Ok, the blogging master 3000 is not me per se, instead, its the name of my new computer system I’m building. Inside this picture is the following hardware (all purchased through NewEgg.com):
- COOLER MASTER CM Stacker STC-T01-UWK Black/ Silver Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case – $149.99
- EVGA 122-CK-NF67-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI ATX Intel Motherboard – $159.99
- BFG Tech GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card – $329.99
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor – $189.99
- Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory – $74.99
- Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive – $42.99
Total cost for this new machine came out to be $947.94. This is without shipping and handling added in. It’s been a long time since I’ve built a PC from scratch and I must admit, I’m pretty stoked about putting this thing together. Not that there was anything wrong with my current system. It’s just that, my current system has hit it’s upgradeability lifespan. For instance, my current computer only has support for 8x AGP for graphics cards. I am only using DDR memory clocked at 400 MHz. And last but not least, I’m using an old Pentium 4 2.4c at 800MHz FSB. Sure, I could overclock this thing to get more out of it, but I decided to plunk down some cash and join in on the PCI-Express revolution.Before I go, I wanted to let you in on a bonehead moment. Last Friday, I ended up getting all of the parts in that I ordered with the exception of the case and hard drive. Those didn’t arrive until Monday. When I began to build my new blogging monster, I realized that the motherboard didn’t ship with a small baggy of screws. These screws include the risers that are needed to seperate the motherboard from the case so that it doesn’t short out. Well, I spent some time online to see if these screws were left out of the packaging (this motherboard was cheap) which didn’t turn out to be the case.
So, I checked all of the screws I had left over from previous PC builds and only four of the riser screws has the proper threads on them to work in this case. That wasn’t enough. So I put the case away thinking I was screwed. (do you see all the intended puns here?) Today, after trying to find more riser screws, I told my dad about what had happened and he told me that usually the case comes packaged with all of the screws. He asked if I had checked the case to make sure that the screws weren’t tucked away in a drive bay or something. As it turns out, in the top portion of the case, there is a cardboard box which I thought was nothing more than a space filler, so I never bothered to check it until now.When I took out the box and opened it up, there were all of the screws I needed, including the casting wheels for the bottom of the case. This was one of those total bonehead moments. Now, I have to get ready for work and I have no time to build the machine.I thought I’d share that story because it was pretty funny. Tomorrow though, this baby is going to be put together, no questions asked!
Thoughts and Insanity From Jeff 
Grats on the new rig bro :)
Good god that’s a monster graphics card! Is that for high-res blogging? :)
Nice system, wish I had something like that!
@Mark Thanks Mark. I couldn’t of done it without donations like yours. Ok, only kidding about the donations part.
@Brad Thats right Mark, I’ve decided to say hell with the format wars and created one of my own called HD BlogRay.
Jeff mate – don’t you think an 80 GB hard drive is a bit on the small side? Dude memory is as cheap as chips, heck I’ll send you another 50 for at least a 200! Dude first Talkshoe and now this…
Have fun- btw loved the bonehead moment – I have done crap like that :)
bonehead moments are Jeffro’s forte! :P
Ok, on a more serious note. Reckon I could do an article on Weblog Tools Collection on installing WP locally on Windows?
Way to go Jeffro. New PC FTW! So what OS are you going to put on there? Are you going to donate your old PC to charity (ie me), or do you have some other purpose in mind for it? Hopefully you figure out how to have the old PC make pot roast and UPS it so I don’t have to come and visit your mom any more.
@Dave Gray Well, I don’t use a PC like a media driven mogul would. The only videos I ever end up watching are the ones stored on the net. I don’t do any DVD decoding or ripping and I’m not constantly buying new music. I also don’t install program after program.
For instance, right now I’m using an 80 Gig hard drive and I’m only using about half the space on it right now. I have a hard time filling up a hard drive.
@Mike The best thing to do would be to write the post and publish it on your own blog, then either let me know and I’ll write something up about it :) or email Mark Ghosh and let him know about the post. Then we will write up a small article linking to that post. That way, you get all the traffic.
@Damn Hairy Human I’m going to of course, stick with XP SP2. I wish SP3 would hurry up and be released already, so I can make a new slipstreamed installation CD.
I can always count on you for a good laugh. The old PC is most likely going to my uncle so he can get his game on via GameTap.
I too am in the business of building new machines, right now I am trying to make the dough to upgrade my gaming rig.
For an interesting powerhouse checkout my blog post on this one :: Want The Power?
BTW – Yes I read your blog post about the theme I am using over there :D
@utahcon Hey Utahcon, long time no see, hope all is going well for you with your new job and such. Theme looks good on your blog, I know which one you are using, heh. Fan of the macs are you?