I HATE Building New Systems Anymore

.... I haven't been online much for about a week because I decided to build a new system, and since it was a kit, I figured everything would play nice and I'd be back up and running in an afternoon.

WRONG~~!!

First thing right off was the video card. Mine would NOT work as I needed one that was compatible with DirectX 11. So I ordered a new one. And waited 3 extra days for them to come back into stock to get one. (Sold out with a nice discount sale, but at least they filled the order... eventually).

Ok, so now I can see the post, and it promptly gets to where it adds up the ram, and locks up.

I had to pull one of the 4 gig sticks to get it past that point. Doesn't matter which stick I use, it just won't go past that point with both of them in the computer. (still haven't tracked down WHY yet)

Now I have my old drive booting into Windows7 (YEAH) ... and the minute I open the internet I get the blue screen of death and the computer shuts off. I start getting these Hyper Transport errors. Searching online results in posts saying it's a bios issue, others say it's a registry issue ...

At this point I'm too pissed off and tired to muck thru the 100 fix it solutions, :2ar15: so I just throw in a new drive, reload windows 7 to it, and all it going smoothly. ( so far - less the 4 gig of ram)

Now I get to load in all my programs, etc etc

... sigh

Oh, and for the technically curious:

AMD Phenom II Black Edition 6X
ECS A880LM-M motherboard
2 sticks - 4gig - Crucial ram DDR3 (well, one for now)
Radeon HD5450 / Sappphire 1GB DDR3 Video card
1 TB Seagate HD

I hear ya Bec!

I get so damn frustrated when I have to change the ceiling light bulbs! Can never remember which way they screw in and out!

And no..I'm actually not kidding this time. I have a mechanical apptitude of -10!

I gave up on building my own a number of years ago, its been a bit more expensive but less frustrating!!! Glad to hear you are getting it sorted and are back online, and good luck with the final pieces to the puzzle :cowb:

Bec,

I have an Uncle who has always been way ahead of his time. He's the kind of guy who will get absorbed by something and then move on to something else. Building systems has been a constant or contributing to the Folding at Home project. Here's the latest email I got from him.

Recently, I have been contemplating the building of my next computer build. It will be "Extreme" in high tech parts, and it will be expensive in ranges of $4,700 to$5,200. The case will either be a Coolermaster Cosmo II or a Silverstone TJ11 . It will have an Intel Core i7- 990X Extreme processor (liquid-cooled) and two Gigabyte GTX 590 nVidia graphics cards (in a Quad-SLI arrangement). Note: each video card possesses two processors! There will be a 512 GB Solid State primary drive with read/write speeds of 450Gb per second! It will be capable of nVidia 3D Surround (3-screen-array) and 3D Vision with active 3D eyeglasses! I'll also be purchasing an ASUS 27" 3D-Vision monitor.

In the meantime, I've purchased two MSI Radeon 7970 CrossfireX video cards to install in my Phenom II X4 3.6Ghz gaming computer. This update will make my current system capable of running a 3-monitor EyeFinity setup! These particular video cards are on backorder from Tiger Direct, and the 7970s are currently the fastest video cards today! I'll keep you updated with my email updates (with photos) when I begin building the Intel Project !

I hope I didn't add to your frustration! :)

I just bought a new MacMini, 2.5GHz, 500GB HDD, for $808 with tax. Convenient size and weight for frequent air travel.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...amily/mac_mini

I upgraded from 4GB RAM to 8GB RAM for $40 from Amazon (Kingston). Maybe I can sell the 2x2GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM now sitting on my desk that I took out.

Processor 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6630M 256 MB

Because it has a SDXC slot, I bought a 64GB SDXC card for $70 from Amazon, to use like a 65GB solid state drive.

Because it has a HDMI output, I bought a <$200 monitor,with multiple AV inputs, including HDMI.

The App store allows me to buy software unbundled for $20, rather than bundled (e.g. iLife for $80).

I bought PS Elements for $80. Download. I might buy Acrobat. I might need it later. I can download it anytime. Apple Pages does what Adobe InDesign does, for $20.

App Store keeps track of my purchases.

The MacMini is just the CPU. You add new, or re-use, the other peripherals to fit your style. I bought the MacMini, keyboard, mouse, monitor, HDMI cable, DVD drive, at BestBuy. Everything fits and works. Everything at BestBuy was cheaper than Apple Store.

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Originally Posted by Mansized

I hear ya Bec!

I get so damn frustrated when I have to change the ceiling light bulbs! Can never remember which way they screw in and out!

And no..I'm actually not kidding this time. I have a mechanical apptitude of -10!

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Just remember: righty tighty, lefty loosey ... applies to most things like light bulbs and screws. Where you run into an exception to the rule is with plumbing.... some of it is the reverse.

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I hope I didn't add to your frustration! :)

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... now that's the kind of uncle I'd love to have living close by! If nothing else, I'd be right in line for his "second-hand" stuff ~!!!

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In the meantime, I've purchased two MSI Radeon 7970 CrossfireX video cards to install in my Phenom II X4 3.6Ghz gaming computer. This update will make my current system capable of running a 3-monitor EyeFinity setup! These particular video cards are on backorder from Tiger Direct, and the 7970s are currently the fastest video cards today! I'll keep you updated with my email updates (with photos) when I begin building the Intel Project !

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Yeah, I drooled over those ... but they are way out of my price league for now. And I'm not running the sort of games that would make the best use of such equipment. (I'm betting he plays online stuff like Battlefield 3, Call of Duty, Warcraft 3 etc)

I am mostly wanting a bit faster system that could handle video edits without taking a couple days to complete 'em :cheerleader:

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I upgraded from 4GB RAM to 8GB RAM for $40 from Amazon (Kingston). Maybe I can sell the 2x2GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM now sitting on my desk that I took out.

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Ebay is great for stuff like that, but try the buy/sell forum here on GWW first!

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Originally Posted by Bec

Just remember: righty tighty, lefty loosey ... applies to most things like light bulbs and screws. Where you run into an exception to the rule is with plumbing.... some of it is the reverse.

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Umm..does that mean your turn your hand UP to the right or down to the right?
Watch out for plumbing eh? Great..need to put some new washers in this weekend.

You're the best BEC!

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Originally Posted by Mansized

Umm..does that mean your turn your hand UP to the right or down to the right?
Watch out for plumbing eh? Great..need to put some new washers in this weekend.

You're the best BEC!

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ohboy ... You have any tool-belt dyke friends nearby that can help? LOL

New company just started up here in Seattle by Lesbians. and I think it will be a great success. It's for mobile fix it projects and is called "The Plaid Patrol".:tongue2:

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Originally Posted by nickbaer

I just bought a new MacMini, 2.5GHz, 500GB HDD, for $808 with tax. Convenient size and weight for frequent air travel.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...amily/mac_mini

I upgraded from 4GB RAM to 8GB RAM for $40 from Amazon (Kingston). Maybe I can sell the 2x2GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM now sitting on my desk that I took out.

Processor 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6630M 256 MB

Because it has a SDXC slot, I bought a 64GB SDXC card for $70 from Amazon, to use like a 65GB solid state drive.

Because it has a HDMI output, I bought a <$200 monitor,with multiple AV inputs, including HDMI.

The App store allows me to buy software unbundled for $20, rather than bundled (e.g. iLife for $80).

I bought PS Elements for $80. Download. I might buy Acrobat. I might need it later. I can download it anytime. Apple Pages does what Adobe InDesign does, for $20.

App Store keeps track of my purchases.

The MacMini is just the CPU. You add new, or re-use, the other peripherals to fit your style. I bought the MacMini, keyboard, mouse, monitor, HDMI cable, DVD drive, at BestBuy. Everything fits and works. Everything at BestBuy was cheaper than Apple Store.

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would a laptop not suit your needs then traveling with a mac mini?

i personally have not built one in a long time, i think its safe to say the case design won't cut you up like they used to years ago ;(

but the one thing i won't do and always get the computer store to do for me is attach the cpu and heatsink no thermal paste or whatever for me I'm not breaking it ;p

A laptop is one-piece - if anything goes wrong, the whole thing is dead in the water, from keyboard to screen.

MacMini is separate pieces, The CPU goes in my shoulder bag, the 22-inch screen goes in my checked baggage. The DVD drive and keyboard in the other bag.

Plus, I am far sighted (in more ways than one), and I have trouble with tiny laptop screens and keys. A 22-inch laptop would be a bit of a struggle with carry-on baggage! And price match.

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Originally Posted by StunnerDade

would a laptop not suit your needs then traveling with a mac mini?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by nickbaer

A laptop is one-piece - if anything goes wrong, the whole thing is dead in the water, from keyboard to screen.

MacMini is separate pieces, The CPU goes in my shoulder bag, the 22-inch screen goes in my checked baggage. The DVD drive and keyboard in the other bag.

Plus, I am far sighted (in more ways than one), and I have trouble with tiny laptop screens and keys. A 22-inch laptop would be a bit of a struggle with carry-on baggage! And price match.

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well at least you got a mac ;)

I consider my iPad as my "laptop".

I got my iPad2, 2 weeks before the rumors started about an iPad3. But I got the 3G with swappable SIM tray, for use in US and Europe, where everything is still 3G.

So I don't feel that bad.

I haven't bought my first month of 3G service for it yet here in the US. Probably at the end of the week, so it doesn't run out before I get to the airport to go back to Berlin.

http://theipad3.com/

but your still going to get an iPad 3 right? ;)

If the iPad 3 is 4G, then I need to wait for Europe to be 4G.

It would be a stretch to buy an iPad3 even 3G, just a month after $666US for the iPad2 3G.

I was able to sell my iPad1 WiFi last week, for half of what I paid for it, a year and a half later, but that's not looking reasonable for the month-old iPad2 3G, to get an iPad3 3G - if that's what's being sold.

I'd have to sell a bunch more DVDs and VOD minutes... although, that is not a bad idea in itself anyway!

... especially your last name is one of my ancestral last names from Liverpool...

last one I built was in 2008, and it was a piece of cake. I'm going to be shrinking my system soon, and offloading files to a home server but I wish AMD got their shit together and pushed the new Trinity CPUs out.

In terms of parts quality though, can't beat self-made PC compared to what's being sold in the stores for the same price. And the fact you get lifetime warranty on the memory sticks vs 1yr standard on a pre-made PC

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Originally Posted by jIgG

last one I built was in 2008, and it was a piece of cake. I'm going to be shrinking my system soon, and offloading files to a home server but I wish AMD got their shit together and pushed the new Trinity CPUs out.

In terms of parts quality though, can't beat self-made PC compared to what's being sold in the stores for the same price. And the fact you get lifetime warranty on the memory sticks vs 1yr standard on a pre-made PC

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:yeah: Yeah, the better computer for the price when you build it yourself is why I have been building them for 10 years or so, but I think I've had a "piece of cake" build MAYBE twice in all that time! There's always something that has to act ugly.

hm interesting
I built 3 so far no problems - perhaps you need to do a technology energy clearing ritual when you get them parts next time lol