Computer Update

Apologies for not posting in a while.  Work has been keeping me busy.  But I'm on the road half this week so I have no distractions in my otel room.  My options are 1) work 2) post 3) read.  So I decided to post.  

So the graphics card being in the "wrong" slot was not the issue.  I installed service pack 2, which is beta, that's not the issue.  I started running prime95, it ran fine albeit a little hot.  Until I reinstalled the heatsink and now it runs solid. I guess I have to just live with the random crashing.  Although for some odd reason my system stability has risen from 1.xx to 4.xx in the last few days.  Some of that is due to me running the computer and then not doing anything on it. Anyway...

DH, it is not cheaper to build a computer.  I know we thought that back in the day, and maybe it was, but do not fool yourself.  Even if you put together a "reasonably" priced rig that has good specs, you're paying more than Dell might do it for.  What you get is piece of mind.  If you buy a machine from Dell that is going to have some basic gaming specs, they may throw some junk RAM in there.  Or the day may come when you find it necessary to overclock your machine.  The quality of the components will be the difference between overclocking fun and a $1,100 paper weight.  You also know that from the jump, there is no bullshit on your machine because you installed Windows clean.  One of the reason why Dell can build cheaper than you can (despite economies of scale) is becasue software developers pay them to put dumb apps on your machine in hopes that you'll use them and subscribe to shit.  That subsidizes the cost of the machine so even if you were able to get Dell prices on components (and you might sometimes if you buy from newegg.com) they can undercut the that because they got an extra $200 a mahcine for the myriad of shit.exe that's dumped on your machine.  

Peace...

Of Computers and PETA

First off, when I finally have some spare cash and decide to get a new computer, I'm calling you P. All insanity aside, it sounds as if you at least know what you're doing (well, for the most part), and building your own system is just so much cheaper than the alternative. My PC, which is sitting in storage at the moment, is from '03 or '04. Yeah. It's that old.

On another note entirely, I was horrified earlier this week when I discovered that I agreed with PETA on something. The Colbert Report did a piece on the emerging science of growing meat in the laboratory, and spent some time interviewing the head of the organization; you know, the lady who wants her flesh fried in a public place upon her death so that people will realize that human and animal flesh is essentially the same thing, and it's morally wrong to eat either.

PETA is offering $1M to whomever comes up with a viable method of growing meat in the lab. Now I think growing my steak and cheeseburger is a fantastic idea, yet I seem to be pretty much alone in this. Most everyone I've ever discussed the topic with (it's a great conversation starter...) finds the entire concept disgusting. Growing meat seems like a fantastic idea though. We no longer have to waste resources on gargantuan numbers of farm animals, and as an added bonus it may slow the destruction of the Amazon as the need for the multitude of continually migrating ranches would evaporate. In addition, meat has a very large energy content (not to mention protein content), which, as I understand evolutionary biology, is why the smarter animals tend to be the meat eaters. Human evolution sped up once we became omnivores. Meat is therefore a very important food item. It's scarcity in places makes it a luxury though, leading to diminished statures and health. There's a reason politicians from Henry IV to Herbert Hoover promoted the idea of a chicken in every pot as a prime of community development. Growing meat could radically expand the number of people who could enjoy such luxuries.

...Still, now that I learn that I and PETA are in agreement on something, I'm forced to rethink my position. Maybe all those people who I decided Just Didn't Get It have a point? The alternative, that PETA may actually be right about something, is a concept almost to horrible to contemplate.

Trials and Tribulations of Building A Computer

As I was sitting on the beach for 4 months I decided I wanted to play video games.  But I wanted to play them on a computer.  And seeing as my current computer couldn't even play SimCity 3000 anymore, now was the time to build a new one.  Since I built my last computer, discovered my fatal mistake in building it and then realized that I could not undo that mistake, I've been waiting for the day to be able to build another one.  That day was afew weeks ago. 

Spending more than twice as much as I did last time I built my i7 core 3.2 gHZ, Full ATX (4 case fans), 900 W PSU, 12 GB RAM, 1.1TB (2 HDD), nVidia GTX 285 1 GB (BFG) rig.  It's pretty sweet.  But you'd think with my previous experience building my last computer it would have been a cinch.  You'd have been wrong. 

After three minor crises I got the machine running.  (Crisis 1, I bought a non standard heatsink fan and thought I'd bought the wrong size.  After installing the stock one, I found the mounting brackets for my mobo and was able install the sweet ass heatsink.   Crisis 2, I missed the mobo's 2nd 8-pin power plug and couldn't figure out why the thing wouldn't turn on... that lasted for 20 minutes.  Crisis 3, after repeated attempts to install Vista and the machine wouldn't, I was convinced that it was because my BD-ROM wasn't reading the DVD fast enough.  As I disconnected my old 80 GB HD from the IDE connection so I could hook up my CD/DVD drive I bent the pins on the IDE slot o nthe mobo.  It was the mobo's only IDE slot. )

But even after it was running, the first major crisis was apparent.  I couldn't install Vista.  I became convinced that Vista sucked and I needed to get my hands on XP.  I picked up, for an additional $175, one of the last copies of XP in the city of Chicago. It installed on the computer with no problem.  As I installed the drivers for my graphics card, it told me that my graphics card was really meant for Vista, and it wasn't going to work correctly.   It didn't really.  

But the computer was running on XP and I was sated temporarily. Sims2 kept crashing without warning and seriously, its frigging Sims2, my card should be handling its graphics with ease.  I came to find out that XP had a built in RAM limit, it wouldn't recognize more than 4GB.  I pulled out the unecessary RAM.  But now I was pissed, I spent a lot of money on that RAM and I was gonna fucking use it.  I searched for Vista RAM issues.  Vista 64 (the version I had) recognizes unlimited RAM supposedly.  I reinstall the RAM and attempt to reinstall Vista.  Still doesn't work.  Then I find out that Vista won't install with more than 1 GB of RAM installed.  Well that meant I was fucked because I had 6 sticks and they were all 2GB.  I pulled out all but 1 stick and gave it a shot.  SUCCESS! Vista installed.  Now I could use my RAM and my graphics card.

I installed the rest of the RAM, and then Windows wouldn't start. Must be a bad stick of RAM, or a bad DIMM slot.  I pull out all the RAM, use a sharpie to mark them and keep track and then begin testing.  It must be the DIMM6 slot.  For balance I decide to run on 6GB, that's really 2-3x more than anyone really needs.  

But now, when I'm connected to the internet the computer crashes.  ??? I can't get through 10 minutes of hulu.com.  WTF!?!? Finally it becomes too much.  As I'm looking through the documentation that came with the components I see that I may have installed the graphics card in the wrong PCI-E slot.  Yes, my computer is so bad ass, it has TWO PCI-E slots.  I move the card and go to start it up and ......Vista won't start!?!?!? It doesn't recognize the HDD or the BD-ROM.  I must have static fried them when moving the card around.  ???? BUt that doesn't make sense.

AFTER I install a brand new HDD and the mobo still doesn't recognize it, do I realize, that somewhere along the way I unplugged the HDD (by extesnion the BD-ROM as well) from the power supply.  I now have 2 pefectly good 1 TB HDDs.

Today, I was also able to watch 2 hours of hulu with no problems.  We'll see if this is the end of my frustrations.  One can only hope.