Monday, May 01, 2006

It's alive!

So I got my computer all done about a week or so ago, just have been basking in the glory of my new machine. It's fast. Way fast. And has an upgrade path, should I need to. To throw some numbers out there, I can run FEAR on max graphical and physics settings at 1024x768 and average 60 FPS. Doom at 1280x1024 also maxed with FSAA and AA about the same. And the Half-Life 2: Lost Coast demo at 79 FPS, everything once again turned fully on. The only game I have been able to give the machine pause is Oblivion... that is one monster of a game. Guild Wars runs like a dream. So without further ado, the pics. I didn't take nearly as many as the last machine I built, but you still get the general gist.



->
This is the Motherboard. Damn, you might say, that is one sweet board. Wish I took a picture of it out of the box.. but I was in a rush to get it installed. Lets just say it is the best board I've ever laid eyes on. You'll see interior images with the board a bit later.



Here is the processor. ->
Same core I put into the last machine I made, only $300 cheaper. That's what happens to prices on products sometimes several months later. I believe I bought the last one June of '05, when they had JUST come out. It screams.















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Also, the RAM rocks. Notice the sticker on it that reads: Best for A8N32-SLI. See above picture of Motherboard.















Sweet, sweet nectar. ->
This graphics card is the best card $200 can buy, and it came with a $30 rebate. I am SOOO tempted to buy another and SLI my rig right now, but money will be tight (another post to follow as to why). PCI-e, 256MB RAM, and nVidia's latest and greated GPU == pure gaming bliss.


<- This pair of hard drives doesn't look like much, but they don't have to look pretty. SATA II, 80 GB Hitachi's in RAID 0. Only wish they were 10,000 RPM... but not everyone can afford a Raptor...


<- I've continued to be amazed at just how slick these Rosewill power supplies are. I bought the last one on a whim cause it looked cool, and it turned out to be great. This one is anodized red (matches the overall theme of my case), modular (only plug in the cables you need) and has a red light inside it illuminating the fan. Damn sexy.



As you can see, the finished product is very nice looking. Silver and red all over, with black PCB instead of the normal drab green. Red braided power cables, slim red SATA cables (no need for rounded IDEs on this machine), red 120mm case fans front and back... and she runs like a dream too. Windows installed in about 20 minutes, maybe 25. I leave you with a picture of the installation screen, my mouse, and my keyboard. Yes, that keyboard is glowing. Red backlit keys, my friend.

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