New Computer setup

Alright... lets get startet, got my large big-tower computer set up on the table and is ready to start.

First, remove the side-door of the cabinet to reveal the components.

Second, remove the components I want to keep, I kept 3x harddrives (stacked to the right), the graphic-card (middle), 2x dvd-roms (left) and 4x 2gb DDR2 ram-chips (on top of the DVD-roms)

third, get the new parts and keep them close.

here you see the old parts on the table along with the cabinet (bottom), the PSU / powersupply (second from bottom), the motherboard (second from top) and the CPU / processor (top)

ok, now I'm ready to set up the computer, i take the cabinet out of the box and place it on the table, remove the side-door and inspect the inside.

pretty good, it got some great ways to arrange and fasten the DVD-roms, no additional stuff needed to put them in.

the harddrives looked kinda confusing so I had to see it when I inserted them, which I'll mention later.

the wires had some easy paths to lay them to not obstruct too much, but the wires seemed kinda short and i had no idea what all of them were for, it was kinda confusing since many of the wires were fastened in a place I could not see them, so I let them be for the moment.

Trying to insert the PSU, at first it seemed kinda big, and I was half-right, it was big, but not too big to not get the screws fastened in all spots exept for 1, no idea why it was so out of place that i couldn't fasten it, well, the other 3 will hold, and seeing that its at the bottom of the cabinet, I don't have to worry about it falling down, breaking the motherboard or the graphic card.

It was time to put in the motherboard, it was easy enough, just just one of the screws down into the psu so I had to turn the computer up-side down to be able to shake it out of there... no biggie.

I inserted my 4 harddrives, my 2 DVD-roms and the CPU, I've never had this little trouble fastening a CPU before, it was really easy. the other computers I've buildt did have some frustrating tendancies but this was a breeze.

I tried to put in the DDR2 ram chips but noticed I had the wrong kind, I always thought I had DDR3 but when I double checked the ram chips I really did have DDR2, so called a few stores and asked them if they had anything... well, seeing what kind of town I'm living in right now, I didn't expect much and wasn't surpised that they didn't have anything at all.

so trying to get some new chips on monday.

also the harddrives were kinda hard to insert because I had to insert both harddrives at the same time with the cables inserted on their end because they were supposed to come out the back of the slot they were inserted into, making it visually better, but its gonna be annoying when you got more harddrives....

also, the PSU and the motherboard was very new so didn't support my 1 IDE harddrive and 1 DVD-rom, so I'm stuck with 2 harddrives and 1 DVD-rom... no biggie, I have 2x external harddrives for backup and never used the one DVD-rom I couldn't use because it wasn't being nice to my CDs and DVDs. (SCREEEECH!!!!!)

I double checked everything, all cables were fastened properly, all wires were connected to the right slot, got enough power and fastened the wired that were close togeather so make it at a little better visually, but a thing like that isn't easy so I did my best and closed up the cabinet.

ALRIGHT!!! done, well... almost

have to buy some DDR3 ram on monday to get it working, started the computer up to see if it started good enough, no error sounds or anything.

two of the fans weren't running so i opened it up and added some more power-cables from the PSU to the wires leading to the fans.

I also hooked up the computer to a screen to see if i got any image, but no. couldn't find anything. I'm guessing its because of the missing ram, I did not want to put more work into it right now, seeing that I was a little tired. so saving that for monday.... if I can find the right Ram in this town.

I left out a couple of things here i guess, but nothing big and interessting.

Julebrusen

fakta om julebrusen: denne extremt sukkerholdige drikken ruller sørover fra nordpolen i midten av oktober og bosetter seg enkelte butikker over heile landet, den tar ofte med seg Pepperkake menn, en stamme fra nord som ofte assosieres med kalde tider og julebrusen. men dette er ikkje bare positivt, julebrusen trekker ofte med seg en sjukdom som smitter skyene, ein kan sjå dette ved at det faller kvite flak fra dei rundt denne tiden.
Rundt tilig desember so har julebrusen på mystisk vis forsvunnet og dablir skyene friske igjen. det er da vi får en såkalt "grå jul".
sjølv om julebruser ikkje er å se igjen før påske so blir skyene ofte sjuke igjen i midten av januar.

English translation:

Facts about the Christmas-soda: This extremely sugary soda rolls south from the northpole in the middle of october and settle in various stores all over the country, it often brings with them Pepperkake-men, a tribe from the north that if often assosiated with colder times and the christmas-soda. but this is not all well and good, the Christmas-soda also brings with it a disease that affects the clouds, one can see this by looking at the white flakes that falls off around this time.

Around early Desember, the Christmas-soda mysteriously vanishes and the clouds get well again. this is when we get a so-called "grey-christmas".

even if the Christmas-soda isnt seen again untill easter, the clouds still get sick around the middle of January.

yes, I made this myself, its not copied from anywhere, anything that might be very alike it, i wouldn't know about or it was made after i wrote this.

New computer parts

This was the last straw... my computer have had quite some problems over the last few months, with crashed, video driver problems, sudden reboots and the like. I've been haunted by bad graphic card problems from ATI, so really want to change it. but I'm gonna give it ONE more try. Also that I have the largest cabinet ever... don't remember the name, nor can I find any information or picture for it... so that one needs a change.

let's see... what can I change

Large cabinet... I can find a smaller one that make less sound and have better air-flow

so went for a

CM Storm Sniper Black Edition

This one had some good descriptions and ratings. its quiet, can turn off all the lights and fans if I wanted to. this is a good thing considering that my computer is placed in my bedroom.

ok, next up.. my Video card, my radeon 3870 got lots of graphic errors and by doing a little research I found out that it was semi-defect, when running heavily (good graphic games) it crashes or give graphic errors. so I upgraded to a 4870, had QUITE some problems with crashes and video driver restarts (causing my computer to restart)

I upgraded to a Radeon 5870 and got the same error, noticed I still had the video driver for 4880 installed so I updatet it to 5870 driver... this still caused my video driver to restart once in awhile, when running fullscreen good graphic games (like borderlands, dead rising 2, fallout 3)

I spent much time researching the problem and found out that ATI said something along these lines "not many people have this problem so its not something that have priority at the moment"

anyway... I'm keeping my card untill they come up with a fix... started at 9.8, its now version 10.9... still the same problem.

What else?... ummm... CPU?

don't remember my current one, think it was a quad-core 2,1GHz or a 2,4GHz, which seem like a small number compared to modern computers... heck, even my laptop have better than this.

So I went for a

Intel Core™ i5 Quad Processor i5-760

New Motherboard is needed to make the processor fit, so I ordered this too.

ASUS Maximus III Formula, P55

I don't know if there is any problem with my PSU that is causing these sudden reboots, so I was considering getting a new one... the power might be low for my "high-end" computer and its a mess inside because my current PSU isnt modular. ordered this one because it is modular.

Corsair HX 1000W PSU

So, there you have it. the rest I have from before, 8 GB ram and 2 DVD-roms.

The computer screen, mouse and keyboard isn't a computer per see, its more like extras... which I already have.

These Parts have been ordered and will be delivered by the end of the week or early next week.

I COULD make a small tutorial about how I upgrade it and post it here, but we will see when the time is there and I can find my camera.

Oh, last thing... what it cost? 7000 Norwegian kroner. which is at the moment 857 euroes

long work days with nothing to do

Lately there has been long workdays where the only thing I do is sitting on my ass,

looking at the computer screen.

I've done most of the work and is currently setting up a computer,

I'm used to multitasking so getting bored easily when not having something to do while working.

Usually my RRS feeds keep me updated on various news sources but other times it not enough.

I try looking at funny pictures at "icanhascheezeburgers"

or looking around on various gaming forums.

there is also people online on MSN or Steam who I could talk to,

but not all of them are talkative or have anything interessting to say,

nor do I untill I have some basic understanding in their interessts.

but its not enough,

I get way too updated that I dont know what more to do when there is downtime at work...

and no,

I'm not playing games at work or do non-work stuff that require attention for more than 30 seconds.

Short rundown:

don't know what to do when there is downtime at work

How I deal with it:

I made this blog.