So far, so good!

     I’ve had this homemade computer up and running since the 15th of March – almost two weeks. By God, it’s a pretty good computer. The kids have noticed a real difference. Karen plays ABC Mouse, and it was almost unbearable on the old computer. It would take a month of Sundays and the Seventh Coming of Christ to print out the tickets that are awarded after each exercise. When you went to the fish tank, it took a lifetime just to scrub the tank of algae. Karen, my youngest, said to me, “Dad, the thing really spits the tickets out fast now!” Sean noticed how much faster the fish tank cleaning was. So, for the kids, it’s a good deal. I can now run multiple applications at once. I can listen to my music, adjust large photographs, and run my genealogy program all at once, while the virus scanner is running. It’s just great!
     I had so much fun putting this computer together, that I’d love to do it as a job. The thing is, building a homemade computer from scratch is more expensive up front than buying a Dell, especially the cheaper models that they sell in Walmart. However, in the long run, it equalizes out because upgrading homemade computers is much cheaper. On a Dell, you can upgrade to a larger hard drive, or switch from a DVD burner to a Blu-ray burner. It’s easy to upgrade your RAM. But it ends there. What do you do when your processor no longer fits the bill? Just like the computer I have built, you have to change the motherboard. Dell, and other computer manufacturers, build your system just to the point that it works. They don’t leave much for expansion. The case usually isn’t big enough to run a large heat sink. The power supply is just large enough to power the computer that they shipped to you. If you want to add things like multiple video cards, etc., then you’ll have to purchase a new power supply. You just don’t hear people with Dells tearing their computers apart and rebuilding like you can do with a home built computer. If you had a home built computer, and wanted to upgrade the motherboard, odds are, all you have to do is change out the motherboard and processor. You will also likely have to reinstall the operating system as the OEM operating system is tied to the motherboard. The Dell that you purchase also comes with an OEM version. With the homemade computer, you can reuse your case and power supply. You probably can’t do that with a Dell. Here’s why. Again, the power supply is just enough that it powers the computer that they sent you. Odds are, it won’t be enough to supply power to a faster processor. As far as the case goes, there are two problems. First, the case probably isn’t big enough for a large processor cooling fan. The stock one that comes with the processor will probably work fine, but I like to keep my computer running cool. With my old Dell, when it got a little dusty, it would start to mess up most likely due to overheating. My homemade system has a large radiator looking contraption sitting on the processor with a fan. It runs cool as a cucumber. The cooling system only cost $40, so why not spend that to keep it running better? I know my Dell case would not have accommodated this cooling fan. The second problem is at the back of the case. On my Dell case, you cannot remove the I/O Panel. Click on the link to see what I’m talking about. Each motherboard has a unique configuration, so to accommodate this, they make a universally sized panel that comes with all motherboards. It's the layout of connections within that panel that is different between motherboards. On my homemade computer, the plate pops out and is easily changed. All motherboards come with an I/O panel designed for the unique configuration of that motherboard. For some reason, again probably because of cost, Dell made mine part of the case, so if you want to change the motherboard in my Dell case, you have to own a Dremel and be somewhat of a tinsmith. The computer case that Dell sends you has very few expansion and hard drive slots compared to the case that I bought for my homemade computer. I have a lot more ability to expand this computer because of that. This computer case is a lot more friendly than the Dell case in that it has more cooling fans, and actual filters that help keep the dust out of the computer. You can easily remove these filters (actually fine screens) and go wash or blow them out. It’s night and day difference.
      It all comes down to what works for you. I’m a very heavy computer user. It makes sense for me to have a better computer. For someone who just does some surfing of the internet, writes a few letters, and what not, a Dell or other similar brand would be fine.
      Here’s another way to look at it. My wife and I can our own food. You can go out and buy a $100 canner that is made in China, or you can spend about $250 and up for a canner made here in the U.S.A. The cheap Chinese made canner will work just fine. However, with those, you have to buy a gasket every year or two. They don’t feel as sturdy, and aren’t as convenient as the American made canner. I now own a good American made canner. I don’t regret the purchase one iota. I absolutely love the thing. We got a canner (one of those that takes a gasket) from my mother in law, and upon inspecting it, I’m sure glad that we have the good American made one. We use our canner a lot. I don’t think a week has gone by since late last summer that we haven’t used it. So, it’s worth it to us to have the better canner. That’s how it is with the computer situation that I have just described. Do you want a Cadillac, or are you happy with the Chevy? In this instance though, the Cadillac will be cheaper in the long run (so is the more expensive canner since you don’t have to buy gaskets ever year or two). I don’t know about you, but I feel computers are here to stay. It was worth it to me to spend a little extra money now. I have no regrets and would recommend it to anyone who takes their computer serious. In fact, I would build one for anyone who wanted to go this route.

First Time Building

     So, I’ve only owned two real computers in my life. I’ve owned a couple of others, but they were severely deficient in one way or another. But, since 2000, when I bought my first computer, there have only been 2 computers which I have counted on for all of my day to day stuff. Not bad for 12 years! My first computer was a Compaq Presario, 633Mhz Celeron with a 15 Gig hard drive. I used that computer from 2000 to 2006. Being my first computer buying experience, I wasn’t sure what to look for and I figured that if anyone knew what I needed, it was Radio Shack. I was wrong. All they cared about was making a large profit for themselves by selling me a subpar computer for high dollar. I was miserable with that Compaq for 6 years. It cost me nearly $1400. That was with a monitor and printer – the whole works. It came with Windows 98SE, which wasn’t a bad operating system. I never did upgrade it to XP, so I ran 98SE for 6 years. But for the money I spent on that system, I could have gone to Best Buy and bought a Pentium III, which was the “Big Kahuna” of its day. I regretted that purchase and vowed that my next computer would have a big processor, and that I’d add memory and disk space as time went on. Lesson learned. 

     My next computer was an eBay purchase. In 2006, that Compaq started coughing and choking on simple things like browsing the web. I turned to eBay and found it by typing in Pentium 4, which was the best consumer processor (Intel) that was out at the time. I’m not an over clocker or gamer, but I run heavy memory applications that deal with photo files mainly. Doing family research, I’m finding myself running multiple applications at once, so I needed the extra horsepower. I found a Dell Dimension 5150 with a Pentium 4HT processor running at 3 Ghz. I bought it for $600, but it didn’t come with speakers or a monitor. I bought monitor separately and the speakers I had for my Compaq, were JBLs, so they were good. It came loaded with Windows XP, but this was right before Vista came out. It’s probably a good thing because everyone was complaining about Vista. I stuck with XP until a few years back when I finally upgraded to Vista. It ran fine on this computer. Then just last year, I upgraded again to Windows 7 Professional. I’ve also added a second hard drive for storage, and I’ve upgraded the RAM to 4 Gig. That’s the computer that I’m running today. It’s done me very well these past 6 years. The problem is, this computer is starting to choke like the Compaq. Web pages are starting to bog this girl down, no matter which browser I use. I really notice it with Flash and Java. Anything using those services really puts a drag on this old girl. Plus, if I try and run multiple applications at once, I’m finding this thing is hanging a lot and I have to sit here and wait for it to make up its mind. I’m also finding that I need to reboot it a lot as I’m getting more and more errors. I don’t have an install disk for the OS. Every upgrade that I’ve done to the OS has been from a download from the Microsoft website. This too must change. A buddy of mine recently purchased Windows 7 Ultimate for his machine, and that was pretty slick having the disk. 

     So, I’ve been sitting here contemplating on what to do about my situation. Do I live with it? I can still use the computer even though it’s getting to be a big pain in the ass. I use my computer a lot. I am not in good health. I don’t get around much. This is how I do my shopping. This is how I entertain myself. I use the computer for family history. I use it to write. The kids use it. Having a computer here is almost equivalent to having a good cook stove in the pioneer days. You could have survived without one, but it would have been a major pain in the ass. My computer to me is like many are towards their IPads and smart phones.

     I looked at purchasing another Dell. I’ve helped a couple of friends purchase Dells and they’ve seemed to have good luck with them. Dell makes a good computer. The thing is, there aren’t a lot of options within Dell anymore. It’s my understanding that they closed down many of their assembly plants, which might explain the lack of choice in a computer build. The other problem with a Dell is that if you want to upgrade your motherboard, it’s not all that easy to do. The cases aren’t the greatest. The power supplies are cheap. I want a computer that is easy to upgrade. So, I’ve finally decided to take the plunge and build my own. First, it isn’t cheap to do. It’s about 16% more expensive than the Dell, but is that truly comparing apples to apples? I’m getting an i7 2700K processor as opposed to the older i7 2600K. My power supply is better. I’ll have an SSD hard drive. I’ll actually have the disk for the operating system. My case will be far superior to anything Dell offers. I’ll have 16 gigs of memory as opposed to 12. I’ll have a better cooling fan. Plus, it’ll all be built by me, and I’ll be able to upgrade and change in the future with greater ease than I can now. It’ll be cheaper to upgrade in the future. All I may need then is just a motherboard and processor, and maybe some memory. The case will remain the same. The power supply will stay the same. I won’t have to switch hard drives, operating systems, etc. After this initial investment, I think I’ll be money ahead in the long run.

     Now, as far as choosing my new computer. That’s where I started to get nervous. It's not built yet so I'm still nervous! The processor is one of the most expensive aspects of the computer build, with exception of a high end video card, which I don’t need because I don’t play games. I want a processor that is overkill today, just right down the road, and won’t be underpowered for some time to come. If I can get 6 years out of it, I’ll be happy. I’ve only known Intel processors, so I went with the best consumer processor I could find. I chose the i7 2700K. It’s a quad core processor that uses hyper threading. From there, I chose my motherboard. I don’t know shit about motherboards, so I did some research and found out that the one I chose is supposed to be a pretty slick one, and it is even designed for the next generation of Intel processors, meaning I can upgrade the processor without having to upgrade the board. Yay! This will be my first 64 bit system. This will be my first SSD hard drive. I plan on using the Solid State hard drive for the operating system and keeping my storage drives from my Dell. There’s still some confusion as to whether I picked the right components to play together. I know the processor, mother board, and cooling fan all work together. I’m hoping the memory that I chose will work. I’m also a little confused about the video card. The motherboard said that it doesn’t have integrated video, yet there are jacks for it. The processor claims it has integrated video. This confuses me. So, I purchased a cheaper video card that is separate. I’m not sure if I needed that or not. I tried to pick the best power supply that I could find. I did some research and found out that I would prefer a modular power supply, meaning that the power cords get put on as needed, and you don’t have this big wad of wires in your box that you don’t need. It’s 750 watt. I’m not sure if this is overkill or not. I’ve heard that if your power supply is too large, that can cause trouble too. I’m not afraid of being undersupplied – I’m worried about having too much. It’s also supposed to be an energy efficient power supply. I went with the Corsair case because it just seems like a very well thought out case with a lot of room for expansion. I like the dock on top of the case where you can slide a hard drive in for a quick read. It has air filters that are removable and can be cleaned easily. You can open both sides and access things much easier than those that only open one way. Since I was at it, I added an illuminated keyboard so I can see what I’m typing at night, and a new mouse because this one has seen its better day. All this stuff will arrive this week and probably into next. Then the fun of putting it all together starts. I’m worried about it. I hope the memory works. I don’t know much about the different speeds and latencies. I guess if I’m going to take care of this computer, I better learn. I’d appreciate any thoughts on this build. It’s my first time! 

1 x Corsair Obsidian Series 650D (CC650DW-1) Black Steel structure with black brushed aluminum faceplate ATX Mid Tower Computer Case  

1 x ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard  

1 x Intel Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623i72700K  

1 x COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 

1 x SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply 

1 x Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F120GBGT-BK 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)  

1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM  

2 x G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL10S-8GBXL  

1 x MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone OC GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card  

1 x SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM  

1 x Kensington K72356US Black 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical Mouse  

1 x Saitek Eclipse II Illuminated Keyboard

March 6th, 2012

      What a beautiful day! I actually had the energy to go with KinDee to Oelwein today to get a few groceries. I sure enjoyed having the windows cracked and smelling the fresh air. This is my favorite time of year. My father’s favorite time of year is Fall. I like the fall, but it depresses me. Everything is dying and winter comes after. In the spring, it’s all about renewal and rebirth. I love the smell of the earth on a spring day. It takes me back to my youth. It makes me think of Dad out planting corn. He had this old two row planter and would only plant a small patch, but I would go out and walk behind that planter. I’d feel the cool earth with my feet. I would smell that “earthy” smell and that has always stayed with me.  

      When I went outside this afternoon, after my nap, the kids were playing on the trampoline that KinDee just put up again. I sat on the deck and listened to the geese heading north again. I smelled those lovely spring smells and heard the sounds of people enjoying a spring day. I listened as families were out walking, visiting with each other. I heard more vehicles go by today than I have seen in a long while. With gas prices high, people seemed to have really cut back on how much they drive, but on a beautiful day like today, I think it was a case of “gas prices be damned.” It made me think of being on Dad’s farm in the early 1990’s. Sitting there a mile west of Walker, on a day like today, you could hear the hustle and bustle of Walker. Many times I would walk into town to see Toby. It would take me by the Bowling Alley and the taverns. On nights like tonight, they’d be busier than hell. This sort of weather makes people almost giddy. I know it does that to me.  

      I’ve been feeling like shit lately. We found out last year that my thyroid is all messed up. It has been a very large contributing factor to my failing health. They’ve been monkeying around with medication ever since. I thought we had it down pretty good by November, then I went downhill like a lead balloon. I had several infections, and then by late December, I got a bad case of cellulitis in my leg. I really thought it was going to be my swan song. Heavy antibiotics and some more rest cleared that up, but I still haven’t been the same since. I get tired every day between Noon and 2 P.M. I can hardly function. I need to lay down and generally I take a nap, or just lay there for a few hours, then I’m fine until bedtime. Even though this past winter has been mild, it’s been one of the worst for me. I’ve felt worse than I ever have. What was it, last week or so when we had a mild day sort of like this one? Whenever it was, I remember I got outside then and I felt a lot better. Today has done the same thing for me. I’m hoping that spring comes early and stays. Hopefully it will improve my health. Back in the old days, they would call it your “constitution.” Well, this nice weather is certainly improving my constitution. This afternoon, I have felt better than I have in a long time.