The Furious Angels
FA Discussion => Off Topic => Topic started by: Tbone on April 19, 2009, 01:38:35 pm
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So my current computer is a Dell M1710 that I bought in early 2006ish.
Intel T2500 2.0ghz
2 gb RAM
512mb Nvidia 7850 Geforce Go GTX
100gig HD
It no longer has a warranty. The audio is jacked up..I have to stick a little piece of the bottom of a toothpaste tube into the audio jack in order for the speakers to work. Recently a screw broke in half at the left base of the monitor, so now it is near impossible to close all the way and the monitor casing is slowly coming undone. I had to replace the video card after the first one was fried a few months ago. Still running Windows XP as well.
I have a feeling my computer will have a malfunction soon. It's just been th rough a lot (Traveling all over the US as well as overseas...haha). So I'm thinking maybe I should get a new computer. I've got a little money saved up, plus my birthday is coming up and I might be able to convince my parents to go in on it with me.
So the question is, what should I get? What should I spend the money on? I have an apartment now, so a desktop PC might finally be an option again, but I also love the portability of a laptop. If I can keep this computer in working condition, I was thinking of keeping it as my portable and getting a gaming/media powerhouse PC. So what should I spend my money on? What vid card should I be looking for? How much RAM (I've seen up to 8 gigs??)? Processors? What'll be the most bang for my buck?
As you guys know, for some reason I'm pretty laggy in game, even in windowed mode with the graphics all the way down. So what I'm trying to say, is that this affects ALL of us. Haha. Thanks in advance.
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Yeah, I really don't keep up with computer parts as much as I use to. But now a days you can build a powerful desktop on a budget.
http://www.guru3d.com/ is always a good place to start when it comes to reviews on the latest and greatest CPUs and GPUs.
The only way you can use more than 4GB of memory is if you are running 64-bit. (This is because 32-bit = 2^32 bytes = 4GB memory space)
AMD processors are typically better price wise. Intel is probably top of the line but you will pay for it. I know the new Intels are triple memory meaning, you get the best performance buying a triple memory kit.
ATI and Nvidia both offer good value cards. I think the ATI 4890 is a good value for the money at around ~$250 range. Nvidia has a card at that range too. These new cards use a lot of power. Make sure you get at least 600Watts Power Supply. I think I have a 550 or 600 pc power and cooling one that I found on newegg for like $100, good stuff.
Motherboards, um, probably Asus these days are the overclocker boards. I've always liked Gigabyte boards too because they usually come with lots on board.
Hard drives, always WD raptors, unless you want to get into SSD which is becoming affordable with wicked speeds. But expect to pay over $2/gb on the good SSDs. But it is a pretty great choice if you get a good size SSD for game files and then buy a cheap TB drive or something for all your other crap that you don't need speed on.
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If I try to build one, I'm going to need a step-by-step of exactly what to get. I'm retarded with building PCs up to the point where I'd almost rather just buy an Alienware or similar pre-built machine.
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what is your budget?
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I'm not used to desktop shopping, so I'm not sure what's realistic. I'd say maybe up to around 2-2.5k, depending on if I can convince my dad to help out with the cost.
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Dude if you want to spend 2 - 2.5k I can spec you out something amazing. I got a core i7 6b ram, velociraptor drives raid 0, dual 4870 1gb vid cards in crossfire mode... like uber.
Honestly though I would go prebuilt for less hassle. Let me find you a couple good deals.
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I got mine from the british distributor of these: www.sagernotebook.com
It is unbelievably powerful and very good value.
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$700.00 Low - Mid End
Ultra "Crysis Warhead" Optimized Gaming PC - Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 2.66GHz, 2GB DDR2, 250GB SATA II HDD, DVDRW Dual Layer, NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT, Gigabit LAN, G31M3-F, Windows XP Professional
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4138011&CatId=114
$1,299.99 Mid - High End
iBUYPOWER Gamer Supreme 928i Intel Core i7 920(2.66GHz) 6GB DDR3 1TB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227146
$1,699.99 Mid - High End
Systemax X58 Gaming PC Core i7-920 2.66 GHz Quad-Core / 3GB DDR3-1333 Corsair Triple Channel / 1TB hard Drive / DVDRW / 2 x HD4850 Crossfire / Vista Ultimate
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4302053&CatId=114
$3,000 Retarded High End
Acer Predator AG7710-U7792A Core i7 Extreme 965(3.20GHz) 12GB DDR3 1TB ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Retail
Ati CrossFire 2GB graphics
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103200
There are tons of options out there. I'm not brand biased so I picked and chose a little of each. Core i7 is the way to go right now so you aren't pissed later. Give me some feedback on these options and I will get a better feel for what you want.
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I got mine from the british distributor of these: www.sagernotebook.com
It is unbelievably powerful and very good value.
www.Hypersonic-PC.com
/endthread
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Ok, likwidtek found me a pretty sweet site to get a computer from. Found via newegg. It's
www.ibuypower.com
Seriously, I'm trying to figure out why this is thousands of dollars cheaper than everything else I've been looking at. I tricked it out with everything. Here's what I'm looking at:
Killer Paladin
Case ( [New !!!] Thermaltake V9 Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Green )
Case Lighting ( None )
Power Supply ( 800 Watt -- Power Supply Quad SLI Ready )
Processor ( [New !!] Intel Core i7 Processor 920 (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) )
Processor Cooling ( Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink )
Motherboard ( Asus P6T Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire and SLI Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, 3-Way SLI PCI-E MB 3-Way SLI )
Memory ( 12 GB [2 GB X6] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module Corsair XMS3 Dominator w/DHX technology )
Video Card ( 2x ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB PCI-Express x16 - running CrossFire mode )
Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA )
Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )
2nd Hard Drive ( None )
External Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )
CD/DVD Drive ( None )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( [** Special !!! ***] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Speaker System ( iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System )
Network Card ( Killer K1 - Online Gaming Accelerator - w/ 333Mhz Network Processing Unit + Lag Reduction Technology )
Floppy Drive ( None )
Monitor ( LCD Monitor Sceptre 24" LCD 16:9 Wide Screen HDTV Video & PC Monitor Support Resolution 1920x1200 )
2nd Monitor ( None )
Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard w/ 18 Internet Hot /Multimedia Keys Black )
Mouse ( iBUYPOWER 1600 dpi High Sensitivity Internet Mouse Black )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Built-in USB 2.0 Ports )
Meter Display ( None )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( None )
Operating System ( Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) 64-Bit )
Software/Game ( [Free Game] - Halo 2 Free with purchase of Microsoft Windows Vista operating system )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
MP3 Player ( None )
Video Camera ( None )
Headset ( None )
Power Protection ( None )
External Wireless Network Adapter ( Zonet ZEW2545 802.11n 130Mbps Wireless USB Adapter )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )
Total: $2293
What do you guys think? Anything I'm missing? I know 500gigs isn't a lot of HD, but I already have a 750gig external. This price INCLUDES a 24" monitor.
Edit: This is where you can customize - http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/store/configurator.aspx?mid=384
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Looks sweet, dude! I'm insanely jealous!
My only suggestion, though, and this is up to a personal preference rather than something you should do, might you want to get two smaller monitors instead of one bigger monitor? I've always loved my two monitors and I don't know how I'd live without them. You can play your game on one monitor and have Teamspeak, Vista Sidebar, iTunes, Messengers, and Firefox (among other things) on the other monitor. It also depends on your desk space. If you don't have a lot, then one monitor would probably be better.
Again, just a suggestion and up to your personal preference. :)
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I currently don't have a desk...haha. I used to have two monitors when I last had a desktop. My brother has it now, but I forget if one of them fritzed out. I'll have to ask him if he has both, and if he does, I'll just take one! I bought the freakin thing anyway!
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how about a 50 inch LCD monitor and a 20 inch! lol I did that the other day. Its awesome playing a game on the 50 incher but the problem is the desk is right next tot he tv so if i wanna look to the left of the screen I have to turn my head 45 degrees to actually see whats going on over there. A bit too close to it. Nice computer too Tbone... pfftt other than the ATI stuff... lol
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My roommate recommended getting 2 500gig HDs at 7200RPM and RAIDing them. He said that'll be much faster than one 300gig at 10,000RPM. How do I RAID them?
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lol why didnt you ask your roommate when he/she told you about it? =P
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I did ask him. He said "I'm not sure, but I've seen someone do it before. That's what I'm going to do when I get my blah blah blah"
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Yeah that's what I mentioned before too. Get two of them have ask ibuypower to configure them in RAID 0 before installing Vista. I looked in their configurator and didn't see the option but I'm sure it's available. You may have to ask via the online chat thingy.
Raid 0 basically combines both disks so they read and write together. Not exactly twice as fast but much better load times in windows and in games. The only down side to this though is you have twice the chance of data loss. In other words with a normal setup with 1 harddrive you have a 1x chance of data loss. Meaning a hardrive breaks and you lose your data and have to restore from backup. With RAID 0 two identicle harddrives are shotgunned together for performance. So this way you have a 2x chance of data loss because if either one dies you lose all your data.
As long as you have backups there's no need to worry and some people feel it's worth the performance gain.
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New setup. Changes are video card and an additional HD:
Case ( [New !!!] Thermaltake V9 Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Green )
Case Lighting ( None )
Power Supply ( 800 Watt -- Power Supply Quad SLI Ready )
Processor ( [New !!] Intel Core i7 Processor 920 (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) )
Processor Cooling ( Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink )
Motherboard ( Asus P6T Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire and SLI Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, 3-Way SLI PCI-E MB 3-Way SLI )
Memory ( 12 GB [2 GB X6] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module Corsair XMS3 Dominator w/DHX technology )
Video Card ( 2x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 896MB w/DVI + TV Out Video - running SLI mode )
Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA )
Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )
2nd Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )
External Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )
CD/DVD Drive ( None )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( [** Special !!! ***] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Speaker System ( iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System )
Network Card ( Killer K1 - Online Gaming Accelerator - w/ 333Mhz Network Processing Unit + Lag Reduction Technology )
Floppy Drive ( None )
Monitor ( LCD Monitor Sceptre 24" LCD 16:9 Wide Screen HDTV Video & PC Monitor Support Resolution 1920x1200 )
2nd Monitor ( None )
Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard w/ 18 Internet Hot /Multimedia Keys Black )
Mouse ( iBUYPOWER 1600 dpi High Sensitivity Internet Mouse Black )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Built-in USB 2.0 Ports )
Meter Display ( None )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( None )
Operating System ( Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) 64-Bit )
Software/Game ( [Free Game] - Halo 2 Free with purchase of Microsoft Windows Vista operating system )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
MP3 Player ( None )
Video Camera ( None )
Headset ( None )
Power Protection ( None )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )
Total: $2329
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http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,680543/Review-Ati-Radeon-HD-4890-versus-Nvidia-Geforce-GTX-275/Reviews/?page=14
Thought I'd post that just for future comparison if anyone is trying to decide on video-cards.
It's a bench between the Nvidia 275 and the ATI 4890, but has some other cards included in the benchmarks.
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They're so close in performance the only decider is really price. ATI is still a better value right now IMO. I've been ANTI ati since my 9700 pro and was really scared to buy ATI in December but i don't regret it. I've had zero issues and insane performance. Who ever told Tbone that there are problems with crossfire isn't giving him good information.
It's all just Ford and Chevy at this point.
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Also I noticed you took out the wireless N adatper. What other modifications did you make? If you're going to go wireless anyway, you might as well downgrade the "Network Card ( Killer K1 - Online Gaming Accelerator - w/ 333Mhz Network Processing Unit + Lag Reduction Technology ) " to just onboard lan and sav a couple hundred bucks. But if you get the wireless N adapter don't do the USB one do the internal.
Also the green cathode light for only $10 is a must have, also make sure you choose GREEN as the color for the CD drive so it matches your green case... and I recommend you get the "NZXT Sentry LX Aluminum Fan Control, Clock, and Temperature LCD Display " for fluff and awesome sauce.
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All the lights will just keep me awake at night. lol...
There's no option to get anything other than the Killer card that I see.
I took the wireless adapter out because I just bought a linksys wireless N ultra gigabyte router so I'll probably get an adapter that will take advantage of all of that. They don't have an internal option.
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Final draft:
Case ( [New !!!] Thermaltake V9 Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Green )
Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light Green )
Power Supply ( 800 Watt -- Power Supply Quad SLI Ready )
Processor ( [New !!] Intel Core i7 Processor 920 (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) )
Processor Cooling ( iBUYPOWER Napoleon CPU Cooling Fan System Kit )
Motherboard ( Asus P6T Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire and SLI Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, 3-Way SLI PCI-E MB 3-Way SLI )
Memory ( 12 GB [2 GB X6] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module Corsair XMS3 Dominator w/DHX technology )
Video Card ( 2x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 896MB w/DVI + TV Out Video - running SLI mode )
Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA )
Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )
2nd Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )
External Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )
CD/DVD Drive ( None )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( [** Special !!! ***] LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Green )
Sound Card ( Creative Lab Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer )
Speaker System ( iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System )
Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
Floppy Drive ( None )
Monitor ( LCD Monitor Sceptre 24" LCD 16:9 Wide Screen HDTV Video & PC Monitor Support Resolution 1920x1200 )
2nd Monitor ( None )
Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard w/ 18 Internet Hot /Multimedia Keys Black )
Mouse ( iBUYPOWER 1600 dpi High Sensitivity Internet Mouse Black )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Built-in USB 2.0 Ports )
Meter Display ( None )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( None )
Operating System ( Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) 64-Bit )
Software/Game ( [Free Game] - Halo 2 Free with purchase of Microsoft Windows Vista operating system )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
MP3 Player ( None )
Video Camera ( None )
Headset ( None )
Power Protection ( None )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )
With shipping, $2390
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woot!
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nice that; do it!
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Ordered...
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I'm glad I did not get that LCD display. They called today and I had to do a $65 upgrade to my power supply for it to be compatible. At least I know they are aware that I want to RAID 0 the HDs.
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Crossfire and SLI = Big Joke. I have SLI in my desktop and 9 times out of 10 I disable it because it ends up causing more problems than performance.
Myths:
Your video memory IS NOT doubled.
Your framerate IS NOT doubled. (not even 25% increase in many situations depending on how the processor bottlenecks)
Just because you see your 3dmark score go up doesn't mean your real games will go up. (see myth 2)
And of top of it you are sucking another 150-200 watts of power which adds a ton more heat to the system.
Anyway, good luck maybe the new processor have more bandwidth to handle it.
And on the topic of hard drives, I don't think I'll ever buy a mechanical hard drive again. SSD is where it is at. Super fast, super reliable, no moving parts, less power, and less heat.
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I didn't bring my umbrella. I forgot Lithium is here to rain on my parade!!
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hehe.
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They keep teasing me with strange updates. Today I got
QC complete
And
Burn-In complete
Quality control I get but burn in?? Hopefully it'll ship out soon!
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Basically they probably leave the system on at full load for a few hours to burn in all the parts, make sure nothing malfunctions or overheats.
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Shipment Dates
Ship date Apr 30, 2009
Estimated delivery May 5, 2009 by 4:30 PM
Apr 30, 2009 5:41 PMLeft FedEx origin facilityCITY OF INDUSTRY, CA
Man, it has to travel across the entire country! At least it is finally on its way! Hopefully by Tuesday I'll have it!!
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Can't wait man. I'm really excited for you dude.
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May 1, 2009 6:00 PMDeparted FedEx locationINDIANAPOLIS, IN
May 1, 2009 1:34 PMArrived at FedEx locationINDIANAPOLIS, IN
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May 2, 2009 8:48 AMAt dest sort facilityDULLES, VA
It's already in town! I wonder if it will be delivered today. Does FedEx deliver on Sunday?? Ahhh!!!
With my luck they won't deliver on Sunday. They'll come by Monday while I'm working a double and so won't deliver it, so the earliest I'll get it still won't be until Tuesday...
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So despite calling FedEx twice, there was no way to get my computer ahead of schedule. However it is scheduled for delivery TOMORROW and I will be home waiting for it! Tomorrow will mark the beginning of my domination!!! Gwhaha!!!
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On FedEx truck for delivery...
I impatiently keep glancing at the window already, and I'm hoping the FedEx guy can make it up to my apartment building and that I'll hear him knocking. So close...
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Damnit...fucking cocksuckers. I've been sitting here waiting on my package. Finally I go downstairs to check, and sure enough the bastards didn't even bother trying to get past the front door. They just stuck a little sticker on there that said they missed me, even though I've been sitting in my apartment all day waiting on them. Now I have to wait until after 5 to go pick it up, but I have work at 6. Bullshit.
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The last two things I got delivered were Dead On Arrival. Don't get your hopes up. I literally cried when my shiny new HD monitor wouldn't turn on. The weirdest thing was, several hours later when I demonstrated to a friend that it would not turn on and I wasn't mad, it turned on without issue. Chuh! Good luck ;-)
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To make matters worse, I just noticed the timestamp for attempted deliver is 12:41. I went down there to check at 12:45. I didn't notice the timestamp until it was too late. Ran out the apartment and hopped in my car to see if the FedEx guy was still in the complex. He wasn't. I'm so pissed off right now.
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That sucks. Get your Shotgun, bossman!
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Got my computer! Everything seems to be working but I had to run to work right after I put in my Vista key. It'll be a few hours before I can get back. Grr
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Creative editing.
Everything seems to be working but... I put in my Vista key.... It'll be a few hours... Grr
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Hell yes dude. I can't wait to grill you on TS about it. Grats grats grats!
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Yeah I probably won't be sleeping tonight even though I work a double tomorrow heh. So far I can tell you that it glows green and seems to have a pretty good cooling system. I got a couple of things that I'm not sure what to do with. Looks like a 3way sli card and some wiring. Is that spare stuff or just there for if I want to do something special. If so, what?
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Keep it all in the motherboard box and put it in the closet. Come time to upgrade or time to sell you'll be glad you kept all that stuff.
We demands pictures.
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Sweetness! Can't wait to be on tomorrow night with you, Tbone!
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I know you guys have been dying to see her, so here she is:
(http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/7826/img0326w.th.jpg) (http://img269.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0326w.jpg)
(http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1553/img0327z.th.jpg) (http://img199.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0327z.jpg)
(http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5778/img0328i.th.jpg) (http://img196.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0328i.jpg)
(http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/6588/img0329r.th.jpg) (http://img42.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0329r.jpg)
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Woah nice!
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Sexy.