Computer Build
It occurs to me that I have neglected to mention here that I recently [late last week] completed building my new computer! *happy dance*
I've been without my own PC since late February (still had my tablet, and my work PC, as well as occasional access to the hubby's laptop, but I think we can all agree that those are NOT THE SAME) and so it feels SO DAMN GOOD to have my own computer again. And it feels even better that I built this one myself from parts I picked out. (With my more knowledgeable older brother's help all along the way, including his metaphorical hand-holding during the actual assembly.)
The actual build for the PC is as follows:
At the moment, I am running the thing on 8 GB of RAM and the SSD, and it is LIGHTNING fast. My motherboard is expandable ty0 32 GB, but for now, I am more than happy with 8. At some point, I WOULD like to double up both my SSD and HDD so that I can RAID them, but that time it is not now.
I opted to add bluetooth to the build via a USB dongle mostly to save myself PCI ports, but also because it was a cheaper (and still well rated) solution. It makes syncing to my phone/tablet super easy, and Magus and I are planning to get a set of bluetooth speakers at some point that all the devices can share.
Despite the fact that my tower has SIX fans inside of it (three case fans, one CPU fan, on power supply fan, and on graphics card fan), the thing is VERY quiet. (I suspect that will change once I shove an HDD in it, but that's okay.) It's running nice and cool though, so all those fans are being put to good use. The case has spaces for two more fans, but with my build I can only fit one more. Hopefully, that won't be necessary, but it is nice to know that the option is there.
The only sucky thing at the moment is that my brother hasn't had a chance to come over to help me install the ethernet cord in the office where my desk is located, and since I opted NOT to get a wifi card for the computer (I may have to rectify that), I am currently set up in my living room. My monitor is on a TV tray, and I am using my video card box as a table for my mouse. It is a slightly awkward setup, but doable for the short-term.
I've been without my own PC since late February (still had my tablet, and my work PC, as well as occasional access to the hubby's laptop, but I think we can all agree that those are NOT THE SAME) and so it feels SO DAMN GOOD to have my own computer again. And it feels even better that I built this one myself from parts I picked out. (With my more knowledgeable older brother's help all along the way, including his metaphorical hand-holding during the actual assembly.)
The actual build for the PC is as follows:
- Asus P8Z77-V LE PLUS Motherboar
- Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) CPU (Bought with gift cards)
- EVGA nVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti FPB 1024 MB GDDR5 Graphics Card (GIFT)
- G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 2133
- Zalman Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler (GIFT)
- Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W 80-PLUS BRONZE Certified (GIFT)
- Samsung 830 Series MZ-7PC128B/WW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
- Samsung EcoGreen F4 ST2000DL004 2TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (On Order)
- Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Three Fans
- Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal DVD Burner
- Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Internal 12x Blu-Ray Burner (Delayed)
- Kinivo BTD-300 Bluetooth 3.0 USB adapter
- Dell E198 WFP Monitor (GIFT, hand-me-down)
- Logitech Wireless Wave Combo Mk550 With Keyboard and Laser Mouse
- Windows 7 Home Premium
At the moment, I am running the thing on 8 GB of RAM and the SSD, and it is LIGHTNING fast. My motherboard is expandable ty0 32 GB, but for now, I am more than happy with 8. At some point, I WOULD like to double up both my SSD and HDD so that I can RAID them, but that time it is not now.
I opted to add bluetooth to the build via a USB dongle mostly to save myself PCI ports, but also because it was a cheaper (and still well rated) solution. It makes syncing to my phone/tablet super easy, and Magus and I are planning to get a set of bluetooth speakers at some point that all the devices can share.
Despite the fact that my tower has SIX fans inside of it (three case fans, one CPU fan, on power supply fan, and on graphics card fan), the thing is VERY quiet. (I suspect that will change once I shove an HDD in it, but that's okay.) It's running nice and cool though, so all those fans are being put to good use. The case has spaces for two more fans, but with my build I can only fit one more. Hopefully, that won't be necessary, but it is nice to know that the option is there.
The only sucky thing at the moment is that my brother hasn't had a chance to come over to help me install the ethernet cord in the office where my desk is located, and since I opted NOT to get a wifi card for the computer (I may have to rectify that), I am currently set up in my living room. My monitor is on a TV tray, and I am using my video card box as a table for my mouse. It is a slightly awkward setup, but doable for the short-term.