178 - SkyNet is Up and Running!

Before I get to my computer, I wanted to let everyone know that my blog got an award from my dear friend Merle ! (see her blog at left)

I've never won an award for my blog, and I'm very thankful to Merle for nominating me! *S*

Lets hope I can keep up the good posts!

On to the story of my new PC.

I name all of my PC's after famous TV/Movie computers. The new one, is SkyNet from the Terminator movies (it was named something else, but I switched a few PC's names around) . My 2 biggest PC's before the new one are "Colossus" and "Guardian" from Colossus, the Forbin Project, one of my favorite movies about computers (bad ones at that). My notebook that I write my blog in, is "Hal9000", from 2001, a Space Oddity. One other I have, is Mother, the computer from movie Alien (the computer on the ship Ripley was on).

Saturday morning, my friend Dan came over, and we laid out the motherboard, and I was kind of amazed at how incredibly intricate and loaded with "stuff" this one was! Per the recommendation of a friend, I installed the CPU and it's fan, and RAM before placing the  motherboard in the case. Turns out to have been a great idea! The case is loaded with wires for a bunch of different options it has, and while it looks messy in the picture at right, it'll be cleaned up later. Luckily, all the wires were very well labeled. The case itself has 3 fans in it, and all plug into the motherboard and their speeds are controlled by sensors on the motherboard. (click on any picture to 'embiggen') You can easily see the huge fan for the CPU chip (a quad core Intel I7 chip). The three red things on the left of the fan are the RAM chips (high-speed, triple channel RAM).

Here at left is a close up of the fan, and RAM. The blue heat-sinks to the right and top are the Northbridge and Southbridge controllers (chipsets). Sorry if it's too "geeky", but some people may understand and I hope they're as impressed as I am/was.

Putting the motherboard in was easy. Then, we put in the Hard Disk Drive (so very easy with this tool-less case), and the DVD/CD burner, again very easy in this case. Then, I installed the very heavy, very high-end power supply (no, the case didn't come with one), and I was wide-eyed looking at all the power cables it came with!

You really have to click on this picture at right to see the cables! I was worried there wouldn't be enough room in the case for all these wires! *chuckling*. After plugging in the motherboard, HDD, DVD/CD, and everything else, I still had a lot left over.  In this picture, you can see the DVD/CD, and HDD plugged in to the bright yellow wires.

I pulled out some small wire-ties I had, and got ready to clean up some of the cabling.. but there was one more thing to add, the video card.

 

Have you EVER seen a video card with copper pipes sticking out of it? *LOL* I couldn't believe it.

The video card itself requires 2 power connectors from the power supply to be plugged in to it. Amazing.

 

Lastly, after Dan figuring out we needed one more power connection to the motherboard (two total), we fired up the PC, and here she is loading Windows XP.

 

The LCD screen at the top of it, tells the temperatures of the CPU, HDD and Southbridge heatsink. It's really a gorgeous case, and the PC is incredibly fast.

More at a later date... on to something funny!

 

Forget Rednecks.....here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about New Englanders...

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in New England.
If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in New England.
If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in New England.
If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you live in New England.
If 'Vacation' means going anywhere south of New York City for the weekend, you live in New England.
If you measure distance in hours, you live in New England.
If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in New England. If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again, you live in New England.
If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England.
If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you live in New England.
If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you live in New England.
If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live in New England.
If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody is passing you, you live in New England.
If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in New England.
If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you live in New England.
If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England.
If there's a Dunkin Donuts on every corner, you live in New England.
If you find 10 degrees 'a little chilly', you live in New England.
If you actually understand these jokes, and forward them to all your New England friends & others, you live or have lived in New
England!

Yes people, I live in New England! Have a great Monday!