COMPUTER NERDS -- please gather in this thread

[beetsnotbeats]

Originally posted by sweetcell:
  don't rub your feet on the carpet and then touch the motherboard      

Do it barefoot. Solves the shoe static problem, plus the weather's nice.

[nkotb]

I knew I was forgetting one...you're 100% right.
 
 

Originally posted by vansmack:
  True.  I laughed aloud to GGWs response to xneverwherex in the Mormon thread as well.

[RatBastard]

Hoya you going to the Velvet revolver show?  If so look me up.  I'm the long haired old bastard that will be upstairs at the back on one of the barstools.

[serickson98]

Originally posted by sweetcell:
 CPU fan: why are you buying it?  does the CPU not come with a fan?  most do, and are made to manufacturer's specs (i.e. intel approves of and recommends intel fans        )  keep your third-party fan and the heat putty in their boxes and try the included fan first.  might be able to return the other stuff.  i did the same thing when i bought my parts, turned out it was unneeded since the included fan was great. [/QB]

I disagree with this.  When I looked at the list of gear, I thought 'good move on getting the fan'.  The Intel fans are shite compared to a good third-party fan like Arctic Cooling.  I suggest you keep the fan on your list.  It's only a few bucks to get the fan.  sweetcell might have had good luck, but I've read a lot of negative reviews on the Intel fan.
 
 And of course they're going to approve of and recommend their own fan.  

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by bootsycollins:
   sweetcell might have had good luck, but I've read a lot of negative reviews on the Intel fan.

fair enough, i went AMD dual-core so maybe intel fans aren't up to par.  still, nothing to lose by trying the intel fan and monitoring CPU temperatures under load.  if they go too high, dump it and go for the third-party fan.
 
 (hoya: my motherboard came with temp-monitoring software.  use a stress-tester, like Prime95, to stress the system for an hour or two and see how high it spikes.  once everything is assembled and configured, i recommend spending some time running as many stress-tests and benchmarks as you can find/have patience for.  if any of your parts are faulty, better to figure that out now and return them.  chances are low, but best to check.  plus, it's a fun way to geek out and get to know your systems.  recommended link: http://www.overclockers.com/ )

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

one thing I'm confused about is how do you save money building a PC?   The parts bought individually cost way more, no?
 
 I built a 486 long ago... back when they were the hottest thing thing around...

[sweetcell]

parts most definitely cost less when bought individually at a large outlet like newegg.com.  walking into your local strip-mall or best buy, you're definitely going to pay more.
 
 building your own is way cheaper if you're building a high-end system with specific needs - you're saving the boutique builder's mark-up.  if you just want an e-mail/web/word-processing machine, it's dicier to justify financially - chances are Dell can do a low-end machine for the same price as you can.
 
 i build my machine to make music (or with that intention, anways) so i wanted specific kind of disks, high-speed memory, an overclocking-friendly motherboard, a fanless but fast video card, quiet case fans, extra firewire ports, no network card, yadda yadda.  searched online, no one was building this for less than $2600 and often way more.  parts, all told, were less than $1400.

[HoyaSaxa03]

OK, I'm pretty sure I shorted my motherboard out around 3am last night    
 
 I'm a complete fucking moron, and didn't realize that I had to mount my motherboard on my case with standoffs between the case/board ... so I started the thing up with it screwed directly to the case and it worked for a few seconds, then the whole thing shut down
 
 I went online to troubleshoot and realized how retarded I am, then I reinstalled the whole thing, making sure to use the standoffs correctly.  Still won't start.
 
 I'm guessing I killed my motherboard, but do you think I blew anything else out (CPU, RAM, etc)?
 
 Should I just RMA the motherboard to Newegg and claim it was DOA?
 
 thanks guys!

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by bootsycollins:
  When I looked at the list of gear, I thought 'good move on getting the fan'.

yeah, everyone else told me that too, I wish they just told me to use fucking standoffs!!  

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by RatBastard:
  Hoya you going to the Velvet revolver show?  If so look me up.  I'm the long haired old bastard that will be upstairs at the back on one of the barstools.

nope, won't be there