably even more noticeable because they are right up against your ear. My KOSS KSC-75 sounded a bit flat at first, not really having the suprising depth and seperation that people talked about. But feed em some stuff to chew on and they'll open up.

[internisus]

I know that's true in general, but these were refurbished, so I'd expected them to be broken in by whomever had and returned them before me. Maybe not, though.

[Felix]

this is what drives me nuts about you; go beat up your next door neighbor and take their mousepad. it's not the sort of thing you itemize, for chrissakes.

and no, you don't need a wristband.

[CubaLibre]

Make sure you do the EVE free trial first. Don't blow money on a subscription you'll ultimately regret.
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Let's Play, starring me.